ã€ŠVictor of Tucsonã€‹


 Chapter 1: Summoned

    Chapter 1: Summoned

    Tucson was hot in the summer; that wasn¡¯t anything new, but today the heating off the pavement felt particrly nasty to Victor. He was walking home from summer school - fuck Mr. Briggs and his fucking bullshit giarism. Victor spat and shook his head. No, he couldn¡¯t me Briggs. He¡¯d paid Tony for that essay; it wasn¡¯t Brigg¡¯s fault that Tony had got it off the inte. ¡°Fucking pendejo,¡± Victorughed. That asshole charged him twenty-five bucks and then just cut and pasted it off some website. ¡°Why am I thinking about this shit again? Fuck.¡± He¡¯d almost lost his chance to graduate and, along with it, his schrship to Pima Community College. Yeah, big fucking deal,munity college, right? But it was a start, and if he did well on the wrestling team there and kept his grades up, he¡¯d maybe get to transfer to the U of A. Truthfully, he was fucking lucky Briggs had agreed to let him make up the missing credit through summer school. Well, Briggs, the Dean, and Ms. Marshal, the counselor. Damn, but she¡¯d gone to bat for Victor.

    ¡°Look out, you fucking dipshit!¡± The shout apanied a ring horn and squealing tires. Victor stumbled back and realized he¡¯d walked onto a crosswalk at a red light.

    ¡°Fuck you!¡± he shouted reflexively. The car was already speeding down Dodge Street, and Victor kicked some rocks waiting for the light to change. He almost dropped and did some pushups, but it was just too hot. He wiped some sweat off his brow, shoving it back into his short ck hair. The hot wind blowing through the wet hair felt good for a couple of seconds, then it was just hot again. The light changed, and he jogged over Dodge back onto the sidewalk, following Grant Road west. His backpack bounced against his shoulder des, sweat soaking the fabric of his shirt. The soles of his old Adidas tennies were worn so thin that the hot sidewalk made the rubber super malleable and almost ufortably warm. Impulsively, he picked up the pace, pushing himself into a jog, then a run, then a sprint as he came to Chrysler and took a left, his grandparent¡¯s neighborhood opening up before him.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, just like coach says, ¡®always finish hard,¡¯¡± Victor hissed. He sprinted past the Alvarez house, cutting the corner of their overgrown yard, into his grandparent¡¯s front yard, diving between the two huge old Oleander bushes, hopped the little barrel cactus, and then slid onto the shaded front porch. He knew his Abu would have some juice made, and after he downed a huge ss, he¡¯d take a shower and go see Marcy. She¡¯d been funnytely, kinda distant. He was starting to wonder if she was gonna ditch him when she went to ASU. He opened the screen door and called, ¡°Abu!¡± He stepped into the living room, and then everything went ck.

    At first, Victor thought he¡¯d passed out, but he was still conscious, still thinking, while he drifted in darkness. Was he drifting? He supposed he didn¡¯t know. He tried to wave his arms around, but he couldn''t be sure they even moved. ¡°What the fuck, man?¡± he tried to say, but no sound came out. He could think it, though, and he did. Just what the fuck was going on? Did he have a stroke? Sunstroke? No, man, he¡¯d overheated before, and he knew what it felt like. He¡¯d been fine, no headache, nothing. Some time passed while he contemted his fate; he reflected on Marcy for a while, realizing he really didn¡¯t think it would be such a bad thing for them to take a break. She had a lot going on, and he needed to focus on getting his shit together. He thought about his grandma and how he needed to make her proud, which made him think about his Abuelo and how he¡¯d never really done anything to make him proud before he died. Well, that wasn¡¯t entirely true: his grandpa saw him take second at statest year. Still, he¡¯d wanted to do more. He¡¯d always wanted to pay them back for taking him in when his parents died. His mom¡¯s parents hadn¡¯t given him the time of day.

    A pinprick of light erupted in the vast expanse of darkness, and it jerked him out of his reverie. He watched as the pinprick expanded to a thumbnail, then a baseball, then a basketball, and then it rapidly widened to fill his vision, and Victor found himself standing in a big wooden room. Like everything was wood - the floor, the walls, the ceiling, everything. Four guys were standing in front of him wearing baggy brown robes with hoods, and they were all holding glowing metal rods. That¡¯s not what made Victor say, ¡°What the fuck?¡± though. No, it was the strangers¡¯ blue skin and fucking fluorescent hair.

    ¡°T!¡± one of the blue-skinned guys said.

    ***Integrating non-system entity***

    ***Human species recognized and integrated***

    The messages shed in front of Victor¡¯s eyes, and he swiped a hand over his face, thinking he had on some VR goggles or something, but there was nothing there. ¡°What the fuck?¡± he repeated.

    ¡°Silence!¡± the blue-skinned guy on the left said.

    ¡°Well?¡± A deep voice sounded from Victor¡¯s left, and he looked to see a man leaning back against the wooden wall in the shadow of a support beam.

    ¡°I can sense a high Energy affinity in this one, but he¡¯s of pitiful rank and racial advancement - I¡¯d say he¡¯s base zero. He must be from a dead world.¡± One of the blue guys said. This one stood out with his bright green hair and eyes.

    ¡°Bah, another. Sell him to the pits.¡±

    ¡°Hey, who are you, assholes? How¡¯d you get me out of my Abu¡¯s house?¡± A yellow-haired blue guy stepped forward and swiftly tapped his metal rod on Victor¡¯s forearm, and Victor felt cold wash over him. It was a deep, bitter cold that spread through his skin, into his bones, and down to the pit of his stomach. He felt like the life was being pulled out of him, but he couldn¡¯t move; he didn¡¯t even think he could breathe. The yellow-haired blue guy waved his rod again and uttered something, and then Victor felt himself lift up and float along, like how you might imagine Drac would glide over the misty ground.

    All the color in the world seemed drained, and Victor could mostly only see shades of gray as he floated along behind the blue man. He drifted through some doors, down a wooded forest path, and onto a wide dirt road. Victor panicked at first when he realized he wasn¡¯t breathing, but then he noticed he didn''t feel any burning in his chest, didn¡¯t feel any shadows creeping in on his vision, and he figured something the blue guy had done was keeping his body in a sort of state of suspended animation. He vowed to take that fucker down if he got the chance, though. This was a bullshit way to treat someone.

    They followed the road for a while, and eventually, they started passing other people going in different directions. People in wagons and on weird mounts - things that looked like giant lizard birds, one guy rode a big fucking elk, and a huge hay wagon was pulled along by a lizard the size of an elephant. They came to a tall stone-block wall with a gate in it, and the blue guy leading Victor was waved through, though one of the guards frowned and spat as he walked by. Victor floated along behind the asshole through busy streets filled with lots of different kinds of people. So many weird-looking people that Victor started to think he must be tripping on acid or something. There were tall, beautiful women with glistening, magical-looking wings. He saw an eagle-headed guy arguing with a huge dude that looked like an otter. And there were lots and lots of blue and red-skinned people. The red guys were a bit bigger and meaner looking than the blue guys, and some of them had wings - enormous red dragon-style wings.

    They wended their way into back alleys, past very unsavory looking people, and deeper into the city still, where piled garbage was ubiquitous, and pools of questionable fluids had to be hopped by his blue-skinned escort. After more turns than Victor could keep track of, they finally entered arge wooden building with a giant wagon wheel hung over the barn-style doors. The blue man led Victor past men and women who sparred with fists and weapons. They were punching and wrestling all over the hay and sawdust-covered floors. They went to the back wall, through a small door, and into an office where an obese red-skinned man with ck hair and ck eyes sat at a small desk. He looked up, a wide grin splitting his thick lips and revealing long, gleaming white fangs. ¡°What did you bring me today?¡±

    ¡°We got an item from a colleague at Fainhallow, he thought it might lead to an interesting summon, but we just got this base zero runt.¡± The blue guy waved a hand at Victor. ¡°He has a high affinity, though. If you train him, he might be worth something someday.¡±

    ¡°Base zero, you say? He won¡¯t make it through one Pit Night. I can¡¯t pay much for fodder. I hope the summon wasn¡¯t too costly.¡±

    ¡°Master ap¡¯Gravin will take it out of his son¡¯s hide; don¡¯t you worry about that. Anyway, I¡¯mte for dinner. What¡¯ll you give us for him?¡±

    ¡°Oh, here¡¯s five. More than that, and I¡¯ll be losing money on his upkeep before Pit Night.¡± He pushed a little brown pouch toward the blue guy.

    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s all the same to me; I didn¡¯t put any money into his summon. I¡¯m going to release him now; he¡¯s your problem going forward. See you next time.¡± The blue asshole turned and walked past Victor, waving a hand as he went by. Victor felt warm tingles spread through his body, starting with his skin and progressing like a wave of ecstasy toward his stomach.

    ¡°Ah, Jesus, fucking pendejo!¡± Victor leaned forward and put his hands on his knees, gathering himself.

    ¡°Alright, boy. What¡¯s your name?¡± The enormous red devil asked, standing up and shoving his chair back.

    ¡°Victor. Where the fuck am I?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in my pit fighting hall, in a city called Persi Gables. You¡¯re not from this world, just in case you were confused about that. Oh, and you¡¯re my property now. Don¡¯t make me exert dominance over you because I¡¯d like you to be in one piece for Pit Night.¡±

    ¡°What? Assert dominance? The fuck are you talking about, man?¡±

    ¡°Did thenguage integration fail with you? Are you confused? Listen to my words, boy: you belong to me. You are no longer on your home. You will do as I say, or I will beat the piss out of you. Is the meaning of my wordsing through?¡±

    ¡°Yes, fuck, man. How the¡­.¡±

    ¡°Quiet now. I¡¯m going to take you back to the pens, and one of the other fighters can y question and answer with you. I don¡¯t have time for that nonsense. Follow me, and if you run, you¡¯ll just follow me with a broken leg the next time.¡± Victor followed him. He didn¡¯t like the idea of having to try to follow someone around with a broken leg, and the guy was big enough to do it; he had to weigh more than three hundred pounds. For all his size, the man walked briskly, passing over the sparring floor, through a side door, and into a long hallway lined with cages. Some of the cages were big with several people in them, and some were small and only held one upant.

    ¡°Sir, what¡¯s your name?¡± Victor asked, wondering if he could get anything out of the big man.

    ¡°You can call me Boss or Sir.¡± He chuckled to himself as he fumbled with a big keyring, opening the door to a medium-sized cage with two other upants. ¡°I¡¯ll put you in here, Victor, because these are my two nicest fighters, and they might give you some pointers before Pit Night. You¡¯re wee.¡± He pulled the metal door open and gestured for Victor to enter. Not seeing any other option, Victorplied, stepping into the cage with a goat-man and a red-skinned woman with bright green-yellow eyes. ¡°Vullu and Yre, this is Victor. Victor¡¯s new around here; where are you from, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Um, Tucson?¡±

    ¡°Hah, okay, this is Victor of Tucson. Show him how things work around here.¡± He mmed the metal door shut, and the two upants went back to the dice game they¡¯d been ying before Victor¡¯s arrival. He sat down on the straw floor and looked out through the bars of his cage, watching the strange prisoners of the other cells pacing around or sleeping or muttering threats at each other. What the fuck had he gotten into?

 Chapter 2: Status

    Chapter 2: Status

    Victor had never been religious; sure, his Abu was, and she made him go to church when he was little, but Victor had never seen eye to eye with the Catholic idea of life and death. That didn¡¯t stop him from falling on his knees in the hay and praying for a while, though. Hands sped in front of him, eyes squeezed shut, he performed more Hail Marys than he ever had in his life, all the while wishing he had his grandma¡¯s rosary. This went on for a while until a cutting feminine voice said, ¡°Kid, I don¡¯t know what you''re doing, but stop it. You¡¯re driving me crazy.¡± Victor opened his scrunched eyes, spots ring in his vision, to see thenky red-skinned woman squatting in front of him, scowling into his face. Her eyes were something else, though: mossy-green with specks of bright yellow and gold. When the lights hanging from the high wooden ceiling caught them just right, they almost glittered.

    ¡°Damn, your eyes are pretty,¡± he said before he could catch himself. Her scowl didn¡¯t change, but her right hand came up faster than a striking cobra and pped him on the cheek. Not hard, though, just enough to let him know she could. Victor tipped back onto his butt with momentum as he brought a hand up to his cheek out of reflex. He didn¡¯t say anything, though; why let her know it bothered him? ¡°So, anyway, my name¡¯s Victor.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm, I¡¯m Yre. This is Vullu.¡± She gestured to the goat-man, who leaned back into the far corner of the cage.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve tried holding my breath, pinching myself, even praying, and I¡¯m still fucking here, so I¡¯d appreciate it, ma¡¯am, if you could tell me what the fuck is going on.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± she smiled and nced at Vullu, sharing a joke. ¡°So you¡¯re really not from this world, hmm? Old Yund sure has some interesting connections, eh, Vullu?¡±

    ¡°That he does, that he does. You know, I went to his house once, and not as a fighter, as a guest. Well, as the escort to a guest. His vi would send some of the nobility into fits of jealousy. Anyway, the point I¡¯m making is don¡¯t judge the man by the stinking cesspool where he works.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I wouldn¡¯t do that. I¡¯m well aware of his connections.¡± Yre sat in front of Victor, crossing her legs in front of her, and contemted him for a few seconds.

    ¡°Hey, excuse me? Would you mind just filling me in a little?¡± Victor couldn¡¯t take it anymore.

    ¡°Oh, rx, kid. We aren¡¯t going anywhere for a while. They won¡¯t let us out to exercise until morning, anyway. So, tell me where you¡¯re from, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Like my? It¡¯s Earth.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, Earth. Not one I¡¯ve heard before. You, Vullu?¡± The goat-man shook his head, eyes closed. ¡°Well, what¡¯s it like? Does everyone look like you there?¡±

    ¡°Uh, like, as in human? Yeah, but they all don¡¯t look like me. Some have whiter skin; some have darker skin. Everyone has different hair. We¡¯re all different sizes. Is that what you mean?¡±

    ¡°Human, hmm? Another new one. Well, you seem pretty weak, even if you are bigger than most Shadeni. What¡¯s your level?¡±

    ¡°My what, now?¡±

    ¡°Your level. Hello? Maybe he¡¯s not understanding everything, Vullu. Maybe thenguage integration didn¡¯t work for him.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s possible, I suppose.¡± Vullu nodded, eyes closed, clearly almost asleep.

    ¡°Hey, what the fuck are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Look at your status sheet. Do you see System Language Integration under your skills?¡±

    ¡°Pendeja, are you fucking crazy? You¡¯re talking like we¡¯re ying a video game or something.¡± Yre cocked an eyebrow and turned to look at Vullu, who had opened his eyes.

    ¡°What the Ancestors is going on with this kid?¡±

    ¡°Kid, say ¡®status¡¯ out loud and tell me what you see,¡± Vullu said. Victor looked from the goat-man to the demon woman, then shrugged.

    ¡°Status.¡±

    Status

    Name:

    Victor Sandoval

    Race:

    Human - Base 1

    ss:

    ¨C

    Level:

    0

    Core:

    ¨C

    Energy Affinity:

    6.1

    Energy:

    0/0

    Strength:

    9

    Vitality:

    10

    Dexterity:

    9

    Agility:

    10

    Intelligence:

    8

    Will:

    8

    Points Avable:

    0

    Titles & Feats:

    ¨C

    Skills:

    System Language Integration - Not Upgradeable

    ¡°Chingado¡­.¡±

    ¡°Well?¡± Yre pressed.

    ¡°Alright, what the fuck is this? There¡¯s a fucking menu floating in front of my face.¡±

    ¡°Are you not familiar with the System?¡± Vullu asked.

    ¡°The what? No, we don¡¯t have this system where I¡¯m from. Are there fucking contacts in my eyes or something?¡±

    Vullu and Yre shared another look, then the goat-man sat up and scooted closer to Victor. ¡°No, I mean the System, not a system. What level are you, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Umm, it says zero.¡±

    ¡°How can he be zero? He¡¯s a man grown!¡± Yre said.

    ¡°Victor, is there much Energy in your world?¡±

    ¡°Uh, yeah, even poor people have electricity where I¡¯m from.¡±

    ¡°Electricity? Everyone is air-attuned on your world?¡±

    ¡°What? Dude, I don¡¯t fucking get what you''re asking me.¡±

    ¡°How can they summon him from a System void? And from a dead world? He has to be from a dead world, right? How could he grow to his age, be fit physically and mentally, and not at least gain one level?¡± Yre sat back, blowing out her breath incredulously.

    ¡°What the hell is a dead world? My world is plenty alive - billions of people, plenty of trees and fish and shit.¡±

    ¡°No, ¡®dead world¡¯ is a term for a world without Energy.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re talking in circles here! There¡¯s fucking energy on my world. We have better lights and AC than this dump, that¡¯s for sure.¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t know what we¡¯re talking about,¡± Vullu said, ¡°Here, Victor, look at my hand. These cages are warded, but I can get a little Energy out.¡± Vullu held his hand out, palm up, and closed his eyes. A momentter, a flickering blue me took shape over his palm, growing to about three inches in height. Victor¡¯s eyes opened wide, and he leaned forward, stretching out a hand toward the me. It was hot!

    ¡°How the fuck you doing that?¡±

    ¡°Energy!¡± Vullu shook his hand, and the me went away. A lightbulb went off in Victor¡¯s head just then, and he looked at his status sheet again. There it was: Energy 0/0.

    ¡°Okay, I get it. I¡¯ve yed plenty of games; it¡¯s like mana or some other bullshit. Well, I have zero out of zero.¡±

    ¡°Zero? It makes sense, I guess. If you don¡¯t have Energy in your world, how would you form a Core? Well, don¡¯t let that bother you. If you survive a few fights, you should start to build up some Energy, and someone can teach you to form a Core. That¡¯s a big if, though, kid. Level zero? You¡¯re probably gonna get killed pretty fast. Sorry.¡± In her defense, she really did look kinda sad, at least in Victor¡¯s inexpert opinion.

    ¡°So that big asshole is going to make me fight? For real? Like to the death, or are we talking MMA shit?¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s usually to the death. Fighters want to get stronger, which means killing their opponents for an Energy increase.¡± Vullu shook his head while he spoke.

    ¡°So what the fuck? People can just enve people and make them fight to the death in this world? That¡¯s pretty fucked up.¡±

    ¡°Hah. There are rules, of course, but might makes right around here, kid, which puts you in a pretty shitty spot.¡±

    ¡°Hey, you said ¡®shitty¡¯ - so we have the same ng and everything? Is that thenguage integration you were talking about?¡±

    ¡°Oh, some of our ng will match, but you say some words I¡¯m not understanding, and I¡¯m sure I could find a word in mynguage you wouldn¡¯t get. It¡¯s pretty close, though. The System might be heartless, but it¡¯s smart.¡±

    ¡°So what are the rules? How can that guy enve us and get away with it? Aren¡¯t therews?¡±

    ¡°Oh, sure, that¡¯s how he got us. Vullu and I got caught robbing a nobleman¡¯s home. You go to prison, and people can buy your sentence. If we had powerful friends, they could have made Yund back off or bought our sentences themselves. We don¡¯t have any, though, and you sure as hell don¡¯t.¡± Yre smiled, kind of glumly, and shrugged.

    ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m not a criminal!¡±

    ¡°No one in this entire world knows you, kid. Yund can do whatever he wants to you, and not a single soul will know or care. People will be having too much fun wagering on your fight to worry too much about where you came from.¡± Vullu scooted back to his corner and leaned back, crossing his hooved feet out in front of him.

    ¡°This is fucking bullshit.¡± Victor slid on his butt into the corner diagonally facing Vullu¡¯s and leaned back, stretching out and crossing his arms on his chest. ¡°Does this fucking System have any games? Or just this status shit?¡±

    ¡°Games? No, but we have some bone dice we made. I¡¯ll teach you a game tomorrow, but let¡¯s get some sleep before the other prisoners start throwing shit at us for talking too loudly.¡± Vullu yawned and nestled his chin down into his chest. Yre didn¡¯t say anything, but shey on her side, resting her head on Vullu¡¯s thigh.

    ¡°Did you mean that literally? Are they going to throw actual shit at us?¡± Victor asked quietly, looking around at the other cages and the sprawled-out inhabitants.

    ¡°Oh, I meant it. Good night, Victor.¡± A note of finality in Vullu¡¯s voice forestalled any more questions from Victor. Instead, he grunted, rolling onto his side, wishing he had a jacket or his backpack for a pillow.

    ¡°At least I wore jeans today instead of shorts. I almost fucking wore shorts to school,¡± he muttered, closing his eyes, and had he been conscious to appreciate it; he would have been surprised at how quickly he fell asleep.

    ****

    ¡°Get up, Victor. You don¡¯t want to miss breakfast.¡± Yre nudged Victor with her foot, and his eyes popped open. It felt like he¡¯d just gone to sleep. He groaned and rolled onto his hands and knees. Out of habit, he started pumping out some pushups. He always did them first thing upon waking up - another thing his wrestling coach had drilled into his mind: before going to the bathroom, before brushing his teeth, before anything: pushups and situps. A booted foot pressed his shoulder and then shoved him sprawling onto his side. ¡°The hell are you doing? You trying to get beat up in the yard? These meatheads don¡¯t want to see a runt like you trying to show off. Get up and line up behind me, so we can get out and eat.¡± Yre¡¯s voice was higher than usual like she couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing.

    ¡°Alright, jeez.¡± Victor hopped up and stood behind Yre, who stood behind Vullu, waiting for someone toe and open the door, he supposed. He looked up and down the long aisle between the pens, trying to discern if anything had changed, and he noticed the two cages to the left of them, toward the door, were empty. ¡°Is it our turn next?¡±

    ¡°You learn quickly,¡± Vullu said, a distinctly goat-like chuckle escaping his throat.

    ¡°After we eat, we get yard time?¡± Victor felt like he was in a prison VR. Now, he just had to keep his eyes open for some loose bricks or a guard who slipped away to be with his girlfriend, and then he could make a break for it. Yeah, right. He was mostly joking, but he did intend to try to get out of this ce the first chance he got.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯ll try to help you pick up a skill or two while we¡¯re out there.¡±

    ¡°I know a few moves, but sure, I¡¯m always up to learn something new. I guess fighting to the death is different from a wrestling match.¡± Vullu looked back over his shoulder, up at Victor, and slowly nodded, and something was different in his eyes, almost like he¡¯d appraised Victor differently. Victor looked down at Yre¡¯s curly ck hair, and before he could rein in his mouth, he said, ¡°You seemed taller when we were all sitting in the cage.¡± Yre turned and looked at him, and Victor saw her right eye narrow slightly like she was contemting something, but then she slowly exhaled through her nose and turned around without a word.

    The door at the end of the aisle opened, and arge, furry otter-man came through, jangling a ring of keys. ¡°You¡¯re up!¡± he announced, stepping up to their door and unlocking the cage door. Victor noticed that he had a metal rod with weird letters inscribed all over it, hanging from a loop on his belt. He stared at Victor with big, moist ck eyes as he walked through the cage door. ¡°Don¡¯t try anything funny, kid. Just ¡®cause Boss didn¡¯t tag you doesn¡¯t mean we won¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Victor said, hurrying after Yre as she stepped through the door into the central portion of the building. He could smell something cooking, and as he stepped through the door, he saw that on the right, through a broad, short hallway, a cafeteria of sorts had been set up. He followed Yre and Vullu as they walked around a few long wooden tables to a counter where a blue person in an apron was serving tes of food. Victor took his, noting the buttered piece of round tbread and the heaping scoop of fatty beans and mystery meat.

    The trio sat at one of the tables without anyone else sitting at it andmenced to eat their food. Victor had eaten plenty of beans and eggs with tortis, so he didn¡¯t balk at theck of silverware; he just scooped his beans onto a hunk of tbread and wolfed it down. The meat tasted like pork. ¡°It¡¯s not bad, actually,¡± he said. ¡°Is there anything to drink?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Vullu said, gesturing to a barrel and a small table stacked with wooden mugs. ¡°Get us all a scoop, will ya?¡± Victor shrugged and went over to the barrel, grabbed a wooden mug, and scooped up some room-temperature water. He set the cup down by Yre, then went back for two more.

    ¡°Not very refreshing,¡± he said, sitting back down and taking a big gulp.

    ¡°Nope, but it does the job.¡± Yre mmed her empty mug down and burped. Vulluughed, sipped his water delicately, and set his mug down.

    ¡°Well, what sort of fighting can you do, Victor?¡± Vullu asked, suddenly serious, ¡°I¡¯d like to see you survive your first Pit Night.¡±

 Chapter 3: Practice

    Chapter 3: Practice

    After they ate, Yre told Victor that they¡¯d have two hours to exercise before they had to go back to their pen. She and Vullu led him out of the cafeteria to therge grappling hall. There were already about twenty others tousling, exercising, and lounging around on benches watching. ¡°What keeps you all from rising up? Fighting your way out of here?¡±

    ¡°Aside from the fact that most of these assholes would kill each other just as soon as they¡¯d work together, most of us that Yund feels threatened by have been tagged.¡±

    ¡°Tagged?¡± Victor looked at her quizzically. Yre pulled her loose gray blouse up by her waist and showed him a bright blue tattoo on her hard, red stomach.

    ¡°Tagged. The ink is infused with an alchemical mixture that binds us to the control rods Yund and hisckeys have. It¡¯s an expensive process, so they don¡¯t do it to all of the fresh meat.¡± She winked at Victor and tousled his hair.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve got some fucking tight abs.¡± He smiled at Yre¡¯s confused face, then looked around the room and said, ¡°Any workout gear? Or I gotta wear my jeans and shit?¡±

    ¡°Your clothes? You¡¯ll have to make do with what you have. Yund is a cheap bastard when ites to us fighters.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Victor,¡± Vullu cut in, ¡°let¡¯s see what kind of fighting you do.¡± They were standing in a rtively quiet corner of the sparring gym, and Vullu sidestepped, facing Victor, beckoning him toe at him with one of his hands. Victor hopped up and down a few times, getting his blood pumping, then he faced Vullu, his center of gravity low, and moved toward him, circling with him, watching him for any forward movement. ¡°Come, Victor, show me¡­.¡± He couldn¡¯t finish the sentence because Victor had feinted with his right hand, drawing Vullu¡¯s eye, then he¡¯d swept in low, grabbed Vullu¡¯s back ankle/hoof, lifted it tight to his chest, and swept his other leg, dropping the goat-man onto his back.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned Unarmed Combat - Basic.***

    ¡°Ancestors! That was smooth! You didn¡¯t even see himing, Vullu!¡± Yreughed, mockingly offering to help Vullu stand, then pulling her hand back. Victor was too astounded by the message floating in his vision to pay them any attention.

    ¡°What the fuck is this? I just learned unarmedbat, basic. What the fuck? Basic? I don¡¯t think so!¡±

    ¡°Do you feel like you know anything new? Really think about it; concentrate on what you know about fighting.¡± Vullu said, grunting and standing up. Victor did as he said and couldn¡¯t find anything new in his head. It was weird, exhaustively trying to contemte what he knew about something, but nothing was new as far as he could tell.

    ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    ¡°I think the System is still trying to categorize what you know, at least with regard to fighting. Let¡¯s go, try that again, and if you get it, keep going. Show me what you¡¯d do next.¡± Victor nodded and moved back into circling with Vullu. This time he closed in and grappled with Vullu a bit, reached in, grabbed his neck, pulled on him, grabbed his wrist, pulled it, let him try to grab his wrist, and then rolled it out of the grip. Then just as Vullu was starting to get lulled by the push-pull of the grappling rhythm, Victor swept low and forward, grabbed both of Vullu¡¯s legs, and drove him backward onto the wooden floor.

    Vullu thrashed and tried to flop over, but Victor¡¯s ground game was strong. He scrambled up, keeping his center of mass pressing down on Vullu the whole time, then scooped up his head and left arm in a lock, driving his full weight into his shoulder, pressing down on Vullu¡¯s chest while he squeezed his head and arm. Vullu was definitely pinned, but now what? They weren¡¯t in a wrestling match.

    ¡°Uh, you have me immobilized, but now what? What if I start punching you?¡± Vullu grunted, balling up his free hand into a fist and pounding it into Victor¡¯s upper back and side. Victor hunkered down, so his head wouldn¡¯t get hit and squeezed harder, going up on his toes to push more of his weight into his shoulder, bearing down on Vullu¡¯s chest even more. ¡°Ugh, that¡¯s ufortable, but it won¡¯t stop anyone with any decent points in strength and vitality. What are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°Alright, pinche,¡± Victor growled, then he hauled up on the smaller man, scooting his legs under him, so he was behind him, still holding his arm and head in a death grip. This wasn¡¯t high school wrestling; why the fuck was he following rules? He let Vullu¡¯s arm slip out of his grasp, but then he redoubled his hold on Vullu¡¯s neck, wrapping it deep into the crook of his elbow and pressing on the back of his head in a full, rear-naked chokehold. He held it until Vullu stopped thrashing, then he let go, pushing the goat-man off himself and standing up.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned Grappling - Improved.***

    Vullu had started gasping for breath almost the moment Victor let go. He and his buddies had yed around plenty with chokeholds; he knew when to let go to avoid hurting someone. ¡°Fuck yeah! Improved Grappling that time!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a more specialized skill, but improved? How can someone without a ss learn beyond basic?¡± Vullu looked at Yre, and she just shrugged. He looked back at Victor and said, ¡°That was a good choke, but you realize I haven¡¯t been fighting back, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, I kinda could tell.¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°Hey, I just had a thought,¡± Yre said. ¡°Victor, do you feel like you know more about grappling now?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t feel any fucking different.¡±

    ¡°Uncle¡¯s arse, but you use that word a lot - ¡®fuck, fucking, fuck, fuck.¡¯ What does it even mean?¡±

    ¡°Fuck? You guys don¡¯t have that word? It means a lot of stuff. It can mean the same as shit, or it can mean extremely, like if I said, ¡®that is fucking cool,¡¯ that would mean something is extremely cool. It also means sex. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s more to it, but that¡¯s all I can think of right now.¡± Victor shrugged. Yre looked at him strangely, opened her mouth to say something, then stopped and shook her head slightly.

    ¡°Anyway, I was thinking the System isn¡¯t giving you those skills; it¡¯s just recognizing that you have them.¡± She turned to Vullu, ¡°So it didn¡¯t give him an improved skill; he already had it.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, yes. That makes more sense. If he¡¯d just learned those skills, he¡¯d have gotten Energy with them. Maybe even enough to gain his first level.¡± Vullu was nodding. ¡°Victor, answer me this: have you ever learned to fight with any weapons?¡±

    ¡°No, not really. I mean, me and my buddies used to y around with wooden swords, but we never learned any real skills.¡±

    ¡°Yre, will you go check out a couple of practice axes?¡±

    ¡°Axes? You sure that¡¯s best for him to learn with?¡±

    ¡°Well, no. The spear would probably be better, but I like axes, so that¡¯s what he¡¯s getting.¡± Yre shrugged and sauntered over through a doorway near Yund¡¯s office. Victor watched her go, and Vullu snorted, ¡°Don¡¯t let her catch you looking at her like that, kid.¡± Victor jerked his head away and feigned a stretch.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, man.¡±

    ¡°Good, y it off. That one has teeth, and you have enough problems to deal with, you hear me?¡± Victor looked at the little goat-man again, more closely, and he had to admit the older guy could be intimidating when he wanted to be. He had a short gray beard, and a mostly human-looking face, except for those weird yellow-gold eyes with weird-ass irises.

    ¡°Hey, what are you, er your people, like called?¡±

    ¡°Ahh, no Cadwalli on your world, eh? Makes sense; I¡¯ve never seen a wingless Ghelli like you.¡±

    ¡°The fuck? Ghelli?¡±

    ¡°Well, you look kind of like a Ghelli, though they¡¯re very slight people - you¡¯re too stocky, and, as I said, they have wings. Ahh, here shees.¡± Vullu turned and held out a hand, to which Yre tossed a heavy-looking single-ded hand axe. He caught it, gave it a twirl, then nodded to Victor. Victor turned and took the axe Yre was holding out to him. It had a stout wooden handle, and the axehead was broad and heavy, definitely bigger than his grandpa¡¯s hatchet. He held a thumb to the de and saw that it was rounded and smooth; he couldn¡¯t cut butter with this thing.

    ¡°Alright, Victor. Stand behind me. I¡¯m going to run through some standard axe forms, and I want you to mirror my movements. We¡¯ll do each one five times at first, then run through them faster and faster. Victor nodded and took up position behind Vullu. Yre stood to the side, scrutinizing him as he tried to copy Vullu¡¯s movements as precisely as possible. The way Vullu moved reminded Victor of old dudes on VR doing that Tai Chi stuff - he moved slowly and smoothly, and Victor found it easy to mimic him, at least at first. After they¡¯d gone through about ten different movements, repeating each one five times, like Vullu said they would, he picked up the pace, moving a little faster and only repeating the movements four times. Then he moved even faster, cutting the repetitions down to three. By now, Victor¡¯s arm and shoulder muscles were starting to burn, and he was breathing heavily. Still, he pushed through - if coach Dorgan had taught him anything, it was to push through the burn, push past the pain. When they were on their next run through, doing two quick repetitions, a new message appeared in Victor¡¯s vision:

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned Axe Mastery - Basic.***

    Victor stopped swinging in surprise when he saw a bunch of tiny golden flecks of light start to gather in the air around him. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head, wondering if he was about to pass out or something, but then the little motes of golden light rushed toward him, and he felt like he¡¯d just popped an E-bomb. He shook his head and put his hands on his knees. ¡°Whoah, fucking hell.¡±

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 1 base human.***

    The rush faded quickly, and Victor stood up, feeling fresh, almost like he hadn¡¯t been working out at all that day. ¡°Well, I¡¯m fucking level one now. Watch out, bitches!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s how things work when you learn a new skill, Victor. Think about the axe and what you know now about fighting.¡± Vullu held up his axe like a visual aid. Victor did as he said and was surprised that he did seem to know an awful lot about axe fighting that he had no business knowing. He knew what angle to hold the de at for different types of chops, he knew about not extending his center of bnce when he swung, and he knew about following through and using momentum to create new opportunities. The number of little facts he knew about axes was simply mind-boggling.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s nuts. So the ¡®System¡¯ just put a bunch of shit in my head? I could¡¯ve used this during Chemistry ss.¡± He held his fingers up, making quotes when he said System, and Yre and Vullu looked at him quizzically. He shrugged and said, ¡°Eh, never mind. So, like, can I get my axe skill even higher by practicing with you?¡±

    ¡°No, not really. You can get more fluid and increase your ability to the very edge of ¡®basic,¡¯ but you won¡¯t be able to move to improved until you have a ss that supports it.

    ¡°A ss? Jesus, this ce really is like a game. So, how do I get a ss?¡±

    ¡°You live long enough to get to level ten. Or, at least that¡¯s when most races get their ss. I¡¯ve heard that some of the lower races, like Urghat, get a ss much earlier, though they have terrible potential for growth.¡±

    ¡°Bro, you¡¯re losing me. So, if I¡¯m like you guys, I should get a ss around level ten. Alright, let¡¯s hope I can get there. Can you guys teach me more skills that will give me levels?¡± Victor looked from Yre to Vullu, and they exchanged nces also, then Yre shrugged.

    ¡°I could teach you some things with knives, spears, and swords. Vullu, you should teach him bludgeons. You¡¯ll just have basic skills with them, but you won¡¯t be helpless if they put weapons in your pit match. Vullu and I both have some Energy skills we could try to teach you if you had a Core, but you¡¯ll need a few levels worth of Energy to build a Core. Oh, look at your status - do you have any Energy now?¡±

    ¡°Um,¡± Victor said, pulling up his status menu and looking at the little Energybel. ¡°I have thirty over zero now.¡±

    ¡°Good, your body is absorbing Energy properly. We just need to help you build enough to allow you to form a Core. I doubt we¡¯ll get there with just a few skills, though. You¡¯ll get a lot more from killing your opponents in the pit.¡±

    ¡°Fuck. I keep forgetting about that shit, but I really have to fight to the death, huh? This shit is nuts.¡±

    ¡°Unless you want to sit down and die. Trust me; they aren¡¯t going to throw you in there with a pacifist.¡± Yre said, stepping forward and squeezing Victor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You gotta get your head right, kid. This isn¡¯t a joke. There are worse ces on Fanwath you could be, but not many.¡±

 Chapter 4: The Rusty Nail

    Chapter 4: The Rusty Nail

    Victor followed Yre through the spear forms for the third time, stepping, thrusting, and shouting, ¡°Eyah!¡± Then he brought the spear shaft around, pushing it with the rear gripping hand, then stepping back, snapping the spear back straight, and moving the spearhead in a small loop. He really didn¡¯t know what the fuck all these moves were for, but he could imagine an enemy before him and did his best to mimic Yre.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned Spear Mastery - Basic.***

    ¡°That did it!¡± Victor braced himself for the rush of Energy as the tiny golden motes coalesced in the air and then surged into him. He whooped loudly and shouted, ¡°Fuck yes! That never gets old.¡±

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 2 base human. You have 5 attribute points to allocate.***

    ¡°Oh, nice! I hit level two, Yre!¡± The spear was the third weapon that he¡¯d gained skill with that day; he¡¯d started with bludgeons with Vullu, then Yre had taken over and taught him some knife fighting skills before the spear. ¡°I have five attribute points to spend, too!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good. It seems like your race has simr base properties to mine. The fact that you¡¯re leveling off a few simple basic skills shows you have good affinity, too. Celebrate; your people are stronger than Yeksa!¡±

    ¡°The fuck is a Yeksa?¡±

    ¡°You should hope to find out. With any luck, they¡¯ll throw some Yeksa against you in the pit for your first few matches; I think you could win.¡±

    ¡°So they¡¯re scrubs?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re,¡± she looked at him closely, squinted her eyes, then continued, ¡°lesser creatures. They have poor affinity and struggle to gain a few levels in a lifetime.¡±

    ¡°Well, what should I do with my points?¡±

    ¡°Five points spread over several attributes will mean very little in tomorrow¡¯s pit fight. I¡¯d put them all into one - maybe strength or vitality.¡±

    ¡°Hey, you guys have been very helpful to me, and I appreciate it, but I can trust you, right? I mean, like, why have you been so nice? I don''t think you¡¯d tell me some bullshit, but I gotta ask.¡± Victor braced himself for an angry reaction, but Yre just smirked.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t altruistic.¡± She nodded to Vullu, who was mming his fists into a wooden post. ¡°Vullu and I get some time knocked off our sentences for each win we get, and if we help out new fighters, we get a little bit of time knocked off if they win.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, damn. Well, thanks for letting me know.¡± Victor had a sudden thought, ¡°Hey, so you guys have set amounts of time you belong to Boss,¡± he gestured to the big red man who was berating one of his employees in the far corner of the exercise hall, ¡°but what about me? I don¡¯t have a fucking sentence I¡¯m serving. Am I trapped here forever?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good question, Victor. I¡¯d focus on solving that problem after dealing with the more immediate issue - you have a pit fight tomorrow, and you¡¯re level two without a Core.¡± She twirled her spear between her two hands, making it dance between them as she spoke. Victor frowned but didn¡¯t argue. He called up his status sheet and decided to dump all five points into strength. Maybe it would let him break a hold or squeeze someone¡¯s neck just that extra bit that would make the difference.

    A wave of Energy flooded through his body after distributing the points on his status screen, and he took in a deep breath, stretching with his arms held out wide, arching his back as the tingles flooded through him. When it passed, he flexed his biceps, and they definitely popped a lot more than they used to. ¡°Fuck yes!¡± He had very little body fat, even before he was summoned, but now, with his strength jacked and after a workout, his muscles felt and looked pumped like never before. Yre snorted.

    ¡°You¡¯re still just a baby, don¡¯t go getting full of yourself. Some of the monsters in here,¡± she gestured around the warehouse, ¡°would kill you just for the way you look.¡±

    ¡°Oh, like they¡¯re fucking racists or something?¡±

    ¡°Racist? Yes, I suppose plenty of Shadeni hate other people just because they¡¯re different, and I have bad news for you, Victor: you¡¯re more different than anyone I¡¯ve met.¡±

    ¡°Um, I didn¡¯t want to be rude, but is that what your race is called? Shadeni?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± She knelt to pick up the spear that Victor had dropped.

    ¡°Well, I mean, it¡¯s not really true that I¡¯m the most different - I mean, we have different colored skin, but I don¡¯t have furry legs and hooves like old Vullu, there.¡± He nodded at the goat-man, who had stopped punching the wooden post and was unwinding the cloth strips around his knuckles.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so literal, kid. I meant there¡¯s no one else like you in this world, as far as I know. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go turn these spears in. Our time¡¯s almost up.¡± She handed him his spear, and he followed her toward the equipment room.

    ¡°Do you think there¡¯s any way I could get home? I mean, assuming I survive the pit and somehow get free of this ce. You think I could find a way?¡±

    ¡°Assuming all that? Sure, why not? Some powerful mages summoned you, but I bet there are powerful mages that can undo it or just help you teleport home. A lot is possible for the higher tier Energy users.¡± That gave Victor plenty to think about, so he didn¡¯t reply, just silently followed her as they turned in their gear. Further conversation was cut short when they were shouted at by one of Yund¡¯sckeys to get their asses back to their cage.

    Victor was given a hard piece of buttered bread that afternoon, just like on his first day, after they were put back in their cage. As far as he could tell, he was the only one that got this treatment, and Vullu had exined that his low Energy level andck of a Core meant he had to eat more food than the others to survive. He didn¡¯t argue - he was starving like a motherfucker, pretty much all the time. Their water bucket was filled each day, and they all shared the same tin cup, but Victor also drank more than the others.

    The afternoons were the most boring for Victor. Everyone else spent time doing something they called ¡°cultivating.¡± They sat around meditating and didn¡¯t speak for hours. Yre tried to exin that once he had a Core, he¡¯d learn how to cultivate Energy to build it up. That might be, but for now, he just had to bide his time, waiting for them to get tired of it so they could talk for a while before lights out. That afternoon proved worse than usual - Yre and Vullu spent extra time cultivating, apparently trying to squeeze in as much as possible on the eve of Pit Night.

    Victor wrestled with his fears and despair. He was good at bluster and bravado and shoving his feelings where he didn¡¯t have to think about them, especially when he had training to do, but here, in the quiet cell, with everyone preparing for battle, he couldn¡¯t escape his mental demons. What was going to happen? Was he going to die tomorrow? Was he going to have to kill someone? Could he? Tucson seemed like a million years in the past when he tried to think of his friends or Marcy or his Abu.

    For the first time in a long while, he thought of his parents. He¡¯d been eight when they died in a car wreck. He¡¯d been in the backseat, but he didn¡¯t remember the crash at all. He remembered them arguing, though. His mom had been yelling, her red-brown hair tied up in a bun, her eyes red with tears. His father¡¯s hands gripped the steering wheel, staring straight ahead, refusing to answer her. That was thest image he could muster up from the depths of his mind. He didn¡¯t remember what they were saying or how the crash had happened; he just remembered his grandma picking him up from the hospital and taking him home. Then there¡¯d been a funeral, and he remembered his aunties talking about how rotten his other grandparents were for noting.

    When Yre finally stirred and interrupted his reverie, Victor was grateful. He was ready to jump at any excuse to banish the memories, so when she shook her dice, he scooted over in front of her, and they yed the simple dice game for a couple of hours before Vullu spoke up and said they should be quiet and go to sleep. Victor groaned, but he was dog tired, so he slid over to his corner andid down on his side, using his arm for a pillow, and closed his eyes. Sleep came quickly, as it inexplicably usually did in this ce, and when he felt Yre¡¯s boot shaking his shoulder, he hopped up, feeling refreshed, if a bit stiff.

    They were given their normal breakfast rotation, but then the routine changed. Yund and his goons gathered up almost all the cage upants and made them stand shoulder to shoulder in two rows of twenty. Then, Yund moved to the front of the hall, near the big barn doors, and addressed them in a booming voice, ¡°Alright, you worthless slugs! Time to earn your food. Today we¡¯re going to the dockyard, fighting in the Rusty Nail, which means we need to travel. You know what it means when we travel, right?¡± He paused here, but whatever he¡¯d been hoping Victor¡¯s fellow prisoners would say didn¡¯te, so he kept speaking, ¡°That means you better damn well be on your best behavior. Urt, Ponda, and I will be quick on the batons, and I swear to the Ancestors that I¡¯ll make you piss blood before I let off the pressure. You get me?¡±

    No one spoke, some of the prisoners shuffled their feet and grumbled, but it seemed that everyone had learned, or inferred, in Victor¡¯s case, that Boss Yund didn¡¯t want anyone to answer his questions. Victor wondered if they were going to be allowed to just walk freely toward whatever the Rusty Nail was. Still, his hopes of sprinting away down an alley were dashed when Yund¡¯sckeys, Urt and Ponda, came along the line, somehow producing leather belts out of thin air and handing them to each prisoner. When Ponda, the big furry, otter-looking fucker passed Victor a belt, he nced at Yre and saw she was already fastening hers around her waist. Victor did the same, noting that the sp had an iron loop on it.

    Urt came along then, leading a long, clinking chain. He went down the row, hooking the chain to each prisoner¡¯s belt through the iron loop. When he got to Victor, he reached out and yanked on the belt, making sure it was tight before he slipped the chain through the loop. After this went on for a few minutes, Yund cranked open the big barn doors and led the prisoners, in two lines, out into the dirty street, walking toward the fat, orange, setting sun. Victor nced around, happy for his first real look at the city, and he caught his breath when he saw the two moons halfway up the sky opposite the sun. One was huge with rings around it, and the other was small and looked almost like Earth¡¯s moon. ¡°Chingada!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Vullu asked from behind him.

    ¡°The moons. Fucking hell, we really aren¡¯t on Earth, are we?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t believe it until now?¡± Yre looked back over her shoulder at him.

    ¡°I guess I did, but seeing these fucking moons makes it a little more real.¡±

    ¡°Wee to Fanwath, runt!¡± a huge red-skinned man said over Vullu¡¯s shoulder. He was a good foot taller than Yre, and he had big red spikes growing out of his shoulders; otherwise, he looked like one of her people. Victor just swallowed and turned back to the front, following behind Yre and trying not to get noticed by any of the other prisoners. He nced from side to side, noting the buildings and how they were so very different from those in Tucson. Every building was at least two stories high, and they were made from wood and stone blocks. He didn¡¯t see any sto, nor did he see any concrete. The streets were made of bricks or, he supposed, cobbles. Trees were nowhere to be seen at first, but then they passed out of the shitty neighborhood where Yund¡¯s building was, and he started seeing big tall trees with fucking weird-ass blue leaves. They passed some parks with blue-green grass and some tall stone buildings with actual streetmps outside them, just starting to click on and give off a warm amber glow in the fading daylight; then, they were out of the rich section of town and walking downhill to a more industrial area.

    When they crossed through a rather busy square that reminded Victor of a swap meet, something startling happened. A few spots ahead of Victor, one of the other prisoners grunted loudly and hunched over, his broad, musclebound red shoulders flexing with strain, and then he was suddenly sprinting away from the line. Victor saw his ripped belt fall to the cobbles, but as soon as he realized what had even happened, Ponda lept through the air, trails of wispy orange smoke in his wake, and smashed down atop the fleeing prisoner. Victor heard the snap of bones and winced. Ponda lifted therge prisoner with one hand, gripping him by the back of the neck, and dragged him back to the line. The man thrashed and cried out, clearly in pain, but Ponda strode doggedly along as if he were hauling a misbehaving toddler. Ponda produced a pair of iron manacles, hooked one to the man¡¯s wrist and another to the cable connecting all the other prisoners, and said, ¡°Thanks for letting us know you need a cor. Don¡¯t try that again.¡±

    ¡°Poor asshole,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯ll be stuck now; they¡¯ll cor him or put a mark on him like me,¡± Yre replied.

    When they went around a corner and turned down another hill, Victor caught his first glimpse of the shipyard and a vast expanse of water. Victor had never been out of Arizona before, and when he saw the setting sun reflecting over the glittering water as far as he could see, he caught his breath and said, ¡°Holy shit, is that the ocean?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s actually a freshwaterke - Lake Beliss,¡± Yre said quietly, and Victor could see that she was also taking in the view. ¡°My uncle had a ship and crew and fished out there when I was young.¡± She sighed heavily. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll get back out there someday. It¡¯s beautiful out on the water this time of day.¡±

    ¡°Especially if you have some wine and buttered freshwater qrell, right, beautiful?¡± Yund boomed from just behind Victor. How the fuck had he snuck up on them? Yre ignored him, but Yund justughed and walked up the line, jostling or yelling at various prisoners andughing at their difort. They continued down the slope to the docks and then turned to the left, following a crowded wharf street to an even more crowded yard outside arge wooden structure. On the building, above the wide-open doors, a huge rusty metal spike had been mounted, and an equally rusted metal sign proimed, ¡°The Rusty Nail.¡±

 Chapter 5: Pit Night

    Chapter 5: Pit Night

    The Rusty Nail was like a bad fever dream to Victor. As the sun set and the crowd grew, he and hisrades from Yund¡¯s stable were kept sequestered in a roped-off section of the enormous warehouse, but he could see the craziness unfold from behind the ropes, just fine. Just like when he¡¯d been led through the streets, he noticed the wide variety of people who cohabitated in this strange world. Red, blue, white, brown, ck, tall, thin, short, fat, winged, feathered, furred, hooved, wed, horned, almost anything he could fucking imagine was represented in the crowd of jostling, drinking,ughing, cussing, and fighting people. As the night outside deepened, the air in the warehouse grew heavy with odors and smoke and heat.

    Yund wasn¡¯t the only boss that had brought a troupe of fighters. The various groups, some asrge as Yund¡¯s and others with just one or two fighters, were all kept in roped-off areas on the back periphery of the Rusty Nail. The majority of the thousands of square feet in the warehouse''s interior were taken up by stands for spectators, mobile food carts, desks for bookies, and a dozen or so pits. The pits were about twenty feet in diameter, about eight feet deep, and each had a big wooden sign on a post that had a number on it. Victor surprised himself by not being a nervous wreck. He thought part of it was that the warehouse and the pits reminded him a lot of the inside of a big gym during a wrestling invitational. The pits were like different mats, and the pit fighters were like wrestling teams. He knew it was a bullshitparison, but it was keeping him cool, so he didn¡¯t overthink it.

    ¡°This is fucking nuts,¡± he said to Vullu as he watched the crowd grow and a band started ying some strange, wild music on a small stage over by the big doors leading to the festival-like yard outside the warehouse. The music reminded him kind of like some fucking weird mix of country bluegrass and mariachi, with lots of stringed instruments and a really upbeat section of horns ring over the noise in the crowd.

    ¡°Oh, aye. People love Pit Night in this city. There are at least four other locations like this. Yund even hosts a smaller gathering at the Wagon Wheel once a month.¡±

    ¡°Did I hear you use my name, Cadwalli?¡± Yund turned from where he¡¯d been talking to a sleazy-looking little blue guy and scowled at Vullu.

    ¡°No, boss, I think that came from just behind me. Not sure who it was.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Yund glowered at him for a moment, then turned back to the clipboard the little blue man was holding. After a few minutes and some grunted curses, Yund chased the guy away and then turned to his gathered troupe of fighter-ves. ¡°Listen up, you dogs!¡±

    ¡°Are there dogs here?¡± Victor asked Vullu quietly.

    ¡°Of course!¡± he said, then held a finger to his lips.

    ¡°We¡¯re overrepresented, and that little asshole just let me know that I need to adjust our roster to make up for it. That means some of you fodder will be fighting as a group against a stronger opponent. It¡¯s your chance for glory! You¡¯ll get a gold-tier reward when we get back to the Wagon Wheel if you win! Get yourselves ready - you know who you are.¡± Then he turned and walked over to a table where a harried, white-haired woman was frantically flipping through some papers.

    ¡°That¡¯s you, kiddo,¡± Yre said from behind Victor.

    ¡°That didn¡¯t sound like good news to me.¡±

    ¡°Not really. Just remember: no matter how strong, a fatal wound is a fatal wound. There are no trinkets or potions allowed in the pits. Cut through a neck, pierce a heart, smash a skull, and you can win.¡± Yre rubbed the outsides of Victor¡¯s shoulders briskly, then gave them a good p. ¡°Get your fire up, kid. You need to win; there¡¯s no other option.¡± Victor nodded, scowling, trying to get himself pumped. He pped his hands together and jogged in ce, and then Yund was back.

    ¡°Alright, listen: Sarl, Turdwater, Asslick, Vel, and Victor, get in front of me!¡± Victor almostughed when he heard some of the names, but adrenaline and nerves kept him from really enjoying it, so he ducked under the rope and stood in front of Yund. The others Yund had called jostled him as they came up from behind, pushing and shoving to stand close to Yund. Victor nced at them and saw two blue guys, one with yellow hair and the other colored bright rust. He saw another otter-person, but he thought it must be a female because she was slight and had some curves that stood differently than he¡¯d seen on Ponda. The fifth member of their impromptu team was a fragile-looking man with lusterless, limp dragonfly wings on his back.

    ¡°Here, Boss,¡± yellow-hair said.

    ¡°Right, Asslick. Follow me!¡± Yund turned and started to wend his way along the wooden pathway between pits, stands, and tables. He shoved people that blocked his way, and, generally, people scrambled to get out of his way. Victor followed closely, aware of all the eyes on him but still wondering if there was any fucking way at all that he might get out of this mess. Most of the pits were empty, the first fights just getting lined up, but they passed by one with some action going on. As they got close, Victor stared into the pit and almost puked his guts out when a tall, bird-headed guy tore a blue guy¡¯s throat out with his oversized beak.

    ¡°Fuck me,¡± he said, and strangely, the otter-woman reached forward and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

    ¡°Courage,¡± she said in a soft, rich voice. Victor looked back into her big moist eyes, and he nodded, drawing his brows together, trying to look fierce. He looked back to Yund¡¯s back, followed him around one more empty pit, and then they were there, standing before pit number four. A good-sized crowd was standing around the pit¡¯s edge, but they cleared the path for Yund, and he waded up to the edge and gestured with one hand.

    ¡°In you go, runts. Good luck! Taste some glory in your miserable lives!¡± Victor walked up to the edge, thinking about jumping down to the sand. Before he did, he nced over his shoulder at his ¡°team¡± first. The otter-woman was right behind him, but the bright-yellow-haired blue guy had dropped to his knees in front of Yund.

    ¡°Please, Boss! I can be valuable to you in other ways; I¡¯m not cut out for fighting!¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mere, Asslick. Stand up,¡± Yund said in a surprisingly gentle voice. Asslick stood and walked closer to Yund, hope in his eyes, and then Yund put one meaty hand around Asslick¡¯s neck and yanked him over the edge and into the pit. Asslicknded awkwardly on the packed sand, crying out as his knee buckled under him. ¡°Get in the father-damned pit!¡± he roared. Victor didn¡¯t wait for another invitation and hopped down,nding lightly on his feet. Otter-woman followed, stumbling as shended, and Victor caught her arm, keeping her from falling. The other blue guy hopped down, a nasty sneer on his face, and then the tall, winged guy carefully scooted to the edge and hung down by his hands from the edge until his toes touched the sand. ¡°My team¡¯s ready!¡± Yund hollered from above Victor¡¯s head.

    A goat-man like Vullu stood on the other side of the pit, and he nodded, gesturing to the pit. The woman who hopped down into the pit from behind the goat-man looked so much like Yre that, at first, Victor thought Yund would make her fight them. When she straightened up, though, Victor could see the differences. She was taller, more muscr, had little horns poking through her ck hair, and her eyes were like smokey orange coals. She stood on her side of the pit, watching the five members of Yund¡¯s team coolly. A momentter, a blue guy with violet hair approached the edge of the pit with a spear in each hand.

    ¡°This fight willmence on my word. Are both teams ready?¡± While he listened to Yund and the goat-man answer in the affirmative, he tossed the two spears toward the far side of the pit, toward the middle. He looked at Victor¡¯s team, then at the tall Shadeni woman, then he shouted, ¡°Begin!¡±

    Asslick scrambled toward one of the spears; Victor crouched down and moved to his right, keeping the Shadeni woman in view. Otter-woman followed along with Victor, but the other blue guy stumbled back, trying to get to the pit''s edge, his knee buckling with each step. The thin winged guy moved toward the horned woman with his hands out in fists. Asslick made it to a spear and turned, grinning, toward the tall red woman. She hadn¡¯t yet taken a step, but she smiled at Asslick and strode toward him. He charged with the spear, driving the point toward her stomach, but she smoothly sidestepped, then burst forward so fast that Victor thought she blurred a little, and drove the edge of her hand into Asslick¡¯s throat with such force that he was flipped backward off his feet tond on his back with a resounding thud.

    As Asslicky writhing, choking, and scrabbling at his neck, the winged guy dove at the woman with surprising grace, dodging her kick and thennding a solid punch to the side of her head. She smoothly stepped back, assessing the winged guy anew, then began to circle him. ¡°C¡¯mon,¡± Victor said to Otter-girl. ¡°She¡¯ll take us apart if we fight her one by one.¡± Otter-girl nodded, then they started to circle the Shadeni woman, already named Big Red in Victor¡¯s mind, making her split her attention from the winged guy. The woman hadn¡¯t bothered to pick up the spear that Asslick had dropped, and Victor thought he could get to it pretty easily, but he wondered if he should. Would it just make him her next target? Instead, he moved over toward the spear, keeping his hands out, his center low, ready for the woman to charge him.

    ¡°Ghelli, justy down, and I¡¯ll end this quickly,¡± Big Red purred, her voice sending chills down Victor¡¯s spine.

    ¡°I didn¡¯ty down when ap¡¯Guin¡¯s men raped my wife. I didn¡¯t stand down when my men and I tore his household limb from limb. I didn¡¯t stand down when the Count burned my estate. I didn¡¯t stand down when the farcical trial sent me to the mines. I didn¡¯t stand down when I was sold to this hell. No, you will have to finish me kicking and screaming the whole way.¡±

    ¡°Quite a speech! Did you rehearse that?¡± She glided over the sandy ground to the winged man like a rattler darting toward a mouse. They exchanged a flurry of blows and blocks that Victor couldn¡¯t keep track of, but he didn¡¯t care; he¡¯d been waiting for this moment, and he flicked the spear up with the top of his old worn Adidas, grabbed the haft in his right hand and chucked it like a javelin at the woman¡¯s back. She must have sensed his movement because she whirled around as though to strike him, but it wasn¡¯t him ripping through the air; it was a sharp spear. Her outflung arm deflected the spear¡¯s trajectory, but it tore a long gash along her forearm. As she hissed and grabbed at the cut with her other hand, the winged dudended a thunderous haymaker into the back of her skull.

    Victor figured that if the winged guy were stronger, it would have been lights out for Big Red, but though she stumbled forward, shaking her head, she didn¡¯t go down. That¡¯s when the otter-woman strode forward past Victor, hands outstretched. Victor felt the air temperature drop, and then white frost started forming around the otter-woman¡¯s hands, and a spray of tiny shards of ice sted out, tearing into the Shadeni woman. She screamed, holding her arms in front of her face, then she whirled away, rolling over the sand to the spear against the far wall. The spray of ice shards sputtered out, and the otter-woman leaned forward, gasping for breath. Victor ran toward the other spear, looking around to see what the fuck the rest of his team was doing. Asslick was lying still on his back, eyes open and staring. Was he fucking dead? The other blue guy was scrabbling at the pit''s edge, trying to climb out.

    ¡°You fucking dick! Get down and fight!¡± Victor screamed as he slid into the spear like he wasing in hot to home base. He scooped up the spear, scrambled to his feet, and whirled to face the Shadeni woman. She wasn¡¯t where he¡¯dst seen her, though; she was standing over the otter-woman, spear buried in her furry chest. ¡°Fuck!¡± Victor choked out when he saw the blood bubbling out of the woman¡¯s sad-looking mouth and her moist eyes slowly blinking while she scratched fruitlessly at the sand with her little, webbed hands. Big Red twisted the spear a couple of times, then yanked it free, trailing an arc of bright crimson blood.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name, Shadeni?¡± The winged guy asked as he circled behind her, trying, Victor thought, to get her to turn her back on him again.

    ¡°I¡¯m Thessa-dak. Learn it well, Ghelli; my offer of a quick death has been rescinded.¡± She didn¡¯t look at the winged man while she spoke; she hefted her spear and turned to the blue guy who had given up climbing out of the pit and was leaning with his back to the wall, edging sideways. Maybe theughing, jeering spectators standing above him had something to do with his decision to stop trying to climb. A slow grin spread on Big Red¡¯s face, then she took two steps and let the spear fly. It punched through the blue guy¡¯s chest and pinned him to the wooden wall of the pit. A short scream tore out of his throat, but it quickly subsided to soft gurgling.

    ¡°Hey, pendeja, you think it makes you tough to fuck up some people weaker than you?¡± Victor didn¡¯t really give a shit about the chickenshit guy she¡¯d just killed, but he was fucking torn up about that otter-woman. He felt tears stinging his eyes, but they were tears of futile rage, not fear. ¡°This fight is fucking bullshit!¡± He started striding toward Big Red, reason having fled his mind. He dropped low, spear out, and went through the motions as he had practiced with Yre and Vullu. At first, a tiny voice in the back of his mind said he wasmitting suicide, and though he tuned it out, he knew a part of him believed he was about to die. After he¡¯d blinked away his frustrated tears, though, the only thing left in his mind was furious rage. Rage at being tossed into this pit, rage at being summoned to this world, rage at this fucking bitch that killed that soft little Otter-woman.

    She was fast and strong, but every time she started to push past Victor¡¯s guard, the winged guy would dart forward andnd a kidney punch or a snap kick, and she¡¯d be forced to back away to regroup. She was getting visibly frustrated; she was more than a match for either of them, but now that they¡¯d found a rhythm, they were beginning to wear her down. Suddenly she hissed loudly and screamed, turning away from Victor and leaping through the air, a move that would have made a pro baller proud, andnded on the winged guy, driving him to the ground. Victor didn¡¯t waste a second, though; while she was bearing him to the ground, biting at his neck, Victor charged forward and drove the spear into her lower back, punching it through where he figured her kidney should be. She screamed and writhed, turning toward Victor, but the winged guy grabbed her in a bear hug, wrapping his arms and legs around her and holding her down. Victor yanked the spear out and drove it again and again, filling her back with gushing, spurting holes.

    Finally, Thessa-dak stopped thrashing andy still on top of the bloody, panting man. Victor leaned forward on his spear, lungs heaving for breath.

    ¡°I am Sarl, brother. I take it you are Victor?¡± the man gasped, trying to shove the woman off himself.

    ¡°Yeah, Sarl, that¡¯s me. Good to meet you. What the fuck¡­.¡± Victor cut himself off as he watched motes of golden Energy start to bead up and coalesce all around Thessa-dak¡¯s body. A great swarm of them split into two streams and flooded into him and Sarl.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 3 base human. You have 5 attribute points to allocate.***

    The euphoria of the Energy flooding him filled Victor with strength, and he stood up straight, looking around the edge of the pit. For the first time, he noticed the roaring of the crowd, their cheers, and stomping feet. He felt high from the influx of Energy, and the cheers filled him with that old feeling he used to get when he pinned an opponent, so he held up his fist, screaming triumphantly into the face of the crowd.

 Chapter 6: Afterparty

    Chapter 6: Afterparty

    Yund practically yanked Victor out of the ring when he finally moved to climb out. He pulled Victor up into aughing hug and pped his back several times. ¡°By the Lady¡¯s swingin¡¯ tits! That was well done, boy! You and that old Ghelli made your Boss several sacks of beads!¡± He reached down for Sarl¡¯s hand and pulled him out of the pit. ¡°Come on, men! You can rest and watch the rest of the matches. I¡¯ll even buy you each an ale. Dead Gods, but it was fun to see Tarlen¡¯s face when his bitch died.¡±

    Yund turned to start stomping his way back to their roped-off area, but Victor paused, looking out over the pit to the crumpled bodies lying within. He hadn¡¯t cared for the blue guys, but that didn¡¯t mean he wanted them dead. Then there was the little brown corpse of the otter-woman, one arm stretched to the side, her face turned forlornly up at the dim, smoke-hazed ceiling. Lastly, he looked at the body of Thessa-dak, the first and only person Victor had ever killed. His heart lurched toward his throat momentarily. He¡¯d killed someone. He stared at her long, red-fleshed body, the darker holes on her back, and the big muddy-maroon puddle that had spread underneath her. He shook his head, turned, and followed after Sarl and Yund.

    When they got back to their area, Victor noticed that many of Yund¡¯s prisoners were gone. He scanned the twenty or so faces sitting and standing around behind the rope, but he didn¡¯t see Yre or Vullu. ¡°Hey, Boss, are Yre and Vullu fighting?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, runt. If you see Urt or Ponda, they can tell you what pits.¡± He turned and started talking to another member of the Rusty Nail¡¯s staff, writing something on a clipboard as Yund rattled off some numbers. Victor looked up and down the line, but couldn¡¯t see Ponda or Urt, so he started looking around the nearby pits, but the crowds were thick, and it was impossible to make them out. He decided to just wait around by the ropes, hoping they¡¯d be back by to pick up or drop off a fighter.

    ¡°That was good teamwork, Victor,¡± Sarl said, walking toward him with a big wooden mug in each hand. ¡°Boss said we could have one, so I picked these up on his credit.¡± He smiled, and Victor took the mug he held out.

    ¡°Damn, thanks,¡± Victor took a sip of the stuff, and it tasted like warm, t beer, but in that moment, it was one of the best things he¡¯d ever tasted. He took a long drink and sighed. ¡°Man, who would think some warm beer could be so damn good?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not the beer that¡¯s good; it¡¯s your hard work and your joy in being alive - they¡¯d make anything taste good right now. To living!¡± He said, knocking his mug against Victor¡¯s, and they both took another long pull. Some of the other fighters gave them sour looks, but Victor pointedly avoided eye contact.

    ¡°The hell do you two think you''re doing?¡± Ponda waddled toward them, his two center teeth jutting out of his half-open, scowling mouth.

    ¡°Easy, Boss. Big Boss said we could have an ale for winning our match,¡± Sarl said, azy smile on his narrow face.

    ¡°Ha, he musta won some good bets.¡± Ponda shrugged.

    ¡°Hey, Ponda, Boss said we could watch some matches. Can you tell me where Vullu and Yre are fighting?¡± Victor asked, noticing a slight buzz already hitting him.

    ¡°Vullu is in seven, but I don¡¯t know about Yre; Urt took her.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thanks!¡±

    ¡°Hang on, boys. If you¡¯re going off to watch fights, then I gotta cor you. I only got two cors with me, so don¡¯t be gone long in case Boss wants to let some others watch. Just watch a fight or two.¡± Seemingly by magic, he produced two ck metal cors that he held out. Sarl backed away, though.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll just wait here. I don¡¯t really want to watch any fights anyway, and I hate the idea of wearing a cor.¡±

    ¡°Who do you think you¡¯re fooling? Cor or not, you belong to Boss.¡± Ponda snorted, smirking. Sarl just shrugged, raised his mug to Victor, then turned and walked back under the rope.

    ¡°Well, I wanna see Vullu fight, so go ahead, p it on me.¡±

    ¡°Smartd,¡± Ponda said, snapping the cold, heavy cor around his neck. Victor didn¡¯t notice feeling any different.

    ¡°What¡¯s it do, anyway?¡±

    ¡°If you disappear, Boss can use a linked amulet to make it so hot it melts through your neck.¡±

    ¡°Fucking hell,¡± Victor spat but then turned and scanned the pit signs for number seven. He saw six and figured seven would be close, so he worked his way over there. It seemed like most of the races in this world were generally smaller than the average human, but every now and then, he¡¯d bump into a person that just seemedrger than life. They were physically imposing, but also, a certain presence seemed to bleed out of them that just made Victor feel insignificant and small. He tried to avoid those people simply because they made him feel shitty and because he figured that if he felt that way, his instincts were trying to tell him something, so he¡¯d treat it like a warning.

    He had finished his ale by the time he found pit seven, and he tried to surreptitiously make his way toward the edge so he could see in. Most spectators had to jostle for space on the floor, but a few sat in little bleacher-like stands and had an unobstructed view from one side of the pit. Victor knew better than trying to get into the stands, seeing as he was wearing a fucking ve cor, but he managed to worm his way close enough to the edge to see over the heads of a couple of blue guys who were shouting and cheering excitedly. When he finally saw into the pit, he could see why - Vullu was punching the shit out of a big Shadeni, and there were three other mutted corpses in the pit. Victor saw discarded axes, knives, and a long pole with a small sword de affixed to one end lying on the sandy ground. As the Shadeni staggered and fell against the pit wall, Vullu didn¡¯t back off, and he didn¡¯t pick up a weapon; he just kept pummeling him in the head. He smashed him into the side of the pit until golden motes started to coalesce around the bodies, and four streams of Energy mmed into Vullu. He stood, bloody fists in the air, and howled.

    Victor started to cheer for Vullu, but then it hit him that he had just watched another guy beat the fuck out of someone until they died. He was looking at four corpses. Again. It all started to feel a little too crazy for him, so he turned and made his way back to the roped-off area where his fellow prisoners were waiting for their turns to fight or die. His earlier euphoria had faded with a suddenness that left him reeling. When he slipped under the ropes, Ponda wandered by and took the cor off his neck, admonishing him to stay put behind the rope. Victor stood there, looking around the hazy, noisy warehouse at all the strange people and listening to people screaming and roaring, and he wondered if this could possibly be real.

    ¡°You won!¡± Yre¡¯s voice cut through his inner turmoil, and when she grabbed his shoulder, jostling it in excitement, he couldn¡¯t stop the smile that turned up the corners of his mouth, especially when he looked at her and saw the huge roon-eye bruises around her eyes. The dark bruises looked positively ck through her red skin, and he almostughed aloud.

    ¡°Yeah, but what the fuck happened to you?¡± She reached a hand up and tenderly touched the flesh under her left eye.

    ¡°It shows?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah! You look like a roon.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s a roon?¡±

    ¡°Uh, a small animal, but it has ck fur around its eyes.¡±

    ¡°Ugh, that asshole pounded my face like seven times before I slipped free.¡±

    ¡°Jesus! Fucking prick, but you got him, right?¡±

    ¡°I did! But tell me about your fight; Vullu and I thought you were doomed!¡±

    ¡°Psshh,¡± Victor made the leaky tire sound, thenughed. ¡°Well, me and that winged guy, Sarl, ended up making a pretty good team.¡±

    ¡°Winged guy? He¡¯s a Ghelli. Now that you¡¯ve survived a Pit Night, I¡¯m going to have to expand your education.¡±

    ¡°Anyway, yeah, we managed to double team this big red bitch¡­.¡± he trailed off, then corrected himself, ¡°er, we managed to beat this really tough, respectable, Shadeni woman.¡±

    ¡°Is that how you think of us? Red people? I guess to someone new here, that would stand out the most. What do you call the Ardeni? Blue people?¡±

    ¡°Uh, is that what they¡¯re called? Thanks, Yre. I¡¯m not trying to sound like an idiot, but sometimes that¡¯s whates out. I spend too much time with my buddies, I think.¡±

    ¡°Well, you used to. Now you¡¯re stuck with us.¡± She smiled and pped his shoulder, and Victor swallowed the lump that had stuck in his throat at her words and forced himself to smile back. They stood quietly for a few minutes, Yre slowly massaging the skin around the bruises on her face. A few minutester, Vullu arrived, and they all congratted each other on their victories again. Victor zoned out a lot after that, and the hours kind of blended together while they waited for all of Yund¡¯s fights to finish up. It was after midnight when they were all chained together and led back to the Wagon Wheel. Victor counted only twenty-eight fighters in the line going back, which meant that twelve had died at the Rusty Nail.

    When they got back to the Wagon Wheel, thest thing Victor felt like doing was partying. He wanted to crawl into a corner, bury his head in some hay and go to sleep, hopefully dreaming about somece other than here, about doing things other than killing. Yund had other ideas, though - his bets had gone very well, and he wanted to share the wealth, such as it was. He¡¯d sent Ponda back ahead of the fighters, and when they came into the big exercise hall, there were three barrels of ale and a tabletop covered with meat, cheese, and bread. The fighters cheered and rushed forward, and Victor followed along with Yre and Vullu.

    Victor had been drunk a few times in his life. It wasn¡¯t all that hard for a guy to find a party where no one was checking IDs in Tucson; it was a University town, after all, and Victor had made a lot of friends on the wrestling team, being on varsity since he was a freshman. At that moment, if he couldn¡¯t fall into a sleepa, he figured a drunken stupor would do just fine, so he grabbed a tin cup and set to it, downing three full cups of the bitter, warm ale before Yre pulled him away from the table.

    ¡°Trying to ckout the night¡¯s events?¡± she asked wryly.

    ¡°Easy to see through me, huh?¡± His head was buzzing pretty hard already, and he always talked too much when he¡¯d had some beers, so he tried to really think about his words before letting theme out of his mouth.

    ¡°It¡¯s normal, Victor. A lot of the people put into the pits aren¡¯t killers - just criminals or people caught on the wrong side of a war. Me and Vullu were ready for this ce, though - we were up to a lot of bad stuff, to be honest.¡±

    ¡°Well, you seem pretty cool to me.¡±

    ¡°Easy to be ¡®cool¡¯ when we get paid for it.¡± She shrugged.

    ¡°Hey! You¡¯re using my words now. That means we¡¯re friends.¡± Victor nudged her with his shoulder, grinning down at her.

    ¡°Hah, don¡¯t get ahead of yourself, kid. Sure, we¡¯re friends, though, unless Yund finds a way to make money putting us in the pit against each other, anyway.¡± When she grinned at him this time, she was sure to show her long, sharp canines. Victor knew she was teasing, but still, a little cold shiver crossed over the nape of his neck because he realized there was a vein of truth in what she said. He shoved the thought to the back of his mind, though. Instead, he admired the way her lips curled up and the little crinkles around her eyes. She took a step back.

    ¡°Easy, kid. Just enjoy being alive for now, eh? Drink a few more cups, but just be ready to work your ass off tomorrow; Yund doesn¡¯t give days off.¡± She turned and walked away, presumably to find Vullu and hang out with him. Victor went back to the table, a little annoyed that she was treating him like a kid but well aware that he wasn¡¯t exactly a match for her. He shrugged and filled his cup.

    He nced around the big exercise hall and noticed that, while they were being given some liberties, Yund was careful not to let his guard down¡ªhe had Ponda sitting on a stool next to the big open doors, and Victor could see a couple more of hisckeys lurking around outside. One of them was smoking something from a pipe, but they looked very alert. Not for the first time, Victor studied the walls, looking for another way out of the ce, a way he could slip through some boards or anything. There was no way he meant to spend the rest of his life in this shit hole, but he couldn¡¯t see an easy way out. He took a big gulp of his drink while trying to imagine a way past Ponda.

    ¡°Hey, Victor!¡± Sarl approached him from the other side of the table. ¡°Why note and sit with me and a couple of friends from my cage? I¡¯d like to introduce you, seeing as I already told them what a great team you and I were!¡± The thin, wan-looking man looked different to Victor; he wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of an actual change or if it was that Victor had seen him fight and knew that under that unassuming appearance, he was a tough bastard.

    ¡°Alright, man, let¡¯s get wasted.¡±

 Chapter 7: Core

    Chapter 7: Core

    Yre hadn¡¯t been lying about Yund not giving days off. The next morning and day went just the same as any of the others Victor had experienced in the Wagon Wheel. Wake up, get breakfast, workout, and go back to your cage to be bored shitless until the next day. At least it seemed to be going that way until the Boss, himself, approached Victor¡¯s little trio as they were working on his axe forms. ¡°Runt! What level have you managed to get to?¡± he hollered as he got close.

    ¡°Uh, level three, Boss.¡±

    ¡°Huh, not terrible. Listen, I may be a right scoundrel, but I keep my promises, and I offered your group a gold reward if you won. I already gave the old Ghelli his prize, now it¡¯s your turn, and I¡¯m going to give you a choice.¡±

    ¡°Okaaay¡­.¡± Victor didn¡¯t know what to expect, so he looked from Yre to Vullu, and they both maintained neutral expressions, so he just looked at Yund expectantly.

    ¡°Well, you came here at level zero, right?¡± Victor nodded, ¡°Well, I doubt either of these two geniuses have helped you build a Core yet, eh?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t have a Core. I¡¯m also holding five attribute points if you could give me....¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not important right now; listen: I can either pay one of those book-brains from the academy a fee toe and help you make a good Core, or I can buy you a racial upgrade fruit. You¡¯re at the lowest level for your race, right?¡±

    ¡°Uh, how do I see that?¡±

    ¡°On your status sheet. What the runny shits have you two been teaching this kid?¡± He red at Yre and Vullu.

    ¡°Only to keep himself alive in a lopsided pit fight, no big deal!¡± Yre retorted.

    ¡°Huh. Look at your status sheet, kid, where it lists your race. What does it say after it?¡±

    ¡°Um, base one.¡±

    ¡°Right, that¡¯s the lowest. I can get you a fruit to lift it to base two, or I can help you make a good Core. What¡¯s it gonna be?¡± He stared pointedly at Victor, who had no idea what the correct answer was, so he looked at Yre. She mouthed the word ¡°Core¡± pretty clearly, so Victor shrugged and turned back to Yund.

    ¡°The Core, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Smart man. One racial upgrade probably won¡¯t save your ass during the next Pit Night, but using Energy just might.¡±

    ¡°Hey, Boss,¡± Victor licked his lips nervously; he¡¯d wanted to ask this question for days now.

    ¡°Yeah? I gotta go schedule this thing; what is it?¡±

    ¡°Well, I kinda got fucking kidnapped and forced toe here, and I have no idea how long you own me for. Is there any way I can get free?¡± He cringed back as the massive, red-skinned man frowned down at him.

    ¡°Huh, I¡¯d call you ungrateful, but I guess you have a point. Listen, kid, most of the dregs I buy from those mages don¡¯tst more than a fight or two. No point talking about freedom when that¡¯s the case, right? Tell you what: you win five matches, and we¡¯ll make a contract. Nobody ever better say I ain¡¯t fair, right Vullu?¡± Vullu nodded his head, but he wasn¡¯t smiling. ¡°Right, well, I¡¯ve got a business meeting, then I¡¯ll see about getting you some help with your Core. Get back to work!¡± He turned and walked away, not ncing at Victor, let alone waiting to see if he was amenable to his terms.

    ¡°That could have gone worse,¡± Yre said, pping Victor on the shoulder. ¡°Smart move asking him right after a big win.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t n it that way, but yeah. I¡¯m not really excited about having to fight four more times, but I guess it¡¯s something to shoot for.¡± Victor looked around the big exercise room and, for the hundredth time, wondered if there was another way out of this predicament. What if he ran to the police or whatever and told them what had happened to him? It couldn¡¯t be fucking legal just to summon innocent people and then sell them. Every time his mind went down that road, he remembered the warnings about getting ¡®tagged.¡¯ He knew Ponda, Urt, or one of the otherckeys was always watching the door. Then he thought about how it was his word against Yund¡¯s and that no one, literally no one, in this entire world knew him or could vouch for him.

    Shortly after that, they had to return to their cage, and Victor yed around with Yre¡¯s dice while she and Vullu did their meditation thing. They had just finished and were getting ready to teach Victor a new dice game when Ponda mmed open the main door and walked over to their cage. ¡°Kid, follow me. Boss got your reward.¡± He unlocked the metal gate and motioned for Victor to follow.

    ¡°See youter, Victor,¡± Vullu called. Yre just waved and leaned back against the metal frame of the cage, letting her eyes closezily. Victor nodded to Vullu and then followed Ponda. He didn¡¯t know why, but it felt like he was going somewhere to be punished. He hoped he was just being paranoid.

    ¡°Boss has that wizard waiting for you in his office. He said I have to leave you alone in there, but I¡¯ll be right outside the door. Don¡¯t mess with any of Boss¡¯s shit. Clear?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not going to mess with that dude¡¯s shit. You think I¡¯m interested in his old socks and diaries and shit?¡± Victor scowled at Ponda; the big furry guy was acting like his friend Mike¡¯s dad, and it rubbed him the wrong way. Mike¡¯s dad was always assuming he and Victor were up to no good, and, while it was true a lot of the time, it was shitty to assume the worst of people. Then again, Ponda was a hired guard for a bunch of criminals they were forcing to fight to the death. It was probably healthy for him to assume the worst.

    They got to Yund¡¯s office door, and Ponda opened it, giving Victor a little shove, then he pulled it closed. Victor looked around in the dim light, d to see Yund wasn¡¯t present. Instead, a man the size of his six-year-old cousin sat in Yund¡¯s chair. The guy was wearing a shiny silver robe and had painted his entire bald head royal blue. There was a leaf painted in white on his blue left cheek. He cleared his throat and, in a surprisingly deep voice, said, ¡°Ahh, Victor, I presume. Take a seat.¡± He gestured to the wooden chair in front of Lund¡¯s desk.

    Victor sat down, keeping his eyes on the strange man, and as he got closer, he saw that what he had at first taken for sparkly blue eyes were actually gemstones. The man had glittering little gems where his eyes should be! ¡°Uh, hello,¡± he said as he sat down.

    ¡°Hello. I¡¯ll cut to the chase, Victor. I was paid to perform a service, and I¡¯m going to do it, then I¡¯m going to get out of here. I¡¯m not here to waste any time. Is all that clear?¡± His eyes stared at Victor, not blinking as normal eyes should, and it was unnerving as hell.

    ¡°Yeah, fine. What do we do?¡± He slouched in his chair, feeling like he was in front of an annoyed Dean of Students for the thirtieth time.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to perform some diagnostics, and then I¡¯ll help you, with the aid of some tools, to form your Core. First, how much Energy have you banked?¡± Victor looked at his status screen.

    ¡°Two-twenty,¡± he replied.

    ¡°That should be more than sufficient; I¡¯ve helped Bogoli children form Cores with only forty-five.¡±

    ¡°Bogoli?¡±

    ¡°My race, now please don¡¯t interrupt my process with questions.¡± He closed his eyes, twiddled his fingers around in the air in front of him, and then a blue, sparkly sphere appeared in his hand. He set it on the desk.

    ¡°How did you do that? I¡¯ve seen a bunch of people pull shit outta nowhere in this world!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have dimensional containers where youe from? My ring - it''s also a storage device.¡± He closed his eyes again and wiggled his fingers, frowning like he was trying to find something. Victor thought about his answer, and he would have been a bit more shocked, but the truth was, he expected something like that. He¡¯d been fucking summoned by wizards to get here, after all. The blue-painted guy grinned, and a pair of thick,vender sses appeared in his hand. Victor caught himself thinking of him as ¡®the blue-painted guy¡¯ and remembered his foot-in-mouth conversation with Yre after the Pit Night.

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s your name, mister?¡±

    ¡°You may call me Dolo. It is an honorific meant for teachers and elders among my people.¡±

    ¡°Er, okay. Thank you, Dolo.¡± The little blue man nodded, then pointed to the sparkly, blue crystal-looking sphere.

    ¡°Please pick that up and hold it between your hands.¡± Victor did as he instructed, picking up the heavy, cold ball and holding it in his two palms. It reminded him of a snowglobe, and, as he looked into the ssy surface, he saw that the little sparkles were moving around. He stared into it, growing ever more fascinated by how the tiny lights flickered and shed. The closer he looked, the more he realized the sparkles were all different colors, and they seemed to follow a secret pattern. He felt like if he just watched it long enough, maybe the right little stars, he¡¯d start to learn the design. He snapped to himself when he felt a long strand of drool run down his chin and fall onto the thigh of his jeans. He shook his head and looked at Dolo.

    ¡°The fuck is this thing?¡± he asked, swallowing all the spit that had umted while he¡¯d sat there with his jaw hanging open. Dolo, for his part, seemed unaware of Victor or his embarrassing drooling incident. He had on his violet sunsses with brass-colored frames, and he was staring at the ball in Victor¡¯s hands. He didn¡¯t respond to the question, and Victor wondered if he¡¯d been dumbstruck too. ¡°Dude, you there?¡± He waited for an answer for at least a full count to sixty, and then he started to wonder if he should shake the guy. He was just beginning to move to set down the ball when Dolo cleared his throat.

    ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t set it down yet.¡± That cleared that up. He wasn¡¯t dumbstruck; he was just an asshole that responded when he felt like it. Victor felt sorely tempted to set the ball down in spite of his request, but then he wondered if that would mess up the test or whatever he was doing, and then maybe he¡¯d get pissed and leave Victor hanging with no Core. So, he swallowed his irritation and held onto the ball, waiting for Dolo to snap out of it. Eventually, he said, ¡°You may set the ball down now. What an interesting alignment. It looks like spirit might be the way to go with your Core ss. Just a moment while I sort the proper tool.¡±

    ¡°Why¡¯s that interesting? Is it good? Bad?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, it could be either, but it¡¯s interesting because it¡¯s quite unusual for the civilized races of this world to have a spirit marker for their Core alignment.¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, so I¡¯ll take your word for it.¡± Victor drummed his fingers, watching the little guy mentally going through his things. After a moment, a t ck stone, as wide as Victor¡¯s old school tablet, appeared in his hands, and he set it on the desk in front of Victor.

    ¡°This will sound rather obscene, but please put some spit on this te.¡± Dolo looked down, almost like he was embarrassed.

    ¡°You want me to spit on it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Just a few drops, please, no need to gather any phlegm.¡± Victor sighed and leaned forward, squeezing some saliva out between his lips to let it drop onto the center of the te.

    ¡°Excellent, thank you,¡± Dolo said, then he pressed his index finger against a corner of the te and closed his eyes. A momentter, the little puddle of Victor¡¯s saliva started to bubble, and then it shed into a bright red cloud of steam. Dolo nodded, staring at the cloud through his sses, then he said, ¡°Quite interesting, indeed! A rage affinity!¡±

    ¡°A rage what?¡± Victor leaned forward, watching the red smoke dissipate.

    ¡°An affinity. Listen, I¡¯ll need you to make a decision now.¡±

    ¡°Wait a second! Can you tell me what affinity even means? Like on my status sheet, I have an Energy affinity line, and I don¡¯t even know what it is.¡±

    ¡°Oh, bother,¡± the little man sighed heavily. ¡°I¡¯m going to help you out here, Victor. Energy affinity is a touchy subject among the peoples of this world. Primarily because some people see races with low natural affinity as less-than. They believe that those born with a high affinity are chosen somehow and destined for greatness and dominance over those with lower affinity. Some creatures, like Yeksa, don¡¯t have enough natural Energy affinity for the System even to recognize them, hence theirck ofnguage integration.¡±

    ¡°Alright, so I shouldn¡¯t talk about it? What¡¯s a ¡®high¡¯ or ¡®low¡¯ affinity?¡±

    ¡°Well, for instance, races like the Yeksa have generally less than one affinity. We Bogoli are quite gifted, and many of us have affinities in the sixes or sevens, though the average is quite lower. Now, I can tell your affinity for rage-attuned Energy will be quite high, and that¡¯s all you should ever tell anyone¡ªthat it¡¯s high. Only people you trust, mind you. I wouldn¡¯t ever mention that to someone in a position to do you harm.¡± He looked toward the door pointedly.

    ¡°Huh, I get it,¡± Victor said, looking again at his status sheet and his six-point-one Energy affinity.

    ¡°Now, are you ready to make a decision?¡±

    ¡°What kinda decision?¡± Victor frowned.

    ¡°You have a close alignment to spirit with a very strong rage affinity,¡± he said, then looked at Victor¡¯s confused expression and said, more slowly, ¡°You have a chance to have a powerful, specialized Core. Ites with some strings attached, though - such a strong rage affinity would mean that you¡¯d struggle to channel unattuned Energy. Rage-attuned Energy is very potent, so that wouldn¡¯t be such a bad thing; it¡¯s just that the types of skills and spells that you can easily manage with such Energy are often violent and destructive. Hence the choice: create a specialized spirit Core or forget about your affinities and create a very neutral generalist Core. I think you could easily form a pearl ss Core.¡±

    ¡°Why can I make a spirit Core?¡±

    ¡°You are strongly aligned with spirit, which allows¡­.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean, why am I aligned like that? What is the spirit?¡±

    ¡°Spirit is where our emotions, our feelings dwell. It¡¯s the part of us that isn¡¯t physical. Surely you must at least have some sense of it?¡± Dolo looked at Victor, a blue painted eyebrow raised up in an arch. He wasn¡¯t sure why, but unbidden memories came to his mind - memories of his Mom and how he¡¯d spent so much time talking to her long after the car ident. He¡¯d spoken to her while hey in bed, unable to sleep in his new room at his grandparents¡¯. He¡¯d told her about how he was scared at school, about how he missed his dad. He¡¯d raged at her for dying. The thing was, Victor swore, even now, yearster, that she¡¯d spoken back to him. He swore he¡¯d heard her saying, ¡°Everything will be alright. Everything¡¯s going to get normal again.¡± Did he have a sense of his spirit? Yeah, he¡¯d say he did. He knew what Dolo was talking about.

    ¡°So it¡¯s because I¡¯m close to my feelings?¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily close to them; maybe they influence you more than normal. Or maybe it has nothing to do with any of that, and the Ancestors have chosen to give you this alignment.¡±

    ¡°Ancestors? You mean like my gics?¡± Dolo looked at him nkly. ¡°Like it runs in my family?¡±

    ¡°Oh, perhaps. Members of the same family often have simr affinities and Core alignments.¡±

    ¡°When you say ¡®ancestors,¡¯ are you, like, praying? Do you all worship your ancestors?¡±

    ¡°Praying? No. We Bogoli know better than that.¡± He looked offended.

    ¡°Yeah, well, I don¡¯t want some generic bullshit; let¡¯s do that spirit Core.¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s an interesting choice,¡± he paused and looked around the pitmaster¡¯s office, then continued, ¡°I think it will serve you well.¡± He concentrated on the air in front of his face for a moment, and then he started setting items down on the table. A little blue bag, a red candle, and a long golden chain and amulet. ¡°Put this chain around your neck and lean back in your chair so the medallion rests on your navel.¡± Then he opened the little blue pouch and took out a red crystal lens. While he was positioning the candle, Victor looped the chain over his head and pulled it down so the round, glinting medallion rested on the center of his stomach.

    ¡°What the fuck are we doing, actually? This is looking a little weird.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t balk now, Victor; this was the right choice. Mediocrity never writes history!¡± He stared at the candle for a moment, and it red to life with a crackling red me at the end of its wick. He held the red crystal out in front of the candle me, and as the light from the candle hit the angles of the crystal lens, a beam of red light came out the other side. Dolo angled the lens so that the red beam hit the center of the amulet on Victor¡¯s stomach. ¡°Do you feel that warmth, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Ahh, yes! You¡¯re burning the shit out of me, dude!¡±

    ¡°No, Victor, it¡¯s Just the Energy I had stored in this candle; it¡¯s fire attuned, which is the closest I had to rage. It will work, though. It should work. Victor! Concentrate on the heat, feel how it echoes into your body, feel that heat flowing through your flesh. Now pull it to that hot spot where the amulet is.¡±

    Victor listened to Dolo, and not wanting to fuck up this procedure, he tried his hardest to do exactly as he said. He concentrated on the hot spot in the center of his belly, then he traced that burning feeling and felt the tiny echoes of it around his body, kind of flowing around through veins or something. He tried to imagine scooping up all those little hot spots and pulling them down to the center of his stomach.

    ¡°That¡¯s it, Victor, good. Just keep pressing all that Energy in; feel where it passes through your body. The amulet will help you create your pathways, too, don¡¯t worry - once we trigger it with enough Energy.¡± Just then, the amulet on Victor¡¯s stomach lifted into the air, red a brilliant crimson, and began to pulse with a red light over Victor¡¯s stomach. Victor felt a hot, angry re in his stomach with each pulse. The heat spread out, radiating into his body, limbs, and head. He was transfixed by the process, unable to contemte moving, sort of outside his body, watching the red rivers of anger spread through himself.

    Victor focused his attention on that central point of heat in his stomach, and after a few seconds, his surroundings seemed to fade away, and it felt like he was seeing inside himself. A hot, pulsing red stary in the center of his being - his Core. He watched the red Energy from the candle rushing into him to meet with the more crimson Energy flowing through the channels in his body, copsing into the hungry, pulsing star. Suddenly the star, his Core, seemed to copse in on itself, shrinking to a tiny point of brilliant red light, and then it surged out, like a star exploding, only in slow motion. A wave of red Energy expanded from the center of his being, spreading through his entire body, through every cell. Victor went even more rigid with the slow cascade of Energy, and when the wave finally passed through his extremities, he copsed back into the chair. A sheen of sweat instantly coated his body, and he panted like he¡¯d just sprinted a mile after doing circuits.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve formed a Spirit ss Core - Base 1.***

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s my job done. I appreciate you making this tedious bit of shady business at least a little interesting. Good luck with your endeavors.¡± Dolo scooped up his candle and other paraphernalia, then stood. All the while, Victor tried to get his breath back and take stock of his situation.

    ¡°It worked?¡± He finally croaked out as Dolo was walking around the desk, his little blue-painted head just a few inches higher than the top.

    ¡°Oh yes, I¡¯d say you must have a powerful rage affinity after that disy. I¡¯d be careful using too many Energy abilities unless you want to lose yourself in it. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll gain more and more control with practice and, hopefully, a ss that helps you refine your talents.¡± Once again, he looked around the filthy office with a frown, then said, ¡°Good luck,¡± and knocked on the door. Ponda opened the door immediately, and Dolo walked out. Victor stood shakily and started to leave as well. Ponda blocked his path at the doorway, though.

    ¡°Well, what did that little weirdo do for you?¡± He asked with a note of genuine curiosity in his voice.

    ¡°Helped me form my Core.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, you were that far behind, huh? I knew you were shit level, but I didn¡¯t know you didn¡¯t even have a Core. Well, back to your cage, runt. Two more days until the next Pit Night!¡± Victor nodded and walked toward the pens, calling up his status sheet as he moved:

    Status

    Name:

    Victor Sandoval

    Race:

    Human - Base 1

    ss:

    ¨C

    Level:

    3

    Core:

    Spirit ss - Base 1

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Rage 9.1

    Energy:

    93/93

    Strength:

    14

    Vitality:

    10

    Dexterity:

    9

    Agility:

    10

    Intelligence:

    8

    Will:

    8

    Points Avable:

    5

    Titles & Feats:

    ¨C

    Skills:

    System Language Integration - Not Upgradeable, Unarmed Combat - Basic, Knife Combat - Basic, Axe Mastery - Basic, Spear Mastery - Basic, Bludgeon Mastery - Basic, Grappling - Improved

    That little guy hadn¡¯t been lying about his rage affinity, whatever the hell that was. It looked like his normal Energy affinity had gone down. ¡°Well, here¡¯s hoping that guy didn¡¯t fuck me over.¡±

 Chapter 8: Rage

    Chapter 8: Rage

    Victor had to tiptoe when he returned to his cage with Ponda because he didn¡¯t want some pissed-off pit fighter to toss shit at him for waking them up. He didn¡¯t know if they¡¯d actually do that, but Vullu had seemed serious about the risk, so he figured he wouldn¡¯t take chances. He¡¯d crept to his corner of the cage, curled up on some straw, and gone to sleep, listening to Yre and Vullu breathing and the soft, deceptively soothing sounds of prisoners shifting around, snoring, and mumbling in their sleep.

    ****

    ¡°A spirit Core, huh?¡± Yre wore a frown and looked a little skeptical.

    ¡°Yeah, it was either that or some generic all-purpose Core, at least ording to that Bogoli guy.¡±

    ¡°Any affinity?¡± Vullu asked.

    ¡°Yeah, um, rage.¡± Victor shrugged helplessly.

    ¡°That sounds portentous!¡± Yreughed.

    ¡°Portentous?¡± Victor wasn¡¯t bad at English, but he¡¯d definitely done more wrestling than reading thest few years.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just say rage might not be a bad affinity for a pit fighter,¡± Vullu joined Yre in her chuckling.

    ¡°Alright, alright, now that I have a Core, what do I do with these ny-three Energy points?¡± They were sitting in the mess hall, waiting to be dismissed to practice.

    ¡°I can show you how to channel Energy into your strikes. It should help you a lot, and as you experiment and fight and gain levels, hopefully, you gain some skills or spells that utilize your particr brand of Energy.¡± Vullu said, mopping up thest of his eggs with a corner of his tbread.

    ¡°Yeah, and tonight, we can try to help you figure out how to cultivate.¡± Yre chimed in. Ponda¡¯s bulk filled the doorway, and he hollered for everyone to get out of the mess hall, so the three of them hustled out to the exercise hall. They moved to their usual corner, but arge Ardeni man, that¡¯s what the blue guys were called, if Victor recalled correctly, was upying the space, twirling arge staff around.

    ¡°Zan, this is our space,¡± Vullu said tly. Zan stopped swinging the staff around and looked at Vullu for a few seconds, visibly contemting his response, but then he just shrugged and walked toward the center of the gym, as Victor had taken to calling the space. ¡°Alright, kid, let¡¯s practice with fists first.¡±

    ¡°Okay, what do I do?¡±

    ¡°Settle down; let me try to exin this. Hmm,¡± he tapped his furry chin as he spoke.

    ¡°He needs to be able to feel his Core and his Energy first,¡± Yre said, resting a hand on Victor¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°I think I can feel it. When that guy was helping me form it, I kinda looked inside myself and could even see it.¡± As he spoke, Victor heard his words and blushed, realizing he sounded like some kind of new-age nutjob.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good, Victor! Your affinity must be pretty high - I couldn¡¯t see my Core until I¡¯d practiced meditation and found my center after quite a few days of practice.¡±

    ¡°Yes, good, Victor; can you see your Core now?¡± Vullu asked. Victor closed his eyes and felt the heat at the center of his body, turning his ¡°eyes¡± inward toward it. There it was - a bright, pulsing, crimson star.

    ¡°Yeah, I see it.¡± His voice sounded far away from himself.

    ¡°Good, now, you know how you turned your vision into yourself? Now you have to imagine you have a presence there, that you can push and pull things around. Use your presence to pull some of the Energy from your Core into the channels around it. Let me know if you can do that.¡± Vullu¡¯s voice also seemed far away, and Victor found himself more and more wrapped up in his study of his Core. Still, he heard what Vullu said, so he tried to imagine pulling on some of that red Energy, and as he did so, a strand of it broke away and illuminated the pathways near it. Victor smiled and pushed the strand into the nearest pathway.

    ¡°Okay, done it.¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± Vullu¡¯s voice had a touch of excitement that Victor rarely heard from the dour goat-man. ¡°Now, visualize that Energy traveling up the pathway toward your right fist. When you¡¯ve got it, say so.¡± Once again, Victor followed Vullu¡¯s directions, pushing that strand of Energy further into the pathway, guiding it along his stomach, up his chest, down his arm, and into his fist. All the way, it felt hot, pulsing with a heat that was more than temperature.

    ¡°Got it!¡± There was an edge to Victor¡¯s voice like a snarl lurked beneath the surface.

    ¡°Now, open your eyes and punch the post!¡± Vullu said quickly. Victor opened his eyes, and it seemed like a very faint red haze obscured his vision. He nced to his left, saw the wooden post, and punched it with his throbbing, itching right hand. He felt his body¡¯s muscle memory as he stepped into the punch, twisted his hips, and drove his fist into the wooden post. A resounding crack rang out as a sh of red Energy sshed out of Victor¡¯s fist. Unbidden, a savage grunt rose from Victor¡¯s throat.

    ¡°First try! And he split the post!¡± Yre cheered.

    ¡°Uh,¡± Victor¡¯s voice was thick, and only his deepest vocal cords seemed to want to engage, ¡°Goddamn, I feel like punching more shit!¡± He stood up straight, looked away from the post and his friends, and shook his head, taking several deep breaths.

    ¡°You alright, Victor?¡± Yre started to reach a hand out to his shoulder, but Vullu grabbed her wrist.

    ¡°I think his rage affinity is extreme, Yre. This will be something he needs to get used to slowly.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m alright, but yeah, I was feeling a little nuts for a second there. Like I wanted to fight, and it didn¡¯t matter who.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, Victor; I don¡¯t know much about spirit Cores. We had one woman in my hometown with one, but she had a love affinity. She was well sought after for her services¡­.¡± Vullu trailed off, then continued, ¡°The point is, I have no idea how those sorts of affinities work.¡±

    ¡°The good news is you smashed that post!¡± Yre said, pping Victor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I think you just need to keep practicing, as Vullu said. When you feel normal, throw another punch; hopefully, it¡¯ll get easier to control.¡±

    ¡°Right, let¡¯s do some grappling in between. What do you guys say?¡± Victor asked, dropping to the sawdust to stretch. They agreed, and their hours of practice were spent alternating between grappling, with Victor helping them get better at takedowns, and Victor channeling rage-attuned Energy into his fist and punching something. Each time, he felt the emotion rising in him, but never enough to entirely lose control. Victor knew if he channeled more than one rage-fuelled strike, he¡¯d run the risk of losing himself in it. He hoped it got easier to control; otherwise, he didn¡¯t know how useful it would be.

    That afternoon, Victor got to join in the ¡®cultivating¡¯ that all the other prisoners did. Yre took the lead in trying to exin it to him, ¡°First, you need to understand that Energy is everywhere. It wasn¡¯t always so dense around our world, but when the System and the great oceans of Energy came to our part of the universe, it became a very tangible, important part of life.¡± She paused to look into Victor¡¯s eyes to see if he was following her.

    ¡°Yeah, okay.¡±

    ¡°Well, so the next thing you need to know is that the Energy in your Core is probably different from the Energy around us. Energy can have lots of different affinities. Some of the mostmon ones that you¡¯ll run into are elemental affinities - some Energy is attuned to fire, wind, or other elements. Other, lessmon affinities might be something like death or life or pestilence. I''m sure there are more than I know of and more than I can list. Like your affinity, for instance, I hadn¡¯t heard of a rage affinity before, though I knew things like that existed.¡±

    ¡°Okay, everything you said makes sense, I guess, but I¡¯m not sure how people end up with affinities.¡± He gestured at himself to make his point.

    ¡°People who im to understand that are probably lying,¡± Vullu said from his corner of the cage.

    ¡°Right, let¡¯s focus on what we know: because of the different Cores and affinities, it¡¯s verymon for people to cultivate Energy differently. These cultivation methods are often called ¡®drills¡¯ because it¡¯s a routine you repeatedly follow, slowly building your Core and thus your strength with Energy. You can even gain levels through cultivating if you¡¯re good at it and do it enough.¡±

    ¡°So, you guys don¡¯t know how I¡¯m supposed to cultivate, do you?¡± Victor could see where this was going.

    ¡°No, not exactly. We can describe our process, though, and maybe you can figure things out. Over time, you¡¯ll hopefully perfect your method, or maybe you can buy a cultivation manual for your type of Core down the road.¡± Yre smiled, giving him a chagrined shrug. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Victor smiled back at her. She might be older and think of him as a kid, but she was fine as hell, and when she smiled like that, he was just grateful Yund put him in this cage when he¡¯d first arrived.

    ¡°Hey, I appreciate any help you guys can give me.¡±

    ¡°Alright, so sit like I am, with your legs crossed and your palms open on your knees. Most people have Energy pathways open to the world on their palms. I¡¯m pretty sure you do, judging by how your Energy-infused punch worked.¡± Victor did as she said, feeling kinda silly sitting there like he was going to do yoga or something, but Yre nodded, reassuring him, and he settled into the pose. ¡°Now, turn your mind inward, and look at your Core.¡± She waited a moment and then continued, ¡°When I cultivate, I move some of my Energy from my Core into my pathways and let it cycle through, all the way to my hands, and then back toward my Core. As I send it back to my Core, I try to pull some of the Energy out of the world with it, adding to my Core a tiny bit with each cycle.¡±

    ¡°Huh, let me see¡­.¡± Victor trailed off as he tried to do what Yre described. He had no problem pushing a strand of his Energy into his pathway and then nudging it out along his pathways. It circled through a winding path around his abdomen, then out toward his left hand, and when he felt the burning, furious Energy bubbling up around his palm, he pushed it back toward his Core. Almost toote, he realized the thin strand of Energy he¡¯d pulled from his Core had be a thick, surging river. He could feel it and see it with his inner eye, like a roiling red torrent that struggled to push out into the world, but he grit his teeth and growled, pushing his will against the flood and forcing it around into a return pathway toward his Core. He tried to do what Yre said and pull some Energy out of the air with it, but he wasn¡¯t sure he got any because his own Energy was so bright, hot, and full of roiling emotion that whatever Energy might be in the air around him seemed to pale into non-existence.

    ¡°Are you alright, Victor?¡± Yre¡¯s voice sounded small, distant, and irritating, and Victor growled again, bearing down on the Energy flowing through his pathways, pushing it back toward his Core. It bucked and surged, trying to turn down other routes to find an outlet, but he fought it, sweat breaking out on his forehead and soaking his filthy green t-shirt. While he struggled, thoughts came floating out of the back of his mind into his consciousness, making him look at memories that he¡¯d rather stay buried. He remembered his cousin on his Mom¡¯s side texting him after his parents had died, ¡°Why don¡¯t youe to grandma¡¯s house anymore?¡± He remembered asking to visit them and having his auntie tell him that his mom¡¯s family didn¡¯t want to see him anymore. Victor growled, clenching his fist and pushing against the surge of Energy. The flood of Energy had made aplete circuit now and was starting to return to his Core. Annoying little memories started to pile forth; he remembered when he¡¯d asked Paul to let him use his deodorant, reaching into his locker to grab it before he answered, and how Paul had mmed his locker on Victor¡¯s hand. He remembered the fight that ensued and growled savagely.

    He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he opened red, bloodshot eyes and bared his teeth at Yre, who had moved to kneel in front of him. ¡°Victor! Push the Energy back to your Core! Don¡¯t cycle anymore.¡± With a monumental effort, Victor closed his eyes, burying the murderous thoughts that hade out of nowhere. He turned his mind to his Energy and continued to push and bully it back into his Core. Finally, he felt the red, angry heat start to fade from his flesh, and he breathed deeply, burying all the infuriating memories back into the depths of his mind, so he could open his eyes without hate glowing balefully forth from them.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± he said in a throaty voice and wiped his face, hoping the tears that had pooled in his bloodshot eyes would blend with the sweat that soaked him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t apologize, Victor,¡± Vullu said from his corner. ¡°You did a good job containing that surge. I think you¡¯ll need a lot of practice, and we need to learn more about spirit Cores. Your Energy might not be cultivated the same as mine and Yre¡¯s.¡±

 Chapter 9: Massacre

    Chapter 9: Massacre

    ¡°That¡¯s right, pull that rope next to Lesha!¡± Ponda shouted at Victor. He wasn¡¯t sure who Lesha was, but he figured it was probably the Ardeni woman standing nearby. He grabbed the rope and yanked, and Ponda hollered, ¡°Good!¡± He bent and pulled on a brasstch, and a massive section of the floor started sliding toward Victor, slipping underneath the wooden nks where he was standing. He kept pulling the rope, and he heard Vullu and another guy grunting as they pulled theirs, and the floor kept sliding, revealing the deep pit that hadin hidden the whole time Victor had been training at the Wagon Wheel. Pit Night was happening at the Wagon Wheel that night.

    The venue wasn¡¯t nearly asrge as the Rusty Nail, but there wouldn¡¯t be as many fighters here; ording to Ponda, there¡¯d just be another fighting troupeing here topete with Yund¡¯s stable. These were terms Victor was starting to pick up. Stable - like they were horses or something. Fighting troupe - a nice name for ves who had to fight for your amusement. He felt some red heat start to spread through his body, and he mped down on his Core, trying to think of something happy. His fuse seemed shorter now that he had actual rage Energy boiling at the center of his being.

    It was funny how a person¡¯s living conditions could change their outlook. Over thest few days, as they practiced fighting, and Victor practiced using his Energy and trying to figure out how to cultivate his Core, he¡¯d begun to look forward to the next fight. He¡¯d put another point into strength, a point into dexterity to bring it up with agility, and the rest into vitality. He felt great, despite his shitty living conditions and boring diet. His muscles were ripped, his endurance was easily as good as when he¡¯d prepped for State, and he felt vital - more alive than he could remember, and he was an eighteen-year-old athlete, so that seemed to be saying a lot. ¡°Hey, Ponda, what¡¯s next?¡± He called after the pit was fully open.

    ¡°Now you five over there need to get your asses out back; bring in the stands and set ''em up. Vullu, you know how it¡¯s done. Show the others.¡± Victor followed along, helping Vullu or Yre with one chore after another. They¡¯d been at it all day, converting the practice gym into an exhibition hall. When they were finally done, and Yund announced that they¡¯d be in their cages until match time, Victor was tired but impressed by the transformation. The pit was bigger than the ones at the Rusty Nail, though there was only one. It was a good forty feet by forty and had tall wooden stands on three sides. The side that faced the open barn doors of the Wagon Wheel was open so that the riff-raff without the funds to buy a seat could crowd around to watch the fights.

    The afternoon passed quickly as Victor and his cage-mates rolled dice or dozed away their exhaustion. Sometime during the afternoon, lying on his back in the scratchy hay and sweating in the hot, stuffy air, Victor tried to think about his life back home. He was disturbed by how distant it seemed; by his reckoning, he¡¯d been gone only about a week, maybe a little more, but it felt like a lot longer. He wondered how his Abu was. He knew one or both of his aunties would be taking care of her, but she must be worried sick about him. He¡¯d never been away for this long. Even when he¡¯d ¡®run away¡¯ in high school, he¡¯d only stayed the weekend at a friend¡¯s house. He tried to picture Marcy and found he kept picturing a different girl he¡¯d had a crush on during his sophomore year. What a weird thing to happen! He strained his mind for several minutes, picturing one friend after another, all the girls he could remember from his sses, and finally, it clicked in - there was Marcy. He¡¯d never had that happen before, and he wondered what was happening. He figured it must be abination of his mind being amped up about the fight and all the stress he¡¯d been under since he¡¯d gotten kidnapped.

    ¡°Hey, Victor, just win. They won¡¯t put you against anyone too high level - there¡¯s no sport in it. Well, unless they put you in a group against a stronger enemy likest time, I guess.¡± Yre smiled at him from her corner of the cage, and he blew out his breath, trying to banish the memories he¡¯d purposefully been calling out of the depths of his mind.

    ¡°Yeah, I just want to get it started. I hate waiting around for my match.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll have more fun during this Pit Night - since there¡¯s only one pit, you¡¯ll get to watch all the fighting,¡± Vullu supplied, speaking into the air as hey on his back with his eyes closed. Victor grunted and rolled over, cranking out some pushups. He had so much nervous energy that he felt like he was going to crawl out of his skin. Vullu sat up, grunting, andughed at Victor. "Imagine getting as fit as he is without any Energy, Yre. You have to give him credit; I don''t know how I¡¯d cope if I didn¡¯t have my levels and Core.¡±

    ¡°True. Your people must have strong wills to thrive in a dead world.¡±

    ¡°Nah. First of all, not everyone thrives, and secondly, we have a shit load more tech than this world. We have all kinds of gadgets to help us cope with our weak-ass bodies.¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯re being modest,¡± Yre snorted, ¡°which is very unusual for you, I might add.¡± Victor sat up andughed with her.

    ¡°You¡¯re busting on me? Does that mean we¡¯re bing real friends, Yre? You¡¯re not just helping me for a bonus from the Boss?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get too sure of yourself, kid.¡± Sheughed, though, and Victor could see she was happy with the banter. The door mmed open, and Yund came striding down the central aisle, banging his long inscribed metal rod against the cages as he walked.

    ¡°Get ready to fight! I only need twenty-four fighters tonight, so line up by your cage door when you hear your name!¡±

    ¡°Awe, boss! Can¡¯t we watch the fights if we ain¡¯t fighting?¡± A tall goat-person, er Cadwalli, bawled out from a cage near the back wall.

    ¡°No! I barely have room out there for the paying customers and the fighters. Now shut up!¡± Yund yelled, then he lifted a clipboard and started calling names. Victor and Yre got called, but Vullu didn¡¯t.

    ¡°Good luck, you two.¡±

    ¡°He probably didn¡¯t have a suitable opponent for you, Vullu,¡± Yre said, reaching out and sping hands with him. Vullu nodded, then held a fist out toward Victor. Victor nodded and bumped his fist, standing behind Yre by the gate. Ponda and Urt went down the row of cages, letting out the fighters, then led them all out the door into the crowded, smoke-hazed, steaming hot exhibition hall. He led them to a roped-off area where the corners of two bleachers met. Just enough room between the two corners for a fighter to slip through and drop into the pit.

    Yund was standing on one of the bleachers about halfway up, where he could look over his fighters and see into the pit easily. He looked down at the twenty-four fighters and shouted, ¡°Yre, you¡¯re up first. Into the pit!¡± Victor held his fist out for her, and she bumped it, smiling in that way of hers that made her yellow-green eyes twinkle, then she hopped down into the pit. Victor was taller than most of the otherbatants, so when he pushed as far forward as possible, he could see most of the pit. He saw Yre standing down in the sand, stretching her arms behind her back. A momentter, from the opposite corner, anky blue-skinned Ardeni man dropped into the pit.

    ¡°First match!¡± A ck-furred goat-like Cadwalli man shouted from a tall wooden stand overseeing the pit. He reached behind him and spun a crude-looking wagon wheel with pictures of various weapons drawn in charcoal around its circumference. The wheel stopped spinning, and the little arrow pointed at a picture of crossed axes. ¡°Axes!¡± He shouted, and a person near each corner threw an axe down to their fighter. On Victor¡¯s side, the weapon was supplied by Ponda. Yre knelt and picked up the single-ded hand axe. Victor groaned quietly - she didn¡¯t like fighting with axes. The Ardeni man picked up his axe and flipped it nonchntly between his hands. ¡°Begin!¡± shouted the judge.

    Yre was fast, and this was the first time Victor had seen her go all out. She moved like a blur, gliding over the sandy bottom of the pit, dropping into a low slide, as she swung her axe, aiming to relieve her opponent of his leg below the knee. He saw iting, though, and dodged to the side, flinging his axe. It tumbled through the air tond with a wet thud in the back of Yre¡¯s skull. She fell to the side, twitching in the manner bodies do when they haven¡¯t yet realized they''re dead.

    ¡°Victory! One match for the Broken Rope!¡± the judge screamed. Yund cursed and spat, uttering a bunch of words Victor didn¡¯t have a trantion for, though it wouldn¡¯t have mattered because Victor couldn¡¯t hear anything. His vision had gone red, and his heart had started beating like a runaway drum solo, pounding in his ears like the rushing of a waterfall. Yre was dead, just like that. He couldn¡¯t believe it, he couldn¡¯t ept it, but he kept seeing her body topple and twitch. He felt himself suffocating and had to lean over, holding onto his knees and trying to breathe. Air wouldn¡¯te, though, and the redness in his vision continued to deepen. His hands began to shake, gripping his knees tightly, squeezing the denim of his jeans into his flesh.

    ¡°I said you¡¯re up, kid!¡± Yund hollered. ¡°Put him in, Ponda!¡± Victor thrashed and jerked away from the hands that grabbed his shoulders, but they were huge and strong, and though he struggled, he was tossed into the pit to fall sprawling into the sand. He struggled to his hands and knees, looking out over the sandy pit, wondering at how red everything was. There she was, her corpse just ten feet away. They hadn¡¯t even taken her out before they started the next fight? He gripped the sand, grinding it into his fists. He was still on his hands and knees, still shaking and grinding sand into his fists, when he felt the ground shudder slightly. He looked away from Yre¡¯s body to see that his opponent had dropped in.

    He stared at the big otter-man. He looked a lot like Ponda, but his fur was darker, with a slight red sheen. He was younger than Ponda, Victor figured, but he didn¡¯t care. All he cared about was that Yre had just been ughtered like one of his auntie¡¯s chickens. The idea of going back to that cage to just Vullu, of spending time here in this troupe of prisoners without Yre, was unbearable. A choked scream of rage started toe out of his throat. ¡°We have a rowdy one there, folks!¡± the goat-man judge yelled. A momentter, he shouted, ¡°Maces!¡± Victor wasn¡¯t listening, though; he was pushing Energy out of his Core, into his pathways, letting it run rampant. He didn¡¯t try to control the flow; he didn¡¯t aim to turn it back to his Core. He just let it surge through his pathways, toward his hands, and into his mind. His vision had turned a deep red, and in his inner eye, reying over and over, he saw Yre dying, falling over to twitch like a broken thing.

    ¡°Begin!¡± the judge hollered, and Victor didn¡¯t even look at the mace that had been tossed near him. He exploded up from all fours, a wake of sand following behind, and smashed into his huge opponent. He moved like a wolverine, with no regard for himself or defense, simplyshing out like a wild, furious animal. His Energy-infused fists smashed into the otter-man, cracking bones and pulverizing flesh, pounding it into jelly. The otter-man¡¯s one feeble attempt to hit him with a mace was woefully too slow. Victor¡¯s right fist destroyed the otter-man¡¯s left knee. Victor slid around, dragging himself in close, using his opponent¡¯s thick leather belt as a handle, andnded a devastating left hook into his opponent''s blubbery kidney. After that, everything was a red-hazed blur, with Victor simply pushing as much Energy out of his Core and into his fists as possible, savoring all the dark images that filled his mind as rage consumed him.

    When he came back to himself, Victor was lying in a curled-up ball in the roped-off area behind the other fighters. He had a message from the System in his vision:

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 5 base human. You have 10 attribute points to allocate. You¡¯ve learned the skill: Berserk - Basic.***

    ***Berserk - Basic: Prerequisite: Affinity - Rage. You double your strength and speed for a short while, losing yourself in the glory ofbat. Your body bes more resilient, and you benefit from rapid regeneration during the duration, though you¡¯ll lose all sense of self-preservation. You may suffer from the inability to discern friend from foe while under the effects of Berserk. Energy Cost: Minimum 75 - scble. Cooldown: Long.***

    Victor dismissed the notifications, then sat up, looking at the backs of the other fighters, cheering and hollering. Yre was gone. Victor pressed his fists into his eyes,pletely drained of emotion and exhausted; he didn¡¯t feel any tears, but he didn¡¯t want to look at the world.

    ¡°Thunderak shit, kid, that was a massacre!¡± Ponda said, squatting down beside him. ¡°You alright? I had to drag you off that guy¡¯s corpse.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not fucking alright, dude. I¡¯m not fucking alright at all.¡±

 Chapter 10: Alone

    Chapter 10: Alone

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame, but it¡¯s the reality we live in, Victor.¡± Vullu was trying to soundposed, but Victor could see the pain in his eyes. He felt guilty for making the older guy feel like he had tofort him. Vullu should be dealing with his own grief, not trying to console someone he hardly knew.

    ¡°Yeah. It sucks. Anyway, I¡¯m sorry for your loss, Vullu.¡± Victor moved to his corner of the cage and put his face toward the corner post, resting his forehead on the iron. He closed his eyes and tried to think of anything other than Yre¡¯s twitching corpse.

    ¡°She was your friend, Victor. Just so you know. She joked a lot, but she told me she was d Yund threw you in our cage.¡±

    ¡°Jesus, man. I don¡¯t wanna hear that! What good does it do anyone? She¡¯s fucking gone!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not gone if we carry her with us, Victor. Your rtionships with the people you meet shape you, you know. Knowing she was fond of you changes the paths you will walk, whether you realize it or not. So, it¡¯s good that you know.¡± Victor gently banged his forehead against the iron post, feeling the way it vibrated his skull.

    ¡°If you say so, dude.¡± He heard a cell door ng, and he looked up the aisle to see Ponda walking away from a cage toward the exit. ¡°Hey, Ponda,¡± he called.

    ¡°What, kid?¡± The big furry man nced at him as he strode by.

    ¡°When¡¯s the next fucking fight? I need to get five done as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t wish too hard, kid. Boss saw you massacre that guy, you know; he¡¯s gonna try to make some money off you. Your next match might get a little uglier if you get my meaning.¡±

    ¡°Chingado! Of course, he is. Well, I don¡¯t care; when is it?¡±

    ¡°Four days, and it¡¯s at the Nail, so you might get more than one fight. Boss¡¯s stable is running light.¡± Ponda didn¡¯t wait to see if that answer satisfied Victor; he kept walking, mming the door behind himself.

    ¡°Well, I got ten points to spend. Any advice, Vullu?¡± He turned and slid down onto his ass, folding his legs in the position that Yre had taught him.

    ¡°I know it might seem counter-intuitive, but you might want to put some points into will and intelligence; they help with Energy maniption. It might help you figure out a cultivation drill if you increase those attributes.¡± Vullu sat down,id back, and closed his eyes, apparently done talking. Victor looked at his status sheet and decided to put two points each into intelligence and will, bringing them to an even ten. Then he dumped his other six points into strength. His berserk skill said it would double his strength and speed for the duration - might as well capitalize on that. He knew that if Yre were there right now, she¡¯d nag him to try to figure out his cultivation method, so he rubbed a knuckle into his forehead, trying to focus, and then he took a deep breath and looked into his Core.

    As he studied the throbbing red star, he began to make out details about it that he hadn¡¯t noticed. The pulsing almost seemed like breathing, and as it swelled and contracted, he saw little waving tendrils of Energy that existed only briefly. As he studied those tendrils, his mind began to wander, and it went where it always seemed to go since the pit fight - Yre. He saw Yre smiling, her eyes lighting up. Then he saw her scowl when heplimented those eyes. He remembered herughing when he lost over and over at dice. He remembered her standing next to him after the first pit night, drinking warm ale like it was Christmas dinner. Then he remembered her getting killed, and all of his memories began to run red in his mind.

    Victor jerked out of his memory of Yre when he noticed his Core was pulsing more rapidly and brightly, then he felt something subtle at the edge of his awareness, and he tried to track it down with his mind. He traced his pathways, and then he became aware of the Energy outside his body. He could feel the warmth of it as it drew near, slowly changing from bright, yellow Energy into red, angry Energy that slipped into his pathways, drifting slowly toward his Core. Was he cultivating? What had triggered it? Had it been him thinking about Yre? Victor blinked back tears as he thought how happy she¡¯d be if she knew he¡¯d figured something out.

    He determined that he needed to prove his hypothesis, so Victor started reminiscing about things that pissed him off. His old gold standard had been his parents'' deaths, but that had grown dull over the years, no longer the cutting de that filled him with rage. Instead, he thought about the pit fights; he thought of that friendly otter-woman. He thought about how he never learned her name or even bothered to learn what her race is called. He dealt with those otter-people every day, and he hadn¡¯t bothered to find out what they¡¯re called. What a self-centered asshole! He felt his Core throb, and a wave of hot rage surged through his pathways.

    Victor remembered what it felt like to be helpless while that wizard asshole had dragged him through the streets and sold him to his ce. He remembered his dismissive, snobby attitude and how he¡¯d made him feel as helpless as a little kid. Victor imagined breaking out of his spell and beating the shit out of him, and his Core pulsed. This time he was ready for the surge of rage, and he watched it as it cycled his pathways, drawing ambient Energy into him as it circted back to his Core. He was doing it! Victor spent the next hour dredging up painful memories, really examining them, and soaking in the rage that boiled out of his Core. He was startled out of his meditation when a System message appeared in his vision:

    ***Congrattions! Your Core has advanced to: Spirit ss - Base 2***

    He studied his pulsing, burning Core and could see that it wasrger and the mes more violent than when he¡¯d started. He began to take deep breaths and think calming thoughts, but it took a good half an hour before his vision was no longer tinted red, and he could breathe without wanting to snarl.

    ¡°You figured something out, didn¡¯t you?¡± Vullu asked. Victor looked at him; he¡¯d sat up in his corner. He sat, watching Victor, waiting for an answer.

    ¡°Yeah. Seems I need to focus on shit that pisses me off, and then my Core starts to pull Energy from around me, converting it to rage Energy.¡± Victor sat back, feeling exhausted and, for once, able to close his eyes without picturing Yre.

    ¡°Is that healthy?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t fucking know, man. I doubt it, but I¡¯m kinda fucked anyway, right? Not like I can take this Core out.¡± Victor couldn¡¯t help snapping, his frustration rapidly reigniting his anger.

    ¡°No, I suppose you can¡¯t. Not with the resources avable to us, that¡¯s for sure. How do you feel now?¡±

    ¡°A little annoyed at the twenty questions, but I was feeling better. I can close my eyes without thinking of, well, you know.¡± Victor shrugged and sighed deeply,ying back and throwing an arm over his eyes. ¡°Anyway, I gained a Core level, so that¡¯s something. Let¡¯s talk more in the morning; I¡¯m wiped, bro.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Victor.¡± It sounded like Vulluid back down, but Victor didn¡¯t open his eyes to check. He just focused on the ckness behind his eyes and tried to drift into it. Before he knew it, he was asleep.

    For the first time since he¡¯d been brought to this world, Yre didn¡¯t wake him up the next day. Victor and Vullu went through their routine like usual, and when they returned to their cages in the afternoon, Victor spent another few hours steeped in memories that filled him with frustration and rage. When he finished, his Core was hot and dense, and he felt like it might level again soon. He was spent and slept again, not chatting with Vullu and not ying dice. This cycle repeated for two days. On the third day, Victor¡¯s Core leveled again, and he noticed he had over three hundred Energy points avable to him now. He opened his eyes, breathed deeply, and painstakingly began the process of pushing all his rage-attuned Energy into his Core, slowlying out of the fury his cultivation drill seemed to induce.

    ¡°Your Core leveled again.¡± Vullu didn¡¯t phrase it as a question, so Victor didn¡¯t answer. They¡¯d not spoken much over thest few days - something was off with their dynamic that Victor didn¡¯t think could be fixed. The piece that made them connect had been Yre. Maybe that wasn¡¯t true, but Victor believed it, and so did Vullu, which made it true enough. His rage contained, and his vision clear again, he exhaled slowly and looked at Vullu. The Cadwalli was a dangerous fighter; Victor knew he held back a great deal when they sparred. He looked miserable, though, and Victor wondered what the old guy had to live for if he ever got out of here. Did he have a family? He¡¯d known Yre outside this ce; had they built ns together for when they might someday be free? Were those ns dead now?

    ¡°You doing alright, Vullu?¡± He didn¡¯t know where the question hade from, but Victor was d he said it. Sometimes stupid things escaped his mouth, but this had been right - he could feel it.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to leave, Victor. I earned my freedom a while ago; I¡¯d been staying to help Yre pay down her debt.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Well, shit, man. I can¡¯t me you. I¡¯d wanna get out of here too.¡± Victor was screaming inside his mind, but he managed to keep it out of his voice.

    ¡°Really, Victor? I¡¯m worried about you, but my heart is broken, and I think I need to seek out loved ones.¡± Victor¡¯s mind spasmed at thistest statement. Was he aplete bonehead? Had Yre and Vullu been, like, together the whole time? He thought they were something like friends or partners in crime; he hadn¡¯t noticed romance between the two. His mind shed back to how Yre used to sleep with her head on Vullu¡¯s thigh, and he groaned inwardly. He was an idiot.

    ¡°Vullu, you¡¯ve been through hell, bro. You should get the fuck out while you can. I¡¯ll fight my way free; I¡¯m determined. If nothing else, I¡¯ll do it for Yre.¡± Victor knew it was bravado, but he didn¡¯t care. He couldn¡¯t stomach the idea of Vullu sticking around this ce because he was worried about him. Vullu studied Victor for a few long moments, and then he stood up and started kicking at the cage door, making it rattle loudly with each blow of his hoof.

    ¡°Victor, I¡¯m not going to forget about you. Keep working on getting out, and I¡¯ll see what I can figure out from the outside.¡± The exit door mmed open, and Ponda came waddling down the aisle.

    ¡°What?¡± he barked.

    ¡°I¡¯m checking out, Ponda. Take me to Yund.¡±

    ¡°Har, we was betting on when you¡¯d do this. Urt¡¯s gonna be happy.¡± While Ponda fiddled with the cage door, Vullu stepped over to Victor and held out a hand. Victor took it and, for maybe thest time, gripped his sparring partner¡¯s hand, wincing at his iron grip.

    ¡°Take care,¡± Victor said. He wanted to say more, but he didn¡¯t trust himself. He¡¯d almost choked up on ¡°take care.¡±

    ¡°Remember what I said - keep working for it. I¡¯ll try to help you out.¡± With that, he strode out of the cage and down the aisle with Ponda, and when the heavy door mmed shut, it felt more final than ever before. Victor sat down, looked at his empty cell, and wondered what he could have done to change things, what he could have done not to be alone.

 Chapter 11: Berserk

    Chapter 11: Berserk

    Victor didn¡¯t sleep well the night Vullu left. Hey in his cage, feeling like he had way too much room to himself, and listened to the sounds of all the other prisoners. They came drifting over the wooden ts, between the bars of his cage, snoring, mumbling, farting, and rustling around in the scratchy hay. Victor used the piss bucket twice, always looking back and forth in the dim room, trying to see if any of the cages had wakeful upants. There was one thing he could praise Yund¡¯s prisoners for; they minded their own business when someone was using the bucket.

    Victor, bored in the middle of the night, decided to count the other prisoners, so he quietly moved around his cage, counting the slumbering, dark shadows in the other enclosures, and came up with only neen. Hadn¡¯t there been more than forty when he first arrived? More than fifty percent dead in a week or so? Even someone who wasn¡¯t a math wiz could see those odds weren¡¯t great. The stark reality of that fact added to the thoughts keeping him awake, and hey on his back, staring at the ceiling until the door crashed open, and Ponda came in, screaming at everyone to wake up.

    ¡°Big night at the Nail, vagabonds! Boss needs you to perform - make up for the dead and wounded from thest one. He¡¯s offering rewards; time to find your guts!¡± He stomped on the wooden nks and howled with his big furry fists pumping in the air.

    ¡°Hey, Ponda,¡± Victor said when the furry, rotund man approached his cage. ¡°Can you tell me what your people are called? I keep calling you an otter-man in my head cause we don¡¯t have people like you in my world.¡±

    ¡°Hah, kid, you always surprise me with whates outta your mouth. My people are the Vodkin, and we¡¯re the toughest damned people on Fanwath; remember that!¡± He unlocked Victor¡¯s cage and said, ¡°Now go eat some breakfast, then go to Boss¡¯s office; he wants a word with you. You know the way, right? You¡¯re not a lost little huldii without your friends, are you?¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s a joke, I don¡¯t get it; I don¡¯t know what the fuck a huldii is. I know the way,¡± Victor replied, slipping out of the cage, under Ponda¡¯s big arm.

    ¡°Hurry up, runt!¡± He growled after him, and Victor picked up his pace, despite trying to walk out coolly. He picked up his usual te of slop and tbread and sat down by himself, ignoring the res he felt from the other prisoners in the mess hall. Ponda might have been teasing, but Victor did feel the absence of his friends. He¡¯d been missing Yre, but even when they hadn¡¯t been talking much, he¡¯d taken somefort in having Vullu to hang around. He wolfed down his food, then left the mess and tapped on Yund¡¯s wooden office door.

    ¡°Come in!¡± the boss¡¯s voice bellowed, vibrating the flimsy door in its frame. Victor opened it and stepped into the cramped, messy space. Noting the distinct scent of grease and spices, he looked at Yund¡¯s desk and saw a big wooden tter covered in congealed, moldy food scraps.

    ¡°Boss, you wanted to see me?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, kid. You¡¯ve got two fights under your belt now, and I didn¡¯t forget my promise to you. Win today, and you¡¯ll be closer to a contract with me. We¡¯re short fighters, and I don¡¯t have new ¡®recruits¡¯ing for another week, so I¡¯m scheduling more than one match for most of you. Because you¡¯re tier zero, I think I can get you into three or four. You up for it? It¡¯s your chance for glory and to win a contract from me.¡±

    ¡°Do I have a choice?¡± Victor, truth be told, wanted to kick some ass. He knew that he was thinking of these Pit Nights like wrestling matches, at least subconsciously, and if he slowed down and really analyzed what wasing, he¡¯d be less enthused: death and bloodshed and maiming weren¡¯t as appetizing as pinning an opposing school¡¯s wrestler.

    ¡°No. I wanted to gauge your enthusiasm, though - might have some bearing on what kinda fights I get you into.¡±

    ¡°I just want to earn a contract; I don¡¯t give a fuck anymore. Put me in with the asshole that killed Yre.¡±

    ¡°Hah, you¡¯d be dead before you picked up a weapon. You¡¯re not ready for that kind of speed; he was tier two. So was Yre, by the way.¡±

    ¡°Tier two?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, kid, higher than level twenty. You sure don¡¯t know shit, do you? Don¡¯t worry; if you live, you¡¯ll have some new cagemates soon, and you can ask them all the dumb questions you want. Now get outta here, so I can figure out this lineup.¡± He picked up his clipboard and waved it around. Victor turned and walked out, going over to the corner of the gym where he and Vullu had been practicing thest few days. The big Ardeni guy, Zan, was already there, punching the wooden beam that Vullu used to like to use. Victor ignored him and started doing a little circuit of pushups, crunches, and pullups on the nearby bar.

    ¡°Your daddy¡¯s not here anymore, huh?¡± Zan said after a while, watching Victor finish a set of pullups.

    ¡°Fuck you, man.¡± Victor dropped and went into his next circuit, sweat already pouring out of him, soaking the filthy, stinking shirt he¡¯d worn now for over a week. Zan snorted and turned to punch his post, apparently not wanting to push the matter further. Victor hadn¡¯t been bullied in a long time - not since middle school when he¡¯d hit a growth spurt and joined the eighth-grade wrestling team. He knew there were people in the Wagon Wheel that could beat his ass without any struggle. Vullu had made that clear to him, trying to help him learn to keep his mouth shut, so he didn¡¯t offend any of the ¡°monsters¡± in the ce. He figured the best way to deal with guys like Zan was to act like he wasn¡¯t scared but not to do anything to piss them off. Zan seemed content to ignore him after the jab about Vullu, so he kept working out, moving to weapon practice, starting with knives.

    It wasn¡¯t nearly as much fun stabbing and thrusting into the air without Vullu or Yre to encourage him or even mockingly correct his form. He¡¯d decided to go turn in the knife and get a spear when Ponda screamed at everyone to get all the gear put away and line up. Victor was one of the first in line, and he watched the others filter in from the cage room or the mess hall; he¡¯d never seen the fighters looking more bedraggled, tired, and low energy. ¡°Time to chain up!¡± Ponda yelled, ¡°Fights are starting earlier today.¡± He and Urt moved among them, handing out belts and connecting the chain, then they were off, just a single column of eighteen fighters. Yund wasn¡¯t to be seen, but Victor supposed he¡¯d probably gone ahead to finalize the matchups.

    It was bright out while they took their circuitous route through the city and down to the docks. Victor kept his head up, meeting the res of the people that scurried out of their way or openly judged; the average citizens took pride in looking down on the prisoner-fighters. At least that¡¯s the way it seemed to Victor. He saw a lot of beautiful women, the Ardeni had especially bright eyes with exotic colors, and he was caught staring a few times. Looks of disgust chased his eyes away, and he almost blushed, but a cold sliver of anger kept the blood out of his cheeks. Who the fuck were these pretty people to judge him? He wasn¡¯t a criminal and hadn¡¯t done anything to deserve his treatment. Or had he? His friend Tracy liked to talk a lot about ¡°karma¡± - had he done something to deserve getting summoned to this ce?

    He tried to pay more attention to the kinds of buildings they went by this time. He saw a lot of houses, some ces that looked like restaurants, lots of shops, a few big government buildings, and, of course, all the warehouses down by the docks. The Rusty Nail wasn¡¯t as crowded asst time when they arrived. The sun was still quite a ways above the eastern horizon, so Victor figured more people would being as the night progressed. Ponda led around the walkways bordering the various pits and then put them into their roped-off area near the back wall. Victor leaned back against the wall, trying to avoid looking at or talking to any other prisoners. He wasn¡¯t in a mood to mess with those guys on a good day, and he was feeling particrly moody.

    He leaned there with his eyes closed, arms folded on his chest, until the buzz in the air grew in volume and a different kind of energy permeated the atmosphere. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the crowd had filled out, and people were starting to lead fighters to pits. Victor looked around the periphery of their holding area, trying to spot Yund, and finally saw him striding toward the Wagon Wheel fighters.

    ¡°Listen for your names,ds!¡± He hollered, ignoring the fact that a third of his fighters were women. Ponda and Urt started calling names, but Yund pointed at Victor and beckoned him forward. ¡°You¡¯ve got four fights. If you win, kid, I¡¯ll set you up a sweet contract when we get back. I know you might be worried about the terms, and I want you to feel motivated, so you can count on a gold level reward in addition to your contract. Sound good?¡±

    ¡°Uh,¡± Victor started. No, it didn¡¯t fucking sound good. Four pinche fights in one day? Was he trying to get rid of him? Still, Victor knew he couldn¡¯t argue or change the man¡¯s mind, and he¡¯d always been game for a challenge. He couldn¡¯t help feeling the parallels between Yund¡¯s little speech and what his coach often did before a big meet. Did he ever act like he couldn¡¯t win when his coach spoke to him? Hell no. ¡°Yeah, it sounds fucking good.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit! Follow me.¡± Yund turned and started wending his way toward one of the bigger pits near the center of the warehouse. When they came up to the edge of ring number two, Victor stopped in his tracks.

    ¡°What the fuck are those?¡± Pacing around and hissing up at the spectators in the center of the sandy pit were five gray-skinned little men with long ck nails and stringy, patchy white hair. They were wearing rags and waving clubs and knives around, trying to intimidate the crowd. Their thin lips pulled back when they hissed, revealing mouths filled with pointy, jagged rows of teeth.

    ¡°Those are Yeksa, kid. Your first match.¡±

    ¡°Uh, who else is going in there with me?¡± Victor looked around, guessing some other low-level fighters would be going in against the Yeksa with him.

    ¡°Hah, you¡¯re on your own! Just go crazy - they¡¯re weak. Don¡¯t let them swarm ya! Now get up to the pit''s edge and wait for the word.¡±

    ¡°You signed me up for four fights, and the first one is against five fucking dudes?¡± Victor scowled at Yund, but he stepped up to the edge, staring down at the gray little savages. They didn¡¯t seem to speak, just hissing and growling, brandishing their weapons.

    ¡°Choose a weapon,¡± said a smooth-shaven Ardeni. In each of his blue hands, he held a different weapon - a club and an axe. Victor reached for the axe out of reflex; he¡¯d spent a lot more time with it than other weapons because Vullu favored it over other weapons. The Ardeni looked at Yund. ¡°Ready?¡± Yund nodded, and the man shouted, ¡°Begin!¡± Victor stepped forward and thought about his Berserk ability, using the knowledge the System had put in his head to activate it, sending a surge of rage-attuned Energy flooding out of his Core and into his body. His vision turned a deep crimson, fury filled his mind, and, as he fell to the sand, his back arched, his muscles visibly convulsed, and he roared like a caveman.

    Hended in the sand on all fours, his mouth hanging open in a maniacal grin, a crazed look in his eyes. The axe was still nestled in his grip, and he lifted it in front of his face, where he studied the de for a moment, his brow furrowing in fury. The Yeksa, for their part, hissed and, as one, started charging over the sand toward Victor. He was still transfixed by something, staring at the axe, when the Yeksa fell upon him, clubs and knives pummelling and perforating his flesh.

    The image of Yre falling and twitching when the axe hit her head faded, and Victor confronted his reality as little wooden clubs smacked down onto his skull, shoulders, and back. At least two knives bit into his back. Boiling heat had filled his flesh, and Victor roared with the terrible fury that suffused his being,shing out with the axe and surging to his feet. The steel de of the axe caught one Yeksa on the shoulder and severed its arm. Victor roared and began toy about himself with the axe, ignoring the clubs and knivesing toward him. As the little knives sank into him, and the Yeksa pulled them back for another strike, his flesh pulled together, and almost no blood seeped out. The clubs'' contusions healed even as the Yeksa lifted them for another strike. Victor screamed and willed more rage Energy out of his Core and into his muscles, and he smashed his axe back and forth, wading through the little savage men like a reaper at harvest.

    As quickly as the fight began, it was over, and only pieces of the Yeksa remained. When Victor saw no more immediate enemies, he looked around outside the pit, and when a particr face triggered his rage, he hurled his axe at him. Luckily for Victor, far more powerful people watched the fights than he, and his axe was easily intercepted. He paced and growled, visible steam rising from his blood-soaked clothing, and then it was over, and he fell to his knees, limply staring at the sand. He remembered the fight, but it was hazy like snatches of a dream. He looked around the pit, saw the broken, dismembered bodies, and almost vomited, but then thin streams of yellow Energy motes began to flow into him from the five different corpses, and his nausea retreated, his exhaustion faded. As he climbed from the pit, he waved away his notification:

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 6 base human. You have 5 attribute points to allocate.***

 Chapter 12: Crowd Favorite

    Chapter 12: Crowd Favorite

    Yund pped Victor on the back, put his big, meaty arm over his shoulders, and led him back to their staging area. On the way, he said, ¡°I told you those things are weak. You made minced cutlets of ¡®em. Listen, your next fight isn¡¯t in this bracket; we gotta wait for the first bracket fights to wrap up, so you might have twenty minutes or an hour. Go shake out the cobwebs, get some water, and be ready!¡± Then he propelled him toward the rope, and Victor slipped under, looking for their big water barrel.

    Sarl was standing near the barrel, and he handed Victor a cup. Victor drank deeply, sighed, then scooped the cup into the barrel to refill it. While he poured water over his head, shirt, and arms, trying to get some of the blood off, Sarl said, ¡°Hey, Victor, I wanted to say I was sorry to see what happened to Yre.¡± Victor looked up sharply, squinting at Sarl¡¯s face, and he saw only sincerity.

    ¡°Thanks, man.¡± He felt guilty inside like he should have a nice thing to say about Yre whenever she came up, but he just didn¡¯t have those kinds of words. Not right now, in the middle of a Fight Night and covered in blood.

    ¡°I take it you won your fight, eh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, one of ¡®em.¡±

    ¡°You have more than one? As far as I know, I only have one today.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you heard him. They¡¯re short or some bullshit. I have four fights. Well, three now.¡± Victor shook his arms off, then downed a third cup of water, loudly sighing as he hung the cup back on the peg.

    ¡°Four? That seems extreme; I¡¯d be tempted to wonder if Boss was trying to get rid of you.¡±

    ¡°Nah, man. I think he knows about my Core. He saw me fuck that guy up the other night, and I think the guy who helped me make my Core told him about it.¡± Victor had been thinking about Yund¡¯s change of attitude toward him, and it only made sense that the guy who Yund paid would tell him whether he¡¯d had any sess. It seemed like a rage-attuned core was perfect for Victor¡¯s situation. All Yund had to do was drop him in a pit with only enemies and tell him to go nuts. Victor didn¡¯t know how effective something like Berserk would be among high-tier fighters, but it seemed to be borderline overpowered at his current level.

    ¡°Your Core?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he paid some guy to help me figure out what kind of Core to form, then help me with it. Didn¡¯t you get a reward for winning that fight with me?¡±

    ¡°Oh, he offered me a race fruit or extra time off my sentence. I took the time-off.¡±

    ¡°Does that motherfucker ever let us take a shower or something?¡± Victor asked, looking down at his shirt and jeans.

    ¡°Aye, if you win enough fights, he¡¯ll reward you with things like baths, extra meals, prostitutes, even, as you¡¯ve seen, special things like racial upgrades. He¡¯s more generous with fighters with long contracts.¡± Sarl pped Victor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s good that you have won your first three fights. It means you¡¯ve got a fighting spirit, and that¡¯s half of what you need to survive the pits, or so Kurl says. He¡¯s been fighting the longest among those in my pen - there are seven of us.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the other half?¡± Victor almost didn¡¯t want to ask.

    ¡°Luck! You need to be lucky with who you get matched against, with injuries, with sickness, with your manager; is he poisoning you so he can make you throw a fight? Did he do any of a hundred other things to ruin your chances?¡±

    ¡°Fuck man, I just want to get outta this mess. I wanna win my freedom, then find a wizard or something to figure out how I can get home.¡±

    ¡°Good, keep your goals manageable!¡± Sarlughed, and Victor kinda saw the humor in his words, so he chuckled along. Then Ponda¡¯s huge paw was on his shoulder, and the big Vodkin pulled him toward the ropes.

    ¡°Hurry up; we¡¯re almostte,¡± Ponda said, shoving people out of his way as he dragged Victor between the pits toward the center again. What was with him getting the big pits tonight? Victor hustled after him, and when they came to the edge of pit one, he stood on the little fighter¡¯s tform and was relieved to see no swarming monsters waiting for him within.

    ¡°Just another fighter, then,¡± he said softly to himself. Trying to get pumped up, he hopped in ce and closed his eyes, thinking of things that got his blood boiling, trying to avoid the most harrowing memories. He remembered how Zan had referred to Vullu as ¡°his daddy.¡± He was mocking Victor¡¯s rtionship with Yre and Vullu, totally making a mockery of his memories with them! Victor felt red heat start to pour out of his Core, and a cruel smile twisted his lips.

    ¡°Fighters are ready!¡± A booming voice sounded from the left, and Victor opened his eyes, noting the Vodkin judge looming in his red-tinted vision. He looked down into the sandy pit and saw spiked clubs here and there in the sand, three of them. He looked around the perimeter and realized he was one of three fighters standing on the edge, ready to jump in. He stood with his legs partially flexed, listening for the signal, his thighs trembling with anticipation. ¡°Begin!¡± The judge roared, and Victorunched himself forward and to the left toward a club handle sticking out of the sand.

    As he flew through the air, Victor saw that the other two also had jumped toward weapons. When hended, he grabbed the club''s handle in one hand, spinning to face his opponents and preparing to activate Berserk. The other two fighters were both Shadeni - their red faces, snarling in menacing grimaces as they stalked one another and Victor. Both men wore tattered leather clothing, and neither looked particrly graceful in the sand, but Victor didn¡¯t let his guard down, choosing the one on his right to start to circle. The other Shadeni saw what he was doing and nked Victor¡¯s target, forcing him to split his attention. None of them charged the others, though, and Victor slowly inched closer, keeping his club ready, moving on the balls of his feet, his center low and primed to react. Victor could feel the tension, feel the knife¡¯s edge their inaction was bnced on, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, assholes!¡± as he triggered his Berserk.

    Burning rage surged out of his Core into his body, and as before, Victor¡¯s vision went crimson. His body convulsed as his muscles thrashed and swelled, then he was roaring and charging into the Shadeni, swinging his spiked club in an arcing blur. The Shadeni, remarkably, managed to lift his club to block, but Victor smashed into him so hard that their clubs¡¯ spikes married the two wooden weapons. The momentum of Victor¡¯s swing continued forward, ripping the club from the Shadeni¡¯s hand and burying the long nails of both clubs into his chest. He was thrown backward, stumbling into the other Shadeni, and they both scrambled for bnce, falling away from Victor.

    ¡°Come on!¡± Victor roared and leaped at the uninjured Shadeni, smoothly stepping inside the arc of his club and scooping him up in a double leg takedown. Victor pressed his chest into the Shadeni, using his mass to hold him down, while he scrambled up his legs to kneel on his arms, then he began to punch his face. He hit him once, twice, three thunderous blows to his face, then Victor¡¯s vision darkened, and stars exploded in front of his eyes. He toppled to the left, his face nting in the sand and grinding for several inches. The other Shadeni had extracted the clubs from his chest and smashed Victor in the back of the head.

    Victor didn¡¯t quite understand how, but his vision started to clear, and through the red haze of his vision, he saw the sandy floor and one wooden wall of the pit. Dimly, he was aware of the screaming and shouting and cheeringing from around him, but he just grunted and scooted his knees up under himself and pushed up onto his hands. He nced to the right, and there were the two Shadeni. Both looked winded and bloodied, circling each other, having dismissed Victor as a goner. Victor didn¡¯t pause to consider his rationality when he got pissed that they¡¯d written him off. Instead, he pushed on that rage, pulling more Energy from his Core. He began to pant heavily, and drool was pouring out of his snarling mouth when he jumped to his feet and mmed into the nearest Shadeni - the one he¡¯d hit in the chest earlier.

    Hepletely body-checked the Shadeni into the wooden wall, and Victor heard ribs crack. He grabbed the guy¡¯s wrist and twisted it with all his strength until the man screamed and dropped the club. As he reached for the fallen weapon, the other Shadeni charged at him and brought his club down for Victor¡¯s skull. Victor grabbed the club¡¯s handle and rolled over his shoulder, away from his enemy¡¯s swing. He smoothly rolled onto his feet, then screamed and charged at the two Shadeni, smashing his club from left to right and right to left, the ferocity of his blows overpowering their attempts at defense. Hepletely ignored their punches and half-formed club swings. And as his brutal smashes broke through, their defense crumbled, and he hit them again and again until they were still, and golden motes of Energy were streaming into him.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 7 base human. You have 10 attribute points to allocate.***

    Victor waited for his vision to clear, but he realized it already had. Sometime while he¡¯d been smashing those two guys, his Berserk had worn off, and he hadn¡¯t even noticed. What did that say about him? What was he bing? He shook his head and looked at his notification. ¡°Fuck me; I forgot to spend myst five points.¡± He reached his hand back and felt his skull. It was tender, and his hair was soaked with blood, but he couldn¡¯t find any big lumps or broken bits. Whatever cut had bled was also closed up. Slowly he became aware of the crowd standing up around the pit, screaming and cheering. Several of them held paper slips in the air howling with glee. They were all fixated on him, waiting for him to do something, maybe? He let go of his head and raised his gory, bloody spiked club into the air, over his head. The screaming and cheering began anew, with increased fervor. ¡°Fucking chill out, you psychos," he said under his breath, but he still grinned and shook his club in the air while he walked over to the little tform where Ponda was waiting.

    ¡°Kid, I thought you died when he smashed your head!¡± Ponda said as he hauled him up to the edge.

    ¡°No such luck, big guy.¡± Victor realized he still held his club, and a lot of people had eyes on him, so he dropped it down into the pit. ¡°Fuck, I¡¯m thirsty.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go; you¡¯ll have a little time before you have to fight again. Can you go crazy like that as much as you want?¡± Ponda started walking back to their section, clearing a path for Victor as long as he stayed near the big man¡¯s back.

    ¡°What do you mean ¡®go crazy?¡¯¡±

    ¡°You know,¡± Ponda looked back over his shoulder, ¡°When your eyes get all full of blood, steam rises off you, and you scream and smash people around.¡±

    ¡°Hah, well, today¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve had a skill for it, so I¡¯m still learning its limits. It says it has a long cooldown, but I¡¯ve used it in both fights, so it can¡¯t be that long.¡±

    ¡°¡®Long¡¯ can mean anything from a few minutes to a few days. It sounds like your skill is usable after a few minutes. I think the System calls it ¡®long¡¯ because, in a fight, twenty minutes is the same as forever.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the fucking truth.¡± Victor had never known how long six minutes could be until he¡¯d started wrestling. They were back at their section, and Victor made a beeline for the water. Ponda pped him on the shoulder as he went by, and Victor actually felt like the big guy was being friendly. Sarl wasn¡¯t there this time, and Victor figured he probably was off fighting. For a minute, Victor wondered if he¡¯d be back. Would he die in this fight? At that moment, Victor decided he didn¡¯t want to get close to any more fighters. He already felt like he¡¯d be gutted if Sarl died, and he hardly knew the guy. He couldn¡¯t handle any more Yre¡¯s, that was for sure. He grabbed a cup and began the process of hydrating.

    After drinking his fill and washing some of the blood from his hands and arms, he sat back against the wall and contemted his attributes. It was evident to him that his Berserk ability was the only reason he was alive right now. It allowed him to go all-out offensively while holding his body together against the stabs and pummeling he¡¯d inevitably take. He decided to stick with his strengths for now and spread the points around his physical attributes. When he was done, his strength was up to twenty-five, his vitality was a solid fifteen, and his dexterity and agility were both at twelve. When he applied the ten attribute points he¡¯d banked, the surge of Energy that flooded through him, presumably making the improvements, was intoxicating, and he closed his eyes, just absorbing the good vibes.

    Victor¡¯s third fight for the night took a little longer toe around. ording to Ponda, a few fights had turned into real brawls, dragging on for a while. He said that some of the tier two and three fighters had abilities that made them very hard to kill. In any case, the time finally came, and Ponda led him back toward pit number two again, right near the center of the warehouse. However, something new happened this time when Victor stepped onto the tform: people started cheering and pping. A few of the spectators even shouted his name. ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited,¡± Ponda said, standing next to him. ¡°They cheer for you because they¡¯ve already seen you bleed tonight, and they¡¯re happy you didn¡¯t slink away to the infirmary.¡±

    ¡°Is that an option?¡± Victor couldn¡¯t stop himself from smiling along when Pondaughed and shook his head.

    ¡°Not unless you can¡¯t walk.¡±

    ¡°Fighters ready?¡± Victor looked at the familiar judge and nodded along with Ponda. He nced around the pit and saw he only had to fight one opponent; a tall, striking woman with blue skin and pale green hair and eyes. She wore leather pants and a tight cloth shirt, and she looked like she¡¯d juste out of a beauty salon - she was so clean, her hair so lustrous. She frowned and nodded in Victor¡¯s general direction.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± was all he had time to ask before the judge shouted for them to fight. Ponda gave him a little shove, and he fell toward the sand and mortalbat with the most beautiful person he¡¯d ever seen.

    ¡°Victor, hmm? I heard the crowd - they like you.¡± Her green hair bobbed in a high ponytail as she circled him. He licked his lips nervously, not liking the idea of beating up a beautiful girl. So far, there weren¡¯t any weapons in the pit, so he moved in close to grapple; he wanted to test the waters a little. She met his attempts to grab her neck or wrists with easy deflections, and when he tried to slip in for a single-leg takedown, she hopped back and gave him a shove, so he stumbled to one knee. He smiled, kind of enjoying thepetition, and when he started to stand, turning to face her, her snap kick caught him on the forehead, and he stumbled back onto his ass, bright stars blooming in his vision.

    The kick caught him by surprise, and Victor knew he was being dumb, taking her more lightly as a threat just because she was hot, so when she shed in with a straight punch aimed at his throat, he pivoted and swept her legs, sending her crashing into the sand. Victor had always had a strong ground game, and he was on her before she¡¯d gotten her hands under her. He slid around behind her, grabbing her head in a chokehold. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was recoiling at the idea of choking this girl to death, but more immediately, he just wanted to immobilize her. That¡¯s when an ear-shattering sound ripped out of her throat, sending a visceral shockwave of piercing needles into Victor. He felt like someone was peeling his skin off as he rolled away from the girl in the sand, thrashing like a man on fire.

    This time when his vision went red, it wasn¡¯t from rage but from blood. Blood was sheeting down into his eyes, coating his face, arms, and chest. Had she actually shot him with a thousand needles? Where the fuck did theye from? He groaned, rolling in the sand, and then he felt a thunderous concussion as her foot mmed into his kidney. He gagged, rolling again, trying to get some distance. The deep throbbing pain from his lower back told him he¡¯d taken an injury, unlike anything he¡¯d experienced before. Something inside him was broken. He pulled his knees up to his chest, turtling up while struggling for breath. That¡¯s when he heard her giggles. She was fucking giggling while she stalked around him in the sand. He caught a glimpse of her as she darted in front of him, then she was behind him, and he tried to spin to keep his legs between them, but she didn¡¯te in for a kick or punch; she screamed again, and thousands of tiny, fiery points of pain ignited along his shins and knees. Blood darkened the denim of his jeans, soaking them through, and Victor inhaled sharply, wanting to let out a scream, but the fiery pain was too intense; his scream choked in his throat.

    ¡°Does it hurt, boy? I¡¯ve heard from reliable sources that it does.¡± Her voice had a lilting quality, light-hearted and teasing. She giggled, and Victor closed his eyes and activated his Berserk ability. Instantly the fiery pain all over his body went silent, and he thrashed onto his back as his body surged with burning rage-attuned Energy. ¡°Dying already, boy? I haven¡¯t finished entertaining the crowd yet.¡± She screamed again, and Victor felt the tiny needles hitting him all along his stomach, arms, chest, and neck. They didn¡¯t hurt, though; he just knew they¡¯d hit him like you¡¯d notice water running over your hand at the same temperature as your body; it didn¡¯t burn or feel cold; it was just there. He hopped to his feet, his face a terrible visage of steaming blood, baleful red eyes, and snarling blood-flecked teeth.

    The beautiful Ardeni woman¡¯s smile fell away, and she took a step back. She raised her hands and screamed again, and once more, Victor felt the pressure of something hitting him, though it didn¡¯t bother him anymore. He roared in a fury and was on her in a heartbeat. She tried to drive him aside with a spinning round kick, but Victor punched her shin as it came at him, cracking the bone. She wailed in pain, but before she could fall, Victor was on her, sliding behind her, one powerful arm around her neck, squeezing herrynx into the crook of his elbow. He roared up at the sky while he crushed the life from her, and the crowd roared back. Her body went limp, and Victor paced around in the sand, still holding her tight in his arm, looking for something more to fight.

    When he came back to himself, he noticed the notification in his vision:

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 8 base human. You have 5 attribute points to allocate.***

    When he reached up to dismiss it, the girl¡¯s corpse fell away, and he realized he¡¯d been holding her this whole time. The crowd was going wild, chanting his name, cheering the blood-soaked monster in the middle of the pit. Victor took two steps away from the body and vomited.

 Chapter 13: Underdog

    Chapter 13: Underdog

    Victor didn¡¯t remember a lot between climbing out of the ring and slumping down against the wall in the roped-off area. There were only a handful of fighters standing around orying on the wooden floor, everyone else presumably dead, injured, or off fighting in a pit. He remembered Ponda¡¯s big meaty hand on the back of his neck, guiding him along the walkways above the pits, then his gruff, ¡°You got maybe an hour ¡®til yourst fight.¡± Then Victor had stumbled, still soaked in sticky blood, to the wall and copsed.

    His mind was blissfully nk; he¡¯d started with some self-loathing about killing that girl, but it didn¡¯t stick. He hardly remembered doing it for one thing, and for the other, he very clearly remembered her mocking, nasty tone as she tried to bleed him to death with whatever magic she¡¯d been using. No, even when he looked at his brown-red stained blue jeans, he couldn¡¯t get too disgusted. His mind was just too tired. Had he been using Berserk too much? Did it have some sort of effect on his mental state? What if it didn¡¯t work in the next fight? He couldn¡¯t find the energy to give a shit. He just sat there, eyes closed, staring into the ck void behind his eyelids.

    ¡°You look wrung out, Victor.¡± Sarl hade to stand near him, leaning against the wall while he sipped a cup of water.

    ¡°I am, bro. Hey, you won your fight?¡± Sarl didn¡¯t look bad - his usual wan self, with maybe a new bruise or two.

    ¡°Aye, I did. Thank Nature.¡±

    ¡°Nature? Do Ghelli worship nature?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t think worship is the right word. Maybe revere would be more fitting. We recognize nature¡¯s power and potential, and we pay respect to it. What troubles you, though, Victor? You¡¯ve won three fights now, correct?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, man, but I don¡¯t feel great about it. I have an ability that sends me into kind of an enraged frenzy for a while, and, fuck; there¡¯s no getting around the fact that I¡¯ve fucking ughtered quite a few people now. What am I bing? Jesus, can I ever go back home? How many freshmen atmunity college have killed a bunch of people? I guess it happens, but my old life just seems so distant and small now. I feel like I¡¯m losing myself. Does that make sense?¡± Victor was pissed at himself for spilling his guts to Sarl. Hadn¡¯t he just resolved not to get closer to anybody? Here he was asking this guy for advice like he was some kind of counselor or something.

    ¡°It makes sense, Victor, more than you know. I walked that road long before I was put into these pit fights. I took a leap for vengeance that forever separated me from my old life. I chose that road, but you didn¡¯t - you¡¯re just trying to survive. You can¡¯t me yourself for that.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, you took a leap?¡±

    ¡°I mean just that. I stepped out of myfortable life of submission and purposefully crossed a line. I killed people outside thew to make them pay for what they¡¯d done to my loved ones. There was no going back from that. Even when I was done and I submitted, my old life was dead. Now I live for the unknown. Will I live through enough fights to be free again? What will I make of myself then? I stopped caring the moment my wife died, though. I suppose that¡¯s rather liberating.¡±

    ¡°Heavy shit, bro.¡± Victor had a hard time feeling sorry for himself when he heard Sarl¡¯s story, as vague as it was. He looked around at the eight or so fighters hanging around behind the ropes and studied their faces. Everyone was fighting demons, he supposed. He wasn¡¯t the only one suffering this shitty existence. Sure, he¡¯d been kidnapped, but judging from what he¡¯d seen of this world¡¯s legal system, he doubted he was the only one unjustly thrown to the pits.

    ¡°Herees Boss,¡± Sarl said, nodding to the big Shadeni purposefully stomping toward their section.

    ¡°Kid, your fight¡¯sing up. Come on.¡± He waved for Victor and held up the rope so he could easily duck under it. ¡°Lady¡¯s tits, boy - you¡¯repletely soaked in blood. You win this one, and I¡¯ll throw a trip to the baths into the pot.¡± Victor didn¡¯t reply, just followed in Yund¡¯s wake as he pushed through the crowds toward the central pits again.

    ¡°Damn, why are all my fights in the center tonight?¡±

    ¡°Because I secured some interesting fights for you. You¡¯re wee! This next one is a bit out of your league, but he¡¯s a straight brawler - nothing shy as far as I can tell.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean out of my league?¡± Victor had to shout at Yund¡¯s back to be heard over the cheering, stomping crowds they were walking through.

    ¡°Well, thest fight you won was against a tier one. I think she was level twelve. This guy is closer to tier two.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck, dude? I¡¯m level eight?¡± As he said it, Victor remembered his five attribute points, and he hurriedly put them into vitality.

    ¡°This guy is strong and tough but not particrly fast, and his Energy ability is almost non-existent. You can do it!¡± Yund had slowed to turn toward Victor while he spoke, and Victor could see in his eyes that he wished he hadn¡¯t told him anything about his opponent. Was he really hoping Victor could win, or did he build him up with those other three fights just so he could bet against him in this one?

    ¡°Yo, are you fucking me over, Boss?¡±

    ¡°Just get your ass in there, and beat this guy to hell. If you win, things will look up for you around here, get me?¡± Yund leaned down, his big ck eyes squinted in a scowl, brooking no argument. Victor just nodded. As they approached pit ¡°one¡± in the warehouse center, the crowd started to p, and Victor realized that many of them were chanting his name again. Had Yund told them his name? Did they get some sort of fighter list? He¡¯d be lying if he said he didn¡¯t enjoy the adtion. He always liked it when he won a match, and the audience cheered, but this was on another level. These people were hyped to hell, stomping, cheering, pumping their fists. They also had a rabid, almost insane look in their eyes, but who can be picky when ites to adoring fans, right?

    He stood on his little tform, waiting for the judge¡¯s word, while staring across the pit, trying to get a glimpse of his opponent. He saw Ponda walking around over there, or he thought he did, but then the huge Vodkin stepped onto the tform, and Victor saw the white stripe running down the center of his fur from his forehead to his chin. ¡°Definitely not Ponda.¡±

    ¡°Fighters ready?¡± Victor didn¡¯t get a chance to respond because Yund did it for him.

    ¡°Ready!¡± he hollered. The Vodkin lifted a ham-sized fist and roared.

    ¡°Begin!¡± the Judge shouted, and Victor jumped in before someone got the satisfaction of pushing him. The ground shook slightly as the Vodkin dropped down, with a grunt, catching himself on a fist as he fell forward. Victor nced around, making sure he hadn¡¯t missed any weapons, and then he backed away, wanting some distance between him and his opponent so he could try to gauge what he was dealing with in terms of speed and surprises. The big white-striped, otter-looking asshole stomped directly at Victor, his fists raised and nothing but business on his face. The guy had to weigh more than three hundred pounds, and Victor didn¡¯t think he was strong enough to take him down; certainly, he couldn''t throw him.

    ¡°Quit running, rat,¡± the big man growled as he stomped after Victor. Victor didn¡¯t know what to do; he was hesitant to pull the trigger on his Berserk skill right away. What if this guy lived through the punishment he could dish out? Would Victor have any fight left in him after it wore off? He wanted to try to wear this guy down a little first, but he was out of ideas. The Vodkin charged him suddenly, his huge thighs bunching and rippling with the effort of driving such a big body forward. Victor dove to his left, rolling over his shoulder and back up onto his feet, altogether avoiding the charge.

    ¡°You have rats in this world?¡± Victor asked,ughing at the absurdity of that thought being at the forefront of his mind.

    ¡°Fight me! Fight Durn!¡± the Vodkin had nearly smashed into the wall in his charge, and when he turned and screamed this challenge, saliva fluttered out of his gaping mouth with the force of his lungs. The crowd cheered and began to chant, ¡°Durn, Durn, Durn!¡± Victor was losing them, it seemed.

    ¡°Spears!¡± the Judge cried, and someone was quick toply, tossing spears down, both of themnding near Durn.

    ¡°That¡¯s bullshit!¡± Victor yelled. Then, as Durn stooped to scoop up a spear, he sprinted for the other one. Something in the back of his mind tickled, and, as he bent to pick up the spear, Victor dropped t. Durn¡¯s spear ripped through the air where he¡¯d been standing, struck the pit wall, and smashed through one of the sturdy boards, vibrating in ce for a moment. ¡°That woulda fucked me up,¡± Victor hissed, rolling to his knees and diving away, spear in hand, as Durn stomped toward where he¡¯din.

    Victor began, then, to really test Durn. He used his spear to keep him at bay, trying little feints and jabs with it, seeing what he could get through the big man¡¯s guard. Durn might not be the fastest guy Victor had ever met, but he was tough as hell and not exactly bad at fighting. He pped the spear aside most of the time, but when Victor got a jab through, here and there, it only seemed to enrage the big man. Soon he was bleeding from four or five minor puncture wounds and one long gash along his forearm, but he wasn¡¯t any slower or less aggressive. Victor, on the other hand, was starting to run out of steam, and he began to wonder if this fight was hopeless. If this guy really had ten or so levels on him, that seemed like a pretty huge attribute advantage. What if he had something like fifty vitality? Could Victor keep this dance up long enough to wear the big guy down?

    Victor, always on his back foot, moving away in a constant retreating circle, tried to figure out a pattern to open Durn¡¯s guard. He found that, if he feinted low, stepped left, then feinted high, he could almost be sure to have a clean shot at Durn¡¯s belly. He repeated the process three times, never taking the shot, just to be sure, then Victor began to channel Energy out of his Core, into his pathways, leading to his arms. He instantly noticed the red tint to the light, his heart beating faster, and his breath roughly tickling his vocal cords into a growl as he exhaled. Then he used his feintbo to open Durn¡¯s guard and pushed with all his will at the Energy in his pathways, driving the spear forward. It moved like a bolt of red lightning, catching Durn on the left side of his belly and exploding through hisyers of fat, muscle, and organs to punch out through his back.

    Durn screamed, but it wasn¡¯t a death knell; no, he screamed in fury and disbelief, and his ck eyes zed with sudden red light. He charged forward into the spear that Victor still held, dumbstruck by the reaction, and swiped one massive fist with such terrible force that it dislocated Victor¡¯s shoulder, lifted him from the ground, and sent him tumbling through the air to smash into the pit wall. Durn roared, raising his arms in the air, careless of the fluids gushing out around the terrible spear wound in his gut. The crowd roared back, stomping their feet and chanting Durn¡¯s name.

    Victor was stunned but not out. He¡¯d fallen along the wall toy slumped against it. His forehead was bleeding into his eyes again, and his arm was pure agony. He thought something else might have broken in the crash with the wall, but he couldn¡¯t be sure. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and activated Berserk. His searing pain faded to just a feeling that was there but not important. He stood up, careless of how his left leg bowed inward, and the only thing he could see was Durn. In the center of Victor¡¯s vision, he stood there, a red-soaked obstacle that needed to be knocked down. Something was funny with Victor¡¯s left arm; it didn¡¯t want to move like he intended, flopping with a strange grinding sensation in his shoulder. He didn¡¯t care; the other arm worked fine. He stomped toward Durn, who was just refocusing on Victor after his open-mouthed roar of dominance toward the spectators. Durn growled when he saw Victor striding toward him with a terrible expression on his face. A little of the heat faded from Durn¡¯s eyes as though he could read the intentions ying across Victor¡¯s mind, and rather than charge forward, he took a half-step back.

    Victor didn¡¯t wait to see what Durn was doing; he reached with his right arm and grabbed the spear shaft protruding from Durn¡¯s stomach. Durn swiped at him with an oversized fist, but Victor ducked under it, stepping forward to Durn¡¯s left and shoving the spear to the right, forcing him to twist away barking and coughing blood; then, he stomped into the side of Durn¡¯s knee. It was like kicking a small tree, but Victor¡¯s rage-fueled blow elicited a loud pop from the joint, and he knew he¡¯d torn at least one tendon. Durn howled in fury and pain, but the noise only made Victor¡¯s wicked grin widen. He let go of the spear shaft and continued past Durn, grabbing it where it protruded from his back, just below the spearhead, and as Durn stumbled forward, Victor strode in the opposite direction, yanking the full length of the spear through Durn¡¯s body.

    The crowd was going apoplectic, screaming and cheering, stomping, fighting, and trying to change bets. Victor didn¡¯t hear them, though; to him, it was a distant buzzing. He only had ears and eyes for Durn, who was coughing blood and pressing his hands to therge hole in his stomach, trying to keep his insides on the inside. Victor tossed the spear up, caught it in his right hand, and, in one smooth motion, fired it like a javelin into Durn¡¯s back. Durn roared anew, stumbling forward on his bad knee and falling into the sand like an old, rotting tree. Victor, blood-ked teeth exposed in a wide, crazed grin, strode forward, nted a foot on Durn¡¯s back, and yanked the spear out, a spray of blood arcing along with it. Then, Victor stabbed Durn again and again until he was standing on therge man¡¯s back, his tennies soaked in blood, panting and looking around for his next opponent.

    After a few moments, while the crowd roared and stomped, Victor¡¯s vision returned to normal, and he was swallowed by pain. He barely had time to register the message in his view before he slipped from Durn¡¯s blood-soaked back, painfully twisting his injured knee and falling into the sand, unable to catch himself with his unresponsive arm.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 10 base human. You have 10 attribute points to allocate. Your first ss selection is avable to you.***

 Chapter 14: Cleaning up

    Chapter 14: Cleaning up

    Ponda ended up having to jump down into the pit and help Victor out. He lifted him by his good arm, and swung him over his shoulder, then mbered up the side, with Yund giving him a hand. ¡°Take him to the infirmary; we¡¯ll pick you guys up after Zan¡¯s fight.¡± Yund reached out to p Victor on the shoulder but thought better of it, pulling his hand back. ¡°We¡¯ll get you to a bath tonight, kid. You did good.¡± Victor just closed his eyes, hanging over Ponda¡¯s shoulder; he didn¡¯t feel like he¡¯d be able to look around and still keep his stomach contents to himself. He tried to lose himself in the bumps and sways of the big Vodken¡¯s stride. After a while, he heard a door swing open, m against a wall, and then swing closed behind him.

    ¡°Put him on that cot,¡± A smooth, all-business voice said, and Victor opened his eyes to see an Ardeni woman pulling a needle and thread through the forehead skin of a short, stocky man. He watched her for a moment, admiring how she quickly jabbed the needle in and out without eliciting any curses from the patient. Then, Ponda swung him around and helped him scoot onto a low wooden cot with no mattress or nket. It was stiff, but at least it looked clean, so Victorid back and tried to zone out, closing his eyes and trying to remember the words to the songs that had been popr back in another world, in a different lifetime.

    ¡°....wouldn¡¯t you say?¡± Victor¡¯s eyes opened, and he looked around, feeling panicked, but then he saw the infirmary and the Ardeni woman, and he remembered where he was.

    ¡°Uh, what?¡± he mumbled through dry lips.

    ¡°You¡¯ve made a mess of your shoulder.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t move it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s dislocated, and there are ligament remnants in the joint. Did you level after you got this injury?¡±

    ¡°Uh, yeah. How can you tell?¡±

    "Because your ligament was shredded, but the Energy that leveled you healed it up. The old bits are still in there, though. Don¡¯t worry; I have a spell for it.¡± Something was off about this woman, and Victor was trying to figure it out when he realized what it was - she had kind, undamaged, unhaunted eyes.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re the first person in this world I¡¯ve met that wasn¡¯t mentally fucked up or just in mean.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? You have some interesting ng. I¡¯m sorry you¡¯ve seen a lot of trauma; let¡¯s see if I can make you morefortable at least, okay?¡± Victor closed his mouth and nodded. ¡°My name¡¯s Lita, and I¡¯m going to heal you, don¡¯t resist my Energy, okay?¡± Again, Victor nodded, and Lita reached one hand into the filthy cor of his t-shirt and rested it, tenderly, above the swollen upper portion of his shoulder. Then, she took the other and grabbed ahold of Victor¡¯s tricep. When she closed her eyes, he felt some warmth under her hands, then some tingling spread into his shoulder. It didn¡¯t hurt at all, but he knew what she meant - he could feel her invading Energy, and he had a subconscious urge to push it out with his own Energy. He held himself back, mping his will down on his Core. Soon, his shoulder was vibrating, and warm, buzzing waves pulsed through it. Then with a ¡°pop,¡± his shoulder reset, and a wave of relief ran through his body as muscles he didn¡¯t know he¡¯d been tensing up rxed. ¡°There we go! Anything else really bothering you?¡± Her eyes were the craziest shade of bluish pink that Victor had ever seen, and she had matching hair cut short and pulled back out of her eyes with silvery clips.

    ¡°Uh, do all Ardeni have matching hair and eyes?¡± She smiled and leaned back, caught by surprise by the question.

    ¡°Oh, not all. Most of us, though. Our original world was very vibrant. Some of our nts died off with the merge, and the other worlds weren¡¯t so bright and colorful. Oh, I¡¯m babbling.¡±

    ¡°No! I don¡¯t know anything about this ce! Thank you for talking to me.¡± Victor reached out and almost took her hand, but he pulled back, not wanting to rm her.

    ¡°Just where are you from, pit fighter?¡± She said ¡°pit fighter¡± teasingly, not judging, and Victor found a smile creeping onto his lips.

    ¡°Uh, another world; I got summoned by some assholes.¡±

    ¡°I figured you were from another world, but I thought perhaps you came through a City Stone.¡±

    ¡°Nah, summoned. I don¡¯t know where this world is, even. I¡¯m from a ce called Earth, and I bet your eyes are prettier than any girl¡¯s in my whole world.¡± Victor didn¡¯t know why he was flirting with this woman, but something felt good in his head like he¡¯d lost a heavy weight. He hoped it was him really feeling good and not some temporary side effect of her healing. He grinned when she smiled and looked down, embarrassed. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t hide ¡®em from me.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± she looked at him again, ¡°Your eyes are nice, too. They¡¯re like warm honey and seem deeper than the bright eyes of my kin.¡±

    ¡°Maybe we¡¯re both enjoying seeing something different,¡± he said, widening his smile. She opened her mouth to reply, but then the door mmed open again, and Ponda strode in.

    ¡°Got him patched up?¡± Lita scooted back from Victor, clearing her throat.

    ¡°Ahem, yes. Just finished.¡±

    ¡°Good! Put it on Yund¡¯s tab. C¡¯mon kid. Time to hit the baths.¡± Ponda gestured for Victor to get up, then turned to open the door. Victor sat up from the cot, then swung his arms around from back to front.

    ¡°Nice job, Doc. Thanks for fixing me up,¡± he held out a hand, saw it was caked with dried blood, pulled it back, and just sheepishly waved.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. What¡¯s your name?¡± Ponda looked back sharply, an eyebrow raised, but Victor didn¡¯t care.

    ¡°Victor. Hope I see you again, Lita.¡± Then Ponda¡¯s meaty hand was on his shoulder, and they were walking briskly out through a wooden hallway, past some concession carts, and then through the vast, open doors of the Rusty Nail. They found Yund and the other fourteen surviving fighters waiting near a beer cart where Yund was, unbelievably, buying every fighter a mug. He saw Ponda and Victor striding up and ordered two more.

    ¡°What a night, boys! What a night!¡± The four surviving female fighters exchanged nces but didn¡¯t correct Yund. ¡°You all deserve this! We came with the fewest fighters but won the most fights. Now four of those wins were on young Victor¡¯s back, but that doesn¡¯t discount the wins the rest of you racked up. Good work! Drink that ale, and we¡¯ll head back at a leisurely pace.¡± Victor savored the Ale, marveling at the icy temperature. Apparently, this world had refrigeration tech or at least magic, but Yund didn¡¯t often spring for it.

    Victor was eager to get back to the peace and quiet of his cage to look over his menu for selecting a ss. He hadn¡¯t told anyone about leveling to ten, though he figured Yund would figure it out sooner rather thanter. He seemed to have a way of gauging a person¡¯s strength. Maybe it was a skill or spell or some kind of magical item. While they walked, drank their big mugs of cool ale, and joked about fighting to the death, Victor almost felt normal. What did it say about him that this sort of thing seemed normal to him now?

    ¡°Take him in there, Ponda. Treat yourself too. See you in the morning,¡± Yund said, waving at a white stone building with several chimneys pumping out steam in the bright moonlight. Ponda grabbed Victor¡¯s shoulder and steered him toward the building, and as they got close, Victor saw the unmistakable image of a bathtub silver-embossed on a big copper door.

    ¡°Bath time,¡± Ponda announced superfluously. Victor followed him through the door, noting how it swung noiselessly open and closed behind them. They walked into a clean, tiled foyer, and an Ardeni woman with orange hair, wearing a white robe, handed them both towels and bars of soap. Ponda pped some little colored beads on the counter and said, ¡°Two private baths.¡± The woman nodded and moved to the side of the room, pulling aside a curtain, revealing a hallway.

    ¡°Rooms one and two. Shall I arrange for some attendants?¡± She looked from Ponda to Victor and raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Nah, just the baths. Just a minute, kid.¡± Ponda reached a hand to his belt and produced a metal cor. ¡°Sorry, but you¡¯re gonna have to clean around this thing. I don¡¯t wanna be worried about you bolting while I¡¯m rxing in the bath.¡± He opened the cor and snapped it shut around Victor¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Don¡¯t trust me, huh?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. You don¡¯t get to where I am by trusting people, kid.¡± Victor was going to crack a joke, but he could see that Ponda was taking himself seriously, so he decided to keep his mouth shut. He was still in a good mood from the ale and his time with the pretty healer, so it wasn¡¯t hard to fake a smile. He followed Ponda into the short hallway, and the doors to ¡°Bath 1¡± and ¡°Bath 2¡± were immediately to their left. Ponda gestured to the second door, and Victor nodded, opening it and stepping in.

    The room wasn¡¯trge, maybe ten feet by ten, and the back five square feet were all taken up by a sunken bath. Victor stepped up to the edge of the first step leading down to the water and marveled to see it flowing like a river. The water came in through a grate on one side of the tub, falling down the wall like a little waterfall, then pooling in the tub to flow out through a grate on the other side. He touched the water and found it hot, but not unpleasantly so. Green nts with long t-leafed vines lined the far wall, and steam hung cloyingly in the air.

    Victor took a look at himself and his blood-soaked clothes and shuddered to imagine putting them back on after he bathed. He stepped into the hot water, fully clothed, and then started to strip his articles of clothing off, one by one. As he took off his shirt, he held it under the hot steamy water for a moment, softening up the crusted blood, then he used the bar of soap to wash it, squeezed it as dry as possible, andid it out on the tile to dry. Then he repeated the process with his jeans, underwear, socks, and even his shoes. Sure his clothes were soaked and still stained, but they were ¡°clean.¡± Then Victor spent a few minutes washing himself, scrubbing till his skin was more pink than tan.

    The soap smelled like some kind of flower and maybe vani or something. Whatever it was, it was better than old blood. After he¡¯d worn the bar of soap down to just a fraction of its former glory, he set it on the edge of the bath and fell back into the warm, gently flowing water, letting it caress and murmur to him as it passed along his ears. Victor had no idea how long Ponda would let him rx like this, so he intended to make the most of it.

    It turned out that Ponda really enjoyed bathtime. Victor drifted into sleep floating in that tub, and when Ponda finally came for him, he felt like he¡¯d had almost a whole night¡¯s sleep. He couldn¡¯t be sure, but some time had definitely passed because his clothes were nearly dry. Ponda barked at him to get out, so he did, drying himself with the towel, then pulling on his slightly damp clothes. He followed Ponda out of the bathhouse, his tennies squeaking and squelching on the tile floors.

    ¡°Feeling better, kid? You smell better.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Ponda. I needed that, thanks.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me. Yund told me to take you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but I don¡¯t think we had to spend that much time in there. So, thanks.¡± Ponda looked at him but didn¡¯t argue; he just nodded and kept walking. They got back to the Wagon Wheel before the sun started to rise, and Ponda locked Victor into his cage with a finger over his fur-lined lips.

    ¡°Boss is gonna be busy today. Sleep in if you can.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Victor replied, moving to his usual corner of the cage andying down on his back, arms behind his head. It was time for him to take a look at his ss selection.

 Chapter 15: Contract

    Chapter 15: Contract

    Victor looked at his status page and the shing green buttonbeled ¡°ss Selection.¡± He touched the button, and a message oveid his current view:

    ***Level 10 ss selection. ss selection is permanent. Human Energy cultivators will next be offered a ss refinement selection at level 20. To view your options and make your selection, use the arrows to page through this interface.***

    Victor had talked to Vullu and Yre about sses quite a lot during his first few days with them. They¡¯d exined that the System put together packages of skills and attribute allocations to help people to focus and apply the growth they experienced through Energy cultivation. He didn¡¯t quite understand it, but he knew about sses or archetypes from ying VR games. It seemed like the same kind of concept. Clicking the first arrow, he saw:

    ***ss selection option 1: Bruiser - Basic. You use might and brutal tactics to overwhelm your enemies. ss attributes: Strength and Vitality.***

    Victor almost swore aloud, but he remembered all the fighters still snoozing around him and kept his outburst down to a quiet scoff. The idea of being a bruiser didn¡¯t exactly excite Victor, but he couldn¡¯t lie - he¡¯d been fighting the way it described. Sighing heavily, he pushed the arrow to see what was next:

    ***ss selection option 2: Fighter - Basic. You use physical prowess to best your foes with remarkable feats ofbat skill. Master weapons and your body to be a force that can change the tide of a battle. ss attributes: Strength, Agility, and Vitality.***

    It was another basic ss, but it appealed more to Victor. It seemed like it had more potential for growth than the Bruiser option. He touched the ¡°next¡± arrow:

    ***ss selection option 3: Berserker - Improved. Fury and overwhelming force guide you on the battlefield. With little concern for your safety, you put the domination of your foes first. ss attributes: Strength, Vitality, Agility, Will.***

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± he said in a hushed voice. Wasn¡¯t he already a berserker because of his Berserk ability? Maybe taking the ss would help him improve his ability to control his rage or give him different types of skills to go with it? It was an improved ss, also, whatever that meant. He was trying to imagine what other talents he might get with the ss when he saw the ¡°next¡± arrow was still blinking. Another choice then; he touched it:

    ***ss selection option 4: Spirit Champion - Advanced. Prerequisite: Spirit Core. You hone your will to control the surging tide of your spirit affinity, learning to use it without sumbing to the force of its pull. ss attributes: Will, Vitality, Unbound.***

    ¡°Fucking hell¡­.¡± Victor hissed. Wasn¡¯t this exactly what he needed? He was sorely tempted to push the ¡°select¡± button, but doubt held him transfixed. It sounded too good to be true. What would he give up by not taking one of the ¡°basic¡± or ¡°improved¡± sses? It seemed like they had less to offer, but maybe there were other perks, like, would he get more skills? Faster levels? Maybe Berserker wasn¡¯t what he wanted as much as Spirit Champion, but what if it allowed him to survive longer in this fucking hell hole? Did he just want to survive, though? Victor thought about how he¡¯d felt, standing in the center of the pit,ing back to himself, and finding the Ardeni girl¡¯s corpse held tightly in the crook of his arm. He vaguely remembered the fight, remembered grabbing her, but it was like snippets of a dream. What if Spirit Champion let him hold onto himself a little better and kept him from bing an absolute monster while in the pit. What if it didn¡¯t? What if it just gave him more skills that utilized his rage affinity? The description sounded promising, but it was maddeningly vague.

    Victor¡¯s mind turned to Yund and what he¡¯d want Victor to choose. Victor was pretty damn sure Yund would tell him to select the Berserker option. Then he thought of Yre, and a smile spread on his face. Yre would tell him to choose Spirit Champion, no question. Feeling a wave of relief, he reached up and made the selection.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve gained your first ss: Spirit Champion. ss skill gained: Sovereign Will - Basic. ss skill gained: Channel Spirit - Basic***

    ***Sovereign Will - Basic: As an act of concentration, you can apply up to 25% of your total Will to any physical attribute.***

    ***Channel Spirit - Basic: Apply your Core¡¯s Energy to your physical attacks, manifesting your attuned Energy as a destructive force. This skill will bypass the usual effect spirit affinities have on the cultivator¡¯s emotional state. Energy Cost: 25. Cooldown: Minimal***

    Victory there on the straw-covered floorboards, thinking about the notifications he¡¯d just read. Everything sounded great to him, but he was gued by doubt. Had he been too impulsive? Should he have picked the Berserker? His immediate future seemed to have a lot of fighting in store for him, and maybe it would have been wiser. Still, the skills sounded great - one that would allow him to improve his strength or speed and another that would make channeling Energy into his attacks a lot easier. Or so it seemed based on the descriptions.

    The Sovereign Will ability got him thinking about his attributes, and he remembered he had ten points to spend. Should he bump up his strength, or should he push it into his will? It seemed that if he could use will to improve his strength, dexterity, or agility, maybe he should keep building it up. Perhaps when he got a higher-tier version of the skill, it would allow for a higher percentage. Ultimately he decided against it - ording to his ss description, he¡¯d be getting more will with each level. He¡¯d want to make sure his base fighting stats were good with or without his new ability. He decided to put five into agility and five into dexterity as they¡¯d beengging behind his strength and vitality.

    When he got done, Victor felt incredible. He was clean for the first time in a long while, and his physical attributes were all more than double what they¡¯d been when he came to this world. He flipped over in the dim, nearly dark light of the closed-up pen hall and cranked out more pushups than he¡¯d ever been able to do at his peak wrestling shape. When he stopped, he wasn¡¯t even that winded, and he felt like he could do another set after just a couple of minutes. Would he keep these improvements if he somehow returned to Earth? Would the Energy in his Core sustain him? Would he slowly bleed off his Core¡¯s power and lose his gains if there wasn''t Energy around Earth? He had no way of knowing, and he wondered if anyone did. ¡°Great; one more thing to worry about,¡± he grumbled, bing aware that many of the prisoners were stirring, yawning, and talking quietly in the other cages.

    Victor sat quietly, using his unorthodox method of concentrating on stuff that pissed him off to cultivate some more rage-attuned Energy, and the morning hours slipped away. He¡¯d made some good progress when the door mmed open, and Urt, Ponda¡¯s less friendly contemporary, strode into the pen hall, hawking up a great gob of phlegm and spitting it on the floor. ¡°Alright,zy time¡¯s over. Victor, Boss wants to see you. Everyone else, line up for mess hall and exercise rounds!¡± Victor stood up and waited for the crabby, clean-shaven Ardeni to open his cage. ¡°Come on. Move quick; I have a lot of shit to do.¡± Urt strode to the other door, and Victor kept close to his heels, not wanting to piss the guy off any more. They crossed the exercise hall, then Urt rapped lightly on Yund¡¯s door, pulled it open, and waved Victor through.

    Once again, Victor sat down across from therge, red man, trying to determine if he was angry or just always had that expression on his face. ¡°You wanted to see me, Boss? This about my contract?¡±

    ¡°Oh, want to make sure I remember what I promised, eh?¡± Yund snorted and leaned his wooden chair back precariously under his bulk. ¡°Well, you¡¯re in luck. I¡¯ve got one written up here. Now, I tried to be fair, thinking about how you got here. I also had to think about my bottom line and how I¡¯ve lost a lot of good fighters. Not to mention all the help I¡¯ve given you - putting you with my best fighters for some training, buying you help with your Core, and arranging good fights for you. That said, here¡¯s the contract.¡± He opened a drawer and pulled out a sheet of thick, cream-colored paper, pushing it across the desk to Victor. Victor read it:

    Contract of service between Yund¡¯s Wagon Wheel Fighting Troupe (the Wagon Wheel) and Victor of Tucson (Victor),

    ¡°How¡¯d you know how to spell Tucson?¡± Victor couldn¡¯t help asking.

    ¡°I got it right? Honestly, I don¡¯t know. The System Language Integration is some strange magic.¡± Yund shrugged, and Victor kept reading:

    Contract of service between Yund¡¯s Wagon Wheel Fighting Troupe (the Wagon Wheel) and Victor of Tucson (Victor), wherein Victor agrees to fight for Yund¡¯s Wagon Wheel Fighting Troupe for no less than five years, and wherein the Wagon Wheel agrees to remove one month of Victor¡¯s term of indenture for each of his victories. Additionally, the Wagon Wheel agrees to provide opportunities for Victor to improve hisbat prowess and readiness as rewards for exceptional aplishments.

    Signed:

    Yund, Owner and responsible party for the Wagon Wheel___________________

    Victor of Tucson___________________

    ¡°Five fucking years, man?¡±

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t forget you can subtract a month for each of your wins! If you fight twelve times, that¡¯s a year off your time! You¡¯ve been here less than two weeks and already fought six times!¡±

    ¡°Look, man, I¡¯m not a genius, but I¡¯m not a dumbass, either. I feel like thisnguage is kinda vague. What does it mean you¡¯ll ¡®provide opportunities¡¯ for ¡®exceptional aplishments?¡¯¡±

    ¡°For instance,st night - when you fought that guy outside your tier - I¡¯d reward you for that. Maybe a racial fruit or an attribute boost. Maybe if you had a maiming injury, I¡¯d pay for healing.¡± Victor grunted at this and leaned back in his chair, thinking. Five years sounded like a hell of a long time to have to fight for his freedom. If he fought once a day, which was impossible, he¡¯d still need two months to clear his debt. Still, it was a goal to work toward.

    ¡°Fuck, man. Five years. My friends will be finishing college, well, not most of them, but they¡¯ll be starting their lives, having kids. My Abu might be dead by then. This fucking sucks, dude. I already won you some fights, and you know I¡¯m not a criminal.¡±

    ¡°Victor, there are a lot worse people that you could have been sold to. This isn¡¯t a bad contract. Now, I think I need you to make a decision before I lose too much patience and just scrap the deal.¡±

    ¡°Hang on,¡± Victor knew that Yund had him over a barrel, but he also knew he had a little leverage - he was a moneymaker as long as he kept winning. ¡°Can we rify somenguage? I want my first six fights to count against my time, and I¡¯ve heard you talking about different types of rewards: silver, gold, etc. Can we put somenguage in that says you¡¯ll give me a fight that can earn me a gold reward at least once a month?¡±

    ¡°Kinda pushy for someone who lives in my cage.¡± Yund frowned, but he pulled the contract over in front of himself and produced a long quill and a pot of red ink. He struck through a couple of lines and scribbled some notes; then, he showed the changes to Victor. They were exactly the changes he¡¯d asked for. ¡°Fighters do better when they feel incentivized, Victor. I usually have real scum in my cages, but the ones that aren¡¯t scum, I try to motivate. Your friends Yre and Vullu were examples of those kinds of fighters. Ponda is another. Did you know he used to be one of my fighters? Tell me something, kid: have you picked your ss yet?¡± The question caught Victor a little off guard, and for some reason, he felt a little guilty when he replied.

    ¡°Yeah, this morning.¡±

    ¡°My own fault, I guess. I should have told you to wait. I could¡¯ve given you some advice. What did you pick?¡±

    ¡°Spirit Champion. It''s supposed to help me gain more control of my Spirit Core.¡±

    ¡°Spirit Champion? I¡¯m not familiar with it! I thought sure you¡¯d get Berserker or diator. It sounds like it might be what you need, though. This brings me to another problem, though.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Victor felt a couple of butterflies start to flutter in his gut.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re getting a little too strong to run around unbound.¡± He drummed his thick red fingers on the desk.

    ¡°But we have a contract now,¡± Victor replied weakly. He didn¡¯t want to get some kind of fucking tattoo that bound him to these assholes.

    ¡°I¡¯ll think on it. Trust me when I say you¡¯d regret making a run for it. Ponda¡¯s tier three and my other managers are all tier two. Don¡¯t get yourself into a mess by trying to run for it.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t. You know, I don¡¯t know a single person in this world.¡± Victor would have said anything at that moment to try to reassure Yund; if he were going to make a break from this ce, he absolutely didn¡¯t want a cor or one of those tattoo things. So far he hadn¡¯t seen his moment, his chance to run for it, but he knew sooner orter they¡¯d let their guard down at the wrong moment, and then he¡¯d fucking be gone. No goddamn way was he going to spend five years in this ce!

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s sign this, and you can go get some practice in,¡± Yund said after a long, quiet moment. He scribbled his name on his line and passed the quill to Victor. Victor, heart thumping with the implications, signed his name on the contract.

 Chapter 16: Justice

    Chapter 16: Justice

    Several days passed at the Wagon Wheel before anything new or remarkable happened to change up the doldrums of Victor¡¯s days. He¡¯d just finished with a particrly infuriating bout of cultivating, managing to level his Core again when the door to the main exercise room mmed open, and Ponda came striding in, holding the end of the chain they used to bind the prisoners for travel. However, this time, he wasn¡¯t there to chain up Victor and the other fighters; he was delivering a line of new ¡°talent.¡± He strode down the aisle until the train of people following him had cleared the door, then he went back, counting them off as he passed, to m the door shut. Victor saw twelve new fighters, ranging in age from kids to senior citizens and in size from tiny to massive.

    Ponda unchained their belts, told them to take them off, then started ushering them into cages, introducing them to their new roommates. Victor felt his stomach make a little nervous loop when Ponda approached his cage with a small, red-skinned Shadeni girl. She was shorter than Yre had been andcked her lean hard muscles. She seemed like a kid. ¡°Victor, this is, uh, what¡¯s your name again?¡±

    ¡°Belsa,¡± she said in a quiet voice, looking down.

    ¡°Right, Belsa. I need you to show her how things work.¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon, Ponda. Don¡¯t do this to me.¡±

    ¡°What, killer?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t show her what¡¯s up without learning what she¡¯s like, and then I¡¯m going to get depressed when she dies in a week or so.¡± Victor tried to say it quietly, but he knew the girl heard him. She didn¡¯t say anything, though, just looked at the ground, quietly shuffling her feet.

    ¡°Sorry, kid, but your cage has plenty of room, and I need you to step up. If you don¡¯t want her to die, teach her a thing or two.¡± Apparently, that was the end of Ponda¡¯s desire to talk because he opened the cage, gave Belsa a nudge through it, and mmed it behind her. Victor looked at Belsa standing awkwardly in the middle of the cage, and he pointed to the corner where Vullu used to sit.

    ¡°That¡¯s your corner. Sleep over there.¡± She wore dark brown leather pants, no shoes, and a matching leather vest with blue and green beads sewn onto the front panels, making little zig-zagging designs. She didn¡¯t look at Victor, but she walked over to her corner, sat down on her knees, and seemed to meditate or pray or something, still facing into the corner. ¡°Hey, if you didn¡¯t hear, my name¡¯s Victor, and I¡¯m sorry if I came off as an asshole. I just can¡¯t deal really well with this ce, so I¡¯m fucked as to why they¡¯d put you in here with me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± she said softly but didn¡¯t move or speak beyond that. Victor sat down and looked at his status sheet. Just as he¡¯d hoped, leveling his Core had given him another hundred Energy points.

    ¡°Hey, um, if you need to go to the bathroom, there¡¯s a bucket there. It¡¯s gross, I know, but people are cool about not watching each other when we use it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Again, she spoke softly and didn¡¯t look up. Victor was starting to feel really shitty about how he¡¯d acted when she first got there. She seemed younger than him, and he began to wonder how the hell she ended up in this ce.

    ¡°Um, you¡¯re Shadeni, right?¡± Suddenly she turned, ring at Victor with bright green eyes that reminded him very much of Yre. She lifted her lips in a snarl and inhaled sharply.

    ¡°Why do you talk to me, boy? I thought you wanted to avoid getting to know me before I die?¡± Her voice was cutting and sharp, and Victor knew it carried around to the other cages because it got quiet as others tuned in to hear the drama.

    ¡°Whatever. I said I was sorry for that, but if you don¡¯t wanna talk, that¡¯s cool.¡± He refused to yell or get upset. She was hurting, and he knew what it felt like, so he just sat down and went back to cultivating. She didn¡¯t say anything more, and when he couldn¡¯t take any more processing of his rage and stopped for the night, he saw her curled into a ball, sleeping in her corner. He stood, stretched, and theny down in his corner, staring at the ceiling for a long time before falling asleep.

    ¡°Hey, wake up.¡± The voice intruded on his dreams, and he groggily opened his eyes. Belsa was kneeling near his head, and when she saw his eyes open, she leaned close, ¡°Someone¡¯s fighting in the big cage over there. It sounds like they¡¯re killing someone!¡± Victor¡¯s heart started to hammer, and he jumped to his feet, looking out through the cage''s bars, trying to see what Belsa was talking about. He heard a gurgling sound and a wet ¡°thwap.¡±

    ¡°Hey, what the fuck¡¯s going on there?¡± he called.

    ¡°Mind your business, kid,¡± a dark shadow leaning against the other cell said.

    ¡°That you, Zan? C¡¯mon, man, you know we¡¯ll all catch hell if we¡¯re caught fighting.¡±

    ¡°Quiet down, and no one will get caught; he¡¯s dying in his sleep, is all.¡±

    ¡°Fucking hell, pendejo! You guys killing one of the newbies?¡±

    ¡°He had iting, trust me; now shut up before Ponda hears your whimpering.¡±

    Victor slumped against the bars and turned to Belsa. ¡°I can¡¯t do anything about it. Do you know who it is they¡¯re attacking?¡± She shook her head. ¡°Well, unless we wanna be targets to the old monsters in here, we need to shut up.¡± Her eyes blinked slowly, then she nodded and moved back to her corner. Victor did the same and was d that he didn¡¯t hear any more sounds from the other cell. Apparently, they¡¯d finished their business, and he could rationalize that it would''ve been toote for him to get the victim any help, even if he¡¯d wanted to risk enraging the other fighters. He closed his eyes, and it felt like he¡¯d only just started to drift into sleep when he heard the main door m open. He sat up, saw daylight streaming into the cages through the gaps in the warehouse boards, and looked to see who hade in. Ponda was striding down the aisle, and he shouted, ¡°Mealtime, line up!¡±

    Victor stood and moved to nudge Belsa with his toe. When she stirred, pushing her ck hair out of her face, he said, ¡°Hey, time for us to get some breakfast, line up behind me by the door.¡± He and Belsa were waiting their turn as Ponda let the closer cages go first when one of the guys from the pen across the way ran up to the bars and yelled.

    ¡°Ponda! Something¡¯s wrong with this guy. He¡¯s not getting up!¡±

    ¡°Shut up! It¡¯s too early for yelling. I¡¯ll check it out in a minute.¡± A momentter, Ponda opened Victor¡¯s cage, and he led Belsa out and showed her the mess hall, d that he wouldn¡¯t be in the pens when Ponda discovered the dead guy.

    ¡°This ce is fucking savage, Belsa,¡± he said as they sat down with their food. She didn¡¯t reply, just took a bite of her congealed pork fat and beans. ¡°How¡¯d you end up in here?¡±

    ¡°So, now you want to get to know me?¡±

    ¡°Am I going to pay for thatment for the rest of my life? I¡¯m sorry, alright? For the third fucking time.¡± She stared at him for a moment, then took another bite.

    ¡°Well, I got captured. My tribe was raiding a town in Spinecut Gorge. Most of my family got killed; a few of us lived, some court sentenced us to prison, and they sold our sentences at auction.¡±

    ¡°Madre! Any of your people here with you?¡± He gestured around, indicating the Wagon Wheel.

    ¡°No, most of us got split up at the auction.¡±

    ¡°Well, you got a shitty deal. Sorry. I¡¯ve been here a couple of weeks, and more than half the people I¡¯ve met here are dead. I hope things go better for you, though. Do you know how to fight at all?¡± She snorted and nodded.

    ¡°I¡¯m Shadeni. I was born with a spear in my hand.¡±

    ¡°Oh, well, that¡¯s good. I, uh, well, the first person I met here who was really kind to me was a Shadeni. Her name was Yre.¡± Something about saying her name aloud made water well up in Victor¡¯s eyes, and he looked down, busying himself with eating his breakfast.

    ¡°Where are you from, Vic-tor?¡± She said his name slowly, like she was feeling how it came out of her mouth.

    ¡°Well, some assholes summoned me for some reason from my world. I think it was a mistake because they didn¡¯t seem happy to see me, then they sold me to this guy who runs these pit fights.¡± Victor shrugged, polishing off his tbread. ¡°Shall we go get some exercise in? It¡¯s the best part of the day unless you likeying around in the hay and feeling bored.¡± She nodded, and they walked out into the exercise hall. Since she¡¯d said she was ¡®born with a spear,¡¯ Victor checked out a spear, and they practiced with that weapon for a while. Belsa wasn¡¯t slow or weak, but she was no Yre or Vullu, and Victor didn¡¯t find himself learning anything from her. Still, it was good to have a partner to go through the spear forms with, and they had a good workout going when Yund¡¯s office door mmed open, and the big Shadeni man hollered for Victor toe over. Victor handed Belsa his practice spear and jogged over to Yund.

    ¡°Kid!¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡± he panted, slightly out of breath.

    ¡°I got you a special fight tonight. Private exhibition. Some rich bitch has a thief she wants punished. She hired the Wagon Wheel to put a fighter in the pit with him.¡±

    ¡°Why me?¡±

    ¡°Cause you¡¯re the right tier, and I said so. Wait for me here a minute, and we¡¯ll get going. Gotta take a coach; her estate is outside the city.¡± Victor nodded and stood there, in his blood-stained clothes, sweat dripping down from his hair, and wondering at the strange, impossible turn his life had taken. Belsa walked over toward him, still holding the practice spears and raising her eyebrows in a questioning look.

    ¡°Uh, I have to go to some fight with the Boss. Just turn those in, and then it¡¯ll be almost time to go back to the cages. See youter. Well, I hope.¡± Victor grinned at his dark humor. Belsa waved, choosing not to reply. He¡¯d found she was a girl with a decided penchant for speaking as little as possible.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, kid!¡± Yund said, loudly banging his door open. Victor waited for him to lead the way and then followed him out of the Wagon Wheel, down the narrow, trash-filled alley to a busier, wider street, where Yund started looking around for a coach for hire. As always, Victor was kept fascinated watching the people and the strange animals they used for transportation. The coach Yund ended up hiring was a small shiny ck box pulled by two bird-lizard things, with the driver sitting up high on a springy seat.

    The inside of the coach had once been plush, Victor could tell, but the red upholstered seats were threadbare, and the carpeted floor was mudstained and patchy. He sat back in the deep cushion and caught the distinct scent of weed clinging to the fabric. ¡°Boss, people smoke weed here?¡±

    ¡°Weed?¡±

    ¡°You know, pot. Marijuana? I can smell it in the cushions.¡±

    ¡°Oh, sure, that¡¯s ban blossom. Banban.¡±

    ¡°Huh, sure smells like weed. Does it make you high?¡±

    ¡°Sure, kid, but I¡¯m not getting you any, so quit bugging me about it.¡± He produced a clipboard from some secret container and started flipping through papers while Victor sat back and let the rumbling of the coach lull him into a nap. ¡°Get up, Victor.¡± Yund¡¯s voice cut through his dreams, and Victor sat up, blinking his eyes rapidly. ¡°We¡¯re here; get your fight face on.¡± Victor almostughed at the idiom, but he snorted, stretched, and waited for the coach toe to a halt. After a moment, its wheels came to a stop, and Yund popped open the door, squeezing his bulk through the narrow opening. Victor followed and was immediately grabbed by the fresh, cool air. No more stink of garbage or excrement, just fresh, clean air. Victor had never been out of Arizona, and he¡¯d never breathed such cool, fresh air. Even up in the Santa Rita¡¯s, there was the ever-present taste of dust in the air.

    He saw he was standing on some cobbles, and they¡¯d been dropped in front of arge, white manor or estate. It was constructed of stone blocks and sprawled out into lots of different buildings with tall, peaked roofs. An Ardeni man in a red and ck uniform waited for them near the door, and when they approached, he looked at Yund briefly but then stared at Victor for a long while before finally announcing, ¡°He won¡¯t do.¡±

    ¡°Oh, think again,d,¡± Yund said, not phased in the least.

    ¡°Excuse me, sir Yund, but he¡¯s only tier one, and he looks like he¡¯s been dragged through a charnel pit.¡±

    ¡°Well, you guys can put something fresh on him, and as for his tier, you needn¡¯t worry; he¡¯s up for the task.¡±

    ¡°Sir, the criminal is tier two.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Not a problem. Now go ahead and take my fighter where you need him. I¡¯ll find the festivities.¡± Yund didn¡¯t wait for a response, striding straight to the door and into the manor. The uniformed man looked at Victor with an air of defeat and then beckoned for him to follow.

    ¡°This way. We¡¯ll have to give you some clean clothes. You realize you are representing the Lady¡¯s Justice tonight. I hope you don¡¯t let her down.¡±

    ¡°Justice? What do you mean?¡± The inside of the manor was fancy, like the rich people¡¯s houses on VR. The floors were smooth white stone, the walls were smooth white ster, and art, furniture, and nts were everywhere. Where did rich people get so much shit to put around their houses? They had to be constantly shopping or something.

    ¡°I mean just that. Rather than send this man to trial and then prison, she offered him a trial ofbat. The fact that you are under-ranked is not going to make her happy. If you lose, your master will have a very unhappy customer.¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want to lose either, bud. Also, he¡¯s not my master.¡± They¡¯de into a long narrow room with several beds lined up along each side. Each bed had a chest at its foot. Were these servants'' quarters or maybe soldiers¡¯ barracks?

    ¡°Wait here.¡± He moved to arge chest at the end of the room, opened it, and started rummaging inside. ¡°White, ck or red clothes? The only boots I have are ck leather.¡± He threw a pair of ck shoes that looked like a cross between cowboy boots and hiking boots at Victor¡¯s feet.

    ¡°Uh, just ck, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it should hide stains the best. Though they have minor cleaning enchantments.¡± He straightened up and held out some heavy garments to Victor. They felt almost like denim, but they were ck and looked more like cotton. Victor held up the shirt and saw that it had tiny letters or figures stitched around the cuffs in a shiny ck thread.

    ¡°Yo, these look way too big. Same for the boots.¡±

    ¡°Yes, fool, do you think we size all of our servants and custom tailor their garments? These will fit you perfectly after you bond with them.¡±

    ¡°Bond with them?¡±

    ¡°Ancestors! Where did they find you? Put on the clothes, and channel some of your Energy into them. They¡¯ll bond with you.¡± He stood there, watching Victor expectantly. Victor shrugged and stripped out of his crusty, stained t-shirt and jeans, kicking his tennies off and noticing the new holes in the soles. He stood there in stained boxers and hole-filled socks.

    ¡°Man, you got any clean underwear and socks by any chance?¡±

    ¡°If the Lady hears of this¡­.¡± the man grumbled, but he walked back to the chest and came back with some soft, white underwear and thick woolen socks. Victor wasted no time, slipping out of his filthy undergarments and trying on the new ones. They were too big, but he did like the guy said and tried to push a little bit of Energy out his pathway into them. To his astonishment, they immediately shrank to fit him snuggly. Excited by the prospect of magical clothes, he pulled on the pants and shirt, then slipped on the big boots. He performed the same trick, channeling some Energy into the clothes and boots, and soon he was standing with clothes that fit him perfectly for the first time in his life. The shirt had a low cor and tteringly clung to his chest and arms. The pants were about as simr to ck jeans as he could imagine, even having pockets like he was used to. The boots were the most kickass thing, though. They felt morefortable than any tennies he¡¯d ever owned, snugly hugging his feet. The sole seemed like rugged leather or wood, but it somehow cushioned his feet perfectly, and he wondered if they had some sort offort enchantment. The thing he liked the most about them, though, was that they were tough, with a metal-ted heel that clicked on the marble floors when he walked.

    ¡°That certainly made a world of difference,¡± the uniformed servant said. ¡°Now, you look like someone who could represent Justice. Please drop your old clothes in that chute.¡±

    ¡°Is that theundry?¡±

    ¡°No, the incinerator.¡± Victor opened his mouth to argue, but then he realized that if they burned his old clothes, they would have to let him keep these, so he dumped his old belongings into the chute, btedly realizing that he had nothing left of his life on Earth. ¡°Good, follow me.¡± Swallowing the lump in his throat, Victor turned away from the chute and followed the servant. They passed through several hallways, across a breezeway, into another building, then out into a garden and along another path that opened onto awn lit by glowing yellow orbs and arge bonfire. People stood around drinking from sses and talking, and a tall Ghelli with glorious wings that shed sparkles of light was singing and ying a stringed instrument.

    Her voice was ethereal, and the music was unlike anything Victor had ever heard, seeming to push right into his mind, triggering emotions and memories from distant corners of his life. On a primal level, he recognized that he was being influenced by Energy, and he tried to focus his will to push the music out. The music didn¡¯t resist him, and he soon heard it normally, without its unnatural influence. ¡°Is that singer trying to cast spells on me, man?¡±

    ¡°Energy enhances her song - it¡¯s a skill of hers. You should easily be able to avoid the effect if you don''t like it. Come, I¡¯ll introduce you to the Lady.¡± Victor followed the man across thewn to a group of Ardeni women standing around wearing slinky dresses and sizing each other up. The guy who¡¯d been showing Victor around stopped a few feet away, so Victor did too. They stood there for a while, then one of thedies, the tallest one with bright yellow hair and eyes, looked their way. The servant seemed to recognize some sort of signal and stepped forward to say, ¡°Lady ap¡¯Brellin, may I present your representative of Justice.¡± He gestured, and Victor moved up to stand at his side. He had no idea what to say, so he just cleared his throat and nodded.

    ¡°What a tall and striking Justice we have tonight. Is that my household livery I recognize?¡± She stepped forward and reached up to rest a hand on Victor¡¯s chest, tracing a finger over the fabric of his shirt.

    ¡°Ahem, yes, my Lady; I felt he would more appropriately represent you wearing these garments.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, yes. Very good, Pel. Well, you¡¯re a quiet one, aren¡¯t you? Are you ready to deliver Justice?¡± She turned from the servant to stare into Victor¡¯s face, her hand still on his chest. He¡¯d be lying if he said he didn¡¯t like her warm hand resting there, but he was also a little flustered with all the other people around and thedies visibly snickering behind their napkins or drinks.

    ¡°Yes. Uh, yes, I¡¯m ready.¡± His voice had cracked at first, and he couldn¡¯t help the embarrassed grin that parted his lips. Thedy also smiled, and, allowing her fingers to drum upon his chest onest time, she pulled her hand away and called out to the people milling about thewn.

    ¡°It¡¯s time for the trial; our Justice is here and ready to perform!¡±

 Chapter 17: Prizes

    Chapter 17: Prizes

    The liveried servant led Victor down another pathway through the gardens to yet anotherwn, where a fighting pit had been dug and lined with fresh wood; the smell of sawdust and paint still hung in the air. The Lady and her guests came in twos and threes to find spots around the pit''s edge while Victor stood off to the side, waiting for instructions. Yund appeared after a few moments, a clutch of snacks held in a napkin in one hand and a delicate wine ss in the other. The ss lookedically small in his massive hand, and Victor snorted an involuntary chuckle at the sight.

    ¡°Friends, thank you foring. As you¡¯re no doubt aware by now, my household suffered an affront that left us shaken and inconsblest week. A vagabond took it upon himself to break into our home,¡± she gestured around her to the grounds and the manor in the background, ¡°steal from us, assault us, and even try to take my daughter¡¯s innocence.¡± She paused for the crowd to gasp, exim, and even swear threats of vengeance. ¡°I took the matter to Magistrate Dorl; he cautioned patience. He counseled a measured and restrained response. He spoke of politics and influence! Our representative for Justice in the city spoke of politics! My blood boiled; I fumed; I raged at those who love me, shaken by my impotence. If only I¡¯d had the guards kill him in the act! If only I¡¯d made him disappear before approaching the authorities! Those are the mad thoughts that whispered in the back of my mind. Then, dear Larl, here, found a solution.¡± She paused again and gestured to a tall, thin Ardeni man wearing a very sharp-looking suit.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! It might be archaic and out of fashion, but trials bybat are still perfectly legal, regardless of the political connections of your offender!¡± He said loudly, obviously reciting words that he¡¯d been practicing.

    ¡°Precisely!¡± the Lady continued, ¡°It is my right, nay, it is everyone¡¯s right to put an offender that they¡¯ve captured in their own home into a trial ofbat. All we need are witnesses,¡± she smiled and waved around at the crowd, ¡°to ensure a fairbat, and a willing,¡± she pointed at Victor, ¡°Champion of Justice. Why, Magistrate Dorl¡¯s assistant, Lisell, is even here to bear witness to the legality of our proceedings.¡± A thin, severe-looking Shadeni woman, wearing a ck robe and a strange, square golden hat that reminded Victor of an olddy¡¯s purse, nodded to the crowd, not a hint of emotion on her face.

    Amotion broke out from the other side of the pit as a man wearing nothing but a pair of loose ck pants and chains was pulled toward the pit by two servants wearing the Lady¡¯s livery. He was an Ardeni, but big,rger than many the Shadeni Victor had met. He was as tall as Yund, though not nearly as heavy. He struggled and strained against the servants, but they had some control over him with the chains and managed to get him to the pit¡¯s edge, where they held him, looking expectantly at the Lady.

    ¡°Gweld ap¡¯Horrin! Your time for justice is at hand!¡± the Lady shouted, pointing at the bound man. He red at her, eyes hooded by heavy, ck brows scowling with his lips pulled back in a sneer. He started to answer, perhaps to offer a retort, but the Lady yelled, ¡°Put him in!¡± The two servants gave him a shove, sending him down the eight feet to the hard dirt bottom of the pit. Then she whirled on Victor, ¡°Your time is nigh, Justice! Do your work!¡± Victor felt a big meaty hand on his shoulder, nudging him toward the pit, and when he looked behind him, he saw that Yund had made his way over. Victor snorted and walked toward the pit; no doubt Yund wanted to make sure he didn¡¯t make a run for it.

    ¡°Bitch! Wench of a lesser house! You call this fair? Me fighting bound by magical chains?¡± Gweld was shouting as Victor approached the edge.

    ¡°Your chains will be removed when our Justice has taken his position in the pit.¡± Lady ap¡¯Brellin said, striding to a big wooden chair positioned on a small dais to provide her an unobstructed view of the pit. Victor stood at the edge and looked at the Lady. When she nodded, he hopped down into the dirt, staring at the guy he was supposed to fight and kill. He wasn¡¯t a pleasant guy, that was for sure. Still fuming and straining against his chains, he had an ugly expression on his face, snarling and nearly frothing at the mouth he was so agitated. His hair was ck, which was strange to Victor - every Ardeni he¡¯d met had bright, colorful hair. Was he not Ardeni? Could the races of this world mix, perhaps?

    ¡°Are you ready, Justice?¡± the Lady asked from her perch. Victor formed his hands into fists and nodded. ¡°Release his chains!¡± she shouted to someone; Victor had no idea who. A brief sh of light, and a puff of smoke, signaled the destruction of Gweld¡¯s chains, and the big man flexed his fists, looked at Victor, and grinned.

    ¡°No weapons for us, then?¡± he called up at the crowd, suddenly charming. The frothing, raging face was gone, though his eyes were still obscured, hidden in the shadows of his brows.

    ¡°Justice?¡± the Lady looked at Victor questioningly. He didn¡¯t know how to respond. The guy was bigger than he was and presumably quite a lot higher level. Maybe a weapon would even the ying field, or maybe it would just get Victor killed faster. ording to the System, his skill with weapons was only ¡°basic¡± - what if this guy was some kind of expert? He looked at the Lady and shook his head. She smiled, looked at Gweld, and said, ¡°No, dear thug. You will die by the bare hands of Justice.¡±

    ¡°Thisdy really hates you, pendejo,¡± Victor quietly said as he started to circle therger man. For his part, Gweld growled, rubbing his hands together, staring at Victor. Victor felt a surge of something like paranoia, and he wondered what strange fucking thing this guy was going to do. He didn¡¯t want to give him time to do something wild, so he used his Channel Spirit ability tounch a rage-fueled leg sweep. He slid forward gracefully, bringing his left shin, throbbing and pulsing with red-hot Energy, toward Gweld¡¯s legs. Gweld had been standing straight, not a muscle tensed, and Victor hoped to catch him off-guard. He was partially sessful; Gweld cursed some word Victor hadn¡¯t heard before and pulled his hands apart, pointing one palm down toward Victor¡¯s sliding body. A wave of cold poured over him, cooling the rage-attuned Energy in his leg and slowing his movement immensely. His shin collided with Gweld¡¯s and bounced off painfully.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Victor grunted and tried to roll away, but he felt like he was in slow motion. He¡¯d just dipped down to his shoulder when Gweld¡¯s foot snapped into his hip, throwing him off bnce and tumbling into the dirt. The crowd hissed, and if Victor could see the Lady¡¯s face, he¡¯d recognize the look of uncertainty and abstract frustration. He rolled again, nearly running into the pit¡¯s wall, trying to get some distance between himself and the other man. He scrambled to his feet, arms held in a guard position in front of his face and neck, but Gweld hadn¡¯t pursued him. He was standing in the center of the right, concentrating on the space around his hands again. Victor saw white smoke or steam rising from them, and he was just getting ready tounch himself at Gweld again when white crystal erupted around Gweld¡¯s hands, spreading up over his arms, chest, head, and down his legs. After an instant, Victor faced a man encased in steaming white ice crystals. ¡°Oh, this is bullshit!¡±

    Victor had barely finished his objection when Gweld was on him, moving with the inevitability of a juggernaut; he stomped up to Victor and started punching at him like his arms and fists were pistons on a machine. Victor tried to block the strikes, but it was like trying to block burning logs; wherever he touched Gweld¡¯s icy carapace, he was singed, and when he put enough force into his blocks to actually stop a punch, he felt his flesh getting smashed and torn, and the impact jarred him deep in his bones. Victor retreated around the edge of the pit, realizing he was in over his head. Again. Rather than panic or terror, though, he started to feel angry. Yund knew this fucking guy was tier two. What was this bullshit ability that coated him in fucking freezing ice? How was he supposed to fight that? Should he have asked for a weapon? Maybe a damn hammer would have been the right move. All these thoughts raced through Victor¡¯s mind as he backpedaled away from the juggernaut.

    The other half of Victor¡¯s mind, the part that hadn¡¯t been spouting a string of pointless questions andints, had noted that Gweld might be nigh-invincible and able to throw endless, painful punches, but he was also predictable. As he pursued Victor, he followed the same pattern: step, punch, step, punch-punch, step, punch, step, punch-punch. Victor avoided most of the punches, painfully deflecting one now and then to keep Gweld feeling like he was aplishing something. As he backed away from a punch-punchbo, Victor channeled Energy into his right fist, used his Sovereign Will ability to pump up his strength, and stepped into Gweld¡¯s left jab, taking the blow on the shoulder but delivering a savage right hook to Gweld¡¯s hard, icy chest.

    A thunderous crack echoed up out of the pit as Gweld¡¯s carapace shattered, and he was flung back to the pit wall like a wrecking ball had struck him. Victor had no idea what kinds of tricks someone over level twenty might have in store, so he didn¡¯t think it would be smart to let up the pressure. Instead, he went Berserk; he lifted his face to the night sky and roared, his muscles convulsing as rage-attuned Energy poured into them, making his back arch. As shades of red clouded his vision, Victor looked at the man sitting up out of the crumbled chunks of ice, and fury filled his mind. Here was his enemy; here was the one who¡¯d been burning and smashing him. Here was the thing he needed to destroy.

    Victor leaped at Gweld, hands clenched into rock-like fists, and they collided in a flurry of punches, explosions of ice, snarls, and screams. Gweld wasn¡¯t done - he conjured hunks of ice to block punches and sent shards of ice stabbing into Victor¡¯s body, eliciting cries of fury and even more frenzied punches and kicks and headbutts. As soon as the ice fragments pierced his flesh, his body pushed them out, flesh pulling together with hardly any blood loss. Gweld¡¯s smug grin was long gone; panic stared out of the deep hollows of his bloodied eyes.

    Victor could feel the rage waning, feel the fury in his muscles starting to cool, and roared in denial, pulling forth more Energy out of his Core and sending it surging along his pathways. Dimly he was aware that his Core was more a flickering light than a raging sun, his Energy nearly spent. Still, he didn¡¯t care; the only thing that mattered was that Gweld was still moving, still trying to fight back. He drove him from one wall to another, punching, grabbing, throwing, pursuing. After a time, his mind came back to him, and he felt his hands hefting something heavy. He followed through with the motion, throwing it against the wall, and when he saw Gweld¡¯s mutted corpse slide down into the dirt, Victor stumbled backward, looking around in a panic.

    The Lady¡¯s guests were standing around the pit. Some held napkins or handkerchiefs in front of their mouths, looks of horror in their eyes; others leered openly, words of encouragement sent Victor¡¯s way. Victor stumbled backward to the center of the pit and looked up to the Lady. She sat in her chair, beauty personified, with her hair perfectly coiffed and her hands folded in herp, but in her eyes, in her bright, yellow eyes, Victor could see despair. At first, he thought she was upset by his savagery. He was certainly upset about it; why shouldn¡¯t she be? But then she spoke, ¡°Well done, Justice. Friends, please return to the estate; dinner will be served shortly. I apologize, but I¡¯ll need a few moments - I¡¯d hoped this swine¡¯s death would bring me closure, but I feel nothing.¡± She stood and walked away. Some of the otherdies followed after, but most of the guests moved away from the pit, talking in hushed or excited conversations about the fight.

    ¡°Well,e on, kid. I¡¯ll give you a hand out.¡± Yund had approached the pit behind Victor. Victor reached up and took his hand, allowing him to hoist him up to the edge. ¡°I knew you were fighting above your rank, but that was better than I¡¯d hoped. Nice work.¡± He patted Victor¡¯s shoulder and steered him toward a dark path in the garden. ¡°Let¡¯s walk around the manor to get to the coach. I¡¯d rather not go through that house with all those fancy shits. I already got my payment.¡±

    They walked in silence for a while, then Victor said, ¡°I¡¯m d he turned out to be a bad guy. Yund, I don¡¯t ever want to fight someone like Belsa.¡±

    ¡°First of all, kid, ¡®bad¡¯ is rtive. Just because all these nobles at this house hated that asshole doesn¡¯t make him ¡®bad.¡¯ Don¡¯t get me wrong, he probably was, but don¡¯t believe people just because they''re beautiful and clean. That ¡®Lady¡¯ has a lot of blood on her hands, believe me.¡± Yund reached up and put a hand on Victor¡¯s shoulder while they walked. ¡°Second of all, Belsa¡¯s that new girl I got at auction yesterday, right?¡± Victor nodded. ¡°Yeah, well, I¡¯m an asshole, but I know you by now, kid. I¡¯m not going to arrange a fight like that for you. What good would it do me for you to get yourself killed cause you feel sorry for your opponent?¡± He shook Victor¡¯s shoulder and continued, ¡°Now, enough moping. You won an impressive victory here, which means I owe you a reward. I already got it for you, too. Hang on; let me see here.¡± He held a hand to one of his pouches, concentrating for a moment while they walked along the garden path. ¡°Aha!¡± A rolled-up piece of paper with a hunk of red waxy stuff holding it closed appeared in his hand. He handed it to Victor and said, ¡°It¡¯s a general cultivation method for Spirit Cores. When we get back, break the seal and stare at the runes - the System will trigger it, and the knowledge will go into you.¡±

    ¡°Seriously? I wish I had scrolls like that in high school.¡±

    ¡°Listen, that was pretty expensive - not many people are interested in Spirit Cores, at least not in this part of the world. After you learn it and get a few more levels, I¡¯m going to need you to either get tagged or start wearing a cor between fights. Nothing personal, but I have an investment to protect.¡±

    ¡°Whatever. If I have to do it, I will, but I¡¯d rather not get the tag - it seems too permanent. Hey, I didn¡¯t level from that guy.¡±

    ¡°Your new ss probably takes more effort to level. Maybe next time, or maybe now that you have a cultivation guide, you¡¯ll be able to advance that way too.¡± Ahead of them, Victor could see a light on a brick post, signaling a gateway. When they approached, he saw that they¡¯de out of the gardens near the front of the house by the stables and waiting carriages. Victor followed Yund toward one of the carriages, but a figure stepped out from the shadows nearby as they approached. Lady ap¡¯Brellin walked up to them, a small package in her hands.

    ¡°I know you¡¯ve been paid, Mr. Yund. I wanted to give a gift to our young representative of Justice.¡±

    ¡°Oh, of course, Lady,¡± Yund said, bowing low and stepping to the side.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see that he takes full possession before you leave, sir. I know how cutthroat your business is.¡± Yund¡¯s obsequious smile faltered momentarily, but then it was back, and he nodded enthusiastically, taking yet another step back. She nodded and stepped closer to Victor, holding out the package. Self-conscious of his blood-stained hands, Victor reached out and took the paper-wrapped box. It was about three inches square and as heavy as a paperback book.

    ¡°Um, what is it?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Open it.¡± She nodded toward the box, indicating that she¡¯d be staying around until heplied. Victor peeled off the brown paper, revealing a light brown wooden box. He lifted the lid, revealing a straw-filled interior on which a deep purple plum-like fruit sat. ¡°This fruit will advance your race. If you want to ever achieve levels much beyond fifteen, you¡¯ll need at least one advancement. This fruit should get you as many as four.¡±

    ¡°Lady! This is too valuable for someone like him! I can¡¯t see you wasting such a prize!¡± Yund stepped forward, reaching for the box in Victor¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Sir! You will back away and allow him to consume this fruit! I have paid for his services for the evening, and I will reward him as I see fit.¡±

    ¡°He could die in a day! Why such a rare fruit? You could give him a Wyr berry for a hundredth of the price!¡±

    ¡°That is thest outburst I¡¯ll tolerate from you, Mr. Yund.¡± She didn¡¯t even look at him, trusting that her words would suffice. They worked, though. Yund turned away and paced in a small circle, visibly clenching his mouth shut to avoid saying anything. ¡°Come, Justice. Sit in your coach and eat the fruit. You won¡¯t want to be standing when the effects hit you.¡±

    ¡°Um, okay. Thank you.¡± Victor was at a loss for words. What the hell did it even mean to ¡®advance your race.¡¯ He knew these guys used the word ¡®race¡¯ differently than the humans back home. When there were actually different species of people, it kinda made worrying about the color of someone¡¯s skin seem a little dumb. He stepped past the Lady, opened the coach door, and climbed up onto his seat. He looked at the woman¡¯s beautiful, cold face one more time, she nodded, and he ate the fruit.

 Chapter 18: Cultivating

    Chapter 18: Cultivating

    Victor sank back into the cushions of the coach, the scents of perfume, sweat, and old smoke wafting up around him. As he swallowed the fruit, which hadn¡¯t tasted like a plum, more like an orange with the texture of a banana, warmth pulsed through the flesh that it touched, and then in a wave from the center of his belly out to his limbs. He felt a buzzing sensation all over his body, and then he felt heavy, like he was sinking into the center of the world, pulling the coach and everything else along with him. Waves of pink light, darkening to violet, rolled over his vision, and he lost himself watching the patterns of shifting colors. When he started to feel himself again - began to remember that he was a person - he became aware of the rattling tter of the coach wheels outside the window and the bump and sway it made as it rolled down the street. ¡°What happened?¡± he muttered, mouth feeling like he¡¯d tried to swallow a cup of dusty sand.

    ¡°What happened? You got a tip worth more than I made at thest three Fight Nights.¡± Yund sat across from him, eyes narrowed as he studied Victor. ¡°Well, what happened? I can see your race advanced. How much?¡±

    ¡°You can tell?¡± Victor coughed. ¡°Hold on,¡± he said and thought about this status page:

    Status

    Name:

    Victor Sandoval

    Race:

    Human - Base 4

    ss:

    Spirit Champion

    Level:

    10

    Core:

    Spirit ss - Base 4

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Rage 9.1

    Energy:

    420/420

    Strength:

    25

    Vitality:

    20

    Dexterity:

    17

    Agility:

    17

    Intelligence:

    10

    Will:

    10

    Points Avable:

    0

    Titles & Feats:

    ¨C

    Skills:

    System Language Integration - Not Upgradeable Unarmed Combat - Basic Knife Combat - Basic Axe Mastery - Basic Spear Mastery - Basic Bludgeon Mastery - Basic Grappling - Improved Berserk - Basic Sovereign Will - Basic Channel Spirit - Basic

    ¡°It says base four next to my race now.¡±

    ¡°Three ranks. From one fruit. Well, nicely done, kid. I hope you live long enough to appreciate it.¡± Yund folded his arms on his chest and visibly sulked.

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of racial advancements anyway?¡± Victor held up his hands and noticed that some of the scars he¡¯d umted recently were gone, and almost all of them had faded to faint white marks.

    ¡°If I had a mirror, you¡¯d know. When you stand up, you¡¯ll notice. You¡¯re bigger, taller. More than that, your body has improved from your blood to your heart to your bones. It can hold more Energy now, which means a higher level cap. If you had a peaceful life, you¡¯d live a lot longer now, too.¡±

    ¡°Awesome,¡± Victor said, running his fingers along his face, trying to notice anything different. He felt good, but other than that, he seemed the same. When they got back to the Wagon Wheel, and Victor mbered out of the coach, he noticed a remarkable difference: he was looking at Yund almost eye to eye. ¡°Fucking hell, I did grow!¡±

    ¡°Ponda!¡± Yund barked as they strode through the door. The big Vodkin came waddling out of the mess hall.

    ¡°Yeah, Boss?¡±

    ¡°Put him back in his cage and put a cor on him. He¡¯s grown a bit much to be wandering without a leash.¡± Victor felt a little surge of heat in his Core when Yund spoke about him like a dog, and he snarled involuntarily. ¡°Here, kid.¡± Yund held out his hand, ¡°you dropped this when you ate the fruit.¡± Victor reached out, and Yund pressed the scroll with his cultivation method on it to him.

    ¡°Oh, thanks, Yund.¡±

    ¡°You mean Boss.¡±

    ¡°Right. Thanks, Boss.¡± Victor walked over to Ponda and followed him to the pens. He was pleased to see that Ponda didn¡¯t seem so big to him anymore, either.

    ¡°Getting bigger, eh, kid?¡± Ponda asked as he unlocked his cage.

    ¡°Yeah, got a prize for winning.¡± Victor shrugged and ducked into the cage. Ponda didn¡¯t close it right away but pulled out a dull iron ring about four inches in diameter, holding it up to Victor¡¯s neck. ¡°I think that¡¯s too small, dude.¡±

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯ll stretch when I activate it. Hold still.¡± He pressed one edge of the ring to Victor¡¯s neck, then Victor felt it get warm, then hot, then seemed to flow around his skin, stretching itself into a ring of metal that snuggly wrapped around his neck. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything dumb with this on, kid. Boss can kill you from a mile away as long as you¡¯re wearing this.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Victor didn¡¯t like the sound of that. It made him think of a VR flick he saw where prisoners¡¯ heads exploded if they tried to run away from the warden. Ponda didn¡¯t seem to care to stick around to hear his concerns, though; he mmed the gate shut and walked out of the pens without a backward nce.

    ¡°Where¡¯d they take you? Did you really have to grow even taller? You were already a freakpared to most Shadeni.¡± Victor turned to see Belsa sitting in her corner of the cage, green eyes glinting brightly in the shadows.

    ¡°I had to go to this richdy¡¯s house and fight a criminal. I won, so she gave me a prize,¡± Victor gestured at his body, ¡°racial upgrade.¡±

    ¡°You really know how to paint the scene with your words.¡± Belsaughed.

    ¡°Damn, you¡¯re in a better mood. Teasing me, huh?¡± Victor moved to his corner and sat down, wondering if he could use the scroll in such dim lighting.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯m relieved that I don''t have to get to know a new cell-mate yet. You might be rude, but at least I know you. Who knows what I¡¯d get next! What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Alright, nosey chica, it¡¯s a cultivation method, I guess. I¡¯m supposed to stare at the runes or whatever.¡± Victor ran a finger along the loose edge of the scroll, pulling it under the red seal, and it broke away into little crumbles. Victor had a sudden thought, ¡°Hey, when I say ¡®girl,¡¯ what word do you hear?¡±

    ¡°Girl?¡±

    ¡°What about when I say ¡®chica?¡¯¡±

    ¡°Girl?¡±

    ¡°That shit¡¯s crazy. I just said ¡®girl¡¯ in two differentnguages, and you heard only one.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s thenguage integration. The System makes us all hear our nativenguage when others speak.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I get it. It¡¯s just fucking weird.¡±

    ¡°Fucking?¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon, you can guess what it means.¡± Victor unrolled the scroll and saw that the runes were faintly shimmering symbols of letters that he¡¯d never seen in his life. Belsa said something, but he¡¯d tuned her out, staring at the runes as they shifted ever so slightly on the page. Suddenly one of them moved more than the others, then it popped out into the air. Victor almost dropped the scroll in surprise, but he held on, and then more runes popped off the paper and began to flow into a glowing line that streamed toward Victor¡¯s eyes. As the runes hit his eyes, they became a pulsing beam in his vision. A dull ache started to throb at the base of his skull. Just as he began to fear his head would burst, it came to a stop.

    ***Congrattions, you¡¯ve learned a new skill: Spirit Core Cultivation Drill - Basic.***

    ¡°I mean, that was cool, but I don¡¯t know if I really like the feeling,¡± he said, mostly to himself. He thought about cultivating Energy and found that he suddenly understood a great deal more about the subject. Thanks to Yre¡¯s guidance and his experimentation, he¡¯d figured out a lot of the process. One thing he knew now was that Spirit Cores couldn¡¯t absorb unattuned Energy. He had to process any Energy he cultivated into rage-attuned Energy. There were ways to do so, and it turned out the one he¡¯d figured out was the crudest, most dangerous method recorded in the manual.

    There was a method to memorize and imprint the feelings associated with memories that evoked strong emotion so that you could study those feelings but not relive your trauma over and over - the pure essence of rage rather than rage-soaked memories. Victor found he hadn¡¯t done everything wrong, though - you needed those memories to study in order to develop your meditation on the feelings and essence of the emotion. Because the manual was for general Spirit Core cultivation, it didn¡¯t deal explicitly with rage. Rather, it spoke in generalities about ¡®emotions¡¯ and their essence.

    Another thing the manual provided was the drill for cultivation itself. It was an exercise that began with Victor studying the essence of his attunement, creating a self-propagating feedback loop within his Core. As the Energy became too intense, he was supposed to push it through his pathways in a specific pattern, to create a loop that brought in external Energy, converted it to rage-attuned Energy, and then directed it back to his Core. It was simr to what Victor had been doing but far more efficient.

    ¡°Did it work?¡± Belsa had scooted closer to him and was staring expectantly.

    ¡°Yeah. Got a cultivation drill.¡± He moved to sit in the position Yre had taught him and closed his eyes, ready to begin the possibly arduous process of developing rage constructs to study so that he could stop reliving all of his most painful memories.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna try it out! Chill out, please. Go do some meditating or something.¡± He spoke sharply, and kind of regretted it when she looked down quickly and scooted back. He almost took the words back, saying he was sorry, but didn¡¯t, and it pissed him off that he was being such an asshole. He decided to use that feeling and quickly started following the cultivation manual''s process for studying a feeling and turning it into a pure construct. It was kind of like a mnemonic trick or some sort of self-hypnosis, but he understood it so thoroughly, thanks to the way the System put it in his head, that he performed it wlessly. He found that he could study the construct of the feeling caused by his interaction with Belsa to start a hot pulse in his Core, actually generating Energy with his rage. The best part was that he could study that feeling, experience the rage, and feed off it without the emotional baggage of remembering Belsa¡¯s crestfallen face. It was like he pulled the feeling out and could leave the memory in his subconscious.

    Victor stopped, letting his Core wind down, and then he purposefully thought about how he¡¯d snapped at Belsa. The shame and guilt were still there, but not the rage. Had he really separated that feeling from the memory? ¡°How fucking weird!¡± Belsa shifted but didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m sorry I snapped at you. I have a lot on my mind, and I couldn¡¯t think.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    Victor knew very well that it wasn¡¯t ¡®fine,¡¯ but he figured he could try to cheer her up tomorrow. He¡¯d said he was sorry, and she could sleep on that. If that little surge of anger allowed him to cultivate rage, how would a bigger memory work? Could he separate the rage from a truly white-hot fury-inducing episode in his life? He was too chicken to even contemte thinking about Yre¡¯s death right now, and he was tired of soaking in the frustration of his parent¡¯s car wreck, so he picked something a little less tender: the time he¡¯d been hanging at his aunty¡¯s house with his cousin Tricia and her friends. The time they¡¯d been speaking Spanish, and Victor, barely able to follow a slowly worded directive from his Abu, couldn¡¯t follow along. His cousin had said, ¡°Better speak English; his mom was white.¡± Her friends hadughed and said something in Spanish that, again, Victor hadn¡¯t been able to follow. He¡¯d been embarrassed and angry at being singled out, so he¡¯dshed out. He was a nine-year-old boy, and he¡¯d cussed at his cousin, called her a bitch, and run to hide.

    Victor focused on the memory, studied the rage, and used the method in the manual to create a construct from it. He was fascinated to see that most of the anger he felt in that memory was aimed at himself. He¡¯d been angry for not being better at Spanish. He¡¯d been angry at himself for not being able to defend his mom; he¡¯d been angry at himself for feeling small and unable to stick up for himself. Most of all, he¡¯d been angry at himself for reacting so harshly to his cousin; they¡¯d never gotten along the same since that day. When Victor built the construct of all that rage, he found it med hotter and quickly started pulsing in his Core.

    On a whim, he added the construct from his interaction with Belsa, and he found that their ability to generate rageplimented each other. Victor ran through his drill twice, noting that he¡¯d built his Core far more significantly than in an entire afternoon of cultivation with his old method. He wanted to stop, though, and analyze the memory from which he¡¯d built the rage construct. When he thought about that day, all he felt was guilt and a sense of loss. He really had pulled the anger out of the memory. Was it hypnosis? Was it magic? There was so much to learn and understand about how the System and Energy worked, and Victor knew he was only scratching the surface.

    Not wanting to tangle with any more memories, Victor spent the evening cultivating around the two constructs he¡¯d made. When he received a message announcing he¡¯d improved his Core by another rank, he almost whooped aloud but caught himself when he noticed Belsa¡¯s sleeping form. He found that he wasn¡¯t tired at all; in fact, he felt energized, and he knew it was from the racial upgrades he¡¯d just gone through. He went back to cultivating and didn¡¯t stop until he got another System message and saw the sunlight poking in through the high boards on the east wall of the building.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 11 Spirit Champion. You have gained 7 will, 7 vitality, and have 7 attribute points to allocate.***

 Chapter 19: Private Party

    Chapter 19: Private Party

    ¡°You know, I really didn¡¯t think much about escaping until they put this fucking cor on my neck,¡± Victor said, trying to squeeze a finger between his skin and the thick metal band; he had an itch developing that was fast bing a new source of rage Energy for him.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask for the tag?¡± Belsa sat up from where Victor had tossed her, trying to teach her to manage her momentum better.

    ¡°I dunno. Something about it reminded me of how ranchers brand their cows and shit.¡± Again, he rubbed at the cor. ¡°Of course, this isn¡¯t much better. Cors are for dogs, not people, you know?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I agree. You think they¡¯ll put one on me?¡±

    ¡°When you get to rank two, or are a tough rank one like me,¡± Victor jammed a thumb into his chest and flexed his other arm, hamming it up. Sheughed, in a much better mood today than she¡¯d been the night before. He supposed that was a direct result of him not being an asshole today. Victor felt like this revtion should be written somewhere: people tended to react to you simrly to how you treat them.

    ¡°You joke, but I guess it shows they¡¯re afraid of you. Or afraid of what you might do, at least.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course, I didn¡¯t realize it in time.¡± He flicked the metal cor again.

    ¡°What about your clothes? Did Boss give those to you?¡±

    ¡°No, and you can call him Yund when it¡¯s just you and me. It bugs me that he makes us call him Boss.¡± Victor rubbed the sleeve of his ck shirt between his fingers, marveling at the garment for at least the tenth time that day. When he¡¯d woken, he¡¯d been stunned to see that all the little rips had mended, and the blood that had matted the fabric was gone entirely. ¡°Nah, the Lady at the house we fought at gave ¡®em to me. I guess her servant did, actually. Seemed like a decent guy.¡±

    ¡°Well, that shirt isn¡¯t as nice as my vest, but it looks better than those bloody rags you had on before.¡± She gestured to her beaded vest proudly while she spoke, and Victor got the feeling she was fishing for apliment.

    ¡°Yeah, that vest is nice. Did you, uh, sew those designs on it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I did the beadwork. An Artisan in my n made these beads - they¡¯re all polished stones and shells.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re, um, they¡¯re real nice.¡±

    ¡°Victor! Kid! Come over here!¡± Yund had poked his head out of his office door, saving Victor from an awkward conversation about fashion.

    ¡°Keep working on your falls,¡± he said as he jogged away, past a few other sparring fighters, and up to Yund¡¯s door. ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°You ain¡¯t going to Pit Night tonight.¡±

    ¡°What? Why?¡±

    ¡°Another private fight. I¡¯m going to have Urt take you. You¡¯ll have to leave soon because the fight¡¯s outside the city again.¡±

    ¡°Oh, c¡¯mon, Boss. Do I have to be a ¡®justice¡¯ again?¡±

    ¡°Nah, but it¡¯s rted - one of the guests liked what they saw and wanted to enter you in a private tournament.¡± Yund looked down, and to the side, kind of shiftily, and Victor knew he wasn¡¯t telling him everything.

    ¡°Anything else I should know?¡±

    ¡°No, kid. Well, actually, yes - don¡¯t mess around or get any ideas - Urt¡¯s going to have control of that cor, and he¡¯s a lot less patient than I am!¡± He mmed the door in Victor¡¯s face after he finished speaking, and Victor turned back to the exercise hall. Yund was definitely acting shifty, but he was a shifty guy in a dirty business. Was it anything unusual? Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t any way for Victor to know. Maybe Urt would let something slip on the way to the fight. Victor wandered back over to Belsa, and she seemed to pick up on his mood right away.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Her green eyes crinkled in her round face, a look crossing her face that Victor couldn¡¯t ce - was she scared? He supposed it would be scary for her; she didn¡¯t know anyone else in the Wagon Wheel. If things were bad for Victor, her little bit of stability could disappear.

    ¡°Oh, Yund just told me I have to go to another private fight. No Fight Night at the Rusty Nail for me.¡±

    ¡°So I¡¯ll have to go alone?¡± she asked, her voice soft and her eyes unfocusing, staring into space.

    ¡°No, you won¡¯t be alone! Everyone here is going, except Urt and me, I guess. Ponda will be there, and he won¡¯t let anyone mess with you. Well, outside your fight at least.¡± He reached out and held out a fist to her. After a moment, she scrunched up her knuckles and knocked them against his. ¡°That¡¯s the spirit. You¡¯re going to do fine - Yund will put you with someone you can beat; I¡¯m sure of it.¡±

    They sparred for a while with spears, then did an exercise circuit, and then Ponda was screaming at everyone to get back to their cages. It was time for the next round of prisoners toe out for exercise. They¡¯d barely gotten back in their cage, Ponda mming it shut and stomping out when Urt came in, mming the door open against the wall. Victor briefly congratted the guy who¡¯d built that door - it saw a hell of a lot of abuse. He stomped up to Victor¡¯s cage, hawked a huge loogie, spit it into the hay, and said, ¡°Looks like you got a special night ahead, boy.¡±

    ¡°Not my choice.¡± Victor shrugged and walked over to the cage door. Urt fumbled with the lock, and Victor looked over to Belsa. ¡°Hey, good luck tonight. You¡¯ll do fine. We¡¯ll swap stories tomorrow, alright?¡±

    ¡°Right. Good luck, Victor.¡± She nodded her head, mouth held in a straight line, and her eyes did not betray any emotion. Victor had to admire her guts. He¡¯d at least had Yre and Vullu at his first Fight Night. Urt pulled the cage open and gestured for Victor to follow. He held up a little silver rod as they walked.

    ¡°With this, I can make that cor so hot it melts through your neck. Don¡¯t cock about, got it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Fuck, man. Have I ever caused you trouble?¡±

    ¡°Just keep it in mind.¡± Urt walked to the door, mming it open again, then motioning Victor through. They strode through the big exercise hall. Ponda had a group of the newer fighters assembled near the far wall and was yelling at them about some rule or another they¡¯d broken. Yund¡¯s door was closed, and no one looked at them or said anything as they walked through the big doors and out into the street. A coach much like the one Victor had ridden in with Yund was already waiting, and they mbered up into it.

    The coach''s interior was in much better repair than the other one. Victor saw that right away - there wasn¡¯t any mud on the ckcquered floor, the red seat cushions weren¡¯t threadbare, and it didn¡¯t smell of anything in particr. ¡°Not too bad,¡± he said to Urt, partially trying to make conversation and partially trying to irritate the recalcitrant manager. Victorughed at himself, thinking of Urt as a manager. Sure, he ¡°managed¡± the fighters, but he was more like a prison guard than a coach or anything.

    ¡°Huh. Yeah, I didn¡¯t hire it. The guy paying for you to fight did.¡± That was interesting. Victor looked around more closely, but he didn¡¯t see any identifying marks on the coach''s interior.

    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s his coach? Or did he hire it and send it to us?¡±

    ¡°How the shit would I know? Quiet now, and let me snooze.¡± Urt leaned back, closed his eyes, and crossed his arms on his chest, the rod that controlled Victor¡¯s cor clutched firmly in his left fist. Victor briefly entertained the idea of trying to grab the rod and jump out the coach''s door. He reached out and tried thetch, not really surprised when he couldn¡¯t move it. He was locked in here. These guys seemed dumb andzy, but they weren¡¯t new at the whole kidnapping and enving part of their lives. He pulled the curtain aside to at least get a view of the journey through town, but the ss was ck. He couldn¡¯t see anything outside. The lighting from the little glowing orb in the coach¡¯s ceiling looked so much like daylight that Victor hadn¡¯t realized at first that the windows were covered.

    ¡°Great. Guess it¡¯s going to be a boring ride.¡± He looked at his status page and decided to allocate his seven free points. He¡¯d debated it for a while, not sure what was the smart move, but he figured he¡¯d been winning fights by being able to finish people quickly while he was Berserk. Since that seemed to be a winning strategy, he decided to put three into strength, two into agility, and two into dexterity. He figured that would be a good distribution to follow for a while. His ss levels gave him plenty of will and vitality; he just thought he should keep his other physical stats improving with the free points. He stared around the coach¡¯s interior, stared at Urt, and wondered which of his rings and belts were the mysterious ¡°dimensional containers¡± that all the non-enved people in this world seemed to have.

    A dark thought crossed his mind; could he strike Urt hard enough to knock him unconscious or kill him before he could activate the cor? He was justying there, helpless. What if he channeled his rage and really let him have it, right in the head or neck? Victor ran through it in his head over and over. What would happen if he killed him? He could take the rod, hopefully, get this cor off, and then try to break out of the coach? Should he sit in the coach and wait for the driver to open it? Then he could make a run for it. What if he failed to knock Urt out? The guy was an ex-fighter and supposedly pretty high level. If he didn¡¯t incapacitate him, he¡¯d be in trouble for sure. What if he couldn¡¯t get out of the coach or if they had guards waiting? What if the driver was some kind of powerful Energy user?

    Victor shook his head, sitting back in his seat and closing his eyes. ¡°Chicken shit,¡± he said, lightly banging his knuckles into his forehead.

    ¡°Quiet!¡± Urt grumbled, snorting and swallowing a mouthful of phlegm.

    ¡°That¡¯s fucking gross, bro.¡± Urt didn¡¯t respond, and Victor decided to pass the time with some cultivation. He¡¯d run through his entire drill four times when the coach¡¯s rattling, swaying travel slowed, and the sound of the wheels transitioned from softly grinding dirt roads to ttering, grinding cobbles again. After a few moments of this, they came to a stop, and Urt sat up as though he¡¯d never closed his eyes.

    ¡°Alright, look tough.¡± Urt scooted up in his seat, facing the door, and when someone rapped on the dark ss, Urt knocked back in a simr pattern.

    ¡°You guys have a secret knock?¡± Urt didn¡¯t answer, just shrugged. The door opened, and the coachman held it while Urt scrambled out. Victor followed, stepping onto rounded cobbles into the cold night air. He looked around, noting the dark shadows of thick tree canopies on either side of the cobbled path. A stone wall and gate were nearby on this side of thene, and Urt motioned for Victor to follow him to it. The coachman didn¡¯t say anything, but Victor heard him close the door, and, as they stepped through the shadowed gateway, he heard it tter a short way down thene and then stop. The path they walked along was bedded in small, round stones and roughly ten feet wide. On either side of it, tall, looming trees made the night feel exceptionally deep and heavy. As they walked, Victor¡¯s and Urt¡¯s feet crunching in the gravel filled the air, nearly drowning out the chirping and droning of all the nighttime insects lurking in the thick foliage. They walked for about five minutes, every now and then passingmp posts that shed yellow inds of light in the darkness. When they followed a final curve in the path and a stone wall with a ck, iron door mounted in it came into view, Victor felt a little surge of relief - he¡¯d been a bit unnerved walking through the dark forest, regardless of the well-maintained path and the intermittentmps.

    Two Ardeni men stood outside the door; both wore ck and blue uniforms, had swords on their belts, and sported shiny metal helmets. As Urt approached, Victor in tow, one of them stepped forward. ¡°From the Wagon Wheel?¡±

    ¡°Aye,¡± Urt said.

    ¡°You have the contract and the control rod?¡±

    ¡°Aye,¡± Urt pulled a rolled-up parchment out of ¡°somewhere¡± and handed it and the control rod for Victor¡¯s cor to the uniformed servant or guard. He turned to look at Victor, then shrugged. ¡°Sorry, kid.¡±

    ¡°Here¡¯s for your boss.¡± The guard handed Urt a heavy-looking sack about the size of a bag of sugar.

    ¡°The fuck is going on, Urt?¡± Victor looked at Urt with wide eyes, but he refused to make eye contact.

    ¡°Shut up and move with us.¡± The guard turned and opened the metal door with a grinding squeal, signaling seldom used hinges. Urt, for his part, turned and walked up the gravel path, his feet crunching loudly at first and then fading as the night swallowed him. ¡°I said let¡¯s go. I don¡¯t want to have to use this.¡± He waved the rod in front of Victor. Victor looked from one stony-faced guard to the other and followed through the doorway. They were in a narrow, low-ceilinged stone hallway. Victor had to stoop to walk along behind the first Ardeni, and the other took up position behind him. Yellow light globes appeared in the tunnel every twenty feet or so, just bright enough to keep the space dimly lit. Victor didn¡¯t note any doors in the tunnel, and he could feel that they were slowly moving down a slope.

    ¡°Can you guys tell me what the fuck is going on? Am I here to fight in a tournament?¡± The guard in front of himughed, a short, mocking sound.

    ¡°That what your owner said? Sure, that¡¯s what it is. We¡¯re taking you down here to a ¡®tournament.¡¯¡± He snickered again, and the guard behind Victor snorted also. Victor knew he wouldn¡¯t get any answers from these assholes, so he just readied himself, figuring he¡¯d have answers soon enough. They finally came to a T in the tunnel, and the guards led Victor to the left. After a while, they arrived at another heavy, iron door. The guard put a big metal key into the door, grunted as he twisted it, broke away some rust, and then pulled the door open, hinges squealing.

    They walked into a round room with a convex stone ceiling and mortared stone walls. In the center of the room, a lone table sat on a sturdy metal frame. The first guard touched something on the wall, and cool white-blue light filled the air, almost like it was being exuded from the stone ceiling. He walked to the table and turned some sort of crank, and it rotated up ny degrees. The rear guard gave Victor a shove, propelling him toward the table. ¡°Stand with your back against the table,¡± he said gruffly.

    ¡°The fuck is this?¡± Victor began to panic and started to reach for his Core.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it, shit head. I¡¯ll melt your head right off.¡± Suddenly the cor around Victor¡¯s neck grew warm, then ufortably hot, and he reached up in a panic, trying to squeeze his fingers in between it and his tender throat. ¡°Just do what I said, and I¡¯ll cool it off.¡± Victorplied, walking up to the table. As soon as he was standing with his back touching the metal surface, the cor started to cool, and the guards each pulled one of Victor¡¯s hands down to the table, sping something around his wrists. Then the guards backed away, and the first one stepped around to crank the little wheel again. Victor rotated backward ny degrees so that he was now lying facing the round dome of the ceiling. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll watch him. Go let Lord ap¡¯Horrin know he¡¯s here.¡±

    Victor''s mind raced as the other guard walked away, pulling open and then closing the squealing metal door. He¡¯d heard that name before - ap¡¯Horrin. He couldn¡¯t ce it, though. It might have been a name he heard at one of the fight nights or someone that Vullu or Yre had mentioned. He couldn¡¯t figure it out. He knew one thing, though: Yund had fucked him over. Yund, Ponda, Urt - they¡¯d all known this was going down. Ponda hadn¡¯t looked at him when he was leaving. Urt had said, ¡°Sorry, kid.¡± Obviously, Yund knew - he¡¯d been paid a fat sack of whatever passed for money in this world. What were these assholes nning for him? He couldn''t think of any sort of good scenario where someone is strapped to a metal table deep underground. Sure, maybe they were going to do some cosmetic modifications - give him a tattoo and some fangs. He snorted a shortugh.

    ¡°Good that you can have a sense of humor. I¡¯ll be honest with you; I hope the Lord¡¯s quick with you cause I don¡¯t have the same kind of stomach he does.¡± Victor had almost forgotten the other guard was still in the room.

    ¡°Dude, can¡¯t you tell me what the fuck is going on?¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be that hard to figure out. How many lord¡¯s kids have you killed?¡±

    ¡°What the fuck? I only fight in pits, dude, and I sure as hell don¡¯t get to pick my opponents.¡±

    ¡°True, it¡¯s not really a fair deal for you, but Lord ap¡¯Horrin has to save face somehow, and he can¡¯t very well kill Lady ap¡¯Brellin, can he? Now shut up; I¡¯m not supposed to talk to you.¡± Lady ap¡¯Brellin, the Lady that hired him to be a ¡°Justice?¡± Images of the garden party and the newly constructed pit filled Victor¡¯s mind. The man thrown in the pit with him had been a noble, the ¡°criminal¡± he¡¯d killed because the courts wouldn¡¯t do what the Lady wanted.

    ¡°Oh, God.¡± Victor strained against his restraints, but they were immovable. He knew if he tried to use his Energy abilities, the guard would use the cor, but he couldn¡¯t help the panic rising in his chest. What was this fucking guy going to do to him?

 Chapter 20: Fractured

    Chapter 20: Fractured

    Victor felt like the lord that the guard had gone to fetch would arrive any moment, so hey there tensely, his mind providing detailed fantasies about what kind of hell was waiting for him. Hey like that for a long time, tense, sweating, even twitching with nerves. When long minutes went by, then hours, he thrashed about, trying to get even a tiny amount of wiggle-room in his wrists so that he could turn or look behind him. His restraints wouldn¡¯t budge, though, and though he tried, he couldn¡¯t get his head turned far enough to see the guard that was presumably still sitting or standing behind him. He tried to engage the guard in conversation a few times, but after a few grunts of ¡°Quiet!¡± or ¡°Just wait,¡± he gave up.

    After a while, he tried to find some sce in dozing off. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on things that made him happy, or at least ces that made him happy. He imagined walking around the big wash where he and his buddies had built a fort every summer. He remembered how it smelled out there during monsoon season, how the water would flow for a few hours after each storm, and then he and his friends would go out and find tadpoles in the big puddles left behind. Where did those toads go during the rest of the year? His friend, James, had said they hibernate, but Victor couldn¡¯t picture toads sleeping underground for most of the year, justing out during a month or two when the rains really pounded the desert. He supposed anything was possible, though.

    ¡°Creosote,¡± he mumbled. ¡°That¡¯s what smelled so good around the washes during the rains.¡± He lifted his head off the table and brought it down with a thud. He did it again, harder, with a louder thud.

    ¡°Cut that shit out.¡± The guard didn¡¯t sound happy. Maybe he was as bored as Victor.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re still there? Fuck you, pendejo.¡± Victor closed his eyes and let himself drift again. Memories and dreams blurred together for a while, and then he really did sleep, deep, sinking into the earth sleep, with no dreams to bother him. Then he felt a gentle hand on his cheek, caressing it lightly, and he opened his eyes to the cool, sterile light of the domed stone ceiling. He blinked a few times and saw that an Ardeni man with a neatly trimmed ck beard was standing next to him, his hand resting on Victor¡¯s cheek.

    ¡°Ahh, there he is. There¡¯s our young Justice.¡± He patted Victor¡¯s cheek twice more, then pulled his hand away. He didn¡¯t have a smile on his face, but his voice didn¡¯t sound particrly angry or cruel. Victor saw that he had dark eyes like the guy he¡¯d fought in the pit. Another Ardeni without bright hair and eyes? He wanted to ask about it but knew he had to y this smart, so he kept his mouth shut. ¡°Well, have anything to say for yourself?¡±

    ¡°Um, are you the father of the man I had to fight, um, at that Lady¡¯s house?¡±

    ¡°Oh, just an innocent victim of circumstance, hmm?¡± The man¡¯s brow furrowed, and a glint of cruelty interred his eyes.

    ¡°You can say what you want, man, but I didn''t fucking choose to be there, or even in this goddamned world!¡±

    ¡°Is that right? So, some stranger, some victim, just a tier-one nobody, managed to kill my tier-two son in a pit fight?¡±

    ¡°Actually, yes. I didn¡¯t even want to fight there. I had no idea who your son was.¡±

    ¡°What do you say to that, Drelk?¡± He looked past Victor toward the part of the room behind his head.

    ¡°Well, I told you about his savagery. I don¡¯t think I need to say more. I can¡¯t imagine anyone unwillingly doing what this beast did to your son, to your son¡¯s corpse.¡±

    ¡°And that,¡± a hard glint entered the lord¡¯s eyes, and his voice became icy, ¡°is why you must be gentled and put somewhere away from society, Victor. Did I say that right? Your name? It¡¯s a new one to me, but I saw it on the contract I purchased.¡±

    ¡°The fuck do you mean, gentled? Dude, just let me go, and I won¡¯t bother you or your society.¡± Victor strained against his bindings again, but he made no headway.

    ¡°Victor, I¡¯m going to watch what my friend Tkelvic does to you, and I¡¯m going to enjoy it. It¡¯s the least I can do for myself as constion for the loss of a child, however misbehaved he was. When Tkelvic is done with you, I will sell your contract to a ce often equated to hell. Do they have a concept of hell where youe from? A ce for terrible souls to go after life? Don¡¯t bother answering me, Victor. I¡¯m not interested, really.¡± He stepped back from Victor and looked around. ¡°Drelk, you may go. Hols, please get Tkelvic; he¡¯s in the next oubliette.¡±

    Victory there, paralyzed by panic. He heard people moving around and then the scraping of chains on stone, apanied by the click-ck sound of something big moving around on stilts or wooden shoes or something. He stared at the ceiling, trying to will himself out of his predicament, but then a long, dark shadow fell over him, and he looked up in the face of horror. A man loomed over him, but not a man like any he¡¯d ever seen. This man was naked and had gray skin and a long angr face with huge ck saucers for eyes. His mouth and jaw reminded him of an insect''s mandibles. The freakiest part of him, though, was that he didn''t have arms. No, he had long, thick spider legsing out of his shoulders and back, allowing him to loom over Victor¡¯s table. Victor opened his mouth to scream, and that''s when he saw the tentacles. The man had a nest of tentacles at the base of his abdomen, and two of them shot forward and wrapped around Victor¡¯s face, mping his mouth shut.

    ¡°No noise, meat,¡± the gray man-spider said in a grinding, discordant voice that registered deep in Victor¡¯s gut. Victor strained against the tentacles but couldn¡¯t move his head at all. He darted his eyes around, trying to find some sort of solution, some hint of hope. That¡¯s when he noticed the cor and chains on the creature. So, he was enved, too?

    ¡°Do not kill him, Tkelvic!¡± the lord¡¯s voice came from behind Victor. ¡°I want him to feel what you do to him, and I want him to live with it.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Lord,¡± the horrifying creature said in that deep grinding voice. ¡°I feel his Core. He¡¯s a spirit wielder. I¡¯ve never broken a Spirit Core.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what his Core looks like or if he¡¯s got twenty affinities. Shatter it!¡± Hearing those words, Victor felt real panic enter his mind, and he thrashed against his restraints, thrashed against the tentacles holding his head. He arched his back, reached into his Core, and pushed his Energy into his pathways, trying to activate Berserk. He didn¡¯t care about the cor anymore; he had to do something. Just as the Energy left his Core, he felt it dragged along his pathways and into the restraints at his wrists. His body¡¯s weak thrashing couldn¡¯t dislodge the tentacles and didn¡¯t affect the bonds. ¡°The restraints shed; he¡¯s trying something!¡±

    ¡°He cannot break free. I must concentrate,¡± the looming, gray man-spider said as if to dismiss a child''s worries. Victor¡¯s head was being held so that he could only stare at the ceiling, but he felt more of the tentacles start to wrap around his abdomen, squeezing him ufortably tight. Suddenly he felt a heavy pressure, right above his navel. Then it was like something was digging into his flesh, driving into his stomach, pulling apart his abdominal muscles and slipping between them. He screamed as he¡¯d never screamed before. The pain was horrifying, but his inability to move and the invasive way the creature was probing into his body magnified his pain and difort. He kicked and thrashed, but the creature¡¯s weight and death grip with its tentacles kept his torso still.

    The pain in his stomach grew as a hot buildup of some sort of foreign Energy began to throb right where his Core was. Victor stopped trying to see anything with his eyes, closed them, and turned his vision inward, trying to see what was happening to his Core. There it was, dim, low on Energy, but still whole, a red sun drifting in a vast void. Then Victor saw what the alien creature was doing: a bright spot of Energy was taking shape near his Core, slowly growing, pulsing with a sickly green radiance. He weakly thrashed with his body, but he knew he was on hisst dregs of consciousness. He watched helplessly as the foreign Energy grew to eclipse his Core, and then with a white-hot, searing, acidic burn, it shed into his Core and tore it apart. Victor screamed like someone was peeling the flesh from his bones and then sank into the endless void, drifting without a coherent thought.

    An eternityter, Victor opened his eyes to gray daylight. He was lying in some straw on a wooden floor. The floor bumped and jostled, and, as he blearily rubbed at the crust binding his eyshes, he foggily surmised he might be in a wagon. His right hand felt heavy, and he looked at it, noticing the metal cuff and chain hanging off it. ¡°Fuck,¡± he groaned, trying to push himself to a sitting position. He felt so weak like his arms could barely manage the motion.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re alive after all,¡± a dry, wispy voice said from behind him. He managed to scoot to a sitting position and looked toward the voice. An old, gray-haired Ardeni man was chained to the floor a few feet away from him. A few other hunched individuals shared a simr fate further into the wagon.

    ¡°Damn, dude, where the fuck are we?¡± His voice was scratchy, his throat sore and raw.

    ¡°In a wagon! Hah!¡± The old guy grinned, showing an rmingck of teeth. Victor felt like shit. He felt worse than he had sinceing to this world, worse than that time he¡¯d had the flu and couldn¡¯t eat for five days.

    ¡°I get it. A wagon. Where¡¯s it going? Who chained us in here?¡± Victor tried to gather some spit and swallow it to make his throat a little less scratchy. His mouth was like the inside of a cotton ball, though, and he could barely dampen his tongue.

    ¡°We¡¯re bound for Greatbone Mine. I imagine the Greatbone Mining Consortium put us in the wagon - that¡¯s who bought us at auction.¡± How the fuck had Victor missed an entire auction? He tried to remember thest thing that he¡¯d done. There¡¯d been some practice with Belsa, then the private fight.

    ¡°Oh, fuck.¡± All the memories came to him - the metal table, the huge insect man, his Core. His Core! Victor looked inward, and there, where the bright, zing sun of his Core used to pulse, he saw scattered bits of Energy, some yellow, some faintly flickering red, but none of it responded to him; it just floated listlessly in the void. ¡°What did that fucker do to me?¡± He called up his status page:

    Status

    Name:

    Victor Sandoval

    Race:

    Human - Base 4

    ss:

    Spirit Champion

    Level:

    11

    Core:

    Spirit ss - Base 5 (fractured)

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Rage 9.1

    Energy:

    5/5

    Strength:

    28

    Vitality:

    27

    Dexterity:

    19

    Agility:

    19

    Intelligence:

    10

    Will:

    17

    Points Avable:

    0

    Titles & Feats:

    ¨C

    Skills:

    System Language Integration - Not Upgradeable Unarmed Combat - Basic Knife Combat - Basic Axe Mastery - Basic Spear Mastery - Basic Bludgeon Mastery - Basic Grappling - Improved Spirit Core Cultivation Drill - Basic Berserk - Basic Sovereign Will - Basic Channel Spirit - Basic

    His Core now said it was ¡°fractured¡± and he had a maximum of five Energy. In other words, he couldn¡¯t do shit. He reached up to scratch his neck and noticed the cor was gone. ¡°I guess they don¡¯t need to cor a guy with a fractured Core.¡± He couldn¡¯t even activate Berserk or Channel Spirit. He supposed he might be able to use his Sovereign Will skill, but he couldn¡¯t be sure until he tried. A wave of nausea rose from his stomach, and he bent over, shivering for a few minutes. When the difort faded, he attempted to straighten up, but a sharp pain from his stomach stopped him. He lifted his shirt and shivered at the sight. He had an eight-inch cut, crudely stitched and scabbed with puffy red flesh runningterally along the center of his abdomen. Thin, jagged ck lines ran off into his tanned flesh from the incision.

    ¡°That looks infected, friend,¡± the strange old man said.

    ¡°Yeah, it sure does, man.¡± Victor leaned back, groaning and shaking, a sheen of sweat coating his face and forehead.

    ¡°When we stop, tell the wagonmaster. He won¡¯t want you dead before delivery.¡± The older man sniffed and started picking at something on one of his bare feet. Victor looked down at his own feet and saw that his new boots and socks were gone. He still had on his ck pants and shirt, though. If he could just activate his Berserk, it might heal his stomach, and he might be able to break the chain. He knew it wouldn¡¯t work - he was seventy Energy shy of the minimum to activate it, but he wanted to try. He concentrated on the ability and tried to activate it as he¡¯d always done. He felt a little flutter in his gut, but nothing happened. He didn¡¯t feel it fail or pain or anything; it just didn¡¯t work. He leaned his head back against the bumping wagon and closed his eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m fucked, man.¡± While he waited for something in his world to change, Victor thought about the people he¡¯d met in this world. He thought about Yre and savored the deep knot of difort that formed somewhere around his heart. It was nice to have a good, clean moment of sadness, a memory untainted by his current predicament. He tried to imagine what Yre would say to him right now. It would probably be something about keeping his head up, staying ready for anything. Did he have that kind of fight left in him? What did it mean that his Core was fractured? Would he ever be able to gain power again? Would he be a broken person in this world? He supposed it made trying to get home an easier choice; if his Core was shot, there wasn¡¯t much point in not trying to get back to Earth. That thought surprised him a little - he hadn¡¯t consciously admitted that he¡¯d been thinking about staying in this world, but there it was. He¡¯d been gaining a lot of new abilities and a feeling of power that he¡¯d never replicate back on Earth. He supposed that he¡¯d kind of hoped to break free of the pit fighting and then see what he could figure out. Heughed bitterly. ¡°You¡¯re a fucking idiot. You can¡¯t do shit; how are you going to get home or anything?¡±

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t get too down - just because someone bought your contract doesn¡¯t mean they don¡¯t have to follow it. How long was your contract for?¡± The old man nudged him with his bare, calloused foot.

    ¡°Somewhere between four and five years, I guess. You really think they¡¯ll let us go after our time¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s thew! We¡¯re in the Ridonne Empire now - no very is allowed, only indentured service.¡± The old man had a manic tone to his voice, and it set Victor a little on edge.

    ¡°Dude, I hate to break it to you, but it ain¡¯t much different. We¡¯re going to some mine? You think they keep good records of their miners and their service terms? Is there some sort of government inspection to keep them honest?¡±

    ¡°Haha! Smart questions, young man! I¡¯ve been indentured eleven times in my life. Guess what that means? I¡¯ve been set free ten times! Have some optimism! It¡¯s important for surviving times like this. My name¡¯s Pel, by the way. What can I call you?¡± Whether he wanted to admit it or not, the old man had managed to ignite a tiny spark of hope in Victor¡¯s heart. He might be down, but maybe it wasn¡¯t forever. Five years was a long time, but he had a long life to live if what he¡¯d heard about racial improvements were true.

    ¡°I¡¯m Victor.¡± He closed his eyes again, and he didn¡¯t try to think about anything this time. However, some images still came into his dozing mind: Belsa smiling as he showed her how to do an armbar, the healer at the Rusty Nail when they¡¯d flirted while she fixed his shoulder, Vulluughing at Victor when Yre snatched his tbread off his te. He smiled but couldn''t help the little pools of tears that started to fill the corners of his eyes.

 Chapter 21: Greatbone Mine

    Chapter 21: Greatbone Mine

    When the wagons creaked to a halt that evening and the wooden door at the back rattled with the efforts of someone to remove a heavy lock, Victor sat up, painfully, to get a good look outside. His efforts werergely wasted, though, as a man, broad in girth, stood in the doorway. He set down a basket of hard rolls and a bucket of water with adle and said, ¡°If ya don¡¯t share, I¡¯ll beat the snot out of three of you at random.¡± Then he collected the disgusting bucket full of piss, shit, and vomit the prisoners had been sharing and mmed the door shut. Victor had started to open his mouth to voice aint about his stomach wound, but only a croak had escaped his throat.

    ¡°That¡¯s no way to get yourself seen to,¡± the old man said to him with a wink. Victor snorted and waited his turn for a hard roll. When it came his way, it was truly hard. He couldn¡¯t eat it until the water bucket made its way back to him, and he drank a fewdles. After he¡¯d lubricated his mouth a bit, he was able to suck on the roll until he could scrape it off by fractions with his teeth. When he¡¯d finished his meager dinner, he looked at Pel and cleared his throat.

    ¡°Hey, how long have we been out of the city? Out of Persi Gables?¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a funny one. We were auctioned off in Gelica. We¡¯ve been in the wagon two days since.¡± This threw Victor for a loop. How long had he been out since that fucking monster destroyed his Core?

    ¡°How far is Gelica from Persi Gables?¡±

    ¡°Oh, hmm. Maybe a week with a mount. You really got put through the grinder, eh, Victor?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re damn right, my man. You¡¯re damn right.¡±

    ¡°Hey! Hey, big Vodkin! Can you knock on the door? This guy has a badly infected wound - we should tell the wagonmaster,¡± Pel called out to the big, furry guy near the wagon¡¯s door. The Vodkin studied him for a minute. His impassive ck eyes blinked twice, then he nodded and thumped on the door three times. After a minute, the lock ttered around, and then the wagon¡¯s door opened.

    ¡°This better be good, you mongrels!¡± Therge shadow of the wagonmaster said; Victor couldn¡¯t make out his features in the dim light.

    ¡°Sir! Pel, here! Um, this guy you¡¯ve had passed out back here? He has a badly infected wound, but he¡¯s awake. You might want to put something on it if you don''t want him to croak before you get paid.¡±

    ¡°Bah, which one is he? Send him out here.¡± Victor could see his head dipping down so he could peer into the dim interior of the wagon.

    ¡°He¡¯s chained, sir,¡± Pel supplied.

    ¡°I am not crawling in there. Come here, old man. I¡¯ll give you the salve.¡± He motioned, and Pel eagerly scrambled to the door, bowing and scraping obsequiously when he got close to the wagonmaster. ¡°Wait a minute.¡± The shadow departed for a moment, and Pel crouched in the doorway, then sand crunched under boots, and the wagonmaster was back. Pel came scurrying back into the wagon as the door mmed, and he squatted in front of Victor.

    ¡°You want me to put it on?¡±

    ¡°Uh, no. I¡¯ll do it; thank you, Pel.¡± Victor took the little y pot in the palm of his hand. He unscrewed the lid, catching a whiff of something pungent, then lifted the hem of his shirt to expose his swollen, bloody, pus-filled wound. He took a generous dab of the cream and rubbed it along one corner of his injury. He¡¯d expected it to sting but hadn¡¯t quite been ready for thence of fire that shot through to his spine. He squeezed his eyes shut, inhaling through his nose, then took another dab and continued to spread it along the cut. He dabbed some around the puckered holes where the thick thread used to stitch him up stood out from his flesh. If he had a knife, he¡¯d cut those stitches out - they looked disgusting and seemed too loose to be doing any good. By the time he was done, his eyes were red and bloodshot, and sweat was pouring off his brow.

    The little y pot was still half full, so he capped it and stuck it between him and the wagon wall. His stomach had stopped stinging, and the throbbing ache had subsided a lot, so he had a good feeling that the ointment was doing what it needed to. ¡°Better?¡± Pel asked, leaning forward eagerly.

    ¡°Yes, Pel. Thanks again for speaking up.¡± Victor took a deep breath, and for the first time since waking up, he didn¡¯t feel like he was in excruciating pain. When hey back and closed his eyes, though, he found he couldn¡¯t sleep, and as the night wore on, he grew more and more ufortable, alternating between sweating and shivering. At one point, Pel came over to him and felt his head.

    ¡°You¡¯re feverish, Victor. Can I ask you a personal question?¡± Victor, sort of delirious, just nodded his head, staring ssy-eyed at Pel. ¡°Do you have a Core? Have you cultivated and gained levels? I¡¯m not familiar with your race, but someone with Energy and a few levels should be resistant to sickness.¡± Victor could onlyugh at the statement or try, but it came out more like a croaking cough.

    After that, the night became a blur of strange memories, dreams, and sweat-soaked reality. Victor was vaguely aware of the passage of time, with the wagon moving again and the sun shining between the boards in the ceiling and then stopping again. He¡¯d never be sure exactly how many days passed that way, but sometime after the third or thirtieth day, he snapped out of his fever and ravenously drank from the water bucket that had been left beside him. Pel noticed his movement and scurried over. ¡°Victor! You live! I spread that ointment on you twice more! Your wound looks a lot better,¡± he said and held a finger to his lips, showing Victor a tiny sliver of sharp metal in his other hand, ¡°I cut them nasty stitches out too.¡± Victor lifted his shirt, noticing that his stomach was sunken and his ribs were protruding, but that the wound was just an angry red, raised scar now.

    ¡°Thanks, Pel. I owe ya one.¡±

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t, Victor. I caught a glimpse of some of the threads around you in one of my dreams, and I¡¯d rather you didn¡¯t bind yourself to me. No offense, my friend, but I saw a lot of bloodshed in your path.¡±

    ¡°You can see the future?¡±

    ¡°Not that neatly, no. I see potential, and I can see some of the paths you¡¯ve taken and some of the paths you might take. It¡¯s not easy to exin. My ss is Augur, but I¡¯m rather hobbled at the moment.¡± He shrank back to the wagon wall and pulled his knees to his chest. Victor didn¡¯t know how to react to what he¡¯d said. Was he doomed? He shook his head and decided not to dwell on it; he already knew he had a shitload of problems - it was nothing new.

    That evening he ate his roll, drank a lot of water, and then slept like he¡¯d never slept before. When he woke, the wagon was moving, and he felt a lot better. Pel was scraping something into the boards of the wagon with his small, jagged scrap of metal, and Victor watched him for a while. Eventually, he asked, ¡°What are you doing, Pel?¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± he jumped, startled by the question. ¡°I¡¯m, well, I¡¯m recording our experiences here. In case we disappear or die, at least some part of our life is written here on this board. I¡¯ve put all our names here and written a little about where we all came from and what we¡¯ve been through. For you, Victor, I mentioned that you came from Persi Gables and that you recovered from a terrible injury.¡±

    ¡°Could you change that? Or add to it? I was summoned, against my will, from a town called Tucson, and I¡¯m a fighter. Can you mention that? I¡¯m a fighter, Pel.¡± Victor didn¡¯t know why he cared what Pel wrote about him on the floorboards of a wagon in the middle of nowhere, but he did.

    ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll be your chronicler, Victor.¡± He busily went back to scratching into the wood, and Victor smiled. The wagon stopped early that day, and when the door was flung open, Victor realized why - they¡¯d arrived at the mine.

    ¡°C¡¯mere, Pel!¡± the wagonmaster hollered, and Pel hurried to the door. ¡°Take this key, unlock the rowdy ones, and then bring it back to me. Listen, you mutts! Once you get unlocked, you will slowly, one by one, exit the wagon and line up before me.¡± Pel took the key and started unlocking the manacles from the three or four prisoners that the wagonmaster had deemed risky enough to warrant them. Victor had no idea why he¡¯d been locked in - he was weak as a baby and not ready to fight anyone, let alone break out of a wagon. After Pel unlocked his manacle, he rubbed his raw, itchy wrist for a few minutes before slowly, shakily crawling out of the wagon behind everyone else.

    When he dropped down onto his bare feet, Victor noticed that the dusty dirt was hot, hot like it was back in Arizona. He had to squint his eyes against the sun, but as they slowly adjusted, he saw that the wagon had pulled to a stop on the crest of a big dusty hill. There was a dirt road back behind the wagon leading down the hillside, and as Victor followed it with his eyes, he saw a vista, unlike anything he¡¯d ever witnessed. The road led down into a green expanse of tall grass that stretched as far as his eyes could see. When he turned to where the other prisoners were lined up on the other side of the wagon, he suddenly realized that he wasn¡¯t on a ¡°hill¡± per se - it was a pile of mine tailings. The dirt road continued down the side of the mountain of packed dirt into a deep open-pit mine that was stepped like an inverse pyramid. He saw people walking up and down the different levels of the pit, carrying buckets and other tools; they looked like ants from this vantage. At the bottom of the pit, a massive ck archway led into the ground, and Victor could see carts and beasts of burden moving along a wide road that went into the darkness. ¡°Holy shit,¡± was all he could say as he shuffled over in the hot dirt to line up with the others.

    ¡°Impressive, isn¡¯t it?¡± the wagonmaster asked. Victor looked at him for the first time and wasn¡¯t surprised to see he was a Vodkin. Victor had guessed as much because of his size. That was one thing the asshole that broke his Core didn¡¯t take away - Victor still had his racial advancements and was nearly as tall as the big wagonmaster.

    ¡°It¡¯s cool, but I¡¯m not looking forward to working in it,¡± Victor muttered.

    ¡°Hah, I don¡¯t suppose you are. No, I don''t suppose you are.¡± The Vodkin turned and looked down the road that led into the mine. ¡°Alright, here hees. Stand up straight. Look healthy. If you don¡¯t get bought, I¡¯m going to take you somewhere far worse, believe me!¡± The seven prisoners straightened and stood in a line. Victor didn¡¯t really do anything to try to look more appealing. He still hadn¡¯t made up his mind that he could do anything about his predicament. He wasn¡¯t sure there was anything that could be done for him. He¡¯d been scared to look at or feel his Core since that first time he woke, and he didn¡¯t know if there was any hope for him when it came to Energy use. All that said, he didn¡¯t really give a fuck if these assholes wanted to buy his contract so he could work in their mine. Fuck them.

    A cart gradually made its way up the steep slope from the mine, and when it got close, Victor was intrigued by the animal pulling it - it looked a lot like a giant monitor lizard. It was almost as tall as a pony, but it was a lot wider with big fat legs and strong, wed feet. A red-skinned Shadeni man was driving the wagon, and when he jumped out, Victor could see that he wore some fancy clothing. He had shiny ck boots with silver-tipped toes and a gray suit made of flowing, cool-looking material. He looked veryfortable in the heat. He strutted up to the wagonmaster, and Victor noticed he had a leather cord coiled up and hooked to his ck leather belt.

    ¡°Well, what¡¯ve you got for me, Glethwid?¡±

    ¡°Foreman, good to see you. Take a look, take a look. I have some strongborers in this group. None with strong Energy auras - one less thing to worry about, eh?¡± The Foreman hummed to himself as he pulled out a little lens and held it to his eye. He looked closely at each prisoner through the lens, pausing on Victor for a long time.

    ¡°What¡¯s this one¡¯s story?¡± He gestured at Victor. ¡°Someone did a number on him, eh?¡±

    ¡°Bought him off an auction out of Persi Gables. Non-native, obviously, hardly any Energy aura. He¡¯s got most of a five-year contract left - plenty of muscle on him. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get more than your money out of him.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll be the judge of that.¡± He moved to the far end of the line and started carefully going over each of the prisoners, asking to see their hands, making little teasingments, or asking questions about their past. Victor couldn¡¯t figure it out at first but eventually decided the guy was trying to see if anyone would be more trouble than they were worth. A little voice in his head said he should mess with the guy and try to piss him off, but then he thought about how the wagonmaster said the next stop would be worse. So far, people who¡¯d said something was rotten in this world hadn¡¯t lied to Victor; he decided to y it cool. ¡°Well, bigd, aren¡¯t you?¡± Victor didn¡¯t respond, just stood still under the man¡¯s scrutiny. ¡°Not much of a talker?¡±

    ¡°What should I say?¡±

    ¡°Have you always been so weak with Energy?¡±

    ¡°Most of my life, I didn¡¯t know what Energy was.¡± Victor wasn¡¯t sure why he was being deceptive, but something told him that the less this guy knew about his Core or his abilities, the better.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Victor.¡±

    ¡°Can you dig, Victor? Let me see your hands.¡±

    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ve dug plenty of holes.¡± Victor held up his hands, and the man turned them over to see the calluses on his palms.

    ¡°These aren¡¯t digging calluses, Victor. Are you scared of the dark?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re an odd looking man, Victor. Where are you from?¡±

    ¡°Tucson.¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°Huh, never heard of it. Do you have people that are looking for you?¡±

    ¡°Uh, probably, but they don¡¯t have a clue where I am.¡±

    ¡°Well, wee to Greatbone Mine, Victor.¡± He turned to the wagonmaster. ¡°I¡¯ll take them all.¡± Turning back to the group of prisoners, he raised his voice and announced, ¡°This is the greatest amber-ore excavation site on this continent. You¡¯re going to see great things in this mine and be part of something even greater. You¡¯ll have to earn your freedom here, but if you work hard, I¡¯ll be fair to you. Now, get into the wagon.¡±

    Victor mbered up into the mine wagon behind Pel and sat on one of the side benches so he could look into the massive excavation while the wagon slowly trundled along behind the giant lizard. The mine truly was incredible in its scope. He was admiring the size of the long, stepped slopes leading down to the bottom, imagining how many trucks could drive down it side by side, when he caught sight of the giant bones sticking out of the side of the excavated hill. ¡°What are those bones from?¡±

    ¡°Nobody knows, new employee. Nobody knows. We¡¯ve dug up a lot of very ¡°great¡± bones here. That¡¯s where the namees from!¡± Victor could hear the smugughter in the man''s voice; clearly, he was his own biggest fan.

    ¡°Is it true that there are ancient ruins in the depths?¡± Pel asked.

    ¡°Oh, yes, old one. Yes, indeed. We¡¯ve run across quite a few ancient structures in the vast depths. I doubt you¡¯ll all get that deep. Well, depending on how you perform and where your talents are. We¡¯ll see. Now, I¡¯m going to smoke a pipe before we get down there in the dust and heat, so sit back and enjoy the ride.¡± He pulled a white pipe that looked like it had been carved from a piece of ivory out of ¡°somewhere¡± and then proceeded to tamp in some sort of leafy substance and light it up.

    Victor inhaled the sweet smoke that wafted his way and looked out over the wagon''s side at the huge excavation and the massive ck tunnel at the bottom. He might be here to do vebor, but he couldn¡¯t help feeling a little excitement at the mystery of finding ancient ruins in the depths. He imagined finding an ancient dwarven hall or something like out of a fantasy VR, and a little spark ignited in his heart. He smiled; maybe things weren¡¯tpletely hopeless. Then it hit him: that spark had been more than excitement. It had burned and was warming him physically. He could still feel it, and it wasn¡¯t his heart; it was further down, more toward his center. His Core.

 Chapter 22: Lams Furies

    Chapter 22: Lam''s Furies

    Victor still hadn¡¯t taken a look inward to his Core by the time the wagon trundled to a stop at the bottom of the long, hard-packed gravel road. He was afraid of what he¡¯d find; right now, he had a little hope that something good was happening, and he knew that if he looked and still just saw his shattered remnant of a Core, he¡¯d fall into a pit of despair that would be tough to climb out of. Meanwhile, the foreman shouted for them to get out of the wagon and line up in a more literal sort of pit. He wondered just how bad a turn his life had taken bying here; he didn¡¯t know it would be all that bad, but he figured it would be. The asshole that had destroyed his Core for him sure thought he was sending Victor somece shitty.

    ¡°I said, line up, shoulder to shoulder. No talking!¡± The foreman¡¯s voice had risen in volume noticeably, and Victor thought he heard some irritation bleeding into his ¡°I¡¯m too cool for this ce¡± demeanor. Victor hopped out of the wagon and hustled over to the hastily forming line. Once again, he stood next to Pel, towering over the little blue man. The foreman consulted a clipboard and spoke quietly to an Ardeni man wearing khaki-colored pants and a long-sleeved shirt. He had Orange hair cut very short under a wide-brimmed hat, obviously designed to provide maximum protection from the sun. Victor looked around; they were at the bottom of the enormous open pit, and as they¡¯d descended, it only grewrger in perspective. Victor saw hundreds of people moving around down there, carrying buckets, pushing carts, and leading animals. Even with so many people working busily, the space seemed enormous. The entrance to the colossal tunnel had to be almost a mile away.

    ¡°Alright, listen up. I¡¯m going to call you up here one at a time. We¡¯ll go over your contract, so the imperial auditors don¡¯t give me any headaches, and then I¡¯ll give you your first assignment. Don¡¯t waste my time with questions - there¡¯ll be someone at your worksite to fill you in.¡± He looked at his line of newly acquired workers for a moment, then continued, ¡°Pel ap¡¯Drom.¡± Pel hustled forward with a wheezy grunt of excitement. Standing there, not allowed to move, Victor let his attention turn inward and looked at his Core without thinking about it.

    At first, he almost opened his eyes with disgust, seeing the samendscape of scattered tiny drops and shimmers of Energy, but he forced himself to really look. A lot of the Energy had that red shimmer of rage, but a lot of it was the pure, rich golden yellow hue of unattuned Energy. While he let his inner eye¡¯s gaze sweep back and forth over the scattered remnants of his Core, a brief flicker caught his eyes, and he saw that one of the tiny little pools of rage-attuned Energy was very slightly spinning. While he studied it, he caught the flicker again and realized it was a tiny pulse. Was this what was left of his Core? Victor used his will to urge the little spark to re brighter, for the slightly spinning drop of Energy to spin faster. He almostughed aloud when it responded; it red brightly for a fraction of a second, and its movement seemed to flicker just a touch more rapidly. To his delight, Victor saw a tiny droplet of rage-attuned Energy nearby slowly start to drift into the pulsing little fragment of his Core and join with it.

    ¡°Victor! Victor of Tucson!¡± the foreman¡¯s voice yanked Victor back into reality. He opened his eyes and stepped toward the foreman quickly, unsure if he¡¯d already been called and missed it.

    ¡°Here, sir!¡± He stumbled up in front of the foreman.

    ¡°Not time for dozing yet, Victor. Alright, I have your contract here. What a mess! I¡¯ve never seen so many scribbles and initials. There¡¯s no witness or official notary mark for either the original signatures or any of the alterations. Lucky I have Tyn here. He¡¯ll make sure our portion of the contract with you is up to imperial standards, don¡¯t worry. Now, it looks like you were initially contracted for some sort of fighting sport, hmm? Let¡¯s see; then you were sold to a private party, one ap¡¯Horrin? Right, well, then your contract was bought by the Greatbone Mining Consortium. Now, I¡¯m not sure you¡¯re aware, but all the provisions added to your contract initially were stricken out at the sale to ap¡¯Horrin. Here we have a simple agreement of four years and six months of unspecifiedbor. That sound right?¡±

    ¡°No, not really. I didn¡¯t get any say in those contract changes, and I had some things promised to me - opportunities for earning awards and stuff like that.¡±

    ¡°Right, but how do I know that? Maybe you breached some terms of service, and that''s why it was stricken, hmm?¡± Victor felt some heat rising in his neck at the man¡¯s words.

    ¡°That¡¯s bullshit, man.¡± He couldn¡¯t keep the frustration and bitterness from dripping some venom into the words. The neatly dressed, perfectly coiffed man narrowed his eyes and looked Victor up and down, resting his right palm on the handle of the coiled whip on his belt.

    ¡°Take a breath, Victor. Think about what you say to me, and really consider your tone. Now, I have to work with what I¡¯ve been given, and this contract is a joke, but one thing is clear - the length ofmitment. Tyn, do you agree?¡±

    ¡°Agreed, sir. You¡¯re doing your best to stick to fair terms with this inhabitant of the Ridonne Empire. I think your diligence will be admired by any auditors that happen to pull this ill-conceived contract.¡±

    ¡°Excellent.¡± He flicked his hand up to his ear, pulled a quill from behind it, touched the tip to his tongue, and signed the paper attached to his clipboard. ¡°Put your signature or X here,¡± he said, holding out the quill to Victor and pointing to a line on the bottom of his old contract. Victor ran his eyes over all the crossed-out lines and little signatures and initials, shook his head, and took the quill. He knew very well that this guy could kill him if he wanted to. He could kill him and make up some bullshit story about how Victor went crazy and tried to escape and kill all the guards. He doubted the ¡°imperial auditors¡± were very hard to please. He wrote his name next to the spot where the foreman pointed. ¡°Good, you¡¯re a quick learner, Victor. I think you¡¯ll go far in the Greatbone operation. See that tent over there with the big red axe painted on it? That¡¯s where you¡¯re to report. You¡¯ll learn the rules there, but let me give you a quick primer: don¡¯t try to run. We have guards with bows and mages with spells stationed all over. You¡¯ll stand out like a feyris to a redhood hawk.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Victor didn¡¯t trust himself to say more without getting in trouble, so he just nodded and started walking toward the big tent the foreman had gestured to. It looked almost like what Victor imagined a circus tent would look like. It looked like it was made from gray canvas and had a red g pping at its peak in the dusty wind. On the side facing Victor, a big red axe had been painted, and Victor wondered just what that meant. He saw several other tents nearby with different symbols painted on them, a pick, a cart, something that looked like a crudely drawn lizard, and a shovel. He shrugged and scanned ahead and behind him for any sign of where Pel had gone, but he didn¡¯t see the old man, and he briefly mourned the loss of yet another friend; something made him feel like he¡¯d not see him again.

    When he got to the tent, he had to walk around the side to find the big open ps to enter it. A small wooden ramp led up out of the dust onto a deck-like floor. Victor walked up and saw thatrge open trunks lined the wall on his left. Several men and women clustered around posts with different designs carved into them on the right-hand side. Each cluster seemed to have one of the mine employees wearing khaki standing nearby. Along the back wall, several mine employees sat behind a long table. Victor walked up to the table and looked at the employee sitting nearest the middle, a pale-blue-haired Ardeni woman. She cleared her throat, sat up a bit straighter, and motioned for Victor toe forward.

    ¡°I was told toe to this tent,¡± he said by way of greeting.

    ¡°Mmmhmm,¡± she said, pulling out a t ck te. ¡°Put your right hand on this te and say your name.¡± Victor shrugged and leaned forward toy his hand on the te. It was warm and seemed to buzz slightly at his touch.

    ¡°Victor Sandoval.¡±

    ¡°Alright, you¡¯re registered with the Deep Delvers. Are you new to the mine or been here before?¡±

    ¡°Uh, I¡¯m new. What¡¯s a fuckin¡¯ deep delver?¡± Victor tried to cut off his words, but they came out too fast. The woman didn¡¯t seem offended, though, just looked at Victor quizzically for a moment, then answered him.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve been chosen to be in the group that enters the deeper dig sites ahead of the workers to make sure they¡¯re clear of hazards. That means you must have some fighting experience, hmm? Either that or Foreman Venz-dak decided you¡¯re going to be more trouble than you¡¯re worth and wants you in a hazardous job.¡± She shrugged like it was a fifty-fifty chance. She nced over at the little groups of people clustered around the different poles. ¡°Pick a number between one and four.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Our reinforcement crews all have four people in them. Pick a number, and that¡¯ll be your new crew.¡±

    ¡°Um, three, I guess.¡± Victor didn¡¯t think it mattered, and he liked the number three.

    ¡°Right, that¡¯s Captain Lam¡¯s group. Okay, before I can get you some equipment, I¡¯ll have to get you cored. Let¡¯s measure your strength.¡±

    ¡°Uh, what?¡±

    ¡°For your cor - we don¡¯t want to waste an expensive amber-ore cor on you if you don¡¯t need it, right?¡± She produced a smooth, white crystal that reminded Victor of one of his Abu¡¯s Christmas candles. It glowed with a brilliant, warm radiance. ¡°Hold that.¡± She held it out to Victor, and he took it in his hand. The glow immediately subsided to the point where Victor thought it was gonepletely. When he really looked, though, he saw a very small, almost imperceptible luminescence. ¡°Oh, great, we¡¯ll just need a tier-one for you. I bet I could even use a tier-zero if I had one.¡±

    ¡°Oh, great.¡± Victor let the crystal roll out of his hand onto the table. The woman looked up at him sharply, eyes squinted in anger, but didn¡¯t say anything. She scooped up the crystal, then stood and walked around to the row of chests, motioning Victor to follow. He was surprised to see a line had formed behind him, and when he turned to follow the Ardeni woman, one of the other employees at the table called the next prisoner forward. Victor didn¡¯t recognize the people in line, and he wondered where they came from. Did they have to pull prisoners from other parts of the operation to fill this duty? The woman was rummaging through a chest, and she stood with a smooth ck ring in her hands.

    ¡°It¡¯s iron, but the artificer took the time to smooth it out. You should be grateful. I¡¯ve seen some delvers wearing much rougher work.¡± She handed it to Victor and motioned toward her neck like she wanted him to put it on.

    ¡°Uh, how do I put it on?¡± He couldn¡¯t feel any seams in the metal.

    ¡°Oh, just hold it to your neck; I¡¯ll do the rest.¡± She¡¯d pulled a thin, silvery rod from somewhere and held it, waiting for Victor toply. Once again, feeling like he should see another option but unable to find it, Victor pressed the cool metal against his neck. The woman reached forward and tapped the ring of iron with her rod, and suddenly it was around his neck. ¡°Now, you seem new to this stuff, so listen: because of your assignment, you¡¯re allowed to carry a baton and to use Energy abilities if you have them, but only for self-defense against the creatures in the depths. That cor will suppress your Energy if you try to leave the mine. It will allow us to track you. It will allow us to kill you remotely if we must, and, finally, it will be impossible for you to remove - it¡¯s designed to resist someone with far more Energy than you possess. Understand all that?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I get it.¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± She smiled brightly and moved over to the next chest. She reached in and lifted out a gray metal rod about two and a half feet long, perfectly cylindrical with a worn, sweat-stained leather handle wrapped around one end. She handed it to Victor, and it felt very heavy and sturdy. ¡°This is your weapon for deep delving. You¡¯re allowed to carry it around with you, but it must always be held down next to your side. If you raise it in a threatening manner outside of your duties, any of the Greatbone Consortium employees have permission to summarily execute you. We all carry one of these control rods. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I get it. Can I get a belt or something to hang it on? I don¡¯t want to identally fuck up and lift it up where I shouldn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a contribution store at the camp Settlement Stone. You¡¯ll see it when you go into the main cavern. Indentured workers are allowed to earn contribution points at a reduced rate. You should visit the stone when you have your free hour each evening to pick up quests. Okay, that¡¯s it from me; have you got any questions? Last chance!¡± This time, she gave him a genuine smile, and Victor wondered how pissed he should be at her. Was it her fault she had this job? Did she see the wrong they were doing to people like Victor? He decided that he couldn¡¯t let her slide, so he didn¡¯t return her smile, just shrugged.

    ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything right now.¡±

    ¡°Alright, go stand next to the post with the pultii carved on it.¡± She gestured at the other side of the tent.

    ¡°What¡¯s a pultii?¡± Victor nced at the posts and just saw various strange-looking animals carved on them. She sighed heavily and walked past him, pointing at the pole that was second from the right. He nodded and walked toward it. When he got closer, he saw that the most prominently carved animal looked kind of like a turkey. Was that a pultii? The employee standing next to the group pped his hands when he walked up.

    ¡°Right! That¡¯s our fifth walking up. C¡¯mon then, dogs; I¡¯ll deliver you to Captain Lam.¡± He started walking out of the tent, and the three Ardeni and one Shadeni that had been clustered around the pole followed him out. Victor brought up the rear, noticing that they all held the same gray metal batons, pointed to the ground. The employee was walking straight for the gaping maw of the enormous tunnel. In the sun''s bright re, he couldn¡¯t see far into it, but he got a sense of depth from the shadows that hung under the high stony ceiling. It took them a good ten minutes to cross the hard-packed dirt of the open pit to the first shadows of the cavern, and when the sun finally was obscured and Victor slipped into the tunnel¡¯s domain, he caught his breath at the scale of what he saw.

    The enormous central tunnel of Greatbone Mine stretched into the distance farther than he could see, brightly lit with Energymps that hung from the soaring ceiling and stood on wooden posts at regr intervals. All along the sides of the vast tunnel, ramps carved into the stone switchbacked and ran in a dizzying maze, a honeb of smaller tunnel openings leading away into God know¡¯s where. Ramshackle huts and tents lined the sides of the great hall, interspersed withrger, more sturdily built buildings. ¡°C¡¯mon, quit gawkin¡¯, you vermin. Captain Lam¡¯s barracks are deep into phase two. We gotta pick up the pace if I¡¯m gonna make my date.¡± Heughed like he¡¯d just said the funniest thing in the world. They walked past people pulling carts, hauling buckets, and lounging on wooden crates. They walked byrge barracks-type buildings, some with smokeing from chimneys and dozens and dozens of little buildings. Here and there, they passed fires burning with people cooking something on sticks over the mes, and Victor looked up wondering if smoke was a problem, but wherever it went, it was lost to his eyes. After about a mile, they had to circumvent arge crowd forming into multiple queues around a tall, ck stone covered in strange writing. ¡°That¡¯s the Settlement Stone, you vagabonds,¡± the employee called back over his shoulder. ¡°When you get settled, you should ask Captain Lam to let youe pick up quests. I¡¯ll give ya that tip for free, you brigands!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a funny guy,¡± the little red-haired Ardeni man in front of Victor said out of the side of his mouth.

    ¡°Yeah. Realedian.¡± Victor snorted, and the manughed.

    ¡°I¡¯m Tyge,¡± the man said, turning slightly and offering his hand. Victor took it and nodded.

    ¡°I¡¯m Victor.¡± They continued for another fifteen minutes, and the number of ramshackle buildings dwindled off to only one here and there. The tunnel was still the same enormous size, though, making the structures seem all the smaller. Their leader stopped outside a building that reminded Victor of a Viking longhouse. It hadrge metal braziers hung from the overhanging lintel, and they burned with a blue-white, smokeless me.

    ¡°This is Lam¡¯s longhouse,¡± Their guide announced, then walked up to the big wooden door and pounded. He didn¡¯t wait for an answer, though, depressing the irontch and pushing the big door inward. It swung smoothly on big metal hinges, and Victor saw the inside from where he stood, looking over the employee¡¯s shoulder. A stone hearth sat in the middle of the big hall, and Victor could see heat waves rising off it and faint smoke rising to the opening in the center of the building¡¯s ceiling. All along both walls were narrow wooden beds, each with an identical gray nket and single white pillow. On the far side of the open hearth was a long table, and Victor could see a dozen or so people sitting at the table, apparently sharing a meal.

    A tall woman stood up at the far end of the table and walked around it, toward the door and the group of new recruits. Victor struggled with his grasp on reality when he saw her; everything about her seemed unreal in one way or another. She was easily seven feet tall but thin as a rail. She had pale skin and huge almond eyes that glittered like cut emeralds, and, sprouting from the center of her back were four enormous dragonfly wings that seemed to be dripping with glittering fairy dust. She wore a dull, copper-colored breastte and dark leather pants, with simr armor tes on her thighs and shins. When she was just a few paces away, her strident, tenor voice cut through the cobwebs in Victor¡¯s mind, sounding like a trumpet calling him to battle, ¡°Ahh, my new recruits. Wonderful! Thank you, Bilun. I¡¯ve got it from here.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re quite wee, Ma¡¯am.¡± Their escort turned smartly on his heel and, without a parting insult for the prisoners, marched away.

    ¡°Well, well. Come forward, recruits! Wee to Lam¡¯s Furies, the toughest bunch of Deep Delvers in all of Greatbone!¡± She regarded the five of them with a warm smile, and Victor noticed, now that he was able to jerk his eyes away from her glittering wings, that she was as badass-looking as she was beautiful. She was covered in little scars and had weird, colorful tattoos all over her arms and neck, and probably elsewhere, but she had on too much armor to be sure. With her long, blond hair pulled back in a knotted braid, she regarded each of them coolly for a few moments, and when she looked at Victor, she nced up and down his frame, a slight frown above her pointed chin.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen your paperwork yet. Tell me your names, please.¡± She looked at them one by one, and everyone said their names, but Victor was still too stunned by this woman¡¯s otherworldly appearance to hear them. She seemed to exude some sort of power or energy that was unlike any of the people he¡¯d yet met. She was simplyrger than life. Finally, she rested her gaze on Victor and raised a sharp, blond eyebrow.

    ¡°Um,¡± Victor had to swallow several times to moisten his vocal cords, ¡°I¡¯m Victor.¡±

    ¡°Where are you from, Victor?¡±

    ¡°From Earth. Another world. Um,¡± she kept staring at him, and he felt like he had to fill the silence, ¡°from a town called Tucson. I, uh, I was summoned and fought in some pits in a city called Persi Gables.¡±

    ¡°Now I¡¯m getting the picture. Alright! Enough for now. Our day¡¯s duty is over, soe and sit at the table and get to know the rest of my crew. I¡¯ll assign you each a buddy to tell you how things work, and by tomorrow morning, I¡¯ll expect you to be ready for duty. We start early, recruits, very early.¡±

 Chapter 23: Delve Six-Fourteen

    Chapter 23: Delve Six-Fourteen

    Victor followed the old, blue Ardeni man to the back of Lam¡¯s barracks, where he¡¯d promised to hook him up with a belt. It was cool that he was allowed to have a club, considering he was basically a ve, but he didn¡¯t like carrying it all the time. When he¡¯d mentioned it to Gris, the guy that Captain Lam had ordered to show Victor around, the man hadughed and said that Victor just needed a belt. ¡°All right, Victor, let¡¯s see here,¡± Gris said, throwing open a big wooden chest and rooting through leather scraps, bup, tattered old clothes, and worn-down boots. He finally pulled out a length of leather with a tarnished, bent tin buckle. He tossed it to Victor, who ran it through the loops on his ck pants, and buckled it with about seven inches of leather to spare.

    ¡°Yo, how about a pair of old boots? The assholes that sold me took my good ones.¡± Gris looked Victor up and down, then shrugged.

    ¡°Ain¡¯ting out of my pocket!¡± Heughed, digging around and throwing a bunch of boots at Victor to try on. Victor held a few that looked about right to his feet and, after trying on several pairs, settled on two boots that were mismatched but fit him passably. ¡°Look at that! You¡¯re ready for delving!¡±

    ¡°Alright, thanks, Gris. So, what¡¯s next? We supposed to go get some ¡®quests¡¯ or some shit?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± the old guy reached up to scratch his white stubble, running his fingers around inside his cor to let his skin breathe. Victor noticed that his cor was a lot more ornate than his own, made from something more like a bronze alloy than iron, and covered with a lot more weird letters. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go do that now. I need to turn one in, anyway.¡± He started walking back through the hall, past a bunch of the others in Lam¡¯s unit, including some other veterans giving the other newbies their version of orientations. Lam wasn¡¯t around, having left to handle some business shortly after Victor and the others had arrived. When they got outside and started back toward the tunnel entrance, Victor was surprised that he couldn¡¯t see the enormous tunnel exit. It had felt like they¡¯d walked straight in, but the slope was deceptive, and, in the distance, the only thing he could see was more tunnel and the ceiling with huge globes of glowing Energy throwing orange-yellow light down.

    ¡°Dude, this tunnel is fucking huge.¡±

    ¡°Hah, wait ¡®til you see the deep vaults.¡± Gris strode ahead, moving quickly for a guy with such short legs.

    ¡°Hey, is Lam one of those, um, Ghelli? You know the people with the dragonfly wings?¡±

    ¡°Oh, aye. She¡¯s a rare sight, though. Her race is up into advanced stages; she can even fly with them wings.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty badass. What¡¯s she doing in these mines?¡±

    ¡°Hah, you got a lot to learn, Victor. These mines run deep. When they chased the amber-ore vein with this tunnel, they started running into ruins, and the deeper they went, the bigger the ruins got. All kinds of ancient shit was buried down here. Lam works for the Greatbone Mining Consortium, but she¡¯s also hunting for artifacts for herself.¡± That made sense to Victor; she¡¯d been something from another leaguepared to all the other people he¡¯d met in this world. Even thedy at her mansion hadn¡¯t had anyone around that resonated like Captain Lam. They started running into other mineworkers as they walked up the tunnel, and after a few more minutes, they came up the curving path to the big central area where most of the shanties and buildings were concentrated and where the weird ck stone rose into the air.

    ¡°What is that thing, anyway?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°That big fucking stone with all the weird letters all over it.¡±

    ¡°Really? You didn¡¯t have a Vige or Town Stone where you came from?¡±

    ¡°No, man. I¡¯m not from this world.¡± Gris gave Victor a good long stare with his bright red eyes, then grinned.

    ¡°I guess that makes sense. Well, it¡¯s a Settlement Stone, where this munity¡¯ is directly connected to the System. It lets the people running the ce buy things from the System, build structures, and set up stuff like a Contribution Store for us workers.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, gotcha. So that¡¯s where we get the quests?¡±

    ¡°Right, because we¡¯re not free employees, our rewards are pretty small, but it all adds up.¡± Gris led Victor down the slope to the cleared area around the Stone, and they joined one of the queues of people waiting to interact with it. Victor passed the time waiting by people watching, and he saw plenty to keep him entertained. He noticed that many of the people milling around wore belts with pouches attached and that the pouches all had a pickaxe branded on them.

    ¡°What¡¯s with those bags with the pickaxes?¡±

    ¡°Those are people on mining detail. They get a dimensional container to carry what they dig out each day. Those bags are enchanted specially, though; they keep track of what the miners put in them, so there¡¯s no funny business when they drop off their haul each day.¡±

    ¡°They think of everything, huh? Hey,¡± Victor pped the metal baton sticking out of his belt, ¡°what kinda shit we gonna have to fight down there?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen all kinds of creatures deep down: giant rats, Yeksa, zombies, ghouls, the list goes on and on. Captain Lam killed a Yovashi the other day, too.¡± Victor didn¡¯t know what the fuck some of those things were, but he was a little tired of ying the dummy, so he just grunted and acted impressed.

    ¡°So, am I going to be fucked? I mean, my Core got basically destroyed. I can¡¯t do much beyond swinging this club around.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, I was going to ask you about that cor but didn¡¯t want to be rude. So you really don¡¯t have much Energy, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Well, Lam¡¯s a good Captain. She¡¯ll probably put you with some of the stronger guys and just expect you to help out as best you can. Um, I won¡¯t lie to you; deep delvers suffer a lot of casualties. Hey, here we go! Our turn.¡± Heughed and walked up to the vacant facet of the octagonal Settlement Stone. ¡°I¡¯ll go first. You just put your palm on the Stone, and you¡¯ll see some menus and stuff that you can go through. You want to go to the quests section; it¡¯s the second option on the first page.¡± Victor nodded and watched as Gris went about his business, and when the old man stepped back and nodded to the Stone, Victor pped his palm against the t surface.

    He immediately saw a menu screen pop up in his vision, much like when he looked at his status page. He only had two items on his menu: Contribution Store and Quests. He touched the Contribution Store first, just to see what it was, and he found a menu with a dozen subheadings from things like food to clothing to approved weaponry. Victor clicked on the weaponry list and found a menu with three different items: basic baton, artificed baton, and heavy artificed baton. Victor grunted and said, ¡°Just batons?¡±

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re checking out the store? Yeah, they don¡¯t like us with real weapons up here, even though some of the guys in our unit could really massacre a lot of people with a baton. It doesn¡¯t make sense, but it keeps the administrators happy.¡± Victor looked at the prices, and the cheapest baton was fifty credits, and the ¡°Heavy Artificed Baton¡± was 500. His bnce was zero, so he shrugged and backed out of the Contribution Store and clicked on the Quests button. A menu appeared:

    Quests for Victor Sandoval in Greatbone Mine:

    y 100 denizens of the deep

    Reward: 1-3 credits per kill based on creatures in, determined by System calction.

    Recover Energy-rich materials

    Reward: 1-1000 credits based on Energy level, determined by System calction.

    ¡°One hundred? I have to kill a hundred fucking things down there? Are there that many monsters?¡±

    ¡°Hah! Yes, and then some. They keeping, too, no matter how many times we kill them and beat them back. I suppose if we stopped going deeper, chasing ore, they might stoping. Who knows?¡± Victor sighed, pushed the green ¡°ept¡± button next to each quest, and then turned back to Gris.

    ¡°All done, man. What¡¯s next?¡±

    ¡°Now we should go get some shuteye because Captain Lam doesn¡¯t hardly ever sleep, and she likes to wake our asses up early.¡± He turned to leave, and Victor followed. They returned the way they came, meandering through the little clusters of soiled humanoids. Some of the denizens of the mine cast sidelong nces Victor¡¯s way, and a few even seemed outright hostile. He felt out of ce, as usual in this world, but more vulnerable than ever. At least when he¡¯d been in Yund¡¯s warehouse, he¡¯d had Yre and Vullu watching his back at first. He tried to avoid making eye contact with therger, more dangerously crazy-looking individuals. He felt some relief when they finally passed out of the more crowded central settlement area and into the quieter, darker stretch of tunnel that led to Lam¡¯s barracks.

    When they walked up to the doors of the barracks building, Gris motioned for Victor to be quiet and then opened the door slowly to avoid making any noise. A few dim lights showed members of the unit huddled over whatever sort of strange hobbies kept them busy during the bedtime hours, but most everyone was sleeping already. Gris pointed to an empty cot near the door, and Victor took his meaning, going over to it. The mattress was thin, something like bup stretched over scratchy hay or grass, but he had two wool nkets, so hey down on one and pulled the other over himself. He¡¯d kicked his boots off and looped his belt with his cudgel over the little bedpost but otherwise slept with his clothes on. When he closed his eyes and stretched out, Victor realized it was the first time he¡¯d slept in a bed sinceing to this world. It might have been a shitty, ufortable bed, but it beat sleeping on a hard, hay-covered floor.

    He was deeply asleep, dreaming of watching his grandma cook breakfast, when someone gave his cot a good shake and said, ¡°Time to move out! Get up!¡± Victor yawned hugely and rolled onto his back, looking around. The barracks hall was brightly lit, and the entire unit was lining up by the door, a few people still straggling into the line. He didn¡¯t know what would happen to people slow to move, so Victor jumped up and jammed his feet into his boots. Gris walked up while he was pulling his belt tight.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to make your bed. Captain Lam doesn¡¯t like a sloppy barracks.¡± He helped Victor fold his nkets and said, ¡°just fold them neatly at the foot of the cot every morning.¡±

    ¡°Got it, thanks.¡± Victor hustled over to the line, following Gris, and was happy that he wasn¡¯t thest person; a thickly-built red-skinned Shadeni guy lined up behind him, looking disheveled and stressed.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep at all!¡± he groused quietly to the back of Victor¡¯s neck.

    ¡°That sucks, dude. You¡¯ll do better tonight.¡±

    ¡°If I live that long! I can¡¯t believe I was assigned to the delvers!¡± Victor nced over his shoulder at the stout man and shrugged.

    ¡°Yeah, here¡¯s hoping.¡± They¡¯d only been lined up for about a minute when the far door opened and closed, and then Captain Lam was striding through the barracks toward them.

    ¡°Good! I don¡¯t have to beat anyone this morning. Yet. The beds look alright, and you¡¯re all lined up. This is how we do it every morning. Now move out! Sergeant Fath, lead them to forward delve six-fourteen.¡±

    ¡°Right, Captain Lam!¡± a massive, hulking Shadeni man with an eyepatch shouted, pushing open the door and marching out. The line of club-wielding prisoners followed him out, and Victor was surprised when the sergeant started booming out a march cadence, and the veterans echoed him. It reminded him of an army VR he¡¯d watched a few years ago, someedy about a rich guy who had to sign up for basic training.

    Marching through the deep dark!

    Always in the deep dark!

    People know us!

    Monsters fear us!

    We are the delvers!

    The mighty Lam¡¯s delvers!

    We drive back the darkness

    and the hiding creeps!

    Tough Lam¡¯s delvers!

    Rough Lam¡¯s delvers!

    Marching through the deep dark!

    Victor had never marched before, but it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out that he was supposed to step with his left foot when the guys in front of him did so. He didn¡¯t know the words to the march, but it was easy enough to repeat after the humungous voice of the sergeant. They made good time, and he had to admit that the cadence made it more fun than just walking along in a bunch. They went through a dozen different verses before repeating, and Victor started to think the sergeant was just making them up off the top of his head and felt rather impressed by it.

    After an hour or so of marching, he noticed that the lights were less frequently hung in the high tunnel ceiling and that the tunnel was growing more narrow. It was stillrge enough to drive a few trains through, but it was definitely tapering. Another twenty minutes brought them to a circr wooden tform surrounding a massive vertical shaft that descended into even greater depths. Captain Lam, whom Victor hadn¡¯t seen on the entire march, was standing on the tform and gestured to a long rope hung through some pulleys. Sergeant Fath screamed, ¡°Grab hold, unit!¡± pulling the rope¡¯s loose end toward the column. Victor hustled toply, grabbing the rope with a dozen other sets of hands, and then the sergeant screamed again, ¡°Pull!¡± Victor pulled along with everyone else, and they started to haul the rope back down the tunnel. They hauled it for what had to be five hundred yards before the word came from down the line to stop.

    ¡°The fuck is this for?¡± Victor asked Gris, who had also helped haul the rope.

    ¡°Whatever delver unit that went downst night didn¡¯t return. They left the lift at the bottom, and it ran out of Energy, so we had to pull it up by hand.

    ¡°They didn¡¯t return?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Gris shook his head, ¡°probably found a nest of something nasty.¡±

    ¡°Jesus.¡± They walked back to the shaft, and Victor saw that a circr tform was now hovering in the open shaft. Captain Lam was standing on the tform, holding her hands against a shimmering white and yellow crystal about the size of a basketball mounted at its center.

    ¡°She¡¯s recharging it,¡± Gris said.

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor grunted and moved over to the crowd of other delvers waiting for further instructions. After about five minutes, Captain Lam straightened and motioned for everyone to board. Victor followed after the others, hopping over the two-foot gap between the deck and the floating tform. He didn¡¯t look down while he jumped because he had a feeling he didn¡¯t want to see just how deep the shaft was. The tform hardly moved with each additional delver, bobbing almost imperceptibly under theirbined weight. When Captain Lam and her twenty-two delvers were all standing on the tform, she touched the crystal, and Victor¡¯s stomach dropped out as they descended. It was like riding on a huge open-air elevator, and he wondered how many people fell off to their deaths every year.

    Victor watched the stony sides of the shaft blur past for a few seconds, and then they were slowing, and the tform came into a huge underground space that boggled Victor¡¯s mind. Energy globes hung from massive chains shedding light over the broken, stonyndscape filled with strange fungi and glistening ntlife. A river cut through one corner of the cavern, flowing quickly enough to form rapids on the tumbled stones scattered in its bed. As the tform gently came to a stop atop a small hill next to arge rectangr building, Victor noticed movement out among the giant fungi stalks. He strained to see what it was but only caught glimpses of something pale and furtive. ¡°What¡¯s moving around out there?¡±

    ¡°Probably mulsii. They¡¯re like fat, pale worms with legs, and they have the temperament of a rabid dog. They¡¯ll eat anything,¡± Gris responded.

    ¡°Sounds great.¡±

    ¡°Good news is, we can grill ¡®em up. They¡¯re pretty good.¡± Gris smacked his lips.

    ¡°Alright, time to look sharp! Get your sticks in your hands!¡± the sergeant hollered. Victor, happy toply, gripped his baton in his right hand and looked around nervously. ¡°We need to cross to tunnel fourteen, and that means we¡¯re going through those shrooms. Be on the lookout for mulsii.¡± He turned and started marching, and the unit followed, keeping the same line order as when they¡¯d been up in the tunnel. This time, however, there wasn¡¯t a loud marching cadence. When they started across the massive cavern, Victor became aware that his bird¡¯s eye view from the tform hadn¡¯t given him an urate perception of its size. They hiked for nearly fifteen minutes beforeing to the first fungi stalks, and as they approached, Victor could see that they were like big, pale, creamy-gray trees.

    When the column moved into the fungi forest, Victor reached out and touched one of the rubbery stalks, amazed by its size. ¡°Careful, youngster,¡± one of the other veterans said, ¡°some of the shit that grows down here is poisonous to touch. That one¡¯s alright, but don¡¯t go grabbing everything you see.¡±

    ¡°Right, thanks.¡± Victor wiped his hand on his pants, though there wasn¡¯t anything on it. They hiked for a few minutes, but then a rumbling sound apanied by a strange chorus of hoots brought the column to a halt as the sergeant screamed, ¡°Mulsii pack!¡± Victor lifted his club and stood shoulder to shoulder with two others as the unit formed a loose circle, facing into the mushrooms. The rumbling grew louder, and then Victor saw the long, pale-white forms of the mulsii charging between the stalks. They had worm-like bodies, six long stick-like legs, and broad heads that reminded Victor of his cousin¡¯s pitbull, though without the fur and friendly mammalian eyes. If these things had eyes, they were too narrow and pale for Victor to spot, though he saw their long nostril slits flexing as they surged over the spongy ground.

    He couldn¡¯t make any more observations because the things were on them then, and Victor became too busy methodically smashing his baton into hard skulls, bendy bodies, and brittle legs. The two members of Lam¡¯s unit on either side of him seemed to know what they were doing, and Victor found himself able to focus entirely on anything that approached him directly, ignoring his nks. The baton might have been a simple weapon, but it was heavy, and Victor was strong, and he had no trouble smashing the asional mulsii that charged him and sending it skittering off along the ground. The furious melee was over as soon as it began, and the delvers were left heaving for breath while the surviving mulsii hooted and howled, charging away into the fungi stalks.

    Victor looked around and was surprised to see that one of the delvers was down; a massive chunk of his neck above his cor was gone. Several others sported bite wounds on their arms and legs, and some of the veterans were starting to move among them, passing out bandages. Victor cracked his back and then felt a surge of Energy as the downed creatures began to emit golden motes. He looked at his Energy attribute on his status page and saw that he now had forty-four over seven. Hadn¡¯t he had a maximum of five before? Once again, he felt a little surge of hope that his Core wasn¡¯t wholly destroyed. Maybe it was healing, and maybe he could do something to help it along. He resolved to spend some time trying to cultivate or at least manipte the little pools of Energy where his Core used to be next time they rested.

    Sergeant Fath was exhorting the delvers to move faster as they buried their downedrade when, with a gust of wind and a shower of glittering Energy, Captain Lam came out of the darkness andnded among them. ¡°Damn! Already lost one, Sergeant?¡±

    ¡°Aye, Captain. It was a bigger pack than we expected.¡±

    ¡°Well, finish the burial, then we need to get moving. We¡¯re supposed to clear six-fourteen today, and you¡¯re not halfway there yet.¡±

    ¡°Aye, ma¡¯am! You heard the captain, worms! Dig faster!¡± Victor tuned the sergeant out as he watched Captain Lam walk down the line past him and then up the path toward whatever tunnel was their goal.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let her catch you staring like that, Victor,¡± Gris said with a chuckle.

    ¡°I can¡¯t help it; she¡¯s amazing.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s something to see, that¡¯s for sure, but she¡¯s the most dangerous thing in this mine, so mind your manners.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said as he knelt to pull up another handful of airy soil to toss into the pit where they¡¯d nted the dead delver. Victor felt a little bad that he didn¡¯t even know the guy¡¯s name and that he was disappearing into an unmarked grave, but there wasn¡¯t anything he could do about it. When they resumed their march, the sergeant made them move a lot faster than previously, and it was only a few minutester when they moved out of the fungi forest and into a big stone tunnel, but not nearly as massive as the tunnel up above. This tunnel didn¡¯t have light globes in the ceiling, so a few of the delvers were given bright, glowingmps to hold. Victor figured one of the veterans must have a dimensional container because he never saw anyone carrying gear. Still, somehow things like thesemps and shovels seemed to appear out of nowhere when needed.

    They followed the tunnel on a winding path, past several other tunnel openings, and always on a downward slope. They¡¯d been traveling for about an hour when word made its way down the line that they were almost to delve six-fourteen and should get ready for a fight. Victor looked ahead and thought he saw Lam talking to the delvers in the front, and he wondered if the captain would be fighting with them. Thinking about Lam fighting made him smile, and it was with some surprise that he noticed hisck of stress or anxiety. He supposed part of it was that he didn¡¯t know what to expect, so he couldn¡¯t properly freak himself out, but a significant factor had to be that he¡¯d been fighting for his life for weeks now, and this just didn¡¯t seem like anything worse than what he¡¯d already been through many times in the pits.

    Victor gripped his baton and surged forward with the rest of them, happy to see Lam¡¯s glittering wings up in the lead. Suddenly the sergeant started chanting, in his huge, bass voice, ¡°Now we kill! We kill for Lam! Now we kill! We kill for Lam!¡± The other veterans picked up the chant, and Victor, feeling the mob frenzy, screamed along with them. They charged chanting, roaring, batons waving in the air, down the tunnel and into a wide, open cavern filled with half-buried stone buildings. A bright orb of energy zed, hanging from a chain in the vaulted ceiling, shedding light on the scene, and skitters and shrieks echoed from the shadows as they burst into the open area in front of the tunnel.

    Swarming, dark forms poured from the copsed buildings and surged toward the band of baton-wielding delvers. ¡°Form up! Shoulder to shoulder!¡± the sergeant boomed, and Victor found himself once again in a loose circle, facing out toward a muchrger force of enemies. He still hadn¡¯t gotten a good look at them, but as he crouched, baton ready to swing, he saw a cluster of dark shadows erupt from a nearby copsed building toward his side of the circle. They were about as big as a person and moved almost like shadows, sliding along the ground with gleaming red eyes. Still, they were definitely solid because he brought his baton down on the first one to slide toward him, and he felt it crack, and a shower of hot liquid sprayed onto his fist and forearm as he pulled his baton back for another swing. He smashed it into the creature again, and it twitched and thrashed, and that¡¯s when victor realized they were like long stick-men with perfectly ck carapaces. Their heads reminded him of something he¡¯d see on a praying mantis or a grasshopper.

    ¡°Stickmen!¡± one of his neighbors grunted, swinging his baton. Victor smashed aside another one and another. He wanted to ask what the fuck a stickman was but never got a moment to catch his breath; they just kepting, sliding over the ground in waves, and now that Victor had seen one up close, their movement freaked him out even more. It was like they were crawling along the ground the way a person would crawl up adder. While he was fighting, he heard a tremendous shriek, and when Victor nced toward it, he saw a massive ck-carapaced form crawling out of a dark crevice about halfway through the cavern. He didn¡¯t have time to worry about it, though, as more stickmen came at him.

    As he battled on, he heard a clear, piercing shout echo through the cavern, and when he looked, he saw Lam diving through the air, streaks of glittering light trailing behind her. She smashed into the top of the giant carapaced head emerging from the crevice, and a tremendous crack resonated through the cavern. Victor had to look away to fight again, but, throughout the battle, whenever he got a moment of respite, he¡¯d nce toward where he¡¯d seen Lam, hoping to watch her do something cool again, but she just stood at the edge of the crevice, a colossal hammer resting on her shoulder, watching the fight. None of the smaller stickmen approached her.

    Victor grew tired, and he found himself wishing he could call on his old rage, but he had to settle for his weapon skill and good old-fashioned strength and endurance. He¡¯d just smashed aside another wave of the creatures when the guy on his left fell to his knee, a stickman crawling up onto his back, gripping with its hooked hands and biting into his shoulder with its ck, razor-sharp mandibles. Victor cracked it on its hard head with his baton but then fell back to fight off another two that wereing for the gap in the line. He screamed, ¡°get that off him!¡± to the girl fighting on the other side of the downed man. She kicked out at the stickman she was fighting, sending it sprawling, then she turned and helped to finish the one on the guy¡¯s back. By the time they were both back in line, another wave of the creatures wasing. ¡°Where the fuck? How many of these fucking things are there?¡± he yelled to no one in particr, and no one bothered to answer.

    Victor¡¯s arms were numb, and he felt like he was swinging a lead telephone pole by the time he smashed thest of the creatures, looked around for his next victim, and found nothing moreing his way. He turned and looked around the scene. Piles of ck-carapaced bodies surrounded the knot of delvers. They stood with hands on knees, huffing and puffing for air or kneeling over fallenrades, trying to staunch bleeding. Just then, a thick fog of golden motes coalesced over the mounds of defeated creatures and began to stream toward all of the survivors. While Victor stood transfixed, absorbing a thick stream of Energy, he saw a shimmering golden and sparkling purple river of Energye out of the crevice and smash into Captain Lam¡¯s chest. She rose off the ground, her entire body glowing and sparking with golden-purple light. He¡¯d long since finished absorbing his little stream of Energy when Lam finally floated back to the ground, and her glow subsided.

    He¡¯d been so amazed by the sight of Lam¡¯s Energy absorption that he hadn¡¯t noticed the System message that had popped up in his vision:

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 12 Spirit Champion. You have gained 7 will, 7 vitality, and have 7 attribute points to allocate.***

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± he said, despite himself.

    ¡°What, Victor?¡± Gris asked, limping over and holding a hand to a bleeding bite on his shoulder.

    ¡°Oh, nothing,¡± Victor didn¡¯t know if he should mention that he¡¯d leveled, so he deflected, ¡°I mean, did you see Lam floating in the air?¡± Gris started talking about something like high-tier Energy rewards, but Victor tuned him out, looking at his status sheet. He¡¯d somehow convinced himself that he was broken, that he couldn¡¯t level anymore while his Core was ¡°fractured.¡± He¡¯d leveled, though, and when he turned his eye inward, he saw that more of those red droplets of rage-attuned Energy had moved toward his tiny, pulsing Core. He looked at his Energy and attributes on his status sheet:

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Rage 9.1

    Energy:

    289/23

    Strength:

    28

    Vitality:

    34

    Dexterity:

    19

    Agility:

    19

    Intelligence:

    10

    Will:

    24

    Points Avable:

    7

    His Core was healing; there wasn¡¯t any other exnation. He had a shit-load more Energy in his body than his broken Core could hold, but he knew he could work with it. If he got a chance to do some cultivating, he felt like he could really start to heal, and then maybe he¡¯d have a surprise for the fuckers that put the cor around his neck. He was thinking about where to throw his seven free points when the sergeant hollered, ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s bury our dead, clear the corpses, and we¡¯ll rest before heading back for the day. Good fight, Lam¡¯s Furies!¡±

 Chapter 24: Beetles

    Chapter 24: Beetles

    Three of Lam¡¯s Furies had died fighting the stickmen. Nobody seemed particrly broken up about it, and Victor couldn¡¯t help imagining himself in their shoes; one minute, they were marching along, joking andughing with other prisoners, and then they were buried under some rubble, forgotten at the bottom of a deep pit in the ground. ¡°If this is the fucking bottom,¡± he said, spitting into the dirt.

    ¡°What?¡± Gris asked.

    ¡°Just thinking about how shitty this is. Those dudes we just buried¡ªnobody¡¯s gonna remember them. Their families probably already considered them lost, right? I mean, I can¡¯t imagine people are happy to hear about their loved onesing to the Greatbone Mine. Here one minute, alive and fighting, gone the next, forgotten so they can be reced by the next poor suckers the foreman sends down.¡± They were sitting on some rubble, eating hard rolls and dried meat that one of the veterans had handed out.

    ¡°Wee to life, kid. Work as hard as you want, be as important as you want, but when you die, the world moves on.¡± Gris handed a skin of watery wine to Victor, and he took a long drink. It wasn¡¯t strong enough to give him even a slight buzz, but at least it was something different.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s just bullshit, that¡¯s all. I¡¯m sick of being led around like a dog, told to fight one thing after another.¡± He spoke softly so as not to draw attention to himself, but he felt like he had to say something to someone. Gris chewed his hard, crunchy bread, staring at Victor for a moment before he replied.

    ¡°Victor, you know I¡¯m not really your friend, right? I¡¯ll have your back in a fight, as long as we¡¯re fighting what Lam tells us to, but don¡¯t get any ideas that I¡¯m going to help you escape or some crazy thing. I¡¯ve been down here three years and have five more months to go. I¡¯m going to make it, and I won¡¯t do anything that¡¯ll stick my neck out. You understand me?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I feel you.¡± Victor sat back against the stone and stared up at the ceiling, a hundred feet above. He studied the little sparkles in the rock that had to be reflections of the glowing Energymp. What made the reflections? Gemstones? Eyes? kes of ore? He had no idea, so he stopped worrying about it. ¡°Hey, how long we gonna get to rest?¡±

    ¡°Probably until Captain Lames back. She¡¯s scouting ahead into the ruins around here. Could be ten minutes, could be a couple hours.¡± Gris stretched out and hung an arm over his eyes. Victor sat up and cleared his mind, focusing inward on his Core. If he was going to get out of this ce, he¡¯d need to be stronger, and he couldn¡¯t get much stronger until he fixed his Core. Could he fix it? He decided he had to; he was tired of being told what to do, and there was no way he¡¯d be spending five years in this ce. What would happen if he ran through his cultivation drill with his Core the way it was?

    ¡°One way to find out,¡± he muttered very softly and began the process. He called up one of his rage constructs and focused on it, feeling the heat start to spread at the very center of his being. It was working! He was so pleased that he almost interrupted the process. With the build-up of rage-attuned Energy, his little Core fragment started to pulse and re very rapidly, and Victor had to begin the process of pushing Energy out and through his pathways right away. However, this proved beneficial because as he cycled the Energy around in his pathways, it started to absorb some of the little red pools of Energy that floated around his burgeoning Core. He pushed the Energy in an ever-widening circuit of his pathways, spread out from his Core all the way to his extremities and then back again. When the wave of hot, red Energy surged back into his little Core, it felt like a fire had ignited in the center of his body, and he watched with his inner eye as his little Core swelled, started to crack, and then slowly stabilized. The cracks healed over, and it pulsed more slowly and steadily. Looking at it, Victor thought it was easily twice as big as it had been when he¡¯d started. He paused, took a long breath, and then looked at the Energy numbers on his status sheet:

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Rage 9.1

    Energy:

    118/49

    ¡°Oh, fuck yes,¡± he muttered. His Energy cap had more than doubled. Could it really be this easy? Just some cultivating, and his Core would be fixed? The asshole who¡¯d fragmented his Core had acted like what he was doing was permanent. Thinking back to when he¡¯d been strapped to the table while the weird-ass tentacled guy had reached into his stomach, he shuddered, but a vivid memory came to him¡ªhadn¡¯t the tentacled guy said something like he hadn¡¯t broken a spirit Core before?

    He looked into his Core again and saw the little pulsing, red sun still surrounded by tiny pools of Energy. The red, rage-attuned pools were significantly reduced, but the other white-yellow Energy pools seemed as numerous as ever. What was the deal with those? When his Core was fragmented, why had part of it lost its rage affinity? Not for the first time, he wished that he had some sort of expert to consult. He wondered how much Lam could teach him; she was the most powerful being he¡¯d ever met and had to know things that could help him. He shoved the thought aside, though; there was no way he was going to let anyone know his Core was recovering, even a little. Not to mention, he had no real reason to trust her; just because she was awe-inspiring didn¡¯t mean she would want to help him. Thest thing he wanted was for her or someone else to decide he needed a stronger cor.

    ¡°You cultivating, Victor? I¡¯m surprised it does you any good with such a weak Energy level. I suppose everyone can improve a little, eh?¡± Gris asked as if on cue.

    ¡°Hah, yeah, everyone always makes fun of me, but I figure it¡¯s rxing if nothing else.¡± Victor grinned, then stood up to stretch. It wasn¡¯t much longer until Captain Lam came out of the deep crevice, glittering sparkles streaking after her as she flew over to the group andnded.

    ¡°Good news, delvers! I found another vein and even more ruins. We¡¯ll set up a forward camp tomorrow so the diggers cane down and get started. Sergeant! Bring them back to the barracks!¡±

    ¡°Right, Captain!¡± Sergeant Fath shouted. ¡°You heard the captain! Line up, cockroaches!¡± Victor snorted withughter at being called a cockroach; part of him was pleased that the dirty little bastards were on this world too. They lined up and began the long march back to the barracks. Victor was d for the distraction of the march cadence that Sergeant Fath began; this one had some colorful lyrics about people''s mothers, and, with the positive results with his Core, he was in just enough of a good mood tough at the absurdity. At the start of the march, he applied his seven free points to his strength, dexterity, and agility attributes, figuring that he needed the extra physical ability while his Core was on the mend.

    Their return to the barracks was uneventful; nothing attacked them, and their only stop was to ride the levitating tform back up to the main tunnel. When they got back, some of the delvers wanted to go to the Settlement Stone to turn in their quests, but Victor saw that he only had thirty-nine kills when he checked the status of his quest. He opted to sit on his bunk and do another round of cultivating. He¡¯d gathered from Gris¡¯s reaction that people couldn¡¯t tell how much Energy he was moving around when he cultivated, so he figured it was safe to do. He was a little worried that someone as powerful as Lam would know what was going on with him, but she didn¡¯t hang around in the main barracks, so he sat down on his bunk, folded his legs like Yre had taught him, and began the process.

    He¡¯d managed toplete two full rotations of his cultivation drill when he became aware of a lot of activity and opened his eyes. People were gathering at the table for their evening meal, so he stretched and looked at his Energy stats:

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Rage 9.1

    Energy:

    125/125

    He¡¯d processed all the extra Energy he¡¯d gained from his kills, and his Core now pulsed with deep, red Energy, sending warmth and a sense of potential through his body. He looked inward and saw that he¡¯d gathered more than half of the little fragmented pools of rage-attuned Energy, though the unattuned Energy pools were still there. He was missing something when it came to those; he was sure of it. He had a small hope that they¡¯d start to be absorbed once all of the rage-attuned Energy was gone, but he felt like there was more to it.

    The unit¡¯s dinner consisted of mystery meat drenched in fatty gravy, more hard biscuits, this time with butter, and a generous slice of some sort of melon. It reminded Victor of cantaloupe, but it was red with round, green seeds. Gris told him to eat the seeds when he saw Victor collecting them on his te, so Victor gave it a try; they were tough, chewy, and spicy. Combined with the fruit¡¯s natural sweetness, they were a surprising treat. After they ate, Captain Lam ordered everyone to sleep. She said they¡¯d be starting extra early, and she didn¡¯t want any noiseing from the barracks. The surviving members of the unit were exhausted, and respect for the captain and her sergeants ran deep, so everyone quicklyplied, clearing off the table and quickly moving to their bunks to get what little sleep they could. Everyone except Victor, that is, he waited for those near him to fall asleep, then he silently sat up and began cultivating. He didn¡¯t care how tired he would be; he was going to cultivate all night if possible.

    Victor woke to someone kicking his bed. He jerked up and looked around; apparently, his exhaustion had ovee his desire to cultivate at some point. He looked at his Energy numbers:

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Rage 9.1

    Energy:

    274/274

    He almost cussed at Gris in surprise, but he bit his tongue and stood up to fold his nkets. Then he hustled over to the line of delvers. He turned his attention to his Core and saw that it was swirling around, pulsing and glowing almost like it used to before he¡¯d been damaged. He remembered having about five hundred Energy before they fucked his Core over, though, so something still wasn¡¯t right. He studied the space around his Core and found that there were still tons of fragmented little pools of yellow-white Energy. Whatever that tentacle dude had done to him, his rage-attuned Core was not absorbing those fragments, and his cultivation drill wasn¡¯t converting them. It was a problem, but one he could take his time to figure out; right now, he was just pleased that he wasn¡¯t helpless when it came to Energy use anymore. Still, he¡¯d have to be careful; he didn¡¯t want any of the Greatbone employees to know what he was capable of, and Victor knew that the other prisoners were just as likely to rat him out as help him.

    The march down to where they¡¯d fought the horde of stickmen went smoothly. They ran into a couple of packs of the mulsii, but they were small groups and fled from the delvers. This time Victor was marching behind Gris, but a thin Ghelli woman, only about five feet tall, was in line behind him, and she kept trying to chat with him during the march. With the sergeant chanting a cadence, and everyone shouting it out in refrain, Victor had a hard time hearing her, but she was persistent. ¡°I said, how¡¯d you manage to not get any bites or anything during thatst fight?¡± They¡¯d just gotten to the site of their previous battle, and the sergeant had ordered them to drink and rest while they waited for Captain Lam to show up.

    ¡°What? Oh, I just watched my spot on the line and didn¡¯t let any through. Why? Did you get bitten?¡± He looked at her thin, pale limbs and fragile little wings and tried to wrap his head around the idea that she was the same type of person as Captain Lam.

    ¡°Yes! One of them got around and bit me right on my butt cheek. No, I¡¯m not showing you! It hurts when I walk, though. I wish they weren¡¯t so stingy with the healing salves.¡±

    ¡°Ouch, that sucks.¡± Victor took a deep swig from the wineskin someone passed him and gave it to the girl. ¡°What¡¯s your name anyway?¡±

    ¡°Edeya. You¡¯re Victor, right? I heard the old white-bearded man talking to you.¡± Victor smiled at the description of Gris.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Anyway, nice to meet you, and remember, when you¡¯re fighting shoulder to shoulder, you gotta trust the people next to you to have your back, so you can focus on the shit in front of you. Don¡¯t let anything through, and leave it to them to do the same. I¡¯m not trying to be a know-it-all; Gris told me this stuff.¡±

    ¡°Oh, thanks, but I already got an earful about that. You¡¯re right, though; that was my problem.¡± She smiled, and Victor thought she was cute in a way, her features were very fine and pointed, but she had big green eyes and a friendly smile. She kept her hair cut really short, almost as short as his. He couldn''t help thinking she seemed extremely fragile, and he had the dark thought lurking in his mind that he shouldn¡¯t bother getting to know her because she¡¯d probably be dead soon. He tried to think of something to talk about with her almost to spite that mean, bitter voice he seemed to be hearing in his head more and more.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m kinda new to this world and don¡¯t know much about Energy and Cores and stuff. Is it rude for me to ask what kind of Core you have?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s rude, not when you put it that way. I have a pith ss Core¡ªIt¡¯s a nature-affinity Core very attuned to trees and nts.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty cool. Can you make nts grow or something?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, yes!¡± Her grin broadened, showing off straight, white teeth, and Victor couldn¡¯t help smiling back. ¡°If I can get some levels, someday I¡¯ll be able to craft living wood and even travel the Tree Road.¡±

    ¡°The Tree Road?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Some Ghelli with a Core like mine and with a suitable ss can get a skill that lets them touch one tree in a forest and travel through it, traveling along the intertwining roots, toe out through any other tree in the forest!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s actually pretty badass. Nice!¡±

    ¡°Well, now it¡¯s your turn. What¡¯s your Core like? I noticed from your cor that it¡¯s not, um, never mind.¡± Victor shrugged, reaching up to run his fingers around the circr iron band on his neck. Edeya had a cor that looked more like steel, and like the one Gris wore, it had dozens of intricate figures carved into it.

    ¡°Nah, don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s true. I¡¯m from a world without any Energy, and when I came here, some asshole destroyed the Core I had.¡± He¡¯d already rehearsed what he¡¯d say to people inquiring about his Core. ¡°I mean, I have a tiny little Core fragment left, but when I cultivate, nothing much happens.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s terrible! What savages! What kind of Core did you have?¡±

    ¡°Um, spirit.¡±

    ¡°Oh, no! Spirit Cores are so rare among my people! One of our elders had a spirit Core with a courage affinity! She was sought after by generals in Ridonne to encourage their troops before big battles. She made a fortune that she brought back to invest in our town.¡±

    ¡°Courage? That sounds pretty cool.¡±

    ¡°You have a funny way of speaking, Victor. I kind of like it!¡± She looked down, a bright rosy tint flooding her cheeks, and Victor suddenly imagined a mulsii sinking its long teeth into her shoulder and dragging her away. He shook his head and squeezed his hand into a fist until his nails bit into his palm. Just because she was delicate and just because she was friendly didn¡¯t mean that she had to die. ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°Um, just a headache. Sorry.¡± Victor was rescued from any further conversation when Captain Lam came streaking out of the dark crevice in the middle of the cavern. She strode over to the group of delvers, looking perfectly clean and coiffed like she¡¯d juste out of a salon.

    ¡°Well, I killed a tier four smander. There¡¯s some trash for you all to clear out, but you should manage. Set up a barricade and the forward camp when the foothold is secure. I¡¯m going to report my findings and let the foreman know to schedule a mining crew.¡± Lam spoke to Sergeant Fath, but it was easy to hear her clear, ringing voice. She strode past the delver unit, nodding to anyone that made eye contact, and Victor nodded back to her, standing up straight subconsciously.

    ¡°She¡¯s amazing, isn¡¯t she?¡± Edeya asked in a hushed voice.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s for sure. Fucking A.¡± Victor looked down and smiled when Edeya giggled at his words. ¡°Yeah, I talk funny. I get it.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s move out. Captain says we gotta climb a pretty steep slope for about two hundred feet, then we¡¯re going to be in the shit. Heads on a swivel, batons ready!¡±

    ¡°Here we go!¡± Edeya said, gripping her little baton and rushing over to line up. Victor frowned and hurried after her.

    ¡°Great,¡± he muttered, ¡°now I feel like I have to watch her back.¡±

    ¡°You good, Victor?¡± Gris asked,ing up behind him.

    ¡°Yeah, about to crawl into a deep pit full of man-sized bugs and shit. Feeling great!¡±

    ¡°Aw,e on! We don¡¯t know if it¡¯s bugs; it could be spiders or giant lizards; it could be ghouls or imps. Heck, it¡¯s probably not bugs!¡± Heughed and pped Victor¡¯s shoulder. Victor shook his head and followed Edeya into the crevice. The delvers slid and scurried down a loose slope of scree, keeping to the near side of the shaft. Every now and then, an Energy globe was attached to a wall or a rocky outcropping, and Gris said the captain had put those there for them.

    ¡°Must nice to be able to fly,¡± Victor said almost wistfully.

    ¡°Oh, I hope I can advance my race that far someday!¡± Edeya said over her shoulder.

    ¡°Are there many Ghelli that advanced?¡±

    ¡°No, not many. Only two in my hometown, and we had¡­¡±

    ¡°Quiet!¡± one of the veterans ahead of Edeya hissed.

    ¡°Aye, let¡¯s hush,¡± Gris said from behind Victor. Victor looked around at the shadowy rift, wondering what lurked up in the high, rocky gloom. The captain¡¯s lights allowed them to see where they walked, but they didn¡¯t shed much light on the far side of the crevice. After a few minutes more, the word was passed up the line to get ready. They came around a bend, and Victor saw anotherrge Energy globe spilling its yellow-orange light into a wide, low-ceilinged cavern, one wall of which gleamed and glittered in reflected light. ¡°Damn me!¡± Gris whispered, ¡°That¡¯s the biggest amber-ore vein I¡¯ve seen.¡±

    The crevice opened into the cavern, and on the far side, perhaps two hundred paces away, a broad, dark tunnel continued into the depths. A howling, hissing, cking cacophony erupted from that tunnel, and a wave of creatures rushed toward them out of the shadows. ¡°Beetle riders!¡± Sergeant Fath screamed, ¡°No holding back! Use your Energy! Captain Lam ain¡¯t here to save us! C¡¯mon down the slope; let¡¯s get our backs to that wall!¡± Sergeant Fath charged down the remaining slope, and the line of delvers surged after him. Victor followed, of course, trying not to pass up the shorter-legged people in front of him but also wanting to hurry so he didn¡¯t get caught out in the middle of the cavern when the ¡°beetle riders¡± fell upon them. When they got off the scree-covered slope, Victor let his legs really stretch out, and he grabbed Edeya¡¯s wrist, pulling her along with him. He¡¯d barely gotten into position and pulled her next to him when the creatures, howling and skittering, closed the distance and attacked.

    Victor raised his baton and smashed the head of a yellow and red beetle the size of a mastiff as it tried to jump onto Gris¡¯s back. Gris, panting and red-faced, lined up next to Victor and offered him a nod of thanks, then the battle took his attention away. The eighteen Delvers were lined up against a solid wall of rock, and a skittering, hissing, clicking horde of beetles spread out before them. Every fifth beetle or so was being ridden by a little man-like creature with skin so pale, it looked transparent. They bore spears and crude clubs and axes, and they hissed and howled with mouths gaping open to disy snake-like fangs. Victor wasn¡¯t an expert onbat logistics, but in his amateur opinion, they were fucked.

    At first, it didn¡¯t go as badly as he feared; some of the delvers had some pretty amazing Energy skills, and they turned the tide in their favor for a while. Sergeant Fath roared out some kind of battle chant that seemed to invigorate the delvers, making Victor¡¯s arms surge with buzzing energy. He felt confident and sure andughed while he smashed his baton out in heavy overhead strikes at anything within range. He was careful to keep his ce in the line and felt so good with the sergeant¡¯s chant bolstering him that he had time to spare between opponents to throw an asional smash at the creatures in front of Edeya. She didn¡¯tin, though she¡¯d held her own so far.

    One of the veterans a few spots down the line would roar every couple of minutes and breathe out a long, liquid belch of mes that would drench the beetles in front of him for a good ten paces, lighting them on fire and sending them hissing and squealing in a panicked, frenzied rampage through the horde. Some of the beetles they touched would also start to burn, and they¡¯d go mad with pain and panic,shing out at each other. Another delver was able to discharge electric shocks with his baton blows, though it seemed to drain him considerably. For his part, Gris would asionally speed up to superhuman levels, smashing everything in front of him, sending shards of carapace flying, and driving into the horde for several seconds before rushing back, panting, to take up his position again.

    Victor just plodded along, swinging and swinging, blocking, and kicking with his old worn boots whenever a beetle got too close. After seeing the fireworks some of the delvers were able to dish out, he began to have some hope that they had a chance. Still, the horde of beetles and their riders seemed to keeping, and after several minutes of fighting, when his arm was burning from swinging his baton, one of the riders managed to slip a thin, stone-tipped spear past his guard and punch a hole about two inches deep under his left cor bone. Victor roared in pain and snatched the spear, pulling the pale, creepy little man close and bringing his baton down on his t, hairless head. The creature¡¯s skull deformed under the blow, and it dropped at Victor¡¯s feet among the broken and smashed beetle corpses.

    The corpses were starting to be a problem as they piled up; the fresh waves of enemies were crawling over them anding at Victor and the other delvers from a greater height. On top of that, the space for maneuvering was bing more and more cramped. Victor was starting to feel more and more exhausted, and his frustration at the situation was mounting. His shoulder and triceps were screaming with fire after swinging that heavy baton for the thousandth time, and, still, the creatures came pouring out of the tunnel.

    Hissing like a snake, a beetle rider jumped off its mount toward him, swinging its axe in a two-handed overhead strike. Victor stepped forward, inside its swing, and smashed it in the side with his baton, sending it flying to his left, where it crashed into Edeya. She stumbled back, and then several beetles broke through and started swarming over her. A surge of guilt and panic hit Victor as he realized he¡¯d caused her to fall, and he simply snapped, activating his Berserk ability for the first time since his Core had been fractured. Red washed over his vision, and his muscles sang with Energy. He howled in exuberance, smashing his way through the beetles that were snapping at Edeya¡¯s legs, and then, with a monumental effort of will, turned away from Edeya and the delvers. He waded into the horde of beetles and their riders, swinging his heavy metal baton like a thin reed.

    Victor¡¯s baton whistled and shrieked as it split the air, sting through carapaces and sending the lithe beetle rider bodies flying. Heughed maniacally, his mouth open in a leering grin as fluids and shell fragments sttered him. He had a plentitude of targets to brutalize, and at some point, in the midst of his rage, the sergeant started up his chant again, adding more fuel to his frenzied rampage. He mowed his way deep into the horde,ying waste to a wide circle of insects and their pale riders.

    Victor was only aware of the need to destroy his enemies and didn¡¯t have any sense of how the tide of the battle was flowing, but his rampage had given the other delvers a much-needed respite and chance to regroup. While he pushed ever further into the horde, umting cuts and bruises that seemed to heal as fast as they appeared, the other delvers, lead by the sergeant¡¯s bellowedmands, pulled in tighter. They moved down the wall away from the piled corpses, readying themselves for the inevitable wave that woulde when Victor finally fell.

    Dimly, Victor was aware that his Berserk was fading. Though he was still in battle and tried to push more and more rage-attuned Energy into his body to keep the ability stoked, his Core was flickering and sputtering, having fed him everything it had. With a final surge, he smashed his way through a thin line of beetles so that he could mount the slippery, rubble-strewn ramp that led up out of the cavern. He¡¯d just gotten through and gained a bit of ground when his Berserk finally faded, and he almost copsed as the exhaustion hit him. He fell to one knee, and a beetle mbered up, snapping at his face. He managed to thrust out with his left hand, punching it under its snapping mandibles and flipping it back down the slope. Something sharp on its carapace ripped a jagged gash over his knuckles, but he¡¯d gained enough room to struggle to his feet.

    ¡°Where the fuck?¡± Coming out of his rage-induced Berserk was like waking up from a dream. He had a dim memory of the fighting, but now, as he stood on the slope and looked over the chittering, cking horde, he was utterly disoriented. He saw the delvers a hundred paces away fighting against the wall, and he saw a swath of dead beetles and riders, but there still had to be hundreds of the things. He weakly lifted his baton because some of the creatures were starting to surge up the rocky slope to him. ¡°This is it? I¡¯m going to be beetle food?¡± He was exhausted; his arms were numb and heavy, and his vision was dim, like his eyes weren¡¯t getting enough blood or something. ¡°Come on!¡± He screamed, trying to pump himself up, hoping to spark some adrenaline. A beetle came within reach, and he smashed down on it with his baton, nearly stumbling on a loose rock.

    He¡¯d just lifted his baton for another blow, grunting with the effort, when a gust of wind rushed past him, trailing a line of glittering sparks. ¡°What the fuck?¡± Then his brain caught up with his eyes, and he saw Captain Lam streak down to the cavern floor, directly in the middle of the horde of beetles. A burst of crackling silver-tipped mes rolled out from her impact point,pletely incinerating a hundred or more beetles in a perfect circle around her. She shouted in a pure, ringing voice, swinging her two-handed hammer around in great arcs, sending broken beetles flying with each swing. She carved a swath through the remaining insects to the line of delvers, and Victor, though he had another beetle in front of him to deal with,ughed in excitement at seeing something so utterly badass. His baton suddenly felt lighter, and his muscles less exhausted, and he beat the beetle and two more after it into broken carcasses.

    By then, the other delvers and the captain had moved on to mopping up stragglers, and Gris helped Victor with thest few beetles near the ramp. When Victor saw Gris and saw that no more beetles wereing, he fell to his knees in exhaustion and smiled up at the old veteran. ¡°Hey, I thought Lam wasn¡¯ting to save us? Somebody needs to tell the sergeant to quit being so pessimistic.¡± Gris was helping him to his feet when the air around them suddenly filled with a mist of golden motes. ¡°Oh shit,¡± Victor said when he saw how much Energy was coalescing from the hundreds and hundreds of corpses. A massive stream of Energy surged toward him, and though he felt transfixed by the rush of vigor and well-being, he managed to see that his stream was broader and brighter than anyone else''s, including the captain¡¯s.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 14 Spirit Champion. You have gained 14 will, 14 vitality, and have 14 attribute points to allocate.***

    ¡°So much for not getting noticed,¡± he muttered, though Gris seemed preupied with his own Energy surge. He looked around the cavern and saw that nearly everyone was dealing with their own problems, and for a second, he thought he¡¯d skate under the radar, but then he nced at Captain Lam and felt the weight of her gaze as it bored into him.

 Chapter 25: Secrets

    Chapter 25: Secrets

    After sorting through the wounded delvers and seeing to their injuries the best they could, Sergeant Fath directed the able-bodied prisoners in the construction of a barrier over the tunnel that led further into the depths. One of the veterans had a rune inscribed bag from which he pulled all the boards, hammers, nails, pickaxes, and saws that they needed for the construction. Victor worked hard, all the while wondering when he¡¯d be singled out and called over to speak to Captain Lam about his prodigious Energy gains at the end of the fight. Nothing happened, though, save for a few of the delvers looking at him with more respect and pping him on the shoulder, saying things like, ¡°You really took it to those bastards! Nice fighting!¡± Edeya, who¡¯d suffered a badly twisted knee, didn¡¯t seem to me him for getting knocked down and overrun, but he wondered if she even realized he¡¯d been the one to throw that beetle rider onto her.

    After they¡¯d built a sturdy barricade over the tunnel,plete with mounted ballistae and ramparts for the defenders, Sergeant Fath handed a sack to Victor and another one to Gris and told them to get started collecting beetle corpses. ¡°Um, how do I use this thing?¡± Victor asked Gris after the sergeant had walked away.

    ¡°You never used a dimensional container? The ones they let us use are enchanted so that multiple people can ess them. Just concentrate on it, and send some of your Energy out to it. You¡¯ll understand what to do after that.¡±

    ¡°Uh, right,¡± Victor said, looking at the big floppy sack he¡¯d been handed. How was he supposed to ¡®send Energy into it?¡¯ He concentrated on his Core, and just as he did with his cultivation drill, he pushed some Energy out along his pathways, feeling the hot simmering rage tickle the back of his mind. He continued to push, as thin a stream of the Energy as he could, until it moved along into his hand, then he pushed harder, trying to shove it into the bag. Suddenly he became aware of the bag and the enormous space within it. He could see that it was empty without even opening it. Holding the bag in his left hand, he reached out to touch one of the beetle corpses and willed it into the bag. Like magic, the crumpled, gooey carapace poofed out of existence, and Victor became aware of it sitting in the bag¡¯s dimensional space. ¡°That¡¯s pretty fucking cool.¡±

    ¡°d you like it,¡± said a strong, clear voice that sent shivers down his spine. Victor jerked his head around and saw that Captain Lam was standing just behind and to the right of him, watching him with her glittering emerald eyes. She¡¯d put away her massive hammer but still wore her armor, and that,bined with her height, made Victor feel insignificant in her presence.

    ¡°Um, yeah. I¡¯ve never used one before,¡± Victor muttered, holding up the sack.

    ¡°Sergeant Fath tells me you might be responsible for the delvers living long enough for me to make it back in time. You think that¡¯s true?¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh, no, I don¡¯t think so. Most of the veterans had some pretty awesome abilities. I just went a little crazy at one point and charged into the horde. I bet I would have done more good if I¡¯d stayed in the line.¡± Victor watched her face while he spoke, wondering if she¡¯d see through him. Her eyes narrowed a little, but her lips quirked in a smile.

    ¡°Being modest? Or are you hoping I won¡¯t take note of your ability? I think it¡¯s thetter; you don¡¯t seem the modest sort.¡± She stood with her arms folded, and she tapped one long finger against her opposite elbow, studying him. Victor swallowed and stood up straighter. She wasn¡¯t all that much taller than he, six or eight inches, but she just had a certain presence that made him feel small. He supposed it had a lot to do with her level and how much Energy she had.

    ¡°Well, to be honest,¡± he said, deciding that it might be wise to mix some truth with his dissembling, ¡°I have an ability that causes me to kind of go berserk, but I don¡¯t remember a lot after I do that.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± She looked at him and nodded. ¡°When I read your contract, it made note of you having a dysfunctional Core. Surely your berserking ability requires a significant amount of Energy?¡±

    ¡°Well, yeah, but I had a lot of Energy saved up from yesterday¡¯s fights. It doesn¡¯t go to my Core, just kinda sits in my pathways and stuff.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm. And you just received anotherrge influx, correct?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± He couldn¡¯t see a way to hide that fact; she¡¯d seen it with her own eyes.

    ¡°Your affinity must be high. Well, that¡¯s beside the point. You have enough Energy to activate your berserking skill again, right?¡±

    ¡°Uh, yeah.¡±

    ¡°Good. I can make use of you. Carry on; clean up this mess. I¡¯ll let you know when you¡¯re needed.¡± She turned and walked over to where Sergeant Fath was berating another delver who¡¯d done something wrong, and Victor, though he struggled not to, watched her walk away with a very stupid expression on his face. He finally pulled his eyes back into his head and got to work cleaning up the beetle corpses. It took him the better part of an hour, even with another delver helping, so big were the piles of corpses and beetle parts in the wide cavern. When he and Gris finished, Sergeant Fath hollered at them to ¡°eat something,¡± so they went over to where the wounded delvers were propped up near the amber-ore vein, and Victor sat down next to Edeya.

    ¡°How¡¯s the knee?¡± He munched on the hunk of ¡°rations¡± that one of the veterans had passed out. It was a chewy square of animal fat, dried meat, and dried berries and nuts. If you didn¡¯t think about it too much and just ate it without wondering where the meat came from, it didn¡¯t taste all that bad, and it was certainly filling.

    ¡°It¡¯s sore, but Captain Lam told Fath to break out the good salve for it, and I can feel it getting better already. I think I¡¯ll be able to walk pretty soon.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good!¡±

    ¡°It is! Victor, I thought I was going to die in that fight. I thought we all were. When I fell, and those beetles started crawling on my legs, I was sure it was over.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, um, I¡¯m sorry about that.¡±

    ¡°What? Why? You¡¯re the one that cleared them off!¡±

    ¡°Shit, you¡¯re kidding, right? I hit the asshole rider-guy onto you. I¡¯m the one that knocked you down.¡± He took another bite of his ration and stared at her, daring her to react.

    ¡°You¡¯re too honest,¡± she said, ¡°I mean, you didn¡¯t have to tell me that. It doesn¡¯t matter anyway; it¡¯s not like you meant to knock me down, and you made up for it.¡± She shrugged, pushing herself up a bit higher against the stone wall, and then reached out and snatched the rest of Victor¡¯s ration bar. ¡°I¡¯ll take this as payment.¡±

    ¡°Hey, what the hell?¡± Victorughed and mock-snatched at the ration, and Edeya giggled, cramming it into her mouth. Her cheeks bulged out, her eyes wide, and Victorughed even harder. ¡°Ahh, I needed that. It¡¯s good tough, you know?¡± Victor sighed deeply, stretching out his legs and knocking the heels of his boots against the hard ground, trying to get some of the crusty bits of carapace to fall off. He thought it was strange how he couldugh and joke around while stuck in his current mess. He was in a strange world, deep under the earth with a cor on his neck, being forced to fight monsters. ¡°But I canugh and joke around.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Talking to myself. I¡¯m weird, remember?¡± He bumped her bony shoulder with his elbow and smiled down at her.

    ¡°Well, what about?¡±

    ¡°Just thinking about how strange it is that people can find things tough about in the worst fucking situations. How long are you stuck in this ce?¡±

    ¡°I owe two years. I took on some of my parents¡¯ debt so they could avoid prison. My little sisters needed them home.¡±

    ¡°Jesus.¡± Once again, Victor was reminded that he wasn¡¯t the only one with a raw deal in this ce. ¡°If I ever get out of here, I¡¯m going to work to gain enough clout to put this fucking indentured servant bullshit out of business.¡±

    ¡°Hah, gonna take on the whole Ridonne Empire, hmm?¡±

    ¡°Alright, I know I don¡¯t know shit, but I¡¯m going to do something. Seriously. This system is garbage. I mean, it¡¯s basically like allowing very without calling it very.¡±

    ¡°True. On the Beneset Steppes, some tribes openly enve people they capture, but at least they¡¯re honest about it. It¡¯s awful, but you know what I mean.¡±

    ¡°I guess. After living like this, though, I couldn¡¯t be okay with it for anyone.¡±

    ¡°Victor!¡± He turned to see Sergeant Fath staring at him and motioning for him toe over.

    ¡°Catch youter,¡± he said to Edeya, then got up and walked over to the big sergeant. ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Go stand over by the barricade and wait; Captain Lam has a job for you.¡± He turned from Victor, looked up and down the line, and then shouted, ¡°Heng! Come here!¡± He saw Victor still standing there and made a shooing motion toward the big wooden barrier. Victor shrugged and walked over to it, sighing with some relief when he saw the big Vodkin veteraning over; at least he wasn¡¯t being singled out. A momentter, they were joined by another veteran that Victor didn¡¯t know the name of; a short but very stout, angry-faced Cadwalli with red and yellow irises in his weird goat-like face. Heng nodded to him when he walked up, but neither of them spoke.

    ¡°Uh, I¡¯m Victor,¡± he said, looking at the two men.

    ¡°Heng. That¡¯s Fele; he doesn¡¯t talk.¡±

    ¡°Any idea what this is?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± Heng leaned his broad, leather-d body against the barricade and spat off to the side. Victor noticed that both of the veterans had some decently thick-looking boots and vests, and their batons wererger and had those little System letters all over them.

    ¡°You guys buy your gear at that big stone thing with the shop in it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the Contribution Store. You pick up quests?¡± Heng asked.

    ¡°Uh-huh. Got one to turn in.¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± Victor didn¡¯t respond; he wasn¡¯t really interested in pulling more grunts out of the recalcitrant fellow, and besides, he could see Captain Laming down the ramp. He watched her, wondering why she didn¡¯t fly everywhere, but admiring the grace with which she traversed the ground. It was like watching a dancer; everything she did was smooth and perfect. He wondered just how high her dexterity and agility were. She didn¡¯t pause by the other delvers, just walked straight up to the trio of them standing by the barrier and nodded in greeting.

    ¡°Alright, I found some ruins I want to explore, and I need you guys to watch my back while I dig around. Let¡¯s go; I want us back here in a couple of hours.¡± She climbed the short stack of steps leading to the little rampart and leaped over the side, and the two veterans hurried after. Victor followed in their footsteps, once again feeling like he was caught in the wake of the events happening around him. He knew, logically, that he didn¡¯t have a choice but still felt like he should be resisting somehow. While he dropped off the side, hanging from the rail to break his fall, he determined that his resistance would have to be mental for now. He¡¯d continue to grow stronger, lie about his abilities, and take every opportunity to n his escape. Surely he wasn¡¯t the only prisoner down in the mines that felt that way, and they obviously weren¡¯t having much sess, but that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t make something happen. ¡°Fuck anyone that says otherwise.¡±

    Captain Lam and the others were standing a few feet away; she was looking at a document, tracing something with her finger, and the other two stood with batons in their hands, looking around nervously. Victor lifted his baton and looked around, walking over to them. The tunnel on this side of the barrier was about two feet higher than his head and a good ten paces wide with a reasonably steep, descending slope. They were still in a part of the tunnel illuminated by the big orb that Captain Lam had hung from the ceiling in the cavern, but it was dark just a bit further on. Victor was about to ask about the light, but Lam put the paper away and produced a glowing yellow orb, passing it to the burly Cadwalli veteran. ¡°Alright, follow me. Victor, you bring up the rear. If you get attacked, use your berserking ability; don¡¯t hold back.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± he said, squeezing his baton more tightly, d for the leather grip that soaked up his sweat. Lam didn¡¯t set an easy pace, striding quickly with her long legs down the tunnel. She turned down a side tunnel that Victor didn¡¯t even see until he¡¯d walked right up to it. The opening was a narrow crevice behind a protruding elbow of solid stone, and when the light winked out as Fele turned into it, Victor had a momentary panic but realized what happened and hustled after them. What the hell would he do if he got separated down here without a light? They followed the narrow, natural-seeming series of cavelike tunnels for a while, turning and descending several times until Victor was sure he¡¯d struggle to find his way back with or without a light. Remarkably, nothing attacked them by the time the captain stopped, and Victor caught up to the trio.

    They were standing in a tunnel mouth, looking out on another vast cavern. Fele had covered his glowing orb with his leather shirt, and Victor could see that the cavern was dimly illuminated by hanging moss that glowed with an eerie green-white luminescence. ¡°Glow-moss,¡± Heng matter-of-factly said when he saw Victor staring around. An underground stream rushed through the cavern, and stone structures lined both sides of the stream, including a partially intact stone bridge. While they watched, a rumbling sound signaled some movement on the far side of the stream, and Victor saw a tail-like appendage disappear beneath a pile of rubble that might once have been another building.

    ¡°There it is,¡± Captain Lam said, pointing to the rubble pile. ¡°It¡¯s a greater rot fiend, tier-three or so. I¡¯ll deal with it; you three need to make sure nothing jumps me while I¡¯m fighting. If it¡¯s something you can¡¯t handle, try to keep it busy awhile, and I¡¯ll try to hurry with the rot fiend.¡± The tunnel opened onto the cavern a good twenty feet from the ground, so Captain Lam produced a rope and piton, which glowed red when she pressed it against the tunnel floor and sank four inches into the rock with a soft hiss. As quickly as it had begun to glow, it returned to normal, and she hooked the rope to it, throwing it down toward the floor. ¡°After I fly down there, hurry down the rope and take up positions around that pile of rubble so you can watch my back.¡±

    Captain Lam looked at each of them, making sure they acknowledged what she said, then produced her huge hammer from some hidden container, hefting it in both hands. Victor had never seen it up close before, and he admired its craftsmanship. It had a long, ck wooden handle topped with a silvery metal hammerhead pointed on one side and t on the other. He figured it would weigh a good twenty-five pounds if the hammerhead were steel. Either she was ridiculously strong, or it was lighter than it looked because he¡¯d seen her swinging it around like it was a broomstick. ¡°Good luck,¡± he said, feeling like an idiot. Captain Lam didn¡¯t make fun, though, just nodded her head and fell backward off the ledge.

    Her abrupt departure caught Victor by surprise, but she rotated smoothly, and her brilliant, enormous dragonfly wings started to rapidly beat, throwing motes of sparkling light behind her as she raced toward the buried creature. ¡°C¡¯mon,¡± Heng said, grabbing the rope and dropping over the edge. Fele followed close behind, and Victor brought up the rear. They descended quickly, then hurried over the broken stones on the cavern floor, moving between ancient buildings toward the sounds of crashing rocks and hissing shrieks that had erupted in the distance. ¡°Matron! She could have waited for us to get closer!¡± The big otter-man leaped over a copsed stone pir, and Victor almostughed at how funny it was to see such a wide man move so nimbly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go left!¡± Victor shouted at the backs of the other two delvers, then turned left around arge stone structure blocking their path; the other two went right. He figured that they shouldn''t all be in one spot if the captain wanted them to watch her back. He rounded the building and had a short stretch of open ground ahead of him, down which he could see the stream flowing. He sprinted for it, wondering if he could make the jump or if he¡¯d need to traverse the ancient bridge. While running, he sped past stone buildings, some intact, others nearlypletely copsed. He heard another tremendous crash and then a roar that vibrated his body; he pped his free hand over his ear and tucked the other one against his shoulder, trying to spare them from the outburst. The sound cut off with an almostical squeak, and Victor resumed his dash to the river.

    When he passed by thest of the structures on his right and could see clearly over the bridge, he finally caught sight of Captain Lam and the creature she was battling. Lam moved in dashes and leaps that carried her a dozen feet in the air; Victor, again, wished he had wings like that. The creature was the size of a hippopotamus and built simrly, though it was shorter with six legs, a long iling tail, and a nest of probing, spiked tentacles surrounding a slender, pointed beak. Victor watched Captain Lam leap over its back, avoiding its thrashing tail,nd near its left rear haunch, and smash her hammer into its hip with a thunderous crack. Still trying to watch the fight, Victor began to trot along the river toward the partially crumbled stone arch. He was moving past a low-walled ruin when something burst up from the riverbank and mmed into him, knocking him through an ancient door, disintegrating it into a cloud of desated wood dust. Whatever hit him was growling and slobbering, its hot, wet mouth worrying at his shoulder as they tumbled together into the ruin.

    When they smashed into the far stone wall,ing to a halt, Victor, still madly gripping his baton, began to thrash down at whatever was digging and wing at him. It was dark in the small structure, but he caught glimpses of dark fur and gleaming yellow eyes. The creature finally secured a good hold on his shoulder and crunched down, and Victor screamed as long fangs punctured his shoulder, and the beast began to shake its head back and forth, like a terrier killing a rat. It hurt so badly that he lost track of his thoughts and simply activated Berserk. Suddenly red rage flooded his vision, and he no longer felt any difort from the horrible bite on his shoulder; he just felt the annoying pressure and wanted to be rid of it.

    Victor stopped screaming and thrashing and got his feet beneath him, standing up and lifting the heavy beast with him. He charged forward, carrying it, still clinging to his shoulder, and bodily mmed it into the stone wall. He felt its heavy, scrabbling bodypress under his weight against the wall, and its jaws sprang open, releasing his shoulder. Victor took a step back and began to methodically and mechanically smash his baton into an area where he could see the creature¡¯s eyes reflecting light. His first blow cracked something, and the next ten or twelve began to spray wet, warm fluid on each backswing. When nothing came looking for round two, Victor started to pant and look around, wondering, in his rage, what else he could kill. He paced around in the dark interior of the building, growling and grunting, his fury unrequited.

    When he got to the back corner of the structure and turned, still hunting a new victim, Victor saw the dimly lit doorway and charged toward it. He took two steps, and then his foot broke through the old flooring, and he fell about eight feet to smash onto a cold stone floor. He sat up, ring around in the dark, and a glinting silver light caught his eye. He stared at it for a moment, and that¡¯s when the red started to bleed from his vision, and his berserking rage began to cool. The air was cool and moist, and as his mind came back to him, Victor realized he was sitting in a shallow puddle; water dribbled in from between blocks in the walls. ¡°From the river,¡± he said aloud, his voice hoarse.

    Victor nced around, confused at first about where he was, but then he saw the hanging, broken floorboards and dimly remembered falling. When he looked at the hole in the ceiling, he realized it was limned in a silvery light and remembered what he¡¯d seen while under the influence of his rage. He jerked his head to the far corner, and there, stretched out as though it was reclining against the stone blocks, was a long, yellow-boned skeleton of a humanoid. Around its neck was a silvery pendant that shone with a white-silver light. Victor didn¡¯t stop to think; he just stood up and rushed over to the skeleton, briefly noting the alien shape of the skull with a small crown of ck horns protruding from its brow, and lifted the ne over its head. The chain caught on one of the horns, but he wiggled it free.

    He heard the sh ofbat, though it seemed distant, and remembered that he was supposed to be watching Captain Lam¡¯s back. ¡°I am, though. Didn¡¯t I just kill something?¡± Using the light from the amulet, he looked around the skeleton and saw that it had a ring on its long, bony middle finger. He pulled it off the bone, marveling that both it and the amulet were shiny and untarnished. Nothing else remained of the skeleton¡¯s possessions, though some matter beneath it that he took for moss might have been badly decayed clothing. Not wanting to get caught with his loot, Victor stuffed the amulet and ring into his pants¡¯ pocket and then moved over to the hole in the ceiling. He jumped up, grabbed hold of an intact beam, and pulled himself up.

    Victor saw the crumpled, shadowy form of whatever he¡¯d been fighting and moved over to it. He could still hear Lam fighting in the distance, so he risked a quick reveal of his amulet to shine its light on the creature; it looked like a huge, ck-furred rat. Victor stuffed the amulet back in his pocket, grabbed one of the rat¡¯s hind legs, and dragged it out of the smashed doorway into the cavern proper. He pulled it further away from the building, toward the bridge, and then threw it against a different building¡¯s wall. He¡¯d acted on impulse, but when he thought about it, he realized he didn¡¯t want to leave evidence that he¡¯d been in the building with the skeleton. There was no way he was going to tell anyone about the amulet or ring he¡¯d found.

    He was standing with his hands on his knees, gathering himself, when Heng came charging across the stone bridge. He saw Victor and ran over, ¡°That¡¯s a big one! Jumped you on your way over, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, got me by surprise! Had me by the shoulder and was dragging me around like it wanted to bring me home for dinner.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t look hurt,¡± Heng said, eyeing him up and down.

    ¡°Yeah, I had to use my berserking ability. It healed me up, but I lost track of myself and where I was until it wore off.¡±

    ¡°You missed a hell of a fight. Captain had to break almost every bone in that thing¡¯s body before it stopped trying to fight.¡±

    ¡°Nothing else jumped you guys?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I think other rats and stuff nearby got scared from the racket. C¡¯mon, Fele¡¯s butchering that beast. The captain wants some of its organs for some reason.¡± Victor followed Heng over the bridge, avoiding the half where the stones had fallen into the river, and then down the far side of the bank to the scene of the captain¡¯s battle. The huge creature looked smaller in death, deted and limp with most of the fluid it had once held, running down the stones and into the river. Fele had carved a yard-long window into its abdomen and pulled out the entrails, which instantly brought Victor to his knees, retching, when he smelled them. ¡°Haha, get it out, kid. We¡¯ve got more carving to do.¡±

    Heng said Captain Lam left as soon as she¡¯d finished killing the beast without exining where she was headed. She didn¡¯t make an appearance until they¡¯d finished butchering and taken turns washing the guts and blood off themselves in the cold river water. She moved quietly, and Victor didn¡¯t notice her presence until her voice rang out from behind him, saying, ¡°Fele. Where¡¯s the bag you put the organs in?¡± The mute man jumped to his feet and pulled a small pouch from his vest. He ran over to the captain and handed it to her. ¡°Good. Alright, let¡¯s move out. I¡¯m done here for now. Good news for you, delvers: I¡¯m going to need to take a trip to town tomorrow, so I¡¯ll give you a day off. You can use the time to turn in quests, rest up and train.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Heng pped Fele on the back, and Victor couldn¡¯t help grinning. He had a lot to do, and a day off would serve nicely. He¡¯d find a quiet ce where he could try to inspect his secret loot, he¡¯d turn in his quest, and he¡¯d spend some time trying to figure out what was up with his Core. Had he had an entire day to himself sinceing to this world? He decided he better not count his chickens before they hatched; just because Captain Lam was leaving didn¡¯t mean the other veterans would leave him alone. He could hope, though.

 Chapter 26: Soul Searching

    Chapter 26: Soul Searching

    Victor groaned and copsed onto his narrow, scratchy mattress. He felt like he did after his first day at summer wrestling camp as a freshman. In a way, it was a good clean feeling of having worked his ass off, and, on a deeper level, he felt like he¡¯d aplished some things that had ignited a little re of hope in his chest. He reached his hand into his pocket and felt the hard, cool metal of the ring and amulet, and a slow smile crept over his face as he drifted into a deep, heavy slumber.

    ¡°Victor,¡± a gruff voice said, shaking his shoulder. Victor¡¯s eyes popped open, and he rolled onto his back, blinking rapidly in the bright light of the barracks. Heng leaned over him, his jowly, furry face just inches away. His thin, ck lips spread into a broad smile, showing off lots of pointy teeth, and he said, ¡°Hey, Captain kept her word. We¡¯re free for the day. Me and a couple others are going to turn in quests. You wannae?¡±

    ¡°Mm, yeah!¡± Victor yawned while he spoke, then sat up. ¡°Gimme two minutes to take a piss and get my boots on.¡±

    ¡°Right, we¡¯ll be out front.¡± Victor stood and slipped his boots on, then stepped through the door to the ¡°jacks,¡± as the veterans called the long, narrow room, where wooden toilet seats sat above holes in the ground. Two of the toilets had wooden partitions, but he was the only one there, so he just used one of the open ones. When he finished washing his hands and sshing water on his face, he walked outside to join Heng, Fele, Gris, and a Vodkin woman he¡¯d seen fighting but hadn¡¯t ever spoken with. They hiked to the central cavern where the Settlement Stone rose from the ground, joking around about how lucky they were to have a day off and what they¡¯d do with all the extra time. Heng joked about taking Sullya, the female Vodkin, to dinner, and she punched him in his belly, making his blubber quiver and jiggle. Victorughed and dodged out of the way when Heng took a swipe at him.

    They didn¡¯t have to wait long to ess the stone; most of the other teams of workers were busy elsewhere in the mine, so the lines were short. When Victor put his hand on the stone and selected the ¡°quests¡± menu item, he navigated to the section to turn inpleted quests and was surprised to see more than just his ying quest update:

    Quests for Victor Sandoval in Greatbone Mine:

    y 100 denizens of the deep

    Complete! Reward: 240 credits. ept reward? Y/N

    Recover Energy-rich materials

    Turn in sunsteel ring for 1000 credits? Y/N

    Turn in artificed amulet for 1000 credits? Y/N

    Victor very briefly considered selecting the yes option for the 2000 credits, but he figured that the items might very well be far more valuable to him than some Contribution Store credits. He also didn¡¯t know if the stone kept track of stuff like that, and he didn¡¯t want to answer questions about how he got so many credits. He turned in the yer quest and picked up another one, this time requiring him to y 200 denizens. ¡°Do they always go up in number? The yer quests?¡± He asked aloud.

    ¡°Nah, if you finish ¡®em fast, they do, but if you struggle with one for a long time, the next one will be lower,¡± Gris answered.

    ¡°Ahh, thanks,¡± Victor said, switching over to the Contribution Store menu. His worn-out, mismatched boots were starting to chafe his feet, and he wanted to see if he could get a new pair and some socks. After a bit of surfing through the menus, he found what he wanted and bought four pairs of wool socks and a pair of sturdy ¡°mining boots¡± that looked like hiking boots but had steel toe guards. Standing there holding the socks and boots that had appeared in a yellow-blue mist, he also decided to buy a small ¡°miner¡¯s pack.¡± The pack was simr to his old school backpack but made of smooth oiled leather and with fewer pockets. He¡¯d only spent thirty-five credits altogether, so he shopped through the menus a bit more. There were many clothing options, but nothing could match up to his ck self-cleaning, self-repairing shirt and pants. He bought a few pairs of underwear and a leather breastte that cost him a hundred credits. He figured he¡¯d use his next quest turn-in to buy an upgraded weapon.

    He stepped back from the stone and stuffed most of his purchases into his new pack, then he pulled the hard-leather breastte over his head, fastening the three straps into their shiny brass buckles. ¡°Not bad!¡± he said, rapping his knuckles against the stiff leather.

    ¡°Yeah, delvers that don¡¯t die make a lot more credits than the other crews,¡± Heng said, stuffing some jars of pickled fish he¡¯d purchased into his own pack. Watching him stow away his treats, Victor noticed a coil of rope which gave him some ideas. He still had over a hundred points, so he put his hand back on the stone and bought a twenty-five-foot rope, a flint and steel, and a sk ofntern oil. He figured he might as well buy a few supplies whenever he could so that he¡¯d be ready if the right opportunity arose. His pack nice and plump with purchases, he stood off to the side, waiting for the others.

    On the way back to Lam¡¯s barracks, Victor slowed to walk next to Gris, who was bringing up the rear. ¡°Hey, man, what else you got going on today?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Oh, I¡¯ll probably y some dice with the others, then just lounge about. Captain didn¡¯t give Fath any instructions for us, so he¡¯ll probably leave us be.¡±

    ¡°Um, you know I¡¯ve got a fucked up Core, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you told me.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s tough for me to concentrate and do the tiny bit of cultivating I¡¯m capable of. Is there a ce near the barracks I could chill and meditate without any racket?¡±

    ¡°Hah, yeah, there¡¯s a cave behind the barracks. Just follow the crevice; you can¡¯t miss it. It opens into a quiet ce where some veterans go to cultivate. No one talks in there, so don¡¯t be making any noise ¡®cause some of ¡®em will use it as an opportunity to practice their more violent skills.¡±

    ¡°Right, thanks.¡± Victor walked along trying to formte a game n for how to escape the mines but was unable to think beyond a few hours. How would he get out? He still had a cor on his neck, there were guards everywhere outside, and he didn¡¯t even know what direction to run in. He had a lot more to learn before making a real attempt.

    ¡°Victor!¡± Heng shouting his name brought him out of his daydreams about bolting free of the mines, and he trotted up to the big Vodkin.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Tell Sullya about the rat that almost ate you.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah, well, it was about as big as Gris and covered in ck fur with bright red eyes¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey! Are youparing me to a rat?¡± Gris interrupted, marching up to the others.

    ¡°No, Gris! You¡¯re much better looking than that rat and at least twice as hairy,¡± Victorughed.

    ¡°You believe this? Kid¡¯s been here a couple days and is already making jokes?¡± Grisughed too, though, and gave Victor a friendly shove. They continued walking, ribbing each other, and Victor found it easy to blend in. In the back of his mind, he was pissed at himself for acting like everything was alright, but he also knew that he had to fit in and make the most of whatever situation he was in. Sulking, moping, and alienating the people sharing his plight wouldn¡¯t get him anywhere.

    When they got back to the barracks, Victor didn¡¯t go inside, saying he wanted to go try to work on cultivating. Gris nodded, and Heng shrugged, but Sullya scoffed like he was wasting time. He didn¡¯t think she was referring to his weak Core but that she was just one of those people who didn¡¯t see the point in pushing yourself, especially when you were being forced to work for other people.

    When they¡¯d all stepped into the barracks, Victor walked around the exterior, noting the smooth path worn into the packed dirt and rock of the cavern floor. Behind the barracks, he found that the smooth trail continued toward the jagged rocky wall of the massive tunnel and disappeared into a dark cleft in the stone. He followed the path into the darkness, and as his eyes adjusted, he saw that a faint orange light glimmered up ahead. Walking toward the light, he realized it was one of the glowing Energy orbs that Captain Lam tended to ce around on paths she scouted. Victor passed three more glowing orbs following the crevice before stepping into a dome-shaped cave about a hundred feet wide.

    The cave was light with more of the softly glowing orange globes, and Victor could see that it had a very smooth stone floor with rounded boulders scattered in every direction, varying in size from that of a basketball to a mini-van. Fuzzy green and blue moss covered most of the stones, and a pool the size of arge bathtub upied the center rear of the cavern. The asional drip of water falling from the ceiling into the pool was the only sound. ncing around, Victor could only spot one other person¡ªarge blue, Ardeni man meditating with his back against a mossy boulder.

    Victor tiptoed over the mossy cavern floor to the far wall on the opposite side of the cavern from the other man. He moved over to one of therger boulders and sat down behind it, facing the cavern wall. He had only been partly lying to the others; he did want to work on his Core, but first, Victor wanted to see what he could figure out about the items he¡¯d found in the ruins. He slipped his hand into his pocket and wrapped the warm, hard shape of the ring in his fist. He¡¯d been thinking about how he¡¯d been told to ¡°bond¡± with the storage sack that Sergeant Fath had given him to clean up the beetle bodies. Is that how you activated any sort of magical item? Gripping the ring tightly, he pushed a trickle of rage-attuned Energy out through his pathways and into the warm metal.

    Victor felt the ring absorb his Energy, but nothing more happened; he didn¡¯t suddenly be aware of a dimensional space like with the sack or any other special effect. ncing around over his shoulders, he risked a quick nce at the ring. Pulling it out of his pocket, still ensconced in his fist, he cupped his other hand over it and slowly peeled back his fingers. The ring sat in his palm, glowing with a warm orange-red radiance and pulsing with heat. Victor sped his fingers closed and then stuffed the ring into his other pocket. He didn¡¯t know what it did exactly, but the ring seemed to absorb Energy and be a source of light and warmth. He wondered if there was more to it, but he decided to put it aside for now.

    He reached into his other pocket, leaving the ring to pulse warmly over his left hip, and wrapped his hand around the medallion. It was round, about half the width of his palm, and he could feel the raised bumps of some sort of pattern on the metal. He wanted to pull it out and study it, but he knew it glowed with silvery-blue light and would be far too conspicuous for him to feel safe. It was cool in his palm, and, gripping it, he felt a slight tingle pass into his flesh. Once again, Victor pushed some Energy out through his pathways and into the item in his fist. Suddenly a surge of ice shot up his arm and into his mind, and he felt it pressing against his mind, his spirit, his very self.

    He grunted, and then Victor scowled; what was this fucker trying to do to him? He could feel the foreign presence spreading, and he bore down on it, turning his mind inward like when he studied his Core, but this time focusing on the icy presence in his mind. He began to squeeze it, pushing it back, cutting it off from the amulet, andpressing it with his will. As he drove it into a tiny corner of his mind and began to apply more and more pressure, a strange, metallic voice sounded in his mind, ¡°I yield! Please stop!¡±

    Victor was so startled by the voice that he did stop; he pulled back on the pressure, and the icy presence shot down his pathway and back into the amulet. Again the voice sounded in his mind, ¡°Thank you! I am honored to serve one with such a strong will.¡±

    Victor opened his mouth to ask who the fuck was talking to him, but then he mped it shut. He didn¡¯t know who else might hear, and the voice was definitely inside his head. He was thinking about how he was meant to reply when the voice came again, ¡°I can feel you trying to formte a response; worry not, I cannot read your mind, though if you think clearly of a statement directed at me, I¡¯ll understand it. As long as you maintain contact with me, that is.¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Victor clearly ¡°thought¡± the words, actually picturing them in his mind.

    ¡°I am Gorz, a spirit bound to the amulet you hold. When bound, I was given the faculties necessary to perform the duties of a personal attendant and major-domo.¡± Victor¡¯s mind reeled at the strange voice¡¯s revtion. For a few reasons, he was skeptical and decided to ¡°voice¡± his concerns.

    ¡°What¡¯s a major-domo, and how can you be helpful if you¡¯re an amulet? Also, why the hell were you trying to take over my mind?¡±

    ¡°Ahh, I see you¡¯ve never bonded with an intelligent item before! Sir, I must warn you: when dealing with a bound spirit, there¡¯s always a struggle of wills. No spirit is forever content to remain in its prison, and the instinctual desire to move to a more spacious and self-determining host is not easily resisted. Now that you¡¯ve proven your will is sufficient to contain me, I shall not attempt another such struggle. The duties of a major-domo vary from managing a household, to managing ounts, to keeping track of important facts and dates. As for how I can aid you, my mental faculties are quite acute! My previous master used me for making maps and memorizing texts.¡±

    ¡°Maps?¡± Victor¡¯s heart began to race.

    ¡°Oh yes! My previous master was quite an explorer. I¡¯ve memorized thousands of miles of wilderness, cities, even dungeons!¡± Victor thought about where he¡¯d found the skeleton with the amulet, and his fingers began to drum with excitement.

    ¡°Do you know where you are right now?¡±

    ¡°One moment,¡± the amulet, always a bit chilly to the touch, surged with coldness for a moment, ¡°Oh, yes. We¡¯re some 1,200 feet above and three point four miles east and south of where myst master perished. I¡¯ve not been to this location before.¡±

    ¡°So yourst master didn¡¯t get to that location through the big mining tunnel?¡±

    ¡°No, sir. He essed the Sheev-nagh ruins through the Barrowdon dungeon.¡± Again, Victor¡¯s heart sped up.

    ¡°There¡¯s more than one way out of the ruins, then?¡±

    ¡°If what you told me is true, I¡¯m aware of at least two, yes!¡±

    ¡°How far is this ¡®dungeon¡¯ you mention from where your old master died?¡±

    ¡°Slightly more than thirteen miles through caverns, tunnels, and along an underground river.¡±

    ¡°How long ago did your old master die? And what was his name? I¡¯m tired of calling him your old master.¡±

    ¡°His name was Reevus-dak, and I¡¯m not sure how long. Something more than a hundred years; I¡¯m afraid I slumbered for much of the time in order to maintain my sanity.¡±

    ¡°So, assuming the tunnels and caverns still exist, you could guide me to this ¡®dungeon?¡¯ Can you exin the dungeon to me?¡± Victor had an idea what the spirit meant by dungeon, but he wanted to make sure.

    ¡°Of course! If the path exists, I can direct you. As for the dungeon, sir, it was filled with undead denizens ranging in strength from high-tier-two to middle-tier-three. My master, er Reevus-dak, learned of the dungeon from a man named Polro and gained entry by solving a riddle. The entrance was near a vige called Steampool Vale¡ªa quaint ce with provincial citizens that make a living gathering the minerals near naturally urring geysers and, well, steam pools.¡±

    ¡°So the ¡®dungeon¡¯ is a ce filled with monsters?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir. Someone of your physical nature would definitely consider them to be monsters.¡±

    ¡°And I need to make it through at least thirteen miles of ruins filled with god-knows-what even to enter the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with that turn of phrase, but I think I take your meaning, sir. Yes, you¡¯d need to brave the denizens of the deep. My master had an easy time of it at first but met his match, as you no doubt have surmised.¡±

    ¡°Alright, enough with the ¡®sir¡¯ and ¡®master¡¯ talk. Just call me Victor.¡±

    ¡°Very well, Victor! Thank you! Though please forgive me if I slip; I¡¯m not used to such familiarity.¡± Victor heard some movement behind him and realized he¡¯d lost track of time and his surroundings while speaking with the spirit.

    ¡°Alright, listen. I¡¯m not supposed to have you. Can you dim that light you give off?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Victor. I¡¯ll do my best to remain undetected!¡±

    ¡°Also, can you tell me anything about the ring Reevus was wearing?¡±

    ¡°Naturally, I cataloged all of his belongings. Let¡¯s see, at the time of his death, Reevus was wearing a sunsteel ring and an artificed silver ring of storage.¡±

    ¡°What? I only found the sunsteel ring!¡±

    ¡°During my periods of wakefulness, I was aware that Reevus-dak¡¯s corpse was set upon by scavenging creatures more than once.¡±

    ¡°Well, what does the sunsteel ring do?¡±

    ¡°The sunsteel ring is tremendously sensitive to Energy and can store it with minimal leakage over time. Should you desire to, you would be able to build up arge amount of Energy within it and draw upon it as needed.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to let go of you now, and I don¡¯t feel safe wearing you, so I¡¯ll just keep you in my pocket.¡±

    ¡°Until we speak again, then, Victor!¡± Victor let go of the amulet and felt the cool tingling in his hand fade away. He could tell that he¡¯d lost connection to the spirit; there¡¯d been a sense of it in his mind, even after he¡¯d won their contest of wills, and now it was gone. He felt like his entire body was buzzing with the excitement of what he¡¯d learned; there was a way out of this ce, and he¡¯d be able to get to it without anyone knowing. They''d assume he was dead if he disappeared in the depths, just like all the delvers he¡¯d already helped bury.

    He didn¡¯t think it would be wise to make a break for it right away, though; ording to Gorz, the dungeon was filled with tier two and three monsters, and he was still only tier one. Sure, he¡¯d won some pit fights with tier two fighters, but what if he ran into two, three, or fifty higher tier monsters at once? No, he needed to grow stronger, and part of that was figuring out the problem with his Core. He still only had roughly half the Energy he¡¯d had before its fracturing.

    Victor closed his eyes and sat the way that Yre had taught him. It felt like so long ago that she¡¯d teased him about cultivating. Sighing, he turned his mind inward and studied the space where his Core pulsed and slowly revolved. It looked solid and vibrant, filled with the red rage-attuned Energy. Still, there were tiny droplets and pools of white-yellow Energy all around it, and they refused to budge when he tried to cultivate them. Suddenly his eyes sprang open as he had a thought. He reached his hand back into his pocket, gripping the medallion where Gorz resided, and mentally asked, ¡°Hey, Gorz, do you know anything about Cores?¡±

    ¡°Naturally, Victor. I had one when I was alive, and Reevus-dak made me memorize several texts on the subject.¡±

    ¡°What about spirit Cores?¡±

    ¡°Yes, one of the texts I memorized had several chapters on such Cores. What can I help you with, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Alright, a while back, this guy had a tentacled spider dude rip apart my Core. He said he was destroying it, butter, when I looked, the System status screen said it was fractured. I¡¯ve been able to rebuild it partially, but it¡¯s only half as strong as it should be, and I have lots of little pools of Energy around my Core that I can¡¯t seem to cultivate or add to it.¡±

    ¡°Fascinating, Victor! Give me a moment to examine my memory.¡± The amulet grew cold again; a signal Victor was starting to realize meant it was doing something. A momentter, he heard Gorz¡¯s voice again, ¡°Victor, ording to my texts, spirit Cores are highly resilient and difficult to destroy without killing the host entity. Your description of the pools of unattuned Energy around your Core sounds almost like a partial attempt at gaining a second affinity.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°How many affinities do you have, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Just one¡ªrage.¡±

    ¡°Oh my. Well, when someone with a spirit Core wants more than one affinity, they can split off part of their Core and gather it with the new affinity. It sounds like you had the splitting done for you, but you don¡¯t have the second affinity with which to gather the remnants.¡±

    ¡°Am I screwed then? Can I still get an affinity?¡±

    ¡°Oh, odds are excellent that you have more than one spirit affinity. When you formed your Core, you probably just focused on your strongest one. You need to do some soul-searching and see if you can glean out another strong affinity with which to begin the process of gathering your Core fragments.¡±

    ¡°Any tips on how to do that?¡±

    ¡°Yes! You should meditate and focus on strong emotions and ideals. Be sure to avoid thinking of things that enrage you; you¡¯re trying to find a new affinity, not your existing one!¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Gorz,¡± Victor thought and then let go of the medallion. He stood up abruptly, too anxious to focus, and looked around the cavern. He saw a few other veterans sitting around the quiet space. They looked to be meditating, and none of them were facing directly at him, so he took a few deep breaths to rx and then sat down again. He cleared his mind and turned his eye inward, watching his Core and the space around it. Another affinity, huh? What did Gorz say? Focus on strong emotions?

    Victor concentrated and tried to think of times when he¡¯d been very emotional. It was hard because he kepting back to times when he¡¯d been angry. The more he struggled to not think of a time when he was angry, the more they kept popping into his head, and the more frustrated he became in the present, which jerked him out of his meditation again and again.

    Trying to meditate, Victor struggled with his mind wandering, and at one point, he thought about when he¡¯d been fighting the beetles, thinking everyone was going to be overwhelmed, and then Captain Lam had streaked down on her glittering wings to smash into the horde of creatures. He remembered how his arms had been leaden, his lungs burning, and he¡¯d been on the verge of copse, but when he saw her start to swing that massive hammer, he¡¯d had a surge of strength, of hope, and he¡¯d begun to believe that they could win. Something made him concentrate on that feeling, that spark that had ignited in his heart and allowed him to keep fighting. What do you call that? Hope? No, it was more than just hope; he¡¯d been inspired. Yes! That was it¡ªinspiration!

    Victor zeroed in on the way he¡¯d felt inspired by Captain Lam¡¯s presence, savoring that feeling, not because he was often inspired or inspiring, but because it had had a profound effect on him and his life. When he examined that emotion, he realized he¡¯d felt it before, but not so clearly. He¡¯d been inspired by coaches and older wrestlers when he was new to the team. He¡¯d been inspired by Vullu and how he¡¯d stood up to the asshole pit fighters who wanted a piece of Victor. He¡¯d been inspired by Yre and how she¡¯d been kind to him regardless of their terrible environment.

    The more Victor focused on that feeling, and the more he realized he wanted to be like that, the clearer it became, and then something happened¡ªa warm, tingling spark ignited in the pit of his stomach. Victor turned his attention inward again, stopping the kaleidoscope of memories and images ying across his mind¡¯s eye, and there, pulsing softly next to his hot rage-attuned Core, was a smaller, second star. It shone with a steady white-gold light, and as he watched, one of the tiny Core fragments drifted into it, and it grew just a fractionrger.

 Chapter 27: Inspiration

    Chapter 27: Inspiration

    Victor wanted to spend some more time cultivating and building up his smaller inspiration-attuned Core, but he hated feeling like he was being watched all the time and was having trouble concentrating. He took a look at his status sheet, for probably the thirtieth time in thest hour, marveling at the fact that he was finally making some real progress:

    Name:

    Victor Sandoval

    Race:

    Human - Base 4

    ss:

    Spirit Champion - Advanced

    Level:

    14

    Core:

    Spirit ss - Base 5

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Rage 9.1, Inspiration 7.4

    Energy:

    358/358

    Strength:

    31

    Vitality:

    48

    Dexterity:

    21

    Agility:

    21

    Intelligence:

    10

    Will:

    38

    Points Avable:

    14

    His Core was no longer ¡°fragmented,¡± and he had a new affinity¡ªinspiration. He didn¡¯t know exactly how that would work or what he could do with it, but he was happy, nheless. His Energy levels were on the rise, and he knew that as he built up his second affinity Core, he should be able to get back to his old levels, if not higher. Victor contemted the fourteen attribute points he was still sitting on. He¡¯d gotten them from when he¡¯d leveled fighting the beetles, and he felt like he was being dumb, not spending them.

    ¡°Am I dumb?¡± he asked himself, taking a second look at his intelligence attribute. He didn¡¯t feel stupid; in fact, he¡¯d always done well in school when he applied himself. ¡°Yeah, but I didn¡¯t apply myself very often¡ªthat¡¯s not exactly smart.¡±

    ¡°Shut up, kid.¡± The gruff voice came from the other side of the boulder, and Victor mped his mouth shut. He furtively nced around, then stood up and briskly walked out of the ¡°meditation cave.¡± There were a lot more people in there cultivating than when he¡¯d started. As he walked down the narrow cleft leading to the greater tunnel, he wished for a more private ce. While he was wishing, he decided to wish that Yre was still alive and that he could talk to her for some advice. ¡°Fuck it,¡± he said and dumped ten points into intelligence and the other four into strength.

    He didn¡¯t know if he was making a big mistake, but he felt like he could benefit from a little bit faster brain and some better decisions, and strength had never done him wrong. As the strange sensation of warmth flooded into his head, he almost fell to one knee, catching himself on the rough stone wall. It didn¡¯t hurt, but it was disorienting, and when it faded, Victor felt pretty damn good. He didn¡¯t notice any immediate changes in how he thought about things, but he hoped it would be a subtle difference that would pay off over time. He did see a sizeable increase in his maximum Energy, however. ¡°Yre wasn¡¯t lying. Intelligence definitely bumps Energy up.¡±

    As he strode from the crevice into the enormous mine tunnel, Victor almost wanted to whistle or sing or something; he was in an uncharacteristically good mood. He stopped himself, though, making sure not to make a spectacle. Thest thing he wanted was for people to notice his gains. He slouched his shoulders and screwed his face up into a scowl, and kicked some rocks as he walked down the very slight incline toward the barracks.

    He wasing at the barracks from an angle, and when he got to the rear-left corner of the building, he heard some soft murmuring and movementing from the shadows near the far corner, and he directed his steps to take him closer. When he came around the part of the barracks that housed the low-ceilinged kitchen, he nearly stumbled into a couple of other delvers locked in an embrace and making out like they were outside a high school dance. When he saw Edeya¡¯s eyes pop open and stare at him over the shoulder of whatever guy she was kissing, he blurted, ¡°Oh shit! My bad!¡± and turned on his heel, quickly walking back around the other corner toward the front of the barracks.

    ¡°Well, that was fucking awkward,¡± he muttered, shaking his head. He was having a hard time finding privacy to work on his Core; he could only imagine trying to find a private ce to be intimate with someone. ¡°Poor suckers.¡± He wondered if there were rules about that. He very much doubted the mine operators wanted people running all over the ce having sex and dealing with all the things that came with it. In the end, he decided it wasn¡¯t his problem; he had enough on his te.

    Victor stood in front of the barracks, briefly vaciting between going inside or doing a bit of exploring. As far as he knew, he still had several free hours before he should hit the sack. He imagined Captain Lam would be back at it bright and early, so he didn¡¯t want to miss dinner or lights out, but he figured it wouldn¡¯t hurt to explore a bit. He knew there might be some side tunnels or caverns back toward the main settlement area, but he figured his chances of finding some privacy would be better if he snooped around toward the deeper parts of the mine.

    He took a few minutes to cross over the tunnel to the far side and walked along that wall, skirting boulders and piles of rubble that had been left behind during the mining process. Victor could see and hear groups of miners and delvers moving down the center of the tunnel every now and then, but he was concentrating on trying to find side tunnels or crevices that led away¡ªsomething like the one that led to the cultivation cave near Lam¡¯s barracks. After one promising shadow after another proving to be nothing more than an indentation in the tunnel wall, he was getting ready to turn back, but then he saw a jagged, dark cleft behind arge pile of boulders.

    Victor poked his head into the crevice and saw that it opened up into a long, high-ceilinged tunnel with bumpy exposed-rock walls. He pushed forward in the dark for a while, but when he looked over his shoulder and could no longer see the light of therger tunnel, he decided to risk taking out his glowing sunsteel ring. The ring was warm in his hand and gave off a friendly luminosity that only shone for a few feet in any direction. Using its light, Victor followed the tunnel for another hundred feet or so before it opened up into a small cavern with a ledge that hung over a dark abyss, the depths of which he couldn¡¯t discern. ¡°Well, it¡¯s the end of the road for me, but at least I have some privacy here.¡±

    ¡°Oh, aye, it¡¯s nice and quiet in here.¡± Victor spun around, adrenaline flooding his body as he heard the gruff voiceing from the tunnel behind him. Arge Vodkin stood there, a wooden cudgel in one hand, leering down at Victor.

    ¡°Hey, man. Sorry if this is your space; I¡¯ll head out.¡±

    ¡°Naw, this ain¡¯t our space, but we figured we might see what you was doing here.¡± The Vodkin stepped forward, and two more men stepped out of the tunnel behind him. They both were wearing leather armor and wielding delver batons. Victor wasn¡¯t dumb enough to think these guys wanted to chat; they were going to mug him or worse.

    ¡°Hey, guys. Don¡¯t fuck around, alright? Captain Lam is expecting me, and I can¡¯t bete, you feel me?¡±

    ¡°Oh, Captain Lam, is it?¡± the big Vodkin sneered. ¡°She know you got that shiny bauble?¡± Victor¡¯s heart almost stopped at the words. He called himself an idiot in his head, but he snorted out loud.

    ¡°Of course, where you think I got it, dumbass?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t buy it, Chem,¡± one of the other guys, a narrow, tall Shadeni, said.

    ¡°Nah, me neither. Let¡¯s see what this little pup¡¯s got in his backpack.¡±

    ¡°Hey, asshole! I¡¯m not little, and if you threee at me, I¡¯m going to go fucking apeshit. I won¡¯t be able to keep from smashing your skulls in!¡± Victor stuffed his glowing ring down on his middle finger and then hefted his baton, menacing the trio. The smallest of them began to chuckle, and Victor noticed the bright gleam of his cor. He held a hand out toward Victor and made a fist. Before Victor could do anything, the stone under his feet suddenly erupted and wrapped around his ankles and knees in a vice-like grip.

    Victor roared and activated Berserk, panicking at his immobility. He screamed again, his vision going red, and he thrashed and pulled with all his might, trying to yank his feet out of the stone, but while he concentrated on getting free, sharp pain erupted over his left eye, then another spike of pain exploded in the back of his head, and suddenly he was drifting in ckness.

    ****

    ¡°Oh, Madre!¡± Victor woke in utter darkness with a throbbing skull and a cold, shivering body. He pulled his arms close to his chest, realizing he didn¡¯t have his shirt on. ¡°Where the fuck am I?¡± He tried to piece things together, but everything was jumbled in his head. He remembered waking up; hadn¡¯t he gone down to the stone to turn in his quest? ¡°Oh, man,¡± he reached up and rubbed at his head, gingerly feeling for what was wrong. The back of his skull was tender to the touch, but, other than that, the pain was mainly on the inside.

    He felt around himself in the ckness, trying to get some idea of where he was. He was lying on hard stone, fragments of rock and dust everywhere. He patted along his body, relieved to find he still had his pants on, but his boots and socks were gone. That¡¯s right! He¡¯d bought socks. What else? He¡¯d gone back to the barracks, and then he¡¯d gone to find the cultivation cave! He started to remember snippets¡ªhis new Core, seeing Edeya kissing some guy, wanting to find a secluded spot to work on his Core and talk to Gorz. Oh, fuck! Gorz! Victor shoved his hand into his pocket, and there, like it was waiting for his grasp, was the cold disc of metal on its chain.

    ¡°Victor! Thank Baz-chemeil! I thought you perished, and I was doomed to lie in a dark hole for another millennium.¡± Victor pulled the chain out, hoping to shed some light on his situation, but none shone forth.

    ¡°Gorz,¡± he said in a dry, raspy voice. ¡°Can you please turn your light back on?¡± Almost instantly, the silvery-blue light stabbed forth into his eyes, and he had to squint them shut for a moment. Slowly he peeled his eyes open to find himself on a stone ledge, not five feet from a ck abyss. Was he still in the ce where those assholes jumped him? ¡°Oh yeah¡ªnow I remember. Fuck, but those guys fought dirty.¡± He looked around and was dismayed to see a sheer stone wall behind him. He looked up and saw, very faintly in Gorz¡¯s light, another ledge about twenty feet up. ¡°How the fuck did I get here, Gorz?¡±

    ¡°Those ruffians threw your body off after they stripped most of your belongings. Luckily, you told me that you weren¡¯t allowed to have me, so I made myself very unnoticeable.¡±

    ¡°Ungh,¡± Victor grunted as he pushed himself into a sitting position, his back to the stone wall. ¡°Well, that¡¯s some good news, at least. Nice job, Gorz.¡±

    ¡°I was partially being selfish, Victor; I had no desire to have to spend time conversing with those brutes.¡±

    ¡°Alright, but why didn¡¯t they kill me?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I believe they thought you dead. Victor, even in your pocket, I heard your skull crack. Then, of course, they rolled you into an abyss¡­¡± Gorz trailed off, obviously thinking his point was made.

    ¡°Yeah, I get it. Huh, I¡¯ve never been knocked out while berserking, and I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve been hit in the head before.¡± Victor lifted the chain and slipped it over his head; he wanted both hands free. Gorz¡¯s cool disc rested against his breastbone, and he shivered, suddenly remembering how cold he was. ¡°At least those assholes left my pants on me. How long was I out, Gorz?¡±

    ¡°Just over four hours, Victor. Whatever kept you from dying wasn¡¯t able to keep you conscious.¡± Victor felt his head again, unable to even find a lump.

    ¡°I think my Berserk ability was still active after I got knocked out; it mended the wound then wore off. Well, that¡¯s my guess, anyway.¡±

    ¡°usible, Victor. Now, I detected a drop of around seventeen feet; can you see the ledge above?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I saw it. Chill, man. I need to get my bearings.¡± Victor closed his eyes and rubbed at his neck, trying to remember the fight. Jesus, that guy¡¯s fucking spell really screwed him over, and then he¡¯d used Berserk too early; he¡¯d been so enraged about his feet being stuck he hadn¡¯t even tried to defend against their attacks. What was that big guy¡¯s name? ¡°Chem. Remember that, Gorz. I¡¯m going to pay those guys a visit one of these days.¡±

    ¡°Noted, Victor!¡±

    ¡°Right, now, let me see here.¡± Victor stood up and stretched his arms up, pushing them against the stone, gauging how high he¡¯d have to jump to grab the upper ledge. With his arms stretched out and him on his tip-toes, he was still a good nine or ten feet from the ledge. ¡°Well, I¡¯m a hell of a lot stronger than I was on Earth,¡± he muttered, shaking out his arms and squatting down a few times to loosen up his legs. He squatted and, with all his might, leaped up, reaching out with his arms, trying to grasp the ledge. He still fell short a couple of feet.

    ¡°Excellent effort, Victor, I felt your vertical traversal, and it was nearly six feet!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, if I can make it back to Earth, I¡¯m going to have a hell of a career in sports. Well, unless I lose my new strength and stuff.¡±

    ¡°Is Earth the name of your homeworld?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right; there¡¯s no Energy there.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d keep some residual benefits, but without Energy to sustain your enhanced attributes and Core, you¡¯d slowly return to something more typical of that world.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I need to jump higher; I think my Berserk ability will work, but I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll have enough sanity to remember to jump up there.¡±

    ¡°Yes, berserking is a fraught talent. I¡¯m afraid if I try to guide you while you¡¯re in such a state, you¡¯re as likely to throw me into the abyss as listen to me.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, good point.¡±

    ¡°Do you have any other abilities that might help?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, just a minute,¡± Victor replied, concentrating on his Sovereign Will skill and using it to boost his strength. Once more, he squatted, then jumped, reaching toward the ledge.

    ¡°Excellent, Victor! That was seven additional inches!¡±

    ¡°Not enough. I¡¯m running out of ideas, Gorz.¡±

    ¡°Victor, perhaps share some information about yourself with me. What sorts of abilities do you have? Were you sessful in mending your Core?¡± Victor realized he never spoke to Gorz again after getting his advice about his Core.

    ¡°Damn, I can be a prick sometimes. Sorry, Gorz. Let me fill you in.¡± He told Gorz about what he¡¯d done with his Core and told him about his spells.

    ¡°So, you have some inspiration-attuned Energy?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I do, but no spells that call for it.¡±

    ¡°Why not try a new spell? One way to innovate Energy abilities and spells is to cast a known spell with a different attunement. Reevus-dak used the exact same spell to cast Fiery Burst and Wind Gust; he just fed differently attuned Energy into the spell.¡±

    ¡°How do I give my spell different Energy? It just happens.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an act of will. You need to mp down on the Energy that your spell calls for and push forth the Energy you want to use.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, alright,¡± Victor said softly, turning his attention inward to his Core, where the two suns of his attunements pulsed next to each other. The white-gold orb of his inspiration-attuned Energy was about half the size of his smoldering red sphere of rage Energy. Still, both Cores looked rich and healthy. ¡°Do I have more than one Core?¡±

    ¡°You have a multi-faceted Core. The shape of a Core¡¯s manifestation is often determined by how a mind perceives it. Some people with multiple affinities might see swirling bands of color around a single sphere. Others might see multiple orbs rotating each other. There are as many Cores and shapes of Cores as there are people.¡±

    ¡°So these two pulsing orbs are my Core. Together?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that seems to be the type of Core you have, based on your descriptions, of course.¡±

    Victor looked back at his Core and concentrated on holding the red, rage-attuned Energy locked down, and he pulled forth a strand of the warm, bright, inspiration Energy, and then he started to cast Berserk. He¡¯d never watched one of his spells take shape before, but this time, while he stared at his Core, he saw theplex, wild spell pattern start to form in his pathways. He felt the rage Energy surge, trying to push past his mental barrier. Victor bore down with his will, holding the Energy in ce and coaxing the tendril of warm, golden-white Energy toward the pattern. Suddenly the Energy was sucked into the spell pattern, and a torrent of it pulled out of the shimmering white-gold part of his Core to finish the spell.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned the spell: Inspiring Presence - Basic***

    ***Inspiring Presence - Basic: Prerequisite: Affinity - Inspiration. You infuse your being with the power of inspiration, filling yourself with potential and bringing forth the potential of nearby allies. Energy Cost: Minimum 75 - scble. Cooldown: Long.***

    Victor felt a surge of positivity and power pour into his limbs. His vision grew bright, the silvery-blue light of Gorz seemed to sharpen into daylight, and everything seemed clearer, closer, easier to reach.

    He brushed aside the notifications, let out a whoop, and backed up two steps, so the backs of his heels were hanging into the abyss. He looked up at the ledge; it wasn¡¯t even that far! He took one huge, jumping lunge, then leaped off his front foot, stretching out with one arm. His fingers curled over the ledge''s stone lip, and he caught on,ughing. He pped his other hand onto the ledge and pulled himself up, bounding onto his bare feet. Heughed again, danced a quick shuffle, and then ran back toward the main mining tunnel through the crevice.

    Victor made it about a dozen steps outside the dark side tunnel when the Inspiring Presence wore off, and he stumbled to his knees, suddenly feeling very heavy and dull. ¡°Oof! That¡¯s a hell of aedown, Gorz.¡± He pped a hand to his face, feeling drunk and sleepy.

    ¡°Describe your spell to me, Victor!¡± Gorz sounded a little hysterical. Had he been trying to speak to him while Victor had been high on inspiration? Victor told him about the spell, and Gorz chortled, ¡°Oh well done, Victor! Well done! I¡¯m sure the effect will be incredible when you push it past advanced.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thanks again, Gorz. Hey, can you stay hidden if I wear you? I mean, like you hid from those assholes?¡±

    ¡°Most definitely if you wear me under a shirt, but I¡¯d have a hard time hiding on your chest like this in the open.¡±

    ¡°Oh, alright, then I¡¯ll put you back in my pocket. I¡¯m about to go to the barracks, and I doubt I¡¯ll slip in unnoticed.¡±

    ¡°Speak with you soon, then, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor took the amulet off his head and stuffed it down in his pocket, then he stood and stretched. He was starting to feel normal again. He broke into an easy jog, angling straight for the barracks. He knew he waste for light¡¯s out, so he figured he¡¯d be in trouble. He tried to open the doors quietly, but, of course, they creaked and rattled. Sergeant Fath was standing in the aisle between the bunks, arms folded and staring at Victor when he stepped inside. He raised one hand, beckoning Victor with one finger, then he turned and walked up the aisle and through the back door, where Captain Lam kept her quarters.

    Victor followed behind, padding softly on his bare feet, feeling like he was walking to the principal¡¯s office or something. Snorts, loud breathing, and farts sounded in the barracks as he walked between the bunks. When Victor got past the sleeping delvers and walked by the long, wooden table, he snatched up a half-eaten piece of bread someone had neglected to clear and stuffed it into his mouth. He was struggling to swallow the dry mouthful when he stepped through the doorway into a surprisingly well-appointed sitting room. Captain Lam lounged on a plush burgundy chair, her legs up on a matching stool. Behind her and on both sides of the room were bookcases positively stuffed with scrolls, loose papers, and books of all shapes and sizes. She was sipping from a crystal ss half-full with a thick amber liquid.

    ¡°Thanks, Sergeant. I¡¯ll let you know if you¡¯ll be needed again.¡± Sergeant Fath nodded and walked out, pulling the door closed behind him. ¡°All right, delver. Exin to me why you¡¯reteing to my barracks, half-naked and caked in dried blood.¡±

    ¡°Uh,¡± Victor honestly hadn¡¯t thought of what he¡¯d say. He¡¯d had a tiny sliver of hope that he could slip into his bunk unnoticed, but he supposed Fath had gone on high alert when his bunk had been empty. ¡°Well, I was out looking around, kind of exploring nearby, when some assholes jumped me. Took all my stuff.¡± He gestured to his bare feet and held his arms out in a shrug. Lam sat up, setting her ss on the little table next to her chair. Victor noticed she wasn¡¯t wearing her armor; he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d ever seen her without it. When she put her feet on the ground, her knees jutted up, reminding him how tall she was.

    ¡°Who jumped you?¡±

    ¡°Some delvers, I think. Not ours; I didn¡¯t recognize them, but they had batons.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know who they were?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± Victor shrugged. There was no way he was going to rat out that fucker¡¯s name¡ªno way he¡¯d let Lam have the satisfaction of dealing with him. Captain Lam studied him for a long moment, then she sat back, putting her feet back up.

    ¡°I hope this was a good lesson for you, Victor; life is cheap in the delve. You¡¯re too weak to be wandering around alone, especially wearing nice clothes. I don¡¯t like the idea some scum think they cany hands on one of my squad, but I really don¡¯t have time to take you around to the other delver units and try to find them out. We¡¯re heading into the deep in just a couple hours.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I learned a good lesson, believe me.¡± Victor reached up and scratched at his forehead, sending kes of dried blood fluttering down in front of his eyes. Captain Lam grinned at him and beckoned him closer.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll give you a new baton; I¡¯ve had plenty of delvers die on me over the years and have a pretty good collection. She reached over to a sizeable rune-inscribed leather bag sitting next to her chair, and a dull gray baton appeared in her hand. It wasrger than Victor¡¯s old one and had a few strange letters carved into the metal. ¡°This one has a momentum enchantment; it¡¯ll swing faster than a normal baton, and you should be able to reverse your swings more easily.¡± She held it out, and Victor took it. The baton was heavy, at least twice as heavy as his old one, but it felt almost alive in his hand. He wanted to swing it around but knew that would be a dumb move in the captain¡¯s sitting room.

    ¡°Um, thanks, Captain Lam.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. I¡¯m d you didn¡¯t die, Victor; you¡¯ve got some talents I find useful, and my unit is already understaffed. Don¡¯t be so stupid again, alright?¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°Now go to the supply chest and dig out some boots and a shirt.¡±

    ¡°Right, thanks again.¡± Victor turned and moved to the door, pulling it open. He wanted to steal another nce at Lam¡¯s sitting room or at Lam and all the cool things she had around her, but he forced himself to keep his eyes forward and stepped out, feeling her gaze boring a hole in his shoulder des. He closed her door and then walked down the short hallway to the supply chest. At least she wasn¡¯t going to make him walk around barefoot as some sort of lesson.

 Chapter 28: Guard Duty

    Chapter 28: Guard Duty

    Victor¡¯s new boots pinched his feet around the toes, and he frowned, thinking of the nice new boots and socks he¡¯d gotten to enjoy for all of a few hours. He was tired, dirty, and sore but otherwise felt alright as Lam¡¯s delvers made their way back to the forward camp they¡¯d set up for the miners. Edeya had given him funny looks as they¡¯d started out marching, and Gris had gruffly asked where the hell he¡¯d been, but Victor just shrugged it off and said, ¡°Ran into some assholes, but Captain Lam let me off easy, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    When he¡¯d dug around in the chest, he¡¯de up with arge vest-like sweater that had originally been rust-colored, so the bloodstains from the previous owner weren¡¯t very noticeable. It was kind of scratchy, but warm, and fit him well enough. After that, he¡¯d stepped into the jacks, into one of the partitioned toilets, and slipped Gorz on under his vest. Having Gorz to mentally ¡°talk¡± to helped the march go faster, and Victor had learned a thing or two about his attributes.

    First of all, Gorz had been enthusiastically in favor of Victor putting points into intelligence, which made Victor feel better; he¡¯d had some doubts after that snap decision. He¡¯d also told Victor that his ss awarding him some ¡°unbound¡± points at every level was quite rare and that he¡¯d get a chance to ¡°refine¡± his ss at level twenty, but it might be best to keep the one he had.

    Another thing he learned was that Gorz really did remember just about everything he ¡°observed,¡± and he assured Victor he¡¯d know it if he got close to the delvers who¡¯d jumped him. Gorz exined that, to him, every Energy user had a sort of signature that made telling them apart very easy. Victor had told Gorz to stay on the lookout because he wanted to find out where those assholes had their camp.

    ¡°Victor!¡± Sergeant Fath called out from the barricade. Victor looked up from his daydreaming and jogged over to him.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Lam wants to take some of the veterans to explore around thetest ruins she found. We¡¯re leaving you with a few others to guard the miners. Shouldn¡¯t be too bad.¡±

    ¡°The miners aren¡¯t even here yet.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Keep the ce tidy while you wait, and don¡¯t let the miners get ughtered by rats or something. We¡¯ll be gone a while, probably ¡®til quitting time.¡± Victor opened his mouth to object but realized this was one of those moments when the proper response was probably to say something positive.

    ¡°Alright, I got it.¡±

    ¡°That ad. I knew you were up for it.¡± Fath held out a fist, and Victor bumped it.

    ¡°Excellent news, Victor! It seems this low-ranked authoritarian has deemed you worthy of some responsibility.¡± Gorz piped in with his tinny, mental voice.

    ¡°Huh, go figure.¡±

    Lam, Sergeant Fath, and ten of the veterans left through the barricade a few minutester. Victor was left behind, somehow in charge, with Edeya, Tyge, the rest of the new recruits, and two veterans that, apparently, weren¡¯t worthy of any responsibility. He didn¡¯t know if he should try to give directions or just kind of watch everyone to make sure no one did anything really stupid. He decided that, for now, he¡¯d be one of those hands-off managers and just sort of watch, making sure nothing came over the barricade to surprise them.

    While he stood on the low rampart, looking out into the dark tunnel, he ¡°talked¡± some more with Gorz. ¡°Is there any way to create more spells without altering one of the ones I have?¡±

    ¡°Yes, though it takes an adequate knowledge of spell patterns. I know some patterns, but it would be very hard to describe them to you verbally, and I¡¯m unable to write with ordinary utensils; Reevus had a special te that I was able to interact with.¡±

    ¡°Damn, what are the odds we could find the rest of his belongings near his corpse?¡±

    ¡°Not good, I¡¯m afraid, though some of his belongings were consumed or carried away by giant vermin as they ate his flesh; we might find some near their nest, should we locate it.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, something to think about, that¡¯s for sure.¡±

    ¡°Just gonna stare into darkness until theye back?¡± Edeya hade up behind him, and Victor turned to smile at her.

    ¡°Sure. That¡¯s where the monsterse from, right?¡±

    ¡°I guess so, but Tri says guarding miners rarely has any action. She said the big fights always happen when we im new territory, like when we first came here.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s Tri?¡±

    ¡°That tall Ardeni girl, one of the vets they left back with us.¡±

    ¡°Well, Sergeant Fath didn¡¯t leave her in charge, so she¡¯s not worried about getting her ass chewed out if something goes wrong. I¡¯ll keep an eye on the dark.¡±

    ¡°Wise, Victor!¡±

    ¡°Quiet, dude. You¡¯ll make me say something dumb out loud.¡±

    ¡°Of course, my apologies.¡± Victor almost chuckled at the contrite tone Gorz had taken.

    ¡°Um, thanks for not saying anything when you saw Beal and me behind the barracks yesterday.¡± Victor looked back at Edeya; her eyes were down, and she was fidgeting nervously.

    ¡°What? Nah, none of my business. Don¡¯t even worry about it. I¡¯d be careful, though; I doubt Fath or Lam want people fucking all over the ce.¡±

    ¡°Fucking?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, er, having sex.¡± Edeya¡¯s face got very red at his words, and she stammered out a few attempts to speak, then she shoved Victor against the railing and walked away with a disgusted explosion of breath. ¡°What did I say?¡± he called, but she didn¡¯t turn.

    ¡°I¡¯d say your friend found your choice of words rather crude and insulting.¡± Victor almost told Gorz he was being too sensitive, then he frowned and shook his head.

    ¡°I¡¯m an idiot sometimes.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps so, but nothing some practice won¡¯t fix. Why not apologize to thess? It seems she is sensitive about her reputation and doesn¡¯t consider her dalliance with young Beal to be a part of arger pattern of behavior.¡±

    ¡°Well, I will, but I¡¯m still not sure why she got so pissed; just because they were only making out doesn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t horny for more.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but your implication was crude; be logical.¡± Victor thought about those words, ¡°be logical,¡± and had to admit they were effective. If he looked at his words without any emotion, they really were something an asshole would say.

    ¡°Alright,¡± he said aloud, turning from the darkness and looking around for Edeya. He saw her standing on the stone incline that led to the upper chamber. The miners still hadn¡¯t arrived, and the other delvers were spread all over the ce doing their own things. He saw red-haired Tyge sitting with another delver ying with some carved bone dice. Tyge had been the first guy he¡¯d met among the delvers, and Victor hadn¡¯t gotten to know him at all. He determined to remedy that as soon as possible. ¡°Tyge!¡± he called.

    ¡°Yeah?¡± The smallish Ardeni man called back.

    ¡°I need you and your friend toe up here and watch the tunnel. I¡¯ll relieve you soon.¡±

    ¡°Um, alright.¡± Victor watched as Tyge and the other delver picked up their dice and climbed the ramparts.

    ¡°You guys know how to use these big bows?¡±

    ¡°The ballistae? Yeah, just crank the string back, put in the bolt, and pull the trigger.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Victor hopped down and walked over to the ramp where Edeya was sitting. ¡°Hey,¡± he said as he walked up. She definitely had the whole sulking thing down¡ªback to the wall, arms crossed, frowning and looking anywhere but at him. ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry. I have a problem with putting my foot in my mouth. I wasn¡¯t trying to say anything about what kind of person you are.¡±

    ¡°Well, it was insulting to say that! Even if I liked Beal like that, it doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to ¡®have sex all over the ce!¡¯¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know. Look, I¡¯m stupid, alright? We¡¯ve already talked about how I talk funny, right? Can we just forget I said it; if anything, what I said speaks more about me than you, right?¡± She finally turned to look at him, meeting his eyes, and then a grin quirked at the corners of her mouth.

    ¡°Yeah, it does! It says a lot about you!¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor wasn¡¯t sure he was making the kind of progress he wanted with her, but it seemed good that she was at least smiling. ¡°We okay? Cause I don¡¯t want you pissed at me when we¡¯re fighting, alright?¡±

    ¡°Alright. Thanks for the apology.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re cool. No worries.¡± Victor gave her shoulder a little punch. Her smile broadened, and she gave him a return punch.

    ¡°Right on, that¡¯s the spirit. Man, where the fuck are those miners?¡± He looked up the stone slope, seeing no sign of them.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! I was wondering that while I was standing over here feeling mad at you!¡±

    ¡°You think they ran into trouble in one of the upper caverns? Like where we fought the stickmen?¡±

    ¡°Maybe. Do you think we should check on them? Would Captain Lam get upset if we go anywhere?¡±

    ¡°Well, I think my instructions were to stay put¡­¡±

    ¡°Victor, your superior¡¯s words were specifically, ¡®...don¡¯t let the miners get ughtered by rats or something.¡¯¡± Gorz piped up in Victor¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Hmm, actually, I think our number one duty was to keep the miners alive, not to guard this shithole barricade. Hey, go get that veteran you were talking to; what was her name?¡±

    ¡°Tri; I¡¯ll get her.¡± Edeya ran over to where a group of three delvers sat around talking next to the amber-ore vein. A momentter, a tall, thin Ardeni woman stood up and strode over with Edeya in tow.

    ¡°You wanted me?¡± As she drew closer, Victor realized she wasn¡¯t really very tall; Edeya was just short as hell. Her voice had a slight nasal quality, and she wore a perpetual sneer. Victor looked into her bright yellow eyes and nodded.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m heading up to the next cave to check on the miners. I need you to guard the barricade with Tyge and that other guy.¡±

    ¡°Who made you boss?¡±

    ¡°You heard Sergeant Fath! He¡¯s in charge!¡± Edeya snapped from behind Tri.

    ¡°Whatever. Yes, sir, boss!¡± She sketched a mocking bow and turned to walk over to the barricade. Victor looked at Edeya and shrugged. He brought his fingers to his lips and whistled. When the other delvers looked at him, he motioned them over. They came slowly at first, but then with more urgency as Victor pped his hands and said, ¡°C¡¯mon, hustle!¡±

    ¡°Listen, I think something¡¯s happened to the miners. We need to head up and check things out. I¡¯m leaving those three,¡± he gestured to the barricade, ¡°to watch the tunnel; we¡¯re going up. Let¡¯s move!¡± He tuned out their questions, allowing Edeya to field them, and started climbing the ramp. He wasn¡¯t sure why, but he felt like he needed to hurry. He reasoned it could be that he¡¯d built up some imaginary emergency, and he¡¯d find nothing, but it felt strange that the miners were taking so much longer than the delvers to get down to the dig site.

    He was a much faster climber than the other four delvers, and by the time he climbed the ramp far enough to see out of the chasm into the next cavern, he was a good fifty yards ahead of them. A rumbling cracking cacophony signaled something going on up above, so he gripped his new baton tightly and crouched low as he approached the opening. He could hear the others scrabbling along behind him as he peered over the lip of the cleft into the upper cavern.

    There, among the tumbled ruins where the delvers had fought the stickmen, Victor saw the backside of a fighting retreat taking ce. The miners were being pushed back through the tunnel leading up to the next cavern by a frenzied, clicking mob of little men that seemed to be made of stone. They didn¡¯t speak or scream or anything else you might expect of stone monsters, but their bodies ground and rumbled as they moved and cked against the stone of the cavern floor. Conversely, though on the far side of the frenzied battle, Victor heard the miners grunt, scream, and roar as they tried to beat the creatures back with their mining picks.

    Victor was nning a charge when he felt a cool hand grip his arm, holding on to his tricep. ¡°Those are stone imps! They¡¯ll ughter us!¡± Edeya hissed in his ear. He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Bullshit. They don¡¯t look that tough.¡±

    ¡°Well, they are!¡± Her eyes were wide and round with fear, and Victor looked at the other three delvers crouching behind her.

    ¡°Look, I don¡¯t give a fuck that Lam told us to protect these miners, but I¡¯m not someone who can slink away while some folks are getting jumped by monsters. Fuck that.¡± Without really thinking about it, Victor stood up straight and cast Inspiring Presence. Once again, he felt the surge of well-being and the brimming potential all around him. He spread his mouth into a wide grin andughed. ¡°Come on! You want to live like a bug in a hole? Let¡¯s fucking kill these things!¡± Everything was brighter, everything seemed easier, and he could tell that his delvers felt the same way; they stopped cowering and gripped their batons.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it!¡± Edeya said firmly.

    ¡°Fuck yeah! Hit ¡®em in the back while they don¡¯t see us!¡± Victor turned and charged, not waiting to see who followed. He jumped over the brokenndscape, hopping low crumbled walls and sliding around boulders. Before he knew it, the stone imps jostling and pushing toward the retreating miners were right in front of him, and he jumped into the fight, swinging his baton with heavy, whooshing blows that cracked into their rigid bodies, breaking off pieces of hard flesh and shattering little limbs. Victor howled and pushed more Energy into his Inspiring Presence, extending the duration and bolstering the ragged, battle-weary miners. His arms seemed to sing with power, and he started tough.

    He was aware of his delverpanions joining the fray, but his attention was on the dance ofbat. Fighting under the influence of Inspiring Presence was a lot different than when he cast Berserk. While berserking, he was aware of his enemies and his need to destroy them, but he could focus on little else. Now, fighting among the stone imps with his delver friends, he was aware of everything; he could see the movements of the imps, the way their stiff joints seemed to follow a rigid movement pattern, and he was mindful of the best way to block them and slip past their slow, clumsy guard to smash their hard little heads. He concentrated on maximizing the efficiency of his movements and had enough cognizance left over to help a fellow delver with a missed parry or stumbled footing.

    The miners and other delvers benefited also, and as their tempo of attack increased, and their actions went from harried and fearful to bold and precise, they began to shatter the resistance of the stone imps, who had to fight now on two fronts. Soon they¡¯d reduced their number to just a few, and though Victor¡¯s Inspiring Presence wore off, leaving everyone feeling hungover and sluggish, they managed to pulverize thest of the little creatures with no further loss of life among the delvers or miners. As they all stood around panting over the corpses of the stone imps, a thick carpet of Energy motes started to form over the battlefield and began to stream into them. Victor savored the rush as the Energy poured into him, refreshing his exhausted limbs and wiping away his hung-over haze.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 15 Spirit Champion. You have gained 7 will, 7 vitality, and have 7 attribute points to allocate. Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned Bludgeon Mastery - Improved.***

    ¡°Thank the Ancestors you all came up here!¡± a grizzled, old Ardeni miner with white and red peppered hair said, walking up to the panting delvers. Victor stood up and reached out to shake his hand.

    ¡°Yeah, we figured you all were taking a bit too long to get down, so we came to see what the hold up was. Did you lose any?¡±

    ¡°Aye, a miner and our foreman, but it would¡¯ve been a lot worse. Thanks again.¡± He turned to gather up the surviving miners, eleven of them, and then they all stood around looking at Victor. Victor looked at his delvers, making sure none were seriously hurt, and then nodded.

    ¡°Well, that was a good fight. Good job, everyone. Let¡¯s get down to the ore and get to work.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, shit on that idea! We just had the piss beat out of us!¡± One of the miners said, stepping forward.

    ¡°Who¡¯s in charge of you miners?¡± Victor asked, frowning at the stocky, pickaxe-wielding Cadwalli.

    ¡°As I said, the foreman died,¡± the older, friendly guy said.

    ¡°Alright, well, get this straight; Captain Lam doesn¡¯t give a shit how tired you are. You¡¯ve got work to do, and I do too. Do you think Lam will let me slide if I tell her I sent the miners home because they were tired and scared? Now get the fuck down that ramp and get to work.¡±

    ¡°What about the bodies?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll deal with them on the way out. Right now, I need you to hustle down because I¡¯ve got three guys holding down the fort, and they could need our help at any minute!¡± Victor didn¡¯t know where his sense of authority wasing from or how he was standing up to all these older men and women, but he didn¡¯t care. He was sick of going with the flow, and as long as he was in charge, he was damn well going to do things the way he thought was right. ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, quit arguing and get moving!¡± Edeya said, moving behind the miners to help shepherd them down. Victor nodded, and the whole group got moving. There was some grumbling, but the miners were generally d to be alive, so they moved with the delvers down the ramp and to the ore vein and got to work. Victor checked in with the three delvers they¡¯d left, and they reported no action.

    ¡°Figures you guys would get to have an easy battle while we sat around twiddling our thumbs,¡± Tri groused, but Edeya wasn¡¯t having any of it.

    ¡°Easy? Easy? Have you ever fought stone imps! If it weren¡¯t for Victor, the miners would be dead, and we¡¯d be down here hiding, hoping they didn¡¯te this way after they killed them all.¡±

    ¡°Rx, girl,¡± Tri said dismissively.

    ¡°Everyone rx,¡± Victor said, putting a hand on Edeya¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s good we fucked up those imps, but let¡¯s stay cool in case more stuffes our way.¡± A loud crack interrupted him, and he turned, flinching out of reflex, to see the miners had somehow split off a considerable section of the amber ore vein and were starting to tap off chunks with their picks. ¡°Shit, that startled me. Are those picks enchanted?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Tri scoffed, but she turned and stared into the darkness over the ramparts, and Victor took that as a sign that she was willing to let things drop. He turned and checked in with the rest of the delvers, and then he spent some time watching the miners work.

    He knew there had to be more to this operation than just ves running around with picks. No, it was ves running around with magical picks and with bags that could hold thousands of pounds of ore. ¡°Magic sure makes shit easier,¡± he muttered.

    ¡°Indeed, Victor. Speaking of which, I had an idea you might like to try,¡± a slightly metallic voice said in his head.

    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± he thought.

    ¡°Yes, there¡¯s a spell that all Energy-using children are taught, and it requires no prior knowledge of patterns. It¡¯s a light spell, and, though you don¡¯t have any unattuned Energy, I think it will still work for you, perhaps with an added effect because of your attunement.¡± Victor walked over to the ramp leading out of the cavern and sat down on a square-topped boulder, keeping the miners and the barricade in his field of view.

    ¡°Alright,y it on me.¡±

    ¡°Well, children who have developed a Core and pathways are often taught to channel some Energy into their palm, using their will to form andpress it into a ball. With pure Energy, this creates a yellow sphere that casts light. If one¡¯s will is strong enough, it can be made to float around the caster.¡±

    ¡°And with my spirit Core? My attuned Energy?¡±

    ¡°I specte that it will still cast light, though in a different shade, and it might have an emotional impact on those caught in its re.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let me see here,¡± Victor turned his mind inward and looked at his Cores, but then he stopped himself, ¡°Hey, I have seven points to spend. Any advice?¡±

    ¡°Will would help with this process, though your will is already quite good for your level. You should weigh that against your immediate survival needs. It seems you¡¯re destined to fight a lot, so perhaps more physical attributes. I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m not more help.¡± Victor thought about Gorz¡¯s advice, and he thought about how he¡¯d spoken to the delvers and miners up in the other cavern. What had made him stand up so firmly? All the fights for his life? His will? His frustration? His inspiration or rage Energy? It seemed like a lot of factors were working to influence his demeanor. Demeanor? Where¡¯d he pull that one from?

    ¡°It seems like mental stats are pretty important for survival too. My most powerful abilities require Energy to cast, and I think they¡¯re helping me use words to influence people.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s an excellent point; sometimes, the best victory is attained by avoiding the battle.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor decided to put four points into intelligence and three more into will. The effects were subtle but, in his mind, undeniable. Then he returned to the scrutiny of his Core. He watched the pulsing, throbbing red light of his rage-attuned Energy, and then he coaxed a thread of it loose and pushed it through his pathways and out into the palm of his hand. It seemed easy to him, and he figured that his high affinity and will were responsible. As the thread of Energy started to dissipate into the air, Victor concentrated on it and pushed it back down, willing it to ball up and press together.

    He kept coaxing more Energy out and adding it to the ball in his palm, and then it seemed to ignite with a bright red light, bathing him and the area around him in a pulsing, baleful re. He felt a surge of heat in his chest, and a growl rumbled up out of his throat.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned the spell: Enraging Orb - Basic.***

    ***Enraging Orb - Basic: You create an orb of rage-attuned Energy that will bring forth anger in those who behold its light. Energy cost: 50 Cooldown: minimal.***

    The notifications caught Victor¡¯s attention, and he let the orb of red light dissipate, breathing a sigh of relief when it was gone. Suddenly some golden motes coalesced out of the air around him and rushed into him, much like after a battle.

    ¡°Oh, nice! I got Energy for creating the spell like when I learned fighting skills.¡±

    ¡°The System rewards innovation with Energy. I¡¯m sure you got some when you made the Inspiring Presence spell, as well; you were just too preupied to notice.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s cool,¡± he said aloud. Victor looked around, wondering if anyone heard him, but didn¡¯t see anyone paying him any particr attention. One of the miners eating a sandwich nearby gave him an odd look, but he figured that was because of the light he¡¯d just made, not his words. ¡°Probably better chill out with the spell casting for a while,¡± he thought to Gorz.

    ¡°Excellent job on creating that light spell, Victor!¡±

    ¡°Thanks. I want to try it with inspiration Energyter. Hey, is it possible to cast a spell with more than one Energy type?¡±

    ¡°Indeed! That¡¯s how elementalists create meta-elements. I don¡¯t have any information onbining spirit attunements, but I think it should be possible.¡±

    ¡°Alright, add that to my list of things to try out.¡±

    ¡°Noted, Victor!¡±

    Several hours passed with no other incidents, and the miners made good progress on the ore vein. Not long after the miners took their second meal break, Captain Lam and the other delvers returned. Victor walked toward her as she came through the barricade and approached the miners. ¡°Where¡¯s Foreman ap¡¯Thell?¡±

    ¡°He died,¡± the older, friendly miner said, sitting up from where he¡¯d been taking a break. Captain Lam whirled around, and her eyes zeroed in on Victor.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Her voice was sharp, but she didn¡¯t seem particrly angry. Still, Victor tried to choose his words carefully.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯d been gone a while, and the miners were still not here, so I started to get worried. I took some delvers up to the next cavern, and we found the miners under attack by stone imps.¡± Lam stared at Victor for a moment, and then she turned to the miner.

    ¡°This is true?¡±

    ¡°Oh, aye. We¡¯d of lost a lot more if your sergeant here hadn¡¯te up to the rescue.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a sergeant¡­¡± Victor started to say, but Lam cut him off.

    ¡°Huh, good initiative, Victor. And none of you died in the fight?¡±

    ¡°Nope, we caught ¡®em from behind, and the delvers fought well. The miners made a good showing, too.¡± Victor shrugged, and Captain Lam studied him for another minute, narrowing her eyes. Then she smiled and pped him on the shoulder.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to authorize some extra contribution points for all of you that rescued the miners!¡± she announced. ¡°You¡¯ll find them added to your bnce at the Contribution Store.¡± More quietly, she said, ¡°Victor, I¡¯d like a meeting with you when we get back to barracks.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Victor said, though he couldn¡¯t tell if that was good news or bad. As Lam moved to inspect the mining progress, he thought, ¡°Gorz, you think I¡¯m in trouble?¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily, Victor, though her Energy aura is quite powerful. I¡¯d be surprised if she didn¡¯t sense something about you.¡±

 Chapter 29: Revelations

    Chapter 29: Revtions

    With dread heavy in his heart and butterflies swimming in his stomach, Victor approached Captain Lam¡¯s study. They¡¯d been back for an hour and had a meal together as a unit, and then Victor and some others had decided to head to the Contribution Store. He¡¯d barely gotten outside, waiting with Gris for Heng and Edeya, when Sergeant Fath hade out and said, ¡°Victor, I gotta go fill in paperwork for some recruits. The captain wants you to talk to her in her study. Hurry up!¡±

    ¡°Good luck,¡± Gris had said with a wry grin, probably just d it wasn¡¯t him.

    Victor sighed and knocked on the door. A clipped e¡± sounded from within, and he opened the door, stepping into Lam¡¯s study for the second time. She was sitting at a small round table this time, and she motioned to a stool on the other side of the table, ¡°Take a seat.¡± Victor stepped into the room and squatted down on the stool, feeling kind of silly with his knees poking up under the table. He cleared his throat nervously. ¡°Alright, Victor. I¡¯ve looked over your mess of a contract a dozen times, and nothing makes sense. Tell me about yourself.¡± She gestured to the paper in front of her written with half a dozen different inks, lines scratched through, and signatures scribbled in odd ces.

    ¡°Um, what do you want to know?¡±

    ¡°Everything. Let¡¯s start with where you¡¯re from.¡±

    ¡°Originally? From a called Earth. I don¡¯t think the names of my country or town would mean anything to you.¡±

    ¡°And how did you end up in my unit?¡±

    ¡°Um, when I got to the mine, the foreman sent me to the tent where¡­¡±

    ¡°No. I mean, how did you wind up with this contract? Why aren¡¯t you free?¡±

    ¡°Well, I wish I could exin it. One minute I was in my Abu''s house; the next minute, I was standing in a barn with some fucking wackos. They took me to the city and sold me to the guy that runs the pit fights there.¡±

    ¡°This was in Persi Gables? Yund is the man who bought you?¡± She pointed to Yund''s name up near the top of the contract.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Tell me about your time with Yund and how you ended up in the mines with a broken Core.¡± She sat back and took a sip from her crystal ss, waiting for Victor to speak.

    He started slowly, haltingly, unsure of how much detail she wanted, but with her encouragement, he began to tell her about his time at the Wagon Wheel. He told her about Yre and Vullu, and his eyes welled up with tears for the first time in a long while. He wiped them away and kept talking, telling her about his Core and some of his fights and how Yund had made the contract with him. He told her about being the ¡°justice¡± for the Lady, and then he told her about how Yund sold him out to the nobleman that had tried to destroy his Core. Finally, he told her about waking up in the wagon and finding out he¡¯d been sold to the Greatbone Mining Consortium and how the foreman had sent him to the tent where he¡¯d been randomly assigned to Lam¡¯s unit.

    Lam drummed her fingers on her table as she regarded Victor, then she reached behind her to her bookcase and picked up another crystal ss, setting it on the table. She produced a dark bottle from somewhere and poured an oily amber liquid into both sses, then the bottle disappeared, and she gestured to the new ss, ¡°Take a drink; you deserve it.¡±

    ¡°Um, thanks.¡± Victor picked up the heavy ss and took a sip; he¡¯d tasted whiskey before, and this was simr, though it had a faintly sweet aftertaste. ¡°It¡¯s good,¡± he said, smiling.

    ¡°Alright, Victor. You¡¯ve been given a raw deal. What¡¯s happened to you in this world isn¡¯t fair, and it isn¡¯t right, but life isn¡¯t fair. That¡¯s one thing I know about you. Another thing I know about you is that you¡¯re a lot stronger than people think. Your Core either isn¡¯t broken like it seemed, or you¡¯ve figured a way to heal it.¡± She held up a hand as Victor opened his mouth to object. ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, the two facts even out the scales a little.¡± She paused again to regard Victor, making sure her words sank in. ¡°I don¡¯t care how strong you get. I don¡¯t care if you escape from this shithole someday. I just want you to know that I won¡¯t tolerate any violence to those under mymand, and I hope you¡¯ll work with me for a while. I¡¯d like to see what you can be.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± he asked,pletely dumbfounded.

    ¡°Seriously. I don¡¯t work for Greatbone Mining Consortium. Sure, I have a contract with them, but I¡¯m not here for them. You understand?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I understand. Um¡­¡± Victor had to look down, squeezing his eyes shut. He didn¡¯t know why he was so ovee with emotion, but he felt like someone had taken a huge weight off his back. He blew out a heavy, shuddering breath, and then he tried again, ¡°Thank you, Captain.¡±

    ¡°Finish your drink, and then go spend some of those contribution points. You need a clean shirt and some boots that fit. Just don¡¯t get jumped again, alright?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Victor said, taking another drink, savoring the way the liquid warmed his throat and belly. He smiled and shook his head, ¡°I knew you were cool from the first time I saw you, Captain.¡±

    ¡°Cool?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, like awesome, great. I mean, aside from all this,¡± he put a finger under his metal cor and gave it a tug.

    ¡°Alright, alright. ttery won¡¯t get you another drink. As far as those cors go, yes, I feel some guilt about associating with the mine operators, but these ruins are a rare opportunity. The world¡¯s cruel, you know? Anyway, go on, get out of here. We¡¯re going deeper tomorrow, and I¡¯m bringing you with this time.¡± She gestured to the door, smiling, and Victor stood up, almost light-headed with relief, and buzzing slightly from the drink, as he set the ss down. He waved awkwardly, moving to the door and out. When he closed it behind himself, he stood there for a moment, trying to gather his racing thoughts, but all he could do was grin stupidly.

    ¡°Congrattions, Victor! It seems you¡¯ve gained a powerful ally!¡± Gorz¡¯s voice piped into his head, and he jerked in surprise, looking around nervously.

    ¡°Thanks, Gorz. You fucking startled me.¡±

    ¡°My apologies, Victor!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all good, man. It¡¯s all good.¡± Victor walked briskly through the barracks, noting that most of the delvers were gone, and then out the front door. Of course, his friends were gone; he¡¯d been talking to Lam for a long time. He turned toward the central settlement and broke into a jog, passing by groups of delvers and miners. There was a lot of traffic at that time of day as groups of workers finished their shifts, returned to their camps and visited the Settlement Stone to turn in quests. He was about halfway to the main settlement cavern when he heard Gorz¡¯s tinny voice again.

    ¡°Victor! I can sense the Energy aura of one of the thugs that tried to kill you!¡± Victor stumbled as the words hit home.

    ¡°What? You¡¯re sure? Just one of them?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m quite sure. He¡¯s just twenty yards away, moving in the same direction as you.¡± Victor looked ahead and saw the figure that Gorz must have meant. A small, slouched figure was walking briskly toward the tunnel entrance. There were a lot of other people moving about, though, and Victor, no matter how badly he wanted to beat that guy¡¯s ass, wasn¡¯t going to throw away all the progress he¡¯d made. He didn¡¯t need to get gged by some mine employee and have his cor activated to melt his head off.

    He looked around, noting the wooden shanties and asionalrger building, and wondered if whatever delver unit those guys were with was stationed nearby or if he was going to visit the Settlement Stone. ¡°Gorz, keep track of that guy; how close do I have to stay to him?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t sense him if you¡¯re much farther away than this, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Victor kept moving, careful to stay well behind the guy, and when the crowds grew thicker and he lost track of him visually, Gorz kept him informed of his movements. As they came into sight of the vast settlement area, the guy turned to the left, and Victor followed him.

    ¡°Victor! I sense another of the thugs, just ahead of where the first thug is; they¡¯re not thirty yards ahead and to the left.¡± Victor moved cautiously to a low ramshackle building and looked around the corner. Sure enough, there was Chem, talking to the guy that Victor had been following. He pped him on the shoulder, and the two of them turned and walked into arge wooden building with a ck star painted on the door.

    ¡°I think we found their barracks, Gorz. Take a note of it.¡±

    ¡°Done, Victor!¡±

    ¡°Good job,¡± Victor said softly, then turned and made his way back toward the cavern''s center and the tall Settlement Stone. While he walked, he spoke softly to himself, ¡°What a fucking productive day.¡±

    When he got to the settlement stone, he didn¡¯t see his friends right away, and he wondered if he had missed them while he¡¯d been preupied following Chem¡¯s friend. ¡°Gorz, can you spot Edeya or Gris?¡±

    ¡°Not in the immediate vicinity. I¡¯ll keep a lookout, though.¡±

    ¡°Perfect. Thanks, Gorz.¡± Victor waited in line to ess the Settlement Stone, and when his turn came, he was pleased to see that he¡¯d gotten another five hundred contribution points. He wondered how many Captain Lam was allowed to dish out like that but figured she probably had shitloads; it wasn¡¯t like she needed any of the junk for sale on the Contribution Store. Once again, Victor bought himself a backpack, new boots, new socks, and two new, long-sleeve cottony shirts. After all that, he still had plenty of points left to buy a hardened leather breastte and some leather bracers.

    He took his goods off to the side of the stone and started sorting through them. He was too paranoid about changing his shirt out in the open where someone might see Gorz, so he stuffed most of his clothes into his backpack. He took the time to swap out his boots and put some socks on, though, and his feet thanked him. He also put the hard leather bracers on, pulling theces tight with one hand and his teeth.

    With no sightings of his friends, Victor turned back toward the barracks and got ready to leave, but just as he was getting ready to set off in a jog, he caught a whiff of something good. He followed his nose to the other side of the Settlement Stone, where a guy was selling skewers of meat from a rolling cart. His cart was made from wood but had a sizeable cast-iron insert in the middle of it where coals smoldered. Hanging above the coals were the skewers of marinated meat, and the scent made Victor¡¯s mouth water. He walked over to the cart and got in line behind a few other customers, watching as they each went up, exchanged something with the cart guy, and walked away with some meat skewers.

    ¡°What do you charge for them?¡± he asked when it was his turn.

    ¡°Five for a bead, and yes, I know that¡¯s robbery, good luck finding another merchant in here.¡±

    ¡°A bead¡­¡±

    ¡°I can teach you how to make Energy beads, Victor,¡± Gorz piped in.

    ¡°Alright, maybeter, thanks,¡± Victor said, stepping back. ¡°What¡¯s an Energy bead?¡± he thought.

    ¡°It¡¯s a physical manifestation of Energy. Anyone with Energy affinity can make one, but the greater your affinity, the easier it is, and the faster you can do it. They¡¯re often used as currency in System-influenced worlds because the System will take them as currency at Town Stones.¡±

    ¡°So, there¡¯s nothing wrong with it? Like, I won¡¯t get busted for making them?¡±

    ¡°I doubt that man could trade for them if it were illegal in the mines, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that makes sense. Duh. Alright, what do I do?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll want to be somewhere you can concentrate and where you won¡¯t be interrupted, especially for your first one.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I guess meat skewers aren¡¯t on the menu tonight. Maybe next time.¡± Victor turned and started back to the barracks, staying toward the center of the tunnel and keeping alert; no way he was getting jumped again for his boots. He¡¯d only been walking a couple of minutes when he caught sight of Edeya and the others, so he jogged up to them. ¡°Yo, guys! I was wondering if I¡¯d find you.¡±

    ¡°Victor! You live! The Captain too hard on you?¡± Gris asked.

    ¡°Nah, man. She was fucking cool. She just wanted to talk to me about my contract; all good.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good, Victor,¡± Edeya said, ¡°I was afraid we were in trouble for leaving the barricade or something.¡±

    ¡°No way! She was d we did that. We¡¯re good. Hey, did anyone else get some new kicks? Check these out.¡± Victor held one of his new steel-toed boots up.

    ¡°Hmm, seems to be a popr model!¡± Heng said,ughing; all the veterans had the exact same boots.

    ¡°Hey, we¡¯re allowed to make Energy beads, right? I wanna try to buy some of those meat skewers next time.¡± The older vets looked at each other with big smiles, and Edeya made a gagging sound. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You have any idea what kind of meat that was? You don¡¯t see any holbyis around here, do you?¡± Gris asked.

    ¡°What¡¯s a holbyis?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a herd animal. The point I¡¯m making, Victor, my boy, is that the meat you¡¯re drooling over is probably some kind of monster. Probably giant rats.¡±

    ¡°Well, it still smelled fucking good.¡±

    ¡°Hah, if you¡¯re determined, then yes, it¡¯s perfectly fine to make Energy beads; just don¡¯t go unting them around cause that¡¯ll get you robbed. Again.¡± Grisughed, and Heng joined in. Edeya looked at Victor like she felt sorry for him. Victor couldn¡¯t feel any irritation; he was in too good a mood from his talk with Captain Lam and everything else that had happened that day. He just grinned and shrugged.

    They got back just in time for Fath to return and announce lights out. For a moment, Victor wondered about Sergeant Fath¡ªwas he an employee of the mine, or was he loyal to Captain Lam? He certainly seemed to have Lam¡¯s trust, but Victor was wary of anyone who didn¡¯t wear a cor in this ce. When the lights went out, and heid down in his scratchy cot, Victor realized just how bone-tired he was, and he couldn¡¯t spare any more thoughts about Sergeant Fath, cors, or anything else.

    He woke as he heard some of the others stirring, and Victor scrabbled out of bed to clean himself up. He managed to get a partitioned stall in the jacks, so he changed his shirt, keeping Gorz nicely hidden, and then joined the other early risers for a quick breakfast. It was the first time he¡¯d gotten up in time to eat, and the warm cereal filled with bits of sweet, dried fruit came as a pleasant surprise. He¡¯d just finished wolfing down his food when Sergeant Fath stood up from the table and said, ¡°Wake up the rest of these slugs; we¡¯re heading out in five minutes.¡±

    Victor took particr pleasure in waking up Edeya, lifting the foot of her cot off the ground and giving it a good shake. She thrashed and sputtered and looked around with wild eyes. When she saw Victor, she bared her teeth and said, ¡°I¡¯ll pay you back for that!¡± Theyughed, though, and soon the column was marching out, chanting another marching cadence about a boy who hated his mother¡¯s cooking so much that he signed up to work somece called the Impfire Forges.

    Victor hadn¡¯t seen Captain Lam yet that day, but he figured she woulde flying from behind, or she was already deep in the ruins scouting around. While they marched, Gorz tried to exin to him about Energy beads, ¡°You see, the System seems to crave Energy-rich materials, and you can create such materials by manifesting the Energy that you cultivate. It¡¯s a process very simr to what you did when you made your rage-attuned light; you simply channel your Energy out through your pathways and condense it with your will. You¡¯re aiming to create something far denser than your light orb, though, and as it takes shape, you keep adding to it until it¡¯s the appropriate size. You start to get a feel for that the more you make. Some ces trade in tiny beads, the smallest possible physical manifestation. They only take about one-tenth as long to create as a standard Energy bead.¡±

    ¡°And it doesn¡¯t matter that my Energy isn¡¯t pure?¡±

    ¡°No! In fact, the System pays more for attuned beads. Why, you can even create beads with multiple attunements, which increases their value more!¡±

    They talked for a while more about the process, and by the time they arrived at the forward camp, Victor felt like he had a pretty good grasp on the concept. Just as he¡¯d half-expected, Captain Lam was already waiting for them. She was all business when they walked up, ¡°I¡¯m heading out with Victor, Heng, Tha, and Fele. Sergeant Fath, make sure the miners don¡¯t ck off; we¡¯ll be gone most of the day.¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± Sergeant Fath turned to the delvers, ¡°Alright, you dogs! I need four on the barricade and four watching the ramp!¡± Victor walked over next to Captain Lam, happy that she¡¯d kept her word about taking him with her today but also annoyed at himself for being worried that she wouldn¡¯t. The other three delvers she¡¯d named also gathered with her, and Victor bumped knuckles with Heng when he held his fist out.

    ¡°Victor?¡± the tall Shadeni woman named Tha asked.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the one that got jumped the other day, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s me.¡±

    ¡°Guess you can take a beating. That¡¯s good.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get moving,¡± Captain Lam said, looking up from the journal she¡¯d been studying. She strode away, and they all fell in line behind her. This time, Victor took the lead. Something about the way Lam had spoken to him and, more importantly, listened to him made him feel more enthusiastic about helping her. He felt like having her on his side made his chances in this world a hell of a lot better, and he nned to take advantage of the opportunities she was giving him.

    They reached the point where Victor had fought the rat and found Gorz, and, once they¡¯d all shimmied down the rope to the ruined structures, Lam fluttered down and said, ¡°Alright, I have a tunnel I¡¯m going to explore. The rest of you split up and dig around these ruins. Listen, I¡¯ve already been through most of therger structures, but there are plenty of buildings with lower levels that I haven¡¯t been through. You¡¯ll probably run into hostile creatures, so I want you working with a buddy. On that same note, I am giving you all some trust here. Don¡¯t blow it. If you find something interesting, bring it back here for me to check out. If it¡¯s too big to carry, make a note of it, and show it to me when we meet up here. Speaking of which, we¡¯ll gather back here in two hours. Victor, you¡¯re with Tha. Heng and Fele, you¡¯re a team as usual.¡±

    ¡°Captain?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Can we make it interesting? Any reward for the team that finds the most stuff?¡± Her lips curled in a grin, exposing her sharp canines, and Victor had to admit, he liked her nerve.

    ¡°Tha, Tha, Tha,¡± the captain said, shaking her head with a rueful smile. ¡°Alright, if it will keep you all honest, I¡¯ll let the team with the best finds take a choice from items I don¡¯t want.¡± Fele pped Heng on the back with a big smile on his face. Tha whooped, and Lam continued, ¡°Alright, everyone take a light stone; you¡¯ll need it in the ruins.¡± She produced a handful of leather cords with glowing yellow stones affixed to them, passing them out to each delver. ¡°Now, get going!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Tha gave Victor a shove, and he followed her into the crumbling ruins, taking the opposite direction from Heng and Fele. She ducked into a narrow ¡°street¡± between ruined buildings and hurried between several others, seemingly heading somewhere in particr.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°I know what buildings they searched yesterday; I¡¯m taking us to a big building we didn¡¯t get to yet.¡±

    ¡°Oh, sweet!¡± Victor supposed Heng and Fele had simr intel, but it didn¡¯t change the excitement he felt at the prospect of exploring old ruins looking for treasure. ¡°How does Lam keep delvers from trying to keep stuff they find?¡±

    ¡°Hah. If you¡¯re dumb enough to try to cheat Lam, then good luck to you.¡±

    ¡°Right. I¡¯m not that dumb, and I don¡¯t want to cheat her, anyway.¡± Victor meant his words; he respected Lam to a degree¡ªas much as he could respect someone who used indentured servants as fodder to fight monsters while she hunted for treasures. Yes, he wanted to grow stronger and escape, but he didn¡¯t want to make an enemy of her. Tha paused in front of arge building and looked at him; she had long ck hair tightly bound to her red scalp in a bunch of braids. Her eyes were angled in such a way that she seemed angry or ready for a fight all the time, but she regarded him calmly for a moment, then shrugged.

    ¡°Yeah, I doubt Captain Lam would¡¯ve brought you along if she thought you were scum. I heard you did a good job protecting the pickers yesterday, too.¡±

    ¡°Hah, pickers.¡± Victor snorted and followed Tha as she stepped through the ruined doorway. The structure must once have been at least two stories tall; some of the upper floor was still standing, though the ceiling was falling down in various ces. Something stood out among the tumbled stone blocks, though¡ªsteel girders with huge bolts with X-shaped heads holding them together. ¡°Wonder who built this ce so far underground.¡±

    ¡°Who says it was underground when they built it?¡±

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re pretty fucking deep. Not sure how all these buildings could get down here otherwise.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, well, the System managed tobine four worlds into one, so I don¡¯t think it would be too hard for it to put a town into a cave.¡± She reached forward and lifted a thin stone b, peering under it while speaking.

    ¡°Good point. So this world used to be four?¡±

    ¡°So they say. C¡¯mon, look around!¡± She gestured around the ruined building, and Victor moved over to a half-fallen wall and peered over it. Nothing was there but more rubble, so he started sifting through it, looking for anything other than old building materials. He kicked through some dusty, rotted doors and dug through piles of petrified wood, all the while hearing Tha doing the same in other parts of the building. He was climbing through another old, rotted door when he heard Tha whoop.

    ¡°Victor! Come here!¡± She called, and Victor turned and hastily retraced his steps. Her excitement was palpable in her tone, and it was hard for Victor not to reciprocate it. He could see the path she¡¯d taken over the dusty stone floor and followed it, wending through broken walls, doors, and around corners. She called twice more, urging him to hurry, and he did, bursting, finally, through another broken doorway into arge, mostly-intact room. That¡¯s when he saw something was wrong.

    Tha sat against the far wall, her legs stretched out, and her chin hung down to her chest. When Victor saw she wasn¡¯t moving, he scanned the rest of the room and saw a dark shadow lurking in the corner to Tha¡¯s right. Movement caught his eye, and he saw a gray tendril of vine-like material twitch along the floor. He traced its length to see that one end of it was hidden in the shadow cast by Tha¡¯s light stone, and it seemed to be wrapped around her neck. Then Tha¡¯s voice came out of the corner where therger shadow lurked, ¡°Victor! Hurry! I found something!¡±

    Victor stepped back behind the crumbled doorway, his heart racing. What the hell was going on? He peeked around again, staring at Tha. Was she breathing? He thought he could see her chest moving ever so slightly. ¡°Victor! Hurry!¡± her voice called from the far corner again. Should he run and try to get Captain Lam or the others? What if Tha was dying? What if that thing was slowly choking her or draining her life away? His mind began to run away, imagining all sorts of horrifying scenarios.

    ¡°Gorz, any idea what¡¯s happening?¡±

    ¡°No, Victor. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Victor wished he could see better, but neither his little light nor Tha¡¯s could reach that far corner. Then it hit him¡ªhis light spell! He didn¡¯t want to send a rage-attuned light in there, though. He concentrated on his Enraging Orb spell, turning his mind inward so he could focus his will on holding back his red rage Energy. When he saw the spell pattern start to form, he pushed some inspiration-attuned Energy toward it and was pleased when a white-gold orb of brilliant light began to form above his outstretched hand.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned the spell: Globe of Insight - Basic.***

    ***Globe of Insight - Basic: You create an orb of inspiration-attuned Energy that will help those within its radiance see the potential in their surroundings. Energy cost: 50 Cooldown: minimal.***

    Several things happened at once when the globe of warm light finished forming above his palm: motes of Energy formed out of the air and surged into Victor, the light shone brightly into the room where Thay against the wall, and something screamed with rage and indignation from the dark corner. Having never experimented with moving around his orb with just his will, Victor thrust his hand into the room as if to throw it toward the dark corner.

    He watched as the orb sailed through the air, banishing the dark shadows and exposing the long, twisted, gray tendril that snaked over the ground and wrapped around Tha¡¯s neck. Another such tendril was already groping its way over the ground toward Victor, and he lifted his baton in preparation to bat it away when the light uncovered the creature lurking in the corner. It looked like a gray, fleshy tree trunk with stubby limbs and a wide mouth at its center. The gray tendrils or fleshy roots were slithering forth from its base. Unbidden, Victor¡¯s Uncle¡¯s favorite expression slipped from his lips, ¡°Madre de Dios!¡±

    His orb had stopped mid-air near the center of the room, and its bright light revealed Tha¡¯s purpling flesh and the weak twitching of her limbs. No longer considering fleeing as an option, Victor charged toward her, skirting away from the other probing tentacle-root, and mmed his baton against the one that held Tha. He smashed it hard against the stone ground, and though he couldn¡¯t cut the thing with this blunt weapon, he felt something give inside it, and the creature screamed again. The screech came from its gaping, gnashing maw. When Victor flinched from the sound and looked toward its source, he saw the mouth was filled with little razor-like teeth and a dozen probing slimy tongues.

    Victor shuddered and pounded on the vine, again and again, madly grinning, when he saw the gray flesh start to pulp and break apart. The creature continued to scream, and its other probing tentacle finally caught up to Victor, snaking around his ankle. He tried to yank his foot away, but it tightened like a vise, pressing the leather of his boot into his flesh and grinding his bones together. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be so strong! Victor hesitated for a moment, weighing his options, but then the tentacle jerked, pulling him sideways, and he panicked, activating his Berserk.

    Red lust for violence filled his mind and clouded his vision, and Victor stopped resisting the pull of the tentacle-root, charging headlong at the gray, fleshy thing in the corner. He cackled as he brought his baton down onto the broad expanse of pallid, damp flesh, smashing it into the creature as hard as possible. Frustration fuelled his rage when nothing much happened as a result of the mighty smash. The flesh jiggled, the maw screamed, and the tentacle wrapped further around his leg.

    The creature¡¯s maw wasrge enough to snap Victor in half should he fall in, but, even in his madness, he used his left hand to brace against the trunk-like exterior of the monster and continued to pound his baton, to little effect, with his other. All the while, the gray tentacle continued to snake up his leg and around his waist, and that¡¯s when a shiver of panic broke through Victor¡¯s rage, and it began to fade. He felt the creature¡¯s enormous strength as it continued to squeeze, and then he felt a dark, invading Energy start to creep into his pathways through the flesh at his waist, where the tentacle was in direct contact with his skin.

    Victor raged against the intrusion, pushing hot red Energy toward the foreign presence, and he managed to shove it back for a few seconds. Then, he began to weaken, his guts squeezed so tightly that he was having trouble taking a breath. His pummeling of the monster degenerated into pathetic ps, and darkness began to creep around the edges of his vision, and once again, the invading Energy began to push into him. Then, something strange happened in Victor¡¯s mind; he stopped panicking and wondering what to do next. Instead, he thought about Yre and Vullu, and then he thought about Belsa and wondered what happened to her. He¡¯d never know, he realized.

    Something wet and hot hit Victor¡¯s face, and the squeezing lessened slightly. His ears had long been overwhelmed by the creature¡¯s screaming, so he didn¡¯t notice anything different when it continued to shriek, perhaps with a slightly higher pitch. Again, wet, hot fluid sshed him, and again, the tentacles loosened, and Victor felt blood rush up to parts of his body that had been deprived. He managed a gasping breath and opened his eyes. Another ssh of hot fluid apanied by a feminine grunt greeted him as he jerked his head from left to right, trying to see what was happening.

    Tha was swinging a broad-ded axe against the creature¡¯s trunk, showering herself and Victor with gore with each swing. Hertest chop had severed much of the tentacle, and Victor managed to stumble back, falling onto his butt. Not knowing how else to help, Victor channeled his inspiration Energy into Inspiring Presence, and suddenly Tha stood up straighter and began to hack in earnest, more precisely cing her strikes. Victor, for his part, felt a surge of well-being and scrambled to his feet, instantly spotting his fallen baton. He scooped it up and was about toy into the monster, regardless of the ineffective nature of his weapon, when Tha stepped back, grinning.

    ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± she said, panting. She reached toward her chest, slipping a finger behind her leather vest, and suddenly the axe disappeared.

    ¡°Nice job¡­¡± Victor panted, rubbing his sore leg and waist.

    ¡°If you mention my axe or my dimensional storage, I¡¯ll kill you in your sleep,¡± Tha said matter-of-factly. Victor genuinely felt insulted and was about to tell Tha that he wasn¡¯t a snitch when a massive current of Energy poured forth from the dead monster into them both, and he lost himself in the exhration of it.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 16 Spirit Champion. You have gained 7 will, 7 vitality, and have 7 attribute points to allocate.***

 Chapter 30: The Well

    Chapter 30: The Well

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I said that,¡± Tha said after the rush of Energy faded. ¡°I know you risked yourself to get that thing off my neck, but I don¡¯t want to get killed because I showed you my secret.¡±

    ¡°You think Lam would kill you for having that axe?¡±

    ¡°Hah, no, not Lam. She¡¯s the one who gave me the storage ring I have hung around my neck. This stuff makes me a big target, though, and I¡¯m not looking to get jumped if you know what I mean.¡± She gave Victor a funny look, and he realized she was trying to make a joke.

    ¡°Alright, alright. Yes, I know exactly what you mean. I promise I won¡¯t mention it. How¡¯d this thing get you around the neck like that, anyway?¡± Victor looked at the red, blistered marks above Tha¡¯s cor.

    ¡°I was looking through that trapdoor, and I called for you, then that damn vine or tentacle thing dropped from the ceiling and grabbed my neck.¡± She pointed to a wooden square in the stone flooring, and Victor realized it was the trapdoor she was referring to.

    ¡°Oh shit! So you did find something? Let¡¯s check it out!¡±

    ¡°Alright, but use your light orb,¡± she pointed to the Globe of Insight still hovering in the air where Victor had ¡°thrown¡± it. He looked at it and tried to send out his will to make it move toward the trapdoor, but it felt like trying to grab a globe of water with his fingers; he could feel it, but it kept slipping from his grasp.

    ¡°Promise not tough?¡± he asked Tha.

    ¡°Sure, why?¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know how to move that orb.¡±

    ¡°Hah, get closer to it. When you¡¯re learning to manipte Energy constructs, it helps to gesture with your hand; my mother told me that people are used to moving things with their hands, so we subconsciously visualize our will as a projection of our touch.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Victor walked over to the orb and held out his hand, ¡°pushing¡± it toward the trapdoor. The orb floated effortlessly ahead of his hand and stopped when he pulled it back. ¡°Holy shit, that was easy. Your mom¡¯s a genius!¡±

    ¡°Well, she was pretty smart and a great teacher. I miss her all the time,¡± Tha said, shrugging and moving to lean over the trapdoor. ¡°Alright, get your baton ready. I¡¯m going to open this thing.¡± She pushed her hands through arge gap between the rotting timbers and yanked the trapdoor up. It moved easily, probably because she¡¯d already forced it earlier, and Victor¡¯s light shone down onto more gray stones and the rotten remains of an ancientdder. ¡°Hmm, lots of cobwebs and some mold, but I don¡¯t see anything dangerous,¡± Tha said quietly, poking her head into the hole. ¡°Push your light down there.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Victor, using his hand to guide it, lowered his floating orb and pushed it down into the space beneath the floor. Tha still had her head hanging through the opening, and when his light moved past it, she took in a deep breath.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to win for sure!¡±

    ¡°What? What is it?¡± Victor knelt to try to poke his head through the opening.

    ¡°Crates! Lots of crates! They¡¯re preserved, too. Whoever stored this stuff cared enough to enchant them!¡± She grabbed the hole''s edge, giving Victor a bit of a shove to make room, and then she dropped down. ¡°Nothing here but some old dead spiders! Come down,¡± she called up. Victor took one more look around the room, focusing on the hunched corpse of the gray thing and, seeing nothing to worry about, dropped down.

    The room below was a low ceilinged stone galley about ten feet wide by fifty long, and both walls along its length were stacked with wooden crates, each about two feet square. Tha was prying open one of the crates with an iron prybar that she¡¯d, presumably, pulled out of her storage ring. Victor went over to help. The wooden crate was made of good, solid wood, and the nails holding the top down weren¡¯t the least bit rusty. ¡°Someone really enchanted these so they wouldn¡¯t decay? Would that be expensive?¡±

    ¡°For me or you, yeah. For some rich noble, not at all.¡± She grunted and gave the prybar another heave, and Victor pulled the wooden lid. With a screech, the nails pulled free, and the contents were exposed¡ªstacks of dull red metal ingots. ¡°Woah,¡± Tha said, putting her prybar away and lifting out one of the ingots.

    ¡°What kind of metal is that?¡± Victor asked, also picking one up. It was heavy, maybe heavier than steel, but he wasn¡¯t sure. The red color was interesting, though, and it had a weird, shifting sheen in the light of his orb.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s not amber ore, steel, or any other metal I¡¯ve seen. Maybe it¡¯s valuable. Forget that; it¡¯s definitely valuable. I just don¡¯t know how valuable.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s take one back to the meeting spot, eh?¡±

    ¡°Yep, Captain Lam will know what it is, I¡¯m sure.¡± Tha set the lid down and then walked up and down the row of crates, counting them. ¡°Twenty-four ingots in a crate and a hundred and twenty crates. Ancestors! If these are very valuable at all, Captain is going to love us.¡± Victor couldn¡¯t help smiling; he¡¯d almost died a few minutes ago, and now he was discovering a hidden hoard of possibly magical metal¡ªthe huge, sudden swings in his fortune couldn¡¯t be good for his mental state, but he felt good, anyway. Was it the Energy he¡¯d gotten from the kill? Was he still buzzing from it?

    They climbed out of the storage cer and then made their way out of the ruined building and back to the meeting point. He and Tha were the first to arrive. Then Lam came swooping out of a dark tunnel halfway up the wall on the far side of the cavern. Her wings trailed glittering motes as she descended tond in front of them. She was clearing her throat to speak when Heng came jogging out from behind a building, Fele a short way behind with a rotten wooden trunk cradled in his arms. ¡°We got something good, I think, Captain!¡± Heng hollered as they strode forward.

    ¡°What about you two?¡± Captain Lam asked while they waited for the two men to close the distance. Tha held out the ingot, and Captain Lam took it, weighing it thoughtfully in one hand while she produced a leatherbound text with her other. Heng and Fele arrived while she was studying the ingot, and Fele let down his burden with a heavy tter of wood and metal.

    ¡°What¡¯s in the chest?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°Weapons, and most of ¡®em not even rusted. Artificed, I¡¯d wager.¡±

    ¡°Huh, nice. Might have won, too, but I think we¡¯ve got you beat.¡± Tha said, a sly smile stretching her lips.

    ¡°Hmm, this is an alloy. See how the light makes those rainbow swirls in the metal?¡± Victor leaned close, looking where she pointed. ¡°And it¡¯s hard; I can¡¯t scrape it with my steel dagger. I¡¯d say this is a mixture of amber ore and bronze. ording to my book, amber ore, tin, and copper require less heat tobine than steel and amber ore, but they still produce a tough alloy. It¡¯s valuable for sure, but let me take a look at these weapons before I determine who won.¡± Victor looked at Tha, and she held a finger to her lips and winked.

    Captain Lam lifted the lid off the old wooden box and whistled appreciatively. The box was full of knives and shortswords. The knives ranged in size from small four-inch des to much longer dagger-like weapons. There were only four shortswords, but they all gleamed in the light of the glow stones, their matching des dangerous-looking even to Victor¡¯s untrained eye. ¡°Yep, very nice des¡ªartificed for sure. Sorry, Tha and Victor, but I think Heng and Fele win!¡±

    ¡°Oh, but you haven¡¯t seen all that we found,¡± Tha said, grinning at Heng, who¡¯d just started to whoop and raise a fist in the air.

    ¡°You have something else?¡±

    ¡°Well, not exactly; we have something more¡ªover a hundred crates of those ingots.¡± Tha nodded to the ingot still in Lam¡¯s fist.

    ¡°What?¡± Lam stood up, and her eyes widened. ¡°Crates?¡±

    ¡°Yep and each crate has twenty-four ingots,¡± Victor added, holding out a fist for Tha to bump. She gave him a funny look, but then sheughed and gave his knuckles a good punch.

    ¡°Show me!¡± Lam said, sweeping the box of daggers and swords into her dimensional container. Heng groaned, and Fele sighed heavily, but they all started to follow as Tha scampered through the ruins, leading the way to the cer full of ingots. Victor pped Heng on the shoulder and grinned, shrugging his shoulders, and Heng groaned again, more loudly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t rub it in, kid!¡± He shrugged out of Victor¡¯s grip, and Fele smiled broadly, shaking a fist up and down, which was something Victor had learned he did when he wanted tough.

    It turned out the horde of amber ore alloy was more than even Captain Lam had hoped for. She had to use three different dimensional storage devices to scoop it all up, and even then, she was in a hurry to get out of the mines and cash it in because two of her storage devices were so full that she was worried about their stability. She¡¯d promised Victor and Tha a reward but then marched them double-time back to the barricade and the other delvers. As they arrived, she called out, ¡°Sergeant Fath!¡± The angry-looking Ardeni man hustled over, his deep baritone voice booming a reply.

    ¡°Yes, Captain?¡±

    ¡°I have to hurry to the surface. Make sure the miners wrap up their work, then bring the unit back to the barracks. Tomorrow will be another day off.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Captain!¡± As Fath saluted, Captain Lamunched into the air, steaking up the crevice to the next cavern. Fath turned to the four delvers and grinned, ¡°Found something good, eh?¡±

    ¡°Aye, some weapons and a huge haul of amber ore alloy. I¡¯d say Lam just made more money than the entire mine will produce in the next week,¡± Heng said, scratching at his chin.

    ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± Sergeant Fath said, shaking his head ruefully. ¡°The privilege ofmand, eh? Which one of you found it? Or did the captain find it?¡±

    ¡°Me and Fele found the weapons, but these two found all the ore,¡± Heng replied.

    ¡°Alright, you all take it easy, seeing how you got everyone a day off tomorrow. We¡¯ll head up in a couple of hours.¡± With that, Sergeant Fath moved over to the ore vein and began to excoriate the miners about their progress. The four delvers moved off to the side and sat with their backs to one of the cavern walls. Victor took his pack off and dug out an old roll he¡¯d tucked away, and began to gnaw on it.

    ¡°That what you brought for lunch?¡± Hengughed at him. Victor just shrugged and continued to chew the hard, dry bread. Tha snorted and tossed him an orange fruit that looked sort of like a peach.

    ¡°Hey, thanks,¡± Victor said, taking a bite; it was sweet and reminded him a lot of an apple.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡±

    ¡°Hey, can I ask you guys a personal question?¡± Victor looked around the small group.

    ¡°How personal?¡± Tha asked, tilting her head and frowning. Heng just snorted and shrugged, and Fele, as usual, just ignored Victor, munching away on some sort of grain mix he had in a small sack.

    ¡°Well, I mean, I¡¯m trying to figure this whole Energy thing out, and I was wondering what kinds of Cores you all have. I was told my kind of Core is unusual among ¡®civilized¡¯ people¡ªit¡¯s a spirit Core.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I knew something was weird about your Energy because I felt your light orb affecting me,¡± Tha said.

    ¡°Well, yeah, my Energy is attuned; that light orb had inspiration-attuned Energy in it.¡±

    ¡°Hmph,¡± Heng grunted, chewing on a hunk of dried meat.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any attunements. I have a pearl-ss Core; it¡¯s pretty simple, and I only have pure Energy.¡± She held out a hand, and a small ball of shimmering yellow light formed over her hand. ¡°See? My light spell is just a light.¡±

    ¡°Are attunements rare?¡±

    ¡°Nah,¡± Heng said, finally having swallowed his mouthful of dry meat. ¡°But, and I¡¯m not trying to be insulting here, spirit Cores are moremon among primitive people like Urghat or the tribes on the Beneset Steppes. Lots of Ardeni and Shadeni have different sorts of attunements or affinities, as most people call them. Many have some elemental affinity, but they usually also have some pure Energy in their Core. Your Energy is all attuned?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, as far as I can tell.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s interesting. At least you have a nice attunement; it seems inspiration could be pretty useful. My aunt has a sapphire-ss Core and affinities for decay and air; she¡¯s been able to create a lot of powerful spells mixing the two,¡± Tha said, taking a bite of cheese.

    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s cool.¡± Victor tucked into his fruit, finishing it off in a few bites, and then he heard scuffling feet, looked up, and saw Edeya had walked over.

    ¡°Hey, everyone! I heard you found something good? We get the day off tomorrow, again!¡±

    ¡°Aye, Captain probably has to go into town to deal with her new riches,¡± Heng said, a chuckle in his voice.

    ¡°What¡¯s up, Edeya? You guys have to fight any demons or anything?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s been so boring here! The miners just chip away at that vein, and we stand around picking our butts.¡±

    ¡°Least you didn¡¯t have your life almost sucked out of your neck by a creepy gray tentacle tree,¡± Victor grinned, giving Tha a nudge.

    ¡°Why are you talking? That thing was about to pull you into its mouth when I saved you!¡±

    ¡°True, true.¡± Victorughed, motioning for Edeya to sit next to him.

    ¡°I can¡¯t sit; Fath is going to scream at me any second now. Talk to you allter!¡± Edeya waved and meandered toward the barricade.

    ¡°You say your Energy is inspiration-attuned? It seemed like you went crazy during that fight with the beetles, and didn¡¯t I hear Lam telling you to use your ¡®berserk¡¯ ability?¡± Heng asked while he dug around in his pack for something more to eat.

    ¡°Oh, yeah. I have a second affinity: rage.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Tha regarded him more closely, then turned to Heng. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what the Corran Blood Ragers are famous for?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, yeah, now you mention it. I think they use blood magic, too, though. Blood and rage affinities.¡±

    ¡°Blood¡¯s not a spirit affinity, though, is it? My aunt had ssmates at the academy who had blood affinity.¡±

    ¡°I dunno,¡± Heng shrugged, looking at Fele, who also shrugged. Tha looked at Victor.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I wish I had a teacher or something.¡±

    ¡°Victor, I¡¯m happy to inform you that a blood affinity is not a spirit-based affinity.¡± Gorz piped up in Victor¡¯s mind. He tried to process the info without looking strange.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it is. How could someone have a spirit affinity and a different kind of affinity at the same time?¡±

    ¡°Some kind of specialty Core, I guess. Probably tricky to form or something. It might require a certain bloodline or a secret process,¡± Tha said.

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. I don¡¯t have the specifics, but one of the texts I read mentioned in a footnote that some spirit-casters, as the authorbeled them, had traded potency for versatility by forming specialty Cores allowing for such diversity.¡±

    ¡°Interesting.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°Oh, just the idea of having spirit affinities and other affinities.¡±

    ¡°I thought your Core was damaged, anyway,¡± Heng said, pointing at Victor¡¯s iron cor.

    ¡°Oh, yeah, but I can dream, can¡¯t I?¡± Victor stuffed thest of his hard roll into his mouth. Their conversation drifted to more mundane topics¡ªwhat they¡¯d get for dinner, how close everyone was to their questpletion, what they¡¯d do with their free time the next day, and that¡¯s when Heng said something interesting.

    ¡°I¡¯ll probably volunteer at the well.¡± Fele shook his head at these words, and Tha¡¯s face got serious.

    ¡°What¡¯s the well?¡± Victor looked at Heng.

    ¡°It¡¯s a deep pit where creepse crawling out at all hours of the day. The mine uncovered it about fifteen years ago. They sent a few expeditions in, but none of them got to the bottom without having to retreat. Now they just let volunteers kill the things thate up out of it,¡± Heng replied.

    ¡°Really? Is it worth it?¡±

    ¡°Ancestors, no!¡± Tha said. ¡°Who wants to fight imps and demons and fire hounds on their time off? I¡¯ve had at least two friends go to ¡®volunteer at the well¡¯ and never return.¡±

    ¡°Bah, it¡¯s not that bad!¡± Heng said. ¡°Not to mention, you get credit toward your quests, and the Energy for killing that stuff isn¡¯t bad. How you think I made it to tier two in here?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not going,¡± Tha said with a snort.

    ¡°Who says I invited you?¡± Hengughed, and Tha threw the pit from her fruit at him.

    ¡°Do people really get free time that often? Where they can be volunteering to fight at some endless pit of monsters?¡± Victor didn¡¯t think it made that much sense.

    ¡°Well, we get time off now and then when Captain Lam makes a big find; it¡¯s the same deal for lots of the delver units. Some people in here don¡¯t need much sleep, either, thanks to racial advancements. Those peoplee to the well and ughter monsters regrly. Guess who keeps getting stronger?¡± Heng chuckled, obviously thinking of some particr people he knew.

    ¡°Can Ie along, Heng?¡± Victor asked, his impulsive thought blurting out of his mouth.

    ¡°Sure, Victor.¡± Heng bit off another chunk of his dried meat and then threw the rest of it to Victor. ¡°Better eat something besides fruit and old bread.¡±

    When they got back to the barracks that evening, Heng told Victor they¡¯d head out after breakfast. Victor decided to spend some time that evening working on his Core, so he made his way to the cultivation cave. He was a lot more rxed this time, not worrying about hiding what he was doing; Lam had told him she didn¡¯t care what was going on with his Core, and he figured anyone who took too much interest in him was just going to report what they saw to Lam or Fath. That said, he still found a somewhat secluded spot in a far corner of the cave behind a boulder.

    ¡°Gorz, what would happen if my strength was a lot higher than my agility or dexterity? Do I even need dexterity as a fighter? Isn¡¯t that, like, fine motor skills?¡± Victor was asking because he still had seven points to spend, and he was thinking about putting them into strength; he might not have an axe, but if he were a lot stronger, his bludgeon might have hurt that gray tree thing all the same.

    ¡°With regard to fighting, having a strength that far outweighs your other physical attributes can cause you to have trouble controlling your weapon. Strength provides power and speed to your swing, but agility allows for movement and hand-eye coordination. Dexterity also ys a role in finer adjustments for targeting, blocking, and weapon maniption. You wouldn¡¯t see a real problem unless your strength was two or three times your other attributes, though.¡±

    Victor looked at his attributes:

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Rage 9.1, Inspiration 7.4

    Energy:

    578/578

    Strength:

    35

    Vitality:

    62

    Dexterity:

    21

    Agility:

    21

    Intelligence:

    24

    Will:

    55

    Points Avable:

    7

    In his opinion, he was getting dangerously close to having an overbnced strength. He decided that, as long as he was surviving based on his ability to fight, he¡¯d have to add his free points to those physical stats, being careful not to pump one too much higher than the others. That said, he put three of his free points into strength and two each into dexterity and agility.

    Looking at his status screen again, Victor was reminded that he still had a lot of work to do with his second affinity; his pool of Energy had recovered a lot since having his Core fractured, but most of that was due to his increased intelligence and will. There were still lots of little Energy pools and fragments floating in the space around his Core. ¡°Time to get to work,¡± he said, beginning his cultivation drill, focusing on gathering up the little remnant fractures of his old Core and pulling them into the white-gold heart of his inspiration Energy.

    Victor lost himself so thoroughly in the process, running through his drill again and again, that when he¡¯d gathered up thest of the little fragments and opened his eyes to study his status screen, he realized he¡¯d been at it most of the night. Still, the results spoke for themselves:

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Rage 9.1, Inspiration 7.4

    Energy:

    904/904

    He stood up, stretched massively, and hurried back to the barracks. He knew he¡¯d missed lights out, but he also knew that lots of people had seen him in the cultivation cave. If Sergeant Fath were looking for him, he¡¯d have figured it out pretty quickly. When he crept through the big double doors and slinked into his cot, no one challenged him, and no angry Sergeant Fath stood in the aisle waiting for him.

    Victor closed his eyes, knowing he¡¯d only get a couple of hours of sleep but still feeling good about things. Since he¡¯d eaten that fruit from the noblewoman and advanced his race, he had trouble sleeping more than four or five hours, and, in his mind, a little sleep deprivation to fix his Core wasn¡¯t a big deal. So, it was with a wry smile and a yawn that he greeted Heng the next morning as the older man shook him awake.

    ¡°Ready?¡±

    ¡°Sure, can I grab some food?¡± Victor sat up on the side of his cot, stretching.

    ¡°Yeah, but make it quick; it¡¯ll take us an hour to walk there, and I don¡¯t want to spend the whole day fighting. I¡¯d like to have time to do some shopping at the Stone.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said, standing up and going over to the big table where he jostled for a seat and grabbed a te of scrambled eggs, a hunk of bread smeared with butter, and a big mug full of watery wine¡ªit was the only drink they ever served in the barracks. After wolfing down his food and doing his business in the jacks, he followed Heng outside and toward the big central settlement.

    They¡¯d only made it a few dozen steps when rapid footfalls came from behind them, and Victor turned to see Edeya running up. ¡°Wait up!¡± she called, and Heng stopped to regard her.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°You guys are going to the well?¡± Heng nodded in response to her question.

    ¡°Can Ie?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t own the well,¡± Heng shrugged, ¡°you cane or not¡ªup to you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t care,¡± Victor added. ¡°Is it crowded there, Heng?¡±

    ¡°Nah, and if it is, we¡¯ll fight down to one of the tforms, so we don¡¯t have topete for kills.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯re tforms?¡± Edeya asked as they started walking again.

    ¡°Yeah, the miningpany tried quite a few times to make headway down the well, and they set up forward camps¡ªcarved ¡®em right outta the stone.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor grunted, matching Heng¡¯s quick pace. Edeya walked a little behind them, and she was unusually quiet during their walk. Victor thought about trying to draw her out, but, as usual, he was struggling with what to say without putting his foot in his mouth. Finally, he blurted, ¡°Hey, why so quiet today, Edeya?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Oh, nothing, just thinking about home. I¡¯ve kind of lost track of the days, but I think it¡¯s my sisters¡¯ birthday. They¡¯re twins.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, jeez, that sucks. I bet you wish you were there.¡±

    ¡°Hah, you think so?¡± she asked, and Heng snorted.

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor stopped talking; that¡¯s what he got for trying to be understanding. He could tell Edeya wanted to talk some more, but he carefully avoided looking at her as they made their way through the big central settlement, this time taking a right through a narrow tunnel in the massive cavern wall. This new tunnel opened up into another huge tunnel, about half as big as the main central one, and they followed that for a while, past more shanties and ramshackle structures. They turned again and again, and soon Victor was wondering if he¡¯d find his way back.

    Heng hadn¡¯t been lying; after about an hour of travel, they finally came to a stone wall with a massive metal door mounted to it. The door was designed to slide open on two steel beams about as wide as Victor¡¯s thigh bolted to the stone. It was open about two feet when they arrived, and a sizeable Ardeni man in a mining consortium uniform was standing by it. ¡°He¡¯s there to close the door if the fighters get overwhelmed,¡± Heng exined. The Ardeni nodded to the three of them as they stepped through, and then Victor got his first look at the well.

    The first thing he noticed was the high stone ceiling with two giant yellow Energy globes hanging from chains, making the room as bright as noonday. Then he saw the well¡ªa pit in the stone about a hundred yards across with a stone ramp winding around its rim, leading into the depths. The ramp started about twenty paces from where they¡¯d entered, and sitting around the top of the ramp were a dozen or so weary-looking delvers. The men and women held their batons in their fists and had eyes only for the pit,pletely ignoring the neers.

    ¡°Pretty good crowd,¡± Heng said, ¡°We might be heading down a bit.¡± He strode forward, and Victor and Edeya followed, their earlier bickering forgotten.

 Chapter 31: Grinding

    Chapter 31: Grinding

    When they got to the carved stone ramp that led down around the pit in a spiral, Victor had a sudden surge of vertigo. The ramp was about as wide as a onene road back on Earth, but there was no railing, and it had a fairly steep slope. What was worse, he could see out across the pit to see the ramp winding down around the ledge, growing smaller and fainter the further he looked. Hanging in the air, at the center of the ¡°well¡± about a hundred, or a thousand for all Victor could tell, feet down, mist clouded the air, reflecting the bright yellow lights from above.

    Some of the gathered delvers snickered when they saw Victor stumble and hold out his hands for bnce when he walked up. He looked around, scowling, but the assembled characters weren¡¯t intimidated by his re. All sorts were there, lounging or standing idly, tapping their batons in their fists. He saw a huge, bulky Ardeni that made even Ponda seem small. He saw a pair of Ghelli women, their wings glittering¡ªnot asrge or as brilliant as Lam¡¯s wings, but they looked a lot more functional than Edeya¡¯s. A cluster of four Vodkin brought his mind back to Ponda, yet again, as theyughed at some joke, their big, furry bellies jiggling with the motion. Then there were the usual red-skinned Shadeni and normal-sized Ardeni¡ªsome were kitted out in armor and looking ready for action, and some looked more like Victor or Edeya, their gear cheap and patchy and their eyes hungry.

    ¡°When was thest wave?¡± Heng asked, ring around. As far as Vodkin go, Heng wasn¡¯t a very big guy, but he had a look that gave people second thoughts about being rude. A tall Shadeni woman that was all legs and long arms walked up and sped his hand.

    ¡°Heng!¡± she said, ¡°been too long!¡±

    ¡°Aye, Captain¡¯s kept us busy. Anyway, when was thest wave?¡±

    ¡°Not gonna introduce me to your friends?¡± she asked, ignoring his question again. She turned to Victor and Edeya and said, ¡°I¡¯m Shar. Heng used to be my lover.¡± Heng groaned and pped a hand to his furry head. Victor snorted out augh before he could catch himself, but Edeya stepped forward and held out her hand.

    ¡°I¡¯m Edeya! So nice to meet you! This tall guy is Victor.¡± Edeya pped a hand on Victor¡¯s shoulder, and he smiled at Shar.

    ¡°Good to meet you.¡±

    ¡°Come on, Shar, how long since thest wave?¡± Heng tried for the third time.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re no fun, Heng! It¡¯s been about fifteen minutes; we¡¯d just thrown the bodies over when you all walked up.¡±

    ¡°What was it?¡±

    ¡°Stone imps¡ªonly about twenty of them.¡±

    ¡°Think we¡¯re going to head down a bit. This crowd¡¯s a little much.¡± Heng started walking toward the ramp, and Victor looked at Edeya before following. Her eyes were wide, and he caught her licking her lips nervously as she began to follow after Heng.

    ¡°Heng, don¡¯t do that! Some of us don¡¯t want to go deeper; you know what happened to Tre!¡± Shar called after Heng.

    ¡°Who¡¯s Tre?¡± Victor asked Shar.

    ¡°A friend of ours that went to the second tform. Never heard from him again. Heng¡¯s stubborn, though, and he won¡¯t want to share with this many. Ahh, well, guess we can loaf about until he gets bored.¡± Victor looked at the other delvers and saw that a handful were standing up and starting to follow after Heng. Still, the vast majority were grumbling and looking toward the door, apparently unwilling to go deeper for action but not wanting to hang around waiting for Heng and his group toe back up.

    ¡°So people that don¡¯t want to go deeper will just sit here and twiddle their thumbs?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Hah, funny guy, aren¡¯t you? ¡®Twiddle our thumbs?¡¯ I like it!¡± She reached forward and gave Victor¡¯s shoulder a squeeze. ¡°You are a big one, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Um, yeah. I better go catch up to Heng.¡± Victor awkwardly pulled away and hurried after the smaller group of delvers moving down the ramp. He could hear Shar¡¯sughter following after him, and his ears started to burn. Why was he running away? What was wrong with a friendly woman? He shook his head, cursing his awkwardness.

    ¡°She a little too forward for you?¡± Edeya asked, and Victor realized she¡¯d been watching the exchange.

    ¡°Aw, c¡¯mon. I know when to steer clear of drama, and she seemed like more than I could handle,¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°Mmhmm.¡± Edeya was walking backward, talking to him, and she looked like she would steer herself right off the curving ramp.

    ¡°Watch where you¡¯re going, chica!¡± Victor snapped, wincing at the image of her tumbling into the bottomless well. She turned and scooted further from the ledge.

    ¡°d to know you care,¡± sheughed. ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot, though; I wasn¡¯t going to walk off!¡±

    ¡°Ugh, this fucking well is giving me the creeps. No one has ever been to the bottom?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, from what I hear. If anyone¡¯s seen the bottom, they never made it back out again.¡±

    ¡°What about Lam? She ever try?¡± Victor couldn¡¯t imagine Captain Lam struggling to kill anything that might be down there.

    ¡°No idea! I¡¯ve been in her unit as long as you have!¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± They¡¯d caught up with Heng and the other five delvers who¡¯d followed him, but they were still walking along the ramp. Victor couldn¡¯t see any sort of tform yet. ¡°How far is the first tform?¡±

    ¡°Few more turns,¡± Heng said, spitting a gob of ck saliva out toward the well.

    ¡°What you chewing, man?¡± Victor asked. Heng dug around in his belt and produced a square, brass tin. He held it out to Victor.

    ¡°Yiil weed. Want some?¡± Victor took the tin and lifted off the top, taking a sniff of the ck, moist powder within. It smelled bitter and pungent, but it made Victor¡¯s mouth salivate, so he took a pinch of it and stuffed it into his lip like he¡¯d seen ballyers do with chew. It burned a little, but it was kind of spicy with a sweet aftertaste, and it gave him a little buzz almost immediately.

    ¡°Disgusting,¡± Edeya said, and Victorughed, trying to pass her the tin. She huffed and increased her pace, walking quickly past Heng. Victor spat some brown-ck saliva toward the edge and then passed Heng his tin.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± he said. Heng nodded and tucked it into his belt. They¡¯d made a couple of steep rotations of the well, and the air was cooler, and the light from the enormous globes up above was less bright.

    ¡°What¡¯s the deepest you¡¯ve been, Heng?¡±

    ¡°When I was newer here, I followed some real heavy hitters down to the third tform. We held that position for a long time, and I got a lot of Energy by just throwing a few shots here and there. Haven¡¯t been past the first tform since, though.¡±

    ¡°Iing!¡± A stout, ck-haired, hooved Cadwalli guy shouted, pointing to the far side of the well with his baton. Coming up around the steep, spiraling ramp was a throng ofrge, lumbering creatures that looked like a cross between a two-legged bear and a beetle.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Victor eximed, tightening his grip on his baton.

    ¡°Oh, this ain¡¯t lucky,¡± Heng said softly, then he yelled, ¡°Form up a line¡ªbacks to the wall, they¡¯ll throw you off. Don¡¯t try to run! They¡¯re twice as fast as you!¡±

    ¡°What the fuck are they?¡± Victor asked, finally voicing his question coherently.

    ¡°Deep hulks,¡± Heng grunted, following his own advice and putting his back to the wall. Edeya squeezed in next to him as the others jostled for a spot. The hulks were in view on the ramp now,ing up around the bend; there had to be ten or more, and they were huge, maybe seven or eight feet tall, with broad, heaving bodies and long arms that dragged on the floor as they lurched along.

    ¡°If you get thrown over, try to slide down the wall! You¡¯llnd on the ramp below,¡± a big, bald-headed Ardeni yelled. Victor looked down at Edeya; her entire, thin little frame was about the size of one of those things¡¯ legs.

    ¡°You got this, chica. Come on, get ready! Get fucking pumped!¡± Victor yelled, digging deep to make his voice loud and hoarse and pping his baton into his hand. The hulks heaved closer, their grunting, coughing breaths audible now, and the red gleam of their beady eyes apparent. Victor struggled to categorize them; they had hairy legs and arms, but their chests were gray-spotted brown carapaces. Their long arms ended in three digits, each sporting a ck w wedged like a carpenter¡¯s chisel.

    When they were just a few paces away, Victor shouted, ¡°Come on! Kill these fuckers!¡± and activated his Inspiring Presence. Shouts of enthusiasm echoed his words to his left and right, and suddenly everything seemed possible. Sure they were big, but they were slow, and look how predictably they swung those hooked ws. Victor stepped under a swipe and brought his baton down in an overhead smash, directly into the face of one of the hulks. His baton, far heavier than it felt, thanks to its enchantments, cracked something vital in the hulk¡¯s face, and it fell away, scrabbling at its head and roaring in pain.

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Victor howled andid into the hulk that was pressing toward Edeya. She was gamely holding out her baton, ready to try to deflect the hulk¡¯s swipes, but Victor had its nk and, fully inspired, used Channel Spirit to drive rage-attuned Energy into his arms and his baton andid into the hulk with abination of three deadly, red-tinged blows. His bludgeon shattered carapace and bone with each hit, and the hulk stumbled back into Heng¡¯s devastating overhead smash, which opened a two-inch split in the creature¡¯s skull. It fell like a four hundred pound sack of dog food.

    Victor whirled around, high on victory, only to see that five hulks had wholly overwhelmed the three delvers that had been to his left and, chisel-ws dripping with gore, swarmed toward him. ¡°Stay back from me!¡± Victor took a moment to shout at Edeya, then he activated Berserk and dove into the pack of monsters. Somewhere in the tiniest part of the back of his mind, Victor worried that he was biting off a lot more than he could chew, but he was still inspired, still high from the exhration ofbat, and he couldn¡¯t spare any room for doubt. He squashed down that little voice and roared as his vision darkened with blood-red rage, and his body cried out for violence.

    One of the hulks immediately smashed a massive w into his left shoulder, sending him flying five feet through the air to crash into the wall of the well. Victor maniacallyughed as he stood up, the flesh where the w had gouged knitting together. He¡¯d smashed his forehead into the wall, but the contusion was mending before he could even register the pain. Victor didn¡¯t wait to take stock of his body¡¯s state,unching himself at the nearest hulk, sliding under its hacking swipe anding up on its nk. He drummed his baton into it with mad abandon, trying to crack every hard surface he could see, sending kes of chitin flying and causing the bulky brute to stumble into the hulk next to it.

    He was vaguely aware that other things were happening around him¡ªhe saw sparks and heard concussions. Wails of pain and roars echoed off the walls of the well, but Victor had eyes only for the hulk in front of him. His rage had fully supnted his inspiration, and his moves became reckless but horribly violent. When a hulk fell before him, he didn¡¯t stop pounding it until another hulk charged him and bore him to the ground, both of them sprawling away from the wall and near the edge of the well.

    Victor had absolutely no concern for his precarious position; his mind had one thought¡ªkill the thing that had interrupted his smashing. The hulk had tackled him, its long arms around his waist and its bullet-like head pressing into his stomach. The monster was heavy, but Victor didn¡¯t care; if this fucking thing wanted to wrestle, he was game! He jammed his right forearm under the hulk¡¯s scrabbling left limb, pushing his hand through to grasp the thing¡¯s smooth, hard head, then he leveraged himself up to wrap his legs around the monster¡¯s torso. He bent and twisted with all his might, fighting with rage-fueled strength against the bulky creature¡¯s natural muscles.

    They rolled and tumbled, and Victor roared in triumph as he finally got the creature¡¯s back and hooked his arm around its throat, pulling with an arched back. The monster iled its long arms in panic, and Victor¡¯s madughter apanied its frenzied thrashing, and then Victor was weightless, and he and his wrestling partner were falling through the air, skipping against the stony face of the well. They fell for three or four heartbeats, and then they smashed into the hard stone of the ramp, much further down in the well.

    Luck was with Victor; in their tumbling descent, he¡¯d wound up on top before the crash, and the hulk broke his fall. Still, the concussion of the sudden stop sent him sprawling away from the monster, and he cked out for a moment. When the veil of darkness lifted from his vision, and he saw the hulk grunting and limply iling with one working limb, he stood up, annoyed to find that his enraged self had let go of his baton when he¡¯d decided to get into a wrestling match.

    He stalked over to the thrashing hulk and delivered several brutal stomps to its round, half-chitin, half-flesh skull. He stomped until the chitin was broken, and fluid began to ooze from the monster¡¯s orifices. When it stopped twitching, Victor looked around, out of breath and sore all over. He couldn¡¯t see anything moving nearby, but he could hear sounds of struggle up above when he listened carefully.

    Victor turned to the upward slope of the ramp and started running. It took him a minute or two of hard climbing to round the curve of the well and start up the slope to the original scene of the battle. He saw slumped, twitching forms, both hulk, and delver, on the ground, and he saw one hulk, still standing and swinging its hooked ws at Heng''s big, furry form. Heng looked exhausted,boriously swinging his baton to block the hulk''s clumsy swipes. The monster was clearly injured, as well, with dark spots of oozing fluid all over its carapace and head.

    Victor pumped his legs harder, using Sovereign Will to improve his strength and Channel Spirit to flood the pathways in his legs and torso with rage-attuned Energy. Then he smashed into the side of the hulk like a linebacker catching a quarterback by surprise. Something in the monster¡¯s torso cracked, and it flew several yards through the air tond on its stiff back and slide over the edge into the well. In the silence that followed the end ofbat, Victor heard the monster smash into the stone below with a resounding crack that echoed off the sides of the well.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Heng said, panting and resting his hands on his knees. Victor didn¡¯t hear him, though; his heartbeat was in his ears as he surveyed the battlefield. His eyes slipped over the forms of dead hulks, over the writhing and still bodies of the delvers he didn¡¯t know, looking for Edeya. Finally, he saw her slight frame half-buried by the bulk of a fallen hulk, and he hurried over to her.

    Adrenaline and panic fueled his muscles, and he didn¡¯t need any spells to help him grab the hulk and yank it off of her. He was leaning to feel if her heart was beating when a surge of Energy poleaxed him and knocked him to his knees.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 17 Spirit Champion. You have gained 7 will, 7 vitality, and have 7 attribute points to allocate.***

    When he regained control of himself, he was relieved to see that Edeya was flushed from her own influx of Energy, and her eyes were blinking rapidly as she came back to herself. ¡°Damn! You had me worried, missy!¡±

    ¡°Oh, Ancestors! Imagine waking up to this sight!¡± she giggled, and Victor stood up, tsking.

    ¡°That¡¯s the thanks I get? I shoulda left you buried under that thing!¡± He snorted but held his hand down for her. ¡°Can you move?¡±

    ¡°I think so,¡± she said, wincing and reaching to take his hand. Victor pulled her to her feet, her small hand warm in his.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you didn¡¯t die,¡± he said.

    ¡°Same; I saw you fall off the edge.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but I had a big squishy cushion.¡±

    ¡°Hey, you two, help me get these others up; we need to cut our trip short. Bad luck running into hulks first off,¡± Heng said gruffly, trying to help the big Ardeni to his feet. The man¡¯s left leg was twisted in the wrong direction, and he groaned in misery.

    ¡°What about the dead guys?¡± Victor asked, looking at a couple of mangled delver corpses. He stepped past them to the stout Cadwalli; he was leaning against the wall, nursing a stump where his left hand used to be.

    ¡°Leave ¡®em; we gotta get out before another wavees,¡± Heng replied.

    ¡°You good? Can you walk?¡± Victor reached down to pull the guy up under his arms.

    ¡°Ugh, yeah, but I¡¯m screwed for delver duty; they¡¯ll put me in the mining crews now that I¡¯m missing my main hand.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, bro.¡± Victor patted his hairy shoulders. Edeya was helping the only other survivor, another Vodkin who¡¯d been clubbed unconscious by one of the rampaging hulks. He was dazed but able to walk, and the little group started struggling up the ramp. Before he started after them, Victor looked around for his baton. He saw it over by the edge of the drop where he¡¯d been wrestling with the hulk.

    When he scooped it up, he looked around the fallen corpses again and had a brief macabre thought of checking the dead delvers for anything valuable. He wrestled with the idea for a moment but ended up leaving. He had to admit that part of his reluctance was that he worried about what the others would think if they saw him doing it. He was also strangely reluctant to touch their corpses. ¡°Pretty weird considering all the corpses I¡¯ve made,¡± he muttered.

    Despite his resolve, he did look very closely at the one body between him and the others while he walked by. The smaller Ardeni male had died due to having his skull caved in. He wore thin leather armor and had a in, standard-issue baton lying next to his corpse. Victor didn¡¯t see anything of note on the body, so he felt better about his decision as he hurried to catch up to the others.

    Victor, for all his bumps and bruises, was feeling pretty good. Whenever he got a big influx of Energy like that, he seemed to heal up quite a lot more than some of the other delvers. He was tempted to ask about it, but then he decided such a question might raise more questions from them about him, so he asked Gorz instead, ¡°Gorz, why do I heal more than some of these guys from the Energy I absorb after a fight?¡±

    ¡°Victor! I tried to talk to you while you were fighting, but I don¡¯t think you heard me!¡±

    ¡°Sorry, yeah, my mind was upied.¡±

    ¡°You most likely have a higher Energy affinity than those others you speak of. Energy affinity has many secondary effects, the main ones being how much your body can use Energy to improve and heal. Someone with high affinity will gain levels faster than someone with low affinity, and, as you noted, a body with high affinity will apply that Energy toward repairing tissue more readily.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Gorz.¡± Victor thought about that and realized he probably had a pretty huge advantage over people with lower affinity. He gained a level almost every time he fought, though he doubted that would continue forever. Right now, though, he knew he was as strong as just about anyone in Lam¡¯s unit, and he¡¯d only been in this world a month or so. Sure, he¡¯d been fighting almost nonstop, but the fact remained¡ªhis upper limit had to be a lot higher than someone with a low Energy affinity. ¡°Gorz, what¡¯s the highest level person you¡¯ve known of?¡±

    ¡°Reevus-dak was level forty-seven. He spoke of his master, alluding to him being of the sixth tier and the strongest mage on his continent.¡±

    ¡°Was that on this world?¡±

    ¡°No, Reevus came here through a portal.¡±

    Victor was about to ask another question when he realized they were on thest stretch to the top of the ramp, and some of the loafing delvers were running down to help the wounded out. Shar was among them, and she stopped by Heng and scooped an arm under the Ardeni¡¯s other arm to help him walk. ¡°That was a quick trip, Heng!¡±

    ¡°Aye, hulks first off.¡±

    ¡°Ouch, bad luck. At least you survived.¡± Heng just grunted in reply, and Victor wondered at their strange rtionship. She seemed to genuinely like him, but Heng was as reticent with her as he was with anyone. Maybe she liked it?

    Once they¡¯d gotten through the massive metal door and dropped off the survivors, Heng turned to Victor and Edeya and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to visit some old friends since we¡¯ve finished early. Sorry, I¡¯m not in the mood to head back into the well.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve had enough for today,¡± Edeya said. ¡°I think next time I¡¯m going to stay up near the top; I¡¯m not meant to be fighting things like hulks.¡±

    ¡°Smart,¡± Heng nodded and turned to walk away.

    ¡°Later, then,¡± Victor called after him. He looked at Edeya and shrugged, ¡°What now?¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t even tired, are you?¡±

    ¡°Nah, not really.¡±

    ¡°You should go fight at the top of the well for a while; the stronger you get, the safer the rest of us will be down in the deep delves.¡±

    ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to hang out? I¡¯ll do most of the work, and if hulkse, you can run for the door.¡± Victor chuckled at the image.

    ¡°No, thanks, Victor. I don¡¯t have your stamina or Energy affinity, I think. I¡¯m feeling really weak, and my head hurts from when I got knocked out.¡±

    ¡°You okay to walk back?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s nothing. I¡¯ll stop for some food at the Settlement Stone.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then.¡± Victor held out his fist, and Edeya gently knocked his knuckles. ¡°That¡¯s the spirit. Chin up, chica; you fought like a boss!¡± That got a smile out of her, and she briefly waved as she turned to walk away. Victor turned back to the big metal door and walked back into the well.

    As he walked over to the dozen or so other delvers waiting for action, he called up his attributes:

    Strength:

    38

    Vitality:

    69

    Dexterity:

    23

    Agility:

    23

    Intelligence:

    24

    Will:

    62

    Points Avable:

    7

    He hadn¡¯t gained any new insights since hisst level, so he decided to do the same thing as before, three into strength, two into dexterity, and two into agility.

    ¡°Back for more, handsome?¡± Shar strolled over from a trio of Ghelli she¡¯d been talking to.

    ¡°Uh, yeah, figured I¡¯d try to get some more fighting in. Grind out another level or two.¡±

    ¡°Ambitious! Not going down again, are you?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m cool hanging up here.¡±

    ¡°Cool? What a strange dialect you have. Might I ask about your heritage? Let me see, part Ghelli, part Shadeni?¡±

    ¡°Huh? No, I¡¯m a human. I¡¯m not from this world.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, that exins theck of wings. Most part-Ghelli have at least some wings.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±

    ¡°Iing!¡± a short, very stout Cadwalli hollered from the top of the ramp. ¡°More Herd-damned stone imps!¡± Victor¡¯s face spread into a grin; he enjoyed cracking stone imps with his baton.

    ¡°Come on, Shar! I bet I can get more kills than you!¡± Victor charged toward the top of the ramp, his baton at the ready and his Inspiring Presence primed.

 Chapter 32: Justice Redux

    Chapter 32: Justice Redux

    Victor shattered yet another stone imp skull, sending the rest of the creature¡¯s crumbling gray body tumbling down the ramp with a kick of his heavy boot. ¡°Seventeen!¡± he howled, looking to the side to see if Shar or any of the other delvers defending the ramp had heard him, though he didn¡¯t know if they even cared; maybe he was the only one keeping track, but he didn¡¯t mind. His spirits were high, and he was having real, genuine fun for the first time in a long while.

    The imps were just alien enough that he felt no qualms whatsoever bashing them apart. Their emotionless faces and grasping stony ws did nothing but creep him out; no empathy for these things could be mustered in Victor¡¯s heart, and so he was free to revel in their destruction.

    The pack of imps had been dense, stretching down the ramp and around the curve; there had to have been over a hundred of them, and they pressed into the abattoir that Victor and the other delvers had set up for them. They walked and scrabbled over the corpses of their kin, and Victor, surging with inspiration Energy, led the delvers in their systematic dismantling.

    Now, thest stragglers climbed, stumbling on the stony remnants of the dead imps, to the waiting clubs of the delvers, who mopped them up with little difficulty. In the end, Victor counted twenty-two kills, and he shook his baton in the air whooping his triumph. Sharughed at him, and many of the other delvers smiled, finding it hard to be grumpy with someone purposefully acting the fool just to lift their spirits. Victor knew he was being crazy, and part of him wanted to stop and get serious; why would he want peopleughing at him? On the other hand, he didn¡¯t give a shit; he was having fun and confident in his capabilities¡ªwhat did it matter what all these other delvers thought? Let themugh.

    ¡°Nice one, Shar! I saw you shatter thatst guy!¡±

    ¡°Oh, handsome and sweet! I¡¯m going to talk to my captain about getting you transferred,¡± she purred, matching Victor¡¯s exuberance with her own brand of craziness, and he couldn¡¯t help butugh.

    ¡°Better quit flirting with me, Shar! Trying to get Heng to beat me up? How many kills? Come on! Was I the only one keeping track?¡± Victor looked around, and Sharughed.

    ¡°Oh, fine! I think I had seven or eight,¡± she relented. ¡°Are you happy? Not like you¡¯re going to win something!¡± As she spoke, though, golden motes began to coalesce over the crumbled remains of the stone imps and then stream toward the delvers. Victor¡¯s column of Energy was much wider than anyone else¡¯s, and as it flooded into him, he grinned, nodding to Shar.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d say I won something.¡±

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 18 Spirit Champion. You have gained 7 will, 7 vitality, and have 7 attribute points to allocate.***

    ¡°Hey, Victor, is it?¡± Another delver asked, stepping closer. He was a thickly built Vodkin with sleek ck fur and a funny snaggle tooth that hung down over the left side of his mouth under his moist-looking ck nose.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Hey, nice job beating the hell out of those imps. I gotta ask, though, you seem strong; why¡¯d they give you that joke of a cor?¡±

    ¡°Um.¡± Victor reached up to touch his cold iron cor self-consciously. ¡°I¡¯m good at fighting, but my Energy skills arecking. Way to rub it in, dude.¡± Would that work? Could he y it off?

    ¡°Har, no offense. My Energy skills are worm dung too. At least you have that ability that gave us all somebat zeal. That was great!¡± He reached out with a big meaty paw to p Victor on the shoulder, and Victor smiled in relief.

    ¡°Hell yeah, bro. Anyone know how long it usually takes between waves?¡± He looked around at the delvers going through the broken bodies of the imps, tossing pieces out into the well.

    ¡°It seems rather random,¡± a thin Ghelli man with terribly notched wings said, ¡°sometimes a few minutes, sometimes an hour or more.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thanks.¡± Victor nodded to the Ghelli, then looked at the scavenging delvers. ¡°What you guys looking for?¡±

    ¡°Sometimes they have gems in their bodies,¡± one of them said, kicking through a pile of imp rubble.

    ¡°Like this!¡± another one eximed, holding up a glittering red gem half encased in rough gray rock.

    ¡°Lucky find!¡± Shar said in a breathy whisper, impulsively reaching toward the gem. The little Ardeni pulled it back with a grin.

    ¡°Ah-ah, you know the rule¡ªfinding¡¯s binding.¡± He deftly tucked the gem into his vest and moved back into the rubble. Victor shrugged and also started sifting through the imp remains, throwing pieces of rock into the open air of the well as he went. He never found any gems, but it kept him upied until the next wave of monsters came, this one a heaving, hissing swarm of centipede-like monsters, ranging from the size of his arm to a dozen paces in length.

    The bugs were bright yellow with ck patterns on their carapaces, and when Victor and the others smashed them with their cudgels, they bled in glowing orange goo that left stinging welts if you got it on your skin. At the end of the battle, Victor was covered in sore, raised red spots, and his clothes and armor were sticky and filthy with the stuff. All save his pants; his wonderful enchanted pants slowly cleaned themselves, and Victormented the loss of his matching shirt.

    The bug fight wasn¡¯t enough to give him another level, but just as they were mopping up thest of the twitching, hissing creatures, a horde of beetle riders came clicking and howling up the ramp. ¡°Damn, that was fast!¡± Victor yelled, getting ready for the fight. He hadn¡¯t used his Inspiring Presence in thest battle, but looking around, he saw that his fellow delvers were tired, sore, and not quite ready for another round. He stepped ahead of the line to face the other delvers and activated his spell, shouting, ¡°Come on! Are you tired? Who cares? Those scrawny beetle riders aren¡¯t any match for a delver, tired or not! Let¡¯s beat these little shits back and throw them into the darkness!¡±

    His words might not have been eloquent, but the effect of his aura made up for it. The delvers howled with renewed vigor and determination, and when the beetle riders met their line, they were smashed and pummeled into broken submission. The horde was a lot smaller than the one that Lam¡¯s unit had encountered at the amber ore vein, but the battle stillsted quite a while, and Victor once again started to rack up scratches and bruises and even a few minor stab wounds from beetle rider spears. He wanted to activate his Berserk ability, but he held himself back, afraid that he¡¯d kill a fellow delver or get himself thrown over the edge in his mania.

    Still, he used his Channel Spirit ability liberally, especially after the Inspiring Presence wore off, filling his arms and weapon with rage-attuned Energy. So effective was the spell that he was almost guaranteed a kill when he smote a beetle or its rider. His baton tore through carapaces and shattered bones alike, and by the time the horde dwindled to a few stragglers, he was sure he¡¯d killed dozens of the creatures. This time, when the Energy rose from the battlefield and streamed into him, he saw the notification he¡¯d been hoping for:

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 19 Spirit Champion. You have gained 7 will, 7 vitality, and have 14 attribute points to allocate.***

    On top of the level, he could feel his wounds closing up and his aching bruises fading away. ¡°Fuck yeah!¡± he said, not as quietly as he intended.

    ¡°Another good victory,¡± Shar said, her demeanor a lot more serious than Victor was used to. He looked at her and saw that she was covered in gore and sporting quite a few shallow cuts. Her face was drawn, and her eyes looked tired.

    ¡°You alright?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, just tired. I used a lot of Energy in thest two battles¡ªmore than I recovered from the victory. I¡¯ll be fine after some rest.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, yeah,¡± Victor looked around, seeing that many of the delvers were in a simr boat, and quite a few were leaving. He also saw some fresh faces and realized a new group had arrived during the beetle fight. ¡°I need a watch,¡± he said suddenly, realizing he¡¯d lost track of time quite a while ago.

    ¡°A watch?¡±

    ¡°Um, a timepiece? Something to keep track of the hour?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I know what a watch is; your statement just caught me off guard. You can buy one at the Contribution Store.¡±

    ¡°Good call! I think I¡¯m going to call it a day. Nice meeting you, Shar.¡± He turned and waved at the remaining delvers. ¡°See you guys around. Maybe next time my captain gives us a break.¡±

    ¡°Bye, handsome,¡± Shar said with a weary smile. ¡°Tell Heng toe see me, will you?¡±

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll pass it on.¡± Victor walked to the door, waving as some of the other delvers said goodbye, waved, or thumped him on the back. It felt good hanging out with all these guys and not having any sort of boss around¡ªjust fighting for the glory of it against enemies he didn¡¯t feel guilty killing.

    ¡°Victor, am I correct in assessing your current level at neen?¡±

    ¡°Dammit! Gorz, you startled me again!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Anyway, yeah, I¡¯m neen now.¡±

    ¡°Are you aware that most races receive a ss refinement option at level twenty?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, my friend Yre told me about it, back when I was just figuring shit out. I don¡¯t quite get it, though.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be offered a choice to modify or change your ss based on your actions and growth since yourst selection.¡±

    ¡°Right, but if I don¡¯t like the options, will I get to keep my current ss?¡±

    ¡°Yes, usually.¡±

    ¡°Alright, well, is there anything I can do to prepare?¡±

    ¡°If you were wealthy and had means and ess, you could eat natural treasures to improve your attributes, race, and even gain enhancements to your refinement choices. I don¡¯t believe those are options for you, Victor.¡±

    ¡°No shit. Alright, Gorz, I¡¯m lost. Can you please guide me back to the Settlement Stone?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Victor.¡±

    Victor followed Gorz¡¯s instructions and returned to the Settlement Stone cavern without incident. He was disappointed to see he still needed to kill another forty-three ¡°denizens¡± of the deeps toplete his quest. Still, he had enough credits to purchase a watch. When it coalesced in his hand out of a cloud of yellow and blue smoke, he was pleased to see that it was an old-fashioned, metal-cased pocket watch. When he opened it, though, the little watch hands were floating freely over a shiny brass backte, seemingly suspended and moved by magic. ¡°Energy,¡± he corrected himself.

    He saw the street vendor selling meat skewers again, and he groaned in frustration. ¡°Gorz! I still need to learn how to make those Energy bead things.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor. Perhaps this evening, unless you get yourself busy again.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    When Victor returned to the barracks, it was nearly time for the evening meal, and he saw Heng sitting at the table next to Fele. He was gesturing widely with his hands andughing, and Victor wondered if he was recounting the tale of their battle with the hulks. He looked around for Edeya but didn¡¯t see her. He started to walk over to the table, but he felt a hand grip his elbow. He turned around to see Tha standing behind him, her face even more severe than usual. ¡°Where¡¯s the little one? Edeya?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I stayed at the well fighting for a few hours; she came back a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°I had promised her some training, but she never sought me out,¡± Tha said, her frown deepening.

    ¡°Did you check around back? Talk to her boyfriend?¡±

    ¡°Boyfriend?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, um, a guy she hangs out with. What was his name? B something.¡±

    ¡°Beal, Victor,¡± Gorz supplied.

    ¡°Um, Beal.¡±

    ¡°Beal¡­¡± Tha¡¯s expression clouded more, and she stalked toward the table, and Victor saw her target¡ªa thin, young Ardeni man with curly, bright-green hair. Victor hadn¡¯t ever spoken to the guy, but he¡¯d seen him around. He hadn¡¯t gotten a good look at him when he¡¯d run into them making out behind the building, so he¡¯d never put the name to the face. He watched as Tha leaned over him, her long ck braids falling down the sides of her head and obscuring Victor¡¯s view.

    A momentter, Tha stood and stalked back toward Victor. ¡°He hasn¡¯t seen her all day. What did she tell you when she left?¡±

    ¡°She said she was tired, her head ached, and she wanted toe back to the barracks.¡± Victor¡¯s mind started to race¡ªfirst with worry and then with guilt; he¡¯d let her walk back, feeling sick, through dark tunnels, past tons of unsavory assholes, while he fucking had a good time hanging around bashing on monsters all day. ¡°Fuck!¡± He smashed his fist into his hand.

    ¡°You should know by now about walking around the mine alone!¡± Tha growled.

    ¡°Yeah, buddy system,¡± Victor saidmely.

    ¡°Ugh! I me Heng, too. Ancestors! Lam isn¡¯t going to let us go looking for her thiste.¡±

    ¡°Is Lam back?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she returned an hour or so ago.¡±

    ¡°Let me talk to her. She owes us a reward.¡±

    ¡°True¡­¡± Tha turned and stalked toward Lam¡¯s private door, and Victor hurried after her. Hengughed and waved when Victor walked by, but Victor hardly registered it. Victor couldn¡¯t stop thinking about Edeya and imagining her lying in some dark tunnel, broken. He felt heat rising in his face, and, for the first time in a while, he felt his grip on his emotions starting to slip. He only managed to get himself under control enough to keep from yanking Lam¡¯s door open when he realized he wasn¡¯t picturing Edeya¡ªhe was picturing Yre¡¯s broken, twitching form. The image burned into his mind when he¡¯d seen her die kepting to the surface, and he realized he was losing it.

    Victor gripped his hands into white-knuckled fists and forced himself to stop walking and breathe. When he had calmed a little, he strode purposefully to Lam¡¯s door, where Tha was already waiting for a response to her knock. After a few heartbeats, Lam¡¯s voice called, ¡°Come.¡± Tha opened the door and walked through, Victor close behind.

    ¡°Hello, you two. Here for your reward?¡± Captain Lam¡¯s smile faltered when she saw Victor¡¯s face. ¡°What is it?¡± She was sitting at her little table, a thick ledger book open before her, which she closed with a solid *thwap*.

    ¡°Something¡¯s happened to Edeya,¡± Victor blurted. Tha looked over her shoulder at him with a frown, but she turned back to Lam and borated.

    ¡°You know, the little Ghelli girl? She went to the well with Victor and Heng and left hours ago, but she never made it back.¡±

    ¡°And? She has an hour or so before lights out. Maybe she went somewhere else?¡±

    ¡°No, something¡¯s wrong,¡± Victor said through clenched teeth. ¡°She was sore, had a headache. She told me she wasing back to the barracks hours ago. I fucking let her walk back alone.¡± Lam¡¯s face clouded a bit as her white-blonde eyebrows narrowed.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea that some unsavory sort has taken or harmed one of my delvers, but there¡¯s little chance we can find her. I wish you hadn¡¯t let her go alone, Victor.¡± Victor groaned as his guilt surged again.

    ¡°I know! I¡¯m an idiot! Captain, let me go look for her, please! I have a way to track her.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Both Tha and the captain looked at him with renewed interest. Captain Lam raised an eyebrow, waiting for further exnation, and Victor stammered for a second, trying to exin without getting himself in trouble.

    ¡°I, well, it¡¯s my Core. I can sense certain types of Energy, and I think I can tell if I get near Edeya. I¡¯ll hunt around for a sign of her.¡±

    ¡°An interesting talent,¡± Captain Lam said. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that make it possible for you to find those that nearly killed you?¡±

    ¡°Maybe,¡± Victor decided to keep his lying to a minimum. ¡°I know Edeya a lot better, though.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll allow it. Tha go with him. If it¡¯s another delver group and their captain is present, I want you to channel some Energy into this stone.¡± Lam produced a small ck stone and handed it to Tha. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with their captain. If not, if some filthy drek have taken her, taken one of my delvers, I want you two to make an example of them.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Captain,¡± Victor turned to leave, pulling the door open.

    ¡°Victor, don¡¯t let the mine personnel see you if ites to a fight. I¡¯d hate for them to activate your cors.¡± Victor paused at her words, but Tha pressed a hand against his shoulder de, pushing him forward, and he resumed walking, his heart full of urgency and determination and his mind full of guilt and worry.

    Tha didn¡¯t say anything as they hurried down the main tunnel, jogging toward the central settlement stone. Victor¡¯s mind was running away from him, images of terrible things happening to Edeya shing through it, followed by darker, vengeful, violent fantasies. He shook his head and tried to get focused, ¡°Gorz, please keep an eye out for Edeya¡¯s Energy signature.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Victor. I¡¯m already doing it.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Victor, I might suggest spending your remaining attribute points.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor was too preupied to vacite about his choices, so he simply followed histest pattern: six into strength, four into dexterity and agility.

    ¡°You can really find her?¡± Tha asked as they started to pass by some of the outlying shanties and closed on the main settlement cavern.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going to be running around, seemingly at random, but I¡¯m just trying to get a feel for her. Stay with me.¡± With that, Victor picked up the pace and started running. He passed by a lot of people, but most ignored him¡ªpeople were oftente for one thing or another in the mine, and supervisors were rarely forgiving of tardiness. Seeing a couple of delvers running pell-mell through the mine wasn¡¯t all that unusual. Soon, they were in the Settlement Stone section of the massive tunnel, cutting through alleys, jumping over piled scrapwood, and skirting around crowds of miners and delvers.

    Victor realized he was heading to the building where he¡¯d located his assants. He had no reason to believe they were the ones that had done something to Edeya, but he knew they were creeps, so why not check? ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Victor, I see the signature of one of your enemies within the building, but no sign of Edeya.¡±

    ¡°Dammit,¡± Victor spat, running past the building and continuing his meandering circuit of the cavern. He was working his way around the outer perimeter of structures toward the tunnel that led to the well. He cut in and out of alleys, got cussed at by quite a few filthy miners that he pushed through to get past their smokey, stinking cookfires, and finally finished his first circuit around the settlement space.

    ¡°Nothing?¡± Tha asked as he paused to get his bearings.

    ¡°No, fuck!¡±

    ¡°Rx. You can¡¯t do any good if you lose it. Get it together; plenty of time for guiltter.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Victor took a deep breath, trying to calm down. She was right; there had to be a smarter way to handle this. ¡°Where do creeps go in this ce? I mean, unless Edeya is dead, they took her for a reason, right? Where do fucking assholes go to, you know, take advantage of people?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! I don¡¯t spend time with that type.¡±

    ¡°I have an idea.¡± Victor turned back toward the building with the ck star painted on the door, the building where the assholes who¡¯d jumped him hung out. He ran full out, and he knew Tha was struggling to keep up, but he didn¡¯t care. ¡°Gorz,¡± he said aloud. ¡°Tell me if that fucker is still there alone.¡±

    ¡°I will, Victor.¡±

    Victor charged between buildings, ran past several crowds of miners drinking from big, well-used tankards, and finally came around the corner in front of the building. ¡°Yes, Victor, I sense several Energy signatures within, but only one of the fellows who jumped you.¡±

    ¡°Get ready,¡± he said to Tha, then he stalked up to the door with the star painted on it, grabbed the handle, and yanked it open. Sweet smoke billowed out, and he had to wave it away to see the interior of the building. He stepped over the threshold, and finally, things resolved in his vision¡ªseveral wobbly tables with chairs, a group of four men sitting at one of them, smoke wafting into the air from their pipes, piles of glittering marble-like gems on the table, and some dice. Everything was illuminated by low, red-tinged Energy orbs.

    ¡°Sorry, game¡¯s full,¡± said a one-eyed Cadwalli. Victor scanned the other faces, but he didn¡¯t really recognize them. Something caught his eye, though: the thin Ardeni man with the smug smile on his face wore a cor that glinted brightly in the red light. It was made of shiny silvery metal and studded with several clear crystals. Here was a serious Energy user, a man that might conjure the very earth against his enemies.

    ¡°No worries. I just need to talk to one of you.¡± Victor said, a fake, rather insane-looking smile on his face as he strode toward the table. Tha stepped along behind him, her hand gripping the baton still in her belt.

    ¡°We¡¯re rather busy, friend. Wait outside ¡®til after the game, will ya?¡±

    ¡°Oh, sure. Yeah, sorry to bug you,¡± Victor said, now only three feet from the table. Suddenly he used Channel Spirit to absolutely flood his pathways with rage-attuned Energy. His body veritably lit up with a red halo, and he exploded over the remaining distance with one stride and had his hand around the throat of the thin Ardeni, lifting him like he was made of straw out of his chair and squeezing him to the point where he could feel the tendons straining not to pop under his grip. ¡°Make one fucking move to cast a spell, and I¡¯ll take your head off!¡±

    Chairs screeched on the wooden floor as the other room upants moved back or stood up, reaching for weapons. ¡°Ah-ah!¡± Tha said, waving her baton at the three of them. ¡°We¡¯ve got no problem with you guys. Let my friend deal with his problem, and we¡¯ll be gone in a moment. You don¡¯t owe him, do you?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill him! He¡¯s losing this hand,¡± the Cadwalli said.

    ¡°Depends on him. You ready to talk, asshole?¡± Victor growled, struggling to contain his fury with all the rage-attuned Energy in his pathways. The Ardeni moved his lips like a fish out of water, and Victor realized he couldn¡¯t speak. He reached forward and grabbed the man¡¯s wrist with his other hand, squeezing until the bones ground together, then he loosened his grip on his throat. The man sputtered and coughed.

    ¡°You¡¯ve made a mistake,¡± he wheezed.

    ¡°Spare me. Now, answer this simple question: Where would someone who kidnapped a pretty, young girl take them in this fucking mine?¡±

    ¡°What? I didn¡¯t kidnap any girl?¡±

    ¡°Stop! Think about the question I asked you and fucking answer it, or I am going to pull this arm out of the socket. No more warnings.¡± Literal steam wasing out of Victor¡¯s mouth with his growled, guttural words, and his vision was growing more and more red by the second.

    ¡°Maybe the northwest tunnels, toward the well. Some groups sell sex there.¡±

    ¡°Good. I¡¯m in a hurry, but you and I aren¡¯t done. I owe you,¡± Victor growled, and, as he turned to leave, he yanked the man¡¯s arm with such force that his body flopped forward, and his head smacked onto the wooden table with a resounding crack. ¡°If he owes you for the game, take what you want,¡± he growled to the Cadwalli as he turned and ripped the door off its hinges in his haste to get out of there. He was already running toward the well when he finally managed to push his rage-attuned Energy back into his Core, and he heard Tha yelling.

    ¡°A little warning would have been nice!¡±

    ¡°I told you to get ready!¡± Victor snapped.

    ¡°Don¡¯t take it out on me, Victor,¡± Tha replied. Her voice was grave and heavy, and Victor knew what she was thinking¡ªthey were toote. Edeya had been missing all day; what horrors had she already endured? Victor screamed in rage up at the cavern ceiling, and several nearby miners scrabbled to get back from him as he ran past. He ducked into the tunnel leading to the well, and when he came out to therge, open passage, he scanned the wall on the left, looking for further tunnels. It didn¡¯t take long to find, especially running as he was, and soon he was blindly charging through a warren of twisting tunnels, passing through small caverns filled with little shanties and tents.

    ¡°Here, Victor!¡± Gorz¡¯s tinny, metallic voice suddenly shrieked in his mind.

    ¡°Where?¡± Victor scanned the cavern as Tha ran up behind him. He saw a dozen small wooden buildings and half as manyrge canvas tents. Grubby, disheveled miners lingered around little cook pots, drinking whatever homemade swill they used to blind them to their misery.

    ¡°Twenty-seven meters ahead of you and slightly to your right.¡±

    ¡°Get ready; she¡¯s here,¡± Victor said, striding toward the big brown canvas tent in the direction Gorz had indicated. Tha hefted her baton, looking around to ensure no mine employees were present. Victor couldn¡¯t remember seeing even one the entire time they¡¯d been searching, so he wasn¡¯t particrly worried. There weren¡¯t any guards or anything watching the ps of the big tent, so Victor walked right up, yanked the p aside, and walked into the tent.

    The cavern outside had been very dim, so he had to squint his eyes at first against the bright yellow light in the tent. He¡¯d just started to look around when a haughty voice said, ¡°What are you doing here, delvers? Get back to your units.¡± Victor saw the speaker was wearing a mining consortium uniform, which gave him pause, but when he saw the cage behind him, filled with chained, bruised, bleeding people, his rage pulsed hotly in his Core. He took another step forward, studying the faces of the prisoners. When he saw Edeya crumpled in the back of the cage, blood dripping from her nose and one of her wings bent and broken, he turned to re at the thin, mustached Ardeni with bright yellow hair.

    ¡°The fuck is going on here?¡±

    ¡°Nothing for you to worry about. I told you to go back to your units.¡± He pulled a thin metal rod out of his belt. ¡°On second thought, drop your batons.¡± Victor heard a thud as Tha dropped her baton to the dirty yellow rug. ¡°You too, big man.¡± He waved the thin rod at Victor, raising an eyebrow. When Victor didn¡¯t move fast enough, he shrugged and said, ¡°You¡¯ve seen too much anyway.¡±

    Suddenly Victor¡¯s cor began to grow warm, then hot, and his mind registered what was happening. This asshole was going to kill him. Without thinking about it, he unleashed his hold on his Core, flooding his body with rage and inspiration-attuned Energy, using Channel Spirit to power his arms and hands. He dropped his baton, his whole body suddenly limned with red and white flickering, pulsing Energy.

    ¡°Toote for that,¡± the man snickered, watching as Victor¡¯s baton rolled to tter against Tha¡¯s. Then Victor reached up and grabbed his hot, burning cor, and he pulled with both hands. Metal screeched as he stretched and tore it apart like it was made of taffy. He threw the broken, deformed pieces at the feet of the mine employee, and then he let his fists do what they¡¯d been aching for.

 Chapter 33: Into the Depths

    Chapter 33: Into the Depths

    ¡°Victor! Victor, stop!¡± Tha¡¯s voice finally cut through his fury, and Victor looked up from the pulverized face of the mine employee he¡¯d been battering. His hands were painted red to his wrists, and spatters of red decorated him, the canvas of the tent, and the faded yellow rug. ¡°We have to get out of here!¡± Tha urged, pulling at his shirt.

    ¡°Not yet,¡± Victor said, his voice thick with emotion. His neck was raw and burning, and only now that he wasing out of his fury did he notice it. ¡°Let me search this asshole,¡± he finished. He moved to the side, unsure when he¡¯d straddled the man to better beat his face, and as he did so, thick motes of Energy rose from the body, confirming that he was dead, and surged into him. He didn¡¯t level, but the influx did wonders for his scorched neck and calmed his mind even more.

    ¡°Keep watch,¡± he grunted, ncing to see Tha regard him askance for a moment, then turn to the tent p, pulling it aside slightly to peer out. Victor ripped the man¡¯s yellow and green uniform shirt open, sending polished wooden buttons scattering over the blood-spattered rug. ¡°No ne.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure why, but he¡¯d imagined the key to the cage hanging on a chain around the kidnapper¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Get us out of here, please!¡± One of the cage¡¯s upants had gathered enough wits and confidence to speak up.

    ¡°Quiet! I¡¯ll help you in a minute,¡± Victor snapped, afraid that more of the prisoners would start to mor for release, and he didn¡¯t know who might be listening from the neighboring tents. The man didn¡¯t have a pack or pouches on his belt, so Victor looked at his hands, spotting a silvery band with carved ck stone inset along its center. Victor pulled and twisted at the ring, finally getting it over a knobby knuckle, and then he trickled some Energy into it, just as he had with the storage bag they¡¯d had him use in the delves to collect insect parts.

    Suddenly Victor was aware of an enormous space inside the ring, along with quite a few objects therein. He scanned through the items quickly, figuring he could spend more time with themter. He saw a baton, some knives, some clothes, a cloak, quite a lot of different kinds of food, a sheaf of folded papers, a notebook, some writing utensils, a belt, some boots, several pouches full of Energy beads, a ring with an onyx ckbird inset on a silver face, and several sets of manacles, cors, and a ring of keys.

    Victor grabbed the keyring out of the space and slipped the storage ring onto his finger. He walked over to the cage and unlocked it, but before he opened it, he looked around at the prisoners, at least the conscious ones, and he said, ¡°Ladies, I¡¯m going to let you all go, but please wait until we¡¯re all ready to move out. Let¡¯s get everyone on their feet.¡±

    ¡°You heard him,¡± the woman who¡¯d spoken before said. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s help get everyone up. Sir, you should know he had some soldiers with him earlier. He sent them to get someone.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s fucking hurry, then.¡± Victor strode through the crowd of women and knelt before Edeya, her eyelids were half-open, but she didn¡¯t seem to recognize him. ¡°Edeya, you there? Come on, chica, snap out of it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me girl,¡± she said, limply lifting a fist to prod at his chin. Victor smiled.

    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit, c¡¯mon. Up you go; everyone¡¯s waiting for you.¡± Victor stood and pulled her to her feet. She was shaky, but when she grabbed onto his arm, her grip was tight, and she followed him when he walked out of the cage.

    ¡°Nobodying yet,¡± Tha said. She¡¯d collected both of their batons, probably while Victor was pounding on the mine employee, and she held Victor¡¯s out to him now. ¡°You gotta do something about your cor; it''ll raise questions if someone sees you like that.¡± Victor felt up to his bare neck and nodded. He looked down at his stretched and broken cor and picked up one of the elongated halves. He lifted it to his neck and bent it around so the two ends met in the back, then he gave Tha a questioning look. ¡°It¡¯ll pass at a nce. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Alright, everyone, be safe; please don¡¯t mention me to anyone,¡± Victor said, ncing back at the crowd of women, some propped up by others, and then he hooked an arm around Edeya¡¯s shoulders and ushered her out of the tent, Tha hot on his heels. ¡°Gorz, please guide me on the shortest route back to the barracks.¡± He felt a little bad taking off and leaving those other women to their own devices, but he also felt like he¡¯d just robbed a bank and needed to get the hell out of sight.

    ¡°Of course! Take your next right,¡± the amulet¡¯s slightly metallic voice replied. Victor walked quickly, trying to keep to the shadows and avoiding the crowds of miners they passed here and there, but no one challenged them or came running behind them. Edeya shuffled along under his arm the whole while, her eyes downcast. Victor had to lift her while they walked to keep her moving fast enough to keep up, but it wasn¡¯t hard; she felt smaller than ever.

    They were back to the main settlement area and passing through a narrow alley of shanties when Edeya jerked against his arm and looked around with wild eyes. ¡°Get off me!¡± she cried, pushing against him. Victor let go and held his hands out.

    ¡°Easy, Edeya. It¡¯s Victor; you okay?¡± She looked around, her eyes wide and her hands out, like she was ready to fight, but then something clicked, and she looked back at Victor.

    ¡°You got me out?¡±

    ¡°Me and Tha,¡± Victor said, nodding to the tall Shadeni woman. Edeya looked at Tha, and then a sob escaped her lips, and she crumpled against Tha, who grabbed her in a hug.

    ¡°You¡¯re alright, Edeya. You¡¯re alright,¡± she said softly, stroking her hair, careful not to squeeze her broken wing. ¡°Come on, little bird. We need to get back to the barracks; there¡¯ll be people looking for Victor and probably me, too.¡± Edeya took a long shuddering breath, sniffed, and nodded. Then, they all started walking again, Edeya holding an arm tightly around Tha¡¯s waist this time.

    ¡°You think they¡¯ll know it was us?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d say. How many women did we spring from that cage? Nine? Ten? They won¡¯t all keep their mouths shut, and then the miningpany will send an investigator. They¡¯ll do some scrying, and we¡¯ll be deep in the rdii shit.¡±

    ¡°Of course¡ªmagical world means magical investigators.¡± Victor smacked a fist into his palm. ¡°Well, maybe you¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m sure whatever they see with their scrying will be something like me beating the shit outta that guy, not you.¡±

    ¡°Depends on how thorough the investigator is, and the mine can afford good ones.¡±

    ¡°Alright, well, let¡¯s just talk to the captain and see what she thinks.¡±

    ¡°You sure we should? The captain works for the mine¡­¡± Tha let her voice trail off.

    ¡°You know the captain; she has her own rules. I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll fuck us over.¡± Tha didn¡¯t reply, so Victor looked at her, and when their eyes met, she nodded over the top of Edeya¡¯s head.

    Listening to Gorz¡¯s directions, Victor led them through the alleys and out into the main tunnel. After ten minutes of quick walking, avoiding the eyes of the strangers they passed, they were in sight of Lam¡¯s Barracks. Walking up, they were greeted by the presence of Sergeant Fath, pacing back and forth in front of the building. When he saw them, he strode forward quickly and, in his baritone voice, rumbled, ¡°You found her! Captain wants you to bring her in through her private entrance. Come on.¡± He turned and strode around the side of the barracks, and Victor, ncing at Tha, who nodded, followed after.

    Victor didn¡¯t remember any side doors to the barracks, so he was only slightly surprised when, rather than a door, Fath led them to adder. He gestured for them all to climb it to the barracks'' roof, and Victor did so first, reaching down to help Edeya up after him. Tha came next, and then Fath came up, pulling thedder after him. He pointed to a square of light near the rear of the barracks, and Victor walked to it, realizing it was an open trapdoor. ¡°Drop in; she¡¯s expecting you.¡± Something about the whole situation was making Victor nervous, but he couldn¡¯t see another move; he supposed he could make a run for it, but if Lam wanted him, she could catch him, he had no doubt. He moved to the trapdoor and peered through.

    It wasn¡¯t Lam¡¯s study, the floor was carpeted, and he thought he could see the foot of a fancy four-post bed. ¡°Her bedroom?¡± he muttered.

    ¡°Hurry, drop down,¡± Fath said. Victor nced at Tha and Edeya. Edeya¡¯s face was pale in the cavern light, and she wouldn''t make eye contact with him. Tha gave him another quick nod, so he stepped forward and dropped onto the carpet. Sure enough, it was a nicely appointed bedroom. The bed wasrge with a fluffy, white quilt, and the carpet was rich and clean. The walls were stered a creamy white and lined with backlit disy cases. Victor had just started to examine the contents of one of the disy cases, some sort of manuscript pressed between ss, when Lam cleared her throat behind him.

    ¡°Victor, move so the others cane down.¡± He whirled to see Lam sitting on a low, padded sofa, watching him from behind a ss of liquor. He stepped toward her, but she held up a hand.

    ¡°Your cor.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we ran into some trouble.¡± A thud signaled the arrival of Tha behind him, then the soft sounds of Edeya being helped down, and then the trapdoor was closed from above, and Victor heard footsteps moving away over the roof.

    ¡°Best exin to me, and quickly,¡± Lam said, taking another drink, her face not betraying her mood.

    ¡°We¡­¡± Victor started, but then Tha stepped forward and cut him off.

    ¡°It was a mine employee. He had a cage full of abused women, and when Victor and I saw it, he activated his control rod to kill Victor and probably would have killed me too. Victor ripped his cor off and beat him to death.¡± That got a reaction from Captain Lam; one of her wispy pale eyebrows lifted, and she actually smiled.

    ¡°I knew they messed up with that cor!¡± She stood up and brushed past Victor to grab Edeya by her shoulders, leaned over, bent nearly in half to make eye contact with the girl. ¡°Are you okay? I¡¯ll tell you what I told Victor when he got attacked off by himself: I hope you learned something.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± she said softly. ¡°They only had me a little while.¡±

    ¡°Tut, look at your wing. Come here.¡± She nced at Victor and Tha and said, ¡°Wait here.¡± Then, she led the diminutive Ghelli to the far side of her bed and helped her toy down. She produced a small vial of glowing amber fluid, and Victor could just barely hear her say, ¡°Drink this down; you¡¯ll wake up feeling like a twirler on Starleaf Night.¡± A few momentster, Captain Lam came back from around the bed and sat down in front of Tha and Victor. ¡°You¡¯re likely in a bit of trouble.¡±

    ¡°Can you do anything?¡± Tha asked bluntly.

    ¡°Oh, I imagine I could figure something out. Let¡¯s think on it a moment. Back up and tell me the whole story. How you found Edeya, who witnessed your actions, everything.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Victor said, taking the lead. He didn¡¯t want Tha trying to cover for him or worrying about revealing too much, so he started from the beginning. He told Lam about questioning the guy at the gaming hall, searching the tunnels, and what he did when he found the man in the tent. He didn¡¯t leave much out, mostly just his secret conversations with Gorz.

    ¡°How¡¯d you know the gambler would be able to lead you to Edeya?¡±

    ¡°Just a hunch; I knew he was a scumbag, and so I figured he might know where to find other scumbags.¡±

    ¡°Victor, do you want my help?¡± Lam asked suddenly. He nodded, and she continued, ¡°Stop being evasive. You¡¯re holding something back, and I¡¯m not going to stick my neck out for someone that¡¯s not honest with me.¡±

    ¡°Alright. The guy in the gambling hall was one of the assholes that jumped me. I tracked them down a while ago, figuring I¡¯d give them a taste of their own medicine one of these days.¡± He nced sideways at Tha and saw that her eyes had widened, but she didn¡¯t say anything. Captain Lam¡¯s lips spread into a wide smile, though.

    ¡°You keep surprising me. Alright, next question; what did you do with the body?¡±

    ¡°Um,¡± Victor started, then shrugged.

    ¡°We left it,¡± Tha finished.

    ¡°Oh, Great Forest!¡± Lam sighed. ¡°Was he alone? Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Actually, one of the women said he had sent his guards or soldiers to get someone.¡±

    ¡°Soldiers? He had soldiers? Did you catch his name by chance?¡±

    ¡°No, but he was a smug one; he seemed full of himself,¡± Tha added. Lam studied Tha and then Victor for a moment while she thought. Her eyes fell to his twisted, broken cor, then down, over his body to his hands.

    ¡°You took that ring from him?¡±

    ¡°Uh, yeah,¡± Victor said, shrugging.

    ¡°What¡¯s in it? Anything to identify him?¡± Understanding dawned on Victor like fireworks going off, and he turned his mind toward the space in the ring, producing the sheaf of papers and the ckbird si ring. He put them onto the low table in front of Lam¡¯s couch. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see here.¡± She bent to pick up the ring and turned it over in her hand, a frown deepening the curves of her mouth. She set it down without a word, though, and picked up the papers, removing the cord binding them all together and opening the top one.

    Victor began to grow nervous the longer Lam read through the papers without saying anything. He wanted to ask her what they were about, but he knew she¡¯d say something when she finished, so he just stood there, fidgeting and wishing he could stand stoically and still like Tha; she stood with her face impassive, eyes as severe as always. Finally, after reading through more than half of the papers, Lam looked up and said, ¡°My options for helping you are slimmer than I thought.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Tha asked inly.

    ¡°The Greatbone Mining Consortium is run by a group of families¡ªMerchant families grown so wealthy over the decades that they might as well be nobility. In fact, they own many of the nobles in the Ridonne Empire. Well, the man you killed was a member of the ap¡¯Yensha n, one of those families. He wasn¡¯t skimming; he was here to collect prospects for service in a new venture they were starting in Gelica.¡±

    The dots started to connect in Victor¡¯s mind, and he said, ¡°So if he¡¯d been some random employee stealing girls to make money on the side, you could have gotten us out of this mess, but seeing as he was a member of some powerful family and he was here on business they condoned, we¡¯re fucked?¡±

    ¡°I can help you slip free of the mine, but I can¡¯t protect you beyond that. I¡¯m strong and wealthy, but nothingpared to those families. They can afford to hunt you to the ends of the world.¡±

    ¡°Would they? Just to avenge that one asshole?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe? If he was well-liked, then yes, they will hunt you. If you¡¯d made him disappear with no witnesses, it would take them a lot longer to figure out what happened to him. As it is, there¡¯s a good chance his soldiers are alreadybing the area for witnesses, and a scryer is en route. Also, there¡¯s one more nuance: ording to these papers, another of the families, the ap¡¯Bale n, wasn¡¯t on board, and this fellow was taking these women under their noses. I¡¯m not sure if that would help you or cause more problems, but I can assure you the ap¡¯Yensha don¡¯t want others finding out about this, so they¡¯re motivated by more than just revenge.¡±

    ¡°What if we disappeared into the depths?¡± Victor asked suddenly.

    ¡°You mean killed ourselves?¡± Tha scoffed.

    ¡°No,¡± Victor licked his lips, nervous all of a sudden, but continued, ¡°I¡¯ve heard there¡¯s a dungeon that leads out of the mine. If we can find the entrance, we could escape that way. They¡¯d probably assume we¡¯re dead if they scry us down there, right?¡±

    This time it was Captain Lam that scoffed, ¡°You think you can find a dungeon down there? You know how long I¡¯ve been digging around for treasure and hidden things in those depths? If you have something more to tell me, I¡¯m listening.¡±

    ¡°I saw a map. I saw a map in the home of the asshole that tried to destroy my Core. He caught me studying it, and that¡¯s why he did it¡ªfractured my Core and sold me to the mine. I didn¡¯t even really know what I was looking at at the time, but when I went into the depths with you, I started to recognize theyout of some of the caverns. I think I could find the dungeon, or at least get heading in the right direction. It has to be better than what¡¯s in store for us if those families get ahold of us, right?¡±

    ¡°Clever ploy, Victor. I like this captain of yours, but she may well want to take me from you,¡± Gorz piped in, startling Victor enough to make his heart hammer in his chest.

    ¡°I won¡¯t lie, Victor,¡± she looked at Tha and continued, ¡°and Tha. I¡¯m not excited about going up against those families, and if you were to disappear into the depths, that would be one less headache for me to deal with. I hate to see you both throw your lives away, though. How good is your memory, Victor? You¡¯ve continued to surprise me, so I¡¯d love you to prove me wrong about this.¡±

    Victor nced at Tha, and his heart hammered even harder¡ªhe saw hope in her eyes. God, what if he was wrong? ¡°I think it¡¯s pretty good, Captain.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± she produced arge sheet of thick, hexed paper and a set of charcoal pencils. ¡°If you can draw the route, and if I recognize any of it as being urate, I¡¯ll help you get started. Start with lift fourteen-A.¡± She took one of the pencils out of the wooden case and held it out to him.

    ¡°Gorz, time to work your magic. You need to describe what I need to draw in very fucking fine detail, please.¡±

    ¡°Understood, Victor, though it would be much easier if you had my old te.¡±

    ¡°But I don¡¯t, so please help me here.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Victor. We¡¯ll treat each hex as ten feet. For the lift room, draw a box near the top of the page that is eight hexes by eleven. Then draw an arrow down from that room that is exactly twenty-seven point five hexes long.¡± Gorz continued with his instructions until Victor had covered most of the sheet with winding tunnels and chambers, and when his drawing took him to the edge, Captain Lam handed him another sheet to continue on. By the time he was finished, the map covered threerge sheets of her hex paper.

    ¡°Victor, do you have some sort of genius for maps? Do you remember everything you see?¡± Lam quietly asked as he set the pencil down.

    ¡°I¡¯m good with maps, but no, I don¡¯t remember everything I¡¯ve seen.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re right, you¡¯ve got more than ten miles of ground to cover down there; it¡¯s going to be dangerous and take you days. What about this long wide tunnel with the little squiggles in it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s an underground river. I think there¡¯s room along its bank to walk, though. If I remember the map correctly,¡± Victor finishedmely. Lam gave him another squinting examination but shook her head slightly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re suicidal, so I¡¯m going to go ahead and hope for the best. Are you going to try this crazy n with him, Tha?¡±

    ¡°Do I have a choice? I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll show up in the scries at the scene, and witnesses saw us running around together. Looks like I¡¯m going to have to trust Victor.¡±

    ¡°Victor, I¡¯ll make a deal with you. I already owe you and Tha a reward for your ore find, so I¡¯ll give you each something before I send you on your way. But, if you manage to escape through that dungeon, I¡¯ll reward you again for any information you can give me about what you find in the dungeon. Tha, if you get to safety, just use that stone I gave you; I¡¯ll be able to find you.¡±

    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s a deal,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Let me get you some supplies; I don¡¯t want the other delvers to know you came back here, so sit tight.¡± Captain Lam stood up and slipped through the door, closing it behind her.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to die down there,¡± Tha said, stretching and cracking her neck.

    ¡°Maybe, but it¡¯s a chance.¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°Can we trust the captain?¡± Tha asked softly, a whisper that Victor could barely hear. He looked at her and saw the doubt in her narrowed eyes and how she pressed her lips together.

    ¡°If she wanted to betray us, she¡¯d just beat us into submission. She¡¯s higher than tier four, right?¡± That simple statement seemed to send a wave of relief through Tha, and she suddenly grinned, shaking her head.

    ¡°Good point.¡±

    The door opened again a momentter, and Captain Lam came through, quickly closing it behind herself. Her hands were empty, but Victor knew that didn¡¯t mean anything when you considered magical storage devices. Lam sat down again, oblivious or uncaring that Victor and Tha had been standing for their entire meeting. She began to stack items on the table¡ªwrapped sausages, loaves of bread, sacks of fruit, several long lengths of thin, sturdy rope, a package of those self-sinking pitons that Victor had seen her use before, four glowmps, and two bedrolls. She motioned to the pile of supplies and said, ¡°Split it up in case one of you dies or gets lost.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Captain,¡± Tha said, starting to deposit some of the items into her hidden ring. Victor followed suit, taking half of the supplies into his new ring.

    ¡°I¡¯m not done; you two don¡¯t know the fortune I¡¯m going to make off those ingots. I wasn¡¯t joking when I said I¡¯ll reward you for more information. Here,¡± she was suddenly holding a long, silvery-red, metal spear. She handed it to Tha. ¡°This is artificed to pierce armor. It¡¯s self-sharpening and nearly weightless in the hands of its bonded owner.¡± Then she turned to Victor, ¡°You don¡¯t strike me as a finesse-type fighter, so I¡¯ll give you one of my first truly good weapons. I haven¡¯t used her in decades, so I figure I¡¯ll give her a chance to see some action. Treat her well, Victor.¡± Suddenly she was holding a ck-ded axe with a polished cherry-colored haft. The de was bearded and gleamed along the edge like liquid silver.

    ¡°Wow,¡± Victor said, eyeing the heavy, wicked axe head.

    ¡°This is Lifedrinker, and she has a heartsilver core. Those she strikes suffer as she takes their Energy. Her thirst is great; I¡¯ve never been able to sate her, but some say that given enough Energy, heartsilver will start to grow conscious.¡± She held out the axe to Victor, and he gingerly took hold of the haft. It was long enough to wield with two hands, but he could easily swing it with one.

    ¡°Thank you, Captain. I, I hope I don¡¯t lose her down below.¡±

    ¡°You passed the first test; never call her an ¡®it.¡¯ Can you promise me that?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Victor said with a gulp, realizing he¡¯d already thought of the axe as a thing in his mind.

    ¡°Very well; she wasn¡¯t mine when I was given her to use, and now she¡¯s mine no longer. Are you ready? Fath tells me the mines are abuzz with the search taking ce. I think you should be gone soon.¡±

    ¡°What about Edeya?¡± Victor nced over at the slumbering form.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about her. She reminds me of a friend I had,¡± she nced around and down at herself, then continued, ¡°before all of this. I think I¡¯ll buy her contract and get her some training. I¡¯m not saying I¡¯m going to coddle her, but she won¡¯t have to worry about someone nabbing her if that¡¯s a concern for you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty great,¡± Victor said, but his face fell slightly, and he frowned down at the carpet, avoiding Lam¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± Tha said, still holding her new spear.

    ¡°Not quite,¡± Lam said, looking at the tall woman. She held out her hand, and Victor saw that she held a control rod like the mine employees all carried. She held it out toward Tha, and a momentter, a click sounded, and Tha removed her cor, now spread open at an invisible seam.

    ¡°Ancestors! It feels good to have this thing off.¡±

    ¡°I imagine,¡± Lam said, a slight smile twisting her lips.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you see how wrong it is?¡± Victor blurted.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Lam scowled slightly, looking at him.

    ¡°Captain Lam, you¡¯ve been very good to me, but don¡¯t you see how wrong this all is? People being forced to fight and die while you dig around in the ruins? Look at Edeya! You seem to care about her, but she could die tomorrow protecting some miners while you dig around for treasures.¡± Victor wanted to kick himself or p himself or something, but the words just came flooding out.

    ¡°Strange way of thanking someone,¡± she said, standing up, clouds behind her eyes.

    ¡°I am grateful, truly, but I feel like you¡¯re better than this!¡±

    ¡°Victor, you don¡¯t know me. You know a few things about me, but you don¡¯t know me. I didn¡¯t get where I am because I was coddled. I know what I do seems selfish, but that¡¯s simply because it is: I work to improve my own power. Some poweres with Energy and levels, some poweres with connections and politics, and some poweres with wealth. I do care about Edeya and others, but I also know they have their own struggles to get through. I might tip the scales in their favor from time to time, but I¡¯m nobody¡¯s savior. Not Edeya¡¯s, not yours. I¡¯m helping you because it won¡¯t cost me much, and it might pay off someday. Don¡¯t mistake my aid for something it isn¡¯t¡ªI¡¯m fond of you both, but I won¡¯t risk what I¡¯ve gained to carry you out of your challenge. You¡¯ve got to do that on your own. Now, it¡¯s time you both got going. I hope I hear from you someday.¡±

    Lam had been pacing the whole time she spoke, and now she stopped under the trapdoor leading to her roof, and she motioned for Tha and Victor toe over. Tha got there first, and Lam, having opened the trapdoor, ced her hands on Tha¡¯s hips and boosted her up so that the Shadeni could scramble up onto the roof. Victor stepped up next, still holding Lifedrinker, and he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t want to insult you, Captain. Thanks for your help.¡± She nodded, grabbed his hips, and when he hopped up, she boosted him like he was a child, and he found himself on the roof.

    ¡°Close the trapdoor, please,¡± Lam called softly from below. Tha gently lowered the wooden trapdoor, careful not to m it, and then the two of them padded to the edge of the barracks¡¯ roof and dropped down.

    ¡°You have a death wish?¡± Tha asked as they hurried off into the darkness of the tunnel.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°That woman could kill us with a thought, and you decided that, after she gave us her help, you were going to lecture her about her morality?¡±

    ¡°My mouth gets away from me. I had to say something, though¡ªI might never see her again, and I want to like her, but I can¡¯t get past all the evil in this ce that she turns a blind eye to.¡±

    ¡°As she said, we don¡¯t know her whole story. Let¡¯s be grateful for what we got, agreed?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, agreed.¡± Victor hefted Lifedrinker and almost put it into his ring, but then he decided not to. If he was going to think of the axe as alive, then he shouldn¡¯t put it into a storage container. ¡°Her,¡± he corrected himself aloud.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Just thinking about this axe. Can you believe these weapons? I feel better about our chances already.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re nice, alright,¡± Victor saw that she¡¯d already stowed her spear in her ring, which glinted with a golden luster on her hand.

    ¡°You moved your ring to your hand,¡± he said.

    ¡°Quicker to ess things like weapons.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to hide anymore.¡±

    ¡°Good point,¡± Victor said, stopping suddenly. He reached up and grabbed the ends of the twisted cor on his neck and pulled them apart, flinging the strip of metal to tter among the stones of the tunnel. ¡°Let¡¯s go. It¡¯s all downhill from here!¡± Heughed at his own wit, and Tha, though she didn¡¯t seem to get his humor, smiled along with him. Sometimes, Victor figured, you just had tough in the face of the shiting your way.

 Chapter 34: Refinement

    Chapter 34: Refinement

    Tha held a finger to her lips as she peered around the corner. They were almost to the chamber where Victor had first gone with Lam on her little exploration and where he¡¯d found Gorz. Tha, crouching ahead of him with her spear leveled, had hissed at him to be quiet and then slunk into the shadows to peer around. Victor wasn¡¯t sure what she¡¯d heard, but he¡¯d grown to respect her senses in the short time they¡¯d been sneaking through the dark together.

    Twice, she¡¯d warned him ahead of an encounter with giant insects crossing their path, saving them from having to fight an unknown number of the creatures. She¡¯d even spotted a group of stickmen lying in the shallows of an underground pool they¡¯d skirted. To Victor, they¡¯d just looked like deeper shadows, but Tha had spotted their creepy, shiny eyes blinking in the lights Lam had left behind.

    Victor gripped Lifedrinker tightly in his fists; his hands choked up near the bearded de in the tight tunnel. Tha looked back at him, her long braids flicking lightly on her shoulders and her dark eyes glittering in the light of his glow stone. She slowly motioned with her left hand toe up beside her. As he started to move, she gestured at her chest, her hand over her glow stone. Victor copied her, plunging the tunnel into darkness, the only lighting from Lam¡¯s hanging orb up ahead.

    When he got close to her, he saw the old piton and rope Lam had ced for everyone to climb down. Out past that, he saw the little stream crossing the cavern, the pile of ruins where Lam had killed the rot fiend and rummaging around the battle site, severalrge, hunched humanoids. ¡°Are those deep hulks?¡± he whispered.

    ¡°I think so. Five that I can count.¡± Tha¡¯s voice barely made a sound.

    ¡°Alright, do we try to sneak past? Do we kill them?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. It would be a tough fight.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, maybe.¡± Victor couldn¡¯t help looking at Lifedrinker; he wanted to fight with her so badly, he could feel it in his bones. Tha gave him a searching look, then shook her head.

    ¡°We should try to sneak around.¡±

    ¡°Just a sec; let me think,¡± Victor said. ¡°Gorz, what exit from this next cavern do we take? Is it feasible to sneak past those hulks?¡±

    ¡°Victor, the tunnel you want is halfway up the far wall, slightly to your left. You¡¯ll be quite exposed climbing up if my memory serves.¡±

    ¡°Our exit is that tunnel halfway up the far wall. We¡¯re going to need climbing equipment. How can we do that while sneaking? We gotta kill those pendejos,¡± Victor said softly in Tha¡¯s ear.

    ¡°Ugh, this is going to hurt,¡± she said, but she started creeping forward to the rope and piton. Victor crouched in the shadow, watching the hulks shuffling around, scooping their ws under rocks and hunks of fungi, and depositing whatever they came up with into their maws. Tha stowed her spear, grabbed the rope, and silently shimmied down it.

    When the hulks didn¡¯t react or look their way, and Victor was sure she was down, he crouch-walked up to the edge, hooked his axe through his belt, lifted the rope, and dropped over the edge. He was halfway down, using his feet to spring away from the cliff face while he let the rope slip slowly through his hands, when a loud grunt, followed by roars and sshing water, told him the hulks had spotted him.

    ¡°Hurry!¡± Tha hissed, and Victor looked down to see he was only twelve or so feet from the ground, so he let go andnded in a crouch.

    ¡°Get ready!¡± Victor said, yanking Lifedrinker from his belt.

    ¡°You tell me to get ready a lot! You get ready!¡± Tha said, brandishing her red spear, its silvery streaks winking in the bright light of the overhead orb. Victor justughed, lengthening his grip on his axe, ready to make use of the wide space in the cavern. ¡°Put your back to me if they surround us,¡± Tha said, and Victor didn¡¯t see a reason to argue. The two of them stood, side by side, waiting for the hulks as they crashed through the ruins. ¡°You¡¯re ready to try that axe out, huh?¡±

    ¡°Damn right, sis,¡± Victor grinned, preparing to cast Inspiring Presence. He took two long, controlled breaths, and then the first of the hulks was on them. Victor unleashed his spell, and before he could even fully realize the surge of Energy and possibility that flooded him, he was stepping forward and bringing Lifedrinker down in an overhead chop. He¡¯d aimed for the hulk¡¯s round, smooth head but missed, splitting its shoulder and tearing a long terrible groove down through its carapace. Lifedrinker carved through its flesh and shell like it was papier-mache, and Victor crowed at the difference a good weapon made.

    Shards of shell and gouts of yellow-green fluid burst from the wound, and Victor felt Lifedrinker buck in his hand as she seemed to pulse with Energy. The hulk squealed through its mandibles and fell back, causing the two on its heels to stumble. Victor lifted his axe for another hack, but Tha¡¯s spear was suddenly sprouting from the eye of the hulk he was aiming at, and it fell away, scrabbling at its face. With a minor adjustment, Victor brought Lifedrinker down in a sideways angled cleave into the next hulk, catching its neck and nearly removing its head. It fell, twitching, to the rubble-strewn floor.

    The light was so bright, the angles so clear, and the axe so smooth as he sliced through the air that Victor felt like he was performing some kind of dance rather than fighting with huge, monstrous creatures. When a long hooked limb came his way, he backed up a step and brought Lifedrinker down through the jointed wrist, relieving the monster of its appendage.

    Tha was like a machine with her spear, using its length to keep the monsters at bay as she filled them with deep, weeping wounds. It and Lifedrinker had no trouble with their carapaced torsos, slicing and punching through them easily, exposing the hulks'' weakness to sharp weapons. When the massive monsters tried to use their bulk to overwhelm them, Victor met their charges with heavy chops, and Tha let them drive themselves onto her spear.

    It helped that the hulks hade at them in a staggered line, never having the chance to surround them fully. The first kills came quickly, and then the two of them slowly hacked and stabbed the others into broken submission. Victor never had to use any rage Energy, so he kept his wits the entire time. He noticed Tha¡¯s spear glowing brightly and moving more quickly from time to time, and he made a note to ask her what sort of spell she was using¡ªmaybe he could copy it.

    After just a few minutes of violence, the hulks were reduced to broken, bleeding mounds, and Victor and Tha stood over them as the Energy surged out of the gathered motes and into their Cores.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 20 Spirit Champion. You have gained 7 will, 7 vitality, and have 7 attribute points to allocate.***

    ***Level 20 ss refinement is avable. ss refinement is permanent. Human Energy cultivators will next be offered a ss refinement selection at level 30. To view your options and make your selection, ess the menu through your status page.***

    ¡°Oh shit! I hit twenty! Time to upgrade my ss!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not always an upgrade¡ªsometimes it¡¯s smart to keep what you¡¯ve got,¡± Tha said, trying to wipe the gore off her spear with a scrap of leather.

    ¡°Are you tier-two?¡±

    ¡°Just barely. Been level twenty-one for a while now.¡±

    ¡°Did your ss change?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I went from a brawler to a skirmisher¡ªit¡¯s advanced, so I get better stats than my old ss, and I can improve weapon skills more.¡±

    ¡°Nice,¡± Victor said, wondering how lucky he¡¯d been to get an advanced ss at level ten. ¡°You have some Energy attacks?¡± he asked as they started walking to the half-copsed bridge; their exit tunnel was on the far side of the stream.

    ¡°Yeah, sh Strike. It lets me channel my Energy into an attack, so it moves faster than normal. It makes it hard as hell to dodge or parry.¡± Tha hopped over a gap in the bridge, nimbly scampering to the far side. ¡°It uses a lot of my Energy,¡± she added with a shrug as Victor followed her over. ¡°That inspiration thing you do is amazing, though. I swear I¡¯m twice as good when it¡¯s active.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I think it helps you get insight into your skills, too. Let me know if your spear skill advances faster than you think it should while we¡¯re together.¡±

    ¡°Maybe if we find a secure ce to camp, we can do some sparring.¡± She moved toward the cavern wall, passing between some crumbled ruins not far from where Lam had killed the rot fiend.

    ¡°You think they¡¯ll chase us down here?¡± Victor asked, gesturing vaguely toward the upper mine.

    ¡°Maybe. I¡¯d be surprised, but they might. I figure they¡¯ll keep scrying to see if we¡¯re down here and maybe send some hunters, but if we can get into the dungeon, they might lose track of us¡ªfigure we¡¯re dead.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯d be good,¡± Victor said. They¡¯d reached the rocky wall leading up to the exit tunnel, and he thought he could see enough handholds to make his way up. ¡°Looks like we might not need ropes or those spikes.¡±

    ¡°You first, then,¡± Tha said, gesturing to the wall.

    ¡°I kinda want to look at my refinement options, but we¡¯re like sitting ducks in this cavern. I¡¯ll do itter,¡± Victor said, jumping up to grab a low ledge and pulling himself up. A few more hops followed by pullups, and he was in the tunnel mouth. Tha was watching from below, and when he turned to wave at her, she grinned.

    ¡°Now toss me a rope!¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see how it is,¡± heughed, calling one of the ropes out of his ring and unraveling it down the rocky cavern wall. He held it tightly while Tha pulled herself up, walking her feet up the wall. He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her up beside him when she came close.

    ¡°This tunnel meanders for about half a kilometer, Victor. Just stay with it and don¡¯t take either of the side passages you¡¯ll see,¡± Gorz said as Victor turned to regard the low-ceilinged, narrow tunnel they were in.

    ¡°Looks like we follow this one for a while. My neck and back are going to be killing me.¡± He stood up and thumped a fist on the ceiling, his back partially stooped.

    ¡°Yeah, tight quarters. You want me to go first?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. Nah, I¡¯ll go first.¡± Victor had pulled the rope up and stowed it. Already getting used to the convenience of the storage ring, he¡¯d stored his backpack and its contents within. It was just too easy to think about what he wanted and have it appear in his hand; he knew, if he weren¡¯t so busy, he¡¯d probably have been messing around with it like a kid with a new game. Taking a deep breath and steeling himself, he walked into the tunnel, his light stone illuminating the darkness for about ten strides. He held his axe, grip choked up close, out in front of him as he stalked, stooped over down the dusty, rubble-strewn passage.

    They ran into a trio of giant rats about halfway down the tunnel near a branching side passage, and Victor, using Channel Spirit, hacked the head off one of them as it charged, Tha, from just behind him, drove her spear in the throat of the second one, and the third turned and ran. ¡°Smart little stinker,¡± Victor said, watching it scurry away, dust clouding its passage.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of this tunnel! Keep moving,¡± Tha said, giving him a nudge. Victor grunted acknowledgment and kept moving through the low-ceilinged, narrow, windy passage. ording to Gorz, he was almost to the exit when they came to a very tight portion, and Victor stopped, looking at Tha.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to slither through on my belly to get through that.¡± The idea of sliding through a narrow passage with a million tons of rock and earth above him was causing his heart to race and his palms to sweat.

    ¡°Yeah, I hope you can fit,¡± Tha deadpanned.

    ¡°Are you trying to freak me out?¡±

    ¡°ustrophobic?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think so, but that looks too fucking tight for me!¡±

    ¡°Ancestors! I¡¯ll go first, and that way, I can pull your arms if you get stuck.¡±

    ¡°Not helping!¡± He saw the grin on Tha¡¯s face, and getting that reaction from her usual reticent demeanor was almost worth his genuine difort. He watched as she crawled forward into the narrow portion of the tunnel, and then she was on her belly, slithering through. A few momentster, her light shone back toward him.

    ¡°Your turn,¡± she softly called.

    Groaning, Victor crawled forward as far as he could, then he stretched his arms into the tight passage, holding his axe out in front of himself, and began to worm his way forward. At one point, his hips caught, and he almost panicked, but he felt Tha¡¯s fingers wend their way around his wrists, and then she tugged with surprising strength. His shoulders strained, and he pulled and wriggled, and then he broke free and slid through thest portion of the cramped shute. ¡°That sucked!¡± he said, sitting up and brushing the dirt off himself.

    Tha didn¡¯t respond to him right away, and he saw why when he looked around. They were in a small cave, about ten by ten paces, but rounded with a high ceiling. The only other passage from the cave was a simrly small tunnel leading from the far side, but that¡¯s not what had Tha¡¯s attention¡ªthe walls were littered with little crystals that reflected their glowmps, creating a bright, almost cheery space. ¡°We should take a break here,¡± Tha said.

    ¡°I guess so; it¡¯s not like we¡¯ve had any sleep in thest two days, and we can watch these two tunnels pretty easily.¡±

    ¡°You should check your ss refinements anyway, especially before we run into something a lot tougher than a deep hulk.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good call. Can you keep an eye out while I¡¯m distracted?¡±

    ¡°Yep, I¡¯m gonna have a snack, too.¡± Tha sat down on a rounded stone, with both tunnel openings in clear view, then she started taking things out of her ring: some sausage, some bread, and a tall, narrow wine bottle.

    ¡°Damn, save some for me!¡± Victorughed, finding afortable stone to sit on. Before opening his status screen, he nced around the sparkling cave and said, ¡°Do you think these crystals are valuable?¡±

    ¡°I think they¡¯re just quartz, but I¡¯m no expert. Maybe?¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡± Victor shrugged the thought aside; they didn¡¯t have time to be chipping cheap crystals out of stone. He called up his status sheet and then selected the option for ss refinement, reading through his five options:

    ***ss refinement option 1: Spirit Weaver - Advanced. Pre-requisite: Two or more spirit affinities. You have begun to unlock the secrets of the spirit. This refinement will allow you to continue that progress, searching out the depths of your inner-self and melding your aspects into powerful Energy workings. ss attributes: Will, Intelligence.***

    ***ss refinement option 2: Battle Caller- Epic. Prerequisites: Inspiration affinity. You exemplify excellence on the battlefield, inspiring yourrades and turning the tide with powerful tactical boons. ss attributes: Will, Intelligence, Agility, Unbound.***

    ***ss refinement option 3: Herald of Carnage - Epic. Prerequisites: Spirit Core, two or more affinities, one of which being rage or terror. Walk the path of carnage, driving your foes ahead of you, breaking their spirits, and reaping their Energy. ss attributes: Will, Strength, Unbound.***

    ***ss refinement option 4: Battle Zealot - Epic. Prerequisites: Spirit Core, two or more affinities, one of which being inspiration, and one rted to fear, anger, or shame. Continue to develop your battle-calling abilities. Whip yourrades into a frenzy and drive your foes mad with your exhortations. ss attributes: Will, Vitality, Strength.***

    ***ss refinement option 5: No Refinement - You are pleased with the path on which you find yourself and choose to continue until your next refinement option.***

    ¡°Jesus,¡± Victor said softly, frowning and shaking his head at his sphemy.

    ¡°What?¡± Tha asked around her mouthful of sausage. She took a swig out of her wine bottle and cocked an eyebrow at him.

    ¡°Uh, I have a lot of options, and they seem loco as hell.¡±

    ¡°Crazy?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, like fucking ¡®Battle Zealot,¡¯ um, ¡®...whip yourrades into a frenzy and drive your foes mad¡­¡¯¡±

    ¡°Hah, that does sound a little crazy! Spirit Cores are something different, I guess.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s an interesting option, Victor. Do you mind sharing more details?¡± Gorz asked, once again startling Victor; he jerked his head to the side before he registered that it was Gorz. Tha kept watching him while she slowly chewed her food.

    ¡°Let me know if you want any advice,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m not an expert, but I might have an idea or two.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let me study these some more; just a minute,¡± Victor responded aloud while he began to read the refinement options to Gorz silently.

    ¡°Those are all excellent options, Victor. Your choices with unbound attributes are far more numerous than is typical.¡±

    ¡°Really? Why do you think that is?¡±

    ¡°Most likely a result of you having a spirit Core and having a base ss with unbound attribute points. It¡¯s umon to have refinement options that don¡¯t build upon your base ss.¡±

    ¡°So when you say it¡¯s not typical, you mean in your experience?¡±

    ¡°Ahem, yes.¡±

    ¡°Any advice?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re torn between options, remember that greater rarity, or, in this case, the epic options, will give you more attributes per level but take a bit longer to level. Also, look at the attribute distribution: the first attribute listed is usually the one with the greatest increase per level.¡±

    Victor looked at his options again, deciding to discount options that didn¡¯t have unbound attribute points. He liked the idea of the Spirit Weaver ss, thinking it might lead to more control over his Core and perhaps open the door to more affinities. Still, he didn¡¯t like that his only attribute improvements would be in will and intelligence for at least the next ten levels. Battle Zealot, while sounding strong, also didn¡¯t allow for any unbound attributes, and it also seemed just a little too fanatical for Victor¡¯s taste. ¡°Well, not any crazier than going berserk, I guess.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Oh, just thinking out loud. The Battle Zealot sounds kind of nuts, and I was just debating with myself about it.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm, alright.¡±

    ¡°Well, what do you think? Herald of Carnage, Battle Caller, or keep my current ss?¡±

    ¡°Tell me more than their names,¡± she said, taking another long pull of her wine bottle.

    ¡°Take it easy. You¡¯re supposed to be keeping watch, not getting drunk,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°This weak stuff? I¡¯m not going to do more than get a little buzzed if I drink this whole bottle. My vitality is too high.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Victor cleared his throat and then described his ss options to Tha.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Battle Caller sounds more support-oriented, and the other one sounds like you¡¯re going to be leading the way into fights. Which one sounds more like you? Based on that fight with the beetles the other day, I¡¯d say you should pick the, um, carnage one.¡±

    ¡°What about my current ss?¡±

    ¡°Well, if I had the option for an epic ss, I¡¯d take it. My levels have slowed a lot since I got to tier two, but I¡¯m still holding out hope for an epic ss at level thirty.¡±

    ¡°Alright, fuck it. Herald of Carnage it is.¡±

    ¡°I think you and your friend have demonstrated excellent logic, Victor,¡± Gorz said.

    ¡°Heh, thanks, Gorz.¡± Victor scrolled to the option and touched the ¡°select¡± button.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve refined your ss: Herald of Carnage. ss skill gained: Project Spirit - Improved.***

    ***Project Spirit - Improved: Send forth a wave of your attuned Energy to negatively influence the minds of those in front of you. Energy cost: 200 Cooldown: Medium.***

    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s wild. I got a new spell that will use my attuned Energy to negatively impact those in front of me. How could my inspiration Energy affect others negatively?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure; remember, I have no affinities.¡± Tha shrugged.

    ¡°Victor, spiritual affinities, like other affinities, can be altered in your pathways to reflect different aspects of the same affinity. Imagine you had a water affinity; you could cast spells using liquid, ice, or vapor. With the right pattern, your inspiration-attuned Energy can be twisted into discouragement.¡±

    ¡°What about my rage?¡±

    ¡°Just as your rage can give you great strength and fortitude, it can be twisted to deliver madness without those benefits.¡±

    ¡°Damn! Good to know. We need to spend more time talking, Gorz.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, perhaps you¡¯ll have more free time now that you¡¯re sneaking through the deep delves and preparing to enter a dangerous dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Was that sarcasm, you little pinche?¡± Victorughed, and Tha gave him another strange look.

    ¡°Care to share the joke?¡±

    ¡°Did you enjoy my humor?¡± Gorz asked at the same time.

    ¡°Oh, just thinking about driving my enemies nuts while I hack at them with Lifedrinker.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you definitely picked the right refinement. I¡¯m d you¡¯re on my side.¡± She shook her head, then passed her wine bottle to Victor. Victor took the bottle with a grin and chugged a good third of it down. It wasn¡¯t watery like the wine at the barracks, and Victor was no wine expert, but, to him, it was damn good.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t taste bad to me,¡± he said, passing it back to Tha.

    ¡°I found a couple of crates of this stuff about a year ago¡ªno idea how old it is.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Victor knew winested a long time in the bottle, but the ruins down in the depths seemed ancient.

    ¡°Yes, the bottles are enchanted to preserve the contents. Lam didn¡¯t know I found them, and I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d reward me enough to give them up.¡± She shrugged and took another drink.

    ¡°What are you gonna do? If we live through this shit and make it through that dungeon?¡± While he asked, Victor stood up and hefted a boulder about the size of a basketball, setting it in the center of the little tunnel they¡¯de through.

    ¡°I¡¯m not thinking that far ahead. I doubt we¡¯ll even get to the dungeon entrance¡ªthere¡¯s stuff down here that even Lam won¡¯t fight.¡±

    ¡°Come on,¡± Victor grunted, hefting another boulder and stacking it next to the first. ¡°Be positive. Say we make it; where would you go?¡±

    ¡°Well, probably to Gelica first. If we live, there¡¯s a good chance we¡¯ll have some treasure from the dungeon and gain some levels. Gelica¡¯s a big enough city where no one would notice a Shadeni womaning into town to sell some things and resupply.¡± She watched, kicking her feet out while Victor piled yet another stone into the tunnel entrance. ¡°Hope we don¡¯t have to make a hasty exit that way.¡±

    ¡°Hah, you serious? Nothing hasty about me trying to worm through that tiny tunnel. I¡¯d rather die on my feet than have something eat me from the ass up while I¡¯m stuck in there.¡±

    ¡°Lovely image,¡± Thaughed.

    ¡°What about after Gelica? You got family? Got a home?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s with the interrogation? Let¡¯s just take it one day at a time, alright? I don¡¯t think you should know all my ns, anyway. Suppose they catch up to us and I get away, but you don¡¯t? Think I want them going to my hometown looking for me?¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor stacked a fifth boulder into the little tunnel,pletely blocking it off. ¡°Alright, suit yourself.¡±

    When he felt satisfied that anyone crawling through that tunnel would find progress nigh impossible, Victor sat down and ate some of his food. The sausage was fatty and salty, but it tasted delicious after all the hard work he¡¯d been doing. While he sat and ate, he decided to spend his seven attribute points the same way he had thest few levels. He figured when he gained his first level as a Herald of Carnage, he could revisit the pattern. Besides, his current distribution gave him an even fifty strength¡ªit felt good. ¡°You want to sleep for a couple of hours?¡± he asked, closing his status disy.

    ¡°Not really. I¡¯m too wound up. Let¡¯s put another few tunnels between us and whoever might being after us. I¡¯m hoping that passage you filled up with rocks will discourage them enough, but you never know.¡± She stood and brushed herself off, then peered into the exit shaft. ¡°This one widens up after just a few feet.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m right behind you,¡± Victor said, once again hefting Lifedrinker.

 Chapter 35: Monsters and Rivers

    Chapter 35: Monsters and Rivers

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Victor took a slow, steadying breath, scanning the wide, low-ceilinged cavern again. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything.¡±

    ¡°I heard something, though; I¡¯m sure of it,¡± Tha hissed. Once again, Victor scanned the cavern, running his eyes over the substantial fungus sprouts and the mossy rocks. Moisture hung in a vaporous cloud along the low ceiling, and the air was hot and fetid. Ever so slowly, he moved his gaze over the ground, past the stinky, bubbling pool at the center, and then to the far wall where their next tunnel opened.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go first,¡± he said, atst, unable to see anything but not wanting her to have to rely on his judgment¡ªshe¡¯d wanted to stop and watch until whatever it was showed itself, but he was tired of the wait.

    ¡°And if you get eaten by some tier-five monstrosity? I¡¯m just on my own, then?¡± Tha¡¯s voice was petnt and irritable, and Victor knew she was tired. They¡¯d had to practically dig their way through thest half mile of narrow, muddy tunnels, and if she were half as dirty and exhausted as he was, he didn¡¯t me her.

    ¡°Yeah, I guess,¡± he said and started prowling forward, Lifedrinker gripped in both hands. The ground was mushy, and it squelched with his steps, so he tried to move slowly, letting each foot sink silently before taking the next step. He was about twenty paces into the cavern, skirting the edge of the steaming, stinky pool when the ground rippled, and he fell to one knee, the wet, spongy fungus soaking into his pants. He froze there, looking around. When he nced back at Tha, he saw her narrowed brows and angry eyes and knew she was cussing him out.

    The ground didn¡¯t shudder again, and nothing moved, so Victor carefully got back to his feet and started moving again. He¡¯d just passed the pool when the ground surged again, and he was on his butt. Then, one of the slender, slimy fungus sprouts started to move, stretching upward and peeling back like some kind of nightmarish sex organ to reveal a three-foot-long, bone-colored spear. The long tentacle of fungus turned in the air, pointing its talon-like tip at Victor, and shot forward. He rolled to his right, narrowly dodging the stabbing thing.

    Suddenly the cavern began to shake in earnest, and more and more of the fungus sprouts rose into the air, peeling back their gray, moist skin to reveal those bone-white spears. Victor heard Tha¡¯s voice from behind him, ¡°Run!¡± Then she was tearing past him, running for the far tunnel. Victor cast Inspiring Presence and started to run after her. Suddenly the waving tentacles with bone-spear tips didn¡¯t seem so numerous, and he thought he could spot a route through them. Tha leaped to her right, avoiding a stabbing tentacle, and then Victor lost track of her as he began to dance with the seven or eight tentacles in stabbing range.

    He couldn¡¯t help the bubblingugh that started to roll out of his throat as he dodged the stabbing, weaving spears. They sank into the ground over and over, and, inspiration guiding his arm, Victor started to cleave the tentacles off as they stabbed into the mossy floor. Before long, he was standing amid a cluster of writhing, waving, gore-spraying tentacles sans spears. He turned to the far tunnel, ready to make his way out of the creepy fungus trap, when he saw Tha¡¯s spear sticking out of the spongy ground.

    Icy panic gripped his heart, and he whirled around, looking for a sign of the tall red-skinned woman. When his eyes fell on the pool at the center of the room, he saw the surface bubbling and something thrashing within. ¡°Tha!¡± he roared and charged to the bubbling water. As he got close, his inspired mind ran through a dozen ns to get her out, but then his eyes fell on the edge of the pool, and he noticed the way the ground seemed to surge up and down, and it reminded him of a mouth sucking on a straw. ¡°Oh, hell no!¡±

    Victor brought Lifedrinker down on the gray flesh surrounding the pool, hacking a terrible wound in the quivering surface, and gouts of red-ck blood began to seep out. Lifedrinker throbbed and pulled and seemed to sink deeper of her own ord, and Victor knew she¡¯d found a deep well of Energy to draw from. The ground of the cavern quivered and bucked, and if he hadn¡¯t been holding tight to Lifedrinker with his legs wide, Victor knew he¡¯d have fallen into the pool. ¡°Spit her out, you fucker!¡± he screamed, and then an idea urred to him. He used Project Spirit, and a surge of rage-attuned Energy pulsed out of him in a cone-shaped, palpable red haze.

    He hadn¡¯t consciously decided to use rage Energy with the spell, but it seemed to do the trick; the gray, oozing flesh surrounding the little pool puckered and then began to convulse, stretching up out of the ground like an unhoused section of intestine. As it stretched, heaving and spewing gouts of the fetid liquid within, Victor swung Lifedrinker in a wide horizontal cleave, opening a terrible, yard-long gash in the side of the protuberance. Gouts of thick ck blood sprayed forth, along with more of the liquid that had been bubbling in the ¡°pool.¡±

    The cavern floor shook, and the swaying, bleeding, stabbing tentacles went wild in their attempts to reach Victor. None of the nearby ones had their spears anymore, and most had been shortened by his axe to the point where they couldn¡¯t even p at him. Victor turned to hack one that was still long enough to il at him, liberally soaking him with ck-red ooze. He cleaved it in half, leaving a stump that could only thrash and ssh him with more blood.

    Victor cast Sovereign Will, pumping up his strength, and also Channel Spirit, filling his arms and Lifedrinker with rage-attuned Energy. Then he went to work, hacking at the now two-meter-tall, writhing, pulsing, bleeding protuberance. Lifedrinker ripped considerable gashes in the thing with each swing, and soon the top half was just a deted p of loose flesh, and the bottom was pouring gouts of liquid and blood with each convulsion. Victor was about to deliver another terrible chop to an existing cut when he saw a glimpse of shiny, wet red flesh.

    He let go of Lifedrinker with one hand and plunged it into the gaping wound, feeling around. Immediately, Victor¡¯s fingers began to burn, but he shoved his arm in further until he felt something solid, then he grabbed on and yanked with all his rage-fuelled strength. As his arm and hand emerged from the gash, he saw that he had a grip on Tha¡¯s ankle, and he pulled, backing up a step, delivering her through the sh like a nightmarish birth. She slid free in a ssh of foamy liquid and red gore, and Victor stood stunned for a moment when he saw her condition.

    Tha had an oozing, puckered puncture wound through her chest under her right corbone. Her clothing was frayed and gore-covered, and, worse, her flesh was raw, and beneath her red skin, he could see exposed muscle tissue in many spots, including her cheeks¡ªthe thing had been dissolving her.

    Victor¡¯s heart began to hammer in panic and anger, and his hand tightened on the haft of Lifedrinker until his knuckles were white. He stood over Tha, wondering if she were dead, wishing he could heal her somehow, but struggling to contain the urge to turn and keep hacking at the monstrosity living under the cavern floor. ¡°Pinche, mother fucker!¡± He growled, turning back to the bucking, quivering, fleshy tube.

    As he struggled to contain his rage and turned back, trying to force himself to pick up Tha and run from the cavern, a thought urred to him: she might not have as much Energy affinity as he did, but she still would heal some if he got her a big Energy influx. A wicked grin spread on his face as he turned back to the gray intestine thing. ¡°You must be worth a lot of Energy, asshole!¡± Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard Gorz¡¯s tinnyugh.

    Hefting Lifedrinker into a two-handed grip, Victor stopped holding back his rage and let it flood his pathways, pushing himself to Berserk. The dim light in the cavern grew darker as a shade of blood-red filtered over his vision, and the only thing he could see was the heaving, pulsing, gore-spewing monstrosity. He screamed, spittle frothing his lips, andunched himself at it, whipping Lifedrinker in heavy side-to-side arcs, tearing through the thick, springy flesh of the tube effortlessly. The cavern floor continued to roll and tremble, and the spear tentacles waved about madly, the ones shortened by Victor spraying gore all over the ce, painting the room with more red. Victorughed.

    The huge, gray tube continued to thrash its way higher out of the springy cavern floor, and then the ground cracked around it, and a ropy tentacle with a w-like hook on the end pushed out, sinking into the ground and pulling. Victor hacked it in half, and it sprayed forth a much brighter shade of blood. The sight of it fed Victor¡¯s fury, and he continued his rampage. As he worked his way around the tube, hacking it to shreds, he came within range of one of the tentacles with a spear still intact. It stabbed him through the back of his thigh, and he screamed in pain and fury, whipping Lifedrinker around and cutting it in half.

    The tentacles¡¯ waving and thrashing caught the attention of his enraged mind, and, after he yanked the spear from his leg, he went on a rampage around the cavern, running from one spear tentacle to the next, cleaving them off as close to the ground as he could. He felt his rage cooling at one point and pushed more of his prodigious rage-attuned Energy pool into his pathways, extending its duration. Whether he could have chosen not to do so wasn¡¯t apparent or of interest to him; killing and the madness ofbat were all he craved. The stab wounds he umted in his rampage mostly healed over, and the pain served only to drive his fury to new heights.

    He was standing over one of the truncated spear tentacles when the cavern bucked again, almost knocking him over. He caught himself against the cavern wall and spun to see the source of the cracking, screaming, hissing sound that had disturbed him. At the center of the cavern, not far from where Thay, the huge, massacred, intestine-like protuberance was now horizontal, and the creature from which it sprang was worming its way out of the ground. It heaved itself with a dozen of those hooked tentacles, pulling its enormous, slug-like body out of the ground, inch by inch.

    Victor charged through the inch-deepyer of red-ck blood, sshing with each step, andunched himself through the air, Lifedrinker over his head, bringing her down with a tremendous chop along the side of the quivering, gray-white horror. Pus-like ooze sprayed in the wake of Lifedrinker¡¯s de, and he felt the axe pull at his hands as she seemed to surge through the flesh, and Victor saw currents of purple-ck Energy rushing toward the axehead through the puckered flesh of the creature.

    A handful of the hooked tentacles released the ground and swung toward Victor, and he danced back, waving Lifedrinker in front of himself to ward them off. He nimbly sprang toward the rear of the exposed slug body, out of their reach, and began to hack into the top of it where it was justing out of the hole. Again, Lifedrinker cleaved through the pulpy flesh, pulling runnels of that purple-ck Energy into herself. Victor watched the process, cleave after cleave, and realized his rage had faded and that the monstrosity was only weakly thrashing, its hooked tentacles mostly lying limp.

    ¡°Die! Just fucking die!¡± he screamed, moving around it, hacking great gashes into its side and severing tentacles whenever they came within reach. Finally, the thing shuddered, and a massive gout of bile-like fluid poured out of the mangled intestinal protuberance, and then it copsed, slipping slowly down its hole.

    Large, baseball-sized motes of purple-gold Energy started to wink into existence in the air above the gaping hole. Then they began to coalesce into streams¡ªa broad, river-like ribbon flowed toward Victor, and a much narrower but still significant one, toward Tha.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 21 Herald of Carnage. You have gained 10 will, 8 strength, and have 10 attribute points to allocate.***

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned the skill Axe Mastery - Improved.***

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned the skill Berserk - Improved.***

    As the notifications filled his vision, Victor realized he was floating off the ground slightly. He stretched, arching his back and letting the rush fill him, and then he dropped to the ground lightly. He looked toward Tha and saw that she was stirring, groaning softly. ¡°You gonna live?¡± He asked, walking toward her.

    ¡°Ugh, am I dead?¡± She pushed herself up to a sitting position, and Victor was relieved to see the flesh had mended on her cheeks and arms. ¡°I leveled? How? Last thing I remember was a spear hooking me and dragging me toward¡­¡± she paused and looked at the hole where the monster had slid into the darkness. ¡°Wasn¡¯t there a pool there?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it was the mouth or throat of some kind of giant, underground, tentacled slug. It was gross as hell. You were almost dead, that¡¯s for sure. Good thing that big, stinky, slithering, butthole was worth a lot of Energy.¡± Victor reached out, taking Tha¡¯s hand and helping her to her feet.

    ¡°You have a way with words,¡± she said, examining her frayed leather vest and the nearly-dissolved shirt she wore underneath.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not trying to be rude, but your braids are soaked with that thing¡¯s spit or whatever, and you kind of stink.¡±

    ¡°My hair!¡± Tha was suddenly holding a half-full bottle of wine and pulling the cork out with her teeth, then she started pouring it over her hair and braids, trying to rinse the acidic fluid away.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have water?¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Shit, me either. I have the watery wine the captain gave us, though.¡± He, too, produced a sk of wine and started helping Tha.

    ¡°You realize you¡¯re covered in gore, too, right?¡± she snapped, though there was relief in her voice as she began to realize her hair was holding up to the acidic fluid.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem likely we¡¯ll find a shower down here, though we will pass by a river soon, I think.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Gorz.¡±

    ¡°This cavern is fucking disgusting; let¡¯s get out of here.¡± Victor started walking toward the exit tunnel but stopped when he saw something shiny winking in his glow stone. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± He was walking through the shallow puddle where the creature had vomited up its guts as it died, and, as he advanced, he began to make out glittering objects. He saw rings, bracelets, a ne, and quite a few gemstones. Larger lumps of metal looked like they were once pieces of armor or weapons, though they hadn¡¯t fared as well in the creature¡¯s belly as the objects made of denser gold and silver.

    ¡°Treasure!¡± Tha said, scooping up a gold chain.

    ¡°Let¡¯s gather this stuff up on that t rock, and then we can go through it.¡± Victor had already started, fishing out a couple of rings and arge red gemstone. Tha and he, their urgency to leave forgotten, spent the next several minutes sifting through the disgusting effluence. In the end, they had a little pile of gold and silver rings, some of them with gemstones, some in, and several nes and bracelets. They¡¯d gathered a pile of metal armor, mostly worn down to uselessness, but one piece seemed perfectly fine.

    Tha held up the silvery bracer and said, ¡°This thing¡¯s artificed for sure; see the runes? Mind if I try it on?¡±

    ¡°Go for it. What about those des?¡± Victor gestured to the pile of sword, dagger, and spear des they¡¯d found. ¡°Any of them magical?¡±

    ¡°I think one of the spear des is. It¡¯s perfectly sharp and doesn¡¯t seem decayed.¡± She pointed, and Victor picked it up. The de was eight or ten inches long with two razor-sharp edges. He could see the part where the old spear haft would have been mounted, but there was no trace of the wood. Still, the de was covered in bright silvery runes, and it veritably hummed with Energy.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take this spearhead, and you take the bracer. Then we can split the rest up?¡±

    ¡°Hold on, let¡¯s see if any of this jewelry¡¯s enchanted,¡± she said, smiling at how the shiny bracer hugged her wrist. Victor nodded and began sorting through the pile of rings. He found two with runes inscribed on them and set them aside. Tha shook her head after going through the nes and bracelets.

    ¡°How do we tell what these rings do?¡±

    ¡°Bond with them¡ªI¡¯ll do one; you do the other.¡±

    Victor picked up therger ring, a thick silvery band with a yellow gem mounted on a square facet. He trickled some of his Energy into it, and suddenly a description in System text appeared before him:

    ***Ring of the Guest: Once per day, the wearer of this ring can knock upon a mundane lock, and it will open.***

    ¡°Weird! I got a notification describing the item.¡±

    ¡°That happens if an artificer takes the time and effort to give the item a description,¡± Tha said. ¡°This ring had one also. It¡¯s a ring of whispers, or so the artificerbeled it. It says it can allow the wearer to overhear distant conversations.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty cool. This one allows the wearer to open locks once per day.¡±

    ¡°Want to trade? Or do you want to keep that one?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just keep what we got for now,¡± Victor said, then pointed to the other piled valuables. ¡°Let¡¯s take turns picking these others. You go first.¡± Tha nodded, then she scooped up arge red gem. Victor followed her lead and picked a glittering blue gem. They continued like that until all the objects were gone, and Victor ended up with eleven rings and nes and seven precious-looking jewels.

    When they left the putrid cavern and walked a short way down the narrow, much cleaner tunnel, Tha sighed loudly and leaned against the wall, taking several deep, exaggerated breaths. ¡°Ancestors, it feels good to breathe some clean air again.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that creature was nasty.¡± Victor, too, took a deep breath, groaning at how sticky with gore his body still was. He rubbed his hands vigorously, trying to rub away some of the dried blood. Even his neck was tacky, and he rubbed at that too. ¡°I¡¯m dirtier than ever, even worse than when I was fighting in the pits.¡±

    ¡°You were a pit fighter?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, when I first got summoned to this world¡­¡± Victor¡¯s heart started to race, and he said, ¡°Wait! What if those rich assholes try to summon us?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Tha scoffed loudly, ¡°Good luck! My will is plenty high to resist an unwanted summon. Is your will that low?¡±

    ¡°No, it''s my highest stat!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine, then! When you were summoned before, was your will lower?¡±

    ¡°Hah, yeah¡ªI was level zero.¡±

    ¡°There you go. Don¡¯t worry about getting summoned.¡±

    ¡°Really? Just like that? What would happen if they tried?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d feel them pulling at you, and you could pull back. It¡¯s a thousand times harder to pull someone through space than for that person to simply hold their ground. Summons work differently than portals or teleportation skills. I don¡¯t know why¡ªit''s way past my level of expertise.¡±

    ¡°How do you know that? Did someone try to summon you?¡±

    ¡°No. It¡¯smon knowledge; even little kids know it. My favorite nursery story involved a witch that gave people poisoned pies so they¡¯d fall asleep and be unable to resist her summon spell. Then she cooked them into more pies which she fed to their families.¡±

    ¡°Goddamn! That¡¯s a twisted story! That was your favorite?¡± Victor raised his eyebrow, giving her a searching look.

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s more to it! One little girl she summons escapes and makes friends with the witch¡¯s pet forest troll. The troll saves her in the end.¡±

    ¡°Troll? There¡¯re trolls in stories from my world, too.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Tha straightened up, and the two of them continued down the tunnel, talking quietly about fairy tales, which brought to light that fairies were also a thing in this world. Victor was telling Tha about wendigos when she held a finger to her lips and touched her ear. By now, Victor knew that meant she heard something, so he slowed his breathing and tried to hear it also.

    At first, he couldn¡¯t separate the sound from the normal echoes and scrapes that seemed ubiquitous in the deep, but after listening for a few moments, he heard it¡ªa constant rushing, rumbling sound. ¡°The river,¡± he hissed softly.

    ¡°Right!¡± Tha started moving forward again, Victor close behind. The temperature began to drop, and the stones in the tunnel wall grew cool, and soon, the rush of the river was unmistakable. They came to the mouth of the passage and saw that it opened onto an enormous tunnel with a quickly flowing river at its center. The tunnel floor was stony with patches of actual sand here and there in depressions. Victor wondered if the river swelled during certain seasons, and that¡¯s why the tunnel was so much wider than the current flow.

    ¡°Look,¡± Tha said, pointing along the river, and Victor could just see, in the light of their glowmps, that, though the tunnel narrowed, there was a clear, open path along the river in both directions.

    ¡°That¡¯s the way we need to go to get to the dungeon,¡± he said, gesturing to the left.

    ¡°You think there¡¯s anything terrible lurking in that water?¡± Tha was slowly moving closer to the rushing river.

    ¡°It seems to be moving too fast for something to be lurking,¡± Victor replied, moving closer. He knew what she was thinking: it would be very nice to get cleaned up.

    ¡°I¡¯ll fill up some empty wine bottles, and we can rinse off back on the shore, so the blood doesn¡¯t get in the water,¡± Tha said.

    ¡°Good thinking! I saw a documentary about sharks once¡ªthey can smell blood in the water for like a mile or something.¡±

    ¡°Sharks?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, um, monsters that live in the ocean.¡±

    ¡°Right, well, here.¡± She handed him an empty bottle. ¡°Faster if we both fill them.¡± She held out another, and he took it. The two of them moved up to the flowing river and quickly filled their bottles, then scurried back toward the tunnel wall. They poured the water over themselves, scrubbing away dried blood and grime. Victor saw Tha fish out a clean shirt from her ring, so he turned away and kept scrubbing at his gore-matted hair.

    It took him another two trips to the river to fill his wine bottles before he felt clean, and by then, he was shivering from the cold, his clothes, all but his pants, soaking wet. Once again, Victor silently praised the person who crafted his miraculous ck, self-cleaning, self-patching pants.

    ¡°Ready?¡± Tha asked, her teeth also chattering.

    ¡°Yeah, we need to get moving and build up some heat!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine! Do you feel that breeze blowing along the river? We¡¯ll be dry in no time.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, yeah, good point.¡± Victor nodded and started walking. ording to the map Gorz had helped him draw, they were more than halfway to the dungeon. He was beginning to feel a lot better about their odds of making it.

    ¡°Victor, do you see that?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Victor peered ahead into the darkness and saw a bunch of little yellow lights or maybe reflections of their glowmps. He stared at them for a moment and noticed they kept winking on and off, and then it hit him¡ªthey were blinking eyes.

 Chapter 36: Tunnels and Stairs

    Chapter 36: Tunnels and Stairs

    Tha stepped up beside Victor, her spear leveled and pointing toward the creatures lurking in the darkness. ¡°What are they?¡± she hissed.

    ¡°How would I know?¡± Victor held Lifedrinker sideways in front of himself, waiting and watching.

    ¡°Yellow eyes, short, or crouching. Yeksa? How could Yeksa survive this deep?¡± Tha¡¯s words were hurried, rambling, and Victor realized she was speaking in a stream of consciousness, panic tinging her voice. Tha panicked? That didn¡¯t make sense.

    ¡°Chill, deep breaths. Hang on,¡± Victor said, then he cast Globe of Insight, and the dark, stony riverbank was suddenly bathed in white-gold light as the ball of Energy formed in his palm. He concentrated on moving the globe and then lifted and ¡°threw¡± it with a motion of his hand. It sailed forth and shed light on the scurrying owners of the eyes¡ªdozens of huge, ck-furred rats.

    Tha took a deep breath and said, ¡°Thanks, the not knowing was freaking me out. I think I¡¯m still shaky from almost getting digested earlier.¡±

    ¡°No worries,¡± Victor said, watching the rats scramble back toward the shadows, avoiding the pool of light cast by his orb. ¡°They don¡¯t like the light.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep pushing forward; you can drive them ahead with your light.¡±

    ¡°Sure, if they stay scared¡ªthey¡¯re as big as mastiffs, so I¡¯m hoping they don¡¯t all suddenly get a backbone.¡± Victor started walking, and when he got up to where his orb hovered, he put his hand up behind it and shoved it forward again. The rats continued to scurry ahead of the light. Victor noticed a reflection off to his right and realized some of the rats were in the water, rushing past them with the current. ¡°Watch our backs!¡± he hissed, pointing to the rats in the water.

    Tha spun with her spear, shining her light back behind them, and then she said a word that didn¡¯t trante and screamed, ¡°They¡¯re rushing up behind!¡±

    ¡°Steady, Tha! They¡¯re just fucking rats!¡± Victor roared and cast Inspiring Presence. Suddenly the golden light of his orb seemed to permeate the entire massive underground tunnel, and Victor saw all the ck-furred, scrabbling shapes of the rats in front of them, in the water, and behind them. There were hundreds. ¡°Tha! We¡¯re going to charge the ones in front of us! Come on! Stay with me!¡±

    Victor nced at her to make sure she registered his words and was happy to see a grin on her face and brightness in her eyes; she was also inspired. Victor rushed past his orb, nimbly leaping up and batting it forward so that it sped along the river, over the humping, wriggling mass of rats. Then he was in front of them, unleashing more inspiration-attuned Energy with Project Spirit. A visible wave of ck-tinged, sickly yellow Energy rolled out in front of Victor onto the rats, and their narrowed yellow eyes suddenly grew wide and round. They squealed in a much different pitch and turned away from him, scrabbling back and jumping into the river.

    Victor knew more rats were on their heels, so he kept pushing forward, shouting, ¡°Keep moving!¡± He swung his axe in narrow cleaves, catching a few slower rats with the de and dampening Lifedrinker¡¯s edge. He saw Tha jabbing her spear to the side and in front of them, and he couldn¡¯t help exulting in the rush of battle with a high-pitched howl. To his surprise, Tha picked up the howl and ulted in a perfect counterpoint.

    As they broke through the crowd of rats and stretched out their legs, really moving, Gorz spoke up in Victor¡¯s mind, ¡°Victor! Another five hundred meters, and then you¡¯ll want to take the passage on your left!¡±

    ¡°Come on, Tha! Five hundred more meters before we turn!¡± They tore along the hard stone riverbank, skidding through the little depressions holding sand and silt, putting more distance between them and the pursuing rats. Victor knew he was in better shape than when he was on Earth¡ªhe had numbers on his status screen to prove it, but his empirical evidence was pretty strong too. This sprint, for instance¡ªhe knew he had to cover five hundred meters, but it was only a matter of thirty or so seconds before Gorz was screaming in his mind.

    ¡°Here, Victor! Turn here!¡±

    ¡°Here, Tha,¡± Victor yelled, cutting in front of her and dashing toward a dark cleft in the stone tunnel wall. He found himself charging through a narrow smooth-walled passage, his glow stone shedding just enough light for his barreling, bobbing progress to throw crazy shadows up and down on the high walls. He could hear Tha¡¯s heavy breathing behind him and, further back, the wing skittering progress of their pursuers.

    Suddenly he burst out of the high-walled, narrow passage and into a round, stone chamber with a crazily steep set of stairs winding up the curved walls. ¡°Your next passage is three hundred meters up this shaft,¡± Gorz said helpfully.

    ¡°Tha, get up the steps a bit; I¡¯ll be right behind you. Let¡¯s make a stand here; you can stab around me, and I¡¯ll hack any rat thates up!¡± Victor said, slowing to pull her arm and propel her up the steps. ¡°C¡¯mon! Run up a ways, so they can¡¯t pile on each other to nk us!¡±

    ¡°Right!¡± Tha said, taking two steps at a time with her long strides. Victor was hot on her heels, and he could practically feel the rats scrabbling at his back as they climbed. When they¡¯d mounted a good fifty or more steps, he panted, ¡°Here! We gotta make a stand, or they¡¯ll run us down!¡± Victor spun, arcing Lifedrinker in a downward, sideways cleave, anticipating the rats right behind him. He hadn¡¯t been wrong; two rats met their end at that moment as the axe¡¯s gleaming, silvery edge tore through their snouts in a wet, crunching gash.

    As Victor recovered Lifedrinker¡¯s momentum, Tha jabbed her spear beside him, catching another rat on the point and flinging it down the steps into the bucking, thrashing river of giant, hissing, growling rodents that were scrabbling up the narrow steps after them. Victor lifted his axe and ended another rat, but a dozen more were wing toward him as he lifted the de. Wanting to give himself some space, he cast Project Spirit again, this time with rage-attuned Energy. The closest pile of rats went into an absolute mad frenzy as the wave of shimmering red Energy rolled over them. They began to bite at each other, screaming in their madness, turning the stairs into a slick, bloodsoaked self-serving abattoir.

    Victor backed up a step and breathed heavily, enjoying the break as the rats ravaged each other. ¡°They have weak wills,¡± Tha said, behind him, also watching the mad rat melee.

    ¡°Fuck yes, they do,¡± Victor replied, still holding his axe sideways, ready to smite any rats that broke out of the frenzied, snapping, wing ball of vermin. One rat did slip free and lunged at them, but Tha stabbed it in the air, knocking it off the stairs to fall to the bloodsoaked stone at the bottom.

    By the time the madness left the rats'' eyes, dozens were dead, and they were so bloodsoaked and battle frenzied that it took them a while to redirect their aggression on Victor and Tha. By the time they did, Victor was ready with a fresh Inspiring Presence. He and Tha cut apart five, then ten, then twenty rats as they bounded up the steps and leaped at them. Blood and rat parts liberally soaked the steps beneath them, and as their footing grew gory and crowded with corpses, he and Tha slowly backed up, higher and higher, leaving a trail of broken, twitching, screaming rats and corpses.

    When Inspiring Presence wore off, Victor was ready with another projection of rage Energy, and the ensuing mad melee gave him and Tha another breather. ¡°I don¡¯t see any moreing out of the tunnel. This is it, just what''s on the stairs¡ªwe can do this!¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Tha said, breathing heavily beside him. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we¡¯ve killed so many already.¡± It was true; the number of dead giant rodents was staggering. A huge mound of ck, twitching fur rose at the base of the stair, and the steps were slick and cluttered with guts, blood, and corpses.

    ¡°Gimme a drink, please,¡± Victor said, holding out a hand. He had a hankering for some of her wine, and Tha got the idea, grinning and pulling out a bottle. She drank half of it and gave him the other half, and Victor quaffed it with a grin, watching the rats maul each other a few feet down the stair. Just as he stowed the empty bottle in his ring, the rats seemed to recover their senses and redirect their frenzied rage on him. His Inspiring Presence wasn¡¯t off cooldown yet, but he and Tha were rested and ready, and the fight was on.

    By the time thest of the growling, yellow-eyed beasts died with Lifedrinker in its head and Tha¡¯s spear in its breast, they were painted red and exhausted but exhrated. Victor fell back onto an empty step, and Tha copsed on the step above. They both were panting and sweat-soaked, but it was a good kind of bone-deep weariness they felt, the kind that came with victory, and Victor couldn¡¯t help looking back at Tha and grinning. ¡°We fucking did it! We killed a damn army of rats the size of pit bulls!¡±

    Golden motes of Energy started to gather on the mounds of dead rats along the stair and piled at the base, and soon it was all flooding into Victor and Tha.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 22 Herald of Carnage. You have gained 10 will, 8 strength, and have 20 attribute points to allocate.***

    ¡°Shit, I forgot to spend my attribute points from thest fight!¡±

    ¡°You get free points? Mine all go into strength, agility, and vitality.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, my ss gives me some ¡®unbound¡¯ points to spend each level.¡± He looked at his gore-covered arms and sighed. ¡°So much for that bath we just had.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re much filthier than I am. It¡¯s a benefit of having a longer weapon.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess.¡± He looked at the scene of the ughter beneath them, noticing the heavy reek of expended bowels and souring blood now that the adrenaline ofbat was wearing off. ¡°Let¡¯s move up a ways, and then I want to rest for a minute and look at my attributes.¡±

    ¡°Agreed,¡± Tha stood and started stalking up the steps, her spear still held ready. Victor tried not to focus on her ass, and he knew it was creepy even to realize he was doing it, so he pushed his gaze past her, up around the turn of the spiral, making sure there weren¡¯t any ambushes in wait. He hadn¡¯t really thought of Tha that way¡ªshe was so damn tough and angry most of the time. It¡¯s not like his current life had room for romance, anyway. He softlyughed to himself, imagining it.

    ¡°What?¡± Tha nced back at him over her shoulder.

    ¡°Nothing. Laughing at my own idiocy.¡± He thought of something else and tried to steer the conversation, ¡°I¡¯m not going to get a chance to get revenge on the jerks who robbed me and tried to kill me.¡±

    ¡°In my hometown, there¡¯s a saying: ¡®life¡¯s roads aren¡¯t made in straight lines.¡¯ You never know if your path will bring you back to the mine, or it might lead you to those people in another ce; not everyone is destined to die in this pit.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re sounding more optimistic; think we have a chance to make it through that dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t spoil the mood by making me be realistic.¡± Tha chuckled.

    ¡°This is good; I can¡¯t smell the corpses anymore.¡± Victor turned his back to the wall, then sat on a step, contemting his attributes. Tha sat just above him and also seemed to be staring into space. ¡°Did you level, too?¡±

    ¡°I did. Fastest level I ever gained¡ªI think those rats were tougher than the usual huge rats we run into in the delves.¡±

    ¡°They were tough for rats, but we showed them who was boss, right?¡±

    ¡°Sure, but I think your inspiration abilities had a lot to do with that.¡±

    ¡°Teamwork,¡± Victor muttered, trying to figure out what to do with his attribute points:

    Strength:

    66

    Vitality:

    90

    Dexterity:

    33

    Agility:

    33

    Intelligence:

    24

    Will:

    103

    Points Avable:

    20

    His ss made sure his will and strength were going to keep going up, and his vitality was already solid. Did he want his strength to outpace his dexterity and agility so much? Gorz didn¡¯t think it would be a problem until it was ¡°two or three¡± times his other attributes. ¡°My strength is twice as high as my dexterity and agility.¡±

    ¡°Strength is important, but so are speed and skill,¡± Tha muttered, clearly preupied.

    Victor knew his intelligence wasn¡¯t as crucial for physical fighting, but it bugged him that it was so ¡°low.¡± ¡°Gorz, I don¡¯t feel stupid, and my intelligence value is more than twice what I was born with. I¡¯m not going to start feeling dumber or something if all my other stats keep growing, but my intelligence doesn¡¯t, will I?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly, Victor, though you will eventually run into people with much higher intelligence than you, and their thoughts will be faster, they¡¯ll have more raw Energy, and could prove to be very dangerous to you.¡±

    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying there¡¯s no easy choice. Why can¡¯t anything ever be easy?¡±

    ¡°Oh, surely there will be times when things will seem easy, Victor. Look for the sunshine after the storm.¡±

    ¡°Hah, I love it! My talking ne is giving me counseling.¡± Victor started to smile, but then his face sobered. Thinking of counseling made him think of Ms. Marshal and how she¡¯d seen his potential and helped him graduate. Had he let her down? How many people knew he was even gone? His girlfriend, for sure. His Abu. Did any of his ¡°friends¡± care or notice? Did people think he¡¯d just run away? God, what if his grandma and aunties were looking for him. What if they¡¯d gone to the police and put up missing person flyers? They probably had.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Tha asked suddenly, and Victor realized she had moved up a step and was eating a piece of bread and staring at him.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Your face. You look like you just ate something sour.¡±

    ¡°My mind ran away from me. I¡¯ve been so busy surviving that I haven¡¯t spent much time thinking about what everyone in my life would do after I disappeared. My grandma, she, well, she didn¡¯t have a lot going on; I think making me dinner and asking me about my day was about all that kept her going.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s hard.¡± Tha shook her head, and Victor appreciated that she didn¡¯t try to cheer him up. He sighed heavily and then allocated his attribute points. He put five into intelligence, five into dexterity, and ten into agility. He didn¡¯t want to let his minor attributes stagnate, but right now, while he was fighting for his life, he figured agility was slightly more important.

    He sat back and basked in the warmth of the Energy that flowed into his body as his allocations took effect. There wasn¡¯t anything he could do about his family and what they thought of him. Marcy hadn¡¯t been that serious, and he didn¡¯t worry about her. His aunties probably were convinced he¡¯d run away to his mom¡¯s side of the family. Hopefully, they¡¯d convince his Abu not to worry. If he couldn¡¯t find a way to travel home, maybe he¡¯d find a way to send a message. This world was full of magic; surely, there was someone who could help. ¡°Are there a lot of wizards in Gelica?¡±

    ¡°People with the actual Wizard ss? Or do you mean just strong Energy users?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Both?¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s the answer; there are both. Hundreds of thousands of people live in Gelica.¡±

    ¡°Awesome. You think they¡¯ll know a way to contact my world?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I know people can travel between worlds, especially System worlds. It¡¯s just extremely costly to use the System Stones. I¡¯m sure if people can travel between worlds, there must be a way to send messages. You gonna try to contact your grandma?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯d sure sleep better knowing she wasn¡¯t worried about me. I think we should get going,¡± he said, gesturing to the stairs above. ¡°You ready?¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm,¡± she said, and Victor looked at her again. She¡¯d leaned back against the stone wall and was chewing herst bite of bread with her eyes closed. She had spatters of dark, dried blood on her red cheeks, but she looked rxed and peaceful, and Victor wished they could rest longer.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a good spot to rest, I¡¯m afraid,¡± he said, grunting as he stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s go a bit further.¡± ¡°Gorz, is there any good spot for restinging up?¡±

    ¡°If nothing¡¯s changed, Victor, you¡¯re going to be traversing a lot of constructed hallways and rooms soon. Ancient ruins. You should find a suitable space.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thanks.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ming, I¡¯ming.¡± Tha opened her eyes and lithely stood. Victor started up the stairs, Lifedrinker held crossways in front of him. The axe¡¯s wide, bearded de gleamed in the light, and Victor realized he¡¯d never seen blood linger on it. On her, he corrected himself.

    ¡°You¡¯re a thirstydy, aren¡¯t you?¡± he asked the axe suddenly, on an impulse, and, he swore, Lifedrinker shuddered slightly in his grip.

    ¡°Are you talking to me?¡± Tha said from behind him.

    ¡°Nah, Lifedrinker. You think it''s true what Lam said? Do you think she can gain consciousness? Like,e alive?¡±

    ¡°Maybe. I don¡¯t know; I¡¯ve never heard of whatever she said it was made of. Some kind of silver?¡±

    ¡°Heartsilver, I think.¡±

    ¡°Add it to your list of things to check out when we get to Gelica.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit! When we get there!¡±

    ¡°The passage you want to exit through ising up, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Right. Thanks again, Gorz.¡± Victor lifted Lifedrinker into a more ready position and kept climbing, focusing ahead now, ready for anything that might be lurking in the uing passage. His precautions proved unnecessary; the passage was a smooth stone tunnel that led away from the stairway, dust thick on its floor and no monsters in sight.

    ¡°How much further do we have to go?¡± Tha asked, looking into the tunnel.

    ¡°You¡¯re more than two-thirds of the way, Victor.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re about two-thirds of the way there. I think we¡¯ll find a good spot to rest soon.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Tha nodded, adjusting the grip on her spear.

    Victor started into the tunnel, carefully watching the dusty ground as his glowmp illuminated it, searching for signs of previous upancy. Nothing seemed to have disturbed the dust in a very long time, and soon, the two of them came to a wooden door that was rotted off its brass hinges but still propped, crookedly, in the doorway. Victor looked back at Tha and motioned with his head toward her spear, mouthing, ¡°Ready?¡± She nodded, and Victor grabbed the door between two of its old, warped boards and yanked. When it flopped open, he regripped Lifedrinker and peered into the room beyond.

    It was a square, stone room about twenty paces across with dusty piles of broken, rotted furniture partially obscuring the space. Victor thought some of them looked like old bookcases or cabs. He stepped forward, Tha right behind him, and a warbling shriek was the only warning he had before a heavy creature with lumpy yellow skin smashed into him. It screamed as Tha¡¯s spear bit into its side, and Victor pivoted, pushing his axe between him and his assant, using his lowered center of gravity and prodigious strength to shove it back.

    The monster looked like a bulky, naked, boil-covered old woman. Her skin was yellow, her nose exceptionally long, and her eyes crazed and red. She waved her long, w-tipped arms about in a frantic, warbling disy of insanity. Her strange dance made her long, narrow sack-like breasts wave in pendulous loops, and the pus-filled boils that liberally coated her thick, wrinkled skin erupted and oozed with her gyrations. ¡°Fucking hell!¡± Victor recoiled away from her, imagining the pus sshing onto his face.

    Tha hadn¡¯t withdrawn her spear and drove forward, pushing the disgusting creature across the room. It wailed and shook, dark blood pouring out of the wound Tha had inflicted but seemingly more concerned with its strange dance than getting away from her. Victor wasn¡¯t an expert on monsters or their tactics. Still, he had a bad feeling about whatever she was doing, so he used Channel Spirit to ignite his arms and axe with rage-attuned Energy, and then he took two long steps forward and brought Lifedrinker down on the hag¡¯s skull. He split the monster from forehead to breastbone, and the quivering body shook for a moment, then stilled. Lifedrinker pulsed in his hand, and Victor saw rivulets of green-yellow Energy flowing into her sunken edge.

    Momentster, golden motes rose up from the hag¡¯s horrible corpse, and Victor knew she was dead. Neither he nor Tha leveled from the encounter, and the monster¡¯s body was so offensive to their senses that they decided to quickly vacate the room. They had a choice of three doorways, but, with Gorz, the choice was easy, and Victor led the way through the broken doorway to the left, Lifedrinker at the ready.

    ¡°That thing was disgusting,¡± Tha softly said as they advanced down yet another long, stone passage.

    ¡°Yeah. I fucking need a bath like never before. She was practically hugging me.¡± He shuddered at the thought but kept moving. Soon, Gorz directed him to turn down a side tunnel, and they continued that way for a while until they came to arge, empty hall with several small rooms lining one wall. Broken, rotten furniture littered the space, and most of the small rooms stood empty and open, but two had mostly intact doors. With Tha at his back, spear ready, Victor opened each door, revealing mostly dust in the first and an ancient, partially copsed table in the other.

    ¡°Let¡¯s rest in one of these,¡± Tha said.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m beat.¡± Victor went into the room with the old table, pleased that its long, polished top was still quite solid. ¡°This one. We can barricade the door with this table.¡± Tha helped him close and barricade the door, then they sat down on the dusty stone floor and shared some of their food. ¡°How much more of this wine do you have?¡±

    ¡°Eleven bottles.¡±

    ¡°Nice. I filled the empties you gave me with water from the river. You think it¡¯s safe?¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it be?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡ªbacteria, monster piss, rat shit?¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s disgusting, but we¡¯ll live. No one with as much Energy as we have really gets sick from things like that.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Haven¡¯t you noticed? You heal faster? You¡¯re more resilient? The more Energy you have suffusing you, the more that will happen. Someone who made it to level ten or higher hardly ever gets sick. Well, unless they¡¯re dealing with some nasty attuned-Energy attack.¡±

    ¡°Still, I prefer the wine.¡± Victor grinned and bit into one of the sausages Lam had sent with them.

    ¡°I notice you don¡¯t drink or eat as much as I do. Have you improved your race?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I won a big fight for a richdy. She gave me a fruit that advanced my race a few levels.¡±

    ¡°Seriously? How many?¡±

    ¡°Three.¡±

    ¡°Wow¡ªquite a prize.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the asshole that held my contract was pissed. I think he saw it as a waste of money.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll be surprised if youe knocking after clearing your way through a dungeon, hmm?¡± Tha grinned, her eyes closed, and Victor saw her long, sharp canines. Was she imagining him taking revenge and savoring the image?

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind paying him a visit someday, I guess.¡± If he were being honest, Victor hadn¡¯t hardly thought about Yund, but he definitely owed that big asshole a thing or two. He¡¯d sold Victor out at the first opportunity. He might have been scared of the nobility, but he could have handled it a hundred different ways. How about a head¡¯s up? Maybe Victor could have ¡°escaped.¡± Who was he kidding? Yund wasn¡¯t sticking his neck out for anyone, least of all one of his ves. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got a few people in Persi Gables that I need to pay a visit to one of these days.¡±

    Tha didn¡¯t respond, and Victor realized she was sleeping. He sat back against the wall and watched the door, letting his mind drift. He thought about home, about the Wagon Wheel, and about the mine. He remembered his glimpses of Persi Gables when he¡¯d been led around to different fighting venues and imagined walking those streets a free man with money in his pockets. His lips spread in a smile as he thought of meeting Vullu and taking the goat-man out for a meal. Then he frowned, thinking about the people in the cages at Yund¡¯s and all the ones who died during every ¡°pit night.¡±

    Victor had ideals, but he wasn¡¯t stupid, and when he thought of trying to stop the whole system that allowed the pit fighting and all the other things that went with it, like selling people to the mines, his mind spun at theplexity of the problem. Like Edeya had said, what was he going to do, take on the whole Ridonne Empire? ¡°Maybe not, but I can help a few people and see what happens from there,¡± he whispered to himself. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t hurt to get a little payback in the process, either.¡±

    When his eyes grew so heavy and he worried he¡¯d fall asleep, he shook Tha¡¯s shoulder. Her eyes sprang open, and she looked panicked for a second, but when she saw Victor¡¯s face leaning over, she sighed and nodded. ¡°Your turn.¡±

    Victor slept a few hours, and when Tha woke him, he felt stiff but ready. His neck and back were sore, but he figured a bit of walking would sort him out. ¡°Ready?¡± he asked Tha after they¡¯d picked up their belongings and stowed them away.

    ¡°Yeah, feeling a lot better. I was practically sleep-walking earlier.¡±

    Victor nodded and moved to slide the table out of the way when he heard a sound like boards ttering onto the stone floor in the next room. He held his finger to his lips, and Tha nodded. Victor moved to the side of the table they¡¯d propped in front of the door and pressed his ear to the wood, holding his breath. He didn¡¯t hear anything at first, but then the sound of something snuffling came to him. It reminded him of the sound a dog makes when sniffing around at the ground for a bit of food you dropped, but it was deeper and slower, like it wasing from a much bigger nose.

    Victor turned to Tha to whisper what he¡¯d heard when a howling roar, loud enough to vibrate the wood of the door and table, broke out in the next room, and then the door rattled as something big hit it. Victor threw a shoulder against the table, trying to hold it in ce, but the door rattled and shook, and the table kept bouncing into him like it was being hit by a charging linebacker. ¡°Something fucking big is hitting this door!¡± As he hollered, a sh of red light erupted on the other side of the door, bleeding through the dark cracks in the wood, and then three long, knife-like ws speared through the nks, sliding through it like it was made of paper. Long chunks of wood fell away from the cleaving ws. A momentter, a big, round, orange eye with a vertical ck pupil peered through the hole.

    Another howl erupted from the monster, shaking the wood and making Victor¡¯s ears ring, and he backed up, holding Lifedrinker. ¡°This thing¡¯sing through. Get ready!¡±

    ¡°Stop telling me to get ready! What do you think I¡¯m doing? Sleeping through this?¡± Tha snarled, stepping up beside him with her spear leveled at the door.

 Chapter 37: Things Unknown

    Chapter 37: Things Unknown

    Another red sh bled through the gaps in the door, and the ws ripped away another considerable chunk of the ancient wood. The opening wasrge enough now that Victor could see the scaled, horn-bedecked head that housed the livid, bulging orange eyes. ¡°The hell is that thing?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Tha said, her voice shrill with stress. The monster howled again, a deep, reverberating siren sound that hurt Victor¡¯s ears, and then it smashed into the mangled door, and it burst open in a shower of broken nks and splinters. Victor was ready, having prepared a Project Spirit spell, and he sent out a sickly wave of ck-tinged yellow Energy that gave the hulking monstrosity pause.

    While the hulking beast, hunched, struggling against the urges Victor¡¯s spell put into its mind, Tha dove forward and put her spearhead deep into its thick, scaly neck. Victor, shaking off his bewilderment at the sight of the monster¡ªa hunched, broad-shouldered, hound-shaped lizardplete with thick scales¡ªchopped down with Lifedrinker. The monster¡¯s scales parted for the axe¡¯s shiny edge, and she bit deeply into its flesh, carving a gouge between its neck and shoulder, and spilling hot, steaming blood onto the dusty stone floor.

    The two wounds seemed to break the stalemate between the creature¡¯s will and Victor''s spell, and it shook its head, roaring and exposing a double row of pointy triangr teeth. It lunged at Victor, and he held up Lifedrinker almost like a shield, trying to press her edge into the monster as it crashed into him, but he couldn¡¯t measure his sess¡ªhe¡¯d been driven back into the wall, and the gaping snapping maw of the monster grunted heavily next to his ear, centimeters from his flesh. Victor screamed and used Channel Spirit to fill his limbs with rage Energy, still trying to push the monster back.

    He couldn¡¯t see Tha because of the monster¡¯s bulk, but he knew she must be going to work with her spear because the beast seemed distracted, shifting left and right as it struggled against Victor. It drove him further toward the corner as he strained to keep his neck and head out of its snapping maw. He finally remembered to cast Sovereign Will as his shoulder jammed into the corner, and his muscles surged with the additional twenty-five strength. His sudden burst of vigor,bined with whatever Tha was doing, allowed Victor to slip around the creature¡¯s side and use its momentum to drive it into the corner where he¡¯d been pinned.

    Victor chopped and chopped with Lifedrinker, cutting huge gaping wounds in the side and haunches of the monster before it could get turned. One of his chops opened the soft side of its belly, and glistening entrails slipped free of the gash like a mass of giant, shiny worms. Tha was on the other side, pointy teeth bared in a fierce grimace as she, too, drove her weapon into the monster, over and over. The beast thrashed and moaned, smashing itself into the wall in desperation, but its death throes were short-lived¡ªthey¡¯d done too much damage to it.

    When the bear-sized lizard-hound was finally still, Tha and Victor stood leaning on their weapons, panting and sweating, and then the purple-tinged golden motes of Energy that rose from the dead monster surged into them.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned the spell: Sovereign Will - Improved.***

    ***Sovereign Will - Improved: As an act of concentration, you can apply up to 33% of your total Will to any physical attribute.***

    ¡°Nice!¡± he said, reading the description.

    ¡°Level, already?¡±

    ¡°No, but one of my skills improved.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, good¡­¡± Tha¡¯s further words were cut off by a howl that echoed through the dark chamber beyond the outside hall. It sounded distant but far too familiar for Victor¡¯s taste.

    ¡°Another one of these things? Let¡¯s get moving; what if this thing had a big family?¡± He turned and started walking, and Tha was right behind him. ¡°Which way, Gorz?¡±

    ¡°Take the tunnel straight ahead, and then the first left, which will put you in a tunnel you¡¯ll follow for quite a long distance.¡±

    Victor followed Gorz¡¯s instructions, and soon they were hustling down a long, winding tunnel with a slight downward slope. The howl was repeated a few times in the distance but didn¡¯t seem to be growing nearer.

    ¡°I think that monster was tier-three,¡± Tha said suddenly.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°First, its strength and vitality; I put enough holes in it to kill five bull rdii by the time you threw it off. Second, the Energy we got from it had some purple in it. I¡¯ve never seen that killing tier one or two monsters.¡±

    ¡°The slug monster under the ground that almost dissolved you gave a lot of purple Energy.¡±

    ¡°No wonder it healed me so well,¡± Tha said, a shudder in her voice.

    ¡°Well, good thing we can handle a tier-three monster.¡± Victor looked at Tha and grinned.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Well, the dungeon we¡¯re going to is full of tier-two and three monsters. Or that¡¯s what I heard when I learned about it, anyway.¡±

    ¡°What? That¡¯s pushing our luck, Victor! Do you know anything else?¡±

    ¡°Um, yeah, let me see,¡± Victor thought back to Gorz¡¯s words, trying to remember what he¡¯d said about the dungeon before the little amulet spirit piped up and reminded him. ¡°I think the monsters in the dungeon are undead.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Victor!¡± Gorz said.

    ¡°Tier-three undead? Oh, Ancestors!¡±

    ¡°Not good?¡±

    ¡°Not good! I¡¯m lowering our odds at sess; we¡¯re going to be worm food, I¡¯m sure.¡±

    ¡°Awe,e on! What do we have to worry about from some zombies?¡±

    ¡°Zombies? I thought you said tier-three?¡±

    ¡°Uh, yeah.¡±

    ¡°So, more like crypt horrors and blood ghouls.¡±

    ¡°That sounds familiar,¡± Gorz added.

    ¡°Ahh, I get it. Well, try to stay positive¡ªprobably some good treasure in there, and we¡¯re tougher than we look, right?¡± He gave her shoulder a nudge with his elbow, grinning.

    ¡°Speak for yourself! I look tough!¡± She growled at him, disying her sharp canines, and heughed.

    ¡°Una mujer peligrosa,¡± Victor said, with a low whistle.

    ¡°I am a dangerous woman! Remember it!¡± She chuckled, too, and they kept walking, both of them asionally looking over their shoulders to ensure no giant lizard-hounds were stalking their tracks. Victor followed Gorz¡¯s directions until they came to a tunnel that opened onto a ledge overlooking a wide, perfectly round tunnel that crossed their path. Hung from brass-colored chains, hexagonal glowmps were regrly spaced in the long tunnel, shedding an eerie, pale green light. Victor looked left and right and saw no end to the enormous, lighted passage.

    ¡°What the hell? How long have these lights been burning down here?¡±

    ¡°No idea.¡± Tha shrugged.

    ¡°Reevus-dak, too, remarked about those lights; he called them ¡®strange, deathlessmposts from an ancient era.¡¯¡± Gorz¡¯s tinny voice was hushed as though he were being reverent. ¡°You and yourpanion need to cross to the far ledge and continue along this narrower passage.¡±

    ¡°We need to get across¡ªover to that far ledge.¡± Victor pointed to the ledge that matched the one they stood upon, perhaps twenty normal strides away, should there have been a bridge over the gap.

    ¡°Too bad we can¡¯t fly.¡± Tha began looking around over the ledge. ¡°We¡¯ll need to drop down and climb up to the other one¡ªit¡¯s only about ten feet to the ground.¡± She sat, hanging her legs over, and moved to drop, but Victor grabbed her shoulder.

    ¡°Wait!¡± He¡¯d seen a shadow lurch in the distance to the right, and as he watched, it did it again. Heid t on his belly, using the ledge to hide from anything moving below, and Tha quickly pulled her feet up andy next to him. Soon a sucking susurration came to their ears, and a slithering nightmare came into view.

    A pale, round body the length of a passenger bus, but lower and narrower, with stalks along its lengthy bulbous body, each housing an eye that blinked around at the surrounding tunnel, came slithering toward them. The front end of the eyestalk-covered slug was dominated by arge, round mouth that perpetually opened and closed like a puckering sphincter lined with horn-like teeth.

    Victor and Tha inched back from the edge of their ledge, and they both held their breath without any consultation. Tha¡¯s ck irised eyes were wide with fear or disgust, and Victor couldn¡¯t me her¡ªthat monstrosity wasn¡¯t something he wanted to tangle with. Theyy there in silence, utterly still, while the slithering horror inched its way past. Tha slowly let out her breath at one point and drew in another, but Victor managed to hold his breath for what must have been a world record back on Earth. He supposed it had to do with his improved racial level, much like his reduced reliance on food and sleep.

    Finally, the thing was far enough down the tunnel that they couldn¡¯t see the shadows its eyestalks cast on the walls. After studying the other direction for several moments to ensure another wasn¡¯ting, they hopped down and hurried across to the other ledge. They both leaped up, caught the shelf, and pulled themselves up. Then, after onest nce at the creepy slug highway, they continued down the narrow, stone passage.

    ¡°How much farther, Gorz?¡±

    ¡°Victor, you¡¯re getting very close; just a few more turns and short passages, and you¡¯ll be in the room where Reevus exited the dungeon!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re getting close, Tha.¡±

    ¡°Pretty great trick you have, memorizing maps and whatnot,¡± she nced at him sideways, and Victor felt a surge of guilt for having lied to her for so long.

    ¡°Listen, I haven¡¯t been totally honest with you.¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± She stopped walking and turned to face him, amusement on her face. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ve told you all my secrets?¡±

    ¡°No, but have you been lying to me?¡±

    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re a liar? You want to clear some guilty conscious? What¡¯s your big secret, then?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a liar,¡± Victor said through clenched teeth, her reaction starting to piss him off.

    ¡°Well?¡±

    ¡°Fine, I didn¡¯t memorize a map. I have an artifact that told me about the dungeon. I found it while I was with Lam, and I didn¡¯t tell you about it because I didn¡¯t want her to take it or kill me for keeping it. I mean, at first. I should have told you after we both were on the run.¡±

    ¡°Really? What kind of artifact?¡± She suddenly sounded more intrigued than angry or judgemental, and Victor didn¡¯t know if that was a good sign or a signal to watch out.

    ¡°It¡¯s a ne that kind of remembers everything you tell it and can keep track of every ce it''s been.¡±

    ¡°You reduce me to those simple words?¡± Gorz sounded hurt.

    ¡°No, Gorz, sorry. It also has a nice personality and is good at listening to my problems.¡± Victor grinned at Tha, trying to make light of things.

    ¡°It¡¯s called Gorz? It¡¯s listening to us all the time?¡± Tha looked down at Victor¡¯s chest. ¡°Let me see it.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Victor pulled Gorz out from under his armor, twirling the silvery medallion on the chain. Tha peered at it for a while, then shrugged.

    ¡°That¡¯s a lucky find. I¡¯m guessing its previous owner came through this dungeon, and that¡¯s how it knows about it?¡±

    ¡°Right.¡±

    ¡°Well, any other big secrets?¡±

    ¡°Well, sure, but they have more to do with dance moves and kissing.¡± His attempt at humor struck home, and Tha snorted, unable to fight off her smile. ¡°Alright, what about you? I told you my big secret; what are you hiding?¡± Tha¡¯s face got solemn suddenly, and then she shrugged and turned away from him, starting to walk again. ¡°Hey, I was just joking, kind of, but now I¡¯m really curious¡ªyou do have a secret, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°You really want to know?¡± She whirled to face him, and Victor was dismayed to see tears welling in her eyes.

    ¡°I do, but not if it¡¯s going to upset you like that. Look, I¡¯m sorry, I was just messing around.¡± He was a little surprised at how much her troubled face bothered him.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m alright, these tears,¡± she wiped at her eyes, ¡°they¡¯re more because I have some hope now. My big secret is that I have a daughter. I¡¯d resigned myself to missing her childhood while I was in the mine, but now I¡¯m ever-so-slightly hopeful we might make it through that dungeon, and if I do, I¡¯m going to find her.¡±

    ¡°Oh damn! Seriously? How old is she?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s six years old now. Ist saw her when she was two.¡±

    ¡°Fuck. I¡¯m sorry, Tha. That¡¯s rough as hell. Is she with your family? With her father?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s with a friend, a friend the Greatbone Mining Consortium doesn¡¯t know about, and that¡¯s enough said on the matter, alright?¡± She sniffed and wiped her eyes again, and Victor nodded.

    ¡°Hell yeah. ¡®Nuff said. Let¡¯s get through that dungeon, right?¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± she said, favoring Victor with a normal, non-murderous smile.

    Following Groz¡¯s instructions, they made their way through several more tunnels, up a short set of crumbling stone stairs, and then into a new sort of passage: a square, stone-block tunnel constructed of perfectly cut and fitted granite blocks. ¡°This is the final tunnel, Victor. The entrance to the dungeon is just over seventy meters ahead, though it¡¯s in arge cavern, and Reevus met withbat when he stepped out of the portal.¡±

    ¡°Gorz says the dungeon is seventy meters ahead, but there might be monsters around the entrance. His old owner had to fight when he came out.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s proceed slowly and quietly,¡± Tha whispered, gripping her spear and raising an eyebrow for confirmation.

    ¡°Yeah, no going back now.¡± Victor hefted Lifedrinker, and the two of them began slowly to stalk up the square, stone corridor. The stone floor wasn¡¯t very dusty at the center, but Victor saw clear scuff marks along the walls where the dirt and umted grime were thicker. As they advanced, the far end of the tunnel came into focus, and Victor saw arge space beyond backlit by an osciting pale green and blue light. He crouched lower and closer to the wall, creeping forward with Tha hugging tight in his shadow.

    Coming closer to the corridor¡¯s end, he started to notice shadows moving about in the open space beyond, and so he continued as cautiously and slowly as he could until his next step would put him out of the shadow and into the light, bleeding into the corridor¡¯s open mouth. Peering from eight or so feet back from the opening, he had plenty to observe.

    A stone dais rose in the center of an enormous, natural cavern, and pulsing at its center was arge oval disc of smokey green and white-blue light that seemed to hang in the air. He could only assume it was the portal. Hooded figures milled about in the cavern, some kneeling and rhythmically bowing their heads to the ground as they faced the portal, while others walked around the room performing some unknowable task, moving as if in a fugue state. Victor counted eleven of the ck-robed individuals. He felt Tha squeeze even closer to him and heard her barely uttered whisper, ¡°Do we fight or make a run for the portal?¡±

    ¡°You sure we have to fight? What if they¡¯re just, I don¡¯t know, a weird cult that worships this thing?¡± He nced back at Tha and saw her arched eyebrow, but he didn¡¯t take it back.

    ¡°Seriously? ck-robed weirdos deep underground, bowing to a dungeon portal and walking around like they¡¯re mind-controlled?¡±

    ¡°I know, I know. Let me walk in; if they attack me, you can surprise them. If we¡¯re getting our asses kicked, we run for the portal. Agreed?¡± He stared into Tha¡¯s dark eyes until she nodded. Victor nodded and stood up, lifting Lifedrinker to his shoulder and letting her rest there, one hand on her handle. Then, he strode out of the corridor into the stone cavern, walking right for the portal but watching closely for a reaction from the strange, hooded people. He pushed inspiration Energy into his pathways, getting ready to cast Inspiring Presence or Project Energy.

    He¡¯d only made it about seven paces into the cavern when one of the figures milling about to his right jerked its head his way and let loose a long ulting cry. As soon as it started its high-pitched wail, lifting its head to project the sound, Victor caught a glimpse of its too-wide jaw and tightly packed jagged teeth. Worse, he saw its eyes and that they were pale white orbs, devoid of irises. As the creature pulled its hands out of its robe and extended a finger to point at Victor, he saw the long, ck ws and gray-tinted skin and knew he wouldn¡¯t be negotiating ess to the portal.

    He immediately cast Inspire Presence, and the room brightened in his eyes, revealing the frayed, tattered state of the figures¡¯ robes, how they moved in a jerky, uncoordinated fashion and seemed more afraid of him than threatening. This wouldn¡¯t be so bad! He hefted his axe and screamed, ¡°Come on, then!¡± Suddenly a weight was pressing on his mind, and he had an urge to drop Lifedrinker and prostrate himself, supplicating for mercy. Victor lowered Lifedrinker, but then a thought sparked in his mind, ¡°Supplicate? What the fuck?¡± He shook his head and glowered at the cluster of figures in front of the portal. ¡°I don¡¯t think so!¡± With an effort of will, he pushed back the notion and strode forward, Lifedrinker once again held high.

    He was aware of the figures nking him, but he kept moving forward, increasing his pace to a long-strided jog. He kept them in mind but trusted in his speed and Tha¡¯s uing surprise attack. Soon he was bearing down on the four cultists or ghouls or whatever they were near the portal, and he was sure they were the source of the mental attack he¡¯d shrugged off. It was like their projected will was a palpable thickness in the air, and he was slicing through it¡ªan icebreaker through a thin, frosty expanse of water. When he was just a few strides away, he cast Sovereign Will, boosting his agility, Channel Spirit, filling Lifedrinker with rage-attuned Energy, and dashed into their midst, rapidly cleaving left and then right.

    Whether the cultists were too busy concentrating on their attempt at a mental attack or were too slow tobat his sudden violent burst, he¡¯d never know, but Lifedrinker felt no mercy or pity as she split shoulders, cleaved necks, and separated limbs. Victor saw and felt a couple of the creatures attempt to w at him or bite at him, but he was so fast, and their attacks so obviously projected that he simply stepped around them and continued his constant flow of hacking attacks. Dark blood sprayed out on his backswings and spattered as he buried Lifedrinker in their robed bodies, and Victor felt her pull herself deeper, draining Energy with each solid hit.

    When the four original targets were down, along with two others that hade to their aid, Victor whirled around. He scanned the room, looking for more targets and Tha. He saw her back by the tunnel mouth, backing up slowly, her spear in front of her, warding off the remaining five robed figures. ¡°Dammit, you were supposed to surprise them,¡± Victor said, starting to charge toward her.

    He felt something then, tickling his mind, and he shook his head, unable to discern what was happening. It felt different from when they¡¯d tried to make him drop Lifedrinker; there was nomand, just an unpleasant presence. Suddenly he realized his distraction; he¡¯d stopped running, and now he heard Tha screaming. He shook his head and looked to the cavern entrance. He couldn¡¯t see Tha, only the robed figures standing in a circle, wing with their hands at something in their midst and throwing gore and blood into the air. ¡°No!¡± Victor screamed and started running again.

    As he charged toward the melee, something wavered in the air, and he felt that tingling presence in his mind again. Something wasn¡¯t right, and he didn¡¯t like that feeling in his head. He stopped again and screamed, ¡°Get the fuck out!¡± He flooded his pathways with rage-attuned Energy and pushed at the presence. Suddenly the light shifted, and the scene at the tunnel mouth was very different: three unmoving cultist corpsesy on the stone floor, and two others were pressing Tha, trying to nk her as she backed slowly toward Victor. ¡°What the hell? On your left!¡± he yelled, running past her and burying Lifedrinker¡¯s gleaming, silvery edge into the cultist''s chest. She bucked and pulled, and Victor saw dark, ck Energy flow in little streams to the axehead.

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Tha said, standing over thest cultist, pulling her spear out of its round, bulging white eye.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Victor said, about to describe how they¡¯d messed with his mind, but then he saw something strange happen to Tha¡¯s face. Her expression changed from grim pleasure to panic, and she whirled her spear around and started breathing rapidly, eyes wide and unfocused. ¡°Tha! Something¡¯s fucking with your head.¡± Victor backed away and scanned the cavern. Something was still out there, and it had a grip on Tha¡¯s mind.

    Victor cast Orb of Inspiration, and the globe appeared in his hand, brightening his immediate surroundings and pushing back the strange, sickly light of the portal. ¡°We need more of this,¡± he grunted and pumped every ounce of inspiration-attuned Energy he had into the orb, swelling its size to that of a cantaloupe and then a basketball. It pulsed and glowed with brighter and brighter light as his Energy flooded it. It became hard to see any of the green light through the white-gold radiance of his orb, and when Victor pushed the huge, swollen globe into the air, all the shadows in the cavern were banished. Then Victor saw what had been hidden¡ªanother ck-robed figure lurked behind the portal, this one wearing a twisted silvery crown.

    As his orb had grown and bathed her in its light, Tha¡¯s face had lost its panicked expression, but she still stood, listless, her spear hanging limply in her grasp. Victor didn¡¯t waste any time, turning from where he¡¯d thrown his orb to charge at the hunched figure. The cultist or monster was scuttling away from the portal toward the far wall of the cavern as if to get away from Victor¡¯s orb. ¡°Where are you going, asshole? Think you can fuck with my mind?¡± Victor felt vited, outraged, even, not just for himself but for Tha; it was one thing to have someonee at you openly, trying to open you up with their creepy ws, but having someone hide in the shadows and slip into your mind¡ªthat wasn¡¯t alright with Victor.

    At thest minute, when Victor was bearing down on its back, Lifedrinker raised, the cloaked figure whirled, opened its oversized mouth in a croaking hiss, and pushed dark wispy tendrils of Energy out of its outstretched hands. The waves of dark Energy coursed at Victor while he charged, but he nimbly dropped into a slide. He skidded over the dusty stone ground, right past the cultist, under its attack, and, as he passed, he chopped Lifedrinker through the cultist¡¯s robed leg, and she parted the cloth, the flesh, and the bone, as easily as woodsman cuts a sapling.

    The creature fell back, screaming, and its metal crown ttered along the stone floor. Dark blood gushed from the severed leg, and Victor stood up, watching as it writhed. ¡°Can you talk?¡±

    ¡°Fool,¡± it hissed, then Victor saw it reach a hand toward a pouch tied to the robe¡¯s belt, and he stepped forward and put Lifedrinker through its neck. The cultist¡¯s head rolled away, a wide-mouthed gasp of surprise forever written on its face. A tter made him jerk his gaze from the gory sight, and Victor saw Tha¡¯s spear rolling on the ground while she held her hands to her head. He walked over to her and squeezed her shoulder just as a surge of golden motes flooded into them both.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 23 Herald of Carnage. You have gained 10 will, 8 strength, and have 10 attribute points to allocate.***

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned the spell: Globe of Insight - Improved.***

    ***Globe of Insight - Improved: You create an orb of inspiration-attuned Energy that will help those within its radiance see the potential in their surroundings. Overcharge the spell with extra inspiration-attuned Energy to drive back confusion and mind-altering influences. Energy cost: Variable, Cooldown: minimal.***

    When the effects faded, Victor saw that Tha¡¯s eyes were clearer, and she was standing up more easily. He waved away his notifications and said, ¡°You alright? Their boss had a way to mess with our minds.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m alright, but I didn¡¯t like that feeling; it was like someone was in my head with me.¡±

    ¡°I know exactly what you mean.¡±

    ¡°Nice job fighting it off. I felt your inspiration orb cut through the madness, but I still felt trapped until you killed that thing.¡±

    ¡°Any idea what they are? That one called me a fool.¡± Victor pointed to the dead cultist leader and started walking toward it.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t. They weren¡¯t very tough, other than, you know, taking over my mind.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor said, nudging the corpse with his toe. ¡°I think it had something in that pouch; it was reaching for it when I removed its head.¡±

    ¡°Also, the crown,¡± Tha said, walking over to it.

    ¡°Careful. That thing gives me the creeps.¡± Victor didn¡¯t like the sickly silvery-green metal of the crown, and the twists and whorls in the metal gave him a decidedly uneasy feeling in his gut.

    ¡°Really?¡± Tha frowned briefly, then said, ¡°Come stand closer and put your hand over it. Don¡¯t touch it.¡± Victor shrugged and did as she asked. When he held his hand close to the metal, he felt a burning, crackling sensation in his skin, but it seemed fine when he pulled his hand away.

    ¡°It feels like it''s drying my skin out or something. Definitely unpleasant.¡±

    ¡°I think your higher affinity is picking something up; maybe it¡¯s a dangerous attunement or a curse. Maybe it has an evil spirit within. Let¡¯s be careful with it until we can get an expert to check it out, hmm?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sounds good. Any ideas?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Tha produced an old bup sack and held it open next to the crown. ¡°Flip it in here with a stick or something.¡± Victor fished out an empty wine bottle and used it to scoot the crown into Tha¡¯s sack which she closed up and put into her storage ring. ¡°Alright, you check out the pouch.¡± Victor untied the leather pouch, and when he lifted it away from the corpse, he saw that it was covered in dark runes.

    ¡°Dimensional container?¡±

    ¡°I think so,¡± Tha nodded.

    ¡°Here goes,¡± Victor trickled some Energy into the pouch, and suddenly he was aware of the enormous space within. He could see arge pile of meat in various states of decay, some smooth and pale, some dark and furry, but all of it quite disgusting looking. He saw a stack of smooth stones with various runes carved into them. Next to the runes was a little pile of green-tinged vials, and next to those was a single, dirty, torn ck robe. ¡°He didn¡¯t have a very diverse set of interests. I see potions, rotten meat, dirty clothes, and some runestones.¡±

    ¡°Maybe throw out the meat and dirty clothes, and we can have the runestones and potions checked out sometime?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± While Victor dealt with the more unpleasant items in the cultist¡¯s bag, Tha inspected the other corpses,ing away with nothing but unpleasant memories. After they came back together, Victor said, ¡°So this is a portal, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m not sure how it will work¡ªI¡¯ve only heard of dungeons having one entrance. Will this take us to the dungeon entrance, or does it have more than one starting point? Maybe it will put us near the end, and we¡¯ll be killed instantly by some powerful dungeon boss.¡±

    ¡°I love the positivity.¡±

    ¡°Do me a favor, will you?¡± She nced at him, and Victor nodded. ¡°Make your inspiration orb and keep it up in there. Higher-level undead can mess with our minds, kind of like this guy did.¡± She pointed at the leader¡¯s corpse.

    ¡°Sounds good. We got this, Tha. Just a little dungeon between us and freedom, now.¡± Tha gave him a weary smile. ¡°One sec.¡± Victor called up his attributes, not wanting to walk into his first dungeon with unspent points:

    Strength:

    74

    Vitality:

    90

    Dexterity:

    38

    Agility:

    43

    Intelligence:

    29

    Will:

    113

    Points Avable:

    10

    He decided to leave it to his ss levels to keep bumping up his strength and will, and he put five points into agility, three into intelligence and two into dexterity. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m ready.¡±

    ¡°Your orb.¡± Tha smiled.

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor used his improved spell to summon a substantial, softball-sized globe of inspiration Energy that glowed and pulsed with a pure, warming white-gold light that pushed back the sickly green of the portal. He found it a lot easier to control now, simply willing it to float above and behind them.

    ¡°Perfect,¡± Tha sighed. Victor nodded, and together they stepped into the portal, letting the cold, shifting Energy wrap around them, and pull them to an unknown destination.

 Book 2: Chapter 1: Death and Bones

    Book 2: Chapter 1: Death and Bones

    Victor felt like he was being sucked down a cold whirlpool as the portal drew him in. The sensation was panic-inducing, but just as his mind began to run away from him, it was over. The foot he¡¯d stepped into the portal with was suddenly making contact with a hard surface, and then he was standing in a brightly lit stone room with an exquisitely detailed, shiny gold or brass leaf ceiling. Tha was next to him, and he realized the bright light wasing from his orb that had made the journey through the portal with them.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t in my records, Victor,¡± Gorz said in his mind.

    ¡°What do you mean? Didn¡¯t Reevus have toe through here?¡± Victor asked aloud, and Tha gave him a raised eyebrow. He motioned to his ne while he waited for Gorz¡¯s answer.

    ¡°One would think so, but I don¡¯t recognize this location,¡± Gorz replied.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t recognize this area, even though his old owner came through this dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Maybe it changes over time or as people enter it?¡± Tha leaned against her spear, peering around. ¡°Look at the ceiling in here! Have you ever seen something so fancy?¡±

    ¡°Only on VR.¡±

    ¡°VR?¡±

    ¡°Um, I mean like not in person¡ªin pictures, sort of.¡± Victor walked around the square room, pausing at the strange, smooth, round door. He couldn¡¯t see any hinges, and the pale, maple-hued wood was without feature. ¡°You ever been in a dungeon, Tha?¡±

    ¡°No. Adventurers and fortune-seekers go to dungeons; I never had that kind of confidence or ambition in my old life.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Victor looked at the tall, ck-braided woman with her strong shoulders, fierce expression, and leopard-like grace. ¡°You never struck me as anything other than confident.¡±

    ¡°I had other priorities before I was sentenced to the mines. We adjust as we must, right?¡± She walked forward with her spear and tapped the sharp point against the wooden door. ¡°Do you see a way to open this?¡±

    ¡°Are we ready? I have some ideas.¡± When Tha nodded, crouching and pointing her spear at the closed portal, Victor stepped forward and gave it a shove with one hand, his axe gripped in the other. Just as he¡¯d hoped, the door moved easily, receding into the wall an inch and then rolling to the right, disappearing into the hollow stone. A corridor crossed in front of their room, built from the same stone with the same fancy, gilt ceiling. ¡°Just a sec,¡± he said, willing his globe of inspiration Energy to float to the back corner of the room, then he poked his head out into the corridor and looked both ways.

    Outside of the pool of illuminationing from the doorway, the corridor was utterly dark. Victor looked to his globe and willed it toe closer and, again, was surprised by how easily it floated toward him. ¡°This globe is a lot easier to control than before. Do you think it¡¯s the improved spell, or am I getting better at it?¡±

    ¡°Probably both.¡± Tha shrugged. ¡°Anything out there?¡±

    ¡°Darkness. Well, there¡¯s no going back.¡± He gestured to theck of any other exit, then he moved into the corridor and, trusting his gut, turned right. Victor could feel Tha¡¯s presence behind him, and he started advancing, his bright light following along with him. After about twenty paces, he saw a T junction ahead and slowly moved toward it. As he drew close and peered both ways, seeing nothing but long, stretching corridors disappearing into darkness in both directions, he noticed, in the light of his globe, a jagged, hairline crack in the wall at the junction.

    He stretched out a hand and ran it along the crack, tracing its length from the top of the wall all the way to the ground. ¡°What is it?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s a weird line or crack here.¡± He took a step back and ran his eyes over the wall, and then he saw a tiny, shallow depression near the top of it. He wouldn¡¯t have seen it if his light hadn¡¯t cast the smallest of shadows into the depression. Again, he stretched out his hand and pushed his fingertips into the depression, and, with a click, the stone moved under his touch; the wall separated a couple of inches along the crack he¡¯d seen.

    ¡°Woah!¡± Tha backed up as the stone moved, but as they both stood ready with their weapons, they realized it wouldn¡¯t open further on its own.

    ¡°I¡¯ll pull it open. Ready?¡± She grunted assent, and he hooked Lifedrinker into his belt, reaching out to pull apart the stone halves of the wall. At first, they didn¡¯t want to move, but they inched apart a tiny amount as he strained. He realized it was just a matter of muscle, so he flooded his arms with strength using Sovereign Will and heaved. The walls slid roughly apart with a deep grind, and when he had a gap big enough to slip through, he backed up and grabbed up his axe. ¡°Wow, here just a few minutes, and you already found a secret passage?¡± Tha pped him on the shoulder, peering into the revealed space.

    The light exposed another passage, narrower and with a regr stone ceiling. Victor ducked through the narrow gap and started walking forward, Tha and his light just behind. The floor of this passage had ayer of dust on it, which made him realize the other hallway hadn¡¯t. He didn''t know if that were a significant clue as to traffic or just how the dungeon worked, but he appreciated being able to tell that nothing had moved through this corridor ahead of them. A few more minutes of walking brought an ordinary wooden door into view. It was made of vertical ts, and Victor could see it had a ck metaltch and hinges.

    ¡°That door¡¯s in good shape,¡± Tha whispered.

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s see if it¡¯s locked.¡± Victor padded forward and reached out thetch. When he tried to depress it, it wouldn¡¯t move. He whispered, ¡°Should I try to bash it? I could also use the ring we found.¡±

    ¡°Might as well use the ring; no sense waking up the whole dungeon until we have to.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor lifted his left hand with the Ring of the Guest and gently knocked on the door. A raspy click sounded from the metal te around thetch, and Victor whistled appreciatively before he could catch himself. He pped his hand to his mouth and winced toward Tha, but she just shrugged. Once again, he pushed down on thetch, which depressed with a click, opening the door toward them.

    Victor stepped back, pulled the door open, and his light revealed the creepiest thing he¡¯d ever seen: a throng of naked, hairless, pale creatures were packed together in the center of the room. They stood with their arms down, swaying and pressing into each other as they stared up at an orb of pulsing, radiating blue-white Energy. They were anatomically simr to humans with all the proper parts, and the way they pressed and hissed at each other through wide, thin-lipped mouths was strangely and disturbingly sexual. When the light from Victor¡¯s orb touched them, they jerked their heads away from the ceiling, staring at the duo standing in the doorway.

    They didn¡¯t scream or growl, but they hissed and gnashed their teeth. For a moment, they stood as if stunned, but then something broke, and they lifted their w-tipped arms and charged. Victor immediately cast Project Spirit, hoping to drive them mad with his rage-attuned Energy like he had the rats, and it worked, partially. Some of the ghoulish figures paused in their wild charge, others began to hiss and snap their teeth more frenziedly, and still others started to thrash about with their ws, heedless of the damage they inflicted on their own kind. Before they could regain theirposure, Victor stepped forward and started to hack Lifedrinker about.

    The axe bit deeply into the naked monsters, but not as easily as Victor had anticipated; their skin was tough like old leather, and their bones a lot harder than those of the cultists outside the dungeon. He failed to remove any limbs, though ck blood showered the room from his wide cleaves. Tha, too, delivered a half dozen terrible stabs to the creatures before they¡¯d managed to shake off Victor¡¯s spell and redouble their efforts to w the two adventurers apart.

    They seemed to hate Victor¡¯s light, and Victor had to believe that the white-gold re was counteracting whatever effect the blue orb in the room might have had on him and Tha. The ghouls were strong, though, and Victor was having a hard time knocking away all the ws and gnashing teeth and umted a lot of painful gashes along his arms and legs, despite the carnage he was dishing out with Lifedrinker. He heard Tha grunt in pain more than once and knew some of their ws were also getting past her guard. ¡°Come on! Fucking kill them!¡± He screamed, more at himself than Tha, and he flooded his arms and axe with rage Energy, cast Sovereign Will to improve his agility, and activated Inspiring Presence. The room lit up even brighter in his vision; the ghoul-like monsters seemed smaller, weaker, slower, and Lifedrinker blurred in the air as he began to weave her between their grasping ws, striking terrible wounds to necks, bellies, and joints.

    Tha made a sound like a cross between a growl and a howl and began to drive her spear into eyes and mouths, pushing the ghouls back and sending them flopping on the ground. Between her improved uracy and Victor¡¯s sudden show of speed and skill, they had most of the creatures down in a matter of seconds. Still, they thrashed and writhed and tried to stand and attack them. Not one of them was entirely ¡°dead¡± yet.

    Victor growled and stepped forward, bringing Lifedrinker down on one flopping, prone ghoul¡¯s neck with all of his might. With a loud cracking snap, her edge bit through its sturdy spine and clicked against the stone floor. As the monster¡¯s head rolled away, the body stopped thrashing, and the cking jaws ceased their movement. After that, Victor and Tha knew what to do, and they systematically began to relieve the ghouls of their heads. Tha kept them down while Victor moved among them, powering through their necks with Lifedrinker¡¯s keen, hungry edge.

    ¡°Thirteen,¡± Tha counted as he finally severed thest ghoul¡¯s head.

    ¡°Those fucking things were tough,¡± Victor said, looking at the carnage. His arms and legs were burning from all the gashes he¡¯d received, and, now that his Inspiring Presence had faded, he was feeling exhausted and drained. He was about to suggest a rest when motes of Energy began to gather above the fallen creatures, and every single one was tinged with purple. ¡°This is going to be a big one!¡± he crowed, bracing himself. Just as he¡¯d predicted, the surge of Energy that flooded into him and Tha was enormous, lifting them both off the ground.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 24 Herald of Carnage. You have gained 10 will, 8 strength, and have 10 attribute points to allocate.***

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned the spell: Channel Spirit - Improved.***

    ***Channel Spirit - Improved: Apply your Core¡¯s Energy to your physical attacks, manifesting your attuned Energy as a destructive force that scales based on the amount of Energy you channel. This skill will bypass the usual effect spirit affinities have on the cultivator¡¯s emotional state. Energy Cost: Variable. Cooldown: Minimal***

    ¡°I leveled!¡± Tha said, a look of surprise on her face. ¡°That¡¯s fast, Victor!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, that was a lot of Energy. I leveled too, by the way.¡±

    ¡°Victor, do you feel that?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°The orb there, the blue one, I can feel it in my Core. It¡¯s like my Core is hungry for it. Does that make sense?¡±

    ¡°I guess? I don¡¯t know¡ªI don¡¯t feel anything from it.¡± Victor looked to the pale blue orb, unable to shake the notion that its light was sickly somehow, especially after watching those creepy ghoul assholes basking in it. ¡°Hold on,¡± he said and then canceled his Globe of Insight. Suddenly the room was bathed in the pale blue glow of the other orb, and Victor felt its chill seeping into his bones. It was an unpleasant chill that brought to mind hunger, despair, and finality. ¡°I don¡¯t like it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Energy, Victor, and my Core is practically salivating for it. I think I could gain something if I try to cultivate it.¡±

    ¡°Well, you know more about this stuff than I do. Can we take it with us? This room is disgusting.¡± It was true; the square room was like a scene from a nightmare, with ghoul bodies and their heads scattered around in big dark smears all over the stone floor. The walls were sshed with ck fluid, and the smell was ripe, though the cold air emanating from the orb seemed to dampen the stench. ¡°What is it anyway? Ice-attuned?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, not ¡®til I try it, and no, I don¡¯t think we can move it.¡± She looked around and then started shoving the bodies away from the center of the room. She motioned to the door, ¡°Can you watch my back while I try to cultivate it?¡±

    ¡°Alright. You sure you want to mess with that?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a reason this was kept behind a secret door, Victor; I really think it will upgrade my Core.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll guard you, then.¡± Victor resummoned his Globe of Insight, sighing as the cold pressure of the other orb was pushed back, and then he pushed the door closed and stood in front of it, with Lifedrinker, watching Tha. She sat down with her back to Victor, her legs crossed, and her hands on her knees, just as Yre taught Victor to sit when he cultivated. While he watched her, he took another look at his attributes:

    Strength:

    82

    Vitality:

    90

    Dexterity:

    40

    Agility:

    48

    Intelligence:

    32

    Will:

    123

    Points Avable:

    10

    Victor knew that, logically, there had to be a perfect way to distribute attribute points, but he kept reminding himself that more than one person had told him how rare it was to have unbound points to spend. That meant that a ss usually defined a person, which meant that he had a rather umon chance to define himself, at least to some degree. Sure, he was forced to fight savagely for his survival at this time, but did he always want to live that way? Maybe he¡¯d be forced to, but would it hurt to n for a bit more diversity in his skillset? He felt good, using his free points to keep his minor attributes fromgging too far behind, even if pumping up his strength and vitality might make his current situation more bearable. ¡°But I could pump up lots of attributes with Sovereign Will,¡± he muttered, careful not to bother Tha.

    ¡°Victor, could I be of some help?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m struggling with how to spend my extra attribute points. How rare a skill is Sovereign Will? It seems pretty great that I could pump up my strength one minute and then my agility or vitality the next.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s beyond my scope of knowledge, Victor. I can say that Reevus did not have a simr ability.¡±

    ¡°Hold on,¡± Victor paused to really consider the problem. Will was important for a number of factors: ording to Yre, it increased his maximum Energy, his Energy regeneration, his mental fortitude for both resisting effects and forcing them upon his foes, and, in his seemingly rare case, allowed him to boost any other physical attribute. ¡°I¡¯m going to keep improving my will for now.¡± He exined his logic to Gorz, and the spirit indicated that it couldn¡¯t find fault with it.

    ¡°With 133 will, I can boost any of my stats by over forty points now!¡±

    ¡°It seems quite significant, Victor.¡±

    He was looking at his Energy numbers, happy to see he had over 1,500 maximum, when the orb Tha was studying suddenly red. A stream of blue Energy with a sickly white undertone started streaming into her, just below her breastbone. ¡°That¡¯s going to her Core, right, Gorz?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor, and it is not water-attuned Energy as you spected. I¡¯ve met Elementalists while with Reevus, and their signature was quite different.¡±

    ¡°Great.¡± Victor watched as Tha arched her back, and the stream of Energy continued. Her whole body was limned with the cold, blue light now, and he could feel the pressure of it, even with his Globe of Insight floating between him and her. After another moment or two, the stream finally trailed off, and as it was absorbed into Tha, Victor saw that the orb was gone. He continued to watch her as she seemed to be processing what had happened. Then, finally, she unfolded her legs and stood up. ¡°You okay?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­¡± she looked around, moving her hands and flexing her fingers, then she turned to Victor, and he saw that her dark-irised eyes were now fully ck; the whites were gone. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, Victor. I hope I didn¡¯t just make a terrible mistake. My Core has changed, and I have a new affinity.¡±

    ¡°What changed? What affinity?¡±

    ¡°I used to have a pearl ss Core¡ªnow it''s a whisper ss. Whisper! I¡¯ve never heard of it, but worse, Victor, the affinity is for death. I have a death affinity and a big pool of death-attuned Energy in my Core.¡±

    ¡°Uh, is that bad? It sounds bad.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! I feel strange! I feel cold. Victor, take my hand; is it cold?¡± She stepped forward, reaching out her red fingers, and Victor took them. They didn¡¯t feel cold, exactly, but they weren¡¯t as warm as he felt they should be.

    ¡°Nah, they aren¡¯t cold, Tha. Look, um, I¡¯m going to tell you this because I¡¯d want to know. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing, but your eyes are ck.¡±

    ¡°My eyes? They¡¯ve always been dark.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean all of them. You don¡¯t have any white parts. Don¡¯t freak out!¡± Tha had pped her hands to her eyes and was pressing her fingers against them as though she could feel what Victor was describing. ¡°They don¡¯t look bad, Tha! I mean, they¡¯re kind of intimidating, which can be good, right?¡±

    ¡°Victor! What did I do? Am I still me?¡±

    ¡°Of course you are! You wouldn¡¯t be freaking out asking that if you weren¡¯t. Come on, there has to be some bright side to this. Did you gain any more Energy? Any news skills?¡±

    ¡°No new skills, but I have a higher affinity with this new Energy than I used to have, and my Core is two levels higher.¡±

    ¡°Alright! Well, that¡¯s something. You might pick up some skills or spells as we go along.¡±

    ¡°I might get offered a different ss option at thirty, too,¡± she said quietly, her breathing back to normal.

    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit. You ready to get out of this stinking room?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± She stepped forward and opened the door, and Victor couldn¡¯t help but notice that her movements seemed different. It took him a minute to put a finger on it, but he realized she didn¡¯t turn to look at him as she went by and didn¡¯t smile or frown¡ªjust pulled the door open and walked through. He hoped it was just the strange experience and that she¡¯d get back to herself soon, but he was worried about her.

    They made their way back to the T junction, and Victor took a left turn, walking ahead of Tha. The hallway continued for a hundred paces or more, and then Victor saw a flickering blue light ahead. He crouched and moved forward, ncing back to be sure Tha knew something was up. When he saw a chamber opening up ahead at the end of the tunnel, he tried to creep forward to get a peek at what was in there, but suddenly a blue, whistling ball of me tore through the darkness toward him. He ttened to his belly, and the mes whistled by, Tha narrowly dodging to the right.

    Figuring stealth was no longer an option, Victor leaped up, lifted Lifedrinker, and focusing Sovereign Will into boosting his agility, he charged into the chamber. Almost without thought, he urged his Globe of Insight to rush along behind him, and when the bright light burst over therger space, Victor almost stopped in his tracks. Standing before him was a headless skeleton built from thick, gray bones standing nearly nine feet tall. It held a skull in its right hand, though it was much too small and the wrong shade of yellow to be the skeleton¡¯s missing head. As Victor registered what he was seeing, the skeleton turned the skull to face him. Blue mes flickered in the eye sockets, and, as they caught sight of Victor, they red brightly, and a ball of blue Energy streaked toward him.

    Victor yed baseball every summer, and it was almost a reflex when he stepped to the left and swung Lifedrinker to perfectly bisect the ball of mes. The result wasn¡¯t what he¡¯d hoped; rather than knock the ball away, it simply burst into a congration of mes that engulfed Victor and sent him sprawling back to tumble over the gray stones. The mes burned and ignited his clothing, and Victor screamed as he extended his tumble into a log roll, trying to get them out.

    By the time the mes stopped licking at his flesh and clothing, Victor was a dozen paces away from the skeleton. When he looked up, he saw Tha dancing with it, her spear striking out in wicked blue shes. The skeleton tried tounch fireballs at her, but she moved nimbly, keeping the skull-holding hand awkwardly chasing after her, unable to draw a bead. Victor jumped up, cast Inspiring Presence, used Sovereign Will to boost his strength, and flooded his axe with Energy using Channel Spirit. He pumped nearly half of his rage Energy into Lifedrinker, and she red with a zing red aura as he lifted her over his head.

    Tha had the skeleton¡¯s attention, so Victor caught itpletely unaware as he brought Lifedrinker down on the skeleton¡¯s spine. Her shining razor edge tore into the bone, and the rage Energy stored in the weapon surged down, shattering the spine and dozens of attached bones in a shower of splinters and powder. The skeleton copsed, and its zing-eyed head rolled away. Victor saw the eyes still burning, and he quickly stepped around so that he could approach the skull from the side. He saw Tha do the same, and they came to stand over it from opposite sides. ¡°Stand back,¡± Victor said, lifting Lifedrinker.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Tha said, holding out a hand.

    ¡°What? It¡¯s still alive.¡±

    ¡°I know; I can hear it.¡±

    ¡°What, now?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s talking to me, Victor. It says it can teach me things.¡±

    ¡°Tha, fuck that! You saw what this thing did!¡±

    ¡°Victor, what if it can tell me more about my new Core or affinity?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it can, but can you trust anything it says? It¡¯s a fucking skull!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s promising a lot, Victor,¡± Tha said, her voice rising as her stress elevated.

    ¡°Tha, back up. Trust me, will you? I don¡¯t have a skull whispering in my head.¡±

    ¡°Victor! You have that amulet talking to you! I didn¡¯t try to destroy it, did I?¡±

    ¡°Gorz? Gorz isn¡¯t an undead thing.¡±

    ¡°Well, Victor, I don¡¯t have my memories from my life, but I was once a living thing.¡±

    ¡°Not helping, Gorz.¡±

    ¡°Victor, this skull won¡¯t hurt you. I promise I¡¯ll let you chop it to bits if it does anything. You asked me to trust you, but will you trust me?¡±

    ¡°Argh!¡± Victor growled, backing up a step and letting Lifedrinker hang at his side. ¡°Tha, I hope you know what you¡¯re doing.¡±

    ¡°Me too, Victor,¡± she said, kneeling to pick up the old, yellow, humanoid skull. As she lifted it, Victor saw it had a lot more sharp teeth than a human, and the eye sockets weren¡¯t round, more angr. They still held flickering mes in them, though they didn¡¯t re at all when Tha looked into them. ¡°He¡¯s offering me a contract, Victor. In exchange for saving him from your axe, he¡¯s saying he¡¯ll tutor me until I reach tier four.¡±

    ¡°Then what?¡±

    ¡°Then we will renegotiate.¡± Tha pulled some strips of leather out of her ring and began to make a harness to hold the skull. ¡°His name is Belikot, and he says this room is safe to rest in if we shut the door to the hallway we came through.¡±

    ¡°We really going to listen to a pinche skull? Alright, Tha.¡± Victor turned and saw arge ck iron door on heavy hinges that he could swing closed, blocking off the hallway. He did it, throwing the bolt home with a satisfying nk. He scanned the room and saw a simr door on the far wall and several trunks and cabs along the wall to the right, near where he¡¯d destroyed Belikot¡¯s skeleton.

    ¡°Belikot says you can search those trunks safely; there are books I should study, some ingredients for alchemy, and one of the trunks has over a thousand Energy beads in it!¡± Tha sat down, upied with her project, pulling strips of leather around the skull and braiding them near the top of the skull. Victor didn¡¯t reply to her, still feeling annoyed. He thought about why he was irritated and realized a big part of it was that he¡¯d viscerally wanted to chop Lifedrinker into that skull.

    ¡°I¡¯ll check it out,¡± he said, trying not to grouse.

    ¡°Victor, when you¡¯re done, and if we¡¯re going to rest here, I think I have an idea that might be promising. I¡¯d like to try to teach you a weave, a way tobine your different affinities into a different end product.¡±

    ¡°What? What will that do?¡± he asked, walking over to the first trunk.

    ¡°It will allow you to use the new Energy type in one of your existing spell patterns, creating a new result, just as you did with your inspiration-attuned Energy.¡±

    ¡°What do rage and inspiration make when theybine?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, Victor; I don¡¯t know that exact weave, so we¡¯ll need to experiment. I think it will pay off, though.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Let me get this stuff sorted, first.¡± Victor looked around at Tha and saw that, though she seemed quite focused on the skull, there was a genuine spark in her eyes, and he hoped it was there for good reasons.

 Book 2: Chapter 2: Courage and Trust

    Book 2: Chapter 2: Courage and Trust

    ¡°Not like that, Victor! You have to build the weavepletely in your pathways before letting any of the Energy bleed out.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m trying, Gorz! It keepsing apart at the start by the time I get to the end, and then I lose track of it while I rush to fix it!¡±

    ¡°I understand, Victor, and I know it¡¯s made moreplex because I can only describe the weave to you. I think we¡¯ll have more luck if you practice writing it a few more times. Ask your friend¡¯s skull if you can use some of its parchment.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not asking that fucking skull anything. Hang on.¡± Victor turned to Tha, who sat quietlymuning with the skull, which was supposedly teaching her a spell that would utilize her death-attuned Energy. ¡°Tha! Can I use that nk journal? I¡¯m sorry, I need more than just this page.¡± Victor held up the page where he¡¯d already written one rough draft of the Energy weave Gorz was trying to teach him.

    ¡°Yes, of course,¡± Tha replied, throwing the leather-bound sheaf of papers to him. He caught the pping pages deftly and grunted his thanks. He¡¯d kept one of the enchanted quills they¡¯d found in the skull''s trunks, so he set to work on a nk sheet of paper, drawing the weave of Energies again.

    ¡°Victor, make them smaller so that you can write more on the same paper.¡±

    ¡°Right, right,¡± Victor muttered, concentrating on the drawing. Gorz had exined how he¡¯de up with the weave through trial and error using the avable patterns in his memory. He¡¯d described the rage-attuned Energy as a bold, aggressive Energy requiring a twisting, twinned strand of Energy in a weave. Then he¡¯d said that inspiration-attuned Energy would have to temper the rage, folding back and amplifying at least one of the strands. He¡¯d said that of the forty-seven possible weaves, he¡¯d narrowed it down to three, and the one he was teaching Victor had the best symmetry.

    ¡°Good! Do you see how the Inspiration folds between the rage strands? Do you see how it turns it back and amplifies it? That is much like a weave between fury and hope, a weave that gave me great insight into what you¡¯re attempting.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm, you already told me that.¡± Victor tuned out Gorz and concentrated, drawing the weave over and over. After a few minutes, he looked at his paper and the twenty perfect copies of the weave. He¡¯d used a dashed line for the rage-attuned Energy and a solid line for the inspiration. Theplicated loops and folds were pretty dam impressive to look at. ¡°If I do say so myself! You know, I¡¯m a way better damn artist than I was back on Earth. Is it my dexterity?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d say it¡¯s abination of your dexterity and intelligence, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to try again. I¡¯m a lot faster at drawing this weave now.¡± Victor turned his mind inward, looking to the twin stars of his Core, the pulsing, glowering red rage-attuned orb and its white-gold steadily radiating counterpart of pure inspiration Energy. Focusing his will, he teased out a strand of each type of Energy and brought them together in his broadest pathway near his Core.

    Now that he had the two strands of his different Energies ready, working as quickly as he could, he began to weave the two threads together in the pattern that Gorz had taught him and that he¡¯d just practiced on the paper. He almost got to the end before the starting point began to unravel, and he growled, ¡°Fuck!¡± Victor released the threads and took several calming breaths, shaking out his hands as though he were weaving with his fingers.

    ¡°I almost got it,¡± he said, closing his eyes and refocusing on his Core.

    ¡°Victor! Be sure to have a spell in mind to push thepleted weave into,¡± Gorz said shrilly. Victor grunted in reply, but the spirit had a point; he mentally readied himself to cast his light orb spell and then grabbed up his threads of Energy. He took three quick breaths like he¡¯d do while waiting for the buzzer to start a match, and then heunched into the weave, pulling and tugging the threads into the pattern. When he finished, he knew he¡¯d done it right because the twisted threads red for a moment, and then the red and white-gold energiesbined to form a warm, red-gold Energy strand.

    Victor immediately cast his light spell, mping down on his Core and pushing the thread of new Energy into the spell¡¯s pattern. Suddenly a warm golden ray of light shone down from the ceiling, illuminating the area where Victor and Tha sat. It held a deep, rich undertone of red, and as it red brightly and the light fell upon him, the doubts in Victor¡¯s heart and mind fled, and he felt sure and confident, ready to challenge whatever came next.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned the spell: Dauntless Radiance - Basic.***

    ***Dauntless Radiance - Basic: You create a ray of courage-attuned Energy that will help those within its radiance ignore their fears and doubts, finding the bravery to face what challenges them. Energy cost: 100 Cooldown: minimal.***

    As Energy surged into Victor, his reward from the System for creating a new spell, Tha eximed, ¡°Victor, that¡¯s amazing! I was so worried about this new affinity, but I can see how silly I was being¡ªthis is truly a great opportunity!¡±

    ¡°You did it, Victor! What Energy-attunement is this? I can read hints of your inspiration and rage affinities in it, but it¡¯s a wholly different signature.¡± Gorz¡¯s strange, hollow, tinny voice was squealing with excitement.

    ¡°ording to the spell description, it¡¯s courage-attuned Energy.¡± Victor looked at the beam of light, wondering if it wasing out of the stone or just originating near it. Why was it a different shape than the other light spells? Was it moveable? He stood up and tried to will the beam to move, but it wouldn¡¯t budge. ¡°Gorz, why¡¯s it shaped differently than the other light spells? I can¡¯t move it.¡±

    ¡°Most likely because it was cast with a weave of Energy, thereby altering the spell¡¯s pattern. I imagine other spells you cast with this weave will be functionally different as well.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor grunted, looking at Tha and her blue-me-eyed skull. ¡°What about you? That thing teach you anything?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m learning some basics; he says it¡¯ll be a while before I¡¯m ready for a full spell pattern.¡±

    ¡°Maybe I can help,¡± Victor said, casting Globe of Insight and charging the bright, white-gold light until the shadows in the room were banished. He noticed that his Dauntless Radiance spell faded away nearly as soon as his other light was fully formed. He felt his doubts return and even a niggling fear that he¡¯d almost tricked himself into ignoring¡ªa worry that Tha was being corrupted. With that realization came another: he¡¯d cast such a bright Globe of Insight in the hopes that it would irritate her skull.

    ¡°What¡¯s his name again?¡± He gestured to the yellowed skull sitting on herp.

    ¡°Belikot.¡±

    ¡°Right. Why doesn¡¯t he teach you one of the spells in that book we found?¡±

    ¡°He says he will. I¡¯m just not ready yet.¡±

    ¡°Alright, but remember: he¡¯s not in charge. You are.¡±

    Tha gave him a long, searching look, her ck eyes squinting in the bright light. ¡°You really hate that I wanted to keep him, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just worried about you.¡± Victor huffed out his air and plopped back down, sitting in front of Tha. ¡°I think I¡¯m struggling with the idea that some fucking skull that was shooting fireballs at us became your loyal tutor the second I had my axe ready to strike. Promise me you will be cautious with him.¡±

    ¡°I promise, Victor. Now,e on, let it go. If this skull tells me to kill you in your sleep, I¡¯ll ignore it, alright?¡±

    ¡°What the fuck? I hadn¡¯t even thought of that!¡± Thaughed at Victor¡¯s outrage, and he had to admit, theugh, with a tinge of wickedness, sounded good¡ªlike her old self.

    ¡°So that light you made, it was courage? I heard you talking to your ne.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess so. I don¡¯t really get it. Well, I take that back, I get it, but it¡¯s strange to me that I can make another attuned Energy, even though I don¡¯t have that affinity. I wonder if someone could have just a normal courage affinity, with courage Energy in their Core.¡±

    ¡°I wonder,¡± Tha squinted her eyes, thinking.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible, Victor. It may be possible for you to gain this affinity as well, though I¡¯m not versed in the methods. As with everything I don¡¯t have direct experience with, though, I¡¯m not certain¡ªI don¡¯t have an exhaustive list of spirit affinities, and my library on the subject of spirit Cores is quite limited.¡±

    ¡°Gorz doesn¡¯t know,¡± Victor said to Tha.

    ¡°That¡¯s funny; Belikot was just telling me that your affinities were a good counter to some of the undead creatures in this dungeon. He says he hasn¡¯t met a ¡®spirit caster¡¯ with an aura as strong as yours.¡±

    ¡°Tell him ttery won¡¯t win me over.¡± Victor frowned at the skull.

    ¡°He can hear you.¡± Tha shrugged and stood up, tying the cord she¡¯d hung around the skull to her belt. ¡°Ready to get moving?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I want to try this new Energy with other spells, but I¡¯m not sure this is a good ce to try it with Berserk, and to be honest, I¡¯m nervous about sitting in one ce too long while we¡¯re in here.¡± He stood up and picked up Lifedrinker from where he¡¯d left her leaning against the wall. ¡°So, we¡¯re going through the other door?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Belikot doesn¡¯t know any other parts of the dungeon, but he knows there are ghouls, like we fought in the secret room, a short way up that passage. He says that if he didn¡¯t keep the door closed, they¡¯d wander in here from time to time.¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± Victor looked at therge, heavy iron door. ¡°Shall we open it and wait for some to wander in? It might make our next encounter more manageable.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Tha grinned, gripping her spear and nodding to the door. Victor smiled and motioned to one side of the door; Tha got the hint and moved to stand there, back to the wall, spear ready. Then, he utched the door and swung it wide, the thick iron hinges grinding and squealing. When it was resting against the stone wall, Victor stood with his shoulder to it, facing the opening, with Lifedrinker ready to swing.

    At first, nothing happened, but Victor held still, figuring everything within a few hundred yards had to have heard that door opening. Surely the ghouls down that dark hallway would want to check it out. His Globe of Insight hung in the center of the room, brightly shining, and he wondered if the ghouls would be drawn to it to investigate or reluctant to enter its radiance. After several more heartbeats, he heard a scuffling sounding from the hallway, and then the strange hissing sound of ghoulsmunicating. Suddenly Tha held up a hand with four fingers syed out and pointed to her skull. So, Belikot was telling her there were four ghouls?

    Victor cast Sovereign Will, boosting his strength, remembering how strong the ghouls¡¯ bones were, and the surge of Energy entering his muscles made him feel swollen; he yearned for an outlet. Just as he heard the scrapes reach the threshold, he also cast Channel Spirit, flooding Lifedrinker with rage-attuned Energy, and then, as the first ghoul showed itself, he stepped and swung for the fences. Lifedrinker arced through the air in a red streak, and when her edge bit into the bridge of the ghoul¡¯s nose, she drove through, shaving the top third of the monster¡¯s head off in a spray of ck gore. It fell, utterly destroyed, and then Victor backed up, waiting for the others to charge.

    Thanks to how he greeted the first one, Victor knew he had the ghouls¡¯ attention, so he used that to give Tha an opening, drawing the crowd of hissing, wing, pale-skinned, naked creatures forward into the room. He swung Lifedrinker in broad, cleaving arcs, keeping them at bay, and when he saw Tha getting ready to pounce, he cast Inspiring Presence. Tha¡¯s dark eyes sparkled in the light as she spread her lips into a hungry grin, and then she sprang to attack, driving her spear through the back of one of the ghoul¡¯s necks, perfectly severing its spinal column. The creature copsed, drawing her spear down with it, and while she worked to free it, Victor deftly side-stepped a w, cleaving another ghoul¡¯s head from its shoulders.

    The monsters were probably only around a hundred pounds each, thin and short but very wiry and quick. Victor couldn¡¯t help himself, distracted by his dislike of Tha¡¯s skull, and shouted, ¡°There were fucking five of them!¡±

    ¡°He was guessing based on their hissing! He¡¯s not psychic!¡± Tha said, jerking her spear and stumbling back a few paces.

    As the final two tried to nk him, pushing him back with their wild w swipes, Victor switched his Sovereign Will¡¯s boost to his agility, and with Inspiration flooding his mind, he began to weave a dance between the hacking ws. He thrust Lifedrinker through openings, severing muscles and tendons, crunching partially through a knee, and, all the while, he blocked their jagged ws with her haft and axehead.

    As he backed away from the two ghouls, leaving a wake of ck blood and hunks of flesh, Tha came in from behind again and drove her spear into one of the monsters, pushing it against a wall and pinning it. No longer having to worry about two fronts, Victor went on the offensive, and soon Lifedrinker was crunching through the skull of his final assant. Wrenching the axe free, he turned to Tha¡¯s pinned target and cleaved into its head, grinding through the bone and spraying the wall with ck gore.

    After they¡¯d received their flood of Energy from the conquest, Victor smiled at Tha and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go see where these creeps came from?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± she said with a quick nod.

    ¡°You alright?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sorry. I¡¯m just preupied because Belikot is talking to me. He¡¯s trying to exin how the death Energy suffusing these creatures worked.¡±

    ¡°Oh really? Is that why they¡¯re so fucking hard to kill?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly¡ªthey aren¡¯t really alive. You know what undead means, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, zombies and shit.¡±

    ¡°Not just what creatures are undead, but what it actually means?¡±

    ¡°Not alive, not dead?¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°Good enough, I guess. Anyway, these creatures were warped by death Energy to the point where they¡¯d be dead without it, but they aren¡¯tpletely alive even with it. Their hearts and blood don¡¯t do anything, but they still need brains to function. If you destroy the brain or its connection to the greater whole, the death Energy will dissipate, and the monster will ¡®die.¡¯¡±

    ¡°So is that what Belikot¡¯s teaching you? To make things like this?¡± Victor gestured with Lifedrinker.

    ¡°No, not yet. He¡¯s trying to teach me to control death-attuned Energy so that I can disrupt it in monsters like this.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. If you ever did make a monster like this, would you be able to control it?¡±

    ¡°I think¡­¡± her face grew ck, and she stared into the distance for a moment, then Tha continued, ¡°He says I will eventually. Creatures that are autonomous and strong like these are far beyond my skill, but he says their creation would have been trivial for him when he was alive.¡±

    ¡°What the hell? He used to be alive?¡±

    ¡°What did you think? He wasn¡¯t born as a skull.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but he¡¯s a fucking monster. In a dungeon. I don¡¯t know what I thought, but I never considered all these things came from out there,¡± he gestured vaguely to indicate outside the dungeon, ¡°How long has he been trapped in here?¡±

    ¡°He wasn¡¯t trapped. The System offered him quests and rewards for inhabiting this ce.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Victor shook his head, lost for words. He hadn¡¯t had much to do with the System other than his skills and levels, but it seemed to him that it was ying people against each other. ¡°Well, maybe not people,¡± he amended, shaking his head at the skull swinging from Tha¡¯s belt.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Just thinking aloud.¡± He gestured to the door, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Tha nodded, and together they explored down the open corridor. They ended up fighting another handful of ghouls in a small chamber, and then, after opening another door, they cleared several more short hallways of the creatures. He hadn¡¯t leveled again yet, but Victor knew he wasing close. After killing a final trio of ghouls at the end of their fourth long hallway, they arrived at something different: an enormous, round, bronze door with ornately inscribed runes around its perimeter and a strange set of dials at its center.

    ¡°Gorz, can you read that?¡± Victor softly asked, looking at the thousands of tiny carved symbols. The dials looked like they were used to unlock the door¡ªlike an boratebination lock.

    ¡°No, Victor, it¡¯s not anguage I¡¯m familiar with.¡±

    ¡°He said no. What about you guys?¡± Victor asked Tha, ncing at the skull on her belt. She got quiet for a moment, and Victor assumed she was talking to Belikot.

    ¡°Belikot says he knows how to open it. We need to channel Energy into the dials and turn them until the correct runes are ignited.¡±

    ¡°You trust it?¡± Victor looked at the skull again, remembering how it had hurled balls of blue Energy at them.

    ¡°Him. I don¡¯t exactly trust him, but do we have another option?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Victor reached forward and tried to spin one of the dials; it didn¡¯t move.

    ¡°He says it requires death-attuned Energy.¡±

    ¡°Seems kind of convenient,¡± Victor groused, looking around. He felt like something was creeping up on him, but the hallway was empty, and the three dead ghouls were still broken and headless.

    ¡°Well, do I try it?¡± Tha raised an eyebrow at him, her dark, bottomless eyes boring into his.

    ¡°I guess,¡± Victor said, shrugging and gripping Lifedrinker more tightly. Tha nodded and stretched out a hand, lightly cing her long red fingers around one of the dials. Victor noticed her other hand resting on the skull hanging by her belt, and then the door took his attention.

    With a loud click, the dial started to turn, and he saw runes along the edge start to glow with blue, wispy light. As Tha spun the dial, different runes lit up. After a few spins, she moved to the next dial, and again, the dial clicked, and some runes closer to the center of the door began to glow. She spun it for a few moments, then seemingly satisfied, she moved to thest dial.

    Victor watched as thest dial clicked, and Tha spun it, igniting a third row of runes. She slowly turned the dial, and, with each click, different runes lit up, until with a satisfying *thunk* all the lit runes shed red. Victor opened his mouth to ask if it was unlocked when the floor fell away beneath him.

    As he tumbled into darkness, he heard Tha shout, ¡°What? No!¡± Then, she was gone, and Victor was speeding through thick ck air, his Globe of Insight snuffed out by his sudden departure. Just as Victor¡¯s reeling mind started to put together what happened, and he began to concentrate on calling up a new light, he smashed into a hard surface with a terrible crack, and his consciousness slipped away.

    Victor woke in utter darkness, in air thick, moist, and frigid. When he tried to shift his weight to feel his surroundings, he was stunned to breathlessness by a blinding paining from his left arm, which was pinned beneath him. He panted for a few seconds, holdingpletely still, and when the pain faded to a horrible ache, he took long, deep breaths and listened. Somewhere not far away, he heard a drip, a slow, steady drip that was as regr as his racing heartbeat: *thump*, *thump*, *thump*, *thump*, *drip*; *thump*, *thump*, *thump*, *thump*, *drip*.

    He didn¡¯t hear another sound, so he decided to risk some light. He closed his eyes and cast Globe of Insight, just trickling the smallest possible amount of Energy into it. His right arm was syed out in front of him, and that¡¯s where the little golfball-sized ball of Energy coalesced¡ªover his outstretched hand. The light red to life, and in its warm white-gold glow, he felt his heartbeat slow and his racing mind start to calm.

    Blinking, he took in his surroundings; he was lying on a stone floor, one sheeted in ice with strange ck fungus growing in mottled patches. Not four feet from his head and to his left were two stone walls also sheeted in fungus-patched ice. Victor craned his neck, trying not to move his body, to look down toward his feet, and he saw a rose-red piece of splintered wood next to his belt, his left elbow jutting out and up, and his feet, nearly touching a third wall. ¡°Oh fuck, Lifedrinker,¡± he groaned as he realized the origin of the wood.

    ¡°Victor! I¡¯m d to hear your voice,¡± Gorz said, his tinny voice sending sharp pangs through Victor¡¯s aching head.

    ¡°Thank you, Gorz.¡±

    ¡°You fell nearly fifty meters, Victor. I was fearing the worst.¡± Victor thought about that. Fifty meters was a long way to fall onto a stone floor¡ªhe really was lucky to be alive, though he figured he was a hell of a lot more durable than the average human. His vitality and racial enhancements had to have yed a factor. Still, something was very wrong with his arm.

    ¡°Time to yank off the bandaid,¡± Victor grunted, bracing the palm of his right hand on the stone near his head, then he pushed himself up to a sitting position. Again, he was nearly blinded by the white re of pain that shot from his arm, and when he steeled himself to look at the limb, he felt nausea roil in his gut. His two wrist bones were both broken, with sharp shards of splintered bone piercing out of his skin. His hand was bent at a crazy angle, and the whole limb was swollen and purple. ¡°Oh, fuck me. Goddammit, Tha!¡±

    Victor looked up, not because he expected to see hering down to help him, but because when he thought of her, he remembered how he¡¯d fallen. There was no square of light above him¡ªwhatever trap he¡¯d fallen through had closed. Before he confronted himself with his mangled arm again, he finished his survey of his surroundings. There, lying against the fourth wall of his prison, was what was left of Lifedrinker. Her proud, bearded axehead was still intact, with about a foot of polished haft jutting out, ending in jagged splinters. ¡°Did I fall on you, beautiful? I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Victor carefully scooted his knees underneath himself, trying to jostle his arm as little as possible, then he stood up. A wave of ckness rolled over his vision but quickly passed, leaving tiny winking stars in its wake. He shook his head, then leaned back against one of the stone walls, the icy surface radiating into his shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s fucking freezing in here, Gorz.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not able to discern temperature. I¡¯m sorry, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Gorz, I¡¯m about to do something a little nuts. Now¡¯s your chance to talk me out of it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think I should know more about your n in order to develop a proper argument?¡±

    ¡°No, Gorz. I don¡¯t want to think about this more than I have to.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯m afraid I cannot talk you out of it.¡±

    ¡°Perfect,¡± Victor grunted, then he used his right hand to yank his left wrist straight, pulling the bones into alignment. At the same time, he cast Berserk, and the blinding pain gave way to the red of primal rage.

 Book 2: Chapter 3: Seeing Through

    Book 2: Chapter 3: Seeing Through

    Victor screamed and kicked at the walls, his mind lost to the frenzied rage that had ovee him. Perhaps it was thebination of the vomit-inducing pain when he¡¯d straightened his arm and the effects of the Berserk spell, but any semnce of cognition was gone.

    He screamed and frothed at the mouth, kicking, wing, and punching at the unyielding blocks. When the stone wouldn¡¯t bend to his violence, he turned to the ck fungus, tearing it off the walls and wing at the patches on the floor. In his red haze of madness, he didn¡¯t note the fine ck dust billowing up into the air as he terrorized the space.

    Only when he started to hack and cough, struggling to breathe, did the rage start to fade. When the madness slipped away and the constriction of his lungs really set in, he copsed to the cold floor, writhing in torment, trying to force air through his tight windpipe.

    Feeling the panic overtake his mind, Victor growled, gritting his teeth and forcing himself to be still for a moment. That¡¯s when he noticed the ck dust in the air and realized that each breath he dragged through his windpipe made things worse. He reached with his right hand, ripped the sleeve away from his left arm, shook it out, and then tied it around his face, covering his mouth and nose.

    Forcing himself to breath slowly, he gently pulled a thin stream of air through the cloth into his constricted airway. When he felt that expansion of his lungs, it did wonders for his rattled mind. Before taking another breath, he looked at his Globe of Insight and concentrated, pushing a massive amount of Energy into it until it expanded to the size of a basketball and zed like a floomp. To his wonder and pleasure, he saw the ck spores in the air drift away from the light. They gathered in ayer of fine dust as they came to the walls and slowly sifted downward to collect in piles.

    ¡°Are you alright, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Give me a few, Gorz! I can¡¯t breathe and talk right now.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Victor. My apologies.¡±

    While he watched the spores, Victor forced himself to very slowly, very steadily take deep breaths. When he couldn¡¯t stand it any longer, he filled his lungs to bursting, pulled away his makeshift mask, and coughed. He hacked until he was purple in the face with spittle dripping from his lips, and finally, after several minutes, Victor felt he could breathe without constriction. He had no idea what sort of infection he might be in for with the spores that had invaded his lungs, but he hoped that his Energy levels and racial advancements would help him stave it off.

    Finally able to calm down and take stock of himself, Victor looked at his arm. He was happy to see that it was straight and without pain, though his wrist was a bit thicker. When he ran his fingers over the mended bones, there were some knobby spots that should have been smooth, and Victor figured it was because the bone splinters hadn¡¯t been perfectly aligned when the Berserk spell caused him to heal. Nheless, it felt fine, and all of his fingers worked, so he wasn¡¯t going toin.

    Kneeling there, at the center of the stone shaft under his zing light, Victor turned his eyes upon the shattered remnants of Lifedrinker¡¯s haft and on the axe itself. He knew the haft had been incredibly tough, so the fall must have pinned it just right under his weight when he hit the ground.

    He reached over, picked up the axe, and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We¡¯ll get you fixed up one of these days. For now, I¡¯m going to need you to muscle through.¡± It might have been his imagination or wishful thinking, but Victor swore he felt the axe vibrate eagerly in his hand.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see here,¡± he said, looking at the splintered end of the haft. Several long, jagged pieces were jutting forth, and he used his thumb and finger to snap them off. He wondered at that¡ªwas the magic gone now that it had broken? Would this piece of haft shatter at the first powerful strike? ¡°Or did you just let me break those off?¡± He grinned and stood, then summoned his baton out of his ring and held it in his left hand.

    Victor looked around at the four walls, baton in one hand, Lifedrinker in the other. He slowly spun in a circle, scrutinizing every stone block. ¡°C¡¯mon, I know there has to be a way. Where¡¯s your secret?¡± He¡¯d already fed his Globe of Insight nearly five hundred Energy, so he was pretty sure he was getting as much benefit from it as possible as he looked for whatever secrets might be hidden.

    When his careful inspection failed to reveal anything in the walls, he turned his eye to the ground, and that¡¯s when he noticed a very peculiar detail¡ªthe fungus only grew on certain blocks, never crossing the mortar.

    ¡°Gorz, can you see that fungus only grows on certain stones?¡±

    ¡°Victor! I¡¯m d you¡¯ve recovered.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sorry, Gorz. I¡¯ve been preupied as hell. The fungus?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor, I can see the strange fungal growth pattern. It extends to the walls, as well.¡±

    ¡°Gorz, I have a question: how the fuck do you see anything?¡±

    ¡°Part of this amulet¡¯s enchantment allows me to perceive things in sort of three-dimensional mesh.¡±

    ¡°Oh. For mapping, right?¡±

    ¡°Exactly, Victor. Speaking of which, I can see that the fungal growth only extends to about seven feet on the walls.¡±

    ¡°So, within reach?¡± Victor was starting to have an idea. He set down his weapons, picked up his ripped sleeve, shook it off, and then tied it over his nose and mouth again. Then, he took his baton and gently rubbed it through the delicate strands of ck fungus sprouting on the stone. The rod scraped uniformly as he moved it up and down until he got to the center of the stone, and the baton dipped into a tiny depression. Victor traced the shape of the depression, then he took out his notebook and quill and copied it. It looked almost like a sideways S with a line through the center.

    He moved to the next fungus-covered stone and repeated the process, finding a different shape in the corner of the stone. He copied the shape on his paper, keeping track of the stone¡¯s location. Stepping back, he realized he¡¯d need to diagram the room to keep track of all the different stones, so he did so. When he was done with that, he returned to scraping his baton through the fungus.

    While he worked, copying down the different symbols he found, his mind drifted to Tha, and he wondered if she were okay. Part of him wanted tough at his naivety¡ªhow could she be okay? She was alone in a dungeon full of the undead, and thest time he¡¯d seen her, she¡¯d been partially brainwashed by an evil undead skull. ¡°Hopefully, that fucker can¡¯t outright attack her.¡± Victor had a small hope that the skull had only dumped him into this pit because it couldn¡¯t hurt Tha, at least not directly. He didn¡¯t know what kind of ¡°contract¡± they¡¯d made, but he could hope.

    By the time he¡¯d finished writing the different symbols he¡¯d found under the fungus, Victor was already starting to guess a pattern. It began when he realized there was only one symbol shaped like a T with a small x underneath it. When he noticed that, he looked through his diagram and saw that only two stone blocks had another symbol and that three blocks held yet another. When he finished scribing the final letter or rune, or whatever they were called, he counted the various instances of each and found that not one of them was repeated the same number of times. ¡°Are you seeing this pattern, Gorz?¡±

    ¡°I believe so, Victor. Are you referring to the fact that each rune is repeated a unique number of times?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± There were twenty-eight stones with fungus growing on them and seven different runes. Looking at his map, he saw that all seven runes only appeared on one of the walls and not the floor. Victor approached the stone with the single instance of the T plus a small x rune and pressed on it with his baton. Nothing happened. He tried pushing it in lots of different ways¡ªin the corners, in the center, from the mortar lines. Nothing worked.

    ¡°Are you starting with that stone because it¡¯s the only one with that rune?¡± Gorz asked.

    ¡°Yeah, but nothing¡¯s working.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re meant to activate it with Energy.¡±

    ¡°Oh, shit,¡± Victor pped his head. ¡°I¡¯m still not used to everything being magical.¡± Victor carefully wormed a finger through the fungusyer, passing a trickle of Energy into the stone. With a satisfying *snick*, it sank into the wall about an inch. ¡°Hell yes!¡± Victor looked at his map for the location of one of the stones with the rune that only appeared twice. The stone sank when he channeled Energy into it, just like the first one.

    ¡°Victor, how do you know you¡¯re supposed to activate the stones in ascending order? Or that you aren¡¯t supposed to activate only stones that appear in even or odd numbers?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t, Gorz! I¡¯m just trying this because it¡¯s the most obvious.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see. Well, I hope you don¡¯t trigger another trap.¡±

    ¡°Dammit, Gorz!¡± Victor had briefly considered the idea that he was activating a trap, but he¡¯d quickly pushed the worry aside. Now that Gorz had reinforced the concern, he felt like he had to pause and reconsider. He paced for a moment, trying to think of a clue as to which stones he might be meant to activate first or in what order, but he couldn¡¯t think of anything. The most logical, straightforward answer was just doing it in ascending order. ¡°I think the fall and the fungus were meant to be deadly. I don¡¯t think activating the stones wrong was part of the trap. I don¡¯t know, but I have to try.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have an alternate solution,¡± Gorz replied in a voice more hushed than usual. Victor moved to activate one of the stones with three repetitions of the same rune, and, again, it sank into the wall. When he repeated the process for the fourth, fifth, and sixth runes, he stood back and considered the room one more time before activating the final one.

    Of all the walls, the one he was looking at was the only one with one urrence of each rune. The floor only had three runes, one of them appearing four times. The other walls¡¯ runes were simrly arrayed. Nodding to himself, Victor stepped up to thest fungus-covered tile on the wall he¡¯d been working with and activated it.

    With another *snick*, the block sank in, and then a deeper rumble started to vibrate the room, and dust and mortar began to fall away from the wall. Victor watched, braced for anything, as the wall sank into the floor. When it was halfway down, and Victor saw arger space beyond it, he grabbed up his weapons and stood ready.

    As the wall settled into the floor and the rumbling stopped, Victor peered into the long, dusty hallway that had opened up. His light revealed a good twenty paces before shadows encroached, but all Victor saw were stone walls and dust. Hefting his weapons, he willed his light to follow him, and he started forward. He¡¯d taken one step over the sunken wall when a terrible tter erupted down the hallway, and a mob of skeletons came charging toward him.

    Though their skulls differed from humans'', the creatures were humanoid in shape. They wielded rusty swords, broken spears, knives, and all sorts of clubs. Some of them wore pieces of armor¡ªa helmet here, a breastte there, some old boots or belts. Unable to count them in such a mass, Victor knew it was more than he could easily handle, so he quickly cast Channel Spirit, flooding his weapons with rage-attuned Energy, and then he cast Berserk.

    Savagely roaring, Victor dove into the throng of skeletons, swinging his baton and Lifedrinker in a frenzy of smashing chops. If he were cognizant enough to think about it, Victor would have found it amusing that in this case, the old adage, ¡°The best defense is a good offense,¡± held true. His offensive was so overwhelming and his weapons so perfectly suited for destroying skeletons, the creatures hardly scored any hits, even though they outnumbered him fifteen to one.

    The few cuts and stabs that made it to him were quickly healed by his berserking Energy, and he smashed and shattered his way through line after line of the creatures. By the time his rage wore off, Victor was standing over piles of scattered, broken bones, none of the skeletons still standing. He¡¯d just barely noticed that he was at the end of the hallway, standing next to a sizeable, dusty trunk with an iron door to his left, when golden Energy motes gathered around the bones and surged into him.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 25 Herald of Carnage. You have gained 10 will, 8 strength, and have 10 attribute points to allocate.***

    As good as it felt to dominate his enemies so thoroughly, Victor wondered about it¡ªthese skeletons had been much easier to kill than the ghouls he and Tha had been fighting. Was he in an easier part of the dungeon, or were the monsters just randomly ced? Victor knew he couldn¡¯t answer the question yet; he¡¯d need to do some more exploring. For now, he turned to therge, dusty trunk.

    His experiences so far in this dungeon made him leery of traps, so he carefully paced around the wooden box, looking for any hint that it might hold some danger. The dust was uniformly thick around it, and he couldn¡¯t see any strings or mechanisms around the sp or hinges. ¡°Nothing. You see anything, Gorz?¡±

    ¡°No, Victor. It appears to be mundane.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor muttered. He held his baton out and carefully flipped up the irontch. Nothing happened, so he used the baton¡¯s tip to lift the wooden top of the trunk. It fell back on its hinges with a tter and a shower of dust. Victor stepped forward and inspected the contents.

    Amid cobwebs and more dust, he saw the gleam of shiny metal. Victor reached into the trunk and lifted out a silver te, tarnished on much of its surface but still gleaming in spots. ¡°Huh,¡± he said, digging through the trunk''s contents. It was full of dusty, tarnished silver tes, cups, and bowls, even a set of knives, forks, and spoons. The silverware was ornate with intricate carvings on the handles and around the edges of the tes. Deciding he could sort itter, Victor simply stored the entire trunk in his ring.

    Victor examined the destroyed skeletons and found that none of the armor looked any good. It certainly hadn¡¯t protected them from his weapons. Everything was rusty or bent, threadbare or torn. He collected some of the rusty knives, thinking he could polish them up and use them for cutting food or other small tasks. That got him thinking, and he sifted through the clubs and axes, looking for a handle that might suit Lifedrinker.

    Most of the wood was dry, cracked, and not in any way better than the remnant of Lifetaker¡¯s haft, but one cumbersome ball mace had a long, stout, and quite heavy handle. It was round and straight, not elegantly shaped like Lifedrinker¡¯s old haft, but it would do for now if he could think of a way to properly fit it to her axehead. He could see that it sat tightly into the hole at the center of the ball mace and that arge metal pin had been hammered into it to hold it in ce. Looking at Lifedrinker, he could see where her old haft was fitted simrly but with a wider, open-center pin.

    Victor pulled out one of the pitons and the hammer that Captain Lam had given him, and he went to work, chipping away the wood around the pin in the mace. When he got it free, he was able to twist the mace head around until it slipped off the handle. He¡¯d made a mess of the wood, so he set it on the ground, held it in ce with his foot, then hacked off the mangled end with Lifedrinker. She tore through the wood like a cleaver cutting a carrot.

    ¡°Alright, now I have to remove your old haft. Think I can do that without pissing you off?¡± To Victor¡¯s astonishment, the axehead began to vibrate. At first, he thought Lifedrinker was just agreeing with him, or maybe disagreeing, but she kept shaking, more and more rapidly, and then he saw that the axehead was slowly inching up off the haft. She was working her way free of the old broken handle! ¡°Hell yes! I knew you were listening to me all those times!¡±

    Soon the axehead was free, and he was left holding the old broken haft in one hand and Lifedrinker in the other. He held the new handle up to the hole in the axehead and saw that he¡¯d need to shave it down a bit to fit. He put the handle against the ground, holding it with his knees, and then he carved the section that would fit into the axehead, pushing Lifedrinker downward against the wood, ning off curls of wood with each stroke. He managed to carve it down to fit snugly within the hole in Lifedrinker¡¯s axehead, stopping to check his progress after each cut.

    Victor used a knife he¡¯d scavenged to dig and wriggle the roll pin out of Lifedrinker¡¯s old, broken haft. Then, he hammered it into her new haft with his baton. He gave her a few practice swings and was pleased with the results, ¡°That¡¯s right, chica. We¡¯re going to absolutely mangle some skeletons now!¡± She pulsed and jerked in his hand, and he couldn¡¯t helpughing at her enthusiasm.

    He stowed Lifedrinker¡¯s old haft into his ring; Victor had no idea what kind of wood it was and figured he might want to find out when he had a proper handle made for her. He also put away his baton; it was a nice backup weapon, but it couldn¡¯t hold a candle to Lifedrinker. Satisfied with his work, Victor turned to his attributes, once again putting his extra points into will. With Sovereign Will, he could now boost his physical attributes by more than fifty points.

    Victor approached the door, noting theck of a handle. It was heavy iron and only slightly rusted around the edges. He figured he could break it open with his tools, given enough time, but he knew it would make a terrible racket. Had it been a day since he used his ring? He pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time; it said it was a bit past midday or midnight. What time did hest use his ring? He chuckled, realizing he had no idea or even how many days he¡¯din unconscious.

    He decided to give it a try and knocked. Nothing happened, and he backed up, looking around and wondering if there was another way through the door. He was just about to try jerking on it to see how solid it felt when he heard a scrabbling, clicking sound from the other side.

    An unmistakable *click* sounded a momentter, and Victor knew the door had been unlocked. He took a step back, hefted Lifedrinker, and cast Sovereign Will, boosting his agility. Then he cast Channel Spirit, flooding Lifedrinker with rage Energy. A momentter, with a terrible creaking sound, the door began to swing open toward him, and a wave of palpable darkness surged through the opening, pushing back the light from Victor¡¯s globe.

    When the darkness touched Victor, he was filled with dread, and sweat sprang out on his palms. He felt like he¡¯d just stepped into a room with a firing squad pointing their guns at him, and every instinct in his body screamed at him to turn and run. Suddenly his concentration wavered, and the Energy filling his limbs, granting him extra agility, drifted away. Lifedrinker trembled in his hands, and the zing red aura around her started to flicker. Victor took a nervous step back, then two, and the ckness flooded into the hallway,pletely engulfing his light, reducing it to a pale glow.

    Victor saw the light fade and felt the effects of the darkness on his body, and a part of his mind rebelled. Was he scared of some darkness? Was he scared of some fucking creepy undead monster? He¡¯d killed dozens of the things. Trying to rally himself, he screamed and swung Lifedrinker in a wild cleave through the ckness. The axe didn¡¯t connect with anything, but the action served to free up some portion of his panicking mind, and he remembered his other light spell. He took a step back and cast Dauntless Radiance.

    He felt the spell¡¯s pattern draw forth some of both types of his Energy and instantly twist them into a weave. Courage-attuned Energy flooded into the spell, and a golden crack formed in the darkness spilling red-gold light around Victor in a wide pool. The shadows seethed and hissed as they were pushed back. ¡°Come on!¡± Victor yelled, suddenly more in control of himself. He felt his grip steady and his shaking muscles calm, and he stared into the darkness outside his ring of golden light.

    ¡°A strong will, has this one,¡± a raspy, shrill voice said from the darkness, and Victor whirled, trying to ce its location.

    ¡°Indeed, sister,¡± said another, smoother voice, seemingly echoing from several directions at once.

    ¡°Put out your light, child,¡± said the first voice. ¡°Come into our embrace; we¡¯ll show you secrets you couldn¡¯t have imagined.¡±

    ¡°Fuck off, and I won¡¯t cut you to pieces,¡± Victor growled.

    ¡°Feisty! But why would you cut us? Wouldn¡¯t you rather embrace us?¡± Suddenly a patch of darkness swirled away, giving Victor a glimpse of pale skin, smooth curves, and a seductive, red-lipped smile. He stepped toward it, but the shadows swirled again, and the vision was gone. He took a swing anyway, cutting through the shadows with Lifedrinker, only to have her slice through the air without resistance. Shrillughter echoed around him. He started to say something, but then a sh of pain erupted from his left hamstring, and he pped a hand there, feeling a deep, bloody gash.

    ¡°Come, sister,¡± said the smooth voice, ¡°let¡¯s soften him up. He¡¯llply more readily once we¡¯ve taken some of his blood. Won¡¯t you, lover?¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t answer as he put his hand, now sticky with blood, back on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft. He had to do something. His light wasn¡¯t enough to reveal them, to drive the shadows entirely away. He thought about casting Berserk, but what if they continued to evade him? They¡¯d just wait out the spell and bleed him dry. Maybe he just had to get lucky. Now that he was in his light, he could concentrate, so he recast Sovereign Will, boosting his agility. Then, he started jumping around in his golden ind of radiance, shing Lifedrinker into the shadows randomly.

    His efforts were met with moreughter, and several more gashes appeared on his back and on the backs of his legs. He started leavingrge droplets and smears of blood on the ground, and his breathing grew ragged with his exertions. The cuts were painful and deep, and Victor felt his mind starting to fray. He wanted to scream and hurl his axe, feeling like the creatures were just outside his reach. Distantly he was aware of Gorz trying to speak to him, but he couldn¡¯t concentrate, and he felt like his sanity was on the verge of snapping.

    Finally, he stopped swinging his axe and stood at the center of the pool of light, panting and sweating and drizzling blood down into a puddle. In the moment of calm, Gorz¡¯s voice broke through, and he paid attention, ¡°Victor! Use the weave! Cast Inspiring Presence or Berserk with the weave!¡± Victor¡¯s first thought was to wonder why he hadn¡¯t cast Inspiring Presence already. His second thought was to ask himself if he could concentrate enough to create the weave of Energy for courage.

    ¡°I think he¡¯s grown tired, sister. Do you think he¡¯s ready toe to us?¡± Again the shadows swirled, and Victor saw heavy breasts, a seductive smile with a tongue curling along the lips. Then the shadows were back, and the vision was gone. Victor lowered his axehead to the ground and leaned against the handle. He took a long, shuddering breath and stared into the darkness.

    ¡°If Ie to you, will you stop cutting me up?¡±

    ¡°Of course, lover; we only want to teach you our secrets!¡±

    Victor truly was exhausted, but he was only buying time. He leaned into his axe, feigning resignation, and then he closed his eyes, turning his attention to his Core. He took three quick breaths, and then he yanked two threads of Energy from each of his attunements and built the weave for courage. The instant he saw the threads pulse with a red-gold hue, he cast Berserk and fed the new Energy to it.

    A burning heat spread out from Victor¡¯s heart into his limbs and up to his eyes. He stood straight, no longer troubled, and looked into the darkness,ughing as the shadows fell away from his gaze.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned the spell: Heroic Heart - Basic***

    ***Heroic Heart - Basic: Your ability to manifest courage-attuned Energy has allowed you to infuse yourself with its benefits for a short time. While this spell is active, you are immune to fear effects, can shrug off confusion, and cannot be mind-controlled. Energy Cost: 400. Cooldown: Long.***

    Victor saw two gray-skinned hags slinking about near the open iron door. Both had long, greasy white hair, wide, fang-filled mouths, and pupilless white orbs for eyes. They werepletely naked, though they each wielded long razor-edged knives. ¡°Hello,dies,¡± Victor growled, lifting Lifedrinker and stalking forward.

 Book 2: Chapter 4: Moving Up

    Book 2: Chapter 4: Moving Up

    Victor stood over the hewn corpses of the hags, panting and dripping blood. When he felt the encroaching darkness at the edges of his vision, he worried at first that there was a third hag or something worse, but then he realized it was simply his vision darkening from blood loss.

    ¡°C¡¯mon,¡± he said, staring at the still, pale flesh. He put Lifedrinker¡¯s axehead against the stone floor and leaned heavily on her handle, willing himself to slow his breathing. As he¡¯d hoped, golden motes began to gather on the dead bodies, and then a stream of Energy surged into him, spreading through his pathways, into his Core, and then out again to speed the knitting of his flesh and partially renew his depleted blood supply.

    Victor straightened and looked around; he still stood at the end of the hallway he¡¯d discovered, but now the heavy iron door was partially open, and the stones at his feet were smeared and painted with dark red and ck stains. He took a few deep breaths, stretching his back and flexing his legs, happy to see that most of the deep shes the hags had delivered were closed up. Some were still stiff and sore, with thick scabs, but he was out of danger when it came to bleeding to death.

    ¡°Nasty bitches,¡± he muttered, looking at the broken corpses. He didn¡¯t let his eyes linger long, but he took a moment to pick up the long, razor-sharp knives the two hags had used against him. The weapons had a single edge and no point, designed with shing in mind. They reminded Victor of miniature cleavers; he wondered if there was a proper name for that kind of knife.

    Both knives had polished wooden handles made of dozens of different colored woods pressed together, and Victor marveled at the craftsmanship. He saw a few runes along their des and figured they might have some enchantments. Happy to take something away from the harrowing encounter, he put the two des into his ring and then summoned forth his Globe of Inspiration, willing it to resume following closely behind him. As the ball of warm white-gold light took shape, the shaft of courage-attuned light that had initially saved him faded away.

    Victor moved to the door and pulled it open, Lifedrinker held ready. The open door revealed a continuation of the corridor, and, looking down into the shadows, Victor didn¡¯t see any other doors. ¡°Gorz, you keep track of our movements?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Victor, I couldn¡¯t stop mapping if I wanted to.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s kinda shitty. What if you wanted to do something else?¡±

    ¡°No, Victor, you misunderstand; I don¡¯t actively map where I¡¯ve been. It just happens as a function of my enchantments. I don¡¯t think about it, really, until there¡¯s a reason to review the data.¡±

    ¡°Huh, alright. Please let me know if you see any sort of pattern or some hint as to where we are in rtion to where Tha, er, that fucking skull, dumped us.¡±

    ¡°I know, spatially, exactly where we are in rtion to that location, but I think you mean if I see a passage or stair that might lead that way, correct?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t burrow through stone, so we¡¯ll need to find our way through the passages.¡± Victor chuckled at the idea while slowly advancing into the hallway. He noticed that the temperature, while still chilly, was nothing like it had been at the bottom of the pitfall. He wondered if some of those runes that didn¡¯t activate the secret door were responsible for dropping the temperature. Was it to preserve fallen, dead adventurers¡¯ bodies? Was it meant as some sort of torture? Did the fungus in there require a cold temperature to thrive? ¡°Too many questions.¡±

    ¡°Pardon, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, Gorz, just thinking out loud.¡±

    As he walked along the stone corridor, Victor¡¯s mind kept returning to the two hags and how they¡¯d manifested that palpable darkness. It had seemed to disperse when he¡¯d cast his new spell, but his spell description didn¡¯t say anything about banishing darkness spells. It said it made him immune to fear effects, though, making Victor wonder if the darkness hadn¡¯t been tangible but some sort of mental trick or maniption. He wondered how screwed he¡¯d have been if his will wasn¡¯t so high. What if he¡¯d been unable to shake off the panic enough to cast any spells? ¡°No question about it¡ªI¡¯d be hag food.¡± After a moment, he said, ¡°Just talking to myself, Gorz.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Victor.¡±

    After another minute of quiet stalking, he came to a left turn in the corridor, and when Victor peered around the corner, he saw a wooden door. When he approached it, he could tell it was in good repair; no light or shadows stood between the ts, and the hinges andtch seemed to be in good working order. Victor reached forward, pushed down on the crude irontch, lifting it free of the bracket, and pulled it slowly open. It creaked, but just a little. When it was an inch or two ajar, he peered through the opening.

    Another stone block roomy beyond the door, illuminated by half a dozen flickering candles on little tables that reminded Victor of old-fashioned school desks. His globe cast a beam of light through the open door, though,ying a shaft of bright light through the center of the room, over a few of the desks, and alerting the creepy, hooded creatures sitting at them. They lifted their cowled heads, peering toward the light source and hissing. ¡°Shit,¡± Victor grunted, then backed up a step, readying Lifedrinker.

    A cold wind whistled through the cracks around the door, and when Victor saw palpable darkness writhing through the opening, pushing against his light, he didn¡¯t waste any time and cast Heroic Heart. As the heat spread out from his chest, the wispy darkness seemed to fade away, and the cold wind felt more like a simple breeze. He didn¡¯t know how long his new spell wouldst and decided to go on the offensive, no longer worried about what might be waiting on the other side of the door. He strode forward, pulled it open, and stared into the cloaked figures'' hooded, flickering red eyes.

    They didn¡¯t utter any words or screams, just continued to hiss sibntly as they swarmed toward him, knives in their hands. Two of the creatures near the back stood stock still, lifting their hands and seeming to manifest blue, swirling Energy between the pale, wed appendages. Victor surged forward, a choked-up grip on Lifedrinker, unable to make a wide swing in the corridor.

    As he chopped at the closest creature, he cast Channel Spirit, filling Lifedrinker with a zing, red surge of rage-attuned Energy. She ripped forward, her bright de slicing through the creature¡¯s robe and biting into something dense and soft beneath it. She pulled and sank deeply into its flesh, and Victor could almost feel her exult in the Energy she drew from it.

    As Victor pulled her back to block an arcing knife swipe, the creatures in the back unleashed their balls of blue fire, sending them swirling through the air, over the heads of theirrades, and right at Victor¡¯s face. He crouched and hopped to the side, nting his back against the corridor¡¯s stone wall, and the balls of blue me howled past, smashing into the stone ceiling of the hall a few feet past him. They expanded into a zing blue inferno, the heat of which singed Victor¡¯s eyebrows and caused him to close his eyes in reflex. Deep pain in his thigh and a sharp pain in his abdomen had him blindly cleaving in an arc, trying to knock away the swarming creatures.

    When the heat faded, he opened his eyes, and while he continued to hack at the creatures, he saw a knife with a pale hand and arm still attached jutting out of his thigh. Victor screamed, kicking out with his good leg to give himself a bit of space, then he released Lifedrinker with one hand and yanked the knife out. He threw it, arm still grimly hanging on, at the creature in front of him. Its smoldering eyes blinked, and Victor gripped Lifedrinker and made a quick chop at its neck. She sliced through its robe, and Victor felt the de bite through a stiffly resisting neck, and then the creature fell, flopping, to the ground.

    Another ze of blue light alerted him to danger, and he squatted low. This time, the monster in the back hadn¡¯t been so careful of its friends; the fiery blue Energy ball hit one of them in the back and burst into a congration. Victor rolled backward away from the explosion, and when he regained his feet, he saw that all three of the robed creatures that had been holding the doorway were ame, flopping and thrashing on the ground as the fire consumed them. Victor took that opportunity to charge, leaping over their ming bodies and smashing into one of the desks as he broke into the room.

    The two creatures making the fireballs stumbled back, the preparations for their next spells spoiled by his encroachment. Victor charged, growling and swinging Lifedrinker for all he was worth, using the entire length of his improvised axe haft and therger space in the room to give her a proper, whistling cleave. Her bearded, gleaming edge met the first creature midway between its shoulder and hip, snapping through little bones and sshing through soft flesh and innards. Her arc continued, biting into the shoulder of the second caster, relieving it of its arm.

    The first fell, rolling to its side and moaning softly as its life poured out with its glistening entrails. The second hissed more loudly, falling back and clutching at its stump. Not wanting to give it a chance to spring any sort of surprise, Victor pressed the attack and jabbed Lifedrinker into its face, leading with the top, pointed edge of her de, and he felt her hit bone. He grunted and drove forward, pinning the creature''s skull between Lifedrinker¡¯s edge and the stone wall and grinding until she broke through, sinking into the meat behind the bone. She surged and pulsed, and Victor saw blue veins of Energy flow through the caster¡¯s pale flesh into her de.

    When it ceased twitching and Lifedrinker seemed to rx, Victor yanked her free and looked around the room. The strange desks all had paper on them, and the ones he hadn¡¯t knocked over still held little pots of ink with quills sticking forth. Victor examined a couple of the parchments, but thenguage was indecipherable for him, and Gorz couldn¡¯t give any help. Still, he gathered them up and stuffed them into his ring. He was in the process of doing so when the surge of Energy from his kills hit him, and he paused a moment to gather himself.

    He felt strong and refreshed, his previous wounds now wholly healed, reduced to white scars. ¡°Two fights and no level. I must be close, eh, Gorz?¡±

    ¡°You seem to gain levels rapidly, but it requires more and more Energy to level as you advance, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said with a stretch, looking at the exits to the room. Two doors led out, but he resigned himself to searching through the little robed corpses before trying them out. His job was made easier by the fact that the creatures in the doorway, all four of them, had burned up. Their robes were gone, and their flesh was nothing but ckened char. The stench was unpleasant¡ªnothing like cooked meat. It was more like a mixture of old charcoal and apost bin, and Victor had to hold his old sleeve-mask over his face as he poked through the remains. Some ckened knife des were all he could find of interest, so he moved over to the casters.

    He kept his nose covered as he rooted around the corpse of the creature he¡¯d eviscerated, checking for rings or a ne or any sort of pouch. He didn¡¯te up with anything, not even a weapon. The final corpse held a surprise, though. Under its robe was a leather sling with built-in loops holding slender vials of green fluid. Victor wasn¡¯t about to taste green liquid found from such a dubious source, but he pulled the bandolier off the monster and stored it in his ring. Maybe he¡¯d meet someone who could tell him what it was someday.

    That done, Victor turned to the doors; they were both set into the opposite wall of the one he¡¯de through. He ced his ear against each door, and neither gave him any clues about whaty beyond. He tried thetch on the right-hand door, and it opened, so he pulled it an inch away from the doorjamb and peered through. A narrow corridor led into darkness. Victor softly closed the door, then tried the other one. It too opened without resistance, revealing a small closet, so he pulled the door wide and studied the contents.

    A shelf in the back of the closet was stacked with sheets of nk parchment. A bucket sat in one corner with an old, dust-covered mop sitting within, and piles of rags and broken pieces of wood filled most of the space. Victor had no idea how valuable parchment was in this world, but he figured he could always use it for kindling if nothing else, so he put the stacks of thick, yellowed paper into his ring. That done, he studied the walls of the closet in the light of his Orb of Insight but couldn¡¯t find anything of interest.

    ¡°Onward,¡± he said, moving to the other door and advancing into the dark, narrow corridor. The air was heavy with dust and chilly, and the stone held myriad cobwebs that kept clinging to Victor¡¯s face and shoulders. He held Lifedrinker out before himself, forging a path through the clinging webs, but she couldn¡¯t catch all of them. He grew so distracted by the challenge of avoiding the tangles that he almost didn¡¯t hear the scrape and shudder of something veryrge moving in the space up ahead. The second time the scraping sound came to him, though, he paused and peered ahead through the gloom and obscuring webs.

    It was hard to tell with his limited perspective, but it seemed like the tunnel got wider, not far from where he stood, and he could see something shifting in the darkness just beyond the reach of his light. Victor focused on his globe of light and willed it to float forward. As it softly flowed past the webs and into uncharted territory, Victor saw the reflected light from the walls grow dimmer.

    At first, he thought his globe was fading, but then he realized it had advanced into a more extensive area, and its light was growing more diffuse. He started after it, but then he saw the source of the noise and motion¡ªan enormous skeleton with a broken shackle around its ankle lurked against the chamber''s far wall.

    When his light fell directly on the colossal skeleton, it lurched into an upright stance, revealing long arms tipped in ws that touched the ground, and a broad skull, featuring dentition more fitting a tiger than a human. Pale blue lights shone in its eye sockets, and the massive mouth yawned open, snapping shut with a loud crack reminiscent of a firework going off.

    ¡°Fucking hell, don¡¯t let it bite me. Got it.¡± Victor muttered, pushing strength into his limbs with Sovereign Will, and channeling rage Energy into Lifedrinker. The massive skeleton, perhaps twelve feet tall, stomped toward him, its shackle dragging behind it with a bouncing tter.

    Victor cast Inspiring Presence as he came into therger room, and the shadows grew dim in the bright light of his orb. The skeleton was big but slow, and the swipe it was winding up was horribly projected. Victor slipped under the blow, sidestepping the monstrosity and carving a te-sized hunk of bone out of the creature¡¯s hip with Lifedrinker. She peeled away the bone like a sharp knife whittling balsa wood. The monster spun surprisingly quickly, raking its other long arm in a whistling swipe, but Victor saw iting and drove Lifedrinker¡¯s axehead into the blow, letting the powerful swipe push him back and away from the skeleton.

    Suddenly the skeleton dropped to all fours and lunged, driving its enormous maw forward and snapping at Victor¡¯s face. He grunted, ripping Lifedrinker up so her axehead''s heavy, blunt end smashed into its bony chin. Victor¡¯s muscles were surging with swollen strength Energy and Lifedrinker was pulsing with rage; the blow sounded like a car crash as bones snapped and teeth were knocked out by the impact. Victor rolled with the energy of the skeleton¡¯s charge, pulling Lifedrinker along with him, as he went over his left shoulder and sprang up five feet away out of the somersault.

    ¡°Come on, asshole,¡± Victor growled, passing around the skeleton as it struggled back to its feet. When it whirled to face him, its lower jaw hung unhinged on one side, and Victor barked a shortugh when he saw the gaps in its broken and missing teeth. He lowered his center, ready for a charge, and braced Lifedrinker. The skeleton¡¯s eyes zed with fury, and it lifted a hooked, wed hand, signaling its intent from a mile away. It stomped forward, arm up, ready to swing, and, had Victor been stupid or uninspired, he might have focused on that arm and missed the other arm snaking up and wing at his guts.

    Victor saw iting, though, and Lifedrinker¡¯s gleaming edge bit into the bones of the swiping w, severing digits and cracking bones. Her de bit deeply, and he could feel her pulling into the cut, eager for Energy, and had to wrestle her away, ¡°Not yet, chica!¡±

    He barely jumped aside, dodging the other swiping blow as he broke Lifedrinker away. Just as the w swiped by in front of him, he switched his Sovereign Will boost to agility, and with the added speed and his state of inspiration, he deftly dodged around the skeleton, circling around its back. ¡°Now!¡± he hollered, lifting Lifedrinker into an overhead chop and smashing her down, whooshing through the air into the monster¡¯s spine.

    This time when Lifedrinker bucked and pulled into the cut, he gave her what she wanted, pushing with his arms and legs, driving the axe into the bone. The skeleton¡¯s spine was as thick around as a small tree, and she bit into it about halfway.

    Victor again swapped his Sovereign Will boost to strength and pushed with everything he had, driving the massive construct over the ground and into the stone wall. All the while, Lifedrinker surged and shuddered, pulling thick rivulets of ck-tinged blue Energy into her de. The skeleton shook and thrashed, iling its arms against the stone wall, but it seemed to be growing sluggish. ¡°Drink it up,dy! Drink that fucking Energy!¡± Victor growled, straining against the skeleton¡¯s death throes.

    After several moments, Victor felt the skeleton¡¯s spasms settle, and it grew still, slumping to the ground against the wall. Lifedrinker stopped surging and shaking, signifying thepletion of her meal, so Victor took a step back, pulling the axe out of the skeleton¡¯s spine, noting how the bone crumbled and powdered away from her de. He lifted Lifedrinker up into a heavy chop and hacked into the skeleton¡¯s neck. It took him three chops, but the head finally rolled free to tter and bounce onto the hard stone floor. A momentter,rge dense motes of Energy gathered around the bony corpse and flowed into Victor, bringing him, no doubt, even closer to his next level.

    For the first time, Victor could freely examine therger room where he¡¯d fought the skeleton. There weren¡¯t any doors, but, in one corner, a spiral, iron stairway disappeared through the ceiling into darkness. Sitting at the foot of the stairway was a matching ck iron chest. ¡°Gorz, did you notice if that chest and stairway were there the whole time? I feel like I would have noticed it.¡±

    ¡°Victor, my initial map of this space did not include a stairway. Perhaps killing the bone colossus was key to revealing the path forward.¡±

    ¡°Bone colossus?¡±

    ¡°A name Reevus-dak gave a simr creature that he slew.¡±

    ¡°Huh, I guess it fits.¡± Victor approached the stairway and chest. The stairway wasn¡¯t veryrge; perhaps two people could mount it at once, but it would be ufortable. The chest was about the size of a big shoebox like you might get with a pair of hiking boots. He knelt before it, running his eyes over it in the light of his globe. He didn¡¯t see anything strange or suspicious about the ck wrought iron. No runes were etched or painted onto the metal, and the sp was a simple loop hung over an iron peg. He could see where a lock might be ced, but there wasn''t one.

    Victor stood and walked over to the unmoving bone colossus. He¡¯d noticed that the bones had sagged, their unnatural vigor leaving them when the creature died its true death. Victor grabbed hold of one long femur and yanked on it, bracing his foot on the lower leg. The bone yanked free, and he took the four-foot bone back over to the chest.

    He wanted to use the bone to lift the lid open, but the knobby end was too clumsy to lift thetch, so he held it down with his foot and used Lifedrinker to shave a point onto one end. That done, he extended the bone from an outstretched hand and flipped the little catch up. Nothing happened, so he used the bone to flip the lid of the chest open. Again, after the lid pped and ttered open, nothing else happened.

    ¡°Better safe than sorry, I guess,¡± Victor shrugged and stowed the long, sharp bone into his ring. When he looked into the chest, he saw what looked like a folded ck metal mesh cloth that winked with a soft luster in the light of his globe. He reached in a hand and felt the ck rings of metal, noting their smooth polish¡ªthese weren¡¯t wrought iron.

    He lifted the garment, startled by its dense heaviness. It unfurled as he pulled it from the chest, and he saw that it was a shirt of ck, glimmering rings, sewn to a soft, fur-lined leather vest, also stained ck. ¡°Nice,¡± Victor said in a hushed voice.

    ¡°What did you find, Victor? It seems to be a garment?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s some armor. Seems way too big for me, though.¡±

    ¡°Bond with it, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, good idea, Gorz.¡± Victor pulled off his torn, stained shirt,ughing at the shredded state of the back, then he shrugged into the heavy, ring-covered leather shirt. It felt like the weighted vest the dentist puts on you when they take x-rays, but the leather lining was soft andfortable.

    Victor looked at the oversized, hanging piece of armor and then at the skeleton, a thought crossing his mind. ¡°Nah, couldn¡¯t be; even this big shirt wouldn¡¯t fit that thing.¡± He touched a hand to the softly gleaming metal links and channeled some Energy into the shirt. It rustled and clinked as it softly shuddered, shrinking to fit his torso perfectly.

    ***Ringed Shirt of the Gloom Warden: Artificed armor. Enchantments: 1. Hardened ckcquer - greatly enhances the durability of natural steel. 2. Form-fitting, self-repairing, self-cleaning.***

    ¡°Hell yes. Some nice armor, Gorz, and best of all, it¡¯s self-cleaning.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions, Victor!¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Victor stood and flexed his torso and arms about. The sleeves of the chain shirt only fell to his elbows, and his arms moved easily within them. Overall, he was veryfortable and felt much more protected than he ever had in the cheap leather armor he¡¯d bought from the mine¡¯s Contribution Store.

    Victor looked at the iron stairway and said, ¡°Gorz, this stairway is going up, and we had to kill a big tough guy to reveal it. Do you think we, like, fell to the bottom of the dungeon and need to work our way back up to get to Tha and maybe the exit?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it''s all spection at this point, Victor. We have no idea what that door, where Tha betrayed you, led to.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but she didn¡¯t betray me. That fucking skull tricked her.¡±

    ¡°Noted, Victor.¡±

    Victor hefted Lifedrinker and stepped onto the stairway, slowly making his way upward, apanied by the creaking joints of the narrow, wrought-iron stairway.

 Book 2: Chapter 5: A Gauntlet of Bones

    Book 2: Chapter 5: A Gauntlet of Bones

    When Victor¡¯s head passed into the dark stairwell, he immediately grew ufortable; smooth stone walls lined the wrought iron stairway, and no matter how he craned his neck, he couldn¡¯t see an end to the narrow shaft or the stairs. What made matters worse was the ufortably shallow depth of the steps; he was forced to climb on his toes, most of his feet hanging off the metal steps. Victor¡¯s light globe floated just behind him, bathing the shaft in bright light, and he could only imagine how strange and ufortable the climb would have been without it.

    After what felt like an hour of climbing, Victor couldn¡¯t take it anymore, and he leaned against the stone wall and said, ¡°Gorz, how fucking high have we climbed?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve ascended 482 meters.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck? So we¡¯re way higher than when we fell down the trap?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor, close to 430 meters higher.¡±

    ¡°Not the kind of progress I was hoping for,¡± Victor muttered, but then he resumed his climb. Some timeter, he noticed a change in the air; the temperature had risen to the point where he¡¯d no longer characterize it as cold, and, more than that, there was a dry, dusty quality to it. He plodded on, and a few stepster, he stumbled onto a t tform. He reached out to grab the iron railing and took in his surroundings.

    He was still in a narrow, circr shaft, but the stairs ended with an iron tform, and a heavy, rusted, iron door sat not two feet in front of him. Victor looked up and saw the stone shaft continued well beyond where his light could reach, though he saw no easy way to continue climbing it. ¡°Not that I want to keep climbing, I guess.¡± He stepped up to the iron door, noting the thickyer of orange corrosion around its edges and powdering its surface. An iron ring served as the handle, and he pulled on it to see if the door was locked ortched. It didn¡¯t budge.

    Victor shrugged and knocked on the door, testing to see if his ring was active yet. After his third rap, deep in the innards of the iron door, a grinding click sounded. He pulled again on the iron handle, and the door inched open this time, grinding in its metal casing. Enough space had opened for Victor to put his fingers around the edge of the door, so he did and yanked with a bit more enthusiasm. The door pulled open, leaving a trail of broken, rusted bits of iron.

    Cold, gray light met his eyes, and he immediately recognized it as sunlight. Was he outside? Squinting into the re, he saw a dusty stone passage, though this stone was different from the blocks down deep in the dungeon; it was more tan than gray, and the blocks sat upon each other with no mortar in between. The light wasing through the high ceiling, some twenty or thirty feet above, where missing stones made way for glimpses of pale gray-blue sky. Victor could see a few dozen paces down the hallway, where it widened into a muchrger space, one less well-lit. Gripping Lifedrinker before him, he started forward.

    When he came to the passage¡¯s end, he clung to one of the walls and crept forward to peek into therger area. His eyes were immediately drawn to the right, where a pulsing, shimmering portal stood. It looked remarkably like the one he and Tha had used to enter the dungeon. He saw that it was resting upon a tan stone dais, and he let his eyes drift away to take in the rest of the room.

    The space was the size of an exhibition hall, with high stone walls and massive stone arches holding up a matching ceiling. When he shifted his vision to the left, he saw blue, ming braziers nking a wide stairway leading into the ground. Arrayed at the head of the stairs were a dozen armored skeletons wielding wooden spears with broad, bronze, leaf-shaped des. They stood silently facing the portal.

    ¡°Victor! I recognize this space! It¡¯s the entrance chamber of the dungeon. At least the one where Reevus came in. He fought a simr group of skeletons and then began his descent via those stairs.¡±

    ¡°Oh, great,¡± Victor thought, ¡°So, I could basically get the fuck out of here right now?¡±

    ¡°It would stand to reason that the portal would take you out, yes.¡±

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t just bail until I¡¯ve figured out what¡¯s going on with Tha.¡±

    ¡°Very noble, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Gorz.¡± Victor tried to inflect his mental words with sarcasm but didn¡¯t know if he pulled it off. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see here. Twelve skeletons with spears¡ªsounds bad.¡±

    ¡°Reevus destroyed them with a torrent of fire.¡±

    ¡°Not helping, Gorz.¡±

    ¡°Apologies, Victor.¡± Victor tried to mentally shrug but mostly tuned Gorz out. He knew he was more than a match for a skeleton or ten, but these were all wearing matching bronze armor and had spears, and their appearance gave him pause. Looking at them more closely, though, he saw that their armor mostly hung loose on their bony frames, and there were many gaps between the various pieces. Lifedrinker would have a field day with that shitty coverage. He could imagine someone with a spear, sword, or dagger struggling against such enemies, but Lifedrinker hit like a wrecking ball and would smash their bones even through those bronze breasttes and flimsy helmets.

    The spears are what gave him second thoughts, though. If he used Berserk, he¡¯d be able to heal from all but fatal stabs, but could he brute force his way past a dozen spears? Inspiring Presence and extreme agility might be a better way to go; he¡¯d see gaps in their line and be able to capitalize. Victor stood and watched them for a few more minutes, vaciting on the best strategy to take. He considered luring them to the narrow tunnel at one point but quickly scrapped the idea when he imagined their long spears stabbing at him while he struggled to swing Lifedrinker in the confined space.

    Finally, it was frustration at his indecision that pushed him forward. Impulsively, he growled, stepping out of the hallway and using Channel Spirit to flood his pathways and Lifedrinker with inspiration-attuned Energy. Then he used Sovereign Will to boost his agility, and, as the skeletons noticed his approach and, as one, turned to face him with spears lowered, he cast Berserk.

    He¡¯d never used Channel Spirit to push inspiration-attuned Energy into his weapon or pathways duringbat. Even in his red-eyed state of rage, he exulted in how he seemed to anticipate the stabs and maneuvers of his enemies. His face reflected his maniacal thirst for violence¡ªmouth open in a leering grin, saliva king his lips as heughed and roared. He dove between stabs, rolling up behind or beside skeletons, smashing Lifedrinker expertly between armor pieces, shattering spines, knees, necks, and skulls.

    He suffered many ncing blows and a few direct stabs from the spears, but most of them slid off the ckcquered rings of his armor. A few tore into his thighs or hamstrings, but those painful barbs only served to enrage Victor further, and he shattered spears and cleaved skeletons in response. As the skeletons fell, it only became easier for Victor to use the expansive space to his advantage. He¡¯d drive madly into a skeleton, batting its spear aside and smashing it to bits with his axe, all the while pushing forward, forcing the monsters to break their formation to follow him.

    Thebat was over as abruptly as it began, and Victor found himself standing over a widely scattered field of bones, armor, and spears. He was panting, and his arms were slick with blood from a dozen healed shes or stabs, but he felt nothing other than triumph, looking around. ¡°That¡¯s the way to do it, Gorz!¡± he grunted.

    ¡°Well done, Victor! Though I must say, Reevus-dak¡¯s spell destroyed the pack of skeletons far more efficiently.¡±

    ¡°Gorz, you realize I can¡¯t cast any sort of fiery torrent, right?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, Victor. The way you use the tools at your disposal ismendable.¡±

    ¡°Nevermind,¡± Victor said, but before he could say more, a flood of Energy surged into him.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 26 Herald of Carnage. You have gained 10 will, 8 strength, and have 10 attribute points to allocate.***

    As the euphoria of the Energy faded and Victor recovered his senses, he stretched and, once again, looked around the battle scene. He decided to collect all the unbroken spears,ing away with nine intact, sharp, bronze-tipped weapons, many of which were coated in his blood. Then he started sifting through the armor.

    None of it lookedfortable; the linings of the helmets were all but gone, the breasttes couldn¡¯t hold a candle to his ringed shirt, and the other bits and pieces were bent, missing straps, or simply the wrong size for him. Still, Victor collected all the bronze armor, putting it into the storage pouch he¡¯d taken from the cultist. ¡°Alright. Going down,¡± he said to no one and marched toward the steps. ¡°At least we know where we are now and can hopefully get back here after we find Tha.¡±

    ¡°Excellent outlook!¡± Gorz said with an appropriately cheerful, tinny inflection.

    The stone of the steps was less weathered than the structure outside and seemed paler. Victor wondered if it was limestone, but he didn¡¯t know enough about the subject to be sure. He paused at the top step to consider his attributes.

    He¡¯d been getting better and better at swapping his boost from Sovereign Will duringbat, and so far, it hadn¡¯t done him wrong. It seemed clear to him that he had a unique, or at the very least very umon, advantage with that ability, and it made sense to capitalize on it. ¡°I¡¯ll keep going to two hundred, then give it another consideration, eh, Gorz?¡±

    ¡°Pardon, Victor?¡±

    ¡°My will. I think I¡¯ll keep boosting it until I break two hundred. Is that high for an attribute, or am I still a small fry in the big picture?¡±

    ¡°No! Two hundred is an admirable number. I¡¯ll caution you to be aware that your leveling pace is far frommon. Some people have lived their whole lives on Reevus¡¯s homeworld, never to reach the second tier.¡±

    ¡°Really? Because of a low affinity?¡±

    ¡°That, and their reluctance to engage in physical conflict. Attaining levels through non-violent means is possible, though immensely slower. When you consider your leveling speed and the generous attribute points granted by your ss, you¡¯re in an excellent position, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Victor said. He was d that he was growing more powerful at an elerated pace¡ªin the short time he¡¯d lived on Fanwath, he¡¯d racked up a significant number of enemies, and he didn¡¯t intend to let them ever take him again, not without extracting a heavy fucking toll. He pushed ten more points into will and then started down the steps.

    The steps were wide enough that twenty people could walk down them side by side, and they descended for about twenty feet before opening into a long, straight corridor. The corridor had a high ceiling, and everything was constructed of that same pale stone,rge square blocks stacked and fitted together expertly, with no mortar in sight. In this new hallway, every twenty paces or so, the space was illuminated by braziers holding red-orange flickering mes that gave off no smoke.

    About fifty paces from the foot of the stairs, Victor saw a cluster of objects, almost like a disy: on either side of the hallway stood two hulking statues made of yellow-pink stone, and between them rested a stone sarcophagus. The statues depicted humanoid shapes but were built more like goris than humans, with faces only featuring wide, open mouths and inset eye sockets. Victor approached cautiously, Lifedrinker held ready.

    When he came to the tunnel section with the sarcophagus and statues, he settled his breathing and moved ever so slowly and quietly around the stone coffin, something in his mind screaming at him to be careful. The top of the sarcophagus was carved with unfamiliar letters and symbols, and Victor warred with the part of him that wanted to open it and see what was inside. His better judgment prevailed, and he continued past it. He was two steps beyond the left-hand statue when, with a grinding rumble, the floor ahead of him suddenly rose up, forming a stony wall that impeded his path. Victor grunted in surprise and turned to see a simr wall rising to block his way back toward the stairs.

    With a sinking feeling, Victor backed toward the new wall, Lifedrinker in front of him, and he watched the stone coffin, priming his spells for action. He was so intent on the sarcophagus that he almost didn¡¯t notice the statuesing to life. They moved with rigid precision, straightening up, taking marching-style steps forward, and then pivoting to face Victor. ¡°Oh,e on!¡± he growled, flooding his weapon with rage-attuned Energy and boosting his strength. The two statues were each more than ten feet tall and had to weigh thousands of pounds; Victor didn¡¯t think he should hold back, so he also cast Inspiring Presence.

    Rather than give the statues a chance to double-team him, Victor charged toward the right-hand one, watching as it lifted an arm and swung it with predictable stiffness toward him. He ducked under the blow, nking the slow automaton. ¡°Sorry, chica!¡± he said, bringing Lifedrinker down in a sideways hack at the statue¡¯s knee.

    He didn¡¯t know how effective the axe would be against stone, and he figured he might have to swap to his baton, but he wanted to give her a chance first. To his surprise, Lifedrinker sank at least two inches into the stone, bucking and pulling, as she hunted for Energy to draw. Victor wanted to give her free rein, but the statue was already pivoting to swing at him again, and he was helpless to hold the axe under the relentless pull of the giant¡¯s slow step.

    Victor twisted Lifedrinker free, chipping away some stone, and then hopped back to avoid a lumbering stomp. The other statue was working its way around the sarcophagus, so Victor ducked and jumped under another swipe and chopped the same knee with Lifedrinker. She smashed loose another big chunk of stone, and now Victor could see the deep V where he¡¯d started cutting into the limb. He pushed even more Energy with Channel Spirit into Lifedrinker, and, as the statue worked to pivot again, he sted another powerful chop into the knee.

    With a surging sh of red Energy, Lifedrinker cleaved the rest of the way through the thick limb, and, for just a moment, the statue hung in the air, its arms iling backward, and then it toppled. When it struck the hard stone floor, the entire statue crumbled, pieces of pink and yellow stone scattering all over the ground in piles.

    Victor was so surprised by his victory that he almost let the other construct catch up to him. As it approached, though, Victor sprinted around the sarcophagus and came up behind the statue, lifting Lifedrinker high over his head and bringing her down directly in the middle of the statue¡¯s back. She bit deeply and immediately pulsed and vibrated, digging for what she wanted. Victor held on, spinning with the statue¡¯s movements, easily staying behind it.

    Meanwhile, Lifedrinker bucked and throbbed, pulling pulsing, surging streams of green-yellow Energy through the stone and into her de. ¡°That¡¯s it! Fuck yes!¡± Victor cheered her on, jumping and scrambling as the statue tried to pivot and turn to get at him.

    Luckily, while massive, rugged, and strong, the construct was not very intelligent¡ªit never thought to try to back him into a corner and smash him. It simply turned, waving its arms, constantly trying to get at whatever was hurting its back but never able to find it. Slowly, the streams of Energy flowing into Lifedrinker grew thin, then faint, then ceased, and the construct stopped moving mid-turn, utterly inert.

    Victor yanked Lifedrinker out of the stone, pulling chips of pink rock out with the de. He examined her edge, and it still looked razor-sharp. ¡°Nice work, lovely,¡± he said, rubbing some stone chips off the side of her de. Just then, another grinding sound erupted in the room, and Victor had two thoughts simultaneously: a statue wasing back to life, or the walls were lowering. He was wrong on both counts¡ªthe stone sarcophagus was sliding open. Victor backed up a step to better view what was happening, and then he saw a wave of darkness start to roll like fog out of the coffin.

    ¡°Hell no,¡± he said, casting Heroic Heart. To his relief, the darkness faded away as the warmth flooding out of his chest reached his head, and he took a deep, steadying breath. Just as his hands steadied on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, with a screaming cackle, a skeleton burst from the sarcophagus. It was clothed in tattered strips of cloth, perhaps once upon a time a robe, and it wore an borate headdress. Victor had a hard time looking at its clothes, though, for its eyes were difficult to avoid; ming red points of light bored into him while that disembodied cacklingugh echoed off the stone walls.

    Victor lifted Lifedrinker to attack, and the skeleton held out a hand, firing a bolt of crackling lightning right into Victor¡¯s chest. It arced around his ringed shirt, jolting through him. Victor shook like he was strapped to a jackhammer, and all thoughts fled his mind, reced by pain and white light exploding in his vision.

    As the arc of lightning finally passed through him, he found himself stumbling backward, literal smoke rising from his chest where the bolt had entered his body. His thoughts came to him sluggishly at first, and he almost was sted again, but a fortuitous stumble on a piece of broken statue sent him tumbling to his butt while the skeleton scorched a ck mark into the wall above his head.

    Victor grunted, rolling to his left, trying to put the inert construct between him and the skeleton. As he crouched behind it, his mind started to clear, and he re-established the boost to his agility with Sovereign Will and began to use Channel Spirit to charge Lifedrinker with rage-attuned Energy. He could hear the skeleton ttering as it climbed out of the coffin, and he took that opportunity to charge around the statue, leaping and gliding over the floor with superhuman grace. He slid alongside the stone coffin and ripped Lifedrinker in a sideways hack that caught the skeleton¡¯s spine just above its pelvis, cleaving it in twain.

    At the end of his slide, Victor leaped to his feet and darted around the sarcophagus, anticipating the bolt of lightning that smashed into the dust where he¡¯d been standing. The monster was down and legless, but it was still dangerous. He could hear it scrabbling over the ground, pulling itself after him. Once again, Victor used the sarcophagus for positioning. Running around it, he saw the tail of the skeleton¡¯s spine as it turned the corner, chasing after him. Victor grinned, took two leaping steps, and, as he rounded the corner, he smashed his axe into the base of its skull, causing the headdressed head to pop off. Suddenly, the echoing cackle ceased.

    Victor stood, shaking from adrenaline and, probably, from the electricity that had coursed through him, and looked around. He finally began to rx whenrge golden motes, some tinged with purple, began to coalesce on the skeleton and around the statues, then flooded into him. As the surge faded, he was relieved to see that his scorched chest had healed, and his body felt fine. He¡¯d never had a shock like that, and he¡¯d love to avoid it ever happening again.

    ¡°Gorz, is this area familiar?¡±

    ¡°No, Victor, when Reevus descended the stairs, they were steeper and opened into arge square room, not a long hallway.¡±

    ¡°Good, because I was about to bitch you out for not warning me about this fucking encounter.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to speak up if I see something familiar, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. I guess I figured you would.¡±

    Victor stepped over to the sarcophagus and looked inside. Glittering metals and gems met his eyes, and his irritation turned to pleasure as he took the sight. ¡°Not too bad!¡± He picked up a handful of heavy gold coins. ¡°Gorz, do people use gold for money in this world?¡±

    ¡°Notmonly on System worlds, though there are people who buy it for jewelry, artificing, and ornamental crafting.¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± Victor scooped the gold and silver coins into his ring, figuring there were several dozen of each, then he collected the gems,ing up with more than twenty of various types. He wasn¡¯t an expert on gemstones, but he thought he had some impressive specimens.

    At one end of the sarcophagus, a metal rod stuck up from the stone about six inches. At its base, Victor could see a small hinge. ¡°A lever,¡± he softly said. Then he reached out and pulled it. A momentter, with a deep rumble, the walls that had risen to trap him receded back into the stone floor of the hallway.

    Victor continued down the wide hallway, able to see quite a distance thanks to the regr red, flickering braziers. He didn¡¯t encounter any more statues or sarcophagi, but after a hundred meters or so, he saw a well-lit square room ahead, and at its center, a massive pit with a ramp descending around its rim. Victor was still a few dozen paces away from the room, looking down through the hallway, and he paused to observe for a few minutes to see if anything moved or changed.

    The pit with the stone ramp going down into it reminded Victor a bit of the ¡°well¡± back in the mines, though on a much smaller scale. He watched, waiting patiently for several long minutes, but his diligence didn¡¯t pay off¡ªhe never saw anything move or change. Sighing heavily, he stood from the shadow he¡¯d been crouching near and continued forward.

    When he got to the mouth of the hallway, he saw that the room didn¡¯t just contain the pit. It also had a massively vaulted ceiling, with a dozen or more tforms built into the high walls where, if Victor could believe his eyes, bow-wielding skeletons stood, gazing into the depths. Victor backed up into the tunnel and contemted.

    He could still see a couple of tforms on the far wall from where he stood. Extrapting their size and position on the wall, he estimated there were eighteen archer skeletons in that room, waiting for him to try to descend into the pit along the ramp. ¡°They¡¯ll fucking make a pincushion out of me.¡±

    He stared at one of the two skeletons he could see from where he stood. It was naked but for the quiver on its belt and the wooden bow held upright in two bony hands. Victor recognized that it was veryrge and probably meant to shoot long distances. ¡°Gorz, those skeletons have quivers of arrows. Do you think they¡¯re magical? Do you think they¡¯d run out of arrows, or do they have, like, unlimited arrows?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to know, Victor. There are artificed quivers that can contain a nearly limitless supply of arrows, but many lower-tier archers don¡¯t have such things.¡±

    ¡°These skeletons don¡¯t seem like elite enemies to me; I¡¯d be pretty damn surprised if they all had magical quivers.¡± Victor backed up and then turned up the tunnel, breaking into a run. In a matter of moments, he was back at the site of his battle with the skeleton and statues. He walked up to the stone sarcophagus lid and hefted it up in front of him. It had to weigh more than a couple hundred pounds, but he could lift it¡ªawkwardly and with strain, but he could do it. He slipped it into his storage ring, and then he jogged back to the skeleton archers.

    Victor boosted his strength, then he stepped into the square pit room and shouted, ¡°Hey assholes! Take a shot!¡± As soon as he saw the skeletons start to move, lifting their bows, he called the sarcophagus lid out of his storage ring, stood it in front of him, and then crouched behind it, letting it lean into him. Secondster, a rain of arrows started to click and skitter against the stone lid.

    Clearly not terribly intelligent creatures, the skeletons continued to fire, even though their arrows simply bounced and ttered off the stone barrier. Victor crouched in the lee of the lid, grinning madly, wondering if they¡¯d run out of ammunition. He didn¡¯t have to wait too long to find out; after a dozen or so volleys, the number of arrows in the next wave fell off precipitously, and then after two more rounds, no more missiles came. Victor stood and slipped the sarcophagus lid back into his ring. Standing there in the open, he waved to the encircling skeletons, and, to his glee, they began to step off their tforms.

    The skeletons on the lower tforms mostly survived their fall unscathed, and they lurched to their feet, awkwardly ttering around the pit¡¯s perimeter to get at Victor. The other skeletons from higher tforms broke limbs orpletely shattered as they smashed into the stone. Some survived with missing parts and struggled to charge into battle, scrabbling along, limping, or dragging themselves toward him. Victorughed, lifting Lifedrinker and flooding her with rage-attuned Energy; smashing skeletons that couldn¡¯t stab him or shoot lightning bolts was just what the doctor ordered.

 Book 2: Chapter 6: Ghoul Party

    Book 2: Chapter 6: Ghoul Party

    Victor wound his way down the square shaft that descended into the depths of the limestone pit. He¡¯d made short work of the broken, weaponless skeletons up above, and though it had been an excellent outlet for his frustration, he hadn¡¯t gotten much Energy for the victory. Still, he felt good about how he¡¯d defeated the design of the shaft entrance. The skeletons would have done a lot more damage if he hadn¡¯t run them out of arrows and changed the engagement parameters.

    ording to Gorz, he¡¯d descended about seventy-five meters when the bottom of the pit came into view, and he saw four stone statues like the ones he¡¯d destroyed above. They stood against the four walls of the shaft, each guarding a different door. He noticed the ground at the base of the stairs, where the huge statues stood guard, was covered in sand. ¡°Looks suspicious,¡± he muttered. He looked at the ramp he was standing on and chuckled to himself. ¡°Why would I fight four of those guys down in the sand?¡±

    Victor dug around in his ring for one of the rusty knives he¡¯d scavenged earlier, and, standing on the ramp, two turns from the bottom of the shaft, he threw it as hard as he could at one of the statues. It whistled as it tumbled through the air, clinked as it hit the statue, and bounced off to skitter into the sand. Nothing happened. ¡°Not that dumb, huh?¡±

    Victor looked over the edge of the ramp, lining himself up with the statue guarding the wall beneath him, then he pulled a rope and piton out of his ring. He ced the piton against the marble wall of the shaft, channeled some Energy into it, and marveled as it began to glow and sink into the stone. Once it was secure, he tied his rope to it and dropped it down next to the statue. Gripping Lifedrinker in one hand, Victor looped the rope around his other wrist and walked down the side of the shaft just a few feet until he was hanging above the statue.

    Victor braced his feet in a wide stance against the wall, and then hanging out, holding onto the rope, he channeled rage-attuned Energy into Lifedrinker and brought her smashing down onto the crown of the statue¡¯s head. Lifedrinker¡¯s gleaming, silvery edge didn¡¯t let him down¡ªshe bit deeply into the stone and stuck, throbbing and pulsing while she dug for Energy. However, the statue erupted into frenzied movement, and Victor yanked on her handle, saying, ¡°Come on, not yet, let go.¡± Lifedrinker pulled out of the split stone as the statue lurched away, and Victor tossed her onto the ramp, climbing the rope after her¡ªhe¡¯d aplished what he wanted.

    When he regained his footing and lifted Lifedrinker, the lumbering statue was already starting its ascent onto the ramp, stomping and rumbling, its long arms and hammer fists pumping before it. None of the other statues had awoken yet, and Victor wondered if he¡¯d broken the encounter. Grinning, he waited for the massive construct, and when it rounded the corner, he went to work. As he charged, Victor cast Sovereign Will to boost his agility, and he cast Channel Spirit to flood his arms and weapon with rage-attuned Energy. He didn¡¯t use his Berserk or Inspiring Presence because he was confident in his speed and ability to whittle down one enemy.

    The fight went as expected; Victor dodged his way around the statue, using Lifedrinker to hack chunks of stone out of its knees until one of them gave way, and the entire construct toppled off the ramp to crash onto the sandy floor. Its impact gave evidence of the sand¡¯s shallow depth because it still sounded like a dump truck unloading a pile of stones onto pavement as it broke apart. The statue¡¯s destruction must have triggered something because the other three came to life, swiveling their lumpy stone heads to find Victor and then moving together to stomp toward the stone ramp.

    Victor grinned when he saw the statues couldn¡¯t quite fit side by side on the ramp, and they had to advance in a single file. He stood by his rope and hollered at the statues, ¡°C¡¯mon then, you big, slow dummies!¡± It might have been his imagination, but it seemed like the stone creatures quickened their grinding strides.

    Right before they made the final turn to approach him, Victor stuffed Lifedrinker into his belt and slid down the rope. Then, he charged across the sand, pulling Lifedrinker free, and ran up the ramp. Just as he¡¯d hoped, the statues hadn¡¯t noticed his movement, and the third one still had its back to him. Victor went to work on its right knee like a lumberjack felling a tree.

    Hended three chops before the statue started to turn, and when it twisted on that leg, it crumbled. The construct copsed onto the ramp, actually toppling into the next statue as it turned to face Victor, knocking it backward. The first statue cracked down the middle and ceased all movement. The second fell more softly, only shattering one arm, but still, it thrashed and fought to rise. Victor capitalized on the sprawled construct¡¯s state, jumping forward, nimbly hopping onto the ¡°dead¡± statue¡¯s chest, and brought Lifedrinker down in a massive overhead chop to sink into the stony stomach of the thrashing statue.

    While Lifedrinker pulled and dug into the stone of his enemy, Victor watched the final construct manage toplete its about-face. It stood, up the ramp, blocked by the body of the thrashing statue, and seemed frozen in indecision, perhaps struggling for a way to get to Victor without trying to climb over itsrade. Meanwhile, Lifedrinker was pulling rivulets of yellow Energy into her axehead, sinking ever deeper into the stone. Victor held onto her, riding the thrashing of her victim, as he watched the final construct, ready to pull her away if it figured a way to get to him.

    As it turned out, the statue never solved the puzzle of how to approach him, at least not before Lifedrinker finished pulling the Energy out of its fallen brother. When the construct stopped moving, Victor pulled Lifedrinker out, then backed down the ramp. The final stony guardian still stood behind the broken dead constructs, staring at him. It wasn¡¯t smart enough to get past the obstruction, but it wasn¡¯t stupid enough to jump off the ramp, either. Victor didn¡¯t like the idea of leaving it behind, so he crossed the sand to his rope, mbered up, and brought the fight to it. He killed it the same way he did the first¡ªbroke one of its knees and sent it toppling to the shaft¡¯s floor.

    When it was all over, he received his surge of conquest Energy, retrieved his piton and rope, and made his way to the sandy bottom of the shaft. No treasure chest awaited him, but he noticed something he hadn¡¯t seen before¡ªin the center of each of the four doors, a strange, squiggly rune was alight, zing with a yellow glow. ¡°Gorz, which door leads in the direction where we fell down the pit?¡±

    ¡°The one to your right, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Victor walked over to the door, and, hoping the glowing symbol meant it was unlocked now that its guardian was dead, he pulled on the handle. The heavy, carved stone b slid roughly over the sand, revealing a dark, cramped stone passage with a rather steep downward slope. Cobwebs clung to the corners of the hallway, and a loose, thinyer of sand coated the floor. ¡°We¡¯re still higher than where we lost Tha, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, by hundreds of meters.¡±

    ¡°Comprendo,¡± Victor muttered, starting into the descending passage. His globe of inspiration-attuned light still floated behind him, throwing the immediate part of the tunnel into bright light that contrasted with the deep darkness a few dozen feet further on. He walked on undisturbed dust for quite a while, nothing changing in the tunnel other than the gradual lessening of its slope. When it felt like he was walking on a t surface again, he took a few steps, and then his light revealed the end of the tunnel and a pale, stone door.

    The door appeared to open inward, but Victor couldn¡¯t see any sort of handle ortch on it. While feeling around its edges, he had a shback to standing in front of the puzzle door where Tha had caused him to fall through the floor. With a sudden shiver, he backed up a few feet and looked closely at the ground in the light of his globe.

    He couldn¡¯t see anything odd about the stone flooring¡ªthe gaps between stones were tiny and filled with sand. He tapped Lifedrinker against each stone, noting the solid *clunk* the axehead made against the dense blocks. Feeling better, he moved forward again and studied the door more closely.

    After a few minutes of feeling for seams, hidden buttons, or secret runes, Victor growled in frustration and just pushed his shoulder into the door, driving with his legs. Nothing happened at first, but then, with a slow, ponderous grinding, the heavy stone door began to slide open. When it wouldn¡¯t move any further, Victor willed his light forward a bit to see what sort of space he¡¯d revealed.

    The first thing he realized was that the door wasn¡¯t hinged. It was simply a foot-wide hunk of stone that had been ced against the doorway. The next thing he noticed was that the chamber he¡¯d walked into was enormous, with ck shadows obscuring the ceiling and the perimeter. Finally, he became aware of a sound¡ªsibnt, breathy panting soundsing from all around him. It sounded like he was surrounded by a horde of asthmatic dogs trying to recover from being too long in the sun.

    Victor held Lifedrinker ready, and then he pushed his light out and up so it hung in front of him, pulsing softly. Then, he willed more and more Energy into it, so it grew and zed brighter, revealing more and more square footage. As the light expanded out to a fifty-foot radius, it started to expose little stone bs on which gray-skinned, ck-taloned, hairless humanoids reclined, breathing fitfully in a restless slumber. ¡°Madre,¡± Victor hissed when his light continued to expand, revealing row after row of the creatures. There had to be more than a hundred, and he hadn¡¯t seen the extent of the room yet.

    Victor started to turn, not keen on waking hundreds of ghouls when he felt a vibration and heard a grinding sound. The stone b, alight with orange runes on the inner surface, was swiftly sliding back into ce, sealing off the doorway.

    ¡°Oh fuck,¡± Victor growled, putting his back to the door. Suddenly the hissing breathing of the sleeping ghouls took on a different note, and soft growls broke out from the darkness outside his light. ws clicked on stone, and then, with a hissing, shrieking cacophony, dozens of pale, wiry, naked creatures were racing over the stone floor toward him.

    They loped on all fours, their ws clicking and scraping the stone, their hissing growls growing in urgency as theyid their ck eyes on him. They were smaller but meaner looking than the ghouls he and Tha had fought. Wide mouths filled with needle-like teeth spread in feral grins as their long, pointed red tongues darted in and out, tasting the air.

    Victor didn¡¯t see a way out of this, so he braced himself forbat. He channeled inspiration-attuned Energy into Lifedrinker, saving his rage Energy for an extended Berserk¡ªhe had a feeling he¡¯d need to let loose in here. He resolved to hold off on the madness of rage for as long as possible and cast Inspiring Presence to start the fight.

    ¡°Did I wake you up? Come on, then!¡± he cried as his mind filled with all the possibilities around him. The light seemed brighter, and when he backpedaled along the wall, swiping his axe to make some space, he realized a corner of the room was only a couple of dozen feet from the door. Chopping in wide arcs, he kept the ghouls back long enough to sidestep his way over to the corner.

    Victorughed as the ghouls continued to gather, arge, gray, hairless crowd of hissing, wiry bodies. They were no bigger than middle-schoolers, and, now that his back was to the corner, they could only approach from his frontal arc. His axe whistled through the air, daring the front of the mob to make the first move.

    The ghouls kept darting back out of Lifedrinker¡¯s reach, and Victor felt it would have gone on like that for a long while, perhaps until he tired, but the mass of frenzied undead gathering at the rear began to push the frontline of ghouls forward, despite their attempts to scurry back out of the reach of his cleaves. When Victor finally made a solid connection, cleaving through a ghoul¡¯s ribs and arm, and ck blood sprayed out on the stones, it was like a switch was flipped.

    Suddenly the ghouls grew even more frenzied, and, careless for their safety, they leaped at him. Victor went to work with Lifedrinker, batting them aside, hacking through limbs, blocking ws with the haft. His arms began to rack up shes and cuts, his legs too, but his torso was well-protected by his ringed leather shirt.

    Each w that slipped past his guard and tore into his flesh sent a burning shiver of rage through him, and Victor began to lose hold of his Core. After fighting for several minutes and almost losing his axe because his arm was bleeding so badly that his grip had grown slippery, he growled and spat, ¡°Fucking assholes!¡± Then, he let go of his rage Energy, let it flow through him, and cast Berserk.

    Suddenly his arms and legs weren¡¯t stinging anymore. The yed skin was just a mild annoyance as scars grew over the missing flesh. His axe felt light in his hand, and his grip was more than strong enough to yank it back from the little creature trying to pull it away. Victor roared at it and kicked out with a boot, knocking it back. What were all these things doing scratching at him? Didn¡¯t they know what he could do? He¡¯d have to show them! He screamed, exulting in the fric need to smash his enemies.

    Lifedrinker arced out, again and again, whipping through the air and gray bodies alike, hardly slowing as she snapped through bones. ck blood sprayed the air in thick gouts and fine mists, and Victor began tough, a terrible, gutturalugh, as he drenched himself in the blood of his enemies. He fought for several minutes, his actions more akin to apetitive tree cutter than a person on a battlefield. He strode forward into the mass of gray, naked enemies without regard for his lost defensive position.

    When a ghoul leaped on his back and tried to bite into his neck, Victor¡¯s left hand snaked out, caught it by the arm, and flung it away into the crowd. Then, he whirled and leaped, hacking Lifedrinker with such force that she ravaged several ghouls at once with each swing. When he felt his red-visioned rage start to recede, Victor pumped himself with more rage-attuned Energy, extending the duration of his madness.

    He fought his way across the enormous chamber, walking over the vacant bs where the ghouls had slept, standing on them for better reach. He didn¡¯t n to do so; it just felt good to him when he stood above the scrabbling, pestering enemies and smashed them to pieces with Lifedrinker.

    How long he fought like that would never be clear to Victor. He had a lot more rage-attuned Energy than he used to. He probably pushed his body further than he should have, but by the time he finally started to think clearly, and the redness bled from his vision, he found himself standing on a stone dais on the far side of the enormous chamber, with just a few ghouls warily circling him. He was exhausted and drained of rage-attuned Energy, but his body was whole, at least as far as he could tell, under the thick, sticky coating of red-ck blood and bits of viscera.

    Victor used Sovereign Will to boost his agility, and then he chased down thest few ghouls, one by one, dispatching them with quick, precise cleaves to remove heads or smash skulls. His Globe of Inspiration still hung in the air, illuminating much of the hall with its radiance. Victor stood, near the rear section, partially cloaked in shadow, observing the trail of broken gray bodies and ck smears of gore that painted a grisly picture of the path he¡¯d taken through the room while under the influence of his Berserk ability.

    He set Lifedrinker down, bracing her against the stone floor while he leaned into her handle, breathing deeply and waiting for the surge of Energy that would replenish his stores. It didn¡¯te, however, but a grinding sound behind him heralded something else. Victor straightened and wearily lifted Lifedrinker, turning to face the sound. Another stone b, like the one blocking the corridor he came through, was alight with orange runes and sliding open. When it had slid forward and to the side, revealing a dark recess, the runes faded away.

    Victor breathed deeply and quickly nced inward at his Core. There, the two suns of his Energy pulsed and zed, though the red heart of his rage-attuned Energy was dim and shrunken. Victor knew he didn¡¯t have what it would take to cast Berserk again, not without resting or a System infusion from his victory. Still, his inspiration-attuned Energy was pulsing brightly and not even half-depleted. He quickly looked up when he heard metal scraping on stone.

    A shadowy figure stood in the opened alcove, and it stepped forward, dragging something long and metallic behind it. Victor backed up toward his light and watched as the tall, lean figure approached. It took slow, deliberate steps, all the while dragging that metal object along the stone.

    When it came out of the shadows enough for Victor to discern its details, he gripped Lifedrinker more fiercely and took a deep breath to steady his nerves. The monster was like a ghoul on steroids or growth hormones. It stood a few inches taller than Victor, had sinewy ropes of corded muscle bulging around its torso and limbs, and wore a pair of ragged leather pants. The item the creature was dragging turned out to be a long-handled curved sword or something like a sword, but the de was nearly round, so severe was its curve.

    As the creature drew nearer, it lifted the weapon into a two-handed grip and smiled, narrowing its baleful red eyes to re at Victor. Its rubbery gray lips peeled back from rows of needle teeth, and a wet, gurglingugh rolled up out of its throat. Victor scowled and twisted his white-knuckled grip on Lifedrinker, saying, ¡°Youughing, fucker? Think all your buddies areughing?¡± He jerked his head, indicating the scene of his earlier ughter. The ghoul boss didn¡¯t answer; it just lifted its weapon and jumped, bringing it down like it was trying to split a massive log.

    Victor knew an attack wasing, so he wasn¡¯t caught t-footed. Still, the speed of the big creature was surprising, and he barely hopped away from the chop in time. He didn¡¯t try to block it; he wasn¡¯t confident in Lifedrinker¡¯s improvised handle when it came to parrying a de like that. As he backpedaled to get some room, Victor made sure he was still infusing his agility with Sovereign Will, and then he cast Inspiring Presence, d that his extended rage had given the ability time to cool down.

    In the light of inspiration, the ghoul champion or boss didn¡¯t seem so terrible. Sure, it was big and had a massive, sharp sword-sickle thing, but it was only one enemy, and Victor could see it wasn¡¯t the most intelligent of creatures. He started to circle thenky creature, watching it move, and when it came at him with a sideways sh, Victor pushed Lifedrinker¡¯s axehead against the curved de, shoving it down, and then he stepped into the ghoul¡¯s reach and smashed the butt of his axe haft into its chin.

    The sudden move caught the monster by surprise, and it stumbled back, losing grip with one of its hands on its oversized, curved sword. Victor pressed the attack, continuing his forward momentum, stepping wide with his left foot, then lifting Lifedrinker and pivoting on that forward foot so that he swung her in a huge, whistling arc. The ghoul managed to raise its curved weapon in time to intercept her de, but Lifedrinker wasn¡¯t going to be denied¡ªshe bit into the sword¡¯s edge, and Victor roared, shifting his Sovereign Will boost to strength and driving her further.

    The ghoul was forced to step back, but Victor drove on, and metal screamed as Lifedrinker dug into the sword. Backpedaling, the ghoul champion caught its heel on one of the sleeping tforms and stumbled, and Victor jerked Lifedrinker to the side, yanking the sword from its iling hand. The long, curved weapon ttered over the stone floor, and Victor grinned savagely at the ghoul as it scurried away from him on all fours. Not wanting it to regain its weapon, Victor circled to the side, keeping the monster in view, and when he got to the de, he crouched to touch it, slipping it into his storage ring.

    ¡°Come on, then,¡± he said, watching the gray, wiry monster as it circled him, moving about on its knuckles like an enormous, evil chimpanzee. Then it shed forward, and its left-hand ws shed out in a blur of ck shadow, ripping into Victor¡¯s thigh. He¡¯d seen the attacking and tried to block or counterattack, but the monster had been too fast. He stumbled from the blow, finding that his leg couldn¡¯t take his full weight. The ws had ripped his thigh to the bone. The monster was circling him again, and Victor quickly shifted his Sovereign Will boost back to agility and lifted Lifedrinker into a cross-body guard.

    The ghoul stepped back, its smile widening, and licked its bloody ws. Victor growled and stepped toward it but nearly stumbled on his wounded leg. His pant leg was soaked with blood, and he felt it running down his calf to pool into his boot. He was thinking about trying to Berserk to see if he¡¯d regained enough Energy when the ghoulunched into another attack. This time Victor was ready, and he was just fast enough to pivot on his good leg and put Lifedrinker¡¯s edge in the path of the swiping ws. It all happened in a fraction of a second, but when the ghoul scampered past him, it left behind three long, wed fingers. ¡°That¡¯s gotta hurt, eh, fucker?¡±

    The ghoul whirled and hissed at him as it finished its pass. Victor sidestepped, favoring his hurt leg, blood squelching in his boot. The ghoul circled him, and he had to pivot on his good leg, keeping it in view. Suddenly, it burst into motion, circling him, and Victor stumbled slightly, trying to spin to keep it in sight.

    The ghoul capitalized andunched another rushing pass, raking its ws along Victor¡¯s back. His armor held, and the ws rang as they slid over the metal, but at the tail end of its swipe, they caught Victor¡¯s left forearm, and two of them slid through his flesh, grinding against the bone from his elbow to his wrist.

    Victor screamed in agony, and, as a thick ribbon of his flesh fell away in a shower of bloody droplets, he let go of Lifedrinker and cradled the wounded limb to his stomach. He lifted Lifedrinker in his right hand, holding her up and out and watching the ghoul as he pressed his ripped arm against himself. He knew he was losing blood and couldn¡¯t afford to fight like this much longer. He tried to activate Berserk, but it wouldn¡¯t take, and he knew he still didn¡¯t have the Energy for it.

    In his desperation, a thought urred to Victor, and while he watched the ghoul warily, he switched his Sovereign Will boost to vitality. As nearly sixty points of vitality flooded his body, Victor felt his weakened, tired muscles pulse with renewed vigor. He felt the searing pain of his wounds start to fade to a dull ache as the vessels scabbed over, and with a grunt of pain, he lifted his wounded arm back to his axe haft. ¡°C¡¯mon, girl, we gotta finish this.¡± He pushed what little rage-attuned Energy he could muster into the axe, causing her to flicker with a baleful red glow, and then, just as he saw the ghoul shifting to attack again, he swapped his boost back to agility.

    Victor had braced himself for it, but the renewed pain in his deprived body was nearly enough to throw off his concentration. Still, he held on, and with the boost to his agility and using his full range of movement, he was able to see the ghoul¡¯s attacking, and he stepped out just enough to avoid the worst of the ws, only catching three shallow gouges along his left hip. Meanwhile, he¡¯d brought Lifedrinker down in a savage, lightning-fast cleave that buried her gleaming edge into the monster¡¯s forehead. The undead creature, amazingly, continued to struggle. It thrashed and flopped, and Victor held on to Lifedrinker, urging her to dig deeper for the Energy she craved.

    He held the ghoul pinned to the stone while it kicked its wed legs in the air, and Lifedrinker pulled ck veins of dark Energy through its pale skin and into her shimmering edge. ¡°Yes! Finish this pinche cabron muerto!¡± As Lifedrinker shuddered and dug into the creature, its legs stopped kicking and finally flopped to the stone. Ity utterly still, and Victor jerked Lifedrinker out of its skull and red around, fearing more attackers, but hoping he was finally done with fighting.

    Soft golden light started to fill the chamber, and he wondered if he¡¯d triggered something else, but then he realized it was Energy coalescing on all the corpses. Even some purple-tinged motes were forming on the ghoul boss. After a few heartbeats, the glittering mist began to flow toward him, and he weed it, desperately anticipating the healing of his aching arm and leg. The Energy surged into him, and as the euphoria filled him, he felt his wounds closing up and his Core burning hot and full once again.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 27 Herald of Carnage. You have gained 10 will, 8 strength, and have 10 attribute points to allocate.***

    When the high began to fade, and Victor could think clearly again, he wasn¡¯t surprised that such a massive battle had leveled him. ¡°I might be close to the next one too, don¡¯t you think, Gorz?¡±

    ¡°Close to Tha?¡±

    ¡°No, my next level.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps, though, remember, it does get slower. I¡¯m noticing a new object, Victor. Is that a chest over by the alcove where the huge ghoul emerged?¡±

    Victor pulled his globe of light closer and walked toward where he¡¯d first seen the ghoul champion. Sure enough, sitting right in the center of the stone alcove was a softly shimmering silvery chest about as big as his tio¡¯s mechanic¡¯s toolbox.

 Book 2: Chapter 7: Bloodline

    Book 2: Chapter 7: Bloodline

    ¡°Gorz, did the dungeon put this chest here after I killed that big guy?¡± Victor looked at the chest, leery of touching it after all the tricks and traps he¡¯d found in the dungeon already.

    ¡°Yes, Victor, I believe so. I ventured into several dungeons with Reevus-dak, and it was quitemonce for the System or the spirit remnants that controlled the dungeon and its encounters to reward adventurers after difficult encounters. I believe the chest where you found your armored shirt was also such a reward.¡±

    ¡°Spirit remnants?¡±

    ¡°Beings not so different from me, though originating from a greater whole. Powerful Energy users often leave their legacies behind in dungeons, shearing off pieces of their very souls to curate those locations.¡±

    ¡°Legacies? Like, so people don¡¯t forget about them?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s one motivation, but motivations are myriad. One dungeon Reevus explored was curated by a powerful summoner¡¯s soul fragment. She¡¯d signed a contract with one of her patrons to create the dungeon as a learning experience, of sorts.¡±

    ¡°So you think it¡¯s safe to open this chest?¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily. Part of the challenge may be in surviving or bypassing traps.¡±

    ¡°Shit,¡± Victor sighed, squatting to look more closely at the chest. It didn¡¯t look dangerous. It had a sp but no lock and the silvery metal had an inner glow that wasn¡¯t menacing at all. Not seeing any hints of danger and losing his patience, Victor stood and pulled one of the spears he¡¯d looted from the skeletons out of his ring. He stood at the full length of the wooden shaft and used the tip to flip up thetch on the chest. Nothing happened, so he wedged the spearhead under the lid and lifted it open. He was awarded with more shimmering light from the chest¡¯s interior but no explosions or pitfalls. ¡°Easy, peasy,¡± he muttered, slipping the spear back into his ring.

    He stepped forward and looked into the rectangr interior of the chest. Soft-looking, satiny material lined the silver box, but most of its contents were obscured by a floating, silvery orb flecked with ck, swirling motes. It exuded a bright shimmering glow that seemed to mist away from the orb, though if it were a physical mist, it dispersed almost instantly as it radiated. ¡°What am I looking at, Gorz?¡±

    ¡°Victor, that appears to be a Delving Orb! Reevus was ever in search of such items! They¡¯re quite rare rewards designed to pull forth hidden aspects of your ancestry and advance your racial bloodline.¡±

    ¡°Like the fruit I ate that advanced my race?¡±

    ¡°Simr, but far more sophisticated. This was designed by the System, Victor, and will dig much more deeply than most natural treasures would. What¡¯s more, in one of the texts that Reevus had me read, it¡¯s implied that these orbs grow more powerful the longer they remain undiscovered.¡±

    ¡°What do I do? Pick it up?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it should begin its process immediately upon your touch.¡±

    Victor looked around the room. When he ate the fruit, he remembered beingpletely out of it for several minutes. Would something like that happen with the orb? He lifted Lifedrinker and walked around the room''s perimeter, making sure none of the dead ghouls were stirring and that there weren¡¯t any newly opened passages where further enemies might emerge. The only exits he found, though, were the one he came through, closed off by the rune-covered limestone block, and a stone door inset in the back of the alcove behind the chest.

    He walked back over to the chest and sat, legs crossed, in front of it. He didn¡¯t know what to expect from the orb, but he figured he should be ready for anything. He ced Lifedrinker across hisp, and then, one hand braced against the stone floor, he reached out with the other and touched the orb. Heat instantly flooded his hand and coursed into his arm, traveling through his Energy pathways. It wasn¡¯t unpleasant¡ªsort of like dipping your arm into a hot bath. When the sensation reached his chest, he caught his breath, and then, just an instantter, it came into his mind, and he lost himself.

    Victor drifted through darkness, his mind filled with a buzzing, vibrating sensation. He felt like he was stuck in an instant and in eternity all at once, and if he ever had to exin how long he floated like that, he¡¯d never find the words. Eventually, something resolved in his eyes¡ªa shimmering line of yellow light, dancing and expanding in his vision, like he was hurtling toward it. As the line of yellow light grew to fill his reality, he realized he was standing in daylight between sparse trees in the warm,fortable summer heat.

    He gripped the hard wooden handle of his macuahuitl, the long, t de edged with razor-sharp obsidian that he¡¯d cut for himself to craft the weapon. His brothers and sisters were lined up with him, shoulder to shoulder. He looked up and down the line, pride filling his heart at their mighty host, and then his sisters began their ulting war song, and he knew it was time to drive the invaders from theirnd. He screamed and stomped his feet, exulting in the strength of his blood. He and his Quinametzin brethren would push the little people from their shores.

    Victor, no, not Victor¡ªTenecoalt drew his macuahuitl over his chest, painting a deep red line that flowed down over his belly, and he screamed, shaking the leaves of the forest, and the host charged. The line of Quinametzin, a hundred strong, broke from the trees, loping down the grassy slope to crash into the army of little invaders. He screamed and swung his weapon, cleaving through the little people, shattering skulls, bones, and severing limbs.

    His enemies had crafted simr weapons, trying to mimic his great people. Still, their tiny des served only to anger Tenecoalt and his people, and the rampage continued until thousands of little corpses fed the grass. Tenecoalt knelt next to one of thest thrashing invaders and gripped its small head in his hand. Pulling it close, he said, ¡°What do you call yourselves, little man?¡±

    ¡°Aztec,¡± the small one coughed, then fell silent as Tenecoalt twisted his head, pulling it away from the body, trailing a spinal root. He held the head high over his head and screamed his victory to the sun, and his brethren screamed with him. Not one of his mighty people had fallen to the invaders.

    Darkness fell over Victor¡¯s vision, and once again, he drifted. He was aware of his body, aware of the buzzing, tingling sensation traversing through his every nerve and cell, but he wasn¡¯t able to feel time, and his thoughts were just as amorphous. This time, the darkness wasn¡¯t broken by a line of light or any sort of vision. Instead, he opened his eyes and was aware of heavy, cloying air filled with the thick, damp scent of decay. A faint shimmer of silvery light was in the periphery of his vision, and he turned toward it, recognizing the chest.

    Victor grunted and sat up, stiff, hungry, and with a mouth utterly devoid of fluid. He tried to lick his lips, but it was like running a rubber eraser over cotton. ¡°Victor!¡± He recognized Gorz¡¯s voice and tried to answer but only managed to grunt. With his mind a bit foggy, it took him a moment to think of his ring, but when he did, Victor summoned a wine bottle filled with cool river water and carefully sipped at it until things started to work correctly in his mouth.

    ¡°Gorz,¡± he croaked, ¡°what¡¯s happened?¡±

    ¡°Victor! You were unconscious for eleven days and four hours.¡±

    ¡°Madre!¡± Victor hissed. ¡°Let¡¯s put some light on the subject,¡± he said, concentrating and summoning his Globe of Inspiration. The previous light must have faded while hey unconscious.

    The first thing Victor noticed as the light took shape was that his boots were lying discarded a few feet away like he¡¯d yanked them off in his sleep. He nced at the rest of his body, and everything seemed to be in order. While he looked at his forearms and flexed his hands open and closed, he noticed that his myriad scars were gone. Every single white line from healed wounds caused by ws, knives, spears, and everything in between had faded away.

    He called up his status sheet and looked at his racial information:

    Race:

    Human (Quinametzin Bloodline) - Improved 1

    When he saw that word, Quinametzin, his mind filled with the memory of his vision, and his heart started to race. ¡°Gorz, how fucking tall am I?¡±

    ¡°Just under 2.1 meters.¡±

    ¡°Meters? What is that, about eighty-two inches? Fucking six-ten? A little under¡­ How tall was I before I touched that thing?¡±

    ¡°Approximately 1.9 meters.¡±

    ¡°Damn, man! Well, at least I didn¡¯t grow as big as those things in my vision¡ªthey were, like, twice as tall as the Aztecs.¡±

    ¡°Did you have a bloodline vision, Victor? The text I studied mentioned that it¡¯s possible.¡±

    ¡°I think so. It was like I was in another person¡¯s body, but he wasn¡¯t exactly a person, more like a pinche giant. I mean, he was tough as hell, but I don¡¯t want to be twelve feet tall.¡±

    ¡°Your bloodline might not manifest into a full physical representation, even as you continue to delve into your racial advancements.¡±

    ¡°May not?¡±

    ¡°Correct. There are many recorded instances of people manifesting the full physical characteristics of their bloodline.¡±

    ¡°Shit, Gorz! Well, maybe I¡¯lly off the racial advancements if I get a chance at another. I¡¯m already at ¡®improved 1,¡¯ whatever that means.¡±

    ¡°What were you before, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Um, ¡®base 4,¡¯ I think.¡±

    ¡°Six ranks is an excellent gain, Victor! This orb must havein undiscovered for a very long time. You should be happy to have reached such a milestone; most races require an improved status to reach tier-four.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s great, but my feet are too big for my boots,¡± Victor said, holding the sole of one of his boots against the bottom of his foot¡ªthey were definitely a couple of sizes too small.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, a one-time sizing enchantment? Your artificer must have been parsimonious.¡±

    ¡°I bought them from the Contribution Store in the mine.¡±

    ¡°Yes, items procured in such a way are often looked down upon by discriminating individuals.¡±

    ¡°Whatever,¡± Victor said as he stood up, lifting Lifedrinker from where she¡¯d fallen by the chest. He really didn¡¯t feel much different, other than a sense of well-being and strength that eclipsed even his prior feelings of wellness when he¡¯d gained his levels and improved his attributes. He felt like his body was full of potential. Which begged the question; why wasn¡¯t he in worse shape?

    How long could a person go without food or water? He must have been in some kind ofatose state, or, on the other hand, it may have to do with his racial advancements and level. His body relied more and more on Energy and required less sleep and food than it used to. Victor shrugged, retrieved a couple of sausages from his storage ring, wolfed them down, then turned back to the chest.

    He pulled his light over to shine directly into it and saw that there were other items visible within, now that the glowing silver orb was gone. He saw the glint of a ss bottle and a loop of folded leather. He reached in and lifted out the bottle. It was filled with dark red or ck fluid and about twelve ounces in size. A cork stoppered the top, but nobel gave hints about its contents. Victor pulled out the cork and sniffed; coppery blood tickled his nostrils, and he jerked it away, stuffing the cork back down.

    He put the bottle away in his ring, hoping that someday he¡¯d have someone tell him whether it was worth saving. He picked up the loop of leather and, as he¡¯d suspected, found that it was a nicely crafted belt with a simple bronze buckle. He wondered if it was magical, so he trickled some Energy into it and was rewarded with a System message:

    ***Belt of Solid Foundations: Artificed item. Enchantments: 1. Solid footing - The wearer of this belt is difficult to knock down.***

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty cool,¡± he said, slipping it through the loops on his ck pants. His pants and armored shirt had adjusted nicely to his increased size, so he took a moment to be thankful that he was only shoeless and notpletely naked. He briefly considered cutting away part of the tops of his boots but dismissed the idea¡ªhe wasn¡¯t a cobbler, and he was sure whatever he came up with would make it hard to move with any agility.

    ¡°Gorz, I¡¯m worried about Tha. Eleven days, plus the time I was in the pit¡ªI''m afraid she¡¯s either dead or in a bad way.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true, Victor, you¡¯ve been apart for a lengthy time, but anything is possible. Take heart that you¡¯re stronger now and more able to help her.¡±

    ¡°Oh, thanks for the reminder! I still have some points to spend.¡± Victor looked at his attributes:

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Rage 9.1, Inspiration 7.4

    Energy:

    1891/1891

    Strength:

    106

    Vitality:

    90

    Dexterity:

    40

    Agility:

    48

    Intelligence:

    32

    Will:

    183

    Points Avable:

    10

    He had intended to keep putting points into will, but his regr level-up points would take it over two hundred, and Victor didn¡¯t like how his strength was so far outstripping his agility and dexterity. More so, he worried about his agility; he¡¯d never noticed a problem with dexterity while fighting, and he felt like it was high enough for axe work. Maybe he¡¯d learn differently someday, but he wanted to put more points into agility for now. The fight with the ghoul champion had shown him what it was like to face a truly fast enemy, and he knew there were probably plenty of enemies a lot faster than that ghoul.

    Decided, he put ten points into agility, and then, hefting Lifedrinker, he moved past the chest to inspect the stone door. There weren¡¯t any handles or hinges, and he felt like it might be another stone he¡¯d have to slide, so he put his shoulder against the hard surface and drove forward, pushing into the cold floor with his bare feet. It slid surprisingly easily, grinding along the floor, and when Victor got a face full of cool, clean air, he expanded his lungs hugely, d to be out of the stinky, corpse-filled vault where he¡¯din for almost two weeks.

    His light revealed a short hallway that ended in a set of steep limestone steps leading downward. ¡°We¡¯re still above where we lost Tha, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Alright, going down.¡± Victor advanced on the steps and started padding down them, rather pleased by how quiet he was in his bare feet. The stairwell was narrow, and the steps steep, and Victor descended for several minutes until he saw a faint, blue flickering light below. He continued, boosting his agility with Sovereign Will to help his reaction time and flooding Lifedrinker with rage-attuned Energy with Channel Spirit. She pulsed and throbbed with a red luminescence, and he knew she was ready to feast.

    Victor stopped his light following him, letting it hang back while he continued down toward the blue glow. When he cleared a dozen more steps, he saw movement in the space at the foot of the stairs, and he realized it was a skeleton wearing tattered robes, much like the one that had sted him with lighting. He didn¡¯t want to give it a chance to react first, so he quickly padded down the steps as it passed by, and when he burst out of the stairwell into the room, he saw the back of the skeleton just a few feet away.

    Victor leaped and brought Lifedrinker down on the skeleton¡¯s skull, shattering it like an egg, and sending its bones ttering over the floor. It happened so quickly, Lifedrinker didn¡¯t even get a chance to pull any Energy. Victor nced around and saw the lighting from a metal brazier in the center of the room that flickered with blue mes. Dusty candbra nked a wooden table on the far side of the room. The table was strewn with bits of broken pottery, some bones, and a plethora of cobwebs. A wooden door stood to the left of the stairway, and, with nothing left to fight, Victor stalked toward it.

    A thin stream of golden Energy flowed into him from the downed skeleton as he reached to open the door. ¡°This is the correct direction, Victor,¡± Gorz said, startling him.

    ¡°Right, thanks, Gorz,¡± Victor whispered, tugging on the iron handle of the door and sliding it with soft scrapes over the stone floor. The stones here were darker, more gray than white, and Victor recognized them from when he¡¯d first arrived in the dungeon with Tha. It seemed like he¡¯d found his way back to the part of the dungeon where they¡¯d met Belikot, and so Victor began to feel some anticipation and a little hope about finding his friend.

    The hallway was long and lined with side passages, and Victor began to methodically explore. He ran into many skeletons over the next hour or two. They were standard skeletons with weapons and sometimes broken rusty armor. Victor easily dispatched them with Lifedrinker; they broke and shattered before his mighty, Energy-charged blows, and his bulk and power made it hard for them to get close enough to retaliate. Even the spear-wielding skeletons were easy for him¡ªthey couldn¡¯t match his agility, and he¡¯d bat aside their weapons, slipping inside their reach and shattering them with his axe.

    He ran into a couple more of the spellcasting wizard-skeletons, one of which he caught by surprise and killed before it had a chance to throw a spell. The second managed to cast a ball of fiery blue Energy at him, but Victor slid under the projectile and smashed it before it could begin another spell.

    Meanwhile, thanks to Gorz, Victor mapped out the hallways, discerning their pattern and realizing that they all funneled in one direction. Once he saw the design, Victor stopped searching side passages and worked his way toward the corner of the dungeon where all the winding paths seemed to converge. He found a very wide hallway with a low ceiling and started down it.

    A dozen steps into the hallway, he saw that it had a precipitous slope just a few paces ahead, and, as he started down it, with a liquid hiss, ck sludge began to seep from the ceiling, sttering upon the gray stones. It ran in viscous rivulets toward Victor, and he immediately realized he¡¯d lose his footing if the stones grew slick. Rather than wait for the liquid to get to him and cause him to slip into the darkness, he strode ahead of the slime, hoping to see a safe ce to leap.

    As he descended the steep, sloping hallway, ck slime creeping after him, Victor saw that it ended in darkness just a dozen feet ahead. He crept to the edge, trying to keep ahead of the ck fluid, and couldn¡¯t see anything else; the tunnel seemed to open into a ck abyss. ¡°Fuck this,¡± Victor said and reached into his ring, pulling out one of his pitons and the rope. He quickly used Energy to sink the piton into the stone of the hallway. Then, after securing the rope, he tossed it into the darkness. He tucked Lifedrinker through his belt, and, with her axehead bumping against his hip, Victor grabbed the rope and started to climb down.

    When his light followed him out over the edge, he saw that the tunnel mouth opened into the side of an enormous, cliff-like stone wall. He tried pushing his light out into the darkness, but the space was toorge, and when he felt himself losing connection to the globe, he pulled it back. The ck slime dripped out of the tunnel mouth and down the stones of the massive wall, but only for a few feet. Victor had outpaced it, and, as he descended, he lost sight of the tunnel altogether.

    When he reached the end of his rope, Victor was still hanging in the darkness. ¡°Gorz, can you sense the bottom of this fucking wall?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor, it''s only another six meters or so. I¡¯m surprised you can¡¯t see it.¡±

    ¡°I think this darkness is unnatural.¡± Victor gripped the rope tightly with his left hand, then he lifted Lifedrinker out of his belt with his right hand. He took three quick breaths and let go, falling through the ck shadows. His globe of light streaked after him, and when his feet thudded into cold, hard stone, Victor bent his knees to catch his momentum. He looked around, noting scattered bones on gray stonework, and then he heard the scrabbling clicking of ws on stone and the growls of hungry creatures.

    Victor cast Inspiring Presence because he was still weirded out by the darkness and didn¡¯t know what to expect. At the same time, he charged Lifedrinker with Channel Energy and bolstered his agility with Sovereign Will. Momentster, four red-eyed hounds tore out of the darkness at him. They were huge, probably approaching two hundred pounds, covered in sleek, ck fur, and sporting razored bone spurs all along their spines. Dagger-like teeth hung from their upper jaws, and saliva dripped from their lolling ck tongues to sizzle and spurt against the stone flooring.

    Victor hopped back, putting his shoulders to the wall, and waited for them to charge. They paced back and forth in front of him, growling and gnashing their huge teeth. ¡°Come on!¡± Victor roared, admiring the new, deep rumble in his voice. One of the hounds leaped at him, and Lifedrinker licked out like a terrible serpent¡¯s tongue, ripping three inches of gleaming, silvery death through the beast¡¯s neck. It gurgled and sprayed hot blood, falling short of its target. It tried to backpedal, scrabbling its weakened, iling legs. Victor brought Lifedrinker back around and crunched her through the monstrous hound¡¯s skull.

    The other three hounds charged, then, and Victor kicked out and punched with his left hand while he wrestled to bring Lifedrinker back into y. He jerked her handle back and forth twice, finally wrenching her from the skull. After he threw off another leaping hound, he grabbed the handle with his left hand and took a step, swinging her like he was trying to knock down a building. She ripped through the air in a shrieking arc, cleaving a deep runnel through two of the hounds¡¯ chests. They yelped, turning and circling away from him, erupting in cries of despair and growls of agony.

    The hound he¡¯d thrown warily stalked toward him, and Victor didn¡¯t wait for it¡ªhe charged, bringing Lifedrinker up under its chin with an underhanded diagonal sh. After that, it was a matter of putting the beasts out of their misery. When he finished, Victor sighed heavily and looked around. The darkness still clung, crowding at the edges of his globe¡¯s light. Holding Lifedrinker ready, he explored the boundaries of the room. He was half done when the Energy influx from the hounds caught up to him, and Victor paused to enjoy the euphoria for a moment before continuing his inspection of the room.

    Following the walls with his light, Victor found that he was in a rectangr chamber about a hundred feet by twenty, and there was a rusty iron door midway through the long wall opposite where he¡¯d descended on his rope. He didn¡¯t find any treasure in the room and was rather eager to be away from the cloying darkness, so he tried the door. It was locked or stuck, so Victor decided to use his ring. He gently knocked on the metal, and, with a grinding click and a shower of rust particles, the door popped open a quarter inch. Victor pulled on the door, and, hinges squealing, it revealed another low-roofed, very narrow stone passage.

    Victor moved into the cramped tunnel, padding through the darkness with his light trailing behind, and, after just a few dozen steps, he came to an equally narrow, cramped stairwell. ¡°Are we anywhere near where we lost Tha?¡± he asked Gorz.

    ¡°We¡¯re quite close, Victor. This stair appears to lead to an area just 23 meters west of where the puzzle door was.¡±

    ¡°Alright, buckle up, Gorz.¡±

    ¡°Pardon?¡±

    ¡°Get ready!¡± Victor said and grinned as Gorz protested his inability to do anything, let alone get ready. Then, he started up the steps.

 Book 2: Chapter 8: Hunting a Boss

    Book 2: Chapter 8: Hunting a Boss

    The narrow, cramped stairwell wound upward, each step annoyingly a different height than the ones around it. When Victor finally pulled himself out of the confines of its stone walls into a small square room, barelyrge enough to stand in, the effects of the cramped spaces were starting to fray the edges of his sanity.

    A ck iron lever stuck conspicuously out of the wall to his right, and, seeing no other options in the tiny space, he pulled on it. With a loud, rumbling, controlled copse, the wall in front of him fell into the floor, and a wider hallway was revealed.

    ¡°I recognize this location, Victor!¡± Gorz said.

    ¡°Alright, direct me back to that damn puzzle door, please.¡±

    ¡°Forward seven meters, then take a right.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Victor gripped Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, holding her crossways in front of him. The handle he¡¯d made for her was notched, bruised, and gouged but still solid. Still, he missed her elegant, tough, cherry-wood handle and hoped he¡¯d be able to do her justice soon. He followed Gorz¡¯s instructions, taking two more turns and stepping over the desated bodies of the ghouls he and Tha had killed on their initial exploration of the area. In just a few short minutes, he was standing before the bronze-colored puzzle door.

    The square hole in the floor where he¡¯d fallen through was still there, yawning wide as if to invite him back in, but, more surprisingly, the puzzle door was ajar. ¡°I guess that skull really did know how to open it. Nice of them to leave it open for me,¡± Victor said, his voice hushed.

    ¡°I believe the skull thought you dead.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor walked to the right of the pitfall, where Tha had been standing, and peeked through the door. He¡¯d left his light back a few feet, but enough bled through the opening to reveal the strange chamber. Like the door that opened into it, the room was round. It had a convex ceiling painted pale blue, like a sky, and purple mountains were painted around the edges to give the illusion of a distant horizon. Twin suns hung in the sky, one a smoldering red orb and the other much smaller and bright white. A stone table or altar stood in the center of the room, also round, and resting at the center of the altar was a familiar yellow-white skull.

    On the far side of the room, another round door stood ajar. Orange light and shadows flickered from the dark recess it revealed, but Belikot¡¯s skull was the only object Victor could see in the room. As he watched it, peering from behind the partially open door, he saw a faint, blue flicker in its eye sockets. The straps Tha had crafted to carry the skull were still fastened around it, and the memory of her braiding the leather cords and carefully attaching them triggered a pulse of hot rage in Victor, and he twisted his hands on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft.

    Grinding his teeth, Victor slowly channeled Energy into Lifedrinker, causing her to buzz and pulse as a red aura limned her long, bearded de. Now was his chance. He¡¯d shatter this fucking skull before it could protest or further influence him or, worse, Tha. He¡¯d worry about finding her after this asshole was out of the picture.

    Victor used Sovereign Will to enhance his agility, and he hunched behind the door, veritably vibrating from the urge to jump and tumble. He took three quick breaths, then leaped through the door. Anticipating shrieking blue fireballs, he somersaulted to the left, leaped to his feet, and brought Lifedrinker up over his head in a two-handed chop. ¡°Victor, no!¡± Tha¡¯s scream seemed to echo in his head, loud enough to startle him out of his attack. He ducked to the left, circling behind the skull and looking for Tha. He didn¡¯t see her and wondered if Belikot had tried to trick him somehow. Growling, he lifted the axe again. ¡°Victor? Victor! Are you still here?¡±

    ¡°Tha?¡± He called softly, turning to nce at the partially open door.

    ¡°Victor, I¡¯m in the skull! Don¡¯t break it!¡± Tha¡¯s voice sounded disembodied, almost echoing on itself as it came to him.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Victor jerked his gaze back to the skull. Licking his lips nervously, he slowly moved so that he could see the eye sockets again. He still held Lifedrinker ready, his knuckles white as he fought with the urge to smash the skull.

    ¡°Thank the Ancestors; you¡¯re alive! He tricked me, Victor!¡± Tha¡¯s voice was full of despair, and the tiny blue mes in the skull¡¯s eye sockets red briefly, then grew dim again.

    ¡°Is he in there with you?¡± Victor tried to imagine what could possibly be going on. Had the skull absorbed her somehow? Was Belikot torturing her?

    ¡°No! He stole my body, Victor! He swapped with me! I thought we had a contract, but he tricked me,¡± Tha¡¯s voice seemed to being from further and further away.

    ¡°Fuck, Tha! What can I do? Where is he?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have enough strength to keep talking for long; he¡¯s too powerful to fight, Victor. If you killed him, you¡¯d be killing my body. You have to beat him another way. Find his phctery¡ªhe mentioned it ¡­¡± Tha¡¯s voice faded to a whisper, then was gone, and the lights in the skull¡¯s eye sockets faded to almost imperceptible pinpricks. Victor looked around, suddenly nervous about being jumped while trying to speak to a skull. Nothing moved around him, though, and he gingerly reached out and touched the smooth, polished bone.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Tha. I¡¯m sorry it took me so long to get back here,¡± he gently patted the skull, then he had an idea. Very slowly, he extended a tiny thread of inspiration-attuned Energy out through his pathways and into the skull. The eyes immediately zed to life, more white than blue now, and Tha¡¯s triumphantugh echoed into his mind.

    ¡°Thank you, Victor! Oh, Ancestors, that feels good! Your Energy is so good!¡± Her voice, echoing in his head, was stronger now, and her words more sure. ¡°Did you hear what I said about his phctery? He tricked me into this skull, but he really did make a contract to teach me. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t destroy me after he took my body. He talked to me a lot while he performed rituals here. He mentioned that someday he¡¯d help me make a phctery of my own. He said I had a lot of learning to do and that a few decades in this skull would do me good. Oh, Victor, he gripped my soul and pulled me in here, and I felt like a child trying to wrestle a grown man when I fought back!¡±

    ¡°Alright, Tha. You¡¯re good now; I¡¯ve got you. Did the asshole ever mention where this phctery was? How can it help us? I¡¯ve never heard of one.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s something he made, like a ¡­ like a tether for his soul. It¡¯s what gives him the ability to move his consciousness around. It holds a lot of his power. If we take control of it, we can force him to get out of my body, I¡¯m sure of it.¡±

    ¡°Get the thing, confront the guy in your body, got it. So, where the fuck is it?¡±

    ¡°Belikot wasn¡¯t meant to be here, Victor. He¡¯s not part of the dungeon; he was adventuring here, trying to gain more knowledge of death magic. The lord of this dungeon beat him; only his undead status saved him, but his old body, the one carrying the phctery, is still in the lord¡¯sir. I don¡¯t know where that is, but I think it¡¯s in this area.¡±

    ¡°What makes you think he didn¡¯t already go and get it?¡±

    ¡°He was scared! He said he had a lot of preparations to do before trying to recover it. He was very talkative after he tricked me, Victor! He gloated and gloated,¡± she sobbed for several seconds, then continued, ¡°he went on and on about what he was going to do with my body.¡±

    ¡°Fucking pendejo!¡± Victor growled, ¡°Alright, Tha, so I need to get hurrying. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Victor, be careful! The lord of this dungeon must be powerful, but I don¡¯t know what sort of creature it is.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Victor grunted, picking up the skull and tying the cords to his belt. ¡°I¡¯ve had some practice killing undead shit since west were together.¡±

    ¡°You seem different; your voice is rumbling. I wish I could see normally; being in this skull is like being stuck in a tiny cell of stained ss. Everything is strange looking, and I can¡¯t do anything!¡±

    ¡°Hang tight, chica; I¡¯m not gonna let that guy get away with this.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Victor! I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re alive! Belikot was sure he killed you.¡±

    ¡°Nah, you know I¡¯m more stubborn than that.¡± Tha¡¯s disembodiedugh brought a smile to his lips, and Victor proceeded to the far door, pulling it open farther to see what hid behind it. A short hallway opened into another round room, much smaller than the previous. Victor walked into it, surveying the mess¡ªscattered papers, broken furniture, piled bones, and smashed ss dominated the space, all illuminated by a flickering orange brazier. Hallways led away into shadows to the right and left. Before moving on, Victor rooted around in the papers for a while. He didn¡¯t find anything that looked interesting; nearly all of them were covered with scribbles, stains, or scratched-out runes that he didn¡¯t recognize.

    He noticed that Tha had grown quiet in his mind, and he nced down at the skull and saw that the eyes were very dim again. He channeled more Energy into it, and they red bright again. ¡°Thank you, Victor. I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯m doing to expend Energy, but when it fades, it¡¯s like my mind drifts, and I start to dream, living in my memories. Just now, I was having a pic with my baby girl. Oh, Ancestors, why did I say that? Victor, I¡¯m not myself in here!¡±

    ¡°Chill, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯m not judging. Alright, I need to concentrate, though¡ªlet¡¯s find this fucking boss.¡± Victor went with his gut and started down the left-hand passage. It was identical to all the other stone corridors in this area, and he knew he¡¯d be lost if he didn¡¯t have Gorz to guide him.

    He explored dozens of passageways, carefully searching behind the doors he found. He never ran into enemies more dangerous than a few random packs of ghouls and skeletons, and he and Lifedrinker made short work of them. Nor did he find any worthwhile treasure or clues as to where the ¡°dungeon lord¡± was. After several hours and at Gorz¡¯s insistence that he was starting to backtrack, Victor returned to the round room and tried the other passageway.

    He immediately noted a downward slope to the hallway and a deeper chill in the air. He advanced more carefully, channeling Energy into Lifedrinker and padding softly near one wall, clinging to the shadows, his light well behind him. The passage started to curve, and then the slope grew steeper, and Victor found himself creeping down toward an opening illuminated by silvery-blue, flickering light. He stopped the movement of his own globe of light and continued to pad toward therger space.

    When Victor came to the end of the slope and could see clearly ahead of himself, he saw a substantial domed chamber in which a humanoid being paced, limned in a ghostly, silvery-blue light. The figure was holding a flickering, bright sword with a de more like a cleaver than what Victor imagined a sword de should look like.

    Victor bolstered his agility and prepared to cast Inspiring Presence, and, with Lifedrinker humming and pulsing with rage Energy, he stepped into the room. When the figure whirled to face him, holding its gleaming, flickering sword-cleaver high, Victor said, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s up?¡±

    If he were hoping for a conversation instead of a fight, he was quickly disappointed¡ªthe specter-like humanoid leaped through the air, covering twenty feet, and chopping down with the de of its weapon right at Victor¡¯s skull. Victor, for his part, didn¡¯t stand still; he darted to the side,pletely dodging the ghostly hack, and whipped Lifedrinker out in a blur of ck metal with a silvery, streaking edge, and she tore through the spectral creature as itnded. Bits of glowing, misty goo flew through the air in her wake, and the figure made its first sound, a wailing shriek that rippled through the air and echoed off the walls.

    When the sound bounced around and rang in his ears, Victor felt his arms going ck, and he stumbled back. He shook his head, shrugging off the soporific effect, and cast Inspiring Presence. The shadows retreated, and the creature''s movements seemed predictable, and Victorughed at the notion that he¡¯d almost put Lifedrinker down. ¡°Sorry, my friend, but she¡¯s thirsty!¡± He chuckled again, circling the spirit, waiting for it to perform another obvious attack.

    He couldn¡¯t see many details on his opponent''s face, but the slightly darker line of its mouth turned down in a frown, and the pinpoints of bright blue light that were its eyes zed more intensely. It lifted its sword and darted to the right, bringing the de down and to the left, trying to cleave Victor in twain. Victor saw the move like it was being performed by a lousy stage actor and sidestepped, putting Lifedrinker¡¯s edge in the path of the cleaving weapon. When the two edges met, there was a sh of light, and then the top half of the cleaver-sword flopped away through the air, dissipating into a shimmering mist before it hit the ground.

    Victor pushed even more rage Energy into Lifedrinker, then went on an offensive rampage, hacking in a series of wild-seeming chops that proved too fast and too well-timed for the spirit figure to avoid. He tore huge chunks of its strange jelly-like flesh away with each cleave, and, when he had it backed into a wall and cowering, he buried Lifedrinker into the crook of its neck and let her drink her fill. As she throbbed and pulsed, pulling thick streams of bright, mercurial Energy into her de, the figure dimmed and shrank, and by the time Lifedrinker relented, there was just a puddle of faintly shimmery matter at his feet.

    ¡°Well-fought, Victor. I think¡ªit¡¯s hard to see details from this skull, and my view keeps jumping around. Did you tie me to your belt?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and thanks.¡± Victor smiled as he saw the golden motes starting to form over the puddle; they were tinged with purple, which meant the thing was a higher level than some of the other undead creatures he¡¯d fought in the dungeon, but it hadn¡¯t been much of a challenge. Maybe he actually would stand a chance against the boss.

    Victor took in the surge of Energy, feeling recharged, and looked around the room. Heavy bronze-colored double doors sat closed on the far side of the room. The shadows were deep in the corners, so he pulled his globe of inspiration-attuned light closer and walked around, kicking through the piles of strange junk. Again, there were plenty of broken ss objects, torn papers, and little bits of damaged, bent metal. ¡°It¡¯s like it used to be a ce for crafting, but either that guy I fought or someone else broke everything.¡±

    ¡°Maybe Belikot.¡±

    ¡°But why?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I heard him smashing things in the room behind where you found me. Maybe he doesn¡¯t want others to learn what he found here?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t things change in dungeons? Like, just because he destroyed this shit, does that mean it will stay destroyed?¡±

    ¡°It depends on how the dungeon is curated. It might regenerate over time orpletely change, but it could take years or decades. I really don¡¯t know, Victor; I¡¯m just guessing.¡± Tha¡¯s voice was quiet and soft, and he wondered how long she could hold together, living in a disembodied skull.

    ¡°Victor, I¡¯ve grown used to you talking to yourself, but your conversation has grown very one-sided, and I¡¯m having trouble following what you mean,¡± Gorz said, his tinny voice echoing in his mind. Victor pped his forehead.

    ¡°Shit, Gorz! I¡¯m sorry¡ªI should have told you Tha¡¯s spirit is in the skull. Belikot tricked her and took her body.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see. She¡¯s been speaking to you in your mind?¡±

    ¡°Right, which begs the question of why I didn¡¯t ask you about any of this. Sorry, Gorz. By the way, what do you know about phcteries?¡±

    ¡°Let me think,¡± Gorz said and paused for a moment, ¡°I have a text in my memory that mentions the use of phcteries in rituals to master various undead states of existence.¡±

    ¡°Nothing specific?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it wasn¡¯t one of Reevus¡¯s areas of interest, Victor. The text mentions phcteries in the context of ying a Lich¡ªyou must destroy the phctery before you can kill the physical manifestation of the creature.¡±

    ¡°Right, so, if we get the phctery, we should have a pretty good bargaining chip, right?¡±

    ¡°I would think so, yes.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Gorz.¡±

    ¡°Victor, might I ask a rather ¡­ intrusive question? Please answer me using only your mind.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Have you considered that Tha might still be acting on behalf of Belikot? Are you sure she or he or both of them are not using you to retrieve the phctery for his benefit?¡±

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t think of that, Gorz! Fuck! I ¡­ I guess I just want to trust her.¡±

    ¡°Understandable, Victor¡ªshe¡¯s your friend. Still, I would caution you to be wary; a creature capable of creating a phctery and using it to alter their nature is likely to be quite crafty and duplicitous.¡±

    ¡°You can read Energy signatures, Gorz. What are you picking up from the skull?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely different from when you first encountered it, Victor. I believe Tha is within, but that doesn¡¯t mean Belikot doesn¡¯t lurk nearby.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thanks. I¡¯ll keep my eyes open.¡± Victor sighed heavily, wishing he could just take things at face value for a change, then he walked toward the bronze doors. They wererge, each wide enough to allow four or five people to walk through side by side. Strangely they were barred from this side, with a heavy bronze-tipped wooden beam sitting sideways on thick metal brackets. Victor lifted the beam and tossed it to tter against the wall to his left. He was tired of sneaking around, and the idea that Tha might still be deceiving him had put him into a foul mood. If something lurked behind these doors, then it better get ready for a face full of axe.

    He pulled at one of the big doors, and it opened with a creaking groan, releasing a heavy waft of stale, cold air. A stone ramp led away from the doors into a dusty, stone passage. It was just like any other stone corridors in this part of the dungeon but broader with a high ceiling. Victor started up the ramp, his agility boosted, Lifedrinker in front of him, and anticipating anything and everything.

    He saw a wider part of the corridor about twenty meters ahead, and when he drew near, he saw that the broader, square section was lined with standing marble sarcophagi. When he stepped into the space between the first two sarcophagi, he wasn¡¯t really surprised when the lids fell toward him, crashing against the stones and revealing their inhabitants¡ªtall, emaciated ghoul-like corpses with leering, tooth-filled mouths and long, razor-edged ck ws extending from their elongated fingers. In a domino-like fashion, the other sarcophagi started to open, their lids crashing to the ground, and before he knew it, Victor was surrounded by a throng of twenty hissing, snapping ghouls.

    These creatures moved with more grace and intelligence than the horde he¡¯d killed in the other part of the dungeon, and Victor clenched his jaw, backing up to keep them from surrounding him. He was frustrated, but not really because yet another group of monsters was challenging him. He was pissed off that Gorz had pointed out that he couldn¡¯t trust Tha, even in her seemingly desperate state. He wouldn¡¯t feel good about her until she was back in her own body and Belikot was dead¡ªreally dead. The more he thought about it, watching the creatures slowly advance toward him, the more pissed he became, and he found it felt good just to be mad for a change. He allowed his teeth to show, bringing his lips back in a low growl that hinted at red, murderous violence.

    Victor let go of his hold on his Core and flooded his pathways with rage-attuned Energy. He found that, with his much more powerful will, he didn¡¯t immediately start to lose control of himself as he did way back in the days of the Wagon Wheel when he¡¯d first tried to channel his Energy. No, he felt the fury and saw the red in his vision, but he was still too much in control. He didn¡¯t want to be in control; he wanted the release of madness.

    He growled again, hunching his broad shoulders, Lifedrinker held crossways in front of him, and used Sovereign Will to boost his strength. He swelled visibly, and a deep, angryugh started to burble up from his throat as he cast Berserk. In the red haze of madness, Victor exulted in the release of pent-up aggression. Heunched himself into the pack of tall, vicious ghouls, and Lifedrinker carved a silvery-edged blur of red destruction among the creatures.

    Sometimeter, Victor came back to himself. He was sitting on the stone floor, his back to the wall between two of the empty marble coffins. Hunks of gray fleshed ghoul parts were arrayed before him in a crazy scatter of gore and destruction. Lifedrinker was lying on the stone next to his leg, her haft scarred, battered, and drenched with ck-red gore but still whole. He picked her up, dragging her toward him, the metal of her axehead grinding along the stone. Victor grunted as he hefted her up, and his eyes widened when he realized she¡¯d changed.

    Before, she¡¯d been arge axe with a long beard,rger than you might use to chop a tree, but not much more so. Now, she was decidedly more warlike in appearance, still bearded, still not ridiculouslyrge, but heavier, and her blunt end had grown to look more like a hammerhead than just the back of an axe. What¡¯s more, extending back from her bright heartsilver edge, gleaming, silvery veins flowed like a permanent lightning strike through the ck metal.

    ¡°Look at you, beautiful! Did you level up?¡± The axe vibrated in his hands, and he knew she was talking to him. With a wide grin, Victor stood up and rested her against his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, gorgeous; I¡¯ve got ns to get you plenty more to drink.¡±

    Victor walked back to the center of the passageway, surveying his destruction. Ghoul corpses in various states of dismemberment littered the area. Some were smashed partway into the open sarcophagi. Some were piled up like he¡¯d stopped moving for a while and simply hacked them apart as they came upon him. Tired of breathing the wet, putrid stench, Victor looked away and started walking along the corridor again. A short whileter, he came upon another set of doors. These were also barred from the near side.

    When he drew near, Gorz spoke up in his mind, ¡°Victor! I sense a powerful death-Energy source behind those doors. It¡¯s stronger even than the ghoul champion you faced.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 9: To a Tether Tied

    Book 2: Chapter 9: To a Tether Tied

    Victor paced back and forth in front of the massive bronze doors. He knew he had to go in there. He knew he had to kill the boss, "lord,¡± or whatever, but something kept him from lifting off that bar and pulling the doors open. He looked back down the passageway, then at Lifedrinker, then at the skull bouncing at his belt. Did he really need to go in there? He could just leave. He could just tell Tha he couldn¡¯t do it¡ªtry to find Belikot another way. ¡°Then what?¡± he asked himself. How would he get Belikot to leave Tha¡¯s body? What if he couldn¡¯t? What if she died, trapped in that skull, unable to cope?

    ¡°Fucking hell,¡± he said, then, dimly remembering his vision of the Quinametzin giants, he pped himself in the face and growled. The sting and ringing in his ears stimted something in him, and he hit himself again. This time he didn¡¯t growl; he roared. He did it again, and he screamed his roar at the door and lifted off the massive beam barring it shut. It had to weigh four hundred pounds, but he tossed it down the passageway like his old self would have thrown a two-by-four.

    Victor flooded his axe with rage-attuned Energy, bolstered his strength with Sovereign Will, and yanked the right-hand door open, sending it to m into the wall with a protesting squeal of ill-maintained hinges. Darkness rolled out of the space before him, crushing the glimmering light of his Globe of Inspiration and snuffing the spell out. Victor felt a chill enter his heart, and his skin grew cold, and then the red, flickering nimbus of Energy around Lifedrinker faded away.

    A horrible hissing, wet exhtion came from deep in the chamber, and when Victor¡¯s wide eyes turned toward the sound, his breathing fast and shallow, he saw two rednterns gleaming in the deep darkness. Victor¡¯s heart started to hammer in his chest. His ears thundered like he was standing in a tornado, and every fiber of his being urged him to turn and run. Perhaps another person would have done just that. Maybe someone who hadn¡¯t prioritized improving their will would have crumbled and failed to mount a defense. Victor, however, didn¡¯t turn. He didn¡¯t flee, and, in fact, he forcibly steadied his breathing and growled, ¡°You¡¯ll have to do better than that, asshole.¡±

    Victor cast Heroic Heart, and, as the hot, pleasant surge of courage-attuned Energy flooded through him, he took a step forward. When the heat spread into his head and eyes, some clinging, cloying shadows fell away, dissipating into mist, but he still couldn¡¯t see his enemy clearly. Victor concentrated on the two hovering red lights, and he cast Dauntless Radiance. A beam of golden light cut through the darkness like a spear thrown from heaven. It illuminated a wide circle in front of him, sting the shadows away like truth exposing liars. Uncovered, the monstrous Dungeon Lord screamed and advanced.

    The lord of the dungeon was not shaped like a man. Victor had imagined a terrible vampire, a powerful lich, or even some sort of super ghoul. However, the creature that stalked toward him through his light spell was shaped like a gigantic skeletal serpent with three sets of long, razor-wed legs. Red lights shaped like dinner tes filled the ck hollows of its skull, and twelve-inch fangs dripping green, acidic venom hung from its bony jaw. Shadows roiled off the bones of its frame, only to evaporate in the light of his Dauntless Radiance.

    Victor renewed his Channel Spirit spell, charging Lifedrinker with a red surge of Energy, then lunged forward to meet the serpent. The monstrous skeleton was thirty or more feet in length, and when he met its charge with a powerful overhead chop, it felt like he was trying to stop a speeding car. Lifedrinker didn¡¯t disappoint, however, smashing into its bony snout and biting deep. The concussion from the impact was enough to snap his improvised axe handle and knock Victor sprawling.

    Victor rolled to his feet, already summoning his baton, ready for an attack. The serpent, however, was thrashing its long body and wing at its snout with one of its front limbs¡ªit was trying to dig Lifedrinker¡¯s axehead out of its skull, but she was surging and vibrating, digging herself further into the bone. ¡°Fuck yes! Get him, chica!¡±

    Victor ran forward, boosting his strength so that his shoulders swelled, and his arms felt like tree trunks. When he got near the thrashing, kicking monstrosity, he began toy into it with his baton. Each blow was like a gunshot going off¡ªbones chipped and cracked, and the enchanted baton proved its worth by withstanding tremendous forces. He began to do so much damage that the distracted horror stopped wing at its nose and turned its baleful gaze upon him. Meanwhile, Lifedrinker sank a little deeper, and Victor could see streams of red-ck Energy coursing through the bone into her.

    ¡°You¡¯re fucked, asshole! She won¡¯t let go until you¡¯re done!¡± Like aunched torpedo, the bone serpent answered his taunt by striking out at him. If Victor had been bolstering his agility, he might have dodged, but as it was, the massive head smashed into him, driving him back until he crashed into something heavy built from stone. Victor wrestled with the horror, one fist clutching his baton and thrusting it into its mouth, the other hand pushing down on the jaw, trying to keep it from mping onto him. Meanwhile, the six huge legs scrabbled against stone driving him into the hard surface until he felt sharp pains along his ribs as they began to crack.

    His baton suddenly slipped off whatever edge of bone it was pushing against, and his arm shot forward into the creature¡¯s maw. He managed to muscle down on its lower jaw to keep it from mping on his arm, but he still felt a terrible searing rip along his forearm as one of the snake¡¯s fangs dug a runnel through his flesh.

    It felt like someone had taken a welding torch to his arm, sting through his flesh and bone. Victor screamed, and with a panicked surge of adrenaline, he threw the snake to the side. He nced at his forearm and felt the blood drain from his face, and a chill entered his heart when he saw the long, jagged wound slowly expanding from the acidic venom.

    Victor backed up, holding his baton ready in his right hand; his other arm hung by his side, twitching. He needed to heal, or at least resist the venom better, so Victor switched his Sovereign Will boost to vitality. He immediately felt better as his attribute jumped from ny to over a hundred and fifty. His heart rate slowed, his breathing settled, and the pain in his arm grew less sharp. He could feel his flesh fighting the venom and saw the green fluid bubbling and dripping out of the wound as though it couldn¡¯t find purchase.

    The dungeon boss had grown distracted by the terrible thorn Lifedrinker had be in its head. She was drawing more and more Energy from the creature, and it desperately wed at itself with its two front legs,pletely ignoring Victor. Victor cast Channel Spirit, flooding his baton with hundreds of points worth of rage-attuned Energy, and then he leaped at the rear left side of the monster, smashing the baton down on its long, winding spine.

    With a tremendous crack, the massive vertebrae split with shards of bone exploding away from the enchanted baton¡¯s impact. Amazingly, the monster¡¯s limbs adhered to the rules of physiology, and the skeleton''s rear two legs and tail fell limp. Its copsing weight pulled the skeleton snake toward the stone floor. It stopped scratching at its snout long enough to whirl and try to snap at Victor, but its damaged spine tripped it up, and Victor hopped back out of striking distance.

    Victor circled back to his stationary light, standing in its bright glow. He watched as the snake-like skeleton scrabbled along the floor toward him, but before it could get halfway, it stopped to start digging at the axe buried in its snout. Victor watched as the ck and red Energy lines continued to flow toward Lifedrinker and then looked at his arm. The flesh had stopped dissolving, and the bleeding nearly stopped, so he switched his boost back to strength, renewed his Channel Spirit into his baton, and charged forward, aiming at the long boneing out of the monster¡¯s left shoulder; he wanted to deprive it of one of its scratching limbs.

    He closed the distance, the skeleton either unaware or uncaring of his intent, and his baton smashed into the bone with an echoing snap,pletely shattering it. As its left forelimb fell away, the monster toppled toward him, using its working set of legs to try to bowl him over. Victor tried to roll out, but he was so close, and the creature lurched so suddenly that it fell upon him, and one of its long fangs sank into his right thigh. Once again, zing pain shot through Victor like a lightning bolt, and he roared and screamed as he thrashed in a panic.

    The monster worried and pulled at his leg, whatever semnce of cunning it once had, long destroyed by the maddening torture Lifedrinker was inflicting. Victor fought against the snake¡¯s movements, flexing his leg and pushing with his hands, fighting to keep the mouth parted. The fang kept slipping partly out of his leg, distributing more and more venom into the flesh, and as it tore into his skin and muscle and bone, a red haze descended on Victor¡¯s mind, and he let go of every impulse save one: rage.

    Victor didn¡¯t remember casting Berserk, but something must have triggered it because deep in his chest, his mighty heart started to quicken and thump, and red, scalding Energy flooded his pathways. Victor¡¯s arms suddenly steadied, holding onto the two halves of the giant snake skeleton¡¯s jaws. He thrust them apart with a furious roar, ripping the fang from his leg. Victor stood, still holding onto the snake¡¯s jaws, and suddenly it didn¡¯t seem sorge. He loomed over the twisted, iling monster and screamed into its dimming red eyes, wrenching with titanic strength. The snake¡¯s jaws cracked and tore, and then he pulled the lower half off and threw it, whirling into the darkness. Then Victor, in a mad, psychotic rampage, began to rip the skeleton apart, bone by bone.

    Long after the skeleton stopped thrashing and fighting back, the fury started to fade, and Victor¡¯s vision returned to normal, and he found himself holding onto a huge rib bone that refused to break away in his hands. He shook his head wearily and let go of the bone. He stepped back to see the half-dismantled skeleton lying in the faint gray light that suffused the room. The cloying unnatural shadows were gone, and diffuse light seeped between loose stones in the high ceiling of the chamber.

    He limped back another step as hundreds of purple-tinged golden orbs of Energy began to gather on the ruined creature. Victor stood straight, breathing deeply, heavy with relief at being done with the fight. The Energy gathered and coursed into him, and Victor was lifted from his feet, immobilized by the flood of euphoria, healing, and Energy pouring into his Core. When he fell to the ground, he was bombarded by System messages:

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 28 Herald of Carnage. You have gained 10 will, 8 strength, and have 10 attribute points to allocate.***

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned the skill: Grappling - Advanced.***

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve gained a new feat: Titanic Rage***

    ***Titanic Rage: In your veins flows the blood of Giantkind, and your struggles have unlocked some of its potential. Abilities that cause you to Berserk will unleash your giantish heritage, doubling the usual strength benefit and erging your physical form for the duration.***

    ¡°Ungh,¡± Victor grunted as he read the notifications, ¡°well, that¡¯s pretty badass.¡± Suddenly he remembered Lifedrinker, and he walked around to the snake¡¯s head, or what was left of it, and there she was, lying on the stone next to the broken skull. Either she¡¯de loose when he was destroying the skeleton or worked herself free when the thing died. Only an inch or two of haft jutted out from beneath her ck metal, and Victor noticed that the veins of heartsilver running from her edge had grown thicker and had more branches. ¡°Great damn work, beautiful! I¡¯m going to get you a fantastic new handle. I promise.¡±

    He tucked her into his belt, then Victor summoned his Globe of Inspiration, brightening the space and shedding light on the darker corners. Statues abounded in the high, square hall. Broken and whole, they sat at odd angles to each other¡ªleering, monstrous faces gazing around their. It was against one of the statues that Victor had been pinned, breaking his ribs.

    Victor stretched and twisted, ensuring that the Energy he¡¯d absorbed had repaired the bones, and they felt fine. He lifted his left arm and rubbed at the dark, jagged scar that ran from his wrist to his elbow; the venom-ruined flesh had healed, but not without leaving a souvenir. He was sure his thigh would be simrly scarred, but his pants had already mended themselves, and he didn¡¯t feel like dropping his drawers just then.

    Victor started walking around the statues, peering into the shadows, looking for treasure, lurking enemies, or something that looked like a phctery. Some statues were broken, and hunks of marble carved into monstrous faces or taloned limbs were scattered here and there between their pedestals. More than that, bits of rubble, apparently fallen from the roof, and broken timbers created more obstacles to circumnavigate and search beneath. He found several corpses¡ªdesated, stripped bare, and missing body parts. Bones ttered as he kicked his way further into their, and then he saw the pile.

    Behind a statue of a two-headed cat-lizard, Victor spotted arge faintly glimmering chest and, piled around it, various objects of questionable value. As he approached, he saw rusty weapons, packs, piles of dented or broken armor, silverware of all types, and even a few cups that seemed to be made of gold.

    Victor decided to deal with the loose pile of stuff before messing with the chest, so he picked up one of the backpacks. It was old and dusty, the canvas material stiff and unyielding. He pulled it open to find a nket, some stained clothing, a cloth napkin wrapped around a petrified loaf of bread, and some other camping supplies, including a spark striker. He tossed most of it aside but kept some of the camping gear.

    The next pack he searched gave up even less of value, but the third, a supple leather satchel still slick from the wax its owner had rubbed it with, contained something very interesting, indeed. ¡°Victor! I sense a powerful death aura from that object, and I can see its tether winding away like a thread! Can you hold me closer?¡± Gorz was talking about a metal cylinder about the size of a very skinny wine bottle. When Victor lifted it out of the satchel, he was surprised by its weight and density; was that metal pewter? Hundreds or thousands of runes were carved into its surface and filled with shiny gold-colored metal. Was it gold?

    Victor lifted Gorz from behind his ck ringmail vest and held the cylinder close to him. ¡°Yes! This is the phctery, I¡¯m certain. Its aura resonates with the same pattern as Belikot¡¯s. Victor, I believe I could follow that tether to him. Imagine you saw a bright string leading through a room. That¡¯s what it¡¯s like for me!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great, Gorz. I¡¯ll give Tha the good news in a few minutes. Let me keep going through this shit. But, Gorz, if you see any sign that Belikot is listening oring back toward us, speak up, eh?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Victor.¡±

    Victor slung the satchel over his shoulder after dumping out some old clothes, a shaving kit, and a pair of boots that wouldn¡¯t have fit him anytime after seventh grade. Then he grabbed one of the discarded cloaks and wrapped it around the phctery, stuffing it into the satchel. Victor stowed away all the silverware and the gold cups in his ring. Digging through the other packs, he found a few pouches of Energy beads and added them to his other plundered beads. Finally, he picked out a baker¡¯s dozen swords and knives that looked halfway decent and put them into the dimensional container. Done with the piled loot, Victor turned to the chest and stood before it. It reminded him a lot of the shimmering silver chest he¡¯d gotten after killing the ghoul champion. This one was a little bigger and had a slightly brighter tint to its shimmer.

    The other chests in the dungeon hadn¡¯t been trapped, but he figured he shouldn¡¯t take chances, so Victor pulled one of his spears from his ring and used it the same way he had before. Again, nothing back happened when he flipped the chest open, and a shimmering glow erupted from within, so Victor stowed the spear and looked inside at his haul.

    The light wasing from a pale blue crystal ne. It was shaped almost like a choker, and the seven crystals evenly spaced around its silver frame pulsed with a soft, pale light. Victor reached in and picked it up, noting the cold that bled into his fingers from the sharp facets. When he held it up at eye level, he could see that each crystal was shaped into a rune. Unable to read it, Victor decided to put it away for now; he¡¯d try to find someone who could inspect it without risking an evil spirit possession.

    Once he¡¯d put the ne away, his globe shed light on the other objects in the chest¡ªa hunk of shimmering orange-silver metal that reminded Victor of what gold ingots looked like in VR games and a pale white dagger with a silver hilt. When Victor picked it up, he saw a drop of green liquid glinting at its tip, and he realized it wasn¡¯t a dagger but a fang, like those on the monster he¡¯d fought. He shuddered, remembering the acid¡¯s bite, and slipped the fang-dagger into his ring. Finally, Victor picked up the ingot, marveling at its weight and the deep resonance of Energy within it. ¡°Gorz, any idea what kind of metal this is?¡±

    ¡°It appears to be very pure amber ore, Victor. Reevus would have been quite pleased with such a find.¡±

    ¡°Alright, now another question, Gorz: should I wake up Tha and tell her about the phctery, or should we hunt down that asshole before waking her, just in case he¡¯s using her somehow?¡±

    ¡°Oh, dear. I¡¯m not qualified for such decisions, Victor. I know I cautioned you about Tha¡¯s motives, but I don¡¯t know what state she¡¯s in. Perhapsnguishing without Energy is causing her harm.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think of that. Alright, I¡¯ll wake her up for a bit and see what¡¯s up. Keep an eye on her Energy and on that tether.¡±

    ¡°I will!¡±

    Victor touched a hand to the smooth skull hanging from his belt and channeled a tiny amount of inspiration-attuned Energy into it. ¡°Victor! Are you still with me? Oh, of course you are; your Energy is unmistakable. Thank you, Victor.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee, Tha. Hey, are you doing okay? Do you suffer when your Energy runs low? Am I going to lose you?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so, Victor. When I don¡¯t do anything, my own Energy slowly builds up. After a few days or weeks, I¡¯d be able to speak again for a little while. When it''s low, I just live in my memories.¡±

    ¡°Oh, well, that¡¯s a relief. Alright, any idea what Belikot¡¯s phctery looks like?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. Did you kill the Dungeon Lord?¡±

    ¡°Yep! I¡¯ll hunt for the phctery, then work on tracking Belikot and your body, okay? I¡¯ll wake you if there are any developments.¡± Victor had already moved his hand away, and Tha¡¯s voice grew fainter with each passing second.

    ¡°I can help, Victor¡ªlet me help you look for the phctery. Could you point the skull around so I can see better?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be alright, Tha. Just go back to sleep for a little while; I¡¯m going to find that guy, I promise.¡±

    ¡°Victor? Are you shutting me out? I know I messed up with Belikot, but you can still trust me!¡± Tha¡¯s voice sounded increasingly desperate as it grew fainter and fainter.

    ¡°I know, chica. I know you¡¯re still you. I¡¯m going to make sure that fucker doesn¡¯t use you somehow, though. Just go to sleep, and next thing you know, you¡¯re going to be back in your own skin.¡± Her reply came to him as a faint whispery breath¡ªno words he could make out. ¡°Gorz,¡± he thought, just in case Tha could still hear him, ¡°anything happen with the tether or the phctery?¡±

    ¡°I sensed a faint pulse along the tether while you were talking to Tha, Victor. It came from far away, though, not from Tha. If Belikot is linked to her somehow, I don¡¯t think she knows it.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thanks. Let¡¯s follow it, Gorz; lead me to that asshole.¡±

    Victor followed Gorz¡¯s directions back out the way he¡¯de and then through passage after passage that he frequently recognized as having been through before. After a long while, he came to the round rooms behind the bronze puzzle door. When Victor opened the puzzle door and moved out of the room, Gorz spoke up again, ¡°Victor! The tether goes down the pit where you fell!¡±

    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s pretty damn strange.¡± Victor retrieved a piton from his pack along with hisst length of rope. He sank the piton in the stone next to the pitfall, tied off the rope, and dropped into the shaft, falling very differently from his first visit. He descended the shaft, feet bouncing off the sheer stone walls. When he reached the rope''s end, he dropped thest dozen feet or so tond in the cold fungus-covered pit. Victor was d to see the secret door was still open, so he followed the passageway to the site of his battle with the skeletons and hags. Gorz guided him, saying the tether still ran far into the distance, so he needn¡¯t fear ambush.

    Victor stalked over his old footsteps, padding lightly on the cold stone with his baton clenched in his right fist. It wasn¡¯t long before he found himself standing over the bones of the skeletal colossus he¡¯d in so long ago. Gorz said the tether ran up the steps, so, once again, Victor began the seemingly interminable climb up the ufortable, cramped shaft. ¡°It¡¯s leading us to the entrance, Gorz.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I concur.¡±

    ¡°Did that fucker leave the dungeon? Without his phctery? How long ago?¡±

    ¡°He could be waiting above, Victor, and I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t have a way of measuring the time since he passed.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor grumbled, tired of the annoying, shallow steps. After a seeming eternity, Victor finally exited the stairwell into the high, bright corridor of pale limestone and followed it to the entrance room of the dungeon. The skeletons stilly smashed around the room, exactly as he¡¯d left them, and the portal still spun and pulsed on the far end.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid the tether leads directly into the portal, Victor. He¡¯s left the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Awe, man! Why can¡¯t anything ever be easy?¡± Victor strode through the vast entrance hall of the dungeon to the portal, looking around and furiously thinking. Had he done everything he needed to in the dungeon? Was he being an idiot following Belikot out? Should he wake up Tha and ask her what she thought? What if Belikot was linked to her and could hear her thoughts or something? He growled and shook his head in frustration. He was sick of this dungeon, and Tha needed her body¡ªthat meant it was time to leave.

 Book 2: Chapter 10: Steampool Vale

    Book 2: Chapter 10: Steampool Vale

    The portal¡¯s cold pullsted only a second or two, and then Victor stepped onto a dusty, rubble-strewn stone floor. The portal swirled behind him, throwing his shadow onto broken stonework in a constantly shifting pattern, almost like he was dancing. In its green and blue light, he saw that he was inside a copsed stone building. ¡°Well, partially copsed,¡± he said, looking up at the high ceiling. It was like the room he was standing in had once been a cave, but someone had built stone block walls inside it.

    A very faint pale glimmer of light came through a crack in the copsed rubble to his left, and Victor went over there to investigate. Sure enough, the remains of a heavy wooden door jutted out from some piled stones, and he figured that was the way out. Up near the top of the pile, the light was seeping through gaps in the fallen stone, mortar, and dirt. Victor took hold of the door¡¯s top edge and gave it a pull. He nned to slide the door toward him, dragging a lot of the broken stones with it, and create a space he could crawl through.

    It was heavier than he¡¯d anticipated, and he ended up having to boost his strength with Sovereign Will before he could get the petrified, solid nk moving. His idea worked, though; as he dragged the door toward him, a heavy pile of loose blocks, rocks, and dirt slid with it, and a broad shaft of sunlight fell into the chamber.

    Victor mounted the pile and worked his way through the gap, his back brushing against the original cave¡¯s ceiling. When he slid down the far side of the rubble, he found himself standing near an opening that gave a dizzying view down into a rocky valley. He stepped toward the cave mouth and looked down over the rocky slope. If his eyes weren¡¯t deceiving him, it looked like a dirt road wound between the high hills. ¡°Gorz, does this look familiar?¡±

    ¡°Yes, though when Reevus came here, a path led up the side of this hill to the structure where the portal rests, and it wasn¡¯t in ruins.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say a vige was nearby?¡±

    ¡°Yes, if you descend this slope to the south and turn to the west, you should reach a vige called Steampool Vale in less than a day. Coincidentally, I can see Belikot¡¯s tether stretching away to the southwest.¡±

    ¡°Down we go, then,¡± Victor said, starting out into the gray daylight. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was morning orte afternoon, but then he recalled Gorz said he was going south, so he looked for the sun. There it was, just a bit over the hills to his left, and he smiled as its warmth fell full on his face. ¡°Morning time still,¡± he said, soaking it up for a few minutes. ¡°God, it feels good to be out of the dark for a change.¡± He took a deep breath, savoring the clean, brisk air.

    The bristly yellow grass that grew between the stones on the hillside provided ufortable footholds but better than the sharp, loose rocks. Victor sorely missed his sturdy boots for the first time. Sure, the gore and filth of the dungeon had been ufortable between his toes, but climbing down the rocky hillside was a new level of unpleasantness. He tried to avoid sharp rocks, but, even so, by the time he made it to the road, he was leaving bloody spots on the t stones he tried to hop between.

    Sitting on arge, t rock near the roadside, he took a few minutes to channel Sovereign Will into his vitality and waited while his boosted constitution brought thick scabs to the cuts on his feet. He found that his body was tougher and more resilient than ever, even without the boost; his improved race and overall higher attributes were starting to make a clear impact. He decided to keep enhancing his vitality while traveling and turned to the west, jogging down the road.

    He supposed ¡°road¡± was being rather generous¡ªit was more like a pair of trails with yellow grass growing between them. As he loped along the right-hand rut, Victor became increasingly aware of his improved stamina. He felt like he could run like that forever; his breath hardly quickened, and his muscles didn¡¯tin in the slightest. Lifedrinker grew ufortable, stuffed into his belt, though, so he carried the heavy axehead while running. ¡°Maybe I can get a proper sling or something made for you when I get you a new handle,¡± he said, swapping her into his left hand for a while.

    ¡°Victor, the tether is still stretching away into the distance, though ording to my map, we should be drawing near Steampool Vale.¡±

    ¡°Has it been that long? You said a day¡¯s travel.¡±

    ¡°I said less than a day, and you¡¯re traveling at a faster rate than Reevus. He wasn¡¯t as physically adept as you.¡±

    ¡°Gotcha,¡± Victor slowed down, and when he nced at the sun, he saw it was high overhead. He¡¯d been jogging for a few hours and still felt fine. He pulled one of his water-filled wine bottles out of his ring, drank it down, and then took in his surroundings. Rocky hills still rose on both sides of the road. Sparse yellow grass and thin, twisted little pine trees dotted some of the slopes. Despite the high, bright sun, the air was cool, and Victor figured the road must be at a significant elevation. ¡°Unless it¡¯s wintertime or something.¡±

    Not far ahead, the overgrown road bent to the south, and Victor couldn¡¯t see whaty around the bend. He continued walking, still holding Lifedrinker, and when he rounded the bend, a long deep valley opened up before him. The rutted track continued down the hillside to join a wider, tter, gravel road. When Victor gazed along the length of the gray-brown roadway to the south, he saw farnd, animal pens, big farmhouses with high, sloped roofs, and a wooden palisade toward the distant southern end of the valley, stretching around tall, peaked roofs. ¡°Steampool Vale?¡± he asked, nudging his ne.

    ¡°Yes, Victor. At the far end of this valley. Belikot¡¯s tether stretches south and west from here; I think he¡¯s gone beyond the town.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck? Didn¡¯t he care about his phctery? He¡¯s just bolting off into the world?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Victor. Perhaps there¡¯s a way for him to sever his connection to it? Maybe he intends to create a new one.¡±

    ¡°Is that possible?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I have no information on the subject. I¡¯m only specting.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor sighed and started trudging down toward the gravel road. Belikot was a problem, for sure, and he felt some urgency about finding him, but he also needed to deal with more immediate concerns like getting some damn boots. He saw a lot of animals out in the fields and pens. Most of them reminded him a lot of sheep, though their wool had more variety in color, they had longer necks, and were taller. As he started passing by the cultivatednds, an asional field worker would look up, and when Victor waved, they returned the greeting. All of them were red-skinned Shadeni.

    When the tall wooden palisade was only half a mile distant, he passed close by a man wearing a straw hat riding on the back of a plow attached to two giant birds. His fence wasn¡¯t far from the road, and he hopped off the plow to approach as Victor drew near. ¡°Hello, stranger!¡± he called.

    ¡°Hello,¡± Victor said back, moving toward the fence.

    ¡°Where youing from?¡± the man asked, spitting some brown saliva into the grass near his feet.

    ¡°Oh, quite a ways off, from the northeast.¡±

    ¡°That so? What town, friend?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m from Tucson.¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°Must be pretty distant! I haven¡¯t heard of it.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, it¡¯s a long way off.¡± Victor saw the man looking at his bare feet, and he sighed heavily, saying, ¡°Ran into some trouble, broke my axe, and lost my boots.¡± He held up Lifedrinker.

    ¡°Quite a de there! Well, old Arlf in town can fix ya up. He¡¯s been working wood since before I was born. Plenty of boots to be had in Steampool, too, provided you¡¯ve the means to pay.¡± The man spat into the grass again, his tone suddenly dismissive. Victor began to wonder if he was being judged or subtly insulted.

    ¡°I have the means, don¡¯t worry.¡± Victor chuckled and waved, adding, ¡°I didn¡¯t get robbed; I ruined them in a dungeon.¡± Then he started down the road again. When the man called after him, he just waved and kept walking. Victor felt a sense of confidence and sureness of purpose that felt strange but liberating. What was that farmer going to do, chase him down and demand he spill his life story? He¡¯d just been through a literal nightmare; he¡¯d fought dozens, no, hundreds of monsters ande out on top. He didn¡¯t have to sit through some curmudgeon¡¯s interrogation.

    As the open gates in the palisade drew near, he passed a few more people on the road. He smiled at a little girl with a basket of flowers and nodded to the woman who nced at him sidelong as he strode by. His legs were long, and he ate up the distance effortlessly; before he knew it, he was walking through the gate and a Shadeni man wearing a food-stained, white, and red uniform and leaning on a long spear asked him to stop. ¡°Yeah?¡± he asked, towering over the guard.

    ¡°Your business?¡± The man scowled up at him; he looked to be in his twenties, and his eyes indicated severe boredom.

    ¡°Boots,¡± Victor said, gesturing to his feet. ¡°And, I¡¯m looking for a friend¡ªa tall Shadeni woman with long ck braids. She might have been carrying a nice spear. You seen her?¡±

    ¡°Nope. Doesn¡¯t sound familiar.¡± The man¡¯s eyes tilted to the side, and he shifted, surreptitiously holding out a hand. Was he asking for a bribe? Victor had never dealt with someone like that, but he¡¯d seen plenty of movies. He scanned through his ring, found his pile of Energy beads, and pulled out five. He held them out to the guard. His eyes grew wide, and he stepped close, snatching them. ¡°Not so obvious, man! You trying to get me fired?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit.¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°So, you saw my friend?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that cold bitch came through here. Wouldn¡¯t even look at me.¡± He backed up as Victor¡¯s chest started to rumble with an involuntary growl.

    ¡°When?¡± he asked gruffly, taking a deep breath and reminding himself it wasn¡¯t Tha¡ªjust her body.

    ¡°Three days ago. Didn¡¯t even stop in town. In this gate, and then out the other, at least my friend, Moss, said so. He followed her through town. Something was off about her, and I¡¯m not trying to be rude, alright?¡± He stood against the wall under the gate, his spear angled in front of him.

    ¡°Yeah, alright. Thanks,¡± Victor said and continued into the town. Most of the people on the busy street were Shadeni, though he saw other races here and there, even a dark-furred Cadwalli who suddenly made him think of Vullu. As Victor moved to the wooden walkway running along the storefronts, people cleared out of his path, his size and strange appearance acting as a physical buffer. The buildings were tall and narrow, most sporting high gabled roofs, and Victor got the impression that shopkeepers in this town lived in the upper parts of their shops. He figured regr dwellings were on streets further back, away from the main thoroughfare.

    ¡°Mister, you¡¯re even bigger than my dad!¡± A tug at his pantleg brought his attention down to a little ck-haired boy with wide, pinkish-red eyes. He couldn¡¯t help the smile stretching his cheeks as he leaned down and tousled his hair.

    ¡°Hey, ninito. Yeah, that¡¯s ¡®cause my abu always made me eat my veggies.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, sir,¡± a woman said and reached down to grab the boy¡¯s hand. ¡°Come on, Ryld!¡± She yanked his arm and started hurrying away.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a problem,¡± Victor called after her retreating back. She didn¡¯t turn, though, and he sighed, straightened up, and looked around at the nearby shops. He saw a ss blower, a bakery, a shop with some dresses on disy in the window, and, across the street, a curio shop and a furniture store. The wooden nks of the walkways under the awnings were in good repair, and Victor thought the town seemed rather idyllic. People were clean, the gravel streets were dry and even, and the bright paint on the tall buildings gave it a festive sort of feel. Maybe he was just used to the ramshackle, dingy, depressing mine.

    ¡°You looking for something, big man?¡± Victor looked down to see the source of the voice. A gray-haired stooped, blue-skinned Ardeni looked up at him with bright yellow eyes. The constant references to his size and the fact that no one was calling him kid or idiot gave him a funny feeling in his chest. He realized he was still smiling from the encounter with the little boy, and he drew his lips back to reveal his teeth in a broad grin and reached out a hand to the older man.

    ¡°Hey. Yeah, actually, I am. I need some new boots. Name¡¯s Victor.¡±

    ¡°Good to meet you!¡± the man said, grabbing Victor¡¯s hand. His nobby, lean fingers had a surprisingly firm grip. ¡°Uld ap¡¯Nar.¡±

    ¡°I also need to find someone who can fix my axe,¡± Victor said, letting go of the man¡¯s hand.

    ¡°I can help you, adventurer.¡± The man reached up to rest a blue hand on Victor¡¯s shoulder, then pointed with the other up the street. ¡°Head that way until you get to the corner. Turn right, walk past two buildings, and you¡¯ll be in front of Woodworker Teng-dak¡¯s shop. He can fix that axe right up.¡±

    ¡°Not, uh, what was it?¡± Victor snapped his fingers, then asked in his mind, ¡°Gorz, who did that farmer say could fix Lifedrinker?¡±

    ¡°Arlf.¡±

    ¡°Not Arlf?¡± he asked Uld.

    ¡°Oh, Ancestors! I wouldn¡¯t go to him; he crafts farm equipment.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Interesting,¡± Victor didn¡¯t know if the cranky old farmer had been trying to throw business to a friend or if this guy was getting some sort ofmission. He didn¡¯t care as long as Lifedrinker got a good haft. ¡°What about boots, Uld?¡±

    ¡°Well, Victor,¡± the old man smiled when he used his name, leaning in closer and giving his shoulder aradely jostle. ¡°I know just thedy for you! Miss ap¡¯Larl is a fantastic cobbler, and you¡¯ll find her in the opposite direction of Teng-dak at the next corner, just one shop down on the left.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for all your help, Uld. Can I do anything to repay you?¡± Victor had no idea where his sudden manners or friendliness wereing from, but he was soaking in the positive vibes from the older man and didn¡¯t want to sour things by bolting off in a selfish rush.

    ¡°Oh, what a fine specimen of the younger generation! What manners! Let me ask you, Victor, was I right in calling you an adventurer?¡± Uld had slowly moved to the side, so they were out of the center of the walkway, and Victor leaned against the wooden wall of the bakery they stood before. He nodded, deciding that adventurer was a fine way to be described.

    ¡°Yeah, I think that¡¯s pretty spot-on, Uld.¡±

    ¡°Well, then I do have a way you could help me, Victor. How about meeting me at the tavern tonight? Let me buy you dinner, and you can have a talk with my grandson. He¡¯s got his heart set on seeking glory, and I was hoping you could give him either a few pointers or some serious warnings, depending on what you thought of him.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re leaving it to me?¡±

    ¡°Why not? You¡¯re the expert! Take a look at him, hear him out, and then you can decide if you want to encourage or frighten him. What do you say?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m kinda in a hurry, but I haven¡¯t had a good meal in a while. I think I could spare an hour or two for dinner. Where¡¯s the tavern?¡±

    ¡°If you follow this road through town to the other gate, the tavern is there, just inside the wall on this side of the street. It¡¯s called The Laughing Rdii.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good, Uld. I¡¯ll see you in a few hours.¡± Victor started to leave, but Uld held out his hand again, and Victor shook it, giving it a good squeeze. Then he strode away, toward the intersection at the end of the block. ¡°What a good old guy,¡± he said, smiling at thedy sweeping the walkway in front of the dress shop.

    ¡°Buy a dress for your sweet?¡± she asked as he stepped around her pile of dust.

    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know her size,¡± he said.

    ¡°Well, I have some artificed dresses that will fit her for sure!¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what colors she likes,¡± Victor said, grinning and stepping closer to her shop.

    ¡°Really? What colors have you seen her wearing?¡±

    ¡°I have to confess; I haven¡¯t seen her wearing any colors. I haven¡¯t met her yet!¡± Victorughed and winked at the woman, then continued to the corner, taking a left. Her chuckle followed after him. ¡°Un hombre suave,¡± he said, grinning.

    He passed by a weaver¡¯s shop, and then he was standing in front of a disy window filled with boots and shoes. Some were sleek and elegant, and others looked built for work on a farm. He opened the door and, apanied by the jingling of a little bell, entered the shop.

    It didn¡¯t look so different from a modern American shoe store. The significant differences being that the shelving looked hand crafted from polished hardwoods, and the smell of leather and natural oils filled the air. A small Shadeni woman with short ck hair sat on a stool behind a counter, and she jumped up, putting her thumbs behind the straps of her yellow overalls as she walked toward him. ¡°Oh, my goodness! Here¡¯s a man in need of some big shoes!¡±

    ¡°Oh, hey. Yeah, my old boots are deep underground. You got any boots that self-clean, resize, and can take some rough use?¡± Victor lifted one of his feet as if to illustrate the pains his new footwear would have to endure.

    ¡°Hmm, I sure have some boots that might suit you. What are your thoughts on fashion? Looking at you, I can¡¯t get a good feel for your tastes. Let¡¯s see, a beautiful, shiny, armored vest. Those pants look well made, a supple leather belt, and an old but nicely made satchel. Everything looks good except your axe sticking out of your belt there. Hard on your tools, hmm? Your hair looks a bit ragged and unkempt. Aren¡¯t you interested in fashion at all?¡±

    Suddenly self-conscious, Victor put a hand to his head and felt at his unruly ck hair. ¡°Lady, I¡¯ve been through hell for thest couple of months. You¡¯re lucky these pants and this vest clean themselves, or you¡¯d be opening all the windows in here.¡±

    ¡°Well, I was going to mention the grime on your neck and arms, but I thought that might be too forward.¡± The young woman¡¯s orange eyes crinkled in amusement, and Victor smiled.

    ¡°Yeah, I know, I know. I need a bath. Right now, I¡¯m going to have to settle for new boots, though, because I have a friend I¡¯ve gotta help.¡±

    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s a shame; I was going to offer you a discount at my sister¡¯s inn!¡±

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s not my lucky day. Maybe if I can catch up to her and help her out fast enough, I coulde back here to spend a little more time visiting.¡± Victor sat on one of the wooden benches near the center of the shop. ¡°My name¡¯s Victor. I¡¯m looking for something sturdy butfortable, and I¡¯ll let you pick the style.¡± He grinned, putting one hand on the bench and leaning into it.

    ¡°Alright, well, are you fond of those pants? Do you wear them a lot?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re my only pair.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Now I see why you¡¯re happy they¡¯re artificed.¡± She wrinkled her nose.

    ¡°Exactly. I used to have a matching shirt, but it got stolen. I¡¯ve got this nice armored shirt now, though.¡± Victor ran his knuckles over the ckcquered rings, making them clink against each other.

    ¡°Well, anyway, I¡¯ve got just the boots for you. Their uppers will fit nicely under the cuffs of those pants.¡± She went to the disy case behind Victor and picked up a pair of boots, holding them out for him to inspect. They looked almost like square-toed cowboy boots. They were stained ck and had a sturdy multiyered leather and wood sole, and the uppers looked like they¡¯de to about mid-shin. Best of all, they had shiny, steel-cased toes.

    ¡°They look great. You have any socks?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Let¡¯s talk price, and then I can get you set up with a few pairs, and you can bond with these boots.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right. How much are we talking?¡±

    She looked at him quizzically for a moment, then her impish smile returned, and she said, ¡°Twenty standard beads for the boots, and I¡¯ll throw in the socks.¡± Victor smiled, but his mind started racing as he realized he had no idea the value of an Energy bead. He¡¯d tossed five at the guard, but only because he had more than a thousand in his ring. Some of those were rightfully Tha¡¯s, but she couldn¡¯t exactly spend them right now.

    ¡°Help me out, chica. Is that a lot of money?¡±

    ¡°Oh, please don¡¯t call me girl¡ªmy name¡¯s Sceffi. What do you mean, ¡®is that a lot?¡¯¡±

    ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t buy nice boots often. Are those expensive? Is that something a rich guy would buy, or, you know, average Joe the farmer?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re an odd fellow, and it¡¯s not just your looks,¡± she softened the blow of her words with a crooked smile. ¡°These boots are expensive because of their quality. They have enchantments for unlimited sizing, scuff repair, and stain and odor removal. I have shoes that look nicer but aren¡¯t nearly as well-made. Rich,zy people would buy those, not these fantastic boots.¡±

    ¡°Alright, sheesh. Sounds fair, um, Sefi, was it?¡±

    ¡°Almost. Sceffi. Hear the slight ¡®k¡¯ sound after the s?¡±

    ¡°Um, not really, but I¡¯ll try. Sceffi?¡±

    ¡°Really close; thanks for trying!¡± Her grin widened, then she held out a hand, palm up.

    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Victor scanned through his ring and pulled out twenty Energy beads. Most of them were pale blue, but a few of them had red swirls in them. He held out hisrge hand, the pile of beads glittering in his palm.

    Sceffi looked at the pile of Energy beads and said, ¡°Victor, those are attuned Energy beads.¡± She picked up one of the multi-colored ones and said, ¡°This is dual-attuned. They¡¯re all worth more than standard Energy beads.¡±

    ¡°Really? Shit, well, can you just take what you need out of that?¡± He nodded to the pile of beads, and Sceffi shrugged. She plucked out ten of the pale blue beads.

    ¡°That¡¯ll cover it.¡± She handed the boots to Victor. ¡°They¡¯re too small; just put your toes into one and bond with it. They¡¯ll resize, but wait, and I¡¯ll get you socks. Sit tight.¡± Victor nodded, admiring the sturdy thick soles on the boots. The ones he¡¯d bought in the mine had just had a couple of thick, stiff leatheryers sewn to the uppers. These were on another level with their craftsmanship. Sceffi returned with several pairs of long, gray socks. Victor took the one she held out and admired its soft, durable material.

    ¡°What are they made of?¡±

    ¡°Wool, of course.¡±

    ¡°Wool? You have sheep here?¡±

    ¡°Sheep?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the animal,¡± Victor couldn¡¯t help a little exasperation slipping into his voice; it was one thing for people to constantly ask him to repeat himself when he was being a goof, but he was just trying to speak normally now.

    ¡°I¡¯m not familiar. These are made from holbyis wool.¡±

    ¡°Right. Those are the fluffy, long-necked animals out in the valley, right?¡±

    ¡°Right! Where are you from, Victor?¡± She put a hand on her overall strap, tugging at it absently while watching him put his socks on.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m from far away.¡± Victor was tempted to say he was from another world, but then he thought about how dangerous people were looking for him, and he figured that sort of detail was better kept to himself. The socks felt good, and when he pulled a boot partially onto his foot and then bonded with it, the leather stretched and molded to his foot. Soon he was standing in his new boots, walking back and forth, admiring the *clonk* sound they made on the wooden floors. They perfectly hugged his feet, like he¡¯d spent weeks hiking to break them in. ¡°Very nice, Sceffi. I¡¯ll try to return for my next pair!¡±

    ¡°Will you be in town much longer?¡± She asked, still watching him walk back and forth.

    ¡°Not this time, I¡¯m afraid. Like I said, a friend needs help.¡± He looked at her, made eye contact, and said, ¡°Seriously, thanks. I¡¯ll see you again, I hope.¡± Then he turned and, with a jingle of the little bell, stepped out the door. Feeling much more secure now that his toes were protected under a hardyer of steel, Victor strode toward Teng-dak¡¯s shop¡ªtime to get Lifedrinker a new haft.

 Book 2: Chapter 11: An Evening Out

    Book 2: Chapter 11: An Evening Out

    The woodworker¡¯s shop smelled like sawdust and varnish, and Victor was struck by memories of his abuelo when he stepped through the door. He remembered his grandpa¡¯s bald, wrinkled head bent over his table saw, carefully cutting through nks to make a bookcase or a box to hold his tools. He¡¯d treated Victor like his shop assistant, showing him how to sweep up sawdust, asking him to fetch tools, and, most meaningfully, letting him help with the nailing or sanding.

    ¡°Hello, warrior. Here for a new rocking chair?¡± Victor jerked out of his reverie and met eyes with the man sitting on a stool to his left. He was short for a Shadeni and wore a spotted apron over a bare chest. His exposed skin was alive with wild, colorful tattoos¡ªsome were strange glyphs or letters that Victor couldn¡¯t read, but others were exotic animals, beautiful women¡¯s faces, or images of stars and moons. His ck hair was long and wispy, and so were his mustache and beard. He favored Victor with a sardonic grin and raised an eyebrow as if to indicate he was waiting for an answer.

    Victor didn¡¯t answer right away; instead, he took a slow, deliberate look around the shop. Furniture took up most of the space¡ªchairs of all types, bureaus, trunks, shelves. If you looked, though, other objects spoke to broader areas of expertise¡ªcarved animals and busts of people, a rack of beautifulposite bows, another stand stuffed with staves of all kinds, and a disy case overflowing with wooden curios. Victor brought his gaze back to the man whom he presumed was Teng-dak. ¡°Hello, sir. I was told you¡¯re the man to talk to about getting my axe fixed up.¡±

    ¡°An axe, eh? I¡¯m assuming you mean the handle, not the de?¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor pulled Lifedrinker¡¯s broad, dark de from his belt, her gleaming edge winking in the bright Energy sconces lining the walls.

    ¡°Oh, now that¡¯s a lovely piece of work!¡± Teng-dak set down the varnish rag he¡¯d been rubbing along the length of a table leg. ¡°Let me get a closer look. Come on over; pull up a stool.¡± He gestured to one of the other stools scattered around his broad workbench. Victor nodded, strode over to the man, gently set Lifedrinker onto his table, and sat down facing the woodworker, the axe between them.

    ¡°First of all, she¡¯s alive, so treat her like it,¡± he said, nodding to the axe, eyes steady on Teng-dak¡¯s face.

    ¡°Oh? A conscious weapon, hmm? Well, now I¡¯m even more intrigued. What¡¯s¡­ she, was it? What¡¯s she made of?¡± Teng-dak gingerly picked up Lifedrinker, turning her around, and snorting as he took in the splintered haft sticking out of the axehead¡¯s eye.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the ck metal, but the bright de and those veins are heartsilver.¡±

    ¡°My, my. Sharp, too, isn¡¯t she?¡± He held Lifedrinker up and eyed along her cutting edge.

    ¡°Very.¡± Victor retrieved the piece of her old cherry-colored haft and set it on the workbench. ¡°This was her handle when I first got her. I¡¯m not sure what wood it is, but it held up pretty well until I fell down a deep stone pit.¡±

    ¡°Oh, aye, that¡¯s Tevellian mahogany. See the darker veins in the red-toned wood? It¡¯s quite distinctive and a very lovely hardwood. I¡¯m not surprised it was sturdy to the point of shattering. I¡¯m not feeling any enchantments, either. I¡¯d bet this handle was a recement¡ªwhy would someone go to the trouble of making an intelligent, enchanted axe and not artifice the handle?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. The previous owner had it for a long time. Maybe she meant to get the new handle enchanted and never did?¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°Well, what¡¯s her name?¡± Teng-dak stood up and moved to rummage through a wooden tool rack.

    ¡°Lifedrinker.¡± Victor imagined he might have been chagrined to say his axe was named Lifedrinker back in his old life, but he¡¯d seen what she could do and wasn¡¯t embarrassed in the least about her somewhat edgy name.

    ¡°Oh, my, my. Has she lived up to the name? No, don¡¯t tell me. I can see you¡¯re a warrior forged by mortal contests. I¡¯m not one to judge, but I¡¯m not eager to learn of her dark history if there is one.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? Oh, are you implying that the axe and I go around killing everyone we meet? No, man, she¡¯s a killer, but she and I mostly fight monsters. Any person Lifedrinker kills will have iting.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± the woodworker said, stepping back to the workbench with a slender wood chisel and a hammer. ¡°Let¡¯s get this old wood out first. While I¡¯m working, talk to me about your budget. I have some wood for special projects, but some are costly.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor knew better than to reveal how much money he had. He didn¡¯t know exactly how much his Energy beads were worth, but he had a better idea after buying his boots. He also had plenty of other goods¡ªgems, gold, silver, even a big chunk of amber ore. ¡°How about this: tell me about your best three options from least expensive to most expensive.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, not a bad idea,¡± Teng-dak lifted Lifedrinker into arge metal vise attached to his workbench. The vise¡¯s teeth were padded with leather, and he carefully tightened them along Lifedrinker¡¯s de so he could chisel out the old haft. ¡°By the way, I know your axe¡¯s name, but not yours. I¡¯m Teng-dak.¡±

    ¡°Victor.¡± Victor nodded, leaning against the workbench and watching Teng-dak work.

    ¡°Well, Victor, for thirty standard Energy beads, I could fit a lovely oak handle to Lifedrinker, and I could artifice it for strength, making it incredibly durable. That would be my good but affordable option.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you do your own enchanting?¡±

    ¡°I do! I¡¯m tier two, and my first ss was Woodworker, but I was offered Artificer on my refinement. I¡¯m looking forward to tier three.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s cool. Um, that¡¯s interesting; I don¡¯t know much about crafting sses and whatnot.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve learned quite a few nice enchantments topliment my woodworking. You¡¯re in good hands. Want to hear about option two?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course.¡± Victor tapped the table absently while the pieces of the old mace handle fell away from Lifedrinker.

    ¡°Well, I have a few pieces of Umbrk Tree. Umbrk can hold more than one enchantment, and I¡¯d be able to enchant it for durability and self-repair.¡±

    ¡°How much?¡±

    ¡°Well, Umbrk is difficult to obtain and hard to work. I¡¯d need two hundred standard beads.¡± The woodworker pulled thest bit of wood from Lifedrinker¡¯s eye and worked on removing the roll pin from the old wood.

    ¡°Hmm, alright, and your third option?¡±

    ¡°Well, the final option is, of course, some sort of living hardwood.¡± Teng-dak shrugged like he was stating the obvious.

    ¡°Living?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve learned to coax specially prepared, living wood into a shape, provided I¡¯m making something small enough for my meager Energy levels. I think I could pull off an axe haft.¡±

    ¡°Will it still be alive when you¡¯re done?¡±

    ¡°Yes, though not conscious. It will be dependent on Energy after I¡¯m done working it. Provided you never enter some sort of Energy void, like the inside of a dimensional container, it will stay healthy. I¡¯ll work it and enchant it to bond with the axe. It¡¯ll be able to heal and grow to suit Lifedrinker.¡± He patted the darkly glinting metal in his vise.

    ¡°Well, I like the idea of giving her a living handle. What kinda money are we talking about?¡±

    ¡°This is where things getplicated, Victor. You see, the preparations you have to go through to make wood ready to convert to an Energy subsistence are time-consuming and expensive. I¡¯ve made a bit of a name for myself and have some clients in Gelica; otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have any wood ready for such a project. The wood I do have, though, isn¡¯t cheap. No one wants to do this sort of work with a piece of oak or mahogany. No, I have a piece of Star Birch¡ªtoo soft and flexible for your axe¡ªand a length of hickory from the Coruscating Vale. Now, if I were going to make the haft for myself, that¡¯s what I¡¯d use. It¡¯s absolutely perfect for what you need. It¡¯s harder than any other wood I have; it¡¯s beautiful, with dark, rich grain and the tell-tale glitters from its environment, and capable of containing several enchantments.¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve got my interest. What¡¯s the catch?¡±

    ¡°The catch is that it¡¯s the most expensive piece of wood I own, and I¡¯d have to charge you nearly two-thousand standard Energy beads for it.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm, and do you ever do any trades? You know, take payment other than Energy beads?¡± Victor drummed his fingers on the workbench again, gazing into his storage space and trying to appear unperturbed.

    ¡°Well, what did you have in mind?¡±

    ¡°I have this,¡± Victor produced hisrge ingot of amber ore. He knew it was a lot purer than the alloy he and Tha had found for Captain Lam. Lam had been excited about the idea of amber ore, so he knew it was valuable. He set it on the workbench with a thud.

    ¡°Is that amber ore?¡± Teng-dak picked up the ore with a grunt. ¡°Heavier than it looks! My, this is very pure, isn¡¯t it? I can feel the Energy thrumming within. You¡¯re making me wish I was a metal worker!¡± Teng-dak contemted the ore for a few moments, then set it down. ¡°You know, a weaponsmith would probably pay you to let them craft a weapon from that ore¡ªa new axe that might be sharper and harder than your Lifedrinker, here. Not to mention capable of holding powerful enchantments.¡±

    ¡°Sure, but I¡¯m kind of attached to Lifedrinker. She and I have been through a lot, and I wouldn¡¯t trust another axe to fucking fight like she does. Um, excuse mynguage. She, well, she has spirit. You know what I mean?¡±

    ¡°Oh, sure. I know exactly what you mean. I have tools that could be reced, but I¡¯ve grown used to their feel and their quirks. Well, Victor, this much pure amber ore would fetch a tidy price in a city like Gelica. I don¡¯t think any of the smiths here in Steampool could afford it. I¡¯ll tell you what, since I¡¯ll need to broker its sale if I take it from you, and I don¡¯t know exactly how much it¡¯s worth, I¡¯ll give you fifteen-hundred in credit for it. Can you work with that?¡±

    ¡°Sure. How about the ore and, oh, two hundred fifty attuned Energy beads?¡± Victor did his best to seem bored.

    ¡°Sounds perfect! I¡¯ll be going to Gelica next week anyway. This¡¯ll give me an excuse to visit an old friend¡ªTeya ap¡¯Horl, by the way, if you ever need an expert metalworker.¡±

    ¡°Alright, good to know. Hey, that brings up a good question: how far is Gelica from here?¡±

    ¡°Oh, if you follow the western road, you¡¯ll be there in a week by foot.¡±

    ¡°And Greatbone mine?¡±

    ¡°The mine¡¯s about a day to the west and then half a day to the north. Are you going there?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t think so. I just heard about it and was curious. I heard it stretches underground for miles and miles. That true?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it sure is. I think they hire adventurers to protect their crews¡ªmight be a good job for you and your axe.¡±

    ¡°Maybe, but I¡¯m pretty busy right now. So, how about this: I¡¯ll give you the beads up front and the ore when you¡¯re done. How long will it take?¡±

    ¡°Ahh, straight to business. Hmm, that sounds fair, but I¡¯ll hold onto the axe until you pay up! The great thing about working with living wood is that I just need to write out the correct spell pattern and then apply the runes. Once that¡¯s done, the shaping takes mere moments. I should have it ready in a couple of hours. Of course, I¡¯m supposed to be refinishing this table for old Indrol¡­¡± he trailed off, looking at the table leg he¡¯d been staining.

    ¡°How much was he paying you?¡±

    ¡°Ten beads.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, alright, I¡¯ll toss in another ten beads to cover his job. Tell him it¡¯ll bete but free. That okay?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I think he¡¯ll go for that.¡±

    ¡°Deal, then.¡± Victor counted out the Energy beads, then stowed his ingot of amber ore. He nodded to the axe and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be back for her in a couple of hours.¡±

    ¡°See you then,¡± Teng-dak said, moving to the door with Victor. ¡°I¡¯m going to close up while I work¡ªdon¡¯t want any interruptions.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor waved, then turned back to the main street. He figured he had just enough time for a rxed dinner with the old man and his kid, and then he could head back and pick up Lifedrinker. He felt good; the handle was expensive, but it sounded like the perfect match for Lifedrinker, and as far as he was concerned, she deserved it. The way he saw it, she did as much to earn that ingot as he had¡ªwithout her drawing that skeleton snake¡¯s Energy for the whole battle, things might have gone very differently.

    While he strolled through town, the shadows starting to grow long as the sun descended in the west, he nodded and smiled at the people that met his gaze. A lot of the citizens of Steampool seemed busy and preupied, but many were openly cheery, waving and saying things like, ¡°Hello, stranger!¡± or ¡°Wee to Steampool!¡± A few shopkeeps invited him in as he walked by, but he just smiled and said he was on his way to meet someone. He was tempted by the barber, who shook his head and tsked when he saw Victor, simply saying, ¡°You need a haircut.¡±

    ¡°I sure do,¡± Victor shrugged but kept walking. On a whim, he turned and added, ¡°If I have time after dinner, I¡¯lle by. Or are you closing soon?¡±

    ¡°Naw, I live here. Just ring the bell, and I¡¯ll let ya in.¡±

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Victor turned and hurried down the street. It didn¡¯t take long to find the tavern. When he rounded the corner and started toward the distant southern gate, he saw the lights and activity around the long, single-story building and knew it was his destination. When he walked up the wood-nk sidewalk, drawing near the small crowd ofughing, talking people standing outside, he saw Uld immediately. He stood to the left of the door, talking to a stocky, young Ardeni man with bright red hair and eyes.

    ¡°Victor! You came!¡± Uld said as he approached.

    ¡°Hey, sure I did.¡± Victor nodded, stepping close.

    ¡°This is my grandson, Kenno. Kenno, meet Victor, the adventurer I told you about.¡±

    ¡°Oh, hi, Victor! Thanks foring to meet us!¡± Kenno had an exuberance to his voice, sounding both awed and excited, even though Victor hadn¡¯t done anything impressive.

    ¡°Hey, Kenno. Good to meet you. So, we waiting for a table or something?¡± He looked around at the other people standing on the wooden nks outside the tavern.

    ¡°Oh, no, we¡¯re early still. We can go sit down. I just didn¡¯t want you to have to find us inside.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s with all these people?¡± Victor nodded to the crowd.

    ¡°Well, the weather¡¯s nice, and people are getting done with work, so they¡¯re just catching up. I¡¯m sure they¡¯lle in soon.¡± Uld turned and pulled the door to the tavern open, and Victor followed him in, Kenno close behind. He instantly started to salivate as the aromas of cooking meat and baked bread filled his nostrils. He suddenly realized that he¡¯d never been to an eating establishment in this world, and the meals he¡¯d been served weren¡¯t exactly fine dining.

    ¡°Chingado, that smells good!¡± He nced around to see if anyone had heard his outburst, but the tavern was noisy, and there were a lot of peopleughing and drinking, and he realized he was probably safe to rx his tongue. He followed Uld to a round wooden table near the window on the left, and he saw some people setting up instruments on a small stage. ¡°Music?¡± he asked as he sat down.

    ¡°Yes! Yna will be singing tonight! She¡¯s a popr Bard in Steampool,¡± Kenno said, also sitting so he could see the stage. Victor nodded and looked around at the tavern. It was an impressive building, boasting a few dozen tables, the stage, and a long wooden bar running along the far wall. Arge stone mantle and firece dominated the opposite side of the room, but it wasn¡¯t alight; the weather wasn¡¯t cool enough, apparently. Only about half the tables were upied, but still, the buzz of conversation andughter filled the air, and Victor started to truly rx as he sat back in hisfortable wooden chair.

    ¡°Three of Barstrum¡¯s honey ales!¡± Uld called to the Shadeni youth wearing an apron that walked by. He nced at Uld, then nodded, hustling back behind the bar. ¡°You¡¯re going to love it, Victor! Best ale of the season!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take your word for it.¡±

    ¡°Victor, have you ever been in a dungeon?¡± Kenno asked suddenly.

    ¡°Kenno! Rx! Let Victor get his drink before you start to pester him.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Yeah, Kenno, I have.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s it like? What kind of monsters did you fight? Did the System give you treasures? I heard dungeons could reset, and monsters could appear out of nowhere. Is that true?¡±

    ¡°Woah, easy,¡± Victor said, taking a big breath. How old was this kid? He didn¡¯t seem much younger than Victor, but he acted like he¡¯d never spoken to an adult before. Is this how people saw him? Was he like this when he first came here? Nah, he¡¯d never been an eager type of person. While he considered his answer, the Shadeni kid returned with threerge mugs of dark, foamy ale. Victor took a deep drink of his and sighed heavily in satisfaction after swallowing. It was crisp, smooth, and had a slightly sweet aftertaste. Best of all, it was chilled. ¡°Man, that¡¯s good!¡±

    ¡°I told you!¡± Uld said, licking the foam off his upper lip.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see here. The dungeon I was in was full of undead. Yes, I got some treasure, and no, it never reset on me.¡±

    ¡°Do you think I could handle it?¡± Kenno asked.

    ¡°Well, it was filled with ghouls and other monsters around tier three. I think the boss was higher¡ªcloser to tier four. You ever done any fighting?¡± Victor eyed Kenno, whose face had grown more sober as Victor spoke. He slumped down in his chair a bit.

    ¡°Kenno¡¯s still tier one, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Then you don¡¯t want to go to the dungeon I¡¯m talking about, Kenno. Not for a while. How about my other question?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve done plenty of sparring with people here in town,¡± Kenno said eagerly.

    ¡°Ever had your life on the line?¡±

    ¡°No, not really,¡± Kenno said, his frown deepening. ¡°How could I? Steampool¡¯s too safe!¡±

    ¡°Imagine! Comining that your town is too safe?¡± Uld scoffed. Victor took another long pull of his ale, savoring the cool, crisp liquid. Just then, a strummed chord caught his attention, and he looked to the stage. Two musicians had sat down, one with a sizeable stringed instrument braced on the floor, the other with a smaller one shaped like a fiddle. A third woman was pacing back and forth on the little stage, clearly getting herself pumped up for the show. When Kenno saw Victor watching, he relented and looked at the stage, eyes eager.

    After another minute or two, the two instrument yers started with a lively tune that reminded Victor of something he might consider folk music. The slender, small, Shadeni woman began to sing then, and her high soprano seemed to fill the room''s air, bringing chills to Victor¡¯s neck and sending his mind wandering over imagined valleys and through wooded dales. He felt so rxed and happy from the music that he forgot about Kenno and Uld for a long while.

    When the woman stopped singing to take a break, Victor finally returned to himself and smiled when he saw simr looks of ssy daydreaming on hispanions¡¯ faces. Heughed and cleared his throat. ¡°Kenno, I wouldn¡¯t start with a dungeon. You know, actually, I might have an idea for you, but I don¡¯t want your grandpa to get mad at me.¡± Victor nced at Uld and raised an eyebrow in question.

    ¡°Go ahead, Victor¡ªKenno¡¯s been threatening to run away for two summers now. I¡¯d rather he had a good idea from you than some half-baked scheme of his own.¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re pretty close to Greatbone Mine here, right? Why not go there and volunteer to protect miners for a while? I¡¯ve heard they even have a ce called ¡®the well¡¯ where you can fight waves of monsters with other fighters. I think they let people volunteer there, but I¡¯m not certain.¡±

    ¡°Oh, the mine is always hiring,¡± Uld said, nodding. ¡°Do you think he¡¯d be safe, Victor? Have you worked there?¡±

    ¡°Well, not exactly,¡± Victor decided he¡¯d already said more about himself than he wanted. ¡°I was thinking about checking it out, but something came up, and I need to go somewhere else to help a friend.¡±

    ¡°What do you say, Grandfather? Can I have your blessing?¡± Kenno¡¯s smile had grown the whole time Victor spoke about the mine.

    ¡°I¡¯d feel better if Victor evaluated your fighting skills a little,¡± Uld said, then drank from his mug.

    ¡°Uh, I¡¯m not looking to spar right now. Just tell me about yourself, Kenno. What kind of skills do you have? What¡¯s your ss?¡± Just then, a different tavern worker approached. She was a thin Ardeni woman with short yellow hair and a much cleaner apron with embroidered flowers along its hem.

    ¡°You three having dinner?¡± She asked, eyeing Uld.

    ¡°Yes, Glinna, what¡¯s on the menu?¡±

    ¡°Uncle Tam¡¯s pot roast, fresh sourdough, and rillberry pies.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good,¡± Victor said, his tongue loosened by the ale and music. ¡°Another ale for us all too, please!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± Uld said, nodding along with Victor.

    ¡°Right, be back in a minute,¡± Glinna said, moving to another table.

    ¡°Anyway, tell me what you¡¯ve got, Kenno,¡± Victor said, draining thest drops of his ale.

    ¡°I¡¯m a Fighter. I have basic melee weapon mastery, but my spear mastery is up to improved.¡±

    ¡°Any Energy attacks? Can you channel Energy into your weapon?¡±

    ¡°I have Bolstered Charge. I can close distance with it, and it boosts my vitality for a short while.¡±

    ¡°Anything else?¡±

    ¡°No, not yet.¡± Kenno looked down, clearly crestfallen that Victor didn¡¯t seem impressed.

    ¡°I think you have what it takes to fight at the well, but only at the top with plenty of other fighters. Do you understand me? I¡¯ve heard some people try to go deeper into the well, but lots of people die that way. I think you should concentrate on fighting at the top until you get some more levels and some more Energy abilities.¡± Victor nodded like he¡¯d just exined aplicated equation and smiled as he saw Glinna returning with their drinks.

    ¡°Are you sure he¡¯ll be alright, Victor?¡± Uld asked.

    ¡°Uld, I can¡¯t be sure, no. What if some asshole pushes him into the well? What if a swarm of something really nastyes up, and he doesn¡¯t flee? There aren¡¯t any guarantees, but I can tell you something a person I sort of admire told me: Everyone has challenges in their lives, and if you don¡¯t let them fight them, they¡¯ll never grow. Well, it was something like that¡ªit sounded smartering from her.¡±

    Uld nodded and drank his ale solemnly, studying his grandson. As the music started again, Kenno pestered Victor with more questions about fighting and dungeons, and soon their food arrived. Victor couldn¡¯t hold back and dug in like a starved man. The pot roast was delicious, and the root vegetables were hot and vorful. When he bit into the thick hunk of buttery bread, he felt like he was in heaven, and he used the crust to mop up everyst drop of the juices in his bowl.

    ¡°If you like that, wait until you taste the pie,¡± Kenno said, also wolfing down his food. It turned out that Kenno knew what he was talking about. The pie was delicious¡ªfresh-baked and served in a bowl with a drizzle of cream on top, and Victor found the berries tasted much like blueberries. When he finished, he sat back and rubbed his belly.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten that well in a long time, Uld. Thanks for talking me intoing to dinner. I hate eating and running, but I¡¯ve gotta get my axe.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine, Victor! Thank you for talking to Kenno; you¡¯ve given us a lot to talk about.¡±

    ¡°Well, at least let me pay for our drinks before I go,¡± Victor said, fishing in his ring for his Energy beads.

    ¡°No, no! I wouldn¡¯t hear of it. You see that, Kenno? That¡¯s the way a man acts.¡± Uld looked at Kenno with a scowl, and Victor realized there was more going on between the two than just Kenno wanting to be an adventurer.

    ¡°Grandfather, how can I offer to pay when I¡¯m not allowed to go into the world and make my fortune?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s money to be made in town without challenging monsters, boy!¡± Uld¡¯s face had lost its cheery demeanor, and his cheeks were flushed from the ale.

    ¡°Alright, well, I¡¯m sorry, but I do need to be going,¡± Victor said, scooting his chair back. ¡°I¡¯ll see you again, I¡¯m sure. You have a nice town here, Uld. Nice to meet you, Kenno!¡± Victor pushed his chair in and turned to go.

    ¡°Thank you again, Victor!¡± Uld called. Kenno didn¡¯t say anything; he¡¯d slumped into his chair, scowling so profoundly that the line between his eyes looked like a canyon. Victor brushed past the people crowding near the door and pushed his way into the cool night air. Uld was a nice old guy, but Victor felt he¡¯d been privy to more of Kenno and Uld¡¯s business than he wanted.

    He turned back toward the town center and made his way toward Teng-dak¡¯s shop. On his way, though, he passed by the barber¡¯s shop and saw that the old barber had left the light on. ¡°How long could a haircut take?¡± Victor said, then walked up to the door and pulled the chain hanging next to the door. A bell rang inside the door, and a few momentster, Victor saw the barber descending the steps at the back of the shop. He smiled as he opened the door.

    ¡°You came back after all!¡±

    ¡°I did! Think you could give me a haircut?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Come in,e in.¡± He gestured to the wooden barber¡¯s chair, and Victor sat himself down. The barber shook out a pale blue sheet and wrapped it around Victor¡¯s neck, then, humming to himself, proceeded to get to work with his scissors.

    Victor had had plenty of haircuts, but this was a new experience. He could feel the warm pulse of Energying out of the man¡¯s fingers as he snipped the scissors through his hair, and it was only a few minutester when the barber put the scissors down on the counter and picked up a straight razor. He didn¡¯t ask for permission or if Victor wanted a shave; he just reached into a jar on his counter, withdrew a handful of cream, and rubbed the warm, citrus-smellingther all over Victor¡¯s face and neck. Then, he smoothly, quickly, and with a hint of Energy, shaved Victor without a single nick.

    ¡°Do you have a barber ss or something?¡±

    ¡°¡®Course I do! You think I¡¯m a chatan or something?¡± The old guy asked, setting down his razor and pulling a steaming cloth out of a little basket next to the counter. He rubbed the warm, damp fabric on Victor¡¯s face, neck and ears, wiping away the cream and all the grime he¡¯d umted. ¡°I¡¯ll need to burn this cloth! Good Ancestors, man! What¡¯ve you been up to?¡±

    ¡°Sorry! I¡¯ve been adventuring.¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re looking a lot better. Hope you have someone to appreciate it,¡± the barber said with a wink. Then he held up a mirror, and Victor saw himself clearly for the first time in a long while. His hair was nicely trimmed andbed back. His face was clean and free of any sparse whiskers he might have grown¡ªhe¡¯d never really had to shave in his old life. Those facts aside, Victor didn¡¯t recognize himself. His head looked too big, his brows too dark and heavy, his eyes too bright and angry. His lips were too full, and his jaw and cheekbones too pronounced. He looked like a professional athlete¡ªa man grown. ¡°You alright? Don¡¯t like something?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m alright. You did a good job; I just haven¡¯t seen myself in a while.¡±

    ¡°Aye, time in the wilderness will change a man.¡±

    ¡°Well, thanks, sir. What do I owe you?¡± Victor stood up from the chair and rummaged in his ring for his Energy beads.

    ¡°Just five seeds.¡±

    ¡°Seeds? You mean beads?¡±

    ¡°Hah, no. Just seeds.¡±

    ¡°Gorz, what¡¯s he talking about?¡± Victor thought.

    ¡°People can make tiny beads that are used for small transactions. They take about one-tenth the Energy of a normal bead. I think he¡¯s referring to those.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right, seeds,¡± Victor said aloud. ¡°I appreciate you staying open. Here.¡± Victor handed him one of the attuned beads from the dungeon.

    ¡°Goodd! Thank you!¡± The barber moved over to his door and pulled it open, apparently ready to call it a night.

    ¡°Yep. See you around,¡± Victor said, stepping back into the cool evening air. Not sure how long he¡¯d been, mostly because he kept forgetting to look at his watch and had no idea what time he left the woodworker¡¯s shop, Victor jogged the rest of the way. He was pleased to see the light still on in the window, and when he knocked on the door, Teng-dak was quick to open up for him.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you made it back! I was starting to wonder if I should go look for you.¡±

    ¡°You finished?¡±

    ¡°Aye, a little while ago. What a beauty she turned out to be!¡± Teng-dak moved over to his workbench, where a leather-wrapped bundle sat waiting.

    ¡°Is that her?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir! Let me take this leather off,¡± he said, reaching forward and unwrapping the axe. Victor caught his breath. There she was, her ck and silvery head freshly oiled and gleaming. The new haft was dark and elegant, and when Teng-dak picked it up, Victor saw flecks of something glittering in the wood. He couldn¡¯t tell if it reflected the light or came from within the grain. Best of all, the handle was elegantly curved and properly designed for an axe, not a clumsy old ball mace.

    ¡°Oh God, Lifedrinker, you¡¯re beautiful,¡± Victor said, stepping closer.

    ¡°Ahem, yes, she is, but there¡¯s the matter of payment?¡± Teng-dak said, stepping back with the axe.

    ¡°Oh, yeah, of course. Don¡¯t worry,¡± Victor couldn¡¯t help glowering a little at the implication, but he reached into his ring and pulled out the amber ore. He set it on the workbench with a thud.

    ¡°Excellent! Take note:" Teng-dak showed Victor the top of Lifedrinker¡¯s head where the wood was flush with the metal, ¡°there¡¯s no pin¡ªit¡¯s not necessary with the living wood; the handle won¡¯t let go of the head. It would take enormous power to separate them. And look here,¡± the woodworker pointed to a line of runes along the back of the handle, ¡°these are the enchantments worked into the living wood. It won¡¯t break easily; it heals from damage and will be tough to remove from your hands by force.¡± He held out the handle to Victor.

    ¡°Thanks, Teng-dak,¡± Victor said, taking Lifedrinker and hefting her in both hands. ¡°How do you feel, beautiful? You ready to hunt down a runaway asshole?¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 12: A Stranger at the Fire

    Book 2: Chapter 12: A Stranger at the Fire

    Under the light of the two moons, Victor ran down the dirt, sometimes gravel, road. One of the moons had rings, and Victor wondered how that worked¡ªdid moons have rings or was there another so close it looked like a moon? He wasn¡¯t an astronomy expert, so he figured he¡¯d just ept the locals'' assurance that they were moons. The guard at the gate had said he¡¯d have good light from the ¡°the sisters¡± while traveling.

    He¡¯d been sorely tempted to take a room at the inn and get a good night¡¯s sleep, but he couldn¡¯t bear the thought offortably sleeping while Thanguished in an old skull in his satchel. He didn¡¯t feel sleepy and felt like his desire to get a good night¡¯s rest was more habit than need. Since he¡¯d improved his race so much, he didn¡¯t know how much sleep he required, but he felt pretty damn outstanding as he jogged through the night. ¡°Not only that,¡± he said to the axe he carried sideways in front of him, ¡°but Tha¡¯s body will need rest. We¡¯re gonna catch that creep!¡±

    He¡¯d asked Gorz to keep a close eye on the tether and to let him know if it deviated from the road, but so far, it looked like Belikot¡¯s path coincided with the route toward Gelica. Sometime after midnight, Victor passed the turn-off to Greatbone Mine, and he¡¯d had a twinge in his gut as he ran by. He wondered how Edeya and Heng and all the others were doing. He wondered about Captain Lam; had she had any run-ins with the mine operators? Had theye looking for Victor and found Edeya? He¡¯d just have to trust that Lam got her away for now. Someday, maybe he¡¯d get a chance toe back to the mine and make things right, as least as much as he could.

    Victor didn¡¯t mind running with Lifedrinker in his hands; she fit snugly in against his palms and was long enough that he could still maintain a normal gait while holding onto her with a wide grip. He had a loop on his belt he could put her haft through, letting her head rest against his hip, but it annoyed him when he ran to have the long wooden handle pping his calf and knee. No, while running, he¡¯d hold her, and then he¡¯d be ready to fight if something came out of the darkness, a prospect that seemed more and more likely the further he got away from the town, mine, and all the farms that had dotted the valleys.

    Night on Fanwath was very different from night on Earth, even out in the desert near Tucson. First of all, the stars were bright and filled the sky so immensely that it took Victor a while of staring before he could get his mind back on the task at hand. The depth and variety of the starfield was something that couldn¡¯t be understood by looking at a photo or video¡ªstanding under that expanse made him realize why primitive humans had been so in awe of thes and stars. Secondly, the sounds made it abundantly clear that he wasn¡¯t running through the Sonoran desert¡ªyelps, screeches, barks, howls, growls, buzzing, pping, and scurrying noises abounded. He felt like he was surrounded by all the wildlife known to humankind.

    Amazingly, nothing bothered him throughout the night, and when the sky started to lighten, he slowed to take in the sunrise and get a look at his surroundings. He stepped off the road and climbed up the side of a gently sloping hill, scrabbling over tufts of hard yellow grass. When he got to the top of the hill, the eastern sky was pale gray, and he could see for miles and miles in that direction. Hills rolled away, covered in the same kind of grass as the one he was on, and eventually came up against the starkly jutting, jagged mountains he¡¯d just run down from. He had no idea he¡¯d lost so much elevation through the night.

    Slowly spinning in a circle, he saw the hills falling away to the east, reced by endless expanses of yellow grasnd. A bit to the south, he thought he could see the shadowy blur of a forest on the horizon. ¡°Or maybe an ocean,¡± he admitted¡ªhe didn¡¯t know what either would look like from a distance. More hills and mountainsy to the north. ¡°Gorz, what way does the tether go?¡±

    ¡°From here, Victor, primarily west and very slightly to the south.¡±

    ¡°So, still on the road. I wish you could tell if we were gaining ground.¡±

    ¡°As do I. If only you knew a locating or scrying spell. Perhaps you¡¯ll meet someone who does.¡±

    ¡°Uh, there might have been someone in that town! Let me add this to the list of things you should have mentioned to me, Gorz. Like, oh, I don¡¯t know, hundreds of ghouls sleeping in the room I was standing in.¡±

    ¡°Victor, I¡¯ve told you that the physical world slips from my conscious perception when I¡¯m not actively trying to concentrate on something. Time moves quickly, and I¡¯m unaware of your every move. My apologies!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Gorz; I¡¯m just busting your balls.¡±

    ¡°Pardon me?¡±

    ¡°Never mind.¡± Victor shook his head wryly and pulled out a jug of watery wine Captain Lam had given him. He drank thirstily, stretched his legs out, and started running again. The sun was well on its way up the eastern sky when Victor noticed something off to his left. He slowed to look again and saw a rolling cloud of dusting toward him over the ins. Instinctively, he ducked down, reducing his silhouette, then, crouching in the grass, he watched the dust, looking for the source.

    It wasn¡¯t long before he could make out the dark shapes at the head of the dust cloud. In just a few minutes, they resolved into riders¡ªhumanoid figures atop leaping, two-legged mounts. ¡°What the fuck? Are those ostriches?¡± The riders were streaming over the grasnd toward the road, and as they got closer, Victor could see that the mounts were definitely not ostriches; they wererger, thicker, and their feathers were a lot brighter. Moreover, they had a lot of gray skin that wasn¡¯t feathered.

    Victor counted nine riders, and he watched them, crouched on top of the hill, expecting them to pass by to the road. They were about a quarter-mile distant when they slowed and veered directly toward him, which made him urgently reassess his visibility. ¡°Shit!¡± He didn¡¯t fancy running away from giant bird monsters and their riders, so, figuring his position was blown, he stood up straight, Lifedrinker gripped before him.

    The riders slowed when he stood up but continued their approach to his hill. Victor stood near the crest; if they wanted to fight, he¡¯d make them work to get near him. Lifedrinker buzzed in his hand, and he knew she was anxious for action. He still held out hope that these riders didn¡¯t mean him harm, but he was d to have her ready. When the riders were only a hundred yards or so away, Victor cast Heroic Heart because he didn¡¯t know what to expect, and he liked that the spell protected him from mental maniption.

    As always, he felt the heat flood out from his chest, and then the gray light of early morning seemed more golden, and the riders less a threat and more a curiosity. A broad smile disyed his even, white teeth, and he took a step forward, Lifedrinker light and easy in his hands. ¡°Hello, riders!¡± he called out, pulling the words from deep in his gut, a heavy timber rolling out over the grass.

    Arge Shadeni man, riding toward the middle of the group, held up a hand, and they all came to a halt near the bottom of the hill. The man nced from side to side, his braided ck beard cking with beads and bones, then he rode forward about halfway between Victor and his fellows. ¡°Hail, warrior! We have no ill intent¡ªI am Tellen, Ban-tok of this tribe, and we are hunters.¡±

    ¡°Hello,¡± Victor¡¯s bolstered confidence didn¡¯t really allow him to pause or be cautious; he stepped toward the hunter, releasing Lifedrinker with one hand, so he held her down by his side. ¡°I¡¯m Victor, a traveling adventurer.¡± Victor had a vague recollection of Belsa talking about being in a tribe, so he knew some Shadeni lived that way. They looked rough and travel-worn, their clothes mainly leather, decorated with beads and tassels. They all had long ck hair, and most wore it braided like their leader.

    Victor had seen a lot of Shadeni in his time on Fanwath, but here, arrayed before him in the bright morning light, the hunters¡¯ different eye colors were especially striking. Most were some shade of red or pink, but he saw a pair of yellow-green eyes, and Tellen¡¯s eyes were a luminous, bright purple.

    ¡°Well met, then, Victor. We¡¯re returning from a long hunt, and we thought we should investigate when we saw you on this hill. We¡¯re a long way between civilized ces here, and we wanted to see that you weren¡¯t in need of help or any sort of danger to our n.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m no danger to good people,¡± Victor said, still grinning broadly.

    ¡°It is good, then, that my people aren¡¯t bandits.¡± The Ban-tok spoke frankly, taking Victor¡¯s words at face value. ¡°Do you mind me asking your destination?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m traveling toward Gelica, looking for a friend.¡± Victor gestured vaguely to the west.

    ¡°Ahh, well, you¡¯re still many days from Gelica. Our camp lies between here and there, a day or so further west, in the ins north of this road. You¡¯ll see our fires as you go by. You have my invitation if you¡¯d care to stop for a meal and a safe night¡¯s rest.¡±

    ¡°Thanks! I might take you up on that offer.¡± Victor nodded. The man was silent for a moment, and Victor felt awkward like he¡¯d failed to say the right words. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, um, Ban-tok, but I¡¯m not familiar with your customs,¡± he added.

    ¡°All is well, Victor. I¡¯m merely debating if we should offer you transport, but our rdii are weary, and you¡¯re arge man.¡± He patted the shoulder of his strange mount.

    ¡°Nah, that¡¯s fine. Thank you for the consideration, but I¡¯ll make my own way. Good to meet you, Ban-tok.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your respect, Victor, but you may call me Tellen. Good journey to you; I hope we¡¯ll see you in a day or two.¡± He clicked his tongue sharply, and his mount turned around and started moving back to the other riders. ¡°All¡¯s well!¡± he called out, then waved a hand in the air in a tight circle, and the hunters all turned and charged off, skirting the hill and thundering away down the road.

    ¡°Gorz, that¡¯s still the direction the tether is pointing, right?¡±

    ¡°It is, Victor, though, as we travel west, it seems to be veering further south of the road¡¯s path. I think you¡¯ve gained ground running through the night.¡±

    ¡°I hope so! I might need less sleep than a normal human, but I¡¯m thinking I¡¯ll need to rest sooner orter.¡±

    ¡°Yes, you will require rest at some point, Victor. Even people with advanced racial status must sleep from time to time.¡±

    Victor sat down on the side of the hill, watching the retreating dust cloud thrown by the riders while he ate thest of the sausages Lam had given him and Tha. It felt like years had passed since he¡¯d stood in that back room of Lam¡¯s barracks and confessed, hoping for her to help. He tried to count how many actual days had passed since then, but he lost track when he considered the number of days he spent unconscious. Something around three weeks, he figured. ¡°Feels a lot longer,¡± he grunted, throwing a loose stone down toward the road.

    After another drink of watery wine, Victor stood and resumed his jog, following the road and the long-dispersed cloud of dust the hunters had left in their wake. The morning stretched into midday and then into the afternoon, and Victor came upon the first fellow traveler he¡¯d met on the trail. As he rounded a slight bend in the long, dusty road, he saw a shape up ahead and, after some scrutiny, decided it was a wagon. It wasn¡¯ting toward him¡ªrather, he wasing up behind it.

    The wagon was a dpidated affair, tall and gray, the wood warped with age and weather. Painted on the back in faded, crumbling red paint was the word ¡°Tinker.¡± Victor rapidly gained on the slowly moving, swaying conveyance, marveling at its strange design. It was taller than it was long, like a vertical rectangle of old, creaking wood. Little shutters squeaked and pped with each jolting bump in the road, and, when Victor examined the tall wooden wheels, he saw giant, coiled springs sitting over the axles on which the whole wagon frame bounced and jostled.

    When Victor jogged past the front left wheel and finally could see around the side of the vehicle, he saw an unusually short Vodkin sitting on a metal chair affixed to a wooden beam. He held the reins of a plodding, hissing lizard that would have given an elephant a run for its money, sizewise. The driver didn¡¯t notice him at first, and Victor called up, ¡°Hello there!¡± The furry man nearly fell out of his seat in surprise, hisrge belly jiggling as he jolted up from his slouch and hastily looked around for the speaker. When his eyes fell on Victor, striding next to the wagon with his axe in his hands, he hesitantly held up a hand.

    ¡°Hail trav¡¯ler!¡± He turned to his giant lizard and pulled on the thick leather rein, ¡°Whoa, Gre, whoa!¡± The plodding beast stopped immediately, perhaps happy to not be moving. Itzily swung its long gray neck back and forth while its thick, red ribbon of a tongue flicked in and out of its mouth. ¡°Not lookin¡¯ for trouble, are ya? I¡¯m jus¡¯ a poor tinker, nothin¡¯ much ta offer.¡±

    ¡°No, no trouble. I¡¯m just traveling, looking for a friend. You seen a tall Shadeni woman pass by? ck eyes, long ck braids? Maybe carrying a nice-looking spear?¡±

    ¡°Oh, aye. Passed me a day out of Steampool. I wa¡¯ camped aside the road, fixin¡¯ a loose hub. She give me the impression she din¡¯t wan¡¯ ta visit. I try to greet her, offer a spot by the fire, but she jus¡¯ re and kept walkin¡¯.¡±

    ¡°This was when?¡±

    ¡°Night aforest,¡± he said, hawking arge, brown glob of saliva down to the road near his lizard¡¯s rear foot.

    ¡°She was alone? Still had her spear?¡±

    ¡°Aye.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for the information, tinker. Good luck,¡± Victor said and started into a jog. He heard the man call after him, saying something about safe travels. Victor¡¯s heart had sped up a bit as he realized he was gaining on Tha. At the rate he was going, if he hustled through the night, he might catch her the next day. ¡°Him. I might catch up to him,¡± he said, trying to keep in mind that it was Belikot driving Tha¡¯s body around. He sure hoped the phctery would work when he confronted him.

    As he ran, Victor tried to think of a n. He wanted to wake Tha and tell her his progress, but he felt like he had the element of surprise at the moment, and waking Tha might blow it. As he thought about that, he started thinking about the phctery and the tether, and then he slowed his run and pped himself on the head. ¡°Gorz. Don¡¯t you think Belikot can feel this phcterying closer?¡±

    ¡°I would say that there¡¯s an excellent chance that Belikot is aware of his phctery and can feel this tether just as I can see it.¡±

    ¡°Goddamn it! That¡¯s probably something I should have thought of sooner, but you could have mentioned it, too.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I don¡¯t function well in terms of creativity, or should I say I¡¯m not good at thinking outside the constraints of my directives.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t think outside the box?¡± Victor snorted. ¡°Alright, don¡¯t worry. At least I figured this out before walking into whatever trap he¡¯sying. I think I have an idea to turn the tables, in fact.¡±

    ¡°Excellent!¡±

    Victor started running down the road again, this time keeping an eye peeled toward the ins on the right, hoping to catch sight of the Shadeni Hunters¡¯ camp. He figured he might be getting close because he¡¯d been traveling all day, and his pace was probably faster than what the Shadeni had expected. ¡°Keep me posted as the tether leads away from the road. Is it still following it pretty closely?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but its angle away from the road toward the south slowly widens as you continue west.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Victor said. The afternoon slipped away into the evening, and still, Victor didn¡¯t slow, steadily eating up the miles as he jogged along. He drank on the run, but only when he truly felt thirsty, which wasn¡¯t very often. As the sun settled beneath the western horizon and the sisters brightened the night sky, he kept on, pushing into the night. A few hours after dark, two things happened almost simultaneously: he saw some flickering orange lights off to his right, and Gorz said, ¡°Victor, the tether is much more south than east from you now; if you keep going much farther, you¡¯ll pass Belikot by.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s south of here?¡±

    ¡°Nothing that I¡¯ve mapped. I¡¯m sorry, but Reevus never visited that area of the world.¡±

    ¡°And he didn¡¯t have you memorize any maps?¡±

    ¡°He would have, but remember, he was not raised on Fanwath. We hadn¡¯t visited a major city in this world yet when he perished.¡±

    ¡°How did hee here, anyway?¡±

    ¡°His parents were born on this world, and he petitioned his master to open a portal for him toe and visit this world. He wanted to learn about his ancestry. Unfortunately, he came to believe he was on the wrong continent and was exploring for a city when he found the dungeon leading into the mine.¡±

    ¡°Well, annoying, but I¡¯ll find you some maps to read next time we¡¯re in a town or city. It seems kind of coincidental that Belikot turned south near the hunters¡¯ camp, don¡¯t you think? No worries, I¡¯ll get to the bottom of this shit.¡± Victor turned toward the fires he¡¯d seen on the ins to the north and started jogging again. He¡¯d covered about half the distance when a bright light red to life in the darkness before him, and he stopped, holding Lifedrinker down by his side and shading his eyes with his other hand.

    ¡°Dere your intent!¡± A deep, hoarse woman¡¯s voice called.

    ¡°I¡¯m Victor! A traveler that met your Ban-tok. He invited me to visit your camp.¡±

    ¡°Come forward, then, Victor. But know: other eyes than mine are on you.¡± The light pointed away from his eyes, and Victor lowered his hand and strode toward the woman''s silhouette. While he walked, he slipped Lifedrinker¡¯s haft into the loop at his belt and let her hang there at his hip.

    ¡°Hey,¡± he said, as he stepped up to the woman, her light was pointed at the ground, revealing her in a kind of twilight grayscale. She was thin and wore leather, and the way her braids hung down, he thought she looked a lot like Tha, at least in the poor lighting.

    ¡°Well met, I¡¯m Chandri.¡±

    ¡°Cool, um, great. Nice to meet you. Should I just keep going? Or?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll walk you in. We don¡¯t want my unruly sister or her boyfriend to fill you with arrows, do we?¡±

    ¡°Uh, no. Definitely not.¡±

    ¡°Well, she¡¯s on the close watch string and is too hasty to shoot, so best you follow me.¡± A white gleam in the moonlight told Victor she was smiling, so he chuckled. He followed her as she walked toward the fires. Silhouettes of tents started to resolve in the darkness, and Victor was aware of arge mass of shadows moving not far to the north; as he stared in the moonlight, he realized it was arge herd of the bird-lizard things.

    ¡°Rdii, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, those are our rdii.¡± As she spoke, a shrill whistle called out from the tall grass to their left, and Chandri nimbly darted to Victor¡¯s side, blocking him from the source of the whistle. ¡°Ch! He¡¯s a guest of the Ban-tok. Calm yourself!¡±

    ¡°Bah, are you sure? Perhaps I should just wound him a little to keep him from causing trouble?¡± The voiceing out of the shadows sounded like a very young woman, and Victor couldn¡¯t help smiling at the idea of some kid wanting to put an arrow in his knee so he¡¯d behave.

    ¡°I¡¯ll behave!¡± He called, ¡°No need to test your arrows.¡± Heughed when Chandri giggled in her husky, scratchy voice.

    ¡°Ch, you¡¯ve been warned! Be calm, or the Ban-tok will hear!¡± After she spoke, Chandri motioned for Victor to follow and continued walking toward the camp. Victor waved to the darkness, then followed. Shadeni came into view, sitting around the fires or walking between the tents, and when they saw Victor walking with Chandri, most of them called out greetings. Chandri led the way past a couple of fires, then toward another firepit outside a darkly colored tent,rger than most of the others. Several Shadeni sat around the fire on furs or woven rugs, and Victor saw Tellen the Ban-tok lounging back, his head on thep of a muscr Shadeni woman.

    ¡°Ban-tok, this man says he met you on the road,¡± Chandri said, stepping into the man¡¯s line of sight. He sat up then, a broad smile on his face.

    ¡°Who¡¯s this, then? Victor? You made good time for a walker.¡±

    ¡°Hello,¡± Victor nced around at the crowd of Shadeni watching him and thought about his words before continuing, ¡°Ban-tok. Thank you for the invitation. Do you mind if I spend some time at your camp?¡±

    ¡°Of course not, Victor, provided your intentions haven¡¯t changed since ourst meeting.¡±

    ¡°Not at all; I have no ill-intent.¡± It was like a switch flipped, and suddenly everyone was talking again, and some of the younger Shadeni approached, all smiles and questions.

    ¡°What race are you?¡± one little boy asked.

    ¡°How tall are you?¡± another shouted.

    ¡°Can I see your axe?¡± This question came from a teenage girl as she pushed aside the smaller kids.

    ¡°Enough!¡± Tellen shouted. ¡°Give him some room, and perhaps he¡¯ll entertain your questions after a meal and a sleep. Go on! Go on, or my switch will speak for him!¡± At hisst words, the kids squealed and dispersed into the shadows, giggling into the night as they moved on to some other game. ¡°Come, Victor, sit by my side here.¡± Tellen patted the woven mat next to him, and Victor nodded, folding his legs and sitting down in front of the fire.

    Most of the logs were burned down to embers, but the firepit gave off a lot of heat, and it felt good basking in it out under the stars with darkness all around. The other Shadeni around the fire introduced themselves and greeted Victor, and he nodded, d to have Gorz memorizing those little details. ¡°I¡¯ve already eaten, Victor, but we had arge roast with plenty left over. Beln, will you get Victor a te of meat?¡± Therge man across the fire from Victor stood up and walked away, and Victor hoped he wasn¡¯t irritated about having to get him food.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± he said to Tellen, then he looked around at the others nearby and repeated it, ¡°Thanks, everyone. I appreciate your hospitality.¡± Goddamn! Why couldn¡¯t he talk like that back when he lived in Tucson? He¡¯d have made a lot more friends, that¡¯s for sure.

    ¡°Victor, have you ever had cheb-cheb?¡±

    ¡°Cheb-cheb?¡±

    ¡°Aha!¡± Tellen pped his knee and smiled hugely. ¡°It¡¯s a liquor made from the seeds of the chebli flower. Not verymon this far east, but I traded for a case when west passed Gelica.¡± Like magic, two sses appeared in the Ban-tok¡¯s hand, and then he produced a dark brown bottle, about the size and shape of a gourd with a long neck. He pulled the cork with his teeth and poured a generous amount into the sses in his other fist. The liquid was amber and reflected the flickering orange of the firepit in the oily sheen of its surface.

    Tellen handed one ss to Victor and then held his out to the fire and said, ¡°To hunters and travelers!¡±

    Victor got the idea, held out his ss, and said, ¡°To sharing a fire with strangers.¡± Everyone around the fire made enthusiastic sounds of approval, Tellen¡¯s smile widened, and he took a big drink from his ss. Victor did likewise and was pleasantly surprised by the smooth warmth of the alcohol sliding down his throat to sit like a pool of hot honey in his belly.

    They sat infortable silence for a while, sipping their drinks, and by the time Beln arrived with a wooden tter of sliced, rare, but heavily seasoned meat, Victor had a nice buzz going. He figured this must be excellent alcohol, indeed, to affect him so much. He¡¯d drunk an entire bottle of Tha¡¯s wine and not gotten as drunk, and that was before histest racial advancements. After eating most of the meat and finishing his drink, he sat back, leaning on his elbows, and looked up at the stars.

    ¡°Wonderous, aren¡¯t they?¡± Tellen asked, leaning back beside him.

    ¡°They sure are. I feel like I need to tell you something, Tellen,¡± Victor spoke softly like he didn¡¯t want to disturb the things out in the dark.

    ¡°What¡¯s that, Victor?¡± Tellen took a sip from his second or third ss of cheb-cheb.

    ¡°There¡¯s a real evil asshole not far from your camp, and I was wondering if I could get a little help tricking him. My friend¡¯s life depends on it.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 13: Juggling Spirits

    Book 2: Chapter 13: Juggling Spirits

    ¡°You¡¯re saying all I need to do is ride for a day to the west?¡± Tellen asked Victor in the sober light of morning, contemting the strange cylinder on the mat between them.

    ¡°Yes, the way I see it, Belikot saw to it that I learned about this phctery and then trusted my bull-headed nature to charge after him with it. He¡¯s set up somewhere south of here, probably a strategic location for him, and he knows I¡¯m drawing near because, let¡¯s be honest, it¡¯s obvious that he would be able to sense his phctery.¡±

    ¡°Not a day¡¯s ride to the south lie the remains of Gel Harra¡ªa crossroads town killed by a gue during the Steppe War.¡± Tellen frowned. ¡°What will it aplish for me to lead this death sorcerer away?¡±

    ¡°Well, so far, I¡¯ve been running directly toward him. When he sees the phctery continue away, toward Gelica, he¡¯ll begin to have doubts: was Iing toward him all this time, or just heading to Gelica? Was I unable to follow the phctery¡¯s tether to him, after all? Am I going to the city to sell it or have it evaluated? Would he want to risk someone who knew what to do with it getting their hands on it? These thoughts will torment him, forcing him to give chase.¡±

    ¡°And why can¡¯t you just carry it toward Gelica?¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s the second part of the trick. Belikot will be ready for action as he nears the phctery, but if I¡¯m lying in wait somewhere between the phctery and him, I can get the element of surprise. Maybe disable him without harming my friend¡¯s body.¡±

    ¡°How will you do so?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good question. I have some cors that the mine uses to control people, but I don¡¯t have a control rod. Honestly, I¡¯d hate to use them, anyway¡ªbad memories. Do your people have a way to disable strong Energy users?¡±

    ¡°It depends on their strength and their will. Some sedatives would work if you could manage to apply them.¡±

    ¡°Her body hasn¡¯t had any racial improvements, and I¡¯m pretty sure Belikot is less than tier three. He¡¯d have gotten his own phctery out of that dungeon if he were powerful enough. No, I¡¯m sure I can beat him. I just don¡¯t want to hurt my friend in the process. If you have a strong sedative, I¡¯ll try to disable him temporarily and then force it down his throat.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm, and how will I know you¡¯ve finished your task?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯lle here and have one of your hunters ride to get you. Also, if someone approaches and it''s not me or one of your hunters, you should haul ass away. That¡¯s why I want you to hold the phctery, and I¡¯m not just nting it somewhere¡ªin case he tricks me and gets around my ambush.¡±

    ¡°Yes ¡­ ¡®haul ass!¡¯¡± Tellenughed. ¡°So. I understand your n, but why would I put my people at risk helping you with this problem?¡±

    ¡°I mean, do you think it¡¯s good to have this pendejo wandering around?¡±

    ¡°It seems this wizard, evil though he may be, has other things to preupy him than bothering my people.¡± Tellen shrugged, lifting his steaming tea to his lips. Victor copied him and took a sip of the pungent, bitter brew.

    ¡°Okay, then I could give you something. How about this?¡± Victor took out the spearhead he¡¯d looted from the guts of the giant tentacle-slug back in the depths. ¡°I¡¯ve seen a lot of your people using spears. This was looted from a very powerful monster.¡± He held out the spearhead, glinting in the morning light. Tellen took it and examed all of its angles.

    ¡°A valuable weapon.¡± He nodded, looking satisfied. ¡°This is good payment for a day or two of riding. Should you fail, and should this death castere my way, I will try to evade him, but if things look hopeless, I will throw this phctery away and leave him to his own devices.¡± He nodded to the heavy cylinder and its cold, sinister aura.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough for me. Thank you, Ban-tok.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee, warrior.¡± Tellen held out a hand, and Victor took it, returning the firm but warm grip.

    ¡°Can we start soon? I fear for my friend¡¯s mind with each minute that passes.¡±

    ¡°We can start now. Go to the road, Victor, and I¡¯ll talk to my people. When I¡¯m ready, I¡¯lle gather the phctery from you.¡± Tellen stood and held a hand out to help Victor to his feet.

    ¡°Thanks. Alright, then. See you in a few minutes.¡± Victor turned and started walking across the half-mile or so of grasnd toward the brown ribbon of the roadway. He¡¯d only gone a few paces past thest tent when he heard footsteps running toward him. He turned to the sound and saw Chandri jogging his way. She smiled as she drew near, offering a short wave.

    ¡°Victor! Leaving already?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve gotta help a friend. Nice camp, though,¡± he said, gesturing to the tents and campfires arrayed behind her.

    ¡°Well, thanks for stopping; it gave us something to talk aboutst night.¡± She fell into step with him, and they continued toward the road.

    ¡°Sure. You don¡¯t get a lot of visitors?¡±

    ¡°No, most of the trade wagons or caravans thate through this way want nothing to do with us.¡±

    ¡°Afraid you¡¯re bandits?¡± Victor guessed.

    ¡°How¡¯d you know?¡± She scowled at him, but he saw she was teasing as her ck-stained lips turned up in a grin.

    ¡°Hah, well, to be honest, I used to be a pit fighter¡ªnot by choice¡ªand there was a girl in my cell from a Shadeni tribe; she said her people got caught raiding a vige.¡±

    ¡°Yes, some ns practice the old ways, though it''s perilous to do so close to the cities of the empire. We¡¯re happy to hunt, and if we need to raid, there arends not far away which aren¡¯t part of Ridonne.¡± That caught Victor by surprise. So just because they were ostensibly hunters, these people weren¡¯t ashamed to admit raiding outside the empire.

    ¡°Old ways? So it¡¯s a tradition?¡±

    ¡°Our people existed for millennia as nomads¡ªhunters and raiders. When we were forced into this world with so many other races, some ns settled, others found different ways to fit in, and still others refuse to bend, though their numbers grow scarce. What about you, Victor? Where are your people?¡±

    ¡°My people aren¡¯t in this world. I was transported here by magic¡ªsummoned before I had the strength to resist.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s ¡­ hard.¡± She reached up a hand to squeeze his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯d be lost without my n. I hope you can find people here, Victor, or a way to your home.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Chandri. Yeah, I try not to think about my family because it brings me down. I¡¯ve met some good people here, though, and I have ns to help some of them that need it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good, Victor. We could all sense your strength. I¡¯m d that you¡¯re a friend to our n. The Ban-tok asked me to give you a gift, even though he said he wasing to help you with a task. Perhaps he didn¡¯t want it to seem part of any bargain you made with him,¡± she said, holding up arge, bulbous brown bottle with a wax-sealed cork. Victor assumed she¡¯d had it in a storage device because her hands had been empty up to that moment.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± he asked, taking the heavy bottle, though he had a good idea of its contents.

    ¡°Cheb-cheb! It¡¯s from the Ban-tok¡¯s personal supply¡ªI think it¡¯s a valuable bottle!¡± They¡¯d just reached the dirt road when Victor put the bottle into his ring and turned to face Chandri.

    ¡°That¡¯s awesome! Thanks again; I wish I had something good to give as a gift, but I¡¯ve been living off really bad travel rations and watery wine for thest month or so.¡±

    ¡°A gift requires no payment, Victor. Perhaps you¡¯ll bring something next time you pass through,¡± she said, smiling. Looking at her face without the distraction of walking, Victor noticed that she had tiny, ck tattoos of animals and arrows at the backs of her cheeks, running down her jawline, neck, and back along her hairline.

    ¡°What do your tattoos mean, Chandri?¡±

    ¡°The animals are from hunts I¡¯ve participated in, and the arrows are for kills.¡± Victor noticed she didn¡¯t mention if the kills referred to animals or people.

    ¡°Right, cool.¡± Victor nced toward the camp and saw that Tellen had started toward them, walking with his rdii following behind on a leather lead.

    ¡°You don¡¯t keep track of your kills, Victor?¡± Chandri asked, bringing his attention back to her.

    ¡°Um, no. To be honest, I¡¯ve lost count. Kind of sad, huh? I¡¯m sure if I thought about it, I could figure out how many people there were, but there¡¯s no way I could count the monsters.¡± Victor shrugged. Chandri¡¯s smile had faded, though, and she took a step back.

    ¡°Well, I hope you stop by again, Victor. I should go before Tellen scolds me for shirking my duties. Safe travels!¡± She turned and started jogging back toward the camp, and Victor watched her retreating figure, wondering if he¡¯d said something stupid again.

    ¡°Victor,¡± Tellen called as he came near, ¡°did Chandri try to talk you into helping her run away?¡± Heughed, so Victor figured the question wasn¡¯t serious.

    ¡°Yeah, but she had second thoughts when I told her about my cooking skills.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Hah!¡± Tellenughed, and Victor smiled, resting his hand on Lifedrinker¡¯s head, waiting for him to close the distance. ¡°Well, I think we should move a bit west before separating. I know a good spot for you toy in ambush. I think your friend won¡¯t want to approach the road this close to my camp, anyway.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a good point, but, please, he¡¯s not my friend. That motherfucker has caused me a lot of grief.¡± Victor couldn¡¯t help the growl that entered his voice as he spoke, and Tellen gave him a second, appraising look.

    ¡°I don¡¯t envy the creature should you get him out of your friend¡¯s body.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor grunted, and the two of them started walking westward on the road.

    ¡°To that end, I have this sleeping draught. Our n¡¯s Blood Healer prepared it. She says anyone under tier-four will sleep at least for several hours, given the full dose.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Tellen,¡± Victor said, tucking the small ss bottle into his ring.

    They walked for a while in silence, and then Tellen started filling the void with stories of hunts. He had a story for every sort of game animal, and Victorughed as he spun one oundish tale after another. Tellen had just finished recounting how his father had made him hide in a blind, covered in cooked entrails, to lure out a particrly skittish scavenger called a gythalii when he stopped walking, gestured to the left, and said, ¡°This is it.¡±

    Victor saw more grasnds over gentle hills and shrugged, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t see it.¡±

    ¡°No, you wouldn¡¯t. If you go much further south, though, there¡¯s a narrow, high-walled gorge splitting the ins for a dozen miles. If your enemy ising from the south, toward this road, they¡¯ll need to skirt this way unless they can fly.¡±

    ¡°Alright, sounds good. You ready?¡± Victor took Tha¡¯s skull out of the satchel, tied it to his belt, and then handed the bag, with nothing but the phctery inside, over to Tellen.

    ¡°Aye, a few hard days in the saddle is nothing new to me, or Hukka, here.¡± He reached up and patted the rdii¡¯s thick gray skin just under its mane of feathers.

    ¡°Those are some cool mounts, that¡¯s for sure,¡± Victor nodded. ¡°Alright, just head west on the road for half a day or so, then keep your eyes peeled. Don¡¯t let this asshole sneak up on you!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve not been ambushed since I was a child. Fear not, Victor.¡± He slung the satchel over his shoulder and then smoothly mounted the rdii. He waved and clicked his tongue, and soon he was just a blur of dust in the distance.

    ¡°Alright, Gorz. I need you to wake up and keep alert for a while. Can you do that?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor, I did listen to your conversation with Tellen and assumed I¡¯d need to be on high alert soon.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you can still see the tether as long as I stay between the phctery and Belikot, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s steadily stretching away to the southwest from here and then disappears into the distance, parallel to the road.¡±

    ¡°Perfect.¡± Victor moved off the road to the south, climbed the first rolling hill, and then dug through his ring for one of the bronze spears he¡¯d looted in the dungeon. Using the spear and bolstering his strength with Sovereign Will, he started to dig into the dirt between clumps of tall, yellow grass. With each scrape of the spear, he pulled away significant troughs of soil, his muscles more than a match for the loose, soft ground. Soon he had a trench dug with a loose pile of dirt around it. He put the spear away, then went to the far side of the hill and started pulling up clumps of grass, carrying them back to his trench and piling them around it, obscuring the hole and the loose, dark soil.

    When he finished, Victor dropped into his trench and said, ¡°Alright, Gorz. Keep me updated on the tether every two minutes, and be sure to let me know if you see any Energy signaturesing my way.¡±

    ¡°I will. Thank you for the clear instructions. It will help me stay focused on the physical world.¡±

    Victor nodded, unsure if Gorz could see suchmunication but not in the mood to speak more. Sitting in his hole, he closed his eyes and listened with every fiber of his being. He primarily heard the wind rustling through the grass, but he heard bird calls now and then, and, very asionally, he heard the thump and scurry of little animals running through the grass. He sat like that, lost in the whisper of the wind for hours, and the sun was well past noon when Gorz said, ¡°Victor! The tether has shifted! The thread leading away to the south has moved northward.¡±

    ¡°Oh, sweet!¡± Victor said, suddenly aware of the weight he¡¯d been carrying, worrying that his n was fatally wed by some aspect he hadn¡¯t thought of. ¡°I think Belikot is on the move. Keep alert!¡±

    Gorz notified Victor several more times throughout the afternoon as the line of death Energy moved this way or that. As the sun started to sink toward the horizon, he said the tether was beginning to grow thicker, as if its source was drawing nearer. As the sun began to sink beneath the western horizon, Gorz said, ¡°Victor, I¡¯m sensing twenty or more weak Energy signatures. They¡¯re reminiscent of the ghouls you slew in the dungeon and areing along the road at a rapid pace.¡±

    ¡°No sign of Belikot?¡± Victor thought.

    ¡°No, the tether continues beyond the signatures. Perhaps they¡¯re moving at a faster pace than Belikot can maintain.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor stayed still, slowly drawing a deep breath and holding it. It wasn¡¯t long before he heard the ghouls'' grunting wheeze and scrabbling steps as they ran by on the dirt road. They didn¡¯t pause as they went by, and Victor didn¡¯t move, not wanting to lose his advantage of surprise.

    The ghouls were gone about ten minutes when Gorz practically shrieked in his mind, ¡°Victor! I see the end of the tether and Belikot¡¯s death-attuned Energy! He¡¯sing up the road, moving right down the middle of it!¡±

    ¡°Alright, chill. I¡¯m going to let him get past. Keep an eye on him, and say something if he stops or turns.¡±

    Gorz was silent, which Victor took to mean nothing was going wrong, and he watched the road, holding his breath, peering between stalks of grass. He ran over his n a hundred times, imagining how he would move, what he would do first, and how he would react given any scenario he could imagine. Atst, after holding his breath for several minutes, he saw the tall, lithe silhouette that had to belong to Tha¡¯s body. She was walking, but, as Victor watched, she broke into a jog for a short while and started walking again. Belikot was pushing her body hard, trying to hurry, but Victor knew she had to be exhausted. ¡°You mother fucker,¡± he whispered soundlessly.

    Soon, Belikot had walk-run past his position, and Victor channeled his Sovereign Will boost into agility, effortlessly and noiselessly hopping out of his hole. He could see Tha¡¯s shadowy outline moving away down the road, and, as he started to stalk through the grass, he cast Inspiring Presence. The twilight of early evening suddenly glowed with potential¡ªthe stars were bright, the moons vibrant and encouraging, and the shadows fled the roadway and Tha¡¯s body. She walked forward, clear as day, and Victor saw her ripped clothes, muddy boots, and the way her braids hade loose and grown tattered.

    Concentrating on being quiet, he found the spots on the road free of loose gravel and moved like a ghost through the space between him and Belikot. Victor found joy in perfectly cing his feet and silently slipping through the night, and when he saw Tha¡¯s head start to turn, it was a trivial effort to concentrate and push some inspiration-attuned Energy out with Project Spirit. Of course, the spell twisted the Energy, causing despair and doubt in Belikot. He felt the death caster¡¯s will struggle with his spell, but Victor just doubled down with his prodigious attribute and crushed the resistance, and Belikot turned away, trying to move into a faster run.

    Victor was on him in a sh, snaking an arm around Tha¡¯s neck in a chokehold, falling back, and wrapping his legs around her legs and waist, pinning her in ce. Belikot, in Tha¡¯s body, gasped and thrashed, and Victor felt his cold death Energy begin to surge. Victor grunted and bore down with his will, pushing inspiration Energy into his pathways until he veritably hummed with it. All the while, he worked with his free hand to pop the cork out of his sleeping potion, and, as Tha¡¯s body writhed and twisted, he got ready to pour it into her mouth.

    He knew that if he held her long enough, she¡¯d eventually choke out. Even enhanced by Energy, people needed to breathe, but he feared Belikot would work some sort of spell given enough time. As soon as his free hand was ready with the potion, Victor let go of her neck and grabbed her jaw with his hand, driving his powerful thumb and fingers into her cheeks, forcing her lips apart. Then, he dumped the potion into her mouth and pped his hand over her lips. He felt terrible, being so rough with Tha¡¯s body, but as her legs bucked and kicked, he felt a slight twinge of pleasure, knowing it was Belikot who was panicking in her mind.

    When Tha¡¯s body fell limp, Victor slid out from beneath her, pulled the mine employee¡¯s shackles from his ring, and bound Tha¡¯s feet and hands behind her back. Then he took a scrap of leather, rolled it up, and stuffed it in her mouth. He used another scrap to tie around her head, holding it in ce. He¡¯d just finished when Gorz screamed, ¡°Victor! The ghouls¡¯ Energy signatures areing back this way!¡±

    ¡°Thanks for being so alert, Gorz.¡± Victor smiled, still under the influence of inspiration, and hoisted Lifedrinker into his hands. Standing over Tha¡¯s body, he waited for the monsters. They slinked down the street, surely thinking they had the benefit of the obscurement of shadows, but Victor saw them from a long way off. Even without inspiration, he felt he¡¯d have seen theming, what with the bright moons and the stars. They lurched and dragged their limbs, and Victor knew these ghouls were subpar creationspared to those in the dungeon.

    The undead creaturesunched themselves at him with no thought of strategy,ing singly, in pairs, and, in one case, a trio. Lifedrinker met them all and tore them asunder with ease. Victor moved so quickly with his agility boosted, and he was at such a level disparity with the monsters that the fight felt more like swinging his axe at targets than actually fighting. When nothing but twitching body parts and broken corpsesy around him, he stooped, hoisted Tha¡¯s body to his shoulder, and started to jog toward the Shadeni hunter camp, a thin stream of conquered Energy chasing him into the night.

    He covered the ground much faster than when he and Tellen had strolled to his ambush site. Soon the campfires came into view, and he cut through the grasnd toward them, braced for the inevitable challenge from the watch. He didn¡¯t have to wait long before a husky voice shouted, ¡°Stop! Whoes running?¡± Victor slowed, put Lifedrinker into his belt loop, then held up his free hand, his other still holding onto Tha.

    ¡°Victor! I was herest night! Someone needs to ride toward Gelica to get your Ban-tok. Did he tell you to expect me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor. Come forward,¡± the voice said, and Victor kept walking. A shadow rose from behind a clump of grass, and Victor recognized one of the men that had been sitting around Tellen¡¯s fire the night before.

    ¡°Was your mission sessful, then?¡± he asked, eyeing Tha¡¯s unconscious form.

    ¡°Yes, but I might need help dealing with her. There¡¯s an evil spirit inside her. I, um, I didn¡¯t n this far ahead.¡±

    ¡°A spirit? Come, let¡¯s see Oyna¡ªshe¡¯s our Spirit Caster.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you guys have a spirit caster?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± the man snorted and turned to walk toward the camp. He waved his hand into the shadows, and Victor figured he was signaling other watchers. They¡¯d only gone a few steps when he heard the sound of a rdii running away toward the road.

    ¡°That the rider going to get Tellen?¡±

    ¡°Aye.¡± The man wasn''t talkative, and he silently led Victor into the camp and past several tents before stopping before a small, blue canvas one with an eye painted on the p in yellow dye. ¡°Oyna,¡± he called, though not loudly.

    ¡°Send them in,¡± a dry, rough woman¡¯s voice replied. The man shrugged and gestured to the p. Victor nodded and pulled it aside, ducking through the opening, carefully squatting low enough to get Tha through. The tent was small, maybe ten feet across, and he immediately faced a woman sitting on piled furs. She nodded to the hides to her left, and Victor carefully lifted Tha from his shoulder andid her down. ¡°And you too, warrior. Sit before me.¡±

    The tent smelled of incense and spices, and Victor saw a small pot bubbling on a brass stove, seemingly powered by Energy. When he sat in front of her, Victor still towered over the woman, driving home just how small she was. She had braided gray hair, and her red skin was folded with hundreds of wrinkles and marked by dozens of old, faded tattoos. ¡°Thank you for seeing me.¡±

    ¡°Of course! I felt youing all the way from the road. Such a strong spirit Core. I¡¯m not sure what you want from me¡ªI can¡¯t match your strength.¡±

    ¡°Oh, um, it¡¯s my friend, she¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, this one with the death Core? What can I do for one such as this?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not in there. She¡¯s in this skull.¡± Victor untied Tha¡¯s skull and set it on the fur in front of him. ¡°A spirit that had been in this skull switched ces with her.¡±

    ¡°Oh! Aha! Yes, now I feel her in there¡ªso very weak! So, you need to push him out of her and let her go back in! You have more than enough strength for the task, but I can guide you.¡±

    ¡°Really? There¡¯s not some ritual or spell I need?¡± Victor studied the old woman, wondering what her role in the huntermunity was. What attunements did she have?

    ¡°No. This is a matter of will. Your friend was disced because she came into contact with the skull and the spirit¡¯s will was stronger than hers. You¡¯ll have to aid her. Give her some strength, and then push against this invading spirit. Drive it forth so that she can move back in.¡±

    ¡°What about his phctery? I was under the impression I¡¯d need it to force him to leave.¡±

    ¡°Oh, a phctery, hmm? Well, that¡¯s neither here nor there. Indeed the spirit will want it, and perhaps you could use it as leverage, but this can be done without it. I¡¯d caution you not to let the spirit gain control of the phctery when you¡¯re done.¡±

    ¡°Right. Okay, where do I begin?¡±

    ¡°Begin by giving me a gift!¡± the old woman cackled, and Victor couldn¡¯t tell if she was joking or just a touch insane. He decided not to risk offending her, so he reached into his ring and looked through his treasure. He found a particrly lovely red gemstone and took it out, holding it in his palm toward the woman. ¡°Oh? A ruby for me? Good boy!¡± She snatched it, and it was gone in a sh. ¡°Now! Wake up your friend and give her some Energy!¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Victor said. He put his hand on the skull and channeled some inspiration-attuned Energy into it, much more than he had given Tha before.

    ¡°Victor! Thank you! That feels wonderful,¡± Tha said in his head. ¡°Where are we? How are things going? Did you find the phctery?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Tha. Not only that, but I got your body. We¡¯re going to get you back into it now. Are you ready to fight for it?¡±

    ¡°Yes! What do I need to do, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Just wait, and I¡¯ll give you instructions. This woman, Oyna, is helping.¡± Victor pointed the skull¡¯s eyes at Oyna, and the older woman cackled again.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready, Victor! Just tell me what to do,¡± Tha said again, her voice earnest and excited.

    ¡°She¡¯s ready,¡± Victor said to Oyna.

    ¡°Good! You¡¯ll be the bridge, Victor. You¡¯re Core and pathways are used to channeling spirit Energy, yes?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d say so.¡±

    ¡°Good! So, to protect your friend¡¯s spirit from the malignant spirit in her body, you¡¯ll pull her from the skull to rest in your pathways. Then, you can pull the other spirit out and push it into the skull. Be sure to keep them apart in your pathways.¡±

    ¡°You want me to take them into me?¡± Victor¡¯s eyes had grown wide, and his voice strained.

    ¡°Oh,e, boy. You¡¯ve got a powerful will, or you wouldn¡¯t have such a brilliant Core of spirit Energy. Show that death caster what a spirit caster can do!¡±

    ¡°Alright, hold on.¡± Victor straightened his back, took a few steadying breaths, and cast Heroic Heart. He wasn¡¯t sure he shouldn¡¯t go with Inspiring Presence, but he wanted the confidence and resilience of courage-attuned Energy coursing through him at that moment. As the hot, red-gold Energy flooded out of his chest into the rest of him, a smile spread on his lips, and the old woman cackled, watching him.

    ¡°That¡¯s it, boy! That death trickster will flee before you!¡± The woman¡¯s words bolstered his confidence even more, and Victor pped his palm on the skull, reaching out with his senses for the spirit within. When he felt the cool tickle of Tha¡¯s spirit, he suddenly could smell her and feel her like she was in the room with him.

    ¡°Come on, mija;e with me. I¡¯ll keep him off you,¡± he said aloud.

    ¡°Victor?¡± Tha said in his mind.

    ¡°Trust me. Come out of the skull; I have to hold onto you for a minute.¡± He tugged at the Energy of Tha¡¯s spirit again, and he felt her let go and start to flow into his pathway. He smiled and stopped pulling at her when she was resting in the pathways of his right hand. There was more than enough space for her. The old woman had been right about that¡ªthe amount of Energy he could channel dwarfed Tha¡¯s little signature. Victor smiled and opened his eyes, looking at Oyna. ¡°Got her.¡±

    ¡°Good! The skull is a vessel designed to hold a spirit. Pull the one from your friend¡¯s body and put it in there. He¡¯ll resist, but you¡¯re stronger, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Damn right,¡± Victor said, resting his left hand on Tha¡¯s breastbone and reaching forth with his mind. With red-gold courage flowing through his pathways, Victor reached out, feeling for some sort of spirit Energy in Tha¡¯s body. He immediately felt her pathways, small and narrowpared to his, and, lurking like a miasmic fog, he felt the cold, slippery presence of Belikot. ¡°Come out, fucker!¡± he growled andtched onto him with his will, tugging him toward the bridge between his hand and Tha¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Fool! I knew I should have dropped feeders down after you!¡±

    ¡°Quiet!¡± Victor growled and pulled, ripping the spirit toward him. Tha¡¯s body was utterly motionless, still under the soporific effects of the potion. Belikot railed and screamed in Victor¡¯s mind, but it was ineffectual, and Victor relentlessly pulled. When the first part of the cold, slippery Energy entered Victor¡¯s pathways, he cringed, feeling like he¡¯d just stuck his hand into atrine, but he doggedly kept on, pulling and tugging, until everyst scrap of the spirit was resting in his left arm.

    When he¡¯d finished the extraction, he felt Belikot make a mad rush along his pathway, trying to charge into his mind, and Victorughed. With Heroic Heart active and his will at nearly two hundred, Victor yanked the spirit back down to his hand and held it pinned there, pressing it into a ball and squeezing with all his might. The spirit thrashed and quailed, and, remembering all the problems Belikot had caused and the hell he¡¯d put Tha through, Victor relished in its throes.

    ¡°Careful, Spirit Warrior!¡± the old woman suddenly said. ¡°Don¡¯t destroy the spirit within yourself unless you want to absorb some aspects of it.¡± Oyna¡¯s words brought Victor back to himself, and he stopped crushing Belkot¡¯s spirit. Thest thing he wanted was to absorb some element of this asshole. Sighing heavily, he put his hand on the skull and pushed Belikot into its artificial pathways. As soon as the eyes red with blue mes, Victor snatched the skull into his dimensional ring.

    Oyna cackled again, ¡°Oh child! So cruel! Existence in a dimensional container will drive any spirit mad!¡±

    ¡°Good. Fuck that guy,¡± Victor said, then he put his other hand on Tha¡¯s chest and gently nudged her spirit out and into her body, pushing her forth and urging her toward the ce where he instinctively knew her spirit should dwell, up the pathway deep into her skull. Tha¡¯s breathing quickened momentarily, then steadied. Her face rxed, and Victor knew she was where she was supposed to be¡ªnow he just had to wait for her to wake up.

 Book 2: Chapter 14: Recuperation

    Book 2: Chapter 14: Recuperation

    Victor removed the shackles and gag from Tha and folded a soft fur Oyna had given him under her head. He sighed and sat back, watching her breath steadily with a smooth, peaceful expression on her face. The old woman watched him with a crooked grin, sipping from a cup of steaming liquid.

    ¡°You look weary, warrior. How long since you slept?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. A long time.¡± As if on cue, Victor yawned hugely.

    ¡°Sleep then. Your work is done¡ªyour friend is safe. I¡¯ll wake you if anything happens.¡± Victor looked around the cozy little space and then back at Oyna.

    ¡°Here?¡±

    ¡°Yes, lumbering oaf! I would say so if I wanted you out!¡± Sheughed in a high-pitched giggle again.

    ¡°Alright. Well, thanks,¡± Victor yawned again, then stretched out, perpendicr to Tha, his head near her ankles. The furs were soft, and the room warm, and he was so exhausted that oblivion took him almost immediately. He must have slept for a long time without any dreams because when they came, they were wild and vibrant, the kinds of dreams you have when you¡¯ve slept well and were deep into REM.

    He dreamed of school, being in ss, andughing with his friends. Mrs. Lopez was trying to teach them about Shakespeare, about why his ys were important, and Marcos made a crack about how important it was to know Hamlet when you got drafted into one of the militias. Victorughed along with his friends. In the dream, though, something happened that had never happened in reality, he looked at Mrs. Lopez¡¯s face and saw the care and sadness, and he suddenly didn¡¯t think things were very funny.

    Victor dreamed he was walking in the desert. He didn¡¯t know why he was there, but he felt like he was looking for something. Cicadas buzzed, and the smell of creosote was thick in the air. The breeze felt hot, as usual, but slightly moist, and he wondered if it was monsoon season. He could tell he was in the foothills of the Catalinas, and when he turned around to look downhill, he could see Tucson spreading out through the valley. He turned back to the slope he was climbing and was surprised to see Tha standing under a palo verde tree at the top of the hill.

    In his dream, Victor walked to Tha, but she was talking to someone. It seemed to take forever to get to them, but he heard their murmuring voices while approaching, indistinct but still buzzing in his head. When he finally got there and reached out to Tha¡¯s shoulder to say hello, she turned, and it wasn¡¯t her face that greeted him but aughing, yellowed skull, cackling with the voice of an old woman.

    Victor¡¯s eyes shot open, and he was disoriented, not recognizing his surroundings. He kept trying to see his old room in his abu¡¯s house, but the walls were canvas, and he was lying on furs, not his old bed. Slowly things clicked into ce, and he remembered where he was, and then he heard Oynaughing again and Tha¡¯s sharp voice saying something about the mines. Victor jerked his head up and looked around, and, sure enough, Tha was sitting cross-legged facing Oyna and sipping from a steaming cup. ¡°Tha,¡± he said, voice croaking with disuse.

    ¡°Victor!¡± She said, setting down her cup and crawling close enough to grab his head in her arms and pull his face into her chest. ¡°Thank you, thank you, thank you! Victor, you did it! You beat him! I¡¯m free!¡± Victor spluttered, aware that she was pressing his face into her breasts while she squeezed his head, but he was unwilling to ruin her innocent joy by thinking about it or attempting to savor the experience. He grunted, pushing Tha back with one hand and pushing himself to a sitting position with the other.

    ¡°Hey, we¡¯re a team. No way I was letting that dickhead take your body.¡±

    Sheughed and squeezed his shoulder, and Victor was relieved to see that her eyes were no longer purely ck. The pupils and irises bled together in darkness, but the whites of her eyes were back, and she looked happy and normal, though dirty and unkempt. ¡°Your eyes. Do you still have the death affinity?¡±

    ¡°I do! But, Victor, something happened when you took me into yourself¡ªwhen you pushed me into my body, some of your Energy came with me, and I gained an affinity for courage! Courage, Victor! It feels amazing! There¡¯s a thin band of it circling my Core, and Oyna says I can learn to do some spirit magic now. My affinity is low, but it¡¯s there. Thank you so much, Victor. For everything. I owe you my life, my soul¡ªeverything.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. First of all, you don¡¯t owe me shit. I helped you because you¡¯re my friend and it was the right thing to do. Don¡¯t go falling over yourself trying to pay me back, alright?¡± Tha just smiled at him and squeezed his shoulder. ¡°Are my wordsing through?¡± Heughed and shrugged.

    ¡°Clever way to help her bnce the death Energy,¡± Oyna said, chasing her words with her usual cackle.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Hmm? Oh, you didn¡¯t do it on purpose? When you pushed so much of your courage-attuned Energy into her, wrapping her soul in it, you changed her¡ªgave her this new affinity. Her Core is a novel thing now. The academics would fall over themselves to hear of this. Those stodgy fools! As if they¡¯d have the guts to try something like that!¡± She cackled again.

    ¡°Oyna!¡± Victor recognized Tellen¡¯s voice calling from outside the tent, ¡°Oyna! I hear you cackling in there! Is our guest awake? I need to speak with him.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk more about this,¡± Victor said to Tha, then he stood, stooping, and lifted the tent p. ¡°Tellen!¡± he said with a grin, holding out a hand. The wiry Shadeni smiled and took it, gripping firmly.

    ¡°We were sessful, then?¡± Tellen asked, and Victor saw his satchel was looped over the Ban-tok¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°We were. Thank you, Tellen. Tha! Come here, Tha. Tellen helped me to trick Belikot so I could catch him by surprise.¡± Victor stepped out, making space, and held the p as Tha emerged into the morning light.

    ¡°Thank you, Tellen,¡± Tha said, warmly grasping the other man by the shoulders and looking into his face. ¡°I owe you a great debt.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense. Victor has paid your debt. I¡¯m d you¡¯re well, and that demon is dealt with.¡± He shrugged the satchel off and held it out to Victor. ¡°I think this should be destroyed. I was pursued in the night by apparitions and strange creatures. I felt this pulling toward the southeast, and, I¡¯ll be honest, I nearly threw it off at one point.¡± Victor took the satchel with the phctery.

    ¡°I can settle that,¡± he said, trying to put the satchel into the dimensional storage bag he¡¯d taken from the cult leader¡ªhe didn¡¯t want it in the ring with Belikot¡¯s skull. He felt resistance, though, and the satchel disappeared into the pouch, but the phctery fell to the grass with a thud. ¡°Huh. I can¡¯t put it into my storage bag?¡± Tha reached for it, but Victor put a foot on it and held her shoulder, pulling her back. ¡°I¡¯d rather you didn¡¯t touch it, Tha. I¡¯m sorry, but that thing is evil as hell, and I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re more susceptible because of, you know, everything.¡±

    Tha stood up and scowled at him, but then she nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. Best to be careful until I¡¯ve learned more.¡±

    ¡°If it won¡¯t go into your container, that means it¡¯s a dimensional container itself,¡± Tellen said with certainty.

    ¡°Oh. You can¡¯t put a dimensional container into another one?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Not usually. Some buildings have their interiors enhanced with dimensional magic, and you can bring containers into them, but that¡¯s umon and requires powerful enchantments. We don¡¯t worry about such things out here on the ins.¡± Tellen chuckled.

    ¡°Victor, might I add something?¡± Gorz suddenly asked in his mind.

    ¡°Yes, Gorz?¡±

    ¡°I still sense a faint tether stretching away to the south from the phctery.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor said, pulling his satchel back out of the pouch and hanging it over his shoulder. He stooped to pick up the phctery and put it into the leather bag. ¡°Mypanion spirit says that this thing is still connected to something to the south. Maybe to those ruins where Belikot was hiding?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be moving camp in a month, but I hate having something evil lurking so near. Maybe we should move sooner,¡± Tellen said, looking around at the tents and lines of smoke rising into the air from the various fires.

    ¡°What if Belikot started a second phctery? What if part of him is still free?¡± Tha asked, her eyes growing with the implications running through her mind.

    ¡°Well, shit,¡± Victor said, thinking. ¡°Maybe we should check it out. I¡¯m tempted to take Lifedrinker to this thing right now, but if I¡¯m going to destroy Belikot¡¯s phctery, I¡¯d like to make sure there isn¡¯t another one nearby. Let¡¯s follow the tether, figure out what it is, and destroy it. Then, maybe I¡¯ll take that skull out of storage and smash it, too.¡±

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do it, but I¡¯d like to get cleaned up, Victor. I feel ¡­¡± Tha shook her head, frowning, ¡°I feel wonderful, Victor, but my clothes, my body¡ªI need to get clean.¡±

    ¡°Yes! I, too, could use some cleansing heat! Come, friends, let¡¯s visit the steam lodge.¡± Tellen reached up, grasped Victor¡¯s shoulder, and pulled him into a walk with a grin. ¡°Tha, if you can spare a bead, I bet Ch will scrub your clothes and braid your hair.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Tha said with a sigh of relief. ¡°Is she your daughter?¡±

    ¡°No. Well, sort of. I¡¯m her uncle, but her father is dead. She and her sister are my wards.¡± Tellen meandered through the tents until they passed by a dark red, veryrge one, and Victor realized it was the tent he and Tellen had sat outside of drinking cheb-cheb the night beforest. ¡°Ch,¡± he called through the p. He waited a moment, then repeated, ¡°Ch! You have work.¡± After another minute, a curly-haired, lean, Shadeni teen slipped out of the tent. She was wearing the typical beaded leather of the n, but hers had a much higher percentage of turquoise, and her face was painted in faded, fierce, ck and white, angled stripes.

    ¡°Ban-tok?¡± she asked with a yawn.

    ¡°This is Tha, and she¡¯s an honored guest. She needs her clothes cleaned, and her hair washed and braided. Come; we¡¯re going to the steam lodge.¡±

    ¡°Here,¡± Tha said, holding out a hand, and the girl epted something that clicked like marbles with a wide grin.

    Tellen led them further into the clustered tents until they approached an earthen dome that seemed to be an extension of the ground. ¡°The first thing we build at a new camp after thetrines¡ªthe steam lodge.¡± He walked around the dome until he came to a thick, brown hide and pulled it aside, leading the way into a small room lined with pegs and benches. ¡°It¡¯s important to us. We use it for cleanliness, but also for sacred rites and meetings of the elders.¡± Tellen started undressing at one of the benches, hanging his leather vest on the peg and sitting on the bench to remove his boots.

    ¡°Uh, are you cool with this, Tha?¡± Victor asked, looking around and not seeing any towels or adies'' room.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m Shadeni, but not from a nomadic n.¡± She looked around with a skeptical gaze.

    ¡°Tha,e with me; there¡¯s another entrance and towels. Tellen should have known!¡± Ch scolded, then ducked out through the leather p.

    ¡°I¡±m used to our customs; I¡¯m sorry, Victor,¡± Tellen grunted as he pulled off his boots. ¡°Here,¡± he said, tossing him arge, blue towel. It was soft, like cotton, and unlike anything he¡¯d seen in the camp thus far. ¡°I have a few civilized things, and, of course, that includes a towel or three for my guests,¡± he startedughing, then walked,pletely naked, through another leather p, deeper into the building. He poked his head back out and said, ¡°Juste through here when you¡¯re ready. It¡¯s dark, steamy, and a perfect ce to rx and talk.¡±

    Victor shrugged and started hanging his gear next to Tellen¡¯s. Most of his valuables were in his ring, and when he took off his pants and ringmail, he slipped them into it as well. Shrugging, he did the same with his boots. He hung his belt up with his storage pouch still attached, and then he hoisted the phctery satchel, about to hang it from a peg. Suddenly he imagined some corrupted n member snatching the phctery away and performing some ritual to summon Belikot¡¯s soul. ¡°Uh-uh, not on my watch,¡± he said, slinging the satchel over his shoulder.

    He took a second look at Lifedrinker leaning against the wall under his belt. It might offend someone, but Victor wasn¡¯t leaving her out here. ¡°Nope,¡± he said, and, after he wrapped the towel around his waist, he picked up the axe and slipped under the hide into the hot, steamy, dark interior of the lodge.

    ¡°Over here, Victor,¡± Tha called from his left. There was dim, diffuse, orange lighting in the lodge, and Victor could just make out the beams crisscrossing the ceiling and the woven reed mats on the floor. He walked over the mats toward Tha¡¯s voice and found the woman, a towel much like his, wrapped around her body, sitting on a wooden bench. Ch sat behind her, also in a towel, and Victor was relieved to see that it wasn¡¯t just outsiders who opted for some modesty.

    Ch brushed some glistening concoction into Tha¡¯s hair and hummed a soft, lilting tune. Victor sat next to them, and, as his eyes started to adjust, he realized Tellen was seated not far to his right, leaning back against the earthen wall with his eyes closed. The air was stiflingly hot and wet, and Victor was sweating profusely. ¡°Feels good,¡± he grunted, leaning back to close his eyes. He leaned Lifedrinker against the bench between him and Tha.

    ¡°You brought your axe?¡± Tha snorted.

    ¡°She didn''t want me to leave her alone.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Ancestors! You¡¯ve gotten worse with that thing?¡±

    ¡°What the hell? Don¡¯t take out your frustrations on Lifedrinker¡ªshe¡¯s never done anything against you!¡± Victor grinned, speakingzily, enjoying the old banter.

    ¡°What about you, Victor? You¡¯ve changed since I wasst ¡­ present.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Uh, you¡¯re even bigger, for one.¡±

    ¡°He is big, isn¡¯t he, Miss Tha?¡± Ch asked.

    ¡°Hey! I¡¯m right here. Ch, you¡¯re a lot more polite than I remember. What happened to ¡®let me put an arrow in him?¡¯¡± Victor chuckled as he remembered the girl calling her challenge out of the darkness.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re friends of the n now. And Miss Tha pays very well!¡± Victor opened his eyes to peak at the girl, and she grinned wickedly.

    ¡°Anyway, yeah, I advanced my race some more in that dungeon, Tha. It took me a while to fight my way back to where you were. I¡¯m sorry about that.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare apologize! I caused that mess by trusting that skull. Not to mention, the whole thing seems like a blurry nightmare now. I¡¯m not sure how long it took you, and that¡¯s okay. I¡¯m just d to be back and that you caught him before he did something terrible to my body.¡±

    ¡°Right. Me too, Tha. Me too.¡±

    ¡°So, what¡¯s next?¡±

    ¡°Next? Well, let¡¯s deal with this phctery,¡± Victor patted the bag on the bench next to him. ¡°After that, I don¡¯t know. Gelica?¡±

    ¡°Yes! We can sell some treasure, do some shopping, and I want to find an old contact, someone who might be able to point me toward my daughter. You haven¡¯t heard anything from the, uh, the people who were looking for us?¡±

    ¡°Nah, nothing. I hope they think we¡¯re dead. They must think we¡¯re dead, right?¡±

    ¡°You have enemies hunting you,¡± Tellen suddenly asked.

    ¡°We did, yes, but it was a long time ago, and they have no reason to believe we¡¯re still alive.¡± Victor knocked on the wooden bench, wondering where that old ¡°knock on wood¡± thing came from.

    ¡°I hope you¡¯ve evaded them, Victor,¡± Tellen said, his voice thick and slurred. Was he falling asleep?

    ¡°Anyway, that sounds good, Tha. I hope we can find her.¡±

    ¡°We?¡± she asked softly.

    ¡°Well, yeah. I¡¯m not nning on ditching you as soon as we hit the city. I figure I¡¯ll help you, then maybe you can help me with a thing or two. I mean, that¡¯s what friends do, right?¡± Tha didn¡¯t answer, but she reached over and took his hand, squeezing it.

    Several minutes passed, and Victor¡¯s eyes grew heavy in the steam, and then he heard a ssh and smelled citrus. He opened his eyes to see Ch rinsing Tha¡¯s hair from a wooden bowl. She sshed the clean-smelling liquid over her hair three more times, and then she started gently wringing it out with a towel. ¡°Ch, you¡¯re earning your pay,¡± Tha purred.

    ¡°You have beautiful hair, Miss.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Tha sighed, closing her eyes. After a minute, she said, ¡°Victor, what will you need my help with?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you about my friends in the pit and how that asshole sold me out?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Tha sighed, her voice heavy and sleepy.

    ¡°Well, I think I¡¯d like to see who¡¯s still alive and who I can help. If a few people get a taste of justice while I¡¯m at it, that¡¯s a bonus.¡±

    Tha squeezed his hand tighter, and then she said, her voice small, ¡°Victor, you know my daughter¡¯s only six, right?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± suddenly things clicked for Victor, and he felt like aplete moron. Why would Tha want to take on vers and pit fighters when she¡¯d just reunited with her six-year-old daughter? ¡°Listen, I¡¯m an idiot. Of course, you¡¯re going to be busy with your daughter. Don¡¯t worry about what I said. I still want to help you, and you won¡¯t have to worry about following me to Persi Gables or any of that shit.¡±

    ¡°I want to help you, you know, Victor,¡± she said, her voice low and subdued.

    ¡°Yeah, of course you do. Don¡¯t sweat it, Tha. It¡¯s all good. You think I want to be responsible for a kid losing her mom?¡± He squeezed her hand and chuckled. ¡°Besides, if you¡¯re with your daughter, somece nice, it¡¯ll give me a friend to visit. I need more of those in this world.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a good person, Victor,¡± Tha said wistfully, closing her eyes while Ch braided her hair. Victor smiled, savoring the warmth, both outside from the steam and inside from Tha¡¯s words. They stayed in the steam lodge much longer than would probably have been safe for ordinary people, but with their Energy infused bodies, they were just fine when they finally stumbled out into thete morning light.

    Victor blinked rapidly, his body so loose and rxed that he felt like he could melt into a puddle. He never washed with soap or anything, but he¡¯d sweat away all the dirt and grime on his body, and when he scrubbed himself dry with the towel, he felt like a new man. Of course, his ringmail shirt and enchanted pants were clean, as usual, which helped. ¡°Feeling good?¡± he asked, grinning at Tha.

    At some point, while they¡¯d been steaming, Ch or one of her friends had scrubbed and dried Tha¡¯s leather pants and vest, and they¡¯d given her a pale blue, long-sleeved shirt with tiny little pearl snaps up the middle and at the cuffs. ¡°I feel wonderful! Look at this beautiful shirt!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I like it. Blue¡¯s good on you.¡± Tha smiled at him, and Victor thought she looked younger and less troubled than he had ever seen her. Was it the courage Energy he¡¯d given her? Oyna had mentioned bnce, which he thought was a good descriptor for what he was noticing in her¡ªshe seemed more bnced.

    ¡°Let¡¯s break our fast, and then I¡¯ll see you two safely on your way, hmm?¡± Tellen asked, straightening his leather shirt.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯d be nice, Tellen, thanks.¡± Victor got the impression Tellen was eager to get them on the road but didn¡¯t want to seem rude. ¡°We¡¯ll get this phctery out of here, Tellen, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°Perceptive, Victor. Yes, I dread having that near my campe dark.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Tha added. ¡°We should go now, Victor. We can eat on the trail, and I¡¯d rather handle this problem while the sun is up.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s not a bad idea. Tellen, thanks for the invitation, but I think we¡¯ll get going.¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Tellen stroked his chin, ¡°Yes, I should tell you, though, Oyna wanted me to invite you to stay a while¡ªshe thinks she can teach you some things. If you destroy that evil artifact, then I¡¯ll extend that invitation. Come back here when you¡¯re rid of it.¡±

    ¡°Victor, I would like to talk to her some more about my Core. Do you mind?¡±

    ¡°No, I think it¡¯s a good idea. Alright, Tellen. We¡¯ll stop back by after we¡¯ve dealt with this thing.¡±

    ¡°Excellent! Come, follow me,¡± Tellen started walking back through the tents, exchanging greetings with n members who were much more lively now that it wasn¡¯t so early in the morning. As he walked past his big, red tent, he hollered for Chandri, and the young woman immediately came out of the tent.

    ¡°Yes, Tellen?¡±

    ¡°Go fetch some of old Born¡¯s travel bread. I can smell his baking. Bring a few loaves to our friends here; they¡¯ll be walking toward the road.¡±

    ¡°Oh, thank you,¡± Tha said, and Victor echoed the sentiment.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll see you in a minute, Victor,¡± she said, grinning at him and giving Tha a sidelong look as she darted off between two tents.

    ¡°Ignore her,¡± Tellen said to Tha. ¡°Now, you know the way from here, Victor. I hope we see you again before nightfall, but if it¡¯s dark when you return, the sentries will know you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you again, Tellen. For everything.¡± Victor sped the man¡¯s hand, returning his firm grip. Tha also shook the Ban-tok¡¯s hand and leaned forward to say something that Victor couldn¡¯t quite hear. Then, Tha turned, put a hand on Victor¡¯s shoulder, and the two of them turned and walked away from the tents, over the grass, and toward the road. Victor nced back and saw Tellen watching them go, a slight frown on his face. Was he worried? Did he harbor some doubt? He wished he hadn¡¯t caught that glimpse of the man.

    ¡°What did you say to him?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°I said he was a good father to those girls and shouldn¡¯t tell people he¡¯s not their father. He should be proud of what he¡¯s done.¡±

    ¡°Ahh. Nice of you.¡± Victor nodded. They walked for a few minutes before the thump of feet heralded Chandri¡¯s arrival, and they slowed to wait for her.

    ¡°Victor! You¡¯re lucky! Born just made a batch, and he gave me fresh holbyis butter!¡± She held out a cloth-wrapped bundle with a little ceramic crock sitting atop it.

    ¡°Sheesh, Chandri! You guys are spoiling us.¡± Victor held out his hands to receive the package, and the smell of fresh bread hit his nose like a hammer. ¡°Holy shit, that smells good!¡±

    ¡°Born¡¯s the highest level baker on the ins.¡± Chandri shrugged.

    ¡°Well, Chandri, do you ever get to go to the city?¡± Victor asked on a hunch.

    ¡°Once or twice a year. Why?¡±

    ¡°Well, let me buy you something next time you go,¡± Victor said, producing a handful of attuned Energy beads. ¡°Your sister already made some profits helping Tha this morning; this is only fair.¡±

    Chandri¡¯s smile stretched her cheeks, but she said, ¡°Victor, you aren¡¯t trying to pay for a gift, are you?¡±

    ¡°No! This is just a gift. No strings attached.¡± He pushed his fist, clenching the beads toward her, and Chandri held her two hands together. He poured the beads into her much smaller palms and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll see you again, but this is just in case I forget. Thanks again, Chandri!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Chandri,¡± Tha said, squeezing the girl¡¯s shoulder, and then they turned and continued to the road. Victor unwrapped the warm bundle and pulled out one of the three loaves Chandri had given him. It was smaller than a typical loaf ofmercial bread on Earth but much heavier. He tore off a hunk and turned to Tha.

    ¡°Hey, open that jar of butter for me. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m gonna drop something.¡±

    ¡°Alright, but save some for me,¡± Tha said, taking the little ceramic jar and pulling the top off. Victor smeared his hunk of bread through the warm, herbed butter, then took a huge bite, groaning in pleasure. Tha reached for the bread, but he pulled it away.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡ªI¡¯m so hungry, and it¡¯s so good!¡± Heughed as she reached for it again, and he started running toward the road.

    ¡°Victor! Stop! I need food more than you do!¡± Tha howled, giving chase.

 Book 2: Chapter 15: Gel Harra

    Book 2: Chapter 15: Gel Harra

    ¡°So it, um, excuse me, she is gaining levels or something?¡± Tha asked, gesturing to Lifedrinker.

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m not sure how it works¡ªif she¡¯s just changing as she gains consciousness, or if she will continue to grow in power as she drains Energy. Either way, I¡¯m happy.¡± Victor stepped around arge clump of scrub as they climbed thetest ¡°rolling¡± hill. They¡¯d been walking for several hours at a good pace, and the hills he¡¯d seen in the distance were quite a lotrger up close. Still, it was either climb them or spend extra hours skirting them, so they embraced the effort.

    ¡°And you bought that new haft in Steampool? I don¡¯t even remember that town! I must have been out of it!¡±

    ¡°Right, it¡¯s living wood. It wasn¡¯t cheap, but I¡¯m sure happy with it. By the way, I¡¯m still holding onto most of the Energy beads we found. I owe you around five hundred.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to¡­¡±

    ¡°Uh uh, none of that! We earned those together, and you¡¯ll want some money to get things started with your daughter, right?¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Tha huffed, working hard to match Victor¡¯s natural pace. He wanted to slow for her, but, more urgently, he wanted to get to wherever the tether led before dark.

    ¡°Gorz, any update?¡± Victor had found that Gorz wasn¡¯t lying when he said he had a hard time staying focused on the physical world. His mapping ability seemed to happen automatically, which allowed the spirit¡¯s mind to drift easily if he wasn¡¯t engaged in conversation.

    ¡°The tether continues to stretch to the south, very faintly. It seems like we might be nearing its end, but I can¡¯t be sure because it has a much weaker signature than before.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thanks.¡± Victor turned to Tha and added, ¡°He says we¡¯re still going in the right direction, and we might be getting close.¡±

    Tha nodded, and they kept climbing, and before long, Victor crested the hilltop and looked out at the ins that continued to stretch away to the horizon. Not so distant, though, was arge copse of twisted, leafless trees, and, from his vantage, Victor could see wooden and stone, partially copsed structures amid the dead-looking trees. ¡°That must be, um, what did Tellen say the town was called, Gorz?¡±

    ¡°Gel Harra and the tether leads down into those ruins.¡±

    ¡°Right, Gel Harra. Ever heard of it, Tha?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± Tha said, leaning on her knees and catching her breath. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look very inviting. Are those trees dead?¡±

    ¡°I think so, and there¡¯s no underbrush or grass around them. It¡¯s like the soil was poisoned. Tellen told me this town died of a gue during some war. I guess it was probably an intentional attack, right? I mean, you told me people don¡¯t really get sick ¡­¡± Victor¡¯s words trailed off as he started to imagine the scene¡ªpeople dying of some horrible disease caused by a spell or potion.

    ¡°Yeah, people have done horrible things with spells and alchemy. I¡¯ve heard of potions that will dissolve a person into dust, let alone make them sick enough to die.¡± Tha straightened up, and suddenly her spear was in her hand.

    ¡°Shit! I forgot to ask about that. He left your spear alone? Any of your other belongings missing?¡±

    ¡°Nothing missing, but plenty of disgusting stuff added,¡± Tha said, holding up her hand with the storage ring. ¡°Entrails, bottles of gross fluids, even some body parts. From people, I might add.¡± Tha shivered. ¡°I hope the hunters never look into thetrine where I dumped everything out.¡±

    ¡°Oh, sick.¡± Victor repressed a shudder. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get going. Gorz, please keep us following that tether.¡±

    ¡°I will, Victor.¡±

    ¡°He said he will,¡± Victor said for Tha¡¯s benefit, then started jogging down the hill. Tha didn¡¯t have any trouble keeping up going downhill. Soon, they were leaping and bounding, making it a contest to see who could get down the hill the fastest. Victor won, but he felt he had to give gravity at least half the credit. As they started jogging over the grass toward the first of the dead trees, Gorz spoke up again, ¡°The tether is leading a bit to your left, toward the eastern edge of the ruins.¡±

    Victor veered to his left, and, as they stepped onto the dusty, barren soil around the dead trees, he slowed, lifting Lifedrinker into his hands. Mist and shadows seemed to lurk among the lifeless branches, and Victor could only see for a few dozen steps in any direction. A shiver ran over his shoulders, and he spun, only to find Tha looking around warily with her spear held ready. ¡°This ce is already giving me the creeps,¡± he said.

    ¡°Me too!¡± Tha hissed.

    ¡°You know, you¡¯re lucky to have courage-attuned Energy. I have to make it with a weave of my other Energies. Push some of it into your pathways¡ªyou¡¯ll feel better. I¡¯ll try to ask Gorz if there¡¯s a way I can teach you my Heroic Heart spell, though.¡± He looked around and added, ¡°I mean when we have some downtime.¡±

    Victor summoned his Globe of Inspiration, urging it to follow him with a nudge of will. Then he cast Heroic Heart¡ªhe wasn¡¯t going to let some necromancer or something mess with his mind. Heat rushed out of his chest and into his pathways, and he straightened, doubt having fled his mind. The trees looked sad and pathetic, devoid of life but not sinister. The clinging mist he¡¯d perceived before was gone. The shadows were banished by his light or the sun, which Victor could see clearly now, high in the sky.

    ¡°That did help,¡± Tha said. ¡°I just wish I had more of that Energy.¡±

    ¡°Something to work on,¡± Victor said, continuing his advance. They passed many trees, never crossing any paths or game trails, but after a few minutes, Victor saw a crumbled stone wall ahead. He nodded to Tha, and she nodded back, gesturing with her spear. Stalking as quietly as he could, Victor moved to a corner of the wall and peered around. He looked at a dusty expanse of barrennd between structures¡ªancient homes built from stone and wood. The blocks were losing their mortar and crumbling, and the wood was dry, broken, devoid of paint, and sagging under the weight of slowly copsing roofs.

    ¡°The tether leads away to the left, past this building,¡± Gorz said.

    Victor motioned for Tha to follow and then crept around the crumbling wall. As he rounded the corner to the left, he saw a dusty street lined with more crumbling buildings, and at the end, maybe the length of a city block away, sat a squat, half-copsed building that looked very much like a church to Victor. There weren¡¯t any crosses, but at the peak of its roof, a huge window of stained ss, still intact, depicted a Ghelli soaring into the clouds. The figure, armored in silver and with wings trailing sparkles, reminded him of Captain Lam for a moment.

    The left side of the building was in ruins, but the big double doors were still in their frame, and the right-hand one was slightly ajar. ¡°That¡¯s where the tether leads, I¡¯ll bet.¡±

    ¡°This was a Ghelli vige? These trees must have been a lot different, once,¡± Tha said in a hushed voice, looking around.

    ¡°Ghelli like trees?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve never met a Ghelli that enjoyed living outside one of their forests.¡±

    ¡°Huh. Lam must hate it down in the mines.¡±

    ¡°Lam¡¯s unlike any Ghelli I¡¯ve ever met,¡± Tha said with a shrug.

    ¡°Good point.¡± Victor started walking down the dusty road toward the strange building. ¡°Is that a church? I¡¯ve never learned about the Ghelli religion. Is there such a thing?¡±

    ¡°Sure. Like any people, they have different groups that believe different things. Most believe all living things are connected, and they¡¯re especially reverent to trees. Some Ghelli cities are built around ancient trees they call ¡°mother¡± trees.¡± Tha shrugged. ¡°Shadeni and Ardeni mostly believe in reincarnation and that our ancestors live through us.¡±

    Victor slowed and looked at Tha. They were about halfway to the church, and he paused to say, ¡°Do you believe that?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± She shrugged again. ¡°I¡¯ve had dreams and memories I can¡¯t exin. Maybe it was a past life? What about you? You told me about your bloodline and that vision you had. Isn¡¯t it possible that was a past life? Or one of your ancestors that¡¯s still alive in your blood?¡±

    ¡°Alright, good point. This is interesting shit, Tha, but we¡¯re in the middle of a creepy, dead town, about to follow an evil phctery to something it¡¯s connected to. I guess maybe we should continue this discussionter, eh?¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Tha snickered, tightening her grip on her spear and nodding down the road. ¡°Let¡¯s get to the bottom of this.¡± Nothing osted them as they advanced on therge stone building. Victor began to feel a cold, pulsating aura of Energy as they neared, though, and he raised an eyebrow at Tha, silently asking if she felt it too. She nodded and gestured toward the gap between therge, sagging doors.

    Victor moved forward, hooked Lifedrinker¡¯s beard on the edge of the open door, and pulled, dragging it roughly over the dirt-covered, stone stoop. His orb and the rays of pale sunlight exposed arge hall, much like Victor imagined a medieval church might look. Broken furniture lined the walls, stacked by some person, monster, or force beyond Victor¡¯s understanding. In the rainbow lighting through the overge stained ss window, Victor saw a greenish-yellow portal swirling near the far wall.

    ¡°No!¡± Tha hissed.

    At the same time, Victor said, ¡°Oh, fuck.¡± He looked at Tha and confirmed his thinking: ¡°Another dungeon?¡±

    ¡°I fear so,¡± she said.

    ¡°Victor, the tether does, indeed, stretch into that portal.¡±

    Victor growled and kicked the door wide, striding into the hall. Nothing responded to his presence other than the dust on the walls and beams, which drifted down in a shower of rainbow motes, falling through the light. Victor nced up at the stained ss, admiring its beauty as the sun¡¯s light shone through. Then he walked toward the portal, looking around the corners of the church or meeting hall¡ªwhatever it was. The portal was the only thing of note, and the sickly cool aura emanating from it told Victor all he needed to know about what he¡¯d find on the other side. ¡°More undead.¡±

    ¡°Probably,¡± Tha replied, leaning on her spear and staring at the swirling pattern at the portal¡¯s center.

    ¡°Alright, fuck this. Let¡¯s smash the phctery, smash the skull, and say goodbye to this part of the world.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that,¡± Tha said, her voice quiet but resigned.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Victor, after what that thing did to me, after the connection we made ¡­¡± she paused, her eyes darting around as she searched for the right words. ¡°I can¡¯t let him live. I have to see Belikot destroyed, and I think there¡¯s something connected to him in that dungeon. If we destroy what we have, I¡¯m afraid this other part will grow stronger ande for us. Or, at least for me.¡±

    ¡°And you don¡¯t want that hanging over your head when you¡¯re with your daughter.¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± Tha sighed, visibly frustrated.

    ¡°Alright. Fuck it. I¡¯ve killed plenty of undead; why not some more?¡±

    ¡°You can go, Victor. I won¡¯t hold it against you! Go to Gelica; enjoy your life!¡± Her eyes were earnest, and she reached out to squeeze Victor¡¯s shoulder while she spoke, and he couldn¡¯t help smiling at her. It felt good to have someone who cared about his happiness.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, Tha. You know me better than that. I couldn¡¯t leave if I wanted to. Nope,¡± he said, sighing with mock exhaustion, ¡°time for me to be the hero again.¡± He reached out and put an arm over Tha¡¯s shoulders, leaning heavily on her. ¡°So tiring always having to save the day, you know?¡± Just as he¡¯d hoped, he got a smile out of her, though she squirmed out from under his arm, turning to face him.

    ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, me too. C¡¯mon, it¡¯s a dungeon! I¡¯m a warrior adventurer! I should want to go in there, regardless of this tether bullshit.¡±

    ¡°Adventurer now, hmm?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Just ask the people in Steampool!¡± Victorughed, then picked up a nearly petrified, broken chair and threw it at the portal. To his surprise, it bounced off like it had hit a stone wall and ttered in broken pieces over the gstone floor.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think chairs can enter dungeons by themselves,¡± Tha snorted.

    ¡°Right, right,¡± Victor nodded, moving closer to the portal. ¡°Well? Let¡¯s get this shit over with. What do you say?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re sure,¡± Tha said.

    ¡°One hundred percent.¡± Victor held out a hand, and Tha took it. ¡°In together, out together, right?¡± Tha nodded, squeezing his hand tightly, then Victor walked forward and stepped into the cold, pulsing circle of Energy. He grunted as the icy tendrils pulled him through a dark void, and then he was stumbling over dusty ground illuminated by pale moonlight. Tha came through, still gripping his hand, but she stumbled and fell, cussing a word that Victor didn¡¯t think he¡¯d ever heard¡ªsomething like, ¡°gakuk!¡±

    Victor reached down to help her up, and then, in a frenzy of growls and shing ws, shadows jumped out of the darkness, tearing into them. Most of the ripping ws aimed at Victor slid harmlessly off his armored shirt, but several tore gouges in his arm, and one hooked painfully into the meat of his thigh. He roared, finished yanking Tha to her feet, and cast Inspiring Presence. The shadows peeled back, and he saw an easy path between the snarling, ck-furred, rotting wolf creatures.

    He whipped Lifedrinker in a liquid cleave, striding out of the melee in her wake, only to turn and chop at the creatures¡¯ nks. Tha shouted and rolled, whirling her spear around to create some space, and the fight was truly joined. There had to be a dozen or more of the monsters. They were simr in size and shape to a German shepherd, but their fur was ck, matted, and missing in patches. Their exposed flesh was rotten and falling away, especially around their snouts, and cold blue lights shone from their eye sockets.

    The zombie wolves were fast, and their ws and teeth were sharp, but they weren¡¯t nearly as tough as the ghouls from the other dungeon. As Victor cleaved off limbs and chopped through spines, they fell and were easy to dispatch. Tha danced among them, using her superior spear skills and speed to drive her weapon¡¯s sharp, broad de through eye sockets in killing blows or into their torsos to hold them down while Victor killed them. The battle was furious and noisy, and Victor and Tha suffered half a dozen gashes and bites. Still, it was over as fast as it began, and soon they stood panting over the broken corpses of their foes.

    ¡°Where are we?¡± Tha asked, looking around, particrly gazing up at the moons.

    ¡°We¡¯re outside, but look,¡± Victor pointed at a nearby tree. It was twisted just like the ones outside the dead vige, but this one was decked in ck, red-veined leaves. They were broad, shaped somewhat like maple leaves, but they seemed to seeth with shadows. Looking past the tree and the ones behind it, he saw a shadowy cobbled street leading between stone and wood buildings, pale blue streetlights illuminating the scene in pools of soft, cold light.

    ¡°Is this Gel Harra? Like a twisted copy of it?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°Yeah, I guess so. Nothing says dungeons have to be underground, I guess.¡± Victor sighed with relief as motes of golden Energy flowed into them from the dead wolf creatures. His painfulcerations closed up, and Tha¡¯s looked much better,rgely scabbed over. ¡°Gorz? Is the tether visible in here?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor, it¡¯s rather strong and leads toward those structures in the distance.¡±

    ¡°Well, the tether is here. Hang on,¡± Victor said, then he resummoned his Globe of Inspiration, making itrge and bright by pushing nearly a thousand Energy into it. ¡°No more ambushes from the shadows, eh?¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± Tha said, following close beside him as Victor began walking toward the cobbles ahead. They were only halfway when another pack of the wolf monsters attacked them. This time, in the bright light of inspiration and with Sovereign Will boosting his agility, Victor butchered them without a single injury. Tha did her part to keep them at bay and drive them off his nks, but Victor moved like a dancer among them, dealing glittering death with each swing of Lifedrinker.

    They paused to take in the Energy of their victory, and, not having umted any new wounds, Tha¡¯s damaged flesh knitted further. They hurried to the edge of the cobbled road and the first two buildings, and Victor thought they looked like houses. Their lower levels were built from stone blocks, but the second floor was made from masterfully woven wood. The construction was unlike anything he¡¯d ever seen¡ªlong solid beams of wood twisted with each other and braided through perpendicr ts. It looked like the wood had grown into the shape of a house.

    ¡°That¡¯s how Ghelli build with wood,¡± Tha said. ¡°They grow it into the shape they want.¡±

    ¡°Pretty cool. Did the vige outside the dungeon used to look like this, you think?¡±

    ¡°Maybe, but there were still wooden structures standing, and they weren¡¯t built this way.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Maybe the dungeon is more like what it could have been? I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m just guessing shit now.¡± Victor shrugged, looking around warily, expecting the next monster to jump them at any second. The air was cold, and the lingering wisps of mist that tried to cling to existence inside his light were palpably damp. Strange hoots and garbled roars started to drift through the night air, and Victor slowly turned in a circle, holding Lifedrinker ready. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not sure this is a copy of Gel Harra. Do these streets and buildings match up to the ruins?¡±

    ¡°The buildings are very different, but theyout of the streets seems simr. If we turn to the left, we should see the main road and the Ghelli worship hall at the end.¡± Tha pointed to the crossroads a short way ahead. Victor nodded and started that way.

    He¡¯d just rounded the corner when he heard nking and the clop of heavy feet rapidly click-cking on the cobbles. He spun to his right and barely had time to react by diving into a roll, narrowly avoiding being smashed by a huge rdii driven by a ck-armored warrior. When he rolled back to his feet, he saw Tha had rushed forward with her spear, menacing the great, armored rdii and its rider as it performed a slow turn to face her and Victor.

    The rdii was easily twice as bulky as the ones that Tellen and his people rode. More than just beingrger, it was covered in heavy ck armor tes. Dark smoke drifted from its smoldering orange eyes, and when Victor¡¯s gaze traveled up, past its head to the rider, he saw a simr countenance: a ck te helmet with orange, smoking lights behind the eye slits. Victor sidestepped around Tha, circling the rider, so he couldn¡¯t charge them both at once.

    As the rider pulled at the reins and the beast of a mount snorted ck clouds of soot, Victor cast Channel Energy, flooding Lifedrinker with rage-attuned Energy. Sovereign Will was already bolstering his agility, and he thought it wise to stay nimble on his toes. Tha¡¯s spear had a blue nimbus around the de, and she circled opposite Victor, eyes scowling and lips pressed tight.

    ¡°Come on!¡± Victor roared, trying to taunt the rider into doing something rash. The ck-armored rdii stamped and snorted, turning toward Victor and the rider brandished a smoldering red and ck spiked mace. Victor lifted Lifedrinker sideways in front of his chest and nodded, again shouting, ¡°Come on!¡±

    With his agility boosted, Victor was fast, faster than Tha even, and still, the rdii¡¯s charge was a blur to him, a streak of smoking ck flesh and metal that tore into him like aet. He¡¯d just registered the movement and started to step aside when hundreds or thousands of pounds of monster smashed into him with tremendous force, knocking him back like he¡¯d been hit by a wrecking ball. The impact stunned Victor, driving his axe into his chest and knocking his grip loose. The air was forced from his lungs, and, as he gasped, still struggling to figure out what happened, his back and head cracked into the stone wall of a nearby building.

    Stars exploded in Victor¡¯s eyes, and, unable to breathe, he convulsed on the ground for a few heartbeats before his mind caught up with the events that put him there. Lying on his side, back against the wall, his vision started to clear, and he saw Tha dancing around the rdii and its rider. She was jabbing her spear in shes of blue Energy at the haunches of the mount. She¡¯d leap to the side, always staying in its blind spot, never giving it a chance to charge her. The rider was roaring, smoke streaming from his ck helmet, jerking the reins and swinging his smoldering mace ineffectually at Tha, unable to match the reach of her spear.

    As his chest stopped spasming and he finally sucked in a breath, the ck edges of Victor¡¯s vision cleared, only to be reced by a hot, liquid rage. Who was this fucking pendejo to throw him like a punk kid against this wall? He saw Lifedrinker lying on the cobbles, and his anger stoked even higher. He knew his rage-attuned Energy was bleeding out of his Core into his pathways, but he didn¡¯t try to tamp it down. No, he opened the floodgates, letting it surge and burn. His vision started to tint red, and a low, rollingugh began to rumble out of his throat. He stood up, a flickering red nimbus rolling along his shoulders, and walked over to Lifedrinker. ¡°Enough dancing!¡± he barked, changing his Sovereign Will boost to strength.

    Victor kept the knight in view as he squatted to pick up Lifedrinker, and when she was resting solidly in both his hands, Victor¡¯sugh rolled out louder. Could he trust himself to keep Tha safe if he went Berserk? Was his will strong enough? He wasn¡¯t sure, but he desperately wanted to berserk. His fury at the rider was burning in his blood, and his heart was beating in slow, deep, hateful thuds. He could feel the Quinametzin in his blood, screaming to be let loose. His hands twisted on the wooden haft of his axe, and he looked from Tha to the rider, watching as she taunted the beast. She was clever, but she wasn¡¯t hurting it.

    With every ounce of his will, Victor calmed enough to coherently grunt, ¡°Tha, back off.¡± She nced at him, carefully hopping to the rdii¡¯s blindspot first. When she saw how he stood on the road, red Energy flickering along his silhouette and zing from his eyes, she nodded and retreated toward him, moving to his left and stepping back out of his view. The rider spun his mount, facing the two of them. Victorughed at him, a slow, deep chuckle, ¡°Huh, huh, huh,¡± and he beckoned again with his axe. The rider looked at Victor and at Tha just behind him and nodded, blowing ck smoke from beneath his visor.

    Victor, enraged though he was, had perfect control of himself, and he watched for the smoke to start to billow from the rdii¡¯s snout, and when it did, he cast Berserk. The red of his vision deepened, his breaths pumped like forge bellows, and Victor screamed as pure rage crashed through his pathways, and his bloodline responded like a fuel exposed to me. The rdii blurred into a ck and orangeet, streaking toward Victor, and he caught it on the living wood of Lifedrinker¡¯s haft. His huge hands and arms strained as his feet slid backward, and Lifedrinker¡¯s handle groaned and strained but held.

    The rdii¡¯s forehead was pressing into him, trying to drive him back, but its momentum was broken, and Victor roared and pushed. The beast, suddenly not sorge at all, gave ground and began to slide to the side, tilting and screaming as Victor drove forward on powerful, massive legs. His feet dug into the cobbles, and red heat steamed off him as he roared and pushed the rdii to the side until it stumbled, and the rider was sent sprawling. Screaming with bloodlust, Victor finished his shove, jerking Lifedrinker to the side and bringing her around in a looping, whistling chop that connected with the back of the rdii¡¯s skull, slipping neatly beneath a metal te and burying her edge up to the haft.

    Lifedrinker bucked and surged, digging for Energy, and Victor let her go. The rdii staggered for two steps and then copsed, the axe still buried in its head. Victor stalked toward the rider, scrabbling to his feet a few paces away. He still held his smoldering mace and spun, swinging it toward Victor¡¯s head, but Victor held up a thick forearm and caught the blow. It stung and might have shattered an ordinary man¡¯s bones, but Victor shrugged it off, stepped in close, and caught the armored figure in a bear hug.

    The knight or warrior, or whatever he was, seemed small and weak, and Victor was furious that he¡¯d tried to stand against him. Who was this worm to challenge the Quinametzin? He grunted and squeezed, feeling the heavy ck metalpress under his powerful arms. Victor felt something pping against his back, and had he been interested in figuring out what it was, he¡¯d of realized the knight was iling desperately at his back with his mace. The blows were ineffectual, jostling the shiny ck rings of his armor but hardly impacting Victor¡¯s flesh. It was like a child swatting at a grown man with a broomstick.

    Victor squeezed, jerking his arms, savoring the crunch of metal and bones, and when the former rider stopped thrashing, he savagely threw the twitching form to the cobbles with a liquid crunch of meat and armor. He stepped toward the writhing, jerking body and stomped on its steel-encased head and kept stomping until the orange lights under the bent, twisted helmet stopped glowing. Victor heaved heavy, deep breaths and looked around. In the red blur of his angry eyes, he saw a woman driving a spear into the rdii, slipping it between armored tes. He stepped toward her, a rumbling growl in his chest, but then he caught her eyes, and he knew it was Tha, a friend, and he forced himself to calm.

    Victor stood there, in the middle of the street, staring at Tha for several heartbeats, and, slowly, the red nimbus around him started to fade, he seemed to shrink into himself, and a few momentster, he breathed heavily and said, ¡°You alright, Tha?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Victor, but that was crazy! You turned into a giant! You stopped that rdii¡¯s charge! You crushed that knight with your bare hands!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but I didn¡¯t attack you. That¡¯s good, right?¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 16: Naghelli

    Book 2: Chapter 16: Naghelli

    ¡°What do you mean you didn¡¯t attack me? Why would you attack me?¡± Tha asked after they¡¯d absorbed the Energy from their battle. She squinted at Victor as she jerked her spear out of the monstrous rdii.

    ¡°I mean, I was berserk. I¡¯ve totally lost myself in the past when I berserk, but I think I¡¯m starting to get some control.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right. Well, get your axe. Who knows what¡¯sing next.¡± She gestured to Lifedrinker, still buried in the back of the rdii¡¯s skull. He nodded and stepped forward, jerking the handle up and down to break the grip of the bone on her de.

    ¡°You said I ¡®turned into a giant.¡¯ What do you mean exactly? I know my bloodline does that, but like, when it¡¯s happening, I don¡¯t really feel how big I get.¡±

    ¡°You grew a lot! Like half again as tall as you are now and much bulkier. Not that you¡¯re small normally, heh.¡±

    ¡°That''s so fucking wild.¡± The hoots and growls had died down during their furious melee. Victor and Tha stood in the quiet misty air, looking up and down the cobbled road. In both directions, it led away into thicker mist and darkness. ¡°This dude was kind of like a boss, don¡¯t you think? I didn¡¯t level, and I don¡¯t see a chest.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Tha grunted, looking around with a scowl. ¡°Well, levels get slower. I told you that.¡±

    ¡°Right. Well, maybe this guy wasn¡¯t a boss. Or maybe not all dungeon bosses give a chest. I guess I don¡¯t have a ton of experience to draw from.¡±

    ¡°More than I do. At least I¡¯m not stuck in a skull this time, hmm?¡± She punched his shoulder and pointed down the street to their left. ¡°I think that¡¯s the way we¡¯d go on the outside to get to the Ghelli worship hall. Odds are that¡¯s where we need to go.¡±

    ¡°The tether is strongly pulling in that direction, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Gorz.¡± He looked at Tha and added, ¡°He says that¡¯s the way to go.¡± She nodded in response, and the two of them advanced down the street, Victor¡¯s light trailing just slightly behind and both gripping their weapons warily. Victor switched his Sovereign Will boost to his agility again, tensing his muscles in anticipation of another surprise attack.

    ¡°Victor, what rank, exactly, have you gotten your race to? I¡¯ve never seen someone with a bloodline like yours.¡±

    ¡°I got boosted up to improved, rank one. I found this silvery orb with weird kes of ck floating within. Gorz said it was a delving orb or something like that; it digs through your, I dunno, DNA or something, looking for bloodlines.¡±

    ¡°DNA?¡±

    ¡°Um, I¡¯m not an expert on the subject, but it¡¯s a scientific term for microscopic material in our cells¡ªall our gic information is stored in it. That¡¯s why I figure that¡¯s what that orb was ¡®delving.¡¯¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s ¡­¡± Tha paused and held a finger to her lips. She gestured to a dark alley between two buildings that hade out of the fog on their left. Standing in a cluster, several strange-looking Ghelli were talking in hushed voices. They were tall, thin like most Ghelli, and their dragonfly wings were like ck gossamer with streaks and patterns in shades of ochre and red. Victor and Tha had stopped moving and were quietly staring at the group when one of them turned to regard them with ck eyes.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Victor¡¯s voice was a low whisper.

    ¡°Naghelli!¡± Tha hissed, ¡°I thought they were all gone!¡±

    ¡°Here are the new guests. What have they done with Garran?¡± an extremely tall Naghelli said, his long, spindly arms stretching out to gesture and guide hispanion¡¯s gaze their way. As more and more dark, inky, ck eyes turned toward them, Victor straightened and moved more to the middle of the street.

    ¡°You guys can speak? Nice touch for a dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Hah, the brute thinks he¡¯s stumbled upon a simple dungeon. What¡¯s this, though? Do you feel it, brothers and sisters?¡±

    ¡°I feel it! The master¡¯s aura is so strong here. Could it be?¡± One of the female Naghelli stepped forward, her long, silvery hair glimmering in Victor¡¯s light. She wore, like the others, a tightly fitted,cey, ck blouse over silky ck pants. Her top¡¯s open neckline exposed arge swath of baster chest, and Victor couldn¡¯t help noticing the pulsing red jewel dangling from a chain between her breasts.

    While she spoke, the others had begun to fan out in a semi-circle, moving slowly toward Victor and Tha. The tall man, his ck, fathomless eyes squinting, held up his hands, making a box with his thumbs and forefingers, and studied Victor and Tha through the gap. ¡°It¡¯s finally happened. The master¡¯s phctery is here. Have youe to join us, then?¡±

    ¡°Join you?¡± Victor didn¡¯t like the looks of things. These creatures, or people, weirded him out. His unease was more because they were weirdly simr to Ghelli than because of how they looked objectively. It also bothered him that they spotted the phctery so quickly and now mentioned a ¡°master.¡±

    ¡°Of course; there will be room for servants in our Twilight Empire.¡± The seven Naghelli had stopped advancing, and though they stood in a loose semi-circle in front of Victor and Tha, none bore weapons. Victor saw jewelry on their fingers, ears, and necks, however, and he knew better than to consider them unarmed.

    ¡°Victor, these aren¡¯t real people¡ªthey must be constructs of the dungeon. Naghelli are extinct, killed off in a great war just after the worlds merged,¡± Tha said, her eyes jerking from one set of dark eyes to another, her spear pointing out in front of her.

    ¡°Extinct? Oh, brothers and sisters! I knew our numbers had dwindled, but is it true? The world thinks we¡¯re gone?¡± A different, shorter woman spoke this time. She had ck curly hair, and her voice dripped with venomous anger. The way she clipped off her words made Victor think that if anyone doubted her existence, she was willing to remedy the misconception.

    ¡°Nonsense. We aren¡¯t the only enve, and you know this,¡± the tall, original speaker said. He turned to Tha and continued, ¡°Hiding, regrouping, is not extinct. The time is nearly at hand for us to push forth again. You¡¯re lucky¡ªyou get to bear witness to our resurgence.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm, and what about Belikot?¡± Victor asked. The entire group of Naghelli hissed and stared at Victor, exposing their very human-like teeth.

    ¡°Do not speak his name so frivolously, knave!¡± The silver-haired woman hissed, spittle flecking her lips in her vehemence.

    ¡°So that is the, um, ¡®master¡¯ you¡¯re talking about?¡± Victor pressed.

    ¡°Yes, fool, and you¡¯d rather he didn¡¯t wake at the sound of his name in this, his demesne,¡± the tall Naghelli said, craning his neck and tilting an ear toward the darkness down the street. ¡°You¡¯re luck holds¡ªhe slumbers, yet.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean he slumbers? I¡¯ve already fought with him outside this dungeon and put his skull somece very out of reach.¡± The Naghelli looked at each other, amusement lighting their eyes and twisting their lips into grins.

    ¡°You faced one of his remnants. A sliver of his soul set loose to scout the world. Should our master wake and face you in his full glory, you¡¯ll note the difference. Now that you¡¯ve brought his phctery here, he¡¯ll wake of his own ord soon and thus, be less wrathful. One can hope,¡± the silver-haired woman said.

    ¡°Victor, we should get out of here,¡± Tha said in a low whisper.

    ¡°Right, well, I think Tha and I took a wrong turn. We¡¯re going to, um, step out.¡± Victor took a step back, keeping the Naghelli in his field of view.

    ¡°No, no,rge one,¡± said the curly-haired woman, stepping forward, a bright, foot-long, silvery dagger in her hand.

    ¡°You have a choice to make!¡± A different man suddenly spoke up on the left edge of the semi-circle. Victor nced at him and saw his short silver hair, simr ck attire, and the thick, metal cudgel in his hand.

    ¡°What choice?¡± Victor and Tha took another step back.

    ¡°Choice one: fight with us, lose the phctery and die, or, choice two: give us the phctery and enjoy preeminence among the servants of the Empire.¡±

    ¡°That right?¡± Victor growled, twisting his hands around Lifedrinker¡¯s handle. He cast Channel Spirit, flooding Lifedrinker with rage-attuned Energy so that she red brightly with a crimson halo. ¡°You¡¯ll have to try to take it, then.¡± As he spoke, Victor also cast Inspiring Presence.

    The Naghelli hissed and started to move, but they seemed to advance in slow motion as inspiration struck Victor. His globe of light was so much brighter in his inspired eyes that the shadows seemed to fall away, and the mystery surrounding the weird Ghelli-like creatures dispersed. In his new rity of mind, they just seemed like thin, frail people that should know better than to tussle with the likes of Victor Sandoval. He couldn¡¯t help it as a chuckle rolled up out of his chest, and he stepped to the right, lifting Lifedrinker in anticipation of the firstbatant toe into range.

    Victor¡¯s perception might have been overly optimistic, though, and while he might have been more than ready for a normal charge, what happened next left him baffled. Each of the Naghelli exploded into a burst of shadowy ck smoke, and he was left holding his axe, staring at an empty street. He looked around, confused by their apparent retreat after they¡¯d just threatened him, and that¡¯s when he saw them darting through the shadows, just at the extremity of his light. He took a breath to bellow a challenge, but before he could speak, the darkly d peopleunched into an attack, darting like liquid smoke and wielding gleaming silvery weapons.

    ¡°Victor!¡± Tha had time to shout, and then the seven Naghelli were streaking through the air, dashing over the cobbles, and leaping into a furious melee with the two would-be adventurers. Victor blocked one shing, silver de, catching it on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, and when the edge caught in her wood, and the Naghelli wielding it was brought up short, Victor kicked out. His boot crunched down on the attacker¡¯s thigh, and Victor felt something give. The man yelled out and stumbled back, dropping the shortsword still caught in Lifedrinker¡¯s haft.

    Tha yelped in pain, and Victor saw her gripping a wound in her thigh that pulsed thick gouts of blood through her fingers. He tried to spot the Naghelli that had delivered the injury, but suddenly something heavy smashed into his left shoulderde, knocking him forward. These people were stronger than they looked! While he stumbled forward, he heard Tha cry out again, and by the time he caught his bnce and looked back, she was on her knees, swaying in a daze with blood sheeting down over her face from a deep, wide gash in her forehead.

    Suddenly Victor remembered Yre. He remembered how shey on the floor of the pit, twitching, dead before her body realized it. Before Victor could think about strategy or formalize a n, he felt hot rage-attuned Energy flooding his pathways. His heart pounded with a terrific thud that people nearby would have heard, and suddenly he was wielding Lifedrinker in one hand like a normal person would hold a hatchet.

    As Tha toppled to the side, Victor took one step, and he was standing over her fallen form, crouched and ready, staring with red, bloodshot eyes at the darting, shing shadows that lurked outside the light. He had no words for the emotions roiling in his heart, so he just roared, brandishing Lifedrinker. His scream crashed and echoed off the stone buildings, and the Naghelliughed in response, mocking, sourcelessughter that drifted out of the shadows.

    Rage and frustration filled Victor to overflowing, and his body veritably shook with the need to strike something, but deep in the root of his being was the need to stand guard over Tha, and he refused to leave her vulnerable. He crouched over her, axe held high in his right hand, and waited for one of the mocking, slippery creatures toe within range of it. His desire for contact was answered, but not by one Naghelli. No, all of them struck at once, and suddenly Victor was surrounded by bursts of shadows as they all appeared, driving their silvery weapons at him from every angle.

    Victorpletely ignored the attacks. Instead, his eyes alighted upon one Naghelli that had appeared perfectly ced in the arc of his axe. While seven des pierced or shed him, Victor screamed and brought Lifedrinker down with enough force to shatter a boulder. Her keen, hungry edge cracked through a corbone and then carved a two-foot trench through the Naghelli¡¯s torso. His eyes bugged out in surprise, terror, and the realization that he was dead.

    As the split Naghelli fell back, a torrent of red fluid sluicing out over the cobbles, Victor roared again and grabbed hold of a spear that had pierced his abdomen, the narrow tip having slipped just beneath his armored shirt. He jerked the spear forward, driving it through his body and out his back, pulling its wielder within range of Lifedrinker. The woman panicked, let go of the haft, stepped back, and had her arm hacked off at the elbow. She shrieked and fell away, spraying hot blood over Victor¡¯s face. Victor roared with gutturalughter.

    Most of his wounds were superficial, the spear through his abdomen being an exception. All the other cuts and stabs were rapidly healing in his rage, but still, the Naghelli were fast and skilled, and they kept piling on the wounds. Victor saw the woman with the severed arm kneeling up the street, watching him with hate-filled eyes. If he¡¯d been less enraged, he might have heard her sobs or the cries of terror and horror when Victor split the first Naghelli. As it was, though, Victor saw only red and heard only the thudding of his heart urging him to destroy his enemies.

    He crouched, axe lifted high, spear through his gut, and waited for the next attack. He stood that way several long moments before his fury-filled mind realized the wounded Naghelli woman was no longer staring at him, and the shadows had stopped moving. He wanted to dash into the night, hunting his foes, but something kept him still, and when he nced down, he remembered what it was¡ªTha. He had to keep them away from her. He stood, heaving for breath, and, as the immediacy ofbat started to fade, he began to feel the difort of the length of wood jabbing out of his stomach.

    With a grunt and a roar of pain, Victor drove the spear the rest of the way through himself, pulling it out of his back and flinging it to the cobbles. He pressed a hand against his rigid stomach, and as thest vestiges of his rage healed the wound, at least superficially, he fell to a knee next to Tha and waited. He waited for the madness to leave him, he waited for his enemies to return, and he waited for the vague dread that Tha was dead to either leave him or be proven true.

    Golden motes of Energy rose from the corpse of the fallen Naghelli and surged into him, speeding things along¡ªhis rage faded, and Tha moaned softly as her thin stream of Energy partially healed her head. Victor sighed with relief because he knew the System must consider the fight over if it was giving out Energy. His enemies had truly fled. He was still kneeling next to Tha, so he turned to regard her. Her face was crusty with dried blood, but her eyes were alert, and she stared at Victor for a moment beforeprehension animated her. ¡°We¡¯re not dead?¡±

    ¡°No, I think they ran away.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense. They really wanted that phctery. Victor! Where¡¯s your satchel?¡± Victor pped a hand to his chest, feeling for the strap, and only felt his chain shirt.

    ¡°Oh, fuck no! They cut it off? I didn¡¯t notice a thing!¡±

    ¡°How long?¡± Tha asked, sitting up. She leaned forward and retched as soon as she was upright.

    ¡°Easy, you okay?¡± Victor held her shoulder.

    ¡°Things are spinning a little, and my stomach¡¯s turning flips. I think it¡¯s just the blow to the head¡ªI¡¯ll recover. We have to find that phctery, Victor. You heard what they said!¡±

    ¡°About Beli¡­¡± he stopped himself and continued, ¡°About, you know, the asshole in the skull? Yeah, I heard them, and then I fought with them, and I think we need to get the fuck out of here. You¡¯re not ready for these guys, Tha.¡± Victor didn¡¯t want to call her out like that, but, damn it, she¡¯d been put down in just seconds by those Naghelli shitheads.

    ¡°Victor, what if he gets more powerful? What if theye into Fanwath and start another war or something?¡±

    ¡°What if? Look, I¡¯m all for trying to do the right thing, but I¡¯m not going to fucking watch them slit your throat and then have to find your daughter to tell her about her mom. I can¡¯t fucking do that, Tha. Come on; when we get to Gelica, we can tell others about this ce. I¡¯ll evene back with them. All right?¡± He added thest as he stood and held out a hand to help her to her feet.

    She took it, and, once she was on her feet and standing on trembling legs, she nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m not ready to face them again.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Victor said, turning toward where they¡¯d fought the knight and his rdii mount. He held Tha¡¯s wrist with his left hand and Lifedrinker with his right, peering around warily as they progressed.

    ¡°Victor, you remember those children¡¯s horror stories we talked about back in the mine?¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°There are a lot of horrifying stories involving Naghelli. They¡¯re not supposed to exist anymore!¡±

    ¡°Well, they¡¯re tough and fast, that¡¯s for sure. They die alright, though.¡± Victor shrugged, picking up the pace, tugging on Tha. They passed to the right of the rdii corpse, turning down the short side street and the forest beyond. They walked past the dead pack of zombie hounds and entered the strange forest with twisted trees and ck, feathery leaves. The portal¡¯s glimmer was easy to spot in the distance, with no other lights to obscure or drown it out.

    Victor hurried even more, still pulling on Tha¡¯s wrist. He refused to let go of her because he could only imagine shadowy, quick Naghelliing out of the shadows to take her or strike her down. Tha was keeping up, though her breathing was ragged. Victor jogged around onest tall, looming tree, and then they were in the clearing where they¡¯d in the first pack of zombie hounds, and the shimmering gateway sat on the other side, between two gnarled tree trunks.

    Victor stepped into the clearing, and movement from near the portal brought him up short. He stepped in front of Tha and watched as the silver-haired female Naghelli moved out of the shadows. ¡°I bear a message, warrior.¡± She had eyes only for Victor, staring at him warily.

    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±

    ¡°I am Vellia, and you¡¯ve in my mate, Horol. I know he joined the battle willingly and that you fought fiercely and with honor. I thank you for giving Horol a clean death.¡± She stood straight, pressing both her palms together in front of her chest, and bowed to Victor. Victor wondered what the hell was going on. He looked around, peering into the shadows around the clearing, but he didn¡¯t see any other Naghelli.

    ¡°Is that all? You¡¯re not going to threaten us with your master¡¯s vengeance and shit?¡±

    ¡°My master will most likely celebrate you. With his phctery in hand, he¡¯ll be free to leave this realm and begin working toward our great cause again.¡± Victor could feel Tha growing agitated, and he knew she wanted to say or ask something, but she held herself still. Victor wasn¡¯t sure if it was fear, doubt, or respect that kept her quiet, but he knew she was feeling like shit, and he wanted to get her out.

    ¡°Alright, Vellia. I¡¯m not cool with you guys jumping me and stealing my stuff, and I¡¯m really not cool with the versions of your master I¡¯ve met outside this ce, so I bet we¡¯ll meet again. I gotta get going.¡± Victor started walking toward her, Lifedrinker swinging menacingly in his fist, and Tha trailing behind.

    ¡°Can I know your name, warrior?¡± Vellia asked, stepping to the side, out of his path to the portal.

    ¡°His name is Victor, and you should mark it well,¡± Tha said, suddenly standing up straight.

    ¡°Victor. Yes, I agree, little Shadeni. This one is worth taking note of. Until we meet again, then, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± Victor said, giving her onest look, taking care to remember the details of her face¡ªher thick silver brows, her long, narrow nose, the bluish tint to the skin in the sockets of her dark, ck eyes, and the way her lips curled in a slightly crooked smile. Victor nodded at her and then stepped into the portal, still dragging Tha by the wrist.

    Just as before, he felt the portal¡¯s cold Energy drawing him through, and then he was stepping into the dusty, ruined worship hall in the deste vige of Gel Harra. Tha came through right behind him, and they looked at each other for a minute, and she sighed heavily.

    ¡°What a disaster. We did the opposite of what we wanted to do!¡±

    ¡°It is what it is, Tha. Shit, chica, at least you aren¡¯t dead. I really thought you were dead for a minute!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, thank you, Victor. You saved my life again. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll never repay you, but ¡­¡± she trailed off, her eyes distant like she was looking for the right way to express herself.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not keeping count. What¡¯s the difference between saving someone¡¯s life once or ten times? Either way, you can¡¯t pay it back. You¡¯ve saved my life a couple of times, so we both owe each other everything. Cool?¡±

    ¡°Cool?¡± she echoed, but then she smiled and said, ¡°Yeah, cool, Victor. Cool.¡±

    ¡°You do get me, don¡¯t you?¡± Victor reached out and pulled her into a hug, and she didn¡¯t resist at all. She felt much smaller than he¡¯d imagined, and he realized he¡¯d built her up in his mind because of her attitude. ¡°You¡¯re alright, Tha. Let¡¯s go give Tellen the bad news, then let¡¯s get going to fucking Gelica, eh?¡±

    ¡°Alright, Victor. I¡¯m with you, but only because you promised me you¡¯d deal with Belikot. You are still going to deal with him, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course. You think I can let some assholes steal my shit and get away with it? No, no. I¡¯ll be paying him another visit after you¡¯re safe with your kid, alright?¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± she said, standing back from him with a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry; I want to see what the hunters are cooking for dinner.¡±

    ¡°Now you¡¯re talking!¡± Victor followed her to the crooked door of the partially ruined building, walking through a patch of colorful light cast by the stained ss window. Tha stepped out, and Victor was right behind her when she fell to a knee, clutching at something in her chest. She tugged at it, and Victor saw the feathers of a tiny, dart-like arrow. Tha fell to the ground, her legs and arms convulsing as her eyes rolled back in her head.

    ¡°Tha!¡± Victor cried, diving over her, hoping to protect her from whoever had shot at her. Whistling shrieks heralded the arrival of more arrows and darts, and he felt a sting in his forearm and two more in his thigh. Another hit his calf, and several more sank into his back through the rings of his vest, their narrow, round points easily piercing the armor.

    Victor felt like someone was operating a dimmer switch on the sun as darkness crept into his vision. He felt sluggish and slow, but something was bothering him. What was it? ¡°Oh yeah, some fucking pendejos are shooting arrows into me!¡± he coughed, actually chuckling at how loopy he sounded. No, this wasn¡¯t funny¡ªthis was bad! Someone was filling him with darts! Someone shot Tha! A spark of heat red in his chest at that thought, and Victor concentrated on it.

    With a slow, ponderous buildup, Victor¡¯s heart thudded. It sounded like a base drum, and suddenly his vision red with a red heat, and the darkness fell back. Victor concentrated on that red, terrible fury in his chest, pushed more rage-attuned Energy out of his Core, and cast Berserk.

    ¡°He¡¯s not going down!¡± a gnat¡¯s voice called.

    ¡°Now! Throw the alchemical canister!¡± another deeper-voiced gnat hollered.

    Victor surged to his feet, but just as he started to look around for the enemies he needed to kill, some sort of fog filled the air around him. His face felt numb, and his legs were like jelly. He sat down on his butt andughed. What was he so angry about? Hadn¡¯t he been shot a bunch of times? Oh, the darts! Victorughed again, a great, deep bellyugh that shook his shoulders up and down and made it hard to breathe. Why was it so funny? He didn¡¯t know, but he couldn¡¯t stopughing, and then the darkness started to creep into his vision again, and heid back, still chuckling between deep, slow breaths.

 Book 2: Chapter 17: Priorities

    Book 2: Chapter 17: Priorities

    ¡°...take it and be grateful. You hardly had to do anything,¡± said a gruff, hoarse voice.

    ¡°Aye, well, I could use the work if you need a wagon guard wherever you''re taking ¡®em.¡± This voice was wheedling and soft.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, da. He don¡¯t need us.¡± A younger voice spoke up from further away. Victor strained, trying to picture where all the speakers were. He¡¯d only been awake a few seconds, and he felt groggy, but he knew he¡¯d been taken. He vaguely remembered the darts and gas, but even if he didn¡¯t, his hands being bound behind his back and a dark hood over his head confirmed his predicament.

    Victor felt something heavy and cold on his neck, and he knew it was a cor. He felt a strange coldness emanating from it, and it took him a moment to realize it was doing something to his pathways, something to do with his Core. He turned his mind inward to look at the zing orbs of his Energy, fearful of what he might see.

    The voices continued speaking, but Victor tuned them out as he was confronted by a scene at his Core that was more puzzling than disturbing. He could see the cold Energy bands stretching from the cor into his pathways and down into his Core. He could see them wrapped around his rage-attuned Energy, subduing the zing red sun to a barely smoldering ember. The strange thing, however, was that his inspiration-attuned Energy seemed utterly untouched. It zed with all of its former glory, pulsing strongly at the center of his being. Could they be so stupid?

    Victor grunted and scooted up against whatever they had his hands tied to. He felt bars against his shoulders and figured he was in some sort of cage. ¡°Hey, any asshole out there that can tell me what¡¯s up?¡± He stretched out his legs, feeling for the extremities of his confinement, and that¡¯s when he realized his ankles were bound with something heavy that rattled as he moved. Chains?

    ¡°Ahh, my guest awakes. No, I can¡¯t quibble with you anymore, Turl. Get yourself back to Steampool and spend the coins you just earned, and put me out of your mind.¡± Victor heard grumbling and then the sound of departing feet. A momentter, the gruff voice spoke again, this time much closer, ¡°Not feeling too great, I wager, eh, big fe?¡±

    ¡°I feel pretty ok, to be honest,¡± Victor said, and the words were true. The grogginess had faded, and he felt rather rested, if a bit cramped. He flexed his hands into fists, testing the tightness of the bonds on his wrists. The cold metal bit into his skin, but he heard it creak and strain.

    ¡°Now, bravado won¡¯t get you anywhere with me,d. I learned a lot about you after I took the contract, and I had that cor made special. When all that rage gets bottled up, you rage casters aren¡¯t so hard to deal with, isn¡¯t that right?¡±

    ¡°Rage casters?¡± Victor¡¯s voice was t as he tried to hold in his emotions, including a slowly building sense of amusement.

    ¡°Aye. Old Nareld heard all about your berserking down in them mines. Think you¡¯re the first berserker to break thew? Think you¡¯re the first one old Nareld brought in? Nah, boyo. Trust me when I say I intend to get paid back for the expense of hunting you down. Had to pay for five different scryings. Had to pay an alchemist to mix up the sleeping humors. Had to pay all them locals to dose ya. Better believe I¡¯m getting paid.¡± The voice hade much closer, and Victor could smell the man¡¯s onion-tainted, hot breath as it permeated the cloth of his hood.

    ¡°Hey, since I¡¯m all harmless and shit, can you take this hood off? I¡¯d like to see the face of the man that brought me down.¡±

    ¡°Nah, Nareld don¡¯t like having his marks know his face. What if you get set free? What if you escape from the fools paying for your capture? Nah, old Nareld don¡¯t need youing looking.¡±

    ¡°I mean, you already told me your name. How many bounty hunters go around calling themselves ¡®old Nareld?¡¯¡± Victor couldn¡¯t help the chuckle that followed his words.

    ¡°You¡¯re a tough one, ain¡¯t ya? Finding humor andughing with your Core all blocked off? Most people¡¯d be feeling sick as a dog, like yer little friend over there.¡±

    ¡°Is Tha alright? Listen to me, Nareld: if you want any hope of escaping this situation with your limbs attached, you better pray she¡¯s alright.¡±

    ¡°Oh, making threats? You¡¯re hobbled and chained, big boy. I took all your little trinkets too. ept your fate,d. Don¡¯t you worry, though¡ªNareld was contracted to bring you both in alive, and that¡¯s what he¡¯ll do. The girl¡¯s alright, just cored and drugged.¡±

    ¡°So, let me get this straight. Instead of putting a general control cor on me, you had one made that suppresses my rage-attuned Energy?¡±

    ¡°Aye, I know how you berserkers work. It¡¯s no wonder you pulled off that mine cor.¡±

    ¡°So the mine hired you?¡±

    ¡°Naw. You¡¯ll see soon enough. In a week or so, we¡¯ll be in Gelica, and I¡¯ll hand you off to Lady ap¡¯Yensha¡¯s men, much the richer for my trouble.¡±

    ¡°Ap¡¯Yensha. They¡¯re one of the ns that own the mine, though, right?¡±

    ¡°You might be a brute, but at least you know a thing or two. Aye, that¡¯s right. Now, don¡¯t you worry; old Nareld treats his prisoners with dignity. I¡¯ll be good to you and thedy and feed ya proper. No harm¡¯sing your way while in my care.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s very nice, Nareld. Now, I¡¯d like to make a deal with you,¡± Victor said, leaning forward.

    ¡°Oh, now, don¡¯t try to bribe me,d. I¡¯ve got all your belongings, and I¡¯m being paid the full value of everything I turn in to ap¡¯Yensha on top of the bounty.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that kind of deal. I¡¯m going to promise not to kill you in a few minutes as long as you promise to drop this bounty and never mention Tha or me again.¡±

    ¡°What? Boy, I think that alchemist mixed his dose too strong. Is your mind slipping? Can¡¯t you feel your Core? The lights on the cor are glowing. I know it¡¯s working!¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Oh yeah, I think it works, but Nareld, I don¡¯t need rage-attuned Energy to get out of this shit.¡± Victor knew his spells would work as long as he had Energy, and he had plenty of inspiration-attuned Energy at hand. He cast Sovereign Will, boosting his strength, and then Channel Energy, flooding his arms and shoulders with inspiration-attuned Energy.

    Victor couldn¡¯t see himself, but Nareld could, and when Victor¡¯s long, cable-like muscles suddenly swelled, and his arms and shoulders began to flicker with a white-gold radiance, he backed up, gasping. A momentter, Victor jerked his hands apart, and the chain between his manacled wrists simply snapped, one of the iron links having shattered. Victor reached up and pulled the hood off his head.

    Sunlight stabbed into Victor¡¯s eyes, and, as he rapidly blinked his eyes, he saw that they were somewhere out on the grassy ins. Some rdii were staked nearby, munching peacefully at the yellow tufts, and Victor saw arge, gray-furred Vodkin, fumbling with a crossbow and digging around through an overfull quiver, clearly looking for a particr bolt.

    The Vodkin¡¯s face was panicked, and his breathing was harsh and shallow. Victor didn¡¯t waste time, reaching up to his cor and pulling with all his might. It was tougher than the one from the mine, but it still wasn¡¯t designed to withstand the kind of force Victor was delivering, and he felt the metal start to give as he twisted.

    ¡°Stop whatever you¡¯re doing, Nareld. If you shoot me, I¡¯m going to fucking go berserk, and I don¡¯t want to kill some old guy just trying to make a buck.¡± Victor growled as he twisted again on the metal, stretching the straining metal another centimeter.

    ¡°Huh, huh, how ¡­¡± Nareld was still fumbling with the crossbow, clearly panicked beyond reason. As he pulled and twisted on the cor, Victor saw that he was inside an iron cage on the tbed of a wagon. Nareld was standing just behind the wagon, and he¡¯d managed to knock a ck, barbed bolt to his crossbow and was cranking back the string. Victor grunted and twisted, pulling with all his might, and the metal finally cracked and pulled apart.

    Heat surged in his stomach as his rage-attuned Energy was suddenly unbound, and Victor had to strain to hold it back. He dropped the twisted, broken cor and growled, ¡°Nareld. I¡¯m not fucking joking. Put it down, or you¡¯re probably gonna die.¡± Victor saw the older man hesitate, and that¡¯s when he cast Channel Spirit again, this time driving rage-attuned Energy into his arms and legs. He reached down, gripped the shackles at his ankles, and pulled, shattering the brittle iron chain. Then, he surged to his feet and kicked his cage door open, hopping down with a tter of loose, broken chains.

    ¡°You could earn some points with me by giving me the key. I don¡¯t like this look,¡± Victor said, holding up his manacled wrists. Nareld had set the crossbow down and was holding his hands out.

    ¡°Easy now,d. Old Nareld was just doing a job. I didn¡¯t hurt ya none.¡±

    ¡°So, you¡¯re willing to take my deal?¡±

    ¡°Um, could ya go over it again? What was it? I, uh, don¡¯t try to stop ya, and you don¡¯t kill me?¡± Nareld was backing away, his ck otter eyes wide and his cat-like whiskers trembling, as his lips worked to draw wheezing breaths.

    ¡°That¡¯s part of it, Nareld. I¡¯d also like you to forget you ever saw us. I don¡¯t want more information about me getting back to ap¡¯Yensha.¡± Victor turned around slowly, looking for Tha, and saw that she was also in the wagon, but further toward the bench, and she wasn¡¯t in a cage¡ªjust chained to a ring in the corner. ¡°Keys, Nareld. While you¡¯re at it, give me my shit. Where¡¯s my axe?¡±

    ¡°Yer belongings are all up under the driver¡¯s bench.¡±

    ¡°Keys?¡± Victor held out a hand, and Nareld, his furry arm trembling, reached out and deposited a brass keyring into it. There were several keys on the ring¡ªa simple iron one, a many-toothed silvery one, and three different brass-colored ones.

    ¡°The, uh, the silver key was for your cor.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor used the iron key to remove the manacle and shackle cuffs from his wrists and ankles, then he looked at Nareld with a scowl. ¡°Do I need to tie you up or knock you out or something?¡±

    ¡°No! No, Victor. I promise I won¡¯t be any trouble. I ain¡¯t got the means to fight you without setting a trap. You can see that, right?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Put your hands on top of your head and follow me.¡± Victor waited for him toply, and the furry Vodkin, somewhatically, held his hands on top of his head, still breathing shallowly with wide, spooked eyes. Victor nodded and walked to the front of the wagon where Thay. He held the keyring next to her cor, finding the correct shade of brass, and then he unlocked it, slipping it from around her neck.

    Victor took the cor and turned to Nareld. ¡°You ever worn one of these? It¡¯s not fun, Nareld.¡± He reached out and snapped the cor shut around the Vodkin¡¯s thick neck. It had been loose on Tha, but it squeezed the extra skin and blubber around Nareld¡¯s neck, causing it to bunch in a thick roll on top of the cor. Nareld grunted and winced, muttering protestations.

    ¡°... not necessary! I won¡¯t cause any trouble.¡± He groaned, and his arms fell limply at his sides as his cheeks drooped and his eyes pooled with tears.

    ¡°Sucks having your Energy blocked off, doesn¡¯t it? It¡¯s even nastier than the control cors they use in the mines.¡±

    ¡°Please! I was only working a contract! Don''t leave this on me; I¡¯ll be helpless.¡± The old hunter¡¯s pleas fell on deaf ears as Victor unlocked the chains around Tha¡¯s wrists, lifted her out of the wagon, and set her on the grass. He hopped up to the front of the wagon and opened the top of the driver¡¯s bench, and there, beautiful as ever, sat Lifedrinker. Victor lifted her and slipped her through the loop on his belt, then he saw Gorz and pulled the amulet back on over his head.

    Gorz started talking immediately, but Victor tuned him out for the moment, digging around until he found a felt pouch that clinked with the tell-tale sound of jewelry. He opened it and poured his and Tha¡¯s rings into his palm. Victor nced at Nareld and saw the Vodkin leaning against the wagon, still looking sallow and weak. ¡°If nothing¡¯s missing, Nareld, I¡¯ll let Tha decide if you should keep the cor on or not.¡±

    Victor slipped his rings on, and then he dug around until he found his storage pouch. There were other belongings in the space under the seat, but none of the clothes, bottles, weapons, or packages of food interested Victor, and he thought it sent a clearer message to the old hunter when he left all his stuff intact: Victor didn¡¯t need his things, and he wasn¡¯t amon bandit. He jumped down from the wagon and walked over to Tha.

    She seemed at peace lying in the sunny grass, and Victor almost hated to bother her. Still, he stooped, slipped her rings onto her fingers, and gently jostled her shoulder. ¡°Tha. Tha, wake up.¡±

    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve freed up her Energy, she should wake from the drugs soon.¡± Nareld sounded weak and morose, and Victor found himself feeling sort of sorry for the guy. He shook his head and growled. What the fuck was wrong with him? This asshole was going to sell them back into very or, probably, something much worse. Victor sighed and sat down in the grass next to Tha, keeping Nareld in his line of sight while he soaked in the warm sun.

    ¡°When was ap¡¯Yensha expecting you? You have some way ofmunicating with her?¡±

    ¡°If I tell you, will you take off this damned cor?¡±

    ¡°I told you, that¡¯s up to Tha. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be nicer if you cooperate.¡±

    ¡°When I took the contract, they gave me three message sheets. I already used ¡®em up, though.¡±

    ¡°Message sheets?¡± Victor took a bottle of water out of his ring and drank it. When he put it back, he nced through his things, making sure nothing was missing.

    ¡°Aye. I could write a message on this paper, and they¡¯d see it. Each sheet only worked once, though.¡± The old Vodkin sank into the grass, leaning against the wagon wheel, looking downright pathetic.

    ¡°Let me guess: you announced your sess with thest one?¡±

    ¡°Yes. By Vod, yes! Alright? Yes, I already told them I caught you. I¡¯m ruined! Everyone will either think me a liar or a fool.¡±

    ¡°No, not everyone. Just the assholes that hired you toe after me. Disappear, man. Go somewhere far away. I''ll be much less forgiving if you and I cross paths again.¡±

    ¡°Ungh,¡± Tha grunted as she worked her elbows underneath her, lifting her head. ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°This guy tried to kidnap us. He¡¯s working for some ap¡¯Yenshady.¡±

    ¡°Not just anydy, the head of their n! Rellia ap¡¯Yensha!¡± Nareld tried to sound vehement, but his weak, morose voice barely carried over the grass.

    ¡°Wow, Victor, what¡¯d you do to that guy?¡± Tha scooted up into a sitting position and nced at him sideways, gently rubbing one of her temples.

    ¡°Nothing¡ªjust took that cor off you and put it on him.¡±

    ¡°He cored me?¡± Tha reached up and felt at her neck, a deep scowl furrowing her brow.

    ¡°Yeah, they got the drop on us, but I worked around the ¡®special¡¯ cor he¡¯d made for me.¡± Victor shrugged, and Tha looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

    ¡°I¡¯ll exin it more when he¡¯s not around,¡± Victor said, and Tha nodded, still looking a bit groggy. ¡°Anyway, he didn¡¯t really hurt us, and he¡¯s just a bounty hunter. I told him you¡¯d decide if he keeps the cor on or not.¡±

    ¡°Yes, he keeps it,¡± Tha said without hesitation.

    ¡°No, please!¡± The Vodkin begged, still sitting with drooping shoulders next to his wagon.

    ¡°Damn your pleas!¡± Tha hissed. ¡°You¡¯re part of the whole thing! Capturing and using people¡ªnone of you are innocent. I¡¯d like to kill you here, but I know Victor won¡¯t let me. No, you can rot here or shuffle your way to a town and beg someone to help you get that off. See what it¡¯s like for a while, what you do so flippantly when you capture someone they tell you to!¡± Tha had mbered to her feet while speaking, and she hissed thest words with pure venom.

    Tha walked over to the big Vodkin and reached out a hand. Victor wondered what she was doing, but he just watched. Nareld hesitantly held out a hand, and Tha grabbed the wrist, hauling the man to his feet. He stood before her, sallow and sagging, with a questioning look in his big, moist eyes. Tha didn¡¯t say anything. She just walked behind him and shoved him away from the wagon to stumble into the grassy ins.

    Victor stood, bemused, watching while Tha produced a leather sk from her ring and then started sprinkling liquid all over the wagon. ¡°Oh, hey, Tha, are you sure you wanna do that?¡± he asked as he realized she was dousing the wooden wagon with oil.

    ¡°I sure am, Victor,¡± she growled, and then she produced a spark between her thumb and forefinger, and mes started to lick through the oil in an orange-blue ripple.

    ¡°No!¡± Nareld moaned, sitting in the grass and watching his wagon slowly go up in mes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t whine to me, bounty hunter!¡± Tha growled at him. ¡°Do you know what the people who hired you would do to us? You¡¯re getting off easy!¡±

    ¡°Alright, Tha,¡± Victor said, walking over to her. He put an arm over her shoulders and steered her toward the north. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. This old asshole isn¡¯t going to mess with us again.¡±

    ¡°I swear, Vodkin,¡± Tha said, looking back at Nareld, ¡°If we ever meet again, you¡¯ll taste my spear.¡± She jerked away from Victor and stalked over to the two rdii tied nearby. Victor sighed and waited while she yanked their leads off the stakes and clicked her tongue, leading them back with her. ¡°Payment for our trouble,¡± she hissed, looking at the cored Vodkin sitting slumped in the grass, watching his wagon burn.

    Victor didn¡¯t say anything, just started walking, and Tha followed. As they began their trek toward the road, he had a lot on his mind. What were they going to do about Belikot? His vote was to forget about him for now. Belikot had plenty to deal with¡ªsome kind of ¡°great cause,¡± the Naghelli, waking up from some sort of slumber. Surely he didn¡¯t have time to mess around with a couple of adventurers busy dealing with a hundred other things.

    Aside from Belikot, Victor¡¯s mind was trying to wrap around a much more immediate problem: for some reason, the fucking ap¡¯Yensha n didn¡¯t want to let bygones be bygones. Thanks to Nareld¡¯s message, they knew Victor and Tha were alive. Would they be willing to forget about the two of them? It didn¡¯t seem likely.

    ¡°We have to do something about ap¡¯Yensha,¡± Tha said.

    ¡°Hey, are you able to read minds now?¡± Victor said with augh.

    ¡°No, but I¡¯m sick of people treating me like property, and this bitch doesn¡¯t want to let us go. We need to deal with her, one way or another, Victor,¡± Tha spat, and Victor could see just how angry she still was.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m with you. I was thinking something simr, Tha. How can you go be with your daughter if she¡¯s hiring assholes like that guy,¡± Victor jerked his thumb back over his shoulder, ¡°to find you?¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡±

    ¡°So, we head to Gelica? Is that where they are?¡±

    ¡°I think so¡ªI know those families are in more than one city, but the ones dealing with the mine are probably in Gelica.¡±

    ¡°Do we still stop by to let Tellen know about Belikot?¡± Victor gestured vaguely to the north.

    ¡°Yes, I think we owe him that much,¡± Tha replied. ¡°What do we do about Belikot, anyway?¡±

    ¡°What can we do? He¡¯s going on the back burner for now. After we deal with ap¡¯Yensha and get you somewhere safe with your daughter, I¡¯ll look into him. Alright?¡±

    ¡°Back burner? Like on a stove? I like that one, Victor. Yes, I agree we need to focus on more immediate, more ¡­ living problems.¡± She smiled, squeezed Victor¡¯s shoulder, then turned and clicked her tongue at the two rdii plodding behind her. ¡°They¡¯re kind of sweet, the way they just followed along, no questions asked.¡±

    ¡°Well, sweet to you, but not their owner. Poor bastard!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare feel sorry for that man! How many people has he captured for people like ap¡¯Yensha over the years? How many girls has he delivered to the mines? He received more mercy than he deserved!¡±

    ¡°Right, yeah. When you look at it like that, I can see why you burned his wagon.¡± They walked in silence for a while, and suddenly something dawned on Victor, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not noon yet. I guess we were unconscious through the night.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and there¡¯s the road,¡± Tha said, pointing toward the horizon. Victor had to squint against the re of the bright blue sky, but he saw she was right¡ªa thin ribbon of brown wended across the grassy ins in the distance. They walked for a while more before Victor saw the delicate lines of white smoke rising in the far distance beyond the road, which had grown clear and wide as they drew near.

    ¡°Tellen¡¯s camp,¡± he said, pointing to the thin, wavey, white lines. Tha nodded, and they continued on. The sun was past midday when they crossed the road, and Victor paused to look for a long while in both directions. He couldn¡¯t see any movement or sign of any civilization, and he wondered just how much traffic ever came this way. He wondered if the smart move would be to choose a direction and just keep going until they were so far away that the ap¡¯Yensha n couldn¡¯t be bothered to try toe for them.

    ¡°It¡¯s quiet out here,¡± Tha said, almost like she was having simr thoughts.

    ¡°What if we found your daughter and just made a run for it? It¡¯s a big world, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, very big, but we¡¯d have to travel far, indeed, to escape their reach,¡± Tha sighed and kicked at the road''s dirt. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how we¡¯ll even manage this problem. If we killed all the ap¡¯Yensha family in Gelica, there¡¯d still be thousands of them in different towns and cities.¡±

    ¡°I guess we need to figure out which members are concerned with us and then see if we can deal with them without getting the entire n after us.¡± Victor shrugged, not really sure what else to say.

    ¡°Deal with them?¡± Tha asked, raising an eyebrow.

    ¡°Whatever it takes. If we have to fight, we will. If we can strike a bargain, I¡¯ll consider that too. Though I¡¯m not fond of their business practices ¡­¡± Victor stopped, grasping for words, not sure exactly what he was trying to say. Finally, he continued, ¡°Let¡¯s cross that bridge when wee to it. First, we get to Gelica, then we get some information, and then we make a n.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ve already made the start of a n, Victor,¡± Tha smiled and started walking over the ins toward the hunters¡¯ camp.

    ¡°You think they have any more of that bread?¡± Victor asked, following after her and the two plodding, snuffling rdii.

 Book 2: Chapter 18: Old Mother

    Book 2: Chapter 18: Old Mother

    Tellen himself rode out to greet Victor and Tha as they approached the camp. He pulled up on his rdii, giving them a long, questioning look before returning Victor¡¯s called-out greeting. ¡°Well met, Victor and Tha. I feared something had gone wrong when you didn¡¯t return in the night.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor said, shading his eyes against the sun as he gazed up at the hunter. ¡°Some things went wrong.¡± Victor saw Tellen nce briefly to the left and right, and that¡¯s when he suspected something was very wrong. ¡°What¡¯s going on, Tellen?¡± he asked, putting a hand just beneath Lifedrinker¡¯s head, lifting her in the leather loop ever so slightly.

    ¡°Oyna had a visionst night. A dark surge of Energy to the south. We need to make sure you are still you, Victor.¡± He nced at Tha and added, ¡°and Tha.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Victor rxed, letting his hand fall away from Lifedrinker. ¡°That¡¯s fine. What do you need? Want us to talk to Oyna?¡± Tellen visibly rxed as he saw Victor release Lifedrinker and whistled and made a gesture with one of his hands. A dozen Shadeni n members rose up from their hiding ces among the grassy tufts and watched the trio warily, arrows nocked in their bows but not drawn back. ¡°Jeez, you really are nervous, eh?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen Oyna as upset as she wasst night, Victor, not to mention the strange lights in the air¡ªevil portents.¡±

    ¡°Well, if it helps, I brought you some rdii,¡± Tha said, finally breaking her silence.

    ¡°An interesting gift to bring forth from poisonous ruins.¡± Tellen rode forward, looking more closely at the two stocky rdii. ¡°Bred for draft work. We can find a use for them. Thank you, Tha.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, they weren¡¯t from the ruins,¡± Victor chimed in, ¡°but Tha earned them fair and square.¡±

    ¡°Follow me, please, and stay calm, so you don¡¯t further rm my people.¡± Tellen turned and started toward the camp, maintaining a slow, walking pace on his mount. He led Victor and Tha directly to Oyna¡¯s tent, and the old woman was sitting on a stool outside, poking at the coals of her fire. She looked up with squinting, wrinkled eyes and gestured to vacant stools and camp chairs around her fire pit.

    ¡°Sit down, and, Tellen, you can rx; they are themselves.¡±

    ¡°Ancestors!¡± Tellen released an explosive breath and leaped off his mount, striding over to Victor and offering him his hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Victor, but we feared the worst.¡± Victor took his hand firmly and thumped the wiry man on the shoulder.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. After what we sawst night, I understand why you¡¯d be cautious.¡± He nodded to Tha. ¡°We had an awful experience, and only half of it is due to those ruins and the phctery we brought into them. Tellen, I¡¯ve done a lot of boneheaded things in my life, but walking through a mysterious portal with a death caster¡¯s phctery is probably near the top.¡±

    ¡°You entered a portal?¡± Tellen asked.

    ¡°A portal?¡± Oyna crowed, chasing her words with a short cackle.

    ¡°Yeah, let me start at the beginning,¡± Victor said, sitting down next to Tha. He exined the portal they found, the strange, different version of the ruined vige, and the conversation with the Naghelli.

    ¡°Naghelli?¡± Tellen asked with a questioning look to Oyna.

    ¡°An ancient bloodline of the Ghelli. They thrived in darkness and fought for control of this continent during the great merging. My grandmother told me they were gone but always to keep a wary eye on the shadows.¡± For the first time Victor could remember, the old woman didn¡¯t cackle after she spoke.

    ¡°This Belikot, he must be a powerful death caster, indeed, to send shards of himself off in the world. It¡¯s not unheard of for powerful Energy users to split their souls in such a way, but for each shard to be so autonomous and powerful ¡­¡± Oyna trailed off, looking around, then said, ¡°He is not one to be trifled with. We should move to the autumn camp, Tellen.¡±

    ¡°Sorry for the bad news, but there¡¯s more,¡± Victor said. ¡°Powerful people are hunting us, and I can¡¯t stop to help deal with this Naghelli shit right now.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to help with,¡± Tellen said. ¡°We¡¯re leaving¡ªthis is a problem for the empires and armies of the world. We hunt.¡± He shrugged like thosest two words exined everything.

    ¡°Right. I, uh, I guess I was thinking it would be cool if he could be dealt with before it became a matter for armies. You know, to avoid all the death and destruction thates with warfare.¡± Victor looked at Tha as he spoke and saw her squint her eyes, but he couldn¡¯t tell if she was agreeing with him or not. She saw him looking at her and cleared her throat.

    ¡°Belikot needs to be stopped, but it¡¯s not something we can handle right now. There might be months, years, or even decades before he makes his next move, Victor. Remember what we talked about? Priorities.¡± Tha spoke confidently, but she wore a scowl¡ªshe wasn¡¯t happy about things.

    ¡°Yeah, we need to get to Gelica, Tellen. Sorry to dump this all on you, but it sounds like you guys will be moving on, anyway.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but I¡¯ll post watchers on the ruins, and Oyna can speak with spirit casters in Gelica. They¡¯ll give the word to the council, who can pass the word on to the Imperial Consul. If the Empire takes our warning seriously, they¡¯ll no doubt issue a quest for the destruction or capture of the Naghelli lurking in the ruins, Belikot included.¡±

    ¡°Really? That makes me feel better about, you know, sort of running away,¡± Victor said. ¡°Hey, Oyna, can you teach me how youmunicate with other spirit casters?¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± She cackled again, and Victor was d to see the genuine amusement on her wrinkled, red face. ¡°Two things you must know: the spell and the spirit caster with whom you wish to speak. I¡¯ll teach you the spell, but I can¡¯t help with the other part. Hah!¡±

    ¡°What about you? We know you,¡± Tha said, suddenly leaning forward, eyes hungry at the idea of learning a new spell.

    ¡°Oh, the fledgling wants to put her new affinity to use?¡± Sheughed again, rocking back and forth on her stool. ¡°Come,¡± she said, atst, gathering her breath, ¡°you¡¯ll stay the night, and Oyna will show you one of her grandmother¡¯s patterns. If you can copy it correctly, you¡¯ll learn.¡±

    ¡°I have many preparations to make,¡± Tellen said, ¡°Victor, Tha, I¡¯ll leave you with Oyna. If I don¡¯t speak to you again tonight, please find me in the morning before we part ways.¡±

    ¡°I will, Tellen, thanks.¡± Victor smiled at the angr, lean hunter, feeling a little guilty for the lines of worry and stress that creased the red flesh around his eyes. The hunter nodded and turned, leaving Victor and Tha with the grinning old woman.

    Oyna was staring into her coals, running her fingers along the little carved bones hanging from her leather vest''s tassels. When Tellen had led away the three rdii, and Victor could no longer hear the sounds of their passage, Oyna looked up, squinting at Victor.

    ¡°Do you still have the skull where you trapped that piece of Belikot?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor nodded.

    ¡°Don¡¯t remove it from that storage device until you are ready to face that problem. No doubt, the greater part of the whole will want all the pieces returned. That shard will be beyond his reach so long as you keep it tucked away¡ªhe won¡¯t be able to feel it, but if he knows you have it, he might seek you another way.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a problem I¡¯ll have to deal with eventually.¡± Victor shrugged. When he saw Tha¡¯s pensive expression, he asked a question he¡¯d been wondering about for a long time, ¡°Is there a way to shield yourself from scrying spells?¡±

    ¡°Of course. You can learn spells to obscure your presence, though they require concentration. I¡¯ve also seen traveling artificers selling wards, though most were fake or so weak that anyone with any strength could see past their obfuscations.¡±

    ¡°Do you know such spells?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°Me?¡± Oynaughed again, not really a cackle, more a dry, throaty chuckle. ¡°Oyna has never worried ¡®bout people watching her. No, you¡¯ll need to seek such protections elsewhere.¡±

    ¡°Oyna, you¡¯re the only other spirit caster I¡¯ve met. Aside from Tha, now, I guess. Can you teach me, I mean us, about spirit affinities and Cores?¡±

    ¡°Hah! You see whates of people forgetting the old ways? Each generation, even among the ns, we see fewer and fewer spirit Cores. More and more of the pearls and gemstones¡ªOyna can¡¯t teach those! Even my daughter left! Living in Persi Gables of all ces! She¡¯ll let things die out; just watch. No daughters, no sons¡ªwasting her talent helping the rich forget their guilt and feel joy for a while.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t want to learn, Oyna,¡± Victor said, trying to soothe her agitation, ¡°I was kidnapped from my world and didn¡¯t learn about my Core until I came here. No one I was with knew anything about it.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm, mmhmm, and you¡¯ve done a nice job building it up! Goodd, you are, Victor. You even gave this one some of the spirit,¡± she poked a bony finger into Tha¡¯s knee. ¡°You¡¯re worthy of learning a thing or two!¡± She punctuated her words with a bark of harsh, high-pitchedughter. ¡°So, you can make courage, eh? I sensed your rage. What¡¯s your other affinity, warrior? What do you mix with rage to craft courage, hmm? Is it hope?¡±

    ¡°Hope? No, my other affinity is inspiration.¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Oyna pped her knee. ¡°What a boon!¡±

    ¡°I only had rage, at first, but some ass ¡­¡± Victor stopped himself, cleared his throat, and continued, ¡°a nasty guy tried to break my Core, but I managed to rebuild it. When I gathered up the fragments, half of them were resistant to my rage affinity, so I had to sort of cultivate them with a different,¡± he looked to the sky, trying to think of the right word, ¡°aspect of my spirit. That¡¯s how I got the inspiration affinity.¡±

    ¡°Tribtions like that are how tempered, powerful spirit casters are made. You should find that man and thank him.¡± Oyna nodded, picking up a long stick to poke around in the ashes of her fire pit.

    ¡°I had entertained fantasies of finding him, though thanking him wasn¡¯t something I¡¯d considered ¡­¡±

    ¡°What about me, Oyna?¡± Tha asked after Victor trailed off.

    ¡°Hmm? What, girl?¡±

    ¡°My Core is still a whisper ss Core, but I have a band of courage around the death-attuned Energy at the center.¡±

    ¡°Whisper ss, hmm? Yes, not bad! A Core dwelling on the borders of the veil and the spirit. You¡¯ll never be as strong with spirit as your friend here, but much more versatile.¡±

    ¡°The veil?¡± Tha¡¯s eyes were wide with interest as she leaned forward toward the old woman, who¡¯d grown quieter as she spoke.

    ¡°Death, girl. What did you think when you gathered up that dark Energy? Did you think it would bring you closer to the flowers and trees? To love? No,ss, your Energy is meant to draw forth andpel remnants of spirits before they slip too far away from this ne.¡±

    ¡°I wish I¡¯d known ¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re lucky, though,¡± Oyna said softly, but her voice was matter-of-fact.

    ¡°How so?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve not cultivated that side of your power at all. You¡¯ve not bargained with any spirits other than the one that tried to dominate you. You can cultivate your courage affinity and learn to use your death affinity for a cleaner purposemunicating with spirits and putting them to rest, even those in the service of other death casters.¡± As the old woman exined herself, Tha sat back with a soft exhtion, clearly contemting her words.

    ¡°Oyna, can I learn other spirit affinities? Can I further split my Core?¡± Victor asked, filling the silence.

    ¡°Of course, but with versatilityes a cost. I can see that your two affinities are bnced nicely but consider: if you hadn¡¯t split your Core, you¡¯d have twice as much rage Energy as you do now. If you split your Core again, you¡¯ll lose half the potency of whichever part of your Core breaks. Then there¡¯s the possibility that you don¡¯t have any other strong affinities. I imagine you found your rage easily, hmm? How about your inspiration? Did you have to dig further? There may be others, but I don¡¯t know. We have rituals, though; you could seek guidance from powerful spirits.¡±

    ¡°Rituals?¡±

    ¡°Yes, boy. Weeks of preparation are required, though, and we¡¯re not near one of our ces of power. Come visit me in our winter camp, maybe, hmm? Now, you want to learn to walk with your spirit? To talk to others like you?¡± Oyna reached a hand to the turquoise and polished bone ne she wore, and suddenly an ancient-looking, leather-bound sheaf of yellowed papers was in her hand. ¡°You¡¯ll need this spell anyway if you ever attempt a spirit quest.¡±

    ¡°Spirit ¡­¡± Victor started to ask, but Oyna held up a hand as if to shush him.

    ¡°Let me find this,¡± she muttered, slowly thumbing through the thick, yellowed parchment, squinting carefully at each page as though she were trying to puzzle out a mystery scrawled there. Victor watched for a while and nced at Tha to see if she thought the old woman¡¯s pursed lips and squinting eyes were as funny as he did, but she was still staring into space, clearly mulling over what Oyna had said earlier.

    ¡°Here!¡± Oyna said with a bark ofughter, pulling a sheet of paper out of the leather binder. She smoothed it out atop the binder on herp. ¡°Pull that stool over here, please, warrior.¡± Victor did as she asked, dragging a stool to act as a table between the three of them. Oyna put the parchment down and turned it so that he and Tha could see the intricate pattern depicted in delicate red and ck lines.

    ¡°This is the spell?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°Aye, girl. Do you have things to write with?¡±

    ¡°I do! I have notebooks and a spellbook that belonged to Belikot, or at least the fragment of him that we met in the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°You keep that tucked away for now, girl. You should spend your days and nights building up your courage attunement. When it zes brighter than your death affinity, then you can start to dabble with those magics. Do you hear me?¡± Oyna¡¯s face lost its nearly ever-present crooked grin, and she stared at Tha until she nodded her head deeply, almost bowing to the older Shadeni.

    ¡°Yes, I understand.¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± she said, and Victor sighed, relieved to see the smilee back on her face as she cackled again. ¡°Give yourrge friend a notebook; you both should copy this pattern. You¡¯ll need to study and practice for a while before this spell will be yours. Might take you a few nights, might take you a year. Hah!¡±

    ¡°Will we know what to do when we finish the pattern? I mean, in our pathways?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°No! Start copying, and I¡¯ll exin.¡±

    ¡°I already have a notebook, Tha,¡± Victor said, pulling out the one he¡¯d taken back in the dungeon so that he could work on his courage weave. Together, he and Tha started to scrawl out the pattern for the spell Oyna hadid out for them. Oyna cleared her throat and began to exin the magic while they worked.

    ¡°You must never practice this magic if you aren¡¯t secure. Lock yourself in a hidey-hole, or have a friend watch over you! Tsk! Don¡¯t ask why; I¡¯m about to exin! When you cast this spell, your spirit will enter a ne adjacent to this one¡ªthe spirit ne. Your body will lie helpless, and you won¡¯t be aware of anything happening to it. Do you see the danger? I hope so because if you didn¡¯t, Oyna would be wasting her time on your soft brains.¡±

    Victor grunted and kept concentrating on the delicate spiral he was currently drawing. Tha also made a sound of assent, and Oyna continued, ¡°Distance on the spirit ne is different from this one. You also won¡¯t be bound by the same limits that your physical body endures. You can travel great stretches of space with just a thought, and that¡¯s how you canmunicate with distant spirit casters; if they expect you or make themselves avable at a certain time, you can think about them, think about moving toward them, and your spirit will make the journey in the matter of a few ¡®steps.¡¯¡±

    ¡°So we still walk around? As spirits?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°Oh yes, your spirit will be bound to a form simr to your physical one, simply because that¡¯s the construct your mind will be most familiar with. Experienced spirit walkers can change their form, which brings me to the next part of your lesson: beware of other spirits you meet while spirit walking.¡±

    ¡°We might run into others?¡± Victor took his turn to ask a question.

    ¡°Aye, warrior, and your axe won¡¯t help you on that ne. You might meet a harmless, lost, wandering soul, or you might meet a predator¡ªa spirit caster that feeds on those weaker than herself.¡± Herugh sounded ominous, and Victor nced up from his drawing to see a distant look in her eyes. ¡°One such tried to take me when I was younger. Oyna bested him, though.¡± Herughter was deep and husky, and Victor could tell she was reliving a relished memory.

    ¡°Well, what do we do if we see someone like that?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°Run! Fool girl, hah!¡± Oyna reached out and took up one of Tha¡¯s long braids, giving it a gentle tug. ¡°Don¡¯t pout; Oyna is just teasing. This spell is easy to cancel; if you see danger, just end it, and your soul will rush back to your body. You must be quick, though¡ªa true spirit hunter will have ways to bind you if you aren¡¯t.¡±

    Oyna spoke for a while longer, but then she returned to her tent to ¡°prepare herbs,¡± and Victor and Tha kept working on their copies of her ancient spell parchment. Victor was surprised when he finished his copy before Tha was much further than halfway done. He spoke to Gorz for a while in his head while he waited for Tha to finish, and Gorz spected that Victor¡¯s intelligence attribute was probably higher than Tha¡¯s.

    Victor thought Gorz might be correct, but when he looked at Tha¡¯s copy of the pattern, he saw that she was shading the lines, whorls, and weaves of the pattern far more elegantly than he had, using different colors of ink, and he said, ¡°You¡¯re creating a work of art, there.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s the first time someone ever let me copy something so precious. Think how old this spell is. Think about the honor of having this Old Mother share it with us. I want to save this in my spellbook for my daughter.¡± The way Tha said, ¡°old mother,¡± was heavy with reverence, and Victor looked at his friend for a moment, realizing he¡¯d missed something about her and the way she felt about Oyna.

    ¡°Did you have someone like Oyna in your family?¡± he asked.

    ¡°My father¡¯s mother was sort of like her. Everyone respected her, but none of us could be bothered to learn from her. When she died, a lot of our family history was lost. If I could go back in time, I¡¯d do things differently with her.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, yeah, I can see that. Oyna¡¯s story about her daughter hit you kinda hard, huh?¡±

    ¡°I hope my daughter doesn¡¯t resent me or refuse to learn what I want to teach her, Victor. I¡¯m afraid the damage is already done, and I¡¯ve missed too much time. I hope I can help her build a Core that uses this kind of magic¡ªit seems special, Victor. It¡¯s not like the cold, callous magic of a Sorcerer or an Elementalist. It¡¯s not like the shy weapon skills used by many Hunters, Warriors, and Skirmishers. Spirit magic is a reflection of the caster; it¡¯s a reflection of what they are.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess so. What does that say about me, that my strongest affinity is with rage?¡±

    ¡°It means you¡¯ve had a hard life! Victor, you¡¯re so strong¡ªyou¡¯ve shown me what a spirit caster can do, and yet, I¡¯ve never seen you hurt someone that didn¡¯t deserve it. Your second affinity is with inspiration! Think about that! You found inspiration when you were nothing but a ve, beaten down and nearly broken. What does that say about you?¡±

    Victor opened his mouth to reply, but he couldn¡¯t find the right words, so he just sat back and looked at the pattern Oyna had shared with them. It was beautiful andplex, and he wanted to start trying to build it with a strand of Energy in his pathways, but he felt he should wait until Oyna told them to. He decided to sit back, study it, and wait.

    Tha smiled softly at his silence and kept doggedly working at her beautiful copy of the spell. Half an hourter, when she was finishing thest swirl, Oyna came out of her tent as if on cue, and she carried an ornate silver tray with a pot of steaming tea and three cups. ¡°Good, good, daughter,¡± she said, ncing at Tha¡¯s work. Victor saw Tha¡¯s eyes widen at the old woman¡¯s words, and he wondered how she felt. Daughter was definitely a loaded term where Tha was concerned.

    Oyna looked at Victor¡¯s copy of the spell and smiled, nodding. ¡°This is clean and simple: a good reflection of your spirit, warrior.¡± She handed the tray to Victor, then reached down and scooped up her spell, clearing the little stool they¡¯d used as a table. She gestured for Victor to set the tea tray on it, and after he¡¯dplied, she said, ¡°Now, we¡¯ll try to spirit walk together, hmm? This tea will help focus you, and Tellen will watch over us. This is the best way to learn, children.¡±

    ¡°Now?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°No, no. First, you need to build the pattern in your pathways, and when you feel it''s right, when you see your Energy ept it, and the nosy System tells you what you¡¯ve done, then we¡¯ll cast it and meet on the spirit ne.¡±

    ¡°So you were teasing about it taking us a year?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°Yes, and I was snooping when you spoke to the warrior here. I want to meet your daughter, Tha, and I want to help her gain a spirit Core. Would you like that?¡±

    ¡°I ¡­¡± Tha opened her mouth to speak but then stopped, clearly at a loss for words. ¡°I think she¡¯d ¡­¡± again, she stopped, and Victor could hear the thickness in her throat and see that her eyes were welling with tears, and he looked down, self-conscious about staring when she was feeling such raw emotion.

    ¡°Hush, tut. Oyna forgets how sensitive young people can be. Don¡¯t worry, daughter. We¡¯ll talk many times before you bring her here. I¡¯ll meet with your spirit, and we¡¯ll make ns. You want to learn, yes?¡± Tha only nodded, wiping at her eyes, and Oyna shuffled over to her and pulled her into a hug. Tha¡¯s head came up to her corbone, even sitting, and when Victor saw the smile on Oyna¡¯s face and the tears streaming down Tha¡¯s cheeks, his own eyes started to fill, and he rubbed the backs of his knuckles at them, taking a deep breath, happy to see such joy in a world that had, so far, demonstrated a great deal of the opposite.

    ¡°Better?¡± Oyna asked, stroking Tha¡¯s braids.

    ¡°I am, thank you, Old Mother.¡± Tha sniffed, ncing at Victor and smiling when she saw his watery eyes. ¡°What are you crying about, you softie?¡±

    ¡°What? It¡¯s the smoke!¡± Victorughed and looked up at the stars, and, for the first time in a long while, he felt lucky to be where he was.

 Book 2: Chapter 19: A Lot to Learn

    Book 2: Chapter 19: A Lot to Learn

    Victor painstakingly twisted his braid of inspiration Energy into thest loop of the spell pattern. Suddenly the whole thing¡ªall the coils, and whorls, all the twists, and branches¡ªseemed to solidify and glow with bright, white-gold Energy, and then a System message appeared:

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned the spell: Spirit Walk - Basic.***

    ***Spirit Walk - Basic: Prerequisite: any spirit-based Energy affinity. Using the fundamental, primal nature of your Energy, you send forth and sustain your soul on its essential ne of existence. The duration of this spell is dependent on your Energy stores, and no protections are granted to your soul or your physical being. Energy Cost: Minimum 50 - scble. Cooldown: Long.***

    When Victor wiped away the message, and his eyes fell on his surroundings, he was startled to realize that he was standing in a strange, gray-lit twilight. He, Oyna, and Tha stood in a peculiar echo of the ins, with nothing but grass and starlit sky for as far as he could see in any direction. Tha was smiling hugely, and she shimmered with faint, golden luminescence. Sheughed, and her voice seemed to echo out of a deep chasm,ing oddly to Victor¡¯s ears.

    He turned his gaze to Oyna and was startled to see she wasn¡¯t an old woman any longer. She was still diminutive, but her skin was smooth, and her eyes were bright, glowing with warm, pink Energy. Sheughed along with Tha, and her old woman cackle was gone, reced by a rich, smooth, mirthful sound that brought joy to Victor¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Oyna, you¡¯re beautiful!¡± Tha said.

    ¡°Of course! Wasn¡¯t I always?¡± she asked, stillughing.

    ¡°This is weird as hell,¡± Victor said, looking around them and flexing his mouth as his words came to his ears, sounding like a different person spoke them.

    ¡°This is the spirit ne, and, yes, things are different here. Remnants of things made by people rarely have an echo here, so you see the world as it would be if we hadn¡¯t built upon it. No roads, no tents, and even if you stood in the middle of Gelica, only a few things would stand out of the rich, soft grass.¡±

    ¡°I feel a cold tugging in my chest,¡± Tha said, suddenly putting a hand over her heart.

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    ¡°You don¡¯t have enough spirit Energy to keep this spell going long, child. Let¡¯s all return¡ªyou¡¯ve seen enough for your first walk, and now you know the spell. More practice wille easily. Just concentrate on the spell and end it, as you would a simple light spell.¡± Tha nodded, closing her eyes, and then she was gone.

    ¡°You have to watch over her, warrior. She¡¯s vulnerable while her death Energy so heavily outweighs her spirit Energy. Help her cultivate her courage. Protect her, and keep the temptation of her other side at bay until she¡¯s grown stronger. Promise me!¡± Oyna reached out, and her smooth, strong hands bit into Victor¡¯s wrists, where she grasped him.

    ¡°I promise, Oyna. I want her to be safe just as much as you do.¡±

    ¡°Good, good. Alright, warrior, let¡¯s join her. End your spell.¡± She still held Victor¡¯s wrists while she spoke, and he nodded, closed his eyes, and concentrated on his Spirit Walk spell, willing it to end. Suddenly the cool, still air was reced by the heat of a campfire and smoke, and the sound of camp life crashed in, banishing the silence of the spirit ne.

    ¡°That was incredible, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Tha asked, smiling at him as he rapidly blinked, waving the smoke away from his face.

    ¡°Hah, you¡¯ve barely scratched at the wonder of spirit walking. A good start, though, daughter. A good start.¡± Oynaughed and stood, shakily leaning on her walking stick. ¡°Now, this old woman needs some sleep. You two should also sleep, and you¡¯re wee in my home. The dawn will bring the start of a long journey for you.¡±

    She didn¡¯t wait for them to respond, ducking into her tent, a breathy chuckle apanying her progress. Victor looked at Tha as the canvas ps fell closed and said, ¡°Yeah, it was incredible.¡± He moved a little closer to her and said in a low voice, ¡°Do you know how to cultivate spirit Energy?¡±

    ¡°Oyna was talking to me about it before you woke up the other day. Something about focusing on the emotion that gives you the same feeling as your affinity and then drawing from the Energy it produces somehow? It seemsplicated! For my old Core, I just drew the Energy in the world around me into my pathways and slowly built it up, pushing it into my Core.¡±

    ¡°Well, lucky for me, I never learned any other way. When I just had rage-attuned Energy, I learned to focus on the memories that caused me the most anger, and then I¡¯d examine the memory, breaking it down until I¡¯d taken the essence of rage from it, sort of a construct that was separate from the emotion. I could study it, creating a feedback loop of rage that coursed through me, through my pathways, and into my Core. It wasn¡¯t pleasanting up with those constructs, but I think it kind of helped me. I learned a lot about myself in those weeks.¡±

    ¡°It sounds hard, Victor. What about your inspiration attunement?¡± Tha leaned close, copying Victor¡¯s hushed tone.

    ¡°That was really different¡ªit was like my introspection about inspiration helped me deal with my current reality. I was new to the mines, and my Core was all fucked up, so I was pretty down. I stumbled on inspiration almost by ident when I started to examine how I felt about Captain Lam. On the surface, I thought she was beautiful, but I was also terrified and in awe of her. I didn¡¯t focus on that, though. A certain image kepting to my mind: Lam gliding down out of the darkness to smash into the beetle horde.¡± Victor paused to gather his thoughts, looking up at the stars.

    ¡°I remembered how I¡¯d been pretty sure we were goners. I was on myst shreds of Energy, and my body was exhausted, and then Lam came out of nowhere, crashing into the center of the horde, and I felt like I had to respond; I had to keep trying as long as she was fighting. You know what I mean? I was inspired.¡±

    ¡°So after you realized that, what then? You started making mental constructs about inspiration and focused on them to cultivate?¡±

    ¡°Exactly! I started thinking about people I admired and how they made me feel¡ªcoaches, other athletes, friends I made in the pits, but, yeah, Lam was the key.¡±

    ¡°This is really helpful, Victor. Oyna tried to exin this to me, but now it¡¯s all starting to make sense.¡± Tha nodded, her eyes unfocused like she was picturing something.

    ¡°You have any ideas for what you might think about to cultivate courage?¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Tha smiled, sitting up and refocusing on Victor, ¡°I have a few ideas.¡± She reached out, squeezed Victor¡¯s hand with both of hers, and continued, ¡°I¡¯m going to work on it for a while. You can turn in if you¡¯re tired.¡±

    ¡°Not a chance. I¡¯ll work on my cultivation drills for a while too. Let me know if you have any more questions.¡± Victor sat back, took up his lotus position, and began gathering Energy into his pathways, using the drill he taught himself so long ago. He started with rage, and when he felt exhausted and spent, he turned to inspiration which felt like a vacation after the strain of confronting the demons in his memories, most of which were reflections of himself.

    It didn¡¯te as a surprise when he opened his eyes and saw the glimmer of pale light on the eastern horizon. He¡¯d made good progress with his cultivation, and with his improved racial status and high vitality, he felt quite rested, even though he hadn¡¯t slept at all. He was happy to see that, at some point, Tha had curled up on the woven rug and was sound asleep near the now-cold fire pit. Victor yawned and stood, stretching his arms up into the sky to the apaniment of pops and cracks from his neck and spine.

    ¡°Awake already, warrior?¡± Oyna pushed aside her tent p and stepped out into the dim light, her breath puffing out in a small cloud. The pre-dawn chill was more biting than he remembered it, and Victor, not for the first time, wondered what the seasons were like in this part of the world.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said, ¡°Oyna, is summer almost over? What¡¯s winter like around here? Any snow?¡±

    ¡°Oh, autumn is upon us, warrior. You should know this, hah! Snow will find us, aye, but we¡¯ve a cozy winter camp south and west of here, and I think you and Tha wille to us there. You to visit, and Tha to stay with her daughter. I¡¯ve had a good sleep on this, and that¡¯s how it should go. Do you understand me?¡± Victor looked at Tha¡¯s peaceful, sleeping face, and he nodded. She deserved a break, and he¡¯d make sure he got her back to Oyna.

    ¡°Yeah. Didn¡¯t you say something about moving to your autumn camp? Is that on the way to your winter camp?¡±

    ¡°Clever warrior! Yes, it is. Don¡¯t worry about finding us. Oyna will look for you in the spirit realm and give you guidance. On the first day of each week, I¡¯ll wait for you at midnight¡ªwalk your spirit to me, and I can help you.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thanks, Oyna. I¡¯ll tell Tha.¡±

    ¡°I heard,¡± Tha said, grunting as she pushed herself up to a sitting position. ¡°I have to pee. Get the fire going, Victor! I¡¯ll be back in a minute.¡±

    ¡°Hey, I was about to go . . .¡± he trailed off as she hurried away. ¡°Oh well. Oyna, do you have some wood?¡±

    ¡°Yes, boy. Sit down, sit down. Who do you think starts my fire every day? I don¡¯t need a traveling warrior to help me with that.¡±

    When Tha returned, Victor took his turn at thetrines, and when he returned to Oyna¡¯s tent, Tellen was sitting across from Tha, and they were eating some sort of porridge that Oyna was stirring in a pot. She handed Victor a bowl when he sat down, and he ate it, listening to the conversation already in progress. The warm cereal wasn¡¯t sweet like he¡¯d guessed, but rather buttery and salty, and it felt good in his stomach.

    ¡°Yes, our autumn camp is closer to Gelica than this one, but the winter camp is a bit further. Both are southwest of here, and the winter camp is near the Blue Deep¡ªa forest that stretches for a thousand miles. We hunt rich game on its edges during the coldest months and never fear hunger.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of the Blue Deep!¡± Tha said. ¡°Isn¡¯t there a Ghelli city there?¡±

    ¡°Oh, aye. Twilight Home, they call it, but it¡¯s hundreds of miles from our camp.¡±

    They talked for a while more about Tellen¡¯s ns, but soon it was time for Oyna to pack her tent, and several youngsters from the n came to help her. Victor and Tha started to feel like they were in the way, so they gathered their things, and while Victor shook Tellen¡¯s hand and promised to visit again, Tha hugged Oyna. He couldn¡¯t hear what she said into the old woman¡¯s ear, but both of them had tears in their eyes when they parted.

    ¡°And you, warrior. You remember what I told you. Take care,¡± she turned, without anyughter, and ducked into her tent.

    ¡°Thank you, Tellen,¡± Tha said, ¡°We¡¯ll see you again soon, I hope.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d offer you mounts, but we¡¯ve lost some of our best riding rdii in thest months to boyii hounds, and I don¡¯t think you¡¯d enjoy trying to ride the stubborn draft bulls we¡¯ve got, even the ones you brought in.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t even know how to ride, to be honest,¡± Victor said. ¡°I suppose I should learn sometime, but I¡¯m good with walking for now.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine,¡± Tha said, ¡°Thanks anyway, Tellen.¡± After yet another handshake and goodbye, Victor and Tha finally began to walk over the grasnd toward the road, angling to the west.

    ¡°How many days to Gelica?¡± Victor asked, even though he¡¯d heard it mentioned several times that it was a four or five-day trip.

    ¡°At this pace? Five days, I bet.¡± Tha said.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m happy to go faster! How long do you think you can keep up with me?¡± Victorughed, starting into a jog.

    ¡°Ugh! No, Victor! It¡¯s too early for a run. Let¡¯s walk for a while!¡± Tha yelled after him. Heughed and relented, and they walked along the road, steadily putting miles between themselves and the hunters¡¯ camp as the sun climbed the eastern sky. They didn¡¯t talk much, but their silence wasfortable, and they both seemed to be in good spirits. Sometime past mid-morning, Tha said, ¡°Victor did you sleepst night?¡±

    ¡°Nah, but I made some good progress on my Core. I think I¡¯m near the next rank. Honestly, I feel just as rested from cultivating all night as I used to feel sleeping five or six hours before school.¡±

    ¡°You went to a school?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, hah! I know I don¡¯t act like it, but in my world, pretty much everyone attends school up to a point.¡±

    ¡°Some towns and cities here are like that, but in most of the bigger cities, it¡¯s just the wealthy that send their children to school. The rest of us learn from family and then through apprenticeships.¡±

    ¡°Well, what about you? I mean,st night; did you make any progress with your courage affinity?¡±

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    ¡°Yes!¡± Tha said passionately. ¡°Victor, it was so amazing! I did like you said: I searched my memories for emotion and then really got into them, relived them, and then made ¡®constructs¡¯ out of them. It took me a long time toe up with the first one, but then it got easier and easier. I have seven good courage constructs now, and when I¡¯m done cycling through them all, I feel so exhausted but so good. Do you know what I mean?¡±

    ¡°I know exactly what you mean. When I go through my rage constructs, I feel utterly spent. My inspiration constructs don¡¯t do that, though; I feel the work I¡¯m doing, pushing the Energy through my pathways, but mentally I feel damn good when I¡¯m done.¡±

    ¡°I wonder how long ¡®til my Core levels,¡± Tha said, kicking a round stone off the road to bounce and tumble through the yellow grass.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you feel it? I feel a pressure building and a sense that I¡¯m going to break through.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I think I know what you mean, but it¡¯s very different from my other Core. You know my old pearl Core. I never had any experience cultivating when I just had the death Energy, either.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a good thing. You want your courage Energy to outweigh your death Energy, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Tha said, nodding.

    ¡°So it¡¯s good you never built it up, then. You gained a lot from that dungeon orb, but I think you¡¯ll build up your courage side quickly, then you can stop worrying about what that death Energy will do to you.¡±

    ¡°I know the Old Mother asked you to watch out for me. I feel kind of stupid¡ªwhen we first fled the mine, I thought I¡¯d be the one looking out for you.¡±

    ¡°Eh, we look out for each other, right?¡± Victor shrugged. Tha opened her mouth to say something but then held up a hand, pointing down the road. Victor followed the line of her finger and saw, far down the dirt-colored ribbon, near the horizon, a tiny ck dot under a faint puff of dust that hung in the pale blue sky. ¡°A rider?¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a wagon,¡± Tha said, squinting.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got good eyes,¡± Victor held a hand to his brow, squinting, trying to see what wasing. As he watched, the ck dot slowly grew and resolved into the shape of a dark brown wagon being pulled by arge, ck animal. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± He looked around and saw nothing but grassy ins on either side of the road. ¡°No point hiding, even if we could.¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a threat. That¡¯s a bundii pulling that wagon¡ªthey¡¯re strong but slow.¡±

    ¡°Bundii? Is it like a big rdii?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly. They¡¯re more like birds. I think they are birds¨Cthey have dark feathers and taloned feet, but they can¡¯t fly. They¡¯re huge and strong; one of them can pull as much as three or four rdii.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t people make enchanted wagons?¡±

    ¡°You mean self-propelling wagons?¡± When Victor nodded, she continued, ¡°In the cities, you¡¯ll see coaches and some wagons that run on Energy, but the enchantments are expensive and difficult for people with low affinity to keep powered up and running.¡±

    ¡°Makes sense.¡± They kept walking toward the approaching wagon, and as it drew nearer and nearer, Victor started to make out its details. It was tall, made from dark wood and dull gray metal, and he frowned when he realized there were bars built into the wood. The driver was a Cadwalli, one with long, spiraling hornsing out the sides of his head. ¡°Do all Cadwalli grow horns eventually? I don¡¯t remember noticing them.¡±

    ¡°No, it depends on their bloodlines and how far they¡¯ve advanced their race. Looking at his clothes and that wagon, I¡¯d say this is an old, wealthy Cadwalli, indeed.¡± Tha said, and Victor noticed she was leaning on her spear, holding it like a walking stick.

    ¡°You think we¡¯re in for trouble?¡± He loosened Lifedrinker in her loop.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she said with a shrug. The wagon was only about fifty yards distant now, and Victor could see the driver staring at them. He wore a dusty yellow jacket over a blue shirt, and an oversized crossbow with aplicated firing mechanism was mounted next to his seat. The Cadwalli didn¡¯t reach for it, but it was menacing, nheless. Victor and Tha stood to the side of the road, and the man waved as he came a bit closer.

    ¡°Hail, travelers!¡± he called out. Tha lifted a hand to wave, but Victor just watched as the wagon rolled closer, then stopped a good twenty yards away. ¡°How¡¯s the road ahead?¡± The Cadwalli had a gruff, deep voice, and Victor saw he was stouter and taller than other Cadwalli he¡¯d met, muchrger than Vullu and even Fele. His hands glittered with gold and silver rings, and when he shifted in his seat, Victor noticed a brace of pearl-handled knives under the p of his dusty coat.

    ¡°Road¡¯s fine,¡± Tha said. Victor nodded and started walking toward the wagon.

    ¡°Where you headed?¡± he heard himself ask, almost like he was observing things from outside his body.

    ¡°Greatbone,¡± the driver said.

    ¡°Quite a wagon and beast,¡± Victor said, stopping a few feet from the giant bird. It looked very much like an overgrown ostrich. Its bulbous ck eyes regarded him cidly before it dipped its head into the feed bag attached to theplicated yoke it wore.

    ¡°Thank you, stranger. This is Gzantha,¡± the driver gestured to his enormous bird. ¡°She¡¯s my pride and joy.¡±

    ¡°What you hauling?¡± Victor started walking around the side of the bird, and he noticed the driver shift toward the crossbow.

    ¡°Criminals. Now, how about you stop acting so threatening, hmm?¡±

    ¡°Criminals?¡± Victor stopped, still a few feet from the front of the wagon and off to the side of the bird. He nced back at Tha, and she met his gaze evenly. He had the impression she was going to follow his lead. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that before. I suppose you¡¯re selling them to the mining consortium?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t traffic ves. I¡¯m selling these criminals¡¯ contracts.¡±

    ¡°Now that really sounds familiar.¡± Victor backed up a few steps so he could see the side of the wagon. It was built very solidly, with small, barred windows spaced evenly on what appeared to be two separate decks. ¡°You mind if I look at the contracts?¡±

    ¡°Who are you, stranger, to ask such a thing? Are you an imperial official? If so, I¡¯d like a look at your seal of office.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a concerned citizen. I¡¯ve heard innocent people are being sold into the mines.¡±

    ¡°My name is Karth, and I¡¯m a legitimate broker. Mark that name, stranger; I¡¯ll not have my reputation impugned!¡±

    ¡°Alright, Karth. We¡¯re not saying differently, but would you mind letting us see those contracts? For our peace of mind? It¡¯s just us out here, and we¡¯re not criminals.¡± Tha hade up behind him and spoke soothingly to the driver, clearly trying to diffuse things before they got worse. ¡°My name¡¯s S, and this is my friend Thengal,¡± she continued, and Victor smiled and nodded. It was smart, he supposed, to use fake names since this guy was heading to Greatbone.

    ¡°Your friend has a dangerous look, and I don¡¯t like the tone he¡¯s taking,¡± Karth said, straightening his jacket and frowning down at Victor.

    ¡°Sorry, Karth. I¡¯m not a bandit, alright? Like I said, though, we¡¯ve had some bad dudes bringing captured people with fake contracts to sell at the mine.¡±

    ¡°Do you work for the mine, then?¡± Karth still looked skeptical, but he leaned away from his big crossbow.

    ¡°No, we¡¯re out of Steampool Vale. You been there?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Once. I usually just head back to Gelica from the mine, though.¡± He sighed heavily, then produced a leather-bound sheaf of papers. ¡°I have eighteen passengers, and all of their contracts are in order.¡± He held the binder out toward Tha. Tha, smiling, strode forward to take it, giving the bird a wide berth. Victor watched closely, but Karth didn¡¯t do anything threatening, and when Tha backed away with the contracts, he sat back on his seat and proceeded to file his long, ck nails with something that glinted silvery in the bright sun.

    Tha brought the papers over to Victor and started flipping through the contracts. None were as shoddy and full of stricken through lines as Victor¡¯s old contract. Many of them were bordered with runes, and Tha said, ¡°Some of these are binding Energy contracts. Those are expensive, and I see official seals on most of them¡ªimperial prisons.¡± She spoke softly and faced away from Karth while Victor kept an eye on the man.

    Victor backed up a few steps, and Tha followed. In little more than a whisper, he asked her, ¡°Does it say how old the prisoners are? I hate the idea of letting this guy deliver eighteen more victims to the mine, but are we ready to go to war with the mine right now?¡±

    ¡°A few of the contracts mention ages. I don¡¯t see any kids, but some only mention names, crimes, and ces of origin. And, no, I don¡¯t think we¡¯re ready to go to war. We¡¯re supposed to being up with a n to get the mining consortium to forget about us, remember?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor thought about her words. Tha was trying to get free of trouble so she could get her daughter¡ªit wouldn¡¯t be right for him to start making new enemies for her. He took the sheaf of contracts and walked toward Karth, ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t see any problems here, but let me ask you: do you have any kids in that wagon? I mean, young people screwed over by circumstance? I¡¯m not going to steal from you, but if you do, I¡¯ll buy their contracts.¡±

    Karth¡¯s face went from a scowl to something more like a smile at Victor¡¯s words, and he said, ¡°Lad, I¡¯ming from Spiral Rock Penitentiary. People don¡¯t get sent there if they haven¡¯t been mixed up in some bad stuff. You hear how quiet they''re being? That¡¯s because my wagon is artificed for strength and to silence the upants¡ªfor my protection!¡± Karth was the first stranger to call Victor a d¡¯ or a ¡®kid¡¯ in a while, and it made him wonder how old the man was. If he¡¯d advanced his race a lot, he could be ancient and still look young and healthy, at least ording to what people had told Victor.

    ¡°Alright, Karth. Thanks for humoring us.¡± Victor stepped back next to Tha and watched as the wagon driver clicked his tongue and the great bird started pulling the huge, creaking wagon down the road. ¡°Eighteen more victims for the mine. I feel like shit not doing something.¡± Victor spat into the dusty road.

    ¡°We can¡¯t afford the trouble right now, Victor. If you¡¯re going to help people caught up in this system, you shouldn¡¯t start with those kinds, anyway. People like Edeya I could stick my neck out for, but those in that wagon? Just ncing through the contracts, I saw murder, rape, ensorcellment, really vile stuff.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Tha.¡± Victor sighed and started walking, and she fell into pace beside him. He was frustrated, mainly because he knew the contracts could be full of lies, but he had no way of discerning or proving them. ¡°Let¡¯s pick up the pace a while, eh? I need to run off some steam.¡± Victor started down the road at a jog, gradually increasing his pace, and Tha followed without a word.

    He really wanted to do something about the legal system in this world, or at least in Ridonne, but Victor had to admit that he really didn¡¯t know shit. What the fuck was ensorcellment? Did people convicted of terrible crimes deserve to work in a ce like Greatbone?

    He ran harder, pushing to a sprint and leaving Tha in the dust. He knew for damn sure that injustice was happening¡ªhe was a prime example. He slowed, and while he waited for Tha, he said, ¡°I need to learn more, though. I need to learn about this empire, I need to learn about thews and prisons, and I need to learn about the corruption. Gorz, will you start making a list of the shit I need to learn? I¡¯m going to lose track.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor. I will begin a list. Would you like me to popte it with my own observations?¡±

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    ¡°Haha, fuck you, Gorz.¡± Victorughed at the cheeky amulet, and Tha smiled as she caught up to him.

    ¡°Feeling better?¡±

    ¡°I guess, but Gorz just reminded me that I have a lot to learn.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true, but we all knew that, right?¡±

    ¡°Chingado! Both of you?¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 20: Bounty Hunter

    Book 2: Chapter 20: Bounty Hunter

    On the third day of travel toward the city of Gelica, the grasnds gradually gave way to cultivated farnd, and travelers and local workers began to share the roadway with them. Victor had no idea what sorts of crops were being grown in the fields they passed through, but he enjoyed the smell of rich, irrigated soil and the blossoms on many of the rows of nts.

    They didn¡¯t get much conversation from the locals they passed by¡ªusually, just a grunted greeting and then wary res. Tha med Victor, saying he wasrge and strange looking to the blue and red-skinned natives, which prompted him to ask, ¡°Why don¡¯t we see any Ghelli or Vodkin around? It¡¯s mostly Shadeni or Ardeni.¡±

    ¡°If you think those are umon, good luck trying to find an Ilyathi or Onaghi. Cadwalli, though, they like to farm.¡±

    ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. Other than Cadwalli, I mean.¡±

    ¡°Ilyathi and Onaghi have the same origin world as the Ghelli, though some people im we all came from the same world and had spread to popte the four worlds around our sun. Then the System came and mashed us all back together.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it. If the Systembined all the worlds, why isn¡¯t the gravity smashing us into the ground?¡±

    ¡°Gravity?¡±

    ¡°The force pulling us to the ground . . .¡± Victor started to exin.

    ¡°I know what it is! I was just thinking aloud. It could have something to do with Energy or how the System structured the new world. It is enormous, but who¡¯s to say what the System did to the mass under the surface? The short answer is, I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Well, if you know about gravity, then I bet there are schrs in this world that have studied the subject.¡±

    ¡°Of course, but do you remember what I told you about schools? Well, my parents had other priorities.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Victor said, lifting an arm to wave to a woman working in a nearby field. She wore a wide-brimmed hat with silky, turquoise-colored mesh hanging down from the brim. She waved back, and Victor asked, ¡°Is that mesh on her hat to keep bugs off?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and the sun, I would imagine.¡± Tha held a hand out to block the hot orb as if to illustrate.

    ¡°Anyway, you didn¡¯t answer my question. Why so many Ardeni and Shadeni?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. We¡¯ve always been more numerous, but I¡¯ve heard Gha has many more Ghelli and their rtives living on it.¡±

    ¡°Gha?¡±

    ¡°Oh, Ancestors! You know so little! Gha is a continent across the sea from F, far to the southeast. Before you ask, yes, F is the continent you¡¯re standing on.¡±

    ¡°How many continents are there? Do you know?¡±

    ¡°Four major continents and many, many inds and archipgos that are big enough to spend centuries exploring.¡±

    ¡°Seems like we ought to be able to lose ourselves in this world if we really tried.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see where this is going. Yes, we might be able to flee our troubles, but we¡¯d never be able to let our guard down. Maybe you could, but I would never feel like my daughter is safe.¡±

    ¡°Right, no worries, Tha. We¡¯ll try n A first¡ªdeal with the people hunting us. Running for the hills will be a distant n B, alright?¡±

    ¡°Sounds fair,¡± she said, taking a big drink of water from one of her containers.

    Victor had noticed that the road they¡¯d been following was very gradually losing elevation. They wereing down from some high, dry grasnds into a more fertile, verdant part of the world. Around mid-morning, he saw a line of blue-green trees in the distance stretching from left to right perpendicr to the road. At first, it seemed strange¡ªthis ribbon of greenery, but then he realized the trees were bordering a river and that the road was approaching arge, wooden bridge that stretched in a broad arch over the water. ¡°Any idea what river this is?¡±

    ¡°No, we¡¯ll be crossing a lot of simr rivers, I think. Gelica is surrounded by rich farnd. These rivers are like tiny streamspared to the Rill Catcher¡ªthe great river Gelica is built upon.¡±

    ¡°Rill Catcher, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a river that crosses most of the continent. Many, many rivers and streams feed it.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor nodded, stewing on what Tha had told him. The world seemed huge, but he knew from conversations with people in the pits and the mine that there were ways to travel great distances quickly, making it smaller in that regard. Most cities had System Settlement Stones that the citizens had improved to the point where they allowed teleportation for a fee. He¡¯d also heard there were airships and even people who could fly, teleport, and create portals. In other words, taking a boat across the continent didn¡¯t necessarily mean it would be difficult for someone to pursue them.

    He was lost in his daydreams about flying ships as they started up the wooden bridge, and he gazed over the hand-carved railing, watching the wide river driftzily by beneath it. They¡¯d just reached the center of the bridge when movement caught his eye, and he looked away from the water to see a stick-thin, blue-robed, and hooded figure step to the center of the bridge, not twenty paces away from them. The person¡¯s long arms were outstretched, each holding a curved, naked, short sword.

    ¡°Patience seems to have won the day,¡± a man¡¯s dry, raspy voice said from within the hood. Victor didn¡¯t remember pulling Lifedrinker from her loop, but she was in his hands, and he¡¯d stepped in front of Tha.

    ¡°Fuck off, man,¡± he growled.

    ¡°So then. My reward will be greater should youe with me alive, but if I must deliver your heads, no doubt a quicker, quieter journey will offset my loss in revenue.¡±

    ¡°Back up, Tha,¡± Victor said, ncing back the way they¡¯de. He couldn¡¯t believe the guy was challenging them by himself, but there was no sign of anyone else on either side of the bridge.

    ¡°No, Victor!¡± Tha¡¯s spear was pointed at the blue hooded man, and she¡¯d moved to Victor¡¯s side.

    ¡°Listen, Tha,¡± Victor said quickly and quietly. ¡°I can¡¯t fight my best if I¡¯m worried about you, and, damn it, I promised the olddy I¡¯d get you to your daughter. Please!¡±

    ¡°I can hear you, warrior. I like your words. A duel is it, then? Yes, should you fight me honorably, I¡¯ll promise not to harm your friend when I bring her in.¡± The rail-thin,nky man bowed as he spoke, and Victor saw that his hands, gripping the sword hilts, were smooth and gray. At first, he thought they were blue and that this man was an Ardeni, but he¡¯d never seen an Ardeni so tall, and the shade of his skin was definitely off.

    ¡°Tha, please.¡± Victor stepped forward again, putting Tha behind him, and he heard her angry huff as she backed up a step.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t fair, Victor,¡± she muttered, but he could tell she didn¡¯t want to distract him further in the face of the stranger. Victor didn¡¯t care if she was mad. He¡¯d be damned if he was going to hold her bleeding, limp body again¡ªnot when he¡¯d made so many promises to get her out of this mess. As he heard her backing away, he boosted his agility with Sovereign Will and began channeling rage-attuned Energy into Lifedrinker.

    ¡°That¡¯s quite a weapon, warrior,¡± the man said as Lifedrinker began to hum and glow with a baleful red aura.

    ¡°She¡¯s thirsty,¡± Victor growled, his throat thick with murderous intent. Hadn¡¯t this asshole just said he¡¯d be happy to take their heads? An image of the bounty hunter holding Tha¡¯s head, fingers gripping her hair as blood dripped to the bridge, shed into his mind, and a deep rumble began to roll up out of Victor¡¯s chest.

    The bounty hunter sketched another bow. Victor only had time to wonder if he should bow back before, in a streak of blue, pping robes, he was under attack. Victor wasn¡¯t slow, especially with his agility boosted, and he saw the attacking. He even had time to raise Lifedrinker to intercept one of the des, but the other slipped under his guard, crashing into his ringed armor. The de hit him so hard that the impact cracked and echoed over the bridge like a gunshot.

    ck flecks of enamel showered up into the air between them, and Victor grunted but didn¡¯t flinch. He jerked Lifedrinker down, driving back the de that had caught in the crook under her head, and trying to muscle her into thenky fighter now standing right in front of him. While he strained against the other man¡¯s surprisingly strong arm, he felt a series of lightning stabs from the other sword, testing his armor and finally slipping between two rings. Liquid firenced under his ribs as the de pierced his abdomen, and Victor roared in pain and fury.

    As they stood interlocked, Victor slowly pushed his axe down toward the other man¡¯s neck, and the bounty hunter drove and twisted his de into Victor¡¯s guts. Red hot fury began to boil out of Victor¡¯s Core, and before he lost himself to it, he channeled it into Project Spirit, and the red waves of his spirit rolled out of him, engulfing his attacker.

    The blue-robed man jerked his head back, and his hood flopped back, revealing a strange, smooth, gray face with wide, ck eyes devoid of emotion. He had wispy white hair, a t, almost nonexistent nose, and no ears to speak of. His mouth opened in a strange, silent wail, and then he started thrashing about with his swords,pletely dismissing any strategy in favor of an all-out, maniacal attack.

    Victor felt better having the sword removed from his guts, but the wild, hacking attacks of the bounty hunter were still difficult to avoid or block. As he backed away, trying to put Lifedrinker between himself and the chopping, shing shortswords, he took several deep gashes to his forearms. Whipping Lifedrinker in savage arcs to hold the frenzied attacker at bay, he cast Inspiring Presence.

    As always, things rified in his mind when the spell took hold¡ªthe swords seemed a lot shorter and their wild, hacking trajectories a lot more predictable. Victor¡¯s breathing steadied, and he began to dance with the enraged hunter. He stepped forward as a de whipped by, snapping Lifedrinker forward to smash her heavy head into the hunter¡¯s smooth, gray face. As she cracked into him, the bounty hunter¡¯s chin jerked up, and Victor stepped forward with a devastating kick, driving his boot into the blue-robed man¡¯snky knee.

    Victor knew he had to weigh more than three hundred pounds these days, and he could kick harder than probably anyone on Earth. Thus, he wasn¡¯t surprised when the sound that followed his boot meeting the man¡¯s long, extended leg was a resounding, wet crack. The bounty hunter¡¯s scream echoed over the bridge, and his wild, frenzied sword swings came to a halt as he stumbled back and fell to the broad, dry nks.

    Victor leaped forward, bringing Lifedrinker down with a two-handed, overhead swing, and was utterly stunned when she ripped into the bridge timber, not his opponent. He jerked her out of the wood and spun, looking for the bounty hunter. As he turned toward where Tha stood, he saw the man, still lying on the bridge, but tipping a small vial to his gray lips. As Victor charged at him again, the man tossed aside the empty bottle and leaped to his feet, dancing back nimbly from Victor¡¯s wild cleave.

    ¡°Stronger than the reports indicated, warrior,¡± he rasped, darting in, stabbing at Victor¡¯s left nk. Thus far, adrenaline and Energy had kept Victor ignorant of his condition, but he couldn¡¯t help noting the thick ribbon of bright red blood that followed him as he danced away from the hunter¡¯s attack. The center of the bridge was painted with his blood, and he knew that the stab he¡¯d taken at the outset of the battle had to be taking a toll. Still, he felt strong, and with his agility boosted and Inspiring Presence active, he managed to avoid any significant injuries from the hunter¡¯s onught.

    Vaguely, as he and the hunter danced, stabbing, parrying, hacking, dodging, and even tumbling, Victor was aware of Tha watching with a worried expression and gripping her spear like a rope keeping her from falling off a cliff. A small corner of Victor¡¯s mind, not fully upied with fighting the bounty hunter, knew she was worried, but he wasn¡¯t¡ªnot yet. He¡¯d wanted to beat the hunter without going berserk, but he knew he still had that card. Still, he held back; he wanted to see everything this man had before he yed his ace. So they danced, and Victor bled, and the man began to grow ever so slightly slower.

    ¡°You¡¯re vitality must be prodigious, warrior. I didn¡¯t want to resort to this, but I fear you were more than I anticipated,¡± the man said, stepping back, holding his des out in a guard position. Victor didn¡¯t reply; he simply strode forward, lifting Lifedrinker for a heavy cleave. His rage Energy was starting to seep into his pathways, and he had only one thought as the man spoke: he¡¯d smash those fucking swords to pieces. Suddenly the man¡¯s ck eyes red with red Energy, and matching red coils detached from his outstretched swords, flopping through the air between them and whipping into Victor.

    Victor jerked Lifedrinker at the weird ropes of red Energy, trying to knock them aside, but they wrapped around his axe, unharmed and rippled up along his arms, and then Victor felt himself being pulled, almost like he was bound to a rack. His arms were jerked to the side, and though he held onto Lifedrinker with his right hand, he couldn¡¯t swing her. He looked to his left and right and saw that those red coils had fully wrapped around his wrists and stretched into the sky like they were anchored there. He was bound.

    ¡°Sorry to resort to spells, warrior, but when I saw that you¡¯d gone berserk, I knew I had to bind you until it wore off,¡± the man said, his raspy voice wheezing from exertion. Victor didn¡¯t respond, but Tha did, barking a shortugh. ¡°Something funny, Shadeni?¡± The man asked, turning so he could keep Victor and Tha both in his view. ¡°Will you beughing when I disembowel your friend here?¡±

    ¡°Actually, yes. You think he¡¯s berserk?¡± Thaughed again. The hunter¡¯s round, ck eyes seemed to grow wider, and he turned away from Tha, shing a sword toward Victor¡¯s midriff, apparently keen on making good his promise to disembowel him. His response was a second toote, though. Victor had cast Berserk while Tha was speaking, and as his vision darkened, shading the world in a bloody fog, he dimly felt the hunter¡¯s sword cleave into his left hip.

    As his flesh knitted and fury filled his mind, he tried to smash the little man in front of him, but his hand wouldn¡¯t move. If being cut angered him, having something hold his arm when he was trying to hack at an enemy caused his rage to boil up out of his gut in a wave of hot fury that roiled out of his throat in a terrible, ear-shattering roar. He jerked his arms, and his shoulders bunched with the effort, muscles standing out like cords of knotted cables, and then something gave.

    The hunter stumbled to a knee, holding a hand up to his head, and Lifedrinker sang through the air, splitting the top of his head like a cleaver through an apple. Victor tugged the sword, still jutting from his hip bone, and, in his rage, drove it through the bounty hunter¡¯s body, pinning it to the bridge. He stood, heaving, hunched over his dead enemy, and red around.

    In his red haze, he saw Tha, and though arge part of him wanted to leap at her, give her a taste of his fury, another part of him said, ¡°No! Not this one,¡± and he growled and paced in a circle, seeking something else to vent his rage upon. Before he had a chance to act or calm down, though, a surge of Energy entered him, so thick and rich that it lifted him from the bridge and instantly cooled his boiling anger. Euphoria filled him, and System messages came into his vision:

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 29 Herald of Carnage. You have gained 10 will, 8 strength, and have 10 attribute points to allocate.***

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned the spell: Berserk - Advanced.***

    ***Berserk - Advanced: Prerequisite: Affinity - Rage. You double your strength and speed for a short while, losing yourself in the glory ofbat. Your body bes more resilient, and you benefit from rapid regeneration during the duration, though you¡¯ll lose all sense of self-preservation. Your powerful will and experience with rage allow you to retain some self-control while this spell is active. Energy Cost: Minimum 100 - scble. Cooldown: Long.***

    When he fell back to the bridge, his thoughts were his own again, and he saw Tha standing near the corpse of the bounty hunter. She looked at him and frowned, ¡°That wasn¡¯t fair to me, Victor.¡± At first, he thought she was talking about how he¡¯d just gained some Energy and a level, but he knew Tha didn¡¯t think that way, so he revised his response.

    ¡°I know it¡¯s not fair, but Tha, you realize you can¡¯t take the kind of beating I can, right? Look what that asshole did to my armor. Do you think you¡¯d live through a cut like that?¡± Victor gestured to the rent in his ck-ringed armor and all the shiny links that had lost their magical enamel. He hoped the shirt could recover from the damage¡ªit was supposed to be self-repairing.

    ¡°No, but I¡¯m not a damsel in distress, either! I deserve to stand up for myself! I have a spear, and I¡¯m fast¡ªhe might never havended a hit!¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor wanted to argue with her. He wanted to tell her he was faster than she was when he boosted his agility, but he decided it wasn¡¯t worth ¡®winning¡¯ this argument. ¡°Look, I might have been wrong. I don¡¯t know. All I know is that when you nearly died to those Naghelli, it wrecked me. I¡¯ve got too much invested in seeing you back with your daughter. Like I said, I know it¡¯s not fair, but if I can help it, I¡¯ll never hold your bleeding body while struggling with the idea that I need to find your daughter, alone, to tell her about her mom. Not again. You can hate me for it if you want.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not fair, but I appreciate you, Victor,¡± Tha said, kneeling to look through the corpse of the bounty hunter. ¡°By the way, this guy was an Ilyathi. If I¡¯m being honest, he would have destroyed me¡ªI think he was around tier-four; you¡¯re overpowered, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Overpowered? Is that how you describe my amazing talent?¡± He stepped closer and watched while Tha checked the robed man¡¯s pockets and slipped an ornate, serpent-shaped ring off his finger. She flicked the ring up to him, and he caught it.

    ¡°Sure, you¡¯re talented, but you¡¯ve also got the strongestbination of abilities I¡¯ve ever seen. Well, maybe other than Lam. Ancestors! You should have seen how you looked when you went berserk¡ªlike a hulking titan. That bounty hunter didn¡¯t realize what he¡¯d signed up for, that¡¯s for sure.¡± She picked up the sword that wasn¡¯t jammed a foot into the bridge and examined it. ¡°This is worth a lot of money, Victor. Both of these swords are if we can get the other one free. They¡¯ll fetch a pretty price in town if you don¡¯t want them. Anything in the ring?¡±

    Victor bonded with the ring and let his inner eye drift to its contents, listing off what he saw to Tha, ¡°Some food¡ªlike a few dozen bowls of soup, lots of wine, water, and bread. Six potion bottles like the one he drank to fix his knee. Um, some more robes in different colors, a pair of boots, a bow with some arrows, and over a thousand Energy beads.¡± Victor leaned down and yanked the other sword out of the bridge and body. ¡°You keep one of the swords,¡± he said, stowing the one he held into his ring.

    ¡°No, they¡¯re a set, Victor. You¡¯ll get a lot more for them together.¡± She held the other sword out to him, and he took it, figuring he¡¯d share the money with her when he offloaded them. ¡°I know you¡¯ve been busy fighting and all, but there¡¯s a wagoning, about a mile up the road.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said, picking up the bounty hunter¡¯s body and tossing it over the bridge.

    ¡°Victor!¡± Tha said, aghast.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I mean . . . oh, never mind. We could have put him in a storage ring and buried him or something.¡± She sighed and started walking down the far side of the bridge.

    ¡°Sorry, Tha. I wasn¡¯t thinking,¡± Victor walked beside her, poking at the tear in his chain shirt, pleased to see that it felt a little smaller.

    ¡°Oh, it doesn¡¯t matter. Fish need to eat, too, right? It¡¯s not like he was a friend or even a good guy.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he started it, right?¡± Victor punched at Tha¡¯s shoulder yfully, trying to get a smile out of her, but she was stoically serious, allowing him to jostle her without a word. ¡°Hey, you still mad I fought him alone?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m just worried. That guy wasn¡¯t cheap and wasn¡¯t some old, wily hunter trying to catch a big score. That was a real killer.¡± Her eyes were focused down the road on the wagoning their way. Victor could see it was a farmer; the wagon was piled high with green hay or alfalfa or something.

    ¡°Yeah, well, another day, and we¡¯ll be in the city. Job one, we¡¯ll get something to hide us from scrying spells.¡±

    ¡°Right, and then we need to find a ce toy low while I use that stone Lam gave me. She might be able to help us figure out who¡¯s responsible for the bounty on our heads. I mean the specific members of the ap¡¯Yensha n.¡±

    Victor snapped his fingers and said, ¡°You¡¯ve been thinking about this n without me?¡± He¡¯dpletely forgotten about the stone Lam had given Tha.

    ¡°Not really. I figured that much wasmon sense,¡± finally, she looked at him with a smile, and heughed.

    ¡°So, you really think that guy was tier-four, huh?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure, but the Energy he gave off was tinged with a lot of purple. That¡¯s a pretty good sign.¡± They¡¯d left the bridge behind, and, as the wagon piled with green grass passed them by, she waved at the driver, a short Ardeni woman in a pair of yellow overalls.

    ¡°Ho, travelers, how¡¯s the road ahead? I¡¯ve a few miles yet to take this hay!¡± She had a bright, cheerful voice, and Victor was quick to wave back and reply.

    ¡°Pretty smooth back the way we came. How¡¯s the road where you came from?¡±

    ¡°Lovely! What a day! Doesn¡¯t the sun feel good? Soak it up because autumn¡¯sing fast.¡±

    ¡°How far¡¯s Gelica?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°You could get there tomorrow by the end of the day if you hurry. I¡¯d stop at the Red Rdii, though¡ªyou¡¯re only an hour or two out, and they have the best brewery this side of the Rill Catcher.¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Yep! I stayed therest night¡ªgot so drunk I didn¡¯t get on the road ¡®til noon! My dad¡¯s going to have my hide!¡± Sheughed and gave the rdii pulling her wagon a little switch with the reins and started rolling again. ¡°Good travels!¡± she called as she passed them.

    ¡°Well? What do you say? A night at the Red Rdii, then hit Gelica tomorrow?¡± He draped an arm over Tha¡¯s shoulders and started walking. She leaned into him for a minute but then pushed his arm off.

    ¡°You¡¯re too damn heavy to be leaning on people, Victor,¡± she said, but her words were softened by the smile on her face and a poke in the ribs with her elbow.

 Book 2: Chapter 21: The Red Roladii

    Book 2: Chapter 21: The Red Rdii

    The Red Rdii was a sprawlingplex that covered three corners of a crossroads. The tavern sat at the northeast corner. A covered, wooden bridge led from it to the three-story inn on the southeast corner, and across the other road was a stable bigger than any of the buildings Victor had seen in Steampool. ¡°Big fuckin¡¯ ce.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I think this crossroad leads south to Persi Gables and then northeast toward the capital.¡±

    ¡°Of Ridonne?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± Tha spat into the dust, and Victor couldn¡¯t tell if she was saying something about the empire or if a bug had flown into her mouth.

    ¡°Looks busy,¡± Victor said, watching the stablehands rushing around with buckets, rakes, and brushes and the people moving between the various buildings. The surrounding acreage was all farnd, and the air was rich and smelled alternately fresh or like manure, depending on the wind. ¡°Still wanna stay? I could use a hot meal and a shower.¡±

    ¡°They probably only have baths,¡± Tha said. ¡°Yes, I could use a damn break, too. Let''s hope we don¡¯t have another friend waiting for us here.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I wish I could blend in better.¡± Victor lifted Lifedrinker a couple of inches, then thumped her back down in the leather ring on his belt.

    ¡°Not likely someone will outright attack us surrounded by so many people. We¡¯ll have a chance to talk or run. The mines won¡¯t expect you to be as strong as you are, Victor. That Ilyathi at the bridge . . . he was not expecting to struggle against you, let alone die. What I¡¯m saying is, if some bounty hunters are lurking around this tavern, hopefully, we can make them back down.¡±

    ¡°Right, well, let¡¯s go.¡± Victor started walking again, waving to the field workers tending grapes or something like them on the vines in the nearby field.

    ¡°Too bad you¡¯re not red,¡± Tha said suddenly, ¡°No one would mess with a Shadeni your size.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, too bad.¡± Victorughed and continued, ¡°Too bad I¡¯m not furry, then you could say I was an ugly Vodkin.¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Tha burst intoughter, ¡°You would be an ugly Vodkin! Especially your eyes¡ªthey¡¯re not supposed to be honey-colored. Where are your shiny, ck, tearful marbles?¡±

    ¡°Tearful marbles? You should be a poet, Tha.¡± Victor snorted.

    ¡°What makes you think I¡¯m not? I have a journal full of poems.¡±

    ¡°Prove it!¡± Victor said, eyes suddenly wide at the idea. Tha just snickered, though, and he said, ¡°Tearful marbles! I know a guy named Ponda you should meet. If you told him his eyes were like tearful marbles, he¡¯d probably twist your head off.¡±

    ¡°Ponda? Was he in the mine?¡±

    ¡°No, he worked for the asshole that made me fight in the pits. He wasn¡¯t really that bad a guy, all things considered. You know, in my memory, he was huge and impossibly tough, but I think he was only tier-two, maybe tier-three.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve probably changed so much that he wouldn¡¯t recognize you,¡± Tha said.

    ¡°We¡¯ll see. I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m the only human that¡¯s been to Persi Gables. When I head back that way, I¡¯ll be sure to drop in and say hi.¡±

    ¡°Then you can Spirit Walk to me and let me know if they recognized you,¡± Tha said with a chuckle. They¡¯d spent a lot of time over thest couple of days talking about how they¡¯d use the Spirit Walk spell to stay in touch. Tha had been diligently working on cultivating her courage-attuned Energy, and they¡¯d taken turns watching over each other while they practiced the spell each night before sleep.

    They¡¯d only spent a few minutes each time in the Spirit ne. That was all Tha could manage anyway, but she had increased the duration of her walk significantly since their first visit with Oyna. Victor was confident he¡¯d be able to find Tha on the Spirit ne fairly quickly, leaving them plenty of time to gossip.

    ¡°Travelers,¡± said an Ardeni man leading a rdii past in the opposite direction. ¡°How¡¯s the road ahead?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s calm, sir,¡± Tha said, nodding.

    Victor eyed the man as he went by, suspicious of every traveler, thanks to the bounty hunter on the bridge. The man nodded to him and clicked his tongue, pushing his animal into a faster pace. Tha gave Victor a sidelong nce.

    ¡°You scared that guy,¡± she said.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a dangerous world¡ªhe should be a little scared.¡± Victor shrugged and kept walking. Soon they were walking up the wooden steps leading to the deck in front of the inn, elbow to elbow with other travelers, and Victor was forced to rx. However, he still held one hand just under Lifedrinker¡¯s axe head, her weightforting, as he lifted her an inch or so out of her loop, letting her drop back with a satisfying thunk. They stepped through the propped open doorway, and Victor took in themon room of the Red Rdii.

    Arge firece dominated one wall, and several groupings of couches andfortable-looking leather chairs were arrayed around the wide, high-ceilinged space. The front counter was long, and three people stood behind it, seeing to the needs of the guests. The outside of the inn had been weather-worn, perhaps in need of paint or stain, but the inside was clean and the woodwork polished.

    Tha walked to the counter, and Victor followed behind, keeping a wary eye out, watching the other patrons, and trying to guess their intentions. Most of them avoided eye contact with him, and a few even moved a few steps farther away. ¡°We¡¯d like a room,¡± Tha said when a young Ardeni woman with bright coppery hair greeted her.

    ¡°You¡¯re in luck! I have a few vacancies. We have beds in the shared dorm for two beads a night, and we have private rooms from four up to our more spacious rooms with bathing facilities for seven.¡±

    ¡°It seems really steep, but we¡¯ll take one with a bath.¡± Tha drummed her fingers on the counter, frowning.

    ¡°You¡¯ll get two meal vouchers for the tavern, and of course, stable fees are included. We also have aundry service included, though you should know our cleaning staff makes a living from gratuities.¡± The woman seemed a little defensive about the price, and Victor didn¡¯t know enough about the economy of this world to know if the price was exorbitant.

    ¡°I got it,¡± Victor said, producing a handful of beads. He dropped four attuned beads on the counter. ¡°That cover it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir. I have a corner room on the second floor with a sitting area and a bath. Could I get your name?¡±

    ¡°Alia and Tornic of Steampool,¡± Tha said. Victor managed to keep his face neutral, or at least he thought he did, and he nodded.

    ¡°Very good,¡± the young woman said, writing in a leather-bound ledger with a long, faintly shimmering quill. ¡°We¡¯ll need you to be out of the room by noon, though if you choose to stay longer, you just need to let me know. Will that be all right?¡± She turned and opened a cab on the wall behind her, withdrawing arge, shiny, brass key. Sheid it on the counter in front of Tha.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine, thanks.¡± Tha picked up the key and nodded to Victor, ¡°Come on, Tornic.¡±

    ¡°Nice to meet you, miss, um . . .¡± Victor trailed off, trying to get the woman to tell him her name.

    ¡°My apologies! I¡¯m U. Enjoy your stay!¡± Victor smiled, nodded, and followed after Tha.

    ¡°Really? Tornic?¡± he asked as they climbed the wooden stairs to the second level.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Tornic? That¡¯s my uncle¡¯s name!¡±

    Victor just grunted in response, following Tha down the hallway to the end. Their room was on the right, and when Tha opened the door, he saw bright sunlighting through the west-facing windows. ¡°Nice sunset view,¡± he said. His eyes fell to the rest of the room, and he realized there was just one fairlyrge bed. ¡°Um . . .¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Well, I mean, there¡¯s only one bed. I didn¡¯t think about it. Don¡¯t worry; I got the floor. It¡¯s not like we¡¯ve hadfortable beds up ¡®til now.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot. There¡¯s plenty of room for us both on that bed. Just keep your hands to yourself.¡± Tha snorted as she moved to inspect the big brass bathtub. Victor shrugged and moved into the room. Just as the girl had promised, a couch, chair, and table were arranged in front of the window. A big trunk sat at the foot of the bed, and Victor wondered how much use it got, seeing as dimensional containers seemed to be prettymon.

    The tub was behind a standing, paneled screen, not in its own room, and, as Tha twisted the tap, he heard water pour forth. ¡°At least we don¡¯t have to ask for water to be brought up,¡± she said.

    ¡°Cool. We going to get cleaned up before we get some food?¡±

    ¡°I sure am. Um, you sit over there. I¡¯ll go first,¡± Tha said, pointing to the chair by the window. She stepped behind the screen and started pulling off her boots without waiting for Victor to move. He and Tha had spent a lot of time together over thest weeks, so it wasn¡¯t like Victor hadn¡¯t seen her in all sorts ofpromising positions, but the idea of seeing her get into a bathtub was different somehow. He quickly stepped over to the window and sat down, his back to the screen hiding the tub, and looked out at the people milling about at the crossroads.

    It looked like people were heading to the tavern from the surrounding countryside¡ªfarmers and field workers, he guessed. He thought he could hear musicing from the tavern, and as the sun sank behind the horizon, he saw the bright lights in the windows, and his stomach rumbled. ¡°How much longer you gonna soak in there?¡± he asked loudly.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting out. Rx!¡± Tha said.

    ¡°I¡¯m hungry. Let¡¯s go, and I can clean up when we get back.¡±

    ¡°No, Victor! You stink, and I don¡¯t want to ruin this wonderful soapy smell by catching a whiff of you every few breaths.¡±

    ¡°Oh, jeez! All right, well,e on, get dressed. I want to get going. Victor stood and stared at the partition, waiting for her to emerge. Tha harumphed and threw a towel over the top, hanging it to dry, then she stepped around, another towel wrapped around her head, and wearing her usual leather pants with a soft blue blouse Victor had never seen. ¡°Where you been hiding that shirt all this time?¡±

    ¡°This is not an adventuring shirt! Why would I wear it out on the road?¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor said, stepping past her to start undressing for the bath. He could hear it draining, and as soon as it was empty, he closed the stopper and turned on the water again. Then he finished taking off his armored shirt and pants, tossing them atop his boots. ¡°I need to get my socks and underwear cleaned. I mean, my socks are all fucking stiff.¡±

    ¡°Not something I wanted to know about you, Victor.¡± Tha chuckled. ¡°I have some socks you can borrow. My underwear won¡¯t fit you, though.¡± Sheughed again, louder this time.

    ¡°I still have a pair that¡¯s, well, mostly clean.¡± Victorughed too. ¡°I¡¯ll just gomando ¡®til I get someundry done.¡±

    ¡°Commando?¡±

    ¡°Nevermind.¡± Victor sank into the hot water and saw the little shelf of soaps Tha had been talking about. He started scrubbing himself, washing off a week of grime and road dust. Tha, to her credit, was a lot more patient with Victor than he had been with her. As soon as he sank into the hot water after rinsing his face and hair off, he felt like dozing, and he might very well have done so because when he sat up, the water was only lukewarm.

    Victor stood and dried off, and then he put on his pants and armored shirt, still clean and remarkably whole. In Victor''s opinion, whoever had enchanted the pants deserved a medal because he¡¯d taken dozens of cuts and stabs to the legs, liberally soaking them in blood and grime. Yet, they still felt whole, and not even an unpleasant odor lingered. ¡°I need to buy some casual shirts, but I guess it¡¯s good to wear armor at dinner when people are out for your blood,¡± he said, stepping around the partition.

    Tha didn¡¯t respond because she was snoozing on the bed,pletely oblivious. Victor walked over to the bed and grabbed Tha¡¯s big toe, giving it a squeeze. Tha¡¯s eyes shot open, and she leaped out of bed with a howl. ¡°What the shit, Victor?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m hungry! Where¡¯re those socks you promised me?¡± Victorughed, backing away and holding his hands up in defense.

    ¡°You wait ¡®til I wake you up next time, my friend.¡± Tha produced a pair of socks and threw them at him. They were small but made of something like wool and stretched over his big feet passably well. When the two of them had their shoes on and they¡¯d collected his dirtyundry to drop off for cleaning, they headed downstairs and then out, through the crowd, into the evening air.

    They crossed the street to the tavern, and as they walked in, Victor thought it looked like a cross between a cafeteria and a renaissance festival. Rectangr wooden tables filled the ample space, and most of them had a patron or five sitting at them. A stage dominated one wall, and musicians were setting up to perform while Victor and Tha looked around for an open pair of seats.

    There had to be a dozen tavern hands bustling around the ce, all wearing matching red aprons. One, a thin,nky Shadeni, brushed past Victor with a tray of frothy mugs and said, ¡°Pick a seat, please. Keep the aisles clear!¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor muttered, putting a hand on Tha¡¯s shoulder and leading her over to a table with three dusty field workers already deep into their ale mugs. The table was long and had benches, not chairs, and when Victor sat on the far end of one of the benches, the other end bounced up a bit. The fieldworker sitting down there, mid-drink, sloshed beer onto his face. His friendsughed uproariously, and Tha snickered at Victor¡¯s abashed look.

    ¡°Thanks! I meant to wash my face,¡± the manughed, holding his mug up in salute to Victor.

    ¡°My bad,¡± Victor said, relieved at the good humor.

    ¡°Rx, Victor,¡± Tha said. ¡°These people are all drunk and here for a good time. Look at the door and in the corners. See those burly men and women?¡± Victor followed her gaze, and, sure enough, severalrge, intimidating people stood around, eyeing the crowd carefully. ¡°My guess is that the owner of this ce doesn¡¯t tolerate violence. Those people are here to keep the peace.¡±

    ¡°Bouncers,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Exactly.¡± Tha waved at one of the servers, and he came over after depositing a bunch of mugs. At a nearby table.

    ¡°Ale? Something stronger?¡± he asked as he stepped up.

    ¡°Two of those big mugs. You have something cold on tap?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°Yeah, a stout and a pale ale.¡±

    ¡°The pale, then. We¡¯re hungry too,¡± Tha said, nodding to Victor.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got pork sausages, fried greens, fresh bread, and a potato mash.¡±

    ¡°Perfect,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Which part?¡± The young man asked.

    ¡°All of it. We¡¯ll take a serving of everything.¡±

    ¡°Right, okay, I¡¯ll be back soon as I can,¡± he turned and hurried off to another table where a burly Vodkin was hollering for service.

    ¡°Pork?¡± Victor asked, looking at Tha.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Well, I never asked what kind of meat was in the sausages we got in the mines, but I didn¡¯t know there were pigs in this world.¡±

    ¡°Oh, definitely! Where do you think bacones from?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know¡ªthey don¡¯t generally feed ves bacon.¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°I guess it¡¯s good to know, though. In fact, I¡¯m salivating thinking about it.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I thought that was just your usual drool . . .¡±

    ¡°The hell? You¡¯re getting meaner the closer we get to civilization!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not getting meaner. I¡¯m just getting morefortable with you; when I insult you, it¡¯s apliment. Haven¡¯t you figured that out yet?¡± Tha¡¯s eyes were bright over her red cheeks, and her smile was infectious.

    ¡°All right, well, I like that you¡¯re in a good mood.¡± Just then, the band started tuning their instruments, and the crowd got louder, trying to keep their conversations going over the noise. Victor liked the raucous atmosphere, feeling anonymous in the noisy gathering. ¡°You think we¡¯ll get to Gelica tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Tha said, almost shouting to be heard. The server arrived with their mugs of ale, and Victor tossed him an attuned Energy bead. He nodded and stepped away, and Victor picked up his mug¡ªit had to have more than forty ounces of beer in it. He held it out toward Tha, waiting for her to pick up her own.

    ¡°To getting the fuck out of deep pits, dungeons, and cors!¡±

    ¡°To getting out of trouble,¡± Tha said, grinning and crashing her mug into his. Beer sloshed onto the table, but they both justughed and took a long pull of the cold, frothy beer.

    When the music started, it reminded Victor of the girl who sang at the bar in Steampool, and he wondered if there were genres of music in this world. ¡°There have to be,¡± he said to himself.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°This band reminds me of the singer I heard in Steampool. Is there a name for this kind of music?¡±

    ¡°Sha¡¯nel¡ªit¡¯s like folk music. Ardeni and Shadeni have a few variations of it, but most of the songs are really old. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ve changed and evolved over the years, but some of them tell stories of things that happened before the worlds were joined.¡±

    ¡°I like it. I like the string instruments, and the lyrics are catchy, even if I have no clue what they¡¯re singing about.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, people in taverns generally love this kind of music. It evokes a lot of emotion if you let it, but it¡¯s also nice in the background if you don¡¯t pay attention.¡± Tha took another long pull of her beer, and the server returned with a tray of steaming food.

    Victor understood why the man had been a little surprised by his order¡ªeach dish might have fed arge, hungry man. They were given a plump loaf of warm bread that steamed when Tha pulled off a hunk, a pot of fresh-churned butter, a big bowl of fragrant, garlicky greens with bits of bacon mixed in, a tter of long, plump sausages, still sizzling from the pan, and another bowl of lumpy mashed potatoes with flecks of herbs sprinkled on top.

    As he set down thest dish, the server met eyes with Victor and held up two fingers. Victor nodded and handed him three Energy beads. Tha saw him paying and said, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t we get a meal on the house for staying at the inn?¡±

    ¡°Sure, but this is more like four meals,¡± the server replied, shrugging. Thaughed and nodded.

    ¡°Okay, two more beers when youe back around, please!¡±

    Victor and Tha ate and drank, listening to music for hours. The road and their troubles werergely forgotten in the pleasant interlude. It took a few big beers before Victor¡¯srge, robust body started to feel the effect. A warm buzz suffused him, and heughed even more easily, pped along with the songs, and felt genuine, deep pleasure to see Tha doing the same. He¡¯d grown very fond of her through their struggles and was happy beyond normal reason, at least in his experience, to see her enjoying herself.

    ¡°I think this beer is making me mushy,¡± he said during a break between songs.

    ¡°What you mean?¡± Tha asked, slurring her words slightly.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m closer to you than anyone I¡¯ve known. Except for my abuelos.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Tha looked rmed.

    ¡°Rx, I¡¯m not trying to hit on you, but I really fucking care about you. You know what I mean?¡± He leaned forward, trying to disy his earnestness.

    ¡°Victor, you¡¯re drunk. I appreciate the sentiment, though. You know what it tells me, though? You¡¯ve had a hard life! If I¡¯m that important to you, what does that say about the other people in your life? I don¡¯t mean here, but back in your home!¡±

    ¡°My aunties and uncles . . . pfft! They always judged me because of my mom. My cousins weren¡¯t close to me, either. My friends were mostly fucking fake. Even my girlfriends¡ªnone of those people went through anything real with me. You know what I mean?¡±

    ¡°Victor,¡± Tha reached forward to grab one of his hands in hers. ¡°I know the alcohol is talking, but I also know your words areing from the heart. You mean a lot to me too, and you better believe I know what you¡¯re talking about regarding fake rtionships.¡±

    Victor felt his eyes start to well from the emotion, and heughed at himself. ¡°God, I am drunk!¡±

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get back to the room, but put a meaner face on, please. I don''t want anyone getting any ideas.¡± The tavern was still rowdy and loud, and Victor nodded, shaking his head to try to focus.

    ¡°I¡¯m good, don¡¯t worry,¡± he said, standing up, pushing the entire bench back with three other men sitting on his side. He stood and looked at the others sheepishly, ¡°Sorry, guys.¡± He stretched, getting some blood flowing in muscles that had been hunched over a table for hours, then he started walking for the door. Tha followed, a hand on his shoulder so they didn¡¯t get jostled apart by the busy room.

    When they stepped outside, the cool night air felt as good as dipping his head in a bucket of water for clearing the fogginess out of his brain; his senses sharpened up, and he took a deep, steadying breath, ncing back to see Tha doing the same. He nodded to her, and they started down the steps, walking under the covered walkway toward the Inn. ¡°Hey, is there a second story in the tavern? Holy shit, that ce does some serious business,¡± Victor said as he realized he hadn¡¯t seen where the walkway led out from the tavern.

    ¡°I guess so,¡± Tha said, ncing up.

    ¡°You two staying at the inn?¡± a third voice asked. Victor followed the sound to see a man standing with several others not far away. He¡¯d noticed them as they left the tavern but thought they were just patrons heading home after a night out.

    ¡°Who¡¯s asking?¡± Victor growled reflexively.

    ¡°Just making conversation, friend,¡± the man stepped closer, and Victor saw that he was a big Vodkin. The way he walked made Victor think this guy was used to throwing his weight around to get what he wanted. He wore dark leather clothes over his bulky torso, and Victor saw several knife handles protruding from sheathes. His friends hung back, four shadowy figures in heavy coats that didn¡¯t fit the pleasant evening.

    ¡°We¡¯re tired; have a good night,¡± Tha said, starting to walk toward the tavern again.

    ¡°Now, don¡¯t be rude,ss. Everyone prefers honey to vinegar,¡± The Vodkin said, taking a step closer, and his words caused a spark to erupt in Victor¡¯s Core.

    ¡°Tornic, no . . .¡± Tha started, but it was toote. Victor had released his rage-attuned Energy and used Channel Spirit to fill his imposing frame with it. His entire body surged with power, and a red, flickering aura outlined him from his fists to his shoulder to a spiky crown that leaped and sparked with a life of its own. Victor balled up his fists and stepped up to the man, growling.

    ¡°Fuck off,¡± he said, the wordsing from deep inside him, guttural and full of intent, and the Vodkin, clearly not used to looking up at the people he spoke to, backed away, his eyes wide with Victor¡¯s red aura flickering in their moist, ck depths.

    ¡°Right, let¡¯s go, boys. It¡¯s been a long night.¡±

    Victor felt Tha¡¯s hand on his forearm as he red at the retreating figures, and when they¡¯d faded away into the night, he sighed heavily, forcing his Energy back into his Core. ¡°Sorry,¡± he said, turning to look at her.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re fine. I thought you were going to attack them. I think they were just ruffians, though, and you were a fish bigger than they wanted on their hook.¡±

    ¡°All right, it¡¯s time for Tornic to get some sleep,¡± Victor said, smiling and looping an arm over Tha¡¯s shoulders. They made their way back to their room, and Victor kicked off his boots and socks, shrugged out of his armored shirt, and copsed on top of the nket on one side of the bed. He was asleep before Tha could say anything, utterly exhausted for the first time in a while.

 Book 2: Chapter 22: Welcome to Gelica

    Book 2: Chapter 22: Wee to Gelica

    Victor and Tha saw the walls of Gelica from several miles out. The traffic on the road was heavy, with carts, people, and animals going in both directions in a staggered line, and Victor wondered if it was always so busy or if it was just the hour of the day. The sun was nearing its zenith when they had to slow to a stop and get into line at the gate. A dozen or more carts and groups of people were ahead of them, so they settled in for a bit of a wait.

    ¡°I¡¯m hungry,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°You¡¯re always hungry, though you shouldn¡¯t be. It¡¯s in your head, you know?¡± Tha said, giving him a sidelong nce.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter; I want some food,¡± Victor said. ¡°You think muscles like these can sustain themselves on thin air?¡± He flexed his biceps, grinning.

    ¡°You¡¯re a dolt,¡± Tha chuckled.

    ¡°What should our first stop be?¡± Victor asked, changing the subject.

    ¡°I think we need to find an enchanter, a high-ss one. I¡¯m thinking it would be good to not be scried when we¡¯re securing a ce to stay.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, good call. Let¡¯s get some protection from that kind of magic, then we¡¯ll get a ce to stay, then we¡¯ll use that thing Lam gave you. Sound good?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but can your stomach wait that long?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll see a street vendor on the way. I¡¯m assuming Gelica is something like Persi Gables in that regard? When they led us around to different fighting venues, I saw lots of vendors selling food.¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t been to Gelica?¡± Tha asked, ncing at the tall, off-white, stone city walls.

    ¡°Yeah, I have, but I was unconscious. The guy who wrecked my Core sold me to the mines here, but I was out of it.¡± As Victor spoke, the Ardeni man sitting atop a rdii-drawn cart nced back at him and quickly looked away when their eyes met.

    ¡°Maybe we shouldn¡¯t talk so loudly about our ns and problems,¡± Tha said in a low voice.

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor sighed and stretched, looking up and down the line, relieved to move a bit when the guards waved a train of three wagons through the gate. Nearly an hourter, it was finally their turn to face the scrutiny of the guards, who reminded him of road crews back home¡ªone guy was talking to the peopleing through the gate while six or seven others leaned against the wall or on their spears, watching.

    ¡°Nature of your visit?¡± the burly Cadwalli asked.

    ¡°Shopping and meeting with friends,¡± Tha said. Victor just stood behind her and nodded.

    ¡°You have funds for lodging?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Tha said.

    ¡°Right, well, there¡¯s a ten bead visitor tariff at the moment,¡± the guard said, pointing to a painted wooden card affixed to the wall behind him.

    ¡°So much?¡± Tha raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Town¡¯s been busy, and we¡¯ve had too many vagrants in the streets.¡± The guard shrugged, clearly used to the question.

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor said, handing the guard ten attuned beads. That should cover the two of us, hmm?¡±

    ¡°Aye, enjoy your stay,¡± The guard nodded, and to his credit, he put the beads into a pouch stamped with the same symbol Victor had seen flying on the g over the gate¡ªsome sort of bird of prey clutching arge fish in its talons. Tha hurried through the gate, and Victor followed, painfully aware of the guards all staring at him as he passed through. If the people looking for him and Tha had put the word out to the gate guards, they¡¯d have people on their tail in the city in no time.

    ¡°You know where to go?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Not exactly, but I know where the wealthier shops are. We should hurry because those guards were staring at you like they¡¯d bought tickets.¡± Tha put action to her words, lengthening her stride and pushing past the crowds of people in the square near the gate. Victor followed, enjoying the sights and smells of the busy square.

    He¡¯d never been to a big city back on Earth. Tucson was pretty good-sized but sprawling and so damn hot that you never met crowds of people walking around. He¡¯d heard stories about how cities smelled like urine or garbage, especially in the past. Still, the only scents in the busy streets of Gelica were the pleasant aromas of food cooking, the various odors of people, and, under everything, the faintly fishy smell of the big river running through the center of the city.

    asionally Victor would catch a whiff of animal dung, but the rdii were the mostmon animals, and their droppings came out in dry round balls with no odor that Victor could detect. ¡°They have sewers here?¡± he asked, leaning forward to Tha¡¯s ear so she could hear him over the shouts of street hawkers and yelling, jostling people.

    ¡°Huh? Yeah! The city rulers probably purchased them through the Settlement Stones. You have to upgrade your settlement with certain infrastructure for the Stone to increase in level to a Town and then to a City Stone. I think there are even higher-tier Stones, but I¡¯ve never seen one. Maybe at the capital.¡±

    Tha was leading the way up the main road that ran into town from the gate square, and they passed another big, busy market before she started up another road that led uphill. The buildings and shops wererger and cleaner on this street, and fewer people were walking about. The farther they pushed their way up the hill, the more affluent things seemed, and soon, Victor was having difficulty distinguishing between homes and ces of business because they all looked like little manors to his untrained eye.

    The crowds thinned further, and most of the people in the area wore clothing that stood out as tailored and enchanted. A woman strode by with a train of liveried soldiers wearing a silky, pale-blue veil and robes that left a trail of blue mist behind her. ¡°Talk about shy,¡± Victor said, watching her procession.

    ¡°The nobility¡ªalways looking for a way to stand out or impress their peers.¡± Tha shrugged and spat, to the horror of an older Shadeni woman who happened by at that moment. ¡°Apologies, ma¡¯am,¡± Tha said, her face twisted in embarrassment.

    ¡°Come on,¡± Victorughed, urging her to keep moving.

    The road eventually leveled off and came into another market square, but this one was much more subdued than the ones nearer the gate. A white fountain shaped like a howling dog with four bushy tails spouted water into a series of descending basins, and around it, the square spread out in white gstones. Elegant shops lined the court, and people sedately moved around, murmuring,ughing, and generally showing off their fancy clothing. Tha approached one of the guards standing around the perimeter. She wore livery that matched the gate guards but was much cleaner and better fitted.

    ¡°Hello, do you mind pointing me to the establishment of an enchantment artificer?¡± Tha¡¯s voice was soft and sweet, unlike anything Victor had heard from her before.

    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s that, sweetie? Enchantment?¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± Tha said, still speaking in a voice an octave higher than Victor was used to.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± the guard said, rubbing her blue chin with her fingers. Victor saw that she had painted her nails purple to match her eyes, making him wonder about all the strange fashion possibilities that opened up when people were so colorful. ¡°What sort of enchanting? Are you looking to have a weapon worked on? Or do you want something like a dimensional container?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking for protection enchantments.¡± Tha sped her hands in front of her, fidgeting like she was nervous.

    ¡°Oh, I see. Even with this brute following you around, hmm?¡± The guard eyed Victor from under well-maintained brows, her painted yellow lips pursing in amusement.

    ¡°I, uh . . .¡± Victor started, then stopped, unsure what was afoot here.

    ¡°Oh, rx, big man. I think you should visit Master Kuth¡¯s shop. He¡¯s a true Artificer, and everyone speaks highly of him. His shop is just up at the next intersection, that way. He¡¯s not cheap, though!¡±

    ¡°Oh, well, if he¡¯s too expensive, at least it will give us an idea of what¡¯s possible. Thank you for your help, ma¡¯am,¡± Tha said demurely.

    ¡°Anytime, sweetie. I work this shift every weekend, if you ever want to chat or have a bite,¡± she reached out a hand to Tha and continued, ¡°I¡¯m Te.¡±

    Tha took the hand between hers and said, ¡°I¡¯m Alia.¡± They looked at each other for a moment, then Tha smiled and said, ¡°Come, Tornic,¡± and walked in the direction the woman had earlier indicated.

    ¡°The fuck was that about?¡± Victor asked as they moved away from the market square.

    ¡°Oh, I saw her staring at me the moment we entered the square. I figured I¡¯d flirt a little to get good directions,¡± Tha shrugged.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you act like that,¡± Victorughed, remembering Tha¡¯s high, sweet voice.

    ¡°What? I can be charming when I want to!¡± Tha jabbed at his ribs with her elbow, but all it did was make his ringed shirt jingle and clink. She snorted and walked faster, and soon they were in front of an opulent shop. The window disyed beautiful cloaks and robes sewn from luxurious fabrics in rich deep colors. Hats with feathers and pins, staves, belts, and a rack of glittering jewelry were also on disy. Above the door, embedded in the stone facade, were letters crafted from green gemstones that read simply, ¡°Kuth¡¯s.¡±

    Victor pulled the door open, and they stepped inside. No bell announced their presence, but Victor thought he detected a surge of Energy nearby. He looked around, unable to see its source, but his attention was soon grabbed by all of the disy cabs filled with rings, jewels, nes, watches, and baubles of every sort imaginable. Along the right wall hung racks of coats, robes, and cloaks, and along the wall to his left were staves and wands of every shape and size. A man worked at a tall table near the rear of the shop, his gray-haired head down and his hands busy with a brass-colored cube.

    ¡°Wee in. I¡¯ll be with you in a moment,¡± the proprietor said with a scratchy voice. Tha walked toward him, ignoring all the disyed merchandise, and Victor followed. In his opinion, there was simply too much to look at, and he had no idea what did what. He saw that most items had little handwrittenbels on them, but he figured he could shop for hours before he found what they were looking for. They stood near the workbench, trying not to loom or intrude on the Artificer¡¯s concentration.

    He ignored them for several minutes, using a tool that seemed to melt the cube''s metal as it touched it, allowing him to carve delicate glyphs into the surface. ¡°Just let me finish this enchantment¡ªI¡¯ll botch it if I try to stop halfway and finish itter. Five minutes, please.¡± He didn¡¯t look up as he spoke, and his tone brooked no argument.

    ¡°No worries,¡± Victor said, shrugging to Tha. She nodded, and they spent a few minutes browsing through the aisles in the shop. Victor thought a lot of the jewelry was beautiful, but he already wore more rings than he ever thought he would and couldn¡¯t see himself buying something more unless he really needed it. He saw Tha holding a pendant with a lustrous, dark blue stone hanging from it and was about to ask her what it was when the shopkeeper cleared his throat.

    ¡°Now, thank you for your patience; what brings you into Kuth¡¯s?¡±

    Victor and Tha moved back to the workbench, and Tha said, ¡°We¡¯re shopping for some wards. We need to be protected from scrying attempts.¡±

    ¡°Scrying, eh? Jealous lover? Angry employer? No, no, none of Kuth¡¯s business. I pride myself on discretion¡ªites with the purchase. Do you each need an item? Or just one for the two of you?¡±

    ¡°Each of us,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Any idea how strong it needs to be? What tier are those seeking to spy upon you?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t know, but better to err on the side of caution,¡± Tha replied, leaning against the workbench and staring steadily at the Ardeni craftsman. He had goggles on his head with several lenses flipped up out of the frames. Green lenses hid his eyes from view, but his mouth was very expressive, smiling widely with straight, sharp teeth exposed. Victor had assumed he was old because of his white hair, but his face was smooth and unlined, and his fingers drumming on the workbench were long and nimble. His overalls had dozens of pockets along the front, and Victor wondered what could be in them all.

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s quite a cost differential between tier-one and tier-four protection. I¡¯m afraid I cannot craft anything portable that would block tier-five or higher scrying.¡±

    ¡°Tier-four, please,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Very well, I have some wards that will suit you. Such protection requires dense metal, a significant amount of it, so I only have wards that powerful in broaches, bracelets, or pendants.¡±

    Tha nced at Victor, and he tried to shrug with his eyes. She nodded and said, ¡°I think we¡¯d prefer pendants.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I only have one pendant that powerful. I do have a rather manly bracelet if you could see yourself wearing such a thing, sir.¡± Kuth looked at Victor and reached up to flip the green lens away from his right eye, revealing a bright, magenta iris. ¡°I think it would suit you well, warrior.¡±

    ¡°Sure, I guess.¡± Victor nodded.

    ¡°Excellent. One moment please,¡± Kuth said, then walked over to one of his disys and began running his finger over the contents, humming off-key the whole while. Tha looked at Victor and raised an eyebrow. He just shrugged and thumped the workbench with his fingers, content to wait.

    ¡°I¡¯m hungry. I can¡¯t believe I didn¡¯t see any good street food on the way over.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Ancestors! Again with your hunger?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a lovely restaurant nearby. My daughter runs it, and I¡¯m sure she¡¯d appreciate the business if you stopped by when you¡¯re done here.¡±

    ¡°Ardeni food?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°Well, southern Ardeni, aye. Spicy sauces over meats and fresh veggies. She serves everything in bowls with a bed of wild rice.¡± Kuth lifted what he was looking for out of the case and then made his way back to the workbench. He set two objects down in front of Tha and Victor.

    ¡°We¡¯ll try that restaurant,¡± Victor said, studying the objects. One was a silver chain with a circr pendant about two inches in diameter. It was studded with tiny red gems, and when Victor looked closely, he saw that they were set into a carving that made them look like shooting stars over a mountain range. The bracelet was thick, brass-colored, and, at its center, sported arge, singr amber-colored stone with dark stripes running through it.

    ¡°They both have the same enchantment¡ªprotection from scrying and, to a lesser extent, protection from mind-altering enchantments. The gemstones on either item will glow briefly if they block hostile Energy workings.¡±

    ¡°Great, how much?¡±

    ¡°The pendant has more precious metal and stones, so it sells for two hundred and forty beads. The bracelet sells for one-eighty.¡±

    ¡°You take any precious metals or gems in trade?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Probably! Show me what you have, sir.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor nodded and started pulling out the silver tes and cutlery he¡¯d found in the dungeon. Then, he piled up the silver, gold, and tinum jewelry and the precious gems he¡¯d found. Tha did the same with her loot. Victor thought for a moment and then snapped his fingers, producing the creepy crown he¡¯d taken from the cultist at the dungeon entrance. He thought about adding the blue crystal choker but then looked at the pile and thought better of it. This wasn¡¯t a smart way to negotiate.

    ¡°That¡¯s quite a collection . . .¡± Kuth started to say, but Victor cleared his throat and spoke:

    ¡°We¡¯ve heard you have a reputation for being fair, so don¡¯t let us down.¡± He allowed a slight growl to enter his voice as he spoke, and Kuth nced up sharply, his one visible eye widening.

    ¡°Of course, of course. Let me get my scale and rate sheet.¡± The Artificer lifted a ck te from under the counter, set it on top of his workbench, and produced a thick notebook. He then proceeded to weigh each piece of precious metal and closely examine each gemstone, making notations in his notebook. It took him nearly an hour.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already told us a good ce to eat. Do you happen to know anyone looking to rent out some rooms? We¡¯d rather avoid inns.¡± Tha asked while the man was working.

    ¡°That¡¯s funny, you should ask! My daughter has a merchant friend going out with a caravan. She usually tries to rent her vi while she¡¯s gone, and it might still be avable. You should ask when you stop by to eat.¡±

    ¡°Great, thank you!¡± Tha smiled and nodded to Victor. He grinned back encouragingly. It seemed awfully convenient, but he couldn¡¯t think of a reason to be suspicious¡ªit wasn¡¯t like this guy had sought them out.

    ¡°All right, good news, folks! All of these metals are useful in my business, and some of these stones are quite remarkable. I¡¯d value this haul, minus the crown, at over seven hundred beads. The crown is a dirty piece of magic¡ªput it on and have a good time battling for your soul with a rather insane spirit. I rmend purging the enchantments, and then I can add another fifty beads to the haul for the materials.¡±

    ¡°So we can walk with the two warding items and a few hundred beads?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, and it¡¯s my pleasure doing business¡ªI¡¯m always happy for a source of materials like these.¡±

    Victor and Tha epted the deal and took their new warding items. They each bonded with their jewelry, and, after getting directions from Kuth to his daughter¡¯s restaurant and promising to return if they had more materials to sell, they left the man¡¯s shop. The restaurant was nearby, just back to the square and a short distance up a different street. Victor led the way, feeling a lot more secure now that he didn¡¯t have to worry about people spying on him magically.

    Kuth¡¯s daughter was a friendly woman who had inherited her father¡¯s magenta eyes and white hair, and her spicy bowls were pretty damn good, in Victor¡¯s opinion. After he¡¯d finished more than half of his food, he paused to take a breath and said, ¡°You know, dungeons are pretty good money. Also, killing bounty hunters.¡± He snorted at his gallows humor and took another bite.

    ¡°Well, they¡¯re dangerous, though. Look what happened to me,¡± Tha replied, sitting back to let her stomach rest. They were sitting at a two-person table near the front window, and no other patrons were nearby. The restaurant was more like a cafe in Victor¡¯s mind, and he could see Kuth¡¯s daughter watching them from her counter, waiting to see if they needed anything else. Her business was slow and seemed like it had been for a while.

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± he said, waving to her. She smiled and hurried around the counter, over to their table.

    ¡°Yes? Something else I can get you?¡±

    ¡°You can pack me ten of these bowls to go. Do you have containers for take-out? If not, I¡¯ll pay for some of these nice wooden bowls.¡±

    ¡°Ten?¡± Her smile brightened, and she continued, ¡°Of course! I don¡¯t normally sell food for people to take away, but these wooden bowls aren¡¯t costly; I¡¯ll just add them to the total.¡±

    ¡°No problem, but you should get some paper bowls made. You could make a lot of money selling these to people who are in a hurry. They could take them back to their jobs!¡± Victor smiled, thinking he¡¯d had a genius idea.

    ¡°Oh, thanks for the suggestion! I¡¯ll look into it,¡± she said, and Tha snorted.

    When Kuth¡¯s daughter left to prepare the bowls, Tha said, ¡°You think she hasn¡¯t thought of that? She obviously wants to have a restaurant, not a street cart.¡±

    ¡°Where Ie from, plenty of restaurants make a killing doing to-go orders.¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°You gonna finish that?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m stuffed,¡± Tha replied. Victor pulled her bowl over and proceeded to wolf it down. The meat reminded him of barbacoa, and the tangy sauce brought back memories of squeezing lime on his abu¡¯s tacos. When Kuth¡¯s daughter returned with his order, and he slipped them into his storage ring, he contemted trying to exin tacos to her but then shook his head. Who was he to try to teach a cook about how to serve food in her home city?

    ¡°Hey, I know Kuth is your dad, but I never got your name,¡± Victor said instead. ¡°My name¡¯s Tornic, and this is Alia.¡±

    ¡°Very pleased to meet you! My name is Yasha.¡± She nodded, her white ponytail bouncing behind her head, and smiled, holding out a hand.

    Victor shook her hand and said, ¡°Hey, your dad said you might know someone with a vi to rent? We¡¯re looking for a ce to stay while we¡¯re in the city.¡±

    ¡°Really? Yes! My friend, Veysi ap¡¯Narl, has a vi for rent! She had to leave on a caravan for business and couldn¡¯t find any renters, so she asked me if I could help out. She won¡¯t be back for months!¡±

    ¡°How much is she asking?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°Forty a week,¡± she said with a slight frown. ¡°I know it¡¯s a lot, but she¡¯s got a really nice ce right here in the Ga Quarter.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re getting a cut, I hope?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Yes! Veysi was so upset that she couldn¡¯t find a long-term renter that she promised me a percentage if I figured something out for her.¡±

    ¡°All right, sign us up for two weeks, and we can talk after that. We¡¯re not sure how long we¡¯ll be in town,¡± Victor said, ncing at Tha for confirmation. She nodded, sitting back and eyeing Yasha through half-closed eyes.

    ¡°Wonderful! I¡¯ll get the contract, and you can read through it. I have an employeeing in the next half hour¡ªif you¡¯re agreeable, I can have him watch the counter while I show you the vi. Does that sound all right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sounds good,¡± Victor said, smiling and squashing the urge to wink. Yasha hurried back behind her counter and started rifling through some papers.

    ¡°That was pretty convenient,¡± Tha said.

    ¡°Yeah, I had that thought earlier¡ªthis all seems so easy and smooth, but we sought out the artificer, and it¡¯s not like the gate guards sent us here; it was that random guarddy that had a crush on you.¡± Victor frowned and drummed his fingers on the table.

    ¡°Tonight, do you think you can try to Spirit Walk to Oyna?¡±

    ¡°I can try, but she¡¯ll need to be listening.¡±

    ¡°She will be. I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s been there every night since we left. She¡¯s interested in us, Victor, and wants to hear from us. If you can get to her, you can ask her to try scrying us to see if these things really work.¡± Tha lifted the pendant hanging at her neck.

    ¡°Oh. Yeah, that¡¯s a good idea. You think she can scry? She said she didn¡¯t know any defenses for it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be surprised if she can¡¯t,¡± Tha said with a firm, quick nod.

    ¡°Right, well, we¡¯ll try that tonight. If things check out with our new wards, you can use your stone to contact Lam. Sound all right?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Meanwhile, let¡¯s check out Yasha¡¯s vi.¡± Tha nodded to the young woman as she approached, holding a sheet of thick paper covered with dense lines of script.

    ¡°The contract,¡± she said cheerily, blowing a strand of loose white hair out of her eyes as she set the paper onto the table.

 Book 2: Chapter 23: Contacts

    Book 2: Chapter 23: Contacts

    Victor looked around the pantry space in the basement of the vi they¡¯d rented. Jars of pickled fruits and jams lined one wall, and sacks of flour and sugar and bins of root vegetables lined the other. The pantry door was solid, and with a little bit of work, he and Tha had secured a thick wooden bar over it. ¡°This should do. Even if this ce is a set-up, they won¡¯t expect us to be hiding in the pantry in the basement, right?¡±

    ¡°Makes sense to me,¡± Tha replied, giving the door a stiff tug to make sure it wouldn¡¯t budge. Victor threw out a couple of nkets and then sat down, Lifedrinker in hisp. It was near midnight¡ªthey¡¯d spent the evening visiting with Yasha, taking a tour of the vi, and then shopping for travel supplies from a general store they¡¯d seen near the home.

    They¡¯d bought ropes, pitons, nkets, sleeping mats, two tents, cooking supplies, racks of spices, an Energy powered camp stove, glownterns, fishing gear, snares, shovels, hammers, pliers, hatchets, and even a massive canvas tarp. Victor figured that as long as he had storage rings with enormous space inside, he might as well be stocked up and ready for anything.

    ¡°All right, so you¡¯ll wake me at the first hint of any trouble, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Victor! I won¡¯t leave you helpless.¡± Tha looked almost irritated by the question.

    ¡°I know you won¡¯t, but even if you aren¡¯t sure, even if it¡¯s just a strange noise that you think might be a rat or something, wake me up.¡± Heid back on the nkets, still holding Lifedrinker in his hands¡ªhe feltforted by her handle''s warm, vibrant aura.

    Tha put her glowmp into her ring, and darkness closed in. ¡°I¡¯m here, and my spear¡¯s ready.¡±

    ¡°Here I go,¡± Victor said, then he closed his eyes, rxed his body the way Oyna had taught him, and cast Spirit Walk. He and Tha had practiced the spell almost every night, and it came quickly to him. He stood up from the ground in a twilit, grass-covered in. At the very edges of his vision, he thought he saw movement and shes of color, and he wondered if they were other spirit walkers¡ªthe city had a lot of people in it, surely some of them had this ability.

    Victor slowly spun in a circle, taking in his surroundings, marveling at the bright, iridescent stars in the ck sky. The moons were especially radiant and seemed to pulsate with slightly different shades of white and blue light. Using them as a guide, Victor oriented himself toward the east and thought of Oyna. He pictured the woman both as she was in reality and how she¡¯d appeared on the spirit ne. He saw her bright, intelligent eyes and remembered her cackle, and suddenly he felt a sensation of movement.

    The feeling was almost like he was sliding over the ground on a pathway, and Victor stepped into it, letting the momentum take him. As he did so, he elerated, and his surroundings became a blur. He perceived just a few seconds of time passing, and then the world stopped blurring by, and he stood on a different grassy in, one with taller, sporadic clumps of grass, and right in front of him stood the beautiful, youthful version of Oyna. She pped her hands and cackled.

    ¡°So easily youe to me? Wonderful! Oyna is still a great teacher!¡±

    ¡°Hello, Oyna! We¡¯ve missed you! Tha wanted toe but was afraid she¡¯d run out of Energy. She¡¯s been practicing, though!¡±

    ¡°Yes, warrior, I imagined that was the case. When I saw your smooth face and untroubled brow, I knew she was well.¡±

    ¡°Did you worry something was wrong?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly¡ªI¡¯ve been keeping an eye on you two since you left, and earlier today, I lost track. You found some wards to protect you from prying eyes, hmm?¡±

    ¡°Oh great! Yes, that¡¯s why I came to you tonight¡ªwe wanted to see if they worked. Things were going, well, too smoothly, and we started to fear we were being tricked.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm, Oyna knows the feeling of not believing life can be easy, especially after long, troubling times. Still, sometimes the Ancestors look away from you for a while and stop meddling with your affairs. In those moments, it can be surprising to have things happen exactly as you might hope.¡± Sheughed again, but not a cackle, more a warm chuckle that Victor found infectious.

    ¡°You think your ancestors are meddlers? Do they ever make things easier?¡±

    ¡°The Ancestors that choose to bide their time nosing about in our affairs rarely concern themselves with our happiness. No, they want to see a particr end and like to treat us as a means to that end.¡±

    ¡°So, benevolent ancestors are more hands-off? Doesn¡¯t seem fair.¡± Victor¡¯s words elicited another true cackle from Oyna, one thatsted a while.

    ¡°Imagine believing life is fair! Silly warrior. Do you think your foes feel that things are fair when you refuse to die, refuse to keep bleeding, and rip them limb from limb?¡±

    ¡°Fair point,¡± Victor said with a chagrined smile. Suddenly Oyna looked away, staring into the horizon behind him.

    ¡°Something dark and powerfules this way. Return to your body, warrior. Come to me at this hour whenever you can, and try to bring my daughter with you!¡± She reached out and touched Victor¡¯s forehead, and then he was blinking his real, physical eyes, staring into the dark pantry.

    ¡°Damn, she fucking kicked me out!¡± he said, his words dry and scratchy like he¡¯d been holding his mouth open the whole time he was out.

    ¡°Was she mad?¡± Tha asked, producing her glowmp.

    ¡°Nah, she said something dark wasing our way and kicked me out. She wants us to visit her again, though. She said this was a good time.¡±

    ¡°Us?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, so you better keep working on cultivating that courage-attunement. By the way, she called you ¡®daughter.¡¯¡± Victor paused as Tha looked away for a moment, either embarrassed or ashamed at whatever emotion she was feeling. ¡°Anyway, she said the wards worked¡ªshe lost track of us earlier today when we picked them up.¡±

    ¡°Oh, good! I like this vi and didn¡¯t want to have to move.¡± Tha said, briefly brushing her eyes. She held out a hand, and Victor took it, pulling himself up to his feet. Tha grunted and had to hold onto the door handle for bnce.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say it! I am not going on a diet.¡± Victorughed and lifted the bar from the door, opening up the pantry to the rest of the basement. ¡°Want to contact Lam now or wait for morning?¡±

    ¡°Now! She¡¯s likely in her quarters at this hour. Who knows what she¡¯ll be doing in the morning.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, good point.¡± Victor gestured to therger basement space, ¡°Since we¡¯re sure we¡¯re not being scried, no one should know we¡¯re here. Let¡¯s head upstairs to the sitting room, and you can use the stone infort.¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± Tha said, brushing past him and walking to the stairs. Victor followed her up and then through a short hallway into the vi¡¯s sitting room. Wicker chairs with soft pads around a pale green, rag-style rug filled most of the space. Wide, ss-paneled French doors opened onto a stone-gged courtyard. Victor crossed the room and opened them, letting some night air into the room.

    ¡°That¡¯s better,¡± he said, taking a deep breath of the cool, jasmine-scented breeze. ¡°Am I smelling jasmine blossoms?¡±

    ¡°Rust orchids.¡±

    ¡°Huh, smells like some flowers that grew by my auntie¡¯s house.¡± Victor took another big breath, then moved over to one of the wicker couches and sat down, watching Tha. She took the ck stone from her storage container and contemted it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how this is going to work. Will it just alert her that I used it? Will she be able to see us? Speak to us?¡±

    ¡°No idea. Are you worried about whether we can trust her or not?¡± Victor frowned.

    ¡°Sort of, but I guess that¡¯s a little silly¡ªif she¡¯d wanted to doublecross us, why would she help us to slip away? Why give us all these supplies and weapons?¡± She nodded at the axe hanging from Victor¡¯s belt.

    ¡°Yeah. Go for it; she¡¯s not going to sell us out. She wanted info on that dungeon, anyway, so it¡¯s not like she¡¯s not motivated.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Tha nodded, ¡°here goes.¡± She lifted the stone in her palm and concentrated for a moment. Victor felt her reach out with a tendril of courage-attuned Energy, and he wondered if he¡¯d have noticed if it had been some other Energy attunement. The thread of courage Energy had a very familiar feel to him, and he smiled at the feelings it triggered: confidence, boldness in action, a warm feeling spreading from his heart.

    The stone shifted from ck to yellow and then back again to ck. It did it again, three secondster, and then again, three seconds after that. ¡°Does that mean it¡¯s working?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! It¡¯s getting warm,¡± Tha said, closing her fist over the stone and releasing it. ¡°It feels nice.¡± Suddenly the stone seemed to burst into a million fragments that hovered in a small cloud in front of Tha¡¯s face. A momentter, they started to swirl around and then condense into a grayscale shape: Lam¡¯s face. The representation of Lam blinked a few times, and then she opened her mouth.

    ¡°Tha? You¡¯re alive! I¡¯d lost hope of hearing from you, then my stone started to pulse, and I knew someone had the one I gave you.¡±

    ¡°Lam? Can you hear me?¡± Tha asked, talking to the gray-ck face.

    ¡°Yes! Be quick, though¡ªthese stones are linked but can only maintain a connection for a few moments. How are you? Are you somece safe? Did Victor survive?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re safe! We¡¯re in Gelica, but we have assassins and bounty hunters chasing us. We need to figure out a way to get the mining consortium to let things drop.¡±

    ¡°Gelica! So the dungeon was real? Victor found the way in?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Do you think you can help us, Captain?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m due a visit to the city. I¡¯lle to you, and I¡¯ll bring along a friend of yours! She¡¯s been driving me crazy with questions about what happened to you both.¡± Victor¡¯s cheeks turned up into a smile at the mention¡ªshe had to be talking about Edeya!

    ¡°Is Edeya well?¡± Victor asked, but it didn¡¯t seem Lam could hear him.

    ¡°We can make the journey in two days. I have a close friend that owns a restaurant¡ªNissa¡¯s Small tes. Talk to Nissa; tell her where I can find you. She won¡¯t speak to anyone; you can trust her.¡±

    ¡°Okay, thank you. Lam, is there any . . .¡± Suddenly, the shadowy image of Lam¡¯s face fell to the floor¡ªa million particles of inert dust. ¡°Guess it ran out of time.¡±

    ¡°That was pretty cool, though!¡± Victor said, leaning forward to look at the pile of ck dust at Tha¡¯s feet.

    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t expect that! She¡¯s bringing Edeya! Aren¡¯t you excited to see how she¡¯s been?¡±

    ¡°Hell yeah,¡± Victor nodded, pping his hands together. ¡°Well, shall we get some sleep? Tomorrow we can find Nissa¡¯s restaurant.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m beat. Lock up the doors, though, please.¡± Tha gestured to the doors Victor had just opened.

    ¡°Right. See you in the morning.¡± He moved to close the doors, and while he wastching the bolt, Tha moved off toward the bedrooms. They each had afortable room, and the vi sported a Roman-style bathing room with arge, perpetually full, steamy bath. Tha said it wasn¡¯t umon for wealthier people to have such pools in their homes¡ªEnergy powered the heaters and filters.

    Tha didn¡¯t avail herself of the bath, heading straight to sleep, but Victor wasn¡¯t all that tired, so he spent some time sshing and floating around in the hot water, sampling the soaps and oils that the owner had arrayed in great quantity and variation. After his bath, he went to his room and fell asleep rather quickly, more tired than he¡¯d thought.

    He must have slept well because Victor found himself in that cozy half-awake, half-asleep state he sometimes got into when he¡¯d slept through the night. His dreams were vivid, and he was almost lucid in them. One strange scene after another drifted through his mind, and he could feel his face stretching into a smile while heughed at his friend Paul mimicking their wrestling coach, ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t make weight? When I was your age, I spent half my day wearing three sweat suits andying under the mats with the heaters cranked up! Get some gum in your mouth and start spitting! You got two hours!¡±

    That strange memory-dream faded away as Victor found himself walking through the desert with his old friend, Anthony, looking for a stick suitable to use as a ¡°sword.¡± Their neighbors, twins named John and Eric, had bullied Anthony on the bus again, and Victor was going to help him get even.

    The dream morphed away from memory when he found himself holding an axe, not a stick, standing in a dark hallway made of stone. Victor¡¯s heart started to beat faster, and he crept toward an even darker opening ahead, trying not to breathe loudly. He moved into the darkness, unable to see anything, and when he whirled back toward the hallway he¡¯de from, it was gone, and he stood alone in the fathomless ck.

    Somewhere in the back of his dream-muddled mind, Victor thought he should be able to produce a light somehow, but he couldn¡¯t quite figure out how. His breaths came short and shallow, and his hands gripped the handle of his axe until his knuckles started to hurt, and then a voice came out of the darkness, familiar but different, ¡°Ahh, your spirit wanders wide, warrior.¡±

    Victor couldn¡¯t quite put a finger on whose voice it was¡ªdeep and raspy, echoing strangely, confident, but not demeaning. It was a man¡¯s voice, but had he ever heard it before? Why was it familiar? Before he could puzzle out any more, it spoke again, ¡°Nothing to say? You should learn to guard yourself better when you sleep. A spirit as strong as yours can venture to ces you aren¡¯t ready to see. You need to keep your mind in control of it. Luckily for you, I bear you no ill-will. It was irritating that you took my apprentice away, but the service you did far outweighed such an insignificant loss. As a gesture of goodwill, I¡¯ll tell you this: I¡¯m not the only one that saw your spirit drifting around this night.¡±

    ¡°Apprentice?¡± Victor managed to say, his mind jumping to every possible conclusion. ¡°Tha? Are you Belikot?¡±

    ¡°Wake up now! And learn to tether your spirit before you sleep so deeply again.¡± The voice was deep and suggestive, and Victor, worried that he¡¯d done something he shouldn¡¯t have, willed himself awake. Gray morning light was filtering through the gauzy drapes on his windows, and his bed felt like a warm nest in the cold morning air. A chilly draft drew his eyes to the windows, and he saw the drapes flutter. Had he opened themst night? He stood and walked over to the window, pulling the fabric aside to look out on the vi''s courtyard.

    A thinyer of frosty over the gstones and the marble fountain. The short shrubs were simrly coated, and Victor shivered, cranking the window closed. ¡°I guess summer¡¯s definitely over.¡±

    He found Tha in the kitchen, rooting through the ¡°cold-cab,¡± as she¡¯d called it. To Victor, it seemed just like a refrigerator, but it was made of wood strapped with rune-covered bronze. Brightly glowing crystals were inset into the back of the interior, and it felt just as cold as the fridge at his abu¡¯s house. ¡°Looking for breakfast?¡±

    ¡°I found sausages, but they were slimy and smelled. There¡¯re eggs, though.¡± Tha turned and set a ceramic bowl filled with eggs on the counter. She looked up at Victor and smiled, ¡°You look like you slept well!¡± She chuckled and pointedly looked at his hair.

    ¡°What? My hair a mess? Damn, but I had some weird dreams.¡± Victor pulled out one of the stools in front of the long kitchen counter and sat down. ¡°Either my subconscious is weirder than I thought, or Belikot spoke to me in my dream.¡±

    Tha dropped the frying pan she¡¯d picked up. It ttered on the tile floor, and she turned to look at him. ¡°Not funny, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not trying to be funny. He said my spirit was ¡®wandering¡¯ in my sleep. I mean, on the bright side, he didn¡¯t act like we were enemies. He even said he wanted to warn me that he wasn¡¯t the only one that had noticed my spirit wandering aroundst night. He said I need to learn to tether myself before I sleep so deeply again. Whatever that means. Ahh, it all sounds stupid when I say it out loud. I probably had a dumb dream.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Victor,¡± Tha said, stooping to pick up the pan and cing it on the stovetop. ¡°Where would youe up with something like that? I mean, if it was just a dream¡ªyour spirit wandering, Belikot warning you. Is that something you¡¯d dream up on your own?¡±

    ¡°Maybe. Oyna talked about stuff like that, and we¡¯ve been practicing Spirit Walk. I¡¯m sure Belikot is one of the worries I¡¯ve got buried in here,¡± Victor thumped his skull.

    ¡°Well, just in case, we should see if we can find anything out about keeping your spirit from wandering while you dream.¡±

    ¡°All right, add it to the list. Anything good to drink in there?¡±

    ¡°Some juice,¡± Tha said, pulling a pitcher out of the cold-cab and getting him a ss from a nearby cupboard. Victor drank the tangy, sweet juice, and Tha scrambled up some eggs for them to eat.

    ¡°I could go for some toast or bacon. We should go shopping after we find that friend of Captain Lam¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I had the same thought.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m ready when you are,¡± Victor said, rinsing his te in the sink.

    ¡°Okay, let me go get cleaned up a little bit. I¡¯ll meet you in the courtyard.¡± Tha walked back toward the bedrooms, and Victor stretched, moving out to the courtyard to stand in the morning sun. The frost had already melted away, and though there was still a chill in the air, the sun felt good on his face. Victor could hear the sounds of the city waking up around them and even saw the silhouettes of people walking by through the wrought iron gate. Victor had admired the gate when Yasha had first shown them the vi; it was heavy with a solid feel, and the tiny holes in the metal were nearly impossible to see through, let alone sneak through.

    Long metal bolts held the gate shut, and they made quite a racket when you slid them open. Victor thought it was a nice security touch, but he supposed he was still thinking like an earthling¡ªanyone with a decent agility score or some Energy abilities could get over the wall,pletely ignoring the heavy gate. Victor walked over to it, pulled the lever, slid the long bolts free, and swung the gate toward him. A woman was walking by on the sidewalk, and he smiled and said, ¡°Good morning.¡±

    ¡°And to you,¡± she said, hurrying on her way.

    ¡°Trying to flirt with the locals?¡± Tha asked, noiselessly walking up behind him.

    ¡°Damn, Tha! Do you have to creep up on me like that?¡±

    ¡°Was I really creeping, or were you just too busy staring at that poor woman to notice me?¡±

    ¡°All right, all right. Where do we go first?¡±

    ¡°First, we should find the source of that smell! She sniffed loudly, her lips turned up in a pleased smile. Victor turned his attention to his nose and took a big whiff; sure enough, the sugary smell of toasted caramel wafted into his nostrils.

    ¡°You think it¡¯s a pastry shop or something?¡±

    ¡°Yes! And we need to buy a bunch of them!¡± Tha started up the street toward the corner, and Victor closed the gate, following behind.

    ¡°Did you lock the vi?¡± he asked as he caught up.

    ¡°Sure did.¡± Tha wore a smug smile and seemed almost bubbling with positive energy, and Victor couldn¡¯t quite put a finger on why, but she seemed different.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with you? You seem happy or something.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not allowed to be happy? No, no, I¡¯m teasing. I¡¯ll tell you what it is: I¡¯ve thought about what you said, about your conversation with Belikot while you were sleeping. If he really did warn you and said he held no ill-will, that¡¯s good, right? That¡¯s a weight off my mind. I think I¡¯ve been worried that we¡¯d run into him sooner orter, or at least some Naghelli assassins he might send after me. I think it¡¯s like you said all along¡ªhe¡¯s got bigger problems than you and me, especially if we¡¯re not looking to get back at him.¡±

    ¡°All right, well, that¡¯s cool. I¡¯m d you¡¯re feeling better about that shit . . . Hey! A bakery!¡± He pointed to the corner shop with a line of patronsing out the door. The sugar-scented, fresh bread odor wasing from within.

    He and Tha joined the queue and talked about mundane things, like finding a store to buy wine and a ce to sell some more of the odds and ends Victor had collected in the dungeon, including the various weapons and armor bits. Tha said she wanted to try to find a clothier to buy some new outfits, and that, of course, reminded Victor that he had a very limited wardrobe.

    ¡°No, Angra, I¡¯m not doing this again. You either tell him we¡¯re serious and he needs to back off, or I¡¯m done!¡± A short Ardeni man had suddenly raised his voice and turned to face therge Vodkin behind him.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re done? Maybe I¡¯m done! Did you think a sweet roll would make up for how you spoke to my motherst night? And you referred to my nephews as a litter! A litter of nephews! I¡¯m done with this! I¡¯m going to talk to Drayel, all right, but it¡¯s to tell him that you and I are through!¡± The big Vodkin turned on his heel and strode away, jostling Tha. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, miss!¡± he said, tears on his fuzzy face.

    ¡°Wait! Angra!¡± the Ardeni called, chasing after him down the sidewalk. Victor looked at Tha and raised an eyebrow. She suppressed a giggle and turned back toward the bakery counter.

    ¡°That¡¯s one way to get the line moving faster,¡± Victor said, leaning forward to speak quietly in her ear.

    ¡°Hush!¡± she hissed.

    When they finally got a chance to make a purchase, Victor loaded up on all sorts of pastries, creating quite a pile in one of his storage rings. He and Tha sat at a small table and savored one of their purchases with a warm drink the locals simply called spiced milk. It reminded Victor of a cross between hot chocte and apple cider, though if someone asked him what the actual vors were, he¡¯d struggle to describe them. All he knew was that it was delicious and paired perfectly with the buttery fruit-filled pastry he was eating.

    When they finished eating, he and Tha walked toward the nearby market square and started asking friendly-looking people if they knew where they might find Nissa¡¯s Small tes. The first few people they asked didn¡¯t have any idea, one suggesting they look around various other city sections. Tha didn¡¯t give up, though, and after a few more attempts, she asked an older, gray-haired Shadeni woman selling carved figurines that looked to be made from something like ivory.

    ¡°Oh, Nissa¡¯s? Yeah, I¡¯ve seen it. Not my taste, or my price range, though.¡±

    ¡°Could you tell us where it is?¡± Tha asked, picking up one of the figurines shaped like a little wolf with three bushy tails.

    ¡°Seven Bell Square. On the corner next to the candlemaker. That¡¯s how I know it¡ªI buy my wax there.¡± She gestured at the little figurines.

    ¡°These are wax?¡± Victor asked, picking one up. It was hard and lustrous, nothing like a candle, the only object made of wax that Victor could think of.

    ¡°Yes, but I treat them with my Artisan skills.¡±

    ¡°Pretty cool! How much for the one my friend has there?¡± Victor pointed to the little three-tailed wolf.

    ¡°Eight,¡± the woman said, smiling with crinkled eyes. Victor dug in his ring and took out three attuned beads.

    ¡°How about this? We got a deal?¡±

    ¡°Sure. Happy to help young love,¡± she said, snatching the beads faster than Victor thought she ought to be able to move.

    ¡°We¡¯re not in love!¡± Tha said, but she pocketed the figurine. ¡°Thanks, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Victor waved to the woman and started walking toward the broad road that led down the hill toward the greater part of the city. ¡°You know where the square she mentioned is?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty well-known.¡± She moved to Victor¡¯s side and took the lead. They walked in silence for a few minutes, then she said, ¡°I liked the figurine because it reminded me of my daughter¡ªshe loved a story about a three-tailed boyii hound that befriended a little boy. Thanks for buying it.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡±

    ¡°My daughter?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m always thinking of her in those terms. ¡®Tha¡¯s daughter.¡¯ I¡¯m just curious.¡±

    ¡°Her name¡¯s Deyni.¡± Tha smiled wistfully as she said the name. ¡°I haven¡¯t said it aloud in a while. Victor, can we make a detour when we¡¯re done talking to Lam¡¯s friend? I want to try to find an old acquaintance who might have an idea where Deyni and my old friend Rhessa might be hiding.¡±

    ¡°Fuck yes! We¡¯ve got a couple of days until Lam gets here; we might as well aplish something while we wait!¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Victor!¡± Tha pped him on the shoulder, and they continued in silence, walking toward the city center and Seven Bell Square.

 Book 2: Chapter 24: Heart Finder

    Book 2: Chapter 24: Heart Finder

    Nissa regarded Victor and Tha over her wooden chopping block, bits of diced herbs clinging to the knife in her hand. ¡°So you know Lam, hmm?¡± They¡¯d knocked on the restaurant door, seeing that a light was on in the kitchen, and when Tha had mentioned Lam to the grumpy, narrow-faced Ghelli woman, she¡¯d motioned for them to follow her back to the kitchen.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Victor said. ¡°She asked us to leave a message for her with you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I love Lam, but I need to keep my nose clean. I¡¯m not the same Ghelli she used to run with.¡± She smirked, reliving some private memory, and then went back to dicing herbs.

    ¡°This won¡¯t get you into any trouble. We¡¯re just going to tell you where she can meet us,¡± Tha said.

    ¡°Mmhmm, and I won¡¯t have some thugsing here to torture the information out of me?¡± The knife beat out a stato rhythm, faster than Victor¡¯s eyes could follow.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see how¡ªno one knows we have any connection to you. I mean, we don¡¯t¡ªLam does.¡± Tha pressed.

    ¡°Alright, then, spit it out. What do you want me to tell her?¡±

    ¡°If you could just tell her to get breakfast at Parlo¡¯s Bakery near Boyii Square, we¡¯ll look for her there each morning,¡± Tha said, giving the instructions that she and Victor had decided upon. They knew they could trust Lam, but they didn¡¯t know if Nissa was as trustworthy as Lam thought.

    ¡°Parlo¡¯s. All right, got it. Is that everything?¡± She scraped her herbs into a pile on the cutting board, then put a bright orange pepper under her knife, ¡°If it is, you might want to leave¡ªscorch peppers aren¡¯t fun to be around when they¡¯re being chopped.¡±

    ¡°One more thing,¡± Victor said, calmly putting one of hisrge hands over the pepper. ¡°I know you don¡¯t know us and don¡¯t have a reason to want to help, but we don¡¯t have any good contacts here in the city. Do you think you could point us in the direction of a spirit caster? Someone who runs a business, so it won¡¯t seem odd, us showing up.¡±

    ¡°A spirit caster? What kind? A Fate Teller? A Heart Witch? A Spirit Singer? I know a few.¡± Nissa reached forward and grabbed onto Victor¡¯s thumb, trying to lift his hand off her cutting board. ¡°Do you mind?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re looking for someone that might be able to help with some questions about spirit Cores in general. Someone friendly and knowledgeable.¡± Victor said, still holding his hand over the pepper.

    ¡°Well, if you care about discretion and want someone friendly, Ren the Heart Witch is your best bet. People don¡¯t go to her for things they want bbed about, if you know what I mean.¡± She winked at Victor and nodded toward Tha.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t interested in love potions,¡± Tha said, pping a hand on Victor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Let her have her cutting board back. Even so, Nissa, can you tell us where to find Ren?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s in the shambles down by the docks. I¡¯ll have to write you instructions, or you¡¯ll be wandering around down there for days.¡± Nissa turned and rummaged through one of her drawers until she pulled out a pencil and a notepad that looked like something a server would write orders on. She wrote several lines of text, even drew a sketch of a map on the paper, then handed it to Tha. ¡°Here. Now, can you kindly get out so I can prepare for my lunch rush? Use the back door, please.¡± She pointed to a door at the rear of the kitchen.

    ¡°Thanks, Nissa,¡± Tha said, tugging Victor along, ¡°We¡¯ll tell Lam how much you helped us.¡±

    ¡°Sure, sure,¡± she said, then started chopping the pepper on her cutting board, and, even from several feet away, Victor¡¯s eyes began to burn. He and Tha rushed out of the kitchen.

    ¡°I get the feeling that she and Lam don¡¯t really hang out anymore,¡± Victor said as they walked through the back alley back to the street.

    ¡°Yeah, well, at least she helped us out. My contact is down at the docks, so this worked out nicely.¡±

    ¡°The one that¡¯s going to point us toward your daughter?¡±

    ¡°Hopefully,¡± Tha said, her face betraying her worry. ¡°Rallo isn¡¯t really a friend¡ªmore of a mutual acquaintance of mine and Rhessa¡¯s. He used to find jobs for us when we ¡®worked.¡¯¡±

    ¡°What kind of work?¡± Victor asked, failing to note the inflection Tha put on the word.

    ¡°Oh,¡± she sighed, ¡°no sense trying to keep secrets from you, I guess. I mean, I think you¡¯ve shown me I can trust you more than anyone else. Rhessa and I used to go to parties thrown by wealthy merchants and nobility. We¡¯d flirt and sometimes more, and when things were in full swing, and people were out of their minds with drink and potions, we¡¯d rob the ce, slipping away before anyone knew something had happened.¡±

    ¡°Shit, for real?¡± Victor nced at Tha with a raised eyebrow. He¡¯d always assumed she was a victim of circumstances, especially when he¡¯d learned about her daughter.

    ¡°Yeah, for real. I tried to straighten up and lead a clean life when I got pregnant, but my past caught up with me. The constable that caught up with me didn¡¯t have a warrant for Rhessa, so he let me leave my daughter with her, and she promised me she would disappear with her¡ªkeep her safe, and raise her away from that kind of life.¡±

    ¡°So you think this guy that used to give you jobs might know where Rhessa ran off to?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a hope at this point. I don¡¯t know if Rhessa ever had any contact with him. Rallo was good to us, but he was tied to our old lives.¡±

    ¡°Alright, so, we seeing him first or the love potiondy?¡±

    ¡°The shambles are on the way to the docks, so let¡¯s find Ren first,¡± Tha said and started walking with purpose toward the city''s western side. Victor followed, and soon the jostling crowds and noise andmotion of the streets made conversation difficult, so he let his mind wander.

    He thought about all the different threads pulling him in various directions in this world. He wanted to revisit Persi Gables and the Wagon Wheel. He wasn¡¯t sure what he¡¯d do there, but he felt like some sort of reckoning was in order, even if it was just to see if Belsa was still there. He wanted to look into the noble that tried to wreck his Core. He wanted to do something about the mines, though one of his motivations for returning there, seeing if he could help Edeya, was being taken care of for him, thanks to Lam. He wanted to find some sort of resolution with Belikot. Most of all, Victor wanted to help Tha get her daughter and get them safely to Oyna.

    Thoughts of Persi Gables and his time in the pits there naturally brought back memories of how he came into this world. He thought about how he¡¯d been yanked out of his abu¡¯s house and confronted with those strange mages that had so effortlessly controlled him. He remembered how they¡¯d dismissed him and sold him into a kind of very that, in their minds, would lead to his quick death. He imagined it would be good to do a little investigating into those assholes, too.

    ¡°And that¡¯s just the tip of the iceberg,¡± Victor said aloud. He thought about all the other little things on his mind¡ªlearning more about his spirit Core, gaining more levels, exploring, and, beneath it all, gaining enough power and influence to do something about thebor system in this world.

    Lost in thought, Victor almost tuned out the city, but when they turned down a steep hill leading toward the docks, the smells and scenery intruded on his reverie. He could see the wide, green ribbon of the Rill Catcher stretching north to south in a meandering pathway through the densely packed structures of the docks district. No wall stood on that side of the city, the river itself serving as the defensive barrier. The buildings were lower, more numerous, and built of cheaper stuff than in the other parts of the city. The far side of the river was even worse, with thousands of ramshackle structures vying for space along the muddy, partially graveled roads.

    As Victor took in the distinctly fishy smells and the crowds of people battling for space, he said, loudly so Tha could hear him, ¡°They push all the poor people into this section of the city?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like they push them here, but this is where most of the jobs are, and living is cheapest. If you go a bit further south or north, there are nicer homes that overlook the river, but, here in the heart of the city, the docks are important business¡ªeverything else is secondary.¡±

    ¡°And the shambles? That¡¯s these winding streets along the hill, I guess?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and the little shacks people live in.¡± Tha stepped to the side of the street to look more closely at the directions Nissa had given them. Then, she started walking again, trusting Victor to keep pace. He followed her through a veritable maze of narrow streets with leaning wooden structures built one atop the other. The people in the dingy district were either hurrying to get somewhere or lingering around with their friends, drinking from shared bottles. The clean smell of the upper city was gone, and the tang of urine was heavy in the air.

    Tha had to stop several times to scrutinize the instructions, and twice she backtracked to turn into different alley-like streets. When she¡¯d reached the end of Nissa¡¯s written directions, and they still hadn¡¯t found Ren¡¯s shop, she said, ¡°Ask someone for directions, Victor, and try to look like you mean business.¡±

    ¡°All Right,¡± Victor said, then he approached a group of Shadeni men sitting around on broken barrels and drinking from brown bottles. ¡°Hey,¡± he growled, speaking from his belly, ¡°Where¡¯s Ren¡¯s shop?¡±

    One of the men looked at him with bleary eyes, made a circle with a thumb and forefinger, and then jammed his other thumb through it repeatedly. His friendsughed raucously, one falling off his barrel, eliciting moreughter. Victor walked up to the guy who¡¯d made the gesture and channeled some rage into his pathways, repeating his question while leaning very close to the man¡¯s face.

    ¡°Orl¡¯s bones, man!¡± the drunk said, pulling back, but Victor snaked a hand out to grab his shirt, pulling him close again.

    ¡°Where?¡± he growled.

    ¡°Right there! That¡¯s her house behind that mean-looking bitch.¡± He gestured toward Tha.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Victor stood and shrugged. ¡°I guess you found it, after all,¡± he said to Tha. He strode past her and knocked on the shack-like building¡¯s flimsy door. ncing over his shoulder, he saw Tha behind him, eyeing the people in the area warily, and he decided to speed things along. He pulled at the door, which opened easily¡ªnot eventched. Victor stepped into the dim interior, and Tha followed. ¡°Hello?¡± he called out.

    ¡°Well,e in then, and close that door,¡± a high-pitched voice said from the shadows to his left, and, as Tha shut the door and Victor¡¯s eyes adjusted, he saw a small Vodkin woman sitting on a couch, smoke spiraling up out of a thin brass pipe held between her thin, ck lips. She had sleek white fur with pale brown spots, and her long whiskers twitched while she inhaled the smoke. ¡°What brings you to Ren? Looking for lost love?¡±

    ¡°No, we just need some advice,¡± Tha said,ing up from behind Victor and ducking to avoid the many strands of beads hanging from the ceiling.

    ¡°Oh? I¡¯ve seen a lot in my years, and I do have some wisdom to share, but your friend seems to be the type to solve problems with his axe.¡± She leaned back, blowing out a long stream of blue-tinged smoke. Her huge, ck eyes seemed even more depthless than other Vodkin Victor had met, and he wondered what she saw.

    ¡°This problem can¡¯t be solved with my axe. I need advice about my spirit.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± She leaned forward, this time with genuine interest in her eyes. She closed them for a moment, and Victor was surprised to see how long and thick hershes were. When she opened them, she smiled and said, ¡°Oh, now I see. You have a strong spirit Core, warrior! Sit, sit.¡± She gestured to the wicker chairs facing her couch. Tha had to lift a tattered robe from hers and set it aside on a cluttered table, but the two of them sat down.

    ¡°Do you know much about spirit walking?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°I know how to do it if that¡¯s what you mean.¡±

    ¡°Not exactly. I know the spell also, but I¡¯m having a problem with my spirit wandering on its own while I sleep¡ªparticrly when I sleep deeply and dream.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Your mentor didn¡¯t teach you to control your spirit?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t really have a mentor¡ªI guess I kind of met one recently, but my time with her was short.¡±

    ¡°Hah! Until you gain more control, I could teach you to tether yourself. I mean to say if your spirit wandering is worrying you. I assume that¡¯s why you came, no? The wandering is troubling you somehow? It¡¯s the simplest of patterns. I¡¯ll show you for a small favor.¡±

    ¡°A favor? Ren, we have a lot on our te, and not much of it is in our control. Couldn¡¯t we just pay you?¡± Tha interjected.

    ¡°Tosh, this is easy,¡± Ren said, and, from somewhere, she produced a jagged, pale crystal. ¡°I just want the warrior here to channel some of his Energy into this crystal. I could work some interesting magics with that rage attunement.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Tha said. ¡°All right, Victor, that¡¯s pretty painless.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor said, reaching out to pick up the crystal. It was heavy and cold. ¡°How much Energy do you want in it?¡±

    ¡°As much as it will hold, silly man.¡±

    ¡°First, let me see the spell pattern,¡± Victor said, frowning.

    ¡°Fear not, warrior. The pretty mistresses in the upper quarters might frown on Ren¡¯s services, but I¡¯ve never cheated anyone in a bargain. You fill that crystal, and I¡¯ll teach you to tether your spirit tight while you dream.¡±

    Victor looked at Tha, and she raised her eyebrows as if to say, ¡°Up to you.¡±

    He sighed and said, ¡°All right.¡± Victor turned inward to his Core and pulled a thick band of rage-attuned Energy out into his pathways, pushing it toward the hand that held the crystal. When his fist began to radiate with red light, he pushed the Energy out and into the Crystal. It rapidly soaked it up, turning from pale white to pink, then gradually darkening to red.

    As Victor kept pushing Energy out, the red hue deepened and then began to pulse brightly from the Crystal, and within a matter of seconds, he found he couldn¡¯t put any more Energy into it. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± he asked, looking at his status sheet to see he still had more than eighty percent of his total Energy.

    ¡°Nicely done, warrior!¡± Ren said, reaching for the crystal. Victor closed his fingers around it again and grinned.

    ¡°The spell?¡±

    ¡°Tosh! Such ack of trust! Very well,¡± she said, then briefly touched a bug-shaped, bronze pin on her maroon blouse. A secondter, she held a rolled piece of parchment. ¡°You¡¯ll have to learn it now¡ªthis pattern-page good for a few uses, and I¡¯d like to keep it for my apprentice. If I ever find one.¡±

    ¡°How does it work?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Just stare at the symbols for a few seconds,¡± Ren replied as she unrolled the parchment and held it so that the ink-covered side faced Victor.

    ¡°It¡¯s enchanted parchment, Victor. It will impart the spell pattern directly into your mind. Some people call them learning scrolls.¡±

    ¡°Oh, cool,¡± Victor said, looking at the weird, squiggly symbols all over the paper. As he tried to decipher them, they seemed to move around on the paper, subtly at first but then more obviously. As he traced their movements, some of them seemed to lift off the page and flow toward his eyes. A momentter, dozens of them were streaming into him, and he felt the warmth of Energy in his skull, behind his eyes, and he wondered what it was doing to his brain. As quickly as it started, it stopped, and a System message appeared in his view:

    ***Congrattions! You have learned the spell: Tether Spirit ¨C Basic.***

    ***Tether Spirit: Prerequisite: A Spirit-ss Core. When you cast this spell, your spirit will be bound to your corporeal form for a period of twelve hours. This will serve to protect you from hostile attempts to sever your spirit and will keep your spirit from drifting while your conscious mind is unable to be vignt. Energy Cost: 10, Cooldown: Short.***

    Victor looked at the parchment and saw it still had all its markings, but they¡¯d faded somewhat, appearing more gray than ck. Ren snatched the paper away and then held her hand out expectantly. Victor nodded and passed her the glowing red crystal. ¡°Fair deal; thanks, Ren.¡±

    ¡°You learned it, Victor?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°Yeah¡ªit seems pretty basic. I can probably teach it to you after I study the pattern for a while.¡±

    ¡°Is that how you thank me? Teaching my secrets to everyone in town?¡± Ren curled her lips into a frown and tucked her parchment away into her storage device.

    ¡°Not everyone in town, just my close friend here. I promise,¡± Victor said, trying to use a soothing tone.

    ¡°Tosh, tosh. Do as you will, but be careful! See that you show her the exact pattern, or she may be left vulnerable.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thanks, Ren.¡±

    ¡°Ren, can you really find lost love?¡± Tha asked just as Victor was starting to stand up.

    ¡°I can! Love is my affinity. Can¡¯t you feel it in your chests?¡± She hummed a gentle buzzing tune, and suddenly Victor did feel it¡ªwarmth in the center of himself, not really his chest, more close to his Core. Images of his mother and abu came into his mind, and, to his dismay, he saw a memory of Tha smiling andughing.

    ¡°Like a sister, maybe,¡± he said softly. Tha looked at him sharply, but she smiled, giving him a knowing wink.

    ¡°Did you see your missing loved one?¡± Ren asked Tha.

    ¡°Yes, but just a memory. I need to find her!¡±

    ¡°Do you have anything of hers?¡± Ren drew a long pull of smoke through her pipe, watching for Tha¡¯s response.

    ¡°No,¡± Tha¡¯s eyes welled with tears. ¡°They took everything from me when I was captured.¡±

    ¡°Oho! So the imperial masters had business that required you to give up your freedom, hmm?¡± Ren let out a very udylike growl that rolled around in her throat, almost like a purr. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; Ren can help. Here.¡± She stood and waddled over to a trunk, lifting the lid and rummaging for several minutes. She returned holding a small, polished, pink stone. It was t on one side and had little lines carved in every direction from a central indentation.

    She sat in front of Tha again and pulled a long, slender needle from her hair. ¡°I need a drop of your blood.¡± Tha nced nervously at Victor and then licked her lips, holding out a finger.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Victor said, snatching her hand away. ¡°Ren, Tha¡¯s been through a lot of shit in thest weeks. You better not be trying to mess with her somehow.¡±

    ¡°No, warrior. If I do some aught to hurt her, you may split me with that terrible axe. I have only good intentions, and we¡¯ll seal this bargain with a payment so all parties are satisfied.¡± At her words, Victor reluctantly let go of Tha¡¯s hand and then watched.

    Ren, quick as a snake¡¯s tongue, pricked the needle into Tha¡¯s finger. Tha jerked away from reflex, but the damage was done¡ªa thick droplet of blood welled up on her fingertip. ¡°Quick now! Let it drop into the center of the stone.¡± She held the pale pink stone out, and Tha did as she was told, letting the drop of blood fall into the center. Ren smiled and then hummed again, a soft buzzing sound, and her hand began to glow with violet light. As Victor watched, Tha¡¯s blood sank into the stone and waspletely gone.

    ¡°What did you do?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Just the perfect thing for your friend here.¡± She looked into Tha¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°Hold this in your hand, and when you think of the one you love, your blood will point the way.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°Yes, truly. Now about my fee,¡± the furry woman said, holding the stone back.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Tha asked, desperation in her eyes. Victor put his hand on Lifedrinker¡¯s cold metal head, annoyed that this woman seemed to be profiting from Tha¡¯s distress.

    ¡°Nothing much! Just another gem filled with the warrior¡¯s Energy.¡± She turned to Victor with a narrow-eyed grin.

    ¡°What the fuck are you going to do with that rage-attuned Energy? I don¡¯t want to be responsible for helping you cause a fight or something.¡±

    ¡°Tosh! Is it Ren¡¯s fault that you came here with such potent Energy? Perhaps you have something else to offer?¡±

    ¡°I do!¡± Tha said, cutting Victor¡¯s response off.

    ¡°Can it be? Two spirit casters visiting me at once?¡± Ren studied Tha for a long moment, then shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t see it¡ªmy Discerning Eye isn¡¯t what it once was. What attunement do you have, girl?¡±

    ¡°Courage.¡±

    ¡°Are you . . . truly?¡± She quickly tried topose herself, but the damage had been done¡ªTha and Victor had both seen the greed in her eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you some, enough to work several spells, but I won¡¯t fill a crystal asrge as the one Victor did.¡±

    ¡°A bargain well-struck, dear.¡± Ren closed her eyes, touching her pin, and a momentter, she held a crystal simr to the one Victor had filled. She handed it to Tha. ¡°Give me what you can, and the Heart Finder is yours.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Tha said, taking the crystal. She closed her eyes, and a few momentster, her hand and the crystal began to glow with red-gold light. She grimaced in concentration, but long before the crystal was full, she stopped and held it up. It pulsed at its center with a dim but warm light.

    ¡°No more?¡± Ren asked, perhaps a bit disappointed.

    ¡°It¡¯s enough,¡± Victor said, motioning for the woman to hand over the Heart Finder.

    ¡°True, a bargain¡¯s a bargain!¡± The little woman said, handing the polished pink stone to Tha. Tha quickly handed over the crystal, and then she held the stone in her palm and closed her eyes. A momentter, a thin bead of red filled one of the carved lines on the stone¡¯s surface, pointing to, as far as Victor could tell, the south.

    ¡°No way to tell distance?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Tut! Of course! A bright, thick line means they¡¯re very close. A thin red line like this means they¡¯re within a few days¡¯ travel. If it were thinner still and more pink than red, it would mean they are quite distant.¡± Tha opened her eyes, looked at the stone, and smiled brightly.

    ¡°Thank you, Ren!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s pretty cool,¡± Victor added. He stood, and Tha followed him as he moved to the door, pulling the rickety thing open. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to send business your way, Ren. Thanks for the help.¡±

    ¡°Hush now! Don¡¯t send any unwanted attention my way!¡± The Vodkin said, stepping forward and poking Victor in the ribs with her thin, w-tipped finger.

    ¡°Oh, all right. We¡¯ll keep this between us!¡± Victor gave her an exaggerated wink, and she huffed, pushing him further out, toward Tha and closing the door behind him. Thaughed and smiled brightly, tucking the Heart Finder into her storage ring. ¡°Well, that put you in a good mood!¡±

    ¡°Of course! I learned two things¡ªmy daughter isn¡¯t far away, and you love me! Hah, even if it¡¯s like a sister, I can use all the love I can get in this world.¡±

    ¡°Come on, just cause that crazy witch made me think about you, my mom, and my abuelita? That doesn¡¯t mean anything much.¡± Victor looked around the alley, noting that the drunken Shadeni were gone. It seemed awfully quiet. How long had they been in the witch¡¯s house?

    ¡°Oh, hush! You basically admitted as much the other day when you were drunk,¡± Tha said, her spirits too high to notice that something was troubling Victor.

    Tha was lifting a finger to poke him in the chest when Victor stepped forward, ripping Lifedrinker from the ring at his belt. Several figures had stepped out from behind broken crates, barrels, and dpidated buildings. They all wore livery Victor was intimately familiar with¡ªthe soldiers that had chained him to a rotating table so a tentacled demon could fuck around with his Core had worn the same¡ªdark maroon with a silver sun and three half-moons at the breast. These were Lord ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s men.

    ¡°Took us a while to track you down, Victor,¡± said one of the men, a tall Shadeni with long, red horns and heavy ck armor. ¡°Lucky for us, Tkelvic took a piece of your Core as a souvenir.¡± He held up a faintly glimmering red gem that dangled from a chain on his wrist. Victor had been counting while he edged in front of Tha¡ªthere were seven of them, including the talkative asshole.

    ¡°Only seven? That dickhead, ap¡¯Horrin, must not like you guys.¡± Victor channeled a surge of rage-attuned Energy into Lifedrinker, and she zed with a red nimbus. ¡°Well? You gonna stand around holding your nuts all night, or are we going to fight?¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 25: No Going Back

    Book 2: Chapter 25: No Going Back

    The horned Shadeni didn¡¯t seem pleased by Victor¡¯s bravado and scowled, looking left to right as if reassuring himself that he was the one pulling off an ambush. He tucked the chain holding the glimmering shard of Victor¡¯s Core into his belt, and then his hands were holding a massive ck iron maul. He smirked and said, ¡°Bows!¡±

    Victor saw some of the ambushing party lift heavy, t crossbows and level them at him. He roared, casting Project Spirit, pouring forth a torrent of negatively attuned inspiration Energy. Sickly yellow waves rolled through the cluttered alley, engulfing most of the attackers, with the three crossbowmen at the center. Their eyes widened, and their fingers fumbled, and Victor charged.

    As he covered the dozen feet between himself and the central cluster of ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s men, Victor cast Inspiring Presence, boosted his agility with Sovereign Will, and then he was among them, capitalizing on their shaken, dismayed state. The leader of the crew seemed least affected by Victor¡¯s projected spirit, but even he hesitated for a split second as Victor tore past him, and that was all Victor needed¡ªLifedrinker fell in three quick, devastating hacks, opening terrible wounds in the crossbowmen, leaving them broken and bleeding as they fell before his onught.

    By the time he¡¯d finished with the crossbowmen, the horned Shadeni had recovered enough to bring his maul whistling toward Victor¡¯s head. Victor¡¯s situational awareness had improved a great deal over the course of his many battles, though, and he felt iting, ducking forward to take the brunt of the blow in the back of his armored shoulder. It hurt and sent him stumbling forward a step, but his size and durability weren¡¯t things to be scoffed at, and he mostly shrugged off the blow. He whirled just in time to see Tha drive her spear through a sword-wielding ambusher¡¯s throat.

    ¡°Charge him, you cowards!¡± The ck-armored leader shouted, but when he nced around and realized Tha was keeping his two remaining minions in check with her long spear, he licked his lips and turned back to Victor, saying, ¡°Come quietly, Victor, and no one else has to die.¡±

    Victor could onlyugh at the absurdity of the statement. He said, ¡°Youe to me with a piece of my Core that was ripped from my guts. Youe to me with loaded crossbows, ready to fill me with holes, and now you speak of ing quietly?¡¯¡± He growled and stepped forward, lifting Lifedrinker. ¡°Quit embarrassing yourself.¡± Victor stepped over one of the crossbowmen¡ªa stocky Cadwalli who thrashed weekly as his life¡¯s blood pumped out of the ruined stump of his left shoulder where Lifedrinker had sheared away his arm, and continued, ¡°Are you going toy down your weapon, or do we finish this?¡±

    ¡°You think you can defy ap¡¯Horrin? You think you can defy me, Tazro-dak?¡± He nced to his left, where Tha still danced with the other two ap¡¯Horrin soldiers. ¡°Come, then, you won¡¯t find me as soft as those whelps!¡± Victor hadn¡¯t been waiting for an invitation and was already moving to strike as Tazro lifted his maul in an awkward parry attempt. He might be a big Shadeni and have some skill in battle, but he wasn¡¯t strong enough to wield that maul with the adroitness necessary to counter Victor¡¯s lightning cleave with Lifedrinker.

    Tazro drove his maul forward in a thrust, trying to catch Lifedrinker on its broad metal head, but Victor angled his swing with such speed, stepping into the blow, that she ripped through the air under the heavy bludgeon, and her de peeled away a thick curl of the maul¡¯s haft as she tore down its length and into the armored fingers of its wielder. Tazro screamed as several of his digits were severed to fall in a stter of blood to the dirty alley floor.

    ¡°Lifedrinker¡¯s not impressed with your armor,¡± Victor said as Tazro dropped his maul with a tter, unable to hold onto the heavy weapon with only a third of his fingers still intact.

    ¡°I yield!¡± Tazro screamed, holding his hands tightly to his chest, blood pumping out of the ruined gauntlets and down his armored chest piece. Victor nced at Tha and saw that she held her spear to one soldier¡¯s neck while the other stood back, hands empty, his axe and small shield on the ground in front of him.

    ¡°You yield?¡± Victor asked. ¡°Should I show you mercy? I don¡¯t feel like you had much mercy in mind for me.¡±

    ¡°I can give you your Core fragment! I can give you a key to ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s oubliette, where he has several more! You¡¯ll never find your way in without my guidance! I swear¡ªlet me live, and I¡¯ll take these men and disappear for months until you¡¯ve settled your business with the lord.¡± He¡¯d fallen to his knees and was doing a fine job of looking pathetic.

    ¡°Tha, what do you say?¡±

    ¡°I say we have too many people hunting us and wanting us dead to let these ckguards loose. It¡¯s not our fault they came after us with murder in their hearts.¡± Victor looked at the bodies in the alley and at Tazro begging on his knees, and the only emotions he could muster were disgust and anger.

    Rather than prolong the miserable situation with more discussion, allowing Tazro to sow further doubt, Victor lifted Lifedrinker, stepped forward, and brought her down at an angle into Tazro¡¯s neck, just above the ck gorget of his armor. She bit deeply, severing his spine in a spray of dark blood, and would have removed his head if her de hadn¡¯t caught in the metal cor due to the downward angle.

    Tazro hadn¡¯t had a chance to scream or protest, and when Victor heard footsteps running, he turned to see that Tha had impaled one of the soldiers with her spear, but the other was running down the alley. He yanked Lifedrinker free and charged after him, and in just a few strides, he caught up with the man and cleaved into his shoulder, ripping a terrible wound and sending him crashing into a pile of broken crates.

    Victor hurried back to Tha and Tazro¡¯s corpse, feeling like they should make themselves scarce but not wanting to leave behind his Core fragment or any valuable information. Tha must have had the same thought because she was already rifling through Tazro¡¯s belt pouches. She tossed him the chain with the red, pulsing gemstone, and Victor felt his Core throb hungrily when he caught it. Not wanting to take the time to deal with it just yet, he hung it over his head, tucking it under his armored shirt. A surge of Energy almost knocked him over as he bent to help search the corpse.

    Tha grunted beside him and said, ¡°Level!¡±

    ¡°Nice one,¡± Victor said, then bent back to the task. ¡°Where the fuck is this guy¡¯s storage device?¡±

    ¡°The fingers!¡± Tha said suddenly, looking at the sausage-shaped metal encased digits Victor had severed. They were scattered around the ground, and Victor hurriedly moved to scoop them up.

    ¡°You all should get lost,¡± a high-pitched voice called from off to the left and high up. Victor nced toward the source of the voice and saw a red-headed Ardeni boy leaning out of a second-story window. ¡°The town watch¡¯ll being soon; Matra the Crone went to fetch ¡®em when the killin¡¯ started.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, kid,¡± Victor said, scooping the fingers up and into his pants pocket. ¡°C¡¯mon, Tha,¡± he said more quietly, and the two of them hurried away down the alley, wending their way through the maze of narrow streets, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the scene of the ambush.

    ¡°Will you be alright?¡± Tha asked after a while when they¡¯d finally worked their way back to one of the main roads.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Victor looked at her quizzically.

    ¡°Well, it''s different killing someone inbat than outside of it. We executed those men.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, they didn¡¯t have good intentions for us. If I start to feel guilty, I¡¯ll remember those crossbows getting ready to punch holes in us, or I¡¯ll remember what ap¡¯Horrin did to me when he had me strapped to a table in his dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. I guess you have another task to add to your list, though¡ªif he has more fragments of your Core, he¡¯ll be able to find you again.¡± Tha took his elbow and steered him uphill as she spoke.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we going down to the docks? To find your old contact?¡±

    ¡°No, I think we should goy low for a while. I have this now, anyway.¡± She lifted up her Heart Finder, which she held tightly in one fist.

    ¡°Alright, if you¡¯re sure.¡± Victor picked up the pace, quickly climbing away from the shambles and into the city proper. He asked Gorz for directions a couple of times but managed to mostly lead the way back to their vi by memory.

    He was feeling particrly paranoid, thanks to the ambush in the shambles, but even as he looked around with suspicion at nearly everyone he passed, he couldn¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary. Sure, he drew a few looks, but that was probably because of his stature and the fact that he was the only human in the city. In any event, it wasn¡¯t long before they were slipping through the vi¡¯s gate and then securely locking themselves inside.

    Victor moved into the kitchen and pulled the severed digits out of his pocket, dropping them onto the counter. Thankfully, the blood had mostly dried, so he didn¡¯t create much of a mess, but it was still a rather grisly affair, trying to shake and prise the flesh from the gauntlet fingers. Tha helped him, and it was she, on her second attempt, that fished out a fat finger with a golden ring around it.

    ¡°Bingo!¡± Victor said when Tha hissed in excitement. ¡°You do the honors.¡± Victor wasn¡¯t sure why he wanted Tha to bond with the ring and search through it. He supposed part of it was that he wanted to show her that she¡¯d earned hisplete trust. She looked at him with an arched eyebrow but didn¡¯t say anything, pulling the golden band off the pale, dead finger. While she concentrated on bonding with the dimensional device and then the process of searching through it, Victor scooped up the fingers and their metal casings and went out to the courtyard.

    He found a spot under a shrub in the corner and dug a small hole, burying them in the soft soil. By the time he¡¯d finished and returned to the kitchen, Tha had set out a small collection of items for him to go through. A small stack of documents sat next to a heavy, ck key. Next to the key was arge leather sack, and next to the sack was a pile of thin rods that looked very much like amber ore. Tha looked up at him as he arrived and gestured to the collection, ¡°Everything else is just supplies, clothes¡ªstuff like that.¡±

    ¡°Did you read any of the documents yet?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°No. I was about to, though.¡± She picked up the top page, passed it to Victor, and started reading the next one.

    Victor looked at his document and saw that it was a letter from ap¡¯Horrin. He skimmed through it, then read the final paragraph aloud, ¡°Tkelvic is a resource that grows less stable each year, and I cannot count on his abilities to solve every minor problem. The Core fragment he took from your quarry is a boon that you should count yourself very lucky to have. If you lose it or fail to properly make use of it to find your target, you should seek employment elsewhere. House ap¡¯Horrin doesn¡¯t have room for ipetence.¡±

    Tha set her document down and said, ¡°This is just a copy of a lease for a skyship. Well, if you take that at face value, it sounds like maybe Tazro was lying about ap¡¯Horrin having more of your Core fragments.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, hopefully. In any case, I think I¡¯ll need to deal with ap¡¯Horrin sooner orter.¡±

    ¡°What kind of name is Tkelvic, anyway?¡± Tha asked, picking up the next document.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s the tentacled spider dude that tore apart my Core.¡±

    ¡°Tentacled? Spider? Oh, ancestors! Was he a Yovashi?¡±

    ¡°Yovashi?¡± Victor looked at her quizzically.

    ¡°They¡¯re a race of insane cannibalistic monsters. Theye from the same origin world as the Ilyathi and Ghelli, but something¡¯s wrong with their minds¡ªwhen I say they¡¯re insane, I mean it literally. I¡¯ve never heard of one working for someone. In fact, I think any civilized person that was working with a Yovashi would face condemnation.¡±

    ¡°Well, something tells me ap¡¯Horrin doesn¡¯t give a shit what other people think.¡± Victor picked up thest document and nced over it. It was a requisition for house soldiers and supplies¡ªap¡¯Horrin had authorized quite an expenditure for Tazro¡¯s mission. ¡°You know, they might have really underestimated our ability to fight, but I think the loss of this squad is going to sting ap¡¯Horrin a bit. He spent quite a lot on those soldiers and their transport.¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± Tha said, putting down her document. ¡°This one is just a recipe for marmde. What a weird thing to find in a murderous bounty hunter¡¯s storage device!¡±

    ¡°Well, what else do we have here? Are those rods amber ore?¡±

    ¡°They are, though not the purest I¡¯ve seen. The sack is full of attuned Energy beads, at least a few hundred.¡±

    ¡°And the key? Do you think it¡¯s to the ¡®oubliette¡¯ that pendejo was talking about?¡±

    ¡°No idea, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to hang onto it.¡± Tha scooped the rods, bag of Energy beads, and key toward Victor.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want any of this?¡±

    ¡°He had two sacks of beads, and I kept one. The other stuff, though¡ªyou should keep it. They were hunting you, so I say you should keep the spoils. Besides, you¡¯ve been more than fair and generous to me.¡±

    ¡°Eh, we¡¯re a team, chica.¡± Nevertheless, Victor scooped the items into his storage ring. As he tucked away the sack of beads, a thought urred to him, and he said, ¡°Hey, Tha, I never got around to learning how to make these beads. Is it very involved?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s simple as can be, but it takes time and concentration. Want me to show you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we have some time to kill, don¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°Alright,e over to the couch¡ªwe might as well getfortable.¡± Tha led the way to the sitting room, and the two of them sat side by side on the wicker couch, which creaked in protest to Victor¡¯s bulk, but held up gamely. ¡°Now watch; this should really be as easy as rum-sugar cookies for someone with your will.¡± Before Victor could ask about her strange turn of phrase, Tha held her hands out in front of herself, one with the palm facing up, and the other about four inches above it, palm down.

    He could feel her channeling Energy before he saw it, but soon there were two thin streams of red-gold Energy tentatively snaking out of her palms to meet in the air between them. Her face was rigid with concentration as she slowly folded her two streams around each other, rolling them tightly with each fold. After just a few moments, the ball of red-gold Energy snapped into a tiny bead. ¡°This is the smallest form of Energy bead. They¡¯re quick to make and are often used for minor transactions. We want a real Energy bead, though, so I¡¯ll keep going.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s cool,¡± Victor said, leaning close to watch her weave more Energy around the tiny bead. As the minutes stretched into an hour, the process began to lose its novelty, though, and he said, ¡°Madre! How long does this take?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m about halfway done, I think. Some people can do it faster, but most people are considerably slower. I¡¯ve got a higher than normal will, too, thanks to the courage attunement you gave me and the advice Oyna gave me¡ªI¡¯ve been increasing my will at every opportunity.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor said, sitting back with a sigh.

    ¡°If you¡¯re that bored, get started on your own bead!¡± Tha said, nudging his leg with her knee while she continued to work.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Victor mimicked her posture and started trickling out some rage-attuned Energy through each of his hands. Using his will, he forced the threads together, tightly binding them and rolling them together. It seemed pretty easy, so he broadened the threads, pushing out more than double the amount of Energy. Almost immediately, the tiny version of his bead snapped into being, and he smiled, continuing to wrap his Energy threads around it, buildingyer uponyer of Energy into the nascent bead. ¡°If I finish before you, you have to make dinner!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Cock-sure aren¡¯t you?¡± Thaughed, though, and he saw her narrow her eyes in renewed concentration.

    As it turned out, Tha finished her bead before Victor, but only just barely. When she finished, sheughed victoriously and held her gleaming red-gold bead out in front of Victor¡¯s face, taunting him. ¡°Hey! Let me finish, at least! Sheesh, I can¡¯t even see with that right in my face!¡±

    ¡°Well, it looks like you¡¯re making dinner. You know, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you cook, Victor!¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not much of a cook,¡± Victor said, trying to refocus on his task. ¡°My abu always had beans and tortis; if I wanted food outside of meal time, that¡¯s what I ate.¡± He wrapped a finalyer around his bead and sighed happily as the bead shed and solidified¡ªa balefully pulsing red ball. ¡°You know, that sounds pretty damn good. They have tortis in this world?¡±

    ¡°Tortis? Describe them.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re usually made from flour or corn. I guess it¡¯s like soft, t bread. Really thin, like this,¡± Victor held his finger and thumb close together to indicate the thickness. ¡°About the size of a te. We usually eat them with eggs and potatoes or, like I said, refries.¡±

    ¡°Refries?¡±

    ¡°Uh, a kind of beans. Refried beans.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound like it would be hard to make something like that. Someone with some cooking talent could probably do it based on your description, and then you could help them refine it by tasting. I¡¯m not your girl, though¡ªI can make a stew or grill some meat, but I don¡¯t know anything about baking bread.¡± Tha shrugged.

    ¡°No worries. I guess I¡¯ll just add tortis to my list of things to figure out, huh?¡± Victor stood and went to the kitchen, looking in the cold-cab. It was pretty well stocked with eggs, lots of vegetables, and even some thickly cut bacon. ¡°How¡¯s breakfast for dinner sound? Scrambled eggs and bacon?¡±

    ¡°If I weren¡¯t so hungry, I¡¯d tease you for your unoriginal ideas, but at this point, I¡¯ll take it.¡± Tha sat at the kitchen counter and prepared to watch him cook their meal. Victor smiled and got to work. While he cooked, they joked and shared memories of favorite meals, and, even though Victor wasn¡¯t very talented with a skillet, the food was good. Tha had encouraged him to add some greens to the scramble, and he¡¯d diced some funny little purple-orange peppers into the mix after sampling their heat¡ªthey were a bit milder than jpenos.

    While they ate, Tha encouraged Victor to try absorbing his Core fragment. He¡¯d almost forgotten about the little red gem, and he had an idea which he quickly dismissed, that he was subconsciously blocking out the whole fight scene in the alley. He pulled the fragment out from under his armored shirt, and, again, he felt his Core throb hungrily, so he went with it; he reached out to the Energy in the red gem and pulled it toward his Core. It flowed into him effortlessly, and he felt the red, zing sun of his rage Energy throb and pulse heavily. When he looked at his status sheet, he saw that he¡¯d leveled his Core from Base five to Base six.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Tha asked, seeing the grin on his face.

    ¡°My Core leveled. I guess that piece was bigger than it looked.¡±

    After the two of them ate, they checked the locks on the windows and doors and called it a night. Victor cast Tether Spirit before he went to sleep, and though he remembered having dreams, they must have been rtively mild because, by the time he stood up from bed and pulled on his pants, he¡¯d forgotten them. He stumbled groggily into his bathroom and decided to take a bath. He set his clothes and armor on the counter next to the sink, leaned Lifedrinker against the tub, and started running the water.

    As he stood there, waiting for the water to fill, and his eyes fell on his axe again, he remembered how he¡¯d chopped her silvery edge into Tazro¡¯s neck while the man had been on his knees, begging for his life. Suddenly the whole thing seemed surreal, like it hadn¡¯t really happened¡ªlike it couldn¡¯t have happened. He felt an unpleasant surge of saliva and swallowed it down, and then nausea gripped him, and he hurried to the toilet, where he vomited his guts out.

    What had he be? Could he still be the same kid from Tucson? He nced at his reflection in the mirror, his face red and lips flecked with spittle from heaving. ¡°I¡¯m a fucking monster,¡± he said when he took in his thick neck, ropy muscles, and massive stature. ¡°I¡¯m a fucking monster that executes people on their knees.¡± He felt dizzy, and vertigo began to grip him, so he grabbed the side of the tub and sank down, naked, to the tile floor.

    He sat there, mind reeling, unable to reconcile his current reality with the life he remembered before he¡¯d been summoned to Fanwath. One thought kepting to him: he could never go home. His family wouldn¡¯t even recognize him. How could he ever exin to them what had happened to him? How could he ever exin the things he¡¯d done or the changes he¡¯d gone through? ¡°Is this real?¡± The question seemed simplistic, but the more he thought about his situation, about how people were hunting him and he was killing people in the streets, the more he found it imusible.

    As he sat there, shaking and confused, his eyes fell on Lifedrinker, and he reached out a hand to her haft and pulled her close. Her wooden, living handle was warm and seemed to pulse softly under his fingers, and he found himself saying, ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, chica. All you ever do is try to help.¡±

    He rested Lifedrinker¡¯s cool, silver-streaked, ck metal against his forehead, and he felt a buzzing sensation where they touched. Then a strange, ethereal voice sounded in his mind, ¡°Not your fault, Victor.¡± His eyes bulged wide, and he pulled her away from his head, staring at the axe, and, through all his distress, a slow smile spread on his lips.

    ¡°Are you talking to me, lovely?¡± The axe vibrated softly in his hands, and he pulled the metal against his forehead again.

    ¡°Not your fault! Those that hunt wolves must beware the fang!¡± The ethereal, feminine voice rang in his head again, but this time with a sense of finality, and Victor somehow understood that she couldn¡¯t speak much without rest, at least not yet. Victor felt tears start to pool in his eyes, and he wiped at them furiously. He didn¡¯t know why his axe¡¯s approval meant so much to him, but it did, and she¡¯d made a good point: this was a dangerous world, and Tazro had meant to kill him. His master had already done something to him that he¡¯d thought was worse than death. It was no time to be pulling punches.

    ¡°Thank you, chica,¡± he said, mbering to his feet and leaning her against the tub again. ¡°Time to get cleaned up.¡±

    After his bath, Victor still avoided looking at himself in the mirror. He might be able to justify his actions, and Tha and Lifedrinker might approve of him, but he still felt raw, and seeing his huge, manly physique just drove home the point that there was no going back for him. He¡¯d never be in old Victor Sandoval again. No, he was a berserker, a warrior, a killer with the blood of titans in his veins. ¡°If I can¡¯t go back, then I need to go forward, and I need to make it worth something,¡± he said, shrugging into his armored shirt. He picked up Lifedrinker, gave her warm haft a loving stroke, and slipped her into the ring at his belt.

    Victor strode out of his room and called out, ¡°Tha! We¡¯ve got a day before Lam gets here! Let¡¯s do some shopping¡ªI need more clothes.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 26: The Price of Freedom

    Book 2: Chapter 26: The Price of Freedom

    ¡°There she is!¡± Victor said, pointing down the street toward the little cafe tables outside the bakery. Sure enough, Lam was sitting at one, sipping at a mug of something steamy. She was impressive, as always, with her wings dropping glittering motes behind her, even at rest. Her attire was notably different here in the city than she wore down in the mines¡ªsleek ck leggings, a loosely-buttoned, red, silky blouse, and a gleaming, silver diadem resting among her tinum curls.

    ¡°Edeya¡¯s with her,¡± Tha said, and Victor saw that it was true, though he might not have recognized the younger Ghelli. She sat to Lam¡¯s right wearing polished leather armor studded with steel knobs and with a ck and gold tabard hanging from a rod jutting up behind her left shoulder.

    ¡°What¡¯s on that tabard? A broken crown and some feathers?¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s Lam¡¯s sigil. Hah, she¡¯s flying Lam¡¯s banner wherever they go!¡± Tha snorted and started walking down the street, and Victor matched her pace. Lam met their eyes before they were within a hundred feet, and she smiled and waved. They hurried over, and Lam gestured to two chairs at the table, but not before Edeya could squeal and leap to her feet, grabbing first Tha and then Victor into a tight hug.

    ¡°Damn, you¡¯ve gotten stronger, chica!¡±

    ¡°Oh, not that again! You might have grown even more beast-like, but don¡¯t think I won¡¯t give you a thrashing if you keep calling me girl!¡±

    ¡°Right, sorry, sorry,¡± Victorughed.

    ¡°Should we move somewhere more private, Lam?¡± Tha asked, looking around nervously.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. You won¡¯t need to hide anymore, in fact. Sit down, and I¡¯ll exin some things. Order some food first if you want. This revashi root tea is exceptional, and I¡¯m finding it quite stimting.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll sit first; I¡¯m eager to hear what you have to say,¡± Victor said, pulling out a chair and sitting in it, to the sounds of metal creaking and straining.

    ¡°Trees, Victor! I remember I used to tower over you¡ªI think we¡¯d be on a level now.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s so much thicker than you, though, Captain! I could barely put my arm around his trunk!¡± Edeyaughed.

    ¡°I literally just got here, and you¡¯re attacking me!¡± Victor feigned dismay, holding a hand toward Edeya, palm out.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let him fool you¡ªhe wants you to think he¡¯s being melodramatic, but he¡¯s truly quite sensitive. Don¡¯t beat up on him so much, Edeya,¡± Tha said, alsoughing wickedly.

    ¡°Enough, enough!¡± Lam said, clearing her throat. ¡°Do you want to know why you don¡¯t have to hurry back to your hidey-hole or not?¡± Tha and Victor both nodded, and Lam smiled and began her story. ¡°Well, when you reached out with my stone, I knew that Edeya and I could catch the next consortium airship to Gelica, but I had a day to kill before it left. While we were waiting, I had one of my more brilliant ideas¡ªI went to the mine administration office and looked up your contracts. Yes, you¡¯d killed a member of the ap¡¯Yensha family, and they were hunting you down, but they never bothered to snatch up your contracts. When I asked about them, the administrative clerks looked through their files, and sure enough, they were still there. They hadn¡¯t even marked you deceased! Victor, I bought your contract for a ridiculously low price, and Tha, yours wasn¡¯t much more.¡±

    ¡°What? You bought our contracts?¡± Tha asked. ¡°Are we off the hook?¡±

    ¡°You are! Victor¡¯s going to have to jump through a few more hoops, but I managed to secure your indemnification, Tha.¡±

    ¡°Hoops?¡± Victor asked, frowning.

    ¡°Nothing of my doing, I¡¯m afraid. Lady ap¡¯Yensha has a im against you because the scries of your brutal ying of her nephew were rather clear. Tha didn¡¯t have a physical role in it, so when I made the im on her contract, ap¡¯Yensha dropped their grievance against her¡ªfor a small donation, of course. I couldn¡¯t get them to do the same for you, Victor, but I dide up with a solution: a duel.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°A duel?¡± Tha said at the same time.

    ¡°Oh,e now! You act like this is a bad thing¡ªif I told you yesterday that you could be done with this whole mess for the price of one more fight, wouldn¡¯t you have jumped at the chance?¡±

    Victor and Tha gave each other long, measured looks, and then Victor said, ¡°Yeah, of course. Tha¡¯s good, though? Even if I lose?¡±

    ¡°Tha¡¯s good. Here,¡± Lam produced two sheets of paper, both marked upon with several different inks and seals, but Victor recognized his contract right away due to all the crossed-out lines and scribbles. ¡°My gift to you both. Victor, after you win your duel, you¡¯ll be free. You won¡¯t have to worry about the mineing after you, even the ap¡¯Yenshas¡ªI secured their guarantee, witnessed by the ap¡¯Bale representative. If you don¡¯t remember, the ap¡¯Bale¡¯s are rather hostile to ap¡¯Yensha, and they¡¯ll see that no repercussionse your way after your victory.¡±

    ¡°Shit! Congrats, Tha!¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel right,¡± Tha said, taking her contract and ncing at it, then back to Victor with worried eyes. ¡°Duel¡¯s aren¡¯t anything to scoff at, and ap¡¯Yensha will have a stable of champions to pick from!¡±

    ¡°Hah! You know the rules¡ªwhoever fights Victor will have to be in the same tier as him. What level are you, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Twenty-nine.¡±

    ¡°Gods! He¡¯s a natural ringer¡ªI can feel your aura from here, Victor. A tier four would struggle with you. I pity whatever jumped up dandy they put against you.¡±

    ¡°Really? So as long as I¡¯m tier two, they have to pick a tier two to fight me?¡±

    ¡°Those are the rules for champions; she¡¯s right,¡± Tha said. ¡°It¡¯s the same rule if you initiate a legal duel¡ªyou can¡¯t fight someone lower than your own tier.¡±

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m right! If Lady ap¡¯Yensha wants you dead, then she¡¯s got to find someone your tier to fight you. Now that you have my legal backing, she can¡¯t send bounty hunters after you, at least not if she doesn¡¯t want the whole empire toe down on her. I¡¯ve been building my influence, and I owe you both for arge portion of my wealth. I pay my debts,¡± Lam smiled and winked at Edeya, and the girl giggled. He wondered what inside joke he was missing.

    ¡°So what¡¯s next? When¡¯s the duel?¡± Victor asked, taking up his contract and stowing it into his storage ring. ¡°Thanks for giving me my contract, by the way, Lam.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee, Victor,¡± Lam smiled at him warmly, then continued, ¡°Tomorrow we have a meeting with a Jurist. After we make our case and you indicate your willingness to fight to defend your innocence, the Jurist will go before a Magistrate and plead our case. We¡¯ll be there, but only to watch at that point. Once that¡¯s done, and ap¡¯Yensha does the same, you¡¯ll find out who your opponent will be and when the bout will take ce. The Imperial Magistrate will most likely want to use your duel as an excuse for a g of some sort.¡±

    ¡°Huh. All right. Well, Tha and I rented a vi nearby¡ªdo you guys want to stay with us?¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯ll need toe to my estate. If you¡¯re going to be under my care, we better look the part, right?¡± Victor and Tha couldn¡¯t argue with that, so after they all ate some breakfast, they went by Yasha¡¯s shop to turn in their keys to the vi.

    The young woman was disappointed that she couldn¡¯t sell them any more time in thefortable home, but she was pleased when they didn¡¯t ask for any of their rental fee back. Lam softened the blow of their leaving by offering to tell her friends about the rental, and they parted ways on friendly enough terms. Lam¡¯s home wasn¡¯t in the city proper but north of the walls in a park-like setting of green meadows and wooded copses cleared of underbrush, giving them a manicured feel.

    ¡°It took me twenty-four years to get my hands on a ce in these woods,¡± Lam said as they strolled down a cobbledne between tall, arching bows.

    ¡°Why? Wouldn¡¯t you rather be inside the walls?¡±

    ¡°Oh, just because we went out a gate doesn¡¯t mean we aren¡¯t inside the walls¡ªthere¡¯s another wall about ten miles further north. You should know that, Tha; I thought you did work in Gelica before you, um, retired.¡±

    ¡°I guess I never got around to these estates,¡± Tha shrugged.

    ¡°Anyway, they¡¯re very exclusive, and the families that own them are old. They don¡¯t sell¡ªI had to wait for Lord ap¡¯Vebra to make a particrly bad investment, and then I had to give him an out that was too good to be true. It was a purchase decades in the nning.¡± Victor and Tha looked at each other, and Victor guessed Tha was thinking the same as he was: this side of Lam was wildly different from the fortune seeker in the mines.

    ¡°Captain Lam¡¯s been building her influence, you guys. You can¡¯t get into politics if you don¡¯t y all the aspects of the game,¡± Edeya said, scoffing at their shared nce.

    ¡°Why do you want to be in politics, Lam,¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°We¡¯ve spoken about how important it is to keep gaining in power, haven¡¯t we, Victor? I think it might have been in regard to me helping Edeya or maybe not helping her enough for your taste, hmm? Well, when you get near tier five, like me, you¡¯ll find that raw power increasese slowly. Very slowly. You start to look for other ways to grow your power base, like umting wealth. You know I¡¯ve done that, as well, yes? Well, one thing you do with wealth is to increase your political clout. So, you see, there are three ways I¡¯m still working to gain strength¡ªliteral power, through levels and artifacts, umting wealth, and gaining political influence.¡±

    ¡°How much will Victor winning his duel help you politically?¡± Tha asked suddenly.

    ¡°Oh, very good, Tha! You caught me¡ªI¡¯m not altruistic. I stand to gain something from helping you and Victor. Is that what you want to hear? Roots! Don¡¯t be so difficult!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Victor said, reaching out and putting a hand on Tha¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Right, Tha? We¡¯re grateful, Lam; don¡¯t sweat it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m still in shock, I think. I¡¯m free, with the axe off my neck, but still, I¡¯m worried about Victor. These lords are vindictive¡ªI can¡¯t imagine it¡¯s going to go as smoothly as we all hope.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see what the Jurist has to say tomorrow,¡± Lam said. ¡°Let it go for now, though¡ªI haven¡¯t been home for a while, and I¡¯d like to enjoy a day here before all the business. Here we are!¡± She gestured down thene, and Victor saw that an ivy-covered gate hade into view with a stone guardhouse built into the wall at one end. As they approached, a soldier came out of the guardhouse wearing a livery that matched the banner Edeya had been flying for Lam¡ªck pants, a gold top, and a surcoat emzoned with a broken, silver crown over a clutch of ck feathers.

    ¡°Lady Lam, wee home!¡± He said, bowing deeply and then moving to open the gate.

    Tha looked at Victor and mouthed, ¡°Lady Lam?¡± He shrugged and followed Lam and Edeya through the gate, then up the cobbled road that bent to the left and climbed a gentle hill. When they came around the bend, Lam¡¯s estate came into view, and suddenly Victor realized he¡¯d been vastly underestimating the captain¡¯s wealth.

    The manor and grounds covered the entire hilltop, and it wasn¡¯t a small hill. Hedgerows bordered the cobbled road, and Victor could see manicured gardens falling away to the right and left, but directly ahead was the manor, and it looked big enough to house hundreds of people. The central building was several stories high. The wings were long, with imposing, peaked roofs covered with ceramic tile. Ivy grew along the building¡¯s walls, and tall arched windows gleamed and glittered in the sunlight, painting the picture of an idyllic, stately old manor in the woods¡ªa ce for ancient bloodlines to gather and contemte their rulership of the world.

    As Lam and the trio of her former mine workers strode up thene to the front door, a dull horn could be heard from within the structure, and then a flurry of activity began to take ce¡ªshutters were thrown open all over the building, the front door opened, and uniformed staff came pouring out to line up in a double row. The men and women that worked in Lam¡¯s manor fidgeted and stole nces at her as she approached, awaiting her inspection.

    ¡°Qu¨¦ es esto?¡± Victor said softly, utterly bbergasted by the show of wealth and power.

    ¡°I know . . .¡± Tha said, also looking around wide-eyed, as the four of them started up the final stretch of the drive to the front door, and the servants arrayed bowed deeply to Captain Lam. When they came to the short flight of steps leading to the front door, and the gray-haired old Ardeni with perfectly trimmed mustaches bowed, Lam smiled and cleared her throat.

    ¡°Thank you, everyone. It¡¯s good to be home. Darn, see that my guests are given quarters in the east wing and that Edeya, here, is given the Adjutant¡¯s rooms near my suite.¡±

    ¡°Of course, ma¡¯am,¡± the gray Ardeni said. ¡°Follow me, please,¡± he said to Victor and Tha. Edeya looked at Lam with a questioning look, and when Lam nodded, she followed along. They shadowed the Seneschal into the house, and Victor marveled at the home, both because of its impressive construction and because of the rich appointments, from masterwork furniture to ancient, precious artifacts. Had Lam been plumbing the depths of Greatbone so that she could fill this manor with rare discoveries?

    ¡°You seem different, Edeya,¡± Tha said as they followed Darn deeper into the manor.

    ¡°I am different! I¡¯ve been through a lot of training, and Lam¡¯s given me a lot of responsibility. I wish I could be carefree and silly, guys, but the captain has a lot going on right now, and I¡¯m in charge of keeping track of a lot of meetings and strategies. I did miss you guys, though! I¡¯m so happy you¡¯re alive and well.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me, Miss Edeya, the Adjutant¡¯s quarters are up these stairs and down the central hallway. Your quarters are right before the captain¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°All right. That¡¯s me, then, Victor and Tha! I¡¯ll see you tomorrow for our meeting with the Jurist.¡±

    ¡°Okay, Edeya. See you tomorrow.¡± Victor watched his old friend climb up the stairs and had to admit Tha was right¡ªEdeya had changed quite a bit. She was taller, stronger, and more sure in her movements, and that uniform with the weird banner sticking up over her shoulder definitely made her seem more . . . impressive somehow.

    ¡°Now, if you¡¯ll follow me, I¡¯ll lead you to your quarters. Do you mind if I ask your names? It will make tending to your needs much easier while you¡¯re here,¡± Darn said, continuing down the wide hallway.

    ¡°I¡¯m Victor, and this is Tha. Darn, are we allowed to explore the grounds a bit after you show us our rooms? It¡¯s awfully early to shut ourselves away until tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Of course. Perhaps you¡¯d like to visit the captain¡¯s gymnasium? She has sparring fields and obstacle courses that many of the local noblese to practice upon.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that sounds cool.¡± Victor saw Tha¡¯s pointed stare and corrected himself, ¡°That sounds great; thanks, Darn.¡±

    ¡°Of course, sir.¡± Darn led them into the east wing of Lam¡¯s manor and showed them each to a separate suite. The rooms were nice, withfortable furniture and plush appointments, but nothing otherworldly. After they¡¯d both seen their rooms, Darn led them into the gardens and then into arge rectangr building with very high walls and a bank of windows near the roof that allowed in thete morning sun. Inside, the floor was very much like a basketball gym¡ªpale wooden nks and rows of wooden bleachers built against the long walls.

    ¡°Sparring?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Miss Tha. Do you see those double doors?¡± He paused to make sure they saw the doors he indicated. ¡°Through those doors, you¡¯ll find a staircase leading down, and then you¡¯ll be in a simr room beneath this one. That¡¯s where the obstacles course is.¡±

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ve got it from here, Darn.¡±

    ¡°Are you certain you can find your way back to your quarters?¡±

    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re good.¡± Victor nodded. He probably would have struggled to find their rooms again, but Gorz would have no trouble.

    ¡°Simply g down any servants you see if you need anything. They all know how to find me.¡± Darn bowed low, sweeping one hand almost to the floor, then he turned and strode away.

    ¡°I mean, do you feel like practicing? I was just thinking we¡¯d be bored sitting in our rooms all afternoon,¡± Victor said to Tha as the little gray-haired man walked away.

    ¡°Not really, to be honest. Let¡¯s check out the obstacle course, though.¡± Tha started toward the double doors, and Victor followed after. The stairs down were simrly d in pale wooden nks, and when they came out on the lower level, Victor saw that the big, rectangr room was filled with things that reminded him a great deal of wrestling practice. He saw a peg board built into one wall that was clearly meant to be climbed upward and then sideways. He figured he could do it, but it would be hard¡ªthere were nearly a hundred holes going up and just as many to the sides. He imagined trying to climb that many holes back in his old body, and he snorted inughter.

    ¡°What?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°The peg boards. That shit would be hard without some monster stats.¡±

    ¡°What do you do with them?¡± Tha looked at the wall covered with boards drilled with holes.

    ¡°You hold those wooden pegs and jam them into the holes, pulling yourself up to the next set of holes. It¡¯s like climbing a rope and doing pull-ups at once.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Tha nodded, looking around at some of the other things in the room¡ªswinging ropes, walls, pits, contraptions you had to crawl through, others you had to bnce upon. A slow smile began to spread on her face, ¡°Let¡¯s try some of these out!¡±

    ¡°Haha, all right!¡± Victorughed, and that¡¯s what they did, spending most of the afternoon putting Lam¡¯s obstacle course through its paces. A few other people came in to work out on the course while they were there, but they all kept to themselves, though they frequently cast annoyed res at Tha and Victor as they taunted andughed at each other, attempting one obstacle or another.

    Their fun was cut short sometime toward evening, though, when Seneschal Darn made a reappearance and called for them toe down from their ropes to speak with him. Victor and Tha, still feeling quitepetitive, raced down to him, and Victor cheated, using Sovereign Will to boost his agility. Heughed as he basically fell down the rope and then tore over the ground, leaping a high wall to slide to a stop in front of Darn. Tha, a good thirty seconds behind him,ughed breathlessly as she careened into him, and the two of them fell to the ground in a fit.

    ¡°Please! Sir and Madam! Lady Lam needs to see you both urgently! There¡¯s been a development.¡± Those words seemed to sober Victor and Tha rather quickly, as the smiles fell from their faces and Victor straightened up, brushing his clothes smooth.

    ¡°What kind of development?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°Please follow me to the east parlor. Thedy will exin everything.¡±

    The east parlor turned out to be afortable room with a fully stocked and staffed bar, a dozen couches, an alcove full of bookcases, and a small ivory-colored stage where a weird instrument that looked like a sideways piano sat, unyed. Lam was pacing back and forth in front of a pudgy Shadeni man with thick, swooping horns that sprouted out of his forehead and curved backward over his ears. When Lam saw Victor and Thae in behind Darn, she said, ¡°Good, thank you, Darn! Now hurry and make that delivery. I need to know what magistrate our case wille before.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Lady,¡± Darn said with a bow, turning to hurry back the way they¡¯de. Lam looked at Victor and frowned, then sighed. She started to speak, then nced at the thick Shadeni and shook her head as if not sure what words to use. She red at him again, then motioned for Victor and Tha to sit on the couch nearby.

    ¡°Victor, I think I¡¯ve made a huge mistake.¡±

    ¡°No, Lady!¡± the Shadeni said, aghast.

    ¡°Yes! No arse-licking right now, Chal-dak. You sit there and be quiet while I exin things to Victor and Tha.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Lady,¡± the red-faced man said, self-consciously preening one of his long, thick horns.

    ¡°Victor, you remember how we discussed the rules for choosing champions?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it was only a few hours ago¡ªchampions have to be the same tier or lower.¡±

    ¡°Right, and the rule for challenging someone?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t challenge someone that¡¯s a lower tier.¡±

    ¡°Right. Well, I really erred when it came to evaluating Lady ap¡¯Yensha¡¯s sanity.¡± Lam lifted her diadem with one finger and rubbed at the red line on her forehead where it had been sitting.

    ¡°What do you mean, Lam?¡± Tha asked, her face looking strangely nched.

    ¡°Lady ap¡¯Yensha isn¡¯t using a champion.¡±

    ¡°So, what?¡± Victor asked. ¡°She¡¯s fighting me herself?¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡±

    ¡°Well, how¡¯s that a problem?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s high tier-four, Victor.¡±

    ¡°But, how? You just said she can¡¯t challenge someone who¡¯s lower tier . . .¡±

    ¡°She didn¡¯t challenge,¡± Tha said, her voice hushed.

    ¡°Exactly,¡± Lam said. Her affect seemed off, and it took Victor a minute to realize it was because she was refusing to make eye contact with him.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Victor wasn¡¯t trying to act dense, but he still wasn¡¯t getting it.

    ¡°When I bought your contract, Victor, you became my ward, so to speak. I became your agent. I issued the challenge on your behalf, assuming thedy would shy away from a direct conflict¡ªI was sure she¡¯d pick a champion. She hasn¡¯t fought in person in half a century.¡±

    ¡°Huh. Well, this kinda sucks, I guess. Almost tier five, you say? Chingado . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got Darn looking into the magistrate that will be seeing our case. I¡¯ll find a way to get you out of this, Victor.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Victor said, smiling at Lam and then turning to Tha, making sure the smile was still in ce. ¡°I gotta do this, Lam. I have to beat this bruja so she¡¯ll get off my ass, and I can move on to bigger and better things. I¡¯m sick of this problem guing me. I don¡¯t want to deal with more assassins or bounty hunters. I want to finish this.¡±

    ¡°Victor, there will be other opportunities if we just bide our time. Hear me on this: I haven¡¯t seen Lady ap¡¯Yensha fight, but there are stories from the Beneset War¡ªI¡¯m not sure I could beat her.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor said, standing up to his full height and resting his hand on Lifedrinker¡¯s head. He took a very deep breath and slowly blew it out his nose, looking at Lam right in the eyes, and then he said, ¡°She may be a tough, dangerous woman, but I¡¯m the descendent of Quinametzin giants, and I can promise you, she¡¯s never met a mother fucker like me.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 27: Axe Work

    Book 2: Chapter 27: Axe Work

    Victor sat in afortable leather chair facing the window that overlooked Lam¡¯s rear garden. He¡¯d never experienced suchfort in his life. Even back in Tucson, he¡¯d had a small room that barely left room for a folding table next to his twin-sized bed. He remembered sitting in the rickety old folding chair, typing away on his school-provided tablet, trying to get assignments done at thest minute.

    It seemed like he was always hot in that bedroom, but no matter the hour, he could count on his abu to bring him snacks. Sometimes it was a taste of whatever she was cooking, but sometimes it was something just for him¡ªorange slices or a warm torti smeared with butter and sugar and cinnamon. ¡°God, but I wish you¡¯de through that door right now. I could use some advice, Abuelita.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know what he expected her to tell him. What could she possibly say about his situation? In just a few days, he¡¯d have to fight for his life against a woman who was supposedly a lot stronger and more deadly than anything he¡¯d encountered so far. First of all, his granny wouldn¡¯t like the idea that he was fighting a woman¡ªshe was old-fashioned that way, and she didn¡¯t know a thing about Energy or levels. Secondly, she¡¯d tell him to get his head straight and do what his coach had taught him. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯d treat this just like a wrestling match.¡±

    The thought of exining that he was about to fight to the death, and that it wasn¡¯t the first time, to his abu filled him with strange emotions. He felt guilty, he felt alone, and he felt lost. He thought about trying to talk to Tha, but how could he exin his weird emotions to her? She¡¯d tried to hide her feelings when Victor had insisted on going through with the fight, but he¡¯d seen the shadows in her eyes. He knew she was worried and half expected him to fail. It hurt, seeing that doubt in her expression, but what hurt more was that she didn¡¯t say anything¡ªshe was free now, and her main concern was getting to her daughter. It drove home how alone he was in this world.

    Lam had offered to train with him over the next few days before the fight, and Victor had enthusiastically taken her up on the offer. That was two days ago, though, and the captain had been busy with one meeting after another, making it clear to Victor that his situation was just one of the many irons she had in the fire. What was the deal with Lam, anyway? She¡¯d given him his contract and tried to help him out of his trouble, but was she that much better than the powers he was struggling against? It almost seemed like he was just a pawn in her political games, and Tha had been right when she brought up the fact that Victor¡¯s duel would help her in that regard.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look a gift horse in the mouth,¡± Victor said, trying to mimic his abuelo¡¯s scratchy old voice with his thick Spanish ent. Lam had taken the time to meet with the Imperial Jurist and then gone to the hearing with the Magistrate, confirming her inside information that Lady ap¡¯Yensha was going to face Victor herself. Lam¡¯s contacts had gained a bit more insight into the matter¡ªapparently, the man Victor had killed, her nephew, Bez, while being a colossal fuckup, happened to be a favorite of hers. She felt she had to see his killer destroyed personally. ¡°Lucky me.¡± Victor sighed and kicked his feet out, staring up at the ster ceiling of his bedroom.

    The Magistrate had scheduled the duel for some sort of Harvest fest and insisted it be fought at his estate in the country. Lam hadn¡¯t been surprised¡ªsuch an event would provide a lot of political clout to the host, and Magistrates were notorious for capitalizing on such opportunities. A knock at his door interrupted his bout of self-pity, and Victor stood up, moving quickly to open it.

    He¡¯d hoped it was Tha, Edeya, or even Captain Lam, and he was sure some of the disappointment showed on his face when he saw that it was one of Lam¡¯s household servants holding a sealed envelope. ¡°Apologies for the intrusion, sir, but the Lady has asked that I deliver this envelope to you.¡±

    ¡°Uh, thanks,¡± Victor said, taking the thick cardstock.

    ¡°Will you being down for breakfast, sir, or would you like me to have something brought up?¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know. I haven¡¯t spoken to Lam, er, the Lady yet today.¡±

    ¡°Very good; please let Binna know. She¡¯s at the station at the end of your hall.¡± Victor knew who Binna was¡ªone of Lam¡¯s servants that seemed to be posted at the end of his hallway at all hours of the day and night, waiting for him to need something. He couldn¡¯t decide if it was cool having someone ready to help him with anything at a moment¡¯s notice or if it was just a way for Lam to keep tabs on him. He supposed it was a bit of both, though he felt guilty, wondering how the girl ever got any rest.

    ¡°Right, thanks,¡± Victor said, pushing his door closed and opening the envelope. A handwritten note was within:

    Victor,

    I¡¯m sorry I¡¯ve been so busy with meetings and arrangements. I promised you some sparring time and intend to make good on it. I¡¯m called away again, but I¡¯ve sent word to one of my old adventuring friends. Polo Vosh is a great warrior who has spent the years since we delved into dungeons building his strength. He owes me a favor or two, and I¡¯ve called him to collect: He¡¯ll be here this afternoon to train with you.

    Tha has borrowed my driver and coach to collect her daughter. She wanted to talk to you, but I think it¡¯s best you keep your head focused on your fight. She¡¯s safe, and they¡¯ll be back well before Harvest Fest.

    -Lam

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Victor threw the note and its envelope on the table that sat inside the door of his suite, irritated but not sure why. He supposed he had wanted to be there to see Tha reunited with her daughter, but he couldn¡¯t really me her for not wanting to wait until his situation with the duel was done. Then there was the business of Lam¡¯s old friend. Who was Polo Vosh, and why was Lam so damn busy all the time? Was she going back to the mines? Was she trying to make some political moves before the fight?

    ¡°Too many questions,¡± he sighed. He supposed he should be grateful¡ªLam didn¡¯t have to find him someone to practice with. She didn¡¯t have to do anything. Hopefully, she was right about her friend, and he¡¯d be able to teach Victor a thing or two.

    Victor opened the door and walked down the hallway to the servant¡¯s station. Sure enough, Binna was there, and the strange little Bogoli jumped to her feet at his approach. She was only about four feet tall, had a shock of long white hair that grew down the center of her scalp, and painted her face and scalp a dark shade of blue with weird silvery designs on her cheeks and forehead. Victor couldn¡¯t tell if the designs were the same every day or if she painted something different based on circumstances he wasn¡¯t aware of. ¡°Hi, Binna. I¡¯m going down to breakfast.¡±

    ¡°Excellent, Mr. Sandoval. I¡¯ll see that your room is cleaned while you¡¯re out.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Victor said with a wave. He¡¯d given up trying to get the Bogoli to rx, and there was no way she¡¯d be talked out of straightening his suite. He¡¯d tried on the first day, but it seemed almost to cause her physical difort not to do her job. Victor made his way through the hallways and down the stairs to the dining hall adjacent to the manor¡¯s kitchens. None of the ce settings were out, and no one sat at the long, polished tables. Victor walked through into the kitchens, and there he was met with a more appropriate level of bustle.

    Pots simmered and steamed on the big stovetops, and the long wooden pic-style table that sat along the far wall near the windows was upied by several staff members eating their morning meal. Victor approached, and one of the cooks, a portly Ardeni woman with curly gray hair, said, ¡°Victor! I was wondering if I¡¯d gotten too much bacon out today¡ªwas afraid I wouldn¡¯t be seeing you!¡±

    ¡°No, Mrs. ap¡¯Edda, I¡¯m here, and I¡¯m hungry as ever,¡± Victorughed and walked through the steamy room to the table, sitting on the bench with his back to the windows so he could watch the cooks bustling around the kitchen¡ªhe found their activities endlessly fascinating. He loved the kitchens. He loved the smell of them. He loved the carefree fun the cooks had while they worked, and, of course, he loved the taste of the food they kept giving him.

    The kitchen almost always smelled like fresh bread, but during breakfast time, the scent of bacon was the prevailing odor. Victor waited patiently, but it was only a few minutes before the first te of food was set before him¡ªfresh buttered bread sprinkled with herbed salt. Victor thanked the cook, a sweaty Shadeni man who grunted and returned to his mixing bowl as Victor began to wolf down the warm, delicious treat. By the time he¡¯d finished a piece of bread, another cook had brought over a te of bacon, and before he could get far into that, yet another deposited some scrambled eggs in front of him.

    He knew that if he stayed at that table, they¡¯d keep bringing him food, so he ate quickly and made a show of getting up and waving as he moved out of the kitchens and into the gardens that nked the windows. Lam¡¯s home had beautiful grounds, and Victor had spent much of thest two days exploring the gardens and groves. He¡¯d kept hoping Lam would find him, take him to her gymnasium, and spar with him, but he found himself left to his own devices, and, though he knew he should be trying to get stronger somehow, he found the slow exploration of the grounds therapeutic.

    Victor walked through the herb gardens near the kitchens until he came to a stone fountain with a built-in bench around the water. He sat there, letting his mind wander for a while. Of course, his thoughts kept returning to the fight. For some reason, he couldn¡¯t seem to muster the emotions everyone, including himself, thought he should have. He didn¡¯t feel fearful or even nervous. He knew, abstractly, that this woman, Rellia ap¡¯Yensha, was powerful. He was pretty sure the dungeon lord he¡¯d fought had been tier four, and she was supposed to be tier five or almost so¡ªno one was really sure. Still, he couldn¡¯t seem to grasp the predicament he was in properly.

    So, she was tough. That just meant he¡¯d have to go all out, right? How could a person, regardless of their level, be more dangerous than a massive, undead snake with acidic fangs? The dungeon lord had turned the very shadows against him, driving fear before it. How could any person be more of a challenge than that? He knew he was being stupid¡ªEnergy made all logic moot, but that didn¡¯t mean he could suddenly conceptualize what he was going to be up against.

    Lam, Tha, and Edeya had all encouraged him to keep cultivating while waiting for the fight. Tha thought there was a good chance he could make it to level thirty through cultivation. He supposed she was probably right¡ªhe¡¯d been twenty-nine for a while now and hadn¡¯t leveled his Core in quite some time. He¡¯d worked on it half-heartedly but resolved to spend some hours on it tonight. Only needing to sleep a few hours a day really had a way of adding time to his te.

    ¡°Gorz,¡± he said suddenly, ¡°Did you say Reevus¡¯s master was something like tier six?¡±

    ¡°Reevus often boasted that his master was tier seven, though it¡¯s possible he was exaggerating to inte his own importance.¡±

    ¡°So, what¡¯s the difference between a tier four and a tier seven in terms of power? Is it like the difference between a tier one and a tier three?¡±

    ¡°It''s hard to quantify, Victor. Many factors can create a huge disparity between people of the same rank. One factor is the rarity of a person''s ss. If you reach tier seven with an epic or legendary ss, your raw attribute scores would be much higher than someone who leveled so high with a simple basic or advanced ss. Energy affinity can y a role in a person¡¯s overall power, as can racial advancements and skill mastery. Don¡¯t underestimate the importance of artifacts, either. Your axe is an extraordinary item, and you¡¯re much stronger with it than you would be with a typical artificed weapon.¡±

    ¡°Really? Do you think Lam regrets giving Lifedrinker to me?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. The odds of heartsilver gaining consciousness are very low. Your rtionship with Lifedrinker is rather unique¡ªwhen I review the conversation Lam had with you about the axe, it seems she had given up long ago in her attempts to awaken the weapon.¡±

    ¡°She definitely looks better than when Lam gave her to me.¡± Victor reached down and loosened the axe at his belt, lifting it out into his hands. ¡°How about it, beautiful? Feel like talking to me today?¡± He¡¯d tried every day since he¡¯d heard her voice in his head to get her to speak again, but so far, she¡¯d been quiet, though her handle felt warm, and she buzzed more than ever in his grip, so he knew she was alright. He pushed her cold metal against his forehead and felt her vibrate, but no words were forting. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I know you¡¯ll speak when you¡¯re ready.¡±

    Victor spent the morning walking around the grounds, visiting with the manor''s staff, and basically just killing time, waiting for something to happen. It felt like there was an amorphous weight hanging over his head but that he couldn¡¯t do anything about it, which was sort of true¡ªthe Harvest G and his duel were marching toward him, and no matter what actions he took, he¡¯d be facing Rellia ap¡¯Yensha in just a few days. He supposed he could make a run for it or beg the Captain to petition the Magistrate to put off the duel, but he¡¯d already refused such actions, and nothing had changed between then and now. There was no way he would live out his life in this new world, always on the run, looking over his shoulder.

    He was saved from his own inaction and boredom by the arrival of Lam¡¯s old adventuring friend. It was Binna who tracked Victor down in the dimly lit grove of nut trees at the back of Lam¡¯s property. Victor saw her running up and down the irrigation ditches, and he watched her for a while, wondering why the little white-gloved figure was in such a tizzy before it dawned on him that she might be looking for him. He stood out from behind the big tree he¡¯d been poking around, collecting fallen nuts, and called out, ¡°Binna?¡±

    ¡°Mister Sandoval!¡± She called breathlessly, running down the row toward him. ¡°You have a visitor! He¡¯s waiting at the gymnasium!¡±

    ¡°Oh, shit, Binna. I¡¯m sorry you had to hunt me down. Thanks! I¡¯ll head over there right now.¡± The poor Bogoli leaned over her knees, breathing deeply, her dark makeup running in rivulets of sweat down onto her white robes. Victor tried to think of a way to make her take a break but couldn¡¯t think of anything clever. He decided just to try being direct, ¡°Binna, will you please go and take a break? I insist. I know the way to the gymnasium, and I won¡¯t need your services until tonight. I¡¯ll look for you near my quarters around dinner time.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir. I will await you near your quarters.¡± She sounded relieved, and Victor waved cheerfully to her, hurrying off through the grove toward the big rectangr building that housed Lam¡¯s practice facilities.

    When he strolled through the garden path and up the cobbledne to the building, he saw a dark-furred Vodkin leaning against the structure. He was huge, dwarfing even Ponda from the Wagon Wheel, and probably a hundred pounds heavier than Victor. He wore an armored vest, bronze-colored and scaled, and a massive axe handle jutted over his shoulder. When he saw Victor approaching, he stepped forward, his thick bs of muscle rippling with his leonine movements. Victor had never seen a Vodkin that didn¡¯t boast ayer of blubber, but there was nothing blubbery about Polo Vosh.

    ¡°Victor?¡± His voice rumbled over the cobbles, and Victor nodded, waving as he came closer. Polo held out a hand, and Victor reached out to shake it. The meaty paw was easily a match for his own grip, and, as often happened withpetitive men, Victor found himself straining to respond to the Vodkin¡¯s tight grip¡ªhe imagined they could have smashed walnuts to dust between their palms as they both squeezed.

    ¡°Polo, I guess?¡± Victor asked, noting that, up close, he could see flecks of gold in the Vodkin¡¯s big ck eyes. His dark fur was longer along the center of his head, running down his back almost like a mane, and when the big warrior smiled, he saw that he had three long canines but was missing the one on the lower left of his mouth.

    ¡°Right! Good grip,d. Now,e inside, I¡¯ve only got a few days to work with you, and Lam tells me you need to learn a lot when ites to axe work.¡±

    ¡°What? Really? I thought my axe fighting was getting pretty good!¡± Victor self-consciously put his hand on Lifedrinker¡¯s metal head.

    ¡°Oh? What¡¯s your skill up to? Advanced?¡±

    ¡°Um, improved.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re fighting the old raptor? By the Bearded Turtle, boy! We¡¯ve got work to do!¡± Polo turned and walked through the archway into the gymnasium, and Victor followed after, worrying about his ability with an axe for the first time. When Polo pushed the interior doors open and stepped onto the practice floor, he looked around at the liveried house guards practicing, some dozen different bouts going on around the wide, open space, and he let loose a bellow that bounced off the walls and rattled the high windows, ¡°Clear out! Lam¡¯s orders! Anyone still here in thirty seconds better be ready to fight me!¡±

    His order had the desired effect¡ªweapons were lowered, and though there were some grumbles, one look at the enormous Vodkin got people moving, and soon Victor and Polo Vosh stood alone in the big gymnasium. ¡°Alright, unlimber that pretty axe of yours, and we¡¯ll see what you¡¯ve got,¡± he rumbled, reaching up and unhooking his own weapon from his shoulder. Victor admired the weapon, from its polished, dark wood haft to the massive crescent de. The de had to be the size of a forty-five-pound te at his old school¡¯s weight room. Lifedrinker looked positively petite inparison.

    Victor pulled her out of the loop at his belt, held her crossways in front of himself, and asked, ¡°Should I use any abilities?¡±

    ¡°Not yet, Berserker! Let¡¯s just see what kind of axe work you can do.¡± Polo whipped his massive weapon through the air, thick curtains of air chasing the de in a whoosh as it cleaved the space in front of him. ¡°Just try to cut me¡ªdon¡¯t hold back.¡±

    Victor did as he was told, leaping forward and swinging Lifedrinker at the huge target the Vodkin presented, but was stunned to find nothing but air every time his de cut toward the big man. Polo seemed hardly to move, but still, his body, his clothes, his armor, and his axe were never where they appeared to be when Victorunched his assaults. He¡¯d been afraid to give his swings everything he had when he started, holding back slightly for fear of hurting Lam¡¯s friend. Still, as he continued to miss and his frustration mounted, Victor put everything he had into the attacks, even feinting and switching up the direction of his cleaves midswing.

    Nothing worked, though, and after a solid five minutes of hacking with all his might and Polo seeming to slip through the air like a seal in water, he lowered his de, leaning on the axe haft and panting.

    ¡°Did I say to stop?¡± Polo growled. Victor¡¯s face reddened, and he lifted his de, trying again, charging forward and thrusting out with Lifedrinker¡¯s metal head, trying to catch the Vodkin by surprise. He might as well have written out his n ahead of time for all the effect it had. Polo simply danced back, gauging the extent of Victor¡¯s reach down to the millimeter.

    ¡°All right, now, if you have some way to do it, let¡¯s see you move faster. Use Energy.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said, casting Sovereign Will and boosting his agility. Suddenly his liquid attacks became more like the flickers of a snake¡¯s tongue, and Lifedrinker ripped through the air, carving toward Polo with deadly grace. Polo¡¯s eyes widened, and for the first time, he seemed to have to concentrate a little on Victor¡¯s weapon to dodge it. Still, he did dodge it, and though Victor came closer with each swing, and Polo had to interpose his own axe between Lifedrinker and his flesh a few times, Victor still never managed to touch the man¡¯s armor, let alone his skin.

    Anyone watching the exchange might have been impressed by the speed with which the two giant men moved. They certainly would have been leery of the whip-crack slices in the air that the axes made as they went through their motions. It was clear that Victor had raw talent and speed butcked refinement. On the other hand, Polo was a master of economy, only moving the absolute minimum amount to avoid cuts or to ce his weapon into a perfect parry. Victor might have wondered what the difference between a skilled axe fighter and a master of the axe was before this session, but he wouldn¡¯t wonder that anymore¡ªPolo¡¯s skill made it very clear that Victor had a lot left to learn.

    ¡°At least you have some stamina,¡± Polo said, finally making the effort to pin Victor¡¯s axe to the ground with his huge crescent de. ¡°Take a breather.¡±

    ¡°Do you mind me asking what tier you¡¯re in, Polo?¡±

    ¡°While we¡¯re on the practice field, you¡¯ll call me First Axe. I earned the title at Storm Garden when I trained the Queen¡¯s Honor Guard. Clear?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Victor paused, took a deep breath, then finished, ¡°First Axe.¡±

    ¡°Good. I¡¯m tier-five,d. It¡¯s why the Captain asked me toe to help you. She¡¯s a great fighter but hasn¡¯t touched the axe in decades. She was never much good with one, truth be told. I think I recognize that de, though. That isn¡¯t Lifedrinker, is it?¡± He nodded to the gleaming edge of heartsilver, resting on the springy practice flooring.

    ¡°Yeah, this is Lifedrinker. Captain Lam gave her to me a while back, but she¡¯s grown a bit since then.¡±

    ¡°And you got her a new handle? Or did Lam do that?¡±

    ¡°No, that was me.¡± Victor saw the big Vodkin scowl, and he cleared his throat and added, ¡°Um, First Axe.¡±

    ¡°What about those heartsilver veins? Is she waking up?¡±

    ¡°Yes, First Axe. She even spoke to me the other night.¡±

    ¡°Really? You know how many new warriors buy heartsilver weapons hoping to wake them up?¡±

    ¡°Um, no, First Axe.¡± Victor was starting to feel kind of stupid saying the Vodkin¡¯s title with each sentence, but it seemed to be what the huge warrior wanted.

    ¡°If I had a bead for every youngster that wasted his savings on an inert heartsilver weapon, I¡¯d be a very rich Vodkin. Well, I¡¯m rich anyway, but I¡¯d be even richer! Hah. I think I¡¯ve seen two actually conscious heartsilver weapons in all my days. You¡¯ve got quite a treasure there,d, and an axe, no less! At least it¡¯s not some frilly, snooty sword. Hah, the captain must be green with envy! She did everything to wake that axe up back in the day! Spoke to it for hours and hours, ughtered hundreds, no thousands of monsters, letting it drink its full. She even fought with it in the Benneset War.¡±

    ¡°Guess I got lucky,¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°First Axe.¡±

    ¡°Well, you must have a strong spirit. Something that struck a harmony within Lifedrinker. Let¡¯s see if we can keep you alive to finish your work with her, hmm? You¡¯re going to need more skill to face Rellia.¡±

    ¡°You think I can improve enough in just a few days?¡±

    ¡°You can improve. Enough? I don¡¯t know. You forgot to call me First Axe, which means you¡¯re out of warnings. Next time, I¡¯ll exact payment! Now get that axe up and get ready to defend yourself!¡± Polo Vosh grinned, his missing canine conspicuous in the ferocity of his expression. Victor lifted Lifedrinker and watched, with every fiber of his being, trying to figure out how a man so huge and heavy could move so damn gracefully.

 Book 2: Chapter 28: Preparations

    Book 2: Chapter 28: Preparations

    ¡°That¡¯s it, Victor! You got him now!¡± Edeya yelled from the sidelines. She¡¯d shown up a few hours into his session with Polo and was enthusiastic in her support for him, though it seemed to make Polo want to thrash him even more soundly every time she cheered. Still, Victor appreciated the encouragement and pressed his attack, using everything Polo had deemed ¡°okay for sparring.¡±

    Sovereign Will pumped up his agility, Inspiring Presence guided his axe, and Channel Spirit flooded Lifedrinker and his arms with inspiration-attuned Energy. Polo had told him not to use any rage Energy, saying it would make it harder to learn rather than help. He¡¯d been enthusiastically in favor of Victor using inspiration Energy, though, and it seemed to be paying off¡ªVictor was getting noticeably faster and more graceful in his axe movements as the afternoon stretched on.

    ¡°Go! Push him!¡± Edeya cheered as Victor drove forward, whipping Lifedrinker through the air in glittering silver-gold arcs, her de sizzling with inspiration Energy as it sliced the wind. Polo backed up, dodging with an economy of movement that left Victor bewildered. As Victor¡¯s fourth cleave in his lightningbo arced dangerously close to his shoulder, the big Vodkin seemed to shrug, and then his colossal axe de was there, taking the blow in a shower of golden sparks. Still, Polo whistled for him to stop, backing up a step.

    ¡°That was the first time I had to block or be cut. You¡¯re learning, novice!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, First Axe,¡± Victor said, the honorificing more easily to his tongue after several hours of enforced usage.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, don¡¯t stop now!¡± Edeya called, and Polo grinned, his big, whiskered jowls bouncing with the movement.

    ¡°Your vicious little friend is right. Now¡¯s the time to push it!¡± Polo thrust his axe forward, suddenly smashing the blunt top into Victor¡¯s armored chest, knocking him back a few steps. Victor grinned and lifted Lifedrinker, then renewed his efforts to take a slice out of Polo¡¯s mountainous body.

    Polo was an expert instructor, seeming to always be just out of Victor¡¯s reach, yet never so far that Victor gave up. It was like he knew exactly how close to let Victor get, so he¡¯d keep thinking he almost had him. With each narrow miss or parried blow, Victor gained new insights into how the huge Vodkin moved, and he began to subconsciously anticipate the big warrior¡¯s maneuvers.

    It was just such a moment when Victor had a true breakthrough, running through abo, knowing how Polo would respond, and changing up the arc of the final cleave at thest second. Polo¡¯s eyes widened, and, again, he moved his shoulders in an almost shrug, seeming to flip his axe through space somehow, so the big, t de was suddenly in front of his neck, catching Lifedrinker¡¯s edge as she arced in a gleaming slice. A shower of hot sparks sizzled around the twobatants, and a System message appeared in Victor¡¯s eyes:

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned the skill: Axe Mastery - Advanced.***

    ¡°Fuck yes!¡± Victor shouted as sudden understanding flooded into his mind. Suddenly, many of Polo¡¯s movements that had seemed like mysterious magic made sense to him, and he knew their counters. What¡¯s more, he felt his muscles flex with sudden memories¡ªknowledge of how to flick his de into parry positions and adjust his momentum a hair¡¯s breadth to turn the angle of his attack, catching his opponent off guard. These and a thousand other sparks of insight flooded through his mind and body, and Victor dropped to a knee as he processed all the information.

    He was just starting to wrap his head around his new skill level when hundreds of little balls of golden Energy began to form in the air around him. He took a deep breath, bracing himself, and then they surged toward him, bursting like little, golden fireworks as they crashed into him. He held his breath, hoping for another System message, but nothing came, and he sighed, letting out his air in a heavy sigh, ¡°Damn!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Edeya asked, having run up to p him on the shoulder.

    ¡°Was hoping I¡¯d get a level off that, but no such luck.¡±

    ¡°Hah, the impatience of youth,¡± Polo said, lifting his huge axe and dropping it on the ground with a thud to add inflection to his words. ¡°I think you must have been close to improving your axe skill on your own because I¡¯ve never seen someone go so quickly from improved to advanced.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your axe skill at, First Axe?¡± Edeya asked, saving Victor the trouble.

    ¡°Legendary, pup. One of only three on this continent. Unless some axe master is hiding out there that doesn¡¯t want me to know about it.¡±

    ¡°Legendary . . .¡± Edeya breathed, her eyes unfocusing as she visualized it.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I was nearly two decades moving past Epic. I didn¡¯t have Inspiration Energy cheating for me, though. You¡¯d be smart to practice with this one,¡± Polo gave Victor a p on the shoulder. ¡°Assuming Rellia doesn¡¯t cut him up in a few days.¡±

    ¡°Victor will win. You haven¡¯t seen him lose his temper.¡± Edeya reached out and gave Victor¡¯s trap a squeeze. ¡°You got this, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Edeya.¡±

    ¡°Rage might help. If you weren¡¯t a berserker, I¡¯d tell you to keep your cool, but I¡¯ve seen what a rager can do¡ªif you¡¯re going to win against Rellia, it will be because of your rage. We need to practice more, though¡ªshe¡¯s going to know about your berserking, and she¡¯ll have a n for it. Trust me¡ªit¡¯s all anyone¡¯s talking about in the city right now.¡±

    ¡°What? Seriously?¡± Victor stood up and slipped Lifedrinker into her belt loop.

    ¡°Well, among certain circles, at least. I¡¯d heard of you even before Lam¡¯s messenger came for me. It¡¯s not often you get a tier four, old, razor beaking out of retirement to fight some nobody at the Harvest Fest.¡±

    ¡°Is it true Rellia had more kills than Asyr-dak in the Beneset Wars?¡± Edeya asked, her eyes still distant while she pictured some imaginary battlefield.

    ¡°Hah! If you heard that, you can be sure the rumor started with Rellia. Asyr-dak was already a legend before that war even began, and he left this world shortly after. I can assure you that Rellia¡¯s not so much as a shadow to his me.¡±

    ¡°Left this world?¡± Victor asked, having no idea who they were even talking about. ¡°As in died?¡±

    ¡°No,d, he traveled off world, seeking greater challenges. In the scheme of things, Fanwath is new. I don¡¯t know many Energy users at my level, and I¡¯d be considered a novice on some of the older worlds.¡±

    ¡°He just, uh, traveled off world? Like in a spaceship?¡±

    ¡°Through the Settlement Stone, you goof,¡± Edeya said, rolling her eyes.

    ¡°Oh, yeah, right.¡± Victor nodded, and he supposed he did vaguely remember people talking about how you could pay for teleportation through the Settlement Stones if you had enough money.

    ¡°Enough chit-chat. Girl, go stand aside; I¡¯m going to see what Victor can do now.¡±

    ¡°Yes, First Axe!¡± Edeya said sharply and scurried off to stand by the door.

    ¡°Well,d, I told Lam I¡¯d give you a thorough evaluation, and I can¡¯t do that if I make you hold back all your skills. You ready to show me what you¡¯ve got?¡±

    ¡°Um, yes, First Axe, but do you mean I can use Berserk? I¡¯ve been working on my control while I do it, but I can¡¯t promise I won¡¯t hurt you.¡±

    ¡°Hah! By the Turtle¡¯s beard! I¡¯ll give you one of my old artifacts if you can hurt me. How¡¯s that sound?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re sure . . .¡± Victor said, unslinging Lifedrinker from his belt. He decided not to leap into a rage but to work his way into it like he might in any old fight. He boosted his agility, channeled inspiration-attuned Energy into Lifedrinker, and cast Inspiring Presence, then heunched a flurry of attacks, immediately driving Polo back with his much-improved axe skills.

    Polo grunted and, in Victor¡¯s opinion, struggled to dodge and parry all of his attacks, but only just barely. He avoided most of the attacks with subtle shifts of his shoulders and twists of his hips, but he had to intercede with his huge axe de a few times, dancing away from Victor¡¯s cleaves in showers of sparks and the squeal of metal on metal.

    ¡°Well? Come on, boy, let¡¯s have it!¡± Polo growled after a minute or two of dodging and parrying, then heunched an offensive, and Victor was forced back, his turn to dodge and parry as the enormous crescent de flicked ever closer to his flesh. He saved himself losing a slice of his cheekbone by the barest of margins, and, as he stumbled back, he released his hold on the roiling, surging furnace of his rage-attuned Energy.

    Edeya, standing on the edge of the practice floor near the open double doors, saw Victor barely save himself from a cut to his face, and then she felt a vortex of Energy pull at her, standing her hair on its ends and raising the hackles on the back of her neck. Victor¡¯snky, muscle-corded frame was suddenly limned in zing red Energy, and then he stepped forward with a barked growl, pping his foot down with a crash and whipping Lifedrinker through the air at Polo¡¯s shoulder. The chop was so savage and fast that Polo barely got his gigantic axe de up in time to block it. A terrific bell tolled in the air as the two des shed, and Polo was sent sliding over the practice floor, reeling from the impact. Then things really went sideways.

    The explosion of red Energy had happened in an instant, and Victor¡¯s attack had taken Edeya¡¯s focus for a moment, but as she nced back at him, she caught her breath and moved toward the door¡ªVictor towered over Polo, his massive, corded muscles stood out like airship cables, and Lifedrinker flicked through the air in one enormous fist, more like a hatchet than a great, bearded axe. Victor roared andunched a rampaging, berserking attack against Polo, swinging Lifedrinker in whipping, arcing cleaves with such force that each time Polo blocked the attacks on the t of his great axe, he was sent stumbling, only his incredible skill keeping him from being smashed to pieces.

    The fury of Victor¡¯s attacks was such that it took Polo a dozen heartbeats to finally recover enough poise to attempt to turn the tables, using his own Energy abilities to thwart Victor¡¯s onught. His de, still parrying the fric, devastating hacks Victor was delivering, began to glow with a deep blue-ck Energy. Where he rebuked Victor¡¯s hacks, azure barriers hung in the air, stationary shields he could seek cover behind. As the barriers stacked up and Polo found himself able to breathe, he began tounch attacks from behind his fortified Energy shields,nding cuts on Victor¡¯s arms and legs and smashing his giant axe into Victor¡¯s armor.

    None of the blows seemed to bother the massive berserker, though, and Victor only roared and smashed Lifedrinker all the harder into Polo¡¯s barriers, utterly shattering each of them in just a few swings. Polo was sweating now, and his eyes began to widen with the strain of his defense. That¡¯s when red waves of Energy started to emanate from Victor, wrapping around Polo¡¯s Energy barriers and seeping into his body. Polo screamed. He began to froth at the mouth, and his eyes lost all semnce of sanity. He threw his axe aside and charged at Victor, smashing into him like a cannonball. Victor, for his part,ughed like aplete maniac. Edeya turned to the double doors, panic in her eyes, and ran out of the room, shouting for help.

    When she returned just a few minutester with several of Captain Lam¡¯s house guards in tow, she found Polo and Victor sitting on the ground,ughing and talking loudly. Polo¡¯s dark fur was matted with blood. His heavy bronze-scale armor was ragged, torn at the neck, and hanging loosely over one shoulder. Victor, his pale skin no good at hiding his blood, was an even more disturbing sight¡ªhis skin and hair were soaked with a thick sheen of bloody sweat. Worse, there were great smears of blood all over the wooden nks of the practice floor. It looked like a calf had been ughtered in the room.

    Victor saw Edeyae running in with the guards, and he smiled and called out, ¡°Hey, where¡¯d you go? How are we supposed to know who won?¡±

    ¡°You asshole!¡± she cried, running toward the two sprawled warriors.

    ¡°No need for her to testify¡ªof course, I won,¡± Polo said with a deep wet chuckle that turned into a cough halfway through. Victor didn¡¯t argue, just leaned back on his bloody palms and watched Polo cough with a raised eyebrow.

    ¡°I thought you guys were going to kill each other! Victor, when did you start to grow when you go berserk?¡±

    ¡°Something that happened when I advanced my race in the dungeon.¡± He shrugged, then hoisted himself to his feet using Lifedrinker as a crutch. Looking inward to his Core, he saw that he still had more than half of his rage-attuned Energy to draw on¡ªhe must have ended his rage on purpose, which was enough evidence for him that he could hold his own against Polo, regardless of their level disparity.

    ¡°That¡¯s a hell of abination with your type of Core, Victor,¡± Polo said. ¡°A bloodline thatpliments your rage ability like that . . . by the Bearded Turtle, you¡¯d turn the tide on a battlefield.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess I got pretty lucky with my skillset,¡± Victor replied, reaching out to help Polo to his feet. The big Vodkin sped his fist and allowed him to haul him up with a grunt and a wince.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be taking the evening off. Meet me here at dawn for more axe work. I have an artifact in mind for you, but it¡¯ll take some time to get it to you. I left it with the Second Axe back home,¡± he grunted, turning toward the door.

    ¡°Thank you, First Axe,¡± Victor called to his back, and Polo raised a hand to wave acknowledgment and then ponderously trudged toward the double doors. The house guards that Edeya had fetched were still staring at the practice floor and Victor with wan faces, but they jumped when Polo walked by and growled at them.

    ¡°Well, make yourselves useful¡ªfetch some staff to clean this mess and rece that cracked nk in the center!¡±

    ¡°That was crazy, Victor,¡± Edeya said. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you fought Polo Vosh like that. He¡¯s a legend.¡±

    ¡°Well, if I didn¡¯t Berserk, and if my bloodline didn¡¯t turn me into a fucking giant, he would clean the floor with me.¡±

    ¡°True, but that¡¯s like saying, ¡®well, if I didn¡¯t use my axe,¡¯ or, ¡®well, if I didn¡¯t use Energy abilities.¡¯ You know we aren¡¯t just the sum of our parts, right? Sure, you got lucky with some of your abilities, but you¡¯ve been through a lot to get to where you are. Tha told me about what you went through in the dungeon.¡±

    She walked toward the exit, Victor in tow, and continued, ¡°Nobody makes it to a high level without some luck. You think Polo Vosh doesn¡¯t have a strong ss? You think he didn¡¯t find some artifacts early on that made him tougher than the next Vodkin warrior? You think Rellia ap¡¯Yensha hasn¡¯t leveraged her family¡¯s wealth to help her gain power? Don¡¯t sell yourself short, is all I¡¯m saying, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Huh, thanks, Edeya.¡± They¡¯d reached the courtyard outside the practice hall, and Victor squinted up between the tall trees at the fading brightness of the pale blue sky. ¡°I¡¯m pretty damn hungry. Wanna hit the kitchens with me?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t have anything else to do. Captain Lam won¡¯t be back until morning.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯d she go, anyway?¡±

    ¡°Back to the mine. She¡¯s hired a crew to set up a basecamp at the deep entrance to the dungeon you found.¡±

    ¡°Why not go in from the top? Up near Steampool?¡±

    ¡°I dunno. Knowing Lam, it¡¯s because she wants to keep things secret as long as she can. Trust me, the crew she¡¯s hired probably have no clue why they¡¯re doing what they¡¯re doing.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s pretty damn smart, isn¡¯t she? Always thinking a few moves ahead.¡±

    ¡°Yep, I¡¯m learning a lot by working with her.¡±

    ¡°Do you,¡± Victor paused and looked at his friend. She was much healthier and cleaner than when he¡¯d known her in the mine. Her uniform looked sharp, her hair was clean and short, and she sported a brace of pearl-handled knives on a bandolier-style strap. Quite the difference from the scrappy little delver that he¡¯d rescued from a cage. Could he trust her to be honest with him anymore? He pushed on with his question, ¡°Do you think I can fully trust Lam?¡±

    ¡°What? Of course!¡± Edeya looked at him like he¡¯d sprouted a third eye on his forehead.

    ¡°Think about it before you answer so quickly. I¡¯m not saying she isn¡¯t trying to help me, but you know she¡¯s always got ns within ns. Don¡¯t you think she¡¯s probably going to gain something from my fight with Rellia, whether I win or not?¡± He watched as the gears turned behind Edeya¡¯s eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, closed it, and opened it again.

    ¡°Lam wille out on top, no matter what. You¡¯re right. That doesn¡¯t mean she doesn¡¯t want you to seed, though. I¡¯ve heard her talk about how much she wants you to win. She won¡¯t betray you, Victor.¡±

    ¡°All right, thanks, Edeya.¡± They continued into the kitchens, where Victor performed like a paid act, eating more than any single person had a right to do in one sitting. He polished off a full loaf of bread, slices of cold, left-over steak, a bowl of fruit, and when he didn¡¯t seem to be slowing down, a tter of cheese, cured meats, crackers, and some sort of thick, fruity jam. Edeya picked at his food, here and there,ughing at his bottomless stomach. When he finally seemed to be slowing down, she gestured toward the doors leading into the manor proper.

    ¡°You should go clean up and then do some cultivating. If you can hit thirty, you might gain a new skill or two with your ss refinement. I¡¯m sure Rellia has intel about your berserking, but she won¡¯t know what sort of refinement you¡¯ll get¡ªit could make all the difference.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I must be getting close, don¡¯t you think? I¡¯ll try to level my Core again, and hopefully, that¡¯ll do it.¡±

    ¡°I have no idea how close you are¡ªLam¡¯s the only person I¡¯ve spent any time with that¡¯s higher than tier two. I¡¯ve heard that it gets slower and slower to level as you gain power, though. It makes sense, I suppose; each level requires more Energy to improve your attributes and build up your pathways to handle the surges of your skills. You¡¯re lucky you¡¯ve improved your race so much. If I ever want to see tier three, I¡¯ll need quite a few racial advancements to handle all that Energy.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Tha told me something simr. All right, well, I¡¯m going to head to my room, Edeya. Thanks for hanging out with me today. See you in the morning?¡±

    ¡°Of course. See you then, Victor.¡± She smiled and waved as he scooted back the bench and stood.

    On his way back to his room, he saw that Binna was sitting at her station, and he stopped to say, ¡°Binna, I¡¯m going to spend the evening cultivating. Please make sure no one, well, no one other than Lam or Tha or Edeya, bothers me. I mean, I won¡¯t need any maid service or food or anything, okay?¡±

    ¡°Understood, Mr. Sandoval.¡± Binna bowed, managing to look like she¡¯d just received an important quest.

    Victor went into his rooms, noting that they were clean and that his bed had been made. It crossed his mind that he could get used to that kind of service, and he instantly felt guilty. He wasn¡¯t sure why, but the idea of people having to go around cleaning up his mess filled him with a desire to get his shit together. Maybe it was his abu talking, but he felt like he should be able to make his own bed.

    He went around the two rooms, closed all the blinds, then sat in the middle of the bedroom''s carpet and looked at his attribute points, not wanting to waste any time:

    Strength:

    127

    Vitality:

    90

    Dexterity:

    40

    Agility:

    63

    Intelligence:

    32

    Will:

    203

    Points Avable:

    10

    He wasn¡¯t sure why he hadn¡¯t spent his avable points yet. He supposed that, on some level, he¡¯d wanted to get some advice, and he¡¯d been hoping to have more one-on-one time with Lam. He could have asked Polo Vosh about it, but they¡¯d been so busy with actual sparring that Victor hadn¡¯t thought about it. Now he was about to try to push his way into another level, and he felt like he should distribute his avable points first. What if it made a difference with regard to his ss refinement?

    One thing was certain: he¡¯d learned that none of his attributes were pointless. Even intelligence seemed to y a factor in how he performed inbat. He¡¯d learned that all of his physical attributes were rted in one way or another, but he seemed to be doing fine, bncing them. So far, his lower dexterity hadn¡¯t negatively impacted his strength. Even when he cast Berserk and his Titanic Rage kicked in, pushing his strength up around five hundred, he hadn¡¯t noticed a problem. ¡°Would I notice when I¡¯m raging out, though?¡± he asked the shadows in the room.

    Victor couldn¡¯t deny that his high will had served him very well. It helped him to avoid fear, avoid mind control, and allowed him to dominate others with his Project Spirit ability. More than that, he could boost his other attributes with it. ¡°Fuck it,¡± he said, pushing ten points into will.

    He hadn¡¯t tried to make any new constructs for rage in a very long time, and he didn¡¯t know if he wanted to. He decided to stick with what worked, going through his cultivation cycle several times, working through each of the rage constructs he¡¯d made so long ago, sitting in the cage at the Wagon Wheel. Like always, they worked, allowing him to cycle red, pulsing rage through his pathways and slowly build its intensity as he pushed it along until he felt his body was brimming, vibrating with the fury. Then he slowly pulled it back,pressing it into his Core. Each time he did it, he could see the red, throbbing heart of his rage attunement get just a little brighter.

    When the disparity between his rage Core and his inspiration Core became apparent, he switched, cultivating the inspiration constructs he¡¯d made while hiding away deep in the crevices of the Greatbone Mine. The difort and irritation that had lingered with his rage cultivation faded away, and he built up the white-gold Energy of inspiration in his pathways, over and over, filling himself to bursting and then pulling it in, pushing it into the shimmering sun of his inspiration attunement.

    The hours faded away as he continued to cultivate. When his inspiration Energy was built up to the equivalent of his rage Energy, he started again, running through the whole process for each of his attunements dozens of times.

    When he felt the click of his two attunements breaching some sort of invisible barrier, he knew that if he looked away from his Core, he¡¯d see the System message telling him his Core had leveled. He didn¡¯t look right away, though, hoping that he¡¯d have messages waiting to tell him that the growth of his Core had been enough to edge him over the threshold of level thirty. He sat there for several minutes, staring at his Core, at the two orbiting suns of his attunements, and waited, steadying himself.

    Finally, utterly calm, his heart barely beating, Victor opened his eyes and looked out, away from his Core, and read what the System had to say:

    ***Congrattions! Your Spirit-ss Core has advanced to: Base-Seven.***

    ***Congrattions! You have achieved level 30 Herald of Carnage, gained 10 will, 8 strength, and have 10 attribute points to allocate.***

    ***Level 30 ss refinement is avable. ss refinement is permanent. Human Energy cultivators will next be offered a ss refinement selection at level 40. To view your options and make your selection, ess the menu through your status page.***

    ¡°Fuck yes!¡± Victor hissed between his teeth. ¡°Time to see what kind of surprise I can pull out for Lady ap¡¯Yensha!¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 29: Totems

    Book 2: Chapter 29: Totems

    Victor sat cross-legged in his dark bedroom, reading through his ss refinement options for the hundredth time:

    ***ss refinement option 1: Titanic Warrior - Epic. Pre-requisite: The strong presence of a titanic bloodline originating from an Elder race. You¡¯ve begun to unlock the secrets of your ancestry. By leveraging your bloodline to form ss abilities, you will continue to build on the synergy between your ss and your race. ss attributes: Strength, Vitality, Will.***

    ***ss refinement option 2: Battle Caller- Epic. Prerequisites: Inspiration affinity. You exemplify excellence on the battlefield, inspiring yourrades and turning the tide with powerful tactical boons. ss attributes: Will, Intelligence, Agility, Unbound.***

    ***ss refinement option 3: Spirit Carver - Epic. Prerequisites: Spirit Core, One of several Elder bloodlines. Your mastery of the spirit continues to grow, unlocking ancient abilities thaty dormant in your bloodline. ss attributes: Will, Vitality, Unbound.***

    ***ss refinement option 4: No Refinement - You are pleased with the path on which you find yourself and choose to continue until your next refinement option.***

    Victor only had three options, four if you counted the option of not doing anything, but he felt like this decision was the hardest he¡¯d ever faced. He decided to ignore the second option, Battle Caller. He¡¯d already decided a while ago that he liked his current ss more than that, so why would he change now? ¡°I guess if I felt like I made a mistake back at level twenty?¡±

    That left two choices, and both tempted Victor for different reasons. The first one, Titanic Warrior, sounded like it was meant to help him continue kicking ass the way he had been. He¡¯d continue to change to be more like his Quinametzin bloodline, even gaining new ss abilities that called forth its benefits.

    Right now, whenever he cast Berserk, he gained a massive boost because of his Quinametzin blood. He struggled to imagine what it would be like if more of his abilities had a simr synergy. He felt like this option was the obvious, clear ¡°power-up.¡± He felt like if he wanted the best chance of beating Rellia, it was the choice¡ªwho would want to fight a Titanic Warrior?

    Each time Victor started to reach for that little selection button, though, he paused and reread the description for Spirit Carver. This one had something to do with his bloodline also, and it seemed like it was talking about waking up more abilities from his bloodline, not necessarily just the giant-sized aspect of his ancestors. What could they be? Something to do with his spirit Core, that was clear. ¡°How did I earn this option? Learning to Spirit Walk and advancing my race?¡± He wasn¡¯t sure it had anything at all to do with Spirit Walk if he were being honest.

    As he vacited, he looked at the other factors. Both sses were epic, so they¡¯d be simr in their difficulty to level and increase his attributes an equivalent amount. He liked that he¡¯d still get some unbound points with the Spirit Carver ss, though. ¡°Ahh, fuck! Maybe I should just keep Herald of Carnage. It¡¯s not like it hasn¡¯t been great so far . . .¡±

    He was purposefully not asking Gorz for advice because the spirit in the amulet had only seemed to muddy the waters in the past. On a whim, he picked up Lifedrinker and held her cool metal to his forehead. ¡°What do you think, chica? Titanic Warrior or Spirit Carver?¡±

    At first, nothing happened, but then the axe started to vibrate, and though Victor didn¡¯t hear any words in his head, he kept seeing the image of a heart beating, blood whooshing through thick, wide arteries with each pump. ¡°What the . . . he opened his eyes, but he could still hear the heart beating, and when he closed them, he saw it again. It took him longer than he would ever admit to realize it was his own heart. Lifedrinker was showing him his heart. Why?

    As he sat there, axe to his forehead, contemting his heart, a soft, sibnt whisper drifted into his mind, ¡°Your heart is strong, Victor. Follow it!¡± Lifedrinker had spoken, and apparently, that was all she had to say on the matter because nothing more was forting from the recalcitrant de. Still, she¡¯d given him good advice, as far as Victor was concerned. She was basically telling him to go with his feelings, and for some reason, he wanted to pick Spirit Carver.

    Victor tried to examine his feelings, tried to figure out what it was about Spirit Carver that called to him, or maybe it was something about Titanic Warrior that was pushing him away. He thought about that, about how he wanted to see himself, and, though he enjoyed the power that came from his Quinametzin bloodline and his Berserk ability, he didn¡¯t know if he wanted to be defined by those things. The idea of a Spirit Carver seemed more nuanced. What even was a Spirit Carver? Would he be shaping his spirit or the spirits of his enemies? Would he be slicing spirits? It seemed kind of ambiguous, and that mystery was intriguing to him.

    ¡°Ahh hell,¡± he said, stretching and cracking his neck. ¡°Gorz, wake up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here, Victor.¡±

    ¡°I have a new ss refinement option. Have you ever heard of a Spirit Carver?¡±

    ¡°Let me see,¡± Gorz paused for a few seconds and then continued, ¡°No, Victor. I have a record of a ss called a Flesh Carver, though. It¡¯s an epic ss with several known abilities, one of which is the Flesh Carver¡¯s ability to change his or her physical shape.¡±

    ¡°Oh really? Anything else?¡±

    ¡°Another known ability of the Flesh Carver is the ability to craft simcrum from specially processed tissue taken from conquered enemies.¡±

    ¡°Pinche fuck! That sounds creepy.¡±

    ¡°Just because the word ¡®carver¡¯ is shared between the two sses doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯ll share anything inmon. It¡¯s a rather broadly defined term.¡±

    ¡°Gah,¡± Victor shook his head, wanting to p himself for asking Gorz. As he¡¯d feared, the spirit had, indeed, muddied the waters. One thing was clear, something was pulling him either away from Titanic Warrior or toward Spirit Carver, and Lifedrinker had encouraged him to go with his heart. He liked Lifedrinker, and she¡¯d never let him down, so he decided to go for it. Pushing aside his doubts and worries, Victor flipped to the correct menu item in his System UI, and then he selected the ¡°ept¡± option for Spirit Carver.

    ***Congrattions! You have refined your ss: Spirit Carver. ss spell gained: Manifest Spirit - Basic. ss spell gained: Shape Spirit - Basic.***

    ***Manifest Spirit - Basic: With a tremendous effort of will, you can split off a shard of your spirit for a short while, allowing it to take form as a construct of Energy. Your spirit shard will retain the driving impetus you impart upon it for the duration of its existence, acting autonomously to fulfill that motivation. Your manifested spirit shard will return to you should it be destroyed or at the end of the spell¡¯s duration. Energy cost: 500. Cooldown: Medium.***

    ***Shape Spirit - Basic: You are able to impart your will upon your spirit, molding it to take the shape of a totemic beast or object that has special meaning to you. The first time you cast this spell, you will experience a Spirit Walk, during which you will encounter totems and make a selection for your shaping spell. Energy cost: 1000. Cooldown: Long.***

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty fucking badass,¡± Victor said, reading the descriptions for his new spells. He hopped to his feet, excited to figure out his new abilities but unsure where to begin. It seemed like he needed to cast Shape Spirit before he could cast Manifest Spirit. No, that was wrong¡ªit didn¡¯t seem that way; it was that way. He knew instinctively that he needed toplete the Shape Spirit spell before he could first manifest his spirit. ¡°Which means I¡¯ll need to do a Spirit Walk, and I¡¯ll be helpless.

    Victor pulled out his watch and looked at the time¡ªthree in the morning. He strode to the door of his suite and walked into the hallway, padding through the dim corridor to the station where Binna had been biding her time, waiting for the moment he¡¯d need her. Just as he¡¯d hoped, she was there, leaning back in her chair, a towel rolled up behind her head so she could rest it against the wall with her eyes closed. ¡°Binna,¡± Victor hissed in a hoarse whisper, louder than he meant to.

    Her eyes snapped open, and she iled her arms, nearly falling backward in her chair. As the feet of the chair settled and she straightened up, she said, ¡°Gemstones! I¡¯m sorry I was dozing, Mr. Sandoval! Did you need something?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I need you to fetch Edeya and bring her to my room. Tell her it¡¯s very important, but don¡¯t let anyone else know, okay?¡±

    ¡°You can count on me, Mr. Sandoval!¡± Binna said, jumping up and snapping a stiff salute before scurrying away down the hallway. Victor chuckled, then went back to his room to wait for Edeya. It wasn¡¯t long before there was a tap at his door, and he opened it to find Edeya, two house guards, and Binna standing in the hallway, bright glowmps hanging from the guard¡¯s necks and all but Binna brandishing weapons.

    ¡°Damn, Binna. I said to keep it quiet!¡±

    ¡°She tried! I insisted on bringing my guards¡ªtoo much talk of sabotage in the hallways,¡± Edeya said, peering through the doorway as though to see if someone was hiding behind Victor.

    ¡°Sabotage? I haven¡¯t heard anything!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been busy. Anyway, is everything all right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, dammit, I just needed your help with something. You guys can head back to your, I dunno, stations,¡± Victor said to the guards and Binna, then he stood back from the door so that Edeya coulde in. She gave her two guards a pointed look, then nodded and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. ¡°They¡¯re not going anywhere, are they?¡±

    ¡°No. Sorry, but my training is very explicit about situations like this.¡±

    ¡°Damn, Edeya! I just needed someone to watch my back while I cast a spell.¡± Victor sighed and moved past Edeya to throw the bolt on his door. ¡°I was half tempted to try it alone, but the thought of me sitting here, a helpless vegetable, kind of creeped me out.¡±

    ¡°Well, look at it this way: now you have me to watch your back, and I have some guards to watch mine. What kind of spell are you going to cast? Why will you be a vegetable?¡± Edeya loosened the cor of her uniform and produced a spear from some storage device, sheathing her pearl-handled knife.

    ¡°It¡¯s a kind of spirit walk. My spirit will be leaving my body for a while, and that means I¡¯ll be a sitting duck. Um, it means I won¡¯t be able to fight anything or even move. I need you to keep my body safe. You good with that, chica?¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course. I¡¯m not promising I won¡¯t draw something on you, you know, as a reminder to stop calling me girl!¡± She pulled a chair out from the table, turned it toward the center of the room, and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll watch you carefully, don¡¯t worry.¡± She sat down, her spear nted on the floor before her, pointing up. ¡°Why the urgency, by the way? I was in the middle of quite a nice dream when your servant started tapping on my door.¡±

    ¡°Well, I just leveled and gained a refinement that might give me an edge in my duel. I don¡¯t want to waste time figuring it out. Speaking of which,¡± Victor concentrated on his status page and saw that he had ten points to distribute. He stacked them into will, figuring it was more important than ever, what with both his new ss skills mentioning it.

    With his will up over two hundred thirty, Victor¡¯s maximum Energy level was more than 2400. While that number seemed high to him, he knew it was far more than it seemed; his regeneration rate was growing steadily with his will score. These days, when he cast one of his bigger spells, like Berserk or Inspiring Presence, his Energy levels had nearly recovered before their duration ran out.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Edeya asked, scowling at him from her impromptu guard post.

    ¡°Sorry, I had some attribute points to spend. All right, here goes. Don¡¯t let someonee and slit my throat, Edeya!¡± Victor sat down on the rug at the center of the room and closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths to steady himself. When he felt calm, and the only sounds in his ears were his own heartbeat and Edeya¡¯s quiet breathing, he instinctively cast Shape Spirit. He felt Energy pour out of his Core, both inspiration and rage-attuned. It flooded his pathways, and then he felt himself lift away from the ground, and when he opened his eyes, he was standing on the Spirit ne.

    Things seemed slightly different than thest time he¡¯d walked on the Spirit ne. The sky and stars were brighter, but there were trees and undergrowth around him, not just grasnds stretching as far as he could see. The trees were tall and thin, with silvery trunks and great canopies of shimmering silver-purple leaves. The undergrowth took on myriad shapes and twilight colors, from blue with orange highlights to deep purple, darker than the shadows under the leaves. Victor felt his bare toes sink into the rich, soft soil, and when he looked down at himself, he saw that he was naked.

    His unclothed state felt perfectly natural for some reason, and he didn¡¯t bother trying to examine that feeling. Instead, he stretched, enjoying the rich Energy in the air and how his body buzzed with potential. Not sure what pulled him, he started walking in a seemingly random direction, moving between the trees and nt life like he belonged there, silent andfortable. He reached out a hand and drew his fingers along the bole of a mighty tree, smiling at the tingle of electricity that tickled his fingertips.

    When he came around the tree and walked into a small clearing, he saw a stump with a silvery axe embedded in the top of it. He smiled at the weapon, no, in this case, a tool. It was familiar and called to him, but he didn¡¯t think it was the right choice for him. He had an axe with a strong spirit; why would he try to shape his own spirit shard into such a thing? He walked by the stump, still smiling at the feelings the axe had evoked but happy to carry on.

    Victor walked through the twilight woods for a while, and soon he came to a downward slope, and he heard the babbling of a stream traversing stones and roots. As he stepped out from the tree line and saw the silvery water sshing along its stony bed, his heart felt calmed by the sight and sound of it.

    He followed the ribbon of water with his eyes, and then he saw a great, ck shape sshing in its shallows. A colossal bear waded in the water, and Victor¡¯s heart started beating faster when he saw its mighty, bulging shoulders and snout snuffling and dipping beneath the surface. He ducked behind a nearby tree and watched the massive beast, awed by how it imposed its physical presence on its surroundings.

    Something about the bear called to Victor, but he shook his head. No, he admired the bear and thought it was a remarkable creature, but he didn¡¯t feel drawn to it. He was like that bear, standing out in his surroundings, an imposing figure, especially when he went berserk, but did that mean he could only identify with a simr totem? Victor shook his head and wandered up the river away from the great beast, listening to the songs of the wind through the trees and the river¡¯s counterpoint.

    He came to realize he was following a narrow game trail and that it was leading him uphill, away from the river. Victor leaned into the climb, his lungs pumping like bellows, and soon he stepped out of the woods and into a narrow canyon, devoid of trees but with thorny scrubs growing along its sides.

    Victor looked up into the endless expanse of stars that shimmered over the Spirit ne, and his eyes began to mist at the potential thaty up there. He was so small, his struggles such a tiny part of the tapestry¡ªthe enormity of it almost overwhelmed him. Sometimeter, a distant sound brought him back to himself, and he realized he¡¯d sat down on a smooth boulder.

    Victor shook his head and focused on the sound, and a smile spread on his face. Now, these were familiar voices! The yipping cries of coyotes were echoing up the canyon, and Victor stood, stalking down the dry riverbed under the nket of stars. When he rounded the corner and saw the pack darting all around, some up on the high canyon walls, others down in the sand, and still more yfully nipping and growling as they romped through the scrub, he broke into augh of pure joy.

    Coyotes had sung him to sleep countless nights at his abu¡¯s house, and Victor knew they were tricksters and scavengers, but he also knew they valued their pack and survived situations that would prove the ruination of greater beasts. They were brave and resourceful, and Victor admired their tenacity.

    This was a totem that he could take into his heart. This was a totem he had a connection to. He stared at the romping pack, and one of them turned her silvery muzzle toward him, making eye contact. Victor felt the coyote imprint somewhere on his soul, and then the Spirit ne faded away, and he opened his eyes to see Edeya pacing back and forth in front of him, her spear held ready.

    ¡°Was I out long?¡± His voice cracked hoarsely.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Edeya whirled around at the sound of his voice. ¡°I was starting to get worried! You were barely breathing andpletely ignored me when I tried to wake you! Lam came back, and we have to leave today.¡±

    ¡°What? Lam was here? What about Tha?¡±

    ¡°No, Captain Lam sent word to my quarters, and one of my guards brought the message here. I didn¡¯t open the door because I promised I¡¯d keep you safe, and it all seemed suspicious to me! I haven¡¯t heard anything about Tha.¡±

    ¡°Well, shit. Thanks. What time is it, anyway?¡± Victor stood, groaning at how his knees and ankles seemed to be stuck in their bent positions.

    ¡°It¡¯s after seven. Let¡¯s get breakfast and then find out what¡¯s going on, hmm?¡± Edeya moved over to the door and tapped a foot in agitation.

    ¡°Alright, chill.¡± Victor arched his back, stretching out stiff muscles, and then pulled each knee to his chest. ¡°My spell was a sess, in case you were wondering.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good. Don¡¯t tell me what it did, and that goes for everyone. Rellia is looking for information about your skills, and I¡¯m pretty sure the idiot house guards were telling everyone in town about your fight with Polo Vosh yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Fuck, seriously?¡± Victor hadn¡¯t even thought about that. Not many people had known about his bloodline¡¯s effect on his raging. He stopped at that thought andughed, ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone, but you and Polo saw me berserk, right? I mean, the guards didn¡¯t get to the gym until Polo and I were already done, sitting on the floor. What are they telling everyone? That we fought and made a mess?¡±

    ¡°Hopefully,¡± Edeya said, nodding. ¡°Hopefully, Polo kept quiet, too. I¡¯m sure he did¡ªhe¡¯s no idiot.¡±

    They¡¯d been walking while they spoke, Edeya¡¯s two guards following a few paces behind, and they arrived at the kitchens just a few minutester. While they ate, and Victor impressed the cooks yet again, Edeya sent one of her guards to find Captain Lam. They were just finishing up when he returned, red-faced from the exertion of hurrying, and announced that Lam was waiting for them in the front parlor. Victor didn¡¯t know the difference between the front parlor or any other parlor, and he certainly didn¡¯t know the way, but he just wiped the bacon grease off his face and followed Edeya.

    A short whileter, they walked into a well-lit room with high windows and severalfortable seating arrangements. Captain Lam was sitting with her legs crossed, reading from a sheaf of papers, and when they walked in, she beckoned them over, gesturing to nearby chairs. ¡°Victor, I hope things have been going okay while I was gone. I spoke with Polo this morning¡ªyou impressed him.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a pretty cool guy. I learned a lot from him in just a day. Do you think I can practice with him some more?¡±

    ¡°That had been my n, but the fates conspire against us. No, not the fates¡ªRellia ap¡¯Yensha. She¡¯s spread some rumors that you¡¯re going to back out of the fight. In fact, word around town is that you¡¯ve already fled the city. Magistrate Thiv-dak has sent his clerk here with soldiers to transport you to his manor. He intends to keep you under lock and key, so you don¡¯t ruin his Harvest Fest g.¡±

    ¡°So, if I wanted out of this, I¡¯m screwed, huh?¡±

    ¡°At this point, yes. We could have bargained for a reprieve a few days ago, but the magistrate has a lot of political clout invested in this g now. Rellia¡¯s been leveraging her return from ¡®retirement¡¯ as well. A lot of pieces are moving in the shadows, and I¡¯m afraid your fight has be a fulcrum point.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I wasn¡¯t going to back out, anyway. Well, where is this asshole? I might as well get going. Oh, hey, what about Tha? Any word?¡±

    ¡°Tha has sessfully retrieved her daughter and is enroute. I¡¯ll see that she knows where you¡¯re going. Edeya and some of my house guards will go with you today.¡±

    ¡°I will?¡± Edeya raised an eyebrow, and when Victor looked at her, she smiled and said, ¡°Of course, I will. You think we¡¯d let you go sit in some cell without a friendly face nearby?¡±

    Lam chuckled, then looked around the parlor at the nearby guards and said, ¡°Leave the room and close the doors.¡± To their credit, the guards moved quickly when Lam spoke, vacating the room and closing the heavy doors behind them. ¡°Did you manage to reach level thirty, Victor?¡± Lam asked as soon as they were alone.

    ¡°Yes. Last night,¡± Victor replied, not borating.

    ¡°Learn anything new? Anything that might help you surprise Rellia?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor paused and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Are you trying to decide if you should bet on me or not?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already ¡®bet¡¯ quite a lot on you, Victor. I¡¯m trying to decide how thorough my contingencies need to be.¡±

    ¡°Well, listen, Captain: I know I¡¯m way under this bruja¡¯s level, but I¡¯m not going to go down easy. My skills are like a fucking cheat mode in this world, and anyone who thinks I¡¯m going out without a big pinche mess, better think again.¡± Victor squeezed his two hands into fists, so tight that his knuckles popped. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, all right?¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 30: Lifedrinker

    Book 2: Chapter 30: Lifedrinker

    Victor sat on a wooden bench, watching the metal bars of the portcullis that would raise to give him ess to the magistrate¡¯s arena. Victor had been brought to the estate two days ago and given a reasonablyfortable room. Edeya had tried to make good on her word, fighting with the magistrate¡¯s house guards to allow her entry into Victor¡¯s quarters, but they¡¯d been unwilling to bend their employer¡¯s orders, so Victor had spent thest two dayspletely alone.

    Early in the morning, after the usual servants brought him breakfast, some guards hade to bring him to this chamber. He¡¯d gotten a good look at the magistrate¡¯s vi and grounds on his walk to the fighting pit, and Victor had concluded that, much like on Earth, the people in power here made too much money. The house was extensive, rivaling Lam¡¯s for square footage, and the grounds were well manicured and festively decorated.

    He¡¯d seen brightly colored, temporary pavilions set up on thewns, fire pits loaded with wood and ready to be ignited, servants bustling to and fro, setting up tables and loading stations with hors d¡¯oeuvre and crystal decanters filled with liquor. The magistrate was nning an impressive g, and Victor would be the main entertainment. He didn¡¯t like it one bit.

    Victor hadn¡¯t been mistreated in his days of captivity, that was for sure. They¡¯d fed him well, and he¡¯d even had servantse to his room offering him massages, a haircut, andundry service. He¡¯d chased them all away, too self-conscious and aware that many of the servants weren¡¯t working there by choice. He wasn¡¯t sure why he thought that¡ªnone of them wore cors or acted in any way other than overly polite. Still, Victor couldn¡¯t get the feeling out of his gut that he was fighting for his own freedom while people were forced to serve him.

    So, Victor sat in the underground chamber attached to Magistrate Thiv-dak¡¯s impressive and quite permanent fighting pit, and he brooded. He couldn¡¯t help thinking that he¡¯d be in a better state of mind if he¡¯d been allowed to spend thest two days with his friends or at least training with Polo, which gave him the idea that maybe the magistrate was working with Rellia. Maybe he wanted to make sure Victor didn¡¯t have any more chances to improve his skills by working with the master warrior. Was that paranoid? ¡°Not considering all the bullshit I¡¯ve seen from these people,¡± he growled to the empty room.

    He could watch the shadows shift in the tunnel to see that the sun was slowly moving through the sky. He didn¡¯t know what time the fight would be; he¡¯d asked the guards that led him here, but they¡¯d all acted like they knew only about as much as he did. One of them had wished him good luck, though, which Victor took as a good sign. It wasn¡¯t like he was being held and treated like some sort of criminal scum. Many of the servants and guards he¡¯d interacted with had given him a kind of deference, almost like he was a celebrity.

    While he sat there, trying to guess the hour and thinking about how he wanted to get this fight over with, he saw a shadow approaching down the tunnel. A momentter, it resolved into two shadows. He stood and walked to the bars, a feeling in his gut telling him he wanted to see these visitors. A momentter, he heard her exmation, and then Tha was jogging down the tunnel toward him, towing a much smaller figure behind. ¡°Victor!¡±

    ¡°Tha! Hell yes! I was afraid I wouldn¡¯t see you before the fight!¡±

    ¡°Not a chance! That magistrate is treating you like a prize hen, afraid everyone will steal you or something, but Captain Lam has her ways. She insisted that someone be allowed to check on your welfare, and Deyni and I were lucky enough to get the job!¡±

    Victor squatted down, looking at the diminutive figure hiding behind Tha¡¯s legs. ¡°So, this is Deyni? I¡¯ve heard a lot about you, chica,¡± he said softly. ¡°Come on, let me get a look at you.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s been so shy,¡± Tha said, turning and gently nudging the little girl forward. ¡°She barely recognized me, Victor. Thank the Ancestors, Rhessa had been showing her pictures and telling her stories about me while I was gone. Come here, sweetie; this is the man I told you about.¡±

    Deyni took a step forward into the light of the glowmps behind Victor, and he saw that her skin was more purple than red and that her hair was a bright teal color that matched her eyes. He almost said something about it but didn¡¯t know if it was considered rude. Instead, he reached through the bars and gently tousled her hair.

    ¡°Que bonita!¡± heughed at her giggle, then said, ¡°I¡¯m Victor, and your mommy is my best friend in the world. That means you¡¯re my friend too, got it?¡±

    She nodded, suddenly solemn-faced, and then she spoke, her voice small but steady, ¡°Why are you in prison, Victor?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not in prison! I¡¯m just resting here before I have to performter. Those bars are to keep all my fans away!¡±

    ¡°Victor¡¯s silly, sweetie, but he¡¯s not in prison, don¡¯t worry,¡± Tha said, squatting down to be more on a level with Victor and her daughter. She rested a hand on Deyni¡¯s shoulder and smiled at him. ¡°You¡¯re going to do fine tonight, Victor. We¡¯ll all be watching, and Lam will make sure everything is above-board.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Tha. Do you know how long I have? The pendejos that brought me here didn¡¯t have a clue.¡±

    ¡°About three hours. The guests are starting to arrive, but most of the important ones won¡¯t be here for another couple of hours, and then the magistrate will want to give everyone a chance to get drunk and make wagers.¡±

    ¡°So, everyone¡¯s getting a chance to get rich off my performance, huh? What do you think of that, sweetie? Prettyme, huh?¡± Victor poked her cheek yfully with one of his thick fingers and made a stricken face when she pulled away. ¡°What? Do I smell?¡±

    ¡°You smell like flowers! Have they been pampering you?¡± Tha answered for the little girl.

    ¡°Well, I got bored and took a few baths while I was locked up in my fancy bedroom.¡±

    ¡°How am I not surprised?¡± Thaughed. ¡°Back to your other point, though¡ªnothing¡¯s stopping us from making a bet. You want me to put some Energy beads down on you? Think you¡¯ll win, or should I bet on Rellia?¡± She smiled, but Victor thought it looked a little forced. He reached out and took Tha¡¯s hand, doing his best to look confident.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Thanks foring to visit me; it means a hell of a lot. Do me a favor, though, and go somewhere safe and rxing tonight with Deyni. She shouldn¡¯t see this thing, and there¡¯s no way you should be apart from her. Here,¡± he reached into his storage ring and pulled out one of therge sacks of Energy beads he¡¯d umted. ¡°This is like a thousand Energy beads. Put it all on me. I hope the odds are really against me because it will help us get you set up when this is all over.¡±

    ¡°Nice try, but I¡¯ve already made arrangements for Deyni. My friend Rhessa is here, too. She¡¯ll watch her during your . . . event.¡± She took the sack of Energy beads, making them disappear into her ring. Then she leaned forward, pressing her head against two bars, reached through, pulled Victor close, and kissed him soundly on the forehead. ¡°You better win,¡± she said softly.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m nning on it . . .¡±

    Tha put a hand over his mouth and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Victor. I¡¯m sorry I left to get Deyni, but when Lam offered her coach and driver, and said I should hurry, I jumped at it. I should have spoken to you first. You know,¡± she squeezed Deyni against her chest, eliciting a squeal, ¡°we¡¯re only together because of you. I¡¯ll never forget it.¡±

    She stood, taking Deyni¡¯s hand and said, ¡°C¡¯mon, girlie. Let¡¯s go find something sweet to eat while we wait for this dumb party to get over.¡±

    ¡°Deyni!¡± Victor called after the girl. When she turned to look at him, he said, ¡°Eat something sweet for me too, okay?¡±

    ¡°I will, Victor!¡±

    Victor smiled as he watched them walk away up the hallway, and then he moved back to his bench. In the back of his mind, he knew there was a very real possibility that he¡¯d die in the match tonight. On some level, he knew that¡¯s why he¡¯d been feeling down before Tha came. Her visit and the sight of her back together with her daughter had filled him with a sort of peaceful, rxed energy, and he knew it was because, in his mind, she¡¯d been telling the truth¡ªhe was responsible for their reunion. ¡°If I die tonight, at least I did one fucking good thing with my life.¡±

    He whiled away the hours by moving through his axe forms. He knew a lot more of them now that his skill level had gone up to advanced. While working through them, from hooks to parries to cleaves to thrusts, he marveled again at how the System just seemed able to nt knowledge into his head.

    While he had the rity of focus that came from good clean exercise, a thought urred to him, though. The System didn¡¯t just nt knowledge in his head¡ªhe had to earn it. He had to gain levels and practice and build up his Energy. He wondered what would happen if the System tried to nt advanced skills into the head of a level zero, normal human. Would their brain explode?

    ¡°It¡¯s your time, warrior,¡± a rough voice said from the portcullis. Victor hadn¡¯t heard the man approach, so engrossed had he been in his exercise and musings about the System.

    ¡°All right,¡± he said, slipping Lifedrinker into the loop on his belt. He moved over to the gate and saw that the man that hade to collect him wore a ck robe and hood thatpletely obscured his face. ¡°Are you, like, an executioner or something?¡±

    ¡°No. This is traditional garb for an arbiter at a trial bybat. I¡¯m supposed to be the faceless embodiment of justice. Don¡¯t worry, fighter; I¡¯m impartial because only the court knows who I am. Now follow me¡ªI¡¯ve already fetched your opponent, and she waits rather impatiently, furious, in fact, that I brought her up first.¡± A hint of amusement might have colored the arbiter¡¯s words, but Victor couldn¡¯t be entirely sure.

    ¡°Right,¡± he nodded and started up the long, sloping hallway, walking just a half-step behind the hooded figure. He could hear the crowd before he could see them. He knew the magistrate¡¯s fighting pit wasrge, and he¡¯d seen the rows of stands around it, but his brain hadn¡¯t drawn the connection that they¡¯d all be full of people during the fight. Some part of him had hoped the magistrate would keep the event rather exclusive and that only a few dozen people would show. Judging by the hum and murmur of the crowd, though, his hopes had been fruitless.

    When he stepped out of the tunnel into the sand of the pit, the bright lights made him squint, and he held a hand up to shield his eyes. At the sight of him, the crowd went wild, cheering, screaming, jeering, and booing. As his eyes adjusted and he looked around, he saw hundreds, no thousands of faces jammed into the stands around the big circr arena, and standing thirty yards in front of him, Rellia ap¡¯Yensha watched him like a cat watches a mouse.

    She wore a glittering silvery chain shirt, a silver diadem held back her bright red hair, and sleek, ck leather leggingspleted her look. She was tall and lithe and paced in her ck boots, one hand flicking a rapier about, making it flicker with electric pulses of Energy with each movement. Victor saw she held a short-ded, single-edged knife in her other hand, and though it was no axe or sword, it looked heavy enough to carve a pig carcass.

    The hooded arbiter motioned for Victor to stop then he walked to the center of the pit, directly between the twobatants. He turned toward the tallest stand of bleachers, where a box had been set up for the guests of honor. Victor saw a dozen people he didn¡¯t recognize in the box, along with Lam and Tha.

    The arbiter held up a hand and stood there, like a specter, unmoving until the crowd took notice and began to quiet. As silence tookmand of the spectacle, the arbiter called out with a loud, deep voice, ¡°Per the standard rules ofbat trials, thebatants will be allowed their armor and a choice of weapons. All other items, magical or not, will be held by me.¡±

    The arbiter turned sharply and walked over to Rellia. He held out a hand and waited while she divested herself of rings and an amulet. He remained still while she stood there looking irritated. After several moments of waiting, he gestured quickly to the diadem on Rellia¡¯s head. She shook her head sharply and said something in a waspish hiss. The arbiter stared at her for a moment more, then nodded and turned to walk over to Victor. He held out his hands, empty, and Victor got the hint. He took off Gorz, his rings, and the pouch at his belt, cing them all into the arbiter¡¯s hands.

    ¡°No other dimensional containers or hidden weapons?¡±

    ¡°No. My belt is enchanted, but I think it¡¯s sort of part of my armor, isn¡¯t it?¡± Victor said, patting his ringed armor as if to show there wasn¡¯t any room for deception. The links jingled with his efforts, and the arbiter nodded, stowing Victor¡¯s items in one of his voluminous pockets, and then he turned and walked back to the center of the arena.

    ¡°I am satisfied with the equipment eachbatant now holds,¡± he called up to the waiting booth, and the crowd erupted back into a frenzy of cheering,ughing, and talking. The arbiter moved to adder built into the arena pit, opposite the box where the VIPs sat. Victor saw that thedder led to a tform that stood out from the top edge of the ring. It would give anyone standing on it a bird¡¯s eye view of the action.

    While he waited for the arbiter to make his slow way up thedder, he turned his attention to Rellia. She was pacing back and forth, whipping that gleaming, almost liquid-looking rapier back and forth, staring at Victor with a smirk on her face. He hadn¡¯t known what to expect when it came to Rellia¡¯s looks, but a beautiful, youthful Ardeni hadn¡¯t been it. The way people said she hadn¡¯t seen any action in fifty years made him think of her as elderly, which he realized now was stupid. In a world where people advanced their race and gained enormous power through the umtion of Energy, aging wasn¡¯t as much of an issue as it had been on Earth. At least not for people that took the risks required to gain power.

    ¡°Ready to die, boy?¡± She called out in a sharp voice that carried over the sand, despite the noise from the stands. Victor had had plenty of opponents trash-talk him, but his coach had always told him to let his skill on the mat do the talking. Victor liked his coach¡¯s advice for one reason¡ªhe¡¯d seen someone loudly mock his friend Anthony, and then Anthony had taken that fool apart on the mat, winning by points, one takedown after another, utterly humiliating the kid. Victor had seen exactly what his coach had been trying to tell him and determined at that point never to talk shit before a match. ¡°Or a fight,¡± he said, spitting into the sand and ignoring Rellia.

    ¡°Combatants! Ready yourselves, and then raise your left arm to indicate your ability to fight!¡± the arbiter called out, having taken his perch. Victor noticed that his voice cut through the crowd''s noise like he was speaking through a megaphone. He looked around but didn¡¯t see any such device and figured the man was either using some sort of Energy ability or the stand he was on somehow amplified his voice.

    Rellia immediately lifted her left arm, staring at Victor. Victor stretched, thenzily lifted Lifedrinker from the loop on his belt. She was warm and hummed eagerly in his hands. ¡°Ready for some work, chica?¡±

    He didn¡¯t lift his arm right away. Instead, he turned to the box where Tha and Lam sat, and he made eye contact with Tha. Her face was expressionless, and Victor knew she was worried about him, so he smiled and nodded. Then he turned to Rellia and lifted his left arm.

    ¡°Let the trial ofbatmence!¡± the arbiter yelled, his voice booming over the arena.

    Victor brought his hand back to Lifedrinker, boosted his agility with Sovereign Will, cast Channel Spirit, flooding Lifedrinker with rage-attuned Energy, and then started to cast Inspiring Presence, not wanting to jump straight into a berserking rage. He¡¯d just felt the Energy start to flow into his pathways when a terrible pain erupted in his lower back. He stumbled forward, coughing out a gout of dark, almost ck blood, his mind reeling, trying to put two and two together.

    He¡¯d been staring at Rellia; the attack couldn¡¯t havee from her, half his brain was saying, and the other half said, ¡°She¡¯s not there, you dumbass!¡± He spun madly, whipping Lifedrinker in a brutal cleave, the pain still arcing through him from whatever had happened to his back. He caught a glimpse of her silvery chainmail as she darted around his nk, his cut with Lifedrinker not evening close.

    He continued to spin, trying to get her into his sights, but as he stumble-turned, just from the corner of his eye, he saw another bright sh and then felt pain erupt in his thigh, and when he nced down, he saw Rellia¡¯s rapier withdrawing from a puncture wound thatpletely pierced his leg.

    Blood poured from his wounds like faucets had been turned on, and Victor saw that he was painting the sands red as he stumbled after Rellia. ¡°Fuck this,¡± he growled, backpedaling and finally finishing the casting of Inspiring Presence. The red haze that had begun to cloud his vision faded away as his perception brightened. He saw all the lights around the arena and beyond them the bright moons, and he smiled¡ªthis was a glorious ce to do battle.

    He backed up quickly, putting his back to the arena wall and holding Lifedrinker sideways in front of himself. He panned his vision, locking onto Rellia while she danced back, unable to nk him as she¡¯d been intending. ¡°Ah, ah, pendeja,¡± Victor said under his breath. ¡°Time to fight face to face,¡± he said more loudly.

    ¡°You¡¯ve a lot of blood, boy. They¡¯ll be washing this sand for days.¡± Rellia angled her advance, her rapier out in front of herself, weaving it in a small circle. Did she want Victor to look at it? He focused his gaze on her hips, another trick his old coach had taught him¡ªif you wanted to see where an opponent was going, don¡¯t watch their hands or face.

    ¡°Is that a thing? Why would they wash the sand? This ce is for fighting,¡± he said, unable to help himself from responding. Just then, Rellia moved into an attack, and it was only pure chance that Victor even saw iting, she was so fast. Her feet blurred with shadowy Energy, and then she lunged, extending her rapier under his guard and piercing his gut, right through his ringed armor. The liquid, gleaming steel of her rapier rang against the ring it slid through, and then it hung up, the de growing too broad to slide any further. In fact, she¡¯d thrust so hard, and the metal of her rapier was so fine that it bit into the ring, but not entirely through it, which made it stick.

    Despite the horrible pain in his gut, Victor grinned and brought Lifedrinker down in a tremendous hack toward Rellia¡¯s arm holding her rapier. Rellia tugged at her de and, unable to pull it out quickly enough, let go of the hilt so that Victor¡¯s axe ripped through nothing but air. Still, he¡¯d disarmed her main weapon, so he grinned as he backed away and gripped the skinny de, trying to pull it free without slicing off his fingers. Rellia didn¡¯t seem perturbed to have lost her rapier. She backed off and watched his struggle with a crooked smile.

    When Victor finally got the de free of his gut and armor, he lifted it as though to throw it out of the arena, and then Relliaughed. She had a high, trillingugh, and Victor hated the sound of it because he knew he¡¯d have liked it if he were friends with the woman. Arm back, ready tounch the feather-light de, he looked at her, and she lifted her left hand to touch her diadem. A secondter, Victor stood there, nothing in his hand, and Rellia whipped her rapier back and forth in front of herself.

    ¡°Silly oaf,¡± she said,ughing again.

    Victor growled and cast Project Spirit, pushing out a wave of inspiration-Energy that had been twisted by the spell into a sickly pulse of discouragement. Rellia¡¯s grin faded, and she backed away quickly, almost turning to run, and Victor gave chase. He was fast with his agility boosted, but Rellia was faster. Whatever sses she¡¯d had over the course of her long career must have been ones that increased her agility and dexterity because, even boosted, Victor was unable to catch her when she concentrated on dodging away from him. He kept pushing out waves of discouragement, trying to keep her on the retreat and angling to deliver a hack to her retreating form, sure that with just one well-ced blow of Lifedrinker, he could bring this fight to a close.

    At one point during his chase, Victor channeled more inspiration-attuned Energy into his pathways and into Lifedrinker, hoping to give himself the edge he needed to ovee Rellia¡¯s speed. Still, she evaded him, and when he tried to renew his Inspiring Presence, he found his inspiration Core had run nearly dry. Finally, frustrated and losing blood by the second, Victor roared and released his rage Core.

    As he cast Berserk, letting the spell loose like a terrible hound he¡¯d been just barely keeping on a leash, and the rage began to flood his pathways, he had a final, fleeting thought¡ªwhy hadn¡¯t he tried his new spell? Why hadn¡¯t he cast Manifest Spirit? Before he could answer, the red overtook his vision, and he felt his body surge with unbelievable power. The crowd might have cheered, roared, or screamed, but all he heard was the thump of his massive heart, the rushing of blood in his ears, and his own deep, echoingughter as it rolled out of his gut and into the arena.

    If he¡¯d had the presence of mind to register it, Victor might have been disturbed to see that Rellia was also smiling. She stopped her mad dash away from Victor and turned to regard his massive,ughing form. She looked like a child standing before him, and when Victor regarded her tiny form, the only thought in his mind was that this gnat had been trying to bleed him out. She needed to be smashed into the ground. He lifted Lifedrinker with one hand and leaped toward her,unching himself into the air in a miniature dust devil, his momentum pulling sand up in a showering cascade.

    Victor¡¯s prodigious strength made his enormous frame quick, and when he crashed into the sand near Rellia, whipping his axe through the air, she barely managed to roll back away from the attack. Victor wasn¡¯t done, though, and he roared, charging after her, no thought in his mind other than the destruction of this annoying creature. As his lumbering form bore down on her, his wide arms making it difficult for her to try to edge around him, Rellia was forced to backpedal toward the wall.

    When Rellia¡¯s back touched the wooden nks of the arena wall and Victor was bearing down on her, she didn¡¯t look dismayed or lost. In fact, her smile widened. When Victor was just inches away from cleaving her in half, she lifted her arms and screamed. It was a scream to end all screams, and it tore through the air in a cloud of ck Energy, engulfing Victor¡¯s charging form.

    The cone of her attack was rather small, all told, and most of the audience, though they were aware of the power of the scream and could see the strange ck cloud that had obscured the area in front of Rellia, didn¡¯t suffer the terrible sound of it. On the other hand, Victor was at ground zero, and the echoing terror of it bounced around in his head, and the cloud of ck Energy instantly caught him up like he¡¯d been dropped into a vat of tar. He struggled to keep moving, but he felt his every tendon and muscle being dragged down, like the cloud was pulling him into the center of the.

    Victor roared and struggled and pushed more and more rage-attuned Energy into his pathways, trying to break free of the evil sound and its apanying cloud. Still, he felt the Energy bleeding out of him like the spell had a way of sapping his power as it held him tight. After what felt like an eternity, the piercing, echoing scream finally faded, and the cloud began to dissipate. Victor found he was on his knees in the arena and that his Berserking rage was gone.

    Rellia stood before him, and her rapier darted out like a liquid-lightning snake¡¯s tongue, and she pierced him several times before he could even begin to lift Lifedrinker. Blood leaked from him like juice from a smashed orange, and Victor realized she¡¯d also been stabbing him while he¡¯d been in the cloud. His vision was already growing dim around the edges, and, though he tried to cast Berserk, boost his Vitality with Sovereign Will¡ªanything¡ªhe couldn¡¯t find the Energy to make it happen. He slumped down, trying to look at his Core, and, as Rellia backed up a step, giving him a slight reprieve, he saw that he was nearly dry of both types of his Energy.

    Rellia lifted her arms, and the crowd roared its approval. She turned back to Victor and said, ¡°You¡¯ll never know the trouble I went through to learn that spell. It was the only counter I could get ahold of that I was sure would work on your insane rage. It cost me dearly, and casting it cost me further still, but here we are. I¡¯ve won, and you¡¯re at my mercy, just as I wanted. The crowd would regale me if I cut your throat right now, but I have an offer for you. Are you listening, boy?¡±

    ¡°Ungh,¡± Victor grunted, struggling to lift Lifedrinker, but his body felt so weak, and his mind was so foggy that she flopped, buzzing back down to the sand. He thought she was vibrating more than usual, but it could have been the trembling of his hands and arms.

    ¡°Work for me, boy. Do my bidding for ten years, and I¡¯ll let you live. I¡¯ll hold my boot on your neck and announce my mercy, and then you¡¯ll work for my house. Agreed?¡± Rellia had leaned forward and hissed her offer to him in a way that Victor doubted could be heard by the crowd, even though they¡¯d grown hushed, wondering what she¡¯d do to him.

    Victor, foggy though his mind was, thought about her words. He thought about what it felt like to work under the boot of even a benevolent master. He thought about how he and Tha had escaped the mines and all the things they¡¯d talked about on their journeys. He thought about the Wagon Wheel and Yund and Ponda. He thought about Captain Lam and Edeya and all the wrongs he¡¯d seen in this world. Then he thought of Tha and Deyni, and he imagined them sitting together with Oyna and learning about how to cast spirit magic, and he smiled. He smiled a big, bloody, red-toothed smile, and he looked at Rellia and said, ¡°Fuck you, puta.¡±

    ¡°Idiot,¡± she hissed, then her wicked, lightning-fast rapier shed out and cut Victor¡¯s throat. Victor pped a hand to the wound, but blood was gushing out faster than he could contain it, and ckness was closing in on his vision like an ever-lengthening tunnel. His range of vision narrowed to a small circle, then a pinprick, and with a smile still on his face, he felt his spirit start to lift free of his body. Dimly, very dimly, he knew the crowd was roaring and that Rellia was celebrating, raising her rapier in the air, basking in the crowd¡¯s love.

    Victor felt his perspective shift; for a moment, he thought he was looking at himself and had a strange, disconnected feeling. There was Victor Sandoval, and he¡¯s dying, but you are something more, was the thought going through his mind, and he almost embraced it. He almost drifted awaypletely, but then he felt something in his right hand. Not the hand that had pped the wound at his neck. No, it was the hand that still held onto Lifedrinker. She was going mad, vibrating and pulsing with Energy, and for a moment, Victor was pulled back into himself, and then he heard something.

    ¡°Take from me, Victor. Take what you need! I give it freely. Don¡¯t worry about me; we¡¯ll meet again.¡± The voice was feminine and lilting, and Victor felt his eyes burst with tears at the sound. He couldn¡¯t see, couldn¡¯t even open them, but he felt the water running out of them and down his cheeks. Your body is strong, Victor. Your heart still works. Don¡¯t give up. Take what you need, make yourself great again, and ruin this heartless creature that torments you!

    Victor tried to speak, and when he couldn¡¯t, he tried to just use his mind, his heart, to tell Lifedrinker that he didn¡¯t want to live if it hurt her, but he felt her will pushing back, and, more than that, he felt her love. She loved him. Take from me! You¡¯ll make me strong and alive again. I trust you! With her words, Victor felt the pulse of Energy in his hand again, and he broke. He gave in to her demands, and he took. Victor pulled Energy out of Lifedrinker into himself. He tugged it up along his pathways and toward his Core and tried to direct it into the dim, weakly pulsing orb of his rage-attuned reservoir.

    The Energy Lifedrinker fed him was pure, though, not attuned for rage, and when he pulled it toward that hot, red sun, it diminished as it changed into rage-attuned Energy. Victor knew he¡¯d need to draw more, a lot more, to do what needed doing. Lifedrinker buzzed and thumped in his hand, and Victor knew she was giving him permission, so, with tears flowing down his cheeks, he pulled a massive torrent of Energy out of her, making his rage-attuned Core ze.

    Victor pushed some of the Energy into his pathways, guiding it toward his wounded flesh, and the hot, rage-attuned Energy seared his wounds closed, and, for the first time in over a minute, he took a breath and opened his eyes. He still sat slumped, his head pointed down, and all he saw was blood-drenched sand. His left hand was still mped around his own throat, held there by the dried blood, no doubt. Lifedrinkery in front of him, her handle still in his other hand, and Victor was relieved to feel a weak vibration from the weapon¡ªshe¡¯d given up a lot for him, but she wasn¡¯t dead.

    Slowly, Victor lifted his head and took in the arena. The buzzing whoosh that had overwhelmed his ears faded slightly, and he realized that some of the noise was the crowd. Rellia still stood in the sand, waving her rapier around, celebrating her victory. Victor felt a growl start to rumble in his gut, but before he could let his rage ovee him and get him into more trouble, he took a deep breath and focused on his new spell. He cast Manifest Spirit, and when the pattern formed in his pathways, hungry for Energy, he fed it from the rage-attuned Core that Lifedrinker had filled.

    An eerie yipping and barking sound began to echo around the arena, and the crowd grew quiet. Rellia lowered her upraised rapier and looked around in puzzlement. She wondered if one of her friends or, more likely, one of her enemies was trying to steal her moment of glory. A flicker of movement caught her attention, and she jerked her head to the right, and sure enough, a skinny red hound stood near the arena wall there, staring at her as it began to pace back and forth, still making that annoying yipping sound.

    More yipping cries came from behind her, and Rellia spun to see two more of the hounds. They weren¡¯trge¡ªjust skinny hounds, but their dusky red fur and glowing red eyes gave them an unearthly, intimidating presence. She turned to the arbiter¡¯s tform and yelled, ¡°What is this? Who interferes?¡±

    The arbiter, ever an annoyance, simply boomed out, using his enhanced voice, ¡°There is no interference. Look to yourself for celebrating a premature victory.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Rellia spun toward the center of the arena where she¡¯d in the foolish berserker, but he wasn¡¯t sitting there, slumped on his knees in a pool of blood. No, he stood now, still in a pool of blood and caked with the stuff from his eyes to the tips of his fingers, but alive.

    Victor whistled shrilly, and then Rellia saw movement all around her, and she spun, putting her rapier into a guard position, and readying herself for anything. The red hounds circled her, yipping, barking, and darting forward and back, never quite closing the distance. They were keeping her distracted! Rellia spun again, and this time Victor was closer, and, as he stepped toward her again, his mad smile grew and his eyes filled with blood-red fury, and his already tall, muscled form began to grow. ¡°Impossible,¡± Rellia hissed, then she heard a snarl and felt a painful bite on her calf.

    Rellia was low on Energy, and there was no way she could cast her spell again. Umbral Shadows of the Harpy had taken far too much out of her¡ªif she tried again so soon, she¡¯d shatter her Core. She¡¯d have to wear the brute down again, bleed him out until this surge of Energy faded, and she could finish him. Again. Another yip and another bite broke her concentration, though, and Rellia whipped her rapier through the air at the hound, only to have it dance back as another came in, nipping at the tendons of her knee. ¡°Ancestors, damn it!¡± she cried as she tried to drive her knife at the quick little creature.

    Just then, Rellia felt, as she often did inbat, that it was time to dodge, and she rolled forward, barely avoiding a heavy cleave from the giant berserker¡¯s axe. Heughed and stomped after her. Rellia put out her hand to bound to her feet, only to have one of the houndse forward to nip at her fingers. She cried out and rolled on her shoulder, trying to drive her rapier into the hound, and she scored a hit on its rear haunch as it darted away. Before she could celebrate, though, the berserker¡¯s axe met her outstretched leg, and with horror, Rellia saw her foot parted from her ankle.

    Rellia screamed and rolled, only to have several more nipping bites mark her flesh. She pushed herself to her knees and tried to crawl away. She tried to focus enough to cast a movement spell, to fill herself with shadow Energy and streak over the sand, but the hounds were everywhere, nipping and crying, and she was so tired, her Core nearly depleted. Rellia sobbed as she crawled, blood pouring from her ankle and seeping from the dozen little bites all over her arms and legs.

    Suddenly she felt a tremendous weight on her lower back, and she was pressed into the sand. The giant berserker was standing on her back, holding her down with one foot. Rellia sobbed again and turned to regard the freak, unable to fathom how this had happened. He was leaning over her, his axe held high in one hand and his big, angry face peering down at her. It looked like he was grinding his teeth with the effort of holding back the axe, and, as she watched, his face red with effort, he growled out, in a terrible, deep voice, ¡°Do you yield?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

    The monstrous Human, the berserking titan, turned his head to the arbiter and growled, ¡°All witness! She yields!¡±

    ¡°Rellia ap¡¯Yensha has yielded in a trial bybat! All of her grievances are dismissed, and Victor Sandoval is an innocent man!¡± the petty arbiter bellowed over the crowd, but even his voice was lost after that¡ªthe crowd went absolutely insane in celebration. Rellia sobbed into the sand, unwilling to look up and face her ¡°friends¡± or enemies. Her advanced body had slowed the bleeding of her ankle enough so that she wasn¡¯t at risk of death, and she decided to just close her eyes, lie there, and wait for the humiliation to be over.

    Victor stood, chest heaving, over the crumpled form of his enemy. He¡¯d wanted to kill her, wanted to smash her into bits and fling them about the arena like dog food. He¡¯d been intent on it, ready to cleave off her other foot, and then her legs at the knees, then the other parts of her, but when he¡¯d advanced, when he¡¯d watched her crawling through the sand, sobbing and bleeding, desperation in her ragged breaths, he¡¯d seen the image of another woman. He¡¯d seen Yre as she died in a smaller, dirtier pit, and his rage had cooled immensely. It wasn¡¯t gone, no, but he knew he couldn¡¯t butcher Rellia. Not now, not like this. He didn¡¯t know what it might cost him, but he didn¡¯t care.

    Victor stepped off Rellia¡¯s back and turned to the box where Tha and Lam had been sitting. They weren¡¯t there, though, and he ran his eyes over the crowd trying to find them. Everyone was cheering and screaming and pping each other on the back like they¡¯d aplished something great. Seeing their rabid faces, Victor was filled with disgust, and he reached down to pick up the woman he¡¯d just defeated. He was still enraged, still berserk, and he knew he was risking a rpse into violence, but he seemed to have a fairly good grasp on himself. It was almost like the yipping of his coyote pack helped him to focus.

    As he nced back up, he caught a glimpse of Tha and Lam moving toward the door that would take them into the ready room. With Rellia, seemingly unconscious under one arm, he moved to the closed portcullis, ring at the arbiter as he walked. The man¡¯s hooded head nodded, and then the portcullis was raised, and Victor walked into the tunnel. When he¡¯d made it a dozen steps away from the crowd, he felt his rage begin to fade, and he became more aware of the weight of his defeated opponent. He struggled to shift her into a more normal carrying position, juggling Lifedrinker in one hand.

    Rellia stirred then and, with a scratchy, weak voice, said, ¡°Just leave me here. Thank you for getting me away from the crowd.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor said, setting the woman on the ground of the tunnel. He nced back at his coyotes and saw they¡¯d sat down in the shadows and were regarding him with that questioning look in their eyes that only canines could pull off. He nodded his head and felt the spell begin to fall apart, and his pack dissipated into wispy clouds of red smoke. He looked again at Rellia, but she refused to make eye contact with him, so Victor just grunted again and started down the tunnel, wanting to be away from the arena.

    ¡°How¡¯d you do it?¡± Rellia asked, her voice quiet and weak, chasing after him down the dark corridor.

    Victor turned and regarded her for a minute, then he lifted Lifedrinker, her edge bright and shiny, but the lightning veins of heartsilver that had been spreading through the ck metal all but faded away, and he said, ¡°Love, I guess.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 1: Aftermath

    Book 3: Chapter 1: Aftermath

    Victor sat in the shadows of the ready room, holding Lifedrinker¡¯s cold metal against his forehead, desperately wishing he could hear her voice again. Though the handle was warm, and she seemed to vibrate ever so gently against his flesh, no lilting, feminine voice sounded in his head, and he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so sorry, chica. I¡¯ll make it up to you, I promise. I¡¯ll wake you up again.¡±

    A shadowy figure approached down the long hallway leading to the pit. At the same time, the door to the stairway leading up to the grounds opened. Tha burst through the door, Lam right behind her, and she charged over to Victor, grabbing him into a tight hug. He was sitting while she stood to the side, arms around his neck, smashing his head into her stomach. ¡°You scared us to death, Victor!¡±

    ¡°Ungh,¡± he grunted, reaching up to gently push her away so she¡¯d loosen her death grip on his neck. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to scare you. I thought I was dead too, to be honest.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯d youe back from those wounds? It seemed she¡¯d pretty much gotten you to spend all your Energy,¡± Lam said,ing to stand before him.

    Victor was about to answer, but the shadowing down the passageway resolved into the form of the arbiter. He strode forward into the ready room and held out his hand. Victor¡¯s belongings were arrayed there in his palm, Gorz hanging from one of his fingers. ¡°I already gave Rellia her belongings. Some part of me wondered if you were bringing her down here to finish her off. I was pleased to find her sitting alone in the passage.¡±

    Victor reached out to take his rings, pouch, and ne, then said, ¡°You think she¡¯ll mess with me?¡±

    ¡°You showed her a great mercy,¡± Captain Lam said. ¡°Rellia can be a cold bitch, but she¡¯s known for her honor, well, her pride, at least. It¡¯s one of the reasons she felt she had to punish you¡ªfor her family¡¯s so-called honor. I can¡¯t predict how she will respond to this loss.¡±

    ¡°Your friend is right,¡± said the arbiter from the depths of his hood. ¡°The ap¡¯Yensha n holds a grudge, but they also honor a debt. Rellia owes you a great debt, and, along with that, she no longer has the Empire¡¯sws on her side.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Arbiter,¡± Victor said, holding up his fistful of jewelry, then he started putting on his rings.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee, Victor. Congrattions. I¡¯ll leave you to your celebrations.¡± He turned and walked through the door instead of the tunnel. Apparently, he was done with his officiating and wanted to leave. Victor didn¡¯t me him.

    ¡°Well, how did you do it?¡± Lam pressed as soon as the door closed.

    Victor lifted Lifedrinker and started to answer, ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± he had to stop because his throat got thick, and his eyes began filling with moisture. He looked down and took a deep, shaky breath. ¡°Lifedrinker,¡± he started, but again, his throat closed up, and he shook his head, staring at the floor.

    Tha reached out and rubbed the back of his neck, her warm, strong fingers smoothing out some of his tension, ¡°It¡¯s all right. You don¡¯t have to talk about it right now.¡±

    Victor took another shuddering breath, then cleared his throat, spitting a wad of bloody phlegm onto the stone floor. ¡°Sorry,¡± he said when he realized how gross it was. Then he said, ¡°Lifedrinker saved me. She gave me most of the Energy she¡¯d been gathering to make herself conscious.¡± He cleared his throat again and rubbed at his eyes with one hand, the other refusing to let go of Lifedrinker.

    ¡°Really?¡± Lam asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know that was possible.¡±

    ¡°She spoke to me,¡± Victor started, then shook his head, rubbing at his eyes again. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you guys moreter. Can I please wash some of this blood off now?¡±

    ¡°Damn right, you can! You¡¯ve achieved something amazing tonight, Victor. With or without your axe¡¯s help. Tha¡¯s daughter should be in my coach by now. Let¡¯s head out, and then we¡¯ll go back to my estate to celebrate.¡± Lam held out a long, pale hand, and Victor took it, letting her haul him to his feet. Despite her lean figure, she was strong and solid, and he admired how her fingers wrapped around his wrist like a band of iron.

    ¡°How¡¯s it feel?¡± Tha asked, taking hold of his other arm.

    ¡°What?¡± Victor asked, looking over his body. Had one of his wounds not healed when he went berserk?

    ¡°To be free! To not have anyone hunting you!¡± They walked together to the door and started up the steps as Victor answered.

    ¡°I¡¯m d I¡¯m free, but there¡¯s still plenty to worry about. That asshole from Persi Gables that sent his goons after me? Remember? Belikot? All the people I¡¯ve met that are still fucking ves? And then there¡¯s Lifedrinker¡ªI don¡¯t feel like I can celebrate.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s shit, and you know it,¡± Lam said, turning back to look at the two of them. ¡°You helped Tha get free. You helped her find her daughter. You earned your freedom and dealt with a serious threat tonight. You need to take the wins when you get them, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor said, considering her words, and nodded. ¡°Yeah, I guess so. Still, I just want a bath and a bed tonight. You guys celebrate for me, alright?¡± They¡¯d reached the top of the stair and, as Lam opened the door, were greeted by a crowd of people who seemed to have been waiting for him. They burst into cheers, and Victor, standing behind Lam, with Tha still holding onto his arm, frowned, drawing his dark eyebrows down in a glower.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know they¡¯d be here,¡± Tha said. ¡°When we came through, it was empty.¡±

    Victor grunted, still glowering around, but Lam held up her hand for quiet. When the crowd settled, waiting to see what they¡¯d say, Lam spoke loudly and clearly, ¡°Victor appreciates your adtion, but he¡¯s had a very hard-fought victory. He¡¯s not up for a celebration. Feel free to call upon him at my estate!¡± She waved, then grasped Victor¡¯s hand, pulling him through the crowd and out onto thewn where more people milled about. ¡°Really!¡± Lam hissed, ¡°the magistrate needs to have an easier path out of this ce!¡±

    Lam pushed her way through the crowd, and Victor and Tha followed in her wake. Victor kept his eyes down, finding it easy to ignore the cheerful, boisterous people if he simply didn¡¯t make eye contact. Soon they were past the bulk of the party, and Lam led the two of them over the dimly litwns to the gates where her coach was waiting. Victor hadn¡¯t seen it before, and it wasn¡¯t what he¡¯d expected.

    The coach was white with blue trim, and it was long, shaped more like a van than the stagecoach he¡¯d imagined. It had six wheels with glittering metal spokes and tires made of something he couldn¡¯t guess at, but they were thick, blue, and looked more pliable than a car¡¯s tires. Strangest of all were the animals pulling it¡ªtall, red-furred, stag-like creatures. There were three of them, and they each sported a pair of long, spiral horns. ¡°Nice,¡± he said, his earlier stress momentarily forgotten.

    ¡°I won this coach in a dungeon, believe it or not,¡± Captain Lam said. ¡°It¡¯s enchanted to fold in on itself. If I wanted, I could pack it up and slip it into a backpack.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Lam nodded, and Victor continued, ¡°That¡¯s pretty damn cool. What about those antelopes?¡± He gestured to the horned creatures.

    ¡°Oh, I bought those. They don¡¯t fold up with the coach, unfortunately.¡± While she spoke, a coachman came out from behind the vehicle and opened a door in its side. Three steps folded out as the door opened, and Tha hurried into the coach, eager to see her daughter.

    ¡°What are they called?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°What?¡± Lam asked, one foot already on the steps.

    ¡°Those animals,¡± Victor gestured toward them again.

    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re called vidanii. They¡¯re from the ins far, far to the north of here.¡± With that, Lam hoisted herself into the coach, and Victor was left standing outside with the coachman. He stood there for a minute, breathing in the night air, still not a hundred percent sure that he was alive. Hadn¡¯t he pretty much died in the fight? Was all this some kind of dream? He moved a hand to rest on Lifedrinker, remembering the sound of her voice in his head and the way she¡¯d shown him her love and trust.

    ¡°Sir?¡± the coachman asked.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Will you be joining the captain inside?¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± he grunted and pulled himself up the steps and into the dim interior.

    ¡°Victor!¡± a small, high voice called. Victor followed the sound to see Deyni sitting on her mom¡¯sp. Another woman sat next to Tha¡ªa yellow-haired Ardeni with bright matching eyes, a long, sharp nose, and thick, full lips. She was beautiful in a way, though she had deep frown lines around her eyes, and Victor could tell she¡¯d had a tough life. She held one of Deyni¡¯s hands in a tight fist and regarded Victor with a glowering brow.

    ¡°Hey, kiddo,¡± Victor said, climbing the rest of the way into the coach and sort of falling into a seat next to Captain Lam, facing Tha and her friend.

    ¡°It¡¯s a fast,fortable coach but not really made for people as tall as we,¡± Lam said to him with a wry grin.

    ¡°Told you he wasn¡¯t in jail,¡± Tha said to her daughter and smiled at Victor.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, ni?ita,¡± Victor smiled at the little girl, suddenly conscious of all the dried blood on his face. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m a mess right now.¡±

    ¡°He needs a bath, mommy,¡± Deyni said, and Victor was surprised to see she spoke to Rhessa. Tha tried to cover it, but he saw the frown that touched her lips. He tried to make eye contact and let her know he understood how frustrating that must be, but she hid the emotion too quickly, looking toward Deyni to avoid his eyes.

    ¡°He sure does,¡± Rhessa said, then she looked at Victor and said, ¡°I¡¯m Rhessa. I¡¯ve been looking after Deyni for Tha while she was, um, away.¡±

    ¡°While she was traveling!¡± Deyni said.

    ¡°Right, sweetie,¡± Rhessa said.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot about you. Nice to meet you.¡± Victor started to reach out a hand, but then Lam shifted impatiently next to him.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on with this coach?¡± she asked, pulling a cord on the ceiling. A little door opened near the front of the coach, and the coachman¡¯s face appeared in a window.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t we moving yet?¡± Lam¡¯s voice was sharp, almost angry.

    ¡°There¡¯s a gentleman here, trying to impose his presence on your guest. I¡¯m working on getting him to leave.¡± The coachman, a middle-aged-looking Shadeni, spoke with perfect poise, not the least stressed by Lam or, apparently, whatever was happening outside.

    ¡°Which guest? What¡¯s the man¡¯s name?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s iming to be the brother of Rellia ap¡¯Yensha, and he wants to speak to your guest, Mr. Sandoval.¡±

    ¡°Open the door,¡± Lam said. The window closed, and Victor could hear the coachman moving out of the driver¡¯spartment. ¡°Do you want to speak to him?¡± Lam asked, looking at Victor.

    ¡°Not really, but if it gets things moving, I guess I can.¡±

    ¡°I can talk to him if you want . . .¡± Lam started, but Victor was already getting up and moving back to the door, stooped over to keep from smashing his head. A momentter, it opened, and he crouch-walked down the steps back to the gstones. The coachman ducked his head in a show of respect, and Victor stood up straight, once again breathing deeply in the clean air. After he¡¯d filled his lungs, he looked down at the Ardeni man that stood, his free hand fidgeting with hispel, a folded envelope in the other, waiting for Victor¡¯s acknowledgment.

    Victor could see the man¡¯s resemnce to Rellia. He looked older, though, softer, and his eyes weren¡¯t nearly as sharp. He cleared his throat and held out the envelope. ¡°My sister insisted I give you this before you leave. I think she¡¯s afraid you¡¯ll disappear into the universe before she gets a chance to contact you again. Quite a show you put on there. Thank you, by the way, for not killing my sister. Oh, dear! My name is Roth. Roth ap¡¯Yensha.¡±

    Victor reached out and took the envelope. ¡°Right. Got it. That all?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all! Sorry to hold you up. Please pass my apologies on to Captain Lam.¡± The man actually bowed slightly and backed away. Victor didn¡¯t reply but turned and climbed back into the coach, clutching the envelope tightly in one fist. When he fell into his seat next to Lam, he turned to her.

    ¡°He¡¯s sorry for holding you up.¡± As he said the words, the coach lurched and started moving.

    ¡°Well? What did the little twit want?¡±

    ¡°To give me this,¡± Victor said, holding up the slightly crumpled envelope.

    ¡°Did you read it?¡± Lam asked.

    ¡°Not yet,¡± Victor looked around the coach. Deyni looked like she was asleep in Rhessa¡¯s arms, and Tha sat staring at Victor, though her eyes were a million miles away. He turned back to Lam and said, ¡°Should I?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Ancestors know what someone like Rellia thought was so important!¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor said, peeling the wad of pressed green wax away from the envelope¡¯s p. He pulled it open to reveal a handwritten note:

    Victor,

    My missing foot throbs terribly as I write this to you from my room at Magistrate Thiv-dak¡¯s estate. I don¡¯t say that as any sort of usation but just as an illustration of the state of my mind¡ªhow can a foot that no longer exists throb so?

    You showed me two kindnesses tonight. One, you allowed me to live. Two, you lifted me from that pit of shame and shielded me from the eyes of my peers. The first I could imagine you did because you might be weak, foolish, or misguided. The second, Victor, the second could only mean that I¡¯ve been very wrong about you.

    My honor will not allow me to live with the debt you¡¯ve ced me in. I beg of you: pleasee to see me when you''ve had time to rest. I¡¯ll be at my estate in Gelica until the month¡¯s end. I trust you to allow my obsequious, sentimental letter, written in pain and humiliation, to remain between us.

    With gratitude and ever in your debt,

    Rellia ap¡¯Yensha

    ¡°That¡¯s fucking weird,¡± Victor said, folding the letter closed and stuffing it back into the envelope.

    ¡°What did she say?¡± Lam asked, her bright, glittering, green eyes boring into his.

    ¡°She wants me toe see her. Says she¡¯s in my debt and needs to make things even.¡± He shrugged and slipped the envelope into his ring. It seemed to him that Rellia had asked him to keep the tone of her letter between them, and he didn¡¯t have a problem with that. At least not yet.

    ¡°This could be very good, Victor. Having such a powerful family feel like they owe you something is a boon.¡± Lam turned away from him and was staring up at the ceiling of the gently bouncing coach, clearly fantasizing about what he, and she through him, could get out of Rellia.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it,¡± Tha said. Victor looked at her and saw that she¡¯d focused her attention on him, whatever she¡¯d been brooding about forgotten for the moment.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t much like it either. That bitch almost killed me.¡±

    ¡°Just remember that if you go see her,¡± Tha said. ¡°Speaking of seeing people, are you still going to travel with me to see Oyna? I think it will be good for me and Deyni to spend time with Tellen¡¯s people.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course. Nothing¡¯s changed as far as that goes. C¡¯mon, Tha, cheer up.¡± He could see she was irritable, and if he had to guess, he¡¯d say she was bothered about how close Deyni was with Rhessa and how the girl treated Tha like a visiting rtive, not her long-lost mother.

    ¡°And me?¡± Rhessa asked over Deyni¡¯s head. ¡°Will these Shadeni hunters be weing to an ex-criminal Ardeni?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure they would. We can talk about thister, though. I¡¯m sorry I brought it up¡ªI¡¯m not sure where my head was.¡± Tha sighed heavily and looked toward the window at the rear of the coach, eyes going distant again.

    ¡°We¡¯ve had a rough day. Sure, Victor is the one who did the fighting, but everyone was on edge all day, some of us more than a day. I think we¡¯ll all do better after some rest,¡± Lam said, affecting a much different tone than when she¡¯d suggested a celebration just a short while ago.

    ¡°Truth,¡± Victor said, leaning his head back in thefortable seat, letting his eyes close.

    The rest of the coach ride passed by in a blur for Victor. He drifted in and out of sleep, and no one else spoke. Deyni¡¯s soft breathing served to lull him deeper and deeper into his own slumber, and he was somewhat startled when he heard the door being opened and felt Lam stirring next to him. He exited the coach to find Edeya standing with six of Lam¡¯s house guards. She held a spear, and her soldiers were warily watching the shadows of the treeline near the wall of Lam¡¯s estate.

    ¡°Congrattions, Victor!¡± Edeya said with a bright smile, moving past him to help Rhessa and Deyni down from the coach.

    ¡°Thanks. What¡¯s with the high alert?¡±

    ¡°I told her to have the house on battle footing. I didn¡¯t know how certain people would respond to the fight,¡± Lam said, then turned to the guards and continued, ¡°Move to your patrols. There¡¯s no current threat.¡±

    ¡°Huh. All right, well, I¡¯m going to my room. That cool?¡±

    Lam looked at him with an amused smile and an arched eyebrow and said, ¡°I¡¯m beginning to understand your ng, I think. Yes, that would be cool, Victor. Go and get yourself cleaned up and have a much-deserved rest.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Victor turned to Tha, who¡¯d reimed her slumbering daughter from Rhessa. ¡°Come talk to me in the morning, okay?¡±

    ¡°Sure. We¡¯lle by for breakfast, all right?¡±

    ¡°Perfect, but not too early!¡± Victor smiled at her, then turned, waving to everyone gathered around the coach, and made his way up the cobbled path to the front entrance of Lam¡¯s estate. Servants held the doors open, the lights were on, and Victor could see wait staff lurking in the side hallways. He wondered if they were ready to throw a party if that¡¯s what Victor had wanted. ¡°Not tonight,¡± he said, reaching up to rub at the crusty blood in his hair, massaging his temple.

    Victor bathed, fell into his bed, Lifedrinker in one hand next to him, and slept. His slumber was fitful at first, and he kept waking with weird impressions of dreams he couldn¡¯t remember. After a few hours of tossing, though, he eventually found deeper sleep and didn¡¯t stir until the sun was bright on his face, shining through the open curtains of his balcony.

    He dressed, opting for one of his new pairs of pants and a blue button-up shirt he¡¯d bought while shopping with Tha. They¡¯d been a handful of Energy beads, but, just like his favorite ck pants, they were self-cleaning and self-repairing. Moreover, the tailor who¡¯d sold them swore his enchantments were superior to those on Victor¡¯s old pants. Victor didn¡¯t care if they were superior; he¡¯d just been asking to make sure they were as good¡ªhe couldn¡¯t imagine any pants going through more than his original pair, and they were still holding up fine.

    His nose alerted him topany before he heard the knock at his door. The unmistakable aroma of bacon was wafting under the door when he approached and opened it. Tha stood in the hallway with Deyni and one of the house staff. A cartden with breakfast foods drew his immediate attention, though, and he smiled, licking his lips. ¡°Damn, that smells good. Get in here!¡± He opened the door wide, and Tha came through, tugging Deyni along.

    ¡°You talk funny, Victor,¡± Deyni said as they waited for the Ardeni woman with Lam¡¯s household uniform to push the cart over to the table. The woman started to set the table, putting out silverware and arranging the food trays.

    ¡°I do talk funny, Deyni! I¡¯ve heard that from a lot of people! Excuse me, miss. You don¡¯t need to set the table. We¡¯ll take it from here.¡± Victor smiled and opened the door for the servant, who looked a little disturbed, like she was breaking some sort of rule, but she nodded and hurried out of the room. Victor closed the door, sat at the table, and started stuffing his face straight from the tters.

    ¡°Ancestors! Deyni, don¡¯t learn your manners from Victor!¡± Thaughed. She didn¡¯t sit down right away; instead, she looked around the room, and her eyes lingered on Victor¡¯s bed for a moment. Victor followed her gaze and realized he¡¯d left Lifedrinker on the mattress. He grunted and stood, hurrying over to pick her up and slip her into the loop on his belt. ¡°You slept with your axe?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t start,¡± Victor said, unwilling to endure any teasing about Lifedrinker.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Victor. I wasn¡¯t thinking.¡±

    ¡°No worries. Sit down and eat, or I¡¯m going to eat your portion. Come on, Deyni! Get up here and eat some bacon!¡± Victor picked up the little girl, plopped her into a chair, then sat down and folded an entire piece of buttered toast into his mouth. Deyni didn¡¯t need much encouragement. For some reason, she watched Victor and mimicked his choices¡ªwhen he thered jam on some toast, she followed suit. When he picked up a sausage and ate it with his fingers, so did she. Tha watched the two of them with bemused resignation.

    ¡°Eat some fruit,¡± Tha said to Deyni, giving Victor a pointed look.

    ¡°Mmm, fruit!¡± Victor said, scooping some of the cubed melon onto his te. Deyni reached for the bowl, doing the same. ¡°Madre! I wish they had some chorizo and tortis, though!¡±

    ¡°Are you going to see Rellia?¡± Tha asked, kind of startling Victor with the abrupt topic change.

    ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t know why, but I want to hear what she has to say. You know, if she¡¯s being real. Like, if she really wants to pay me back for sparing her, maybe she can help with Lifedrinker somehow.¡± Victor shrugged, sitting back in his chair and patting his stomach. ¡°Damn, that was just what I needed!¡±

    ¡°You look better thanst night,¡± Deyni said, smiling at him around a mouthful of melon. She had long, ck hair like her mother, but hers wasn¡¯t braided. Instead, it was held in two pigtails on the sides of her head. Victor thought she was the cutest person he¡¯d met on Fanwath. He reached forward and, very gently, pressed her button nose with one of his big fingers.

    ¡°I had a bath, cutie.¡± Victor smiled and rubbed a hand through his rough, short hair.

    ¡°Do you feel like you can talk about that a little more?¡± Tha asked, like a dog with a bone, refusing to change the subject. ¡°I¡¯m curious how it went with Lifedrinker. One minute you looked,¡± Tha nced at Deyni, then continued, ¡°out of it. The next minute you were glowing like a red torch and, you know, berserking again.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry; I¡¯m not as emotional asst night. I mean, the feelings are still there if I think about it, but I¡¯m good. Well, Lifedrinker gathers Energy from things I fight. You know that, right? She¡¯d been gaining a lot, and you could see how she was changing. She¡¯d even spoken to me a couple of times. She gave up a lot of that for me¡ªlet me pull it into myself, and I healed with it, enough to cast Manifest Spirit and Berserk and finish things.¡± He lifted Lifedrinker out of the loop at his belt, holding her so her ck metal head was visible to Tha.

    ¡°She insisted. I tried to resist, but she,¡± despite his earlier bravado, Victor felt his throat tightening and his eyes getting watery, and he finished quickly, ¡°she said she loved me, and she trusted me to help her recover.¡± He put Lifedrinker back into her loop and covered his emotions by stuffing another sausage into his mouth.

    ¡°She gains Energy only from, you know, things you fight?¡± Tha asked, clearly trying to avoid talking about killing things in front of Deyni.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I can channel Energy into her, but it¡¯s just a temporary boost¡ªit makes her do more damage to things I chop.¡±

    ¡°All right, well, when you go speak to Rellia, Deyni and I will do some shopping. I know of a pretty good Artificer I can speak to. Maybe there¡¯s a way to speed things up with Lifedrinker. You know, a way to help her gain Energy without you having to,¡± again she nced at Deyni, ¡°chop so many things.¡±

    ¡°That would be cool. Thanks, Tha.¡±

    ¡°Cool. Cool? Cool, cool,¡± Deyni said softly, scooping up another piece of fruit and shoving it into her mouth.

    ¡°See what you¡¯re doing?¡± Tha asked, an arched eyebrow aimed at Victor.

 Book 3: Chapter 2: Rellia

    Book 3: Chapter 2: Rellia

    Victor stepped out of the coach, stretching his back and squinting in the bright, midday sun. Two days had passed since his duel, and he felt rested¡ªso much so that he was feeling antsy, like he should be going somewhere. He¡¯d decided to get things started by visiting Rellia. Tha had tried to talk him out of it, and when that hadn¡¯t worked, she¡¯d tried toe along with him. Victor had insisted he needed to face this alone, though. He wasn¡¯t sure why, but it felt right, and a small part of him just wanted to do something on his own, even if it might be stupid.

    Victor noticed the coachman standing nearby, and he nodded, handing the man a few Energy beads. Edeya had ordered the ride for him and advised him what to pay the driver to stick around for his return trip. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be very long,¡± he said.

    ¡°Never you worry, sir. I¡¯ll be right here when you¡¯re ready to depart.¡± The coachman nodded curtly, then turned to climb back onto his driver¡¯s bench. The coach was much more like what Victor had imagined Lam¡¯s would be like. It was small, ck, and pulled by two rdii. It hadn¡¯t been nearly asfortable as Lam¡¯s, either in its appointments or in the smoothness of its ride. Therge, spring-shocked wheels did their best, but Victor had been jostled and jounced rather severely during the short trip through town.

    He nodded and turned to regard the ap¡¯Yensha estate. It sat in a wooded copse, not unlike Captain Lam¡¯s, though it was significantly smaller and newer looking. ¡°Damn, Lam hadn¡¯t been kidding about how great her ce was,¡± he muttered as he walked toward the gates. A liveried footman approached, spear in hand, his partner watching his back from the closed, white-painted, rolling gate. Victor could see more guardsmen up the drive and near the doors to the white-washed vi.

    ¡°Your business with the ap¡¯Yensha?¡± the footman asked, speaking in a strange, lilting ent that Victor hadn¡¯t heard before.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to see Lady Rellia. I¡¯m Victor Sandoval.¡± He strode forward, not stopping or flinching away from the guard.

    ¡°Of course, sir. I¡¯ve standing orders to show you through,¡± the guard said, quickly lifting his spear and standing aside. He nodded to the guard by the gate, who pulled it to the side, opening it at least twice as far as Victor would have needed in order to walk throughfortably.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Victor said as he passed by. He strode up the cobbled drive to the door, wondering if he should have had the coach drop him inside the gate¡ªhe supposed they would have waved it through when he announced his name. ¡°Ah, fuck it. I can walk a bit.¡±

    Victor kicked a nut or fruit pit or something off the cobbles, sending it skittering into the shrubs lining the drive. He nced up, wondering where it came from, and saw a tree with branches arching over the cobbles, some sort of red plum-like fruit hanging from it. On an impulse, he jumped up and snatched one of the fruits. He wiped it on his gray shirt sleeve and then took a deep sniff of it. It smelled tangy and sugary, and he shrugged, taking a bite.

    Juice sluiced out of the fruit at his bite, dripping down his chin, and the tart but sugary meat crunched under his teeth, very much like a plum indeed. Victor grinned at the unexpected treat and chewed the rest of the meat off the pit while he walked. He wiped his chin on his sleeve, trusting the material to clean itself, and tossed the pit into the shrubs as he nodded to the servants standing at either side of the double doors. ¡°Hello, men,¡± he said.

    ¡°Hello, sir. Might I enquire as to your destination in the estate?¡± the Ghelli on the left asked. Victor gave him a good look, wondering at his pink skin and tiny wings. Was he a Ghelli? He knew there was a lot for him to learn about this world, but it felt like every time he started to get a grip on things, he¡¯d realize there were ten more things he didn¡¯t know.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to see Rellia.¡±

    ¡°The Lady is resting, sir. She sustained an injury recently,¡± the guard said, pulling off a face that perfectly said, ¡°I hear what you want, and I¡¯m very sorry, but you can¡¯t have it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Victor Sandoval. She asked me toe.¡± Victor rested a hand on Lifedrinker, though he kept a neutral expression.

    ¡°Ahh! I should have realized! My apologies, sir! Please follow me, and I¡¯ll show you directly to Lady ap¡¯Yensha.¡± The guard looked like he¡¯d swallowed a frog, his face turned so red, standing out brightly over his pale pink neck. Victor almost felt sorry for the guy, so he nodded his head and smiled genuinely.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, man. I won¡¯t say anything.¡± Victor nced at the other guard, an older, Ardeni with dark blue skin and gray-flecked, red hair, and said, ¡°Your buddy won¡¯t either. Right?¡±

    ¡°About what, sir?¡± The Ardeni asked, winking at hispanion.

    ¡°Nice,¡± Victor held out a fist, but the Ardeni just looked at it and he put it down. ¡°All right,¡± he said to the first guard, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Sir!¡± the man said, pulling the door open and waiting for Victor to step through. The interior of the ap¡¯Yensha estate was very richly appointed but in a different style than Captain Lam¡¯s estate. While Lam favored marble and ster, the ap¡¯Yensha home had dark hardwoods on the floors of high-traffic areas with thick, plush carpeting in the rooms that Victor could see. The walls were covered with art, some of it eye-catching in its depiction of nude men and women. Victor wondered if they were real people¡ªrtives or friends of the family, or if they were simple depictions of beautiful bodies.

    The guard moved quickly past him and said, ¡°Please follow me, sir!¡±

    Victor nodded and followed the man up a flight of stairs, through a long hallway, and then down another hallway that, if his mental image of the exterior was correct, took them into one of the wings of the estate. The guard moved quickly but constantly checked over his shoulder to ensure Victor kept pace. He stopped in front of a pair of ss-paneled, French-style doors and tapped delicately on the ss with a ring he wore. He put his hands behind his back then and waited, turning to nod nervously at Victor.

    A momentter, Victor saw a woman approach through the ss. She opened one of the doors, poked her head out, and said, ¡°Yes? She¡¯s resting.¡±

    ¡°I have Victor Sandoval here,¡± the guard said, nodding to Victor, who smiled at the girl. She was young; he could see that much, though she wore a neat uniform that looked almost like it belonged in some sort of military. Her long-sleeved white shirt was buttoned severely at the neck, and her trim, ck pants had a blue stripe that ran down the sides. Her boots were polished to a brilliant sheen, and her sea-foam hair was tied back in a very tight bun. She turned her matching eyes on Victor and nodded.

    ¡°You may go, cadet,¡± she said to the guard, and Victor did a double-take. Was she the boss? ¡°Come in, Mr. Sandoval. The Lady has been waiting for you.¡± She stepped back and pulled the door open wide.

    ¡°Oh, uh, thanks,¡± Victor said and strode into the room. He¡¯d been able to tell from the exterior that it was brightly lit, but now that he was inside, he could see the curved windows surrounding the room and the open ss doors leading out to a sunlit balcony. The room held a lot of furniture, but most of it was covered with sheets.

    ¡°Excuse the room, please, it¡¯s closed for the season, but Lady Rellia wanted to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather. She¡¯s sitting just outside.¡±

    ¡°Um, thanks,¡± Victor said, looking at the woman, at her light-blue skin and frowning face. ¡°I guess I don¡¯t know your name.¡±

    ¡°Captain Va. I¡¯ll be here. If I¡¯m needed.¡± She spoke in clipped, short phrases and simultaneously sounded polite and threatening.

    ¡°Right. Thanks, then, Captain Va,¡± Victor said and walked toward the open doors and into the sunlight. While his eyes adjusted, he held a hand out to block the sun and looked around. He saw Rellia right away, reclining on a wooden-t lounge chair. His eyes went directly to her foot, some part of him wondering how she¡¯d dealt with the injury. Her silky, white pantleg was pinned up over the stump, and the other foot was naked, with no shoe or sock.

    Rellia had a matching white shirt tucked into her pants. Her red hair hung down one side of her head in a ponytail, and a white hat shielded her face from the sun. She sat up when Victor strode onto the balcony and smiled at him. When he studied her face, he couldn¡¯t see any signs of malice or deception¡ªthe smile was natural and seemed to be reflected in her eyes. ¡°Hello, Victor. Thank you foring.¡±

    ¡°Well, I had my doubts. I had some friends tell me I was crazy toe here, but I figured you and I had a connection they couldn¡¯t understand. We¡¯ve both held each other¡¯s lives in our hands, haven¡¯t we? I don¡¯t feel like you¡¯re going to do something to me, at least right now.¡± Victor took a step toward her, wondering if he should feel some rage at the sight of her. Nothing stirred in his gut, though.

    Rellia frowned slightly, perhaps taken aback by Victor¡¯sck of niceties, ¡°We have, Victor. The only difference is that I tried to take yours, and you let me live. My shame had started to fade, but now I feel it again, freshly surging. Would you please sit down? There¡¯s a chair against the wall there; pull it over. My neck hurts looking up at you.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± He nced where she¡¯d indicated and saw a hand-crafted wooden wheelchair sitting next to stacked patio chairs. Victor walked over, picked up one of the chairs, a matching piece of tted wood furniture, and carried it over to Rellia¡¯s side, turning it so that he faced her when he sat down. The chair creaked, straining under his bulk, but held up. He leaned back, admiring how the ts contoured to his form, pressing into his lower back. ¡°Comfortable,¡± he said, giving her a crooked grin.

    ¡°They ought to be for what we paid. The craftsman is something of a local celebrity. He made my wheeled chair there, as well.¡± She paused, appeared to gather her thoughts, and then looked at Victor, her head restingfortably now that he was sitting down. ¡°How are you, Victor? That fight couldn¡¯t have gone easily for you. I¡¯m sure you have allies that are angry that you spared my life.¡±

    ¡°Well, they might be angry, but none of them have given me any shit about it yet.¡± Victor cringed at his words and wanted to p himself on the head, but instead, he kept talking and resolved to try not to sound like a street kid for once in his life. ¡°I mean to say that no one has objected to my decision.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s surprising,¡± Rellia said, smiling at Victor¡¯s choice of words.

    ¡°You seem different than when I imagined this conversation,¡± Victor said, shifting, trying to get Lifedrinker¡¯s haft toy along his leg so that her head wouldn¡¯t dig into his side. He finally gave up, lifted her free of his belt, and rested her on the ground, haft leaning against his chair.

    ¡°How did you imagine things?¡± Rellia asked, watching him struggle with his axe.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be exactly friendly or smiling.¡± He gestured to her foot. ¡°You know, after everything. I¡¯m actually surprised I don¡¯t feel some rage right now. I¡¯m looking at you there, and, if I don¡¯t dwell on the shit you put me through, you know, sending hunters after me, making me fight you in that pit, and all that was lost because of it,¡± he paused, took a deep breath, staring at her, and noting the way her faced scrunched and her smile faded, ¡°well, if I don¡¯t dwell on it, I can almost look at you and not feel any anger.¡± He huffed out a big breath, trying to even out his heartbeat, which had sped up.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Victor,¡± Rellia said, her voice soft and her red eyes staring at him, trying to get him to look into them. Victorplied, staring into those ruby irises, and he could see doubt, worry, sadness, and a little fear, but he didn¡¯t see any lies. This wasn¡¯t the Rellia ap¡¯Yensha he¡¯d been imagining. She wasn¡¯t at all like people said she was. For that matter, she wasn¡¯t much like the woman who¡¯d menaced him with a rapier just a few nights ago.

    ¡°The fuck is going on?¡± he asked before he could stop himself. ¡°Who are you?¡± he didn¡¯t mean the question literally, and Rellia knew it. She frowned, her happy demeanor falling away, and she spoke, her eyes starting to grow watery.

    ¡°I¡¯m Rellia ap¡¯Yensha, the head of an ancient household, and I have a thousand kinfolk who expect me to act, speak, and live a certain way. I had ten uncles and aunts hounding me to track you down and regain the honor of our family because you killed my nephew. A nephew pursuing his own illicit venture without my backing or knowledge, I should add!¡±

    ¡°I heard he was your favorite nephew,¡± Victor said, watching her face.

    Rellia¡¯s scowl deepened, and she spoke so forcefully that spittle flecked her lips, ¡°Lies! I hardly knew the fool, and when I did see him at family functions, he couldn¡¯t make eye contact with me, let alone earn my favor!¡± Victor wasn¡¯t a human lie detector like someone in a bad VR, and his experience with reading people was limited by his young age, but he¡¯d had quite a few people screw him over, and he felt like he was getting a feel for when someone was fucking him. Right now, he felt like Rellia was trying to be honest.

    ¡°So your hands were tied? You were acting on behalf of your family? You¡¯re an innocent victim?¡± Victor asked, gesturing to her foot.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that, Victor. Didn¡¯t I say I was sorry? When I went into that arena, I wanted to humiliate you the way you¡¯d humiliated me! Do you have any idea the hell my Uncle Tam put me through when you killed the expensive bounty hunter I hired? Or when I¡¯d announced to the family that you¡¯d been captured by that old fool Vodkin, only to never hear from him again?¡± She paused, breathing rapidly, ncing around, perhaps searching for the right words.

    ¡°I thought I was hunting down a mad dog, mind you. I thought you¡¯d ughtered my nephew in an escape attempt¡ªonly yesterday did I hear the real story from Captain Lam. Ancestors! I wish I¡¯d spoken to her sooner. You know she tried to contact me on your behalf several times. What a fool I was!¡± A tear slid down one of her cheeks, and she swiped it away angrily, as though her eye had betrayed her.

    ¡°What are we doing here?¡± Victor asked after several moments passed, the silence beginning to fill the air awkwardly. ¡°Are you trying to make me see your side? Are you trying to make me your friend? I don¡¯t think that¡¯s going to happen, Rellia. You and I are from the pr opposites of society, and I don¡¯t think I could ever get along with someone who runs ves and hires bounty hunters and whatever other kinds of shit you get up to.¡±

    ¡°ves? Do you mean the contracts we buy? The people in the mine? Listen, Victor, I . . .¡± she paused, then shook her head. ¡°You¡¯re right. I could spend the whole day trying to exin the pressures I¡¯m under and the lessons I was raised with. I could make a million excuses, but it boils down to me being born into a family with far too much. Not only that, but I was raised to run arge portion of it, maintain it, and grow it. It¡¯s not a clean business, and I won¡¯t lie to you anymore. There are things I¡¯ve approved that I¡¯m not proud of. Victor, don¡¯t you see? You¡¯ve given me a chance to do something right for a change. Something good!¡± She leaned forward, both of her hands reaching out for his left hand.

    Victor started to pull his hand back, but he stopped, imagining for some damned reason what it would be like if someone did that to him. He let his hand rest still, and she grasped it with both of her smaller, blue hands, her fingers surprisingly gentle and warm. He looked her in the eyes again and said, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Because of your victory and because you showed me such mercy, I was able to meet with Captain Lam without losing any face. Yesterday, after I spoke to her, I figured it out. I figured out who the liars in my family were. At least with regard to this situation. For the first time in a long while, I have some leverage over some of the older, ¡®silent¡¯ powers in my n. My uncle Tam is on the run, metaphorically at least, and several of the Old Powers in Tharcray have taken my side and given me leave to do some house cleaning. They¡¯ve also given me permission to reward you, Victor.¡±

    She still held his hand in hers and squeezed gently while she spoke, emphasizing her enthusiasm. Victor couldn¡¯t lie to himself¡ªhe liked how her hands felt on his, and he was worried she was charming him or something, so he pulled it away, a slight frown marring his face and his heavy ck brows narrowing. ¡°Old Powers? Tharcray? You¡¯ll need to exin a bit more.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Victor, I forget about your history. It was only yesterday that I learned about how you came to this world. Tharcray is the capital of the Ridonne Empire. It¡¯s thousands of miles to the east and north, and when I say ¡®Old Powers,¡¯ it''s a name that only people of my political ss would understand¡ªthey¡¯re members of my family that have distanced themselves from the day-to-day of our existence. Most of them are very old, some would say ancient, and they spend much of their time away, either in the capital or off-world.¡±

    ¡°Huh. So there¡¯s you and your aunts and uncles who run things. Then there are the older, ¡®silent¡¯ members of your family, and, finally, there are the, um, ¡®Old Powers?¡¯¡±

    ¡°You see what I have to contend with? The world sees me as the head of this n, but it¡¯s more like a public face than an actual head. Enough about my family, though, Victor. I¡¯ve wanted to ask you this since you carried me into the tunnel after our fight: why didn¡¯t you kill me?¡± The sudden change in topic, to one so grim and fraught with emotion, caught Victor off guard, and his eyes narrowed further as he began to wonder if that had been her intention.

    ¡°Do I have to have a reason?¡± he asked, enjoying the show of being obstinate.

    ¡°Please, Victor? Who else can you talk with about this? I¡¯m alive because you chose not to act like me. You fought through your rage to stay your axe. Why?¡±

    Victor picked up Lifedrinker and held her crossways in front of him. He ran a hand over her warm, living, hickory handle. Little glimmers of light seemed to re to life in the path of his hand, brightening the dark wood. ¡°She used to be conscious,¡± he said, indicating the axe.

    ¡°It¡¯s an impressive weapon. Beautiful, even,¡± Rellia said, clearly feeling like she was indulging some sort of distraction.

    ¡°When you cut my throat, she gave herself to me. Filled me with her Energy and her love. It cost her almost everything she¡¯d gained, her consciousness.¡± He paused, tapping the side of his head, and stared hard at Rellia, looking into her red irises and trying to see a reaction. Rellia, for her part, narrowed her eyes, clearly trying to understand what he was saying but perhaps not grasping the full import of his words.

    ¡°So that¡¯s why you didn¡¯t die?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and looking back, logically, I feel like I should have been even angrier at you when Lifedrinker,¡± he patted the axe, ¡°lost so much to save me from what you¡¯d done. Still, in the moment, I med myself. I took from her. I drained her to keep myself alive. She¡¯d given so much, she¡¯d shown me how she felt, and I was overwhelmed by the selfless love she felt for me. I didn¡¯t¡ªI don¡¯t¡ªdeserve it.¡± Again, he paused, looking up at the pale blue sky and taking a deep breath.

    ¡°So that¡¯s half the reason I didn¡¯t kill you¡ªthe emotions I felt because of Lifedrinker¡¯s sacrifice. The other half is that when you were crawling, gasping, bleeding out into the sand, you reminded me of a woman that showed me genuine kindness. She was the first to do so in this world, and I couldn¡¯t tarnish her memory by butchering you. Rellia? I¡¯m being honest with you. I¡¯m sharing something that I feel like I couldn¡¯t tell anyone else. Don¡¯t betray it.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t, Victor! I swear, on my Ancestors, I have only the desire to repay you. I want to make amends for what I¡¯ve done. What my family has done. Now that I know your story and see what you¡¯ve been through in this world, I can¡¯t find any ill will toward you, no matter how deeply I search my heart. Do you believe me?¡±

    ¡°I do, but I¡¯ve been a fool before. I hope you won¡¯t make me one again.¡± Victor managed a crooked smile, inhaling deeply through his nose.

    Rellia smiled back at him and held out a hand, ¡°Could you help me up and pull that wheeled chair over? I¡¯d like to show you how I¡¯m going to repay you.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Victor stood, slipping Lifedrinker into her loop, then reached down to pull Rellia into a sitting position. He knew damn well she didn¡¯t need his help to sit up, but he figured she was just ying a part. Once she was sitting with her feet over the side of the lounge chair, he pulled over her wheelchair and held it steady while she stood on her good foot and pivoted to sit down.

    ¡°Captain Va will be apoplectic that I didn¡¯t call her for help but just smile and nod as we go by. The room we¡¯re heading to is just out of this one down the hallway.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there some sort of magical remedy for your foot?¡± Victor asked as he wheeled her toward the open doors.

    ¡°Yes, don¡¯t worry about that. I have a n Artificer working to make me a silver foot as we speak. It¡¯s a temporary fix, I hope¡ªif I can advance my race a few more times, I¡¯ll grow a new one.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good, I guess. Silver, huh?¡±

    ¡°Naturally,¡± Rellia said with a chuckle. As they moved between the sheet-covered sunroom furniture, Victor saw Captain Va stand up from a small table she was working at and stride over. She did, indeed, look angry, her green eyebrows drawn together in a deep scowl.

    ¡°Lady! I was avable! To help you!¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course, Captain. Go back to your books, please. Victor will aid me for now.¡± Rellia waved toward the little table where the captain had been sitting. Victor smiled at the woman and nodded, wondering how she managed to keep her clothing so perfectly wrinkle-free.

    ¡°Very well, Lady. May I ask? Where you¡¯ll be?¡±

    ¡°The map room, Va, just down the hallway. I¡¯ll scream should something untoward happen.¡± Rellia wore a wry smile, and Victor realized she was teasing the uptight captain. ¡°Straight ahead, Victor, through the doors, please.¡±

    Victor followed Rellia¡¯s directions out of the room and down to a set of doors that opened into a high-walled room. Each wall was covered in maps, and a table at the center had another huge topographical map built into its top. ¡°Gorz,¡± Victor said in his head, speaking to his amulet for the first time in quite a while, ¡°Can you take in these maps?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I can. I¡¯ll study them while you continue to speak to thedy, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Gorz.¡± Victor thought, annoyed at himself for forgetting about the spirit until he¡¯d wanted something from it.

    ¡°Please wheel me over to the map table, Victor,¡± Rellia said. Victorplied, and when he pulled her chair up to one side of the table, Rellia stood, hopping on her good foot and leaning on the table. ¡°Stand beside me, please, so I can show you where to look.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor said, moving next to her, trying to take in the massive map, following the blue lines of rivers with his eyes, and wanting to reach out and feel the bumpy mountain ranges.

    ¡°Look here, this is Gelica,¡± Rellia said, pointing to a ck dot next to a long, thick blue line. ¡°This river is the Rill Catcher. It flows from the World Breaker Mountains in the north, all the way to the Great Western Sea.¡± She traced the line of the river in illustration. ¡°We¡¯re on the western edge of the Ridonne Empire,¡± she continued. ¡°If you follow an imaginary line straight east from here, you¡¯ll pass through, roughly, the center of the Empire and end up here,¡± again, she pointed, this time to a body of water about the size of her palm, ¡°at the Starfall Sea.¡±

    ¡°Okay . . .¡± Victor said, not sure why he was getting a geography lesson.

    ¡°South of the Starfall Sea and the city-states around it, you¡¯lle to another mountain range, the Granite Gates. They¡¯re called that because they border the Empire, shielding it from the frontiernds known as the Untamed Marches. Ridonne ims the right of sovereignty over the Marches, but no one, at least no one civilized, lives there.¡± Rellia tapped a section of the map beyond a high, raised mountain range, shaded in dark green and extending away for nearly half-again the area depicted by the Empire.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s this got to do with me?¡± Victor asked, feeling like a cliche.

    Rellia, still leaning on the table, pushed herself straight and turned to face Victor, smiling. ¡°About a hundred years ago, the Emperor decided he should make efforts to expand the Empire¡¯s sphere of influence into the Marches. He chose a hundred noble families and gave each a Writ of Conquest¡ªlegal authority to go into the Marches and im their own sovereignnd, requiring only a de facto trade and mutual defense agreement with the Empire.¡±

    ¡°And your family was one to get a writ?¡± Victor guessed.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, and that¡¯s where youe in. Victor, I¡¯ve been given permission to give you a fifty percent stake in our writ. Anynd you conquer¡ªyou will personally own half of it!¡± She pped the table in emphasis, her breath quick with excitement.

    ¡°Hold on, Rellia. I don¡¯t know shit about conqueringnds in some distant frontier, and I have to ask the obvious question: If it¡¯s such a good deal, why haven¡¯t any of the hundred families done it yet?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re asking the same questions I¡¯ve asked ever since I was a little girl, and I learned about the Marches! Why haven¡¯t we moved in? We could be far removed from the Empire, free from the burden of its taxes and living in a country of our own making! My father told me before he died that the families didn¡¯t have the stomach for it. He¡¯d exin that the expense of moving arge force through the Granite Gates was prohibitive alone and that pushing into the jungles of the Marches was a suicidal errand in futility.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡± Victor studied the map, not speaking more.

    ¡°And that¡¯s only half of it¡ªif the rumors are to be believed, the System itself will challenge any conquering force that moves in that direction.¡±

    ¡°The System? Why?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. A right of passage? A way to force us to prove we¡¯re worthy of taking on the stewardship of thosends? A chance to force us to grow stronger, killing each other and feeding it Energy? My father believed that the System would send armies from another world there to fight any people that came to im thosends.¡±

    Victor started to say something but just grunted, imagining tall mountains with narrow passes and jungles filled with monsters and hostile armies. ¡°At least you aren¡¯t holding anything back,¡± he said, staring at the vast green expanse of the Untamed Marches on the map. ¡°Are you?¡± He turned his gaze to her and narrowed his eyes.

    ¡°I want to help fund an expedition. I want you to lead it, and, as I said, you¡¯ll be lord of your ownnds if you have any sess at all.¡± Rellia reached out a hand, grasping Victor above his elbow, and stared into his eyes, ¡°You¡¯re a conquerer, Victor. You can do this if any man could. I have soldiers who want to seek you out and swear fealty to you just because of the ounts of your fights spreading through the city''s taverns. Imagine how people will flock to our banner once you¡¯ve fought some real battles in the field!¡±

    ¡°Our banner?¡±

    ¡°This would be a joint venture, Victor. Like I said, you¡¯ll get half, but house ap¡¯Yensha will im the other half. You¡¯ll have an ally in the Marches, someone who will stand with you against the untamed borders and, should you need it, against the Empire.¡± Her voice was hushed as she said thest, as though she feared to speak out against the Empire, even in her own home.

    ¡°Really? You have a problem with the Empire?¡± he asked, letting his eyes drift over therge, ck-bordered section of the map that represented Ridonne.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t the best ce to speak of such things, but, yes, Victor. I¡¯m cing my life in your hands by saying this, you know. If one of the Imperial Inquisitors caught wind of my . . . discontent, they¡¯d haul me away for questioning. Victor, there¡¯s a rot in Tharcray, the insidious disease of corruption that spreads through the rulership of our people. I want to takend in the Marches because war ising, and I¡¯d rather our n wasn¡¯t at the center of it.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 3: A Plate Full of Problems

    Book 3: Chapter 3: A te Full of Problems

    ¡°Rellia, this is a lot,¡± Victor said, his mind trying to take in everything he and Rellia had spoken about¡ªher family, her motives, the Empire, the map, the Marches, and the Writ of Conquest. He felt like every time he started to wrap his head around things, she would add another piece to the puzzle. Now she was talking about war with the Empire? Or was it just war in the Empire, and she wanted to be out of it?

    ¡°I know,¡± she said, still leaning on the map table, still looking at him with eager, bright eyes.

    ¡°Look, just an hour ago, I was wondering if you would try to kill me. I was wondering if I should want to kill you! I¡¯m still raw about everything, and you¡¯re still involved in some things that I think are in evil. Now you want me to go to war with you? To travel into some unknown wilderness and ¡®conquer¡¯ it? It¡¯s just too damn much.¡±

    ¡°Victor, I,¡± she paused and gathered herself, standing up straighter and breathing deeply through her nose, the smile fading from her face. ¡°I understand you. I understand your reservations. I¡¯m trying to n for an eventuality that most of my family thinks will nevere. When I¡¯ve spoken to the ones I trust, the few, about what I think we should do, they put me off. They treat me like I¡¯m paranoid. They point to the age of the Empire. They mention the Old Powers and how they don¡¯t seem concerned.¡±

    ¡°Those are the more benign reactions. Others in my family think war in the Empire would benefit us. They see it as a chance to grab power, snuff out other families and take what was theirs. Mind you, these are just the opinions of the very few whom I trust enough to share my doubts, to whom I dare mention the corruption in Tharcray. When I¡¯ve tried to propose a n, creating a haven for our family, using our Writ of Conquest, I¡¯ve never had support. Only because of you and the schemes of my uncle and his supporters have a few of the Old Powers given me their blessing.¡±

    ¡°Yeah? How does that change any of my concerns?¡±

    ¡°Victor, I don¡¯t think the Old Powers would interfere, would even consider the expense I¡¯m anticipating if they disagreed with me. They¡¯re in Tharcray¡ªthey know things that none of my peers in the family do. Something is happening in the Empire, and I think the time to prepare is slipping away.¡±

    ¡°Right, Rellia, I get how this is important to you. I don¡¯t get how it¡¯s important to me. Sure, I can gain somends and whatever that entails, but do I even want that? I¡¯m young, and I¡¯ve hardly had a chance to live in this world. I have ns of my own¡ªthings I want to do and aplish. I mean, I was going to go spend the winter with some hunters out on the ins, learning more about my Core.¡±

    ¡°We wouldn¡¯tunch a campaign like this in the winter, anyway, Victor. Won¡¯t you please tell me you¡¯ll at least consider my offer? I can¡¯t make it happen without you. My excuse for using the Writ is that I¡¯m repaying our n¡¯s honor by sharing it with you. You¡¯d need to be seen as the one driving the expedition.¡± Her face had fallen, and her earlier excitement was reced by a more sober, almost pleading tone. Victor had to admire that she was being so honest with him about how she was, basically, using him. It didn¡¯t mean he had to like it, though.

    ¡°Do you love anyone in your family?¡± he asked, the thoughting to him rather suddenly.

    ¡°What?¡± For once, he¡¯d caught her off guard.

    ¡°The way you talk about them makes me wonder why you¡¯re making these efforts. Are they redeemable? Think about the evil your n hasmitted to remain in power.¡±

    ¡°Victor, I do love people in my family! There are hundreds of childrenpletely removed from our family¡¯s business. They¡¯re truly innocent. There are hundreds of people in my family involved in very benign industries. Only a few dozen are like me, with hands sullied by things like indentured contracts, industrial sabotage, and, oh, Ancestors! Am I confessing all my sins today?¡±

    ¡°If you expect me to go into this venture with you, I want to know what¡¯s going on in here,¡± Victor reached out and poked Rellia in the chest, trying to indicate her heart, and he felt like she got the message. She didn¡¯t pull away, and she nodded.

    ¡°I want to change. I want to change how things at this level in my n operate. I don¡¯t like the corruption and dishonesty. I don¡¯t like the guilt. I don¡¯t think about the people whose contracts we buy because I¡¯d never sleep if I did. I push them all into a corner of my mind andbel them ¡®criminals paying their dues.¡¯ Victor, if you help me, I¡¯ll start divesting our family of those sorts of businesses. I¡¯ll say I¡¯m raising funds for the campaign. I have the influence right now, and once I start us down that road, it would be impossible for my detractors to derail us, not until we fail, which is what they¡¯ll be counting on.¡± She had tears in her eyes again, and Victor could feel the emotion in her voice.

    He tried to keep focused on all the suffering that he and others had been through as a result of this woman¡¯s actions, but even then, Victor couldn¡¯t help believing she was sincere and knew he had to get out of there before agreeing to something he might regret. ¡°Listen, I think I believe you, Rellia, and part of me wants to help you. Part of me wants to agree right now, but another part of me, the part that¡¯s been screwed over and nearly killed a dozen times, is telling me to get out of here.¡± He took a step away from the table, nodding as if to confirm his conviction to himself.

    ¡°Wait, Victor,¡± she said, using the table to hop around to a bureau of drawers against a nearby wall. ¡°That¡¯s fair. I want you to be sure, and I hope you¡¯ll go and talk to the people you trust. Tell them what we spoke about, but please leave myments on the Empire and Tharcray out. I want to send something with you, though. I want to give you something solid that illustrates my conviction, my intentions.¡± She opened one of the drawers and pulled out a polished silver scroll case, densely packed with golden filigrees and purple ribbons hanging from each end.

    ¡°This is my family¡¯s Writ of Conquest. I want you to hold it. Take it with you, and think about what I¡¯ve proposed. I¡¯ll return to Persi Gables at the end of the month¡ªI always winter there. I¡¯m going to startying the groundwork for this venture. I¡¯ll take this time to prove to you that I am sincere.

    If youe to me in two months, you¡¯ll find I¡¯ve sold off our stake in the Greatbone Mine and cleared all our bnce sheets of indentures. I¡¯ll be surrounded by furious family members, but, as I said, they won¡¯t move against me unless our venture fails. They¡¯ll kill me if it does. My life is, once again, in your hands, Victor.¡± She held the scroll case out to him, and Victor grimaced.

    ¡°Goddamn! You¡¯lly that shit on me? If I decide I don¡¯t want to do this, you¡¯re gonna die? Why not try to conquer some of the Marches without me?¡±

    ¡°My approval from the Old Powers is dependent upon your participation. Victor, you asked me to change how my family does business. I will do as you asked, but there will be a price. We can pay the cost with a sessful conquest or with my head. I¡¯m willing to risk everything to do what you asked.¡± She saw the storm clouds building in Victor¡¯s eyes and added, ¡°I know it¡¯s the right thing to do, Victor. You aren¡¯t responsible.¡±

    ¡°Puta madre!¡± Victor swore, taking the scroll case, ¡°Fucking hell! You really tied me up here, Rellia!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m on borrowed time, Victor. If you never show up¡ªif this n of mine blows up in my face, I¡¯ll consider this winter a bonus. I should have died in that pit when we fought, and you know it.¡± She held out a hand like she wanted a handshake, and Victor looked at it, then stared hard at her, looking into her eyes. He wished he had some sort of superpower that let him read people¡¯s minds, but he didn¡¯t, and he couldn¡¯t see any deception there.

    ¡°All right, then. I won¡¯t leave you hanging¡ªI¡¯ll let you know one way or another. Let me talk to my friends and spend some time figuring shit out, and then I¡¯ll get word to you.¡± He took her hand, and she wrapped her surprisingly long fingers around his palm, squeezing firmly. He found himself reluctant to let go, but he did, and then he pulled her chair closer to where she¡¯d hopped. ¡°You good? I can find the way out.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Victor. Thank you for hearing me out and for epting my trust. I hope I hear from you soon.¡±

    #

    ¡°And you took it?¡± Tha asked, incredulous.

    ¡°Yeah, I mean, what else could I do? She wasying everything on the line.¡± He nced from Tha¡¯s outraged face to Lam¡¯s gleeful one to Edeya, standing by the door, doing her best to remain impassive. They were in Lam¡¯s front parlor, going over the news, Victor sitting in a chair facing Tha and Lam as they lounged on a couch.

    ¡°This is a wonderful opportunity!¡± Lam said. ¡°Victor, you have to let me help with the venture! I can raise severalpanies! Get me into a meeting with Rellia, and I¡¯ll negotiate for a portion of her piece, not yours. I¡¯m sure I can get that out of her!¡±

    ¡°Oh, Ancestors!¡± Tha huffed. ¡°Lam, aren¡¯t you going to try to talk any sense into him? Rellia ap¡¯Yensha? Turning a new leaf? Do you really believe this nonsense?¡±

    ¡°I know I¡¯m not exining things perfectly, but Tha, you had to be there. She¡¯s either the world''s greatest saleswoman and liar, or she truly wants to make some changes. It should be pretty easy to see if she¡¯s sincere, right, Lam? We¡¯ll be able to check if she really sells out of the mine and gets out of the indentured servant business, won¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°Of course! It will be trivial to find out if she follows through. Even if she doesn¡¯t, though, this is a fantastic opportunity, Tha.¡±

    ¡°Of course, you would say that, Captain!¡± Tha said, scowling from Lam to Victor. She kicked a foot against the coffee table, pushed herself further back on the couch, and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

    ¡°Why? Because I know a good opportunity when I see one? Because I know that these Writs of Conquest are worth a fortune? Even though none of the families have taken advantage of them, at least publicly, I know that deals are brokered for them at the top levels of society all the time. Some families have collected ten or more of these Writs, trying to squash futurepetition. Something tells me the Marches won¡¯t remain vacant forever, and Rellia knows it.¡±

    ¡°Let me guess,¡± Tha said, ¡°You¡¯ve been trying to buy one?¡±

    ¡°Of course! They¡¯re impossible to get ahold of for an upstart like me, though, despite my wealth.¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what to do about any of this,¡± Victor said, rubbing his hands through his hair, scrubbing at his scalp like he was trying to stimte his brain.

    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Lam asked, and Tha grew quiet, staring at Victor to hear his answer.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I kind of want to just fucking disappear. You know, go with Deyni and Tha, find Tellen¡¯s camp, and spend some time with them. I¡¯d like to learn a thing or two from Oyna. I¡¯d like to do some real adventuring and exploring,¡± he took a deep breath, exhaling through his nose, then he continued,

    ¡°I think of those things, and then I remember I¡¯ve got all kinds of shit I¡¯m responsible for, still. I have to do something about Belikot¡ªsomething I was going to talk to you about, Captain. I need to visit the Wagon Wheel in Persi Gables and put Yund out of business,¡± he paused to re around, waiting for someone to tell him not to worry about that. He hadn¡¯t voiced that desire aloud, at least not so clearly before.

    ¡°And there¡¯s a certain minor noble, at least I think he¡¯s minor, living near there that I need to deal with. He¡¯s the asshole that tried to wreck my Core and sent some hunters after us here.¡± He paused, then added, ¡°I mean, let¡¯s not forget about Lifedrinker. If I¡¯m being honest, that¡¯s what I want to do more than anything right now¡ªhelp her recover from the sacrifice she made for me.¡±

    Lam started to say something, opening her mouth but then closing it and shaking her head. Victor stared at her a few seconds, then turned to Tha, saw how she¡¯d started to frown, perhaps sympathetically matching his own expression, and said, ¡°Am I missing anything?

    ¡°Probably, but that¡¯s enough to stress about right now,¡± Tha said, reaching out to pat his knee, her earlier scowl softening.

    ¡°I can¡¯t think of a better ce to adventure and explore than the Marches,¡± Lam said, giving him a sly smile.

    ¡°God, you¡¯re not going to let me get out of this, are you?¡± Victor sighed, trying to resist Lam¡¯s smile but finding his lips creeping up at the corners in response.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be with you every step of the way, Victor. Now, tell me about this Belikot situation. If we¡¯re going to go along with Rellia¡¯s campaign, I think we should get your te of problems cleared off a bit.¡± She sat back, folding her hands with a smug smile, and once again, Victor found himself wanting to trust her. Hadn¡¯t she tried to help him at every turn? She¡¯d given him Lifedrinker, bought out their contracts, sheltered them, and spoken on their behalf to the Magistrate. She¡¯d fought with them, too, in the depths.

    Victor thought about when he¡¯d seen Lam soaring out of the high tunnel to smash amongst the swarm of beatle riders. She¡¯d saved them that day. Though, now that he thought about it, they¡¯d been in that battle because of her. She was the one who brought them down there. She was the one who¡¯d told them to guard that spot while she hunted treasures. Suddenly Victor realized what had been bothering him, a thought that had been scratching at his subconscious mind since he¡¯de back to Lam¡¯s estate. He looked at Lam and said, ¡°How many indentured workers do you own the contracts of?¡±

    ¡°What? How¡¯s that important right now, Victor?¡± Lam didn¡¯t frown, she didn¡¯t scowl, she maintained an impassive expression, but Victor could see his question had bothered her. He stared at her green eyes, beautiful as they were, and frowned.

    ¡°Come on, Lam. Answer the question. If Rellia¡¯s willing to stop doing business that way, shouldn¡¯t everyone involved in the campaign at least be honest about it?¡± He leaned forward, resting an elbow on his knee as he kept eye contact with the captain. He couldn¡¯t tell what Tha was thinking, but she shifted ufortably in his peripheral vision.

    ¡°Are you really that ungrateful?¡± Lam asked, allowing some of her anger to show. ¡°Everything I¡¯ve done for you, and you bring this up? I own some contracts, but I¡¯m good to my people, Victor, even the indentured ones. You know I didn¡¯t own any contracts among the delvers, right? I¡¯m done with the mine¡ªsure, I made some profits there, but I won¡¯t do business with them anymore. Is that what you want to hear?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a start, but I¡¯d like you to stop buying indentured contracts, too. Just fucking hire people to work for you, Lam. Is it that hard? If we¡¯re going to be working to make a new start, to build something new, let¡¯s fucking do it right. Can you get on board with that? If you can¡¯t get Rellia to share some of her split, I¡¯ll share some of mine. It¡¯s worth it to me if you¡¯ll agree to do things without very. That¡¯s what those contracts amount to most of the time; you realize that, right?¡±

    Lam sat back and licked her lips, looking into the space over Victor¡¯s head, clearly thinking things through. Just as the silence was starting to feel awkward, and Victor was trying to think of something more to say, she looked at him, brushed some of her silvery, blonde hair behind one of her ears, and said, ¡°It¡¯ll cost me, but not terribly. I appreciate your convictions, Victor, and I know you have good reason to feel the way you do. If I can manage a twenty percent stake in this venture, I¡¯ll sell off all my indentures immediately. If you or Rellia don¡¯t want to give me that much, I¡¯ll stop buying indentures and work to clear my books more naturally as the contracts expire. Deal?¡±

    Victor smiled and held out a hand. Lam took it and squeezed, her fingers like iron bands around his muchrger palm. Victor grinned and squeezed back, almostughing as her eyes bulged a little. He let go and said, ¡°Thanks, Lam. I know you¡¯re not one of the bad guys, but that¡¯s been bugging me in the back of my mind for a long time.¡±

    ¡°Now that you two worked that out, can we tell her about Belikot, Victor? You¡¯re stressing out about him because you promised me you¡¯d deal with him. Maybe that¡¯s not really necessary anymore?¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll feel better having his situation resolved,¡± Victor said, turning to Tha and offering a slight shrug. ¡°He might leave us alone, leave you alone, but we don¡¯t know for sure, right?¡±

    ¡°Who the rotten roots is Belikot?¡± Lam asked with a growl.

    ¡°Alright, let me exin,¡± Victor said, and that¡¯s what he did. He told Lam about Tha finding the skull in the dungeon and about how it tricked her. He told her about how he¡¯d won the phctery from the dungeon boss and how he¡¯d noticed its tether to Belikot in Tha¡¯s body. Lam asked questions throughout, and Victor had to exin Gorz to her, and then they had to have a whole side conversation bout how Victor had lied to her when he¡¯d told her about the map he¡¯d seen, showing the route to the dungeon.

    ¡°So anyway,¡± he continued after apologizing for not trusting herpletely when he and Tha had first gone to her for help. ¡°Gorz helped me follow the tether, and I ambushed Belikot, forcing him back into his skull and helping Tha to get back into her body. That¡¯s when we met Oyna¡ªshe¡¯s the Spirit Caster for Tellen¡¯s n. She kinda guided me with the process of getting Belikot out of Tha.¡±

    ¡°So, what¡¯s the problem?¡± Lam asked. Victor noticed that Edeya hade closer, enjoying the story. He didn¡¯t look at her, though, because he didn¡¯t want Lam to yell at her for moving away from her post.

    ¡°The Belikot that tricked me was just a small fragment of the real Belikot. We found out he lives in a dungeon in a ruined town called Gel Harra. Lam, there are Naghelli in there¡ªreal ones.¡± Tha answered, perhaps afraid Victor would be too long-winded with his exnation.

    ¡°Naghelli? I think you must be mistaken. They were probably dungeon constructs.¡± Lam sat back with a snort.

    ¡°Nah, they were real, Lam,¡± Victor said. ¡°I killed one, and his wife came to thank me for giving him an honorable death inbat. They spoke about leaving the dungeon soon and continuing Belikot¡¯s ¡®great work.¡¯¡± Victor shrugged as if to say, ¡°None of it makes sense to me either.¡±

    ¡°They stole the phctery from Victor while he protected me. I¡¯m not a match for them, Lam.¡± Tha shook her head, eyes distant, clearly remembering the battle.

    ¡°You¡¯re tier-two, Tha?¡± Lam asked. She knew the answer but seemed to want to confirm something.

    ¡°Yes, I think the Naghelli were tier-four. Victor was still tier-two at the time, but, well, he¡¯s Victor.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, so I told Tha I¡¯d go back and sort things out with Belikot. You know, after she and her daughter were safe. I figured maybe I could get some help here in Gelica cause, well, who wants a crazy necromancer toe out of a dungeon with a bunch of Naghelli and start up some kind of evil n?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re sure it¡¯s evil?¡± Edeya asked, lifting a hand to her mouth like she hadn¡¯t meant to speak. Lam looked at her, raised an eyebrow, and snorted.

    ¡°Well,e and sit down, then, Edeya. I think the guards outside the door are enough,¡± Lam said, surprising Victor.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know their n, but the Naghelli spoke about some kind of new empire, and they said that since we brought them the phctery, they¡¯d make us some of their top servants or some bullshit.¡± Victor grinned at his summary, then sat back, rubbing at the stubble on his chin. He didn¡¯t grow enough facial hair to manage a beard, but he did get some thin, wiry stubble around his chin. He figured he was due for a shave.

    ¡°The fragment of Belikot we met was duplicitous and cruel, and the way he treated me when he stole my body tells me that anything he¡¯s nning will not be good for people who aren¡¯t among his followers,¡± Tha said, ring at Victor.

    ¡°What?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Well, you either say too much or too little! Don¡¯t you think mentioning what Belikot is like was a good idea?¡±

    ¡°Damn, Tha! I figured we were both here, and we could both exin shit.¡±

    ¡°All right, all right. Here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do; I¡¯lle with you to the dungeon, Victor, and I¡¯ll bring a few old friends, like Polo Vosh. We¡¯ll deal with this Belikot fellow. Meanwhile, Edeya and some of my troops can escort Tha to your friend Tellen¡¯s camp. After we deal with Belikot, you can go visit. Near the end of winter, we¡¯ll make our way, you, me, and the troops I¡¯ve raised, to Persi Gables, and before we join up with Rellia, you can sort out your problems around that city. I¡¯ll help if you need it.¡± Lam sat back with a satisfied grin, and Victor and Tha stared at her with open mouths.

    Victor closed his mouth and started to speak, ¡°I, well, shit, Lam! You make it all sound easy!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been good at organizing. Edeya, fetch myp desk; I want to write a message to Rellia.¡±

    ¡°What are you going to say?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to tell her that we¡¯ll be working together, that you¡¯ll be unavable for a few months, but that you¡¯ll see her in Persi Gablese springtime. I¡¯ll also let her know that we¡¯ll need to borrow a tier-four or five from her personal guard for a short mission¡ªsomething important to keep her in your good graces.¡± Lam smiled at him smugly.

    ¡°You think we¡¯ll be able to handle it? Belikot seemed very powerful¡ªthe Naghelli were afraid of him,¡± Victor asked, frowning at the memory.

    ¡°If you could hold off a pack of Naghelli, even though they were higher rank than you, then a group of us should be able to settle things well enough.¡±

    ¡°You know how strong Lam is, Victor. Polo Vosh and a few others will make you a force to be reckoned with. I think you can do it,¡± Tha added.

    ¡°All right. Shit, Lam, I feel a lot better having sorted out my problems and having a n to go after them all.¡±

    ¡°Victor, it¡¯s a fundamental skill that officers in the Imperial Legion are drilled with: list out problems and prioritize based on severity, distance, and urgency. Stick with me, berserker, and you¡¯ll learn a thing or two.¡± She favored him with a brilliant smile, and Victor remembered his old crush on her. He wanted to go back in time and p his old self upside the head.

    Lam was so much more than beautiful. She was strong, intelligent, an incredible leader, and a savvy politician. She was ambitious and experienced, and the thought of trying to pursue her romantically made Victor want to run and hide. He¡¯d rather face down a thousand giant river rats than try even to hold Lam¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Thanks, Captain Lam,¡± he said, leaning forward earnestly. ¡°Thanks for everything, especially respecting my feelings about indentured servants.¡±

    ¡°If Rellia ap¡¯Yensha can do it, so can I,¡± Lam scoffed. ¡°Edeya! Hurry! Get my desk while I still have a few amusing quips at the tip of my tongue!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Captain,¡± Edeya said and hurried out of the parlor, barking at the guards outside the door to get out of her way.

    ¡°Come on, Victor. I think this would be a good time for me to take you to meet the Artificer that Deyni and I visited. He has some ideas for your axe.¡± Tha stood and motioned toward the door.

    ¡°Really? Right on! Thanks, Tha! All right, Captain, let me know when you have a n. I mean, like when we¡¯re leaving and who will being.¡± Victor stood and began to follow Tha.

    ¡°I will, Victor. You¡¯ll have a n of action to read through before breakfast tomorrow.¡± Lam said distractedly. She¡¯d produced a quill and some paper and was already writing down some notes. ¡°I have some clever remarks for Rellia, and I want to write them out before I forget them.¡±

    Victor shook his head with a grin on his face and followed Tha to the main foyer. He felt immensely better now that he¡¯d shared all of his problems with someone other than just Tha. It was like the more people who knew about them, the lighter they felt. On top of that, it felt good to know there was a n of action and not just an amorphous cloud of concerns circling around the back of his mind.

    ¡°You seem happy,¡± Tha said.

    ¡°Well, shit, that went well, don¡¯t you think?¡± Victor asked, joining her by the doors.

    ¡°Yes. Lam¡¯s a captain, and she knows how to make things happen. She earned that rank, you know¡ªpeople outside the Legion don¡¯t get to call themselves military ranks without having served. At least not in the Empire. Now, let¡¯s take advantage of this calm before the storm she¡¯s about to stir up. Ready to see if we can help Lifedrinker?¡±

    ¡°Hell, yes!¡± Victor put his arm around Tha¡¯s shoulders, and the two of them strode out of Lam¡¯s estate.

 Book 3: Chapter 4: Festival

    Book 3: Chapter 4: Festival

    ¡°Let¡¯s not take a coach,¡± Tha said as they passed through the gates of Lam¡¯s estate. ¡°I want to talk a bit while we walk.¡±

    ¡°All right. I could use the fresh air,¡± Victor said, and he meant it. As the evening darkened the skies, the breeze blowing in from the north had brought a crisp chill to the air, and he was enjoying it. He was used to heat, used to the sweltering sun, but he always loved it around November in Tucson when the mornings would have a bit of bite to the air, and he¡¯d smell mesquite burning on the breeze.

    No one he knew had a firece, but there were a few houses he walked by on his way to a friend¡¯s house or up to the restaurant where he¡¯d worked when he was sixteen¡ªthey loved any excuse at all to burn some mesquite, and a chilly morning seemed to be cause enough. He could smell woodsmoke now, but it was different. Still, it reminded him of November and family gatherings and good food.

    ¡°With magic and shit, I¡¯m surprised people need to burn wood for heat,¡± he said, sniffing the air.

    ¡°Energy at the levels you have isn¡¯t thatmon, Victor. Not everyone can afford Energy furnaces, either, and if they could, not everyone can recharge them. It takes longer to charge a power stone than it does to craft an Energy bead, and you¡¯ve seen how long that can take. Oh, dead uncle! I forgot to tell you! You¡¯re rich! At leastpared to a lot of people. I staked your beads for you, and you were a fifty-to-one underdog.¡±

    ¡°Dead uncle?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a curse! Is that the only thing you heard?¡±

    ¡°No, I heard the rest. That¡¯s great, Tha. You have some weird curse words, though.¡±

    ¡°Victor! Not very many people have fifty thousand Energy beads!¡± Tha shook her head in exasperation, giving him a shove as they walked.

    ¡°Well, half of those are yours, right?¡± He nudged her shoulder with his fist, returning the favor.

    ¡°If you insist!¡± Sheughed. ¡°I¡¯ll give you your half when we get back to the estate, all right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s cool.¡± He kicked at a fallen branch, clearing it off the brick walkway.

    ¡°You know Lam¡¯s using you again, right?¡± Tha¡¯s eyes grew serious, and her smile faded.

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m not stupid, you know? I know everyone has their own reasons for doing things. That doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s bad, though. She wants a chance to gain power and influence, and this whole thing gives her a shot at gaining somend of her own¡ªoutside the Empire. I mean, Rellia¡¯s after the same thing.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, as long as your eyes are open to it.¡± Tha shrugged, then she changed the subject, ¡°What about Belikot? I thought you were going to let things go with him. You were pretty sure he was busy with his own problems. Why the change of heart?¡±

    ¡°You know better than anyone that I tend to give people too much credit. When he warned me about my spirit wandering and said I should learn that Tether Spirit spell, my instinct was to give him a whole lot of credit¡ªyou know, a powerful necromancer showing me some mercy, letting me go, and warning me at the same time. I¡¯ve thought about it since then, though, and something just felt off about it. I think he was afraid of me.¡± Victor paused and looked at Tha, and she raised one of her dark eyebrows.

    ¡°Somehow, my spirit was wandering in his proximity¡ªwhat if I found him? What if I came upon him on the Spirit ne? I might be new to that whole thing, but my spirit is strong, Tha. My will is fucking high. I might just be able to beat his ass in that realm. So what does he do? He warns me, ¡®Oh, look out; you¡¯re wandering in dangerous areas, better tether your spirit down, don¡¯t let your subconscious guide you to me!¡¯¡±

    ¡°You think that¡¯s what was happening? Your subconscious was seeking him out?¡±

    ¡°Maybe! I mean, fuck, I¡¯d been thinking about him nonstop for days and days. I was worried about him, but I also wanted to confront him. Anyway, I¡¯ve been thinking about this, and I won¡¯t be cool leaving him alone. I need to at least talk to him and see what his deal is. You weren¡¯t wrong when you said he¡¯s not a nice guy, though. I¡¯m willing to hear out those Naghelli, but they did attack us first, and there was something pretty creepy about them.¡±

    ¡°Turn here,¡± Tha said, and Victor realized they¡¯d made their way back into the city while they were talking. The streets were fairly quiet, but a lot of noise and light came from further in. Victor followed Tha¡¯s directions and turned up a side street, and the light fell away behind them.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on back there?¡± he asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s still Harvest Fest time. There¡¯ll be a celebration in the main square for a few more nights.¡±

    ¡°What kind of celebration?¡±

    ¡°Music, food, games, things like that.¡± Tha shrugged.

    ¡°What the hell, Tha? Let¡¯s get Deyni and go there!¡±

    ¡°Really? You want to go?¡±

    ¡°Hell, yes! I can count the fun things I¡¯ve done in this world on one hand¡ªhalf a fucking hand!¡±

    Thaughed, and Victor loved the way it sounded. She¡¯d been so serious since his fight¡ªhe was d to see her let loose a little. ¡°I¡¯ll get Deyni while you''re talking to Ganjoon.¡±

    ¡°Ganjoon?¡±

    ¡°The Artificer I told you about. That¡¯s with a capital a, by the way. He¡¯s a real Artificer, as in that¡¯s his ss.¡±

    ¡°Oh, cool. I haven¡¯t heard a name like his. Is he Ardeni or what?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s an Ilyathi, like that bounty hunter you fought on the bridge. Quite a different type of person, though,¡± she chuckled. ¡°We¡¯re not far now, just up at the corner.¡± She led the way to the shop, a corner store with window cases disying all sorts of items with descriptive hanging tags. He saw everything from self-cleaning ssware to an entire suit of red te armor densely inscribed with silvery runes. The sign above the door simply read, ¡°Corner Artifice.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor said, reading the rather nd name.

    ¡°He told me his work speaks for itself when I asked him about the name,¡± Tha said, noting his gaze. ¡°C¡¯mon, I¡¯ll introduce you, then I¡¯ll go get Deyni.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Victor said, and the two entered the shop. A bird trill apanied the door opening, and Victor smiled, wondering where the sound came from. He knew it was some sort of enchantment, but shouldn¡¯t it need a speaker or something? He snorted; he knew Energy didn¡¯t work like tech, but he still wondered how it did something like make a bird sound. Was it like a spell pattern but written into the door?

    ¡°Hello! Tha, I¡¯m d to see you again!¡± A warm, tenor voice interrupted Victor¡¯s musings, and he turned to the sound.

    A tall, thin man with a smooth gray head and wide ck eyes smiled at him from behind a counter. He looked simr to the bounty hunter, but Victor could see the differences, especially in the warmth of his smile and theughter lines around his eyes. The sides of his head were covered in tattoos depicting runes and sigils that meant nothing to Victor, though he thought they looked cool. The shopkeeper wore a in green shirt but had a leather toolbelt buckled around his waist with dozens of slender tools poking up from pockets. ¡°This the friend you told me about?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Ganjoon, this is Victor.¡± Tha stepped forward and gestured back to Victor while she moved to sp the man¡¯s hand.

    ¡°I see. Yes, I doubt he could be anyone else,¡± the shopkeeper said as Victor came out from behind a disy and stepped toward the counter.

    ¡°Yeah, not many like him around,¡± Tha chuckled.

    ¡°All right, All right, go get your daughter before you get into your joke material about my size,¡± Victor groused, nudging Tha aside so that he could reach out for Ganjoon¡¯s hand. The man gave him a firm handshake, smiling all the while. Tha grunted and gave Victor a shove, putting her shoulder into it like he was a boulder she was pushing up a hill. When he barely budged, she sighed heavily and turned back to the door.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back in about twenty minutes¡ªwe¡¯ll get a coach on the way back.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good,¡± Victor said, waving as she stepped out.

    ¡°So, warrior, let me see the lovelydy,¡± Ganjoon said, gesturing to Lifedrinker hanging from his belt. Victor didn¡¯t lift Lifedrinker free right away, though. Instead, he took a deep breath through his nose and looked around the shop. He knew Tha liked this guy, and she¡¯d told him a thing or two about Victor and Lifedrinker, but that didn¡¯t mean that he had to trust him instantly. He wanted to get a feel for Ganjoon, so he walked over to the nearest disy. It was a ss-shelved case of rings and bracelets.

    ¡°Do you make the items in here or just enchant them?¡± he asked, leaning over to study the jewelry. They were all quite beautiful as far as he was concerned, clearly crafted from precious metals and gemstones. Some were carved intricately, with little symbols or tiny flowers and animals. Some were in but gave off a luster that hinted at their fineness.

    ¡°I do both, Victor,¡± Ganjoon said, clearly taking the hint that Victor was feeling him out. ¡°I started my career as an Enchanter. At tier-two, I refined my ss to something called an Energy Tinkerer, and at tier-three, I was lucky enough to gain the Artificer ss.¡±

    ¡°You made all this?¡± Victor gestured around the shop to the myriad items from jewelry to weapons to household goods.

    ¡°Heaven¡¯s no! The items with yellow tags were crafted by me, the ones with blue tags were only enchanted by me, and the white tags are simply on consignment¡ªitems I thought were worth a spot in my shop.¡±

    Victor nodded, pulling Lifedrinker from her loop and walking back to the man¡¯s counter. He gentlyid her on the wood, resting his palms nearby as though reluctant to let her out of reach. Ganjoon leaned forward, producing a lens, something like a magnifying ss, but with an opaque ss that sparkled with little lights when Victor tried to see what it showed. Ganjoon scrutinized every part of Lifedrinker, from the knob of her haft to the edge of her de. When he straightened up, he had a grin on his face.

    ¡°Lovely, lovely weapon, she is! Sleeping Gods, but I¡¯d of liked to see her before the, well, the incident. Tha told me about it, you see.¡±

    Victor wanted to ask him about the ¡°sleeping gods¡± interjection but instead said, ¡°You know anything I can do to help here back to me faster? I had to kill a shit load of monsters, and some powerful ones, at that, to wake her up the first time.¡±

    ¡°She has a Heart Silver core, which allowed her toe alive. You know that, right?¡± Victor nodded, and he continued, ¡°Somehow, the Heart Silver was embedded in an alloy primarilyprised of cobalt. Some serious artificing went into the construction of that axe head! I can see the tracery of the Heart Silver¡¯s growth here.¡± He ran a finger along the slightly discolored ck metal of the axehead where the bright silvery veins had been growing.

    ¡°Yeah, before she saved me,¡± Victor said quietly, looking at Lifedrinker like he¡¯dmitted a crime.

    ¡°Lad,¡± Ganjoon said, shaking his head. ¡°You don¡¯t need to feel bad about that! She wouldn¡¯t have done it if she didn¡¯t want to. Waking up Heart Silver isn¡¯t easy; I¡¯ll have you know! It¡¯s not just a matter of gathering a lot of Energy¡ªthe metal, shaped into a purposeful tool, has to feel a connection to another soul. It¡¯s like it has to catch a spark from that soul, and it won¡¯t do that for just anyone. Nah, she wanted to help you, and it filled a sort of purpose for her. She¡¯ll be even stronger when shees back, mark my words.¡±

    Victor felt emotion constricting his chest as he stared hard into the mysterious depths of Ganjoon¡¯s eyes. ¡°Really?¡± he asked with a thick throat.

    ¡°Really! I have texts on this subject. There are only a handful of ounts of someone actually waking up their Heart Silver weapon or tool, despite the hundreds, nay, thousands crafted every few years. I can feel her stirring in there. You can, too, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s not like when I first got her. She didn¡¯t give up everything.¡±

    ¡°Right! So you don¡¯t have to worry; the hard part is done, and the spark is struck! Just help her recover, give her Energy.¡±

    ¡°Is there any other way to do that? Other than killing things?¡± Victor asked, clearing his throat and straightening up, feeling like a weight had been taken from him.

    ¡°Well, sure. She¡¯s an axe, though, and she¡¯s grown ustomed to feeding a certain way, hasn¡¯t she?¡± He asked, and Victor nodded with a wry grin. ¡°Well, that¡¯s always going to be the easiest way for her to gain strength and to grow. Pure Energy forms, created to spur growth in the consumer, will work for her, too, particrly those the System gives as rewards. Have you ever seen an advancement orb?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Well, sometimes the System gives them out as rewards. They¡¯re like balls of Energy, but you can¡¯t cultivate them or even move them¡ªthe first person to touch them will gain enough Energy to advance a level. They¡¯re rather rare, but you can find them, not too umonly, in dungeons or forpleting System-generated quests. I think that Lifedrinker could consume such an orb.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor said, nodding, ¡°that¡¯s cool. Anything else?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure there are natural treasures that might offer her some advancement. Certain fruits with the power to improve a person¡¯s Core are often filled with easily digested Energy. Most importantly, Victor, you need to keep using her. Treat her as the wonderful weapon she¡¯s always been. Speak to her, and remind her that you¡¯re waiting for her.¡± He gave Victor a long, hard look, then asked bluntly, ¡°Do you love her, Victor?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Victor asked, surprised. He started to deny it, to say something like ¡°hell no!¡± but he looked down at the axe lying on the bench and mped his mouth shut. How could he say something like that in front of her? After everything she¡¯d done for him? She¡¯d shown him her love, and if he were honest and not trying to seem like a macho idiot, he¡¯d admit that it had sparked deep emotions in him. He cared about Lifedrinker and wanted her to be all right. Did he love her? He wasn¡¯t sure that was the right word, and if it was, it certainly wasn¡¯t romantic¡ªhe didn¡¯t want to marry his pinche axe!

    He cleared his throat and said, ¡°I care about her, man. I want her to be all right because she¡¯s the best friend I could ever ask for,¡± Victor paused and reached out to put a heavy hand on Ganjoon¡¯s shoulder and added, ¡°You better not repeat that to Tha! I mean, Tha¡¯s my best friend with two legs, but fuck, Lifedrinker¡¯s been through hell with me.¡± He reached out and gently caressed the warm haft, and Lifedrinker rewarded him with a vibrating buzz on Ganjoon¡¯s countertop.

    ¡°Wow!¡± the shopkeeper said, ¡°She¡¯s listening to you! You know, I¡¯ve had the luck to inspect a few intelligent weapons in my time, and I never saw one actually move itself! I saw a sword that would glow and pulse with light when its wielder spoke to it, but this is the first time I¡¯ve seen something like that!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s something special,¡± Victor said, lifting Lifedrinker from the counter and slipping her into her loop. ¡°Thanks for your advice, Ganjoon. I¡¯m d I met you.¡±

    ¡°Likewise, Victor! Can I interest you in any items while you¡¯re here?¡± Victor thought about it and realized Ganjoon had spent a lot of time with Tha and with him, talking about an axe with no profit in mind. It made him want to help the man¡¯s business.

    ¡°Yeah, why not? You got anything for kids? Any cool magical toys?¡±

    Ganjoon looked at him with a puzzled expression for a moment but nodded to cover his bafflement at Victor¡¯s strange turn of phrase and said, ¡°Of course! Could you describe the child in question?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s Tha¡¯s daughter. Um, I think she¡¯s six, but she¡¯s a real coyotita¡ªshe¡¯s clever and bold and loves her mama.¡±

    ¡°Six, hmm? I bet you¡¯d also like to please Tha with this gift, eh?¡±

    ¡°Sure! Something for them both would be perfecto!¡±

    ¡°I have an idea,¡± said Ganjoon walking to a cab at the corner of his shop. He rummaged through one of the shelves for a moment and returned to Victor, holding something that seemed to be made of ss in his hand. When he held out his palm, Victor saw two nes with silver chains. Each had a crystal pendant attached, shaped roughly like an elephant, though they differed in that these animals had delicately carved manes of feathers around their necks and six legs.

    ¡°Pretty,¡± Victor said. ¡°Do they do something?¡±

    ¡°Of course! This is Corner Artifice, is it not?¡± He handed one of the crystal elephant-like pendants to Victor and said, ¡°Watch.¡± He walked back behind his counter and through the swinging door leading to his shop''s back room. A momentter, Victor¡¯s pendant began to pulse with purple-blue light, and a tiny voice came out of it.

    ¡°Victor?¡± the little elephant creature said, its trunk moving up and down. ¡°If you hold the amulet tightly and speak, your voice wille out of the other one!¡±

    ¡°Oh, cool!¡± Victor said, recognizing Ganjoon¡¯s voice, though it was higher and had a faintly sharp quality. Ganjoon came out of his back room wearing a broad smile.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think they¡¯d like this gift?¡± Ganjoon asked.

    ¡°Of course! How far away can they be from each other?¡±

    ¡°Oh, anywhere around the same house¡ªa few hundred meters at most.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, still, that¡¯s fucking cool. Do you have any with a longer range?¡±

    ¡°Not presently, but I sometimes get requests for such. They¡¯re popr with the military and adventurers, though quite costly. These short-range crystal bolisii are four hundred beads, for instance. If you want some that can reach much further, say a few miles, they would require a material that can hold Energy more densely, and, even then, each use would require a day or so of recharging.¡±

    ¡°Well, even then, I could imagine some uses. I¡¯ll keep it in mind, Ganjoon. For now, let me buy these little elephants.¡± Victor held up the ne in his hand.

    ¡°Elephants?¡±

    ¡°Oh, um, what did you call these animals? They look like something called an elephant where I¡¯m from.¡±

    ¡°Ah. They¡¯re called bolisii. They¡¯rerge, mild-tempered beasts that are often used forbor on farms and such. Will the price be any problem?¡± Ganjoon smiled warmly, and Victor wondered what he¡¯d say if Victor said yes.

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine.¡± Victor stepped over to the counter and pulled out one of his sacks of beads, spending a few minutes sorting and counting out enough to give Ganjoon the requested four hundred. When he was finished, Ganjoon nodded and scooped the beads into a dimensional container of his own.

    ¡°I¡¯ll wrap these for you,¡± the shopkeeper said then, and he took the two pendants over to another table where he worked on boxing and wrapping the gift.

    Victor started to peruse the shop again while he waited, but the door opened, a bird sang out, and then Deyni charged at him, wrapping her little arms around his knees. Victorughed and scooped her up, holding her on one of his hips and looking to the door where Tha was just stepping into the shop. ¡°Hey, ninita, ready to go y some games and get some treats?¡± he asked Deyni, poking her little nose.

    ¡°I am, Victor!¡± Deyni said, carefully articting her words. ¡°My mom, Tha, says they have sugar crisps, and I can win prizes!¡±

    Victor smiled, looked at Tha, and she shrugged. He looked back at Deyni and said, ¡°Deyni, I know your mom¡¯s name. You can just say ¡®mom,¡¯ okay?¡±

    ¡°Okay, Victor!¡± She reached out to touch his cheek, and Victor wasn¡¯t sure what she was doing. He looked at her, bemused, but then he realized she was running her tiny fingers along the sparse stubble growing there.

    ¡°Gah!¡± he said. ¡°I need to shave, hmm?¡±

    ¡°Victor?¡± Victor turned back to see Ganjoon approaching, holding out a small box wrapped in shiny silver paper with a delicate, beautifully tied, pale blue ribbon. ¡°Here¡¯s your package.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Ganjoon,¡± Victor said, handing the package to Deyni. ¡°This is a present for you and your mommy. You guys can open itter, okay?¡±

    ¡°Victor!¡± Tha said, stepping forward. ¡°Why are you getting us presents?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really for Deyni. Don¡¯t get yourself all worked up,¡± Victor said, chuckling. ¡°Here, I¡¯ll hold onto it ¡®til we¡¯re back at the estate.¡± He took the package, giving Deyni a wink, and put it into his ring. Then, still carrying the little girl, he walked toward the door calling over his shoulder, ¡°Ganjoon, I¡¯ll be back if I need anything magical. See you soon, I¡¯m sure.¡±

    ¡°Farewell, Victor. Good luck with yourdy axe.¡±

    Out on the street, Tha walked up beside Victor, rubbing her hands in the brisk night air, and said, ¡°Lady axe?¡±

    ¡°¡®Bout time someone else gave her the respect she deserves,¡± Victor grinned, turning to start walking toward the festival.

    ¡°Oh, Ancestors! Did he offer you any help?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly, but he gave me a lot of information about Heart Silver and how it works. He¡¯s sure Lifedrinker¡¯s going to be okay, though, and that made me feel a lot better. Come on, now, Tha! Let¡¯s go have some fun.¡± He picked up his pace, still holding Deyni, and the little girl giggled as Tha had to almost jog to keep up.

    ¡°Hurry, Mommy!¡± She called, giggling at her mother¡¯s breath pluming out.

    ¡°Do I need to carry you too, Tha?¡± Victorughed, slowing to a normal pace. She just sighed and reached up to pinch her daughter¡¯s cheek, and they continued on their way. It wasn¡¯t long before Victor started to smell the food and hear the music from the festival, and soon they were pushing their way through crowds, and Victor had to struggle to keep his mouth closed as he took in the bright lights strung through the sky, and the colorful, amazingly diverse crowd.

    Most everyone dressed normally, like Victor and Tha, though some wore costumes. He figured they were like clowns in this world because they had painted faces with exaggerated expressions and brightly colored robes and cloaks, and they moved through the crowd handing treats to children. Tha called them ¡°harvest spirits,¡± though, and exined that they represented the people''s ancestors, handing out ¡°blessings¡± to the children, ensuring their good fortune for the year toe.

    The celebration took ce in two market squares and the streets between them, and all the businesses lining the markets were open, providing more space for the festivities. Victor insisted on sampling food from nearly every cart they passed, enjoying his stomach¡¯s ability to appear bottomless. He bought sweet treats for Deyni and himself, which Tha usually refused, and he ate several different types of marinated meat skewers.

    Victor enjoyed everything but couldn¡¯t help wishing there was even one good taco stand. He came upon a cart that offered a kind of sandwich with thin, chewy bread stuffed with meat and vegetables soaked in a creamy, spicy sauce, and it almost scratched his itch for a good burrito, though.

    They yed all sorts of games, and they reminded Victor of carnival games he¡¯d seen people ying in VRs about small towns where the weather changed a lot more than in Tucson. He helped Deyni win a handmade doll at a booth where you had to throw beanbags through holes. It was easy, and he almost wondered how the people made any money, then realized he¡¯d paid more for the chance to throw the bags than the dolls probably cost.

    Throughout the evening, the air was inundated with music from bands that yed in the corners of the squares. The music reminded Victor of his time at Steampool Vale and at the Red Rdii with Tha. He didn¡¯t dance, but he bounced along with the music, usually when he was carrying Deyni, and her giggles and bright eyes made him want to clown it up even more.

    Victor found the entire experience to be more fun than anything he could remember doing. He was sure he¡¯d had more fun at some point growing up, but his life on Earth was so distant in his mind that it almost seemed like a dream, and the festival that night seemed more real, more solid, than the distant memories of wrestling tournaments or parties at his cousins¡¯ houses, or even when he¡¯d made out with his girlfriend after a school dance.

    Deyni got sleepy after a few hours, and Tha and Victor walked back to Lam¡¯s estate together, with the little girl sleeping on Victor¡¯s shoulder the whole way. As they approached the gates, Victor fished around in his ring and pulled out his present, handing it to Tha. ¡°Open that when you guys wake up tomorrow. It¡¯s just a little something for Deyni and you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Victor. I wish I had something for you,¡± she said, grabbing onto his arm as they walked, kind of leaning into him.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to give me anything, Tha. I¡¯m just d I have you and Deyni. If it weren¡¯t for you, I¡¯d just have Lam and Rellia to deal with, and, well, they¡¯re more interested in how they can use me than they are in me. You know what I mean?¡±

    ¡°I know exactly what you mean, Victor,¡± Tha said, squeezing his arm and leaning her head against his shoulder. ¡°Exactly.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 5: Running with the Pack

    Book 3: Chapter 5: Running with the Pack

    Victor had found that when he cast Tether Spirit before sleeping, it seemed to calm his dreams quite a lot. It made him wonder just how much he was dreaming and how much his spirit was wandering and encountering strange things. After saying goodnight to Tha and Deyni, he¡¯d returned to his rooms, prepared to get a long night of rest after the mentally straining, emotional couple of days he¡¯d had.

    When he stood there, naked except for his underwear which was how he liked to sleep, staring at his bed, he had the thought that maybe he wouldn¡¯t cast Tether Spirit. Hadn¡¯t he just said to Tha that he thought Belikot might have been tricking him, might have been trying to keep Victor out of his hair by getting him to tie his spirit down? He struggled with the impulse, shaking his head, and wondering if he was being stupid.

    Part of his problem with the spell was that he didn¡¯t like the idea that he had to restrain himself. He didn¡¯t want anyone tying him down, not with cors and chains, not with control rods, not with spells. Why should he do it to himself? Oyna hadn¡¯t mentioned anything like that, had she? She¡¯d cautioned him about Spirit Walking carelessly, saying there were dangerous people he could encounter that way. Was his spirit wandering while he slept the same sort of thing? ¡°Why don¡¯t I just ask her?¡±

    He looked around his bedroom, wondering if he felt safe enough to Spirit Walk without getting someone to watch his back. He moved to his door and locked it, then shoved the heavy, five-drawer dresser in front of it. The windows were another matter¡ªthey opened with a crank, eachrge enough to allow a person through. He cranked the little handle in front of them each until they were closed, then looked around the room for something to barricade them.

    Victor hoisted the armoire on the far wall, carrying it over to block up one window. Then he picked up his mattress, a fluffy, feather-filled thing that bent and wobbled as he carried it, and plopped it upright in front of the other window. Frowning at the wobbly barricade, he reached into his storage ring and pulled out a few of the spears he¡¯d taken from the skeletons in the dungeon. Apologizing silently to Captain Lam, he propped the mattress upright with the spears, jamming their des into the hardwood floor to hold them in ce.

    Victor nodded to himself, looking around the room. Nobody would easily gain entry, and if they created enough racket to get past his barricades, he was sure the guards in the hallway woulde running. Still, he moved into the en suite bathroom, closed the door, and jammed another spear into the vanity to bar it shut. Then, Victor sat down on the cool tile floor and cleared his mind. As he was getting ready to cast his spell, another thought urred to him, and he said, ¡°Hey, Gorz, you there?¡±

    ¡°Hello, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Gorz, I¡¯m sorry I haven¡¯t been much of a friend. The truth is you¡¯re so quiet all the time unless I¡¯m talking to you that I forget you¡¯re there half the time. I know that¡¯s shitty, and I hope you aren¡¯t feeling messed up about it.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate the sentiment, but I don¡¯t feel bothered at all. It¡¯s the nature of my enchantment. Unless I¡¯m addressed or working on a task, I don¡¯t generally notice the passage of time the way living creatures or some differently enchanted spirits do.¡±

    ¡°Did your old master make you that way on purpose?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, Victor. I¡¯m just a fragment of my original self, you know. It¡¯s possible that there wasn¡¯t enough of me to be more . . . aware.¡±

    ¡°If I ask you to watch out for trouble while I cast Spirit Walk, do you think you could do that? Could you scream into my mind if something bad was happening?¡±

    ¡°I believe so! If I have a task, such as watching the tether when you were hunting Belikot, then I seem able to focus on it.¡±

    ¡°Awesome!¡± Victor looked to Lifedrinker, where she leaned against the nearby counter, and shook his head, pulling her over to rest across his knees. ¡°All right, Gorz. I¡¯m casting it. Please watch over me.¡±

    ¡°I will endeavor to stay as vignt as possible.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor rested his hands on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft and cast Spirit Walk. When he stood up, surrounded by the lightly wooded grassy ins around Gelica, he realized his hands weren¡¯t empty; they held a spirit version of Lifedrinker, her haft dark like the night sky but filled with a billion twinkling motes of silvery light. Her axehead, always dark in reality, was brightly shimmering like the surface of ake as the wind stirred its waters to reflect the moonlight.

    ¡°Hey, you never came with me before!¡± he said, lifting the weapon to look better at the bright, shimmering de. ¡°Well, thanks, Lifedrinker; I¡¯m d to have you along.¡± He held her hard, cold metal to his forehead for a moment, but though he felt a buzz of Energy and warmth, no voice sounded in his head. He rested her on his shoulder and started striding forward, thinking about Oyna, and wondering if she¡¯d be waiting for him or if his efforts to speak to her would be in vain.

    He strode between trees and out into a seemingly endless in, the enormous night sky with its countless stars making him feel small yet part of something vast and amazing. He nced left and right as he walked, always keeping Oyna in his mind, but after just a few steps, he stopped. Not far away to his left, he saw a brightly flickering fountain of lights that reminded him of fireworks¡ªsomething like a giant sparkler. He debated ignoring the phenomenon, but something inside him was too curious, so he turned and walked over to it.

    As he drew near, Victor saw his analogy be more and more appropriate. The sparkling lights looked more and more like a fountain of sparks erupting from some unseen object. Soon he was standing before the spray, and he felt the Energy pouring out of it, and he realized the differently colored sparks were various types of attuned Energy. He strained but couldn¡¯t tell what sorts of Energy they were¡ªnone of them resonated with his two affinities.

    Victor knelt and examined the fountain''s source, but all he could see was a blurry distortion in the air. When he tentatively reached out a hand to see if he could feel anything, it felt like he was sticking his hand into thick, warm syrup, but when he pulled it back, it waspletely clean¡ªjust his slightly glowing spirit fingers.

    ¡°Strange, isn¡¯t it?¡± Oyna asked from right behind him. Victor jumped, literally, and rolled forward into the grass,ing up with Lifedrinker between him and the old woman.

    ¡°You scared the shit out of me!¡± he growled.

    ¡°Hah!¡± Oyna said, then she started to chuckle and thenugh, and it sounded strange to Victor¡¯s ears because her spirit self had a pleasing trill of augh, not the cackle he¡¯d grown to expect.

    ¡°Well, since you¡¯re here, tell me what this thing is!¡± Victor gestured to the phenomenon, struggling to hold back the surge of anger at being made to look a fool.

    ¡°Rx, warrior,¡± Oyna said, smiling, beautiful, and youthful. She glided, graceful in her movements, to the fountain and studied its spray of Energies. When she turned to look at Victor again, her eyes were distant and unfocused. ¡°If you found this spot on the physical ne, you¡¯d be in the presence of a powerful artifact. Something that could change a person¡¯s life.¡± Her eyes refocused, staring into Victor¡¯s face, and she said, ¡°Come, it¡¯s not safe to linger here. Take my hand.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor said, moving closer, and then Oyna recoiled.

    ¡°Careful with that weapon, warrior, don¡¯t let her touch me! I can feel her hunger from here!¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Victor lifted Lifedrinker, and a grin spread on his face. ¡°No wonder she came along¡ªshe is hungry!¡± He rested her back on his shoulder and said, ¡°Hopefully, we¡¯ll find something to feed you, but leave Oyna alone, please.¡± He grinned to himself, enjoying the difort the old Spirit Caster had shown, then he stepped closer to her and reached out a hand, and the old-young woman tentatively took it.

    ¡°Walk with me,¡± she said, striding into the endless ocean of purple, starlit grass. Victor matched her pace, and she continued, ¡°I was with Tha just a little while ago. She thought you might seek me out tonight. She knows you well, doesn¡¯t she?¡±

    ¡°I guess so,¡± Victor said, wondering how Tha might have guessed his intentions and annoyed with himself for not considering or even wondering how often Tha and Oyna had been meeting on the Spirit ne.

    ¡°I¡¯ll speak to you about an important matter before discussing why you sought me out. Will that be all right?¡± Oyna asked, lifting his hand that she held and gently patting the back of it with her other.

    ¡°Sure, Oyna,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Tha has an important role to y with my n, and I believe you have important things to do and see in very distant ces. Can you understand that?¡±

    ¡°Uh, sure, but I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re right¡ªabout me, at least.¡±

    ¡°Victor, you¡¯ve been very kind to Tha and her daughter. She¡¯s told me about her time with you since your great victory and before it. She loves you like a brother and begins to wonder if she should think of you as more. I don¡¯t want you to hurt her, Victor. You are young and foolish and can¡¯t see past your two feet, but I see more and further, and I¡¯m certain you won¡¯t be staying with our n. Do you believe me?¡±

    The point of this strange conversation suddenly smacked Victor in the face, and he realized what Oyna wanted him to say, ¡°Oyna, I care about Tha a lot, but I¡¯m not sure how far those feelings go. Yeah, I figure you¡¯re probably right; I¡¯m not looking to settle down with a n of hunters, even if I do like your people an awful lot. I won¡¯t push things with Tha, all right? I¡¯m happy thinking of her as a friend¡ªfamily, even.¡±

    ¡°Good, warrior,¡± Oyna said, patting his hand again. ¡°Now, why did you seek Oyna out?¡±

    ¡°Do you tether your spirit when you sleep?¡± Victor looked down at the much smaller woman, watching for her reaction.

    ¡°Why would I do that?¡± She squinted her eyes in puzzlement, then looked up at his face and continued, ¡°When I sleep, if my spirit wanders, it¡¯s only partially walking on this ne. It, no, I have one foot on the physical ne and one foot here. Any harm that came to me would send me scurrying back to my body, which I still have contact with, waking me up instantly.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of that spell, then? Tether Spirit, I mean.¡±

    ¡°I suppose someone with a weak will could be snatched away if their spirit wandered near a powerful Spirit Caster. None in my n ever had a problem with such a thing, though. Perhaps others inrge cities have an affinity or curse . . . maybe a ss that causes such things. You shouldn¡¯t worry, Victor. Your will is like an iron spike embedded in the footings of a mountain. No one will move your spirit against your will.¡±

    ¡°Goddamn it,¡± Victor said, shaking his head.

    ¡°What is it, warrior?¡± Oyna turned to look at him, holding his hand with both of hers. He realized they¡¯d stopped walking a while ago and now stood in a small, wooded depression, a stream babbling nearby. He nced toward the sound and saw that the water looked like liquid moonlight, and as it cascaded over the rocks in its path, it threw up a mist that made rainbows in the twilight of the Spirit ne.

    ¡°This is a beautiful spot,¡± he said, temporarily forgetting their conversation.

    ¡°Yes. This is near my birthce. My mother showed me the Spirit ne for the first time here. Now, why do you berate yourself with the curses of a distant god?¡±

    ¡°Bel . . . the spirit that we dealt with, the one that was in Tha¡¯s body. He spoke to me while I dreamed, told me to learn to tether my spirit, and that he was doing me a favor. I fucking listened to him and have been casting that damn spell every night before I sleep.¡±

    ¡°Ha! There is real danger here, from creatures like him, even, but not for one such as you if you¡¯re only dream walking. Perhaps he feared you wandering upon him while he performed his dark works. Death casters use this realm, too, you know. Here, we¡¯re very close to the veil.¡± She stopped talking for a moment and looked hard at Victor and at Lifedrinker, then said, ¡°Warrior, he may well have feared you. This one you speak of, he¡¯s no Spirit Caster. I felt his fragment when you drove it out of Tha and into that skull. Death Casters, even strong ones, are not a match for a strong Spirit Caster in this realm.¡±

    ¡°I had that thought but wondered if I was being too cocky. You know, too, uh, full of myself.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve manifested your weapon here. You did so without trying, hmm? She¡¯s a smart one, though, not a in old axe . . . still, that¡¯s not something easily done for even an experienced Spirit Caster. I can feel your Core zing from across the ins, though mostly because I know what to look for. Hmm, no, I think, in this realm, the one whose name you fear to speak should be the one with fear in his heart.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Victor asked, and a wild, slightly insane impulse red to life inside him. Oyna, perhaps, saw the look in his eyes, and she opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself, cackling instead, and this time it was the sound the older woman made in the real world.

    ¡°Really, warrior! Now do what your heart calls for you to do!¡± Again, she cackled, and Victor felt his mouth responding with a maniac¡¯s grin. He dropped Lifedrinker from his shoulder, holding her in both hands, and started striding out of Oyna¡¯s grove, his mind focusing on Belikot. He pictured Belikot¡¯s skull, he pictured the figure that came to him in his dream, and he focused on the sound of that deep, self-important voice. He could hear it echoing in his mind, hear the words Belikot had spoken in his dream. When he had the image solidly in his mind, he picked up his pace, moving into a jog.

    While he ran, Victor cast Manifest Spirit, and suddenly he was running with his pack, five red-tinged, yipping, barking fragments of his spirit keeping pace with him. ¡°Let¡¯s hunt!¡± he called, and they answered him with barks, howls, and their ever-present yapping chatter. They coursed over the ins, and Victor felt a thrill in his heart, and he pushed himself even faster, stretching his long legs and really letting his improved body loose, sprinting for everything he was worth andughing at the rush of the ghostly wind whistling past his spirit form¡¯s ears.

    He continued to concentrate on his mental image of Belikot, hoping that the Death Caster was out on the Spirit ne, hoping he could catch him unawares. A wild, mad grin was on his face, and he knew it was because he was acting¡ªVictor was doing what he wanted to do and not following the instructions of one of the many people in his life that felt like they needed to direct his every move. Some part of his brain knew that wasn¡¯t fair, knew that he¡¯d asked for help from a lot of those people. Still, it felt glorious to do something spontaneous, dangerous, and decidedly, what he wanted to do.

    As he ran, he began to fear that Belikot wasn¡¯t out, that whatever business he had on the Spirit ne was done. He frowned and focused, and this time he remembered how Belikot¡¯s cold, slippery Energy had felt as he¡¯d tugged it out of Tha and pushed it into the skull. Suddenly his surroundings changed, and he and his pack were coursing up a steep hill littered with broken ck stones.

    When they came to the crest of the hill, Victor saw that they¡¯d climbed to the rim of a ck crater and at its center was a brightly shimmering, blue, misty rip in the air. A robed figure stood before the flickering tear at the head of a long line of dim, stooped, humanoid spirits bound by zing blue chains. Victor turned to his pack and held a finger to his lips, and, amazingly, they stopped their yipping, crouching low like they were stalking a rabbit.

    When he turned back to the scene at the bottom of the crater, perhaps a hundred yards down the slope, he saw the robed figure, undoubtedly Belikot, pull one of the bound spirits to him. Belikot put a hand on the spirit and, reaching out with his other hand, began to siphon Energy out of the captive and into the rip in the air. Victor grunted in disbelief and anger and started charging down the slope.

    Belikot¡¯s back was to him, and he seemed deeply engrossed in his efforts. Victor wanted to yell, wanted to holler a warcry, but he kept silent, and his pack did the same. As he charged down the strange, ck crater wall, he lifted Lifedrinker and used Sovereign Will to boost his strength, dimly wondering how the spell even worked on the Spirit ne. When he hit t ground and was only fifteen paces from Belikot, heunched himself into the air and used Channel Spirit to flood Lifedrinker with rage-attuned Energy.

    At thest minute, Belikot turned, eyes wide, mouth open in dismay, and then Lifedrinker split his head like a cleaver through a ripe cantaloupe and buried herself deep in his chest. ¡°Drink that fucker up, hermosa!¡± he growled, driving Belikot¡¯s spirit form to the ground and pressing Lifedrinker down on the thrashing body.

    It said a lot, in Victor¡¯s mind, that the Death Caster was still thrashing and fighting, but Lifedrinker wasn¡¯t letting go. Though Victor could feel the spirit tugging and pulling, he reached out with his mind, almost like when he cultivated Energy, and pulled on it, locking Belikot down while Lifedrinker did her work.

    Belikot¡¯s thrashing grew more intense, and ck tendrils started to writhe up out of the soil, reaching for Victor and his axe, but Victor held his ground, and as they snaked toward him, his pack jumped into the fray, biting the tendrils of evil Energy and ripping them apart, shaking their heads like terriers with rats. ¡°No, fucker!¡± Victor growled, watching as thick rivulets of blue and frosty Energy surged through the spirit form into Lifedrinker. ¡°You¡¯re done, cabron!¡±

    Lifedrinker drank from Belikot¡¯s spirit for what felt like a very long time, and as the currents of Energy she was drawing grew thin and then trickled away to nothing, his form dissipated into a fine mist and was gone. Victor looked around and saw the shimmering, blue rip in the air and the bound, faintly luminescent spirits swaying nearby.

    Close as he was now, Victor could see the faces on the figures¡ªthey were all Shadeni and Ardeni, and they looked weak and wan, their eyes haunted and filled with pain. The one closest to Victor held up his chained hands, a questioning look on his face.

    ¡°Can you speak?¡± he asked.

    In answer, the spirit shook its head and held up its hands again. Victor nodded and lifted Lifedrinker, charging her with inspiration-attuned Energy, he brought her down on the exposed links between the man¡¯s wrists, and she sliced through them with just a slight tug of resistance. When the chains were severed, the spirit¡¯s face rxed, much of the pain leaving his eyes, and he started to dissipate into a fine mist. An echoing, distant voice said, ¡°Thank you,¡± as the mist dispersed.

    The other spirits began to crowd forward, holding up their chains, and Victor repeated the process more than a dozen times, severing the bonds that Belikot had put upon them and watching as they all disappeared in a cloud of faintly luminescent mist. Victor stood there, surrounded by his coyote pack, now licking each other and yipping quietly. He looked around the ck crater, then up at the shimmering blue rip in the air, wondering if there was anything he could do about it, when he felt a familiar presence at his back.

    ¡°Hey, Oyna,¡± he said, depriving her of the chance to startle him again.

    ¡°Warrior, you seem to have caught your quarry. I watched from yonder rim,¡± she pointed up at the lip of the crater.

    ¡°Did I kill him? Could it really be that easy?¡± Victor felt good but had a strange twist in his gut, like he¡¯d cheated or something.

    ¡°Aye, warrior. He¡¯s dead. I¡¯ve never seen a spirit so thoroughly destroyed. Your axe is throbbing with the Energy she consumed.¡± Oyna continued to walk forward, closing the distance between them.

    Victor hefted Lifedrinker, feeling the warmth of her handle, and said, ¡°Good. She deserves it. What were those spirits, the ones with the chains?¡±

    ¡°Victims of Belikot. He caught them here or killed their bodies to trap and bring their spirits to this ce. He was using them to further rip this gateway through the veil.¡± She gestured at the tear Belikot had been making.

    ¡°Can we do something about it?¡± Victor asked, squinting at the weird, blue hole in the air.

    ¡°Perhaps, if we knew the right spells. Don¡¯t worry; the veil will mend itself, given time and without Belikot¡¯s efforts to the contrary.¡± She smiled at Victor then and said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me about your pack here?¡± She gestured to the slightly luminescent red coyotes.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have a chance, I guess. I learned a new spell called Manifest Spirit¡ªthey¡¯re a little piece of me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to surpass my abilities soon, Victor. You¡¯re already stronger than I ever was. I can still teach you a thing or two, though, should youe to visit me. Even if you don¡¯t!¡± She gestured around, indicating the Spirit ne.

    ¡°Yeah, I guess if we can talk here, you can teach me here, huh?¡± Oyna nodded, and he continued, ¡°I¡¯d still like to visit you. I¡¯d like to see you and your n in person.¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course,¡± she chuckled, reaching out to grab Victor¡¯s arm. Strangely, at that exact moment, Victor became aware of someone grabbing his real, physical shoulder and shaking him.

    Then he heard a distant echo of Gorz¡¯s voice in his mind, ¡°Victor! Your friend Edeya is here!¡±

    ¡°I think someone¡¯s trying to wake me up. I¡¯m going to go back to my body now, Oyna. Thank you for your advice!¡±

    ¡°Hah! Of course, warrior. When you¡¯re ready to talk more, seek me out. I¡¯ll be here.¡± She nodded as though to affirm what she¡¯d said, and Victor didn¡¯t doubt that the old Spirit Caster would somehow know when to meet him.

    He took the hand she¡¯d put on his shoulder and gently squeezed it, then ended his Spirit Walk spell. ¡°Victor!¡± Edeya said, shaking his shoulder again. He opened his eyes and smiled at her.

    ¡°What?¡± He grunted and heaved himself to his feet, looking around. His bathroom door had been broken in half, the part with this spear barring it was still in the frame, though the other half was in pieces.

    ¡°The guards patrolling the garden saw the barricades in front of your windows and came to get me. We were afraid something had happened . . .¡± Edeya trailed off, looking around the bathroom and then back toward his bedroom. Victor followed her gaze and realized it did look like it had been ransacked. Still, Edeya knew about his spirit walking.

    ¡°Hey, I was on a spirit walk. What if I didn¡¯t want to be woken up?¡± He gave her shoulder a nudge, smiling to soften the words.

    ¡°In that case, you need to tell someone what the depths you''re doing!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t want to wake anyone. What time is it, anyway?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. An hour before dawn? What were you doing? Is everything all right?¡± Edeya was dressed in her uniform, though the buttons were misaligned on her coat and her hair was wild. She must have been sleeping when the guards woke her. Victor felt a twinge of guilt, realizing she was working harder than anyone he knew, probably because she felt some massive debt to Lam for turning her life around in the mines.

    ¡°Hey, everything¡¯s fine. I¡¯m sorry you got woken up like that. Listen, I have some good news you can report to Lam,¡± he paused and waited for her frustrated snarl, indicating he needed to hurry up. ¡°I just killed Belikot . . . what the fuck?¡± Victor cut himself off as he saw bright golden and purple lights burst through the walls of his bedroom, and then a stream of Energy surged into his chest, lifting him off the ground and flooding his pathways. Euphoria filled his mind, and heughed, spreading his arms out and enjoying the weightlessness.

    ***Congrattions! You have achieved level 31 Spirit Carver, gained 10 will, 10 vitality, and have 8 attribute points to allocate.***

 Book 3: Chapter 6: Camping in Style

    Book 3: Chapter 6: Camping in Style

    Victor sat in Lam¡¯s kitchens, Edeya, Tha, and Captain Lam on the bench across from him, and, between huge bites of food, exined what he¡¯d done while Spirit Walking. He mentioned meeting Oyna, his hunt, and finished with a brief description of how he surprised Belikot and killed him before he could hardly retaliate.

    ¡°So, I don¡¯t need to gather my old friends? We don¡¯t need to go and confront this Belikot fellow?¡± Lam asked after chewing on a bite of bacon thoughtfully for a few moments.

    ¡°No, Oyna was pretty damn sure I killed him.¡± Victor shrugged and drank down a full ss of milk.

    ¡°What about the phctery? His soul shards? He¡¯s not so easy to kill, Victor,¡± Tha said. She¡¯d been frowning for most of his retelling, and now he realized why.

    ¡°Look, the only other shard we know of is in my dimensional bag. As far as the phctery goes, we know it increased his strength, and maybe it was a way to help him jump his soul around, but, Tha, I had his fucking soul on the Spirit ne. I watch Lifedrinker drain it away!¡± He lifted the axe and showed them the Heart Silver veins that had started to spread through the dark, cobalt axe head. ¡°I don¡¯t know how he could recover from that, and if he did, if some piece of him is still out there, then it¡¯s a shadow of what he was.¡±

    ¡°A shadow with a grudge,¡± Edeya said, nodding to Tha.

    ¡°Oh, God.¡± Victor sighed and rubbed his temples. He knew they were right, in a way, to still be wary of Belikot, but couldn¡¯t they take a fucking win when he handed it to them? ¡°The point is, if he¡¯s pissed at anyone, it¡¯s me. If he tries to mess with me on the Spirit ne, I¡¯ll whip his ass again, and if hees at me in the real world, then I¡¯ll deal with it. This isn¡¯t a problem for ¡®us¡¯ anymore, all right? You all can let it go.¡± He couldn¡¯t help the growl that had entered his voice or the scowl on his face as he roughly wiped his mouth with a napkin.

    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to downy what you did, Victor,¡± Tha said and opened her mouth to continue, but Victor shook his head and held up a hand.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that! It¡¯s just . . . well, it¡¯s just that I¡¯m sick of having to run my ns and actions through some kind of fuckingmittee. I just want to, you know, live for a while.¡±

    ¡°Victor, people are depending on you . . .¡± Lam started, but, again, Victor spoke over her.

    ¡°Yeah, I know, Lam. I know you have a lot riding on the campaign in the Marches, and I know Rellia¡¯s life depends on it. I¡¯m not backing out of that. I¡¯ll meet you guys in Persi Gables in the spring, and we¡¯ll get shit going, all right? For now, though, I want to escort Tha and Deyni to Tellen¡¯s camp, spend some time visiting with Oyna, and from there, I¡¯ll see what grabs my interest. Is that all right with everyone?¡± He red around the table, scowling down at everyone but Captain Lam, who met his eyes with a strangely open expression.

    ¡°That¡¯s good, Victor. I can respect those sentiments.¡± She nced around the table, her face pensive like she was trying to decide if she would continue, but she pressed her lips into a firm line and gave a short nod as though giving herself permission. ¡°My family made a lot of demands of me. They paid for schooling and expected me to stay in Twilight Home and continue forging my father¡¯s business empire. I ran away.¡± She said thest part quietly, and her eyes fell.

    ¡°You just ran?¡± Edeya asked, her voice soft and her eyes wide with awe.

    ¡°Yes. I didn¡¯t want to face my parents. I didn¡¯t want to make my wishes clear like Victor just did. To me, it was easier just to erase my past from my mind and move toward my goal, so I went to Tharcray and joined the Legions.¡±

    ¡°Damn,¡± Victor said. ¡°And your family? Did you ever let them know what you got up to? I bet they''re proud of what you¡¯ve done now, huh?¡±

    ¡°I wrote to them a few times. My mother wrote back and told me to stop. She said my father had disowned me and that it was too painful to hear from the ¡®ghost¡¯ of their daughter.¡± Lam dug at the wooden table with her thumbnail while she spoke, perhaps unaware of the action, and Victor had the urge to reach out and take her hand. He didn¡¯t, though, and he inwardly railed at his cowardice.

    ¡°Lam, that sucks. Thanks for sharing that with me, though.¡± Victor looked around the table and said, ¡°I mean us. It means a lot.¡±

    ¡°Well!¡± Lam said, shaking her head and thumping her palms t on the table. ¡°When will you two be leaving?¡±

    Victor nced at Tha, saw her slight shrug, and said, ¡°Soon, I guess. Maybe today.¡±

    Lam nodded, quick and informal, and said, ¡°I have a map for you. I had one of my secretaries do a little research into Tellen¡¯s n. He mapped out the shortest routes to their fall and winter camps. You¡¯ve got money now, Victor.¡± She turned to include Tha in the discussion. ¡°Buy yourselves some mounts or a coach or something. You don¡¯t want Deyni walking all that way, do you?¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s a good point, Captain,¡± Victor said, nodding.

    ¡°Also, let¡¯s invest in a proper pair of Far Scribe books.¡± Lam nodded to Edeya, adding, ¡°Will you give Victor two thousand beads from the campaign ount? That should cover much of the expense, but you can cover the rest, Victor. It¡¯s good for you to have some stake in the operation, too.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no problem. Those are books that let us see what the other writes?¡± He was sort of guessing, but he vaguely remembered someone describing the process to him. He couldn¡¯t remember who. Unsure if it had been someone in the mine or the pits or if it was one of the three women sitting with him now, he decided not to actpletely clueless.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Edeya will shop with you and bring me back my copy. I suppose this is farewell, then. I pray the Trees and Roots watch you, Victor. I pray they guide you to Persi Gables in the spring, for all our sakes.¡± She stood and reached out a long, slender hand, and Victor stood up to shake it. As always, he liked the feel of her grip, the way her fingers closed on his meaty hands like bands of warm iron. He gripped her back and smiled, pulling her, so she leaned over the table and sped her into a partial hug with his other arm. He was surprised when she pulled him in tight with her free arm, returning the gesture.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be there, Lam,¡± he said as they hugged, then he let her go. ¡°Well, Tha, how about getting that runt of yours out of bed, and we can do some shopping!¡±

    Tha smiled and said, ¡°Watch this.¡± Then she pulled on the silver chain at her neck, lifting out the crystal pendant Victor had bought her. Holding it tightly in her hand, she said, ¡°Deyni! Get dressed; Victor is taking us shopping for animals!¡± Her eyes squinting from her broad smile, Tha let go and held the amulet up in the palm of her hand, watching it expectantly.

    ¡°Okay, mom!¡± a high, tinny version of Deyni¡¯s voice piped up out of the amulet as it shed pink very briefly.

    ¡°Neat!¡± Edeyaughed. ¡°Well, go get her, Tha. Victor and I will meet you at the gate.¡±

    Not long after that, Victor, Tha, Edeya, and Deyni walked into town. Three guards in Lam¡¯s livery kept pace a short way behind them. Victor turned, frowned at their escort, and said, ¡°What¡¯s with the guards, Edeya?¡±

    ¡°Captain Lam¡¯s just being overcautious. You ruffled a lot of feathers with your duel, and word is spreading about your agreement with Rellia. She has her own set of enemies that might want to mess with you. Things will be better when you¡¯re out of the city and moving swiftly.¡±

    ¡°This ce is like a rattlesnake nest,¡± Victor said, shaking his head.

    ¡°Gelica is worse than a lot of cities. It¡¯s on the edge of the empire, and many families conduct things past the line of what you¡¯d call ¡®legal¡¯ out here. Persi Gables is nicer, in some regards, because it¡¯s an independent city, but they have some rules andws that don¡¯t sit well with me,¡± Edeya said.

    ¡°Oh, you mean like allowing creepy wizards to kidnap people from other worlds and force them to fight in a pit?¡± Victor scoffed.

    ¡°Well, technically, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s legal,¡± Edeyaughed. ¡°Let¡¯s say thews are loosely enforced in that city, but at least it¡¯s not directly under the influence of the empire.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said, kicking a loose stone over the cobbles. Once again, his thoughts drifted back to his time at the Wagon Wheel and his dissatisfied feelings of betrayal, anger, horror, and injustice. He thought of Vullu and wondered if he¡¯d ever see him again. His steps grew slow, and his sensations of the world around him dimmed as he thought about Yre. So many times, the memory of her death hade to haunt him, but now he thought about her life¡ªher beauty,ughter, and kindness.

    ¡°Victor?¡± Tha said, and her tone indicated it wasn¡¯t the first time.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he asked, rubbing his head as if to rub away his thoughts.

    ¡°Edeya wants to know if you have an Artificer you prefer. I told her you seemed to like Ganjoon.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Ganjoon¡¯s cool. Let¡¯s go there.¡± Victor reached down, hoisted Deyni to his shoulders, and picked up the pace. ¡°C¡¯mon, slowpokes!¡± he said, causing Deyni to giggle and look back at Tha and Edeya.

    ¡°Yeah! Slow pokers!¡± the little girl said, and Victorughed.

    Ganjoon was happy to see them, and when Edeya told him they needed a Far Scribe book with a lot of pages, he was delighted to provide some options. Each of his books was handsomely bound in leather, though they varied in size considerably. The least expensive was only fifty beads, but it had a mere ten small pages. His most costly book wasrge, something like an old-school encyclopedia or dictionary, and had five hundred pages. ¡°This one will cost you thirty-five hundred beads,¡± he said with a self-satisfied pat on the heavy tome.

    ¡°Really, Ganjoon?¡± Victor asked, ¡°No discount for friends?¡±

    ¡°Friends, hmm?¡± he let his eyes shift down toward Lifedrinker, and they widened in surprise, ¡°Yourdy axe looks better already! What did you do, Victor?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll tell you about it for a discount,¡± Tha said, grinning as she put her hand on Victor¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Well, are you going to buy anything else?¡± Ganjoon asked, a calcting look on his face.

    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re leaving town and need to pick up a few things. Hey! Do you happen to have any kind of magical chariots? You know, like Captain Lam has?¡± He gestured vaguely in the direction of Lam¡¯s estate. ¡°Something that folds up or drives itself or some other cool shit?¡±

    Tha pped him on the back of the head and said, ¡°He means he¡¯s open to hearing about any sort of magical transport you have.¡±

    ¡°Now you¡¯re talking about truly expensive items. Expensive to buy and to maintain, at least as far as the object I have for sale goes.¡± He gave Victor another appraising look, and then his eyes moved to Tha, Edeya, and even little Deyni, who sat on a stool ying with a set of enchanted dice at the front counter. ¡°I¡¯ll show you something, but I fear it¡¯s beyond your means. I¡¯ve been unable to sell it since I won it from an imperial contract nearly eight years ago.¡± He stepped behind his counter and into his back room.

    ¡°What¡¯s this, you reckon?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°No idea. Maybe a coach like the captain¡¯s,¡± Edeya said.

    Victor just shrugged, and then Ganjoon returned, carrying a heavy-looking carpet roll. He unfurled it in front of the counter on the show space floor, and Victor caught his breath at its beauty. It was about five feet by eight and shimmered in the shop¡¯s lighting. It was spun from two different colors of thread in an intricate pattern of interlocking squares and rectangles. The threads glimmered metallically, one a luminescent orange-yellow and the other a shimmering silver.

    ¡°This carpet can fly faster than a rdii can run. It¡¯s spun from pure Amber Ore and Star Steel. It could hold the weight of four people and fly for a day. If you have the personal Energy for it, you could recharge it in a few hours or let it sit in the sun for a day, and it will be ready to go again.¡±

    ¡°A fucking flying carpet?¡± Victor asked, reaching down to feel the heavy, rich weave.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m afraid I couldn¡¯t let it go for less than a hundred thousand beads.¡±

    ¡°Any wiggle room?¡± Victor asked, standing up and shaking his head ruefully. ¡°Nah, never mind. Even if you¡¯d take half that much, I wouldn¡¯t want to spend that amount. Maybe someday, Ganjoon. Maybe someday.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for showing it to us, though,¡± Tha added, and Victor realized she was right¡ªGanjoon was showing a lot of faith, putting an item this expensive on disy for them.

    ¡°When you¡¯ve made your fortunee back! I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll still have it,¡± Ganjoon said, rolling up the carpet with augh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I don¡¯t carry many transport items, but I have a friend who can surely help you out. How about I give you his name? He¡¯ll treat you right if you say I sent you.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough, Ganjoon. We¡¯ll buy that book. I¡¯ll pay fifteen hundred, and Edeya will cover the rest. Don¡¯t worry¡ªshe¡¯s paying with Lam¡¯s money.¡± Victor chuckled and started fishing through his ring for one of the heavy sacks of beads Tha had given him from their winnings.

    While Edeya doled out her portion, Victor said, ¡°Anyway, Lifedrinker had a big night. She and I did a little Spirit Walk, and I ran into a Death Caster that I had some history with. Lifedrinker got a good, long drink from him.¡±

    ¡°He must have had quite a powerful Core. It looks like she drew a lot of Energy in! One of those Heart Silver veins is almost fully regrown, and the others have started out from her edge as well!¡±

    ¡°Yep! I¡¯m looking forward to seeing her continue to advance,¡± Victor said and noticed Tha leaning against the counter, staring at the two of them as they talked with Lifedrinker on the counter between them. ¡°What?¡± he asked.

    ¡°You know ¡®she¡¯s¡¯ an axe, right?¡±

    ¡°Oh, God, not this again!¡± Victor sighed and slipped Lifedrinker into the loop on his belt. ¡°At least Ganjoon knows how to respect her properly!¡±

    ¡°Yes, she¡¯s developing quite a spirit,¡± Ganjoon nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t get on her bad side with prejudice, Tha!¡±

    ¡°Prejudice?¡± Tha¡¯s voice was high in disbelief.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor nodded. ¡°You¡¯re anti-axe!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not anti-axe! I¡¯m sorry I said anything! Fawn over her all you want!¡± Tha violently crossed her arms in front of her chest and turned to regard her daughter.

    ¡°Here you go,¡± Edeya said, pushing a pile of glittering Energy beads toward Ganjoon.

    ¡°Right! Here¡¯s your copy, Victor, and the one for Captain Lam, I presume,¡± he said, holding out a thick volume to Edeya and shoving the other toward Victor. When they¡¯d each stowed their books away, he said, ¡°Now, go see my friend Bernale. He sells transport animals and vehicles near the south gate. His business is easy to spot, ¡®Bernale¡¯s Beasts.¡¯ It¡¯s arge wooden structure with an enormous attached barn. It takes up nearly a block on Vine Street.¡±

    ¡°All right, Ganjoon. Thanks for your help¡ªI¡¯m sure we¡¯ll see you again, but it might be a while. We¡¯re heading out today.¡± He turned toward Tha, still staring dourly at the counter where Deyni was tossing the dice, her thoughts clearly far away. ¡°Come on, Tha. Quit sulking,¡± Victor said, then hurried toward the door as she made to smack him.

    ¡°Safe travels,¡± Ganjoon said, ¡°May the Father of Winds bless your skies.¡± The serious tone and the formality of his words made Victor stop messing with Tha for a minute, and he turned to regard Ganjoon again.

    ¡°Thank you, Ganjoon. That means a lot.¡± He nodded his head, trying to show respect to the strange-looking, gray-skinned man and then stepped out of his shop.

    When Tha, carrying Deyni, and Edeya joined him on the sidewalk, Tha said, ¡°Do you have to make me look bad like that? I wasn¡¯t trying to insult your axe!¡±

    ¡°I was teasing, Tha; rx. Ganjoon knows you didn¡¯t mean anything.¡± He reached out his hands for Deyni and said, ¡°Come here, monkey. I¡¯ll put you on my shoulders again.¡±

    ¡°Monkey!¡± Deyni echoed and allowed Victor to lift her away from her mom.

    ¡°Well? Edeya, you don¡¯t have toe with us; I know you probably have stuff to do back at Lam¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Actually, Edeya, could you do me a favor?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°Um, sure,¡± Edeya said.

    ¡°We left in kind of a hurry. Could you tell Rhessa to get her things and meet us by the south gate?¡± Tha reached out a hand to Edeya¡¯s slender shoulder.

    ¡°I can, sure. I guess that means you guys are really leaving today? It feels sudden. I¡¯d thought Victor and the captain would go hunting that Death Caster, and I¡¯d get some more time with you all. I¡¯m going to miss you¡ªI hope I see you again soon!¡± She lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Tha.

    ¡°Oh, hush,¡± Tha said softly, stroking the girl¡¯s hair. ¡°We¡¯ll see each other again soon. You know where Deyni and I will be! Tellen¡¯s n stops by Gelica a few times a year, and if I want, I can alwayse here on my own,¡± she nced at her daughter, ¡°with Deyni, of course.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and I¡¯ll probably see you in the spring. I have a feeling Captain Lam will bring you along to Persi Gables,¡± Victor added.

    ¡°Come here, you thunderak,¡± Edeya said, letting go of Tha and grabbing Victor around his midriff, burying her head in his chest.

    ¡°Thunderak?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Big lizard,¡± Deyni said with a giggle.

    ¡°Oh, nice,¡± Victorughed and gently patted Edeya¡¯s back, avoiding her fragile-looking wings while Deyni reworked her grip in his thick, ck hair.

    After a few more exchanges of hugs and promises to visit each other soon, Edeya hurried off toward Lam¡¯s estate, promising to send Rhessa to the south gate. Victor watched her leave, noting her confident pose, with straight shoulders and the way her boots glinted in the morning light, and he almost couldn¡¯t picture the scrawny, dirty waif whom he¡¯d met back in the mines. ¡°Come on,¡± he said to Tha, nudging her in the direction of the south gate. She looked up at him and Deyni and smiled, and the three of them made their way through town.

    When they came to Vine Street, they both had their eyes peeled for Bernale¡¯s ce of business. It was Deyni, still perched on Victor¡¯s shoulders, who bounced up and down, pointing ahead to the left, and said, ¡°Look at those animals!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Tha said and led the way across the street. Victor followed her, eyes on the line of sectioned-off pens that hugged the city wall for, just as Ganjoon had said, more than a city block. He could smell the animal dung and the hay-like scent of feed. The various noises of the creatures reminded him more of a zoo than a stable.

    He saw animals that had to be the living versions of the elephant-like thing on Tha¡¯s pendant, swaying their big heads and trumpeting. Before he could think about going over to see the fantastic creatures up close, Victor¡¯s attention was stolen by a lizard nearly asrge, flopping around in the dust of its pen and flicking out a tongue as big as Victor¡¯s arm. Tha tugged him toward the office building on the far side of the lot, and they passed by pens with huge birds, horse-sized, antlered creatures, rdii, and some animals that looked very much like horses but with brightly colored fur and feathered manes.

    When they entered the office, Victor was surprised by how clean and well-appointed it was. A Cadwalli man sat at a polished desk speaking quietly to an Ardeni couple, and when Victor and Tha stepped onto the plush rug, and the heavy door clicked shut behind them, he looked up and said, ¡°Please wait there,¡± he gestured to a sitting area off to the side. ¡°I¡¯ll be with you soon. In the meantime, please have some tea.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Tha said, pulling Victor over to one of the couches. He¡¯d taken Deyni off his shoulders to get through the doorway, and now he set her on the couch next to her mom. Before he sat down, Victor went over to the sideboard and poured himself a cup of tea, and picked up the tray of thin sugar cookies he found next to the kettle. When he sat down next to Deyni, he put the cookies on the coffee table in front of the couch and winked at her.

    ¡°Have a snack,¡± he said.

    ¡°You¡¯re spoiling her,¡± Tha said, but she reached down, faster than Deyni, and snatched a cookie.

    They didn¡¯t have to wait long before the Ardeni man and woman stood up with the Cadwalli, and they all shook hands. As the Cadwalli led them to the door, Victor heard him say, ¡°I¡¯ll have that wagon ready for you in just a few days. I¡¯ve got my top man, Ornuf, applying thecquer tomorrow!¡± After he¡¯d closed the door behind his customers, he turned to Victor and Tha and said, with a strange, goat-faced smile, ¡°I¡¯m Bernale! Wee to my shop. Would youe sit by my desk? The little one is wee to stay there and eat more cookies.¡±

    Victor stood up and walked to the desk while Tha spoke quietly to Deyni. ¡°It¡¯s good to meet you, Bernale. Ganjoon sent us your way. I¡¯m Victor, and that¡¯s Tha.¡± The chair wasfortable, if a bit narrow for Victor¡¯s frame. He wiggled back and forth to get settled, and the wood squeaked rmingly.

    ¡°Oh? Ganjoon? What a great man, a great man! I¡¯ll be sure to thank him at our next thrampo game,¡± the stocky little man said as he moved behind his desk. Victor knew it wasn¡¯t cool tough at a person for how they looked, but something about seeing a pudgy little goat man in a tight, gray, and maroon-striped suit almost pulled a giggle out of him, especially as the man sat down and the buttons on his suit strained and tufts of fur poked out through the gaps.

    ¡°Thrampo?¡± Victor asked, clearing his throat to cover his amused expression.

    ¡°It¡¯s a dice game, Victor,¡± Tha said, sitting beside him.

    ¡°Well, what can I do for you today, fine folks? If Ganjoon sent you, I can only assume you¡¯re looking for something special!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be traveling over the ins for a week or so, and, at some point, he¡¯ll be going further still.¡± Tha gestured to Victor, then continued, ¡°We¡¯d like sturdy conveyance that¡¯sfortable for a child.¡± Tha nodded toward Deyni, then added, ¡°But we¡¯d like it to be swift. Ganjoon said your prices were reasonable and that you wouldn¡¯t try to cheat friends of his.¡± Victor was d Tha had spoken up and just nodded his agreement.

    Bernale leaned forward, gripping his two hairy hands together before him, and said, ¡°Dear me! That implies that I might cheat someone who wasn¡¯t a friend! I would never! I¡¯m as honest as theye. Why, just ask any of my former clients, of which there are many. Many!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to imply . . .¡± Tha started.

    ¡°No, no. Nothing to worry about. No offense taken. Let¡¯s see here. I have quite a few vehicles that might suit you, and as you saw when you approached my office, I have the beasts to pull them! Would you mind answering a few questions so that I might narrow down my rmendations?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Excellent! Firstly, will the three of you want to sleep within? Would you like the interior to be equipped with some necessities offort? I mean things such as a stovetop, cupboards, or a cold-cab? Why, I even have wagons with bathing facilities!¡±

    Tha looked at Victor and raised her eyebrows. ¡°I didn¡¯t even think of all that,¡± she said. ¡°I think you need to make these decisions because, when you leave, you¡¯ll be taking it with you.¡±

    ¡°Why are you so sure of that? You¡¯ll need a way to move with the n when they go from camp to camp.¡± Victor leaned back and studied Tha¡¯s face. Was she acting strange about him leaving, or was it in his head?

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true, but I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have a tent, and they rely on rdii, and I don¡¯t want Deyni and me to stand out.¡± Tha frowned, and Victor noticed she¡¯d painted her lips ck. He knew she¡¯d done that back in the mines, but it seemed like a while since he¡¯d noticed it.

    Looking at her face, a strange memory came to him from when he¡¯d first met her, and he¡¯d thought the angle of her eyes made her look angry all the time. Looking at her now, he felt her eyes made her look clever and inquisitive. Her irises, deep red, almost purple, were full of mystery and depth, and he found himself looking away quickly, like he¡¯d been caught staring at something he shouldn¡¯t.

    Victor cleared his throat and said, ¡°Well, uh, Mr. Bene . . .¡±

    ¡°Bernale, if you please,¡± the little Cadwalli corrected.

    ¡°Oh, right, sorry about that. Well, I think we¡¯d like something with those sorts offorts, and of course, if it needs animals to pull it, we¡¯ll need those too. Can you give us an idea of the cost? Could you show us something without those, um, features and then something with all the cool shit?¡± Victor grimaced and said, ¡°I mean all the extra stuff like stovetops and bathrooms.¡±

    ¡°Naturally, naturally,¡± Bernale said, then turned and lifted an empty picture from the shelf behind his chair. He ced it on his desk, facing Victor and Tha, and said, ¡°Look here at this frame, and I¡¯ll show you some of the conveyances I have in my warehouse.¡± Victor felt a soft pulse of Energy, and then an image began to take shape in the picture frame. It was like looking through a window with a very faint tint of sepia. Nheless, a clear image of a ssic ck coach with big wheels and a bench for a driver appeared in the frame.

    ¡°This is a basic but very high-end coach. It¡¯s sturdy, self-repairing, and has Energy¨Cdrivenpression pads between the axle and the passengerpartment, ensuring a smooth,fortable ride. This coach will cost you an even two thousand beads. For a pair of rdii to pull it, add another two hundred beads.¡± Victor watched as the image in the frame panned around the coach, showing all the angles, and then an image of the coach¡¯s interior appeared, showing off the twofortable bench seats covered in plush, red upholstery.

    ¡°All right. What else do you have?¡± Victor prompted, and then he and Tha, and Deyni, who came to sit on Tha¡¯sp, watched as the little salesman went through a series of ever-increasingly expensive coaches and wagons that appeared in the frame. Victor started to get bored after the third or fourth coach that was only slightly more ornate or had a few more minor enchantments, but when they got torger wagons, he started to perk up. As Bernale began to show them wagons enchanted with dimensional magic to be bigger on the inside than the outside, his eyes began to bug out as he saw house-sized interiors for wagons that were just a bitrger than the first coach.

    ¡°What about dimensional containers? Can I go inside those wagons with my ring?¡± He gestured to one of his storage rings.

    ¡°Naturally! That¡¯s part of the expense. If we weren¡¯t trying to avoid such conflicts, we could make wagons with interiors the size of a royal pce!¡± Bernale said with an excited grin.

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor said, ncing at Tha and seeing some eagerness in her eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve got our interest. Show us a wagon like that, with most of the things you¡¯d need to livefortably on the road, but leave out all the extra ornate materials, filigrees, and shit.¡±

    ¡°Things,¡± Tha said. ¡°He means and ¡®things.¡¯¡±

    ¡°I think I know just what you¡¯re looking for, Victor,¡± Bernale said and channeled a bit of Energy into the frame. The view resolved into the shape of a wagon just a bitrger than a regr coach but more rectangr and painted in two-tonecquer¡ªthe top half was royal blue which gradually darkened to ck on the bottom half. ¡°Beautiful, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s very sturdy, too. Just like the coaches we sell, it¡¯s enchanted to self-repair and has Energy drivenpression pads. You¡¯ll hardly notice the bumps in the road! The interior has just what you¡¯re looking for, I think.¡±

    The image changed to the wagon''s interior, and Victor smiled when he saw an ample space with two big beds on one end, separated by a curtain from a bathing area,plete with a brass bathtub and a nearby toilet. The center of the space held a long wooden table with two matching benches, and on the other side of that was a kitchen,plete with a long wooden counter lined with cupboards, an oven and stove, and arge cold-cab.

    ¡°Where does the toilet flush? What about the bath? Where¡¯s the water?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll love this, Victor,¡± Bernale said. ¡°The water is stored in a dimensional container attached outside the living space. It¡¯s very densely enchanted and can hold many thousands of gallons. The toilet flushes into a simr, smaller space with an outlet into an incineration chamber. All waste is dispersed as smoke, but only when the wagon travels at speed.¡±

    ¡°That is fucking cool,¡± Victor said softly, leaning forward to admire the image in the frame again. ¡°All right, Bernale. What¡¯s this going to cost?¡±

    ¡°This wagon, with the barebones interior and the simple two-tonecquer exterior, costs thirteen thousand beads,¡± Bernale said, his voice quiet and his eyes slightly downcast as though he didn¡¯t expect his customers to be excited about the price.

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Victor said, rubbing at his chin. ¡°All right, and what about some animals to pull it? I know rdii are two hundred, right? Isn¡¯t that what he said, Tha?¡± She nodded, and Bernale did as well. ¡°How about something faster than rdii? Lam has some kind of antelope pulling her coach.¡±

    ¡°Those are vidanii, Victor,¡± Tha said, shaking her head.

    ¡°Right! Anything like that, Bernale?¡±

    ¡°Well, yes, and they are fabulous animals, quite pleasant in demeanor and fast. I¡¯d happily sell you a pair of them for only two thousand beads!¡± Bernale leaned forward, clearly starting to feel like he was about to make a big sale.

    ¡°Ten times as much as a rdii?¡± Tha asked, shaking her head.

    ¡°It does seem like a big jump,¡± Victor added.

    ¡°The vidanii cannot be bred in captivity! Each one has to be taken in the wild, and they don¡¯t run anywhere near here. I¡¯m sorry, but the price is fair.¡±

    ¡°You have this ready to go now?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Victor! That¡¯s a lot of money,¡± Tha said.

    ¡°I certainly do,¡± Bernale said at the same time.

    ¡°Give us a minute alone, please, Bernale,¡± Tha said, shifting Deyni in herp. The little girl was sitting there, staring into the crystal of her ne, either bored or tired. Victor couldn¡¯t tell.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Of course, of course.¡± Bernale stood up and started to move around his desk toward the door, but he nced nervously at Tha and said, ¡°If I might ask, did you mention that you know Captain Lam?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Well, I sold her those vidanii, and, well, if you¡¯re friends with the captain, I¡¯d love to offer you a ten percent discount. Please keep that in mind while you deliberate,¡± he sketched a bow, and Victor almost lost his cool again, seeing the pudgy little goat-like man bend and imagining the strain on his tight, striped cks. When he¡¯d stepped out of the office, Tha started to speak at the same time as Victor.

    ¡°I think that wagon is cool as hell . . .¡± he said.

    ¡°I hope you¡¯re not buying this to prove something . . .¡± Tha said.

    ¡°Prove what?¡± he asked with a frown.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Tha said. ¡°I guess that was stupid.¡±

    ¡°I really do just think it¡¯s cool. That room in the wagon is as big as my abu¡¯s house! How cool would it be to just cruise along in our wagon, and when we decide to call it a day, we just go inside, and we¡¯re in there?¡± He pointed at the image still in the picture frame.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s very nice, Victor, but do you really need something like that? Or are you, I don¡¯t know, doing it for Deyni and me?¡±

    ¡°Nah, rx, Tha. I don¡¯t have some kind of hidden motive here. I just think it¡¯ll be nice to go camping in style for a change.¡±

    Tha looked into Victor¡¯s eyes for a long moment, and he enjoyed the opportunity to look in the depths of hers, noting all the interesting patterns and colors within. Then she sighed and said, ¡°Well, I guess we¡¯re going to have a fun trip out to the Shadeni camp, Deyni.¡± Tha grinned and kissed the top of her daughter¡¯s head.

    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit,¡± Victor said, smiling. ¡°Hey, Bernale!¡± he called. ¡°Come in here! Let¡¯s talk about that discount . . .¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 7: One Way or Another

    Book 3: Chapter 7: One Way or Another

    Victor couldn¡¯t help the grin on his face as he drove his new wagon down the southern road out of Gelica. The vidanii were fast when he gave them their head, and the wagon was smooth as butter on the dirt road despite its big, old-fashioned-looking wheels. The Energy-powered shock absorbers the salesman had raved about were working hard to prove he hadn¡¯t been full of shit.

    Even more pleasing to Victor, the driver¡¯s bench was designed much more like a luxury auto seat than an old-timey coach bench. The leather-d seat wrapped around his prodigious framefortably, supporting his back and providing plenty of room for him to stretch his legs forward. Though to get entirelyfortable, he found himself alternating feet up over the box-like enclosure, so he tended to have one leg stretched out and hanging in the breeze.

    It wasn¡¯t like driving a car¡ªhe figured the wagon topped out at around thirty miles per hour, and most of the time, he took it quite a lot slower than that. Still, it beat the hell out of walking, and the vidanii had endurance that bordered on the mythical. Bernale had sold Victor a dimensional bag filled with feed for the animals and shown him a built-in drinking trough that pulled out from the front of the wagon. The trough was fed from the same reservoir dimensional container as the rest of the facilities on the wagon''s interior. Bernale insisted it would be years before Victor had to fill it again.

    They¡¯d picked up Rhessa just outside the southern gate. She¡¯d been sitting on a short stone wall surrounding a message board covered with flyers describing jobs and special sales and everything else you might find in a newspaper. When Victor saw it, he¡¯d thought about how different life was in a ce with no inte or instant messaging, and then he wondered if some Energy-powered alternative could be developed. He¡¯d decided that it was a problem too big for his te at the moment, but an interesting thing to think about, nheless.

    Rhessa had looked irritated and wore a heavy scowl when Victor rolled up in the wagon. When he told her that Tha and Deyni were inside waiting for her, she¡¯d pped a rolled-up parchment in his hand with a huff and gone inside. The parchment had proven to be a map to Tellen¡¯s campsites, and Victor had studied it briefly before storing it away.

    The sound of the hatch opening behind him brought Victor back into the present, and he looked around to see Tha poking her head out. Victor knew she was standing on adder near the livingpartment¡¯s kitchen, and he grinned at her when she hollered, ¡°Are you going to drive all day, or would you like a break?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not tired yet,¡± heughed.

    ¡°Well, if you want a break, let me know. I could use one. A break, I mean,¡± she said more quietly.

    ¡°Oh? Your friend seemed grumpy. Is she giving you shit about something?¡± Part of Victor heard his words and how uncouth he was and cringed, and another part justughed and said, ¡°this is who I am.¡± He felt he¡¯d gone a long way over thest months to speak more clearly and with a broader vocabry. Still, he also happened to enjoy saying certain words and phrases and wondered why he should change everything about himself, especially when he was with people who cared about him.

    ¡°She¡¯s upset that we left Gelica in such a hurry. She was enjoying Lam¡¯s estate. Now I¡¯m dragging her to a campground to live with roving hunters.¡± Tha¡¯s face was pained, and Victor figured she¡¯d been getting an earful for thest few hours while he drove.

    ¡°Sorry, Tha. That sucks.¡± He shrugged¡ªwhat else could he say?

    ¡°Very helpful.¡± She snorted and descended back into the wagon¡¯s interior, letting thecquered wooden hatch fall with a satisfying *thunk*.

    Victor drove the wagon through the farnds south of Gelica for most of the afternoon, and when he came to a crossroads that led away to the east on a much narrower, more overgrown road, he turned that way. ording to the map from Lam, Tellen¡¯s autumn camp was in that direction, and if he were right, this was the road he¡¯d need to follow for a day or two before turning south again on a much smaller road still¡ªon the map, it was just a faint, dotted line.

    He¡¯d stopped twice in the afternoon to water the vidanii and brush their sweaty fur under their harnesses. Bernale had insisted that the animals were much more evolved than rdii and that they sustained themselves on ambient Energy to a much greater degree, much like higher-level people. Bernale had nodded to Victor as though he were an example of the phenomenon, and it had given Victor pause¡ªhow obvious was it that he¡¯d advanced his race and achieved tier-three with his level?

    A bump jostled him and brought his thoughts back to the present, and he realized he¡¯d just driven through a deep rut¡ªone that the magical shocks couldn¡¯t fullypensate for. He smiled, thinking about how awesome the wagon was, which opened a whole other can of worms in his mind. Why had he spent such a chunk of his fortune on a fucking wagon? He knew Tha thought he was trying to impress her or Deyni, but Victor didn¡¯t think that was it. No, he''d wanted it when he¡¯d seen the inside¡ªhowfortable and secure it had seemed.

    When he thought about that feeling, he came to the conclusion that he¡¯d been homeless since he arrived in this world, and this wagon gave him a sort of home, mobile though it was. Victor had been forced to sleep in cots, on the ground, in filthy, blood-stained hay. He¡¯d shared a home with other captives, slept on the run, in dungeons, under the sky, or around campfires. The idea of having a ce of his own was tremendously appealing, despite its cost and potential impracticality. No, he hadn¡¯t done this for Tha.

    The sun was starting to dip low in the west when he saw a copse of short, bushy, blue-leafed trees not far from the track, and he decided to pull the wagon into their cover for the night. Thin ruts through the grass told the tale of other travelers with simr ideas in the past. Victor followed the old trail around the clump of trees and then into a cleared area at the center. A ring of stones surrounding some ashes upied the center of the clearing, with dried and cracked logs spread about, probably once used for seating.

    Victor pulled on the reins, bringing the vidanii to a halt, and hopped down from the driver¡¯s bench. Bernale had taken the time to exin the harnesses and hitches for the big, docile creatures, and Victor followed his instructions painstakingly, using Gorz as a cheat. He wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d remember which buckles to remove first, where to stand to avoid a kick or stomp, how to operate the feeding trough, where to hook their leads for the night, and every other little detail without the amulet¡¯s help. ¡°Thanks for the help, Gorz.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s what I¡¯m here for,¡± the amulet said, managing to sound rather put out, even with his inability to modte his tone.

    ¡°You mad about something, Gorz?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°No, Victor. I¡¯m just sorry to see us fleeing civilization again without my having read even one book.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess I kinda fucked that up, didn¡¯t I? I should have bought some books to keep in the wagon, maps too. I promise I¡¯ll work on acquiring some of those sorts of things soon, all right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to it,¡± the amulet replied, and Victor thought it sounded a little less peeved, but he figured ny percent of the emotion he heard from Gorz was due to his own projecting.

    ¡°We¡¯re stopping?¡± Tha asked, head poking out through the main wagon door.

    ¡°Yeah, unless you want to really hurry and travel through the night . . .¡± Victor let his thought trail off, hoping Tha took the hint that he didn¡¯t want to do that.

    ¡°No, this is good. Why don¡¯t youe in and get some rest? Rhessa is making soup. I¡¯ll watch the wagon for a few hours.¡± Tha hopped down and walked toward the front of the wagon, where Victor gently brushed one of the vidanii as it snuffled around in its feeding trough. Her head barely came up to the animal¡¯s shoulder as she reached up and scratched her nails through its short, rust-red fur. The animal snuffled and stamped, enjoying the sensation, at least as far as Victor could tell.

    ¡°Think we should name them?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Why not? People name their rdii.¡±

    ¡°Well, while you¡¯re on watch, try toe up with some ideas. Maybe Deyni wille out and give you some help.¡± Victor held the brush out to Tha, and when she took it, he started toward the door to the wagon.

    ¡°Wait! Why should we think of the names? They¡¯re your beasts!¡± Tha asked, moving to the other vidanii and starting to brush its sweatthered rump.

    ¡°I¡¯ve only ever had dogs and cats as pets. These things ain¡¯t no perritos! I¡¯ve no idea what to call an animal this size!¡± Heughed, shaking his head as he climbed inside. The wagon''s interior was fairly bare-bones, just as Bernale had said, though the materials used in its construction were rich and warm, and Victor felt his smile spreading as he looked around and breathed in the scent of homemade soup.

    Lightly stained, hardwood floors, white-painted wainscoting, and ster walls gave the space an airy, beach cabin sort of feel, and the sparse furniture made it more spacious than it really was. The coolest thing, in Victor¡¯s mind, were the windows and skylights that let in a lot of the light from outside. The tricky thing about them was that they appeared much smaller on the wagon''s exterior, and the ss was so dark that you couldn¡¯t see through it.

    Deyni was sprawled on one of the two beds, drawing in a leather-bound notebook, and Rhessa turned to him with a smile, saying, ¡°Hey, about time you took a break! Soup soon.¡± Victor wanted to remark about her change of demeanor but figured it wouldn¡¯t be wise to bring up how she¡¯d been crabby earlier.

    After he¡¯d eaten some soup¡ªa deliciously rich sausage and root-vegetable affair, seasoned with herbs Victor couldn¡¯t even name¡ªhe decided to try to take a nap. He heard Deyni go outside to hang out with her mother, and he saw Rhessa doing some sort of needlework at the table, and then he was out, more tired than he¡¯d realized.

    When he woke, some hourster, Rhessa and Deyni were sleeping in the other bed, and the Energymps were turned down to just a dim glow. Victor stood, picked up Lifedrinker, and quietly made his way outside. For some reason, he was feeling some dread, and he felt an unreasonable amount of relief when he saw Tha sitting on a log near a small, flickering fire she¡¯d built in the old campsite. ¡°Hey,¡± he said, ¡°What time is it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but somewhere around midnight, I¡¯d guess. You drove all day. If you want to keep sleeping, that¡¯s fine.¡± Tha said, poking a stick around in the coals of the fire.

    ¡°Nah, I feel great. You should get some sleep!¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re sure, I will. Hey, Deyni and I came up with some names for your beasts, but you have to hear them from her. She has a few ideas for you to choose from!¡± Tha said, standing up and brushing the dust from her butt.

    ¡°Hah, hell yeah. I knew she¡¯d have a good idea or two. Your friend made some good soup. Did you get a bowl?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I think she¡¯s forgiven me for uprooting her life with Deyni. We had a good talk, and when I told her more about my ns and about Oyna, she started to see how it would be good for Deyni.¡± Tha had moved closer to Victor as she spoke, and he was surprised when she stepped even closer and pulled him into a hug, resting her head against his chest. ¡°Thanks for everything, Victor,¡± she said softly. ¡°Good night.¡± She gave him another squeeze and then hurriedly climbed the steps into the wagon.

    ¡°Night . . .¡± Victor called after her as she disappeared within. Oyna¡¯s words from his Spirit Walk came back to him, and he wondered if he was doing something wrong. He definitely had feelings for Tha, but Oyna was right¡ªhe didn¡¯t want to settle down with the hunters, and he didn¡¯t want to hurt Tha by starting something he wasn¡¯t going to stick around to finish. ¡°Fuck,¡± he muttered as he moved over to the fire and sat down on the log Tha had vacated. He picked up the stick she¡¯d dropped and poked at the coals in frustration.

    ¡°Trouble, warrior?¡± asked a silky, feminine voice from the shadows of the nearby trees. Victor exploded into action, leaping to his feet, ripping Lifedrinker through her loop and into his hands, and casting Globe of Insight, overcharging it with Energy so that it illuminated the clearing like a floodlight. The rich, white light sted the shadows away from the trees and revealed a Ghelli, hunched down, shielding her eyes from the zing orb. Her entire form was bathed white from the light, so, as Victor studied her, it took him a moment to realize he was wrong¡ªshe was a Naghelli.

    Victor red around the clearing, wondering if more of them were lurking around, but he didn¡¯t see anything in the sparsely wooded grove. The woman before him was crouched low, still shielding her eyes, when she said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that axe, warrior. I¡¯m only here to talk. Please, if you wouldn¡¯t mind dimming that light a bit, I¡¯d appreciate it.¡±

    ¡°Make it quick, Naghelli,¡± Victor said, pulling back on the surge of Energy he was pouring into his orb. It dimmed significantly, more like a floatingmp than a stadium floodlight, and the woman sighed in relief, standing up and lowering her hand. Victor immediately recognized her¡ªshe was the Naghelli who¡¯d spoken to him as he was about to leave Belikot¡¯s dungeon. The one whose husband he¡¯d split with Lifedrinker. He held his axe firmly in his hands, watching her warily.

    ¡°Do you remember me, warrior?¡± She, perhaps self-consciously, reached a hand up to the glittering, ruby ne that hung in the deep, open neckline of her silky, ck blouse.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor said, alert in the light of his orb, straining to hear or sense any sort of ambush that might being. The woman was staring at him, her dark eyes hard to read, but the flesh around them expressive enough. She looked tired and stressed, the bluish tint around her eyes dark and more like a bruise than a hint of color. Her silver hair, still long and shimmering in his light, looked frazzled and slightly unkempt. Perhaps the most significant sign of her distress could be seen in her wings¡ªwhen Victor hadst seen her, the orange spots on their gossamer surface had zed and glowed, but they now appeared dull.

    ¡°Vellia,¡± she said, nodding, ¡°and you are Victor. I haven¡¯t forgotten.¡±

    ¡°Vellia,¡± Victor repeated, unable to think of anything other than how like Rellia it sounded. He shook his head, ¡°Well? What do you want?¡±

    ¡°May I sit?¡± She gestured to a log on her side of the fire.

    Victor nodded, but he cast Inspiring Presence. He knew it would be evident to her that he did it, but he didn¡¯t care. He wanted to be alert and ready in case something sneaky was going on. As the inspiration-attuned Energy poured forth into his pathways and affected his mind, everything, as always, seemed clearer. He felt like he could see further into the shadows around the camp, even with his light dimmed down. He noticed how Vellia limped slightly as she stepped to the log, but more than that, he saw how she inhaled deeply and seemed to rx when she felt the effects of his spell¡ªshe was benefiting from his aura.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± she said, as though he¡¯d done it to help her. ¡°I feel much better. Victor, I¡¯ve had a harrowing journey and a difficult time finding you. I know you¡¯ve no reason to feel sympathy for me, but I want you to know that I¡¯m here, not to cause you trouble, but to ask for your help.¡±

    ¡°Huh. Seems like asking someone for help can cause plenty of trouble.¡± He still loomed over her, standing near the coals of the fire, Lifedrinker menacingly hanging before him.

    ¡°Warrior, our master has been in.¡± She said it like it was something that should shock him or bring him to his knees. So full of desperation was her voice that Victor did feel a little twinge of sympathy, but his overall reaction was to snort.

    ¡°Belikot?¡± he asked, remembering how the Naghelli had freaked out when he said the name in the dungeon. She flinched, but she didn¡¯t caution him this time. ¡°Well? What do you want me to do?¡±

    ¡°We Naghelli are under a geas ced upon us by Belikot centuries ago.¡± She looked small and pitiful. Though she tried to look into Victor¡¯s eyes, he could see that it was difficult for her to look up at him with his orb floating behind him. He took some pity and sat down on a log across from her, still holding Lifedrinker over his knees.

    ¡°Go on,¡± he said.

    ¡°It¡¯s our fault¡ªmine, my sisters and brothers¡ªthose of us who served him. He forged the contract, but we signed it. We put our Energy into it and allowed it to happen. We gained much from Belikot at first¡ªpower, victories, and a haven after the war. Still, his demands became more and more difficult to bear. I won¡¯t . . . I can¡¯t go into it all, Victor, but even people who¡¯ve done wrong, who¡¯ve hurt others, don¡¯t deserve to have some evils visited upon them. Can you see?¡±

    Her dark eyes had pooled with liquid, and Victor realized she was about to start crying. Victor was having a hard time even understanding what she was talking about. Was she saying that Belikot abused the Naghelli? ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry for your trouble, but what do you want, exactly?¡±

    ¡°Though Belikot perished, the geas still holds. There must be fragments of his soul still lingering in the world. We feel . . .pelled to find and help him, though we have no way to do so. It¡¯s killing us, Victor!¡±

    ¡°How do you know he died?¡± Victor asked, wondering how she¡¯d react if she realized he was the one that had done him in.

    ¡°He was Spirit Walking¡ªseven of us were chosen, as usual, to guard his body. You see, when he performed a Spirit Walk, he¡¯d often be vulnerable like that for many hours, and so we stood, weapons drawn, ready to defend him, locked deep in his sanctum. He¡¯d been gone many hours when his body began to thrash. It was like watching a person drown. We did everything we could, Victor, but his spirit never returned, and though we poured healing draughts down his throat, his heart stopped beating, his breathing ceased, and his body died.

    Still, we didn¡¯t give up on him. We kept his body cold, waiting for his spirit to find its way back, but it never did. We all feltpelled to help him. We feel the need to find him somehow, to heal him, and none of us know how! Are we supposed to find his other spirit shards? Are there any more? We thought he¡¯d gathered them back to himself!¡±

    ¡°Um, how long ago did this happen? Why did youe to me?¡±

    ¡°I marked you well, Victor, just as your little Shadeni friend told me to. I used an artifact of Belikot¡¯s, one that he¡¯d y me alive for touching, to see past the ward that you wear, the one that blocks out scrying. I had one chance toe to you, Victor, because the artifact had but one use. With dangerous potions fueling me, keeping me running, swifter even than your vidanii, I ran to you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but why?¡± Victor repeated.

    ¡°When you parted ways with me, you said you didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be fond of Belikot because of the ¡®versions of my master¡¯ you¡¯d met.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, shit. I was exaggerating, Vellia¡ªI only met one version of him. The one that took over Tha¡¯s body for a while. I, uh, expelled him.¡±

    ¡°To where, Victor? Where is that shard of his soul?¡± she sped her hands before her and stared at him, something like hope mixed with despair in her eyes.

    ¡°Vellia, how many Naghelli serve Belikot?¡± Victor asked, his mind racing furiously, trying to figure out how to handle the situation. He didn¡¯t think it would go well for anyone if he gave the Naghelli the fucked-up shard of Belikot that he had in his dimensional bag. ¡°What about his phctery¡ªcould that have something to do with your, um, what do you call it? Geas?¡±

    ¡°There are thirty-seven of us left, Victor. Please! Tell me what you know of the shard! The phctery is of no use! Belikot took the shards from it and reabsorbed them¡ªthat¡¯s how he was able to start Spirit Walking again.¡±

    ¡°So you guys feelpelled? Like you have to find his missing shard or shards?¡±

    ¡°Yes! The geas begins to affect our ability to absorb Energy. We¡¯ll wither and die if we don¡¯t figure out what to do!¡±

    ¡°What about if Belikot had died like you thought he did? Would the, um, agreement be over?¡±

    ¡°It should be, yes. The fact that we all still suffer tells us that some remnant of Belikot lingers, and we must find a way to help him! Will you please tell me where you left the shard?¡± Victor looked at her pleading face, the pain in her eyes, and he grunted and stood up. He turned and began to pace back and forth between the wagon and the fire, ncing at Vellia every few steps.

    A big part of him wanted to help her. He didn¡¯t know why, though the cynic in him thought it had something to do with her pretty face and how her blouse exposed more of her chest than he was used to seeing. He allowed his mind to wander down the path of possibilities.

    If he gave her the insane, cruel Belikot shard in the skull, and they somehow managed to get him into his old body or a new one, what then? That shard of the Death Caster definitely didn¡¯t like Victor, but it didn¡¯t know that he had killed the greater version of itself. Not even Vellia knew that. Would it be so terrible if this little group of Naghelli had a weakened version of their master back?

    He paced back and forth a few more times, glowering at Vellia, and she remained silent, apparently able to discern that he was wrestling with a dilemma and not wanting to sway him in the wrong direction. Finally, he growled, shifted Lifedrinker into just his right hand, and said, ¡°I¡¯m about to show you something. If you want my help, you have to promise to stay seated and not try anything. Use your words only. Got it?¡±

    ¡°I swear it, warrior!¡± she breathed, her eyes suddenly hopeful. Victor reached into the dimensional bag tied to his belt and took out Belikot¡¯s skull. He stared into the eye sockets, daring the weakened spirit within to try something, but they stared back at him, lifeless, with no blue mes announcing Belikot¡¯s presence. Still, Vellia gasped, and he saw her tense and start to stand.

    ¡°Stay fucking seated!¡± he growled, allowing some rage-attuned Energy to re forth. She dropped back onto the log, but her eyes tracked the skull like a terrier watching a rat. ¡°This what you¡¯re looking for?¡± he asked, setting the skull on the log where he¡¯d been sitting.

    ¡°Yes! I can feel it! He¡¯s in there! Let me take it, Victor. Please! You won¡¯t hear from us again.¡±

    ¡°This thing¡¯s been in my dimensional container for weeks. Belikot was already an asshole; how do you think he¡¯s going to be as an insane asshole?¡±

    Vellia flinched at his words, and he saw a shadow flit behind her eyes, but she said softly, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, Victor. If we don¡¯t try to help him, we¡¯ll suffer and die.¡±

    ¡°Now that you see this in front of you, you know what to do? To satisfy the geas thing, I mean?¡±

    ¡°Yes! I feelpelled to help this shard of Belikot. To help it recover as much of its former self as possible . . .¡± she trailed off, her eyes going wide as Victor lifted Lifedrinker high. ¡°What are you doing?¡± she screamed as he brought the axe down on the skull, not as hard as he could¡ªhe didn¡¯t want to split the skull and send the halves flying. No, he wanted Lifedrinker to get a good long drink, and he didn¡¯t want to give that bit of spirit an easy way out.

    ¡°I¡¯m helping you, one way or another,¡± Victor grunted as Lifedrinker sank effortlessly into the smooth, yellow bone of the skull. He grinned, feeling her vibrate hungrily as thin blue veins of Energy began to spread along the split halves of bone toward her de. Movement from Vellia caught his eye, and he cast Project Spirit, pushing twisted inspiration Energy at her, and growling, ¡°Sit down!¡±

    Vellia sobbed and fell forward on her hands and knees, and Victor saw the long, onyx-handled dagger clutched in her hand, though she made no move to swing it. She seemed defeated and broken, sobbing in the dirt, inches from the hot embers of the fire. As Lifedrinker shuddered, finished with her feast, and the yellow skull began to crumble into dust, Vellia ceased her shuddering sobs and copsed the rest of the way to the ground. Though she barely breathed, Victor saw that the orange spots on her wings had begun to glow, ever so faintly, once again.

 Book 3: Chapter 8: To Hunt the Hunters

    Book 3: Chapter 8: To Hunt the Hunters

    It wasn¡¯t long before Vellia started to stir. Victor hadn¡¯t touched her or the knife still loosely sped in her hand, though he sat and watched her closely, Lifedrinker still resting on his knees. He¡¯d noted, with pleasure, that the axe had recovered part of one of her old Heart Silver veins from her recent feast. He figured she was about halfway back to her old glory already, and he knew that if he got a chance to do some real fighting, she¡¯d bounce back even faster.

    Vellia grunted, slowly pushing herself up so she could pull her knees under herself, sitting there next to the cold firepit, looking around in a bit of a daze. When her eyes fell on Victor and his axe, they narrowed in understanding. ¡°You . . .¡± she started, then cleared her throat and tried again, ¡°You could have been wrong. What if there¡¯d been another shard? I¡¯d have been no closer to solving my problem¡ªthe dy could have killed me and my kin.¡±

    ¡°Well, there was no way I was giving you and your ¡®kin¡¯ the insane shard I had. I guess we lucked out, huh?¡± Vellia nced down at her hand, still gripping her knife, and suddenly it was gone¡ªstowed into some dimensional container, no doubt. Victor smiled and stood, slipping Lifedrinker into her loop. He held out a hand for Vellia, and the woman took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet. ¡°What will you do now?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. My life has revolved around Belikot for so long . . . I¡¯m too nervous about it to say I¡¯m free. I suppose I must see what my brothers and sisters will do.¡±

    ¡°Are they? I mean, are they really your brothers and sisters?¡±

    ¡°No. I use the term loosely¡ªwe consider each other family because there are so few of us. Some are rted to me, though. Nephews or cousins . . . one niece. Horol and I had no children, and now he¡¯s gone . . .¡± she trailed off, eyes down, apparently not wanting to look at her husband¡¯s killer at that moment.

    Victor sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Vellia, but I didn¡¯t start that fight.¡±

    ¡°I know. I . . . we were foolish and cruel to attack you that way. We¡¯re not good people, Victor.¡± Her eyes pooled with tears, and she shook her head, taking a step away from him. ¡°We¡¯ve done so many things in Belikot¡¯s service, so many things that were wrong. Some of us felt trapped and wanted a way out, but some enjoyed it. I fear there will be a reckoning¡ªit¡¯s going toe to blows when we regather. My people are spread to the four winds, looking for a solution to our problem, but as they feel what I just felt, when they realize Belikot is no more, they¡¯ll return to the pocket realm, and I fear our numbers will dwindle even more.¡±

    ¡°Really? Let me guess: you¡¯re one of the good Naghelli, one of the ones that hated working for Belikot?¡± Victor snorted, unable to keep a bit of a snarl out of his voice.

    ¡°No, Victor. Not good. Perhaps not evil, though. I swear to you: my freedom will be spent atoning. I¡¯m going to take this chance you¡¯ve given me, and I¡¯m going to help those Naghelli who feel as I do to y the others, and then we¡¯re going to spend the next hundred years mending our souls.¡± She wiped her eyes and performed a bow, so formal and elegant that Victor felt the scowl leave his face, and he nodded to her.

    ¡°Well, I wish you luck, Vellia. I hope there are more ¡®not evil¡¯ Naghelli than the other kind, and I hope you can think of a way to do some good in this world.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you now, Victor; we will win. Kethelket is among the Naghelli that feel as I do, and he¡¯s the greatest swordsman to walk this world in three hundred years.¡± She reached up to her neck and unfastened her ne, holding the silver chain and the ruby asrge as Victor¡¯s thumbnail out to him. ¡°Please take this,¡± she said.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to give me anything.¡± Victor kept his hands by his sides.

    ¡°Please! I¡¯m attuned to this gem, Victor. Should you need to find me for any reason, simply hold it in your hand and think of me. It will connect us¡ªyou¡¯ll sense where I am, and I¡¯ll sense that you¡¯re looking for me.¡±

    ¡°Uh, and what about the other way around? Can you find me as long as I have this thing?¡±

    ¡°No! I wouldn¡¯t give a gift with thorns.¡± Vellia scowled, her purple-stained lips pressed in a thin line. ¡°It won¡¯t work unless you hold it and activate it as I described. It¡¯s inert otherwise. If you don¡¯t trust me, have the witch among the Shadeni examine it.¡±

    ¡°How do you know about Oyna?¡± Victor took a step back.

    ¡°I lingered here, watching your friend and her daughter while I waited for you toe out of the wagon. I heard many things about your ns.¡± Vellia shrugged, still holding out the ruby.

    ¡°All right, give it here,¡± Victor grunted, reaching out and snatching the ne. Vellia smiled, her face lighting up with the expression. Victor thought she looked a hundred percent better already than when she¡¯d firste out of the shadows to speak to him.

    ¡°You¡¯re looking better. Your wings are glowing again.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Victor! I won¡¯t forget this debt I owe you. I hope we meet again soon, but if we don¡¯t, I wish you bright moons and a swift de.¡± She bowed again, and then, to Victor¡¯s amazement, she seemed to shimmer, and then she was gone, another shadow among the trees, flitting away faster than his eyes could track.

    ¡°Neat trick, that,¡± Victor grunted, tucking the ruby ne into a pocket under his ringmail vest.

    When the eastern sky lightened, Victor hitched up the vidanii and resumed his travel toward the sunrise. He¡¯d been on the road for nearly an hour before Tha popped her head out of the top hatch and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t want to have some breakfast together? Why don¡¯t you pull over ande in? Rhessa cooked up some eggs, and I opened a jar of fermented veggies I bought in Gelica.¡±

    ¡°Fermented veggies?¡± Victor pulled a face, but when Tha just nodded, smiling, he shrugged and pulled the wagon to the side of the road, really just a slightly grassier spot without the ruts he¡¯d been following. After applying the brake and softly telling the vidanii he¡¯d be right back, he climbed through the hatch after Tha.

    The fermented veggies turned out to be peppers and root vegetables that tasted like spicy pickles to Victor. Rhessa was quick to point out that they weren¡¯t pickled, though, saying the fermentation made them taste that way but was a lot healthier. Victor shrugged, eating quite a load of them with his eggs. ¡°Not bad,¡± he said halfway through, ¡°I feel like I could eat pretty much anything and be healthy, though, what with my attribute enhancements and everything.¡±

    ¡°Probably,¡± Tha said. ¡°Not everyone has as many racial advancements as you do, though. Some of us need to be careful about the junk we put into our bodies!¡± She red at him pointedly, nodding toward Deyni, who, as usual, was copying Victor bite for bite.

    ¡°Right! I always eat what¡¯s good for me because it helps me grow big and strong!¡± Victor flexed an enormous arm and made a snarling face at Deyni. She giggled and copied him, growling fiercely. ¡°That¡¯s a girl! Eat those eggs, and soon you¡¯ll be bigger than your mama!¡± Rhessaughed from the kitchen, where she was washing some tes. ¡°Hey, Deyni, I heard you had some names for my vidanii! Lay ¡®em on me!¡±

    ¡°Lay ¡®em . . .¡± Tha started to say, but Deyni caught Victor¡¯s meaning and interrupted.

    ¡°I have four names! You have to pick two!¡±

    ¡°All right. I¡¯m ready!¡± Victor took a massive bite of eggs and chewed them noisily while staring at Deyni.

    ¡°Cloud, Starlight, Thistle, and Swiftwind!¡± Deyni said, speaking softly, almost reverently.

    ¡°Oh, my!¡± Victor said, rubbing at his chin. ¡°Those are great names! I have a question, though, that might help me decide.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Deyni asked, her voice hushed to match Victor¡¯s conspiratorial tone.

    ¡°Do you know if they¡¯re boys or girls?¡±

    ¡°Ancestors!¡± Thaughed, shaking her head. ¡°Victor! One of them is a boy, and one is a girl! Even Deyni saw that!¡±

    ¡°Well, excuse me for not checking out the animals¡¯ equipment right away!¡±

    ¡°Hush, mama!¡± Deyni said. ¡°Victor, now you know, what names do you like?¡±

    ¡°Well, for the girl, I absolutely think Starlight is the way to go. As for the boy, I think Thistle fits. Starlight and Thistle! What a pair!¡± Victor didn¡¯t think any of the names were bad, but he did think those two had a nice ring.

    ¡°I knew he¡¯d pick Starlight,¡± Tha said, nudging Deyni.

    ¡°It was my favorite name for the girl! I saw how the stars were reflected in her big eyes!¡± Deyni smiled to herself and resumed eating her breakfast.

    As they traveled over the ins, ever eastward, Victor saw fewer and fewer stands of trees, and they hardly passed any other travelers. Every now and then, though, he¡¯de upon some people walking on foot, sometimes leading pack animals. Very few of them seemed interested in any small talk, and the most he tended to get out of them was a ¡°safe travels¡± or somementary on the weather or the state of the road. Toward midafternoon he came to a narrow, barely discernable track peeling away to the south, and he stopped the wagon to consult his map.

    Victor couldn¡¯t be sure¡ªhe¡¯d passed quite a few dirt tracks that didn¡¯t seem to go anywhere¡ªbut this one was roughly in the right area, if he was gauging their speed correctly, so he turned down it, following it as it skirted the slope of a low, but massive hill. When they finally rounded the hump of the hill, and its far slope fell away before them, Victor stopped the wagon again to take in the breathtaking view.

    The grass changed in hue, from pale green to more of a blue as the elevation fell away, and, beneath the gray skies, filled with clouds andte afternoon light, it was easy to imagine he was looking at an ocean of water, not a grasnd. Far in the distance, almost impossibly thin and faint, he thought he saw a darker line that might be a forest. ¡°Or it might be some kind of mirage, like you see in the desert, for all I know,¡± he said to the vidanii as they snuffled at the cool air. ¡°What¡¯s that you say, Starlight? Did Thistle fart again? You¡¯re a naughty boy, Thistle!¡± Heughed and gave the reins a light switch, getting the animals moving again.

    They traveled over those grassy ins for two more days, stopping early on the second day to wait out a storm from inside the wagon. As the fat rain droplets had begun to fall, Victor had unhitched the vidanii and hooked them each to long leads so they could move about and graze¡ªBernale had extolled the animals¡¯ toughness, saying they could weather almost any sort of storm, be it rain or snow, so he didn¡¯t worry too much about them while he and the others sat infort within the wagon, eating soup and ying dice games.

    After the storm, Victor savored the brisk, fresh air when he drove the wagon out. He¡¯d brushed the vidanii, smoothing out their rough, short hair and making sure it was dry, and they hadn¡¯t appeared any worse for the wear. The animals seemed invigorated by the weather, and Victor decided to give them their head, urging them on with gentle switches of the reins and whooping exuberantly as the wind rushed through his hair and past his ears.

    It was during that morning sprint when Victor made first contact with Tellen¡¯s n. He was barreling down the barely-visible track,ughing and bouncing, when two figures stood up from the grass, not a hundred yards distant, bows with arrows knocked and drawn.

    ¡°Whoa!¡± Victor called, pulling on the reins, and the big vidanii snorted and began to slow but still moved too fast for the wagon to be stopped before he arrived at the bow-wielding hunters. ¡°Whoa!¡± Victor called again, pulling harder on the reins and squeezing the wagon¡¯s brake handle. This time the animals dug in their heels, ripping up the soft, grassy soil and sliding to a halt a good twenty yards before the hunters.

    ¡°Hello!¡± Victor called. He was reasonably sure they were Tellen¡¯s people¡ªthey wore the beaded leather and had their long, ck hair pulled into braids as he¡¯d seen on his earlier visit. ¡°Like Tha,¡± he said, snorting at the obvious observation.

    ¡°You¡¯re riding into our territory, traveler,¡± said the wiry Shadeni man on the right.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the idea. I¡¯m Victor. I¡¯m here to see Tellen and Oyna.¡± As Victor spoke, the hunters lowered their bows, and the woman on the leftughed.

    ¡°I told you, Geng! How many pale people the size of a giant do you think there are?¡±

    ¡°Hey now,¡± Victor said. ¡°I¡¯m not that pale!¡±

    ¡°She means you aren¡¯t red or blue; you¡¯re like a big Ghelli . . .¡± the man started to say, but Victor interrupted with augh.

    ¡°Nah, I know what you mean. No worries. So, is the camp nearby?¡± As he was speaking, Tha poked her head out of the hatch.

    ¡°Why¡¯d we stop?¡±

    ¡°I think we¡¯re almost there,¡± Victor said, gesturing to the two hunters.

    ¡°Yes, Victor, friend of Tellen. I¡¯ll guide you in,¡± the man named Geng said, whistling shrilly. A momentter, a rdii, fat and gray and maned with orange and red feathers, came charging out of the tall grass to the west. The hunter mounted and started trotting the funny, two-legged bird-lizard off to the east. ¡°Come, follow me if that wagon can handle a few bumps!¡±

    Victor nced back at Tha with a grin, ¡°Better hold on!¡± he said, then he clicked the reins and started the wagon through the grass, chasing after Geng and his rdii. The two vidanii had no trouble matching the rolling gait of the rdii, and Victor actually had to pull back on the reins a couple of times to keep the spirited animals from trying to overtake it. They ran like that for fifteen or twenty minutes, then Geng slowed down, and Victor saw why¡ªthey¡¯d reached a secondary watch line, and several hunters stood up from the grass to wave them through, and at least one of them recognized Victor because he whooped out a hello.

    It wasn¡¯t long after that when the tents came into view, and their tell-tale smoke lines drifted into the blue sky. Victor drove the wagon to the edge of the camp, then set the brake and hopped down, smiling at the small crowd of Shadeni that had gathered around. He saw quite a few children who seemed excited by his appearance and the sight of the wagon and the vidanii. Victor figured any chance to see some animals other than rdii was a special time for the kids.

    ¡°Victor!¡± said a scratchy but cheerful woman¡¯s voice, and he looked over the crowd to see Chandri making her way toward him. Meanwhile, the wagon¡¯s door had opened, and Tha climbed down the steps, Deyni in her arms. ¡°Tha!¡± Chandri called as she pushed into the little clearing at the center of the crowd. ¡°What¡¯s this? Some sort of Ardeni wagon? Come, Tha, you know the Shadeni don¡¯t need such things!¡± Her smile and twinkling eyes gave away the fact that she was just teasing, but Tha bristled nheless.

    ¡°me Victor! I tried to talk him out of it!¡±

    ¡°I like the wagon, mommy!¡± Deyni said, squirming to be let down.

    ¡°Who¡¯s this then?¡± Chandri asked, squatting in her colorful leather clothing to get a better look at Deyni.

    ¡°Deyni!¡± the little girl said, thumping her chest proudly.

    ¡°That¡¯s my berserker apprentice,¡± Victor said with a chuckle.

    ¡°Oh? I see! Fierce!¡± Chandri said, grinning and holding out a fist for Deyni to punch. ¡°My father is hunting,¡± Chandri said, and Victor thought he saw some unease in her eyes as she nced around, but then it clicked¡ªshe¡¯d called Tellen ¡®father,¡¯ and that was new. She was probably still nervous about using the term openly.

    ¡°When do you expect him?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Oh, tomorrow or the next day. Oyna waits for you, though. She told me to be sure you bring your daughter, Tha.¡±

    ¡°All right, can you show me where to park the wagon? I¡¯m going to be staying a little while, I think.¡± Victor gestured behind him at the shiny,cquered blue and ck wagon and realized it stood out like a sore thumb in the camp of canvas tents and mud-bricked buildings. Still, he grinned and said, ¡°She¡¯s beautiful, isn¡¯t she?¡± He turned to Chandri and winked.

    ¡°Oh, sure! Beautiful, Victor, beautiful,¡± she turned to the crowd andughed, saying more loudly, ¡°Isn¡¯t Victor¡¯s wagon pretty, everyone? Make sure you tell him how pretty it is!¡± Suddenly everyone was smiling andughing,ing closer so they could look up at Victor and pat him on the shoulders, saying how lovely his wagon was. Victorughed along with them, then hopped up into the driver¡¯s seat.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Tha said. ¡°Rhessa ising out in a minute.¡±

    ¡°Victor!¡± Chandri called. ¡°Go around to the west edge of the camp, behind the sweat lodge. You¡¯ll see some spots between the other tents there. Also, even though your wagon is silly, I love your vidanii! Those are some wonderful beasts!¡± Chandriughed and hoisted Deyni up into her arms and walked over toward Starlight, and Victor could hear Deyni telling her about the vidanii and how she¡¯d named them. He heard the wagon door thud a momentter as Rhessa climbed out and closed it.

    When Victor looked toward the motion and saw Tha¡¯s friend, he was surprised to see the blue-skinned Ardeni wearing a leather vest, pants, and boots. More than that, her long, bright red hair was braided into its, much like Tha¡¯s. She nced around nervously, and Tha said, ¡°This is my good friend, Rhessa. She¡¯ll be staying with me¡ªshe¡¯s like another mother to Deyni.¡±

    Chandri smiled and reached out to sp Rhessa¡¯s wrist, ¡°Hello, cousin! It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve had one of the Dreamer¡¯s children with us.¡± Victor had no idea what that meant, and when he looked at Tha with a questioning expression, she didn¡¯t notice him. He decided to ask about itter and clicked his tongue, just barely twitching the vidanii¡¯s reins.

    The animals started up, moving gently toward the crowd, and the gathered people split, allowing him through. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you by the sweat lodge and guide you to Oyna¡¯s tent!¡± Chandri called after him. He waved acknowledgment, then flicked the reins again, letting the vidanii show off a little as they pulled him out into the grass and around the scattered tents.

    He circled the camp,ing up on the far side, and the sweat lodge was easy to spot¡ªa squat, broad, mud-bricked building with a central smoke stack. It looked just like the one in the other camp. Victor found a wide, open space between a couple of tents and parked the wagon.

    While he waited for Chandri, he unhitched the vidanii and tethered them on long leads. He¡¯d just finished up when the young Shadeni woman called out, her scratchy voice unmistakable, from near the sweat lodge, ¡°This way, Victor.¡± He gave Thistle a final pat and started toward her, and Chandri continued, ¡°Tha¡¯s already with Oyna, but I got an earful for not bringing you right away. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s got her all worked up, but I haven¡¯t had her chase me with a stick like that since I was younger than Ch!¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± Victor hurried his steps, falling in beside Chandri as she led him on a meandering path through the tents.

    ¡°Yes! It¡¯s funny because she acts like she knew you¡¯d be here today. Did you speak to her spirit?¡± The way Chandri mentioned ¡°speaking to her spirit¡± so nonchntly caught Victor by surprise, but he figured it must be a difference in cultures. Here, in this camp, they respected Oyna and her skills with spirit magic. It made sense that the Old Mother might have mentioned Victor¡¯s abilities¡ªespecially to Chandri, who treated the woman as a mother figure.

    ¡°A few days ago, but I didn¡¯t say anything about when we wereing.¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°Well, she sees things. Don¡¯t think too much about it. There it is,¡± Chandri said, pointing to the familiar red and yellow stained canvas tent. ¡°I¡¯ll see youter, Victor.¡± She paused and directed Victor¡¯s gaze between two tents toward the center of the camp. ¡°If you go straight that way from Oyna¡¯s tent, you¡¯ll find ours. Come to our fire tonight if you want¡ªI¡¯ll cook something good.¡±

    ¡°All right, thanks, Chandri. I guess it depends on what Oyna has in store for me, but I¡¯ll try toe by.¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± She smiled, her little animal tattoos crinkling around her eyes, and then she walked off with a short wave. Victor walked toward Oyna¡¯s tent, and he wasn¡¯t surprised when the p opened at his arrival, and the old woman stood scowling at him.

    ¡°Hurry up, warrior! We have much to discuss and little time.¡± She waved a hand, gesturing for him toe inside, and Victor quickened his pace, ducking low to slip through the opening.

    ¡°What¡¯s the emergency? How¡¯d you know we were going to be here? I thought the wards we bought blocked your scrying!¡±

    ¡°Hush! Sit down! Let Oyna speak!¡± She gestured to the furs piled around the center of her tent, and Victor saw that Tha, Deyni, and Rhessa were already inside, though sitting together on a different pile of furs in the far corner of the space.

    ¡°Hi, Victor!¡± Deyni called out and nearly spilled a small wooden cup of steamy liquid she held. Tha quickly steadied her hand, then touched a finger to her lips in the universal signal to be quiet.

    ¡°Yes, hush, for now, child,¡± Oyna said. ¡°I have to speak to this warrior and send him on his way¡ªhe has an important quest.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Victor said, feeling a twinge of rm.

    ¡°Sit, Victor!¡± Oyna said, trying to push him toward the furs nearby but only seeding in making herself gruntically. Victor didn¡¯t want to antagonize her, so he sat down and waited for her to exin herself. ¡°Good!¡± she said, heaving a deep breath and sitting down across from him with a loud grunt. ¡°I didn¡¯t scry you, warrior. I have rituals to see portents. They¡¯re usually vague and hint at the weather, the movements of the herds, or some other mundane thing, but two nights ago, I had a very clear, very dire vision!¡± She paused to stare at him, perhaps to ensure he was listening.

    ¡°Go on!¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯m listening!¡±

    ¡°I saw Tellen and his band hunting something strange¡ªa beast they didn¡¯t know. I watched them from the Spirit ne, and I saw that they were fooled! The hunters were being hunted! Then I saw youing to the camp, warrior, and I knew what must be done. You must find Tellen and make him see his folly. You must be the third hunter in the chain!¡±

    ¡°Oyna, I want to do what you ask. I want to help, but how can I find Tellen? I¡¯m not a tracker.¡± Victor frowned, feeling agitated, like he had to act immediately, but he had no idea what to do. Should he just charge off in the direction Tellen had gone hunting and hope for the best? ¡°Do I just hope to get lucky?¡±

    ¡°Victor, if you would hush, you¡¯d hear all of Oyna¡¯s vision. I saw you, unmistakable figure that you are, hunting for Tellen, and you rode a great horned creature. At your back was one of ours, the girl, Chandri. She can track her father, warrior.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 9: Animal Taming

    Book 3: Chapter 9: Animal Taming

    When Oyna said she¡¯d ¡°seen¡± him hunting Tellen from the back of a great, horned beast, the first image that came to his mind was of Starlight and Thistle as he¡¯dst seen them, quietly munching from their feeding trough. ¡°I came here with a wagon pulled by two vidanii,¡± Victor said quickly. ¡°Did the horned creature I was riding look like that?¡±

    ¡°Show me,¡± Oyna said, climbing stiffly to her feet with several grunts of exertion. Victor tried to help her, but she swatted his hand away. ¡°I need to work at it, warrior! If I don¡¯t do it on my own, will you be here to help me stand whenever I need?¡± She smiled at him, softening the words, and Victor backed up toward the tent p, nodding. ¡°Tha, leave your girl here for now and go find Chandri. Bring her to Victor¡¯s wagon.¡±

    ¡°She went to Tellen¡¯s tent,¡± Victor said as Tha ducked through the tent p. ¡°That way.¡± He pointed in the direction Chandri had shown him.

    ¡°All right. Are you okay, Victor? This is all really sudden . . .¡± Tha started to ask, but Oyna was close on her heels and cut her off.

    ¡°Hush, daughter. He¡¯s meant for this sort of thing; don¡¯t put your worries onto him. Now hurry, get that little huntress!¡± She made a shooing gesture to Tha and then took hold of Victor¡¯s elbow. ¡°Take me to these vidanii of yours, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said, turning and walking, as quickly as Oyna¡¯s much smaller steps would allow, toward his wagon. When they came around the tent blocking the view of his little plot, and Oynaid eyes on the vidanii, she cackled, and her grip on his arm tightened significantly.

    ¡°That one!¡± she crowed, pointing to Thistle. ¡°I recognize the white socks on his front feet!¡±

    ¡°You really saw me riding him?¡± Victor asked, looking at the big, horned animal in a new light. He was bigger than any horse Victor had seen up close, but that wasn¡¯t saying much. In fact, when he thought about it, he realized he¡¯d never seen a horse in person, only in VR. Still, Thistle¡¯s shoulders were almost as high as Victor was tall, and he knew he was pushing seven feet. ¡°Do people do that? Ride vidanii?¡±

    ¡°You do!¡± Oyna cackled. She let go of Victor¡¯s elbow and walked closer to the animals, and when sheid her hand on Thistle¡¯s rump and drew it along his side, he turned and snorted at her with his big, moist, ck nose. ¡°You¡¯re a big boy, aren¡¯t you? He¡¯s rich in Energy, Victor. The hunters here would do much for a mount like him. I warrant he¡¯s much faster than any rdii.¡±

    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re fast, all right.¡± Victor walked up beside her and rested his hand on the short, rough fur of the animal. Thistle was almost uniformly rust-colored, though, around his ears and horns, it was darker, with little ck hairs mixed in. Looking down at the animals¡¯ feet, he saw that Thistle¡¯s front feet were, indeed, the only ones with white fur. ¡°His name¡¯s Thistle,¡± Victor said, giving the animal a good scratch.

    ¡°You¡¯re off to a good start with him,¡± Oyna said. ¡°He likes you, and he likes his name.¡±

    ¡°Well, actually, I didn¡¯t . . .¡± Victor started to say, but Chandri¡¯s voice rang out in greeting, and Victor turned to see her and Tha jogging toward the wagon.

    ¡°Good! Chandri, you and Victor must hunt for your father and his band. I¡¯ve had a vision, and it¡¯s important that you leave soon.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get Boog,¡± Chandri said, turning.

    ¡°Wait, girl!¡± Oyna said, shaking her head and walking toward the two women. ¡°I saw you riding with Victor on this beast, not your rdii,¡± she said, pointing to Thistle.

    ¡°Really? Do you have riding tack for him, Victor?¡± Chandri walked toward Thistle, rubbing her chin. ¡°I think I could ride him,¡± she said, nodding.

    ¡°No, Victor was in control of the beast. You were riding behind him.¡±

    ¡°Uh,¡± Victor said, stepping closer to Chandri and Oyna. ¡°That¡¯s kind of going to be a problem. No, I don¡¯t have any riding tack, and I don¡¯t even know how to ride. I¡¯ve never ridden a pony, let alone a pinche giant antelope!¡±

    To Victor¡¯s amusement, Oyna snorted inughter, shaking her head. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what you know. What matters is what I saw, warrior.¡± She turned back to Chandri and said, ¡°Tha and I will go talk to Berset-dak about a saddle. You teach this giant how to ride.¡± She smiled as Chandri nodded, clearly biting off aint by tightly pressing her lips closed. Chandri had dark burgundy, almost purple eyes like Oyna, though hers seemed brighter, and when they squinted in annoyance, it was all too easy to read.

    ¡°Well,¡± Chandri said, her scratchy voice low as she watched Oyna and Tha walk away between two tents, ¡°tell me you at least have some Animal Taming.¡±

    ¡°What? Not really¡ªmy abu had two perritos, but I just yed fetch with them now and then. They mostly slept and barked at me when I came home from school.¡±

    ¡°No, the skill. Do you have any ranks in Animal Taming?¡±

    Understanding dawned on Victor, and he shook his head. ¡°No, Chandri. I¡¯ve only been in this world a few months, and most of that time was spent fighting or traveling. I guess I could have learned at some point, but I didn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t even know it was a thing.¡±

    ¡°Ancestors,¡± Chandri said softly, and Victor couldn¡¯t tell if she was cursing or asking them for help. ¡°Have you been taking care of these?¡± She pointed to the vidanii.

    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m the one that¡¯s been feeding them and brushing them, well, for the most part.¡± He felt he had to qualify the statement because Tha and Deyni had also spent some time with the animals.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good start, at least. What do they like to eat?¡± Chandri moved over to the big animals. ¡°Do you know which one you want to ride?¡±

    ¡°The male, um, Thistle.¡± Victor ran a hand over Thistle¡¯s back and scratched at it gently. ¡°They like their feed¡ªI bought a ton of it, and they look forward to it every day.¡±

    ¡°Good. Take his lead and move over there, away from the other, out into the grass.¡± Chandri started walking to the area she¡¯d gestured toward, and Victor turned back to Thistle.

    ¡°All right, boy, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s in store for us, but I think I might be about to learn to ride you. Be cool, all right?¡± He said, keeping his voice low as he untied his lead and started walking away from the wagon. Thistle followed him obediently, hardly needing any pressure on the loop of rope tied around his neck.

    ¡°It¡¯s good that you speak to him. Use his name as much as you can¡ªit helps to trigger the skill.¡±

    ¡°Trigger the skill?¡±

    ¡°Yes, have you learned any skills in this world? I think you must have, or you¡¯d be dead.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, lots of weapon skills and, I guess, my cultivation drill.¡±

    ¡°Well, when you learned your weapon skills were you eating soup?¡± Chandri¡¯s voice, scratchy as always, held a touch of humor.

    ¡°No, I was using the weapon¡ªpracticing with it. I get what you mean now.¡± Victor smiled. He knew Chandri was irritated to have someone so clueless to teach, and he knew she was teasing him, but he didn¡¯t mind. He¡¯d always been like that, though¡ªsome people might say he was too willing to take shit from girls, and he figured it was true. He¡¯d been in plenty of fistfights with smartass dudes, so why was he so chill when a girl was messing with him?

    ¡°Something to do with nature, I guess,¡± he said, grinning at Chandri¡¯s puzzled look. To throw her further off guard, he said, ¡°Hey, I love how you use turquoise and other beads to brighten up your leather. You think you could teach me to do something like that?¡± He pped a hand against his ck ringmail shirt.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think . . .¡± she started to say, then shook her head. ¡°No messing around, Victor! My father may need us to hurry!¡±

    Victor suddenly realized she wasn¡¯t so much irritated at his cluelessness as she was worried about her father. ¡°Right, sorry. So what¡¯s next?¡±

    ¡°Well, the beast¡ªI¡¯m not using his name on purpose because I want him to feel more familiar with you¡ªis very docile around you. That¡¯s good. He follows you nicely and seems rxed. He has horns and those big ck hooves for a reason, believe me! He could probably fight off a boyii pack by himself, yet he acts like a holbyis around you.¡± It took a minute for Victor to remember what a holbyis was, then it clicked¡ªthey were the colorful, sheep-like animals.

    ¡°Right, so that¡¯s all good. What next?¡±

    ¡°Hand me his lead, then get some of his feed out of your container.¡± Chandri held out her hand, and Victor noted she had about ten different rings on her fingers. He wanted to ask her about them but didn¡¯t want to irritate her further, so he put it off. He handed her the rope and pulled a handful of the vidanii feed from his dimensional pouch. ¡°Good. Now stand about ten feet away and call to him, using his name. Let him sniff at the feed first.¡±

    Victor did as she said, holding his closed fist full of grain up to Thistle¡¯s snout and allowing him to snuff at it. He started to try to pry Victor¡¯s fingers open with his fuzzy ck lips, and Victorughed. ¡°Not yet, boy,¡± he said as he started to walk away. Chandri had to haul on the rope to keep Thistle from walking with him.

    ¡°Good! He already wants to go with you,¡± she grunted.

    When Victor was ten or fifteen feet away, he turned and opened his hand full of grain and called out, ¡°Come here, Thistle!¡± The big animal dug in his hooves, and Chandriughed as he dragged her over to Victor, gobbling up the handful of feed in just a pair of seconds. ¡°Tienes hambre, Thistle?¡± Victor softly asked, scratching between the vidanii¡¯s horns as it snuffed up the food.

    ¡°I¡¯d say he¡¯s already an expert ating when you call him. That¡¯s good, but it might make the next part harder. You have to teach him to wait until you call. I¡¯ll help at first, holding him as a reminder, but we want him to learn to stand still until you call him, too. You should use the samemand with him each time¡ªsomething like ¡®stay¡¯ or ¡®wait.¡¯¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°So, show him the treat, say yourmand a couple of times, and if he starts to follow, I¡¯ll tug on the lead. If he keepsing, you must walk him back, without giving him the treat, and then tell him themand again. This might take some work . . .¡± Chandri said, her voice trailing off and her smile fading as she remembered why they were doing this.

    To Victor¡¯s glee and Chandri¡¯s relief, it didn¡¯t take long at all. Victor only had to correct the vidanii two times before Thistle waited to be called, and then he repeated the trick several times. ¡°I think he gets it!¡± Victor said, unable to keep from smiling as Thistle slobbered the grain out of his palm.

    ¡°No skill yet, though?¡± Chandri asked.

    ¡°Nothing yet.¡±

    ¡°All right, try it a few more times without me involved. This time call him but don¡¯t give him the treat. Make him do it a few times before you reward him.¡± Chandri walked back toward Victor¡¯s wagon, and he did as she said. The first time, when he got Thistle toe to him but didn¡¯t reward him right away, the animal kept nudging his huge nose into his shoulder, trying to lift his hand with the feed in it, snorting and shaking his head as though to figure out what was going on.

    ¡°Good boy, Thistle. Good boy! One more time, now. Wait, Thistle! Wait!¡± he said as he backed away. Every few steps, when the animal¡¯s leg moved as though to take a step toward him, he¡¯d say, ¡°Wait, Thistle!¡± When he stopped, a good twenty paces distant, he stared at the big vidanii for several seconds before saying, ¡°Come, Thistle!¡±

    Thistle practically charged over the grass to him, sliding to a halt in a shower of torn-up grass and rich, dark soil. Victor fed him his treat and then whooped as a message appeared in his vision:

    ***Congrattions! You have learned the skill: Animal Taming - Basic.***

    ¡°I got it!¡± he called out to Chandri just as a small swarm of little, golden Energy bubbles materialized in the air and surged into him.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Chandri whooped in return, dancing in a circle with her fist in the air. Victor realized she¡¯d been pretty stressed about this process, probably fearing it would take him a lot longer. She ran over to him and Thistle and said, ¡°Now look into your mind, think about your skill, and see if you can realize everything the System just gave you!¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Victor started, but then he understood what she meant, that he did feel like he knew a lot about animals that he hadn¡¯t before. He knew what sorts of food different types of animals would like to eat. Some of it was stuff he¡¯d known before¡ªhe¡¯d known about carnivores and herbivores, but Victor had the names of grains in his head, for instance, that he was sure he¡¯d never seen. He pulled out a handful of the vidanii feed, and he knew it was a mixture of oats, something called winter grain, and chopped bits of ¡°blue tundra grass.¡±

    More than that, he knew all sorts of sounds thatmon domesticated animals liked. He could click his tongue in a way that might calm down a skittish rdii. He knew sounds to make for his vidanii, too, and as he thought about it, the depth of knowledge started to freak him out. ¡°Fucking-A, it¡¯s like I¡¯ve got a wiki about animals in my head.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to think about it all at once. Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have told you to do that¡ªit can be overwhelming, huh? Just let the knowledgee out as you need it. If you continue to improve your Animal Taming skill, the System will begin to focus on the animals you work with. For now, do me a favor and think about riding your vidanii.¡± She looked up at him, her eyes squinting against the afternoon re of the sun, and her breath held expectantly.

    Victor did as she said, thinking about riding Thistle, and he was suddenly aware of all sorts of understanding. He knew the optimum set-up for his riding gear¡ªthat he¡¯d need a saddle nket, saddle, stirrups, reins, and a bridle. He knew that if he tried to use a bit with a vidanii, it wouldn¡¯t go well. More than that, he knew what to do with his legs and knees. He knew the kinds of sounds he should make when trying to get the animal to turn or speed up or stop. He knew he¡¯d probably be very sore for the first few days, but if he had a high vitality attribute, it wouldn¡¯t be too bad.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to need some riding gear,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Good! You think you know what to do now?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and I think it will go well¡ªI can boost my vitality to around one-eighty.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Ancestors!¡± Chandriughed. ¡°Most Shadeni learn before they¡¯re even tier-one, so something more like ten or twenty vitality. You¡¯ll be fine! As for your gear,¡± she gestured back toward his wagon in the distance. He hadn¡¯t realized just how far they¡¯d wandered away from it in his efforts to train with Thistle, nor had he realized that a small crowd had gathered around the blue and ck vehicle.

    ¡°I see Tha, Oyna, Rhessa, Deyni, and a few others. I suppose this is what goes for entertainment around here?¡± Victor took Thistle¡¯s lead and started walking toward the crowd.

    ¡°Of course! They¡¯re hoping to see a giant ride a great, horned ins runner from the distant north. Wouldn¡¯t you want to see such a sight?¡± Chandriughed. ¡°See that man on the nket with all the leather and scraps? That¡¯s Berset-dak¡ªhe¡¯s probably the best leatherworker in the n, and I¡¯m sure Oyna has enlisted him to make your riding tackle.¡±

    ¡°Will it take him long? I think we should try to get started today, don¡¯t you?¡± Victor asked as they walked toward the little crowd sitting in the grass near his wagon.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯d like to leave as soon as possible! I don¡¯t know everything Old Mother saw, but if she thinks we need to seek out Tellen, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s important. As for your saddle, I doubt it will take Berset-dak long. He¡¯s probably altering parts for a rdii saddle. I¡¯m not certain, though. My leather-working talents only extend as far as my own vests. She gestured to her tasseled, beaded vest and continued, ¡°I don¡¯t even tan the hides¡ªShivena does it for me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s cool,¡± Victor said absently, his mind wandering as he thought about what Oyna had said about Tellen¡ªsomething was trying to make him its prey. He nced at Chandri, saw her nce away like he¡¯d caught her looking at him surreptitiously, and he smiled, bumping her shoulder with his elbow, ¡°Hey, we¡¯ll find him.¡±

    ¡°Warrior!¡± Oyna¡¯s unmistakable voice called out as they came close enough to speak. ¡°Come! Let Berset-dak take some final measurements. He was able to start work based on your beast¡¯s sister animal.¡±

    ¡°He measured Starlight!¡± Deyni called, running forward to take Thistle¡¯s lead. She looked up to Victor, eyes wide with excitement, and asked, ¡°Are you really going to ride Thistle? Do you think I could learn to ride Starlight?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you could!¡± Victor said, picking up one of her long, ck braids and tickling her nose with the end of it. ¡°You can learn anything you want, munchkin. The sky¡¯s the limit,¡± he nced up and then back at her with a grin. ¡°Or maybe it isn¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve a strange way of speaking, Victor,¡± Chandri said.

    ¡°That¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve heard that. Didn¡¯t you tell me that already?¡± Heughed, and before Chandri could reply, an older, grizzled hunter had walked over with a long, flexible strip of leather. It was marked with tiny lines, and Victor assumed he used it for measuring. Victor held out his hand and said, ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Victor.¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Berset-dak said, ¡°we¡¯ve met. I was at the Ban-tok¡¯s fire when you first came to our camp. Please hold this beast still while I make some measurements.¡±

    ¡°Right, sorry. That night¡¯s a bit of a blur,¡± Victor said, then he pulled Thistle¡¯s nose down toward his shoulder and scratched him around his horns and ears. He seemed to love that more than any other kind of scratching, and he pressed his head into Victor, grunting and huffing out big steamy breaths while Victor scratched. Berset-dak nodded and began to move around the vidanii, taking the various measurements he¡¯d need to get Victor¡¯s riding tack right.

    ¡°Just a littlerger than the female. The buckles will be fine. Let me measure you for the stirrups, Victor,¡± he said,ing over and holding his leather measuring tape against his hip and down his leg. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll charge Oyna extra for all the leather I¡¯ll need!¡± Heughed and then went back to his nket, stacked with beautifully tanned leather, and Victor could see that he¡¯d already finished the saddle and was just making some final adjustments to the straps.

    Victor followed after him and said, ¡°I¡¯ll pay for this! No need for Oyna to . . .¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, warrior,¡± Oyna said. ¡°He was only teasing you¡ªyou go to save our Ban-tok and his hunters. We¡¯d give you a dozen saddles for such a service.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor said, nodding. ¡°I appreciate it.¡±

    While Tha and Rhessa talked to Chandri about animal taming, and Deyni begged her for lessons, Victor squatted near Berset-dak¡¯s nket and watched the man work. His hair was very short, peppered with gray, just like his beard, and Victor thought he looked as though he¡¯d spent most of his life outdoors. Victor shook his head at how obvious that observation was, ncing around the camp and the great expanse of the sky overhead. Berset-dak¡¯s long, wiry fingers expertly pushed the hooked needle he used to stitch the leather, and Victor could feel little surges of Energy from the process.

    ¡°Are you using a spell or a skill or something?¡±

    ¡°Aye, of course. I¡¯m a Leather Artisan, and I have some ss skills that make my work more durable and, of course, increase the speed with which I can craft things. If you tried to make a saddle like this, I think you¡¯d be at it for weeks, even with my guidance. I can do one in a day.¡±

    ¡°Pretty fuckin¡¯ cool,¡± Victor said, under his breath, admiring the rich, dark leather. It had an undertone of red, and the stitchwork was beautiful, straight, and even with tiny seams. ¡°What kind of leather is that? It looks kind of red.¡±

    ¡°This is from some huldii Tellen hunted up in the hills around Greatbone. They were small, but Tellen said they moved fast and had more fur than the huldii down by the forest. No matter, though, Shivena scraped it all off when she treated the hides.¡± Berset-dak finished a stitch, cut the leather cord with a small, hooked knife, and then tied it off. ¡°That should do it; let¡¯s see how it all fits! You carry the saddle.¡±

    Victor picked up the heavy, richly oiled leather seat, noticing that Berset-dak had made it longer than a standard riding saddle with a secondary set of shorter stirrups, no doubt anticipating Victor¡¯s need to take Chandri with him. Marveling at the quality of the leatherwork, he turned back to Thistle. As he started toward the animal, though, a youthful, familiar voice called out, ¡°Wait, Victor! I have your saddle nket!¡± He turned to see Ch, Chandri¡¯s little sister, running toward him with a bundle in her arms.

    ¡°It¡¯s a custom,¡± Oyna said, walking close to Victor and steadying herself by holding onto his elbow again. ¡°In our n, when a hunter goes on her first hunt, a friend gifts her with a saddle nket she made.¡±

    ¡°Her first hunt?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Or his, warrior! Open your mind!¡± Oyna tsked.

    ¡°I made this nketst summer, Victor!¡± Ch said, between gasps, as she came running up. Her face was painted fiercely in white and blue angles, and Victor leaned down to look into her eyes. They were lighter than Chandri¡¯s, more pink than maroon, and had tiny blue flecks in a spiral pattern around her pupils.

    ¡°Thank you, Ch! This will bring us a lot of luck. I¡¯m sure of it!¡± he took the offered bundle, and when he held up the nket, dark gray with blue and white concentric squares, he whistled. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful!¡±

    The girl beamed at the praise and said, ¡°Please take care of my sister!¡±

    ¡°Are you kidding? She¡¯s the one taking care of me!¡± He held out a fist, and when she looked at him quizzically, he said, ¡°Pound it. With your fist, silly.¡±

    ¡°Ahh!¡± Ch made a fist and punched his knuckles, grinning when he mock-winced at the pain.

    ¡°Nice one! Chica feroz!¡± Heughed and, using knowledge he couldn¡¯t exin, put his new saddle nket on Thistle¡¯s back.

    When the nket was nice, smooth, and even, Victor lifted the saddle he¡¯d set down and put it on top of it, applying the cinch straps and the breast cor, speaking softly to Thistle the entire time. When he was done with that, he turned to Berset-dak and took the bridle and reins he was holding, carefully securing them to Thistle¡¯s head.

    ¡°See the loop I made you for your axe?¡± Berset-dak asked, pointing to the ring of thick, worked leather near the back of the saddle.

    ¡°Oh, nice! Thank you, Berset-dak.¡± Victor pulled Lifedrinker from his belt and slipped her into the one on the saddle. Then he turned and looked around the gathered people. ¡°I feel like Chandri and I need to go now. Isn¡¯t that right, Oyna?¡± Victor felt some urgency, deep in his belly, and he wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of what Oyna had told him about her vision or if it was truly his gut speaking to him. Either way, he wouldn¡¯t be able to rx until he and Chandri were making their way toward Tellen.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, warrior. Come, all, make a circle.¡± Oyna said, motioning for the small crowd to gather around Victor and Chandri, who¡¯d stepped forward and stood next to him. When Oyna, Tha, Rhessa, Deyni, Ch, and even Berset-dak had linked hands around them, Oyna spoke again, ¡°Ancestors!¡± Suddenly Victor felt a surge of Energy, powerful spirit Energy that reminded him of inspiration, but it was more focused, more pointed. It came from Oyna, surging into the air around Victor and Chandri, and she said, ¡°Guide these hunters to their quarry! Bless their arrows and des, and bring them home!¡±

    The Energy seemed to seep into his pathways, and Victor allowed it, fearing nothing malicious from Oyna. As it filled him, he felt driven, ready, and sure that he could aplish the quest she¡¯d set before him. He grinned somewhat wolfishly and said, ¡°Thank you. See you all soon!¡± Then, Victor turned, put his foot into the stirrup, set perfectly for his height, and hoisted himself into the saddle. He reached down, took Chandri¡¯s hand, and effortlessly lifted her up behind him.

    ¡°Good luck, Victor!¡± Deyni called.

    Victor smiled at her, then locked eyes with Tha, and she clearly mouthed, ¡°Be careful!¡± He nodded to her, then turned, flicked the reins, clicked his tongue, and Thistle started trotting off into the grass. ¡°Go east,¡± Chandri said into his ear. She was leaning against his back, arms around his waist, and Victor could tell she was under the influence of Oyna¡¯s spell, just as he was, because she hissed, ¡°Fast!¡± and squeezed her arms tight.

    ¡°Hold on, then!¡± Victor yelled and leaned forward, touching his heels to Thistle¡¯s nk and flicking the reins again. Thistle didn¡¯t have any trouble knowing what he wanted, and suddenly the great animal surged forward. The wind was racing through Victor¡¯s hair, blowing tears out the corners of his eyes, and he and Chandri were bouncing, trying to match their up-and-down motion with the animal¡¯s heaving, rolling stride. Victor knew that if he didn¡¯t do so, he¡¯d have one hell of a sore ass in a short while.

    ¡°Ancestors!¡± Chandri screamed with glee. ¡°He¡¯s twice as fast as a rdii!¡± She gripped Victor¡¯s stomach tightly, and he felt her motion as she lifted herself in her stirrups and let herself down as the beast moved. Trusting in her experience, Victor tried to match her movements, and soon the ride became much more bearable. Heughed as the wind continued to howl past his ears, and the grasnds flew by in a blur.

 Book 3: Chapter 10: Stories

    Book 3: Chapter 10: Stories

    Chandri moved carefully through the scrub on the low hillside, searching for signs of Tellen¡¯s hunting party. This was the fourth area she¡¯d led Victor to, hoping to pick up a trace of the hunters¡¯ rdii or evidence of them camping. She knew most of the general areas where the n liked to hunt at that time of year and insisted once she picked up the tracks, she¡¯d be able to find them without any problem.

    ¡°How does it work? Your tracking? I mean, are you looking for footprints or ttened grass or what?¡± Victor asked, still sitting atop Thistle¡¯s back. The vidanii had proven to be a tireless runner, and during their travel, Chandri had started to verbalize ns to acquire a breeding pair for her n. When Victor had told her about them not breeding in captivity, she¡¯d seen it as only a setback and begun to devise ns to take a yearly trip to the north where she was sure she¡¯d be able to capture some live animals.

    ¡°It¡¯s a skill, like Animal Taming. I learned it the way all our people do¡ªI was left to fend for myself when I earned level five. If the System senses your need and intent while you hunt for food, you have a good chance of gaining the skill. It¡¯s tough for people with higher Energy levels to learn because you¡¯re rarely truly in need when ites to tracking game.¡±

    ¡°What about tracking people, like we¡¯re trying to do? Do you think I could learn the skill by trying to find tracks?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s possible, but I¡¯ve never heard of any of our people learning it that way. I think the System views it differently when you¡¯re starving and desperate to find a feyris for the fire.¡±

    ¡°Feyris¡ªthat¡¯s the name for the little rodent animals in the grass?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and other small game animals. It¡¯s sort of a general term.¡± Chandri straightened and looked around the hollow. They¡¯d spent a day riding at a breakneck pace to the east and, just that morning, started climbing into the hillynds that led toward tall, dark, jagged mountain peaks that stood out starkly against the gray-blue sky. Chandri called the mountains Starfall Ridge and said that if he and she crossed them or followed them to the northeast, they¡¯de upon the Starfall sea.

    ¡°Nothing?¡± Victor asked, watching Chandri huff in exasperation.

    ¡°No. Let¡¯s try a bit further south. They hunt these hills often, and I think we¡¯ll have a good chance of picking up their trail if we meander through them.¡±

    ¡°Right. Walking? Or . . .¡± Victor eyed the saddle behind him.

    ¡°Walking. Just let your beast have a break! I can only imagine having a man your size riding on my back . . .¡± Chandri mped her mouth shut and quickly turned away, busily studying the ground as she began climbing between two hills. Victor started to chuckle, then shook his head and stifled it. He mbered out of Thistle¡¯s saddle, deciding to ignore the, in his opinion, hrious opportunity for teasing. He paused a moment, giving Chandri a bit of space, and gave Thistle a good long drink from one of the small casks of water he had in his storage pouch.

    ¡°Good boy,¡± he said. After a few minutes, he started after Chandri, leading Thistle behind him, and when he crossed the ridge and saw her a short ways ahead, he called out, ¡°Hey, why do they call it the Starfall Sea?¡±

    Chandri turned to him, her eyes magenta in the bright light, and regarded his face for a moment. He thought he saw the hint of a smile and a nod, then she said, ¡°We have a story about it. Do you want to hear?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure. Tell it to me while you hunt for tracks.¡± Victor gestured around the hills as he came closer to her.

    ¡°I will, but you keep your eyes out, too. You might spot something I miss!¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor nodded.

    ¡°Well,¡± she said as she turned back to the little gully between hills and started walking, ¡°a long time ago, when Fanwath was new, and the people of the four worlds still fought for their ces in it, it¡¯s said that there was a great city where the sea now rests. It was a city built by a third people from Alurath¡ªthe homeworld of the Shadeni and Ardeni.¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that why you called Rhessa ¡®cousin?¡¯¡± Victor asked while Chandri paused to inspect a small gully to their left.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯re closely rted. Some people think that Shadeni and Ardeni are the same people, that we simply have a predominance of different bloodline traits.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor said, his mind busy imagining, not for the first time, that this world was once four different worlds.

    ¡°It is said the people who built the city were the Ordeni, and they were brilliant people, very gifted with Energy use, and they embraced the System and its lessons after it merged the worlds. They gathered there, on a great in and built their vast city-state, and began to develop Energy in ways the other peoples thrown into chaos by the world-merging couldn¡¯t fathom.

    There was one group of people, though, the Yovashi, who didn¡¯t like the System and wanted everyone to rage against its implicit control. They were from a different world¡ªKthe, also the homeworld of the Ilyathi and Ghelli.¡±

    ¡°Yovashi! I¡¯ve met one!¡± Victor eximed.

    ¡°Really?¡± Chandri stopped her chant-like tale and turned to him with wide eyes. ¡°There aren¡¯t many of them left in this world.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I was tortured by one, but it was being controlled, I think, by an Ardeni¡ªa lord near Persi Gables.¡±

    ¡°The nobility in the cities are known for their corruption, and Oyna says it''s because they¡¯ve lost track of the old ways.¡± Chandri nodded as though that exined everything and then returned to her tale, ¡°The Yovashi were strong Energy users before the System came to their world. They had learned about it, harnessed it, and were the dominant people on their. They were not kind to the other races¡ªto this day, the Ghelli and Ilyathi bear a terrible hatred for them. The Yovashi saw the System as an interloper, ruining their position in what they viewed as a natural hierarchy.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± Victor said when Chandri paused and looked back at him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡ªI¡¯m giving you more history than usually goes with this story, and I was afraid it was boring. I know you¡¯re new here, though.¡± She smiled at him, her ck-stained lips curling up and revealing her long canines.

    ¡°I know you get the tattoos for your hunts, but does your face paint mean anything? I noticed your sister always has her whole face painted . . .¡± Victor gestured to his face as he trailed off, afraid he¡¯d overstepped.

    ¡°It¡¯s just tradition, Victor. Some of us think the old ways are fun, especially the makeup! Ch does her makeup like she¡¯s going to war, and I only go about halfway. If you look, you¡¯ll see many younger men and women in the n do simr things. Oyna teases us about it, saying we should hope never to see a time where the warpaint is truly called for.¡± Chandri turned and kept scanning the hills. Perhaps she¡¯d reminded herself that they weren¡¯t out on a hunt for fun but to find her father, who might be in danger.

    ¡°Well? What happened with the Yovashi and those other people?¡± Victor prodded after a few moments.

    ¡°Oh, right. Well, during that time, the System was still working on our world¡ªespecially our moons. It¡¯s said that great rings of rocks and pieces of the fours¡¯ original moons circled Fanwath and that the System was building our current moons out of them. The Yovashi, using their brand of Energy-work, performed a great ritual. It¡¯s said that they sacrificed a hundred thousand ves and harnessed the blood and death-attuned Energy to reach into the sky, pulling down a mountain-sized piece of rock, directing it to fall on the Ordeni city.¡±

    ¡°Madre,¡± Victor hissed.

    ¡°Yes, Great Mother, indeed! Our story describes the falling mountain like a tremendous falling star, streaking through the sky and visible to everyone who lived at that time. The Ordeni were all but wiped out; only a handful who¡¯d been traveling survived, and they¡¯ve since mingled their bloodline with the Shadeni and Ardeni.¡± She paused, perhaps used to the storytellers in her n doing so at that point. Then she said, ¡°From that moment on, the civilized peoples of Fanwath united against the Yovashi, and all of our leaders swore never to allow anyone tomit such an atrocity.¡±

    ¡°Fuck, man. Do you think the whole story is true? Do you think that¡¯s really where those mountains came from? The impact pushed them up?¡± Victor pointed over the hills to the distant, jagged peaks.

    ¡°I believe it to be true, aye. Oyna would tell me if it were fantasy.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Oyna¡¯s not a bullshitter, is she?¡±

    Chandriughed and shook her head, ¡°I understood part of that, and no, Oyna doesn¡¯t speak shit!¡± She held up a hand before Victor could respond, and then she trotted down a slight depression into a narrow gully between two hills. ¡°I see tracks!¡±

    When Victor caught up, she scanned the ground around the sparse clumps of grass in the gully and carefully moved deeper into the narrow cleft between hills. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Genn, one of Tellen¡¯s hunters. He was moving like he was stalking something. I don¡¯t see any rdii tracks.¡±

    ¡°You can tell which hunter it was?¡± Victor asked softly, trying to match her steps.

    ¡°Yes, the skill shows me. I have my tracking up to Improved.¡± She continued, crouching and moving like she, too, was stalking something, and after a few minutes, she stopped and studied the hillside to their right. ¡°The rest of the hunting party came this way down the hill and followed after Genn¡¯s tracks!¡±

    ¡°What about their rdii?¡±

    ¡°No, they were all on foot! Perhaps they were trying to be stealthy . . .¡±

    ¡°Can you see how old the tracks are?¡± Victor asked, imagining how valuable such a skill would be.

    ¡°Sort of, but only if I know a person¡¯s normal tracks. The images I see are brighter based on the residual Energy of the person or animal that left them, and they fade with time. I don¡¯t know all these hunters normal tracks well enough to judge, but Tellen¡¯s . . . Tellen¡¯s are about two days old.¡± She continued down the gully, Victor close behind. Something seemed to tickle the back of his neck, and Victor found himself holding Lifedrinker in his free hand, the other still leading Thistle.

    ¡°I feel like something¡¯s watching us,¡± he said, ring up and down the scrub-covered hillsides and back over his shoulder. He didn¡¯t see anything move, but that was strange in itself¡ªearlier, he and Chandri had remarked about the abundant small game and the birds warbling from the dense clumps of scrub. He was busy looking for a mysterious attacker when Chandri took in a hissing breath and stumbled back toward him. Victor caught her, dropping Thistle¡¯s lead, and looked over her head.

    The gully widened ahead into a stone-floored, miniature box canyon between three hills. Rubble and scree covered the ground, and Victor figured the stones had fallen from the hillsides over the years, resulting in the jumbled mess ahead. That exined the rocks, but it didn¡¯t exin the nket of blood covering a dozen gray stones and thickly sprayed over the ground. The blood was nearly ck and very dry, but the stench of copper still tainted the air, and Victor was no longer surprised that the local wildlife had departed the area.

    ¡°Oh, Ancestors!¡± Chandri hissed, moving forward. ¡°I see so many tracks. All the hunters were here, but,¡± she moved around the bloody spot at the center of the clearing and continued, ¡°eight left that way, climbing over those stones, and Genn¡¯s end at that mess.¡±

    Victor was warily looking around the canyon walls, Lifedrinker held crossways in both hands, and growled, ¡°Well, do you see the tracks of whatever did that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t, Victor. It doesn¡¯t make sense, though I suppose there are ways to obscure your tracks. I¡¯ve never heard of an animal doing so.¡± She was squatting near the blood stter, shaking her head. ¡°Nothing left of him.¡±

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t you think your father and the hunters would have gathered his remains? Shit, maybe he wasn¡¯t dead, and they were carrying him!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s so much blood. Could he have lived?¡± Chandri shook her head and said, her voice small, ¡°I don¡¯t think so, Victor. Maybe. Maybe if Tellen was close behind and gave him a powerful draught . . .¡± She stood and warily looked around the surrounding hills, slowly scanning like she could force whatever was out there to reveal itself to her.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like this ce, Chandri. Let¡¯s get after Tellen¡¯s tracks¡ªhe¡¯ll be able to exin what happened.¡± Victor moved toward the piled boulders and scree, scanning the blockage for the most probable path.

    ¡°Right. You¡¯re right, Victor. Let¡¯s hurry!¡± She hurried past him and climbed the first,rgest boulder, and then Victor grabbed her hand.

    ¡°Hold up,¡± he said and pointed at Thistle.

    ¡°Oh!¡± she sighed, sliding down from the rock. ¡°We might have to work our way ¡®round this hill and then pick up the track again.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s that, or I can start moving rocks. What do you think will be faster?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s give Thistle a chance to show us what he can do. I bet we can round this hill and pick up the next gully in just a few minutes.¡± Chandri said, moving over to the big animal. ¡°He¡¯s not even skittish around this blood. He¡¯d be a wonderful mount to take on a real hunt.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s a good boy, didn¡¯t even pull back on the reins when I led him in here. Maybe he knows something we don¡¯t,¡± Victor said, climbing into his saddle and pulling Chandri up behind him.

    ¡°What do you mean,¡± she asked the back of his neck as they started back the way they¡¯de.

    ¡°I mean, maybe he¡¯s good at sensing danger and didn¡¯t feel anything here. I mean, either that or he¡¯s really bad at it!¡± Victorughed, then touched Thistle''s sides with his heels, pushing him into a trot. Chandri chuckled at his attempt at humor, squeezing his sides to hold on, and Victor continued to urge more speed from Thistle.

    Over thest couple of days, he¡¯d gotten quitefortable with the animal. Still, he didn¡¯t fool himself¡ªhe knew that ny percent of his riding skill was based on his knowledge of the Animal Taming skill and his body¡¯s super-human attributes. He was stronger, healed faster, and was far more agile than a normal person. Shit, if he were taking stock, he was smarter too. Heughed at that¡ªhe definitely wasn¡¯t smarter than some of the people he¡¯d known back on Earth, even now. Intelligence must have more to do with Energy use or how quickly your brain works. It didn¡¯t make you a rocket scientist by magic.

    ¡°Maybe it has something to do with what kinds of skills and spells you can learn,¡± he said, having lost track of his reality while his mind wandered.

    ¡°What?¡± Chandri asked.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Victor said as he steered Thistle around the big hill to the right, already halfway back to the gully if he were correct in his estimate. He figured he should probably speak to Gorz and get the amulet¡¯s take on his mental attributes and how they affected him outside of Energy use. He¡¯d made a little effort to talk to the amulet now and then, but he found the conversations dry and very one-sided, and he wondered just how much of a personality the trapped spirit really had.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± Chandri cried, and Victor realized they were riding right toward a deep fissure that split the side of the hill and the ground across their path. Almost instinctively, he clicked his tongue and twitched the reins, and Thistle surged forward to leap the crack. Chandri whooped, and Victorughed as they came down well clear of the obstacle.

    ¡°Good boy!¡± Victor cheered, patting the animal¡¯s neck, and then they were rounding thest corner of the hill and riding straight for the gully thendslide had blocked. Victor pulled up on the reins as Thistle trotted between the hills, and Chandri dropped out of the saddle. She spent a minute scanning the ground and then pointed further east, where the gully grew into an actual canyon between two veryrge hills. Victor figured if they continued that way for very long, they¡¯d eventuallye to the mountains of Starfall Ridge.

    ¡°Now that I have the tracks, I can see them from Thistle¡¯s back. Let¡¯s make up some ground!¡± She said, reaching up for Victor to pull her into the saddle. Victor nodded and steered Thistle in the right direction, and soon they were trotting over the rough ground, moving ever deeper into the long, shadow-filled canyon between the hills. He had to slow down before long because their makeshift path grew more and more rough, with fallen rocks and loose stones making footing treacherous, even for the nimble vidanii.

    While Victor didn¡¯t mind getting the sun off his neck, the shadows also sobered up their charging pace, and soon he had to let Thistle walk, trotting when there was a stretch of clear ground. Still, his steady gait was much faster than he and Chandri could have moved on foot. The tracks led directly between the towering hills, and it wasn¡¯t long before Victor and Chandri realized they were in a dried-up riverbed, the long, high-walled canyon stretching to the east, seemingly endlessly.

    ¡°Maybe this river flowed before the worlds merged,¡± Chandri said at one point, but Victor had another idea.

    ¡°I bet it was a river that passed by that city the Yovashi destroyed. When the falling ¡®star¡¯ smashed into the ground and pushed up those mountains, it blocked the river. That¡¯s probably why there¡¯s a sea on the other side.¡±

    ¡°Ahh! Victor, you¡¯re smart!¡± Chandri said, giving his ear a tweak.

    ¡°Hey!¡± heughed, ducking his head to the side, ¡°Sometimes I guess the right answer, that¡¯s all.¡± He was about to say something about how he¡¯d also done plenty of guessing in school, but then he saw something ahead. ¡°Shit,¡± he breathed, pulling on the reins, slowing Thistle to a stop. Chandri leaned into his back, standing in the stirrups so her chin rose above Victor¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°No!¡± she hissed, leaping from the vidanii. Victor jumped down after her, yanking Lifedrinker from her loop on the saddle, and followed her into the scene of carnage. It was much like the one they¡¯d found earlier, where the unfortunate hunter, Genn¡¯s, tracks had ended. Though, here, it looked like two or three people had been bled of every drop of blood. Ssh marks marred the stone of the canyon walls to the north, and the ground was painted with deep puddles, still tacky and moist.

    Chandri slowly walked around the horrific scene, silently pointing to pieces of flesh and shredded clothing and leather. This ughter hadn¡¯t been picked clean like the previous one. Still, norge body parts, dead people, or animals could be seen, and Chandri breathed a sigh that sounded relieved to Victor, saying, ¡°Seven sets of tracks continue, only poor Jeggit¡¯s end here. Something else must have died with him, don¡¯t you think, Victor? It¡¯s too much blood for one man!¡±

    ¡°Well, something died with him, or something bled a hell of a lot. You still don¡¯t see any tracks from whatever it was?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t!¡± Chandri balled her fists in frustration, then returned to Victor and the vidanii. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry! I think we¡¯ve gained a lot of ground¡ªthey must have been moving slowly!¡± Victor nodded, and they remounted, continuing into the canyon. It wasn¡¯t long before they realized the source of some of the blood¡ªsignificant drops and little puddles mixed in with the tracks Chandri was following. ¡°They¡¯re hurt, Victor. You can see they had to rest frequently; look to where the blood puddles.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I get it,¡± Victor said, jaw clenched, worried that Tellen, one of the few friends he¡¯d made in this world who hadn¡¯t tried to manipte him, might be hurt or dying. ¡°Or dead,¡± he muttered, too softly for Chandri to hear. He urged Thistle to move a bit faster than he felt was safe, but as they covered the ground, he was happy to see the blood drops and pools start to get smaller and less frequent.

    ¡°I think they managed to slow the bleeding¡ªTellen¡¯s band of hunters are all tier-two or higher. Given time, I¡¯m sure most of them would heal from cuts,¡± Chandri said when he pointed out his observation. He nodded, some relief seeping into his thoughts as they continued to hurry up the canyon.

    The shadows were long, and the sky was starting to go from steel gray and cloudy to dark gray and foreboding when they came upon a rocky path that led up the northern side of the canyon to a ruined stone building¡ªan ancient keep of some sort. Victor could see, from the jagged remnants of walls, that it had once stood imposingly over the canyon, but now it was little more than one story of crumbling gray, stone blocks.

    Chandri said the tracks led up toward the keep, so Victor turned Thistle up the loose, stone-covered path that switchbacked up the steep hillside and they¡¯d made it to the first turn when a male voice called out from above them, ¡°Stop! There are traps!¡±

    Victor peered up the hill and saw a Shadeni wearing the usual leathers of Chandri¡¯s n, waving from a higher level of the trail, just beyond the next switchback. ¡°Visha?¡± Chandri called out.

    ¡°Aye, Chandri! Tellen is above, but he won¡¯t be happy to see you. Wait for me to guide you past the traps!¡± Thenky man, more a shadow than a defined person in the gloomy,te-afternoon light, started to make his way toward them. He moved quickly but clearly avoided some parts of the path and asionally stopped to fiddle with something behind a rock or hidden in a scraggly shrub. ¡°Here we are,¡± he said as he strode up. Victor immediately noticed that the man was missing several fingers and bore a long, freshly scabbed-over scar across his cheek and down over his chin.

    ¡°Visha! What happened to you!¡± Chandri said, sliding out of the saddle and rushing to hug the slender man.

    ¡°Something terrible is out here, ¡®Dree. We need to hurry up to the keep before the sun¡¯s gone. Gimme the lead to that beast, Victor, and I¡¯ll guide you past the traps.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor did as he was asked, not surprised that Visha knew him, or at least knew of him¡ªhe¡¯d met, in passing, a lot of Tellen¡¯s hunters. Visha led them, Chandri walking behind him, up the path, pausing and returning to reset things that looked like tripwires to Victor. It took them fifteen minutes or so to slowly make their way up to the t area near the top of the hillside where the ruined keep sat.

    When they rounded thest turn of the trail and came into sight of the keep¡¯s entrance, two more hunters came running over and exchanged hugs with Chandri and greetings with Victor. They also bore terrible scars and fresh scabs, and Victor wondered how the rest of the hunters looked if these were the ones chosen to keep watch.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be here, Chandri! This ce is cursed!¡± the second hunter cried when Chandri pulled him into a hug, carefully avoiding his left arm''s bandaged, bloody stump.

    ¡°Hush, Kolo. Oyna sent us¡ªshe had a vision.¡± Suddenly hope bloomed in the defeated hunter¡¯s dark red eyes, and he looked at Victor, still sitting atop the tall vidanii.

    ¡°Maybe . . .¡± he gulped visibly and looked at the other two hunters. ¡°Do you think the Ancestors haven¡¯t abandoned us?¡±

    ¡°Of course, they haven¡¯t!¡± Chandri said, taking his good hand and walking toward the keep. ¡°Take me to my father.¡±

    The hunters seemed reluctant, but they did as she asked, guiding her and Victor up the stone steps and into a broken-walled courtyard. Victor tied Thistle to an old, petrified beam sticking up among some stones. They all waited while he set up Thistle¡¯s feedbag and put out a barrel of water, which the animal thirstily began to drink.

    When he was finished, the hunter named Kolo tapped his short, javelin-like spear against the piled barricade at the keep¡¯s entrance, and a momentter, Victor could hear things being dragged away from the opening. When thest sizeable wooden barrier, an old table, if Victor wasn¡¯t mistaken, was pulled aside, it was Tellen that stood before them. The Ban-tok of the n was better off than the hunters Victor had seen so far, still sporting all of his appendages, though his leather armor was in tatters, and he bore the signs of many recent injuries.

    ¡°Ancestors! Chandri! No! Why would youe here?¡±

    ¡°Not you too, father!¡± Chandri cried, rushing to hug the tall, wiry hunter. ¡°I¡¯m here because Oyna had a vision, and she sent me to find you. To bring Victor to you.¡±

    ¡°Um, hello, Tellen,¡± Victor said, taking thest step into the doorway. He loomed over the hunter as he held out his hand in greeting.

    ¡°Come in!¡± Tellen said, backing up. ¡°Help me put this barricade back up!¡± He looked at the three hunters that had greeted Victor and Chandri and said, ¡°You shoulde in now. It¡¯s dark soon.¡± They didn¡¯t argue, hurrying in, pushing past Victor, and then, almost before Victor and Chandri could get out of the way, they started piling the barricade back into ce.

    ¡°What the fuck¡¯s going on?¡± Victor finally asked.

    ¡°We¡¯re cursed, Victor! I wish you hadn¡¯te! I wish you hadn¡¯t brought my daughter!¡± Tellen said, shaking his head and moving further into the ruined hall. Victor followed him and looked around. The ceiling wasn¡¯t fully intact, though it looked like Tellen and his hunters had worked to barricade therger holes. The doorways out of the hall were simrly blocked off with ancient wood, furniture, and piled stones. Victor even thought he saw a stone statue tipped over to block a doorway, though it was partially covered with rubble, obscuring most of it from view.

    A fire burned in an ancient stone firece, and several figures wereid out before it, wrapped in nkets and seemingly unconscious. ¡°What kind of fucking curse?¡± Victor asked, resting a hand on Lifedrinker.

    ¡°Something hunts us, Victor. Something fast and strong and unrelenting. It toys with us, cutting us apart, ying us, and then departing when it could have finished us all. Each night ites, and each night it kills or maims one of my hunters.¡± Tellen shook his head, despair in his eyes as they fell upon Chandri again.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ride home, father? Why did you track it?¡±

    ¡°Hah! We didn¡¯t track it, child. We camped atop a hill, and Genn was on watch. We think he heard a noise and investigated, but when the morning came and he was nowhere to be found, we tracked him to the scene of his ughter. While most of us searched the area for tracks, trying to figure out what beast did this, Ulena went back for the rdii. She found them ughtered.¡±

    ¡°So you gathered up Genn and then continued into the canyon? Why?¡± Chandri pressed.

    ¡°We were hot with rage! We thought if we stayed together, we could find the devilish beast that did this and y it!¡±

    ¡°You were sure it was a beast?¡± Victor asked, something tickling the back of his mind.

    ¡°The way it killed¡ªGenn was ripped apart. The rdii were disemboweled. I thought it a great saber-cat that had gone mad. Ulena said it looked like a mad terror bear hade upon the rdii.¡±

    ¡°Terror bear?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to meet one, Victor,¡± Chandri said, reaching up to gently squeeze Tellen¡¯s arm above his elbow.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll need to switch ces with my vidanii,¡± Victor said, surprising everyone. Tellen looked at him like he¡¯d lost his mind.

    ¡°Yeah, I mean, if we¡¯re going to put out bait, I¡¯d rather it wasn¡¯t Thistle. This whole thing reminded me of a story I know, a story that happens to be one of the five or ten things I remember from English ss. Seems like too big of a coincidence not to mean something; I think your ancestors have a job for me.¡±

    ¡°A story, Victor?¡± Chandri asked, and when Victor nodded to her, looking around at the hunters, he saw hope in their eyes. He figured it was because he¡¯d mentioned their ancestors. Still, when he saw their broken bodies and their desperate desire to believe him, when he saw Chandri and the pride in her eyes when she heard his words, he knew he was right¡ªhe had to face whatever it was that tormented them. These poor hunters weren¡¯t up for it.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s about a monster named Grendel and the badass, pinche warrior that ruins his day.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 11: Monster or Hero

    Book 3: Chapter 11: Monster or Hero

    Victor sat on a t, stone block in the middle of the ruined courtyard, watching the dark clouds as they alternately obscured and revealed the enormous ringed moon and her little round sister. Outwardly, he looked rxed and vulnerable, but he was quite alert. He¡¯d boosted his agility with Sovereign Will and had Inspiring Presence primed in his pathways, and, though his body seemed reclined, leaning back, bracing on his left hand, his right hand rested on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, and he held his core tense, ready to spring.

    Tellen had tried to talk him out of his n, tried to get him to hunker down for the night and then flee with Chandri, making haste on Thistle¡¯s swift hooves. The other hunters, those who could rouse themselves to consciousness, had remained silent, though, and Victor could see the desperate hope in their eyes. Chandri had only wished him luck on his hunt, and it had been her confidence and, strangely, pride in him that had really solidified Victor¡¯s determination to stand watch alone¡ªto face the demon that had so tormented Tellen and his hunters.

    Sitting in the dark, waiting for the monster toe, Victor wondered at theck of fear in his chest. He felt ready, almost pumped, as he would be before a big match. He had some nervous energy that was difficult to mask, but he didn¡¯t feel fear or trepidation. He felt damn good, in fact, like he was doing something he was meant for.

    The way Victor saw it, if he was growing into some kind of killing machine, a monster of sorts, then wasn¡¯t it right and good that he spent his efforts fighting other monsters? Shouldn¡¯t he defend the people he cared about? It was very fucking easy to put himself out in this dark courtyard, waiting for a bloody fight to the death, when he imagined Tellen or Chandri getting cut to pieces like the hunters this ¡°demon¡± had already in.

    Every now and then, if he let it, his mind would start to wonder at the surreal nature of his situation. Just a week ago, he¡¯d been sitting in a massive bathtub, enjoying the fancy soaps that Captain Lam had provided. Now he was dirty from days of travel, sitting on a hard stone in the moonlight, waiting for this world¡¯s version of Grendel.

    Was part of the reason he was out here waiting because he¡¯d rather think of himself as someone like Beowulf than a monster like Grendel? Beowulf had been a badass, that was sure, and he didn¡¯t take any shit, but he also was a hero¡ªa man who fought the monsters weaker men couldn¡¯t face.

    Victor momentarily recalled his crisis of conscience back when he and Tha had killed the soldiers sent by ap¡¯Horrin. He remembered how Lifedrinker had spoken to him, brought him back to himself, and helped him see that he wasn¡¯t wholly to me. He was a wolf, and those that hunt wolves need to fear the fang. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you said, chica?¡± He gently caressed the warm wood of the axe haft with his thumb, and he was sure she vibrated gently in response.

    A loose bit of stone fell from the high crumbling walls, and Victor ceased his introspection to listen and feel, trying to surmise if it had been the wind or gravity finally winning an ages-long battle or if something had disturbed the stone. Nothing else stirred, and his gut told him it wasn¡¯t anything to worry about. Victor had begun to trust his gut more and more, and he wondered if it was a product of his attributes, ss, or even his bloodline¡ªwhatever it was, he felt more connected to his instincts.

    Instincts¡ªcould they be responsible for his quick eptance of Oyna¡¯s quest? He hadn¡¯t argued, hadn¡¯t sought different solutions, hadn¡¯t expressed any concern for his or Chandri¡¯s well-being. He¡¯d simply epted her vision at face value and gone along. He didn¡¯t feel used, though. He¡¯d wanted to go. His gut had said, ¡°Let¡¯s hurry and help Tellen as fast as fucking possible.¡± Should he feel used if his own wishes coincided with what other people wanted him to do? ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± he said, ¡°especially if I like those people.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t worried about being quiet and didn¡¯t want to seem like he was waiting for a fight, so he figured talking to himself was A-OK. His mind drifted back to when he¡¯d brought Thistle into the hall with the hunters and begun to head back out. He remembered how Tellen had gripped his wrist and thanked him, having given up on talking Victor out of his ¡°mad¡± n. He remembered how Tellen had walked away, leaving him with Chandri for a moment, and then he remembered her hug and how it had been different from any hug he¡¯d ever gotten from Tha.

    She¡¯d folded into him, her arms under his, and her fingers had gently caressed his back when she¡¯d said, speaking into his chest, ¡°I can feel your heart; it thumps like a mighty drum. Ancestors pity the creature that tries to take you tonight, Victor. When you bring its head back to us, I¡¯ll help you mark this hunt with ink.¡± Though he¡¯d stood several paces away, Victor had seen Tellen¡¯s look of concern¡ªthe way he shook his head slightly in dismay, and he knew that Chandri was alone in her confidence. She¡¯d never seen the ¡°demon,¡± after all.

    Another tter of stones, this one from the wall near the broken gateway, brought Victor back to the present. His thoughts of Chandri¡¯s gentle touch and how her body felt so warm as it pressed against his snapped away as though someone had thrown iced water over his head. He feigned a wide yawn, making noise to signal his boredom like he used to do when his abu made him y old board games. Using the act of stretching as cover, he took a nce around the courtyard, and his fist tightened on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft when he saw a dark shadow slipping purposefully through the gap in the walls.

    Victor braced himself, every muscle primed to move, and waited, trying to stay still and look like a victim. ¡°C¡¯mon, you pinche monstruo feo!¡± he hissed under his breath. Suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he knew it was time to move. He erupted into motion, veritably flying into the air, simultaneously casting Inspiring Presence and whipping Lifedrinker in a t arc at the space behind the stone on which he¡¯d been reclining.

    As the spell took effect, the shadows fell away from the courtyard, and the moons¡¯ light, even obscured by the clouds, seemed more luminescent and sanguine. As Lifedrinker¡¯s razor-sharp, gleaming edge ripped through the air, Victor¡¯s teeth bared in a feral grin of amusement when he saw she was cutting straight for the shoulder of his quarry. ¡°Gotcha, asshole!¡±

    The ¡°demon¡± was certainly deserving of the moniker the hunters had given it. Victor¡¯s Grendel was bipedal and tall, with long,nky limbs covered in knobby, gray flesh. The creature¡¯s head was hairless and adorned with a ring of short ck horns that almost looked like a crown. Of its face, Victor only had time to notice angr, gleaming orange eyes and wicked, sharp teeth in jaws wide open, ready to bite. As his axe crunched into the monster¡¯s shoulder, and Victor felt the reverberation all the way up to his elbows, like he¡¯d struck a steel beam, he noticed that the ¡°monster¡± was wearing a sleek, ck jumper with a broad, silvery belt.

    ¡°This prey has a tooth, hmm?¡± it hissed as Lifedrinker rebounded, and Victor sidestepped, moving like an enormous ballet dancer, hunched and ready. He held his center of gravity low and trained his eyes on the creature¡¯s waist. He brought Lifedrinker into a two-handed grip and cast Channel Spirit, flooding her with rage-attuned Energy, granting her a red, furious nimbus.

    The monster¡¯s voice reminded Victor of a hacksaw cutting tin, and as he circled it, he saw that its long fingers weren¡¯t as long as he thought¡ªfour-inch ws tipped the six digits on each of its wide, syed hands. They gleamed in the moonlight, and Victor knew they weren¡¯t natural but weapons this being had grafted to itself.

    ¡°You can speak, fucker?¡± he growled, ready for the deadly speed this thing had shown the hunters. They¡¯d barely been able to describe the monster as bipedal with razor-sharp ws, unable to get a good look at it as it ripped through them, blending with the shadows.

    ¡°The simple creature wonders if I can speak?¡± A low chuckle followed the grating words, and then it was gone, disappearing from Victor¡¯s sight, and a bloom of pain erupted on his thigh. Five long, deep gashes had opened on his right thigh as if by magic. He hadn¡¯t even seen the creature¡¯s attack. The low, grating chuckle continued, this time from behind him, and Victor whirled to face his attacker. His leg moved just fine, and he had a disturbing thought as blood soaked his pants and ran into his boot: had this ¡°demon¡± avoided crippling him to draw out his suffering?

    The hunters had told him how fast the monster was. They¡¯d told him how they couldn¡¯t strike it, let alone avoid its ws, but something had stood out to Victor when they''d described their encounters. Each time it came around to kill or maim, it was a flurry¡ªa lightning attack of cuts and stabs that seemed toe from nowhere. The creature wouldugh and roar, and in a matter of seconds, it was gone, leaving them bleeding and despairing.

    When Victor heard their ounts, he¡¯d had a suspicion, one born of experience fighting fast people. What if the ¡°demon¡± couldn¡¯t maintain such speed? What if he could oust it? If there was anything he was good at, it was soaking up damage. Realizing he was no match for the monster¡¯s quickness, even boosting his agility, Victor redirected his Sovereign Will to his vitality. He smiled as the attribute jumped to nearly two hundred, and the pain in his leg immediately started to dull.

    ¡°What¡¯s your deal?¡± he asked the creature, watching as it circled him. One of its long arms dragged the razored ws along the stone in a show of red sparks. He hoped to stall the next attack, giving his vitality a chance to close up his leg wound. He knew he could hit the monster, having done so once, but it would take some luck, and he¡¯d need to catch it off guard.

    ¡°My deal? I hunt. I sharpen my skills. Why do you kill?¡± Its chuckle echoed in the darkness as it once again disappeared from Victor¡¯s view, and, as he braced himself for another strike, Victor cast Dauntless Radiance, sending a surge of courage-attuned Energy into the air around him, and just as the rings of his armor on his left shoulder nged and burst apart, a bright, golden light filled the air. Victor stumbled forward at the impact, and he knew the ws had cut more than his armor when his left arm protested and wouldn¡¯t properly move when he tried to whip Lifedrinker around in another cutting arc.

    Still, the red-gold glow of his spell filled him with confidence, and he shrugged off the injury, knowing his body could take it. As he circled, scanning for any sign of his elusive enemy, he said, ¡°I can tell you I don¡¯t hunt down people weaker than I am. I don¡¯t torment people and butcher them as they cower. How does that sharpen your skills? Sounds like a fucking puta move to me!¡±

    ¡°Interesting Energy, prey,¡± the grating voice echoed out of the shadows, seeming toe from all the corners of the courtyard at once. ¡°You make my cultivation difficult. Shall I just finish you and feed upon those cowering within that ruin?¡±

    ¡°You have a name, fucker?¡± The words of the creature had sparked some understanding in Victor. None of the hunters had mentioned it ¡°feeding¡± on them. If Victor¡¯s courage-attuned Energy made its ¡°feeding¡± difficult, perhaps it hungered for their fear or despair, or something else the courage nullified.

    ¡°You wish to know who slew you? Jikrak is my name, and you shouldn¡¯t despair at a death by my hand¡ªone day, this weakling world will call me lord. You are but one of my early victims.¡± Victor finallyid eyes on him as he spoke, standing just outside the light of his spell, lurking in the darker shadows near the gateway. Victor smiled grimly and primed his next spell, staring at the dark figure, focusing on the glint of his shimmering, metallic belt¡ªthe only bright spot in the shadows.

    ¡°Jikrak, huh? So you aren¡¯t from this world? Got chased out by stronger guys?¡± Victor taunted, switching his vitality boost to agility and loosening his grip on Lifedrinker, though he still held her in front of himself.

    ¡°Yes, prey, I think I¡¯ll end you quickly. You¡¯re no good to feast upon,¡± Jikrak said sharply, his grinding, sharp voice ripping through the night. Victor stared at that glinting metallic belt, and as soon as he saw it wink out of existence, he whirled, casting Project Spirit,unching a wave of sickly, yellow-ck, twisted inspiration-attuned Energy into the darkness. Each time Jikrak had struck him, it had been from his nk, and Victor knew the cone of his Project Spirit was wide enough to catch him, especially as he backpedaled, widening its arc of influence.

    The unusual spell knocked Jikrak off-guard, pulling him out of whatever ability allowed him to move so fast. His falter was brief but long enough for Victor to release Lifedrinker and reach out to grab the wrist attached to the long ws that ripped into his armored belly. As the ws punched home, barely slowed by his armor, Victor grasped the monster¡¯s knobby, rough appendage with both hands and bore down with all his might, squeezing as if his life depended on it. It did, after all.

    Jikrak fought back against the disorienting effect of Victor¡¯s projection, and in just seconds, Victor felt the monster¡¯s will assert itself. As Victor wrestled with the creature¡¯s surprisingly prodigious strength, barely able to hold onto the wrist with both hands, Jikrak started to sh at him with the other hand. He ripped long deep ribbons in Victor¡¯s arm and tore long grooves in his side, sending chunks of ck enamel and shattered metal rings flying with each terrible gash. As blood soaked Victor¡¯s arm and hands, he felt the monster begin to slip free.

    ¡°Fuck this!¡± Victor growled in furious agony. Forgetting about his n to try to oust the creature¡¯s speed, he cast Berserk. Victor had been waiting, saving his ace for when he had the monster on the ropes, or at least had ahold of it. He¡¯d wanted to be sure he didn¡¯t cast the spell too early and burn up all his rage-attuned Energy while the monster avoided contact with him.

    So many ns had been in his mind¡ªhow he might use his coyotes to surround the creature or chase it down if he caused it to flee, how he would try to win this fight without berserk entirely, winning with a clever n and raw skill. Those thoughts went out of his mind, though, as he felt Jikrak start to slip out of his grip.

    When the spell triggered, and rage started to flood out of his Core and into his pathways, Victor urged it out, pushing it with his will. When the red fury washed over his vision and the pain of his ribboned flesh faded to just an itch, heughed and bore down on the monsters wrist. His fingers,rger and longer and horribly strong, squeezed that thin gray appendage until he felt the satisfying crunch of bones faltering and shattering under the pressure.

    As he grew and healed, and his madughter turned into a roar that echoed off the walls, shaking rubble loose all around them, Jikrak¡¯s confident shing attacks turned to panicked thrashing. Victor¡¯s voice, deep, loud, and inexorable like waves grinding against the shore, rumbled from his chest as he said, ¡°Am I prey now, manling? What fool are you to challenge the Quinametzin?¡± His eyes were red with fury, and he hunched over the thrashing panicked Jikrak, his shoulders and neck hulking and bunched with thick cables of muscle.

    Jikrak¡¯s ineffectual stabs and wing cuts were nothing more than an annoyance as he continued to stab and hack at Victor¡¯s shoulder. Irritated that the little man hadn¡¯t answered, Victor released Jikrak¡¯s shattered wrist with one hand and snatched the attacking arm by the biceps, lifting Jikrak into the air, so he was forced to look him in the face. ¡°Am I prey?¡± he roared again, just an inch from the orange, predator eyes of the ¡°demon.¡±

    Jikrak didn¡¯t answer, but Victor saw his eyes gloss over as he tried to concentrate, and then the flesh under his mighty fingers started to turn slippery, and it felt like Jikrak was falling through his grip, as though he were turning to air. A glint of triumph appeared in his enemy¡¯s eyes.

    When he felt his insolent attacker start to slip away, the rage in Victor¡¯s mind surged to new heights, and he lost, momentarily, his cognizance. In a blind madness, he lifted Jikrak above his head and smashed him to the stone ground with enough force to liquefy an ordinary creature. Jikrak had been in the midst of some sort of spell, making himself incorporeal, and when Victor madly threw him down, his semi-solid body sank into the stone, leaving him half in and half out of the gstones.

    The impact had ruined Jikrak¡¯s concentration, spoiling his spell, and as the horror of his demise registered, Jikrak¡¯s orange eyes bulged out, and he opened his mouth, but only blood cascaded forth, no words. Victor roared in mad triumph and grabbed onto Jikrak¡¯s head, pulling with all his might and ripping it away from his stuck-fast body. He threw it against the wall with a wet stter, dislodging more rubble, then he looked up at the night sky and screamed his victory to the stars.

    Victor dimly remembered leaping up the jumbled stones to the top of the ruined wall of the keep and pacing over the crumbled battlements roaring and howling at the moons, brandishing Lifedrinker. His shouts were inarticte, but they were loud and full of challenge, and it became clear to himter, when he thought of that night, that the Quinametzin in him had been challenging anything within earshot toe to try him, daring any creature, be it man or monster, to set foot in his domain.

    He opened his eyes to warm sunlight and found himself still atop the wall, nestled between two fallen crions. Even in his disorientation, Victor had a feeling of swelling pride, left over from his gigantic alter-ego, no doubt, and he grinned as he sat up. He looked at Lifedrinker, present, as usual, in one of his hands, and memories of his battle came rushing back. ¡°Sorry, chica. I¡¯ll make sure you get more action in the next fight.¡±

    He saw that a System message was blinking in his peripheral vision, and he pulled it into view:

    ***Congrattions! You have achieved level 32 Spirit Carver and gained 10 will, 10 vitality, and have 16 attribute points to allocate.***

    ¡°Goddamn, I didn¡¯t snap out of it when I got the Energy from killing that fucker?¡± Victor shook his head, amazed at how long he¡¯d stayed enraged and how much of it was a blur. It was almost like his rages from the old days, but not entirely. He remembered speaking while Berserk and how furious he¡¯d felt when that creepy asshole started to slip away. No, he¡¯d been in control for most of it¡ªit had juststed a lot longer. ¡°Why do I have sixteen points . . .¡±

    Victor pped himself on the head. He hadn¡¯t spent any points when he¡¯dst leveled. He¡¯d hardly looked at his status sheet, either. Had he looked at it at all? Thest time he could remember was before he fought Rellia¡ªhe wondered if he¡¯d subconsciously avoided it for some reason. Before he could find a reason to put it off again, he pulled up his mental and physical attributes:

    Core:

    Spirit ss - Base 7

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Rage 9.1, Inspiration 7.4

    Energy:

    2539/2539

    Strength:

    135

    Vitality:

    110

    Dexterity:

    40

    Agility:

    63

    Intelligence:

    32

    Will:

    253

    Points Avable:

    16

    Victor almost dumped his sixteen points into agility right then, remembering how fast Jikrak had been, he stopped, though, another thought urring to him. Jikrak might have been fast like that because of magic. He might have even been teleporting or something. No matter Victor''s agility, he wouldn¡¯t be able to move faster than that. If that were the case, he should maybe put his points into will, as he had been doing, or into intelligence. ¡°No wonder I didn¡¯t do anything yet,¡± he muttered.

    As he wished for some good advice or a training manual of some sort, he thought of Gorz and shook his head. Gorz usually left him more frustrated than before he¡¯d asked for help¡ªhe wanted guidance, not impartial information. Then he thought of Oyna and smiled; if anyone might tell him what to do, the old woman was a good candidate.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be going back there now, anyway,¡± he said, and then he heard, off in the distance, a high-pitched, scratchy voice calling out his name. ¡°What the fuck?¡± He stood and looked out over the morningndscape. The shelf the old keep was built ony before him, and, standing at the head of the trail leading down to the canyon floor, Chandri stood. She cupped her hands to her mouth and, again, called his name.

    ¡°Victor!¡± Her voice echoed down into the canyon. Before he could answer, Victor heard a noise behind him, and he turned to see two hunters poking around in the rubble of the courtyard, turning over stones as though they might find him buried.

    ¡°Hey!¡± he yelled. ¡°I¡¯m up here!¡± He waved an arm at Chandri when she whirled around.

    ¡°Victor!¡± she shrieked in glee, charging back toward the crumbled gatehouse. Victorughed and started mbering down from the wall, using the broken stones and loose mortar for hand and foot holds. When he reached the bottom, Chandri was waiting, and the hunters had gathered as well, with Tellen at their center. Chandri smashed into him as soon as he¡¯d put both feet on the ground and squeezed him around the waist. He hugged her back, his grin spreading from ear to ear.

    ¡°Hey, you guys act like I was missing or something! I was just taking a little snooze up there.¡± Chandri pulled back andughed, turning to her father with a wild grin of her own.

    ¡°I told you, Tellen!¡± She caught herself using his name and followed up with, ¡°I knew he could win, father!¡± The hunters didn¡¯t wait for Tellen¡¯s response but crowded forward to p Victor on the shoulders and back. Victor¡¯s shredded ringmail vest jangled and clinked, and the hunter¡¯s faces lit up with smiles, the dark clouds behind their eyes all but gone¡ªtheir death sentence had been lifted, and the gloom of their perceived curse was banished with the morning sun.

    ¡°While we listened to your battle, we feared you were dead. We thought more than one monster came to the fray because long into the night, a great beast howled and roared,¡± Tellen said, eyeing Victor. ¡°Was it not allied with the demon?¡±

    ¡°Uh, no. It definitely wasn¡¯t allied with the demon,¡± Victor sighed, shaking his head. ¡°The other monster was me. When I go berserk, sometimes I let myself go too far.¡±

    Chandri stepped closer and grabbed his forearm with both her hands, looking at his face. ¡°You¡¯re no monster, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Chandri,¡± Victor mustered a smile and nodded.

    ¡°We found the creature¡¯s head against the wall, Victor, and his remnants are here, mixed with the stones. I don¡¯t know how you did it, but thank you. By rights, you should examine this corpse for treasure!¡± Tellen said, and as he backed up, pointing to the bloody mess of Jikrak¡¯s body, he continued, ¡°I owe you my life, but more importantly, these others are safe thanks to you. I hope you¡¯ll return to the camp for a while, Victor. I¡¯d like to find a way to reward you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go to your camp, Tellen, of course. I want to spend some time learning from Oyna. You don¡¯t owe me anything, though. If I didn¡¯t help my friends when I could, then what kind of asshole would I be?¡± Victor looked down at Chandri and winked, then moved through the small crowd to look down at Jikrak¡¯s body.

    It was mostly intact, and Victor wasn¡¯t surprised, judging by how tough the bastard had been. His flesh had even rebuffed Lifedrinker, after all, though he hadn¡¯t yet charged her with Energy. It said a lot about the strength of his Titanic Rage ability that he was able to crush the creature¡¯s bones and pull his head off, he supposed. ¡°Huh, I guess his strong flesh wasn¡¯t a match for more than five hundred strength,¡± he said, kneeling to examine the corpse.

    He heard whispered conversations among the hunters as he started to try to shift the body. It wouldn''t move much, and he saw that the left arm and both feet were fully embedded in the stones of the courtyard, so he reached over and picked up the other arm, stiff now in death, and examined the fingers. ¡°One ring,¡± he said. He pulled off the solid ck band, careful not to slice himself on the long, metallic ws protruding from the gray, knobby fingers. He tucked it into a pocket, then examined the rest of the exposed body.

    ¡°That weird-ass ck jumper isn¡¯t my style, but that belt looks interesting.¡±

    ¡°What about his finger ws?¡± Tellen asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want those fucking things. You guys can cut them off if you want,¡± Victor said as he tugged at the belt, unbuckling the silvery, metallic strap and lifting it up to inspect. It was crafted from some sort of metallic thread and felt heavy and dense. Energy emanated from it in palpable waves. Victor was about to trickle some Energy into it to see what it might do, but he stopped, looking around at Chandri and the four hunters leaning on each other for support with weary lines around their eyes, despite their joy. They¡¯de out at dawn to hunt for him, and he was busy going through his loot.

    ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t we pile some rocks on top of this asshole and then go make some breakfast? I¡¯m starving, and you all look like you haven¡¯t eaten anything good in a month. I have some delicious shit in my storage ring.¡±

    Chandriughed at his words and said, ¡°Yes! And I¡¯ll help you with your ink-trophy!¡±

    Tellen must have seen the disturbed look on his face because he alsoughed and said, ¡°It won¡¯t hurt much, Victor. Chandri¡¯s not gentle, but she¡¯s quick.¡± He pped Victor on the back and added, ¡°Could you please cut those fingers off with your axe, though? I¡¯d like to make trophies of those des. Only six of my band survived this hunt, and I think it¡¯s fate that this demon had six fingers.¡±

    ¡°Only six?¡± Victor nced back toward the barricaded hall and realized Tellen had lost more hunters to their injuries than he¡¯d thought. ¡°All right, this skin is tough, but I should be able to get through it. Someone put a board under that hand and pull those fingers out straight.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 12: A Hunters Farewell

    Book 3: Chapter 12: A Hunter''s Farewell

    ¡°No,¡± Victor said tly. ¡°I¡¯m serious, Chandri¡ªI don¡¯t want a tattoo of that monster on my face.¡±

    ¡°Well, what about just his ws or something? You know, to symbolize him?¡± Chandri asked, looking rather crestfallen. She held a needle and a little jar of ink that she said she¡¯d ¡°made in a special ritual.¡± Victor studied her face, reaching up to turn it to the side to get a good look at her tattoos. They were all ck, but the tiny figures of deer and boar-like animals were cleverly shaded with lots of detail. She was talented, he supposed.

    ¡°Does it have to be on my face?¡± Victor didn¡¯t know why, but he didn¡¯t want to be reminded of that asshole every time he looked in the mirror. ¡°You know he wasn¡¯t even the toughest cabr¨®n I¡¯ve ever fought. Like, fucking Rellia was tougher than that thing.¡±

    ¡°Rellia?¡± Chandri asked.

    ¡°Hah, I guess it¡¯s cool that you don¡¯t know who she is.¡± Victor smiled

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you didn¡¯t track your earlier victories, but I could help you if you want! I have other inks we can use, too!¡±

    ¡°Oh, God. Let¡¯s just start with this one, and then we¡¯ll see, all right? You didn¡¯t answer me, though. Can I have it somewhere I don¡¯t have to look at it all the time?¡± Victor gestured vaguely at his shoulder or leg.

    ¡°Sure, this is for you, Victor. There aren¡¯t any rules.¡± She smiled at him in a way that seemed to involve her whole body¡ªshe leaned forward, her eyes sparkled, and everything about her posture just said, ¡°I think you¡¯re great, and I¡¯m d to be here with you.¡± Victor loved how open and genuine she was, and he couldn¡¯t help but smile back.

    They were sitting to one side of the formerly-barricaded, ruined hall. The front door was open wide, and arge window near the opposite side was cleared, allowing bright light and fresh air into the hall. Tellen and the surviving hunters were preparing the bodies of the fallen¡ªhe wanted to hold a vigil that evening and ¡°send their spirits home.¡± Victor had surmised it involved a pyre because Chandri had volunteered him to help build it when she¡¯d finished his ¡°hunt-trophy.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± he said, shrugging out of his still-shredded ringmail vest. He was bummed that the garment seemed to have met its match¡ªJikrak¡¯s horrible ws had proved too much for it. The man-monster had torn one half of the garment, along with Victor¡¯s flesh, to ribbons, and it seemed the Energy that had once imbued the magical armor was gone. Not one link had repaired itself since the battle. Victor lifted the still-heavy vest and sighed sadly, putting it into his storage ring.

    The shirt he wore under the vest was also shredded and showed no recovery. ¡°Close your eyes,¡± he said, with augh, then pulled it off. He didn¡¯t bother with the buttons¡ªthe thing fell away without any effort when he pulled.

    ¡°Ancestors!¡± Chandri hissed when she saw his torso. He wanted to think she was eximing about his muscles, but he knew better¡ªhis torso, shoulder, and arms were crisscrossed with pink and white scars like someone had used him as a practice dummy for a squadron of sword students.

    ¡°Yeah, I kind of already wear a lot of trophies from my battles, I guess.¡± Heughed off her concern, running a hand over the freshest scars on his shoulder and side. ¡°They don¡¯t hurt, don¡¯t worry. When I Berserk, my cuts heal up pretty good. These aren¡¯t even that bad! You should have seen me before I advanced my race thest time. One of my arms didn¡¯t even work properly because my bone had healed sorta crookedly.¡± He caught himself embellishing facts, realizing he was trying to impress her.

    ¡°I see the pink scars there, where you¡¯re rubbing. Is that where the demon cut youst night?¡± Chandri asked, reaching out to gently run her fingers over his shoulder. Her touch was feather-light, but little tingles of electricity ran through Victor as she traced some of the scars.

    ¡°Yeah. I caught his other arm and was holding on with both hands. He went crazy shing into me while I squeezed,¡± Victor said, grinning savagely.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make your hunt-trophy here, on this shoulder. All right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sounds good to me, Chandri,¡± Victor said, stretching out his legs and leaning onto his other hand so his shoulder faced her more directly. They were sitting on a pile of tanned hides, and Victor feltfortable and rxed. ¡°Hey,¡± he added, ¡°I still have that bottle of booze your dad gave me. Let¡¯s have a drink while you work, hmm?¡±

    ¡°Yes! I could use it! I was so stressed and excitedst night I hardly slept!¡±

    ¡°Excited?¡± Victor asked with a chuckle.

    ¡°Yes! I knew you would win, and I knew today would be a good day. I was mostly stressed because I felt so horrible for the hunters who died through the night. They were so terribly wounded, Victor. Even Tellen¡¯s best healing draughts didn¡¯t save them.¡±

    ¡°Dios,¡± Victor said, taking the bottle of cheb-cheb from his storage ring, ¡°It sounds like you had a worse night than me. Sorry, Chandri.¡± He pulled the cork on the bottle, breaking the wax seal with his thumbnail, and offered it to Chandri. ¡°You first.¡±

    She took the bottle and put its mouth to her ck-stained lips, and took a long pull, breathing out syrupy, eye-watering vapors into Victor¡¯s face. A little of the red-brown liquid ran down her chin, and she scrunched up her eyes at the strength of the liquor. ¡°Great Mother! That one bites! Your turn!¡± She pressed the bottle into his hands and produced another bottle of alcohol. Victor raised an eyebrow while he took a swig of the cheb-cheb, and she grinned, reaching up to pour the other bottle on his shoulder.

    ¡°You need a bath, but this will do for now,¡± sheughed, scrubbing his skin with the torn-up shirt he¡¯d removed. Victor spluttered out some of the cheb-cheb as he matched herughter, enjoying her ministrations more than he wanted to admit. How long had it been since he even kissed a girl?

    He thought about it while Chandri let his shoulder dry, getting her needle ready. He hadn¡¯t kissed a girl since hest went to Marcy¡¯s house. It felt like an entirely different life. Hell, it was a different life! He had a sudden urge to lean forward and steal a kiss from Chandri, and he almost acted on it, but then he saw Tellen and his hunters kneeling over the corpse of one of their friends, and he sighed and took another swig. This wasn¡¯t the time.

    He listened to Chandri talk about hunting and training rdii while she worked on his tattoo. While her little needle hummed with Energy, and he felt the tickle in his skin, he imagined taking her for a long ride on Thistle. He envisioned a trip like they¡¯d just taken, but without the pressure and worry of going to rescue her father¡¯s hunting band.

    Did he really like her that much, or was he just lonely? Was her situation any different from Tha¡¯s when it came down to it? He¡¯d told himself he wasn¡¯t getting closer to Tha because he was going to leave. What about Chandri? Wouldn¡¯t it hurt her if he left her behind? ¡°Damn it,¡± he sighed, letting his frustration leak out.

    ¡°What?¡± Chandri asked. ¡°I do something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Nah, you¡¯re fine, chica. I¡¯m just annoyed at my circumstances.¡±

    ¡°Things will look up, Victor. You¡¯re with us now, and that¡¯s not all bad, is it?¡± Chandri asked, her lips quirking up at the corners while she concentrated on her work.

    ¡°No, not at all. I¡¯m happy to be with you right now.¡± Victor determined to quit worrying so much about the future and try to enjoy what he could in the moment. He took another swig of cheb-cheb and offered the bottle to Chandri.

    ¡°No thanks! I¡¯m already floating a little. You want to be able to make sense of this mark, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess,¡± Victor said, setting the bottle down and allowing his mind to drift again. He thought about many things, but he found his mind circling a particr worry that was itching at the back of his mind, and he finally forced himself to confront it. In the spring, there were a lot of people expecting him to lead some sort of conquest of a distantnd. What an impossibly absurd situation!

    He thought about Rellia, and he smiled at the memory. One minute they¡¯d been trying to kill each other, and the next, she¡¯d been telling him that her life depended on their partnership. ¡°Fucking nuts,¡± he said.

    ¡°Still dwelling on your crazy life?¡± Chandri whispered, her concentration apparently very absorbed by whatever detail she was working on.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he chuckled again. ¡°I guess I have a problem with talking to myself.¡±

    ¡°No, I do it all the time, too, especially when I¡¯m out alone on a hunt. I talk myself through my problems sometimes or just keep myselfpany by narrating what I¡¯m doing and what I¡¯ll do next. It¡¯s kind of crazy, really.¡± She paused and sat up straight, stretching her neck by pushing on her chin with the palm of her hand.

    ¡°This hard work? Want to take a break?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°No, silly! I¡¯m almost done. Hold still,¡± she said and reached down to dip her needle into one of her jars of ink. Victor hadn¡¯t even noticed that she¡¯d gotten more jars out.

    ¡°Hey, this seems like you¡¯re making something a lot moreplicated than your marks!¡±

    ¡°Not really! Just a little bigger and more colorful. Shh, now,¡± she said, bending to the task. Victor did as she asked and grew quiet, suddenly thinking about his oldest living friend in this world¡ªVullu. He resolved to try to track the gruff but kind Cadwalli down when he got to Persi Gables. He wasn¡¯t sure Vullu would still be around¡ªhe¡¯d seemed pretty depressed when he¡¯d left the Wagon Wheel, and hadn¡¯t he said something about traveling? Still, Victor determined to look for him; it would be nice to catch up with him and tell him about his adventures.

    ¡°Done!¡± Chandri said. ¡°I¡¯d put some healing ointment on it, but your body is healing almost as fast as I move the needle!¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah. One of my abilities lets me boost my vitality a bit. I was trying to outdrink you so I could get you to tell me all your secrets . . .¡± Victor trailed off, hoping Chandri would get the joke, and she grinned and pped his shoulder where she¡¯d just made the tattoo. It stung a little, but not much.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got some secrets for you, but not right now,¡± she whispered, her breath hot on his ear. Sheughed and then fished around in her storage pouch and pulled out a mirror set in a handle that looked like polished bone. She held it out so Victor could see his shoulder and said, ¡°It¡¯s a reflection, so reverse everything in your mind.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said, still recovering from the way her breath had tickled his ear. He blinked a couple of times to bring himself back to reality and looked into the mirror.

    There was his shoulder¡ªtan and crisscrossed with scars, and there was Chandri¡¯s beautiful work¡ªhe saw a severed hand with six des that looked very much like the real-life Jikrak¡¯s hand, blood pooling under the severed end. Opposite the w were six spears adorned with turquoise and with gleaming points. Behind and above the other images was a broad, gloriously orange and yellow sun.

    ¡°It tells the story, see?¡± Chandri said, pointing to the ws. ¡°You killed the monster, and, with the dawn, six hunters were saved.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful, Chandri,¡± Victor said. ¡°Thank you! It means a lot to me.¡±

    ¡°Hush! Thank you! There are six spears on your arm because that¡¯s how many hunters you saved. Tellen, my father, wille home thanks to you.¡± When she hugged him again, Victor basked in the warmth of it, but more than that, he soaked in the feeling that he¡¯d done something genuinely good. He¡¯d risked himself to save some friends, and it had paid off. It felt very damn good, and he resolved, right then and there, that he¡¯d try to recreate that feeling as many times as he could in this life.

    ¡°All right, let me get a shirt on before your dades over here and beats me up,¡± Victorughed, pushing her back a little.

    Grinning, Chandri said, ¡°How did you know about all the boys Tellen has chased from my tent?¡± Sheughed at Victor¡¯s mock outrage, then stood and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to go see if he needs help with the preparations. We¡¯ll build the pyre soon, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, right. No problem,¡± Victor replied, pulling out a brown and gray, knitted sweater he¡¯d bought in Gelica. The weather was turning chilly, and he enjoyed the cozy feel of the thick garment. Once he was sittingfortably and saw that the others would be busy for a while yet, he pulled out the belt he¡¯d looted from Jikrak. It was heavy¡ªkind of like the sacks of precious metals he¡¯d found in the dungeon, but the links seemed strong, and they gleamed differently in the light than silver did.

    He trickled some Energy into it, and his mind flooded with understanding, apanied by a System message:

    ***Dragonsteel Belt of Energy Absorption - Prerequisite for use: Advanced tier Core or higher. This belt will absorb Energy attacks aimed at the wearer. It will absorb a total of 4500 points of Energy before it needs to process the absorbed Energy and reset, bing inert for up to twelve hours.***

    ¡°Shit!¡± Victor hissed. ¡°Well, that¡¯s pretty damn cool, I guess.¡± His Core was still at the ¡°basic¡± tier, and from his understanding, he¡¯d need to work through the entire ¡°improved¡± tier before he¡¯d be at ¡°advanced.¡± ¡°Something to look forward to,¡± he sighed, slipping the belt into his storage ring. Looking at his ring, he snapped his fingers and fished the ck ring he¡¯d taken from Jikrak out of his pocket.

    When he bonded to it, trickling some Energy into the dark metal, he became aware of an immense storage space, evenrger than his other dimensional containers. More than that, his mind started cataloging the thousands of items held within. At first, Victor thought he¡¯d hit the jackpot, and he had, in a sense, but it wasn¡¯t quite what his first impression had indicated¡ªthe ring was entirely filled with items that looked suspiciously like construction materials.

    The two most numerous materials in the ring, making up more than half of the total volume, were massive mounds of rectangr stone blocks and hundreds upon hundreds of hardwood beams and boards. There were other things¡ªdoorknobs, doors, ster, roofing tiles, banisters, the list went on and on. It was mind-boggling to Victor that so much could be in that ring. He finally came upon an item that exined everything: blueprints for something called ¡°A Great Hunter¡¯s Hermitage.¡±

    Victor looked through the blueprints briefly, confirming his suspicion that the construction materials in the ring were everything he¡¯d need to build the ¡°hermitage.¡± The sketches on the blueprint made it look sort of like a squat fort with an asymmetrical shape, the right side rising three stores while the left half was a single story. The materials had interesting names like ¡°Gray Spire Marble¡± and ¡°Gith Valley Mahogony.¡± All in all, it was an interesting find, and Victor was sure it was valuable but not something he wanted just then.

    ¡°That fucking creep was going to build this here and hunt people?¡± He wasn¡¯t sure he was right, but Victor remembered Jikrak saying something about not being from this world or nning to rule this world. He¡¯d been full of himself, that was for sure, Victor thought, slipping the ring back into his pocket.

    ¡°Dammit,¡± Victor said, feeling somewhat cheated. He¡¯d expected Jikrak to have weapons, potions, treasure, and maybe even artifacts of great power. ¡°Construction shit.¡± He shook his head ruefully.

    ¡°He might have had another ring on his other hand,¡± Chandri said, startling Victor.

    ¡°Hey! You trying to give me a heart attack?¡± Victor stood up and gave her a little shove, and she yfully shoved him back.

    ¡°Maybe! If you startle that easily, you must need some hunting practice!¡±

    ¡°Hmm, maybe.¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°You might be right about his other hand, though. You think we should dig it out?¡±

    ¡°One of the hunters broke up the stone, trying to see if he could get more ws. It¡¯s like the demon¡¯s skin and clothes became mixed with the rock¡ªthey werepletely ruined. If you broke up the stone to get at his fingers, I think any rings he was wearing would break apart, also.¡±

    ¡°Oh well,¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°Maybe someday I¡¯ll build a, what was it? Hermitage! Maybe I¡¯ll build a hermitage in the wilderness someday.¡± Chandri looked at him with questions in her eyes, and he took a minute to exin what was in the ring.

    ¡°It might not be what you hoped for, but it sounds valuable, Victor. In any case, we need to get the pyre built. Are you ready?¡± Victor nodded, and the two of them spent several hours scouring the ruins for wood. Chandri showed Victor how the n built their funeral pyre, which reminded him of when he and some friends made a bonfire in the wash near his friend Anthony¡¯s house. They¡¯d partied long into the night until one of Anthony¡¯s neighbors called the cops, and they¡¯d run,ughing and whooping, through the desert to another friend¡¯s house, where they¡¯d all crashed on couches.

    This pyre wasn¡¯t for partying, though, and when it was finished, and Tellen and his surviving hunters carried out their dead, one by one, andid them atop the bone-dry wood, Victor and Chandri stood to the side, silently contemting their mortality. Or, at least, that¡¯s what Victor thought about, and he figured Chandri must have had simr thoughts.

    As the sun dipped behind the western hills, Tellen held a torch to the pyre, and it burst into mes. Victor had felt some Energy when Tellen lit the torch, and he felt more of it in the roaring mes that consumed the fallen hunters, and he wondered what sort of spell this was. As he thought about fire magic, he became aware of a deep, resonating hum, and then he realized some of the hunters were singing. A momentter, a higher-pitched humming joined the song, and Victor saw that Chandri and the two female hunters had also begun to sing.

    He wanted to sing with them, but as the hum became words, words that he didn¡¯t recognize, even with the System Language Integration, Victor just stood still and listened, watching the fire. The song was hauntingly beautiful, and he felt Energy rising with it and more Energy from the fire, and then he saw the ghostly, ethereal forms of the hunters flowing with the smoke and sparks that flickered into the night sky before fading away.

    Victor wondered if he was imagining things, but the wispy, smoke-like figures continued to float out of the mes and into the starry sky, even after he blinked his eyes rapidly. ¡°Holy shit,¡± he breathed, not loud enough for anyone else to hear.

    He wanted to participate, to send those hunters off somehow, and inspiration hit him. He cast his Manifest Spirit spell, but rather than rage Energy, this time, he fed his pack some inspiration-attuned Energy. Suddenly, around the pyre, shimmering white-gold fragments of Victor¡¯s spirit took the shapes of his coyotes, and the bright-eyed, luminous creatures sat on their haunches, lifted their snouts to the sky, and they howled.

    The sound was not what regr coyotes sounded like¡ªtheir voices harmonized into an ultion that brought goosebumps to Victor¡¯s skin, and the hunters took inspiration from it, lifting their own songs to match the note, and soon most of them had tears freely streaming down their cheeks.

    After the song was finished and the fire had burned to coals, Tellen broke out casks of ale, and they all sat in a circle in the center of the hall and told stories about the hunters that had died. Victor didn¡¯t have any stories to share, but he listened, and heughed and cried with his friends, and he felt like one of them, if only for a short while, and it warmed his heart. Like all the others, he drank too much and fell asleep there on the piled furs. Chandriy down in front of him, and at some point in the night, he woke to pull her close, savoring her warmth, and he slept very soundly.

    Victor, Chandri, and the hunters took nearly a week to return to the camp. Some of the hunters were wounded in ways that slowed their ability to walk, and Victor let them take turns riding on Thistle. However, someone had to keep the animal walking on a lead, or else he would outpace the others in his absent-minded perpetual hunt for the perfect piece of grass to eat.

    Tellen was impressed by Thistle and grateful that Victor was happy to walk with them rather than ride ahead. They spoke a lot on their journey, and Tellen gave Victor much advice about how to hunt animals, process their hides, prepare their meat, and a million other things that Victor didn¡¯t entirely absorb. Victor had always been better at learning things by doing them, and when one of the hunters shot a bird or small animal, he volunteered to skin and dress the meat and even cook it, so long as Tellen or one of the other hunters would help him.

    Victor nearly dropped thedle he¡¯d been using to sample his feyris stew one evening when a System message appeared in his vision:

    ***Congrattions! You have learned the skill: Cooking - Basic.***

    No one else was surprised, and theyughed at his wide eyes when he started eximing about all the things he understood now. He knew that certain spices didn¡¯t mix well, for instance, but more than that, he knew all sorts of herbs to use with various types of cooking, even things that weren¡¯t from Earth, like ground werdwort. He understood that and so much more. For instance, he knew how to tell if certain cuts of meat were ready to eat and how it was easier to peel a jellipur if you boiled it first.

    ¡°Hah! Tha¡¯s gonna lose it when I cook her something that actually tastes good!¡± Everyoneughed at that, but Chandri had a strange look in her eyes. Victor found out what was bothering her the next day when they were walking ahead of the line of hunters. She walked next to him and spoke quietly so only he could hear.

    ¡°Are you going to stay with Tha? Will you be a father to Deyni?¡±

    Victor was caught by surprise, and he looked down at Chandri and opened his mouth but closed it again, thinking about his words for a minute. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think that would be fair to Tha, Chandri. I love her, and I care about what happens to her, and she deserves to find someone who wants to live the life she wants. I¡¯vee to realize that I may find moments of peace in my life, like this, for instance, but I¡¯m not built to stay in a life like that. I crave adventure, and part of me craves violence. I¡¯m a Berserker, Chandri, with the blood of battle-loving titans in my veins, and I¡¯vee to ept that.¡±

    ¡°So you and Tha aren¡¯t lovers?¡± Chandri asked, and Victor wondered if she¡¯d heard a word he said.

    ¡°No, Chandri, we¡¯re not,¡± heughed. Sheughed too, and Victor knew she¡¯d heard him and respected his words, but she still liked him, and that felt good.

    ¡°Victor,¡± Tellen called from behind him. ¡°Po can walk by now,¡± he gestured to the huntress riding Thistle behind him and continued, ¡°Why don¡¯t you and Chandri ride ahead? We¡¯re getting close to the camp. Tell them our story, so I don¡¯t have to when I get there! I¡¯m tired and want to celebrate with a feast, not talk for hours and hours.¡± Tellenughed and helped Po down.

    Victor shrugged and said, ¡°Sounds good to me, Tellen.¡± Then he hopped up on Thistle and reached a hand down to Chandri, ¡°Shall we?¡± When she took his hand, he pulled her up, looked down at Tellen, and said, ¡°All right, we¡¯ll hurry, but don¡¯t get too jealous when you see how fast Thistle runs!¡± Heughed and clicked his tongue, touching Thistle with his boots, and soon they were racing over the grasnds, the wind whistling in his ears and blue-green grass flying by in such a blur that he could imagine he was charging over an ocean.

 Book 3: Chapter 13: Winter Camp

    Book 3: Chapter 13: Winter Camp

    ¡°Yes!¡± Chandri said with a wide grin, looking around the fire at her audience¡ªCh, Deyni, Tha, and Victor. ¡°That¡¯s when we started to hear the loudest, most terrible howling, roaring, and barking you can imagine! It sounded like a mad, gigantic boyii hound!¡±

    ¡°Oh, Ancestors,¡± Tha said, under her breath, clearly having guessed the punchline.

    ¡°Ancestors, indeed! We thought all was lost! Clearly, the demon had allies! Victor was doomed! We heard the sh, heard the demon cry out, but then the roaring and howling turned to screams of challenge and wild shouts that echoed around the keep, rattling the loose stones and sending rubble down upon our heads! It went on for hours!¡± She paused to look at her sister and Deyni, watching their faces, making contact with their wide eyes.

    ¡°Well, what happened?¡± Deyni broke first.

    ¡°After the demon was gone and the fighting was over, and the mad screams and roars echoed through the ruin, I figured something out!¡± Chandri said.

    ¡°What?¡± her sister asked, red eyes staring from her ck and white face paint, her voice hushed.

    ¡°I recognized something in the new monster¡¯s voice. A certain note I¡¯d heard before! Can you guess what it was?¡± She winked at Tha and waited for Ch and Deyni to answer.

    ¡°A cave howler!¡± Ch said.

    ¡°A . . . I don¡¯t know! A monster?¡± Deyni said, looking at her mother for help.

    ¡°It was a monster, all right,¡± Tha said, grinning at Victor. He did his best to keep his face straight, though, and turned to Chandri.

    ¡°He¡¯s as big as a cave howler, that¡¯s sure,¡± Chandriughed, ¡°but it was none other than Victor! He¡¯d finished punishing the demon that had tormented the hunters and was celebrating his victory!¡±

    ¡°You were barking, Victor?¡± Deyni asked in dismay.

    ¡°Don¡¯t believe everything she says,¡± Victorughed. ¡°But sure, why shouldn¡¯t I bark?¡± He stood up and crouched down, hands out like ws, and approached Deyni, a low growl in his throat. Sheughed, perhaps a little nervously, and cringed away, but then he lunged forward and barked, giving his best imitation of his old neighbor¡¯s pit bull. She toppled backward in giggles, and everyone else joined in, especially Ch.

    Victor tickled Deyni as she squirmed away in the grass, and then he stood up, stillughing, and looked around. They were camping about half a mile away from the main body of the hunter n, about three-fourths of the way toward their winter encampment. Nearly two months had passed since he and Chandri had gone to rescue the hunters, and a lot had changed in that time. Still, a lot hadn¡¯t changed, he thought, ncing toward Tha and Chandri.

    He¡¯d spent a lot of time with Oyna, and the n¡¯s Old Mother had taught him a few things, but not much, not yet. She¡¯d insisted he needed to improve his Core, and a great deal of the time he¡¯d spent at her tent had been in silence, cultivating inspiration and rage-attuned Energy and adding it to his Core.

    He¡¯d gotten to ¡°Base Nine¡± within two weeks, but thest month, he¡¯d struggled with that rank, trying to push into ¡°Improved¡± and seemingly getting nowhere. Oyna described the different tiers like walls, saying he¡¯d climbed up a hill to the base of the wall, but now he was scaling straight up to get to the next hill.

    She¡¯d made him practice his Spirit Walk spell almost every night, showing him tricks for traveling and finding people. She took him and Tha with her to meet some of her distant friends; apparently, they had regr meetings on the Spirit ne. Victor felt a lot more confident about himself in that realm these days, and when he arrived, his pack was there, almost like they were waiting for him. Thinking of their Spirit Walks, Victor nced at Tha, still sitting next to the fire, hugging her daughter, who¡¯d run back to her.

    Things were good with Tha, he decided. He¡¯d helped her to build and set up her own tent, and she and Deyni spent even more time with Oyna than Victor did. Recently, she¡¯d proudly told him that her courage attunement had ovee her death-Energy in size and that Oyna was starting to teach her more spells. Victor felt annoyed at first¡ªOyna had been avoiding teaching him spells, always putting him off, sometimes with a cryptic statement like, ¡°A warrior should find his own way with the spirit. What does an old n mother know of it?¡±

    He knew she was full of shit, that she had some things to teach him, but he felt like she was waiting for him to do something or prove something. He wasn¡¯t sure what, but he resolved to be patient¡ªshe guided him in her own way. That was another thing he was d of; Oyna had quickly admonished him to put his extra attribute points into will. She said his powerful will had saved him a dozen times and would continue to do so. He chuckled, remembering her words, ¡°I suppose you want more strength? You¡¯re big enough, warrior! Keep building up your will¡ªyou¡¯ll know when it¡¯s enough!¡±

    And then there was Chandri. Victor sighed, looking at the beautiful young Shadeni sitting next to Tha and chewing on a small bone from the stew they¡¯d made. If Oyna¡¯s reluctance to show him spells was frustrating, then Chandri was on a whole other level. They spent a lot of time together, flirting, checking trap lines, riding, and even snuggling by the fire, but never more. Victor had tried to make a move a couple of times, leaning in for a kiss, only to be giggled at or to have her turn it into a hug, breathing maddeningly into his ear and then pulling away.

    He couldn¡¯t me her, he supposed. He¡¯d as much as told her that he¡¯d be gone soon and that he craved violence and adventure. Was that true? He thought about it and had to admit that it was. He¡¯d had a fun time with the hunters but was ready to go anytime now. He¡¯d be ready, for sure, when winter ended.

    Victor figured that was what kept Chandri at arm¡¯s length¡ªshe was waiting to see when he¡¯d leave and trying, perhaps, to keep the goodbye as painless as possible. He sighed and turned away from the fire, looking out into ckness over the endless grasnds. ¡°Who wants a broken heart, anyway?¡±

    Victor rested a hand on Lifedrinker and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re always with me, aren¡¯t you, hermosa?¡±

    ¡°Talking to your axe again?¡± Tha asked, quietly walking up next to him.

    ¡°You always catch me when I do it! I swear, it¡¯s like you have a sixth sense!¡± Heughed.

    ¡°Enjoying the stars?¡± Her eyes were aimed up, taking in the enormous depth of the starfield.

    ¡°Well, I should be,¡± he said, awed, as always, by the sight. The stars were so numerous and bright, and if he looked in the right areas, he was starting to recognize some of the more apparent constetions. He pointed to one such grouping of stars, four bright ones that almost made a diamond pattern, the one on the right side just a faint shade more pink than white. ¡°What¡¯s that constetion called? The one with the pink star?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the Eye of Kvahn. At least that¡¯s what my mother told me. It¡¯s named after a powerful Yovashi Lord from before the joining.¡±

    ¡°Huh. Considering what the Yovashi did, I¡¯m surprised people still want to remember him.¡±

    ¡°Well, some things stick around, even if we don¡¯t want them to.¡± Tha shrugged. ¡°What were you grumbling about over here? One minute you wereughing with Deyni, and the next, you were frowning into the darkness and talking to yourself again.

    ¡°Oh, nothing, really. Just wondering what Oyna¡¯s got in store for me at the winter camp, and also thinking about the spring. You know, all that shit with Rellia.¡± Victor was only half lying¡ªRellia¡¯s campaign was on the back of his mind more and more as the days grew longer and colder.

    ¡°Hmm. I guess that¡¯s allowed. I¡¯d probably be grumbling about that too.¡± She nudged him in the ribs with her elbow and added, ¡°Sure you aren¡¯t having trouble with your love life?¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Victorughed, truly surprised by the question. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Think I haven¡¯t noticed how your eyes follow Chandri everywhere she walks? How you two cling to each other but never leave the fire together?¡± Tha smiled slyly, ncing over her shoulder at the fire where Chandri was in the middle of another story.

    Victor took another step out into the grass and hoarsely whispered, ¡°Hey! Seriously! Don¡¯t say shit like that! I have a hard enough time without you mixing me all up!¡± Was she really talking to him about his feelings for Chandri? Was this happening?

    ¡°Shh, rx, Victor. I didn¡¯t bring it up just to tease you. I know you worry about me, about leaving me, about my feelings. Sometimes I wonder if it¡¯s making your life,¡± she gestured again over her shoulder with her chin, ¡°sort of difficult.¡±

    ¡°Well . . .¡± he started, but she shushed him again.

    ¡°Let me get this out. You know, Oyna tells me a lot. Sometimes we talk about you, too. She¡¯s helped me see some things. I¡¯ll always love you, Victor, but it¡¯s a warm, steady love that fills me with pride and hope. It¡¯s not a passionate, please-never-leave-me or no-one-else-can-have-you kind of love. Do you understand? Don¡¯t worry about me, okay?¡±

    ¡°God! I knew you loved me!¡± Victorughed and pulled her into a hug. ¡°Thank you, Tha. I love you too, and I¡¯ll never forget about you. When I leave, I mean. You can believe I¡¯ll be back. We¡¯ll visit each other on the Spirit ne, too, right?¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± she said, squeezing him back.

    Victor pushed her back, looked into her eyes, admiring how the stars twinkled in their depths, and said, ¡°Do you miss Rhessa?¡± After a few weeks with the Shadeni, her friend had left, promising to visit Deyni but insisting that the hunter-n lifestyle wasn¡¯t a good fit for her.

    ¡°Ancestors, no!¡± sheughed. ¡°She was starting to really get on my nerves, Victor. We both changed a lot over the years and not inplementary ways.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good, I guess. I mean that you don¡¯t miss her.¡±

    ¡°Sure, I miss my old friend, my old life sometimes, but only when I paint the memories with nostalgia. More important to me, though, is that Deyni is starting to see me as her mother. Rhessa was good to her, Victor, and I¡¯ll always be grateful for that, but I¡¯m d not to have topete for Deyni¡¯s affection. Well, I mean, I still have topete with you . . .¡± Sheughed, squeezed his arm, and walked off, back toward the fire, when Victor affected a stricken countenance.

    He watched her, a warm feeling in his chest, as she sat down behind Deyni, pulling her into herp as they continued to listen to another one of Chandri¡¯s hunting tales. Victor stretched; his shoulders were stiff, and he knew that if he didn¡¯t have a monstrous vitality, they¡¯d be sore too. He¡¯d practiced the axe forms that Polo had taught him for nearly three hours after they¡¯d made camp. His wagon was much faster than the rest of the Shadeni caravan, and they ended up with quite a bit of downtime each evening.

    He wished he had Polo or someone with some axe-fighting skill to practice against, but the hunters almost universally preferred the spear and the bow. Some of them werepetent knife fighters, and a few were skilled with a hatchet, but their styles were quite different from the way Victor and Polo Vosh fought. Tellen said he should still spar with them, that he¡¯d improve his ability no matter what sort of weapon he faced, and Victor agreed, taking them up on it whenever they had time.

    He felt like his skill was improving. He was quicker with the forms, more fluid with the parries and dodges that he¡¯d gained when he¡¯d reached the ¡°advanced¡± tier, but Tellen said it was a long, long way through advanced with any weapon. ¡°Ahh, well. Nothing for it but to keep practicing,¡± he said to the night air as he turned back to the fire. When he walked over to the little group, Chandri was just finishing her story, and she looked up at Victor with a smile.

    ¡°Needed some air?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I think Ch ate something that didn¡¯t sit well . . .¡± he had to cut himself short because Ch was instantly on her feet and screeching as she circled him, leaping onto his back and trying to choke him. ¡°Oh,¡± Victor said, standing up with the young woman still on his back, arms around his neck, ¡°Do you guys see a bug on my back or something?¡±

    ¡°Victor!¡± Deyniughed, ¡°Ch is on you!¡±

    ¡°Ch!¡± Chandriughed, ¡°Get off him! You¡¯re going to fall into the fire!¡±

    #

    The rest of the journey to the hunters¡¯ winter camp followed a basic routine. Victor and his friends traveled in his wagon, Chandri and Ch taking turns riding their rdii with a few hunters keeping pace until they reached the day¡¯s waypoint. Then, they¡¯d set up a little camp, get a fire going, and spend the afternoons and evenings sparring, cooking, telling stories, and even singing, though Victor preferred to just listen on those asions.

    On the afternoon of their twelfth day of travel, when they rounded a long rise in the grassy ins and started on the downward slope, Victor saw their destination and whistled in appreciation. He nudged Chandri, who sat on the driving bench next to him, with his elbow. ¡°That¡¯s what I call a forest!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the Blue Deep,¡± Chandri said.

    ¡°I can see why.¡± Victor shaded his eyes, taking in the immense stretch of primeval forest that came to an abrupt edge along the ins a few miles south of them. The name suited it¡ªthe leaves in that sea of trees were predominantly blue, or at least he thought they would be if they didn¡¯t still have some fall foliage clinging to their branches. The trees were enormous, some with white, narrow trunks and others with darker, more standard wood colors, at least in Victor¡¯s limited experience with trees. The leaves, though, the leaves were stunning in their colors.

    Victor could see quite a few of the trees were this world¡¯s equivalent to evergreens, and they were still decked out in deep blue needles, but many of the other trees were brilliant oranges and reds. From that distance and height, Victor could see the bands ofte fall coloring stretching into the forest like ribbons of red-gold fire twisting around the deep blue pines. ¡°I¡¯m assuming those red and gold leaves are usually more blue?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but isn¡¯t it beautiful like this?¡± Chandri asked, leaning into him, so she pressed against his side and rested her head against his shoulder.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s something,¡± Victor said. He nced at Chandri and out at the hunters in the grass around them. No one was close. Even Ch was riding her rdii ahead, probably wanting to be the first to camp. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the deal with us?¡±

    He¡¯d spent most of the trip sitting by Chandri, eating with Chandri, joking with Chandri, always open, always showing that he wanted to be even closer. Still, nothing ever happened, and she never initiated anything more¡ªVictor had given up trying to make the first move after the third or fourth rebuffed kiss. Thinking about it, he¡¯d remembered how Tha had been blunt and open with him and how good it felt, so he¡¯d decided to try it with Chandri.

    ¡°Hmm? The deal with us?¡± She sat back and looked at him, troubled by his tone or words; Victor couldn¡¯t tell which.

    ¡°Yeah. I mean, back when we were looking for Tellen, I felt like we had something going on, and then, I don¡¯t know, you¡¯re always hanging onto me and hugging me, but whenever I try to, I don¡¯t know, take it further, you back off. So, what¡¯s the deal?¡±

    Chandri sat back and frowned, and her eyes narrowed. Victor felt like he was about to get screamed at, but she took a breath and said, ¡°I suppose I don¡¯t know. Maybe I¡¯m scared.¡±

    ¡°Scared?¡±

    She nodded, and her brow rxed, her expression more open, and Victor saw moisture was starting to gather in her big, magenta eyes. ¡°I think so. You¡¯re so different from anyone I¡¯ve known, Victor. My feelings are so . . . big! I¡¯m afraid of them. I thought I could be different than Tha. I thought I could have some fun with you and say goodbye, but . . . Grandfather¡¯s Bones, Victor! I want to be with you so badly! How will I feel when you ride away on your wagon, and I¡¯m left here with this . . . n?¡± She said n like she was cussing.

    ¡°Shit, Chandri. I guess you could . . .¡± Victor started, but she held a thin-fingered red hand to his mouth.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare say I coulde with you! I¡¯ve seen the kinds of trouble you get into. I¡¯ve seen the kinds of things you fight! Even if I weren¡¯t worried about my own skin, I¡¯d be worried that you¡¯d get yourself killed trying to protect me.¡± She shook her head, and now he could see that the tears weren¡¯t from sadness or joy but from frustration.

    Rather than reply to her right away, Victor mped his mouth shut and slowed his racing thoughts. She¡¯d been right when she¡¯d stopped him from speaking¡ªhe was going to say she coulde with him, and what a boneheaded thing that would have been. She was absolutely right about the kinds of shit he got into. Instead of rambling off some half-assed solution he didn¡¯t have or hadn¡¯t thought through, he blew out a deep breath and said, ¡°Shit¡¯s frustrating, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Chandri growled. ¡°Shit is frustrating!¡± She caught him ncing at her, and a smile crept onto her lips. ¡°You see? I would love to kiss you right now!¡±

    For once, Victor didn¡¯t let his brain get in the way, and he leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers. She watched him the whole way in and didn¡¯t pull back, so he figured he¡¯d finally pegged the right moment. Her lips were soft, and he tasted salt and the hint of something sweet, but as he pressed hungrily, savoring her hot breath, she groaned and pulled away.

    ¡°You stole that!¡± she said, though she still wore a smile.

    ¡°I did, and it was worth it. If that¡¯s all we ever share, Chandri, I¡¯ll remember that kiss.¡±

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t be too hasty. We¡¯ll see what happens, won¡¯t we?¡± Her stress and frustration seemed forgotten, and her rxed smile was contagious. Victor leaned back and draped an arm over her shoulders, grinning like a kid who¡¯d gotten his first kiss outside the busses. ¡°There! See that break in the trees and those grassy mounds by the forest¡¯s edge? That¡¯s the campsite! Those mounds are buildings with sod roofs¡ªwe use them for winter dwellings and storage. Some of them have as many as five levels underground.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty cool. So you guys just leave all that unattended for what, six months?¡± Victor imagined vandals and looters, broken doors and windows, and animals making dens inside.

    ¡°We don¡¯t leave much, Victor. We carry storage devices, too, you know. No, it¡¯s mostly just some emergency supplies in case wee home from a bad hunt or, as happened to Tellen¡¯s father, we¡¯re being pursued by a militia and don¡¯t have time to stock up. You know, situations like that.¡±

    ¡°Oh, sure, sure. Militia pursuing you. Makes sense. Dios m¨ªo,¡± Victor shook his head. Sometimes he forgot that Tellen¡¯s n wasn¡¯t always a tribe of simple hunters, that they¡¯d done their share of raiding in the past. As they drew nearer, Victor saw that the grassy mounds were nine long buildings, wholly covered with dirt and grass save their front walls facing inward to where a big stone well sat.

    ¡°The shelters make a circle, see? We put up some tents in the center, but we mostly use the shelters because sometimes there¡¯s a cold snap or bad snow.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you guyse south to avoid the worst weather?¡± Victor thought back to Rellia¡¯s map, and though he knew the overall shape of the continent, he didn¡¯t know how to ce it on a globe. Were they very far north, even after traveling south like this?

    ¡°That¡¯s true. It¡¯s not that bad here most of the time¡ªsometimes we just get rain. You¡¯ll see,¡± Chandri said, favoring him with another smile, then hopping out of the wagon. Victor watered and fed Thistle and Starlight, giving them both a good brushing. He saw Chandri, Ch, and some of the hunters moving around between the buildings, unlocking doors, pulling back shutters, and whatever else needed doing ahead of the n¡¯s arrival.

    An hourter, Victor was sitting next to his wagon, eating some bread with hunks of dried fruit in it. One of the n families had given him five of the dense loaves when he¡¯d rescued Tellen and his band. He¡¯d gotten all sorts of things like that, and he never knew who gave him what. Every morning for weeks, he¡¯d stepped out of his wagon to another offering. Sometimes it was food, and sometimes it was art or something someone crafted.

    Victor had several beautifully beaded vests, some warm woolen shirts, more socks than he could count, and even some knitted woolen hats. Most of the clothing was dyed in the muted grays and rust reds that the n seemed to prefer, and Victor quite liked them. He¡¯d tried to track people down to thank them or to politely refuse something overly generous, like an exquisite, finely detailed, carved bust of a great bear-like creature¡ªits wood was lustrous and dense, and he knew it was rare. Nobody ever admitted to giving him anything.

    He was just brushing his hands off when the first pack rdii started waddling into camp, and it wasn¡¯t long after that when the whole ce was abuzz with activity. Chandri and the others had done a good job getting the stale air moving out of the buildings, but it was quite a production getting everything else up and running. Victor helped wherever he could¡ªrescuing a fallen well-bucket, digging post holes for the rdii pen, and generally helping anyone to lift pretty much anything.

    Long after the sun had set and glowmps were hung from the fronts of the shelters, a great bonfire was lit near the well, and the n began celebrating their arrival. They¡¯d had good hunts in their other camps and were looking forward to a long and restful winter and spring. Victor stood near the shelter where Tellen and Oyna spent their winter, leaning against the wall and sipping cheb-cheb, watching Chandri and Ch dance to the n¡¯s wild drum and fiddle music.

    He¡¯d been told the names of the instruments, but his brain kept thinking of them as fiddles. They looked like violins, he supposed, but some were small, some wererge, and they all seemed to y different notes. When three or four of the yers got together, though, and yed one of their rousing tunes apanied by some of the drummers, the music stirred something in Victor, and he could see why the n danced so much.

    Tha and Deyni joined in the dance, and soon twenty or more of the n were gyrating in a circle around the fire. ¡°You smile like you¡¯d enjoy joining in, warrior,¡± Oyna said, forcing his smile even wider with her usual cackle.

    ¡°Looks fun, for sure.¡± Victor nodded.

    ¡°You should have your little huntress teach you.¡± Oyna¡¯s cackle was particrly sharp; clearly, she was pleased with her barb.

    ¡°Hey, she¡¯s not my huntress,¡± Victor chuckled.

    ¡°Good! Best you remember that. Now, are you ready for your Spirit Quest?¡± Oyna didn¡¯t miss a beat as shepletely changed the subject.

    ¡°Spirit Quest? You mean to try to find another affinity?¡± Victor remembered her mentioning the ritual long ago, but she hadn¡¯t said anything about it in all the time he¡¯d been ¡°training¡± with her.

    ¡°More than that mighte from a Spirit Quest, Victor, but that¡¯s one possibility. We¡¯re near a ce of power here, and if we prepare properly, you could gain many insights into yourself and your potential. The spirits are strong and old around here, and they favor our n. They¡¯ll test you, but I think they¡¯ll favor you, too.¡±

    ¡°What do I need to do?¡± Victor asked, his mind racing with excitement¡ªthis was the kind of thing he¡¯d been hoping she¡¯d teach him.

    Oyna cackled and pped the cup of cheb-cheb from his hand, sending it to the ground with a tter and ssh. ¡°First, you stop drinking that¡ªfourteen days without food or drink is the first and easiest preparation.¡±

    ¡°Uh, fourteen days without water? I don¡¯t think so . . .¡±

    ¡°Foolish warrior! So quick to fill your belly that you haven¡¯t tested your body, hmm? You trust Oyna; fourteen days will be possible for you,¡± she paused tough, watching his face, then said, ¡°You¡¯re lucky, warrior! You¡¯ll have a pure, cleansed spirit when you take up your quest. Someone with a weaker body wouldn¡¯t be able to purge so thoroughly.¡±

    Victor frowned and then nodded. He supposed if he started to die of thirst, he could just drink some water and tell Oyna it wasn¡¯t going to happen. He gestured to the cup of spilled cheb-cheb, ¡°You could have let me finish that. It was the good stuff!¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 14: Spirit Quest

    Book 3: Chapter 14: Spirit Quest

    Victor rolled over on his nket and groaned. He wanted very badly to reach into his ring and pull out a seasoned bowl of rice and chopped meat. ¡°And a whole keg of frosty ale,¡± he muttered, clenching his fists. Truthfully, he¡¯d stopped feeling ¡°hungry¡± by the fourth day or so of his fast. He knew his body wanted the nutrients and that he¡¯d make good use of them, but he wasn¡¯t hurting for food. No, the hard part was not drinking anything.

    It was his thirteenth day, though, and Victor wouldn¡¯t give up now. Three days ago, Oyna had instructed him to camp out on the ins, specifically there, half a day¡¯s hike from the n¡¯s winter encampment, insisting that istion was part of the process. More than that, she¡¯d said that this was a ce of power, a site of great battles and hunts, and she¡¯d cautioned him not to sleep but to sit on his nket and spend his time contemting the world, the universe, and himself.

    Oyna had said that cultivating his Energies was a good use of his time, so Victor had spent much of his time doing so. He knew he was on the verge of the ¡°improved¡± tier¡ªhe could feel the potential brimming in his Core, the Energies within pushing against their boundaries like floodwaters cracking a concrete dam.

    The days had begun to bleed into each other, and, in all honesty, Victor was only about eighty percent sure that he¡¯d been alone for four days. It could have been three or five, in which case, he was done with his fast and should start the next phase of his spirit quest. He looked at the y bowl and little y jars filled with Oyna¡¯s special incense and wondered if he should start burning it. ¡°Wait . . .¡± his fuzzy, buzzing mind thought back to what Oyna had said. ¡°She¡¯d send me a message? She¡¯de speak to me? I was supposed to wait for the moons . . .¡±

    Victor sighed and flopped backward onto his nket, his head spinning and little stars bursting in his vision. He knew that he''d probably ck out if he stood up suddenly. ¡°What the fuck am I supposed to do? I can¡¯t remember shit!¡± he yelled up at the pale blue sky and the steel gray clouds drifting through it. There had definitely been something about the moons and waiting for his fifth day. ¡°Or night. It must be night if I¡¯m supposed to wait for the moons.¡±

    His eyes started to grow heavy as his body felt the pull of the¡¯s gravity and the warm embrace of his nket. Groaning again, Victor forced himself to sit up and resolved to be patient. Time seemed to move the fastest when he cultivated, so he decided to work on his Core. In an effort to make the time pass more quickly and to keep things interesting, he began to work on a new rage construct. ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± he said, talking to the tall grass that swayed with the cool, northern breeze. ¡°Something from my old life or something from this world?¡±

    Before he could answer himself, a suitable memory popped into his mind. He remembered how he¡¯d found Gorz and the magic ring when he¡¯d been new to Lam¡¯s squad of delvers. Victor reached up to touch Gorz and felt his bare chest. Oyna had made him give the amulet to her for safekeeping, not wanting him to ¡°ruin his contemtion¡± by speaking to the conscious artifact. His mind drifted back to the time when he¡¯d felt like he was figuring things out, making some progress, and then he¡¯d foolishly isted himself where some thugs could find him.

    Victor tried to focus on those thugs, tried to remember the names he¡¯d learned, but he couldn¡¯t. His mind kept racing forward to the time after the encounter and how he¡¯d felt when he woke up. He thought about how angry and frustrated he¡¯d been, partially at the guys who¡¯d robbed and tried to kill him but mostly at himself.

    He just kept screwing up¡ªat the time, that was all he could think. Looking back, though, with the weight of the memories he¡¯d built since then, Victor was willing to give himself a bit more grace. He¡¯d been new to Fanwath, bullied, tortured, beaten, and forced to fight and kill over and over. Was it any wonder he hadn¡¯t made perfect decisions?

    ¡°This isn¡¯t helping,¡± Victor chided himself. He was supposed to focus on the rage, focus on its source, and take that way from the memory, purifying it and turning it into a suitable construct for his cultivation. ¡°All right, no self-therapy right now. Think about the rage.¡±

    Victor allowed himself to sink into the memory, allowed himself to feel that frustration and anger again, and when he had the feeling right, he zeroed in on it, examined it, tasted it, and savored it. He felt the heat start to build in his pathways, and a savage grin spread on his face as he continued to focus on the feeling, stacking it,pounding it, and slowly building the construct of pure rage that he could use over and over again to cultivate that Energy.

    Victor lost himself in his hunt for rage-attuned Energy, and when he finally pushed the surging flood of scorching red Energy back into his Core, he opened his eyes to twilight. ¡°One more night.¡± His mind felt clearer, and he knew he needed to make it through the night and one more day before he was supposed to burn Oyna¡¯s incense. It seemed unfathomable that he hadn¡¯t had a drop of liquid in thirteen days and had been awake for four.

    Everything seemed surreal, even his thoughts, and when he looked out over the grass and saw glimmering translucent animals grazing, running, even flying in the purple twilit sky, he wasn¡¯t surprised. ¡°Hello, spirits,¡± he said. He watched two glimmering, long-tailed birds swoop and dive, seeming to perform an borate dance in the air. He realized he was smiling when his cheeks began to ache, and he closed his eyes, savoring the buzzing high he felt. ¡°Well, how about a new inspiration construct?¡± he asked himself, deciding he needed to do something before he slipped into a warm,fortable slumber.

    Once again, Victor focused on his time on Fanwath, and when he thought about inspiration, his mind drifted to the time when Polo Vosh was pushing him to improve his axe skill. He remembered how Polo¡¯s movements had seemed like magic, how he¡¯d just barely twitch his huge, furry body to avoid a tremendous, arcing cleave from Victor. He thought about how Polo had been able to make it feel like he was getting close, make it feel like there was a chance he might hit him. Polo was a great axe fighter and an even greater instructor, and Victor felt there was much about him to be inspired by.

    As always, Victor¡¯s time building and cultivating his new inspiration construct was easier than when he worked on his rage. He gained rage Energy more quickly, thanks to his affinity, but the process was painful and exhausting, whereas focusing on his inspiration construct was almost like meditation¡ªit felt renewing and left his mind clear and focused.

    When Victor¡¯s pathways were full to bursting with inspiration Energy, he gathered it up and pulled it into his Core, and before he¡¯d pulled half of it in, he felt the dam start to break¡ªhis Core was on the verge of advancing. Straining, sweat beading on his forehead, Victor pulled and pushed with his will, forcing the Energy into his Core.

    When it happened, it wasn¡¯t the painful explosion that he¡¯d subconsciously feared. It was more like wearing a belt two notches too small and then quickly loosening it. His Core pulsed and stretched, ring brightly, and then the twin suns of his Energy attunements settled into their new,rger, improved orbs, and Victor knew that they had the density required to grow a hundred-fold beyond what they were now. His cultivation to an Advanced Core would be a long journey.

    Just to confirm what he already knew, he looked at the section of his status page that described his Core and Energy:

    Core:

    Spirit ss - Improved 1

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Rage 9.1, Inspiration 7.4

    Energy:

    2839/2839

    Victor opened his eyes, pleased with himself, and saw that the sun was hanging high above his head. He¡¯d spent the entire night and morning working through that inspiration construct. ¡°Fucking hell,¡± he said, grinning, though it hurt his dry lips. His tongue felt thick and swollen in his mouth, and he realized his Energy-rich body was finally starting to feel the effects of his deprivations.

    Though his body might be struggling, Victor¡¯s mind was clear. Spending eighteen hours building his inspiration Energy had done wonders for his mental focus. He looked around the in, at the swaying grass, at the colorful bugs crawling on the stems and the flying insects that buzzed or glided around, and he breathed deeply of the cool breeze. There was a hint of something colder in the air, and he knew winter was truly upon them. He supposed he was lucky Oyna hadn¡¯t made him wait for a snowstorm to sit out in the elements.

    Victor meditated and cultivated for the rest of the day. Time moved strangely now that he was truly at the end of his wakeful vigil¡ªsometimes the sun refused to move in the sky, and sometimes he¡¯d close his eyes to gaze upon his Core, opening them to see the sun had dipped markedly toward the horizon.

    When it finally sank below the curve of the grasnds and the sisters¡¯ light fell upon him, Victor suddenly remembered, with perfect rity, Oyna¡¯s instructions. It was almost like he heard her voice speaking into his ear, ¡°On the evening of your fifth day, carefully mix the two powders I¡¯ve given you. Ignite them with a touch of your Energy. When you¡¯ve breathed deeply of their smoke, then you should quickly cast Spirit Walk.¡±

    Victor remembered asking her about the risk of performing a Spirit Walk while alone, and she¡¯dughed, saying the spirits in this ce were strong, and few things would dare their ire by interfering. Then she¡¯d cackled and said, ¡°Some risk is part of the process. What good is a quest with no danger?¡±

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± he muttered, his lips barely moving and his voice a hoarse whisper. He pulled the ceramic bowl closer and pulled the cork from the first little jar. The pink powder within reminded his nose of a spice he might smell in his abu¡¯s kitchen. If someone asked him which spice, he¡¯d struggle to put a finger on it, but that didn¡¯t matter, he reckoned, pouring the jar into the bowl. The second jar contained a brown powder withrger granules, and when he mixed it into the bowl, the smell that arose was something like ashes and cedar, and it tickled the back of his throat, threatening to pull forth a sneeze.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get things moving,¡± Victor said, putting a finger into the mixture and pushing out a stream of rage-attuned Energy. He wasn¡¯t sure why he chose rage, perhaps because he was most familiar with it; perhaps he¡¯d just randomly selected it. In any case, the hot, red Energy surged through his pathway into the powder, and suddenly, it was ring with red mes, reminding Victor of a road re his abuelo had sparked to life when his old truck had broken down.

    Thick, colorful smoke rose from the ring bowl, and worried that he¡¯d miss his chance, Victor quickly leaned over it and breathed deeply. His vision instantly went dark, and he swore he saw fireworks exploding in the ckness. His mind started to slip away from the present, and Victor, clinging to his wits with a surge of will, immediately cast Spirit Walk.

    As always, his surroundings changed, but things were very different this time. He stood on the Spirit ne, that much was sure, but he was surrounded by a host of spirits. They¡¯d made a circle around him, and though they didn¡¯t crowd close, Victor felt rather uneasy. Some of the spirits red brightly with Energy, their auras overshadowing the dimmer spirits around them.

    The spirits weren¡¯t all people. Some were animals¡ªcreatures like bears, antlered deer-like beasts, a huge boar, and myriad smaller things that looked like rodents or rabbits. Still, most of the spirits looked like Shadeni, with a few Ardeni and even a Cadwalli that sat nearby, smoking an ethereal pipe. Victor looked around the circle of spirits and said, ¡°Hello.¡±

    ¡°Warrior.¡± Victor was surprised that it wasn¡¯t one of the Shadeni spirits that spoke to him but the massive boar, its tusks bobbing up and down as its lower jaw moved to amodate the deep, rumbling voiceing from its chest.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been called that, yes. My name is Victor.¡± For the first time, Victor realized he was holding Lifedrinker. She was limned with a red glow, and he wondered when he¡¯d decided to channel Energy into her. He slipped her haft into the loop at his belt and carefully held his hands at his sides, empty.

    ¡°You seek a quest?¡± the rumbling voice of the boar asked.

    ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°Why would those such as we aid an outsider? A mad berserker?¡± This time one of the Shadeni spoke, and Victor had to squint against the re of his aura. The ghostly figure had long braids dressed with polished bones and teeth, and his ribbed, bone vest hung down over a belt sporting two ivory-hafted hatchets.

    ¡°I¡¯m not mad, friend,¡± Victor said, carefully choosing the word ¡°friend.¡± He¡¯d almost said, ¡°dude,¡± and admired his quick mental edit. ¡°I¡¯m a friend to the n that hunts thesends. Tellen and Oyna consider me family, and I¡¯m not a stranger to the Spirit ne. I seek to better myself so that I might aid my friends and continue my battles against evil.¡± He¡¯d have liked to take credit for that answer, but Oyna had rehearsed with him the types of things he should say to the spirits. His words were true, though, and he didn¡¯t feel dishonest, simply grateful that he¡¯d had a friend help him polish up his words.

    ¡°This one may be full to bursting with rage, but that¡¯s only half his story,¡± a great bear, his fur dark but speckled with silvery hairs, lying with his chin on his paws, rumbled. He sounded simr to the boar, but the power that apanied the rumble of his voice was undeniable¡ªhere was a creature that was strong and wise, someone to listen to and give deference. Victor wasn¡¯t alone in that understanding. The spirits near the bear turned to him and backed away a step. ¡°Well, Warrior, show us your other side; call forth yourpanions.¡±

    Victor knew what the bear meant, and he immediately cast Manifest Spirit, fueling the spell with inspiration-attuned Energy. Silver-white forms shimmered into existence around him, his pack forming a loose circle within the greater circle of other spirits. They sat and regarded the host with that discerning, intelligent gaze that canines sometimes affected.

    ¡°Good,¡± the bear rumbled. ¡°This one is strong with spirit, bnced and rich. Who among you can scoff at rage? Who among you wouldn¡¯t howl at inspiration? His spirit is thoroughly cleansed and in to see! I can read the deeds of this warrior writrge on his soul. Can any of you deny that he¡¯s brought evil low? That he¡¯s tasted the love and gratitude of many? I will grant you a quest, warrior. Will any others?¡± The bear still hadn¡¯t lifted his head from his paws, lying on his stomach the entire time he spoke, but his voice rumbled and echoed over the ins, and Victor felt himself straightening with pride as the great spirit spoke about him.

    ¡°I have a quest for this warrior,¡± another Shadeni spirit spoke up, a woman sitting with crossed legs, a long, glimmering knife in one hand.

    ¡°I will offer this warrior a quest,¡± said the boar, digging at the ground and nodding his ponderous head.

    ¡°We have a quest for the warrior,¡± said a small rabbit-like animal, and Victor saw that it had several more of its kind clustered close behind it.

    After several moments of silence, the bear¡¯s voice rumbled again, ¡°Good. I will offer guidance toward a new affinity, warrior. What rewards will you others offer?¡±

    ¡°I can tell the warrior where my family hid an artifact,¡± said the Shadeni woman.

    ¡°I will teach the warrior how to charge like I did when I lived!¡± the boar growled, digging his hooves into the soil once again.

    ¡°We will teach the warrior a new way to manifest his spirit,¡± the little rabbit creature said, its voice squeaking almostically.

    ¡°You¡¯ve heard the offers, warrior. Make a choice¨Cwhich of us will you aid?¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t hesitate; he looked at the enormous bear and said, ¡°I will aid you, Great One.¡±

    ¡°It is good,¡± the bear rumbled. ¡°Leave me to speak with this warrior now. Go back to your business, spirits of the in.¡± There were some grumbles and sighs, but the gathered spirits began to disperse, walking away into the grass and fading into the misty twilight, even as Victor tried to keep them focused in his view. ¡°Are you sure you want me to uncover another spirit affinity, Warrior? You¡¯ll need to work that much harder to build the strength of the ones you have.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure, Great One, though only if you think it worthwhile. Oyna wasn¡¯t sure I had a strong connection to another attunement.¡± Victor watched the bear¡¯s head, wondering if he¡¯d ever move, and then he realized he was presuming a lot by calling him a bear. The creature was ursine in shape, but long, bony tines mingled with his dark, silver-specked fur, and his canines protruded along his muzzle, longer and more curved than any bear¡¯s on Earth. The great creature must have sensed Victor¡¯s scrutiny because he finally opened his eyes, the bright red orbs boring into him.

    ¡°Oyna is a great friend of the spirits here, but she sees little of what my gaze reveals. You have at least two more affinities rivaling what you¡¯ve already uncovered. The one I guide you to will depend on how you solve my quest.¡±

    Victor started to ask what the quest was, but he held his tongue¡ªthe bear woulde around to it when it was ready. Instead, he copied his coyotes and looked at the great spirit, waiting for it to speak.

    ¡°The reward I offer you is great, but the risk ismensurate. I can read on your spirit that you won¡¯t shy from danger, so I¡¯ll tell you inly. My offspring¡¯s offspring still wander this world, warrior. One such, a great male named Bitterpaw, has be tainted by an artifact of great evil. He is beyond redemption, warrior, and I need you to find him and put him down. The artifact, a ne of teeth that he wears like a trophy on his wrist, must be destroyed.¡±

    ¡°Oh, this quest isn¡¯t in the Spirit ne?¡± Victor wasn¡¯t sure why he¡¯d thought the entire quest would bepleted during his Spirit Walk.

    ¡°No, Warrior. Will you ept my quest? It will weigh heavily upon you until you¡¯vepleted it.¡± The bear ponderously stood, and he towered over Victor on all fours. He must have weighed ten thousand pounds when he was alive, and Victor hoped his descendent wasn¡¯t thatrge. Victor also hoped he¡¯d be able to find Bittlerpaw without too much trouble, not wanting to be caught up in this quest for too long, but he didn¡¯t want to back down now.

    ¡°I¡¯ll ept your quest, Great Bear,¡± he said, hoping he wasn¡¯t insulting the creature by calling it a bear.

    He needn¡¯t have worried, though¡ªthe bear nodded and stepped closer, lowering his enormous head so it was just in front of Victor¡¯s. ¡°Good, Victor. You¡¯ll find my troublesome offspring a week¡¯s journey west of the old witch¡¯s camp. If you¡¯re faster and run more like a bear, you¡¯ll find him sooner. He leaves death and destruction in his wake, and it¡¯s good that you go to face him because he¡¯d find your friends sooner orter. Now, rest your hand upon my brow.¡±

    Victor reached his right hand up to rest on the bear¡¯s massive, bony head. His fur was rough, and Victor was sure he could feel stiff spines of bone hiding among the hairs. Still, he pressed his hand down until his palm was t on the great brow, and then a message appeared in his vision:

    ***Thunderbite, the Elder Spinebear, has offered you a Quest: Hunt down the bear known as Bitterpaw, best him inbat, and destroy the toothed amulet that has corrupted his spirit. Reward: Thunderbite will guide you to a new spirit affinity. Warning: This Quest is a binding Energy contract¡ªfailure to work toward the goal will result in a loss of Energy affinity. ept? Yes/No.***

    ¡°Is that what you meant when you said the quest would weigh heavily on me? I¡¯ll lose Energy affinity if I don¡¯t work toward it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Warrior. One should not enter into a bargain with Great Spirits lightly.¡±

    For a moment, Victor was tempted to touch the ¡°no¡± option, leave the Spirit ne, and forget about this whole business. He could return to camp, eat until he passed out, and then have a rxing winter with his friends. ¡°Or I could stop being a chicken-shit,¡± Victor muttered and touched the ¡°yes¡± option.

    ¡°I like the color of your spirit, Victor. This will not be an easy task¡ªBitterpaw will be a challenging opponent for you, and I would encourage you to fight him alone. It would be wise, should you bring a hunting party, to keep them away when you do battle. I predict the melee will be furious and deadly, and thosecking true strength will be cut like so much grass before the scythe.¡±

    ¡°All right, um, Thunderbite. Will I need toe to find you when I¡¯m finished?¡±

    ¡°If you walk the Spirit ne from anywhere on these grasnds, we will find each other. Good luck, Warrior.¡± Thunderbite turned, then, and began to lumber away, his great shoulders and hips rolling with each ponderous step.

    ¡°See you soon,¡± Victor said, watching the bear go, and though he never blinked or unfocused his gaze, in just a few seconds, the bear was gone, and Victor was alone on the twilit Spirit ne, nothing but shimmering grasnds illuminated by bright stars in every direction. Victor reached inside himself and canceled his Spirit Walk, and when he woke, he found himself sprawled on his back, the sun high in the sky and shining directly into his eyes.

    ¡°Gah,¡± Victor said, rolling feebly to his side. He felt drained and weak, his head buzzing and foggy. He closed his eyes, concentrating, and reached into his storage ring, pulling out a bowl of hot noodles, vegetables, and meat he¡¯d bought back in Gelica. He set it on the nket next to him, then pulled out a keg of fresh water and a tankard. Victor struggled to a sitting position, looked around the empty, sunny ins, and said, ¡°Thanks for not letting anyone kill me, spirits.¡±

    He spent an hour eating and drinking. He remembered seeing in a VR that someone who¡¯d been starving shouldn¡¯t overdo it with food or drink, but his body told him a different story, and though he started out slow, he ended up wolfing down more food than he could have eaten in a week in his old life. He figured admonishments like that weren¡¯t meant for level thirty-two descendants of Quinamentzin.

    When he¡¯d eaten and drunk his fill, Victor stood, shook out his nket, and stowed it away. He turned toward Tellen¡¯s camp and started hiking in that direction. He felt a certain urgency to begin work on his quest, but he felt like there was time to stop by the camp to let Oyna and the others know what he was up to.

    Victor felt a certain tingle in his gut, and when he thought about it, walking over the grasnds, he realized he was excited. ¡°I¡¯m on a fucking quest!¡± he said, grinning. ¡°I need to fight an insane bear, and then his great-grandpa is going to teach me some shit!¡± Heughed at the craziness of it all, and then he started jogging¡ªno sense wasting time.

 Book 3: Chapter 15: Westward

    Book 3: Chapter 15: Westward

    When Victor jogged into the Shadeni camp, he was greeted by the hunters on watch with friendly waves and shouts of wee. He truly had be like family to some of the hunters over the months, especially after he and Chandri had returned, triumphant, from their hunt for Tellen. He entered the longhouse, as he¡¯d learned the n called the rectangr, turf-covered buildings, where Oyna and Tellen had taken up residence and, blinking away the stinging cook smoke that hung in the air, looked around the dim interior.

    Most of the smoke came from the two open hearths at the center of the building, and though they had chimneys, some smoke invariably hung in the air. Quite a few n folk were busy in the main hall, cooking, scraping hides, stitching leather, and any number of other small tasks, but he didn¡¯t see Tha or Oyna, so he moved to the wooden steps at the far end of the long, low-ceilinged space.

    Several people greeted him as he walked past their benches or workspaces, and he smiled and returned the greeting. Victor had learned almost everyone¡¯s names, at least the ones that lived in this particr longhouse¡ªthirty or more n members called this building their home. He descended one level to where Oyna, Tellen, and their immediate family members, which seemed to include Tha and Deyni, had rooms.

    The second floor was less smoky. Light being provided by glowmps and the absence of cookfires helped that cause. Though the construction was rough, all the timbers were solid, and no dirt was present on the wooden nks of the hallway. Victor followed it until he came to Oyna¡¯s quarters, and when he saw the beaded curtains were pulled open, he stepped into the area where the Old Mother spent most of her days¡ªa small, square room piled with furs and nkets with an Energy-driven tea kettle on a low wooden table as its centerpiece.

    Oyna was sitting, facing the doorway, reading from a small, red, leather-bound journal, as she often did in the afternoons, steeping some very pungent-smelling tea. Tha and Deyni weren¡¯t present, so Victor was subjected to Oyna¡¯s full attention as he stepped through the low archway, rattling some beads with his passage. ¡°Ha!¡± she crowed. ¡°I can see from your grinning, greasy face that you¡¯ve had some sess!¡±

    ¡°Greasy?¡± Victor asked, rubbing at his chin and mouth. He¡¯d eaten some little sausages while jogging back to camp. Was that what she meant?

    ¡°Yes, only a sessful hunt could spur such an appetite. Had you failed, you¡¯d be depriving yourself out of guilt and self-loathing.¡± Sheughed, and Victor couldn¡¯t tell how much she was messing with him and how much she¡¯d hit the nail on the head.

    ¡°Well,¡± he said, trying to take some wind out of her sails. ¡°It wasn¡¯t really a sess yet. I got a quest, but now I have toplete it.¡±

    She regarded him for a moment, closing one eye and squinting at him, her crow¡¯s feet piling atop each other. ¡°A dangerous one, is it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not really sure. I have to kill a bear that¡¯s gone insane or something. I got the quest from a huge bear that said the one I have to hunt is his descendent. Why could some of the animal spirits speak to me? I mean, animals don¡¯t speak outside the Spirit ne, do they?¡±

    ¡°Few animals gain the means to speak, even on the Spirit ne, Victor. I know the bear you speak of, and he¡¯s a great, old, powerful spirit. He evolved many times during his mortal existence and has lingered around Fanwath far longer than most spirits do. Were there other creatures that spoke to you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, um, a boar, a rabbit, er feyris, and some Shadeni spirits. I mean, there were like a hundred spirits crowded around when I started the Spirit Walk.¡±

    ¡°Truly?¡± For once, Oyna didn¡¯t chase her word with augh of any sort. ¡°They must have sensed your strong Core, and, of course, the smoke I gave you helped. Yes, you can thank Oyna that so many spirits came to witness you.¡± This time sheughed.

    ¡°Well, I need to hunt this bear, and I should probably start soon. Thunderbite made it so that I have to keep working toward it, or I¡¯ll lose Energy affinity. Whatever that means . . .¡±

    ¡°Mother¡¯s bones!¡± Oyna hissed. ¡°Fool boy! Must I teach you every little thing? You are bound toplete this quest now, or you¡¯ll make yourself a helpless, whimpering shadow of a man! Should you refuse to hunt this bear or fail, you¡¯ll slowly lose your ability to channel and absorb Energy! You¡¯ll be as you were when you first came to this world, but worse because your body and spirit now require Energy!¡± She looked at Victor¡¯s ck-jawed face and shook her head. ¡°Did the bear not warn you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he said it would ¡®weigh heavily on me.¡¯ I mean, the System also put up a message saying this would happen; I guess I just didn¡¯t understand it fully. It doesn¡¯t matter, anyway, Oyna. I want toplete the quest. Thunderbite¡¯s going to help me uncover another affinity.¡±

    ¡°Best you start then,¡± the old woman said, nodding. ¡°Keep the quest the focus of your attention, and you shouldn¡¯t suffer any loss of affinity. Can Oyna help you with anything, warrior?¡±

    ¡°Where are Tha and Deyni?¡± Victor looked around, indicating the empty space around Oyna¡¯s tea kettle.

    ¡°They¡¯ve gone with Tellen and his daughters¡ªa hunt for small game and a learning opportunity for the young one.¡± Oyna grinned and narrowed her eyes mischievously, ¡°All your women off together on a hunt! What might they talk about?¡± Her cackle rang out, and Victor was d they weren¡¯t out in the open, around other n members.

    ¡°You¡¯re fucking nuts,¡± Victor said before he could catch himself. Oyna didn¡¯t seem offended, though, and she continued tough, though more quietly. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m d they''re gone. The bear said I should go alone, that anyone who came with me would be at risk.¡±

    ¡°At risk, hmm? It¡¯s good that you took this quest, then. If this mad bear is nearby, it threatens the n.¡± She regarded Victor for a long moment, her sharp, bright eyes finally resting on Lifedrinker. ¡°Will you hunt the bear with that axe? Spinebears growrge, warrior. Perhaps a spear would be wise. What about your armor? Did not your fancy metal vest get destroyed when you rescued Tellen?¡±

    ¡°I figured I¡¯d use Lifedrinker, yeah. Sure, a spear is probably better for hunting something big, but I¡¯m good with an axe, and she¡¯s thirsty. I owe her. As far as armor goes, no, I don¡¯t have any.¡± He rested a hand on the beaded leather vest he wore, a gift from the n, and said, ¡°I have other leather vests and even a leather jacket, though.¡±

    Oyna frowned, still managing tough somehow, and said, ¡°A spinebear will scoff at leather. Help me up, warrior. I¡¯ll bring you to the n¡¯s treasurer and tradesman. Bring your wealth¡ªyou¡¯ll need to barter.¡±

    Victorughed and said, ¡°My wealth? It¡¯s all in my storage rings. I guess my wagon¡¯s the most valuable thing I own, but I don¡¯t want to trade that. Let¡¯s go, Old Mother.¡± He pulled her to her feet, thinking back to the time when she¡¯d refused his help, saying she needed to work to remain strong. He wondered if it was a sign of her giving in to her old age or just a sign of her familiarity with him that she now let him aid her.

    Oyna clung to his arm, and they climbed up out of the lower level and then out through the longhouse into the bright afternoon sun. ¡°Gul-dak is in yonder longhouse,¡± Oyna said, pointing to the building directly across the central courtyard, on the opposite side of the well.

    ¡°Gul-dak, hmm? Sounds familiar. Have I met him?¡± Victor asked, starting toward the building with Oyna still gripping his elbow, her bony old fingers strong as vise grips.

    ¡°Ha! How do I know who you¡¯ve met, warrior?¡± Oyna shook her head, eyes on the ground in front of her feet, a chuckle bubbling up from her throat the entire time they crossed the courtyard. Victor didn¡¯t bother to answer¡ªeither he¡¯d met the man or heard people speak about him. It didn¡¯t really matter.

    They found Gul-dak on the fourth level of the longhouse, in a wide, open space, though, as usual, Victor had to duck to keep from cracking his skull on the long, rough beams that held up the ceiling. Barrels, sacks, and crates filled the room, and Gul-dak was busy counting carefully packed bottles of wine when Oyna spied him and called out, ¡°Ha! Old trickster! Pretending to count the wine while you have an early drink?¡±

    ¡°Oyna!¡± Gul-dak said, turning to face her and Victor. He had the biggest belly of any n member Victor had seen, and he pped his palms against it, making the fat quiver under his tight, linen shirt while heughed. He was old, though not as old as Oyna, and his hair had gone mostly white. He wore spectacles, too, and Victor strained his brain, trying to remember if he¡¯d seen anyone else wearing sses in this world. It seemed to him that anyone with any levels or Energy to speak of wouldn¡¯t need them.

    ¡°I¡¯ve brought you a customer, old thief. Be good to him, or I¡¯ll curse your dreams with a spell.¡± Victor knew Oyna was teasing the old merchant, but he was startled to see real fear in the man¡¯s eyes. He hurried forward, wringing his hands in front of himself and bowing.

    ¡°Old Mother! You wouldn¡¯t, would you?¡± he asked, bowing again and ducking his head.

    ¡°Oh, Ancestors! Victor, look upon a man with no sense of humor.¡± Oynaughed, and as Gul-dak straightened, smiling in relief, she continued, ¡°Also, look upon a man who spent his life counting beads instead of strengthening his Core¡ªa man with little understanding of the workings of Energy!¡±

    ¡°Hello,¡± Victor said, holding out a hand, feeling rather sorry for Gul-dak. He¡¯d not seen that side of Oyna before¡ªwhat he¡¯d taken for teasing seemed, in actuality, to be thinly veiled scorn. The small, portly fellow reached up to take his hand, and though his hand was pudgy, his grip was firm, and he smiled genuinely at Victor.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard much about you, Victor, the demon yer! Tellen is the son of my oldest friend, and I owe you greatly for his safe return. What can this old merchant do for you?¡±

    ¡°He requires armor and not something for hunting hoofed game. He needs something that might stop the ws of a great spinebear,¡± Oyna said before Victor could answer.

    ¡°Um, yeah, and I have goods to trade,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Armor, you say? Surely we have something that will work. Come over to the storage coffers,¡± Gul-dak said, motioning Victor toward a row of rune-covered wooden and metal boxes lined up against the far wall. Some were small, about the size of a shoebox, and others were more like big wooden trunks.

    ¡°Are those all dimensional containers?¡± Victor asked, looking at the runes that adorned the ¡°coffers.¡± Some had the runes burned into the wood, and some had them etched into metal straps.

    ¡°Aye,d,¡± the old merchant said as he walked over to them. He gestured back toward all the barrels and crates. ¡°All this is usually stored within a few of those coffers. I take things out to keep ready for the n and to take inventory.¡± He nced nervously at Oyna and said, ¡°Not to steal sips of wine!¡±

    ¡°Ha! Old lush,¡± Onya said, shaking her head. Again, Victor couldn¡¯t quite figure out if she hated the man or was just busting his chops.

    ¡°Here¡¯s where I¡¯ve stored all the armor¡ªsome for the n warriors, but most for trading when we stop by a city.¡± He looked nervously at Oyna and then smiled up at Victor and continued, ¡°What sort of armor do you need, warrior?¡±

    ¡°Well . . .¡± Victor started, but Oyna cut him off.

    ¡°Something metal. Something that can grow with him when he lets his rage run rampant. Don¡¯t hold out, Gul-dak¡ªnot if you value peaceful sleep!¡± Oyna cackled, and Gul-dak flinched away. Victor swore he saw beads of sweat pop into existence on the old merchant¡¯s wrinkled, red brow.

    ¡°Metal and enchanted for resizing . . .¡± he said softly, eyes going distant as heid a hand on the iron-strapped, wooden chest.

    ¡°Don¡¯t y your merchant games with us, Gul-dak,¡± Oyna said, giving Victor¡¯s elbow a squeeze. ¡°He¡¯ll have something, Victor, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not . . .¡± Victor began, but then Gul-dak eximed and produced a heavy, metal garment, grunting with the weight as he hefted it to the top of a nearby chest.

    ¡°Enchanted scale shirt, too heavy for most of our hunters. It¡¯s been in here for a few seasons now. Couldn¡¯t get the price I wanted in Gelica, and Tellen thought it mighte in handy during a raid.¡±

    ¡°You have permission to sell it, old man?¡± Oyna asked.

    ¡°Of course! If I get the right price . . .¡± he eyed Victor nervously.

    Victor just grunted and picked up the armor. The metal looked like steel to him, and theyered scales were dense, meticulously stitched to the supple, thick leather underneath. They rippled with the lights in the storeroom as he hefted it and turned it over, looking for defects and trying to imagine what it would feel like to wear. ¡°It¡¯s heavier than my old armor. I¡¯m used to my arms being free, and this goes all the way to the wrists. Looks like it will hang down past my belt, too.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a good piece of armor. We took it in trade for a Gethian rdii sire and two dams. The man who traded it swore the metal was ten percent amber ore. It¡¯s enchanted for self-repair and, as you asked, resizing.¡±

    ¡°Put it on, Victor,¡± Oyna said.

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s the matter of the price . . .¡± Gul-dak said, but Victor pulled the heavy garment on over his head, grunting to get it over his shoulders. He¡¯d made it halfway when he finally had to admit defeat.

    ¡°I¡¯m stuck,¡± he said, voice muffled.

    ¡°Bond with it,¡± Oyna said.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Gul-dak said, but it was toote. Victor channeled some Energy out into the armor, felt it expand, and easily pulled it on the rest of the way. When his head pulled clear of the neck hole, he looked at the message that had appeared when he bonded with the armor:

    ***Amber-alloy scale shirt. Artificed for durability,fort, and self-repair. A fine armor crafted by Getchit Boyle of Fazador.***

    ¡°Cool!¡± Victor said, then added, ¡°I saw a description of the armor and the name of the guy who made it when I bonded to it.¡±

    ¡°Ah, some artificers add such to their creations. The System is known to do it also.¡± Gul-dak nodded. ¡°There¡¯s the matter of the price, though, and seeing as you¡¯ve already bonded with the item, I feel somewhat disadvantaged. Oyna, you know my profits go to the n coffers!¡±

    ¡°Hush, old merchant! This n owes Victor much. Name him a fair price.¡±

    While they bickered, Victor flexed his arms and twisted his torso. The shirt was long, hanging over his hips, and he knew he¡¯d need to take his belt off and put it on over the armor, but other than that, it was quitefortable. It was heavy, probably twice the weight of his old ringmail vest, but he felt it was probably better armor. He knew he¡¯d be hot in the sun wearing it, but some difort might be a reasonable trade-off for receiving fewer wounds in battle. He thought back to the description and said, ¡°It says it¡¯s enchanted for fort.¡¯ What¡¯s that about?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s an enchantment that allows the armor to fit you perfectly. It may have secondary effects, like making it feel lighter than it is or allowing airflow to help you keep from overheating in the sun. I really can¡¯t be sure. If I sold that shirt in Gelica, I¡¯d expect three or four thousand beads. Can you afford that sum, Victor?¡± Gul-dak didn¡¯t look hopeful.

    ¡°I could, but how about a trade instead?¡± Victor dug around in his storage rings until he found the shortswords he¡¯d taken from the Ilyathi bounty hunter back when he and Tha were making their way to Gelica. ¡°These are magical and made of an expensive metal.¡± Heid the pair of swords on the top of the chest, and Gul-dak whistled.

    ¡°Those are fine des, Victor.¡± He nced nervously at Oyna and added, ¡°More valuable to the n than that heavy armor. I¡¯ll take them in trade, but you¡¯ll have credit with me. Is that fair?¡± He asked thest question looking at Oyna, not Victor.

    ¡°It is good,¡± Oyna said, reaching up to retake Victor¡¯s elbow. ¡°This one has a quest to begin. Enough dallying. Victor, you have enough supplies?¡±

    ¡°I do,¡± he said, allowing Oyna to tug him toward the stairs leading up from the storage room. ¡°Thanks, Gul-dak,¡± he called over his shoulder as they left. When he and Oyna had made it back out into the sunlight, she took Victor¡¯s hand in hers and looked up at him, smiling into the daylight so her eyes were lost in folds of wrinkles.

    ¡°Victor, keep focused on your quest. Work ever toward your goal and the spirit¡¯s curse won¡¯t take hold.¡±

    ¡°Curse?¡±

    ¡°A turn of phrase. I mean the requirement that you keep working to solve the quest. Come now, Warrior, you could discern my meaning!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I get it. I¡¯ll just go fetch Thistle, and then I¡¯ll be on my way, all right? The spirit said the bear was only a few days to the west as long as I traveled ¡®like a bear.¡¯ I figure Thistle¡¯s even faster.¡±

    ¡°The west? Go quickly then because Tellen took your women that way!¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not my . . .¡± Victor started to say automatically before Oyna¡¯s words registered. ¡°They went west? How long ago?¡±

    ¡°Two mornings they¡¯ve been gone now. Go, warrior!¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t need to hear that again; he turned toward where he¡¯d parked his wagon and ran. While he loped through the central area of the camp, he pulled off his belt, Lifedrinker and all, and then put it back on over his new armor. The belt was enchanted to resize, also, and it fit easily. By the time he¡¯d adjusted Lifedrinker¡¯s loop and feltfortable, he was jogging up to his two vidanii, grazing near his wagon.

    Victor saddled Thistle in record time, talking to him in a low, soothing voice the whole while. ¡°Ready for a run, boy?¡± He slipped his boot in the stirrup, pulled himself up, and then they were off, charging over the grass toward the setting sun.

    He was worried about Tha and the others, but only a little¡ªit felt like long odds that they¡¯d run into the rampaging bear just because they¡¯d gone off in the same general direction. ¡°Hey, Gorz,¡± he said, having a sudden thought, ¡°are there any viges or towns west of here?¡± When Gorz was silent, Victor pped himself on the head¡ªhe¡¯d forgotten to get the amulet back from Oyna. ¡°Oh well. I guess I¡¯ll find out.¡±

    Victor made good time¡ªThistle loved to run, and carrying just Victor, big as he was, wasn¡¯t much of a struggle for the great animal. As the stars and moons came out, and he¡¯d seen no sign of Tellen or the others, he wasn¡¯t surprised. He had no idea if they¡¯d gone straight west or followed some game to the south into the forest or north into the ins.

    While he hadn¡¯t slept, per se, Victor had been physically inactive for a long time, cultivating his Core and then taking a Spirit Walk, which seemed simr to sleeping as far as his body was concerned. The point of which was that Victor didn¡¯t feel tired, and he let Thistle have free rein, thundering over the ins long into the night. Victor felt purpose-driven, and only part of it was due to his concern for his friends¡ªthe other part being a burning desire to solve his quest. Vaguely, he wondered if he¡¯d feel so driven if he hadn¡¯t agreed to that quest contract with the bear spirit.

    Morning found Victor walking ahead of Thistle, holding his lead, giving the animal a break. He¡¯d already fed and watered him and then taken off his saddle, and Victor figured some light walking wouldn¡¯t hurt the beast. Truthfully, Thistle seemed ready to run again, and Victor wondered how great his stamina really was¡ªhe was supposedly much more evolved and rich in Energy than a rdii; did he need as much rest and sleep as Victor had been giving him? ¡°Too bad I can¡¯t search it up on the , eh, boy?¡±

    asionally, Victor passed thin dirt trails in the ins leading north into the ins and south into the trees of the Blue Deep, and he wondered if they were game trails or paths made by people who lived nearby. He felt the urge to explore them, but the need to progress his quest weighed more heavily¡ªhe needed to follow the edge of the forest further west. In his mind, he still hadn¡¯t gone far enough to match a ¡°few days of travel if he ran like a bear,¡± at least not a bear like Thunderbite.

    After walking briskly for most of the morning, Victor let Thistle wander and graze while he took a break. He sat in the grass, ate some cured meat and cheese, drank a bottle of weak wine, and stretched. Victor still didn¡¯t feel like sleeping, which he thought was rather insane, considering how long he¡¯d been awake prior to his Spirit Walk. ¡°Wait a second,¡± he said, staring at the bright, gray sky, realizing he hadn¡¯t asked Oyna how long he¡¯d been gone. For all he knew, he could¡¯ve slept for days after his Spirit Walk.

    ¡°Well, no way to know for sure right now,¡± he said to Thistle, draping his saddle nket over the animal and getting him ready for another run. ¡°Let¡¯s cover a bit more ground, and maybe tonight we¡¯ll camp out, all right?¡± Thistle turned his big head back toward him and snuffled, pushing his ck, velvety nose into his shoulder. ¡°Did you want a treat? ¡®Cause, that¡¯s how you get a treat, buddy.¡± Victorughed, holding a pear-like fruit on his t, open palm while the vidanii crunched it down, then snuffed as though he might find another one hidden between Victor¡¯s fingers. Victorughed and hopped into the saddle. ¡°Come on, boy!¡±

    He let Thistle set the pace for the next few hours, which turned out to be a thundering gallop, and they ate up the miles, moving ever westward. asionally, Victor saw movement at the edge of the forest, and he wondered if he¡¯d surprised other animals that had bolted for the cover of the trees at his approach or if monsters or people were lurking in the shadows, watching him go past. Not for the first time, he wondered what kept the trees from growing into the ins, expanding the forest year by year. He thought maybe it was doing so, but then he remembered that Tellen¡¯s n had camped there, at the edge of the woods, for generations.

    His mind was wandering down just such a train of thought when he felt Thistle¡¯s speed falter, and he jerked his eyes back into focus and saw what had startled the beast¡ªnot far ahead were lines of smoke and the low, wooden structures of an encampment or vige. ¡°Good boy! Did you smell that smoke? Steady now; let¡¯s keep moving.¡± He slowed Thistle to a trot, still moving toward the single-story, wooden buildings.

    Victor kept a hand on Lifedrinker, but he didn¡¯t pull her out of her loop. He figured some sentries would challenge him soon; he¡¯d already gotten closer than anyone would get to Tellen¡¯s camp without being stopped. He was somewhat surprised when no one osted him, and he rode past the first wooden building. It looked like a cabin to him, but no smoke came from its little stone chimney. Another, simr structure, was in front of him, and he had to turn Thistle to get around it, and that¡¯s when he saw the destruction and carnage.

    The smoke wasn¡¯ting from a cookfire or a chimney, he saw, but from a smoldering pyre where some bodies had been burned¡ªnot fully consumed by the mes. Whoever had built the pyre hadn¡¯t made it big or hot enough to finish the job. Victor rode past the smoldering mess, the smell of smoke and char heavy in the air, making his eyes water. He constantly scanned for movement, wondering who had killed all the people and then who had tried to clean up the mess.

    Victor passed several more wooden structures made from logs, and then he started to see the blood and broken doors and walls¡ªwhatever had killed the people had broken their wooden doors to pieces and sent logs rolling over the dirt paths that served as streets in the littlemunity. More than a dozen buildings were partially destroyed and thered with dried, red blood streaks. ncing at a log that had rolled onto the track, Victor saw four long, deep grooves, and he realized he¡¯d found his first sign of Bitterpaw.

    Nobody showed themselves to him, and Victor didn¡¯t want to linger in the ruined ce. He turned Thistle to the west again and pushed him back into a trot, moving past thest building, and that¡¯s when he saw the little group of people walking ahead of him through the grasnd. They appeared to panic and scattered at the sound of Thistle¡¯s hooves, but when they turned to see him riding their way, most stopped running and stood, staring while he approached.

    Victor waved, trying to indicate his good intentions. None of them waved back, save one little girl with bright blonde hair. She was Ardeni, like the others, and Victor could see the soot stains on her pale blue skin and how her clothes were filthy and torn. Most of the group were young, children to Victor¡¯s eyes, though a handful were older. One older man, a burly red-bearded fellow dressed in dark leather clothing and holding a heavy axe of his own, called out, ¡°We want no trouble.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m no trouble,¡± Victor said. ¡°Well, not to people like you,¡± he added.

    ¡°We¡¯ve nothing to give. Our dreams lie smashed and burned behind you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not looking to get anything from you,¡± Victor said, slowing Thistle to a walk as he came within a few feet of the group. ¡°Except maybe some information. What did that to your vige? Was it a mad bear?¡±

    ¡°You know of it? A demon-possessed spinebear!¡± A young woman said, pulling the little yellow-haired girl close to her and backing away from Victor.

    ¡°I¡¯m on a quest. I have to find that bear and kill it.¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± The man guffawed. ¡°Better you turn and run, friend. Tell whoever gave you that quest that it¡¯s not worth it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be an ass, Berom!¡± another man said, sitting up from where he¡¯d squatted to rest while the group watched Victor approach. He was bald, with a tuft of ck hair around his ears, and his dark eyes bored into Victor while he spoke, ¡°The bear is in the woods south of our vige. At least that¡¯s where it lumbered off after eating its fill of our kinfolk. If you truly aim to fight the thing, I¡¯d like toe. He killed my whole family. My name¡¯s Gef. Gef ap¡¯Horl.¡±

    ¡°I want to help also,¡± said a thin woman holding a bow as long as she was tall. ¡°I¡¯m Teil, and my husband rests in that beast¡¯s gut.¡±

    Victor thought about saying no. He almost said he didn¡¯t want them to slow him down or get hurt while he fought with the bear, but then he saw their eyes, and he knew they¡¯d happily die if it meant they might help him avenge their loved ones. He cleared his throat and pulled Lifedrinker out to rest across his knees, then he looked into the woman¡¯s angry, green eyes and said, ¡°Well, I can use the help tracking the monster, I suppose.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 16: Duty and Madness

    Book 3: Chapter 16: Duty and Madness

    Victor sat near the coals of the fire that Gef had used to cook a stew for the three of them. Victor had savored the roots and small-game meat, seasoned in a way that he could appreciate more now that he had a bit of cooking skill himself. Gef, on the other hand, had some real talent. He saw the older hunter leaning against a tree trunk nearby, his spear propped next to him, and his eyes closed. Victor had a feeling that he¡¯d wake at the slightest sound.

    Teil had surprised Victor by scampering up into another tree, its branches heavy with blue pine needles, and then she¡¯d announced that she¡¯d be sleeping among the boughs. For his part, Victor sat, reading correspondence from Lam and Edeya. Over thest months, they¡¯d sent him regr messages in the Far Scribe book.

    Often the letters were just status updates¡ªwhat they¡¯d been up to, but more importantly, questioning what Victor was up to. He knew they were fishing for information, worried he¡¯d get himself tied up with something that would make their rendezvous in the spring unlikely.

    Today¡¯s message was more interesting, though¡ªEdeya had sent him a bit of news:

    Victor,

    We miss you and Tha and hope things continue to go well with Tellen¡¯s n. We¡¯re settled into Lam¡¯s temporary estate in Persi Gables, and today she sent me to visit with Rellia. She wanted me to dig for information and rumors¡ªfind out how many troops Rellia had managed to raise and see that things were going ording to n.

    In the past, when I¡¯d met with Rellia in Gelica, I¡¯d had to go through her personal guard captain, Va. Today I was met with a different captain, though, and when I asked about Va, he¡¯dughed and said she was ¡°hunting barbarians in the grasnds.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t get him or Rellia to provide any more details, but I have a feeling Rellia sent Va to check up on you. She knows we have the Far Scribe books, but maybe she wants her own direct line to you. Anyway, keep an eye out for her. I¡¯m not sure you¡¯ve met her, but her personality leaves much to be desired.

    Yours,

    Edeya

    Victor grunted as he read the missive. He remembered Captain Va and supposed he¡¯d just deal with her when and if she ever showed up. He picked up his pen and wrote a response to Edeya:

    Hey Chica,

    Thanks for reaching out. I¡¯ll keep an eye out for thatdy¡ªshe reminded me of my seventh-grade English teacher, Mrs. Deppa. Maybe it had something to do with her tight cor. Anyway, things are good. I¡¯m on a quest right now to kill a crazy bear, and I know it sounds cool, but it¡¯s pretty tragic¡ªthe thing has been going around killing people, and I have some survivors with me helping me track it down. Stay safe, and don¡¯t let Lam run you around too much!

    -Victor

    Victor closed the book and stored it away in his ring, and then he stretched out on his bedroll, propping his arms under his head while he looked for stars between the tops of the nearby trees. He fell asleep that way, trying to make up names for the different constetions he saw, and before he knew it, he woke to the sounds of someone chopping wood and the smell of something brewing on the fire.

    ¡°Tanf?¡± Teil asked, lifting the iron kettle from the coals.

    ¡°Tanf?¡± Victor echoed.

    ¡°The drink¡ªtanf root. Do you have a cup?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, thanks. Sorry, I haven¡¯t had it before, but it smells familiar. I think some of the Shadeni back at the camp drink it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯smon enough,¡± the woman said. She was always curt and scowled often, and Victor felt very sorry for her. He¡¯d learned that she and her husband had been newly married, and Gef had confided in Victor that the vigers had stopped her from charging after the bear alone after it had mauled her husband and the others. She had bright coloring, like most Ardeni, with hair and eyes that reminded him of the coals in the fire¡ªa rich, deep, rusty orange color.

    ¡°Here,¡± Victor said, holding out a wooden mug that someone in Tellen¡¯s n had given him. It was smooth and polished, and he knew the wood was valuable because of how heavy and dense it was. It absorbed heat nicely, and he found it perfect for drinking hot tea or broth around the fire.

    Teil poured some dark brown liquid into his cup, and if Victor closed his eyes and breathed just right, he could imagine it was coffee. ¡°Good! Thank you,¡± he said, savoring the slightly bitter drink. It had a very different aftertaste than coffee, almost sweet with a tangy sourness.

    ¡°The tracks continue south. Even without the skill, you should be able to see it. See how those saplings are snapped and bent? The bear doesn¡¯t move around things it can smash through,¡± Gef said, also squatting near the fire and holding out a mug to Teil.

    ¡°Yeah, but if it gets harder to spot, I¡¯ll be d to have you along. I never learned that tracking skill.¡±

    ¡°Not toote to try. Spend more time hunting and less time fighting, and you might pick it up.¡± Gef took a long sip and grinned at Victor.

    ¡°What makes you think I fight a lot?¡± Victor asked, drinking from his mug and smiling back at the man.

    ¡°Oh, stop, you two. Let¡¯s not y word games. Drink your tanf, and let¡¯s get back on the hunt,¡± Teil said, putting a stop to the banter before it began. Victor shrugged and stood up, throwing the remnants of his drink onto the coals and stowing his cup.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good with that.¡± While the other two packed their bedrolls, Victor put away Thistle¡¯s feedbag and barrel of water and then saddled him up. He¡¯d been leading the animal since he met Gef and Teil the day before, and he figured he¡¯d keep doing so, but he liked having the animal ready to ride in case he needed to chase something faster than his two feet could manage.

    They proceeded deeper into the forest, and as they delved into the old growth, Victor began to feel grateful that they were following in the bear¡¯s path. The great animal had ttened much of the undergrowth, snapped smaller trees, and bent some of therger ones, making progress through the thick, dense foliage easier. Still, he had to use a machete he¡¯d bought while shopping with Tha to push through some of the springier, heartier stuff.

    After several hours of progress, they came to a fairly wide game trail, and Gef stopped them, studying the rock-strewn dirt path that ran perpendicr to their current course. ¡°Interesting,¡± the man said, rubbing a palm along his bald, blue scalp, brushing the sweat back so it didn¡¯t run into his eyes.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Teil asked.

    ¡°More tracks,¡± Gef said, then stood and gestured off to the right. ¡°Some Shadeni went this way, and, if I¡¯m not wrong, some forest trolls are shadowing them.¡±

    ¡°Shadeni?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Aye,¡± he said, leaning over and studying the tracks. ¡°One, two, three, four, five sets. Two fairly bright, two not so much, and one barely registering¡ªa child, I¡¯d guess.¡±

    ¡°I think I know who they are.¡± Victor knelt and touched the track, wishing he had the skill Gef and most of the Shadeni n used so freely. ¡°How many trolls? Are they dangerous?¡±

    ¡°I see at least three sets of troll tracks, though they move in each others¡¯ steps, making it harder to count. You¡¯ve never met a forest troll? Aye, they¡¯re dangerous,d.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got to help them, then.¡± Victor didn¡¯t wait for them to reply. He just turned to the right and, pulling Thistle, started down the game trail.

    ¡°Hold up, Victor!¡± Teil called. ¡°What about the bear?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll go for it after I¡¯ve made sure my friends aren¡¯t going to be troll dinner!¡±

    ¡°What if it kills more? There are Ghelli viges in this part of the deep!¡± Teil said, rushing to grab hold of his shoulder.

    ¡°Teil,¡± Victor whirled on her and continued, ¡°You don¡¯t get it¡ªthose people are like my family. I¡¯m not abandoning them. I promise we¡¯ll haul ass after that bear after we find them.¡±

    ¡°Teil, you go with him. I¡¯ll get eyes on the bear,¡± Gef said.

    ¡°Gef, it¡¯s mad and uncanny, and if it senses you, you¡¯re as good as dead. Stay with us,¡± Teil said, and Victor nodded.

    ¡°Yeah, man. Let¡¯s stick together. My friends can help track it after we find them.¡± Victor started walking again and said, ¡°Seriously, let¡¯s go!¡± He said thest like he meant it, his voice rumbling from deep in his gut, and Teil and Gef started after him. Victor nodded, pleased that they¡¯d listened, and picked up the pace, making it hard for Gef to get around him to keep tracking. The older man broke into a trot and glided past him, though, and Victor slowed so he could stay ahead, minding the tracks.

    After they¡¯d hiked that way, moving quickly down the game trail for nearly an hour, Victor felt an ufortable sensation in his gut, like someone had reached into his innards with an icy hand and given them a squeeze. ¡°Ungh . . .¡± he grunted, stumbling forward. ¡°What the shit?¡± Victor pressed a hand to his stomach, and slowly the wave of difort seemed to fade away until he felt almost normal.

    Victor turned an eye inward to his Core, trying to see if he could determine what had happened, and things looked normal to him. He shook his head and began to turn his attention back outward when a faint, blue shimmer around his twin suns of Energy caught his attention. He studied it carefully and slowly exhaled a troubled breath¡ªit looked like a shell or cage of tiny runes had surrounded his Core. ¡°The curse . . .¡± Victor called up his status sheet, looking at his Energy affinity section:

    Energy Affinity:

    2.6 (3.1), Rage 8.6 (9.1), Inspiration 6.9 (7.4)

    Energy:

    2841/2841 (3041)

    ¡°Shit!¡±

    ¡°What is it, Victor? Why curse yourself?¡± Teil asked, jogging lightly toe up beside him.

    ¡°I¡¯m bound by this quest to hunt that bear, and I¡¯m losing some Energy affinity by not focusing on it.¡±

    ¡°We should turn then. What good will you be to your friends if you¡¯ve lost your strength?¡±

    ¡°Look, I know you want to hunt that bear, and for a good reason. I do too! Let¡¯s just hurry, all right? If I start to get too weak, I¡¯ll turn and get back to the quest¡ªhopefully, that will alleviate some of this curse.¡± Victor gazed ahead for Gef and raised his voice, ¡°Gef, we need to move faster!¡± Gef turned back, looked at Teil and Victor, and then nodded. He picked up his pace, jogging ahead while he scanned the trail.

    Teil gave Victor a searching look, then shrugged and hefted her bow, slipping off the trail to shadow them from the foliage. Victor had no idea how she moved so easily through the ferns, berry bushes, and other shrubs. She did, though, and he had to wonder if she had some sort of travel skill that made it possible. He was still thinking about that when he almost crashed into Gef¡¯s back. The older hunter had stopped and held a fist up, indicating they should be quiet. Victor loomed over him, Lifedrinker held ready, waiting to hear what he had to say.

    Gef didn¡¯t speak but held a finger to his lips, pointing off the trail and to the right. Victor saw that Teil had also stopped, hugging the bole of a tree in the direction Gef was pointing. She pointed to her eyes, then off in the same direction, and Victor thought she either meant she saw something or she was going to go look.

    His second guess proved right as she slowly, silently, started to creep around the tree trunk, and, as she disappeared from sight, Gef squatted down, making himself small behind a bush. Victor followed his lead, carefully stepping on moist soil as he moved off the trail to put a wide, rough, white-barked tree trunk between him and whatever Teil had gone to investigate.

    A few momentster, Teil returned to the trail, creeping noiselessly through the shadowy undergrowth. When she was squatting on the trail between Victor and Gef, she spoke, though in such a soft voice that Victor wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d have been able to hear it if not for his improved body and attributes. ¡°Three trolls sharing a bloody feast not far from here.¡±

    Victor liked to think he¡¯d gained some control over his rage, that he¡¯d figured out how to keep himself cool and collected in high-stress situations. Still, when he heard that the trolls they were following, the trolls that had been following the people he cared about, were having a ¡°bloody feast,¡± his vision went red, and he turned, crashing through the undergrowth, shouldering saplings aside, and, without conscious thought, he cast Berserk.

    He smashed through thest stand of shrubs between him and the little clearing where the trolls were hunched over a carcass, oblivious to the shouts and queriesing from his twopanions. He¡¯d made plenty of noise in his passage, and the trolls weren¡¯t caught unaware, though he¡¯d moved so quickly, they didn¡¯t have much time to prepare. They stood from their shared meal, monstrous faces and fangs dripping their red delights, and lifted their wed hands, circling Victor as he burst into the open.

    Victor had one thing on his enraged mind¡ªpunish the creatures that had wronged him somehow. When his red-tinted vision met the trio, some part of his brain acknowledged their brutish, dangerous appearance. They each stood hunched with muscle and thick, knobby skin, but even with their stooped posture, they matched Victor¡¯s enormous berserking physique, towering between eight and ten feet tall. One had two straight, long horns, while the other two had a variety of curved, spiral horns around their shaggy crowns.

    Something in Victor rejoiced at seeing enemies that looked him in the eyes without fear, and he bellowed a roaring challenge, leaping forward and hacking Lifedrinker, one-handed, with the speed and fury of an avnche. The trolls were big, powerful, hearty creatures but weren¡¯t fast. Lifedrinker buried herself into the central troll¡¯s neck, carving deeply into its flesh and wedging into its spine, and Victor lifted his right foot and kicked out at the troll¡¯s gut, ripping Lifedrinker free with a shower of green-red blood.

    The troll fell back, smashing through some brush, and while it thrashed, trying to right itself, the other two took the chance to leap at Victor. One charged at him as though to grab him into a bear hug, its wide maw open to reveal rows of serrated teeth. The other tried to circle Victor, swinging its ws at his back. Victor ignored the circling, wing troll and met the charging one with a mighty grip, grabbing its rotting, uncured hide of a jerkin by the cor and then hacking Lifedrinker furiously into its side, over and over.

    Victor felt the third troll scraping against his back, its ws mostly sliding off his scaled armor and serving to do little other than annoy the titan rampaging through his mind. He redoubled his efforts to hack apart the troll he held gripped by the throat. The creature struggled, fighting, kicking, gnashing its teeth, but Lifedrinker was extracting a heavy toll, tearing through its thick hide and smashing its bones, and Victor drove it back. It stumbled over a fallen branch and fell to its back, and Victor followed, driving it down with his weight, putting a knee into its groin, and then furiously hacked Lifedrinker into its corbone, neck, face, and skull.

    As the troll finally stopped moving, and Lifedrinker surged with the Energy she¡¯d stolen from it, Victor felt a terrible, ripping pain on the back of his scalp, and, even enraged, he dimly connected the difort with the troll that had been wing at his back. He roared and surged up, aware of the heavy weight on his back and further angered by how it hampered his movement. He reached his free hand over his shoulder, caught hold of something, and yanked, dipping at the waist to dislodge the creature. He felt a painful scraping at the base of his skull, and then the troll flew over his shoulder to smash into the dirt.

    Victor roared and leaped upon his downed foe, madly hacking Lifedrinker into its neck, over and over again, until she¡¯d shredded through its meat and finally cut through its bones, hard as iron though they were. The creature was dead, and Victor heaved his breaths in and out, each exhtion apanied by a savage growl. As his rage began to dim, another icy contraction hit his Core, bringing him back to his senses faster than he otherwise might have. His mind raced with what he¡¯d done, everything a blur after Teil had announced what she¡¯d seen. He started to turn his gaze inward toward his Core but was distracted by a shout and the sounds of crashing undergrowth.

    ¡°Don¡¯t chase, Teil!¡± Gef called again, and Victor saw that Teil was standing at the other edge of the clearing, an arrow nocked and pulled back, ready to fire, staring after the crashing, swaying undergrowth¡ªthe third troll, the first one Victor had hit, must have fled.

    ¡°Victor,¡± Gef said. ¡°Are you all right? I¡¯ve never seen anyone go hand-to-hand with a troll like that, let alone three. Are you mad?¡±

    ¡°Sort of,¡± Victor replied, standing up and yanking Lifedrinker out of the dead monster. Momentster, he saw golden orbs of Energy begin to coalesce around the two downed trolls, and then they surged into him, refreshing his mind and body, but Victor still felt an ufortable pressure on his Core.

    ¡°You are mad!¡± Teil hissed,ing closer, her bow rxed, but the arrow still on the string. ¡°I was going to tell you that the trolls were eating another troll! Someone killed one of them, and those creatures aren¡¯t picky about meat. She pointed to the bloody mess where the three monsters had been hunched, and Victor saw the unmistakable carcass of a much-eaten fourth troll.

    ¡°Also,¡± Gef added, ¡°your friends¡¯ tracks continue down the game trail, no longer shadowed by the trolls.¡±

    ¡°Shit, guys, I¡¯m sorry. I . . .¡± Victor hunted for words, hunted for an excuse that made sense, and then he shrugged and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have many people in my life that care about me. Those tracks, those people¡ªthey¡¯re all I¡¯ve got. I lost it when I imagined some fucking trolls eating them. Let¡¯s . . . let¡¯s get back to hunting that bear.¡± As he spoke, Victor looked at his Energy stats to see how badly the curse was hitting him:

    Energy Affinity:

    1.6 (3.1), Rage 7.6 (9.1), Inspiration 5.9 (7.4)

    Energy:

    2141/2341 (3041)

    ¡°Yeah, I need to focus on this quest¡ªthe curse is getting worse. You¡¯re sure the trolls weren¡¯t following my friends anymore?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure. Unless some of them picked up their trail further on . . .¡±

    Victor thought about it for a moment, vaciting on what to do. Logically, he knew Tellen was an experienced hunter and that Tha was no pushover. He wasn¡¯t sure about Chandri¡¯s fighting skills, but the young woman was skilled at tracking and wilderness craft. Was he being stupid, worrying about them so much?

    He knew it would irritate Tha to know he was interrupting an important quest to babysit her. Thinking about it, Victor realized he¡¯d be irritated too. Why did he instantly assume they needed help. ¡°It¡¯s not so much that I don¡¯t think they can handle themselves,¡± he said, voicing his thoughts aloud. ¡°I just, well, I guess I¡¯m just worrying.¡± He¡¯d just finished speaking when another icy grip squeezed his Core, and he doubled over in pain.

    ¡°It¡¯s happening more quickly,¡± he heard Gef say to Teil. ¡°Whatever being he bargained with is not patient. Come, Victor, let¡¯s make haste back to the bear¡¯s trail.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor groaned and struggled to straighten. He felt like someone had knocked the wind out of him, but he pushed himself to begin moving back down the game trail, keeping pace with Gef and Teil. He gathered up Thistle¡¯s lead, and, wanting to keep Lifedrinker in both hands while he jogged, he tucked the length of leather into the back of his belt. After a time, he felt like the icy grip had subsided, and he pulled up his status screen again:

    Energy Affinity:

    .6 (3.1), Rage 6.6 (9.1), Inspiration 4.9 (7.4)

    Energy:

    1841/1841 (3041)

    ¡°Fuck! Shouldn¡¯t it be getting better now that I¡¯m back on the hunt for the bear?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Gef said. ¡°I¡¯ve never had such a quest. Perhaps your patron isn¡¯t pleased with your progress?¡±

    ¡°Maybe the bear wreaks more havoc, and you¡¯re being punished,¡± Teil suggested, giving Victor a rather judgemental stare.

    ¡°Well, I hope he fucking chills out because, at this rate, I¡¯m going to have a hard fucking time fighting that thing.¡± Victor glowered and picked up the pace, a distant rm bell ringing in the back of his mind¡ªthis quest might be the death of him. He knew his abilities were greatly diminished already. He saw Gef and Teil exchange a pointed look, and he grunted, still jogging, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m hurting, and yeah, this is going to be a hard fight, but I can still win. If you guys want to bail, though, that¡¯s fine.¡±

    He didn¡¯t fully acknowledge their responses because his ears buzzed with stress, anger, and self-judgment. Why had he been so quick to run after those tracks? Why had he leaped into battle with those trolls without listening or thinking? Was he really so hot-headed when his friends were at risk?

    Did he think of them as friends? Were they more like family to him? Was it his feelings for them that made him act that way, or did it have more to do with how they felt about him? He needed to know there were people in this world that cared about him. He needed to know he wasn¡¯t alone. The thought of losing all those people in one fell swoop had brought him much closer to the madness that lurked in his rage Core.

    ¡°Victor!¡± Gef shouted, grabbing his shoulder. Victor stumbled to stop, realizing he was running full out, and when he looked at Gef, saw his red face and heaving chest, he realized they¡¯d been maintaining that pace for a while. He looked around for Teil and finally caught sight of her, running up the trail, some hundred yards back. ¡°The bear¡¯s passage through the forest is that way!¡± Gef pointed into the trees to the southeast.

    ¡°Shit. Sorry, Gef.¡± He took a few steadying breaths, patting Thistle¡¯s shoulder and smoothing the rough, wiry hair on his shoulder. As Teil ran closer, he said, ¡°Sorry, Teil. I need to get my head out of my ass.¡±

    ¡°This way. Come,¡± Gef said, leading the way between two trees and back into the rough passage of the great bear. Teil sighed, adjusted the bow strapped to her back, wiped the sweat from her brow, and nodded.

    ¡°If we have to hurry, so you have a chance against the bear, then I¡¯m fine with hurrying,¡± she said, starting along the trail, and Victor nodded, hefting Lifedrinker and following after her.

    They made good progress in the bear''s wake, and Victor felt some stress start to melt from his shoulders and neck when no further icy bands formed around his Core¡ªhopefully, whatever force governed his quest and monitored his progress had decided to stop punishing him. He resolved to keep the pursuit of the bear foremost in his mind, though, and pushed thoughts of friends and family and how important they were to him out of his thoughts.

    They¡¯d lost a couple of hours tracking after the trolls, and the sun was high, past its zenith, when Gef stopped them at another trail, a much wider one, smooth and free of stones, and Victor knew it had been built by people, not animals. ¡°The bear turned to the east, following this path. I think we¡¯ve gained some ground on it!¡±

    ¡°Right, I¡¯ll take the lead. Just holler if the tracks leave the path,¡± Victor said, starting down the trail at a jog. He heard Gef and Teil running behind him and kept his pace light, not wanting to exhaust them. Thistle¡¯s lead was still tucked into his belt, and the animal easily loped along, making quite a racket on the hard-packed soil. After only a few minutes, Victor started to smell woodsmoke and imagined another vige.

    He imagined a ce where frail-looking Ghelli lived peaceful, simple lives. He imagined them working in gardens or singing songs around a central campfire. Then he imagined a great, mad-eyed bear bursting upon them, ughtering them,ying waste to their vige. ¡°All because I didn¡¯t hurry after him like I¡¯d promised,¡± Victor growled through clenched teeth, and he broke into a sprint, and only Thistle could keep pace¡ªhe left his twopanions in the dust as he charged toward the imagined scene of carnage.

 Chapter Victor of Tucson Book 1 - Available on Kindle Unlimited and Audible - January, 2023

    Chapter Victor of Tucson Book 1 - Avable on Kindle Unlimited and Audible - January, 2023

    Please See the note above - Victor of Tucson book 1 ising to KU and Audible in January of 2023. If you aren''t aware, removal from other sites is a requirement of Amazon, not a choice I would like to make. If I could keep it here for free, forever, I would - I think it drives more people to the books in the long run. Sadly, it sin''t my decision!

    Thank you so much for all of your support and for reading.

    -Plum

 Book 3: Chapter 17: Bitterpaw and Teil

    Book 3: Chapter 17: Bitterpaw and Teil

    Victor burst into a clearing with wide, open skies and dozens of wooden cabin-type structures, many with smoke billowing from chimneys. He heard shouting and roars and knew the bear had made an appearance, but he didn¡¯t see any carnage, didn¡¯t see any smashed doors or homes. The shouts seemed toe from the far side of the clearing, past the little cluster of buildings, and Victor turned, leaping onto Thistle¡¯s back. Thistle felt his urgency and immediately started sprinting up the dirt path that led through the center of the settlement.

    When he cleared thest pair of log homes, he saw an open meadow¡ªa ce where people had cleared the trees and nted rows of gardens¡ªand saw the bear he¡¯d been hunting for the first time. It was roaring and swiping, held at bay by a handful of nimble, spear-wielding people, while arger crowd stood at a distance, some of them shooting arrows at the great beast. Victor saw spells sh in the air, felt the signature pulse of Energy gathering and releasing, and knew that these people weren¡¯t rolling over; they were fighting to defend their ce in this world.

    Bitterpaw wasn¡¯t like any bear on Earth, but neither was he as huge or intimidating as the great spirit, Thunderbite. He was big, bigger than a grizzly¡ªmore the size of a hippo, probably a couple of thousand pounds. His fur was dark, matted, and patchy, and Victor could see the scars of a hundred wounds on his nks, back, and snout. The bear had the bony spines of his species, sticking up around his shoulders and down the center of his back, and as he roared and shed, Victor saw his massive canines and sword-like ws.

    Victor jumped off Thistle, hefted Lifedrinker, and charged down the slight incline through a garden with neat rows plowed into the soft, dark soil and cast Inspiring Presence. He felt his Energy respond, felt the spell take effect, but noticed, immediately, how it felt more sluggish than usual, how the result didn¡¯t seem as significant. He didn¡¯t care. Here was the monster he was meant to fight, and he couldn¡¯t stop to contemte orin that he wasn¡¯t at his strongest¡ªpeople needed his help!

    As he drew within a few dozen bounding strides, and he was sure the people around had begun to benefit from his Inspiring Presence, Victor cast Channel Spirit, flooding Lifedrinker with rage-attuned Energy. He cast Sovereign Will, making his muscles stretch, harden, and bunch with strength.

    Victor almost cast Manifest Spirit, summoning his coyotes, but he saw the vigers and how they harried the bear¡¯s nks, and he doubted his caninepanions would be much more effective. More than that, though, he was worried about his lower reserves of Energy and the considerable cost of the spell. He decided that his spirit totems would sit this one out.

    Still, Victor didn¡¯t n to hold any punches; as he charged closer, he cast Berserk, and, as his body erupted with power, Victor roared a challenge that echoed over the clearing, startling the people who hadn¡¯t noticed him yet. Bitterpaw responded, as he¡¯d hoped, turning to him and standing on his hind legs, returning the roar, jaws wide, foamy, blood-speckled saliva stringing out from his massive teeth.

    Victor¡¯s rage had taken him, had flooded his body with its red, hot Energy, and his Titanic Rage ability had done its job, engorging his muscles and pushing his body to surge toward the shape of one of his ancient ancestors. Still, it felt different than usual¡ªthe heat was less a furnace and more a fire, and his mind, while still seeking the furious release ofbat, was cooler, and he was more himself than a titan of destruction.

    Regardless, Victor roared again, and leaped at the bear, Lifedrinker in his right hand, held outstretched, but whistling through the air, as he swung her around in a devastating arc, aiming for the bear¡¯s exposed ribs. Bitterpaw brought his massive right w down in a swipe characteristic of his kind, smashing the heavy paw into Victor¡¯s armored forearm, and, for the first time that he could remember, his enraged form was overpowered.

    Victor felt something tear in his elbow, and then the enormous paw drove his arm down, and the huge ws raked across his armored chest, sliding along his scales but catching here and there and ripping them free. Simultaneously, Victor¡¯s chopnded, and Lifedrinker bit deep between two ribs. Victor roared in pain, surprise, and fury as the bear¡¯s swipe knocked him back, and he lost his grip on the axe.

    Victor flexed his arm, felt the pain and feebleness fade away as his rage slowly knit back whatever tissue had torn, and he circled the bear, watching as it roared and pawed at the axe haft jutting from its side. Even in his rage, Victor knew he couldn¡¯t grapple a beast sorge, and the Quinametzin in him roared and seethed at the feebleness of his body.

    With his vision red-tinted, Victor saw the corpse of an Ardeni man and saw the bronze-tipped spear by his side. He leaped toward it, snatched it up, and as the bear ripped Lifedrinker free, sending her sprawling into the dirt, he threw the spear like a bolt of lightning.

    Throwing a spear isn¡¯t something that one can do without finesse, without some modicum of skill, but when you have a properly weighted spear made for throwing and a target the size of a small vehicle, sess is possible. Victor was lucky that day, having picked up a decent weapon and having enough strength tounch it with the force of a ballista, sending it streaking through the air faster than the eye could follow. Bitterpaw had just dropped to all fours to charge Victor, and the spear took him in the shoulder, burying its shaft three solid feet into the massive creature¡¯s torso.

    The crowd of vigers hadn¡¯t stopped their attempts to wound the bear, and when the spear impaled the monster, they redoubled their efforts, piling arrows and spear stabs into its nks. The beast had stumbled at the impact of Victor¡¯s throw, sliding through the dark soil, digging a furrow in its passage, but it was far from dead. It roared and raged, staggering to stand on three legs, its wounded shoulder unable to hold any weight.

    Bitterpaw coughed a gout of blood, screamed in fury as more spears and arrows pierced his hide, and leaped toward Victor. Or, he would have if Victor had stood still. Victor had run for his dearpanion, though, picking Lifedrinker up from the soil. The bear, blind in its rage and pain, lumbered toward an unlucky viger who¡¯d been standing behind Victor¡¯s previous position. Victor charged forward, screaming his own fury as he hacked Lifedrinker into Bitterpaw¡¯s haunches.

    Lifedrinker didn¡¯t bite as deeply as a spear might have, but she was sharp and hungry, and she tore long deep wounds, carving through thick hide and biting into muscle and sinew. Bitterpaw felt those quick, hacking blows as the injuries piled up, and he turned, trying to roll and swipe his massive ws at the same time.

    Aware that a swipe wasing but seeing the bear''s soft belly exposed, Victor stood tall, bringing Lifedrinker down with a two-handed chop that buried her deep in the bear¡¯s underside. At the same time, saber-like ws raked his forehead, face, and chest, sending him sprawling in a shower of blood.

    Victor blinked away the blood that had sheeted into his eyes, its red tint adding to the already crimson haze of his rage, and he stood up. What was this beast that dared to challenge him? He felt the heat from his Core surge, felt the vestiges of his rage-attuned Energy pour like hot flood waters into his pathways, and Victor roared, leaping to his feet. He saw the bear, rolling and grunting, coughing gouts of blood, its rage-filled eyes growing dim, and he screamed, charging it like a bull with his tormentor in his sights.

    Victor smashed into Bitterpaw¡¯s side with a thunderous, wet crunch, and, as they rolled through the dark, rich soil, he managed to grab hold of the spear that protruded from the bear¡¯s shoulder and with a heroic effort and hisst vestiges of rage-stoked strength, he drove it deeper still, until the bear, realizing it was dead, finally heaved itsst breath and ceased its struggles.

    Sprawled atop his vanquished foe, Victor breathed deep, exhausted breaths, watching as thick rivulets of blood trickled off his brow to mingle with the bear¡¯s in the soil. As his rage continued to fade, he became aware of the terrible burning pains and aches in his body. His reduced Energy affinity had taken a toll, apparently reducing the regenerative effects of his rage. He groaned, stiffly lifting his head to try to take in the aftermath of his battle, his ears aware of people speaking, but his brain unable to filter the various voices in a way that made sense.

    Victor saw darkness begin to creep in around the edges of his vision and realized he was about to pass out. He shook his head, willing himself to hold on, and then a reprieve came in the form of a flood of Energy from the carcass of the great, dead bear. He didn¡¯t see it form, likely because he was still lying atop the dead beast, but he felt it hit him with a mighty surge, physically lifting him into the air. His wounds closed, his Core sucked up the Energy, and Victor took a deep breath, allowing his euphoria to show with a loud, barbaric shout of victory.

    His Quinametzin nature had faded with his rage, but still, Victor remembered the sound of his roars and challenges when he¡¯d been enraged, and he copied one of them. His lungs were smaller, and his voice less rough and loud, but it came naturally. As the System sent him a message while he stood atop his downed foe, he repeated the shout, roaring at the skies, and when his gaze fell, he saw the crowd looking at him with awe and wonder and not a little bit of fear, and he forced himself to calm down and smile.

    He nced at the System messages before swiping them away:

    ***Congrattions! You have achieved level 33 Spirit Carver, gained 10 will, 10 vitality, and have 8 attribute points to allocate.***

    ***Congrattions! You have learned the spell: Manifest Spirit - Improved.***

    ***Congrattions! You have learned the spell: Shape Spirit - Improved.***

    ***Congrattions! Your chosen ss and your mastery of your spirit have allowed you to gain a second totem. Only one totem may be active at a time.***

    ¡°Victor! Are you all right? Your face . . .¡± He recognized Teil¡¯s voice and turned to the woman, taking note of her broken bow and the dirt and blood streaking her face¡ªhe hadn¡¯t been the only one rolling around during that fight.

    ¡°I¡¯m good,¡± he said, reaching to feel his face. It was caked with blood, sure, but he also felt tender scars on his forehead, over the bridge of his nose, and along his cheek. ¡°Ugh,¡± he grunted. ¡°There go my good looks.¡± He jumped down from the bear, and when he saw the clusters of vigers tending to their fallen defenders, he stopped grinning, realizing that many people had suffered much worse than a few scars that day.

    Gef approached him and held out a hand. Victor took it, and the older man said, ¡°I doubted you. I thought we were likely on a quest that would end with our deaths, but I didn¡¯t care. Now that this beast is dead, I can at least face my ancestors with pride, having helped to avenge my kin. Thank you, Victor.¡± Some people nearby had crowded forward, and many were echoing Gef¡¯s thanks, including Teil, who wore a smile for the first time in Victor¡¯s experience.

    ¡°You were a giant,¡± she said. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you wrestled with this thing.¡± She gestured to the body, and Victor saw that many people had gathered around it, and he suddenly felt rmed.

    ¡°Stand back!¡± he yelled. He strode forward, and as the crowd backed away, he tried to push the bear onto its side, but it wouldn¡¯t budge. He cast Sovereign Will, boosting his strength, and tried again. This time it started to turn, and he grunted, ¡°Help me turn it!¡±

    Gef, Teil, and a dozen others grabbed the bear¡¯s fur or shoved against its side, and they managed to roll it over. There, protruding from the bear¡¯s gut, was Lifedrinker¡¯s haft¡ªshe was more than half buried in the monster¡¯s innards. ¡°There you are, beautiful.¡± Victor grabbed her haft, felt her vibrate at the touch, and yanked her free, pulling a loop of slick, gray intestine with her.

    Victor smiled savagely when he saw the new vein of bright Heart Silver snaking through Lifedrinker¡¯s dark axehead. ¡°She had a big long drink from that pendejo.¡±

    He walked around to the front of the corpse, and people scurried to get out of his way. He was coated in blood, and so was Lifedrinker, and his mad ramblings about his axe probably didn¡¯t help people feelfortable; they seemed eager to give him space. He examined the bear¡¯s ws, and there, buried in the thick, blood-matted fur of its right paw, Victor saw the talisman that Thunderbite had said he needed to destroy.

    The ne was difficult to cut free, and Victor had to put Lifedrinker into the loop on his belt so he could cut away the fur with a sharp knife. While he worked, he looked up at the vigers and said, ¡°I need a hot fire, something like a forge. We need to destroy this amulet¡ªit¡¯s what drove this bear insane.¡±

    ¡°We have a smithy,¡± one of the vigers said, a Shadeni woman with curly ck hair wearing leather armor and wielding a long spear.

    ¡°You were one of the heroes that held the bear at bay?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Aye, but I¡¯m no hero. I couldn¡¯t hurt the thing enough to get its attention,¡± she said.

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± an older woman eximed. ¡°Any who would face this beast down is a hero! Thank you, too, stranger!¡± she said, directing thest words to Victor.

    ¡°I¡¯m d I could help, and you¡¯re right: everyone who didn¡¯t run from this big bastard is a hero today. I¡¯m sorry for the losses you¡¯ve all suffered, but everyone here should be proud.¡± Victor grunted as he finally pulled the ne of teeth from the bear¡¯s fur, and then he stood up, holding it away from everyone, keeping it at arm''s length from himself, even. He doubted it would affect him with his high will and without him trying to bond with it, but still, he didn¡¯t like the looks of it.

    The teeth weren¡¯t fangs like you might collect from predators. They looked, to him, more like the teeth of people¡ªsmall, mostly t¡ªand he could feel the sickly, cloying aura bleeding off the ne. ¡°Show me to the forge, please. Get the fire hot!¡± He followed the woman with the spear, and most of the people in the field marched behind him, though a few, probably family members, hung back, collecting the corpses of the fallen.

    The woman led him to a nearby building, and he saw that there was, indeed, a workshop affixed to the side of it with an anvil, a quenching barrel, and a forge. It was a small affair, built from mud bricks, but it had actual bellows and a coal fire, and the woman used some sort of Energy ability to start the coals burning much more quickly than would have been possible otherwise. A man who introduced himself as the woman¡¯s husband pumped the bellows, and when the coals were a bright yellow-orange, and Victor could feel the heat from several feet away, he tossed the ne into them.

    The ne sat in the coals for a moment, seemingly unharmed, but then, with a sizzling pop and sh of smokey, gray Energy, it burst into mes. Victor felt an icy grip, one that he¡¯d grown ustomed to and nearly forgotten, release its hold on his Core, and he breathed a deep sigh as his Core expanded and started to pull at the ambient Energy, slowly replenishing itself.

    ***Congrattions! You havepleted a Quest: Hunt down the bear known as Bitterpaw, best him inbat, and destroy the toothed amulet that has corrupted his spirit. Seek out Thunderbite to im your reward.***

    ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± he said. ¡°The curse is dead, and this thing won¡¯t corrupt any more people or beasts.¡± Murmurs of approval and even a few ragged cheers rose up from the crowd of people that had gathered around the cksmithy.

    The woman who¡¯d shown Victor the forge and helped him stoke it turned to him and said, ¡°What¡¯s your name, hero? I¡¯ve heard yourpanions call you Victor. Is that right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Just call me Victor, not hero, all right? What¡¯s your name? What¡¯s the name of this ce?¡± he asked, turning to the crowd with hisst question.

    ¡°I¡¯m Genna, and this vige is Leaf Watch. Where do you hail from, Victor?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m from far away¡ªanother world. Recently, though, I¡¯ve been living with the Shadeni on the ins. Tellen¡¯s n. Do you know them?¡±

    ¡°Aye, and now we owe Tellen and his people a debt. If they¡¯ve opened their homes to you, then we can do no less. Consider yourself wee here anytime, Victor, and that goes for you as well, Teil and Gef.¡± Victor didn¡¯t know when Teil and Gef had introduced themselves to the woman, but he supposed he¡¯d been somewhat preupied.

    ¡°Thank you, Genna. I appreciate your hospitality, and I¡¯d stick around to help further, but I have friends I¡¯m worried about, and I want to head back.¡±

    ¡°I can imagine it would ease your worry to see your friends again,¡± Teil said, reaching up to take hold of Victor¡¯s shoulder, ¡°but you should rest a night here. You need to clean yourself, and it will be dark soon in any case. If your friends saw you looking like this, they¡¯d probably have a fright that would take years from their lives.¡±

    ¡°I have guest amodations,¡± an older man said. He was Ardeni, with white hair and bright yellow eyes, and he smiled genuinely, and Victor was impressed to see he held a spear streaked with blood. ¡°Room for two, at least.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving,¡± Gef said. ¡°I have kin in Twilight Home and am eager to be on my way. Thank you anyway, friends.¡±

    ¡°You sure, Gef?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Absolutely. Don¡¯t worry about me¡ªI¡¯m no stranger to sleeping in the woods. Thank you again, Victor. Teil, please look out for yourself, all right?¡±

    ¡°I will, Gef. Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Gef, can we offer you some supplies?¡± Genna asked as the crowd began to disperse, people going about cleaning the mess left by the battle with the bear, helping the families of the few hunters who¡¯d died as they tried to fend it off. While Gef spoke to Genna, Victor found himself being pulled aside by Teil and the older man.

    ¡°Would you two like to stay with me tonight? I¡¯ll give you plenty of peace, and my guest room has a tub. You could sure use it, warrior.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯d like that,¡± Teil said, and she nodded to Victor. He vacited for a moment, but then he nodded.

    ¡°All right. I could use a night to rest. I honestly haven¡¯t had a rxing sleep in weeks.¡± As he spoke, he saw Gef walking away toward the dirt road that had led them to the vige, and he called out, ¡°Gef! Take care, man. Thanks for your help!¡±

    ¡°Bye, Victor! Spend some time hunting!¡± He chuckled and turned, walking toward the forest¡¯s edge and the setting sun.

    ¡°He¡¯s a good man. He¡¯ll be all right,¡± Teil said.

    ¡°My name¡¯s Norl,¡± the older man said. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll show you to my ce.¡± He started walking toward the southern edge of the clearing, but Victor held up a hand.

    ¡°A minute, Norl. I need to find my mount.¡±

    ¡°Oh, the great horned beast? It wandered there, away from the battle. I saw it grazing by Shim¡¯s cabin.¡± Norl pointed off to the right, past the building where the forge sat, smoking. Victor nodded and jogged over there and saw a narrow grassy meadow between the cabins and the trees, and there was Thistle, his lead dangling, calmly munching on the grass.

    ¡°Hey, boy,¡± Victor said, walking toward him. The animal lifted his big ck nose and snuffled, looking for a treat, and Victor obliged, handing him a rather bitter-tasting apple that he¡¯d found growing on the edge of the forest when Gef first led him in. He¡¯d been surprised when Gef acknowledged the fruit was called an apple¡ªso far, every fruit Victor had eaten on Fanwath had a strange name, but he figured this fruit was simr enough to the ones on Earth that the System tranted the word for him.

    Leading Thistle, he walked back to Norl and Teil and followed the man toward his home. The older man spoke as they went, ¡°I built my home bigger than I needed because my sister was supposed toe live with me out here. Her husband had died, you see, but after I made the move and built my ce, I sent word for her toe, and she replied with some news: she¡¯d remarried. Now I¡¯m out here in the wilderness all by myself. Alone where family is concerned, I mean¡ªI¡¯ve plenty of friends here in the vige. It¡¯s a great ce to study nts and cultivate nature Energy, though, so I won¡¯tin.¡±

    ¡°Nature Energy?¡± Victor asked as they approached a good-sized cabin with a well-kept garden.

    ¡°Oh, yes. I¡¯m quite good with nts and animals. I tried to calm that bear, but, as you said, it was cursed¡ªall of my attempts seemed to enrage it further.¡± He stepped up to the door and pulled it open, motioning for Teil and Victor to precede him. ¡°Here we are! Tie your mount there on that garden post, and I¡¯ll see to him. I¡¯d love the chance to get to know him.¡±

    ¡°All right, if you¡¯re sure,¡± Victor said, unloading a barrel of water and a bag of feed for Thistle. Thinking twice, he took out his brush and took a minute to unbuckle Thistle¡¯s saddle, slipping it into his storage ring. He patted the big animal, scratching the fur on his long, muscr neck, and said, ¡°See you soon, buddy.¡±

    Victor stooped under the lintel, walking into a warm, neat space that reminded him of the typical fishing cabin you might see in a VR. An open kitchen with a wooden butcher-block ind took up the left half of the front room, while somefortable couches and chairs, some bookcases, and a small table filled the rest. A hallway led further into the dwelling, and Norl pointed that way.

    ¡°My extra room is the one on the left down there. It¡¯s plenty big, and, as I said, there¡¯s a tub within. Go make yourselvesfortable, and I¡¯ll get some dinner started!¡±

    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to do that, Norl,¡± Teil said, but Victor held up his hand.

    ¡°What kind of food are we talking about, Norl? I¡¯m hungry as a bear,¡± he chuckled, but when he saw their faces and remembered Teil¡¯s husband, Victor¡¯s heart nearly stopped, and he pped his palm to his forehead. ¡°Oh, bad choice of words! I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    ¡°Nothing to worry about, Victor,¡± the man said, wrinkling his bright yellow eyes in sympathy and stroking his thin, white beard. ¡°I¡¯ve a pultii, fresh from a hunt, and need to cook it. How¡¯s that sound? Should be enough bird for even a man your size!¡±

    ¡°Oh! I love pultii!¡± Teil said, ignoring Victor¡¯s bad humor. ¡°I haven¡¯t had one sincest fall . . .¡± she trailed off, and her face fell, and Victor imagined she was remembering a happier time.

    ¡°Great,¡± Victor said, clearing his throat. ¡°Let¡¯s go see our room, Teil. You can have the bath first.¡±

    ¡°No, Victor. You need it more,¡± she said, following him down the hallway.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m pretty ripe,¡± Victor said, lifting his scale-armored arm and adding, ¡°At least this armor is self-cleaning. I wasn¡¯t sure it would be because it has some sort of fort¡¯ enchantment. I wasn¡¯t sure that was anything more than resizing.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nice armor, true enough,¡± Teil said as he opened the doorway on the left side of the hall. ¡°I saw that bear hit you solidly a couple of times, not to mention the troll that tried to dig through your back.¡±

    Victor stepped into the room and saw it was good-sized, as promised, with a separate door that probably led to the bath. Two small beds were arranged on the far wall with a nightstand between them. A woven, round rug upied the center of the floor, and a dresser with a mirror sat against the wall opposite the bed. ¡°Not bad,¡± he said.

    ¡°I¡¯d hoped for a bigger bed,¡± Teil said, pushing under his arm to get into the room.

    ¡°Uh,¡± Victor said, not sure what she meant. ¡°I mean, at least we don¡¯t have to share.¡± He watched her as she walked toward the little beds, turning on the rug, and then she looked over her shoulder at him and smiled.

    ¡°Victor, my husband is dead, and I need to feel like I¡¯m not dead too. Three days ago, I tried to follow him into the spirit realm, and now I feel a weight has been removed from my soul. He¡¯s gone, probably starting his next life in a new world. Me? I want to live! I want to savor this life while I can! Can we just be together tonight and then go our separate ways?¡±

    Victor closed the door and stepped closer to her, looking at her differently than he¡¯d allowed himself to thus far. She was beautiful in her way. He liked how her eyes reflected the glowmp''s yellow light, catching it, deepening it, and turning it back to him like hot little embers. ¡°I . . .¡± he started. He wanted to protest that his heart was taken by someone else, but was it? He thought he should say he didn¡¯t know if it was wise for her to be with him so soon after her loss. He wanted to suggest that he was the wrong guy to be with at a time like this in her life. A million protests fought for space on his tongue, but what came out was, ¡°Yeah, Teil. That would be nice.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 18: The Root of Things

    Book 3: Chapter 18: The Root of Things

    Victor sat on the rough-spun rug in the middle of the room, looking at Teil¡¯s naked back as she breathed the steady, slow breaths of deep sleep. They¡¯d ended up throwing the nkets on the floor because the beds were too small for the two of them to share, especially considering Victor¡¯s size. She was beautiful, that was sure, and Victor had needed the affection, the closeness that she¡¯d provided, at least as much as she had.

    As he sat there, contemting her, Victor tried to feel any guilt and regret, and he kepting up empty. He cared a lot about Chandri, maybe even loved her in a way, but she¡¯d made it pretty damn clear that he was too much for her, that the idea of getting closer to him was something frightening. In a corner of his mind, he knew he was rationalizing; Chandri mighte around, they might get more intimate, and now he had this hanging over him.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re together right now,¡± he said softly to Lifedrinker, holding her cool, silver-streaked metal to his forehead. The axe hummed slightly, vibrating the bones in his skull, and he liked how it felt, smiling as he slowly touched his mrs together and pulled them apart, allowing the vibration to rattle through them. ¡°Getting ready to talk again soon, aren¡¯t you?¡± he whispered.

    The room was quiet, but the night sounds of the forest were loud¡ªcrickets chirped, frogs chirruped, and night birds sang their trilling, haunting melodies. He loved it. He loved the sounds that came alive in the darkness of Fanwath, where the power of untamed nature still had that depthless, almost scary, overwhelming presence wherever people hadn¡¯t fully mastered it. He¡¯d noticed it everywhere, from the mountains to the ins to the forest. Hell, he¡¯d even noticed it in the mines. Nature was powerful here, and he could see why a guy like Norl would choose to study and try to master it.

    Their door was secure, and though the window was open for a night breeze, and the woods outside were dark, gloomy, and full of noises, Victor¡¯s gut told him nothing dangerous was lurking there that night. He felt safe enough and wanted to make a quick Spirit Walk; he wanted to speak to Thunderbite. He thought about it for a few moments, deliberating on whether the risk was worth it, and then he had an idea. He reached into himself, touched his inspiration-attuned Energy, and he cast Manifest Spirit.

    Around the room, pearlescent, white, misty forms began to coalesce, and with them, the characteristic yipping chatter of his coyote totems. Victor shushed them, and though she stirred and murmured softly in her sleep, Teil didn¡¯t wake.

    Hispanions paced back and forth, silently padding on the hardwood floor and rug, and Victor stared at them, one by one, until they met his eyes, and he made clear his desires, thinking clearly about how they were to guard him and Teil and wake him if trouble came.

    Amazingly, the coyotes seemed to understand his thoughts, taking up positions around the central rug where Victor sat and Teil slept and sitting on their haunches, patient and watchful as gargoyles. Victor nodded, softly said, ¡°Thank you,¡± and then he cast Spirit Walk. The cabin faded away, but the trees drew closer, and Victor saw no more of the night sky than he had under Norl¡¯s roof. As he stood up, though, he was pleased to see misty echoes of his coyotes, their five forms still sitting in a loose circle around him.

    ¡°Spirits, eh? I guess I can see you whether I manifest you in this realm or not.¡± The misty forms didn¡¯t respond, and they were vague enough that Victor couldn¡¯t really look them in the eyes, so he just hoped they¡¯d keep watching his physical body for him.

    He turned around in a slow circle, awed by the endless depth of the forest in the Spirit ne. The trees were solid-looking, but they had an ethereal quality that gave them a sort of shimmer, and he could see how the moon and starlight seemed to filter down through the canopy, even though Victor couldn¡¯t see the sky.

    He wasn¡¯t sure where to find Thunderbite, but the bear had said he¡¯d have no trouble reaching him if he finished his quest, so Victor just fixed the bear solidly in his mind and started walking. He passed between great boles and smaller saplings, but his going was easy, and he noted theck of underbrush. Was it really not there? He looked further away, between more massive trunks, and there seemed to be a lot of shadowy, glimmering undergrowth. Perhaps it simply gave way before his spirit.

    asionally, Victor saw other spirits flitting away between trunks or even up into the high mist-veiled branches. Were they people? Animals? He didn¡¯t know, and it didn¡¯t seem to matter¡ªthey were intent on avoiding him.

    After a time, he came to a clearing, and at its center was a hollow that sloped down away from the forest floor. Victor walked toward the hollow, trudging down the shallow grade, stepping around boulders wreathed in mist. As the sides of the hollow stretched up over his head, he came to a wide, sunken area before a deep, ck pit of a cave.

    He could feel Thunderbite within, and Victor felt very reluctant to step into the bear¡¯s home uninvited, so he called out, ¡°Thunderbite! It¡¯s Victor! I finished your quest.¡± No response came from the dark depths, and he cleared his throat to call out again, but a deep rumble issued forth.

    ¡°No more yelling, warrior. Ie.¡± Ponderous steps echoed up out of the darkness, apanied by the scrape of ws on stone. After a dozen steps or so, two bright, yellownterns appeared in the gloom, and then they blinked, and a gray-furred muzzle and brow appeared around them.

    After another step, the massive bone-spur mane of the elder spinebear came into view, and the monstrous animal padded the rest of the way out of the cave, looming over Victor like a mastiff standing over a toddler. ¡°You¡¯ve done well, Victor,¡± the bear rumbled, and Victor stood a little taller for the praise.

    ¡°Thank you, I . . .¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve done well, but it could have gone better. The spirits of the forest tested you, didn¡¯t they? Set a distraction in your path to see if you¡¯d stray from your task. You did well enough, but their test revealed much about you.¡± The huge bear sat back on his haunches, then ponderouslyid down in front of Victor, resting his enormous head on his paws, still able to look Victor in the eyes.

    ¡°Test? The spirits were messing with me?¡± Victor could feel the spirit bear¡¯s breath, strange as that was in this realm, wafting over him with each pump of his bellows-like lungs.

    ¡°You want me to unravel a mystery of your spirit, do you not? I saw enough to help you with that. I can point you to another affinity, though you might rather I didn¡¯t.¡± The bear spoke slowly, and Victor felt his heart race with excitement, then felt a cold knife of worry press into his heart at the final words.

    ¡°Why would I rather you didn¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not an easy affinity, warrior. It will weigh on you as much or more than your rage does. It¡¯s not a breath of effortless air like your inspiration affinity. You¡¯ll have to fight this affinity; you¡¯ll have to face it down and make it your own. Your cultivation will be fraught, and you¡¯ll curse me a hundred times before you feel you¡¯ve gained something worthwhile from it. I can offer you a different prize if that¡¯s more to your liking.¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t speak right away; instead, he thought about Thunderbite¡¯s words. He thought about how the bear had said he¡¯d been tested. He ran it over in his mind¡ªan affinity that would weigh on him like his rage did. ¡°What sort of other prize?¡±

    ¡°So that is your choice?¡±

    ¡°No! Can¡¯t I know more before I choose?¡±

    ¡°Something to help you fight or something to make you stronger. I¡¯d have to think on it a moment,¡± the bear rumbled, finishing his statement with a yawn. Victor felt like he was in a trap, that if he chose a new reward, he¡¯d be disappointed. Was the bear testing him again? Did it matter? Victor wasn¡¯t the type to back down from a challenge, despite his nerves, so he straightened his back, rested one hand on top of Lifedrinker¡¯s head, and nodded.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I want my original prize, despite your warnings.¡±

    ¡°As I knew you would,¡± Thunderbite said, blinking his huge,ntern-like eyes.

    ¡°You knew?¡±

    ¡°Yes, even in your ignorance, you follow this affinity like a hound on a chain. You fight against it, snapping andshing out wherever you can, but it¡¯s there, leading you along. It¡¯s good that you¡¯re going to have your eyes opened to it because you should learn to take control of the chain and be the one leading the way.¡±

    ¡°Well? What¡¯s the affinity?¡±

    ¡°Be patient. I¡¯ll need to guide you to this slowly, else your spirit will rebel, and you might lose this opportunity. Sit.¡± Thunderbite blew a tremendous snort of air out of his nose, sting the twigs and loose grass away from the ground in front of him, and Victorplied, sitting down at the bear¡¯s paws, marveling at the size of his ws, each easily the length of Victor¡¯s forearms.

    ¡°Shall I manipte your Core, or would you like to try? I can guide you.¡± Thunderbite¡¯s lips hardly moved while he spoke, but they did quiver up and down, and Victor, close as he was, noticed the enormous, yellow teeth in the elder¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to try,¡± Victor replied.

    ¡°Good. Turn your mind inward, look at your Core, but first, ce one of your paws upon my long forew. I¡¯ll go with you and gaze upon your Energy as well.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor said, reaching out and resting his palm along the hard, ck w. It felt like touching a live wire at first, the surging Energy within so potent that Victor feared for the safety of his flesh. It faded, though, and soon it was like holding a buzzing, bucking, morphing thing¡ªsomething so full of potential that it was hard to wrap his mind around its actual shape.

    ¡°Yes, I see it,¡± Thunderbite rumbled, but this time his voice came from within Victor¡¯s skull, and he realized the bear had somehow merged his consciousness with his own. ¡°Quite a job you¡¯ve done, warrior. Your two affinities rage and pulse like twin suns¡ªa strong configuration. We¡¯ll build upon this.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Victor said, turning his own gaze inward, trying to ignore the nuclear reactor he¡¯d rested his hand upon.

    ¡°You should take some potential from each of your other affinities to craft your third. Gather yourself a strand from each, pull them apart and into an empty area nearby, and start to ball them together. Wrap them tightly, Victor!¡±

    ¡°Like this?¡± Victor asked, tugging a thread of Energy from his rage-attuned orb and another from his inspiration-attuned orb. He pulled the two threads out and began to weave them together, much as he did when he tried to create some courage-attuned Energy.

    ¡°Close, but stop that weave. We won¡¯t make courage today, warrior. Simply ball the Energies together, and press with your will. Crush them tight!¡± The bear¡¯s voice was louder than ever, echoing in Victor¡¯s skull, and he winced, trying toply.

    He folded the Energies together, pressing, squeezing, driving them into a ball with all the terrible pressure he could muster with his prodigious will. ¡°Good, see how they grow muddy? See the corruption in their attunements? You¡¯ve broken the affinities¡ªcrushing them together without any sort of weave.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s good?¡± Victor asked through clenched teeth.

    ¡°Yes!¡± the bear roared. ¡°Keep pressing. Drive them together. Pull more!¡±

    Victorplied, pulling Energy from both of his attunements, smashing them together into a ball until it was neither the white-gold of inspiration nor the throbbing crimson of rage. The third orb of Energy at his Core grew, and with each herculean, crushing press of Victor¡¯s will, it grew denser and darker, a swirling, gray ball of Energy, not pure, but not attuned¡ªsomething in between.

    ¡°Stop!¡± the bear roared. And Victor felt his grasp on the threads of attuned Energy slip away¡ªthe bear had pulled them loose. ¡°You¡¯ve taken a third of your Energy from your Core. You won¡¯t want more than that in your new affinity.¡±

    ¡°How do I tell what the affinity is? This new orb feels . . . it feels wrong or something, like I can¡¯t use it. I can¡¯t even pull any Energy out of it.¡±

    ¡°Patience, warrior. Did you not say you wanted to learn?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sorry,¡± Victor said, forcing himself to take a deep breath while he studied his Core. His red and white-gold orbs still pulsed brightly, smaller than before, but not terribly. The third orb, the one he¡¯d built, sat offset between the others, forming a sort of triangle if you drew imaginary lines between them all. It hung there, smokey and gray, and he realized it was sort of like a nk te. It wasn¡¯t pure Energy that could be used to craft spells; no, it was spirit Energy, part of Victor and waiting for an imprint¡ªan attunement.

    ¡°Now, warrior, I¡¯m going to guide you to your affinity. You must grasp it when you see it. Grab the emotions and feelings like you do when you cultivate your other attunements. Do you understand me?¡±

    ¡°I think so.¡±

    ¡°Good. Let us examine you, warrior. When you were hunting the bear, my diseased kin, but you left his trail to hunt after your loved ones, why was that?¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t let them get killed by trolls!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I care about them!¡±

    ¡°You do; that is right and good. Why do you care about them so? What do they make you feel?¡±

    ¡°Friendship?¡± Victor knew that answer wasn¡¯t right, or at least notplete. He tried again, ¡°Companionship. They make me feel like I belong somewhere. Like I have a home.¡±

    ¡°Now we grow closer to the point. Victor, why did you chase after your friends?¡±

    ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to be alone.¡± Victor knew he was right before he spoke. He¡¯d drawn the conclusion before the bear asked the question.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to be alone, or you fear being alone?¡± Thunderbite pressed.

    ¡°I fear it.¡± Victor shuddered at the unraveling of his motivations. He hadn¡¯t chased after his friends for love or out of bravery¡ªhe¡¯d done it out of fear. The idea that he could be alone in this world without anyone to care about him or return to was terrifying. He already felt like he¡¯d lost his entire family and all of his friends on Earth¡ªif he lost Tha, Deyni, Chandri, Tellen, and even Ch all in one fell swoop? He¡¯d be gutted. Would he even be able to go on?

    ¡°Good, Victor. Grab that feeling. Tell me something more, Victor. When you mated with that she-bear, that woman that helped you y my kin, how did you feel after?¡±

    ¡°Uh, good?¡± He knew that wasn¡¯t what the bear was getting at. ¡°I felt good, but I felt worried. I feared how it might affect my rtionship with Chandri. Shit, I even worried about how Tha would react if she found out.¡± Was he really that fearful?

    ¡°Victor, are you a coward?¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°No, indeed. Warrior that you are, how many battles have you fought?¡± Thunderbite¡¯s voice rumbled, but it was low and gentle, coaxing him to see something.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. A lot. Many. I don¡¯t think I could count them all.¡±

    ¡°You speak truly. Have you ever fled?¡±

    ¡°Well, I ran from a horde of giant rats but ended up fighting them all. I don¡¯t think so?¡±

    ¡°Did you want to fight all those times, Victor?¡±

    ¡°No! Fuck no! I was forced to fight many times. Shit, man, I can¡¯t think of a time when I went looking for a fight for the fun of it. Even when I fought for sport, you know, not to the death, but in wrestling, I was nervous, stressed, and only really happy after the match was over. I only did it because I was good at it, and the coach and my friends would lose their shit if I quit.¡± Victor hadn¡¯t ever told anyone that. Was the bear performing some sort of magic on him to make him honest?

    ¡°I ask again, Victor¡ªare you a coward?¡±

    ¡°No! Goddamn it!¡± Victor felt some heat enter his words, and he saw his red orb of rage-attuned Energy start to bleed off into his pathways.

    ¡°Victor, you speak the truth. I would say you are a courageous man. You are brave. Can a bear, or a person, have courage if he has no fear?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You constantly battle with your fear. You fear being alone. You fear your friends being harmed. You fear the consequences of fighting, not fighting, killing, or not killing. But, warrior, you never fear for your person, your physical life. You face your fear over and over again, and that makes you brave. Still, you¡¯re much closer to your fear than your bravery. Do you feel it? Look into your mind, at your memories, and find your fear¡ªit¡¯s your strongest affinity.¡±

    Victor reeled at the bear¡¯s words. Was he really full of fear? Was he ruled by fear? He couldn¡¯t lie about his motivation for rushing after his friends¡¯ tracks in the forest¡ªhe feared being alone, but wasn¡¯t that normal?

    He looked back at his life before Fanwath, at his strained rtionship with his family. He¡¯d lost his connection to his mother¡¯s family after her death. His cousins on his father¡¯s side were distant. Yeah, it hurt, and he hated it, and things had been scary as hell when his abuelo died. Who would really care about him when his abu followed him? She was the only person in the world¡ªin any world¡ªleft alive that loved him unconditionally. That shit was scary.

    Why did he hate fighting if he was so good at it? He wasn¡¯t afraid of getting hurt, that was sure. Had the bear hit the nail on the head when it talked about consequences? He hated the pressure of people, including himself, expecting him to win. That feeling before the match or fight that he had to perform, that people were watching and counting on him. He feared failure. Did it really rule him so? Had he failed to finish Rellia out of fear? When he¡¯d imagined Yre and his rage had faded, and he¡¯d let Rellia live, was he doing what he thought was right, or was he being a chicken?

    ¡°I¡¯m not a fucking chickenshit!¡± he growled. The bear didn¡¯t respond, and he kept thinking. Yes, he often acted based on a deep-rooted fear, a dread of what could be. He didn¡¯t let those feelings force him into acting like a coward, though. He lived with them, and he overcame them. ¡°Sure, I have fear. It¡¯s a big part of me and why I do things, but I don¡¯t let it win. I don¡¯t let it freeze me up, and I never act like a coward.¡±

    ¡°Agreed, but when the fear does ovee you, you must acknowledge it. Face it, gather it, use it. When you fled the path of Bitterpaw to chase after your friends, you didn¡¯t act out of courage. Come, face it. Gather it. Use it!¡±

    Victor forced his mind back and remembered how he¡¯d felt when he¡¯d imagined a gang of trolls ambushing the people he cared about. He forced himself to relive how he¡¯d felt when Teil had said the trolls were having a feast. He¡¯d panicked. He¡¯d charged into a battle with no thought because of the hopeless well of despair that yawned at the core of his being when he¡¯d imagined life with no one that knew or cared about him.

    Victor gasped as he felt that despair, that terrible fear, and grabbed ahold of the feeling. He choked out a sob and yanked it close, and then, acting on instinct, he drove that feeling into the ball of shifting gray Energy at his Core.

    He felt a cold, dark hungere to life in the center of his being, and he watched as the gray orb bloomed with a terrible new life¡ªdark and angry, swirling with hunger, it took on a purple-ck aspect, pulsing in counterpoint to the furious crimson and bright white-gold of his other affinities.

    Victor looked at his status to see what he¡¯d done:

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Inspiration 7.4

    Energy:

    3041/3041

    ¡°You¡¯ve done it, warrior. I hope this new affinity will not bring you more pain than you bargained for. At the very least, you¡¯ve learned much about yourself on this journey.¡±

    ¡°What? That I¡¯m a coward? Filled with fear?¡± Victor couldn¡¯t believe his affinity for fear was higher than rage. He closed his spirit body''s eyes and shook his head. This couldn¡¯t be real¡ªhe¡¯de looking for a new boost, a way to better himself, and all he¡¯d done was expose that he¡¯d been acting out of fear for most of his life.

    ¡°Come, we just spoke of this. You¡¯re smarter than that, Victor. A bear with no fear cannot be brave, simply bold. To show bravery, you must ovee fear, and you do so all the time.¡±

    ¡°But it''s . . . it''s so high! I¡¯m closer to fear than rage? It doesn¡¯t even make sense! Why did I find my rage affinity first?¡±

    ¡°Your rage is a response to your fear, Victor. It¡¯s how you fight through it. That doesn¡¯t mean it''s not there, underlying your actions, your motivations, your feelings, and your words. Now you know it, warrior¡ªturn it to your advantage. Face your fears when theye bubbling up; show your enemies what you deal with all the time. Make them cower!¡± The great bear snuffed and lifted his head, looking into the distance. ¡°Go now. Our bargain is done. I wish you luck, Victor Sandoval.¡±

    ¡°You know me so well?¡±

    ¡°I do,¡± The bear said, twitching his paw and extricating his long, powerful w from Victor¡¯s hand. ¡°I do,¡± he said more softly, huffing a warm breath at Victor. ¡°Know that if all else is gone, if all else gets broken into dust, you¡¯ve made a friend here, a friend who admires your bravery.¡±

    The bear lifted one paw and, quicker than Victor thought possible, tapped it against his chest. The twilit Spirit ne faded away, and Victor found himself sitting in Norl¡¯s guest room, Teil still sleeping peacefully in a nest of nkets and his coyotes looking at him with expectant eyes.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± he whispered, dismissing his spirit totems, and they faded away, dispersing into a pale mist that wafted into nothing.

    Victor sighed heavily andy back, stretching his back and legs out so the blood could flow into his cramped muscles. He must have been on his Spirit Walk for a few hours at least, judging by how he felt.

    He held a hand up in front of his eyes and flexed his long, thick fingers into a fist, releasing it again as he thought about what he¡¯d done. In a way, he wished he¡¯d taken the bear¡¯s offer and epted another reward¡ªhe could have been happy with rage and inspiration. He could have lived his life with those two affinities, but now he had this dark ball of fear at his Core.

    ¡°God,¡± he whispered, ¡°if I thought cultivating rage sucked, wait ¡®til I start analyzing how I was fucking scared all the time.¡± Hey there for a long time, thinking about things and wondering if he should be upset or happy, annoyed that he couldn''t really decide. Was it true? Had he been scared all of his life? He supposed there had to be some truth in it, especially as he looked at his Core and saw the glowering ball of purple-ck Energy¡ªthere was no doubt his affinity with it was strong.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean I have to let it rule me. Now I know about it, I can use it. I can face my fears and not let them control me.¡± Victor startled himself when he realized he was holding Lifedrinker against his chest and directing his whispers to her. Holding her, he realized that when she¡¯d given herself to him and shared everything she had to save him, he¡¯d been afraid.

    Victor had been afraid that she was doing something he didn¡¯t deserve, that she was making a sacrifice that he¡¯d squander. He¡¯d worried that her faith in him was misced and that he¡¯d fail to restore her. He really did seem to have fear at the root of many of his thoughts and actions.

    Victor focused on those memories, on how he¡¯d felt, and he found the seeds of his despair and grabbed them, pulling them out of the memories, and, just as he had with his rage, he made a construct of fear that he could study, focus on, and use to cultivate his new affinity.

    ¡°Take that shit, pendejo!¡± he hissed through the difort of the memory. ¡°Already facing this bullshit down.¡± Pride blossomed in his chest, and he knew, then and there, that he¡¯d made the right decision¡ªif he hadn¡¯t learned this about himself, it still would have been there. At least now he could improve himself and use it.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Teil¡¯s voice was sleepy, and Victor realized what a sight he must be, lying on his back, wearing just his pants, with his axe on his chest, talking to himself.

    ¡°Eh, just cultivating.¡±

    ¡°Put that axe down ande closer; it¡¯s cold out there,¡± she said, lifting her nket as an invitation. Victor thought about it, about his gut reaction to do what she asked, to put off facing his reality for a while, and then he sat up and pulled his shirt out of his storage ring.

    ¡°Actually, Teil, I¡¯m gonna get an early start. I miss my friends, and I want to spend some time with them before I take off for what will probably be a long time. You okay?¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm. I¡¯m okay, Victor,¡± she said, opening her eyes and pulling her nket back tight under her chin. She smiled, though it didn¡¯t seem to be reflected in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sad, and I¡¯ll need a lot of time to get over things, but you helped. You helped me a lot, Victor. Thank you.¡±

    ¡°I hope . . . I hope things are better for you, Teil. Take care, all right?¡±

    ¡°You too, hero. You too.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 19: Corruption

    Book 3: Chapter 19: Corruption

    Victor tried to saddle Thistle without bothering anyone, but Norl came out of his front door, sipping a steaming mug, and said, ¡°Leaving before dawn, hmm? The beds that bad?¡±

    ¡°No, your ce is great, Norl. I¡¯m just eager to be on my way back to Tellen¡¯s camp. I¡¯m worried about my friends, and I miss them.¡± Victor grunted as he cinched the buckles tight on his saddle.

    ¡°Understandable, young man. What about your friend? She staying a while?¡± Norl nced toward his home as though he could see Teil sleeping in the guest room through the walls.

    ¡°Yeah, she was soundly sleeping, but she knows I¡¯m leaving, don¡¯t worry.¡± Victor buckled the bridle around Thistle¡¯s ears and down under his neck. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m not dipping out on her if you¡¯re worried about that.¡±

    ¡°No, no. I was wondering, though¡ªshe lost her loved ones? Her vige was destroyed? Do you think she¡¯d want to stay with us for a while?¡± He took another sip from his mug and sighed loudly in pleasure, smacking his lips after he swallowed.

    ¡°Maybe. It won¡¯t offend her if you ask; I¡¯m sure of that.¡± Victor stepped into his stirrup, hoisting himself onto Thistle¡¯s back. ¡°Well, that¡¯s it for me, Norl. I¡¯m off. Thanks for everything, and I¡¯m sorry if I woke you.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t. I don¡¯t sleep much these days. Victor, by the way, you¡¯ll find a path on the north edge of the vige that leads directly to the ins.¡± Norl gestured toward Victor¡¯s left with this mug. ¡°Wasn¡¯t sure you knew that.¡±

    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t! Thank you, Norl; I was going to backtrack the way I came.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, warrior. Thank you. That bear woulda done us just as it had yourdy friend¡¯s vige. We owe you a debt; you¡¯re wee in my home anytime.¡±

    Victor looked into the older man¡¯s eyes and gave him a nod, then he clicked his tongue and started Thistle moving through the vige. When he got to the path and saw that it was wide and clear of obstructions, he pushed the vidanii into a cantor and made quick progress through the woods toward the ins. He had a lot to think about and allowed his mind to wander while Thistle did most of the work.

    He thought about his time on the Spirit ne with Thunderbite and everything he¡¯d learned about himself. He was feeling a lot better about his new affinity now that he¡¯d already managed to build a fear construct and do some cultivating. He reasoned that if he¡¯d improved himself by dealing with the memories that caused him to feel anger, he¡¯d only continue to do so by facing his fears.

    It was unpleasant and difficult stuff for Victor to admit to being scared, to look at a time in his life when he¡¯d describe his feelings by saying, ¡°I was pissed off,¡± only to really analyze it and say, ¡°Ished out because I was afraid of someone leaving me again.¡±

    Several times while riding between the tall, beautifully colorful trees, he turned his vision inward and looked at his Core, admiring the three orbs of attuned Energy and how they bnced each other in appearance. He felt the dark, shadowy purple orb of his fear affinity was a good counterpoint to his inspiration Energy while his rage smoldered, ready to add raw power to either one. ¡°I wonder if I can find a weave to mix that fear with my rage.¡± He figured he¡¯d ask Gorz and Oyna for ideas when he got back.

    Victor looked up as the sky began to grow light and admired the height of the trees. True, he¡¯d hardly seen any sort of forest, living in southern Arizona, but he felt these trees were truly immense. They soared many times higher than telephone poles, some of their trunks wider than his tio¡¯s pickup truck.

    ¡°Heck, that one¡¯s bigger than my abu¡¯s house!¡± He said to Thistle, patting the vidanii¡¯s rough, red shoulder. The tree was a good fifty yards from the trail, but its enormous ck-barked trunk was easy to see with the wide clearing around it. Victor figured its canopy made it hard for smaller trees to grow very close to it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s check it out,¡± he said to Thistle and steered him off the trail toward the clearing and the forest giant. Thistle¡¯s steps were loud and the only noise in the area, the birds and animals either holding still or having fled. His big hooves pressed into the mulch of fallen leaves, and when he stepped into the clearing around the tree, Thistle balked. Even when he¡¯d been hunting the ¡°demon¡± that terrorized Tellen¡¯s hunting party, Thistle hadn¡¯t acted spooked¡ªthis was new. ¡°You all right, boy?¡±

    The vidanii snorted, steam pluming from his nose, and stamped a front foot, but he wouldn¡¯t move closer to the tree. ¡°All right,¡± Victor said, sliding out of the saddle. He stood next to Thistle, one hand on his neck, the other on Lifedrinker¡¯s head, and studied the great tree.

    It was almost like looking at a tall building, standing this close. Victor couldn¡¯t see around the trunk to either side, so vast it was. The bark was gnarled and dark, all cks and grays, and the first branches didn¡¯t start for nearly a hundred feet. Looking up at those branches, though, Victor marveled at the amount of wood suspended in the air over his head¡ªhundreds, no, thousands, or tens of thousands of tree-sized boughs hung from the great trunk, their long, silver-blue needles blocking out the sky.

    ¡°Wait here,¡± he said to Thistle, and still resting a hand on Lifedrinker, he approached the colossal trunk. He wasn¡¯t sure why he wanted to, but Victor¡¯s palm almost itched with the desire to rest it on that rough bark. He didn¡¯t have any sense in his gut about why Thistle was spooked¡ªhe felt like he¡¯d know it if he had some fear tickling the back of his neck. There was nothing, though; all Victor felt was curiosity and a desire to feel the enormous life of that tree beneath his hand.

    As he drew near, within a few feet, Victor began to experience the tree¡¯s aura¡ªthick, vibrant, a life so strong it could snuff out lesser nts before they took their first sips of the rich air or soil. He outstretched his arm and, slowly, like a man reaching out to pet a crocodile, ced his palm against the dark, mossy bark.

    Victor¡¯s vision went dim, and then his mind was filled with a series of vivid images. He saw a sapling growing out of rich, dark soil, its trunk was supple and silvery, and it grew toward a bright, blue sky. He saw it grow over a hundred, then a thousand years, everrger, stretching above the nearby forest canopy until it stood like a skyscraper among smaller buildings. All the while, its trunk shone silver-white, and its silver-tipped, blue needles hung like a massive, beautiful umbre over the expansive clearing.

    People, Ghelli with their shimmering dragonfly wings, and their cousins, the Naghelli, visited the tree, day and night, performing their strange rituals. Then something happened, the sky shifted, the stars moved, and the forest was pulled away from its world and smashed into a new one¡ªthe System hade and merged thes. The tree continued to thrive, but then something came, something it wasn¡¯t familiar with, a dark, slithering presence that presented itself in supplication, touching the great tree¡¯s bark.

    Rather than pay its respects and leave, though, this new creature began to worm its way into the tree, pressing into a hairline crack, widening it, and slowly corrupting the tree¡¯s flesh as it sank into its heart. The silvery bark began to crack and harden, turning gray and ck.

    The Ghelli and Naghelli stopped their visits, and the nts and smaller trees began to shrink away from their great cousin, avoiding the soil tainted by its roots. As a final image, Victor saw himself approaching, reaching out to touch the tree. Then his vision returned to normal, and he saw a System message:

    ***The Silverbark Monarch has offered you a Quest: Descend to the great tree''s roots and cut out the corruption that has gued it for nearly two centuries. Reward: A rare natural treasure. ept? Yes/No.***

    Victor paused to consider things, reigning in his impulse to touch the ¡°yes¡± response. ¡°Why do I want to say yes,¡± he asked the forest, looking over his shoulder at Thistle, still lingering at the edge of the clearing. ¡°Because I¡¯m an adventurer?¡± Victor studied his motivations, making sure he wasn¡¯t acting out of some kind of hidden fear, like he was trying to prove something to some bogie man that lived in his memories, but he didn¡¯t think that was the case.

    The truth was, while he used to dread fighting, even harbor fears about it and the expectations people had for him, he¡¯d been forced to fight so much that he was starting to enjoy it, especially when no one was watching, no friends were on the line¡ªit was just Victor and the tree, and it felt right.

    ¡°A rare natural treasure, huh?¡± He supposed he didn¡¯t mind getting magical rewards, either. He epted the quest and stepped back as the rough bark near him loudly cracked as it split, opening a jagged hole in the enormous trunk. Victor lifted Lifedrinker from his belt and peered into the new-formed hollow in the tree to see a narrow tunnel leading down, through loose soil and dark wood into the depths beneath the tree. Victor cast Globe of Inspiration and, in its white-gold glow, he stepped into the opening.

    The tunnel the tree had made was narrow, and Victor had to stoop to keep from banging his head on the low ceiling, but as he descended, it began to grow wider, and the walls were made up more and more of hard, dark soil. Victor began to notice that he was constantly curving to the right, and he realized he was descending into the ground beneath the tree in a spiral. Thick roots, some the size of his arms, some so wide he could take two steps to walk over them, crossed the tunnel, always near the floor or the ceiling, leaving room for him to pass through.

    It smelled of damp, rich earth, and Victor didn¡¯t feel any hint of the ¡°corruption¡± he was supposed to find. He felt his nerves begin to settle as he grew used to the gently sloping tunnel, lit with his bright, powerful light. That changed when he came upon the first skeleton¡ªragged, rotten clothing clung to the white, brittle bones and its bony fingers still held a rusted axe.

    Victor knelt to examine the body, concluding that the person had died a long time ago. He saw that it had bones resembling a human with many sharp teeth. ¡°Probably an Ardeni or Shadeni. So, I¡¯m not the first one you¡¯ve offered this quest to, hmm?¡± he asked a nearby root.

    Victor cast Sovereign Will, enhancing his agility, and then he cast Inspiring Presence. If he was seeing dead questors, then danger was probably near, and he wanted to be ready. He wanted to conserve his rage, so he channeled some fear-attuned Energy into Lifedrinker, wondering if the smoky, ck-purple Energy that infused her would be as effective as his other affinities.

    Finally, before he stepped further into the tunnel, Victor cast Manifest Spirit, summoning his coyotes with rage Energy. His red, angrypanions sprang forth, growling and yipping, and Victor sent them forward, pacing in front of him, sniffing and scanning the shadows for trouble.

    The tunnel was brightly lit with his orb, his glowing hounds, and his inspiring presence, and Victor held Lifedrinker ready, scanning left to right, waiting for his coyotes to alert him to anything. They did so several times as they passed by more bones, more dead adventurers, and then the air shifted, and Victor smelled the corruption for the first time. It reminded him of battle, of spilled guts and hot, coppery blood. It reminded him of rotting things and shit, and he felt his rage start to slip out of his Core into his pathways.

    ¡°Not yet,¡± he hissed and, for the first time, realized that it had happened because he was scared. ¡°Goddammit, I don¡¯t need to self-analyze right now!¡± He pushed his rage back into his Core and lifted Lifedrinker, dark and steaming with purple fumes. ¡°Ready to share my fear with something, chica?¡± Then his coyotes erupted in howls and yelps, snapping barks and growls, and Victor charged forward, his bright orb following close behind.

    He burst into a great, open space, a deep, oblong cavern bordered by enormous roots and hard-packed soil. His coyotes surrounded a dark shape that clung to a massive knot of roots near the chamber''s center. It hissed and coiled, writhing around the roots like a multi-headed serpent made of shadow and rot. Long, looping tendrils shot forth, swiping at hispanions, and they danced back, yipping and snapping.

    Victor couldn¡¯t get a good idea of what exactly he was looking at, so wrapped in shadows was it. He pushed his orb of inspiration-attuned Energy in front of himself, sending it streaking toward the dark corruption, and as it drew near, it shrank down from a ball of bright light to a glimmering mote, then to nothing, snuffed out by the shadows. Victor felt irrationally angry at the destruction of his orb, and he immediately cast Dauntless Radiance, centering the stationary spell near the cavern¡¯s ceiling where the thick knot of roots emerged.

    A brilliant crack of red-gold light erupted at the top of the cavern and shone down upon the writhing mass of shadowy tendrils, and, like mist before the morning sun, they evaporated. Victor recoiled at what was left in their wake¡ªpale, twisting tubes of flesh, balled up at their center around the huge roots, pulsing as they drank from the tree. They fanned out from their central knot into dozens of long, wriggling, worm-like tendrils with sucking, sphincter-like mouths ringed with rows of triangr, hooked teeth.

    Theyshed out at Victor¡¯s coyotes, keeping them at bay, and as he watched, one of them made contact. It hooked its sucker mouth onto the coyote¡¯s haunch, lifting it from the ground, and thrashing it back and forth as it sucked the red Energy out of it. A heartbeatter, the yelping coyote dispersed in a cloud of red mist. Seeing hispanion destroyed like that ignited something in Victor, and heunched forward, eyes tracking the many writhing tubes, calcting a truly inspired swing of Lifedrinker as he leaped into the fray.

    Five or six of the enormous worms squirmed toward him as he approached, and Victor grinned, dodging among their uncoordinated attacks, and cleaving not one but three in half with a whistling, snapping cut. Thick gouts of green and yellow fluid sprayed from the cut tentacle things, sluicing over the cavern floor and onto Victor, and it sizzled where it hit his armor.

    Suddenly a thought pierced his mind; words formed in his perception without the need for sound, and he knew the tree was speaking to him, ¡°Do not sever the roots!¡± Though he didn¡¯t hear the words, they reverberated in his consciousness, and he understood that he needed to avoid cutting through or drenching that massive central root with acid.

    Close as he now was, Victor could see that the things really were worms, and they might act together, but they weren¡¯t part of the same organism. Inspiration struck him, and, dodging their swinging, wriggling advances, he put Lifedrinker away in her loop and cast Berserk. His vision went red, but he kept, firmly in his mind, the need to rip and smash those worms, and he waded into them, his enormous hands seizing them near the root and yanking them, one by one, out of tree¡¯s flesh.

    Victor roared and screamed as the worms sank their teeth into his hands and legs, even his neck. Some of them bit into him with both of their tooth-ringed ends, pulling at his blood and Energy. The vast majority fruitlessly bit into his armor, hanging from it while he went around the massive taproot, pulling the worms free, flinging many of them with tremendous force against the hard-packed wall of the cavern. Soon, a pile of dazed, partially smashed worms throbbed and wriggled there, the least harmed ones inching over the ground, back toward Victor.

    He roared again; this time, his coyotes caught Victor¡¯s meaning, wrangling the loose worms, dragging them back toward the pile, and delivering bites that bled away the worms¡¯ vitality in the process. In his rage, enhanced by the horrible itching and sucking bites, Victor began to lose sight of what he was doing. He stumbled away from the roots and the remaining worms and began to roar, breathing heavily and choking on the gouts of blood and spittle in his throat.

    Why was he so tired? What was this horrible itch? He began to yank the worms out of himself, and as he saw them, his rage was stoked to new heights¡ªhe veritably steamed with it. Victor lifted his arms up and out, looked at the cavern ceiling, and screamed with such horrible ferocity that it would have deafened a bystander. He arched his back, and with all his being, he screamed again and flooded his pathways with thest of his rage. The worms clinging to his flesh burst apart, shredded by the violence of his fury.

    Bereft of rage but cleared of the parasites, Victor looked around the cavern, gasping with effort. The ground near him was drenched with green and yellow ichor, littered with the shredded flesh of the worms. His coyotes were corralling a pile of worms near one of the cavern walls, biting and tearing at them as they tried to separate from the ball.

    The plucky canines seemed only mildly bothered by the acidic ichor released with each of their bites, and Victor felt they could contain that squirming mass near the wall. Finally, at the center of the cavern, a dozen or so fat, long worms still clung to the enormous taproot of the tree.

    Victor pulled Lifedrinker off his belt again and strode toward the root. As he got near, he cast Project Spirit, and a wave of ck and purple Energy surged out of him, drenching the worms in fear made manifest.

    In the past, when he¡¯d cast Project Spirit and directed sickly, twisted inspiration at his foes, he¡¯d struck doubt into their hearts. This was something far more visceral¡ªVictor knew at a fundamental level that he¡¯d just inundated those worms with terror incarnate, and some primal instinct in their parasitic brains caused them to panic.

    Every single long, thick tube of toothy flesh released the enormous root and began to p spastically along the cavern floor away from Victor. Heughed and charged after them, cleaving them into chunks of ruined, acidic flesh with Lifedrinker. She arced through the air and flesh alike, not slowing as she sheared through them. The acidic blood seemed to bother her not at all, and Victor saw her silvery veins pulse and throb with the Energy she pulled away from each severed worm. ¡°Fuck yes! Run, fuckers!¡± Victorughed, hacking them to bits as they retreated.

    When thest of the fleeing worms was shredded, Victor turned back to the pile his Coyotes had been working on and saw that he was down to just two beleagueredpanions. Most of the worms were dead, shredded and torn, but a few still struggled to work their way back to the root, and Victor charged forward, helping his coyotes to finish them off. When thest oney twitching at his feet, Victor stood and, lungs heaving for breath, howled his victory,ughing as his two coyotes joined in.

    The air was foul, and his eyes stung from the vapors of the acid in the soil, so Victor started walking back toward the tunnel that led away from the cavern. That¡¯s when he saw the thousands of golden motes of Energy beginning to form along the cavern floor, and he braced himself for the impact.

    A few heartbeatster, Victor saw the motes stream together and then surge toward him, and he was transfixed by the effect. His aches and itchy scabs faded away, and his Core instantly recharged. Victor howled again, and his twopanions, stubbornly clinging to this ne of existence, joined in again, their high, yelping voices mingling with his deeper, madder sound.

    ***Congrattions! You havepleted a Quest: Descend to the great tree''s roots and cut out the corruption that has gued it for nearly two centuries. Approach the Silverbark Monarch¡¯s taproot to im your reward.***

    As Victor swiped away the message, he noticed that the air was already more clear¡ªhe didn¡¯t smell the corruption so heavily anymore, and his eyes weren¡¯t burning. Looking around, he saw hundreds of tiny roots probing out of the hard-packed soil, wrapping around the bits of torn worm flesh and dragging it under.

    He turned to the massive knot of roots at the cavern''s center, pleased to see it wasn¡¯t as dark as before. The ragged holes where the worms had been burrowing were already healed over, and the flesh of the root was lighter; Victor thought he saw a shimmer of golden Energy pulse through it, but it might have been a trick of the light¡ªhis Dauntless Radiance still shone down upon the center of the cavern. Walking toward it, Victor saw the ground shift, and then a distinctly blue root wriggled out of the soil and coiled upon itself to form a kind of basin.

    Again, a soundless voice filled his mind, this time not shouting, but clear, almost soothing, ¡°The sap of my heart, hero. For you or yourpanion¡ªonly one may drink.¡± As he watched, the coiled, blue root bowl filled with a shimmering, silvery liquid. Even from a few feet away, Victor could feel the Energy within that sap, and his body yearned for it like a man seeing pizza after a ten-day fast.

    ¡°Me or mypanion?¡± At first, Victor thought the tree had meant his coyotes, but as he looked around, he realized they were gone. Then it clicked¡ªit meant Lifedrinker. ¡°Oh, of course. You¡¯re definitely up, chica. Don¡¯t even doubt it,¡± he said, lifting the axe free of his belt. He knelt over the coiled root and very gently dipped her de into the sap. She throbbed and vibrated in his hand, and then he saw the thick fluid slowly start to drain, and he knew she was drinking it.

    Lifedrinker had already regained two of her long, silvery veins, but now they thickened, grew branches, and spread out through the dark metal. Victor felt his cheeks start to ache and realized he was smiling broadly, his eyes filling with tears as he watched Lifedrinker not only restored but pushed further. Her axehead pulsed with silvery light, and when it faded, he saw the sap was gone, but she was radiant, her Heart Silver edge and veins glowing from within, only slowly fading back to their usual luster.

    Victor stood and hefted Lifedrinker, and she felt different, somehow. When he moved her, it almost felt like she was moving with him, like the difference between lifting an unconscious person and helping someone to stand. ¡°Are you there, beautiful?¡± he asked, wondering if he should touch his head to her metal again.

    He felt the axe vibrate so rapidly in his hand that it was practically humming. He lifted her, looking into the bright silvery veins, and then he heard her voice, undeniably feminine, rich, like crystal, chiming over cid waters, ¡°I¡¯m here, Victor.¡± With those simple words, a flood of emotion surged into him through Lifedrinker¡¯s living handle¡ªlove, pride, satisfaction. She¡¯d known she could count on him to restore her, and she was exceedingly proud of him and herself for being right.

    ¡°That¡¯s it. That¡¯s it,¡± he said, lifting her to rest on his shoulder. Victor, still beaming ear to ear, turned and began his journey out of the tree, wondering at his luck. Had he stumbled upon something rare and impossibly fortuitous, or was this world just filled with opportunity, ripe for the taking for an enterprising adventurer?

 Book 3: Chapter 20: A Dangerous Affinity

    Book 3: Chapter 20: A Dangerous Affinity

    When Victor rode into the Shadeni winter camp, he was greeted by the watching hunters, and before he could get Thistle brushed down and fed, Tha, Deyni, and Chandri found him, smothering him with hugs and questions. ¡°What happened to your face?¡± Tha asked, touching the long, still-pink scars from the bear¡¯s ws.

    ¡°I . . .¡± he began, but then Chandri interrupted.

    ¡°Lifedrinker looks different!¡± She said, reaching out to touch the silver-streaked axehead.

    ¡°Victor, can you teach me to ride Starlight now that you¡¯re back?¡± Deyni asked at the same time, reaching to grab hold of his hand, wrapping her little fist around two of his fingers.

    ¡°I . . .¡± he began again, but then Tellen rounded the corner of the lodge near which Victor¡¯s wagon was staked.

    ¡°Victor, wee back! Ahh! A new battle scar, I see!¡± He strode forward to p Victor on the shoulder, and Victor could only look at the little crowd andugh.

    ¡°It¡¯s great to be back and see your faces! I missed you guys!¡± Heughed again, pulling Tha, Chandri, and even little Deyni into a hug, squishing them together against his chest. ¡°Yeah,¡± he said over the tops of their heads to Tellen, ¡°the bear got me pretty good.¡±

    ¡°Oof,¡± Tha said, trying to push him away, ¡°I can¡¯t breathe!¡±

    ¡°Yes, you can, mommy,¡± Deyniughed, squeezing Victor around one leg.

    ¡°All right, all right,¡± Victor said, letting go of them all, though he really had savored their closeness. ¡°Let me finish with Thistle, then I¡¯ll meet you guys in the longhouse. I¡¯ll tell you everything!¡±

    They agreed and started back around the side of the longhouse, but Chandri lingered behind. ¡°The scars don¡¯t look bad¡ªI¡¯m sure some hunters would love to copy them if they could get away with it! You really fought a mad spinebear? Oyna told us that much . . .¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor said, still brushing Thistle. ¡°I did, and I wasn¡¯t really smart about it. Luck was on my side, though, and I learned a lot about myself in the process. Well, the old bear spirit helped me with that part.¡±

    ¡°Old bear spirit?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re really going to make me tell this story twice?¡± Victorughed, leading Thistle further out, near Starlight, so he could graze some of thete fall grass. It wasn¡¯t as blue-green as it had been when Victor first came to the ins, but it wasn¡¯t dried and yellow, just shorter and paler. Tellen had told him that the ins grass never really went dormant unless it had a thick nket of snow on top.

    ¡°Well, I feel like I won¡¯t be heard among all the others shouting questions at you.¡± She followed him out onto the grass, lingering close.

    ¡°How about you? I heard you all went on a hunt. Did Deyni get anything?¡±

    ¡°She learned to track! We brought home a dozen feyris.¡±

    ¡°Damn! So fast?¡± Victor almost automatically reached down to take her hand as they walked back toward the longhouse, and that¡¯s when he felt the first nagging bite of guilt in the pit of his stomach. He paused and took a deep breath, thinking about his words, and then said, ¡°Hey, Chandri, we haven¡¯t spoken about this, really, in a while, but we¡¯re good, right?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re good?¡±

    ¡°I mean, what we have. We¡¯re, well, happy? I mean, yeah, we¡¯re into each other, but we both know nothing much is going to happen right now. Maybe someday, though, right?¡±

    ¡°Well . . .¡± her face had grown severe, and Victor could see he¡¯d caught her off guard.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to be so blunt, but I¡¯m a guy who needs some rity, okay?¡±

    ¡°Well, I never put it in so many words, but I guess you¡¯re right. Is that fine with you? Are you mad?¡±

    ¡°No! Shit, no, Chandri. How could I be mad? Everyone knows I¡¯m leaving, so why would you want me to, you know,¡± he gestured around the camp to the various longhouses in view, ¡°scare off all thepetition? I mean, if I was with you officially, you¡¯d never have another guye near you!¡± Heughed at her outraged face. ¡°I¡¯m teasing, I¡¯m teasing!¡± He keptughing as she chased him to the longhouse.

    Victor knew, in his heart, that he¡¯d taken a chicken-shit way out of dealing with his feelings for Chandri. He¡¯d gotten her to confirm that they weren¡¯t anything yet, that they might be someday, and then he¡¯d turned it into a joke. Still, she was happy andughing, and what else really mattered?

    That night, they sat in the main hall of the longhouse, and Victor told his tale to more than two dozen of the n members, including Oyna, who came up to join them by the fire. The storytelling had be a kind of celebratory feast. The hunters cracked open several casks of cheb-cheb and passed around tters of smoked meats and roasted root vegetables zed with tallow and heavily seasoned.

    Victor had never really considered himself an outgoing person, but he found himself enjoying all the attention and told the tale with little embellishment¡ªnone was really needed. He described his fasting, the spirit realm, the great bear, and his quest. Then he told the tale of how he rode out on Thistle, searching for the bear, found the ruined vige, met Teil and Gef, and encountered the strange tracks of his friends being chased by trolls.

    ¡°But we never went into the forest!¡± Deyni interrupted.

    ¡°I know, munchkin,¡± Victor said. ¡°The spirits were testing me!¡± Then he went on to exin his encounter with the trolls and how the curse started to affect him. Oyna watched him the whole while he spoke, never interrupting, not even to erupt into one of her trademark cackles. When Victor finished describing how he¡¯d killed the bear and destroyed the ne of teeth, Oyna still didn¡¯tment, and her silence was beginning to unnerve him.

    Victor paused to sit back down and take a bite of meat, chasing it with a long pull of liquor, and Oyna finally cleared her throat. Everyone paused their side conversations andughter to look her way, and she said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to tell us about your reward, warrior?¡±

    ¡°Well, I suppose,¡± Victor said, though his stomach had knotted up at the mention. ¡°I mean, I had to do another spirit walk, and the bear, well, he helped me to improve my Core, finding another affinity. I can tell you moreter, Oyna. I think it¡¯s boring stuff to most everyone else.¡±

    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t!¡± Chandri said, and ten people echoed her sentiment.

    ¡°What affinities do you have, Victor?¡± One of Tellen¡¯s hunters asked, demonstrating that his Core and abilities weren¡¯t asmon knowledge as it often felt to Victor. Oyna, for the first time, cackled, and Victor could see she¡¯d been wanting to ambush him with this.

    ¡°All right,¡± he said, straightening his back and taking a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, my first instinct is to avoid talking about this, to y things off like nothing much happened, but that¡¯s one of the things I¡¯m learning about myself¡ªI often react out of fear. I think I . . .¡±

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t, Victor!¡± Tha interjected. ¡°You¡¯re the bravest man I know!¡±

    ¡°True!¡± Tellen said, and Chandri banged her mug on the table in agreement. All of Tellen¡¯s hunting band were present, and they, too, took up their mugs in objection, crashing them against the long table.

    ¡°Wait, wait!¡± Victor said, holding up his hands. ¡°Let me exin!¡± He paused, waiting for people to be quiet, and then he looked into Oyna¡¯s shrewd eyes and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t say I wasn¡¯t brave, but it¡¯s true¡ªthe bear helped me see it¡ªI do often act out of fear. Listen!¡± Again he had to wait, and then he picked one of the older women who often gave Victor baked goods to sample and asked, ¡°Letha, can I ask you a question?¡±

    ¡°Aye, warrior, go ahead!¡± She spoke forcefully, though she slurred her words, and Victor knew she was a bit drunk.

    ¡°If there are two hunters, and one is terribly afraid of wolves, while the other isn¡¯t, but they both go out, track down and kill a wolf, which one was braver?¡±

    ¡°Why . . .¡± she paused to think, and several people started to mutter their own answers, but she cleared her throat and said, ¡°The one who was afraid!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t she wise, everyone?¡± Victor asked,ughing. ¡°Well, that¡¯s what the bear helped me to see; I wasn¡¯t as wise as Letha, so I thought when he said I had a lot of fear, he was calling me a coward. He helped me to see that when I ovee my fears, I¡¯m brave. Anyway, to shorten the story, he helped me to find my third affinity. Fear.¡±

    The table erupted in chatter, people arguing about what bravery was, others eximing about what Victor said, wondering what it meant to have a fear affinity, and others still sat quietly, contemting their own thoughts or Victor¡¯s words. Chandri was one of those, and though her eyes were fixed on Victor¡¯s, she didn¡¯t seem to notice when he smiled at her. The conversations continued, and Victor realized he was done with the storytelling part of the night, and he leaned forward on the table, resting on an elbow, and began to eat in earnest.

    ¡°Deyni,¡± Tha said from beside him, ¡°it¡¯s time you went to bed. Say goodnight to Victor.¡±

    ¡°Wait, mommy! Victor, what about Lifedrinker? You didn¡¯t tell us that part of the story!¡±

    ¡°Oh? You want to hear about a giant tree and the evil creature sucking its life away, corrupting its roots?¡± Victor asked, leaning past Tha to lock eyes with the little girl.

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Well, then you better go to bed because that¡¯s a story for tomorrow. How about a ride on Starlight, too?¡±

    ¡°Promise?¡± Deyni asked, looking at her mom, ¡°Promise you¡¯ll save the story? Don¡¯t tell anyone else first, Victor!¡±

    Victor mimed locking his lips shut, then he held out his arms, and the little girl rushed forward to hug him. ¡°See you in the morning, runt.¡± Tha gave his neck a gentle squeeze then she led Deyni down toward their sleeping quarters.

    ¡°You¡¯re good with the girl, warrior,¡± Oyna said from across the table.

    ¡°He is, isn¡¯t he?¡± Chandri asked, apparently having recovered from whatever deep thought she¡¯d been struck with.

    ¡°It¡¯s easy to speak to the young when your heart is young, girl. Victor is young in his soul, and a good soul it is. I¡¯m d you weren¡¯t ruined by your new affinity, warrior. There are many horror stories about spirit casters with fear affinities.¡± Oyna favored him with a genuine smile, and he nodded.

    ¡°Yeah, I can see how it could go in a very different direction.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Chandri asked, looking from Victor to Oyna.

    ¡°I mean, being afraid but not conquering that fear can make a person really shitty. If you had that affinity and a shitty persona? You could do a lot of damage.¡±

    ¡°So eloquent, warrior¡ªalways speaking of scat like it had a million uses. Girl, Victor is saying that someone ruled by fear but able to share it, someone willing to do so could destroy amunity. It¡¯s happened many times in the past to ns, towns, and even cities, sometimes before anyone realized what the cause was.¡±

    Chandri nodded and reached across the table to take Victor¡¯s hand. ¡°Good thing you aren¡¯t ruled by it, then.¡±

    Victor looked at Chandri, at her open face and the pride in her eyes, and he felt hot shame in his chest. He looked down and cleared his throat. ¡°You¡¯re embarrassing me with all that,¡± he said, ying it off with augh. Chandriughed along, but Oyna tsked with her tongue and stood up.

    ¡°Off to bed for me. Victor, you should walk the perimeter. Take Chandri with you. I¡¯ll see you in the morning, and we¡¯ll review what you¡¯ve learned.¡± Victor stood and nodded to the old woman, understanding all too well what she wanted him to do. He knew he had to, also, and that was what really chafed¡ªwhy did it matter? What Chandri didn¡¯t know wouldn¡¯t hurt her, right? He shook his head as the answer came to him¡ªit wouldn¡¯t hurt her, but it would hurt him. He needed to face his fears, even one as annoying as this one.

    Chandri nodded and stood, though her face betrayed some hesitation, some doubt. She nodded quickly and reached out for Victor¡¯s hand. ¡°Come, I doubt anything will be stirring out on the ins, but it¡¯s good to have a look around.¡± Victor epted her outstretched hand, and they walked out of the longhouse in the cold night air, woodsmoke heavy in the air from all the longhouses.

    It was quiet out, and Victor could hear the rdii shuffling together in the low shelter the n had built for them. It was attached to their nighttime pen and only a hundred yards or so from Tellen¡¯s longhouse. Chandri gestured in that direction and said, ¡°Let¡¯s start with a look at the rdii.¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t say anything but walked with her, still holding her warm, small fingers in his. He struggled with what to say, how to broach the subject of his guilt. His instinct was to rip the bandaid off and face his fear head-on, but he recognized that he wasn¡¯t dealing with a monster here, he was dealing with Chandri, and anything he said would have some repercussions with regard to his rtionship with her. More than that, he worried that he¡¯d hurt her. Was it worth hurting her to make himself stronger? To face down a fear?

    ¡°Hey, I should tell you . . .¡±

    ¡°Wait, Victor. I need to say something before I lose the courage,¡± Chandri said, squeezing his fingers, still walking, still not looking into his face.

    ¡°All right . . .¡± he started, but again, she interrupted.

    ¡°You see, when you were talking in there, when you spoke about how you had to face your fears to be brave, I started to feel guilty. I know you, Victor. I know you fear hurting the people you care about. You care about me, right? And here I am, holding your hand, acting like I want something from you, but knowing in my heart that I¡¯ll never go anywhere with you. I can¡¯t, Victor.¡± She paused when Victor started to object and reached up to gently ce her fingers over his mouth, ¡°No, shush, I have a lot to say, okay?¡±

    As Victor nodded, she continued, stopping to look up at him, ¡°You¡¯re destined for great, big things, Victor, and I¡¯m not the kind of person that seeks that out. I love my n. I love the hunt. I loathe the idea of cities and crowds, but more than that, Victor, I¡¯m not cut out for facing down spinebears or going to wars! I have a pearl ss Core and can barely manage to imbue a fire arrow before I struggle forck of Energy.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize that . . .¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s agree to love each other, as much as we can, the way we are, but never to hold each other back. I want a family and a husband that will hunt with me. You have a lot of living to do and great adventures to seek out, and I don¡¯t want you to feel like you owe me anything. Can you agree to that? I hope I haven¡¯t hurt you, Victor.¡±

    Victor was bbergasted. He¡¯d been about to confess an indiscretion he¡¯d built up in his mind, and here was the object of his guilt telling him that she wanted to just let things cool off. He felt so lucky and relieved, but his guilt was still chewing at him. It was like he couldn¡¯t let himself off the hook so easily, but as he opened his mouth to push forward with his confession, he saw the kindness, the sweet concern in Chandri¡¯s eyes, and he knew it wasn¡¯t worth mentioning. Why should he hurt her to assuage his guilt? The braver thing was to swallow it and let her have this clean, happy break.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re not hurting me, Chandri. How could I be mad to have someone love me and care enough to want what¡¯s best for me? Of course, I want you to be happy too, so don¡¯t even think about it. I mean, life is long in this world, and who knows what might happen in fifty or a hundred years, right? I¡¯m d to have you in my life as things are, though.¡±

    Chandri grabbed him around the waist and pulled him into a hug, and Victorughed, relieved to have things settled. He kissed the top of her head and gently rubbed her back while she squeezed him. ¡°You¡¯re a good man, Victor. Don¡¯t let your doubts or fears ever tell you otherwise.¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re pretty damn good, yourself, Chandri.¡± After they¡¯d hugged for a while, Victor and Chandri walked the camp¡¯s perimeter, checking in with the hunters on watch, making sure all the rdii were sheltered, and even spending a few minutes with Thistle and Starlight. The two vidanii enjoyed the cold weather more than the rdii and didn¡¯t seem at all bothered to be out in the wind, eating grass by moonlight. Victor knew they¡¯d sleep sometime around midnight if left to their own devices, having witnessed their behavior many times over the past months.

    When they returned to the longhouse, it was much quieter, and nearly everyone had turned in for the night. Chandri hugged Victor again, heading off to Tellen¡¯s quarters, and he snuck into Oyna¡¯s section to throw a bedroll down between her room and Tha¡¯s. Victor knew they¡¯d wake him up early, as he was effectively sleeping in their living space, but he didn¡¯t mind; he only needed a few hours of sleep each night and wanted to spend time with Oyna as early as he could¡ªhe figured she¡¯d have a lot to say about his new affinity and how he¡¯d dealt with Chandri.

    He slept well that night, happy to be among friends and in afortable ce. His belly was full, and his conscience felt clean. Though he reyed his conversation with Chandri over in his mind, he didn¡¯t feel bothered by how things had gone, and he drifted into an easy sleep, ungued by nightmares or any dreams he could remember. He woke to the smell of Oyna¡¯s pungent tea and a murmured conversation between Tha and Deyni.

    ¡°Good morning, warrior,¡± Oyna said, never one to be fooled by feigned sleep. ¡°Tha, take your daughter out and practice summoning your orb. I want Deyni to try to feel the difference between your spirit Energy and the air-attuned Energy on the winter wind.¡±

    ¡°Can we ride Starlightter, Victor?¡± Deyni asked as Tha stood up.

    ¡°If he¡¯s not busy,¡± Tha said, trying to rescue him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be very upset if we can¡¯t, Deyni. I¡¯ve been looking forward to it all night!¡± Victor said. ¡°Will you give her a good scratch for me while you¡¯re out there?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Come on, then,¡± Tha said, shaking her head ruefully. ¡°See youter, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Yep. See you.¡± Victor watched them leave, then turned to the Old Mother and shrugged. ¡°All right, let¡¯s have it.¡±

    ¡°Have it?¡±

    ¡°Sure. I imagine you¡¯re about to chew me out about something. My affinity, my . . . behavior regarding Chandri.¡±

    ¡°Oh, hush, warrior. You did finest night. Chandri rescued you, but you chose your words correctly.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yes, forgive me for spying, but I¡¯m a nosy old woman, and my little friend made it too easy.¡±

    ¡°Your little friend?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I made a new friend since we returned to camp. Tsst, tsst,¡± she said, clicking her tongue and holding her hand toward a pile of furs near the wall. A momentter, a whiskered snout poked out from under a shaggy hide, and a long, white-furred, ferret-type animal slinked out and coiled itself around Oyna¡¯s wrist. She lifted the creature and hugged it to her bosom, smiling in a genuine and vulnerable way Victor rarely saw from her.

    ¡°You spied on me with him?¡± Victor asked, raising his eyebrows.

    ¡°Of course. How else do you think I know so much about what goes on around here? Oh sure, I spy with my spirit, and I have auguries, but little friends like this are the most useful for finding out what¡¯s bothering the n.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a spy being so open about their nosiness,¡± Victorughed, shaking his head.

    ¡°I have good intentions, though. Like making sure a certain warrior doesn¡¯t harbor any fears or regrets, poisoning his spirit and embracing the darker natures of his affinities.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡±

    ¡°Now,e here, warrior. Put your hands in mine, and let¡¯s have a look at your Core. Let¡¯s see what that great old bear has done to you.¡± She held hands out, palms up, and their smooth red flesh belied her age. Victor scooted closer and gently took them, careful not to squeeze too hard with his calloused, rough fingers. ¡°Good, now look at your Core and let my Energy in; let it trickle through your pathways. You can trust me, warrior.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Victor said, following her instructions. He turned his gaze inward, studying the three orbs of his affinities, and when he felt Oyna¡¯s warm, thin stream of Energy begin to explore his pathways through his hands, he didn¡¯t resist it. Instead, he reached out with his will and pulled on it, guiding her deep into his Core, and she inhaled deeply through her nose.

    ¡°Such heat,¡± she breathed. ¡°I could lose myself in the ze of your rage, but . . . aha, there it is, oh, Victor, you¡¯re lucky! The fear is bnced by your inspiration, though it¡¯s so strong! Never cultivate it more than your other affinities, Victor. Keep it in bnce like you¡¯ve done. Use it only against those you despise, those you wish to see harmed¡ªno matter how much you might be tempted to sway an argument or drive home a point.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I appreciate the warning, but I don¡¯t think I would use my fear affinity like that.¡±

    ¡°Good, because that¡¯s how it always begins, spirit affinities are beguiling, and without control, they can start to influence the caster''s mind. You¡¯ve done well to improve your will so much and gained great control of your rage. Rage is a tricky one because it¡¯s not always negative, do you see? Fear, though, fear is a hard one to master, a dangerous affinity, and you must remain vignt¡ªnever let it control you. Tell me, how have you used your fear affinity?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve only used it once¡ªwhen I was fighting the corruption beneath a great tree, I projected it to make some monstrous worm-things let go of the tree¡¯s roots and run away.¡±

    ¡°Can you imagine the effect of such a working on a crowd of people? What if you were more subtle, only sending out a light, wispy wave, restraining that flood of mighty Energy at your Core? Do you see how it could ruin a poption over time?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess so. Oyna, I¡¯m not going to do something like that.¡±

    ¡°Good, warrior. Be wary upon your next ss refinement, please. Don¡¯t let your new affinity define you too much.¡±

    ¡°I will. I promise!¡± he added as he saw that concern in her eyes.

    ¡°Good, then let¡¯s talk about some new uses for yourbination of affinities.¡±

    Victor leaned forward, ¡°All right! That¡¯s what I was hoping for . . .¡±

    ¡°Victor?¡± Tha poked her head back into the room, interrupting his sentence.

    ¡°Has his visitor arrived?¡± Oyna asked, surprising Victor.

    ¡°Visitor?¡±

    ¡°Aye, I saw a woman, an Ardeni with green features, speaking to you outside the longhouse.¡± She saw the confusion on Victor¡¯s and Tha¡¯s faces and added, ¡°In a dream I hadst week.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Tha said, her eyes squinting in surprise as she looked from Victor to Oyna, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I was about to say. She came riding a great cat! I¡¯ve never seen a mount like it! Victor, she says she works for Rellia and wants to speak with you.¡±

    ¡°Oh, jeez,¡± Victor said, standing up with a sigh as his knees popped. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Oyna. Can we speak more about thister?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps. I think you¡¯ll be rather busy soon, but Oyna will be here when you¡¯re ready.¡± Sheughed softly at first but then more of her usual cackle. ¡°We can always speak more on the Spirit ne, warrior. Go now; she¡¯s not a patient one.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 21: A Sudden Farewell

    Book 3: Chapter 21: A Sudden Farewell

    When Victor saw Captain Va leaning against her mount a few dozen steps away from the backside of the longhouse, he had to stop and do a double-take. ¡°Tha, you weren¡¯t fucking around¡ªshe really has a saddle on that tiger!¡±

    ¡°Tiger?¡±

    ¡°That big fucking cat!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s called, but yes, she rode into camp on it.¡± Tha shrugged and tugged his arm, eager to get closer to the captain; she¡¯d been annoyed that Va wouldn¡¯t ry any of her news until Victor was present to hear what she had to say.

    The animal wasn¡¯t like any tiger from Earth, but it certainly had a resemnce, down to the stripes, though they were yellow on dark, blue-gray fur. More than that, it was huge. Victor had never seen a tiger up close. In fact, if pressed, he doubted he could say with certainty that they weren¡¯t extinct¡ªhe¡¯d only ever seen them in VRs. Still, he knew they didn¡¯t get that big; he figured this thing was two-thirds as tall as Thistle and probably quite a lot longer. ¡°Especially with that pinche tail,¡± he hissed between his teeth as they walked up.

    ¡°Victor,¡± Captain Va said, standing up from where she¡¯d been leaning against the cat. She was, as always, dressed smartly in her uniform pants and high-cored, perfectly pressed white shirt, and he wondered just how the hell she kept so clean after being on the road for, presumably, weeks.

    ¡°Hi, Captain Va. What brings you out this way?¡±

    ¡°I bear messages. From Lady Rellia. Also, Polo Vosh stopped me as I was leaving Persi Gables. He sent a package for you.¡± She stood perfectly straight, her hands sped behind her back. As he and Tha got closer, he noticed that Va was quite tall, easily a head taller than Tha, and in his experience, that was unusual¡ªShadeni were usually taller than Ardeni. He supposed part of it was her shiny military boots. Still, she was rather imposing, especially with a twenty-five hundred pound cat behind her.

    ¡°Really? Polo knew you were heading my way?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± She stood stock still after uttering the clipped response, and Victor only figured out after an awkward silence that she wasn¡¯t going to say more.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s have the messages first, huh?¡± he said, stepping closer, and then her big cat lifted its head and red at him, a low rumble starting in its chest.

    ¡°Shush, Uvu!¡± she said, turning to thwap him on his big, ck nose. He chuffed and turned away,ying his head back down on his front paws with an annoyed yawn. Victor caught a glimpse of his long canines and didn¡¯t fancy the idea of tangling with the creature. ¡°I have two messages and apanying materials. Are you fine with thisdy hearing Rellia¡¯s words?¡±

    ¡°You mean Tha? Yes, Va, you can speak in front of her.¡±

    ¡°Very well. Ahem,¡± she cleared her throat and looked into the sky over Victor¡¯s shoulder as though to concentrate. ¡°Victor. I hope Va finds you well. Things progress well here in Persi Gables. I¡¯ve raised a full regiment of fivepanies, eachprised of two hundred soldiers. Hostility abounds in my family because I¡¯ve kept my promises to you. House ap¡¯Yensha no longer traffics in contracts for indentured servants, and I¡¯ve sold off our share of the Greatbone Mine. I¡¯d be dead by now if not for the enormous investment I¡¯ve put into our expedition. If I were killed before it could bear fruit, our family¡¯s debts would take a hundred years to clear. I¡¯ve sent a Far Scribe book with Va so that we might better keep each other updated until spring. Yours, Rellia.¡±

    Again, Victor stared at Va for a moment before he realized she was done speaking. ¡°That it?¡±

    ¡°Yes. There is a second message, though it¡¯s written.¡± She produced a scroll and held it out for Victor. He stepped forward to take it, frowning toward the big cat¡¯s front end, ready to react in case it decided it wanted to taste him more than it wanted to obey Va. Once it was in hand, he backed up a step and looked back at Va, locking onto her light green eyes.

    ¡°Why did one messagee verbally and one written? This shit¡¯s strange.¡±

    ¡°Thedy grew tired of my presence,¡± Va said with a shrug.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Tha added.

    ¡°She wanted an excuse to send me. Any messenger could have brought you scrolls for a price. She thinks I don¡¯t know her mind, but I do.¡± Again Va shrugged.

    ¡°Oh, right, so she said only you could deliver me the first message or some shit?¡±

    ¡°Correct. She said she didn¡¯t want to ¡®put our expedition details, including troop numbers, in writing.¡¯¡±

    ¡°I guess the stuff about her family wanting her dead was kind of sensitive . . .¡± Victor said as he dug his thumbnail under the purple wax seal on the scroll.

    Victor,

    Since the day after our fight when I spoke to Lam and learned about your origins, I¡¯ve been fascinated by the story. It shouldn¡¯t surprise you, then, to learn that I sent some of our house investigators ahead of me to Persi Gables with the simple instruction to discover what they could about the circumstances of your summoning. Just a day before I gave this message to Va and sent her on her way, one of those investigators came to me bearing fruit.

    It seems there is a cabal of sorts operating out of Persi Gables¡ªa group of sorcerers who gain power by summoning strong Energy users from other worlds. What they do with those they choose to keep, I do not know, but it is well understood that their castoffs, forck of a better word, are often sold into very of one form or another.

    Victor, my investigator retraced the various transfers of your old contract and learned from a man named Yund the name of the cabal agent that first sold you. A little more digging revealed that you were summoned using biological material from a particrly gifted student from Fainhallow Academy. Strange, don¡¯t you think? More than this, though, he learned the location of this group of sorcerers, or at least the site where they perform their summoning rituals.

    I¡¯ve given Va a map and a list of names should you want to investigate your origin further. I would caution you, though, Victor: these people are quite powerful¡ªsummoning people through rips in the fabric of reality isn¡¯t something done by novices. More than that, they were expecting sess, even had you been more powerful at the time. Overpowering a person¡¯s will, assuming they have any sort of developed Core, is no mean feat.

    In anticipation of our next meeting,

    Rellia ap¡¯Yensha

    ¡°Shit,¡± Victor said after reading the letter. Tha had been trying to read over his shoulder, but the disparity in their heights made it difficult, and she reached for the scroll. Victor handed it to her but turned to speak to Va, ¡°Why would she give me this?¡±

    ¡°An excellent question. I find the distraction from our campaign rather troublesome.¡± Va still stood, straight as an arrow, hands behind her back.

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor sighed, rubbing his hand through his hair, looking out over the ins to the west, the sun still bright and low behind him. It was beautiful, really, the long azure des of grass rippling in waves as the crisp morning breeze passed over them. The deep shadows of the forest to his left drew his eye, and he searched among the blue, green, and fiery branches as though he might find an answer to his unspoken question: should he go try to find some answers about his summoning? Should he put a stop to these assholes?

    ¡°She did this as a show of good faith, Victor,¡± Tha said, rolling the scroll up.

    ¡°Yeah, something like that, I guess,¡± he said, digging his thumbs into the meat at the base of his neck.

    ¡°She¡¯s trying to show you that you¡¯re not just a means to an end to her. I mean, that¡¯s what this letter indicates, but how much of it is calcted, I don¡¯t know.¡± She held the scroll out to him, and Victor took it, slipping it into his ring.

    ¡°Logical,¡± Va said, nodding curtly to Tha.

    ¡°Anything else?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Va replied, producing arge polished wooden box. She grunted as she removed it from whatever dimensional container she¡¯d had it in and lurched toward the ground, setting it with a thud on the grass before Victor. ¡°Your package from Polo Vosh.¡±

    The box was nearly a perfect square, though it was a bit taller than it was wide. Victor squatted in front of it, looking for a sp or hinges, but saw that the top was meant simply to lift off. He did so, revealing an interior padded with pillowed, burgundy silk and a dark gray helmet nestled within. It reminded him of an ancient Viking helmet. It seemed to glower at him from within the case, brooding and heavy. ¡°Huh,¡± he said, reaching in to lift it out, and he was startled by its weight. ¡°Madre, this thing¡¯s fucking heavy,¡± he hissed, straining as he pulled it forth.

    ¡°Yes, I noticed the weight.¡± Va¡¯s face didn¡¯t betray any emotion.

    The dark gray helmet was rounded at the top, with a thicker band around the crown. It had heavy cheek guards and a glowering eye and nose guard that would cover about half of the wearer¡¯s face. The eye holes were wide enough to allow good visibility, but they were angled in such a way that the helmet just looked angry. ¡°It seems pissed off,¡± Victor said, chuckling.

    Grunting, he lifted it to his head and was surprised that it wasn¡¯t too small. As it settled onto his head, though, and he had to strain to hold his neck straight, he knew it was too heavy and unwieldy to be of any use in a fight.

    ¡°Bond with it,¡± Tha suggested.

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor trickled some Energy into the metal, and suddenly, it conformed to the shape of his skull, the soft leather padding cupping his bones snuggly and the visor holes lining up perfectly with his eyes. More than that, Victor felt its weight grow morefortable, spreading down over his shoulders and arms and even down his back to his legs. It was like it had somehow distributed its mass over his entire body.

    ***Kethian Juggernaught Helm. Artificed for: Damage Resistance, Weight Distribution. Crafted from Imperial Keth Bedrock Magma. Crafted by: Tek¡¯vah, ve to Keth.***

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Victor looked from Tha to Va, both of whom gave him quizzical expressions. He told them about the message he¡¯d received upon bonding with the helmet, and their confused looks only deepened.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of the Keth Empire,¡± Tha finally said with a shrug.

    ¡°Perhaps Polo Vosh received this item from another world. Or the System.¡± Va, too, shrugged.

    ¡°Well, it looks like good head protection,¡± Tha finally said, standing on her tiptoes to reach up and rap her knuckles against it. ¡°Good choice from Polo. Too bad he didn¡¯t get to you earlier¡ªyou might not have lost your pretty face to that bear¡¯s ws.

    ¡°Hey, now!¡± Victorughed, giving Tha a shrug.

    ¡°Your scars do not make you ugly,¡± Va said, and Victor quickly nced at her, but her face was stoic.

    ¡°Um, thanks.¡±

    ¡°I was teasing him, Va.¡±

    ¡°Regardless. Victor, I¡¯m instructed to make camp near you. Rellia wants me to report regrly via the Far Scribe book she sent. Will you be remaining here much longer?¡±

    ¡°Uh. Let me get back to you on that, Va. I need to talk to Tha and some others. You could give me the book. I promise to keep in touch, and that way, you can get back to your life. I doubt you want to follow me all over the ce.¡±

    ¡°I have my duty. It matters not whether I perform it here or elsewhere.¡± Again, Victor looked at her face for any sign of emotion. Though her words often indicated some displeasure, her expression was neutral, and her posture hadn¡¯t altered at all.

    ¡°Well, do you want toe in with us?¡± Tha offered.

    ¡°Thank you, but I¡¯ll attend to Uvu.¡± She gestured to the enormous cat.

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said with a nod. ¡°Tha, let¡¯s go talk to Oyna, hmm? Do you know where Tellen is?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll get him and meet you within,¡± she said as they started walking away. ¡°You¡¯re thinking of leaving early, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Tha, this is huge. I mean, I¡¯vee to terms with not being able to get home, but I¡¯d sure love to get some answers. More than that, I¡¯d like to fucking let these pinche mother fuckers know how much I appreciate what they¡¯ve done for me!¡± Victor¡¯s voice had grown heavy with anger as some of his rage affinity leaked into his pathways. He¡¯d been thinking about returning to Persi Gables to punish Yund¡ªhow stupid! Yund was an asshole, sure, but the real culprits, the origin of Victor¡¯s suffering, had begun with the ones who¡¯d summoned him.

    Victor wanted answers, and he wanted some justice. Maybe he could never go home, but he might be able to help some other poor slob from experiencing what he¡¯d gone through. They were back to the front of the longhouse when Tha turned to him and grabbed his shoulders, looking at his eyes, set back behind the thick metal openings of his new helmet.

    ¡°Victor, I understand. I just . . . well, I just was hoping we still had a couple of months together. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll never see you again.¡± Her voice had grown small, and Victor realized he wasn¡¯t the only one who needed people in this world to care about. He wasn¡¯t the only one who needed connections.

    ¡°Tha, I¡¯m not going to let that happen. It might take some time, years even, but I¡¯ll get back to you. You and Deyni are important to me. Hell, this whole n has treated me like family. You know you¡¯re just as important to me as I am to you, right?¡±

    ¡°Okay. Well, hug me for real, then. Hug me so I¡¯ll remember it,¡± she said, reaching up under his arms to pull him close. Victor hugged her back, chuckling at her sudden sentimentality.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going just yet, you know.¡±

    ¡°Yes, well, after the whole n knows you¡¯re leaving, I doubt I¡¯ll get another minute alone with you.¡± She squeezed him for another solid minute and then extricated herself, and Victor saw that her eyes were moist. His throat felt suddenly thick, and the fact that he was leaving really hit home. She¡¯d known before he did. ¡°I¡¯ll get Tellen.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± he nodded, then went into the longhouse, making his way down to Oyna¡¯s room. The old woman was sitting in front of her tea kettle, sipping her cup, and when she saw Victor, her smile was broad and knowing.

    ¡°So, my visions told me true? You¡¯re leaving to chase down a thread from your past?¡±

    ¡°You knew?¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t as clear as some of my auguries, but it was clear enough. Sit down, then.¡± She pointed to the furs across from her, and Victor grunted, lowering himself. ¡°Remove that monstrous hunk of metal from your head, warrior! I promise I won¡¯t hit you with anything heavy,¡± she said, brightening the mood with a cackle.

    ¡°Oh, right,¡± Victor chuckled, lifting the helmet off his head. He grunted as it suddenly assumed all of its weight in his hands, and he almost dropped it, lurching forward toward the tea kettle. ¡°Pinche . . .¡± he hissed under his breath, slipping the helmet into his storage ring.

    ¡°Good; now, before the others arrive, let¡¯s talk about what you¡¯re to work on,¡± Oyna said, offering him a cup of tea.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Victor took the tea and sipped; it was hot, bitter, and precisely what he¡¯d been expecting. He grimaced and waited for Oyna¡¯s next words.

    ¡°You must continue to build up your Core. Never let your fear affinity outgrow your others!¡± She red at him until he nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve drawn you a weave to practice¡ªyour trapped spirit and I spoke for a while and came up with a clever way tobine your fear with your rage.¡±

    ¡°Gorz?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Did you forget I had him?¡±

    ¡°Well, for a while, yeah. I¡¯m not the best friend a trapped spirit could have, I guess.¡± Victor sighed, growing weary of listing his faults to people.

    ¡°Nonsense. He¡¯s just a fragment of a spirit. He hardly knows time¡¯s passage when he¡¯s not being spoken to.¡± Oyna scoffed and slurped at her tea.

    ¡°Oh, well, that makes me feel better. I mean, he told me something simr, but I always feel like he¡¯s downying things, you know?¡±

    Oyna just grunted and reached into the folds of her leather, beaded coat and pulled out his amulet, tossing it to him. He caught Gorz and slipped him back over his neck, tucking him down inside his armored shirt. ¡°Victor! It¡¯s good to be back with you!¡±

    ¡°You too, Gorz. I¡¯ll catch you up on what you missed when we get on the road.¡±

    ¡°The pattern we made for you will be difficult to form, but you must practice it each night before cultivating. Once you¡¯ve mastered it, I believe many doors will open for you,¡± Oyna said, picking up where she¡¯d left off.

    ¡°All right, um, will it be another new attuned Energy? Like my courage weave?¡±

    ¡°Exactly. And once you¡¯ve created it, you should use it with your existing spell patterns to see what new abilities you can uncover.¡± She sat back and stared at the beaded curtain behind Victor, and he turned to see what she was looking at. A momentter, they flew into the air as Deyni burst into the room.

    ¡°Victor! Is it true?¡± she wailed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

    ¡°Oh, gosh. Deyni, I . . .¡± Victor started, but she interrupted him.

    ¡°You promised, Victor! You were going to teach me to ride Starlight!¡±

    Stunned by her outburst, Victor didn¡¯t reply immediately, but then Tha rushed into the room and scooped up her daughter. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Victor. She heard me talking to Tellen. She¡¯s so sneaky!¡±

    ¡°Listen,¡± Victor said, standing up with a grunt. He reached for Deyni and was relieved when the little girl didn¡¯t resist him. He pulled her away from Tha, held her against his chest, and softly said, ¡°Deyni, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t n things to happen this way, but I have some ns to make things up to you. Will you hear me out?¡±

    She pulled away to look at his face, her eyes red and filled with tears, and nodded. Victor said, ¡°I n to move quickly, and I think I¡¯m just going to take Thistle. Will you adopt Starlight from me? She needs a good home¡ªsomeone who will take care of her and brush her, and . . .¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Deyni cried before he could say more.

    ¡°I know I promised to teach you to ride, but you know who taught me, right?¡±

    ¡°Chandri!¡±

    ¡°Would it be okay if she taught you?¡±

    ¡°Victor, you don¡¯t have to . . .¡± Tha started, but he held up a hand.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to want to pull a wagon everywhere I¡¯m going, Tha. I only need Thistle. Will you guys take it for me? I mighte back for it someday . . .¡±

    ¡°Yes. Of course, we will,¡± Tha said, her eyes starting to tear up.

    ¡°Oh jeez, you two! I can¡¯t spend the whole day crying. Let¡¯s cheer up, okay? I¡¯m not leaving forever. Even Oyna will agree with that, right, Old Mother?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t see that far ahead, warrior,¡± she replied with a cackle.

    ¡°See? She can¡¯t deny it!¡± Victorughed, and then Tellen came into the room, followed by Chandri and Ch, and Victor held Deyni close while he told everyone about his ns to leave. They took it with more stoic reactions than Deyni¡¯s, but he saw the troubled look in Chandri¡¯s eyes, and he knew he¡¯d need to speak to her again before he left. Tellen tried to talk him into a feast before he left, but he knew that it would only prolong the painful goodbyes and insisted that he wanted to get on the road as soon as possible.

    ¡°Will you sell Tha some rdii to pull that wagon when you guys head to your summer camp?¡±

    ¡°She won¡¯t need to buy them . . .¡±

    ¡°I have plenty of funds, Tellen,¡± Tha said, reaching out to rest a hand on his shoulder. He opened his mouth to argue but changed his mind when he looked at Tha¡¯s face. He shrugged and nodded. Victor hadn¡¯t seen that familiarity between them before, and he suddenly wondered at all he¡¯d missed while busy with his quests and spending time with Chandri. Thinking of Chandri, he looked at her face, saw theck of any sort of smile or amusement, and reached out for her hand.

    ¡°Chandri, will youe with Deyni and me to see Starlight? I think we should talk about what it means to be a good mother to a vidanii.¡± He winked at her, and she forced a smile, taking his hand.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Oyna said, ¡°Go do that. The rest of us will follow soon¡ªI can tell this warrior doesn¡¯t want to linger around, feeling sorrow at long goodbyes. Ch, run; tell the n mothers to gather their families outside to shout their goodbyes.¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± Ch said, but then she charged forward and grabbed Victor in a hug. ¡°I¡¯ll miss you too, Victor,¡± she said as he squeezed her back, one arm still holding Deyni.

    ¡°Thanks for everything, Ch. You¡¯re going to be a fierce warrior one day. The n¡¯s lucky to have you.¡± When she pulled away, Victor had a white and ck smear of face paint on his armor, and sheughed, rubbing at it with her palm. Then she turned and hurried out of the room, the beads rattling in her wake. Victor reached down, took Chandri¡¯s hand again, and walked outside. When they got to Victor¡¯s wagon, where the two vidanii were staked, still grazing happily, Victor set Deyni down.

    ¡°Hey, can you go over to Starlight and give her a brushing? I want Chandri to see that you know how to do it perfectly.¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± Deyni said, eyes wide and serious, and Victor handed her the brush.

    ¡°Good huntress,¡± Chandri called after her as she hurried over to the huge animal. ¡°She can¡¯t even reach its back. I hope you didn¡¯t create trouble giving such an animal to a child . . .¡±

    ¡°She¡¯ll be fine. I know you¡¯ll teach her well. Just don¡¯t let her go out alone until she¡¯s bigger, all right?¡±

    ¡°So now I¡¯m in charge of this beast and the girl? You¡¯re certainly leaving with a lot of demands.¡± She scowled at him, but he knew she wasn¡¯t serious. Victor reached down to take her hands and looked into her big magenta eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s better like this, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Me leaving kind of suddenly. I mean, who wants to have a long slow buildup to a goodbye? This way, we can rip the bandage off. Er, is that a thing in this world? The phrase I mean? ¡®Rip the bandage off?¡¯¡±

    ¡°Yes. I know what you mean, and no, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s better. Oh, Ancestors! I thought this would be easier after how we left thingsst night, but I¡¯m sorry to see you go, Victor. I hope it¡¯s not forever.¡± She squeezed his hands, looked up at his face, and added, ¡°Kiss me, then. At least one more time. Friends can kiss, can¡¯t they?¡±

    ¡°Certain kinds of friends, sure,¡± Victor said, leaning down and gently pressing his lips to hers. As the heat grew between them, and his heart started to beat faster, they kissed hungrily for several seconds, and then Victor grew aware of people approaching, and he pulled away, embarrassed but grinning. ¡°You¡¯re the best kisser I¡¯ve ever known,¡± he said. ¡°Too bad you¡¯re just my friend.¡±

    ¡°Well, who knows. Look me up in fifty or a hundred years,¡± she said, throwing his words from the previous night back at him. Then she squeezed his hand one more time and walked away toward the group of people gathering, including Tellen and Tha. Victor smiled and nodded at them, then walked over to Deyni.

    ¡°Hey, huntress. How¡¯s she doing?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s good, Victor. She asked me to ride her soon,¡± Deyni said, still diligently brushing the parts of the vidanii she could reach. Victor lifted the little girl up so she could brush Starlight¡¯s back and shoulders and said, ¡°Thistle¡¯s favorite spot is around his ears and horns. Does Starlight like that?¡±

    ¡°She does! She loves it!¡±

    ¡°Oh good! Listen, Deyni; this is your vidanii now. You have to be responsible about feeding her and caring for her, and when Chandri says you¡¯re ready, you can learn to ride her. Don¡¯t try to rush things, though. Let Chandri help you, and remember that it¡¯s her decision when you get to ride alone, okay? Do you promise?¡±

    ¡°I promise, Victor,¡± Deyni said, and her voice was solemn. Victor smiled and put her down.

    ¡°Come over to Thistle now, and watch me get him saddled up.¡± With that, Victor began his preparations to leave. Many n members came over, pped him on the back, or shook his hand, giving him their well-wishes, and it took him several times longer than usual to get Thistle¡¯s tack on, but he enjoyed it. It was good to know so many people cared about him and would miss him.

    Realizing how much he¡¯d miss the n, not just his close friends, Victor¡¯s heart began to grow heavy, and he almost talked himself into putting off his departure, but then he saw a shape lope around the longhouse out into the grass, pacing back and forth. He waved to Va and knew it was best that he get going. He walked over to Tellen and shook his hand. He hugged Oyna, Tha, Chandri, and Deyni one more time. Then, he pulled himself into Thistle¡¯s saddle, waved to the assembled crowd, and thundered away, racing past Va, wondering if her cat was as fast as his mighty vidanii.

 Book 3: Chapter 22: Night Conversations

    Book 3: Chapter 22: Night Conversations

    ¡°Your cat isn¡¯t going to try to eat my vidanii, is he?¡± Victor asked Captain Va when they stopped for their first camp. She¡¯d surprised him the day before, suggesting they keep riding for a day, insisting she needed little rest, and neither did Uvu, her mount. Thistle had seemed fine, so Victor had shrugged and agreed, and though they stopped several times to feed and water the animals, this was the first time they¡¯d stopped to sleep. Thistle was huffing and more tired than Victor had ever seen him, but he seemed good¡ªlike you might imagine a horse would be after a hard day of travel.

    ¡°Uvu knows better,¡± Va said, producing arge haunch of raw meat and tossing it off into the grass for the big cat. It was the fourth time she¡¯d fed him that day.

    ¡°He eats a lot of meat,¡± Victor observed.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Va said, not one to borate or drive a conversation. She began pulling out parts to arge canvas tent, and Victor contemted asking her if she needed a hand, but a streak of stubbornness in him wanted her to ask him for help or at leastmunicate what she was doing. He sighed and began walking in a spiral pattern out from their campsite, looking for stones to use for the fire pit.

    After he¡¯d gathered ten good-sized rocks, he walked back to the camp and set them up in a ring and saw that Va had already erected a tall, rectangr tent with the ps pinned open and a rather luxurious interior exposed¡ªrich carpeting, a polished wooden table with two ornate, cushioned wooden chairs, and a spacious, fluffy bedplete with insectting. ¡°God damn¡ªmakes me miss my wagon,¡± Victor said as he set up the fire, producing logs from his storage ring.

    He did miss his wagon and, not for the first time, cursed his guilty conscience and his impulsive decision to leave it with Tha and Deyni. He¡¯d felt like he had to make the gesture for Deyni¡¯s sake¡ªhe¡¯d had no idea how much her not wanting him to leave would affect him. If he were being honest, saying goodbye to the little girl had been harder than leaving Tha or Chandri. ¡°Shit, it was harder than bothbined,¡± he said, finishing his thoughts aloud.

    ¡°Are you addressing me?¡± Va asked, sitting in one of her cushioned chairs, legs crossed, sipping something from a silver cup.

    ¡°Uh, nah, just muttering to myself. Don¡¯t sweat it.¡±

    ¡°Will you want to spar before supper?¡± The question caught Victor off guard, and he nced at Va in surprise.

    ¡°Spar?¡±

    ¡°Lady Rellia suggested I could learn a thing or two from you and that I might be a suitable partner for you to hone your skills against.¡±

    ¡°Oh, well, yeah. I can always use the practice. Sorry, I didn¡¯t think of you as a fighter. I guess I should have, considering you¡¯re a captain.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Va stood, tossed the remainder of her drink into the grass, then produced a surprisingly heavy-looking, deep blue, almost ck broadsword. The sword was about as long as her legs, and she rested the point in the grass so the pommel jutted up past her waist. She leaned against it and stared at Victor, clearly waiting for him to finish fiddling with the fire.

    ¡°Quite a sword,¡± he said, straightening up. ¡°You sure you want to spar with sharp weapons? I have some weighted wooden weapons I bought back in Gelica.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Will you?¡± she asked, her face betraying no judgment, no amusement.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be fine. Mind if I ask what tier you¡¯re in?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m newly fifth tier.¡±

    ¡°Ah. No shit?¡±

    ¡°I speak truly.¡±

    ¡°No wonder Rellia had you hanging around. So, um, you know Captain Lam?¡±

    ¡°Yes, we served together for a time.¡± Again, she didn¡¯t borate, and Victor was tired of fishing for details from the obstinate woman. He lifted Lifedrinker from his belt and started walking out into the ins, on the opposite side of the camp from their mounts. He cast Globe of Inspiration, not because it was too dark to see, but because if he was going to practice, he wanted to maximize his benefit.

    ¡°Effective,¡± Va said, following behind him, basking in the white-gold glow of the orb.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll keep it going while we practice¡ªshould be helpful.¡± After he spoke, Victor cast Inspiring Presence, knowing full well the spell wouldn¡¯t affect Va if he faced off with her. ¡°Too bad. I can¡¯t share all my benefits, can I?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any spells that will be beneficial for you; I¡¯m sorry,¡± Va said, perhaps misinterpreting Victor¡¯s constant chatter with himself.

    ¡°You¡¯re good,¡± he said, using Sovereign Will to boost his agility, then he squared off with Va, raised his axe, and nodded. She lifted her big, dark sword and, holding it sideways, so the de rested on the palm of her left hand, performed a low bow at the waist.

    ¡°Oh, am I supposed to bow? You¡¯re only my second sparring partner outside the pits, and Polo Vosh didn¡¯t do any bowing.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s customary from the school I attended. Not necessary.¡± She paused for a moment as though struggling with a decision, and finally, she said, ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor said, and there began a truly humiliating ass-kicking. Va was fast¡ªnot as fast as Rellia when she used her shadow magic, but faster than Victor. More than that, she was good with her sword, like Polo Vosh levels of good. Victor had learned a lot when he gained the advanced rank with his axe, but Va seemed to have a maneuver and a reaction for every one of his attacks. Worse, she repeatedly slipped her long, wickedly heavy de past his guard attempts.

    Sometimes she¡¯d stab her sword forward in a thrust, faster than he could swing his axe to parry it, and sometimes she¡¯d cleave it with such weight and force that Victor found himself knocked out of his stance, open for her quick remise¡ªa term meaning follow-up attack that she taught him after she¡¯d struck him with it several times.

    Perhapspounding his humiliation, she pulled every hit she scored, tapping his armor or shallowly nicking his legs. Twice she deftly rang the t of her de on his heavy helm. Victor, for his part, threw everything he had at her, and as he felt his anger building, he pushed it down¡ªhe knew he¡¯d learn more if he didn¡¯t go berserk and overpower her with brute force.

    epting that he couldn¡¯t beat her without his rage, Victor contemted using his fear affinity or projecting twisted inspiration at her. He held back, though, wanting to learn as much true fighting skill as possible.

    After a long while, when he was drenched in sweat and she was starting to breathe heavily, Victor noted the look of consternation on her face, and finally, she backed off, stabbed her sword into the grass, and stared at him, ¡°Why do you toy with me? Why let me think I can beat you?¡± Her usually cool, calm voice was angry, and the emotion in it caught Victor by surprise.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I missed your match with Rellia, but I heard tales of your fury, of your insane strength. Why do you hold it all back?¡±

    ¡°I mean, I¡¯m trying to learn to fight better. I don¡¯t want to Berserk and whip your ass. I don¡¯t like thinking I have to unleash my rage or . . . darker abilities to win a fight. I want . . . I should be able to win based on skill.¡±

    She frowned, narrowed her eyes, and nodded. ¡°I, too, haven¡¯t used all of my abilities. I suppose this is more fruitful for now. Even against yourckluster martial skills, I feel my forms improving. Perhaps it is your orb.¡±

    ¡°Can I ask? What¡¯s your sword skill up to?

    ¡°Epic, but Blue Razor pushes me closer to legendary when I have it in hand.¡±

    ¡°Blue Razor? Your sword? Is it awake, er conscious?¡±

    ¡°No, but it¡¯s a masterwork artifact, enchanted beyond what the smiths in Tharcray can ken.¡± It seemed Victor had found the key to getting the woman to talk¡ªask her about fighting or her sword.

    ¡°Where¡¯d you get it?¡±

    ¡°A dungeon near the World Spine. I was with Rellia and two of her friends.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so you don¡¯t just work for her?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯ve known Rellia for twenty-two years.¡±

    Victor couldn¡¯t stop his mouth from dropping open. When he¡¯d first seen Captain Va, she¡¯d looked like a teenager to him. ¡°Fuck man, I¡¯ll never get used to this world. I didn¡¯t realize you . . . oh, never mind. I¡¯m going to end up eating my boot at this rate.¡±

    To his surprise, she smirked and nodded. ¡°Good. Shall we continue?¡±

    Victor motioned with his hand as if to say, ¡°After you,¡± lifting his axe, and this time, when he nodded his head, he bent at the waist¡ªnotfortable with a full bow, but willing to try a bit to show he respected Va. Her smirk turned into a half-smile, and she bowed. Then they were at it again, and Victor learned many lessons over the next two hours.

    They traveled that way for the next ten days, riding for a full day and night, then camping the following evening until dawn. Uvu was fast and sturdy, but Victor knew Thistle could outpace him, which made him feel a little better when he considered the giant cat was also a formidable fighter. Each evening that they made camp, and also at noon on the days when they were riding through, he and Va would spar, and he¡¯d use his inspiration Energy to try to speed up what they learned from each other.

    By the evening of the tenth night, Victor was getting a lot better at predicting Va¡¯s movements and countering her. He¡¯d taken what the System gave him with regard to forms and styles, attacks and counters, and he¡¯d begun to make them his own, adding his own ir andbining them into maneuvers that not every System-taught fighter would be able to predict or deal with.

    That night, while they sat near the fire, Victor on a nket in front of his low, one-man tent, and Va sitting in one of herfortable chairs, she surprised him by saying, ¡°You improve quickly. I think you¡¯ll move through the advanced ranking much faster than I did.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°I can tell,¡± she nodded, sipping wine from her silver cup, and continued, ¡°You¡¯re a born fighter. It¡¯s no shame that Rellia lost to you.¡±

    ¡°Well, thanks for working with me. I know I¡¯m learning a lot more than you are.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d to do it.¡± She stopped, and Victor thought she was returning to her old reticent self, but then she said, ¡°I was only seven when Rellia took me in.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Victor drank from his mug of honeyed mead to mask his surprise. This was the first time Va had ever volunteered any personal information.

    ¡°Yes. She¡¯s more a mother than a friend, sister, or, well, an employer. At least to me. I think she sees me differently, but I owe her, quite literally, everything.¡± She took another long drink from her cup, and Victor tried to think of something to say¡ªVa had caught himpletely by surprise.

    ¡°Uh, well, I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯ve said some unttering shit about her. I mean, we did have a rocky start to our rtionship . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to sell you on Rellia. I don¡¯t know why I said all that.¡± She blushed furiously, the pale blue of her cheeks darkening toward purple, and she turned to the side, downing the rest of her wine in a huge gulp.

    ¡°Chill, Va. It¡¯s because we¡¯ve spent more than a week traveling together and it¡¯s nice to chat by the fire. Nothing weird about it. Didn¡¯t you bullshit with other soldiers while you were in the legion?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± She shook her head and mped her mouth shut, pressing her lips into a tight line, and, just as Victor was about to try to coax her to say more, she added, ¡°I was promoted young. The other officers resented me, even though I bested most of them on the practice field, even though I never lost an engagement with my troops. No, I didn¡¯t ¡®bullshit¡¯ with others.¡± She sighed heavily, looked at the inky ck sky and the sea of glittering stars, and said, ¡°What will you do in Persi Gables? We¡¯re only a few days away.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to figure out who the fuck summoned me and give them a piece of my mind,¡± Victor said without thinking, allowing his mouth to give voice to his impulse.

    ¡°You¡¯ll want the details and map to the location that Rellia¡¯s investigator found, then.¡± She turned away from the stars and stared at Victor, meeting his eyes over the fire. ¡°I¡¯lle with you. I¡¯d like to help, and Rellia will be angry if I lose you somehow.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s cool. It¡¯s likely to get ugly. You sure you¡¯re up for that?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re speaking to a captain of the Imperial Legion. Do you think I¡¯ve not seen ¡®ugly?¡¯¡±

    ¡°Nah. You¡¯re right. Well, thanks; I won¡¯t turn down thepany. Speaking of the legion, you said Lam served with you for a while? You weren¡¯t friends, I take it? What was she like?¡±

    ¡°Captain Lam is the opposite of me. Gregarious, clever, plotting, sessful. She never caused me trouble, but we didn¡¯t share more than a few sentences with each other in the seven years I served.¡± Va sighed again, then produced a dark blue wine bottle and refilled her cup.

    ¡°Yeah, Lam¡¯s an alpha,¡± Victor said,ughing and shaking his head. ¡°I think she¡¯de out on top of pretty much any situation.¡± As he rubbed his eyes, still shaking his head ruefully, he saw the moons near the middle of the sky, and he said, ¡°Hey, do you mind watching me while I do a Spirit Walk? I want to try to talk to Tha or Oyna.¡±

    ¡°Spirit Walk?¡± Va leaned forward with interest.

    ¡°Oh, yeah. I have a spirit Core¡ªyou know that, right?¡± She nodded, and he continued. ¡°Well, a spell I know lets me walk around on the Spirit ne. I can meet with other Spirit Casters that way.¡±

    ¡°But you want me to watch you?¡± She looked puzzled.

    ¡°My body. My spirit will be free, but my body is going to sit here like a lump. I¡¯m trusting you to keep me from getting eaten by a monster. Well, and to not kill me and take my stuff. That okay?¡±

    Va stood swiftly, and suddenly her huge, dark broadsword was in her hands, glimmering strangely in the starlight. She whipped it through the air, turning it, so the point was down, then knelt before it, facing Victor, ¡°I swear! No harm wille to you while I watch over your person.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Victor said, halfway to his feet already, rmed by Va¡¯s sudden, armed movements. He finished standing and nodded to her, keeping his expression solemn. ¡°Thank you, Va. I ept your oath.¡±

    His words must have been near enough to what she¡¯d wanted to hear because she stood up and lifted Blue Razor up to her shoulder, and began walking around the camp''s perimeter. She whistled aplicated series of notes, and Victor heard Uvu grumble and yawn in the darkness. Then the huge cat¡¯s padding steps faded into the distance.

    ¡°Uvu will watch as well,¡± she said.

    ¡°Badass. Pretty damn cool mount,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°He¡¯s much more than a mount,¡± Va said, and Victor could only grunt in agreement.

    ¡°Well, here goes. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be gone long.¡± Victor sat down again, and feeling very secure knowing Va was keeping watch, he closed his eyes and cast Spirit Walk.

    He stood up and looked around the vast, open grasnd¡ªno fire, no tents, no Va. Rather than the dead of night, lit only by the stars and moons, he stood in the perpetual twilight of the Spirit ne. Smiling, he concentrated on Tha and Oyna, and, Lifedrinker warm in his hands, he began walking.

    He strode confidently, his feelings and connection to the two other Spirit Casters strong in his mind, and he wasn¡¯t surprised when, in just a few minutes, he found himself striding down a lightly treed, grassy slope. He heard the babble of a brook in the distance, and he picked up his pace, jogging toward the sound. He burst out of the tree line into the little clearing that Oyna had shown him in the past¡ªthe ce where her mother had taught her about the Spirit ne.

    Tha and Oyna sat together in the clearing, and the young-seeming Old Mother looked up at Victor and smiled as he approached, ¡°Here¡¯s our visitor, daughter.¡±

    Tha stood and rushed over to him, hugging him tight, and Victor was exceedingly pleased to feel her warmth¡ªhe¡¯d feared that their connection in the Spirit ne wouldn¡¯t be as solid or visceral as in the physical world. ¡°Why¡¯d you wait so long to visit?¡± she asked, pulling back and looking into his eyes.

    ¡°Well, to be honest, that captain, Va? She¡¯s been wearing me out every damn day, and we¡¯ve been riding for two days at a time between camps.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Tha¡¯s mouth fell open. ¡°What do you mean she¡¯s been wearing you out?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a fucking good fighter! We¡¯ve been sparring every day, and I¡¯m tired as hell most of the time.¡± Victor saw Tha¡¯s face rx, and it only then clicked that she¡¯d been thinking something very different. ¡°Oh,e on,¡± heughed.

    ¡°And what of my work, warrior. Have you been studying your pattern?¡±

    ¡°Well, yeah, but I haven¡¯t built it yet. I¡¯ve got it mostly memorized, though. I draw it a couple of times each night.¡± Victor knew she wasn¡¯t going to be happy with that and looked away, unwilling to meet her eyes.

    ¡°Oh? What do you think, daughter? Has he been diligent enough with my instruction? Does his Core feel stronger to you?¡±

    ¡°Well, Old Mother,¡± Tha said, reaching out to rest her faintly glimmering fingers on Victor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s only been a bit more than a week. I don¡¯t feel much difference, though . . .¡± she trailed off, smirking sideways at Victor.

    ¡°Oh, God, really? If you guys are going to bully me like this, I won¡¯t make these visits very often!¡±

    ¡°Now he threatens us with his absence? What love is this? Are we not family, warrior?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Yes! All right, I admit, I could be working harder on my Core and the pattern.¡± Victor sighed and stepped past Tha to sit by Oyna. Tha, still holding his shoulder, followed and sat down next to him.

    ¡°This is a good time to show me what you know of the pattern, don¡¯t you think?¡± Oyna asked, her youthful face breaking into a beaming smile and a trilling littleugh escaping her lips.

    ¡°Well . . .¡± Victor tried to think of a way out of this but shrugged and said, ¡°Okay.¡± He closed his eyes, and reaching into his Core, he teased a thread of fear-attuned Energy into his pathway. Then, with a slight strain of will, he pulled out a thread of rage-attuned Energy. He manipted the two threads, twisting, folding, and bending them into the pattern that Oyna had given him. He truly had been practicing with it, and he¡¯d drawn it from memory several times.

    While he was weaving the Energies, he briefly contemted why he hadn¡¯t tried to build the pattern in his pathway yet. He almost lost his concentration when a subconscious needle of doubt entered his mind¡ªwas he afraid of this new pattern? Maybe he didn¡¯t want to see what kind of new terrible Energy he was going to make. He ground his teeth and kept working, forcing his mind to focus on the task. He¡¯d gotten to thest few twists in the pattern when Oyna suddenly stood and took his face in her hands.

    ¡°Stop, warrior! Stop!¡± She shrieked, and Victor lost his concentration, letting go of the threads. He looked at her in confusion. ¡°Oh, good, good. That was a mistake! Your amulet and I were foolish, indeed! I thought we were leading you to a weave of justice, but you nearly created shame. You don¡¯t need more dark Energies in your heart, Victor.¡±

    Tha reached out a hand to take one of his, and he saw the concern in her eyes, and then he said, ¡°Well, shit. I mean, yeah, I¡¯m not super excited about casting spells with shame-attuned Energy.¡±

    ¡°I see the mistake we made, though, Victor. Rage and fear¡ªtwo dark, powerful affinities¡ªwe should have thought more broadly and remembered your prodigious will. After watching how quickly you built that weave, I think you can make one from three Energies. Give me a day or two to work with the pattern; I¡¯ll add in a third twist of inspiration.¡± Oyna reached out a slender hand to join Tha¡¯s gripping his hand, grabbing onto a couple of his fingers.

    ¡°Okay,¡± he said, and when he saw the concern still lingering in their eyes, he added, ¡°Guys, rx! I¡¯m not going to go out and try to finish the weave. I¡¯m already stressed about the fear affinity.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Oyna nodded and squinted as though she were trying to see into his mind, but she squeezed his fingers again and then sat back. ¡°Daughter, your aura fades. This has been a long Spirit Walk for you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but I¡¯m so d I got to see you, Victor! Come to us more often, okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try, but we¡¯re getting close to Persi Gables, and I don¡¯t know what kind of shit¡¯s about to go down. Don¡¯t get mad at me if I¡¯m not here for a few days.¡±

    ¡°No,e tomorrow, warrior. After that, you can take your time, but I want to get the new pattern into your hands,¡± Oyna said with finality.

    ¡°Oh, all right, Young Mother,¡± Victorughed.

    ¡°See how he grows so full of himself?¡± Oyna asked Tha, shaking her head in dismay.

    ¡°He¡¯s always been full of himself, Old Mother,¡± she replied, reaching out to flick Victor¡¯s ear.

    ¡°All right, all right,¡± Victorughed, standing up. ¡°I¡¯ll see youdies tomorrow. I need to get back before some giant cat eats me or something.¡± He waved, but before he could end his spell, Tha jumped up and squeezed him again, and that reminded him to think of more people than himself. ¡°Hey,¡± he said into the top of her head, wishing he could smell her physical hair instead of the clean, neutral scent of the Spirit ne, ¡°hug Deyni for me and tell Chandri and everyone I said hello, okay?¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± Tha said, squeezing him once more. Then Victor ended his spell and opened his eyes. He almost fell backward when he saw Va squatting in front of him, peering with narrowed eyes at his face.

    ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Yeah. Everything all right?¡± He looked around, wondering why she¡¯d been peering into his face like that, but he didn¡¯t see anything rming.

    ¡°Everything is fine. I felt you building up Energy,¡± she said as if that exined everything.

    ¡°Oh, right. Well, all¡¯s good.¡±

    ¡°You contacted them? Your hunter friends?¡± Va moved back to her chair and sat down, crossing her legs and regarding him, almost like a queen staring down at a kneeling subject. Now that he¡¯d learned a bit about her past, Victor didn¡¯t think that haughty expression was intentional¡ªshe was socially awkward.

    ¡°Yeah, I did.¡± He scooted back toward his tent and looked at the moons; they hadn¡¯t moved much while he was gone. ¡°Your cat good to keep watch?¡± Victor knew the answer¡ªUvu had allowed them to sleep soundly at each of their camps so far, but he figured he shouldn¡¯t take it for granted.

    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s very alert. More than either of us could be. Were your friends doing well, Victor?¡± Va asked, and he saw that she was pouring herself another cup of wine. It appeared she wasn¡¯t ready to call it a night.

    Victor shrugged and dug another honey mead out of his ring. He¡¯d found that, of all the strange alcohols he¡¯d sampled on Fanwath, he enjoyed it the most. ¡°My friends are doing well; thanks for asking, Va. How¡¯s Rellia? You¡¯ve been sending her messages in the book, right?¡±

    ¡°Rellia is doing well, though she fears the schemes of her family on a constant basis. I wish she hadn¡¯t sent me away, but I knew I was driving her mad with my vignce. She¡¯s surrounded by those loyal to me and her, though, so I¡¯m not very worried. I wish I could walk to her the way you just did.¡±

    ¡°Do you mind me asking what your affinity is?¡±

    ¡°I have two, three if you count pure Energy: air and iron.¡±

    ¡°Iron? I¡¯ve heard of air affinities but not iron.¡± Victor took a swig of his ale.

    ¡°It¡¯s a more focused form of an earth affinity. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s verymon, but it¡¯s nothing too unusual.¡±

    ¡°So it''s, technically, an elemental affinity?¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty cool. Can you weave the two of them for additional effects?¡±

    ¡°Yes, in theory, I could weave a meta-element from them, but my will, well, I¡¯ve not been able to do it yet. I¡¯m working on it, though.¡±

    ¡°I can tell you focused a lot of your attribute points on agility, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I was raised to perform well inbat,¡± she smirked. She looked like she had more to say but shook her head slightly and took another sip of wine. Victor decided not to push it and sat back, leaning on his elbows and studying the stars while he swirled the thick, spiced mead around in his cup.

    ¡°It¡¯s a nice night,¡± he said, ¡°a good night to talk with friends.¡± He looked at Captain Va, and she met his gaze, and though it was awkward, and she quickly turned away, she smiled and nodded.

 Book 3: Chapter 23: Persi Gables

    Book 3: Chapter 23: Persi Gables

    On their twelfth day of travel, Victor began to smell, on the wind from the east, the scent of Lake Beliss. He knew from his previous time in Persi Gables that theke was more like an ind sea, maybeparable to one of the greatkes in North America. It had a distinctive smell, and though they were too far away to catch the fishy odors of the docks district, there was a tang to the air that felt different in his nose.

    ¡°We were lucky,¡± Va said from her saddle, riding a dozen feet to Victor¡¯s left.

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Yes. We could have been caught out in a storm. I¡¯ve worried about the skies, gray and threatening, but nothing falls.¡± She gestured to the steel gray, perpetual cloud cover they¡¯d ridden under for thest two days.

    ¡°Is it cold enough? It doesn¡¯t feel that cold to me. Or do you mean rain?¡± Victor had been quitefortable, in fact, enjoying theck of sun and the sweat that came with it.

    ¡°When the winds stir up, and the storms roll in, the temperature drops quickly. As I said, we¡¯ve had a lucky journey. We¡¯ll pick up the Northern Highway soon and can follow that into the city.¡±

    ¡°Is that an official name? The Northern Highway?¡± Victor asked, easing Thistle closer to Va and Uvu with a nudge of a knee.

    ¡°Yes. The empire shared the cost of its creation with the city-state. It runs north from Persi Gables to Gelica and south toward the sea.¡±

    ¡°Right. Edeya was telling me about that¡ªPersi Gables isn¡¯t part of the empire?¡±

    ¡°No. Ridonne tolerates the city¡¯s independence because the city council pays a tax to the empire. They say it¡¯s a mutual defense pact¡ªthe legion even has barracks in the city.¡± Va scanned the low rise off to the north and said, ¡°We should ride up that hill. It¡¯s the only chance you¡¯ll get of a full vista of the city¡ªsoon, we¡¯ll be in the woods that surround the walls.¡±

    ¡°Cool,¡± Victor said and clicked his tongue, urging Thistle to the right and up the slope. The climb was deceptively long, and the hill seemed gentle enough, but when Victor looked back to see Va following him, he was surprised by how much elevation they¡¯d gained. By the time he came up to the top of the rise, he could see the ground falling away before him toward a sparse, deciduous forest with mostly bare branches, just a few brightly colored leaves clinging here and there.

    Over the tops of the trees, he saw the distant walls of Persi Gables. They were high and washed-white, though many buildings within stood taller. It didn¡¯t look as big as Gelica, but it was farrger than Victor ever imagined medieval cities to be. ¡°We¡¯re not really in a medieval world, though, are we?¡± he asked Thistle, scratching his neck.

    ¡°Persi Gables differs from Gelica in that they don¡¯t allow construction outside the walls. If you want to live outside to hunt or farm, you need to travel ten miles to the north or south, where viges are permitted.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Victor frowned at the cluster of civilization, wondering what their reasons might be¡ªdefense, perhaps?

    ¡°Their agreement with the Empire. Persi Gables is sovereign over thend within her walls and ¡®the ten miles of uninhabitednds outside.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor frowned and rubbed at his chin, staring out past the distant city to the blue-gray horizon of water¡ªLake Beliss. ¡°Well, do we go into the city or straight to the location on your map? I¡¯m not sure I want to bring Thistle when we confront the, well, you know, the guys doing the summoning.¡±

    ¡°You should secure lodging. Do you want to stay at Lady Rellia¡¯s estate? Lam¡¯s?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll get a hotel, er, an inn. I don¡¯t really want to announce my presence yet. I know you¡¯ve been checking in with Rellia, and I¡¯ve been messaging Lam, but if you don¡¯t mind, let¡¯s keep my exact location in the city between us. Is that weird? I¡¯m not trying to be sneaky; I just kinda don¡¯t want to deal with them trying to meet with me and involve me in all sorts of campaign business. We¡¯ve still got months until spring.¡±

    ¡°My orders were to stay near you and to make sure you survived to report to Persi Gables in the spring. I can do that without divulging your exact location.¡± Va had be more and more verbose during their journey, either growing morefortable with Victor or with herself. Victor figured it was probably a mixture of the two.

    ¡°Cool. Well, since you¡¯re making that sacrifice, I¡¯ll pay for your room.¡±

    ¡°I have sufficient funds for lodging,¡± she snorted, and Victor thought he almost heard a chuckle bubbling beneath the words.

    ¡°Hey! I¡¯m just trying to be polite.¡±

    ¡°Acknowledged.¡±

    ¡°Well, I take it that¡¯s the North Road?¡± Victor pointed to a wide, t ribbon of brown heading out of the woods and then north through the ins.

    ¡°The Northern Highway. Yes, that¡¯s it.¡±

    ¡°Not much traffic,¡± he said, scanning the road for as far as he could see, only spotting a couple of figures far to the north that might have been people or animals.

    ¡°The weather is threatening, and it¡¯s barely past dawn. I¡¯m sure some countryfolk are on their way with goods to sell, but we¡¯ve beaten the crowds.¡±

    ¡°Ah, the benefits of riding all night like lunatics!¡± Victor chuckled and clicked his tongue. Ever ready to move, Thistle started toward the road, walking down the grassy, miles-long slope. Va followed him, a rumbleing from Uvu¡¯s chest. Victor couldn¡¯t tell if it was a growl or a purr. The cat hadn¡¯t ever shown any aggression to Thistle, but he still worried it might try to pounce on his trusty steed from some sort of instinct.

    ¡°Hey,¡± he shouted over his shoulder. ¡°Last stretch of open ins, and it¡¯s downhill! Let¡¯s race!¡± With that, he stood slightly in his stirrups, leaning forward, clicking his tongue, and twitching his reins. Thistle didn¡¯t require much in the way of direction¡ªhe seemed to know what Victor wanted most of the time, and their desires coincided nicely at that moment. The big vidanii bucked once and then broke into a mad charge down the slope, kicking up clods of moist soil and grass as he veritably flew over the ground.

    Victor howled and whooped, and as they thundered over the t section of ins before the road, he turned to see that he¡¯d left Va and Uvu in the dust, easily a quarter-mile behind him. ¡°Fuck yes, Thistle! Let¡¯s go, boy!¡± There was a culvert and berm before the road, and Thistle sailed over it, leaping a good twenty feet. Hended on the hard-packed dirt of the road, sliding on his hooves, and then he was charging again into the sparse, manicured woods outside the city. His hooves were even louder, even more like thunder, on the road.

    They¡¯d only charged into the woods for a few hundred yards before Victor saw arge wagon ahead of him and several people and rdii, so he slowed, pulling on the reins until Thistle stopped, and then he pivoted and waited for Va. To his surprise, after a few minutes, she came crashing out of the forest to the right, leaping over the underbrush near the side of the road.

    ¡°Woah! Trying to take a shortcut?¡± heughed, and Va, face flushed with the thrill of the ride,ughed with him, the first realugh he¡¯d heard out of her in days.

    ¡°I think Uvu wanted to try to circle you; I couldn¡¯t force him back to the road!¡± She reached up and gave the big cat¡¯s ear a tweak, and he opened his mouth, exposing six-inch canines as he yawned and chuffed.

    ¡°Hah, on the hunt, I guess.¡± Victor turned Thistle back toward the city and began to ride, at a rxed trot, toward the group of travelers ahead. He soon saw that the wagon was loaded with farm goods, and the rdii were also burdened with sacks of vegetables, piles of fur, and packaged meats. ¡°On your way to market?¡± he called as he edged around the group, and one dark-haired Ardeni woman called back from beside her rdii.

    ¡°Aye, early to market, early to the tavern!¡± Sheughed, and many of the others around her joined in.

    ¡°Well, I hope you get good prices!¡± Victor waved and hurried around them onto the open stretch of road leading through the woods. He could just make out a faint glimmer of white in the distance, and he knew it was the city gate. He heard Va speaking loudly to the farmers, but he couldn¡¯t make out her words. A momentter, she caught up to him.

    ¡°They think it¡¯s going to storm tonight. Snow.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Looks like we made it just in time.¡± Victor thumped Thistle¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Good idea, only sleeping every other night, Va.¡±

    Passage through the gate was painless at that hour. The guards on watch had the gates wide open, and when Victor and Va rode up, there wasn¡¯t anyone ahead of them. Victor had a sudden feeling of Deja Vu when he saw the gate¡ªits high portcullis, its steel doors, some twenty feet high, flung wide, and most of all, the guards with their polearms and green and ck livery. This was the gate where he¡¯d first entered the city, the gate through which his abductors had brought him to sell.

    ¡°I recognize this,¡± he said.

    ¡°Well, weren¡¯t you in the city for quite a while?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but not the gates. This is where I was brought through, in my first few minutes in this world.¡±

    ¡°It makes sense,¡± Va said, and perhaps because of the guards standing nearby, she seemed to have fallen back into her old habit of not borating.

    ¡°Why?¡± Victor asked, rolling his hand as if to say, ¡°Keep going.¡±

    ¡°Oh, the map indicates the summoning circle is east and north of here. Not far from the walls.¡±

    ¡°Oy! Are you twoing through or what?¡± the guard on the left asked, arge Vodkin with sleek, ck fur.

    Victor nced left and right, then behind him, pointedly staring up and down the empty road, then said, ¡°Is there some kind of hurry?¡± He still wore his armor, and when he frowned down at the guard from Thistle¡¯s back, the man backed up a step.

    ¡°No big hurry, I s¡¯pose.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go find some rooms,¡± Victor said to Va, and then the two of them started forward.

    ¡°Oy! ¡®Old up, there, friends,¡± the guard said as they road under the portcullis. ¡°What¡¯s your business in town?¡±

    ¡°Shopping,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Visiting family,¡± Va said.

    ¡°Some of both,¡± Victor nodded to Va.

    ¡°You got means for lodging?¡± the guard on the other side asked. He was much shorter, though just as stocky as the Vodkin¡ªa Cadwalli with long, ck goat horns that made wearing the uniform, conical helmet of the city watch impossible.

    ¡°Do you jest?¡± Va asked, raising an arched eyebrow. As always, she was impably dressed in her standard uniform¡ªstriped, close-fitting pants, high-cored, magically pressed, white shirt. More than that, she rode on a saddle and mount that probably cost more than the average person¡¯s home. She patted Uvu¡¯s shoulder and continued to stare. The guard nced from Va to Victor, then shrugged.

    ¡°Enjoy your stay.¡±

    Victor followed Va through the city¡¯s narrow streets and markets that were just waking up¡ªmerchants were busily setting up stalls and pulling their carts into ce. Uvu cleared the way for them several times by roaring in spite of Va¡¯s admonishments. Rdii and other lesser beasts were quick to trot out of his way, oftentimes upending carts and sending goods rolling. Merchants cursed andined, but they didn¡¯t make eye contact with Victor or Va, and the two of them made quick progress.

    ¡°Where we going, by the way? You have a ce in mind?¡± Victor asked after they¡¯d made their sixth or seventh turn and crossed yet another market square.

    ¡°An inn run by an old legion quartermaster. He¡¯s a good man and discreet.¡±

    ¡°Cool,¡± Victor said, looking around, wondering how many of the streets they rode down he¡¯d been led through in chains on his way to one pit fight or another. He wondered if he should go see Yund, walk into the Wagon Wheel and kick his ass. ¡°Maybe fucking Ponda, too.¡± Victor chuckled; he didn¡¯t know why, but he really didn¡¯t hold a grudge against Ponda. He felt like the big Vodkin had been as fair as he could be while still working for Yund.

    ¡°Still,¡± he said to Thistle, ¡°Yund doesn¡¯t run a very nice setup. There are people sitting in cages in their underwear right now, wondering if they¡¯ll live through the night.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Va asked, turning to him.

    ¡°Hey, I know I can¡¯t right all the wrongs in this city by myself, but there¡¯s one ce I¡¯d like to visit before we head out to investigate the summoning circle.¡±

    ¡°All right.¡±

    ¡°Like, let¡¯s stable these guys, then I want to go. Today.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Va didn¡¯t argue or ask him if he was sure; hell, she didn¡¯t even look at him. She just agreed, and Victor found that kind of refreshing. She might have her own motives for doing things, but she wasn¡¯t constantly second-guessing him.

    ¡°You¡¯re a good travelingpanion, Va.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a good sparring student,¡± she said, and Victorughed.

    ¡°Is that how it is? All right, Va, all right.¡± She still hadn¡¯t turned to look at him, so he couldn¡¯t tell if she was smiling, but he imagined she was.

    A short whileter, they arrived at the inn. It was a tall, narrow building sandwiched between a forge and a stable building. High, red stone walls rose up to a peaked, cedar, or whatever wood in that world looked like cedar, gabled roof. The sign above the open, double doors read, ¡°The Soldier¡¯s Rest.¡±

    A Shadeni boy rushed out of the stable toward Victor, and an older, stoop-backed Ardeni walked carefully toward Va. As the boy approached, he heard the other stablehand say to Va, ¡°I have advanced Animal Handling. Your terashii is in good hands.¡±

    ¡°Sir, I¡¯ll take care of that vidanii!¡± The boy said, standing to Victor¡¯s side.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Victor asked, hopping down and lifting Lifedrinker from her loop in the saddle. ¡°You can¡¯t even reach his back. How will you brush him properly?¡±

    ¡°I have a stool in the stable, sir! I¡¯ll be good to him!¡± He spoke earnestly, reaching out to rest a hand on Thistle¡¯s haunch, and Victor didn¡¯t detect any sort of flinch or rm from the animal. He shrugged.

    ¡°All right, how much?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯splimentary for people staying at the inn.¡± The boy gestured toward the tall stone building. Victor nodded but reached into his ring and took out a few Energy beads, holding them out for the boy.

    ¡°Make sure he eats well and gets plenty of space in there.¡± He gestured with his head toward the stable. The boy nodded and took the proffered beads.

    ¡°Many thanks, good sir!¡±

    ¡°Be good, Thistle,¡± he said to the vidanii, moving around the scratch his nose. Thistle huffed and pressed his big damp nose into Victor¡¯s shoulder, making himugh. He produced a blue, crisp, apple-sized fruit that he¡¯d stored away back in Gelica, and Thistle munched it noisily. ¡°He likes treats,¡± he said to the boy, and the kid nodded, bowing his head as Victor handed him the reins.

    He saw that Va was waiting up the short flight of stone steps by the inn¡¯s doors, and he gave Thistle one more pat, then climbed them, two at a time, and, together, they walked in. Themon room was quiet at that hour, though a few patrons sat around one of the long wooden tables eating breakfast. It was a bright room, especially with the doors flung wide the way they were. High, ster ceilings with wooden beams drew the eye to the far wall where an ornate banistered stairway led up to the guest rooms.

    ¡°Captain Va?¡± a deep, scratchy voice asked. Victor followed the sound to his left, where a white-mustached Ardeni man polished a gleaming wooden bartop. He wore an apron, but Victor could see he was very fit¡ªa man who¡¯d not seen azy day in his life. The top of his head was devoid of hair, but his amber eyes were bright and shrewd.

    ¡°Sergeant Hine.¡± Va strode forward and stretched a hand over the bar, and the man enthusiastically took it.

    ¡°Wonderful to have you in! You won¡¯t be staying at the ap¡¯Yensha estate?¡±

    ¡°No. This is Victor. He and I will be staying here a while, and we¡¯d like that kept discreet.¡±

    ¡°Not a problem, not a problem,¡± Hine said, reaching a hand out toward Victor.

    ¡°Good to meet you, Sergeant,¡± Victor said, striding forward and crushing the man¡¯s hand in a firm grip. Hine squeezed back without aint, favoring him with arge smile.

    ¡°That¡¯s a warrior if I saw one. Legion?¡±

    ¡°No. He¡¯s on a different path,¡± Va answered for him. ¡°Still, he¡¯s a good fighter and a good ally to have.¡±

    ¡°Very good, very good. Excellent. One room or two, Captain?¡±

    ¡°Two, but neighboring.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. I¡¯ll show you up myself. Shall I put it on the ap¡¯Yensha ount?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Va said before Victor could respond.

    ¡°Good, good. Follow me up,¡± Hine said, and he walked around the end of the bar toward the stairway. Victor and Va followed, and he led them to the third floor, down a narrow hallway with impably clean white ster walls and polished hardwood floors. ¡°Four rooms on this floor. I¡¯ll give you two the front corner suites. The rear suites are vacant, so you shouldn¡¯t be bothered.¡±

    ¡°Very good. Thank you, Sergeant,¡± Va said, standing before the two closed doors at the end of the hall.

    ¡°Do you want me to show you in?¡± For the first time, he seemed a little unsure, awkward even, and Victor could see why¡ªit felt like Va was dismissing the man.

    ¡°We¡¯re good, Sergeant,¡± Victor said, stepping in. ¡°I think we¡¯re both pretty road-weary, so we just want to kind of get unpacked and unwind a bit. We¡¯ve got a lot of business to handle in town.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, of course. Well, here are your keys. He held out two identical-looking keys,beled ¡°31¡± and ¡°32.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll speak soon, Sergeant. Thank you,¡± Va said, taking the keys. She stared at him until he nodded and turned, but, to her credit, she did smile pleasantly at him the entire time.

    ¡°Uh, well, it seems like he¡¯s friendly with you. I thought you didn¡¯t have any friends in the legion.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t. I met him after I served. He¡¯s a good friend to the ap¡¯Yensha n.¡± She held out the keybeled ¡°32,¡± and Victor noted it was for the door to his right. ¡°Let¡¯s meet out here in half an hour, and then we can take care of your first objective.¡±

    ¡°Good with me.¡± Victor took the key, a brass, many-toothed design, and pushed it into the lock above his door handle. Twisting it produced a satisfying thunk as the bolt slid open, and then he opened the door and went in. He wanted to tell Va that she¡¯d probably offended the innkeeper when she¡¯d sent him away so abruptly. He didn¡¯t really get it¡ªshe¡¯d seemed friendly and affable when she¡¯d first spoken to the guy, but then she¡¯d just awkwardly shifted gears like she had a checklist she was moving through.

    ¡°Well, not my problem,¡± he said, pulling Lifedrinker out of his belt loop. ¡°I mean, I want to give her advice, but it¡¯s not like we¡¯re that close, you know?¡± The axe vibrated in his hand, and he chuckled, looking around the room. A spacious bed sat near the front window, and the curtains were pulled wide, giving a view down the street via which they¡¯d approached the inn. Many more people were out already, and it seemed like a totally different ce than the one he¡¯d been paraded through as part of Yund¡¯s pit-fighting chain gang.

    ¡°I suppose we didn¡¯t see this part of the city. Well, and we were always out at night,¡± he said, still talking to the axe. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll feel any better if I kill that dude, but I wouldn¡¯t mind putting him outta business.¡± He moved through the room, stepping over the lovely embroidered pale-green rug into the bathroom, where he saw that there was not only a brass tub but also a stone-tiled shower in the corner. ¡°Oh, fuck yes! I haven¡¯t had a shower in a while, beautiful,¡± he said,ying the axe on the counter.

    He took off his helm, setting it on the counter next to the axe, then his armor, grunting as he pulled it over his head. Then he stripped down to his birthday suit and turned on the shower tap. It sputtered for a moment, but then hot, steaming water started to jet out of the brass showerhead, and Victor almostughed in his anticipation. ¡°God, yes! This is going to feel good.¡±

    He stepped into the hot water, groaning in pleasure as it rolled over his scalp, down his shoulders, and back. Heughed as he rubbed his fingers through his hair, but as hisughter died down, he heard a scraping sound, like someone dragging metal over tile, and he quickly rubbed the water out of his eyes. A figure stood in his doorway, cloaked in ck, and in its shadow-d hands was Lifedrinker. To his horror, Lifedrinker blinked out of existence, clearly stowed in a dimensional container.

    ¡°You mother fucker!¡± Victor roared, his rage suddenly off the charts. He exploded out of the shower, and the shadowy figure turned and took a step, trying to run, but not before Victor, naked, wet, roaring, and speeding like a freight train, smashed into its back. He felt the lithe bones of the figure bend and copse as he hit it, and the two crashed and rolled onto the floor, apanied by the cracks of more bones and wood as Victor drove them into the bed¡¯s footboard, smashing through it, ripping the feather-filled mattress in the process.

    The thief, as Victor¡¯s rage-fueled mind hade to think of the figure, screamed in agony, and the sound, filled with despair, pain, and the weak wheeze of terrible wounds, calmed Victor enough for him to pull back and flip him over. He reached down and jerked his shadowy hood away from his head, revealing a young, Ardeni man¡¯s face, bloodied and bruised from its impact with the bed. ¡°Get her out. Right fucking now!¡±

    ¡°Her?¡± the man gasped.

    ¡°The fucking axe!¡±

    He held the man by his throat, squeezing just enough not to kill him. He saw him fumbling with his left arm, grimacing and sobbing, unable to straighten the broken limb. Giving up, the thief used his other arm, holding it toward his chest, and then Lifedrinker appeared, falling through his broken fingers to tter onto the floor. Victor thrust the man away, sending him smashing back to the ruins of the bed, then he picked up Lifedrinker and held her to his head.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, beautiful. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said, his rage reced by worry. Was the axe okay? Had her spirit suffered? He knew dimensional containers were horrible ces for conscious beings.

    ¡°My pain was brief, my faith rewarded,¡± the axe sang, crystal clear, chiming in his mind, and nothing but love and prideing through with the words¡ªno anger, no suffering.

    ¡°Oh, thank God,¡± Victor said, hugging the axe to his chest. He looked down at the thief, little more than a child, really. His cloak looked to be made of shadows, shifting and kind of misty on his shoulders. ¡°You¡¯re fucking lucky,¡± he said. The thief didn¡¯t respond, and Victor prodded him with his toe, but he didn¡¯t move. ¡°Fuck,¡± he said, bending to jostle his shoulder.

    Suddenly the door burst open, splinters flying from the frame. ¡°Victor!¡± Va said, striding into the room to take in the scene, her wicked blue sword before her. She looked at Victor standing naked, holding his axe, and the crumpled form of the thief amidst the ruin of the bed. ¡°I heard the crash and acted with haste,¡± she said, ncing away from him.

    ¡°He was stealing my shit when I was in the shower. I might have overreacted, but he put Lifedrinker into a dimensional container, and I lost it. Jesus, I hope I didn¡¯t kill him,¡± Victor added, frowning down at the kid.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see to him. You could, perhaps, clothe yourself.¡± Va said, stepping forward, eyes trained on the thief, and Victor nodded, turning back to the bathroom. He was pulling on his pants when Va called, ¡°He¡¯ll live. He bears the mark of n ap¡¯Dreysha¡ªa den of thieves and assassins if ever there was one. They¡¯re at direct odds with Lady Rellia.¡±

    ¡°Ap¡¯Dreysha?¡± Victor asked, but before Va could respond, pounding feet could be heard in the hallway, and then Sergeant Hine and two burly city watchmen were crowding into the room. From the bathroom, he saw the guards, heard them questioning Va, and he sighed and buttoned his pants, ¡°So much for a rxing shower.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 24: Yund

    Book 3: Chapter 24: Yund

    ¡°We¡¯ll take ¡®im, mdy,¡± Victor heard one of the guards say to Va, but she looked at him with a frown and shook her head.

    ¡°No. I¡¯ll be bringing him tody ap¡¯Yensha.¡±

    ¡°No, ma¡¯am, I¡¯m sorry, but he¡¯sing with us,¡± the other guard said. Victor stepped out of the bathroom, now d in his armored shirt and holding Lifedrinker, and stepped up next to Va.

    ¡°No, men. We¡¯ll take him from here. If you feel that¡¯s a problem, have a magistrate collect him from the ap¡¯Yensha estate.¡± Va stared at the two guardsmen, brow furrowed, eyes brooking no argument.

    The two guards looked at each other, clearly conflicted, and Victor noted their better-than-average fitting uniforms, shiny mail, and polished boots. These guys either took their job more seriously than most or got paid better than most. Both were Ardeni and young. They looked fit, and their hands rested on their weaponsfortably.

    ¡°What n are you two from?¡± Victor asked on impulse.

    ¡°Yes. What are your names, guardsmen?¡± Va asked, her sword still naked in her hands.

    Sergeant Hine backed away from the two guards and held up his hands, ¡°Now, now, guards. I appreciate youing to investigate, but I think Lady ap¡¯Yensha will be within her rights to look into this matter. As she said, seek a magistrate¡¯s order if you¡¯d like to pursue things.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± the taller guard said; he had perfectly coiffed red hair, curly and glistening¡ªa sign that Victor hade to understand meant he¡¯d advanced his race a time or two. ¡°We¡¯ll be on our way.¡± He tugged at his friend''s elbow, a dark-haired fellow with bright yellow eyes, and the two of them made a hasty exit.

    ¡°They didn¡¯t want to give us their n name,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Correct. I wish I had the staff here to follow them,¡± Va said. She nced at Sergeant Hine. ¡°Do you have someone to spare?¡±

    ¡°Not anyone that wouldn¡¯t make a fool of themselves. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Did you fetch those guardsmen?¡± Va pressed.

    ¡°No! They came into themon room¡ªsaid they¡¯d heard a sh while standing out front.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s bullshit,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Aye,¡± Va grunted as she knelt to inspect the ¡°thief¡± again. He was breathing, but some of his bones were clearly bent in the wrong ces. ¡°Ancestors! Do me a favor and never tackle me, Victor.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get this room sorted. Just give me an hour, please?¡± Hine said, ncing at Victor as he surveyed the damage.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got somewhere to go, anyway,¡± he turned to Va, ¡°You gonna take this guy to Rellia? I¡¯d like to know what was going on. Was he targeting my axe, or was he just lucky?¡±

    ¡°Rellia has people that will get the information from him,¡± she nced at Victor and then at Hine, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m talking about an imperial, licensed mind caster.¡±

    ¡°Mind caster?¡±

    ¡°Aye,¡± Hine grunted, ¡°someone with a mind affinity. Damn rare, and damn illegal if you don¡¯t register with the empire.¡±

    ¡°Fuck that,¡± Victor grunted on instinct. He didn¡¯t like the idea of the empire or anyone requiring someone to register so they could keep tabs on their magic.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Va asked, producing a small amber vial and holding it to the thief¡¯s lips.

    ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t like the idea of some imperial agency in charge of my magic. I¡¯m not a mind caster or whatever, but I wouldn¡¯t do it.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand how dangerous they are. They can make suggestions that, if you heard them, you¡¯d struggle to resist. I could spend the afternoon telling you the horror stories I¡¯ve heard.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen it,¡± Hine said quietly.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Victor looked at the man while the thief gasped, and his bones began to click and crack back into the correct positions.

    ¡°Aye. We was on duty out near the World Breakers. Me and the rest of the Red yer Company. Captain came ¡®round and told us to head to a vige up in the foothills; I still remember its name¡ªMisty Hollow. When we got there, me and four other hard men and women, we found a man sitting by the vige well, just weeping into his hands. In a circle, all ¡®round him were the people of the vige. Every one of them was slumped over like they¡¯d been sitting on their knees, and their throats were cut. Only one of them held a knife, though, and that¡¯s when shit went weird.¡± He nced at Va and nervously added, ¡°Pardon mynguage, Captain.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Victor asked as Va shrugged and shook her head. Not only was the story interesting, but the man was only the second or third native he¡¯d heard say the word ¡°shit.¡± The sergeant looked down at the thief, and Va took the hint, flipped him over on his stomach, to his protestations, and tied his hands behind his back. Then the sergeant continued.

    ¡°The weeping man took his hands away from his face and looked at us. He said, ¡®Stand still,¡¯ and we did. Not one of us took another step. Then he said, to my mate Yorfil, ¡®Pick up the knife.¡¯ Ancestors be damned if he didn¡¯t step forward and pick up the knife. Then the weeping man said, tears still falling from his cheeks, ¡®Why don¡¯t you cut your throat?¡¯¡±

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Aye. The others of us, we stood like dummies, unable to move while Yorfil lifted that knife to his throat. I thought he was a goner, and I strained with everything I had to move, but I couldn¡¯t do it! Luckily, I wasn¡¯t the strongest among us, and Batha, the hardest, meanest legionnaire you ever saw, suddenly broke into a charge and drove her spear right through the weepin¡¯ man¡¯s eye. Yorfil dropped the knife, and all was well. At least for us.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the worst, though,¡± Va added, ¡°It¡¯s the subtle suggestions that can cause real havoc. The wrong word in a mayor¡¯s ear, a seductive whisper to an attractive man or woman, the hint that a price should be changed on an expensive item¡ªan unregistered mind caster can do a lot of damage.¡±

    ¡°Damn, Va, sounds like you¡¯ve got more than a few good stories to tell,¡± Victor said, surprised the woman had said so much.

    ¡°On that note,¡± Va said, grabbing hold of the thief¡¯s shoulder, ¡°up you go,d. Come with me; time to tell your tale.¡± The boy grunted and mumbled something about things not being fair, but Va hauled him up, then turned to Victor, ¡°You don¡¯t need me for this thing you¡¯ve got to do?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll be all right. See you here in a few hours. Hey, remember what I said about not wanting people to know where I am.¡±

    ¡°That bird¡¯s flown free, I¡¯m afraid. Still, I¡¯ll let people know you don¡¯t want to be bothered.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be sure no onees knocking, Victor. I don¡¯t know how this one got in here. Maybe he hid in here after the maids finishedst.¡± He looked at the thief and said, ¡°Well? At least tell us that much! How¡¯d you get in here, boy?¡±

    The young thief winced as Va squeezed his arm, then he said, ¡°My cloak. I slipped past all three of you, and the lock was no trouble. I came in while you all stood chatting at thending.¡±

    ¡°Old uncle¡¯s bones!¡± Hine said, ¡°I thought those locks were good!¡±

    ¡°Not for someone with the right talent,¡± the kid said; this time, he sounded almost cocky.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get too smug,¡± Va said. ¡°You¡¯ve got an unpleasant few hours ahead of you.¡± She turned to Victor as she strode for the door, the thief in tow. ¡°Later, then.¡±

    ¡°Later,¡± he said, then she was gone. Victor turned to Hine and added, ¡°Sorry about the room. I wasn¡¯t aiming for the bed.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m embarrassed that this happened to you in my inn. Is there anything I can do to help you with your business?¡±

    Victor thought about it for a minute as he put Lifedrinker into her loop on his belt, then said, ¡°I could use directions. I¡¯m not sure how to get to a ce called the Wagon Wheel from here. It¡¯s a, uh, pit fighting ce.¡±

    ¡°Aye, I¡¯ve heard of it. I know the way. Would you like me to write out the directions?¡±

    ¡°Nah,¡± Victor said over his shoulder as he collected his helmet from the bathroom counter. ¡°Just tell me¡ªI won¡¯t forget.¡± He grinned as he patted his chest where Gorz hung, long-neglected. ¡°I have a memory trick.¡±

    Not long after that, Victor was wending his way through the streets of Persi Gables, d to have most of his belongings tucked away in his storage rings. People pressed close in the narrower alley-like roads, and though he was big and people hurried out of his way, he still was bumped into constantly. Victor didn¡¯t know much about pickpocketing, but he¡¯d heard of it and figured this was the perfect ce for such an activity.

    Gorz spoke up from time to time to tell him where to turn, and Victor mentally resolved to talk to the amulet that night¡ªhe wanted to show him the new pattern Oyna had made for him before he made an effort to study and use it. Thinking of Oyna, Victor smiled¡ªtwo nights ago, he¡¯d met with her and Tha again, and they¡¯d given him an update on Deyni. The little girl was already riding around on Starlight, with Chandri leading the animal.

    Apparently, she¡¯d gained her Animal Handling skill almost immediately. The n was excited because they saw great promise in her ability¡ªthey hoped she¡¯d advance the skill much further than most hunter folk usually did. Oyna had groused that the girl should be focusing on her spirit cultivation, but Tha had retorted, ¡°She can do both!¡± Victorughed at the memory as he rounded a corner in the tight, debris-strewn alley, and a familiar sight opened up before his eyes, bringing him back to the present.

    ¡°God, it¡¯s so fucking small,¡± he said, looking at the front of the warehouse with the big, dried-out, warped wagon wheel nailed above the doors. In his memories, the warehouse had loomedrge, big as any gym back in Tucson, but that wasn¡¯t the case. Looking through the open doors, he saw a few fighters sparring on the sawdust, and to him, it looked like a hovel¡ªnothing close to the practice facilities back at Rellia¡¯s estate. A burly Shadeni stood near the doors, arms crossed, ring at the people practicing, and Victor knew he was Yund¡¯s employee, not one he recognized, but the guard was clearly keeping the fighters from leaving.

    ¡°How to do this,¡± Victor muttered as he started striding forward through the alley, kicking an old crate out of his way with this steel-toed boot. It ttered and skidded over the debris-strewn cobbles, and the guardzily turned toward him. His eyes bulged open, and he straightened up when he saw Victor stomping his way. Forck of a better, more thoughtful n, Victor had decided to go with muscle and intimidation.

    Before he was close enough to talk, he cast Manifest Spirit, and, on an impulsive whim, he fueled it with fear-attuned Energy. His spectral pack of coyotes shimmered into existence, and they were dark, like purple-ck shadows. They followed along at his heels, yipping, growling, and looking around with menacing violet, smoky eyes.

    ¡°Hold up,¡± the Shadeni said, putting his hand on a knobby wooden cudgel he wore at his belt.

    ¡°Ah-ah,¡± Victor replied, resting his hand on Lifedrinker. The man was tall, probably over six feet, and had long, twisted ck horns, so Victor knew he wasn¡¯t a baseline Shadeni. Still, whatever aura he could project was swallowed by his, and Victor could see the fear in his eyes as they darted around, taking in his weird, yippingpanions. Victor dug deep for his most stern voice, allowing some rage to flood his pathways, and said, ¡°I¡¯m not here to kill everyone, but I can if you guys want to push me.¡±

    ¡°What do you want?¡± the guard asked, his hand falling away from his cudgel.

    ¡°Is Yund here? Ponda?¡±

    ¡°Yes, in his office, but he doesn¡¯t want . . .¡± Victor brushed past the man, and with a mental nudge, one of his coyotes sat down in the doorway, staring at him, a low growl in its chest, and ck, smoky fur standing up on its back in a ridge.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move around, or that hound will rip out your throat.¡± Victor didn¡¯t know if the coyote could really take the man, but he didn¡¯t think the guard did either. He stood there, mouth open, and watched as Victor and his other fourpanions stalked onto the practice floor.

    Victor red around at the eight or so fighters, all dressed in rags of cloth or scraps of leather. Not one of them looked like they¡¯d seen a good meal in thest week, and they were universally filthy. ¡°Be calm!¡± Victor called out, and he cast Inspiring Presence.

    The dingy, straw and sand-covered hall grew brighter, and the fighters stood up a little straighter, nodding at Victor, and he saw something light up in their eyes, something bright, and it took him a minute to understand¡ªhe was seeing hope born. ¡°Wait here.¡± He looked at them each and settled on an older man, a lean Ardeni with violet hair and eyes, and he added, ¡°If Pondaes around,e and knock on the door. I¡¯m going to talk to Yund.¡±

    ¡°Aye,¡± the man said, not missing a beat, staring at Victor with that gleam in his eyes. Victor nodded and, not wanting to pin everything on a stranger, willed one of his coyotes to sit in the center of the practice hall, alert for any other of Yund¡¯s thugs that might wander in. Then he walked up to Yund¡¯s office door and yanked it open, ripping the bolt through the wooden doorframe.

    ¡°What in the hells?¡± Yund yowled, standing up from behind his desk and reaching for a twin-ded axe that hung on the wall next to his chair. He was the same old guy Victor used to know, but he seemed puny, which really threw Victor for a loop. Sure, he expected the Wagon Wheel to appear different. He knew ces you experience in one phase of your life could seem smaller or emptier, minus the people and feelings you had while there.

    Yund, though, he¡¯d been a giant in Victor¡¯s mind, a terrifying menace that could swat him like a fly. Someone with immense power and wealth that held Victor¡¯s life in the palm of his hand. Here he was, though, not so tall, quite fat, slow, with jiggling jowls and cheap clothes. Even his axe looked like something Victor would leave lying on the battlefield. ¡°Hey, Yund, you old asshole.¡±

    ¡°Wha . . .¡±

    Victor stepped through the doorway, ducking to avoid hitting his head on the lintel, and his three yipping, growling shadows slinked in around him, taking up various dark corners of the room. Yund began to sweat, and his words died in his throat as his eyes bulged and his hands began to tremble. ¡°Sit down,¡± Victor said, and Yund practically copsed into his chair.

    ¡°Do I know you, sir? Is this about the money I owe Tharjis?¡± Yund looked from Victor to Lifedrinker, then let his eyes dart around at the shadowy hounds emanating their dark aura, and Victor actually saw him gulp. That gave him pause, and as he took in a deep breath, he realized he was channeling a lot of rage-attuned Energy into his pathways, more than he¡¯d intended.

    Looming there, over Yund¡¯s desk, Victor saw a red, flickering light reflected on the shiny, brass shield hanging behind Yund, and he knew he was starting to glow with a red aura. Not only that, but he had, at some point, lifted Lifedrinker free from his belt, and the fact that she was in his hands, humming for action, almost drove him into a frenzy. It was with a monumental effort of will that he reeled in his rage and slowly forced in and out another long, slow breath.

    ¡°You don¡¯t recognize me, asshole?¡± Victor asked, leaning closer.

    ¡°No, um, is it you that I owe?¡± Yund stammered, his jowls shaking with the way his head darted left and right, searching for answers in the corners of the room.

    ¡°How I¡¯ve changed, eh? So much that you can¡¯t see it in my eyes. Isn¡¯t my skin enough? Sure, I¡¯ve seen some sun, but I¡¯m still the only tan-colored mother fucker in this city with no wings. Come on, asshole. Look into my eyes.¡± Victor leaned in close, and that¡¯s when the light ignited in Yund¡¯s panicked face.

    ¡°V . . .V . . . Victor? Ancestors, boy! You can¡¯t me me for what that noble did! My hands were tied . . .¡±

    ¡°No, pendejo, my fucking hands were tied!¡± Victor growled, and suddenly all his rage was back, and he smashed Yund¡¯s desk with Lifedrinker, utterly reducing it to kindling with the rage-fueled swing. He pushed through the ruined furnishing and grabbed Yund¡¯s leather cor, lifting the man from his feet and pressing him against the rear wall of the office, crumpling the cheap shield hanging there. ¡°God, I want to fucking squeeze your head off,¡± he hissed, pushing his face an inch from Yund¡¯s.

    ¡°Wa . . . wait, Victor!¡± Yund wheezed.

    ¡°Where are your fucking contracts?¡± Victor growled, and he knew he was glowing again. He knew his hand was hot where it pressed into Yund¡¯s chest, and Lifedrinker buzzed in his other hand, begging him to let go, to Berserk andy waste to the entire ce.

    ¡°In my ring . . .¡±

    ¡°Right, if you want to live . . .¡± Just then, a bang on the door sounded while his coyote howled from the practice floor. ¡°Sit down!¡± He pushed Yund into his chair and gestured to his coyotes, ¡°They¡¯re watching you.¡± Then he gripped Lifedrinker and, with a kick that finished off the door, sending it flying off its hinges, strode back onto the practice floor.

    Ponda, the door guy, and two other thugs were standing in the center of the hall, cudgels and even shields equipped. The two coyotes Victor had left on watch were stalking them, walking in slow circles around the four henchmen, and when Victor exploded from the office, they broke off and came to stand on either side of him. Victor stared at Ponda, and it only took a moment for the light of recognition to shine in the big Vodkin¡¯s eyes.

    Victor grinned, staring at Ponda. At one time, he¡¯d almost thought of the Vodkin in friendly terms¡ªhe¡¯d seemed sort of cool the way he spoke with the fighters and talked shit about Yund behind his back. He¡¯d seemed a giant to Victor back then, and he was a huge man, close to Victor¡¯s size, though that would be a different story if Victor lost himself to rage, and he felt damn close. ¡°You fucking stupid, Ponda? The game¡¯s over. Time to go find a new job.¡±

    ¡°Victor? Little runt with an anger problem? Why¡¯d youe back, kid? Yund ain¡¯t worth your time, especially if you got free.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right about that much, Ponda. He¡¯s not worth my time, but they are,¡± Victor gestured with his axe at the fighters standing around.

    ¡°Come on, Victor! There¡¯re hundreds, thousands of people like them in the city. How about Gelica? Or a dozen other cities I could name. You think killing Yund and taking a handful of fighters will make a difference?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll make a difference to them,¡± Victor growled, pointing at a woman sitting against the wall, head in her hands. He stepped forward, desperately wanting to project his fear Energy, wanting to see the panic in their eyes, wanting to hear their screams as he ran behind them and cut them down with merciless cleaves. His fear Core pulsed and throbbed, begging him to release it, and then Oyna¡¯s words came to him, bouncing around in his skull, warning him to hold back from overusing that attunement. He stopped and sucked in a deep breath, and said, ¡°Fuck off, Ponda. I don¡¯t want to wake up at night thinking about how I cut you to pieces.¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon, Victor, I know you, kid. Sure, you¡¯ve put on some muscle, but it hasn¡¯t been that long. I¡¯m tier three, and these whoresons aren¡¯t far behind. Just take off, huh? I¡¯ll tell Yund we beat you up and sent you packing.¡± He nced at his wide-eyedpanions, and they seemed to take heart in his words. In fact, they appeared bolstered, and Victor wondered if Ponda was using some kind of ability.

    Victor decided it was time to put an end to the talking; he reached into his Core and reversed the pressure of his will on his rage-attuned Core. He cast Berserk as the heat of his Energy flooded him, and he screamed his titanic fury at the sky. His body doubled in mass, maybe more, and tremendous corded muscles shot up around his shoulders, neck, and arms. His legs became like tree trunks, and his terrible shriek grew in volume until the people standing around pped their hands to their ears and backed away, wide-eyed, as Victor lifted Lifedrinker, one-handed, into the air.

    ¡°I said, fucking leave, Ponda!¡± he roared, his voice like a monster¡¯s, hoarse, deep, grinding. It rolled out of his throat like an avnche. So effective were his words and actions that Ponda and his three cronies turned and, without a second nce, bolted from the warehouse. Victor¡¯s instinct was to give chase, to cut them down, and his coyotes looked at him, whining, prancing toward the door and back again, shaking with the urge to run after the fleeing enemies.

    ¡°Hold,¡± he rumbled, and Victor realized he was still himself. He¡¯d pushed his rage out, cast berserk, but he wasn¡¯t truly angry; the fury of his scream hade from a deeper part of himself, and his waking mind didn¡¯t resonate with it¡ªnot that day. He turned¡ªa giant, limned in red, glowing Energy, eyes bloody with harnessed murder¡ªand growled at the people standing around, ¡°Don¡¯t flee. I¡¯m getting your contracts.¡±

    Victor turned and, still berserk, stomped toward the office. He didn¡¯t fit in the doorway, so he smashed a shoulder into the wall next to the door, widening it. Stooped over, he advanced on Yund and growled, his breathing out like a bellows, ¡°Ring.¡±

    Yund fumbled with his hand, trying to slide the ring from his left pointer finger, but it was tight, and didn¡¯t want toe off. Victor reached out and snatched the man¡¯s hand, tiny, like a child¡¯s, and a part of Victor¡¯s mind wanted to bite it off¡ªwho was this puny man to stand in his presence? He mped down on that thought, though, and with his thumb and the meat of his pointer finger, he grabbed Yund¡¯s ring and pulled. It slid off easily, though Yund screamed, and Victor realized he¡¯d pulled off a long strip of the man¡¯s skin.

    He shook the ring, so the bloody skin fell off, then he grunted, ¡°Unbond.¡± Yund¡¯s face, red by nature, had faded to a wan pink, and his eyes widened further still at themand.

    ¡°Victor, all my contracts, much of my wealth is in that . . .¡±

    ¡°Unbond,¡± Victor growled again and, already stooping over, leaned closer, so his huge, blood-red eyes were staring into Yund¡¯s. The man gingerly reached out with his non-bloodied hand and touched the ring. He held his finger there for a brief moment, and then he pulled it away, a crestfallen, ruined look on his face.

    Victor felt his rage cooling and knew he¡¯d lose his Berserk any moment, so he took Yund by the neck and dragged him out of the office. He threw him, tumbling through the sand and filthy hay, to slide up to a group of three fighters lingering closer to the exit than Victor hadst seen them. ¡°Hold,¡± he grunted, then he put his hands on his knees and breathed, allowing his anger to fade and his rage-attuned Energy to seep back into his Core.

    Yund groaned and writhed, clearly further injured by his long slide over the rough floor, but the three fighters pounced on him. One slid his practice sword under Yund¡¯s chin and braced his knees against his back, forcing the muchrger man to gasp, and struggle for breath. Victor, back to his usual self, cleared his throat and said, ¡°Someonee here. I¡¯ll give you the key to the cells, and I want everyone out here. Tell them I¡¯m giving you all your contracts and a share of Yund¡¯s wealth.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 25: Reconnaissance

    Book 3: Chapter 25: Reconnaissance

    While he waited for Yund¡¯s fighters to assemble, he took a look in the man¡¯s storage ring. His mind reeled at the clutter, and he cussed while he tried to make sense of the contents. At first, he was stymied by the piles of hundreds of clothing items, but he mentally nudged those all into a corner of the space, away from the other contents. Then he had to sift through dozens of personal items from beard oil to toothpicks, from novels about lusty women to letters Yund had written to people and never delivered.

    Notably missing from the jumble was any sort of real wealth. Victor didn¡¯t find more than a handful of Energy beads, nor did he find any valuable weapons or armor. If he were given the ring, not knowing who it had belonged to, Victor would have guessed it was from a man very down on his luck. After much digging, he finally came up with two contract binders. One was very thick, and one rtively thin, and when he flipped through them, he realized why¡ªthe thick binder held the contracts of Yund¡¯s deceased fighters, and the thin one held the contracts of his current stable.

    ¡°Drag him over here, please,¡± Victor said to the group of fighters holding Yund in ce. As theyplied, tugging and pulling him to the tune of yelps and curses, a thin line of sickly, filthy, barely clothed individuals started to trickle into the practice hall from the holding pens. When Yund was pulled prostrate in front of Victor, he said, ¡°Yund, where¡¯s your money?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d have told you, Victor,¡± he gasped, clearly in pain from bruised and bent limbs. ¡°I¡¯m broke! I¡¯ve made a few bad deals and wagers, and I owe a lot of money to some bad people!¡±

    Victor snorted. ¡°Bad people, Yund? Talk about the pot insulting the kettle.¡± Victor ignored Yund¡¯s protestations and looked out over the crowd of gathered fighters, his eyes darting to the female faces, hoping to see his old cagemate, Belsa. He didn¡¯t see her, though, and he spoke up, loud enough for them all to hear over their muttering and conversations, ¡°Any of you know Belsa?¡±

    Silence met his words as they all turned to stare at him, some with fear in their eyes, others with hope. Victor let his gaze travel from face to face, and finally, a tall, scarred Shadeni with one long ck horn and the stump of another raised his hand and said, ¡°I knew her.¡±

    ¡°Knew?¡±

    ¡°Aye, sir. She died some time ago in a five-man melee.¡±

    ¡°God damn it,¡± Victor growled, grinding his teeth together. He hardly remembered the girl, but he remembered being kind of an asshole to her. She was really the only other person left at the Wagon Wheel that he¡¯d hoped to see. Suddenly, despite his victory and Yund cowering at his feet, the whole thing just felt kind of pointless, kind of empty.

    Again, he nced at Yund, searching for the anger he¡¯d need to smash the man into a pulp, but he couldn¡¯t find it. All he felt was empty sadness, a hollow ache, and he wondered if he¡¯d made a mistakeing there. If he¡¯d nevere back, he could have at least imagined Belsa might have won her way free. He might have imagined that Yund had met justice at the hands of his own fighters. Now he was responsible for the scummy asshole, and nothing about squashing him like a bug felt good to him.

    He closed his eyes, listening to the muttering crowd, some of them asking their neighbors what was wrong with him, others suggesting they make a run for it. Victor tried to tune them out and focused on his memories of thest week or so in his cell at the Wagon Wheel. He tried to remember Belsa¡¯s face, and though he strained, he kept picturing women from Tellen¡¯s n¡ªChandri, Ch, and so many others. In a gut-wrenching moment, Deyni¡¯s face shed into his mind, and he growled, opening his eyes and lifting a foot as though he might stomp the life out of Yund.

    The pit boss cowered and writhed and looked so pathetic that Victor¡¯s smoldering rage faded away, and he put his foot down. Belsa was gone, and killing this asshole wouldn¡¯t bring her back. He sighed, shaking his head, and, intending to have one of them hand out the contracts, asked, ¡°Who can read?¡±

    Several people raised their hands, but a thin man with the wings of a Ghelli strode forward and said, ¡°Victor?¡± Sudden recognition washed over Victor¡¯s face, and shes of memories ran through his mind¡ªa shared drink after a pit night, encouraging words, a man standing tall against a stronger opponent, and a whispered confession about terrible crimes and the lengths a man would go to for justice.

    ¡°Sarl!¡± he said and stepped forward to p the smaller man into an embrace. He didn¡¯t know why he hugged him¡ªmaybe it had something to do with not finding Belsa alive, maybe it was just relief that at least one person who¡¯d been friendly to him was still at the Wagon Wheel, one person could stand witness to his return.

    ¡°We thought you were dead,¡± Sarl said,ughing and pushing Victor back with strong, wiry arms.

    ¡°Almost, man, almost. A few times!¡± Victor said, wincing sheepishly at memories of hectic battles. ¡°Anyway, I turned things around a bit, and now I¡¯m here to help you all out.¡± Victor held up the binder of contracts.

    ¡°Ahh! I see. Well, you can¡¯t just kill Yund and give us our contracts¡ªthe magistrates would put a price on our heads.¡±

    Victor stepped back and grunted, looking at Yund. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to kill him, I don¡¯t think. I was going to take your contracts, though. I don¡¯t give a fuck about thews regarding very here, but I don¡¯t want you all to suffer for my actions. Well, what can I do?¡±

    The crowd erupted in snarls and outbursts. Words like ¡°Kill him!¡± or ¡°Cut off his fingers!¡± or ¡°Just let us run for it!¡± rose up out of the noise, but Sarl held up a hand and whistled shrilly.

    ¡°Quiet!¡± Victor added to the whistle, and everyone settled down.

    ¡°Victor, if you really want to help, we need someone else to buy the contracts¡ªsomeone better than Yund.¡±

    ¡°Oh, shit. Yeah, I could do that.¡± He nodded.

    ¡°It¡¯s a lot of money for some of us, Victor,¡± Sarl said, shaking his head.

    ¡°Yeah, I got it, Sarl. How do we make this legal?¡±

    ¡°You and Yund have to sign off on the sale with the correct payment going to him in front of witnesses.¡±

    ¡°All right, everyone, sit down and getfortable. We¡¯ll do this right.¡± Victor pointed at two men standing close to Yund¡¯s ruined office. ¡°Bring us one of the mess hall tables and get some pens or something from Yund¡¯s office.¡±

    After that, Victor spent the next hour working through each contract with Yund. He told the big pit boss to sit at the table across from him, and then it was just a matter of Sarl writing the sale notations at the bottom of each contract and Victor and Yund signing. After each contract was finished, Victor stacked it to his left and ced the correct number of Energy beads in front of Yund.

    Some sales were absurdly cheap¡ªone was only three beads. Others were ¡°expensive,¡± ranging from a hundred to one that was just over five hundred beads¡ªSarl¡¯s. All told, Victor spent over a thousand beads paying off the fighters'' contracts. Each time theypleted a sale, Victor had two of the fighters sign as witnesses, and at the end, he gave Yund back his ring and let him keep the beads. He didn¡¯t like it, but he didn¡¯t like the idea of murdering or robbing the guy and having some overzealous magistrate take it out on him or Yund¡¯s former ves.

    ¡°Yund, I¡¯ll keep these guys from killing you for exactly five minutes. If I were you, I¡¯d get running,¡± Victor said when the contracts were all settled.

    Yund nched and looked around at the thirty-three pairs of hate-filled eyes, snatched up his ring, and ran for the door. Some of the fighters started to give chase, but Victor bellowed after them to stop. His smoky, purple-ck coyotes were still lurking in the corners of the room, and Victor willed two of them to pursue Yund until he¡¯d cleared the alley. With that done, he turned to the gathered fighters and stood on the table.

    ¡°First, you should know that I¡¯m about to sign over your contracts to you. You¡¯ll all be free.¡± A ragged cheer greeted his words, but just as he¡¯d suspected, some of the faces didn¡¯t look so happy¡ªthey looked lost, doubtful, or even afraid. ¡°Second, I want you to know that I have work for any of you that have no ce to go.¡± Another, more heartfelt cheer broke out.

    ¡°I have powerful allies, and we¡¯re putting together an army. In the spring, we¡¯llunch a campaign to imnds in the Untamed Marches. Any of you can join and receive food, equipment, and a sry, or you can leave, go your own way and aplish your own goals.¡± With that, Victor sat down and began signing off all the contracts. As he finished each one, he handed it to Sarl, and the Ghelli gave it to the correct fighter.

    When he was finished, Victor set down Yund¡¯s magical quill and looked around the room. The crowd was thinner than before, but he still counted twenty-four fighters standing around. He looked at Sarl and said, ¡°What about you? What will you do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay and serve in your new army, Victor.¡±

    Victor smiled and reached out a hand. Sarl took it in his strong grip, and the two of them grinned at each other while they shook. ¡°I¡¯m putting you in charge of these fighters, then. Give me a minute,¡± Victor said, then took out his Far Scribe book and began to write a note to Lam.

    Captain Lam,

    I¡¯m sending you a group of twenty-five fighters I liberated from my old fighting stable. They¡¯re all free men who¡¯ve chosen to join our cause. Their leader is a former nobleman named Sarl, and I¡¯d like him to remain inmand of these soldiers in our campaign force. Please enlist, equip, and house these fighters, cing them, as a unit, in our ranks where you deem most appropriate.

    -Victor

    He snapped the book closed and then turned to Sarl, ¡°Okay, Captain Lam knows to expect you. I¡¯m not sure where her estate is in the city¡ªI just got here myself. If you ask around, though, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find it.¡±

    ¡°Just like that, Victor? Your fortunes truly have changed. Thank you, my friend.¡± He turned to the ragged, filthy fighters and said, ¡°Keep your contracts to hand! I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be challenged walking through the city like this.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor said, ¡°hold on.¡± He dug into his dimensional ring and pulled out a hundred more Energy beads. He handed them to Sarl and said, ¡°If you guys want to stop and get cleaned up and maybe buy some clean shirts and pants, that would be fine.¡±

    ¡°You heard the man! Line up!¡± Sarl yelled, and Victor smiled, watching him get the rough group into an orderly line, barking orders. Sarl¡¯s background as a disgraced nobleman suited him well as a sergeant.

    Victor left the Wagon Wheel feeling much better than he had earlier. Sarl¡¯s presence and advice about legally handling the contracts had changed the sour twist in Victor¡¯s gut into a glow of warmth in his chest.

    When he retraced his steps out of the alley, leaving Sarl to manage the group of fighters, he carried Lifedrinker in his hands, partially expecting trouble from Yund or Ponda, but he worked his way back to the busier streets of Persi Gables without incident. ¡°Well, gorgeous,¡± he said to Lifedrinker as he put her back in her loop, ¡°that¡¯s what happens when you lead a dirty life¡ªyou don¡¯t feel too excited about running for help when someone fucks your shit up.¡±

    When he got back to Sergeant Hine¡¯s inn, it waste afternoon, and Captain Va was sitting in themon room waiting for him. ¡°Victor!¡± she called, her voice cutting through the noise of conversations, clinking dishes, and a man strumming a stringed instrument in the corner. Victor smiled at her and then made his way through the light crowd to the corner table where she sat and pulled out the chair, sitting down with a grunt.

    ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± he asked, scooting back the chair so he could stretch out his legs, his feet crossed at the ankles near Va¡¯s chair.

    ¡°Well. Lady Rellia will update our book when she¡¯s found answers from the thief. And you? Was your old business settled?¡± As she spoke, Va waved down a server, and the apron-d Ardeni nodded to her, indicating he¡¯de over when he could.

    ¡°Yeah, pretty well settled, I¡¯d say. My old demon was sort of pathetic, really. I ended up letting him live, and with a fatter stack of beads than he deserved. I doubt I really changed much about what¡¯s going on in this city, but at least I helped out a few people, including one old friend.¡±

    Va held up her cup, presumably filled with liquor, and said, ¡°To small victories, then.¡± She took a sip and held the cup out to Victor, and he grinned, taking it. When he looked into the cup, he saw the telltale red of the wine Va seemed to enjoy, and he took a drink. It wasn¡¯t bad, and he smiled at her, then downed the rest of the cup¡¯s contents.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Vaughed.

    ¡°What? Don¡¯t tell me that was your first cup. I need to catch up somehow, don¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°A mark well scored.¡± Sheughed again. ¡°Well? Do you want to hunt out their of those responsible for your arrival in this world, or would you like to rest?¡±

    ¡°Wow! Really tempting my impulsive side, aren¡¯t you? C¡¯mon, Va¡ªI would think a captain from the legion would know that the best time to fuck with your enemies is early in the morning. I learned that ying VR sims.¡±

    ¡°Yes. You¡¯re right, Victor, and you were right about the amount of wine I¡¯ve had to drink. I¡¯m a touch annoyed from my visit with Rellia, and I feel likeshing out at something.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Victor knew something was up because Va rarely called Rellia by her first name. ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Well, it started when I wouldn¡¯t tell her where we¡¯re staying. I told her I¡¯d promised to keep people from bothering you, which further irritated her, and she said she¡¯d just find the answer from the thief and that I was being stupid . . .¡± Va smiled as the server dropped off another cup and a pitcher of wine. After he walked away, she continued, ¡°Anyway, you don¡¯t want to know all of it. It¡¯s stupid.¡±

    ¡°Eh, I guess I¡¯m being kind of selfish, expecting you to keep secrets like that. If it¡¯s causing you trouble, tell Rellia whatever you want. I¡¯m not promising to stick around the city after we¡¯ve dealt with a couple more things, though¡ªlike the summoner assholes you mentioned earlier.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Victor. Our issues go farther back than my dealings with you.¡± She paused and filled their cups from the pitcher. ¡°Let¡¯s forget about Rellia, hmm? Shall we have a few drinks and then retire early? We can rise before dawn and visit the location of the summoner¡¯s hall.¡±

    ¡°Sounds fucking perfect,¡± Victor said and picked up his cup.

    #

    When Victor woke very early in the morning, he was d for his enormous vitality and improved body. He must have drunk a gallon or two of wine the night before, yet he felt excellent. He was a little annoyed at himself for spending the evening drinking instead of cultivating or working on his new Energy weave pattern, but he was only human and figured it was good to let off some steam now and then.

    He pulled out the little pocketwatch he¡¯d purchased so long ago when he was scratching out an existence deep beneath the earth and saw that it was just two hours past midnight. Nodding to himself, he stood up, used the bathroom, and then got dressed. Fully armored and with his axe loose on his belt, he left his room and gently tapped on Va¡¯s door. Three heartbeatster, the handle silently turned, and the door opened an inch to reveal Va¡¯s seafoam green eye. ¡°Ready?¡± she asked in a voice so low, Victor wasn¡¯t sure she¡¯d spoken.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he whispered. She pulled the door open, stepped out, and silentlytched it. Then she moved past Victor and led the way out of the inn, ghosting down the hallway, and Victor noted she wore ck pants and a dark military cape over a mail shirt. It was the first time she¡¯d worn something other than her military pants and perfectly starched white shirt, and it felt weird to Victor, like when your favorite cartoon character didn¡¯t wear their usual outfit.

    The streets were quiet and cold, and their breath plumed forth as they strode through the dark, cloudy night toward the gates. ¡°Do you think I need to cover up my armor?¡± Victor asked, gesturing to his scaled shirt and his helmet.

    ¡°No, they¡¯re not shiny. That dull gray metal looks dark enough in this light¡ªclouds hide the moons.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said, and they continued. On their shadowy trek through the city, they encountered few people. Va told Victor that there was a loosely enforced curfew after midnight. The few guards who challenged them, though, were quickly satisfied when Va announced herself and said she was on official n ap¡¯Yensha business. Victor just followed her silently, allowing her to clear their passage. asionally he saw figures in the shadows that seemed to slip away before they came near, and Va suggested that they were probably up to no good, themselves.

    The gates were open, but the portcullis was down, and Va had to threaten the gate captain on duty with Rellia¡¯s wrath before he finally agreed to let them out the sally port built into the portcullis. ¡°Why are they so fussy about people leaving at night?¡± Victor asked as they walked away from the city.

    ¡°We could be criminals running from a robbery or murder for all they know. People have always been warier during the dark, wee hours¡ªit stems from our past before we knew how to work Energy or build fires to banish the monsters that lurk in the shadows.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Can you run?¡± Va asked, giving him a sidelong look.

    ¡°What kinda question is that? I look like I can¡¯t run?¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re sorge. When I picture you running in my mind, it looks more like you falling forward. Show me, then!¡± she said and started jogging. Victor chuckled and sprang after her, easily matching her pace and surprisingly nimbly. He used Sovereign Will to boost his agility, making his feet more graceful as he followed her steps and tried to avoid making noise. They only ran down the road for a few minutes before they turned up a well-rutted path into the trees. Va looked at him over her shoulder and said, ¡°The map says the structure¡¯s about three miles into these woods.¡±

    Victor nodded and followed after her, d he wore a belt to keep his scale shirt from flopping and bouncing as he ran. He lifted Lifedrinker from her loop, though, and as he liked to do, he carried her crossways in front of himself. The forest was dark, and the shadows clingy, and Victor began to have trouble seeing where to ce his feet, so he cast Inspiring Presence. He didn¡¯t want to give them away by creating a light, but the spell was almost as good. Everything grew clearer, and he knew exactly where to step. He grinned broadly as Va looked back at him with an appreciative nod.

    After just a few minutes of jogging, Va held up her hand and slipped off the trail into the soft, damp mulch between the trees. The ground was coated with frostyyers of fallen leaves and needles, and it was a trivial matter, inspired as they were, to slip between the trees noiselessly. They were no longer jogging, but the two moved quickly, parallel to the trail but twenty yards away from it. With Victor''s inspiration, the shadows weren¡¯t so heavy, and they could see the gap in the trees where the trail ran, making it easy to navigate in the correct direction.

    They traveled that way another ten minutes before Va held up her hand again and crouched behind a thick trunk, motioning for Victor to join her. ¡°Did you see the light?¡± she asked when he crouched down next to her.

    ¡°No, I was watching you,¡± he grunted in amusement at himself and added, ¡°I mean to see where to go.¡±

    ¡°Right. There¡¯s a dim light ahead. I think from a window.¡±

    Victor nodded and slowly stood up, gradually moving his head around the trunk to take a look. As his eye cleared the obstruction, he saw a yellow rectangle ahead about twenty or thirty paces through the woods. He watched it for a moment, and then a shadow shifting to his right alerted him to the presence of a darker shadow among the trees by the trail. He knelt, and, barely allowing air to flow past his lips, he whispered, ¡°A watcher by the trail. Close to where the window is.¡±

    Va nodded and seemed to consider something for a minute, then held out a hand in which a bundle of dark, smoky fabric appeared. ¡°The thieve¡¯s cloak,¡± she whispered, handing it to Victor.

    ¡°Why me?¡± he breathed.

    ¡°This is your quest. Take it,¡± she whispered. He shrugged and took the bundle. He could see the long ties near where the shoulders were, so it wasn¡¯t aplicated equation to figure out how to put it on. He swung it over his shoulders, hooked the ties together in a bow, and pulled the hood up. Victor looked to Va for approval, and she mouthed, ¡°Bond.¡±

    Victor nodded and ran a trickle of Energy into the cloak.

    ***Cloak of Shadow Imp Hair. This cloak has been crafted from the hairs of a Yohathian Shadow Imp. The imp¡¯s natural ability to blend with shadows has been preserved by a master artificer and will aid the wearer in doing the same.***

    ¡°Cool,¡± he hissed, and Va nodded, giving him the thumbs up. Cloaked in shadow, Victor slipped around the tree, Lifedrinker held in one hand, head down, back by his side, obscured by the cloak¡¯s magic. He glided through the forest, tree to tree, aiming for a point to the left and behind where he¡¯d seen the lurking watcher. When he was sure he¡¯d passed the point where he saw the movement, Victor slipped up behind a tree and watched the shadows, waiting for the figure to move again.

    He barely breathed as he leaned into the trunk, just a dark spot against the frosty, knobby bark, and he watched, patient as a cier. The minutes ticked by, and Victor began to worry that Va would be impatient, but then his watching was rewarded¡ªa shadow just a few feet away from him shifted, and he saw a pale hand lift a water skin from a belt. Now knowing where to look, Victor saw a Ghelli man sipping from the skin. Victor slipped around the trunk, and before the watcher could cry out, he snaked an arm around his shadowy neck and held Lifedrinker¡¯s gleaming de up in front of his hood.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make a fucking sound,¡± Victor hissed, squeezing his massive arm around the watcher¡¯s skinny neck. The watcher rapidly tapped on his arm, grunting snot through his nose as he struggled to breathe. Victor loosened up slightly and hissed again, ¡°Stay quiet, or I''ll pop off your head.¡± He swiveled so he could see the yellow rectangle, and from this angle, he could see that it was a window in arge, barn-like building. Victor, still holding the watcher¡¯s neck tightly, walked backward, pulling him along, putting some more trees between them and the building.

    When he¡¯d moved past a dozen or more trees, Victor slightly loosened his arm and hissed, ¡°Whisper answers to my questions, and you might not die tonight.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± the watcher wheezed, sucking air through his nose.

    ¡°How many more are out here? How many in the building?¡±

    ¡°No more outside. I don¡¯t know who¡¯s within¡ªmaybe no one,¡± the Ghelli answered, coughing loudly.

    ¡°Quiet! I said, whisper, you dumbass,¡± Victor squeezed his arm tight again, silencing the man¡¯s coughs. The man rapidly tapped his hands on Victor¡¯s arm, and Victor let him go so he could breathe.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± the man wheezed, then took deep breaths.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m,¡± suddenly, Victor felt a gathering surge of Energy from the man, and then he said, ¡°Let me go!¡± His voice was resonant and strong, and Victor felt his arm start to rx, but then he realized what was happening, and he asserted his will, forcing his arm to flex tight, and this time he didn¡¯t fuck around¡ªhe squeezed until the man began to flop and il, and then went limp.

    ¡°Did you kill him?¡± Va¡¯s whisper came from behind a nearby tree.

    ¡°Nah, but he¡¯s out for a second. Help me bind him up. I think he¡¯s one of those mind casters you and Hine were telling me about.¡±

    Va immediately slipped forward and jammed a rolled-up wad of cloth into the watcher¡¯s mouth, then she tied a gag around it. ¡°Flip him over,¡± she said, and Victor obliged. Va bound his hands with a length of rope that constricted and tied itself, then she did the same to his feet. ¡°Take him for questioning or investigate further?¡± she whispered.

    ¡°I want to see what¡¯s in that barn. It seems . . . familiar.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll watch him,¡± Va said, but then the watcher inhaled sharply through his nose and started to writhe. Va pulled a ss vial from her dimensional container and flicked the cork out with her thumb, holding the vial under the watcher¡¯s nose as green vapors began to float out. He got one whiff of the vapors, then the thrashing stopped, and he slumped down, unconscious. Va looked at Victor and nodded.

    Victor nodded back and, still cloaked in shadows, slipped through the trees toward the barn. When he came to thest clump of trees before the clearing where the building sat, he studied it for a moment, making sure there weren¡¯t any watchers around it. When he was satisfied, he slipped forward toward the little window set in the center of the left of the two double doors. He reached the side of the building, slid along the rough nks, and then, ever so carefully, he peered through the dusty ss with one eye.

    Suddenly he was transported back to when he¡¯d first arrived in this world. He was weak, small, and unable to move as a powerful mage pointed at him and told him to be silent. Victor blinked furiously, banishing the memory, and took in the room he saw through the ss¡ªthe wooden interior of the building. nks lined the floor, painted with an borate spell pattern. Posts were arranged in a circle around the pattern and carved with thousands of runes, each carefully iid with some rich, gleaming metal. A dais stood before the spell pattern, and at its center was a lectern holding a thick tome.

    ¡°Fucking hell,¡± Victor said, still reeling from the memory. He started to reach for the doortch when flickering orange light reflected off the ss, he felt immense heat at his back, and a massive concussion blew him through the door to sprawl on the floor in a scatter of embers, fiery splinters, and ss. His cloak was crackling and smoking as it burned, so Victor iled, ripping the garment off his neck and flinging it away. He rolled to his side, reaching out to grab Lifedrinker from where she¡¯d fallen, then a tall, gray-robed figure stepped into the smoking ruin of the doorway.

    ¡°Curiosity is often met with disaster!¡± the figure boomed, holding out hands that were gathering another ball of seething, hungry fire.

 Book 3: Chapter 26: Fire

    Book 3: Chapter 26: Fire

    Victor rolled over his shoulder, trying to get his feet under himself before the mage could throw his second ball of fire. He was already boosting his agility, and his Inspiring Presence hadn¡¯t faded, so he moved like an acrobat, rolling and leaping to his feet as the fireball exploded into the floorboards, sshing over them in a concussive spray of sparks and embers. Victor jumped at the gray-cloaked mage, Lifedrinker over his head, bringing her down in a wicked chop.

    Before the axe could hit home, though, the mage said, in a deep, resonating voice, ¡°Stop,¡± and for a split second, Victor . . . stopped. He froze his leg muscles mid-stride, and he jerked his axe to a halt, quivering a few inches from the mage¡¯s head. Victor growled, exerted his will, and jerked Lifedrinker back into motion, but it was toote to finish his attack¡ªin a blur of gray shadows, the mage rushed past him, but not before he smashed a vial of acrid, caustic-smelling green fluid into Victor¡¯s armored chest.

    ¡°Gah,¡± Victor said as the concoction filled his face with fumes, rapidly eating through his metal armor. He turned to track the mage while he tried to get off the defensive. He cast Manifest Spirit, summoning his coyotes with rage-attuned Energy. As their wispy red forms shimmered into existence and began to solidify, Victor saw the mage on the far side of the barn-like structure, his fingers bent in a strange symbol and chanting rapidly. ¡°Kill him!¡± Victor barked to his pack, too frazzled to focus his intentions without the words.

    Just as his pack sprang into motion, Victor felt heat and sudden sharp pain in his chest, and he realized the potion had eaten through his armor and was starting on his flesh. ¡°Fuck!¡± he spat, fury starting toe unbidden into his mind, and he roared, ripping at his armor, trying to get it off without smearing more of the acidic solution on his hands and arms.

    As more and more of the acid made contact with his flesh, he grew frantic in his actions. Before he knew it, he¡¯d dropped Lifedrinker at his feet and was spastically yanking at the hauberk, pulling it over his head, only to get it caught on his bulky helmet.

    ¡°God-fucking-dammit!¡± he roared, ripping his helmet off and yanking the chain shirt over his head. Just as he flung it aside, red-faced and furious, his coyotes leaped at his enemy, and the mage finished his spell. A tremendous ripping, concussive explosion erupted around Victor, and the wooden floorboards he stood on burst into a million stinging, smoldering splinters, and a pit of roiling mes opened up beneath his feet.

    Victor fell toward the mes, but he didn¡¯t try to save himself¡ªhe saw Lifedrinker tumbling in front of him, and he snatched hold of her warm, vibrating haft and flung her away over the edge of the newly formed pit. Boomingughter echoed above him as he tumbled, and then searing pain became his existence, and Victor screamed in agony, giving way to his instinctual desire to unleash his rage.

    As his clothing ignited and his flesh began to char, Victor¡¯s hereditary memories and instincts took over. His body red with red-Energy, overshadowing the mes in the magical pit, and his body stretched and grew. He screamed again, and this time his voice rattled and echoed off the nks of the building above him, shattering the little window in the door. So mad was he with pain and fury that he instinctively cast Sovereign Will to boost his strength, and with ckened, cracked flesh, he leaped out of the pit like a smoldering demon of vengeance.

    The gray-robed mage was doubtless surprised to see him emerge from his intended immtion, but he was quick and reacted with a spray of fiery magma darts that tore into Victor¡¯s chest and stomach as hended, cracking and shattering more floorboards. Victor was unrecognizable as a man, so horrific was the twisted, leering madness that had ovee him. His flesh was charred, covered in soot, cracked, bleeding, and raw, but it was the madness in his re and his savage snarl that finally put doubt into the eyes of the mage.

    ¡°What are you?¡±

    Victor had no semnce of thought other than mad rage at the idea that this little man had the nerve to use his pitiful magic on him. Victor saw his coyotes writhing and yelping in pain as smolderingnces held them to the floor. Who was this man to put his pack to the torch? Victor stared at the mage and bellowed. This time, there was no hint of pain in his voice, only raw, terrible fury. He didn¡¯t think or contemte the consequences; he simply unleashed his fear-attuned Core, sending forth a roiling wave of dark Energy with Project Spirit.

    The wizard, already starting to cast anotherplex spell, suddenly nched, and his eyes darted around, trying to take in the horrors Victor had summoned from his mind. He turned and, with shaky hands, began to cast a different spell. Victor screamed again, leaped the ten feet to the mage¡¯s back, and fell on him like an avnche of charred flesh.

    ¡°You dare challenge the Quinametzin?¡± He roared into the pinned mage¡¯s ear. The mage¡¯s face was red from the strain of breathing as Victor pressed his massive knee into his spine. ¡°Worm!¡± he roared, grabbed the mage by the neck, and rolled, flinging his arm out and hurling him through the air to smash into one of the rune-carved posts. A shattering sound and wet crunches apanied the impact, and suddenly the fires zing in the hall faded to embers.

    Victor sat among the floorboards he¡¯d shattered when he¡¯dnded, eyes glowering and brooding, wondering what else he could kill. Where were the little man¡¯s friends? Why did his body sting all over? He reached for the worst of his pains, feeling the hard, hot stone shards sticking out of his chest. Grunting, he began to pluck them out, each about four inches in length. His fury cooled as pain took its ce, and no further challengers showed themselves.

    Very slowly, Victor returned to himself, and when he blearily looked up from his pain-shrowded stupor, he saw that Va stood in the shattered doorway of the structure, looking at Victor through narrowed eyes, her blue sword held ready. After a moment, her eyes sparked with recognition, and she darted forward, ¡°Victor?¡±

    ¡°Ungh,¡± he said. He held out a hand to her, and when he saw it, ckened, cracked, raw, he could only think that it was a mistake. Who¡¯s hand was that?

    ¡°Ancestors! What happened to you? I heard the most horrible sounds! I tried to get in, Victor, I really did, but mes encircled the building!¡±

    ¡°Why . . .¡± Victor started, but then he coughed and winced, and tears filled his eyes at the terrible pain. When the fit passed, he tried again, ¡°Why didn¡¯t I get any Energy? I killed him . . .¡± He looked toward where he vaguely remembered his Quinametzin alter ego throwing the mage.

    ¡°Drink this,¡± Va said, tilting a small glimmering red vial toward his lips.

    ¡°Ungh,¡± Victor managed again as he opened his mouth. The liquid was cold, tasted like copper, and seemed to soak through the flesh of his mouth like water into a sponge. Suddenly his mind cleared as much of his pain vanished. As his rationality began to return, he cast Sovereign Will again, this time boosting his vitality. He could feel the potion, cold as ice, scouring through his pathways, stimting his flesh¡¯s naturally high healing rate, and he watched as the horribly burned and cracked flesh on his forearms and hands started to mend.

    ¡°Your chest needs stronger healing than my potion, Victor. Ancestors! How did you keep fighting through that?¡±

    ¡°I heal when berserk. I must have been worse . . .¡± Victor winced and coughed as he struggled to his feet, blood flecking the saliva that spattered on the smoking floorboards. Va tried to help him, but he shrugged her off and hobbled toward the still-smoldering pit of fire the mage had created. He saw Lifedrinker lying next to a nearby wall and stooped to pick her up. She seemed fine¡ªany burns she might have suffered were already healed by the powerful self-repairing nature of the living wood haft.

    ¡°There¡¯s not a body here,¡± Va said, and Victor looked up from Lifedrinker. He hadn¡¯t realized he¡¯d spaced out. He tried to slip the axe into the loop on his belt, but it was gone. He looked down at himself and saw that his belt was still there but badly charred. His boots were ck with soot, and most of his pants were simply gone, only shredded, charred rags hanging down from his belt. His torso waspletely bare, ck with soot, and red with swollen scars. A dozen puckered round wounds covered his abdomen, and Victor winced as he gingerly touched them.

    ¡°Chingado! That guy fucking messed me up.¡±

    ¡°You should see your hair,¡± Va said, motioning at her head and wincing.

    ¡°Oh, fuck no!¡± Victor said, feeling his scalp gingerly. Scars and smooth flesh met his fingers. Spitting out more bloody saliva, he walked over to where Va stood, and he saw the gray robe and shattered pieces of ss or crystal, but no body. ¡°He fucking got out? I smashed him against that pole hard enough to kill anyone!¡±

    ¡°He was powerful, Victor. He might have had a relic or something that preserved him,¡± Va said, kneeling to collect the shattered object and folding it within the robe''s fabric. ¡°I¡¯ll have Rellia¡¯s people examine this.¡± She looked up at Victor and winced again. ¡°You need to recover before we go further into this.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean he might have had a relic to preserve him?¡± Victor felt his rage Core begin to stir¡ªthe idea that he¡¯d been mangled by that guy, that he¡¯d beat him and smashed him like a cockroach, and he still survived was enough to nearly trigger his bloodline, almost enough to make him Berserk.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of such things. Rellia has an uncle who¡¯s rumored to have one¡ªa powerful artificed device that will spirit him away to a ce of safety if he¡¯s near death. You can imagine what powerful, wealthy people would pay for such a thing.¡±

    ¡°So I can¡¯t kill this fucker?¡±

    ¡°No! I¡¯m not saying that,¡± Va said, turning to look him in his bloodshot eyes. ¡°Those things are rare! If you made him use it, he¡¯ll have lost a great treasure today. There are also ways to lock down an opponent, so they can¡¯t flee so easily, even with magic. I have a skill that might work, and you might gain something as you level or explore new uses for your Energy.¡±

    ¡°Ungh.¡± This time, Victor grunted on purpose. He didn¡¯t have anything to say; he felt like death warmed over, and he wanted to get somece where he could lie down and let the world fade away for a while.

    ¡°Can you make it back to town? I¡¯ll handle the prisoner.¡± Victor suddenly remembered the watcher they¡¯d captured. ¡°I tied him to a tree.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Go get him, and I¡¯ll put a shirt on.¡± Va nodded and hurried out the door. Victor pulled a soft linen shirt and a pair offortable pants out of his ring and slipped them on, then he stepped outside, still holding his axe. He was feeling better¡ªhis vitality was slowly mending the deeper wounds he¡¯d suffered, but he knew he looked like hell, and his body wasn¡¯t moving easily¡ªthe scars he¡¯d suffered from the horrible burns were making his joints stiff, and his hands felt sort of numb.

    He knew more of him would feel numb if he explored his skin with his fingertips, and he dreaded seeing himself in the mirror. He supposed he was lucky to be alive¡ªhe¡¯d suffered plenty of terrible wounds but never had his whole body torched before. ¡°Goddamn it. That guy was good¡ªnot just that his spells were strong, he was fucking fast with them. You could tell he¡¯d fought a lot of battles.¡±

    ¡°Well, it sounds like he had an elemental affinity and was clearly high-tier. Considering the people we¡¯re looking for, he might not even be from this world. I know you¡¯ve fought a lot,¡± Va said, leading the way with the blindfolded, bound watcher trailing behind, still gagged. Victor followed along as she kept speaking, ¡°but there are people who¡¯ve been dueling for centuries. Longer in some of the older worlds. I suppose it¡¯s lucky you¡¯re as strong as you are. If you made him use a relic to survive, he¡¯ll be furious, so that¡¯s a win.¡±

    ¡°God, he fucked me up, though,¡± Victor grumbled, rubbing at the rough flesh of his forearm with his free hand.

    ¡°I can ask Rellia to pay for a racial enhancement treasure. That will help with the scarring,¡± Va said, looking back at him over her shoulder.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not running to Rellia just cause I got messed up. I¡¯m the one who wanted to avoid her and Lam, right? I got myself into this; I¡¯ll get out of it. How much would a fruit or something cost?¡±

    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re still in the base-tier, we can get some pretty cheap advancement fruits¡ªa few hundred beads each.¡±

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m at improved,¡± Victor grunted.

    ¡°Well, more like a thousand or two, then. I can help you out if you need . . .¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯ve got it. Maybe you can do some shopping for me, though? I need toy down¡ªI haven¡¯t felt this bad since . . . God, I can¡¯t remember. I¡¯ve never felt this bad.¡± Victor wasn¡¯t exaggerating; he limped with each step, half his body was numb, and the other half was burning. He kept catching himself panicking, his heart racing, as fragmented memories of the hell he¡¯d experienced in the firepit flickered through his mind.

    ¡°I will do so. We should speak strategy when you feel better. If there had been another mage present . . .¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I get it.¡±

    When they made it back to the main road, the sun wasing up, and there were already farmers waiting to get into town when they reached the gate. Va drew her sword and, holding it in one hand and the rope to her prisoner in the other, she hollered for people to clear the way. Victor, dazed and foggy, was happy to let her handle things as she threatened her way through the gate.

    He heard her mention ¡°Lady Rellia¡± and imperial business, and then they were through, and she gged down one of the dozen coaches parked nearby, still waiting for their first business of the day. Victor groaned and gingerly climbed into the coach, and he dozed off briefly on their way back to the inn.

    His mind wandered to pretty much anything other than the fight he¡¯d just had. Victor didn¡¯t want to think of the fire, of the mage¡¯sughs. He didn¡¯t want to remember the pain. He found himself imagining Deyni riding around on Starlight¡¯s back,ughing as the vidanii pranced around, and he smiled, his lips stiff and unresponsive.

    ¡°We¡¯re here, Victor. Can you manage, or do you need a hand? I¡¯d like to take this one to Rellia¡¯s interrogator.¡± Victor opened his eyes in time to see Va point at her prisoner with a thumb.

    ¡°Yeah, I can manage. Here,¡± he said, then Victor dug around in his ring and pulled out one of hisrge bags of beads. ¡°There are around five thousand beads in here. Please get me something to advance my race, um, some new armor . . . fuck! My helmet!¡±

    ¡°I got it, Victor,¡± Va said, producing his helmet and handing it to him.

    ¡°Shit, thank you, Va,¡± Victor said, pleased that he hadn¡¯t lost Polo Vosh¡¯s gift.

    ¡°Oh, I imagine we might meet that dickhead again, so maybe something to help me resist fire. Is there such a thing?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll do my best, Victor. Just to be clear, you don¡¯t want me to mention your injuries to Rellia?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Thank you, Va,¡± Victor said as he started to mber out of the coach. When he stepped into the bright morning light and saw all the people walking by in front of Hine¡¯s inn, he suddenly wished he had a good hat or a cloak he could pull down over his face. He figured he could get out another shirt or one of the jackets Tellen¡¯s people had gifted him but decided it would beme to wrap something around his head just because he¡¯d gotten messed up in battle.

    ¡°Take care, Victor. I¡¯ll be back soon. I¡¯m sorry I wasn¡¯t with you when . . .¡±

    ¡°Not your fault. I¡¯m d you didn¡¯t get the same treatment I did,¡± Victor said, gesturing toward his face. ¡°See you soon.¡± He turned and walked up the steps to the inn, then through the open doors. He started toward the stairs on the far side of themon room and had almost made it, thinking he might be able to avoid exining his injuries to anyone, but then Hine¡¯s voice boomed out.

    ¡°Victor? Is that you,d?¡±

    ¡°Uh, yeah,¡± Victor said, turning to see the sergeant drop his rag on the bar and hurriedly walk around the end so he could approach Victor.

    ¡°Ancestor¡¯s balls, man. You look like you had a rough go of it!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, met a mage that wasn¡¯t ying around. Um . . .¡± he nced up and down at himself from his feet, then out at his outstretched hand¡ªthe one not holding Lifedrinker. ¡°Lots of fire and shit.¡±

    ¡°Anything I can do?¡± Hine asked, wincing as he looked at Victor¡¯s face.

    ¡°Yeah, make sure no one bugs me. Except for Va, that is. Don¡¯t stop Va.¡± He looked at Hine¡¯s face and the sadness and pity in his eyes and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be alright, Hine. I¡¯m good at healing, and, you know, racial advancements tend to help clear up scarring.¡±

    Hine nced around themon room, eyes lingering on the few patrons sitting at the tables, but none seemed to be listening. He said in a low tone, ¡°You can afford it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve made some money recently. I mean, I¡¯m going to run out at this rate, but I¡¯m good for now.¡±

    ¡°Good for you,d, good for you. Not many of us make it past the first few ranks. Those of us willing to fight and risk our lives, I mean. Well, I suppose if you¡¯re born into one of the wealthy ns, it''s a different story, but plenty of people in this city would kill for a rank or two, if you know what I mean. Seems you¡¯ve got your hands full with the trouble already on your te¡ªmight be best not to go inviting more. You get what I¡¯m saying?¡± He winked and nodded toward the streets and, Victor guessed, the people out there.

    ¡°Yeah, I get it¡ªquit running my mouth about things I can get that other people can¡¯t.¡± He nodded and winked, and Hine winced, making Victor wonder what the action had looked like with his scars. ¡°I¡¯m hurting, man. Going to my room. Later.¡± Victor turned to the stairs and started climbing.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re not bothered,¡± Hine said, following behind him. ¡°Don¡¯t mind the new guard in the hallway¡ªhe¡¯s there to be sure no more surprises await my guests in their rooms!¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Victor replied, steadily climbing away from the older man. When he reached thending, he saw that there was, indeed, a new guard posted at the top of the stairs. He sat on a stool and scrutinized Victor through faintly glowing brass and crystal sses. Victor nodded to him, and the bulky Shadeni nodded back, his palms resting on the two short swords he wore at his belt.

    ¡°No activity thest few hours,¡± the man said.

    ¡°Good,¡± Victor said, chuckling at his repetition, then shuffled down the hall to his doorway.

    Victor entered his room, and as he closed the door and turned toward his bed, he vacited between going into the bathroom, studying himself in the mirror, or just climbing into bed. He shook his head and started toward the bed, but then he stopped himself. Why was he avoiding looking at himself? ¡°Am I afraid?¡±

    He looked within himself and realized that he was terrified. He¡¯d never really thought of himself as vain, but he¡¯d sure never had anyone tell him he was ugly. Would he be able to cope if Va couldn¡¯t find what he needed or if he advanced his race and it wasn¡¯t enough? Maybe he wouldn¡¯t be able to heal those scars until he¡¯d made it all the way to advanced race¡ªhe didn¡¯t think he had the treasure to buy ten ranks.

    ¡°Quit being chicken shit,¡± he said and stalked toward the bathroom. He started to undress with stiff, sore limbs, piling his things on the counter. He had a momentary shback to when the thief had taken advantage of him doing just that, and he quickly jerked around, looking intently into the shadowy corners of his room. He didn¡¯t see anything, but he closed the bathroom door anyway.

    Undressed, he moved to stand in front of the big mirror that hung above the sink, and he looked at the destruction the mage¡¯s magical fire had wrought on his body. ¡°Jesus,¡± he hissed. He was still covered in soot, and he was rather happy for it¡ªthe parts of his body that weren¡¯t ckened by char looked like melted wax. Thick scars covered most of him, including his face. His head was bereft of hair and discolored pink flesh mixed with the scars that had formed over his dead, burned skin.

    The puckered puncture wounds in his chest and stomach were mostly healed, thanks to his colossal vitality, but they still hurt when he poked at them. Briefly, he wondered if some of the mage¡¯s magical molten shards had broken off inside his torso. ¡°Fuck me,¡± he hissed again, then shaking his head and feeling like weeping, he took a deep breath and walked over to the shower. ¡°Might as well get clean,¡± he said, for some reason, finding the sound of his voiceforting.

    As he stood under the shower, Victor let out a long, shuddering sob and confronted the fact that he missed his abu, missed his mom. ¡°God, I miss you, mom. Why¡¯d you fucking die?¡± he said, for the first time in many years, voicing the source of much of his anger.

    He knew his anger at his mom was irrational, but he knew it was there all the same. Facing it like that, when he was down at his lowest for a long while, Victor wondered if he was changing¡ªif something in his mind had turned a corner and now he was willing to look at his irrational anger and the fears he held so deeply, so closely, that he had trouble voicing them even to himself. He stood there, shuddering with emotion for many minutes, letting the water of the shower wash over him, and when he dried off and crawled into his bed, he slept almost instantly.

    Victor¡¯s body, his mind, and his spirit were exhausted, and he didn¡¯t stir, hardly moved other than his chest¡¯s slow rise and fall as he faded into a deep, dreamless sleep. When he cracked his eyes open, he saw sunlighting through his window, and he couldn¡¯t have guessed if he¡¯d only slept a few minutes or for a week. He stretched, instantly annoyed at how stiff his joints were and how his skin felt thick and taut over his bones.

    ¡°Awake?¡± Va asked, startling him. He jerked his head toward the sound and saw her standing near a small wooden chair, perhaps having just stood when she saw him move.

    ¡°Yeah, uh, how long?¡±

    ¡°You slept a day. I had some luck, Victor.¡± She approached his bed, and Victor, never really self-conscious before, quickly pulled his sheets up to his chin. For some reason, he felt embarrassed by his scars¡ªlike they were his fault. Va smiled as though to reassure him, and he felt further embarrassed that he¡¯d suddenly earned her pity.

    ¡°Luck?¡± he asked, trying to bury the bullshit emotions that were making him feel crazy.

    ¡°Yes. I told Rellia I was seeking to buy some racial enhancement treasures,¡± she paused and looked Victor in the eye, ¡°I did not mention your troubles.¡± He nodded, and she continued, ¡°Rellia told me that house ap¡¯Torux was having money troubles¡ªthey¡¯d been auctioning some of their art and a few relics recently. I approached their estate and let them know what I wished to purchase, and they sold me two treasures they¡¯d been saving for one of the family scions¡ªa young man who¡¯d recently proved to be something of a disappointment to the matriarch.¡±

    Va produced an ornate little box that looked like it was made from ivory and set it on the bed next to Victor. Then a dark, smoky jar appeared in her hand. It glittered like crystal in the light, but the contents seemed to swallow any light that prated the container. ¡°The box has a cake made by a master artisan from a distant world¡ªording to the ap¡¯Torux treasurer I spoke to, he was a tier-seven craftsman and made this cake to help unlock bloodline secrets and advance racial ranks for the person that eats it.¡±

    ¡°Uh, cool,¡± Victor said, picking up the box, surprised by its heft.

    ¡°Don¡¯t open it yet! Light and air will reduce the cake¡¯s potency.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Victor left the box on his chest and let his hands fall back to the mattress. ¡°And the other thing?¡±

    ¡°This is smoke from the lungs of a firedrake¡ªa close rtive to dragons.¡±

    ¡°What does it do?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s rumored that if you inhale it, wounds caused by fire will mend. The treasurer even told me that sometimes people develop resistance to mes from it.¡±

    ¡°So dragons are a thing?¡± Victor asked. He wanted to be excited, wanted to take the jar, and inhale its contents right away, but he didn¡¯t want to make himself vulnerable to a hope that sounded very much like horseshit to him.

    ¡°Yes, they¡¯re one of the elder races¡ªpresent on their world and many others long before the System came along. They aren¡¯t on Fanwath, though, at least not anywhere where people have found them. This smoke would be very hard to acquire, Victor¡ªdrakes don¡¯t live on this world, either.¡±

    ¡°Really? This sounds like a fairy tale to me, but fuck, I guess I¡¯ve seen plenty of weirder shit since I¡¯ve been here. You think this smoke will help me?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Well, was the money I gave you enough?¡±

    Va¡¯s face took on a funny expression, and Victor couldn¡¯t figure out why at first, but then he realized she was debating whether to tell him the truth or not. ¡°Well . . .¡±

    ¡°Come on, Va.¡±

    ¡°You owe me three thousand beads, and I¡¯ve yet to buy you new armor.¡±

    ¡°Fuck. Just a sec,¡± Victor looked into his storage ring at the various stashes of beads he¡¯d gathered from adventuring, selling loot, and Tha¡¯s gambling. His impression was that he was down to hisst ten thousand or so. He took out a bag that held roughly another five thousand and handed it to Va.

    ¡°Some extra for the armor. Money well spent, Va. Which one do you think I should use first?¡± He gestured to the box and bottle and raised a smooth, hairless eyebrow.

 Book 3: Chapter 27: Visions

    Book 3: Chapter 27: Visions

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Victor,¡± Va replied, looking at the two treasures. ¡°I¡¯m sure the cake will help your body to heal¡ªpart of the process of improving your racial rank is the rebuilding and refining of your tissues. The biggest changes ur at new tiers, of course, but each rank will help. I think that cake is good for more than one, but the treasurer for ap¡¯Torux wouldn¡¯t guarantee it.¡± Va paused and picked up the stoppered crystal bottle, staring into its weird, swirling gray contents.

    ¡°As for the bottle, the treasurer had a first-hand ount that the smoke had been used by a royal family from . . . agh, I can¡¯t remember the name of the world. In any case, they used the smoke to make themselves more resistant to heat and to cure burns they suffered while trying to tame their drakes. Apparently, they used them as mounts.¡±

    ¡°And the drakes are rted to dragons?¡± Victor asked, reaching for the bottle. Va nodded as she handed it to him. ¡°Well, how do I take it? Just pop the cork and inhale?¡±

    ¡°The treasurer¡¯s notes indicated the smoke would dissipate quickly. You need to inhale as much as you can and hold it for as long as possible. The ounts made it sound like it would be painful¡ªnot just because, you know, it¡¯s smoke, but because it would burn your lungs before it worked its healing magic.¡±

    ¡°You fucking serious?¡± The idea of suffering more burns¡ªon purpose¡ªseemed madness to Victor as hey there in bed, covered with scars.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Va said, nodding curtly.

    ¡°I like that you don¡¯t sugarcoat things, Va. Well, I¡¯m going to cheat then,¡± Victor said, and then he concentrated and cast Dauntless Radiance, bathing his bed in the red-gold glow of courage. He suddenly felt very much more capable, more sure, and he saw Va¡¯s shoulders pull back and her spine straighten. She looked at him with new confidence and nodded.

    ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be a problem, Victor. You¡¯ve done worse¡ªhad worse done to you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit,¡± Victor said, then he blew out all his air, emptying his prodigious lungs. When his breath trailed off to a soft wheeze, he lifted the crystal bottle to his chin and twisted the cork, breaking the wax seal. As he pulled the cork away, the gray smoke started immediately to drift out, and Victor began inhaling, siphoning the gray, magical smoke out of the bottle. His lungs were far more capacious than the bottle, and he soon drained the smoke away, pulling it deeper and packing air on top of it.

    At first, Victor thought the treasurer had been mistaken because he didn¡¯t feel the urge to cough, and he didn¡¯t feel any difort. As he held his breath, though, he felt a warmness in his chest, then it rapidly ramped up to heat, then white-hot agony that spread through his lungs. He held his breath as long as possible, but when the pain was so blinding that he thought he was about to lose consciousness, he coughed it out.

    Victor hacked and coughed, his eyes bulging and watering from the convulsions, but no smoke emerged from his lips. Worse, the burning hadn¡¯t subsided at all; in fact, it was spreading outward from his lungs, into his shoulders and stomach, and then into his limbs. Even his head felt like it was burning. When the coughing stopped, Victor inhaled a massive lungful of air and then began to scream, vibrating in his bed as his body burned from the inside out. It felt like someone hadced his bone marrow with thermite.

    Vaguely, he was aware that Va had run to the door, presumably to tell the guard to stand down¡ªVictor couldn¡¯t concentrate on what was happening around him, but he imagined his screams were terrifying. He gripped his sheets, ripping them to shreds in his convulsions of agony. At some point, the pain became too much for his conscious mind, and Victor seemed to drift outside himself.

    He watched his body writhe and thrash, and though he knew it was a trick of his mind, that he was probably seeing things through his own eyes, it seemed to him that he was floating above his body and that ck smoke was erupting from his pores, making a cloud that obscured what he saw. After an eternity of agony, Victor felt the pain begin to fade where it first started, in his lungs.

    He focused on that relief, sank his consciousness into that small, pain-free part of his body, and it slowly spread. By the time it was just his arms and legs still alight with agony, Victor was calmed andy back on his wet, ripped sheets. Va hade back to his bedside and looked at him with concern, but Victor could also see relief in her eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s working,¡± she said.

    ¡°The pain is fading,¡± Victor croaked, his voice a hoarse whisper.

    ¡°Your scars arergely gone, Victor.¡±

    ***Congrattions! You have gained a new feat: me Touched***

    ***me Touched: By inhaling the final breath of a Fire Drake, you¡¯ve absorbed a part of its spirit. Your body is reborn in me¡ªwhile intense fire and heat can harm you, lesser mes will wash over your flesh with little effect, and you will heal more easily from such injuries.***

    ¡°Oh, cool,¡± Victor said, reading the message that appeared as thest burning pains faded away from his fingers and toes. He saw Va¡¯s raised eyebrow and told her about his new boon.

    ¡°Even better than the ap¡¯Torux treasurer thought,¡± Va said, leaning closer, peering at his shoulder. ¡°What colors! Whoever created this tattoo was talented,¡± she said.

    ¡°Oh shit, it¡¯s back? I thought my scarring would wreck it.¡± Victor turned and saw his tattoo, the ded w surrounded by spears, and oddly, it looked bolder¡ªmore real than before. Maybe it was his relief at not seeing his arm covered with horrible scars ying tricks on him, but he thought the tattoo looked better than ever. After seeing his arm and shoulder, still crisscrossed with scars from des and ws but with smooth, unblemished skin in between, he nced down at the rest of himself.

    ¡°Did all the fire scars go away?¡± he asked, reaching up to feel at his head¡ªit was still smooth and hairless, but he didn¡¯t feel the lumpy, thick scarring he¡¯d had before.

    ¡°It seems so, Victor! You¡¯ve still got plenty of others, though,¡± Vaughed, ncing over his body. Victor suddenly became very aware of his near-naked state¡ªwhen he¡¯d gotten into bed, he¡¯d been in nothing but his underwear. He chuckled and folded his arms behind his head; Va had already seen plenty, anyway.

    ¡°I owe you, Va. That was a lucky find, and, well, you could have taken my money and bought something cheaper. I¡¯m d I can trust you.¡±

    ¡°Hah. If I didn¡¯t trust your good intentions, I¡¯d be offended. I¡¯m a captain of the imperial legion. I¡¯m a tier-5 Sword Dancer. You wouldn¡¯t besmirch my honor, would you?¡±

    ¡°No, hell no, Va! I meant that as apliment¡ªsorry, but I trust easily, and I get burned a lot. It just feels good to know I¡¯ve got another person who won¡¯t screw me over.¡± She nodded and gave him a half smile, and Victor continued, ¡°I gotta say, though, that treasurer guy wasn¡¯t right about everything¡ªthat was the worst fucking pain I¡¯ve ever felt, and I¡¯ve had some bad shit happen to me. Also, that wasn¡¯t just ¡®smoke from a drake¡¯s lungs;¡¯ it was thest breath of the drake and apparently held part of its spirit.¡±

    ¡°Well, now you have a record of it. You could probably sell that information to some of the more wealthy houses.¡±

    ¡°Same goes for you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll share it with Lady Rellia, but I won¡¯t try to profit from the knowledge; it¡¯s too hard to know what house might be aligned against ap¡¯Yensha in the future.¡±

    Victor gave her another appraising look; at some point, she¡¯d changed clothes to her usual uniform, and her hair and skin were perfectly coiffed and clean. She stood like she was at attention, her hands sped behind her back, and her pale green eyes looked lovely in the light from his Dauntless Radiance spell. Victorughed inwardly. Was he falling for yet another pretty face? To bring himself back to reality, he said, ¡°Rellia¡¯s lucky to have you. Your loyalty is admirable.¡±

    She nodded, smiling at the praise, then said, ¡°How do you feel? Will you be able to eat the cake now?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I think so. I feel all right, just a little wrung out. It¡¯s crazy, but when I think about the pain I just went through, it doesn¡¯t seem real¡ªlike my mind is already putting fog around it. I suppose I¡¯ll wake up sweating with nightmares about it, but right now, I feel okay.¡±

    ¡°Good. Racial advancements often bring on sleep . . .¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Victor interrupted, ¡°I passed out for like ten days thest time.¡±

    ¡°Ten days? That¡¯s a long one. I hope the cake won¡¯t put you out for that long, but if you do sleep, I¡¯ll purchase your armor and then put some pressure on Rellia¡¯s questioner¡ªI assume you¡¯d like to know more about the mage that burned you when you wake up.¡±

    ¡°Yes! Hey, if I¡¯m going to be out of it, I should ask: do you know anything about the guard Hine put in the hallway? Can we trust him?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Va nodded firmly. ¡°He¡¯s one of Hine''s men from the legion. He¡¯ll not betray you.¡±

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s do this,¡± Victor said, looking for the box that held the cake.

    Va held it out to him and said, ¡°I picked it up when you began to thrash.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Victor said, taking it. For such a small box, it was quite heavy. He saw that the top lid was sealed with gold foil, so he summoned a sharp knife from his ring and dug the tip into the gold, running it along the seam between the lid and the bottom half. When he was done, he put the knife away and gently lifted the lid. The scent of cinnamon and sugar hit his nostrils and his mouth filled with saliva. ¡°Dios! That smells good!¡±

    He saw Va move out of the corner of his eye, and Victor nced at her. She¡¯d taken a step back and gripped her hands in tight fists. ¡°You all right?¡±

    ¡°Hurry and eat it, Victor! It smells too good!¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said. He knew what she meant¡ªevery bone in his body was screaming at him to eat that cake. He picked it up, dense like an overmoist poundcake, and took a bite. The vors that overwhelmed his tastebuds were too many toprehend. His nose told him there was cinnamon, honey, and some other cloying scent for which he didn¡¯t know the name. The cake, while dense, dissolved in his mouth and seemed to flood his blood vessels with a warmth that spread from his mouth into his entire body.

    ¡°Ungh,¡± he managed, stuffing the rest of the cake into his mouth. Then, as the potent alchemical and magical mixture flooded his pathways and the heat rose into his brain, he felt himself falling back into his bed. Instead of hitting the pillow, though, he fell through it and sank to the center of the world. He felt like he was descending at a million miles per hour, and the world¡¯s depths shot by in a blur¡ªcaverns, magma, strange creatures in their multitudes, differentyers of rocks and soil, then he was sinking through space, Fanwath rapidly shrinking and disappearing as he fell.

    Victor, no, Tenecoalt, gripped his macuahuitl in a sweaty grip. He looked down at himself and saw his bone breastte carved from the thousand-toothed lizard, his wyrm-hide pants, and his feathered boots. He was ready! He was Tenecoalt! He was Quinametzin, and anything that threatened hisnds must be crushed! He lifted his throat to the sun and howled again, his ultion echoing off the rocks and trees, sending birds in the hundreds squawking and pping into the orange-tinted sky.

    He lifted his macuahuitl and leaped up the slope to the cave. When he stepped into the stinking, evil darkness, Tenecoalt urged his ancestor¡¯s spirits to brighten the shadows. Suddenly shapes took form in his yellow-limned magical sight¡ªboulders, bones, skins, horns, and there, in the back, hunched over itstest meal, a small man from the southern jungle, was the feathered bear. It grunted and crunched a bone, dark marrow dripping over the mutted corpse.

    The feathered bear was big, heavier than a Quinametzin, but Tenecoalt didn¡¯t care¡ªhis ancestors would strengthen him. He roared his challenge, and when the monster turned to regard him, baleful red eyes ring down its long, tooth-lined snout, it barked a coughing growl in response, and then the fight was on.

    The monster charged out of the cave, long spear-like ws ripping over the stones in a tter, horrible teeth gnashing in a fury, and feathered mane and tails streaming behind it. It smashed into Tenecoalt, and the two rolled in a furious melee down the rocky slope leaving a trail of blood and feathers to glisten in the fading orange sunlight. Tenecoalt gripped the bear¡¯s mane, holding onto it while he employed his jagged macuahuitl to horrible effect, smashing the heavy stone-wood weapon into the monster¡¯s snout, limbs, and neck.

    They rolled in a frenzy, and when the feathered bear crunched its enormous fangs into Tenecoalt¡¯s shoulder, breaking flesh and bone and piercing organs, it only further agitated the giant warrior. His eyes turned red, and the fury of his ancestors entered him, filling him with their strength and pride. Tenecoalt drove a thick, hard-nailed thumb into the bear¡¯s eye, and with the power of a true titan, he pulled its enormous skull away from his shoulder, its teeth popping free with wet, bloody suction.

    Tenecoalt stood, holding the great bear at arm¡¯s length while it thrashed in agony, and then he finished the battle with a series of terrible, hacking blows of his macuahuitl. The first few strikes pulverized the feathered fur and flesh of the bear¡¯s chest. The next shattered bones, and the final strike, resounded into the bear¡¯s heart, bursting it with the terrible concussion.

    Tenecoalt threw the bear to the stony ground and punched his mighty fist into its shattered chest, pulling forth part of its torn, steaming heart. He bit into the bloody meat, and as he felt the bear¡¯s strength flooding into him, he lifted his head and roared with new vigor and potency. He gave thanks to his ancestors, and he gave thanks to his enemies because each of them had made him stronger with their deaths.

    When Victor woke, it was dark in his room, and though he was snug under a heavy nket, he could feel the chill in the air. He nced around the shadowy periphery, saw moonlighting through the window, and found that he was alone. He felt tired, though good, and the vision he¡¯d had of his ancestor, if that¡¯s what Tenecoalt was, loomed vividly in his mind. Like his other bloodline vision, he knew it was different from a dream or a fantasy¡ªit felt like a memory that had been hidden but was now unlocked.

    When Victor thought back to the way Tenecoalt had torn the heart from the bear and eaten, he didn¡¯t feel any revulsion¡ªit was like he understood Tenecoalt¡¯s motivations, and that understanding extended to his beliefs and the undeniable effects of the practice on his strength. Tenecoalt had grown powerful, eating the hearts of his strongest enemies. ¡°Fucking weird,¡± Victor said, his voice rumbling into the dark room.

    He held up his hand in the dim light, flexing his powerful fingers and noting how the muscles on his forearm bunched with the gesture. He looked down at his feet, saw that he still fit on the bed, and sighed a breath of relief¡ªhe hadn¡¯t turned into a giant. He saw something glimmering from the corner of his eye and nced at his shoulder. There, glinting in the darkness, was the tattoo Chandri had given him. The sun was gleaming with faint yellow light, and the spears seemed to reflect the light on their silvery tips. ¡°Even fucking weirder . . .¡±

    With a grunt, he stood up and stepped onto the cold wooden floorboards. He felt terrific if he were being honest. All his aches and pains were gone, and the sore, stiff spots where thick scars had formed over deep wounds were dim memories. He padded into the bathroom, and when he turned on the Energymp, he had to squint against the re until his eyes adjusted. As he blinked away the spots in his vision, he looked into the mirror and was happy to see that not a whole lot had changed.

    The first thing that brought a smile to his face was the quarter inch of dense, ck hair that covered his scalp. He saw he still had four thin white scars that crossed half his face where the bear had wed him, though they were much subtler than before. His other scars were simrly faded, even the thick ones where he¡¯d been impaled or nearly eviscerated. Victor reached down to the sink to ssh some water on his face, and that¡¯s when he realized he¡¯d grown again. The sink was definitely more of a reach than before, though only slightly.

    Victor saw Gorz on the counter where he¡¯d thrown off most of his ruined clothes, and he picked the amulet up, slipping it around his neck. ¡°Gorz?¡±

    ¡°Victor? I was growing worried about you.¡±

    ¡°I got hurt pretty badly, but I¡¯m good now. You doing okay?¡±

    ¡°I am, thank you.¡±

    ¡°Hey, can you measure me? Based on the dimension of this room? You can do that, right?¡±

    ¡°You are two point one-six meters tall, Victor.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s . . .¡± Victor concentrated and did the math far more quickly than he would have done back on Earth. ¡°Around seven-one? Chingado!¡± He patted the amulet and said, ¡°Thanks, buddy. By the way, we¡¯re in a city again. I¡¯ll buy some books before I leave again, all right?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Some maps, too, please! Could you not find an artificer and ask for a te¡ªsomething I could interface with? I¡¯m sure it can be crafted because Reevus had one.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll look into it, Gorz. I know you told me that before, and I dropped the ball. I¡¯m going to make it a priority.¡± Victor dug around in his ring and found his watch. ¡°Four in the morning. Not bad.¡± Just then, he remembered to look at his status sheet to see what exactly the cake had done:

    Name: Victor Sandoval Race: Human (Quinametzin Bloodline) - Improved 4 ss: Spirit Carver - Epic Level: 33

    ¡°Not bad! Three ranks from that cake.¡± More than that, though, he felt like he understood his bloodline more, and as the minutes ticked by, putting him further and further from his vision, he began to worry about the implications. ¡°Do I really want to try eating my enemies¡¯ hearts?¡± Truthfully, he figured it wouldn¡¯t be much of a stretch from his usual behavior if he were berserk.

    Victor didn¡¯t know how long he¡¯d slept, but he could smell himself standing there, so he took a shower before getting dressed. When he went into the main room again, the light from the bathroom spilling out behind him, he saw a package on the chair where Va had been sitting before. He walked over and realized it was a neatly folded, faintly glimmering chainmail shirt.

    When he picked it up and turned toward the bathroom light, he saw that the chain links shimmered between green and brass. He walked back into the bathroom and pulled it over his head, but got stuck there, the opening too narrow to go over his shoulders. Holding a finger to the shirt, he trickled forth some Energy, and a message appeared in his vision as the shirt expanded to the point where he could pull it on.

    ***Shimmersteel Chainmail Shirt - Smelted and crafted by the great mage-artisan Zefin-dak¡ªa fine armored shirt benefiting from the peerless self-repairing properties of Shimmersteel. This shirt will resist sharp attacks, repair itself rapidly, and stretch or shrink to fit a wide range of people.***

    ¡°Zefin-dak, huh?¡± Victor smoothed the chainmail out, noticing that it only covered the tops of his arms like his old ringmail armor. He didn¡¯t mind much¡ªhe sort of liked having his arms free, especially when he wore his armor almost all the time. He picked up his belt, happy to see that it had repaired itself from the scorching it had suffered, and put it on over the chainmail, then he looked in the mirror. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s pretty.¡±

    The shimmersteel one moment looked yellow-green, but if he moved, it shimmered toward a more brassy color. ¡°I guess that¡¯s why it¡¯s called shimmersteel.¡± He liked the cut of it, and thefort was undeniable¡ªhe resolved topliment Va on her choice when he next saw her.

    Victor returned to the bedroom and turned on the Energymp, scanning the room. He knew he¡¯d had Lifedrinker with him when hey in the bed, but he didn¡¯t see her right away. A slight twinge of worry ignited in his chest, but then he saw her handle sticking up next to the nightstand.

    ¡°Va must have moved you when I was going bonkers, huh?¡± he said as he picked the axe up. He took a few minutes to cut some strips of leather from a piece of hide in his ring, then he twisted them into a braided loop that he attached to his belt. He slipped Lifedrinker into the loop and nodded in satisfaction. He figured that would work until he reced the metal ring he¡¯d lost in the barn fire.

    When he checked his watch, he saw it was almost five-thirty, so he stepped out into the hallway. He saw a different guard sitting on his stool by the stairway and waved. The guard, peering through the same strange goggles, waved back. Victor shrugged and tapped gently on Va¡¯s door. Rapid footsteps signaled her approach, and then Va opened the door, her sword held back and to her side, de down. ¡°Victor?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said, smiling.

    ¡°You¡¯re looking a lot better!¡± She pulled the door wide, and Victor saw that she¡¯d been awake¡ªher firece was lit, hermps were on, and stacks of paper covered the little table in her room.

    ¡°How long was I out?¡±

    ¡°Only three days.¡±

    ¡°Well, I feel pretty damn great. Thanks for the armor, by the way!¡± He held his arms up as if to disy the scaled shirt he wore.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. I have some beads for you¡ªthe shirt was only five hundred.¡± She motioned for him toe through the doorway, which he did, though he had to duck, then she shut the door. ¡°You didn¡¯t change much, though your scars are further faded, and you seem more . . . robust.¡±

    ¡°Robust?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Your aura is stronger. People will feel you enter a room. Well, that already happened, but it¡¯s . . . more profound now. Did anything else happen? The cake was supposed to uncover bloodline traits . . .¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I had another vision. Did I ever tell you about my bloodline vision? It¡¯s kinda crazy shit. I¡¯ll, um, I¡¯ll go over it with you, but first, have you learned anything from the wizard we captured?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor. As you would say, there¡¯s a lot of shit for us to go over.¡± Va smiled wryly and gestured to the table, indicating that he should take a seat.

 Book 3: Chapter 28: In the Harsh Light

    Book 3: Chapter 28: In the Harsh Light

    Victor sat at Va¡¯s table, watching as the woman carefully piled her documents and books into neat stacks and then took a seat across from him. ¡°A lot to go over, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± she said, nodding, ¡°Rellia¡¯s questioner had quite a time with the watcher we captured. Trayzil¡¯s mental attacks didn¡¯t work at first¡ªthe mage had a will that was nearly a match for him. Of course, that didn¡¯t matter much after the proper soporifics were applied. An alchemist able to concoct tailor-made mixtures makes such work endlessly more ptable¡ªno fingers were removed or eyes poked out with hot irons . . .¡±

    ¡°What the fuck, Va? I mean, I know the guy wasn¡¯t going to a spa, but . . . why bring that stuff up if your guy didn¡¯t even use it?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, Victor. When I think of questioning people, I¡¯m often reminded of my time in the legion, and it heartens me to know Lady Rellia doesn¡¯t generally have to go to the lengths some of the field captains would to get answers.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Victor said, cracking his neck. ¡°What did you find out?¡± he prompted after Va sat quietly for a minute.

    ¡°Right. Well, we learned that the Pyromancer is not from Fanwath. He¡¯s an off-world powerhouse that was hired by a wealthy, influential man by the name of ap¡¯Gravin. He¡¯s well-known and almost universally loathed and feared in equal parts. He¡¯s seen as sort of the emperor regent for the western cities, though he¡¯d never im such a title¡ªnot if he wanted to keep his head.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s my enemy?¡±

    ¡°No, not exactly,¡± Va said, holding up a finger.

    ¡°But the asshole that burned me works for him?¡±

    ¡°No, he did work for him, yes, but no longer. Yes, he was contracted, for other work, at great expense by ap¡¯Gravin, but that work was done months and months ago. The Pyromancer, Boeagh, apparently took a liking to Persi Gables and has chosen to linger here on his own ord, though it seems he¡¯s taken up work with a lesser noble. This name might interest you: Lord ap¡¯Horrin.¡±

    ¡°Are you fucking serious? That¡¯s the asshole that broke my Core and sent me to the mines!¡± Victor¡¯s knuckles cracked as he involuntarily clenched his fists.

    ¡°Yes, I knew that from Rellia¡¯s research into your origins.¡±

    ¡°So, how does a little creep like that afford a mage like, what was it? Boge?¡±

    ¡°Exactly the right question! His name is Boeagh, but you were close enough,¡± Va said, waving a hand as she continued, ¡°The mage we questioned imed that Boeagh is working out of ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s estate but insisted that he calls no man master.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s just a coincidence that the dick who almost killed me is working with the other dick who almost killed me? What about the guys who summoned me?¡±

    Va looked at him quizzically for a minute, opened her mouth a few times, but shook her head and said, ¡°We think Boeagh isrgely responsible for the summonings that took ce in that barn. We think he¡¯s still doing it, but he originally did it as part of his contract with ap¡¯Gravin. There are still many questions left to answer regarding that series of events.¡±

    ¡°So, what¡¯s the move? You mind pointing me toward that dude¡¯s estate? I think it¡¯s long past time I gave him a visit.¡±

    ¡°Victor,¡± Va started, and Victor could see she was struggling with her choice of words. Finally, she started again, ¡°Victor, did you learn nothing from our encounter a few days ago?¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Victor was stumped. She had a damn good point. When he¡¯d rushed off into the woods, hoping to confront the cabal of wizards that had summoned him, he¡¯d expected to waltz in, maybe go Berserk, and beat the shit outta them all. He¡¯d had a vague n in his mind to smash first and figure out the answers afterward.

    He¡¯d gotten some answers, but he¡¯d also lost the main bad guy because he hadn¡¯t done any research¡ªhadn¡¯t had any kind of clue that he might be able to escape the way he did. ¡°Plus, I almost died,¡± he finished aloud, and Va continued to stare at him.

    ¡°Yeah, I learned something. So, I need to do what? Spy on the estate for a while?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve put that process in motion for you,¡± Va said with a smile. ¡°I have many connections here in Persi Gables, and I¡¯ve sent some people for intelligence gathering. People far more capable of going unseen than you, Victor,¡± she said, holding out a hand catingly as Victor took a deep breath, forestalling his objections.

    ¡°So, how long?¡± Victor asked, getting to the point of his concerns.

    ¡°Not long. A day or three. My people have already been working on getting agents in ce for two days.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, and me?¡±

    ¡°I think you should stay in the Inn. As far as Boeagh knows, you¡¯re disfigured, near death, or dead.¡± Va drummed her fingers on the table, watching Victor¡¯s face, then she said, ¡°Is there some cultivating you can do? Do you need me to buy you any ingredients? I¡¯m not sure how spirit Cores work.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor sighed and then nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve been putting something off for a while, and I think I need to go work on it. Give me until noon or so, thene check on me¡ªI might have a list of things I need you to buy.¡± He stood up, his chair scraping noisily over the wooden floor, and then he pushed it back under the table.

    ¡°I will do so. In your room?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Thanks, Va,¡± Victor said, turning to let himself out of her room. He felt a little guilty, roping her into his problems the way he had, but it seemed like she was sort of enjoying it. ¡°Not to mention, she works for Rellia¡ªI¡¯m sure she¡¯s getting a bonus for staying so close to me.¡± He stepped into his room and locked the door behind himself.

    He pushed his little table away toward the wall, clearing more space on the floor at the foot of his bed, and then he sat down, summoning the weave pattern out of his ring that Oyna had made him copy while Spirit Walking. It was aplicated pattern¡ªa twist of all three of his affinities, and the whorls, loops, and knots they made were hard to make sense of at first nce.

    Luckily, while Victor hadn¡¯t tried the pattern yet, he¡¯d spent quite a few hours studying the design andmitting parts of it to memory while they¡¯d traveled. ¡°All right, let¡¯s do this right,¡± he said, then he took out a fresh sheet of parchment and three differently colored inks that he could use with his magical quill. He was determined to learn the weave perfectly, by hand, before he tried to build it in his pathways.

    Hours ticked by while he worked. He drew the different lines one at a time, at first¡ªred ink for rage, ck ink for fear, and blue ink for inspiration. When he¡¯d made the entire weave five times, he started toplete sections of it from memory without looking at his original or copies for hints.

    This activity really drove home to him how much he¡¯d changed sinceing to Fanwath. He knew he was different, of course; many of the changes were impossible not to see¡ªhis height, his muscle mass, the way his face and voice had matured beyond his years, thanks to his Quinametzin bloodline, no doubt. Still, he felt like the same old Victor inside, in his heart. When he got theplicated Energy weave almost entirely right on his first try, he knew it had to do with his mental attributes.

    It had taken him longer to learn to multiply by fives than it had for him to memorize this thing that looked like something da Vinci might sketch while high on mushrooms. He pulled his watch out of his ring and looked at the time¡ªhe still had an hour before noon. ¡°Well, time to stop stalling, I guess.¡±

    Victor set the pattern in front of himself on the floor and performed a few stretches, working the kinks out of his back and neck. Then, he assumed the lotus position and turned his mind inward, looking at his Core and the three swirling, pulsating orbs of Energy within. He felt like his dark purple-ck orb of fear was in constant battle with the white-gold of his inspiration, and yet they both seemed to shrink away from the baleful, pulsing red of his rage. ¡°None of you guys is the boss, but if I had to pick one, I suppose it would be inspiration.¡±

    With that thought in mind, he decided to build the foundation of his weave with inspiration, twisting the other two Energies around it. He wanted to ensure that the Energy he finished with had the right tone and connotation. He thought of it like rage¡ªit could either be the full-throated, partially beneficial rage that he cast on himself, or it could be twisted to only create a mad lust for violence. He knew that this new Energy he was about to form in his pathways could have more than one tone, and he wanted it to have a positive base.

    That done, Victor held the convoluted pattern of inspiration-attuned Energy firmly in ce in hisrge, central pathway, and he pulled forth a thread of fear. It tried to surge and work its way loose from his grip so that it could push into the pathway and wrap tightly around the inspiration thread, but Victor mped down with his will, grinning at his mastery over the writhing,shing Energy. With the delicate touch of a watchmaker, Victor carefully wound the thread here and there, on the pattern, purposefully leavingrge swathes of inspiration Energy free from the touch of the fear.

    When he¡¯d worked through all the parts of the main pattern and still had a long, dangling strand of fear-attuned energy waiting for his direction, Victor mped it in ce and pulled forth his third strand, a burning, scorching, baleful ribbon of rage. He froze his other two threads in ce, smashing them into submission with his will so that he could concentrate on the rage. He worked it in and around the other two threads, keeping a light touch where it came to the inspiration Energy, but a heavier, bncing double-weave around parts of the fear-infused section of the tapestry.

    He knew, from his conversations with Oyna, that she had an idea of what kind of Energy he might be weaving. She¡¯d hoped he¡¯d find justice with only fear and rage but had seen the mistake in that¡ªjustice was an Energy with many facets, and arge part of it was positive. Her initial n hadcked the crucialponent of inspiration. With a base of inspiration, pulling forth the positive aspects of fear and rage, Victor thought¡ªand felt¡ªlike something was going right.

    He could feel how the rage was being focused into a righteous fury, and he could sense how the fear was being twisted into guilt and a dread of repercussions. The overall tone of the pattern, though, was one of virtue, of wrongs made right. When he finished up his weaving of the rage thread and twisted it off with the remainder of the fear strand, he looped them both back to the thick, heavy trunk of inspiration that he¡¯d woven at the start.

    The entire construct pulsed in his pathways, the three colors of Energy melding together into a dark, smoky ck, and then the shadows fell from it, and nothing but a solid, zing white fire remained, bright and harsh. Victor could feel its righteous desire to burn the guilty, and he surprised himself by flinching back from his own Energy. He gritted his teeth, though, and while he had the power primed in his pathways, he chose a spell to cast: Globe of Insight.

    He formed the spell pattern in his pathway, instantly pushing the weave of justice-attuned Energy into it. Suddenly his room was bathed with a sourceless white, ring light, and not a single shadow could survive its presence¡ªevery crack in the ster, every gap in the floorboards, every mite, every mote of dust¡ªall were exposed in its re. Deep in his soul, Victor knew that if someone he deemed guilty, someone he felt deserved to feel the weight of justice, were in that room, they¡¯d feel that re in a most ufortable way.

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned the spell: Harsh Light of Justice - Improved.***

    ***Harsh Light of Justice - Improved: You create an area around your person illuminated by the light of justice-attuned Energy. This light will reflect the morality of the caster, damning or blessing those within the light based on that perception. Those deemed unworthy will suffer a constant leeching effect on their Energy and find their movements slow and cumbersome. Those receiving a blessing will instead find themselves invigorated, encouraged, and driven to deliver swift judgment to their enemies. Energy cost variable based on the intended area of effect: minimum 150 Cooldown: minimal.***

    As Victor read the System message, a slow grin spread on his face, and he stood up to whoop and punch his fist into his hand. He was getting ready to go find Va, excited to share his news, when golden motes of Energy gathered in his room and streamed into him. ¡°Fuck yes!¡± he howled, feeling the surge of power and well-being that always apanied such things. He didn¡¯t gain a level, but he felt like he might be getting close¡ªit was simr to the sensation he got when his Core was getting ready to bump up a rank, almost like a sense of fullness.

    ¡°Awesome! Gorz, why do you think I just learned a spell at the improved rank?¡±

    ¡°You did, Victor? Congrattions! It could be that you managed to make the pattern in a way that automatically elevated the spell. You began at a point far beyond basic because of that.¡±

    ¡°Hell, yes! I knew that weave was feeling good,¡± Victor said, and then spent a few minutes describing what he¡¯d done. Gorz, unable to truly show emotion, did his best to act impressed.

    When the euphoria of his sess began to pass, and he could concentrate again, Victor contemted something he¡¯d been avoiding¡ªhe¡¯d never cast Berserk with fear-attuned Energy to find out what it did. He only forced himself to think about it now because he was tempted to try it with his justice-attuned weave of Energy. When he¡¯d made his courage weave, he¡¯d been excited to test it, to see what kind of spell it would make, and he¡¯de away with a potent spell¡ªHeroic Heart.

    Still, he was hesitant. Berserk was no joke of a spell, and, yeah, it might be harmless to test with ostensibly benign Energies like inspiration or courage, but fear was negative and dangerous. What if it affected him in a way simr to rage? He might hurt someone. Even justice gave him pause¡ªtwisted into that pattern of righteousness were threads of fury and guilt¡ªwhat if he went mad, delivering ¡°justice¡± to anyone he thought wasn¡¯t perfect?

    He was still struggling with the decision when a knock sounded at his door, and he sighed with relief, weing the distraction. He found Va standing in the hallway, and she raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°You found a new spell? The Energy is thick in the air. It has a different feel.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been working on weaving some of my attunements into a new affinity.¡± Victor shrugged, and Va opened her eyes wider.

    ¡°Perhaps you can give me some pointers. I¡¯ve yet to create a meta-element with my affinities.¡±

    ¡°Well, you know it requires an effort of will, and . . . yeah, I can¡¯t teach that.¡±

    ¡°Still. I¡¯d be curious to see your weaves.¡± Va started to move forward, and Victor realized he was blocking the door. He backed up and motioned her through.

    ¡°There,¡± he said, pointing, ¡°on the floor. The weave I just made.¡± He leaned a shoulder against the doorframe, watching her and trying to think of his next move. Va stepped over to his pattern and picked up the page, densely packed with three different colors of ink.

    ¡°This is . . .plex.¡± She shook her head and turned the page sideways and then upside down. ¡°How long did you work on this?¡±

    ¡°Remember thatst time I went for a Spirit Walk?¡± She nodded, and he continued, ¡°I met with Oyna, and we made that pattern together¡ªshe¡¯d already had a good chunk of it done. I started studying it after that, an hour here and there.¡±

    ¡°Truly? And you could form this in your pathway? All these bends and curls? These twists of different Energy?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m telling you¡ªit¡¯s all about the will.¡±

    ¡°May I ask your will attribute¡¯s level?¡± she asked, very uncharacteristically. He could tell she was feeling frustrated, maybe even angry.

    ¡°Well, between you and me, it¡¯s up to two-eighty-seven.¡±

    ¡°Nearly three hundred?¡± She stared at him with open shock. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I asked,¡± she huffed and pped his spell weave down on the table, yanking a chair back to sit down and glowering toward a nk spot on the wall a bit left of Victor¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Victor said, moving over to the table and pulling out a chair. He sat down in front of her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t kill the messenger, all right? I lucked out, I guess¡ªmy sses up to now have had automatic will gains, and I¡¯ve also had free points to distribute, and I¡¯ve dumped a lot into the stat. On another note, you can kick my ass with a sword, and you¡¯re faster than I am!¡±

    That got a small smile out of her, and she sighed, ¡°I¡¯m just frustrated. Rellia paid an Elementalist at the academy a lot of money for a weave of air and iron. He divulged a ¡®secret¡¯ to her; I¡¯ll never be able to weave the two because they cancel each other out. Iron is a type of earth affinity, and apparently, it¡¯s anathema to air. I have to either gain another affinity, somehow, that I can use to mix with the other two, or I¡¯ll be limited to what I can do with these two affinities separately.¡±

    ¡°One, that mage might be full of shit, and two, there¡¯s gotta be a way to gain new affinities, right?¡±

    ¡°Oh, there are ways. Impossibly expensive treasures can be found at exclusive auctions. Awards from the System can be found on the older worlds or in high-tier dungeons that might offer a solution,¡± she paused and looked at Victor narrowing her eyes, ¡°Alternatively, I could be born with an absurdly powerful Core that seems able to split into new affinities at a whim.¡±

    Sheughed and shook her head when she saw him open his mouth, then close it again, struggling with how to respond. ¡°I know, I know. Nothing you do is easy. Anyway, it¡¯s a problem for another day, I suppose.¡± She sighed heavily and visibly forced a smile. ¡°Did you think of a shopping list for me?¡±

    ¡°No. I have another problem that I need your help with.¡±

    ¡°Another one?¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Victorughed, ¡°Okay, I deserve that. This one¡¯s a good problem, though. I need to try out a couple of new spells that might be very dangerous for the people around me. Can we go somewhere . . . safe for that?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯d hoped we could avoid people seeing you out and about. Let me get a cloak from Hine¡ªsomething to hide your face and . . . coloring. We can go to Rellia¡¯s estate,¡± she held up a hand and added, ¡°Just her grounds¡ªwe won¡¯t go inside. She has a lovely grove of plum trees that should be perfect; no one¡¯s working them this time of year.¡±

    ¡°Plums? I¡¯m so happy to hear another word I recognize! They must be a lot like the ones on my world, or the System wouldn¡¯t have used my word. I mean, that¡¯s how it worked with pork, I think.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Va shrugged. Then, she stood up, and the two of them walked down to themon room, where Va asked Hine to call them a coach and pestered him for a cloak. The sergeant ended up giving Victor an old legion rain cloak. It was dark brown leather and oiled very heavily. It covered most of Victor¡¯s torso, beingrge enough to fit over a legionnaire''s pack, and he could pull the hood far enough forward to obscure his face in shadow.

    Thus concealed, he and Va stepped outside to get into the coach, and twenty minutester, they were riding onto the smooth cobbled stones of the noble district of Persi Gables. Large manors lined the boulevard with high stone walls and extensive gardens. The enormous estates within the city walls really drove home to Victor just howrge the city-state was. ¡°Quite a lot different from the other districts,¡± Victor said, looking around at the clean sidewalks, the smooth cobbles, and the light foot traffic.

    ¡°Oh yes. The difference between old, consolidated power and wealth and the rest of the people in the world. When there¡¯re ten or even a hundred natural treasures discovered every year, who do you think gets them? The upstart adventurers or one of the houses filled with old monsters?¡±

    ¡°You talking about things like I used a few days ago? The smoke and the cake?¡±

    ¡°Well, the smoke was a natural treasure, yes. The cake was crafted, but I¡¯m sure the ingredients included rare natural resources. I was talking more about things found in this world, though. Even if someone from a lower family found a hunk of amber ore or an advancement fruit, do you think they¡¯d use it, making them a stronger force for their family, or do you think they¡¯d sell it, using the money to feed and house their family for years?¡±

    ¡°I guess it depends,¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°Yes. I suppose so.¡± Va didn¡¯t smile or frown, and Victor thought maybe she thought he didn¡¯t get what she was talking about.

    ¡°I know what you mean, okay? It¡¯s like that on Earth too. I mean my home world. Families born with money tend to keep it and make more of it. Some of us feel like we¡¯re doing okay because they like us to think that. We can watch vids and VR, get plenty to eat, and even get to earn an education that¡¯s supposed to help us better our station. I guess it does for some people, but for most of us, we just keep walking in the same rut.¡±

    Va nodded, and Victor frowned and said, ¡°Life¡¯s not fair, I guess. I don¡¯t know what I would have made of myself back on my home world, but I didn¡¯t have an easy shake at things here, either. I¡¯ve been caged, chained, beaten, burned, lost, chopped up, fucking thrown into pits and deep bottomless trenches. I¡¯ve had ghouls bite the shit out of me, wrestled with deep hulks, and I¡¯ve been betrayed, robbed, and lied to more times than I can count. I know I have a strong Core, but I didn¡¯te into this world any tougher than that little kid out there.¡± Victor pointed to a boy holding a string that trailed a colorful, long-tailed kite.

    ¡°So, your argument for all the people who don¡¯t get a fair shot at things is to . . . what? Try harder?¡± Va snorted.

    ¡°Heh,¡± Victor couldn¡¯t helpughing at her simplification of his outburst. ¡°Maybe. No. Fuck, I don¡¯t know. Pretty much the only thing I do know is that I don¡¯t know how to fix things, but I want to. Hell, I¡¯m just a dumb berserker, anyway, right?¡± He winked at her, and she barked a shortugh as the coach came to a halt.

    ¡°We¡¯re at the Lady¡¯s grove, ma¡¯am,¡± the coachman called back, and Victor popped the door open for Va, then followed her outside.

    The air was brisk, and the trees that stretched out in neat rows away from the street were bare and leafless. Thickyers of leaves covered the ground, and Victor¡¯s breath plumed forth while he rubbed his hands together briskly. He looked into the grove, saw that it epassed nearly an acre, and nodded. ¡°This¡¯ll do. You¡¯ll wait with the coach? If something terrible happens, have him take off.¡±

    ¡°You think something terrible might happen?¡±

    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t make you bring me out here for nothing. I¡¯m about to employ some rather scary affinities in my most powerful spell. Here¡¯s hoping I¡¯m just being paranoid.¡± Victor shrugged and started trudging through the damp, thick leaves, hooded like an executioner, his long, bearded axe clutched in one hand, resting on his shoulder.

 Book 3: Chapter 29: Spells and Consequences

    Book 3: Chapter 29: Spells and Consequences

    Victor stood in the middle of the grove and slowly turned around in a circle. He could see a wall with a gate at one edge of the tree rows, and he figured that led into Rellia¡¯s estate. A steep slope and a higher wall with wrought iron spikes along the top bordered another edge, and streets meeting in a corner formed the rest of the boundary.

    As he finished his circle, his eyes came to rest on the little ck coach, its pair of rdii, and the coachman sitting on the bench. Va stood to the side, wrapped in her cloak, breath pluming out as she peered back into the gloomy orchard toward Victor. She was only about a hundred feet from him, and he suddenly wished the grove was more extensive. Traffic on the streets was very light, and when Victor considered it was only noon, he tried to think of what day of the week it was. Shaking his head, he realized he had no idea.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s like Sunday or something. Do they go to church in this world?¡± The absurdity of hisck of knowledge suddenly hit him, and he chuckled. Had he really been so busy that he didn¡¯t know about a thing like that? He remembered the pocket realm where Belikot and the Naghelli lived¡ªthere had been a kind of Ghelli church there. Did they meet on Sundays, though? Victor had no idea. ¡°Do they even have cemeteries here?¡± he wondered aloud as he considered the way Shadeni and Ardeni seemed to worship their ancestors.

    Stamping his feet and rubbing his hands together, he chastised himself for letting his mind wander so¡ªwas he stalling? ¡°All right, which one first?¡± he asked Lifedrinker, tilting the handle on his shoulder, so her cool metal rested against his cheek. Her haft was warm where his fingers rested against it, and Victor felt immeasurablyforted knowing she was with him. He¡¯d sort of hoped she¡¯d have something to say, but her silence was enough of a statement¡ªthis was something he could handle.

    ¡°Fair enough, mi cielo,¡± he said, slipping her into the loop at his belt. His use of the endearment surprised him¡ªit was something his mom used to call him, and he hadn¡¯t thought of it in many years. It felt good to say it, though, and he took a deep, cleansing breath of the cold air, staring up at the gray sky for a minute, allowing his thoughts to drift back in time. When had shest called him that? He couldn¡¯t remember, but he could picture her standing in the kitchen, next to their little table, watching him try to do some kind of artwork. He couldn¡¯t for the life of him remember what it had been.

    Victor rubbed his hands briskly, trying to get his head back into the moment, and then he closed his eyes and started building his weave for justice-attuned Energy. He felt less apprehensive about that Energy, knowing he¡¯d weighed the inspiration against the fear and rage, knowing it was an Energy that was all about bnce. When he finished the pattern, he focused his will against his Core, holding the Energy within, and cast Berserk, feeding the spell with the weave of Justice-attuned Energy.

    As the spell hungrily devoured his prepared Energy, Victor released his hold on his Core and allowed the pattern to pull from his three affinities as needed toplete its creation. He felt a profound calme over him, his sensations faded to dull background noise, and even his vision changed. At first, he didn¡¯t notice it because his eyes were aimed at the sky, at the dark gray clouds and the barren grayish-brown branches, but when he started to feel the disconnect from his other senses, he lowered his gaze and saw that the entire world was washed in grays, whites, and cks. There was no color.

    He felt dispassionate as he looked around. Though something else had changed¡ªhe didn¡¯t feel confused or lost. He didn¡¯t feel love or hate. His affections for Chandri, Tha, Deyni, and even Lifedrinker were dull, distant things. He wanted to be rmed but couldn¡¯t find the requisite emotions within himself¡ªrm was out of reach. He looked at his colorless pale hands, flexed his fingers, and felt the strength within. He was capable, and there was work to be done.

    ¡°Yes,¡± he growled, narrowing his eyes and looking around. He had work to do. There were those out there that required justice, and it was his job, his duty, to find them. His mind drifted to the most pressing, most recent offender, and he pictured the gray-robed mage: the Pyromancer, Boaegh. Suddenly, in the sea of gray, colorless, emotionless existence, Victor felt a heat, a pull, and he whirled toward the street that ran perpendicr to the one where Va stood with the coach.

    Before he knew what he was doing, Victor began stalking toward that street. He could feel the pull of injustice. He could feel the heat of his quarry and knew it was his duty to bring him to heel. Something built up in his chest, no, not his chest, his Core, and as the strange pressure mounted and began to grow ufortable, Victor released it, and, though he was still fifty paces from the street, his next footfall was on cobblestones. He nodded and kept marching toward the pull of the fugitive, the target of his justice.

    As he continued down the road, Victor was dimly aware of the people he passed and how they looked at him and hurried out of his path. They were of no consequence, however; only his quarry mattered. He could feel the pressure building in his Core, and as it rose to a crescendo, roiling and bubbling, begging for release, he held onto it. This was his power¡ªhe was not at its mercy.

    He could feel his target as he came to a narrow street that ran along the city wall and could feel the pull of it, no longer directly in front of him. The wall was in his way. He looked left and right and saw guard stations and stairs leading to battlements but no nearby gates. Victor faced the heat of his prey, stepped toward it, and released the surging, pressing Energy at his Core. His next footfall was upon grass and twigs, the wall no longer obscuring his path.

    Victor dispassionately looked over his shoulder to see the city wall rising high behind him, its cold shadow falling over the cleared fields separating Persi Gables from the surrounding woods. He nodded and turned, facing the heat of his quarry, and began striding toward the forest, the roiling pressure starting to build in his gut once again.

    Something stirred in the corner of his mind, and Victor allowed himself to see what it was¡ªa thought! Should he be hunting this prey just now? Should he be delivering justice, or was it the wrong time for such action? As those thoughts infiltrated his single-minded pursuit, they were like cracks in a dam, holding back a flood of other ideas. What about Va? Wasn¡¯t he supposed to wait for her intelligence gatherers? What if the mage was ready for him? Shouldn¡¯t he develop a n?

    Even as the dam began to burst, Victor¡¯s gut began to roil with pent-up Energy, and he released it. One second he was stepping down onto stiff, frigid grass, and the next, he was striding among the shadows of thick, dense woods. His quarry was there, ever closer with each of his steps, the heat and wrongness of it drawing him. He was meant to extinguish that baleful presence!

    ¡°Stop.¡± Victor looked around, wondering from whence the word hade. He took another step, and the voice came again; this time, he realized the voice was his. ¡°Stop,¡± Victor said again, and his body obeyed. Though his leg muscles screamed for release, urged him to keep moving toward the target of his justice, he held still.

    With several deep breaths, Victor reasserted his will and saw the colors start to bleed back into his surroundings. He felt the chill in the air again, and he allowed his emotions to surge back into existence, starting with relief¡ªhe¡¯d almost lost himself to the hunt, but he¡¯d managed to gain control before he did anything stupid.

    Before he could think of his next move, he saw that System messages were waiting for his attention, and he looked at them:

    ***Congrattions! You have learned the spell: The Inevitable Huntsman - Improved.***

    ***The Inevitable Huntsman - Improved: Prerequisite: affinity for or ability to manifest justice-attuned Energy. When the form of the Inevetiable Huntsman is assumed, the caster will gain a singr, dispassionate focus on a target. As mastery of this spell progresses, the Huntsman will gain the ability to bypass barriers and distance, drawing ever nearer to the quarry. Energy Cost: Minimum 500 - scble. Cooldown: Long.***

    Victor looked around and saw that he was deep in the woods, only vaguely aware of the direction that led back to Persi Gables. ¡°Well, that was pretty fucking wild.¡±

    #

    ¡°Wait here,¡± Va said to the coachman and started walking along the street toward the corner. She¡¯d felt Victor¡¯s aura surge, seen how shadows had seemed to coalesce around him, bursting forth and leaving behind a strange, smoky gray steam that seemed to limn his figure, clinging to him like a shifting, gray cloak. She¡¯d watched him start to walk toward the other street and figured it was in his best interest, her best interest, and Rellia¡¯s best interest that she follow.

    Va kept pace with Victor, and he¡¯d only taken a few steps when golden motes of Energy coalesced in the grove around him and surged into him. He didn¡¯t slow his steps or even seem to notice the influx of Energy, but it was a good clue that he¡¯d created a new spell.

    She had no trouble keeping up with him at first, but then the smoky gray cloak surged, and with a burst of white-gray, steaming Energy, Victor was gone. She followed the trail of steam with her eyes and found him, now striding down the center of the cobbled road, some fifty paces further ahead. ¡°Did he teleport or move quickly?¡± she breathed as she jogged to the corner and followed after him.

    Victor seemed oblivious to the people around him. Rdii warbled and pulled at their reins to get out of his way, and people scurried left and right as he strode steadily down the road. Va kept to the sidewalk a dozen paces behind him, having to stutter step into a short jog now and then so she didn¡¯t lose ground. His gait seemed unhurried, but it was steady, and his legs were long, and nothing seemed to give him pause.

    She was happy to see his axe still hooked to his belt¡ªhe didn¡¯t seem to be doing anything violent or destructive, and she hoped this strange march through town had a purpose in his mind. She contemted calling out to him, asking him what he was doing, offering her help. She decided to just watch for now and followed him past two more turns until the city wall loomed ahead of them.

    Va wondered if this had been his goal. Was he going to follow the wall to one of the gates? Where was he going? For the first time, Victor slowed his pace as he came to the wall road, and he peered left, then right, then back at the wall. Va opened her mouth, and before she could stop herself, she called out, ¡°Victor, what are you doing?¡±

    In answer, he took a step toward the wall, and then the gray, shifting, smoky aura burst into white steam again, and he was gone. The white trail dissipated quickly, but Va saw it lead directly into the stone of the massive wall. She rushed forward to look around¡ªhe was gone. ¡°Ancestors Bones!¡± she hissed and turned to sprint toward the nearest gate, some two miles distant.

    #

    Before he could do anything he might regret, Victor sat down on a frost-rimed log and took stock of himself. He was down nearly two thousand Energy, and when he looked at his Core, he saw that all of his Energies were depleted, but his inspiration-attuned orb was almost dark. He supposed it made sense¡ªhis weave of justice-attuned Energy called for nearly two parts of inspiration for each of his other attunements.

    He had a vague recollection of his time under the influence of the new spell. He could remember a blurry passage through town, moving ever closer to his target. Suddenly, his heart raced as he jerked his head in the direction where he¡¯dst felt the heat of the ¡°quarry¡± for his spell. He¡¯d still been quite a ways from Boaegh, though, and he was pretty sure miles of dense woods still separated them. Sighing, he looked around again.

    The woods were thick, and he hadn¡¯t been following any sort of trail. He sat amongst tall trees of all types. Though the undergrowth in the woods around Persi Gables wasn¡¯t as heavy as in a wilder forest, there were still quite a few bushes and shrubs, trees, big and small, and visibility was limited, especially in the overcast, gray winter light. ¡°At least I¡¯ve got a little more space out here,¡± he muttered, still determined to try out his fear-attuned Energy with his Berserk spell.

    He stood and looked at the ground and the nearby underbrush, and when he saw the broken branches of a leafless sapling, he felt reasonably confident he knew what direction he¡¯de from. With that in mind, he turned and started hiking perpendicrly to his earlier passage; he wanted more distance between himself and others before he tried his fear affinity with Berserk.

    He knew Va was probably freaking out, probably circling the city looking for him, but she was smart, and she¡¯d figure out to wait for him at the inn eventually. He felt like it was better this way, better that he be truly alone when he tried out this spell. While he hiked, letting his Energy umte, he contemted The Inevitable Huntsman.

    He could see how it would be useful, tracking down someone. He didn¡¯t remember having much of a thought process when he¡¯d chosen his ¡°quarry,¡± though. It seemed like he might be at the mercy of whatever his subconscious deemed was his most pressing potential target. He wished it would work for tracking down anyone¡ªfriend or neutral party included. Still, it was good to be able to hunt an enemy when needed. The spell was costly, though, and he felt like a big part was the teleportation aspect. If he used it whenever it was ready, he¡¯d be drained pretty rapidly.

    ¡°Wonder what happens when I catch up to them, too,¡± Victor muttered as he stopped to stretch, his Energy much recovered. Once more, he looked around the woods, listening carefully to the sounds of distant trees popping and creaking, birds squawking and rustling in the brush here and there. Nothing seemed to being toward him, and he didn¡¯t think there were any people nearby.

    Victor dreaded using his fear affinity with his most powerful spell. He kept thinking back to when he¡¯d been new at casting Berserk and how his rage would take him over. What if he became engrossed in his fear? What if it left him catatonic or caused him to do terrible things? He wished he had someone powerful there to help him, to watch over him. ¡°Someone like Oyna.¡± As he thought of the Old Mother, Victor pictured meeting with her on the Spirit ne, and that brought to mind his coyotes, who often apanied him in that realm.

    Suddenly a spark of an idea red in his mind, and Victor concentrated on his Core, building his pattern for courage-attuned Energy. What better way to bnce his fear than with some bravepanions? With his other Energies locked down, Victor cast Manifest Spirit and fed the courage-attuned Energy into the spell. As always, his fivepanions began to shimmer into existence, like mist rising from the forest floor.

    This time, rather than red, purplish-ck, or brilliant gold, the coyotes shone with a deep red-gold luminescence that filled Victor¡¯s heart to bursting with pride and admiration. ¡°Qu¨¦ guapo!¡± Victor hissed, squatting down and holding out his hands as one of the golden canines, a big male, walked toward him, neck arched, nose down, tail wagging, like he was proud of himself. Victor ran his hands along the coyote¡¯s neck and back, marveling at how the fur felt real and charged with Energy.

    ¡°Okay, watch over me. Don¡¯t let me do anything terrible, mispa?eros.¡±

    With his pack surrounding him, Victor reached into his Core and pressed hard against his rage Energy, holding it firm, then cast Berserk, and when the spell pattern red to life, he fed it with fear-attuned Energy. Victor screamed. He felt ck, caustic Energy pour through his pathways into his body, and he felt it ripping him apart. He arched his back, lifted his face to the gray sky, and screamed, and it sounded like a thousand people were being put to the torch. His voice rose and rang out among the trees, building on itself, echoing off itself, and sending the animals nearby fleeing in abject terror.

    Victor held out his arms, nced from left to right at them, saw his flesh turn ck, saw it peeling from his body in shadowy wisps, saw it hug his white bones, and saw his limbs lengthen, his fingers extend into ws. As the horror of what he witnessed registered in his mind, he screamed again, but this time it sounded more like a roar, more like a howl. He looked down at his legs and saw the same thing happening¡ªhis flesh bing purple-ck smoke that sheathed his bones in thick shadow.

    His back arched and jerked again, and this time Victor fell forward, but he caught himself on his hands. He felt his legs lengthen and twist, felt his bones reshaping themselves to better run on all fours, and as the pain of his transformation faded and the terror of his presence sank in, Victor had one thought in mind¡ªfind something to kill, find something to share the terror of his existence. His vision had grown dim¡ªeverything was gray, but nothing was obscured by shadow. More importantly, he could see living things like orange torches amid the bleak environment.

    He dove through a thicket of leafless berry bushes, shattering the hard, thorny branches with his presence, exploding like a massive shadow-d, skeletal hound into the woods, grunting and roaring and asionally howling. His shrieks echoed through the woods, and he could hear things fleeing, which only sent him into more of a frenzy. He was the stuff of nightmares, and there were beings nearby that needed to experience the true horror he could deliver.

    The first creature he encountered was a giant forest animal, deerlike in shape, with enormous red antlers and dark blue fur. When he burst into the clearing where it munched at the blue needles of a tree, the creature¡¯s eyes rolled back, exposing the whites, and honked a frenzied, warbling panic sound, turning to flee. It crashed through trees and brush, much the way Victor had done.

    Something ignited in Victor¡¯s chest as he saw the ming outline of his quarry leap away between the gray trees. He gave chase, and as the waves of fear and terror rolled off his intended victim, he howled and panted, reveling in the thrill of the rich Energy source, absorbing it and feeding his Core, perpetuating his nightmare visage. He knew he could catch the animal, pluck its hamstrings with his ws, and pick it apart bit by bit, ever-increasing the horror it felt until its heart inevitably stopped beating.

    ¡°I will!¡± Victor roared, sounding like a hell-hound shrieking. He leaped, ws raised, and when he reached the apex of his arcing flight, something caught his attention¡ªin the gray world of his existence, a sea of mes flickered a short way beyond the trees. His quarry forgotten, hended on all fours and started stalking toward the mass of Energy. If he could get to that sea of bright Energy and turn himself loose amid it, he could harvest terror and fear until he burst, until he became something truly awesome, something that could terrorize the world!

    He prowled through the trees, his shadowy throat rumbling, saliva dripping from his fang-filled, skeletal snout. Victor knew the mes, the spirits, were behind a barrier. He needed to find a way through, so he circled, scanning the pale gray existence for more spots of color, closer than what he¡¯d seen. He was still eager for fear, eager for terror, but he was hunting now, stalking, and he ceased his screaming roars.

    His silence paid off¡ªa bright spirit wandered in his direction, wending between trees, cautiously stepping through thorny brambles. Smaller but much brighter than the deer-creature, Victor saw his opportunity to gain strength, to ke his thirst for terror. ¡°Yes,¡± he hissed, ¡°you¡¯ll feed me enough to reach the others.¡± Anyone who bore witness to his words wouldn¡¯t have heard them, though, only a low, rumbling growl that would have sent cold shivers down their spines.

    ¡°Victor!¡± the ming spirit called, hands cupped to its face. Victor recognized the word at some level, but it seemed meaningless. He was close now, lurking between two tree trunks behind a perennial shrub covered with white winter blooms. The torch-like being was so close he could feel the heat of it. Only one thing mattered, sharing his terror and feeding off what he created.

    Victor exploded through the shrub in a shower of torn leaves and white petals. As he descended through the air toward his quarry, a flickering bright line of metal crashed into his side, shearing away his shadowy flesh and notching his bony torso. It didn¡¯t hurt, but the force of the blow thwarted his perfect leap, and he rolled to the side with a thunderous howling shriek.

    ¡°Ancestors!¡± the zing spirit said, holding its bright metal before it as it backpedaled from Victor. He stood, his hunger rumbling from his throat, and lifted his head to shriek about it, to tell the world that he hungered for fear, for terror. His terrible cry rose above the forest, bounced off the trees, and people near and distant twisted their fingers, warding against evil, seeking warmth and thepany of others.

    The bright spirit in front of him started to radiate dark wispy bands of fear, and Victor howled again, drawing them in. ¡°Yes!¡± he cried, though no word was coherent in the sound he made. He crept toward his quarry and saw how it backed away, seeking something to stand against so he couldn¡¯t circle it. It held its bright metal before it as its back came against a thick tree. ¡°Victor!¡± the spirit cried, though it wasn¡¯t speaking to him, it was screaming into the woods. Seeking salvation? Was there something moreing to challenge him?

    ¡°No,¡± he growled,ughing. The sound that emerged from his throat was like the ripping of flesh and cries of children. He inched forward, haunches high, snout low, forelimbs outstretched, testing the spirit, waiting to see if it would break¡ªcrumble to its fear. Itshed out with its bright metal, and Victor pulled his taloned hand back, narrowly escaping the touch.

    Again, the spirit cried, ¡°Victor!¡± He heard the word echo through the woods around them. This time, however, the spirit¡¯s call didn¡¯t fall on deaf ears. Five brilliant loping spirits bound into the clearing, leaping over brambles and tearing through the brush. They streaked forward, little red-goldets that hurt Victor¡¯s eyes, and they stood in a semi-circle in front of his prey.

    The new spirits made troubled yipping sounds, some growled and snapped at Victor, and he saw the tendrils of fear start to fade away from the spirit he¡¯d been hunting. It stood straighter against the tree, and its bright steel stopped wavering and shaking as it held it toward Victor. This enraged Victor¡ªwhat were these bright little spirits to stand before him? Why was their brightness anathema to his fear? They felt familiar. They felt hated! Victor felt the terrible force of his fear rise up in his throat, felt his hunger assert its will, and he screamed with everything he had.

    The five smaller, bright spirits shrank back from his cry, shifting their little forms out of the central cone of his scream, leaving his prey to suffer the brunt. Victor could see them trying, struggling to move in front of the spirit, but his power was greater¡ªtogether, they were antern against his dark typhoon, and separate, they were simply candles. Still, the spirit lunged through their ranks and tried to strike him with its bright, cold steel.

    In response, Victor pounced; faster than thought, he sped its frail arm in his massive wed hand and yanked, smashing the spirit to the ground and sending the bright metal bouncing away from it. Sobs erupted from the spirit¡¯s bright, ming face, and the purple-ck smoke of terror began to radiate from it in earnest. The bright, golden spirits started to growl and lunge, snapping at Victor¡¯s dark flesh, grabbing hold and pulling, but he muscled through their attempts.

    He felt his prey gathering Energy, felt it attack him somehow, but he shrugged it off. He reached out with his other talon, grabbed the hand that had tried to damage his shadowy flesh, and pinned it to the ground. Then he held his snarling, shifting, fanged face close to the spirit¡¯s head, putting his shadow-wreathed eye close, a mere inch away, wanting to see through the bright aura, wanting to see the terror in the flesh.

    Beyond the shadows that wreathed him, behind the brightness of the spirit¡¯s aura and the wisps of fear and terror that bled from it, he caught a glimpse of color¡ªa distinct shade of green. Victor jerked back from the spirit like it had burned him. As he released his prey, he felt the smaller spirits leaping upon him, growling and thrashing as they burrowed into his dark, shadowy flesh, sinking into his body, driving some of the fear from his pathways, the dark Energy melting before their golden essence.

    Victor shook his head and blinked his eyes, aware that the shadows had begun to fall away from his frame. Suddenly cognizant of who he was and what he¡¯d done, he looked at Va struggling to inch away from him, pushing with her feet as she slid through the dead, cold leaves. Victor cried out in dismay and loped away through the trees like he¡¯d been burned, like he¡¯d caught fire and the only water in the world was far away¡ªfar from the spirit he¡¯d almost killed, almost harvested.

    As the shame and anger woke up within him, they continued pushing away the fear, terror, and hunger for more. They banished his desire to share those torturous feelings. His pace slowed, and he became fully aware of himself, and as that sense of self resurfaced, as he remembered he was Victor, heshed out with fury and drove the fear-attuned Energy from his pathways, yanking it back into his Core. He felt the shadows cloaking his body solidify back into flesh, felt the terrible grinding snaps of bones taking their usual shape, and then he was lying t on his face.

    Panic and guilt spurred him to action, despite the horror of feeling his bones move the way they had. He sat up and saw that he was still clothed and still had Lifedrinker at his belt. ¡°How the fuck?¡± he hissed. ¡°Was it real?¡± Almost like it wanted to answer him, Victor saw the blinking notifications of more System messages. Standing up, he read through them as he started retracing his obvious passage through the forest:

    ***Congrattions! You have learned the spell: Aspect of Terror - Basic.***

    ***Aspect of Terror - Basic: Prerequisite: Affinity - Fear or rted affinity. You change your appearance to represent something terrifying. While you wear this illusion, you will passively harvest and cultivate fear-attuned Energy emanating from those who perceive you and cannot resist your will. Energy Cost: Minimum 100 - scble. Cooldown: Long.***

    ***Congrattions! You have achieved level 34 Spirit Carver, gained 10 will, 10 vitality, and have 8 attribute points to allocate.***

    ¡°What the fuck,¡± Victor said, feeling much worse than he ever had for gaining a level. He could only remember snatches of what he¡¯d done while wearing his terror aspect, and none of it felt good. He started to run, jogging through the forest, smashing through brambles and shrubs, dodging around trees. He called out, ¡°Va!¡± when he started to get back to the area where he¡¯d encountered her.

    He saw the tree where he¡¯d cornered her, saw her sword lying in the damp, dead leaves, and he hurried over to pick it up. The hilt was wet and smeared with mud, and the de was heavy¡ªfar heavier than he¡¯d imagined. He heard movement off to his left, branches breaking and the stomp of a running step, and he hurried after it. The noises got louder as he gained ground, and he shouted again, ¡°Va! Wait!¡±

    Two dozen more steps, and he broke through the treeline. The cleared fields between the city walls and the forest were before him, and he saw Va, thirty yards distant, stumble-running toward the road that led out of the city. He ran after her and called again, ¡°Va!¡±

    She kept running but slowed to look over her shoulder, her eyes wide and her cheek smeared with dirt, and she screamed, ¡°Get away from me!¡±

    ¡°Va, wait,¡± Victor tried again, more softly, as he gained on her. ¡°Your sword . . .¡± he said when she refused to turn. That seemed to get her attention, and she whirled on him. They were still in the field, still halfway between the trees and the wall, still fifty yards from the road. No one was around other than a distant crowd outside the city gate.

    ¡°Break it! Throw it away! Stay away from me!¡± she hissed, and Victor could see she wasn¡¯t herself, wasn¡¯t anything like the Va he¡¯de to know. Her hands trembled, her voice was shaky and shrill, and she had a crazed look behind her eyes. He opened his mouth to reply but, as usual, struggled for the right thing to say.

 Book 3: Chapter 30: Lifting Spirits

    Book 3: Chapter 30: Lifting Spirits

    Victor opened his mouth and tried to think of the perfect thing to say but came up short. Instead, he tossed Va¡¯s sword into the grass next to her, strode forward, and grabbed her shoulders. She tried to flinch away, and as his hands grabbed her, she scowled and jerked back, but Victor held on and cast Inspiring Presence, shouting, ¡°Va! Get ahold of yourself!¡±

    As Victor¡¯s warm, positive Energy surged through his pathways and out, he saw it wash over her, saw her eyes, previously unfocused and crazed, narrow, and, for the first time, really look at his face. She stopped jerking and took in a deep, shuddering breath. Victor felt a surge of relief wash over him, perhaps an effect of his spell, but he knew it was warranted¡ªit was working. Va had grown calm and reached a hand up to wipe at her eyes shakily.

    ¡°What, on my Ancestor¡¯s Bones, was that?¡± she asked, looking past Victor¡¯s shoulder toward the woods. ¡°Why did I think it was you?¡±

    Victor thought about the question, thought about the easiest way to make things right, but he knew better than that¡ªthat was a fearful response, and he wasn¡¯t going to give into fear anymore. ¡°Because it was me. I fucked up and cast a spell I wasn¡¯t ready for.¡±

    Va looked at him quizzically and, with the light of inspiration behind her eyes, said, ¡°Well, I¡¯m d you figured it out. Did you see those hounds? They saved me, I think.¡±

    ¡°Those were my spirit totems. Yeah, I¡¯m d I summoned them before I cast the other spell. They represent the best part of me, Va. At least those did¡ªI called them with courage-attuned Energy.¡± Victor looked around the cold field and saw a farmer had stopped his wagon on the dirt road leading to the gates and was staring at them. The man raised a hand and waved, and Victor waved back, wondering if he was just making sure they were all right.

    ¡°Courage . . .¡± she sighed, shaking her head. ¡°I could use some of that right now. Victor, I never felt such terror. I¡¯m ashamed!¡± she hissed, pulling out of his grip and looking around the field until her eyes fell on her sword. ¡°I don¡¯t deserve that sword. I left it and ran!¡±

    ¡°Hey, chill with that stuff, Va. That was a powerful spell¡ªit got into your mind and made you see things that weren¡¯t real. You weren¡¯t yourself. That was one hundred percent my fault. If it makes you feel better, I lost control of myself too! It was fucking awful. I feel absolutely wrecked about what I did to you!¡±

    ¡°This spell¡ªyou don¡¯t have to cast it?¡± Va asked, wiping at her nose where it had started to run. Victor thought it was more due to the chilly air than her crying. She seemed to have gotten a grip on herself. Before he answered, Victor bent down to pick up her sword and held the hilt out toward her.

    ¡°Fuck no; I don¡¯t. I¡¯ll never cast that again if anyone I care about is within ten miles of me. No fuck that, a hundred miles. Maybe if I¡¯m in an enemy castle and there¡¯s no other way out, maybe I¡¯d try it then, but it¡¯ll be ast resort. I need to talk to Oyna about it, about what went wrong. She might have some ideas for me.¡±

    Va took her sword, to Victor¡¯s relief, and whipped it through the air, sending the leaves and bits of mud flying off it to spatter in the frosty grass. She drew the de over her sleeve, further cleaning it, and then it disappeared, presumably stored in her dimensional container. ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to that, Victor. I don¡¯t want to encounter that side of you ever again.¡± She paused and looked into his eyes, her seafoam green irises clear and focused once again, ¡°Also, thank you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you? For what?¡±

    ¡°For this,¡± she touched her chest, right below her throat. ¡°Your inspiration spell. It helped me to see things the way they were, helped me to push that horror out of my mind.¡±

    ¡°The least I could do! Again, I¡¯m sorry, Va. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s get to the inn and have a hot meal, hmm? Something to put this chilly, creepy experience out of our minds.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± She nodded and turned to start walking, and Victor smiled when she slowed, waiting for him to keep pace with her.

    ¡°What do you say we stop by a bookshop on the way? I¡¯ve wanted to buy some for a while.¡± Victor reached up to his chest to feel Gorz¡¯s outline.

    ¡°What kinds of books?¡±

    ¡°All kinds, but I¡¯d love to get my hands on some history books or an as.¡±

    ¡°Ahh! I know a good ce¡ªI¡¯ve seen it off Gaul-dak Square a few times and thought about stopping in. Never had the time,¡± she said with a shrug. They finally crossed the field and came to the berm leading up to the road. Victor hopped over the loose soil and stones to the t, graveled surface and held his hand out for Va. She smirked and hopped up next to him, giving his hand a p.

    ¡°Right,¡± Victorughed, having momentarily forgotten how this woman could move when she held a sword in her hand¡ªsomething like a cross between an Olympic gymnast and a ballerina.

    ¡°The thought was nice, I guess,¡± Vaughed. They walked through the gates, Victor once again hooded with Hine¡¯s big cloak. He let Va do the talking, and soon they were working their way through busy streets that smelled like animals, sweat, and food. Victor¡¯s stomach started to growl, and he fantasized about some hot albondigas soup, wishing his abu was waiting for him back at the inn with a pot simmering on the stove.

    ¡°I hope Hine has some good soup in the kitchen; this is perfect weather for it.¡±

    ¡°I agree! It feels like we might be in for some snow tonight. Feel that breeze? Look to the north¡ªsee those dark gray clouds?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Aren¡¯t there, like, people with weather magic or something?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure if we were at Rellia¡¯s estate, she¡¯d have told us exactly what to expect from the weather. We could probably ask around the town and get some concrete information¡ªWeather Witches aremon enough.¡±

    ¡°Can they control the weather?¡±

    ¡°Not usually, and only in small areas when they can. The one that works for Rellia is good at predicting the weather and can keep the worst of storms from affecting the grounds of her estate.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty cool, though,¡± Victor nodded as they walked along. They continued through the city for a good ten or fifteen minutes, and then they entered a market square dominated by arge bronze statue at its center. It depicted a warrior with a giant curved sword riding atop a mount that reminded Victor of a velociraptor. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Gaul-dak. He was a hero in the early days of Fanwath¡ªkilled a lot of Yovashi. Now he lives in Tharcray when he¡¯s not off-world.¡±

    ¡°Not here? You¡¯d think he¡¯d want to see his statue!¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure there are statues and streets named after him in Tharcray, too. There¡¯s the bookstore,¡± Va said, pointing to a corner shop with window disys of stacked books. A wooden pyrographed sign above the door read, ¡°The Sisters¡¯ Books.¡± Next to the lettering were painted depictions of the two sister moons of Fanwath.

    ¡°Seems like the third moon doesn¡¯t get much attention,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Well, the sisters are in the sky more when it¡¯s dark. Easier to notice them, right? Also, don¡¯t worry; there are cults dedicated to Dohl.¡±

    ¡°Dohl? That¡¯s the name of the third moon? Do the sisters have names?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Va said, reaching to open the shop¡¯s door, ¡°Thivia and Galia.¡±

    Victor grunted, acknowledging the information while he surveyed the inside of the little shop. Thousands of books lined the walls and stood in stacks all over the wooden floor, and he was instantly doused in the smell of them¡ªmusty with a hint of dust, but this shop had something more. He could smell the scent of oiled leather and spice, and all together, he found he quite liked it. A young woman, a Ghelli with tiny wings and bright red hair, sat on a stool near the front counter. She looked up at their approach and smiled, though she didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°Miss,¡± Va said, striding forward. ¡°Could you direct us to texts on the history of Fanwath, its cities, and its wars?¡±

    ¡°Oh, sure,¡± she said, yawning and putting her book down on the counter. ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡± She walked around a stack of dusty texts toward the wall to Victor¡¯s right. The young woman looked over the bookcases as she walked, and when she stood in the middle, she gestured vaguely toward six or eight shelves and said, ¡°These should cover that request.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Victor squeezed past Va so he could walk between some stacks toward the wall. His axe haft brushed against a narrow column of texts, and it tottered and would have copsed had Va not quickly put out a hand to bnce it.

    ¡°Please be careful!¡± the young shopkeeper said, scowling at Victor. He was still hooded and cloaked, and she added, ¡°We don¡¯t normally get Vodkin in here. I¡¯ll have to tell Mr. Vollun to widen the aisles!¡±

    Victorughed and pulled his hood down. ¡°I¡¯m not a Vodkin, but yeah, I¡¯ll try to be careful. Hey, while I¡¯m looking at these books, can you find me a few volumes with maps in them? I¡¯m mostly looking for maps of the Empire and the surrounding areas, but I¡¯ll take anything.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± the girl seemed flustered at mistakenly calling Victor a Vodkin, and her pale skin blushed a brilliant shade of red. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can find,¡± she squeaked and hurried behind the counter.

    ¡°Silly girl,¡± Va said from near Victor¡¯s left elbow, and he looked down at her to see amusement in her eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re feeling better,¡± he said.

    ¡°Yes, I am. The horror of that experience is fading quickly. I think that¡¯s a good sign¡ªyou were right that my behavior was caused by the magic you wielded, not by a failing in my character.¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± Victor pped his hands together for emphasis. ¡°If that was a reflection of anyone¡¯s character, it was mine.¡± He nced at her, saw a puzzled look in her eyes, and added, ¡°I¡¯ll exin it some time, but trust me: spirit Cores can be a real bitch to deal with.¡±

    ¡°Veeja¡¯s Treatises,¡± Va said, pointing, ¡°Those are very good. Rellia made me study them. You¡¯re in luck; I see the whole series on wars and the empire.¡± Victor followed her finger and saw two rows of books with simr bindings and a stylized, gold-leaf ¡°Veeja,¡± printed over numerals one through eight and one through six.

    ¡°Cool,¡± Victor said, reaching up to pull them down. He carried them to the counter, four at a time, and Va helped. By the time they¡¯d set all the books down, the young Ghelli had returned with a huge leather-bound book. It was easily two feet square, and the cover was embossed with a stitched map depicting mountains, rivers, andkes. Colorful stars represented cities and towns, and Victor didn¡¯t have to guess the contents of its pages.

    ¡°This as is rather in demand at the moment, but we have a few copies. It¡¯s thetest edition of Gorndilia¡¯s Wide Surveys.

    ¡°Nice,¡± Victor said, nodding. ¡°I¡¯ll take that and these Veeja books.¡±

    The girl¡¯s eyes bulged, ¡°All of them?¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± Victor said, and before he could reach into his dimensional container, Va put a hand on the counter holding an official-looking si ring.

    ¡°House ap¡¯Yensha will pay for them,¡± she said and looked at Victor, ¡°They¡¯re part of thedy¡¯s spring campaign expenses.¡±

    ¡°Oh! I¡¯m so sorry! I didn¡¯t realize you were representing the ap¡¯Yensha n. Of course . . . Will you be taking them with you, or shall I have them delivered to the estate?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll take them,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Excellent. Give me a moment to write up a bill of sale, and then we can have you sign it, Lady . . .¡± she trailed off, looking at Va hopefully.

    ¡°Va ap¡¯Yensha, and please address me as Captain, not Lady.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry! One minute please,¡± the woman said, and then she lifted a ck te and quill. She carefully traced the names of the books onto the te, and Victor saw the lettering appear in the stone as if etched. When she was done, she ced the te before Va, who touched her finger to it. A pulse of crackling electrical Energy shot over the te¡¯s surface, and the woman took it back and nodded with a pleased smile.

    ¡°Take your books, Victor,¡± Va said, gesturing.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± he said and touched each book, sending them all into his storage ring.

    ¡°Please pass my regards on to the Lady ap¡¯Yensha! Thank you for your patronage, Captain Va,¡± the young woman called as they wended back through the stacks of books to the door. Once they were outside, Victor chuckled and looked at Va.

    ¡°Are you going to get in trouble for that?¡±

    ¡°For what?¡±

    ¡°For spending that money and saying you¡¯re an ap¡¯Yensha!¡±

    ¡°No, Victor. I told you Rellia was like a mother to me, didn¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the key word being ¡®like,¡¯¡± he chuckled.

    ¡°Well, she adopted me, so I suppose, legally, I¡¯m her daughter.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Victor hadn¡¯t been able to edit his outburst; it came out so quickly.

    ¡°What?¡± Va looked a little surprised by Victor¡¯s explosive tone, but he saw a bit of a smirk tilting the corner of her mouth.

    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know. Never mind¡ªmaybe I¡¯m just stupid; I should have put two and two together,¡± Victorughed, shaking his head as they resumed their walk through town. ¡°How much were those books, anyway?¡±

    ¡°Less than three thousand beads.¡±

    ¡°Shit! Rellia¡¯s going to be pissed!¡±

    ¡°No, she¡¯s not!¡± Vaughed and took hold of Victor¡¯s shoulder, giving it aradely squeeze. ¡°It¡¯s a good investment! How can she expect you to lead her expedition if you haven¡¯t learned about important wars or even they of thend? I¡¯ll be happy to exin this purchase to her.¡±

    ¡°If you say so.¡± Victor grinned at the idea of Rellia receiving that bill. They made their way back to the inn, and Victor went up to his room while Va got them some food. She still wanted him to try to keep a low profile while they waited to make their next move against Lord ap¡¯Horrin, Boaegh, and his band of summoners.

    Victor was thrilled when Va showed up carrying a small cask with one of Hine¡¯s kitchen staff in tow, holding a pot of steaming soup and two bowls. He gave the young man a couple of beads and then locked the door, and the two of them spent the evening eating vegetable and pultii soup¡ªa game bird that tasted very much like turkey¡ªand drinking a sweat, honeyed mead. By the time the cask was empty and their bellies were stuffed, Va imed to be feeling much better, and the two of them agreed to turn in early.

    After Victor saw Va to her room, he closed his door, threw the bolt, and pulled one of his chairs over to it, jamming it up under the handle. He prowled around his room, jabbing Lifedrinker into the shadows, making sure some invisible lurker wasn¡¯t hanging around. That done, he made sure the windows weretched and went into the bathroom, again locking the door.

    Nodding to himself in satisfaction, he cast Manifest Spirit using inspiration-attuned Energy, and when his white-gold coyotes were curled up around him, he cast Spirit Walk. Victor stood up on the spirit ne and immediately started marching toward the east, his mind set on Oyna, hoping she was out that night¡ªshe seemed to have an uncanny knack for knowing when Victor woulde looking for her, so he was hopeful.

    He felt lonely striding through the twilit ins, the brilliant, limitless starfield stretching out over his head. Victor had grown ustomed to having hispanion coyotes walk with him, but they couldn¡¯t do that while they watched his body, and he felt that was the more important job for them at the moment. Idly, he wondered what it would be like to have a ce of his own, somece where he could feel secure while he cast spells like Spirit Walk. ¡°Maybe one of these days, I¡¯ll build that hermitage or whatever it¡¯s called.¡±

    Victor¡¯s journey was quick and uneventful¡ªit seemed the more he gained power and control over his spirit-self, the more other spirits seemed to give him space; he wasn¡¯t sure if it was a show of respect or fear, and again, he was bothered by the loneliness of it, but he knew it was for the best¡ªit might be fun to glimpse animal spirits here and there or notice the passing of another Spirit Walker, but it was safer for all involved if he didn¡¯t have to deal with any challenges.

    Suddenly, Victor found himself striding down a familiar slope. He could hear the babbling of Oyna¡¯s brook up ahead, and he knew he¡¯d been lucky, yet again¡ªOyna was waiting for him. He broke into a trot, flying down the hill, through the tall birch-like trees, and into her clearing. When Victor caught sight of Oyna, he was happy to see that she was waiting with Tha for his arrival.

    ¡°Old Mother,¡± he said, hurrying forward to sit next to Tha before the young-old Oyna, and she looked up at him with concern in her eyes.

    ¡°I felt your struggle earlier.¡± She nced at Tha as if weighing what words to use in front of her, but then she scowled and added, ¡°Did I not warn you about that affinity?¡±

    Tha reached a slightly luminescent hand out to take hold of his and smiled at him while Oyna continued, ¡°I can see that your spirit is still bright. You won your first battle with your fear, though it might not feel like it, warrior.¡±

    ¡°I won? I don¡¯t think so, Oyna! I totally lost control of myself! I almost killed a friend . . .¡± he nced at Tha, suddenly very thankful that she and Deyni were so far away from him.

    ¡°Did you kill your friend? Did you destroy her mind with terror?¡±

    ¡°No, I had cast Manifest . . .¡±

    ¡°No! That¡¯s right, Victor. If you had lost that battle, there would be great tragedy behind your eyes, and your soul would be many shades darker. Whatever you did to banish the fear away and not run amok, savaging innocents, be d for it. Be proud of yourself, Victor¡ªyou¡¯ve done well to gird yourself against the darker Energies of your spirit. Your soul is strong, your heart is true, and you have powerful Energies and allies to aid you.¡±

    ¡°The weave worked,¡± Victor said, suddenly remembering his sess with justice-attuned Energy.

    ¡°You created justice?¡± Oyna cackled, though it never sounded quite righting from her younger form¡ªmore a sharpugh than a true cackle.

    ¡°Yes! I learned some new spells, obviously one I won¡¯t ever use again.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Tha asked.

    ¡°Why?¡± Oyna echoed.

    ¡°Um, were you guys asleep just now? Didn¡¯t I tell you I almost killed my friend?¡±

    ¡°Victor, do you conquer fear by hiding from it?¡± Oyna chuckled and gave Tha a knowing look.

    ¡°You were right,¡± Tha said, grinning and shaking her head.

    ¡°What?¡± Victor asked, starting to feel pissed off.

    ¡°Oyna said you¡¯d swear off using your fear Energy after what she felt earlier. I was dumb enough to make a bet with her!¡±

    ¡°Well, you guys didn¡¯t fucking go through that, did you? It¡¯s not a joke, all right?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question, warrior,¡± Oyna said, tsking her tongue.

    ¡°What? Oh, well, no, I guess I can¡¯t conquer fear by being afraid of it, but I¡¯m trying to protect innocent people, don¡¯t you see that? You¡¯re the one that told me to be cautious!¡±

    ¡°True, and cautious you must be, but you¡¯ve felt its bite now. Next time you¡¯ll have the upper hand. Keep strengthening your will, and keep building your Core stronger and stronger. When next you let the fear-beast ride your skin, you tell it who the lord is!¡±

    ¡°If you say so . . .¡± Victor said, but Oyna held up a hand and continued speaking.

    ¡°Tell me, warrior, why do you never manifest your other totem?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Victor¡¯s mind raced as he tried to make sense of the Old Mother¡¯s words. Did she mean using a different Energy to summon his coyotes? He¡¯d tried most of them by now; he supposed he¡¯d yet to try his new Justice weave. Would that allow the coyotes to hunt his enemies? ¡°I . . .¡± he started, but then he remembered¡ªwhen he¡¯d killed Bitterpaw, gained a level in Spirit Carver, and improved his Manifest Spirit and Shape Spirit spells, he¡¯d gained ess to another totem. ¡°Fuck me, have I been damaged in the brain from all the hits I¡¯ve taken?¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Oyna cackled, and this time it sounded right. Tha giggled and squeezed his hand.

    ¡°So, warrior? You had a hard day; why not see if another totem might help you sleep more easily?¡± Oyna grinned at him slyly, her magenta eyes twinkling in the starlight. Victor couldn¡¯t help smiling in response, his mood already considerably lifted simply from being able to spend time with the two women.

    ¡°Right now? Can I cast Shape Spirit here?¡±

    ¡°What better ce?¡± Oyna nodded enthusiastically.

    ¡°Will you two be able toe with me?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll follow behind¡ªdon¡¯t think about us, lest you influence your choices.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said, standing up and looking around. The little clearing was idyllic, as usual. The grass was soft, the trees tall and peacefully swaying in the ever-present breeze. Between the wind whispering through the leaves and the brook babbling in the background, Victor knew he could very easily sleep there. ¡°Not that I need to sleep right now,¡± he muttered, then he cleared his mind and cast Shape Spirit.

    Thest time he¡¯d cast it, he¡¯d stepped from the ordinary world into the Spirit ne, but this time he was already there. Nothing really changed except for a tugging at his Core, a feeling like he should walk along the ridgeline above, so he started up the hill. When he came up out of Oyna¡¯s hollow, he turned left and followed the feeling at his center.

    As he walked, the grass grew long, and the forest to his left seemed to fade away to more grasnds. The warmth in his Core swelled, and Victor felt it tugging to the right, and he turned just in time to see a luminescent, nearly spectral mustang charging over the grass. As it raced past him, it lifted its head in a mighty, trumpeting neigh, and Victor felt his heart stir with emotion. ¡°What a beauty you are!¡± he called after the horse. It was fast and agile, as it demonstrated, standing on its hind legs, lifting its forehooves in the air, and whinnying as it looked at Victor.

    ¡°What fun it would be to charge through town or over the grasnds on your back, eh, hermoso? I don¡¯t know, though, sir¡ªI have a good mount, and I¡¯m not sure you¡¯re the right fit for me right now. I¡¯ll find you if I change my mind!¡± Victor called as the stallion neighed again and charged off over the grasnds, its hooves reverberating like thunder. Victor smiled, watching it fade away; he didn¡¯t worry that he¡¯d made a mistake, for he knew his soul would pull him back to the horse if he decided it was the right totem for him.

    A thought lurked in the back of his mind, though¡ªhe had fighting to do and dangerous enemies to meet. He kept remembering his coyotes staked out by the Pyromancer''s ming spears. They were bravepanions and great at harrying an enemy that Victor could put pressure on, but they were limited when it came to fighting a strong opponent on their own. Shouldn¡¯t he be looking for a totem that wasn¡¯t so easily brushed aside?

    An image came to his mind¡ªon his first totem quest, he¡¯de across a mighty old bear, and something had made him turn away from it. Maybe he¡¯d feel differently this time. ¡°Maybe I need to look at that old oso again, eh?¡± As the words left his lips, Victor felt another tug at his Core, and he turned to his left, walking down an incline he hadn¡¯t noticed before. A thick, twilit forest loomed ahead of him, and Victor grinned as he followed the tugging sensation into the woods.

 Book 3: Chapter 31: Portents and Prophesies

    Book 3: Chapter 31: Portents and Prophesies

    Victor watched the enormous dark-furred bear, once again fishing the sparkling waters of the twilit stream. The bear was a mighty creature with long, shaggy fur and a massive set of shoulders that rose in a hump of muscle over its huge head. It grumbled and huffed as it fished through the water, and though it resembled grizzly bears Victor had seen in VR, it stood taller, with longer limbs than any bear he¡¯d ever seen depicted. It seemed primal, ancient, something from a time long before humanity had dominated thends of Earth.

    ¡°Well, shit, maybe you aren¡¯t from Earth,¡± Victor said, though he felt like the bear was¡ªweren¡¯t coyotes and mustangs from Earth? It felt to him that his spirit totems were rooted in his experiences and the experiences of his ancestors. Maybe it had something to do with his bloodline or even his DNA.

    He started down the wooded slope to the stream, walking tall with his head high, staring at the bear, waiting for it to look his way. As he cleared the woodline and stepped along the water bank, the great bear lifted its head from the water, a glistening, massive fish in its maw. Luminescent blood dripped from where huge teeth pierced the fish¡¯s scales as the great creature stared at Victor. The bear had bright, deep-set brown eyes, and though Victor was still twenty paces from it, across a ribbon of flowing water, he could see the intelligence therein.

    The bear closed its jaws, bisecting the fish and letting the two halves drop to the rocky shore at its feet. Before Victor could guess its next move, the mountain of fur and muscle bounded into the stream, sshing through the crystal waters in an explosion of frothing spray. Victor stood stock still, staring at the enormous creature as it rushed through the water and up the stony shore to stand before him.

    The bear towered over him, hunching its boulder-like shoulders to lower its head to stare into Victor¡¯s eyes. It huffed damp, hot, copper-scented breath into his face, but the only sound that emerged from its sedan-sized chest was a low rumble that sounded more like a wee than a warning. Victor grinned and reached up a hand to scratch at the bear¡¯s shaggy, wet jaw. He had nothing to fear here, for wasn¡¯t this totem a part of him, a fragment of his spirit?

    When he¡¯d found his coyotes, Victor had awoken shortly after from his Spirit Walk, the purpose of his Shape Spirit spell having been met. This time, things were different; Victor had cast the spell while already on the Spirit ne, and though he¡¯d made his decision, weing the bear into his heart, he still stood there with his new totem. ¡°Get your fish, big oso! I don¡¯t have work for you right now.¡±

    The bear huffed another hot, fishy breath into his face and then turned and bounded through the water, snatching up another fish on its way back to its meal. A snap of a twig alerted Victor to movement behind him, and he turned, smiling, and said, ¡°There you are, Old Mother.¡±

    ¡°Getting too clever for your britches,¡± the young, beautiful version of Oyna said, grinning as she made her way down the slope to the creek.

    ¡°To be fair, his britches are pretty big,¡± Tha said, following behind the old Spirit Caster. She nced past Victor to the bear and said, ¡°Couldn¡¯t you find a bigger totem?¡±

    ¡°He and I have some pretty bad assholes to deal with. I thought he was a better choice right now than a mustang.¡±

    ¡°Mustang?¡±

    ¡°The horse that ran up to me on the grasnd.¡± Victor gestured up the hill toward the vast ins where he¡¯d been walking earlier.

    ¡°Oh, we didn¡¯t see that, warrior,¡± Oyna replied. ¡°We tried to follow you, but it¡¯s hard to keep pace with a Spirit Walker until they stop for a while.¡±

    ¡°Horse?¡± Tha said, still trying to make sense of Victor¡¯s words.

    ¡°Uh, it''s a kind of animal from my world that people use for mounts. Maybe I¡¯ll get another chance to pick him someday, and then I can show you.¡±

    ¡°Your mastery of the spirit begins to extend into areas I¡¯ve only heard of in old stories. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if you earn another totem,¡± Oyna said, nodding. ¡°Well, warrior? Tha¡¯s time grows short¡ªshe¡¯ll need to leave the Spirit ne soon. I still have a word or two for you, so say your goodbyes to her.¡±

    Something about her words or her delivery sounded ominous to Victor, so he let the smile fall away from his face and took her words seriously. ¡°Come here,¡± he said, walking toward Tha and reaching out to hug her. As she folded into his embrace, he said, to the top of her head, ¡°I¡¯m so d I can still hug you in this realm. I needed this.¡± He kissed her soft, luminescent ck hair, and she squeezed him tightly in her arms.

    ¡°I know things aren¡¯t easy for you, Victor,¡± she said, pulling back so she could look into his face. ¡°Don¡¯t let Old Mother fool you¡ªshe was distraught when she felt your struggles. She tried to y it off, but I could feel it and got worried too. I¡¯m d you¡¯re okay, and you need to remember that we¡¯re here for you, all right?¡±

    ¡°I know, Tha. It means everything to me. Please give Deyni a hug and tell her I miss her.¡±

    ¡°I will. Take care, Victor,¡± Tha said, squeezing the backs of his arms and looking him in the eyes, her magenta irises shimmering in the strange light of the Spirit ne. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then she simply faded away, and Victor knew she¡¯d ended her Spirit Walk.

    ¡°Well, warrior? Come sit with Oyna by the river a moment.¡±

    Victor looked toward her voice and saw that the young-looking Old Mother had taken a seat on a t stone, and she pointed to the rock across from her. He walked over and grunted as he ponderously lowered his bulk to the little stone. ¡°You know, some people aren¡¯t as close to the ground as you are.¡±

    ¡°Hush! Young as you are! Comining about sitting with an old woman!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not . . .¡±

    ¡°Hush, now! I have important things to say. When I felt your struggles earlier, I cast my strongest divination, trying to see what I could of you and your path. Victor, your future was obscured from me, but I felt you have dire challenges ahead.¡± She paused, and Victor thought about her words; they didn¡¯t really bother him. What else was new? He¡¯d had one ¡°dire¡± struggle after another since those assholes yanked him out of his abu¡¯s living room.

    ¡°Yeah?¡± he said, and from Oyna¡¯s facial expression, she¡¯d been expecting something more. ¡°Look, Oyna, what can I say? I¡¯m doing my best to prepare for trouble. I¡¯ve made some boneheaded mistakes in the past, but my friend and I are trying to be smart now. She¡¯s seeking information, and I¡¯m not nning to do anything stupid. If there are struggles ahead, I¡¯ll face ¡®em as theye.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Victor! I know you¡¯ve had a hard road, and I debated even telling you about this, but I felt I should help you to prepare, if not physically, at least mentally. You have to be ready for more setbacks, for further losses. You have to focus on the strength here,¡± she held a t hand to his stomach, and Victor knew she was talking about his Core, ¡°and never give in to your darker aspects.

    ¡°Keep working to master your fear; keep working to master your rage. Use your Energy for good. Remember that things go on past the life you¡¯re living on Fanwath. Look around you¡ªspirits are real, and you want yours to be bright and strong. Never let it grow twisted with hatred or fear. Never let your light, your light in here,¡± this time she held her hand over his heart, ¡°grow dim. Do you promise me?¡±

    Victor reached up and put his rough, heavy hand over Oyna¡¯s slender, delicate red fingers, and he said, ¡°I promise, Oyna. I won¡¯t let you down. When I think about my life here on Fanwath and all the things I¡¯ve done, nothing brings me more joy than when I¡¯ve managed to do something that felt right. I don¡¯t cherish my memories of fighting, of killing; I cherish my time with Deyni, with Chandri. Nothing feels so good as to stand up for people who can¡¯t help themselves. That¡¯s who I am,¡± Victor squeezed her hand and thumped it against his chest, ¡°in here.¡±

    ¡°Good, warrior. Good. I¡¯ll listen to the spirits, and I''lle when you¡¯re here looking for me.¡± She pulled his big hand up to her face and kissed the backs of his knuckles, and then she was gone, slipping through his fingers like mist. Victor found himself holding his hands out as if to grasp at the remnants of her spirit, and then his eyes started to fill with moisture, and he furiously scrubbed at them with the backs of his hand.

    ¡°Why did that feel like she was saying goodbye? Like, really saying goodbye?¡± he asked the Spirit ne. No answer came to him from the babbling brook or the luminescent sky, and he sighed heavily, reached inside himself, and ended his Spirit Walk.

    Victor opened his eyes to his dim bathroom and faintly glowing, silvery coyotepanions. ¡°Thank you,¡± he said as they stood up from where they¡¯d been lying around him, some yipping and licking at his face. Victorughed and continued, ¡°I¡¯m safe and home now. You guys can get some rest.¡± Then he canceled his Manifest Spirit spell.

    Victor still felt a little hollow pit at the center of his stomach from Oyna¡¯s words as he opened the door and looked to the window to try to gauge how long he¡¯d been gone¡ªthe sky outside was still dark, and rather than look at his watch to see the exact time, he decided to crawl into bed. Victor was tired and knew that if he saw the time, and if it were early morning, he might decide to stay awake. He kicked off his boots, shrugged out of his clothes, and copsed onto theforter, unable to summon the effort to pull it over himself.

    He woke to the sound of steady knocking at his door. When he looked around, eyes bleary, he saw bright light through his window and could smell the unmistakable aroma of bacon, or at leastrd, cooking. The knocks at his door were steady and insistent, but hey there on his back, blinking his eyes and stretching for a minute or two, trying to think about his dreams but failing to bring them into his conscious mind.

    The knocks kepting, and as he woke up, he found it harder and harder to ignore them, so he grunted, lurched out of bed, and made his way over to the door. ¡°Who is it?¡± He knew it would be Va, but he felt like making her announce herself.

    ¡°It¡¯s Va!¡± She sounded a little strained, and Victor suddenly felt guilty for not hurrying more. He unlocked the door, and as soon as the bolt slid free, it swung wide, and Va stood there, green eyebrows brooding and lips pressed into a thin line. She looked Victor up and down and said, ¡°Well? Please put on some pants and move so I cane in.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said, ncing at himself¡ªhe wore a pair of knit holbyis wool underwear, and, in his opinion, they were modest enough. Still, he walked over to the bathroom, sshed water on his face, and got dressed. When he returned to therger space, Va had taken a seat at the table and arrayed some documents on the wood in front of her.

    ¡°I have some information on ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s estate.¡± She tapped the papers in front of her and smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t normally sleep so much! It¡¯s nearly noon, and I was starting to think something might be wrong.¡± For the first time, Victor realized she hadn¡¯t been so much annoyed by his slow response to her knocking as she had been worried.

    ¡°Ah, shit. Sorry if you were worried. I, well, I didn¡¯t go right to sleepst night. I think I fell asleep right before dawn.¡± He walked over and pulled out a chair, sitting to her left so he could look at the pages she¡¯did out.

    ¡°Oh! I should have let you sleep. My apologies.¡±

    ¡°Nah, stop it. I¡¯m fine¡ªdon¡¯t usually need much sleep, but I thinkst night took a lot outta me; I went on a Spirit Walk.¡±

    ¡°Victor! Who watched your body?¡± She scooted out her chair, and he could see that she was warring with how to respond to him; was she guilty, angry, annoyed? He didn¡¯t think she could decide.

    ¡°Rx! I had my spirit coyotes watch over me. You know, the ones that protected you in the forest. Besides, you were shit-faced.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I mean drunk. You were drunk and needed your sleep. You had a rough day, too, right?¡± He could see turning the conversation to her was making her ufortable; she straightened, looked down at the table, and then cleared her throat, pulling one of the papers in front of Victor.

    ¡°I have a map of ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s estate. More importantly, one of my agents managed to observe Pyromancer Boaegh¡¯s movements yesterday. She followed him to a secured, guarded door and her investigations revealed that it was a ce ap¡¯Horrin calls his ''oubliette.''¡±

    ¡°Oh, fuck,¡± Victor said, remembering the agent of ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s that he killed in Gelica. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that word before¡ªI think it¡¯s where ap¡¯Horrin keeps his pet Yovashi. It¡¯s where he broke my Core.¡±

    ¡°Well, Rasha, my agent, did some research at the city records hall. There are some indications that the oubliette was built atop a much older structure that existed on ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s grounds when his ancestors built their estate.¡± Va pushed a charcoal sketch depicting a cross-section map of a many-leveled structure, presumably all beneath the ground. It was rough and had many vague sections and hallways that seemed to lead nowhere.

    ¡°Not very detailed.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s more than a hundred years old. Before ap¡¯Horrin built the estate, the city nner insisted on a survey of the ruins. This is the map he made. Rasha couldn¡¯t find anything else.¡±

    ¡°So Boaegh spends his time in there?¡±

    ¡°Boaegh, yes, and Lord ap¡¯Horrin. Rumors on the estate indicate that he¡¯s been down there for more than a week.¡±

    Victor grunted and looked at the map, wondering if he could recognize the room where the Yovashi had reached into his stomach to fiddle with his Core. Nothing on the sketch was detailed enough to jog his memory, though, and he looked back into Va¡¯s eyes, ¡°No idea what they¡¯re up to?¡±

    ¡°No, but at least it¡¯s proof that the Pyromancer is still around.¡±

    ¡°As of yesterday?¡±

    ¡°Correct. Rasha left her partner to observe the oubliette¡¯s entrance. They¡¯re connected via artificedmunication devices¡ªno furtherings or goings have urred.¡±

    ¡°So . . . is it time already? Should I go in there? My gut says I should go in there.¡± Victor stood up and cracked his knuckles loudly.

    ¡°Victor, it¡¯s the middle of the day. The entrance to the oubliette is secluded from the rest of the estate, but you should still use caution¡ªan assault after sundown is likely to result in you having to kill fewer of ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s people. You do want to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, don¡¯t you?¡± Va scooted her chair back and crossed one long, uniformed leg over the other, cooly observing Victor as he paced back and forth.

    ¡°Yeah, I guess so. I can remember his fuckingckeys dragging me down there, guarding me, and joking about how I was fucked while Iy on that stone b, waiting for the Yovashi toe and pull my guts out. I feel like going there and wrecking everything and everyone, but I know that¡¯s not rational. I¡¯m sure not all of his men are evil.¡± Victor was furiously grinding his right hand''s knuckles into his left palm while he paced and spoke his thoughts aloud. ¡°Yeah, I think it¡¯s best if I wait. Won¡¯t do any good to ughter a bunch of minions.¡±

    ¡°Good, because when we get into the oubliette, we should only encounter his most loyal men and agents that belong to Boaegh. It will make things easier.¡±

    ¡°We?¡± Victor shook his head. ¡°Nah, Va. You¡¯ve done enough. Let me handle this one.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no chance of that, Victor! You almost died thest time you encountered Boaegh, and there might well be more of his kind in there. At the very least, I need to know what befalls you so I can report to Rellia. If you die, she¡¯ll need to flee.¡±

    Victor stared at her for a long minute, his mind furiously chasing the implications of her words. It was true¡ªif he died and Rellia couldn¡¯t prop him up as the figurehead of her conquest into the Untamed Marches, her enemies would kill her. ¡°She¡¯d do that? Run for it?¡±

    ¡°I think so. I¡¯ve begged her to empty the family¡¯s vault and buy passage off-world. She refuses, of course, but I might be able to get her to take just enough to get away. She won¡¯t want to see me killed, and if I refuse to flee without her . . .¡±

    ¡°They¡¯d kill you too?¡± Victor sat down, suddenly feeling a bit deted.

    Vaughed, a short barking sound, and said, ¡°Of course! My loyalty to Rellia is well-known in the family, and most think of me as illegitimate, in any case. Without her protection, there are plenty who resent me enough to see me dead.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised Rellia doesn¡¯t have you trying to steer me away from this confrontation. I mean, you could have told me Boaegh was in Persi Gables, then somewhere else, and kept me chasing ghosts until spring.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re quite right, and I proposed such a n back before she sent me to help you.¡± Va grinned at Victor¡¯s outraged look. ¡°Rellia wouldn¡¯t have it, though. She says we need to earn your trust, that she¡¯s ¡®built too many bridges that require a strong foundation with you.¡¯¡± Va paused and nodded, ¡°Sometimes I forget how wise she is.¡± She stared at Victor, where he sat, brooding, and added, ¡°Rellia would banish me for a year if she knew I was about to share this. Promise me you won¡¯t repeat it?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Victor said automatically, but then he looked at her, saw the doubt in her eyes, and said, more seriously, ¡°Yeah, Va, I¡¯m not going to betray you.¡±

    Va nodded and continued, ¡°Rellia has seen much, been through more than most people could bear. Victor, she ims there¡¯s something about you that¡¯s maic, a kind of gravity. Her words were something like, ¡®He¡¯s a falling star that¡¯s smashed into Fanwath, and we can either ride the shockwave with him or be buried in the wreckage he leaves behind.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± In Victor¡¯s mind, he was still a teenager from Earth. A kid trying to figure out the world, still trying to find a girl and a purpose. He knew, objectively, that wasn¡¯t the case, that he¡¯d changed a great deal, but he still had that feeling inside. He couldn¡¯t take himself that seriously; how could someone like Rellia?

    ¡°She keeps counsel with powerful oracles. Doesn¡¯t that sound like a prophecy? She wouldn¡¯t say as much to me, but she said she felt there are things about you¡ªportents, that cannot be ignored. You might not be aware of it, but your spirit weighs heavily on Fanwath. In any case, you made me promise not to report your activities to Rellia, remember? She doesn¡¯t know about the oubliette. She doesn¡¯t know about the Pyromancer. If she did, she¡¯d probably put a lot more pressure on me to stop you or at least allow her to send more of her agents to help.¡±

    Victor sat there and thought about her words, his brow creasing in an ever-deepening frown. He¡¯de to ept the idea that he would be helping Rellia with a conquest of some unknown, distantnds. He¡¯de to grips with the notion that his spirit craved adventure and conflict, but he didn¡¯t like the idea that so much weight was being put on his actions by so many people. What had he done to deserve such attention? It felt like he was losing the little bit of autonomy he¡¯d struggled to grasp over thest few months.

    Finally, unable to think of any profound statement or action, he shrugged and said, ¡°Thanks for keeping your word to me, but you should know: I think Rellia is full of shit. I think she¡¯s trying to build me up into something much greater than I am simply because I beat her in the arena. She can¡¯t stand the idea that she lost to someone who isn¡¯t some kind of ¡®meteor smashing into the world,¡¯ or whatever.¡±

    ¡°I must admit to having simr thoughts . . .¡± Va started to say.

    ¡°Good! Then let¡¯s drop this dumbass subject and go get some food. I want to kick ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s ass on a full stomach tonight.¡±

    Va snorted and scooped up her papers. ¡°Hine¡¯s still serving breakfast, and I saw a tter of zed pastries.¡±

    ¡°I suppose I should stay out of sight still. No sense ruining any surprise advantage I might have. Do you mind getting me some food?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t mind.¡± Va nodded curtly and turned to leave, but as she opened the door, she turned back to Victor and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think Rellia¡¯spletely deluded. There¡¯s something about you, Victor.¡± She looked like she wanted to say more, but she shook her head and stepped out, quietly closing the door behind herself.

    Victor walked over to his bed and picked up Lifedrinker from where she leaned against the headboard. He held the axe for a minute, admiring the silvery streaks, like lightning striking out from the edge into the ck metal. He knew he¡¯d picked her up because he wantedfort; he wanted to grab onto something solid that always felt good to him after the unsettling visit he¡¯d had with Oyna and then this further discussion about bullshit prophesies and portents. He pressed the cold metal to his forehead and said, ¡°It is all bullshit, isn¡¯t it, lovely?¡±

    Lifedrinker didn¡¯t answer him, not with words, but she vibrated softly against his head, and he swore he heard a delicate soprano humming. He closed his eyes and followed the sound and his mind¡¯s eye saw a beautiful vale surrounded by tall hills. He saw a river cutting through the blue-green grass; at its head, a misty waterfall fell into a gleaming pool. The cliffside behind the waterfall was streaked with silvery ore, and Victor knew it was Heart Silver. ¡°Is this where you¡¯re from, beautiful?¡±

    The sound of his door opening startled him, and Victor opened his eyes, whirling to see Va holding the door open for one of Hine¡¯s kitchen staff. The man ducked his head apologetically when he saw Victor standing there with his axe and hastily set his tray on the table. Va thanked him, and he left. Then she looked at Victor and said, ¡°What are you doing? You look like you just fell out of bed and can¡¯t figure out where you woke up.¡±

    ¡°I, uh, how long were you gone?¡±

    ¡°Not long. Maybe fifteen minutes.¡±

    ¡°Fucking crazy. I was just listening to my axe, and it felt like less than a minute.¡±

    ¡°Listening to your axe?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she was singing to me, and I saw where she came from, I think.¡± Victorughed at himself and gently slipped Lifedrinker into the loop on his belt. ¡°I know I sound crazy, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t. I¡¯ve seen crazy, and you aren¡¯t it.¡± Va pulled out a chair and sat down, ¡°Come. I got enough food here for three or four people. Let¡¯s break our fast, and you can tell me what Lifedrinker¡¯s home is like.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re all right, you know that, Va? You might be a little tightced, but you know the right thing to say most of the time.¡± Victor walked over to sit down. The tray wasden with thick-cut bacon, a bowl of scrambled eggs, two enormous sweet rolls dripping with zed sugar that Victor could smell the second they came through the door, and a pitcher of fresh-squeezed juice.

    ¡°Tightced?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, like, you know, prim and proper. Shit, when we first met, I couldn¡¯t get you to say more than three words at a time.¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± she started, and Victor saw her pale blue skin start to deepen toward purple on her cheeks, and he reached out to gently jostle her shoulder.

    ¡°Rx, Va; I¡¯m just busting your balls.¡±

    ¡°My balls?¡± Her voice rose an octave, and Victorughed.

    ¡°See? This is called bullshitting, Va. Isn¡¯t it better than all that serious business? Now, c¡¯mon let¡¯s see who can eat their pastry the fastest!¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 32: Blood Will Flow

    Book 3: Chapter 32: Blood Will Flow

    Victor smashed Lifedrinker into his target, the guard standing to the right of the oubliette door. The poor man had seemed bored, yawning and chatting with his partner as Victor crept over the grass in his blind spot. Lifedrinker¡¯s razor edge sank into the crook of his neck, cleaving arteries and a cor bone and resting six inches into his chest. The guard only managed a wet, coughing grunt before he slumped, and Victor¡¯s arms strained, holding him up with his grip on the axe haft.

    At the same time, Va streaked over the grass using some sort of Energy-based charge, grabbed the guard on the left, threw him to the ground, and jerked a wicked single-edged dagger through the flesh at his throat, letting the blood flood out over the front of him and onto the grass.

    Their assault was brutal, savage even, and Victor and Va had long argued about the need for lethal force to gain entry to ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s sanctum, but the risk of leaving guards still breathing seemed to outweigh the benefits. Victor had clinched things when he¡¯d said, ¡°We aren¡¯t going in there to make friends. These are bad people, and lots of blood is going to flow. I won¡¯t kid myself.¡±

    Ap¡¯Horrin was a minor noble, though wealthy, and Victor knew there might be repercussions for their actions that night. He¡¯d tried to talk Va out of apanying him, but she wouldn¡¯t be dissuaded. She¡¯d shown Victor a ck ring that she wore on her thumb and said, ¡°No scrying will reveal my actions. Worry not about my reputation.¡±

    Victor had contemted Va¡¯s ring, apparently quite a rare artifact, and then he¡¯d shown her his talisman for shielding scryings and asked if it would protect him in the same way. Va had shrugged and said, ¡°Maybe.¡± Victor knew it worked to stop people actively watching him, but he didn¡¯t know if it would hide his actions that night at ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s estate. He¡¯d ultimately decided he didn¡¯t give a damn.

    As the two guards watered the grass with their blood, Victor stood up and tried the handle on the strange, round metal door. It was dark gray, covered in bronze carved vines, and the handle was recessed, requiring Va and Victor to cooperate to reach into the three holes that depressed the separate levers. ¡°I bet this was a door meant to be opened by Yovashi,¡± Va said, sliding two slender hands into the left and center holes. Victor barely managed to squeeze his left hand into the other one, but neither of them could get their levers to move.

    ¡°Locked,¡± he said.

    ¡°Try your ring,¡± she said, and Victor nodded, lifting his right hand and tapping one of his oldest treasures on the metal door¡ªhis Ring of the Guest. He was so surprised that it worked that he almostughed. The door shuddered and loudly clicked, and then it popped ajar. He and Va pulled it open the rest of the way, revealing the entry chamber to ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s oubliette.

    While Va scouted inside, Victor grabbed the two dead guards and dragged them into the antechamber. The room was roughly oval, with sloping hallways leading downward to the left and right. An orange glowmp hung in the center of the stone room, and wooden benches along the far wall were the only other furnishings.

    He held the two guards by the cors of their chainmail shirts and easily hoisted them up to the bench, leaning their two heads against each other. A twinge of guilt started to creep into his mind, but Victor shook his head¡ªhe had dirty work to do, and these people worked for a man that had tried to kill him on multiple asions. ¡°What¡¯s the old saying?¡± he asked as he finished propping them up against each other. ¡°Sleep with pigs, and you get dirty? Something like that.¡±

    ¡°It seems like a lot more traffic has been going down the left-hand tunnel,¡± Va said,ing to stand by him and looking at the two blood-spattered, horribly wounded bodies. ¡°You¡¯re not fooling anyone with that.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± Victor said, turning to study the inside of the door. After he scanned it from top to bottom, he finally saw the little filigreed handle that was meant to lock it. He shifted it to the left and was pleased by the satisfying series of clicks. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. No one¡¯sing in after us, and anyone we run into is going to die.¡±

    ¡°Unless they don¡¯t work for ap¡¯Horrin,¡± Va said.

    ¡°Yeah, ¡®course.¡± Victor concentrated a moment, and then his ghostly white-gold spirit hounds shimmered into being, and he willed one of them to watch the lesser-used hallway. ¡°All right, down we go,¡± he said, casting Inspiring Presence. Va and his coyotes seemed to swell with the spell, standing taller and their eyes appearing more eager. Victor grinned as the shadows slipped away, and theplicated lock he¡¯d been looking at suddenly seemed obvious.

    ¡°I love that spell,¡± Va said, nodding. Suddenly her heavy, blue broadsword was in her hands, and she nodded. ¡°You take the lead.¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± Victor said, hoisting Lifedrinker and heading down the left-hand tunnel. His coyotes were quiet, only letting out the asional yip, and he urged one of them to prowl ahead. After it had rounded a corner, Victor started forward, his other three coyotes and Va keeping pace as they worked their way down the sloping, curving tunnel. Nothing seemed familiar to Victor, though he¡¯d been pretty out of it when ap¡¯Horrin had brought him here to break his Core.

    Every dozen feet or so, another orange, Energy-powered glowmp lit up the shadows, and with his spell active, Victor could see through the gloom like it was daylight. They¡¯d traversed a hundred or so feet when he felt something from his scouting coyote¡ªdanger ahead. He held up his hand, whispered a warning to Va, and the group continued to creep around the bend.

    The passage leveled off and straightened out, and Victor saw his coyote ahead, lurking near a doorway on the left. The main tunnel continued deep into shadows, with a notable absence of glowmps. Trusting Va to see what he saw, Victor hunched low and crept toward the doorway. With a flick of his will, he urged his otherpanions to hang back and called his scout to join them.

    When he got to the opening, he peered around the corner, just inching his head past the doorframe enough for one eye to see whaty beyond. It was an alcove with a square table and four chairs. Two men and a woman, simrly garbed to the ones he and Va had already killed, sat at the table. One of them whittled a piece of wood with a tiny knife. Another seemed to be cultivating or meditating, and, to Victor¡¯s surprise, the third was reading a book.

    Victor pulled his head back, turned to Va, who lurked behind him, and held up three fingers. He thought about it for a couple of seconds, then leaned closer to her and whispered, barely allowing air to slip past his lips, ¡°I¡¯ll frighten them. Be ready.¡± Her eyes widened, but she set her lips into a grim line, and she nodded.

    Victor steadied his grip on Lifedrinker, visualizing his next move several times before he did it, just like he used to do before a match¡ªor a pit fight. He pictured how he would step, how he¡¯d cast his spell, and where he¡¯d send Lifedrinker¡¯s edge. Taking a breath, he moved around the corner, cast Project Spirit, sending a wave of purple-ck fear-attuned Energy into the small room, and then, as the guards¡¯ eyes widened in horror and they started to scramble, he cleaved the book reader¡¯s head from his shoulders.

    The two remaining guards began to jibber and groan inarticte, terrified sounds and Victor leaped upon the one in the middle¡ªthe cultivator¡ªsmashing him back with his heavy boot, so he tumbled out of his chair. He charged after him, kicking the table aside, and followed up with several brutal hacks. When he lifted Lifedrinker¡¯s bloody edge and turned to the third guard, he saw Va standing over her corpse, wiping her sword on the fallen woman¡¯s cape.

    Va nodded grimly to him and held a finger to her lips. She cocked her ear, presumably listening for reinforcements, but Victor knew no one wasing¡ªhe could sense it from his coyotes. ¡°Nothing¡¯sing right now,¡± he whispered, gesturing to one of his coyotes visible from the doorway. She nodded, and the two continued their descent into the depths.

    ¡°No worries from the beast you left up top?¡± Va whispered.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Victor grunted. Before long, Victor saw a four-way junction ahead, brightly lit by three glowmps. The passage they were in continued through it to a set of wooden, double doors, and there weren¡¯t any signs of more guards in the open space.

    He looked at one of his coyotes and willed it to scout out the junction. The shimmering, white-gold creature padded silently into the bright intersection, leading with its snout. Victor wondered if all of its senses worked¡ªcould it smell as well as see and hear?

    No feelings of alert came from the scout, so Victor led Va to the junction, and that¡¯s when he heard a low, vibrating chanting sounding from the double doors ahead. To the left and right, he saw that the passage seemed to continue straight but sloped into darkness in both directions. Va pointed to the doors and made an exaggerated shrugging motion.

    Victor nodded and crept toward them, hugging the wall on his left. He felt Va behind him and knew his coyotes were hanging back at the intersection, keeping watch. As he neared the door, Victor became aware of a heavy, thick Energy in the air. He wasn¡¯t familiar with its particr brand, but it didn¡¯t feel like pure Energy¡ªit had a feeling of vibrance, a tang of copper, and he wondered if it was blood-attuned Energy. He looked at Va, and she nodded¡ªshe felt it too.

    The chanting was louder, but the words were still indistinct, perhaps anguage he didn¡¯t know, anguage untranted by the System¡¯s Language Integration skill. Was that a thing? Victor wanted to ask Va but knew better than to start up a conversation while creeping outside a door that opened into a possible cult¡¯s summoning hall.

    Va¡¯s scouts had assured her that the Pyromancer no longer used the barn where Victor had nearly been immted, and she felt sure they¡¯d probably run into the coven of summoners in the oubliette¡ªit was where Boaegh had been lurking, after all. Victor tried the door handle to see if it would move, and the little brass lever depressed at his touch. He gently tugged and pushed on it, hoping to open the door a bare sliver, but it wouldn¡¯t budge, seemingly barred from the other side.

    Victor motioned for Va to follow him back to the intersection, and then he leaned very close to her ear and whispered, ¡°I think the cult is in there. Maybe Boaegh and ap¡¯Horrin too. I¡¯m going to smash that door apart and go in swinging.¡±

    Va frowned and tugged Victor¡¯s cor so he leaned closer and whispered into his ear, ¡°We could search these side passages¡ªtry to find another entrance.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I feel a sense of urgency, like they¡¯re doing something I want to stop. Maybe it¡¯s all in my head, but . . .¡± he trailed off with a shrug.

    ¡°I did smell blood magic,¡± Va hissed. She shrugged in turn.

    Victor looked at his coyotes and smiled at them, whispering, ¡°Good work, pack. Time for me to call your big brother, though. Go get some rest.¡± Victor dismissed the spell that held his pack on the Physical ne and then looked at his Core; he¡¯d already recovered all of the Energy he¡¯d spent earlier.

    Once again, he leaned close to Va and whispered, ¡°I¡¯ll Berserk if there are more than a couple of them. My bear will also be enraged, so watch out for yourself.¡± He shrugged and added, ¡°I have good control of my Berserking, don¡¯t worry too much.¡±

    ¡°Your bear?¡± Va breathed, her eyes growing wide. Victor grinned and nodded. They were standing near the wall, just around the corner from the double doors. He was getting himself geared up to make the attack when Va touched his arm, and he saw that she¡¯d put away her sword. She held a thick book in her hands instead.

    ¡°Victor,¡± she whispered, ¡°This encounter could result in one or both of our deaths. Will you allow me to send a message to Rellia so that she knows where we are? So she knows that I''m probably dead if she doesn¡¯t hear from me soon?¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Victor was bbergasted for two reasons¡ªhe¡¯d assumed Va had already snitched to Rellia about their movements, finding it hard to believe that she¡¯d so literally honor his request to keep his actions between the two of them. Secondly, he found it hard to imagine she was pulling this now, right before he charged into a¡ªpotentially massive¡ªbattle. ¡°If you¡¯re that worried, hang back! Guard my back and keep watch in case someone runs away from me.¡±

    He saw emotions warring on her face; he knew she wanted to go with him and didn¡¯t want to appear afraid. He wondered if her experience with fear in the woods yed a role in her thought process¡ªdid she feel she needed to insist on fighting to prove something to him? He was about to remind her of her duty to Rellia when she finally scowled and nodded, recing the book with her sword. She opened her mouth, but Victor beat her to it, whispering, ¡°If shit looks really bad, just run for it. You have my permission to contact Rellia with the bad news if I bite it.¡±

    Va nodded, and Victor grinned. He turned back to the double doors and walked toward them, then reached into his Core and pulled out a thick ribbon of rage-attuned Energy, getting it ready. At the same time, Victor cast Manifest Spirit again, this time calling for the fragment of his soul represented by the bear totem.

    Red mist started to coalesce on the tunnel floor, luminescent and brimming with furious Energy. Victor felt it, felt the part of him that wanted to smash and destroy begin to manifest, gathering in a red, glowing cloud that rapidly resolved into an enormous bear. He tried to will it to be quiet, but the creature would have none of it, lifting its gigantic head toward the tunnel ceiling and roaring loud enough to bring dust and shards of stone showering down. The doors before the bear shook with the burst of sound, and Victor couldn¡¯t help it¡ªheughed.

    He pointed to the door and urged his bear to attack, and then all hell broke loose. The massive bear, nearly toorge to fit in the tunnel, bound forward and shredded the door like it was made of toothpicks. Splinters, nks, nails, and brackets burst forth as Victor¡¯s bear totem charged into the open space beyond, roaring again like thunder somehow bottled and released underground. Victor rushed forward, already reaching for his rage-attuned Energy again, readying his Berserk spell.

    He almost stumbled, almost lost track of what he was doing, when he saw the madness beyond the splintered door. The room wasrge and square with stone walls that reached twenty feet to the ceiling. At the center of the room, which was probably a hundred feet on a side, nine figures in baggy brown robes were scattering from his gigantic bear¡¯s furious charge. Hanging upside down from silver chains at the center of the ceiling was a humanoid with bright green chitin where a human might have skin.

    The insectoid person¡¯s arms and legs were held spread-eagled by the chains, and directly beneath him, an Ardeni man sat on a throne-like seat, tethered to the prisoner by a thick band of blood-red Energy¡ªit was evident that the Energy was flowing from the bound insectoid to the man in the chair.

    While his bear roared and pounced upon one of the brown-robed individuals, Victor had eyes only for the man on the throne¡ªap¡¯Horrin. He narrowed his eyes and finished his spell, letting loose a roar of his own, not to be outdone by his bear. As the rage rushed through him, stretching his pathways to bursting and flooding his body with power, Victor screamed in a fury, remembering what this man had done to him.

    He remembered lying on a stone b while a tentacled monstrosity reached into his guts and broke up his Core. He remembered riding in a wagon, feverish and weak, near death from the disgusting wound he¡¯d been left with. He remembered all the torment he endured fighting free of the Greatbone Mines. He remembered feeling lost and ruined because he¡¯d executed the man this ¡°lord¡± had sent to kill Victor in Persi Gables. Finally, he thought of the guards he¡¯d massacred this night, and he roared again, and this time, it truly was as loud as his bear, for Victor had taken the form of his ancestors¡ªhe was a Quinametzin warrior bound for vengeance.

    A brown-robed man stood between him and ap¡¯Horrin, and heunched a series of rapid firebolts toward Victor. They streaked through the air like little missiles, flickering with intense white heat, and Victorughed, charging right into them, head down, axe held high in one hand like a massive hatchet. The fiery arrows exploded off Victor¡¯s chest and helmet, and though the mes washed over him like liquid napalm, heughed, shrugging it off. ¡°mes?¡± he roared, swinging Lifedrinker like a cleaver at the little man. ¡°I¡¯ve bathed in worse!¡±

    LIfedrinker screamed through the air, and though the mage created a shimmering maroon shield of force, she burst it apart. Victor roared, and the mage screamed, and Lifedrinker took him in the chest, buried to the haft. Victor lifted him up, flopping limply on Lifedrinker¡¯s edge, and shook the little mage in the air, showering blood down on his shoulders, helmet, and face. Victor¡¯s gaze had never left ap¡¯Horrin, and though the man seemed to be finishing his feast of blood-Energy, his eyes were wide with horror.

    The room reverberated with the roars of his bear and Victor¡¯s own challenges. Victor didn¡¯t spare a nce for hispanion, though¡ªlet the great bear fight his fight. He had to deal with ap¡¯Horrin before he found a way to flee. Victor whipped his axe to the side, sending the mage''s corpse flopping over the ground, then he bent his mighty knees and leaped thest twenty feet toe crashing toward ap¡¯Horrin, his axe falling like a meteor toward the man¡¯s head.

    As Victor descended, ap¡¯Horrin either finished or broke off his feast of blood-red Energy. He made a sudden, perhaps panicked, gesture, and in a cloud of red mist, he streaked away from the throne, reappearing in the flesh, some twenty feet distant, stumbling toward the exit. Victor tracked his movement as he fell, and though the throne was empty, he still smashed it to bits with Lifedrinker. He bounded after ap¡¯Horrin again, this time keeping his feet on the ground.

    Ap¡¯Horrin saw himing, tried to pick up speed, realized it was fruitless, and turned toward Victor, holding out both hands. Red motes of Energy began to coalesce in the air between the two of them, and though Victor charged on, he felt it snaring him up, catching on his armor, on his skin, on his axe, pulling at him like quicksand. As the red mist grew thicker, ap¡¯Horrin turned to run, shaky on his feet but slowly making ground on Victor.

    A brown-robed mage came to Victor¡¯s attention because she¡¯d startedunching razor-sharp ice crystals at him. Victor held up an arm to protect his eyes as he strained and pulled against the blood mist, and most of the ice shards broke on his armored sleeve, his chest, or his helmet. A few found purchase in his flesh, but he ignored them¡ªwhat were some puny stabs to him? Who was this tiny mageling throwing pathetic darts his way? He had a man to kill, and she was in the way.

    Victor screamed, squatted down, bunched his enormous muscles, and charged through the rest of the mist, ripping it to shreds with his furious strength. Ap¡¯Horrin cried out and nearly copsed as Victor demolished his spell, and then he was free. He bisected the ice mage as he ran past, and as he caught up to his quarry, Victor gripped the back of his neck, lifted him off the ground, and smashed him into the stone at his feet.

    Lifedrinker shed with red Energy, humming in a high-pitched, war maiden¡¯s cry, and Victor nted her firmly in ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s spine. Ap¡¯Horrin shuddered and shook, and Lifedrinker took his Energy, dark, thick rivulets pouring into her. Victor looked around the room with a furious gaze, saw the corpses of half a dozen mages, and saw his bear roaring and struggling against the magic of the three remaining casters.

    One held out his hands, creating bands of yellow-rimed ice that constricted the great creature, while another mage whipped at it with a putrid, sickly vine of foul Energy. The final member of the trio repeatedlyunched bolts of yellow-white fire at the brave totem¡¯s nk, singing its ruddy fur and ckening its flesh. Victor felt his red gaze darken to murderous crimson and left Lifedrinker to do her work, charging to hispanion¡¯s aid, screaming like the mad titan he was.

    He smashed into the mage creating the yellowed, sickly ice cage, sending him sprawling like he¡¯d been hit by a motor vehicle. The caster bounced and skipped over the stone floor to crunch into the wall, and hey unmoving, fluids leaking from too many orifices for there to be much hope for his recovery. With the cage gone, Victor and his bear made short work of thest two mages, and as they stood, heaving and growling, covered in gore, Victor surveyed the room.

    Nothing stirred. Broken corpsesy in pieces and heaps, and Lifedrinker hummed in her high, trilling note, but, with his enemies ughtered, Victor let his rage cool, let it fade from his pathways, and soon he was standing there, still bloody, still drenched in viscera, but back to his normal state of mind. His bear had faded with his rage, and he wondered if he¡¯d subconsciously sent it away or if it had gone of its own ord.

    He walked over to Lifedrinker, and as he pulled her from ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s back, he saw the Energy motes of his Victory begin to gather over the corpses. He watched the golden Energy coalesce and saw that much of it was tinged with purple, though not as much as he¡¯d hoped¡ªnone of the mages had been as strong as Boaegh. Ap¡¯Horrin had surprised him with his abilities, but they hadn¡¯t been anything exceptional¡ªthe motes from his corpse were all purely golden.

    The Energy surged into him, lifting him off his feet a few inches, but he felt that was more a reflection of the number of his vanquished foes than their power. Still, the flood of Energy was a strong one, and he felt the euphoria lift his mind fully clear of his battle-fevered thoughts, and he thought to look at the ruined doorway for Va. Victor had expected her to be walking toward him by now, but she wasn¡¯t there.

    As the Energy surge faded, he called out, ¡°Va!¡±

    She didn¡¯t reply, but a weak cough above him caught his attention, and Victor jerked his head up toward the bound, green-chitined humanoid. Ap¡¯Horrin had chained it upside down, and its mandibled face stared toward Victor and the doorway. ¡°Are you alive, then?¡± Victor called up to the insect person.

    ¡°Yes!¡± it coughed, sounding like a man to Victor. ¡°And I saw yourpanion¡ªshe pursued Boaegh as the coward fled,¡± he coughed again, and yellow-green ichor dripped from his mandible to the stone floor.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Victor turned and started to run, but the man called out weakly.

    ¡°I know where he¡¯s going! Help me down¡ªI¡¯m from the same world as that bastard!¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 33: Into the Fire

    Book 3: Chapter 33: Into the Fire

    Victor ran his eyes over the insect-man¡¯s chains and saw a pulley leading to a winch on a nearby stone post. He hurried over to it and pulled out the pin, and the man started to drop through the air toward the ground as the wheel began to spin. Victor quickly reached out and grabbed the spinning wheel, saving his intended rescuee from smashing onto the stone floor by mere inches. ¡°Shit, sorry ¡®bout that,¡± he said as the chains jerked to a halt.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡ªyou saved me from much worse,¡± the man said, grunting as he found his feet. He gestured to the chains and said, ¡°I think that one, the one you cleaved through the spine, has the key.¡± He gestured to ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s corpse, and Victor ran over to it. Not seeing any belt pouches, he quickly pulled off the four rings he found on ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s cold, gray-blue fingers.

    As Victor walked back to the chained-up praying-mantis-looking guy, he trickled some Energy into one of the rings randomly and was pleased to find it was a dimensional container. ¡°First try,¡± he said, searching through the many contents with his mind. He smiled at the trove of goods and knew he¡¯d need to spend a lot more time going through the valuables, but for now, he produced the only three keys he found within.

    Only one key was a match for the silver padlocks, and Victor quickly unlocked them. As he was doing so, he gave the insect-man a closer look¡ªhe had no clothes or jewelry, and his bright green chitin was cracked in many ces, oozing yellowish fluid. ¡°Are you okay? Did you have some clothes or anything?¡± Victor hesitated to ask, not wanting to waste time when Va might need some help, but he couldn¡¯t help putting himself in the guy¡¯s shoes.

    ¡°I had a belt and rapier, but they took them from me long ago. My name is Ksajik, and I owe you my life. Follow me, and I¡¯ll show you where the worm, Boaegh, has fled. Hopefully, he hasn¡¯t led yourpanion into a trap.¡± With that, he started striding, with a pronounced limp, toward the doorway, and Victor followed, tucking ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s four rings into a pouch on his belt. Ksajik had an interesting way of speaking with halting words and asional clicks. His voice was clear, though, and Victor absently wondered if the System Language Integration skill was working overtime for him.

    ¡°What world are you guys from?¡± Victor asked in a hushed voice, pacing beside Ksajik, Lifedrinker held ready. The tunnel was sloping downward at a fairly steep angle, but it was straight, and he could see there wasn¡¯t anything lurking in the near distance.

    ¡°Zaafor,¡± Ksajik said, green fluid spraying from his mandibles as he drew out the ¡°zaa¡± sound.

    ¡°Never heard of it,¡± Victor said and almostughed at himself¡ªhow many worlds did he know the names of? He felt like he¡¯d heard other names before, but at the moment, he could only think of Fanwath and Earth.

    ¡°It¡¯s distant from this one. The System has existed there for millennia, but it''s a harsh ce.¡± He paused and leaned against the smooth stone wall for a moment, then said, ¡°My apologies, I cannot speak and walk at the same time. That bastard took much of my Core. My recovery will take decades! We need to hurry before yourpanion is in!¡±

    ¡°All right, shit!¡± Victor said, then stooped down in front of the insect-man and said, ¡°Get on my back, dude.¡±

    ¡°Er,¡± Ksajik said, clicking his mandibles uncertainly, then he reached up his three-fingered, green hands to Victor¡¯s shoulders and mounted his back. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re a sturdy fellow. This isn¡¯t shameful.¡± Victor stood up, hardly feeling the man¡¯s weight, and started trotting down the tunnel.

    ¡°Not at all, man. No shame at all! Sounds like you¡¯ve been through hell.¡± Victor had a thought and then, despite the awkwardness of it, decided to ask, ¡°You are a dude, right? I¡¯d hate to be calling you ¡®man¡¯ or whatever, if not. God, sorry, that sounds terrible . . .¡±

    ¡°Heavens, but your mind is leaping to strange topics while we chase my mortal enemy! Yes, I¡¯m a male¡ªall of my cast are male. Now, when youe to the intersection, turn right.¡± Ksajik¡¯s words were clipped and halting but firmly stated.

    Victor grunted, taking the guy¡¯s point to heart¡ªhe should be more concerned about Va. As he ran, Victor felt his Core, saw that his Energy reserves were good, especially his inspiration, and cast Inspiring Presence. He also tried to cast Manifest Spirit to summon his coyotes, but the spell wasn¡¯t quite off cooldown. He almost fell as he came to the intersection Ksajik had mentioned, and he slid on the dusty stone, trying to turn right at a near-full-tilt run.

    Ksajik clung to his shoulders with a vise-like grip, holding on while Victor regained his bnce and started running down the new tunnel, asional glowmps showing him that it was long, descending, and very slightly curving to the left. He passed doorways, but Ksajik urged him to keep going each time, saying they were just storage or empty rooms. Victor had no reason to doubt the guy, so he charged ahead.

    They came to a round, well-lit room with a circr stone stairwell at its center, and Ksajik said, ¡°Down there. At the bottom of the stair, you¡¯ll find his portal room. Gods, but I hope he hasn¡¯t opened it yet. Is yourpanion a formidable fighter?¡±

    ¡°Va¡¯s tough as hell,¡± Victor said, starting down the broad stone stairwell, careful not to rely on the ancient-looking wrought-iron balustrade. He believed what he¡¯d said but also knew Va wasn¡¯t him¡ªshe couldn¡¯t shrug off the kind of damage that he could, and he¡¯d hate to find her fried corpse waiting at the bottom of the stairs. That on his mind, he began to hop down the steps, three at a time, and felt Ksajik cling more tightly to his back, grunting in strained wheezes with each of Victor¡¯s bounds.

    After a couple of dozen hops, Victor finallynded at the base of the stairs and saw that he stood in a circr room, easily three times as wide as the stairway it housed. Smooth stone walls rose up in every direction except one, where a set of massive, bronze double doors stood.

    ¡°That¡¯s it. He¡¯s in there, I¡¯m sure,¡± Ksajik said, carefully letting go of Victor¡¯s shoulders and sliding off his back.

    ¡°Dammit!¡± Victor hissed, running up to the doors. They were near twice his height, and he could tell by how they seamlessly met in the middle that they were well-made. He grabbed one enormous metal handle and gave it a tug and a push, not surprised when it didn¡¯t budge. ¡°Looks like I might have to Berserk again,¡± he said, ncing back to check on Ksajik and maybe warn him to go up the stairs a few steps.

    He was startled to see not only Ksajik standing by the stairwell but another shadowy figure emerging from behind it¡ªan enormous, spiderlike individual with a very familiar, smooth, featureless face with saucer-like, depthless ck eyes. ¡°You ugly motherfucker! I¡¯m d to see you!¡± Victor growled, his rage ring to life without his urging.

    Ksajik whirled to see the object of Victor¡¯s ire, and when his eyes fell on the Yovashi, he scurried up the steps. It didn¡¯t matter because the spiderlike monstrosity had eyes only for Victor. He strode forward, huge legs spread out and long, gray tentacles extending from the bottom of his torso, where Victor saw something like an octopus beak and gleaming red eyes. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have returned, System ve.¡±

    ¡°The fuck did you call me, you ugly asshole? Which one of your faces do I talk to? The one with the beak or the stupid one up top?¡±

    By way of answer, the Yovashi lunged forward a step, and his hidden beak coughed a horrible barking sound and snapped with a resounding ck. ¡°I¡¯ll eat you with that one,¡± the top mouth said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to dick around with you,¡± Victor growled, and then he cast Project Spirit, sending a wave of fear at the monstrosity. The Yovashi balked for just a moment, his enormous spider legs flexing and starting to scramble backward. Victor saw him begin to recover, start to bend his legs in the other direction, but it was toote¡ªLifedrinker ripped through one of those six gigantic legs, sending it flopping and twitching over the stone floor in a spray of ck ichor.

    ¡°Fool!¡± the Yovashi screamed, stumbling back. Victor felt a massive burst of foul, filthy Energy pour out of the monstrous man, and a wave of nausea hit him like a ton of bricks. He almost threw up, feeling his guts roil like he¡¯d swallowed a bucket of worms. Stumbling backward, Victor dug deep into his Core and flooded his pathways with hot, rage-attuned Energy, but he didn¡¯t Berserk, he just channeled the Energy into his body and Lifedrinker, and then he growled.

    ¡°You bastard! You think I don¡¯t remember the taste of your Energy? The way you dug around in my guts? I was a weakling back then, but you¡¯ve fucked up, buddy. You should¡¯ve hidden in a closet until I left.¡± Victor wanted to Berserk, wanted to go absolutely nuts on this guy, but he also wanted to have his wits about him¡ªwanted to savor the feeling of thrashing this pinche mother fucker.

    ¡°Stop!¡± the Yovashi hissed, and Victor felt the power behind the words, felt them creep into his mind, worming their way into his brain, sending signals to his muscles to lock up and cease moving. Heughed, flooding the weird mental Energy out of his brain with a surge of rage, and, with eyes zing, he strode forward and hacked off another of the creature¡¯s legs.

    ¡°Your will isn¡¯t strong enough to try that shit on me,¡± Victor growled as the monstrous man pitched back, crying out, ck ichor oozing all over the floor, making it slippery as Victor continued to advance, driving him back toward the curving, smooth, stone wall.

    ¡°Listen to the voice of Tkelvic and obey! Drop your axe!¡± the Yovashi hissed through pain-clenched jaws. Victor felt a wave of that same slippery Energy, much heavier, denser than before, rush into his mind, digging at his brain but finding no purchase. Victor grinned and advanced, Lifedrinker held high.

    ¡°You dumb asshole, Tkelvic. Do you think I came back here to shut you guys down without improving myself? Are you strong for a Yovashi?¡± Victor asked, striding forward, pping away a thrashing, chitin-covered spider leg, ¡°¡®Cause I¡¯m not impressed.¡±

    Tkelvic uttered a guttural snarl and drove with his remaining four walking legs, and Victor saw the huge, red-eyed beak darting toward him from the nest of tentacles. He stepped to his left and brought Lifedrinker around in a baseball-bat swing, and he knew, if he¡¯d been in Yankee Stadium, he would have hit that fucker out of the park. Tkelvic screamed, and Lifedrinker shattered the beak, catching it on the underside of its ¡°chin,¡± carving deep through it into the gray abdomen of the Yovashi.

    Tkelvic¡¯s tentacles thrashed and whipped, two of which were tipped in hard ws that clicked and scratched at Victor¡¯s armor. He shrugged them off, grabbed one, and tugged hard enough to jerk the monster to the side, and with his other hand, he began to hack in earnest, wielding Lifedrinker like he did when he was Berserking¡ªone-handed. Though he was his normal size, Victor was a big, strong man, and the axe whipped through the air without much difficulty, seeming to add to the momentum of his swings with her own vibrant will.

    Before long, Tkelvic¡¯s gurgling, inarticte cries began to die down to weak, wet gasps, and Victor was covered in the ck ichor that was the Yovashi¡¯s blood. Bits of chopped, broken tentacles and chitin littered the ground, and Victor decided he¡¯d wasted enough time¡ªhe stepped one booted foot onto the Yovashi¡¯s crumpled chest and brought Lifedrinker down in a killing blow, chopping through three-fourths of that stiff, gray neck, severing the spine and ending his erstwhile tormentor¡¯s life.

    ¡°Enough,¡± Victor growled, jerking Lifedrinker free and turning toward the massive bronze doors. He raised his voice, ¡°Ksajik! I gotta get in there! Is there a trick to opening these doors?¡±

    The bright green man haltingly descended the steps into view, ncing at the horrifying mess Victor had left against the wall and then at Victor¡¯s gore-covered figure and said, ¡°They¡¯re locked and warded from the inside. Perhaps you can smash them open in your giant form, but I wouldn¡¯t be sure.¡±

    ¡°No time to dick around,¡± Victor said, building the pattern for his new spell, The Inevitable Huntsman. He felt the magic draw from all of his Energy affinities, and then his vision became monochrome, and he had thoughts only for delivering justice. He looked around himself, noting the absoluteck of shadow and deception, nodded at the broken corpse of the Yovashi, and expanded his thoughts¡ªwho deserved justice?

    When he¡¯d cast the spell, Victor had been hopeful that he¡¯d have some sort of control over who he hunted down or, failing that, that he¡¯d seek out the person nearest, most deserving¡ªhe¡¯d had reasonable confidence that Boaegh would top the list because that was who he¡¯d stalked toward when he¡¯d first cast the spell. His luck held up¡ªhe felt his gaze turn to the bronze doors, to the feeling of a presence beyond them, and he nodded; justice would be served.

    Victor took a step toward the door and paused, staring at it as he felt the now-familiar buildup of Energy in his gut. It wasn¡¯t quite ready, so he watched the doors, unmoving, unwavering, imcable. He heard a voice in the background, but it was of little consequence; some question about his actions from an innocent party. He ignored it, waiting. Then it was time; the Energy began to push at its bounds, and his urge to move toward his quarry grew almost unbearable, so he released it.

    Victor stepped into anotherrge, round room. In his monochromatic vision, nothing could hide from him, and he saw his quarry, bright and scurrying on a raised dais. The other objects in the room were of no import¡ªfurniture lining the walls, books, tables, scattered papers, and a swirling doorway of brilliant Energy. It was all meaningless next to the need for justice. Victor stepped forward, and it wasn¡¯t until he was nearly upon him that Boaegh realized Victor hade into the room.

    The Pyromancer wailed in surprise as Victor ascended the steps to the dais. He raised his hands, throwing out a sheet of fire that red into a towering wall of crackling mes at the top of the steps. Victor stepped through it. The mes were ufortable and damaged his clothing, singed his hair, and reddened his flesh, but Victor ignored them¡ªhis quarry was three strides away; a few mes and some difort shouldn¡¯t stop justice.

    Boaegh seemed surprised that Victor stepped out of his curtain of mes, and he turned, panicked, toward his portal, abandoning the trunk he¡¯d been digging through. With the patience of a cier, Victor stepped toward him, saw the mage¡¯s intent to flee, and measured the distance. Unless he moved very quickly, indeed, the mage would escape. ¡°No!¡± Victor said, his voice like grinding granite tes. He lifted Lifedrinker and whipped her toward the mage¡¯s back. She cut the air with a whistling shriek, a Valkyrie cry that echoed through the round stone room, shattering ss beakers and vials.

    Lifedrinker struck the Pyromancer¡¯s back with such force that her entire metal head followed her de into his torso, leaving nothing but her quivering axe haft protruding between his shoulder des. The mage coughed in agony, blood following his utterance in a spray of gory liquid he stumbled through. His own momentum, coupled with the power of Lifedrinker¡¯s impact, sent him iling headlong through the portal.

    Victor continued on, unfazed¡ªwhat was a portal in the face of justice? He saw it narrowing, saw the whirling bands of Energy begin to shrink, and knew that it would wink out of existence in seconds, so he simply pushed out another pulse of that imcable Energy and willed himself over the dais and into the swirling, shrinking disc of Energies.

    Victor floated in darkness but kept his focus on his quarry, only to feel it fade and wink out of existence. He looked around in the endless ck, seeking some likely target for justice, but when nothing came to him, no heat on the horizon to stride toward, his spell began to unravel, and Victor came fully back to himself. Instantly he knew what had happened¡ªhe could vaguely recollect all of his actions in his Inevetiable Huntsman form and knew he was traversing a portal¡ªa very long one.

    ¡°Oh fuck,¡± he groaned, sudden memoriesing back. He¡¯d just stepped into his abu¡¯s living room when he¡¯d been sucked into a ckness just like this. How long had that taken? A few minutes? An hour? It had been hard to measure time then, just as it was now. He gripped his empty hands, hardly believing he¡¯d thrown Lifedrinker. ¡°Still, I fucking got that asshole. I better get his Energy when I get to the other side!¡±

    He wracked his brain, trying to remember the details of the portal room, trying to think about what he¡¯d seen¡ªhad Va been there? Had her corpse? ¡°Shit!¡± he growled, knowing it was impossible to know; everything but his target had been a blur. The spell was undoubtedly useful for hunting down a creep like Boaegh, but it had some definite drawbacks. He hoped he¡¯d gain more control as he continued to improve his will and the spell¡¯s rank. His mind snapped back to the present when he saw a pinpoint of light in the ckness.

    The light expanded, just as it had when he¡¯d been summoned to Fanwath. It grew to the size of a golf ball, then a basketball. It doubled in size several times until all Victor could see was a bleak, sandyndscape and a bright blue sky with a tinge of yellow. He felt solid ground under his feet, and, just like that, the portal was gone, and he was through it. Boaegh¡¯s bodyy at his feet, and to his great relief, so did Va¡ªbound with silvery chains and thrashing, trying to work her hands free.

    Victor reached down and jerked Lifedrinker out of Boaegh¡¯s body. He smiled at her, noting that her heartsilver veins had grown thicker from his time in ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s oubliette, and then he nced down at the dead Pyromancer. ¡°Just in case,¡± he said with gritted teeth. He stepped to the side and hacked Lifedrinker through his neck, severing the mage¡¯s head and letting it roll down the gentle, sandy slope.

    ¡°Ungh!¡± Va groaned through the metal chains wrapped around her mouth and head, staring at him with wide, furious eyes.

    ¡°Right, right! Sorry!¡± Victor said, kneeling at her side and pushing her so the chains holding her hands behind her back came into view. They were thin, delicate things, and when he reached for them, he could feel their Energy. He pulled at the end, seemingly hanging loose, wondering why Va didn¡¯t just unravel them. It came away easily, and he kept unwinding until Va jerked her hands back to the front of herself.

    She reached up and tried to pull away the chain at her mouth, but Victor saw it wouldn¡¯t move no matter how she strained. ¡°Let me,¡± he said, reaching for the loose end of the chain and easily unwinding it. ¡°Must be enchanted not to let the prisoner take it off. Makes sense,¡± he chuckled.

    ¡°Not funny! Nothing about this is funny! Where are we?¡± Va asked with storm clouds in her seafoam eyes.

    ¡°Um, Boaegh¡¯s world, I guess. I think it¡¯s called something like Zafer; no, it had a longer Zaa sound. Zaafor. That¡¯s it.¡±

    ¡°Get this damn chain off my ankles, please!¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said, unwinding the third chain. They were delicate but powerful things, so he slipped them into his storage ring, ¡°Mighte in handy.¡± He dusted his hands off and looked to the horizon to take in the sights, but then an enormous surge of Energy poleaxed him. ¡°Fucking hell!¡± he groaned as it lifted him off the ground with an orgasmic surge of well-being and euphoria. He howled andughed as the purple-gold wave of Energy rushed through him.

    ***Congrattions! You have achieved level 35 Spirit Carver, gained 10 will, 10 vitality, and have 8 attribute points to allocate.***

    ¡°Hell yes!¡± Victor crowed, lifting Lifedrinker into the air. He saw Va staring at him from the sandy ground and smiled, ¡°Level.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions. Something tells me you¡¯re going to need it if we¡¯re going to get back to Fanwath in one piece,¡± Va said, standing up and pointing to something behind him. Victor turned, looking out over the desertndscape. Scrubs dotted the rough, sandy ground here and there, along with strange cacti, simr enough to what he¡¯d seen around his home to be identifiable as such.

    Some of the cacti were thin with long spikes, others were short and shaped a lot like prickly pears, and still others reminded him of square barrel cacti. ¡°They¡¯re called cactuses, er cacti.¡±

    ¡°Not the nts. That thing,¡± Va said, pointing to the right. Victor tracked the direction of her finger and sucked his breath through his teeth. A monstrous snake-shaped creature the size of a couple of city buses hooked together was gliding over the sand in the distance. Its back was covered with horned bone-like tes, and its head was maned with simr bony spikes. It didn¡¯t nce their way as it faded from view over the horizon, and Victor exhaled a breath he hadn¡¯t realized he¡¯d been holding.

    ¡°Was that a fucking dragon?¡±

    Status

    Name:

    Victor Sandoval

    Race:

    Human (Quinametzin Bloodline) - Improved 4

    ss:

    Spirit Carver - Epic

    Level:

    35

    Core:

    Spirit ss - Improved 1

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Inspiration 7.4

    Energy:

    3041/3041

    Strength:

    135

    Vitality:

    140

    Dexterity:

    40

    Agility:

    63

    Intelligence:

    32

    Will:

    315

    Points Avable:

    8

    Titles & Feats:

    Titanic Rage, me Touched

    Skills:

    System Language Integration - Not Upgradeable

    Cooking - Basic

    Animal Taming - Basic

    Unarmed Combat - Basic

    Knife Combat - Basic

    Axe Mastery - Advanced

    Spear Mastery - Basic

    Bludgeon Mastery - Improved

    Grappling - Advanced

    Spirit Core Cultivation Drill - Basic

    Berserk - Improved

    Sovereign Will - Improved

    Channel Spirit - Improved

    Inspiring Presence - Basic

    Enraging Orb - Basic

    Globe of Insight - Improved

    Project Spirit - Improved

    Dauntless Radiance - Basic

    Heroic Heart - Basic

    Spirit Walk - Basic

    Tether Spirit - Basic

    Manifest Spirit - Improved

    Shape Spirit - Improved

    Harsh Light of Justice - Improved

    The Inevitable Huntsman - Improved

    Aspect of Terror - Basic

 Book 4: Chapter 1: Coloss

    Book 4: Chapter 1: Coloss

    Victor watched the horizon, wondering if the great horn-ted serpent would make another appearance, but all he saw were the asional swirls of desert sand, lifting on hot currents of air. Motion to his left brought his attention back to Va, and he looked at her as she slowly walked in a circle on the top of the low, sandy rise. She avoided stepping in the blood trail left by Boaegh¡¯s head as it had bounced down the slope, and Victor noted her frown as she passed by the wizard¡¯s body.

    ¡°How¡¯d he chain you up, anyway?¡± he asked.

    ¡°My own foolishness. I grew so heated in the chase that I threw caution aside. I charged through the door into his portal room, and the chains wrapped me in their grip¡ªhe¡¯d set them up with some sort of warding magic.¡±

    ¡°Then he tossed you through the portal?¡± Victor frowned.

    ¡°Exactly, though ¡®tossed¡¯ is the wrong word. He gestured with his hands, and the damnable bindings dragged me through. They¡¯re rather advanced magical items . . .¡± she trailed off, looking at Boaegh¡¯s corpse, then added, ¡°Have you searched him? I dropped my sword when the chains wrapped me.¡±

    ¡°No, let¡¯s check it out before we have to run away from a big damn snake or something.¡± Victor knelt by the gray-robed, headless body. The robes were quite saturated with blood from when he¡¯d buried Lifedrinker between the Pyromancer¡¯s shoulders, so he grabbed the dry part near the dead wizard¡¯s waist and flopped him over.

    The robes concealed most of the body, seeming to have multipleyers that clung to his legs and arms. Still, Boaegh¡¯s fingers and hands were exposed below the wide cuffs, and Victor sucked in a breath. He¡¯d never gotten a good look at the mage, and now that he reached to pull the rings from his fingers, he felt morbid curiosity about what his face looked like¡ªthe fingers were lightly scaled and orange with long ck, pointy nails tipping each of them.

    ¡°What kinda dude was this asshole?¡± Victor muttered as he pulled a ring from each of his hands. He handed them to Va, then walked down the slope toward the head that hade to rest against a dry scrub bush.

    ¡°Do you want me to bond with these?¡± Va called after him.

    ¡°Yeah, but we¡¯re sharing the goods. Find your sword now, though.¡± Victor knelt by the head, the face hade to rest facing the dusty ground, and the back only showedyers of ck cloth that the wizard had wrapped around himself. Victor grabbed the sides of the head and turned it to study the face of his former tormentor. ¡°Ugly, weren¡¯t you?¡± he grunted when he saw the strange, orange, reptilian visage.

    Orange was an oversimplification¡ªBoaegh had scales that varied in shades, darker along his snout and brow and lighter on his cheeks and neck. Still, overall it was orange. ¡°Lizard or snake?¡± Victor wondered aloud.

    ¡°Seems more like a snake to me, but I guess the limbs make a sort of counterargument,¡± Va said, looking down at him. Victor was d to see she already had her sword in her hand. ¡°The ring¡¯s loaded with stuff¡ªEnergy beads, jewelry, furniture, clothing, food, scrolls, books, on and on and on. We should get somewhere safe before we really go through it. The other ring is some kind of Pyromancer charm¡ªit increases the damage of me-rted spells.¡±

    Va¡¯s words reminded Victor of the rings he¡¯d taken from ap¡¯Horrin, and he nodded, saying, ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s figure some shit out, and then we can go through our loot from the oubliette.¡±

    ¡°Figure ¡®shit¡¯ out sounds about right. If we can¡¯t find our way back to Fanwath, Rellia¡¯s either going to have to go into hiding or die.¡± She pointed in a direction that Victor figured was south because the heavy, glowering yellow-orange sun was off to her right, and it had slowly been inching toward the horizon. ¡°I think I can make out a road or track in that direction. It¡¯s hard to say for sure.¡± She shrugged and added, ¡°It could be the path of a giant snake.¡±

    ¡°Hang on,¡± Victor said as she started to trudge in that direction, ¡°what about the far scribe books?¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Va said, suddenly holding a book easily as thick as the one Victor had bought tomunicate with Lam. He thought about trying to send Lam a message but figured he¡¯d let Va see if the magic worked first. While she was busily scratching out a message, Victor reached up and pressed his fingers against the familiar lump of Gorz¡¯s amulet.

    ¡°Hey, you there, Gorz?¡±

    ¡°Victor, how are you? I¡¯m sensing a break in continuity from when west spoke; did we teleport?¡±

    ¡°You really that out of it? Didn¡¯t you notice the conversations I¡¯ve been having? The oubliette? The portal?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Victor, but I find it harder and harder to remain cognizant of my surroundings between our conversations. I wonder . . .¡± For the first time that Victor could remember, Gorz trailed off mid-sentence.

    ¡°You wonder what, Gorz?¡±

    ¡°I wonder if my spirit shard is losing its anchoring to this ne of existence. I don¡¯t know how that could be, unless . . .¡± again, his voice faded out, and Victor was about to prompt him, but then he continued, ¡°unless the bindings on this amulet are growing weaker and my greater spirit has moved further away from the Material ne. Could it be? Am I being called to rejoin it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, buddy. Is that something that can happen?¡± Victor was skeptical¡ªhadn¡¯t Gorz been trapped for thousands of years already?

    ¡°I¡¯ll . . . think on it.¡±

    ¡°Right . . .¡±

    ¡°Victor, I¡¯m not seeing a response,¡± Va announced, interrupting Victor¡¯smune with Gorz.

    ¡°Well, shit. Let¡¯s give it some time; it¡¯s not like we¡¯re in the same neighborhood anymore.¡±

    Va frowned but nodded, and her book disappeared back into her ring. She turned and, back straight as a board, started marching to the very thin, very faint line of brown near the horizon. She still held her sword, naked de resting on her shoulder, and Victor followed, Lifedrinker held crossways in his two hands.

    He took a good look at his axe and grinned ferociously. She¡¯d done him proud back in the oubliette. He¡¯d even say she¡¯d guided herself through the air to smash into Boaegh¡¯s back perfectly. The veins of heart-silver ran in jagged, thick rivulets from her gleaming edge through the darker, denser metal of her axe head, and he could feel the potential in her, the vibrating eagerness for battle. It felt like she was on the threshold of ¡°leveling up,¡± like she¡¯d done back in the dungeon so long ago.

    ¡°Your axe looks different,¡± Va said, slowing down and watching him as he walked toward her. Victor nced up from his study of Lifedrinker and smiled.

    ¡°Yeah, I think she¡¯s getting ready to evolve or whatever it''s called when she advances. She¡¯s done it before,¡± he said. ¡°When I first got her, she was smaller¡ªdidn¡¯t have this pointy bit at the back of her axe head.¡±

    ¡°A truly wondrous weapon,¡± Va said, nodding. ¡°I love my sword, but it¡¯s not alive.¡±

    ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll figure a way to wake it up. You think that¡¯s possible?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know what it''s made of or what goes into creating a living artifact like your axe. I thought it was the Heart Silver that made it intelligent?¡±

    ¡°Well, yeah, but not all intelligent artifacts are Heart Silver, right?¡±

    ¡°No, but most are like your amulet¡ªspirits trapped to serve a purpose.¡± Va was looking at her sword while she walked and almost tripped into a small cactus with pencil-like pads covered in dark red spines, and Victor grabbed onto her elbow.

    ¡°Careful. Who knows what kinda nastiness is lurking on those pokers.¡±

    ¡°They blend in with thendscape! I thought it was a scrub brush in my peripheral vision; I was going to stomp through it!¡± Va said, hopping around the little cactus.

    ¡°Yeah, keep your eyes peeled,¡± Victorughed. As the sun continued to set and the re on the desertndscape faded, he looked around, admiring the bright red and orange streaked clouds hanging high in the sky. ¡°Quite a sunset.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s lovely,¡± Va replied, though she barely nced at the sky. Her eyes were trained on the southern horizon, and she added, ¡°It¡¯s definitely a road! I see posts¡ªlittle markers evenly spaced.¡±

    ¡°Shit!¡± Victor said, shading his eyes and staring in the direction she pointed. Sure enough, he saw little wooden posts evenly spaced along the brown ribbon of, presumably, the roadway. ¡°You¡¯re right! Let¡¯s pick up the pace, eh?¡± He didn¡¯t wait for a response, breaking into an easy jog he knew he could maintain for hours, eating up the miles. Va kept pace behind him withoutment, and Victor grinned. That was his favorite quality about her as a travelpanion; she neverined and rarely second-guessed him.

    Fifteen minutester, they were standing on a wide, t, dirt road next to one of the regr posts on its southern shoulder. The post was square, about four inches by four, and around five feet high. Brass letters stamped vertically into the wood read, ¡°COLOSS.¡± Underneath the letters were simr brass numerals that said, ¡°37.¡±

    ¡°Like, mile markers?¡± Victor mused.

    ¡°Mile markers? Oh, you mean it¡¯s saying that Coloss, whatever that is, is thirty-seven miles?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly,¡± Victor said, pointing down the road to the next marker. ¡°That one¡¯s not a mile away, maybe more like a quarter-mile. Let¡¯s go see if it says thirty-six or thirty-eight.¡± He started jogging down the road, and Va gamely ran behind him. A couple of minutester, he came to a halt before the next marker, and sure enough, it said ¡°COLOSS - 36.¡±

    ¡°You think it¡¯s a town?¡± Va asked.

    ¡°That would be my guess,¡± Victor shrugged, then he snapped his fingers and said, ¡°Check your far scribe book.¡± Va nodded and produced the book, flipping to the most recent page, and her face lit up with delight.

    ¡°There¡¯s a response!¡±

    ¡°Oh, sweet!¡± Victor pped his hands together, then added, ¡°Did you tell her about our, uh, trip?¡±

    ¡°Not yet, but I said we were out of reach. We still have fourteen weeks until the campaign is officially supposed to begin¡ªVa¡¯s nning a parade through Persi Gables to kick off the march. I think we can find a way back before then, don¡¯t you?¡± She raised her seafoam green eyebrows, and Victor couldn¡¯t help chuckling at the mischief in her eyes.

    ¡°Hell yeah, I think we can!¡± Victor said, always game to poke the eye of authority. ¡°Let¡¯s not tell her until we know for sure one way or the other. If shit looks terrible, like we¡¯ll never make it, you can warn her. Is that cool?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Va nodded.

    ¡°Well? Let¡¯s start jogging toward whatever Coloss is, and if we see a ce to rest before we get there, we can chill for the night and go through our loot.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Va nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s chill.¡± Then she started jogging as Victor¡¯s mouth fell open.

    ¡°You . . .¡± he started, running to catch up. ¡°You almost used that right!¡±

    They ran as the sun descended behind them, and by the time the orange-streaked sky turned dark, revealing a brilliant starfield and a huge, crater-pocked moon, distinctly green in tone, they were at marker seventeen. All the while they were running, Victor could hear the sounds of distant wildlife¡ªcoughing roars, weird howls and barks, yowling, and even screeching. They neverid eyes on any more monsters, big or small, though they saw quite a few airborne birds and creatures in the distance.

    ¡°The ce seems quite alive; I wonder if the denizens would view us as prey should we linger in ce.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I don''t know. Rather get to a town and ask than do some experiments, you know?¡±

    ¡°Agreed,¡± Va huffed. She hadn¡¯t had much trouble keeping up with him, and he had to admit, he admired the way she could keep up a fast jog while holding her big sword at the ready.

    ¡°You think you could go faster? We have seventeen more markers, so something like four miles. I bet we could make it pretty quick if we wanted to.¡± Rather than answer him, Va grinned and started to really run. Victor whooped and ran after her. As he began to gain on her, Va¡¯s hands were suddenly empty, and she kicked it into another gear, sprinting down the road. ¡°Cheater!¡± Victorughed, shaking Lifedrinker over his head as he ran, ¡°I can¡¯t put her in storage!¡±

    ¡°Your . . . problem!¡± Vaughed between breaths. Victor grinned and boosted his agility with Sovereign Will, and then he veritably flew down the road, madlyughing as he passed by Va. She wasn¡¯t one to be outdone, though; as he worked on lengthening his lead, he felt a rush of wind, and then Va charged past him, gusts and miniature gales throwing dirt and pebbles up around her feet.

    Victorughed in dismay, pumping his legs for all he was worth, but suddenly Va slid to a stop ahead of him, kicking up dust that he inhaled as he thundered up to her, trying to slow down. Coughing and heaving for breath, he leaned forward, hands on his knees, and tried to see why Va had stopped.

    The road continued down a gradual decline, but in the distance, where the star-speckled ck sky met the dark horizon of the desert, the lights of a walled city glittered like a pile of jewels in the darkness. ¡°That¡¯s something else,¡± Victor said, even his limited experience telling him that the city was muchrger than Persi Gables or Gelica.

    ¡°Coloss, I suppose,¡± Va said, stretching her arms over her head as she got her wind back.

    ¡°Kinda weird we didn¡¯t see any traffic. That ce looks enormous.¡±

    ¡°Well, it waste afternoon when we got here. Maybe people don¡¯t like this desert at night.¡± Va nced around meaningfully, and Victor nodded, well aware of all the creature sounds in the night.

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving,¡± he said, starting back into a jog. ¡°Let¡¯s hope they take beads here¡ªI could use a bath and a good night¡¯s sleep.¡±

    ¡°If the System exists here, they¡¯ll take beads. I think.¡± Va replied, running beside him.

    ¡°Have you ever been to another world?¡±

    ¡°No. Rellia has, but only to a linked city where she was trying to make a trade deal.¡±

    ¡°Linked city?¡±

    ¡°She went through the System Stone in Gelica to a city in a nearby world. One that had already been traveled through in both directions¡ªpeople call that a ¡®linked city¡¯ because we¡¯ve, well, we¡¯ve established a link.¡±

    ¡°How do you know it''s close to Fanwath?¡±

    ¡°The cost¡ªthe System charges exorbitant fees to facilitate transport between worlds, and the more distant the world, the more absurd the price.¡±

    ¡°So,¡± Victor said, smiling at how easy it was to carry on a conversation while running¡ªno way he¡¯d have done that back in wrestling practice, ¡°we better hope this world isn¡¯t distant from Fanwath.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I suppose that is a concern. There were quite a few beads in Boaegh¡¯s ring, though.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I saw some bags of ¡®em in ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s ring, too. Hopefully, we¡¯re good.¡±

    They both got lost in their thoughts for a while after that, and the enormous, light-bedecked walls of the city were soon looming above them, forestalling any other topic of conversation. Victor wasn¡¯t a stone expert, but he thought the massive tan-colored blocks of the wall looked like what the Egyptians used on their pyramids. Each one was the size of a car, and the walls were higher than apartment buildings, at least the ones Victor had experience with. ¡°How tall do you figure that wall is? A hundred feet?¡±

    ¡°Easily. Maybe two hundred. It¡¯s much bigger and thicker than the one around Persi Gables. Look at that gate!¡± Victor followed her pointing finger, and his mouth fell open¡ªthe only reason he hadn¡¯t noticed the enormous ck iron gate was that it looked small inside the great wall. As they approached, though, he could see it was at least thirty feet high and twenty wide. And it was closed.

    Great glowmps illuminated the space around the walls; each was rectangr, about five feet by two, and poured out massive arcs of bright, yellow light. The gate had two suchmps on each side, and as Victor and Va approached, they had to squint against the bright re. No guards stood outside, and no voices drifted down from the high walls to challenge them. Victor looked around at the dark, moonlit desert behind them, then back at the gate and shrugged.

    ¡°Hello?¡± he called, cupping his hands to his mouth. Va jumped at his shout and whirled to stare daggers at him. ¡°What?¡± he asked.

    ¡°You startled me. Look, though,¡± she said, pointing to the left-hand corner of the enormous gate. Victor saw a smaller rectangle in the rust-flecked ck iron and realized it was a person-sized door.

    ¡°Oh! So they don¡¯t have to open the gate to let a person through.¡± He nodded, walked up to the smaller door, and lifted a hand to knock. Before his knuckles fell on the hard surface, though, an even smaller rectangle at eye level slid open, and big yellow eyes stared out at him.

    ¡°Who calls?¡± a gruff, scratchy asked.

    ¡°Hello,¡± Va said, striding up next to Victor, ¡°We¡¯re travelers seeking shelter.¡±

    ¡°That right? At the east gate in the night? You have a desire for death?¡± the voice asked, but Victor heard the nk and scrape of arge bolt being slid aside, and the door was pushed open. ¡°Come through, then, ¡®fore a terror grabs ya up.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Victor said, stepping through the iron threshold and into a dim stone tunnel that would have looked about right passing through the Hoover Dam. Before he could take in the scene, though, his eyes were drawn to the sixrge guards with spears leveled at him and Va. They looked like burlier versions of Boaegh¡ªtall yellow, green, and orange-scaled serpent people d in all sorts of exotic armor. Many wore helms, most had other weapons bristling from their belts, and some had four arms rather than two.

    ¡°Dere your names and your intentions in Coloss,¡± the first scratchy voice said, and Victor followed the sound to the green-scaled serpent man on the right, the only guard leaning on his spear rather than pointing it.

    ¡°Hey, we¡¯re honestly just trying to get home,¡± Victor said, and Va stepped forward, clearing her throat.

    ¡°We mistakenly took a portal from our world to the desert nearby. We don¡¯t know where we are and would like ess to your City Stone.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re lucky, then. The Garsh Wastes,¡± the guard flicked one of his four hands toward the gates, indicating the area outside, ¡°aren¡¯t friendly. It¡¯s good that you made your way to Coloss, but you won¡¯t so easily ess the City Stone.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, sir?¡± Va asked, making the assumption of a lifetime, as far as Victor was concerned. He winced and waited to see if she¡¯d guessed right.

    ¡°Simply that the stone isn¡¯t open to the public. Warlord Thoargh only grants ess to people willing to pay.¡± He looked at the other five guards and motioned with his top-right arm for them to lower their spears. Theyplied and then disbursed around the tunnel, standing here and there near the gate, clearly still trying to listen to the spokesman''s conversation with Victor and Va.

    ¡°We can pay,¡± Victor said, perhaps too quickly.

    The guard grinned, though, and shook his head. ¡°I doubt that. You¡¯re new to this world, yes? Warlord Thoargh only grants ess to people with Coloss prize tokens.¡±

    ¡°I can guess the rest,¡± Va said, shaking her head. ¡°This warlord¡ªhe¡¯s the one that hands out the tokens?¡±

    ¡°Well, not personally,¡± the guard said, and Victor caught a glimpse of his long, forked tongue flicking lightning-fast between his scaled lips. ¡°There are prizemittees,¡± he yawned and leaned against the metal doors. ¡°I don¡¯t really get paid enough to educate every runt that wanders in here, though. Why not head into the city and see if you can get someone with a less important job to exin things further.¡± He gestured with his spear down the enormous tunnel, and Victor, his jaw hanging open at the guard¡¯s choice of words, allowed Va to pull him away.

    ¡°He called me a runt?¡± Victor said, looking around at the tunnel¡ªit had to be three hundred feet long, and the walls and ceiling wereposed of those enormous stone blocks that made up the city wall. ¡°Is the wall this damn thick?¡± he asked, finally registering the absurd proportions.

    ¡°This wall puts the one around the noble district in Tharcray to shame,¡± Va said, echoing his sentiments.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s thicker here at the bottom than at the top,¡± Victor said, trying to wrap his head around the amount of stone it would take to build a wall this size around an entire city. ¡°What kind of Energy user can cut and move stones like this? It seems impossible that this was done by hand.¡±

    ¡°Earth affinity,¡± Va quickly replied. ¡°Someone much more powerful than I.¡±

    Victor nodded and turned his gaze away from the massive stone blocks to the end of the tunnel. People, inrge numbers, were moving along what appeared to be a busy street. Something seemed strange about the crowd of people, and it took Victor a minute to put his finger on it; he¡¯d grown so used to the predominance of Ardeni and Shadeni people in Persi Gables and Gelica that theck of red and blue skin was throwing him off.

    As they drew closer, details about the city''s people became more evident. Victor had thought he was looking at adults and children, but he realized that nearly half of the people walking around out there were giants¡ªeight, ten, even twelve feet tall. Many of the others looked human enough, but some had extra limbs, others had horns, and one guy walking by had a big cyclops-like eye.

    Then there were the snake people and¡ªsurprising only to Va¡ªbrightly carapaced insect people. The insects weren¡¯t all green like Ksajik; some were pale orange, others were sandy-brown, and still others were golden-yellow. The people that looked the most like humans were the giants, and Victor began to understand why the guard had called him a runt.

    ¡°Victor,¡± Va said, reaching to grab his wrist and slow their walk, ¡°do you feel their auras?¡±

    ¡°Now you mention it,¡± Victor said, finally consciously acknowledging what his gut had been telling him since he¡¯d first been confronted by the guards at the gate¡ªIt wasn¡¯t just his suddenly less-than-impressive stature; many of these people were exuding a level of Energy, of power, that made him feel small. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re not in Kansas anymore.¡±

    ¡°Kansas?¡± Va looked at him like he¡¯d lost his mind.

    ¡°It¡¯s a figure of speech from my world¡ªsome kinda old movie or something.¡±

    ¡°Movie?¡± Va shook her head and continued, ¡°Never mind. The point I was trying to make was that many of these people feel like you; they have a huge presence. Let¡¯s be careful with our words.¡±

    ¡°This is what I feel like?¡±

    ¡°Maybe to a lesser degree,¡± Va said, narrowing her eyes at him.

    ¡°You¡¯re just afraid topliment me,¡± Victorughed, and then they stepped out of the tunnel onto a busy cobbled road. Energymps on tall iron posts drove back the night¡¯s shadows, and it was clear that Coloss didn¡¯t go to bed with the sun. Victor stood there, mouth agape, staring at the crowds of strange and enormous people, at the tall stone buildings, and floating magical carts.

    He¡¯d just begun to take in the smells of spicy food and strange incense when a hand gently nudged him aside, pushing him to the edge of the cobbled path. ¡°Hey,¡± Victor started, but then choked off the word as the hand¡¯s owner stomped past him¡ªan armor-d man nearly twice his height. He wasn¡¯t thin, either, and judging by the effortless way he¡¯d brushed Victor aside, he wasn¡¯tcking muscle.

    ¡°Victor!¡± Va hissed, again grabbing his arm and pulling him along. ¡°Don¡¯t stand in the middle of traffic!¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor said, still unable to wrap his head around the size and strength of the guy that had nudged him aside. He watched the man¡¯s mighty frame as he strode away down the street and couldn¡¯t help wondering how he¡¯d stack up to him in his Quinametzin form. He walked along next to Va, trying to avoid the big guys, and that¡¯s when he realized that the people in the city seemed to walk innes; the big people were on the left, toward the center of the street, and the more ¡°normal¡± sized people were on the right.

    As he and Va walked along with the traffic, Victor looked at the buildings and the signs and began noticing new details. Many of the businesses had high, massive doors, and he figured that was to amodate the giant people, but, perhaps more strange, were the asional shops that didn¡¯t have big doors¡ªwere they intentionally excluding the giants?

    They passed by grocers, tailors, cobblers, butchers, bakeries, furniture makers, and restaurants. At the first intersection, they came to a gigantic building with a sign that read, ¡°Weary Travelers, Wee! The Basilisk Inn and Tavern.¡± The structure had a huge door which Victor took to mean giants were wee. A stable stood next door, filling the air with the scents of straw and animal dung, but over that was the smell of roasting meats, and Victor¡¯s mouth began to water. ¡°Let¡¯s go in here,¡± he said.

    ¡°The first inn we see?¡± Va asked, wrinkling her nose.

    ¡°Hey, we can always look for something else, but right now, I¡¯d like to get off the street and learn more about this ce before we go exploring. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Makes sense.¡± Va nodded and started up the giant steps to the door. Victorughed, watching her; it looked like a person trying to take regr steps three at a time. He took them in springing bounds and pulled the heavy wooden door open, gesturing for Va to lead the way inside.

    She smirked as she took thest big step, then stepped past, and he followed. Themon room of the inn looked much like any other, but mixed in with the normal-sized furniture were huge tables and chairs, and the crowd was a mixture of people; many were the human-like people with their strange¡ªto Victor¡ªfeatures, from horns to tusks to an odd number of eyes. Here and there, Victor saw some of the serpent people and, of course, some giants upied the oversized furniture.

    ¡°Come in,¡± a thin, dark-haired man with ruddy skin said, gesturing Victor and Va over to his counter. Victor approached him, noting how the bar was staggered¡ªhalf was about five feet high, and the other half a few feet taller, clearly meant to amodate therger people. ¡°New to town?¡± the man asked, absently wiping dry a mug with a white towel. He turned his head slightly, and Victor saw a long, curved ck horn poking out the right side of it.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Victor replied, nodding, ¡°yeah, we just got here. You have a room avable?¡±

    ¡°Sure! Have a seat here, and I¡¯ll give you something to wash the dust out of your throats.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Va replied, climbing atop one of the open stools. Victor nodded and sat next to her.

    ¡°Where do you hail from?¡±

    ¡°A world called Fanwath,¡± Va replied.

    ¡°Oh, new to the world, not just Coloss, hmm?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. We really weren¡¯t meaning toe here and wanted to get home as soon as possible. The guard at the gate was telling us something about how there¡¯s a warlord or something that doesn¡¯t allow ess to the City Stone?¡± Victor had decided to get right to the point, hoping this innkeeper was as friendly as all the others he¡¯d met.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s true. Warlord Thoargh capitalizes on his City Stone, what with Coloss being the only city for a few thousand miles in any direction. Do you have the means to travel great distances through perilous territory?¡± He turned to fill a couple of mugs from one of the taps behind him, and Va looked at Victor with a raised eyebrow. He took her expression to mean she was leaving it to him to decide how much to say.

    ¡°I guess it depends on how hard it is to get these, um, tokens they give out to ess the stone,¡± he said as the horned man set the two frothy mugs of pale beer in front of him and Va.

    ¡°Oh, not too hard, I¡¯d think. You can earn them by turning in monster trophies or for winning arena battles,¡± he paused and nced from Victor to Va, ¡°Now, don¡¯t let that discourage you two! Even low-tier people like you can earn monster trophies¡ªjust get with one of the monster hunting expeditions and help out; they pay helpers in scraps.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 2: First Impressions

    Book 4: Chapter 2: First Impressions

    ¡°So, four major groups of people originate from this world?¡± Victor asked, his words slurred by the potent ale he and Va had been drinking.

    ¡°Aye,¡± replied Livag, their innkeeper and bartender. ¡°You¡¯ve got those like me, the Vesh.¡± He reached up and touched the long ck horn curving out the side of his head. ¡°Then you¡¯ve got our cousins, the big folk, the Degh.¡± He paused, nodding to himself, and then pointed behind Victor and to the left, where some of the bright green insect people were sharing a loaf of bread at a nearby table. ¡°There¡¯s the Tong-pan, and if you look behind them,¡± he pointed to a corner table where some hooded serpent people were sipping drinks, ¡°you can see some Yazzians.¡±

    ¡°No offense,¡± Victor said, ncing around the room and wiping his tingling cheeks and nose, ¡°but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll remember all that. I was just starting to wrap my head around the different people from Fanwath, er, Va¡¯s world.¡± Victor pointed to Va, who watched him coolly, sipping at her beer. ¡°Don¡¯t mind her,¡± Victor said, leaning closer to Livag, ¡°she¡¯s not a big conversationalist.¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Livag shook his head and turned to fill a mug for another patron.

    ¡°Careful, Victor,¡± Va said, ¡°The alcohol is strong here; they must brew it with alchemy to have a greater effect on people with high vitality scores.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor nodded. It was true¡ªhe hadn¡¯t felt a buzz like this since he and Tha had put away half a dozen pitchers at the Red Rdii Inn. With a slight frown, he boosted his vitality with Sovereign Will and pushed his mug back on the bar top. ¡°Give me a few to sober up, I guess.¡±

    Va nodded and spoke softly, ¡°Probably best to keep our wits until we know more about this ce.¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± Victor cleared his throat and said, ¡°Livag, how much for a room?¡±

    ¡°Ten beads per night.¡±

    ¡°Ten?¡± Victor could easily afford it, especially considering the yet uncounted treasures lying within ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s and Boaegh¡¯s rings. Still, ten beads for a night was a lot more than they¡¯d pay in Persi Gables.

    ¡°Aye, pup. Ten.¡± Livag¡¯s easy grin didn¡¯t falter as he pushed a mug of ale toward another member of his species, a woman with enormous tusks jutting up from her oversized jaw.

    ¡°Hey, another thing¡ªyou assumed me and Va were ¡®low-tier¡¯ what does that mean in these parts?¡±

    ¡°Low-tier? Anyone who has yet to reach level fifty.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Va said, speaking up to Livag for the first time since he¡¯d poured her ale. ¡°I¡¯m level fifty-two.¡±

    ¡°Oh, well, no offense, but your aura isn¡¯t even as heavy as Victor¡¯s here, and I can tell he ain¡¯t out of the lower tiers.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Va frowned.

    ¡°Aye, but don¡¯t fret. You¡¯re from a newer world, aren¡¯t you?¡± Livag reached for Va¡¯s cup, but she pulled it back, holding her hand over the top.

    ¡°Yes. I believe Fanwath is a rtively new world. The System crafted it a bit more than four hundred years ago.¡±

    ¡°There you have it! You all haven¡¯t had thousands and thousands of years to stockpile natural treasures and learn the best way to gain certain sses, skills, or Cores. The monsters that roam the wastes out there,¡± he gestured broadly with one arm, ¡°would probably pose quite a threat to a city in your world. While we grow stronger, so do they.¡±

    ¡°Is that why the Warlord offers prize tokens for killing them? So they don¡¯t threaten the city?¡± Victor asked, already starting to feel the edge of his buzz fading away.

    ¡°Nah! Even an adult wyrm would break itself on our great wall. No, the warlord wants monster trophies because they¡¯re natural treasures¡ªhe can use them to improve his or his people¡¯s strength.¡±

    ¡°So if we¡¯re low-tier, what¡¯s high-tier?¡± Victor asked, still annoyed at being considered a runt.

    ¡°Well, here in Coloss, if you¡¯re between levels fifty and one hundred, you¡¯re considered mid-tier. People over level one hundred are high-tier. There aren¡¯t so many of them.¡±

    ¡°Seems like really broad categories. If I fought in the arena you mention, are they separated by tiers?¡±

    ¡°Oh, aye,d. I wouldn¡¯t go in there, though. The prizes are great, but so¡¯s the risk; mercy is encouraged but not guaranteed, and if you lose, there¡¯s a good chance of being maimed or in.¡± He moved off to fill another drink request, and Victor studied Va¡¯s face; she looked troubled, almost annoyed, her pale green eyebrows drawn together, creasing her forehead as her eyes stared into the void of introspection.

    ¡°Something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Several things,¡± she replied, shoving her mug back on the bar with a look of disgust. ¡°Us being weaklings certainly doesn¡¯t bode well for our chances to get back to Fanwath; that¡¯s one. Two, I just learned that because Ie from a backwater, ignorant world, I¡¯ve ruined my potential¡ªI¡¯ve spent fifty levels with subpar skills, sses, even my Core.¡±

    ¡°Hold up,¡± Victor said, turning to look at Va more directly, ¡°Livag didn¡¯t say you were ruined, just that it wasn¡¯t surprising you were from a newish world. Right, Livag?¡± Victor asked, getting the barkeep¡¯s attention.

    ¡°What¡¯s that, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Do you think Va¡¯s chances for being strong are ruined cause she came from a low-tier world?¡±

    ¡°Ruined? No, I wouldn¡¯t say that. You¡¯re at a deficit, but I¡¯ve met many people from many worlds, and you aren¡¯t the worst I¡¯ve seen. Maybe you can get some treasures to improve your Core while you¡¯re here. Why, there might be a mentor here for you! What affinity do you channel?¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Va nced at Victor, clearly ufortable talking about herself. Victor nodded, and she continued. ¡°I have elemental affinities: iron and air.¡±

    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s a strongbination! What about your ss? Is it advanced, at least?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve had an advanced ss since tier two.¡±

    ¡°There you go! A little work with a master and a few natural treasures, and you¡¯ll be up to snuff. With the right master, I¡¯d be shocked if your next refinement didn¡¯t pull you an epic ss option.¡±

    Victor watched Va while Livag spoke, and he saw her scowl smooth out as she nodded along. ¡°You¡¯re a good bartender, Livag,¡± Victor said, pping the counter. ¡°Hey, we can use some rest, but in the morning, I¡¯m going to want to do some research. Will you be working? I want to get directions from you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, and can you point me in the direction of a ¡®master¡¯ for my affinities?¡± Va added, suddenly more talkative.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be here. Never a day off for an old tavernmander. Talk to me over breakfast, and I¡¯ll point you where you need to go. Here,¡± he said, pulling a smooth crystal disc about the size of a drink coaster from his belt. ¡°Touch your finger to this stone, both of you.¡± Victor and Va reached out together and ced their fingers on the stone, hers thin and pale blue, Victor''s swarthy and enormous next to it. Livag nodded and pressed his own calloused, hairy digit on the smooth surface. It shed with mauve Energy, and he nodded, scooping it up and slipping it into his belt.

    ¡°What was that supposed to do?¡± Va asked btedly.

    ¡°Hand me ten beads, please¡ªI just assigned you to room twelve. The door will open for you when you head up.¡±

    ¡°Hey! Pretty cool,¡± Victor said as he dug a handful of beads from his storage ring. He nced to his right, where the staircase climbed the back wall of themon room, and said, ¡°So, no giant rooms upstairs?¡±

    Va frowned, following his nce, but Livag spoke, ¡°Nope. All the Degh rooms are on the first floor. It saves a lot on construction costs.¡±

    ¡°I noticed quite a few businesses on the way in that didn¡¯t have giant-sized doors. Do the Degh not get upset?¡±

    ¡°Upset?¡± Livag frowned, ¡°Why would they? This isn¡¯t a Degh city.¡± He shrugged and added, ¡°Most Degh are grateful for those of us willing to go to the expense of building to amodate them. It pays off, though, between you and me. Degh pay well.¡±

    ¡°Huh, I guess I just pictured the warlord as one of them,¡± Victor said, scooting out his stool, ¡°I mean one of the Degh.¡±

    ¡°Nah, he¡¯s a proud Vesh like me!¡± Livag thumped his chest. ¡°Though he¡¯s as strong as any Degh, you can believe that!¡±

    ¡°Okay, cool. C¡¯mon, Va.¡± Victor wound his way between tables, standard and giant-sized, and started up the steps, keeping to the right to avoid bumping into a group of the serpent peopleing down. He shook his head ruefully¡ªhe¡¯d already forgotten what they were called. Two of the four had passed by him, but the third gave him a shoulder check that sent him reeling into the banister.

    ¡°Watch your step, scaleless,¡± the tall, wiry, orange-scaled . . . person hissed.

    Victor felt his heart start to thud, felt his rage-attuned Energy begin to bleed into his pathways, and he stood up straight and stared into the serpent person¡¯s weird yellow eyes. ¡°Excuse you.¡±

    ¡°Leave the scaleless runt in peace, Cheggra. It doesn¡¯t even have a horn or tusk to collect,¡± a more yellow-toned, slightly smaller serpent person said. Cheggra whistled out a strange warbling sound through his or her narrow nostril slits, and Victor wondered if he or she wasughing. He felt Va firmly pressing a hand between his shoulder des, and, for once, he decided to let things go and continued up the stairs.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t Persi Gables, Victor. I don¡¯t want to have to try to make my way back to Fanwath alone, all right? Try not to get into brawls with people who, if our innkeeper is to be believed, may well be tier-ten.¡± Va kept propelling him down the hallway until they stood before the door to room twelve.

    ¡°Yeah, I guess you¡¯re right,¡± Victor said, turning the knob. It clicked at his touch, and the door opened easily. ¡°You¡¯re kidding me,¡± he said, looking around the sparsely furnished little room. It had a rough wooden floor and walls, and its only furnishings were two narrow beds and a wooden trunk. ¡°Not even a bath.¡±

    ¡°Baths are down the hall,¡± said a boulder-shouldered man with a pink-hued bald head, ck sideburns, and a single eye on his forehead, hustling past their room toward the stairs.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Victor called after the lumbering figure. He stepped into the room, and when Va had entered and shut the door, he said, ¡°Pretty shitty room for ten beads.¡±

    ¡°Imagine if half the poption in this world is beyond what they call ¡®low-tier,¡¯¡± Va said, walking over to the bed on the left and sitting down on the edge of it with a huff. ¡°If there are so many people over tier-five, all the way up over level one hundred . . .¡± she trailed off, and Victor nodded.

    ¡°Intion, I guess. Lots of Energy being thrown around. Lots of dungeons conquered and monsters in. Well, let¡¯s see what we¡¯re dealing with, money-wise.¡± Victor pulled the four rings he¡¯d taken from ap¡¯Horrin from his belt pouch and sat down on his bed, facing Va. ¡°This one is a dimensional container,¡± he said, cing the silver ring etched with leaves to the left. Then he held one of the other three in his hand, a gold-colored metal band with tiny squares of something like turquoise mounted around it.

    He could see Va was going through the contents of Boaegh¡¯s ring, so he trickled some Energy into the ring he was holding.

    ***Ring of Berl¡¯s Touch: This ring can be used once daily to evoke feelings of peace and pleasure in a person or animal you touch.***

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Victor chuckled and told Va about the ring.

    ¡°It sounds like something a scoundrel would use for sexual conquest or to appease an angry family member,¡± Va said with a scowl, still concentrating on the space within the ring she held. Victor shrugged, put the ring back in his pouch, and picked up the next one, a silver band with three dark, ck stones. He bonded with it and read the description:

    ***Ring of Negation: Each stone in this ring can be used to absorb a magical effect. 0/3 charges remaining.***

    ¡°This one¡¯s used up,¡± Victor said, stuffing it into his pouch. ¡°Think we might be able to sell it to an artificer still¡ªmaybe they can recharge it or something.¡± The final ring was made of bronze or copper, carved or cast to look like the head of a goat or ram. It felt cheap in Victor¡¯s hand, much lighter than the precious metals of the other rings. Still, he sent some Energy into it and was rewarded with a description:

    ***Ring of the Ram: The wearer of this ring can strike an obstacle with the force of a siege engine. Each use will permanently deplete a charge. 4/8 charges remaining.***

    ¡°Kind of cool,¡± Victor said. Again, he put the ring into his pouch and then picked up ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s dimensional storage ring.

    ¡°What was it?¡± Va asked, surprising him; he¡¯d thought she¡¯d tuned him out.

    ¡°Oh, I can use that thing four times to hit an obstacle like a battering ram or something.¡± Va didn¡¯t say anything, but he saw a corner of her mouth lift in a smirk. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°That should save your head some pain,¡± sheughed.

    ¡°Really, Va? I thought you and I were different, you know, because you weren¡¯t one of the many women in my life who enjoy busting my balls!¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, Victor. I was trying to banter as you suggested . . .¡± she trailed off when she saw Victor stifling augh. ¡°You¡¯re not really upset.¡±

    ¡°Nah, you¡¯re cool, Va, don¡¯t worry. Now let me concentrate on this ring; ap¡¯Horrin was a packrat.¡± He wasn¡¯t lying¡ªap¡¯Horrin had a wardrobe¡¯s worth of clothing in the ring, and even though Victor thought the clothes were reasonably stylish and well-made, he knew he¡¯d never wear any of them. He shoved them into a corner of the ring¡¯s ¡°space¡± and sifted through the next big pile: food and beverages. Ap¡¯Horrin had barrels of ale, casks of wine, waxed wheels of cheese, cured and aged meats, and loaves of fine bread, all perfectly preserved by the ring''s magic.

    After going through the foods, Victor produced a pair of swords, rapiers if he wasn¡¯t mistaken, and held them out to Va, ¡°You know more about swords than I do. These worth anything?¡± She paused in her own cataloging and took the scabbarded des with a frown.

    ¡°I imagine they are; give me a minute to examine them.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Victor replied, then he pulled arge, ck felt sack out of ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s ring and set it on the bed. It was heavy and clicked with the tell-tale sound of Energy beads. ¡°He¡¯s got five sacks like this, and I think they each have more than a thousand beads.¡± Va had stood up and was carefully examining the de of one of the rapiers¡ªit was thin and appeared fragilepared to her broadsword, but Victor could see there was something special about it; the de looked like crystal, not metal.

    ¡°I won¡¯t use this rapier, but it¡¯ll fetch an enormous sum at auction. Its de is a single blood crystal; I imagine ap¡¯Horrin used it in conjunction with his affinity. Rumors around Persi Gables were that he had a blood affinity.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he sure did.¡± Victor shook his head, remembering the creepy spells ap¡¯Horrin had used while he¡¯d pursued him around the oubliette. ¡°He was sucking the Energy out of one of those insect guys when I found him¡ªit looked like he was pulling his blood through the air.¡±

    ¡°Ancestors!¡± Va shuddered, then said, ¡°This other de is also valuable, but not so much as the first one.¡± She pulled the second sword free of its scabbard to show Victor. It had a shiny, silvery de with golden runes etched into it. ¡°It¡¯s an enchanted steel alloy. I¡¯m not sure what metals went into it, but they must have been rich because it has strong effects, more than an Artificer could impart on simple steel.¡±

    ¡°All right. Well? What about Boagh¡¯s ring?¡±

    ¡°Nearly twenty-thousand beads,¡± Va said, walking over to the foot of her bed and proceeding to unload leather sacks of Energy beads, one after another, until she¡¯d set down nearly thirty bags. ¡°Put them into one of your rings, please.¡±

    ¡°We should split ¡®em up, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°No! I have my own wealth. You made these kills despite my failings, not with my aid, so no, I¡¯ll not be taking a share. Hurry now, pick these up before we¡¯re robbed. There are a couple of items in Boaegh¡¯s ring that you might be interested in; the rest are mundane objects¡ªfood, clothing, furniture, and books.¡±

    ¡°All right, but let me know if you need some money while we¡¯re here.¡± Victor moved among the leather sacks, touching each one to transfer it into one of his rings. He wasn¡¯t going to argue with Va¡ªfor all he knew, she had a million beads in her dimensional containers. He wondered how many beads the adopted daughter of one of the most powerful families in an empire would consider a fortune.

    Va had moved back to her bed and was setting some objects on the thin, gray nket, so Victor spent a minute gathering and organizing the beads from several containers into one area. With the money from Boaegh and ap¡¯Horrin added to his own pile of beads, he knew he had nearly forty thousand, and that was without selling many of the potentially precious items he¡¯d been hoarding. ¡°What have we got here?¡± he asked, looking over Va¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Four items we should probably sell,¡± Va said, gesturing her hand over her bedspread. ¡°A ¡®Diadem of Concentration,¡¯ used for spell casting duringbat¡ªI think it speeds up the process of gathering Energy and focusing it into aplicated spell pattern,¡± she pointed to a weird silver and ruby-studded headband with long metal points that would hang down over the wearer¡¯s cheekbones.

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor shrugged, ¡°what else?¡±

    ¡°This rod,¡± Va picked up a thick, rune-etched, dull, ck metal wand, ¡°another focus item for fire-attuned Energy.

    ¡°¡®Kay. What about that cloak?¡± Victor pointed to a folded, hooded red cloak.

    ¡°¡®Cloak of the me Walker.¡¯ It allows brief immunity to ¡®scorching mes.¡¯¡± She picked it up and shook it out, showing Victor its rich fabric and crimson, silky lining. ¡°I don¡¯t know how hot ¡®scorching¡¯ is or how long ¡®brief immunity¡¯ is, but it seems like it could be useful.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s pretty awesome. I think it¡¯s kind of wasted on me with my new feat, but why don¡¯t you keep it? We might meet more pyromancers or maybe fire-breathing monsters.¡± He¡¯d expected Va to object, saying they should sell it or something, but she just nodded briefly and swung the cloak up to fasten at her shoulders. The garment seemed to contract on itself, shrinking to fit her perfectly. ¡°Looks good,¡± Victor said, reaching out to feel the silky fabric between his thumb and forefinger.

    ¡°I like it; it¡¯s brighter than I would have bought for myself.¡± Va pulled the finely stitchedpels closer together and fastened the ornate brass button near her throat. ¡°I didn¡¯t mention that it¡¯s supposed to reduce the difort of a hot environment.¡± She looked up at Victor and grinned, perhaps somewhat guiltily.

    ¡°Oh, you ¡®didn¡¯t mention¡¯ that, huh?¡± Victorughed. ¡°No wonder you didn¡¯t argue about keeping it!¡±

    ¡°Yes, well,¡± she cleared her throat, and Victor saw her blue cheeks had grown a bit darker and that she was struggling with words. Was she really feeling guilty about snagging up that cloak? Heughed and reached out, jostling her shoulder.

    ¡°Rx. I¡¯m d you took it¡ªnot my style.¡± He looked at the bed and saw thest item was a dagger in a shiny ck scabbard. It had an ornate basket hilt and a red gem at its pommel. ¡°What about the dagger?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been charged with a spell; something called Lava Blood. It has one use¡ªa person stabbed with that knife will have the spell discharged upon them, and the weapon will be destroyed in the process¡ªording to the description, anyway.¡±

    Victor picked up the dagger and nodded. ¡°Mighte in handy, huh? We can always sell itter if not, but for now, I¡¯ll hold onto this, okay?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Do you want me to hold the other items until I¡¯ve had a chance to sell them?¡±

    ¡°Yes, please. I have too much to keep track of in these rings already.¡± Victor looked down at himself¡ªmost of his armor and clothes were clean, thanks to their enchantments, but the backs of his hands had bits of dried, caked blood on them, and he knew his hair and neck and the rest of him needed cleaning. ¡°I¡¯m going to check out the baths. What about you?¡±

    ¡°We should stay together, or at least close,¡± Va said, moving to the door. ¡°We don¡¯t know what people are like here other than powerful. Would they break in here and kill us for our belongings? For your axe or my sword?¡±

    ¡°All right, heading to the baths together, then.¡± Victor moved through the door and then turned left down the hallway. At the far end were three doors with bathtub-shaped images carved into the wood. Faded blue paint depicted overflowing water, and Victor smiled at the artistic touch.

    Two of the doors were locked, but one was open. Victor pushed open the unlocked door, revealing a small room with a bench, clothing pegs, and a simple brass tub, big enough to amodate peoplerger even than he.

    ¡°At least they¡¯re private,¡± Va said, and she might have tried to disguise it, but Victor heard the relief in her voice.

    ¡°Yeah, you go first.¡± Victor nudged her into the opening, and as he pulled the door, ¡°I¡¯ll wait for another to open up. Just holler if someone messes with you.¡± Va didn¡¯t protest, and he heard the lock click home after he pulled the door shut. Sighing, he leaned his back against the door jamb and watched the other two doors, waiting for one to open.

    He let his mind wander, thinking about what he¡¯d already learned about this world. He pictured giant, powerful monsters, and then he thought about a different kind of monster; it didn¡¯t have a face, more an amorphous mob consisting of the thousands of people in Coloss that would make Polo Vosh seem like a novice. He felt a gentle nudge at his shoulder and nearly jumped out of his skin¡ªhad he been that out of it, or had this person moved like a ghost to stand next to him?

    ¡°Excuse me, sir,¡± said a dry, wispy voice from within the deep, blue hood.

    ¡°Yeah?¡± Victor asked, turning to face the tall, slender, robed figure. He tried to hide his irritation at being surprised but doubted he did a good job of it.

    The hooded figure reached up with long, blue-gloved fingers to pull the hood back, and Victor was startled to see a very human-looking woman standing before him. He supposed she was one of the Vesh¡ªlike the innkeeper¡ªbut he couldn¡¯t see any horns or tusks or extra eyes. Maybe she had a tail or something, he mused during the three seconds it took for the woman to lower her hood from her curled, blonde hair and say, ¡°Is that your mate within?¡± She gestured to the door where Victor leaned his shoulder.

    ¡°My mate? That¡¯s my friend.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve not seen one such as she in Coloss. My employer, War Captain Forl, would enjoy the opportunity to meet her.¡± Her bright, pink lips curled up, brandishing a brilliant, white-toothed smile at Victor, her hazel eyes twinkling in the glowmps. She held out, between gloved fingers, a simple white piece of cardstock. ¡°He¡¯s invited her to dinner, and you are wee to escort her.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Victor reached out and took the card, noting the pale orange runes painted on one side.

    ¡°Yes, just activate this card, and it will guide you to his estate.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m new here; is a War Captain, like, an official title?¡±

    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s one of four War Captains that serve under the Warlord.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll pass on the invitation, but I don¡¯t speak for Va. If she¡¯s not into it, we won¡¯t being.¡±

    ¡°There are no expectations attached to the invitation, sir. We¡¯ll hope to see you.¡± She bowed, then, and began to turn, but Victor¡¯s impulsive mouth wouldn¡¯t let her slip away that easily.

    ¡°Hey, are you one of the, um, Vesh people?¡±

    ¡°Me? Oh no,¡± she said, and then her skin darkened from pale flesh to glimmering blue scales, and her body elongated and thickened with a surge of Energy that was palpable to Victor. ¡°I¡¯m a dragon, manling,¡± said the woman¡¯s pleasant voice from the extended snout that now loomed before him, thick white fangs poking up around the scaly lips that still somehow curved into a smile. ¡°I¡¯d take on my full shape to show you, but it would ruin this building.¡±

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± Victor managed to utter as the dragon¡¯s aura pressed him back into the door, his body¡¯s urge to flee threatening to destroy the puny wooden barrier. He inhaled a shaky breath, and then, with another surge of Energy, the lovely, normal-sized woman was standing before him again, still grinning like a cat with a mouse.

    ¡°I, too, am a visitor to this world. It¡¯s been an age or more since Iid eyes on a human. If the War Captain knew you weren¡¯t just a runty Deshi, he¡¯d be more interested in you than yourpanion; I¡¯d wager. Worry not, human. I¡¯m just here for my own amusement, traveling and learning from a few talents I¡¯ve yet to meet in this part of the universe. Still, I do hope you and your friend will attend the War Captain¡¯s dinner tomorrow. It could also prove fruitful for you¡ªconnections are important in this city.¡±

    She smiled again, stunning Victor with her radiance, and pulled her hood back over her head, turning to leave. ¡°Wait,¡± Victor finally choked out. ¡°Does he know? The War Captain?¡±

    She nced back over her shoulder at Victor and asked, ¡°That I¡¯m a dragon?¡± At his nod, she continued, ¡°No. You¡¯re the only one in this world I¡¯ve shown. Strange, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Victor started to say, but she was gone. A faint misty, blue haze lingered near the floorboards, the only evidence that she¡¯d ever been there. ¡°Fucking hell. I didn¡¯t know dragons were chicas bonitas on the inside.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 3: Monster Hunters

    Book 4: Chapter 3: Monster Hunters

    ¡°So, this War Captain invited us to dinner simply because he thought I looked interesting?¡± Va didn¡¯t look directly into Victor¡¯s eyes while she spoke, and he realized she was embarrassed.

    ¡°He¡¯s probably just a rich asshole who¡¯s used to getting what he wants. Forget it¡ªwe don¡¯t need to go.¡±

    ¡°No . . .¡± Va said, holding up a hand and shifting under her nket. Victor had found her nearly asleep after he¡¯d finished his time in the bath. He was standing at the foot of her bed, having just handed her the invitation card the dragondy had given him. While he¡¯d soaked in the tub, it had dawned on him that he hadn¡¯t even gotten the woman¡¯s name, so dumbstruck had he been. ¡°I think we should go,¡± Va finished. ¡°If only because we need to learn the politics of this ce if we hope to return to Fanwath in a timely manner.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but if the guy gets too creepy, we can bail. Just let me know.¡± Victor wanted to say more, wanted to assure Va that he had her back or that her feelings mattered to him, but, despite their time together, she still had a sort of default chill toward him, especially when her feelings were the topic of conversation.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s for tomorrow. Tonight we should get some sleep. We can get an early start; I¡¯d like to learn more about the prize tokens. I wonder if it¡¯s difficult to join a monster-hunting ¡®crew¡¯ as the innkeeper suggested.¡± She turned to her side, back toward him and his bed, and fluffed her pillow, tucking it up under her head.

    ¡°Yeah, me too. Also, we can try to find someone to help you with your Core.¡± Victor moved to the far side of his bed and sat down to pull off his boots; he hadn¡¯t wanted to walk back from the baths barefooted. He heard Va yawn as he slipped his belt, boots, and shirt into his storage ring, then he leaned Lifedrinker against the wall next to the little maple-colored headboard.

    He ducked under his nket, stretching his legs, and was somewhat surprised that the bed didn¡¯t creak rmingly and that his feet didn¡¯t hit the footboard. ¡°Kinda weird not to be the biggest guy around,¡± he said with a loud yawn of his own.

    ¡°I can imagine. Back home, you were starting to loomrge in size and reputation.¡±

    ¡°Home . . .¡± Victor said softly, wondering at how strange it seemed to think of Fanwath that way.

    ¡°I suppose you don¡¯t feel that way yet,¡± Va said, shifting under her covers so that shey on her other side, facing him. Victor also turned from his back to his side and frowned, staring across the little gap between their beds into her otherworldly green eyes that reminded him of mint ice cream.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I feel like the Victor that came here from Tucson is dead. Damn, that¡¯s depressing to say out loud. Anyway, yeah, I almost feel like I don¡¯t have a home. There¡¯s no ce I fit in.¡± Va¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he saw her mouth open like she wanted to say something, but she closed it again, apparently lost for words. Victor cleared his throat and added, ¡°Eh, that was over dramatic. Don¡¯t mind me; I just need some sleep.¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Va tried again, then she sighed and said, ¡°Good night, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Night,¡± he replied, closing his eyes and forcefully slowing his breathing. He heard Va touch the glowmp on the little table between their beds, and then the red glow of his eyelids turned ck. Though he was only pretending to sleep, he soon found his mind drifting. He tried to think about what he would do the next day or to wonder what Tha and Deyni were up to, but soon, true sleep captured him, and he didn¡¯t stir again until warm sunlight was falling on his face through the window they¡¯d neglected to pull the curtains on.

    He stretched, pressing his arms against the headboard and pointing his toes as the movement became involuntary and his muscles strained against the bonds of his flesh. As the little waves of pleasure and relief ran through him, he inhaled deeply and grinned, realizing the bed had creaked and groaned from his efforts. ¡°See, I still have what it takes,¡± he whispered, stealing a nce at Va¡¯s bed, happy to see she was still sleeping, her nket pulled up over her head.

    Victor sat up on the side of his bed and got himself dressed. He pulled an old notebook out of his storage ring and wrote a note for Va, letting her know he¡¯d gone to get breakfast. Truthfully, he wanted to give her some space to get dressed; when they¡¯d traveled together to Persi Gables, she¡¯d had her own tent, and he¡¯d never felt like he was awkwardly looming over her while she handled her personal business. This room felt too small, as far as he was concerned.

    As he pulled the door closed, carefully depressing thetch so it wouldn¡¯t make noise, he resolved to find better amodations. He was a damn sessful adventurer; why should he share a tiny room with twin beds? He walked down the hallway to the stairs, his nose informing him that breakfast was definitely up for grabs.

    Livag saw himing down the steps and motioned him over to the bar. ¡°Morning, traveler. Was your bed eptable?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be honest; I was going toin about it, but I slept like the dead, so, yeah¡ªit was good.¡± Victor pulled out a stool and sat down, ncing over his shoulder at a pair of the giant Degh who sat a short way behind him at one of the oversized tables.

    ¡°You were going toin?¡± Livag asked, turning to pour steaming ck liquid into a mug.

    ¡°Well, yeah. I mean, for ten beads, I thought we¡¯d have a bit more space, you know?¡±

    ¡°Ten beads is cheap in this town,d. I thought I sort of made that clearst night.¡± He set the steaming drink before Victor and smiled. ¡°If you¡¯ve the means, I have an acquaintance with much finer amodations. I could send you her way.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Victor asked, lifting the mug and wondering if his nose was ying tricks; it smelled like coffee.

    ¡°Coffee. They don¡¯t have it in your homeworld?¡±

    ¡°Are you shitting me? They have it in my homeworld, but not Fanwath, the world I¡¯ve been living in recently. I thought I¡¯d lost it forever. I mean, don¡¯t get me wrong; I didn¡¯t drink a ton of this stuff¡ªtoo easy to pop open an energy drink, you know?¡± Livag just nodded like he understood precisely what Victor meant, so he pushed on, ¡°I¡¯d get some now and then, though, and my abu drank it every morning.¡±

    ¡°Well, you should be pleased to know that many worlds have coffee. So many, in fact, that once some interworld trade bes established, it¡¯s umon not to find it.¡±

    Victor lifted the mug and took a tentative sip. It was bitter, but the smell was so nostalgic that he smiled, thinking of his abu at the kitchen table sipping her coffee while he hoovered down some eggs and tortis. ¡°Thanks, Livag. I didn¡¯t know Fanwath was so backward. Shit, man, I should buy a boatload of this stuff before I head back.¡± He took another sip, then grinned and asked, ¡°So, when you say, ¡®if we have the means,¡¯ what kinda price are we talking about?¡±

    ¡°Well, my cousin, Brecia, runs a fine establishment in the Arena District¡ªsuites only. I think she¡¯s got some avable for ny.¡±

    ¡°Ny beads a night?¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Livag nodded, then asked, ¡°Porridge and toast all right for breakfast?¡±

    ¡°Porridge, huh? Yeah, why not?¡± As Livag turned to holler through the swinging door behind the bar, presumably at someone in the kitchen, Victor added, ¡°Will you give me directions to your cousin¡¯s inn? I wanted to check out the arena, anyway.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ve the name of a few powerful Elementalists in the city, as well. I think your friend would do well to speak to one or more of them.¡±

    ¡°I was about to ask you about that. Thanks, Livag.¡± Victor took another sip of his coffee and then set it down; some of his nostalgia had worn off, and it wasn¡¯t exactly delicious to him anymore. ¡°You have some cream I could put into that?¡±

    ¡°Oh, sure. I should¡¯ve offered,¡± Livag said, then turned back to the kitchen door and stepped through, leaving Victor alone at the bar.

    ¡°You going to the arena, Deshi?¡± One of the giants behind him rumbled. Victor didn¡¯t know the word, so he didn¡¯t think the guy was talking to him at first. Still, no one answered, so he turned over his shoulder. Both the giants were looking at him, and the nearer one, a hugely muscled man with ck hair cut like someone had put a bowl on top of his head, raised a thick, wiry eyebrow in question.

    ¡°Oh, me?¡±

    ¡°See any other Deshi around here?¡± the man rumbled.

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not from here. What¡¯s a Deshi?¡±

    ¡°Deshi? Half Degh, half Vesh runt,¡± the huge man replied, pointing at Victor as if to illustrate.

    ¡°Oh, right. I didn¡¯t know that was even possible; I¡¯m not from this world. I¡¯m actually called a . . .¡± he started to say, but then he remembered the dragondy¡¯s words and hurriedly changed the topic, ¡°It¡¯s not important. I was thinking of going to the arena, yeah.¡±

    ¡°Low-tier?¡± the giant thumped his palm on his table, and Victor wasn¡¯t sure if he was asking or dering.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m low-tier.¡±

    ¡°Best time to fight in the arena; people are more vicious, more in need of wins and fame. I love watching low-tier fights.¡±

    ¡°Oh, cool. Good to know, thanks,¡± Victor said, turning back to the counter, not really enjoying the attention the enormous man was giving him.

    ¡°Will you win?¡± This time the voice was different, and Victor turned back to see the other Degh had joined in. He wasnkier than his stocky friend, though he probably outweighed Victor by three hundred pounds. He had long, curly red hair and bright green eyes. His thick, rosy lips twisted into a grin, and he repeated the question as Victor made eye contact with him, ¡°Will you win?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t really sure I¡¯d fight in the arena; I just wanted to check it out.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± the dark-haired Degh said, shaking his head as though disappointed.

    ¡°I mean, I might! I¡¯ve been in plenty of pit fights in my day.¡± Victor silently cussed at himself. Why did he say that? Was he really going to let the disappointment of a couple of strangers pressure him into signing up for a life-or-death battle?

    ¡°Hmm. Experienced, eh? What¡¯s your name, then, stranger?¡±

    ¡°Victor,¡± he said before his brain could tell his mouth to shut up.

    ¡°Mmm,¡± the red-haired Degh said, nodding. ¡°I like the way it echoes through the ether. We¡¯ll wager on you, Deshi. Good luck.¡± With that, Victor felt dismissed because the two giants turned away from him and tucked into their rather enormous bowls of porridge. Victor turned to the counter to find his own bowl with two buttery bs of bread stacked on the side. His coffee had turned from ck to creamy brown, and he grinned, getting to work on the food.

    ¡°Good; eat up, Victor,¡± Livag said, straightening up from where he¡¯d been stacking some dishes under the bar. ¡°You need your strength if you¡¯re going to the arena.¡±

    ¡°Arena?¡± Va asked, climbing onto the stool next to him.

    ¡°Good morning! I¡¯m just going to check it out . . .¡±

    ¡°Good idea,¡± she said, surprising him. ¡°I¡¯ll just take toast, Livag,¡± she added, eyeing Victor¡¯s bowl of porridge with pursed lips and a raised eyebrow.

    When they left Livag¡¯s inn, they had a list of ces to go and directions to get there. Victor had, somewhat guiltily, roused Gorz to pay attention to the directions, so they didn¡¯t have to write them down. The amulet spirit had seemed a little groggy but otherwise happy to oblige. While they walked to their first stop, a ce called ¡°Hunter¡¯s Hall,¡± where, ording to Livag, people could join monster-hunting expeditions, he tried to engage the amulet in some conversation, thinking his words to him like he did back in mine.

    ¡°Gorz, how are things? Have you noticed any other strange . . . feelings, I guess?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor. I feel more and more detached. My grasp on this reality feels strained. While you engage me and I focus on the impression of your surroundings, I can stay present, but it feels like I¡¯ve been gone a hundred years since youst spoke to me.¡±

    ¡°Really? It¡¯s only been a day.¡±

    ¡°I wonder if leaving Fanwath, traveling to wherever this world exists in the universe, has somehow weakened the bonds holding me to this ne.¡±

    ¡°But you weren¡¯t from Fanwath . . .¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m aware of the w in my logic, but there might be other factors. Perhaps drifting through the ether as we did, myrger soul felt me. I feel a pull, a tugging sensation. I feel more and more iplete as the decades slip by.¡±

    ¡°Gorz, let me remind you; it¡¯s only been a day.¡±

    ¡°Odd. Turn left, Victor. Your destination lies in the square ahead.¡±

    ¡°Up here,¡± Victor said, carefully looking left and right before he crossed the street to follow Gorz¡¯s directions. Va jogged along with him as he hurried between a bargelike, floating wagon and a group of Degh riding atop mammoth-sized, maroon-colored lizards. The animals had leather blinders over their eyes, and their bridles were heavy-looking metal affairs that doubled as muzzles. As they crossed the smooth, brown cobbles behind the great animals, Victor almost stepped into a ripe, steaming pile of ck dung.

    ¡°Ugh! What do those things eat,¡± Va asked, skirting around the stinking pile.

    ¡°People!¡±ughed one of the Degh, ncing over the rump of his animal and winking.

    ¡°C¡¯mon,¡± Victor said, eyeing the huge, floating wagoning their way. It had high, fence-like sides, and he could see some sort of livestock milling around within. It didn¡¯t appear to be slowing. He grabbed Va¡¯s arm and hurried to the opposite corner of the intersection. He didn¡¯t slow until they were up on the pedestrian cobbles. Even then, they had to hustle to the far right side of the path to walk at a normal pace; Degh strode along on the left faster than Victor would typically jog.

    ¡°This city is busy!¡± Va said, her eyes alight and pale blue cheeks sort of rosy with excitement.

    ¡°You like it!¡± Victor chuckled, continuing toward the uing square.

    ¡°Yes! I¡¯ve not seen so many wondrous sights in all my time on Fanwath!¡±

    ¡°You just say that because you were born on Fanwath. None of this seems more ¡®wonderous¡¯ to me than the things I¡¯ve seen in Persi Gables.¡±

    ¡°I suppose it does have a lot to do with everything here being new to me,¡± Va replied, nodding. ¡°Still, it¡¯s exciting, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess so,¡± Victor replied, quickly looking away from a scowling, tusked Vesh with one eye that glowed like the socket was full of roilingva. ¡°Just a little nerve-wracking, maybe,¡± he muttered. When they stepped into the square, and more space opened up, allowing them to walk more sedately with less fear of being trampled, he exhaled a breath he hadn¡¯t realized he¡¯d been holding and tried to rx a little.

    The square was enormouspared to those in Gelica and Persi Gables. A vast expanse of dun-colored cobbles spread out before them, with one structure dominating the center; a great, open-air building with a high peaked roof held up by massive marble or stone columns. Food stands and merchant carts dotted the rest of the space, but plenty of wide, open area remained; traffic was directed around the edges of the square with a high curb discouraging mounts or vehicles from traversing the central portion.

    ¡°That must be the hunter hall or whatever it¡¯s called,¡± Victor said, striding through the square directly toward the big structure. Va followed along in his wake, eyes wide as she took in the sights.

    ¡°Did you see that man with the wings?¡± she asked, pointing toward the edge of the square off to their right where a tall man, probably a kind of Vesh, hadunched himself into the air and was rapidly beating his bright turquoise wings to gain elevation, streaking off to the south.

    ¡°Pretty badass,¡± Victor nodded.

    ¡°Faster than I¡¯ve ever seen a Ghelli fly,¡± Va breathed, her voice hushed and full of wonder.

    ¡°You seem different today,¡± Victor said, skirting to his left to avoid a big group of the insect people¡ªhe¡¯d forgotten what they were called.

    ¡°Oh? I slept well!¡± Va said, hurrying to match his long stride. ¡°Why are you walking so fast?¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Victor started but then stopped to really think about it. Why was he hurrying? ¡°I feel vulnerable, I guess.¡± He shrugged and kept walking; the truth was that he was worried about Va and didn¡¯t want to say as much. She¡¯d already had one apparently powerful guy take an interest in her. What would he do if one of these high-level assholes decided to ¡°ask¡± her on a date or some other bullshit?

    ¡°You really are feeling your change in stature, aren¡¯t you?¡± Va¡¯s voice held a hint of amusement.

    ¡°Look,¡± Victor said, slowing to a stop so he could turn and face her, ¡°I spent a lot of time on Fanwath being a punk that got pushed around and nearly killed a few dozen times. I was starting to get over that, starting to feel like I could walk around with my head up, and now I¡¯m here, with everyone and their pinche abu stronger than me!¡±

    ¡°Victor,¡± Va said, shaking her head, ¡°think about your life, about people you¡¯ve known. What sorts of people get picked on?¡± She reached a hand up to his shoulder and gave him a nudge to start walking again while they spoke.

    ¡°I dunno, weaklings?¡±

    ¡°Come, even I, with my poor social skills andck of friends, know that the people who act timid, afraid, weak¡ªthey attract abuse.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not me . . .¡± he shook his head. He wasn¡¯t Va¡¯s father. He wasn¡¯t her brother. Why was he feeling responsible for her? Shit, she had a lot of levels on him! ¡°Never mind; you¡¯re right. Fuck these assholes.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not you?¡± Va asked, and Victor sighed. Why couldn¡¯t he have shut his mouth a fraction of a second faster?

    ¡°C¡¯mon, Va. Do you see how these dudes are looking at you? You¡¯re the only person with blue skin I¡¯ve seen, and you¡¯re not exactly ugly!¡±

    Va pressed her lips together, and her eyebrows drew down into an rmingly sharp V. She let go of Victor¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°You aren¡¯t my chaperone.¡±

    ¡°Right. Uh . . . sorry,¡± Victor said, knowing there was nothing else he could say.

    ¡°I¡¯m a Captain of the Imperial Legion. I¡¯m a tier-five Sword Dancer,¡± Va growled, still glowering at him as they walked.

    Victor avoided her eye contact, quickly nced at her, and said, ¡°Yeah, sorry.¡± He wasn¡¯t going to get into an argument with her about this; he¡¯d seen too many women in his life get that expression on their faces, knew there was nothing he could say to make her realize his intentions were in the right ce, even if it was offensive or whatever. No, the only solution he knew of was to apologize and let her cool off on her own.

    To his surprise, Va said, ¡°Well, I appreciate the thought, anyway. You¡¯re right, now that you mention it; I¡¯m suddenly quite aware of the stares some of those Vesh are giving me.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor nodded, vindication loosening his vocal cords, ¡°Those are the guys I was talking about! The snakes and bugs aren¡¯t giving us a second nce.¡±

    ¡°Victor!¡± Va hissed, reaching up to grab his shoulder again. ¡°Don¡¯t describe them like that! You know, some people gain exceptional hearing as they advance in power! Not to mention, it¡¯s rude!¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said, ruefully running his hands through his hair, grabbing the sides of his head, and looking around the square. No one seemed particrly irritated with him. ¡°Guess I got lucky. Um, what are they called again?¡±

    Very softly, Va said, ¡°Tong-pan and Yazzians.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll forget that again, but I¡¯ll be more careful with my . . . descriptions.¡± They¡¯de to a flight of marble steps that led up to the open structure. As they climbed, cresting the top, they saw that the soaring roof of the building provided shade to a concave depression underneath. A big crowd milled about in the central area, moving from table to table where, apparently, monster-hunting groups were recruiting.

    ¡°Have you noticed guards like that anywhere else?¡± Va asked, drawing Victor¡¯s attention to the men and women in silver cloaks standing around the building at regr intervals.

    ¡°Now you mention it; I don¡¯t think so,¡± Victor replied. Some of the guards were Degh, but most were the human-monster-looking Vesh.

    ¡°None of them are, uh, Tongpin or Yozzians,¡± he said, wincing at his butchery of the names.

    ¡°Almost,¡± Va said, smiling, again surprising him with her good humor. ¡°Tong-pan and Yazzians, and you¡¯re right! That¡¯s interesting, isn¡¯t it? I wonder if they¡¯re culturally distinct. Maybe they¡¯re seen as visitors to this part of the world.¡±

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s check out one of these, uh, booths,¡± Victor said, climbing down the short flight of steps to the central arena-like depression under the vaulted stone canopy. Va walked beside him, and after they¡¯d carefully worked their way through the milling crowd to the first table on that side of the space, Victor approached the Vesh woman sitting behind it. ¡°Hello.¡±

    ¡°Hey there, traveler! Interested in joining an expedition to Vagrant¡¯s Oasis? We¡¯re chasing down rumors of a blood wyrm sighting!¡± She was thin, with limbs that seemed too long for her body, and looked very human, with a tanplexion and coppery-red hair, but, as with most Vesh Victor had seen, there were a few things that ended theparison¡ªshe had a single, thick, white horn sprouting from the center of her forehead, and what looked like folded, ck, leathery wings on her back. What really stood out about her, though, was her aura; Victor could feel the weight of it more so than anyone else he¡¯d spoken to on this new world, save the dragon woman.

    ¡°I¡¯m Victor, and,¡± Victor said, turning to include Va in the conversation, ¡°we¡¯re new here if that isn¡¯t obvious. How does this all work?¡± He gestured around the hall.

    ¡°New to Coloss, hmm? Low-tier?¡± She frowned but pressed on, ¡°We¡¯ve room for the likes of you on the expedition. I¡¯m the hunt master, so it¡¯ll be me that determines your pay; it¡¯s based on contribution. Most of the huntingpanies operate the same way.¡± She paused, pointed to the table to her right, and continued, ¡°Some are like Royne there; they¡¯ll offer you a fixed payout, and as long as the huntingpany returns intact, you¡¯ll be paid that amount, no matter what.¡±

    ¡°So, there are two kinds of contracts? Contribution and fixed pay?¡± Va asked.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re new and low-tier, I¡¯ll give you a tip,¡± the woman said, leaning forward. Victor saw the way her yellow-green eyes glimmered with Energy, and he wondered how far she¡¯d advanced her race; she exuded power. ¡°Mostpanies that give fixed payments won¡¯t be worth the time for a low-tier unless you¡¯re a realzy bones. You¡¯ll be out for days or weeks ande back to be paid with a few handfuls of scales or a piece of bone¡ªnothing great.¡±

    ¡°But your way is better?¡± Va prompted.

    ¡°Sure! If you work hard or get lucky. As long as you have a fair hunt master, that is.¡± She grinned and thumped her silky blue blouse at the center of her chest with her fist, ¡°I¡¯m very fair!¡±

    ¡°So, if I do a lot of damage in the battle with whatever monster we find, I¡¯ll get a bigger piece of the prize?¡± Victor asked, trying to demonstrate his understanding.

    ¡°Exactly! Don¡¯t forget about the Energy, too! We¡¯re hunting monsters that require a real team to take down; if you do a lot of the work, the System will give you a big portion of the prize. I¡¯ve seen a low-tier gain three levels from one kill. Sure, she had high Energy affinity, but still.¡± She shrugged and smiled, then pointed to a gray te on the table before her. ¡°Should I sign you up?¡±

    ¡°How long do we have to decide?¡± Va asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m hiring twelve hunters today; you¡¯ve got however long that takes.¡± She grinned and drummed her fingers on the te.

    ¡°Um, when does your hunt start, and how long do you think it will take?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°We leave in three days, and the journey to the oasis will take another three. After that, it depends on how long it takes us to find our quarry.¡±

    ¡°Sign us up,¡± Victor said and was immediately rewarded with an elbow in the ribs from Va.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we talk about this? Maybe check some of the other tables?¡±

    ¡°We can if you want, but I get a good feeling from thisdy. Uh, sorry I didn¡¯t get your name.¡± Victor shrugged sheepishly.

    ¡°I¡¯m Cayle, and my huntingpany is called Spears of the Copper Sunset!¡± She smiled hugely as she said the name of herpany, and Victor looked from her to Va, watching as hispanion''s purplish lips pressed together as if fighting the urge to smile.

    ¡°I like that name, Cayle,¡± Va said, nodding.

    ¡°It paints a pretty picture,¡± Victor agreed, hoping this meant that Va was going to agree to sign up for the hunt.

    ¡°What if we don¡¯t make it for some reason? To wherever your huntingpany meets up in three days?¡± Va asked.

    ¡°Then nevere asking me for a job again,¡± Cayle replied, shrugging. ¡°I might also spread word to some of the otherpanies; reputation is important for a monster hunter.¡±

    ¡°Sounds fair,¡± Victor said. ¡°So, yeah, let¡¯s sign up. We¡¯ve got a few other ces to get today.¡±

    ¡°Right! Wee to thepany, at least temporarily, though if you do well and you like the way things go, you might sign on for a longermission; you¡¯ll earn more as a regr member. Of course, it all depends on how your first hunt goes. We might decide you¡¯re not a good fit.¡± She pushed the gray te over the tabletop toward them and said, ¡°Put your hands on the te, and we¡¯ll make it official.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 4: Arena

    Book 4: Chapter 4: Arena

    Victor and Va caught glimpses of the arena long before it came into direct view. It was an enormous building that loomed over the surrounding architecture, a dozen stories high and wide enough to require a square several timesrger than the other markets they¡¯d passed through on their way to it. When Victor stepped out of the flow of traffic, up the steps to the arena square, he paused to take it all in.

    Just like the expansive cobbled area outside Hunter¡¯s Hall, the arena was surrounded by smooth, tan pavers, gardens, and little sectioned-off, L-shaped avenues where booths¡ªcurrently closed¡ªwould presumably sell goods to arena patrons. The arena was made of pale stone, and great columns stretched from the ground all the way up to the highest tiers. Gargoyles, dragons, things that looked like birds and dinosaurs, and even people dressed like diators were carved into gigantic statues standing around the building, on shelves at various tiers, and all along the top edge, high in the sky.

    ¡°Pretty cool,¡± Victor said, pointing at a statue of a warrior wearing armor that looked distinctly Roman, holding two swords over his head and looming over the dark, barricaded entrance of the arena. ¡°That statue must be thirty feet high.¡±

    ¡°The ce looks deserted,¡± Va said, pointing at the closed gates under the giant statue¡¯s swords.

    ¡°There¡¯s someone moving around in there; let¡¯s go ask.¡± Victor started walking, happy not to have to contend with a crowd. When he came to the closed, wrought-iron gate, he peered through into the wide, stone breezeway that led up to a row of ticket booths. A man with two short horns poking out of his white hair was on his knees, scrubbing the cobbles with a thick rag and a steaming bucket of soapy water. ¡°Hello,¡± Victor called through the bars.

    The man looked up, his blue eyes bright in the sunlighting from behind Victor, and said, ¡°Hello, yourself.¡±

    ¡°Where do you go to see who¡¯s fighting? Or, I guess, to sign up for fights?¡±

    ¡°Fighters¡¯ gate ¡®round the north end,¡± the man said, gesturing with his thumb to Victor¡¯s left.

    ¡°Right, thanks.¡± Victor turned to Va, and she shrugged, walking in the indicated direction. Victor walked along with her and cleared his throat.

    ¡°So, when are you going to, you know, tell me I shouldn¡¯t fight in the arena?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Va nced at him and narrowed her eyes slightly. ¡°Seems like your decision. Do you want my opinion?¡±

    ¡°I guess; I¡¯m kinda used to Tha telling me what I should and shouldn¡¯t do. Shit, that¡¯s not fair to Tha; there¡¯s Lam and Edeya and Rellia and Oyna¡ªyou get the idea.¡±

    ¡°I know how that feels. Let¡¯s see what we can find out and if you want my opinion after that, simply ask.¡± Va quickened her pace, and Victor whistled and grinned, matching her stride.

    When they came around the curve of the monumental, oval-shaped building, they saw more activity near another, smaller gate. A few people, human-sized and giant, milled about, talking with each other, looking at bulletin boards, and standing in line at a walk-up window where an arena employee stood behind a counter.

    As they approached, Va slowed to look at the bulletin boards, so Victor joined her. There were boards stered with advertisements for local businesses, boards promoting certain fighters, and boards promoting fights, uing and old¡ªit didn¡¯t look like the arena spent many resources clearing off old flyers. ¡°I don¡¯t recognize this date,¡± Va said, pointing to a poster advertising an uing tournament. ¡°I expected the System to trante the days and months into something I understood. It usually works that way, I think. Odd . . .¡±

    ¡°Why¡¯s that odd? I thought it was damn weird that you all have a seven-day week with Fridays, Saturdays, and all the other days we have in my home world.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I suppose it¡¯s all very ¡®odd¡¯ depending on how you look at it,¡± an old-looking, stooped, but still very tall Degh said, leaning close to Victor and Va. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that most System worlds share simr measurements for time, from seconds to years and that it has something to do with Elder races and the marks of civilization they left on the worlds they visited. Of course, it could be the System manipting things from the shadows . . .¡± He trailed off when he saw Victor¡¯s wide eyes and how he and Va turned to him with surprise.

    ¡°Excuse my interruption; I heard your conversation, and it¡¯s a topic that¡¯s always fascinated me.¡± He reached out a huge hand to Victor and added, ¡°I¡¯m Lorce; I was just here hoping to get an idea about the lineup for tomorrow¡¯s matches. Nothing¡¯s posted yet, though.¡±

    Victor reached out to ept the handshake, almost embarrassed by the way the other man¡¯s palm engulfed his entire hand. Still, Lorce didn¡¯t squeeze hard, and he had a very unassuming posture, leaning with one hand on arge, gnarled cane. ¡°Good to meet you; I¡¯m Victor, and this is Va. We¡¯re new around here, but what you were saying is interesting. How many days are in your week, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡±

    ¡°Why, seven!¡± he responded enthusiastically, his deep, resonant voice tainted by a slight lisp as his tongue found a significant gap in his teeth. It looked like Lorce might have been a fighter once, judging by his scars, missing fingers, and absent teeth.

    ¡°Oh, there goes my theory,¡± Va said. ¡°I thought maybe the names were different because you had a different system. What day is today?¡±

    ¡°Sunday; no fights on Sunday or Thursday,¡± the old giant said, gesturing to the Arena.

    ¡°Wait,¡± Va said and pointed to the poster she¡¯d been reading, ¡°This says the next fight is on Horc¡¯s Day.¡±

    ¡°Ha! Now I see the confusion! That¡¯s not a day of the week; that¡¯s a holiday. Horc is one of the founders of Coloss.¡± The man seemed nice, and Victor appreciated the info, but as he spoke, the scent of something rotten wafted toward Victor on his breath, and he had to fight to keep his expression neutral as he battled down the urge to gag. He wondered if Lorce had a rotten tooth or something.

    ¡°Hey, um, nice to meet you, Lorce, right? I¡¯m gonna go get in line,¡± he nced at Va and jerked his chin toward the line of people waiting to speak to the employee at the window.

    ¡°Oh, of course, youngster,¡± the old giant said, nodding his gray head and rubbing at his rough, stubbled chin. ¡°Will you be fighting tomorrow? Prizes will be special on a holiday!¡±

    ¡°Um, maybe!¡± Victor replied, stepping away and waving. Va hurried with him, but as they put a dozen feet or so between them and the older man, she frowned and spoke.

    ¡°Was something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you smell that guy¡¯s breath? I almost lost my breakfast,¡± Victor said, whispering hoarsely.

    ¡°No . . .¡± she frowned and shrugged. ¡°Interesting about the days, though, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and I¡¯ve noticed a few things like that on Fanwath. You guys have some different month names, though,¡± he paused and added, ¡°I mean different from my world, Earth. Like, what¡¯s the date we¡¯re supposed to meet Rellia?¡±

    ¡°The tenth of Tanewik.¡±

    ¡°See?¡± Victor grinned, stepping into line behind a man with red spines poking out through stitched holes in his armor, running up and down the center of his back, all the way to the top of his skull. ¡°There¡¯s no Tanewik on Earth, but we have other months I¡¯ve heard mentioned on Fanwath, like December.¡±

    ¡°Strange . . . how many months are there in a year on Earth?

    ¡°Twelve.¡±

    ¡°Same as Fanwath; maybe the different names for some of the months are due to tradition. They may have something to do with the names of historical events or people that the System doesn¡¯t trante as easily as other terms.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor said with a shrug. ¡°Makes sense, I guess.¡±

    The line moved slowly, at first, with the people near the front apparently having a lot to say to the clerk working at the window. As they got closer and closer to the front of the line, Victor tried to eavesdrop on the conversations and found that most of the people were signing up to fight on one date or another. It became apparent that the person at the window had some means of evaluating people and verifying they were trying topete in the correct tier. It was this evaluation process that slowed down the queue.

    Va stood beside him patiently, her eyes ever roving the shaded area they stood in near the gate, taking in the people, the signs, and the architecture in the distance. asionally, she¡¯d remark about something that stood out to her¡ªa tall clock tower, or a group of giant Degh tussling over a perceived insult by the nearby road, or a poster illustrating a monstrous-looking Vesh with a crown of horns and proiming him, ¡°Karnice - Undefeated Champion of the Arena.¡±

    They were next in line to step up to the window when a snarling voice said, from behind them, ¡°Whelps signing up together? The crowd won¡¯t like it if you go easy on each other.¡±

    Victor turned to see a Vesh woman with high, dog-like ears covered in short, velvety ck fur. She was tall, wiry, and had deep-set, pale brown eyes. Her dark hair was wavy and hung to her coppery, tanned shoulders, and if it weren¡¯t for the mean twist to her lips and the angry glint in her eyes, Victor might have called her pretty. She grinned when he looked her way, exposing enormous canines. As he opened his mouth to answer her question, Va beat him to it.

    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in the arena.¡±

    ¡°Oh? The pretty blue one isn¡¯t interested, men, sorry,¡± she snarled, turning back toward a few other Vesh lined up behind her. Some of them chuckled, but most snorted orpletely ignored her words. ¡°What about you, big Deshi?¡±

    Victor frowned, contemting the value of debating his ancestral origins with this woman. He decided it didn¡¯t matter; if it helped people to think of him as a Deshi, why did he care? Something stirred in his gut, though, and he felt the urge to straighten his back, and, almost unbidden, words came to his tongue.

    He looked down his nose at the Vesh woman; she was nearly as tall as he, and he could feel her aura, dark and crushing; he had the impression she was quite a few levels above him. Still, he grinned, pushed some rage into his pathways, and said, ¡°The blood of titans pumps through my veins; don¡¯t call me Deshi.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± her voice rose in instant hysteria. ¡°Did you hear that,ds? We¡¯ve got a titan on our hands!¡± Sheughed, and to Victor, it sounded like something that should being from a hyena¡¯s throat. Her words had a greater effect on the Vesh lined up behind her this time¡ªmany of them broke intoughter, and one of them walked forward and grabbed Victor¡¯s shoulder, pointing toward a Degh giant nearby.

    ¡°There¡¯s a titan, boy. If you get confused again, just go stand next to him or one of his kin; you¡¯re just a runt, Deshi.¡±

    Victor eyed the Vesh, a burly man with curly brown hair and theplexion and facial features of a pig¡ªliterally. He had bright pink flesh, soft fuzzy white and brown spotted facial hair, and a t nose with long tusks protruding from his lower lip. Victor¡¯s eyes traveled from the man¡¯s face to his thickly muscled arm and the ck nailed fingers that gripped his shoulder. An unreasonable surge of anger boiled in his gut, and he felt his Core re to life and feed red-hot Energy into his pathways.

    As his vision started to shade toward crimson and everything other than the man before him faded into blurry, inconsequential background noise, Victor reached up to the thick, hairy wrist and grabbed the meat of the man¡¯s thumb, just milliseconds away from twisting it into a vicious armlock. Before he acted, though, he felt Va¡¯s cool hand on his other wrist, and some of the redness bled from his vision as he realized what he was doing; he didn¡¯t want to get into a fight right there in the middle of the arena square¡ªwho was to say what the guards might do, or if the other Vesh nearby would join in against him.

    With an effort of will, he suppressed his rage and said, ¡°Hey, please keep your hands to yourself.¡± He carefully pulled the man¡¯s hand off his shoulder and then released it.

    ¡°Woah, watch out, Reege!¡± the woman said, ¡°Did you see his eyes? The pup was angry enough to bite!¡± That got someughter out of the surrounding crowd, and Victor was sorely tempted to say something snarky back or to cuss her out, but Va tugged at his wrist again and spoke.

    ¡°It¡¯s our turn,¡± she said, pointing to the window, and something in her tone indicated that this wasn¡¯t the first time she¡¯d said as much.

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor grunted, inhaling deeply and further cooling his rage. He turned away from the group of Vesh, but he couldn¡¯t tune out the woman¡¯s sharp voice chasing him to the window.

    ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll see you in the arena, whelp! You can show us what a titan you are!¡± Again, the woman¡¯s hyena-likeughter followed her words, and when he swallowed his reaction, it felt like a lump of hot magma sliding down his throat. Va didn¡¯t react, didn¡¯t say anything, but she kept her grip on his wrist as they stepped up to the window.

    ¡°Yes?¡± the thin, nearly human-looking man asked. He wore a uniform of sorts¡ªa ck bowler-style hat and a striped ck and white vest over a white cored shirt. He was pleasant looking and trim for a Vesh, and the only things that stood out, marking him as such, were the long, strange tufts of wiry whiskers that sprouted from the centers of his cheeks.

    Victor cleared his throat, trying to push the mockingughter from his mind. Though it echoed in his perceived reality, he knew it was all in his head at that point; the Vesh had quieted down as he and Va stepped up to the window. ¡°Hey, I need some info on the arena.¡±

    ¡°Right, what kind of info, mate? I¡¯m the only one here, and I haven¡¯t got time to pull all your questions out of you, okay?¡±

    ¡°What sorts of prizes can a low-tier win? I¡¯m trying to get ess to the City Stone.¡±

    ¡°Well, first, I¡¯d need to confirm you are low-tier. After that, I can sign you up topete, and there are a few options as far as that¡¯s concerned. For instance, if you¡¯re interested in prizes, you should consider signing up for tomorrow¡¯s festival matches. We have sixteen slots for low-tier fighters, and so far, we¡¯ve had thirty signups, so there¡¯s a good chance the arena master will choose you.¡±

    ¡°Festival matches?¡± Victor prompted.

    ¡°Yes, for Horc¡¯s Day! We have an open bracket tournament for low-tiers in the morning and then seeded brackets for mid-tiers in the afternoon. We¡¯ll wrap things up in the evening with two matches between high-tier champions!¡±

    ¡°And the prizes? For low-tiers, I mean,¡± Victor prompted, leaning forward, resting his elbows on the little counter outside the window.

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s a prize for winning in each bracket. Eight fights, then four, then two, then the championship, all fought before midday. Here,¡± the clerk said, handing Victor a flyer. ¡°The prizes are all listed here, but if you¡¯re interested, you should sign up and wait around; the arena master will make his selections within the hour.¡±

    ¡°How does he decide who will fight?¡± Va asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s his secret; only arena masters know how the selections are made.¡± While the clerk answered Va¡¯s question, Victor was perusing the list of prizes on the flyer, and his eyes bugged out as he read through them:

    Low-Tier Prizes:

    Round 1 - Coloss Prize Token Round 2 - Coloss Prize Token & Crypt Drake Gall dder* Semifinal Match - Coloss Prize Token & Rock Wyrm Magma Horn** Championship - Coloss Prize Token, wildcard seed in Gazra¡¯s Day Tournament, and Red Spinefiend Heart***

    *Known to enhance (permanently) the strength and vitality of those who consume it in a properly prepared alchemical mixture.

    **When ground and consumed in a distilled tincture, known to provide breakthroughs in Core development.

    ***Known to pull forth threads of the consumer¡¯s bloodline or racial ancestry when eaten whole and raw.

    ¡°So, if I win all four matches, I walk away with four prize tokens plus all the other prizes?¡± he asked, interrupting the clerk¡¯s response to something Va had asked.

    ¡°Sure, but there will be some heavypetition . . .¡±

    ¡°And why would I need more than one? Don¡¯t they just allow ess to the City Stone?¡±

    ¡°Uh, no,¡± the clerk replied with a chuckle. ¡°You need a token to get to the City Stone, sure, but once there, you can turn them in for, you know, prizes.¡±

    ¡°Oh, what if we just want to use the Stone to teleport home?¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm, sure, that¡¯s one of the rewards in the Prize Store, but I think you need more than one token for that; I¡¯ve never looked into it myself, so I¡¯m notpletely sure.¡±

    ¡°Hey, are you shit stains about done?¡± the Vesh woman called out from behind Victor. He felt his shoulders tense, and he almost turned around, but he took a breath and ignored the insult.

    ¡°Sign me up; might as well see if the arena master chooses me.¡±

    ¡°Fights are known to be quite vicious in holiday tournaments . . .¡± the clerk said, but trailed off as he saw the anger in Victor¡¯s eyes; he didn¡¯t know the fury wasn¡¯t directed his way. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be all right, though.¡±

    Victor nced at Va, but she had a vacant, distant look in her eyes and didn¡¯t offer him any objections. The clerk cleared his throat, and Victor looked back to see he was holding out a gray stone orb. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°It tests whether you¡¯re trying to fight in the correct tier. Hold it in your hand, and I¡¯ll do the rest. The orb is a non-invasive way for us to measure potential fighters that doesn¡¯t expose any of your exact abilities, affinities, or otherwisepromise any secrets you might have about your fighting prowess.¡± He held it out a bit further, and Victor shrugged, taking the heavy, smooth, perfectly round rock. It was cool to the touch, and Victor struggled to hold it above the counter; it felt very much like the stone was trying to pull itself to the ground and him along with it.

    The clerk reached out one finger to touch the stone, and then it began to grow warm. Victor watched, his forearm muscles straining to keep the orb aloft and his elbow painfully grinding into the wooden countertop. ¡°You can rest your hand against the counter, sir,¡± the clerk said as he studied the orb, waiting for something to happen.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Victor said, happily letting his knuckles rest against the counter as the orb continued to grow warmer. As he watched, the gray surface started to lighten and glow with a steady orange-yellow luminescence. Eventually, the stone resembled a lightbulb, and Victor had to squint to look directly at it. The clerk nodded, but that wasn¡¯t the end; the orb began to pulse, slowly at first, but then more rapidly, and it looked to Victor like the clerk was timing the pulses.

    After a minute or two, the clerk reached out and took the orb, and as he touched it, it seemed like someone had taken a hundred pounds off Victor¡¯s hand. ¡°Very good. You¡¯re definitely in the low-tier, but your potency is nearly off the chart. The arena master will be happy with your ticket, I think.¡± With that, the clerk scribbled some notes on an official, gold-leaf piece of decorative cardstock and handed it to Victor. ¡°Present this to the arena master when they open the gates.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Victor said, taking the ticket and moving to the side, consciously refusing to nce at the line behind him.

    ¡°That was interesting,¡± Va said, reaching out a hand. ¡°Could I see the ticket?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Victor handed it to her, and she read the notes the clerk had written aloud, ¡°T-3, ****, 54 ppm.¡± She shrugged and handed it back. ¡°So?¡± he asked, watching her face closely, ¡°Any objections?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll admit to some stress,¡± Va replied, leaning a shoulder against the stone of the arena. Her back was to the clerk¡¯s window, and the people lined up, waiting to speak to him, making it easy for Victor to see what the hostile Vesh woman was doing, but he ignored her and her friends and focused on Va.

    ¡°Stress about me dying in an arena on some distant before I can return to Fanwath and perform my duties for Rellia?¡± Victor grinned sardonically, trying to lighten the tone of his words.

    ¡°Well, sure. I¡¯m not going to berate you with things you already know¡ªRellia¡¯s campaign, the thousands of people dependent on it being sessful, what might happen to me in this strange world if you were to die . . . shall I go on?¡±

    Victor opened his mouth to reply, scrambling for a response, but she held up a hand, ¡°I also know that we¡¯ll never get back to Fanwath without some risk. It sounds like we¡¯ll need more than one Prize Token to teleport, so we should explore many avenues. There are also the mitigating factors¡ªit doesn¡¯t sound like the arena fights have to be to the death, and I know you¡¯re strong for your level, freakishly so. Even that little clerk seemed impressed by his test.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of teleporting, I had a thought earlier,¡± Victor said. ¡°What are the odds we could find a wizard or something who can open a portal for us? Do we really need to go through the City Stone?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Victor. Nobody I know on Fanwath has the ability to do what Boaegh did; I¡¯m not sure he made that portal, but I know such things are possible. I just don¡¯t know how it works or who to speak to about it. I suppose that¡¯s another avenue we should pursue, though! Perhaps at our dinner party tonight, we could ask around.¡±

    ¡°Shit, I almost forgot about that . . .¡± Victor started to say, but then he heard the sound of metal nking and a shout from the small gate near the clerk¡¯s booth.

    ¡°Anyone with a fight ticket, get in here!¡±

    Victor nced at Va, and she nodded to him.¡°I¡¯ll watch from here; it doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s taking you anywhere, just in that hallway.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor nodded and walked toward the little gate where an enormous, heavily muscled Degh stood. He wore very fine-looking clothing¡ªshiny polished boots, silky ck cks, and a perfectly pressed, fitted white, buttoned shirt with a richly embroidered silver and ck cape hanging from his shoulders. He had neatly trimmed red hair and a matching beard, and if it weren¡¯t for his size, Victor would have thought he was just a very handsome, very fit human.

    ¡°Line up along the passage wall there! I¡¯ve got sixteen slots and, ording to my list, thirty-seven fighters. Have your fight ticket ready when I get to you!¡± He strode away from the gate and into the long, arched corridor that presumably led into the arena''s sections where fighters were meant to prepare for their bouts.

    Victor stood against the stone block wall next to the Vesh he¡¯d seen earlier, the one with the red spines poking out of his armor. He thought he¡¯d imed an end spot, but a Degh woman wearing bone-ted leather armor and smelling like she¡¯d been sweating for a few days without a bath stood on his other side. ¡°Hey,¡± she said, surprising him with a friendly smile. She had long, curly blond hair, and her face, though crisscrossed with faint white scars, was young and open. Still, she made Victor feel like a runt as she nced down at him and said, ¡°I¡¯m Kreecia¡ªhope I don¡¯t have to fight you.¡±

    ¡°Uh, Victor. Same here,¡± Victor replied, wondering if that was a standard way to greet other contenders. The Vesh next to himpletely ignored him, so he doubted it.

    ¡°All right! Keep quiet! I have a hard enough time making these decisions without anyughing and bickering.¡± The arena master started at the other end of the line, pausing by each fighter, looking at their ticket and, seemingly, staring into their eyes before moving on. He spoke softly to each fighter, but it wasn¡¯t until he was talking to the Vesh next to Victor that he heard some of the questions.

    ¡°Been in the arena before?¡±

    ¡°Nar,¡± said the Vesh.

    ¡°Scared of dying?¡±

    ¡°Er, nah,¡± the Vesh said, but even Victor could hear the hesitation. The arena master just grunted, then stared for a long minute at the Vesh, his gaze wandering from his feet to his eyes and lingering there for a long while. Then he stepped over in front of Victor.

    ¡°Ticket,¡± he said, and Victor held it out. He looked at it for a couple of seconds, then said, ¡°Name?¡±

    ¡°Victor.¡±

    ¡°Deshi?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m from another world.¡± Victor shrugged at the man¡¯s upraised eyebrow.

    ¡°Ever fought in the arena before?¡±

    ¡°Not this one.¡±

    ¡°Fought in others?¡±

    ¡°Lots of ¡®em.¡±

    ¡°Scared of dying?¡±

    ¡°More scared of dying alone,¡± Victor replied, having thought about the question when he heard it asked of his neighbor.

    ¡°Interesting,¡± the man said, leaning down to look closely into Victor¡¯s eyes. It was hard for Victor to maintain that gaze; the arena master exuded a powerful aura, and though Victor could feel him restraining it, it weighed on him, pressing him back toward the stone wall. His instinct was to look down, to avoid the stare of this powerful being. With an effort of will, he stiffened his spine and looked into the man¡¯s deep, pale blue eyes.

    It felt like hours that he fought to hold that gaze, but he knew it was only seconds before the arena master nodded and stepped away, moving in front of Kreecia to evaluate her. While he waited for the arena master to finish and make his decisions, Victor was struck with an urge to look at his status sheet, so he pulled it up:

    Status

    Name:

    Victor Sandoval

    Race:

    Human (Quinametzin Bloodline) - Improved 4

    ss:

    Spirit Carver - Epic

    Level:

    35

    Core:

    Spirit ss - Improved 1

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Inspiration 7.4

    Energy:

    3236/3236

    Strength:

    135

    Vitality:

    140

    Dexterity:

    40

    Agility:

    63

    Intelligence:

    32

    Will:

    315

    Points Avable:

    8

    Titles & Feats:

    Titanic Rage, me-Touched

    As usual, he was struggling with what to do with his free points. His will had grown monstrous inparison to his other attributes, and he wondered if he should be building up something else. He knew Oyna would tell him to keep working on his will, but wouldn¡¯t it be wise to get a second opinion? Maybe from a master from another world, someone impossibly powerful by Fanwath¡¯s standards? He decided to hold onto those points and see what he could learn, starting with Va¡¯s dinner party.

    ¡°Listen for your names!¡± the arena master hollered. ¡°The fighters for tomorrow¡¯s low-tier tournament are Kreecia, Victor, Harf, Ne, Krafe, Ronno, Porist of Coloss,¡± he paused and looked at a Degh that had started to pump his fist in the air and shouted, ¡°not Porist of Domrak!¡± the huge Degh lowered his fist and, with a crestfallen slump of his huge shoulders started to walk away. ¡°Garl, Rekka, Jast of Thubia, Yarge, Krista, Jojar, Durg, Leena, and Sanima.¡±

    Lots of cheering, back thumping, and exmations of rage and frustration echoed around the tunnel. The arena master held up his clipboard and shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t try to change any of this or bargain with me! It¡¯s set in the master book! If your name wasn¡¯t called, clear out and don¡¯t start trouble, or I¡¯ll settle you myself!¡± With that, he unleashed his aura, and the crushing weight of it silenced the rabble.

    After most of the people had cleared out, and Victor turned to make his way back toward Va, a familiar, sharp, sneering voice caught Victor¡¯s attention, ¡°Congrattions. I hope we¡¯re matched up tomorrow. Know my name¡ªKrista.¡± The woman with the German shepherd ears was standing next to him and grinning, exposing those sharp canines.

    ¡°Here¡¯s hoping,¡± Victor replied, matching her grin.

 Chapter [NaN]

    Chapter [NaN]

    ¡°We don¡¯t have to visit the Elementalist Guild today,¡± Va said as they walked away from the arena. ¡°We¡¯re due to go to the War Captain¡¯s dinner in a couple of hours.¡±

    ¡°What else are we gonna do? No, I think this is important, and you¡¯ve been patient with me while I messed around here. Come on, aren¡¯t you excited? It¡¯s a whole guild dedicated to your kind of magic! Do they even have those on Fanwath?¡±

    ¡°There are guilds of practitioners, but none that specialize in elemental magic, at least none that I know of. I suppose there might be private groups in some of the academies . . .¡± She trailed off, her eyes going kind of vacant as she searched her memory.

    ¡°You see? Tomorrow you¡¯ll be busy cheering for me in the arena, and who knows what¡¯ll happen after that. Let¡¯s at least stop by.¡± Victor dashed across the busy street that ran alongside the arena, trying to follow Gorz¡¯s instructions to the guild house Livag had told them about.

    ¡°This way, Gorz?¡± he asked, turning up a less crowded, upward-slopingne. Gorz didn¡¯t reply at first, so he repeated the question.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct, Victor.¡±

    ¡°You okay, buddy?¡±

    ¡°I feel the same as when west spoke. When was that? It feels like years . . .¡±

    ¡°Gorz, I asked you for directions about ten minutes ago.¡±

    ¡°My apologies. How strange . . .¡±

    ¡°Something wrong?¡± Va asked, and Victor realized he¡¯d been scowling while he spoke to the amulet.

    ¡°Yeah, actually. The spirit in my amulet, you know, the one that memorizes maps and documents and, well, everything¡ªhe¡¯s kind of losing it. He feels like he¡¯s being pulled, like his bindings to the amulet are fading, and every time I speak to him, he acts like it¡¯s been years.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m no Artificer, but maybe we could visit one here that might be able to help.¡±

    ¡°Not a bad idea at all. We should do some shopping here, anyway¡ªI imagine, in a world with so many high-tier Energy users, shops like that are going to have some good magical items for sale.¡±

    The road they were walking along was less busy than the other streets they¡¯d visited, and Victor noted that the architecture was starting to look a little more refined. Tall, more delicate structures with towers capped with colorful tile became more and moremon, and Victor noted that none of them were sized for the Degh giants.

    ¡°Seems like a wealthier part of the city,¡± Va said, echoing his thoughts.

    ¡°Yeah, and maybe older? Livag said this wasn¡¯t a Degh city, so maybe that¡¯s why this section doesn¡¯t have buildings sized for them.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps. We¡¯re climbing upward, so you would presume the city started up this way, and as it expanded, it stretched down the hill and into the surrounding country.¡± Va turned back and gestured the way they¡¯de, and it was evident they¡¯d gained a lot of altitude, more than Victor had realized. The tops of buildings and tightly packed streets stretched out below them for miles, right up to the edge of the enormous walls that surrounded the city.

    ¡°How many streets have we passed since we started up this one?¡±

    ¡°Four, I think. No, five,¡± Va said, looking back the way they¡¯de again.

    ¡°Okay, the guild¡¯s supposed to be up around the next corner on the left.¡± Victor led the way, turning past a storefront disying beautifully woven rugs, then down a broad avenue with very light traffic. The pedestrians in the area were almost all Vesh, though a few of the snake people, the Yazzians, walked here and there in their typical hooded robes woven from muted earth-toned fabrics. ¡°Gorz? The Elementalist Guild¡¯s on this street, right?¡±

    ¡°Victor! Are you still seeking that guild? My instructions must have been unclear; my apologies. From the corner, it¡¯s supposed to be the seventh building on the left.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Gorz, and your instructions are fine.¡± Victor wanted to tell him it had only been a few minutes since hest spoke to him, but he was starting to feel like a broken record. It didn¡¯t seem to do any good to remind the amulet of the correct passage of time.

    He continued walking, looking back to count the buildings he¡¯d passed, and when he came to the seventh structure, he stopped and looked at the tall brick wall with wrought iron arches and gates. The central gate was open on one side, so he started forward, hoping to get a better look at the building.

    A gust of air rushed up before him, creating a sort of swirling curtain of air that reminded Victor of a dust devil, though with less dirt. Unlike a dust devil, it didn¡¯t move, hanging in the air before him. A crackling, electric voice said, ¡°Hold, stranger! I detect no elemental Energy at your Core.¡±

    ¡°Uh . . .¡± Victor grunted, backing up a step, not sure what to say.

    ¡°I seek entry,¡± Va said, stepping forward, and again the voice crackled out of the swirling wind, ¡°You may pass, Elementalist.¡±

    ¡°May I bring mypanion?¡±

    ¡°You are permitted a guest. Hostilities will not be tolerated within,¡± the voice said, its weird, static-like nature giving Victor goosebumps at the nape of his neck.

    ¡°Understood,¡± Va replied, and the wind suddenly died away, leaving a clear passage through the arched gateway to the stone paved walkway that led to the tall, narrow brick structure within. Victor counted the stories as he followed Va through the courtyard,ing up with six distinct sets of windows. The peaked gables at the top were capped in brilliant turquoise tiles.

    Victor allowed his eyes to drift down and noticed that all the shrubs and flower bushes in the garden were manicured into the shapes of wild creatures. Fountains burbled weingly, and, to his amazement, Victor saw one fountain¡¯s water rise up from the cid pool in its base and take the shapes of a pair of dancing, translucent people. ¡°Pretty cool,¡± he said, jostling Va¡¯s shoulder and pointing.

    ¡°Beautiful,¡± she breathed, a rare smile touching her lips. Then she turned and climbed the short flight of stairs to the canopy-covered front doors of the building, and when she reached for the handle, they opened inward, seemingly at their own impetus. Victor followed her into the foyer of the building, where a broad, gleaming hardwood floor led into a vaulted, round room with hallways leading off in every direction. An intricately carved spiral staircase led up to the exposedndings of the upper levels, its wood made to look like flowering vines, branches, and roots.

    A young woman wearing pale yellow robes approached them from one of the side passages, and though she was clearly a Vesh with a pair of short, ivory horns, she reminded Victor of one of his old ssmates¡ªSierra Harwick. She looked so much like her that Victor felt struck by deja vu, and for a heartbeat, his mind skipped back to thest time he¡¯d been in school, and he felt perplexed and lost¡ªlike when a person wakes up in a strange bed, momentarily forgetting how they¡¯d gotten there.

    ¡°Wee,¡± the woman said, pressing her hands together and bowing slightly as she walked toward them. Her attention was wholly on Va.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Va replied.

    ¡°How can we help you today, Mistress? Are you seeking to join the ranks of the Elementalist Guild?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps, though, I primarily came here for advice. I¡¯m new to this world and understand that there¡¯s much I could learn from the masters here.¡± Va¡¯s diction never failed to impress Victor, and he stood quietly, sure he¡¯d say the wrong thing or be kicked out if he interrupted.

    ¡°Advice is freely given by many of the masters that make their home here. What topic, if I may ask, do you seek elucidation upon? I¡¯ll more easily take you to the correct person if you can share such information.¡± The woman spoke in a sort of sing-song that felt both pleasant and forced to Victor, and he wasn¡¯t sure what to think of her. Was she a servant? Was she an Elementalist herself? She didn¡¯t give him the impression of a powerful aura like he¡¯d felt from the arena master or even some of the potentialpetitors.

    ¡°I seek advice to better my Core, my abilities, and my potential for my next ss refinement. My world is less practiced in these areas than this one. I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ll be here, but our hope,¡± she indicated Victor with a tilt of her head, ¡°is to leave fairly soon.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t wish to remain on Zaafor?¡± The woman frowned, pursing her bright red lips, almost in a pout.

    ¡°No, we have obligations we must see to back home,¡± Va replied, ever stoic in the face of feigned emotion. Victor found himself opening his mouth, about to step into the conversation, and he realized he was going to say something flirty. He mped his mouth shut and carefully arranged his face in a neutral expression¡ªthey were here for Va, and he needed to let her handle things.

    ¡°Well, I believe I feel a hint of an air-affinity about you. Is there something more?¡±

    Va shifted ufortably and stole a nce at Victor. He broke his determination to stay out of things and gave her a brief nod. She nodded back and said, ¡°I also have an affinity for iron.¡±

    ¡°Iron? Oh, intriguing! I know just the Elementalist to bring you to. Follow me please,¡± the woman reached up to tuck a curly strand of blond hair behind an ear and, as she walked toward the spiral staircase, she gave Victor a look and said, ¡°Will you be bringing your . . .panion? I could show him to the parlor.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll attend me.¡± Va¡¯s tone didn¡¯t brook any argument, and the woman nodded, continuing on her way. Victor¡¯s mouth fell open again, and he wanted to ask Va what the fuck she meant by ¡°attend,¡± but, again, he mped it shut and followed along.

    As they walked, the woman said, ¡°My name is Camia. Might I ask yours, mistress?¡±

    ¡°Va,¡± she said, and nothing more. Victor wasn¡¯t surprised. They climbed the stairs past twondings, and then their guide led them down a long, broad, wood-paneled hallway past several doors, stopping at a lovely set of double doors made from some sort of cherry-colored wood. Camia straightened up, cleared her throat, and knocked politely.

    ¡°Elementalist Troft is a master of iron and fire. Hopefully, he isn¡¯t engaged in anything that cannot be interrupted . . .¡± Camia began to say but was stopped as the door opened slightly.

    ¡°Hello, Camia,¡± said a young man in an orange robe, much like Camia¡¯s yellow one.

    ¡°Ry, hello yourself! This is Mistress Va, and she seeks an audience with Master Troft.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Something important?¡± Ry asked, still holding the door partially closed, only exposing his rather mousy face. Victor couldn¡¯t really have described him, though; his attention was focused on the fact that Ry had sharp quills all over his head rather than hair.

    ¡°Important to Lady Va, yes. Nothing that should trouble your master, though. Is he avable?¡±

    ¡°I believe so. Pleasee in,¡± Ry replied, stepping back and pulling the door wide. The room beyond was a simple but spacious sitting area lined with couches, bookshelves, and a pair of desks upying one corner. ¡°Please have a seat,¡± Ry said, gesturing toward a couch and then adding, ¡°I¡¯ll tell Master Troft that you¡¯re waiting.¡±

    ¡°Very well,¡± Camia said, then she stepped to the side and, as Ry walked through a doorway in the opposite wall, said, ¡°You should be in good hands with Elementalist Troft. Pleasee down to the foyer if you need anything else, and I¡¯ll be d to assist you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Camia.¡± Va nodded her head and then walked over to the flower-patterned couch. Victor followed, offering Camia a smile, perhaps because he felt Va should have done so, but the woman ignored him, slipping back through the door and closing it behind her. Victor sat down next to Va, and she said, ¡°So far, everyone¡¯s been very polite. I¡¯m worried there¡¯s somethinging¡ªa binding contract, an exorbitant fee, or some such.¡±

    ¡°Well, try to stay positive,¡± Victor said, enjoying not being in the driver¡¯s seat for a change.

    Va looked ready to say something more, but the door opened, and a man wearing brilliant red, manyyered robes stepped through. He was tall and lean, his cheek and skull bones evident on his clean-shaven head and face. He was a Vesh, Victor was sure, because he had great, green-scaled wings folded at his back, and his eyes were bright yellow with vertical pupils. ¡°Hello,¡± he said, walking toward the couch. His voice was warm and mellow, and his eyes squinted as he smiled, reaching a hand out to Va.

    Va stood up and took his hand, ¡°Pleased to meet you. I¡¯m Va ap¡¯Yensha from the world of Fanwath.¡± She nced at Victor, still sitting down, and added, ¡°This is mypanion, Victor.¡±

    Troft had eyes only for Va,pletely ignoring Victor as he scratched his chin and said, ¡°Fanwath. Hmm, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve heard of that one. What brings you to Coloss?¡±

    ¡°An ident,¡± Va said truthfully. ¡°We were battling a mage in our world who¡¯d created a portal to this world. He forced me through the portal, and Victor came through to aid me.¡± Troft finally gave Victor a solid nce as she exined, and his eyes narrowed in momentary confusion.

    ¡°Ah! At first nce, I thought yourpanion was a Deshi. I see I was mistaken. Good of you to chase your mistress into the unknown that way,d.¡±

    ¡°My . . .¡± Victor started to say, then sighed and said, ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°While we¡¯re stranded here, I thought I should take advantage of the greater knowledge of elemental magic in this world. It¡¯s be apparent to me that my power is rathercking for my level.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm,¡± Troft said, rubbing his chin and looking closely at Va. He looked around, and his gaze settled on a nearby chair that he pulled over so he could sit directly in front of her. He stared at her for a long minute, enough that Victor was starting to feel ufortable, but Va sat there stoically, staring directly back at the Elementalist. ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± he said after a long while, ¡°air and an earth affinity, aha, iron. Just like me! Well, as far as the iron goes.¡±

    ¡°You have a good eye,¡± Va said, nodding.

    ¡°What level are you, Va? I¡¯d guess something like thirty?¡±

    ¡°Fifty-two,¡± Va replied, frowning.

    ¡°Oh dear,¡± he said frowning, ¡°Yes, I see how that¡¯s a problem. Your auracks the appropriate weight. Have you not been building your will and intelligence attributes?¡±

    ¡°I was raised in a martial family and have taken sses that primarily boosted my physical attributes.¡±

    ¡°Ahh,¡± Troft nodded, ¡°a pity, but nothing a dozen levels focused on the right things won¡¯t fix. You¡¯ve got your work cut out for you during this tier, though¡ªyou¡¯ll want to ensure you get the right kind of refinement at tier-six.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard simr from others I¡¯ve spoken to, but I don¡¯t know how to proceed.¡±

    ¡°Does your current ss give you any unbound attribute points at each level?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a Sword Dancer, and no, my agility, dexterity, and vitality are each improved with my levels.¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯ll need to seek alchemical mixtures and natural treasures to improve your mental attributes as much as possible until level sixty. You¡¯ll want to focus your time on improving your Core. What¡¯s your Core¡¯s current level?¡±

    ¡°Improved-nine.¡± Her answer surprised Victor. He¡¯d thought she was miles ahead of him, but he was already nearing Improved-two.

    ¡°Ah! So low? By tier-five, your Core should be in the advanced stages.¡± Those words caused Va¡¯s eyes to widen, and Victor felt his own heart start to beat as a bit of panic touched his mind¡ªhe felt like he was listening to a teacher exining how he should have mastered College Algebra a long time ago. ¡°You¡¯ll want to really work on that. Buy Core enhancements, spend time cultivating,¡± he paused and then continued, his voice stern and emphasizing his words, ¡°much more time than you spend on swordwork!¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t weapon skills important . . .¡±

    ¡°Of course, but with your affinities, you¡¯ll be able to enhance your weapon skills far beyond what you can do with natural skills.¡±

    ¡°Really? The impression I got from Elementalists back home was that iron and air were a terrible pair, that they conflict.¡±

    Troft looked at Va, raising his eyebrows, and then heughed, a deep rich bellyugh. He leaned back in his chair and seemed to give in to it, literally holding his sides andughing until tears sprang from his eyes. Victor couldn¡¯t help smiling with him, and though he didn¡¯t know what was funny, a chuckle of his own escaped his lips, breaking his silent streak.

    Va didn¡¯tugh. She didn¡¯t even smile. She frowned at Victor, then at Troft, and said, ¡°I wish I knew what was funny.¡±

    ¡°Oh dear,¡± Troft said, wiping at his cheeks and finally calming enough to speak, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but that was the first goodugh I¡¯ve had in years, and I wanted to embrace it.¡±

    Va stared at him until he continued, ¡°The Elementalists on your world are either lying to you, or you¡¯ve only spoken to abject idiots.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Va¡¯s frown began to fade.

    ¡°Yes! Iron and air are a powerfulbination of affinities. I¡¯ve a dozen spells I could teach you that use both elements to great effect. Do you not know how to weave your air affinity into electricity?¡±

    ¡°Weave it into . . .¡± Va said softly, absently scratching at one pale green eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯ve been taught that if I wanted to weave my Energies, I would have to weave iron with air and that it was impossible because they are opposing elements.¡±

    ¡°Gods! Is that true? Are they really so backward?¡± Troft leaned forward and took Va¡¯s hand, ¡°Iron is an excellent match for an air affinity, but first, you must convert the form of your air energy into electricity. It¡¯s really not hard, Va. I know a spell that will grant your sword tremendous speed and enhance its damage. There¡¯s a spell that will let you warp from one part of a battlefield to another. Both use air-attuned Energy but in the form of electricity. Just as a water affinity can take the form of ice or mist, and earth can take the shape of stone or soil, so too can air take the shape of electricity. You didn¡¯t know this?¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Va started to say, then shook her head and continued, ¡°I¡¯m a fool. I know there are mages that cast lightning spells and that they have air affinities. I never learned them, and I never thought to try changing the shape of my Energy to mix it with my iron affinity. I was warned off mixing air with iron, but I should have pursued it further. I should have spoken to more experts.¡±

    ¡°Tut, don¡¯t be hard on yourself, youngster. It sounds to me that the people in your life who had an influence over you were steering you away from such things, no? I¡¯m sure you¡¯d have figured things out eventually; I¡¯m just d I could help you avoid some painful mistakes going forward.¡± He watched as Va¡¯s frown deepened, but she nodded, and Victor knew what she was thinking¡ªfor all her help and guidance, Rellia had messed Va up by pushing her to master the sword and forego the other aspects of her affinities.

    ¡°What must I do to learn some of your spells, Master Troft?¡± Va asked, her voice quiet but determined.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you two things for free, Va. I¡¯ll show you the weave to turn air into electricity, and I¡¯ll give you one spell. After that, if you want more teaching, I¡¯ll need something from you.¡±

    ¡°What do . . .¡± Va started to ask, but Master Troft held up a hand, and she stopped speaking.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about what my fee might be, not yet. Master what I give you; if you want more, we can speak. I think this will keep you busy for a long while because just knowing how to make electricity from your air affinity will allow you to alter the skills and spells you already know. Oh, dear! I said I was only going to give you two things, and here I am giving you clues to pursue so many more . . .¡± He chuckled as Va¡¯s eyes widened. Victor couldn¡¯t help himself and bumped an elbow into Va¡¯s shoulder, grinning like a fool at her good news.

    Va ignored Victor and stood, bowing before the Elementalist and saying, ¡°Thank you very much, Master Troft.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re quite wee, Va. How would it look if I didn¡¯t help a young Elementalist, the first visitor I know of from a new world? Wait here, won¡¯t you? I¡¯ll have one of my assistants write out the weave and the spell pattern. Come back and let me know when you¡¯ve mastered them.¡± With that, he stood, patted Va in aradely fashion on the shoulder, and exited the way he¡¯de.

    ¡°That¡¯s some pretty cool shit,¡± Victor said when they were alone. ¡°You never knew you could make electricity from air?¡±

    ¡°I knew it, but I thought it had to do with the spells you cast; all the spells I learned used simple air-attuned Energy.¡± She looked at Victor and said, ¡°What about you? Are there other forms of your affinities?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I think so. I mean, I know so¡ªI can twist my inspiration-attuned Energy into discouragement.¡± Victor¡¯s eyes squinted as his thoughts began to race, ¡°I never thought about it, but I wonder if I can twist rage into the opposite form like that? What the fuck would it be anyway? What¡¯s the opposite of rage? Peace?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know . . . happiness?¡± Va shrugged. ¡°I think you should do some experimenting when we have some time. I¡¯ll have plenty to keep me busy, it sounds like.¡± Victor nodded, still deep in thought and only half registering her words.

    He thought about how he¡¯d used his inspiration-attuned Energy when he cast Project Spirit; Victor had never been taught any sort of pattern to twist it the way he did. In a way, it was instinctual. Something told him twisting rage in a simr way wouldn¡¯t be so easy. When he projected rage, he stripped out aspects of it, taking away the benefits to strength and healing, but it was still rage.

    They both sat quietly, lost in their own thoughts, until the door opened, and Ry stepped through, holding two tightly-bound paper scrolls. ¡°Lady, the master sends these with hispliments. I¡¯m instructed to let you know that you¡¯re wee here any time and that he wishes you great sess.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Va said, standing up and epting the two scrolls.

    ¡°Now, allow me to show you out,¡± Ry said, moving to the exit and pulling open the door. ¡°The stairway is just down the hallway to the right.¡±

    When Victor and Va descended the grand staircase, Va was deep in thought, and Victor spent time ogling the architecture¡ªthe high, arched windows, the beautifully carved wood, from the balustrade to the lintels to the doors themselves, and the way the space just seemed so grand, so vast. He wondered if the building wasrger inside than outside, and he chuckled, ¡°Of course it is,¡± he said, remembering that it was the home of a guild of powerful wizards.

    Camia greeted them at the bottom of the stairs and asked, ¡°Was Master Troft able to help you?¡±

    ¡°Very much so,¡± Va said, nodding. ¡°Thank you, Camia.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re quite wee! You should know I¡¯ve earned several merits with the guild for my assistance to you. So, it¡¯s you I should be thanking for the opportunity.¡± Camia smiled broadly as she spoke and opened the front door for them.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Va said as they exited. ¡°An intriguing system.¡±

    Victor couldn¡¯t help himself and said, ¡°Nice to meet you, Camia,¡± on his way out. The woman smiled and nodded at him, and that was that; they were outside, and Camia had closed the door behind them. Va didn¡¯t linger, walking straight down the path, out the gate, and then finally turning to Victor.

    ¡°That was nerve-wracking. Thank you for apanying me.¡±

    ¡°It was? I thought it was pretty rxing. I didn¡¯t know you were stressing out.¡±

    ¡°Well, I was. I¡¯ve avoided seeking help from mages in the past. I think the news I¡¯ve gotten through Rellia¡¯s ¡®experts¡¯ dissuaded me on the subject. I¡¯ve focused on swordwork because that¡¯s where my talent seemed to be, but I¡¯ve worried it was a great mistake which made me fear I¡¯d hear some bad news in there,¡± she gestured toward the Elementalist Guild. ¡°I was afraid they¡¯d say something that would destroy any hopes I¡¯ve been harboring in here.¡± She touched her chest over her heart.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m d it was good news,¡± Victor said, surprising himself with a yawn and stretching. ¡°Guess we¡¯re about out of time,¡± he pointed to the orange sky in the west where the sun was setting. ¡°Dinner time, soon. What do you think we should wear?¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 6: Blue

    Book 4: Chapter 6: Blue

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you wanted to change inns,¡± Va said as they made their way back to the Arena District.

    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t you think we could stand to have a little more space? Maybe a bath inside our rooms? Anyway, Livag told me how to find his cousin¡¯s inn. Wait . . . maybe it was his sister, I can¡¯t remember. Anyway, her name was Brecia, and her inn is called The Sunset Songbird.¡± Victor hopped over a fallen, partially full sack of grain some wagon or cart had let fall on the side of the road.

    ¡°A pretty name. It seems the people of Coloss enjoy poetic titles.¡±

    ¡°That or they really like sunsets,¡± Victor replied, thinking of the name of the monster huntingpany they¡¯d signed on with. He nced at Va and changed the subject, ¡°Are you nervous?¡±

    She jerked her head his way and narrowed her eyes, ¡°About?¡±

    ¡°Your big dinner tonight.¡± He chuckled and grinned, letting her know he was just messing around.

    ¡°Ancestors! I know you¡¯re teasing me, but yes, I¡¯m a bit nervous. I hate formal affairs, and though Rellia dragged me to many, I often found myself slipping away early. Promise me something¡ªif I look to be having a terrible time, will you make an excuse for us to leave? I¡¯m not good at such things.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Victor was surprised by her admission. ¡°Yeah, I can do that. I mean, I¡¯ve got an arena fight tomorrow morning. I can¡¯t very well be outte, can I?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s an excellent point, Victor,¡± Vaughed, reaching out to delicately pat him on the shoulder as though granting him a point.

    ¡°The square¡¯s just up here, and I saw the inn on our way out earlier. It¡¯s right around this corner.¡± He quickened his pace, and Va easily matched it. The Arena Square had grown busier since their earlier visit, but they didn¡¯t have to fight the crowd much; they rounded the corner, walked for half a block, and then stood before a burnt-orange-bricked building that rose several stories over the cobbles of the square.

    A stable building took up the lot next to the inn, but having no mounts of their own, Victor and Va walked past the waiting stablehands and approached the liveried doorman. He was a Vesh with ck horns and wore a fancy, brass-buttoned, maroon coat over ck, velvety trousers. As they walked up, he said, ¡°Wee to the Sunset Songbird,¡± and opened the human-sized door wide for them.

    ¡°No Degh allowed, I guess,¡± Victor said quietly to Va as they walked into the bustling lobby. Vesh and Yazzian people moved about, some chatting noisily and others walking here and there, toward the stairs or through the arched opening that led to themon room. A long counter stood off to one side, and behind it, Victor saw several people that must serve as the innkeepers on duty.

    Stringed instruments could be heard ying in themon room, and the music drifted through the air. That,bined with the hanging nts and the bright light filtered through stained ss, lent a peaceful atmosphere to the room. Spices hung heavy in the air, the scent of good cooking if Victor were any judge, and his mouth began to salivate. ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten since breakfast,¡± he announced, and Va snorted.

    ¡°Save your appetite. We¡¯re going to dinner soon, remember?¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor grunted, approaching one of the Veshdies behind the counter. The floor was tiled in pale brown stone, and the walls were coated in something like sto, and Victor felt like the ce had a very Mediterranean vibe. He could even hear a fountain trickling from one of the nearby interior courtyards. ¡°Hello,¡± he said, thumping one of his heavy hands onto the counter.

    ¡°Hello, sir. Wee to The Sunset Songbird! Are you seeking amodation or information?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re looking for a room or two.¡± Victor gestured to Va as she stepped forward beside him.

    ¡°Very good; we have limited avability due to the festival starting on the morrow, but I can offer you a suite with a courtyard terrace.¡± The young woman had, to Victor¡¯s sensibilities, a rather unsightly tusk jutting up from a prominent lower jaw, but he figured Vesh had different ideas of beauty.

    ¡°Sounds nice. We¡¯ll take it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, sir. Might I ask your name?¡± she asked, sliding a gray te toward him. ¡°Please touch this with your Energy.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Victor,¡± he said, pressing a finger to the te and trickling a bit of Energy into it. It pulsed with orange light and then resumed its t gray appearance.

    ¡°How should the staff address you, sir? Do you have a particr honorific?¡±

    ¡°Just Victor. This is Captain Va, though,¡± Victor said, enjoying putting the spotlight on his reticent friend.

    ¡°Oh! I¡¯m pleased to meet you, Captain. I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t realize this was your attendant; I assumed you were a couple.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not my attendant. At the very least, we are of equal status on our world, don¡¯t let his modesty fool you; he¡¯s a champion fighter and will be disying his prowess in your arena on the morrow.¡± Va narrowed her eyes at him as she spoke, and Victor realized he shouldn¡¯t have been messing with her.

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re fighting in the Horc¡¯s Day tournament? I can offer you a discount in that case! Only one hundred and forty beads per night for your suite.¡± Victor had figured the price would be higher than the ny Livag had quoted him; if the inn only had a few rooms avable, he doubted they were the least expensive ones. Still, it was more than he¡¯d expected, and that was with a discount. He took some pleasure in the way Va¡¯s lips parted and how she seemed a bit lost for words.

    ¡°Sounds good. We¡¯ll need the room for a couple of nights.¡± He pulled a heavy sack of beads from his ring and started counting them out. The woman smiled and lifted a wooden stick that looked very much like a wand to Victor and held it toward him.

    ¡°I have a counting rod if you¡¯ll allow me?¡±

    ¡°Uh, sure,¡± Victor said, moving his hand away from the bag. She smiled and adjusted a couple of tiny knobs at the rod''s base. Then she tapped the bag. A neat pile of beads appeared next to it, and the cloth deted a little. ¡°Oh, cool.¡± Victor nodded and scooped up the slightly lighter bag, and the inn attendant waved the rod at the pile of beads; they disappeared, presumably to some hidden container.

    ¡°Very good, Captain Va and Victor¡ªyou¡¯re paid in full for two nights. The room has been attuned to you, Victor, so the door will open at your touch. If the captain would like simr ess, there¡¯s a te inside the door where you can grant it to her.¡±

    ¡°Okay, can you show us how to get to it? The room, I mean,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°The most direct route is through the courtyard there,¡± she pointed through an arched opening in the wall opposite the inn¡¯s main entrance. ¡°Your rooms are on the other side of the fountain¡ªThe Sand Drake Suite.¡± She paused, then said, more loudly, ¡°Tral, I¡¯m going to show our new guests to their suite.¡±

    ¡°Very good, Jatta,¡± the woman further down the counter replied, and Jatta stepped out from around the counter and gestured for Victor and Va to follow her.

    ¡°Nice service,¡± Va muttered.

    ¡°Yeah, this is more like it,¡± Victor said, grinning as he followed a few feet behind Jatta. The courtyard wasn¡¯t veryrge, and he realized there were only three rooms that opened onto it on the first floor. Balconies on the upper levels hung over the flowering nts and burbling fountains, though, and he could hear people¡¯s murmured conversations drifting through the air. Jatta showed them to a little patio with ss-paneled doors and waited for Victor to reach out and touch the handle. It clicked, and he pulled it open.

    ¡°You know where to find me, should you need anything else. Once again, wee to The Sunset Songbird.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Va said, but Victor was already walking into the room, barely registering the woman¡¯s words. The suite¡¯s main room was decorated in a simr fashion to the lobby. It boasted a table and chairs,fortable couches, a small kitchenplete with a stove and a cold cab, and bookcases lined with nicknacks and books, mostly filled with poetry. There were two bedrooms withrge,fortable beds, and each had an adjoining bathroom. Victor was pleased.

    ¡°This is definitely more like it, Va,¡± he called from his bathroom after sampling the hot water flowing from the spigot in the big bronze tub.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s lovely. Thank you, Victor,¡± she replied after a few seconds, speaking from the doorway into his room. ¡°We should get ready for the war captain¡¯s dinner.¡±

    ¡°About that,¡± Victor said, stepping from his bathroom and into his room to look at her. ¡°What should I wear?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to wear my dress uniform. I suggest you wear your armor¡ªthe shimmersteel is lovely and finer than any of your shirts. Do you have some ck pants?¡±

    Victor looked down at his pants, more khaki than brown if he had to put abel on them. ¡°Yeah, I have ck ones¡ªa few pairs.¡±

    ¡°Good, and polish your boots.¡± She scowled at his boots, the same ones he¡¯d bought all the way back in Steampool Vale. They were holding up all right and fit his feet like a second skin. Thanks to their enchantments, they weren¡¯t scuffed, but they were definitely not shiny; a thickyer of dust coated the dark leather, and the steel toes were dull¡ªfar from the gleaming shine they¡¯d had when he bought them.

    ¡°Okay, this is embarrassing, but I don¡¯t have any, like, shoe-shining stuff.¡±

    Va smiled and stepped forward, a small tin and a soft cloth appearing in her hands. ¡°Rub some of this on the boots and buff them vigorously with the cloth.¡± She looked him up and down as he reached for the offered items and added, ¡°Do the same for your belt. Keep it, by the way; I have a dozen different leather conditioners I¡¯ve bought over the years.¡±

    ¡°Somehow, that doesn¡¯t surprise me,¡± Victor chuckled, pointedly eyeing Va¡¯s gleaming ck boots.

    ¡°A shave wouldn¡¯t hurt, either,¡± Va said over her shoulder as she walked out of the room. ¡°I¡¯m going to bathe and get dressed. Meet you in half an hour in the sitting room?¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± Victor said, unscrewing the little tin and sniffing the yellowish, creamy contents¡ªit smelled like wax with a hint of something else, like sandalwood, maybe, but he couldn¡¯t ce it for sure.

    Twenty minutester, Victor exited his bedroom, cleaner than he had been in quite a while. His boots shone, especially the gleaming metal-d toes. He¡¯d rubbed the road and battle stains from the leather of his belt, and Lifedrinker hung from it proudly. Victor¡¯s armor hadn¡¯t needed any attention; the enchantments and the magical metal kept it lustrous, shimmering from copper to green depending on the angle from which a person viewed it. He¡¯d given himself a shave,bed his hair, and wore his best pair of ck, self-cleaning pants. All in all, he felt he¡¯d made plenty of effort for some military dinner.

    Va was waiting for him, pacing in a tight circle by the terrace doors. She wore a uniform simr to the one Victor was ustomed to seeing her in but far finer. Her boots reflected the glowmps like dark mirrors, and she¡¯d tucked her tight, white pants into them.

    She¡¯d donned a short, fitted, brocaded coat with shiny brass buttons. Dozens of gleaming pins crafted from precious metals covered the left breast, and its high cor framed her head dramatically. The shirt she wore beneath it, white with pearlescent buttons, was tied at the neck with a red scarf-like tie that matched the stripes on her pants and coat.

    Va always looked neat, so her perfectly coiffed, short green hair didn¡¯t surprise Victor, but the makeup did; she¡¯d painted her lips and the pale blue flesh around her eyes in a shimmering turquoise that highlighted her hair and eyes. ¡°You look nice,¡± Victor said, noting that she wore a sword at her waist¡ªnot her usual de, something fancier and probably a lot less deadly. It looked like a saber of some sort, though it was ornate and decorative, and Victor doubted she¡¯d use it in a fight.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± She nodded and then added, ¡°You look . . . better.¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± Victor snorted, producing the invitation the dragondy had given him. ¡°This is supposed to guide us to the correct address. You ready?¡±

    ¡°I am; the sooner, the better.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Victor said, channeling some Energy into the card. As soon as his Energy touched the card, it burst into a shower of blue sparks, and a brilliant, glimmering blue butterfly hovered in the afterglow. The butterfly flitted in a circle around Victor and then, trailing a shower of blue sparkles, flew to the doors and waited.

    ¡°Looks like we have a guide!¡± Victorughed, hurrying after the butterfly to open the doors. It flew into the courtyard, and Victor and Va followed it.

    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± Va said, and, for the second time that day, she smiled.

    ¡°Yeah, it is,¡± Victor replied, following the butterfly through the inn¡¯s lobby. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s with the chest full of gold and tinum? Are those medals?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I earned them during my time in the legion. Duels, victories, academic achievements, rank insignias¡ªI could bore you for an hour telling you about each one.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it would be boring. They¡¯re pretty badass if you ask me.¡±

    ¡°Maybe when we start the campaign of the Untamed Marches, we should institute some achievement criteria, and you can earn your own ¡®chest full of gold and tinum,¡¯¡± she said, and though she was at least half-joking, Victor rather liked the idea.

    They followed the flitting, spark-trailing blue butterfly through the night-cloaked streets of Coloss. It didn¡¯t move quickly but rather in spurts, always pausing to wait for Victor and Va. It seemed to know when a part of the road was too crowded to pass and would wait until a break in traffic allowed easy passage, and Victor had time to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of Coloss at night.

    People seemed more cheerful, elegant, and colorful than they did in the daytime. He saw representatives of all the local peoples wearing bright, fine clothing. He saw Yazzians in robes limned with light and reflective metallic threads; he saw a giant Degh wearing te armor that shone in the darkness, leaving a silvery trail as she jogged down the street as fast as most horses could run. The crowds in the squares were denser, there was music ying everywhere, and the scents of food that hung in the air had Victor¡¯s mouth salivating and his stomach rumbling.

    Victor was close to breaking down and buying something from a vendor to tide him over when the butterfly turned up a steep road that climbed into a part of the city that reminded him of where they¡¯d visited the Elementalist Guild. The crowds thinned out, the street vendors faded away, and soon, they were walking among finely dressed Vesh, clearly on their way to gatherings of their own.

    ¡°I believe this city was founded by Vesh,¡± Va surprised him by saying. ¡°In these noble districts, you don¡¯t see many of the other peoples.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I noticed that.¡± Victor nodded toward a pair ofrge gate guards wearing ck te armor. The butterfly flew past them, continuing down the cobbled walkway toward another gate, this one brightly illuminated by blue-tinted glowmps. The guards outside this gate also wore te armor, but it followed the blue theme. When the butterfly reached it, it spun into a tight spiral and exploded in a shower of blue sparkles. ¡°I think our host likes blue.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Va said, frowning and walking toward the guards. ¡°I begin to understand why he has an interest in me.¡±

    ¡°Wee,¡± the guard to the left said, his voice echoing strangely from his heavy metal helmet. Neither of the guards¡¯ faces were visible through their thick te visors. He gestured toward the open gateway and the cobbled path beyond. Blue glowmps lined the pathway, illuminating the way, though dimly, allowing the darkness beyond to cling like a shadowy nket. ¡°The war captain and his guests await; follow the pathway to the manor.¡±

    As they walked up the path, Victor tried to match Va''s pace, trying to remind himself that this was her event; he was here only because she¡¯d been invited. The walk to the manor wasn¡¯t long; how could it be in a city so crowded with structures? When they rounded the first bend, following the dim blue lights, they saw it ahead; a pce that matched Lam¡¯s estate in elegance, though it was easily twice the size.

    What stood out, what bothered Victor, was the predominance of the color blue everywhere. Blue stained ss windows, more blue glowmps, guards in blue armor, servants in blue livery, carpets and rugs all in shades of blue, and even many of the walls¡ªstered or painted blue. As they followed one of the servants that had waited near the door, guiding them through the corridors toward the ¡°great hall,¡± Victor couldn¡¯t hold his tongue any longer, and he asked, ¡°What¡¯s the deal with all the blue?¡±

    ¡°Sir?¡± the Vesh woman asked, pausing to face him.

    ¡°The blue? Everywhere? The, um, war captain¡¯s favorite color?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure of his personal preference, but each war captain is assigned a color. This is the home of War Captain Blue, and he has three peers¡ªck, Red, and Green.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Va said, smiling at the woman. ¡°Thank you for clearing that up; we¡¯re new to Coloss.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Lady.¡± The woman curtseyed delicately in her blue skirts, then turned and continued guiding them through the manor. When they came to a set of enormous, blue-stained wooden doors, she presented them to the two uniformed guards, each wearing gleaming te helmets with high feathered plumes¡ªnaturally, they were blue.

    The guard on the left turned, pulled open one of the doors, and announced, loud enough that his voice cut through the din beyond, ¡°The Lady Captain Va of Fanwath and her escort, Victor!¡± He turned, bowed, and gestured for them to proceed into the suddenly quiet hall. Va reached up to grab Victor¡¯s elbow, and he felt himself stand up straighter, suddenly feeling nervous for the first time.

    Of course, the great hall was carpeted in blue, patterned with flowers, and the lights were, thankfully, more white than blue, but still, the chandeliers dangled strands of blue crystals that threw dazzling patterns on the walls. Victor couldn¡¯t take in any more of the decor because he became aware of the hundreds of Vesh guests, finely dressed, standing around in groups or sitting at tables along the perimeter, all seemingly stopping whatever they¡¯d been doing to stare at him and Va.

    After a moment of standing transfixed, never having had such a silent crowd observe him, Victor shrugged and started walking over the carpet toward the high table at the far end of the room. He felt Va¡¯s grip tighten on his elbow, but she walked with him, head high. Victor had an absurd urge to ham it up for all the staring weirdos; he wanted to wave and shout something like, ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± into the silence, but he didn¡¯t want to embarrass Va, so he just walked with her toward the group of elegant, beastly Vesh that sat around a man in a massive, blue stone, throne-like chair.

    When they were just a few feet away, and the man who had to be the War Captain Blue was just a bit further away than the width of his table, Victor stopped and waited for him, or anyone, to say something. The war captain was big, easily a head taller than any Vesh Victor had seen. He wore a beautifully tailored blue suit cut in a fashion that highlighted his massively muscled physique. He had fine, handsome features, only spoiled¡ªto Victor¡¯s human sensibilities¡ªby a pair of long, straight ck horns that stood up from the top of his forehead.

    The war captain reached up, smoothed his neat, ck hair back, tucking some stray strands behind an ear, and spread his lips in a smile, revealing brilliant white fangs. He squinted his pale yellow eyes and said, ¡°It''s true what I heard, Lady Va¡ªyou¡¯re more beautiful than I could have imagined.¡± His voice was rich and deep, and despite his desire to be irritated, Victor couldn¡¯t help but admire the man. ¡°Please,e sit.¡± He gestured to an empty chair on his left-hand side.

    ¡°And my escort, War Captain?¡± Va asked before Victor even registered that there was only one empty seat at the table.

    ¡°Please call me Blue. Thisrge fellow? We¡¯ve a spot for him just over there.¡± The war captain pointed to one of the tables that ran perpendicr to his along the side of the hall.

    ¡°I¡¯d prefer . . .¡± Va started to say, but Victor interrupted her.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Va.¡± He knew he was being a little selfish; he had no desire to sit at the high table and watch this guy try to flirt with Va, and he¡¯d noticed that the dragondy was seated at the table where the War Captain had pointed. ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll walk you to your seat,¡± he said, turning to walk around the captain¡¯s table.

    ¡°What happened to the music?¡± Blue shouted, and suddenly the room was filled with the lilting tunes of a group of stringed instrument yers that upied the far corner of the chamber. Victor tried to keep his face impassive as he walked with Va around the table, but he couldn¡¯t help frowning when he saw the dirty looks many of the Vesh sitting at the table were throwing their way.

    He leaned toward Va¡¯s ear to whisper, and he noticed, for the first time, that she¡¯d worn silver and diamond earrings in a half-moon pattern from her ear¡¯s top curve all the way down to her lobe, seven of them. How had he missed that? Shaking his head, he hissed, ¡°Be careful; these people are mad-jealous of you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not happy about this,¡± she whispered back. ¡°Please watch me; if I stand up, it means I want to leave.¡±

    ¡°You got it, chica,¡± Victor said, pulling out her seat so she could sit down.

    ¡°Thank you, warrior,¡± Blue said, dismissing Victor. Victor was surprised that Blue had called him ¡°warrior,¡± but then he realized he was the only person in the room, at least sitting at a table, wearing armor. He shrugged, gave Va¡¯s shoulder a squeeze, and then made his way around the back of the captain¡¯s table, down one tier, and to the lower table where his seat waited.

    The empty chair was second from the head, and the dragondy sat at that top seat. She smiled at him as he approached, then said to the Vesh woman beside her, ¡°Krae, would you mind moving down so I can speak to this off-worlder?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Tes,¡± the woman said, standing to curtsey. To his surprise, she nced at Victor and pleasantly smiled as she moved down to his formerly assigned seat.

    Victor sat in her seat, still warm from her presence, and said, ¡°Thanks,¡± nodding to her, then turned to the dragondy and said, ¡°Tes, is it?¡±

    ¡°Tesia¡¯liveen¡¯ashh, actually, but I find people I meet prefer my short name,¡± she smiled, her perfectly human-looking cheeks dimpling at the gesture.

    ¡°Well, yeah, I think I¡¯ll stick with Tes if it¡¯s all right,¡± Victor replied, though his eyes were on Va, studying her face, and he felt himself rx when sheughed at something the war captain said.

    ¡°You¡¯re worried about your friend?¡± Tes asked, following his gaze.

    ¡°I mean, yeah. I think this dude¡¯s interested in her because she has blue skin. It¡¯s kinda fucked up, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°What an interesting way to speak . . .¡± Tes started to say, but then amotion from the head table erupted, and she stopped to look where Victor was already staring. A Vesh woman wearing a beautiful blue, silky gown had stood up from her seat two spaces down on the War Captain¡¯s right, throwing her chair back so it ttered against the wall. Her cheeks were red, her eyes like zing embers, and she strode behind Blue to stare at Va, who¡¯d also risen from her seat, her hand reaching for her ornamental sword.

    The Vesh woman opened her ck-scaled wings with a resounding *crack* and loomed over Va, easily half a foot taller. The room had grown quiet again, and everyone heard what she said, her words thick with emotion, ¡°Enough of this farce! I challenge you to a duel, off-worlder! If the Blue likes your skin so much, I¡¯ll have it made into a cloak and present it to him as a Horc¡¯s Day gift.¡± The War Captain, to Victor¡¯s horror, didn¡¯t object; he nced from Va to the Vesh woman, and his eyes squinted in amusement, a deep chuckle emerging from his lips.

    ¡°Fucking hell,¡± Victor said.

 Book 4: Chapter 7: A Dinner Conversation

    Book 4: Chapter 7: A Dinner Conversation

    Victor stood up, his chair toppling behind him in his haste, but he felt a grip on his wrist that might as well have been a steel shackle for how little it moved when he tugged at it. ¡°Wait,¡± said Tes. ¡°See how things y out before you throw your dice on the table.¡±

    Va¡¯s voice rang out through the room, ¡°You wish to duel? I don¡¯t even know you.¡± Her back was straight as a post, face betraying no emotion as she stared the taller, threatening woman in the eyes.

    ¡°Reis, restrain yourself,¡± War Captain Forl¡ªBlue¡ªfinally said, still chuckling. Victor started to rx, assuming the man would put a stop to the situation, but Blue kept speaking, ¡°We have too many events taking ce today and tomorrow. If you insist on a duel, it will have to be overmorrow.¡±

    ¡°Very well,¡± said the Veshdy, Reis. ¡°Overmorrow, it is. Gird yourself well, blue-skin; I won¡¯t stop at first blood.¡±

    Va looked from Reis to the war captain and, unflinching, said, ¡°Is that how things are done in this world, then? Duels without cause, regardless of level or tier? How backward.¡± That got a reaction from the crowd, gasps, and murmured outrage at her audacity. Victor had seen enough; he tugged again at Tes¡¯s grip on his arm, but she held fast.

    ¡°Victor, no violence will ur tonight; don¡¯t make things worse by inserting yourself. I promise you¡ªit¡¯s the wrong move.¡± Tes seemed to speak softly, but her voice rang in Victor¡¯s ears, and he took another breath, willing his rage to calm.

    ¡°We care about fairness, lovely,¡± the war captain said, chuckling. ¡°Were you not just telling me that you¡¯ve recently joined the ranks of the mid-tier? Darling Reis is, herself, in the same category.¡±

    Va looked at Reis coolly, assessing her stature, her glittering ck-scaled wings, the fire in her eyes, and the way her hair, long and ited, gleamed like polished obsidian. Victor knew she was sizing the woman up and measuring the strength of her aura. Finally, Va said, ¡°And if I refuse?¡±

    ¡°Then you are disgraced,¡± Reis answered for Blue.

    ¡°Sadly, it¡¯s true, beautiful,¡± Blue said, turning his chair so he could look at the two women more easily. ¡°You¡¯re free to avoid the duel, but I¡¯ll have to ask you to leave. Such disgraceful behavior won¡¯t stand among us¡ªthe high-born Vesh. Why, you¡¯d have to forego any ess to the finer things in Coloss; the arena, sanctioned monster hunts, even the protection of the warlord, and ess to his City Stone.¡±

    Victor couldn¡¯t contain himself any longer, ¡°This is bullshit,¡± he growled.

    ¡°Oh, dear!¡± Blue said, ncing his way. ¡°Your barbarian seems to have slipped his muzzle.¡±

    Va jerked her head toward Victor, saw him standing there, eyes zing in anger, with Tes firmly gripping his wrist, and she stared hard at him until their eyes locked. She narrowed them slightly and gave her head a quick shake, making it clear to Victor, even in his burgeoning rage, that she wanted him to stand down. When she saw some tension leave his posture, she turned back to Reis and said with a firm, steady voice, ¡°Very well, Reis. I will ept your duel.¡±

    Reis grinned savagely, her dark eyes zing with sparkling Energy. Before the challenger could speak, though, Va turned to Blue and said, ¡°I understand it¡¯s to be the day after tomorrow. Are there any other rules of which I should be aware? The time of day and location, for instance?¡±

    ¡°Wonderful question!¡± The war captain stood up and turned to address the entire room. ¡°We have cause to celebrate! Our guest, the beautifuldy from off-world, Va, will be dueling our very own Reis, the Lady of Tuul. I shall host the event right here, in my grand hall, overmorrow at noon. Eachbatant will use their preferred weapon, and no abilities shall be barred, save those that might damage my property!¡±

    To Victor¡¯s surprise, as the crowd cheered, Va straightened her chair and sat down, turning her back to Reis, who looked angrier than ever. Blue chuckled and said, ¡°Reis, you¡¯ve made your point; please take your seat so that we may enjoy the feast.¡±

    Victor stared at Va until she met his eyes, and she gave him a nod; she was okay. He sighed and turned to pick up his chair, and that¡¯s when he realized Tes had released his wrist. The conversation around the room resumed, somewhat more animated than before the challenge, and Victor¡¯s muttered, ¡°Fuck these stuck-up assholes,¡± was lost in the buzz as he retook his seat.

    ¡°You have an amusing vernacr,¡± Tes said, sipping from a blue crystal wine ss.

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell if I should be pissed or thankful about you holding onto me like that.¡±

    ¡°Oh, thankful, I should think. There are those in this hall that could smite you rather easily.¡± She smiled and licked at a droplet of wine at the corner of her mouth and said, ¡°Tell me, Victor, are there many humans in the world from which you hail? I believe mywork told me it¡¯s called Fanwath, yes?¡±

    ¡°Just like that?¡± Victor said, looking around the room. ¡°My friend was just challenged by some racist bitch to fight to the death, and we¡¯re all going to act like nothing happened?¡±

    The woman to his left shifted ufortably, turning to speak with her neighbor, and Tes frowned, shaking her head slightly. Softly, she said, ¡°Victor, the people here fancy themselves above such concerns. If you continue to speak so vulgarly, the wrong person may hear you and decide to administer a lesson.¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t speak; he just glowered and reached for the wine ss in front of him. He sipped at the dark red vintage, and though he didn¡¯t consider himself a wine drinker, it tasted good in that moment, and its potency was not in question. Finally, more calmly, he said, ¡°What about you? Could anyone here teach you ¡®a lesson?¡¯¡±

    Tes smiled, reaching up to twirl a blond curl, with her long, frightfully strong fingers, and said, ¡°I should think not. Consider that for a moment and think about the implications of having me for a friend.¡± She nced pointedly in Va¡¯s direction.

    ¡°Is there something you can do to help her?¡± Victor asked again, leaning closer so he could speak even more quietly. ¡°She¡¯s underpowered for her level and just barely in the mid-tier.¡±

    ¡°Two things, Victor. One, duels aren¡¯t always about the participants¡¯ maximum power, though it¡¯s certainly a factor. And two, of course, I¡¯ll help your friend; I love an underdog. Perhaps tomorrow, while you¡¯re ying in the arena, I¡¯ll spend some time with her.¡±

    ¡°They say underdog where youe from? Are there dogs in your world?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll answer that question if you answer mine.¡± She smiled coyly and took another sip of wine. It took Victor a minute to remember what her question had been, then he answered.

    ¡°Fanwath? No, I think I¡¯m the only human there. Well, that used to be there.¡±

    ¡°Truly? How is that possible? You don¡¯t have parents?¡±

    ¡°I was summoned to that world from mine.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Now the picture grows more clear. Would you mind telling me of your home world?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but first, tell me how you spending a day with Va is going to help her enough to survive. What level is that Reis woman? Also, you owe me an answer about dogs.¡±

    Tes looked to the head table, eyes on Reis, who¡¯d retaken her seat, and after a moment, she looked back at Victor and said, ¡°Tier-seven, I¡¯d wager.¡±

    ¡°Fuck me!¡± Victor sighed, putting his head in his hands. Tes looked at him for a moment, then frowned and stood. Lifting her ss, she cleared her throat, and then her voice, clear as a crystal, rang out through the great hall, cutting through the conversations as though she stood next to every person there, ¡°Great War Captain Blue, I would endeavor to thank you for this fine asion by offering a toast and a prophecy.¡± Victor jerked his head up from his hands, and she offered him a quick wink.

    Blue stood up immediately, eyes ring with excitement, and bellowed, ¡°Silence! Let the Lady Tes speak!¡± His shout was superfluous¡ªeveryone had grown quiet as Tes¡¯s rion voice rang through the hall.

    ¡°My Lord Blue,¡± Tes said again, her voice echoing off the walls of the hall, though she spoke as if to a person right next to her, ¡°I¡¯ve had a vision¡ªshould you host the duel between the Ladies Va and Reis, not overmorrow, but in a month and a day, you will draw the War Lord¡¯s interest, and he will attend the event,¡± she paused as her words sank in and then added, ¡°Here¡¯s to the elevation of War Captain Blue!¡± She held her wine ss aloft, and the crowd thundered their enthusiastic echo of the toast.

    ¡°You heard her!¡± Blue roared, throwing his empty ss over his shoulder to shatter on the wall. ¡°My apologies, Lady Reis, but your duel will be postponed for one month and one day!¡±

    Victor watched Va while he spoke, how she stared impassively at Tes, and though she didn¡¯t look angry or pleased, he thought he saw some tension leave her posture. Tes, for her part, hammed it up, curtseying to Blue, lifting her lovely, multiyered, blue and yellow skirts daintily. When she retook her seat, she sighed, smiling at Victor, and snapped her fingers. Victor heard a popping noise in his ears, and then she said, ¡°You may speak freely. Interloping ears will find our words strangely garbled.¡±

    ¡°Why now?¡± Victor asked, thinking back to their prior, hushed conversation.

    ¡°Because I fear you¡¯re about to ask me about my false prophecy, etcetera.¡± She smirked and drank some more wine.

    ¡°Well?¡±

    ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll give you some answers, and then you¡¯ll owe me a few. Fair?¡± When Victor nodded, she continued, ¡°Yes, there are dogs on Aradnue. Dragons quite enjoy theirpany, though a few savages will eat them. No, I didn¡¯t have a vision regarding your friend¡¯s duel. I can tell you with great confidence, though, that the duel will generate tremendous excitement around the city, thanks to my words, and the Warlord will surely attend¡ªa self-fulfilling prophecy, if you will. Blue believes me because I have shared some auguries with him in recent history that came true; it¡¯s a gift of mine and allowed me to gain status in Coloss quite rapidly.¡±

    ¡°So, we have a month to get out of town?¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Well, that, or prepare your friend in a manner that allows her to win. I intend to keep my earlier promise to help her; I find the prospect intriguing.¡± She took another drink, and Victor mimicked her, draining his ss. After she¡¯d swallowed and gestured for a waiting attendant to bring more, she said, ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn. Tell me of your home world.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m from Earth. We don¡¯t have Energy there, and I was base zero when I got summoned to Fanwath. The guys who summoned me threw me into a pit fighting circuit, kind of like throwing out the garbage, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Earth?¡± A slow smile had spread on her face while she listened to him. ¡°I¡¯m familiar with this world, and though it may be a dead world now, it was once so rich in Energy that mighty armies of Elder races fought over it. There are texts on Aradnue written by legendary dragons that spent time there. I¡¯d give much to visit, even in its current state. Might I have a sample of your blood, Victor?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Victor raised an eyebrow and shifted back in his seat.

    ¡°With your blood, there are those on Aradnue who could open a gateway to your homeworld. I¡¯d enjoy visiting, though it would be difficult, and I¡¯d need to bring an enormous store of Energy to avoid fading.¡±

    ¡°Fading?¡±

    ¡°Dead worlds cannot sustain creatures of any significant Energy. You would grow weak and die should you try to return. How sad and frustrating that must be!¡±

    Victor frowned, some of his darkest fears suddenly made real. His mind wanted to mull over the blunt news this dragon-woman had just dropped on him, but he forced himself to remain present, to push those feelings into a corner of his mind, and said, ¡°I¡¯d wondered about that. There aren¡¯t people with superhuman abilities on Earth, and I worried I¡¯d lose my strength and abilities if I returned.¡±

    ¡°No, it would be worse than that, I¡¯m afraid. Your body has changed significantly as you gained power on Fanwath. You require Energy to function. It isn¡¯t a simple matter of undoing all of your growth, you¡¯d quite literally starve, and it would be a horrible sensation as it happened.¡±

    ¡°But you want to visit? Couldn¡¯t I bring Energy home with me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I imagine you could make a quick visit; the Energy required to keep you alive andfortable for more than a few days is likely beyond your means, but that much is possible. It might afford you a chance to say farewell to your loved ones.¡±

    ¡°Would you help me if I gave you my blood?¡±

    ¡°Or I could simply take it,¡± she said, grinning, and suddenly Victor had a vision of her true form¡ªher enormous, blue-scaled body filling his vision and her scythe-like teeth gleaming with saliva. He blinked his eyes and shook his head, and she sat before him again, simply a beautiful, petite human-looking woman. ¡°I jest.¡± Her eyes twinkled in amusement, and she continued, ¡°I will help you, but not now, Victor. You¡¯d be rather difficult to protect on Aradnue in your current state. Speak to me when you¡¯ve gained the strength to fend off those such as me, and then I¡¯ll see that you visit your home.¡±

    ¡°When I can ¡®fend off¡¯ people like you?¡± Victor scoffed, her dragon form loomingrge in his mind. ¡°My abu might not live that long!¡± He leaned forward earnestly, his eyes watery, his sudden, new hope just as suddenly dashed.

    ¡°Tut, Victor. There¡¯s no telling if your grandmother is still alive as it is. Before we spoke, you had no hope; now you have some. Look at this as another reason to gain power. By the way, I¡¯m not being cruel or arbitrary in my demand. I¡¯m far from the most potent of dragons, and when some of the ancients of my kind smell your presence, you¡¯ll need great strength to make your petition.

    ¡°Are there others that could do it? Someone here, maybe? Open a gateway to Earth, I mean?¡±

    ¡°There are those on Zaafor that can open portals between worlds, but none that could do so with a dead world. It takes an order of magnitude more power and expertise to reach the worlds deprived of the rivers and oceans of Energy.¡±

    ¡°But some asshole from this world went to Fanwath and summoned me there.¡±

    ¡°Summoning someone, given the proper key, is far easier than opening a gateway onto another world. If someone with the requisite skill had a sample of your blood and the strength of will to crush yours, they could summon you from nearly anywhere; reaching out and snatching hold of someone is different than establishing a portal, an opening through space. Tell me, did the wizard have some connection to you, some way to tie his magic to you?¡±

    ¡°Now you mention it, Rellia,¡± he paused when Tes frowned, unfamiliar with the name, then rified, ¡°a noblewoman who helped me with some information¡ªshe said something about some biological material . . .¡±

    ¡°There you have it! With a biological connection to you, they could reach out and snatch you through the Ether. That¡¯s something you should look into, Victor. How did they get such material?¡± As she spoke, servants began to deliver the food, and Victor sat back, mulling over everything she¡¯d told him.

    He¡¯d learned that he couldn¡¯t return home to live, not ever. He¡¯d already sort of resigned himself to that, but feeling a certain way and knowing it was true were two different things, and he suddenly felt very morose, very moody. He struggled even to acknowledge the food ced before him. He¡¯d also, in the same conversation, learned that he might be able to visit home, but the hurdles to do so seemed insurmountable, at least in the near term. How many more years did his abuelita have? She was in her seventies.

    ¡°I¡¯ve ruined your dinner,¡± Tes said, having just inhaled the aromas on her te. Her smile turned into a pout as she saw Victor sitting there, brooding. ¡°Victor, I¡¯ll give you the means to contact me. When you¡¯re ready, I¡¯ll help you. I have no obligation to, you know, but I find the prospect¡ªand you¡ªamusing. Don¡¯t ruin that with a sour mood.¡±

    Victor shook his head, trying to throw off the dour thoughts running through his mind, and said, ¡°All right. One thing at a time, huh? For now, let¡¯s make sure Va survives this duel, hmm?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit! It¡¯s always best to devour your meal one bite at a time. Let me worry about your friend; I believe you have your own challenges to ovee, starting with an arena tournament on the morrow.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but, to be honest, I¡¯m looking forward to it. I¡¯ve felt like getting into a fight all damn day.¡± Victor took a bite of the rare, bloody meat on his te, admiring how nicely the silver knife from his ce setting cut through it. The coppery, salty tang was good, and it woke up his hunger. As he wolfishly began to attack his serving, he listened to Tes.

    ¡°It¡¯s good to have a release, no doubt. Might I make a suggestion, though?¡± Victor grunted assent, and she continued, ¡°Don¡¯t put all your abilities on disy until you have to. If you struggle but still win, it will make yourter fights much more glorious; don¡¯t give your opponents a chance to devise strategies around your greatest strengths. I can see more thoroughly into you than the people of Coloss, and I¡¯m certain you¡¯re being greatly underestimated. Make them pay for it.¡±

    ¡°Underestimated?¡± Victor asked between mouthfuls, eating a pile of sweet, purple mash that reminded him of yams.

    ¡°If they knew anything of humans, they¡¯d give you a closer look, approach you with more caution.¡±

    That caught Victor¡¯s attention, and he looked at Tes with a raised eyebrow, swallowed his food, and said, ¡°I guess that brings to mind some other questions I had for you. What is it about Earth and humanity that interests you? I get that there are books about Earth on your world, but what in those books makes it seem special?¡±

    ¡°Earth was teeming with Elder races once upon a time¡ªdragons, various species of titan, the fae, demon-kind, and celestial beings. I could go on if I had one of my grand-matron¡¯s texts, but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Among those great, powerful species, a younger race was born. Humans were excellent adapters, and many of the Elder races grew fond of them, spawning hybrids who were left behind as the currents of Energy were pulled away, leaving Earth to wither.¡±

    ¡°Seriously? Demons?¡± Victor shook his head and said, ¡°Forget it. Tell me why the Energy left Earth.¡±

    ¡°War between the fae is the most likely culprit. The Winter Court makes something of a habit of stealing Energy from worlds in the physical ne, redirecting it into the Faewild, specifically into their territories.¡± She paused, took a drink of her wine and a bite of meat, and, still chewing, continued speaking.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a possibility, but there are others. With so many powerful beings vying for territory, any number of cataclysms could have urred that pulled your world out of the flow. It¡¯s also possible the System, younger and more clumsy in those days, disrupted the current further upstream. I think I¡¯ll research this topic if I can use your blood to open a gateway.¡± Tes stared into space, almost dreamily, tapping one perfectly manicured nail against her chin while she swallowed her bite.

    ¡°So humans are special somehow because we grew up around powerful beings?¡± Victor prompted.

    ¡°Oh, silly man, it¡¯s not just that you ¡®grew up¡¯ around them; did you not hear me mention spawning hybrids? Your kindy with them; sex! It¡¯s not a coincidence that my bipedal form looks human! Your bloodlines are rich with the strength of beings as great as I. More than that, you have an affinity for Energy that generally rivals that of any Elder race. Given time and training, humans have immense potential.¡±

    ¡°Damn . . .¡± Victor felt like a little kid that caught his mom sleeping with an alien.

    ¡°Indeed! Do you see why these people of Coloss are foolish to underestimate you? Wait until they get a look at your inner titan.¡± She grinned wickedly and winked at Victor. ¡°These Degh are a pale shadow.¡±

    ¡°You know . . .¡±

    ¡°I told you,¡± she touched a finger just under her eye, ¡°I see more than anyone in this city.¡±

    ¡°Well, on that topic, maybe you could give me some advice?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Oh? Matters of the heart?¡± She nced over at the head table.

    ¡°No, shit, no,¡± Victorughed and quickly added, ¡°I mean about my attributes. I¡¯ve been dumping a lot of points into will because it seems to benefit me in lots of ways, thanks to my spirit Core and the sses I¡¯ve had. Do you think I should keep doing that?¡±

    She looked at him for a long moment and then said, ¡°There are things about you I don¡¯t know, but I understand the gist of what you¡¯re saying. Your will strengthens your abilities, and so are you able to strengthen yourself with the application of that attribute. I think, unless you feel you are suffering in a particr area, I¡¯d continue that route. You¡¯d do well to seek a mentor who understands your Core more thoroughly; I¡¯ve little experience with spirit affinities.¡±

    ¡°Well . . .¡± Victor thought about her words, found that he couldn¡¯t see an argument with them, and said simply, ¡°Thanks.¡±

    He tried to ply her for more information as the dinner progressed, but Tes yed him off, changing the topic frequently to more mundane subjects, like the meal, the music, various guests and their clothing, and even the weather. Victor was sure to keep an eye on Va, watching to see if she was ready to leave, but his friend sat, rather at ease, eating her food and making, what seemed to be, polite conversation with the war captain and the people seated nearby.

    When the meal was over, and people started to disburse, some going to dance, others walking off in pairs or small groups to drink elsewhere, Tes folded her napkin over her half-eaten desert¡ªan amazingly rich cake with a distinct coconut vor¡ªand stood up, ¡°Excuse me, Victor. I have matters to attend in private. Please let yourpanion know that I¡¯ll seek her out tomorrow in the arena. Here,¡± she handed Victor a shiny silver token with a pair of horns stamped into one side. ¡°This will grant her ess to my private spectator booth.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Victor said, standing up. He cleared his throat and awkwardly said, ¡°Thank you, Tes. Thanks for helping out Va and for telling me so much about my world. I feel like a dumb kid more than ever, but I guess that¡¯s what happens when your eyes get opened up.¡±

    ¡°The important thing is what you do now that your eyes are open. I look forward to witnessing your growth; the younger peoples of the universe, like those here in Coloss, are in for a treat.¡± She chuckled and held out a hand, and Victor, ignorant as he was, knew he was supposed to kiss it. He blushed furiously, but he did it, taking her fingers lightly in his and just brushing the back of her hand with his lips.

    ¡°Well done, Victor,¡± sheughed, and though he never took his eyes off her, she was gone by the time his brain registered that she¡¯d pulled her fingers out of his grip.

    ¡°Pinche fucking crazy,¡± he hissed, looking around the room for Va. She was still standing near the head table, speaking to Blue and another man with enormous red-furred ears. Victor made his way over, standing a few feet to the side, waiting for her to make eye contact with him. After a moment, when the big-eared guy started speaking to Blue, Va looked his way and nodded.

    As he took thest few steps toward them, Va said, ¡°Thank you for dinner, War Captain. I must depart; mypanion has a busy day tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Blue said, feigning dismay by holding a hand to his chest. He looked at Victor and said, ¡°Can you not manage to make your way home alone,d?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be much of an escort if I left thedy here alone, would I?¡± Victor asked, struggling to keep a snarl out of his voice.

    ¡°I suppose not. What say you, Lady Va?¡±

    ¡°I say I¡¯m tired, sir. Thank you again, but I must be going.¡± Va sketched a half bow and then turned to leave. Victor nodded to Blue, noting the amusement in the man¡¯s eyes, and followed after her.

    ¡°You good, Va?¡± he asked, lengthening his stride, so he walked beside her.

    ¡°Am I good?¡± she chuckled, shaking her head. ¡°On the bright side, I had a wonderful meal and learned the names of many powerful people in Coloss. I suppose the gloomy news is that I must fight a woman far more powerful than I in a month¡¯s time.¡±

    ¡°At least it¡¯s not in two days.¡±

    ¡°Do I have you to thank for that?¡± Va softly asked, ncing at him with arched eyebrows.

    ¡°Not exactly. That woman who made the, uh, prophecy wanted to help you out. I mean, I asked her to, but she said she likes an underdog. She¡¯s fucking strong, Va, and she wants to help you prepare. I mean,¡± Victor nced around the wide hallway they were walking through toward the front doors of the manor, noting the other people walking nearby, and said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell youter, okay? Trust me, though; things aren¡¯t as grim as you think.¡±

    ¡°I do trust you, Victor.¡± Va smiled and added, ¡°A lot can happen in a month, right?¡±

    ¡°Damn right, chica.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 8: The Madness of Crowds

    Book 4: Chapter 8: The Madness of Crowds

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor said with a grunt as he pulled on his boots. ¡°She said to show that token at the arena, and they¡¯d let you sit in her box.¡± He stood up from the little table in the central room of their suite and adjusted his belt, making sure he feltfortable; it was time to get in some fights.

    ¡°And she¡¯s going to help me somehow, hmm?¡± Va asked, flicking the silver token into the air and deftly catching it with her other hand.

    ¡°Trust me, Va; she¡¯s the real deal. If anyone can help you prepare to beat that bruja, it¡¯s her. I¡¯m pretty sure there¡¯s no one stronger than her in this whole city. Well, I might be wrong, but you¡¯ll see what I mean when you spend some time with her. Ready to go?¡± He moved over to the door, feeling a bit antsy about getting to the arena. He wanted to warm up a little and get a feel for the ce before his first fight.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Va tucked the token into her belt and then led the way, opening the patio doors and stepping out into the courtyard. Victor followed, closing the door behind them. He had to hustle to catch up to her, and he sighed with irritation.

    Va had been less talkative than usual, even though she probably had a lot to say¡ªwhat were the people like up at the high table? What did the blue jerk talk about all night? How was she feeling? What could Victor do to help? He¡¯d tried all those questions and more, but Va wasn¡¯t talking. When they¡¯d returned to the room, she¡¯d said she was too tired, and that morning, she¡¯d avoided him, staying in her room until right before it was time to leave.

    ¡°I wish you¡¯d talk to me,¡± he said as they walked through the inn and stepped out into the arena square.

    ¡°I know.¡± She frowned but then surprised him by saying, ¡°I¡¯ll bare my soul if you win all of your fights today.¡±

    ¡°Oh, shit.¡± Victor sighed, shaking his head.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re promising something like that, you must think I¡¯m going to lose. Damn, Va, I thought you had more faith than that!¡±

    She snorted and said, ¡°Just don¡¯t die, all right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the n.¡± With that, he grabbed her wrist and darted across the road to the steps leading up to the expansive za in front of the arena. They barely cleared the road before an enormous, floating barge-like wagon loaded with soldiers in matching red armor whirred past. Its passage kicked up dust and sent a hot wave of steamy air chasing after them.

    ¡°They need crosswalks in this damn ce,¡± Victor growled as he hopped up the steps three at a time. He walked to the main gate and stopped near the mass of people loosely queued up to get inside. ¡°I guess I have to go in through that other gate around the side. Meet you at the inn afterward?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I think it would be hard to find each other in the crowds; the inn would be best.¡±

    ¡°Okay, well, get us a table in themon room; I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be thirsty. Also, while you¡¯re up there, see if any people are taking bets.¡± He pulled out a sack of beads, handed it to her, then another¡ªprobably close to ten thousand beads¡ªand she took them with a nod.

    Victor turned and started to walk away, but Va reached out and grabbed his arm. ¡°Wait, Victor. I¡¯m . . . well, I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m not good at things like this;munication isn¡¯t one of my talents.¡± Her face was open, devoid of the make-up she¡¯d worn the night before, but still full of color. Her green eyes were, for the first time he could remember, a bit bloodshot as she narrowed them and searched for words.

    ¡°Rx,¡± Victor said with an easy smile. ¡°I know you¡¯ll be rooting for me.¡±

    ¡°I will. I¡¯ll share some words Shield Sergeant Grev said during my first deployment with the legion: The enemy can see your swords, they can see your armor, but they can¡¯t see your hearts. Show them what¡¯s in there. Never quit, never waver, and when you stand over them victorious, they¡¯ll know the metal in your blood.¡± Va spoke from her gut, her voiceing out husky, clipping each word in a kind of mantra, and Victor felt his back straightening and little goosebumps popping up at the nape of his neck.

    ¡°Damn,¡± he said, lost for other words as his reticent,conic friend spoke with such emotion. She offered him a brief smile, nodded, and then moved off to line up with the others waiting to gain entry. ¡°No pressure,¡± he muttered, turning to work his way around the arena to the fighter¡¯s gate.

    The man at the gate acted like he¡¯d been expecting him and motioned him through. Victor walked down the stone-walled breezeway until he saw some other fighters he recognized from the previous day lingering near a side passage, and he walked over. ¡°Yo,¡± he said, ¡°this where the fighters are supposed to go?¡±

    The two were both Vesh, a big, rhinoceros-looking man, and anky, long-limbed woman who had ck feathers for hair and long, talon-like nails at the tips of her elongated fingers. The big guy, his thick lips curling into a smile beneath the stout horn protruding where his nose should be, said, ¡°Aye. The fight steward is down there. He¡¯ll show you to a ready room. Victor, wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor smiled and added, ¡°I¡¯m bad with names¡ªdon¡¯t think I caught yours.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Ronno, and this is Rekka; she¡¯s my sister.¡±

    ¡°Hi,¡± the woman said, waving at Victor almost shyly, leaning back against the wall and self-consciously adjusting her well-worn yellow and greencquered chainmail vest.

    ¡°Cool to meet you guys,¡± he said and started to step into the tunnel.

    ¡°Hold up, Victor,¡± Ronno said, his deep voice rumbling. ¡°You¡¯re new to Coloss, yes?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor turned back toward him, starting to frown as he wondered what this was going to be about.

    ¡°We¡¯re trying to talk to all the participants in the tournament, trying to make a mercy pact.¡±

    ¡°Mercy pact?¡±

    ¡°No one has to die today,¡± Rekka said from behind Ronno¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We¡¯re promising to grant mercy to anyone who yields in a fight. Will you do the same?¡±

    Victor mulled it over for a moment, then said, ¡°If I fight either of you, I¡¯ll show mercy if you yield, sure.¡±

    Ronno¡¯s smile spread even further, disying enormous t teeth. ¡°Good! Luck to you then, brother.¡± He reached out a stout, three-fingered hand, and Victor shook it, his grip awkward on the meaty appendage. Rekka smiled at him again, this time meeting his gaze with her dazzling yellow-flecked ck eyes. Victor, ever at the mercy of his impulses, winked at her and then, grinning, turned to continue walking deeper into the bowels of the arena.

    He felt good, happy that not everyone in Coloss, or more specifically, all the fighters in Coloss, weren¡¯t jerks. He passed a few uniformed arena workers as he wound his way deeper into the facility, and soon he came to arge rectangr room with dozens of doors lining one side. Long benches filled the center of the room, sparsely popted by fighters and their friends, or perhaps teams was a better word. A man in an arena uniform, holding a softly glowing stone te, stood near the entry hall, and Victor approached him.

    ¡°Ah, Victor, yes?¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor watched as the man scribbled on his te with a matching stone stylus.

    ¡°Ready room one.¡±

    ¡°One?¡± Victor wondered if the room assignment meant anything, but the man quickly dissuaded that notion.

    ¡°Yes, don¡¯t worry,d; the first-round bouts and room assignments were randomly selected. That said, your first opponent will be in ready room two, and I have some rules to go over with you.¡± He stared at Victor until it became apparent he was waiting for a response.

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Rule one: no fighting outside the arena. Rule two: all armor and magical items must be stowed in your ready room, save your primary weapon. A chest in your ready room will have a random set of armor for you to wear, though you can go without if you please.¡±

    ¡°What? Wait, so I can¡¯t wear my own armor? What do you mean random?¡±

    ¡°A random selection will be avable for you to wear, but you may wear your non-armored clothing if you¡¯d prefer. None of the arena armors are enchanted other than for sizing.¡±

    Victor felt like the man was being purposefully obtuse, and he had the urge to reach out and tweak one of his floppy, shaggy ears. ¡°So, my helmet, my armor . . . what about my boots and my belt?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m happy you asked,¡± the man said, pulling out a smooth, ck, pointy wand and waving it over Victor, from his toes and up to his head. ¡°Your boots, belt, armor, rings, amulet, and helmet will not be permitted into the arena.¡±

    ¡°Fuck me,¡± Victor sighed.

    ¡°You should be happy about this rule,¡± the man tsked. ¡°Some of the other participants have legendary artifacts that would make your trinkets pale inparison.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor nodded, considering the words¡ªhe had no idea what kinds of things people might bring into the arena, and he supposed it was good there were limitations. ¡°Right, but my axe is okay?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but, as I said, be aware that thebatants will employ many fine weapons today.¡± The man was polite, but he had an officious air about him that was starting to rub Victor the wrong way.

    ¡°Any other rules?¡±

    ¡°Thank you for asking! In the next fifteen minutes, the passage from this room will be locked, and you¡¯ll need to spend your time between fights in your ready room or here. Remember rule number one, please. Should you win your first match, you¡¯ll be afforded limited first aid; the chest containing your belongings will remain locked until you finish the tournament. Should you lose but survive, you will be given back your belongings and escorted from this section of the arena.¡±

    ¡°Are there any rules about that? I mean, letting people live during the fights?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s frowned upon to y abatant who has asked for mercy but not prohibited.¡± The man¡¯s face remained impassive and his voice t. Victor wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell his opinion on the matter. ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me, I see another fighter to whom I have yet to speak. Your ready room is there¡ªthe first door.¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± Victor said, reaching toward the man but stopping short of grabbing him. When he turned back to Victor, he continued, ¡°What about the other fights? I can¡¯t watch?¡±

    ¡°Apologies. I should have mentioned,¡± the steward replied, pointing toward arge, nk stone rectangle lining one wall of the room. ¡°That view portal will disy each contest.¡±

    ¡°Oh, shit. Like an old-school TV . . .¡± Victor trailed off as the fight steward turned to speak to another fighter that had just walked into the room.

    Victor walked over to the first iron-banded, wooden door,rge enough for a Degh to walk through¡ªenormous by human standards. Right away, he saw a figure he recognized leaning next to door number two¡ªthe giant Degh woman with curly blond hair. He tried to remember her name, but the only thing Victor could think of was that it started with a K and had a distinctly feminine quality. Awkwardly, he tried to act like he hadn¡¯t noticed her and made to open his door, reaching up to twist the handle that was at his shoulder level.

    ¡°Victor,¡± she said, dashing his hopes of avoiding embarrassment and slipping inside his room.

    ¡°Hey . . .¡± he said, looking up at her and squinting, his shoulders lifting, unbidden, into a sheepish shrug.

    ¡°Kreecia,¡± sheughed. ¡°Darn! I think we¡¯ll have to fight first.¡± She hooked her thumbs in her belt, and Victor noticed her bone-ted armor from before was gone, and she just wore some supple-looking leather pants and a sleeveless vest.

    ¡°Is that how this works? Rooms one and two fight, then three and four, etcetera?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid so. Tell you what, cutie, I¡¯ll do my best not to kill you.¡± She smiled, revealing arge gap between her top front teeth, and then reached up to twirl one of her curls.

    ¡°I¡¯ll, uh, appreciate that. I¡¯ll try not to kill you, too. Please yield quickly, though¡ªmy axe is thirsty and not one to pull her punches.¡±

    ¡°Oho! Spunky! I like it,¡± she winked at him, and Victor couldn¡¯t helpughing.

    ¡°You know,¡± he said, pulling his door open and stepping through, ¡°I¡¯m, like, half your size.¡±

    ¡°Nothing that ever stopped me before. See you out there, cutie!¡± Her voice chased him through the door as it swung shut.

    ¡°That . . . would be a handful,¡± he said, lifting Lifedrinker out of her loop. ¡°Now I¡¯m going to feel guilty if I chop off her leg or something, so let¡¯s try to take it a little easy on her, eh?¡± Lifedrinker hummed in his hand, her dark, living-wood handle picking up the lights in the ready room, tiny stars blooming to life in the depths. ¡°Damn, you¡¯re pretty, you know that?¡± He set her down on the bench that lined one of the walls, then looked around as he unbuckled his belt.

    Like the rest of the arena, the room was walled with pale stone blocks. The bench he¡¯d set Lifedrinker on lined one of the longer walls while two chests sat against the other. An iron portcullis blocked a passage leading up from the far wall, and Victor figured it led into the arena proper.

    He walked over to the chests, both made of dark stone and both as big as his old varsity locker. He lifted the lid of the one on the left, and it swung open noiselessly on recessed hinges. The interior was empty, and he figured that was where he was supposed to deposit his armor and magical belongings.

    The other chest opened just as effortlessly, and within was a leather-lined bronze breastte and, to his horror, a skirt made ofyered leather and bronze strips. ¡°The fuck is this?¡± he asked the empty room, lifting it out to find, beneath it, knee-high boots and bronze-ted gauntlets. He took out the boots and gauntlets but tossed the skirt back into the chest. ¡°I don¡¯t have any underwear that¡¯ll look good in that thing, sorry.¡±

    He dug around in one of his rings until he came up with a pair of sturdy leather pants, then he started changing. In the end, when he¡¯d put on the boots, breastte, gauntlets, and his own pants, he felt pretty good¡ªthey¡¯d all resized to feel perfectly suited to his physique, and with his upper arms clear, he felt like he did in the old days when he¡¯d first found his old, badass vest in the dungeon near the mine.

    He stowed all his valuables in the empty chest, then lifted Lifedrinker and began going through his axe forms, especially thebinations he¡¯d learned with Polo Vosh and perfected while sparring with Va.

    He felt a little naked without the weight of his helmet, but he also felt light and fast, and a savage grin stretched his lips as Lifedrinker sang and snapped through the air. In the back of his mind, he¡¯d been worried about who he might have to fight, but he began to hope his opponents, beyond the first match, would be assholes. He didn¡¯t want to spend the whole day pulling his punches.

    Victor was deep into his routine when someone pounded on the door leading to the outer ready room. He finished up hisbo, bringing Lifedrinker around in a snapping, upward hook meant to shear through an opponent¡¯s inner thigh; then, still holding her and sweating lightly, he turned to pull the door open. The fight steward stood there, rocking back and forth impatiently. He spoke almost immediately, ¡°You¡¯re the first to fight today. When the portcullis opens, make your way up the ramp. You¡¯ll have one minute before a forfeit is dered.¡±

    ¡°All right . . .¡± Victor started, but the man was already moving over to the next door. He was about to close the door when he saw a familiar face. Krista, the one name Victor could remember from the day before, stood smiling at him, her long canines glinting in the glowmps.

    ¡°Hey, Deshi. I¡¯m in room six¡ªtry to win your first two matches so we can dance, hmm?¡±

    Victor eyed her up and down, noting that she wore armor much like his, though she hadn¡¯t turned her nose up at the skirt, and it looked kinda cool if he were being honest. More than that, though, he took in her spear¡ªeasily eight feet long, with a twenty-inch, razor-edged de that winked with pale yellow, crackling sparks. Not for the first time, Victor remembered his coach¡¯s words of wisdom and mped his mouth tight, refusing to talk shit before a fight. He stepped back and closed his door with a thud.

    If he¡¯d had enough time, he might have begun to get into his head, begun to second-guess his enthusiasm to fight, and nt some doubts about whether he¡¯d made the right decision. Fortunately, though, just a few minutes after he¡¯d closed his door, the portcullis noisily ratcheted into the ceiling of the tunnel. ¡°Right. Here we go, beautiful,¡± he growled, hefting Lifedrinker and striding up the sloping stone passage toward the brightly lit opening fifty yards distant. He could already hear the noise of the crowd.

    Victor¡¯s impulses warred with each other when he stepped out into the sunlight. One part of him wanted to turn around and forfeit. The other part wanted to hold up his arms and strut further into the sandy arena, basking in the attention of tens of thousands of people, something he¡¯d never dreamed of in his old life. He settled for apromise, walking calmly forward a half dozen paces, still holding Lifedrinker crossways in front of his waist.

    The crowd was enormous, and so was the din. Cheering, howling, stomping, people shouting conversations at each other because other people were shouting, and behind it all, some kind of weird music that was mostly drums and pipes. Still, the beat was undeniable, and Victor found himself swaying to it as he waited for something to happen. He squinted up into the sunlight, the fiery orange-yellow orb just poking above the high, curved wall of the stadium.

    He¡¯d just turned toward the next passageway, the only other one with an open portcullis, when a loud, enthusiastic voice rang through the arena¡ªan announcer, ¡°Great people of Coloss! Great Warlord and War Captains! Our first fight of the low-tier tournament is about to begin. Before you stands the first challenger, a stranger to our world, an unknown quantity! Victor! What a name, don¡¯t you think? His very moniker proims his intention to win!¡±

    The crowd erupted in louder cheers, and Victor couldn¡¯t help himself; he held Lifedrinker up and turned in a slow circle. He tried to make out faces, tried to see the box where Va might be sitting, and tried to pick out the guy who was speaking, but it was impossible; thousands of people mingled together in a tremendous churning mass, bing faceless in their multitudes.

    The announcer continued, ¡°Stepping into the arena to meet the challenger is our hometown beauty, the Damsel of Destruction, Kreecia!¡± Victor watched as Kreecia, wielding a two-handed, sledge-like hammer that had to weigh a thousand pounds, charged out of her tunnel, leaping a dozen feet into the air andnding with a tremendous crash, smashing her hammer into the sand. Victor felt the stone beneath the sand tremble at the concussion, and he took a step back to steady himself.

    The crowd went absolutely insane, cheering and roaring so loudly that Victor almost lifted his hands to his ears. He stopped the impulse, though, hefting Lifedrinker and snarling. He cast Inspiring Presence, and though Kreecia was still intimidating with that gigantic hammer, he felt better about his odds. Watching her straighten up and ponderously swing the hammer, its head the size of a wheelbarrow, Victor used Sovereign Will to boost his agility and squared off with her.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± the announcer shouted, and Victor realized the question wasn¡¯t directed at him or Kreecia when the crowd¡¯s roaring went up another octave. ¡°Fight!¡±

    The announcer had barely finished his shoutedmand when Kreecia squatted andunched herself into the air, lifting that ridiculous hammer high as though she meant to smash Victor, like a disobedient nail, into the ground. Victor channeled rage-attuned Energy into Lifedrinker, darted forward under the arc of her jump, and, moving far faster than she, he leaped, hacking at her dangling left foot.

    Kreecia¡¯s eyes widened, and she tried to pull her feet up, but so much of her brute strength was focused on managing her enormous maul, and Victor was moving so fast that despite her efforts, Lifedrinker cut a deep groove through her thick leather boot. Her edge, ever thirsty for flesh, tore into the top of Kreecia¡¯s foot, and even though it felt like he¡¯d struck an anvil, he felt confident he¡¯d cracked some of those tiny bones.

    Kreecia cried out andnded awkwardly, her hammer smashing into the sand with forward momentum rather than downward. The arena didn¡¯t shudder, but a spray of sand flew out like a meteor hadnded, leaving a trench six inches deep as Kreecia stumbled forward after her massive weapon. Inspired as he was, Victor knew better than to let up the pressure.

    He charged after the giant woman. As she gained control of her hammer, clearly favoring her left foot, Victor was already on her, running past, hacking Lifedrinker sideways into the back of her knee with all his strength and momentum. It felt like he¡¯d taken an iron axe and smashed it into a massive knot in the trunk of a mesquite tree.

    Lifedrinker bit, severing flesh, but when her gleaming Heart Silver edge struck the bones of Kreecia¡¯s leg, she was stopped short. The axe¡¯s handle vibrated with the impact, and Victor¡¯s eyes bulged at the concussive impact. Still, he didn¡¯t let go; it would take much more than that to pull Lifedrinker from his grasp. ¡°Mierda!¡± he grunted, yanking Lifedrinker back and sideways, grinding through more of Kreecia¡¯s meaty leg but sliding along her adamant bone.

    Kreecia howled in pain and fury, and if Victor hadn¡¯t been inspired or had his agility boosted, he might have died at that moment. She seemed to explode with bright orange Energy, and her hammer whistled through the air as she spun, sacrificing her bnce to bring the hammer around sideways, directly at Victor. Still, he saw iting just in time and dropped to roll through the sand. Howling like a freight train, the tremendous weapon destroyed nothing but air. Worse, for Kreecia, she couldn¡¯t keep her grip as she fell to her back, and the hammer sailed toward the high stone wall of the arena.

    Momentarily stunned by his close call, Victor watched the hammer smash into the arena wall with a resounding crash. Tiny fractures spread in the stone around the impact, and the hammer fell to the ground with a thud that he felt through his hands and knees as he mbered to his feet. He kept Kreecia in front of him as he stood, Lifedrinker ready, and approached the wounded woman, struggling to stand with a knee that wasn¡¯t working.

    ¡°I yield,¡± she coughed, eyes bloodshot with tears of pain as she looked up from the sand. She¡¯d given up trying to stand. Victor opened his mouth, but then he was cut off by the announcer¡¯s voice filling the air.

    ¡°Oh no! Our local heroine has fallen, and just like that, she¡¯s asking for mercy! Will the challenger grant it? Should the challenger grant it? Scream if you want to see more blood!¡±

    The crowd''s bloodthirsty howls rose to new heights, and Victor felt his blood stirring in response, felt his heart begin to thump with a different, heavy beat. The furious Energy at his Core started to seep into his pathways. His lips pulled back into a menacing, maniacal grin, and he lifted Lifedrinker high over his head.

 Book 4: Chapter 9: Visualizing a Goal

    Book 4: Chapter 9: Visualizing a Goal

    Victor felt the roar of the crowd more than he heard it. He could feel their emotion and the Energy they were pouring out, flowing through the air toward him; it was palpable, thick, and hot, and his body and Core responded to it. He stretched his arm upward, Lifedrinker¡¯s edge glinting in the morning sunlight, and turned in a slow circle, disying her gleaming silvery de to each corner of the arena.

    ¡°I yield!¡± Kreecia said again, panting in pain.

    Victor turned to her, his eyes dark with bloodlust, and she flinched back. He walked around her, circling, turned toward the high, crented stand where he assumed the nobility were seated and roared. It wasn¡¯t anything spectacr, that roar¡ªhe was just his normal human size, not even Berserk. Still, the savagery in his voice wasn¡¯t something that could be mistaken, and he drove it forth from his throat with a burst of potent, pure, rage-attuned Energy.

    If the crowd responded to his scream, he couldn¡¯t tell¡ªalready, their thunderous noise was too much for his ears to filter. Still holding Lifedrinker high in his right hand, he stomped toward Kreecia and bared his teeth in a savage grin. He said, his voice heavy with subdued fury, held at bay by his iron will, ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Then he casually lowered Lifedrinker and walked toward his tunnel, watching the portcullis, waiting for it to rise so he could get out of the focus of those mad people.

    The crowd instantly turned on him. Roaring and cheering, screaming for blood one moment, then booing and hissing and stomping their feet the next. Despite their intent to shame or infuriate him, Victor almost sighed with relief; something in his Core, in his heart, in the very center of his being had been responding to those mad cheers, and it was easier to breathe and think with the crowd losing its enthusiasm.

    ¡°Looks like the traveling warrior has decided to show mercy to our dear Kreecia! We all love a bloodbath, but let''s rejoice! Kreecia lives to fight another day! Congrattions to Victor! He¡¯ll be back to fight in the next round.¡±

    Victor scanned the arena while waiting for his tunnel to open and saw that Kreecia was sitting up and that a steel door in the opposite wall had opened. A man dressed like an honest-to-god jester,plete with a funny hat and white face paint, hade through the opening and was cartwheeling toward her.

    As his portcullis started to nk open, Victor saw the clownish figure produce a small vial and hand it to the wounded fighter. She drank it, and Victor nodded, turning to walk down the tunnel to his ready room. He felt almost instant relief as he descended into that cool, stone tunnel, out of the re of the sun and the crazy heat of the crowd¡¯s frenzy. Victor breathed more easily, the tension in his muscles rxed, and his grip loosened on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft.

    He didn¡¯t think there¡¯d been any real risk of losing himself to that madness, that he¡¯d execute Kreecia. No, he¡¯d hadplete control of himself the whole time, but what bothered him was how badly some part of himself had yearned for that release, yearned to be let loose from the cage where he held it, free to rampage, consequences be damned. ¡°Is it the Quinametzin?¡± he asked Lifedrinker, lifting her to rest on his shoulder. ¡°Is it just me? Some wild part of me that loves having a crowd go nuts for my actions?¡±

    When he re-entered his ready room, Victor was surprised to see a ckcquered box with a glimmering silver ribbon wrapped around it sitting on his bench. ¡°Huh,¡± he said, stepping over to it,ying Lifedrinker to the side, and pulling one end of the silvery bow. The ribbon unraveled effortlessly, and as it fell away from the box, it shimmered into motes of silvery light that faded away with a faint tinkling sound. ¡°Cool.¡± Victor picked up the box, about six inches square, and lifted the lid.

    Inside, a gleaming tinum coin sat on a velvety, ck cushion. A note card was nestled within, and Victor lifted it to read, ¡°Congrattions on your first-round victory! You¡¯ve earned a Coloss Prize Token, redeemable at the City Stone.¡± Victor grinned, set the box and its contents atop the locked stone chest that held his other belongings, then picked up Lifedrinker and went out the door to therger, shared, ready room. He wanted to watch the next fight.

    When he pushed open his door, several people sitting on the central row of benches and watching the colorful ¡°viewport¡± turned their heads his way, and a few nodded respectfully. He smiled and walked over to sit down, several feet between him and the next diator. Victor wanted to be left alone, wanted just to watch his futurepetition, but he wasn¡¯t surprised when Krista¡¯s familiar voice said, ¡°Lucky match-up on your first round, Deshi.¡±

    He ignored her, eyes trained on the screen, watching two Vesh fighting furiously in the center of the arena. Onebatant was a man with dark ck fur and skin, spikes running down the middle of his skull and spine, and long, w-tipped arms. The other was a woman that Victor would have sworn was half deer; she had antlers, soft, fuzzy fur on her cheeks, and a moist, ck nose.

    ¡°Not going to talk to us about your victory? Did you bribe the Arena Master to put you up against that slow oaf?¡±

    ¡°Quiet, Krista,¡± a deep, menacing voice said, and Victor turned to see the speaker. Sitting on the floor in the corner, but still at eye level with most of the otherbatants, was an enormous Degh giant. He had leathery, tanned skin, a shaven head, and glowering red eyes deeply set beneath a brooding brow. To Victor¡¯s astonishment, Krista didn¡¯t reply; she snarled and moved to sit on the bench a good dozen feet away. The huge Degh made eye contact with Victor, and though Victor nodded his appreciation, the giant looked away, almost dismissively.

    Victor looked back to the viewport in time to see the deer-like woman, kneeling with a severed arm, being executed by the dark, spined Vesh. He¡¯d cast some sort of spell, summoning ropy tendrils of shifting, razored sand that wrapped around her, and, as the crowd went wild, he held up a dark, taloned hand and made a fist. At the same time, his sandy bonds squeezed the woman, slicing her into several bloody segments.

    ¡°Damn him!¡± a familiar voice cursed, and Victor turned to see the rhino-nosed man, Ronno, standing to furiously smash a fist against the stone wall.

    ¡°Fair¡¯s fair,¡± Krista said, though she didn¡¯t look happy. She stood and quickly walked to her ready room. Before anyone could reply, she stepped inside and shut the door.

    ¡°She¡¯s up now?¡± Victor asked, looking down the bench.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± another Vesh woman said. Victor looked around to see who else was leaving, but then he realized only seven or eight people were watching¡ªmost of thebatants must have been in their ready rooms. He turned back to the viewport to watch, wishing he could hear what was going on out there, what the announcer was saying as Krista and anky, gold-scaled snake man squared off. ¡°No, not snake man,¡± he said softly to himself, ¡°Yazzian.¡±

    The fight was brutal and fast. Krista¡¯s spear wasn¡¯t just for show; she knew how to use it. The Yazzian didn¡¯t wield a weapon, but he moved like liquid lightning, sliding around the arena in sparkling bursts, turning to throw balls of crackling Energy at Krista. The problem was, she wasn¡¯t any slower than he, and her spear seemed to have a will of its own, darting out to bridge the space between them, punching through crackling Energy shields, and relentlessly poking holes in the Yazzian, each one leaving him weaker and slower.

    After her first strike, it was only a matter of time; the Yazzian left trails of dark blood in the sand, and after her third strike, he never had a chance to attempt to yield; Krista jerked the spear free, winked out of existence and reappeared in a burst of red Energy behind the Yazzian, her spear firmly nted through his long, serpentine neck. His spine must have been severed because he fell, limp and lifeless, to the sand.

    ¡°Damn. She can teleport?¡±

    ¡°Aye, but it tires her,¡± said Ronno, still standing near the spot where his meaty rhino fist had cracked the stone wall.

    ¡°Fool to use it for no reason,¡± another Yazzian said. ¡°Now we all know.¡±

    ¡°Most of us knew. Those of us that matter,¡± the lurking giant in the corner rumbled.

    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± the Yazzian asked, standing up, a gleaming, purple-limned rapier in its hand.

    ¡°Sit down, fool,¡± Ronno said. ¡°You¡¯ll be ejected for instigating violence out here. Not to mention, you don¡¯t want to fight Jast if you don¡¯t have to.¡±

    In response, the copper-scaled Yazzian walked to the seventh ready room door and disappeared within. Victor shrugged, looking to see that Jast hadn¡¯t reacted at all. He still sat in the corner, baleful red eyes trained on the viewport,pletely ignoring everyone else. A few minutester, Krista returned, flinging her ready room door open with a bang,ughing and bowing to the room. No one seemed impressed, and Victor studiously ignored her.

    The next fight was between the rapier-wielding Yazzian and another giant Degh, and the Yazzian spent a good long while wearing him down with punctures and shes, never suffering an injury to the giant¡¯s ponderous axe cleaves. Victor wasn¡¯t impressed with the Degh¡¯s axe work; if he had to guess, he¡¯d say the man hadn¡¯t gotten past the improved stage¡ªhe definitely was strong, but his Energy usage was minuscule, and he wasn¡¯t fast. He wanted to ask if all Degh were slow, but he knew it would cause him some trouble, especially from the lurking giant, so he just resolved to keep watching.

    After the Yazzian won, Jast, the giant in the corner, stood up and moved toward his ready room. Ronno called after him, ¡°Jast, remember our agreement.¡±

    ¡°If possible,¡± the man rumbled, stepping through his door, making the enormous opening look almost small. Victor wondered what that had been about, but he soon learned. Watching the viewport, he saw Jast loomingrge, a great, double-ded red-metal axe in his hands, staring at Ronno¡¯s sister, Rekka. Rekka looked like a child before him, her curved shortswords like toys.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Victor breathed, ncing at Ronno. He saw how the big man sat¡ªslumped on the bench, head in his hands, eyes down. He expected his sister to die. Victor felt for him and wondered how he¡¯d handle such a situation. Would he stand by, or would he go fucking get her out? He figured he¡¯d get her out¡ªciertamente! His earlier wondering about Deghs and whether they were all slow was answered while he watched Jast destroy Rekka. He moved with uncanny grace, easily staying on top of the much smaller, lithe, winged woman as she tried to circle and nk him.

    Rekka managed to avoid hisshing axe cleaves for a few minutes. Inevitably, though, one of them struck home, and Rekka¡¯s legs fell away at the hips in a shower of blood that looked like someone had tossed out a bucket of rubies, the way it glittered in the sunlight before sshing into the sand. Rekka¡¯s top half tumbled to a skidding stop, a copious pool of blood quickly formed around it, and Victor knew no potion would fix her.

    Ronno didn¡¯t scream, didn¡¯t smash the wall, didn¡¯t wait to attack Jast. He stood, stomped to his ready room, and went inside without a word. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s rough,¡± Victor said as the door mmed shut.

    ¡°Rough indeed. I¡¯d never enter a tournament with someone I loved.¡± Victor looked to the speaker, a short, fox-eared Vesh woman. She wore tight leather armor, entuating her feminine form, and, surprising to Victor, she had a quiver filled with silvery arrows on her back. She met his gaze, her golden irises twinkling as she smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m Sanima.¡±

    ¡°Cool to meet you. Yeah, I¡¯m with you on that one. What if the Arena Master had put Ronno and Rekka against each other?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. What¡¯s your name, though?¡± she asked, standing from the bench to move closer. Victor found himself studying her, trying to see if anything other than her ears was fox-like, but she had normal, darkly-tanned skin, and though her teeth were bright and sharp, they didn¡¯t look exactly like a canine¡¯s.

    ¡°Sorry; I¡¯m Victor.¡±

    ¡°You had some skill with that axe, and you move quickly. Should we battle together, I¡¯ll offer to spare your life if you¡¯ll do the same.¡± She held out a slender hand, her nails sharp and painted green to match the makeup around her eyes.

    ¡°Yeah, for sure. I had the same thing going with Ronno and Rekka.¡± Victor shook her hand, careful not to hold onto it longer than was polite.

    ¡°As did I. Ronno will fight Yarge now and may win. If so, he¡¯ll face Jast, his sister''s killer, and that will be a bloody brawl.¡±

    Victor nodded, watching the screen as they cleared poor Rekka from the arena. He turned back to Sanima and said, ¡°I guess, since we might fight, I shouldn¡¯t ask you about your secrets, but I couldn¡¯t help noticing you have a quiver on your back. They allow people to use bows in here?¡±

    ¡°Naturally. It¡¯s a legitimate weapon, recognized by the martial masters of all the great cities.¡±

    ¡°Cool . . .¡± Victor said, trying to keep his expression neutral. He wasn¡¯t sure how he¡¯d deal with a powerful Energy user that could pepper him with arrows from range. He could move fast, but he didn¡¯t have a teleport or anything like that. He supposed he¡¯d call up his coyotes and use their speed and numbers to harry an archer. With that in mind, he nodded and looked back at the viewport.

    Ronno was facing off with a Degh, who didn¡¯t seem so giant next to the rhino-like Vesh. He was stillrger, but Ronno looked like a ball of thick skin and muscle with a horn, and Victor didn¡¯t envy the guy who had to fight him, enraged as he must be about his sister. His prediction proved correct¡ªRonno didn¡¯t use a weapon, per se, but he had massive metal gauntlets that exploded with steam every time he punched his opponent.

    The Degh wielded an enormous ball mace, but though he seemed to be striking hard enough to crack granite, Ronno shrugged off the blows, constantly pushing inside the Degh¡¯s guard to deliver bone-cracking, steam-exploding punches that sent the giant into a retreat. Victor didn¡¯t think the giant could continue to absorb those punishing blows, and he was right again¡ªnot five minutes into the match, the giant took a knee, and Ronno backed off, granting mercy.

    Ronno didn¡¯t return to the shared ready room, and the subsequent fight went nearly as quickly as Victor¡¯s had. Another spear-wielding Vesh killed a giant Degh with a lightning thrust that put the spear through his massive chest, right into his heart. The arena-issued breastte didn¡¯t seem to slow the spear, and Victor wasn¡¯t surprised because it had glowed with brilliant silver Energy as it streaked forward. Sanima tsked as she stood up from the bench.

    ¡°My turn. I suppose I¡¯ll face him in round two. He won¡¯t find me so easy to impale, though,¡± she chuckled, sauntering through her ready room door. Victor looked around the nearly empty shared room and debated watching the next fight. If he¡¯d counted correctly, it was thest one of the first round.

    ¡°One more, right?¡± he asked Krista, who¡¯d been silently watching,pletely ignoring him since her earlier victory.

    ¡°Right. Are you growing nervous, Deshi? Seen some disys of violence that give you pause?¡±

    Victor contemted ignoring her again, but he was slightly intrigued by her silence since her first match. ¡°Looks like you have to fight that purple rapier dude next. You nervous?¡±

    ¡°Garl is dangerous, and I¡¯m going to have to concentrate, but he¡¯ll fall to my spear. You¡¯re the one who should be nervous¡ªHarf is a vicious man. You saw how he cut Ne into pieces, and that was with an Energy attack. He¡¯s just as deadly with those ws.¡±

    ¡°That so?¡± Victor couldn¡¯t help the smirk that turned his lips.

    ¡°Aye, Deshi. Run out now if you¡¯re smart. You¡¯ve never faced such as us.¡± She stood, leaning on her enormous spear, and Victor felt a chuckle fighting to escape his throat.

    ¡°Lady, I¡¯ve seen shit that would make you piss yourself where you stand. I¡¯ve been through worse than what that asshole did to that antlereddy. And I lived. Worry about your own shit.¡±

    ¡°Antlereddy? Do you mean Ne? She was a friend, you scum.¡± Krista bristled and bared her sharp canines, a low growl in her throat.

    ¡°Chill out. I¡¯m not the guy who fucked her up.¡± Victor stood up, hefting Lifedrinker, and turned his back to her, walking to his ready room. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll see you in round three if you win again.¡± Her growl chased him through the doorway and cut off abruptly as he let the door m. ¡°Fucking pendeja.¡± He sighed and sat on his bench, trying to get his head back in the game¡ªhe was pretty sure his next fight would be more demanding than the first.

    His mind kept returning to how his next opponent, apparently named Harf, had killed his opponent. He¡¯d manipted the sand into ded, ropy tendrils, then sliced the woman he fought into pieces. How could Victor counter that? He could only hope he¡¯d get a chance to employ his will attribute to shrug off the spell. Was it even real? Could sand have des? Was it a mental attack? Victor began to realize he didn¡¯t know enough.

    The problem Victor kepting back to was that he was sure he could win if he went Berserk or summoned his bear totem, but he was trying to save those cards for the third and fourth matches. ¡°I¡¯ll use my coyotes to keep him off bnce, I¡¯ll discourage him with fear, and I¡¯ll fucking cut him to shreds,¡± Victor growled, repeatedly visualizing thebination.

    He held Lifedrinker to his forehead, and he ran through it again and again in his mind. He imagined he was in the arena, preparing himself with a few spells, then he imagined the announcer starting the fight. In his visualization, he summoned his coyotes, dashed forward, projected his fear-attuned Energy, and, as the dark, spined Vesh faltered, heid into him with Lifedrinker.

    ¡°Easy as one two three, right, beautiful?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor! We¡¯ll drive your enemy before us, water the soil with his blood, and bask in the adtion of the crowd!¡± Lifedrinker¡¯s voice was clearer than ever, ringing in his mind as the axe vibrated against his forehead, and Victor¡¯s heart thumped in response. His lips peeled back in a savage grin, and he gripped her haft with tremendous force, resulting in even more vibrations; the axe was eager.

    ¡°God damn right, we will.¡± The portcullis nked as it lifted into the ceiling, and Victor stood up, still baring his teeth. ¡°Perfect fucking timing.¡± He stalked up the hallway, his face a mask of determination and bloodlust. He wasn¡¯t worried about pulling his punches with this asshole, and for the first time in a while, he was looking forward to hurting someone.

    He stalked into the arena, hardly noticing the crowd¡¯s noise this time, so intent was he on his visualizations for the uing battle. As soon as his feet touched the sand, he cast Sovereign Will to boost his agility; he had to strike fast. He cast Inspiring Presence, careful to consider everyone around him an enemy so they wouldn¡¯t benefit from the spell. As he stopped in the center of the arena and the announcer babbled about who he was, Victor stared at the other open tunnel, waiting for his opponent.

    Harf loped out of the dark opening on his long, lean legs, his ws nearly dragging in the sand as he pulled his midnight flesh from his snout in a snarl, revealing enormous canines; the man looked like he was half ck-furred wolf and half man. If Victor saw him on Earth, before he¡¯d ever met any of the peoples of Fanwath or this world, he¡¯d think him a werewolf from a horror movie. The guy looked tough as hell, and for some reason, that only pissed Victor off more. He cast Channel Energy, flooding his pathways and Lifedrinker with rage-attuned Energy, and a growl rumbled in his chest as he began to glow with a dancing, baleful red aura.

    The announcer''s words were noise in his ears, his brain listening for one thing¡ªthemand to begin. Victor¡¯s muscles were flexed, ready to explode into action, and Lifedrinker hummed in his hands, lighter than air, eager to fly into battle. Victor could feel Harf gathering Energy of his own, getting prepared to attack him, but it felt like a tricklepared to the flood Victor had gathered.

    Not only were his pathways humming with rage, his eyes bleeding the crimson fury of it, but Victor had gathered a thick band of fear-attuned Energy, and he¡¯d primed his Project Spirit spell. When his brain registered the word ¡°Fight!¡± he unleashed his attack, sending a cone of dark, twisted, writhing Energy right into Harf¡¯s face.

    Victor could tell Harf had been releasing a spell as well; the sand around him had begun to shift, granules lifting into the air, but as soon as his wave of fear hit the Vesh caster, the man¡¯s will crumpled before his. Harf¡¯s eyes widened; he howled in dismay and fell to the sand, scrabbling backward in a panic. Victor didn¡¯t let up; he cast Manifest Spirit, summoning five dark, evil-lookingpanions that instantly began to howl and yip, charging at Harf.

    Victorunched forward like a sprinter who¡¯d heard the start tone, and, just as he¡¯d visualized, he went to work with Lifedrinker, employing her own brand of dark, bloody magic on his panicked, broken enemy. Harf never recovered his senses. He tried to hold out a hand to stop Victor, but Lifedrinker took it off at the elbow. On the backswing, Victor nted her firmly between two of Harf¡¯s ribs and left her there to siphon his Energy.

    Victor¡¯spanions bit and pulled at Harf, yanking off hunks of bloody flesh and fur, shredding his leather armor. At the same time, Victor fell upon him, knees to his chest, and massive, furious, glowing-red fists smashing his toothy, snarling face into a dark, bloody pulp. All the while, Lifedrinker feasted, severing the flow of the Vesh¡¯s Energy, pulling it from his Core, and keeping him helpless and weak before the awful onught.

    Victor never went berserk, never lost himself entirely to his rage, but hepartmentalized most of his mind, focusing only on delivering his n of action, on destroying this enemy who had so callously done the same in his previous match. When Harf¡¯s body was still, Victor stood, and his coyotes stepped away to circle him, yipping and licking at their blood-stained muzzles and the thick, dripping strands hanging from his knuckles and fingers. He turned in a slow circle, chest heaving, eyes still mad with the thrill of battle as motes of Energy rose around him.

    The motes were thick, more purple than gold, and when they flooded his body, Victor stood, grabbing Lifedrinker and holding her to the sky, absorbing the Energy and roaring back at the screaming, wildly cheering crowd.

    ***Congrattions! You have achieved level 36 Spirit Carver, gained 10 will, 10 vitality, and have 8 attribute points to allocate.***

    ***Congrattions! You have earned a ss spell: Imbue Spirit - Basic.***

    ***Imbue Spirit - Basic: You are able to imbue an object or individual with a shard of your own spirit, granting some of your own power and will to the recipient. This effect willst until you recall your spirit shard. Energy Cost: Variable. Cooldown: Long***

 Book 4: Chapter 10: The Monarch of Attributes

    Book 4: Chapter 10: The Monarch of Attributes

    When Victor returned to his ready room, he saw another ck, silver-ribboned box waiting for him atop the bench. Next to the box was a silver serving tray, and on the tray were several objects: a crystal pitcher filled with what looked like iced water, an empty crystal goblet, and a folded linen napkin on which rested a bisected sandwich that looked, for all the world, like it was stuffed with pastrami and cheese.

    ¡°Cool,¡± he said, setting Lifedrinker down and tugging at the bow on the box. As before, it fell away, dissolving into glittering, tinkling motes of dust. However, Victor¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t drawn to the little fireworks disy; they¡¯d settled on his bloody hand. His knuckles would have been one thing, but the backs of his hands, his nails, the space between his fingers¡ªthey were all coated in thick, dried blood.

    He held his hands out in front of his face and squeezed them into fists. They weren¡¯t sore at all, which surprised him. In his old life, if he¡¯d beaten a man¡¯s face until his skull began to crumble, his fists would have needed medical care. ¡°I guess,¡± he amended, having never done anything remotely like that when he lived on Earth.

    The whole fight seemed kind of hazy to him; he¡¯d so vividly pictured himself fighting, so carefully visualized his actions, that when he performed them in reality, it felt almost like just another repetition of his strategizing. Still, he remembered the feel of Harf¡¯s brow finally cracking under his onught and caving in with a wet crunch¡ªthat was what finally cooled Victor¡¯s frenzied assault, brought him back to himself enough to stand up and absorb the Energy emanating out of the corpse he¡¯d been pummeling.

    He thought he should feel ashamed or guilty, but he didn¡¯t. Harf had demonstrated his viciousness. Victor knew there was a killer inside him, that he wasn¡¯t just the kid from Arizona anymore. He could spend his life hating himself, or he could ept the part of his spirit, the part that loved to fight, that enjoyedbat, and had no qualms about bashing in the skull of someone who had iting.

    ¡°Did he have iting?¡± Victor asked, flexing his blood-caked hands again. ¡°Am I the judge?¡± He shook his head in resignation, picked up the pitcher, tilted it to his mouth, and drank half the water in several deep gulps. It was icy and clean and tasted better than anything he¡¯d had in a long time. Stretching his neck until it popped, he sighed with pleasure. Then he tipped the pitcher over his cupped left palm, set it down, and briskly rubbed his hands together.

    He yanked the linen napkin out from under the sandwich and scrubbed at his flesh, finally dropping the towel, now pink, on the bench. His hands weren¡¯t clean, but they weren¡¯t filthy anymore, and he felt like that was a good representation of himself and his actions. He wasn¡¯t a shining knight of justice, but he wasn¡¯t a bad guy, either. Shrugging, he picked up the sandwich and devoured it in several enormous bites.

    It didn¡¯t taste exactly like pastrami and cheese, but it definitely had a smokey, cured-meat vor, and the bread was amazing. The crust had just the right amount of hardness to it, and the middle was chewy with a distinctly grainy vor. Whatever the sauce was, Victor wished he had the recipe¡ªcreamy with a hint of tanginess, itplimented the meat nicely and added just the right level of moisture to make the bite ptable.

    Feeling pretty damn good, with a pleasantly satisfied stomach, Victor lifted off the lid of the box. Just as before, a notecard sat nestled in the ck, velvet interior next to a gleaming tinum coin like the one he¡¯d received before. This time, however, the coin wasn¡¯t alone. A jar the size of a soda can stoppered with a huge corky next to it, and when Victor read the notecard, he remembered the prize list he¡¯d seen when he first signed up¡ªit was the gall dder of a crypt drake, whatever that was.

    The notecard reminded him that it was meant to be mixed by an alchemist to ¡°permanently enhance his strength and vitality.¡± Victor was fairly sure the jar was made of crystal, and when he lifted it to look at the withered, dried hunk of dark gray flesh, he wrinkled his nose and said, ¡°Not very appealing. I hope I can find an alchemist that makes you into something tastier looking.¡± He put the jar back in the box, closed it up, and set it atop the chest next to his round one prize.

    When Victor stepped out into themon ready room, he was greeted by a much different scene than the one after his first round; only Sanima and Ronno were present. Ronno was sitting on the central bench, and Sanima was leaning against the nk stone where the viewport had been. She looked up at him, opened her eyes wider as though surprised, and nodded, ¡°Congrattions.¡±

    Victor looked around the mostly empty room and then settled his gaze back on her, ¡°What¡¯s the deal with the viewport?¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t want us to know too much about each other before the final fights. We,¡± she gestured to Ronno, ¡°didn¡¯t know you beat Harf until you came out of your ready room.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t see anyone bring me my prize or my snack?¡± Victor gestured with his thumb back into his room.

    ¡°No; the fight steward and his employees have other means to enter the ready rooms.¡±

    Victor nodded, then turned his gaze to Ronno. He wanted to tell him he was sorry about his sister, but he knew that would soundme, and Victor couldn¡¯t imagine the big man would want any titudes from a virtual stranger. Instead, he said, ¡°Good luck with your fights.¡± Then, he turned and went back into his ready room, closing the door behind him.

    He felt there was no point mingling with the other fighters if he couldn¡¯t watch them perform; Victor knew it was callous, but he didn¡¯t want to talk to them, didn¡¯t want to humanize them any further¡ªthey were his opponents, and he couldn¡¯t afford any more doubts. ¡°Doubts lead to hesitation, and hesitation leads to getting myself fucking killed.¡± He looked at the bench, saw the silver tray and dirty napkin were gone, and walked over to it, stretching out on his back, folding his arms under his head for a pillow.

    He¡¯d leaned Lifedrinker against the bench, and her beautiful, dark wood haft jutted up next to his hip. As he looked at it, Victor saw the tiny motes of light, usually hidden in the depths of the wood, start to flicker and swirl, and he said, ¡°Are you showing off, preciosa?¡± He picked up the axe and lifted it, constantly amazed at how the slightest twitch of his wrist or arm could move her, as though she waited for the indication from his flesh to show her what he wanted.

    ¡°You¡¯re looking good,¡± he said, noting that the silvery veins of Heart Silver had thickened near her brilliant edge and that they stretched through the dark metal with more forks and branches than he remembered thest time he looked at her. ¡°What¡¯s gonna happen when there¡¯s more Heart Silver than . . . cabron!¡± He said, thumping a fist against his forehead. ¡°I can¡¯t remember what that guy said your other metal was.¡±

    The axe hummed, light as a piece of balsa wood in his hands, and he knew she didn¡¯t care. Smiling, he rested Lifedrinker on his chest and closed his eyes. If Victor couldn¡¯t watch the fights and he was stuck without anypany other than his axe, he was determined to continue visualizing his victories. He knew one thing¡ªif Krista won her fight that round, she¡¯d be his next opponent, and he felt like she was the only fighter who definitely wanted to kill him. Knowing that, Victor decided he should start figuring out how to return the favor.

    ¡°So,¡± he muttered to the ceiling, ¡°she likes to use a spear, and she seems really fast. Coyotes? She might ignore them and stab me in the heart like that one guy . . .¡± He thought about it for a while, trying to think of the best skills and spells to use, and then he sat up with a start, ¡°I leveled!¡± He pulled up his attribute points:

    Strength:

    135

    Vitality:

    150

    Dexterity:

    40

    Agility:

    63

    Intelligence:

    32

    Will:

    333

    ¡°So, with Sovereign Will, I can pump my physical stats by over a hundred now.¡± He acted like he was speaking to Lifedrinker, but he knew he was just talking aloud to help himself think. ¡°My dexterity is getting too damn low. If I boost agility, all my physical stats are up way over a hundred, except for dex. Didn¡¯t Gorz or Lam¡ªsomeone¡ªexin that my ability to make adjustments with my weapon would suffer if my dexterity was outweighed too much by my strength or agility?¡±

    ¡°But, on the other hand,¡± he picked up Lifedrinker, gently rubbed his thumb along the cool, shiny metal of one of her veins, and continued, ¡°Tes said to keep working on my will, and she¡¯s a pinche dragon.¡± The truth was, Victor reasoned, he had eight points to spend, and with those eight points, he could raise his piddling dexterity to a slightly less piddling level, or he could bump up his epic will stat and make it even more epic. ¡°Better to stand out for something awesome than try to be mediocre in everything,¡± he said, applying his free points to will.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s done. What¡¯s the deal with my new spell, though? I can ¡®grant some of my own power and will to the recipient.¡¯¡± He thought about it a minute, looking at Lifedrinker and shaking his head. ¡°Not going to experiment on you, beautiful. Let¡¯s see here.¡± He looked down at his chest and the attractive but not very special bronze breastte. It had spatters of blood on it, dry and rust-colored.

    ¡°What about this piece of shit?¡± Victor held his hand to the cool metal and concentrated, activating his new spell pattern. As it formed in his pathways, he channeled inspiration-attuned Energy into, and the spellpleted, shing through his pathways, out through his hand, and into the metal of his armor. As the spell passed out of him, he felt a coldness in his Core and general mise that washed over him and then seemed to fade away.

    The breastte shed with white-gold light, and Victor felt it grow heavier, more substantial, and it seemed to buzz with potential in such a way that he began to feel antsy, as though he wanted to leap into action. When he looked down at his armor, it seemed to gleam with an inner light.

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor said, wondering what the spell was doing for the breastte. He tapped his knuckles against it, and they rebounded from the metal like he¡¯d hit electrified stic, not bronze. ¡°Weird . . .¡± Victor called up his attributes, looking for differences:

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Inspiration 7.4

    Energy:

    3062/3062 (3402)

    Strength:

    135

    Vitality:

    150

    Dexterity:

    40

    Agility:

    63

    Intelligence:

    32

    Will:

    307 (341)

    Looking at the numbers in parenthesis, Victor realized that he¡¯d lost ten percent of his will and ten percent of his maximum Energy. ¡°So . . . so, like, part of my spirit is in this breastte now?¡± He looked into his Core and pathways, saw the tether that connected him to the armor, and realized he could end the spell with a thought. ¡°At least it¡¯s not permanent. Would it be worth it, though?¡±

    Victor stood up abruptly, set Lifedrinker down, and began loosening the straps holding the breastte onto his body. After pulling it off and setting it on the bench, he picked up Lifedrinker and said, ¡°Okay, beautiful, please don¡¯t drain this breastte; just try to hurt it.¡± The axe vibrated in his hands, and, with a grin, Victor lifted her high and brought her down on the breastte, aiming for the center and only using a fraction of his strength.

    Victor¡¯s eyes almost bugged out of his head when a ghostly fist, shing with brilliant white Energy, reached out of the breastte and tried to bat Lifedrinker aside. She wasn¡¯t any old axe, though, and she struggled against the burst of spirit Energy. Still, the momentum of Victor¡¯s swing was ruined, and the axe nced off the metal, leaving only a shiny, jagged scratch as she slid to the side. ¡°Now that¡¯s pretty fuckin¡¯ badass!¡±

    Victor quickly strapped the breastte back in ce, and then he contemted trying to cast the spell on more parts of his armor. He decided against it, though¡ªat ten percent of his will and Energy per cast, he¡¯d find himself running low pretty quickly if he did that.

    He looked at Lifedrinker and, again, considered trying it out on her but shook his head; something in his gut warned him off of it, at least until he could ask someone what might happen. She had a spirit of her own; what would happen if he put his in there with her, even just a part of it? ¡°It might be fine; the spell says it works on people, too . . .¡± He vacited for a long while, and eventually, his decision was made for him when the portcullis started to lift.

    ¡°Maybe next time,¡± Victor said, hefting Lifedrinker and walking up the tunnel, his breastte shimmering softly in the shadowy lighting. When he stepped out into the noise of the crowd and the ring sun, now more than halfway toward its zenith, he was surprised to see Krista already waiting for him. The crowd¡¯s cheering intensified as she strode onto the sand, and the announcer howled his weing preamble with¡ªwhat had to be¡ªforced jubtion.

    ¡°It¡¯s Victor! The mad smasher of Harf the Terrible! Will Krista, the Spear Mistress, be able to put this savage down? What a battle awaits! I hope none of you are too squeamish because these two have already disyed their willingness to part their foes from their most vital fluids!¡±

    Victor continued to walk toward Krista. As he drew near the center of the arena, he cast Sovereign Will to boost his agility, and a System message shed in his view, apanied by a smattering of small, golden Energy motes that quickly flooded into him.

    ¡°Oh! Bad luck for Krista! It looks like the otherworlder just improved one of his skills!¡±

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned the spell: Sovereign Will - Advanced.***

    ***Sovereign Will - Advanced: As an act of concentration, you can apply up to 33% of your total Will to any two of your physical attributes.***

    ¡°Fucking-A,¡± Victor said, grinning, as he wiped away the notification. Just like that, he¡¯d gained more than a hundred points to one of his physical stats. As the announcer continued to babble, he recast the spell, focusing on enhancing his agility and vitality, and he felt his body respond. He was more nimble, more sturdy, and he felt like a million damn bucks. Lithely, he began to circle Krista, a slight bend in his knees, Lifedrinker held before him, and a madman¡¯s grin on his face.

    Krista, for her part, didn¡¯t look happy. She held her spear, point forward, four or five feet of the shaft between her and Victor, the rest jutting out behind her. Her long, furry ears were pulled back, t to her skull, and she frowned in concentration, eyes narrowed as she countered his movement, circling in the opposite direction.

    ¡°Look at these two!¡± the announcer roared, ¡°So eager to get at each other! Who will win? Does anyone know? Even the Warlord is leaning forward on his throne! Has anyone seen such an exciting low-tier tournament? Could anyone believe so many great talents would participate? Just think! Neither of these two diators is even favored to win! ce your bets and get set for an epic bout! More excitement awaits as Jast and Sanima are set to battle after these two dogs! Make sure you stick around after the dust settles!¡±

    ¡°Ready yourselves, fighters!¡± the announcer roared, and Victor took the words to heart, finishing his preparatory spells. He boosted his acuity and readiness with Inspiring Presence, then cast Channel Spirit, causing himself and Lifedrinker to re with red, rage-attuned Energy. Finally, he built his spell pattern for Manifest Spirit, readying his fear-based coyotes to spring forth.

    All the while, Victor kept his eyes on Krista, and he knew she was also preparing herself. Dust began to swirl around her boots, and as she sidestepped, moving in a circle facing Victor, she seemed to move in jittery, phantom steps, trailing clouds of sand. Victor had to rotate faster and faster to match her. Then he felt a surge of hot Energy as her spear began to spark with electricity, and her eyes shed like twin thunderstorms.

    Victor began to feel the sun on the back of his neck, began to notice the smell of copper in the air, and the way the sand, though raked smooth, was darkly stained here and there. Was he really fighting in an arena? Was he really about to go toe to toe with that woman and her magical spear? What would his abu think?

    ¡°Enough,¡± he growled, shoving that part of himself down and letting his other half take the reins. His smile spread wider, his eyes narrowed, and Victor began tough, reveling in the things that had disturbed him before.

    He breathed deeply through his nostrils, savoring the odor of blood and guts. He jerked his axe up to his chest, pumping it up and out to get a reaction from the crowd. When they howled and cheered, Victor howled back, and he saw Krista¡¯s face change¡ªsome of the confidence had bled away, and though her twisted snarl remained, Victor thought it looked hollow.

    After an eon of babbling and haranguing, the announcer grew tired of ginning up the crowd or stalling¡ªVictor had no idea which it was, but he¡¯d certainly drug out his intro longer than before. The shout to begin came atst as the announcer ramped up his voice, dragging out the words like a siren going off, ¡°Let¡¯s fight!¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 11: Hollow Justice

    Book 4: Chapter 11: Hollow Justice

    If there was one thing Victor had always been good at, it was bursting into action at the signal to start. When he wrestled, there were times when he¡¯d snap out of the down position at the ref¡¯s whistle before his opponent could even lock his hands tight. As the announcer shouted, ¡°Let¡¯s fight,¡± Victor channeled that former self, exploding into motion, charging over the ground, summoning his coyotes, and hacking his axe at Krista all in the blink of an eye.

    It would have been beautiful if Lifedrinker¡¯s edge cleaved through the snarling woman, just as he¡¯d nned, but it didn¡¯t go that way. Krista didn¡¯t stand still, and she proved just as fast or faster than Victor. When his axe cleaved only the air, he jumped and rolled, feeling in his gut like that spear wasing in hot toward his side. He¡¯d been right, and the crackling, lightning-charged spear just whispered over his back, sliding against his armor, but not enough to even scratch it.

    Victor rolled to his feet, holding Lifedrinker ready, and he heard a yelp and high-pitched growls. He saw his coyotes leaping at Krista, tumbling back as her spearshed out, and he only counted four. Already, she¡¯d in one. Victor growled and charged in again, hoping his hounds¡¯ distraction would serve to give him a clear shot with Lifedrinker. Krista impaled another coyote as he drew near, and when Lifedrinker whistled through the air at her, she seemed to shift and shimmer, and then, again, he cut only the air.

    Somehow she¡¯d speared another of his coyotes as she fled Victor¡¯s assault, and Victor urged thest two to back off, to circle her and wait for the right moment. Krista made a mocking, pouty face, whistling to his pack and spitting into the sand. She jumped and slid toward one of hispanions, and Victor leaped after her, but she shimmered, the sand shifted into the air, and suddenly she was behind him.

    Rage began to pool in Victor¡¯s pathways, began to force its way into his heart and mind, and he desperately wanted to Berserk. As Krista¡¯s spear found his back, jamming toward his spine, his armor red brilliantly, and a zing, white-gold, ghostly fist reached out and smacked her spear aside. The crowd gasped in surprise, and Victor felt a surge of amusement that drowned out his rage as he whirled to face her.

    ¡°Enchanted your armor while you waited?¡± she snarled. ¡°I¡¯m fighting a gods-be-damned crafter?¡± She spat into the sand, and Victor ran toward her; he was here to fight, not banter. Once again, as he charged over the sand, she flickered and shed, leaving nothing but a swirl of sand. Victor tried to anticipate the move, tried to adjust his momentum, priming his Project Spirit spell, hoping to catch her off guard with a st of fear-attuned Energy.

    Krista wasn¡¯t easily predicted, though; she attacked from directly behind him, and rather than go for a kill, stabbing at his torso¡ªand its enchanted armor¡ªto pierce his heart, she drove her long, wickedly sharp spear through the back of Victor¡¯s left thigh. He cried out as the razored de slid through his thick, meaty leg, and jolts of powerful electricity coursed through his body. He convulsed and spasmed, but Victor did not let go of Lifedrinker. With his arms outstretched, his body jerking, and bloody saliva bubbling out of his clenched mouth, he clung to her haft while Krista twisted the spear.

    When he realized he¡¯d lost control of his body, fury filled Victor, and he was on the verge of Berserking when he felt Lifedrinker buzzing in his hand. Suddenly his mind fixated on her, and he thought if she could resist the electrical charge, then by God, so could he. With a herculean surge of will, Victor brought his convulsing muscles into line and took two shaky, stumbling steps forward off Krista¡¯s spear.

    With his vitality bolstered, Victor¡¯s thigh stopped bleeding almost immediately, and his spasming muscles settled as he turned to frown at Krista. She backed up a step, lifted her spear, and ran her long, pink tongue along the bloody t of its de, clearly putting a show on for the crowd; they roared in approval, and she smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll feast on your loved ones when I¡¯m done killing you here. I¡¯ll start with that blue bitch you brought along.¡±

    The crowd was screaming; the stands were booming with the stomps of their feet, and still, Victor heard Krista clearly¡ªa benefit of evolved ears, he supposed. He saw the hateful, baleful re she directed his way, and he remembered how she¡¯d been instantly hostile to him. She beckoned him forward, shing her long, bloody canines, spear alight with a fresh burst of lightning, and the sand dancing around her feet. He knew she¡¯d make a fool of him time and time again if he kept charging like a bull.

    ¡°What¡¯s your problem anyway, puta?¡± Victor asked, starting to circle her again.

    ¡°I devour weaklings and interlopers, worm,¡± she said, and, rather than wait for Victor to charge, she flickered, faded from view, and he whirled, whipping Lifedrinker into a parrying downward, looping, cut. He felt his axe make contact with the spear, knocking it aside, and Lifedrinker bucked and pulled, desperately trying to sink herself into the haft of that hated weapon. Victor pulled her back, though, and lunged forward, driving her gleaming edge toward Krista¡¯s throat.

    Krista was no novice with the spear, and she whipped her dark weapon up and around, knocking Lifedrinker aside and drawing the needle-like point downward, just catching the top edge of Victor¡¯s forehead and raking it toward his eye. Victor jerked his head aside and danced backward, a curtain of blood flowing into his eye, stinging and obscuring his vision.

    Victor knew she¡¯d press the attack, so he willed hisst two coyotes to leap at her, buying himself a moment to clear the blood from his eye; the cut had already stopped bleeding. He rubbed furiously at it, watching his poor, dark, smoky coyotes fight valiantly to thest, each sumbing to a lightning stab of Krista¡¯s spear. When none remained, Krista turned to Victor, the crowd roaring its enthusiasm.

    ¡°Ready to die, runt?¡± she snarled, stalking toward him, and Victor could feel her gathering Energy, far more than she had thus far.

    He grimaced and growled. Something was wrong about this woman, so filled with hate. She was like a mad dog, and he began to see the need to defeat her more and more clearly. This fight wasn¡¯t a contest, a spectacle for people to enjoy. This was his duty¡ªKrista needed to be put down.

    He reached inward and pulled thick, surging ropes of Energy from each of the affinities at his Core. When he had them all in the iron grip of his will, he cast Harsh Light of Justice, fueled with enough Energy to cover every inch of the arena pit. Suddenly the pale yellow sun seemed to fade, and the sky washed out like an overexposed photo, more white than blue. The shadows along the arena wall disappeared, along with Victor¡¯s and Krista¡¯s, and as he looked around, Victor swore he could see every grain of sand, every drop of blood, every line of sweat running down Krista¡¯s face.

    He saw her eyes narrow at first, then a pained look of panic filled them as she realized she was condemned; justice hade for her. On the other hand, Victor felt a fresh surge of vitality and a clear sense of purpose¡ªit was time to bring this viin to heel. He stalked toward her, Lifedrinker light as a broomstick in his hands.

    Even in her dismay, Krista rallied andpleted her spell as he approached. A zing, bright ball of Energy formed at the tip of her spear. She shifted oddly and streaked over the sand, moving to Victor¡¯s left and circling toward his back, and in the light of justice, it looked almostical. She moved fast as an arrow, but obviously, and as he turned to track her with Lifedrinker, Victor realized she thought he couldn¡¯t see her.

    She seemed surprised to see him staring at her as she leaped toward him with that zing speartip. He stepped under it, a long, stretching lunge that lowered his center of gravity and allowed him to glide over the sand into her charge, his rear foot dragging like when he used to practice takedowns. Victor smiled as he watched her spear pass too high and too unwieldy to correct; he was inside her guard.

    On the fly, Victor concentrated on his Sovereign Will spell and switched his boost to strength. He brought Lifedrinker across in a wide, sideways hack, using his forward momentum and prodigious might. The eager axe hit Krista full on, her gleaming Heart Silver edge ripping through the woman¡¯s abdomen. As Victor and Krista passed each other in that fraction of a second, she cried out; her spear flew through the air, and hot blood sprayed over Victor as her entrails fell, glistening like eels onto the sand.

    When Krista¡¯s spear impacted the arena¡¯s sand, the lighting gathered at its tip exploded in a ball of writhing, shing lighting bolts that erupted with explosions in the air and against the sand, making little puddles of ss. The percussion of the thunder and lighting was apanied by Krista¡¯s screams and gasps as she fruitlessly scrabbled at the sand, trying to pull her guts back into herself.

    Something about the spell Victor had cast, about the justice hanging heavy in the air, wouldn¡¯t let him turn away as he watched her movements grow more and more feeble, her gasps more and more frail, and then, when stillness took her, he looked at the crowd and frowned. So many people in those stands deserved to have justice dealt to them. So many cheering, howling fools deserved a fate ten times worse than Krista had just been given. His hands clenched and twisted on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, and he began looking for a way out of the pit.

    Just as he took his first step, a surge of Energy flew into him, dark, heavy purple-gold motes that lifted him from the sand, transfixing him and breaking his concentration on his spells. When he fell back to the sand, the world was once more lit normally by the sun, and he could hear the crowd''s cries and the announcer''s words, ¡°Victor has stunned us again! What was that spell? That weird light? Will our local champion, Jast, be able to contend with this strange, otherworldly diator? Stick around, folks! The final battle will take ce at noon!¡±

    Victor nced down at Krista¡¯s broken form, her life¡¯s blood and inside parts still glistening in the hot light, the scent of copper and shit heavy in the air, and he frowned. He couldn¡¯t find any joy in her death, only pity. She looked small and broken, and her face, smooth and rxed in death¡¯s grip, looked pretty without the nasty snarl she¡¯d always worn. Victor stood tall and slowly turned, facing into the stands, wishing he could find a friendly face among all those cheering, jeering people.

    ¡°diator! Victorious Victor! Take a well-deserved rest; your greatest challenge lies ahead of you.¡± The announcer''s voice rang clear and loud over the noise of the crowd, and Victor turned to his tunnel, now open, and walked out of the arena, the crowd¡¯s hysteria fading behind him as he descended. He felt a little hollow, a little empty, and decided he didn¡¯t like being under the influence of justice-attuned Energy.

    Even when Victor lost himself to rage, he at least felt alive; he felt that emotional release that washed over him as he came back to himself. Sometimes he felt guiltter, but it was better than this hollow, empty sensation like he¡¯d made himself a tool for a force greater than himself. Was it all in his head? His justice Energy came from within him, just as his rage; even the spell description said the light would ¡°take on the morality of the caster.¡± Still, he felt spent and used; he wondered if it was because the spell reflected a part of himself that was abstract and distant from his conscious mind.

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just a lot closer to my rage, hmm?¡± he asked Lifedrinker, lifting her to rest on his shoulder as he made his way back into his ready room. Another prize box and tray of refreshments awaited him, and he ate his sandwich¡ªidentical to the one he¡¯d already eaten¡ªdrank his water and then pulled on the ribbon, opening the top of the box. Another Coloss prize tokeny within, alongside a golden foil-wrapped package about the size of his thumb.

    Victor picked up the notecard and read about the prize, ¡°Rock Wyrm Magma Horn - useful for making a breakthrough in Core development when properly prepared in an alchemical tincture.¡± Victor shrugged and closed up the box, setting it next to the other two atop his chest. He¡¯d have plenty of time to think about prizes when the fighting was done. He stretched out on the bench, Lifedrinker beside him, and rested his eyes.

    He tried not to dwell on his earlier fights, sessful as they¡¯d been. Victor wondered at that¡ªthe sess he¡¯d already had. The fights had been quick, for the most part, and he¡¯d hardly been injured. His battle with Rellia had been a hell of a lot harder. Even the boss in the undead dungeon had been more of a struggle. He supposed much of it was that he¡¯d improved; his Core was stronger, his axe skills were greater, and he¡¯d gained experience and improved his attributes. ¡°Still,¡± he muttered, ¡°everyone acted like I was a runt, a weakling in this world.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, but you are only facing people still in the low-tier,¡± a man¡¯s voice said, and Victor nearly jumped out of his skin, iling to catch Lifedrinker as he jerked up into a sitting position. ¡°My apologies, sir; I merely came to collect your refreshment tray and to ask if you needed any first aid.¡±

    ¡°Uh,¡± Victor said, looking at the ck-robed, green, insect guy. ¡°Tong-pan,¡± he corrected himself.

    ¡°Why, yes, sir. I¡¯m a member of the Tong-pan people. May I?¡± the man asked, walking around Victor to pick up the silver tray from the far end of the bench. ¡°Will you need any medical care? The fight steward noted you suffered injuries in yourst match.¡±

    ¡°Nah,¡± Victor said, rubbing at the scabbed-over cut on his forehead and looking down at his blood-stained pant leg. ¡°I heal fast.¡± The puncture wound was still sore, but he knew it wouldn¡¯t start bleeding again, nor would it hinder his movement, especially if he kept his vitality boosted while waiting for his next match.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I intruded upon your self-reflection, sir. I didn¡¯t mean to respond, but my mandibles are faster than my better judgment sometimes.¡± He bowed several times quickly, his bright green carapace shing as it reflected the glowmp hanging above.

    ¡°No worries. It¡¯s a good reminder. I might be kicking ass so far, but I¡¯m just fighting the weakest people in your city.¡±

    ¡°No, no, sir! I beg to correct you; the people who fight in the arena are among our strongest; the vast majority of the popce is considered low-tier, even if there are thousands in the mid and high-tiers.¡±

    ¡°Right. Makes sense, I guess. Seems that way in the world I came from, too. Ordinary people don¡¯t tend to have the freedom to build their strength; they¡¯re too worried about getting to work and feeding their families.¡±

    ¡°Just so, sir. I¡¯m afraid I must take my leave now before the fight steward thinks I¡¯m giving you unfair attention.¡± With that, the man turned and walked directly into the stone wall next to the chest containing Victor¡¯s belongings, disappearing through the blocks.

    ¡°The fuck?¡± Victor said, standing up and walking over to the wall. He pressed a hand against it and felt only cool, solid stone. Seeing how easily the man hade and gone from his room, Victor wondered who else could do such things. Was it an ability granted only to those who worked in the arena, or was it some magical ability that any person might learn? He knew if he cast Inevitable Huntsman, he could move through solid barriers, but that was something a lot moreplicated than whatever the Tong-pan had just done.

    Frowning, he sat down, suddenly d that he¡¯d held back from disying all his cards during his fight with Krista. He¡¯d been tempted to Berserk, considering Jast couldn¡¯t watch his fight on the viewport. Now that he¡¯d seen how easily some people could move in and out of the ready rooms, though, he felt vindicated in his decision to hold back. If Jast was the current arena champion, a hometown hero, there was a good chance he had a lot of powerful friends around. Someone might tell him about Victor¡¯s ace cards if they saw them in action.

    ¡°But they didn¡¯t,¡± Victor said, lifting Lifedrinker and grinning. ¡°Did they, beautiful?¡±

    Hey back on the bench again and started to think about Jast. He¡¯d only seen the guy in action once, and he¡¯d been like a force of nature. Twelve feet tall, probably six hundred pounds, and fast as a damn striking cobra. ¡°And he has a big fucking axe,¡± Victor said, squeezing Lifedrinker¡¯s haft.

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit about that, though,dy. Polo had a big axe, and it didn¡¯t bother you. On the bright side, I don¡¯t need to hold back. We¡¯re going to go in there and show these fuckers what a real giant is¡ªwhat someone with real Quinametzin blood can aplish. We¡¯re going to show them how we fight when we let go, and when we¡¯re done, the crowd might be cheering, but they¡¯ll be fucking scared. They¡¯ll understand that being big doesn¡¯t make you a goddamn titan.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 12: Intervention

    Book 4: Chapter 12: Intervention

    When the portcullis nked open, Victor was ready. He had his game face on, Lifedrinker in his hands, and he felt nearly a hundred percent, physically. He strode into the passage leading up to the arena floor with purpose and vigor, and then a shadow separated itself from the wall and said, ¡°Hold, diator.¡±

    ¡°The fuck?¡± Victor growled, lifting his axe as though to strike the interloper.

    ¡°Hold!¡± the hooded figure urged, hands held up catingly. It was a man, a Vesh, Victor was sure, some light revealing lean, muscr forearms and pointed, ck nails. ¡°I will be brief; I know your time is limited.¡±

    ¡°Speak.¡± Victor continued to walk, though slowly.

    ¡°Your opponent, Jast, is the son of a powerful man¡ªWar Captain ck. Jast will grant mercy if you yield, and ck will reward you.¡±

    ¡°Fuck that. I¡¯m not throwing the fight.¡± Victor increased his pace.

    ¡°Wait! The war captain knows you wish to return to your world. He can make that happen.¡± Those words gave Victor pause, and he slowly turned to face the hooded messenger.

    ¡°He can open a portal?¡±

    ¡°No, but one in his employ can.¡±

    ¡°How can I believe you?¡±

    ¡°Jast always grants mercy if he doesn¡¯t strike a fatal blow before his opponent can yield. You have my word and the assurance of War Captain ck that his prize is real. We take honor seriously here in Coloss.¡±

    ¡°Really? That''s why you¡¯re trying to get me to throw the fight?¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m out of time. I¡¯ll think about it.¡± Victor turned and stomped up the passage, his long legs moving him faster than most people would jog.

    ¡°See that you do!¡± the hooded man called after him, and Victor frowned.

    ¡°What an asshole,¡± he growled, gripping Lifedrinker¡¯s haft. ¡°Even if I didn¡¯t take the deal, he¡¯s fucking thrown my game off.¡± More than that, Victor was annoyed that he felt like he had to consider the man¡¯s proposal. This was the only concrete offer he or Va had been given to get home in a timely fashion. He¡¯d won some prize tokens, which might be enough, but he wasn¡¯t sure. Additionally, he had to consider the idea that Jast might win, even if Victor didn¡¯t take a dive.

    Victor looked around the arena, blinking his eyes in the zing sun and doing his best to ignore the announcer''s hysterical adtions. He was frustrated¡ªpissed. He strode through the sand and lifted Lifedrinker, screaming his frustrations back at the crowd. They responded in kind, and the announcer had to stop speaking for a minute due to the mor.

    Victor smiled at the crowd¡¯s response to his frustration and threw his shoulders back, screaming, ¡°Fuck!¡± It didn¡¯t seem to matter to them what he said; they roared back. Victor kicked some sand and looked around, waiting for his big opponent to show up.

    While he waited, he frowned and muttered curses. Why did everything have to beplicated? Why couldn¡¯t he just have a good clean fight and beat the shit out of this guy? What would happen if he didn¡¯t take the asshole¡¯s deal? Would War Captain ck smite him down the moment he stepped out of the arena? He could only imagine the dude was high-tier¡ªmore powerful than Victor could currently imagine.

    ¡°And herees our champion!¡± the announcer said, finally getting Victor¡¯s attention. The crowd¡¯s hysteria rose to new heights as Jast, d in armor simr to Victor¡¯s, strode out of his tunnel. He was enormous¡ªsomething about his posture and how he held his massive, double-ded great axe made him loomrger than when Victor had seen him in themon ready room. He stomped toward the center of the arena, stopping a half dozen paces from Victor and scowling down at him.

    ¡°Look at the fury on their faces, everyone! How will the mid-tier tournament match the excitement we¡¯ve all experienced this morning? What a show! What a way to honor Horc! Your warlord and captains are on the edges of their seats, fighters! Don¡¯t disappoint!¡±

    While the announcer continued to try to whip the crowd¡ªand the fighters¡ªinto even more of a frenzy, Victor prepared himself. His armor was still enchanted with a shard of his spirit, and he knew he¡¯d need to be strong and fast to face Jast, so he boosted his strength and agility with Sovereign Will. He cast Inspiring Presence, his grin widening as he started to notice how flimsy Jast¡¯s armor looked and how the giant seemed to favor his left side where he held the heavy end of his axe.

    Jast¡¯s frown deepened, and Victor felt him gathering Energy of his own. Not for the first time, he wished he could tell more about what kind of spell an opponent was preparing, but he supposed it didn¡¯t matter; he had his strategy set. He built the pattern for Manifest Spirit, crafting it from pure, deep, rage-attuned Energy. On a whim, he channeled Inspiration attuned Energy into his axe and arms, hoping to outss Jast before he had to y his aces.

    ¡°If I even y them,¡± Victor grunted, still conflicted about the bullshit offer the hooded guy had made him.

    ¡°Say something, Deshi? Just yield quickly; my axe doesn¡¯t make small wounds.¡± Jast grunted, squaring himself off and lowering his center of gravity.

    As if on cue, the announcer howled, ¡°Fight!¡±

    Jast burst into motion, charging over the sand like an angry hippo, and Victor danced to the side, pushing the giant¡¯s enormous axe aside with Lifedrinker. He¡¯d cast Manifest Spirit as soon as he saw Jast take a step, and Victor danced back, trying to keep Jast facing him, while a great, crimson shape began to coalesce out of a glowering red mist behind the giant fighter.

    Jast grunted angrily as he recovered his axe¡¯s momentum and leaped at Victor, faster by ten times than the Degh Victor had earlier fought, but still slow enough for Victor to counter, carefully avoiding a direct test of his strength, using the giant¡¯s momentum to parry and block. As Jast¡¯s frustration mounted, Victor felt him gathering Energy to do something big, but then a titanic roar filled the arena, and Jast had his hands full.

    Victor¡¯s gigantic, red-furred, fury-eyed cave bear leaped at the giant¡¯s back, and Jast barely whirled in time to get his axe between him and the great animal¡¯s ws and fangs. To his credit, Jast didn¡¯t fall or crumple under the onught; he screamed, and Victor felt his pent-up Energy release.

    With a ringing ng, huge metallic des materialized out of the air, like haftless axe heads. They hung in the air around Jast, ten or more of them, and began to spin like a steel cyclone¡ªa ring of razor-sharp des that hacked and cut at the great bear as it furiously swiped and bit at Jast. Watching the bear¡¯s fur and shimmering spirit blood ssh away, dissipating into red mist, Victor charged Jast¡¯s nk.

    The ring of des hung a foot or two away from the giant, and Victor slid in the sand, hacking Lifedrinker sideways toward the Degh¡¯s knee. He¡¯d hoped to avoid the des by going under them, but they seemed to have a mind of their own, and two corrected their trajectories to spin through the air in a collision course with Victor.

    Victor doubled down, swinging Lifedrinker as hard as he could, her gleaming silvery edge limned with red fury, and, as she made contact, he ducked his head low, trying to dodge one of the des, and trusting in his enchanted armor to save him from the other one. Lifedrinker bit deeply into Jast¡¯s flesh, sinking into the gap between his knee bones, and the giant screamed and stumbled.

    Victor dodged the deing at his head. The other one he¡¯d seen was knocked aside by his enchanted armor, but a third he hadn¡¯t noticed cleaved into his right side, parting his bronze te as though it was paper and wedging between his ribs, cracking and separating them as it dug into his flesh. Victor moaned, his wind suddenly too feeble to scream, and rolled to the side, scrabbling away in agony.

    As Victor pushed away through the sand, Lifedrinker still clutched grimly in one hand, he twisted to his uninjured side and watched as his great bear fought valiantly with the giant warrior. The bear had capitalized on Jast¡¯s stumble, ripping long, razored ws down the giant¡¯s chest, shredding his armor even worse than Victor¡¯s. Jast had almost fallen from the hack to the knee and the bear¡¯s swipe, and as he struggled to regain his bnce, the bear charged.

    Victor could see the bear had had enough¡ªits eyes were red orbs of fury and frustration. It reared up on its hind legs, caution no longer a consideration, allowing the remaining des to sink into its furry side as it brought its two enormous, wed paws down to rake the giant, clearly intent on shredding him to ribbons. Jast wasn¡¯t out of tricks, though, and he rolled back over one shoulder, leaving a great metal shield hanging in the air where, a second ago, he¡¯d been standing.

    Victor switched his Sovereign Will boost to strength and vitality and continued to inch backward in the sand, hoping his bear would distract Jast just a bit longer until the gaping wound in his side stitched itself together, at least partially¡ªthe magical de had dissipated into metallic dust that, in turn, had shimmered away into mist. He¡¯d only started to get his breath back when the bear came down on the shield Jast had created out of thin air, and with a tremendous ng, it stopped it short.

    Victor¡¯spanion grunted, the Energy that animated it leaking in great gouts from the wounds left by the axe barrier and drizzling from its mouth. It looked toward Victor, pain and frustration in its eyes, and Victor knew it wanted to try again, wanted to keep fighting, but it was struggling to stand tall, and Victor couldn¡¯t take it. ¡°Go on,¡± he said. ¡°You did your best; I got this.¡± With that, the mighty crimson giant shimmered into fog that fell to the sand and faded away.

    ¡°Yield,¡± a deep voice rumbled beside him, and Victor turned to regard Jast. The giant loomed over him, his enormous axe held high, ready to strike. Victor was still sitting in the sand, his left palm holding him up while his right hand clutched Lifedrinker. His side was still a mess, but he was already breathing better and could see the puddle of blood next to him had stopped growing.

    At the giant''smand, a million things ran through his mind¡ªthoughts about Rellia and how she¡¯d tried to get him to yield in a simr fight, thoughts about people he¡¯d killed in arenas, thoughts about how he couldn¡¯t imagine living with himself if he caved now, even if it meant he was going to have a new, powerful enemy. More than anything, he wanted to kick this big bastard¡¯s ass and wipe that fucking superior, unsmiling glower off his face.

    He opened his pathways and let rage flood them, and, as he began to flicker with the power of it, a smoldering, red aura outlining his form, and deep, baleful red torches igniting in his eyes, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t think I will.¡±

    ¡°Fool,¡± Jast said, his gigantic axe whistling through the air, aiming for the crook of Victor¡¯s neck and shoulder. Before the de, falling like a guillotine, could sink into Victor¡¯s flesh, though, it stopped, frozen in ce like it had hit a block of granite. Jast looked confused for a moment, and then his eyes widened as it registered; Victor had grabbed hold of his axe, just below the de, and he was standing, lifting the great axe in his left hand and holding Lifedrinker high in the air with the other.

    Jast struggled, unable toprehend what was happening; things weren¡¯t making sense; Victor was a tiny Deshi¡ªhow was he lifting his axe into an ufortable angle as he stood. How was he standing at all? As Jast let his eyes travel from the fist gripping his axe to Victor¡¯s face, he nched; why was he looking up to see that glowering visage of fury? He opened his mouth, but no words would form on his tongue. What was happening?

    Victor grunted, hacking Lifedrinker down into the iron-like haft of Jast¡¯s axe, and she ripped through the air like a crack of lightning, parting the wood with a concussion like thunder. Victor roared and flung the shortened great axe into the air, heedless of its trajectory; what cared he for the toys of a weakling? Jast stumbled back, released physically and mentally as he finally came to grips with his reality, but Victor wasn¡¯t ready to let him go.

    Jast looked from the piece of wood in his hands to Victor, stomping toward him, and he dug deep into his Energy reserves to create his barrier of axe des again. Victor roared¡ªa sound that shook Jast to the bones, rattling his teeth and loosening something in his bowels¡ªand charged through the spinning axe des.

    They mmed into him, biting his shoulder, side, leg, and arms, but the titan didn¡¯t seem to care; he kepting and grabbed Jast by the throat, actually lifting him slightly into the air. Jast struggled against the enormous, red-faced warrior¡¯s grip¡ªtried with all his might to knock his hand away, but it only tightened, and things began to grow dark as he saw Victor lift his axe high, preparing a killing blow.

    ¡°STOP,¡± a thunderous roar rang through the arena, but to Victor, it was a dim annoyance. Whoever thought they should intervene with his carnage would soon learn to think differently. This fool had dared to lift his hands against him; how could this weakling think to stand against the Quinametzin? He brought his axe down, aiming to split the giant¡¯s skull like a melon, but suddenly he was knocked, tumbling head over heels through the sand to crash into the wall of the arena.

    Victor leaped to his feet, roaring in defiance and fury, looking around in his red-tinged vision to see what had happened. Jasty crumpled in the sand, and standing above him was another giant, this one wearing heavy ck armor and wielding a massive ck metal shield, rectangr and thick. Had the fool dared to strike him with that? Victor roared again, and the crowd, hitherto ignored by him, shouted back. Victor lifted his arms, high over his head, wide, and Lifedrinker glinted, a brilliant, deadly hatchet in his mighty hand.

    He basked in the adtion and screamed again, stalking toward the man in the ck armor. Who was this challenger? The man hunkered down, standing over the fallen weakling, directing the t, ck metal of his shield toward Victor. ¡°Stop!¡± he shouted again. ¡°You are victorious!¡± Was that a note of pleading in his voice? Was this man here to give his respect? To beg for the weakling¡¯s life?

    ¡°You dare to strike me and then cower behind that metal?¡± Victor asked, though even in a question, his voice roared. He continued to stalk forward, his muscles bunched like enormous cables, the sand crunching under his steps and the crowd going wild. In some distant, removed part of his awareness, Victor knew the announcer was going into hysterics¡ªthe real kind, not the way he spoke to whip up the crowd.

    Suddenly the ground shook, and another figure stood in the sand between Victor and the ck, armor-d giant. He was a puny thing, wearing silvery armor and adorned with pretty white-feathered wings. Victor liked the looks of those feathers and began to imagine them adorning his armor and the haft of his mighty axe.

    ¡°ck, what are you doing?¡± the neer asked, and Victor paused his advance¡ªthere was power in that voice.

    ¡°My heir must live. I will pay reparations,¡± the ck-d giant said, still crouching over his pathetic offspring.

    ¡°What say you, diator?¡± the powerful little man asked, turning to regard Victor¡¯s hulking form. ¡°This sets a bad precedent; I¡¯ll make him pay you dearly for this transgression of the games.¡±

    Victor¡¯s rage had cooled significantly at the touch of the silvery little man¡¯s aura; he knew strength when he felt it, and something inside him was appeased by the potent being¡¯s attempts to be polite¡ªat his show of respect. Victor began to assert himself in his own mind, pushing his Quinametzin alter ego to the side, and, with an effort of will, he said, ¡°I will respect your decision.¡±

    ¡°Excellent.¡± The silver-d man snapped his beautiful wings wide and turned to face the area of the stands where box seats were set up. His voice carried over the noise, and as he spoke, people quieted, ¡°Jast has yielded and, due to his father¡¯s intervention, is banned from the arena for one hundred years. The stranger is victorious!¡±

    ¡°Warlord!¡± the man in ck said, straightening up.

    ¡°You¡¯ve trespassed upon the sanctity of these games, Ardek. On Horc¡¯s Day, no less! We¡¯ll speakter, but for now, be grateful and show gratitude to this stranger to our city; he¡¯s within his rights to demand blood.¡±

    Victor felt his rage continuing to cool and knew he¡¯d start to shift back to his usual self soon. He didn¡¯t want to appear small before these two men, not then. With that thought, he grunted and, Lifedrinker swinging loosely in his grip, started walking toward the portcullis that barred his tunnel.

    ¡°diator . . . Deshi, I¡¯m sorry I forgot your name . . .¡± the silver-d man called after him.

    ¡°Victor.¡± He stopped and paused, turning to face the man fully, his voice rumbling out of his enormous chest, ¡°I¡¯m no Deshi. I¡¯m a true titan, and should that man in ck or his son seek another fight, I won¡¯t guarantee the safety of your city.¡±

    ¡°Ho! Hear that, ck? This youngster has spirit! Victor, I¡¯ll see you at my Horc¡¯s Day feast tonight. There, ck will present you with his reparations.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for Victor to answer; it was clear he considered it a settled matter. He snapped his wings with a *crack* and streaked into the air faster than mere feathers could have propelled him.

    Victor entered his tunnel, leaving the howling crowd behind, his mind so busy he couldn¡¯t register the meaning of the announcer¡¯s words that chased after him. He felt his rage seeping away as he walked, felt Lifedrinker grow slightly heavier, bigger in his hand, and sighed. ¡°It¡¯ll be good to get out of this cheap armor and get something to eat and maybe a couple beers. I wonder if Va enjoyed the show.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 13: Bodyguard

    Book 4: Chapter 13: Bodyguard

    ¡°You actually said that? You threatened the safety of the city?¡± Va sat back and blew out a breath in amazement, shaking her head and lifting her mug of ale to sip at it while Victorughed.

    ¡°When I¡¯m Berserk, it¡¯s like a different side of mees out. Well, maybe a part of me bes more pronounced.¡± Victor shrugged and took a big pull of his own beer.

    ¡°At least the warlord seemed to have a sense of humor. Tes told me he¡¯s nearly reached the eleventh tier.¡±

    ¡°Fuck . . . seriously?¡±

    ¡°Yes, truly.¡± Va took another drink and said, ¡°Well, you promised to tell me about the prizes you won, but I should tell you about our wagers first.¡±

    ¡°You found a ce to make bets?¡± Victor set his big mug of foamy, warm beer on the table and reached for the te of sliced, cured meats and cheese.

    ¡°I did, but the public bookmakers had limits on their bets for the first round, and after you crushed your first couple of opponents, your odds weren¡¯t as favorable as you might hope. Still, I turned your nine thousand beads into sixty-two. I . . . well, I did simrly well.¡±

    ¡°Holy shit! Sixty-two thousand? I¡¯d say we¡¯re sitting pretty with cash, huh? I mean, we should do some serious shopping before we head back to Fanwath, assuming we can get back with the tokens I won or with the help of someone powerful who happens to owe me.¡± Victor grinned and winked, slightly buzzed from the beer. ¡°You know, for interrupting my final match.¡±

    ¡°Yes, everyone knows.¡± Va gestured to the crowded tavern, and Victor chuckled, remembering how people had crowded around when they¡¯d first arrived, pping him on the back, congratting him, asking him questions about his fighting techniques, his giant form, and a million other things. Va had finally grown tired of it and shouted them back, threatening to go elsewhere if they couldn¡¯t drink in peace, which caused the barkeep to take up her cause, chasing people away from their table.

    ¡°Anyway, the prizes.¡± One by one, Victor pulled out his winnings to show Va¡ªthe three prize tokens, the drake gall dder, the magma horn, and finally, his grand prize, a ss jar containing a bloody heart about the size of one of Va¡¯s fists. The ss was warm to the touch, and Victor knew it was enchanted to keep the heart as fresh as the moment it was pulled from the body of a spine fiend. He had no idea what a spine fiend was, but he was d it sounded like a monster, not a person.

    ¡°If I remember correctly from the flyer you picked up at the arena, you need an alchemist for the horn and gall dder, but you¡¯re supposed to eat that heart raw?¡± The corner of Va¡¯s mouth twisted down in an involuntary grimace, and Victor nodded sympathetically.

    ¡°Yeah. Sounds gross, huh?¡±

    ¡°Well, yes, but it¡¯s oddly fitting. It¡¯s meant to improve your bloodline, and didn¡¯t you have a bloodline vision involving the consumption of an enemy¡¯s heart?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Holy shit . . . maybe I should Berserk before I eat it!¡±

    ¡°Is that safe?¡± Va¡¯s eyes clouded, and her brows narrowed, and Victor knew she was remembering her encounter with his Aspect of Terror.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got pretty good control of myself these days when I Berserk . . .¡± Victor drummed his fingers on the tabletop, thinking about it, and said, ¡°When I first learned the spell, I had almost no self-control. I couldn¡¯t stop fighting until the rage left me. These days I can think, speak, I bet I could even cast other spells, though I¡¯ve never tried . . .¡± he trailed off, noting that Va didn¡¯t seem particrly put at ease.

    He and Va drank some more, and Victor ate more meat and cheese; then he shrugged and said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it somewhere safe¡ªoutside the walls, even. You don¡¯t need to be anywhere near me, but I like the idea. I feel like I¡¯ll gain more from my bloodline if I¡¯m in touch with it when I eat this thing.¡±

    ¡°It makes sense,¡± Va finally said with a resigned sigh. ¡°Perhaps we could ask the warlord if he has a safe space for you to do it. What time are you supposed to go to his celebration?¡±

    ¡°Well, after the high-tier duels, I guess.¡± Victor looked around and caught the barkeep¡¯s eye, waving him over. The big Vesh ambled through the crowd, his prodigious gut and hooved feet making his progress kind ofical, and by the time he arrived, Victor¡¯s inebriated grin had grown very wide.

    ¡°What can I do for you, Champion?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m supposed to go to the warlord¡¯s feast tonight. Any idea what time I should head to his, uh . . . where does he live? A pce?¡±

    ¡°Ah, the warlord lives in the citadel at the center of Coloss, atop King¡¯s Hill. Just keep following the roads with upward slopes, and you¡¯ll reach it. I bet the warlord will start his party after the high-tier duels, which will be after the mid-tier tournament. A few hours after sunset, that¡¯s when I¡¯d head up there.¡± He looked at their table, the decimated meat and cheese tter, and their empty mugs and said, ¡°Shall I send you some more food? Another round?¡±

    Victor looked at Va, and she nodded, so he said, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯d be good.¡± After the barkeep grunted and walked away, Victor said, ¡°So? What did you think of Tes?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s amazing, as you said.¡± Va smiled, her pale blue cheeks a little flushed from the alcohol, and continued. ¡°She wants toe with us on that monster hunt. We¡¯re still doing that, right? Even if your tokens allow us to travel back to Fanwath, I¡¯d like to learn a few more things here. We have months until Rellia starts to panic.¡±

    ¡°Really? That¡¯s a surprise,¡± Victor chuckled. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be pushing me to go check out the City Stone right now . . .¡± Victor stopped speaking as Va¡¯s eyes widened, and she leaned forward.

    ¡°Can we? We should see what these tokens will allow. It will give us a good idea about our next move, and we have hours before the warlord¡¯s party starts.¡±

    ¡°Well, we just ordered more food . . .¡±

    ¡°Put it in your ring; you can snack on the way,¡± Vaughed, tilting her mug to her face and downing the rest of her ale.

    Victorughed, too, and said, ¡°Wow, you¡¯re in a very different mood than you were this morning.¡±

    ¡°Tes made me feel a lot better about myself, about my chances in that duel, should we still be in this world when the timees. Not to mention, I had a good time watching you beat up on the locals.¡±

    ¡°All right, well, I¡¯ll go up to the bar, cancel our drinks, and grab my meat and cheese. Meet you outside.¡± Victor stood up, his chair scraping noisily over the hard wooden nks of the floor, and pushed his way through the crowd up to the bar. People moved aside quickly, and a few pped him on the shoulder. Victor smiled and burped, pping peoples¡¯ backs in aradely fashion as he edged around them, feeling quite good about his change in status with the locals.

    He¡¯d just stowed away his cheese tray and was edging his way through the crowd when he felt himself bump up against a man who might as well have been a pir of iron, so little did he give. ¡°¡®Scuse me,¡± Victor grunted, pushing his way past some more easily shifted clientele, but the man reached out a hand and grasped his shoulder, giving it a squeeze and stopping him dead.

    ¡°Hold up, runt,¡± a gravelly voice said, and though the volume was low, the words cut through Victor¡¯s foggy mind like a knife. He turned to regard the speaker more carefully and saw a Vesh with ck scaled skin and folded leathery wings at his back. ¡°You really caused some trouble for the war captain today. Had to beat his son that way, did you?¡±

    ¡°It was an arena fight,¡± Victor said, standing up straighter and turning to face the man. He could feel his aura pushing against him, like a palpable thickness in the air, and he knew this man was of a much higher tier than himself. He¡¯d talked a big game when he was Berserking in the arena, but Victor didn¡¯t think he should go around the city fighting people of unknown and likely prodigious power.

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem so tough now.¡± The hand on his shoulder tightened, and Victor nced at it, noting the ck scales and thick, pointed, ck nails.

    ¡°Are you part, uh, what are they called . . . Yazzian?¡±

    ¡°What the shit did you just say?¡± Suddenly the dark orbs beneath the man¡¯s scaled brow began to glow with furious golden Energy, and he leaned closer to Victor, his lips pulling back from long, sharp teeth.

    ¡°Oh, sorry. Was that insulting? I really didn¡¯t mean it that way . . .¡± Victor took a few steps back, slipping out of the man¡¯s grasp and making his way toward the doorway. The darkly scaled man scowled and stalked toward him. The crowd surged away from them, clearing some space, and Victor noticed the friendly banter andughter that had filled the air was gone.

    ¡°Leave off him, Haz,¡± a deep voice said from behind Victor, and he turned to see a Degh in a silvery helmet peering in through the too-small doorway.

    ¡°Gah, keep your nose out of this, Tronk,¡± Haz growled, reaching for Victor¡¯s shoulder again.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think I will. Warlord ¡®imself sent me to look after the runt. Better get yourself back on a leash before you make more trouble for your master.¡± Suddenly Victor felt an enormous, powerful grip on his other shoulder, and he was pulled, stumbling back through the doorway and into thete afternoon sunlight. He almost stumbled, his arms cartwheeling to keep himself upright, but the hand stopped pulling and steadied him while he regained his bnce.

    ¡°There we are,¡± the same deep voice rumbled, and Victor realized it had been the Degh¡ªTronk, he supposed¡ªthat pulled him out of the tavern. He jerked his head back toward the doorway and was relieved to see the scaly man hadn¡¯t followed; the crowd had reformed inside, obscuring his view. ¡°I¡¯ll spend some time with you this evening, if you don¡¯t mind,d.¡±

    ¡°Uh, thanks. I wasn¡¯t looking for another fight right now.¡±

    ¡°No, he wasn¡¯t,¡± Va said, and Victor realized she was standing behind the giant, frowning from just beneath his left elbow. ¡°What did you say to that man, Victor? Couldn¡¯t you tell he was higher tier?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything . . .¡±

    ¡°Nar, there¡¯s nothin¡¯ he coulda done different. Haz is one of ck¡¯s lieutenants, and he holds a grudge for his master. Don¡¯t worry, though, folks. Our benevolent leader saw thisin¡¯ and sent me to keep yapany. I¡¯m Tronk.¡±

    Victor regarded the huge man; he wore a silvery breastte iid with golden sigils, had an enormous sword strapped to his back, and a thick helmet that would give Victor¡¯s gift from Polo a run for its money when it came to angry-looking visages. More than that, like the Vesh inside the tavern, Tronk gave off a dense, dangerous aura¡ªa kind of weight in the air that made it feel like you were walking in water, each breath a bit of a struggle in his presence. Victor smiled and held out a hand, ¡°Thanks, Tronk. I¡¯m Victor, and my small, blue friend is Va.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Tronk nodded, squeezing Victor¡¯s hand between a few of his fingers. ¡°The warlord was a bit worried some o¡¯ ck¡¯s loyalists might try to earn some points by makin¡¯ you pay in the streets for what ya done in the arena. Nobody¡¯ll cross you with me around; I¡¯m one of the warlord¡¯s fists.¡±

    ¡°Fists?¡± Va asked, moving next to Victor so she could look more directly at Tronk.

    ¡°Aye; there¡¯s ten o¡¯ us¡ªwe keep the peace and do some o¡¯ the warlord¡¯s lighter work, get our hands dirty when he¡¯s busy with bigger messes.¡±

    ¡°So, you¡¯re like our bodyguard tonight?¡±

    ¡°Tonight, tomorrow, maybe longer¡ªdepends ¡®ow long ck¡¯s feeling raw ¡®bout ¡®ow you embarrassed ¡®is son.¡±

    ¡°Well, thanks. Uh, we were just going to try to get to the City Stone to see what I could do with the prize tokens I won. That all right?¡±

    ¡°Sure. Ya know the way?¡± Tronk hooked his thumbs in the oversized leather and metal-ted girdle he wore and looked up the street to his right.

    ¡°We figured it would be up in the warlord¡¯s citadel,¡± Va said before Victor could respond.

    ¡°Aye, that¡¯s right. Follow me.¡± Tronk started stomping up the sidewalk, and people scurried to clear the way for him. Victor and Va hurried after, walking in his wake. Victor grinned and nudged Va.

    ¡°Kinda cool not to have to worry about walking in the slowne for a change.¡± He nodded toward the Vesh and other human-sized people walking on the left side of the sidewalk.

    ¡°Aye,¡± Va nodded. ¡°We¡¯re lucky he showed up. Maybe that man would have shown mercy on us because we¡¯re low-tier, but he could have given us a very bad time.¡±

    ¡°Us?¡± Victor frowned at Va. ¡°He was after me.¡±

    ¡°How would I ever show my face to Rellia if I stood by and watched you ughtered?¡± Va scoffed and shook her head as though Victor had said something even dumber than usual.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to get killed because of a vendetta some guy has against me. That wouldn¡¯t make life any easier for Rellia.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Va frowned and continued, ¡°I suppose not. Still, I wouldn¡¯t be able to live with myself if I stood by and watched arade die.¡±

    ¡°Maybe it wouldn¡¯t have been so bad, anyway. He might have just wanted to give me a good beating.¡±

    ¡°Might be,¡± Tronk rumbled over his shoulder. ¡°Haz knows there¡¯d be trouble wi¡¯ the warlord if he killed ya.¡± His boulder-like shoulders lifted, and Victor realized he was shrugging as he continued, ¡°Though Haz mightn¡¯t care too much.¡±

    The walk to the citadel took a good half hour or more, even moving at the giant¡¯s pace as he cleared the way. The final street leading up to the citadel was steeply inclined, switching back east to west as it climbed the final stretch of ¡°King¡¯s Hill.¡± At certain points, between gaps in the buildings, Victor and Va paused to see the expanse of Coloss falling away below them. With the sky lit orange and crimson by the setting sun, Victor was reminded of just how far from home he really was.

    The buildings were tightly packed together, and their rooftops, tiled in orange, green, copper, and bronze, created a magical tapestry of color that reflected the garish colors in the sky. All of this fell away toward a wall that seemed impossibly tall and wide¡ªsomething that must have taken either enormous magic or a thousand years to build. When they finally rounded thest wide turn in the winding road and could see straight ahead to the warlord¡¯s citadel, all the previous wonders fell away from Victor¡¯s mind.

    Much like the great city wall, the citadel was constructed of gigantic rectangr stone blocks. It was square and rose in seven distinct tiers, each with crented ramparts built from the same great stones. Atop the ramparts, soldiers patrolled, tiny figures far from the ground, giving a sense of scale to the massive structure. Each side of the base had to be more than a mile long, and though it didn¡¯t seem so tall due to its tiered nature, Victor would have bet the central spire was higher than any of the skyscrapers in Tucson¡¯s downtown.

    ¡°Big,¡± he said, words failing him.

    ¡°Aye. Luck is wi¡¯ us, though,¡± Tronk grunted, still walking steadily toward the one and only monumental gate in the wall of the great building. ¡°The City Stone¡¯s right in the middle on the ground floor.¡± He trudged down the wide, stone-paved roadway, and Victor followed, ncing at Va and shrugging with a crooked grin.

    ¡°Pretty awesome building, if you ask me.¡±

    ¡°Awful in its majesty,¡± Va nodded, suddenly quite sober.

    ¡°How many people live in there?¡± Victor asked, trying to hurry his steps to walk beside the giant.

    ¡°Dunno. Warlord has his troops, o¡¯ course¡ªten thousand strong. Then there¡¯s his children and their families and us Fists, and the servants and . . . argh, it¡¯s too much to think about.¡±

    ¡°Tronk, are all the Fists high-tier? What about the warlord¡¯s troops?¡± Va, too, hurried her pace to walk beside Victor.

    ¡°The Fists, aye. His troops?¡± Tronk snorted, gesturing toward the gates and the dozen soldiers standing to either side with long, ornamental spears. ¡°Most are like these¡ªmid-tier.¡±

    ¡°Do the war captains have Fists or their equivalent?¡± Va asked.

    ¡°Nar. Only the warlord.¡±

    ¡°So he maintains his power, his rule, through might.¡± Va nodded as though it was all making perfect sense.

    ¡°Yar. If a war captain gets too uppity, we¡¯re sent to crack some ¡®eads.¡±

    ¡°That how it is in the empire?¡± Victor asked Va as they began to pass in front of the soldiers. The troops neither moved nor spoke while they walked by, and Victor wondered if it would¡¯ve been the same if Tronk weren¡¯t leading them.

    ¡°Certainly. The strongest families always work to maintain that strength, consolidating power through alliances and quelling any uprisings, even the hint of an uprising, before they can take root.¡±

    ¡°Hope they don¡¯t know about Rellia¡¯s long-term ns.¡± Victor winked at Va, and her eyes widened in shock. He wondered if she was surprised that he knew Rellia was conspiring against the Old Powers in the empire or if she simply didn¡¯t know what he was talking about. How much had Rellia shared with her?

    ¡°Rellia¡¯s not a fool,¡± she said, pressing her lips together in a frown.

    They passed under the gateway, wide enough to drive four busses through side by side and tall enough that Tronk could have stacked ten of his giant Degh friends on his shoulders before they touched the immense stone lintel. The gates, also made of carved or molded stone, hung on tremendous brass-colored hinges and had been pulled wide to allow clear passage. Beyond them, the entrance tunnel yawned like a man-made canyon leading to a brightly lit open area that looked, for all the world, like a park.

    ¡°City Stone¡¯s in the center o¡¯ the garden,¡± Tronk rumbled, his pace unwavering as he continued trudging into the great structure. Even at the giant¡¯s pace, it took them a solid five or ten minutes to walk toward that brightly lit interior. Along the way, they passed many Vesh and a few Degh, but none of the other peoples of Coloss. They passed dozens of wide corridors leading off the main thorofare and half as many stairways leading up to tunnels and passages on different levels that led away from the great tunnel.

    When they stepped into the manicured garden, the stone tunnel floor became more like a meandering cobbled path and, hanging above them, was an artificial sun, or so it seemed to Victor. It zed in yellow-gold splendor, giving off light and warmth. It was clearly not the real sun, though; Victor could shade his eyes and look at it, and he thought he saw crystalline tines poking out of a grand ss ball, swirling with Energy.

    ¡°That¡¯s awesome,¡± he said, and Va breathed deeply, looking around the park, nodding her agreement.

    Grass grew on manicuredwns, trees rose up in cultivated groves, and hedgerows, fountains, and flowerbedspleted the picture. Though the trees made it difficult, Victor could shade his eyes and look beyond them to see that the citadel''s walls epassed the park, maybe a quarter mile long on each side.

    ¡°Is it always sunny?¡± Va asked, following Tronk along the central, cobbled pathway.

    ¡°Nar. When the real sun goes down, the caretakers will make it look like moonlight.¡±

    They walked in silence for a few minutes, Victor and Va looking left and right, taking in the park¡¯s beauty, but soon they approached a dark, stone monolith, thirty feet high and covered with silver and gold runes that seemed to shift and float just beneath the surface. An iron fence, fifteen feet tall and tipped with spikes, surrounded the stone, a single gateway opening onto the path on which Victor and the others approached.

    Two soldiers, as big as Tronk and decked head to toe in gleaming te mail, stood on either side of the gate. A woman wearing a rainbow-colored robe was between them atop a velvet-cushioned stool. She was petite, easily the smallest adult Victor had seen in Coloss; she had silver hair and brilliant blue eyes, and her skin looked, for all the world, like delicate, pale white porcin. She even had seams at her neck, wrist, and finger joints, as though each part of her had been cast from a mold.

    She looked at Tronk and his two charges and smiled, her thin, painted lips lifting in a strangely unnatural manner, and said, ¡°Wee. Please present your Coloss Prize Token in order to proceed.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 14: Cultivation Chamber

    Book 4: Chapter 14: Cultivation Chamber

    Tronk stepped to the side, leaning against a nearby garden sculpture¡ªa stone depiction of a bird with expansive plumage, sort of like a peacock. Va also moved off the path, looking at Victor. He shrugged and approached the porcindy, fishing one of his prize tokens out of his storage ring.

    ¡°Ahh, yes. You may proceed, though please do not dally. People will be lining up to use the Stone soon.¡± Her lips hardly moved on her smooth, painted face, and she spoke before Victor was within five feet of her, apparently able to confirm the token from a distance.

    ¡°Um, can my friende with me?¡±

    ¡°You may bring apanion. Though, again, please do not linger long with the Stone.¡± She gestured with one of her fragile-looking arms toward the open gateway, and Victor nced from one silent, armored guard to the other. They didn¡¯t move at all, and he began to wonder if people were inside those shiny metal carapaces or if they were some sort of automatons; the woman¡¯s strange nature added some weight to that theory in his estimation.

    ¡°Come on, Va.¡± Victor motioned her forward as he walked past thedy¡¯s stool, stepping under the wrought metal of the gate¡¯s archway. He could hear her behind him as he continued up the path toward the giant, dark monolith. ¡°This one¡¯s bigger than the one inside the Greatbone Mine.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s bigger than the ones in Persi Gables and Gelica, too,¡± Va said from behind him, her voice hushed.

    ¡°Do you think those guards were people? How would they stand so still?¡± Victor spoke over his shoulder as he continued up to the looming pir, eyes struggling to follow the shifting, strange runes beneath its surface.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Victor, but nothing would surprise me in this ce. Can you believe the scale of it?¡± Va moved next to him as he stopped before the monolith.

    ¡°Yeah, this citadel is ridiculous. So, in the mine, I just had to put my hand on it. Guess this one¡¯s the same?¡±

    ¡°They all work that way.¡± Va nodded, reaching toward the stone. When her pale blue hand touched the dark surface, it crackled and popped, and she yelped, yanking her hand back. ¡°It shocked me!¡±

    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have one of these.¡± Victor held up his token and winked at her; then he touched his palm to the stone. A System menu appeared in his vision, but this one was very different from the one he¡¯d seen from the Stone in the Greatbone Mine.

    Coloss Prize Token Exchange

    Current Treasures Avable for Exchange Services

    ¡°Huh. It¡¯s a really limited menu. Can the ruler of a town or city change how the stone works?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. Whoever founds a settlement gains full control of the Stone and its services. As they grow themunity, the System grants them more and more services, but they don¡¯t have to share any of it with the popce.¡±

    ¡°Well, this one only lists two options¡ªcurrent treasures in exchange for tokens and ¡®services.¡¯ I¡¯ll see what kind of services there are first.¡± Victor touched the second option, and another menu opened:

    Coloss City Services

    Acquire Coloss City Citizenship - 2 Prize Tokens, revocation of current citizenship. City-to-City Transportation - Varied.

    Victor grunted and touched the second option.

    City-to-City Transportation - Concentrate on your destination.

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor said again, his brow creasing as he tried to concentrate on Fanwath. His mind immediately pictured Persi Gables and the way it had looked from the hilltop out on the ins when he and Va had first approached it.

    Transport to Fanwath

    Largest Hub - Tharcray - 3 Prize Tokens Specified Hub - Persi Gables - 5 Prize Tokens

    ¡°How far is Tharcray from Persi Gables? Would it be hard to get back to Persi Gables from there?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s far, but we could afford airship transport. We¡¯d make it in less than a week. Why?¡±

    ¡°Sec,¡± Victor replied, then he backed out of the menu and selected the option again, this time focusing on Tucson. He pictured the University of Arizona campus, at least the parts you could see from Speedway, where he¡¯d driven by so many times with friends and family members. Before he could let his mind drift down memoryne, the screen changed, and a message appeared:

    Invalid Selection - This location is not a System world.

    ¡°Figures,¡± he muttered, moving back through the menu to the first page and selecting the ¡°current treasures¡± option.

    Avable Treasure Exchange

    Elixir of Regeneration - 1 Prize Token Racial Boost - Basic - 1 Prize Token Racial Boost - Improved - 2 Prize Tokens Alchemical Ingredient - Advanced - 2 Prize Tokens Racial Boost - Advanced - 3 Prize Tokens Cultivation Breakthrough - 3 Prize Tokens Alchemical Ingredient - Epic - 5 Prize Tokens Racial Boost - Epic - 5 Prize Tokens (2 Avable) Stone of Sentience - 5 Prize Tokens Alchemical Ingredient - Legendary - 10 Prize Tokens Stone of Consciousness - 10 Prize Tokens (3 Avable) Epic Light Weapon - 10 Prize Tokens Epic Heavy Weapon - 10 Prize Tokens Epic Ranged Weapon - 12 Prize Tokens Epic Energy Focus - 12 Prize Tokens Random Legendary Treasure - 20 Prize Tokens

    ¡°Chingado,¡± Victor breathed.

    ¡°What? Tell me!¡± Va nudged Victor¡¯s shoulder roughly, and he pulled his hand away from the stone.

    ¡°Here,¡± he said, holding out the prize token. ¡°Check it out.¡±

    While Va tentatively touched the Stone and then her eyes went ssy, Victor thought about the options. He could return to Fanwath immediately if he wanted, but that would leave Va high and dry. He figured the two of them ought to be able to earn another three prize tokens fairly easily, so he felt some relief knowing there was a bright light at the end of the tunnel. Still, Victor was very curious about some of the more expensive items.

    It seemed like the stones of sentience and consciousness were meant to awaken a weapon or, maybe, another item. What would happen if he used one on his helmet, for instance? He wondered why the Warlord didn¡¯t offer specific weapons rather than just categories of weapons as prizes. ¡°Nah, it¡¯s obvious¡ªhe wants more people to spend more tokens trying to get the perfect prize.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Oh, the categories? I agree,¡± Va mumbled, still deeply engrossed in her study of the lists.

    ¡°I wonder what a legendary treasure is like, hmm?¡± Victor asked, nudging her.

    ¡°Oh, me too. I don¡¯t even know how to categorize treasures into tiers like that. What makes a weapon epic or legendary?¡±

    ¡°Good question.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d sure like to get a stone of consciousness for Blue Razor. Even the sentience one; if she could feel, she might grow in power.¡±

    ¡°Is that how that works?¡±

    ¡°I think . . .¡± Va said, her words soft and trailing away as she continued to stare into space. ¡°If you select the reward, it gives a brief description. Did you notice that?¡±

    ¡°What? No! I was afraid it would take my token if I touched the options.¡±

    ¡°Well, I was right; it says that sentient weapons and other items can grow in power ¡®through their experiences.¡¯ Conscious items are the same, though they grow more quickly and canmunicate. Lifedrinker must be conscious!¡±

    ¡°I coulda told you that,¡± Victor scoffed. ¡°She¡¯s real, Va.¡±

    ¡°I never questioned that . . .¡±

    ¡°Right, right. Sorry.¡± Victor shook his head and added, ¡°Tha was always messing with me about Lifedrinker. You¡¯ve never given me any shit.¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡± Va smiled as she spoke, and a few secondster, she said, ¡°The racial advancement items all have the same description, though the higher-tier ones are supposedly more potent. I have a feeling there are myriad items in each category; the warlord must have experts able to tell the strength of the treasures he puts in the exchange.¡±

    ¡°Well, yeah, that would make sense.¡±

    ¡°They seem quite reasonably priced, the racial boosts. How many ranks do you think an epic one would give?¡±

    ¡°No idea, but, yeah, I wish I had around fifty tokens so I could mess around with this stuff. Anyway, we better head out before that porcindy gets pissed.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Va said, shaking her head slightly as she pulled away from the stone. She passed Victor¡¯s token back to him and added, ¡°At the very least, we need to earn three more tokens. Unless we find another way home in the meantime.¡±

    ¡°My thoughts exactly.¡± Victor turned and walked down the path and through the gate in the fence. Tronk straightened up and lifted his thick lips into a smile at their approach.

    ¡°Done?¡± he rumbled, reaching up to rub at the stubble on his heavy chin.

    ¡°Yeah, we need to earn more tokens.¡± Victorughed and shook his head ruefully. ¡°Some cool stuff avable in there.¡±¡¯

    ¡°Oh, aye. The warlord knows ¡®is people; everyone works for ¡®is prize tokens, tradin¡¯ their greatest treasures away. Well, not everyone. You¡¯ll find plenty o¡¯ nice things for sale in Coloss.¡± He shrugged and then added, ¡°Where to?¡±

    ¡°How long until the warlord¡¯s celebration? I¡¯m supposed to show up for that.¡±

    ¡°Hrmm. Sun¡¯s just set. Maybe three hours, maybe four.¡±

    ¡°Do you know of a secure ce where Victor can consume the heart he won? He¡¯d like to use a rather dangerous spell when he does it.¡± Va stepped forward, ncing sidelong at the silent porcindy as she approached Tronk.

    ¡°Wait. Va, I can¡¯t eat that now. Last time I advanced my race, I was out for days.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s yer racial rank?¡± Tronk asked, peering quizzically at Victor from beneath the heavy rim of his helmet.

    ¡°Uh,¡± Victor nced at Va, and she shrugged, so he said, ¡°Improved-four.¡±

    Tronk frowned, noisily clearing his throat and then swallowing. ¡°You could use the warlord¡¯s cultivation chamber¡ªnothin¡¯ you could muster would hurt that ce, and the Energies in there would have ya up on yer feet in no time.¡±

    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t mind?¡± Victor stared at the giant skeptically.

    ¡°Nar, he said ta give ya a tour an¡¯ ta keep ya busy.¡± Tronk shrugged, and a slow smile spread on his face as he kept rubbing at his chin. ¡°He lets Tronk use it.¡±

    ¡°Well . . .¡± Victor began, but Va nudged him and interrupted.

    ¡°That¡¯s a very kind offer, Tronk. Victor would love the opportunity.¡±

    Tronk nodded and grunted, straightening up, ¡°Follow me.¡± He turned and started stomping down the garden path, away from the City Stone and toward one of the side exits.

    Victor nced at thepletely still porcindy and her two silver-ted guards, then waved awkwardly. The porcindy¡¯s painted eyes swiveled in their sockets and fell upon him, then her red-painted lips curled up into a smile. Victor returned the smile, though his looked more like a grimace, and hurried after Tronk.

    ¡°Kinda weird, don¡¯t you think?¡± he asked Va as they followed after the giant.

    ¡°That a great master would let a near stranger use his cultivation room? Yes.¡±

    ¡°No, I meant that the porcindy didn¡¯t say anything or even move when we came out.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fairly certain she¡¯s a construct, built to serve a purpose and not to have a personality.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know . . . she smiled at me. Did you mean that about the cultivation room? Is it weird that Tronk¡¯s taking us there? Do you think the warlord will be pissed?¡±

    ¡°Nar,¡± Tronk rumbled from up ahead, and Victor frowned, thumping his fist against his forehead. Of course, a powerful Energy user would have good hearing. ¡°He don¡¯t care. Warlord¡¯s been takin¡¯ a break from cultivatin¡¯. His chamber¡¯s brim full; he even let¡¯s some o¡¯ the other Fists use it.¡±

    Victor looked at Va and shrugged, and they continued to follow Tronk through the vaulted, highway-wide hallways and up massive stone stairwells where high steps wereid out next to ones half as tall. Victor and Va climbed the shorter steps, and Tronk lumbered up the giant-sized flight. They continued this way, meandering through seemingly endless tunnels and climbing six more flights of stone steps before they came to their first doorway; a Degh-sized pair of bronze, rune-inscribed doors shimmering slightly with the Energy that held them secure.

    ¡°Are we at the top?¡± Va asked.

    ¡°Near ¡®nuff,¡± Tronk nodded.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t pass any rooms! Just massive corridors . . .¡± Va¡¯s voice trailed off as Tronk rumbled a reply, interrupting her.

    ¡°Oh, there are plenty ¡®o rooms in this great building. We took the soldier path, though, where the warlord¡¯s troops move when ¡®tis time to fight invaders.¡±

    ¡°Does that happen often?¡± Va pressed.

    ¡°Nar; every ¡®undred years or so.¡±

    ¡°How old are you?¡± Victor asked before he could stop himself.

    ¡°Me? Three ¡®undred and some.¡± Tronk shrugged, his metal pauldrons scrapping noisily against his breastte with the movement.

    ¡°Damn.¡± Victor nodded, figuring it made sense. If Rellia was sixty or so and tier-five, the high-tier people in Coloss must be quite a lot older. Then he thought about his own rather meteoric rise and amended his estimation¡ªit would take someone centuries unless they had high Energy affinity. Putting his thoughts together like that, he gave Va an appraising look, really consciously appreciating her aplishment for the first time; she had to be one of the youngest tier-five people on all of Fanwath. Even Lam was near twice her age.

    ¡°Tronk, where are all the soldiers?¡± Va asked, and Victor realized she¡¯d made a good point; they¡¯d hardly passed anyone as they traversed the citadel, only a scurrying servant here or there, usuallyden with some sort of burden like heavy-looking baskets orundry.

    Tronk just shrugged and didn¡¯t offer any sort of reply; instead, he reached toward a smooth spot on the right-side door, resting his palm on the metal. With a shimmer and a click, the Energy barrier faded away, and the door popped ajar by a fraction of an inch. A wash of powerful Energy seemed to flow through that tiny crack in the doorway, and Victor¡¯s mouth filled with saliva as his body began to gravitate toward the door.

    Va made a small sound, like a gasp and a cry, and she rushed past him, reaching for the edge of the door, clearly intending to pull it wide, but Tronk reached down and grabbed hold of her wrist. ¡°Nar, little blue one. Let the big man in first, and if there¡¯s time, I¡¯ll let ya cultivate for a while in there.¡± His voice was calm and rumbled out of his big chest pleasantly, but Victor noticed that Va had stopped short at his touch, and she nodded quickly, visibly battling with herself as she backed away from the door.

    ¡°In ya go, titan-blood,¡± Tronk said, nodding to Victor.

    ¡°Titan-blood?¡± Victor had gained control of himself pretty easily while he watched Va struggle, and now he stood before the door, basking in the rich Energy but wanting to know what Tronk knew of his bloodline.

    ¡°Yar, Warlord was excited to see ya in the arena when yer blood woke up. Reminded him o¡¯ the old Degh the way we was ¡®afore our ancestor stone was busted an¡¯ Horc killed the Wyrm at the center o¡¯ the Degh mountains.¡± As he spoke, the big man¡¯s words were thick with emotion, and Victor felt a sadness¡ªa loss¡ªemanating from him that nearly made his eyes well up. Tronk¡¯s heavy lips curled down toward his prodigious chin, and Victor could see he was reliving some memory or another and that it was painful to him.

    ¡°Your people aren¡¯t what they once were?¡± Va asked; apparently, she¡¯d limated to the rich Energy in the air enough to speak¡ªthat, or Tronk¡¯s words had affected her, too.

    ¡°That¡¯s puttin¡¯ it light. Nar, we used to rule this world, we Degh. Long ¡®afore my time, though. ¡®Tis fine, though. I¡¯m good and tough. Good enough.¡± He shrugged and nodded as though he¡¯d just talked himself into something.

    ¡°But the warlord remembers how things were back then?¡± Victor nced at Va skeptically. ¡°How old is he?¡±

    ¡°Dunno. Thousands o¡¯ years, though. Don¡¯t think any in Coloss are older.¡± Tronk rapped his huge knuckles against the metal of the door and pulled it open a couple of feet. ¡°In ya go now, titan-blood. Make us proud.¡±

    Victor nodded and gave Va a quick nce.

    ¡°Go on,¡± she urged. And Victor stepped into the thick Energy. As he looked about, taking in the chamber, he heard the massive door click shut behind him and felt the buzz of the Energy fielding back to life, sealing it tight. The room was shaped like the inside of a stone ball. The only part that wasn¡¯t curved was where the tall metal doors met the concave walls and ceiling. Steps rose from the base of the door up to a stone pedestal that sat in the middle of the spherical chamber.

    As he slowly climbed the¡ªhuman-sized¡ªsteps, Victor studied the walls, noting that thousands of little rune-inscribed bronze discs were mounted into the stone. To him, it looked like they were caps, as though they covered something. ¡°Like maybe whatever all this Energy ising from,¡± Victor said, nodding to himself as he reached the pedestal. Standing there, inside the round room, he could feel the waves of Energy washing over him,ing from every direction.

    The top of the spherical chamber was probably ten feet over his head, and the walls were just as far away; the pedestal put him dead in the middle of the space. ¡°Huh. Maybe I¡¯ll sit down,¡± Victor muttered, dropping down and putting himself into a lotus position on the stone tform. He took the jar containing the spine fiend heart out of his storage ring and set it on the floor before him, then he rested his hands on his knees and took several deep breaths, savoring the rich flow of Energy in the air.

    ¡°I wonder how fast I could level my Core if I sat in a ce like this all the time? I wonder how hard it would be to make a space like this. I bet all those bronze discs have natural treasures under them.¡± Suddenly Victor wondered if Tronk was wrong about the warlord being okay with him using the cultivation chamber. What if he found out and flew there to yank Victor out and smash him like a bug? ¡°Better get this going while I still can,¡± Victor chuckled, and then he built his pattern for Berserk, took a deep breath, and allowed his rage-attuned Energy to popte his pathways.

 Book 4: Chapter 15: Ancestors

    Book 4: Chapter 15: Ancestors

    Victor felt the rage smoldering in his pathways, felt it surging through his veins with each *thump* of his mighty heart. He sat hunched over the little jar, his great fists clenching and unclenching as he heaved in and out each furious breath. Slowly, with a tremendous push of his will, he brought himself under control; he slowed his breathing and gradually rxed his straining, bunched muscles.

    ¡°Hmm,¡± his voice rumbled forth from his enormous chest, ¡°let¡¯s see here.¡± He picked up the jar, and his lips pulled back from his straight, white teeth as he felt its warmth. Victor grasped the top of the jar and twisted it loose, breaking the waxen seal. Suddenly the scent of copper, of bloody meat, wafted into his nostrils, and his grin widened.

    Victor tilted the jar into his mouth, felt the warm hunk of tangy flesh fall into his mouth, and, with zeal, he began to chew the tough meat into pulp, savoring each squelching burst of hot, coppery liquid that drenched his tongue and rolled down the back of his throat. When he finally swallowed thest bit, Victor grunted, looking around the room in his red-haze-filtered vision, wondering what was supposed to happen.

    For a moment, he forgot where he was, forgot why he¡¯d gone Berserk, and nearly let the rage slide out of his pathways and back into his Core, but then something happened. He felt a knot in his stomach, then a searing white-hot pain, and he looked to the ceiling of the strange, round room and screamed. Fire spread through his body like an eruption, and before his long ulting cry wound down, Victor fell back, his massive shoulders thumping against the stone of the pedestal¡ªhis vision went dark, and his consciousness slipped away.

    #

    Tenecoalt crouched among the rough-barked boles of the trees, peering down into a lush, verdant vale, the yellow orb of the Sun God hot and heavy in the air, provoking the moisture of the dense ntlife and damp soil to rise in palpable, steamy waves. Tenecoalt loved it. He savored the heat, the humidity on his painted flesh, as he watched the green-scaled wyrm feasting. What a creature! What a worthy opponent! Tenecoalt felt his heart thump in anticipation; here was a beast deserving of his ancestors¡¯ attention.

    He gripped his macuahuitl, newly crafted from the star metal he¡¯d won from the clutches of a winged, lightning-riding stranger. So many strange men and creatures had been trespassing on his people¡¯snds thesest hundred years. So many men and creatures that had fallen to the might of the Quinametzin! He grinned savagely, eyes still tracking the mighty green monster below. How easily it had killed the powerful saber-wed bear! ¡°That was my heart to im,¡± Tenecoalt grumbled.

    Moving through the trees, between the thick-leaved nts, he crept forward, a huge, white-y-covered wraith. This fight would bring his ancestors to him; it would be a battle worthy of tales in the Ghost Lands. He glided down the slope, through thest of the trees, charging over the grassy slope toward his quarry. As his stride lengthened and he lifted his macuahuitl into the air, he threw off all pretense of stealth and howled a mighty war cry, flying toward the tremendous reptile¡¯s nk.

    Tenecoalt wasrge for a Quinametzin, often towering head and shoulders over his brethren, but even his mighty frame seemed insignificant in the face of the enormous green wyrm as it whirled to confront his charge. The monstrosity was longer than a tall tree, thicker than five cave bears, with four legs, each big and heavy enough to smash a giant like Tenecoalt into the springy loam. It was dark green along its spine-covered back, but the scales faded to pale yellow where its prodigious belly dragged in the grass.

    It was toward the low, hanging gut that Tenecoalt had meant to make his first strike, but he¡¯d underestimated the speed of the mighty creature. It whirled, trampling the ground and whipping its long, deadly tail behind it as the monster brought its toothy maw to bear on him. Each of its hundred yellow-white fangs was as long as a spear, and they showered him with red-tinged saliva as they mped shut, snapping the air with a thunderous *crack*.

    The bite had been meant for Tenecoalt, aimed to part his top half from the bottom, but he was faster than that, more crafty, too. He slid under the monster¡¯s chin, burst up from the ground, exploding into the air like a springing, fangmaw fish, and dragged his impossibly sharp, unfathomably heavy macuahuitl along the scaly neck of the wyrm, pulling away scales, raking the flesh beneath them, and eliciting a furious roar from the monstrosity, so loud it shook the leaves from the nearby trees.

    The wyrm bucked and thrashed, trying to twist into a position where it could bite at him again, but Tenecoalt was knocked aside by its surging shoulder, thrown, briefly, out of reach. He tumbled over the hot, damp grass and leaped to his feet, bellowing his own roar of challenge. He¡¯d drawn first blood! ¡°Come to me, Ancestors!¡± he screamed, charging toward the great serpent, rushing headlong at the jaws that would spell certain doom for him should they close over his mighty frame.

    ¡°Camaxtli hears your cry, warrior! Take my speed!¡± Suddenly silver-white Energy bloomed around Tenecoalt, and he felt his arms and bones strain to contain the power. Where before he charged, now he flew over the grass, aet, streaking too fast for the wyrm to track.

    Tenecoalt hacked a terrible gash in its left foreleg as he flew by, leaving a trail of ripped, broken grass in his wake. Then, as he streaked along the length of the great beast, he smashed his dark, glinting macuahuitl into the wyrm¡¯s nk, dragging it for twenty lightningced steps before his surge of speed wore off, and he had to roll away from the thrashing monster.

    Tenecoalt tumbled through the grass, hisst burst of Camaxtli¡¯s speed sending him flopping away from the wounded terror. He¡¯d parted its scales and flesh, leaving a terrible wound that leaked gouts of gore with each of the monster¡¯s frenzied, writhing rolls; it was still trying to smash him, unaware that he¡¯d rolled free.

    Tenecoalt straightened up, and the wyrm caught sight of him. It ceased its flopping, rolling fury and stood, staring straight at him. Suddenly a deep, grating voice echoed through the vale, ¡°Worm. Maggot! You dare to strike at the great Tu¡¯vashele¡¯kha¡¯zat? Savor the bite you¡¯ve taken¡ªit will be yourst!¡±

    Tenecoalt held up his bloody macuahuitl and howled at the Sun, his deep, powerful voice ulting through the vale. Then he charged and, again, called on his ancestors, ¡°Join me, Ancient Ones! Let us y this boastful snake!¡±

    He didn¡¯t let fear or panic enter his heart as he neared the monstrous creature¡ªhis ancestors didn¡¯te to the aid of weaklings. As he drew close, his feet began to squelch in the hot blood-covered grass, and he knew his ancestors woulde or they wouldn¡¯t; either way, he was going to drive his macuahuitl into the wyrm¡¯s toothy snout.

    The monster roared at him, hot breath billowing out over the meadow, ropy strings of bloody saliva apanying the terrible sound. Still, Tenecoalt charged headlong into it, a grimace of determination on his face. The wyrm charged, Tenecoalt leaped, and then the sound he¡¯d been hoping for came into his mind, ¡°I am Guatamoc! Take my strength!¡±

    An explosion of hot, red Energy erupted at Tenecoalt¡¯s Core, and he screamed in fury, pain, and exultation as his body stretched and his bones cracked. As he came down from his leap, hended in front of the great wyrm with a thunderous crash, and the creature snapped its maw, aiming to remove his leg from his body. Tenecoalt pushed one mighty hand against its snout, holding it back just an inch from his flesh, and the wyrm¡¯s teeth cked together with another powerful *crack*.

    ¡°I am not a snack for a slithering snake!¡± he roared, no longer having to look up at the monster but rather down. He hacked his macuahuitl, now tiny in his hand but still heavy, sharp, and more deadly than any weapon born of nature, into the wyrm¡¯s head and neck over and over. He drove its full length into the monster¡¯s flesh, ripping and shattering scales, pulling out hunks of meat and tendon with each stabbing, hacking blow.

    ¡°Ancestors! Savor the blood of our foe!¡± he screamed as he fought off the wyrm¡¯s thrashing, bucking attempts to get past his guard, to bite him, to w at him, to whip its mighty tail into him. Tenecoalt stood firm, ducking, weaving, and fending off the beast with his free hand while he delivered wound after wound, drenching himself in wyrm blood.

    As the monster grew tired and weak, he held it down with a gigantic knee on its snout and punched his star metal studded weapon through its eyes and then into its neck, twisting and yanking it out with great, bloody strands of flesh.

    When the wyrmy still, and Tenecoalt stood exhausted next to its enormous head, he realized his ancestor¡¯s strength had left him long before he¡¯d finished his bloody work. Still, it had been enough. He¡¯d bested the monster with his skill; all he¡¯d needed was Guatamoc¡¯s might to even the scales. He heaved an exhausted breath, lifted his bloody macuahuitl to the Sun, and screamed his victory into the sky, letting all know that the Quinametzin once again reigned supreme in this part of the jungle.

    He stood, heaving for breath, clothed only in blood-caked y, no longer white but pinkish-red. It wasn¡¯t time to rest, though; he owed his ancestors tribute. Now it was time to find the beast¡¯s heart; he¡¯d eat some, but the rest he would burn and send to the Ghost Lands to strengthen his ancestors so they might win more battles in those strange climes. ¡°Thank you, Guatamoc and Camaxtli!¡± he breathed, moving to the wyrm¡¯s nk and looking for the best ce to begin his bloody work.

    #

    Victor groaned and rolled to his side. He felt like he¡¯d been run over by a bus, a stark contrast to how he¡¯d felt thest time he¡¯d advanced his racial bloodline. Either the heart was a harsher catalyst or the chamber he was in, speeding his recovery, hadn¡¯t allowed him to convalesce as thoroughly. He sat up, rubbing at his eyes. In his dulled mental state, he felt like he had something in them, but then he realized a System message was obscuring his view.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see here,¡± he muttered, trying to focus on the weird floating text.

    ***Congrattions! You have gained a new feat: Ancestral Bond***

    ***Ancestral Bond: Your connection to your titanic bloodline has grown robust¡ªlike the Quinametzin primogenitors from which you trace your lineage, you have a deep connection to your ancestors. Should they be pleased with your efforts, and should your need be great, you may call on them, and they maye to your aid.***

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned a new spell: Honor the Spirits - Improved***

    ***Honor the Spirits - Improved: You understand, instinctually, what prizes from your conquered foes will please your Ancestral Spirits. With an effort of will, you can cause your Energy to devour your sacrifice, sending it to the Spirit ne, where your Ancestors will consume it to grow in power. Energy Cost: 1000, Cooldown: Very Long.***

    ¡°Uh,¡± Victor grunted. ¡°That¡¯s cool . . .¡± as he spoke, reading over the messages, Victor¡¯s mind wandered back to his vision, and his eyes bugged out. ¡°Holy shit!¡± he breathed, remembering how it had felt to be Tenecoalt as his ancestors flooded him with power. ¡°Fucking-A!¡±

    Victor wasn¡¯t sure they¡¯d be so generous with him; he¡¯d done nothing to earn their love so far, but somehow, he knew that if he worked at it, if he honored them, those spirits woulde to him, too. They¡¯d help him destroy his enemies. While he mulled it over and dismissed the System message, Victor¡¯s eyes fell on his hands, and he did a double-take. ¡°What the fuck?¡±

    They were still his, for sure, but they looked different. The skin was darkly tanned, as always, but it had a more robust tint to it, a golden brownness that exuded vibrant strength. His fingers looked leaner, stronger, his nails like perfect, stone-hard pearls at the ends of them. He flexed his fists and felt like he could smash stones in them.

    He let his eyes run up his arms and noticed simr changes; his muscles and veins stood out beneath his robust, supple skin, and then he realized something; his scars were gone¡ªevery one of them. He stood up in a fluid, graceful motion and smiled at how pain-free he was. Whatever aches or exhaustion he¡¯d felt upon waking up were gone. Looking around the little chamber, he noted his perspective had changed; he¡¯d grown again.

    Once leery of bing ¡°too big,¡± Victor realized he didn¡¯t feel that way anymore. Either his experience with the Degh or his connection to his ancestors had altered that perspective¡ªhe felt good about it. ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± he said, calling up his status sheet:

    Status

    Name:

    Victor Sandoval

    Race:

    Human (Quinametzin Bloodline) - Advanced 1

    ss:

    Spirit Carver - Epic

    Level:

    36

    Core:

    Spirit ss - Improved 1

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Inspiration 7.4

    Energy:

    3402/3402

    Strength:

    135

    Vitality:

    150

    Dexterity:

    40

    Agility:

    63

    Intelligence:

    32

    Will:

    341

    Points Avable:

    0

    Titles & Feats:

    Titanic Rage, Ancestral Bond, me-Touched

    ¡°Woah, advanced,¡± he said, resting his hand on Lifedrinker, unconsciously covering his chatting with himself by directing his words toward her. ¡°That means I gained . . .¡± he counted on his fingers, ¡°six ranks? Hell yeah!¡±

    ¡°Gorz,¡± he asked, resting his hand on his chest, ¡°how tall am I now?¡± No response was forting, so Victor fished the amulet from his shirt and held it in his hand. It was warm where it had been resting against his chest, but he couldn¡¯t feel anything elseing from it. ¡°Gorz?¡± he tried again, and suddenly a spike of unreasonable panic jolted his heart. Unreasonable because he¡¯d hardly spoken to the spirit fragment over thest few months. As he realized this, his panic turned to hot shame, and he put the amulet back around his neck.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening with you, Gorz, buddy. If you¡¯re gone, I hope you went to a better ce, back to your whole self, even. If not, I¡¯m going to ask an artificer how I can help you.¡± Victor noted a new resonance to his voice, a deeper register, and he shook his head, wondering just how much he¡¯d changed.

    He walked over to the big metal doors, reaching a hand toward them, feeling the hum of Energy still holding them sealed shut. He pushed against the left one, the one Tronk had opened for him, but it didn¡¯t budge. Not knowing what else to do, Victor rapped his knuckles against the metal, smiling at how it echoed and reverberated through the charged metal.

    Almost immediately, he felt the Energy field fall away, and then the door clicked, and Tronk pulled it wide, looking into the room with his eyes squinted against the brightness. For the first time, Victor realized he¡¯d never seen any source for the illumination. It seemed to being from the stone itself, and he wondered if it was a byproduct of all the Energy sources stored in the cultivation chamber.

    ¡°Titan-blood. I feel greater strength within ya; yer aura stands out, even as we bask in the flow from the chamber.¡± Tronk stepped aside, and Victor stepped out, finallyying eyes on Va; she¡¯d hung back in the shadow of the giant.

    ¡°Ancestors, Victor. You¡¯re up to Tronk¡¯s shoulder now.¡±

    ¡°Aye, big fer someone who ain¡¯t a Degh.¡±

    Victor looked at Tronk, then Va, and his heart began to thump as he realized she was right. She¡¯d always been smaller than he, but now her head barely came to his stomach, and Tronk, well, Tronk was gigantic, and Victor a lot smaller¡ªVa had been exaggerating. Still, his perspective had shifted quite a lot. ¡°Shit, man. I already had a hard time fitting through doorways back on Fanwath,¡± he groused.

    ¡°Good luck gettingfortable in a normal bed,¡± Va snorted.

    ¡°All right, all right. How long was I in there?¡±

    ¡°Maybe an hour or two? Great Mother, Victor! You look like a . . . like you¡¯ve been cut from marble, no bronze. Well, I mean, you don¡¯t look like metal, but Old Bones, you look supernatural!¡±

    ¡°Va! Did you just cuss at me twice in one sentence? I¡¯ll report you to Rellia; she¡¯ll need to wash that mouth out with soap.¡±

    Va¡¯s mouth fell open, and her eyes widened, but then they narrowed, and she smiled, ¡°Actually, that was two sentences, and if you think that was bad, you should hear how Rellia speaks!¡±

    Tronk yawned hugely and grunted, rubbing at the top of his head, and Victor turned to him, ¡°What should we do now, Tronk? We still have some time before we have to see the warlord?¡±

    ¡°Nar, not too much. Better stick ¡®round the citadel. Your wee blue friend want to try the chamber?¡± Tronk turned to Va and pointed toward the still-open door.

    ¡°I . . . sure, I would. When will I get another chance like that?¡± She started toward the open door.

    ¡°If ya stay ¡®round Coloss fer a while, ya might get his permission to use it more often. If¡¯n Titan-blood, here, agrees to Warlord¡¯s terms . . .¡±

    ¡°Terms?¡± Victor asked, his voice rising in surprise.

    ¡°Yar, he said sommat ¡®bout you eptin¡¯ the champion prize¡ªto fight in Gazra¡¯s Day Tournament. Said I might hafta watch over ya fer a month or more.¡± Tronk spoke tly and shrugged as though he weren¡¯t dropping something of a bombshell. Va paused at the doorway, then looked back at Victor, and she, too, shrugged.

    ¡°We wanted more prize tokens, Victor, and I wanted to be here long enough to put that she-wolf in her ce.¡±

    ¡°Oh man,¡± he said, reaching up to run his hand through his hair, and, maddeningly, the only thought that came to his mind and out of his mouth was, ¡°I need a haircut.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 16: A Sleeping Giant

    Book 4: Chapter 16: A Sleeping Giant

    ¡°Ah! Victor! The champion of the lower tier tourney, everyone!¡± The warlord¡¯s words held a tint of amusement that bordered on scorn, at least in Victor¡¯s mind, and he had a hard time finding a friendly expression as he strode toward the dais. Only the people mingling nearby bothered to turn at the warlord¡¯s words, halting their conversations long enough to observe the minor spectacle.

    ¡°He¡¯s a big one for a Deshi,¡± one of the scantily-d Vesh women hanging about near the warlord¡¯s thronelike chair said, her lips curling into a seductive smile, exposing fangs thatplimented her lupine eyes and long, ck ws.

    ¡°Not a Deshi, Taw, not a Deshi,¡± the warlord said, holding up a hand as though to push the words back into the woman¡¯s mouth. ¡°No, Victor is a man from another world, entirely, and his bloodline is quite potent, as you¡¯d know if you¡¯d managed to look away from your cup of wine during his match!¡±

    Victor stood before the dais, dozens of eyes on him, but hundreds of others seemed utterly unaware or uncaring of his arrival, which was fine by him. Va and Tronk stood back near one of the refreshment tables, watching, he was sure, to see how this would y out. ¡°Warlord,¡± he said, sketching a half-bow that would have been sloppy if his body were capable of ungraceful movements.

    It seemed the more he advanced his racial traits, the more palpable were the effects of his superhuman attributes. He¡¯d noticed it before as he progressed, feeling stronger, healthier, his fingers more nimble, but thistest advancement was the most tangible. He wondered if there were certain ¡°hard caps¡± on attributes governed by a person¡¯s racial advancement.

    Though Victor¡¯s strength and agility were the same after his ordeal in the cultivation chamber, he felt significantly more potent and agile. More than that, he felt sharper¡ªnuances of expression and the repercussions of his words were more obvious. He still felt like himself, but it was more like his average, his baseline, was what his most inspired moments used to be.

    ¡°I wee you, Victor . . . tell me, from whence do you hail? Have you a surname or a title you¡¯d like me to use?¡±

    ¡°I . . . I have a few, Warlord, but I¡¯d be happy to simply be known as Victor of Tucson, the ce of my birth.¡± Victor wasn¡¯t sure why he said those words, but he imagined it had something to do with nostalgia; he knew he¡¯d likely never go back to Tucson, but it felt good to remind himself and the universe that it existed and that he had roots none of them would or could ever understand.

    ¡°You heard it! Victor of Tucson! What a show you put on for us today! I must say, you appear different to me. Have you already partaken of your grand prize?¡±

    Victor breathed deeply, contemting his words as he looked around the crowded hall. Musicians yed loudly from a stage off to his left, and people mingled and danced in every direction¡ªthe warlord¡¯s dais stood at the center of the room, though it was hardly the center of attention. To his right, where Va and Tronk stood, were rows and rows of tablesden with meats, fruits, steaming tters, magically heated pots and trays, and piles of pastries. His stomach rumbled as he cleared his throat to reply.

    ¡°I did, thank you. I used your cultivation chamber at Tronk¡¯s insistence.¡± He smiled, baring his perfect, straight, white teeth, devoid of cavities or fillings and strong enough to bite through a nk of oak.

    ¡°Oho? Tronk¡¯s been known to take liberties with my chamber, but this is a new level! Hah! Well, Victor, how would you like to have ess to that chamber for another month? I¡¯d let you use it whenever you found it convenient.¡±

    ¡°For a month, Warlord?¡± Victor asked, stepping a bit closer. He noticed the warlord didn¡¯t have any guards, didn¡¯t seem to mind people crowding around his chair, and didn¡¯t shy away but rather leaned forward as Victor approached.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You won the tournament, so you¡¯ve gained a wild card entry into the Gazra¡¯s Day Tournament next month. Naturally, you¡¯d bepeting under my g, and I can¡¯t have you wanting for training opportunities.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with the tournaments or, well, any of the customs in this world, sir,¡± Victor said, rubbing his chin. ¡°Is it different from today¡¯s tournament?¡±

    ¡°Yes! It¡¯s grander, Victor, and champions from the twelve great cities willpete. You¡¯ll represent Coloss alongside Yabbo, our current champion. Because we¡¯re hosting, Coloss gets two spots on thedder.¡±

    ¡°Yabbo? I didn¡¯t see him today.¡±

    ¡°You must not have watched the mid-tier tournament, hmm? Oh, I didn¡¯t mention that the Gazra¡¯s Day tournament is mid-tier only. You¡¯ll need to work on your level a bit, but I think you¡¯ll do well, Victor.¡± The warlord spoke offhandedly as though it wasn¡¯t a big deal at all, but Victor¡¯s throat caught mid-swallow.

    ¡°Ahem,¡± Victor nced at the people watching the conversation¡ªa dozen or so Vesh of varying sizes and animalistic natures. He saw how their eyes gleamed hungrily though their lips smiled pleasantly. ¡°I¡¯m yet to reach tier-four, Warlord.¡±

    ¡°True, but you¡¯re so strong for your level, Victor! Think of the glory you¡¯ll achieve for Coloss should you win a match or two! I¡¯m sure you can make your way to tier-five before the tournament, don¡¯t you think? I¡¯ll give you ess to my chamber, and you can train with Yabbo. Why, I heard you¡¯re signed up for a monster hunt leaving in two days! Surely you¡¯ll gain a level or two fighting desert wyrms!¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Victor shrugged¡ªit wouldn¡¯t hurt to act like he was willing to go along with things for now; if he found a way off this world before the tournament and wanted to bail, at least he¡¯d have some time to use the warlord¡¯s facilities. ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try. If I don¡¯t make it to tier-five, I¡¯ll be disqualified?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no,¡± the warlord chuckled, ¡°I¡¯ll sign an exception. Trust me, Victor, you¡¯re going to bring glory to Coloss, even if you¡¯re a bit under-level. That reminds me! Doesn¡¯t ck owe you a prize?¡± He spoke to the gathered nobility, his voice suddenly cutting through the noise of the hall. ¡°ck!¡± the word, spoken like a summons, echoed through the great room, and Victor suddenly felt an inkling of the aura the warlord was holding in check¡ªa power so dense, so concentrated, he felt like he was standing next to a bomb primed to explode.

    The warlord looked like a handsome human, though a strange one with white feathers for hair, even his eyebrows. His wings were folded and hung behind him, giving the illusion of a chair back, but as the warlord shifted, Victor saw that his ¡°throne¡± was a fancy stool. His white, feathery eyebrows narrowed as his summons went unanswered for a few seconds, but then the smile returned to his lips as he heard something Victor could not. ¡°Hees.¡± The warlord nodded and motioned for Victor to step to the side.

    Victor turned toward the wide-open double doors, past the throng of servants lingering about with trays of refreshments to offer guests as they arrived. A few heartbeats passed, and then heavy nking steps echoed over the hubbub of the crowd, and a familiar figure loomed into view, stomping through the open doors¡ªthe giant Degh, still d in ck te armor, though his head was now uncovered.

    ck was a big Degh, though not anyrger than his son, and he didn¡¯t seem so intimidating to Victor¡ªnot after he¡¯d cowered behind his great shield in the face of Victor¡¯s rage in the arena. A part of Victor¡¯s mind, the more rational, intelligent part, knew the war captain likely hadn¡¯t wanted to fight him, not because he was afraid, but because he didn¡¯t want to anger the warlord any further. Still, Victor stood tall and watched him approach impassively.

    ¡°Warlord,¡± ck rumbled,ing to a stop in front of the dais next to Victor and bowing his head.

    ¡°War Captain. Thank you for being so prompt. My new charge, Victor of Tucson, is weary and would like to retire soon. Have you some words for him?¡± The warlord wore a sardonic smile and shifted on his chair to lean sideways, crossing one long, silk-d leg over the other.

    ¡°Aye,¡± ck said, pivoting to face Victor, looking down from atop his boulder-like armored chest. ¡°Congrattions on your victory today. I¡¯m sorry I intervened, but I have only one son and am willing to pay the consequences for keeping him alive.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Victor said, then he nced around, noting that the hall had grown far quieter than when he¡¯d been speaking to the warlord alone. He raised his voice, speaking so that more people could easily hear, and said, ¡°I can¡¯t me you. I¡¯d do just about anything for the people I love, too.¡±

    ¡°Well said!¡± the warlord crowed, pping his hands together. Victor was startled as the sound that emerged from their contact was more a *boom* than a p, and the spell of silence that seemed to have hung over the hall was dispersed¡ªpeople again began to talk andugh, and the music took on new life, increasing in intensity. ¡°And Victor¡¯s prize?¡± the warlord asked, more quietly, his words directed at ck.

    ¡°Yes.¡± ck produced a polished wooden box engraved with silvery runes. It was about the size of a shoebox, and he held it out on one giant palm toward Victor. War Captain ck was not a young man; he had gray and ck hair, grizzled stubble, and wrinkled, extra skin sagging around his pale brown eyes, but he managed a smile that looked genuine as Victor reached toward his offered prize. ¡°I learned, during the tournament, that you have a spirit Core. This is a prize that sat in my family¡¯s vaults for generations, waiting for a scion who could make use of it.¡±

    As Victor took the box, heavier than it looked, into his hands, the warlord said, ¡°Tell us more, ck. What¡¯s this ancient treasure, and what¡¯s it got to do with a spirit Core? Surely not some dusty heirloom you found convenient to foist off on this neer?¡±

    ¡°Nay, Warlord, not a foisting, but an exceptional prize. Can ya nay feel the Energying from that shielded box?¡± As the war captain spoke, Victor knew his words were true; he felt a tingling sensation in the palms of his hands where they touched the wood. They itched with it, and he felt a deep urge to rip the box open, exposing the contents. He knew that if his will weren¡¯t so strong, he¡¯d struggle to resist the temptation. As it was, though, Victor held the box close and looked to the warlord, listening to his conversation with ck.

    ¡°I feel it, aye. Okay, enough mysteries. Tell us!¡±

    ¡°¡®Tis a fragment of one of my ancestors. A piece of a mighty ancestor¡¯s soul¡ªa shard of the ancestor stone itself. Silent these many generations, waiting for one of our kind to be able tomune with it. We¡¯ve not had a spirit Core among us since the fracture, and the Degh wise ones fear we never will. Now, herees a man with titan blood in his veins, with a mighty connection to the spirit realm, and here I am, beholden to him. Some in my n are angry, but the wise ones are in agreement; it¡¯s not chance that Victor came here; our ancestor awaits him.¡±

    The hall had grown quiet again, and Victor got the impression that ck rarely spoke at such length. He felt emotions warring within him at the giant¡¯s words¡ªhonor, pride, sympathy, sorrow, even shame. Why shame, he wondered, but he knew the answer; was he really deserving? ¡°I . . . thank you, War Captain,¡± he said as the eyes in the hall fell on him.

    ¡°Well said! A prize well given and well received! Let us rejoice! Victor,¡± the warlord said, his words breaking the spell in the hall once again, signaling a return to revelry, ¡°I trust you¡¯ll allow me to provide amodations to you and yourpanion? Stay as long as you like, but when you¡¯re ready to retire, Tronk will show you to your quarters. Think long and hard about my offer; I¡¯d love to help you improve over the next few weeks and do Coloss proud on Gazra¡¯s Day.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Warlord,¡± Victor said, bending at the waist ever-so-slightly, still clutching the rune-covered box to his chest. The warlord smiled and then turned to speak to one of the women standing nearby, and though he was only a few feet away, Victor couldn¡¯t make out his words¡ªhe¡¯d been dismissed.

    ¡°Victor, might I have another word?¡± ck asked, turning toward him.

    ¡°Of course . . .¡±

    ¡°Follow me to the refreshments? My throat is parched.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Victor followed the war captain through the crowd to one of the tables where pitchers of icy juice and bottles of strangelybeled alcohol were gathered. He saw Va and Tronk move toward them, but they hung back, perhaps intuiting that he and War Captain ck had more words to exchange.

    ¡°Do you understand what I¡¯ve given you?¡± ck asked as he picked up arge crystal goblet and poured the shimmering green contents of a bottle into it.

    ¡°Sort of¡ªI¡¯ve had some experience with spirit shards in the past.¡±

    ¡°This is likely different,¡± the giant rumbled. ¡°This shard is taken from a massive crystal where, once, our people¡¯s great ancestors continued their existence after living in this world. The shard in that box isn¡¯t a tiny fragment of my ancestor¡¯s soul, but rather most of it¡ªa nearlyplete being that lies dormant, waiting for the touch of a Spirit Caster, but not just any Spirit Caster, one with the right bloodline. I believe he¡¯ll speak to you.¡±

    ¡°What happened to your, um, ancestor stone?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story and not one I¡¯ll enjoy reliving in this crowded hall. Come to me in my estate, sit with me and drink, tell me about what my ancestor says to you, and I¡¯ll share what I know. To be honest, Victor, if you are able to speak to my ancestor in that shard, then you¡¯ll probably know more about the fracture than I do.¡±

    ¡°Are Spirit Casters really so rare here?¡±

    ¡°Among the Degh, aye¡ªunheard of for a hundred generations. There are some among the Vesh, but our ancestors won¡¯t speak to them, won¡¯t even stir.¡±

    ¡°If Ie to you,¡± Victor said, reaching for a goblet and a pitcher of something that looked like fruit punch, ¡°to share what I¡¯ve learned, can you please ask your more . . . enthusiastic supporters to not attack me?¡±

    ¡°Aye. I¡¯ll put the word out. You¡¯ll have my protection going forward. I wish I could tell you more about the shard. I¡¯m not sure how you¡¯re supposed to reach my ancestor, but I hope it will be clear to you as a Spirit Caster. I hope my ancestor will have much to teach you.¡± The giant lifted his goblet, drained the contents, set it on the table, and reached out to p Victor on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m off¡ªnot in the mood to celebrate tonight, but perhaps I will be down the road. Perhaps with my ancestor¡¯s aid, you¡¯ll have something good to share with me.¡±

    He didn¡¯t wait for Victor to respond; War Captain ck stomped out of the hall, walking directly through groups of Vesh and Degh, interrupting conversations and ignoring greetings and curses alike. Victor felt a presence at his elbow and looked down to see Va. ¡°Hey,¡± he said, smiling.

    ¡°That went well. What an interesting encounter!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, did you hear about the tournament? About the warlord¡¯s invitation to stay here?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Tronk said the invitation extends to us both, me being your panion¡¯ and all.¡± Va wore a smirk, and Victor smiled along with her.

    ¡°At least you won¡¯t need to worry about Blue messing with you if you''re staying in the warlord¡¯s citadel.¡±

    ¡°What makes you think I don¡¯t want him ¡®messing¡¯ with me?¡± Va asked with a wink, and Victor¡¯s mouth fell open.

    ¡°I . . .¡±

    ¡°When d¡¯ya want Tronk to show yer rooms to ya?¡± a voice rumbled behind him, and Victor whirled to see the giant, armor-d man taking a bite from a huge b of meat, still attached to a bone.

    ¡°Can we go now?¡± Va asked, and Victor couldn¡¯t me her; it had been a long day, and he was dog-tired.

    ¡°Yeah. That good with you, Tronk?¡±

    ¡°Yar.¡± Tronk turned and started ambling toward the big doorway, and Victor and Va followed in his wake. They traversed hallways that were a good deal more narrow than the ones they¡¯d used to get to the cultivation chamber but still plentyrge for Tronk¡¯s easy passage. The hall where the celebration was being held was near the ground floor, so their journey included several flights of stone stairs.

    These more narrow hallways were often carpeted down the center, and Victor caught himself trying to estimate the size of the carpet rolls needed to furnish a ce like the warlord¡¯s citadel. ¡°They¡¯ve got to be enchanted,¡± he said, imagining the need to rece them every few years and the enormous undertaking it would be.

    ¡°What?¡± Va asked.

    ¡°The carpets¡ªI mean, they¡¯ve got to be enchanted to self-repair, don¡¯t you think? Can you imagine recing miles and miles of carpeting?¡±

    ¡°Yar, they are,¡± Tronk rumbled from up ahead. Va chuckled, shaking her head.

    ¡°You think of strange things, Victor. Are you going to tell me about that box you¡¯re clutching to your chest? I heard ck¡¯s words when he presented it, but you act like you know more.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know more, but I feel more,¡± Victor said with a shrug. ¡°It¡¯s definitely something powerful, and I know I don¡¯t want to put it in a storage container; let¡¯s put it that way.¡±

    ¡°What will you do with it?¡±

    ¡°Um, well, when we get to our rooms, I¡¯m going to take it out of this box, for starters.¡± He paused, thinking about it, gauging his excitement and measuring it against his exhaustion, and then said, ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m going to take it out of its box and go from there. I have a feeling I¡¯ll know what to do.¡± Victor smiled and tucked the box under one arm so he could lower his other hand to give Va¡¯s shoulder a nudge, ¡°You don¡¯t expect me to wait around when I¡¯ve got something this cool to check out, do you?¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 17: A Bargain for Answers

    Book 4: Chapter 17: A Bargain for Answers

    Tronk had shown him and Va to their suite and then grumbled about being hungry as he walked off down the hallway. He hadn¡¯t said whether he¡¯de back or when, and Victor decided not to worry about it. Their rooms were simple but elegant, with high ceilings,rge furniture, and plenty of space.

    A central sitting area separated two bedrooms, each with a built-in bathing chamber. The floors and walls were appointed with polished marble, oil paintings, and thick carpets woven from fine materials. The balcony let in the light of the nearly full moon, exposing a view of an entire quarter of the city. The view alone ensured that no inn in the city couldpete with the warlord¡¯s guest amodations. Victor opened the balcony doors and stepped outside.

    He breathed deeply of the fresh, crisp air, then went back inside to sit on one of the long couches in the central room, staring at the box he¡¯d set on the table when they¡¯d first arrived¡ªthe box ck had given him. While notrge enough for a Degh, the furniture wasfortable for Victor, and he wondered at that; was it toorge for a person Va¡¯s size or for a Vesh? He couldn¡¯t ask her because she¡¯d gone into her room and closed the door when they¡¯d arrived, saying something about practicing a cultivation technique Tes had shown her.

    He thought about what he was doing; should he get some sleep before he tackled the mystery of ck¡¯s gift? Victorughed, thinking about himself hitting the pillow and how his mind would wander to the idea of an ancient giant ancestor waiting to speak to him through a magical soul shard. There was no way he¡¯d be able to sleep. The next day wasn¡¯t going to be taxing, anyway; he and Va were nning to go shopping and to speak with an alchemist and an artificer¡ªmaybe some training if there was time.

    Shrugging to himself, Victor pulled the box containing the spirit shard closer. There wasn¡¯t a lock on the box, but the sides of the lid had two brass circles, slightly indented on the edge, and when Victor pressed them both with his forefingers, it clicked and popped open. A wash of Energy, warm and vibrant, rolled out of the box, and Victor inhaled deeply, enjoying its feel as images of warm kitchens and family gatherings rushed through his mind.

    As the feeling faded and the Energy pulse subsided, he studied the long, jagged crystal resting on the box''s padded, ck velvet interior. It was about eight inches long, thick as his wrist at the base, tapering to a jagged point on the other end. The center of the crystal pulsed with dim pink light, and the left edge of the shard looked sharp enough to cut flesh. Victor tentatively reached into the box and grasped the shard with his left hand, careful to grip it around the smooth, rounded side and not to squeeze against that sharp edge.

    The crystal wasn¡¯t warm, as Victor had expected. It felt cool in his palm and slightly rough where he¡¯d thought it would be smooth. He held it closer to his eye, examining the faintly pink surface, and saw it was filled with tiny pores. He gently rubbed his thumb against it, feeling the bumps of the nearly microscopic holes and wondering what the whole crystal had looked like before it had been fractured. Was what he held a significant piece or just a tiny sliver of a massive stone?

    ¡°Well . . .¡± he said, wondering how to proceed but knowing in his gut that he needed to connect to it, to touch the crystal¡¯s Energy with his own. ¡°Do I pull your Energy to me, or do I send my Energy into you? Does it matter?¡± Tentatively, Victor reached out with his will, trying to tug at the pink, pulsing heart of the crystal. The Energy was there, dense and powerful, and it slipped from his grasp like sand through a person¡¯s fingers. ¡°All right, then. You want to see who you¡¯re dealing with first, hmm?¡±

    Victor reached into his Core and pulled out a thread of inspiration-attuned Energy, ready to send it into the crystal, but then he had a second thought. Should he only use a part of his Core, or should he give this ancestor dwelling in the shard a fuller picture of himself? Victor tugged threads of rage and fear-attuned Energy into his pathway, winding them around his inspiration thread. Then, with the woven ribbon firmly held together with his will, he pushed it out through his pathways into the crystal.

    Suddenly he felt a tug on his Energy, felt his Core abruptly surge, pushing more and more of it into his pathways as the threads became ribbons, became ropes, became flowing rivers of Energy. The crystal was no longer cool in his hand; it had grown warm and then ufortably hot as the pink Energy softly pulsing at the center grew brilliant, the radiant aura expanding like a halo, at first, but then like an enormous bloom, filling Victor¡¯s vision and obscuring everything else.

    Victor gripped the crystal with one hand and shielded his eyes with the other, trying to focus inwardly on his Core. He saw his Energy drawing low and readied his will, prepared to cut off the flow before he was drained dry. As if anticipating his intentions, though, the surge suddenly stopped, and the flood became a trickle, and he was left with nearly a quarter of his Energy intact. He was just about to look away from his Core when a deep voice rumbled nearby.

    ¡°Is it true? A scion at longst? You have a different feel about you, titan-blood. Your Energy is thick and rich with so many vors¡ªhas so much changed?¡±

    Victor opened his eyes to see that he sat in a strange featureless ne. Angles of light and shadow were the only hints of any structure, but sitting cross-legged in front of him, was a being that didn¡¯tck for substance; a giant, with a demeanor and hulking presence that put ck to shame, glowered down at him. He had dark skin covered with runic tattoos etched with bright turquoise, ochre, and emerald inks. His face was stern, with a prominent brow, an aquiline nose, and cheek and jawbones like etched granite.

    The giant¡¯s eyes zed with power, a bright pink that matched the Energy Victor had seen in the crystal. Again, the titan cleared his throat and rumbled, ¡°Well? Will you speak, or are you dumb-struck?¡±

    ¡°Well, yeah, I guess I am a little bit¡ªdumb-struck, I mean.¡± Victor cleared his throat and then said, ¡°I¡¯m Victor.¡±

    ¡°Victor. Not a name one in my n would take. You¡¯re from one of the others, then, not a Stone Heart? The ck Sun? The Lake Lords?¡±

    ¡°Uh, none of the above. I¡¯m not from your world. Are you aware of how long you¡¯ve been without a visitor?¡±

    ¡°Time is different here, and I can feel . . . a separation.¡± The giant scowled, his heavy ck brows drawing together. ¡°Where are my kin? My ancestors and brothers? My father and uncles? It¡¯s strange. Tell me, then, stranger, howe you to the Ancestor Stone? Why have my sons not removed your head?¡±

    ¡°Well, I guess you know less than ck thought you would. I have some . . . hard news for you.¡±

    ¡°Go on, speak inly.¡± The giant leaned forward, his muscles rippling along his bare chest and midriff. It dawned on Victor that the giant was nearly naked, wearing a simple leather loincloth.

    ¡°Well, first of all, I¡¯m new to this world. I¡¯m from Fanwath and Earth before that. One of your descendants awarded me a shard with a powerful spirit. You see, a long time ago, thousands of years, your Ancestor Stone was shattered . . .¡±

    ¡°LIES!¡± the giant erupted, leaping to his feet, fury on his face. Victor scrambled up also, backing away and holding his hands out.

    ¡°I¡¯m not lying! Can¡¯t you tell? Can¡¯t you feel that I¡¯m not being deceptive? What good would it do me to lie about this?¡±

    The giant paced back and forth, scowling, and Victor swore he could see tendrils of steam rising off his tattooed shoulders. ¡°Continue your tale.¡±

    ¡°Well, the Degh who gave me the shard said it was part of the Ancestor Stone, said that he and his people had lost the ability to connect to you through it, that since the shattering, none of them had been born with a spirit Core.¡±

    The giant looked up from where he¡¯d been pacing, brooding, his eyes on the strange, shapeless ground. When those pink, luminescent orbs focused on Victor¡¯s eyes, Victor gazed back, unblinking, unflinching. He had nothing but true words for the giant and wanted him to see that. ¡°No spirit Cores? For thousands of years?¡±

    ¡°A hundred generations, I think, is how he put it.¡±

    ¡°Gods be good,¡± the giant rumbled softly. ¡°Could it be? Have Inguished so long? How did the stone fracture? I remember . . . I remember Bavarak . . . yes, it was Bavarak Ist spoke to. Something about a war with the upstarts, the mutants from Ghol. Vesh, I believe they called themselves. Is that how it happened? Did the Vesh crack our Ancestor Stone?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Victor held his hands out, palms up, as though to disy hisck of an answer. ¡°I can try to learn more¡ªtry to find answers for you.¡±

    ¡°And what of you, Victor? Whye to me? Your blood feels strong; I sense a kinship. You¡¯re no giant, but you¡¯re no weakling, either. Do you seek knowledge?¡± The brooding giant sat again, a fluid motion where he seemed to almost copse as he sat on the floor, his long, powerful legs folding beneath him. Victor followed suit, sitting in front of him.

    ¡°Yes. I was pulled from my home, forced to fight, forced to learn what I could from enemies and friends, though few have had any clue about my talents¡ªmy bloodline. I need help. More and more, I¡¯m faced with enemies whose power eclipses my own, whose intentions are less than kind. I need guidance if I¡¯m going to survive the challenges before me.¡± Victor sat back, staring at the giant, his mind torn between pride at his eloquent speech and shock . . . at his eloquent speech. Had he truly changed so much?

    ¡°Hmm,¡± the giant rumbled, lifting a hand to his chin. ¡°Do you speak true? You will help me to learn of my people¡¯s fate?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Victor nodded, once, with conviction.

    ¡°If there is aught you can do to help, will you? I must know what happened to my people, why they¡¯re so cursed, and if they can be helped¡ªif the damage can be repaired.¡±

    ¡°I . . . I want to help you, but my time in this world is limited. I have people depending on me back on Fanwath.¡± Victor faced the giant as he spoke, worried there might be another outburst, but the giant¡¯s only reaction was a deepening of his already prodigious frown.

    ¡°And me? You nned to take me with you from my homeworld?¡± His voice didn¡¯t betray any anger, but Victor could feel a hidden edge, like violence on the verge of erupting.

    ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought about that. I didn¡¯t know what to expect when I won the crystal. Now that I¡¯ve met you, I wouldn¡¯t take you from your world if you don¡¯t want me to.¡±

    ¡°Am I thest?¡± the giant asked, though the question didn¡¯t seem directed at Victor. He nced up into the weird, shapeless space around them, and it looked like his eyes were focused on something. Victor tried to follow his gaze but saw only the weird void.

    ¡°Victor, did you hear of any other shards? Are there others of us lingering in fragments of the Ancestor Stone?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I can ask . . .¡±

    ¡°Very well, Victor. As a show of good faith, I¡¯ll answer any two questions you have about your growth, your nature, or your Core. If you return with more answers to my questions, I¡¯ll help you further. Agreed?¡±

    ¡°Agreed!¡± Victor¡¯s mouth blurted before his mind could think about it.

    ¡°Good. Speak your questions, then.¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t have to think about his first question¡ªhe¡¯d been wondering it for a while now. ¡°My bloodline leads back to my distant ancestors, a race of giants¡ªtitans¡ªcalled Quinametzin. As I further my racial advancement, I seem to growrger, but not truly giant like the Degh or the Quinametzin . . .¡± the giant opened his mouth to say something, but Victor hurriedly kept speaking.

    ¡°One aspect of my Core is rage. When I cast Berserk, using my rage-attuned Energy, I take on the aspect of my ancestors¡ªI¡¯m a true titan for a while. Is there any way for me to assume that aspect without my rage? Perhaps with a different Energy attunement, or none at all? Will I keep growing as I improve my racial bloodline?¡±

    The giant stared at him for a moment after he¡¯d stopped speaking, and finally, he rumbled, ¡°Finished?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°You tried to sneak more than one question into that one. I¡¯ll indulge you, but only because you seem an honest soul. There are spells that might ignite your bloodline, spells other than your ¡®Berserk.¡¯ I might know one. As to your second question, the one you tried to sneak in, I¡¯ll indulge it because I don¡¯t have a good answer¡ªI don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve not heard of the Quinametzin, but I know titan blood is strong, and I feel it pulsing in your veins. You may eventually take the full form of your ancestors if you continue to evolve your race. You may not.¡±

    ¡°Any chance you could . . .¡±

    ¡°Careful! One more I¡¯ll allow, Victor. When you return to me with answers, we can arrange a new bargain.¡±

    ¡°Right. Um, before I ask my next question, I feel like I need to describe myself to you, what I¡¯ve been doing with my levels and attributes, my spells and skills, and my Core. Would that be all right?¡±

    ¡°Go on,¡± the giant rumbled, seeming to settle further into the ground, affecting a morefortable, contemtive pose.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve had a few different sses. I¡¯m level thirty-six, by the way. You see, it all started when I formed my Core out of rage-attuned Energy . . .¡± Victor spent the better part of an hour, well, what seemed like an hour, in that timeless ce, describing his sses, his Core, his spells and skills, and how he¡¯d spent most of his attribute points on will. The giant grunted every so often, listening and frowning, asionally asking for rification, especially when Victor described the effects of his spells.

    When Victor finally finished, and the echoes of his words had faded away, the giant lifted his head and said, ¡°An intriguing tale, Victor. You¡¯ve done well for a man with little guidance. I would have been proud to have you in my n. Tell me, then, what is a question I can answer for you?¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor sighed and shook his head, smiling ruefully, ¡°this feels like a stupid question, but I¡¯m banking on finding you some answers, hopefully, so we can speak and cooperate more fluidly.¡±

    ¡°Go on!¡± the giant barked, clearly growing tired of the build-up.

    ¡°All right, all right. I want to know, what the hell should I do with my attribute points? The ones I get that I can allocate. I¡¯ve been dumping them in will as several other people have advised¡ªis that wise?¡±

    ¡°Truly? Do you ask such a simple question? Victor, you¡¯ve learned the art of dominating your physical nature with the power of your will. Do you desire strength? You have it. Do you demand speed from your body? You have it! Such power was so very rare in my time; very few Spirit Casters had such control of their physical nature. Already, you¡¯ve exined that your ability has doubled in potency¡ªyou are able to improve not one but two aspects of your physical nature with an effort of your will. Why would you not continue to refine that ability?

    ¡°Yes, Victor, should your ss continue to grant you unallocated attribute points, you should put them into your will. Build it up so it towers like a monument of stubbornness, a fulcrum on which you can bend the nature of reality. Flesh and bone will rend and break before the might of your insubordinate desire.¡±

    ¡°Thank you . . . can I know your name, Ancestor?¡± Victor asked, deciding it was appropriate to honor the ancient spirit with the title.

    ¡°I am Khul Bach, founder of the Stone Heart n.¡±

    ¡°Khul Bach? I¡¯ve noticed the Degh I¡¯ve met in Coloss don¡¯t use surnames . . .¡±

    ¡°COLOSS?¡± Khul roared, erupting to his feet again. ¡°That den of Vesh viiny?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, um, it¡¯s the only city I¡¯ve visited so far.¡± Victor stood up, taking a step back from the enraged giant.

    ¡°There are Degh in Coloss? Did we conquer them, then?¡±

    ¡°No. There¡¯s a Vesh in charge of Coloss, though he seems at peace with the Degh. His name is . . . ¡° Victor struggled to remember the warlord¡¯s name. Everyone referred to him as ¡®Warlord,¡¯ but he knew he¡¯d heard his name a time or three. ¡°Let¡¯s see, it¡¯s . . . Thor? Thorg? Thoa . . .

    ¡°Thoargh!¡± Khul roared, spitting the word like a curse. ¡°So the bastard has broken the ns? The upstart about whom Bavarak sought our counsel, our guidance to destroy . . .¡± Suddenly, Khul¡¯s face fell, and he seemed to slump. ¡°Did we fail so miserably? Was it we who wrote our own doom?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Khul, um, Mr. Bach . . .¡± Victor trailed off, his earlier brilliance with words dashed by his awkward tongue.

    ¡°Khul Bach, Victor. Use my whole name for respect¡ªare your people so different?¡±

    ¡°No, not so different, just a little mix-up with the System¡¯s Language Integration. Listen, I¡¯ll get you more answers. I¡¯lle back as soon as I can, all right?¡±

    ¡°Good. Yes. I must think on what you¡¯ve told me. Pull your Energy back to yourself, Victor. You¡¯ll find very little time has passed on the Material ne.¡±

    ¡°Oh? All right, let me see here,¡± Victor concentrated and reached out into the thick Energy hanging in the air and began to pull, tugging it toward himself, toward his pathways, and then, like water down a drain, it rushed into him, and when he opened his eyes, he was sitting alone. He¡¯d sunk back into the couch cushions but didn¡¯t feel cramped; he almost felt rested.

    The night was quiet, save a single dark-blue bird that sat on the balcony railing, trilling a haunting song, something like, ¡°Ta-twee-ta-twee-ta-ta-ta-twee.¡± When Victor stood up and walked toward the open doors, the bird spread its azure wings and whistled shrilly as it glided down toward the city, spiraling away from him on an invisible updraft. Victor watched it go, wondering what it was called.

    He thought back to Khul Bach and their conversation. He thought about all the different threads that were starting to pull him in different directions in this new world, and he wondered what he would do. How could he possibly deal with so many things in a month or two?

 Book 4: Chapter 18: A Stroll Through Coloss

    Book 4: Chapter 18: A Stroll Through Coloss

    ¡°You will wait fer me?¡± Tronk asked, reluctant to leave Victor at the alchemist¡¯s shop. It was near noon, the sun brilliant in the pale, faintly green-tinged sky, and Victor had suggested they kill two birds with one stone¡ªhe¡¯d talk to the alchemist about mixing up the rewards he¡¯d won in the arena, and Tronk would take Va to see Tes; she¡¯d promised to show Va a new spell that would utilize both of her affinities.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll wait here, Tronk. When you get back, we¡¯ll hit up an artificer. Is that all right? No one¡¯s going to mess with me at some random alchemist¡¯s shop. I¡¯ll stay inside.¡±

    ¡°Yar. Sounds fine. I¡¯ll be back in less than an hour.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to guide me, Tronk,¡± Va said, her fists on her hips, a look of annoyance on her face.

    ¡°Warlord said to keep both safe. Said Victor¡¯s foes might use you.¡± Tronk shrugged and gestured with his hand for Va to follow as he began to lumber up the street with his odd but fast, rolling gait.

    ¡°Can¡¯t argue with that,¡± Victor said, smiling at Va. She huffed and turned to follow the giant, and Victor opened the door, stepping into the aromatic shop. The front end of the store was narrow, only a few feet separating the door from the counter. Behind the counter, though, rows of shelves lined with colorful bottles, wooden boxes, jars, tins, and little sacks filled a much bigger space.

    ¡°Wee,¡± said a Vesh woman with coppery skin, white hair, and a pleasant facial expression. Victor thought she was rather beautiful and would have thought she was human if not for the fact that her left arm was a sucker-covered tentacle, gently swishing a rag over the top of the counter.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± he said, approaching her and digging through his ring for the two prizes from the arena. Victor took a deep breath and smiled; he hadn¡¯t expected such a heavy scent of cinnamon, and he wondered if it was from a potion or if the shopkeeper was cooking something in the back room. He set the jar and the gold foil package on the counter, and she leaned close, brows narrowing and her upturned, little nose wiggling as she examined them.

    ¡°May I?¡± she asked, the tip of her tentacle arm hovering near the jar containing the crypt drake gall dder.

    ¡°Sure.¡± He watched as her tentacle gripped the jar and tilted it so the bottom faced her, and then she smiled.

    ¡°Ah! An arena prize? Are you that offworlder everyone¡¯s talking about?¡±

    ¡°Oh, maybe. I¡¯m Victor.¡±

    ¡°Good to meet you! I¡¯m Shouza. So, a crypt drake gall dder, hmm? I can make the tincture you¡¯re looking for. It¡¯ll take me a few days. What¡¯s this other?¡± She set the jar down and picked up the foil-wrapped package. ¡°Dense Energy! Should I leave the foil on?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it matters¡ªit¡¯s a rock wyrm magma horn. Whatever that is. It¡¯s supposed to . . .¡±

    ¡°Help with Core breakthroughs, aye. I can make the tincture from this at the same time¡ªdifferent equipment is required. Since you¡¯re providing the ingredients, well, the most expensive ones, I¡¯ll charge a nominal fee¡ªa hundred beads each. Fair?¡±

    ¡°Well, it seems steep to me . . .¡±

    ¡°You can shop around if you want,¡± Shouza said, setting the package down and shrugging, her earlier smile disappearing as she pressed her lips into a line. ¡°Anything else I can do for you?¡±

    ¡°Well, hang on,¡± Victor said, pushing the two prizes toward her, ¡°I didn¡¯t say I wouldn¡¯t pay¡ªit just feels like a lot to me. I¡¯m not from around here, remember?¡±

    ¡°Oh, sure.¡± Shouza¡¯s frown softened, and she scooped up the two packages in her tentacle, deftly gripping them both despite herck of digits. ¡°So, three days at the earliest. Okay?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine. I guess I¡¯m going on a monster hunt tomorrow, so I¡¯ll probably be gone a little while.¡± Victor sniffed deeply, savoring the aroma in the air, and then let his eyes travel over the shelves, wondering what was in all those bottles, jars, vials, bags, canisters, and boxes. ¡°Got anything you¡¯d rmend I bring along on a monster hunt?¡±

    ¡°What are you hunting?¡± Shouza deftly deposited his prizes under the counter and then turned toward the shelves behind her.

    ¡°I¡¯m not really sure; maybe some kind of wyrm? I think the warlord mentioned that; though, how he even knows about the hunt I¡¯m signed up for, I have no idea.¡±

    ¡°Wyrms are not to be trifled with. I hope you¡¯re with a strongpany.¡±

    ¡°Uh, Spears of the Sun or something like that . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not familiar.¡± Shouza wrinkled her nose again, but this time she didn¡¯t look annoyed, more perplexed. ¡°I¡¯d rmend something to help with poisonous fumes. Some of the wyrm species have nds that excrete clouds of gas.¡± She turned and ran her tentacle along the shelves and added, ¡°You can never go wrong with healing, especially proactive healing. Do you have a stock of regeneration potions?¡±

    ¡°Proactive healing? I have some healing potions I bought back in Gelica, er, a city in my home world.¡± It felt strange calling Fanwath his home world, but Victor didn¡¯t want to oveplicate the conversation.

    ¡°But not regeneration? It¡¯s hard to drink a healing potion if you¡¯ve been disabled or if you¡¯re unconscious. Drink a regeneration potion before a fight, and if you¡¯re hurt within a few minutes, the effect will heal you.¡±

    ¡°Really? How long will itst?¡±

    ¡°Depends on how much you¡¯re willing to pay.¡± She walked further back to the next row of shelves and scooped up several different potions, bringing them back to the counter. She set them down in a neat row, and once again, Victor was impressed by the dexterity of her long, flesh-toned, sucker-covered appendage. He tore his eyes away from it to look at the bottles¡ªall smaller than a soft drink bottle but shaped slightly differently, with different colored ss and wildly different contents.

    Shouza pointed to the furthest one to Victor¡¯s left, a dark blue, corked vial, and said, ¡°This one will heal terrible wounds but will onlyst in your system for around a minute. Should you be wounded after that, it will have no beneficial effect.¡±

    ¡°So . . . when you say ¡®terrible wounds,¡¯ what are we talking about? Like, will it regrow limbs? Fix a smashed skull?¡±

    ¡°No, it will knit flesh and bone, but it will not resurrect you or regrow lost limbs. It¡¯s possible if you were just mostly dead . . . I mean, if your heart were pierced, but your spirit still clung to your body, the repair might save you¡ªa ruined brain, though? Not likely.¡±

    ¡°Do any of them regrow lost limbs?¡± Victor had wondered about that for a long while¡ªhe¡¯d learned from conversations with Rellia, Tha, and others that advancing one¡¯s race could mend a missing appendage, but he¡¯d never seen anyone selling potions that could do it.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Shousa¡¯s tentacle skipped over the next two potions and settled on a heavy crystal jar with a red, wax-sealed lid. The contents within looked like shimmering purple jam to Victor. ¡°This one, if consumed, will remain potent for nearly an hour and will mend anything shy of a severed head. Caution, though, warrior, when I say ¡®remain potent,¡¯ I mean it willy dormant, ready to heal you¡ªit will only do so for a short while, as the Energy is drained away from each wound mended.¡±

    ¡°How much?¡±

    ¡°Twelve-thousand beads. I would also consider trading it for Coloss prize tokens.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impressive, but I¡¯ll need to think about it. Do you have anything in between?¡± Victor eyed the potions she¡¯d skipped over.

    ¡°Yes, of course. These two are both quite powerful and capable of healing many dire injuries. The white-waxed jar contains a potion that will remain potent for nearly an hour, and the blue¨Cwaxed jar has simr healing properties but will onlyst in your system for around ten minutes¡ªit¡¯s a great deal less expensive.¡±

    ¡°What are their prices?¡± Victor frowned, thinking about how much he wanted to spend on consumables.

    ¡°Two thousand for the white, five hundred for the blue.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll buy . . . four of the blue ones.¡± Victor shrugged. He¡¯d rarely been in a fight thatsted longer than ten minutes; he supposed it would be nice to be able to chug a potion and not worry about injuries for an hour, but Coloss had a lot of interesting things for sale, and he didn¡¯t want to blow all his money in one ce.

    ¡°And would you like some poison immunity tinctures in case you face such a wyrm?¡± Shousa scooped up the potions Victor had rejected and returned them to the shelves, picking up three more of the blue-waxed jars in the process.

    ¡°How much are they?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re each one thousand beads but will protect you for more than an hour.¡±

    Victor thought about it¡ªhe wasn¡¯t sure, not even fifty percent, if he had to put a number on it, what he¡¯d be hunting, but he figured it wouldn¡¯t hurt to have one on hand. Frowning, he thought about Va and said, ¡°I¡¯ll buy two.¡±

    ¡°So . . . four thousand beads? Sound right?¡±

    ¡°No . . . oh, for the regeneration potions, too. Yeah. Hey, you know how you¡¯re making a tincture that will, supposedly, improve my strength and vitality? Do you sell more things like that? Permanent boosts?¡±

    ¡°I do, though you have to be careful¡ªthere are diminishing returns based on an individual¡¯s tolerance. Have you used such things before?¡±

    ¡°Never . . .¡± Victor shrugged; he hadn¡¯t even known they existed prior to seeing the award listed on the arena flyer.

    ¡°Then you¡¯ll likely gain arge boost from the tincture you¡¯re paying me to create.¡± She paused, and Victor could see she was battling with some inner dilemma. She opened her mouth two or three times to start speaking and finally said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you this¡ªI don¡¯t have anything that potent in stock, and should you use one of my lesser tinctures, it may dull the effect. I¡¯d wait until you¡¯ve consumed your prize before going down that road.¡±

    ¡°Well, thanks for your honesty Shouza. You¡¯ve earned some loyalty from me as a customer.¡± Victor smiled, and Shouza returned the gesture, her rosy lips pulling back from surprisingly crooked but white teeth.

    ¡°Good! Here, let me get your poison resistance drops.¡± She turned and walked further back through her stock, and Victor pulled out a sack of beads. ¡°Hey, do you have one of those counting things? I mean, for beads?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Shouza said, returning with two tiny, dark-green vials. ¡°Just tilt these into your mouth, hold the liquid under your tongue as long as possible, and you¡¯ll have the best results.¡±

    ¡°Right, thanks,¡± Victor said, putting them and the regeneration potions into his storage ring. Shouza used a magical rod to count out his payment.

    ¡°Hey, I have a few old potions and things that have been gathering dust in my storage ring. Mind looking at them for me?¡±

    ¡°Sure! I love seeing treasures and mysterious mixtures!¡± She leaned forward with a new gleam in her eyes.

    ¡°Okay, um,¡± Victor dug around in his ring and produced a leather bandolier holding five green sks¡ªhe honestly couldn¡¯t remember where he¡¯d gotten it. ¡°Here,¡± he said,ying it before her. Shouza plucked out one of the vials and popped the cork, lifting it to her nose and nodding.

    ¡°As I suspected¡ªpoison. Not a particrly strong one, either. Still, if one were to consume this or coat a de with it, it would make someone with a rather low vitality quite ill.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Victor nodded, then took the bandolier back and slipped it into his ring. ¡°One more,¡± he said, then he took out therge, wax-sealed jar of, what he¡¯d always assumed, was blood that he¡¯d looted from the ghoul champion so many months ago in the dungeon by Greatbone Mine.

    ¡°This is more special!¡± Shouza said, leaning close and sniffing at the seal. ¡°I can read its Energy density from here. This . . . I¡¯d need to run some tests on this, but I think it¡¯s meant to be consumed and will be quite beneficial; this may be an item like we were just speaking about, something that will boost an attribute or two.¡±

    ¡°If I leave it with you, will you identify it?¡±

    ¡°I will. Depending on what I find out, there will be a fee.¡± She grinned, unashamed.

    Victorughed, then turned to look out the window, wondering how long he had to wait for Tronk. He was surprised to see the giant already there, sitting on the stoop, toorge toe through the door easily. ¡°Sounds fair enough. I guess I¡¯m off¡ªI¡¯ll see you in a few days.¡±

    ¡°d to have met you, Victor. Your ingredients are in good hands; I¡¯ll ensure you have great results; just remember to rmend me to your friends.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I will. Thanks again.¡± Victor moved to the door; a tiny voice in the back of his head wondered if he was being stupid, leaving his prizes with aplete stranger. Still, the rational part of his brain reminded him that Tronk had rmended the shop and that he knew where to find Shouza should she betray his trust. He stepped into the warm, slightly humid air and pped Tronk on his massive shoulder¡ªthe giant had eschewed his te armor and wore a thick, well-worn, and scarred leather jerkin instead. ¡°Ready, boss?¡±

    ¡°Yar,¡± the giant rumbled, mbering to his feet. ¡°Got what ya needed?¡±

    ¡°Yep, she seemed pretty cool.¡± He saw Tronk¡¯s nk expression and added, ¡°She was nice and seemed to know what she was doing.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm.¡± Tronk nodded, then posed a question, ¡°What kinds of magic items you want? Gotta think of the best ce to take ya.¡±

    ¡°Well, I need help with a magical item that stopped working¡ªan amulet with a spirit inside it. Other than that, I¡¯m kinda just wanting to shop around. I¡¯d say take me to the best artificer you know to start with.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Tronk nodded and started walking, taking the opposite direction from where he¡¯d led Va. ¡°Back to the citadel¡ªFough works for the warlord, knows the most.¡±

    ¡°Shit, really? Should¡¯ve started there.¡±

    ¡°Yar. Next time I talk to you more before we leave.¡± With those simple words, Tronk picked up his pace and began overtaking other pedestrians. Victor followed in his wake, easily keeping up, though his legs were still a good deal shorter than the giant¡¯s. While they made their way through the city, Victor¡¯s mind wandered to his experience the night before, to his conversation with Khul Bach.

    He wanted to get some answer for the ancient spirit right away, but he¡¯d been putting off these basic necessities and wanted to honor his promise to Va; they¡¯d agreed on how this day would go. He figured, if he finished early enough, he could ask Tronk to take him to see ck that evening. Maybe he could get a few answers before he left on his monster hunt.

    ¡°Tronk!¡± a high-pitched voice shouted from above, disrupting Victor¡¯s musings. He looked up, as did the giant, to see a female Degh leaning out of a window, two stories up, in the tall, narrow building they were passing by. ¡°Tronk! Where are you going? I haven¡¯t seen you down at the Red Harpy for days!¡±

    ¡°Ugh,¡± Tronk grunted, stopping and holding a hand out to indicate Victor should pause too. He looked around, a slight frown on his face, as though he was trying to see who might be watching this exchange, but then he cupped a hand to his mouth and hollered, ¡°Hi, Bell! Been busy. Not much time fer drinks. Maybeter tonight.¡± He shrugged and turned to leave, but Bell¡ªVictor couldn¡¯t believe he¡¯d finally met someone with a name that wouldn¡¯t be weird on Earth¡ªwasn¡¯t having it.

    ¡°Wait, Tronk! I¡¯ll walk with you.¡±

    ¡°Nar!¡± Tronk said, turning back to the window, but it was toote; the giantess had already slipped away. ¡°Balls . . .¡± the giant grumbled.

    ¡°What¡¯s the story?¡± Victor asked, amused at the giant¡¯s difort.

    ¡°No story. Bell¡¯s a friend, but she talks too . . .¡±

    ¡°Tronk! I¡¯m here,¡± Bell announced, mming the door to the building open and bounding down the steps. She was a giant, no doubt about it, taller than Victor by a head, but she was a good deal shorter than Tronk and significantly more lean. She wore tight leather pants, high boots, and a velvety green vest that showed off her bracelet-covered, swarthy arms. As she strode past Victor to squeeze Tronk into a hug, Victor saw that she had curly, coppery hair pulled into a ponytail and bright green eyes that twinkled with mischief.

    ¡°Ugh, Bell! Not in the street! I¡¯m a Fist!¡± Tronk¡¯s cheeks had reddened, and he looked, for all the world, like a little kid embarrassed by his mother¡¯s affections. He finally extricated himself and started walking, clearly flustered, and only looked back for Victor after several steps. ¡°I gotta take Victor somewhere. Come with me if ya want,¡± he grunted.

    ¡°Victor?¡± Bell asked, turning, for the first time, toward Tronk¡¯s charge.

    ¡°Yar, he¡¯s important to the warlord, and some folks wanna smash ¡®im.¡±

    ¡°Victor! From the arena!¡± Bell held out a hand, and Victor smiled, reaching out to shake it. ¡°I knew Tronk must be busy with something important¡ªno way he¡¯d avoid me for days and days without a good reason!¡±

    ¡°I was wi¡¯ ya two nights ago, Bell!¡± Tronk groused, resuming his stomping progress toward the keep. Victor followed along, and Bell walked beside them, a little in front of Victor and a little behind Tronk.

    ¡°Did Tronk tell you about me? I bet he couldn¡¯t stop mentioning me!¡±

    ¡°Uh, well, I haven¡¯t had a lot of time to speak with Tronk . . .¡±

    ¡°Oh really? Well, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll tell you all about me next time you have a bit of a break. Where are we going, fes?¡±

    ¡°Ta see Fough,¡± Tronk muttered.

    ¡°Fough? Fough the Artificer?¡±

    ¡°Yar.¡±

    ¡°Oh, well, I¡¯ll wait outside. He¡¯s a bit much for me.¡±

    ¡°Yar. Just Victor will go in. You and me can talk while we wait.¡±

    ¡°I knew you missed me!¡± Bell quickened her next two steps to catch up to Tronk and reached to take his hand. The giant groaned and shook his hand a few times, but there was no helping it¡ªBell¡¯s grip must have been secure. Victor smiled, amused, then a weird feeling hit him, and he suddenly experienced an almost violent wave of nostalgia, a feeling he¡¯d not experienced much in his young life. He thought about Marcy and about Chandri; he thought about Teil and even Tha, and he suddenly felt very alone.

    He looked down at himself and sighed, shaking his head. Even if he wanted to go back to Chandri, how could he? She¡¯d joked about his size when he was a full foot shorter and a lot smaller. He knew it was a dumb thought¡ªpeople of all sorts of different sizes got together, but he couldn¡¯t help how his mind jumped to irrational conclusions, couldn¡¯t help his feelings. ¡°You¡¯re being stupid, Victor,¡± he muttered, reaching up to furiously scrub at his short hair, trying to shake the feeling off.

    He looked around, taking in the wild variations in the peoples of Coloss¡ªthe giant Degh, the Vesh, the Yazzians, the Tong-pan. He¡¯d seen a dragondy, and he¡¯d seen people on Fanwath of all sorts of sizes and shapes¡ªLam was huge for a Ghelli! As far as he knew, there were thousands of worlds he could visit with ten thousand different types of people. Who was he to worry about being a little bigger than the people he cared about? Victor nodded, happy to see the citadeling into view, and decided to quit worrying about things he couldn¡¯t control.

 Book 4: Chapter 19: A Matter of Density

    Book 4: Chapter 19: A Matter of Density

    ¡°In here?¡± Victor asked, gesturing toward the stone archway opening onto a dim, downward-sloping tunnel.

    ¡°Yar. Fough¡¯s ce is down there. Notfortable for me,¡± Tronk eyed Victor up and down and said, ¡°Notfortable for you, either, but better than me.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Victor sighed, scratching at his stiff, short hair. ¡°Where will I find you when I¡¯m done?¡±

    ¡°Central gardens with Bell.¡±

    ¡°What about Va? Are you going to get her? Escort her back here?¡±

    ¡°Nar, thedy, Tes, said she would get her back. Her aura was heavy¡ªTronk thinks she¡¯s safe.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor pped a hand on the stone lintel of the archway, bending slightly to look down the length of the tunnel; he¡¯d have to stoop the whole way. ¡°Makes sense. Well, I¡¯ll see you in a while, then.¡± He started in, Tronk¡¯s rumbled farewell echoing strangely down the long, sloping path. They were two levels beneath the ground floor of the citadel already, and the tunnel¡¯s incline was taking him deeper still. It seemed Fough liked his seclusion.

    As he meandered down the tunnel, walking past small, closed doors, he began to appreciate his evolved body and high vitality¡ªdespite his stooped posture, his neck and back felt fine. He knew he¡¯d get sore eventually, but with his long-legged pace, Victor hoped he¡¯d reach Fough¡¯sir before that happened.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± he muttered as he came to a junction. ¡°What did he say? Pass the doors, left, then left, and I¡¯de to some steps.¡± Victor turned left, and in another ten minutes, he¡¯d found the cramped, stone stairwell and, growing impatient, he hopped down them, three at a time. A short walk up an even narrower tunnel brought him to a solid wooden door, beneath which steady yellow light leaked.

    Victor¡¯s eyes had grown ustomed to the murk, only having the asional glowmp to navigate by, and the bright light was a wee sight. He strode up to the door and knocked on it three times with his knuckles.

    ¡°Come,¡± a raspy voice said immediately. Victor twisted the door handle and pushed it open. When he stepped through, he was pleased to find himself in a vaulted chamber. He straightened up and looked around. A man wearing ck, silky robes,plete with a deeply cowled hood, was hunched over a table, carefully etching something into a sheet of shimmering silvery metal. Around him were what looked like the cluttered contents of several warehouses worth of esoteric goods.

    Books, boxes, wooden tubes, metal rods, crates, bolts of material, and tools of every sort Victor could imagine were piled on table tops, precariously stuffed onto shelves, and stacked into piles that teetered and leaned against each other and the high walls. Everything was illuminated by a high chandelier from which spilled brilliant yellow-white light, shed by numerous crystals that radiated more brightly than any glowmps Victor had yet seen.

    ¡°The warlord sent you?¡± Fough asked, not looking up from his work.

    ¡°Not exactly.¡± Victor reached behind himself and pushed the door closed with a click. The walls of the chamber were crafted from the same square gray blocks of the tunnels he¡¯d been traversing, but here, on the inside of Fough¡¯s workshop, Victor could see they were coated with a thinyer of soot¡ªhe wondered if it was the residue of experiments gone awry.

    ¡°Well? Who are you, then?¡± Fough¡¯s voice had a sibnce to it that seemed familiar, and Victor began to suspect the Artificer was a member of the Yazzian people, like Boaegh. He supposed it made sense, considering the slight simrity in their names.

    ¡°I¡¯m a guest of the warlord. I have some questions and work for an artificer, and my escort, Tronk, said you were the right person to speak to.¡± Victor stepped toward the table on which Fough worked, noticing the rich pile of the carpet he stepped onto¡ªdespite the stone underneath it, he felt like he sank a good inch into the soft fabric.

    ¡°Hmm. Pose your questions while I finish this up.¡± Fough had yet to look up, and the only parts of him Victor could see were his slender, delicately scaled green fingers.

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor said, lifting Gorz¡¯s chain over his head and setting the amulet on the table. ¡°I¡¯ll start with this. There¡¯s a spirit in this amulet, well, a spirit shard. He used to be very talkative, buttely, he¡¯s been quieter, and as of yesterday, I can¡¯t get him to respond to me. Heined about losing time and feeling . . . shit, I don¡¯t remember his exact words, but he said something about wondering if he was being pulled back to his rger soul.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm,¡± Fough said, carefully etching another rune into his metallic sheet. ¡°Has the amulet been subject to powerful Energies?¡±

    ¡°Uh,¡± Victor thought about the question. He thought about his own spells, how he transformed with huge surges of rage-attuned Energy to be a berserking giant. He thought about his powerful justice and fear-based transformations, then he thought about the spells that had been used against him, particrly the fire cast by Boaegh. ¡°Yeah, it has. I guess there¡¯s also the portal we went through toe here. Does that matter?¡±

    ¡°A world portal? Was it stable?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know . . .¡±

    ¡°All right, just a moment, just a moment; I take it back, don¡¯t tell me any more¡ªI need to concentrate.¡± Fough continued etching, and Victor stood as patiently as he could, straightening his back and flexing his neck, watching the tiny, delicate etchings the Artificer was making; they wereplicated and beautiful, and they reminded him of the patterns he¡¯d created in his pathways to build his Energy weaves. A minute turned into five, turned into fifteen, and then Fough sighed and set his slightly humming, green-metal etching tool onto the tabletop. It buzzed against the wood until he released it, and then ity still.

    ¡°Done?¡± Victor asked, looking into the man¡¯s bright yellow serpent eyes as he straightened, giving Victor his attention.

    ¡°For now, yes.¡± To Victor¡¯s surprise, the Yazzian affected a very human-like smile, and it softened his weird, alien appearance a great deal. ¡°This amulet, hmm?¡± He picked up Gorz¡¯s amulet in his nimble fingers and turned it over, giving it a good look. Victor felt a surge of Energy, and Fough¡¯s eyes pulsed with golden light for a brief second or two.

    ¡°See anything?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. Quite an old artifact, isn¡¯t it? I can see the Energy lines, the entrapment runes, and the persona regting ciphers¡ªthose I¡¯m not familiar with and would need a key to understand fully. I don¡¯t need the key to see that many of the binding materials, woven through the metal of the amulet, have weakened. There are gaps in the rings, and some runes arepletely worn away. I¡¯d say your entrapped spirit has fled this ne of existence, friend.¡± He set the amulet on the table and shrugged.

    ¡°Seriously? He wasn¡¯t trying to flee, though . . . he seemed confused by what was happening to him.¡±

    ¡°A simple fragment, regted by this amulet to behave a certain way. No, it¡¯s likely there was truth to its assumptions¡ªthe greater whole of the spirit, from which the fragment was taken, was exerting a pull. It might not have been a conscious effort; as fragments of rock might gather around a, forming into a ring and then into a moon, pieces of a spirit gravitate toward each other. With holes in the bindings, this one slipped free and no longer lingers on this ne with us.¡±

    ¡°Damn. I was starting to wonder if I¡¯d done something to cause his problems, like, I¡¯ve been a bit neglectful . . .¡± Victor trailed off, not really wanting to bare his soul to this stranger.

    ¡°Well, your amulet needed some maintenance, but not being an Artificer, I¡¯m not surprised you didn¡¯t realize it. I could repair it, help you to trap a new spirit within. It won¡¯t be the same, but the amulet has the enchantments to force a simr behavior¡ªit will perform the same functions it used to.¡±

    ¡°Wait . . . so Gorz wasn¡¯t obsessed with memorizing things and mapping? The amulet made him do that shit?¡±

    ¡°Gorz was the spirit¡¯s name? Yes, it¡¯s likely the amulet enforced those traits.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll fucking melt it down, then. I wouldn¡¯t enve a spirit.¡± Victor struggled with the emotions fighting for dominance within him¡ªguilt, anger, regret, and even disgust. While his outburst vented some of his anger, a real sense of loss suddenly hit him so hard that he had to take a step back.

    Gorz was gone. Gorz, the friendly voice that had guided him out of despair in the mines, helped him to master his inspiration attunement. Gorz, who had given him advice and shown him the path to take in the darkest depths of the world. He was gone, and Victor hadn¡¯t even properly said goodbye.

    ¡°Are you all right?¡± Fough asked. It wasn¡¯t easy to see the emotion on his hairless, scaly face, but his eyes seemed slightly widened, and Victor wondered what his own face looked like to illicit such a question.

    ¡°Not really, no. I figured Gorz¡¯s issue was solvable. I didn¡¯t think thest time I spoke to him was . . . thest time I would speak to him. Goddammit.¡± Victor stepped forward to pick up the amulet, but as he reached for it, Fough spoke.

    ¡°I¡¯d buy it from you just to study the cipher¡ªI¡¯ve not seen that quality of work in some time. I¡¯ll swear to properly destroy it when I¡¯m done.¡±

    Victor picked up the amulet, ignoring the man¡¯s words. He concentrated, closed his eyes, and reached out, ¡°speaking¡± to Gorz in his head, as he used to, ¡°Are you there, buddy? Are you really gone?¡± No reply was forting, though he stood there for several seconds repeating the question, his eyes closed. To his credit, Fough didn¡¯t speak or attempt to interrupt him. When Victor finally opened his eyes, the Artificer shrugged his narrow shoulders.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t lie about a thing like this; there is no presence in that amulet.¡±

    Victor sighed heavily and hung the amulet over his head again, tucking it down beneath his shimmering scale armor. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m going to hang onto it for a while¡ªsentimental reasons.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Let me know if you change your mind about letting me study it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor didn¡¯t think he would¡ªwhy would he want to help this guy learn to enve spirits better? He supposed there might be legitimate reasons for knowing how to do whatever the maker of Gorz¡¯s amulet had done. Maybe some spirits went willingly into objects, but he didn¡¯t like the idea that they could be forced to behave a certain way. His mind raced down various lines of thought¡ªwhat if the spirit was evil? What if a person willingly separated a shard of their soul for such a purpose?

    There might be cases where the creation of such an object wasn¡¯t inherently wrong, but Victor wasn¡¯t interested in exploring them at the moment. He just hoped Gorz had found a better existence than he¡¯d been forced into for thest several thousand years.

    ¡°Is there aught else I can help you with?¡± Fough asked, gesturing to his table, indicating the work he¡¯d been doing.

    ¡°Yeah. A few things, I¡¯d bet, but first, a question that¡¯s been tickling the back of my mind: Are there limits to the magical resizing effects on items? Take my armor, for instance¡ªI sometimes grow in size, like, as big as a Degh . . . bigger. So far, it¡¯s held up.¡± Victor grabbed the material of his shimmersteel armor at the sleeve, tugging on it as if to illustrate its sturdiness. ¡°What if I grew even more? How is it possible? I mean, magical materials are expensive. Couldn¡¯t someone just make a small piece of armor, enchant it to grow to the size of the wearer, and then have a giant put it on? Then they could melt it down, making more and more of their material.¡±

    Fough held up a hand, interrupting Victor¡¯s monologue. ¡°No, no, no. That¡¯s not how the magic works. Do you know about the tiny building blocks of the universe? The atomic level?¡±

    ¡°Yeah . . .¡±

    ¡°When an Artificer creates an object that can shift its size, he or she puts a spell on the material, charging it with ambient Energy used to shrink or expand the space between those atoms. It works up to a certain limit, but eventually, the object¡¯s material will degrade. High-quality materials with high Energy density can withstand this more than others, using their deep stores of Energy to bridge the gaps, especially if the resizing is temporary.¡± Fough paused for a minute and really looked at Victor, his eyes running up and down his figure from his boots to his bare head glowing faintly yellow as he channeled some sort of spell.

    ¡°Your boots are in dire straights. Your pants don¡¯t seem bad; are they new?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I have quite a few pairs.¡±

    ¡°Your armor is made from very high-quality material. Whatever resizing you''re forcing it to go through is taking a bit of a toll, but I think it could withstand the punishment for quite some time before it started to bleed its Energy and begin to unravel.¡±

    ¡°Fuck, seriously?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. I¡¯ll let you in on a little secret¡ªif you want your gear tost longer, many, many times longer, you should have it crafted for yourrgest size and then bond with it while you¡¯re small. It¡¯s much easier on materials to shrink than to stretch.¡±

    ¡°Ah, no shit? So I should get some Degh-sized gear while I¡¯m here, hmm?¡±

    ¡°Here? As in Coloss?¡±

    ¡°Right. Not here.¡± Victor gestured around the cluttered room.

    ¡°Well, I do have quite a stock of objects I¡¯ve worked on over the years. Anything you¡¯re particrly interested in?¡± As though mimicking Victor, Fough gestured around his workspace, his eyes lingering on some steel-strapped trunks tucked against one wall.

    ¡°Maybe. Just a sec, can you check something else out?¡± Victor reached into his storage ring and pulled out Polo¡¯s gift, the enormously heavy Kethian Juggernaught helmet. His muscles straining, he carefully set it on the table so that he didn¡¯t shatter any of the boards.

    ¡°Ah! Wondrous,¡± Fough said, nodding. His eyes red with the familiar golden glow, and then he smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve no worries about this item; that¡¯s some of the densest metal I¡¯ve ever seen, and its natural size is a great dealrger than this. Yes . . . some sort of deep metal,¡± he reached out to touch the helmet, gently scraping one of his pointy ck nails against its surface. ¡°Very dense Energy. Look! The noseguard is slowly sinking into the wood.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sorry ¡®bout that,¡± Victor said, reaching out to touch the helmet and sending it back into his storage ring. Sure enough, several indentations remained on the wooden top of Fough¡¯s work table.

    ¡°Not to worry; you can see the scrapes and stains I¡¯ve left behind¡ªit¡¯s meant for working on, not admiring.¡± Fough rubbed his hand over the wood, pausing to smear a ck stain into the grain with his thumb. ¡°I was dying some fabric earlier.¡±

    ¡°Well, do you have any armor simrly dense? Preferably something made for a big Degh.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the warlord¡¯s artificer; what do you think?¡± Again, the Yazzian smiled, and though it didn¡¯t show any teeth, it was a pleasant expression. ¡°I have a wyrm scale vest that would suit you well. I can also help with your footwear.¡±

    ¡°Wyrm scale?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. Fabulous material, the scales of an adult wyrm. Difficult to work with, difficult to enchant, but in the right hands . . .¡± Fough held up his long, slender, green fingers, allowing Victor¡¯s imagination to finish the statement.

    ¡°Are wyrms rted to dragons?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Wyrms are dragons¡¯ brutish, flightless cousins. Well, ording to the texts I¡¯ve studied. They¡¯re not nearly as intelligent, but still quite dangerous and powerful.¡±

    ¡°Have you ever seen a dragon?¡± Victor wondered how Tes felt about the people of Coloss hunting her ¡°brutish cousins.¡±

    ¡°No, not in the flesh. There¡¯s a skull in Maposh¡ªthey built their great cathedral around it.¡±

    ¡°Maposh? That another city around here?¡±

    ¡°Well, not exactly ¡®around here.¡¯ Maposh is beyond the Serpent Sea and then some thousand leagues ind.¡± Fough turned and walked over to the banded trunks Victor had spotted earlier and began to clear a space on the rug in front of them. ¡°Come, let me make some room here, and then I¡¯ll show you the vest. You won¡¯t be disappointed.¡±

    Victor nodded and stepped around a pile of leather sacks and a rack of long wooden staves so that he could watch while Fough dragged boxes, books, and various other items to other parts of his cluttered space, clearing arge section of rug in front of the center-most trunk. ¡°You could use some help organizing this ce, I¡¯d say.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not a matter of help . . . well, yes, it is. I do need the help; whenever I get started doing it on my own, I get interrupted. The warlord keeps me busy. It¡¯s just that I need an assistant I can trust, and I haven¡¯t found one yet. Not for a long while.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I had an apprentice, but he went into business on his own. I¡¯m sorely tempted to create a construct that will serve my needs, but It¡¯s terribly costly and difficult to make one that can learn, and such functionality would be essential to the job.¡± He grunted as he shifted thest object¡ªa foot-long cylinder that rattled like it was filled with marbles.

    ¡°There¡¯s no one in this whole city you can trust?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I didn¡¯t say that; I said I couldn¡¯t find an assistant I could trust. The people I trust in this city do not want to work for me, categorically!¡± He chuckled as he flipped open the trunk, revealing what looked like a deep, ck void to Victor. ¡°Bear with me¡ªthousands of objects in here.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right. A dimensional container.¡±

    ¡°Just so, just so,¡± Fough said in his raspy voice, and then he snapped his fingers and said, ¡°Aha!¡± He gestured with his left hand and suddenly, with a heavy rattling *clunk*, a hauberk, easily twice the size of Victor¡¯s current armored shirt, flopped down on the thick carpet. It gleamed in the bright light, hundreds¡ªthousands¡ªof pearlescent ck scales glinting as Victor moved closer, sucking a breath through his teeth.

    ¡°Chingado,¡± he said, leaning close, admiring the craftsmanship.

    ¡°I was going to sell it to ck, but the bastard contracted his own armorsmith and refused to even look at it.¡±

    ¡°The scales are amazing, but what about that leather they¡¯re stitched into?¡± Victor couldn¡¯t take his eyes off the vest. The scales were brilliant, and he could feel the Energy within them, but the ck, supple material they were stitched to looked like something special as well; it gleamed like it was freshly oiled; he wanted to put it on, to feel that rich texture for himself.

    ¡°That¡¯s not leather; it¡¯s Hell Queen silk.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Victor straightened up and jerked his eyes away from the armor. ¡°What¡¯s a Hell Queen?¡±

    Fough chuckled and said, ¡°A type of spider. Sounds worse than it is . . . well, no, it doesn¡¯t. They¡¯re called that because their venom has been described as synonymous with a visit to hell. Metaphorically, of course, I¡¯ve never visited one of the abyssal nes, but I can¡¯t imagine just being there would be torturous. There are those who would argue the point, however. Oh, and they¡¯re called queens because males of the species don¡¯t live long¡ªthe females consume them after mating.¡±

    ¡°So, uh, It looks awesome, but I imagine it¡¯s expensive, huh?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d part with it for five prize tokens. I¡¯m happy to entertain other offers.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not really looking to trade any prize tokens. How about beads?¡±

    ¡°Well, the scales and silk were quite expensive, then you have my enchantment and crafting fees. I couldn¡¯t let it go for less than two hundred thousand.¡±

    ¡°Fuck me.¡±

    Fough grinned at Victor¡¯s outburst and said, ¡°Too rich for your blood? I¡¯ll take other trades; have you been on any monster huntstely? Have any interesting trophies?¡±

    ¡°No, but I¡¯m going on one tomorrow. I¡¯lle to see you if I get anything I don''t want. What¡¯s the benefit of the armor besides being dense in Energy and able to resize a lot?¡±

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll never need to fear these materials unraveling; they¡¯ll hold up, especially considering I made it sorge to begin with. More than that, it will provide excellent protection¡ªI¡¯d invite you to strike it with your axe, but it looks like a hungry weapon. I can see the Heart Silver veins; it¡¯s ready to evolve soon, if I¡¯m not mistaken, and I¡¯m afraid it would feast upon the hauberk¡¯s Energy.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. I was quite taken with it as I examined your equipment. You wouldn¡¯t be looking to trade it, would you?¡±

    Victor frowned and put his hand atop Lifedrinker¡¯s metallic head. ¡°Her. And not for a million beads, pendejo.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean any offense,¡± Fough held up his hands, smiling again, his yellow eyes slightly squinting as though apologetic or embarrassed¡ªVictor couldn¡¯t quite read the emotion. ¡°I¡¯ll hold the hauberk for you, hmm? If you¡¯re going on a hunt, I bet you¡¯lle away with some real prizes you might trade. As a show of good faith, how about I give you a pair of boots? Hmm? I have quite a few gathering dust in here.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t argue with free boots.¡± Victor shrugged and smiled, removing his hand from Lifedrinker.

    Twenty minutester, Victor was striding up a long, wide corridor on his way back to the ground floor of the citadel. His new boots were ck¡ªit had been that or a pair of pale yellow ones, and Victor wasn¡¯t ready to make that kind of fashion statement in Coloss. They had thick, grippy soles made from a material much like rubber but entirely synthesized by Fough from various rare ingredients. He imed they¡¯d never burn or melt and that he¡¯d really have to try to lose his footing.

    The uppers were polished to a near mirror sheen, and when Victor had frowned at the shiness of them, Fough had reassured him, saying that the shine wasn¡¯t permanent; he¡¯d have to buff them now and then to keep them looking so sharp. Victor had no intention of doing so. Still, they werefortable and had been sized for a Degh before he bonded with them. They were dense with Energy and wouldst him a very long time if Fough were to be believed.

    Victor was annoyed at how long he¡¯d been in there and how expensive everything seemed in Coloss. On the other hand, he had to remind himself that he¡¯d only been there a few days and was already significantly richer than when he¡¯d arrived. He was beginning to look forward to the monster hunt and hoped he¡¯d have a chance to score some big points with the hunt master; it sounded like there were great rewards to be had.

    More than anything, he had a vague hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he knew it was from what he¡¯d learned about Gorz. He felt like a friend had died. He wanted to go sit in a tavern and get drunk. He wanted to tell people about Gorz, but he didn¡¯t think anyone would get it, not even Va, which only added to the hollowness. Was he really that alone? He felt a slight vibration at his hip, and he looked down to see Lifedrinker, and a smile turned the corners of his lips upward. Had she felt his thoughts, or maybe, at least, his emotions?

    ¡°Well, beautiful,¡± he said, holding his hand against LIfedrinker¡¯s cool metal, ¡°at least that guy confirmed what I thought; you¡¯re pretty damn special. What do you say we go find out what ck knows about the Ancestor Stone? Maybe I can get the old giant in the crystal to give me a few more secrets before we leave on the hunt tomorrow.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 20: A Kind Voice in a Dark Place

    Book 4: Chapter 20: A Kind Voice in a Dark ce

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Victor growled, growing irritated by the ck-ted guard¡¯s questioning. ¡°War Captain ck wanted me to check in, to tell him about my experience with the Ancestor Shard.¡±

    ¡°Yar,¡± Tronk said, from behind him, looming over his left shoulder. The giant hadn¡¯t been exactly excited to lead Victor to the war captain¡¯s estate, but he¡¯d shrugged and said something about there still being hours of light left and then said goodbye to Bell. She¡¯d been a little more difficult to shake than that, though, following them for several minutes through the upper districts of the city until Tronk had finally promised to meet her at their favorite spot after Victor and Va left on their monster hunt.

    ¡°Yes, and I¡¯ve told you the war captain isn¡¯t seeing visitors this evening . . .¡±

    ¡°Move,¡± Tronk said, striding forward, shoving the Vesh-sized guard out of the way and dragging the long, sliding gate open several feet. ¡°Fistin¡¯ through. Official business,¡± he rumbled as several other guards rushed out of the gatehouse. None of them spoke, though, nor lifted a hand toward Tronk. The giant nodded at them, then motioned for Victor to follow, trundling up the long, cobbled drive toward the gloomy, ck-marble vi.

    ¡°They didn¡¯t want to mess with you, did they?¡± Victor asked, quickening his steps so he came up beside Tronk.

    ¡°Nar, they know better. Only one in this ce tha¡¯ might give me a workout is ck hisself.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s the strongest?¡± Victor asked, a little surprised.

    ¡°¡®Course. Aren¡¯t the leaders the strongest in yer world?¡±

    ¡°Earth? Definitely not¡ªmost wealthy, most influential, I suppose. Fanwath? I don¡¯t think so; there seems to be a degree of contrast between political power and raw power. It¡¯s certainly a little different than here.¡±

    Tronk shrugged and stomped up the steps, ignoring the ck-d footmen and approaching the enormous doors at the front of the big, imposing edifice. The left door opened before he crashed into it, and a liveried servant stood panting, holding it open to the side. ¡°Lord Fist, will you need to see the war captain on this visit?¡±

    ¡°Yar.¡±

    ¡°Please go to the Midnight Parlor, and I¡¯ll fetch him the news of your arrival.¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Tronk strode off, and Victor followed, amused at how the giant had made himself at home. Most of the guards and servants at ck¡¯s vi were Vesh, though he thought he counted a higher percentage of Degh than he¡¯d seen elsewhere; it made sense to him¡ªck was Degh, and his home was built to amodate him and his family. Surely there were friends and rtions from wherever the Degh hailed that he¡¯d wanted to hire.

    In Victor''s opinion, the vi was a depressing ce¡ªthe lights were dim, the wall panels stained dark grays and cks, and ck marble was ubiquitous, used for floors, pirs, and trim. Gloomy artwork abounded¡ªck marble busts and statues, paintings of nighttime scenes, and rugs and carpeting that were all predominantly¡ªno surprise, here¡ªck.

    Tronk led him, purposefully and without pause, to a small parlor with a servant¡¯s station in the corner andfortable, darkly upholstered couches and chairs arrayed on dark carpeting. Victor figured out, rather quickly, why it was called the Midnight Parlor; the Energymp that supplied the light in the room was a faded yellow-green and hung near the apex of the high, domed ceiling, almost like a replica of the moon that was just now rising outside.

    While the ce was gloomy, it was interesting, and Victor and Tronk had no trouble gettingfortable in oversized, overstuffed chairs. While they waited for ck, a servant wearing a ck, velvety uniform brought refreshments¡ªsome sort of chilled wine and a bowl of cut, nearly-frozen fruit. Victor availed himself of the snacks, pleased by the mixture of tart and sweet samples and enjoying the pale, cold wine¡ªthe first time he could remember having wine that wasn¡¯t dark red.

    ¡°Victor, and my old friend, Tronk. Thank you for visiting; can I assume you have some news of the shard?¡± ck strode into the room, still enormous, still intimidating, but no longer wearing heavy te armor. He worefortable-looking ck pants that were baggy at the top and tapered at the ankles. A loose, button-front shirt, also ck, hung from his shoulders, only partially fastened by the bottom few buttons.

    ck was a handsome, if borderline elderly, man with dark, peppered gray and ck hair and a full, well-maintained beard. His eyes, buried in the folds of decades¡ªor centuries¡ªof crow¡¯s feet, were bright, pale brown, and full of depth. Victor could tell the man was holding back his aura, much the way Tronk and the Warlord did, and he wondered just how many people were of such power that they needed to restrain themselves on a constant basis. Va had said Victor¡¯s aura was heavy, but he didn¡¯t feel he did anything to contain it.

    ¡°Hullo, ck,¡± Tronk rumbled, reaching for a scoop of chilled fruit, heedless of the sticky mess he was making of his hand.

    ¡°Hello,¡± Victor said, standing up and holding out his hand, ¡°I do have some news and some questions. Can we talk here?¡±

    ¡°Aye,¡± ck nodded, stomping forward and grasping Victor firmly by the wrist. Victor squeezed the giant¡¯s wrist in return and was pleased that his grip felt firm on the thick, powerful appendage. ¡°This is a good ce; we won¡¯t be bothered.¡± He released Victor¡¯s arm, sat in a chair across from him and Tronk, and Victor sat back down.

    ¡°I made contact with your ancestor,¡± Victor said, not interested in beating around the bush.

    ¡°Truly?¡± ck¡¯s eyes opened widely, and he leaned forward, his mouth partially open, as though he wanted to speak but clearly held himself back, waiting for Victor to expound.

    ¡°Yes, no lie.¡± Victor nodded. ¡°He¡¯s well, with all of his faculties, but he¡¯s lost time and has no idea what¡¯s happened outside the stone since its shattering. Thest person he remembers speaking to is someone named Bavarak. Does that ring a bell?¡±

    ¡°Ring a bell? Ah, I get your meaning, Victor. Yes, I know who Bavarak is . . . was. He died during the Breaking. Aye, Tronk?¡±

    ¡°Yar.¡±

    ¡°The Breaking?¡± Victor pressed.

    ¡°The war between the Degh and the Vesh. Well, and the Yazzians¡ªthey aided the Vesh. When the snakes besieged our cities to the south, distracting us, the Vesh did the unthinkable; raided our homnds, calling up the seas to drown Ulhavat¡ªthe ind from which our ancestors hailed.¡±

    ¡°And broke your Ancestor Stone?¡±

    ¡°Aye. The warlord himself led the attack long before my time. What¡¯s this to do with the Ancestor, though, Victor? Am I just serving to assuage his curiosity, or is there arger purpose for your visit? I¡¯d hoped you¡¯d be giving me answers¡ªa way to restore my people¡¯s lost glory.¡±

    ¡°I want to give you answers. I want to help you, but the Ancestor wasn¡¯t ready to tell me everything he knows; I¡¯m not one of your people if you hadn¡¯t noticed.¡± Victor leaned closer to Tronk as if to demonstrate his differences and snorted at himself, pleased with his attempt at levity.

    ¡°So he sent you for more information before he would help us?¡± ck didn¡¯t seem amused.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t know enough to help you yet. He wanted to know another thing: is he thest one? Are there other shards of the Ancestor Stone?¡±

    ¡°Aye, there are others. Most of the ns have one, and the Warlord has three. Some were left where theyy too long, and dungeons grew around them. I know of seventeen shards altogether.¡±

    ¡°Did you . . .¡± Victor paused, trying to think of how he should phrase the question without sounding insulting. ¡°Did your people not try to put them together? The ones the ns hold, I mean?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Those of us who could agree, at least.¡± ck frowned and rubbed at his chin. ¡°This was back when the fracture was new, and my people were freshly conquered. The ounts I¡¯ve read seemed to indicate that great Energies repulsed the shards, pushing them away from each other. It didn¡¯t help that none of my people with a spirit Core escaped the fracturing alive.¡±

    ¡°I think that information will be interesting to your Ancestor. He seemed . . .¡± Again, Victor broke off his speech, trying to choose his words delicately, ¡°dismayed. Yeah, he seemed dismayed that your people were in Coloss, that you were working and living with the Vesh. He called them ¡®upstart mutants.¡¯ He knew the warlord, by the way, said he was the one who stirred the Vesh up to wage war.¡±

    ¡°Aye, Warlord Thoargh is ancient and powerful.¡± ck frowned, and Victor thought he could hear the giant¡¯s mrs grinding. ¡°We don¡¯t serve him, not exactly, but we don¡¯t have the numbers or the strength to be our own people again; Some of us,¡± he gestured to Tronk, ¡°think it wiser to work with the Vesh, grateful that we still exist as a people, though our numbers dwindle year to year.¡±

    ¡°He broke us,¡± Tronk said, stretching back. ¡°Broke us, then let us live, part o¡¯ his empire.¡±

    ¡°Empire? I thought Coloss was a city-state.¡±

    ¡°A city-state with ten million square miles of countryside under its direct control. A city-state with a dozen other city-states subservient to it. An empire in everything but name,¡± ck said.

    ¡°Enough,¡± Tronk rumbled, sitting up and making a vague gesture at the air around them. ¡°This topic ain¡¯t somethin¡¯ the warlord wants to ¡®ear about.¡±

    ¡°Aye, brother,¡± ck said, scooting forward and looking directly into Victor¡¯s eyes. ¡°Victor, please tell the Ancestor about our situation. Tell him about the loss of Ulhavat. Tell him our people diminish each year, each generation weaker and fewer than the one before. Keep his counsel to yourself and only speak of it among Degh you can trust¡ªTronk and I should be the extent of this circle, for now.¡±

    ¡°Yar,¡± Tronk grunted, scooting forward to stand up. ¡°Time we ¡®eaded back, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Victor said, standing. He felt he had enough information to please the Ancestor and wanted to get back to the citadel to check on Va, anyway. ck walked them to the door, and as he and Tronk stepped through, he offered some parting words.

    ¡°Victor, no one from my household will cause you trouble, and it¡¯s known the warlord is sponsoring you, at least until Gazra¡¯s Day. You shouldn¡¯t run into any trouble from the citizens of Coloss, but watch yourself should you leave the city¡ªI¡¯d hate to lose your connection to my ancestor before aught could be gained from it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be careful, War Captain. Thanks for the head¡¯s up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll hope to hear from you again soon,¡± ck called after them as Victor and Tronk made their way down the steps and up thene. Victor raised his hand up and waved in answer. Then he turned to regard Tronk.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re friends with ck?¡±

    ¡°Friends. Cousins.¡± Tronk shrugged. He didn¡¯t offer any other exnation, and Victor decided to let the matter rest for now. He had a lot to mull over while they walked. The more Victor learned about the Degh and their situation, the more tragic it seemed. He had a hard time reconciling his experiences with the warlord with the image he had of a conqueror who drove an entire race of people into submission, destroying their home¡ªan entire ind¡ªand diminishing their potency in so many ways.

    Something about their Ancestor Stone seemed to make the Degh different from the other peoples Victor had encountered in this world and on Fanwath. Why were they weaker individually because of this stone¡¯s breaking? Why would there be fewer of them each generation? Why would they keep growing weaker? He hoped the Ancestor in the shard would be able to shed some light on the matter, but if not, he hoped he¡¯d be happy with the information enough to give Victor some more guidance as a mentor.

    When they returned to the citadel and Tronk led Victor to his suite, he found Va within, sitting on the rich, thick rug at the center of their seating area, deep in meditation. He could feel the Energy swirling in the air around her and wondered why she was cultivating there instead of in the warlord¡¯s cultivation chamber. Despite his attempt to be quiet, she heard him moving around and opened her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re back.¡±

    ¡°Hey, Va.¡± Victor sat in one of the chairs positioned so he could speak to her while looking out the windows toward the city. Va shifted to face him directly. ¡°Your time with Tes go well?¡±

    ¡°Very well! She . . . I still have a hard time saying this; it seems unbelievable to me, but she thinks I can improve my Energy affinity by perfecting my cultivation method; she thinks I¡¯ll be able to gradually increase it to a level half-again as high as it is. Victor, no one on Fanwath knows how to do that! Well, no one who¡¯s ever spoken of it.¡±

    ¡°Seriously? Can I ask . . .¡±

    ¡°Right now, I have equal affinities for iron and air¡ªboth are four point one.¡±

    ¡°And she thinks she can help you get those into the . . . sixes?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fucking great, Va!¡± Victor pped his hands together enthusiastically. ¡°I told you she knew a lot!¡±

    ¡°It helps that she has elemental affinities, herself, I think.¡±

    ¡°No doubt.¡± Victor, of course, couldn¡¯t stop his mind from running away with the obvious question: if Va could improve her affinities, could he? Did it work differently for spirit affinities? Regardless of anything else, he was excited to see that there were rules about Energy and Cores that the people on Fanwath didn¡¯t yet know; there might be a lot more to discover on Zaafor than he¡¯d first considered. ¡°Anything else? She teach you any cool spells or anything?¡±

    ¡°No, but she hinted at being excited to speak to you during the hunt. She went on and on during the tournament about your potential. It was . . . tedious.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You didn¡¯t mention that yesterday!¡±

    ¡°Well, it was your big day, and I didn¡¯t want to sound sour. I¡¯m in a much better mood after the progress I made today. Tes thinks I¡¯m going to master this cultivation drill in no time. She¡¯s such a good teacher! Victor, I think she¡¯s a lot more powerful than she seems . . .¡± Va spoke thest in a hushed voice, as though she worried about eavesdroppers.

    ¡°Yeah. You¡¯ve noticed she looks human, like me, right? I think the people here assume she¡¯s a Vesh with no obvious . . . mutations¡ªis that the right word?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve noticed. I asked Tes about it, and she said she and you might share some ancestry but that she¡¯s not human.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm,¡± Victor said, rubbing at his chin. He supposed Tes would have told Va she was a dragon if she wanted her to know. ¡°Sounds about right. I knew she wasn¡¯t from Zaafor, anyway.¡±

    ¡°I asked her if she could help us open a gateway to Fanwath, and she wouldn¡¯t answer me directly, but she said, ¡®I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll need to worry about that.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Really? Well, for what it¡¯s worth, I think she¡¯s right. Speaking of which, did you find out where we¡¯re supposed to meet our huntingpany? Ipletely forgot to ask Tronk about it.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Tes told me we should meet her at the gate to the wastes at dawn.¡± Va''s eyes suddenly widened as though she¡¯d just remembered something, and she said, ¡°Oh, Victor! How did things go with the Artificer? Did you get help with your amulet?¡±

    Victor¡¯s face fell, and he sighed, falling back in his chair, tilting his eyes so he looked up at the white stered ceiling. ¡°Not exactly help, no. The Artificer thinks the enchantments on the amulet got weakened from time and exposure to Energy. He thinks Gorz slipped away, well his fragment did, and he thinks it¡¯s gone to join the greater part of his spirit.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Va asked, lithely springing to her feet anding closer to Victor. There wasn¡¯t a chair nearby, but she put a hand on his wrist and leaned toward him, concern in her eyes. ¡°Are you upset about it?¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Victor wanted to vent; he wanted to talk about how he really felt, but something choked the words in his throat, and he said, ¡°I guess it¡¯s good that he¡¯s not trapped anymore. Who knows what his spirit will get up to now that it¡¯s free.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Va said, giving his wrist another squeeze, but her eyes narrowed as she stared at him, as he avoided making eye contact. ¡°Something¡¯s bothering you, though.¡±

    Victor sat up, looked at her, saw the sincerity on her face, and sighed, ¡°I¡¯m upset, yeah. I¡¯m upset with myself. This shit has happened to me before, and it fucking guts me that I let it happen again. I didn¡¯t even know it was happening.¡±

    Va¡¯s eyes narrowed in confusion, and she said, ¡°I¡¯m not following . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve done this with friends before. When I was fifteen, I had a friend. His name was Chris, and we were pretty good friends¡ªhung out a lot around the neighborhood, you know?¡± Va nodded, and he continued, ¡°Well, one summer, he stoppeding around and started hanging around with these other dudes. I just shrugged it off. ¡®Guess he¡¯s too cool for me,¡¯ I said¡ªnever even fucking texted him about it or anything.¡± He could see Va was confused by his words, but he kept pushing through the memory.

    ¡°Well, the months went by, and I knew less and less about what he was up to, and then one day, I got to school, and they called me to the counselor¡¯s office. They were calling all the people they thought were close to Chris. He was dead. The rumor I heard was that he was running from the cops on his dirtbike, wiped out on some gravel, and slid his head into the curb. My fucking friend was dead! He¡¯d gotten wrapped up with some dudes that had him running product from some asshole on the south side up to our neighborhood.¡±

    ¡°Product?¡±

    ¡°Drugs. It doesn¡¯t matter. The point is, I fucking just let him go, never bothered him, never tried to get him to tell me what was up, never told him to get away from those assholes. And then he was dead.¡±

    ¡°And you feel like Gorz is the same?¡±

    ¡°Well, I sure as hell neglected the shit out of him. I could have taken him to an artificer sooner. Maybe if I¡¯d spent more time chatting with him in Persi Gables, I¡¯d have seen he had a problem. Now he¡¯s gone.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not the same, though, Victor. Gorz was a trapped spirit; you could say he¡¯s better off, and it wouldn¡¯t be a euphemism.¡±

    ¡°I know, logically, that it¡¯s different, but it doesn¡¯t feel different, you know?¡± Victor put his hand on his stomach, right beneath his heart. ¡°It feels like I¡¯ve got a hole here, as though I fucked up somehow and lost something¡ªsomeone¡ªimportant.¡± He shook his head and rubbed at his eyes, embarrassed that he was getting so emotional over the amulet, over the spirit shard. ¡°It¡¯s just¡ªin the back of my mind, I always knew Gorz was there, but like in my past, I was too wrapped up with my own shit to give him the attention he needed. Meanwhile, I could talk to him anytime I needed to. He . . . he helped me get through some pretty grim shit, Va.¡±

    Va stared at him for a few seconds, but rather than speak right away, she gave him a smile and took his hand, tugging him to his feet. ¡°Come on, Victor. Let¡¯s go out on the balcony. I have some very special whiskey I¡¯ve been saving for a special asion. Let¡¯s send your friend off with a toast.¡±

    ¡°Va, you don¡¯t have . . .¡±

    ¡°No. Don¡¯t protest;e on. I¡¯ve been wanting an excuse to drink this, and it sounds like Gorz deserves our well wishes to send him off. He¡¯s got a great journey ahead of him!¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor nodded, walking with her to the door,forted to know she was here with him, and before he could say it, she spoke.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re here with me, Victor. How alone and scared I¡¯d be in this strange world without you! I won¡¯t diminish your feelings, but I¡¯ll tell you that, from what I¡¯ve seen, you¡¯re an excellent friend. You¡¯re dependable, you care about how people feel, and I know you didn¡¯t mean to neglect Gorz. You missed a chance to say goodbye, but here¡¯s another. Tell your friend how you feel.¡±

    Va had been cing objects on the balcony railing while she spoke¡ªa ck crystal bottle with a red, waxed cork top and two square, short crystal sses. She broke the seal on the cork, twisted it out of the bottle, and poured the sses full of a rich, vaporous, amber liquid. She handed one ss to Victor, picked up the other one, and then looked at him expectantly.

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor said, licking his lips. The heady scent of the liquor¡¯s vapors filled the air, wafting into his nose, and the smoky odor was making his mouth water. ¡°Gorz,¡± Victor cleared his throat, shaking his head ruefully, then tried again, ¡°Gorz, you were a dependable, kind voice in a dark, terrible ce. You saved me from despair on more than one asion, and just knowing you were there was afort that got me through a lot of bad shit. You were a great friend, and you deserved better from me. I¡¯ll honor your memory, and I hope there¡¯s some way we might meet again¡ªmaybe in your next life.¡±

    Va lifted her ss, and Victor clinked his against it, then they both drank. The liquor burned his throat, but it warmed his body instantly, and a tingle of numbness touched his nose and cheeks. ¡°Whew,¡± he said, blowing out a vaporous breath and waving a hand in front of his face. ¡°Strong stuff!¡±

    ¡°Yes! Another?¡± Va asked, already pouring her ss full. Victor nodded, and that night they stood out under the stars, looking down at the immense sea of lights that was Coloss, and Gorz received many toasts in his honor.

 Book 4: Chapter 21: Guidance

    Book 4: Chapter 21: Guidance

    Sometime around midnight, Va went to bed, and Victor sat by himself on the balcony, endlessly entertained by the sea of lights that stretched away from the citadel. Beyond the city wall was a sea of darkness, not a single light to be seen as far as the horizon. ¡°Coloss is like a . . .¡± Victor paused and thought, trying toe up with something clever, poetic, even, ¡°Coloss is like a pile of glittering jewels, poured out by a colossus in the middle of the desert.¡±

    Victorughed and patted Lifedrinker¡¯s living-wood haft, where she rested across his knees. ¡°That was fucking terrible. Remind me not to try to make a living as a poet.¡± He was a little drunk, mostly just buzzed and rxed, but behind the easyughter lurked darker emotions¡ªloss, anger, self-loathing, and embarrassment.

    ¡°Why¡¯d I have to go and tell Va all that shit?¡± he growled, standing up abruptly. He carried Lifedrinker through the sitting room of their suite and then into his bedroom. He ced the axe on the dresser top where the box containing the Ancestor¡¯s shard sat waiting for him. He wished he could put it in a storage container but knew better than that; the spirit within would suffer in such an environment.

    Victor was tired but not sleepy, and he decided to spend some time with the Ancestor; with the hunt starting in the morning, he wasn¡¯t sure when he¡¯d get another good chance. He took the faintly pink crystal from the box, cradled it in his hands, and sat down on the rug at the foot of his bed. Thest time he¡¯d spoken with the ancient spirit within, scant seconds had passed in the world, so he wasn¡¯t worried about the safety of his person while hemuned with the Ancestor.

    Clearing his mind, Victor gathered his Energies and pushed them out into the shard, and as before, he felt his Core surge, flooding the fragment with his three affinities, until the world faded away and in a bloom of brilliant light, he once again sat before Khul Bach in the strange white and gray, sharp-angled ne.

    ¡°You return,¡± the giant said, his stern gaze softening slightly, perhaps pleased that Victor had kept his promise.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Victor said, clearing his throat. ¡°I had a chance to speak with ck, um, the Degh who gave me this shard¡ªI think his real name is Ardek.¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°And? You have information for me? Answers about the fate of my people?¡±

    ¡°Yeah . . .¡± Victor gathered his thoughts, then tried to share what he¡¯d learned as sinctly as possible, ¡°The warlord who rules Coloss rules a lot of the world, I guess; other city-states and their leaders pay him fealty. He¡¯s the one who destroyed your people, well, with a Vesh army and the help of the Yazzians. ording to ck, they caused the seas to rise up and flood your homnd, and in the process, they managed to shatter your Ancestor Stone.¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Khul Bach said, mming a fist into his palm, but Victor felt like it was more surprise than disbelief that caused the outburst.

    ¡°I have more,¡± Victor said, waiting to see if the giant would continue fuming, but the giant didn¡¯t object further, so he continued, ¡°ck knows about seventeen different shards from the Ancestor Stone. He says most of the ns have at least one and that the warlord has several. He said some were left too long, and dungeons grew around them, whatever that means. Um, I¡¯m supposed to tell you he¡¯s begging you for help¡ªhe says the Degh have grown weaker and fewer in number with every generation.¡±

    ¡°Why will they not speak to me themselves?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I exin thatst time? ck said that when the Ancestor Stone was destroyed, Degh with spirit Cores died, and none have been born since.¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Khul Bach opened his mouth to speak, but then his eyes narrowed, and he shook his head. His face fell, and he said, ¡°It¡¯s our fault. Our hubris, our ambition, did this.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Victor had been expecting Khul Bach to rage about the warlord, insisting that Victor kill him or something.

    ¡°We created the Ancestor Stone as a way to take control of our destiny; our bloodlines, our knowledge, our . . . ancestors, all there, tangible, ready to augment and enhance the younger generations. I can see how the Spirit Casters of my people would have been shattered with the stone; their connections were deep and permanent. With them gone, with the stone destroyed, our peoplenguish, the great magics we created to bind us to the stone serving to harm rather than aid.¡±

    ¡°Is there anything that can be done?¡±

    ¡°Aye, a powerful Spirit Caster must mend the stone.¡± Khul Bach frowned and glowered at Victor rubbing at his chin. ¡°You won¡¯t do. Not yet. What level did you say you¡¯d attained? Forty?¡±

    ¡°Thirty-six.¡±

    ¡°Ancestors!¡± Khul Bach growled, squeezing his fists so tightly that Victor could hear the strain of the flesh on his knuckles. ¡°One runt. One child to face the man who conquered a race of titans. This won¡¯t do.¡±

    ¡°Uh, yeah. I¡¯ve felt the warlord¡¯s aura, and I think he could whip my ass pretty easily.¡±

    ¡°Yes. You¡¯ll need to be much stronger. I¡¯ll need to make you stronger.¡±

    ¡°Hold on a minute, Khul Bach.¡± Victor held up his hands, and when the giant glowered at him, he continued, ¡°I have a lot on my te. I need to go back to my world, at least for a while; there¡¯s an entire army and huge households depending on me. We¡¯re supposed to conquer some newnds, and I think that will probably take a while . . .¡±

    ¡°Conquering is good, Victor. You¡¯ll gain strength, which you need.¡±

    ¡°So, you¡¯re cool with me not challenging the warlord right away?¡±

    ¡°Hah! I¡¯m not a fool; you¡¯ll gain strength, you¡¯ll be a powerful force with my instruction, you¡¯ll gather my people and what shards you can under your banner, and then, only then, will you challenge the warlord.¡± Khul Bach¡¯s voice grew louder as he spoke, and his fists gradually lifted until they were over his head, and his final words came out as a shout.

    ¡°Hold up! Fucking hell, man! I¡¯m not looking for another war! Besides, why would your people win now, when they¡¯re weaker and fewer than when the Warlordst beat them? What if I could get my hands on the warlord¡¯s shards without fighting him? Maybe he doesn¡¯t care about them all that much . . .¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be naive; the man holds them for a reason!¡± Khul Bach growled, leaning closer to Victor, fury in his eyes. Victor knew the anger wasn¡¯t really directed toward him, but he felt like he needed to take a step back to settle the giant down, so he held up his hands and cleared his throat.

    ¡°Hold on! We need to get some things straight.¡± Khul Bach glowered but held his tongue, and Victor continued, ¡°Of course, I want your guidance! I know you have a lot to teach me, and I¡¯ve wanted a real mentor for a long time. That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to throw away my life and my freedom for it. I can find what I need elsewhere; it might be hard and take me decades or even centuries, but I¡¯ll be doing what I want, of my own free will. Do you get me?¡±

    ¡°So you would leave my people tonguish? You¡¯d have them whither away to nothing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that. I¡¯m not saying I won¡¯t help them, but I need you to know that I¡¯ll do it when I think I¡¯m ready and when I don¡¯t have other people already depending on me.¡± Victor held the giant¡¯s gaze, difficult as it was. He felt like he was lifting weights with his eyeballs, struggling to hold up under the mountain-sized aura bleeding out of the giant¡¯s oddly pink-hued eyes.

    ¡°A bargain well struck,¡± the giant said, atst, his posture softening and his deep frown rxing. ¡°When you¡¯re ready, then. I, too, think you need work. Much of it.¡±

    ¡°Right . . .¡±

    ¡°Your Core is pathetic. Do you never cultivate?¡±

    ¡°I cultivate . . .¡± Victor¡¯s voice lost its stern conviction, raising an octave on the word, and he frowned, annoyed with himself.

    ¡°Not enough. Your Core should be in the advanced stages. What¡¯s your highest-ranked spell?¡±

    ¡°Um, Berserk and Sovereign Will are both advanced.¡±

    ¡°Passable,¡± the giant sniffed, then added, ¡°But barely. You should use them at every opportunity; Berserk frees your titan blood, no? And Sovereign Will; your ability to force your body to rise to greatness? What attributes are you currently enhancing?¡±

    ¡°Well, none; I¡¯m not fighting or anything . . .¡±

    ¡°Bash¡¯s Blood, boy! You should be using it always! Because you aren¡¯t nning a fight doesn¡¯t mean your enemies feel the same!¡±

    ¡°It takes concentration . . .¡±

    ¡°How much? How hard is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like . . . it¡¯s like trying to hold your eyes open without blinking; I can do it, and I can do it for a long time, but it starts to wear on me.¡±

    ¡°Then you must keep using it, practice it until it feels more like breathing. Eventually, you¡¯ll feel worse without it than with it. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Victor nodded.

    ¡°Good! We want that spell to grow into the epic range as soon as possible. I believe you¡¯ll experience a great breakthrough when that happens. Now, tell me about your Core. I know you have three affinities. I know you¡¯re in the improved ranks, but why? Do you hate to cultivate?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just . . . I¡¯m just always busy, and yeah, cultivating is a pain in the ass, especially my rage and fear affinities; I have to live through those emotions. I have to grind through them like a fucking miner trying to get a nugget of gold out of a mountain of stone.¡±

    ¡°Show me,¡± the giant said, and Victor knew what he meant; he expected him to do some cultivating at that moment.

    ¡°In here?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll struggle to gain any strength cultivating here because of the nature of this ce; it¡¯s outside the flow of time, but you can still show me your method.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor sighed, and then he closed his eyes and turned his gaze inward, pulling up one of the constructs he¡¯d built from his memories, a construct of rage. He studied it, wrapped his mind around it, felt the raw heat of his fury, his animosity¡ªit was a construct built from a memory concerning his cousins, one of the many times they¡¯d bullied him, speaking Spanish about him, teasing him about his ¡°gringa¡± mother.

    He remembered themughing at how he only understood a few of their words and mimicking the way his mom walked and spoke; he¡¯d only been a little boy then, and his mom had been everything to him¡ªhis dad, Hernan Sandoval, did shift work for the military in Nevada¡ªflew out of Phoenix and was sometimes gone for weeks. Victor remembered feeling like an outcast, an outsider in his own family, only happy when his mom took him home. He and his mom had been a team, and she¡¯d done everything for him. Then she¡¯d died.

    Victor felt the fury building in his pathways and worked it, pushing, driving, gathering, and pulling it into his Core. He wallowed in his construct, soaking it in, bing the rage that simmered there in his past. He didn¡¯t know how long he sat like that, running through his drill, but he knew it was a good long while before the giant cleared his throat and gave him a nudge.

    ¡°Enough, Victor.¡± When Victor looked up at him, he saw the giant¡¯s face was troubled and that much of his earlier hostility had faded. ¡°Rage is a difficult affinity,d. I see the pain on your face while you struggle with it. Who taught you that drill?¡±

    ¡°Well, I mostly learned it myself through experimentation. When I first had to cultivate, I wasn¡¯t much more than a ve, and I didn¡¯t have any real help.¡±

    ¡°Then you should be proud. Your drill is potent, and if the Energy were richer around you, I believe you¡¯d be pulling great swaths of it into your pathways, converting it to rage, strengthening your Core with each repetition. Still, there¡¯s room for improvement. The method you use to gather the Energy, condense it, and siphon it into your Core needs work.

    ¡°Did you know that Energy calls to Energy? The more you leave in your pathways, the faster you¡¯ll pull more in, and the faster it will convert to rage or whatever affinity you¡¯re cultivating. You must learn to fill your pathways to bursting, then to siphon off only half of that Energy, leaving the rest to build up another rotation more quickly.¡±

    ¡°I get it,¡± Victor nodded, ¡°I can do that, Khul Bach.¡±

    ¡°Good. When you return, I¡¯ll expect your Core to be stronger. So, tell me about your spirit totems. You mentioned the spellst time we spoke.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re fragments of my own soul, as far as I understand . . .¡± Victor spent what felt like hours going over his spells with Khul Bach¡ªhow he learned them, what they did, what rank they¡¯d gotten to, and what his ns were as far as improving each one. The answer to thatst question always tended to be some variation of, ¡°Well, I hadn¡¯t really thought about it; I just nned to keep using them and hope they¡¯d improve.¡±

    Khul told Victor that the best way for him to improve his abilities was to pick one or two and focus on them, then go on to the next. Sure, it helped to use them all whenever he needed them, but he wanted Victor to get some skills and spells into the epic level as quickly as possible. That said, he insisted that Victor go Berkserk at every possibility and keep himself boosted by Sovereign Will at all times.

    ¡°Really? You want me berserking when I¡¯m not even in a fight?¡± Victor said when Khul delivered thatst instruction.

    ¡°Yes. You have the will to manage it. If you push that spell beyond epic into legendary, it¡¯s likely to morph; I have high hopes for it. Should you fully master yourself under its influence, it won¡¯t exactly be a ¡°berserking¡± spell, will it?¡±

    ¡°Spells can change . . .¡± Victor stopped himself before he finished the question. Of course, spells could change; he¡¯d seen it himself as he¡¯d used different Energy to cast them, or when they¡¯d increased in level from basic to improved or beyond¡ªthey gained new effects or became more potent.

    ¡°I see the light blooming behind your dim eyes, apprentice. You may yet learn. So, here are my orders: Never go a waking moment without Sovereign Will active. If you must rest your mind from time to time, that¡¯s permitted, but only so long as you absolutely have to. Secondly, you must use your Berserk ability whenever possible, and you must practice casting other spells while under its influence.¡±

    ¡°Fuck, man. My travelingpanions aren¡¯t really going to love this . . .¡±

    ¡°Good! People should fear and respect you. You¡¯re the descendent of titans, and by the Ancestors, all the Gods, and their children, I¡¯m going to make you into a worthy scion. Now, tell me about your axe.¡±

    ¡°Lifedrinker? How do you know about her?¡±

    Khul pointed to Victor¡¯s waist and said, ¡°Its echo is here with you.¡±

    ¡°What . . .¡± Victor looked down, but he didn¡¯t see what Khul was pointing at. He¡¯d left Lifedrinker on his dresser. ¡°I don¡¯t see her.¡±

    ¡°Because your mind knows where it is. The echo of its spirit is heavy though and closely tied to your own.¡±

    ¡°Her,¡± Victor said, frowning. ¡°She¡¯s alive and not an ¡®it.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes. Of course. So, she speaks to you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor said, then he spent another long while telling Khul all about Lifedrinker.

    ¡°A worthy weapon for my scion! And you think she¡¯sing close to an evolution?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure of it!¡± Victor said, grinning proudly, as though Lifedrinker were his child and he was telling another parent about her aplishments at school.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope she grows. A strong spirit is good, but you¡¯ll need a mighty weapon to take on the Vesh.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not taking on the Vesh . . .¡±

    ¡°Not yet!¡± Khul said, holding up a hand to forestall argument. ¡°When next you y an enemy, be sure to let your axe feast! More than that, don¡¯t forget to honor your ancestors. Have I given you enough to work on? You should bring my shard with you, of course; we can speak while you¡¯re on your hunt.¡±

    ¡°About that,¡± Victor said, frowning, ¡°Your shard is prettyrge, and it¡¯s in a box. It¡¯s not exactly convenient to carry around.¡±

    ¡°Do not put me in a dimensional container!¡± Khul roared.

    ¡°I know, I know! Is there anything else I can do?¡±

    ¡°Yes, a simple solution exists; have the shard built into an amulet or some such, and have the artificer reduce the size of it. Just be sure that when the shard is removed from the jewelry, it will retain its original form. Easily done, and the size of the shard will not affect me at all. Just don¡¯t damage it!¡±

    ¡°Oh? All right, that doesn¡¯t sound bad, then. Okay, Khul Bach, I think I should get going¡ªyou¡¯ve given me plenty to work on.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Speak to me as soon as you¡¯re able. I¡¯ll want a thorough update on your progress.¡±

    Victor nodded, and then he gathered up his Energy. When he opened his eyes, he was sitting in his room, and the moon still hung high in the sky outside his window. Victor hopped to his feet, one fist tight around the Ancestor shard, and then he walked over and scooped up Lifedrinker, slipping her into his belt. He strode, with purpose, through the suite, out the door, and then broke into a jog.

    He¡¯d made it to the first stairwell when he frowned and concentrated, casting Sovereign Will to boost his Vitality and Strength; then, as he hurried down the steps, Victor cast Berserk. Red-tinged fury filled his vision, and a growl slipped past his lips, but he kept moving, realizing he was now striding easily down the Degh side of the steps. asional growls escaped him, and his fists were clenched and ready to strike out, one holding tightly to the ancestor stone.

    He was d it was the dead of night, and nobody was out and about in the hallways; Victor kept looking for something to fight and kept catching himself doing so, but he growled, and, with an effort of will, he pushed the rage out of his mind, let it fester in his pathways, let it simmer in his heart, ready to explode, but kept his mind cool. It was a struggle to do so without ending the Berserk spell altogether, and he found the exercise both taxing and rewarding; he could do this.

    When he¡¯d descended several levels and came to the cramped, narrow tunnels that led deeper still, he finally allowed the spell to fade and breathed a deep sigh of relief; he felt like he¡¯d just done several circuits around a weight room, using every machine along the way. Still, he felt good and knew his advanced body wouldn¡¯t let him down, so he crouched low and hurried through the tunnels, making his way to Fough¡¯s workshop.

    The door was slightly ajar, and when Victor peered through, he saw Fough sitting at the same table where he¡¯dst seen him, only this time, he was poring over a densely inscribed stone tablet. ¡°Come in,¡± the Artificer said without looking up.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Victor said, stepping into the room and straightening his back with a sigh.

    ¡°Thought of something you need at thest minute?¡± Fough asked, a wry smile on his face as he looked up from his tablet.

    ¡°Yeah, actually.¡± Victor stepped forward with the Ancestor shard and then said, ¡°I need a convenient way to carry this, and maybe some more like it, but I can¡¯t put it in a dimensional container because . . .¡±

    ¡°Because a powerful spirit lies within,¡± Fough said, standing up from his stool and stepping back from the shard.

    ¡°Yeah, exactly.¡±

    ¡°Well, I can help you¡ªthe spirit, it¡¯s not hostile, is it?¡±

    ¡°No. Shouldn¡¯t be anyway.¡± Victor kept his grip on the shard, pleased by its gentle pink glow.

    ¡°How many others do you anticipate needing to amodate?¡±

    ¡°Well, at least eighteen.¡± Victor didn¡¯t know why he said that, why he was trying to prepare for all the other shards when he knew damn well it would be a long time¡ªmaybe many years¡ªbefore he¡¯d need to worry about them, but something about it felt right.

    Fough¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he held his chin between his thumb and forefinger, the scales glittering ever so slightly in the glow of themps. ¡°What about a bracer? I could make a bracer and enchant it to hold the shard and others like it; When you touch the shard to the socket, it will decrease in size and sink into it.¡±

    ¡°Would I be able to remove it, and would the shard return to its normal size and shape?¡±

    ¡°Naturally.¡± Fough moved off to rummage in one of his trunks as if he¡¯d finished with Victor.

    ¡°Can you do it now? I mean, I can pay extra for the short timing, but I gotta leave town at dawn . . .¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯m intrigued. I have a bracer I can modify if I can just find it.¡± Fough continued to rummage in the trunk, nothing but a ck void visible to Victor within its four sides.

    A thought urred to Victor as he looked around himself. He was in one of the only open areas in the room, standing on arge rug before Fough¡¯s primary workbench. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want to rm you, but I¡¯m supposed to be practicing a spell; I¡¯m going to increase in size a bit while you¡¯re working . . .¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 22: Into the Wastes

    Book 4: Chapter 22: Into the Wastes

    Victor stood outside the city gates, watching the other members of the huntingpany gather beneath the dawn-lit sky; stars were still visible, but a hint of orange and yellow painted the eastern horizon. Va shifted beside him, also watching the procession of animals, wagons, and people. So far, Victor had counted nearly fifty people and half that many beasts and vehicles.

    He flexed his left fist, looking down at the thick band of dark metal covering his forearm''s lower half. Fough¡¯s bracer had been designed for a Degh and made from a very dense, ¡°Energy-rich¡± metal¡ªsome kind of ore that Victor had already forgotten the name of. Still, it was sturdy, and Fough had fitted the inner surface with gold-colored rings¡ªanother metal Victor couldn¡¯t name¡ªin three columns of six; the center topmost was upied by a pink gem that winked at him in the dim light.

    Victor still didn¡¯t understand the magic that took the long, jagged Ancestor Shard and condensed it into a gemstone. He¡¯d been worried the crystal shard had been altered somehow when he¡¯d first touched it to the ring. The magic had snatched it from his fingers and snapped it into the mounting, making it much smaller and rounder than when he¡¯d been holding it. Fough had reassured him, though, touching the gem and twisting it, pulling it away, suddenly long and jagged once again.

    ¡°Pretty cool,¡± he muttered, rubbing a thumb over the pink gem. He¡¯d already confirmed that he could stillmune with the giant¡¯s spirit even when the shard was mounted on the bracer.

    ¡°Your new bracer?¡± Va asked, shifting to look up at him.

    ¡°Yeah¡ªthe way the magic changes the size and shape of the shard.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm. Just remember, you have a lot to do before you traipse off around this world looking for more shards. We need to get back to Fanwath . . .¡±

    ¡°I know, I know.¡± Victor sighed heavily and then changed the subject, ¡°I feel like we should have bought some mounts. Most of the hunters are mounted.¡± He gestured to a nearby Degh riding on the back of a lumbering lizard-like creature with ck and orange scales.

    ¡°Many aren¡¯t, though. Besides, I need to practice my movement spells, and you, well, you¡¯re supposed to be Berserk; do you think a mount would tolerate that?¡±

    Victor opened his mouth to reply but realized he didn¡¯t have any argument. He shrugged and said, ¡°Yeah, I guess you have a point. Damn!¡± he sighed, blowing out a deep breath, ¡°It¡¯s going to be a pain in the ass running around all these people while I¡¯m Berserk.¡±

    Va chuckled, eyes still on the other hunters gathering into a loose line. Victor followed her gaze and saw Cayle, the woman who¡¯d recruited them, yelling at some Vesh in a wagon, hollering about how every person and vehicle would need to keep up; she wasn¡¯t slowing down for anyone. Va cleared her throat and said, ¡°Have you tried Spirit Walking here? I wonder if you can reach your friends among the hunters . . .¡±

    ¡°Oh, I tried. The Spirit ne was strange here. I only stood around for a few minutes, looking at the weird way the desert was reflected there. I couldn¡¯t feel any hint of Old Mother or Tha, but there were plenty of other presences¡ªheavy, old powers, and I felt like they¡¯d noticed me, too. I ended the spell before I found out who they were.¡±

    ¡°It sounds frightening. It¡¯s strange to think about; I can¡¯t wrap my head around it, really¡ªthe idea of multiple ¡®nes¡¯ of reality. If you were on the Spirit ne here and on Fanwath, why couldn¡¯t you travel to where your friends were?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe I can, or maybe someone with the right skills and power can. Maybe the Spirit ne is just as big as this one, and it would be like walking millions of lightyears or whatever separates this world from Fanwath.¡±

    They stood in silence after that, Va deep in thought, and Victor watching the procession, trying to build up the strength of will to make himself cast Berserk again. He¡¯d switched his Sovereign Will bonus to vitality and agility, figuring it would make travel easier. Even with his vitality boosted, though, he felt a little tired; he hadn¡¯t slept at all the night before. Dawn had nearlye by when Fough finished with his bracer, and he hadn¡¯t wanted to try to sleep for the scant hour or two before the sun appeared.

    ¡°Victor and Va!¡± Cayle called, striding toward them with her magical tablet clutched in one hand. ¡°Happy to see you showed up.¡±

    ¡°d to be here,¡± Victor said, grinning and reaching out a hand to grasp her wrist.

    ¡°Should we travel with any particr part of the procession?¡± Va asked as Cayle sped his wrist.

    ¡°Suit yourselves. It¡¯s probably safest with the wagons, but you¡¯ll see more action if you¡¯re near the vanguard. No mounts? Well, we move at a decent pace, but nothing a strong Energy user should struggle to match.¡± She grinned and pointed toward the front of the gathered hunters and said, ¡°My mount is up there; see her? The sky ferraga?¡±

    ¡°Sky ferraga?¡± Victor squinted, trying to see where she pointed.

    ¡°The winged serpent off to the side, there; the one with the yellow and ck scales. She¡¯s not big enough to fly with me yet, but I¡¯ll be terrorizing the skies on her back in another fifty years!¡± Sheughed and stomped off to check in another group of hunters¡ªthree Yazzians in their in, earth-toned robes.

    ¡°That would be cool,¡± Victor said to Va as they watched her walk away. ¡°A flying mount, I mean.¡±

    ¡°It sounds amazing but dangerous. I supposed you¡¯d have to have an borate saddle. Speaking of which, I miss Uvu.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, your cat would love it around here.¡±

    ¡°No, he wouldn¡¯t. He¡¯d hate all these other predatory mounts. I¡¯d have to ride him a good distance from the train.¡±

    ¡°Hello, Victor. Va.¡± Victor jerked his head toward the voice and saw Tes standing between the two of them and the gate; she¡¯d approached noiselessly. He smiled when he saw her attire; high blue-stained leather boots that came to her knees, white stockings that rose higher, and then a simple, pale yellow dress that fell to about mid-thigh, cinched at the waist by a delicate-looking,ced blue ribbon. Her hair picked up the yellow and orange highlights in the morning sun, and the delicate blond curls framed her face like she was waiting for a professional modeling shoot.

    ¡°Uh,¡± Victor said, struggling to decide if he shouldment on her appearance or if it was one of those situations where his mouth was going to get him in trouble.

    ¡°You look like you¡¯re going for a pic, Tes!¡± Va said, chuckling and stepping forward to take Tes¡¯s delicate-looking hand in her own.

    ¡°Well, I have all I need in storage, and I see no reason to be ufortable while traveling. I don¡¯t n to fight any of the creatures we encounter anyway. I¡¯ve no need for prize tokens.¡± She smiled, scrunching her hazel eyes. For some reason, Victor had remembered them being blue, but he couldn¡¯t be sure if his memory was ying tricks on him or if they¡¯d changed color one of the times he¡¯d encountered her.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re reallying along to help Va train? That¡¯s pretty cool of you, Tes.¡±

    ¡°Not just Va. I¡¯ve a thing or two to show you, my burly friend. Am I mistaken, or have you grown in stature since Blue¡¯s rather memorable party?¡± She stepped toward him, and suddenly she was looking him almost in the eye, towering over Va. The growth had been instant and so thoroughly unexpected that Victor had to shake his head and blink his eyes to force some order back into his perception.

    ¡°Gah!¡± Va said, also shocked by the shift in Tes¡¯s size. ¡°What sort of spell is that? Did you really grow, or is that an illusion?¡±

    ¡°Bit of both, dear,¡± Tes said, grinning at Victor. ¡°Well? I believe I heard yourpanion mention that you¡¯re supposed to be working on your Berserk ability. Let¡¯s see!¡±

    ¡°You heard that . . .¡± Va started to ask, but Victor knew better than to try to understand the woman¡ªdragon. He had a feeling she could do a great deal more than she let on; if she wanted to listen to their conversation from a distance, that seemed like a tiny fraction of her capabilities. As Va spoke, he sighed and released the spell he¡¯d been building up, already intent on following Khul Bach¡¯s instructions.

    As the rage flooded his pathways and his vision tinted red, his perspective shifted, and he was looking down at Tes again, Va more like a child than a grown woman beside her. He¡¯d already begun to find it easier to hold most of his rage from his mind, letting it simmer and fume in his pathways, thumping with red-hot waves through his body with each of his heartbeats. He grunted and tried to smile at Tes, but a smile was a bit more to ask for than he could manage while Berserk¡ªit came out like a savage, bloodthirsty grin.

    ¡°Goodness,¡± Tes said, ncing at Va. ¡°Even better up close! Can you feel the heat of his aura? That¡¯s the smoldering potential of an Elder being¡ªa true titan. Victor, you¡¯ve done well to connect so deeply to your ancestor. Your bloodline is strong! I can feel it thrumming, and my heart sings with it; I feel a kinship; our ancestors used to hunt under the same moon.¡±

    ¡°Where are you from, Tes?¡± Va asked, a puzzled look on her face.

    Before Tes could reply, though, Victor rumbled, ¡°I need to move. I feel the urge to fight.¡± It was true. His blood boiled and seethed, his muscles twitched, and his eyes kept darting around, looking for the reason he was there; where was his enemy? Surely there must be one nearby. Why were all these weaklings loitering around? He knew the ones near him; they were friends, but those others . . . no, they weren¡¯t enemies. He had work to do; he needed to travel, needed to find a monster to y.

    ¡°Come!¡± Tes said, and suddenly she wasrger yet again, standing just a bit shorter than Victor¡¯s towering, hulking form. ¡°I know the route the hunt will take; let us get a head start, and perhaps you can tussle with a beast or two!¡± Sheughed and started jogging, her long legs carrying her away from the gates, dust stirring beneath her feet, and her short, frilly yellow dress trailing behind her.

    Victor didn¡¯t have to think twice; he saw the prettydy in yellow running away, knew she wanted him to chase, and knew no reason why he shouldn¡¯t. He jerked Lifedrinker from his belt, holding her in one hand, and, ignoring the procession of weaklings and a few truly overbearing auras, he charged after her. His furious rage, held tightly in check by his will, found a new outlet; rather than killing, he was hunting, and he lifted his head and roared with delight, savoring the thrill of the chase.

    If he¡¯d had eyes for anything other than his quarry, always so close but just a bit too far away to leap upon, Victor would have seen a much smaller figure trailing close behind him. Va ran, blue sword in hand, her legs a blur of dusty wind and asional bright flickers of lightning. Further back, a woman mounted atop a long, colorful serpent rode up and down the line of hunters, excoriating them, shouting that the hunt was afoot and they¡¯d be left out.

    They ate up the miles, long, powerful legs that never tired carrying them up and down dusty hillsides and past the scattered scrubs and cacti; they didn¡¯t follow a road or trail, but Victor didn¡¯t have the presence of mind to wonder if Tes truly knew the way; he had one thing in mind¡ªcatch the woman in yellow. Every time he started to get close, she¡¯d pull away, and the constant frustration kept his fury bright in his eyes.

    Victor remembered Khul Bach¡¯s words, though: he was supposed to practice casting other spells while Berserk, so he tried. He reached into his Core and saw that his pathways were thick with rage and that his Core was slowly growing dimmer, but he ignored that. He clumsily yanked at a strand of inspiration and tried to cast Inspiring Presence. Could he do it? Could he be Beserk and also an inspirational force on the field of battle? He¡¯d often wondered.

    He felt the inspiration-attuned Energy fight for space in his pathways, felt it gather into the pattern for his spell, and then, with a rush of rity, it flooded outward, and his rage receded. Victor stumbled as he rapidly decreased in size, and the urgency of the chase left him. Still, he was a big, fast man, and now he was inspired, and heughed, pushing his legs to pump harder as he ran after the slender giantess in the yellow dress, her blue ribbon of a belt trailing behind her.

    Tes stopped, though, and when he caught up to her,ughing, Va close on his heels, she smiled and said. ¡°You¡¯re not quite ready for that, Victor. Your rage dominates your pathways, and the inspiration fights with it for space; they¡¯re both potent spells. You¡¯ll need to level your Core and expand your pathways to manage both at once.¡±

    She paused and nced at Va with a smile, then back toward a narrow gully between some scrub-covered hills, ¡°I sense a pack of sand spiders ahead; you should Berserk again¡ªyou¡¯re trying to improve that spell, right?¡±

    ¡°Right . . .¡±

    ¡°Hurry then, before Va kills them all,¡± she said, running toward the gully. Va howled and charged after her.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Victor said, jogging after them and looking to his Core¡ªhis rage was nearly half depleted, but he figured he could manage another Berserk. ¡°How long can I hold it, though,¡± he grunted, canceling his Inspiring Presence and quickly casting Berserk. It failed to take hold, and he realized it was still on cooldown. ¡°No fucking fair!¡± he wailed into the sky, watching Va and Tes shrinking with distance as they ran into the hills.

    He started running, really running, not jogging. Part of him wanted to cast The Inevitable Huntsman, but he knew better¡ªhe didn¡¯t know exactly how to choose his quarry when that spell took shape, and he didn¡¯t want to lose control of himself. ¡°Come on,¡± he grunted, pushing himself as hard as he could, straining his leg muscles, pumping his lungs like a bellows as he tore over the rocky, barren soil, leaping shrubs and cacti, never wavering from his bee-line toward the ssh of yellow in the distance.

    When he finally entered the gully, the low scrub-covered hills rising around him, he looked at his Core again, saw his rage nearly recovered, and tried to cast his Berserk. As the rage flooded into him, as his perspective changed with his renewed height, and as his muscles surged with power, he roared in furious excitement, leaping a dozen yards up the side of a hill.

    He tore through the dirt and smashed a brittle tree apart, the only obstacle in his path that he couldn¡¯t leap. He saw the yellow-d woman stop, standing before a brush-covered depression, and then the more diminutive whirlwind of a woman¡ªVa, he reminded his dulled, angry mind¡ªkept running. He was half a mile away when the sand and shrubs burst upward into the air, and dozens of pony-sized, furry, brown and orange arachnids exploded out of the ground, charging toward his friend.

    Victor renewed his frenzied pace, roaring out a challenge as he leaped and ran over the desertndscape. He allowed his Berserking Energy to re through him, pulling back his will. As his body heated up with the vtile power of his rage-attuned Energy, he seemed to find a new gear, exploding over the ground, leaving smashed and ruined obstacles in his dust-clouded wake.

    His thoughts had grown blissfully simple; all the background noise that lived in the corners of his mind faded away, and only one single objective filled the totality of his consciousness¡ªkill the creatures that threatened his friend. With the joy of simplicity of purpose, Victor leaped into battle, Lifedrinker singing like a whistling executioner as he whipped her left and right, wading through the frantic, clicking, hissing, thrashing arachnids.

    Lifedrinker severed limbs, smashed carapaces, tore through fangs, and cleaved apart clusters of ck, bulbous eyes. Gore flew in her wake, and Victor¡¯s other hand didn¡¯t idly rest while she worked. He grabbed legs, yanking spiders left and right, smashing them together and flinging them apart. All the while, he suffered countless bites and stabs from the creature¡¯s w-hooked legs.

    He was in full, glorious rage, though, and Victor¡¯s body was far sturdier than thest time enemies had swarmed him. The bites left shallow punctures in his flesh that mended almost instantly, and the ws scraped along his thick, sturdy skin, leaving a wake of pink, healed flesh; he hardly lost a drop of blood before the shallow injuries on his arms, neck, and legs closed up.

    When he finally cleared a path to Va, he found her surrounded by charged, metallic dust, jolts of stabbing electricity shing out to strike the spiders that leaped at her, stunning and scorching them. Her blue sword was like a long specter¡¯s finger, leaving dead and broken spiders with each liquid flick of its metallic touch.

    Victor was so lost in his rage that he couldn¡¯t register Va¡¯s effortless grace, couldn¡¯t see that she was holding her own just fine. He simply saw her and knew she was a friend in need, so he continued to rampage, leaping upon a particrlyrge spider and burying Lifedrinker into its fuzzy, many-eyed head. She sank in, and he heard her valkyrie warcry andughed with gore-soaked madness. He let Lifedrinker go and leaped away into the legs and snapping fangs of another group of spiders.

    Victor grabbed spiders¡¯ limbs and punched spiders¡¯ abdomens; he grabbed fangs and pulled, breaking the chelicera and pulling them free, trailing gray flesh and blue blood. Victor sank into the mad, gore-filled horror of battle, and when the rage finally stopped flowing from his depleted Core, he fell back into himself, a smaller, less titanic warrior. Then, he channeled his inspiration-attuned Energy and began to battle with wits and adroitness rather than brute, mad force.

    He¡¯de out of his rage empty-handed, and knowing finding Lifedrinker amid the carnage would take too long, he pulled out his old baton. At first, it bounced from his foes, harming them not at all, but he cast Channel Spirit, flooding it with fear-attuned Energy, and it began to have an effect, warping and smashing spider flesh with weird purple-ck clouds born from each concussive strike.

    He ducked, rolled, slid, and leaped, avoiding the remaining spiders¡¯ bites and ws. Several times he found himself face to face with a rearing, hissing spider, and he lunged forward, feinting low and then driving up with his heavy, dense juggernaut helm into the fangs and hard carapaces, cracking them like eggs.

    When he finally stood, some fifty yards away from Va, both of them surrounded with mounds of gory, twitching, dead spiders, it felt like he¡¯d been fighting for hours. Tes, still as tall as a Degh, stood to the side, spotless and fresh in her yellow dress, and pped, ¡°Well fought! Brace yourselves!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Victor looked around; was there another threat? But then he saw it¡ªthick globes of purple Energy were forming around the site of their battle, coalescing out of the air around the dead arachnids.

    In moments they began to flow together, creating two streams. One surged toward Va, and the other, thicker stream exploded toward Victor, poleaxing him with its flow, lifting him high in the air. He imagined something simr was happening to Va, but he couldn¡¯t spare her a nce; his vision was filled with explosions of light, and his mind was drowned in the powerful euphoric effect.

    When he finally came back to himself, Victor saw a System message waiting for him:

    ***Congrattions! You have achieved level 38 Spirit Carver, gained 20 will, 20 vitality, and have 16 attribute points to allocate.***

    ¡°Two levels?¡± he said,ughing.

    ¡°Congrattions, Victor and Va!¡± Tes called, stepping closer, and Victor realized she¡¯d matched his height again.

    ¡°I leveled!¡± Va called. ¡°And my Steel Tempest spell is already improved! You were right, Tes.¡± She started to jog through the mess toward Tes and Victor.

    ¡°I can feel the hunt master and her troupe approaching. She¡¯ll take stock of the in monsters and award you your prizes. Don¡¯t frown, Victor! You¡¯re working as part of a monster-huntingpany¡ªall kills must be shared. If I sense more packs like this, I¡¯ll try to lead you away so you can get the majority of the kills, but you¡¯ll want the others around if we meet something much stronger.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor managed to say, his mind still reeling from the Energy rush and the battle before it.

    ¡°Thank you, Tes!¡± Va said, though. ¡°Before I learned the spell you showed me, there¡¯s no way I would have survived that; I think I killed nearly ten of the monsters, and I¡¯m hardly scratched!¡±

    ¡°Of course! I said I¡¯d help, didn¡¯t I?¡± Tesughed, and then a horn sounded, and she nced over her shoulder, then back at Victor. ¡°They¡¯re almost here. Better pick up your axe¡ªshe¡¯s going to draw some greedy stares now that she¡¯s evolved.¡±

    Victor¡¯s eyes bugged out, and he quickly started scanning the battlefield. ¡°She¡¯s . . . evolved?¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 23: Reaping the Rewards

    Book 4: Chapter 23: Reaping the Rewards

    Victor followed Tes¡¯s gaze to the giant arachnid corpse near the center of the gully and started kicking his way through the corpses toward it. Sure enough, as he walked around the lifeless body, its legs hanging in the air, curled inward, he saw a long, dark haft sticking out of the creature¡¯s head. He recognized it as Lifedrinker¡¯s living wood handle. Still, it was different¡ªlonger, broader, and the tiny twinkling motes of light that usuallyy deep within the grain, only visible in the right light, were decidedly more pronounced.

    ¡°Que bonita!¡± he whispered through teeth clenched in nervous anticipation. He shoved the bloody, broken legs aside and reached out to grasp her haft, and a jolt of Energy hit him when his fingers wrapped around the wood. It felt familiar and different at the same time, and his grin widened as the axe seemed to sink into his grip eagerly, humming and vibrating ever-so-slightly.

    ¡°I can hear them growing close;e with me to stand near Victor, Va. I¡¯ll need to calm Cayle¡¯s anger.¡± Victor heard Tes speaking, but he couldn¡¯t concentrate on her; he had eyes only for Lifedrinker as he pulled her thick, long handle sideways, cracking the spider¡¯s carapace and freeing her head. He lifted her clear of the fuzzy, monstrous arachnid and held her up in the bright sunlight.

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± he said, and he heard Va¡¯s intake of breath, echoing the sentiment. Lifedrinker¡¯s Heart Silver core had spread through the ck metal, nearly obscuring it to the point where only thin streaks of ck lingered in the brilliant, muchrger, silvery axe head. Her de had grown significantly, and the heavy, thick spike at the back looked ready to punch through four inches of solid steel without a problem, so wickedly did it glint in the light.

    If he gripped her past the halfway point on her handle, he could still swing the axe one-handed, but she was definitely bigger and meant to be used with both hands now¡ªat least while he wasn¡¯t the size of a Quinametzin. ¡°I¡¯m going to need a better way to carry her . . .¡± he started to say, but then a crystal-clear, feminine voice, high, sharp, and fierce, entered his mind.

    Victor, my love, do I please you?

    ¡°Fuck yes, you do, Lifedrinker!¡±

    All I ever wanted, all I ever want, is to help you crush your foes. Didn¡¯t we have such fun with these many-legged weaklings? Victor, when will you make yourselfrge again? When can wey waste to more of your enemies?

    ¡°Hah!¡± Victor couldn¡¯t help theugh and the huge smile that had spread on his face. ¡°Soon, beautiful, soon. We¡¯re on a hunt now; there should be more for us to fight.¡±

    ¡°She speaks to you?¡± Tes asked, walking closer, Va close beside her.

    ¡°Yes, more than ever. She¡¯s hungry for more battle.¡±

    Talk to your flesh-mates. I¡¯ll be close when you need me.

    ¡°Thank you, Lifedrinker,¡± Victor said, resting her haft on his shoulder, the massive, silvery axe gleaming in the sunlight next to his head. He turned to speak to Tes and Va, but then amotion between the hills caught his attention, and he turned to see several enormous beasts¡ªmounts¡ªcarrying their riders into the gully and the scene of spider carnage.

    In the lead was Cayle on her thirty-foot, ck and yellow serpent mount. This close to the creature, Victor could see its wings, folded back and rather anemic; he figured they must grow as the creature aged. Cayle didn¡¯t look happy as she pulled her snake to a stop and leaped down, crunching her boot through the exoskeleton of a dead spider¡¯s leg.

    Several others also dismounted, but only one came forward with Cayle¡ªa hulking, ck-furred Vesh with four arms. He held a coppery spear that had to be twelve feet long from its tasseled haft to its needle-sharp tip, and his thick-nosed, heavy-browed face was twisted with rage. Before Calye could speak, he growled, ¡°I should crack your legs, runt!¡± With his words, a wave of anger and strength poured out, and Victor had to take a step back¡ªthis was no low-level Colossian.

    ¡°Quiet, Forx,¡± Cayle said, holding up a hand, but she didn¡¯t look happy either. She¡¯d kept her wings folded behind her, but her brow was furrowed under her thick, white horn, and her chocte eyes held storm clouds within their murky depths. ¡°When you sign on with mypany, you don¡¯t race off to kill hordes on your own. I¡¯d nned to pass this way purposefully¡ªwe often find trophies in this gully.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my fault, Cayle,¡± Tes said, stepping in front of Victor and Va. ¡°I led them off, thought this would be a good initiation for them. Of course, they¡¯ll share the prizes, but you have to admit, they need the experience.¡±

    ¡°So do plenty others!¡± Forx roared, veins standing out on his ruddy forehead and saliva feathering out with his breath.

    ¡°Calm yourself,¡± Tes said, and suddenly Forx nched and stepped back. Victor had a good idea why; Tes probably gave him a taste of her aura.

    Cayle seemed not to have noticed anything, though, and said, ¡°Tes, I appreciate you¡¯re used to doing things your way around the city; I know you have the war captains¡¯ ears, that they and the warlord respect you. I won¡¯t hold a grudge, but I¡¯d appreciate it if you let me run my hunt without such interference¡ªit makes me look bad and makes it hard to keep everyone in line. Are we agreed?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Cayle. I¡¯ll speak to you before I do anything so impulsive again.¡± Tes held out a hand, and Cayle took it; the two women stared at each other for a moment, and then Cayle nodded.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve got some harvesting to do!¡± She turned and started hollering to the others who¡¯d arrived at the gully but had hung back to watch how things yed out. ¡°Right! No venom nds from sand spiders, but I want hearts, fangs, ws, spinnerets, silk nds, and any piece of carapace bigger than a square foot!¡±

    Some people started moving toward the battle scene, but others hung back, and Cayle shouted, ¡°I¡¯m a fair hunt master, people! If you help harvest, you will be rewarded. If youze about, your share will be docked!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll want the book lungs and ovaries from the females, too, Cayle,¡± Tes said quietly, a hand before her lips.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Thank you,¡± Cayle nodded and then shouted the orders.

    ¡°Come, Victor, Va,¡± Tes said. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you how to harvest a sand spider.¡±

    It took the hunting party the better part of two hours tob through the bloody corpses, carving off carapaces, slicing out organs, and piling them all onrge tarps that Cayle watched over, making some sort of tally on her magical clipboard. Tes kept her promise, showing Va and Victor how to slice away the salvageablerge pieces of carapace and how to make sense of the mess within the spiders¡¯ abdomens. Victor enjoyed the removal of the fangs the most, as it didn¡¯t require as much carving and wasn¡¯t nearly as odiferous a pursuit.

    In the end, when Cayle awarded the treasures, he and Va each received a sizeable pile of parts¡ªseveralrge hunks of carapace, a dozen fangs each, and six of each organ, including the hearts. Victor stared at his blue-spattered prizes for a long while, and then he started putting them into his ring, saving out the longest pair of fangs and the biggest heart.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Va asked, watching how Victor stared at the long, weirdly tubr spider heart.

    ¡°Are you going to eat it?¡± Tes asked, grinning over Va¡¯s head.

    ¡°Not this one. I might eat some of the others, but I¡¯ll wait ¡®til I¡¯m Berserk. No, this one is for my ancestors, along with these fangs.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re valuable, Victor!¡± Va said. ¡°I heard some of the others talking¡ªwe already have enough monster parts to trade for a prize token if we¡¯re crafty with our dealing.

    ¡°I need to start earning my ancestors¡¯ favor, Va. I know it¡¯s hard to understand, but it¡¯ll be worth it.¡±

    ¡°I believe him,¡± Tes said. After watching Victor stare at the trophies for another minute, she prompted, ¡°Well? The hunting party is getting ready to move again soon . . .¡±

    ¡°What Energy attunement should I use? Does it matter?¡±

    ¡°Oh? You haven¡¯t done this before?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the right answer, but if I were you, I¡¯d cast the spell with my inspiration-attuned Energy; it seems fitting for a man seeking his ancestors¡¯ help and guidance.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I was thinking the same¡ªI was afraid they might take offense at rage or fear-tainted offerings.¡± Victor nodded and concentrated on the bloody heart and the two fangs he¡¯d rested atop it, and then he cast Honor the Spirits for the first time. He mped down on his rage and fear Energy pools and allowed his inspiration to feed the spell.

    As the patternpleted and the Energy rushed out of him, brilliant white mes engulfed the spider trophies, but not a bit of smoke rose from them; they red like a chemical reaction and then faded away, nothing left of the fangs or heart, not even ash or charred soil where they¡¯d been resting.

    ¡°An expensive offering,¡± Tes said, nodding. ¡°I hope your ancestors appreciate it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor shrugged, then looked at the column of hunters; their mounts, wagons, and retainers starting to wend their way out of the gully through a different gap in the hills. ¡°So, we gotta stay with the rest of ¡®em from now on?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Tes chuckled. ¡°I already spoke to Cayle about another potential target on the way¡ªI¡¯ve caught the scent of a juvenile rock wyrm a league or so to the north; she doesn¡¯t want to pursue it but has given us permission to have a look.¡±

    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t she . . .¡± Va started, but Tes had anticipated the question.

    ¡°It could take hours to track it down, and she doesn¡¯t want to move the whole hunt that far off course for a single juvenile¡ªshe¡¯s hoping to take on an adult blood wyrm at Vagrant¡¯s Oasis, quite a different sort of challenge.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re cool with us hunting wyrms?¡± Victor asked, then mped his mouth shut; he¡¯d forgotten Va didn¡¯t know Tes¡¯s true nature.

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be ¡®cool¡¯ with it?¡± Tesughed and started hiking up the side of a hill to the north, moving directly perpendicr to the rest of the hunting party.

    ¡°Come on,¡± Va said, hurrying after her. Victor shrugged and started jogging to catch up. When he was halfway up the hill, well away from the other mounts and people in the hunting party, he cast Berserk and fought with himself for a while until he¡¯d gotten under control. By then, Tes was a distant yellow figure near the top of the hill, and he grinned as heid eyes on his quarry.

    With a barbaric roar, he began to leap in long bounds up the slope, quickly catching Va. She was startled by his outburst but cast her movement spell, keeping pace with him. In his haze of diminished cognition and feeling the urge to fight, Victor was moderately pleased to find he didn¡¯t have to struggle with any hostility aimed at Va; it seemed his Berserk Quinametzin self had grown used to her presence and didn¡¯t consider her a threat.

    He chased the woman in yellow for a long while, up and down hills, and, as before, she managed to keep herself just out of his reach no matter how he thought to surprise her with a well-timed leap down a steep slope or a sudden sprint as he drew near. The frustration made it easy to maintain his rage. However, when she finally stopped and he drew near, Victor asserted his will and calmed himself, reminding his furious alter-ego that she was his ally and helping him train.

    ¡°Hold your rage, Victor; keep it simmering. Look to your Core. Have you much left to draw upon?¡± Tes asked as he and Va came up beside her, Victor looming to her right, and Va crouched low, a small figure to her left.

    Victor did as she asked, finding it harder than usual to turn his gaze inward, well aware that it was his fury that made it difficult¡ªhe wanted to scan the horizon for a foe, wanted tosh out and strike something. Still, he forced himself, and there, quickly pulsating with hot fervor next to his other pools of Energy, stood his rage, more than half depleted. ¡°Half,¡± he grumbled.

    ¡°Perhaps a snack is in order. Do you not have more hearts within your storage?¡±

    ¡°Those are valuable . . .¡± Va started to say but gave up, shaking her head as Victor produced one of the long, strangely shaped spider hearts.

    His mouth began to salivate the moment he saw it, the moment he smelled it. He didn¡¯t wait for an invitation or for second thoughts; he tore into the thick, rubbery meat with his powerful incisors, ripping off a gory hunk, blue blood spattering down his chin. Va looked away, but Tes watched him with eager eyes.

    Victor swallowed his first bite and chomped into the heart for a second as he felt the lump of meat sink into his gut¡ªit was satisfying on a level he could hardly describe, but rather than be calmed by the pleasure, his rage surged, and his fury and bloodlust rose to new peaks. He hungrily gobbled the heart, one huge, ripping bite after another. All the while, he felt something urring within him¡ªthe meat was flooding his channels with Energy, so much that it surged into his Core, pushing it past full until, with a satisfying pulse, it expanded.

    ***Congrattions! You have improved your Core to rank: Improved 2***

    Victor wiped the message away, too eager to fight to bother reading it. ¡°Full,¡± he grunted, noting how Tes anxiously watched him.

    ¡°Brilliant,¡± sheughed, then pointed down the hillside to a long expanse of rocky, sandynd. ¡°See how the ground tremors ever-so-slightly?¡±

    ¡°Ugh,¡± Victor grunted, nodding.

    ¡°Va, now¡¯s your chance to try the spell Elementalist Troft showed you. Target that spot of ground with your Lightning Strike.¡±

    ¡°From here?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡ªwe have the height, and you can clearly see your target. I think it will work.¡± She didn¡¯t wait for Va to acknowledge her instructions; she turned to Victor and, reaching a hand between his shoulder des, gave him a shove, shouting, ¡°Titan! Charge that spot! There¡¯s a beast there that dares to challenge you!¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t need further urging¡ªhis tall, beautiful friend said a beast wanted to fight. How could he not charge into battle? As he ran down the hill, he released his hold on his rage, letting it flow heavy and rich into his pathways¡ªall of them. His vision turned blood red, and Victor screamed a horrible challenge, holding Lifedrinker¡¯s gleaming de high over his head as he bounded down the rocky slope.

    Just as he reached the base of the hill, a yellow-white fork of lightning shed out of the blue sky, cracking into the sandy ground, nearly blinding him with its brilliance. When it faded, he had a dark spot in his vision¡ªthe after-image of the bolt. He didn¡¯t slow, though; instead, he roared into the sky, hectoring the source of the lightning, his enraged mind already having forgotten that Va was the caster. It didn¡¯t matter, though; something was there to answer his challenge.

    A horn the size of Victor¡¯s thick, muscr arm burst out of the sand, followed by a stone-ted head from which two baleful red eyes red. The monster saw Victor leaping over the sand, axe high, and continued to surge forth, a six-foot section of necking clear of the ground before two brown and gray scaled forelimbs pulled free of the rocky soil, stomping down and wing as it scrabbled to deliver itself from the grasping dirt.

    The wyrm was half emerged, some twenty feet of rock-scaled monstrosity, when Victor made the final leap that brought him sailing toward its horn-ted head. The monster roared at him, lifting its spike-bearded chin and opening its maw, revealing dozens of foot-long teeth, well-designed for the ripping of flesh and bone.

    However, Victor was no docile te of meat, ready to be consumed. He was a leaping, screaming titan. His muscles bunched like enormous steel cables, and Lifedrinker screamed along with him, tearing through the air like a fallinget. Though he wasn¡¯t as massive as the young wyrm, Victor probably weighed close to a thousand pounds with the added mass of his Kethian Juggernaught helm, and his strength was prodigious. When he crashed into the wyrm¡¯s head, he gripped its snout horn with his left hand and delivered Lifedrinker¡¯s edge into the side of its skull just behind its left eye with the other.

    Lifedrinker screamed in excitement and frenzied battle lust, and the sound her edge made as it smashed and cut through scales, flesh, and bone was like a small automobile colliding with a telephone pole. The wyrm, still half in the ground, didn¡¯t stand a chance; that blow alone nearly killed it, and Lifedrinker was so deeply set in the side of its skull that, when Victor released her handle, the beast had no hope of dislodging her¡ªLifedrinker pulled herself further in, and thick rivulets of Energy began to stream into the axe.

    Victor lifted his hands and blood-spattered face to the sun and screamed his triumph, watching the wyrm thrash and flop in its death throes. Standing there, arms upraised, face hot with the brilliance of the sr light, he felt a joy in his soul that he¡¯d rarely felt before¡ªthis was what he was made for. He was a fighter, a diator, a titan, and a killer of beasts, monsters, and men. Nothing felt so good as fulfilling his purpose. Once more, as the rage began to fade and his enemy¡¯s thrashing ceased, he lifted his head to the sky and screamed his titanic bloodlust.

    ¡°Well done, Victor,¡± Tes said, walking up behind him, Va trailing a bit further behind, her wide eyes tracing the length of the mighty wyrm. ¡°Let your rage cool now, Titan. It¡¯s time to rest and reap your rewards.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 24: Night Camp

    Book 4: Chapter 24: Night Camp

    Victor strode forward to retrieve Lifedrinker from the dead wyrm, but before he could grab hold of her haft, he saw great motes of purple-gold Energy forming up around the gigantic corpse. He paused and stood back, bracing himself; it looked like a lot of Energy. Sure enough, the motes coalesced into a wide, shimmering pool, and then most of it surged toward him while a thin stream streaked toward Va. Once again, Victor was lifted into the air, held helpless by the massive influx of Energy and the euphoric well-being that came with it.

    It was such a surge that Victor felt he might gain another level, but it didn¡¯t happen; when he fell back to the ground, he had no System messages waiting for him. ¡°I must be close, though,¡± he said, voice thick with emotion and endorphins. ¡°God, that¡¯s some feeling!¡±

    ¡°I can only imagine; I¡¯ve never pulled a stream so robust,¡± Va said, though she looked quite pleased.

    ¡°Just wait,¡± Tes said to Va, resting her hand on her shoulder. ¡°When you¡¯ve improved that lightning strike and built up your well of Energy, you¡¯ll be able to smiterge groups of enemies; throw a few dozen of those out into a battlefield, and when all¡¯s said and done, you¡¯ll collect quite the reward.

    ¡°A few dozen? I was nearly exhausted from just the one!¡±

    ¡°Naturally, we have a lot of work to do, but you¡¯re on the right road now. Victor, get your axe, and then I¡¯ll show you how to harvest a rock wyrm!¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said, but before he grabbed Lifedrinker, he pulled up his status sheet and allocated his free points into his will attribute¡ªhe should have done it after fighting the arachnids, but at least he¡¯d remembered now. ¡°Three-seventy-seven will,¡± he said, grinning at Tes and Va.

    ¡°Oh, Ancestors!¡± Va hissed, stepping forward to give him a punch in the shoulder.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Victorughed, then reached up to grab Lifedrinker¡¯s haft and pull her free, with a squelching crunch, from the wyrm¡¯s skull.

    ¡°Settle down, dears,¡± Tes said, chuckling. ¡°Shall I start listing off my attributes?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Victor and Va both said, eager to hear just how strong the woman was, but Tesughed and shook her head. She held out her right hand, and suddenly an ivory-hilted, bone-colored knife was resting in her palm; its eight-inch de was long, tapered to a needle-point, and curved ever so slightly. It was the knife¡¯s de that had Victor¡¯s eyes bugging out, though; it shimmered with red light, and wisps of smoke or steam drifted off it, curling away into the pale blue sky.

    ¡°I¡¯ll train you to clean this corpse with my Hell de, but you¡¯ll eventually have to get your own carving knife. Fair warning: this knife is going to spoil you.¡±

    ¡°Hell de?¡± Va softly asked, leaning close to look at the wicked edge.

    ¡°Oh yes. It¡¯s crafted from the fang of a greater pit fiend and charged with hell-attuned Energy. We¡¯ll make short work of our job with this beauty.¡± As if to illustrate, Tes stepped closer to the wyrm¡¯s head, and with two quick swipes of the knife, she removed one of its long, white teeth, leaving a smoking hole in the creature¡¯s gums.

    ¡°There¡¯s a ¡®hell¡¯ Energy?¡± Victor asked, still stuck on the implications.

    ¡°Yes, but don¡¯t get too worked up about it; there are many nes, as you should know, being able to Spirit Walk, and some of them are categorized as ¡®hells.¡¯ It¡¯s nothing to do with some of the other meanings and connotations the word might have for you.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor said, shrugging. ¡°So, how much of this bad boy is worth saving?¡±

    ¡°A lot of it!¡± Tesughed, then she said, ¡°Now, watch more closely. I¡¯ll cut out one more tooth, then you two can take over. We¡¯ll go bit by bit, but we should hurry because once we start to spill the offal from our prize,¡± she patted a hand against the horns jutting from the wyrm¡¯s chin, ¡°somerger predators might be drawn to the smell.¡±

    By the time they¡¯d finished carving out valuable parts of the wyrm¡¯s carcass, the sun was sinking toward the western horizon, and Victor and Va were soaked in wyrm blood up to their shoulders. They¡¯d learned to carve out horns, teeth, nds, organs, ws, and some te-like, rocky scales. Tes taught them how to tell which scales were worth saving and which weren¡¯t¡ªthe more mature tes had a coppery sheen if you rubbed them with oil, and she said they¡¯d be valuable to crafters.

    Victor and Va shared the spoils, though it didn¡¯t really matter¡ªthey¡¯d probably pool their resources when they got back to town anyway. Still, Va insisted Victor take the heart, and he nodded his agreement; he was curious what his Quinametzin alter-ego would think of it. Of the other parts, Tes said the wyrm¡¯s venom sacks¡ªVictor hadn¡¯t even realized it was venomous¡ªwere the most valuable.

    Va took one, and he did as well, but he cast Honor the Spirits on it, and Tes watched with gleaming, eager eyes while his spell consumed the valuable prize. Va¡¯s look was more one of horror, as though she watched a child pour priceless liquor into the sink. While he watched the brilliant mes consume the big, greenish-yellow organ, Victor said, as if by instinct, ¡°Take this offering, Ancestors! Grow stronger in your realm!¡±

    ¡°Do they linger there?¡± Va asked when it was over. ¡°Your ancestors, I mean? I always thought most ancestors move on to . . . other things. My elders taught me to honor my ancestors, but it¡¯s more an homage; we believe that most spirits move on and that only those that want to meddle tend to stick around.¡±

    ¡°I think Quinametzin are different. I don¡¯t know how, exactly, but when I had my bloodline vision, my ancestor believed that when he sent his offering into the spirit realm, it found its way to his ancestors and made them stronger. In turn, they¡¯d sometimes grant him some of their strength.¡±

    ¡°Quinametzin? The name for your titan bloodline?¡± Va asked, rifying.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Your ancestor, the one walking through your blood, was wise. The Spirit ne is a gateway to many realms. A powerful being could easily send messages or Energy through it from one realm or ne to another. I wonder where your ancestors live and fight!¡± Tes looked into the sky for a moment, eyes narrowed in contemtion, then said, ¡°Likely many different worlds and realms and nes¡ªyour spell and your spirit must have a way of finding them.¡±

    ¡°Pretty cool,¡± Victor said, nodding. He tried to imagine it¡ªdying and then finding his way, as a spirit, to a new ce, some kind of new existence, and he wondered what sorts of challenges he¡¯d face; surely the ideas of heaven and hell had toe from somewhere. He wondered if spirits went wherever they wanted or if something from their past might pull them in a particr direction. He wondered if they always forgot their old lives when they left the spirit ne or if some of them remembered something somehow.

    Victor was pleased to know that this existence, though it might end, wouldn¡¯t necessarily mean the end of him. As he contemted an afterlife, and they walked, their prizes safely stored in their dimensional containers, another thought urred to him, and he asked, ¡°Tes, you told me that many strong bloodlines existed in my home world, that lots of Elder races mingled with humans. Does that mean I might have more than one bloodline?¡±

    ¡°I would think so, given how many generations have passed since the Elder peoples walked your Earth. If you dream of waking more of them, though, I have some bad news. Your Quinametzin bloodline must have been the strongest, closest to the surface when you went digging around in your blood. As you¡¯ve pulled it further out of the past, into your pumping blood and cells, it surely has pushed any other bloodlines further down. I¡¯ve never seen a person wake more than one bloodline from an Elder heritage.¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± Victor nodded, slightly crestfallen; he¡¯d had some unvoiced dreams of gaining wings or something cool like that one day.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be glum, titan-blood. Few bloodlines canpare to that of a titan¡ªI don¡¯t mean giant, mind you. You know the difference, yes?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t . . .¡± Va said from Tes¡¯s other side.

    ¡°Ah,¡± Tes turned to smile at Va and said, ¡°It¡¯s a matter of Energy density and potential. A titan, while a giant, is not the same as a giant who is not a titan. Titans,¡± she paused as if considering her words, ¡°are known for destruction and dominance. They¡¯re clever and powerful and sometimes rise to such levels of power that other peoples view them as gods. Giants are different; they might resemble a titan, but their potential isn¡¯t on the same scale¡ªtheir Energy affinity and innate abilities are simply on different levels. It''s likeparing a newborn member of your race, Va, an Ardeni, with one who''s advanced their race into legendary status.¡±

    ¡°Are they rted, though? Khul Bach,¡± Victor touched his bracer, ¡°thinks I¡¯m somehow rted to him.¡±

    ¡°Rted, indeed, but the Degh are not simple giants; they¡¯re fallen titans. Surely he¡¯s exined that to you?¡±

    ¡°Their Ancestor Stone . . .¡±

    ¡°Exactly. They made a pact, a blood rite, and fueled it with spirit Energy. Their Ancestor Stone granted them great potency, but its destruction ruined them. I¡¯ve been studying the histories of this world a bit while I¡¯ve been in Coloss.¡±

    ¡°Khul wants me to help the Degh here. When I¡¯m stronger.¡±

    ¡°Much stronger, I¡¯d hope,¡± Tesughed. ¡°You have powerful abilities, a potentbination of affinities, and, obviously, your bloodline, but you¡¯re no match for Warlord Thoargh, and sadly, I cannot help you with him or those loyal to him; I¡¯ve made a pact.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no, I don¡¯t n to try to rebuild the Ancestor Stone anytime soon. Maybe someday, though.¡± Victor felt a little guilty saying ¡°maybe,¡± considering the agreement he¡¯d made with Khul Bach, but he knew he was just ying things down; he really did intend to help the giant and his people someday.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be dark soon,¡± Va said. ¡°Should we hurry?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯lle upon the hunter¡¯s train in a dozen miles; already, they move to make camp.¡±

    ¡°How do you know that stuff, Tes? Like, how did you know where to find the spiders and the wyrm?¡± Victor looked from Tes to Va, who shrugged.

    ¡°My senses are . . . robust.¡± Tesughed and reached over to tousle Victor¡¯s hair. ¡°Come, shall we hurry as Va suggests?¡± She started running, and Victor sighed, then looked at Va.

    ¡°She¡¯ll only tell us what she wants us to know. Have you figured that out?¡±

    ¡°Yes . . .¡± Va looked ready to say more, but Tes interrupted her.

    ¡°I can hear you two! Come!¡± Sheughed, pulling away from them, dust rising in her wake. Va cast her movement spell, a cloud of swirling, electrically charged wind surrounding her feet as she bolted after Tes¡¯s yellow, streaming skirts.

    ¡°Oh hell,¡± Victor sighed, shifting Lifedrinker where she rested against his shoulder and breaking into a jog. ¡°Guess I might as well keep practicing,¡± he grunted as he cast Berserk, and then, red fury clouding his vision, he dashed and leaped after the two women, a maniac¡¯s grin on his face.

    When they came within sight of the hunter¡¯s camp, Tes stopped and let Victor ¡°catch¡± her, encouraging him to let his rage fade away. When he¡¯d cooled down and they walked past the perimeter guards, Victor was tired and hoped there wouldn¡¯t be anything more to do before he got some sleep; he¡¯d gotten precisely none the night before. Unfortunately, the hunters¡¯ camp wasn¡¯t a ce to quickly find sleep.

    The strange beasts the people of Coloss used for mounts were staked around the tents, bedrolls, and campfires of the hunters, but they made quite a racket as the moons rose¡ªhowls, grunts, yawls, and hisses. The noises were exceptional not because of their variety but because of their volume; many of the mounts were sized for Degh, and their voices had a way of rolling through the night and echoing over the desertndscape that Victor found jarring. Va was no different, and when she voiced aint, a nearby hunter walked over.

    He was an old, grizzled fellow with two chipped bull horns and a prodigious underbite from which four long tusks sprouted. ¡°Don¡¯t ye worry ¡®bout it,ss. Them beasties will get quiet after a bit¡ªthey¡¯re just letting each other know who they are. You¡¯ll get used to ¡®em soon, anyhow. Why, I couldn¡¯t sleep without them lovely sounds¡ªmeans there ain¡¯t any adult wyrms or drakes attacking.¡±

    ¡°Well put, oldtimer,¡± Tes said, looking up from where she wasying out a bedroll.

    ¡°Oldtimer? Why, I ought . . . nah, I¡¯m jus¡¯ joking. I¡¯m old, all right.¡± Heughed and then moved back to his campfire.

    ¡°Funny fellow,¡± Tes said, and Victor noticed she¡¯d made herself an average human¡¯s size again while he hadn¡¯t been looking.

    ¡°Tes, I have a tent if you want to share,¡± Va said, pulling out her fancy camping equipment and beginning to set it up in the spot Tes hadmandeered for them.

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Victorughed. ¡°I never got an invite like that . . .¡±

    ¡°I imagine you¡¯re toorge and smelly,¡± Tesughed.

    ¡°I see how this trip is going to be,¡± Victor sighed, then dug around in his ring for his own bedroll and small, one-man tent, ncing over his shoulder every so often to watch the two women put together Va¡¯s sizable tent and popted it with all the furniture she kept in her storage containers¡ªarmchairs, tables, carpets, a canopied bed, and several glowmps. ¡°I swear to God, when we get back to town, I¡¯m buying a shit load of camping gear, and by camping gear, I mean a huge tent and a bunch of furniture.¡±

    ¡°You can put your bedroll on the rug here,¡± Va said.

    ¡°Well, thanks,¡± Victorughed, getting up and moving it over. ¡°I don¡¯t remember your tent being quite this big before . . .¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s got a few different appearances. Rellia bought it for me when I left for the legion.¡±

    ¡°Tes,¡± a new voice called from just outside. Victor recognized Cayle and straightened up from where he¡¯d beenying out his bedroll.

    ¡°Yes, Cayle?¡± Tes asked, lithely springing up from one of Va¡¯s armchairs.

    ¡°How was your wyrm hunt?¡±

    ¡°One juvenile . . . do you want the spoils?¡±

    ¡°No, no. You offered, and I declined to bring the hunt, so you should keep them. I have another request.¡±

    ¡°You want me to bring your brother the next time we break off?¡± Tes asked, and Cayleughed.

    ¡°I¡¯m that transparent?¡±

    ¡°No, but it¡¯s logical; he¡¯s low-tier, and you want him to learn, just as Victor and Va are learning. Of course, we¡¯ll let hime along if we break off again.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Tes! I appreciate it; he hates when I¡¯m hanging over him, feels like I¡¯m trying to fill in for our mother.¡±

    ¡°Not to worry. What time do you think you¡¯ll break camp in the morning? There¡¯s a cave on the way, well, a couple of leagues south of Boil¡¯s Crossing¡ªthat¡¯s your next stop, yes? I can take these two and your brother to check it out; I¡¯ve heard rumors of night brutes. If you don¡¯t mind, we¡¯ll get going at dawn.¡±

    ¡°Night brutes, huh? Are you sure that¡¯s wise? Barn¡¯s only level thirty-two.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll watch over him, and Victor and Va are more capable than you think. We should be able to reach the crossing byte afternoon¡ªsooner if the rumors aren¡¯t true and we¡¯ve nothing to fight in the caves.¡±

    Cayle gave Tes a long look, then let her eyes drift to Va and Victor, and he saw her stare at Lifedrinker for a long couple of heartbeats. ¡°Okay, Tes. I¡¯ll have Barn up and ready at dawn.¡±

    ¡°Perfect!¡± Tes smiled as she watched Cayle walk away, then she flicked her fingers, and Victor¡¯s ears popped. Va reached up to her ears with a puzzled expression, so Victor figured she¡¯d been included in the spell. ¡°I¡¯m quite sure there are night brutes there. This will be wonderful experience; they¡¯re usually around tier seven, but they¡¯re simple beasts¡ªall muscle and fear-attuned Energy, something you should be able to counter, if I¡¯m right, eh, Victor?¡±

    ¡°I, uh, yeah, I should be able to . . .¡±

    ¡°Yes. This will be excellent¡ªI predict a minimum of two levels for you each. Barn shouldn¡¯t be a problem; I¡¯ll have him turtle up behind his big shield, and you two can do most of the killing.¡±

    ¡°Two more levels, Tes?¡± Va said, shaking her head. ¡°Ancestors! I¡¯m d we met you.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I am too, Va. It might seem like I¡¯m doing you a big favor, and I am, but I fully anticipate a return on my investment.¡± Sheughed, plopped back down in one of Va¡¯s chairs, and added, ¡°Besides, I¡¯m having a lot of fun!¡±

    ¡°Where are you from, Tes?¡± Va asked, sitting in a chair opposite her, leaving the one with its back to the tent opening for Victor. He sighed, stood up from where he¡¯d put out his bedroll, and walked over to sit while he listened. ¡°I mean, you told me your people hadmon ancestry with Victor¡¯s, but you¡¯re not from his world. Can I know about your home?¡±

    ¡°Sure you can, Va, but you heard that popping in your ears, right? That means our conversation is private, and I expect it to stay that way.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Va said, leaning forward to deposit an Energy-powered tea kettle on the little table between the chairs.

    ¡°Tea?¡± Victor groaned and produced a bottle of cheb-cheb he¡¯d gotten from Tellen¡¯s n.

    ¡°Drinking, Victor?¡± Tes tsked. ¡°You¡¯ve still got cultivating to do!¡±

    Victor groaned; he¡¯d wanted to sleep soon, but he knew she was right¡ªhe¡¯d promised Khul Bach to work on his Core. ¡°It¡¯s from Fanwath; it won¡¯t be enough to get me drunk, especially with my vitality boosted.¡±

    ¡°Ah, well, does it have a good vor? Pour me a ss.¡±

    ¡°Well, me too, then!¡± Va said, putting away her kettle.

    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit,¡± Victorughed, finding three matching crystal tumblers in his second ring. ¡°I bought these in Gelica; please don¡¯t break ¡®em ''cause they¡¯re my favorites. See how the bottom is nice and heavy?¡±

    ¡°Tut!¡± Tes said, ¡°If I break one, I¡¯ll give you one better; you should know that by now!¡±

    ¡°Fair.¡± Victor smiled, breaking the seal on his bottle of booze and pouring a couple of fingers for each of them. ¡°I have thick fingers,¡± heughed.

    ¡°Tes, my question?¡± Va pressed.

    ¡°I¡¯m from Aradnue¡ªa beautiful, ancient world. My people were masters of Energy before the System was an inkling of an idea near the center of the universes.¡±

    ¡°An Elder race?¡± Va breathed, leaning forward.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, but I¡¯m not so old myself¡ªyoung, in fact, if you ask my closest kin.¡±

    ¡°Can you tell me about your world?¡± Va asked. ¡°What are the cities like? Are your people numerous? What sorts of wonders you must have!¡±

    Tes answered some of Va¡¯s questions and several more from Victor, but while she spoke, he kept thinking about Earth, about the cities humans had created and the things they¡¯d aplished, like building ships to try to explore the universe.

    He was proud of his people in that moment because, despite the fantastic things Tes described, the dragons had aplished them all with magic¡ªin Victor¡¯s opinion, humans had it pretty damn hard,ing from a dead world with no magic and short life spans, and they¡¯d done some awesome things. He tempered his pride with the sobering thought that they¡¯d also done some terrible things.

    Tes was telling Va about a tower atop a mighty mountain that stretched so high into the skies of Aradnue that one could see halfway around the¡¯s circumference from its top level. It sounded like hyperbole to Victor, but he supposed, with magic, anything was possible. He wanted to see something like that, wanted to experience wonders so far beyond what was on Fanwath or this world, Zaafor, that people like the warlord could only dream of them. Abruptly he stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to cultivate.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 25: Imbue Spirit

    Book 4: Chapter 25: Imbue Spirit

    The next day, true to her word, Tes led Victor, Va, and Barn¡ªarge, gray-te armored man with long, thick quills for hair and a very ruddyplexion that didn¡¯t do a lot toplement his bulging ck eyes¡ªout of camp before most of the other hunters had begun to wake. Barn wasn¡¯t a talkative fellow, and he seemed grumpy, despite the opportunity Tes was providing for the three of them. They traveled on foot, as usual, and fifteen minutes into their jogging progress, Tes started to urge Victor to cast Berserk.

    ¡°It¡¯s too early, Tes!¡± he moaned, not looking forward to battling his alter-ego for control.

    ¡°Did you level your Corest night?¡±

    ¡°No, but I just did yesterday! It¡¯ll likely take a while, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°Maybe, but maybe your brutish self will have a hunger for another heart. You still have some, yes?¡±

    ¡°Yeah . . .¡±

    ¡°Including the wyrm heart,¡± she grinned and added, ¡°What a meal that¡¯ll make!¡±

    Va snorted in amusement, shaking her head, and Victor turned to her, ¡°This funny for you? Must be nice to eat what and when you want with no one badgering you about it!¡± He was mostly joking; he was d Va was starting to feelfortable enough with him tough a bit at his expense.

    He nced at Barn, saw his glowering face, and how he kept his eyes straight ahead, inhaling and blowing out his air in a steady cadence as they jogged, and said, ¡°What¡¯s up, Barn? You have a bossy woman in your life, too, huh? Irritated that your sister sent you along with us?¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± he replied, then spat to the side into the dusty soil. ¡°Sorry you got stuck babysitting me¡ªCayle saw me drinking with some of the other huntersst night and probably decided to send me off on runt duty.¡±

    ¡°Runt duty?¡± Tesughed, shaking her head. ¡°Your sister did you a big favor, young man.¡± Victor almostughed at Tes¡¯s tone and choice of words, but he could see Barn¡¯s red cheeks getting redder with irritation. Tes continued, ¡°You¡¯re going to see a lot more action today than the rest of the hunters, especially without a bunch of high-tier experts stealing all the glory.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Barn gave Tes a second look and raised his weird, prickly eyebrows.

    ¡°Really. We¡¯re off to clear out a night brute nest.¡± Tes winked at him as his mouth fell open, and he struggled for words, but then she turned back to Victor, ¡°Nice attempt to change the subject, but don¡¯t you think it¡¯s about time you brought out your oversized friend?¡±

    ¡°Wait;st night I had a thought, and I wanted to ask you something . . .¡±

    ¡°Just the one?¡± Va asked, interrupting him, and it took a minute for him to see the joke.

    ¡°What the hell, chica?¡± he asked, augh bubbling up, unbidden. ¡°You¡¯ve got jokes today! Okay, fair game. No more mister nice guy.¡± He gave her shoulder a shove as she grinned, then he turned back to Tes, ¡°Anyway, I was wondering, if someone summoned me, do you think it¡¯s possible to summon my abu?¡±

    ¡°Your grandmother . . . it may be possible. I¡¯m not an expert on that sort of magic, but with your blood, I¡¯m fairly sure a summoning ritual could be made to target a person rted to you. I¡¯m not sure if it can be more specifically targeted. I feel like you were a bit of an unexpected result when summoned; the people who pulled you from your homeworld didn¡¯t seem pleased with you if I recall your tale correctly. Didn¡¯t you say they dumped you into some fighting pits or sold you off . . .¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. But still, they must have had something that tied the spell to me, right?¡± He nced at Va and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that what Rellia¡¯s investigator found?¡±

    ¡°Yes, ¡®biological material.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Likely blood. You didn¡¯t get any answers from the mage responsible?¡± Tes deftly leaped over a thorny bush as they continued running.

    ¡°No . . . he wasn¡¯t in a talking mood. There¡¯s the guy who hired him, though. What was his name, Va?¡±

    ¡°Ap¡¯Gravin. Boaegh hadn¡¯t been working with him for a long while, though . . .¡±

    ¡°Still, that Ap¡¯Gravin dude might have been the one who gave him the blood for summoning me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it may be worth pursuing.¡± Va nodded. ¡°Provided we ever get back to Fanwath.¡±

    ¡°I would investigate,¡± Tes nodded, ¡°if you find out what material was used and more about the summoning ritual, you may well be able to do the same for your grandmother. Do you think she¡¯d appreciate it?¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Victor was about to say that, of course, she¡¯d want toe to a world of magic and be with her grandson, but then he thought about her devotion to the Catholic Church. He thought about all the killing he¡¯d done, and he tried to imagine his grandmother doing anything violent and couldn¡¯t. Would she thrive in a world like this? Did it matter? He could give her treasures to advance her race. He could teach her to cultivate, and, sure, she may never gain a lot of levels, but she¡¯d be alive. ¡°I need to think about it some more, but maybe.¡±

    ¡°All right. It¡¯s time, Victor, no more stalling. Barn, do you have a movement spell?¡± Tes held up a hand, and they all slowed to a walk as she spoke.

    ¡°No, but I have a clockwork mount.¡±

    ¡°Take it out, please. We¡¯re about to pick up the pace.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Barn stopped and stared into the sky for a moment, wiggling around the fingers of his gauntleted left hand, and then a brass-colored cube appeared in front of him in the dirt. It was about a foot to each side, and when Barn leaned forward and touched it, it began to vibrate and click noisily. It bounced once, then long, thin rods shot out of the four top corners. They writhed in the air for a second, and then the box underwent transformations too fast for Victor¡¯s eyes to follow.

    More, shorter, rods shot out, and it stretched, bounced, and, in less than a minute, a four-limbed mechanical skeleton shaped vaguely like a horse crouched before Barn, steam erupting from ports along its ridged spine, apanied by clicks and whirring sounds.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Victor said, taking a step back and admiring the weird mount. ¡°Do you have a saddle?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Barn said, producing a cushioned, leather seat that he strapped onto the top of the ridged, metallic spine. Several pegs jutted out from the sides of the mount¡¯s ¡°ribs¡± that he fastened it to.

    ¡°That¡¯s a marvel,¡± Va said, stepping around the faintly shuddering mechanical horse.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s cool as hell.¡± Victor reached a hand toward the rune-covered head of the mount and then said, ¡°Safe to touch?¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± Barn nodded, then sprang into his saddle. Victor rested his palm against the metal, wondering if it was hot, but it felt just slightly warm.

    ¡°Is it fast?¡±

    ¡°Fast enough,¡± Tes answered for Barn. She turned to Victor and stared pointedly, and he sighed.

    ¡°Fine, here goes.¡± He cast Berserk, and there ended his rxing morning. Tes, as usual, watched him transform with eager eyes, grinning at his involuntary growl as the red rage filled his vision and his Quinametzin self took in his surroundings. He had a terrible urge to smash the mechanical creature nearby, but Victor held himself in check, and then, as Tes sprang away, suddenly nearly as tall as Victor, he roared and charged after her.

    At some point, Tes had changed her yellow dress for a pale blue one, and her ribboned belt trailed behind her, a shade ofvender that beckoned and taunted Victor over the miles. Va and Barn seemed content to follow several dozen yards behind his brutish, leaping, growling figure as he futilely tried to catch the lithely running woman. Somewhere, in a corner of his mind, Victor¡¯s rational self wondered just how fast Tes could run if she wanted to.

    He tried to remember her dragon form when she¡¯d given him a glimpse. Had she had wings? Yes, he chuckled, and the emotion tranted to a wild, crazedughing from his titanic form¡ªof course, she¡¯d had wings! He almost lost his rage as he imagined flying, soaring through the blue expanse, feeling the wind as it whistled over him . . . Victor shook his head and roared, urging more rage to pump out of his Core and furiously breaking into a sprint up a long, hard-packed hillside.

    They seemed to be following a southwesterly heading, and their journey stretched into the afternoon. Tes didn¡¯t have to stop and urge Victor to release his rage when they arrived; his red-hot Energy had begun to fail several minutes before, and he was running as his usual self, trailing far behind Tes, Barn, and Va. A part of him was irritated; why wasn¡¯t she pausing to let him recover? Then he figured they must be getting close, and she just wanted to get there and wait for him.

    The desert still stretched endlessly around them, but they¡¯d progressed into some low rocky hills for thest dozen miles, and it was at the base of one such hill where Victor finally caught up to the others; they were all sitting on arge red nket. Tes was reclining, back in her more diminutive form, drinking from a crystal sk, and Barn was stuffing his face with a huge, dripping sandwich filled with meat. Va waved to him, then returned to what she¡¯d been doing¡ªwriting in her far scribe book.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind me,¡± he huffed, leaning over, hands on his knees, purposefully breathing much harder than he needed.

    ¡°Oh, do sit down, Victor,¡± Tes chuckled. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you eat a heart?¡± She pressed her lips into a pout as she asked the question, and Victor was struck by how beautiful she was. She had such big, clear eyes, and their greenish-brown irises glittered in the sunlight, and then there were those rosy lips and . . . he shook his head. He knew better; was her appearance even real? She was a dragon under all that beauty, right?

    He grunted and sat down, forcing a frown, and he thought he saw something like approval in Tes¡¯s eyes as she looked away and took another drink from her sk. ¡°Well,¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie¡ªI forgot about the hearts until I¡¯d already lost my rage, and I¡¯m, well, I¡¯m just not up to eating a raw monster heart when I¡¯m not mad with fury.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you remember next time,¡± she said. ¡°Eat something. Drink. The cave is up yonder among those tumbled boulders.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Victor sat across from Tes, next to Va, and dug around in his storage ring until he found some bread, butter, and a bowl of still-steaming noodle soup he¡¯d bought months ago in Gelica.

    ¡°That smells good,¡± Va said, leaning close to sniff his bowl.

    ¡°You want some?¡±

    ¡°No, thank you. I don¡¯t like to be full before a battle.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I used to be the same when I wrestled. I think that¡¯s mostly because I was worried about making weight, though.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a grappler?¡± Barn asked around his mouthful of sandwich.

    ¡°Yeah. Well, not as much as I used to be. I¡¯ve be quite fond of fighting with an axe,¡± he patted Lifedrinker, where he¡¯did her next to him.

    Tes eyed him and the axe and then said, ¡°I¡¯ll make you a proper sling for that axe when we camp tonight.¡±

    ¡°Really? Thanks, Tes. Yeah, she outgrew the loop I had on my belt . . .¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll make you a shoulder sling so the head rests further up under your arm.¡±

    ¡°You craft?¡± Va asked, looking up from her book.

    ¡°Oh, I have a hobby or ten. Speaking of which,¡± she produced two small vials and tossed one to Barn and one to Va. ¡°Should you find yourselves in dire straits, quaff those.¡±

    Barn held it up, peering with one bulging, solid ck eye into the milky contents, ¡°What¡¯s it do? Heal?¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯ll discorporate for a time and be drawn toward this rod.¡± Tes held up a rune-covered dull gray rod about a foot long and, reaching back over the edge of the nket, firmly drove it into the hard-packed dirt.

    ¡°Truly?¡± Va said, her eyes widening. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can afford such a gift, Tes.¡± She held it toward the woman, and Tes chuckled.

    ¡°Not to worry¡ªI crafted it myself, and I¡¯m hoping you won¡¯t need it. Still, I did promise to help you and Barn; I wouldn¡¯t be much of a mentor if I didn¡¯t give you an escape n before walking into a night brute nest.¡±

    Victor watched the exchange with an arched eyebrow, waiting for the exnation for why he¡¯d not been offered one of the escape potions, but when none was forting, he just chuckled to himself and took another big spoonful of soup. ¡°I wish it wasn¡¯t so hot out; I was in the mood for soup, but it would be so much better if the weather were chilly.¡±

    ¡°What about Victor?¡± Va asked for him, ignoring the small talk about soup.

    ¡°He¡¯s going to bepletely Berserk, and the night brute¡¯s magic will have little effect on him. Speaking of which, Victor, tell me about that ¡®Imbue Spirit¡¯ spell again.¡±

    Victor let go of his spoon and straightened up, looking over the nket at Tes. ¡°I¡¯ve cast it on my armor before. Basically, it takes a little piece of my spirit and puts it into an object. Well, also an individual, ording to the description.¡±

    ¡°And?¡±

    ¡°Oh, when I cast it on my armor, I used inspiration-attuned Energy, and it seemed to gain a bit of a will of its own. When I was about to be struck, it was like a ghostly hand reached out and parried.¡±

    ¡°Truly?¡± Va seemed impressed, leaning back from her book with wide eyes.

    ¡°But you haven¡¯t cast it upon a person yet?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°I believe you mentioned you¡¯re able to make Energy attunements other than the three in your Core, yes?¡±

    ¡°Right, courage and justice.¡±

    ¡°Courage?¡± Barn said, an eager note in his voice. ¡°That¡¯lle in handy against night brutes!¡±

    Tes pped her hands and nodded at Barn. ¡°Exactly! Victor, can you try to imbue Va with a bit of your spirit using courage-attuned Energy?¡±

    ¡°Imbue me with his spirit? Will he be in control of me?¡±

    ¡°It says I¡¯ll grant some of my ¡®power and will¡¯ to the recipient, not that I¡¯ll gain control of them.¡±

    ¡°You trust Victor, yes?¡± Tes asked, locking eyes with Va.

    ¡°Of course . . .¡± she licked her lips, and Victor felt a little sorry for her being put on the spot like that. ¡°Okay, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Right. Give me your hand.¡± He turned his hand, so it rested on his knee, palm up, and waited for Va to ce her much smaller, blue fingers in his. She hesitated at first, but then her brows drew together, and with a determined, perhaps involuntary growl, she reached forward and snatched three of Victor¡¯s fingers in her grip.

    ¡°Careful, Victor, be sure to channel the correct Energy,¡± Tes said, leaning forward, that familiar, eager gleam in her eyes. Barn brushed the crumbs from his hands and audibly gulped hisst bite, also shifting to watch what happened.

    Victor still held his bowl of soup in his other hand and sighed as he sent it into his storage ring, only half eaten. He closed his eyes, focusing on his Core. His rage-attuned Energy was already nearly full, pulsing balefully, and he smiled at its familiar heat, gently tugging some of the Energy out of it tobine with inspiration, building the weave for courage in his pathways. When it was ready, he mped down hard on his fear attunement, then cast Imbue Spirit.

    The spell took shape and pulled forth more of his two Energies, filling the pattern to bursting with courage, and then he sent it forth into Va. While the Energy flowed out of him into her, he watched, locking his gaze with her seafoam green eyes. He felt her grip tighten on his fingers, saw her shoulders curl forward with tension, and then she pulsed, briefly limned in a golden glow, and her eyes zed with it, the green giving way to brilliant red-gold. Her lips peeled back in a smile, and sheughed.

    Victor knew the spell wasplete, so he let go of her, but Va held on, squeezing his fingers, her eyes still shining with brilliant golden light. ¡°Is this what it feels like to be you?¡± she asked brightly. ¡°Ancestors! I feel ready to fight anything!¡± She gave his fingers another squeeze, then let go and hopped to her feet. ¡°I still have control of myself, so that¡¯s good . . .¡±

    ¡°I believe the spell has imbued you with some of Victor¡¯s will and clearly with courage. You should fare well against the night brutes¡¯ magical attacks. I think because your armor was inert, Victor, your will yed a more . . . active role in its imbuement.¡± Tes stood and continued, ¡°Can you spare the Energy for a simr boon to Barn?¡±

    Victor had suffered a brief moment of weakness and nausea just as when he¡¯d cast the spell in the arena, but he felt fine already. ¡°Each casting costs me ten percent of my will and ten percent of my maximum Energy. I should be good . . .¡±

    ¡°Yes; your will is prodigious, and you¡¯ll be Berserk. I think you¡¯ll be fine.¡± Tes nodded, then gestured for Barn to move closer to Victor.

    ¡°I feel incredible! This is amazing, Victor; nothing will stop us!¡± Va had produced her blue sword and moved off to the side, performing the forms of her fighting style against imaginary enemies.

    ¡°d you like it,¡± Victor said. Then Barn reached out a thick, pinkish-red hand, and Victor grasped it, noting how dense the callouses were on the man¡¯s palm. ¡°Courage again?¡± he asked Tes.

    ¡°Yes, for this battle. I do wonder, though, what would happen should you use your fear affinity . . .¡± Tes smiled mischievously as she spoke, and Victor saw a change in the way her eyes glinted as she looked at Barn; it reminded him of a cat ying with a mouse.

    ¡°Uh, please don¡¯t,¡± Barn said, tugging his hand. Victor held on, though, and shook his head.

    ¡°Tranquilo, hombre.¡± He gripped tighter then, just as before, he built the pattern for courage and cast his Imbue Spirit spell. Barn¡¯s body, just like Va¡¯s, briefly pulsed with golden Energy, and then his eyes took on the red-gold glow of courage. In Victor¡¯s opinion, it was a massive upgrade from his usual bulging, bug-like eyes. Barn immediately released Victor¡¯s hand and jumped to his feet with a whoop.

    ¡°Outstanding! Let¡¯s crush some enemies!¡±

    ¡°Get your shield out, Barn,¡± Tes said, chuckling as she, too, stood. Victor groaned and mbered up, barely making it to his feet before Tes summoned her nket back into storage.

    Victor shook his head, trying to clear it; the mise after casting the second imbue had hit him a lot harder. ¡°Hey! What if I wasn¡¯t ready to . . .¡±

    ¡°Oh, hush,¡± Tesughed. ¡°You know you were.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor chuckled, ¡°good call.¡± He stretched, popping his back between his shoulders, trying to y off his sudden fatigue. He knew he¡¯d adjust and didn¡¯t want Tes to think he needed to cancel one of the imbue spells.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Tes said, looking at her three charges¡ªVa dancing about with her long, blue de flicking through the air, Barn shrugging his arm into the straps of a shield nearly as big as he was, and Victor. ¡°Pick up yourdy axe, Victor, and call forth your titan self; it¡¯s time we plumb the dark depths for glorious battle.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 26: Night Brutes

    Book 4: Chapter 26: Night Brutes

    When Victor¡ªhulking, furious, eager for battle¡ªstepped into the gravel and scree-strewn cave entrance, his nostrils were assailed by a pungent scent, something like a cross between shit and ammonia. He scanned the long, craggy walls and ceiling, trying to find a source for the smell, but didn¡¯t see it. Growling, he strode forward, brushing past the little man covered in metal and his even smaller blue friend.

    Before he stooped down to delve deeper, Victor nced over his shoulder to see the approving nod of the tall, fair-haired woman, the one who led him on chase after chase. He grinned at the gleam in her eyes, eager to show her what he could do, eager to water this filthy hole with the blood of his foes. He kicked his way through the loose rocks, and as they gave way to his boots, the smell intensified, and Victor saw smears of ck and white on the stones.

    ¡°Shit,¡± he grunted, then hunched low to pass through the jagged tunnel entrance, his helmet crunching through the rock, sending a trickle of dust and gravel down his neck and back. When he descended a few feet, and the cave¡¯s entrance became obscured by the cavern walls, his eyes began to adjust. He saw rough walls, more gravel, and the tendrils and ropes of ancient roots jutting out of the walls and ceiling.

    Victor surged down the slope, kicking and smashing his way past more rocks and yanking or hacking away long roots. He had no patience for obstacles. ¡°Careful, Victor,¡± the small voice of his blue friend said, and he wondered what she meant. Had he hurt her with a tossed, broken root?

    ¡°Back up,¡± he grunted, considering the matter solved. He felt the urgency of battle lust and didn¡¯t want to pause for the small ones. They said something, speaking to one another, but their words didn¡¯t register with him; why should he listen to the mewling of children? Something in this pit thought to challenge him, sought to spill his blood and stop his heart, and that was all he could focus upon. It was enough.

    He surged down, eyes zing with rage, shoulders low, head forward, smashing through the ofttimes too narrow tunnel, the thought of a copse never crossing his mind. Every time he felt his rage begin to wane, Victor reached into his Core and urged more of it into his pathways; he knew there were limits to the hot Energy, but he wasn¡¯t near it yet. Ten minutes or more went by as he slid and stomped through the tunnels, ever downward, following the stench as it grew stronger and stronger, bringing water to his eyes and fueling his fury.

    He began to hear coughs and more chatter from his smallerpanions as they struggled to keep up, mbering over piles of loose rocks that Victor leaped or stepped across. Again, he tuned the sounds out; let the tall woman aid the less fit; he was too close to cken his pace now. His instincts proved right¡ªone more twist in the tunnel, one more slide down a loosely packed slope of stones, and he found himself in an enormous cavern.

    Victor looked around, and as he took in a breath, ready to bellow a challenge, hundreds of baleful, red eyes opened in the ck depths of the cavernous ceiling. The slow susurration of leathery wings unfolding and the weird barking chirps that echoed out of the darkness did nothing to cool Victor¡¯s bloodlust. Rather, the sounds further enraged him; why were his enemies hanging up in the ckness where he couldn¡¯t reach them?

    He strode forward over the suddenly damp cavern floor, squelching his boots through thick pads of moss and lichen and . . . other things. He lifted Lifedrinker in the air, and he bellowed his fury. Suddenly the redntern-like eyes moved. They dropped through the ckness, dozens of them, and then the owners of those eyes came into sight, falling on twelve-foot wings through the damp, dark air, clicking and barking as they descended toward the screaming, red-limned madman.

    #

    ¡°He went down this slope,¡± Va said, nimbly leaping from onerge rock to the next, trying not to slide on the smaller, loose stones.

    ¡°Aye,¡± Barn grunted, trying to bnce with his immense shield on one arm and a heavy-looking, gray ball mace in his other hand. He had simr gray te armor on almost every part of his body, and Va knew it must be hard to keep from falling on these loose rocks with all that weight andck of mobility. She looked up the dark tunnel behind him, wondering where Tes had gotten to, and that¡¯s when she heard Victor¡¯s furious roar.

    ¡°He¡¯s found them!¡± she said, trying to increase her pace. Weird sounds echoed up the tunnel, clicking, hissing, and coughing barks. So many at once that, whatever night brutes might be, there must have been dozens of them.

    ¡°Gods, be good! That sounds like a lot of them!¡± Barn groaned with a note of panic tinging his words.

    ¡°Come on!¡± Va said, finally giving into gravity and leaping more recklessly down the slope. She slipped about halfway down and slid a dozen feet through the gravel on her backside, but when she used her momentum to hop to her feet, she¡¯d made it to the bottom. She nced back to see Barn sliding after her, and she smiled; he might be nervous, but Victor¡¯s spell still had his eyes gleaming with golden Energy¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t turn and run, not yet.

    She hurried down the stretch of tunnel toward a wide, moss-covered opening and noted how the yellow and green fuzz seemed to grow out of the cave like a carpet. ckness filled the space beyond, but she could hear Victor screaming and howling amid the cacophony of the night brutes. ¡°I think that¡¯s the night brutes,¡± she amended, still hurrying forward. When she came to the opening, and the darkness seemed to wrap around her palpably, she felt an icy grip take hold of her heart, and she almost fled.

    Something red within her, though, bright, powerful, and full of hope and encouragement, and she knew it was Victor¡¯s will, his fragment of courage-attuned Energy. The ck tendrils fell back, and Va whipped her long, blue sword forward, wishing she could part the hazy, tangible shadows with its edge. The mor was almost too much for her, the screams, the clicks, and the weird, underlying, rasping sound¡ªsomething like scales rubbing on scales.

    ¡°It¡¯s ck as a wyrm¡¯s asshole in there,¡± Barn said,ing up behind her. Va nodded and tried to summon an Energy orb, the first spell she¡¯d ever learned, a light for when she was in the dark. The Energy poured out of her into her hand, and the ball of yellow light red brightly. She winced in its re and frowned when she saw it didn¡¯t illuminate more than a foot of the space beyond the cavern opening.

    ¡°That¡¯s no help,¡± Va said.

    ¡°Victor! Summon your courageous light for yourpanions!¡± Tes called out from somewhere ahead, her voice clear as a crystal bell despite the din of battle. Before her words registered, Va¡¯s mind boggled at the idea¡ªhow had Tes gotten ahead of them? Before she could ponder her words, though, she heard Victor yell again¡ªone of his strange curses from his homeworld¡ªand then, high in the air, a new sun was born.

    ¡°No, not a sun,¡± she hissed, gripping Barn¡¯s shoulder as she watched the rip in the darkness from which a dazzling, broad fan of reddish-golden light poured down to the cavern¡¯s floor, creating a vast pool of light that chased the clinging darkness away. Va and Barn both gasped at what they saw in that brilliant radiance.

    Dozens, no, hundreds of hulking, ck-scaled forms, something like a cross between a human and a bat, writhed on the ground, all surging toward a singr giganticbatant¡ªVictor, in the full glory of his titanic form. He stood head and shoulders above the brutes; he wasrger, glowing redder, and more musclebound than ever. Va guessed him to be nearing fourteen feet in height, and Lifedrinker, though she¡¯d grown much recently, was still a one-handed weapon in his hands.

    The axe screamed, glinting like a falling star in the reflected light of Victor¡¯s courage spell as she hacked limbs, heads, wings, and scales. Victor bellowed in counterpoint to the axe¡¯s cries, grabbing the thick, musclebound night brutes by their wrists or necks and flinging them away, smashing them into one another to give himself room to maneuver.

    ¡°Blood of the Gods!¡± Barn hissed, ¡°look at the mess he¡¯s making.¡± He looked at Va, and his red-gold eyes seemed eager; she knew hers were a match.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get in there!¡±

    #

    Tes watched from her perch on the cavern wall as her two less enthusiastic charges finally joined the fray. Barn held his tower shield before himself as he waded into the back of the thrashing, jockeying brutes. Va held back and threw out her lightning strike, targeting the center rear of the mass, sting at least two of the creatures solidly enough to stun them. ¡°Well done!¡± Tes called,ughing.

    This was an enormous nest, bigger than she¡¯d hoped. She¡¯d wondered, briefly, if it was too much¡ªthe creatures were rated a solid three tiers higher than Victor, but they were stupid, slow, unimaginative, and relied on their powerful darkness and fear auras to im their victims, neither of which worked very well around her charges, not with Victor¡¯s courage boon. And Victor, well, Victor was a monster.

    Somehow he¡¯d flooded his channels with more rage than Tes had ever seen, sprouting another foot in height and gaining a significant amount of mass. ¡°Did the ancestor lurking in your blood see the brutes and grow furious at their size?¡± she chuckled. As if in response, Victor bellowed another mighty yawp and split a brute from crown to crotch with that wonderful axe of his.

    ¡°What a treat to watch this old bloodlinee to life again!¡± Tesughed. She¡¯d have so much to tell Yek¡¯nakkara¡¯ma¡¯shohon. Hadn¡¯t he told her it would be a waste of her time toe to this part of the universe? ¡°Wait until you see this memory, old uncle!¡±

    One of the brutes slipped up behind Victor and raked its ws, both sets, down his back, ripping his lovely, shimmering armor and shredding the skin beneath. Victor roared, whirled, cleaved both of the night brute¡¯s taloned hands off, and kicked it in the chest, sending it flying into a cluster of the creatures, knocking several of them sprawling.

    Tes narrowed her eyes, willing her vision to zoom in on Victor¡¯s back, and watched as the deep grooves in his flesh filled in with scar tissue before her eyes. ¡°Elder Gods, but you heal fast!¡± Something about the attack seemed to have driven Victor¡¯s rage to new heights, and he went into a veritable frenzy as he charged among the monsters, hacking, throwing, tripping, and head-butting them. He was like a mad bull among swine, utterly brutalizing the brutes, never giving them a chance to press him with their sheer numbers.

    When she¡¯d watched him in the arena, Tes knew there was something special about Victor, and it wasn¡¯t just his ability to Berserk¡ªhis spirit Core was so rich with potential, so overflowing with raw emotion, she¡¯d had to shield herself from it when she first spoke to him. His aura was profound and pulled like the undertow of an ocean.

    She¡¯d marveled that the lesser folk in Coloss seemed oblivious to it, but then she¡¯d considered how sensitive her people were, especially to the weight of feelings, and had realized that they simply didn¡¯t have the capacity toprehend everything pouring out of the barbaric young man.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need to teach him some more control of that aura if he¡¯s going to visit some of the older sectors of this universe.¡±

    A different sort of scream interrupted her musing, and Tes jerked her eyes away from Victor to see that fifty or more of the night brutes had turned on Va and Barn. Va fought like a dervish, using the Steel Tempest spell Tes had taught her. It kept the brutes at bay just long enough for her to dance out of their reach, though it couldn¡¯t harm them overmuch. Still, that sword of hers did plenty of hurting¡ªshe could surely dance a beautiful dance with that de.

    It became clear that it was in response to Barn¡¯s rather dire straits that Va had screamed¡ªthe big, armored oaf was nearly buried under the onught of night brutes. One of them had peeled back the top of the Vesh¡¯s shield and was working to drive its long, fanged snout over the obstacle, gnashing its teeth inches from Barn¡¯s throat. Tes nced at Victor, wondering if his enraged mind would try to aid hispanion or not. He was still madly brutalizing the horde near the cavern''s center, oblivious.

    ¡°Do I intervene? Should I give Victor a hint and see if he can save the Vesh? Oh, bother! I did make a promise to Cayle. Drink your escape potion, you dolt!¡± When it was clear Barn wouldn¡¯t be able to manage even that much, Tes sighed and centered a lightning st on the group of night brutes pressing the man. An arc of blue electricity red out of her hand, shredding the darkness hanging nearby to tatters and then exploding into the pack of monsters, reducing them¡ªevery single one¡ªto charred corpses.

    Va had fallen back, shielding her eyes, and Barn was sent flopping head over heels from the explosion, but the brutes who¡¯d been pressing them were no more. Tes smirked, ¡°Sorry about stealing those kills, my darlings.¡± She nced over the cavern floor, trying to get a count on the still-living brutes¡ªVictor had maimed or killed more than half, but it looked to her like his furious red aura was waning. She licked her lips, smiling with anticipation, and sent a whisper into his ear, ¡°Aren¡¯t you hungry from your efforts, titan? Why not send the brutes running? Give them a taste of true fear and then have a feast while they regroup?¡±

    #

    In the midst of his frenzy, Victor heard a familiar, lilting voice in his ear, ¡°Aren¡¯t you hungry from your efforts, titan? Why not send the brutes running? Give them a taste of true fear and then have a feast while they regroup?¡± Even in his rage, he knew what she meant, and when he thought of the hearts in his storage ring, his mouth filled with saliva.

    He looked around at the scattered night brutes¡ªa few pursued him as he rampaged, a dozen or two, while others milled about, bewildered by the furious beating he¡¯d been dishing out or stunned by the mighty bolt of thunder that had erupted out of the darkness. ¡°Yes,¡± he grumbled, hacking his beautiful axe through another scaly, t, shelf-like brute skull. ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I?¡±

    Purposefully, Victor reined in some of his fury, forcing himself to act with his mind instead of his instinct, and then he moved out of his circle of radiance into the dark, clinging shadows generated by the night brutes. The ckness wasn¡¯t nearly as thick as when he¡¯d first arrived, a mere echo of what it had been now that so many of the brutes had been in or wounded. One of thergest of the creatures tried to follow him, leaped at him, and he met it in the throat with Lifedrinker¡¯s shimmering edge.

    Blood and viscera spattered, and Victor reached into his Core and grasped his fear-attuned Energy, using his will to gather up a massive river of it. It moved sluggishly, the rage in his pathways pushing against it, fighting for space, but Victor forced it through. Then he cast Project Spirit, driving it out in a cone of writhing, purple-ck, miasmic Energy that slithered through the darkness to seep into the minds of the dozens of brutes that tried to press their advantage now that Victor was out of the light.

    Victor saw them slow, saw the red gleam of their wide eyes dim and darken, saw how they shook their heads and struggled, unable toprehend what was happening. They were the makers of fear; how could fear be taking hold in their dull minds? Victor finished off their resistance with an enormous roar, digging it out of the center of his gut, sending out the frustration and rage of countless torments in a palpable wave.

    The night brutes broke, leaping away, pping their wings, howling in madness as they flung themselves to the heights of the cavern or its far, shadowy edges. Victorughed in his maniacal fury, and, the memory of the seductive voice fresh in his mind, he dug out the heavy, red, still-warm heart of the rock wyrm. Saliva gathered in his mouth at the scent of hot copper, and he bit a huge, grisly chunk out of it, ripping through the tough meat with his powerful jaw.

    It was good, far better than the arachnid heart. Victor chuckled and grunted, heaving for breath through his nose as he worked to devour it. By the third bite, he could feel the heat spreading through his stomach, out into his pathways. He saw the red fury of his vision darken and deepen, and he knew his Energy was being replenished.

    He noisily grunted as he swallowed another bite. Then the Energy began to grow heavier, hotter, seeping out through his pathways into his flesh and bones, saturating his every cell, enriching and strengthening them. Victor ate with such a frenzy, speeding his wild wolfing of the meat as he felt its effects begin to infuse him, that he made short work of the heart. Panting, blood coating his mouth and chin, his chest and his hands, he lifted his head to the cavern ceiling and howled his glory, rewarded by a System message, even in the heat of battle:

    ***Congrattions! You have advanced your race: Advanced 2.***

    ***Congrattions! You have gained 10 Vitality.***

    Victorughed madly, a giant, blood-covered visage of terror, his armor hanging in shreds, a gleaming, red-soaked axe hanging loosely from one mighty fist. He roared and roared, stomping and fuming, hectoring his enemies, daring them to return. He walked well away from his circle of light, shouting, raging, and brandishing Lifedrinker, furious that his enemies had yet to answer his challenges.

    He thought he saw movement in the shadows near the far edge of the cavern wall. He turned toward it, stomping further from his small friends and the bright rays of courage-attuned Energy, and then, with a grating rumble of shifting earth and stone, something roared back at him, something with a voice so loud and furious that it shook the walls of the enormous cavern.

    Some might have fled from such a sound; some might have cowered. Victorughed. He lifted Lifedrinker over his head and stalked into the darkness, leaning into the noise, unable to feel fear, unable to consider caution in his absolute and utter, furious madness.

 Book 4: Chapter 27: A Lot to Chew

    Book 4: Chapter 27: A Lot to Chew

    The roar sounded again, and Victor ducked his head slightly, so the crown of his weighty helm led the way forward. He was furious, ready to fight, eyes zing with the deep red Energy of his rage, but still aware of the rocks and dust falling from the high cavernous ceiling. They crashed on his mighty shoulders and shattered and bounced away from his immovable helmet, and Victor shouted, blood-drenched, ragged and savage in his anticipation.

    He¡¯d stalked some thirty paces deeper into the enormous cavern when he finally saw his new challenger. More urately, he saw its eyes. Where the night brutes stood ten or a dozen feet in height, and their eyes were the size of small, red-glowing saucers, these new ones were angr, baleful, and hung some thirty feet in the air, surrounded by clinging, shifting shadows.

    Victor lifted Lifedrinker and charged forward, too enraged from his battle, from his meal, and from his surging Energy to consider consequences. Perhaps a tiny voice of reason existed in his violence-oriented mind; maybe he simply had good instincts for battle. Whatever the cause, he ducked and rolled as a shifting wave of shadow swooped toward him, and ws like scimitars, dripping with inky darkness, cut the air above him.

    He surged to his feet and continued his charge, frustrated that his foe was still wreathed in shadows, infuriated that it wouldn¡¯t show him its face. An echo of himself, a tiny voice railing at the barrier of his rage, seemed to shout, ¡°Put some light on it, fool!¡± Before he could evaluate the advice from his rational self, he saw a curtain of thicker darkness shift before him and tried to roll again, but a scaly, spear-taloned foot crashed into him, sending him flying a dozen yards until he smashed into a rocky, moss-covered cavern wall.

    Victor, especially enraged and full of Quinametzin vigor and pride, wasn¡¯t one to lie around. He rebounded from the wall, drove his feet against it, and performed a somersault, racing, mad-faced and still eager, back toward his foe. Before he closed the distance, though, he growled, in a voice few would recognize as his, ¡°How about some light?¡± Then, again, he cast Dauntless Radiance, and the darkness split high above, and a great ray of golden-red illumination fell on his foe.

    As the light bathed the immense monstrosity, sting the shadows away, its dark scales began to smolder, ck steam and smoke rising, and it howled in furious agony. Victor, despite his madness, paused, stunned by the visage of the horror before him. It was three times the size of the other night brutes butnkier, with a more humanoid face. Itsck of an elongated snout didn¡¯t seem to diminish the size or number of fangs that filled its great maw, made visible as it roared, shaking its head, side to side in Victor¡¯s light.

    Victor leaped, straight for the long, muscr, ck-scaled left leg of the monster, hacking with everything he had, aiming Lifedrinker¡¯s wicked edge for the creature¡¯s knee. She screamed her eager bloodlust, the air rippling behind her, such was her velocity. The atrocity was still distracted by the light, reaching up to w at the high rip in the air where Victor¡¯s courage-attuned Energy poured forth, and it didn¡¯t even try to move, didn¡¯t lift its leg to step, didn¡¯t swipe at Victor to block his blow.

    Lifedrinker impacted the midnight scales of that knee hard enough to create a small concussive shockwave that would have felled an ordinary person, ttening them with the grinding *crash*. Victor, to his horror and suddenly sober mind, felt Lifedrinker¡¯s haft crack as she rebounded. The impact had shaken even his mighty Quinametzin bones, reverberating up through his arm and into his neck, stunning him as the force of his tremendous blow was absorbed and reflected into him.

    He stumbled away from the monstrous leg, Lifedrinker hanging slightly crookedly from his hand, and shook his head, trying to clear the ringing and regain his rity of thought. That¡¯s when the creature, still smoking from the light, still screaming its outrage, reached down and swatted Victor with its great, razored, inky ws, dragging enormous furrows through the flesh of his chest, shoulders, and stomach. The blow sent him head over heels, a dozen, two dozen, three dozen yards to tumble and flop over the stone, where he bounced to rest among a pile of dead night brutes.

    #

    Tes heard the roar, and her head jerked away from where she¡¯d been watching Va and Barn. She willed her eyes to see further into the dark, peering through the magical shadows to the far wall of the cavern where a small tunnel led away. The stone above the tunnel had cracked, and it looked to be widening, great hunks of moss-covered stone falling to tumble and bounce on the cavern floor.

    She reached out with her senses, willing whatever was roaring, whatever wasing, to reveal itself to her. What had she missed? That didn¡¯t sound like a night brute. When her senses couldn¡¯t pierce the stone and the thick veil of darkness-attuned Energy hanging behind it, she nced back at Victor and saw his rage was surging beyond anything she¡¯d yet seen¡ªhis aura dancing along his frame like baleful red mes. He screamed into the ckness, stalking toward the sound. ¡°Oh dear,¡± she muttered.

    Tes gathered her Energy and, with a surge of will, teleported to the bottom of the cavern, appearing in a crackling sh of blue lightning behind Barn and Va. ¡°Time to go,¡± she said. They both whirled to see the source of the noise her lightning had made and when they saw her and heard her words, Barn immediately started making his way toward the rough, narrow tunnel that led up to the surface. Not Va, though; she watched Barn walking away, then turned back to the darkness where screams and roars echoed and reverberated.

    ¡°What about Victor?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay with him, help him flee if necessary.¡± She knew it would be; anything that could obscure itself from her would be too much for the titan-blood.

    ¡°Promise?¡± Va asked, finally starting to follow Barn.

    ¡°Of course. Come now, no time to waste.¡± Another titanic roar shook the cavern, and Tes watched as loose rocks and dust tumbled from the high ceiling. ¡°I mean it¡ªgo!¡± That got Va moving, and soon she was behind Barn, urging him onward as they slipped into the tunnel. ¡°At least I don¡¯t have to worry about those two . . .¡± she started to muse aloud when red-gold light split the thick darkness, and sheid her eyes on the source of themotion.

    ¡°Old Gods,¡± she hissed, rushing forward. ¡°What are you?¡± The creature was at least three times Victor¡¯s size, smoking and steaming from Victor¡¯s light. Its eyes and scales reminded her of the night brutes, but that¡¯s where the simrity ended. It wasnky where they were hulking, more humanoid and less monstrous in its design. More than that, malevolence reeked from the creature, and Tes could finally begin to get its measure, and she didn¡¯t like what she was feeling.

    Again she hissed, ¡°What are you,¡± as she streaked through the shadows, noting that the night brutes, themselves, were nowhere to be seen. ¡°So they don¡¯t count you a friend, hmm? Or maybe they¡¯re worried you¡¯ll mistake them as part of your meal?¡± She saw Victor gather himself and, as the monstrosity was distracted by his zing light, charge forward to smash his axe into its knee. ¡°Poor fool doesn¡¯t know how to flee.¡±

    There was no mistaking the cracking boom that echoed out from the source of impact; that lovely axe of his wasn¡¯t a match for those scales. Tes was contemting the best way to extricate Victor and herself when the terror stopped fussing with the courage-attuned light and swiped at the young titan-blood. ¡°Oh . . .¡± Tes said, her heart doing a flip in her chest as she saw those gigantic, darkness-tainted talons sh him and send him flying through the air, back to where the bulk of the night brute battle had taken ce.

    The creature strode forward, baleful red eyes focused on the fallen man, and Tes stood up straight, calling out with a voice that cut through the distance like a needle through parchment, ¡°That¡¯s enough of that.¡±

    The monstrosity froze in its tracks and turned toward her, and, if she weren¡¯t mistaken, she saw a look of puzzlement on its shadowy, brutish face. ¡°I think I should let you look me in the eyes instead of down upon me,¡± Tes hissed, then began to unravel her carefully woven disguise, releasing the bonds of Energy on her flesh, allowing it to stretch and change. In just a few heartbeats, she crouched in the no-longer expansive cavern, easily thrice the mass of the shadowy giant.

    ¡°What are you,¡± she growled, her enormous voice rumbling out, shaking dust loose from the ceiling and causing the mysterious monster to flinch back. There, fully back to her natural self, Tes allowed her prodigious senses to stretch forth, and she read the truth of things, saw through the creature¡¯s scales and flesh to its Core and spirit, and augh like cracking thunder escaped her mighty jaws. ¡°A prince of night brutes, hmm? My, but I wonder what you ate to advance your monstrous race so. I suppose it doesn¡¯t matter now. Still, your heart will make a lovely gift for my young friend. Should he earn it, that is.¡±

    Tes breathed deeply, expanding her gigantic lungs, sucking the air out of the cavern, devouring the lingering shadows, and causing Victor¡¯s light to flicker and fade. The night brute prince, a monster, but not a suicidal one, turned to flee, springing toward the wide crevice from which it had crawled. It managed three long strides before Tes exhaled, and a torrent of jagged, blue arcs of lightning sted into its back.

    The burst of Energy lit up the cavern like a new sun had been birthed, and any lingering magical shadows were utterly evaporated. Victor¡¯s light of courage winked out in the face of the surge, and the prince was stopped in his tracks, transfixed by the jolts, so much electrical Energy tearing through it that its head, hands, and feet exploded to allow faster egress. ¡°I hope I didn¡¯t ruin your organs with that,¡± Tes grumbled, striding forward on her enormous taloned feet. ¡°I thought you¡¯d resist me a bit more, honestly.¡±

    With her greater senses awake, Tes was aware of Va and Barn and knew they¡¯d reached the surface. She also knew Victor lived, that his prodigious regeneration had saved him, mended the worst of his gashes before his rage had fled his unconscious body. ¡°Hmm,¡± she rumbled, sniffing at the night prince¡¯s corpse. ¡°Something good is still within. Old Gods, I¡¯m hungry, though. Should I save this snack for him?¡±

    Tes dragged a long, blue-ck talon over the smoldering flesh of the prince¡¯s back, peeling back the meat and clipping through its adamant ribs, each one *pinging* loudly, echoing around the cavern. A little more digging revealed a smoldering heart, and Tes neatly plucked it out with two of her talons. ¡°Hmm, I smell . . . I smell change. I smell Energy. I smell a mystery. Not enough for me, though. A drop in an ocean. For him, though, for my young friend . . .¡± The heart disappeared, slipped into one of Tes¡¯s many dimensional containers.

    Tes turned and sidled through the cavern to where Victory, his hand, even in his dashed and broken state, still firmly wrapped around the hilt of hisdy axe. ¡°Endearing,¡± she said, her enormous predator¡¯s maw turning up at the corners into a smile. ¡°Hmm, can¡¯t have you waking with me looking like this, can I? Oh, bother, time to squeeze into something a bit more petite.¡±

    Tes willed her form to contract and to change; she had to pour out a prodigious amount of Energy to bind her molecules into a more diminutive form, had to expend even more to make herself lighter so that her bipedal feet didn¡¯t crack or shatter the floors she strode upon. When she stood before Victor, a woman much closer to his size, she was exhausted. ¡°A lot of trouble you¡¯ve put me through today. Still, you¡¯re amusing, at least. More than amusing.¡±

    Tes sat on a tumbled stone, watching him sleep while she gathered some Energy. What a handsome human! ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have many topare you against, but still . . .¡± She liked how his dark brows shielded his¡ªwhen he was wakeful¡ªpiercing eyes, how his straight, powerful nose almost curved downward at the tip. She liked theugh lines at the corners of his eyes and the dimple in his strong chin. He had such straight white teeth, and he loved to show them when he smiled andughed.

    ¡°How are you so full of joy? I think I¡¯d be quite bitter had I suffered what you¡¯ve been through.¡± At her words, he shifted and groaned, and Tes stood up. She moved closer and reached down to pick up Victor¡¯s free hand, and then she cast Steps of the Tempest, encasing him and herself in its Energy, and with a flicker of her will, she shed out of the cavern and up the long, crumbling slope of the tunnel, out into the brilliant sunlight.

    When she stopped, Victory in the sand, just as he¡¯din in the cavern. Tes crouched beside him and softly said, ¡°I can feel it gathering below. Some Energy ising your way.¡±

    ¡°Is he okay?¡± Va asked from beside her, and Tes straightened to look at the blue-skinned, lovely woman.

    ¡°Oh, aye. He¡¯ll be right as rain in a moment, well, scarred, but fine. You and Barn should brace yourselves. Some Energy flows this way.¡±

    ¡°Some . . .¡± Va said, then realization dawned on her. ¡°From the night brutes.¡±

    ¡°Yes, dear, Va.¡±

    ¡°What was that thing, Tes?¡± Barn asked, but before Tes could answer, several winding, shing, coiling ropes of Energy surged out of the gravel-strewn cave and poured into the four of them. The thickest, by far, silver-tinted and wild, flowed into Tes. She frowned as she absorbed it, pulling it into her Core and replenishing more of her spent power. She frowned because she¡¯d rather it went to one of her charges. Still, they were reaping their own rewards.

    Victor had been lifted off the ground by his flood of silver-tinged purple Energy. Va and Barn had much smaller shares, but still, they looked ecstatic, and she figured they¡¯d gained a level. When Victor settled back to the dusty ground, his eyes were open, but they weren¡¯t happy; he¡¯d lifted his axe and stared at the jagged crack in its elegant handle.

    #

    ***Congrattions! You have achieved level 40 Spirit Carver, gained 20 will, 20 vitality, and have 16 attribute points to allocate.***

    ***Level 40 ss refinement is avable. ss refinement is permanent. Human Energy cultivators will next be offered a ss refinement selection at level 50. To view your options and make your selection, ess the menu through your status page.****

    ***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 42 - Attribute advancement is being banked until you¡¯vepleted your level 40 refinement selection. Any progress beyond level 40 will be lost if you lose consciousness before making the selection.***

    Victor brushed aside the System messages and lifted Lifedrinker so he could look at her more easily. When the Energy surge had woken him, he¡¯d quickly realized where he was¡ªTes must have dragged him out of the cave. He wondered what that thing had been, how it had so easily brushed off his attack, but he didn¡¯t really care, not while Lifedrinkery wounded in his grip. ¡°?Qu¨¦ pas¨®, hermosa?¡±

    ¡°Is she hurt?¡± Va asked, stepping over the rocky ground to kneel close to him.

    ¡°I fucking split her haft . . .¡±

    ¡°It will heal, Victor,¡± Tes said. ¡°Bind it up with some strips of cloth; give the wood time to mend. It¡¯s alive and full of Energy; she¡¯ll be none the worse for the wear, though she may bear a scar for a while¡ªuntil you help her to evolve again, I¡¯d say.¡±

    Victor sighed with relief at the words. He knew Lifedrinker would live if her haft broke, or he used to know that¡ªwhen she¡¯d evolved and grown with her haft, it seemed to have be more a part of her than the old handles she¡¯d had in the past. He sat up and summoned one of his shirts from his storage ring, ripping it into long lengths of cloth.

    ¡°I have bandages . . .¡± Va started to say, but he¡¯d already begun to tear the shirt, so he just shrugged.

    ¡°Small price to pay. I¡¯m sorry, beautiful,¡± he said as he tightly bound her split handle together, tying the strips of cloth into knots.

    ¡°I leveled!¡± Barn said, apparently done dwelling on Victor and his damaged axe. ¡°Hey, what was that thing, Tes?¡±

    ¡°A night brute prince,¡± Tes smiled andughed, ¡°Beyond level one hundred and quite evolved, if I¡¯m not mistaken. You¡¯re lucky to escape with just a few new scars, Victor.¡±

    ¡°I think I bit off more than I could chew. Did you pull me out? Thanks, Tes.¡±

    ¡°My pleasure; it¡¯s a joy to watch such verve forbat!¡±

    ¡°Are you sure it won¡¯t follow?¡± Barn asked, backing away from the cave entrance.

    ¡°No need to worry, Barn,¡± Tesughed, moving over to p the big Vesh¡¯s back, making his armor rattle as dust and bits of gravel fell out of it. ¡°I killed it.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Victor asked, his voice raising slightly with excitement.

    ¡°Oh yes. I¡¯m sorry, but I hit him with a bit too much lightning¡ªruined most of his organs. Still, his bones are worth much. We should harvest everything we can¡ªfrom the night brutes, too. I think you¡¯ll earn more from this nest than most of the hunters on this expedition.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a n, Tes. Thank you again for the rescue.¡± Victor gently squeezed Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, ensuring the bindings he¡¯d put on were holding her damaged wood tightly together. ¡°What about you?¡± he asked Va, changing the subject before he forgot to ask.

    ¡°What about me?¡± She looked confused.

    ¡°Did you level too?¡±

    ¡°Oh! Yes!¡± Va smiled and hooked her thumbs in her belt, pulling her shoulders back proudly. ¡°What about you?

    ¡°Yep! How about it, Tes? Wanna give me some advice on my next refinement?¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 28: Weighty Decisions

    Book 4: Chapter 28: Weighty Decisions

    ¡°You¡¯re level forty already?¡± Va asked, her face twisted in something between admiration and disgust.

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m level forty-two, but the System says it¡¯s holding two levels until I go through my ss refinement . . .¡±

    ¡°Ancient Fathers! Weren¡¯t you thirty-six back in Coloss?¡± Va shook her head and then sat on a rock to more easily scrub the ichorous ck blood from her sword. Barn sat in the shade of a boulder nearby and worked with a small sledgehammer, trying to straighten his shield. Victor turned to Tes and shrugged.

    ¡°It¡¯s a product of your high Energy affinity and, well, the fact that you did a lot of killing¡ªthe killing of things far more Energy dense than yourself.¡±

    ¡°Is that how you describe levels? More dense with Energy?¡±

    ¡°Creatures like giant spiders and night brutes don¡¯t necessarily have levels, but they gather Energy, yes, and they evolve and grow in strength. These night brutes were once a colony of cave scavengers. Over a century or two, they gathered Energy and natural treasures to be what you fought down there. The prince was on another scale; it¡¯s likely he stumbled upon a potent bloodline treasure deep below the surface.¡±

    Victor frowned, contemting her words. Tes looked from Victor to the others, then said, more loudly, ¡°We¡¯ll rest for a while; clean up your gear and contemte your improvements. I¡¯ll help Victor with his ss, and then we¡¯ll harvest the night brutes.¡±

    ¡°My armor¡¯s wrecked,¡± Victor said, looking at the tattered shreds of his scale shirt. It hadpletely lost its integrity and luster when the night brute prince raked its talons through it.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a pity, but you need something more sturdy anyway. I¡¯m sure one of the Degh back with the caravan will have an old breastte or something you can barter for. You can look for something better when you get back to town.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess.¡± Victor shrugged out of the ruined armor, sending it into his storage ring, and then he took off his shredded, blood-stained shirt. Tes stepped forward and traced one of the new, pinkish-white scars traversing his torso from the left shoulder to the right side of his stomach.

    ¡°You¡¯re lucky you have such rapid healing while enraged.¡± Her light, cool touch had brought goosebumps to his flesh, and Victor shifted ufortably, forcing himself to look within his ring for a clean shirt. He pulled it out and stuffed his head through the neck hole.

    ¡°Yeah, I know. I¡¯d be dead two dozen times if it weren¡¯t for my ability to heal when I cast Berserk.¡± He shrugged his arms into the shirt and pulled it down.

    ¡°Well? Tell me about your ss choices.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t looked yet. Should I allocate my free attribute points first? I always wonder if the choices are determined the moment I hit the refinement level, or if I can still influence them . . .¡±

    ¡°No, the System isn¡¯t so flexible. It has made its decision on what to offer you, and nothing you do will change that, short of a System-granted boon designed to enhance those choices.¡±

    ¡°Are those hard toe by?¡±

    ¡°Exceedingly. When individuals win them from dungeons or challenges, they rarely put them up for public sale.¡± Tes stepped a few yards away to pick up arge, t boulder that had to have weighed three hundred pounds and carried it over so she could morefortably sit near Victor. Victor shook his head and smirked, and Tes said, ¡°What¡¯s so amusing?¡±

    ¡°I mean, don¡¯t you have chairs in your storage rings?¡±

    ¡°Hah! Indeed I do. Still, I¡¯mfortable enough. Come, let¡¯s see what the System has thought of your progress thesest ten levels.¡± She leaned forward, eyes eager.

    Victor nodded, opened his status menu, and then selected the ss refinement option. He read through the first option:

    ***ss refinement option 1: Titanic Warrior - Epic. Pre-requisite: The strong presence of a titanic bloodline originating from an Elder race. You¡¯ve begun to unlock the secrets of your ancestry. By leveraging your bloodline to form ss abilities, you will continue to build on the synergy between your ss and your heritage. ss attributes: Strength, Vitality, Will.***

    ¡°The first option I¡¯ve seen before. It¡¯s called Titanic Warrior.¡±

    ¡°Read it to me,¡± Tes said, resting her chin atop a fist as she leaned her elbow onto her knee. Victorplied, and she nodded, grinning. ¡°Your current ss is epic-tier, correct?¡± When Victor nodded, she continued, ¡°I like this option; it¡¯s good to lean into your bloodline, considering its strength. Still, let¡¯s see what else the System has in store for you.¡±

    Victor swiped the option aside, and a new one appeared in his vision:

    ***ss refinement option 2: Spirit Warden - Epic. Prerequisites: Spirit Core, ability to manifest spirit aspects and traverse the Spirit ne. Your forays into the realm of spirits have given you deep connections to thosends that border the veil. Harness that understanding to further your abilities and enhance your potency. ss attributes: Will, Intelligence, Unbound.***

    ¡°That¡¯s a new one,¡± Victor said, eyes narrowing as he read it aloud.

    ¡°Interesting! Your spiritpanions¡ªtotems¡ªare already quite powerful. I imagine great versatility lies down this path. Well . . . let¡¯s not overly contemte this yet. What¡¯s the third option? The System isn¡¯t very creative¡ªif it¡¯s going to offer you a legendary refinement, it will likely be the final option.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor waved the option away, and the third came into view:

    ***ss refinement option 3: Titanic Rager - Legendary. Prerequisites: Spirit Core, Rage Affinity, Titanic Bloodline. Your deep connections to your titanic bloodline and powerful rage affinity have converged to bring forth your legendary potential. ss attributes: Strength, Vitality. System Note: Selecting this refinement will alter several of your abilities and have an extreme impact on your Energy affinities.***

    ¡°Shit,¡± Victor said, reading the description.

    ¡°Do tell!¡±

    ¡°You were right; it¡¯s a legendary ss, but . . . well, here, I¡¯ll read it to you.¡± As Victor read the wording of the selection to Tes, her eyes widened, and her grin broadened, but she surprised him by ultimately shaking her head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°The System ¡®note¡¯ at the end; I¡¯ve only seen that a few times in my travels and studies, and it generally apanies truly profound changes in the individual. Some people don¡¯t care; they want power at any cost and embrace the change, but with this ss, with rage as its focus, I worry that you might be changed very much indeed¡ªto the point where you wouldn¡¯t recognize yourself, and I don¡¯t mean physically.¡±

    ¡°Damn,¡± Victor said, rubbing his chin with his long, powerful fingers. He held his hand out in front of his face, made a fist, and then said, ¡°I¡¯ve changed a lot, Tes. I¡¯m not much like the kid who got summoned to Fanwath, but, well, inside, I know I¡¯m still me. Do you think this ss would change that?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I worry about. That was your final option, yes? Usually, the System only offers three options as people progre . . .¡±

    ¡°Hang on,¡± Victor said, having just swiped the option aside to see if there were more. ¡°There¡¯s another!¡±

    ***ss refinement option 4: Titanic Herald - Legendary. Prerequisites: Sufficiently advanced titanic bloodline. You have embraced your ancient bloodline, giving air and light to a people who have faded from this universe. Continue down this path; give this world and others a reason to know the name of your great, ancient progenitors. ss attributes: Strength, Vitality, Agility, Dexterity, Intelligence, Will.***

    ¡°Uh,¡± Victor quickly swiped the ¡°window¡± to the side to see if there were more options but was met with a final message:

    ***ss refinement option 5: No Refinement - You are pleased with the path on which you find yourself and choose to continue until your next refinement option.***

    ¡°Yes?¡± Tes prompted.

    ¡°Uh,¡± he repeated, licking his lips. ¡°It¡¯s another legendary option¡ªTitanic Herald. It sounds . . . interesting.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to make me ask?¡± Tes reached forward and gripped Victor¡¯s wrist, her fingers like warm, steel bands d in velvety smooth skin.

    ¡°No, sorry; my mind¡¯s just whirling.¡± Victor read her the ss description, and Tes¡¯s eyes widened, and, though Victor couldn¡¯t imagine how, they seemed to shine more than ever with eagerness.

    ¡°This is very interesting, Victor! How many total attribute points did you get with each of your current ss levels?¡±

    ¡°Um, twenty-eight.¡±

    Tes nodded and said, ¡°Not dissimr to most System-bound peoples. You¡¯re likely to get thirty-six with a legendary ss. That difference alone should narrow your decision down to your final two options. The only reason I would ever counsel against taking a legendary option would be because you¡¯re trying to reach a specific ss and a lesser rarity was a stepping stone or because your legendary options had drawbacks that outweighed the benefit.¡±

    ¡°Like you think the, um, Titanic Rager would have?¡±

    ¡°The System rarely provides warnings; when it does, it¡¯s wise to consider them deeply.¡±

    ¡°The final option, the Herald, doesn¡¯t have any unbound attributes, but it lists every attribute. I haven¡¯t seen that before.¡±

    ¡°Usually, in a description like that, the first listed attribute is awarded the most points. That¡¯s not always true, though. Sometimes the attributes are increased equally, and the listing order is arbitrary. I would theorize that the Titanic Herald ss is not specialized; it¡¯s meant to help you gain further mastery of your bloodline. Future refinements will likely lead to specializations, perhaps into sses that the System designs to mimic your progenitors¡¯ ancient professions.¡±

    ¡°Designed to mimic?¡±

    Tes nced from Victor to Barn and Va, then did her little trick that caused his ears to pop, and said, ¡°Dragons and other Elder peoples did not have the System around to make our sses for us. We learned to master Energy on our own, and the skills and spells we spent our time specializing in became our ¡®sses¡¯ though each of us was rather unique.

    ¡°The System tries to make Energy more essible for people newer to Energy. It creates sses and helps to guide you through the process. Some might call it altruistic, but others know it¡¯s selfish¡ªas you gather Energy and grow in power, so too does the System¡¯s tax from your efforts grow. It leeches but a tiny fraction of the Energy you gather, butbine the ¡®tax¡¯ of a trillion people, and you see why the System has grown so ubiquitous and difficult to circumvent.¡±

    ¡°So, as I uncover my bloodline, the System is learning about the Quinametzin, and it might offer me refinements that it finds . . . through me?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Victor sat there, contemting Tes¡¯s words and also the decision he had to make. He, of course, saw the value in the legendary ss, but he also felt a little strange about it. Victor was a human; if he kept pushing his bloodline, would he lose that? Would he be more Quinametzin than human? Before he could stop himself, he gave voice to his concern, ¡°Tes, will I start to lose my humanity if I keep pulling out my bloodline?¡±

    She smiled at him and gave his wrist another squeeze. ¡°You¡¯re so different from dragons and titans I¡¯ve met, and I mean real titans, Victor. Even when you¡¯re enraged, well, maybe not at your most mad, like when you charged the night brute prince, you usually disy some part of your nature¡ªyou, not the Quinametzin.

    ¡°How many times have I let you catch me as you chase behind as a Berserk lunatic? You never offered me harm; you never even spoke a cross word. There¡¯s too much of your human heritage in here,¡± she touched his chest with her other hand, ¡°for the Quinametzin to drive it out. You might be a titan, of sorts, someday, but you¡¯ll never be solely Quinametzin.¡±

    ¡°Well, give me a minute to think, would you? Thanks for the advice, Tes.¡± She nodded and stood up, nced at him onest time, a sly smile on her lips, then walked over to Va. Victor sighed, stretched, and then put his finger on the pink gem of his bracer, sending forth a trickle of Energy. The world shifted, the colors bled away, and once again, he was inside the strange, angr world of the Ancestor Shard, standing before Khul Bach.

    ¡°My student returns and stronger than before, I see.¡±

    ¡°Hello, Khul Bach.¡± Victor offered a halfhearted wave. ¡°I thought I should give you a chance to weigh in on my ss refinement options.¡±

    ¡°Wise.¡± Khul Bach nodded solemnly. ¡°Read them each to me,d.¡±

    ¡°Right. Option one . . .¡± Victor read through each option, and, to his credit, Khul Bach never interrupted him, listening and nodding as he progressed. When Victor finished, he grunted and rubbed at his chin, mulling things over for several moments before he spoke.

    ¡°What do you think, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Well, I think it would be smart to take a legendary ss. I¡¯m worried, though, about losing myself, my nature, to the Quinametzin in my blood.¡±

    ¡°You would like my opinion?¡±

    ¡°Yes! That¡¯s why I¡¯m here.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm. I¡¯ll tell you what I want you to choose, and then I¡¯ll tell you what you should select. Perhaps they¡¯re the same.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still thinking it through. Let¡¯s go through my thoughts: I want a scion who will one day be able to bring my people back to glory, someone who can save us from withering into obscurity. A ¡®Titanic Rager¡¯ might well win many battles, but will he be crafty and versatile enough for the great challenges toe? Perhaps. Perhaps he could ughter his way to each of the shards and unite the Ancestor Stone. Perhaps he¡¯d cause so much strife and misery and be so focused on ughter that he¡¯d lose sight of the greater goals, though.

    ¡°No, I¡¯d rather you chose one of the epic options over that one, Victor. The choice, to me, is obvious; you should select the final ss and herald in your titanic bloodline. Are you not intent on saving the Degh? Do we not want to restore my people¡¯s titanic nature? It seems a perfect match.¡±

    ¡°So, I should pick that one.¡± Victor nodded.

    ¡°Wait, Victor. I wouldn¡¯t be a good mentor if we didn¡¯t discuss why it would be a good choice for you.¡± Khul Bach leaned forward and thumped a thick round finger into Victor¡¯s chest as he spoke.

    ¡°Right . . .¡±

    ¡°Do you enjoy your rage affinity? So much that you¡¯d like to give up the others?¡±

    ¡°I . . . feel close to my rage, and if I¡¯m being honest, I like the release I feel when I give in to it. I¡¯d dly give up my fear affinity, but . . . no¡ªI can¡¯t see myself willingly parting with my inspiration attunement.¡±

    ¡°The System is warning you about this for a reason; I believe if you ept the Titanic Rager ss, your rage will grow lopsided in your Core to the point that it may drive out the other affinities. The Herald ss, though, offers you a bnce of attributes. It offers you a chance to gain power and knowledge and learn from your Bloodline to find a specialization you can happily embrace. I¡¯m certain it¡¯s the right choice for you. What causes you to hesitate?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll scoff at me, but I¡¯m worried about bing too much like the Quinametzin ancestor I see in my bloodline visions; already, I act differently when I¡¯m Berserk through my Titanic Rage feat. I not only act differently, I think differently¡ªsometimes I catch myself thinking and speaking like I¡¯m a Quinametzin, and . . . it¡¯s weird. I get so fucking full of myself and, like, reckless. I act as if it''s my right to smash anyone who dares to stand up to me.¡±

    ¡°Ah. So these Quinametzin from which you gain your titan blood were a haughty people? Likely they dominated their ce in the universe for millennia, long enough to grow certain that they were the strongest of peoples. We Degh suffered from simr delusions for a while, but we had our challenges. Still, it¡¯s possible we never reached the heights of your progenitors¡ªI don¡¯t believe we ever felt it our right to conquer all whom we met¡ªa difference in culture, perhaps.

    ¡°Still, no matter the strength of your bloodline and how sincerely you embrace it, you are still Victor, and if you assert your will against your instincts, if you keep in mind your desire to keep those traits that you value in your heart and spirit, your bloodline will not overpower that nature. It¡¯s possible the ancestor you¡¯ve witnessed through your visions does not holistically represent the Quinametzin; could it not be possible that you had other ancestors who weren¡¯t so brutally domineering? Perhaps you¡¯ll meet others as you explore more deeply.¡±

    ¡°Uh, I guess it¡¯s possible, yeah.¡± Victor liked the way Khul Bach spoke, the rhythm of his words, and his logical, positive way of exploring the topic. ¡°I feel better about things, Khul Bach. Thank you for your advice.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve had a long time to think and vicariously experienced many lives, Victor. I¡¯m happy to share my wisdom with you because I want to see you seed, and I¡¯ll always be honest in reminding you that I have selfish reasons for that. Still, I have begun to grow fond of your spirit, and I¡¯d like to help you prosper and flourish. Trust my advice.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give it the weight it deserves. Thanks again. I¡¯ll be back soon,¡± Victor said, then he severed his connection to the shard. The world snapped into being around him; the bright blue sky, Va speaking softly to Tes, Barn banging away at his shield, and the hard rock under his butt. Victor sighed and opened his status sheet, pushing his sixteen free points into will; for all he knew, they were thest free points he¡¯d ever get, and he wanted to give his will a final boost. He looked at his status:

    Status

    Name:

    Victor Sandoval

    Race:

    Human (Quinametzin Bloodline) - Advanced 2

    ss:

    Spirit Carver - Epic

    Level:

    40 (42)

    Core:

    Spirit ss - Improved 2

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Inspiration 7.4

    Energy:

    3963/3963

    Strength:

    135

    Vitality:

    200

    Dexterity:

    40

    Agility:

    63

    Intelligence:

    32

    Will:

    413

    Points Avable:

    0

    Titles & Feats:

    Titanic Rage, Ancestral Bond, me-Touched

    ¡°Well, here goes,¡± he said, then opened the refinement menu and selected the fourth option, Titanic Herald.

 Book 4: Chapter 29: A Heralds First Day

    Book 4: Chapter 29: A Herald''s First Day

    When Victor selected his ss option, he was imbued with a sense of well-being, power, and confidence; he immediately felt that he¡¯d done the right thing¡ªthis was his path. Energy surged through him, infusing every nook and cranny of his body, and he lifted his head back and howled at the pale blue sky, unable to contain his exuberance. System messages queued up for him to read, and he flipped through them, one by one, his grin widening with each:

    ***Congrattions! You have refined your ss: Titanic Herald. ss feat gained: Titanic Constitution: Your titanic bloodline has enriched and fortified the microscopic structures of your body, from your blood to your bones, to the hairs on your head. Henceforth, you¡¯ll automatically receive 5 bonus points in vitality each time you gain a level.***

    ***Congrattions! You have achieved level 41 Titanic Herald, gained 6 strength, 11 vitality, 6 dexterity, 6 agility, 6 intelligence, and 6 will.***

    ***Congrattions! You have earned a ss spell: Titanic Aspect - Basic.***

    ***Titanic Aspect - Basic: For a brief time, present yourself as the herald of your bloodline. Gain the aspect of a true Quinametzin Titan while maintaining cognizance and the utility of your full array of spells and skills. Energy Cost: 1000. Cooldown: Long.***

    ***Congrattions! You have achieved level 42 Titanic Herald, gained 6 strength, 11 vitality, 6 dexterity, 6 agility, 6 intelligence, and 6 will.***

    ***Congrattions! You have earned a ss skill: Titanic Leap - Basic.***

    ***Titanic Leap - Basic: Whenever your form reflects the aspect of your titanic bloodline, you will find that you are able to leap quickly and powerfully, covering distances seemingly imusible, even considering your tremendous size and power.***

    ¡°I see you made a decision,¡± Tes called from where she sat next to Va. Victor grinned at her, then stood up, stretching his back and lifting Lifedrinker to his shoulder. She hummed and vibrated against his thick muscles, and Victor squeezed her haft.

    ¡°Soon, chica. Soon, we¡¯ll fight again.¡± He raised his voice and said, ¡°I gained a shit load of stats with this new ss.¡± He walked toward Tes and Va, then continued, ¡°I feel fantastic; do I look different?¡±

    ¡°More hale. Your aura bleeds out, pushing more heavily than ever. Tes, can¡¯t you teach him to rein that in?¡± Va shifted back, her hands behind her on the t rock where she rested, looking up at Victor with squinting eyes and a friendly smile. He realized the sun was behind him, so he squatted down to make it easier for the two women to look him in the eyes.

    ¡°I can and will, but that¡¯s a lesson for camp. It¡¯s about time we harvested those night brutes and got on our way. Here,¡± she produced her Hell de and handed it, hilt first, to Victor. ¡°Go start carving the bones out of that prince; you shouldn¡¯t have much trouble, using that knife. We¡¯ll catch up. You can tell me about your new ss features when I get there.¡±

    ¡°Oh, all right . . .¡± Victor stood up and then looked down at the two women with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Did I interrupt something?¡±

    ¡°Tes was helping me understand how to better shape one of my spells when you started howling,¡± Va chuckled.

    ¡°Oh, damn. Yeah,¡± Victor rubbed at his head ruefully, ¡°I was just excited.¡± He nced over at Barn, who was still frowning as he worked to smooth out his shield, then he said, curiosity getting the better of him, ¡°Doesn¡¯t his shield self-repair?¡±

    ¡°You can see how thick it is,¡± Tes tsked, ¡°He needs to hammer it into a semnce of the correct shape, or the self-repair will take ages.¡±

    ¡°Aha, yeah. Got it.¡± Victor turned toward the cave entrance, then, on a whim, he cast his new spell, Titanic Aspect. He felt Energy surge out of his Core, all three of his affinities. It flooded his body, filling his pathways and then pouring into his veins, skin, and bones. He arched his back, looked up at the sky, and involuntarily yawped as he expanded with the power of his spell. For the first time he could remember, he stood, huge and menacing but fully himself. No red rage filled his vision, no urge to fight or kill¡ªhe was just Victor but . . . more.

    Victor shifted and turned over one of his boulder-like shoulders, a broad grin on his face, and said, ¡°See you down there.¡± His voice rumbled out, and heughed as he heard it bouncing off the rocky sides of the cave opening.

    Tes¡¯s eyes were alight with glee as she studied him, and she nudged Va¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Our young titan is showing off. Should we be impressed?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I suppose it would do more damage to his ego than it¡¯s worth dealing with if we didn¡¯t ¡®ooh¡¯ and ¡®ahh¡¯ a little bit.¡± She giggled, and Victor snorted, happy to see their good mood, even if it was at his expense.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you guys get it! I¡¯m not Berserk right now!¡± Heughed again as if to prove his good mood, then waved and started into the cave.

    By the time his Titanic Aspect wore off, he¡¯d pulled most of the night brute prince¡¯s ribs from his charred remains, and he was working to carve out the bones in his legs when Tes and the others arrived. Between the four of them and Tes¡¯s uncanny talent for butchery, they managed to gather the valuable remains from the battle in just under four hours. After sharing out monster trophies, Tes¡¯s three charges each had a stack of precious bones from the prince and dozens of organs from the lesser brutes.

    It was nearly dusk when they started north toward a ce called Boyle¡¯s Crossing. Victor resumed his practice with Berserk, running madly after Tes through the desert wastnd while Va and Barn, on his mechanical mount, kept pace just a few dozen yards behind him. The sun slipped away behind the western horizon, but the sky remained pink and purple for a long while before fading into night. A couple of hours into their run, Tes paused, and when Victor caught her, she smiled at him.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you hungry, titan-blood?¡±

    Victor tried to take stock of himself, grunting with suppressed anger, his fists clenched as his eyes kept darting past Tes, looking for something hostile to fight. With an effort, he turned his attention inward, saw his rage nearly depleted, and growled, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps one of those brutes¡¯ hearts might be worthy of a meal?¡± She grinned, somehow just as tall as he was, though still graceful, still beautiful, and as Victor looked into her gleaming eyes, he felt his rage begin to fade away. She punched him in the chest, not hard, but enough to jostle him and provoke a snarl, and she said, ¡°Hurry now, angry one! Eat before your fury fades!¡±

    ¡°Ungh,¡± Victor said, reaching into his storage ring for one of the dozen or so night brute hearts he¡¯d salvaged. It fit in his mighty palm, dark maroon and glistening with undried blood. Victor¡¯s mouth began to gather saliva as he looked at it, and he didn¡¯t need further encouragement to devour the hunk of raw, tough muscle. Each swallowed lump of Energy-filled flesh flooded his pathways with red Energy, filled him to bursting, then pushed his Core to the point where it swelled and red, pulsing like a miniature sun.

    Part of Victor knew it was about to advance again, but his enraged mind didn¡¯t care. The prettydy in the colorful dress was running away again, and he needed to catch her. He howled and yelled, aware that hispanions were behind him; his pack was on the hunt, and a fight surely awaited them if he could only catch thedy.

    The procession they made, their forms silhouetted against the darkening horizon, must have been a spectacle for any casual observer¡ªa tall woman sprinting, endlessly energetic, with her ribbon of a belt and those in her hair flowing behind her, a great, hulking brute, leaping and charging, ever gaining on the woman, only to have her dart ahead out of his reach, and then a much smaller figure, bathed in jolts of electricity and wind, keeping pace with the brute. And, bringing up the rear, a squat, powerful figure encased in metal and riding upon a steaming, nking metallic horse.

    Not long before they came into sight of the crossing, Victor¡¯s rage-attuned Energy faded, and Tes didn¡¯t stop to encourage him to recharge it. She did slow, though, and when Victor, panting and sweating, crested thest hill atop which she stood, she gestured down to a brightly lit cluster of stone buildings gathered around the near side of a mighty stone bridge. Looking at the bridge, Victor let his eyes drift to the left and right and saw a dark ribbon in the starlit desert, and he said, ¡°A river?¡±

    ¡°The river,¡± Tes nodded. ¡°The only one in the wastes. Even with its lifeblood so rich, nothing much grows around it, though.¡±

    ¡°The buildings are Boil¡¯s Crossing?¡± Va asked.

    ¡°Yes, and you can see the hunters have already arrived.¡± She pointed to a staked-out circle of monstrous mounts near the most prominent structure. Bright lights red from its windows, and Victor could see people gathered outside on a cobbled patio, glowmps hanging from posts, and small fires burning against the encroaching darkness.

    ¡°An inn?¡± Barn grunted from atop his clicking, hissing mount.

    ¡°Aye,¡± Tes nodded. ¡°Who¡¯s hungry?¡±

    ¡°I am!¡± Victor grunted.

    ¡°How could you be? I saw that meal you had an hour ago!¡± Va didn¡¯t hide the note of disgust in her voice.

    ¡°Don¡¯t judge yourrade,¡± Tes said, resting a hand on Va¡¯s shoulder. ¡°He has a mighty furnace to fuel.¡±

    Victor reached up to his chin, noticed it was still tacky with dried blood, and shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t me you, Va.¡±

    His response made her frown a little, and she nced from Tes to Victor, then back again, and she opened her mouth as if to say something, but then she closed it again. The moment passed, and Barn said, ¡°Well, I¡¯m starved. Let¡¯s get down there.¡± Without waiting for a reply, the big Vesh steered his weird mount down the slight incline, urging it into a cantor, kicking up some dust.

    Tes put an arm over Victor¡¯s shoulders, and he realized she¡¯d matched his height again. She urged him forward, walking with him, and Va hurried to keep pace, walking on Tes¡¯s other side. ¡°You¡¯ve both made much progress in thest couple of days. I¡¯m proud of you,¡± Tes said, reaching down with her other hand to squeeze Va¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll get a good night¡¯s rest, and then in a day¡¯s hard travel, the hunting party will hopefully find its quarry. I think the two of you have a good chance to im a piece of the prize!¡±

    ¡°I notice you never take a split of the trophies from the kills, Tes. Is it all too beneath you?¡± Va asked, smiling up at the taller woman.

    ¡°Beneath me? No, not necessarily, but I have plenty of treasures and trophies. The things I seek are a bit more rare.¡± As she spoke, she nced at Victor, and that sly smile and gleam in her eyes returned; he began to wonder what exactly she sought from him. He knew she wanted some of his blood. Was that all? He knew she found his bloodline and his antics while Berserk entertaining; did dragons get bored of life to the point where following around someone like Victor spiced things up?

    As they approached the inn, Victor watched Barn¡¯s horse explode into steam as it shifted and shrank, its many moving parts pulling in on themselves until only a quivering, metallic, clockwork cube remained. He picked it up, stowed it away, and then turned toward the trio as they strolled up. ¡°Thanks for everything, Tes.¡± He moved his gaze from left to right and added, ¡°Nice to meet you, Va and Victor.¡±

    ¡°It was a pleasure, Barn,¡± Va said, reaching up to thump her fist against his armored shoulder.

    ¡°Yeah, take it easy.¡± Victor waved, hanging back by Tes¡¯s side.

    ¡°You can join us anytime,¡± Tes said. ¡°Tell your sister I was good to you, will you?¡±

    ¡°Of course! I had a lot of fun, and that was a fast level for me.¡± He eyed Victor again, sighed heavily, turned toward the inn''s cobbled courtyard, and walked away, his heavy armor and bulky body giving him an awkward, rolling gait.

    ¡°He envies you, Victor.¡± Tes hadn¡¯t entirely removed her arm from him; she¡¯d loosened her hold, letting her arm slip off but still clung to his shoulder with her hand, and she squeezed it.

    ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t?¡± Va asked. ¡°He levels quickly and has such a potent mix of bloodline abilities and ss skills . . . I¡¯m d I¡¯m not his enemy.¡±

    ¡°Sheesh. Is that all I am to people? An enemy or an ally? We¡¯re friends, Va.¡± Tes¡¯s grip on his shoulder tightened, and Victor rather liked the feeling; it was friendly and reassuring, and he could feel the Energy in her hand. If he were d anyone wasn¡¯t his enemy, it was Tes.

    ¡°No. No, I know, Victor. I¡¯m sorry; I was just thinking in terms of what we have waiting for us when we get back to Fanwath. I¡¯m pleased you¡¯re Rellia¡¯s . . . my ally.¡±

    ¡°Splendid!¡± Tes said, letting go of Victor and pping her hands. ¡°I was wondering what we¡¯d talk about over dinner, and that sounds like an entertaining topic. Tell me about Fanwath and what you have waiting for you!¡± She strode ahead of them, not waiting for a reply, and Victor shrugged at Va. She nodded, and they followed after, through the smoky courtyard with its braziers and glowmps, past several hunters Victor recognized. Some of them called out, and Tes waved and bowed.

    They imed a table inside, next to a big stone hearth, and Tes ordered them several dishes she imed were local delicacies. They reminded Victor of Indian food with simr spices and textures, much like curry. The food was served with warm, grainy bread with a thick crust that tasted wonderful when smothered with the herbed butter that came along with it.

    Victor ate a lot, more than he had in a long while, and Tes and Vaughed about it several times, interrupting Va¡¯s tale about the Untamed Marches and Rellia and her conflict with the other nobles in her household. Victor was a little surprised by how free Va was with Rellia¡¯s secrets, but he figured it didn¡¯t matter¡ªthey were in apletely different world, and Tes had proven herself powerful enough to dig any secrets she wanted out of them if she really wanted to.

    They drank a lot andughed even more. At one point, Cayle joined their table and shared a toast with them, thanking Tes for getting her brother some fighting experience. She didn¡¯t stay long, though, and the trio was left to their own devices, telling tales, rolling dice, and joking about each other¡ªwith a preponderance of the quips made at Victor¡¯s expense.

    Several different musical artists entertained the patrons of the tavern throughout the night. Thest of which was a woman who yed the lute alone on stage and sang in a haunting voice about war and loss, love and death, and generally put a damper on things. Tes proimed it an excellent time to get some sleep, so they retired to a propermon room¡ªa big space behind the tavern where cots were lined up for weary travelers to sleep in.

    Victor imed a cot big enough for a Degh, and Tes and Va found empty beds nearby, and the three of them fell into sleep rather quickly. At least, Victor thought they did; he only really knew for sure that he did. The next thing he knew, bright light was streaming through windows, and the smells of bacon and fresh bread filled the air.

    After a hearty breakfast, the hunters gathered outside, and Victor gravitated toward the rear of the column, where he could see Va and Tes standing near arge wagon filled with barrels. Va hadn¡¯t been at breakfast, and when Victor first approached the pair, he waved and called out, ¡°Hey! How¡¯d you sleep?¡±

    ¡°Not at all, to be honest. Too many people in one room. Too much snoring and grunting and, excuse me, farting. I spent the evening near the mounts, cultivating and enjoying the fresh air.¡± Va folded her arms in front of her chest as she spoke, a frown touching her lips at the memory.

    ¡°Oh? Well, I didn¡¯t hear a thing. Closed my eyes, and the next thing I knew, the sun was shining through the windows.¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°You see, Tes? He even has to boast about being a better sleeper than I!¡±

    Tes chuckled and said, ¡°With what his body went through yesterday, I¡¯m surprised he was able to wake up. You¡¯ll be fine and are probably better off for the cultivation you got in. Well,¡± she said, looking around at the hunters getting mounted and lining up, ¡°I don¡¯t have a field trip for us today. We¡¯ll travel with the column and camp tonight, and I have a strong feeling we¡¯ll find Cayle¡¯s quarry on the morrow.¡±

    ¡°Should I Berserk again?¡± Victor asked, a note of dread in his voice. He didn¡¯t want to have to battle with himself all day around the column of hunters, cargo handlers, and beasts.

    ¡°I have another idea.¡± Tes backed away from the wagon, walked a dozen steps, toes to heel, as though she was measuring something, then nodded and said, ¡°Stand behind me.¡± Victor and Va hurried over to stand behind her, and she nodded, then gestured with her hand, moving it as though she were pulling somethingrge from a sack in front of her. Suddenly a bronze tform the size of an SUV appeared. It floated above the ground, kicking up a bit of dust on an invisible air current that seemed to be holding it aloft.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Va asked, walking forward and leaning over to look under the tform. Victor copied her, and sure enough, nothing but air separated it from the ground. The tform was about four inches thick, twelve feet long, and six feet wide. The surface was carved with myriad runic symbols, many of which were iid with precious-looking metals like silver and gold.

    ¡°A travel tform I won from a ratherbative Wizard on a different world. I rarely use it, but I think today you both would benefit from some study and cultivation. Victor, your Core is ready to burst, so you may as well push it through to the next level. While you do that, I¡¯ll craft you a new sling for that axe, and then I¡¯ll give you some lessons on aura control. Va, I have two more spells to teach you before we meet the wyrm tomorrow. Go ahead! Hop aboard,¡± Tesughed as she saw Va eagerly pushing against the tform, not moving it at all.

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Victorughed. ¡°I get to ride infort and style? Tes, you¡¯re the best!¡± Heughed again and leaped aboard the floating tform, and when his full bulk made contact with the rear quarter, it dipped, though only a few inches, and then it resettled,pletely stable. ¡°This thing is awesome! How fast is it?¡±

    ¡°Depending on how much energy the driver puts into it, very fast. I have plenty of Energy, so we¡¯ll keep up with the caravan rather easily.¡± She climbed aboard and sat near the front, and Victor held out a hand to pull Va up. She found a seat near the middle and immediately began to pull notebooks and writing utensils from her storage ring. Victor sighed, watching her, imagining she¡¯d definitely be the type of student with straight As in school. He sat at the back as Cayle blew a horn near the front of the column, and the hunters got moving.

    Victor hung his legs over the tform''s edge and watched the countryside go by. When they got to the bridge, he stood up to look over the edge, watching the slow, dark green waterzily ripple by beneath the stone structure. Something with enormous, rough scales surged up momentarily, sshing loudly as it dove back under, and he reminded himself not to swim in that water.

 Book 4: Chapter 30: Old Treasures and Auras

    Book 4: Chapter 30: Old Treasures and Auras

    Sometime around midday, Victor broke through and leveled his Core. As each of his orbs of attuned Energy surged and pulsed, then contracted on themselves, slightly denser than before, Victor looked up and smiled with satisfaction. He¡¯d made a lot of progress sinceing to Zaafor, and he had a feeling he¡¯d make a lot more before he and Va left. He looked at his Energy status:

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Inspiration 7.4

    Energy:

    5280/5280

    He waved it away and looked at Tes, who sat near the front of the floating tform working with some leather straps, and said, ¡°Hey, why¡¯d my Energy go up so much when I gained those levels back at the night hulk cave? I only got six points in will and intelligence each level . . .¡±

    ¡°Maximum Energy is influenced much more by intelligence than will. Will improves your recovery rate to a greater degree, though.¡± She didn¡¯t look up as she answered, and her quick reply made it clear that she¡¯d anticipated what he was thinking. As if to prove that point, she answered his next question before he could ask it, ¡°Each rank you gain in your Core should give you a boost of around 100 Energy. Is that right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡±

    She nodded and said, ¡°Most advanced races receive a simr boon.¡±

    ¡°Advanced races?¡±

    ¡°Those with a decent connection to Energy¡ªa measurable affinity and the ability to work it into spells or abilities. Some creatures have Cores and Energy, but their affinity is so low that it simply works through them as an extension of their natural instincts.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor nodded. He looked away from Tes to his left, where Va sat studying spell patterns, and then over her head to the vast, endless wastes. ¡°We¡¯re going to have a chance to camp and rest before we hunt the wyrm, right?¡±

    Tes closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate momentarily, then she nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯d say so.¡±

    ¡°I need to honor my ancestors before the hunt.¡±

    That got Tes to look up from her work, and she narrowed her eyes and grinned at Victor, ¡°Wonderful idea!¡±

    Victor smiled, and then, while waiting for Tes to finish her work, he sorted through his storage containers, going over some of his long-neglected treasures. He had two items he¡¯d gained back in the dungeon attached to Great Bone Mine that had sat, lurking like grim reminders of that foul ce, in his dimensional pouch. He¡¯d always intended to have someone with knowledge look at them but never seemed to get around to it.

    The first, he could easily exin why he¡¯d left alone¡ªthe twisted, silvery-green crown of the cultist who¡¯d been guarding the portal to the dungeon. Victor loathed the idea of touching it, but he couldn¡¯t find the fear that used to keep his fingers away; if the thing tried to poison or curse him, he¡¯d smash it down with his will. That determination firm in his mind, he snatched it out of his bag and held it in front of himself.

    It was cold, and something definitely writhed beneath the metal, touching his flesh with its sickly Energy but quickly retreating as it felt his aura. Victor grinned at it and then looked at Tes. She¡¯d lifted her head from her leatherworking and wrinkled her nose at him. ¡°What¡¯s this, then?¡±

    ¡°A crown I found a long time ago. I used to be afraid to touch it, but it now seems more afraid of me. Do you know what it is?¡±

    Tes stared at the crown for a moment, and Victor could feel the Energy build up behind her eyes as they glowed briefly. She shrugged and said, ¡°It¡¯s a vile thing, possessed by a mad spirit bent on twisting the minds of those who wear the crown into worshipping a long-dead being¡ªsome sort of demon if my feeling is right.¡±

    ¡°Oh, shit. I probably shouldn¡¯t have had it in my dimensional container . . .¡±

    ¡°It was mad long before you acquired it. I get the impression it was dormant, hidden for millennia before it was found rather recently.¡±

    ¡°You could tell all that by looking at it?¡± Va asked, looking up from her studies.

    ¡°Oh yes. I have very robust senses for that sort of thing.¡± Tes winked at Va, then looked down at her project, but she continued speaking, ¡°I would think your ancestors could make use of the Energy within that crown quite handily.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Victor grinned at the idea. ¡°Not a bad thought¡ªI can let them deal with the nasty spirit.¡± He put the crown back into his container and pulled out his other item¡ªthe choker he¡¯d won from the dungeon boss. Frost began to form on his fingers where they touched it, and he gingerly set it down on the tform before him so he could better look at it. The choker was pale blue with seven different crystals, all shaped like runes that held no meaning to Victor.

    ¡°Ah,¡± Tes said, leaning closer and peering at the choker. ¡°This is another matter. What a lovely item!¡±

    ¡°I can feel it from here!¡± Va said. ¡°It¡¯s heavy with elemental Energy.¡±

    ¡°Yes, currently charged with a water attunement, but I think it can hold other elements. Where did you get this one, Victor?¡±

    ¡°From a dungeon boss. I was only tier two, so I didn¡¯t think it could be that great . . .¡±

    ¡°You were only tier two, but what was the boss?¡± Va asked, eyes still locked on the choker.

    ¡°Uh, good question.¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°Regardless, that item is quite valuable. May I?¡± Tes asked, leaning further forward, arm outstretched but stopping short of touching the choker.

    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡±

    Tes picked up the ne, and Victor noted with interest that frost didn¡¯t seem to form on her fingers. She smiled as she turned it around in her hands and then said, ¡°This is a focus for the primary elements. A focus and an borate power cell.¡± She nced around at the wagons and mounts traveling nearby, then held the choker out to the side. A momentter, Victor sucked in his breath as he watched an honest-to-goodness, miniature winter squall stir up out of the hot, sandy wastnd and blow rapidly away into the distance leaving six inches of snow in its wake.

    ¡°Holy shit!¡±

    ¡°Hah! Well, I purged it of water Energy. It¡¯s ready to receive a different element. If only you had a friend who could channel some sort of elemental Energy, Victor.¡± She gave him an obnoxious wink and nodded toward Va, who was still staring out into the wastnd, watching the ck, swirling cloud as it faded into the distance.

    ¡°Do you want it, Va?¡± Victor asked, quick to take the hint.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± She jerked her head back to Victor and then nced over at Tes, still holding the choker delicately in one hand. ¡°I couldn¡¯t, Victor! It¡¯s a precious artifact!¡±

    ¡°True,¡± Tes nodded, ¡°Though you are working together, and surely Victor would want his partner to have every advantage. Besides, you could owe him one. Perhaps you¡¯ll win a prize that he could benefit from someday. Would you rather he kept it stowed away, gathering dust, or sold it for some beads?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor nodded. ¡°What Tes said.¡±

    ¡°Here.¡± Tes tossed the ne to Va. ¡°I¡¯ve removed my bond. It will always work as a focus, but you¡¯ll need to spend some hours charging it to use the power cell function.¡±

    ¡°Power cell?¡± Va asked, gently holding the pale blue choker, running the runes between her thumb and forefinger.

    ¡°A generic term for items that can hold a store of Energy. Once you¡¯ve charged it, you¡¯ll be able to amplify spells you cast with the stored Energy. Until it¡¯s depleted, then you¡¯ll need to spend time charging it again.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right. Back home, they¡¯re usually called power stones because, well, because we tend to use gems for the purpose.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Tes nodded, then turned back to her leatherwork.

    ¡°Thank you, Victor,¡± Va said, gesturing with the delicate, beautiful choker.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. I hope it works well for you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the loveliest thing anyone¡¯s ever given me. I¡¯ll be sure to unt it to Rellia when we return.¡± Va grinned as she put it around her neck, hooking the sp at the rear. A momentter, Victor saw little charges of electricity flicker over the runes.

    ¡°It looks really nice on you.¡± Feeling some heat in his cheeks, he nced away and almostughed at himself. ¡°You¡¯re charging it?¡± he asked to change the subject.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s quite easy! I just focus a strand of Energy from my Core through my pathways into it, and it slowly absorbs it. I¡¯ll need to rest before it¡¯s full unless . . . I think I can keep up with the draw if I cultivate at the same time.¡±

    ¡°Yes, you should, and as you grow in power, it will be more and more easy.¡± Tes held up the leather strap she was working with and eyeballed Victor briefly before nodding and picking up her stitching tool.

    Victor continued to organize his rings, moving mundane items into one and his more valued items into another. For a while, he spaced out sorting through the ring he¡¯d won from Jikrak, the one filled with building supplies for a ¡°hermitage.¡± He wondered how valuable those materials were; it seemed like a lot of exotically named woods and stone, ss and fixtures, tiles and . . .

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Tes interrupted his thoughts. He jerked his attention away from his dimensional container and looked at the leather harness she¡¯d made for him. It was a beautiful work of craftsmanship, and Victor knew some Energy must have gone into it. Runes lined the leather, silver rivets held the axe-loop part to the shoulder harness, and soft white fur lined the inside of the strap that would rest on his shoulder. The ring meant to go around Lifedrinker was also silver, and Victor wondered what he¡¯d do if she outgrew it.

    ¡°It¡¯s wonderful, Tes. Thank you!¡±

    ¡°Try it on,¡± Tes said, and Victor nodded, reaching out to take it and then hanging it over his neck so it rested crossways over his chest. The loop for Lifedrinker rested against his ribs about at the height of his elbow. ¡°Stand up and put her in there.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor stood, lifting Lifedrinker from the floor of the floating tform, and then slipped her haft through the ring. She hung there,fortably snug against his body, her handle hanging down alongside his leg.

    ¡°If she evolves to berger, the ring will resize itself. I also enchanted the whole thing to grow and self-repair. I used Boilercrock leather¡ªvery dense and capable of holding a lot of Energy, so you can get quiterge without harming it.

    ¡°Sheesh, Tes!¡± Victor said, rubbing the dark, supple hide between his fingers. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect something this nice. Can I pay you or something?¡±

    ¡°Foolish man!¡± Tes scoffed, ¡°Don¡¯t offer to pay for gifts, especially when given them by one of . . .¡± she nced around, ¡°my type of people!¡±

    ¡°Right. I am foolish, Tes. I didn¡¯t mean any offense.¡± Victor spoke earnestly, and his words brought a smile to Tes¡¯s face.

    ¡°Good! Now, I sensed your Core expanding. Are you ready to learn to rein in that aura a bit?¡±

    ¡°Please!¡± Va said, smirking.

    ¡°Hey! Didn¡¯t I just give you a fancy ne?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she chuckled, holding up her hands in surrender, then turning back to her spell pattern.

    ¡°Mmhmm,¡± Victor grinned, then he took Lifedrinker out of her loop and sat back down, resting her on the tform next to him.

    ¡°You could tilt her handle back so you can sit with her still in the harness,¡± Tes said, watching him.

    ¡°Yeah, but I don¡¯t know; I like to give her room to breathe when I¡¯m not walking around.¡±

    ¡°Does she speak to you often?¡± Tes leaned forward, and Victor saw her hand twitch as though she was about to reach for the axe but held herself back.

    ¡°Do you want to hold her?¡± he asked rather than answer her question.

    ¡°May I?¡± Tes reached forward, taking the invitation as answer enough, and very carefully picked Lifedrinker up by the haft, her fingers wrapping around the dark, star-speckled wood just beneath her metallic head. ¡°Oh, she¡¯s wonderful!¡± Tes¡¯s eyes lit up as she turned Lifedrinker this way and that, staring into the depths of her living-wood haft. She traced some dark streaks of metal in the shiny Heart Silver with a finger, one of her blond eyebrows raising with interest.

    ¡°Her edge used to be the only shiny part; the Heart Silver spread as she woke up and evolved. She speaks to me, but not all the time, to answer your earlier question, by the way. When it first started, I felt like I could feel her emotions before I could hear her words.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen many conscious weapons, but this one has such a strong spirit, Victor. She must love you.¡± Tes smiled, handed the axe back to him, and Victor rested her on his knees.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s mutual. We¡¯ve seen a lot together.¡±

    ¡°A brave man to open his heart so. I like that about you, Victor; I think you¡¯d proim your love for your axe no matter who listened.¡±

    ¡°He would.¡± Va didn¡¯t look up; her words were quick and spoken from experience. Tesughed, and Victor shrugged.

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s get down to business. Victor, you have a powerful will for one so young and newly into the fourth tier. I think you¡¯ll find this lesson very easy.¡± She looked into his eyes and waited for Victor to nod before she continued, ¡°You can feel others¡¯ auras, yes?¡±

    ¡°Yes, especially from powerful people like the warlord or Tronk or . . . well, or you.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm, but you don¡¯t feel the pressure of my aura right now, do you?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Victor frowned, trying to remember thest time Tes¡¯s aura had pressed down on him.

    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m holding it back. It takes some conscious effort, but less and less the more practiced you be. In some worlds, were you to walk around with an overbearing aura, it would be taken as a signal that you sought violence or that your will was so weak that you couldn¡¯t contain yourself. We don¡¯t want that to happen to you, do we? When you unleash your aura, you want it to be intentional.¡±

    ¡°Makes sense.¡±

    ¡°So, just as you manipte Energy with your will, you must learn to pull your aura back and hold it down. The first step to that process is being able to see it. Close your eyes and turn your attention to your Core.¡± Victor did so, finding it easy to look ¡°inward¡± at his Core and the three orbs of Energy therein. ¡°Now, expand your view, keep the Core at the center of your awareness, but allow your perception to see your pathways. Simply widen the perspective.

    Victor tried to do as she asked, but he felt his view of his Core slipping away as he looked at his pathways, and he grunted in frustration. Somehow able to see his problem, Tes spoke again, ¡°Slowly; rx and broaden your view, but keep that Core at the center, don¡¯t look away. Let your pathways fill your peripheral vision.¡±

    Victor nodded and tried again, carefully focusing on his inspiration-attuned Energy and letting his inward-seeing eye expand its field of view. He almost whooped with glee when it began to work, and he saw his pathways stretching away from the Core at the center of his perception.

    Victor continued trying to expand his view, and soon he saw the extent of those pathways, all the way to his fingertips, toes, and the center of his forehead. When he smiled with satisfaction, he noticed something. At the edges of his perception, outside his pathways, hung a flickering, pulsing curtain of reddish-purple light, glowing as it surged and retracted, seemingly at random.

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± he breathed, ¡°I think I see my aura.¡±

    ¡°I knew you¡¯d be a quick study!¡± Tes sounded almost smug. ¡°Reach out with your will and pull that aura in. Hold it tight to the edges of your pathways.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor said, gritting his teeth, squeezing his eyes tight, and twisting his lips in concentration. He pulled at that pulsing field outside his pathways and managed to restrain part of it while other parts red out. ¡°It¡¯s hard to get ahold of it all!¡±

    ¡°Come, Victor. I¡¯ve seen people with half your will do this. Keep your focus on your Core! Don¡¯t look at one part of the aura and grab at it. Reach out like you''re casting a and pull it all in.¡± Victor decided to take her words literally, and he envisioned his will forming into a. He urged it to expand, wrapping around that pulsing, ring aura and pulling it to himself, binding it tightly to the edges of his pathways.

    ¡°Woah!¡± Va said.

    ¡°You did it!¡± Tes cried, pping her hands.

    ¡°Ancestors! I can¡¯t remember thest time I wasn¡¯t under that pressure . . .¡±

    Victor opened his eyes, his mouth wide in a smile of pride, and then Va reached up and cradled her head, groaning. ¡°Ugh! You let go!¡±

    ¡°Doh! Shit.¡± Victor closed his eyes and began to repeat the process.

    ¡°Victor, you¡¯ll need to maintain some concentration on holding your aura back. With practice, it will get easier and easier, and, eventually, you won¡¯t even realize you''re doing it.¡±

    ¡°Let me see here,¡± Victor said, biting his tongue in concentration as he finally reasserted his web of willpower, pulling back his surging aura. For the next several hours, he worked on the process, slowly allowing more and more of his attention to leave the view of his Core and trying to interact with the world while a part of his mind kept concentrating on holding back his aura. He got better at it, but by the time the wagons were grinding to a halt at the base of some low, rocky hills, he had a blinding headache, and with an apologetic shrug to Va, he let it go.

    ¡°Well, I had quite a long break from it, and I¡¯ll get used to it again. Promise me you¡¯ll keep working at it, though!¡± she said, standing up and stretching.

    ¡°I will, Va. Promise.¡± He looked over at Tes, who¡¯d hopped off the tform and was looking around the campsite, presumably choosing a spot for the three of them to set up their tent. ¡°Hey,¡± he said, turning away from Tes and back to Va, ¡°I¡¯m going to sacrifice some stuff to my ancestors. Wanna watch?¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 31: Glory for the Ghosts

    Book 4: Chapter 31: Glory for the Ghosts

    Victor looked through his piles of monster trophies, allowing his instinct to guide his hand as he pulled specimen after specimen out of his dimensional container and stacked them together on the sandy ground of the waste. At the bottom of the pile was the cultist crown, and he knew, in his gut, that his ancestors in the Spirit ne¡ªor Ghost Lands, as Tenecoalt called that otherworldly realm¡ªwould appreciate it as an offering. He wondered about that; would they like it for its Energy, or would they consume the spirit lurking within? At this point, nothing would surprise him.

    Dawn was just brightening the eastern horizon, and most of the hunters were still sleeping off their excessive drinking from the night before. There had been no partying for Victor and Va; they¡¯d spent most of the evening in the tent working on assignments from Tes. Victor shook his head and grinned as he recalled the conversation that had spurred those hours of study.

    ¡°Tes,¡± he¡¯d asked, watching the woman, now small enough tofortably sit in one of Va¡¯s plush chairs, ¡°How do you keep changing your size so easily?¡±

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯ve noticed?¡± sheughed.

    ¡°Yes! When I¡¯m . . . bigger and running through the waste, you¡¯re my height. When we stop to talk, and I¡¯m my usual size, you¡¯re my height. When you need to sit in afortable chair built for a much smaller person, you seem to fit just fine. What gives?¡±

    Tes wrinkled her nose and shifted so she could pull her legs up under her, leaning against one heavily cushioned arm of the chair. She gave Victor a long, prating look and asked, ¡°Are you wanting to sit in small chairs, or are you worried about dwarfing the people you¡¯ve known, afraid you¡¯ll grow more distant in their hearts due to your size disparity?¡±

    Victor nced at Va, still peering intently at a spell pattern she was trying to duplicate, and then his ears popped, and he turned back to Tes¡ªshe¡¯d cast her privacy spell, perhaps to spare his feelings. ¡°I guess so. Everyone I knew before I came to this world was pretty much human-sized. I think it would be cool to fit in anywhere I went . . .¡±

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t help you with that¡ªfitting in anywhere, I mean. The spell I have requires very Energy-dense flesh and is able, with the expenditure of enormous amounts of Energy, to make me nearly any size smaller than originally but notrger. I suppose I could modify it to do so, but the expense . . .¡± she trailed off, clearly trying to envision the idea.

    ¡°Would it work on me?¡± Victor felt hope in his chest and was surprised by it¡ªhe¡¯d thought he¡¯de to terms with hisrgeness.

    ¡°I think so; your titan ancestry, your bloodline, has begun to manifest quite significantly in your physical form. I¡¯m not sure you have the Energy to alter yourself by much, but if you study the spell, you should be able to aplish much as you grow in power. I believe your inspiration-attuned Energy would be a good fit for the magic.¡±

    ¡°Would you teach me?¡± Victor leaned forward, going so far as to scoot over the rug, so he sat closer to Tes¡¯s chair.

    ¡°This is ancient magic, Victor. Many of my kin would be quite cross with me for sharing it, assuming you could master the pattern¡ªit¡¯s quiteplex.¡± Something about the crooked grin on Tes¡¯s face and the way she leaned forward to match his posture told Victor she wasn¡¯t worried about what her kin might think.

    ¡°So, will you?¡± he pressed.

    ¡°I will. Tonight, I¡¯ll give you a tenth of the pattern. Prove to me that you can master that much, and I¡¯ll give you more.¡±

    Victor chuckled as he stacked a long rib bone from the night brute prince onto the pile. He¡¯d been up all night studying the wild, twisting, shifting pattern that Tes had drawn out for him on a piece of magical parchment. She¡¯d said the most challenging part of the pattern would be forcing his Energy into it, but Victor knew he could master his Energy¡ªhis will was strong enough. No, for him, the hard part wasprehending the insaneplexity of it and then trying to force his clumsy fingers to recreate parts of it.

    Still, Victor knew he¡¯d get it eventually, especially if he could manage to make a few more levels and boost his intelligence and dexterity a bit more. When he thought of Tes and remembered the glimpse she¡¯d given him of her dragon form, he could only imagine the kind of Energy that went into shrinking that massive body into a petite woman; he didn¡¯t need anything so severe, just the ability to shave off a foot or two when he wanted to exist among his smaller friends morefortably.

    He heard footsteps crunching in the sand behind him and turned to see Va approaching. She looked past him to the pile of monster organs and bones and said, ¡°Quite an expensive offering.¡±

    ¡°My ancestors battle in the Ghost Lands, and these are the least of the scraps I can offer,¡± Victor said before he even realized he was speaking. Were those his words? Were they the words of Tenecoalt? Was he human or Quinametzin? ¡°I¡¯m starting to think like one of them,¡± he said, deciding it had been him, but with ideas that were new to his conscious mind.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve advanced your bloodline a lot. It makes sense. There¡¯s nothing wrong with learning and gaining new ideas and ideals, though. I think it¡¯s wonderful that you can connect yourself so viscerally to your ancestors.¡±

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s say I have a lot more respect for you, I mean the Ardeni and Shadeni, and your reverence for your ancestors.¡±

    Va smiled and stepped forward, reaching up to rest one of her small, blue hands on his arm above his elbow. ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor nced back toward the tent, hoping to see Tes approaching, but she¡¯d not returned from wherever she¡¯d gone. After giving Victor the pattern to study, she¡¯d said something about finding a dice game and a ¡°strong enough drink.¡± He shrugged, turned to the pile of offerings, gathered his Energy, and cast Honor the Spirits.

    White, heatless mes burst into existence at the base of the pile and rapidly spread through it, sending ghostly smoke into the air that faded into nothing. No smell apanied the burn, and though the light was brilliant while itsted, there was no afterimage in Victor¡¯s eyes after it faded. It was as though the whole thing hadn¡¯t been real. Still, the offerings were gone, and Victor felt a deep satisfaction in his heart; his ancestors would be pleased.

    ¡°That¡¯s such a pretty spell,¡± Va said, squeezing his arm.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor inhaled deeply and smiled, turning to look down at Va.

    ¡°So, I noticed you were still sitting there poring over that spell pattern Tes gave you when I finally went to sleep. What are you trying to learn?¡± she asked, meeting his gaze.

    ¡°What are you trying to learn?¡± Victor countered, ¡°You studied all day on the tform and then all night in the tent!¡±

    ¡°I finally got it!¡± Vaughed, apparently fine with his redirection. ¡°Watch!¡± she said, backing up, and then Blue Razor was in her hands. She concentrated momentarily, and the sword crackled with white coruscating electrical Energy, surging and pulsing. She turned toward the desert and swung the sword in a downward, angled sh, and the white, pulsing electricity leaped off the de, rippling and crackling into the night in a vast arc. ¡°Cut of the Storm¡¯s Fury!¡± Vaughed.

    ¡°Pretty dramatic spell name, but shit, that was cool!¡± Victor held out his hand, meaning for Va to p it, but she sort of gripped his fingers awkwardly, clearly not used to the custom. Victor chuckled, squeezed her hand back, and said, ¡°That¡¯s awesome, Va. You¡¯re going to mess that pendeja up when that dueles around.¡±

    ¡°I know it''s childish, petty, even, but I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not the one who started that shit!¡± Victor said. ¡°That chick was downright nasty, and she¡¯s the one who wants to make your skin into a cloak! If anyone deserves to get messed up, she¡¯s at the top of the list.¡±

    Va smiled, but before she could say anything, Tes called out from near the tent, ¡°I saw the mes of your offering, Victor, and I see you mastered your new spell, Va! I¡¯m proud.¡±

    ¡°Oh, look who finally made it home!¡± Victor grabbed Va¡¯s shoulder and nudged her along as he started to walk back to Tes.

    ¡°Home?¡± Tes peered at Va¡¯s tent and smirked, ¡°I suppose in a very loose sense of the word . . .¡±

    ¡°Did you have fun?¡± Va asked, hurrying over to the other woman.

    ¡°Oh, some. Cayle¡¯s wine was well fortified, and she and some of the other hunters yed an entertaining game¡ªuntil I started to win too much, and then they grew cross. Still, it was an amusing evening.¡±

    While Tes told them about some of her winnings and the irate reactions of the other yers, Victor cooked breakfast, and Va took down her tent. By the time they¡¯d packed everything away and eaten a very hearty portion of eggs and sausages, the rest of the hunters were breaking camp, and word came around that Cayle wanted to hold a meeting at the head of the column.

    Most of the others were starting to trickle into the meeting when the trio arrived, and they stood at the far right end of a big loose semi-circle facing Cayle, where she stood atop a crate. The hunters milled about,ughing, joking, drinking hot mugs of coffee, and generally ignoring Victor and Va. Some deference was given to Tes, though, and Victor learned, through her short greetings and conversations, the names of many of the hunters nearby. He¡¯d just decided to give in to his urge to ask one of the nearby hunters with coffee if he could bum a cup when Cayle shouted for everyone to be quiet.

    ¡°Listen up, you mongrels!¡± she called, chuckling with good humor. ¡°Red just confirmed¡ªhe¡¯s in sight of the wyrm, and it¡¯s a big one! He ims it''s the biggest adult he¡¯sid eyes on, and you all know Red¡ªhe¡¯s been on many hunts.¡± At those words, the hunters burst into excited babbling and cheering, and Cayle had to holler for them to quiet down again.

    ¡°What are we waiting for?¡± A huge Vesh with a single, enormous ck horn jutting from his forehead called out.

    ¡°Calm yourself, Bricker!¡± Cayle said, smashing the butt of her enormous,nce-like spear against the wood of her soapbox. ¡°Listen! Red confirmed, visually, that his wyrm is a fire-blood! He saw the smoke as it breathed and the smoldering scrub in its wake. That means some of you might want to sit out this fight!¡± Curses, grousing, and general discontent drowned out her next sentence, and she had to shout for order again.

    ¡°Listen, you devils!¡± The hunters didn¡¯t listen, though, and continued to talk loudly and animatedly. Finally, a Degh hunter wearing darkly scaled armor walked up beside Cayle, looming over her, despite her elevated position, and turned to the crowd.

    ¡°Shut yer damned yaps!¡± he roared, and the words barreled over the noise, and almost everyone mped their mouths shut.

    ¡°Thank you, Vormor,¡± Cayle said, then turned to the crowd and continued, ¡°As I said, it¡¯s a fire-blood, and you¡¯ll be wise to note the risk; with a wyrm this age, you¡¯re likely to see breath attacks, and blood that will ignite materials short of epic. I won¡¯t stop any of you!¡± she added, holding up her hand, ¡°but you¡¯ve been warned. If you don¡¯t have significant resistance to mes, you¡¯d be wise to employ ranged attacks.¡±

    ¡°And stay the fuck out of my way!¡± Vormor bellowed, and Victor¡¯s heart leaped in his chest¡ªhad that man just said fuck?

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± he said, and Tes turned to him with a grin.

    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking,¡± she said. ¡°He didn¡¯t use the same word you¡¯re so fond of; it¡¯s an umon curse in the Vesh tongue, and the System tranted it simrly to the one from your homnd.¡±

    ¡°Hah! I don¡¯t care; it¡¯s nice to hear another foul mouth.¡±

    ¡°Enough said, we¡¯ll leave the wagons and attendants here, and we hunters will move out in ten minutes!¡± Cayle called, then quickly added, ¡°I¡¯ll be watching participation, and so will the other members of the Spears. No one has any looting rights until the battle is done, and I¡¯ve awarded merits! Naturally, if you perish, your portion will be split among the survivors; there are no benefits paid to families on this hunt¡ªuse that information to inform your level of caution.¡± With that, Cayle hopped down from her crate, and Tes turned to Victor and Va.

    ¡°You¡¯ll stay by me, Va. I know your Lightning Strike isn¡¯t your best attack yet, but you¡¯ll get some good hits in¡ªI¡¯ll help you. Victor, I suggest you avoid the beast¡¯s maw, but I think your resistances will be sufficient to deal with the smoldering nature of its blood. Don¡¯t hold back.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t he need to worry about the other hunters? Will they be using area attacks?¡±

    ¡°Naturally; stay on your toes, Victor.¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± he said, resting a hand on Lifedrinker, where shey nestled against his side. Tes led them away from the main group of hunters up a rocky hillside on the south side of the gully that supposedly wound its way to where the wyrm was roaming.

    ¡°I can feel it,¡± she said when they were away, standing high, back to the rising sun and facing down the meandering pathway through low, stone, and scrub-covered hills toward a distant rocky canyon. ¡°He¡¯s old and angry, too big ever to sate his hunger in thesends. Stymied by his nature, he cannot find a way to progress. Wyrms aren¡¯t terribly clever, even old ones like him, and he¡¯ll respond with insane, frenzied attacks when he¡¯s set upon by the hunters. Victor, you should unleash everything you have near his midsection. Try to spill as much of his guts as you can. Lifedrinker will be able to part his lower scales, though you¡¯ll need to use all your might.

    ¡°Avoid the thick ridges on his back; if you thought the night brute prince¡¯s bones were hard, those would give you a new level of understanding of the word. Still, if you can do enough damage, those very scales will be a part of your prize; you can bet on it, and with them, I can help you craft armor that will eclipse what you lost two days ago.¡±

    ¡°Shit!¡± Victor said, pping a hand on his leather-d chest. He was wearing one of the fringed and beaded vests Tellen¡¯s people had gifted him. ¡°I was supposed to buy one of these Degh¡¯s old armor!¡± He gestured to the hunters below.

    ¡°Forget it,¡± Tes waved a hand dismissively. ¡°Nothing you could buy from these men and women would be much use against an ancient wyrm. Better to not let it bite you.¡± She paused, considered for a moment, and added, ¡°Or sting you with its tail.¡±

    ¡°Sting me?¡± Victor groaned.

    ¡°Oh yes. This type of wyrm has a barbed tail with venom that will ignite your blood. Literally.¡± While Victor let those words sink in, the other hunters began to ride, fly, and run forth, streaming over the hillsides with whoops, hollers, and jolts of Energy that lit up the gray shadows of early morning. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Tes said, and then she was running over the hilltops, suddenly muchrger than before. Va cloaked herself in lightning and wind and sped after her, and Victor grinned, watching them go.

    He unslung Lifedrinker and held her up so the morning sun shed along her silvery edge and said, ¡°Time to go to work, beautiful. I¡¯ll be careful not to crack your handle again. I¡¯ll find a perfect spot to let you sink your teeth into this old bastard.¡±

    With that, he started to jog and gathered his Energy to cast Inspiring Presence. He whooped andughed as the shadows fell away, and he saw the perfect path to run along. He checked his Sovereign Will boost to ensure it was still on his vitality and strength, where he¡¯d kept it for days on end, no longer very fatigued or bothered by the constant use of the spell.

    If he had to guess, he felt he was damn close to advancing the spell, so easy had it be for him to keep it going. Catching himself thinking that way, he wondered if his inspiration-attuned Energy was giving him the insight. Heughed and shrugged, shouting into the sky, ¡°Does it matter if I¡¯m right?¡±

    Tes and Va were small figures on the next hill, a solid mile ahead of him, and he decided it was time to quit messing around. He gathered up his rage and cast Berserk. When his body stretched and bunched with corded muscles, Victor roared, squatted his huge, powerful legs, andunched himself toward the next hill, soaring hundreds of feet over the sted hillside to smash into the loose, dusty gravel on the next slope. Again, heughed, turned to the bright, red-tinted sun, and howled, brandishing Lifedrinker to the baleful orb, seeking its blessing as he turned and charged up to the hill¡¯s crest.

    Tes and Va were no longer distant figures, and Victor, for the first time, managed to pass by Tes as he leaped again, soaring through the air to smash into the next hillside with a tremendous roar. The thrill of the chase didn¡¯t matter to him at the moment; he wasn¡¯t trying to catch Tes, he was rushing toward a mighty enemy, and there were weaklings ahead of him still, people bent on stealing his glory, and the glory he meant to win for his ancestors in the Ghost Lands.

 Book 4: Chapter 32: A Wyrms Tale

    Book 4: Chapter 32: A Wyrm''s Tale

    Victor tore through the loose, dry scree scattered about the hilltop, and with crimson rage tinting his vision, he surveyed the final slope that led down into the box canyon where his quarry awaited. Despite his efforts, several challengers had reached the canyon ahead of him, one riding on a twisting serpent mount, another atop the shoulders of a lumbering, giant, armadillo-like monstrosity, and a third soaring through the air, her massive, red-scaled wings allowing her to leave everyone else in the dust. Still, Victor saw her circling up there, perhaps afraid to initiate the fight with the terrible beast that lurked ahead.

    Of the wyrm, Victor could only see its hindquarters¡ªthe rest of its enormous body wound out of sight beyond a steep bluff-like hill to the east. Still, enough could be seen to give even Victor¡¯s rage-soaked mind pause; this was a monster of legend, a creaturerge enough to swallow him whole or drive him into the soil with nothing but its great girth as a weapon.

    ¡°Great men aren¡¯t made by fleeing from danger,¡± he said, pacing back and forth, clenching his fists and stoking his fury. He pumped his pathways full from the heat in his Core, focusing on the fact that he wasn¡¯t charging into battle. The thought made him angry, which further fueled his rage, and soon, his vision was such a deep shade of crimson that he could imagine he swam through air soaked in blood. Heughed and howled at the idea, and then he leaped off the hill, crashing to the hard, dusty floor of the canyon and racing toward the enormous ck-scaled tail with its horrible, razor-edged barb.

    ¡°Ancestors!¡± he bellowed, ¡°Witness our glory!¡±

    Despite his fury and the urge to swing his axe, Victor forced himself to calmly utilize some of his other attuned Energy; he summoned his totemic bear using a surge of baleful purple-ck Energy, and as an inky, dark, misty figure began to coalesce on the far side of the weaving, bobbing wyrm tail, he cast Channel Spirit, flooding Lifedrinker with inspiration. Before he gained enough ground to leap upon the mighty creature¡¯s tail, it began to thrash and surged forward¡ªthe other hunters must have engaged the beast¡¯s front end.

    Undaunted, Victor bunched his legs into greater strides, charging forward, and that¡¯s when his bear fully materialized and roared so loudly that small rocks and dust began to cascade off the canyon walls. Victor howled at the sound, pleased, but then another sound burst through the air, one so vastly more tremendous that, at first, Victor¡¯s ears couldn¡¯t make sense of it. When it dawned on him that he wasn¡¯t hearing a volcanic eruption or a lotive derailing but rather the roar of the wyrm, a mad exuberance filled him; here was a challenge worthy of demigods!

    One more mighty stride and then an explosive leap that left a dust cloud in his wake, and Victor soared through the air tond atop that thrashing tail. He wrapped his powerful legs around it, just above where thence-like stinger began. Before he could nce along the great length of scaled ridges that made up the wyrm¡¯s spine and, perhaps, grow discouraged, Victor began toy into the bumpy, rough scales before him; he¡¯d decided to try to manage this enormous beast one small piece at a time.

    His first few hacks, aimed at the gaps between rough scales, were rebuffed by the tough hide of the ancient beast. Victor swung again, harder, and nearly unseated himself as the wyrm¡¯s tail lifted into the air. He bore down with his prodigious strength, squeezing the tail between his thighs and hooking his ankles together at the bottom. If he¡¯d been less focused on his task and more aware of his situation, Victor might haveughed at the idea of riding a wyrm¡¯s tail like it was the world''s biggest bucking bronco.

    Growling with determination, Victor gripped the ridge of a rough, ck scale and braced himself, hacking Lifedrinker into the crease between two scales over and over, his grip high on her handle so as not to apply enough force to damage the axe again. In his red-eyed fury, he could have lost himself to the effort, wholly given in to his Berserking nature, heedless of Lifedrinker¡¯s safety, but his attachment to her was too great, his recollection of her previous wound too fresh in his mind.

    Victor frequently nced at her gleaming edge to ensure she was holding up, and when he saw nary a nick or scratch, he redoubled his efforts, grinning as the gap between the scales gradually widened. He was aware that he wasn¡¯t the onlybatant on the field¡ªhe heard concussions, saw shes of light, and heard screams. He knew he was flying through the air as the wyrm thrashed and brought its stinger to bear on its foes, but Victor was singleminded in his efforts, refusing to let go, to loosen his death grasp on the beast¡¯s whipping appendage.

    When Lifedrinker¡¯s edge finally bit through the thick dark hide beneath those scales, hot blood, like liquid fire, spurted out, singing a hole through Victor¡¯s leather pants and scalding his arm. He knew if it weren¡¯t for his Berserk healing and me-Touched feat, his flesh would have been rendered from his bones. As it was, the touch of that blood was painful and left pink welts on his skin, but they healed rapidly, and Lifedrinker didn¡¯t seem to mind it at all.

    With the beast¡¯s flesh parted, Victor lifted Lifedrinker high and brought her down on the cut with all his might, driving her deep into the wyrm¡¯s meaty, muscr tail. Lifedrinker screamed with bloody intent as she tore into the wyrm, and Victor lifted his head into an ulting howl and screamed, with vicious bloodlust, ¡°Dig in deep, chica! Drink!¡± Lifedrinker didn¡¯t need the encouragement; she shivered and throbbed, pulling herself deeper and deeper until only the very tip of her hammer spike was exposed.

    Victor used her haft as a grip, better supporting himself as the wyrm writhed around the canyon, thrashing this way and that, trying to y the swarm of attackers or dodge their more devastating attacks. He saw a spiderweb of luminous orange Energy flowing through the scales of the beast into Lifedrinker. At that sight, he knew she would profit immensely from this battle, whether he survived or not, and the thought brought himfort and amusement. ¡°You¡¯ll get yours, won¡¯t you, beautiful? No matter what that little woman decides I¡¯ve earned.¡±

    Watching his axe drain vast currents of Energy from the wyrm, Victor lifted his head to the sky again, howling. He jerked his gaze around, looking for his bear. Somewhat at the mercy of the wyrm and in what direction it chose to thrash and flip its tail, Victor had a hard time finding not only his bear but his sense of direction.

    At one point, Victor hung upside down as the tail lifted into the air and curved as though to strike at someone. Hanging there, the battlefield below his head, Victor finally got a good look at the enormity of his foe. The wyrm stretched away from him for a hundred yards or more, and its long, twisting form was supported by no less than a dozen short, muscr legs.

    That was when he saw his fearsome purple-ck bear battling beside several Degh working to cut the tendons that operated one of the wyrm¡¯s legs on the right side. The one behind it was already hanging limp and bloody. ¡°Good boy! Fuck him up!¡± Victorughed, still clinging to the tail as it shot through the air and impaled an enormous, shaggy, mammoth-like mount, sending its Degh rider flying through the air to smash against a stone outcropping.

    The hillock-sized mount wailed in agony as the wyrm lifted its stinger out and Victor with it. He watched, closer than he¡¯d have liked, as the creature immted from the inside out, gigantic gouts of me shooting from its orifices. ¡°Chingado!¡± Victor grunted, resolving not to let that stinger puncture his own flesh.

    He wanted to do more, wanted to rip the wyrm to pieces, but even in his Berserk state, asrge as he was, he was small and weakpared to the monster. If he pulled Lifedrinker out and continued to hack away, he¡¯d do some damage, sure. Maybe he could get the stinger off eventually, but Lifedrinker was probably doing more damage by drawing the creature¡¯s Energy, and if not, she was undoubtedly benefitting more. For the first time that he could remember, Victor wished he had another decent weapon, something capable of truly harming the ancient monster.

    Somewhere, deep in the back of his rage-addled mind, Victor remembered the enormous ck metal maul he¡¯d taken from ap¡¯Horrin¡¯s ckguard when he¡¯d defeated his ambush in Gelica. Grinning madly, he summoned the huge maul, and in his mighty fist, it was simply an overge warhammer. The handle was metal, just as dark as the heavy metal hammerhead, and it all seemed to be one piece. ¡°Perfect,¡± Victor growled, inching his way up the tail, past Lifedrinker, and then bringing it down with a tremendous smash into the hard scales of the wyrm.

    To the bones in his hands, it felt like he¡¯d just struck a great hunk of iron, and Victor¡¯s rage intensified as he was rebuffed so easily. ¡°Piece of shit!¡± he roared at the hammer and tried again. This time the scale at the center of his blow cracked, but the hammer¡¯s haft bent. He screamed in fury and threw it to the side, heedless of its trajectory. Some ancient instinct took shape from deep within Victor, and he lifted his furious face to the sky and cried, ¡°Ancestors!¡±

    A sibnt voice came to him then, like a woman whispering in his ear, ¡°I am Cilicue, and you have pleased me, child of the Quinametzin. Borrow my grace and the touch of my whip. Make haste, though, for my power wanes quickly; I offer you these boons knowing you¡¯ll repay me tenfold!¡±

    Before Victor could so much as whoop orugh with delight at the contact with an ancestral spirit, he felt a surge of profound, rich Energy, heavy with the scent of rain and grass and the pulse of the verdant jungle. Suddenly a new understanding of movement came over him¡ªthe bucking and thrashing of the wyrm¡¯s tail was, to him, a gently swaying bough in the breeze. He released his hold on the knobby ridges of the wyrm¡¯s scales and leaped to his feet, running up the weaving, roiling spine of the creature as though it were a steady nk.

    While he ran forward, Victor felt more Energy itching in his hand, and he lifted it above his head, and suddenly a twisting, luminous tendril of deep-green Energy red and snapped into the sky. ¡°Feel this whip, beast!¡± he roared and brought the coil of powerful Energy down to crack against the wyrm¡¯s side. The whip snapped out and down, the torrent of Energy condensing at its tip like a miniature green sun, and when it tore through the wyrm¡¯s hide, the sound of the concussion was like a cannon going off.

    That blow got the wyrm¡¯s attention; it bellowed another great roar that brought cascades of boulders and gravel down from the heights, and Victorughed as he continued running along the thrashing beast, cracking that brilliant whip into its side over and over, sting bloody, jagged holes in its flesh with each impact. Later, he might wonder just what his agility had been boosted to, but then, in the moment, all he could do was revel in his ancestor''s power and bask in his foe''s thrashing fury.

    The ancient wyrm tried to unseat him by rolling to its side, but Victor nimbly hopped along the bucking, twisting surface of the monster, running over its ribs and cracking that terrible whip again and again. So desperate to remove him was the wyrm that, as Victor danced toward the front part of its spine, the creature tried to impale him with its dripping,nce-like stinger. Victor adroitly leaped forward, though,nding some twenty feet further toward its head, and the monster impaled itself.

    Whatever fiery venom was in its barbed stinger didn¡¯t seem to bother it overmuch, as amusing as that would have been, and it pulled its stinger free just as a tremendous bolt of lightning, followed by a ming boulder the size of a minivan, smashed into the center of its back. Victor made to leap away from the concussive explosion, but that¡¯s when his ancestor¡¯s gift dissipated, and he lost his footing on the rolling, flopping monster¡¯s spine.

    As Victor fell toward the hard canyon floor, a great shadow followed him, and when he smashed into the dirt, the bulk of the wyrm¡¯s body rolled over him, pressing him down into the hardened ground. Had such a thing happened to him a few months ago, he would likely have had many of his bones reduced to shattered fragments and his guts pressed out of his mouth. Thankfully his body had undergone many improvements, and with his Berserking rage still coursing through his pathways, the pressure of the great beast smashing him down like a rolling pin on dough was only briefly painful and unpleasant.

    When the monster¡¯s bulk passed over him, he grunted and jerked himself up to his hands and knees, part of his mind mildly amused by the Victor-shaped impression in the dirt. At that moment, his rage began to fade, and heboriously pushed himself to his feet, backpedaling from the still-thrashing, gigantic body not a dozen yards before him. To his more rational mind, it became apparent then that the higher-tier hunters had ramped up their attacks and were finishing the direly wounded creature.

    Lances of light, lightning bolts, smoking orbs of fiery magma, and even a ball of something that looked like crackling sma tore through the air, filling it with fumes, smoke, and steam, making it hard for even Victor¡¯s powerful lungs to breathe. He turned and hurried up the side of a newly-formed slope of scree, wanting to get above the haze of powerful magic to witness the wyrm¡¯s final death throes.

    He mbered atop a boulder and turned, standing tall to watch as, borne on golden wings of Energy, Cayle streaked through the air to drive hernce-like, red-limned long spear into the rolling Wyrm¡¯s breast, burying ten feet of its shaft with an explosion of smoking, hissing wyrm blood. Then, the huge Degh, Vormor, ran forward with another long spear, this one crackling with white and blue electricity, and drove it directly through the wyrm¡¯s scaled hide, running forward to bury it six or eight feet into its flesh.

    Simr actions yed out all along the wyrm¡¯s length as Cayle¡¯s troop, the Spears of the Copper Sunset, earned their names, burying great spear after spear into the wyrm until its thrashing finally stilled and the surviving hunters screamed and whooped their triumph into the air. Victor joined in, of course, lifting his fists to the sky and howling. When his voice was lost in the mor, he cast Titanic Aspect and redoubled his efforts, and this time his roars echoed out through the canyon with the best of them.

    He leaped over several dead or gravely injured hunters tond near the wyrm¡¯s tail and sought out his wonderful axe, eager to see how she¡¯d fared. As he reached for the tail, meaning to twist it so he could see Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, a rough hand gripped his arm near the elbow and pulled him back, ¡°Hold up, offworlder, we wait for Cayle to assign loot.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going for loot,¡± Victor growled, jerking his shoulder around to look at who spoke. It was the big Vesh with the enormous ck horn jutting out of his forehead, Bricker. ¡°My axe is stuck in the tail, and I¡¯m going to pull her out.¡± Victor reached his hand back toward the tail, but the guy jerked his arm again, and though Victor was titan-sized, the Vesh was stronger, much stronger, than he looked. ¡°If you don¡¯t stop doing that . . .¡± he growled, feeling his rage begin to stoke, feeling it start to bleed into his pathways.

    ¡°What¡¯s the trouble here?¡± a cheerful, feminine voice asked. Victor turned his head past Bricker to see Tes strolling forward. ¡°The beast¡¯sst heart just stopped beating. Energy will be flowing soon; no need to quarrel, Bricker.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not quarreling; I¡¯m just making sure this offworlder doesn¡¯t get greedy.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! I can see his axe jutting out,¡± she stepped past Victor and effortlessly lifted the enormous tail, ¡°just here. See it?¡± she asked, pointing to Lifedrinker¡¯s half-buried haft. As Bricker grumbled, Tes winked at Victor, and he reached forward to grab Lifedrinker and pulled, with all his might, to free her buried head.

    ¡°Gods,¡± Tes breathed as Lifedrinker came free. She¡¯d changed again¡ªher de was broader, the bearded part longer, and no trace of the dark ore that used to be mixed with her Heart Silver remained. More than that, she gleamed and pulsed with amber Energy. At first, Victor thought she was just slick with the wyrm¡¯s blood, but that had sizzled and drifted into the air as dark smoke the moment he¡¯d pulled her free. No, this new fiery gleam was something new, an aspect she¡¯d stolen from the great monster.

    ¡°?Que incre¨ªble!¡± Victor hissed, gingerly reaching to touch Lifedrinker¡¯s head, noting how the dark, living-wood handle had grown in girth as he held her one-handed. He hovered his fingers over the metal and was pleased not to feel any heat when he touched it, though he could feel the depths of the Energy beneath the surface, as though ake of molten fire lurked in there.

    ¡°Do I please you, Victor?¡± her crystal voice asked in his mind, a new, smoky crackle lurking beneath the words.

    ¡°God, yes, chica. You¡¯re amazing!¡± Victorughed and hefted her in his mighty fists, and then he was crushed by an avnche of Energy that surged into him¡ªhis share of the ancient wyrm kill.

 Book 4: Chapter 33: Trophies

    Book 4: Chapter 33: Trophies

    When Victor came to his senses, he stood among more than two dozen other hunters who¡¯d simrly gone through an incredible influx of Energy. Many stood, swaying on their feet, dazed like Victor. Others, perhaps having received less,ughed and cheered, pping the hands of their neighbors and whooping, waiting for Cayle to make her post-battle announcements.

    Victor ignored everyone, including Tes, as she grinned at him expectantly, no doubt waiting for him to tell her about his gains. Instead, he carefully read through the System messages floating in the air before him:

    ***Congrattions! You have achieved level 44 Titanic Herald, gained 12 strength, 22 vitality, 12 dexterity, 12 agility, 12 intelligence, and 12 will.***

    ***Congrattions! You have gained a ss feat: Titanic Presence***

    ***Titanic Presence: The blood of mighty titans surges in your veins. Something buried deep in the primal instincts of other peoples and creatures recognizes your heritage and respects it. Your aura is heavier, and threat and danger are pervasive in its dense folds.***

    Smiling broadly, Victor looked at his altered attributes:

    Energy Affinity:

    3.1, Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Inspiration 7.4

    Energy:

    6554/6554

    Strength:

    159

    Vitality:

    244

    Dexterity:

    64

    Agility:

    87

    Intelligence:

    56

    Will:

    437

    Points Avable:

    0

    Titles & Feats:

    Titanic Rage, Ancestral Bond, me-Touched, Titanic Constitution, Titanic Presence

    ¡°Well?¡± Tes finally asked, reaching out to nudge Victor¡¯s shoulder. Victor nced around and saw that the guy who¡¯d been hassling him had wandered off and that everyone seemed preupied with their own situations.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Va?¡± he asked rather than answer right away.

    ¡°She¡¯s up on yonder hill from which she tossed many a lightning bolt into this great old serpent.¡± Tes gestured to the rocky slope a hundred yards or so behind and to the left of Victor. He thought he could see his diminutive blue friend up there, sitting cross-legged and staring into the sky.

    ¡°I hope she got a good amount of Energy from it.¡± He grinned as Tes began to frown, staring at him pointedly. ¡°Oh, all right¡ªI gained two levels, a bunch of attribute points, and a new feat.¡±

    ¡°Something to do with your aura?¡± Tes guessed.

    ¡°You can tell?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re going to have to work harder to learn to control it. See how the hunters wander away, shifting subconsciously to be out of it? Your presence grows rather noticeable, and those with great power and pride might begin to take offense.¡±

    ¡°Ah, damn. Yeah, I¡¯ll work on it.¡± Victor shifted Lifedrinker in his grip and then lifted her to look at her broad de and gleaming silver metal. The amber luster lurking beneath her surface was less visible now, but he knew it was still there. He smiled at her with pride, then slipped her into the harness Tes had crafted him. ¡°Do you think I earned some trophies?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes! If Cayle doesn¡¯t recognize your contribution, I¡¯ll speak up on your behalf. She has a sharp eye, though. I think you¡¯ll be pleased. Look, here shees.¡± Tes gestured back toward the wyrm¡¯s corpse, and Victor saw Cayle¡¯s tall, lithe figure striding along the downed creature, hopping nimbly between the humps of knobby scales. When she drew closer to the densest pack of hunters near the wyrm¡¯s middle section, she lifted her arms, and everyone cheered.

    ¡°What a battle!¡± she howled. ¡°Three cheers for the fallen; we lost seven brave souls today, but they¡¯ll be remembered! I¡¯ll mark their names on the memorial in Hunter¡¯s Hall myself!¡± Again the crowd cheered, and Victor joined in, loudly shouting with each of the three repetitions. When the noise died down, Cayle yelled, ¡°I have my preliminary assessment, but I¡¯ll continue to analyze my memory stone,¡± she held up a perfectly round, bright blue sphere, ¡°while the beast is butchered. After we¡¯ve gathered the trophies, I¡¯ll award each of you your lots. Time to get to work!¡±

    As the hunters began to draw carving knives and butcher des, some bigger than Lifedrinker, Victor nced at Tes, and she held out her Hell de with a grin. ¡°Time to learn how to carve up a monster bigger than many people''s homes. I¡¯ll give you a hint: take it one piece at a time!¡±

    Victor chuckled and took the offered knife, and then he followed Tes to the tail, where she showed him how to carve off the stinger without severing the long, springy tubes that carried the venom from a nd deeper along the spine. ¡°The hunters won¡¯t want us to spill the venom,¡± she said, pulling on scales and holding them up so Victor could slice them out of the flesh. Once that was done, following her instructions, he cut along the tail until he¡¯d removed the venom nd, a great, spongy orange organ the size of a five-gallon bucket.

    Several times people came to observe his progress, perhaps intent on carving out the same organ, but they all left, seemingly satisfied with his work. Va approached when he was halfway through, and Tes told her to help with the head¡ªseveral people were needed to hold the jaw wide while teeth, horns, and other trophies were carved out.

    Even with dozens of hunters and just as many retainers, it took the rest of the day and long into the night to finish harvesting the enormous body. It was hard work, even though many of the hunters had magical spells that could make the gathering of great stacks of wyrm meat, magically reinforced barrels full of wyrm blood, and piles and piles of wyrm ribs and vertebrae easier.

    The moremon items were piled on gigantic tarps, while other, more precious items like the seven wyrm hearts and other organs were stored in specially enchanted ss jars, some of which were the size of fifty-gallon drums. The teeth and ws were kept under guard, apparently so valuable that a hunter might risk ostracism to steal more than his or her share. In the end, when the work was done, nothing but scraps of cartge, flesh, and stained desert soil remained as evidence of the great creature ever having existed.

    When all the prizes were stacked andid out with bright Energymps illuminating the scene, the hunters gathered up and broke open some casks of, apparently, fine ale. Some of the retainers and a few hunters took up instruments, kicking off an impromptu celebration. Victor worked hard to keep his aura in check, which prevented him from having much fun; it still took too much of his concentration to keep it from slipping free of the he¡¯d cast with his will.

    ¡°When do you think Cayle will announce the shares?¡± he heard arge Degh ask Va as if she had any idea. His friend smiled and shrugged, drinking her ale with a lopsided grin.

    ¡°Not sure, but it won¡¯t matter to me; I¡¯m sure my part will be small. I¡¯m just happy I participated in the battle; I gained a level and improved a spell!¡±

    ¡°Well done, then, little miss.¡± The Degh held out his enormous tankard of ale, and Va clinked hers against it, sloshing out a shameful amount onto the ground. She didn¡¯t seem to care,ughing and looking away shyly, and Victor realized she might be drunk.

    ¡°You¡¯re doing well, Victor.¡± Tes had walked up to him where he sat in the sand, feet extended and one hand holding his own mug. He was on the outskirts of the gathering but still within the light of the glowmps. ¡°Hard to have fun when you have to concentrate so much, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess, but I don¡¯t want to make enemies identally. I figure after Cayle speaks and we get our shares, I¡¯ll head off by myself to unwind.¡± He took a sip of his ale, careful to drink slowly so his control didn¡¯t slip.

    ¡°You¡¯re making good decisions. Aren¡¯t you pleased with your growth on this hunt? I think it¡¯s been very good for you.¡± Tes sat down in the sand next to him, and he saw that she held a red crystal goblet in one hand, the contents of which shimmered faintly in the glowmp¡¯s re. He¡¯d seen a jar of mercury once in science ss, and it had looked a lot like what she was drinking.

    ¡°That looks like a potent drink,¡± he said.

    ¡°Oh, this? Yes¡ªI¡¯d offer you a taste, but I fear it would be a bit much. Perhaps when you¡¯ve pushed your bloodline into the epic tier.¡± She grinned and winked at him, and Victor admired how the light lit up the depths of her eyes. They glimmered like deep pools of honey with hidden turquoise stones in their depths.

    ¡°You¡¯re an interesting fellow, Victor. I¡¯m sorry that this hunt ising to a close; I¡¯ve had more fun with you and Va than all the rest of my time in this world.¡±

    ¡°Well . . . I¡¯ve had fun, too, Tes. I really appreciate all you¡¯ve done for me. I imagine Va and I will be in Coloss for several more weeks. Won¡¯t we see more of you there?¡±

    ¡°Surely!¡± She leaned closer, and he could smell something of her drink on her breath, something like whiskey and cinnamon, cloves and sugar, and, underlying it all, the coppery tang of blood. His mouth began to water. ¡°I¡¯ll visit you in the warlord¡¯s citadel; how does that sound? I¡¯ve more lessons for Va, and you¡¯ll want more of that spell pattern once you¡¯ve mastered the first part. No?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Definitely.¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± She looked over her shoulder and said, ¡°Herees Cayle.¡± Victor followed her gaze but didn¡¯t see Cayle for several seconds. Then she stepped around the pile of wyrm fangs, and the people who were drinking, singing, dancing, and carousing backed up, giving her room.

    The instruments grew quiet, and Cayle produced her big crate, hopping atop it. Tes shifted so she could more easily watch the proceedings, sitting next to Victor, closer than she needed to, and he was very aware of her warmth as she leaned into his shoulder and whispered, ¡°Some will argue at your share, but if they try to press the matter, let Cayle settle them down.¡±

    ¡°You know my share?¡±

    ¡°I have a good inkling.¡±

    ¡°Are you all ready to hear your shares of this amazing kill?¡± Cayle called, holding up a faintly glowing ck te. The crowd cheered in the affirmative, and Cayle smiled, gesturing around her to the piled wyrm trophies. ¡°All of this represents one hundred shares. First, I¡¯ll award the tenth-shares.

    ¡°All of you retainers who didn¡¯t participate in the battle but aided us in our long journey and with the massive undertaking of cleaning our kill will be paid with a tenth-share. One hunter, Graga of Hot Rocks Spring, will also be paid in a tenth-share. I¡¯m sorry you were knocked senseless so early, Graga, but be happy not to walk home with empty hands.¡±

    Victor saw a tall,nky Vesh woman with a white mohawkugh and bow as many of the hunters chuckled. Cayle smiled and continued, ¡°Quarter-shares will be awarded to Thole, Furvett, Astor, Beysha, Cadric, Moon, Qanit, and Jasper.¡± Victor shifted and smiled nervously at Tes. Neither he nor Va had been called, and it seemed the shares were getting bigger.

    Tes returned his smile, her bright teeth winking in the light, and, for the first time, he noticed she had a small gap between her two front teeth. He wondered if that was a choice or if her dragon body would reflect that tiny imperfection. He decided he quite liked it. So focused was he on Tes¡¯s smile that he almost missed it when Cayle called out Va¡¯s name for a half-share.

    ¡°Nice!¡± he said, looking for his friend and waving at her. She was beaming, clearly pleased, and many nearby hunters raised their drinks to her.

    Cayle continued to call out names, going from half-shares to full-shares, and still, Victor hadn¡¯t heard his name. When she read off several names, members of her huntingpany, who¡¯d earned five full shares, he began to grow nervous. Victor looked at Tes and said, ¡°Did I miss my name?¡±

    ¡°No, you silly oaf.¡± She shook her head, a look of wonderment on her face, presumably at his goofiness.

    Cayle continued to call out hunters, going more slowly now that people were winningrger andrger shares, allowing for some celebration. When she got to ten-share awards, she named herself, three other members of the Spears of the Copper Sunset, and then Victor. Cheering resounded for each name until she called out Victor, which was followed by some hisses and grumbling.

    A few hunters, much higher rank than Victor, who¡¯d been awarded a single share or less, started to argue loudly, and he could feel the angry resing his way. Victor remained seated, remained steady in the control of his aura, and tried to follow Tes¡¯s advice, waiting for Cayle to sort the matter out. When some of the louder, more powerful hunters began to walk toward him, and the grumbling crowd refused to listen to Cayle¡¯s shouts, he began to get nervous, preparing himself to leap to his feet.

    He needn¡¯t have worried, though¡ªwhen Cayle¡¯s shouts went unheeded, she seemed to lose patience and produced her enormous spear, smashing the haft against the crate, sending an explosive bolt of howling, brilliant Energy into the night sky. As the wastnd canyon lit up like noon on a bright day, people turned to see what their angry leader had to say.

    ¡°Before you try to undermine my tally, perhaps you¡¯d all like to hear why Victor has won such a share, hmm? Do you all feel you can grant me that tiny bit of respect?¡± She didn¡¯t yell, but her voice was full of venom, and the grumbling malcontents looked away from Victor as Cayle began to list his aplishments during the battle.

    ¡°How many of you were burned with the wyrm¡¯s magma breath?¡± She looked around, and when not one hunter spoke up, she continued, ¡°That¡¯s because Victor nted his Heart Silver axe, Lifedrinker, directly into the great beast¡¯s primary Energy pathway! The axe never allowed it to build up the Energy necessary to pour forth a gout of terrible liquid magma!¡±

    Some appreciative grumbles sounded around the gathered hunters, and Cayle continued, ¡°How many of you witnessed a great dark spirit in the shape of a bear? Did you see how it tore out the tendons on not one but two of the wyrm¡¯s legs before it was destroyed? Victor summoned that bear!¡±

    ¡°Victor!¡± one of the Degh giants howled into the night, and a few others cheered along with his cry.

    ¡°How many of you saw Victor striding along the wyrm¡¯s back, tormenting it with a whip of powerful Energy that tore through its hide and caused it to thrash so madly that it gave us its belly?¡±

    ¡°Victor!¡± the Degh cried again, and this time others echoed his shout, ¡°Victor! Victor!¡± Cayle nodded at the sound and raised her spear, looking over the heads of the gathered crowd to Victor, offering him a salute of sorts. He stood up, held a fist high, locked eyes with Cayle, and nodded back to her.

    After that, it was just a matter of divvying up the goods, and Victor was d to stand on the perimeter, waiting for the others to get their shares first. None of the hunters were hostile to him after Cayle¡¯s little speech describing his aplishments, and Tes said he was probably safe to rx his hold on his aura for a while as the others picked up their shares.

    Va approached, though she grimaced as she drew near and said, ¡°Could you make your aura any heavier? I don¡¯t quite feel enough of a strain!¡±

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m working on it! I held it in check all damn night.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± Tes smiled at Va and walked over to give her a brief hug, ¡°I¡¯m proud of you, Va! A half-share at your rank is nothing to be ashamed of.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Tes. A pity I can¡¯tpete with this lunatic, though! Still, all joking aside, I¡¯m proud of you, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Oh, man. Can¡¯t you insult me? I¡¯m not used to people being nice.¡± Victor chuckled, then added, ¡°I¡¯ll share my rewards, don¡¯t worry. Though you¡¯ll have to wait and see if anything¡¯s left after I share with my ancestors . . .¡± Va¡¯s mouth fell open, and her eyes widened, and Victorughed, shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯m kidding. I mean, I will be sacrificing some of my share to them, but I¡¯m sure there¡¯ll be plenty left over.¡±

    ¡°Wise! Thanks to your ancestors, that battle went much better than it could have. People are stealing nces your way, Victor, and I see respect in their eyes.¡± Tes stepped away from Va and reached up to squeeze Victor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Your axe, Lifedrinker, she¡¯s going to be as famous as you, I think. I¡¯m d Cayle realized what she did¡ªhow you interrupted the flow of the wyrm¡¯s Energy. Its breath could have killed many more of the hunters.¡±

    ¡°I, well, to be honest, I didn¡¯t know that would happen; I just wanted her to get a good long drink.¡± Victor chuckled and gently patted Lifedrinker¡¯s haft hanging by his side. In an effort to get the attention off himself, he looked at Va and asked, ¡°Did you get your share?¡±

    ¡°Yes! A gallon of the wyrm¡¯s blood, a rib, five side scales, and two back scales.¡±

    ¡°Shit! Not bad, I guess,¡± Victor shrugged; he had no idea of the value of those trophies.

    ¡°Outstanding, Va. Those back scales, alone, are worth a handsome sum.¡± Tes, ever-cheerful, smiled broadly at Va as she congratted her.

    ¡°Well, I can attest that they¡¯re hard as hell,¡± Victor chuckled.

    ¡°People are clearing out, Victor. I think you can walk forward to im your prize. Perhaps reign in your aura one more time tonight.¡± Tes took his elbow and urged him back toward Cayle¡¯s big crate and the remaining wyrm trophies. Va followed along, breathing a sigh of relief as Victor¡¯s aura receded.

    ¡°Victor,¡± Cayle said as he approached. ¡°I told you I was fair, didn¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Cayle and you were true to your word.¡±

    ¡°Well, you earned this.¡± She turned and waved to the pile of Wyrm parts on arge tarp. ¡°A full ten shares.¡± She walked around the tarp, pointing to each item as she listed them off, ¡°Four fangs, twenty ribs, a hundred side and belly scales, forty back scales, a heart, fifty gallons of blood, a pint of magma venom, a quarter liver, seven pounds of the brain, five horns, two ws, and your option: the stinger or another heart?¡±

    ¡°Chingado,¡± Victor breathed, looking at all the paper-wrapped and jarred wyrm parts. The barrel of blood looked like an oil drum he¡¯d seen in vids back on Earth. He nced at Tes and raised an eyebrow, ¡°What should I take? The stinger or another heart¡ªI mean, I know the obvious benefit of a heart, but . . .¡± his voice trailed off as he looked at the seven-foot length of hard ck stinger. He supposed the venom tubes and nd had been severed so the hunters could divvy out the venom itself. Still, that stinger looked like something special to him.

    ¡°The stinger can be made into a powerful weapon,¡± Cayle said before Tes could speak.

    ¡°Yes. The right smith could make a mighty spear ornce. Would Lifedrinker grow jealous, though?¡± Tes asked, gingerly reaching out to gently brush two fingers along the axe¡¯s haft.

    Victor thought about her words¡ªhe doubted Lifedrinker would react that way, especially if the spear weren¡¯t intelligent and he kept it in a dimensional container. Besides, wouldn¡¯t it be nice to have a long, pointy weapon when Lifedrinker didn¡¯t quite suit the circumstance or when she was busy drinking the life from a foe? He chuckled and said, ¡°She knows she¡¯s my favorite.¡± As if to confirm it, he reached down to feel her silvery head, letting the heavy hammer spike at the back rest against his palm.

    ¡°What about it, chica? Do you care if I have a spear, too?¡±

    ¡°A spear is but a tool. I¡¯m your weapon, yourpanion; your spirit and mine are bound. I care not.¡±

    ¡°Well said, love, well said.¡± Her words struck a chord within him, and Victor suddenly found the idea of using any other weapon rather unappealing, at least as long as he didn¡¯t have to. Why would he want to run around with some wyrm stinger when he had Lifedrinker? He looked at the three women standing nearby and their questioning expressions and said, ¡°Lifedrinker doesn¡¯t care, but I¡¯m not feeling it¡ªI need to get my axe skill up to legendary, anyway, right? I think I¡¯ll take another heart.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s settled then. Take your share, Victor. I hope you,¡± she turned to Va, ¡°and you, Va, will consider hunting with us again. The Spears were impressed by you both.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 34: The Hunt Returns

    Book 4: Chapter 34: The Hunt Returns

    The hunters¡¯ caravan traveled back to Coloss on the same route they¡¯d used heading out, and the monsters of the waste seemed to be giving them a wide berth. Consequently, Tes didn¡¯t take Victor and Va on more side hunts. That said, she did spend a lot of time on the return trip tutoring the two of them. In Victor¡¯s case, it was more that she gave him a peaceful ce to keep working on his current projects: cultivating his Core, learning to control his aura, and studying the maddening, mind-boggling, utterly impossible spell pattern she¡¯d given him.

    He sat near the back of her floating travel tform and lost himself to the world each day. Victor started the day by making slow, steady progress with his Core in the morning hours. Then he¡¯d break for a meal, and while he studied and tried to replicate the fragment of Tes¡¯s spell pattern, he¡¯d dedicate part of his attention to wrestling with his aura.

    During those early hours, while he worked through constructs of rage and fear and finished with an invigorating study of inspiration, Va would hang behind the train with Tes, avoiding his aura and sparring with the dragon woman. Somehow Tes¡¯s tform trailed behind the monster hunters, always keeping him just far enough away so his aura didn¡¯t bother anyone, and by noon, Va and Tes would race forward to join him as he ate his lunch.

    When they hopped aboard the tform on the third day of leisurely travel¡ªCayle and her hunters seemed to be in no particr hurry to get back to Coloss¡ªhe grinned around a spoonful of bean and pork stew and proimed, ¡°My Core just advanced to improved-five.¡±

    ¡°I sensed it!¡± Tes said, chuckling as she and Va sat across from him on a pair of lovely teak armchairs. Victor sat on a rug, preferring to be on the ¡°floor¡± when he cultivated. ¡°Your friend here is getting ever so fast at alternating her sword forms with Energy attacks; I¡¯m pleased with her progress!¡±

    Victor looked at Va, saw her pale blue cheeks darken as she blushed, and chuckled, ¡°Good for you, Va. If we get back to town tomorrow, what does that leave until your duel? Something more than two weeks, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Tes nodded. ¡°Va will use the warlord¡¯s cultivation chamber while you¡¯re not in it, and I think with more sparring, she¡¯ll be more than ready to teach Reis a lesson in humility.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate your confidence, Tes. Hopefully, I¡¯ll be able to afford some upgrades in town, as well.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you certainly will.¡± Tes nced over her shoulder, and Victor saw that one of the hunters was approaching their tform. He was a tall,nky Vesh with dark fur over most of his body, and he rode upon the back of a long-legged, pale creature that reminded Victor of a nearly hairless camel. ¡°I don¡¯t think he intends trouble,¡± Tes said quietly.

    Victor swallowed hisst bite of stew, stowed away the bowl, and watched as the man rode up beside their tform. ¡°Hello,¡± he said, his voice low and pleasant. Victor admired his armor¡ªmade from scales smaller and more supple than the ones he¡¯d won from the ancient wyrm. It gleamed in the bright sunlight, clearly well-maintained and full of Energy. The scales varied in color from red to burnt orange and contrasted nicely with the man¡¯s fine, turquoise riding cape.

    ¡°How fare you, Darnt?¡± Tes asked, and Victor shook his head, bemused¡ªof course, she knew his name.

    ¡°Well enough. My grief and anger fade.¡± Those words got a reaction out of Va, and she jerked her head up from where she¡¯d been preparing a sandwich of sorts.

    She opened her mouth to speak, but the neer beat her to it, ¡°I¡¯m not here for trouble, Tes. I feel I should speak to your charge, though, to put this chapter behind me.¡±

    Va snapped her mouth shut and locked eyes with Victor. ¡°Who is this man?¡± her expression clearly said.

    Tes didn¡¯t speak, and the man turned his gaze to Victor, still riding alongside their tform. He had a lupine look about him, with long, furry ears and big, golden-yellow eyes. He nodded his head in greeting, and that¡¯s when it clicked. ¡°Krista?¡± Victor asked as a rush of emotion he didn¡¯t know he¡¯d been holding back flooded his chest, constricting his throat.

    ¡°You see her in me?¡± Darnt asked.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor offered a quick nod, his face solemn.

    ¡°I¡¯m not here for vengeance; what would be the justice in that? She sought death in the arena, and you gave it to her. Still, I thought you should know you didn¡¯t kill a monster. You killed my little sister, and she was good and sweet once.¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Victor struggled for words; the man¡¯s statement had left a mark¡ªit was true; he had built Krista into a monster in his mind. That¡¯s how he¡¯d managed to kill her without a second thought. He didn¡¯t want to think of her as a sweet little sister; what the fuck was this guy¡¯s problem? He began to frown, a scowl forming on his face, but before he could blurt out something he might regret, Tes reached forward toy a hand on his forearm. Her calm, light touch stole his attention, and he looked away from Darnt to her ever-changing, sometimes golden-blue, sometimes honey-green eyes.

    ¡°Hear his words, Victor.¡± She didn¡¯t say anything more, but Victor felt his anger cooling, and he had to wonder at its source. Was it logical? He almostughed aloud at the thought¡ªwhen was anger logical?

    ¡°Krista was angry at life, and she did some terrible things,¡± Darnt continued, oblivious to the battle Victor had been having within himself. ¡°She would have killed you in that battle had she been able to. You see, she¡¯d been married and had a daughter¡ªmy niece. I won¡¯t take up your time with the tale of their demise, but they died a few years ago, and Krista was never the same¡ªfull of anger and hate, eager to see others suffer. I just wanted you to know, Victor, that though she wasn¡¯t a good person when you slew her, my sister was, once, a very kind, loving woman. I miss her.¡±

    Victor frowned again, feeling emotions making his throat thick¡ªanger, guilt, sadness. ¡°You know,¡± he finally said, ¡°I would have agreed to show mercy, but she insisted she would kill me. I¡¯m not a monster.¡± He nodded, setting his expression in firm resolve. ¡°I¡¯m not a monster,¡± he said again, more softly.

    ¡°Well, who can me you?¡± Darnt said, shaking his head. ¡°I wanted to me you. Wanted to be angry with you. When I saw your theatrics fighting the wyrm, I grew increasingly angry, but I spoke to Cayle and others, and they described what they saw in you, and I realized I saw through clouded eyes¡ªwhat I took for grandstanding, others read as desperate valor: courage and determination. So, Ie to offer you peace, Victor. I ask for one thing in exchange. Will you try to think of my sister as I once knew her? As a loving mother with kind eyes and not a hate-fueled bully?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± Victor said, and, to his credit, he did. He pictured Krista for the first time since the arena. He thought of how she¡¯d taunted him before their fight, how she¡¯d angered him, and how he¡¯d turned her into a monster in his mind to avoid dwelling on her death. Then he realized he¡¯d done simr things with the other people he¡¯d killed. He felt a welling wave of disgust and gripped his hands into tight fists. ¡°Yeah,¡± he nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll try to remember she was a person, not a monster.¡±

    ¡°A hard truth that many of us must face,¡± Tes nodded.

    ¡°Aye,¡± Va said, her eyes distant and her face somber. Who was she thinking of, Victor wondered.

    ¡°That¡¯s all I ask,¡± Darnt said, then, holding up one hand in farewell, he clicked his tongue, and his long-legged, ugly mount began to trot, leaving the tform behind.

    Victor sat in silence for a while, and so did Tes and Va. When he finally spoke, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t think I like arenas.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Tes looked at him inquisitively, and Va¡¯s far-off gaze refocused on his face.

    ¡°I know this world, well, this universe involves conflict. I know I¡¯ll have to fight again, but I don¡¯t like choosing to do so, not to the death. Not as a spectacle.¡±

    ¡°You mean other people?¡± Va asked.

    At the same time, Tes asked, ¡°Are you going to tell the warlord?¡± Victor was surprised to see a glimmer of amusement in her eyes.

    ¡°I guess it wouldn¡¯t be right to keep using his chamber and whatnot if I weren¡¯t going to fight in the next tournament.¡±

    ¡°What if you didn¡¯t fight to the death?¡± Va offered.

    ¡°Well,¡± he licked his lips, searching for the right answer. ¡°God, it¡¯s fucking tough! You guys don¡¯t know how much parts of me love it in there! The heat of the crowd¡¯s Energy, the brutal one on onepetition¡ªit all does something in here,¡± he thumped a fist against his chest. ¡°I¡¯m made for it! I guess if I could be sure I go in with the intention not to kill for others¡¯ amusement, I could live with it. I don¡¯t even have to tell the warlord, right? I mean, no rule in the next tournament says I have to kill my opponents.¡± He looked at Tes for confirmation, and she nodded.

    ¡°What if you should identally end someone¡¯s life? Your dear axe is not a ything, Victor.¡± Tes spoke lightly, and something told Victor she already knew how he would answer.

    ¡°If someone makes me fight hard enough to let loose with Lifedrinker, then that¡¯s on them, but I¡¯m going to give them every opportunity to yield before it gets to that.¡±

    ¡°Such a heart in that big chest,¡± Tes said, grinning. She nced at Va and said, ¡°It makes me pity those who won¡¯t yield all the more.¡±

    ¡°Well, I just hope he won¡¯t get himself killed. You can¡¯t hold back against someone forty levels above you, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess.¡± He frowned and said, ¡°I¡¯ve got some time to think about it. Maybe I¡¯ll bail out before the tournament. I doubt the warlord would chase us to Fanwath, would he?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps not, though I feel your future and his are more intertwined than you think.¡± Tes nced down at the pink gem on Victor¡¯s bracer, and he sighed, rubbing a thumb against the jewel.

    ¡°Yeah, probably.¡±

    ¡°Enough dwelling on these topics, Victor. As you said, you¡¯ve some weeks to think about things. For now, let me congratte you on keeping your aura in check despite that unpleasant conversation.¡±

    ¡°True!¡± Va added, ¡°I didn¡¯t feel it slip at all.¡±

    ¡°How fares your progress with my spell pattern?¡± Tes asked, pressing the conversation further into the topic of Victor¡¯s studies.

    ¡°Slow and frustrating,¡± Victor said, a variant of his usual response when Tes asked him about it. ¡°I don¡¯t get how I¡¯m supposed to replicate these lines,¡± he pulled out the parchment Tes had given him, disying the convoluted, multi-colored, twisting, writhing pattern. He pointed to the lines that, in his eyes, seemed to move constantly. ¡°I mean, they¡¯re never in the same ce when I look at them. They¡¯re constantly shifting.¡±

    ¡°Tell me, do they seem as shifting to you as when I first handed you the pattern?¡±

    Victor thought about the question and tried to remember how he¡¯d felt when he first looked at the spell as Tes had written it out. ¡°No. Definitely not¡ªthe lines seemed to jump all over the ce back then.¡±

    ¡°And yet, I¡¯ve not altered the pattern at all. You haven¡¯t somehow changed it on the page where I wrote it. Why do you think they seem less . . . shifting, as you put it?¡±

    Victor wasn¡¯t stupid, so he sat there and thought about it for a minute, and then his face split into a grin as he replied, ¡°Because I¡¯m starting to wrap my brain around it. I just don¡¯t realize it¡¯s happening because it¡¯s slow and painful.¡±

    ¡°Hah! Exactly, Victor. Keep working at it. Once you¡¯ve mastered this portion, the next one wille to you even more quickly, especially if you continue to level and improve this.¡± She reached forward and tapped her pointer finger on Victor¡¯s forehead, and the two womenughed.

    ¡°Love it when you two gang up on me,¡± Victor grumbled, but he grinned beneath the bluster and turned back to the pattern, quite pleased to realize that he hadn¡¯t had to actively think about controlling his aura the whole while they¡¯d been talking.

    The next day, an hour or so before noon, Coloss came into view, and the hunters cheered, startling Victor out of his meditations. He stood up on the tform, admiring the enormous walls and tall towers of the city. As his gaze moved upward, seeking out the citadel atop King¡¯s Hill, he was, once again, awestruck by the enormity of the construction. The wall was one thing, but that towering edifice, lording over the tens of thousands of stone buildings, reminded him of just how awesome the ce was, how far he had to go if he was ever going to challenge the status quo of this world and try to help Khul Bach.

    ¡°Quite a city, isn¡¯t it?¡± Va asked, and Victor jerked his gaze around, surprised she¡¯d approached so quietly. ¡°When we first arrived, it was at night¡ªit didn¡¯t seem so intimidating back then.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor nodded. ¡°Where¡¯s Tes?¡±

    ¡°Talking to Cayle. She¡¯s finding out where the Spears will sell their trophies so we don¡¯t step on their toes while offloading ours.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t trade them directly to the City Stone?¡±

    ¡°No. Apparently, there¡¯s quite a secondary market for Prize Tokens, and she thinks we¡¯ll be able to get a good deal if we¡¯re discerning.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve gotta swing by Shouza¡¯s ce. The Alchemist.¡± Victor gestured toward the city as if pointing to the woman¡¯s shop.

    ¡°Oh! Your arena prizes. Have you thought any more about the arena? I mean, about the next tournament? We didn¡¯t speak muchst night, and you seemed troubled. Tes has a way of steering conversation where she wants it, and I wanted to ask you if you¡¯re feeling all right about things. I mean, while she¡¯s busy with Cayle . . .¡± Va trailed off, clearly ufortable with the personal discussion but feeling like she had to broach the subject.

    ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it, and I think I¡¯ll keep my mind open about things. I liked your idea, Va, about not going into contests with the intent of killing, at least unless my opponent is a truly evil asshole. Although, I don¡¯t think I can make that judgment unless I really know them beforehand. You heard Krista¡¯s brother. She was tormented by grief!¡±

    ¡°Right. Just don¡¯t get yourself killed with that big heart, Victor.¡± She turned, walking toward the front of the tform as it approached the enormous, wide-open city gates. ¡°Herees Tes.¡± She pointed off to the side of the column of hunters, and Victor saw Tes jogging their way, pale blue ribbons trailing behind her breezy, knee-length,vender skirt.

    She hopped onto her tform and announced, ¡°I have a lead on a few brokers for your monster parts. Have you decided what you¡¯ll keep as gifts to your ancestors, Victor?¡±

    ¡°I have, and it wasn¡¯t easy. When I look through the prizes, a few things stand out, and no matter how I try to bnce the scales with other items, I feel guilt in my gut, and I know they won¡¯t be pleased if I hold back.¡±

    Va frowned at his words, but Tes grinned and nodded, ¡°Well?¡±

    ¡°I have to give them one of the hearts and two of the fangs. Nothing else seems to call to me, but I know those are probably some of the most valuable items I got.¡± He frowned but shrugged, helpless to change how his instincts spoke to him.

    ¡°It¡¯s wise to listen to your intuition; it¡¯s part of who you are now.¡± Tes nodded and gave Va¡¯s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. ¡°It leaves a great horde of trophies for you to work with, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°For Victor to work with,¡± Va agreed, apparently relieved that Victor wasn¡¯t burning up half his haul.

    ¡°With the night brute trophies and your shares from the wyrm, I think you¡¯ll both be rather pleased by what we can rue. I¡¯d like to offer you each a gift, as well.¡± Tes stopped speaking for a moment as they passed through the tremendously thick wall, the long tunnel swallowing up the sun and pitching them into cool shade.

    ¡°A gift?¡± Va prompted.

    ¡°Yes! If Victor is willing to hold back some of his scales, I¡¯d like to craft you each some wyrm-scale armor.¡±

    ¡°Um, Fough showed me a wyrm-scale vest he had for sale . . .¡±

    ¡°Bah! I was crafting better armor than Fough before I¡¯d lost my egg horn.¡±

    ¡°Egg horn?¡± Va narrowed her eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s an old saying from my world.¡± Tes waved a hand dismissively and continued, ¡°What say you, Victor? Let me hold back a few dozen scales, and you¡¯ll not be disappointed.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course, Tes.¡±

    ¡°Good! Here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do: I¡¯ll go and arrange for some brokers to visit the citadel, and you can make your trades there this evening. In the meantime, you should visit the alchemist for yourmissions. Va, go with him and ask the shopkeeper about some acuity-boosting tinctures.¡±

    ¡°Acuity-boosting?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Let¡¯s give your mental attributes a bit of an early jump as you embark on improving yourself.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Va nodded, though she looked a little embarrassed, ¡°All right.¡±

    ¡°Good! Hop off the tform, please,¡± Tes said as they approached the end of the tunnel. ¡°Time to pack it up. I¡¯ll meet you at the citadelter.¡± Victor and Va jumped off the tform''s left side, hurriedly climbing onto the sidewalk near the busy gate road. Tes remained on her floating vehicle, waving to them as she disappeared around a street corner, flowing with the quick-moving traffic of wagons and mounts.

    ¡°She just ditched us,¡± Victorughed.

    ¡°Do you know the way to the alchemy shop?¡± Va asked, leaning back into the stones of the gatehouse, avoiding a stomping, grumbling Degh.

    ¡°Yeah, I think so,¡± Victor nodded. ¡°Follow me,¡± he said and cast Titanic Aspect, grinning as his height stretched to the point where he could look down on most Degh. Then he reached down, holding out a hand, and Va giggled, almost childlike, as she stretched her hand up to grasp his pointer finger. Victor chuckled, his deep voice rumbling in his chest, then pushed his way into the Deghne of pedestrians and, Va in tow, lightly jogging to keep up, he cleared the way for them as they hurried through the city toward Shouza¡¯s shop.

 Book 4: Chapter 35: Tinctures

    Book 4: Chapter 35: Tinctures

    Victor had to drop his Titanic Aspect in order to step into Shouza¡¯s shop, and even then, he had to duck under the lintel and take care not to knock over any racks of wares for sale. He saw Shouza deftly polishing some beakers with her tentacle arm behind the counter, and as Va stepped in behind him, he called out, ¡°Hey, Shouza.¡±

    ¡°Ah, the arena champion returns!¡± She grinned as she looked up and met his gaze as though she hadn¡¯t seen himing in through the door. ¡°I was beginning to hope I¡¯d get a chance to auction off your tinctures.¡±

    ¡°Oh, how amusing, my deardy!¡± Victorughed, pleased with himself for his choice of words. He gestured to Va, who¡¯de up beside him, and said, ¡°This is my friend, Va. She¡¯s in the market for a tincture or two as well.¡±

    ¡°Pleased to meet you, Va,¡± Shouza said, leaning forward with an infectious smile, her eyes glittering beneath her white bangs. ¡°Can I tell you, I¡¯ve never seen someone with such beautiful coloring! I love your hair and the way itplements your eyes!¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Va chuckled, perhaps a little nervously, and reached up to brush at some stray strands of minty-green hair. ¡°Um, thank you.¡±

    Victor grinned and put a meaty hand between Va¡¯s shoulder des, urging her forward until the two of them stood before the counter. ¡°Well? How¡¯d things turn out?¡±

    Shouza tossed down her cleaning rag and pushed her dirty beakers to the side, clearing some space on the counter between them while speaking, ¡°Really well, Victor. I had a ss breakthrough while I made one of your tinctures, improving one of my skills, and I think I increased the efficacy of the end product. Oh, and I identified that vial of red liquid you left with me. Here,¡± she produced, seemingly out of the air, the ss jar with the deep red, thick fluid and set it on the counter, ¡°take a look. See this stamp in the bottom of the ss?¡±

    Victor peered at the bottom of the jar as Shouza¡¯s nimble tentacle turned it upside down. Sure enough, indented into the bottom of the ss was a mark that looked kind of like an H or a partial hashtag. ¡°Yeah, I see it.¡±

    ¡°I found a reference to it in one of my texts. The mark is found on some System rewards, which led me to another reference manual, and after running a few tests, I found that it¡¯s a speed enhancement¡ªpermanent. Did the creature you had to kill to earn this reward have great speed? That¡¯s usually how the System does things.¡±

    ¡°Um, yeah, he was a big ass ghoul that moved really damn fast. So,¡± Victor said, reaching for the jar, ¡°a speed enhancement?¡±

    ¡°Yes, your dexterity, agility, or maybe both will improve with the consumption. I¡¯d hold off on drinking it, though; you¡¯ll want to take this one first.¡± Shouza handed him the jar but then produced a much smaller ss vial of sparkling silver liquid, stoppered with ck wax. ¡°This is your drake gall dder tincture, the one I had the breakthrough on as I crafted it. You¡¯ll get more out of this than from that System prize.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Va said, ¡°It¡¯s really beautiful!¡±

    ¡°Yes! I was amazed at the Energy it absorbed in the crafting process.¡± Shouza nodded, proudly smiling as she set the tincture on the countertop. ¡°Finally, here¡¯s your magma horn tincture.¡± Shouza put another vial next to the silvery one, this one slightlyrger, more bulbous, and filled with a shimmering honey-like substance. She held her hand over them and grinned, ¡°Just a minor matter of the payment. Three hundred beads, okay?¡±

    ¡°Oh, shit, Shouza. You deserve more than that.¡± Victor pulled out one of his bags of beads and set it on the counter. ¡°I mean, even though I provided the main ingredients, your skill clearly made a difference. Take five hundred out of here, please.¡±

    Shouza smiled and nodded, using her magical counting rod to lighten the bag¡¯s load. As it deted slightly, Victor tucked it away, and then he took his three tinctures or potions or whatever one might call them and safely stowed them away in one of his dimensional container rings. ¡°I¡¯ll drink ¡®em back at the citadel.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll want to save that Core breakthrough for when you reach stage nine in whatever tier you¡¯re working on. I¡¯m fairly sure it¡¯ll push you through the threshold.¡± Shouza nodded as though affirming her own words. ¡°What can I help you with, Miss Va?¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Va said, startled out of some contemtive thought, ¡°I was looking to purchase some sort of acuity-boosting tincture. Mental acuity, that is.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Shouza looked Va up and down and narrowed her eyes. ¡°I thought you carried yourself like a swordfighter¡ªyou¡¯ve got that easy grace and the posture of someone who¡¯s swung a lot of heavy metal around. Your shoulders are so straight, and the tendons in your arms . . . I was sure . . .¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t a swordfighter want to improve their mental acuity?¡± Victor asked, wondering at Shouza¡¯s weird behavior.

    ¡°Yes, yes! Of course! I¡¯m so sorry, Miss Va.¡± Shouza ducked her head several times. ¡°Sometimes I think I¡¯m more clever than I am!¡±

    ¡°You are clever, Shouza, don¡¯t worry. I am a Sword Dancer, and yes, I¡¯ve spent more hours dancing around with my de than I¡¯d care to think about. I¡¯m trying to clear up some deficits in my training, though, and that starts with the tincture I asked for.¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Shouza said again, then she turned and disappeared among her rows of bottles, bags, vials, jars, boxes, and tins. Her voice came from behind the third row, calling out, ¡°I have several options for you.¡± Victor could hear the clinking of ss as the woman gathered up some of her products, and then she came back to the counter and set them all before Va¡ªnine different, variously shaped bottles and vials.

    As she arrayed them in groups of three, she looked at Va and asked, ¡°Are you familiar with how attribute-enhancing tinctures work? I mean, do you know about diminishing returns?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve heard that if you take too many, they stop affecting you until you¡¯ve gone through some racial or ss evolutions.¡±

    ¡°Correct¡ªyour system will build up a tolerance that only gets purged as great surges of Energy alter your body or your Core and pathways. That said, I have three different types of products here and three tiers of each.¡± She gestured to the three separate groupings of vials and potion bottles. ¡°I have mixtures that will improve your intelligence, mixtures that will improve your will, and then, more costly, mixtures that will improve both. The reason the mixtures that improve your overall acuity are more costly is that they¡¯ll boost both attributes before increasing your tolerance.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Va nodded, looking over the colorful, sealed ss containers.

    ¡°How much is the best one?¡± Victor asked, trying to get to the punchline.

    Shouza let her tentacle hover over the bottles for a moment, moving from left to right, then selecting a ck ss vial the size of Victor¡¯s thumb and stoppered with what looked like gold. She picked it up, held it aloft, and said, ¡°This is a tincture made from the liquified and distilled brains of seven deep minds. I¡¯ll trade it for two Coloss Prize Tokens or one hundred thousand beads.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s a deep mind?¡± Victor asked.

    At the same time, Va said, ¡°It will improve my will and intelligence?¡±

    ¡°Yes, to you, Va. Likely a great deal.¡± She turned to Victor and said, ¡°A deep mind is a fantastical creature that dwells in the depths of Zaafor. They look much like a mushroom, though they¡¯re very different from the mushrooms you might put in a sd¡ªthey have a brain and work powerful Energy magics. It¡¯s quite lucrative and hazardous to harvest them.¡±

    ¡°Wild . . .¡± Victor stared into the dark ss while his mind pictured huge mushrooms shaped like brains flinging fireballs through the darkness.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it,¡± Va said with a curt nod.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Victor looked at Va, startled. He¡¯d expected her to settle on something cheaper.

    ¡°Wonderful!¡± Shouza said, carefully setting the ck vial down and scooping up the other potions. ¡°You¡¯ll see the most growth by far with that one.¡±

    Victor continued to stare at Va, saw her pleased smile, and revised his suspicions that she had a lot of beads tucked away into the realm of confirmed facts. He thought about when she¡¯d given him his arena earnings and said she¡¯d done ¡°simrly¡± with her bets. If she¡¯d started with a bigger pot than his, she could have made a hell of a lot more. For all he knew, she was already sitting on a million beads. He almost asked her right then, in the middle of the store, but decided it wasn¡¯t really a cool question.

    ¡°I¡¯ll box it,¡± Shouza said as Va began to unloadrge leather sacks of beads onto the counter.

    ¡°Not necessary,¡± Va smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll drink itter today.¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course,¡± Shouza said, tapping each bag with her rod, deting them one by one until she got the ninth one, and half of it remained. ¡°All paid up, Miss Va.¡±

    ¡°Just Va is fine,¡± Va replied, scooping up the gold-stoppered vial. She looked at Victor and said, ¡°Anything else?¡±

    He¡¯d been watching, bemused, as Va unloaded her sacks of beads and shook his head to bring himself back to the present. ¡°Um, no, I think I¡¯m good for now. We¡¯ll likely be back, though, Shouza. We have some monster trophies to trade away, and if things work out, we might need more tinctures or potions.¡±

    ¡°Oh? I¡¯m often interested in certain monster trophies.¡± Shouza leaned forward, eyes eager.

    ¡°Well, we have a very knowledgeable friend handling the brokering of those for us. I¡¯ll tell her you¡¯re interested, though. That good with you?¡±

    ¡°Sure, Victor. I appreciate it!¡±

    ¡°Cool,¡± he held out his hand and was amused and surprised when Shouza wrapped her tentacle around it and gave it a firm, warm squeeze. ¡°Speak to you soon.¡± He nudged Va, and she smiled, waved, and followed him out of the shop. Outside, after the door closed, Victor looked at Va and said, ¡°You seem pleased.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I am. I¡¯d never find a tincture like that on Fanwath. Some of the top alchemists in Tharcray im to be able to improve an attribute permanently, but I know people who¡¯ve spent a fortune to see a few points of improvement.¡±

    ¡°Well, to be fair, we don¡¯t know how much these things will boost us.¡±

    ¡°True, but I¡¯ll be surprised if it¡¯s not significant. Tes wouldn¡¯t have us waste our time and money. Well, me anyway¡ªyou earned yours in the arena.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said, guiding them around a corner and up a steeply inclined street. One thing he knew about Coloss was that if they kept going uphill, they¡¯de to the citadel sooner orter. ¡°You figure we¡¯ll get many prize tokens for our wyrm parts?¡±

    ¡°I hope so! I desperately want to get one of those stones for Blue Razor.¡±

    ¡°What about the racial advancement items? Do you mind me asking? I mean, I¡¯m curious how far you¡¯ve advanced yourself.¡±

    ¡°My race is improved, rank seven.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not bad!¡± Victor said, a little surprised. He shifted around a parked wagon where some Vesh were unloading barrels and then hopped over a curb to turn left on a cross street, trying to avoid more of the jammed-up traffic. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure, but I thought you must have advanced it a few times cause you¡¯re taller than Tha, and she was always a lot taller than the Ardeni we met.¡±

    ¡°Well, Shadeni are generally more physically imposing than we Ardeni,¡± Va replied, ¡°Though if I advance enough and unlock one of our bloodlines, I might gain some interesting traits. I saw an Ardeni with an advanced race who looked more cat than person.¡±

    ¡°Shit, seriously?¡± Victor nced down at her, eyebrows raised. She grinned and didn¡¯t respond, and he was left to wonder if she was messing with him. He sort of hoped she was telling the truth; a blue cat woman sounded kind of cool to him. ¡°Well,¡± he finally said, ¡°I guess it makes sense¡ªyou have a lot of really sharp teeth.¡±

    ¡°True!¡± Vaughed and pulled back her lips, growling at him, exposing her pointy white teeth.

    Victorughed again, then said, ¡°Rellia¡¯s gonna be proud of you when we get back. You¡¯ve already made a ton of gains.¡± Victor turned again, taking long strides up a nearly empty, upward-sloping road.

    ¡°Yes, I believe she¡¯ll be pleased, but also with you. She never bargained on a titan leading her army into the Untamed Marches. Still, the stronger we are, the more difficult the System will likely make our resistance.¡±

    ¡°You think so? I know the System will create a challenge for us, but wouldn¡¯t it take into consideration the average strength in the army? I mean, it wouldn¡¯t put a challenge against us that would be geared toward thousands of people like me, would it? If that¡¯s the case, Rellia would be better leaving me behind.¡±

    ¡°No. The System is harsh and wishes to force growth through conflict, but it tends to be at least ostensibly fair. I think you¡¯re right. Perhaps the creatures or armies we¡¯ll face will simply have a champion or two for you to deal with.¡± Va chuckled, shaking her head. ¡°The truth is, none of us know. It¡¯s been centuries since the empire tried to push into unimednds, and back when it was expanding, the world was new, and things were different¡ªrecords don¡¯t reflect our current reality.¡±

    They walked in silence for a while after that, each of them lost in their thoughts. Victor was trying to picture what the Untamed Marches would look like. He envisioned mountains and jungles and then added in his wild fantasies of demonic, red-eyed, scythe-wed enemies pouring out of portals or from deep caves to try to swallow up Rellia¡¯s army. His chipper mood and easy grin faded as his thoughts drifted deeper and deeper into the imagined scenario, and he was a little surprised when they finally crested thest upward-sloping road, and the citadel rose before them.

    ¡°Shit, that was fast,¡± he said. He nced down at Va, and her scowling eyebrows rxed a little, and she nodded.

    ¡°Yes. I was lost in thought.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, me too. Where did Tes say to meet her?¡± Victor asked as they started over the expanse of open cobbles toward the great tunnel that led into the citadel.

    ¡°She didn¡¯t. Don¡¯t worry; she won¡¯t struggle to sniff us out.¡±

    ¡°True,¡± Victor chuckled, bemused by thoughts of Tes literally sniffing her way through the citadel. Then they approached the gate and the twenty guardsmen that perpetually stood outside it. Their heads swiveled toward the two of them, but none shouted out a challenge, and Victor took it for a good sign that they knew who he and Va were and that the warlord still considered them guests. ¡°I wonder where Tronk is.¡±

    ¡°Hopefully, he¡¯s decided the threats to our lives have died down enough to let us roam without an escort. Likely that¡¯s the case, or he¡¯d have met us at the gate, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, unless Bell sank her hooks into him,¡± Victor chuckled.

    ¡°Bell?¡±

    ¡°I think she¡¯s his girlfriend. He acted really embarrassed around her. It was kinda hrious. I mean, sweet, but hrious.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see that,¡± Vaughed.

    They were walking down the enormous central passage toward the gardens, and Victor wasn¡¯t sure if they should just head to their rooms or hang around and wait for Tes. He paused, about to ask Va what she thought when a tall Yazzian wearing pale yellow robes approached them and cleared his throat. Yazzians weren¡¯tmon in the citadel¡ªit seemed the warlord was far more likely to employ Vesh with the asional Degh like Tronk. Victor looked into the Yazzian¡¯s hood, past its weird, lizard-snake snout to its rather expressive green eyes, and said, ¡°Yes?¡±

    The Yazzian had its delicate, yellow-scaled hands sped before it and bowed its head, then said, in a faintly masculine voice, ¡°The warlord wees you back. He asks if you¡¯ll be continuing your stay at the citadel.¡±

    ¡°What might your name be, good sir?¡± Va asked before Victor could form a response.

    ¡°I am Deargh, one of the warlord¡¯s Ministers of City Affairs.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯d like to continue our stay in the citadel, yes,¡± Victor took the opportunity to speak as Va processed the Yazzian¡¯s title.

    ¡°Excellent. Your rooms remain ready for you, and the warlord extends his earlier invitation to use his cultivation chamber. Victor, the mid-tier city champion, Yabbo, is eager to spar with you. Karnice has offered to tutor you both. Will you be avable in the morning?¡±

    ¡°Karnice?¡±

    ¡°The arena champion,¡± Va supplied, apparently having paid more attention than Victor.

    ¡°Yes, the undefeated, high-tier champion of the Coloss arena.¡±

    ¡°Oh, cool,¡± Victor nodded. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be around tomorrow morning. Where do I go?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll ensure that you have a guide waiting at your door. Would two hours past dawn be a good time?¡±

    ¡°Yeah . . .¡±

    ¡°Excellent. Lady Va, War Captain Blue has requested an audience with you. He asks if you¡¯d be willing to join him for dinner here in the citadel in one of the small parlors?¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Va said, holding one hand to her chest, just under her throat, apparently lost for words. An awkward moment passed, and then she said, ¡°I think not, Minister Deargh. I have business with the Lady Tes this evening. Please inform War Captain Blue that I¡¯ll entertain his request in the near future should he wish to reschedule.¡±

    ¡°Very well, Lady.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of Tes, have you seen or heard from her, Deargh?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°No, sir, I have not.¡± He nced up and down the grand, airy tunnel and then said, ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave if that will be all. If you should need me, simply ask one of the servants stationed near your guest quarters.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Minister Deargh,¡± Va said, holding out a hand. The Yazzian unsped his hands and delicately took Va¡¯s hand, then he nodded, bowed, and quickly shuffled away.

    ¡°Interesting,¡± Victor said. ¡°Hey, I could meet with Tes, you know. You can have dinner with Blue if you want.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I want to,¡± Va frowned at him, shaking her head slightly. ¡°Strange that you want me to.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say I want you to!¡± It was Victor¡¯s turn to frown, wondering what he¡¯d done wrong this time. Va folded her arms over her chest and scowled, and he sighed, saying, ¡°Wanna take turns in the cultivation chamber while we wait for Tes? We could drink our tinctures.¡±

    That got Va¡¯s frown to fade, and she nodded, surprising Victor by reaching up a fist and waiting for him to touch his knuckles to it. ¡°That sounds like fun. Come.¡± With that, she turned, and he followed her¡ªa big, lumbering man trailing behind a small blue woman through the corridors and stairways of the citadel.

 Book 4: Chapter 36: Desperation and Trust

    Book 4: Chapter 36: Desperation and Trust

    When Victor and Va stood before the huge bronze-colored door to the warlord¡¯s cultivation chamber, she paused and looked at him with a raised eyebrow, ¡°You think this will open for us? I hadn¡¯t thought about if we¡¯d need an escort to get in there.¡±

    ¡°One way to find out. Give it a try.¡± Victor shrugged and leaned one shoulder against the wall, watching.

    ¡°Why me?¡±

    ¡°Are you afraid it¡¯ll zap you or something?¡±

    ¡°No . . . well, yes,¡± Va chuckled, then, moving quickly as though to avoid any further doubts, she reached up and pped her hand on the smooth metal pad Tronk had used to open the doors. She didn¡¯t cry out in pain or jerk her hand away, and after a second, a deep, resounding *click* sounded from the door, and it parted slightly from the other.

    ¡°Nice,¡± Victor said, grinning. ¡°Guess you¡¯re first.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Va turned to look at him, eyes wide, as though suddenly filled with doubt about whether she should go into the chamber.

    ¡°Rx! If the warlord cared, he wouldn¡¯t have set the chamber to open for you. Just cultivate for an hour or so and drink your tincture, and then I¡¯ll go. I¡¯m sure Tes will be a little while anyway.¡±

    Va nodded, her hair bobbing in its ponytail, and Victor realized, likely quite btedly, that it had grown considerably since they¡¯d begun traveling together. He opened his mouth to say something, then wondered if she¡¯d be annoyed that he¡¯d noticed, and before he had a chance, she¡¯d slipped into the cultivation chamber, bathing him in a wash of potent Energy before closing the door behind her. ¡°Huh,¡± he shrugged and sat on one of the stone benches lining the chamber¡¯s entry.

    Victor pulled out the two stat-boosting tinctures he intended to consume and looked at them. The first, the one he¡¯d gotten long ago in the dungeon near Greatbone Mine, was about the size of a soda can, and he wondered if the liquid, which seemed far too much like blood to him, would taste better than it looked. ¡°Hope so,¡± he grunted, then held up the shimmering silver tincture that Shouza had made¡ªone swallow, and it would be gone. ¡°You¡¯re first.¡±

    He set them on the bench beside him and then settled in to wait. On a whim, he took Tes¡¯s partial spell pattern out of his ring and began to study it for the hundredth time. He was pleased to see the shifting lines, shapes, and angles seemed less random than thest time he examined the pattern, and that¡¯s when something clicked for him: the shifts were, themselves, part of the pattern. The more he watched them, the more he realized that Tes had created a spell pattern in more than one dimension¡ªit was like one of those old-school holograms that looked different if you altered your viewing angle.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± he whispered, drawing out the curse softly as he watched the pattern change back and forth before his eyes. ¡°I think I get it, chica,¡± he said, resting a hand on Lifedrinker¡¯s warm metal. If he really concentrated, he found he could force the pattern to stay still, see the first version, and then allow it to shift and see the other. The more he did so, the more he began to understand how it worked; he saw the delicate lines Tes had made that created the extra dimension in the spell.

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± he breathed again, thinking of how he could copy the design. Before he could lose the inspiration, he summoned one of his notebooks and thenughed at his thought, ¡°Inspiration!¡± Shaking his head, he cast Inspiring Presence and summoned a Globe of Insight, and then, in the light of true inspiration, he began to try to recreate the weird, multi-dimensional spell pattern.

    When Tes had drawn the original, Victor had watched with awe as she delicately scribed theplicated lines onto her parchment, and it had taken her more than ten minutes. His first, proper attempt at the pattern, sitting there before the closed door of the warlord¡¯s cultivation chamber, stretched on and on, and when Va pushed open the door and stepped out, he didn¡¯t notice her, so rapt with his efforts was he.

    ¡°Victor?¡± she asked, and when he didn¡¯t look up and she felt the inspiration of his spells, she nodded and turned to re-enter the chamber. Quietly, over her shoulder, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll check on you again in an hour.¡± Then she stepped through the door, and it clicked shut behind her.

    Victor was lost to the world, though, and if he¡¯d noticed it at all, her presence didn¡¯t shake his attention. He could feel that he was on the right track; the bits of the pattern he¡¯d finished were working. He could shift his attention and see both versions of it, and with each sessful line and twist, he grew more confident and more determined to finish. By the time Va stepped out of the chamber again, she could see the grin on his face and the light in his eyes, and when she spoke, he looked up to meet her gaze, ¡°You figured it out?¡±

    ¡°Hell yes, I did!¡± he replied, holding up his notebook for her to see the wild, endlesslyplex pattern. ¡°I¡¯ve been going over and over it¡ªI can¡¯t find any mistakes! It looks just like Tes¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°So . . . you can change your size now?¡± Va leaned forward, trying to get another glimpse of the pattern, but he closed the notebook, sandwiching Tes¡¯s original inside. Heughed, stretched, and shook his head.

    ¡°Nah, this is only the first part of the spell. Now I get how it works, though, Va!¡± He stood up and increased the intensity of his stretching, grunting with pleasure, ¡°God! How long was I working on that thing?¡±

    ¡°Nearly two hours.¡±

    ¡°Hah! So it¡¯s my turn in there, I¡¯d say.¡±

    Va nodded, sketching a silly bow, and stepped away from the door, gesturing for him to pass before her. ¡°Be my guest! I¡¯ll wait out here. I imagine Tes will be here soon, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°Well, I guess. It¡¯s just now evening time, though, and she said ¡®tonight,¡¯ so who really knows.¡± Victorughed again, his mood beyond good thanks to his breakthrough with the spell pattern, and walked up to the cultivation chamber door. Va had left it open a crack, so he pulled it further open and walked in, savoring the richly dense Energy in the air. ¡°Be out soon,¡± he said as he pulled the door closed behind himself.

    He turned and inhaled deeply, letting the Energy wash over him for a moment, limating himself, and then he climbed to the small circr tform at the chamber¡¯s center and sat, crossing his legs before himself. He clutched the tincture and potion in one of his hands, carefully set the blood-like jar in hisp, then held the silver mixture before himself. ¡°Well, here we go,¡± he muttered, running one of his thumbnails around the wax seal, loosening the outer edges so he could carefully pry the ck lump from the mouth of the little ss tube.

    As soon as the wax came out, Victor, still flooded with inspiration-attuned Energy, tilted it to his mouth, not wanting any of the potent fumes to escape. The ss must have been enchanted because not a single molecule of the mixture clung to it¡ªeveryst bit of it slipped into his mouth, and he swallowed it in one gulp. It was surprisingly tasteless, almost like swallowing an oddly heavy mouthful of water. It didn¡¯t sit in his stomach like water, though.

    Victor felt it bloom with Energy in his gut, and then, almost painfully, it surged out through his body in a powerful wave that sent tingles and shivers through every inch of his skin and made his muscles contract so, by the time he recovered, he found himself balled up, his muscles aching from the prolonged contraction. ¡°Oof,¡± he grunted, then, bleary-eyed, he studied the System message in his vision:

    ¡°Congrattions! Your Vitality and Strength have each been permanently enhanced by 25 points.***

    ¡°Damn,¡± he said, surprised by the number. ¡°Fifty stat points just like that?¡± He reached for his other potion and almost panicked when he found it had rolled to the side of the tform, knocked out of hisp by his convulsion. He snatched it up, d it hadn¡¯t fallen off the raised dais to shatter on the stones below. He held it carefully in one hand while he stretched and arched his back, trying to get his blood flowing again.

    Victor felt good, healthy, and strong, and he knew if he¡¯d drunk that tincture when he was new to Fanwath, it would have been like shooting himself up with pure endorphins and PCP, but twenty-five points for him now were just a couple of percentage points or so of his strength and even less for his vitality. Still, it was good to see those numbers jump¡ªtwenty-five points in strength before casting Berserk was seventy-five after.

    ¡°Nothing to sneeze at,¡± he said, grinning as he broke the seal on the cork stopper and carefully pulled it out of the jar. He wasn¡¯t surprised but wasn¡¯t exactly happy when his nose picked up the potion¡¯s coppery tang. It might be an alchemical mixture from the System, but it definitely had some kind of blood in it. Victor wasn¡¯t squeamish about a bit of blood, though. How could he be after all the raw hearts he¡¯d consumed? Sure, he¡¯d been Berserk, but he¡¯d be lying if he said he didn¡¯t remember the taste. ¡°Mierda,¡± he grumbled, then, taking a deep breath so he didn¡¯t inhale while drinking, he tilted it to his mouth and gulped it down.

    ¡°Yep, blood!¡± he coughed, forcing his mouth closed so as not to lose any of the supposedly precious liquid. He breathed in and out several times, waiting to see what might happen, and he began to think he, or Shouza, he supposed, had been tricked. ¡°Ack,¡± he said again, sticking his tongue out, about to reach into his dimensional container for some cheb-cheb or wine to wash his mouth out, and then he felt a terrible cramp in his gut and gasped, doubling over and falling to his side on the stone tform.

    The cramping continued, and it seemed to be spreading. With each convulsion, more of his muscles joined into the protest, his arms curling in, his legs painfully bending, and Victor struggled for breath, wanting to scream but unable to pull in a deep enough breath. ¡°Jesu . . .¡± he managed to get out between two particrly brutal convulsions, and then, as quickly as it had begun, the cramping started to diminish. Within a minute or two, Victor found himself on his back, one arm sprawled out over the tform¡¯s edge, panting, blinking away the sweat that had run into his eyes.

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± he gasped. ¡°That was fucking brutal.¡± He rubbed at his eyes and was relieved to see a System message¡ªhopefully, he¡¯d made some gains and not just survived a poisoning attempt.

    ***Congrattions! You have gained a new Feat: Desperate Grace.***

    ***Desperate Grace: When near death or suffering from severe blood loss, your body will rise to the asion, allowing you to move with adroitness far beyond your usual means. When this effect is triggered, your current dexterity and agility will double for a short time.***

    ¡°What the hell, Shouza?¡± Victor chuckled, relieved and surprised by the notification. Another part of him was dismayed that he¡¯d sat on that potion for months. How many times might that feat havee in handy? Groaning, he struggled to his hands and knees and thenboriously to his feet. He felt weak, drained even, and decided that cultivating would have to wait. He stumble-walked to the door, pped a hand on the metal te, and then shouldered his way through as the door clicked open.

    ¡°Why am I not surprised to see you both sitting there,¡± he asked as he took in the sight of Va and Tes, shoulder to shoulder, on the stone bench, both carefully scrutinizing a textbook on Va¡¯s knees.

    ¡°You look awful,¡± Vaughed.

    ¡°Ancient Gods!¡± Tes said, eyes widening, though her lips also twitched up at the corners.

    ¡°Yeah, that fucking Shouza!¡± Victor couldn¡¯t help it andughed, too, shaking his head. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m good, but that old potion of mine didn¡¯t raise my stats. It twisted me into knots and gave me a feat.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Tes asked while Va¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°You¡¯re the luckiest . . .¡± Va trailed off, shaking her head, though her smile remained intact.

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor shrugged, ¡°what can I say?¡±

    ¡°Tell us about the feat to begin with,¡± Tes said, leaning back and crossing her legs. She wore the same brightly colored yellow skirts she¡¯d worn on the early days of the hunt, and Victor admired how at ease she always seemed.

    ¡°It¡¯s called Desperate Grace, and it boosts my agility and dexterity when I¡¯m about to die. I mean, I guess that¡¯s assuming I¡¯m dying slowly.¡± Heughed, thinking about how such a feat was essentially useless if he suffered some sort of catastrophic injury.

    ¡°The more powerful you be, the less likely you¡¯ll die suddenly. Battles between old . . .¡± she winked at Victor and continued, ¡°masters on my world sometimesst for days.¡± He wondered if she had been about to say dragons, then chuckled at his naivety¡ªof course she had; that¡¯s what the wink was about.

    ¡°What about you, Va? I forgot to ask how your tincture worked?¡±

    ¡°Oh, wonderfully!¡± Va beamed. ¡°Shouza treated me well, Victor! I gained thirty intelligence and fifteen will!¡±

    ¡°Seriously? Damn! She makes good stuff, doesn¡¯t she?¡± Victor turned from Va to Tes, then said, ¡°Well, did Va tell you?¡±

    ¡°Tell me what?¡± Tes asked, ncing sidelong at Ardeni woman who looked just as confused.

    ¡°About what I did before I went into the chamber?¡± Victor stared pointedly at Va. When she still looked confused, he said, ¡°Seriously, Va? I finished your spell pattern, Tes!¡±

    ¡°You did?¡± Tes leaped to her feet and reached forward to squeeze Victor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be another week or two at it!¡±

    ¡°Well, it just clicked for me today; I figured out the double patt . . .¡±

    ¡°Tut-tut,¡± Tes said, holding four delicate fingertips in front of Victor¡¯s mouth, ¡°let¡¯s not advertise one of the secrets of my people¡¯s magic. I¡¯ve agreed to share this one with you, at a bit of a risk to myself, but let¡¯s not speak about the details publicly.¡±

    Victor looked toward the closed cultivation chamber and down the long flight of stairs into the empty, vaulted corridor and shrugged. Either Tes didn¡¯t want Va to hear about the spell¡¯s details, or she thought maybe others were listening or capable of listening to their conversation.

    Victor didn¡¯t think it was the former¡ªTes hadn¡¯t asked him not to show her the pattern or anything like that.

    He supposed it made sense that the warlord might have some kind of magical ability to feel or sense what was going on in the citadel, his domain. Victor had no idea what a person with nearly a hundred and twenty levels under their belt was capable of. ncing at Tes, he supposed he had an inkling, which made him wonder exactly what level she had reached. He almost asked, but then Va stood up and spoke.

    ¡°Tes has a broker waiting for us in the garden.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes! I believe you¡¯ll be pleased; he¡¯s interested in wyrm trophies but has a particr interest in night brutes. Let¡¯s go and put your wares on disy for him, hmm?¡± Tes stepped away from Victor and gestured toward the steps as though she wanted him to lead the way.

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor nodded, stepping lithely down; he was already starting to feel better. With his near-constant use of Sovereign Will these days, his vitality was almost always boosted, and with it now sitting at nearly 400, his aches and pains faded rapidly.

    He wasn¡¯t an expert on theyout of the citadel yet, but he knew he had to get to the ground floor and had a general idea of the location of the major stairways. Equipped with such knowledge, Victor led them rapidly down, and into the enormous central hallway, and from there, it was just a short jaunt to the central gardens. When they stepped into the artificial moonlight and the brightly-litmp posts that followed the main pathways through the thick foliage, Victor had to pause to marvel at the garden¡¯s beauty. It was great in the bright light of false daytime, but this nighttime version was even better.

    Cloying perfumes from the myriad varieties of flowers filled the air, and the dim light made it easy to imagine that they weren¡¯t in the citadel, that they were outside in a wonderfully manicured little forest with shrubs and pathways, fountains burbling, and night birds singing. ncing at Tes and Va, Victor suddenly wished he were with someone else, someone closer. He imagined how much Chandri or Tha would love the garden. Still, Va had a bright grin on her face, and Tes, well, Tes was always fun to be around.

    ¡°He¡¯ll be near the western entrance,¡± Tes said, steering them onto a pathway leading to Victor¡¯s right.

    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful at night,¡± Va said, echoing Victor¡¯s earlier thoughts, and he smiled down at her.

    ¡°Yeah, I was thinking that. Do you remember Deyni? The little Shadeni girl I gave my other vidanii to?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Tha¡¯s daughter.¡±

    ¡°Right! I wish I could show her this wonderful ce.¡±

    ¡°There are many wonders in the worlds, Victor.¡± Tes turned to walk backward and smiled at him and then at Va. ¡°I think the two of you have many amazing ces and things yet to experience. I hope I¡¯ll be able to see the marvel in your eyes as you behold some of them.¡± She nodded quickly, then turned and hurried her steps. Victor nced down at Va again, saw her pleasant expression, and at that moment, he appreciated Tes even more. She was powerful enough to be a tyrant or a bully, but she seemed to enjoy helping people¡ªhe¡¯d never seen her speak a cross word, only hardening her voice when it came to defending Victor a time or two.

    Something tickled the back of his mind as he followed her springy steps through the garden; was anyone really that good? He knew she wanted a sample of his blood, but that would be easy enough to take; she didn¡¯t have to spend weeks or months helping him and Va. Did she get a kind of vicarious thrill from helping people? If so, he wouldn¡¯t begrudge her¡ªbetter that than enjoying other people¡¯s suffering. Besides, she¡¯d trusted him with her spell pattern, and he¡¯d never felt uneasy with her. His gut trusted her, and Victor trusted his gut.

    ¡°Here we are!¡± Tes called, hurrying her pace toward an opening in the cobbled path. Victor looked over her shoulder to see a strange, hirsute Vesh wearing a silky, creme-colored vest and a ck tophat. His bulging yellow eyes lurked behind thick, brass-wired spectacles, and his smile, though toothy, was warm as he raised a hand in greeting.

    His voice was jovial and weing, rolling through the garden as he called out, ¡°Wonderful! I look forward to seeing your wares!¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 37: Sentience

    Book 4: Chapter 37: Sentience

    Victor watched as the ghostly white mes consumed his offering to his ancestors. He¡¯d unloaded all his monster trophies from the hunt, piling them on two big tarps in the garden for Tes and the broker tob through. While they worked on that, and Va watched, he¡¯d taken one of the hearts and two fangs down a side path, stopping in front of a pleasant little fountain in the shape of three sshing fish, and then he¡¯d cast Honor the Spirits.

    The broker had been dismayed to see him walk off with the fangs; apparently, they were precious. Tes had quickly diverted the hairy Vesh¡¯s attention back to the trophies Victor had left behind. Va, for her part, had simply smiled and waved as Victor walked away. He supposed it was good that they understood his need to give tribute to his ancestors. He barely understood it himself, but he had that feeling in his gut every time he looked at his loot and remembered Cilicue¡¯s words about him repaying her tenfold¡ªhe owed her. If he didn¡¯t send offerings, he could forget ever getting his ancestors to intervene directly again.

    After thest wisp of spirit smoke faded away, he returned to therger trail where he¡¯d left the others. Tes and the broker stood off to one side, conferring over a white, slightly luminous te. Va, who¡¯d been listening to them, walked over to Victor.

    ¡°She¡¯s driving a hard bargain, but he seems pretty desperate for some of these parts. He got very agitated when he saw the night brute prince¡¯s bones.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Victor looked at therge pile of dark, still-bloody bones that he and Tes had carved from the enormous corpse. ¡°Did Tes keep back some scales to make our armor?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she made sure I was watching when she collected them into her storage . . . ring? I¡¯ve never seen her storage device.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. If she has jewelry on, I think she hides it with magic.¡±

    ¡°She didn¡¯t take any of my scales. Are you sure it¡¯s all right that she makes armor for both of us from the scales you earned?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I got a hell of a lot more than you.¡± Victor sat on a bench and motioned for Va to sit beside him. Sheplied, and they sat quietly for a few moments, watching Tes go back and forth with the Vesh, pointing at something on the glowing te, then shaking her head. ¡°I kinda feel sorry for the guy.¡±

    ¡°You know, she annihted that night brute prince. I''ll wager the armor she¡¯s offering to craft us would sell for a fortune. I wonder¡ªwhat¡¯s she getting out of helping us?¡± Va¡¯s voice was soft, and she leaned forward, resting an elbow on her knee, holding her chin in one hand, staring at the subject of her spection.

    ¡°I had simr thoughts earlier. I¡¯ve decided it doesn¡¯t matter to me¡ªshe¡¯s powerful enough to take what she wants, but she¡¯s not doing that. She¡¯s helping us and seems to be having a damn good time doing it. How am I supposed to specte on the motives of someone so powerful? Listen, on my homeworld, we had these things called video games. Imagine a dungeon, but contained in a magical box that you could explore with tiny avatars¡ªbodies that weren¡¯t you but represented you. Do you follow?¡±

    ¡°Like a box that you could see into? And watch your ¡®avatars¡¯ fight monsters and solve puzzles?¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± Victor cleared his throat and tried to remember where he¡¯d been going with the exnation. ¡°Oh, right. So, imagine some people could get really good at the game. So good that the challenge of it became boring. Sometimes people like that would torment new yers, making their lives difficult as a way to pass the time. Other people like that, though, would help the new yers. They¡¯d give their avatars equipment or help them kill monsters they couldn¡¯t handle on their own. I think Tes is like that.¡±

    ¡°You think she¡¯s just bored and enjoying the ¡®game¡¯ through us?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m probably oversimplifying things, but yeah, I guess that¡¯s what I¡¯m saying.¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯re on the right track, but I wonder if it¡¯s moreplicated, as you implied. Maybe she has challenging things to do, but she¡¯s stalling or taking a break. Maybe we¡¯re something of a diversion for . . .¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Tes said. Victor and Va had been so intent on their whispered spections that Tes had walked uppletely unnoticed. Victor had no doubt that Tes could surprise them even if they¡¯d had their eyes trained on her, though, so he just grinned at her and attempted to look sheepish. Va pped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide with shock. Tes, though, was smiling happily as she continued speaking, ¡°if you¡¯re done trying to solve the mysteries of Tes, I have good news!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry . . .¡± Va said as Victor chuckled.

    ¡°You made us a good deal?¡± Victor looked around her to see the hirsute Vesh walking among the trophies, making them disappear into containers one after another.

    ¡°Indeed! Va, for your share of the spider, night brute, and wyrm trophies, I¡¯ve managed to collect a fee of four tokens!¡±

    ¡°Truly?¡± Va stood and actually pranced in ce with excitement. Victor didn¡¯t see what the big deal was¡ªthe item she wanted to buy was five tokens unless she wanted the better one, which was ten. She¡¯d still need to earn more to teleport home . . .

    Tes interrupted his thoughts, ¡°Truly! Which means, Victor, your share of the trophies garnered a rather stunning thirty-seven tokens.¡±

    ¡°Holy shit!¡± Victor said, suddenly understanding Va¡¯s enthusiasm. Of course, she¡¯d figured out that if she¡¯d earned four with her smaller share, he¡¯d have a huge haul, and, of course, she knew he¡¯d share.

    ¡°Yes! Your pathway home is open, with plenty left over to purchase treasures. Or, if you want to take the time to bargain for other prizes, you might find some things more valuable than those on the warlord¡¯s list.¡± She paused as Victor¡¯s face grew contemtive and added, ¡°I do hope you won¡¯t depart this very minute. If you have time, there¡¯s still much to learn here in Coloss. I¡¯ll also need a week or two to craft your armor.¡±

    ¡°Tes, about what I was saying earlier,¡± Va said, but Tes waved her words away.

    ¡°Nonsense. You both have questions about me, and I¡¯d love to answer them all, but I¡¯m bound by promises to keep many aspects of myself to . . . myself. I¡¯m the one who should apologize.¡±

    ¡°Are you kidding, Tes?¡± Victor chuckled. ¡°You¡¯ve helped us so much; don¡¯t even think about apologizing.¡±

    ¡°I agree wholeheartedly!¡± Va said, reaching out to grasp Tes¡¯s hand with both of hers.

    ¡°All right, all right. Here you are.¡± She produced two ck, velvety pouches, one noticeably more full than the other, and handed them to Va and Victor. Victor produced his other four tokens and slipped them into the pouch with those Tes had bartered for him. He hefted the little bag, grinning at the weight of forty-one tokens, then ced it into his storage ring.

    Va also tucked hers away, then sat on the bench and motioned for Tes and Victor to sit with her. ¡°Will you give us your advice, Tes? How should we spend these tokens?¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Tes sat on the bench next to Va, and Victor sat next to her, though there wasn¡¯t enough room for him. Half his butt ended up hanging off the edge, and Tesughed, ¡°I¡¯ll give you the rest of my spell pattern so you can learn it while you¡¯re here, Victor.¡±

    As Victor grunted his thanks, she took a deep breath, and a small pulse of Energy surged out of her. Victor¡¯s ears popped, and then she said, ¡°I can certainly advise the two of you with regard to those tokens. If you hadn¡¯t noticed, there are two markets in this town¡ªthe day-to-day market brokered in beads, and the secondary, less talked about market brokered in prize tokens.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Va nodded. ¡°I paid a hundred thousand beads for my tincture, but I could have paid a couple of tokens instead.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Va! This helps me to illustrate my next point: The warlord¡¯s prize list is a good bargain for some things but a rather poor one for others. The alchemical ingredients are not a good value¡ªyour tincture contained two different ¡®epic¡¯ alchemical ingredients. Did you know that? To buy those ingredients from the warlord¡¯s prize list would cost you, at a minimum, ten tokens. I say at a minimum because there¡¯s little chance you¡¯d get the ingredients you wanted with the first selection.¡±

    ¡°Ah,¡± Va nodded.

    ¡°Some items are exceedingly rare; thus, the warlord¡¯s prices are better than you¡¯ll find in town. The epic racial boosts, for example. Generally, you won¡¯t find those for sale because they¡¯re so coveted.¡±

    ¡°What about the stones of sentience and consciousness?¡±

    ¡°Rare, indeed, though I¡¯d never pay for a stone of consciousness. If your weapon takes well to the stone of sentience, it will grow a conscious mind before too long.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Va raised her eyebrows, excited at the idea.

    ¡°Yes, I think that would be a wonderful prize for your de, Va. That sword is powerful; granting it a spirit would be a wise investment.¡±

    ¡°What about the legendary treasure?¡± Victor asked. ¡°What kinds of things does the warlord have for twenty tokens?¡±

    ¡°A good question, Victor. I¡¯ve been on Zaafor, off and on, for nearly a decade and have yet to meet anyone who has purchased such a prize. The warlord has a System-purchased vault tied to the Stone and its store. Even I cannot see within it.¡±

    ¡°Would the racial boosts other than ¡®epic¡¯ be a waste of tokens?¡±

    ¡°For you, Victor, yes. The advanced boost would work nicely for Va.¡±

    ¡°Tes, what would you do with the tokens if you were in our shoes?¡± Va asked.

    Tes smiled and looked from Victor to Va, then reached up to twist a strand of her golden hair around her forefinger as she contemted. After a moment, she said, ¡°I¡¯d buy a few items from the warlord¡¯s store, but then I¡¯d purchase other things to bring home. Things that would make me a hero to my people¡ªcultivation manuals, spell tomes, ss advancement tabtions, alchemical recipes, enchantment glyphs, and dictionaries to understand them.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you see? Coloss is thousands of years beyond your world in experimentation with Energy and the System. It¡¯s clear to me that your world has yet to manage a connection to a significantly more advanced world, or if there¡¯s such a connection, the people in power on Fanwath are keeping it to themselves.¡±

    Victor sat back, blowing out a pent-up breath, and Va said, ¡°Ancestors!¡± as she processed Tes¡¯s words. ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought of that! Are such things avable for sale?¡±

    ¡°Oh, for the right price and from the right people, surely. I can help you find what you need.¡±

    ¡°Rellia would like that,¡± Victor said, directing his words to Va.

    ¡°She¡¯s a ruler of Fanwath?¡±

    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s my adoptive mother and a noblewoman. She¡¯s gathering an army now so that Victor can lead them on a conquest of unimednds.¡±

    ¡°Ah, unimednds. It¡¯s been a thousand years since any such existed on Zaafor. A hundred thousand on my homeworld. What a tumultuous time when the System finally grew strong enough to assert itself on Aradnue!¡±

    ¡°Aradnue¡¯s your homeworld, right?¡± Victor had heard Tes mention it before.

    ¡°Yes. Many of my people died fighting the System¡¯s . . . invasion.¡± She sighed heavily, looked at Victor and then at Va¡¯s wide eyes, and said, ¡°It was long before my time. I¡¯m not that old!¡±

    ¡°Whew,¡± Victorughed. He looked past Tes to Va, the way she smiled and nodded along with Tes¡¯s words. He reached into his ring, took out his pouch of tokens, and said, ¡°Hey, Va, there¡¯s no reason to sit on these right now. I want you to get that sentience stone for your sword, and I want to make sure you¡¯ve got three tokens for teleporting home in case something happens to me.¡± She opened her mouth to say something, but he held up a hand to forestall objections.

    Victor knew she wanted that stone badly, and he knew she was too proud to ask for the tokens. He counted out four from his pouch and handed them to her. ¡°That gives you eight, right? Five for the stone and three to hold in reserve to get home. Maybe we¡¯ll earn some more while we¡¯re here, but if not, I¡¯ll make sure we talk to each other about what I spend the rest of them on.¡±

    Va took the tokens and sped both her hands around Victor¡¯s, awkwardly holding it in front of Tes, who still sat between them. ¡°You¡¯re a good friend, Victor. I won¡¯t make an empty promise to repay you because I know you can earn these far more easily than I can. That said, when we get back to Fanwath, don¡¯t you dare ever try to split the bill at a restaurant or inn with me!¡± She squeezed Victor¡¯s hand one more time, then let go.

    Victor nced at Tes, saw the amusement in her eyes, then shrugged and said, ¡°Well? Let¡¯s go get that stone.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Tes said, leaping to her feet. She turned to Victor and added, ¡°You should buy at least one of the epic racial boosts if any are avable.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor nodded, standing up. ¡°Before the hunt, there were two.¡±

    ¡°Much can change in a week.¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon!¡± Va said, hurrying down the path toward the center of the garden. Victor followed after her, walking beside Tes, happy to see his friend, once so reticent and taciturn, genuinely excited about something. Coloss had been good for her, he reflected. ¡°All except that pendeja who wants to kill her for being blue.¡±

    ¡°You worry about your friend?¡± Tes asked.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t. Reis felt her smaller aura, heard her speak of her level, and thought she was picking an easy fight. She¡¯lle to regret that decision; I won¡¯t be surprised if she tries to back out of the duel in the next week or so. She¡¯ll likely make an excuse, saying she¡¯s learned about Va¡¯s character and wants to allow her to live, which will put the onus on our friend. I¡¯m sure Va will let her back out, though it would be interesting if she didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°You really think she¡¯ll do that? Reis, I mean?¡± Victor turned left, saw Va hurrying up to the porcindy at the end of the path, and slowed his pace so Tes would have time to answer him.

    ¡°I do. Reis is no great duelist, and when she hears rumors about Va¡¯s gains, her nerve will falter.¡± She frowned and then shrugged, ¡°That¡¯s my guess, in any case.¡±

    ¡°Huh. I hope you¡¯re right, but I¡¯m not so sure Va will let her back down. She¡¯s different these days, but I¡¯ve seen her be pretty hard on people¡ªshe was a captain in the Legion and, if I recall, one of the youngest to ever reach that rank.¡±

    ¡°The Legion? This is the military from her homnd?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± Victor nodded.

    ¡°Perhaps she¡¯ll press the duel or amend the stakes¡ªthird strike or first blood, maybe. That would be amusing to watch.¡± Tes cleared her throat as they approached the gate, guarded by the two motionless knights and attended by the strange, fragile-looking woman on her stool. Va stood waiting, a prize token in her hand, and Tes motioned for Victor to go ahead. ¡°I¡¯ll wait here, you two.¡±

    Victor fished out one of his tokens, held it up to the porcindy, and said, ¡°May I proceed?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. Thank you for your politeness, young man,¡± she replied, her strange lips curving into a smile, apanied by a soft sound that made Victor imagine a damp stone sliding against another, bigger stone. ¡°You may call me Gallia.¡±

    Tes caught her breath, and Victor nced at her. She seemed almost shocked by the pale, diminutive woman¡¯s words. He hoped he¡¯d remember to ask her whyter, but there, in front of the porcin woman, he didn¡¯t think it would be wise. Instead, he said, ¡°Why thank you, Gallia. If you don¡¯t recall, I¡¯m Victor. It¡¯s a pleasure.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Victor. Please proceed.¡±

    He nodded and followed Va to the System¡¯s City Stone, and she was quick to ce her hand on it. He figured he might as well check on avable prizes, so he touched the stone and navigated to the Treasure Exchange menu, and then read through it:

    Avable Treasure Exchange

    Elixir of Regeneration - 1 Prize Token

    Racial Boost - Basic - 1 Prize Token

    Racial Boost - Improved - 2 Prize Tokens

    Alchemical Ingredient - Advanced - 2 Prize Tokens

    Racial Boost - Advanced - 3 Prize Tokens

    Cultivation Breakthrough - 3 Prize Tokens

    Alchemical Ingredient - Epic - 5 Prize Tokens

    Racial Boost - Epic - 5 Prize Tokens (1 Avable)

    Stone of Sentience - 5 Prize Tokens (1 Avable)

    Alchemical Ingredient - Legendary - 10 Prize Tokens

    Stone of Consciousness - 10 Prize Tokens (2 Avable)

    Epic Light Weapon - 10 Prize Tokens

    Epic Heavy Weapon - 10 Prize Tokens

    Epic Ranged Weapon - 12 Prize Tokens

    Epic Energy Focus - 12 Prize Tokens

    Random Legendary Treasure - 20 Prize Tokens

    ¡°There are fewer avable thanst time,¡± Va said from beside him just as Victor drew the same conclusion.

    ¡°Only one epic racial boost,¡± he said, then selected it, suddenly fearful that somehow someone else would beat him to it.

    ***Tokens Received. Your prize will appear at your feet.***

    The sudden System message reminded him that this City Stone and the exchange within it were managed by the ubiquitous arbiter of Energy and sses and so much more. As he watched his purchase apparate out of a cloud of bright yellow Energy, he wondered about Tes¡¯s earlier words. Her people had existed long before the System. They¡¯d kept it out of their world for millennia, but when it grew bigger and stronger, it still forced itself on them. He wanted to ask her more about it and resolved to do so.

    ¡°If I can get her to talk,¡± he grunted, leaning down and picking up the glimmering, heavy, silver sk. It felt like he was picking up an ingot of gold, so dense was the container or whatever was inside it. He slipped it into his storage ring, figuring he¡¯d ask Khul Bach or Tes when it would be wise to advance his race again. He saw Va straightening up beside him and that she cradled, in her hands, a shimmering, silver and white egg-shaped object that emitted a soft, swirling mist of Energy.

    ¡°How do I use it?¡± she asked, her words a bare whisper as though she feared she might disturb the object in her grasp.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go ask Tes,¡± Victor said, putting a hand on her shoulder and walking with her back through the gate. She moved slowly and carefully, and he almostughed; she really did treat it like an egg.

    ¡°It looks like a magical chicken egg,¡± Victor said as they approached Tes.

    She stood from the wrought iron bench where she¡¯d been waiting and looked at the beautiful object in Va¡¯s hands. ¡°It does, doesn¡¯t it? It¡¯s the most beautiful Stone of Sentience I¡¯ve seen.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not all the same?¡±

    ¡°No! That¡¯s the seed of a spirit, there, Victor. They can be as different as one person is from another.¡± Victor¡¯s eyes opened wide at the idea, and he leaned closer as Tes said, ¡°Va, hold it in one hand and summon your de.¡±

    ¡°Just one moment,¡± Va said, carefully tilting her right hand so the stone rolled into her left, then she cupped it there and held out her free hand. A momentter, she held Blue Razor, the deep, dark-blue de aloft. The ck, leather-wrapped hilt, long enough for her to wield two-handed, jutted out below her fist. Victor took a good look at the sword, noting how lovely the silvery crossguard and pommel were, etched with vines and flowers. He knew it was heavy, having felt its weight in many sparring sessions, and he admired how effortlessly Va held it.

    ¡°Now, Va, this is important!¡± Tes said, moving to stand before the smaller woman so she could look her in the eyes. ¡°Fill your mind with your intentions! Picture something that embodies a virtue you think is worthy, a virtue you¡¯d like to see reflected in the spirit of your de.¡±

    ¡°A virtue,¡± Va said softly, then she closed her eyes, and when she reopened them, her gaze was far away and her face serene.

    ¡°Good, now, move your hand with the stone next to the de; press it against it¡ªnot the pommel or hilt, only the de.¡±

    Va didn¡¯t speak, but she nodded in understanding, and she carefully moved her left hand over to the de of her sword and pressed the Stone of Sentience against the deep, blue metal. Victor watched as the stone seemed to melt and spread into it, and then the entire sword red with blinding, silvery light. When the bloom faded from his vision, and he saw the sword, now held aloft in both of Va¡¯s hands, he gasped in awe at its beauty.

    The sword¡¯s dark blue, almost ck de glittered with thousands of tiny motes of light that reminded Victor very much of the ones that lurked in Lifedrinker¡¯s haft. The de¡¯s edges radiated faint, wispy-white Energy tendrils that faded to nothing almost immediately. Vaughed and whipped the sword around in a few intricate practice forms, and when she stopped, she was practically glowing with excitement.

    ¡°I can feel it! Her! This sword is no longer Blue Razor! Her name is Midnight Hope, and she¡¯s wonderful!¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 38: Hints and Lessons

    Book 4: Chapter 38: Hints and Lessons

    Victor opened his eyes and grinned hugely¡ªhis Core had just advanced to improved six, and he¡¯d only spent a few hours in the warlord¡¯s cultivation chamber. He pulled his little, magical pocket watch out of his storage container and looked at it, noting the time was 11:34; Tes had helped him to get it set properly to Coloss time.

    When he¡¯d woken up and met with the servant outside his room, the young man had informed him that Yabbo and Karnice wouldn¡¯t be able to spar until ¡°after lunch.¡± Victor figured that was sometime around noon, so he¡¯d spent the morning cultivating. He stood, stretched, popped his back a few times, and then walked toward the chamber door, reseating Lifedrinker in the harness under his arm. He pressed his hand to the te on the door and, when it clicked, pushed it open.

    ¡°Well,¡± a richly deep, friendly voice said from the left-hand bench when Victor stepped out. He turned to the sound and saw, for only the third time, the warlord. He sat leaning back, his wings furled, his legs crossed, and a sly smile exposing sharp, white teeth.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Victor said, stopping short and sketching an awkward half-bow. ¡°Warlord.¡±

    ¡°Indeed! I see you¡¯ve made some good use of my chamber.¡± The smile didn¡¯t falter, and the astute, dark eyes beneath the weird feathery white brows reminded Victor of a hawk¡¯s.

    ¡°Yes! Thank you again for letting me, us, use it.¡±

    ¡°Surely. You¡¯re doing me a favor, are you not? And your pretty blue friend is a wee distraction around this ce.¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t know how to take those words, but he knew he didn¡¯t like the sound of them. He frowned and straightened up, suddenly worried about Va. Tes wouldn¡¯t let something happen to her, would she? Before he could voice a concern or another banality, the Warlord shifted and spoke again.

    ¡°I don¡¯t use the chamber much these days. My Core advances so slowly that I begin to wonder if there¡¯s a stage beyond the one I¡¯ve reached. Rumor mongers tell me I should travel to older worlds, face ancient challenges, and learn from the great wizards and warriors in those ces. I¡¯m not convinced they exist. Zaafor is old enough, is it not? I rule enough people, do I not? Why should I give up all that I¡¯ve gained and earned for the pursuit of tiny, nebulous improvements?¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know. I mean, I thought Fanwath was full of powerful people until I visited this world . . .¡±

    ¡°And I might find the same should I travel far enough abroad? Is that the line of your thinking?¡±

    ¡°I suppose.¡± Victor frowned, then shrugged and asked what was on his mind, ¡°What rank is your Core, or is that too personal a ques . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve attained thest tier of Epic, and I¡¯ve ground away at it for nearly three hundred years.¡±

    ¡°The chamber doesn¡¯t help?¡±

    ¡°Hardly. I heard an interesting rumor, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Is it true you were able to improve your Core by eating the heart of a vanquished foe?¡±

    Victor¡¯s mouth fell open, and he stared nkly at the warlord for a moment, his mind spasmodically traveling down multiple trains of thought¡ªwho had told him? Could he have heard him speaking to Va or something? Was it a problem if the warlord knew? Should he lie? Would he know it if he did?

    ¡°Are you dumbstruck?¡±

    ¡°Un, no, Warlord, simply surprised. I wasn¡¯t aware anyone else knew of that. You see, that aspect of my bloodline is new to me, and I¡¯ve only done it a couple of times. It doesn¡¯t always improve my Core, though. I think it depends upon the heart.¡± Victor had decided that lying to this man about something he seemed to know already would be a mistake.

    ¡°Intriguing, Victor. Well, don¡¯t let me keep you any longer. I believe Karnice has a lesson for you. I¡¯ll be around, watching; I find you quite interesting.¡±

    ¡°Well, thanks.¡± Victor shrugged, ufortable with the strange praise. ¡°Um, I was on my way to see Karnice, but I¡¯m not sure how to get there. I was told to meet him in the ¡°practice yard¡± outside the citadel¡ªis that the big open space by the gate?¡±

    ¡°No, but close. Just walk around the citadel to the western side, and you¡¯ll see the practice yard; it¡¯s surrounded by a short wall and has a sand floor, perfect for soaking up blood.¡± The warlordughed, then stood and motioned for the stairs leading down. ¡°After you, young titan.¡±

    ¡°Right, thanks again, Warlord.¡± Victor nodded and hurried down the steps, and as he gained some distance from the powerful ruler, who¡¯d stopped at the top of the steps and seemed to be watching him leave, he cast Titanic Aspect so he could move to the Degh side of the steps and double his pace. Something about the warlord, though he was overtly polite and pleasant, bothered Victor.

    He¡¯d felt like a mouse being toyed with by an eagle, and he wasn¡¯t really surprised¡ªthe man had destroyed the Degh in a war thousands of years before Victor was born. The question about his heart eating had bothered him, not really because he was embarrassed about it, which he was, but because it hade so quickly after the warlord admitted having been stuck with his own Core advancement. ¡°He sure seemed pretty free with that tidbit of information, hmm, chica?¡±

    ¡°¡®Ware the old wolf, Victor, for he¡¯d do much to cling to his power.¡± Lifedrinker¡¯s sharp soprano edged with a constant note of violence, surprised him; he spoke to her so often with no response that he¡¯d grown ustomed to having a one-sided discussion.

    ¡°He makes you nervous, too?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes! I yearn to taste his flesh, but we aren¡¯t ready yet. Can you not feel his strength? Be cautious, for his words are soaked in blood.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be cautious. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Victor rubbed a thumb along the back of her metal head as he walked, and she hummed softly, apparently cated. The heat pulsing beneath her silvery surface gave himfort, too, and when he stepped out of the citadel into the bright sunlight, he was in a better mood. He turned to the right, walking along the cobbled paths around the enormous edifice, passing by servants carrying baskets and buckets, pushing carts of linens and kitchen supplies.

    Victor stepped to the side, making room for the servants, and that¡¯s when he realized there was another pathway on the other side of the row of nters, this one lined with sculptures of animals and birds, flowering nts, and sulent cacti. Well-dressed Vesh passed him asionally on this path, and he reasoned that this was meant for the non-serving ss that dwelled in the citadel.

    Before he could spend much time specting on the various types of people living in Coloss and their stations rtive to each other, he came to a path to the left that opened into arge, depressed square. Victor walked that way and stood at the top of the steps, looking down on a ¡°practice field¡± that would put many full-blown colosseums to shame. It might not have the stands of a colosseum, but rows of shady stone benches under pergs lined the marble-block pit approximately the size of a football field. As the warlord had said, the bottom of the pit was covered in fine, white sand.

    Victor could imagine hundreds of people practicing maneuvers out in that sand, but at that hour, only a few were scattered around the space, sparring with weapons and Energy. He watched a woman erupt with white, frosty Energy and perform a double backflip to avoid the fire-limned war hammer of her opponent as it smashed into the sand. As she leaped back into the fray, swinging her frosty bo-staff, Victor started down the steps, looking around for a sign of his supposed trainer.

    He was still wearing his Titanic Aspect, and so, when he reached the edge of the practice field, the first words he heard from Karnice were, ¡°Gods! He¡¯s bigger than you said!¡±

    ¡°Are you Berserk?¡± another voice asked, and Victor turned to see two Vesh eyeing him from a stone bench in the shade of the nearby y-tiled perg.

    The one who¡¯d spoken was shorter but broader than the other, with barrel-like shoulders covered in the same brown fur as his head and face¡ªhe looked more bear than man. He gazed at Victor through dark golden eyes and grinned, exposing canines toorge for his mouth. He wore leather straps in lieu of a shirt and leather shorts that exposed the bottoms of his furry legs all the way down to the sharp ck ws at the ends of his toes.

    The Vesh sitting next to him was more akin to the warlord than the beastlike man beside him. He was tall, bronze-skinned, and his red, gleaming eyes glowered from beneath dark brows, a heavy weight of power emanating from them. He was a handsome man, and if it weren¡¯t for the double set of shoulders and four arms protruding from his green-scaled vest, Victor might have thought he was human. He¡¯dbed back his ck hair neatly and wore his beard in a sharp, well-oiled goatee.

    After momentarily staring at the two Vesh, Victor replied, ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Huh. I thought you were smaller when you weren¡¯t Berserk. It seemed that way in the arena . . .¡± the bear-like man said.

    ¡°He¡¯s under the influence of a spell,¡± the taller, four-armed man replied.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Victor said. ¡°Karnice and Yabbo?¡± Victor let his spell fade as he spoke and winced as the weird sensation of shrinking came over him. Even without his spell¡¯s boost, though, he was a good dealrger than the two Vesh, and if it weren¡¯t for the hints of Karnice¡¯s aura bleeding through his efforts to restrain it, he might not have been intimidated by them. As it was, when Karnice stood and approached him, Victor could feel the threat of his power, lurking like a viper in a decorative basket.

    ¡°Well met,¡± Karnice said, holding out his top right hand, and Victor sped it. ¡°I¡¯m Karnice, and I¡¯ll be helping you two to improve for the next couple of weeks. We want Coloss to win the tourney, yes?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Yabbo said, bouncing to his hairy feet and rushing over to p Victor on the shoulder. His hand was heavy and hard, like a frozen ham.

    Victor grunted and said, ¡°Sure we do.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get down there, then.¡± Karnice released Victor¡¯s hand and then moved around the side of the practice arena until he came to a set of stone steps that led down to the sand. ¡°Come, hurry. My time is valuable, whelps.¡±

    Victor hustled down, shoulder to shoulder with Yabbo, and when they stood on the sand, Karnice turned to face them, folding all four of his arms over his chest. ¡°Well, I won¡¯t have you two ying flower flutters! Get your weapons out!¡±

    Victor unsnapped Lifedrinker¡¯s sling and lifted her free, holding her crossways before him. Yabbo summoned a shield and a heavy-looking ck hammer in his other hand. Karnice nodded and backed up, and suddenly an enormous silvery spear was in his hands, all four of them. ¡°Good. I¡¯ll take your measure one at a time, weapon skills only. Give me everything you have¡ªtry to get past my spear and leave a mark on my flesh. No Energy abilities!¡±

    Yabbo stepped forward, so Victor backed to the arena''s edge to watch. While he stood there, he contemted his Sovereign Will ability¡ªat the moment, he was boosting his agility and vitality, and he changed it to agility and strength. The ability didn¡¯t cost him any Energy, so it was fair to use as far as he was concerned. As his muscles swelled and hardened, he watched Yabbo struggle to get close to Karnice.

    It was evident that Yabbo was a powerful, fierce fighter. His shield was the size of a sled, round and brassy, with colorful red, ck, and yellow runes flickering and glowing in the metal. He swung it like it weighed nothing, but Victor could feel the air being disced, could hear the way it crashed against Karnice¡¯s spear, and he didn¡¯t think it would feel good to be bashed by it. The bear-like man growled and charged, never seeming to tire as he swung that heavy hammer at Karnice, only to have the taller,nkier man dance out of reach.

    Every so often, Karnice would go on the offensive, using his spear to feint, then smashing the shining, silvery haft into Yabbo¡¯s shoulder or shield, or thigh, always with the result of Yabbo roaring in pain or frustration and flopping down into the sand, unable to withstand the force of the blow. The assessment bout went on like that for a long while¡ªten or fifteen minutes, which Victor knew all too well was a long time to be fighting all out.

    When Karnice called a halt, he seemed perfectly at ease, not even breathing heavily, and Yabbo was heaving for breath with sand and sweat thick in his fur. ¡°Not bad, Yabbo. Advanced skill with the hammer? Near epic with the shield?¡±

    ¡°Yeh . . .¡± Yabbo grunted between pants. ¡°Not used to fighting without my skills,¡± he added, still leaning with his thick, wed hands on his furry knees.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s have the offworlder give it a go. You can get your wind back while you watch.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said, stepping forward, Lifedrinker loose and ready in his grip.

    ¡°Come on, then!¡± Karnice growled, leveling the spear, apparently out of patience. Victor frowned at his change of demeanor; he could see he wasn¡¯t the favored student. With the thought, his Core surged, and red heat started to spill into his pathways, but Victor held it back, flexing his already taxed will¡ªhe¡¯d been fighting his aura down all day. Still, he contained his fury and charged at Karnice, using the moves he¡¯d learned from Polo Vosh and perfected through hours and hours of practice with Va and alone, dancing with his shadow.

    He immediately saw that he was faster than Yabbo, faster and stronger. Lifedrinker nged against Karnice¡¯s spear, and sometimes clouds of ck smoke and a ssh of hot, orange Energy would apany her impact. The first time it happened, Karnice frowned but held his tongue. Victor could see he¡¯d been about to yell at him for using Energy but realized it was Lifedrinker¡¯s doing.

    The spear weathered Lifedrinker¡¯s blows, clearly a powerful weapon in its own right, though itcked a mind. The first time Karnice went on the offensive and worked past Victor¡¯s guard, smashing the haft of his spear into Victor¡¯s hip, he looked a bit surprised when Victor hardly shifted. He nodded, though, and ramped up the offensive, twirling his spear like a staff, whipping the ends around, knocking Lifedrinker aside, and raking the razor-sharp edge over Victor¡¯s left pectoral, leaving a long, bloody rip in one of his better shirts.

    Victor growled and pressed his offensive, trying to see the pattern in Karnice¡¯s evasions but never quite sussing them out¡ªas soon as he thought he had an opening figured out, Karnice would surprise him with a new side step or feinting parry. The battle went on and on, and Victor ended up switching his Sovereign Will boost to vitality and agility. Once he¡¯d done that, Victor never tired¡ªhe felt like he could spar all day. By the time Karnice called a halt, Victor¡¯s shirt was ruined, and he had a dozen shallow gashes over his chest, stomach, shoulders, and back.

    He stood beside Yabbo, his breath ubored, and waited to hear Karnice¡¯s assessment. Yabbo, for his part, threw Victor sidelong nces, clearly surprised by how well he¡¯d held up. While Karnice gathered his thoughts, he muttered into Victor¡¯s shoulder, behind one hairy fist, ¡°I thought you were low-tier.¡±

    ¡°Well, close enough to mid.¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°Well, offworlder,¡± Karnice said, leaning on his spear, the tip in the air, glinting red with Victor¡¯s blood. ¡°If your axe mastery isn¡¯t epic, I¡¯d say it¡¯s close, hmm?¡±

    ¡°Really? It¡¯s advanced, but I thought I had a long way to go before epic.¡±

    ¡°Regardless, I can see you¡¯ve lived the life of a warrior. You don¡¯t tire easily and are sturdy for a man of your rank. I¡¯ll wager your racial advancements and bloodline have helped you there, hmm?¡±

    ¡°I guess.¡± Victor didn¡¯t feel like expounding¡ªwhy did it feel like everyone was pumping him for information about his bloodline today? The question wasn¡¯t really out of the blue; it was a natural thing to wonder about, but following his chat with the warlord, it triggered a little warning in his gut.

    ¡°Well, if I¡¯m to teach you, I¡¯ll need to know more about you both. Choose one of your strongest abilities, and using only that ability, we¡¯ll repeat the assessment.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Yabbo said, stepping onto the sand. Victor watched as he held the metal disc of his shield up, gathering hot, acrid Energy. Victor could feel the caustic attunement, whatever it was, in his sinuses. Yabbo roared as his spellpleted, and then his shield expanded, glowing green and dripping drops of acidic, green liquid into the sand that crackled and sizzled.

    The shield wasrge enough to cover most of Yabbo¡¯s body now, and Karnice had to work a little to get his blows past it. He didn¡¯t risk the health of his spear by striking it nakedly against that biting surface. Rather, he channeled his own red, scorching Energy along the length of the silvery shaft, coating it with a crackling aura that sizzled against Yabbo¡¯s shield, leaving charred lines on the metallic surface that only slowly faded and filled back in with Yabbo¡¯s green Energy.

    Victor tried to pay attention to the ¡°assessment,¡± but he grew bored¡ªit was much like the first time, and the two hardly did anything other than dance back and forth, circling each other. Karnice still managed to send Yabbo sprawling a few times, and after another ten minutes or so, he finally called a halt to the exercise. Yabbo let his spell drop, clearly exhausted, and walked back over to Victor.

    ¡°Well? Berserker? Will you show me your might?¡± Karnice asked, twirling his red-limned spear. Something about the question bothered Victor. Why did Karnice want him to cast Berserk? Was it truly to assess his strength? Victor almost refused, almost chose a different spell, like Inspiring Presence, but then he wondered if Karnice was just fishing, trying to see what else Victor could bring to the table. Everyone in Coloss knew he could Berserk; what was the harm in using it now?

    ¡°I¡¯m supposed to be practicing it anyway,¡± he said, then, grinning like a madman, he formed the pattern for the spell and rxed his will, letting his rage flood his pathways.

 Book 4: Chapter 39: Secrets and Oaths

    Book 4: Chapter 39: Secrets and Oaths

    Victor smashed into Karnice¡¯s spear over and over, batting the length of dense, heavy metal aside with Lifedrinker or his fist and lunging at the tall, four-armed warrior. Each time, Karnice danced away, his agility so far beyond Victor¡¯s that the enraged titan-blood had trouble focusing on his form as it blurred into motion. Still, no matter Karnice¡¯s speed and no matter how he tried to punish Victor with his stabs and sweeps, the berserking giant kept advancing, shrugging off the weeping cuts and instantly fading welts.

    Karnice couldn¡¯t move him with that spear, not even an inch, so he was forced to leap and dash to keep himself out of Lifedrinker¡¯s cutting arc. It began to grow evident that Victor¡¯s rage would oust the champion¡¯s endurance¡ªten minutes into the sparring session, Karnice was drenched in a sheen of sweat, his face was flushed, and his lungs heaved like bellows. On the other hand, Victor continued to jump and rush toward him, swinging his great, silvery axe in liquid cleaves that ripped the air and left trails of ck smoke in her wake.

    Karnice finally seemed to have had enough and gathered a great surge of Energy. His body zed with roiling, red mes that rose up from his shoulders into a gigantic, fiery double that leaped away from his sweat-drenched body and fell upon Victor with not one but four fiery replicas of his spear. Victor screamed in rage and pain as the spears stabbed into his flesh, cutting far more deeply than the physical version and leaving painful scorches that lined the puncture wounds.

    Still, Victor fought. He hacked Lifedrinker through the fiery doppelganger, shing her through its midsection, and she drank great torrents of its Energy with each hack. Victor¡¯s prodigious vitality and Berserk healing closed the wounds almost as fast as the red nightmare could pull the spears out, leaving red welts where throbbing holes had been. His me-Touched feat was proving its worth; despite the burned flesh in the stab wounds, he healed cleanly.

    The damage had been done, though; the pain and frustration of the clinging, fiery foe had driven Victor¡¯s fury to new heights, and he screamed and iled, ripping it to shreds but, in the process, burning off thest of his hot, red Energy. Karnice watched from a dozen feet away, leaning on the haft of his spear as Victor vanquished his gigantic, burning mirror image. As it faded away in a ck wisp of smoke, Victor fell to his knees, his rage and titanic aspect gone. He heaved for breath, frowned, and growled, ¡°Not really pulling your punches, were you?¡±

    ¡°I had to get your measure, and now I know.¡± Karnice shrugged. ¡°The wounds healed.¡±

    ¡°And if they hadn¡¯t?¡± Victor touched one of the nearly twenty circr red welts, this one on his chest¡ªhis shirt was nothing but tatters clinging to his shoulders.

    ¡°Then you¡¯d require some extra healing.¡± Karnice looked at Yabbo and said, ¡°You two will spend the next few hours sparring with axe and hammer. I¡¯ll devise some training strategies for tomorrow.¡± With that, he turned, walked up the stairs leading out of the practice arena, and was gone.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think he expected you to press him so hard,¡± Yabbo said, walking over to Victor and holding out a hand. Victor took the offered hand and let Yabbo hoist him to his feet.

    ¡°Eh, most old masters get a little surprised by my Berserk state.¡±

    ¡°I can see why. You have a heavy aura for someone not yet tier five.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Victor shrugged, not interested in banter. He was frustrated, and the pain of those fiery spears was still fresh in his mind, regardless of whether he had healed. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s do some weapon work. I have some spells to help.¡± He concentrated and cast Inspiring Presence and Globe of Inspiration, setting the bright orb ten feet over their heads.

    ¡°Oh!¡± Yabbo said, a smile brightening his eyes and exposing his too-full mouth of fangs. ¡°I knew you were a Spirit Caster, but I didn¡¯t know you had more than one attunement! This is wonderful.¡± He reached a hand toward the glowing orb of inspiration-attuned Energy and held it there as though trying to shield his eyes while peering at the sun. ¡°Yes! I feel it; let¡¯s practice!¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor nodded, also feeling better now that he¡¯d bathed himself in inspiration. He was always happy to train with someone, and Yabbo seemed like a decent guy. Karnice, on the other hand, was a bit of an asshole, in Victor¡¯s opinion. The four-armed champion was gone, though, so Victor decided to buckle down and get some real work in. He squared off with Yabbo and said, ¡°Say seventy-five percent? Just spells that boost our weapon abilities? I mean, I want to get some good work in and not beat each other up.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sounds good to me. Do you mind putting on a helmet? This hammer is heavy . . .¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Victor said, then he set Lifedrinker down and produced his Kethian Juggernaut helm from his storage ring. Arms straining at the weight, he slipped it onto his head and grinned as he felt it distribute its weight through his frame. ¡°Should be good now.¡± Victor picked up Lifedrinker and said, ¡°Okay, chica, we¡¯re just practicing; don¡¯t murder him.¡±

    Yabbo eyed him spectively. ¡°The axe understands? I don¡¯t want to have to regrow any limbs . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be careful, and yeah, she understands.¡± Victor backed up a step and bowed to Yabbo, who grinned and bowed back, and then the two of them began to train. They fell into an easy rhythm and, as they grew increasinglyfortable with each other¡¯s style, picked up the tempo until a casual observer might think they were fighting in earnest.

    Neither of them sustained a serious injury, though Yabbo had to drink a healing draught twice to staunch badly bleeding gashes, one on his shoulder and one just under his ribs. Victor received many a bruising blow from Yabbo¡¯s shield or hammer, but his vitality and titanic heritage allowed him to heal such wounds within minutes. He didn¡¯t doubt that Yabbo was pulling his blows, but so was he.

    One thing that he appreciated about Yabbo was his stamina; he kept up the intensity longer than things usually went with Va. In fact, the sun was sinking toward the eastern horizon when they finally decided to call an end to their work. Neither of them had improved the ranks of any skills or spells, but Victor felt he was close to some breakthroughs. ¡°A few more days of practice like that will do me well,¡± he said, shaking Yabbo¡¯s thick, paw-like hand.

    ¡°Indeed! I hope Karnice doesn¡¯t simply torture us tomorrow; I¡¯d like to make some gains.¡± Yabbo rubbed at a new scar along his forearm, his breath still a bit ragged from the exertion.

    ¡°Yeah. Here¡¯s hoping . . .¡±

    ¡°Hello, gentlemen,¡± a cheerful, feminine voice called from the covered benches at the side of the sand pit. Victor recognized Tes¡¯s voice instantly and turned to wave. He felt a strange sense of relief when he saw Va sitting beside her.

    ¡°Hello,¡± Yabbo said, ducking his head, touching his thickly furred head with his free hand¡ªsome sort of show of respect, Victor figured.

    ¡°Hey, Tes.¡± Victor turned to Va, caught her eye, and said, ¡°Hey, Va.¡±

    ¡°Victor, I brought you a present,¡± Tes said, holding up a rolled-up piece of parchment.

    ¡°I should get going,¡± Yabbo said, pping Victor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Ladies.¡± He ducked his head again and then hurried up the steps.

    ¡°What time tomorrow?¡± Victor called after him.

    Yabbo stopped, turned back, then shrugged and said, ¡°I say we meet here at noon again. Karnice will let us know if he wants something different.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor nodded, and Yabbo turned and was gone, walking around the corner and up toward the citadel. Victor climbed the short steps out of the sand to sit on the bench beside Tes, looked at the parchment in her hand, and asked, ¡°The rest of your spell pattern?¡±

    ¡°Just so! Take your time; you¡¯ll find that the entirety of the spell is a bit more perplexing than the section you¡¯ve learned so far.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Tes.¡± Victor took the parchment, surprised by its weight, and suddenly dreaded unrolling it¡ªthe pattern had to be pretty damn long. He tucked it safely into one of his storage rings and asked, ¡°So, what¡¯ve youdies been up to today?¡±

    ¡°Cultivating and practicing my spells. I made a rank with my Core, but you look like you had a much harder day. What happened to your shirt?¡± Tes leaned back, allowing Victor to look at Va while she spoke. She was clean, her hair neatly coiffed¡ªmore so than during the hunt, and she¡¯d put on one of her signature uniform-style shirts with the high, buttoned cor.

    ¡°Karnice happened,¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°He was hard on you?¡± Tes raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°I think I pissed him off ¡®cause I wouldn¡¯t go down easy when he was ¡®getting my measure.¡¯¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a dangerous one¡ªdeep-fire attunement.¡±

    ¡°Deep-fire?¡±

    ¡°A kind of elemental affinity, but it has a different Energy signature than fire; you can find it naturally in the deeper parts of worlds like this. A few people in such worlds are born with an affinity for it. It¡¯s hotter and more vtile than typical fire-attuned Energy.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I felt it.¡± Victor pointed to some of the pink circles on his chest and arms, though they¡¯d already faded noticeably.

    ¡°Reckless of him. He didn¡¯t know you¡¯d heal so easily.¡± Tes frowned and held one of her long, slender fingers over a mark on Victor¡¯s nearest shoulder. She let it hang there as if debating whether she should touch him, but she ended up curling it into her fist and shaking her head. ¡°Be careful of Karnice and ept his aid with a guarded mind.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of being guarded when epting aid,¡± Victor said, ncing over his shoulder toward the hulking, colossal edifice of the citadel. Tes shook her head and held up a finger.

    A momentter, Victor¡¯s ears popped, and Tes said, ¡°I can shield our discussion out here, but within the citadel, the warlord¡¯s seat of power, even I must be wary of his prying ears.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor said, considering his words, ¡°He kind of gave me the creeps earlier. He was waiting for me when I came out of the cultivation chamber and seemed to be fishing for information about my bloodline, specifically my ability to improve my Core by eating hearts.¡±

    ¡°That man should, indeed, worry you,¡± Tes nodded. ¡°You know how the Vesh came to be, yes?¡±

    Victor looked past Tes to Va, and she shrugged, clearly as clueless as he was. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Oh, goodness. Well, the Vesh, a few millennia ago, were actually a n of Degh.¡±

    ¡°What the hell? Seriously?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. They were always the smallest of their kind, though they were once quite a lotrger than they are now. There used to be many other peoples here on Zaafor. You should know it took me some time to uncover this history,¡± Tes paused and stared into the sky, clearly savoring some memory or another. ¡°I spent years poring through texts in libraries¡ªmany of the old histories were destroyed, but I found enough. I even found some of the old cities of the dead races.¡±

    ¡°Dead races?¡± Va asked, clearly engulfed by her words as Tesid bare the mystery.

    ¡°Yes, the Vesh, once a rather weak n of Degh, learned that they could steal the bloodlines from other peoples. You might guess the people subjected to their method didn¡¯t survive the process. As the Vesh gained new powers and became greedy for more, they ughtered, wholesale, some of the less populous races on Zaafor, doing enough damage to wipe many of them out.¡±

    ¡°Holy shit! Is that why Khul Bach called them mutants?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. The Vesh you see in Coloss arergely in the early or, in a few cases, middling stages of digging out the many stolen bloodlines buried in their people¡¯s dark history. You¡¯ll note the higher-tier individuals, such as the warlord and Karnice, are a bit more refined, less animalistic; they¡¯ve unlocked aplementary set of bloodlines that give them true advantages in this violent world.¡±

    ¡°He wants Victor¡¯s bloodline,¡± Va said, echoing a fear that had begun to form in Victor¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Undoubtedly. Thezy, fearful tyrant has been looking for a way to improve his Core without traveling abroad for centuries.¡±

    ¡°How does he,¡± Victor thought about his question, then continued, ¡°How does he keep his power? I mean, how has no one from a stronger worlde and kicked his ass?¡±

    ¡°He controls the City Stones¡ªrefuses connections from other stones. It keeps this world obscure¡ªone of the reasons I was here, studying its history. I¡¯ve learned much, but I¡¯ll be moving on soon.¡±

    ¡°But powerful people can open portals, right?¡±

    ¡°A portal for an army? It could be done, though the effort would be great. Why though? I¡¯m here to study, but others like me would find this world a dead end. They¡¯ve stagnated.¡±

    ¡°So, um, you knew the warlord was going to try to get my bloodline?¡±

    ¡°I know he wants to. I don¡¯t know that he¡¯ll try anytime soon. I imagine he¡¯ll need to study you for a while. I think, though, that it might be wise to seek an alternate route back to your world¡ªI wouldn¡¯t be surprised if you tried to purchase teleportation from his City Stone, and it didn¡¯t work.¡±

    ¡°Do other Vesh know how to steal bloodlines?¡± Va asked, her light blue skin suddenly paler than usual.

    ¡°Oh, many. The powerful, older ones.¡±

    ¡°Tes, how are we going to get out of here?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fret, Victor. Keep learning while you can. I¡¯ve a lead on someone that may be able to help you. Didn¡¯t you tell me the wizard whose portal you used was named Boaegh?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Va quickly answered.

    ¡°He had students; did you know that?¡± Tes grinned and added, ¡°I¡¯m going to visit one of them tonight.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡±

    ¡°Oh, very seriously. In the meantime, keep your guard up, as you have been, and I¡¯ll also be watching. We must time your exit well.¡±

    ¡°Were you always going to help us with this?¡± Va asked.

    ¡°I,¡± Tes paused and pursed her lips, clearly trying to decide how to answer. Finally, she said, ¡°I think I must be honest with you. How strange!¡± She turned to include Victor in her words and then continued, ¡°I was sure I wanted to help you, but I was also curious about the Warlord and what he might do.¡±

    She turned back to Va and reached out to sp her hand in hers, then holding it tight, their fingers intertwined, she said, ¡°I thought, at first, to help you prepare for the duel and to help Victor prepare for the arena. What a spectacle, I thought! I was curious how the warlord and Blue would respond to your sesses.¡±

    Va¡¯s eyes had grown dark, and as she listened to Tes, Victor saw her growing tense, perhaps pulling on her hand, still in Tes¡¯s grasp. Victor, for his part, wasn¡¯t surprised at all. He could feel it early on when he¡¯d met with Tes; she¡¯d seemed almost to be toying with him. She continued, ¡°As I grew to know you both, though, I grew fond of you. I do want you both to seed, and I¡¯ve surprised myself by realizing that I can¡¯t stomach the idea of the warlord and his minions defiling either of you, stealing your bloodlines, or worse.¡±

    ¡°So the idea was to fatten us up, let us entertain these savages, and then observe the warlord¡¯s methodology as he killed us for our bloodlines?¡±

    ¡°Well, Victor¡¯s bloodline for certain, though Blue has been quite interested in trying to attain your natural coloring . . .¡± Tes knew she¡¯d gone too far with that; she mped her mouth shut and, as Va jerked her hand, she rxed her grip, letting her pull it away.

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty fucked up, Tes,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°I¡¯m a schr, and I was trying to respect the culture of these people.¡± Tes sighed, clearly upset, worried that she¡¯d alienated Va, who was leaning forward on her knees, head cradled in her hands. ¡°Va, for what it¡¯s worth, I¡¯d decided by the second day I knew you, the day we watched Victor in the arena, that I wouldn¡¯t let the warlord harm you.¡± She turned to Victor, adding, ¡°The same for you, Victor. I knew, speaking with you during Blue¡¯s dinner, that I was probably going to vite my oath and help you.¡±

    That got Va¡¯s attention, and she lifted her head, eyeing Tes with moist eyes, ¡°Oath?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes!¡± Tes nodded with a chagrined look that clearly indicated she¡¯d forgotten to mention something important. ¡°I¡¯m a member of a league of schrs from a world much closer to my home¡ªan ancient world with people who have ten times, nay a hundred times, more power and influence than I. I¡¯m not supposed to interfere with the people in the worlds we study. I¡¯m supposed to observe and report; sometimes, our order will vote to interfere with the progress in a stagnant world like this, and sometimes they¡¯ll choose to leave it for a while.

    ¡°I¡¯m viting my oath by even telling you this, but I see a loophole; you didn¡¯t intend to travel here. My oath wasn¡¯t sworn with your world, Fanwath, in mind; I don¡¯t think that world has more than a single summary sentence in our index; it¡¯s too young. I think my advocate will help me avoid repudiation if I exin your situation.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re breaking your oath for us?¡± Va asked, the tears now freely flowing down her cheeks.

    ¡°I am! I promise, Va, I do care about you both!¡± Tes softly chuckled as Va pulled her into an embrace, burying her face in Tes¡¯s blouse, just under her chin. Tes tucked her chin against Va¡¯s head, pulling her tight, and smiled at Victor. He looked at her, wondering if he should feel tricked or betrayed, but he was unable to find any hurt feelings. He knew Va had grown close to Tes, fond of her, in the way Victor might have followed around a pro baseball yer who¡¯d decided to hang out with him one summer and teach him how to pitch.

    Victor also liked Tes and had decided she was a good person; in his opinion, her exnation and confession had only solidified that assessment. She¡¯d been honest with them, almost to a fault. Would she really get in trouble for helping them? He met Tes¡¯s eyes and smiled, and he was infinitely relieved when he saw moisture gather in those deep, honey-green orbs¡ªa genuine disy of emotion that made it easy to forget he was dealing with a dragon.

 Book 4: Chapter 40: Iron

    Book 4: Chapter 40: Iron

    After that first day of practice with Yabbo and Karnice, Victor¡¯s day-to-day life fell into a kind of uneasy, watchful routine. At the start of each day, he¡¯d go to the warlord¡¯s cultivation chamber, where he¡¯d work on his Core, slowly pushing it closer and closer to rank nine of the ¡°improved¡± tier. After that, he¡¯d spar with Yabbo with Karnice¡¯s rather gruff and violent guidance. Then, he¡¯d sit with Tes and Va in their suite and study his spell pattern in the evenings, usually exhausted with dozens of new, rapidly fading scars.

    The cultivation was going well; each rank was like a deeper trench in the ocean of Energy than the one before it, but he knew nine would be a sheer cliff the size of a mountain, and he hoped the tincture he¡¯d gotten from the arena would be enough to push him through it. Still, his gains were huge with each cycle of his drill in the profound, rich Energy of the chamber, and it only took Victor four days to go from rank six to rank eight; he could feel that he was on the verge of nine.

    The sparring was another matter. Each day Karnice tried to egg Victor into using a different set of skills, trying to push him into pulling from his different affinities. Knowing what he did about the Vesh, especially the powerful ones like Karnice and the warlord, Victor was reluctant to put his talents on disy. He¡¯d stubbornly refuse to use anything other than his Berserk and weapon skills with the deadly spearman, despite punishing lessons that left him bleeding and battered. Karnice typically stormed off after losing his temper, and Victor would be left to spar with Yabbo, which he much preferred in any case.

    Tes and Va kept him sane during those days¡ªhe¡¯de back to their suite to the scent of great feasts, and they¡¯d drink and eat,ughing and telling stories for hours before Victor and Va pulled out their studies. Tes helped them, Va with her new spells, and Victor with the singr, impossiblyplicated pattern that spanned more than a meter of rolled-up parchment. Still, he made progress, and with each section he memorized, Tes celebrated with him as though he¡¯d done something inconceivable.

    On the morning of their fifth day of this routine, Victor broke through to the ninth rank with his Core and was surprised when a System message appeared before him:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 45 Titanic Herald, gained 6 strength, 11 vitality, 6 dexterity, 6 agility, 6 intelligence, and 6 will.***</strong>

    ¡°Nice!¡± he grunted, the word echoing in the circr stone chamber. He sat there contemting for a moment, his immediate thoughts drawn to the Core breakthrough tincture. Should he drink it right away? He could wait untilter and ask Tes about it, or he could ask Khul Bach now. ¡°Or I could just drink it.¡±

    Setting aside the thought for the moment, he considered the other things he had yet to consume¡ªthe epic racial boost he¡¯d bought with tokens and the various monster hearts still lingering in his storage containers, including the one from the ancient wyrm. Tes had said to save the racial boost until he¡¯d gone through the other improvements he was working toward, and he knew she¡¯d meant, specifically, his Core.

    Victor pulled out his watch, saw it was nearing noon, and sighed. He was getting damn sick of Karnice¡ªsick of taking his beatings and sick of holding back his talents. He wanted nothing more than to surprise that asshole with a sound thrashing, but he knew he wasn¡¯t up for it, not yet. ¡°Well, if I¡¯m going to go get my ass kicked, I might as well pump up my Core first.¡± Victor rubbed his thumb along Lifedrinker¡¯s warm, pulsing axe head, steadying his nerves, and then he pulled Shouza¡¯s bulbous, honey-colored tincture from his storage ring.

    He could feel the Energy pulsing within, and when he pulled out the cork stopper, a scent like the richest, sweetest syrup imaginable hit his nose, and his mouth filled with saliva. With a great effort of will, he steadied his hand and forced himself to drain the concoction calmly. When it touched his tongue, his tastebuds burst to life, tingling with ecstasy, and though Victor tried to savor the taste, he found his throat reflexively gulping, and soon, the mouthful of blissfully sweet syrup was in his stomach.

    In the back of his throat, he felt the deep notes of herbs and spices, and he coughed a little, feeling a weird rawness in the wake of the tincture¡¯s passage. He sat for a moment, wondering if he should be feeling something, wondering if he¡¯d done something wrong. Was he supposed just to drink it? It was for his Core¡ªshould he have tried to cultivate from it?

    Before his thoughts could spiral out of control, something happened in his gut. A tiny spark seemed to have ignited in there¡ªa single hot spot in the center of his stomach, at first warm and pleasant, like you might feel after drinking a strong shot of liquor on a cold day. Then the spot of warmth became an ember, became a hot coal, became a scorching lump of magma. Victor doubled over in pain and, not knowing what else to do, turned his gaze inward to his Core.

    Sure enough, he saw the dense, rapidly pulsing orbs of his affinities, and nearby, bleeding out of reality and into his inward vision, he saw the scorching sun of the ball of Energy that had to be the result of the tincture. Victor instinctively reached out with his will and began pulling threads out of that white-hot orb of Energy into his three attunement orbs. The Energy was malleable and easy to tug, and soon three wide ribbons were flowing, one each, into his fear, inspiration, and rage affinities. As the Energy flowed, the burning in his gut faded, and Victor knew he was on the right track.

    The ball of hot, vibrant Energy seemed to be incredibly dense. Victor had to tug strands of Energy out of it for a very long time before it seemed to dim slightly. Meanwhile, his affinity orbs were pulsing and swelling, brighter than he¡¯d ever seen them. Still, he kept pulling on those threads, kept pushing them into his Core, and as some inner sense screamed at him that his Core was ready to burst, he pushed and pulled even more.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± he roared, somewhere between difort and pain but feeling like a bomb was getting ready to go off in his gut. Still, his Core pulsed and stretched, each of his affinity orbs blindingly bright, even the dark, purple-ck fear attunement¡ªwhen he looked at it, everything else was obscured by its violent pulses.

    The ball of Energy from the tincture was still ring brightly, and Victor knew there was more he was supposed to do. Finally, in desperation, he began to channel the threads of Energy through his pathways, running the full circuit around his body, filling them to bursting before he let them feed into his Core. Finally, that seemed to do something. The ball of Energy from the tincture was gone. Just the Energy in his pathways was left, and as it began to feed into his Core, he felt like he¡¯d tipped some sort of scale, and suddenly he didn¡¯t have to push or pull on the Energy¡ªit rushed into his Core like it was falling down a drainpipe.

    Victor¡¯s Core pulsed violently. Each of his zing attunements seemed to stretch, pushing outward into each other, bleeding together into a great ball of dark, shimmering Energy that expanded outward, flooding his pathways, burning them, stretching them, growing them. It felt like someone had filled his veins with magma, and Victor lifted his head and screamed as the process spread outward, through his chest and stomach, into his arms and legs, and up into his head.

    It felt slow and agonizing, but before Victor could even contemte allowing his conscious mind to slip away into oblivion, it was over. The Energy suddenly snapped back to his Core, and his three affinities contracted into tight, incredibly dense, slowly pulsing, calmly orbiting balls of attuned Energy. Gasping and sweating, Victor watched his Core for a long moment, admiring how the Energy seemed more solid than before.

    The orbs used to look like they were mostly light, wispy, and bright, sure, but now they seemed more solid¡ªtruly weighty with their potential. Victor knew he¡¯d have to cultivate for a long time, gaining levels and consuming treasures to make those newly dense orbs strain to hold what he fed them. ¡°It¡¯s gonna take a while to get to epic,¡± he chuckled, wiping sweat from his brow. He started to turn away from his Core, and that''s when he noticed his pathways.

    They were easily twice as broad as before; his onene road for Energy had be a divided highway. ¡°Was this what Tes meant? Can I manage more than one powerful spell now? Can I go Berserk and still cast Inspiring Presence?¡± Victor knew the answer¡ªof course, that¡¯s what she¡¯d meant. ¡°Hell yeah,¡± he grunted, struggling to his feet. He picked up Lifedrinker and added, ¡°Let¡¯s go see if we can cut that asshole, hmm?¡±

    As he walked through the citadel, Victor reached into his storage ring and pulled out an item he¡¯d been holding onto for quite some time. He held up the belt he¡¯d gotten so long ago from the creepy alien who¡¯d been hunting Tellen and his men and, as he channeled a bit of Energy into it, reread the System message:

    <strong>***Dragonsteel Belt of Energy Absorption - Prerequisite for use: Advanced tier Core or higher. This belt will absorb Energy attacks aimed at the wearer. It will absorb a total of 4500 points of Energy before it needs to process the absorbed Energy and reset, bing inert for up to twelve hours.***</strong>

    Considering Victor now had just a bit more than 7900 Energy, he figured being able to absorb 4500 Energy worth of attacks was a pretty big deal. If someoneparable to himself were attacking him, he could ignore half of their Energy abilities. ¡°Am I thinking of that correctly?¡± he wondered aloud. He supposed the belt couldn¡¯t absorb physical abilities that cost someone Energy to perform, like a special weapon attack. Still, it should be able to absorb pure Energy¡ªthings like lightning bolts or fireballs.

    He shrugged, unhooking his old belt and weaving the beautiful, shimmering, silvery-blue metallic belt through the loops on his pants. He¡¯d taken on his Titanic Aspect and, so, made good time through the Citadel. As he strode down the steps toward the practice yard, Victor contemted what he¡¯d already taken for granted¡ªhe now had over 7900 total Energy.

    He knew part of the reason for his increase was, obviously, the leveling of his Core, but he also was cognizant of the enormous boost he was getting with each level thanks to the forced increase of his intelligence. The more he realized how valuable his other attributes were, the more he appreciated his new ss; it was nice not having to deliberate what points to put where¡ªhaving every attribute improve was a nice change of pace.

    ¡°Victor, you¡¯rete.¡± Karnice¡¯s voice was a harsh growl, and Victor didn¡¯t respond as he lightly jogged down the steps into the sand.

    Yabbo was waiting for him with a raised fist, and Victor punched his hairy knuckles with a grin, ¡°Yabbo.¡±

    ¡°Victor.¡±

    ¡°Now that the pups have greeted each other, are you ready for some work?¡± Karnice snarled, stepping closer and leaning on his spear. ¡°I¡¯ve already taught Yabbo a few new techniques. Do you know why, Victor?¡± When Victor just shrugged, he said, ¡°Because he doesn¡¯t hold back! Are you ready to push yourself today? Are you ready to show me what you can do?¡±

    Victor had heard the speech before, yet again, he tried to exin, ¡°I¡¯m trying to improve my Berserk and axe skill. You¡¯re a good whetstone.¡±

    Karnice growled, clearly not pleased by being called a tool. ¡°Go ahead and Berserk, but show me more! Damn it, Victor! We all saw you use a dozen other skills and spells in the arena. Why are you hiding what you can do?¡±

    ¡°My ancestors want me to keep working on this ability.¡± Victor grinned, pleased at his dodge. It sounded like something Tha might say, and who could argue with the desires of someone¡¯s ancestors?

    ¡°So. Another beating, hmm?¡± Karnice¡¯s spear ignited with red, baleful Energy, and he beckoned for Victor to approach.

    Victor sighed, lifted Lifedrinker, and cast Berserk. As his vision tinted with red and his form expanded in size, his muscles straining against his simple shirt as it hurriedly expanded, he noticed something strange. His mind felt clear, and he saw a message from the System:

    <strong>***Congrattions! Your spell, Berserk, has morphed!***</strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have learned a new spell: Iron Berserk - Epic.***</strong>

    <strong>***Iron Berserk - Epic: Prerequisites: Affinity - Rage, One of Several Elder Bloodlines, Epic Will Attribute. You double your strength and speed for a short while, losing yourself in the glory ofbat. Your body bes more resilient, and you benefit from rapid regeneration throughout the duration. With this variant of the Berserk ability, your powerful will and experience with rage have allowed you to retain your sense of self and rational thought, and your body''s resilience is peerless. Energy Cost: Minimum 500 - scble. Cooldown: Medium.***</strong>

    Victorughed as he read the words and wiped the message away. Heughed again when a hundred balls of deep purple Energy burst into being around him and rushed toward his chest, flooding his pathways with the influx. Still, even euphoric and amused, he remained Berserk. He could feel the rage simmering in his pathways, feel it causing his heart to thud passionately. He could taste the lust for battle and desire to see his enemies ground to paste.

    Despite those influences, Victor was still himself. He grinned at Karnice and stepped sideways, further into the sand, hefting Lifedrinker before himself, pping her haft into his other hand, and holding her sideways. On a whim, he cast Inspiring Presence, considering Yabbo his ally and Karnice his foe, and, sure enough, the spell surged through his pathways, finding space alongside his rage.

    Victor grinned, his vision growing brighter, though still tinted with a haze of pink. Everything seemed more clear¡ªKarnice was angry but intrigued. The way he held his spear made it evident he¡¯d be sweeping it from left to right, attempting to take Victor off bnce and strike him with the haft as he charged in. It was so obvious that Victor had tough again.

    ¡°Quitughing like a fool and let¡¯s dance,¡± Karnice spat, literally, chasing the words with a gob of thick saliva into the sand.

    Victor didn¡¯t need another invitation. He charged, lifting Lifedrinker but only feinting with her. Just as he¡¯d envisioned, Karnice brought his spear around in a sweep, but Victor was ready; he raised his left foot, stomped down on the haft, and then, fast as he could, he brought Lifedrinker down toward Karnice¡¯s topmost left shoulder. Victor had been boosting his agility and vitality with Sovereign Will, and with Iron Berserk increasing his speed and Inspiring Presence helping his timing, Lifedrinker cut the air like a thunderbolt.

    Karnice, off bnce because of Victor¡¯s stomp to his spear, surprised by his uracy and speed, cast some sort of Energy spell, causing his body to shimmer with red heat and sh back over the sand, abandoning his weapon. Still, the furthest edge of Lifedrinker¡¯s de sliced a straight, razor-clean gash in his shoulder as he retreated.

    Victor stood atop Karnice¡¯s spear, turned his axe so he could see the tiny, bloody smear on her gleaming edge, and he lifted his head to the sky and howled. Karnice was furious. He rubbed at his shoulder, smirked at the tiny wound, and then spat into the sand again. Then he did what usually took ten or fifteen minutes to provoke¡ªhe swelled himself with Energy, created his giant, fiery doppelganger, and proceeded to try to beat the hell out of Victor.

    It was different this time, though. Victor was rational and clever¡ªinspired, you might say. More than that, he was exceptionally resilient. Karnice and his double pushed him back, driving him away from his spear, but it wasn¡¯t easy, and Victor saw the strain on Karnice¡¯s face as he bent to retrieve his weapon. With his spear in hand, his fiery double suddenly sprouted four spears, as usual, and attacked Victor with speed and vengeance.

    The spears bit into him, but unlike before, when they left painful, deep, throbbing holes that ate up Victor¡¯s rage to heal, this time, they hardly sank into his flesh. The fire¡¯s touch was more a singe than a burn, healing almost instantly. Karnice roared in frustration and redoubled his efforts, summoning spells that Victor hadn¡¯t yet seen.

    A sheet of fiery Energy sted out of the sand, engulfing Victor, burning his clothes, and reddening his skin. He rolled out of it, angry at having yet another pair of pants ruined, but otherwise hardly hurt. Karnice looked fit to burst, and Victor felt the full weight of his aura and his prodigious store of Energy when he lifted his spear above his head, screamed, and cast a spell that darkened the sky with red clouds. Suddenlynces of bright, burning, crimson Energy shot down in their hundreds, peppering Victor and the sand around him with tiny magmatic explosions.

    Victor dove and flipped, sweeping his axe left and right, and finally, as a few of the spears made contact, driving deepnces of Energy into his flesh, he simply turned toward the citadel and used Titanic Leap. He exploded out of the pit in a shower of sand, flying out of the dark, red cloud¡¯s area of influence andnding with a concussive thud on the top steps, some fifty yards away from where they¡¯d been ¡°sparring.¡±

    Victor could hear his belt hissing and ticking, and he knew it had eaten some of those fierynces for him. He patted the hot metal thankfully, then looked at Karnice, standing in the pit, fury writ on his face. Victor lifted Lifedrinker in a mocking salute, then he turned to Yabbo and shouted, ¡°Catch up with youter, Yabbo. I¡¯m done with these lessons.¡±

 STUB warning! Please read!

    STUB warning! Please read!

    Hey all! I know a lot of you are all caught up on this story, and this won''t affect you at all, but in about a week, I have to remove Book 2 content from RR and Patreon.

    This is due to the fact that Book 2 will be released on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible in June.

    My publisher, Podium, insists we need a month offline before a KU release because Amazon''s web crawlers might find remnants of the story and remove my story from KU, which would ruin theunch. I''m really sorry for the trouble.

    <em><strong>That being said, if you''re not done with Book 2, please hurry and read it!</strong></em>

    Thanks for reading and for your support,

    Plum

    If you''re interested, or you know someone else who might want a non-Royal Road version of this story, the links are in the post-chapter note here:

 Book 4: Chapter 41: Blood for Blood

    Book 4: Chapter 41: Blood for Blood

    Victor sat on the stone railing of the balcony adjoining his and Va¡¯s suite, staring at the strange and beautiful yellow, green, and red striations streaking through the sunset sky. Coloss and the wastnd around it were harsh, but they held deep beauty and mystery that reminded Victor of the size and age of the ce. People had been living and dying in thesends for thousands of years, long before even the warlord hade to power. If you listened to Tes, there used to be many civilizations, rich forests, and fertile valleys filling the tens of thousands of miles swallowed by the wastes.

    He wondered how Zaafor had changed so much. Was it all due to war and conflict using vast quantities of Energy? He knew the Degh were downtrodden, but had they been innocent? They had titan blood and had performed strange rituals to gain power, and they¡¯d clearly not all been at peace with each other. Would the Vesh have resorted to the theft of bloodlines and genocide of entire species if they hadn¡¯t been desperate? Victor snorted¡ªwhy was he trying to make excuses for those people? He couldn¡¯t deny an interest in the history of this strange world, and he wondered at that; he¡¯d never been able to pay attention in history ss before.

    Was it a sign of maturity, or just that he was more invested in what was happening there on Zaafor? ¡°Wars, stealing bloodlines, an ancient spirit asking me to save his people¡ªI guess that makes things a little more interesting.¡± Victor stole a nce over his shoulder, something he¡¯d been doing more and more ofte. He¡¯d made an enemy of Karnice, one of the most dangerous fighters in Coloss, and he¡¯d spent thest few days dreading what he felt was an inevitable reprisal.

    He wasn¡¯t fool enough to think Karnice couldn¡¯t hurt him; sure, he¡¯d gotten out of theirtest little scuffle rtively unscathed, but Karnice hadn¡¯t dumped everything he had. He¡¯d started off slow and tried to hector Victor into doing something interesting. If he went all out, using the full extent of what had to be a prodigious Energy pool and high-level spells, Victor wasn¡¯t so sure he¡¯d be able to escape as easily.

    Va hadn¡¯t looked exactly pleased when she¡¯d heard about his behavior on the practice field, but Tes had been amused. She¡¯d encouraged Victor to keep sparring with Yabbo and to keep using the warlord¡¯s cultivation chamber as much as possible. She seemed to think Karnice would leave him alone as long as the warlord still expected him to fight in the next tournament. Victor counted on his hand, thinking about that, and came up with two days until Va¡¯s duel and five days until the tournament. He still wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d stick around¡ªit felt very much like a trap.

    ¡°How¡¯s the spelling?¡± Tes asked from behind him, and he jerked his head around, frowning.

    ¡°Damn! How do you do that? I <em>just </em>looked at that door, and it was closed.¡±

    ¡°I have a lot of tricks. So? The spell?¡±

    ¡°It''s getting easier and easier. I think myst level helped a bit¡ªamazing how I don¡¯t feel any smarter, but I seem able to concentrate longer and hold more in my head. I can almost write the whole pattern out in one sitting. It takes me a couple of hours, butst night I only had to check for a hint a few times.¡±

    ¡°Intelligence is a tricky attribute; it tends to sneak up on you. After a big boost, you¡¯ll still feel like yourself, but you¡¯ll find you might deliberate more about decisions, acting a bit less impulsively. You might find yourself interested in things you used to simply shrug off. For instance, as I improved my intelligence, I became more and more interested in crafting.¡± She grinned and winked. After Victor stared at her nkly for a moment, she added, ¡°I was trying to hint at . . .¡±

    ¡°Our armor?¡± Victor turned and hopped off the railing.

    ¡°Yes! Va is waiting inside, let¡¯s go in, and I¡¯ll show you both what I¡¯ve crafted.¡± Tes, her face beaming with amused excitement, went inside, and Victor was hot on her heels. Va was sitting on one of the two couches that faced each other just inside the balcony doors, and Tes walked straight to the long coffee table between them, pushing it away off the plush, decorative rug and onto the dark hardwoods. ¡°Making space,¡± she said as Victor sat down next to Va.

    ¡°Tes, how can we ever repay all that . . .¡±

    ¡°Hush, Va,¡± Tes said, waving a hand dismissively. ¡°I don¡¯t do things I don¡¯t want to do, at least not on this world. Now, Va, your armor was much quicker to make; thankfully, you don¡¯t tend to grow into the size of a giant at the drop of a hat. That doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s not well made or durable, mind you, and if you ever had the opportunity to increase your size, it would weather the abuse quite well.

    ¡°Without further ado, I give you,¡± she held out her hands, and a shimmering blue-scaled hauberk appeared, hanging between them, ¡°a lightning-forged, wyrm-scaled hauberk of crity.¡±

    Victor sucked in his breath when he took in the armor; it was on another levelpared to the one Fough had tried to sell him. Somehow, Tes had cut the scales into uniform shapes, much smaller than one of the elder wyrm¡¯s scales they¡¯d harvested. He figured she must have carved five of the little, perfectly matched scales for each original. More than that, they shimmered with Energy, their sheen vibrant and colorful, clearly having absorbed some sort of magic during the crafting process.

    The scales were sewn into a supple, dark hide, and Victor asked, ¡°What¡¯s that leather?¡±

    ¡°Why, flesh from the wyrm you slew. I imed enough from Cayle for your armor, and she didn¡¯t object.¡±

    ¡°Ancestors, Tes!¡± Va said, standing to lean close to the armor, blowing out a pent-up breath. ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful!¡±

    ¡°Watch,¡± Tes said, holding the hauberk aloft with one hand and gently running her hand down the center of it. As her hand passed lightly over the scales, they parted, opening as a jacket might if you unzipped it. ¡°Once you bond with it, you¡¯ll be able to do the same.¡± Tes held it open and added, ¡°Come, let¡¯s see it on you.¡±

    Va didn¡¯t object; she took off her sword belt, resting Midnight on the couch, and then turned to slip each of her arms into the leather-lined sleeves of the hauberk. ¡°It already feels perfect!¡±

    ¡°Wait until you bond with it,¡± Tes grinned, turning Va and tugging on the high cor of the hauberk, pulling it close around her throat. ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯d you get the scales to have that blue sheen?¡± Victor asked, watching as Va rested a palm on the scaled hauberk and concentrated. Suddenly it red with bright white light and shimmered as a wave of crackling electrical Energy ran through it. When the current faded, Va stood with the biggest smile Victor had ever seen on her face, her eyes moist with tears. The hauberk had closed up and hugged her snuggly, and Victor couldn¡¯t deny that it looked perfect for her¡ªit was the most beautiful armor he¡¯d ever seen.

    ¡°I¡¯ve quite a few artificing skills, Victor. It wasn¡¯t hard to imbue those scales with a blue luster.¡± As Tes replied, Va turned and threw her arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace.

    ¡°I love it, Tes!¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± Tes chuckled. ¡°I used your old enemy Boaegh¡¯s workshop. His apprentices were happy to amodate me after I gave them news of their master¡¯s fate. Don¡¯t worry,¡± she added, looking over Va¡¯s head to make eye contact with Victor. ¡°I told them he met his doom in an unfortunate run-in with a wyrm when he stepped out of his portal.¡±

    ¡°They believed you?¡± Va asked, stepping back from Tes¡¯s arms. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us you¡¯d found his apprentices?¡±

    ¡°I can be quite convincing when I want to. As to why I didn¡¯t tell you, there wasn¡¯t a need, and you two have had plenty on your minds. Now, tell Victor about your hauberk.¡±

    Va walked over to Victor so he could see it more clearly and said, ¡°It¡¯s enchanted to make me faster. It uses air-attuned Energy from my own Core.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Of course, it¡¯s also incredibly durable, can self-repair, and will shrug off most lightning-based attacks.¡± Tes beamed proudly.

    ¡°It¡¯s sofortable!¡± Va said, stretching at the waist, rotating her torso, and flexing her arms.

    ¡°I¡¯m pleased that you¡¯re happy. You¡¯ve been a wonderful student, and I¡¯m delighted to give you this gift.¡± Tes surprised Victor, and perhaps Va, by stepping close to her and gently cupping her face in her hands. She leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. Victor knew the two of them had been spending a lot of time together, but he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d quite realized how close they¡¯d be. ¡°Well?¡± Tes asked, stepping back from a moist-eyed Va. ¡°Victor? Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°Hell yeah,¡± he said, leaning forward on the couch, his hands resting on his knees.

    ¡°I cleared this space because I crafted your armor to fit your titanic frame. As you know, that will ensure it doesn¡¯t lose any of its strength and potency as you increase your own size.¡± Tes stepped to the edge of the rug between the two couches and gestured with one hand. Victor''s armor appeared on the floor with a loud *<em>thud</em>* and a rattle of scales. It was the size of a nket, and unlike Va¡¯s full hauberk, this garment was a sleeveless vest. Had Tes known that¡¯s what he wanted? Victor couldn¡¯t remember if he¡¯d described the armor Fough had shown him.

    The scales were muchrger than on Va¡¯s finely crafted hauberk. Victor guessed they were nearly the full size of the back scales on the elder wyrm, almost four inches from side to side. Still, they were shaped differently, more regr in size¡ªTes had clearly done some work to refine them. More than that, they were all dark in color, a beautiful blend of near-ck that faded to a deep, almost burgundy red at their tips. Just like Va¡¯s armor, Victor could see the lining of his wyrm scale vest was darkly stained, supple wyrm-hide.

    ¡°Wonderful!¡± Va breathed.

    Victor grunted, nodding in approval, and approached the enormous garment. ¡°Should I grow to put it on?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Just touch it and bond.¡± Tes was still grinning, ear to ear¡ªhad been ever since she¡¯d produced Va¡¯s hauberk. Victor found her good mood contagious, and he quickly leaned forward, rested a palm against the warm, hard wyrm scales, and trickled some Energy into the vest. A message appeared in his vision, and he remembered what he¡¯d learned a long time ago from someone he couldn¡¯t remember¡ªhad it been Gorz? Whoever it was had told him that sometimes an artificer would create a description for the magical items they made and that the System would incorporate it into its . . . system.

    <strong>***Wyrm-scale Vest of Resilience: This artifact, crafted by the master Artisan, Tesia¡¯liveen¡¯ashh, has been constructed from the hardest, oldest back scales of an ancient wyrm. Each scale has been imbued with a drop of dragon blood and will be nearly impervious to damage from fire or acid. Additionally, the vest will rapidly regenerate if it sufferers physical damage. Finally, the vest imbues its wearer with a fraction of its resilience, providing a ten percent boost to vitality.***</strong>

    ¡°Holy shit, Tes,¡± Victor breathed, so stunned by the description that he hadn¡¯t noticed the vest rapidly contracting to a size he could wear in his present form.

    ¡°Put it on, Victor!¡± Va said, but Victor had other thoughts. Tes had made him this incredible armor, had put her own blood into it, and he¡¯d done nothing for her. He knew he couldn¡¯t train her, couldn¡¯t fight for her, couldn¡¯t reward her with trophies or wealth, but he knew one thing she wanted.

    ¡°Hang on. Tes, do you have an empty, uh, jar or vial or something?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°You know, an empty ss container with a cork or screwtop.¡±

    ¡°Well, of course,¡± Tes frowned, a slightly puzzled expression on her face as she perused her storage containers and produced a crystal bottle, maybe big enough to hold four or five ounces. It had a stopper made of a material that appeared too dark and pliable to be cork. Victor wondered if it was some kind of rubber. She passed it his way, and he nodded, walking out to the balcony, leaving his new armor glimmering faintly on the ground.

    Va and Tes gave each other puzzled looks, but as Victor unsnapped Lifedrinker¡¯s harness and leaned over to whisper to the de, Tes¡¯s eyes narrowed, and she nodded. ¡°I see,¡± she said, smiling at Va.

    Victor, for his part, lifted Lifedrinker a few inches out of her harness and quickly ran his palm along the top edge of her de. She sliced into the meat of his palm, and he hardly felt it. He squeezed his fist, pulled the stopper from the vial, and held it under his bleeding palm so the blood dripping from it began to gather inside the crystal container. While he did that, he felt a warm hand grip his shoulder, and Tes came to stand beside him.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect anything in return for the gift I made you.¡±

    ¡°You bled for that armor. It¡¯s the least I can do.¡± He shrugged.

    ¡°I swear to you, Victor, I have no ill intent for you. I¡¯ll never let this blood fall into the hands of your enemies.¡±

    Victor almost spilled some of his blood onto the polished marble tiles on the balcony when he turned his gaze to her. It was his turn to frown, for he hadn¡¯t considered how the blood might be used other than to open a passageway to Earth. ¡°What sorts of things could my enemies do with my blood?¡±

    ¡°Those with the knowledge could make a poison more effective against you. They could use it to create a binding ritual. It could be used to send terrors to you in your sleep. I could list a hundred, nay a thousand ways a powerful Ritualist could harm you with your own blood.¡±

    Victor opened his hand and squeezed his fist again¡ªhis cut was already half-healed, and the flow had slowed significantly, but the bottle was nearly full. ¡°How much do you need?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Tes held out a hand, and Victor passed the little crystal vial to her, then handed her the stopper. ¡°Thank you for trusting me, Victor. Though, to be honest, I could have scraped enough blood from the night bruteir to aplish what I needed.¡± She saw Victor¡¯s widened eyes and dered, ¡°But I didn¡¯t!¡±

    The crystal vial of his blood winked out of existence, and Victor heaved a deep breath and moved back inside. Va sat where they¡¯d left her, and it was clear from her expression that she¡¯d figured out what Victor was doing. She pointed at his new armor and said again, ¡°Put it on.¡±

    ¡°Right, right,¡± Victor chuckled, unslinging Lifedrinker¡¯s harness and resting her on the couch. He leaned over to pick up the wyrm-scale vest and staggered under its unexpected weight. ¡°Sheesh!¡± heughed, making a show of struggling to lift it.

    ¡°The enchantments added some density to the already heavy scales. Let¡¯s not forget that it¡¯s reduced in size at the moment!¡± Tes nudged Va and added, ¡°I hope it¡¯s not too heavy for him.¡±

    ¡°Hey, now!¡± Victor said, then lifted it and started to try to pull it over his head.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Tesughed. ¡°You can open it like Va¡¯s armor, run your palm over the center, starting at the neck and think about what you want.¡±

    ¡°Aha!¡± Victor pulled the armor off his head, followed her instructions, and found that he could feel, like a line of invisible Energy, the seam at the front of the armor. He pulled his hand down over it, and the scale vest parted. ¡°Much better,¡± he said, shrugging one arm and then the other into it. He held his hand over the opening and brought it up, sealing himself into the suddenly light, incrediblyfortable piece of armor.

    ¡°Very dashing!¡± Va said.

    ¡°Indeed!¡± Tes nodded, walking around him in a slow circle. ¡°Exactly as I imagined it. Fine work, if I do say so, myself.¡± Victor turned left and right, stretching his waist to try to look at himself. His vest fit him differently from how Va¡¯s hauberk hugged her. Where hers fell almost to her thighs, clinging tightly to her form, easily resting under her swordbelt, his vest was shorter and not as tight around his waist. It rested over his metallic dragonsteel belt, ending just beneath it.

    ¡°Did you make it to hang over my belt? Should I take off the belt and put it on over the top, like Va¡¯s?¡±

    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t look right, Victor,¡± Va said.

    Tes nodded along with Va¡¯s words, ¡°Your belt is remarkable, but this vest is a hundred times more durable. Let it protect your body, belt, and whatever you might tie to it.¡±

    ¡°Did you run out of scales for his arms?¡± Victor couldn¡¯t tell if Va was trying to tease him.

    ¡°No, but he told me about his favorite armor, a chain vest he lost when he was much smaller.¡±

    ¡°I like having my arms free.¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid we need to change topics, you two,¡± Tes said, clearing her throat and moving to stand where she could see them both. A momentter, a popping sounded in his ears, and Victor knew Tes was trying to keep their conversation private. ¡°Please sit down. I have much to discuss with you, and it begins with news of a portal to Fanwath.¡±

    ¡°A portal?¡± Va echoed, sitting down. Victor followed her lead and sat opposite her on the other couch.

    ¡°Yes. I mentioned I was using Boaegh¡¯s workshop to make this armor. Well, you know the reason I went to his tower was that I was following a lead, a rumor that he had an apprentice who could work most of the same spells as that rather nefarious wizard.¡± She frowned, then clicked her tongue, and Victor saw an expression he hadn¡¯t seen on her face before¡ªanger. Her eyes grew dark, and she hissed, baring surprisingly sharp, white teeth.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Va asked, standing up, reaching for Midnight.

    Tes tapped her ear with one delicate-looking, blue-polished nail and gestured at the air around them. ¡°Come, you two. Let¡¯s take a walk. I¡¯d like to hear about Va¡¯s practice for her duel and Victor¡¯s preparations for the tournament.¡±

    Victor nodded and stood. He knew the warlord had power, more so in his citadel than outside it, but it still chilled his heart to think that Tes was worried about him. ¡°Right,¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯ve got a few strategies I¡¯d like to ask you about.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Va nodded and added, ¡°Tes, can we talk about what sorts of weapons are typically allowed in duels?¡±

    Tes grinned at them both like a proud teacher and beckoned toward the door. ¡°Wonderful. A bite to eat while we¡¯re out?¡± As Va and Victor both professed their hunger, the trio hurried out, down the stairs, and toward the exit of the warlord¡¯s citadel. Despite their forced enthusiasm to be out and about, the three of them felt a shadow of dread hanging over them, as though a favorite book had been closed and another, gloomier one had been opened.

 Book 4: Chapter 42: Lofty Goals

    Book 4: Chapter 42: Lofty Goals

    Victor walked with Tes and Va through the evening streets of Coloss until they¡¯d meandered down toward the western wall of the city, far from the warlord¡¯s citadel and his center of power. When Tes led them into a single-story, tan stone building, its doorway hung with colorful beads and the scent of roasting meat thick in the air, Victor¡¯s mouth began to water.

    The restaurant wasn¡¯t sized for Degh, and Victor struggled with the low doorway and crowded dining room. Still, the proprietor, a cheerful, small man with a bald head and pink-red tentacles rather than arms, showed them to a quiet corner where an oversized chair sat snugly against a big wooden table. ¡°I have a Degh friend whoes to drink with me once a week; this is his chair. You should find it roomy.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Gurt,¡± Tes said. ¡°Please bring us your best wine and a sample of your meats; I¡¯m sure my friends are going to love your food.¡±

    ¡°Right you are, Miss Tes. I¡¯ll get right on it.¡± With that, the little man scurried away, and Victor shifted around the table to sit in the oversized leather chair. It was toorge for him, but he¡¯d rather that than one too small. Tes and Va sat on either side of him, and once again, Victor heard the strange *<em>pop</em>* and knew Tes was making their conversation private.

    ¡°He can¡¯t pierce my veil this far from his chamber,¡± Tes said.

    ¡°You have more news for us, Tes?¡± Va asked, leaning forward, arms resting on the tabletop.

    ¡°Oh, I do. I do, indeed. First, I¡¯ve convinced one of Boaegh¡¯s apprentices to open a portal to Fanwath. His name is Hark, Geomancer Hark, and he¡¯s not a bad fellow. He¡¯s been sort of running Boaegh¡¯s business in his absence, enchanting objects for a fee and training the more junior apprentices. When I exined Boaegh¡¯s fate, Hark was rather pleased, if I know how to read a man¡¯s face, and I do, Victor, I do.¡± Tes chuckled and paused as Gurt returned with a carafe of dark wine and three sses.

    ¡°Give me ten minutes or so for the food, please. Anything I can do for you while you wait?¡±

    ¡°No, thank you, Gurt.¡± He shuffled off, and Tes continued, ¡°As I was saying, Hark is pleased to be the new master at Boaegh¡¯s little coven. He knew exactly where Boaegh had been, the ritual used to open his original gateway was still in ce, and he says he¡¯ll happily do me the favor of opening it again.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful, Tes!¡± Va said.

    ¡°Hell yeah,¡± Victor nodded, ¡°Saves us six tokens!¡±

    Tes chuckled and said, ¡°That¡¯s the least of the benefits. More importantly, you¡¯re no longer under the warlord¡¯s thumb; your transport away from this ce is no longer in his control.¡± Tes lifted the carafe and poured generous servings of wine for each of them. She pushed their sses toward them and said, ¡°Now the question is, how long should you stay?¡±

    ¡°This Hark, can he create the portal at any time? Now?¡± Va sipped at her wine after she asked the question.

    ¡°He can,¡± Tes nodded. ¡°There¡¯s the matter of your duel in two days'' time. I was sure Reis would back out, but she¡¯s done something even more interesting. Blue wanted to pass this information to you, but I insisted that we already had ns for the evening; Reis would like to alter the duel to one of skill and with nonlethal consequences¡ªweapon abilities only, three wounds that draw blood.¡±

    Va smiled, the wine staining her teeth a faint shade of purple, and Victor thought he could see the tension flowing out of her shoulders. ¡°Truly?¡±

    ¡°Yes. When Blue approached me with the offer earlier today, I almost burst intoughter; you¡¯re a far better swordswoman than she. She thinks to have an advantage because of her rapier¡ªan epic weapon Blue won for her in a very deep dungeon. She doesn¡¯t know about Midnight.¡± Tes gestured toward Va¡¯s sword, leaning against the side of her chair. ¡°Nor does she know about your martial background.¡±

    ¡°So what¡¯s in it for Va to take the offer?¡± Victor asked, drinking a gulp of wine, frowning when he saw he¡¯d nearly emptied the delicate ss.

    ¡°Excellent question. Reis has sweetened the deal by putting five of the warlord¡¯s tokens on the line.¡±

    ¡°And what does she expect me to put into the pot?¡±

    ¡°She expects you to sign a binding contract¡ªshould you lose the duel, you will serve in Blue¡¯s household for one year.¡±

    ¡°Nah, fuck that,¡± Victor snorted, reaching for the carafe to refill his ss. ¡°Let¡¯s just bail out right now.¡±

    ¡°Victor, I can beat her.¡±

    ¡°And then what? We¡¯re in a nest of snakes here, Va. If you win . . .¡±

    ¡°<em>When</em> I win, I¡¯ll have some more tokens. We can buy something valuable and depart that same day.¡±

    Victor frowned, not really agreeing with Va¡¯s assessment. Somehow he didn¡¯t think Reis or Blue were stupid. No, in his opinion, they¡¯d have some sort of trick or trap set up, some way to guarantee Va lost. Rather than press the issue at that moment, though, he changed his angle of attack, ¡°Well, I¡¯m not going to stick around for the tournament. It feels very shady to me. I¡¯m confident the warlord is devising some scheme to cause me trouble or to get me somehow bound to him. You know what Tes said¡ªhe wants my bloodline, Va. Blue¡¯s the warlord''s right-hand man.¡±

    ¡°So you think there will be foul y at my duel?¡± Va frowned.

    ¡°Undoubtedly,¡± Tes agreed, drinking her wine. They all sat in silence for a few moments, and then their conversation was further put on hold when Gurt approached their table with a huge wooden tter. Moist, smoked, roasted, and grilled meats were sliced and piled high on one side, and tworge wooden bowls, one filled with a mixture of beans and herbs and the other with sticky, seasoned rice, upied the rest of the space. Gurt ced them on their table, and one of his servers brought over wide, shallow bowls and silverware for the three of them.

    ¡°Enjoy!¡± Gurt said, grinning and nodding as though he knew they would. If so, he would have been right. Victor dug into the meat, and it reminded him a great deal of something he might find at a barbeque restaurant back on Earth. The beans were tangy with a bit of spiciness, and when he added them to the rice, mixed in some of the cut meats, and began to wolf everything down, Va and Tes weren¡¯t far behind.

    ¡°This is good stuff, Tes,¡± Victor said around a bite, leaning forward over the too-small table from the toorge chair. He didn¡¯t care about hisfort, though; the pleasure in his mouth and the warm glow in his stomach more than made up for it.

    ¡°It is good, but wouldn¡¯t a cold ale go with it better than this wine?¡± Va asked.

    ¡°Hush,¡± Tes chuckled. ¡°I like wine.¡± Victor watched her chew a bite of meat, licking the salty grease from her lips and then chasing it with a drink from her wine ss. She caught him watching and narrowed her eyes, offering him a half smile as she cleared her throat and said, ¡°Va, I¡¯ve gathered some texts for you to take home to your family. They¡¯re a collection of some of the types of books and tomes I suggested you and Victor should gather. I know you¡¯ve both been busy training thesest weeks, and I wanted to offer them to you as a gift.¡±

    ¡°Tes, you¡¯ve already given me so much . . .¡±

    ¡°True! But this is nothing; just a little time spent exploring old shops and family libraries, which I rather enjoy anyway. By the way, if ck asks about some missing books, you don¡¯t know anything about it,¡± sheughed, winking at Va. ¡°I only ask one thing in return.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Va asked, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯d like you to go through with the duel, even though it¡¯s not the smartest move.¡± She nced at Victor, ducking her head apologetically.

    ¡°Why, Tes?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Because I¡¯ve spied some of the preparations Blue is making for, in his opinion, the inevitability of you joining his household. I¡¯ve seen some strange deliveries make their way to his estate, and I¡¯m curious about what else he intends to do. This is rather valuable for my research, you see; if they intend to try to steal some part of your heritage, I might learn a great deal from watching their actions.¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon, Tes,¡± Victor said. ¡°We¡¯re not going to have you using Va as bait.¡±

    ¡°No. Allow me to observe them for another day or two, and I promise you, I will thwart whatever they intend to do to ensure Va¡¯s loss. She¡¯ll never have to go to his estate.¡±

    ¡°If you want me to do this, then I will,¡± Va said, setting her mouth into a firm line and nodding her head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it,¡± Victor growled.

    ¡°Do you trust me?¡± Tes asked, and it was clear the question was for both of them.

    ¡°I do,¡± Va said.

    Victor frowned, ncing down at the beautiful scale armor he wore, made from Tes¡¯s own blood and hard work. He thought of how she¡¯d guided him out on the monster hunt and helped him to understand so much of his potential. Rather than answer her immediately, though, he asked, ¡°Tes, I know you don¡¯t want much from us¡ªnot right now. What about in the long term? I feel like you¡¯re nning something . . .¡±

    ¡°Is that your answer? When I ask a simple question of trust, you frown and glower and then ask me what my ns are for you. I thought I¡¯d earned more respect than that.¡± Tes didn¡¯t look angry, she didn¡¯t yell, she didn¡¯t even raise her voice, but she stood from the table and said, ¡°I need some air.¡± Then she turned and walked through the restaurant, out the rear door where, presumably, Gurt offered outside dining.

    ¡°Sheesh,¡± Victor sighed, blowing out a breath.

    ¡°You don¡¯t trust her? After everything she¡¯s done? She¡¯s spent months of her life with us, and it¡¯s cost her far more than she¡¯s gained. You heard what she said about breaking her oath! She¡¯ll likely be in some trouble when she heads home . . .¡±

    ¡°Easy, Va. Chill.¡± Victor held up a hand. ¡°I didn¡¯t think my question was going to piss her off, and yeah, if she¡¯d given me a chance, I would havee around to the point that I do trust her. I guess I¡¯m just used to her being a lot more easygoing than that!¡± He jerked his thumb toward the balcony.

    ¡°I should go and talk to her,¡± Va started to slide her chair back, but Victor stood up first.

    ¡°Wait! This is my fault. Let me speak to her.¡± Victor tried to look reassuringly into Va¡¯s troubled eyes, but she continued to scowl toward the patio where Tes had gone. He sighed and carefully wended his way through the tables and ducked out through the balcony doors, straightening in the cool evening air, thick with the scent of cloying night blooms. A few people were having dinner on the cobbled patio, and a path led away from it, down through a flowering garden, so he walked that way.

    Energymps here and there shed diffuse light on the garden path, and the moon, strange and green-tinted, hung nearly full in the sky, so he could see quite well as he followed the little pathway toward the sound of a tinkling fountain. When he came around the corner and saw Tes standing in the moonlight, looking into a little pond where he could hear fish ying in the clear water, he froze for a second, not for the first time struck dumb by her beauty. She had an effortless grace, and there in the moonlight, she seemed otherworldly to him.

    He shook his head, remembering she was the very definition of otherworldly. ¡°Hey,¡± he said, clearly trying to impress with his vernacr.

    Tes looked at him and frowned, ¡°I could hear youing. I almost departed.¡±

    ¡°Why¡¯d my question piss you off so much?¡± Victor asked, getting right to the point, still not really sure why she¡¯d been so short-tempered.

    ¡°Half the reason I came out here is that I was surprised at my own vehemence. I¡¯m not sure why, but it hurt when I saw I hadn¡¯t earned your immediate trust. I¡¯ve sacrificed much, you know, choosing to help you avoid the warlord¡¯s clutches. My . . . organization is going to put me under review, at the very least. I¡¯ll likely have to return to journeyman status and follow a master to the next world I study.¡± She sighed, frowned, and rubbed her brow as though trying to soothe a headache.

    ¡°I¡¯m . . .¡±

    ¡°I know that doesn¡¯t sound like such a big problem, especially when your very lives are on the line, and that¡¯s why I chose to help. I can sacrifice a few decades of freedom to see you and Va live . . .¡±

    ¡°Decades?¡± Victor blurted.

    She waved a hand as though dismissing the idea, ¡°If I choose to stay with them. It¡¯s a prestigious guild, but there are others. My uncle, Yek¡¯nakkara¡¯ma¡¯shohon, thinks I waste my time with them. Perhaps he¡¯s correct.¡± When she said her uncle¡¯s name, the word rolled out of her throat like a growl, and Victor had to give her a double-take, making sure she hadn¡¯t assumed her dragon form.

    ¡°Your uncle?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor. Dragons have families too.¡± She sighed and then pointed at the pond, ¡°I like that one, the white one with the orange and blue spots.¡±

    Victor stepped closer to her so he could look more closely into the water, and then he saw the fish she¡¯d described. He watched it flitting among the colorful, decorative rocks and crystals at the bottom of the clear pool, and when it passed close to another fish, one with ck and yellow scales, he said, ¡°That¡¯s a pretty one.¡±

    ¡°Aye,¡± she sighed. ¡°They all are, aren¡¯t they? In their own way.¡± Tes looked up from her study of the pond and stared at Victor, and he found it a little unnerving that her expression didn¡¯t change when she went from admiring the fish to looking at his face. ¡°I can see the look on your face, Victor, and, no, you aren¡¯t just another pretty fish for me to watch. I see so much in you. I wish . . .¡± She sighed and shook her head, looking away.

    ¡°You wish?¡± Victor pressed.

    ¡°I wish I weren¡¯t ten times your age and so far beyond your . . . potency. It¡¯s not right to have the feelings I have.¡± She looked away, and the words were so softly spoken that he doubted he¡¯d have heard them if not for his exceptional hearing and the quiet of the little garden.

    ¡°Really, Tes?¡± Victor said, his turn to speak softly. ¡°I mean, I have a massive crush on you, but I thought that was a hopeless cause.¡± His lips turned up as he spoke, and he allowed a little humor into his voice.

    ¡°Is my heart something you¡¯d mock?¡± Tes asked, jerking her head back toward him.

    ¡°I¡¯m not mocking you,¡± Victor chuckled, ¡°I¡¯m trying to make you feel better. I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m a clown that way¡ªI try to relieve tension by teasing others or making fun of myself. Tes, I¡¯m hopeless when ites to you. You¡¯re so damn beautiful and smart and capable. I wish I could be a match for you, but you don¡¯t want someone you have to babysit following you around like that. Wouldn¡¯t you get bored and start to resent me after you had to hold my hand for the ten thousandth time?¡±

    She turned to face him more directly and reached out one of her hands to rest her palm on his chest. It was warm, and it made his skin tingle and awoke a desire that he¡¯d held down for the very reasons he¡¯d just listed¡ªVictor didn¡¯t want to be babysat by the woman he was attracted to. Still, the electricity in her touch was undeniable, and it stung a little when she said, ¡°You¡¯re right, Victor.¡±

    She gently moved her hand sideways until it rested over his heart, and she stood there for a moment as though memorizing the feel of its beat. ¡°You¡¯re right, but let¡¯s remember this feeling because if I¡¯m in control of my fate at all, we will meet again, and I have great confidence that you¡¯ll continue to surprise everyone with your aplishments.¡±

    ¡°Anyway,¡± Victor said, his voice husky and thick with emotion, ¡°the answer is yes.¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± Tes looked confused.

    ¡°Yes, I trust you.¡±

    That got a smile out of her, and she nodded, her blond curls bouncing with the movement. ¡°Good! You should!¡± sheughed, then, giving his chest one more pat with her hand, she turned and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go join Va. I care about her a lot, you know. I wouldn¡¯t ask her to duel that woman if I weren¡¯t going to be there to watch over her.¡±

    ¡°I get it, Tes.¡± He followed her back through the garden, breathing in the rich, sweet air and wondering about his feelings for the strange, incredible woman. He¡¯d badly wanted to kiss her back by the fish pond but knew he wasn¡¯t ready for that; she was brilliant and quick-witted, clever and funny. She was kind and always ready to help others. He felt a certain way when he was with her; it was like some of her confidence and good intentions brushed off on him, making him better. He knew he¡¯d forever beparing other women to her anding up short.

    Those thoughts and feelings in his mind while they walked, he thought about how he¡¯d find his way back to Tes someday. He wondered how much he¡¯d need to change for her to take him seriously. Would it be enough to conquer the Untamed Marches? Would he need to explore other worlds? Conquer othernds? How many dungeons would he have to delve into and plunder? When he¡¯d returned to Zaafor and crushed the warlord, would that be enough? He grinned, shaking his head at himself, amused that nothing sounded too daunting. As far as he was concerned, it was good to have goals, and getting a kiss or more from Tes was definitely a worthy goal.

 Book 4: Chapter 43: Duel

    Book 4: Chapter 43: Duel

    Victor sat on the couch in the parlor where Blue¡¯s staff had directed him, and he watched Tes quietly as she helped Va prepare for the duel that was due to start in the next few minutes. Va stood, back straight, eyes closed, Midnight held before her with its¡ªher¡ªpoint resting on the carpet. She wore one of her legion uniform shirts, the ones she usually wore under her half-coat uniform zers. The shirt was white, perfectly form-fitting, with a high cor and not a single wrinkle to be seen. Her ck pants were trim, close-fitting, and tucked into knee-high ck boots polished to a mirror sheen.

    As always, Va¡¯s hair was perfectly coiffed, held close to her scalp with silver barrettes. Victor thought she looked exceptionally pretty and vulnerable, and he began to worry in earnest for her safety. Objectively, he knew there was nothing new that should be making him worry more; he¡¯d just seen her standing there, face serene, eyes closed, concentrating as she listened to Tes, and some instinct in him wanted to protect her. Still, he wished he were the one getting ready to fight; how hard it was to watch someone else do it for a change!

    The announcement had gone out the day before that the duel would be one of weapon skill alone. Eachbatant was allowed her chosen tool of battle but no armor. The rules were simple; the first to yield or be struck three blows that drew blood would lose. Should one of those blows prove fatal, that was the nature ofbat¡ªthere was always some risk. Tes was confident in Va, though, and she said she¡¯d figure out what Blue was up to, why he was sure Reis would win. She hadn¡¯t gone into details, but she¡¯d insisted to Victor and Va the night before that she was sure she could counter anything they might do to interfere.

    Victor hadined that a year of servitude was worth far more than five measly tokens. Tes had agreed but pointed out that Blue was acting as though Reis was giving Va a gift by changing the terms ofbat; without using Energy-based spells, much of her higher-level advantage went away. Victor had seen the wisdom in going along with the change, even with the disparity in wagers, especially when Va insisted she wanted to fight.

    ¡°Do you see it? Can you picture how you¡¯re going to strike her? She¡¯ll be fast, and that sword of hers is meant for dueling, but she doesn¡¯t know you¡¯re a Sword Dancer. She doesn¡¯t know about Midnight and your epic-level skill. You¡¯ll have a counter for all her strikes; just believe in yourself.¡± Tes had her hands on Va¡¯s shoulders, gently squeezing them and speaking softly into her ear, and Victor knew that if he hadn¡¯t been included in her privacy spell, he wouldn¡¯t be able to hear what she said.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready, Tes,¡± Va nodded.

    ¡°Good. I want you to take this now; I¡¯m not sure how things will y out over the next few days, and I don¡¯t want to forget.¡± Tes reached over to her left hand and began to twist a tiny, silvery ring off her pinky. Victor could have sworn her fingers hadn¡¯t had any jewelry on them, but there it was. She handed Va the ring and said, ¡°The books, scrolls, and tomes I promised you. If you and Victor are sessful in your conquest back home, these will help you build a truly remarkable society.¡±

    ¡°Tes, I . . .¡± Va took the ring, slipped it onto her own pinky, and then turned to hug Tes, putting her chin on her shoulder. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. Now, focus. You¡¯re going to be . . .¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± a blue-liveried servant announced, poking his head through the door. ¡°They want her out front; everyone¡¯s gathered on the carriagene.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be right behind you, Va,¡± Tes said.

    ¡°Kick her ass,¡± Victor added, standing up. He walked over to Va and, because he¡¯d always appreciated simple gestures before a fight, he held out his fist and grinned as Va bumped his knuckles with hers.

    ¡°This way,¡± the servant badgered.

    ¡°Right. See you soon,¡± Va said, offering Victor a bright smile. As he nodded his encouragement, she hefted Midnight Hope, resting the dark star-speckled de on her shoulder, and followed the servant out the door.

    ¡°I have something for you as well, Victor,¡± Tes said.

    ¡°Huh? You already gave me my armor; it¡¯s enough. C¡¯mon, this day is about Va.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s likely to be a bit of an upheaval around here when Va wins, Victor. Let me give you this; I¡¯ve been holding it for a while.¡± Tes held out her hand, and a gallon-sized jar appeared in it. It was dark, and Victor thought the ss was tinted, but then he realized the contents were ck, and the jar was full to the brim, the contents held in ce by a rune-etched, silvery lid.

    ¡°What is it?¡± he asked, reaching out to receive the gift. As Tes set the jar in his hands, he felt it¡ªdeep, powerful Energy and a taste of something familiar, a lick of Energy that sang to his fear attunement.

    ¡°This is the night brute prince¡¯s heart. Take it, Victor; hold onto it until you¡¯ve gained more strength; eat your ancient wyrm heart before consuming this one.¡±

    ¡°Oh shit,¡± Victor said, hefting the jar, savoring the depth of its power. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you got this . . .¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d give it to you back then. Now I am. Come, put that away, and let¡¯s go watch our friend.¡± Tes turned and walked out the door, and Victor followed after her after tucking the heart away with his others. They¡¯d only walked a few yards down the hallway when Tes paused, though, and Victor saw her sniffing the air. She said, ¡°I don¡¯t like the energy in the air, Victor. Something is afoot, perhaps more than I bargained for. Should we grow separated, do you know where to find Boaegh¡¯s tower?¡±

    ¡°No, you never told us . . .¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Tes sighed, shaking her head. ¡°It¡¯s near the southwestern corner of the city. An open-air bazaar borders it on one side and arge abattoir on the other. It¡¯s squat, only three stories high, with yellow pennants hanging from the grasping ws of ugly, pot-bellied stone gargoyles. You¡¯ll find it easily. Should the time arise when you must flee this city, tell Geomancer Hark that his debt will be wiped clean if he opens the portal for you.¡±

    ¡°Debt? I thought he was happy to help . . .¡±

    ¡°Not now, Victor. Do you understand my directions?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I get it.¡±

    ¡°Good, let¡¯s make haste now.¡± Tes continued down the corridor, and Victor, somewhat at a loss, followed her.

    Blue¡¯s ce was a little different in the early morning hours than during a nighttime party. Still, everything was still blue, and Victor found himself starting to hate the color as he associated it with the smug war captain. ¡°Nah, that¡¯s not right,¡± he grunted, contemting Va and her pale blue skin. He liked the color just fine; it was the asshole that had to put so much of it everywhere that he didn¡¯t like.

    When they stepped outside the front door, a crowd confronted them; hundreds of Vesh nobles were present to watch the spectacle, all gathered on the big, curving, cobbled drive that ran in a loop at the front of Blue¡¯s estate. In the center of the loop, as though built for just such an event, was a circr patch of grass about twenty yards in diameter. Va stood to the right side of the circle of grass, and her opponent, Reis, stood on the other.

    Reis was six inches or so taller than Va, and she held her glittering, ck-scaled wings partially open, making her seem like more than a match for Va; her physical presence was formidablepared to the neat, lithe figure Va cut, once again leaning on the pommel of Midnight, the glittering, dark de¡¯s point in the grass. Reis, byparison, whipped her long, flickering red rapier left and right, the weapon hissing through the air, leaving a trail of glittering sparks in its wake.

    Va¡¯s challenger wore a silky ck jumper that clung to the pale flesh of her torso and legs while leaving her slender, muscr arms free. She¡¯d painted her face with sharp, contrasting lines of ck and white makeup that reminded Victor of images he¡¯d seen of ancient Celtic warriors. Tes grasped his wrist and pulled him close to the circle, effortlessly pushing past muchrger Vesh, who seemed suddenly eager to move out of her way as she lightly touched their shoulders. When they took a position at the edge of the circle of grass, Tes frowned and said, ¡°Something feels off.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Victor asked, suddenly quite concerned. Tes held up her hand, though, frowning as she concentrated.

    ¡°Here we are!¡± Blue¡¯s voice boomed out from the far side of the ring. He stepped forward onto the grass, and Victor saw that he¡¯d dressed to impress in a fine blue suit,plete with an absurd-looking tophat designed to allow his ck horns to poke through the brim. Still, Blue looked like he was rather impressed with himself and his style, and he turned and bowed at the waist so deeply that his fingers brushed the grass in a flourish. The object of his obeisance was the warlord who stood on the edge of the grass almost directly opposite Tes. ¡°Thank you for attending this little affair, Warlord. You grace my estate with your presence.¡±

    ¡°By all means, War Captain Blue. How could I not attend when the Lady Tes foresaw such a thing?¡±

    Tes¡¯s gaze had gone distant, but she refocused on reality at the mention of her name. She nodded to the warlord coquettishly and performed a slight curtsy, lifting her pale red skirts. Blue chuckled and cleared his throat, ¡°Wonderful. We have quite a spectacle in store today! For anyone who lives with their head in the sands of the waste and doesn¡¯t know the stakes¡ªLady Reis has put up five Coloss Prize Tokens, and <em>Captain </em>Va has agreed to indenture herself to me, Blue, for a year, should she lose.¡± Victor didn¡¯t appreciate how Blue sneered when he said, ¡°Captain.¡±

    ¡°Three blood strikes or a yield is what we¡¯re looking for. No armor or magical devices are allowed. Healing potions will signal your intent to yield. No one outside the match may interfere. Does anyone have a question or objection?¡± Blue spoke in a booming voice and looked around the circle, and when his eyes fell on Victor, he tilted his long, ck horns toward him and grinned, exposing bright, white canines. Victor felt the heat in his Core begin to fan to life as that taunting expression stirred his rage. He frowned, though, crossing his arms over his chest, and simply stared. It was Blue who looked away first.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take this silence as a sign that we¡¯re all ready for things to begin!¡± Blue howled, and it was true; the crowd was so quiet that Victor could hear their hushed breaths of anticipation. At Blue¡¯s deration, though, some scattered apuse and a few hoots broke out, and the war captain¡¯s smile widened. He stepped back to the edge of the circle of grass and said, ¡°Ladies, you maymence.¡±

    Va glided onto the grass, Midnight held in a high, aggressive guard, and Reis stepped forward lightly, circling Va, exceptionally light on her feet. Victor nodded, confident as he watched Va move; she was a dancer, a gymnast, a woman of exceptional skill with that sword, and it showed¡ªanyone who¡¯d done any fighting or made a practice of watching others do so would know that she outssed Reis.

    As they circled each other, though, Victor was surprised not to see confident determination on Va¡¯s face. She didn¡¯t have that ready, severe expression she always wore when they sparred. Her eyes were wide, and lines of stress were evident on her brow. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong,¡± he growled.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Tes said, but she reached out a hand to grasp his wrist, and it felt like a band of iron, reminding him of the time she¡¯d restrained him at Blue¡¯s dinner. Victor didn¡¯t have time to object before the first explosive interchange between the two duelists rang through the yard. Reis darted forward, lifting slightly off the ground as she pped her wings, and she feinted and jabbed with her rapier in a series of rapid blows. Va batted them aside, dodging like a feather before a breeze, sliding over the grass, and when they parted, not one of Reis¡¯s blows hadnded.

    Reis frowned, growling and circling, and Va did the same. Victor knew Va, knew she¡¯d be taking Reis¡¯s measure, deciding how best to slip her guard andnd a blow, but when he looked at her, his heart began to hammer in his chest. Va¡¯s pale skin had lost a shade of blue, and a sheen of sweat stood out on her forehead and cheeks; her breaths looked ragged and forced. Again Victor growled, ¡°Something¡¯s fucking wrong, Tes.¡±

    In response, Tes squeezed his wrist, but he saw that her eyes were closed and her brow was drawn sharply down; she was concentrating on something. At the sound of another sh of metal on metal, Victor jerked his gaze back to the duel and saw the two women exchange a flurry of blows and parries, and to his eye, one well-experienced watching Va, she looked sluggish. When the two women parted, this time, a red bloom of blood was spreading on Va¡¯s white shirt, just above her left breast.

    ¡°One for the Lady Reis!¡± Blue crowed.

    Va, no longer a picture of perfect grace, tried to circle Reis, but her legs looked leaden, and her breaths wereing in ragged gasps, her face sheeting with sweat. Victor took in a breath, ready to roar a protest, but again, Tes squeezed his wrist, and this time she muttered, ¡°One moment, Victor. I almost have it.¡±

    Victor jerked his gaze back to the fight in time to see Reis dart forward, quick and nimble, and then Va gasped in pain as that bright, sparking rapier tore through the air and pierced the top of her thigh. Reis barked a savage, shortugh and backpedaled long before Va could sluggishly cleave downward with Midnight.

    ¡°Two for Reis!¡± Blue announced, lifting his arms, signaling the crowd to cheer. Most of them did, but Victor wasn¡¯t the only one who could see something was wrong. Some muttering sounded among the observers, and Blue frowned. Victor could see he was debating whether he should exhort them to silence after he¡¯d just encouraged them to cheer.

    Suddenly Tes released Victor¡¯s wrist, and she strode into the circle. Her voice rang out, ¡°A moment, dear War Captain Blue. I fear there¡¯s been a mistake.¡± Va stood to Tes¡¯s left and leaned forward, resting her hands on her legs¡ªthe front of her white shirt was entirely red now, and Victor knew her leg was bleeding just as severely.

    Reis danced from side to side on the other side of Tes and shrieked with blood lust, ¡°What¡¯s this? Forfeit!¡±

    ¡°What is this, indeed, Lady Tes? Do you seek to intervene for your youngpanion?¡± Blue asked, stepping into the circle. ¡°Warlord, don¡¯t you think this is grounds for forfeiture?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps so. What¡¯s the matter, Lady Tes?¡± The warlord kept his position on the edge of the circle, a look of slight amusement in his eyes.

    ¡°Oh, I think when you see the issue, you might agree to allow Captain Va to continue with the duel. Here, observe, Warlord and War <em>Captain</em>.¡± This time it was Tes¡¯s turn to sneer as she spat the honorific. She held her hand out over the center of the grassy circle, and, with a slight rumble and the squelch of damp soil and grass, a long, rune-carved, circr rod of stone lifted from the ground.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this strange?¡± she asked, a savage grin on her face. She lifted the yard-long stone rod and held it over her head. ¡°Can you feel it now?¡± She strode forward, closer to the warlord and war captain, holding the stone rod over her head as though it were a broomstick. ¡°How odd to find a siphoning stone here, one meant to drain way air and earth attuned Energies. Why, what a strange coincidence¡ªthe very affinities within Captain Va¡¯s Core.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± the Warlord asked, staring pointedly at Blue.

    ¡°I have no idea! A scandal! Lady Tes, did you ce that there to discredit me?¡±

    Tes snorted, and suddenly the rod winked out of existence, presumably sent into one of Tes¡¯s storage devices. Va immediately sighed with relief and began to breathe more regrly. ¡°Oh no, War Captain. I wouldn¡¯t do such a thing, and the Warlord knows it. It¡¯s no matter, though. I¡¯m sure Captain Va will understand that this must be a mistake or an act of sabotage by some disgruntledckey of yours. Give her a moment to catch her wind, and she¡¯ll continue the duel.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense,¡± the warlord said, ¡°Surely we should reschedule; the captain has two wounds already.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Va said, taking a slow, steady breath through her nose and out through her mouth and then spitting a wad of bloody saliva into the grass.

    The crowd had gone quiet at first when Tes pulled the rod from the damp soil, but now people were muttering and cursing, and the loud buzz of conversations began to make it difficult to hear everyone speaking other than Tes. A tall,nky woman with golden scales on her arms and forehead shouted, ¡°She should get a healing draught!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Reis howled. ¡°I didn¡¯t know about that rod! I scored my blows with fair skill!¡±

    Tes held up her hand and turned in a slow circle, making eye contact with many people in the crowd. Slowly the buzz of outrage diminished, and when things were quiet again, she looked to Va and said, ¡°Well, Captain? Do you require healing?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Va stood and whipped Midnight in aplicated pattern, and her de sang in the air. ¡°Let¡¯s finish this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m of the opinion that Reis should have to forfeit,¡± the warlord said. He looked long and hard at Blue, and Victor saw something pass between them as though Blue were outraged. Had the warlord been in on this scam of a fight? Was he throwing Blue under the bus, so to speak? Perhaps even the warlord was worried about public perception. He turned away from Blue to Va and said, ¡°Are you certain you wish to continue? I will award you the prize right now if you wish.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± Va growled, her eyes locked on Reis¡¯s face. The crowd cheered, and Victor felt a hotnce of pride in his chest. In his mind, at that moment, Va was truly amazing¡ªbeautiful and brave with an undauntable spirit.

    Tes backed out of the circle and said, ¡°You heard her. Restart the fight at your discretion, dear Blue.¡±

    As Va and Reis squared off again, Blue bellowed, ¡°Begin!¡± The crowd fell silent again, and then Va charged. Reis tried to meet her head-on, but Va was back to her usual, graceful, brilliant self. She pped Reis¡¯s rapier aside, and in abination that was difficult to track, Victor saw her work Midnight in a series of feints, shes, and thrusts. Reis valiantly whipped her de in response, trying to parry, dodge and duck Va¡¯s quick blows.

    As Victor struggled to track the sword strokes, a scream cut through the sh of metal, and Va backed away from Reis, a grim smile spreading her lips. The tall, ck-d woman fell to the grass, writhing in agony, one of her glittering, scaled wings twitching in the grass, severed from her body. ¡°I yield!¡± Reis moaned, desperately scrabbling at the grass where she fumbled a healing draught she¡¯d summoned from a storage container.

 Book 4: Chapter 44: Best Laid Plans

    Book 4: Chapter 44: Best Laid ns

    ¡°Get up, you wretch!¡± Blue shrieked at Reis, stepping forward onto the grass. His face was livid with fury, and spittle flecked his lips. Va ignored him, as did the crowd of Vesh¡ªmost of them were apuding her by now, some even cheering in the face of Blue¡¯s outrage. Va whipped her sword with such snapping force that Reis¡¯s blood sttered off the de into the grass. She smoothly sheathed the dark, star-speckled de and strode over the grass toward Tes and Victor, outwardly unbothered by the wounds she¡¯d earlier suffered.

    ¡°Hell yes, Va!¡± Victor cheered, reaching out to grasp her shoulder. ¡°That was fast! I¡¯ve never seen you move quite like that.¡±

    ¡°Rage is a good motivator,¡± Va growled. ¡°I learned from the best,¡± she added, giving him a wink.

    ¡°Good,¡± Tes chuckled, ¡°but we should make haste from here. Too much heat is in the air.¡± Victor nodded and, still holding Va¡¯s shoulder, began to guide her back through the crowd, but the warlord¡¯s voice cut through the noise, and the buzzing crowd grew still at his words.

    ¡°Captain Va, hold, please!¡±

    Tes stiffened but stopped moving and turned back to the grass circle. Victor noted how the crowd that had begun to fill in around them parted way, revealing the warlord standing over the still-sobbing Reis. He grinned when Va turned his way and then gestured to Reis and her healed but still shortened wing. ¡°I believe Lady Reis owes you something.¡±

    ¡°The captain can collect another time,¡± Tes said and started to move again.

    ¡°Tut, Lady Tes. Now¡¯s the time, I think.¡± The warlord nudged Reis¡¯s shoulder with the toe of his shiny ck boot, ¡°Come, Reis, pull forth your wager.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Warlord,¡± Reis said through swollen red lips. Victor hadn¡¯t gotten a good look at her after Va¡¯s winning blow, but he could now see the woman hadn¡¯t been ready to suffer such an injury; her eyes were bloodshot, and her face streaked with tears. Seeing her like that, he had to wonder if she¡¯d ever been prepared to conduct a fair fight¡ªhad Blue set this whole thing in motion from the start?

    Va turned, brushed past him, and started back to the green. Meanwhile, Reis held out her palm, and a pile of silvery tokens appeared in it. ¡°Good, a debt well settled,¡± the warlord said, his wordsced with patronizing barbs. Va walked forward, and Victor could see Blue at the far edge of the circle, red-faced, furious, hands clenching and unclenching. The warlord, meanwhile, looked amused, watching Va approach with sharp eyes beneath white-feathered brows. Something tickled in Victor¡¯s gut, warning him much like a hound might sense pending misconduct in a stranger. Something wasn¡¯t right.

    He felt Tes pushing past him through the crowd, following after Va. Victor, too, started forward, but the Vesh nobles seemed to contract in front of him, making progress difficult. Still, Victor was head and shoulders taller than most of them, and he could see Va stoop to scoop the tokens from Reis¡¯s palm. As she straightened, though, the warlord rested a hand on her shoulder, his ck-taloned, long fingers grasping the blood-stained fabric of her shirt.

    ¡°A moment, Captain Va. I believe I¡¯d enjoy it if you joined <em>my </em>captains and me for brunch. Surely that¡¯s not too much to ask? A meal with the champion? I¡¯d love to hear more about your sword skills and where you learned such feats of martial prowess.¡±

    ¡°Yes! A lovely idea!¡± Blue said, his glower suddenly reced by cheerful enthusiasm. Victor wanted to push through the crowd and knock that stupid blue hat off his head. Instead, he let go of his aura, something he hadn¡¯t fully done since returning to Coloss. The people around him instantly began to press outward. Some of them probably realized what they were doing, but Victor could tell it was involuntary for many. These sycophantic noble Vesh were mostly mid-tier, and their wills, their own auras, were like tide pools to the ocean of Victor¡¯s rage.

    As a wide passage through the crowd opened, and he started forward, he was surprised to see that Tes was already striding onto the grass. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, dear Warlord, but I¡¯ve made ns with my young friend here. Perhaps she could join youter?¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± the warlord said, though his voice was difficult for Victor to hear over the suddenly outraged, murmuring crowd goers that had grown aware of the source of their difort. A few insults were hurled his way, though no one came forward to impose on him physically, and soon Victor was on the grass, and he could hear the rest of the warlord¡¯s statement, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Tes, but you¡¯ll need to reschedule. Yes, I think I¡¯m quite in the mood for brunch, and my captains and I are eager to get better acquainted with this fierce young woman.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we are, Warlord,¡± Blue said, stepping forward.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even see your other captains, Warlord. I¡¯m surprised they didn¡¯t attend the duel.¡±

    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re about. Never fear.¡± Victor¡¯s rage intensified at the smug words, and he began to let his fury seep out of his Core and into his pathways. It was all too easy as he watched Va strain against the taloned grip of the tall, white-winged warlord.

    ¡°Well then, since I already had ns with Captain Va, perhaps I¡¯ll join you,¡± Tes pressed, now only five feet or so from the two. Victor noticed that Reis had been scrabbling over the grass and was now near the edge of the crowd, clutching her dismembered wing in herp.

    ¡°Tes, tut. How impolite, inviting yourself to a private affair.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to insist; otherwise, Captain Va and I will be departing.¡±

    Suddenly the warlord¡¯s demeanor changed; his faux humor melted away, and his eyes grew dark and charged with metallic, glimmering Energy. He seemed to grow in stature, though, physically, he remained the same size. Still, Victor suddenly felt as though the warlord towered over him, over everyone, and his authority came crashing down as he boomed, ¡°You dare? You dare to think you can insist on anything? In <em>my city</em>? On <em>my world</em>? Begone, witch! I have matters to attend!¡± Suddenly Va screamed as the warlord tightened his grip and cracked open his wings.

    Victor knew what wasing¡ªhe¡¯d seen how fast the warlord could fly. He was about tounch himself into the air with Va in tow, and Victor would never see her again. He wanted to Berserk, wanted to leap at the warlord and break his arm, rip it off, even smash him to bits with the stump. He couldn¡¯t, though. He could barely move under the weight of the warlord¡¯s aura. He growled, and furiously tried to rally his will, lifting his head to watch, which was more than most of the Vesh could manage¡ªthey¡¯d all fallen to their knees or onto their bellies,pletely prostrate before the Warlord¡¯s show of strength.

    Not Tes, though. Tes stood before the warlord¡¯s fury, her pale red skirts billowing behind her, her soft blond curls bouncing before his outburst, but her face serene and unbothered. As the warlord¡¯s wings unfurled, but before he could snap them down andunch into the air, Tes twirled her fingers, and a coil of electricity, much like a cracklingsso, snapped through the air to wrap itself around Va. With a flick of her wrist, Tes yanked Va free of the warlord¡¯s talon, but not without paying a toll of flesh and blood¡ªthe warlord¡¯s grasping fingers left long, deep furrows in Va¡¯s skin, and she screamed as the rope of lightning pulled her away.

    ¡°You dare!¡± the warlord roared.

    ¡°I do,¡± Tes replied, still calm. She propelled Va into Victor¡¯s arms and said, ¡°You know where to go.¡± Then she shifted to the left, like a flickering hologram, as the warlord cleaved a mighty silver de into the grass where she¡¯d been standing. He screamed his outrage, a look of disbelief on his face as the gleaming, straight-edged, seven-foot de tore a smoldering trench into the grass. Again, his furious aura pulsed forth, and the Vesh, even Blue, were driven further into obeisance, faces pressed to the ground. Va moaned and copsed, but Victor struggled against the wave of force and held her up, stumbling backward toward Blue¡¯s vi.

    Tes was like a mighty oak standing tall in the face of hurricane-force winds, and she sidestepped to put herself between the warlord and Victor again. ¡°Go,¡± she said, and though her voice was calm, Victor could feel the urgency in themand. Somehow she was absorbing the ferocity of the warlord¡¯s aura, keeping most of it from Victor and, as if by instinct, he cast Berserk. When the rage filled his vision and flooded his mind and pathways, when the haughty fury of his ancestors sang in his blood, he straightened enough to lift Va into his arms, then turned and stumbled away, propelled by a deep instinct to flee that terrible aura.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Tes wasn¡¯t pleased. Everything had gone sideways, and now she was well and truly in over her head. This warlord, the leader of the greatest nation in this world, wanted to kill her. She¡¯d utterly blown her cover,pletely exposed herself, and for what? To save a diminutive woman from a backwater world? How many innocents had she seen in during her travels around Zaafor? How many had she watched kill each other in their arena? Why was she ruining her reputation to help these two hopelessly trouble-prone strangers?

    ¡°Because they¡¯re not strangers,¡± she muttered as she dodged the warlord¡¯s de yet again. It was true; she had to admit, she¡¯d grown fond of them both. Perhaps taking on a mentor¡¯s role with them had been a mistake; she felt responsible for them now. Sheughed at the thought¡ªwould Yek¡¯nakkara¡¯ma¡¯shohon believe it? His niece¡¯s maternal instincts hade to life atst! Yes, she certainly felt a bond with Va, something she¡¯d never managed with another pupil. Perhaps that was because Tes had refused to take on any of her younger cousins as apprentices. Perhaps that was because they were scheming, power-hungry little bitches.

    The warlord was working himself into a frenzy, and Tes knew she¡¯d need to try to defuse the situation before he began to call on his deeper powers. If she didn¡¯t, she might not be able to escape his fury without harming him. ¡°Warlord, calm yourself,¡± she said, Surge Stepping away from his de again. ¡°I can pay rpense for what you¡¯ve lost today.¡±

    ¡°What I¡¯ve lost? You dare? I¡¯ve lost nothing! Nothing other than my temper, but your blood will satisfy that!¡± Suddenly the warlord¡¯s aura red again, and this time Tes could feel him touching the rather impressive pool of Energy at his Core. She pulled forth more of her own Energy as a tremendous wave of steelced force rolled out of the warlord, apanied by a thunderous ¡°Kiai!¡±

    As he shouted, he¡¯d swung his great, legendary sword, <em>Scale Song</em>, in an arc, and a wave of force, cutting just like the edge of his sword, poured forth. It would have bisected Tes if not for her shield of Energy. Still, the concussion of the blow, apanied by the re of lightning from her barrier, devastated many of the unwilling spectators lying prone in the nearby grass. Tes almost found humor in the thought that many openings in the Vesh noble lines of session would need to be filled.

    The warlord¡¯s cutting wave of force didn¡¯t discriminate¡ªseveral Vesh were cleaved in two, their innards watering the green grass. Still more were burned and sted by the shockwave of electricity that rolled away from Tes¡¯s shield. ¡°Look what you¡¯ve done!¡± Tes cried, her reputation as a member of the Celestial Envoys cratering with each death. Suddenly her reputation became a lesser concern as she realized that War Captain Blue was no longer on his knees behind the Warlord. A tingle in her gut told her to move, and she did so, flickering through the air, fast as lightning, as the ground on which she¡¯d been standing exploded with red magma.

    ¡°Now, Green!¡± the warlord yelled, and then, a geyser of caustic liquid exploded under her feet, bathing her in its terrible destructive acid-attuned Energy.

    Tes screamed andunched into the air, riding a surge of Electricity out of the acid, but not before she felt its painful caress. So, Green and Red had joined the fray. She hissed in fury as her perfect, soft pale flesh peeled and warped, revealing red sinew and pulsing veins. With a surge of Energy, though, she mended her body, painting over the damage with new skin. Suddenly more angry than concerned about her reputation, Tes released some of the tight bindings that held her form in its minuscule prison.

    She kept her human shape, but she allowed her mass to expand, and she crashed to the ground with an enormous concussion, suddenly a thousand times heavier than she should be. She had to spread the impact with a surge of elemental air-attuned Energy, or she might have sunk into the ground. Still, hernding rocked the courtyard, sending a ripple of earth out from the point of impact and flinging the nearby Vesh like ragdolls.

    The warlord cracked his wings and took flight, hanging in the air nearby, and Tes could see his three war captains moving to surround her; they¡¯d fared better than the sycophantic nobility, and it made sense¡ªnot one of them was beneath tier nine. ¡°So,¡± the warlord called, ¡°you begin to show your true colors. Is she not a better prize? Did I not tell you, men? <em>Fist</em>!¡±

    As he screamed the final word, Tes felt the first hint of panic she¡¯d experienced in a very long while, for suddenly, ten powerful auras bloomed into being, and she saw, evenly spread out around the walled enclosure of Blue¡¯s front courtyard, the warlord¡¯s most potent fighters shrugging out of dark, thick cloaks that had held them concealed, even from her. A trap? Could it be that she¡¯d been so blind? While she¡¯d worried about her two young charges and schemed to keep them safe, she¡¯d been the target all along?

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor held Va to his chest, and he ran. He didn¡¯t slow when he saw the gate to Blue¡¯s estate but rather bunched his thighs and jumped, flying through the air as he activated Titanic Leap. When he crashed down onto the cobbles of the street, he nced over his shoulder, saw the blue-ted guards scrambling, and continued to run. They were Vesh, and he was bigger than most Degh¡ªthey couldn¡¯t keep up as he ran and jumped.

    Va squirmed in his grasp and said, ¡°Victor, I¡¯m okay now. I can run.¡±

    In his red haze of fury and singr purpose, only one thing was on his mind: Tes¡¯smand to ¡°go.¡± Victor grunted in response but kept Va tight to his chest while he charged down the street, leaping wagons or crowds, smashing through gathered weaklings that didn¡¯t move quickly enough. He could feel something happening behind him, a distant surge of auras and great pulses of Energy¡ªthey sang to his blood, reminding him of battles he¡¯d never seen but somehow remembered.

    Visions of great winged serpents in the air, gigantic men and women in chariots driven on lightning-streaked clouds, and the tremendous concussions of elemental Energies exploding with the primal force of volcanoes or tidal waves ran through his mind as Victor raced through the streets of Coloss. Part of him wanted to stop, wanted to turn and watch whatever was happening. Part of him wanted to drop Va and charge back toward Blue¡¯s estate¡ªhis friend might need his help. Still, a bigger part of him wanted to get Va to safety and knew that Tes wanted him to do so; she¡¯d told him. Herst word had been ¡°go,¡± and Victor had felt the force behind it. She¡¯d be furious if he returned.

    ¡°Victor,¡± Va tried again, still held tightly to his enormous, heaving chest, ¡°Tes might need us!¡±

    ¡°She said go!¡± Victor roared, and his words were thick and guttural, loudly echoing through the street. He¡¯d been making good time, sting through the light traffic, turning down long straight roads, and he knew he was nearing his destination. He could see the convergence of the great city walls, indicating he wasing up on the southwestern corner of Coloss.

    ¡°Victor! What if she dies? What if the warlord takes her?¡± Va tried, but Victor had felt themand in Tes¡¯s voice, had felt the certainty and the need for him to obey. She wanted him and Va to leave, and that was that.

    ¡°We can¡¯t help with that,¡± Victor growled. His worry for Tes, his momentary doubt, and the sharp knife of cowardice in his heart dampened his rage, so he forced out a furious roar, stoking the mes of fury back up. He leaped an enormous tbed wagon being pulled by two great, gray-skinned, double-humped animals¡ªsomething like a cross between elephants and camels. He was at the apex of his leap, sailing for the cobbles of the street, when ancing pain tore through his lower back, and he tumbled in the air, careening toward the street, head first.

    Victor never forgot about his charge, though, and he tucked himself into a ball, holding Va safe in his arms as his shoulders smashed into the roadway. He rolled three times and flopped onto his back before he let go of her. Something kept him fromying t; an ufortablence of pain from his stomach radiated with each move he made. Grumbling with fury, as Va scurried out of his grasp and stood on the street beside him, he looked down and saw a long, silvery spear jutting out of his guts. The only thought that came to him when he saw it was one of surprise¡ªit must be a good spear, indeed, to pierce the wonderful armor Tes had given him.

    ¡°Going somewhere, whelp?¡± The voice came from where he¡¯dst jumped, and Victor, sitting in a growing pool of blood, watched as Karnice made his way around the big wagon. He gave a Degh, still holding the reins of a panicking mount, a shove, and the man abandoned the beast and ran off. Dimly, Victor saw that the street had cleared, though citizens peered out from doorways, windows, and around corners. Karnice smiled broadly, his body d in thick bronze-colored, rune-etched tes. He held his four arms aloft and said, ¡°You seem to have my spear. Mind if I take it back?¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 45: Standoffs

    Book 4: Chapter 45: Standoffs

    Tes cloaked herself in lightning, streaking through the courtyard, intent on leaving her would-be ambushers far behind. She¡¯d been quite well surrounded, and whatever direction she chose, she¡¯d have to deal with at least one of the members of the warlord¡¯s Fist. With that in mind, she decided to fly toward Bambori, a squat little fellow who was exceedingly tough but sluggish in both action and wit. Just as she¡¯d hoped, he was slow to intercept her, and she flew past, quicker than a thought¡ªand mmed into a barrier that had no business being there.

    ¡°What have you done?¡± she cried at the terrible impact.

    ¡°Now! Hurry! Contain her!¡± the warlord cried, thrilled excitement lifting his voice into a near-shriek. While Tes reeled, stunned by the collision with the wall of force, for she¡¯d been traveling at speeds too great to track with the naked eye, and her mass was prodigious, the warlord, his captains, and his Fist closed in,yingyer uponyer of binding Energies upon her. She felt the weight of those spells, those weavings designed with a singr purpose¡ªcontaining Tes and her particr Energy signature.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been nning this for some time, haven¡¯t you?¡± she asked, folding under the weight of the bindings. She didn¡¯t speak loudly, and though the air crackled with the hum of the spells and Vesh nobles cried and groaned, whimpering with pain as they tried to distance themselves from the battle, her voice still rang out through the courtyard.

    ¡°Oh indeed, dear Tes,¡± the warlord crowed, moving close as his ambush party pressed in, their eyes focused, their brows beading with sweat at the effort of theplex binding weave. ¡°For years now, in fact. Fough, that clever bastard, had the idea; it took us all months to master this weave. He¡¯s not here to see our skillful implementation, but never worry; he¡¯s preparing your bath.¡±

    Tes crouched in the grass, feeling out the of Energies that the fifteen most powerful people in Coloss had woven around her. It was true; the web was well constructed, matching the signature of her Energy, absorbing and reflecting it back at her, squeezing the magical threads tighter and tighter the harder she struggled. ¡°So . . . you used my charges as bait? My curiosity as the tripwire?¡± Rather than fight fruitlessly, she sat in the grass, smoothing her skirts against her thighs and looking up at the warlord as he stalked closer. Hisrades had stopped some ten yards away from her, their faces strained with concentration, their mouths silently working as they toiled to maintain and reinforce the bindings.

    ¡°Yes. Why would I care for some blue flesh when I can delve into your blood, Tes? You unted your power one too many times, and I began to understand that you were so bold with your words because you held no fear or respect for me. That will change.¡±

    ¡°Ah,¡± Tes said, nodding along with his words as she looked around the circle of hisckeys. She began to worry he wasn¡¯t present, but then, as she looked over her left shoulder, she locked eyes with him, War Captain Ardek¡ªck. His face was sweaty, his brow furrowed, but when he met her eyes, she saw what she¡¯d been hoping for. Deep in the depths of those big gleaming orbs colored like red-tinted amber, she read what she¡¯d hoped to find, a streak of rebellion. Tes lifted an eyebrow as if to ask, ¡°Well?¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Karnice¡¯s voice rang out over the abandoned street, ¡°You seem to have my spear. Mind if I take it back?¡±

    Victor put one hand out onto the cobbles, pressing his knuckles into the hard surface as he leveraged himself to his knees, the great, silvery length of Karnice¡¯s spear jutting out before and behind him. ¡°This spear?¡± he asked. He felt Va behind him, felt her press a hand to his shoulder in support, fear, orfort. He didn¡¯t know which and didn¡¯t care; it was enough to know she was close. He reached down, grasped the blood-soaked metallic shaft of the spear, and began to pull it through, his fury climbing to new heights as the weapon kept his flesh apart, kept it from knitting, and the wound red with new pain as each inch slid through his guts.

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯ll hand it back to me? What a goodd,¡± Karnice said, continuing to stride down the cobbles, closing the distance from a hundred yards to seventy to fifty. By then, Victor had pulled the now-bloody length of silver from his guts, and he grinned as he felt his flesh knit. He lifted the spear, holding it aloft and admiring its long, gleaming de as it winked in the sunlight.

    ¡°You want it back? I¡¯ll leave it here for you,¡± he growled, and then, with every ounce of his mass, muscle, fury, and frustration, he grasped the spear with both hands and drove it down into the street. The de slipped between two cobbles, and with a shriek of tearing, melting stone, the shaft sank into the street, all the way to where Victor grasped the shaft. When he straightened, only four feet of silvery metal stood out from the ground, and Karnice had stopped walking.

    ¡°Annoying, but not my only spear, boy.¡± He held out the two hands on his right side, and suddenly a thick, ck, metallic spear appeared in them. To call that spear ck was a gross understatement¡ªit was a spear-shaped tear in reality, an absence of light. It confounded Victor¡¯s attempts to gaze upon it, and he almost felt mesmerized by its strange, inky stain on the colors of bright daylight. ¡°Do you like this little beauty? She¡¯s going to leave more of a mark than that elegantdy you so callously drove into the ground.¡±

    ¡°Victor, do we run?¡± Va asked from behind him, and he knew she was standing there to keep out of Karnice¡¯s line of sight. Was she nning a surprise attack, or was she simply afraid? Afraid . . . the word echoed strangely in Victor¡¯s mind. Was he fearful of Karnice? As the thought raced through his mind, he watched the tall, powerful, four-armed warrior approach and found he couldn¡¯t find a trace of fear for the man. Did that mean he could beat him? Victor chuckled, shaking his head ruefully, and theugh only deepened as he saw Karnice¡¯s puzzled expression and hesitant step.

    ¡°Is your friend mad, Little Blue?¡± Karnice asked, apparently well aware that Va was hunched behind him. Va didn¡¯t answer him, but Victor wouldn¡¯t have noticed if she had; his mind was too busy analyzing the crack he¡¯d found in Karnice¡¯s formidable strength; Victor knew he couldn¡¯t beat the warrior in a straight fight, but it didn¡¯t seem like Karnice felt so confident. Was that fear lurking behind those smugugh lines? If Victor could give him pause with a chuckle, how would he fare against some true terror?

    ¡°Va, I promise you,¡± Victor said, his voice low, rumbling out of his enormous chest, ¡°I won¡¯t harm you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Va asked, and he felt her touch on his back lighten as though she were preparing to pull back.

    Victor¡¯s pathways were ame, filled to the brim with fury, and if not for his Iron Berserk upgrade, he knew he¡¯d be flinging himself at Karnice at that second. As his mind raced and he thought of the consequences of his arguably insane idea, Karnice shrugged at Va¡¯sck of response and continued his swaggering approach, twirling the void-ck spear as he grinned, exposing his long canines.

    Logically, Victor knew he¡¯d changed a great deal since he¡¯dst tried out his Aspect of Terror. He had more will, more Energy, and a stronger tie to his bloodline, but more important than all of that, he knew he could maintain his Iron Berserk while he did it; wouldn¡¯t his rage, his fury, help him cope with that overwhelming desire to feast on fear? While his mind raced, he felt another enormous surge of Energy across the city from where he and Va had just fled. Back where Tes was dealing with far more dangerous foes than this spear-twirling <em>pendejo</em>. If now wasn¡¯t the time to pull out the stops, when would it be?

    <strong>#</strong>

    Tes smiled as she felt a thread fray in the weave of the warlord¡¯s trap. ck was pulling back his Energy, but he was being sly about it; she knew he was risking a brutal death at the warlord¡¯s hands for this betrayal. Still, the fraying thread of Energy was all she needed. Tes reached out with a thought and a knife of primal wind Energy, and she pulled apart the weave, stretching a wide hole through it. As the warlord¡¯s Fist screamed in unison, their carefully woven trap snapping back, ying their pathways, Tes reimed the enormous mountain of Energy she¡¯d put into her current form, holding herself tightly bound to this diminutive, if pretty shape.

    As her Core red with power, and her body elongated, widened, and shimmered to life with blue metallic scales, Tes looked down at the warlord, who¡¯d stumbled to a halt, ncing from left to right at his fallen Fist. She growled, running a long, pink tongue over sword-like fangs, ¡°I think you brought a too small for this catch.¡±

    ¡°Kill it!¡± he screamed, then snapped his wings, lifting himself into the air. He held his de before himself, and Tes was impressed; her dragon aura was no small burden to bear, but he was holding up well. Several of his Fist, too, were struggling to their feet around her, staggering backward, their shields and weapons clutched in white-knuckled fists. The courtyard had be a much smaller space than when she¡¯d been a petite human-shaped woman.

    ¡°It?¡± she purred, her rich voice pouring like liquid silver from her throat. ¡°How rude, Warlord. Desist now, before I have to alter the history of this world by ying you and your cohort.¡±

    ¡°We can glean what we need from her blood and bones!¡± Suddenly the warlord surged with power, and great metallic echoes of his white, feathered wings stretched out behind him. He screeched as he exploded into flight, his enormous, silvery sword held down at a cutting angle as he tore through the air at Tes.

    Tes was sure she could shrug off the warlord¡¯s attack and knock him aside with one muscr foreleg and its scythe-like talons. In fact, she had half a mind to snap him out of the air with her jaw, swallowing the insufferable tyrant whole. Still, he moved quickly, and her first instinct was to dodge, so she did, rolling on waves of wind and electricity that coursed through her body, just as thick, just as much a part of her as the blood in her veins.

    The maneuver was devastating to the members of the warlord¡¯s Fist on her left side, along with War Captain Red. Her bulk alone was enough to cause terrible harm, but the surging electricity that allowed her to move faster than most eyes could trackpounded the damage as she ttened those four powerful men, sending them scattering, tumbling through the courtyard to smash through trees, shrubs, and ornamental statues. Tes uprooted a tree, herself, and her great tail, whipped without a thought to aid her bnce, smashed through the wall, sting a twenty-foot hole in the stones.

    The warlord¡¯s streaking attack was fruitless, his de carving a deep furrow in the cobbles of Blue¡¯s drive, and when he flew in an arc to turn and try to assess how he¡¯d missed, his eyes were troubled. Tes snarled and nced around, choosing an example. Her gaze settled on Green, and she remembered the brief pain of his acidic deluge. She inhaled and coughed out a fork of lightning, thick, blue, and so bright that anyone, even the nigh-immortal warlord, who witnessed it would struggle to see anything but its afterimage for many minutes.

    The streak of lightning entered Green at the chest. His body and even his armor turned ck and then burst, with a p of thunder, into a cloud of charred ash. The warlord cried out; the surviving members of his Fist, Blue, and ck fell back, their hands instinctively going to their eyes or ears as they struggled to recover from the concussive st of light and thunder.

    Tes hadn¡¯t held back; the Energy for that attack hade from her Breath Core, nurtured there for many long months. It felt good to release it, like letting go of a sneeze held too long. Still, she couldn¡¯t muster such a burst of electricity again, not anytime soon, but the warlord didn¡¯t know that. She¡¯d meant to give him pause, and it worked. He pped his wings, rising higher into the air, and she saw him trying to peer around his fingers, looking for an avenue of escape.

    ¡°I can fly faster than thee, Warlord,¡± Tes rumbled, her words and the cadence of her speech slipping back into the rhythm of her homnd. ¡°Lower yourself before me. I¡¯ll have words with you and yours. Move with crity, and I¡¯ll consider mercy.¡±

    The warlord, still blind and dumbstruck by her show of power, seemed to resign himself, awkwardly descending, clearly unsure how far away the ground was. Tes watched him and stretched out her senses, feeling for Victor, wondering if he¡¯d managed to find Boaegh¡¯s tower. She¡¯d barely begun to explore the city with her prodigious perception when she felt something startling¡ªa surge of Energy with a familiar taste, but one she¡¯d only seen hints of before; Victor had unleashed his fear affinity.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Karnice was a tall Vesh, but he still had to look up as he approached Victor. He slowed when he grew near, confirming Victor¡¯s suspicion¡ªthe warlord wanted him alive. He knew how fast Karnice was, knew he could have been upon him in seconds from the instant he¡¯d crashed into the cobbles with that spear in his guts. Two things were holding Karnice back: his desire to get Victor back to the warlord in one piece and something else, something Victor had seen lurking behind those gleaming red eyes¡ªhe was struggling with fear.

    ¡°So? You don¡¯t pick up your axe, and you don¡¯t flee. Are youing with me back to the citadel?¡±

    Victor felt Va stir behind him and knew she was wondering why he wasn¡¯t doing anything. She didn¡¯t speak, though, and he admired her willingness to steadfastly delve into depths of danger with him rather than run for her life. Perhaps she simply knew Karnice could catch them again if he¡¯d done so once. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, Karnice. I¡¯m curious¡ªwhat makes you fear me? Is it that I shrugged off your attacks the other day? Is it my aura?¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Karnice growled, hefting his spear, this time with one left and one right arm, leveling the point so that it was trained on Victor¡¯s chest, just three or four short feet away. ¡°I don¡¯t fear you, boy.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Victor growled, and though his voice was deep and rumbling as it came out of his great chest, something shrill chased the word, something that sent a shiver down the spines of anyone who¡¯d been listening. Va inhaled with a trembling lip and stepped back as she heard that note. Karnice frowned, and his nervous tongue flicked out, licking at his lips as he braced himself.

    For a moment, it seemed like the sun was going behind a cloud, but then the new shadows shifted and began to writhe as they wrapped themselves around Victor. They multiplied, building on each other until he was dressed in a cocoon of clinging, sliding, snakelike shadows. Cracks, grunts, and deep, hoarse gasps escaped the shadows, and Karnice yelled, ¡°What are you doing! Lay down, fool! Let me take you back to the citadel!¡± Panic tinged his words, and as he cried thest word, he desperately drove his spear into the darkness cloaking Victor¡¯s enormous form.

    Victor felt the spear as it bit into his shoulder, felt it slide off the bones, and sh away some of the shadow flesh cloaking them. He chuckled¡ªnot a bit of pain had apanied the blow. What did hurt was the way his body was stretching, cracking, and bursting apart. It wasn¡¯t as bad as the first time; he was still Berserk, and his body was far more durable than before. More than that, he knew what was happening¡ªthe fear-attuned Energy was coursing through his pathways, sharing the wide channels with hot rage.

    As he shifted and stretched, his flesh fell away to be reced with shadows, and his fingers elongated into bony talons. He screeched, roared, and bellowed, the noises echoing off the stone-faced buildings nearby. Karnice stabbed him repeatedly, then he began tounch Energy attacks, trying to stun or disable him, trying to interrupt whatever process Victor was going through.

    Victor¡¯s belt did its work, though, absorbing those red spears of Energy, those grasping ws of fiery magma that rose from the ground. His armor deflected blow after ncing blow from that spear. Va, pale and sweaty with fear of her own, also did her part to buy him time. She danced around from behind his huge, shadowy cocoon andshed out with Midnight, trying to distract Karnice.

    The Vesh champion was initially annoyed, allowing himself to be distracted by her attacks. She scored several blows, hacking a deep cut in his leg, and stabbing Midnight into his ribs, only to have her sword caught short by his thick, metallic armor.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need you alive, bitch,¡± Karnice growled, and then he turned from his assault on Victor tounch an all-out attack on Va, his spear dancing and weaving, stabbing and shing. She put up her barrier of wind and electricity, the one Tes had taught her, and she backpedaled, parrying with a skill beyond her tier. Karnice pursued her, his fury redirected, momentarily forgetting Victor.

    All of this, Victor was aware of. While he lurked in his cloak of shadows, painfully changing as he underwent the transformation of his Aspect of Terror, he kept himself cognizant of his inner self with the fury of his rage-attuned Energy. Each time he started to slip into fantasies of feasting on the bright spirits around him, he refocused himself with the rage he felt at Karnice. He watched as the Coloss champion sted him with spells; he watched as Karnice bullied Va, and he worked to force his heart to share the dual facets of the Energy coursing through him; his fury toward Karnice allowed for only one target for his hunger for terror.

    In the gray, colorless expanse of Coloss, where countless bright spirits lingered behind stones and watched from a distance, he observed the nearby zing spirit as it battered and bullied the smaller, bright, silvery spirit. He knew that spirit. He¡¯d tasted it before, and while he¡¯d love to taste it again, he knew he couldn¡¯t. No, his fury would allow only one feast today. He refocused on the more formidable target and saw the dark terror-attuned spear that it swung about, trying to tear the Energy out of the small one.

    Time to put a stop to this, Victor decided. He stretched out of his cocoon of shadows, allowing them to ripple and flow along his lengthy limbs and terrible, lupine form. He was huge, bigger than when he¡¯d transformed before, bigger than when he¡¯d simply taken on the aspect of a Quinametzin.

    Victor was a nightmare made of shadow and bone, and strangely, the shadows that once clung to him like ck, flowing fur now coated his great body like dark feathers. His snout was long and ended in a hooked beak. The zing red, rage-filled eyes in his terrible skull glowered like menacingnterns as he lifted his head and howled such an awful sound that Karnice fell to one knee and ducked his head before he mustered the strength of will to turn toward the sound.

    Victor felt nothing but hunger and fury, and when he saw his target fall to the ground, he leaped upon him, grasping him by the shoulders with razored talons and bearing him down to the cobbles with the weight of his massive form. The spirit was bright, full of vibrant Energy, and as the terror bloomed within it, Victor feasted, pulling it in, growing stronger, despite its thrashing, despite its desperate attempts to harm him. With each heaving pull, Victor grew more potent, and the spirit grew weaker, more feeble.

    More than that, Victor could feel the waves of fear from those lurking nearby. He could feel them making him stronger, feeding his hunger, and he began to contemte feasting upon more than just the spirit beneath him. As it grew weaker and his desire never diminished, Victor felt his rage fading; why had he even been enraged? What was the point of anger when he was so hungry? He nced up from his feeble, twitching prey and saw the bright, silvery spirit still lurking nearby, still exuding soft waves of fear. It watched him, and he felt his hunger intensify. ¡°No,¡± he grunted, ¡°She. Not it. Va.¡±

    With a roar and a gasp, Victor pushed more of his rage into his pathways. Then he started to mp down on the fear-attuned Energy that had surged so powerfully into him, flooding his pathways and Core, driving the dark, purple-ck orb to new surging heights, nearly overshadowing his other affinities. He pulled it back, pushed it down, and as the fear left his pathways, his rage surged hot, and he regained himself.

    The shadows fell away from Victor¡¯s body, and the strange fear-monster aspect with them. He hunched over Karnice, the man¡¯s face ghost-white, his spear rolling over the cobbles, fallen from his listless, twitching fingers. Victor looked up at Va, crouched behind a nearby overturned wagon, and felt an ufortable surge of guilt; he hated that he¡¯d made her afraid again.

    He lurched to his feet, still struggling with the duality of his mind, then lifted Lifedrinker from her harness and, not trusting Karnice to stay down, he stepped to the side and brought her down with a terrible wet crunch onto the brassy, rune-etched te on Karnice¡¯s chest.

    Lifedrinker¡¯s edge bit into the metal but didn¡¯t prate it. Still, with Victor¡¯s enormous strength and her sturdy, heavy axehead, he¡¯d bent the metal into a concave shape. Karnice gasped and sputtered a bloody cough, and Victor lifted Lifedrinker again, smashing the dense metal further into the man¡¯s chest. Again, crunching, wet sounds erupted from the blow, and Karnice, already nearly drained into aa, stopped coughing, and his eyes grew ssy.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Victor growled, motioning for Va to follow him.

 Book 4: Chapter 46: "Home"

    Book 4: Chapter 46: "Home"

    ¡°Wait!¡± Va called from behind Victor. He slowed, a little frustrated; his impulse, his instinct, was to hurry, to get to Boaegh¡¯s tower and get off this world. He didn¡¯t want to look back at Va, didn¡¯t want to see what he¡¯d done. It wasn¡¯t that he regretted killing Karnice; it was a nebulous guilty feeling deep in his gut as though he¡¯d done something wrong, even though he was pretty sure he¡¯d only attacked the champion spearman.

    He turned, though, and looked at Va, saw her wide, imploring eyes, and, though some haunting fear still lurked behind them, they were bright. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Take his spears! Take his rings! He was wealthy in this world!¡± She walked from around the wagon toward Karnice¡¯s corpse, and Victor had the presence of mind to wonder why no Energy was gathering around it.

    ¡°Is he dead?¡± He started back toward the body and the scene of his transformation and battle.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Va picked up the dark spear, the one that seemed like a dark stain in the air. ¡°This spear . . . I¡¯m amazed you didn¡¯t die.¡±

    Victor looked around, saw the deserted street, not even a hint of activity behind windows or doors, and the nature of his guilt hit home. He¡¯d drained some Energy from the people watching the fight. Though he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d killed or even hurt anyone overmuch with it, they¡¯d been coteral damage and were probably still shaken by the nature of his Aspect of Terror.

    He reached out for the spear. Va released it with a shudder, and he felt the dark pulse of a kindred attunement. Entwined with the weapon''s metal were deep, dense threads of dark Energy, darker than the fear in his Core; this spear was steeped in dread. ¡°He tried to kill me with dread¡ªa cousin to my fear. I didn¡¯t even feel it.¡±

    Victor slipped the spear into his ring, then walked over to grasp the haft of the silvery spear he¡¯d driven into the road. Again, he sent it into his dimensional container and chuckled, wondering why Karnice hadn¡¯t thought of that. Maybe he hadn¡¯t cared; maybe he¡¯d thought the dark spear was a better weapon with which to kill him.

    ¡°He has two rings; we can study themter. Here.¡± Va tossed the rings to him, and Victor nodded, stuffing them into his pocket. Then, impulsively, he reached down, took Va¡¯s hand, and began to jog toward the nearby southwestern corner of the city wall. Va didn¡¯t resist but clutched his fingers with her small hand and ran along with him. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you killed him, Victor. He had to be more than tier eight.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. His will was weak. When he walked toward me, I saw fear in his eyes and knew I had him.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Va said, squeezing his hand again. When he nced at her, a puzzled look in his eyes, she added, ¡°For warning me. For telling me you wouldn¡¯t harm me. I almost ran, but I believed you.¡± She paused, looking around, then said, ¡°The streets are empty. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s because of your fight with Karnice. Something big is happening back at Blue¡¯s estate.¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± Victor turned around a corner and was hit with the stench of charnel as the abattoir Tes had told him about came into view. It was a long, wooden warehouse-like building with stinking, fly-coated drainage canals that ran from its interior toward grates in the cobbled street. Victor held a sleeve to his face as he ran past, straight toward the squat, square building with the pennant-grasping gargoyles. They¡¯d made it to Boaegh¡¯s tower.

    <strong>#</strong>

    ¡°Youckeys may flee. The warlord and I will conduct some small business, and then I¡¯ll be gone, and he will be free.¡± Tes¡¯s words rumbled out of her massive maw, and she watched as Blue, ck, and the remaining members of the warlord¡¯s Fist nced at the defeated, crestfallen man. He stood stoically, staring at the ground, his great, silver sword still clutched in his white-knuckled hands. When he didn¡¯t say anything, they fled, taking hisck of protest as confirmation enough.

    Still enormous and still coated in shimmering, electrified blue scales, Tes leaned her great head down so her hot breaths ruffled the warlord¡¯s disarrayed, dirty feathers. Her scythelike teeth, slick with saliva, slid against each other as she said, ¡°Come, Warlord. Let us visit your citadel. Before I leave this ce, I¡¯ll have the mixture your court Artificer has devised. I¡¯ll know how you and your ilk have been stealing bloodlines all these many years.¡±

    The warlord frowned, but he didn¡¯t speak. Tes chuckled, then lurched upward, shifting her weight onto her enormous rear legs. She snatched the white-feathered man up in her forew, and, with a great surge of Energy and physical power, she flexed her silver-blue wings and burst into the air, scattering the corpses of those who¡¯d died assaulting her.

    Ten secondster, she was gliding toward the vast courtyard before the citadel, and when shended, Tes didn¡¯t bother trying to be gentle. She tore up a hundred cobbles with diamond-hard ws as she slid to a stop. The guards who stood watch at the gigantic gateway looked terrified, leveling their spears her way, so Tes gave them a true roar, unleashing her full aura. As the terrible sound split the air and they felt her power, the men panicked and ran, not a single one able to resist enough to even think of closing the gates.

    Tes set the warlord down, and, as he stumbled, shaken from the quick journey and her rough treatment, she growled, ¡°I¡¯ll revert to my less formidable form. Do not think of returning to your previous hostilities. My mercy has run its course.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    A great roar split the air of the city as Victor and Va approached the door to the tower. ¡°Tes,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yes. She lives, and she¡¯s giving the warlord hell.¡± His voice carried his relief, and Va, still clutching his hand, looked up at him with moist eyes.

    ¡°I felt so guilty running from that fight. I was so worried about her. Should we go back?¡±

    Victor shook his head. ¡°She¡¯s fine. I hope she can find us again, but we can¡¯t hang around here, Va. As much as I want to try to help her, if she¡¯s still fighting with the warlord or his captains . . .¡± Victor sighed and slipped Lifedrinker into her harness, then rubbed at his head, staring at the tower. ¡°No, they¡¯re on a different level, and I can¡¯t expect to get lucky with them as I did with Karnice. She wanted us to get away. The whole reason she¡¯s fighting is so we can get out.¡±

    ¡°I know you¡¯re right, but running still feels wrong.¡± Va nced over her shoulder, and her eyes widened. She yelled, ¡°Get ready!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Victor whirled, reaching for his axe, but then he saw what she¡¯d meant. A thick wave of silvery, purple Energy was rushing toward them, and before he could so much as take a deep breath, it smashed into his chest. As he was lifted into the air in a paroxysm of euphoria, he saw Va, too, lifted up. The Energy coursed through him, replenishing, restoring, and improving him, and when he fell back to his feet, still standing on the stoop of Boaegh¡¯s tower, the System had left him several messages:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 47 Titanic Herald, gained 12 strength, 22 vitality, 12 dexterity, 12 agility, 12 intelligence, and 12 will.***</strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have learned the spell: Aspect of Terror - Improved.***</strong>

    <strong>***Aspect of Terror - Improved: Prerequisite: Affinity - Fear or rted affinity. You change your appearance to represent something terrifying. While you wear this illusion, you will passively harvest and cultivate fear-attuned Energy emanating from those who perceive you and cannot resist your will. You begin to understand the nature of fear, recognizing it in others and mastering it within yourself. Energy Cost: Minimum 100 - scble. Cooldown: Long.***</strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have gained a new feat: Challenger.***</strong><strong></strong>

    <strong>***Challenger: Time and time again, you have faced those with power that outweighs your own, and you have prevailed. Your unique abilities, affinities, and personal determination have made you a formidable foe. Henceforth, your aura will carry extra weight, and those who suffer its full impact will have to work hard to resist nagging doubts and fears. Effect: Your enemies, especially those of greater level and power, will find their resistance to fear reduced.***</strong>

    ¡°Two levels!¡± Va announced.

    ¡°Hell yeah! Nice one, Va.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, though; you did most of the work against Karnice . . .¡±

    ¡°Because the System saw how important you were in that fight. You kept him off me while I figured out my Aspect of Terror. Anyway, c¡¯mon,¡± Victor walked up to the door and mmed his fist against the wood. It opened almost immediately, and a brown-robed man stood before them, his reptilian face deep in the folds of the hood.

    ¡°I wondered how long you¡¯d stand out there.¡± His voice was sibnt, more so than the other Yazzians Victor had met.

    ¡°Are you Hark?¡± He pressed forward, pulling Va with him into the tower.

    ¡°I am . . .¡±

    ¡°Time to open the portal. Tes says your debt will be repaid as soon as we get through it.¡±

    Hark backed up a few steps and peered through the still-open door. Victor, meanwhile, examined the dim, stone antechamber. Hallways led away to the left and right, and a circr stairway led upward. ¡°She said that? My debt will be forgiven?¡±

    ¡°Yes. What do you owe her, anyway?¡± Victor moved past him and mmed the heavy wooden door closed.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t know, then it¡¯s not my ce to say. Come. The ritual is prepared; I simply need to activate it.¡± He started for the stairs, and Victor and Va followed.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Tes followed the warlord through his citadel, walking a pace or two behind, her body rxed but her mind sharp and ready. He was a dangerous man, this warlord, especially here in his seat of power. Still, she¡¯d thoroughly humiliated him and crushed his strongest retainers. She didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be foolish enough to try her again.

    Before she¡¯d constrained herself, binding her flesh with ropes of powerful Energy, she¡¯d reached out with her senses and found that Blue and ck were lurking together in a deep cer beneath Blue¡¯s estate. The Fist was simrly scattered, all but the big oaf, Tronk, who she¡¯d felt in the southern part of the city.

    Tes grinned, imagining the big, likable fellow drinking away the memory of his part in her attempted abduction. She could forgive him, for she¡¯d felt little resistance as she tore apart his portion of the, and he was in league with ck. Someday he maye to Victor¡¯s aid when the titan-blood returned to set this world on a new course.

    Victor and Va had been safe when she reached out; she¡¯d felt them both hale and full of Energy near Boaegh¡¯s tower. Tes¡¯s biggest regret when it came to those two was theck of a proper goodbye; she¡¯d have loved to go with them to see their world briefly before returning home to face her judgment. If she weren¡¯t wrong, Victor¡¯s rapid growth and potential for disruption would likely see the System sending a tribtion or two his way.

    She sighed, shaking her head; the poor thing had been through so much already! She certainly wished she could have spent a bit more time with him. Still, Victor had nearly mastered one of her spells, a true dragon working, and if he learned from that experience, there was no telling what he might aplish. Some of his spells were quite powerful¡ªwith the proper alterations and enhancements . . . ¡°Ah-ah, dear Warlord. Please don¡¯t step too far ahead. Isn¡¯t the tunnel to your Artificer¡¯sir just ahead?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± the man snarled, having found his voice and a touch of courage again when Tes took up her human aspect. ¡°You know,¡± he said, over his shoulder as he ducked into the narrow tunnel, ¡°Karnice was set on watch to wrangle that boy of yours should he run free. The man¡¯s not gentle . . .¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, Warlord. Your prizefighter has been in.¡±

    The warlord stumbled to a stop, reaching out a hand to the tunnel wall, and he barked a shortugh, ¡°Impossible! Wait! Did you y him?¡±

    ¡°No, no, that was all Victor.¡±

    ¡°But Karnice was a champion, high-tier, at that!¡± The warlord began to stumble forward again, shaking his head. ¡°Who helped him?¡±

    ¡°None, save perhaps hisdy friend, Va. Karnice was a bad match for Victor, Warlord. The man had a pitiful will. His skillset was lovely when it came to arranged fights against his noble friends¡ªmen and women he¡¯d studied exhaustively. Against a true killer, though? A man built for destruction? An iron-willed juggernaut of terror? Hah, he likely copsed and suffered an ignoble fate. A pity we couldn¡¯t have put the battle on disy for the city in the arena. Still, I imagine some witnessed the fight, and the tale will travel.¡±

    The warlord was silent as they continued through the tunnels, and even when they stepped through the doorway into Fough¡¯sboratory, he didn¡¯t speak. Tes wasn¡¯t surprised to find Fough on his knees waiting for them¡ªthe man knew better than to flee her. With a surge of her aura and whip of pure primal wind Energy, she pushed the warlord to the ground beside him. She announced, allowing some of her draconic pride and cruelty to taint her voice, ¡°If you are quick to provide me the materials and design documentation for the ritual meant to steal my bloodline, I will leave you with only a small reminder of my wrath.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    The top room of Boaegh¡¯s tower was a bare, square, stone-walled room. High, narrow windows allowed diffuse light to fall on the marble floor, illuminating an interwoven spiral patternid out in ck and red sand, punctuated with glowing amber gems at the intersections of lines. Hark stopped short of stepping into the pattern, pausing near the top of the stairway. He said, ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re ready? I won¡¯t hold the portal open long, for the warlord has forbidden such magic.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and don¡¯t worry about the warlord. I¡¯m pretty sure he has his hands full.¡± Victor stepped to the edge of the lines of sand and said, ¡°I just wish we could¡¯ve spent these dumb prize tokens.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Va said, ¡°if you actuallye back someday, we can spend them with merchants in this city or others. They¡¯re highly valued.¡±

    ¡°We?¡± Victor grinned at Va.

    ¡°I . . . well, maybe!¡± Va shrugged.

    ¡°It¡¯s true about the tokens,¡± Hark added, unbidden. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, how many do you have?¡±

    ¡°Between the two of us? Like forty.¡±

    ¡°Ah! A true fortune. You¡¯re right, though¡ªsuch wealth will be useful should you ever return to this world. You could raise an army with that many. A small one, at least.¡±

    Victor felt an urgency in his gut, and while Hark spoke, he began to pace back and forth. Finally, he said, ¡°Right. Sorry, Hark, but we¡¯re in a hurry. I feel like we need to get going. Can you open the portal?¡±

    ¡°Of course. The sooner, the better¡ªI don¡¯t want the warlord or his captains to learn of my involvement. As I said, I¡¯ll be closing the portal right behind you.¡± Hark moved forward and gingerly reached down to touch one of the ck sand lines with his left hand, and then he gently ced his right hand onto a red sand line. Victor felt a surge of Energy pour out of him, and then, at the center of the pattern, an oval rip in the universe appeared, wreathed in crackling orange mes.

    It was about seven feet high and three feet wide at the center, and Victor shivered at the idea of stepping into it¡ªsomething about the empty darkness beyond it reminded him of open space. ¡°Is it safe?¡± he asked, btedly wondering if he could trust this Geomancer, a one-time student of the arch-asshole Boaegh.

    ¡°Certainly!¡±

    Va reached up, took Victor¡¯s hand in hers, and said to Hark, ¡°Tes will kill you if this portal is anything other than what you¡¯ve promised.¡±

    ¡°It is not a trick!¡± Hark wailed, apparently quite fearful at the mention of Tes¡¯s wrath. ¡°This is the doorway Boaegh used to venture to your world.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Make sure you destroy this pattern. Don¡¯t tell anyone you know how to open it.¡± Victor squeezed Va¡¯s fingers, then stepped toward the portal. ¡°Ready?¡± he asked, pausing before it.

    ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s go home.¡± She licked her lips nervously and looked up at him, mustering a brave smile. The choker at her neck glinted in the portal''s light, and Victor was once again struck by how pretty she was. He smiled, squeezed her hand, and stepped into the shimmering gateway.

    <strong>Status</strong>

    <strong>Name:</strong>

    <strong>Victor Sandoval</strong>

    <strong>Race:</strong>

    <strong>Human (Quinametzin Bloodline) - Advanced 2</strong>

    <strong>ss:</strong>

    <strong>Titanic Herald - Legendary</strong>

    <strong>Level:</strong>

    <strong>47</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Spirit ss - Advanced 2</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>3.1, Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Inspiration 7.4</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>9274/9274</strong>

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>202</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>302 (332)</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>82</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>105</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>74</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>455</strong>

    <strong>Points Avable:</strong>

    <strong>0</strong>

    <strong>Titles & Feats:</strong>

    <strong>Titanic Rage, Ancestral Bond, me-Touched, Titanic Constitution, Titanic Presence, Desperate Grace, Challenger</strong>

    <strong>Skills:</strong>

    <strong>System Language Integration</strong>

    <strong>Not Upgradeable</strong>

    <strong>Spirit Core Cultivation Drill</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Cooking</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Animal Taming</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Unarmed Combat</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Knife Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Spear Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Bludgeon Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Axe Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Grappling</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Sovereign Will</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Titanic Leap</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Spells:</strong>

    <strong>Iron Berserk</strong>

    <strong>Epic</strong>

    <strong>Channel Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Inspiring Presence</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Enraging Orb</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Globe of Insight</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Project Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Dauntless Radiance</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Heroic Heart</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Spirit Walk</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Tether Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Manifest Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Shape Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Harsh Light of Justice</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>The Inevitable Huntsman</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Aspect of Terror</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Imbue Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Honor the Spirits</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Titanic Aspect</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

 Book 5: Chapter 1: Fainhallow

    Book 5: Chapter 1: Fainhallow

    For the first time, as he passed through a world portal, Victor didn¡¯t feel alone; the whole way through, he felt Va clutching his hand. He couldn¡¯t see her, couldn¡¯t even see himself, really, but he could feel her warm, tight grip, and it kept his mind from spiraling away with his doubts, hopes, and fears. As a circle of light rapidly approached out of the void, growingrger with each heartbeat, he stared at it, trying to see through. Despite his efforts, he could only get an impression of hard stone and bright blue.

    As the circle grew to the size of a window and then to a doorway and, in the blink of an eye, passed around them, Victor and Va stumbled out onto a hard, dusty white marble dais. The air was crisp, almost cold, a sharp departure from Coloss¡¯s sweltering heat. The breeze smelled fresh and rich, and Victor was put at ease by the pale blue sky and high fluffy clouds. As he let his gaze drift down from the heavens, he came to realize that he and Va were standing high among mountaintops and, not far away, a walled town or enormous keep sat against the mountainside, colorful pennants pping in the wind from its many gabled towers.

    ¡°Fainhallow,¡± Va said. Victor looked down at her and saw her gazing at the walled keep. She gave his hand a final squeeze and then let go, walking down the stone steps of the dais toward an enormous, arching span of stone that crossed the chasm between their mountaintop and the one on which the keep and its outbuildings sat.

    ¡°Fainhallow?¡± Victor asked, following her down the steps.

    ¡°The academy. It¡¯s not too far from Persi Gables as the crow flies. It might take us a week to hike down out of the mountains, though.¡±

    ¡°Yeah? I feel like people have mentioned this ce before, but I don¡¯t remember what about.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a well-respected school for studying the arts of magic, from spell crafting to alchemy. I¡¯d say it¡¯s basically a boarding school for rich brats whose families have too much money and not enough patience.¡±

    Victor looked up at the gray-white stone walls and the high towers with their pping pennants, and his mind started drifting toward old movies, VR experiences, and games he¡¯d yed revolving around magical schools. ¡°Shit, I haven¡¯t thought about games in a long time,¡± he muttered. At Va¡¯s arched eyebrow, he added, ¡°Lots of stories about magical schools from my world. So, like, are there kids here, or it¡¯s more for adults?¡±

    ¡°Young adults, generally, though some noble families view their young as exceedingly special and might send them here as adolescents. Rellia wasn¡¯t fond of the ce; she favored real-world experience and conflict.¡± As she spoke, Va began to climb a second set of steps toward the stone archway, and Victor followed. Up close, the archway was evenrger than it had first seemed¡ªif he walked toward the middle of it, he doubted he¡¯d be able to see over the edges, which was just fine by him.

    ¡°You think they can help us get down to Persi Gables faster?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m certain of it. If we can¡¯t use one of the portals, we can at least wait for their next supply ship.¡± She looked Victor in the eye and rified, ¡°Airship.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± he nodded, walking beside her onto the span, wondering how such a long stretch of curved stone had been put into ce¡ªit had to be half a mile long. ¡°I suppose some earth elemental caster built this bridge?¡±

    ¡°Probably,¡± Va nodded. She gave him another look and then asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t finished mastering Tes¡¯s spell for resizing yourself, have you?¡±

    ¡°Uh, between running from the warlord, killing Karnice, and stepping into the portal that brought us here?¡±

    ¡°I meant before that! I couldn¡¯t remember how far you¡¯d gotten with it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m close, but no.¡± Victor paused, considering, then asked, ¡°Why? You think they¡¯re going to react badly to my size in there?¡± He knew he was verging on giant-sized even without using his Titanic Aspect spell. Judging by how he towered over Va, Victor figured he was probably more than eight feet tall.

    ¡°No, not necessarily, but you¡¯ll have to duck through many doorways.¡± As they strolled along the bridge, Victor working hard to match Va¡¯s much shorter strides, he saw her look down at herself, then over at Victor, and she added, ¡°We¡¯ll be respected here. If not for my family name, then for our power. Victor, we were strong fish who spent some time in the ocean, and now we¡¯re back in our little pond. Our armor, our weapons, alone, are likely without peer in this world.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d I learned to hold in my aura.¡±

    ¡°As am I!¡± Va chuckled. ¡°You just gained two levels, yes? I imagine your control is even greater. I¡¯ll wager you¡¯ll master Tes¡¯s spell next time you really work at it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, you¡¯re pushing tier six. Not many people that rank on Fanwath, are there?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t believe there are.¡± Va stood very straight as she rested her hand on Midnight¡¯s pommel. Victor reflexively reached down to let his palm brush Lifedrinker¡¯s haft. Smiling, feeling good about their aplishments, he looked up and noted two chainmail-d guards holding long metal pikes standing outside the gates ahead. ¡°Victor,¡± Va said, ¡°Perhaps rx your hold on your aura just a bit. Let them have a taste, but don¡¯t crush them with it.¡±

    Victor frowned, ¡°You think intimidation is the way to start? I¡¯d rather try being friendly first.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Va, too, frowned, but she relented, ¡°I¡¯ll follow your lead in the conversation then.¡±

    They were still a hundred yards or so from the far end of the stone bridge, so Victor¡¯s mind had time to wander again, and he asked, ¡°Do you think Tes is okay? She was going to give me a means to contact her but never got around to it.¡±

    ¡°She has your blood. She knows what world we¡¯vee to; if she wants to meet or speak with us, she¡¯ll find a way. As far as her being okay . . . I hope so. I think so; if she couldn¡¯t beat the warlord or get him to stand down, I¡¯m sure she¡¯d be able to escape.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I agree.¡± Victor remembered how Tes had given Va and Barn potions that would turn them into smoke so they could escape danger. If she could whip something like that up, there was no way she wouldn¡¯t have her own mechanisms to escape danger. The thought, at least, wasforting, and Victor found his lips curling into a smile as he pictured Tes and imagined how she was probably sipping one of her potent alcohols, wondering what trouble Victor was getting into. ¡°Speaking of trouble . . .¡± he muttered as he saw the big, furry Vodkin guardsman stepping forward, his pike leveled toward the two of them as they approached.

    ¡°Halt! This is a ce of learning and study, and we want no trouble!¡±

    ¡°Calm . . .¡± Va started to say, but Victor rested a big hand on her shoulder.

    ¡°You said I could lead the conversation,¡± he said, interrupting her. Va smiled crookedly, then gestured toward the guard as if in invitation.

    ¡°Hello, good sir!¡± Victor said jovially. ¡°We don¡¯t intend any trouble.¡±

    The Vodkin¡¯s bristling fur settled a bit. His stern expression softened, making his big, moist, ck eyes more cute than intimidating, especially as his whiskers twitched and wriggled beneath his button nose. Victor had known a few Vodkin reasonably well, and he knew they could get angry and were quite tough, but they certainly had a disadvantage when it came to intimidation. ¡°Please dere yourselves; what¡¯s your business in Fainhallow?¡±

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re just passing through, really. We traveled here through a world portal and need to get down to Persi Gables. We can pay for assistance . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Va ap¡¯Yensha, and this is Victor, War Leader of my n. You needn¡¯t fear us, for my Lady Rellia ap¡¯Yensha is a Fainhallow alumnus and donor.¡± Va held up her family si ring, one Victor had only seen her disy twice before, and, at her words, the guard immediately lifted his pike, striking the butt into the cobbles and saluting.

    ¡°Wee to Fainhallow, ma¡¯am and sir! I am Guardsman Barnt, and I¡¯ve heard of you, mdy! I served in the Legion for a good many years.¡±

    ¡°Ah, well met then, Guardsman Barnt. May we pass?¡±

    ¡°O¡¯course! Stand aside, Klym. Let these two pass!¡±

    Victor followed Va past Barnt and the much smaller, blue-skinned Klym, and when they stepped through the gatehouse, he muttered, ¡°I thought you were going to let me . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Victor, but I¡¯m eager to get home.¡± Va offered him a smile, and he couldn¡¯t find the energy to be upset with her.

    ¡°War Leader, huh?¡±

    ¡°I thought it exined you the most easily. I could have gone on about your home world or your various feats and aplishments. I thought of calling you the Champion of Coloss, considering you bested Karnice.¡±

    Victor sputtered, unsure how to react, finally settling on a snort ofughter. He opened his mouth to reply but found his mind drifting away from the conversation as he took in the courtyard beyond the gate; he¡¯d been gone from Fanwath long enough that the various peoples seemed odd to him again¡ªslight, blue Ardeni, lithe Ghelli with their dragonfly wings, tall, proud, red-skinned Shadeni, and here and there, glimpses of rarer species¡ªfloating, alien Onaghi, severe, gray, ck-eyed Ilyathi, tiny, painted Bogoli, and even a goat-like Cadwalli.

    The square was crowded, and everyone seemed cheerful, festive, even. Victor towered over everyone, and though he and Va were dressed in fine, beautiful armor, he felt they were very out of ce wearing it with weapons on disy, especially Victor with his glowering helm. Still, he¡¯d been ambushed once too oftentely for him to want to remove it, and he didn¡¯t mind that people gave the pair of them a wide berth.

    They passed through the market and followed the road, really the only proper street inside the walls that Victor could see, and soon they were approaching the central building, which had to be Fainhallow¡¯s main, original structure. ¡°It¡¯s strange to be back,¡± Va said.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been here?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes¡ªnot to study, but to see off cousins and pick them up for holidays. Rellia often sent me to see how the ¡®softer¡¯ members of our family were living. I¡¯m sure it was meant to teach me some sort of deeper lesson, but all it really did was make me resentful.¡±

    ¡°I can see how that might happen,¡± Victor chuckled, gazing around at the manicuredwns and tall brick and stone buildings constructed in a gothic style,plete with stained ss windows and gargoyles. Clusters of what had to be students walked here and there, some in gray robes while others were in blue or maroon. As Victor and Va approached the big open hallway leading into the main building, students hurried out of their way, some stopping to gape openly.

    ¡°You¡¯re making your usual impression,¡± Va chuckled.

    Victor shrugged, admiring the inside of the building as they climbed the steps. He saw great wooden beams, many-colored sprays of lighting from the stained-ss windows, and high chandeliers,rge enough to require wrist-sized chains to hold them aloft. The space was bright, cavernous, and full of intriguing art, from tapestries to portraits, but before he could take the time to really look at them, a loud,manding voiceing from somewhere around his knees got him to look down.

    ¡°Pardon me! I didn¡¯t know we were expecting dignitaries today!¡± A white-painted Bogoli, no more than three feet tall, wearing silky ck robes, stood looking up at them with blue, crystal-like eyes.

    ¡°Hello,¡± Va said. ¡°We weren¡¯t nning this visit; a world portal we traversed opened onto your tform across the chasm.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Well, I¡¯m Professor Yunsha. I can help you, or,¡± she nced searchingly up at Victor, a strange expression in her eyes, ¡°was there someone else you sought to speak with?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Va said. ¡°We just need guidance on the fastest way down to Persi Gables. Do you have any active portals?¡±

    Yunsha held a thumb to her chin, thinking. After a moment, she scowled and waved away a pair of Ghelli wearing blue robes, ¡°Get to ss, you two! Haven¡¯t you been mixed up with enough excitementtely, Adaida?¡±

    ¡°Apologies, professor,¡± the auburn-haired, pale young woman said, ducking her head. Victor thought she was very beautiful, but something about her looked strange; her skin was wan, and her eyes seemed almost haunted, despite their bright, amber color. She stared up at Victor, her expression hard to read, but he swore he saw something like puzzled recognition there. The other woman, slightly taller, with blonde hair, grabbed hold of Adaida¡¯s elbow and pulled her away, deeper into the building, ncing over her shoulder with a sharp scowl at Yunsha.

    ¡°As I was saying, the only portal open at the moment is the one to the new human colony. I could send missives to some of the noble families in Persi Gables to ask if they¡¯d be willing to open . . .¡±

    ¡°What colony?¡± Victor interrupted, his voice rumbling in an unintentional growl.

    ¡°Oh, the humans. They¡¯re new to Fanwath. One of them is a student here¡ªquite gifted. She¡¯s off investigating some trouble down by Persi Gables. In any case, she and some others of her kind have set up a portal here that leads back to their settlement.¡±

    ¡°Humans?¡± Victor repeated. Va had gone quiet, her eyes narrowed, turning to look at Victor with an expression he couldn¡¯t read.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I said. Are you familiar with them? I believe they''ve had some small dealings with Gelica and Persi Gables and some frontier towns, of course.¡±

    ¡°How did they get here?¡± Victor was struggling to process the information, struggling to make sense of the strange little woman¡¯s words.

    ¡°Oh goodness! Are we to stand in this hallway all day while I fill you in on these matters? Is it so important to you?¡± Her frown softened as she took in Victor¡¯s expression and nced over his figure, from his armor to his axe, to his enormous size. ¡°I apologize, sir.¡± She turned back to Va, ¡°I¡¯d invite you to sit in my office so we could speak morefortably, but your friend would struggle with the furniture. Perhaps we could walk about the grounds? There¡¯s a lovely fountain with a spacious bench not far away.¡±

    ¡°That sounds nice, Professor, and yes, this matter is quite important to my friend here.¡±

    ¡°Very well,¡± she said, striding around Victor and Va and leading the way down the steps. ¡°Follow me, and we¡¯ll talk away from these crowds.¡±

    Victor had to move slowly to keep from walking over or past the little woman, but he suffered through it, waiting for news about something he¡¯d never thought to hear; humans were on Fanwath? The little Bogolidy led them down a side path between two more big stone buildings, and then they walked out over a manicuredwn toward a wrought iron gate that opened into a garden. Few students were around, at least at that time of day, and Yunsha began to speak again as they walked among the flowering shrubs.

    ¡°Humans came to Fanwath through the ckness of space from a world called Earth. They traveled on ships of technology. I¡¯m not sure exactly when they first settled down in the frontier, but it must be nearly two years ago by now. One of them, Olivia Be, is a student here, and . . .¡±

    ¡°Say that again?¡± Victor squatted down so he could look the woman in her gem-like eyes, and his voice was thick and intense.

    She shrank back from him but repeated, ¡°Olivia Be is a student . . .¡±

    ¡°Is this a fucking joke?¡± Victor stood up and shoved his fists against his head, staring at the sky, his eyes suddenly filled with water.

    ¡°What is it, Victor?¡± Va asked.

    ¡°Be. It was my mom¡¯sst name. Before she married my dad.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying . . .¡± Yunsha backed up, her eyes wide and her mouth twisting in a strange expression between shock and embarrassment, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir, but are you a human?¡±

    Victor snorted and turned, wanting to walk away, wanting to find a quiet ce to think before he lost his temper and did something stupid. Was he human? The question hurt more than it should, but only because it was something he¡¯d been wondering, too. Meanwhile, his mind was racing, trying to connect some dots he couldn¡¯t quite see. Be was his mom¡¯sst name, but he couldn¡¯t think of any cousins or aunts named Olivia. Could he? He traced his thoughts over the people in his memory, over his mom¡¯s sisters, her brother, and his wife, all of their kids, but he couldn¡¯t find anyone named Olivia.

    He felt a gentle hand grasp his wrist, and he stopped walking and looked down at Va. Suddenly his temper and his desire to retreat seemed stupid. This was a friend who cared about him and wanted to help. And before him was a chance to get some more answers. He nodded, forcing a smile, and turned back toward Yunsha, who still stood where he¡¯d left her in front of a lovely peach-colored flower bush. He walked back to her.

    ¡°Yes, Yunsha,¡± he said, again squatting to look at her more directly, ¡°I¡¯m a human, but I have a strong Titanic bloodline. Can you tell me about Olivia? About the humans? They came here through space? I don¡¯t get it¡ªonly a few astronauts were going into space when I left Earth. Some privatepanies were starting to build some kind of giant ship in orbit . . . I can¡¯t remember what it was called. I didn¡¯t pay attention; it was supposed to take decades.¡±

    ¡°How long have you been away, sir?¡± Yunsha was clearly ufortable having a giant man squatting before her, but she must have seen he wasn¡¯t angry, only desperately interested, so she bravely smiled as he answered.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Eight months? A year? More? I¡¯ve spent a lot of time traveling, fighting, and being a captive, so it¡¯s all a blur. I think it was summertime when I first arrived, though. I was summoned by an asshole down in Persi Gables . . . he had some material!¡± Victor looked at Va, ¡°Could he have summoned me with something from Olivia Be?¡±

    ¡°Quite possibly!¡± Yunsha said, answering for Va.

    ¡°You say your mother shared Olivia¡¯s surname?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but, like I said, I don¡¯t know an Olivia . . . and there weren¡¯t spaceships full of humans flying around the gxy . . .¡± He stood up and grasped his head again, then he looked at Va, his eyes widened in panic, and his voice rose in pained confusion, ¡°Jesus, Va, am I from the past?¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 2: Contracts and Conclusions

    Book 5: Chapter 2: Contracts and Conclusions

    ¡°From the past?¡± Va frowned, but Victor could see in her eyes that she was starting to connect the dots. ¡°You mean, the humans here could be from your world but from a different time. Or, more urately, you¡¯re from a different time?¡±

    ¡°Could that happen?¡± he asked, ncing from Va¡¯s narrowed eyes down to Professor Yunsha.

    ¡°I . . .¡± Yunsha gently tapped her white-painted chin. ¡°You were summoned?¡± Victor nodded, and she continued, ¡°I¡¯m not an expert on summoning magic, but using Energy to breach great distances could be tuned to also stretch through time. I¡¯ve read texts from more advanced worlds where such things urred¡ªcivilizations on the brink of disaster reaching back through time to pull forth a great hero. I was studying temporal paradoxes at the time, and it was a case study. If I recall, the author was of the opinion that a new timeline was created at the moment of the summoning . . .¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t concentrate on a lesson right now,¡± Victor growled, stood to his feet, and began to pace again. He wanted to rub at his hair, so he yanked off his helm and stored it away. ¡°Va, can you remember exactly what Rellia¡¯s investigator said about the material used to summon me?¡±

    ¡°Let me see,¡± Va said, bringing forth one of her notebooks. ¡°I have the messages and notes from Rellia here.¡± She spent a few moments flipping through the pages and then said, ¡°Aha! Originally, we simply knew that you were summoned using material from a ¡®particrly gifted student at Fainhallow.¡¯ It waster, though, when we questioned Boaegh¡¯s cabal member that we learned he was first hired by Lord ap¡¯Gravin.¡±

    ¡°Ap¡¯Gravin?¡± Yunsha¡¯s voice rose in disbelief or surprise; Victor wasn¡¯t sure which.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Do you know him? He¡¯s quite influential in this part of the Empire.¡± Va turned to look more directly at Yunsha, awaiting an answer.

    ¡°Lord ap¡¯Gravin, no. It¡¯s his son that I¡¯m quite familiar with¡ªProfessor ap¡¯Gravin.¡±

    At Yunsha¡¯s words, Victor felt a surge of heat in his Core, felt his pathways begin to fill with rage-attuned Energy and his control over his aura slipped as he whirled to face the diminutive woman with a growl. ¡°One of your fucking professors is responsible for yanking me from my world?¡±

    Yunsha nched. She stumbled back a few steps, and a shimmering, egg-shaped shell of crystalline Energy formed around her, not entirely transparent, but clear enough for Victor to see her zing gem-like eyes and her lips moving as she spoke, ¡°Contain yourself, sir! I don¡¯t wish to raise an rm, but if you intend violence, you¡¯ll find that we at Fainhallow are not easy victims!¡±

    Victor growled, slowly reaching for Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, but he felt Va move to stand next to him, and he took several deep breaths, trying to think of the right way to proceed. Attacking this little woman and all of Fainhallow by proxy didn¡¯t seem wise or warranted. ¡°I¡¯m not looking to fight a bunch of teachers and students, but I need to see this ap¡¯Gravin guy.¡±

    ¡°I can understand why, but I must speak to the Director and the Heads of ss. We must proceed delicately, for if ap¡¯Gravin is guilty of what you imply, he will likely attempt to flee or prepare a defense for your usations. Will you trust me enough to give me one night to seek counsel from those more knowledgeable than myself?¡±

    ¡°I think that¡¯s fair, Victor.¡± Va reached to grasp his wrist, the one resting on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft.

    ¡°It sounds fair, but how do I know this woman isn¡¯t ap¡¯Gravin¡¯s friend or aplice?¡±

    ¡°Easily,¡± she said, and suddenly the crystalline Energy shell fell away in a shower of glittering motes, and she produced a book and a quill. ¡°I¡¯ll write a binding contract. If I warn the professor or hisckeys, I¡¯ll suffer Energy death. That¡¯s how much my word is worth. In return, I ask that you agree to avoid violence in this academy.¡±

    ¡°For how long?¡± Victor lifted his hand from Lifedrinker and folded his massive arms over his chest.

    ¡°Indefinitely. . .¡±

    ¡°No. I¡¯ll agree to remain peaceful for two days. If I don¡¯t get some answers before that time is up, then I¡¯m going to take matters into my own hands.¡±

    ¡°Victor . . .¡± Va started to say, but Yunsha interrupted her.

    ¡°Very well. I think that¡¯s reasonable. We¡¯ll put a two-day limit on this contract.¡± She nodded and began rapidly scribbling out some runes and words on a nk page of her notebook, shimmery Energy shing with each quill stroke. Victor worked to cool himself down as she wrote, pushing his rage-attuned Energy back into his Core andboriously gathering up his aura and pulling it tight. He saw a crease between Yunsha¡¯s eyes where she¡¯d been scowling, slowly rx, but her makeup was indented from the intense expression.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Va sighed, giving his wrist another squeeze.

    ¡°There we are,¡± Yunsha said, ripping the page from her notebook. ¡°I¡¯ve already bonded with the contract. It only needs you to do the same.¡±

    ¡°This is a System-binding contract?¡± Va asked, reaching to take the page.

    ¡°It is. Feel free to examine it for duplicity. I was transparent in my wording.¡±

    Va scrutinized the page, then said, ¡°Victor, it says that you won¡¯t initiate any hostilities within the walls of Fainhallow until this time, two days hence. Yunsha has agreed to seek counsel about ap¡¯Gravin and to bring you answers without alerting him in the same amount of time.¡±

    ¡°Here.¡± Victor held out a hand, and Va passed him the contract. He looked it over and saw many magical runes that meant nothing to him mixed in with clear, easy-to-read words. What he could read was precisely what Va had said. He nodded and trickled some Energy into the paper.

    ***Alert! You are entering into a binding contract with Professor Yunsha of Fainhallow. Should either of you fail to uphold your agreement, you will suffer Energy atrophy that will lead to your slow decline and death. Do you wish to continue? YES/NO.***

    He studied the wording of Yunsha¡¯s contract again, trying to see any duplicity, but she¡¯d specifically said he wouldn¡¯t ¡°initiate¡± any violence, she¡¯d given the contract a two-day limit, and she¡¯d bound herself to it. He shrugged and selected the yes option. The page red brightly for a moment with the same silvery Energy Yunsha had used to inscribe it.

    ¡°Would you like to hold it, or shall I?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Let¡¯s have Va hold it.¡± Victor passed the contract to his friend, and she smiled, tucking it away in a dimensional container.

    ¡°Thank you for your patience and for agreeing to the binding contract, Victor. Would you two like to stay in the academy, or would you prefer the inn down by the square? It¡¯s a nice facility with many suites¡ªmost visiting families get rooms there when theye to Fainhallow.¡±

    Victor looked around the garden, over the hedges, at the big gray buildings with their fancy, gothic architecture, and he thought about all the students wandering around. He liked the ce fine, but he didn¡¯t really feel like having magical nerds ogling him while he hung around trying to figure out the mystery of his origins. He cleared his throat and said, ¡°We¡¯ll get a room down in the market. By the way, when¡¯s the next airship to Persi Gables?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good question, and I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t have the answer. If you ask at the inn, I¡¯m sure the innkeeper will be able to find out if any supply ships are inbound or leaving soon. Now, would you mind if we walked back toward the main road? I¡¯d like to start trying to get to the bottom of this little mystery.¡± Yunsha gestured toward the path leading to the central academy.

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor said, taking the lead. He heard Va and Yunsha speaking quietly behind him but tuned them out. He was irritated that he¡¯de upon this barrier with regard to finding answers about himself, but, on the other hand, he was also d that he¡¯d managed to control himself and had a substantial lead. Even if this Professor ap¡¯Gravin didn¡¯t give him the answers he wanted, he knew how to find his father, and Victor wasn¡¯t afraid to break some noble heads if he had to. He¡¯d feel a lot better about that than rampaging through a school.

    He paused at the garden gates while a group of young women, all wearing gray robes, hurried past, giving him rmed nces and tittering as they scurried down the path as though they¡¯d just witnessed something startling and crazy. He sighed heavily, looking down at his glittering wyrm-scale shirt, at his fine boots and pants, all clean, unscuffed, and whole. His armor had repaired itself so rapidly after he¡¯d yanked Karnice¡¯s spear out that he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d ever really noticed the hole.

    Were the students startled because he was an unusual sight or because he was a monstrosity of a man? He frowned, reached up, scratched the stubble on his chin, and continued walking. ¡°I¡¯m going to finish that damn spell tonight,¡± he muttered, taking long strides down the path, listening as Yunsha and Va¡¯s conversation faded even further.

    Victor was still trying to wrap his mind around the idea that, possibly, a distant rtive of his had been at this school, was still a student there, and that someone had taken some material from her to summon him. What was it? Blood? Hair? He shook his head, aware that he was thinking around the main problem with what he¡¯d learned¡ªthe humans hade from a civilization more advanced than his. Did he even want to meet them? If he were honest, he really didn¡¯t give a damn about them, except maybe this Olivia person.

    ¡°Olivia . . .¡± Victor frowned as, once again, he tried to run the name through his memory of cousins, aunts¡ªanyone. He shook his head as he came up with no answers again. Then, as he stepped off the garden path and onto the main road, his mind wandered to his abu, and he had to lean over, his hands on his knees, as a thought urred to him: if he was from the past, then his abu was surely long dead and buried. She¡¯d been old in Victor¡¯s time . . .¡±

    ¡°Victor?¡± Va asked, resting a hand on his shoulder and looking into his eyes. In his position, leaning over, they were almost on a level, eye to eye.

    ¡°My abu,¡± he said, his words thick with emotion, and reached up to rub at his eyes. Va stepped toward him and wrapped her arms around his big neck, pulling his chin toward her shoulder. She gently stroked the back of his head, brushing her hand over his thick, ck hair again and again.

    He was aware of the scene he was causing, a giant weeping man being consoled at the edge of the busy street, but he didn¡¯t give a shit. All the time he¡¯d been lost, fighting for his life, then,ter, exploring worlds and fighting in arenas, he¡¯d held a glimmer of hope in the back of his mind that he might see his grandma again. ¡°Hush, Victor, it¡¯s okay. We don¡¯t know anything yet.¡±

    ¡°I can feel it, Va. I think I¡¯m right. My abuelita . . .¡± his words choked off as his throat grew thick again.

    ¡°Come,¡± she said, still stroking his head. Dimly he was aware that Yunsha was standing to the side, a frown of concern on her face, but he ignored her. Va kept speaking, ¡°If you were summoned from the past, why not your gran? It¡¯s possible! Think about it!¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Victor sniffed, then straightened; his back was getting a kink in it from leaning over so long. He rubbed his forearm over his nose, ¡°I guess that¡¯s something to think about.¡± He looked around, his eyes a little bleary, and saw many students begin moving, talking in hushed voices as they scurried this way or that.

    ¡°You should head down to the square and get a room, sir,¡± Yunsha said. ¡°Word will be all over the academy soon about your . . . presence, and it''s best if people simply don¡¯t know who you are.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor sniffed again, then he held out his hand, immeasurablyforted and relieved when Va took it, and they began to walk away from the academy proper toward the merchant square. ¡°Thanks, Va.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. You aren¡¯t alone, you know. Many people in this world care about you. Now that you¡¯re back, you could try visiting with your Old Mother and Tha. I mean with your spirit magic.¡±

    ¡°Hey,¡± Victor said, his mood suddenly lifting, ¡°that¡¯s a damn good idea! Thanks.¡±

    She gave his hand a squeeze and replied, ¡°Of course. There are more, too. Lam, her little lieutenant, what was her name . . . Edeya? I met with her a few times before I came out to the ins to find you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± Victor nodded and spoke with more conviction, ¡°Let¡¯s go to Persi Gables as soon as possible, all right? I don¡¯t want to go to the human colony wherever it is. Not yet. We¡¯ve got work to do, and I feel like . . . I don¡¯t know; it will be too much of a distraction. How long have we got until we¡¯re supposed to start marching?¡±

    ¡°A matter of weeks. Less than a month. Rellia¡¯sst missive to me sounded strained; she grows worried we won¡¯t return in time.¡±

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t have to worry. We¡¯ll make it, and then we¡¯ll kick some ass in the Untamed Marches. First, we need to talk to this asshole professor, though.¡±

    Vaughed and said, ¡°There¡¯s the old Victor.¡± They¡¯d rounded the corner and entered the market square again. Colorful stands and carts crowded the area, leaving a narrow roadway for vehicles and people to traverse, and Va called out to a woman operating a table covered with wax products from soap to candles and asked, ¡°Excuse me, would you mind pointing us toward the inn?¡±

    ¡°Oh, surely,¡± the white-haired, matronly Ardeni said. ¡°You and yourrge friend will find it across the square. See that tall, stone-and-mortar building with the high gabled roof? The one with the green banner out front? It¡¯s the inn. Tell Innkeeper Ranel that Yallie ap¡¯Hira sent you. He¡¯ll make sure you get a good room.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, madam ap¡¯Hira,¡± Va said, ducking her head, then she tugged on Victor¡¯s hand and pulled him through the market square, deftly avoiding the crowds, and soon they approached the indicated building. Up close, Victor could see the green banner pping in the mountain air more clearly; it was embroidered with a golden-scaled serpent but no words. He followed Va up the steps and, ducking deeply, stepped under the lintel.

    The inn¡¯smon area was spacious, with many wooden pic-style tables and a cold, stone hearth. At that time of day, only a few patrons sat on stools or at tables, and Va walked straight up to the long wooden bar. A burly ck-haired Shadeni leaned forward, elbows on the bar, and let out a low whistle, his big, ruby-red eyes wide. ¡°Wee! I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ve no beds to fit you, sir.¡±

    ¡°Just some nkets and pillows then,¡± Victor grunted, having thought about this problem in advance.

    ¡°Of course, of course. Will you both be needing a room?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Just one. My friend is weary of being stared at, and we¡¯re both tired from our journey. Here.¡± Va tossed a small sack of beads on the counter. ¡°Please show us to our room and bring us up a generous portion of your dinner menu.¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am! I¡¯ve a room just at the top of the stairs; follow me.¡± He snatched up Va¡¯s purse, then hurried out from around the bar and started for the stairway at the far side of the room. Va followed, still clutching Victor¡¯s hand, and he couldn¡¯t help the warm feeling in his heart and the smile that touched his lips when he thought about how she was trying to take care of him. Had he made that big of a scene back at the academy? He supposed he had.

    The inn had a high ceiling, and Victor could stand straight as he made his way to the stairs, though he had to carefully avoid a hanging light fixture halfway. He had to duck at the top of the stairs and in the short hallway, too, but when he stooped through the door to their room, he found the ceiling was high enough to allow him to stand, if barely. The room was simple, though spacious and neat, with arge bed covered in fresh, pale-yellow linens and a trunk against the wall under the window. Other than that, it was empty, which was fine with Victor¡ªmore room for him to camp out on the floor.

    ¡°Bathroom?¡± Va asked as the innkeeper held open the door.

    ¡°Just down the hall betwixt this room and the next. There¡¯s another across the hall if it¡¯s upied.¡± He stood back, craning his neck to observe Victor as he walked into the room. ¡°I, uh, I¡¯ll make sure one of my servingds brings up a lot of food, and I¡¯ve got a girl doingundry as we speak; she¡¯ll bring you a few nkets and pillows.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Va nodded. ¡°Thank you, sir. We¡¯ll be fine for now.¡± She hovered until the innkeeper nodded and began to back out. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know should we need anything more.¡±

    Victor heard the door click shut, then turned and said, ¡°I guess I really need to finish learning that spell. There aren¡¯t giants in this world, and I¡¯m sick of standing out. Can you imagine if I cast my Titanic Aspect spell?¡± He chuckled.

    ¡°You¡¯re all right, Victor. If you learn and use it, that would be fine, but if you don¡¯t, it¡¯s fine, too. You have power that few in this world could imagine. People will amodate you when they learn about you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor sighed, sitting down, folding his legs under himself. ¡°I guess that¡¯s true, but I¡¯d like the option anyway.¡± He pulled out his notes¡ªpages and pages of copied spell patterns and Tes¡¯s original¡ªand said, ¡°I¡¯m going to get started. Thanks for everything today, Va. I mean,¡± he looked up and met her eyes as she walked away from the door and stood before him, ¡°I¡¯m so damn d you were with me when I learned that shit today.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d too, Victor.¡± She folded her legs and sat before him, a few inches past his mess of papers. ¡°Do you mind if I sit with you?¡±

    ¡°Hell no.¡± Victor sniffed, still feeling emotional. ¡°Before you feel you need to say it, I know what you¡¯re thinking¡ªI¡¯m diving into this spell as an excuse to avoid thinking about the other humans and my abu. I know I¡¯m avoiding it. I have to right now, okay?¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Va nodded and stared into his eyes, and for the millionth time, Victor stared at them and thought about how damn pretty they were.

    ¡°All right, here goes.¡± He forced a smile, tore his gaze away from those shimmering, depthless teal pools, and started reviewing his notes about Tes¡¯s spell.

 Book 5: Chapter 3: Elder Magic

    Book 5: Chapter 3: Elder Magic

    Not long after he¡¯d begun working with Tes¡¯s pattern, Victor was dimly aware that someone hade to the door and delivered some nkets and pillows. Va took them and stacked them on the foot of her bed, then busied herself with some small tasks Victor had seen her perform a hundred times. She polished her boots, went through her spare clothing, checking for stains or tears¡ªa sign of fading enchantments, and oiled Midnight¡¯s de and scabbard. He¡¯d asked her before why she did it, knowing full well that Midnight would never rust, and she¡¯d just shrugged and said it was habit.

    He didn¡¯t pay too much attention to her, though¡ªthe spell was enough to keep every bit of his brain upied. Before they¡¯d left Zaafor, Victor had managed to copy each part of it perfectly, but never more than half all at once. He¡¯d gained some stats since then, thanks to Karnice, and as Tes loved to say, practice and persistence made perfect. He wished she could be there if he finished; he¡¯d love to see her reaction, and, if he were honest, he loved impressing her.

    He¡¯d made it through the first half of another written copy of the spell pattern when a knock sounded, and Va answered the door again. Victor¡¯s nose told him what this disturbance was about; he smelled fresh bread, something savory like stew, and the unmistakable aroma of baked apples. When he looked up from his work, he saw Va holding the door open while a young Ardeni man wearing a white apron carried in a tray heaped with food. Hot on his heels, a boy and a girl, both bearing a strong resemnce to the man, grunted and heaved as they pulled a narrow table through the doorway.

    ¡°Pardon us! We don¡¯t often have folks choosing to dine in their rooms, but I keep telling the old man he needs to put some tables in ¡®em. Anyway, this one¡¯ll be all right for ya, I¡¯d wager. Set it there, twins, and then go get them stools. Hustle, now!¡± He chuckled as the two youngsters hurried, cheeks huffing in exertion as they set the table near the corner of the room behind Victor and hurried back through the door.

    ¡°That¡¯s nice of you. Thanks for amodating us,¡± Va said, moving closer to the door.

    ¡°Nah, ¡®tis a pleasure. It¡¯s a slow season for us¡ªschool¡¯s in full swing, so there aren¡¯t many parents visiting.¡±

    Victor cleared his throat and turned further so he could look the man in his bright coppery eyes, ¡°Speaking of visiting, do you know if any airships areing soon? We¡¯re trying to get passage to Persi Gables soon.¡±

    ¡°Not off the top o¡¯ me head, but I can ask around. How about if I have an answer for you by tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°That would be perfect.¡± A tter in the hallway, forestalling any furtherment from Va, announced the twins¡¯ return, and soon they were dragging two short, cushioned stools into the room. Victor chuckled at their efforts, then thought about himself sitting on one of those stools, and his smile widened further. His knees would be up to his chin.

    ¡°Appreciate your efforts, youngsters. Come here before you go.¡± He beckoned the little ones close. As they approached, they ducked their heads, hiding behind their coppery curls, and Victor fished around in his storage rings for something he could give them, something better than a few beads. Suddenly he remembered the rings in his pocket, the ones he¡¯d taken from Karnice, and he scooped them out, holding them in the palm of his hand. ¡°Just a minute, you two. I¡¯m looking for something.¡±

    Victor picked up the first ring and sent forth a trickle of Energy, bonding with it. Nothing happened, and he chuckled, lifting it to see why Karnice might have been wearing a non-magical ring. It was a band of silvery metal but heavy and richly lustrous. ¡°tinum, I think,¡± he muttered, turning it around, admiring the nicely etched designs¡ªit was a thick band, and all along it were alternating etchings of towers and fangs. Nothing was on the inner band. Victor liked it, but he didn¡¯t like Karnice and didn¡¯t want a tinum ring on his finger to remind him of the asshole.

    He flicked the ring to the little boy and said, ¡°I got that from a great warrior in another world. It¡¯s not magical, but it¡¯s a rich metal; maybe you can get it enchanted someday.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± the little boy said, snatching it out of the air. ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s too fine, sir,¡± the man in the apron said, starting to step forward.

    ¡°Nonsense,¡± Victor growled, perhaps louder than he intended. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Now, for you,¡± Victor winked at the little girl, and she giggled, further ducking her head. ¡°Just a minute . . .¡± Victor tried to bond with the other ring, and sure enough, he became aware of a vast dimensional space. He sighed heavily as he began to sift through it, but his initial irritation at the tedium soon gave way to excitement; Karnice had a lot of nice things!

    ¡°Ah,¡± he said, flicking his consciousness through a corner stacked high with Energy beads of all sorts, stored carefully inbeled bags¡ªbeads attuned with water Energy, beads attuned with fire Energy, beads with multiple attunements; it went on and on.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Va asked, watching his face.

    ¡°Karnice was an organized guy. Like, borderline crazy organized. Hang on . . .¡± Victor skipped past the mass of beads, through boxes of gems and precious metals, then he skimmed through dozens and dozens of weapons, from knives to axes to bows, and then, taking up half the space in the dimensional container, quite literally, hundreds of spears. ¡°Sir, is your daughter nning to train with any sort of weapon?¡±

    ¡°Well, I . . . my wife¡¯s a guardswoman, but she used to be a huntress out near Tarn¡¯s Crossing. You wouldn¡¯t have heard of it¡ª¡¯tis a frontier town. She wants to send Be out there to train with her grandfather. Isn¡¯t that right, Bee?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Da¡¯! I¡¯m going to be a Huntress,¡± she grinned at Victor, and her sharp little teeth glinted in the glowmps, her eyes narrowing fiercely.

    ¡°A Huntress? I¡¯ve got just the thing.¡± Victor ran his mind through the ring again, over all the spears, looking for one that wasn¡¯t nine feet long and didn¡¯t weigh a thousand pounds. He settled on one made from a silvery wood, graceful and slender with a leaf-shaped, brassy de. He produced it, holding it before himself, and said, ¡°Here¡¯s a fine spear to get her started. I¡¯ll let you take it, sir, and pass it on when the time is right.¡±

    ¡°Are you . . . are you serious, m¡¯Lord?¡±

    ¡°Very serious. I have plenty, don¡¯t worry.¡± Suddenly Victor thought about Tes and how she¡¯d passed up treasure after treasure on the monster hunt. She probably looked at those things the way Victor did these extra weapons. These weren¡¯t even Karnice¡¯s favorites¡ªhe¡¯d taken his two best spears after the battle and doubted he¡¯d ever use them. ¡°This is the smallest one I could find among my things, but I think it¡¯s just right.¡±

    ¡°Take it, Bee,¡± the man said, his voice hushed, and the little girl stepped forward and slowly reached out with a tiny blue hand. She grasped the silvery spear shaft, and her eyes widened with wonder.

    ¡°It¡¯s full of Energy, Da¡¯!¡±

    ¡°Bond with it. Do you know how?¡± Victor pressed.

    ¡°I do!¡± She nodded solemnly, and then, after a couple of heartbeats, the spear red with golden light, and sheughed. She lifted the spear, easily two and half times as tall as she, and walked backward toward her father. ¡°It¡¯s light as a feather, Kip!¡± she said to her brother, who was watching her with wonder in his eyes. Suddenly Victor felt like he¡¯d given the boy the short end of the bargain, and he began to fish through his ring again.

    ¡°What will you be when you grow up, Kip?¡±

    ¡°Sir, you spoil them! Already you¡¯ve given thed a king¡¯s ransom!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true, sir,¡± Kip said, holding up the ring. ¡°I¡¯m so happy with this gift. Thank you.¡±

    Victor frowned for a second, then nodded. ¡°Yeah, my pleasure. Seeing some happy kids makes me feel better. Trust me; I got more in the giving than you did in the receiving. Use them well.¡±

    ¡°Many thanks, Lord,¡± the man said, grasping his kids by the shoulders and pulling them toward the door. He looked at Va and said, ¡°Lady.¡± Then he stepped into the hallway, pulled his kids through, and closed the door.

    ¡°Hah! It was like he was retreating from battle,¡± Victor chuckled.

    ¡°You just gave his two children more wealth than he likely has squirreled away from all his time in this job.¡± Va snorted and walked over to the table, sitting on one of the stools and inspecting the food.

    ¡°If that¡¯s true, it¡¯s just sad. There are probably two hundred spears in this ring, and that was one of the least impressive ones.¡±

    ¡°Come get some food. And, yes, it¡¯s sad, but it¡¯s not something you should cry over. He has a happy life, working in this inn. His wife has a nice job, and they have happy children. He¡¯s chosen this safe, stable existence in exchange for not finding treasures and gaining power. He¡¯s probably out there trying to think of a way to talk his daughter out of using that spear, but you¡¯ve lit a fire in those children¡¯s hearts; they¡¯re going to remember the visit from the strange giant for the rest of their lives.¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡± Victor stood and, leery of the close ceiling, hunched over and walked to the table where he sat on the floor again, forgoing the little stool the children had brought him. ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t lying¡ªI enjoyed it. Shit, man, I enjoyed it so much; I feel like going out to the square and giving stuff to all the little kids. Call me Santa.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Va asked, dishing two bowls full of rich, meaty stew.

    ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m just punch drunk from staring at the spell and all the other stuff we¡¯ve been throughtely.¡± He took the bowl Va passed him and leaned back against the wall, holding it before himself as he spooned a big bite into his mouth. ¡°That¡¯s good stuff.¡± It was peppery and thick with the rendered fat of the meat, and he wolfed it down, enjoying the vegetables as much as the meat. He swallowed his fourth or fifth bite and said, ¡°What about you?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Va asked again, taking a pull from a frosty ss of ale.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not the only person with feelings around here. How are you holding up when you¡¯re not worried about me falling apart?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m . . . good, Victor. Truly! I hate how we left things in Coloss, but it felt wonderful to beat that bitch, and I did it easily. The run through town, your fight with Karnice¡ªthey¡¯re a blur. We¡¯ve only been here half a day, and I¡¯m wondering what to report to Rellia in the book. You should think about that, too, what you¡¯re going to say to Lam, I mean. Most of all, I¡¯m just happy for the things we learned, for my time with Tes, and for our friendship.¡± As she finished speaking, Va nodded and took another drink of ale.

    ¡°That was a long speech for you, Va!¡± Heughed as her cheeks darkened and reached for the ss of ale she¡¯d poured him. ¡°Nice! It¡¯s icy. I was getting tired of wine, but it seemed like everyone liked it more in Coloss.¡±

    ¡°We had some good mead and a few ales . . .¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know, I know.¡±

    Va continued eating, so Victor followed suit, leaving her alone while they devoured the food. Between the two of them, not a scrap was left over, not even any of the butter in the little crock nestled beneath the loaf of fresh bread, and definitely not a crumb of the apple crisp they found for dessert. With a full stomach and a warm feeling in his chest, Victor pushed himself away from the little table, scooted himself back over to his spell pattern, and got back to work.

    ¡°How many times have you written the whole thing now?¡±

    ¡°Twice, but I¡¯ve done each section a lot more than that.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just try casting it, then? Are you afraid it will go wrong if you make a mistake? Usually, a spell won¡¯t finish forming if it¡¯s off.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know . . . I guess it¡¯s because that¡¯s how Gorz taught me my first few patterns; practice writing it out ¡®til you get it perfect and then try forming it in your pathways.¡±

    ¡°But your will is so high; you probably can form the spell with Energy lines more easily than you can draw it!¡±

    Victor thought about her words, and he shook his head in wonderment. Was he really that dumb? Writing the spell used his intelligence and dexterity, but forming it with Energy in his pathways used his intelligence and will. His dexterity wasn¡¯t even a fifth of his will. ¡°Uh,¡± he said, dropping his pen. ¡°I think you¡¯re right. Shit!¡± Heughed, then sat back on his elbows, blowing out a deep breath, trying to rx.

    ¡°Anyway, I <em>hope</em> you¡¯re right. This might take me a few minutes.¡± He gestured to the pages and pages of spell notes arrayed before him. ¡°As you can see, the pattern is rather lengthy. Please don¡¯t let anyone interrupt me.¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Va said. ¡°Cast your orb!¡±

    ¡°Holy . . .¡± Victor pped himself on the head. ¡°Why didn¡¯t . . . my mind¡¯s a mess right now. Thanks, Va.¡± He quickly formed the pattern for Globe of Insight, and, as the inspiration-attuned Energy bathed the room in its bright, revealing glow, heughed and cast Inspiring Presence as well. ¡°Might as well go all out!¡±

    ¡°I was wondering why I hadn¡¯t felt that yet.¡± Va nodded approvingly, letting out a soft sigh as she reclined, apparently intent on observing him.

    ¡°I¡¯m serious, though,¡± he said, shifting a little, strangely unnerved by her staring at him. ¡°This could take a while. Like hours.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just rxing, Victor. If I get bored, I¡¯ll do some cultivating or something, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of that¡ªhow¡¯s iting with your affinity? I know Tes taught you a new cultivation method that could increase your . . .¡±

    ¡°It¡¯sing along well! I¡¯ve made some gains but still have much work to do. It¡¯s wonderful to know it¡¯s possible, though.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to share your knowledge with people here?¡± Victor sat back, suddenly eager to distract himself from the task at hand. The room was warm, the sounds from the tavern growing louder as the evening lengthened, and he could hear musicing from the square outside their window. Why was he in such a hurry to get back to work . . .

    Va seemed to sense what he was thinking, though, and, as any good friend might, she helped to steer him back on course, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about me and my cultivationter. Am I really distracting you? I could leave.¡±

    ¡°No, no. It¡¯s fine. You¡¯re right.¡± Victor waved his hands in surrender, then sat up and tried to refocus. He closed his eyes and turned to his Core, observing his three roiling, dense pools of Energy. He stared at them for a long time, using their shifting, pulsing light to center himself, then let his perception expand until he could observe his pathways and his tightly constrained aura, held in ce by a nearly subconscious effort of will. He took deep breaths for several minutes, focusing on how the air entered his body, expanded his lungs, and slowly flowed out as he exhaled.

    When he felt calm, centered, and ready, Victor turned his gaze to his most expansive pathway, just outside his Core leading upward toward his heart and head. It was there that he began painstakingly building the pattern for Tes¡¯s spell. He¡¯d memorized most of it, but this part, the initial base, was firm in his memory, and he managed to put it together in just a handful of minutes. He built it by pulling forth a fat ribbon of inspiration-attuned Energy, one that he had to strip into a hundred tiny threads, all meant to be woven into the strange, multi-dimensional pattern he¡¯d learned.

    As he¡¯d hoped, his will was far more nimble with the Energy in his pathways than his hand was with any sort of writing instrument. He pulled and stretched the Energy threads, weaving, bending, curling, and winding them into the pattern, and when he¡¯d finished the first section, he knew it was right, could feel it resonate in his very being. Encouraged, Victor began the next section, carefully mping his will around his progress as he asionally opened his eyes to nce at his notes.

    As he¡¯d predicted, this went on for hours, and he was so focused on the task that hepletely lost track of Va, forgot about his nervousness, and lost himself in the process. Each time he reached a milestone in the pattern, he could feel it deep in his bones. When he was on thest stretch, the final,plicated weave at the end of the pattern, he could feel the spell¡¯s potential reverberating in his pathway, ready tounch into something far beyond any magic he¡¯d ever cast.

    As he began to draw the final threads together, the culminating flourish on a wild, surging masterpiece of design, Victor began to fear his pathway was too narrow; already, the pattern strained against the sides of it, forcing him to realize, for the first time, the exact shape and extent of those Energy-carrying tunnels. Would it burst him apart when it was finished, and he released the spell¡¯s pent-up designs?

    The disturbing thought only furthered his determination, and Victor buckled down, pulling those dozens of branches toward the spell¡¯s climax, checking his notes a final time before he began to tie them all off. A strange grin twisted his lips, an absurd thought running through his mind, some old quote one of his coaches had been fond of¡ªsomething about if a person didn¡¯t risk going too far, they¡¯d never know how far they could go.

    With a final surge of his will, he wrapped thest loose threads together,pleting the pattern, and then, unable to contain the bucking, thrashing spell, he let it go and felt it surge with life, bursting into a work of magic almost too wild to manage or grasp onto as it poured through his pathways, spread into his body and began to <em>change </em>him.

    The spell was hungry, pulling at his Core, draining his inspiration-attuned Energy. Victor, desperate not to lose all of it or let the magic starve out in its infancy, began pushing some of his rage-attuned Energy into it, feeding it with that hot, potent brew. The spell surged anew, spreading through his body, wrapping around each of his trillions of cells, engulfing them, and constricting them, following the intent Victor had built into the spell¡¯s weave¡ªmake him smaller.

    In seconds, his rage-attuned Energy was drawn down to less than half, and Victor, not wanting to be left with nothing but fear-attuned Energy in his Core, tapered down the flow and pushed that dark, purple-ck pool toward the pattern. He opened the floodgates again, allowing the magic to feed from his third affinity. Victor could feel the spell working, felt it altering him, not just in size, but in density, the potent Energy sinking into his titan-enhanced cells, and he knew, had he been a simple human, he would have torn himself to shreds.

    He was enhanced, though, far from his roots back on Earth. His body was a hundred or thousand times more durable, his bones and flesh solid and dense, capable of absorbing far more Energy than a simple mortal¡¯s. Topare Victor¡¯s physical form to a natural human¡¯s would be likeparing a thin sheet of tin foil to a brick of gold. And so, the spell did its work, pulled his Energy until his third affinity was nearly drained, and then Victor realized he could stop it anytime¡ªthe more he fed it, the further it would do its job, but it could be ¡°done¡± whenever he decided.

    Rather than dump more Energy into it, he tapered off the flow until, like his first two affinities, only a tiny thread attached the spell, woven through his every cell, to his Core, maintaining it and keeping it active. When he felt the magic settle and cease its alterations, he smiled. He still felt very much like himself and was quite at peace. His Core equalized, and he saw his three orbs of Energy gradually swell until they each pulsed with light, less than half their original size¡ªthe spell was hungry and seemed to require a lot of Energy to maintain.

    When Victor opened his eyes, ready to observe his handiwork, a System message took up his attention:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have earned a new spell: Alter Self - Basic.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Alter Self - Basic: You have mastered the magic necessary to change an aspect of yourself, reducing your physical size and mass. This spell willst as long as you supply it with Energy, though it will reduce your maximum Energy pool so long as it is in effect. Due to the spell¡¯s reduction of your Core¡¯s potential, you¡¯ll find that your other abilities and spells are simrly reduced in efficacy. Energy Cost: Variable - 5000 minimum. Cooldown: Long.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have gained a new feat: Elder Magic***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Elder Magic: You¡¯ve gained an understanding of spell weaving beyond those designed and granted by the System. Your ability to grasp and manipte the threads of Energy in yourself and the world around you is enhanced. Beware the freedom this ability affords¡ªgreat harm walks hand in hand with great potential.***</strong>

    ¡°Nice!¡± Victor said and was momentarily confused by a certainck of timbre in his voice.

    ¡°It worked!¡± Va said, and Victor looked up at her. She was no longer sitting on the bed but standing before him, and he quickly stood, hoping to use her size as a measurement for how much he¡¯d changed. He felt a bit woozy for a second, his vision darkening at the edges. When he recovered, he looked down at Va and smiled. He was still taller than she, but nothing like before. He held a hand up and touched the ceiling¡ªwhere before the top of his head had brushed the nks, he now felt the gap between the top of his head and the wood and estimated he¡¯d shaved something like a foot and a half off his height.

    ¡°You¡¯re around the size you were when we first met, I think,¡± Va said, exposing her sharp teeth in a grin as she pped him on the shoulder.

    Victor quickly nced at his status sheet, looking to see how his attributes and Energy had changed:

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>3.1, Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Inspiration 7.4</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>9274/9274 (4274/4274)</strong>

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>202 (93)</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>302 (153)</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>82 (38)</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>105 (48)</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>74 (34)</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>455 (209)</strong>

    ¡°Holy shit! It worked, but my attributes are all diminished. It seems proportionate to the amount of Energy being sapped from my Core. <em>Mierda</em>! Can you imagine Tes¡¯s stats when she¡¯s not shrunk down to our size?¡±

    ¡°It would depend on her true size, I suppose . . .¡± Va frowned, contemting.

    Victorughed, suddenly feeling a wave of relief and pride¡ªhe¡¯d done something incredible, worked some magic beyond what the System usually granted, and managed to solve a problem that had been gnawing at the back of his mind for months. ¡°Thank you, Tes!¡± he said, pumping his fist, unable to stop smiling. Suddenly he saw something strange in the air around him, a dozen little bright motes of light, sparkling like iridescent pearls, shimmering with a rainbow sheen.

    ¡°Are those Energy motes?¡± Va asked, taking a step back. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen them look that way . . . they¡¯re growing!¡±

    She was right¡ªthe tiny pearls grew to baseball-sized bubbles of Energy, their weird, colorful sheen pulsing and throbbing, reminding Victor very much of soap bubbles in sunlight. They shimmered and bobbed and gradually floated toward him, and he stood still until they each sank into him, soaking through his clothes and flesh and then exploding into his pathways. The surge of Energy poleaxed him just as much as when he¡¯d helped to kill the wyrm in the wastes. Those pearly bubbles were far more potent than the golden or purple motes he¡¯d experienced before.

    When his paroxysms of euphoria faded, and Victor found himself standing, dazed and flushed, before Va, he had another message from the System waiting for his attention:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 49 Titanic Herald, gained 12 strength, 22 vitality, 12 dexterity, 12 agility, 12 intelligence, and 12 will.***</strong>

 Book 5: Chapter 4: A Night at the Tavern

    Book 5: Chapter 4: A Night at the Tavern

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± Victor muttered, swiping away the System message. ¡°I gained two levels for learning that spell.¡±

    ¡°You gained two . . .¡± Va sighed and then, shaking her head ruefully,ughed. ¡°You¡¯re charmed, Victor. I¡¯ve never heard of anyone moving through tier four as fast as you have. Of course, I¡¯ve never seen Energy motes like those before, either.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m notining.¡± He winked at Va, then stretched left and right, twisting his torso as though he had a kink. ¡°I feel great; how couldn¡¯t I after that Energy boost? But I was sitting around on the floor too much today.¡±

    ¡°Huh. I know people who don¡¯t use furniture at all; they sit on the ground for meals, sleep on mats . . .¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± Victor chuckled, ¡°I¡¯m just not used to it, all right?¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯ll fit in the bed now . . .¡±

    ¡°Oh! I should get us a room with two or maybe a second room, huh?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! It¡¯s a big bed, and I¡¯m sure we know each other well enough not to worry about propriety by now.¡±

    ¡°Right. Propriety . . .¡± Victor looked down at himself, at his clothes, all of which had shrunk to fit him, then he bent to pick up Lifedrinker in her harness. He slung the straps over his shoulders, as usual, and they constricted to fit him nicely. Lifedrinker still hung beneath his right arm well enough, though her handle was a good deal closer to scraping the ground. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m small now, but you didn¡¯t shrink at all, did you, beautiful?¡±

    <em>¡°I like you better when you¡¯re full of might and rage. You seem meek now!¡±</em>

    ¡°I seem meek?¡± Victor asked, outraged.

    <em>¡°Your aura is smaller, lighter! I know you did this to yourself, or I¡¯d be thirsting for the viin¡¯s blood!¡±</em>

    Victor was torn between amusement and embarrassment at Lifedrinker¡¯s admonishment. He nced at Va, and she looked at him with that strange, skeptical expression people took on when he spoke to his axe, offering no help at all. He gently rubbed Lifedrinker¡¯s shiny metal head and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine, <em>chica</em>. I can end this spell anytime I want, and then all the Energy I¡¯m tying up to change myself will flood back into me.¡±

    <em>¡°Did you learn this magic for deception? At times it is wise to keep your enemies ignorant of the length of your fangs. In that case, I approve.¡±</em>

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Victor chuckled, then looked at Va and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not tired, are you? Wanna go down to themon room and have a drink?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like that,¡± Va nodded, picking up Midnight and wrapping her belt around her waist. She was wearing her typical uniform-style clothes, having taken off her armor earlier in the day when Victor first began to study his spell. He, too, had removed his wyrm-scale vest and didn¡¯t think he¡¯d need it to enjoy a drink or three. He fingered the fine fabric of his gray shirt and decided it was adequate.

    ¡°Right. After you,¡± he said, pulling the door wide and holding it for Va. She mock curtsied and stepped out, and Victor had to smile¡ªhe liked this side of Va. She¡¯d loosened up with him, and he was seeing it more and more. They made their way down the stairs to themon room, and Victor quickly snagged them an open table near the window. It wasn¡¯t difficult; more than half the tables were vacant.

    He fished his little watch out of his pocket, wondering if it would be urate in Fainhallow¡ªdid they have time zones on Fanwath? If they did, would the magic of the watchpensate? In any case, the little device told him it was just after nine at night. Even so, outside the window, in the market square, lights were bright, people were still about, and he even heard music ying. ¡°It¡¯s like a party out there.¡±

    ¡°I imagine students keep the small number of businesses quite busy in the evenings.¡±

    ¡°How many students go to Fainhallow?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve no idea, but it must be hundreds. We saw that many just in passing.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor looked up as the man who¡¯d brought them their food earlier, the father of the two children Victor had spoiled, approached their table. He wore a quizzical expression and was openly staring at Victor.

    ¡°Excuse me . . .¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s me, not my smaller brother. I used a spell to make myself morefortable in your establishment.¡±

    ¡°Amazing, sir!¡± He ducked his head, then turned to Va, ¡°Wee to the Gilded Serpent¡¯s tavern andmon area. Would you like to order some food?¡±

    ¡°Just drinks,¡± Va said. ¡°We rather enjoyed that frosty ale you served us earlier. We¡¯ll start with a couple of those.¡±

    ¡°Right away!¡± he said, hurrying to the bar.

    Victor leaned back in his seat and enjoyed the sounds and smells of the tavern. More than the pleasant aromas of well-cooked foods, and the distant hum of music, he appreciated the sounds of jovial conversation andughter. People here were happy; they didn¡¯t worry about wars, dungeons, wyrms, or invasions. They did their jobs or studies and then unwound at the end of the day with people they cared about. He could see the appeal in that. Still, he felt he¡¯d get bored after a while. No, he¡¯d tasted a little too much glory and seen what true power looked like; there was no way he¡¯d be willing to give up those pursuits for a quiet life such as these folk lived.

    ¡°I think you have an admirer,¡± Va said, startling him from his reflections.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°The girl Yunsha chased away in the academy¡ªthe pretty auburn-haired Ghelli. See? By the bar?¡±

    Victor followed Va¡¯s gaze to the bar and, sure enough, past a table where a pair of Bogoli argued good-naturedly, he saw her. The pale, dragonfly-winged girl with the silky blue robes leaned against the bar, holding a small ss of liquor and staring directly at him. When their eyes met, she apparently took it for an invitation and began to work her way through themon room toward him and Va. ¡°Huh. Guess she¡¯sing over.¡±

    ¡°Presumptuous,¡± Va said. Victor nced at her and saw her sitting up straighter, her face falling into the severe and dead-pan expression she¡¯d worn all the time when he¡¯d first met her.

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± the lithe Ghelli said. Her hands were sped before her, and Victor saw that she was nervously wringing them, waiting for their reaction.

    ¡°Uh, yes?¡± Victor answered. Va simply sat, stoic and unresponsive.

    ¡°Are you, um, forgive me, but are you a human?¡± With a visible effort, the young woman unsped her hands and reached up to brush a thick curtain of beautiful hair back away from her face over her left shoulder.

    ¡°He is, Ghelli. Is there something amiss?¡± Va asked before Victor could respond.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Sorry to intrude. I just, well, I¡¯m close with one of your people, a woman from your colony; she studies here, and I was hoping you had word from her. Do you know her? Olivia Be?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not my colony,¡± Victor replied, an unintended growl in his voice. The woman flinched and started to back up a step, so he quickly altered his tone, trying to sound friendly. ¡°Sit down, though. I¡¯d like to hear more about Olivia.¡±

    ¡°Oh, thank you,¡± the Ghelli said, carefully pulling back the chair on that side of the table, cing herself between Va and Victor. She avoided looking directly at Va the whole while. ¡°My name¡¯s Adaida.¡±

    ¡°Adaida, huh? Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Victor, and this is Va.¡±

    ¡°Captain Va.¡± Before Victor could analyze his friend¡¯s insistence on her title, the barkeep returned with two very frosty mugs of amber-colored ale.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had a friend joining you. Would you like something more to drink, miss? I see you left your brandy at the bar . . .¡±

    ¡°Oh, um, no, thank you.¡± Adaida continued to fiddle with her thick hair, clearly nervous, perhaps because of Va¡¯s stony-faced silence, perhaps because humans frightened her¡ªVictor had no idea.

    ¡°Let me know if you change your mind. I¡¯ll be ¡®round to check on your drinks.¡± He turned to leave, but Victor stopped him.

    ¡°Hey. Hold up a sec¡ªwhat¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Oh, of course, of course. I¡¯m Harl, Lord.¡± He ducked his head and then hurried away, once again moving as though retreating from a battle.

    ¡°Huh. People are skittish around here,¡± Victor said, turning to Adaida. ¡°Hey.¡± He thumped his palm on the table and said, ¡°Rx, would you? We¡¯re nice people, aren¡¯t we, Va?¡±

    ¡°We are,¡± Va said, though her face didn¡¯t offer any proof to her words.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll try; I honestly haven¡¯t been myselftely. I . . . I used to be more confident.¡± Adaida moved her hands to the tabletop, and Victor was struck by how thin she was. Her fingers were very slender and pale.

    ¡°Have you been ill?¡± he asked, trying to soften his voice.

    ¡°More a sickness of the heart or mind, perhaps. It¡¯s why I came to you, hoping to hear word of Olivia; we didn¡¯t part on the best of terms.¡± She bit at her lower lip, nervously ncing between Victor and Va.

    ¡°Oh? Well, I don¡¯t have any news of her, but I might see her soon. We¡¯re heading toward Persi Gables, and I have a few questions for her. You want me to pass on a message?¡±

    ¡°Truly?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure. I mean, I¡¯m not promising anything. We might miss her, but I definitely want to talk to her.¡± Victor shrugged and took a long pull of his ale, enjoying the cold, crisp drink as it tickled his throat on the way to his stomach. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s good. Drink up, Va! You sure you don¡¯t want one, Adaida?¡±

    ¡°Can . . . can I ask you something? Weren¡¯t you a lot bigger earlier today? I¡¯m sure I¡¯m not losing my mind, but . . .¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. I was. I learned a pretty cool spell that lets me appear a bit smaller than usual. Makes things like sitting at tables a lot easier.¡± Victor nodded approvingly as Va drank from her mug, though he was a little annoyed that she hadn¡¯t joined the conversation at all.

    ¡°I thought you looked human, but I didn¡¯t know they could be sorge. There¡¯s something more, though, something about your eyes or the expressions you make¡ªI swear you remind me of Olivia. I¡¯ve met a few other humans, and none gave me that impression.¡±

    Finally, Va broke her silence, ¡°That¡¯s interesting. Still, you remind me of a few Ghelli I¡¯ve met. I doubt it means anything.¡± Victor closed his mouth, rethinking what he was going to say. Va was probably right¡ªprobably best to keep his possible rtion to this Olivia Be person to himself for now. What if this Ghelli went to the academy and started bbing his secrets? What if ap¡¯Gravin found out and ran away before Victor could confront him?

    ¡°Right. Of course, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Adaida nodded.

    ¡°Well?¡± Va asked.

    ¡°Well?¡± Adaida echoed, her voice small, her tone rising nervously.

    ¡°Do you have a message for this Olivia person, should we encounter her?¡±

    ¡°Oh! I do! I, um, I learned how to enchant a Farscribe page. Will you pass it on to her? I¡¯ve already written a note for her at the top. I¡¯m hoping she¡¯ll reply to it.¡±

    ¡°Hey! That¡¯s pretty cool,¡± Victor said, nodding, then drained the rest of his pint.

    ¡°Yes, we will,¡± Va said, her stony expression softening slightly.

    ¡°Oh, thank you! She was depressed when she returned to the academy after ourst break. I wasn¡¯t as understanding as I should have been, and I said some things I regret. It¡¯s been keeping me up at night for weeks. My heart¡¯s just sick . . .¡± She trailed off, her pale cheeks reddening with embarrassment. ¡°Anyway, here¡¯s the page.¡± She produced a tightly rolled piece of creme-colored parchment wrapped delicately with avender ribbon. Before Victor could reach for it, Va snatched it and made it disappear into one of her rings.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to give it to her if we cross paths. I¡¯m sorry for your heartache, youngdy.¡± This time, Va¡¯s face really did soften, and she offered the girl a gentle smile.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Adaida said, sniffing, then she pushed her chair away from the table and, with a deep breath and a forced straightening of her shoulders, she stood up and nodded to Victor, ¡°It was nice to meet you, Victor.¡± She turned to Va and said, ¡°Captain Va.¡± Then she was winding her way through the tables toward the door.

    ¡°That was weird,¡± Victor said, meaning more than Adaida¡¯s request. He squinted at Va and said, ¡°You¡¯re always so stern with people you don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Not always . . .¡±

    ¡°Well, definitely with that poor girl. She was just lovesick, I think.¡± Victor held up his empty mug, hoping to catch someone¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Yes, I finally realized that. I was afraid she was snooping¡ªa spy or something else. Should I read her note to Olivia?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Victor wasn¡¯t sure why he was so adamant, but he shook his head and repeated, ¡°No. How would you feel? I mean, I know I¡¯m probably no older than that girl, but she seemed so innocent. So naive. She¡¯s clearly led a sheltered life. She reminded me of the girls at my old school.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s easy to forget you¡¯re so young,¡± Va nodded. ¡°You don¡¯t look it. Your face is hard and weathered. Your eyes reflect what you¡¯ve seen; no one looking into them would see a child. Even now, in your . . . reduced state.¡±

    ¡°Hah! My reduced state!¡± Victorughed, not just in amusement at Va¡¯s words but in pleasure as he saw Harl approaching with not two but four mugs of ale. ¡°You¡¯re a wise man, Harl.¡±

    ¡°Well, I saw how fast that first one went, sir.¡± He grinned, bowed, and quickly backed away, leaving the four frosty pints on the table.

    ¡°Come on, Va. Keep up,¡± Victor said, picking up a ss and draining half of it. Va narrowed her eyes, took a deep breath, then, shaking her head, finished off her first ss. ¡°Now, we need to talk about something important. I¡¯m going to ask Khul Bach and maybe Old Mother some advice, but I¡¯ll hear your take first.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Am I to be held in the same esteem as those great ones?¡± Va grinned, her earlier stony expression long gone. She licked at her ale-dampened lips, and Victor felt a familiar, often ignored, warmth in his chest as he observed her.

    ¡°Yeah, ¡®course you are. So, I¡¯ve got three powerful treasures . . . things I need to use, and I¡¯m trying to decide if I should just bite the bullet and use them all now. I¡¯ve got that racial advancement, the epic one I bought from the warlord, and I¡¯ve got two . . . potent hearts.¡±

    ¡°Two hearts? I thought you burned one for your ancestors!¡±

    ¡°Tes gave me another from the night brute prince. She gave it to me right before your duel, almost like she knew something would go wrong.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. What are your thoughts?¡± Victor had been speaking in a low tone, hunched close to Va, and he nced around themon room, noting that everyone was busily conversing,ughing, and living their own lives. Fainhallow was a different ce from Coloss, but he still sort of wished he could block out other people from hearing him the way Tes used to do.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. What rank is your racial advancement up to?¡±

    ¡°Advanced-two.¡±

    ¡°Do you think an epic item is meant to be used when you are in the epic tier? Would it be a waste to use before then?¡±

    ¡°No idea, but that¡¯s a good question for Khul Bach, I bet.¡±

    ¡°As for the hearts, what did Tes say?¡±

    ¡°When she gave me the night brute prince heart, she said to hold onto it until I had ¡®gained more strength,¡¯ but I have no idea how much. She also said to eat the wyrm heart first.¡±

    ¡°Well . . . are you feeling pressured to eat them?¡±

    ¡°I guess so. It¡¯s mostly because of the weird blood I got back in that dungeon when I was tier two. I sat on it for months and could have really benefited from it a few times. If I¡¯d had that feat when I fought Rellia . . .¡± he stopped speaking and frowned. He supposed Va was the wrong person to talk about the what-ifs of fighting Rellia.

    ¡°I understand. Don¡¯t worry,¡± she said, reaching over the table to grasp the top of his hand. Her fingers were warm and soft, and Victor felt an electric tingle run through his skin. He wanted to react, to turn his hand and grasp her fingers back, but he also didn¡¯t want to do something stupid or scare her off, so he sat there and just enjoyed the feeling, nodding his head.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said, his brain slow to form the words he was looking for. ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t want to wait forever to im some strength that might help me,¡± he paused, licked his lips, and added, ¡°or the people I care about.¡±

    ¡°So,¡± Va nodded, slowly pulling her hand back, ¡°she said to wait until you were stronger. You¡¯ve gained four levels since then, but she also said to use the wyrm heart first. Why not go ahead with that one and then go from there?¡±

    ¡°I like your logic, Va. I¡¯ll run it by Khul Bach and maybe Oyna if I¡¯m not too drunk for a Spirit Walk tonight.¡± He chuckled and drained his second pint.

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± Harl said, surprising Victor; he hadn¡¯t heard or noticed the barkeep walking up to the table. ¡°You were wondering about airships, sir?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Victor said, noisily mming his empty mug onto the table. Was the ale hitting him that hard? It didn¡¯t seem like it should be, not on Fanwath. He frowned as his muddled thoughts tried to make sense of it, then it clicked¡ªhe¡¯d severely reduced his overall attributes and potency with his magical alterations. ¡°Sorry about the noise; I¡¯ll slow down on the ale.¡± He offered Harl a sheepish smile and then turned to include Va in it. She chuckled and shrugged, sipping from her ss.

    ¡°No worries at all, sir. I wanted to tell you that I was just speaking with Master Gan-dak over there,¡± he gestured toward a table filled with ck-robed academy personnel in the far corner and continued, ¡°and he said that a ship is due tomorrow from Gelica, supposed to be dropping off a load of vellum and Mistvine nks for the students to practice with.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Va said. ¡°Thank you for the information, Harl, and before he has a chance to say it, please just call him Victor. He loathes having people spoil him with honorifics.¡±

    ¡°I loathe . . .¡± Victor repeated, trying to figure out if Va was messing with him.

    ¡°Of course, of course,¡± Harl sped his hands and sketched a funny little half bow. ¡°Very good, very good.¡± He nodded happily and turned to walk back to the bar.

    ¡°Damn,¡± Victor said, choosing to ignore Va¡¯sment, ¡°Tomorrow¡¯s a bit early. I was hoping to stick around to mess with that ap¡¯Gravin dude.¡±

    ¡°Victor, oh, silly, innocent Victor. We have the means to hire dozens of airships or buy several outright. We could have the captain of this ship wait six months, never mind a few days.¡± Va¡¯s smile widened as she moved on to her third ale.

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor nodded. ¡°You know what? If you keep out drinking me, I¡¯m going to cancel this spell and cast Berserk to boot, and then we¡¯ll see who can handle the most ale.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 5: Counsel

    Book 5: Chapter 5: Counsel

    Victor woke the following morning feeling very rested and rxed. He stretched, unwinding the soft, white sheet from his torso; he¡¯d somehow gotten quite tangled in the night. He nced to his right, saw the empty bed, and wondered where Va had gone. ¡°Probably breakfast,¡± he sighed, arching his back in another stretch.

    When he realized he was sleeping in nothing but his underwear, a brief panic rushed through his mind as he scrabbled at the blurry memories of the night before. Heughed at himself as he remembered getting drunk, stumbling upstairs with his friend, and then stripping down and copsing into the bed. ¡°Nothing to worry about.¡± Talking aloud reminded him of Lifedrinker, and he jerked his head to the side, a wave of relief washing over him as he saw her leaning against the wall next to the bed.

    He sat up, swinging his feet to the floor, and yawned again. He was tempted to follow Va down to themon room, assuming that¡¯s where she was, but he decided it was an excellent time to get some conversations in with some other people. He found his pants on the floor, clean, thanks to their enchantments, and pulled them on, along with the loose,fortable button-up gray shirt he¡¯d been wearing. That done, he went into the hallway and walked down to the bathroom to wash up.

    When he returned to the room, Victor locked the door and sat on the floor at the foot of the bed. He turned his wrist to better see the pink gem set in his bracer, then activated it, sending Energy into the stone. As always, the ancestor shard pulled a torrent of Energy from his Core, and Victor felt his surroundings disced by the weird, grayscale realm that existed in the crystal. Sharp angles changing the gray to white or darker gray were the only features of the strange ce. Other than the hulking, brooding giant that sat before him, Victor revised.

    ¡°Wee, scion. It¡¯s been long, but I see you¡¯ve progressed in your hunt for power.¡±

    ¡°Hello, Khul Bach.¡± Victor smiled, noting that his ¡°self¡± in this strange ne was not reduced by the spell he¡¯d confined himself with back in the normal, physical ne. It felt good to be himself, and he wondered if he¡¯d grow to enjoy being a giant of a man more and more the longer he constrained himself with Alter Self. ¡°Did you notice we left Zaafor?¡±

    ¡°We did? No, I had no sensation of the change.¡±

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re on Fanwath now¡ªthe warlord tried to pull some kind of stunt on Va and me. Even Tes was surprised by him, I think. We had to run, but I¡¯m more determined than ever to go back there someday.¡±

    ¡°As you should be, scion. A Titan does not flee from his destiny.¡±

    ¡°Right. Speaking of destiny, I came to you for some advice. You remember how I told you about my ancestors¡¯ kind of strange habit, you know, eating the hearts of their foes?¡±

    ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°Well, I have a couple of potent hearts I¡¯m supposed to eat, but I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m ready yet. I also have something called an ¡®epic racial boost.¡¯ Should I use that before my race is ¡®epic?¡¯¡±

    ¡°Why do you hesitate to consume the hearts?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s something Tes said. When she gave me one of the hearts, a night brute prince¡¯s heart, she told me to wait until I was ¡®stronger¡¯ to eat it. Since then, I¡¯ve gained four levels, but I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s all she meant.¡±

    ¡°Your abilityes from your bloodline, yes?¡± When Victor nodded, he continued, ¡°I would use that epic racial boost now. To answer your earlier question, it won¡¯t hurt to use it before you have reached the epic tier; you¡¯ll gain a great deal from any sort of treasure of a tier that¡¯s your equal or higher. It¡¯s lower-tiered treasures that would be wasted on you.¡±

    ¡°And the hearts?¡±

    ¡°Once your bloodline has advanced, you may well feel powerful enough to take on the heart Tes warned you about, but why not start with the other?¡±

    ¡°Va said something simr.¡±

    ¡°So, the small blue friend you told me about is still with you?¡±

    ¡°Yes . . .¡±

    ¡°Good. Gather your allies. Learn from them, form bonds, and lean on one another¡ªyou¡¯ll need fellowship to achieve greatness.¡± Khul Bach nodded to himself, then shifted and asked, ¡°Well? How go the other tasks I set you on? Has your axe skill reached the epic level? Have you made strides with your Sovereign Will?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been using Sovereign Will almost all the time, really only dropping it when I sleep. It¡¯s still only ¡®advanced,¡¯ though. As for my axe skill, I¡¯ve practiced a lot, and Karnice, before I killed him, thought it was near epic, which was a surprise to me. I thought I¡¯d be working for years on that, considering what Polo Vosh told me about his own advancement.¡±

    ¡°We each face a journey unique to our own experiences and talents. Is this Polo Vosh a powerful warrior?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s one of the strongest in this world,¡± Victor said, then scratched his chin and shrugged. ¡°I mean, I think he is. Really, I¡¯ve never met anyone from the capital, and I got the impression that¡¯s where all the oldest, strongest people live.¡±

    ¡°Very well. If Vosh has more axe skill than you, seek him out, and practice with him. It¡¯s the best way to advance. What are your ns? Do you not havends to conquer here? Put Vosh in your army!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll, uh, try. When I get to Persi Gables, I¡¯ll ask Rellia about him. Well, shit, I guess I could send a message to her or Lam right now. If nothing else, I could pay Polo to travel and practice with me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, leverage your connections and wealth. You¡¯re learning, young warrior.¡± Khul Bach pped his big hands, rubbing them together as if to signal the end of the conversation, and said, ¡°You have your tasks. Be about them! Each minute you should be striving to better yourself.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Victor sighed and shrugged. He didn¡¯t like being dismissed so quickly, but what did he expect? Khul Bach wasn¡¯t his buddy; he didn¡¯t want to sit around talking about feelings or what Victor had for dinner. He supposed that if something were getting in the way of his ¡°advancement,¡± Khul Bach might take an interest. ¡°Talk to you soon, maybe after I eat all these things, ''cause I¡¯m close to level fifty, and I might want some advice about my ss selection.¡±

    ¡°Good! Until then!¡± Khul Bach nodded firmly, and Victor severed the connection between his Energy and the stone, bringing the real world back into focus, banishing the ancestor fragment''s odd, sharply angled, gray-white expanse.

    ¡°Kinda weird he was rushing me out of there. What¡¯s he do with his time, anyway? You¡¯d think he¡¯d want me to hang around as much as possible.¡± Victor didn¡¯t know why he was speaking aloud; Lifedrinker still leaned against the wall near the bed, and there was still no sign of Va. He stood up, summoned his helmet and armor from his ring, and put them on. Then he picked up Lifedrinker and, holding her crossways over his knees, sat down and cast Manifest Spirit, using inspiration-attuned Energy.

    His ghostly pack of coyotes shimmered into existence, yipping and growling softly, pacing in a circle around him. ¡°Hello, <em>amigos</em>,¡± Victor said. ¡°Keep an eye out for me, will you? I¡¯m going on a Spirit Walk. Let¡¯s see if the Old Mother is as clever as always and waits for me.¡±

    As the coyotes continued to pace or sit around him, Victor cast Spirit Walk, and suddenly he was sitting on the bare rocks of the mountains, high above the sprawling ins of the spirit realm. As always, it was twilight there, and the glittering jewels of silvery stars filled the sky, giving him pause as he stood up and turned to look at the strange, shadowy peaks that piled one behind another for as far as he could see to the west.

    Victor knew the ins he could see to the east weren¡¯t the same ones that led to Oyna. No, he instinctively knew that he¡¯d need to go north and find another great grasnd before he could travel to his friends. ¡°Not far for a spirit, though,¡± he said, breaking into a run, racing down a rocky slope between the mountains, his mind and heart focused on Oyna.

    The mountains blurred past, and asionally Victor saw bright spirits out there in the shadowy heights, but they avoided him, perhaps sensing his might. He could feel it, himself, the torch of his spirit as it zed in the starry light of the spirit ne. He was without peer, at least in this part of the ne.

    As usual, his journey to Oyna was quick; soon, the mountains fell away to hills, then he was tearing through grasnds, and before he could grow weary of the joyful freedom of his speedy travel, he found himself in the grove where Oyna had first taken him. Shadowy canopies hung above him, obscuring the stars. A babbling brook rippled through the center of the hollow, silvery and beautiful, and there, sitting in the grass beside the sandy bank, was the beautiful, young version of Oyna.

    ¡°I¡¯ve waited for you, warrior. It felt long to me, but was it? I think not too long.¡±

    ¡°Oyna? Old Mother?¡± Victor asked, approaching her with no small amount of trepidation. Something was different; something was off about her, but he couldn¡¯t quite ce his finger on it.

    ¡°Hah!¡± she cackled, and though her voice was youthful, the tone was the same as he¡¯d heard a hundred times while living with Tellen¡¯s n. ¡°You look confused and troubled. Be not, mighty one. I¡¯m proud of you, Victor. I wondered if you¡¯d return and, if you did, if you¡¯d be the same. I see your spirit is still bright, powerful, but bright. It will give mefort to know you are still here when I move on.¡±

    ¡°Move on?¡±

    ¡°Is it such a surprise? They didn¡¯t call me Old Mother because I was young and vital!¡±

    Victor hurried forward to crouch before the beautiful, youthful woman. She wore a fringed, beaded vest over leather pants, and something was clutched in her hands, something he¡¯d never seen Oyna touch in the physical world¡ªa shimmering short bow. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is Thaing?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s busy, brave one. She has many new responsibilities, but she told me to tell you she¡¯d look for you during the three nights following every new moon. Surely you can find her then?¡±

    ¡°Sure, I can, but why don¡¯t you just bring her?¡±

    ¡°I can see you know the answer, though your mind fights valiantly to hide from it. Come, Victor; you can see the change in me, can you not? I¡¯m not tethered to the physical ne any longer. I waited for you, but after we speak, I¡¯ll be off, moving to my next adventure.¡±

    ¡°You died,¡± Victor said tly, falling back to sit on his rump, something like a lump of lead forming in his gut. ¡°Did someone kill you?¡±

    ¡°No, foolish boy,¡± Oyna¡¯s spirit said, reaching out to rest one of her shimmering, luminescent hands on his knee. ¡°I was old, old long before I ever met you. Before you ask, no, I didn¡¯t need you to try to rescue me with some racial advancement boon or another. I chose to live my natural years when I was young. Many a night did I spend in this realm speaking to old spirits, learning of their ways and where they were going. I determined back then, nearly two hundred years ago, that I¡¯d also like to explore these pathways.¡±

    ¡°But the n . . .¡±

    ¡°If I tell you something, a secret I¡¯ve held here,¡± she touched her chest, ¡°for a hundred years, will you keep it?¡± Victor nodded, and she continued, gently thumping his knee, ¡°I was weary of my life in the n! I didn¡¯t want to eat some mystical fruit, grow young again, and then have to break all of their hearts by saying I wanted to leave.

    ¡°Instead, I determined to explore these realms, journey past the spirit ne, and see what was next for me. It was an easy escape without breaking any hearts. There are those in the n who might have sacrificed everything to try to make me young again, but they all knew better than to offer it. My ¡®spirit guides¡¯ said it was my time!¡± She cackled, and Victor had to chuckle with her. What a crazy old woman!

    ¡°So, you''re leaving.¡± The lump in his belly was gone, but a hollowness remained.

    ¡°This is fine, Victor. You¡¯re going to be fine, and when you think of me, try to imagine me like this¡ªyoung, beautiful, full of energy and excitement! I¡¯m going somewhere new for the first time in a very long time. Won¡¯t you wish me a good journey? Will you not bless my steps with well wishes?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do better than that, Oyna,¡± Victor said, his voice growing thick with emotion. ¡°When I honor my ancestors and send Energy their way, I¡¯ll count you among them. I don¡¯t know how it will work, but I know it will. Take my offerings, and use them to make yourself great in your next life. Will you promise me?¡±

    Oyna¡¯s eyes narrowed, and her lips twisted as she wrestled with his words. Finally, she nodded and said, ¡°Shrewd one, aren¡¯t you, warrior? You¡¯ll keep a hook in me, but I¡¯ll gain a benefit. Well, then. Should your spell work and connect you to me with gifts of Energy, then I¡¯ll seek to return the favor. Should I grow powerful, ¡®great¡¯ as you put it, I will send you aid when I can.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a deal,¡± Victor said, something like relief rushing through him; he was losing Oyna in this world, but he¡¯d still have a connection¡ªhe was confident his spell would work, though he really didn¡¯t know why; he might think of Oyna as a surrogate grandmother, but she wasn¡¯t really rted to him. Did it not matter? No, it didn¡¯t matter, he decided. His intent was enough. ¡°I¡¯m going to miss you, Old Mother.¡±

    ¡°Young Mother now,¡± she cackled, then stood up and smashed him into a hug, pulling his head into her belly and stroking his hair with her small, shimmering hands. ¡°Such a big man you¡¯ve be! Your spirit is so bright; you¡¯ll see a hundred thousand more sights than old Oyna ever saw. I¡¯m proud of you! Don¡¯t forget about Tha and Deyni! Visit them in this realm and, if possible, in the physical world. Promise me.¡±

    ¡°I promise!¡± Victor said, breathing in the scent of spices, campfires, and herbs that clung to the spirit. Tears burst into his eyes when he realized it would be thest time he ever smelled that particrbination of scents. ¡°Do you have to go now? Couldn¡¯t you linger for a while?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask that of me! I don¡¯t want to be one of these sad old spirits that loiter here, watching the living, waiting for a way to interact. I want to see what¡¯s next, Victor!¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± he sniffed. He reached up, wrapping his arms around the little woman, squeezing her tight until she grunted andughed.

    ¡°You can¡¯t keep me here that way, either!¡±

    ¡°I know, I know. I have my own adventures to get back to.¡±

    ¡°Yes, you do. I know great things await you and great challenges, too, warrior. Be careful, use this,¡± she gently tapped his forehead, ¡°as much as you use that thirsty axe of yours. Promise me!¡±

    ¡°I promise!¡± he said for the second time. Then Oyna pushed against his shoulders, worming her way out of his grasp. She hefted her glittering, translucent bow and offered him a quick wave.

    ¡°Wish me luck now, warrior.¡±

    ¡°Good luck, Old . . . Oyna. Good luck, good hunting, and may you find what you seek.¡± He stood up and waved as she turned and started jogging away, following the little, babbling stream, and Victor felt the hollowness return with a vengeance when he wondered if that was thest he¡¯d ever see of her. He sighed, his heart heavy, and looked around Oyna¡¯s special ce. He memorized every detail, from the stream to the trees, to the little shrubs and the soft grass. One thing was certain; he¡¯d ensure this ce was visited regrly, and if Tha and Deyni didn¡¯t know their way here, he¡¯d show them.

    After taking one more long look around the vale, he bent to drink deeply of the brook, then stood and ended his Spirit Walk. When he opened his eyes, Victor saw his coyotes, shimmering and bright, sitting around him. Beyond them, sitting on one of the little stools the youngsters brought in the day before, was Va. To his immense surprise, she was petting one of his coyotes sitting near her feet.

    ¡°Wee back,¡± she said, not looking up.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Victor said, and some of the emptiness in his heart must have seeped into the word because Va looked up sharply, and her reddish-purple lips turned down in a frown.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Bet you¡¯re getting tired of hearing about my problems. It¡¯s nothing to worry about; Oyna has died and moved on. I¡¯m sad, but it was what she wanted.¡± As he spoke, his coyotes grew agitated and paced, their whining intensifying. ¡°Hush!¡± he said, chuckling and shaking his head. ¡°Okay, pups, time to go. Do some hunting in the spirit ne, hmm? Catch a spirit rabbit.¡±

    As hispanions disappeared in clouds of glimmering mist, Va stood and walked over to him. Once again, he found himself embraced from a sitting position. Va, though, knelt and rested her chin on his shoulder, hugging him tight. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Victor. I know you enjoyed speaking to her, and I know she was more to you than just a mentor. It¡¯s a lot you¡¯ve been throughtely . . .¡± Victor thought she might have kept talking, maybe mentioned how he¡¯d realized his <em>abu </em>might be long-dead, too, but he didn¡¯t give her a chance.

    He stood up, careful not to bump her, then, when he was on his feet, he gently hugged her back and said, ¡°I¡¯m all right. Really. I¡¯m sad, sure, but how many people get to speak to their loved one¡¯s spirit before it departs? She¡¯s off doing something she¡¯s dreamed about for longer than I¡¯ve been alive. I can¡¯t begrudge her.¡±

    ¡°If you want to talk . . .¡± Va pressed, pushing away from him, still holding his shoulders at arm¡¯s length and looking up into his eyes.

    ¡°Maybe, but not right now. We¡¯ve got a lot to do in this world before we move on, Va, and I think it¡¯s time we get a start on things. I¡¯m going to take that epic racial boost now. Will you watch over me?¡±

    ¡°I will, but when you say ¡®before we move on,¡¯ can you borate a little?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. You¡¯re starting to scratch at greatness the same as I am. Are you content? Will you be content to live in the Untamed Marches after we tame them with Rellia and her n? Me? I want to see more worlds. I want to see more wonders, and I want to go back and beat the shit out of the warlord in Coloss someday.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see Tes¡¯s home,¡± Va said softly.

    ¡°There you have it then. We¡¯ve got a lot to do,¡± Victor chuckled, reaching into his ring and pulling out the heavy silver sk that contained the boost he¡¯d purchased in Coloss.

 Book 5: Chapter 6: Yolotli

    Book 5: Chapter 6: Yolotli

    ¡°Before you drink that,¡± Va said, touching her fingers to the silver sk as though to keep him from immediately chugging it down, ¡°let¡¯s talk about what you want me to do while you¡¯re out. We don¡¯t have the warlord¡¯s cultivation chamber here¡ªyou could be out for hours or days.¡±

    ¡°Ah, shit. You¡¯re right.¡± Victor sighed and stretched his neck, suddenly feeling a lot of tension in the back of his skull. ¡°Should I put it off?¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily. I can go speak to the airship captain, pay him to wait, and take us to Persi Gables when you¡¯re ready. As for ap¡¯Gravin, do you trust me to speak to Yunsha on your behalf should shee ¡®round before you wake?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course. You know what I¡¯m trying to find out¡ªwhat did he take from the human student here? What does he know about the summoning spell? Why was his father paying Boaegh to do the summoning? All that stuff. If I¡¯m not awake by the time Yunshaes, when I do wake up, the contract will be expired. Maybe remind her and the other academy authorities that if they don¡¯t think he deserves punishment, I might decide otherwise. Shit, now that I think about it, maybe it¡¯s best if I¡¯m not there at first; I can already feel my blood getting hot.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Va nodded and pulled her hand back. ¡°I¡¯m going to write a message to Rellia. I¡¯ll let her know we¡¯re here and that we should soon be in Persi Gables. I¡¯ll also ask her to get eyes on Lord ap¡¯Gravin, in case you want to follow up with the father.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡± Victor took a deep, steadying breath. He hadn¡¯t been lying¡ªhis Core was roiling, and some of his rage-attuned Energy was seeping into his pathways. He firmly pushed it back, mped down the storm at his center, and forced a smile. ¡°Thanks, Va.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. I¡¯ll keep people away from here until you¡¯re done.¡±

    ¡°Perfect. I think I¡¯ll write a message to Lam before I drink this.¡± Victor held up the heavy sk and then turned toward the center of the room and sat down on the floor.

    ¡°That¡¯s probably a good idea. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s worried, and I doubt Rellia rys every message I send her way. While I was down having breakfast, I heard some merchants speaking about the airship¡ªit had already been sighted. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s arrived by now. In any case, I¡¯ll be back to check on you soon. ¡± Va turned to the door and quickly stepped out.

    Victor had been digging through his ring for his Farscribe book and btedly offered her a wave, but she was gone. Lifedrinker was still at his side, and he rested a hand on her haft, ¡°She wasn¡¯t upset about anything, was she? Seemed like she left in a hurry.¡±

    ¡°<em>I know not. I care not. Will we battle again soon?¡±</em> Lifedrinker¡¯s sharp, smoky voice filled his mind, and Victor couldn¡¯t help smiling at her savage disregard for anything so mundane as a person¡¯s feelings.

    ¡°Probably, beautiful, probably.¡± Shaking his head, he released her handle and pulled out a pen, one that he¡¯d gotten from Tha. ¡°Seems like a lifetime ago,¡± he muttered, then opened a nk page in the Farscribe book.<blockquote>

    <em>Lam,</em>

    <em></em><em>Before you read further, be certain that no one you don¡¯t fully trust reads this message.</em>

    <em></em><em>I hope you¡¯re doing well. I haven¡¯t written to you much, and I hope you haven¡¯t been too worried. I know Rellia¡¯s been hearing from Va, so you must know that we aren¡¯t dead. Hopefully, you¡¯ve been fine, keeping yourself busy with your various industries and helping to raise the army. You¡¯ll be d to hear that Va and I are back in Fanwath. We¡¯re up in some mountains near a magical school called Fainhallow. We should be in Persi Gables soon, though¡ªVa¡¯s off trying to hire an airship as I write this.</em>

    <em></em><em>I¡¯ve learned a lot since west spoke in person. I mean a LOT. One thing I¡¯ve learned, though, is that nothing beats having a good teacher, and I really enjoyed my time with Polo Vosh. Do you think he¡¯d want toe on the expedition with us? Would you mind offering him an invitation? I need to work on my axe skill, and the most I ever learned about the axe was when I practiced with him. Tell him I¡¯ll be happy to pay¡ªwhatever his going rate is, I¡¯ll double it.</em>

    <em></em><em>I could probably write for a hundred pages about all that we¡¯ve seen and aplished in thest couple of months, but I¡¯m not a writer, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll hear plenty about it through Va and, of course, from my mouth when we next speak. Let¡¯s just say that we fought some incredible monsters, I battled my way through another arena, and we have a lot of knowledge to share¡ªthings that will make whatever society we try to build in the Untamed Marches that much stronger.</em>

    <em></em><em>A thought urred to me, though, and I think we should start to take precautions: some of the powerful people we met on Zaafor (the world we traveled to) seemed surprised by theck of knowledge on Fanwath. The System stones provide for travel to other System worlds, and there should have been travelers to and from this world to other, more advanced worlds. There should be more known here by now. I¡¯m worried that the old powers in the Empire are hoarding knowledge and that they won¡¯t be pleased with what Va and I have brought back.</em>

    <em></em><em>What route are we nning to take to the Untamed Marches? Will we pass through the heart of the Empire or skirt it? It might be wise to consider a circuitous route, one that will be more difficult to predict, one where we might avoid, more easily, ambushes or other trouble. I know you and Rellia are working hard to build a strong force, but will it be enough if the Empire moves against us, even if they do it in secret?</em>

    <em></em><em>These thoughts have been heavy in my mind as I learned more and more about the deficiencies in Va¡¯s training and knowledge¡ªshe¡¯s Rellia¡¯s favored scion, yet she¡¯s been misled for much of her life. If that¡¯s happening to her, then how far out of the inner circle is Rellia? How far removed are the nobles in Persi Gables and Gelica from the center of the Empire, the older cities? I guess the point of my rambling here is that we should be prepared for problemsing from ces other than the Untamed Marches.</em>

    <em></em><em>Please think about these matters, and we¡¯ll speak more when I return, hopefully in a few days.</em>

    <em></em><em>-Victor</em></blockquote>

    Victor sighed heavily as he closed the book. Those thoughts had been tickling the back of his mind for a long while now, and it felt good to put them on paper, but it also worried him. Could he trust Lam? She¡¯d helped him many times in the past, and she was ¡°new¡± nobility, so he didn¡¯t think there was any chance she was in league with the old powers of the Empire. No, she was making a grab for power; if anyone had something to fear from the established nobility, it was her. He was confident she was the right person to hear his concerns.

    With a final nod, as though he were assuring himself he¡¯d done the right thing, Victor put the book away and lifted the heavy, silvery sk. ¡°Well,¡± he said, twisting the red-wax-sealed stopper, ¡°here¡¯s hoping you don¡¯t knock me out for a week or two.¡± In truth, he wouldn¡¯t be all that upset if it did¡ªit would only mean he¡¯d made some tremendous advancements. As he pulled the waxy, spongy stopper free, his nose was assailed by a robust citric tang. Not wanting to waste any potency, he lifted it to his mouth and began to drink.

    As soon as the syrupy fluid touched his tongue, his tastebuds exploded with vor so sickly sweet and rich that he almost gagged, almost spat out the precious liquid. With a determined effort, he stopped breathing so as to lessen the impact and choked it down, swallow after swallow of something that tasted like orange juiceden with every sweetener known to humanity. As thest drop fell into his mouth and he drank it, his mouth exploding with saliva and his stomach roiling, Victor dropped the canister and fell back, staring at the ceiling as his legs and arms syed out.

    With a visceral snap, he felt the spell he¡¯d cast to constrain his persone apart, he grunted as the Energy he¡¯d packed into it flooded back into his Core, and the floorboards creaked and groaned as his true mass suddenly reasserted itself. It felt good, really, like having an immensely heavy nket he¡¯d gotten used to suddenly pulled off his body. If it weren¡¯t for the roiling in his gut, he might have smiled, but all he managed was a piteous groan.

    Victor closed his eyes and tried to focus on his Core, trying to see inward, so he could take his attention away from the difort in his physical body as the potent elixir began to bubble and surge in his stomach, growing hotter and hotter by the second. Victor focused on his three globes of attuned Energy, watching how his rage smoldered, his inspiration softly pulsed, and his fear glowered and lurked. As his mind began to calm, he felt the difort in his belly fade away, and a warm, gentle wave spread outward through his chest and out into his extremities.

    He opened his eyes or thought he did, but Victor was still engulfed in ckness, and, if he could control his face, he might have smiled¡ªhe knew he was going on a trip when stars began to blur past, nebe and gxies swirling away, in his passage. Unlike before, though, he didn¡¯t find himself immediately sucked down into a vision; instead, his strange journey through the universe halted, and he remained bodiless, floating in a rainbow-tinted cloud.

    Pulsing colors and bubbles shimmered and flowed around him, and Victor tried to shift his perspective, but he was without agency, simply a presence in that weird, brightly-colored expanse. Since he couldn¡¯t look any other way, he studied what was in front of him, trying to see a clue as to what was happening. Still, nothing changed other than the weird shifting color streaks and the even weirder bubbles of color that seemed to float up in front of him, only to pass away beyond his field of view.

    He tried to utter a curse or a question, but nothing came out of his mouth. Unable to do anything else, his mind began to wander. Whatever was happening would happen, and he¡¯d either wake up or not¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t mentally il about, worrying. His mind drifted to other concerns, such as what he¡¯d do when he got to Persi Gables. He wanted to meet Olivia and hoped she¡¯d still be around, but that was a minor thing, which he supposed was strange. Shouldn¡¯t he be more focused on learning about this mysterious human rtive?

    No matter how he looked at it, though, he couldn¡¯t get too worked up about the idea of meeting her. He¡¯d spent too much time focusing on, worrying about, and nning for what Rellia needed. Namely, he was stressed about having to lead an army. He¡¯d never led a group bigger than two into any kind of battle, so how was he supposed to manage thousands? He hoped there would be a lot of delegating and plenty of guidance, but then he also hoped he¡¯d learned enough not to let people shove him around; he didn¡¯t want to be a figurehead or a puppet.

    As his thoughts drifted that way, Victor noticed a change in his surroundings¡ªthe colors began to swirl, and he was pulled into a tightly spiraling funnel toward a distant, bright light. He started moving slowly, but his speed seemed topound exponentially, and suddenly the bright light shone into his eyes, and he felt the heat of a sweltering, steamy summer day on his face.

    <strong>#</strong>

    <em>Yolotli shaded her eyes from the sun, looking down the long grassy slope at the little people gathered and waiting for her. Olmecs, they called themselves, and long had they worked to earn an audience. They knelt in the grass, heads down, the blood of their offerings pooled in the de below, the pyre of their victims burning beside it, the smoke giving the pale blue sky a yellow-brown haze. She supposed she should be honored by their obsequious sacrifice, but it wasn¡¯t something she relished, unlike her more war-hungry kin.</em>

    <em></em><em>She progressed down the slope, and when she was ten long strides from the first of the little folk, their garments bedecked with bird feathers and their macuahuitls in the grass before them, she paused and waited. Which of their people was their leader? Ichtaca had approached her, but Yolotli didn¡¯t see her there. ¡°Well?¡± she asked, growing impatient. ¡°You learn well from your encounters with us¡ªI see sturdy macuahuitls and deep respect. Who will speak for you that I might resist the urge to smear your juices into the grass with the soles of my feet?¡±</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°Mighty Yolotli!¡± one of the Olmecs cried, lifting his feather-bedecked head. ¡°We have heard tale of your kindness toward our kind, your desire to speak rather than kill! Please hear us now!¡±</em>

    <em>¡°Are you yet dead? No? Then speak, and tell me your name, insolent one!¡± Yolotli was toying with the man; she had no desire to squish the little thing, but it didn¡¯t hurt to keep these people respectful lest they utter a rude word in the presence of her more violent brothers and sisters.</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°Praise you, Yolotli! I am Toltecatl, the leader of these people! We¡¯ve in a thousand of our foes there in honor of you and your people!¡± He gestured down the slope into the vale where the pyre smoldered.</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°And what do you seek, Toltecatl? You¡¯ve learned the art of the macuahuitl. You bear the feathers of serpents and birds. You¡¯ve gained respect and humility. What more will you learn from the Quinametzin?¡±</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°We seek your leadership, great Yolotli! We are beset by strange people and beings. They destroy our temples, destroy our cities and vanish our people! We cannot stand before them, but surely you can! Surely one such as you can take the battle to them and vanquish them from ournds. Surely you don¡¯t want them to sully the fields here around your jungles and mountains! Thus far, every battle we¡¯ve fought has been lost! I am the seventh ruler of my people in as many years, and our numbers dwindle, thousands lost every season!¡±</em>

    <em></em><em>Yolotli frowned. Had another peoplee to their shores? Had it not been enough that her kin had smashed the great, scaled serpents? Was it not enough that they¡¯d driven the strange winged men with their metal armor back over the seas? ¡°Since your kind learned to respect my people, we¡¯ve had no quarrel, but why should I crush this enemy of yours? Tell me about them.¡±</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°They have tails like monkeys but scales rather than fur! They bear horns and have eyes that ze like embers in the dark! They are tall and strong, flinging my people about with their wed hands. They are savage and cruel, eating the flesh of our women and babes while they yet live! As we kill one, four more spring from chasms in the earth, great fiery pits that ze with strange magic and reveal weird worlds beyond their flickering mes. They speak in clicks and hisses, words that make no sense to our ears, and refuse any sort of pay. We seek your aid, great Yolotli; only the Quinametzin can crush these devils!¡±</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°Devils? An apt designation. Again, I ask, why would we help you? Did your people not attack us once, thinking we were too few to stand against your verminous numbers?¡±</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°A lesson we learned much from, Mighty One!¡± Toltecatl fell to his face in the grass, his hands in the air, and wailed, ¡°Please! Please help us! Even now, a band of the devils approaches one of our cities!¡±</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°A band? Do they not send an army?¡±</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°They don¡¯t need an army so savage are they! For every devil, we lose a hundred fierce Olmec warriors!¡±</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°And who were these,¡± Yolotli gestured to the blood and the pyre beyond it.</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°Invaders from the north! We captured them as an offer to your glory!¡±</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°If you truly wished to honor me, why not bring me one of these devils you so fear?¡±</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°Great Yolotli! Every battle we fight with the devils brings us great loss! Any offering of their kind would be pitiful. Surely, this great sacrifice is a better honor!¡±</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°How many warriors have you here? I do not wish to count your tiny bodies.¡±</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°Before you are one hundred warriors! The greatest of my people!¡±</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°Very well. I will take you and this one hundred, and we will meet this band of devils. Stand up, small ones.¡±</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°Oh!¡± Toltecatl¡¯s voice wavered, and Yolotli heard the gasps of his people, his ¡°greatest¡± warriors. ¡°But, great Yolotli, we are not a match for the devils. Surely you should get more of your kin and crush them! Send them back to the realm from which they crawled.¡±</em>

    <em></em><em>Yolotli might have been patient for her kind, she may even have had a bit of a warm spot in her heart for these little people, but this chieftain was beginning to wear on her nerves. She took two steps forward and snatched him up, gripping one of his scrawny arms and lifting him so she could look into his war-painted face. ¡°You will never grow strong if you do not fight for yourselves. I will guide and help you, but if you wish to throw these devils out of yournds, you will bleed in the battles toe.¡±</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°Yes,¡± he whined, grimacing as the tendons in his shoulder strained. Yolotli dropped him and then turned to the kneeling Olmecs. She unleashed her aura, shaping it to grant boons to these little folk, wrapping it around them, giving them courage and strength. At the same time, she let it ripple out around the clearing, relieved to let it hang heavy in the air around her. Any enemy that came near would feel it and beware.</em>

    <em></em><em>The Olmecs howled in delight and fervor, standing up and grasping their macuahuitls, lifting them into the air. They began to chant some rhyme about killing and ravaging their enemies, and Yolotli smiled; they were like children, but they had an enthusiasm that warmed her heart. ¡°Are you pleased, children? Do you feel my might, my bravery? I share it with you that we might smite your foes and drive them from thesends. Remember this great honor, and always respect my people¡ªfew are as kind and would just as soon squash as help you.¡±</em>

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he felt extremely disoriented momentarily as he stared at the wooden nks above his head. He licked his lips, dry as sandpaper, and coughed, trying to circte some saliva around in his mouth. He saw System messages waiting for his attention, but his eyes felt blurry.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t so bad,¡± Va said from somewhere to his right. He blinked several times as she continued, ¡°You were only out for three days, though I¡¯ve never seen someone so still; I barely could tell you were breathing.¡±

    ¡°I,¡± Victor croaked. He licked his lips and swallowed again. Finally feeling some moisture on his tongue, he tried again, ¡°I saw a different ancestor.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 7: Interrogation

    Book 5: Chapter 7: Interrogation

    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve grown again,¡± Va observed, watching Victor struggle to a sitting position. She must have been right; he seemed to be taking up more space on the floor than he remembered.

    ¡°Great,¡± he grunted. ¡°Anything else different?¡±

    ¡°Well . . . your skin is more lustrous, your hair has a sheen I¡¯ve never seen before, and, well, you have a sharper look to you¡ªlike, you¡¯re all bones and muscles. It¡¯s quite nice, really, if I¡¯m being honest. Your eyes, too; they¡¯re like luminous pots of honey.¡± Va looked down quickly, and Victor chuckled.

    ¡°What are you, a poet? Anyway, thanks; I¡¯m d I¡¯m not monstrous, at least.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that . . .¡± Va choked off her words,ughing as Victor shot her a nce, eyes narrowed.

    ¡°Gimme a sec,¡± Victor said, focusing on the System messages:

    <strong>***Congrattions! Your spell, Inspiring Presence, has morphed to: Inspiration of the Quinametzin.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Inspiration of the Quinametzin - Epic: Prerequisites: A direct and profound connection to the Quinametzin Bloodline, Affinity - Inspiration. You infuse your being with the power of inspiration and the fierce presence of the Quinametzin Titans. Nearby allies will be granted a portion of your potency. Energy Cost: Minimum 750 - scble. Cooldown: Long.***</strong>

    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s pretty badass,¡± Victor huffed softly, pleased with the message. He pulled up his status sheet, wanting to see exactly how much his race had advanced:

    <strong>Name:</strong>

    <strong>Victor Sandoval</strong>

    <strong>Race:</strong>

    <strong>Human (Quinametzin Bloodline) - Advanced 7</strong>

    <strong>ss:</strong>

    <strong>Titanic Herald - Legendary</strong>

    <strong>Level:</strong>

    <strong>49</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Spirit ss - Advanced 2</strong>

    ¡°I gained five ranks to my bloodline,¡± he announced, then, as Va¡¯s eyebrows rose, he said, ¡°Tell me what this feels like to you,¡± and cast his new spell.

    ¡°Ancestors!¡± Va said, standing up from the bed and arching her back. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! I feel like we could take on anything!¡± Her eyes went distant momentarily, and then she said, ¡°Victor, my strength and vitality each improved quite a lot! Nearly ten percent!¡±

    He nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s my old Inspiring Presence spell¡ªsomehow, my advancement in my bloodline jumped it straight to epic and gave it some new effects for my allies.¡±

    ¡°What a boon! This will be very helpful on the field of battle, no?¡±

    ¡°Yeah . . .¡± Victor¡¯s mind drifted to the scene he¡¯d witnessed of Yolotli and the humans begging her for help. He wondered how their battle had gone, sort of wishing he¡¯d seen it y out.

    Speaking of allies,¡± Va said, bringing him back to reality as she sat down. ¡°I had a long meeting with Yunsha and the Headmaster of the academy, Jaxin-dak. They¡¯re holding Professor ap¡¯Gravin in a cell, waiting for you to question him. He hasn¡¯t been cooperative.¡±

    ¡°Oh? They don¡¯t have some magic they can use to get him to talk?¡±

    ¡°They do, but Jaxin-dak feels their authority iscking, and ap¡¯Gravin has powerful resistances. Apparently, he¡¯s something of a Mind Mage¡ªa lesser affinity and licensed by the Empire¡ªand Jaxin thinks he¡¯s locked away his secrets. Ap¡¯Gravin is demanding to have his father alerted to the charges against him. The academy leadership is dragging their feet, but they feel the word has probably gotten out. Our window to speak with the man without interference is quickly closing.¡±

    ¡°And they¡¯re cool with me pping the guy around?¡±

    ¡°No, no,¡± Va chuckled, ¡°not exactly. The contract you signed is gone, but when they told me they were willing to let you speak to him, they suggested that intimidation without actual harm to the man was all they would stomach.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm,¡± Victor nodded. He closed his eyes, then cast Alter Self, feeding the spell enough Energy to reduce himself to the size of arge, but not absurdly so, human. When he finished, he lithely hopped to his feet¡ªhis improved body had undergone the transformation more efficiently, using less Energy, but it still had taken nearly half of his reserves. ¡°Stand in front of me,¡± he said, using Va as a guide to ensure he¡¯d gotten the spell right. When he saw the top of her head came to just beneath his chin, he nodded. ¡°Right. Well, how¡¯d it go with the airship?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s moored to the academy wall, waiting for our departure. The captain, ap¡¯Veral, was happy for a few days of paid rest.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re awesome, Va.¡± Victor grinned at her, then dug around in his ring for his armor and helmet, donning them as she watched.

    ¡°You n to speak to the professor right away?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± He adjusted his wyrm scale vest, made sure it hung just over his dragonsteel belt, and then he grunted, lifting the weighty Kethian Juggernaut helm to his head, sighing with relief as it magically transferred its mass to him.

    ¡°Intimidating, but not so much as if you¡¯d reveal your true nature.¡±

    ¡°All things in time, Va.¡± Victor bent to pick up Lifedrinker, slipping his arms through her harness. ¡°Right. Let¡¯s deal with this asshole. Then we can take off, hmm? Nothing else keeping us here is there?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so sure you¡¯ll get what you need from him in one meeting?¡±

    ¡°One way or another,¡± Victor growled, striding to the door, pulling it open, and making his way down to themon room. As he stepped into the room, noting the bright windows¡ªhe had no idea what time it was, but apparently, it was daytime¡ªand the busy tables, he paused as Harl called out from the bar, ¡°Lord Victor! I¡¯m so pleased to see you up and about. We were all hoping for your speedy recovery.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Victor asked, taking a step closer to the apron-wearing man.

    ¡°Yes! Captain Va told us of your lingering injury; I can¡¯t imagine how you kept from showing your pain the other night, though I figure the ale helped, eh?¡± He winked and chuckled, setting down his bar rag, and then added, ¡°Can I get you something to eat?¡±

    ¡°Not at the moment, Harl. I have an appointment.¡± Victor nodded, his helmet¡¯s angr eyeholes doing nothing to make the gesture appear friendly, and then strode out of the inn. When he and Va were progressing across the square, he asked, ¡°What kind of injury did you tell him I had?¡±

    ¡°I said you had a wyrm¡¯s stinger in your gut, and it was slowly working its way free.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck, Va?¡± Victor¡¯s voice rose in outraged disbelief.

    ¡°What? I wanted to give him something to gossip about¡ªthese people have hardly heard of a wyrm, let alone seen one.¡± She pped him on the shoulder and added, ¡°Besides, I wanted to give them a good reason to keep away from your room; I told them you were delirious from the pain and venom.¡±

    Victor shook his head, lost for words, and continued his speedy progress toward the academy. ¡°Where do we find this ap¡¯Gravin guy?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re supposed to ask at the administration offices for an escort, and then they¡¯ll take us to his holding cell.¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Victor looked up the street to the yawning, open doors of the academy¡¯s central hall. Students were out inrge numbers, and he wondered if they were on their way to sses. He nced at the sun, saw it was high overhead, and revised his guess; it was lunchtime. ¡°Do you know where that is? The admin offices?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s where I met with Jaxin-dak.¡± Va moved past him, and Victor followed behind. He and Va still garnered a lot of strange looks from the students, but Victor figured it had more to do with their armor, weapons, and generalck of any resemnce to people who belonged in an academy than his size, which was nice.

    ¡°So, the contract¡¯s gone, right? I¡¯m not going to kill myself if I start a fight?¡±

    ¡°Correct, but please don¡¯t,¡± Va replied, ncing over her shoulder and offering him a pained smile. ¡°I¡¯d rather not have all of Fainhallow and their alumni out for blood.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t n to, but I want to keep my options open.¡±

    As they climbed the steps to the entrance hall, Va asked, ¡°Have you thought about what you¡¯re going to say? Do you want me to do anything?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go with my gut. As for you, I¡¯d appreciate it if you would keep people from interrupting me while I¡¯m in with the professor.¡± Victor had some ideas but didn¡¯t feel like talking about them while he walked. He¡¯d try good old-fashioned anger and intimidation; if that didn¡¯t work, he had some ns involving Project Spirit.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try . . .¡± Va said, though her tone didn¡¯t elicit confidence. ¡°It¡¯s just that I have a feeling they¡¯ll want a representative in there with you.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± Victor twisted his mouth into a frown and felt some rage, always quick to respond to his thoughts, seeping into his pathways. He followed Va through side passageways and up one flight of stairs, and then they walked into a wood-paneled room with a receptionist¡¯s desk and two doors leading off to the left and right. Comfortable-looking chairs and couches lined the walls, intermixed with bookcases and a stand where a steaming pot of tea and several pastries sat waiting on a tray.

    Va approached the petite, older, Ardeni woman sitting at the desk and cleared her throat. ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯m Va ap¡¯Yensha, and this is mypanion, Victor. We were told to request ess to Professor ap¡¯Gravin here.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The woman sat back, closing the book she¡¯d been reading. ¡°I see, I see,¡± she said, taking in Va and Victor glowering behind her. ¡°Excuse me while I check with Professor Oy-dak.¡±

    ¡°Not Jaxin-dak?¡± Victor growled, wondering if they were about to be shoved off onto some lesser bureaucrat of the academy.

    ¡°Oh no, I¡¯m sorry to say the Headmaster has had to leave on business. He¡¯s gone to the academy in Tharcray for a tournament.¡±

    ¡°A tournament?¡± Va asked, then shook her head and quickly added, ¡°It¡¯s unimportant. Please check with whoever¡¯s in charge.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± she muttered, standing up with a groan and stretching, ¡°I¡¯ve been sitting too long!¡± She walked to the door on the left and added, ¡°Please take a seat. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be with you as soon as possible.¡±

    Va turned and walked over to the tray of pastries, snatching one with pink frosting, and Victor continued to scowl, pacing back and forth over the rust-colored rug that ran down the center of therge room. ¡°Not hungry?¡± Va asked, taking a bite. ¡°It¡¯s a little stale but good.¡± Victor grunted, and she shrugged, taking another bite and sitting down. ¡°I do hope you¡¯re not nning to bring this building down around our ears, Victor. You seem to be working yourself up to something . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not nning to do anything crazy, but I¡¯ve got a real impatient feeling in my gut, and I don¡¯t know why. God, I hope it¡¯s not my damn bloodline. I wonder if I¡¯m starting to think like a Quinametzin.¡±

    ¡°Do you think that spell you learned from Tes, to reduce yourself, is limiting that effect at all? I wonder if you¡¯d be smashing through walls if you were your normal self.¡± She licked at some frosting on her thumb, and Victor stared at her, his eyes going wide as she spoke.

    ¡°Are you serious, Va? Are you trying to stress me out? I¡¯m not going to lose control of myself, regardless of how big I am. You know my will stat!¡± While he spoke, he realized what she was doing, trying to make him think about his emotions and talk himself through them. He might be impatient and cranky, but he was still Victor; he was in control. ¡°You¡¯re clever; you know that?¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± she said, taking another bite and smiling impishly. Just then, the door through which the receptionist had gone opened, and she reappeared, followed closely by an imposing Shadeni woman. She was tall, close to Victor¡¯s current height, with enormous, folded red wings and eyes that reminded him of a starry night sky¡ªdepthless pools of ck, teeming with bright white motes.

    ¡°Va, Victor, may I introduce Professor Oy-dak?¡±

    The woman stepped forward and smiled broadly, revealing long, pointed canines. She was beautiful, with a long, slender nose, high cheekbones, and full lips, but Victor found himself viewing her as an authority figure almost immediately and didn¡¯t feel the slightest urge to flirt. ¡°Just Oy is fine. Wee. I¡¯m to show you to that scoundrel, ap¡¯Gravin, hmm?¡± When Victor nodded and opened his mouth to reply, she continued speaking, forestalling his words, ¡°No, no. No need to exin¡ªJaxin-dak left me with thorough instructions. Very well, follow me, please.¡±

    Va hopped to her feet and hurried to Victor¡¯s side as he followed the professor out of the room and down the hallway. She continued to speak as they walked. ¡°He¡¯s not far away. We have a detention cell or two for stronger Energy users here at the academy, meant to keep them from harming themselves or others while we work out disciplinary actions. Usually, they¡¯re upied by intractable students, but ap¡¯Gravin isn¡¯t the first professor to wait for justice in one of them.¡±

    She rounded a corner, descended a short flight of stairs, and stopped in a round, ster-walled room lit by orange Energymps. Three gray metal doors were evenly spaced on the curved wall, and she pointed to the one on the left. ¡°He¡¯s within. I¡¯ll need to apany you for your questioning.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea,¡± Victor grunted, walking toward the door.

    ¡°Pardon me?¡±

    ¡°Listen,¡± Victor said, turning to her, looking into those weird, star-filled eyes, ¡°I¡¯m likely to get a little angry, and my aura might start to leak, and it will be ufortable in there. I don¡¯t intend to hurt the man, but he¡¯s not going to enjoy mypany unless he¡¯s very forting with the answers I¡¯m seeking.¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Oy said, folding her arms and staring right back at him. ¡°Nevertheless, I¡¯ll apany you.¡±

    Victor frowned, finding it necessary to push his rage back down into his Core, but then he shrugged and said, ¡°If you want to leave, don¡¯t feel bad.¡± Then he turned and walked to the door, staring at it while he waited for Oy to unlock it.

    To her credit, Oy didn¡¯t respond or argue. She walked to the door, held something shiny against the handle, and when it clicked, she pulled it open and gestured for Victor to precede her into the room beyond. Victor peered through, saw a man lying on the only furnishing within¡ªa simple cot, low to the ground¡ªand stepped through. The man was an Ardeni with uncharacteristic long ck hair, a hawkish nose, and bright green eyes. His face was dotted with dark stubble, and he looked a bit bedraggled. Victor was taking in his dark ck robes and noticed a gleaming red metal cor on his neck.

    ¡°You cored him?¡±

    ¡°Well, his abilities are a bit much for the student wards in the cell to manage,¡± Oy said, stepping into the room after Victor.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± The man¡¯s voice was sharp, slightly nasal, and thoroughly outraged as he sat up, hisnky frame hidden by the folds of his robes.

    ¡°Ap¡¯Gravin, this is Victor. He¡¯s a human who was done great harm by a man in your father''s employ.¡± As ap¡¯Gravin absorbed her words, a deep frown etching a furrow between his eyes, Oy turned to Victor and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be right here, behind you, but I¡¯ll leave the interview to you now.¡±

    ¡°Thanks . . .¡± Victor started to say, but ap¡¯Gravin¡¯s outburst interrupted him.

    ¡°What have I to do with my father¡¯s henchmen? What have I to do with some brutish human? This is preposterous, and when I have my day before the council, I¡¯ll see you, Jaxin-dak, and that fool Yunsha stripped of your honors and titles and sent packing!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Victor growled, putting some rage into his voice, letting slip the leash on his aura just a bit. Ap¡¯Gravin backed up, scooting toward the wall against which his cot rested, and his face lost some of its color, fading to a paler shade of blue. Victor rested a hand on Lifedrinker¡¯s shiny metal and stepped closer to the professor, and he spoke from his belly when he asked, ¡°What did you take from Olivia Be? What did you steal to give to your father and Boaegh so they could summon me?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± ap¡¯Gravin jerked his gaze from Victor to Oy, and he wailed, ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this? Such a preposterous usation! Is this why I¡¯m being held here? My father will have all of your heads!¡±

    Victor reached into his Core and pulled out a thick river of fear-attuned Energy, letting it flood into his pathways, then he fully released his hold on his aura. His eyes, usually bright and golden, filled with darkness, and a flickering purple-ck halo limned his shoulders and helmeted head as he let his aura pour forth. More, he cast Project Spirit, and a dark surge of fear-attuned Energy rolled out of his chest, bathing the professor in its clinging, midnight waves.

    He heard a gasp from behind him, but his eyes were focused on ap¡¯Gravin as he cried out and tried to press himself through the wall''s stone. His eyes were haunted, and his mouth hung open in abject terror. ¡°Answer my question, <em>pendejo</em>! What did you take from Olivia Be?¡±

    Amazingly, the man still struggled against him, even cored as he was. Victor could see him fighting against the pressure of his spell and the struggle of his will as he pushed against the waves of dark Energy, and then the professor forced out a strained reply, ¡°I. Took. Nothing!¡±

    Victor felt his fury surge. He was furious at this man for resisting him, but he was also angry at himself for a seed of doubt that began to nibble at the corner of his mind. He knew it was this guy who¡¯d taken the sample from Olivia; he knew he must have an idea what his father had been up to, why Boaegh had summoned him through the universe to this world and dropped Victor into one hecious experience after another. How was he resisting him? What tier was he, anyway? ¡°Enough,¡± he growled and ended his Alter Self spell.

    Suddenly a great wave of Energy rushed back into his Core, and every cell in his body, freed from a self-imposed prison, surged with power and density. His body erupted with growth, his hulking shoulders and neck pressed against the ceiling as he stooped over to avoid smashing his head through the stone. He loomed over the professor, cringing on his cot. He felt his true aura fall like an avnche around him, eliciting another yelp from Oy-dak and bringing a wail of despair from the ghost-white face of ap¡¯Gravin.

    Victor wasn¡¯t finished, though; he reached out a hand, grabbed hold of ap¡¯Gravin¡¯s robe, and turned, glowering at Oy-dak. He growled, ¡°I need more space.¡± Then he dragged the limp, wailing professor through the door into therger room beyond. The ceiling was much higher there, amodating the stairs that led up to the next level, and Victor set ap¡¯Gravin down, standing to his full height.

    Va stood near the stairs, clearly bothered by his aura but managing it much more easily than ap¡¯Gravin. After all, she¡¯d been exposed to it many, many times. She stood there, one hand on Midnight¡¯s hilt, and raised an eyebrow at him, ncing at Oy, who had followed him out of the holding cell. ¡°What are you going to do?¡± her arched eyebrow asked.

    Oy, a grimace on her face, voiced a simr question, strain evident in her voice, ¡°What are you doing? You can¡¯t take him anywhere! Don¡¯t harm him!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not taking him anywhere. As to harm, it¡¯s entirely up to him,¡± Victor growled, and then he cast Iron Berserk.

 Book 5: Chapter 8: Counterbalance

    Book 5: Chapter 8: Counterbnce

    Victor expanded, as he was wont to do, and ap¡¯Gravin fell away from him, copsing onto his rump, scrabbling toward the wall between the door to his cell and the next, closed one. Victor was thankful for his Iron Berserk upgrade, specifically his ability to keep his rage simmering in the background, because, truth be told, he was angry enough as it was. Something was wrong with his approach, his bullheaded charge for the answer to his burning question.

    Ap¡¯Gravin had been prepared, somehow resisting Victor, because if Victor were any judge of a person, he¡¯d say the man was plenty frightened. He either didn¡¯t know the answer, or he was hiding it. Victor chose to believe thetter. That left him with a choice. De-escte, start over and try to work his way to the answer in a roundabout way, or, more to his liking, escte things further. If simple fear wasn¡¯t enough to crack the man, then perhaps a taste of Quinametzin-inspired madness would do the trick.

    ¡°Good,¡± he growled, voice deep, grating and cracking off the walls of the circr stone room. ¡°Grovel there. Sit and watch what I do with my foes.¡± Victor nced over his left shoulder to see Oy watching him, small now, at least next to his hulking form. She had a strange, purple-red shimmer in her eyes, perhaps shielding herself from his aura now that she¡¯d recovered from her earlier surprise. When their eyes met, he gave her a brief nod, trying to reassure her, then he reached into his storage ring and pulled out the night brute prince¡¯s heart.

    Grinning madly at ap¡¯Gravin, looking into his wide, haunted eyes, he lifted the heart from its container and tore into it, ripping a huge, bloody chunk away, chomping it, and swallowing it noisily. Victor had thought about this, briefly, sure, but he had thought about it. He didn¡¯t know what would happen when he ate this heart, but he figured it would be impressive, and the night brutes had been fear-attuned creatures; maybe the spectacle caused by eating the prince¡¯s heart would help convince ap¡¯Gravin to take his questions more seriously.

    Tes might not approve, or, Victor thought, swallowing another bloody chunk, she probably would. She¡¯d probablyugh and give him that eager look she always had when she watched him doing something stupid, brave, insane, or brilliant. He almost forgot what he was doing, thinking about Tes like that; he started to picture her eyes, her smile, and hear her voice in his ears. He began to wonder about his slowly growing feelings for Va and if it was really something he should pursue¡ªhadn¡¯t he determined someday to be worthy of pursuing Tes?

    ¡°What in the name of the Old Father¡¯s bones is this madman doing?¡± ap¡¯Gravin cried, pushing away from Victor, who was hunched in front of him, dripping great gobs of night brute blood onto the stones as he chomped and chewed the dark, steaming heart, kept fresh and hot in Tes¡¯s magical jar.

    ¡°He¡¯s a Quinametzin Titan, and you¡¯ve driven him to this madness. Pray the heart sates his hunger,¡± Va said, and Victor could hear the amusement in her voice.

    Victor took his third bite, chewed it, and tried to refocus on what he was doing. He squatted lower, holding the dripping, bloody organ before him, his great form hanging over ap¡¯Gravin as he chewed. With each bite, he grunted and growled, letting the juices sluice off his chin to form a puddle that ran between his feet toward ap¡¯Gravin¡¯s robes. His grin widened and grew more savage as he saw the man try to melt back into the stone wall.

    Something was happening in his gut. It was starting to roil, and Victor felt strange, tinglingnces shooting out into his torso, but nothing painful, nothing that might cause him to look away from the haunted professor¡¯s eyes. He was more than halfway through the enormous heart now, but his hunger had barely abated¡ªsomething about eating hearts when he was in his titan form kept him ravenous.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening to him?¡± Oy asked from the side, perhaps echoing ap¡¯Gravin¡¯s unspoken question because he nodded frantically at her words. ¡°He¡¯s exuding shadows . . .¡±

    ¡°Guard yourself,¡± Va said, and this time her voice wasn¡¯t amused; Victor could hear her moving away up the steps. As he took another bite, perhaps the penultimate one, he was dimly aware that Oy had stepped sideways into ap¡¯Gravin¡¯s cell and had pulled the door halfway closed. Ap¡¯Gravin, for his part, began to wail, writhing this way and that but going nowhere. How could he? Victor¡¯s giant form hung above him, madly grinning as the blood pooled on the stones and dark shadows began flowing from his flesh.

    As Victor lifted thest morsel of the prince¡¯s heart to his mouth, chomped it with his mighty teeth, and swallowed it down, he thought he was losing consciousness for a moment because his vision grew darker on the edges. When he nced around, tearing his eyes from the whimpering, cowering ap¡¯Gravin, he saw the room was filling with tangible, wispy, clinging shadows that poured from his flesh. The effect reminded him of a smoke bomb-; they were streaming thickly out of him, filling the area with their dark influence.

    ¡°Huh,¡± he grunted, lifting a hand to watch the dark ribbons wisp away from his skin, obscuring the man before him. Victor didn¡¯t worry about that; thest he¡¯d seen, just a moment ago, ap¡¯Gravin had been muttering some repetitive phrase, his eyes squeezed shut and his entire body trembling in a paroxysm of terror-fueled spiritual fervor. The wisps of dark, clinging Energy began to pack the space, what was left of it, anyway, after considering Victor¡¯s fifteen-foot bulk. He sat down, falling out of his squatting position, and kicked his legs out to either side of where he¡¯dst seen ap¡¯Gravin¡ªno sense letting the worm wriggle away.

    Perhaps it was his Berserk state, perhaps it was his increasingly Quinametzin mindset, but Victor wasn¡¯t particrly worried about what was happening, not yet. He¡¯d anticipated the heart having a profound effect; he¡¯d banked on it, in fact, expecting to not only improve himself but disturb the subject of his interrogation. Still, it was weird how quiet everything had be, how thick and heavy the darkness around him was. He reached out a hand to swipe at it, and that¡¯s when he realized he couldn¡¯t really feel his body anymore. Was he unconscious?

    <strong>#</strong>

    Oy-dak stepped back from the stairwell, away from the hulking giant and the strange, clinging shadows erupting from his form. She¡¯d felt his aura, felt the weight of his power, and she wasn¡¯t sure she should try to intervene, at least not yet. She wasn¡¯t entirely sure she could stand against him, and even if she could, there would surely be coteral damage if things came to blows. No, Va ap¡¯Yensha was from a reputable n, and Jaxin-dak had instructed her to be lenient with the human¡¯s request. She¡¯d wait and see what happened here.

    Something about how the giant had looked at her, nodding slightly, had instilled her with some confidence; he wasn¡¯t disregarding her admonishment about harming ap¡¯Gravin. Whatever he was doing with the gruesome disy of eating that monstrous heart and erupting with clinging shadows had something to do with the interrogation; he was setting a stage, trying to break the professor down. Oy got the impression that Victor had been surprised when ap¡¯Gravin had resisted his initial questioning but also that he was far from discouraged.

    She reached through the partially closed door, feeling the wispy shadows beginning topound on each other, filling the space. They clung to her like greasy, slick silk, sliding against her flesh as she pulled back, sending shivers through her skin and reminding her of when she was a child, fearful of things in the dark.

    What sort of Energy was this? Was this giant a Mind Caster? No, this was different. It felt primal, emotional, even. A spirit caster, then. Yes, it made sense¡ªwhen he¡¯d grown to the size of a giant, she¡¯d felt the heat of rage in his aura, felt as though it would be wise to vacate the area, a deep urge in the pit of her being to get away from him. Could she stop him if he went mad? If she hit him unawares with her most potent abyssal Energy st, perhaps.

    ¡°Perhaps,¡± she repeated softly, pulling her hand back as the stairwell filled with dark Energy. It continued topound on itself, rapidly multiplying as the thick shadows piled up. She couldn¡¯t see the giant or ap¡¯Gravin any longer, and, not wanting herself to be engulfed, she pulled the door shut. ¡°What do I do now?¡± she asked, looking around the cell that had previously held the disgraced professor.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor felt something happening at his Core. At first, he felt a surging, pulsing sensation that seemed simr to cultivating, simr to how it had felt when the Energy from other enemy hearts had replenished him. Something was different, though, and unable to see anything outside his eyes, he turned his vision inward. He could see the dark Energy in his pathways, flowing through them to his Core, but then he saw the problem he¡¯d created for himself¡ªthe dark Energy was only feeding one aspect of his Core, his darkly throbbing and pulsing fear-attuned orb.

    ¡°Shit,¡± he muttered or thought he did, but he couldn¡¯t hear himself. He tried to reach out with his will, tried to pull some of that Energy away from the fear-attuned orb and shove it into the smoldering red sphere of his rage. It moved with his will but slid off his rage-attuned orb, quickly flowing back to his fear affinity. ¡°Shit,¡± he repeated and tried again, this time trying to steer some of the Energy into his inspiration orb. Just as before, it moved in response to his will but simply passed around the white-gold orb, flowing directly back into the now-surging globe of fear-attuned Energy.

    Panic began to enter his mind, even stubborn as it was with the effects of Berserk and his bloodline. He¡¯d hardly begun to process the dark Energy in the air around him, and his fear-attuned orb was rapidly swelling, bing more prominent and denser than his other two affinities. Oyna¡¯s words came back to him, her many warnings about never letting his fear affinity outweigh the others. Suddenly Tes¡¯s admonition about waiting until he was stronger before using the heart struck home; she¡¯d meant his Core.

    He tried to push the Energy out of his pathways, forgoing the boost it was trying to offer him, but it was impossible; the shadows might have manifested outside of him, but the heart was in his belly. No matter how he pushed and strained against it, it just slipped around, finding another opening and surging to his Core. His will was prodigious, though; he tried to form barriers at all his pathways, blocking the Energy from his Core. He held it for a while but then began to suffer bone-deep pain as though his very being wasing undone.

    Fearing the worst, that he¡¯d literally burst from the pressure, he eased his resistance and watched as the dark Energy streamed into his Core, further swelling his rapidly expanding fear affinity. It grew so much that its outer edge approached his other two orbs. If Victor had to guess, he¡¯d say it was nearly double their density. ¡°<em>Pinche</em> fucker,¡± he groaned, ¡°that heart was strong!¡±

    What would happen to him if his fear affinity so badly outweighed the others? Oyna had thought it would spell disaster for his mentality. Would it change his personality? Would he be ruled by fear or his desire to spread it? He thought back to when he¡¯d first cast his Aspect of Terror spell and how he¡¯d nearly gone wild, terrorizing the countryside, starting with Va. No, he couldn¡¯t let that happen; he wouldn¡¯t be a Fear Caster.

    If his other two affinities wouldn¡¯t absorb this dark Energy, then he¡¯d have to think of another way, and only one thing came to mind. When he¡¯d built his inspiration orb and his fear orb, he¡¯d done it with Energy taken from his other affinities. First, he¡¯d made his inspiration-attuned orb with the remnants of the shattering of his original rage-attuned Core. Then, he¡¯d broken the attunement of some of his Energy from his inspiration and rage orbs and created his fear affinity. Hadn¡¯t Thunderbite said he had other affinities lurking within his spirit? Was it time to find another?

    It was the only thing he could think of, so while he continued to think and specte, Victor began to pull Energy from his three orbs. For every one part of rage and inspiration, he drew four parts of fear, and he began to wind them into a fourth ball, forming it in opposition to his fear orb. The Energy from the heart continued to flow into his fear-attuned orb, but he was draining it faster than it could grow. He pulled those threads of Energy down, wound them together, and with the considerable pressure of his will, he began to press and grind them, smashing them into each other, breaking their affinities.

    Victor didn¡¯t have Thunderbite to tell him when to stop, to tell him when he¡¯d taken exactly enough to create an orb that was a fourth of his total Energy, so he had to eyeball it. He watched the muddy orb he was forming start to pulse and lose its color, bing a slowly growing globe of gray, unattuned Energy. Still, it was smaller than the other three, and the fear-attuned orb was toorge, so he continued pulling threads into the gray sphere, squeezing and pressing them until they took on that same gray hue.

    He¡¯d been at it for what seemed a very long time when the Energy from the prince¡¯s heart finally tapered off and ceased to feed his fear orb. Sighing with relief, Victor measured his new orb against the other three, and when it seemed they were in bnce, he stopped pulling Energy from his three affinities. He stared at that new, gray globe and wondered what he was supposed to do now. He didn¡¯t have Thunderbite¡¯s wisdom. He couldn¡¯t even speak to Va; he was oblivious to the world around him.

    It seemed to him that his rage and fear were a more potent force on his mind than his inspiration. To him, his fear affinity was a negative influence, and his rage was sometimes negative and sometimes positive. He enjoyed his inspiration more than the other two and wished his affinity with it was stronger. He wished it could counteract those other two more easily. Wouldn¡¯t it be nice if he had another affinity he found to be positive, another affinity to act as a bnce to his fear? What if he couldn¡¯t find an affinity at all? Would this Energy be lost? Would he ever wake from this weird state?

    Victor tried to remember how Thunderbite had led him to his fear. He remembered answering questions about his actions, about his motivations, but it was all sort of a blur to him. He shook his head and decided to try another approach¡ªhe wanted something like inspiration, and he remembered how he¡¯d found that. He¡¯d been in one of the lowest points of his life, lost, discouraged, deep in Greatbone Mine, and left for dead by some thugs. He¡¯d let his mind wander and thought of Lam, streaming in, wings glittering, and smashing the shit out of some monsters, saving Victor and inspiring him to act beyond what he¡¯d felt was his quitting point.

    ¡°That felt good,¡± he said or tried to; again, no sound of his voice came to his ears. What else felt good in his life? His mind immediately went to Tha and Deyni, how he loved how he¡¯d helped them, how it felt good that he¡¯d done the right thing for once. This led him to other thoughts like that. He remembered killing Jikrak and saving Tellen¡ªhow he¡¯d rampaged all night long, celebrating his victory. That brought to mind the arena battles he¡¯d been in, how it felt to hear the crowd¡¯s adtion, and how he loved to put on a disy, despite his protestations. Even when he was angry at the people, at their bloodlust, he loved to hear them cheer, to feel the energy rolling off them.

    Perhaps because that feeling of joy in victory was something that had been with him since he was just a kid, first learning to wrestle, Victor focused on it, on those moments of glory. He grasped themon thread among those brief, joyful triumphs in his life and tried to push that feeling into that slowly pulsing, t gray orb of Energy at his Core. Almost as quickly as he remembered his fear affinity forming, the gray sphere red with a sparkling golden luster, starting at the very center and then warmly popting the whole mass.

    Victor sighed with relief as he saw and felt his new affinity; it might not be wholly good like inspiration, but it was certainly more positive, at least in his mind, than fear. He¡¯d done it, kept his fear from growing out of control, and formed a new affinity all on his own. He smiled at that warmly sparkling golden Energy, a stark counterpoint to his glowering, purple-ck fear affinity¡ªGlory.

    Victor opened his eyes and wasn¡¯t surprised to see the shadows had gone and that he was once again able to see and act. Whatever state the prince¡¯s heart had put him in was gone now that he¡¯d dealt with its Energy. He found he was no longer Berserk but was still seated in front of ap¡¯Gravin, a leg on either side of him. The man had pulled his knees to his chest and buried his face in them, his dark robespletely obscuring his form. Victor decided to ignore him for a moment. Instead, he focused on the System messages that had appeared in his vision:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have gained a new Feat: Born of Terror.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Born of Terror: You have a strong affinity for fear and have consumed the heart of one born of its dark cousin, terror. Your will attribute will be doubly effective when dealing with fear, terror, or their rted affinities.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Congrattions! You have improved your Core and gained a new affinity: Glory.***</strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 50 Titanic Herald, gained 6 strength, 11 vitality, 6 dexterity, 6 agility, 6 intelligence, and 6 will.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Level 50 ss refinement is avable. ss refinement is permanent. Human Energy cultivators will next be offered a ss refinement selection at level 60. To view your options and make your selection, ess the menu through your status page.***</strong>

    ¡°Well shit,¡± Victor said, pleased beyond his greatest expectations. Ap¡¯Gravin looked up at him, his eyes bloodshot, streaks of moisture at their corners and on his cheeks. Victor grinned at him but held off speaking just yet. He wanted to look at the numbers:

    <strong>Name:</strong>

    <strong>Victor Sandoval</strong>

    <strong>Race:</strong>

    <strong>Human (Quinametzin Bloodline) - Advanced 7</strong>

    <strong>ss:</strong>

    <strong>Titanic Herald - Legendary</strong>

    <strong>Level:</strong>

    <strong>50</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Spirit ss - Advanced 5</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>3.1, Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Glory 8.6, Inspiration 7.4</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>11823/11823</strong>

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>220</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>335 (369)</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>100</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>123</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>92</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>473</strong>

    ¡°Not bad,¡± he said, chuckling.

    ¡°You¡¯re a madman,¡± Ap¡¯Gravin said, his voice cracking and quavering.

    Victor rubbed at his chin and nced to the left, where Oy-dak had pulled the cell door open. He could hear Va returning down the stairs, her boots scuffing gently against the stone. He turned back to ap¡¯Gravin and said, ¡°Not really. Anyway, tell me something, Professor. Are you ready to talk?¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 9: Departure

    Book 5: Chapter 9: Departure

    ¡°What was the point of that disy?¡± ap¡¯Gravin muttered, perhaps trying to cling to some semnce of his earlier bluster.

    Victor grinned, shifting to a morefortable sitting position, pushing Lifedrinker¡¯s handle back and to the side; she¡¯d been pressing into the stone floor now that Victor wasn¡¯t titan-sized. ¡°Oh, I just wanted to give you a taste of what you¡¯re facing here. I wanted you to understand that I¡¯m not leaving you alone until I get what I want from you, and if the other professors here don¡¯t want me to harm you on their property, I¡¯ll take you away, and nothing in this world will stop me.¡±

    Ap¡¯Gravin stared at him, his eyes hollow, his blue flesh wan. He looked over to Oy, who still lingered by the door to his cell, and asked, ¡°You¡¯ll stand by and let this animal threaten me?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no love lost between you and me.¡± Her voice was flinty, not an ounce of sympathy in it, and she shrugged then added, ¡°If this man takes you too quickly for me to follow or too forcefully for me to stop, I won¡¯t lose sleep. I¡¯ll make my report and be done with it.¡±

    ¡°I might be down, woman, but I¡¯m not out. I wille back from this, and you know with my father¡¯s resources, I¡¯ll make you pay for that insolence.¡±

    Victor leaned forward and rested one of hisrge, strong hands on ap¡¯Gravin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I don¡¯t think making threats is going to serve you well. You should hunt for a new tone to use.¡±

    Ap¡¯Gravin shook his head slowly in defeat and said, ¡°Oy. Remove the spell script from the back of my neck. A bit of fire is all it will take. Not enough to injure me!¡±

    ¡°Oh? What is it, a Mind Trap? Have you locked away the memories Victor wants you to share?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, wench,¡± he growled, leaning forward as Oy brushed aside his hair, revealing the flesh of his neck. Victor couldn¡¯t see what she was doing from his position, but a momentter, a wisp of pink smoke drifted into the air, and ap¡¯Gravin cursed¡ªa word the System didn¡¯t trante¡ªand red at her. ¡°You did that on purpose.¡±

    ¡°Did I?¡± She smiled and leaned a shoulder against the wall, looking at something behind Victor and smiling. Victor followed her gaze and saw Va standing there with her arms folded, a rather wicked grin of her own revealing sharp teeth.

    ¡°Well?¡± he asked, turning back to the still-cowering, haunted-looking man.

    ¡°Bah! It¡¯s nothing¡ªa trifling transgression. To be honest, I¡¯m not sure why I locked this memory away. I took a bit of blood from the infirmary; a sample the nurse kept after that upstart was cracked in the head by a stone. I gathered many such from many promising students. My father was doing research into bloodlines with the help of some off-world mage. Aplete waste of time, if I recall correctly; he abandoned the project and cut ties with the chatan.¡±

    ¡°Nurse Tyliste helped you?¡±

    ¡°What? No. She was unaware. What does it matter? This is nothing! Why, it¡¯s practically my right as a senior professor!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Victor growled.

    ¡°You¡¯d be correct, Victor.¡± Oy moved away from the wall and produced, seemingly out of thin air, a pen and a length of parchment. She held them out to the bedraggled ap¡¯Gravin and said, ¡°Professor, I think I¡¯ll need you to write a statement and list the names of every student whose privacy and security you vited.¡±

    ¡°I think not!¡± He pointedly looked away from the proffered writing utensils and focused his eyes somewhere near the base of the stairs to Victor¡¯s right.

    ¡°So, what sort of summoning spell was your father doing with Boaegh? So far, you¡¯ve told me very little I hadn¡¯t figured out for myself.¡±

    ¡°Exactly as I said! Summoning rtions of gifted students. I don¡¯t know the details of the summoning rituals; I was never a part of them. I handed my father the samples on visits home, and that was that.¡±

    ¡°That was that?¡± Victor pressed. ¡°A <em>senior </em>professor at an esteemed magical school finds out his father is doing a ritual to summon people from around the universe to ¡®research bloodlines¡¯ and doesn¡¯t get at all curious?¡± Victor held up his fingers in quotation marks as he spoke, though it seemed the gesture only served to confuse the professor. The sarcastic tone wasn¡¯t lost on the man, though; he shifted ufortably.

    ¡°Fine, if you must know, the chatan insisted he knew a way to steal bloodlines and, failing that, to siphon potency from powerful Energy users. It wasughable, though, those few he attempted to summon from this world resisted his efforts, and most of those summoned from off-world were so pitiful in their development that they were utterly useless. My father sent the slithering fool packing after a few months.¡± Ap¡¯Gravin¡¯s voice cracked, and he licked his lips, clearly suffering from a dry mouth. He¡¯d recovered a bit from the ordeal Victor had put him through, but he was obviously still shaken.

    ¡°The spell, though, tell me about it. Could it have pulled the victims from the past?¡± He leaned closer but eased his attempts to intimidate; it seemed ap¡¯Gravin was ready to talk.

    ¡°An intriguing question.¡± Ap¡¯Gravin sighed and sat up a bit straighter, leaning back into the stone wall. He nced at Oy, at the parchment in her hand that she¡¯d let fall to her thigh, and sighed again, more dramatically. ¡°Oh, olddy¡¯s bones! I¡¯ll tell you what I know, but it isn¡¯t much. My father hired a dozen Energy users to work with that snake. The only prerequisites to their hiring were a strong will, arge Energy pool, and a willingness to sign a binding contract, one that wouldn¡¯t allow them to speak about his work. I only know that much because my father bragged to me about how easy it was to bend people to his bidding with a bit of treasure.¡±

    ¡°Go on.¡± Victor¡¯s voice was calm, but his steady gaze and stony countenance made him appear imcable.

    ¡°So, he had more than two dozen of these pocket casters, essentially living Energy stones. Boaegh¡¯s summon spell could have been potent, indeed, given the right ritual space, which, for the record, I never saw. Still, my father did talk about it; he¡¯d spent a fortune on rare materials, one of which was a primal fire conduit. So, to answer your question, I¡¯d say with that sort of ritualized effort involved, breaching time as well as space would have been possible.¡±

    ¡°Is that true, Oy?¡± Va asked from behind Victor.

    ¡°I¡¯m not an expert on summoning rituals, but it sounds usible. I don¡¯t understand how summoning through time would work, however. What¡¯s to stop me from summoning an earlier version of myself, thereby making it impossible for her to experience my life and, in the end, summon herself? Isn¡¯t that a paradox?¡± Oy lifted one hand to tap the pen against her chin, her eyes staring distantly into space.

    ¡°You are ignorant,¡± ap¡¯Gravin snorted.

    ¡°Go on,¡± Victor growled, some of his earlier irritation entering his voice.

    ¡°When you alter a timeline in such a way, it creates another. In this timeline, Oy, you weren¡¯t summoned. In your hypothetical example, the earlier Oy would cease to exist in her timeline, removed as though mysteriously murdered or lost. Life would go on without her, just as it would if you died now¡ªin a matter of a few weeks, the school would hire a new professor, and all of your simpering, fawning students would forget you as they went on with their lives.¡±

    ¡°Lovely as always, Professor.¡± Oy frowned, shook her head, and added, ¡°Still, he is more expert in these matters than I. I suppose it makes sense with what I know of multiple universes. I do recall reading about timelines and their many branches in one obscure text or another.¡±

    Victor stood up, shaking his head. He didn¡¯t feel like he¡¯d gained much at all from ap¡¯Gravin. A bunch of maybes and possibilities. He looked at the still-cowering man and said, ¡°Well, it looks like I¡¯ll never know exactly what happened unless maybe this guy¡¯s father was present for the summoning. Maybe he has the details of the spell, or he knows the names of some of the <em>pendejos </em>that helped Boaegh.¡± He turned to Va and added, ¡°Unless we killed them all when we dealt with ap¡¯Horrin. Anyway, the father¡¯s easy enough to find, huh? Pretty famous noble around Persi Gables?¡±

    ¡°My father? He owns much of that city and Gelica. Approach him at your peril.¡± Ap¡¯Gravin managed to sound proud, disgraced though he was.

    ¡°You can put him back in his cell. You want me to?¡± Victor leaned forward as if to grab the professor by the robes, but the man squirmed to the side and, on his hands and knees, scurried into his cell. Oy smirked and closed the door behind him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you went to all that trouble,¡± she gestured at the pool of drying blood near Victor¡¯s feet and the room in general as if to indicate the shadows that had once filled it, ¡°for very little gain. At least I heard his confession about stealing students¡¯ blood; he¡¯ll be disgraced, and many powerful families will demand justice. Endangering students in such a way will be a ck mark on his family¡¯s name for decades.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t gain much from him, but I gained plenty from my . . . theatrics. It¡¯s hard to exin, so I won¡¯t. Let¡¯s just say I¡¯m sorry you had to see that; I know it was disgusting.¡± Victor pulled a towel from one of his storage rings and worked on scrubbing his chin; he could feel the drying blood beginning to itch ufortably.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen worse. Tell me, Victor, how do you manipte your size the way you do? Weren¡¯t you my height when you first came to my office?¡±

    ¡°He was,¡± Va said, stepping closer. ¡°It¡¯s an uncanny ability of his, though, not one that can be taught. Sorry, Oy.¡±

    Victor offered Va a quick smile; he wasn¡¯t sure why she felt the need to speak for him¡ªhe knew better than to share Tes¡¯s magic¡ªbut he didn¡¯t mind. He concentrated for a moment, then cast the spell in question, feeding it the same amount of Energy as he had back in the inn. A momentter, he was no longer looking down at the professor but stood eye-to-eye with her. ¡°That should keep me from banging my head on the lintels, eh?¡±

    ¡°If only, just,¡± Oy chuckled.

    ¡°Listen,¡± Victor said, ¡°I appreciate you standing by and helping me to bluff that guy when I threatened to take him out of here.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s always been a bit of a thorn in my side. I was happy to y along. I¡¯m d to hear it <em>was </em>just a bluff, by the way.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course.¡± Victor shrugged and reached an arm around Va¡¯s shoulders. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to cause that kind of trouble for Va and her family.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear . . .¡± Va patted his wrist and smiled up at him.

    ¡°Things worked out well enough,¡± Oy said, speaking almost simultaneously with Va. She lowered her volume and trailed off a bit when she realized she was interrupting. Va just shrugged and nodded to her, then the professor added, ¡°Will there be anything else? I¡¯m sure Jaxin-dak will send a report to the ap¡¯Yensha household along with all the other alumni with news of ap¡¯Gravin¡¯s confession and subsequent punishment once the board metes it out.¡±

    ¡°What if he locks his memories away again and denies everything you say?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°Little chance of that with the cor he¡¯s wearing. He¡¯d struggle to create a light, let alone practice advanced mind magic.¡±

    ¡°All right, then. Let¡¯s go, Va. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever learn more about how I was summoned, but I suppose we can ask the professor¡¯s father if we ever find the time. Right now, we have an army we¡¯re supposed to meet.¡±

    ¡°An army?¡± Oy looked intrigued.

    ¡°Victor¡¯s leading a conquest of the Untamed Marches with my household.¡±

    ¡°Truly? That¡¯ll be the first expansion attempt in a very long time. More than my lifetime, for certain.¡± She turned back to Victor, her eyes narrowing with renewed interest. ¡°Do you have arge force?¡±

    ¡°Well, Lady Rellia and Captain Lam have been gathering troops for months now. I think they were hoping to gather some two thousand, but I don¡¯t have thetest numbers.¡± Victor looked down at Va, wondering if she¡¯d provide more details.

    ¡°Oh! Wait a moment,¡± Oy said before Va could chime in, ¡°Rellia ap¡¯Yensha, Perci Gables . . . now it¡¯s falling into ce!¡± She tapped her temple, ¡°There¡¯s been an army growing there all spring! Some of the students were talking about it when they came for the new term, thousands of tents out in the grasnds beyond the city¡¯s walls.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Victor¡¯s being modest, as well.¡± Va shifted out from under his arm and gave his shoulder a friendly p. ¡°Rellia has raised nearly a full legion¡ªsix thousand men and women ready to push into the Marches for glory.¡±

    ¡°Glory,¡± Victor said, smiling at the coincidence of her phrasing.

    ¡°Something funny?¡± Va raised an eyebrow, taking another step back.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell youter. Anyway,¡± Victor turned to the tall, sparkling-eyed Shadeni and held out a hand, ¡°thanks, Oy-dak. I appreciate your patience with me.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t say I wasn¡¯t worried, on the verge of acting, honestly, when you filled the room with those cloying ck shadows, but still,¡± she reached forward to grasp his hand, her grip surprisingly strong, ¡°it was nice to meet you. Good luck with your conquest; I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be hearing more about you and your escapades.¡±

    Victor nodded, smiling, more rxed than he thought he should be. He hadn¡¯t really learned much from the disgraced professor, but he felt more at ease, more aplished. As he turned to the stairs, gesturing for Va to precede him, he wondered if his good mood had more to do with what he¡¯d aplished with his Core than anything involving ap¡¯Gravin. As he followed Va up, he turned his vision inward, admiring the four pulsing, throbbing spheres of his attunements¡ªsmoldering crimson rage, gleaming white-gold inspiration, glowering purple-ck fear, and glittering golden glory. Victor was pleased with what he saw.

    Va quickly guided them to the main central hallway of the academy, and Victor moved to walk beside her as they turned toward the bright, sunlit exit. ¡°I leveled when I ate that heart. I also gained three ranks in my Core and unlocked a new affinity.¡± Heughed when Va rewarded him with the expected outrage.

    ¡°Seriously?¡± she cried, her voice rising with disbelief. ¡°How does someone so reckless alwayse out on top?¡±

    ¡°In my defense, it was a close thing¡ªthat heart wanted to boost my fear affinity way past my others. I almost lost myself to it, but then I had the idea to use the extra Energy to create a fourth affinity.¡±

    ¡°How is that in your defense?¡±

    ¡°Well, I mean, it wasn¡¯t just luck; I had to scramble to avoid some pretty hefty consequences for my reckless behavior. You see?¡±

    ¡°I see. So. You¡¯re level fifty. Before you tell me about that, tell me about your new affinity.¡± Va quickened her steps, moving around some slow, gossiping students, their ribboned, curly-haired heads pressed together as they whispered.

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor replied, hurrying after her, ¡°that¡¯s what I was grinning about back there. It¡¯s glory. My new affinity is glory.¡±

    ¡°Glory? That¡¯s an affinity?¡± Va frowned but nodded as she thought it over. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s not much stranger than inspiration. In stories, Spirit Casters always have affinities like hate, fear, and love. One story I remember had a king of the Urghat whose affinity was greed, and he drove his people to wild, terrible acts of war in pursuit of riches.¡±

    ¡°d I didn¡¯t find an affinity like that . . .¡± Victor narrowed his eyes, remembering his hurried thoughts as he¡¯d struggled to find his new affinity. He¡¯d followed his emotions and hadn¡¯t really had a say in the matter when the gray, unattuned orb began to fill with glory. What would he have done if it had started to fill with something like hate or greed?

    Va interrupted his dreary what-ifs, asking, ¡°Well? What about your level? Fifty is quite a milestone!¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t looked yet! Been busy talking to you, that creepy professor, and that not-so-creepy Oy-dak.¡±

    ¡°She was something else, wasn¡¯t she? I¡¯ve never seen a Shadeni with eyes like that. Is it a bloodline, do you think?¡±

    ¡°Maybe,¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°Okay, so . . .¡± Va almost stepped on a little girl rolling a bright red wooden ball over the cobbles. ¡°Oh, dear!¡± She scooped the little Ghelli up and carried her to the sidewalk with her ball. ¡°I almost stepped on you, sweetie. Be careful! What if I had been a rdii?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t look like a rdii,¡± the girl replied sweetly, brushing a wave of curly hair out of her eyes to inspect Va more carefully.

    ¡°Cheeky,¡± Vaughed, holding out her ball. ¡°Take this and be more careful!¡±

    Victor watched the interaction with a stupid grin, happy to see something so innocent y out. ¡°Better than talking about war, I guess. Shit,¡± he said as they started walking again, ¡°that reminds me! Rellia really raised that many troops?¡±

    ¡°She and Lam. People are hungry for adventure and conquest. The Empire has stagnated for too long, the power locked up by too few. If we don¡¯t go soon, Rellia fears our little army will be the seed of a true insurrection.¡±

    ¡°You called it a ¡®legion.¡¯ Is that a technical term? I mean, ¡®cause you call the Empire¡¯s army ¡®the legion¡¯ too.¡±

    ¡°The Ridonne Empire keeps a standing army of six thousand troops at the capital. That¡¯s the main Legion, with a capital L. Of course, there are six other equally sized forces loyal to the Empire stationed in strategic locations. When people say ¡®Legion,¡¯ they¡¯re talking about any of those armies.¡±

    ¡°So, a legion is six thousand soldiers?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Each legion has ten cohorts led by a captain, and each cohort has six divisions led by lieutenants. Smaller units within each division are called squads, and those are headed by sergeants. I¡¯m sure Rellia and Lam have been busy trying to organize the troops in such a fashion.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s so weird.¡± Victor scratched his head. ¡°The System is tranting some of those military offices and terms in a confusing manner to me; some of the words, like captain, sound like modern terms, I mean from my world, and then others, like legion and cohort, are straight out of ancient history.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Va nodded, guiding him past the busy square and toward the gatehouse where the main road intersected the wall. ¡°That¡¯s how it works. The System is trying to best fit the meaning of the word I¡¯m using with the word in your vocabry. I¡¯m not surprised they don¡¯t match your world¡¯s military terms; I mean all together.¡±

    He heard her words, but a new sight grabbed his attention as they rounded the corner. ¡°Ah! So that¡¯s the airship!¡± Victor shaded his eyes and looked over a rooftop. He could just see the corner of the wall surrounding the academy grounds and a ship hanging in the air tethered by a series of long, thick cables to the crented tower. It looked prettyrge, but the perspective of looking up from some distance away made it hard to judge. Still, he thought he saw figures moving on the deck, which gave the impression of a vessel simr in size to pirate ships he¡¯d seen in movies and games.

    It was shaped like a wooden galley, with high fore and aft decks and portholes along the sides, but the resemnce ended there. The sails were more like wings¡ªhuge silvery spans held taut by wooden beams jutting out from either side of the hull. Big circr, metallic rings lined the keel and emitted yellow, pulsing light. Were those what kept the craft aloft?

    ¡°Yes! There it is,¡± Va replied, ¡°the <em>Wind Dancer</em>. Are you sure you want to get going right away? Shouldn¡¯t you explore your options for refining your ss?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it on the ship. How long will it take to get to Persi Gables?¡±

    ¡°Only two days on the airship, assuming nothing goes wrong.¡± Va pointed to a stone stairway leading up to the top of the wall next to the gate. ¡°We can get up to the rampart there.¡±

    ¡°Right. Let¡¯s get aboard, and then I¡¯ll check out my refinement options. You aren¡¯t interested in that, right? I¡¯ll just lock myself in my cabin and . . .¡± Va turned and punched him hard in the shoulder, and Victorughed, ¡°Hey!¡±

    ¡°You better tell me about your refinements!¡±

    ¡°I was joking! Sheesh!¡± He winced, hamming it up, rubbing his shoulder as though she¡¯d hurt him, and Va chuckled, shaking her head. Together they mounted the steps and made their way over the ramparts toward the ship, and Victor was d to be moving to the next phase of his adventure; he¡¯d had enough of Fainhallow.

 Book 5: Chapter 10: Aboard the Wind Dancer

    Book 5: Chapter 10: Aboard the Wind Dancer

    Victor stood on the prow of the <em>Wind Dancer</em> and watched the mountain slopes drift by beneath the ship. They¡¯d just cast off a few minutes ago, but the academy was already lost to sight, having slipped from view as the ship traversed the mountain passes. The weather was good, and ording to Captain ap¡¯Veral, it was easier to keep the vessel down among the peaks so long as they didn¡¯t need to avoid storms. Victor turned away from the railing and walked over the springy, polished decking to the hatch leading down to the crewpartments. He and Va had each been assigned a small room.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Va called, hurrying over. She¡¯d been speaking with the first mate, a hairy, goat-horned Cadwalli named Grez.

    ¡°Down to my room; time to look at my upgrade options.¡± Victor grinned at her outraged face and pressed on, ¡°I was going to tell you before I selected something.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I would hope so! Come, let¡¯s see what¡¯s in store for you.¡± She ducked past him, through the narrow doorway, and down the short flight of steps to the cramped hallway below. Victor followed, very grateful for the spell Tes had taught him. If he¡¯d had to traverse the ship¡¯s narrow, low-ceilinged passageways at his full height, he might just have found his room and stayed there for the entire voyage. Va stopped before his door and waited for him to catch up and open it.

    ¡°Come on, then,¡± he said, stepping into the room. It was small but very nicely appointed. A narrow bed lined one wall, a small writing desk and chair sat near the door, and built-in cabs and shelving lined the walls. The shelves were all protected by a brass bar that could be lowered to ess the contents; it was meant to keep things from falling out during rough weather. Currently, they were lined with books and curios that Victor hadn¡¯t had a chance to examine; presumably, they were there to give the space more of a lived-in look or perhaps left by a former upant.

    He stepped over to the bed, neatly made with a gray nket and two fluffy white pillows, and sat on the edge. Va sat in the desk chair after closing the door behind her. ¡°I¡¯ll be patient. Take your time and read through them,¡± she said, folding one long, uniformed leg over the other.

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor nodded, then he went to his status menu and selected the option for ss refinement:

    <strong>***ss refinement option 1: Titanic Champion - Legendary. Pre-requisite: 1. The strong presence of a titanic bloodline originating from an Elder race. 2. A Spirit Core with affinities for Glory and one or more of Inspiration, Bravery, Honor, or Loyalty. A paragon of your people, you thrive on achieving the impossible. You stand ready to take up the fight when others flee the battlefield. ss attributes: Strength, Vitality, Will, Agility, Dexterity, Intelligence.***</strong>

    ¡°Oh shit!¡± Victor said, grinning broadly at Va after reading his first option. ¡°I got a really cool-sounding option!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised,¡± Va chuckled. ¡°Another legendary ss?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Titanic Champion, and it requires my new affinity. It doesn¡¯t give unbound attributes, but the ones it does give are listed in a different order than my current ss. Attributes listed first are usually given more points, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Va nodded.

    ¡°Right. Well, let me read the next one.¡± Victor moved to the next option and studied it:

    <strong></strong><strong>***ss refinement option 2: Quinametzin Foe yer - Legendary. Prerequisites: 1. Sufficiently advanced Quinametzin bloodline. 2. Epic-level Berserk or Berserk-like ability. 3. Epic-level strength or vitality. You have unlocked the secrets of one of your primogenitors¡¯ sses. epting this new ss will grant you abilities based upon those buried deep in the history of your blood. ss attributes: Strength, Vitality.***</strong>

    ¡°Uh. Well, it¡¯s not going to be an easy decision, I guess.¡± He frowned and scratched absently at the stubble on his cheek while he read through the description again.

    ¡°Well? What is it?¡± Va pressed.

    ¡°I thought you were going to be patient.¡±

    ¡°I was, but then you told me about your first option, so now I¡¯m too curious to rx!¡± She leaned forward, and Victor smiled, enjoying this bit of leverage he had over her.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not that great. I don¡¯t want to tell you something embarrassing. I mean, you didn¡¯t talk to me when you went through your tier-five refinement . . .¡±

    ¡°Victor! I¡¯ve been tier five since you met me!¡± She leaned forward and punched him in the knee, and her knuckles delivered a surprisingly painful crunch.

    ¡°Easy!¡± he said,ughing. ¡°All right, all right. It¡¯s a Quinametzin Foe yer. I guess it¡¯s based on my bloodline; the System message seems to indicate that it figured out the ss based on my progress with unlocking my, uh, inner Quinametzin. It only grants strength and vitality on level-ups, so you can kinda guess what sort of ss it is.¡±

    ¡°I could guess that from the name¡ªFoe yer. The description doesn¡¯t contain warnings like that Rager ss you were offeredst time?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°I suppose it would be nice to learn more of your Quinametzin ancestry, to gain some of their abilities beyond what you know, but the champion ss sounds better to me.¡± Va shrugged and held her palms up on her knees as though showing she had nothing more to offer.

    ¡°Well, yeah. Let me see what else there is.¡± Victor advanced the System screen and read the following page:

    <strong></strong><strong>***ss refinement option 3: Quinametzin Spirit Channeler - Legendary. Prerequisites: 1. Sufficiently advanced Quinametzin bloodline. 2. Sufficiently advanced Spirit Core. 3. Epic-level will. You have unlocked the secrets of one of your primogenitors¡¯ sses. epting this new ss will grant you abilities based upon those buried deep in the history of your blood. ss attributes: Will, Intelligence.</strong>

    Victor described the third ss and asked, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m getting these Quinametzin options because I took the Titanic Herald ssst time?¡±

    ¡°It would make sense. Didn¡¯t the description of that one say something about bringing your ancient bloodline to light or some such?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Again, not an easy decision, but based on the ss attributes, I think it would be a pretty big change from what I¡¯ve been doing. I wish the System would tell me more about the damn sses rather than that vague, ¡®You have unlocked the secrets, h h.¡¯ Like, what secrets? You know?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s frustrating . . .¡± Va¡¯s eyes opened wide, and she twisted a little ring on her pinky. ¡°Wait! Tes gave me books from Coloss about ss advancements! Let me see if I can find anything.¡±

    ¡°I doubt there¡¯ll be anything about Quinametzin,¡± Victor said, frowning, but Va was already flipping through a thick book, so he just looked at his next option:

    <strong>***ss refinement option 4: Battlemaster - Epic. Prerequisites: 1. Sufficiently advanced bloodline. 2. Sufficiently advanced weapon skills. 3. Sufficiently advanced attributes. 4. A Core with appropriate affinities. 5. A history with and love forbat. In your life, you¡¯ve known strife well. Not only have you survived the many conflicts in your path, but you¡¯ve thrived on them. A Battlemaster seeks to be a paragon of conflict, an aficionado of destruction and survival. ss attributes: Strength, Vitality, Agility, Dexterity, Will, Intelligence.***</strong>

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Victor frowned, rereading the option. Va looked up from the book and raised an eyebrow, so he continued, ¡°My fourth option was only epic. It sounds really in, but it has a lot of prerequisites¡ªBattlemaster.¡±

    ¡°So, you were offered three legendary sses and then an epic one?¡± Va drummed her nails on the book, then said, ¡°That is very unusual. I¡¯ve only ever heard of options increasing in rarity on the System¡¯s menu.¡±

    ¡°So, maybe it¡¯s more rare,¡± Victor frowned and shook his head. ¡°No, it can¡¯t be. I¡¯m the only Quinametzin alive, right? Maybe it¡¯s more exclusive? Has harder to meet prerequisites? I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Maybe. Let me see here. That might be easier to find.¡± Va reopened the book, and Victor checked to see if there were any other ss options:

    <strong></strong><strong>***ss refinement option 5: No Refinement - You are pleased with the path on which you find yourself and choose to continue until your next refinement option.***</strong>

    ¡°That was thest one.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm. Just a minute. Oh, Victor! Battlemaster is in this book!¡± Va grew quiet, and her eyes rapidly tracked the text she was reading, so Victor tried to be patient. He leaned back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking about his options. If he had to choose at that moment, he felt he¡¯d lean toward the first one, the Titanic Champion ss. ¡°Victor, the Battlemaster ss is almost never offered and highly sought after. It seems the Vesh often strived to get that offering. The hardest part is the final prerequisite; the System isn¡¯t fair or methodical about whom it awards the ¡®history with and love forbat¡¯ prerequisite to.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°There are countless anecdotes about warriors, diators, and duelists trying to gain this ss. Very few see it offered early on¡ªbefore tier ten¡ªand usually, by the time they do see it, they¡¯ve started down a road they don¡¯t want to change. One man, a great arena champion named Lobsos, imed to have a record of more than ten thousand personalbats on his way to tier ten but never was offered the Battlemaster ss.¡±

    ¡°So, what¡¯s so great about it?¡±

    ¡°Two reasons. Apparently, people with the Battlemaster ss are often awarded skills and abilities that outperform those of other epic-level sses. More, though, it¡¯s a prerequisite for some legendary sses that are highly coveted on Zaafor. Let¡¯s see. Huh,¡± she frowned, ¡°you¡¯d think those skills and abilities would be listed, but it starts to get vague again. Here¡¯s an anecdote about a Battlemaster who could ¡®project his de, sweeping the battlefield of chaff,¡¯ whatever that means. Another anecdote of a Battlemaster who was nearly impossible to harm. He left Zaafor in search of greater challenges.¡±

    ¡°Okay, does it list what the sses it opens up are?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re only hinted at. It seems the Battlemasters who advanced were a bit tight-lipped. Victor! The warlord was a Battlemaster!¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡±

    ¡°Yes! At tier-seven. He never told anyone what ss refinements he took after that.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor frowned and groaned. He stilly on his back, his legs hanging off the bed. He rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands and sighed, ¡°Why isn¡¯t any decision ever easy? When I read my first option, I was like, this is it! Now I have no idea what to do. Do you think it would be wise to step down from a legendary ss to take an epic ss in the hopes of some hinted-at, super rare refinements?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. What about your mentor?¡± Va gestured toward the bracer on Victor¡¯s wrist.

    ¡°Yeah. I was going to ask him, but I kind of wanted a better idea of what I was going to do first. Khul Bach is a little . . . judgmental.¡± He chuckled and shook his head ruefully. He reached for the pink gem on his bracer and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be right back. I¡¯m not sure you¡¯ll even notice I¡¯m gone.¡± Before Va could reply, he channeled Energy into the gem, and the world around him changed.

    The color bled from everything, and then the walls, furnishings, and even Va faded to nothing. In that weird ne of white and gray light and strange, sharp angels and reflections, he saw Khul Bach seated before him, as always, his eyes open and expectant. ¡°Youe to me much improved, young Titan! You¡¯ve grown in power. I sense a newplexity in the Energy you sent into the crystal. A new affinity?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Victor said. ¡°I uncovered an affinity for glory. Are you familiar with it? I haven¡¯t done any experimenting yet.¡±

    ¡°Glory! Cousin to pride and the light side of shadowy lust. It¡¯s a good affinity, especially for one set on fighting his way to greatness. Congrattions, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. I also reached level fifty and have a difficult decision to make.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Tell me, then,d. What are your options?¡±

    Victor pulled up his ss refinement menu again and read through the various options. Khul Bach nodded along, making little sounds of interest and even a few exmations like, ¡°Oh!¡± a few times. Still, it wasn¡¯t until Victor read his final option that Khul Bach began to get agitated, clearly eager to say something. When Victor finished reading it, he nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s the one.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s only epic.¡± Victor¡¯s lips quirked into a small smile at his words¡ªimagine saying ¡®only¡¯ epic!

    ¡°Yes, but it leads to one of the best legendary sses known to my people.¡±

    ¡°Do you know what it is? ¡®Cause the book Va got in Coloss only hints about it.¡±

    ¡°Of course I do. The leader of the Degh during my youth, Brodarak, was a Battlemaster. He joined the Ancestor Stone shortly after I did, and I learned of his refinement. What¡¯s more, you met one who was a Battlemaster, did you not? The upstart mutant, the king of the Vesh, Warlord Thoargh.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Va said the book listed him as one of the few who¡¯d gotten the Battlemaster ss. He never told anyone what his refinement was, though.¡±

    ¡°Hah! Yes, he did! Why, I called him by his refinement just seconds ago.¡±

    Victor looked at Khul Bach nkly for a moment, but he wasn¡¯t stupid; he connected the dots and said softly, ¡°Warlord? That was his ss refinement?¡±

    ¡°Yes. He may well have ensured that he was the only one after he broke the Degh.¡±

    ¡°Is it that good? You really think I should take this Battlemaster ss?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. I believe it will make your conquest of Zaafor that much easier.¡±

    ¡°Do you think the, uh, warlord, kept that refinement, or do you think he changed it after ten levels and just made people keep calling him that?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea about the answer to that one. It may be that the ss is so good that it¡¯s worth keeping over other options, or it may be that it led him to better and better refinements. Regardless, your choice is clear. Follow an assured path to greatness, or gamble with one of your other offerings. You¡¯re young and still rtively low-tier, though. If you take Battlemaster now, you will have further chances to refine it into something else. Perhaps Warlord, perhaps something better. You know what I rmend.¡± Khul Bach folded his arms and settled back, his shoulders slumping slightly to indicate that he was done with the matter.

    ¡°All right. Thanks, coach. I¡¯ll speak with you again soon.¡±

    ¡°Coach, hmm? Let¡¯s not get too flippant, young Titan. Very well. Continue your good work.¡±

    Victor smiled, pleased at the praise, and then he severed the connection of his Energy to the crystal, and the world snapped back into being, recing the white, angr expanse of Khul Bach¡¯s crystal ne. As he refocused on his room in the airship, he heard the tail-end of Va¡¯s words, ¡°. . . just wait for you here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± Heughed, sitting up on the side of the bed again.

    ¡°So fast? Wasn¡¯t he avable?¡±

    ¡°He was! We spoke for several minutes. Time in the crystal is weird. Anyway, he gave me some advice. It was kinda weird, to be honest. Last time he made me listen to all his reasoning, then he led me to the decision I wanted to make. This time he basically just told me what to do.¡±

    ¡°Which was?¡±

    ¡°He thinks I should take the Battlemaster refinement. He said his old leader or ruler, or whatever, had that ss. He also told me what the warlord¡¯s refinement was.¡± Victor grinned, wondering how best to tease Va about what he¡¯d learned.

    ¡°Truly? He knew the warlord?¡±

    ¡°He knew of him. Still, you¡¯re going to feel silly when you learn what the refinement is . . .¡±

    ¡°Warlord!¡± Va pped her hands together as she connected Victor¡¯s ham-handed clues.

    ¡°Really? You got it that easily? I just had to say you¡¯d feel silly?¡±

    ¡°It was obvious after that.¡± Va nodded. ¡°Well? What will you do?¡±

    ¡°Honestly? I want to resist all the advice. I want to make my own choice and go with one of the Quinametzin sses or the first one, the Titanic Champion. I mean, they all sound better than Battlemaster to me, and I hate being told what to do.¡± Va nodded, but her eyes narrowed, and Victor could tell she was about to give him some advice, so he beat her to it. ¡°Look, I said I want to do that. I didn¡¯t say I was going to. That book says the Battlemaster ss is rare and coveted, Khul Bach told me to take it, and that might be enough, but really the thing that clinches it for me is that the System presented itst, even though it¡¯s an epic option and my others were all legendary.¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t have said it better.¡± Va nodded. ¡°It might feel like a step back, going from a legendary ss to an epic one, but I think it will pay off. I think you¡¯re making a wise decision. A mature one.¡±

    ¡°Oh, brother,¡± Victor chuckled. ¡°You trying to get me to change my mind?¡± Va¡¯s eyes widened, and heughed. ¡°Just kidding. Well? Should I do it now?¡±

    ¡°Yes, unless you want to ask the sailors for advice.¡±

    ¡°Tempting, but nah.¡± Victor opened his menu again and scrolled through the options until he saw Battlemaster and selected it.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have refined your ss: Battlemaster.***</strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have earned a ss spell: Energy Charge - Basic.***</strong>

    <strong>***Energy Charge - Basic: Use the Energy in your Core to shield and propel you in a straight line at terrific speed for a short distance. Those in your path will be knocked aside and suffer damage. Energy Cost: 1000. Cooldown: Short.***</strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have earned a ss feat: Battlefield Awareness.***</strong>

    <strong>***Battlefield Awareness: You have an uncanny knack for knowing where you are needed on the battlefield. You can sense when a line is about to break or where people suffer the most. More, you can gauge, at a nce, the rtive strength of one group of soldiers versus another.***</strong>

 Book 5: Chapter 11: A Detour

    Book 5: Chapter 11: A Detour

    Victor stared at the ceiling of his cabin, watching the shifting lighting in through his porthole as it flickered over the wooden nks. The ship was moving quickly, and the clouds outside made the light and shadows dance in hypnotic patterns. They were more than halfway to their destination, still passing through intermittent mountain ranges but rapidly approaching the Beliss Peaks, where the ship would break free and, supposedly, fly over Lake Beliss and make a final approach to Persi Gables. Victor had seen enough of Lake Beliss to know that it wasn¡¯t something a ship, even an airship, would cross in a matter of minutes. No, if he were to guess, he¡¯d say theke was simr to the Great Lakes back on Earth, more an ind sea by conventional terms.

    While the ship progressed through the sky, Victor was rxing, wasting time, and waiting for dinner; the captain had invited him and Va to his table on this, theirst night aboard. Victor had gone to his cabin a little after noon with ns to cultivate Energy or study his spell patterns¡ªhe¡¯d had the idea of trying to improve orbine some of his existing spells now that he knew a lot more about spell patterns in general, and now that he had the Elder Magic feat.

    As soon as he¡¯d entered the cabin, though, and reclined on the bed, he¡¯d had a hard time focusing on anything productive. His mind kept wandering to Old Mother and wondering how long she¡¯d waited for him on the spirit ne. He thought about Tha and Deyni, sort of wishing he could drop everything and visit them, but knowing full well that he couldn¡¯t afford to disappear for a week or more, not when a legion of soldiers awaited him. Those thoughts spurred a whole rabbit hole of others¡ªwould he be taken seriously by the soldiers? Would he know what to do? How would he manage while fighting on a battlefield?

    It seemed he¡¯d made a good choice with Battlemaster as his new ss; his new feat seemed tailor-made for his near future. ¡°Maybe a lot more than near future,¡± he amended softly, thinking about going to war with the Vesh on Zaafor. It seemed battles, wars, and armies would feature prominently in his future. Thinking of his future made him think of Tes, which made him think of Va, and more stress began to build in his chest, banishing any hope of a productive afternoon. Growling, Victor sat up and pulled his Farscribe book from his storage ring, hoping Lam had written back to him with some news that would distract him.

    He wasn¡¯t surprised to find a letter from her; she¡¯d probably been desperate for news and had written to him immediately. Thinking that, he felt a little bad for waiting until now to check. With a scowling brow, he began reading, noting right away that the message was in Lam¡¯s flowery hand, not Edeya¡¯s neat print:<blockquote>

    <em>Victor,</em>

    <em>It¡¯s wonderful to hear from you. I¡¯m pleased to know you¡¯ve made so much progress while you were away. I never doubted that you¡¯d return, for the record. Despite Rellia¡¯s reluctance to share her captain¡¯s missives with me, she did so, even if it took far too much prodding and poor Edeya wearing a rut between our two vis. Speaking of Edeya, she¡¯s done an excellent job clerking for me, and she¡¯s stepping into an administrative role for the legion.</em>

    <em>You¡¯ve heard, I¡¯m sure, that our recruitment is progressing beyond our wildest hopes. We¡¯ve gathered more than six thousand troops, many of whom are veterans and fortune-seekers, not just desperate tier-ones and twos. We have plenty of those, but I¡¯d say our average level is better than many of the Empire¡¯s armies. This brings me to your concerns.</em>

    <em>You¡¯re wise to voice them to me, first of all, and I¡¯d like to suggest you keep them between us. I¡¯m not sure who we can trust. I want to trust Rellia, but I fear she¡¯s been ying the game for far too long. If she sees a way to make gains for herself or her family in our betrayal, I wouldn¡¯t be shocked. I¡¯ll leave it at that as far as she¡¯s concerned; I have no evidence that she¡¯s being disloyal or dishonest, but I have a general level of distrust when ites to the nobility.</em>

    <em>Secondly, I¡¯d like you to know that we¡¯re nning an unorthodox approach to the Marches. We¡¯ll avoid significant poption centers, avoid well-traveled roadways, and yes, this will slow our progress, but it will make ambushes difficult. Rellia has two airships, one she owns and the other she¡¯s hired, that will scout for us. Nearly twenty percent of the army is mounted, and we¡¯ve been working on mobility drills for months now. An ambush will be difficult, but should it happen, I think anyone without up-to-the-minute intelligence on our force will be surprised by its strength.</em>

    <em>As to your request for a sparring partner, I have good news: Polo Vosh is already with the army. He and many of my old friends are taking on leadership positions with the force. He¡¯s eager to see what you¡¯ve learned and to spar with you, by the way¡ªI shared your request, and he was enthusiastic.</em>

    <em>Please keep correspondence between us in this Farscribe book and keep others from viewing it; never leave it lying around. I feel foolish and a bit embarrassed to write such obvious words of advice, but I fear it¡¯s my nature; I cannot abide an unchecked box. Stay well, travel safely, and keep your guard up; there are, as you have guessed, many snakes in this Empire, and few of them wish for our endeavor to be sessful.</em>

    <em>In great anticipation,</em>

    <em>Captain Lam</em></blockquote>

    Victor smiled, imagining Polo Vosh shouting orders to some undisciplined recruits. He was d that Lam¡¯s thinking regarding risks from the Empire or other nobility matched up with his own. He still had hopes of meeting with Olivia Be while in Persi Gables, but, as far as he was concerned, the sooner the army got moving, the better. He wanted to get on with this chapter in his life, fulfill his obligations to Rellia and the others, and be done with it. There was a big universe to explore, and he wouldn¡¯t make the gains he needed here, not on Fanwath.

    He thought about that, about the ¡°gains¡± he needed, and he chuckled. His mind kept going back to Tes, but he knew that would probably fade. Could he really keep a crush alive for ten, fifty, or a hundred years? ¡°Well, what if I meet her again before then? Maybe she¡¯ll want to check in on me.¡± Victor sighed again and frowned. He knew it wasn¡¯t healthy, especially when it made him push away perfectly wonderful people like Va. ¡°I haven¡¯t really pushed her away, though, have I?¡± Once again, his mind descended into turmoil¡ªguilt mixing with desire, mixing with doubt.

    After he¡¯d chased his thoughts about rtionships out of his mind, a more pertinent thought urred to him, and he pulled a pen from his ring and began to write in the book:<blockquote>

    <em>Lam,</em>

    <em>Message received. Don¡¯t worry, I only trust one person within a hundred miles of me, and that¡¯s Va. I know, I know, she¡¯s loyal to Rellia, but we¡¯ve been through a lot. Trust me, she¡¯s good. That¡¯s not what I¡¯m writing about, though; I need you to find someone for me. It turns out other humans are on Fanwath, and one of them might be rted to me, might have something to do with my summoning. I¡¯d like to speak to her, and I believe she¡¯s in Persi Gables. She left Fainhallow by airship about a month ago and, ording to the school¡¯s administrators, is still in the city. Would you locate her, please? I¡¯d like to get the army moving ASAP, but I¡¯d like to speak to her first. Her name is Olivia Be.</em>

    <em>Thanks,</em>

    <em>Victor</em></blockquote>

    Victor pped the book closed, put it away, and surged to his feet, suddenly feeling stifled, irritated, and too cooped up. He grabbed Lifedrinker and exited his room, moving to Va¡¯s door. He knocked on it and called, ¡°You in there?¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm,¡± Va¡¯s voice replied. A few secondster, he heard the door¡¯s lock click, and then she pulled it open. He stared at her¡ªsleepy eyes, unkempt, glossy pale-green hair, white shirt hugging her slender form, tucked into her usual sleek uniform pants. She looked into his eyes, blinking and stifling a yawn, and said, ¡°Something wrong?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Victor realized he was holding Lifedrinker, unharnessed, and chuckled, ¡°Nah. I just want to get my mind off a lot of . . . things. How¡¯d you like to spar a bit up on deck?¡±

    ¡°Now?¡±

    ¡°Did I interrupt something important?¡± Victor grinned crookedly.

    ¡°I was napping! This ship lulls me so nicely, and the little bed is so cozy. What time is it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. A few hours past noon. We¡¯ve got time before dinner if that¡¯s what you¡¯re wondering about.¡±

    Va stopped trying to fight it and yawned hugely, covering her mouth with one hand and squinting at him the whole while. When she was done, she nodded and said, ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll meet you on deck.¡± Then she closed the door.

    Victor turned, walked to the end of the hallway, and bounded up the steps to the hatchway. Once outside, he found his guess was probably about right; the sun was moving toward the western horizon, but the shadows among the mountains were long and deep, and it feltter than it was. He looked about the deck, found it too crowded with sailors, ropes, and gear, and moved toward the aft section, up a few steps to the deck there. Plenty of open space greeted him, and Victor smiled, proceeding to stretch and limber up.

    A few minutester, Va joined him, still dressed the same but walking, nimble and graceful as ever, with Midnight¡¯s naked de resting on her shoulder. ¡°So, some physical exertion is needed, hmm?¡± She nced around the aft deck, watching an Ardeni sailor carrying a coiled rope down midship.

    ¡°Yeah. My mind was driving me crazy. I can¡¯t stop thinking about things.¡±

    ¡°Nervous about the army? Or Rellia?¡± Va gave him a sly smile as though she¡¯d uncovered some sort of secret.

    ¡°Rellia? Nah. I¡¯ll let you handle her.¡±

    ¡°Handle?¡± She frowned, then sighed, ¡°Not exactly what I meant.¡±

    ¡°Well, I am nervous about the army.¡± Victor leaned forward on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, her shiny metallic head resting on the wooden deck. ¡°I love to fight. I¡¯m good at it, too, but I have no idea what to do when ites to leading soldiers.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll catch on. Listen to Lam, listen to me, and we¡¯ll help you sound like you know what you¡¯re doing.¡±

    ¡°Right. Sorry, sometimes I forget your title isn¡¯t just, you know, a title.¡±

    ¡°That I actually earned it?¡± She winked at him, and Victor was trying to think of something clever to say, but then he saw her eyes tracking something behind him.

    ¡°What?¡± he asked, turning to look into the darkening blue sky. He saw a few distant dots hugging the eastern mountain slopes, flying in a sort of V pattern. ¡°Birds?¡±

    ¡°Maybe, but don¡¯t they seem toorge?¡±

    Just then, a sailor¡¯s voice cried out from the watch castle on the foredeck, ¡°Wings! Wings to stern, Captain!¡± His voice was strained with something like panic, which prompted Victor to stare harder at the flying dots, trying to see what the worry was.

    ¡°I wish I had some binocrs or something,¡± he muttered, but then he saw Va out of the corner of his eye, holding a brass tube to her eye. ¡°Shit, you have a telescope?¡±

    ¡°Sure. It¡¯s not as powerful as some, but I can see . . .¡± she trailed off as she seemed to have zeroed in on the object of everyone¡¯s interest. ¡°Strigaii with riders!¡±

    ¡°Strigaii?¡±

    ¡°Here,¡± Va said, handing him her scope.

    Victor held the narrow end to his eye and felt a tickle of Energy in the device as it expanded his vision, zooming in on the five dots. He had to steady the brass tube, carefully moving it back toward the dots as it magnified his view. When it steadied, he saw what Va had been talking about. Apparently, strigaii were giant lizards with wings and beaks and resembled nothing more than scaled chickens with enormous ck wings.

    Only one of them was in his view, but he saw a rider on its back, a man wearing glittering, pale-blue scaled armor. Atop his red-fleshed head, two enormous ck horns rose from his forehead and curved backward, tapering to fine points. His face was set in a grimace of determination, and Victor could see his eyes glowing with sparkling, golden Energy. ¡°Who¡¯s that asshole?¡±

    ¡°Good question. Tamed strigaii aren¡¯t cheap. I¡¯ve only ever seen one before, and it was when I was in the Legion. One of the Emperor¡¯s Princeps flew one over our formation, performing an inspection.¡±

    ¡°So, five? Chasing our ship? Can¡¯t be good, can it?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t think so, but perhaps it¡¯s a coincidence. Perhaps they¡¯re merely traveling toward Persi Gables as well . . .¡±

    As she spoke, amid the mor of shouts and activity behind them, the watchman in the miniature wooden tower at the front of the ship cried out, his voice cutting through the rest of the noise, ¡°Fire iing!¡±

    Victor pulled the tube from his eye, and, in his much broader view, he saw a dot of bright white-yellow light hanging in the sky behind them. ¡°What the fuck?¡± Va offered no exnation, and he continued to watch as the dot of bright light grew slowlyrger. Suddenly the airship banked, and Victor stumbled into Va, the two of them mming against the waist-high wooden railing. Victor looked over his shoulder, heard shouts from the captain and crew, and realized they were trying to dodge the slowly approaching ball of fire.

    ¡°That¡¯s not going to work,¡± Va grunted, straightening and moving out from between Victor and the railing. ¡°It¡¯s tracking us.¡±

    ¡°Shit,¡± Victor breathed, watching as, sure enough, the¡ªmuchrger¡ªball of bright, roiling Energy shifted in the air and continued to pursue the ship. ¡°It¡¯s going to hit us,¡± he growled, reaching into his Core and severing the bindings on his form. Va gasped in surprise as he suddenly increased in size, and the nks beneath his feet groaned and creaked as his mass suddenly intensified. ¡°Stay by me,¡± he said, moving between Va and the iing fireball.

    ¡°We should get below . . .¡±

    ¡°And be trapped? As this ship crashes? Look!¡± Victor pointed behind them, and Va followed his gaze.

    ¡°More . . .¡± she breathed, noticing what Victor had seen as his titanic bloodline was unleashed and his vision improved; three more balls of fire were surging through the air toward the ship, tracking it.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing this little transport ship isn¡¯t designed to withstand attacks like that.¡± He looked back at the scurrying crew and listened to the panicked, rapid orders of the first mate and captain. He turned back to the iing fireball and guessed they had about twenty seconds before impact.

    ¡°Likely not,¡± Va said, shifting so that Victor was between her and the iing projectile. Victor nodded, then began to step backward, one hand holding Lifedrinker, the other reaching back and holding onto Va¡¯s shoulder, ensuring she walked with him. They¡¯d just descended the aft deck¡¯s stairs and lost visual of the rapidly expanding ball of fire when the ship shuddered and surged. The helmsman was trying ast-minute dodge, driving the vessel straight upward. Victor squatted, his axe-wielding hand going to the steps to steady himself, and he felt Va grab onto his belt.

    The maneuver was for naught; with a deafening roar and concussion that flung the ship upward further, the fireball impacted the keel and sent splinters, embers, and smoking, smoldering projectiles through the air, darkening the skies on both sides of the ship. Crew members screamed and ran about, some were flung overside, and the captain bellowed and roaredmands that were ignored¡ªthe airship was going down, and more missiles were iing.

    Victor had seen enough. He stood up, cast Iron Berserk, and, as his size doubled and furious power filled his pathways, he grabbed Va up, hugging her to his chest as he did back in Coloss when they fled the warlord. In two strides, he moved to the starboard side of the ship and scanned the mountainside below, growing closer as the vessel lost altitude. Victor watched the slopes and turned to look over his shoulder, trying to time the next fireball impact.

    ¡°Victor, what are you doing?¡± Va asked, but she didn¡¯t struggle in his grasp.

    ¡°We can¡¯t stay here,¡± he grunted. When he thought he couldn¡¯t wait anymore, he bunched his legs and leaped toward a stand of tall, greenish-blue trees below. Laterally, he only had to move fifty yards or so, so he didn¡¯t jump as hard as he could. Still, the decking cracked and exploded as he hurled himself over the railing, soaring through the air, trying to aim between two massive trees. With his Titanic Leap ability, he wasn¡¯t worried about harming himself as hended, but he worried about Va. He tucked her close, wrapping both arms around her, Lifedrinker still gripped tightly in his fist.

    To her credit, Va didn¡¯t scream, but he felt her press her face into his chest, and he didn¡¯t me her¡ªthey were probably dropping five hundred yards toward the tree-covered slope, and it would have been terrifying if he weren¡¯t the size of a Quinametzin and filled with furious rage-attuned Energy. When hended, the ground shuddered, nearby trees shook, dropping ten thousand blue-green needles to the ground, and Va would have been yanked from his arms by the momentum if his arms weren¡¯t like enormous steel cables, holding her tight to his chest.

    Still, Va groaned and cried out, and he knew the impact hadn¡¯t been easy on her. Gently, Victor set her down, and she wobbled then fell to her butt on the loamy mountain slope, shaking her head dazedly. ¡°Ancestors,¡± she groaned. Victor didn¡¯t speak, but he turned and scanned the sky, waiting to see if any of their pursuers followed them. He was thinking about climbing a tree when Va said, ¡°Victor, put on your armor.¡± He turned to see her doing just that, and he nodded.

    ¡°Good idea,¡± he grunted, then he produced his wyrm-scale vest and shrugged into it, chuckling as it grew to amodate him; he¡¯dst worn it as a much smaller man. Once he¡¯d sealed up the front of the vest, he pulled out his Kethian Juggernaut helm and put it onto his head. Thus girded for war, he hefted Lifedrinker and growled, ¡°Come on, you fuckers. Come and look for me.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 12: - Guilty Parties

    Book 5: Chapter 12: - Guilty Parties

    A distant rumble sounded off to his right, muffled by the trees, and Va said, ¡°The ship went down.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Shit!¡± Victor grimaced and ground the knuckles of his left hand into the tree¡¯s rough bark, squeezing out sticky sap and sending crumbles to the soft, needle-covered ground at his feet. ¡°I should have done something to help them!¡±

    ¡°You acted quickly. What could you have done? Leap into the air and try to block all the fireballs? I¡¯m the one who should have stayed! I should have waited for the riders to get closer and struck them with lightning!¡±

    ¡°Nah,¡± Victor said, his thoughts rifying as he heard Va¡¯s self-recrimination. ¡°They weren¡¯ting into range until all their little ming missiles hit. They knew what they were doing.¡±

    ¡°No, they didn¡¯t, not if they were sent for you. Did they really think a crashed airship would stop you?¡±

    Victor grunted in response, scanning between the trees, trying to see any sign that the strigaii riders hadnded and were searching for him. They must have seen him leap free; he wasn¡¯t exactly small. A flicker of movement downslope caught his attention, and he held up his hand for silence, staring at the spot. His eyes were good, amazing, really, if youpared them to how he remembered his vision back on Earth. The sh of movement must have been half a mile distant, glimpsed between trees and underbrush, but he¡¯d seen it, and as he stared, he caught another sighting of something bright, glinting in fading sunlight.

    He pointed toward what he¡¯d seen, and Va nodded, shifting behind a tree, Midnight held ready in her two hands. Victor motioned to the right, then pointed to himself. When Va nodded, he pointed to the left and then at her. She didn¡¯t wait for further instruction, slipping away through the trees, silent as a ghost as she glided down the hillside. Victor altered his Sovereign Will boost from strength and vitality to agility and dexterity and, surprisingly quiet for a giant, began to work his way through the trees to the right, downslope, trying to nk whomever he¡¯d seen.

    He held Lifedrinker ready in his hands and kept his rage-attuned Energy at bay in his pathways, ready to surge and explode into violence. Anyone seeing his face would have felt a near-irresistible urge to turn and move quickly in the opposite direction. His brows were heavy with fury, his mouth twisted in a grimace that promised violence. As he skulked through the trees, Victor channeled some fear-attuned Energy and cast Manifest Spirit, summoning a pack of silent, menacing, purple-ck coyotes. With a thought, Victor sent them out in a wider, looking for his foes.

    He''d covered half the ground toward the spot of color he¡¯d seen and was moving between two massive blue-green needle-d trees when, in a haze of white heat, a ball of mes erupted from the undergrowth not twenty yards ahead of him. Victor roared and stepped into the fiery missile, swinging Lifedrinker at it as though he meant to hit a baseball into the stands. The projectile of me wasrger than it appeared, and though he smashed the axe directly into its center, it exploded into a congration that stripped the area around Victor of life, blistering nts, ckening bark, and doing a fantastic job of stoking Victor¡¯s fury.

    The impact with the fireball had awoken Lifedrinker, and her glowing, molten-metal fury came to the surface, rippling the air around her with waves of heat. Victor jumped, more forward than up, lifting Lifedrinker¡¯s smoldering, white-hot axe de over his head in a two-handed grip. His armor was untouched by the mes, though his pants were singed, and his arms and face reddened by the exposure.

    He streaked through the air, trailing smoke, the forest behind him aze, and when he crashed through the shrubs, his knee impacted a tall Shadeni wearing heavy red robes, smashing him to the ground. Victor could feel bones snapping and guts bursting as his enormous titan-sized form bore down on the man. Still, he stood, fluid and graceful with his heightened agility, and brought Lifedrinker down, severing the man¡¯s head from his shoulders.

    Victor lifted his face toward the reddening sky and roared, his great lungs bellowing his fury. The sound echoed and reverberated among the trees and, distantly, off the far side of the valley. Suddenly the forest around him was filled with howls and yips as his huntingpanions responded, unable to resist the urge to sing with him. Victor¡¯s soot-stained lips pulled back in a feral grin, exposing bright white teeth, and he charged into the trees, scanning for any sign of his next enemy.

    His coyotes found someone before he did, and Victor could feel their excitement and hear the sess in their howls and yips, so he turned sharply to the right, sprinting toward them. Somehow, he knew where they were, the knowledgeing from somewhere deeper than his bones. When he burst through a thin stand of saplings, sending twigs and leaves flying and slender trunks snapping and whipping in his passage, he found three of his coyotes growling and circling an Ardeni man, one different from any other Victor had met.

    The man was tall and slender, wearing form-fitting, gleaming silvery armor¡ªsome kind of metal that looked impossibly fine and light; could it really provide protection? Victor¡¯s mind only had a moment to contemte before he noticed the man¡¯s cat-like ears, oversized, angr eyes, long, ck ws, and swishing, blue-furred tail. He was so startled and drew so many amusing connections to jokes Tha and Va had made about growing tails that he almost lost hold of his rage. A demented chuckle escaped his throat before he got a grip on himself, and, in that brief moment, the blue-skinned and furred man, striking like a viper, dispatched one of his coyotes with a long, curved knife.

    Victor surged forward, filling the gap left by his vanquishedpanion, stepping through the ck mist the poor coyote left behind and whipping Lifedrinker in a sideways cleave, aiming to separate the man¡¯s top half from the bottom. He was slippery, though, graceful in a way that even Va would struggle to replicate. As Lifedrinker smoked through the air, the Ardeni slipped under her arc, came up close to Victor, and brought that wicked de around as though he meant to cut Victor¡¯s kidney out.

    Victor was no slouch, no novice of the axe. When Lifedrinker didn¡¯t make contact, he quickly recovered, and, as his opponent came close, really only standing about as high as Victor¡¯s waist, he released his grip on the haft with his left and reached down to grasp the slender man¡¯s shoulder. The Ardeni¡¯s de skittered and scraped against his wyrm-scale vest, and his eyes went wide with surprise. Had his wicked stab never been defeated before? Victor wasn¡¯t surprised; he could feel the Energy in the man¡¯s movements¡ªhe¡¯d conducted a powerful attack.

    Still, the de didn¡¯t prate his armor, and now Victor had ahold of him. ¡°Game over,¡± he growled, then bore down with all his might, squeezing the slender shoulder until he felt bones grinding against each other. He lifted the struggling cat-Ardeni from the ground and, choking up his grip on Lifedrinker with his right hand, hacked the de sideways, burying her gleaming edge deep between his enemy¡¯s ribs. The man gasped and wed at Victor¡¯s arm, dragging those long ws along his flesh, raising welts, but nothing more.

    ¡°No,¡± he moaned, his voice a snarl of disbelief as the light faded from his eyes. ¡°No! How?¡±

    Victor released his shoulder, dropped him to the ground, and pressed him to the soil with Lifedrinker¡¯s handle, watching his face. ¡°Who are you?¡± he growled, giving the axe a bit of a twist.

    ¡°Oof!¡± the man hissed, blood spattering out of his sharp-fanged grimace. From the corner of his eye, Victor saw the man¡¯s long-wed hand twitch, and a bright red, swirling bulb of liquid appeared in it. Seeing the potion and not knowing where his other enemies were, Victor decided to seek his answers elsewhere. He pushed down with all his weight, driving Lifedrinker¡¯s edge deep into the man¡¯s chest cavity, and then he gave her a savage twist. Wet cracks sounded as the Ardeni¡¯s ribs spread apart, and gouts of dark blood watered the forest floor.

    Victor pulled Lifedrinker free, her de gleaming with inner, molten fury. He smiled at her and growled, ¡°You didn¡¯t have trouble with that armor, did you?¡±

    <em>Let us hunt! There are more foes about!</em>

    ¡°Right,¡± he grunted, whistling and gesturing for his coyotes to take up the chase. He¡¯d been so focused on finding the source of movement and color he¡¯d seen earlier, so caught up in his two quick skirmishes, that he hadn¡¯t spared Va a second thought. Now, though, he began to worry a bit. If there were five attackers, and he¡¯d dealt with only two, Va could be in trouble. ¡°Va!¡± he called, turning in the direction she should being from if she¡¯d been able to nk this foe with him.

    Victor didn¡¯t see a sign of her, and, as he thought about it, he didn¡¯t see any sign of the winged mounts the two men he¡¯d killed should have left behind. Frowning, he began to jog across the slope, slipping between trees, looking and listening for any sign of his friend. He¡¯d run for about thirty seconds when he felt something from one of hispanions¡ªa target and a hint of something like recognition. ¡°Va!¡± Victor elongated his stride, leaping over undergrowth and fallen logs, the ground trembling with the impacts of his enormous boots. When he burst into a clearing, he found Va standing over the dead, bloodied corpse of an Ardeni man. Facing her was the huge Shadeni, the one with the enormous ck horns Victor had seen flying toward the airship.

    Va circled him, her form blurred by gusting breezes and tiny electrical charges, sliding over the ground quick as thought, clearly confounding the big Shadeni, who wore a round, ck metal shield and gripped a thick, fiery, cleaver-like sword. His pale blue armor rippled in the sunlight, though Victor could see a tear under his right ribcage where, presumably, Va had given him a taste of Midnight. He nced at the corpse, saw many bloody rips in the man¡¯s white leather armor, and almost pitied the fools for trying Va this way.

    Va saw him standing at the edge of the clearing, but the Shadeni failed to notice him. Victor started forward, and Va gave him a quick nod, so he focused on the blue-armored figure and tried out his new Energy Charge. Perhaps because he was already channeling so much of it, or perhaps because it came so naturally to him, Victor cast the spell with rage-attuned Energy and howled with mad battle lust as his vision blurred, and he flew, trailing a cloud of red, smoldering Energy motes that hung in the air behind him.

    With a bone-crunching impact into the Shadeni¡¯s shielded side, Victor found himself standing where his target had been and saw the horned figure flipping, head over heels, to crash into the bole of a mighty tree. The impact resounded through the clearing, and leaves and dead branches cascaded down, knocked loose by the concussion. Victor marveled at the spell¡¯s effect¡ªsure, he was muchrger than the Shadeni, and hitting him at speed should be devastating, but Victor had barely felt the collision.

    The Shadeni groaned and writhed on the ground where he¡¯d fallen, some of his limbs badly twisted and bent; Victor had given him some new joints. ¡°Ancestors,¡± he moaned, ¡°receive me. Take me to your host.¡±

    In a blur of motion, Va moved to stand over therge man, her sword at his throat, but she didn¡¯t kill him. She looked at Victor, an eyebrow raised.

    ¡°Not yet,¡± he grunted, stomping to stand over his broken foe.

    The Shadeni looked up at him, pain writ inly on his face. His eyes, earlier zing with golden Energy, were dim now, but his lips pulled back in a sneer as he gasped, ¡°Kill me then, beast. Finish what you¡¯ve started.¡± His left arm was twisted and broken beyond movement, but the Shadeni¡¯s right hand began to twitch, the fingers waggling in the air, and Victor wondered what he was trying to do. Cast a spell? Summon a healing potion? Insult him? Rather than wait to find out, he brought Lifedrinker down and severed the appendage.

    ¡°Ah!¡± the broken man wailed as dark, thick blood pumped from his wrist into the loam.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the fifth?¡± Victor growled.

    ¡°Eat my balls, scum!¡± The insult was so out of left field, nothing like anything anyone had said to him sinceing to this world, that Victor barked a shortugh.

    ¡°Eat your balls? Holy shit. Va, is that something people say in this world?¡±

    The horned man looked at Va and, spitting loose a fragment of broken tooth, said, ¡°So, you are Va. Ancestors, damn you both!¡±

    ¡°Who sent you?¡± Va asked, pressing Midnight¡¯s edge against the man¡¯s flesh. He was clearly a sturdy fellow, powerful for this world, or he¡¯d have died from the umted injuries to his person. Victor noted how his wrist had already ceased bleeding and that, if he watched carefully, it seemed his limbs were slowly straightening; he had some regenerative powers.

    ¡°My question first,¡± Victor growled, resting one enormous foot atop the man¡¯s twisted knee. He didn¡¯t press on it, but the threat was clear.

    ¡°Wait, wait,¡± the man gasped, lifting his stump toward Victor¡¯s foot as though he could somehow halt the impending pain. ¡°The fifth? So, you¡¯ve met the four of us here in these woods, not just poor Ulvish and me? Well, forget the fifth. She¡¯ll have fled after sensing our demise.¡±

    ¡°Where was she?¡± Victor asked, allowing the smallest fraction of his bulk to rest upon the swollen, broken joint.

    ¡°Old father¡¯s twisted cock! Please stop! She was with the strigaii, downslope, just beyond the trees.¡±

    Va looked at Victor, met his eyes, and he said, ¡°Now, her question.¡±

    ¡°Why? You¡¯ll kill me anyway. Why destroy my honor before I go?¡±

    ¡°Your honor, worm?¡± Va sneered. ¡°Was it honorable to send a dozen merchant sailors to their doom?¡±

    ¡°I had my orders.¡±

    ¡°Ah,¡± Va nodded. ¡°The Legion, then.¡±

    ¡°You traitorous whore . . .¡± his words were cut off, reced by a wail of agony, as Victor, growling, pressed down on his knee.

    ¡°Watch your tongue. Answer her questions.¡± As he spoke, though, Victor felt an alert from his remaining coyotes; they¡¯d found something. ¡°Mypanions found her.¡± He turned in the direction he felt them, straining his ears.

    ¡°Wait!¡± the man gasped. ¡°Let her live, and I¡¯ll answer your questions. She had no part in the attack.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor nodded, lifting his foot. ¡°That¡¯s a start. So, tell Va your name and the name of your friend, and I¡¯ll try to keep mypanions from killing her.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not my friend; she¡¯s my wife. I¡¯m Chokodo-dak, and my wife is Reesha-dak. I¡¯m a Princep of the Empire, and you¡¯ve made great enemies today.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a little stupid, don¡¯t you think? I mean, we must already have had those enemies because you started this shit.¡± Victor looked at Va and asked, ¡°Do you recognize the name?¡±

    Her face had lost all expression, and she was staring at the man, peering into his flickering, golden-lit eyes, and she said, ¡°Aye, Victor. I have. This doesn¡¯t bode well for the expedition.¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Chokodo spat, blood sluicing down his chin. ¡°Your expedition, or do you mean your rebellion? Do you think the Empire so blind, so deaf?

    ¡°You have any way to bind this asshole?¡±

    ¡°We could hood and tie him. Even a powerful Energy user would struggle to cause trouble for you or me with such restraints. If we bring him to Rellia, she¡¯ll have the means to hobble his Energy use.¡±

    Chokodo slumped at her words, defeat in on his face. ¡°Could you not spare me an elixir to speed my recovery? I¡¯ll not struggle further. I am beaten.¡±

    ¡°Take his rings, stow his weapons, tie him up, and I¡¯ll go fetch his wife.¡± Victor looked at the bloodied man for a long moment, thinking about the sailors, probably dead, and spat to the side. ¡°No healing for him. He¡¯s mending fast enough.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Va said, picking up the man¡¯s severed hand and peeling the rings from the fingers. She nced at Victor, still standing there, reluctant to leave, and added, ¡°Go. He¡¯s in hand.¡±

    Victor grunted and turned, bounding through the forest toward his coyotes, instinctually aware that they had someone cornered. He only had to cover about a mile before he broke free of the trees onto a long grassy slope that led down toward a river that cut through the center of the valley. He saw, staked not far away, the five strigaii, their wings folded back and their beaks low to the ground. Victor narrowed his eyes to see what they were doing and saw bones and hunks of meat; they were eating. Just past them, back to a tall tree as though she¡¯d tried to flee upslope, was a Shadeni woman grasping a golden rod, using it to fend off the tentative lunges of hispanions.

    Victor strode toward her and, with a thought, called his coyotes away, urging them to back off and expand their circle around her. As they obeyed hismand and the woman looked up to see the furious, armor-d giant stomping toward her, a great, smoldering axe in his hands, she nched and looked around, perhaps seeking an avenue of escape. Her gaze settled on the strigaii, and Victor knew she was thinking about trying to run through two of hispanions, past him, and onto the back of one of the beasts. He cleared his throat, reached into his Core, and severed the flow of rage that was feeding his Iron Berserk spell.

    As his size diminished, Victor lifted Lifedrinker to his shoulder, holding her haft with one hand, and then he called, ¡°You don¡¯t look like a fighter. I don¡¯t know your role in all of this, but you¡¯ll fare better if you don¡¯t try to run.¡±

    The woman, Reesha-dak, lifted her rod, and a shimmering, blue, egg-shaped barrier flickered into being around her. She said, ¡°I can defend myself, sirrah!¡± Her voice trembled, and she held the scepter sideways in front of hercy, ck blouse.

    Seeing the scepter and her fancy shirt, Victor studied her for a moment, taking in the many rings, bracelets, and nes. He was no expert, but he¡¯d seen plenty of gems since leaving Earth and recognized some valuable, perfectly cut stones among her jewelry. Her hair was pulled tight to her scalp, back in a perfectly coiffed bun, and atop her head was a delicate golden tiara bedecked with sparkling rubies. A gauzy ck veil hung from the edge of her crown, covering her face and held firm by softly glowing purple gems at its bottom fringe. Victor could just see the purple-red hue of her eyes through the dense gauze.

    She had to be wearing more wealth than he¡¯d ever seen on disy, even considering Rellia or the noble Vesh in Coloss. ¡°What¡¯s your story, Princess?¡± he asked, sighing. ¡°Why¡¯d that dipshit, er, what was his name, Choco? Why¡¯d he bring you along to attack my airship?¡±

    ¡°How dare you? You aren¡¯t fit to speak Chokodo-dak¡¯s name, let alone question his actions!¡±

    Victor chuckled, moving closer, now just a few feet away. He could feel the Energy she¡¯d expended to create her shield and knew he could smash that little barrier with barely a thought. Still, he paused in front of her and said, ¡°Yourpanions are dead. Your husband is in chains. You¡¯ll both answer for your crimes today. Don¡¯t make me embarrass you further.¡±

    ¡°Crimes? Chokodo serves the Empire! He acts on the emperor¡¯s explicit orders!¡±

    Victor growled, feeling his rage surging, wanting out of his Core. In apromise, he released his hold on his aura, letting it spread out around him, and Reesha fell backward, sliding down the trunk of the tree, tears springing into her eyes as the scepter rolled out of her hand. Victor leaned forward and said, his voice thick with righteous indignation, for, in his mind, he was innocent of me¡ªhe hadn¡¯t started this shit, ¡°I¡¯ll let Rellia sort out what you¡¯re guilty of; as for the emperor, maybe that asshole needs to answer for his crimes, too.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 13: Fireside

    Book 5: Chapter 13: Fireside

    Victor stared at his prisoners, sitting in the grass a dozen feet away from their tethered mounts. He and Va had stripped the pair, Chokodo and Reesha, of their jewelry and weapons, secured their hands behind their backs, hobbled their ankles with a short length of rope so they couldn¡¯t run, and blindfolded their eyes with dark strips of cloth Victor had torn from an old cloak. Va felt confident neither of them would be able to effect an escape, but Victor still felt nervous about them; he knew if it were him, some ropes and blindfolds would never hold. ¡°How long did she say?¡± he asked for the third time.

    ¡°Sometime tonight. Make a big fire, and they¡¯ll have no problem finding us in this valley.¡±

    ¡°And you don¡¯t think these two will have helping?¡±

    ¡°Chokodo says no. He says he and his men acted without sanction; they were meant only to observe us and report back. We¡¯ll see.¡± She shrugged as if there was nothing more to be done.

    ¡°Not what his wife told me . . .¡±

    ¡°Yes, well, it¡¯s quite possible he hadn¡¯t been entirely forthright with his wife, don¡¯t you think?¡± Va smirked and tapped a long, ck-polished nail on the pommel of her sword.

    ¡°I guess. Well, we need to watch them closely. How about you keep your eyes on them, and I¡¯ll go collect the bodies and build a fire.¡± He nced at the shadowy form lying in the grass, the man Va had killed. She¡¯d brought the body back in a storage ring, leading the badly injured Chokodo to see if Victor needed help. By then, he¡¯d already bound Reesha and was thinking about going to fetch her.

    ¡°Right. I suppose we can¡¯t leave them where they fell, not with potential information or wealth in their containers. Rellia will be able to identify them, even if Chokodo or his wife don¡¯t want to share.¡±

    ¡°Whistle if something happens. I¡¯ll be listening,¡± Victor said, turning to jog upslope into the woods. He had a good sense of direction, far better than it had ever been in his old life, though he¡¯d never tested it the way he did on Fanwath. Twenty minutester, with no rms from Va, he¡¯d tossed the other two bodies next to the first. Va had built a small fire near the prisoners and was watching them as the shadows of night lengthened, the sister moons mostly obscured by clouds. She saw him and nodded, offering a short wave before returning her gaze to Reesha and Chokodo.

    Victor stooped to the dead bodies, pulling rings off fingers, checking necks and wrists for other jewelry. He tucked anything that seemed like it might be a dimensional container into the little sack where he¡¯d stowed Chokodo and Reesha¡¯s jewelry, then he put the rest, including their weapons, into one of his own rings. He¡¯d just finished and was taking ast look at the weird cat-Ardeni when Va called to him. Victor walked over the grass toward her, and halfway there, he called out, ¡°What¡¯s the deal with the cat-looking guy? The Ardeni.¡±

    ¡°A Feeradi? Truly?¡± Va looked surprised.

    ¡°They killed Evwin?¡± Reesha said, her voice hoarse from screaming and crying earlier.

    ¡°I told you I killed them. What would you have done? Fall to your knees and let them kill you?¡± Victor growled, tired of the woman acting like he was the bad guy in the situation.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Chokodo said, his voice sullen and weary, ¡°he was a Feeradi. His bloodline rank was approaching the epic tier. What a loss.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an umon bloodline, Victor, but that doesn¡¯t excuse vile behavior. He was a criminal of the worst kind, hiding behind his social rank tomit atrocities.¡± Though Va addressed Victor, it was clear she was speaking to Reesha.

    ¡°He,¡± Reesha croaked, struggling to speak with her sore throat¡ªwhatever healing abilities Chokodo had, she didn¡¯t share them. ¡°He was serving the Empire!¡±

    ¡°Killing a bunch of sailors is serving the Empire?¡± Va spat. ¡°Your husband has alreadye clean, Reesha. He and hisckeys weren¡¯t sanctioned in this attack.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s saying what you want to hear! What he <em>can</em> say!¡± she cried, her words fading to a rough whisper.

    ¡°Hush, dear. Hush. I¡¯ve heard of Rellia ap¡¯Yensha. She¡¯s known as a fair woman; let her hear our tale.¡±

    Va snorted, but Victor turned and stomped toward the trees. He¡¯d heard enough. He needed to get a bigger fire burning to guide Rellia¡¯s airship to them. At first, he¡¯d tried to talk Va into riding the strigaii to Persi Gables, but she¡¯d refused; apparently, the beasts were finicky, hard to master, and very loyal to a given rider. She said Rellia¡¯s people would need to spend months retraining them. Luckily for them, Va had been writing a lot more often to Rellia, so her copy of the Farscribe book was constantly monitored. When they¡¯d reported the attack on their airship, Rellia had redirected her scout ship from practice maneuvers to pick them up. ¡°Here¡¯s hoping she¡¯s not overly optimistic about them finding us.¡±

    Victor hefted Lifedrinker, remembering how, in a Viking movie he¡¯d watched, one of the warriors had lectured his son about using his war axe as a tool. ¡°You don¡¯t mind, do you, <em>chica</em>?¡±

    <em>A tree will not harm me, love.</em>

    Victor grinned, enjoying her use of the endearment more than he probably should have. He lifted her high and brought her down on a tall, slender tree with white bark. The bole was probably only eight inches in diameter, but Victorughed with pleasure as Lifedrinker ripped through it in one swing. The tree toppled downslope, and Victor cut another just like it for good measure. An hour of honest exercise followed as he chopped the trunks and branches into yard-long segments and piled them together in the big meadow.

    Nearby, he constructed the bonfire, stacking the logs loosely in a square that tapered together with eachyer. All told, he figured he¡¯d used about half a tree¡¯s worth of lumber to build it. ¡°Va,¡± he called, ¡°you have a spell to light this up?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Come watch these two.¡±

    Victor switched ces with Va, but he put the slope to his back so he could observe the prisoners and Va at once, and he grinned happily as she ignited the wood. It wasn¡¯t dry and would have been difficult to light with conventional means, but a bit of Energy apparently solved that. As Va walked back, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll teach you that. It¡¯s funny the gaps in your knowledge. Simple things every child is taught, you don¡¯t know, but how to battle an ancient wyrm? That¡¯s something you can do.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, trial by fire, I guess.¡±

    ¡°So, it¡¯s true. You were off-world?¡±

    ¡°Did I give it away?¡± Va asked, her tone taunting. ¡°No ancient wyrms on Fanwath, are there? So, tell us, Chokodo, who at Fainhallow alerted you to our presence? Why did you seek to y Victor? Why not get some of this out in the open before Rellia has to have her Mind Mage dig it out of you?¡± Chokodo frowned beneath his ck blindfold but didn¡¯t speak, and Va shrugged.

    ¡°You think it was someone at the academy?¡± Victor ran his mind through all the people he¡¯d spoken to in the little town around the school.

    ¡°It had to be; where else did we go?¡±

    ¡°Well, I mean, we both sent messages in the books.¡± Victor jerked his thumb toward the north. ¡°Could be a leak in that direction.¡±

    Va frowned and plucked at some grass. ¡°I think not. Rellia only has two people watching the book, and they¡¯re well-trusted. She and Lam both have too much to lose to let information like that slip out.¡±

    ¡°I hope you¡¯re right.¡± Victor stretched and sat down on the grass. He was feeling quite good; not long after he¡¯d disarmed Reesha, he¡¯d received a decent influx of Energy for his victories, and though he didn¡¯t level again, he still felt energized and fresh. ¡°If you¡¯re tired, take a nap. I¡¯ll watch these two.¡± Victor eyed Chokodo for a reaction to those words, but the man still sat, slumped, defeat written in his demeanor. He didn¡¯t trust him, though, and Victor didn¡¯t intend to give him an inch of freedom, not until he was much more thoroughly bound.

    ¡°No. I¡¯m not tired at all.¡±

    ¡°Listen,¡± Reesha said, her voice a whisper, ¡°would you please allow me to wear my veil? It¡¯s unseemly to have my face thus exposed.¡±

    ¡°No, Lady,¡± Va said. ¡°Your veil has enchantments, and it¡¯s bonded to you. Those gems felt quite potent. Would you like me to wrap more cloth over your face rather than just your eyes?¡±

    ¡°No, no.¡± Reesha sighed, her voice cracking with emotion as she looked down.

    ¡°What¡¯s the deal with that? The veil? I¡¯ve never seen anyone in Persi Gables or Gelica wearing one.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s in line to be one of the emperor¡¯s wives,¡± Va shrugged as if her sentence made perfect sense.

    ¡°Come again? I thought Chokodo was her husband.¡± Neither of the prisoners spoke, but Va seemed happy to fill him in.

    ¡°Only in name. His rtionship with her is more like a big brother or guardian. The emperor has dozens of such women simrly bound to him.¡±

    ¡°<em>Chingado</em>,¡± Victor said, his voice rising with disbelief. ¡°People just stand for that? Him iming women?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just him, and it¡¯s not just women.¡± Va tugged some blue-green grass des and tossed them toward her little fire. Then she looked over her shoulder toward the bonfire, illuminating the clearing for a hundred yards in every direction, perhaps weighing her words, perhaps lost in memories the discussion had pulled to the surface.

    ¡°It¡¯s really only in Tharcray,¡± Chokodo added. ¡°Those with the Ridonne bloodline, the rulers of the Empire.¡±

    ¡°Like you?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m a Princep, true, but no Ridonne blood runs in my veins. My authority is granted at the whim of the Imperial family.¡± He paused, and everyone was quiet for a little while, and then the blindfolded man said, ¡°You¡¯re strong, Victor, stronger than we were led to believe, but you¡¯ll pay for what you¡¯ve done here. The Ridonne will hunt you, and they¡¯re a force to behold.¡±

    ¡°<em>Pfft</em>,¡± Va hissed, turning away from the distant bonfire. ¡°No one¡¯s even seen the emperor in my lifetime. The Ridonne are just as puffed-up and soft as you. Victor will crush any thate after him.¡±

    ¡°Uh, not to mention, all I ¡®did here today¡¯ was keep you assholes from killing me and Va.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re <em>wrong</em>!¡± Chokodo said, facing Va, though he couldn¡¯t see her. ¡°You might not have experience with them, but there are those of the Ridonne who could bat me aside and pull the flesh from my bones with two waves of their hand. I might be ¡®puffed-up,¡¯ but, believe me, there¡¯s a reason the Ridonne rule Fanwath.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± Va sighed, sitting back on her elbows, her eyes drifting up over the prisoners and the tethered strigaii behind them, looking into the night sky. ¡°It¡¯s good to see familiar stars again.¡±

    Again, silence fell, allowing the crackling of the campfire and the distant roar of the bonfire to fill the night air, and Victor began to rx, thinking about Tharcray, wondering if it could possibly stack up to Coloss. He¡¯d heard the name Ridonne plenty of times and had known it was the name of the Empire, but he hadn¡¯t known it was a Shadeni bloodline. Could they really be all that tough, though? He¡¯d already spected that the Empire was hoarding knowledge, hoarding ess to more advanced worlds. Was it such a stretch to think the people in the capital, especially the ruling party, all members of some potent bloodline, wouldn¡¯t be stronger than the average Energy user?

    When Victor thought about brutal fights in his life, the one that stood out the most was his duel with Rellia. He¡¯de close to dying plenty of times, sure, but she¡¯d really schooled him. If she was weakpared to the Ridonne, then he supposed it was worth being cautious, especially if they were acting against him and the expedition.

    ¡°My wrists ache,¡± Reesha whispered, her throat apparently too raw for more than that.

    ¡°This is harsh treatment for one such as she,¡± Chokodo said, and Victor gave him a long look. The man¡¯s limbs were all straight; each of his many fractures had healed. He wore a simple white shirt over a heavily muscled chest, for Va had stripped him of his pretty blue armor. Still, he looked strong and dangerous. Victor didn¡¯t reply but stood and moved around behind the man. He was a huge Shadeni, to be sure, probably close to seven feet tall, but next to Victor, he wasn¡¯t very imposing, especially bound on the ground as he was.

    ¡°Lean forward,¡± Victor said, bending at the waist and pressing Chokodo between the shoulder des. He saw his wrists were still bound and that the man still sported a stump for a left hand. ¡°Can¡¯t regenerate your hand, huh?¡± Victor didn¡¯t doubt Chokodo could pull his wrist free from his bindings, what with no hand attached to anchor the ropes. He hadn¡¯t done so, though; had he truly given up all resistance?

    ¡°No, sirrah, I cannot.¡±

    ¡°Use respect when you address him!¡± Va growled, her voice thick with venom.

    ¡°No, sir,¡± Chokodo amended, frowning.

    Victor simply grunted and stepped past him to Reesha, and, using a sharp knife he¡¯d picked up from one dead enemy or another, he cut the bindings on her wrists. ¡°Oh,¡± she sighed softly, pulling her hands before herself and rubbing at the dark spots on her soft, pale red wrists. Victor reached down and took hold of her upper arm, pulling her effortlessly to her feet. ¡°No! Please! Don¡¯t hurt me!¡± she croaked, trying to yell despite herck of a voice.

    ¡°Don¡¯t take her!¡± Chokodo wailed.

    ¡°Rx,¡± Victor said. ¡°I¡¯m just moving her over by Va, so she can¡¯t get herself in trouble trying to help you or something.¡± He gently pulled the woman¡¯s arm, guided her around the fire next to Va, and said, ¡°Sit here.¡± As she copsed, clumsy with her eyes covered and a length of rope holding her feet close to each other, Victor pointed to the bonfire and said, ¡°Be right back.¡± Va nodded, and he walked over to his pile of logs.

    While he tossed half a dozen big logs onto the fire, he thought about the System and how it seemed to breed corruption. People who grabbed power were rewarded, perpetuating their positions of strength and incentivizing them to keep what they¡¯d earned. Never satisfied, the System seemed to encourage people to continue their climb, always seeking the next advancement. He let his mind drift back to home, to Earth, and he almostughed at himself, at his own naivete.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t take a System for people to want power.¡± At least with the System, with Energy, he figured people with good intentions could grow powerful. Back home, it didn¡¯t always feel that way. He knew that was a cynical take, and he also knew he¡¯d been a dumb kid, too worried about sports and girls to really know much about how things worked, but he couldn¡¯t help the feeling that things <em>could</em> be better with Energy. He wondered if every world would be like Zaafor and Fanwath with a corrupt ruling ss. Maybe some of them were more egalitarian; maybe some had systems in ce to share treasures and Energy.

    ¡°How would that work, though?¡± Victor frowned, staring into the bonfire. How would he feel if he went and cleared a dungeon, doing all the work, only to have to share his trophies with the people back home who¡¯d been toozy or scared to go with him? ¡°Yeah, that would suck,¡± he sighed. His mind started to wander away from the topic, mainly because he felt he had a lot to learn, and there were probably people who¡¯d done a lot of thinking on the subject already¡ªsomething to study on the road with the army, perhaps.

    A soft breeze blew in from the northern end of the valley and lifted embers and sparks up into the ck night sky. Victor watched them swirling, wondering about the future, wondering if the Empire would move against his legion openly or if some of the Ridonne woulde to challenge him. He hoped not, not yet; he wanted to get done with the conquest of the Marches, get some defenses established, and bring in the people loyal to ap¡¯Yensha and maybe some others.

    ¡°What others?¡± Victor asked the night, watching the smoke rise from the fire, and his mind drifted to people he¡¯d met, people he wouldn¡¯t mind seeing settle innds he conquered. What about the Naghelli? They didn¡¯t have a home, and they were supposedly fierce fighters. Maybe he should reach out. Hadn¡¯t Vellia told him to? Hadn¡¯t she given him a ne for just that purpose? He let his inner eye drift through his dimensional containers, and there he saw it, the silver ne with the big ruby gem.

    Perhaps on a whim, perhaps listening to his instinct, or perhaps being foolish, Victor took the ne from his ring, held the gem tightly in his fist, and thought about Vellia. Nothing happened at first, but after a few moments, the jewel throbbed in his hand, and he felt her. She was far away, a distant presence off to the north and east, but he remembered her words; she¡¯d know he was holding the gem, know he was looking for her, and she¡ªthey¡ªwould answer his call. ¡°Good,¡± he nodded. ¡°Maybe they¡¯d like to earn a new home.¡±

    He almost put the ne back in the dimensional container but paused. What if she couldn¡¯t feel it in there? The chain was too short to wear around his neck, so he slipped it into one of the pouches tied to his belt, protected by the wyrm-scale vest. ¡°Who else?¡± he mused, turning back to look at Va and her two prisoners. They sat as before, though it looked like Va was speaking to Reesha, and Chokodo was slumped forward, perhaps asleep.

    ¡°Tellen?¡± Victor asked the night, though he knew he meant Tha, knew he really wanted to see Deyni. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t they likends to hunt in outside of the Empire? Wouldn¡¯t they like their own hunting grounds where they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about brigands or Imperial patrols?¡± He turned to the sky, searching for Gallia, the little moon. He saw her edge peeking out behind a cloud and reckoned she was nearly full. ¡°That means Tha will be looking for me on the spirit ne soon,¡± Victor said to Lifedrinker, grasping her handle and resting her cool metal on his forehead. ¡°Remind me, will you? I¡¯d like to talk to her and try to convince her toe with us.¡±

    <em>More fleshy women for you to lust after.</em> The axe sounded irritated, her voice sharper than usual, and Victor bit back an automatic denial. Instead, he thought about what she¡¯d said, taking her seriously.

    ¡°Is that what you really think? You know me better than anyone, Lifedrinker. We¡¯ve been through hell together, and I¡¯ve never lied to you. You¡¯ve seen me at my lowest, my worst. Tell me the truth, is that really what I¡¯m after?¡±

    <em>No, love. Can I not tease thee? You gather those who are lost like yourself. You gather those about whom you care. I see you and your spirit, and I carry not an ounce of regret for my bond with you. Do what you will, but remember, I am here. I am always here. You are never alone so long as you have me at your side.</em>

    ¡°Thank you, beautiful. Thank you.¡± He clutched her handle warmly and then walked back to Va¡¯s little campfire and their prisoners, willing Rellia¡¯s scout ship to hurry; he had work to do, ns to make, and people to lead.

 Book 5: Chapter 14: The Encampment

    Book 5: Chapter 14: The Encampment

    Victor once again stood on the prow of an airship, this one piloted by Rellia¡¯s people and equipped for war. He¡¯d noticed the magical ballistae, two on each side of the ship, as soon as it set down to retrieve him, Va, and their prisoners and captured mounts. When they¡¯d climbed aboard, they¡¯d been greeted by the ship¡¯s captain, a stodgy, old-looking Cadwalli who¡¯d apologized for taking a bit longer than expected¡ªthey¡¯d spied the wreck of the previous airship and done a sweep for survivors. The crew had found several mangled corpses but also signs that several survivors might have escaped on foot, traveling toward Persi Gables.

    Victor had wanted to seek them out, but Va had insisted that the countryside was gentle, they¡¯d had hours of a head start, and the airship would have a hard time spotting them in the thick forests approaching Lake Beliss. The captain had sealed matters, agreeing with Va and insisting that Lady Rellia wanted them brought to safety as soon as possible; they didn¡¯t know what other threats might be imminent where Victor and Va were concerned. The crew was friendly, though too deferential, and hardly spoke to either of them after that initial discussion. In fact, it felt like they were terrified of the two of them.

    He thought back to when he¡¯d first met Va, back when he¡¯d gone to visit Rellia after their duel in the arena. He remembered how she¡¯d hardly spoken, using clipped phrases. He smiled at the memory, thinking about how she¡¯d been even more perfectly coiffed back then, standing straight as a wooden board. He supposed she had a reputation, not just as Rellia¡¯s adopted daughter, but as a captain in the Legion. Victor leaned forward against the railing, gripping it in hisrge, strong hands, and smiled, thinking about how Rellia and Lam would react to the changes in him and Va.

    He was his natural size, something over eight feet tall, and he figured he¡¯d keep it that way until he had to go inside a structure again. Why not tower over some people,rger than life? ¡°Especially when we first arrive,¡± he grunted, squeezing the railing until the wood creaked. He had half a mind to cast his Titanic Aspect spell; let them see whom they¡¯d recruited to lead this expedition¡ªa living, breathing Quinametzin. It was a thought, but he ultimately shook his head, deciding against it. He didn¡¯t need to impress Rellia or Lam more than he already had.

    Victor turned to look over his shoulder and saw Va standing not far away, speaking to an Ardeni in a crisp sailor¡¯s uniform, one with some special insignias on the shoulders. ¡°Hey,¡± he called, getting her attention.

    She sped the man¡¯s shoulder, said something, then walked over to Victor. ¡°Hey.¡±

    ¡°So, where¡¯s the ship taking us? Rellia¡¯s estate? Some airship dock in Persi Gables?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d prefer it if we went to the estate, but apparently, Rellia sent orders that the ship is to drop us off at the legion¡¯s encampment. Lam and Rellia are both there, overseeing some final logistical matters.¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± Suddenly Victor wasn¡¯t feeling quite so cocksure; was he ready to be seen by the soldiers he was meant to lead?

    ¡°Yes. News of the attack on our airship has escted things.¡±

    ¡°Right, right.¡± Victor nodded. ¡°Makes sense. How long do we have?¡±

    ¡°Minutes. We¡¯ll be done passing over Lake Beliss shortly, though too far south to see Persi Gables, and then it¡¯s just a short journey over the bordering woods to the ins where the army is encamped.¡±

    ¡°Damn. All right.¡± Victor stood up straight, releasing the railing. He¡¯d been watching the passage of theke, the moons¡¯ reflections flickering oddly over its choppy waters. The ship was low, far lower than Victor imagined airnes flew, and the view, coupled with the rushing winds, had kept him engaged for an hour or more. ¡°Should I change?¡±

    ¡°No, your armor and helmet are impressive. As you can see, I¡¯m wearing my armor.¡± Va reached up to her neck, touching the choker Victor had given her, and he realized she¡¯d kept the top part of her hauberk open so it didn¡¯t cover the sparkling, pale blue crystals.

    He smiled and said, ¡°You look great. Are you nervous?¡±

    ¡°Only about seeing Rellia.¡±

    ¡°Right. Yeah, I know there¡¯s a lot between you two, or I¡¯d try to offer some advice. As it is, I have no idea what to say except that she¡¯d be an idiot not to be proud of you.¡± His words pulled a smile out of her, and she looked down briefly.

    ¡°Thank you. I hope Rellia sees it that way. I hope she doesn¡¯t send me off on meaningless tasks to keep me in my ce.¡±

    Victor frowned. He knew she wasn¡¯t used to receiving much praise, so he added, ¡°Seriously. You¡¯ve aplished so much! You¡¯re on your way to being one of the most personally powerful people in the world. You captured one of the emperor¡¯s princeps. You¡¯re returning with wealth far beyond what anyone could have reasonably hoped for. Meaningless tasks? As far as I¡¯m concerned, you will be right by my side for this entire expedition. I¡¯ll insist on it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d do that?¡± Va smiled, resting a hand on Midnight¡¯s pommel.

    ¡°Are you kidding me? I need someone with me I can trust no matter what. You and, like, three other people are the only ones in this world who fit that bill, and you¡¯re the only one strong enough. Do you understand? You¡¯re invaluable to me.¡±

    ¡°I,¡± Va stepped forward, dropped her hands to her sides, and straightened up. Victor wasn¡¯t a military guy, but to him, it looked like she was standing at attention. She cleared her throat and spoke firmly and quickly, her words chasing each other out of her mouth, ¡°Thank you, Victor! I won¡¯t let you down.¡±

    Victor wanted to crack a joke, to try to lighten the tension in the air, but he knew she was being serious. He saw this meant something to her, so he met her gaze and nodded, then simply said, ¡°Thank you, Va. I know you won¡¯t.¡± He turned back to the ship¡¯s prow and said, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s see if we can see the army when we approach.

    ¡°It¡¯s dark, so you¡¯ll see their fires.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor pointed to the horizon, ¡°it <em>was</em> dark, but the sun¡¯sing up.¡± Sure enough, the sky, dark and gloomy directly overhead, was ever-so-slightly paler where the sky met the ground in the distance. He nced over his shoulder, saw that the sister moons were nearly obscured by the opposite horizon, and guessed the sun would be up in minutes.

    ¡°Now that¡¯s going to set the Augurs talking¡ªthemander of the army arriving as the new day dawns, unshaken from an Imperial assassination attempt!¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Victor snorted, surprised at Va¡¯s creativity.

    ¡°Youugh, but I promise you; Rellia will spread the tale. She¡¯s very image conscious.¡±

    ¡°Sometimes I can¡¯t tell if you love her or loathe her.¡± It had been a long while since he¡¯d seen Rellia in person; he remembered her being beautiful, far younger than he¡¯d imagined, and far more pleasant. He wondered how much had been an act to get him to sign on to this expedition. ¡°God, I was so naive. I can¡¯t believe how much has changed since I fought her.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps a bit green,¡± Va paused and nodded, ¡°but your instincts were good. Rellia was sincere in her dealings with you. I know her well, and I¡¯m sure of it. She wants a better start, a better, less corrupt ce for our family and allies to prosper. I truly believe it, Victor.¡±

    ¡°I hope you¡¯re right.¡± They stood on the prow, watching the water speed by for several minutes, then it gave way to a shadowy forest, the air warming noticeably as they left theke behind. Victor nced up and said, ¡°Wow.¡± He pointed to the horizon again, ¡°Look at those colors!¡±

    As the sun began to brighten the distant horizon, the clouds hanging in the air had taken on brilliant shades of yellow and orange, deepening to pink and red. As Victor took it in, and Va leaned forward, also taken with the sight, he watched as the slowly emerging sun began to illuminate the dark green-bluendscape¡ªexpansive grass ins for as far as his eye could see in any direction. He was watching the ground lighten when Va grabbed his arm and pointed. He followed her finger to see hundreds of tiny motes of light in the grassy in.

    ¡°Campfires. It¡¯s the army.¡±

    As the sailors began to yell to each other, tightening or loosening ropes, preparing the ship tond, Victor watched as the shadowy shapes of tents came into view, hundreds of them. No, he amended, thousands. A great corral had been staked out near the encampment, and Victor saw thousands of animals within, mostly rdii, but a few other creatures, including great, elephant-sized birds. He searched his memory for what they were called and uttered, ¡°Bundii.¡±

    ¡°Aye. To pull the bigger wagons,¡± Va said, pointing toward a row of dozens of massive wagons lined up inside the earthen bulwark surrounding the entire encampment. The whole ce looked like a town under construction to Victor as they drew closer. He even noticed wooden watchtowers around the perimeter and arge, permanent-looking wooden fortification at the camp¡¯s center. ¡°The ship will tether there, at the perimeter. See? They¡¯ve built a docking structure. No, two of them.¡±

    Victor saw what she meant; two stage-like structures on stilts stood about fifty yards from each other and about twice as far from the earthen bulwark, and the ship was rapidly descending toward the one on the left. ¡°Impressive for a camp.¡±

    ¡°This is sloppy, actually. I suppose some leniency can be expected, considering they¡¯ve been using this as a recruitment camp for thest ten months. Still, we¡¯ll have sharper camps on the road, or I¡¯ll personally be handing out discipline.¡± Va spoke inly, like she was reciting well-known facts, and Victor had to give her a double-take.

    ¡°You putting on your Legion Captain persona?¡±

    ¡°Yes! I want this to be a sessful endeavor, and that means discipline. I¡¯ll be the mean old gran if I have to.¡± As she finished speaking, Victor chuckled. He wasn¡¯t familiar with the idiom about a mean old gran, but he got the idea; he could imagine his <em>abu</em> whipping some sloppy soldiers into shape just fine. A surge of sad nostalgia rose from the pit of his stomach as he thought about his grandma, but rather than banish the thought, he embraced it. If she were truly gone, then he¡¯d cherish every memory that came to him of her. He shook his head, reminding himself that he wasn¡¯t sure about anything yet.

    ¡°Ah, they¡¯ve sighted us. See the paradeing toward thending tform?¡±

    Victor followed her gaze and saw what she meant. A column of tiny soldiers was marching down the central boulevard through the encampment. They¡¯d probably arrive as the ship¡¯s sailors were finishing with their mooring lines. ¡°Well? Shall we?¡± He reached down as if to take her hand, but she shook her head.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not give the soldiers and sailors more to talk about than they need. You¡¯re themander of this army, Victor. Rellia might see you as a figurehead, but you¡¯re not. You¡¯ll soon show them as much. I don¡¯t want to be seen as a . . . ady-friend of yours.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Victor said, nodding and pulling his hand back. He was trying to be cool but felt like he¡¯d just been rejected by a prom date. ¡°Right. Sorry, Va. I wasn¡¯t trying to imply anything . . .¡±

    ¡°I know you weren¡¯t! I¡¯m sorry too, but we both need to be respected by the troops, especially if you expect me to act as tribune.¡±

    ¡°Tribune?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor!¡± Va¡¯s exasperation had slipped its leash, but she quickly recovered and added, more calmly, ¡°And you are Legate Victor Sandoval.¡±

    ¡°I thought I was amander.¡±

    ¡°Amander is a general term, and it is urate, but with regard to a legion, such as the one encamped around this airship, the leader is called a legate. Mark my words, Rellia and Lam will attempt tobel themselves as co-legates. You should insist they are tribunes.¡±

    ¡°<em>Pinche mierda</em>,¡± Victor growled. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t the System trante all this shit consistently? Why don¡¯t I hear modern terms for everything?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Perhaps it¡¯s because we, on Fanwath, ce a lot of weight on tradition when ites to the Empire and the Legion. The System may be trying to help you recognize that we use different terms rather than generic possibilities like mander.¡¯ We can talk about this more when we¡¯re alone, but right now, the ship is nearly down, and we¡¯re about to be surrounded by important people. Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just messing with my head that we¡¯ve got legates and tribunes but also captains and lieutenants. Forget it. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll all fall into ce up here after a few conversations.¡± Victor gave his forehead a good knock with his knuckles.

    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s stand by the gangway. I¡¯d prefer to meet Rellia on solid ground than here on the ship.¡± She waited for Victor to walk before her, keeping pace with him but always a stride behind. Victor didn¡¯t doubt that she was following some protocol she had learned in the Legion. The sailors moved out of his way, and, as the ship bucked and pulled, slowly winched into ce by the attendants on thending tform, he stood before the gangway, waiting for it to drop.

    It took a bit longer than Va had predicted, and by the time the big wooden gate lowered, bing a bridge, Victor saw that Rellia already stood on the tform, a dozen others, some of whom Victor recognized, nking her. Right away, their uniforms caught his eye. Everyone on the tform wore them, simr in design to the ones Va was always sporting, though with starkly different colors. Where Va¡¯s pants were usually white, everyone on the tform wore slim-fitting ck pants. Above their pants and shiny boots, they wore red, high-cored shirts and, overtop, ck military-style jackets with gold brocade. They looked very fancy, very sharp.

    Rellia stood at the center, her jacket adorned with ribbons and medals. Next to her was Lam, tall, slender, shimmering wings creating spectacle enough, but she, too, wore the uniform, and her jacket was near as heavy with metal as Rellia¡¯s. Slightly behind Lam was Polo Vosh, looking huge as ever, his fuzzy head and shoulders above even Lam, but he¡¯d done a hell of a job cleaning up, and someone had stitched a uniform that fit his thick body. Victor saw Edeya next to Polo, looking much as he¡¯d left her, though, if Victor were pressed, he might admit she¡¯d gained a few pounds in muscle.

    The rest of the people were new to him, though some of their faces might have been vaguely familiar; staff or hangers-on of Lam and Rellia. He started down the gangway, Va shadowing him. When he stopped before Rellia, she craned her neck, looking up to meet his eyes, and performed an interesting salute, standing straight, clicking her heels together, and pounding her fist into her chest over her heart. As soon as her fist thumped home, everyone else on the tform mimicked the action.

    Victor didn¡¯t want to look like an idiot trying to copy the salute, so he smiled at the quiet crowd, pressed his fists into his hips, elbows akimbo, and said, his voice deep and booming, ¡°Thank you. It¡¯s great to see you all.¡±

    ¡°Wee home, Victor. Va.¡± Rellia stepped forward and held out a hand. Victor reached down and enveloped her slender blue hand with his, and, like before, he felt the electricity of her touch. Something about her was charged, full of force. Once, he might have thought it a sexual thing, but he¡¯d grown a bit, and he thought it was simply her powerful personality, an effect of her aura, or somebination of the two. She was a born leader.

    Victor nodded, and Va said, reverting to her old, clipped speech, ¡°Thank you. Ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°Victor! You¡¯ve grown again!¡± Lam said, chuckling and stepping up beside Rellia. Victor let go of Rellia¡¯s hand and reached toward Lam, only to have her step closer and try to pull him into a hug. Her face pressed into his chest, and he awkwardly gripped the backs of her shoulders, careful not to touch her wings; he had no idea how sensitive or fragile they were. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you so well.¡± Her words were quiet and muffled by her embrace, but they still brought a smile to Victor. Nevertheless, he wasn¡¯t used to affection from Lam, so he gently pushed her back, a tickle in the back of his mind warning him¡ªwas she trying to earn some favor by this public disy, if not with him, then with the army?

    ¡°I have grown. Yeah,¡± he shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s my bloodline. Hey, Edeya! Hey, Polo!¡± Edeya beamed hugely as he said her name, snapping him another salute, and Polo nodded, a toothy grin spreading his furry cheeks.

    ¡°Victor,¡± Rellia said as Lam stepped back beside her, ¡°I know you must be tired, but might we have a word?¡±

    ¡°He is weary, Lady Rellia.¡± Va stepped forward, and Victor felt something like pride in his chest, seeing her looming over Rellia in her wyrm-scale armor, her hand on Midnight¡¯s pommel. ¡°We just fought off an assassination squad and missed a night of sleep.¡±

    ¡°Even so,¡± Rellia said, ncing over her shoulder. Victor followed her gaze over the tform¡¯s edge and saw that an enormous, hushed crowd was beginning to gather around the tethered airship. ¡°This is the first time the soldiers have seen their Legate. Do you think you might have a word for them?¡±

    ¡°Oh, Ancestors!¡± Va hissed. ¡°What sort of ambush is this? He¡¯s not prepared a speech! I thought we¡¯d have days or weeks before you brought us before the army.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s hardly my fault,¡± Rellia said, her voice low but hissing. ¡°You should have prepared him for this!¡±

    Lam stepped forward and opened her mouth, but Victor held up a hand and said, ¡°Hold on. You want me to address this army? Right now?¡± He tried to keep his face neutral, his voice low, but his first instinct was to balk, to refuse; Victor Sandoval might like to fight, but he didn¡¯t do public speeches.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to,¡± Va said, angling herself so she stood between Rellia and Victor, facing them both.

    ¡°It would be a huge morale boost if you did,¡± Lam managed to interject.

    Victor frowned, recognizing the churning, dark thing in his chest¡ªfear. His strongest affinity was, once again, reminding him that it was often the root of his decisions. ¡°Where?¡± he growled, trying to cover his nervousness with a bit of anger.

    ¡°Here. You¡¯re on the tform; the soldiers are gathering, curious.¡±

    ¡°And you conveniently made no orders to the contrary,¡± Va sighed.

    ¡°My, but you¡¯re crabby, daughter. We¡¯ll need to have some words, hmm?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, we will, Ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°Now?¡± Victor asked, still fighting a battle of his own, trying to decide if acting in spite of his fear was just as bad as acting because of it. If he refused, he¡¯d be giving in, but now that he knew he was afraid, was the solution to react to his fear and do the opposite? What would Old Mother tell him? He felt she¡¯d say something rather unhelpful, something about not letting his fear rule him.

    ¡°In a few minutes. Let the troops continue to gather.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m loud, but not sure I¡¯m loud enough for six thousand people to hear me.¡±

    ¡°I have something for that,¡± Lam said, holding out her hand in which a golden chain appeared. Dangling from the chain was a circr ck stone iid with gold-etched runes. It wasrge, with thick links, and Victor knew she hadn¡¯t had the device made for herself. Victor took it from her, frowning.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°It will amplify your voice for a time, something between ten and fifteen minutes. After that, it will need a day or so to recharge.¡±

    ¡°Come, Victor,¡± Rellia said, her voice soft but entreating, ¡°Just a few words. Rile them up. Tell them we¡¯ll be victorious. Nothing special; they¡¯re already excited to follow you. Rumors of your exploits have traveled from fire to fire, especially how you bested me in the arena.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the least of his aplishments,¡± Va said, surprising Victor. Had she grown so loyal to him?

    Rellia scowled at Va, but Victor forestalled further bickering by lifting the chain over his helmeted head. Once around his neck, he ran a hand over his chest, opening his wyrm-scale vest and tucking the stone medallion within. Before he sealed his armor, he asked, ¡°Do I have to bond with it?¡±

    ¡°Aye.¡± Lam nodded.

    Victor did so, and he felt the chain shorten a bit so it hung in the middle of his chest; then, he closed up his armor. He looked at Polo and then Edeya, trying to see what they might think, figuring they might have a more neutral opinion about things. Polo looked ready to fight, as usual, his moist ck eyes not giving away any emotion, and Edeya, well, she looked ready to charge into hell at hismand. ¡°<em>Jesucristo</em>,¡± Victor muttered and received nothing but puzzled expressions in response.

    Victor stepped between Lam and Rellia, startling them with the abrupt move, forcing them to move aside hurriedly. He lumbered up to the railing of thending tform to look out over the tents and the rapidly assembling mass of men and women. ¡°Soldiers,¡± he reminded himself. These were people signing on to fight to the death, to follow him into unknownnds to face enemies there and along the way. Did they not deserve to know who they were following? Did they not deserve to decide if he was worthy of leading them?

    ¡°Just send a bit of Energy into the ne to activate it,¡± Lam said from behind him.

    Victor didn¡¯t respond but reached up, unsnapped Lifedrinker¡¯s harness, and lifted the great, silvery axe, holding her before him with both hands. ¡°At least I have you, <em>chica</em>; I always have you. No matter the battle I face, even in this one, a battle with my mind, you bring mefort.¡±

    <em>Always</em>, the axe replied, and Victor grinned savagely.

    ¡°He still speaks to the axe, I see . . .¡± Lam said, perhaps trying to be funny with Edeya or Va, but her words choked off as Victor reached into his Core, cast Titanic Aspect, and released his aura.

 Book 5: Chapter 15: Inciting the Troops

    Book 5: Chapter 15: Inciting the Troops

    Victor¡¯s intention hadn¡¯t been to impose his aura on his friends and allies nearby, but he felt stronger, more powerful, and more capable when he wasn¡¯t working to hold it back. With it released, coursing out of him, he felt like he¡¯d just set down a sack of cement he¡¯d been hauling around on his shoulder. Sure, he could carry it, but things were much morefortable when he didn¡¯t have to. Still, he flinched a little when he heard the gasps behind and around him, and he hoped he hadn¡¯t driven anyone to their knees. He nced over his shoulder, saw Rellia helping another woman to steady herself, and quickly looked forward again. Now wasn¡¯t the time to start feeling guilty for being powerful.

    With that in mind, hoping to bolster his friends to alleviate his worry about them, he cast Inspiration of the Quinametzin. White-gold Energy poured through his pathways, seeping out through his very flesh, limning him in a pleasant, soft light that seemed to pulse through the air around him in a great circle, epassing not just the tform he stood upon but the ground around him for dozens of yards in every direction.

    Victor instantly felt the relief of those standing nearby, felt them shift and sigh, and knew that his spell was more than mitigating the effects of his aura, at least for those he considered allies. More than that, Victor felt the inspiration¡ªstronger, deeper, and more profound than ever before; this spell was like a floodlight next to the lightbulb of his old Inspiring Presence. His back straightened, he widened his stance, and he reached up to touch the chain around his neck, channeling a bit of Energy to activate it.

    Standing tall as he was, nearly fifteen feet of corded muscles wrapped in gleaming wyrm-scale armor, high above the ground on the airship tform, he was easy to see for the gathering troops. Their initial trickle had be a rush, and now they crowded closer. Victor could see sergeants, lieutenants, and even captains near the front, holding them back, keeping them from going wild as they witnessed Victor¡¯s gigantic, softly glowing form.

    He didn¡¯t know exactly how well the ne would work to project his voice, so he started by clearing his throat. The sound echoed over the encampment, sounding more a growl than anything else, and some of the mor from below settled as the soldiers realized he was preparing to speak. Victor didn¡¯t even know how to address them all, was ¡°soldiers¡± the right word? What was he going to say? His mind darted from idea to idea, and he began to feel a real sense of panic; did he look a fool?

    Still, the inspiration coursing through him wouldn¡¯t let him falter for long. He grunted, cleared his throat again, squared his shoulders, and remembered that these people hade to fight for him; he wasn¡¯t trying to sell something. Why would they judge his words harshly? He stared at a section of soldiers who were more unruly than the others, pushing at the widespread arms of several sergeants and a captain. He faced them and said, ¡°Settle down, soldiers. I have words for you.¡± Again, the ne did its work, pushing his voice out over the encampment, and stillness fell upon the assembled mass.

    ¡°Good,¡± he heard Rellia breathe. Perhaps she¡¯d been afraid he¡¯d fail to find his voice.

    ¡°Soldiers!¡± Victor began, his mind racing toward the things he wanted to say. ¡°I know you¡¯vee to fight under my,¡± he nced to his left and right, ¡°our banner. You know what¡¯s ahead of you, a long, possibly harsh journey. An unknown foe in the Marches, unknown enemies between here and there. Justst night, a new enemy showed me his face when his agents tried to kill me and Tribune Va.¡± He jerked his thumb toward Va, then paused. What was he doing? He looked out over the sea of faces, the soldiers, some in armor, some in uniforms, some half dressed as though they¡¯d just woken up. They were quiet. This didn¡¯t feel like it was what he should be saying.

    Victor nced down at Rellia, and she nodded, motioning for him to keep going, so he turned back to the soldiers and said, ¡°It¡¯s not important; like any enemy that faces us, they were beaten.¡± That got a little reaction out of them, some half-hearted cheering, pping, and maybe a bit ofughter. Were theyughing at him? No, Victor shook his head; that didn¡¯t make sense. Still, things didn¡¯t feel right. He felt like he should be pumping them up, notmely describing what he wanted to do.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you all have heard about me. Yeah, yeah, the big fight in the arena . . .¡± he trailed off as that got a bit more of a reaction, some soldiers cheering, others hooting, a lot more talking. ¡°Things have changed since then¡ªa lot. I¡¯ve been to another world. I¡¯ve fought giants and great wyrms. I¡¯ve learned a great deal, and I¡¯m going to use what I¡¯ve learned to push you to victory!¡± Victor¡¯s voice gradually grew into a shout, and he lifted Lifedrinker as he finished speaking. Many of the soldiers pped and stamped their feet. Quite a few cheered, but in Victor¡¯s mind, it wasme. These were soldiers. There were more than six thousand of them out there. Their response should be thunderous.

    He decided to change tactics; it was time to talk them up. To get them fired up like he might do to his wrestling team before a match, just on arger scale. What should he say, though? He stared out over that mass of colorful people, trying to gather his words. Would he be honest? Would he warn them of the troubles toe? He shook his head; he didn¡¯t need to. ¡°I¡¯m so goddamn proud when I look out over this encampment!¡± he bellowed. The soldiers stared at him, quieter than he¡¯d expected, perhaps wondering at the sudden praise. Victor pressed on, ¡°Look at you! Ready to take on the whole fucking world!¡±

    Still, the soldiers were silent, some with open mouths, unsure. Had Victor gone too far? Heughed. Again, he lifted Lifedrinker high with one of his massive arms, ¡°I know, I know. You want to conquer the Untamed Marches. You want to imnd for your loved ones, your people. Still, look at you!¡± he shouted. ¡°Look!¡± He gestured left and right with his axe, and finally, the soldiers did as he asked; they looked around.

    ¡°Those are your brothers and sisters! Ready to seal their bond with you in <em>blood</em>!¡± He screamed thest word, and when it felt like the soldiers weren¡¯t catching his mood, weren¡¯t feeling his enthusiasm, were, in fact, starting to look a little disturbed, Victor decided he¡¯d had enough. He built the pattern for Berserk in his pathways, and, just as he¡¯d done to learn Inspiring Presence and Heroic Heart, his Aspect of Terror and Inevitable Huntsman, he cast the spell with a massive torrent of glory-attuned Energy.

    Glory infused his being. It was an Energy unlike any he¡¯d ever felt, hot like rage but good like inspiration. It crackled through his pathways, igniting him with enthusiasm, purpose, and zeal for facing any sort of adversity, but particrly for fighting¡ªfor conquering. He didn¡¯t feel like he was losing himself; in fact, he felt more in control than ever. Still, he felt so incredible, so full of potential and power and the verve for life that he lifted his head and roared. He was so busy savoring the sensation that he hadn¡¯t noticed what was happening around him.

    A System message appeared in his vision, and when he lowered his head from his thunderous outburst, he quickly read it before dismissing it:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have learned the spell: Banner of the Champion - Basic.***</strong>

    <strong>***Banner of the Champion - Basic: Prerequisite: Affinity - Glory. Channeling the lust for Glory that lives in your heart, you manifest that aspect of your spirit in the form of a banner that hangs in the air behind you, bestowing a fraction of your potency and desire to those allies of yours who look upon it. Conversely, enemies who see your banner will suffer a malus that will reduce their will and build dread in their hearts. Energy Cost: Minimum 100 - scble. Cooldown: Long.***</strong>

    Victor looked behind and up, and there it was, hanging in the air behind him, zing with brilliant, sparkling, golden Energy¡ªan enormous banner. It was rectangr, two yards wide by three or four high, with a pale, creamy background on which a golden sun zed, near as bright as the one in the sky. From the bottom of that zing sun, rivulets of blood ran down the pale background to drip from the banner¡¯s bottom edge, each drop exploding like a little red starburst behind Victor¡¯s back.

    Victor roared again when he saw it, driven nearly into a frenzy by the inspiration and glory in his pathways. He lifted Lifedrinker into the air, and this time her silvery head exploded into glorious molten fury, ck smoke billowing into the air from her hot, razor-edged de. The soldiers, staring at Victor, mouths open, eyes wide and transfixed by the immense zing banner behind him, finally started to feel what he was experiencing; they cheered. They lifted their weapons and screamed. Victor, feeling what he¡¯d been waiting for, the adtion of a crowd, bunched his knees andunched himself off the tform, heedless of the damage he caused with his explosive movement.

    Hended squarely on the ground just before the center of the assembled soldiers, and, as those closest to him stumbled and fell from the concussion, he lifted Lifedrinker again and bellowed, ¡°We are going to destroy any force that confronts us!¡±

    Again, the soldiers cheered, their titanic leader aze with golden and white Energy, an enormous standard hanging in the air behind him, filling them with the lust for glory, striding among them, roaring and shouting his praise. ¡°You¡¯re the best damn soldiers on the! We¡¯ll smash our way through the Untamed Marches! No one will stop us!¡± He went on and on, exhorting them to scream and roar and howl. ¡°Let me hear you!¡± he thundered, pumping his zing axe toward the sky.

    <strong>#</strong>

    ¡°Ancestors!¡± Rellia gasped as she helped Chev-dak to his feet. Everyone on the tform was staggered, struggling to stand without stepping on the shattered nks left in the wake of Victor¡¯s leap. Everyone seemed to be all right, uninjured. In fact, they seemed better than all right, and Rellia could rte. She felt good, incredible, even; the effect of that man¡¯s Energy and his huge zing banner were undeniable. She wanted to draw her rapier, to leap from the stands and follow him. She wanted to crush her¡ªtheir¡ªenemies and see them driven before her. She wanted to hear the praise of her people and see the adtion in their eyes as they witnessed her victories.

    ¡°Where¡¯s he gone,¡± Lam asked, then sheunched into the air, her wings humming as they carried her aloft.

    Lam¡¯s little assistant, Edeya, cried, ¡°He¡¯s among the troops! Look how he towers over them like a giant! Roots! My heart felt like it was squeezing out of my chest when his aura fell on us. Thank the Great Tree he cast his inspiration on us! Can we follow him?¡± Her voice was thrilled, excited, desperate. Was the man¡¯s pull so strong?

    ¡°A Titan, not a giant,¡± Va said, stepping around Polo Vosh to stand near the cracked, bent railing. Rellia frowned at her daughter¡¯s back but moved between two of her attendants, urging them to step away from the broken center of the tform, and when she got to the edge, she looked out at a scene that seemed cut from myth.

    The soldiers surged and moved in great waves around Victor¡¯s gigantic figure, buzzing with excitement, cheering, screaming, howling, and falling to their knees in ecstatic, frenzied pandemonium. Victor¡¯s deep voice rumbled above the din, shouting encouragement, roaring, and bellowing his praise. ¡°What have we unleashed,¡± Rellia asked, her eyes wide, her jaw falling ck. Despite her words, she too wanted to get out there, to follow Victor. If he wanted them to march into battle right that moment, she¡¯d be ready to join him.

    ¡°A Titan,¡± Va said again.

    ¡°You¡¯ve seen this?¡± Polo asked, his deep voice rumbling, trembling with, if Rellia were any judge, excitement.

    ¡°Um, simr. Not that banner, though; that¡¯s new.¡± Was that pride in her daughter¡¯s voice? As if she could read her mind, Va turned to Rellia and said, ¡°Was this what you were hoping for?¡± Now she sounded smug, as though she¡¯d seen Rellia make a mistake. Had she? Rellia frowned but didn¡¯t respond. She watched the titan-sized man out there among the troops, striding around, the soldiers moving like water in a tide pool, surging and ebbing around his progress. If she were honest with herself, this was a less-than-ideal development, at least not for her.

    She¡¯d hoped that, by springing the speech on Victor, he¡¯d recognize his inexperience and see that he needed people like Rellia, and their partnership would be solidified. This, though, was beyond anything she could have imagined. These soldiers were going to be fanatical in their loyalty. Victor would feel more secure in his role, and she¡¯d be further sidelined. She began to worry that she would lose control of this entire expedition.

    Va had turned back toward Victor, so Rellia stepped closer to her and said, softly, just for her ears, ¡°Are you angry with me, daughter?¡±

    Va frowned and nced at her. She¡¯d be more beautiful, more powerful. It was apparent, from the way she carried herself to the feeling of her aura, more pronounced now that Victor¡¯s was further away. More, the girl had let her hair grow and was wearing that, arguably quite impressive, armor rather than her uniform. Rellia had tried for years to get her to stop dressing like a legionnaire! Now that she wanted her to dress the part, she¡¯d decided to gird herself like a warrior? ¡°Aren¡¯t you pleased that he announced you as a Tribune?¡±

    ¡°Certainly, I¡¯m pleased. Are you?¡± Va¡¯s frown curled into a smile, though Rellia wondered if she saw a touch of cruelty in those eyes. ¡°As for whether I¡¯m angry with you, the answer is no, Mother. We have much to discuss, however.¡±

    Rellia¡¯s frown deepened, easier for her now that Victor¡¯s banner grew more and more distant. For the first time, she worried that she¡¯d made a mistake sending Va to shadow Victor. What had she experienced in such a short time to change her so much? Just a few months ago, she¡¯d never have taken such an insolent tone. Where had the doting daughter gone? The one who¡¯d clung to her like a barnacle on a sea ship when Rellia had lost her foot, so protective . . .

    ¡°Mother, he seems to be winding down. Is themand structure there, inside the central palisade?¡±

    Rellia jerked her eyes up, looking out at the distant, glowing figure, still towering high, still waving around that smoking axe. <em>Great Mother, that axe!</em> Rellia shivered, remembering its bite. ¡°Yes, Va. Tell me, though, why do you think he¡¯ll stop anytime soon?¡±

    ¡°Look more closely. The soft white light, his inspiration Energy, is gone. If he¡¯s pulled it back or ended that spell, likely he¡¯ll end the others soon as well.¡±

    ¡°Those are spells, then? Not his bloodline?¡± Polo asked, joining the conversation.

    ¡°Abination,¡± Va replied, shrugging. ¡°He¡¯s a potent package. His bloodline alone is devastating, butbine that with his powerful Spirit Core and his affinities . . . I pity our foes.¡±

    ¡°Aye,¡± Polo grumbled, ¡°He¡¯s grown much since west sparred. I don¡¯t know how he thinks I¡¯ll be useful to him.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not always titan-sized. He still has much to learn about the axe.¡± Va offered Polo a smile, and Rellia felt her heart stir with a bit of pride. She was a good girl at heart. Perhaps it was good that she was feeling her independence and bing more of an individual.

    ¡°Very well. Come,¡± Rellia said, moving to the wooden stairs, careful to step around the shattered boards at the center of the tform. ¡°We¡¯ll walk to the palisade gate and wait for him.¡± She was pleased that her foot, artificed by a cousin in Tharcray, provided enough feedback to help her navigate without a stumble.

    ¡°He¡¯s got them so damn riled up,¡± ap¡¯Jinna groused. ¡°It¡¯s inspiring, sure, but look!¡± He gestured left and right as he came down the steps. ¡°Half the tents are trampled. I¡¯m going to call a captain¡¯s meeting. Is that all right, Lady Rellia? We¡¯ll need to instill some discipline and get this camp organized.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. Your Tribune is right there,¡± Rellia pointed to Va.

    ¡°Really, Mother? I thought you¡¯d have assumed the role of Legate by now.¡±

    ¡°No, not yet. Lam and I wait to speak with Victor about our cement in the ranks.¡±

    ¡°And yet Captain ap¡¯Jinna just asked you for permission . . .¡±

    ¡°Oh, Daughter! Must everything be difficult with you? Yes, Virt! Gather the captains. See to it.¡± Rellia dismissed the man, waving her hand at his sputtered apologies. Then, she began to stride purposefully toward the palisade gate, irritated by this whole affair; nothing had gone to n. Where was Lam? She scanned the skies and finally looked back toward Victor, distant now, toward the back of the encampment, and she saw her wings pouring motes of Energy as she streaked around over his head, circling him and his banner.

    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to be difficult, Mother, but I must keep a critical eye on everything, including you and the other nobles, everyone who will vie for Victor¡¯s loyalty. He depends on me.¡±

    Rellia¡¯s budding irritation at Lam slipped from her mind as she turned to her daughter, ¡°What do you mean, depends on you?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s named me his Tribune Primus.¡±

    ¡°Oho? You who¡¯ve never led more than a cohort? I had others in mind for that role. Lam, herself, mentioned an interest.¡±

    ¡°Regardless. Victor has chosen.¡±

    Rellia looked around, saw that her retainers and the other officers who¡¯d been on the tform were following a respectful distance behind, and allowed some affection into her voice as she said, ¡°I¡¯m proud of you, Va.¡±

    Finally, Va¡¯s expression softened a little, and she nced quickly toward Rellia, meeting her eyes. Rellia felt something melt in her heart, a spot where she held memories of the little girl she¡¯d taken in all those years ago. Va had such beautiful eyes, a color right in the middle of green and blue, big and angr, angry like a storm at sea when they wanted to be or gentle, like cid waters on a soft, sandy beach when the moment was right. As their gazes locked, the girl¡ªthe woman¡ªon whom she¡¯d pinned the future of her household said, ¡°I missed you, Mother.¡±

    Rellia felt moisture spring into her eyes, and she quickly looked away, walking stiff-backed toward the fort in the center of the encampment. Things hadn¡¯t gone perfectly, but they hadn¡¯t gone badly. Her daughter was home, and she was closer than ever to the titanic champion still railing away out there among the troops. Rellia may not have gained an edge over Victor with her little speech ploy, but she¡¯d strengthened the morale of her army, and word would travel. Her enemies would feel something they might not have felt for a very long time, perhaps never in their lives¡ªdoubt.

 Book 5: Chapter 16: Command Council

    Book 5: Chapter 16: Command Council

    Victor walked, surrounded by cheering, excited troops, toward themand structure. He was no longer the size of a titan, and his banner had faded away some time ago, disappearing in sparkling motes of golden Energy; he¡¯d nearly drained his Core dry of glory and inspiration, and he didn¡¯t think rage or fear would serve his needs at the moment, so he¡¯d let his spells drop and shouldered Lifedrinker, slowly making his way back to the center of the encampment. That said, he still felt like he towered over everyone around, even Lam, who¡¯dnded to walk beside him.

    The soldiers around him were abuzz, noisy, and eager, talking about the campaign,menting on Victor¡¯s disy, and specting about when the order to march woulde down. Even with their excitement and noise, he heard Lam clearly enough as she spoke up, ¡°That was impressive, Victor. You¡¯ve gained much strength since I saw you in the arena with Rellia.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Victor said, slowing his pace slightly so he could more easily return Lifedrinker to her harness.

    ¡°She¡¯s fully Heart Silver now, I see. What about the fire? How¡¯d she learn that trick?¡±

    Victor appreciated Lam referring to Lifedrinker as a person. ¡°She drank the life out of an ancient wyrm, one with magma for blood. Well, not really magma, but it felt like it.¡± Victor kept his eyes forward, his long legs easily devouring the distance. In minutes they¡¯d be walking up to the central palisade, and he¡¯d have more than Lam throwing questions at him.

    ¡°Did I do something to upset you, Victor?¡±

    Her words startled him, and Victor slowed down, giving her more of his attention, meeting her emerald eyes. At the concern on her face, his steps faltered, and he stopped, turning to look at her squarely. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°You were, oh, I don¡¯t know, cold toward me earlier. When we met on the airship tform.¡±

    ¡°Uh,¡± Victor felt heat rising in the back of his neck, his old awkwardness returning so forcefully that he could almost forget that he¡¯d just whipped six thousand soldiers into a frenzy, could almost forget that hundreds of soldiers were still following him and the captain, were, in fact forming a big circle around them, though standing a respectful distance away as they spoke. ¡°God, Lam. No, I¡¯m not mad at you! I¡¯m just an awkward fucking guy when ites to women I happen to idolize. It caught me off guard when you hugged me, and yeah, I had some paranoid thoughts, but really, I think I was just surprised that you¡¯d done it. We¡¯re good, okay?¡±

    Lam smiled, and Victor noticed a scar above the right corner of her mouth that formed a kind of extra dimple when she did it. She nodded and reached her wiry, tattooed right arm toward him, holding her hand out. Victor took it, wrapping his long, powerful fingers around hers, surprised at their length and how she could grip his enormous palm. ¡°I¡¯m d we¡¯re good, Victor.¡± She released his hand and nodded. ¡°Come now, let¡¯s get to themand fort. I¡¯ve got a million questions for you, and so do the others, I¡¯m sure. Let¡¯s start with that banner of yours¡ªit¡¯s amazing. It¡¯ll be invaluable on the battlefield. How often can you create it?¡±

    ¡°Probably anytime I need to. It has a simr cooldown and Energy cost to my basic Berserk spell. We can talk about that and other thingster, but first, Lam, tell me about your tattoos. I don¡¯t see many Ghelli with marks like that.¡± In his mind, Victor thought he was being clever, changing the topic, and turning the focus back on Lam. Later, on reflection, he might think it was clumsy and might have sent the wrong signals to the captain, but she handled it well, nodding and holding up her left arm.

    ¡°Largely, they¡¯re from my time in the Legion. From my time in Urwa ap¡¯Cha¡¯s cohort andter, after I was given my captaincy, from my cohort. Most of them arememorations of deployments and battles. See, like this one,¡± she pointed to a scene depicted on the inside of her arm. It pictured a pile of skulls on a field littered with broken spears. In the background, a crooked stone tower stood before a mist-covered moon. ¡°This is from my time with Urwa¡¯s cohort. The battle of Rook Tower¡ªnot a pleasant memory. At this battle, our entire legion was wiped out, and the supporting legion lost half its troops rescuing survivors like me.¡±

    ¡°Shit,¡± Victor sighed, shaking his head. ¡°Sorry for bringing it up.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault I carry my memories on my flesh. It¡¯s not your fault one of the emperor¡¯s cousins went mad, created an army of golems, and tried to usurp the throne.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Victor slowed again, not wanting to arrive at the palisade before finishing the topic with Lam. ¡°Was he a Ridonne?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. A Golemancer with a full-fledged Ridonne bloodline. I neverid eyes on him, but it was enough to see his creations. I¡¯ll tell you about them sometime over some very strong alcohol.¡± Lam gestured ahead, ¡°We¡¯re here. Thanks for your interest, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course.¡± Victor stepped up to the wooden gateway where Va, Rellia, Edeya, Polo, and four others, all Ardeni whom he didn¡¯t recognize, waited.

    Lam stepped ahead of him, taking a position by Rellia¡¯s side and speaking into her ear, though not so quietly that Victor couldn¡¯t hear, ¡°Our troops are ready to follow him into the abyss.¡±

    ¡°Victor!¡± Edeya said, blushing and ncing quickly at Rellia and Lam, but unable to contain herself, ¡°Those spells! Your aura! It was amazing. I¡¯m so excited to be a part of this expedition with you!¡±

    ¡°At ease, Lieutenant,¡± Rellia sighed.

    ¡°Lieutenant? Nice one, Edeya,¡± Victor chuckled, holding out a fist nearly the size of the young Ghelli¡¯s head. Edeya smiled at him but didn¡¯t move to bump his knuckles, so Victor pulled it back with a sigh; Va would have understood. At the thought, he looked at Va, saw the wry grin on her face, saw how she stood close to Rellia, and wondered how things had gone with her mother while he¡¯d been out rallying the troops.

    ¡°Victor, we have much to discuss. Would you like to join us in the map room?¡± Rellia asked, her voice terse, probably trying to head off any further small talk.

    ¡°Yeah, all right. Va?¡±

    ¡°Right here,¡± Va said, moving away from Rellia to stand at his side. Victor smiled at her. His intent had been to ask if she wasing along, but he liked how she was demonstrating her loyalty to him.

    ¡°This way.¡± Rellia turned and walked through the gateway, Lam close behind. Everyone else waited for Victor and Va to pass through before following. The inside of the little palisade was much as Victor had imagined. A rough rampart lined the wall, stables for the officer¡¯s mounts were on the right, a practice yard was on the left, and directly in front of the gate was a two-story wooden structure, rough but sturdy looking.

    Seeing the stables brought Thistle to Victor¡¯s mind, and he said, ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t suppose anyone got our mounts from that inn in Persi Gables, did they?¡±

    Va looked at him with amused eyes and said, ¡°Some of us were in much closer contact with our Farscribe books. I believe our mounts are at Rellia¡¯s estate.¡±

    Rellia nced over her shoulder, offered Victor a nod, and said, ¡°I¡¯ll have them brought over unless you two are nning a trip into the city?¡±

    ¡°It depends,¡± Victor replied. ¡°Have you or Lam,¡± he spoke up so Lam would recognize he was including her, ¡°managed to get any information about Olivia Be?¡±

    Rellia held up her hand to forestall Lam¡¯s response and said, ¡°We have information. Let¡¯s speak after we¡¯ve handled some legion formalities and have a smaller group of ears.¡± With that, she walked up the steps and inside. Everyone followed her through a spacious, if rough, entry hall, then left, through a wide pair of double doors, and into a well-lit room featuring a huge table with a map at its center. It wasn¡¯t as nice as the map in Rellia¡¯s home back in Gelica, but it was plenty detailed to Victor¡¯s eye.

    ¡°We¡¯re roughing it a bit out here, but after the incident on your airship, we felt it wise to be with the troops. We have two airships, now that you¡¯re back, scouting the area for any signs of aggression,¡± Lam said as the group filed in.

    Rellia stood before the map table, and Victor remembered thest time he¡¯d seen her doing so; she¡¯d been missing a foot. His gaze fell to her shiny ck boots, and when she caught him looking, he offered her a slight shrug. She cleared her throat and said, ¡°Edeya and Darro, sit to the side and take notes, please.¡± Edeya, her little wings pulling close under Rellia¡¯s scrutiny, hurried to the side of the room where a row of straight-backed wooden chairs lined the wall and sat down. One of the Ardeni Victor didn¡¯t know joined her; a young man with bright red hair and eyes, wearing an unadorned uniform, much like Edeya¡¯s.

    ¡°Can we start with introductions?¡± Victor asked, pulling one of therge wooden doors closed. Va closed the other one, nudging Polo to move further into the room so he didn¡¯t block the doorway. ¡°I¡¯ll start.¡± He turned to face everyone, those he knew and those he didn¡¯t. ¡°I¡¯m Victor Sandoval. You all can call me Victor, but if we¡¯re in front of the troops, be sure to use the appropriate title, which, I¡¯m learning, is Legate. Yes?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Victor.¡± Lam nodded her approval, but she looked to Rellia to introduce herself next. It seemed to Victor that Lam had taken on a subordinate role with Rellia, and he felt a little relieved to see it; he didn¡¯t want to be caught in the middle of power struggles between those two.

    ¡°Oh, all of us, Victor?¡± Rellia frowned as he continued to stare at her. ¡°Well, you all know me, but I¡¯m Rellia ap¡¯Yensha.¡±

    ¡°And your role with the army?¡± Victor pressed.

    Rellia¡¯s eyes narrowed, and she nodded to him, his heavy-handed game made clear, ¡°I¡¯m the noble sponsor of this legion, and, as for rank, I thought we could discuss that. I have several ideas.¡±

    ¡°Good, good,¡± Victor looked at Lam, raising one eyebrow.

    ¡°Lam of the Blue Deep, newly minted Lady of Gelica, Captain of the Imperial Legion, and hopeful Tribune of this fine fighting force.¡± She snapped a perfect salute, her fist and heels striking in unison, and stared directly into Victor¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m Va ap¡¯Yensha, Victor¡¯s Tribune Primus.¡± Va spoke quickly, stepping away from Victor¡¯s side so she could face them all, filling the brief silence after Lam¡¯s salute. Victor hadn¡¯t heard the term ¡®Tribune Primus¡¯ before but could infer what it meant and didn¡¯t disapprove. He¡¯d told Va back on the airship that he wanted her close, that he was relying upon her above all others. Looking back, her show of formality made more sense now. He nodded, face solemn, but that didn¡¯t forestall an objection from one of the older men in the room.

    ¡°Excuse me, but is that true?¡± the Ardeni asked, his piercing yellow eyes looking up at Victor.

    ¡°It is. Introduce yourself before we speak further.¡± Victor turned the full focus of his glower on the man.

    The white-haired, medal and ribbon-bedecked fellow swallowed noisily and cleared his throat. ¡°I am Borrius ap¡¯Gandro, former Legate of the Imperial Legion and a close friend of the ap¡¯Yensha n.¡±

    ¡°Ah,¡± Victor said, nodding. Now he saw why Borrius might be annoyed at Va¡¯s high rank. He dug deep for what he hoped were the right words, trying to imagine how Tes might smooth things over, ¡°Thank you for bringing your experience to this army, Borrius. As you must know, however, some qualities are less tangible than experience. Some qualities that a Legate must heavily value¡ªgood judgment, bravery, loyalty, strong character, intelligence, grit, brilliance under pressure; I could go on, all day, really, about the fine qualities Tribune Primus Va has shown me over thest few months, but I think I¡¯ve made my point. I¡¯m not saying you aren¡¯t simrly endowed with fine qualities, sir, but at thiste hour, I must consider what I know, not what I hope.¡±

    ¡°As you say, Legate,¡± Borrius said, snapping a salute, his face stony. ¡°May I ask what rank you¡¯ll bestow upon me?¡±

    ¡°Tribune, of course.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡±

    ¡°Ahem,¡± Polo said, ¡°Well, I¡¯m Polo Vosh, and I¡¯ve been filling the role of Captain,mander of the seventh cohort.¡±

    Victor held out his hand for Polo to grasp, and as the tworge men gripped each other, Victor grinned and said, ¡°Captain, it is, but let¡¯s not forget your other duty¡ªsparring with your Legate.¡±

    ¡°Aye, sir, I¡¯ve a trick or two with the axe I haven¡¯t yet shared.¡±

    Victor turned to the only man left to speak, a tall, well-muscled man wearing just a handful of medals on his uniform. He had a severe, hawkish expression with bright silver eyes that, as was the norm for Ardeni, matched his hair. Like Victor and Va, he wore a weapon openly, a short, broad-ded sword that hung from his belt in a gold and ck scabbard. He was the only other person in the room with a weapon on disy. Even Polo Vosh kept his axe in a dimensional container, so Victor wondered if thisst member of their little group might have a conscious weapon.

    ¡°I am Ordus ap¡¯Yensha, Rellia¡¯s youngest, most handsome uncle.¡±

    ¡°Ugh,¡± Rellia said, then looked mortified that the sound had escaped her lips.

    ¡°Ordus?¡± Victor frowned, rubbing his chin. ¡°I don¡¯t think Rellia mentioned you to me. What capacity do you hope to fill in the army?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s been acting as captain of the newly formed tenth cohort,¡± Rellia supplied.

    ¡°Just so,¡± Ordus smiled, offering a rather sloppy salute, his fist thumping his chest long before his heels haphazardly clicked.

    ¡°Right. Good to meet you, Ordus.¡± Victor looked at Rellia and asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t there be eight other captains here?¡±

    ¡°Exactly right,¡± Rellia nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but, Ordus, you and Polo should head outside; ap¡¯Jinna is gathering the captains to see to restoring some order to the camp in the wake of our Legate¡¯s . . . enthusiasm.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Ordus said, showing off a dazzling, sharp-toothed smile and sketching a half bow.

    Polo snapped a much cleaner salute and turned to leave, but Victor called after him, ¡°Polo, meet me in a few hours outside, huh? I need to work out some tension.¡±

    ¡°Will do, Victor.¡± With that, he and Ordus slipped out the door, closing it behind them.

    Victor looked at Edeya, then over to the other young officer, and asked, ¡°Do we need him? I¡¯d like to speak frankly about a few things, Rellia.¡±

    ¡°Darro is one of mine. He¡¯s fine, Victor.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re sure. Um, not to be overly blunt or to offend anyone, but are we good?¡± He gestured around the room, ¡°To speak openly, I mean.¡±

    ¡°As the only other person here with whom you¡¯re unfamiliar,¡± Borrius said, ¡°I can only assume you¡¯re concerned about my loyalty. Yes?¡± When Victor didn¡¯t reply, he pressed on, ¡°Fear not. I stand with Rellia on all matters, even those concerning the fools in Tharcray who sent assassins your way.¡±

    ¡°I trust Borrius,¡± Rellia added.

    ¡°He¡¯s clean,¡± Lam added. ¡°I spent a pretty penny vetting him and a few others.¡±

    ¡°You what?¡± Borrius¡¯s voice rose an octave with outrage.

    ¡°Rx,¡± Rellia said. ¡°I encouraged her. It¡¯s for the best, Borrius; my word alone wouldn¡¯t suffice for Lam and Victor to feelfortable speaking their minds otherwise.¡±

    ¡°Right. Well, let¡¯s get down to the meat, then,¡± Victor said, voicing something that had been on his mind ever since Chokodo-dak told him who he was, ¡°Is the Empire going to attack us?¡±

    Several people spoke at once, Lam, Borrius, and Va, but Rellia held up her hand in the din, and Victor focused on her as she said, ¡°None of us know, but we should have a better idea soon. My people are interrogating Chokodo and that Imperial consort as we speak. I can tell you this much, though, don¡¯t believe anything that man told you. Princeps aren¡¯t known for being honest, and anything he said would likely have been engineered to avoid having the Ridonne pull the bones from his still-living body.¡±

    ¡°So, no intelligence to share?¡± Va asked.

    ¡°Not yet. Let¡¯s save it for our next meeting. Victor, might we talk about my cement in the ranks. It will be important as we deal with the troops, the nobility, our enemies, etcetera. I had hoped to operate as a co-Legate with you.¡±

    Victor frowned at Rellia¡¯s swift co-opt of the meeting, at her redirection of the discussion away from what he felt was the only truly important topic. Still, he indulged her, saying, ¡°Rellia started this whole endeavor; the Writ of Conquest belongs to her family, and I wouldn¡¯t be here if not for her. I¡¯m open to her idea, but what do you all say?¡±

    ¡°It seems fair.¡± Borrius nodded to Rellia, and Victor mentally noted that he was likely a member of the campaign as a dependable vote for Rellia.

    ¡°I,¡± Lam started to say, but then shook her head and started again, ¡°Rellia has staked her entire future, and that of the family members she cares about, on this campaign. I¡¯ve also poured a fortune into it, but only a fraction of what she¡¯s done. I won¡¯t object.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Lam,¡± Rellia smiled at her almost sweetly, and Victor found himself suddenly mentally rearranging certain ideas he¡¯d taken for granted. He¡¯d thought Lam was mostly out for herself, that she didn¡¯t really like Rellia, and that she¡¯d work to undermine the noble at every turn. It seemed either she¡¯de to trust and like Rellia, or she was ying a more subtle game than he¡¯d anticipated.

    ¡°Va?¡± Victor prodded.

    ¡°Me? Well, I¡¯m biased, as you know. Rellia, being my mother, has my loyalty and support, but as your Tribune Primus, I must always act in your best interest. I believe it¡¯s important for the troops to have a clear line ofmand. Should you and Rellia ever disagree, what would they do? Would it result in military strife? No, just as there is a Tribune Primus, there must be a Legate Primus. Victor should take the top role, for without him, Rellia¡¯s family standing would have been diminished to the point that she couldn¡¯t have possibly mustered these troops. In any case, it''s clear the troops would favor him.¡±

    Victor nodded. The idea sounded good to him; it gave Rellia legitimacy with the troops but kept things clean in terms of rank. ¡°What do you say, Rellia? I¡¯m happy to say, here, in front of all and for the record,¡± he nodded to Edeya and Darro, ¡°that I don¡¯t intend to make any major decisions without discussing matters with you and Lam. I understand Ick experience in some . . . arenas.¡±

    ¡°Interesting choice of words.¡± Rellia nodded, her lips quirking into a half smile. ¡°My daughter is wise. It¡¯s to be expected, considering she sat at my knee and listened to councils much like this for arge part of her childhood. I will ept the role of subordinate Legate with regard to military matters. On matters of diplomacy and budget, I must insist on an equal role. Can we draw up a contract to reflect those terms?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor nodded. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how this usually works, but, just so we¡¯re clear, I¡¯m not signing any contracts that require me to bind my Energy to it. I did that at Fainhallow for a short minute, and I wouldn¡¯t say I liked it. It feels too much like envement. I won¡¯t have any of you do it either. Not for this army.¡±

    ¡°Well, Victor.¡± Rellia shook her head with a baffled, rather condescending smile and said, ¡°How else do you n to guard against treason? Usually, everyone in themand structure signs Energy-bound oaths of fealty to the legion.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and who writes the contracts? Who keeps them? Who would be the responsible party? Me? ¡®Cause I¡¯m at the top? I don¡¯t want people enved by magic to my cause!¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t say any of this at Fainhallow,¡± Va interjected.

    ¡°I¡¯ve had time to think about it since then. It felt too much like when the mines owned me. I don¡¯t like the idea of people¡¯s free will being taken away!¡±

    ¡°Victor,¡± this time it was Lam trying to get past his stubbornness, ¡°we can phrase the contract in such a way that no freedoms are lost, other than those that might lead to our defeat. Something simple like, ¡®Before you may act in a way that you believe would be detrimental to the legion, you must resign your post.¡¯ That way, we¡¯d at least have a bit of warning when a person was disgruntled or not intent on helping us secure our victory.¡±

    ¡°So, what? We¡¯d just imprison or kill anyone who resigns their post?¡±

    ¡°No! That could also be a part of the contract on the legion¡¯s side; we have to allow people to walk away from their post unharmed.¡± Rellia seemed earnest, seemed like she wanted to find apromise.

    Victor sighed and held up his hands. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to be unreasonable. I hear you. Let me think about it, all right? I¡¯d like to think our cause is worthy of loyalty, that <em>we</em> are worthy of loyalty. I know that¡¯s na?ve, but when I preach a certain philosophy, I feel I should practice it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not na?ve,¡± Va said. ¡°It¡¯s admirable.¡± Victor looked at her, then at Lam and Rellia, and as he saw the concern and willingness to listen in their expressions, he sighed and nodded.

    ¡°We can find apromise. Thank you for working with me. Now, let¡¯s talk about when you want to march.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 17: Olivia

    Book 5: Chapter 17: Olivia

    Victor sighed and stretched, arching his back, listening to the bedframe creak its protestations. Though it groaned, the bed wasfortable¡ªhe wished he could say the same about the room¡ªtoo small, too noisy, and too full of light. Through the thin wooden walls, he could hear sergeants or lieutenants barking orders. He could hear troops marching in time, chanting their strange marching rhymes. He could smell food cooking, bacon grease for sure, and something like bread, but sweeter. Someone was making biscuits, maybe. Despite the noise and sun streaming into his eyes, Victor felt damn good. He was rxed, mind at ease, more ready for what the future held than he could remember in a long while.

    His meeting with Rellia and the senior staff hadsted a few hours the day before. They¡¯d discussed the marching route, going over likely ambush sites and possible alternatives. He¡¯d learned quite a lot about army logistics, a topic much different than he¡¯d anticipated when considering the ubiquitous nature of dimensional storage containers. When Victor had asked about the need for any wagons at all, he¡¯d been informed that the wagons themselves were dimensional containers, each holding a vastly greater amount than a simple ring could contain. Among the twenty-five wagons serving the legion, Rellia and her people had stashed enough food and camp equipment tost the army, at its current size, more than two years.

    Additionally, to ensure against the possible loss or destruction of the wagons, each captain carried enough food for his or her cohort tost a month in an emergency-ess-only dimensional pouch. Beyond supplies, Victor had learned that the airships had limited range and required constant recharging, so their specialized crew ate a significant portion of Rellia¡¯s budget, quite a lot more than Victor had anticipated. He¡¯d suggested getting a squad together of flight-capable Ghelli but had been swiftly schooled about how rare true flyers like Lam were. In their legion, only four were capable of covering more than a couple of miles at a time. Even Lam insisted she¡¯d be exhausted if she had to scout for more than an hour or two now and then.

    Not to put too much of a damper on things, Rellia had oozed praise to him and Va about the captured strigaii, insisting that, thanks to those rare mounts, they¡¯d be able to retire the hired-on airship after a month or so. Victor could recognize a bone being thrown to appease his ego, so he¡¯d just nodded and smiled, biding his time, holding his tongue as he took in the information, learning as much as he could because he was determined not to be a figurehead or a simple brute on the battlefield; he wanted to learn truly to lead these soldiers. The summative point of themand council was that Rellia and Lam wanted to march soon, tentatively scheduling their departure for dawn in three days.

    Later in the afternoon, Victor had met with the captains, thanked them for their hard work, and put a face to their names. He didn¡¯t doubt he¡¯d need some reminding, but Va seemed eager to help with that aspect of his job. After that meeting, he¡¯d sparred for hours with Polo Vosh, and, exhausted from a couple of hard days, Victor had gone to sleep early. ¡°And now I get to go meet Olivia, my long-lost rtive.¡± A chuckle escaped him as he sat up. In truth, he didn¡¯t think much woulde of the meeting. What could Olivia tell him? He supposed she might be able to shed some light on how they were rted, at least.

    Victor dressed, opting to wear his armor but leaving his helmet in his storage ring. The helmet was great, and it didn¡¯t feel too cumbersome to wear, considering it was a gigantically heavy hunk of metal, but his head felt a lot better without it. His thinking was that he¡¯d be able to put it on if a fight looked likely, and if he got surprised, his Quinametzin bloodline was working to make his skull pretty damn hard anyway. He slung Lifedrinker in her harness and, after a visit to the rough but private bathroom, he made his way down the rickety wooden steps to the fort¡¯s entrance hall.

    He wasn¡¯t surprised to see Va standing near the door, waiting for him. ¡°Morning,¡± he called.

    She frowned at him and said, ¡°You¡¯re small again.¡±

    ¡°Small?¡± Victor¡¯s voice rose with indignation. ¡°I don¡¯t think so!¡±

    ¡°I mean, you aren¡¯t your usual size, which means you¡¯re binding your potential. We¡¯re about to ride into a city where assassins may lurk.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I get it. I just wanted to fit in my bed. Is that a crime?¡± Victor reached into his Core and severed the connection to his spell, suddenly surging upward, more than a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier. ¡°Better?¡±

    ¡°Your helmet?¡±

    ¡°<em>Pinche</em> . . . I¡¯ll put it on when we get close to town.¡± Victor paused in front of her, noting her critical expression, and decided to give her a little trouble of her own. ¡°Hey, I have a job for you, Primus.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What¡¯s that, Sir Legate?¡±

    ¡°Remember when we arrived in Persi Gables, and I went to deal with that pit boss, Yund?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and you sent the indentured fighters to the army when you liberated them.¡±

    ¡°Good memory. Anyway, I was asking around yesterday, and I guess the leader of that group, Sarl, was made a lieutenant. I want you to pick one of the captains for him to rece.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Pick one of the captains, preferably not Polo or Ordus, and give him their post. Well, I don¡¯t care about Ordus, but he¡¯s your uncle, so . . .¡±

    ¡°What do I tell the captain I¡¯m cutting loose?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that something you can handle, dear Primus?¡±

    ¡°Can you tell me why I¡¯m doing this?¡± Va hadn¡¯t really shown any emotion about the request, but she didn¡¯t look happy.

    ¡°Trust is number one, Va. That¡¯s why I have you as my right-hand . . . woman. I trust Sarl, so I¡¯d like him to be in charge of one of the cohorts.¡±

    Va nodded, idly tugging at one of her strands of bright, teal-colored hair. Victor kept wondering if she would cut it and put it back into its tight, formal, military style, but he knew better than to make a remark. ¡°I can do that. I¡¯ll arrange for the promotion and the handover when we return from Persi Gables. Will that be all right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, perfect.¡±

    ¡°Shall I strip the unlucky captain of his or her rank, or shall I allow them to retain their captaincy while acting as a lieutenant?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± At Va¡¯s nod, he walked through the open doors, squinting at the bright sun and breathing deeply of the fresh air. ¡°How are we traveling?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll take Rellia¡¯s coach to her residence where, hopefully, Olivia Be will meet us, and then we¡¯ll get Uvu and Thistle.¡±

    ¡°Oh? She didn¡¯t confirm?¡±

    ¡°Rellia¡¯s agent delivered your request, and she seemed open to the meeting, but nothing is certain.¡± As she spoke, the two walked out the palisade gates to find Rellia¡¯s sleek ck coach waiting, drawn by two vidanii, quite a bit smaller than Victor remembered Thistle being. He gave the coach a second nce and frowned.

    ¡°Really, Va? You couldn¡¯t wait until we got out of the coach on the other end to bug me about my size?¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Olivia finished her tea and motioned for Innkeeper Zel to approach her table. As the rather silly, rather sweet, older Vodkin came near, pushing his spectacles up on his white-furred nose, she ced five of her quad-attuned Energy beads on the table and said, ¡°It¡¯s been wonderful staying here thest few weeks. It¡¯s about time I got back to work, though; the notes from my professors grow increasingly irate.¡±

    ¡°Ah, so you weren¡¯t here on academy business?¡±

    ¡°Well, I told you I was, and it was true at first, but that was settled after just a few days¡ªan overzealous Death Mage trying to work out a portal to a ne best left disconnected from ours. My mentor expected me to return to the academy, and the older student, the one responsible for our ¡®mission,¡¯ wasn¡¯t too pleased to leave me here,¡± Olivia chuckled, remembering Relip¡¯s face when she¡¯d said she wasn¡¯t going with him back to Fainhallow. She shrugged and added, ¡°I needed some time, and I¡¯ve had it, so now I think it¡¯s best I get back to work.¡±

    ¡°Just so, miss, just so. Well, we¡¯ve certainly enjoyed yourpany, and you¡¯ve been the best-paying client I¡¯ve had in some time. If you need me to vouch for how hard you¡¯ve been studying, just say so! I¡¯ve seen you with your nose in those books sitting here all evening, every evening.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much, Mr. Gorse, but I¡¯ll be all right. I¡¯ve had some leniency granted due to some . . . circumstancesst year. Still, I hope to return soon. I hope you¡¯ll pass mypliments on to your wife; I haven¡¯t been this well-fed in a long, long while.¡± Olivia stood and brushed a few crumbs from the front of her splendid, magical robes, currently colored a soft, pale sky-blue. She reached up, adjusting the Crown of Nightmarch, wondering, as she often did, if it was too much. It didn¡¯t matter; she¡¯d promised Alyss, dear Professor ap¡¯Rall, that she¡¯d wear it and that she¡¯d ignore her self-doubt. It was a promise she meant to keep, the least she could do for her lovely, lost friend.

    ¡°Farewell, Miss Olivia!¡± Mr. Gorse called from the inn¡¯s doorway as she strode up the cobbled avenue, and Olivia raised one hand to wave, allowing a bit of Energy into her pathways so it was limned with blue mes.

    ¡°Right! Now, let¡¯s go see this mysterious Victor fellow. How¡¯d another human get here, I wonder? Something to do with the Fae?¡± The streets and sidewalks were quiet; it was the end of the week, and few people did much in Persi Gables, she¡¯de to learn, in the morning hours on weekends. As usual, she marveled at the people she did see and, of course, their animals. She was always on the verge of asking little kids or friendly-looking adults about their pets¡ªquestions like, ¡°What would be a goodpanion for a person living in the academy who travels frequently?¡± or, ¡°Is that cute little bunny-looking thing as friendly as it seems?¡±

    She saw a Shadeni coaxing arge draft animal, an elephant-sized bird, out of an alley, and she admired his long, thick horns, wondering why Oy-dak didn¡¯t have such. Then again, Oy had those star-filled eyes, and Olivia had yet to broach their subject with the woman. ¡°Must be something to do with a bloodline. Perhaps I could bring it up in rtion to Morgan. I could say he wanted to know more about bloodlines in general . . .¡±

    ¡°Did you say something, miss?¡± an older man sweeping the walk she¡¯d just trodden across asked.

    ¡°Sorry, good sir! I¡¯m someone who tends to talk to herself. Nothing to worry about!¡±

    ¡°Right. Good day to you,¡± he nodded his white-haired head, lifted the pipe he¡¯d been smoking back to his lips, and returned to sweeping, not sparing her another nce.

    Olivia resumed walking and chatting aloud, ¡°I¡¯ll bring it up next time we¡¯re having a friendly meeting. I do want to study bloodlines, and it makes a perfect segue into asking for more ess to the closed libraries.¡± Olivia sighed and pressed her lips together, realizing she was getting carried away with her self-talk. She¡¯d been doing it more and more, ever sinceing to Persi Gables, spending so much time alone, away from her friends and Adaida. Sadness loomed darkly behind her eyes as she continued following the messenger¡¯s directions to the ap¡¯Yensha estate.

    She¡¯d not heard of Rellia ap¡¯Yensha, which, she supposed, was a good thing. The only nobles she¡¯de to know anything about all seemed quite viinous. Lord ap¡¯Gravin was the prime example, and she still had half a mind to pay him a visit. Morgan had insisted that he was handling the matter, and she had plenty on her te, or at least it had seemed that way when they¡¯d parted ways. Was he back yet? Surely there must be some news by now.

    A surge of guilt blossomed in her stomach as she thought about the colony, the council, and all the people there who relied on her or, at least, would rely on her while Morgan was gone; shouldn¡¯t she have been helping somehow? Wasn¡¯t it selfish of her to hide out in an inn for weeks on end? ¡°And now another wrinkle,¡± she sighed, stepping up to the guardhouse outside the ap¡¯Yensha estate.

    ¡°May I help you, Miss?¡± the liveried young Ardeni asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m Olivia Be. Here to meet Va ap¡¯Yensha and a fellow named Victor.¡±

    ¡°Right, right. I have a note right here. Please walk to the estate.¡± He gestured to the left of his little guard station, up a lovely path lined with flowering shrubs and the asional, well-trimmed fruit tree. ¡°Just follow this cobbled path, and someone will be waiting for you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Olivia lifted her robes slightly in a curtsey, something she¡¯d picked up from Adaida and Shani back when they¡¯d been closer. ¡°Oh, God. You act like you¡¯ve been estranged for years; it¡¯s only been a month or so!¡± Shaking her head at herself again, she walked up the path, oblivious to the guard¡¯s ck-jawed expression. She hardly noted the beautiful, blooming flowers, the scents hanging in the air, and the nearly perfect spring weather. Her mind had, once again, found something darker to focus upon.

    The guards at the front door ignored her, but a young woman in a in gray dress and a white apron guided her through a few nicely appointed rooms and hallways until they came to a set of ss-paneled French-style doors. ¡°Thedy and her guest are within,¡± the soft-spoken young woman said, wringing her pale blue hands and hurrying away.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Olivia said, walking up to the doors. ¡°I¡¯ll just let myself in, then, I suppose.¡± She turned the handle, but before she pulled on the door, she saw the man she was supposed to meet through the ss. It had to be him. At first, she thought he was sitting in a child¡¯s seat, so thoroughly did his frame dwarf it. That illusion was shattered, though, when she saw the fully grown Ardeni woman sitting beside him, her body easily epassed in an identical chair. Victor, for this must be him, was an enormous man.

    Still, Olivia didn¡¯t pull the door open. She stared at him, some strange sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu or recognition puzzling her mind. He was clearly human, but unlike any human she¡¯d ever seen. Even if shepared him to Morgan, Olivia didn¡¯t think she¡¯d ever seen anyone pull the gravity out of a room like Victor was doing. She couldn¡¯t stop looking at him, couldn¡¯t stop trying to figure him out.

    His size was the first thing that caught her attention, but it was hardly the only thing. He had thick ck hair, cut short like you might imagine a military man would do. His eyes gleamed from under his dark heavy brows like amber, honey-filled wells. The bones of his cheeks and jawline were sharp as though he was chiseled from granite, and everything about him simply screamed power, vibrant, rich, and ready to spring forth. Olivia had half a mind to activate some of her defensive spells or to take on an Elemental Form. She settled on pouring a bit of Energy into the shielding runes she¡¯d tattooed onto her body. Finally, exerting her not-insignificant will, she forced herself to pull open the door and step through.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor heard the doortch jiggle, but Va was in the middle of a sentence, so he didn¡¯t look up right away, ¡°. . . and, yes, I think it makes perfect sense that you¡¯re wary about the contracts. I feel Lam¡¯s proposal of a rtively benign one is a goodpromise, though, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess,¡± Victor sighed and turned to the door. The ss reflected the sun from the open balcony doors; they were in one of Rellia¡¯s seldom-used sitting rooms, and it was a nice ce for their little interlude. They had a pleasant view of a blooming orchard outside the wide-open double doors. That said, the re made it hard to see through the interior door, though he thought he saw a figure standing there. ¡°Is that her?¡± he asked softly.

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s the maid. You frightened her, you know . . .¡± Va stopped speaking abruptly as the door opened, and a woman stepped through. Victor felt a lot of strange, conflicting emotions when heid eyes on Olivia Be. Firstly, he was stunned by her beauty. She was tall and thin, with long ck hair gleaming like spun onyx in the sunlight. She had pale, almost porcin skin, and fiery, pale-blue eyes met his from beneath her dark brows. Those crystal-clear irises literally looked like they had mes dancing behind them.

    Victor caught himself admiring her attire¡ªmultiyered robes that hugged her figure yet created a flowing silhouette, intricate jewelry, shiny, clearly magical boots, and, on her head, a ck crown that exuded a power of its own. Victor saw that crown and couldn¡¯t help a little nagging tug of jealousy at the center of his being.

    If you took away Olivia¡¯s exotic features and fantastic clothing, what really stunned Victor into an awkward silence was that she looked very much like photos he¡¯d seen of his mother when she¡¯d been young. He stared at her for a long while, dimly aware of Va standing to shake the woman¡¯s hand. He heard Olivia say something to him, but all he could do was mentally erase the obvious racial enhancements Olivia had gone through and try topare her to his mom; everything else was just background noise.

    ¡°. . . all right?¡± Olivia asked, and Victor shook his head, cleared his throat, and stood up, towering over the two women.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± he grunted, then held out a hand, ¡°Good to meet you. I¡¯m Victor.¡±

    ¡°Good grief!¡± she said, looking him up and down. ¡°Were you a football star back home?¡±

    ¡°Ah! Right! So, they told you I¡¯m from Earth, huh?¡± He gestured to the seat across from his and added, ¡°Sit, please. They brought us some tea and little cookies. They¡¯re not bad.¡±

    Olivia looked at the tray on the table between all the chairs and daintily bent to pick up one of the cookies. ¡°I do love a sweet.¡± Then she sat down. Victor and Va followed suit.

    ¡°So, yeah, I¡¯m from Earth, but if my suspicions are right, my Earth is a little different from yours.¡±

    ¡°Go on. How¡¯d you get here? Have you heard about us? The arkship? <em>Pilgrim-9</em> was our designation. I¡¯m sure you studied our mission, about when we left orbit, yes?¡±

    ¡°Nah, that¡¯s the thing¡ªwhen I left Earth, there weren¡¯t any arkships. I think they might have been conceived, started even, but I was a kid; I was worried aboutmunity college and my girlfriend. I hardly ever watched the news. What year was it when you left?¡±

    ¡°Well, we left orbit in 2064. Add a couple of hundred years to that, though, if you¡¯re wondering what year I think it is on Earth now . . .¡±

    ¡°<em>Pinch¨¦</em> fuck!¡± Victor sighed, sitting back and rubbing his hands through his short, stiff hair.

    ¡°Did I say something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Well, when I got summoned here, it was 2021. And, no, I haven¡¯t been kicking around here for a couple hundred years. I¡¯ve been on Fanwath for more like two.¡±

    ¡°How . . .¡± Olivia frowned, and Victor saw the mes dancing in her eyes start to move a little faster, and then she looked at him more directly and asked, ¡°Why did you want to meet with me, specifically? Was it just my proximity, or was there something more?¡±

    Va shifted, and Victor nced at her. Her face was impassive, but he wondered what she was thinking. Was he making a mistakeying all this out for Olivia? He didn¡¯t know her at all, other than that she might be rted to him. She certainly didn¡¯t seem like a normal human, spacefaring or not. Still, Victor wasn¡¯t one to beat around the bush, and he wanted to get on with his life. ¡°They didn¡¯t tell you anything, huh?¡±

    ¡°No. Lady ap¡¯Yensha¡¯s messenger said another human, not from our settlement, was in Persi Gables and wanted to meet with me.¡±

    ¡°Well, I got summoned to this world by a real asshole wizard and the noble he was working for. A guy named ap¡¯Gravin.¡±

    ¡°Ap¡¯Gravin!¡± This time Victor was sure of it; Olivia¡¯s eyes began to ze with blue fire, and, more than that, her shoulders, head, and crown came to life with flickering white-blue mes. ¡°The professor or his father?¡±

    ¡°Well, both were involved. You see, in order to summon me, he needed something from someone rted to me, someone attending Fainhallow.¡±

    Olivia surprisingly cooled noticeably at Victor¡¯s words, her mes faded away, and her hands, previously clenching the arms of her chair in a death grip, rxed. ¡°In that case, it¡¯s high time I paid the fool a visit. Are you familiar with First Landing? The human settlement in the western frontier of the Empire?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Victor looked at Va, and she, too, shook her head in the negative.

    ¡°Well, not to bury the lede, I mean about us being rted, but Lord ap¡¯Gravin us plenty of trouble. As I said, I think it¡¯s time we, I mean we at First Landing, did something about him. But, Victor! Tell me! How are we rted? I swear I see something . . . a hint of familiarity in your eyes, maybe?¡±

    ¡°I was hoping you could tell me. When were you born? Who are your parents?¡± Victor leaned forward; for the first time, he felt some excitement about this encounter. He liked something about her, especially when she got mad.

    ¡°I was born in 2036; my parents were Cindy and Thomas Be.¡±

    ¡°Thomas! Holy shit!¡± Victor looked at Va, met her wide eyes, and said, ¡°My cousin. My mom¡¯s nephew.¡±

    ¡°So, your mother was my grandfather¡¯s sister? Victor, I . . . I remember something about one of Grandpa Be¡¯s sisters dying in a car crash. It¡¯s a distant memory, something said at a family dinner. We, well, my parents didn¡¯t live near their cousins¡ªmy dad took a job at a tech startup in Boston when I was very small. I don¡¯t remember any mention of a missing cousin . . .¡±

    Victor sighed and sat back, many thoughts and feelings crashing through his mind. ¡°That makes sense. Your family didn¡¯t want shit to do with me.¡±

    ¡°Is that true?¡± Olivia looked shocked, hurt, and embarrassed. Victor felt bad for dumping his old hard feelings on her.

    ¡°Yeah, as far as I know. Unless my dad¡¯s family was lying. I don¡¯t know why they would.¡± He shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡± It felt good to have an answer, to know more about what had happened. It also felt terrible to think that everyone he¡¯d known back on Earth was dead¡ªdead for hundreds of years. ¡°Why¡¯d that asshole have to summon me from the past?¡± he groaned, driving a thumb into his pounding temple, trying to massage the pain out. ¡°<em>Abu.</em>¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m, uh, it¡¯s unsettling, isn¡¯t it? To think no one you know is alive back home.¡± Olivia frowned and reached out a hand, gently resting it on Victor¡¯s knee. ¡°I know that feeling, Victor. Often, I think about my parents, friends, and colleagues back on Earth rather than sleeping, pushing away the final thought that they¡¯re all dead until thest possible second. Sometimes it¡¯s with tears soaking my pillow that I find rest.¡±

    ¡°Why, though?¡± he repeated, ¡°Why not one of your rtives who¡¯s alive?¡± Victor groaned, rubbed his head again, and while Olivia looked at Va, perhaps wondering what to say, Victor shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯ll never know. The wizard who cast the spell is dead. Ap¡¯Gravin¡¯s just the money behind the operation. Still, if he¡¯s fucking with the humans, maybe we should kill him before we march.¡± That got a reaction from Va; she opened her mouth to say something, but Olivia beat her to it.

    ¡°You¡¯re . . . marching somewhere?¡± Olivia lifted one eyebrow, then said, ¡°Maybe we should tell each other what we¡¯ve been up to in this new world, hmm?¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 18: Lesh

    Book 5: Chapter 18: Lesh

    ¡°So, you have a full-on town going, huh? Thousands of humans?¡± Victor had spent a good hour giving Olivia a very rough overview of his adventures and foibles on Fanwath and a few short sentences summarizing his time on Zaafor. After he¡¯d exined the Writ of Conquest and his ns with the Untamed Marches, Olivia had shared quite a lot with him about First Landing, the human colony, and some of the hurdles they¡¯d ovee.

    ¡°Thousands of humans, thousands of other species who have taken on citizenship, and, if my theories and hopes bear fruit, we may have another hundred thousand fertilized embryos in orbit. I¡¯m of the opinion that the System teleported us down here but left the <em>Pilgrim-9</em> alone. Theoretically, it would have achieved orbit with the autopilot program.¡±

    ¡°So, you all are building a ship to go up there?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly, but I have some theories about Morgan¡¯s void attunement. He¡¯s the one I told you about, my friend with an advanced bloodline. He can create portals, as I exined, and he has some feats that give him resistance to the void; in fact, he gains bonuses . . .¡± she paused and frowned, shaking her head as if irritated with herself. ¡°I¡¯m getting lost on a silly tangent; it¡¯s all theory right now. What¡¯s important to me is that you seem to believe the Ridonne Empire is corrupt.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d say it¡¯s pretty damn definite by now. Wouldn¡¯t you say, Va?¡±

    ¡°It seems we¡¯re cing our trust in your discretion, Olivia Be,¡± Va said, frowning at Victor.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be discreet.¡± Olivia nodded, looking steadily into Va¡¯s eyes as though she wanted her to see into her, to recognize that she wasn¡¯t being duplicitous.

    ¡°I won¡¯t speak openly about my family¡¯s stance on the Empire, but I will say that I don¡¯t disagree with what Victor just said. He and I recently survived an assassination attempt, and it¡¯s rather evident that the Empire has designs against us. Victor¡¯s role with the army my mother has raised is crucial in our attempt to circumvent the corruption that grows unchecked in the nobility.¡± Va paused, looked around the little room as if confirming they were alone, and added, ¡°This conquest will allow us to secure a foothold outside the Empire¡¯s control. A ce from which to gather our strength and defend. A ce where we can burn out corruption before it buries its roots.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m suddenly very worried about Morgan. As I mentioned, he was traveling to Tharcray to attempt to treat with the Empire. It sounds like he was walking into a snake pit.¡± Olivia¡¯s face was pensive, her hands clutched together on thep of her elegant robes.

    ¡°They¡¯re sneaky assholes,¡± Victor said, attempting to put her at ease, ¡°but they aren¡¯t usually the kind who¡¯ll stab you in the face. They¡¯ll probably give him a lot of agreements, talk a bunch of bullshit, and then, when they think the time¡¯s right, they¡¯ll move against the colony. I mean, that¡¯s the way things have gone with the nobles I¡¯ve dealt with.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not wrong.¡± Va sighed, shaking her head, caught between wanting to agree with Victor and not precisely approving of his words. ¡°Why not join the conquest? Bring the humans to the Marches!¡±

    ¡°Shit! Not a bad idea, Olivia. You guys are kind of hanging out on a ledge by yourselves out there . . .¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that easy.¡± Olivia started to count on her fingers, ¡°We have children, for one. We have people with livelihoods¡ªpeople who have worked day and night for years now to build up the town, their businesses, their contacts with neighboring settlements.¡± She gave up on counting on her fingers and set her hand on herp. ¡°If we sent a significant fighting force with you, it would leave those who aren¡¯t so inclined rather open to attack. No, I don¡¯t think it will work.¡± Before Victor could say anything, she added, ¡°I¡¯ll present it to the council, along with your warning about the Ridonne. Still, if we do join you, it will more likely be after you¡¯ve finished your, um, conquest.¡±

    ¡°Right. After we¡¯ve done all the work.¡± Victor made a dismissive sound, almost a <em>tsk</em>, that he hadn¡¯t done in a long time. He looked away from Olivia and started to stand, ready to dismiss her, to move on with the things he found important.

    ¡°That¡¯s not fair, Victor,¡± Va interjected. ¡°You only just told her about this. Do you really expect a whole settlement to drop everything they¡¯ve been working for and march into war for the possibility of a better ce to settle?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I guess not.¡± Victor halted his sudden urge to stand and looked at Olivia¡¯s face. He saw how it had fallen in response to hisment and felt a little ashamed. Despite Va¡¯s words, Olivia still looked upset, so he added, ¡°Listen, I¡¯m not holding anything against you. I didn¡¯te here looking for help, and I¡¯m still not. You know what a Farscribe book is?¡±

    ¡°Yes . . .¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s buy a set, and we can keep in touch. If you run into trouble with the Empire, or if we run into a problem, maybe we can help each other out.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a great idea, Victor!¡± Olivia said, her face lighting up, and then she opened her mouth and leaped to her feet. ¡°Oh my gosh! I forgot something! Morgan¡¯s tower! It has teleportation gateways. We could set up a link between it and your new settlement if, no, <em>when</em> your campaign is sessful.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± Victor nodded, seeing Va¡¯s contemtive look. ¡°Sure, that would be cool.¡±

    ¡°Olivia?¡± Va said, holding up a hand to forestall Victor¡¯s next words.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°I almost forgot, but we met a friend of yours at Fainhallow.¡±

    ¡°Oh shit! That¡¯s right . . .¡± Victor nodded emphatically.

    ¡°A Ghelli woman named Adaida.¡± While she spoke, Va produced the rolled-up parchment Adaida had given her for Olivia. ¡°She seemed rather distraught, upset about something that happened between you two. She asked if I¡¯d give you this Farscribe parchment; it jogged my memory when Victor mentioned the Farscribe book.¡±

    Olivia¡¯s expression had fallen from eager, excited interest to something that looked a lot like guilt and sadness to Victor. She gingerly reached forward and took the parchment, still wrapped in a lovelyvender ribbon, tied in a big, looping bow with curled ends. She looked at it for a few seconds, and Victor thought he saw moisture in her eyes before she made it disappear and said, ¡°Thank you. Can we go and buy the books now? You¡¯ve kind of ignited something in me. I feel stressed about the colony and my responsibilities. No, that¡¯s not fair.¡± She shook her head, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. ¡°I was feeling that way before I came to this meeting. Still, I¡¯d like to get back to First Landing to check on things, and I¡¯d like to look into Lord ap¡¯Gravin. I promise I¡¯ll write to you about what I find.¡±

    ¡°You think that¡¯s smart?¡± Victor asked, raising an eyebrow, trying to size her up again.

    ¡°Victor, I¡¯m very clever when ites to spells.¡± She chuckled and shook her head, holding up a hand. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to boast! I just want you to know that I¡®ll dedicate some time to researching what happened with your summoning. It already aligns with my own interests, and, well, I can be very persuasive. If ap¡¯Gravin is hiding anything¡ªrecords, contacts, <em>anything</em>, I¡¯ll get it out of him.¡±

    ¡°Well, shit, Olivia. That would be pretty awesome. I mean, I guess we¡¯re kind of cousins, so it¡¯s cool to know that, right? We¡¯ve got some family in this crazy world.¡± Victor looked at Olivia, wishing he was a little better at reading people, that he could see into them the way Tes could. He decided to be blunt with the concern that was itching the back of his mind, ¡°What level are you?¡±

    ¡°Nearly twenty-six, but, well, again, not to be boastful, but I¡¯m stronger than most tier-two people. I have a high affinity and some good ss synergies.¡± She suddenly looked embarrassed and nced down, hurriedly adding, ¡°I only said that because you seem like you¡¯re feeling like you should be concerned about me. You don¡¯t need to be.¡±

    Va snorted and started to say something, but Victor was already speaking, ¡°Nah, I get it. But, as I said, use the book. Keep me posted. If you go after ap¡¯Gravin and I don¡¯t hear back from you, I¡¯ll have to figure out a way to help. I¡¯d help right now, like, go with you tonight, but the army¡¯s leaving soon, and I have responsibilities. Why not wait for your friend, the dude who went to Tharcray, then deal with him together?¡±

    Oliviaughed and pped Victor¡¯s knee. It wasn¡¯t much of a reach¡ªVictor¡¯s legs jutted out from the chair like an adult sitting on a child¡¯s stool. ¡°I like that, Victor. I <em>will</em> wait for my friend, and I have a few other friends who wouldn¡¯t mind paying that man a visit.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Lesh¡¯ro¡¯zen stood and stretched, arching his back, twisting the thick muscles of his shoulders until he heard popping sounds. ¡°Ah,¡± he groaned, ¡°that¡¯s it.¡± He moved through the stone archway, his entrance to the dwelling, and stood on the ck basalt ledge, gazing over his domain. Enormous ck and gray peaks stood against the crimson, smoky sky, but none so high as his mountaintop abode.

    Lesh had been gone too long. Gaining power was important. Crushing his enemies was a worthy endeavor, but it was just as essential to savor his aplishments along the way. Standing there, he could look down on all the ledges and caves of his people; even his father¡¯s home was beneath him. How excellent it was to see his triumphsid out before him! How fulfilling to know he¡¯d risen to the peak of his n and that, in time, he¡¯d be able to vie for the crown in the Blood Circle.

    ¡°Are you sore, love?¡± Yassa¡¯wikterl, his ledge mate, asked, her voice sleepy, almost a purr.

    ¡°Aye, Yassa. The campaign was too long! So frequently did I fight that my breath Core never recharged. Last evening, I wanted to savor you, not dwell on my troubles, so I didn¡¯t mention it, but one of the Chun Ogres hit me squarely with a flung boulder. My scales earned their metal, but my bones ache!¡±

    ¡°Gods! Your poor back! I hope it didn¡¯t harm your wing beds.¡±

    ¡°Hush, love. My wings wille in just fine. Another evolution or two, and I¡¯ll be soaring.¡±

    ¡°Just so, love, just so.¡± Yassa sighed softly, rolling over in their nest, and Lesh admired her form. Everything about her called to him on a primal level, from her coppery scales to the seductive curve of her hips. From her slender limbs to the gentle bumps of the budding horns along her brow, she reminded him of their promised glory, the majesty of their draconic bloodline.

    ¡°We¡¯vee so far,¡± he said, and Yassa opened one of her wide eyes, narrowing it as she studied him down the length of her coppery snout. Her iris was a pale greenish-yellow, and as it caught the glow of the light crystal, it shone at him with cunning.

    ¡°Admiring me? Admiring how we¡¯re closer and closer to leaving our kin behind, leaving this world, and joining true dragons elsewhere?¡±

    Lesh hurried back in from the ledge and fell to his knees, grabbing her by the shoulders and turning her to look him fully in the face. ¡°But we are true dragons! Just because we were born dragonkin doesn¡¯t mean we are lesser! All the work we¡¯ve done, all the work left to do, will make us stronger when we join their numbers. We¡¯ll be mighty in here.¡± He thumped his chest, ¡°Much stronger than those mewling dragonlings who are lucky enough to be born pure.¡±

    ¡°Your father doesn¡¯t see it that way.¡± Was she taunting him? Was she trying to incite his wrath? Was she simply trying to help him focus his prodigious drive?

    ¡°He¡¯s a fool! A small-minded man, worried about this backwater of a world when he should be looking beyond. Why would I listen to him, anyway? His bloodline is barely beyond the basic ranks. He has no horns, while I have three! He¡¯s hardly scaled but look at me! Look at my metal!¡± Lesh leaped to his taloned feet, held his thick, half-scaled arms wide, and bared his shiny chest to her. He really was a striking figure; his skin was dark, almost as ck as his scales, and the green luster of his eyes radiated the corrosive Energy in his Core.

    He liked to think he was close to evolving to the next stage of his bloodline, but, in truth, his dark skin gave the impression that he was further scaled than he was. He supposed only about half of his body had those thick metallic scales covering it. Still, it was far more than his father, far more than any other dragonkin in their n. ¡°There¡¯s a reason I¡¯m leading the n while my father yet breathes.¡± Thest was spoken softly, more to himself than to Yassa. He refocused on her and added, ¡°As I said, love, a few more evolutions. Another century or so, and then I¡¯ll fight for the crown. When I take control of the World Stone, then it will be our time!¡±

    ¡°Yes, love. Yes!¡± Yassa pulled back the silken nkets, beckoning for him to crawl back into the nest with him. ¡°Come. Help me to make a strong, healthy brood to support you.¡±

    Lesh frowned, though, his lips turning down from his short, toothy snout. Something had appeared in his vision, something he¡¯d only grown ustomed to seeing when he advanced somehow¡ªa message from the gods-cursed System.

    <strong>***You have been offered a quest: Travel to the world of Fanwath and y Victor Sandoval. Reward: One Heart of Evolution. ept? Yes/No***</strong>

    ¡°Elder gods!¡±

    ¡°What is it, Lesh?¡± Yassa sat up, her slender, coppery tail curling around beneath her.

    ¡°The System, gods curse it, has just offered me a quest. Yassa, the reward is a Heart of Evolution¡ªthe same as I won from the Crag Troll King! It pushed me from improved to advanced! Do you remember?¡±

    ¡°How could I forget, love? Tell me, what must you do?¡±

    ¡°Simply y a man. I¡¯ll have to travel off-world, but I¡¯m sure I can gain permission when I exin the quest. I¡¯ll need to leave now, though. The trip to Garspire will take nearly a week.¡± He frowned, then added, ¡°Well, I don¡¯t see a time limit on the quest . . .¡±

    ¡°Still, best not to tarry.¡± Yassa was on her feet now, naked and wonderful, but she stooped to gather up her skirts, continuing to speak, ¡°What if the System offers the quest to others? Perhaps this man has angered it. You could bepeting with hunters from other worlds.¡±

    ¡°Gods! You¡¯re right, love! What am I without you? I must make haste!¡± Lesh leaped to his feet and snatched up the handle of his great cudgel, Bgog, the Bone Cracker. The ck, metallic handle was warm in his hand, flowing between his fingers to allow for a better grip. The weapon was clever and eager to fight, and Lesh always felt a grin pulling his lips back from his long, white teeth when he hoisted the two-meter rod of star metal and allowed his eyes to fall on the hundreds of diamond-hard spikes along its length. ¡°We have work to do, blood brother,¡± he said to the cudgel.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor sat atop Thistle¡¯s back, riding at a steady, easy trot away from Persi Gables. Va and Uvu kept pace, the big cat asionally chuffing loudly and groaning, even purring; he was clearly thrilled to see his mistress. Thistle had been well taken care of, fed, brushed, and exercised daily, but Victor couldn¡¯t ride himfortably without reducing his form; the beast was big and strong but not meant to be carrying a half-titan, for that was what Victor hade to consider his natural state.

    ¡°You¡¯re a good boy, and I missed you, but I might have to send you to live with your sister soon. I won¡¯t stand to see someone else take you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± Va said, her tone carefully neutral. ¡°He¡¯s a great mount, but you can¡¯t ride him into battle. You must be at your full strength when we¡¯re in the field.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. What am I going to do? Get one of those elephant birds?¡±

    Va snorted withughter and said, ¡°You mean a bundii? That would be quite a sight! I¡¯ve never seen one mounted, but if anyone could do it . . .¡± her words were lost in another fit of giggles; she was apparently rather vividly imagining Victor attempting to ride one of the elephant-sized ostriches.

    ¡°Well? Seriously! What can I ride?¡±

    ¡°A thunderak, perhaps? Those are the giant . . .¡±

    ¡°Lizards, yeah, yeah. No thanks. I think I¡¯ll take a trip into the spirit ne. I learned a lot when I made Tes¡¯s spell in my pathways. I told you a little about the feat I gained, but I think I¡¯m just scratching the surface. What if I used some of the principles that make her spell so potent on one of my other spells, say the one that lets me find and create totems from my spirit? The way I envision it, I think it might allow me to gain more totems; maybe I can find one that I could ride¡ªI saw a Mustang in there once.¡±

    ¡°A Mustang?¡±

    ¡°A kind of horse.¡± Victor chuckled and hurriedly added, ¡°Which is a kind of mount from my world. They¡¯re like vidanii, I guess, but without the horns. Maybe prettier, too. I guess horses are known for being clever and spirited, but Thistle¡¯s pretty clever, aren¡¯t you, boy?¡± Victor patted the course reddish fur of the animal¡¯s neck, and he shivered, shaking his head and snorting.

    ¡°If you could truly do that, summon a totem you could ride, that would be ideal.¡± Va tugged on Uvu¡¯s reins, pulling him a little closer so she didn¡¯t have to shout, and added, ¡°You don¡¯t want to try to train a thunderak!¡±

    ¡°Hey,¡± Victor said, changing the subject, ¡°What did you think of Olivia?¡±

    ¡°Your cousin?¡± Va grinned at him slyly, and Victor had to wonder for a moment what she was getting at. Was she trying to point out to him that he had some family again? He supposed that was nice. Olivia had seemed like someone he could grow to like¡ªsmart, ambitious, pleasant, and he¡¯d enjoyed how she¡¯d spoken in threatening undertones about ap¡¯Gravin. Yeah, he decided, he could grow to like having a cousin like her.

    ¡°Well, not a first cousin. But, yeah, I take your point. What did you think of her?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s very talented, ording to the professors at Fainhallow. I know, I know, that¡¯s not what you¡¯re asking me. I liked her. I hope she can produce the results she promised. I hope ap¡¯Gravin won¡¯t present her with too much trouble.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll find out,¡± Victor said, shrugging. ¡°We¡¯ve got Farscribe books now, so at least she¡¯ll be able to update me.¡± He clicked his tongue and twitched his reins, urging Thistle to move a little faster, and as Va and Uvu surged to keep up, he said, ¡°We¡¯re going to be marching in a couple of days! Feels like ages since Rellia first spoke to me about the Untamed Marches. I¡¯m nervous but also pumped as hell. How about you? Are you excited?¡±

    ¡°I am, but also apprehensive. I know you¡¯ve been in plenty of fights, and you know how uglybat can be, but it¡¯s different on the scale of armies. It¡¯s different when those you¡¯re responsible for start to die. I hope you¡¯re ready for it.¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t answer her, and his grin faded as a storm brewed behind his eyes. Abstractly, he¡¯d thought about the army shing with whatever sorts of enemies would be waiting in the Untamed Marches. He¡¯d thought about fighting with ambushers from the Empire, but he hadn¡¯t really thought about what it would be like if he, as he tended to do, came out on top, but a bunch of his soldiers died. Right now, the soldiers were mostly faceless to him, a mob of willing fighters, but how would it feel when he stood on the battlefield with them and they started to fall?

    Impulsively he asked Va, ¡°Who¡¯s the best military brain in our legion? Who¡¯s going to being up with tactics? I know I¡¯m in charge, but who should I be listening to for advice? Other than you, I mean.¡±

    ¡°Rellia has a keen mind for strategy, as does Lam, but Borrius is a military genius. Get him away from Rellia to hear him speak frankly, though; his desire to please her can make him agree to stupid things.¡±

    ¡°Good advice, Primus. Thank you. Now, try to keep up!¡± With that, Victor urged Thistle into a gallop, and he howled as the wind began to sing in his ears.

 Book 5: Chapter 19: Formalities

    Book 5: Chapter 19: Formalities

    ¡°Ancestors, Victor!¡± Tha cried, leaping up from the soft, springy loam to charge at him, wrapping her luminescent arms around his waist and burying her head in his stomach. ¡°How does a grown man keep growing?¡±

    Victorughed and gently stroked the back of her head, savoring the feel of her soft hair against his palm. ¡°God, I missed you.¡± He felt emotion welling up, his throat growing thick, all the thoughts he¡¯d been holding back vying toe to the forefront¡ªOld Mother, the loss of hope about returning home, the stress of having so many people expecting so much from him. He squeezed Tha tight and breathed deeply of the cool, fragrant air in Oyna¡¯s de. ¡°I thought I¡¯d have to teach you how to find this ce. I should have known better.¡±

    ¡°Aye, world-walker. It was the first ce Oyna showed me.¡±

    ¡°World-walker?¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you visiting other worlds thesest months?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but I don¡¯t think that qualifies me. Let me walk on a few more before you start calling me that.¡±

    ¡°Fair.¡± Tha pushed back from him, holding him at arm¡¯s length and looking up, trying to see into his eyes. ¡°Your coloring is a little different. More . . . bronze, I guess, and your eyes are lighter. They were always light brown, but now there¡¯s yellow in there. Well, more of it.¡±

    ¡°You look good,¡± Victor said, reaching for her face, letting his thumb gently trace the line of her jaw.

    ¡°I do, hmm? Well, I have much news for you. Will you sit?¡± She moved back to the spot of soft grass where she¡¯d been when he arrived and plopped down, folding her legs beneath her. Victor followed and lowered himself to the embrace of Oyna¡¯s de, sighing as he leaned back and his palms sank into the rich turf.

    ¡°I have news for you, too.¡±

    ¡°Shall I speak first?¡± At his nod, she continued, ¡°Deyni misses you a great deal, but she¡¯s doing very well living with the n. She¡¯s tamed an adristii.¡± At Victor¡¯s nk expression, she added, ¡°It¡¯s a bird of prey that hunts these ins. The n is proud of her, and I think she¡¯ll have a prominent ce among them. She and Starlight are amon sight around the camp, racing hither and yon, Chandri often chasing after, howling about a lesson Deyni¡¯s missing.¡±

    She chuckled as she spoke, and Victor joined in, picturing Chandri in a teacher¡¯s role. ¡°So, she spends a lot of time with her? Chandri, I mean?¡±

    ¡°Much! I know Old Mother awaited you here to bid you goodbye, but did she tell you of my expanded role with the n?¡± Tha¡¯s voice was a little hesitant, as though she had news and worried about how Victor would receive it.

    ¡°She hinted at it. I take it you¡¯ve filled in for her, right? You¡¯re the new n, well, not Old Mother, but maybe Mother? Is that how that works?¡±

    She smiled and reached out to grasp Victor¡¯s hand in hers, then said, ¡°It¡¯s more than that, Victor. Yes, I¡¯m the n¡¯s Spirit Guide; I¡¯m hoping to gain that ss when I next refine. It will be many, many years before I deserve that particr honorific, though. No, I¡¯m not the Old Mother, but I¡¯m Tellen¡¯s wife. He and I rule the n together now.¡±

    Victor felt her fingers tighten on his palm, and he wondered if she thought he might pull away. Did she think he¡¯d be jealous? Enraged that a woman he¡¯d refused to settle down with had found love elsewhere? He smiled and gently gripped her hand between his thumb and fingers, enjoying the familiar, soft, warm feel of it. ¡°That¡¯s wonderful, Tha. Really. I¡¯m so happy for you . . . and for Tellen! That lucky bastard! So, Deyni and Ch and Chandri¡ªthey¡¯re sisters now!¡±

    ¡°Yes! Oh, Victor . . . I¡¯m so happy that you¡¯re not upset.¡± She leaned toward him, relief evident in her eyes, and Victor chuckled, pulling her close so he could put an arm over her shoulders.

    ¡°I love you, Tha. I know I told you that before, and maybe it put the wrong ideas in your mind, but the kind of love I have for you means I can¡¯t help but feel happy when I see you¡¯re happy. Understand?¡±

    ¡°I understand, big oaf,¡± she said, sniffing noisily as she pulled his arm tightly to herself, almost hugging it as she leaned into his side.

    ¡°Now, I want to talk to you about an opportunity for your people.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Well, you know about the campaign I¡¯m leading for Rellia, right?¡±

    ¡°Oh no, Victor . . .¡±

    ¡°Hear me out! We¡¯ve raised a bigger army than we could have hoped for¡ªa full legion. We¡¯ll win, Tha; you have to know that, right? If I have anything to say about things, we¡¯re going to im a lot ofnd outside the Empire. Wouldn¡¯t you like to be a part of that? Aren¡¯t you tired of looking over your shoulder? Wouldn¡¯t some real freedom mean a lot to the n? I got to thinking about all the people Rellia and Lam are bringing along with the campaign, lots and lots of really powerful, rich people, not just peasants looking to get lucky. I thought about how so many of them are eager because they know something better ising to them if we¡¯re sessful. Well, I want people I care about to get a piece of that, too.¡±

    ¡°Freedom always sounds nice, but you can¡¯t tell me there aren¡¯t risks.¡±

    ¡°Sure, there are risks. If the n followed the legion, though, I¡¯d be sure you were out of the worst of the fighting. Mainly we¡¯d use you for scouting, just the hunters. The kids and nonbat folks can stay with the legion¡¯s supply train, well-guarded.¡±

    ¡°And you get to spend some time with Deyni and Chandri.¡±

    ¡°And you!¡± Victor squeezed her again.

    ¡°It¡¯s a huge decision, Victor.¡± Her voice was soft, and Victor recognized the tone¡ªshe was trying to spare his feelings and let him down easy.

    ¡°I know it is. I know you can¡¯t say ¡®yes¡¯ right now. You¡¯ll need to speak with Tellen and the other n elders. You¡¯ll need to weigh the risks and possible benefits. The good news is that the army is marching east for a long while. We¡¯re going to skirt the Blue Deep, which means we¡¯ll pass by your spring camp. If you decide to join us, you can do so, and if not, I¡¯ll at least get to see everyone again.¡±

    ¡°That <em>is</em> good news!¡± She looked up at him and said, ¡°Why so far south? There are roads leading east that go around the Starfall Mountains . . .¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t want our route to be easily predicted. I can exin more when we meet.¡± While he spoke, Victor was watching Tha¡¯s face, looking into her luminescent magenta eyes. Her eyes always told the story of her feelings, and he could see them narrow, and he knew she was connecting some dots.

    ¡°You fear trouble before you even get to the Marches?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t <em>fear</em> trouble, but I won¡¯t lie and say we don¡¯t expect any.¡±

    Tha nodded, and as he looked up from her eyes, he saw that her flesh seemed less corporeal, more translucent. ¡°I¡¯m running out of Energy, Victor. I can¡¯t stay here as long as you and Old Mother.¡±

    ¡°Well, think about what I said; promise me you will!¡±

    ¡°I will! How long until your army draws near?¡±

    ¡°Two weeks or so, I¡¯d guess. No, maybe closer to three; it took Va and me about twelve days riding hard.¡±

    ¡°Aye. Okay. I¡¯m so d to see you well.¡±

    ¡°Me too, Tha!¡± Victor hugged her close, but she felt far less substantial than when he¡¯d first done so. She was fading quickly. ¡°I love you!¡±

    ¡°And I, you, oaf!¡± She tittered, and then she was gone. The only evidence she¡¯d ever been there were wisps of rapidly fading Energy that drifted up into the starlit canopy of Old Mother¡¯s de. Victor sighed and fell back into the soft grass, letting it cradle his weary spirit. He hoped Tha would truly consider his offer. He hoped she¡¯d try to convince Tellen to join the conquest. He had his doubts, however. She¡¯d seemed quite reserved about the whole thing.

    ¡°Maybe she just needs to sleep on it. Let the idea fester in the back of her mind. I wish Deyni hade tonight; I know she¡¯d help me convince her.¡± He sighed and cut the connection to his Spirit Walk spell, and then he found himself sitting on his bed, his five proud, golden, glory-attuned coyotes sitting around it, their eyes glittering and gleaming with the nature of their spirits. ¡°Hey, <em>amigos.</em>¡±

    They whined and yipped softly, pacing around his bed, and Victor figured he should send them home; people were probably trying to sleep nearby. ¡°See you soon,¡± he said, and then, as the spell ended, they shimmered and disappeared, leaving pools of glittering golden Energy on the rough floorboards. ¡°That¡¯s new,¡± he said, watching the puddles gradually shrink to nothing. ¡°Something to do with the Energy type, maybe?¡±

    Seeing hispanions reminded him of what he¡¯d said to Va; he wanted to try to improve that spell with a twist of elder magic, but his mind was dull, tired, and foggy. He¡¯d only had one good night¡¯s sleep in thest several, and he had a busy day ahead. That said, he undressed, leaned Lifedrinker against the wall near his bed, pulled his thin, in gray nket up, and went to sleep.

    At least, his intention was to go to sleep, but his mind was busy. He still had the ancient wyrm heart to eat, he had to think about what he¡¯d say in themand council the next day, and he had a nagging worry about his new-found cousin; was she biting off more than she could chew? As he pushed those thoughts into a corner, he began to wonder about Vellia and her people. Would the Naghelli answer his call? How would he sell their presence to the army? Weren¡¯t they pretty much universally hated? He tried to remember their history and thought it had something to do with when the System had formed Fanwath; did they help the Yovashi or something? ¡°Ugh, goddammit!¡±

    Victor thumped his fist into his forehead, tossing left to right, twisting himself in his nkets, and trying to think of anything other than his dozens of problems. He let his mind drift to Tes, picturing her eyes, her smile, the way sheughed when he did something clever. Before he knew it, he was floating through clouds, following her as she taunted him, jumping from mountaintop to mountaintop. He always almost caught but never quite reached her. He could hear her giggle, see how her skirts and ribbons trailed behind her, and then the dream shifted, and he was lost to deep slumber.

    When Victor woke, it was to an incessant tapping at his door. He was t on his back, his nket and pillows nowhere to be found. As the tapping continued, he stared at the roughly-fit nks of the ceiling, listening to the sounds of distant shouts and trying to gather his thoughts. Finally, the tapping registered, and he remembered where he was and grunted, ¡°Just a minute.¡±

    ¡°Victor?¡± Va¡¯s voice said, speaking softly. Was she trying to keep people from gossiping about how he¡¯d overslept? Victor leaped out of bed, flipped up the crude lock, and, as Va quietly came into the room, he pulled some clean clothes out of his storage ring¡ªeasy to do since pretty much all his clothes were enchanted to clean themselves.

    ¡°Sorry, Va.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. I just wanted to make sure you didn¡¯t have anything you wanted to discuss before the ceremony.¡±

    ¡°How much time do we have?¡± he asked, pulling a in, dark-blue shirt over his head.

    ¡°Twenty minutes. Are you going to wear a uniform?¡±

    ¡°Should I?¡± Victor frowned, ¡°I was going to wear my armor again.¡± He blinked his eyes several times, then took a good look at Va. She¡¯d opted to wear the new uniform¡ªslim ck pants, red shirt, ck and gold brocade coat. He saw she¡¯d transferred all of her medals and ribbons from her old Legion uniform.

    ¡°For this ceremony, I suggest you wear the uniform. People are going to be swearing fealty to you and the campaign.¡±

    ¡°Damn it.¡± Victor started pulling off his shirt, d he was, at least, wearing some underwear that decently covered him¡ªsome silky shorts he¡¯d picked up in Coloss. Va had seen him like this before, so he didn¡¯t feel like he was doing anything wrong, but when he looked up, she was sitting by the window, pointedly looking outside. As he summoned the uniform he¡¯d been given from his storage ring, he said, ¡°I¡¯m going to be the only officer in there without a chest full of ribbons and shit.¡±

    ¡°Your coat will be the only one to bear the rank of Legate Primus.¡± She turned toward him, saw he¡¯d already pulled on his uniform pants, and said, ¡°You couldmission some medals for yourself. Ribbons tomemorate your achievements. A wyrm-scale ribbon, a token of Coloss ribbon, a Greatbone Mine ribbon, etcetera.¡±

    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t help me today, and it would look dumb if I suddenly showed up at some point with a bunch of medals and ribbons no one recognized.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s partially true, but there are many medals on my chest that require an exnation to most people.¡± She fingered a silvery bar with a blue tassel and said, ¡°Few would know this is meant to recognize that I finished my sword qualifier in under five strokes.¡±

    ¡°Sword qualifier?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the Imperial Legion doesn¡¯t let anyone use just any weapon; you have to qualify for the weapon you carry.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor said, only half hearing her as he worked to tuck his crimson shirt in without wrinkling the front of it.

    ¡°No,¡± Va said, walking over to him. ¡°You have these pockets up here,¡± she said, demonstrating by pulling one open. They were ced differently than those on other pants he¡¯d owned, up high near the waistline. ¡°Put your fingers in there, and you¡¯ll find a hole where you can pull your shirttail back, removing the extra fabric near your beltline.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of belts¡ªI need to wear the ck one, I¡¯m guessing, and the shiny boots they gave me?¡±

    ¡°Yes. You¡¯ll look odd in uniform with random essories.¡±

    ¡°What about Lifedrinker?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t look at the dress sling Rellia had made? Take it out.¡±

    ¡°Uh,¡± Victor dug around in his ring and pulled out the boots, belt, and a thick, ck leather and red silk sash. At least, he¡¯d thought it was a sash, but now he saw that part was stitched with tooled leather and big golden rings.

    ¡°This,¡± Va said. ¡°You wear it crossways over one shoulder, and Lifedrinker will hang on your back. It won¡¯t be easy to put her back in there if you have to pull her out, but that¡¯ll be the least of your problems. I can help you, or an aide like Edeya can.¡±

    ¡°And if I want to sit down?¡±

    ¡°Right, if thates up, just allow me, or, as I said, Edeya, to help you. This is a formal uniform; you¡¯re not meant to fight in it.¡±

    Victor shrugged into the ck dress jacket, annoyed by the extra level of golden brocade on hispared to Va¡¯s. He¡¯d already tried on the uniform once, bonding with it so it fit perfectly, and Va had assured him that if he had to expand his size, it would hold up all right. Once he had the coat on, he shrugged into the harness for Lifedrinker, noting that it added quite a bit of shiness to the front of his uniform, what with its shiny leather, red silk lining, and golden buckles.

    ¡°Here,¡± Va said, picking up Lifedrinker. ¡°Oh! She¡¯s heavy!¡± she grunted. ¡°Does she always vibrate like this?¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor said, watching Va struggle with the axe, ¡°She¡¯s not used to anyone else touching her. It¡¯s okay, <em>Reina</em>; she¡¯s just going to help me put you on my back.¡±

    ¡°Wow,¡± Va said, lifting Lifedrinker and slipping her through the golden hoops near the top of Victor¡¯s left shoulder, ¡°she calmed right down when you spoke.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t take it personally. At least she didn¡¯t melt your hands off.¡± Victor reached up to ensure he could grab the top of the axe, and when his fingers touched her, he felt a surge of amused pleasure. ¡°She liked that one,¡± he chuckled.

    ¡°Midnight still hasn¡¯t spoken to me.¡±

    ¡°Well, keep talking to her. Keep using her. She¡¯ll grow.¡± Victor nodded confidently as he spoke, even though his experience with conscious weapons extended precisely as far as what he knew about Lifedrinker. Still, Va seemed to appreciate it, and she smiled and reached her hand to her sword¡¯s pommel.

    ¡°You¡¯re a sweet, beautiful girl, aren¡¯t you, Midnight?¡±

    ¡°Uh, is that what I sound like?¡± Victor raised an eyebrow spectively. ¡°Because, if that¡¯s how I sound, maybe I should . . . Ow!¡± he cried as Va viciously punched him in the chest. ¡°Careful, you¡¯re going to mess up my uniform.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re done mocking me, we should probably get going.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m done for now.¡± He hurriedly stepped toward the door, flinching away from her as though he expected another blow, but Va just smiled and followed. ¡°Can I keep my small size on?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you. All the officers will be there; they might feel better swearing fealty if they can feel your full aura.¡±

    ¡°How many altogether?¡± Victor pulled the door open and, as he stepped through, cut the Energy keeping his Shape Self spell going. The floorboards creaked and groaned as his mass instantly increased.

    ¡°Rellia, Borrius, Lam, me, ten captains, and sixty lieutenants. The captains will take oaths from the sergeants in ater ceremony, and, stillter, the lieutenants will take oaths from their troops.¡±

    ¡°And the words? Rellia didn¡¯t have any issue with the final oath?¡±

    ¡°None. At least none she felt she needed to vent to me.¡±

    ¡°All right, Primus. Let¡¯s get this over with. Time to listen to a bunch of people swear they won¡¯t betray me.¡±

    ¡°As you say, Legate,¡± Va winked at him, and they began to march down the steps, her a bit behind him the entire way. Victor¡¯s mind wandered while they walked, wondering if he¡¯d ever seen Va wink before. He might have been concerned about his appearance or forced himself to stand up straight back in his old life, but it wasn¡¯t an issue these days. He¡¯d put his body through enough, improved it enough, that his core muscles were probably beyond any Olympian¡¯s in history¡ªhis back was straight as a board.

    He did, self-consciously, run a hand through his hair, making sure it was still short enough that hisck of a shower orb hadn¡¯t let any strands fall out of ce. The bristly feeling against his palm reassured him, and he smiled, dropping his arm as he stepped outside themand fort into the courtyard. He was a little surprised to see the assembled officers standing at attention on the loose, sandy cobbles. Rellia, Borrius, and Lam were arrayed in front, eyes trained on him from the second he stepped through the door. ¡°I thought we were still a little early,¡± he muttered.

 Book 5: Chapter 20: Playing with Magic

    Book 5: Chapter 20: ying with Magic

    When it came time for Ordus ap¡¯Yensha to take a knee before Victor and ce his Energy signature on the oath scroll, Victor felt a twinge of guilt. Why should such a man, someone who¡¯d aplished so much in his life and who was so much older than Victor, kneel before him? Wasn¡¯t half of Victor¡¯s power due to luck? He had nothing to do with his bloodline; his ancestors were responsible for that. Was he somehow to credit for his powerful spirit affinities? It didn¡¯t seem like it to him; it felt like pure chance. Still, he¡¯d already received oaths from the othermanders and captains, men he respected more or, at least, knew better than Ordus. Even Polo Vosh had taken a knee before him, and it would be odd to start balking now.

    ¡°I swear,¡± Ordus began, his voice oddly tight, emotion heavy in the words, ¡°to endeavor to further the goals of this campaign, to obey the righteous orders of mymanders, and to guard against treachery. I swear that, should my own goals cease to align with those of this campaign, I will resign my post and distance myself from this fine army and anyone who may wish it harm. I make this vow willingly and with a true heart. May the System bleed me of Energy should I break it.¡±

    The spoken words weren¡¯t necessary; as soon as Ordus sent some of his Energy into the document, he was bound to the contract. The recitation was a ceremony, and Victor was already growing weary of it. He¡¯d had to repeat his part more than a dozen times and had yet to hear the oaths of the lieutenants. Annoyance aside, he sent his Energy into the rolled document and said, ¡°I receive you into this campaign, Ordus ap¡¯Yensha. I ept your oath and swear to lead this army with victory always in mind. I swear to choose our battles wisely, and when I cannot choose, I will listen to the counsel of my officers and do everything possible to vanquish our foes. If I betray the trust of this army or the campaign it pursues, may the System bleed me of Energy.¡±

    Ordus stood, saluted, and smartly turned back to the assembled troops, returning to his position in the row of captains next to Sarl. Va had given Victor¡¯s friend, the disgraced Ghelli noble,mand of the ninth cohort. The instant Ordus stopped moving, Edeya called out, ¡°Lieutenant Darro, aide to Legate Rellia ap¡¯Yensha!¡± Darro marched out of line, straight up to Victor, his youthful face riddled with stress as he shakily took a knee where Ordus had just been. Victor held out the oath scroll, and Darro stretched forth a trembling hand.

    The sixty lieutenants took nearly two hours to get through their oaths, and if Victor thought he¡¯d been growing weary when Ordus had kneeled, by the time they were finished, he was ready to burst from agitation. It seemed he wasn¡¯t the only one because as thest lieutenant returned to her ce in line, Rellia strode forward, turned to the assembled troops, and announced, ¡°Congrattions, officers! You are all dismissed. The next oath ceremony willmence in one hour at each cohortmand tent.¡±

    The captains and lieutenants cheered, several approaching the stoop of themand fort where Victor stood, vying for the opportunity to sp his or one of the othermanders¡¯ hands. He smiled and shook as many as he could, and when Va saw him looming over a growing crowd, she stepped up and shouted, ¡°The Legate Primus has important meetings¡ªtime to head out. Come,e, let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go. Congrattions!¡±

    Most of them heeded her words and quickly began to filter out, but Polo and Sarl lingered, drawing a scowl from Va, but Victor smiled and pped Polo on the shoulder. ¡°Thanks for your oath, Captain.¡± He winked down at Sarl and revised, ¡°Captains.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for the opportunity!¡± Sarl nodded. ¡°I¡¯d hoped to ask you a favor before I move off to receive my own oaths.¡±

    ¡°Sure, what is it?¡± Victor asked, still grasping Polo¡¯s shoulder. The big Vodkin also looked down at Sarl, his moist, ck eyes spelling out his curiosity.

    ¡°Well, when your Primus here,¡± he nodded respectfully to Va, ¡°promoted and reassigned me, my men, the ones from the Wagon Wheel, were left with my old cohort. Can I transfer them to the ninth? I¡¯ll send recements to the second . . .¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t something the Legate should be concerned about, Captain Sarl,¡± Va interjected. ¡°Speak with Taz-dak, your old captain, and arrange for the troop exchange.¡±

    ¡°Ahem.¡± Sarl looked down and straightened his posture, turning to look Va in the eye, ¡°I tried that, ma¡¯am. Captain Taz-dak wasn¡¯t receptive to the request.¡±

    ¡°So, you wish to capitalize on your friendship with the Legate and go over his head?¡± Va scowled.

    ¡°Easy, Va,¡± Victor said. He wanted to tell her to rx and that whatever Sarl wanted was fine with him, but he also didn¡¯t want to undermine her. Before she could say more or interpret him wrongly, he added, ¡°Sarl, she¡¯s right, however. There are systems in ce for how this should work. If Taz-dak is giving you a hard time, it probably means he wants something. Find out what that is, and if you can¡¯t manage it, talk to Polo here. He¡¯s a great man, and he¡¯ll give you good advice. I think it¡¯s best if I don¡¯t get personally involved.¡±

    Polo had stiffened at the mention of his name, but his fuzzy cheeks lifted with a smile as he rumbled, ¡°Aye, Captain Sarl. It¡¯s good to meet you properly. I didn¡¯t know you were friends with the Legate! Let¡¯s go talk to that old bastard together, huh? I bet we can sort this out.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Some of the stress had bled out of Sarl¡¯s expression, and he offered Va and Victor a snappy salute as he turned and walked with Polo toward the palisade. He was tiny next to the bulky Vodkin, but Victor knew that Sarl was built of tough stuff, if not physically, then mentally.

    ¡°Thank you for not contradicting me,¡± Va said as the two captains exited the courtyard.

    ¡°Well, you were right. I can¡¯t get involved in petty squabbles. I¡¯ve already intervened plenty on Sarl¡¯s behalf. I think if I¡¯m seen bailing him out of every disagreement, it¡¯ll just make more problems for him down the road.¡±

    ¡°Your solution to that was elegant,¡± Rellia said, startling Victor. She¡¯d approached from behind him, and he saw, in Va¡¯s expression, that she¡¯d surprised her too.

    ¡°Did you use my own bulk to sneak up on us?¡± Victor asked her, shifting so he could look at both Rellia and Va while he spoke.

    ¡°Not intentionally.¡± She smiled and shook her head, amused. ¡°Still, I heard what you said to that captain, and it was clever. Rather than intervene on his behalf, you gave him a powerful ally. Polo will respect that he¡¯s earned your trust and help him with sincerity.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a good man.¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°Polo could do worse than to have him as an ally.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm, yes. I think the ceremony went very well. The oath is quite a lot less burdensome than the Legion uses, but I believe it will suffice. Were you pleased with thepromise?¡±

    ¡°Yes, especially as the contract itself is set to expire in three years or when I decree the campaign is over.¡± Victor held the fancy, ribbon-bedecked scroll aloft, then grinned as he sent it into his storage ring.

    ¡°That part wasn¡¯t unusual.¡± Rellia frowned momentarily, then, exposing her brilliant, sharp, white teeth, she curved her lips upward and reached up to smooth back a loose strand of coppery red hair, gleaming in the midday sunlight. ¡°Do you have ns for the evening? I hoped I could get you and Va to join me for dinner. There¡¯s much left to discuss before we march.¡±

    Victor looked at Va, but she offered no assistance, her eyes focused somewhere to the left of Rellia¡¯s face. ¡°I wanted to spar with Polo this evening. Right now, I have some work to do with a spell. I know it doesn¡¯t sound important, but it might make the difference between me trying to wrestle a giant lizard into submission or having a proper mount.¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Rellia¡¯s eyes narrowed in confusion. Victor could almost see the wheels turning in her head, but then she gave the tiniest, most sophisticated shrug Victor had ever seen and said, ¡°Let¡¯s have ate dinner then. Say, nine? Surely you can finish your tasks by then.¡±

    Seeing she wasn¡¯t going to take no for an answer, Victor nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯d like that. Thank you for the invitation.¡±

    ¡°My, but you¡¯ve certainly be smoother with your words than I remember. See you tonight then, Legate.¡± She looked at Va, nodded, and said, ¡°Daughter.¡±

    Va said, ¡°Mother,¡± and watched Rellia turn and saunter into the fort. ¡°She¡¯s up to something.¡±

    ¡°You think so?¡±

    ¡°Nothing terrible. Perhaps she just wants to pester us about themand appointments or marching formations. Mayhap she wants to build up our support for her in the event we have a disagreement within themand council.¡±

    ¡°That stuff isn¡¯t set yet? Marching formations?¡± Victor turned and started for the fort before someone else could ambush him with questions or invitations.

    Va followed behind him and replied, ¡°There are many theories on the best way to travel as a legion. Somemanders like a single sturdy column, while others prefer each cohort to march independently, though in a sort of checkerboard pattern, ready to assist each other shouldbat arise.¡±

    ¡°Checkerboard? They have those here?¡±

    ¡°It means alternating tiles of differing patterns . . .¡± Va looked at him like he was daft as they began to climb the stairs.

    ¡°Well, in my nativenguage, it also describes a game with a board with a pattern like that.¡±

    ¡°I imagine the word I¡¯m thinking and the one you¡¯re hearing are different.¡± Va sighed. ¡°Sometimes I grow weary of the System and the way it has wormed its way into our minds, ournguage, our customs, our . . .¡±

    ¡°I get it.¡±

    ¡°Are you going back to your room?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Polo¡¯s going to be busy for hours with his cohort oaths, so I want to get a start on modifying my totem summoning spell. Hey, speaking of which, did any of those books Tes gave you have, like, information about spell patterns? I mean, I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s some kind of system for how they work or . . .¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course,¡± Va said, interrupting him. ¡°Let me just look through this ring she gave me¡ªit has hundreds of books in it.¡± She paused, her eyes sort of zing over, and then she said, ¡°Ah, here we go. There¡¯s a ten-volume series on spellcrafting. Do you want them all?¡±

    ¡°Just for now. I doubt I¡¯ll read them all, but it might help with what I have nned. Just holler if you want them back before I¡¯m done messing around.¡±

    ¡°That will be fine.¡± Va nodded and then, one by one, began to summon the texts from her ring, handing the heavy, dense tomes to Victor. He stored them in one of his rings, and when Va gave him thest one, she said, ¡°Do you mind if I go observe some of the ceremonies? I¡¯m sure Lam and Borrius will be about, walking among the troops. I should make my face seen.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s a good idea, Va. I¡¯ll be in my room, and if you don¡¯t hear from me by the time Polo finishes up, will you grab me?¡±

    ¡°Of course. See you then. Oh, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t blow us all up with some wild elder magic Energy surge or some such.¡±

    Victor widened his eyes and said, ¡°Who, me?¡± They bothughed and then Va turned and rapidly descended the stairs. Victor strode over to his room and went inside, locking the door behind him. His quarters were as in as could be. Spartan, he supposed, was the way to describe them. Rough nks made up the floor, ceiling, and walls, and the only furnishing was the bed. He didn¡¯t care; it was a temporary camp structure, and he nned to shop in Persi Gables for something morefortable on the campaign trail.

    He sat on the floor between the door and bed, crossing his legs under him, and then took out a nk notebook. One at a time, he created the patterns for Shape Spirit and Manifest Spirit in his pathways and copied them onto nk pages of his notebook without casting them. That done, he sat back and stared for a while, observing each. After a few minutes, he ripped out the pages andid them on the floor before him. Side by side, he began to see their simrities and differences. He wasn¡¯t sure what he was looking for, though, and, after a few more minutes, had to admit that he¡¯d been hoping for some kind of inspiration.

    ¡°Inspiration!¡± He snapped his fingers and cast Globe of Insight and Inspiration of the Quinametzin. In the revealing light of the orb floating over his head, he looked again at the two pages. ¡°That seems familiar,¡± he muttered, tracing part of the Shape Spirit pattern. He picked up his notebook again and conjured the pattern for Spirit Walk into his pathways. After rapidly copying it onto a fresh page, he ripped it out and set it next to the Shape Spirit spell. The Spirit Walk pattern was almost entirely represented by about half the lines of the other spell.

    ¡°Of course,¡± he muttered. Shape Spirit forced the caster to go into the spirit ne when they were selecting their totem¡ªhalf the spell was basically a Spirit Walk. With that in mind, he recopied the Shape Spirit spell, but without that section. He wasn¡¯t sure why; it seemed the Spirit Walk was essential, but for some reason, Victor wanted to break the spell down to its basics before he started to tamper with it. In his mind, it was important to understand what he was messing with before he began to modify it.

    Looking at the different parts of the spell, theplex patterns, whorls, swirls, interlocking shapes, and almost glyph-like figures, he remembered the books he¡¯d borrowed from Va and summoned them from his ring. He stacked them beside him and picked up the first in the series, helpfully titled <em>Hoeghth¡¯s</em><em>Spellcrafting Theory Volume 1.</em> He thumbed through the delicately thin pages, his eyes bulging out at the dense, tiny script, hoping for some kind of inspiration that would preclude him from actually having to read the entire thing¡ªVictor had never been a fan of textbooks. Still, he¡¯d never minded looking up how to do something he was interested in, either. He and his one-time buddy, Brian, had rebuilt a carburetor on a beat-up old dirt bike one summer after watching a tutorial online. They¡¯d done stuff like that all the time.

    He kept thumbing through, reading the headings. The first part of the book was filled with various philosophical theories about Energy. He only skimmed, but it seemed there was a lot of division about where it came from, what it was best used for, and what the System¡¯s role was in ¡°modern¡± spellcraft. After that section, he came to a table of contents and scanned down it until he found a section titled ¡°Common, Universal Spell Sigils and Patterns, Their Component Parts, and Compatibility.¡±

    When Victor flipped to that section, the very first heading read ¡°Known System Spell Pattern Components ¨C Basic through Advanced.¡± Victor whistled softly as he began to read through them, all categorized by function. Most of them took up less than a quarter of a page, simple designs and sigils that likely would have looked a great deal moreplex as part of arger pattern like the ones Victor had before him. As he scanned through, looking for something familiar, he finally found one that caught his eyes, aplicated whorl that reversed in on itself halfway throughbeled, ¡°Intention.¡±

    From there, it was a matter of ncing at his patterns, then scanning through the pages and finding matches. Before long, Victor had broken up both of his spells into more than a dozen parts, allbeled with what they were supposed to do. The more he studied them, the more he began to recognize the System¡¯s idiosyncrasies with spell design.

    When hepared the patterns to the spell Tes had taught him, the only way he could describe their differences was to say it felt like seeing a utilitarian blueprint versus an artist¡¯s rendering. He imagined that if you asked the System to design a room, it might look something like the one he was currently sitting in. Whoever first crafted Tes¡¯s spell had made a room with a hundred different textures, a thousand features and furnishings, and many levels, windows, and doors.

    What it boiled down to, he decided, was a matter of potential. The roots of the System¡¯s spells were perfectly functional for what it wanted them to do, whereas a pattern crafted like Tes¡¯s spell was rich with potential¡ªfilled with hooks and roots for more and more functionality as a caster built upon it. What his Alter Self spell did, modifying each of his cells, reducing the density, reducing the size, and using his own Energy and the potency of those cells to power the transformation, was an order of magnitude moreplicated than the two spells before him.

    Thinking about the Alter Self spell, he pulled out thestplete copy he¡¯d made before casting it. He chuckled as he unfurled the long scroll of densely packed spell patterns, seeing it next to the elementary totem summoning spells. He lifted a magical pen and lightly began to circleponent parts of the elder magic, and then, with a handful isted, he tried to find anything like them in the textbook.

    He dug around fruitlessly for nearly half an hour and finally decided that if elder magic existed on Zaafor, it wasn¡¯t written in this book. Victor wasted another fifteen minutes flipping open the other books in the series, wondering if there were more advanced patterns. He found that there were¡ªsome examples of epic spells and their parts¡ªbut nothing like Tes¡¯s spell. Despite his inability to find examples of the elder magic, Victor felt like he had a sort of intuitive sense of what many of the parts of Tes¡¯s spell did. He wondered if it was due to the many hours he¡¯d spent studying it or if the Elder Magic feat he¡¯d gained was somehow aiding him.

    Setting Tes¡¯s spell aside, Victor began to wonder if he couldn¡¯tbine the two System spells somehow while still adding additional functionality. Clearly, the System had limited the scope of the spells for a reason; as he¡¯d taken them from basic to improved, he¡¯d gained the ability to summon a second totem. Would he be breaking some kind of unwritten rule if he tried to modify them to allow for a third totem? Should he wait until the System granted them to him?

    The main problem with that line of thinking was that Victor was no longer a ¡°Spirit Carver,¡± and those spells and their ¡°improved¡± versions had been granted to him upon leveling in that ss. The only way he could see to improve them further was to cast them over and over¡ªhow could he do that with the Shape Spirit spell, which only served to allow him to choose his totems? ¡°No, I need to improve these myself.¡±

    Staring carefully at the Shape Spirit pattern, he traced every line and whorl, looking for the section that might be what governed or, more urately, limited his possible totems. ¡°I wish I still had the basic version topare,¡± he muttered, but he didn¡¯t. Regardless of that, he traced the pattern, hoping his intuition, inspiration, or just theponent parts he¡¯dbeled from the textbook would jump out at him. He¡¯d gone over the spell a few times, making a notation where the Spirit Walk portion he¡¯d cut out was supposed to be tied in. As he followed a nearby spiraling pattern, he came upon a sort of branch in the main Energy pathway, two loops that led away to the part of the spell he¡¯d cut out.

    ¡°That¡¯s it. That¡¯s where the spell limits me¡ªtwo paths for two totems.¡± He pulled the other spell, Manifest Spirit, near and looked for a simr ¡°gate¡± mechanism, and he found it. ¡°Here¡¯s where my intention is determined, which totem I want to summon, and then the Energy follows the correct path.¡± He didn¡¯t know whom he was speaking to, but it helped him to organize his thoughts, so he continued, ¡°What if I remove thatponent? Would I be able to summon as many as I want?¡± Victor frowned. Something seemed off about that. Something felt . . . dangerous.

    No, he reasoned, there was a purpose, probably, for why the System put such a hard limit on the spell. Was it to protect the caster? Could he harm himself if he summoned a bunch of totems cut from his own spirit? How would the magic know what to ¡°shape¡± from his spirit if he didn¡¯t do the Spirit Walk first? There were probably untold risks to creating a spirit totem without first solidifying it in his psyche as the first spell was meant to do. ¡°I could put an option in. A determination pathway like the one that¡¯s there now, the one that allows me to choose coyotes or a bear.¡±

    Victor ripped out a fresh page and began to design a new spell, one thatbined the two he currently had. He nned to create a branch at the beginning of the spell; if he wanted a new totem, it would trigger the Spirit Walkponent, and if he didn¡¯t, it would follow the other branch, allowing him to choose one he¡¯d already found. He removed the limiting gate on the Spirit Walk portion, which would, theoretically, allow him to find as many totems as he wanted.

    When he got to the manifestation part of the spell, things began to get more and moreplicated. Using his text for guidance and operating on inspiration, instinct, and, likely, with some knowledge granted by his Elder Magic feat, he found the two ¡°gateways,¡± which were meant to refer back to the Shape Spirit spell, choosing one of the totems he¡¯d discovered. Again, Victor removed them and instead added aplicated loop that would refer back to his previous Spirit Walks and use his intention to summon the correct totem. He¡¯d basically taken off the training wheels and would have to use his own better judgment not to split his spirit into too many totems.

    ¡°And if I can¡¯t find a new totem?¡± Victor frowned. Would he be stuck in limbo forever until hepleted the spell? Sighing, he scribbled out a section of the pattern and began to embellish the part of the spell that was meant to guide him to his totem. He could see where it dug into his memories, trying to find options to present. The spell had grownplicated as he¡¯dbined the two originals, and now he was struggling to add theplexity he wanted without ruining parts of the pattern he¡¯d already written.

    With a frustrated groan, he looked at the copy of Tes¡¯s spell, and an explosion of ideas went off in his mind. ¡°Oh,¡± he said almost immediately, pping his head. ¡°Of course.¡± He¡¯d yet to try to employ the weird many-dimensional twists in Tes¡¯s pattern. ¡°If I do that here,¡± he said, tweaking a branch of his design, ¡°I can build this new section out here . . .¡± he stopped muttering as his mind began to race with the ideas running through it.

    Time bled away as he drew, revised, and drew again. Repeating the process over and over until, as the shadows of the afternoon began to climb up the walls of his room and orange-red light filtered in through his window, he held up a design that wasplex, wild, and a hundred times prettier than the System¡¯s originals. ¡°Well,¡± he said, wearing a satisfied grin, ¡°at least it <em>looks</em> good.¡±

    He''d written the spell twice without feeling the need to revise anything, and he felt like it would work; still, he was nervous. He was messing with the building blocks of magic, modifying the System¡¯s spells to make something, potentially, a great deal more powerful. What if he was wrong? What if he <em>did</em> blow up the building? What if it was less explosive but just as dangerous, and he got himself stuck in the spirit ne or, worse, lobotomized himself with Energy? It wasn¡¯t too far-fetched an idea¡ªpart of the spell was designed to dig around in his mind, looking for possible totems.

    ¡°Nothing ventured, nothing gained,¡± he said and began to construct the new pattern in the wide pathway just outside his Core.

 Book 5: Chapter 21: Disruptor

    Book 5: Chapter 21: Disruptor

    Victor, as usual, chose to try out his new spell pattern with inspiration-attuned Energy. He pulled seven threads of it from his Core, keeping them separate but knowing he¡¯d have to weave each of them into the pattern at the right moment. He didn¡¯t need to check his written example to get started; the base of the spell was straightforward, and he¡¯d written and studied it enough to begin the weave from memory. It wasn¡¯t until he¡¯d constructed nearly the first half of the pattern that he had to look down at his notes and ensure he wasn¡¯t making any mistakes.

    From then on, he was constantly ncing down, studying a portion of the spell, then closing his eyes to refocus on his pathway where he held the seven strands of Energy in an iron grip with his will. At some point, perhaps twenty minutes into the process, he thought he dimly heard a knock at his door, but he ignored it¡ªhe was too close to stop now. Sweat poured down his brow, dripping onto the page in hisp as he tried to finish thest section of the spell.

    It wasn¡¯t flowing together easily, and he found he was having to force bends and twists into the lines of Energy that weren¡¯t on the paper. The truth was, he only <em>felt</em> like the spell he¡¯d written would work; he was guessing at a lot of the pattern¡¯s functions, trusting his insight and experience weaving Energies and spells in the past. When it came time to take those written lines and put them into an actual Energy-based pattern, sometimes they simply wouldn¡¯t bend the way he¡¯d written them, and he had to adjust on the fly. Nevertheless, he found ways around the odd blockages, and, in the end, he thought the pattern was better for it.

    The biggest obstacles weren¡¯t even from the portions of the spell inspired by his elder magic feat and the spell he¡¯d learned from Tes. Those all seemed to work perfectly, and he figured he had the feat itself to thank for that; where study and knowledge failed, the innate ability seemed topensate. No, the modifications to the original System spells were causing him the most trouble. He bent, twisted, and wove his way to the end, though, and when it finally snapped into focus and pulsed with brilliant white-gold Energy, he grunted with relief and satisfaction.

    The spell didn¡¯t fire right away, and Victor sat there, looking at the beautiful,plicated pattern in his pathway, wondering if he¡¯d missed something. He froze for several heartbeats, almost afraid to breathe lest he¡¯d ruin his work, and then heughed when he realized what was wrong¡ªthe spell required intention. He had to think about what he was trying to summon so it could determine if he needed a Spirit Walk or not. Victor concentrated on the concept of a new spirit totem, one that could carry him as a mount. With a ring pulse of Energy, he felt the spell pull a massive torrent from his Core, and then it ignited in his pathway.

    Victor braced himself for the spell to hurl him onto the spirit ne, but as he felt it start to take hold, it seemed to halt jarringly, and then several System messages shed before his eyes:

    <strong>***Warning! The spell being cast incorporates and alters two System-granted spells. If youplete this casting, your System-granted spells will be removed.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Warning! The spell being cast does not follow System-designed iterations and may be too powerful for you. Proceed at your own risk.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Warning! Non-System spell pattern detected! You will only receive this warning one time. Do you wish to halt this process? YES/NO ***</strong>

    ¡°So, the System reached out and paused my spell? Don¡¯t like having the control taken out of your hands, do you?¡± Victor wasn¡¯t sure why he spoke his thoughts aloud, wasn¡¯t sure why he¡¯d taken on something of a taunting tone, but he certainly didn¡¯t think the System was actually listening to him. He rapidly revised that opinion, though, when he felt a blinding pain in his forehead when another message pulsed in his vision, and rather than white text on an opaque grayish background like every other System message he¡¯d ever seen, this one shed with red text on ominous ck, obscuring half his field of view.

    <strong>***DO YOU WISH TO HALT THE PROCESS? YES/NO ***</strong>

    Victor growled and mentally smashed the NO option. He saw more System messages sh before his eyes, but as the spell ignited andpleted in his pathways, he was ripped away from the physical ne. The transition was abrupt and sudden, and Victor found himself reeling for bnce, dropped onto the wide-open grassy in beneath the twilight expanse of stars that always seemed to hang in the sky of the spirit ne. As he made footfall, a pulse of Energy rippled out of him, rolling like a cloud of sparkling, charged smoke, spreading in a great circle with him at its center. It was as though he¡¯d arrived on the wings of an Energy bomb.

    Victor stood there, slowly turning, looking out over the ins, wondering if his explosive entrance had done any harm to the realm of spirits or the beings that lived there. He didn¡¯t see anything or anyone lingering nearby, but that wasn¡¯t very unusual; the spirits of Fanwath had long been skittish of him. With nothing else to do about his strange entrance, and no answers forting, he started walking, no particr destination in mind but a simple desire guiding his thoughts¡ªthe need for a mount.

    The ins slipped by beneath his boots, and Victor asionally looked up, always awed by the depth of the starfield visible from that realm. He found himself looking for patterns in the stars, recognizing constetions he¡¯d seen before. He wanted to learn more about them, the ones around Fanwath, wanted to know what the people called them. There was so much he wanted to do, and so much he kept pushing aside because of the necessity to keep moving, to try to aplish one goal or another. Wouldn¡¯t it be nice to take a breath? Wouldn¡¯t it be good to sit around and study some more spell patterns or learn some military history?

    He paused, startled to find that he¡¯d walked down a loose slope of scree and that a long, brush-filled canyon opened before him. ¡°All right,¡± he muttered softly, gathering a deep breath and starting into the canyon, his boots grinding on loose, broken rocks and dry soil. If the temperature weren¡¯t cool, like back on the ins, he might have thought he was in Arizona. He didn¡¯t see any cacti, but the brush was dry, the cliffs, though bathed in the dim twilight, were ruddy in hue, and not a de of green¡ªor blue¡ªgrass was to be found.

    Victor prowled forward, wondering why Lifedrinker wasn¡¯t with him. Had the spell specified something about not having a weapon while on the hunt for a totem? The truth was he didn¡¯t know; he probably only understood half of the patternponents built into the spell he¡¯d just cast. Still, he pressed forward into the high-walled canyon, and when he rounded a bend, he saw that it ended ahead in a narrow box canyon probably only a few hundred yards in width. Victor paused where he stood, his eyes instantly drawn to the herd of wild horses meandering near the far canyon wall where a stream seeped out of a crevice in the cliffside, pouring into a glimmering, bright blue pool.

    Victor¡¯s eyes darted over the herd, admiring the horse¡¯s proud manes, their fierce eyes, and their shing hooves as they walked about, eating from a patch of tall grass that grew near the pool, prancing or ying with one another. There must have been nearly fifty horses there, and they were all lovely. Though they were somewhat luminous and ghostly in appearance, much the way anyone was on the spirit ne, he could inly see their varied colors. Some were a grayish-brown dun, others were bay, and a few were paler, with lots of white hair mixed in with the brown and tan. He saw spotted horses with crazy patterns, and he thought he remembered they were called pintos.

    Two of the Mustangs caught his attention, though, as they yed with one another, rearing on their hind legs and dancing around some of their calmer kin. One was ck as midnight, and the other was a deep chestnut red. The red was the biggest horse out there, but the ck one was a close match for him and had a clever gleam in his eyes. Victor was just thinking about how to approach them, to size up and assess them better, when he heard some rocks shift behind him. He whirled, hand reaching for an axe that wasn¡¯t there, and came face to face with two very strange individuals.

    ¡°What¡¯s this then? Is it the one, Fox?¡± the person on the left asked. Her voice was decidedly feminine, soft, and purring. She was probably six feet tall, slender, entirely covered in an orange, brindled fur, and clothed in an outfit that looked very much like what Victor would imagine a swashbuckling pirate would wear, from short, knee-length pants to a blousy white top and a velvety ck vest. She had big green eyes, pointy cat ears, and a long, feline tail swishing behind her.

    ¡°Is this the source of all the ruckus?¡± asked the other in a rumbling baritone. His name didn¡¯t aptly describe him, for though the first stranger looked like a cat, this man didn¡¯t look at all like a fox. He was enormous, someone who would give Victor a run for his money on a pound-for-pound basis, but most of his mass was epassed by his gigantic belly. He looked human but with limbs too long for his body, and his thick neck was topped with a bulbous, bald head. He wore bright green robes, and golden chains hung from his neck in the dozens, covering his chest in their metallic sheen.

    ¡°Um . . .¡± Victor grunted.

    ¡°It speaks!¡± the ginger cat woman announced with a purring chuckle.

    ¡°Goodness, but it¡¯s young,¡± Fox replied, stepping forward.

    ¡°Who the fuck are you guys?¡± Victor asked, lowering his center of gravity, getting ready for trouble the only way he knew how.

    ¡°I smell something old mixed with its young blood.¡± The cat woman stalked to the side, her movements lithe and graceful, soundless and quick. Victor didn¡¯t like the idea that she was nking him, so he took a step back.

    ¡°Young indeed, Three. I fear we¡¯vee to this meal ¡®fore the egg¡¯s ready to scramble.¡± Fox ambled forward, the stones clicking and sliding beneath his enormous sandaled feat. ¡°What¡¯s your name, young disrupter?¡±

    ¡°Disrupter?¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it know what it¡¯s done, Fox?¡± Three, if that was her name, asked, still trying to circle Victor, who continued to backpedal and move to the side, trying to keep both strangers in his view.

    ¡°Disrupter, rebel, anarchist, radical, malcontent¡ªsurely you get the meaning? The System hasn¡¯t abandoned you, has it? You still have yournguage skill?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m feeling a bit lost here,¡± Victor growled, the rage in his Core beginning to seep into his pathways.

    ¡°It channels Energy, Fox!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Three, I can feel it. Well? Your name?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Victor.¡±

    ¡°Portentous!¡± Fox howled, pping his massive palms together, eliciting a <em>crack</em> not unlike thunder that shook through the canyon and agitated the distant Mustangs.

    ¡°Is it jesting, Fox?¡±

    ¡°No, Three, I believe it speaks true.¡±

    ¡°Who are you <em>payasos</em>?¡±

    ¡°It thinks <em>we</em> jest?¡± Three had stopped trying to circle Victor. Instead, she crouched low to the ground, her ck-wed, ginger fingers idly scratching patterns in the dirt.

    ¡°Perhaps, perhaps. It has a serious disposition. We¡¯ll toss this one back into the great ocean, Three. It has much growing to do before we can get a meal out of it.¡±

    ¡°Can you please exin what the fu . . .¡±

    ¡°It speaks with impudence, though!¡± Three growled in her throaty, weird, cat voice.

    ¡°A lesson before we go?¡± Fox raised one bald eyebrow, which lifted his heavy thick eyelid enough for Victor to see that his eyes smoldered like orange coals deep in the folds of his pudgy eye sockets.

    ¡°A lesson! But sweet or harsh? My mother would say harsh, but my father would say sweet. What say you, Fox?¡±

    Victor could feel cold sweat breaking out on his neck and knew very well that he might be in some serious trouble. He wasn¡¯t a dummy. He could read between the lines. These people were referring to him as though he was a microwave dinner that hadn¡¯t quite finished cooking. It reminded him of how the warlord in Coloss had behaved, and though he hadn¡¯t felt the weight of these individuals¡¯ auras, he had a disturbing feeling that they were something altogether worse than the warlord. He decided to try being less belligerent, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my confusion, but I¡¯m truly at a loss here. Can I help you with anything?¡±

    ¡°It offers <em>us</em> aid, Three!¡± Fox said, reaching up to rub a wide, meaty hand over the top of his golden-brown dome of a head. ¡°Perhaps a sweet lesson, then?¡±

    ¡°Oh, but Fox! Maybe it would make a good pet! Perhaps we could feed it sweetmeats and tender cuts, make it big and ever so delectable!¡±

    ¡°And if you grow too fond of it? No, Three, we¡¯d better not walk down that road again.¡±

    ¡°Oh, bother! You be sweet to it, then!¡± With that, Three copsed to her side dramatically, stirring up dust. Then shemenced licking the short fur on the back of her ginger paw.

    ¡°Well, young rebel? What have you to say for yourself?¡± Fox stepped closer, and as the short distance between them disappeared, Victor realized his earlier perception of the man¡¯s size was somehow skewed. He felt like Fox was growing everrger, looming over him, like Jupiter bearing down on Earth. The stranger must have seen Victor¡¯s thoughts written across his face, for he chuckled and said, ¡°Perceptions are funny things, aren¡¯t they? Especially in this realm.¡±

    ¡°Are you, um . . .¡± Victor shook his head. ¡°You guys aren¡¯t from this part of the spirit ne, are you?¡±

    ¡°Hah! No, Victor,¡± the man said, using his name for the first time. ¡°We felt you. Felt that big shockwave of Energy. You cast elder magic in such a unting, noisy way! We thought sure to find something juicier here. Gods, but the System must be cross with you, eh?¡±

    ¡°Cross?¡±

    ¡°Is it daft, Fox?¡± Three asked, still licking her paw.

    ¡°I think just young. Do you remember being young, Three?¡±

    ¡°Not in the least.¡± She sniffed at her furry wrist and then sneezed loudly. ¡°I¡¯m bored! Let¡¯s eat it or depart this dull spot.¡±

    ¡°Forgive my hungry friend, Victor.¡± His cheeks jiggled as his thick red lips pulled into a broad smile, revealing t, chisel-like teeth. ¡°Ah, but I¡¯m growing to like that name! In any event, we¡¯ll get gone. Be a little more careful using magic like that. Realms like this,¡± he gestured around the spirit ne, ¡°are bridges to many, many worlds. Tossing out such interesting spells in this ce will get you noticed. Good luck with the System!¡±

    ¡°Oh, thanks for the advice . . .¡±

    ¡°True!¡± Three said, leaping to her feet. Shended so gently that Victor doubted she disturbed a single grain of sand. ¡°You aided it, Fox! I¡¯ll take a payment!¡±

    ¡°No . . .¡± Fox started to say, but it was toote. Quicker than thought, Three snapped out one of her ws and sliced a four-inch gash in Victor¡¯s left forearm. Before he could so much as register the attack, she was ten yards away, standing with Fox and sniffing the hooked, razor-sharp nail she¡¯d cut him with.

    ¡°So we can find him someday.¡± She grinned, revealing canines that would put a tiger to shame.

    ¡°Hey . . .¡± Victor started, but the duo flickered and shifted toward the horizon, gone before he could finish protesting. ¡°That¡¯s just great,¡± he sighed, rubbing at his forearm where the cut had already begun to scab. He thought about what the big man had said about unleashing elder magic in a realm like this. It had to have something to do with the fact that he¡¯d cast the spell for the first time.

    A few factors might y into his noisy entrance, he reasoned. The System had warned him about it writing over his other spells, and it had seemed angry and impatient with him. Had it purposefully made his arrival so violent? ¡°It could just be my fault,¡± he muttered. Victor hadn¡¯t done anything to try to limit the Energy he was putting into the spell, and he imagined that could be why such a shockwave had followed him into the spirit ne. He¡¯d taken out any governing factors, after all. ¡°I¡¯ll have to be more careful, I guess.¡±

    The idea that some bloodthirsty catdy who kept referring to him as an ¡°it¡± had his blood was a troubling enough thought, but it also sounded like the System wasn¡¯t happy with him. ¡°Great,¡± he said again. A soft <em>chuffing</em> sounded from behind him, and Victor whirled, once again reaching for a missing axe. His stressed fighting stance rxed, though, when he saw the big, dark-red bay Mustang standing close by, its eyes watching him intently. ¡°?<em>Que guapo</em>!¡±

    Victor held out his hand, forgetting that he¡¯d been rubbing at his cut. The Mustang shied at first, dancing back, its big glossy hooves kicking up a little dust. Victor persisted, though, holding his hand out, holding his breath, trying to look rxed. The Mustang snorted and shook its head up and down, causing its dark mane to dance. Victor said, ¡°Come here, <em>guapo</em>,¡± taking a slow step forward. The horse snorted again and stepped forward, ducking its head, lifting Victor¡¯s hand with its muzzle. Victorughed, and the horse blew hot breath into his face, sniffing and nickering softly.

    ¡°You¡¯re a good boy, aren¡¯t you?¡± Victor gently rubbed the velvety fur on the top of his muzzle, reaching up to scratch him between the eyes. The horse watched him, intelligence evident in the big eye he turned toward Victor, and just as Victor was starting to enjoy the attention from his new totem, his spell recognized its sess, and the spirit ne faded away.

    In a sh of white-gold Energy, Victor found himself back in his room in themand fort, but he wasn¡¯t alone. Rearing up before him, the enormous bay Mustang pounded its great hooves on the wooden nks, trumpeting its arrival with a loud whinny. ¡°Ah!¡± Victorughed, backing up a step. ¡°That¡¯s why they probably don¡¯tbine the totem-finding spell with the totem-summoning spell!¡± As heughed and listened to pounding feet approaching down the hallway, he looked at the pile of System messages that had been waiting for his return.

    <strong>***You have discovered a new spell: Wild Totem ¨C Advanced***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Your new spell renders System-granted spells obsolete. Removing.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***You have lost the spell: Shape Spirit ¨C Improved.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***You have lost the spell: Manifest Spirit ¨C Improved.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Wild Totem ¨C Advanced: You have begun to master theplicated process of finding and forming fragments of your spirit to use as totems outside the ne of spirits. By carefully formting your intention prior to casting this spell, you can search your spirit for a totem appropriate to your need. Time spent hunting for your totem will be reflected outside the spirit realm. Totems previously discovered can be summoned instantly. Energy expended will be used to quicken your hunt and/or increase the power of your totem. Energy Cost: Variable.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Warning! This spell is not a System-designed spell! Use it with caution¡ªthere are no safeguards in ce. This is the only time you will receive this warning!***</strong>

 Book 5: Chapter 22: A Carriage Ride

    Book 5: Chapter 22: A Carriage Ride

    ¡°Woah!¡± Victor said, holding up his hands to the stomping Mustang. It snorted and bucked, and then, perhaps weary of their heroic efforts, the floorboards gave way, and Victor, his bed, his newly summoned mount, and several hundred pounds of lumber fell through to the bottom level of themand fort. Victor managed a hastily shouted, ¡°Shit!¡± Then he was too busy rolling free of the shattered flooring and the thrashing horse.

    Toote, it urred to him that he could cancel the spell, sending the horse back to the spirit ne like he often did with his other totems. Toote because the damage was done, and several rmed junior officers were gathering, gawking at the spectacle. Victor canceled the spell, and covered with dust, disheveled and embarrassed, he stood up and looked around. ¡°Well, who let that animal in here?¡± he yelled, feigning outrage.

    ¡°Legate, sir, I don¡¯t know how that happened! Where did it go? Was it a monster?¡± The speaker was Rellia¡¯s aide, Darro, and Victor instantly felt sorry for his joke.

    ¡°No, no, Darro. I¡¯m kidding. That was my fault. I summoned that animal, but, well, I didn¡¯t think it through entirely. Shit.¡± Victor looked at the other gawkers standing around¡ªhe¡¯d managed to fall right into the central hall, just a bit past the entrance to the fort where the second-floor stairway sat. ¡°Unless you can help fix this mess, you can move on. Nothing more to see.¡±

    ¡°Shall I fetch the engineers?¡± Darro asked helpfully.

    ¡°Yes! Yes, let¡¯s get this fixed, I guess. Unless it¡¯s too big a hassle; I don¡¯t really need a room much longer. We¡¯re breaking camp soon.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll find out, sir!¡± Darro snapped a salute, then, like the other onlookers, carefully moved around the wreckage and out of the hall. Victor brushed himself off, then began kicking through the mess, trying to find his notes and the books he¡¯d borrowed from Va. He wanted to get out of there, embarrassed as he was, but he couldn¡¯t leave those behind. He pped a hand over his shoulder, feeling the empty axe harness, and cursed, scanning for Lifedrinker.

    It took him several minutes to find his axe and all the books, by which time Darro had returned with two men wearing legion uniforms. The men were visibly drunk, apparently having started celebrating the oath-swearing ceremony. One of them was an Ardeni with bright green eyes, and he looked at the mess, then at Victor, and paled. He began to stammer, and when Victor frowned at him, he finally managed to choke out some words, ¡°Lord, I swear, we thought this structure perfectly capable of supporting your . . . girth.¡±

    ¡°You . . .¡± Victor tried to see the scene from the other man¡¯s perspective, and he couldn¡¯t help theugh that rolled out of him. He pped a big, heavy hand on the man¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Listen, my good man, when you¡¯re building a structure meant to amodate me, you need to double your estimates on the required durability.¡± He nced at the other man, a Cadwalli with one horn that pointed sideways out over his ear, and added, ¡°Is that understood?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± they both said, and they tried to snap salutes, but they were rather sloppy in their inebriated state.

    ¡°Can you fix it?¡±

    ¡°Aye, sir!¡± the first engineer said, emphatically nodding.

    ¡°Right. Well, go ahead and enjoy the night. Fix it first thing in the morning.¡±

    ¡°Truly?¡± the Cadwalli asked.

    ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Victor turned, a stupid grin on his face, and walked toward the front of the building. He¡¯d just stepped through a doorway into the entrance hall when Va came charging up the front steps. He saw the panicked, crazed concern on her face and once again felt guilty. He held up his hands and said, ¡°Rx. Everything¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°I thought we agreed!¡± she said, standing in the doorway, regaining herposure.

    ¡°Agreed?¡±

    ¡°That you wouldn¡¯t blow the ce up!¡±

    Victorughed and shook his head ruefully. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to, Va. It¡¯s just my room that¡¯s wrecked, in any case. Well, I guess there¡¯s a big mess downstairs in the main hall. Anyway, my spell worked! I have some very interesting shit to share with you.¡±

    ¡°Interesting shit?¡± Va frowned.

    ¡°Yes! About spells, the System, oh, and some very creepy, scary people who found me on the spirit ne.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Ancestors, Victor! Polo tried to find you earlier. He said you wouldn¡¯t answer your door and asked me if we should break it, you know, out of concern. I foolishly told him no, and said you were probably concentrating on something. We should have interrupted you, shouldn¡¯t we have?¡± She stared thunderclouds at him, and Victor wondered how much of her outrage was real and how much was manufactured for effect. He decided to err on the side of it being authentic.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s okay, Va. Everything worked out. Yeah, I met some scary folks, but they seem like they won¡¯t mess with me for a very long time. Well, I hope.¡± He shook his head and moved closer to Va, reaching toward her as though he¡¯d put a hand on her shoulder, but she stepped back.

    ¡°I should have stayed closer.¡±

    ¡°Dammit, I¡¯m not a kid. I don¡¯t need you to babysit me. Yeah, things got a little crazy, but I aplished something fucking cool. Will you let me tell you about it?¡±

    ¡°Why not tell us both about it?¡± Rellia said from behind him, and Victor almost jumped out of his skin.

    ¡°Goddammit, Rellia!¡± He whirled on her and said, ¡°Stop sneaking up on me!¡±

    She frowned at him, her perfect lips turning downward and her brow drawing together, and said, ¡°I understand you¡¯re agitated, but I¡¯m not one to sneak about.¡± Her evident irritation was enough to douse the fire in Victor¡¯s belly, and he sighed heavily, looking from Va to Rellia, then shrugged.

    ¡°I guess we might as well have that dinner. I don¡¯t think Polo and I are going to spar tonight. Sorry, I snapped at you both.¡±

    ¡°Understandable.¡± Rellia nodded. ¡°I hear you just fell through the ceiling in the main hall.¡± Before Victor could bluster a response, she added, ¡°Let¡¯s take my coach into the city. Lam and Borrius areing along. I hope that¡¯s all right.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not dining here?¡± Va asked.

    ¡°Heaven¡¯s no. Ourst dinner before we march? Come, you know me better than that. We¡¯ll dine at my estate in town.¡± Rellia started down the steps, lithely passing between Victor and Va. ¡°Darro, let Lam and Borrius know we¡¯re leaving.¡± Victor turned just in time to see the aide hurrying up the stairs behind him.

    ¡°Well, if we¡¯re all riding in your coach, I¡¯m going to reduce my size.¡± Victor followed Rellia, Va behind him, and began forming the pattern for his Alter Self spell.

    ¡°Are you still working on the spells Khul Bach and Tes told you to practice?¡± Va asked. He wondered at the sudden change of topic, but he figured it made sense; she was irritated with him and wanted to keep the spotlight focused.

    ¡°Yeah, of course. I mean, yes and no. I¡¯m always using Sovereign Will, but I¡¯ve let up on my Berserk training. I¡¯ll get back to it when we¡¯re on the march.¡±

    ¡°Even though you had that epic breakthrough?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Tes and Khul Bach think it¡¯s worth trying to get it up to legendary. I feel like it¡¯ll be years down the road.¡±

    ¡°Most likely,¡± Rellia said over her shoulder. ¡°I don¡¯t have a single legendary skill or spell, and I¡¯ve been at this much longer than you.¡±

    ¡°Victor¡¯s not normal,¡± Va said, and Victor wasn¡¯t sure if he should take it as apliment or an insult. He shrugged and finished his spell, and both Va and Rellia stumbled as he channeled torrents of Energy into changing his form. His aura slipped its leash momentarily, and then he snatched it up, smiling around from his new perspective, once again only a veryrge man, no longer a half-titan.

    ¡°Ancestors! I¡¯d almost forgotten that feeling.¡± Rellia paused as though to steady herself, shaking her head gently. She gathered herself quickly, though, and kept walking. A few secondster, they stood outside the palisade, waiting for Rellia¡¯s coach to approach. It was slowly driving down the main boulevard between the army¡¯s tents and had nearly reached the gate when Lam, Edeya, Darro, and Borrius arrived.

    ¡°Apologies,¡± Lam said, hastily straightening her uniform jacket. ¡°I thought we had a couple of hours yet before leaving.¡±

    ¡°My fault,¡± Victor said. ¡°My evening ns got canceled.¡±

    ¡°Nobody¡¯s at fault. Nobody has suffered. Here we all are, ready to go.¡± Rellia, like the others, still wore her dress uniform and looked veryfortable in the form-fitting zer and slimming pants. She smiled agreeably at everyone and gestured to her coach. ¡°A pleasant little ride together and then a very nice meal awaits. Let¡¯s begin this great endeavor by being positive, shall we? Daughter,¡± she gestured again to the coach, ¡°after you.¡±

    ¡°I think not,¡± Va said, striding to the coach, opening the door to the flustered protests of the driver, and then reaching in to lower the little hinged step. ¡°After you, dear Mother.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Va.¡± Rellia <em>tsked</em> and then climbed into the coach. Lam and Borrius didn¡¯t quibble about propriety and hurried after her. Victor motioned for Edeya and Darro to precede him, then stepped up to the door.

    ¡°You all right?¡± he asked, looking past Va toward the darkening horizon. The sun was nearly gone, but the moons looked to be bright that night.

    ¡°Fine,¡± Va shrugged, still holding the door, gesturing for him to get in.

    ¡°You¡¯re aplicated woman, Va.¡± Victor tried to smile reassuringly at her but felt it was awkward on his face, so he shrugged and climbed inside. He found that the others had left the central cushion on the far bench open for him, so he crouched low and sort of pivoted, allowing himself to fall into it as Va climbed in and shut the door behind her. The coach, like most magical conveyances on Fanwath, was enchanted to berger inside than out, but it was still quite full with the seven of them. Victor scooted toward Rellia on his right, trying to make a bit of room for Va, and she nodded, seeing it. She¡¯d barely sat down when the coach began to roll.

    Victor watched the central fort and then the tents of the encampment fall away and said, ¡°Well, this is nice. Maybe I should have ridden my new mount, though.¡±

    ¡°A new mount?¡± Lam asked, taking the bait.

    ¡°Yeah! I was trying to tell Va about this back at the fort. I managed to alter a couple of my spells,bining them with some . . .¡± Victor paused. He¡¯d almost mentioned the elder magic, but he worried about opening that can of worms. He¡¯d promised Tes to keep her magic to himself, so how would he exin where he¡¯d learned it? ¡°With some things I learned in Coloss.¡± He looked around the coach and added, ¡°That¡¯s the city where Va and I were thest couple of months.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right, right.¡± Lam nodded. Borrius frowned, deepening his already prodigious wrinkles, but he looked intrigued, ready to listen. Victor nced at Rellia and Va, saw they were waiting for him to continue, and grinned, enjoying having everyone¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Well, when I did it, the System gave me a bunch of warnings, said I was creating a non-System spell and I¡¯d lose my originals, h-h, then asked me if I wanted to continue or not.¡±

    ¡°How much are you glossing over with that ¡®h-h?¡¯¡± Va interjected.

    ¡°Not hardly at all; I just don¡¯t remember the System¡¯s exact words. Anyway, when I hesitated and started to get a little mouthy, I think the System yelled at me. Have you guys ever seen a System message with red text?¡±

    ¡°Mine are always green on a translucent, silvery page . . .¡± Edeya said, then mped her mouth shut, her cheeks blooming with red roses.

    ¡°Mine are always ck,¡± Borrius shrugged. ¡°Most everyone sees them differently.¡±

    ¡°Well, anyway, I usually see white text, and this time the System sent me a red message, and I felt a terrible pain in my head.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not good!¡± Va cried.

    ¡°How disturbing,¡± Rellia muttered.

    ¡°Are you still in pain?¡± Lam asked.

    Before more of them could speak or throw more questions at him, Victor held up a hand and continued, ¡°Hold on. That¡¯s not even the important part. So, anyway, the spell worked, and the System seemed to calm down. My headache didn¡¯tst, and I didn¡¯t get any more scary messages. At least not right away.¡± He paused, once again enjoying the rapt attention they were all giving him.

    ¡°So? What happened?¡± Lam pressed.

    ¡°Right, so the spell I cast was supposed to take me on a Spirit Walk, and it did. I arrived with a literal bang, huge waves of Energy pouring out of me¡ªI didn¡¯t put any limits on my new spell, you see, and I didn¡¯t hold back the torrent as it came out of my Core. That¡¯ll be important in a minute.¡± Victor continued to rte his brief adventure finding the Mustangs and with the strange, frightening duo, Fox and Three.

    ¡°These beings were that strong? They just took your blood and left before you could even react?¡± Darro asked, the horror of the idea widening his eyes.

    ¡°Yeah, I think so. I¡¯m hoping that threat is so long-term that they¡¯ll forget about me, or, hopefully, I¡¯ll figure out a way to dissuade or beat them by then.¡±

    ¡°Another enemy to add to your list,¡± Va sighed. ¡°Perhaps Tes will have some advice for you.¡± She looked down as she said that, and Victor couldn¡¯t quite read her expression. Was she still annoyed with him?

    ¡°Well, anyway,¡± he said, turning back to the group, ¡°the spell worked, and I learned a lot. All in all, I¡¯d say it was a good experience.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good, but the System . . .¡± Rellia shifted, ncing in irritation toward the front of the coach as it bounced over something in the trail. ¡°What is that driver doing?¡± She shook her head and then refocused on Victor. ¡°Now we know why your room copsed¡ªa pity I didn¡¯t know it earlier when I gave those engineers a tongueshing.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t!¡± Va leaned forward to re at her mother. ¡°Victor already spoke to them!¡±

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t know that! Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll. . .¡± the coach lurched again, and she and several others were almost thrown out of their seats. ¡°What¡¯s happening out there? Kel!¡± she yelled, reaching to pull angrily on a red, tasseled cord that hung from the ceiling. A bell sounded, but the coach didn¡¯t slow, still bouncing roughly.

    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong!¡± Lam cried, reaching for the door, flipping the catch, and kicking it open. Victor caught a glimpse of tall grass rushing by, and then Lamunched herself out, flying into the air. Va reached for her sword and leaned toward the door, looking out. Victor wanted to shove her aside and leap out of the coach, imagining all sorts of terrible scenarios, but he held himself still, trying to remain calm. To that end, he cast Inspiration of the Quinametzin, feeling rather self-satisfied as he saw the panic wash out of Darro and Edeya.

    Suddenly the coach lurched and began to slow, and Victor heard Lam call out, ¡°The driver is dead!¡± Those words were all Va needed; she leaped out of the coach, and Victor was hot on her heels, Lifedrinker clutched in his hands. He¡¯d barely cleared the threshold when he snipped the lines of Energy constraining his form, and when he tumbled into the thick grass of the ins, the ground shook with his impact. He rolled to his feet, scanning the area, wondering who could have killed the driver without alerting anyone in the coach. He was currently boosting his agility and vitality and decided that was best, nimbly leaping to the top of the now-motionless coach.

    Lam stood on the driver¡¯s bench, the reins in her hands, the headless body of the driver slumped by her feet. Va was stalking around the coach, her sword dark and glittering in the bright moonlight. Beneath him, Victor could hear Rellia and the others getting out of the coach while he looked around, trying to see what had attacked them.

    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± Borrius asked, his voice more indignant than worried.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, sir,¡± Darro replied, and <em>his</em> voice quaked with nerves.

    ¡°Darro, Edeya, you are charged with protecting Borrius,¡± Rellia said, whipping her wicked rapier through the air, shing some grass out of her way as she moved toward the front of the coach. She looked up at Lam and Victor and said, ¡°Anything?¡±

    ¡°Nothing . . .¡± Lam replied, but Victor held up a hand, interrupting her. He¡¯d seen something. Out in the grass, more than a mile away, something was moving toward them. If the grasnds were instead an ocean, he¡¯d call it a wave. It surged through the grass, causing it to bend forward and snap back, but it was subtle at that distance in the dark. Someone might mistake it for the wind, even. But Victor had a feeling in his gut that told him something wasing, either something massive or many, many smaller things.

    He pointed and said, ¡°There.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for the others to register what he¡¯d seen, didn¡¯t wait for whatever it was to get closer. He jumped off the carriage, and before his feet hit the grass-covered turf, he cast Iron Berserk; this time, the ground <em>really</em> shook. He heard Lamunch herself into the sky behind him, but he didn¡¯t look. He had one idea in mind, and that was to engage whatever enemy had attacked them before it closed on the others, before the lower-tiered Edeya, Darro, and, apparently, Borrius were caught up in the battle.

    He used his Titanic Leap ability and distanced himself from them,unching himself headlong into the oing enemy or enemies. As he charged, Victor cut the thread to his inspiration spell; he wanted to use that Energy for something else. He gathered up a vast torrent of it, pulling that white-gold Energy out of his Core, and then he cast Globe of Insight, forming a basketball-sized, zing orb that followed him through the tall grass,ying waste to the shadows, brightly illuminating the ins for a hundred paces on either side of him.

    That done, Victor leaped into the air again, and, this time, as he soared, the wind whistling over his ears, he cast Banner of the Champion. More glorious light erupted behind him as the banner of his primogenitors took shape, hanging in the air above his head. The bloody sun depicted in the ethereal coat of arms zed with glittering golden light, and it,bined with the Globe of Insight, lit up the night like a fireworks show as Victor hurtled toward the ground.

    He saw his foes, then, not clearly, but enough to get an idea that they weren¡¯t one gigantic monster but rather a host of shadowy, ck-d individuals racing toward him and the others in a tight V-shaped formation. At the point of that charging host, something reflected back the light of Victor¡¯s zing spells. A man, enormous in stature, d in glittering gold from his feet to the horned helmet atop his head, charged with madness in his eyes. Somehow he locked those wild, insane eyes with Victor¡¯s despite the distance between them, and then he screamed¡ªa terrible sound that echoed over the grassy ins, ripping the night like a psychopath¡¯s mad howling.

    For the first time, Victor became aware that Lam had flown with him out into the ins as she said, with dread in her voice, ¡°Ridonne.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 23: Twilight Melee

    Book 5: Chapter 23: Twilight Melee

    ¡°So that¡¯s one of ¡®em?¡± Victor watched the gold-d man charging toward him, easily ten feet tall but still a childpared to Victor. ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem so tough.¡±

    ¡°Careful, Victor,¡± Lam said, still hovering above him near his enormous, zing banner.

    ¡°Well, if the Empire is moving against us, this moment wasing sooner orter. Might as well get it over with.¡± Victor set Lifedrinker down and pulled his helmet and wyrm-scale armor from his ring. Rather than waste time taking off his uniform jacket, he simply sent it directly into storage then he donned his armor. By the time he¡¯d sealed up his vest and lifted Lifedrinker, the enemy force was only half a mile or so distant.

    ¡°Something killed our driver. I¡¯ll hunt the sky. Be careful.¡± Lam¡¯s wings buzzed and sprayed Energy motes as she streaked upward, back toward the coach. Victor watched her briefly, then turned back toward the Ridonne and his soldiers. He began to run straight at the front of that wedge of charging enemies. ¡°C¡¯mon, <em>chica,</em> it¡¯s time to dance.¡±

    <em>I thirst!</em>

    Victorughed as he poured red, rage-attuned Energy into his pathways and began channeling it into his arms and Lifedrinker. She zed with furious crimson light, and then, as if in answer to his Energy, her silvery metal ignited, heatwaves rippling off her into the air, ck smoke trailing as Victor charged. As he tore over the ins, resisting the urge to leap so that he¡¯d have more control over his trajectory, he began to make out details about the rapidly approaching enemies.

    He couldn¡¯t count them easily, not clumped and lined up behind each other the way they were, but if he had to guess, Victor would say there were more than a hundred darkly-d warriors behind their Ridonne leader. They carried gleaming spears, two-handed swords, axes, and mauls, but not a shield was to be seen among them. This was a force of killers, men and women who aimed to overwhelm their targets with a brutal offensive assault. Victor¡¯s grin spread further, pulling back from teeth that reflected the moons¡¯ luster in anticipation. Blood was about to flow.

    The Ridonne towered over his soldiers, but they all ran with grace and unnatural speed, sliding through the grass like wraiths, their passage creating a susurrus that almost sounded like a steady, sustained wind gust. When they were just a hundred paces apart, Victor focused on the golden warrior and his gigantic, gleaming sword, held high over his head, back as though ready to chop forward. With nothing but anticipation and excitement in his heart, Victor roared again and cast Energy Charge. Like an eight-hundred-pound human cannonball, his form ignited with red, furious Energy and streaked through the gap separating them.

    The golden warrior cried out, his voice rising in a mad, ulting crescendo, and then he brought his sword down, far too early to hit Victor. Though he was moving almost as quickly as a person¡¯s eye could track him, Victor saw the move and felt a surge of excited glee; was the fool so bad at judging when to strike? Then the earth erupted under him, ripping apart, exploding up in a shower of rock, dirt, and grass as the true effects of the Ridonne¡¯s blow became apparent. Victor saw the wave of earthing, saw the ground rupturing from the point of the Imperial warrior¡¯s strike, but he couldn¡¯t waver in his charge. The spell was set, and he was under its impetus; he tore right through that rippling curtain of rock and dirt and smashed into the Ridonne.

    The concussion of his impact with the sundered earth and his secondary crash into the Ridonne shook the night, sounding much like arge vehicle mming into a tree. The golden warrior was far sturdier than Victor expected. He braced himself, just barely lifting his sword in time to keep Victor from trampling it out of his hands. Then Victor, leaning forward, Lifedrinker held high, carrying a thousand pounds of dirt and rock, collided with him. The Ridonne tried to slip him, rolling to the right, but Victor was toorge, the concussion too massive, and they both tumbled and tore through the host of smaller warriors, ttening dozens of them and utterly breaking their charge.

    ¡°Kill the old man!¡± the Ridonne screamed, his voice high, shrill, violent, more like a giant raptor than a man. Victor was stunned by his enemy¡¯s quick recovery and ability to shoutmands after that impact. Victor had tumbled several times and had ended up face down on a pile of injured Imperials. He rolled over, grasping a fallen soldier and flinging him away as he surged to his feet. The Ridonne stalked toward him, sword held high, golden Energy shimmering over his entire form like a liquid, crystalline barrier.

    He might once have been a Shadeni, but it was clear his Ridonne bloodline had changed him a great deal. He had a hawkish nose, wild, red-zing eyes, and, sprouting from his shoulders and helmet, his forearms and hips were long, ck horns or spines. Victor didn¡¯t know, didn¡¯t really care, what the correct term for them was. Moreover, the man didn¡¯t wear boots or even have armor below the knees. He had no need; his legs ended in enormous, shiny ck hooves upon which he stomped toward Victor, heedless of the downed soldiers he trampled.

    ¡°Come on then!¡± Victor roared, sidestepping and whipping Lifedrinker in a cleaving hundred- and eighty-degree arc, savagely maiming several warriors that tried to approach him from the side.

    ¡°I said kill the old man!¡± the Ridonne screamed again, and Victor nced toward the carriage, nearly a mile away, noting that dozens of the Imperial soldiers were almost upon it. He saw Lam¡¯s glittering wings looping in a wide circle around the vehicle. He saw something like a miniature light show as Va channeled a lightning-powered spell. He knew they were formidable, Rellia too, but he worried they¡¯d be overwhelmed.

    He grinned at the Ridonne, circling him, swiping Lifedrinker left and right if any of the soldiers drew near. While they faced each other and the Ridonne continued to scream at his soldiers, exhorting them to kill the others and ¡°leave the giant¡± to him, Victor summoned a massive flood of fear-attuned Energy out of his Core, nearly draining himself of the potent, purple-ck power, sending it into another spell. The ground around him erupted in dark shadows, swirling and writhing as they rose up, solidifying into the shapes of five gigantic, pony-sized, leering, snarling, yipping coyotes.

    With a thought, Victor sent them racing over the ins toward the carriage, quickly overtaking most of the soldiers, trampling or snapping at them, spreading fear and panic in their wake. They howled and cried, their weird sounds magnified by their size and the dark Energy that flowed through them. That done, Victor turned his attention back on the Ridonne. Done waiting for him to make a move, he stepped forward, snapping Lifedrinker forward and down, aiming to split him at the crease of his neck and shoulder.

    ¡°I¡¯ve killedrger than you,¡± the man snarled, whipping his huge bastard sword up and to the side, parrying Lifedrinker, and nimbly using the force of Victor¡¯s blow to glide sideways over the ground.

    Victor wasn¡¯t a shit-talker, not during a fight. He just glowered at the smaller man and got to work. He could tell by the way the Ridonne parried and tried to slip his blows that he feared Victor¡¯s strength, but the man¡¯s speed was a near match for his, and he certainly wasn¡¯t a slouch with that sword. They exchanged furious flurries of blows, dodging, parrying, or eating them, each trusting in their armor from time to time. Lifedrinker cleaved great scars in the man¡¯s gleaming te armor, but she never cut through it. Victor didn¡¯t hold her responsible¡ªthe only blows the man was letting through were ncing. He needed to strike a solid hit.

    They fought like that for several minutes that seemed to drag out like eternity as Victor was forced to concentrate on every aspect of the contest, pushed to his limits like he hadn¡¯t been in a very long time. Not Polo Vosh, nor Yabbo, nor even Karnice had pressed him that hard. The duel of axe and sword became his reality, his world, and he almost began to enjoy it as the rhythmic contest took on a life of its own.

    Lifedrinker sang and screamed as she cut the air, her zing magma heart growing brighter and brighter. The Ridonne¡¯s sword was something special, crafted of brilliant silvery metal; it let Lifedrinker¡¯s furious heat roll off, sparks flying like a cksmith forging steel. All the while they battled, Victor analyzed the man¡¯s style and knew he was doing the same. They circled, shed, circled, and shed. Victor wondered who would break from the purebat first. Who would try to end things with a well-timed Energy-based skill or spell?

    ¡°So, you¡¯re Victor?¡± the man asked through gritted teeth. Was he tiring? He certainly didn¡¯t move like he was. Victor could feel his own Energy levels. His fear was nearly gone but slowly regenerating. His inspiration was more than half full and rising. Even his glory was on the climb, almost recovered from casting his banner. The only pool that gave him concern was his rage, well under half-full after several minutes of battling with his Iron Berserk active and constantly channeling the furious Energy into his axe.

    When Victor ignored his question, the man hissed strangely and blinked his eyes rapidly, and Victor almost stumbled when he saw the mes in those orbs dim slightly, revealing odd, hourss-shaped pupils. He clicked his tongue, whipping his sword down in a low cleave that Victor easily avoided. ¡°Do you know me, then?¡±

    Victor grunted, still ignoring the man, and channeling a bit of inspiration-attuned Energy, cast Energy Charge again, hoping to catch his opponent off guard. He was only a couple of steps away from him, so as the spell ignited around him, limning his form with white-gold light, and he sted forward, the Ridonne gasped and barely managed to create his shimmering golden shield. He encased himself just in time as Lifedrinker bore down on his shoulder, and Victor mmed into him, sending him flipping backward, head over heels.

    ¡°You talk too much,¡± Victor roared, jumping after him, soaring up into the air, anding down, Lifedrinker¡¯s zing, smoking de streaking toward the crumpled Imperial like aet. His savage smile widened as he descended, noting the split in the man¡¯s golden armor where hot, purple-red blood bubbled forth, brightly illuminated by Victor¡¯s banner. The Ridonne was battered, his armor dirt-smeared, long stalks of grass caught between the tes and joints. He was barely up to one knee, using his bastard sword as a crutch, when he saw Victor falling toward him like death incarnate.

    ¡°Fool!¡± he cried, then exploded in a burst of bright golden Energy, tearing over the ground, ripping apart the tall grass, and leaving a trail of fire and smoke as he fled Victor¡¯s impact. Victor roared in furious frustration as he crashed into the ground where the man had been, but he didn¡¯t linger there. He leaped to his feet and began charging after the fleeing Imperial. The trail was easy enough to follow¡ªa trench of ckened, smoldering grass leading further afield from the carriage.

    Once upon a time, Victor might have been unable to consider whether or not he should chase the man. Now though, after all the work he¡¯d done on Zaafor, after everything he¡¯d endured to improve his Berserk ability, he paused and nced back at the carriage. He could see Lam¡¯s explosive Energy attacks, taking the shape of a giant hammer, smashing down amid the Empire¡¯s soldiers. He couldn¡¯t make out Rellia or Va and saw no sign of the others.

    He did see and felt his coyotes. He licked his lips as he connected his mind to them, felt their hunger and the pleasure they experienced ripping their foes apart, flinging them left and right, harvesting the terror and fear they drew forth. He felt the call to join his pack, to smash the fools trying to kill his friends, trying to cut the head off his army.

    Victor looked out over the grassy ins, trying to track the Ridonne¡¯s passage. The smoldering line of his flight ended about a mile away. Was he just running now? Had he teleported? Sprouted wings? Victor had no idea but knew his friends might die if he left them. He turned back to the carriage, and, with three running steps, he leaped through the air, crashing to the ground and repeating the process again and again until he was among the rearguard of the Imperial soldiers.

    These men were probably dangerous, powerful soldiers among their peers, but Victor was stacked with abilities that boosted him beyond his natural, already dominating potency. His banner filled him with vigor, boldness, and a love for battle. His orb granted him a keen insight into thebat taking ce around him, showing him where to step, where to swing, and where to move to evade a strike. His Iron Berserk, probably the most potent of his boons, filled him with strength, sped up his movements, and allowed him to shrug off wounds that would have left a lesser man dead or disfigured. More, he wore armor that proved impervious to the blows of the Imperial soldiers, and Lifedrinker cleaved them apart, heedless of their shadowy chainmail.

    All that said, Victor was like Rottweiler let loose amid a rabbit colony. He cut the soldiers apart, and when they got past his axe and strayed too close to him, he¡¯d grab them by the tops of their heads or their arms and smash them around like ragdolls. Blood misted the air in his wake, soaking him, sshing onto his banner, and joining the ethereal crimson rivulets that ran down from the edge of the zing sun. His allies rallied at his approach; in the light of his banner, they grew stronger and bolder, screaming and hacking viciously at the enemies who had earlier harried them.

    Victor saw Lamunching herself into the air and descending on her foes, wielding a one-handed, sledge-like warhammer that she somehow expanded into a massive orange Energy weapon that ttened and shocked whole groups of enemy shoulders. As he continued to bathe in his enemies¡¯ blood, driving ever closer to the carriage, he finally got eyes on Rellia and Va, both fighting back-to-back at the carriage door, where, he presumed, the two lieutenants and Borrius had taken refuge. All around them, leaping, howling, growling, and furiously biting, were his massive, purple-ck coyotes.

    The bodies of Imperials were everywhere. Grievously wounded soldiers wailed and cried, wing at the blood and gore-soaked grass, trying to escape the insane charnel house that had overtaken the grassy ins around the carriage. Having fought his way to their center, attacking from the rear, Victor paused long enough to bellow a war cry that thundered out of his massive chest. Bloody saliva streamed from his enraged, frenzied face as he screamed, and then the Imperials broke. The dozens left who could still run tried to do so, breaking from the melee and charging in every direction away from the carriage.

    Victor¡¯s coyotes weren¡¯t having it; they raced after the runners, snapping them up by the necks, hamstringing them, or simply trampling them in their frenzied need to keep their prey from fleeing. Victor almost joined the chase, but he stomped up to the carriage and bellowed, ¡°Does Borrius live?¡±

    ¡°He does,¡± Rellia said, bending at the waist, pressing a palm against a bubbling, flowing gash above her left hip.

    ¡°Are you okay, Mother?¡± Va asked, producing a potion and handing it to Rellia.

    ¡°Fine, fine,¡± she said, tipping the draught to her lips.

    ¡°What of the Ridonne, Victor?¡± Lam asked,nding atop the carriage.

    ¡°He ran. He was a tough bastard, but he bolted as soon as I hurt him.¡±

    ¡°There was a Ridonne here?¡± Rellia asked, and when Victor looked at her again, he was struck by her savage beauty. Her eyes gleamed fiercely in the light of his banner, and her pale blue skin, painted with sprays of her dead enemies¡¯ blood, almost matched her copper-red hair. He shook his head, trying to get control of the Quinametzin berserker inside him, trying to focus on what people were saying.

    ¡°. . . wasn¡¯t winged. He had horns all over his body, though, and ran like a charging rdii bull,¡± Lam finished saying as he finally tuned in.

    ¡°Damn,¡± Rellia spat. ¡°Without his head, we¡¯ll have a hard time convincing the other nobles that the Ridonne tried to assassinate us. Old bones!¡± She said thest like a curse, and Victor grinned as she continued, ¡°How¡¯d they know to attack my coach?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not hard to spot, and, seeing the shadows still wrapped around these broken fools, I don¡¯t think it was hard for them toy in wait. Perhaps they didn¡¯t know how big a bite they¡¯d taken.¡± Va said, gesturing to the absolutely gore-drenched Victor.

    Victor grinned, exposing teeth stained pink with the blood that had sshed into his face during his ughter. He shook his head, though, and said, ¡°Nah, they knew Borrius was in there.¡± He gestured to the coach. ¡°The Imperial was screaming at the men to ¡®kill the old man.¡¯¡± He looked at Lam and asked, ¡°Did you find who killed the driver?¡±

    ¡°No. They were either very fast or very stealthy. Perhaps that assassin is who informed the Ridonne about Borrius.¡±

    Victor hawked up arge wad of coppery-tasting, bloody saliva and spat it into the grass, then, looking around at the massacre, listening to the groans and wailsing from the tall grass, said, ¡°We¡¯ve got some prisoners you can question.¡±

    ¡°Yes, and we need to get the army ready to march. I¡¯m deploying the airships tonight; we need to find where that Ridonne fled, especially if he has more men or an actual army nearby. We might have our first real test sooner than I¡¯d hoped.¡± As she spoke, Rellia turned to the coach and knocked on it, calling out, ¡°You can open up now.¡±

    ¡°Should I chase that fucker down?¡± Victor squeezed Lifedrinker¡¯s haft in his fists, twisting them slightly, enjoying the heat emanating from the weapon.

    Lam shook her head. ¡°No. We can¡¯t afford to be reckless. You beat him, yes, but if he has brethren nearby, you could walk into an ambush. Do you think you could take two of them? Three? I can tell you he wasn¡¯t one of the strongest.¡± Lam dropped down from the top of the carriage. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of Ridonne twenty feet tall, wielding mes that would be more at home spewing forth from a volcano.¡±

    ¡°Tall tales,¡± Va scoffed.

    ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± Lam said, shrugging. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I mean that literally¡ªwe¡¯ll see.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 24: Travel Accommodations

    Book 5: Chapter 24: Travel Amodations

    After the skirmish with the Ridonne and his squad of stealthy assassins, everyone, especially Rellia, agreed it would be wise to return to the encampment; her luxurious send-off dinner was canceled. After they¡¯d all reaped their rewards in post-battle Energy, Victor helped the other high-tier members of their party secure the surviving Imperials, gagging, binding, and hobbling them with magical rings and chokers that Rellia produced from one of her storage containers. When that was done, some thirty enemybatantsy or sat helpless before the carriage, stewing in the blood and fluids of their vanquishedrades.

    ¡°Edeya, you and Darro will stand watch over these prisoners while we return to camp and send out an escort to bring them in.¡± Rellia mounted the first step into the coach as though the matter was settled.

    ¡°Is that wise?¡± Victor asked, frowning. ¡°What if the Ridonne returns or whatever sneaky asshole who killed the driver? Nah, I¡¯ll wait here with the prisoners, and after your escort picks them up, I¡¯ll head into town for somest-minute shopping.¡±

    ¡°Shopping?¡± Lam asked, her wings twitching briefly as she wiped at her face with a damp rag, trying to clean away the remnants ofbat.

    ¡°Yeah. I need some better amodations for the trail. You know, a big tent, a bed that fits me, stuff like that. I¡¯ve got plenty of storage space; I might as well load up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay with him,¡± Va said, folding her arms and leaning against the carriage.

    ¡°And if we¡¯re attacked on the way back to camp?¡± Rellia pressed, moving to stand before Victor, trying to lock eyes with him. ¡°It¡¯s clear Borrius was the target . . .¡±

    ¡°The soldiers are dead or captured. The Ridonne ran away, licking his wounds. I think we¡¯re fine for the night,¡± Borrius said, enunciating his words in anguorous drawl.

    ¡°Are you bored, sir?¡± Rellia scoffed. ¡°Was this bloodbath too small to garner your attention?¡±

    ¡°Not bored, but this is hardly the first time someone has tried to assassinate me, either. Come, Rellia, let¡¯s return to camp. We¡¯ve much to discuss.¡± With those words, the matter was settled, and soon Victor and Va were left alone, standing over the broken soldiers, the stench of shit, guts, and blood heavy in the air. Victor jerked his head, indicating he wanted Va to follow him, then he moved a dozen yards upwind of the battle site. He folded his arms, watching over the huddled survivors.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised they weren¡¯t tougher,¡± he said after a while. ¡°There were close to a hundred, all told, and you guys held them off for a long time.¡±

    ¡°Most of them are probably tier-two. Lam is tier-four, and Rellia and I are tier-five. They fought bravely, madly, even, and I believe that¡¯s what the Ridonne was counting on for their sess¡ªinsane disregard for their own safety. I won¡¯t be surprised to learn that a Mind Caster conditioned these troops to fight to the death. It¡¯s a testament to your ability to evoke fear that you made them break. If the negative effects of your banner are as potent as the positive, then I pity the poor fools.¡±

    ¡°You felt it, huh?¡±

    ¡°When you came close, and that light shone on us, it was as though the battle began anew. My arms didn¡¯t ache, the wind returned to my lungs, and I thirsted for the glory ofbat. Then, when you began to maul and ughter their rear ranks, I couldn¡¯t help but want to reciprocate. Lam and Rellia responded simrly. Let¡¯s not forget to mention those enormous hounds of yours. Ancestors, Victor! They were terrifying!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, things worked out all right. Still, that Ridonne was a lot tougher than I expected to face here on Fanwath. If the Empire is openly moving against us, we might have some trouble ahead.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure they are. These men aren¡¯t marked with any Imperial insignia, and the Ridonne was careful to escape. Tell me, do you think he could have kept fighting?¡±

    ¡°I thought he could, yeah.¡± Victor rubbed at a spot of blood he¡¯d missed on the back of his hand. ¡°Surprised me when he bolted.¡±

    ¡°So, he might be acting in an unsanctioned manner. We can hope, at least.¡±

    Victor stewed on those words for a while, watching the prisoners and asionally ncing in the direction of the camp. After a while, he got bored and walked over to the nearest of the bound Imperials. He reached down and pulled his gag loose, then asked, ¡°What was the name of that Ridonne?¡± When no answer was forting from the man, a Shadeni with short, ck horns, he tried again, ¡°I already beat his ass. He¡¯s noting to save you. What was his name?¡±

    ¡°I cannot answer.¡± The man spat a wad of blood from his battered mouth. He¡¯d lost an arm in the melee and looked to be in great pain.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a bit of healing if you do.¡±

    ¡°Even if I wanted to, Milord, I cannot. I¡¯ve geas upon geas upon my spirit. I¡¯m doomed as it is.¡±

    ¡°Leave him, Victor. It will take Rellia¡¯s Mind Caster days to unwind the spells binding them¡ªif he can.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor muttered, stuffing the gag back in the soldier¡¯s mouth. He looked up sharply at the sound of approaching riders and, within moments, he and Va were surrounded by twenty heavily armored legion soldiers, all riding rdii d in red chainmail barding. The biggest rdii Victor had ever seen was being ridden by none other than Polo Vosh, and when he jumped down, Victor sped wrists with him, truly d to see the man¡¯s smiling, furry face. ¡°Polo!¡±

    ¡°Victor! I heard you tousled with a Ridonne! It¡¯s all over the camp already.¡±

    ¡°I did! I think I learned a thing or two during our duel; he was skilled with the sword. Have you been holding back on me? I¡¯m asking ¡®cause it was a lot more fun than our sparring sessions.¡±

    ¡°Fun!¡± Va almost choked on the word.

    ¡°Hah! Of course, you¡¯d think it was fun! Tell you what, Legate, when we make camp tomorrow, let¡¯s put what you learned to the test. I¡¯ll do my best to keep it interesting.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a deal!¡± Victor pped him on the shoulder and then turned, getting ready to summon his Mustang.

    ¡°Did you bring me my mount?¡± Va asked, looking around.

    ¡°What? That great cat? Who would dare approach such a thing? Would it even follow a tether without mauling my rdii?¡±

    ¡°Uvu wouldn¡¯t do that . . .¡± Va frowned, her words trailing off, and then she sighed and shrugged. ¡°Maybe he would.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You can ride with me, Va.¡± Victor concentrated momentarily and then called forth his mount using glory-attuned Energy. He used only a fraction of the Energy he¡¯d used to summon his five giant coyotes. Still, somehow, he intuitively knew it was enough to bring forth a mighty horse. His intuition served him well¡ªa golden, shimmering puddle of Energy appeared in the trampled grass nearby, bubbling as it grew to the size of a small pool, and then, in an explosion of brilliant golden sparkles, a deep red Mustang burst out of it, bucking wildly as itnded on the ttened grass. It stood on its hind legs and whinnied loudly, golden eyes zing and hooves sparking as it brought them down before Victor.

    ¡°Woah!¡± Polo said, backing up andughing with delight. ¡°What creature is this?¡±

    ¡°This is one of my spirit totems. He¡¯s a Mustang, a proud creature from my home world.¡± Victor reached up, rubbed the horse¡¯s snout, and added, ¡°Hey there, <em>guapo</em>. What a good boy. Ready to run?¡±

    ¡°Is that his name? Handsome?¡± Va stepped up next to him, gently stroking the horse¡¯s shoulder and then tousling his thick dark-red mane.

    ¡°Well, nah, I just think he¡¯s a handsome boy. Don¡¯t you? I don¡¯t think he cares for a name. My coyotes surely don¡¯t.¡± The Mustang nuzzled Victor¡¯s shoulder, snorting hot breath into his neck, and heughed, pushing the horse¡¯s snout away. ¡°Come on,¡± he said, stepping to the side and easily pulling himself onto the horse¡¯s bare back, gripping his mane to steady himself. ¡°He¡¯s tough, don¡¯t worry.¡± He reached down a hand, and when Va took it, he swung her up onto the horse behind him. ¡°See you soon, Polo!¡±

    As Polo waved and hollered his farewell, Victor urged the Mustang to run, and then they were off, ripping through the tall grass as he¡¯d never done before. Thistle was fast, but it soon became apparent that he couldn¡¯t hold a candle to the Mustang. Va whooped with delight and wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing tightly. Thankfully, both she and Victor had plenty of experience riding on the backs of galloping mounts, and there was definitely something magical about the creature because the ride was remarkably smooth, even without riding tack.

    Victor leaned forward, his hands grasping the Mustang¡¯s mane, his cheek next to the animal¡¯s neck as they rhythmically rose and fell with the horse¡¯s gallop. Va, in turn, held tight to his sides, leaning forward against his back, and Victor decided he liked that feeling a lot and began to wish he wasn¡¯t wearing his thick wyrm-scale armor. Pushing those thoughts aside, he pressed his face into the wind and couldn¡¯t help the joyful howl that escaped his lips while they raced over the ins. The Mustang¡¯s hooves sparked against the ground with magical Energy, leaving a trail of golden motes in their passage, and he grinned, imagining what anyone seeing them from a distance would think of the disy.

    The carriage had been attacked roughly halfway between the army encampment and Persi Gables, and, at the speed his Mustang raced, the ride to the city only took a dozen minutes or so. When they leaped the berm up to the cobbled road that approached the gates, Victor heard Va whoop again with excitement. The trees lining the road blurred past, and the gates rapidly grewrge before them. He willed the horse to slow, and it did, responding far better than any trained mount might; it was a part of him, after all.

    When the guards saw Victor and Va behind him, they waved them through, but not without boosting Victor¡¯s ego a bit with somepliments on his mount and the proud stately manner with which it pranced over the cobbles. Vaughed as they bounced up and down, and the horse¡¯s hooves ttered and sparked against the cobbles. The beast arched its neck, snorting and shing those bright, golden eyes. Victor beamed, of course, too pleased to even consider attempting to act nonchnt.

    Once through the gates, he turned over his shoulder to look at Va. They¡¯d both spent some time washing blood from their faces, and, in the process, her hair hade undone from her usual tightly-bound style. After the Mustang¡¯s sprint over the ins, her shoulder-length aqua locks were wild-looking, feathered back, and wavy. Her face was flushed with excitement, darkening the pale blue of her cheeks and giving her an eager, pleasant demeanor. While he looked at her, she rubbed at her left eye with the back of her hand, brushing away some moisture the whipping wind had teased out. ¡°Where to?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who wanted to shop!¡±

    ¡°Well, yeah, but I want to go somece new. Any rmendations? I mostly want a tent like yours, one that getsrger as you unfold it. I guess I want some furnishings too.¡±

    ¡°Head to the fountain square. It¡¯s on the way to the noble district. I know just the ce.¡±

    ¡°You like the horse?¡± Victor asked, pping his hand against the bay¡¯s muscr shoulder.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never run so fast! Even when Uvu sprints . . .¡± she shook her head andughed, ¡°No! I won¡¯t denigrate poor Uvu, but let¡¯s just say that ride was more than spectacr!¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor clicked his tongue, willing the Mustang to get moving, and it followed his intent perfectly, ¡°it was, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Ten minutester, they were in a shop called Chori¡¯s Emporium, and Victor was browsing the shelves, looking at all the wonderful, weird things that Chori the Artificer had crafted and put out for sale. While he shopped, he was struck by the fact that he¡¯d intended to shop around stores like this from the first day he¡¯d escaped the dungeon near Greatbone Mine and visited Steampool Vale.

    He¡¯d done a little shopping here and there, sure, but always with the goal in mind of getting something he needed. Then he¡¯d move on and say to himself, ¡°I¡¯lle back.¡± He never did, though. One goal, one crisis, and one unnned trip led to another, and he never really got to enjoy the idea of picking up something he liked. Thest time he remembered doing that, really buying something that struck his fancy, was when he¡¯d purchased the wagon with Tha. ¡°And then I gave it away.¡± He chuckled, shaking his head ruefully.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Va asked. She¡¯d been browsing on the opposite side of the rack, looking at magical birdfeeders while Victor examined wondrous little brass and copper, Energy-driven appliances meant for use on the trail¡ªstoves, teapots,nterns, water dispensers with tanks enchanted by dimensional magic, and even self-cleaning pots and pans.

    ¡°Just thinking about that cool little wagon I gave away to Tha and Deyni. It was big inside, like a little cabin. I remember thinking about how neat it would be to fix it up, you know, decorate it, fill it with my treasures, books, art, and even trophies. I never even got started.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re far richer now than you were back then, Victor. Why not buy a proper travel home? Why do you think I brought you here?¡±

    ¡°Huh? I thought you brought me here to get a tent like yours.¡±

    ¡°My tent is lovely, and I appreciate the gesture Rellia made when she gifted it to me, but I was a girl, going off to be in the Legion. You¡¯re a Legate, arguably one of the most powerful men in this world. Let¡¯s get you some amodations that are worthy of your status.¡± She nced to the back of the shop where the little Cadwalli woman, Chori, sat atop a tall stool. ¡°Chori?¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm? Yes, Miss ap¡¯Yensha?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s always seen me as a girl; Rellia used to bring me here to shop when I was too young to ship off to war,¡± Va said behind her hand, then raised her voice and replied, ¡°Can you help my friend here with a more significant purchase?¡±

    ¡°Something special? Come closer, then.¡±

    ¡°Come on.¡± Va gestured toward the counter, saw Victor¡¯s lingering gaze on the camping appliances, and added, ¡°You can stock up on that stuff afterward.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor nodded and followed her over to the counter; he¡¯d reduced his size significantly before entering the shop, but he still felt toorge, squeezing between the crowded sales racks and shelves. ¡°You¡¯ve a lot of wares,¡± he said by way of greeting.

    ¡°Aye, big man. Been crafting goods for decades and decades, and my father before me. Still have many of his wares lying about. Some of the better ones¡ªdon¡¯t ask me which. So, tell me, something significant, hmm? Seeking a travel lodging?¡± Even for a Cadwalli, she was small, probably only four feet tall if she weren¡¯t on the stool. Her goat-like features were quite pronounced, from her fuzzy snout to the weird red and yellow irises in her overrge eyes. She pronounced some words with a strange warble and moved carefully, each gesture precise.

    ¡°Victor is the leader of Rellia ap¡¯Yensha¡¯s army, the one she¡¯s been forming out on the ins. He needs travel lodgings suitable for a Legate and a great adventurer.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Well, then, you should have said so sooner! Come with me.¡± Chori slid off the stool and motioned for Va and Victor to follow her behind the counter and through the rear door. ¡°My travel homes are in the next room; it¡¯s something of a showcase.¡±

    ¡°We should hurry, Va,¡± Victor said, suddenly struck by guilt. Should he be shopping around in Persi Gables while the Ridonne conspired against his army? Shouldn¡¯t he be there in case the army was attacked? Who else could stand against those weird, powerful Imperials?

    ¡°We¡¯ll ride your Mostrang back; it¡¯ll hardly take a few minutes.¡±

    ¡°Mostrang? He¡¯s a Mustang, Va!¡± Victorughed, shaking his head.

    ¡°Excuse me!¡± Va feigned a look of outrage. ¡°How many names have you butchered? I hardly ever corrected you!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you got me there.¡± Victor gave her a nudge, urging her forward through the swinging wooden door. She went through, and he followed to find they¡¯d entered a room that seemed toorge for the structure that housed the shop. The ceiling had to be thirty feet high, and the walls of the square room were twice that in length. The ground crunched as he stepped in, and Victor saw it was covered in loose, pale, cream-colored gravel. Shelves lined the wall to his right, dozens of objects filling them. Some were small, literally resembling matchboxes, and others were bulky, likerge, boxy backpacks.

    Chori stopped ahead of him, her hooves sinking into the gravel so the hem of her navy-blue smock brushed the ground. She turned to Va and asked, ¡°Does he want something easy to carry or something bulkier? He¡¯ll have servants, no? Don¡¯t those Legates have dozens of underlings to order about?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll want something easy to carry,¡± Victor answered, done having Va speak for him. ¡°He¡¯s not nning to spend the rest of his life as a Legate.¡±

    ¡°Oh, clever one, is he?¡± Chori winked at Va, then walked over to the shelves, bypassing the backpacks, satchels,rger boxes, and wheeled contraptions that resembled medieval rolling suitcases. She paused before a shelf lined with smaller boxes, some that might fit in the palm of his hand, ranging to the size of a shoebox. She looked over her shoulder, narrowed her eyes at Victor, and asked, ¡°Budget?¡±

    Victor thought about the treasure he¡¯d yet to go through in Karnice¡¯s ring, the treasure he¡¯d umted in Coloss and, even before that, from Boaegh and ap¡¯Horrin. He shrugged and said, ¡°Money¡¯s not a concern.¡±

    ¡°Well, then,¡± Chori picked up a shallow, green stone box about two inches by four and carried it over to him. ¡°I have a lovely leather case for this that will fitfortably on your belt.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a travel home. I¡¯m ashamed to say that My father crafted this one. It¡¯s been here many a year, waiting for the right buyer. He traveled to Tharcray to learn his craft. Did you know that?¡± She directed the question at Va.

    ¡°Um, no, I don¡¯t think I did.¡±

    ¡°Yes. While there, in order to graduate from the Vessi-Ridonne Artificing Academy, he had to prove his skill. This was his performance project, his proof ofpetency.¡±

    ¡°Vessi-Ridonne?¡± Victor asked, unsettled by the reminder of his recent troubles.

    ¡°The Vessi bloodline is extinct. They were the Ardeni equivalent of the Ridonne,¡± Va said, shrugging.

    ¡°Only Shadeni can be Ridonne?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Chori said, ¡°Though I think they¡¯re extinct too. I only ever hear rumors. Have you ever met someone who¡¯s seen one?¡±

    ¡°I, uh . . .¡±

    ¡°Good question, Chori,¡± Vaughed, interrupting Victor and saving him the trouble of exining how he¡¯d just done battle with one.

    ¡°Anyway, to graduate, my father crafted this. We haven¡¯t sold it because it¡¯s made from Whel Jade.¡±

    ¡°Well jade?¡± Victor frowned.

    ¡°Whel,¡± Chori repeated, enunciating the first part of the word heavily so Victor could hear the h. ¡°Ites from the world of Whel, distant from Fanwath, carried here by a rare traveler to Tharcray. My father bought it at auction, nearly bankrupting his family. He says it was worth it because this treasure he crafted won him top honors from the academy, and he made back his fortune a dozen times over the years.¡±

    ¡°Okay, so why can¡¯t you sell it?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t say we can¡¯t sell it. We haven¡¯t sold it. It¡¯s very dense material and holds more Energy than any ore on Fanwath; I¡¯d only part with it for the right price and for the right person. I¡¯ve turned away a buyer or two in my day.¡± She set the little box down in the gravel a dozen feet from Victor and Va, and then she tapped it lightly with her pointer finger. The box began to rattle on the stones, then hopped, and when it settled, it was twice as big. It rattled again, jumped, and then it was the size of a trunk. This repeated several times, and the box grew each time until, with a final rattling thump that shook the building, it rested before the trio, a jade-green rectangr box the size of a single-wide trailer.

    ¡°Woah . . .¡± Victor began, but the jade structure red brightly, limned for a brief moment in luminous green Energy, and steps with a railing sprouted from the side, windows,plete with shutters, formed in the walls, and a doorway came into being, all crafted from a reddish-brown, satin-smooth wood. Victor saw ss in the windows, but they were opaque, faintly green, and shimmering in a way that reflected any attempts to peer through.

    ¡°The space within is four times that of the exterior, and there is a second level below ground just asrge,¡± Chori said proudly. ¡°Currently, it¡¯s partially furnished, but I can remove the objects within if you¡¯d like to install your own belongings.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean you¡¯d sell it to me?¡± Victor asked, his voice betraying his enthusiasm.

    Chori looked at Victor for a long while, then she looked at Va, and a certain sort of lightness entered her expression, a kind, almost fond expression. She nodded quickly and replied in a soft, faintly tremulous voice, ¡°I would sell to you, aye. Shall we talk about the price?¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 25: No Consolation

    Book 5: Chapter 25: No Constion

    In the end, after what felt like an hour of negotiating, Victor didn¡¯t pay any beads to Chori for the jade travel home. She¡¯d started by quoting him a price that initially seemed outrageous¡ªfive million. When Victor shook his head and asked about something a little cheaper, she¡¯d asked him about precious metals, stones, or rare objects from his travels. At which point, Victor had remembered Karnice¡¯s ring and his enormous trove of weapons, particrly spears.

    As he¡¯d pulled out the spears, selecting those that seemed the most resonant and full of Energy, Chori¡¯s eyes had widened, and Victor had onlyid out five by the time Va put a hand on his forearm and shook her head; she¡¯d read in Chori¡¯s expression that at least one of the spears on the counter had interested her dearly. Even so, Chori was a good negotiator and never let on which of the spears was made of what material that had so intrigued her.

    Victor thought about bargaining, about insisting on learning what she knew of the spears. He even contemted taking them to a different sort of shop, a smith or a jeweler, to find out what the spears were made of and how those merchants might value them. In the end, he¡¯d decided he didn¡¯t care that much; the spears were just sitting in his ring, and he¡¯d hardly scratched the surface of the valuables Karnice had stashed away. So, despite his ignorance, he¡¯d made the trade¡ªfive of Karnice¡¯s spears for a pretty damn cool and unique home that he could carry around on his belt.

    After making the deal, Chori had insisted that Victor and Va explore the home, and as they stood in the foyer, Victor took in the fine craftsmanship and elegant design. Thick, luxurious rugsy on dark marble floors, and vaulted ceilings allowed diffuse, pleasant light in through windows that were farrger on the inside than out. Victor reached for Lifedrinker before looking around anymore and asked her, ¡°Is it okay for you in here?¡±

    <em>Is it notfortable for you? As long as you feel well, I shall also. Do not leave me in this ce when you make it small again, however.</em>

    <em></em>

    ¡°Ah, right. Makes sense.¡± Victor walked out of the foyer and looked straight to the home¡¯s rear windows down a long, wide, central hallway. True to her word, Chori¡¯s furnishings extended beyond just the fine rugs. The walls separating the various sections of the first level were all crafted from matching hardwood stained in a reddish hue thatplemented the trimmings of the home¡¯s exterior. On his left, through an open archway, was a parlor filling one corner of the space with plush couches and chairs, coffee tables,mps, and a squat brass, Energy-powered stove that sat in the corner, radiating warmth.

    Opposite the parlor was arge room, the walls of which were stacked, floor to ceiling, with built-in bookcases. Victor walked around in it, admiring the hundreds of empty shelves, imagining filling them with books from the many ces he might someday visit. Arge, square table filled the center of the space with high stools tucked under its eaves, and he imagined it would be perfect for looking at maps or studying reference tomes. He turned to leave but found Va blocking his way, a contemtive expression on her face.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I start your collection with the books Tes gave me?¡±

    ¡°Those aren¡¯t meant for me to hoard away.¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s true, I suppose. On that note, we should speak to Chori about magical methods for duplicating books. I could give you a copy.¡±

    ¡°Hey! Now you¡¯re talking.¡± Victor draped an arm over her shoulders and, careful to keep most of his weight off, guided her out of the room. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s see the kitchen.¡± He led the way out of the library through an archway and found himself looking at an enormous rectangr table with more than twenty ce settings. Beyond it was the back wall of the home and lining that was a row of countertops and cupboards. A stove sat in the center before a huge window that gave a brilliantly clear view of Chori¡¯s showroom. Everything, from the table to the counters to the cupboards to the trim around the windows, was delicately crafted from rich, lustrous woods, all stained inplementing shades of brown and red.

    After checking to see that the cupboards were mostly bare, Victor continued to explore the first level, finding a pantry, a bathroom with an adjoining walk-in bath¡ªsomething like he imagined one might find in a fancy spa¡ªand two smallish bedrooms. Near the dining room and kitchen, an ornate brass and jade stairway spiraled downward. On the lower level, Victor found severalrge, empty rooms and a muchrger bedroom with an adjoining bathroom and an enormous walk-in closet. The only furnishing on the second floor was arge bed that matched the craftsmanship of the dining table upstairs.

    ¡°Your room,¡± Va said, pping him on the shoulder. ¡°It even has a bed that might amodate your ridiculous frame.

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m sure notining. I¡¯m just d to see toilets, running water, and plenty of ces to stash my stuff. You think the empty rooms down here are for adding more bedrooms?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s one possibility. You could probably design any sort of room you wanted in them¡ªsimple storage space, crafting halls, prisoner cages. Only your imagination would limit you.¡±

    ¡°Prisoner cages, hmm? But when I make the house small, wouldn¡¯t they go insane?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s another good question for Chori,¡± Va replied, shrugging.

    Victor nodded, and after one more look around the spacious master suite, he led the way upstairs and out of the magical house. Chori stood before the front steps, her hands sped and an enthusiastic grin brightening her eyes. Seeing such a goat-like face wearing that expression was so cute it was almost funny to Victor. ¡°Well?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s amazing. I should have probably done the tour before trading away those spears, but what can I say? I¡¯m impulsive.¡± Victor followed up with the question he had burning in his mind, ¡°What would happen to someone if I made the house small while they were inside?¡±

    ¡°Ah, that would be inadvisable. The effects of the dimensional magic would harm a conscious mind. My father stretched the boundaries of safety by increasing the interior space beyond the exterior limitations already.¡±

    ¡°Damn,¡± Victor sighed. He saw Chori¡¯s look of confusion and exined himself, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m unhappy with the house. It¡¯s just, well, if I can¡¯t keep all my things in there, it doesn¡¯t feel exactly like a home, you know. Lifedrinker,¡± he patted the axe, ¡°and any other conscious treasures I might find,¡± he tapped his bracer where Khul Bach dwelled, ¡°won¡¯t be able to stay in there.¡±

    ¡°You want them with you, in any case,¡± Va said.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. I know. It¡¯s not a deal breaker. I¡¯m just thinking long-term, you know?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Lord Victor,¡± Chori said, far more respectful now that they¡¯d done business together. ¡°My father was the best Artificer I¡¯ve ever met, but there are likely many others in worlds beyond Fanwath with more know-how. Perhaps the world where you found those spears . . .¡±

    ¡°Eh, maybe. The people of Zaafor didn¡¯t strike me as the most creative types.¡±

    ¡°Tes . . .¡± Va started but trailed off, ncing quickly away from Victor. Not for the first time, he wondered what she was thinking.

    ¡°Yeah, anyway, Chori, I want to buy some more stuff for the kitchen. Some of your magical appliances.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Va added, ¡°Do you have any magical means for copying books?¡±

    ¡°So long as they¡¯re mundane in nature, I have just the thing,¡± Chori replied, nodding and motioning toward the jade travel home, ¡°I¡¯ve removed my bond from the home, so you should bond with it now, Victor. You wouldn¡¯t want someone else to gain control over the dwelling!¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor walked up the front steps and rested his hand on the smooth wooden railing, and then he touched it with a thread of his Energy. He instantly felt a connection to the home, much like he did the dimensional containers he was bonded with. He intuitively found he could let his mind drift through it, seeing the different rooms and all of the objects within. ¡°Can I ess this when it¡¯s small?¡±

    ¡°You certainly can.¡± Chori nodded.

    ¡°Oh, now that¡¯s badass.¡± Victor mentallymanded the house to shrink, and suddenly the handrail he held slipped away from his fingers, absorbing into the smooth green jade along with the window shutters, door, and steps. Then the enormous rectangle of green stone shivered and, with audible <em>pops,</em> shrank down in stages until, twenty secondster, a much smaller hunk of jade sat forlornly in the expanse of gravel. Victor bent to pick it up. As he held it, he decided it almost resembled a green, stone deck of cards, but it was heavy and dense and teeming with Energy.

    ¡°Here¡¯s your belt case,¡± Chori said, holding out a tooled leather box, perfectly crafted to fit the travel home. He slipped the jade box into it and then loosened his belt to slide it through the loops on the case.

    ¡°Pretty cool,¡± he said, smoothing his armor down over the small object. ¡°Imagine that! Carrying my house around on my belt.¡±

    ¡°Yes. It wille in handy during your travels, no doubt,¡± Va replied, and Victor frowned at her. Was she being overly formal again?

    ¡°You good?¡± He raised an eyebrow, trying to see some clue in the depths of her bright teal eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Victor.¡± She smiled, then looked at Chori and said, ¡°The book, um, copier?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. Follow me.¡± She led the way back to her shop, and while Va and Victor perused her goods, she dug around through trunks she had stacked under the counter. After a few minutes, she called them over, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sure there are other ways to copy books, but I worked on this little system as a project one summer, and I¡¯m rather fond of its elegance.¡± Before her, on the counter, was a shallow box made of pale wood. Charred runes had been burnt into the inside walls and bottom of the box, and between them, lines of silvery metal wove aplex spiderweb pattern.

    The box was about fifteen inches by thirty and only four or five inches deep. Down the center, it was partitioned, creating two shallowpartments. Chori patted the box and said, ¡°I call this a copybox. You put the original text in the leftpartment and the nk text in the right. If they¡¯re not a perfect match, the copybox will condense or expand the text to fit the new pages. I mean that quite literally, so be careful. I copied a four-hundred-page history text onto a ten-page pamphlet, but the writing was so tiny that it was illegible. The pages were practically ck with ink.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I was looking for! Thank you, Chori. I¡¯ll buy it.¡± Va gently ran her fingers over the glyphs inside the box.

    ¡°Wonderful.¡±

    Before they left, Victor spent thousands of beads on enchanted knickknacks for his house¡ªkitchen appliances, pots and pans, enchanted bedding, and a map of the Ridonne Empire that showed a dot wherever the map was moved. As they left the shop, Victor felt good, and Va seemed happy. He looked at her and said, ¡°I should put some provisions into my house too. You know, wine, ale, and food that can be cooked¡ªnot just travel rations and prepared stuff like I have tucked away in my rings.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s do that now, on the way out of town. I want to buy some nk pages and book bindings, too. I feel like we should hurry, though.¡± Va looked to the east, down the long,ntern-lit cobbled road and toward the city wall beyond which the army encampment waited in the darkness of the ins.

    ¡°Yeah, I guess we should get back.¡± Victor sighed.

    ¡°Not eager any longer? You surely charged into battle with that Ridonne eagerly.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Come on, let¡¯s go.¡± Victor didn¡¯t bite; he didn¡¯t really want to talk about whether he was eager to be responsible for thousands of soldiers¡¯ lives. Feeling that stress, he began to think about the other things that had been bothering himtely. His issues with ap¡¯Gravin and Olivia, his <em>abu</em>, and<em></em>all the expectations people had of him, from Khul Bach to Rellia to every single soldier out in that army. Perhaps feeling that stress, perhaps remembering how she¡¯dforted him before, he reflexively reached down for Va¡¯s hand.

    At first, she took his fingers in her grasp, but she gave them a squeeze and let go, looking way to the right. He looked down at her and stopped, waiting for her to turn and make eye contact. There were plenty of people out and about on the streets, but at that moment, the two of them were mostly alone, with only a few cloaked evening shoppers walking on the other side of that particr street. They were still several blocks from the busy market square Va had been guiding them toward.

    ¡°What,¡± she finally asked, looking up at him with a weird expression that seemed partly angry, partly pained, and embarrassed.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I grabbed your hand. I guess I¡¯m getting too familiar with you.¡± As usual, Victor wasn¡¯t sure why he chose those words. Was he sorry? He decided he wasn¡¯t sorry that he wanted to hold her hand, but he supposed seeing her ufortable had made him regret the impulse.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. I¡¯ve encouraged you before. Ancestors, I wee the affection!¡±

    ¡°Then why have you been acting so weird? It¡¯s like, well, ever since we got on that airship, you¡¯ve been more distant. Is it the military thing? Is it, like, inappropriate for me to be affectionate with you?¡±

    ¡°No. Well, yes. Truly, I use that as an excuse.¡± She sighed heavily, looked up at the clear sky and bright moons, then turned back to him. ¡°I want to be candid with you, Victor. I want to tell you my heart,¡± Va¡¯s eyes started to fill with moisture. She nced around, and it was easy to see she was embarrassed.

    ¡°Then do!¡±

    ¡°Will you mock me?¡±

    ¡°What? God no, Va!¡±

    She frowned, staring into his eyes for several moments, then started speaking, and her words came out like a flood, ¡°Well, I¡¯m ¡®weird¡¯ with you because I want more than simple affection. I want to be the object of your dreams, the woman you obsess about. I¡¯m not a fool, though! I¡¯ve met her, Victor. The woman who holds that position in here.¡± She gently rapped her knuckles on his wyrm-scale vest right over his heart. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the spell she has on you, and I don¡¯t me you!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Victor¡¯s eyes narrowed, and genuine puzzlement clouded his expression.

    ¡°I love Tes, too! How could I ever be with you when I know, in here,¡± this time she thumped her hand over her own heart, ¡°that you¡¯ve settled for me? I won¡¯t do it! I won¡¯t be a constion. I won¡¯t be someone you pass the time with while you wait for the real thing. I¡¯m sorry, but that¡¯s that.¡±

    ¡°What? Tes?¡± Victor¡¯s mind raced, fumbling for words, wondering how he¡¯d stumbled into a conversation about this.

    ¡°Oh, please, spare me the protestations. You¡¯ve seen her. You¡¯ve felt her. You know she cares about you and feeling that affection, that attention from someone like her . . . you¡¯ll never forget it. I truly don¡¯t think you will. We might be happy for a while. You might pretend to have everything you want. You might even believe it for a time, but now and then, when you¡¯re looking out over the lights of a city or tasting a certain food, you¡¯ll remember Tes, and your heart will grow distant, and you¡¯ll start to wonder. You¡¯ll think to yourself, ¡®What if?¡¯ and then . . .¡±

    ¡°Va! Va, take it easy.¡± Victor couldn¡¯t help the nervous chuckle that escaped him as he reached out and grasped her shoulders. She shed him a furious scowl, and he mped his mouth shut. ¡°I¡¯m notughing at you! I¡¯m not mocking you. I¡¯m just, well, I¡¯m nervous ¡®cause I didn¡¯t mean to open this can of worms! I just wanted to hold your hand!¡±

    ¡°I told you I¡¯m not a fool!¡± Va tried to turn away, but Victor gently grasped her arm. She had tears flowing freely down her cheeks, her words had been confusing at first, but now the picture was bing clear. The whole thing about Tes, about Va not wanting to bepared to her¡ªit made sense, but it wasn¡¯t what he¡¯d been expecting.

    ¡°Take a breath. It¡¯s all right. Listen, I¡¯m sorry that everything¡¯s always so fuckingplicated. I don¡¯t want it to be. All I know is that you¡¯re very damn important to me, and I¡¯m not going to fuck that up. If you¡¯re worried about how I feel about Tes, then, well, shit, I don¡¯t know what to do about it. How do I fix a problem like that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. You can¡¯t.¡± Va sniffed noisily, looking left and right. Suddenly, she produced a pale blue cloak from one of her storage rings and pulled it around her shoulders, lifting the voluminous hood.

    ¡°Are you . . . hiding?¡±

    Va didn¡¯t reply, but she reached up and tugged the hood further down, hiding her eyes, leaving only her mouth and chin exposed to the moonlight.

    ¡°Sheesh,¡± Victor tried, chuckling, ¡°I wasn¡¯t even sure you liked me like that. I can see why you wouldn¡¯t want anyone else to know . . .¡±

    ¡°You idiot.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that feel better? Come on! Hold my hand, and you can call me an idiot all you want. Who cares what people think? Who cares if there¡¯s some mythical woman out in the universe I¡¯m smitten with? I¡¯m just a dumb guy, and there¡¯s hardly any chance I¡¯ll see her in the next hundred years, right? I¡¯m not trying to marry you! I just want to hold your hand.¡±

    ¡°A hundred years is a long time.¡± Va still tugged at the edge of her hood, hiding her eyes from him. He saw one corner of her mouth quirking up in a smile, though, as she said, ¡°I¡¯ll hold your hand, Victor, but that¡¯s all! I won¡¯t waste a century of my life on something that isn¡¯t real.¡±

    ¡°Is it a waste, though?¡± He grinned and snatched her hand, gently folding it in his palm. ¡°I¡¯d say a nice stroll in the moonlight holding hands with someone you care about is plenty worthwhile, all by itself.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 26: On the March

    Book 5: Chapter 26: On the March

    Victor sat atop his horse, looking out over the long column of marching soldiers. He patted the Mustang¡¯s shoulder and turned to where Rellia, Va, and Lam had stopped, their mounts unable to reach the crest of the scree-covered slope. They also observed the army, Rellia pointing and saying something, her voice lost in the wind. They¡¯d been on the march for nearly two weeks, making steady progress eastward. They couldn¡¯t have asked for better weather or easier ground; the grasnds had fallen away beneath their feet, and now, after they crossed this ravine, they¡¯d be only a day or two at the most from Tellen¡¯s n.

    Borrius traveled in Rellia¡¯s scout airship, keeping an eye on things from above, and he and the other hired airship had confirmed that no Imperial armyy in ambush, at least not for a hundred miles in any direction. The evening before approaching this ravine, they¡¯d met to pore over maps, ensuring that there was no way they could be ambushed during the crossing. It was a likely spot¡ªa narrow bridge, only wide enough for a single wagon to pass at once. It would slow them, forcing the army to split. Borrius felt sure that if an ambush were imminent, it would be here.

    Victor nudged the Mustang, willing it to descend to the others, and it nimbly hopped down, hardly disturbing a loose rock. Something about the mount¡¯s spirit nature allowed it to traverse nearly any terrain, barely affected by the ground, be it grass, scree, or mud. ¡°They reached the bridge,¡± he said,ing to a halt next to Rellia¡¯s Vidanii¡ªa lovely white creature, smaller but far prettier than Thistle.

    Va scratched at Uvu¡¯s ear, eliciting a chuffing groan from the big cat. ¡°Let¡¯s hope Borrius was right. If I were going to attack us, I¡¯d wait until half the army had crossed. Are you sure you shouldn¡¯t be over there, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Nah. If the Ridonne attacks, I¡¯ll Berserk and jump that ravine.¡±

    ¡°Roots!¡± Lam scoffed, shaking her head.

    ¡°Is that considered a bad word among the Ghelli?¡±

    ¡°No. Not really a ¡®bad¡¯ word, but certainly an exmation.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re eximing about. You could just fly over that ravine.¡± Victor shrugged, winking at Lam as they bantered.

    ¡°Enough, enough,¡± Rellia sighed. ¡°If Borrius isn¡¯t right, then this was a foolish choice, using this route. We could have traveled northward to skirt this ravine.¡±

    ¡°Which would have brought us further into the Empire and added weeks to our journey,¡± Va replied, holding up a finger for each point.

    ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ve been over it. What¡¯s the point of airships if we don¡¯t trust their scouting? Besides, your Imperial contacts in Persi Gables insist the Empire didn¡¯t attack us. If they¡¯d lie about that, I think it¡¯s probably wise to avoid other cities.¡± Victor had just finished speaking when Lam¡¯s mount, arge bull rdii, snorted and hopped, suddenly skittish of Uvu, even though the cat had hardly moved, simply lifting a paw to lick at it.

    ¡°Rotten roots!¡± Lam jerked the animal¡¯s reins, pulling it away and closer to Victor; none of the other animals seemed to mind his Mustang.

    ¡°Now, that was a curse, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor.¡± Lam chuckled.

    ¡°Nothing to do but watch and wait at this point.¡± Rellia ignored the interruption.

    ¡°Yep.¡± Victor did just that. Watching the foot soldiers progress over the ins was easily his least favorite part of the whole affair so far. He often found himself daydreaming about what the army would be like if he could summon thousands of Mustangs. He figured they¡¯d already be assaulting the Untamed Marches if that were possible. The best part of the journey had to be the evenings after the legion set camp. He and Polo would spar, and afterward, he¡¯d host the expedition¡¯s leaders for dinner. He wasn¡¯t the only one with a travel home, but even Rellia acknowledged that his was the nicest.

    He wasn¡¯t an expert cook and often enlisted one of the real cooks that had joined the legion in that capacity, and though he enjoyed watching and eating what they prepared, he¡¯d decided that he probably wasn¡¯t the type to spend time trying to improve the skill beyond basic. Even so, it was a nice routine. They¡¯d sip drinks and study the map in his little library, making ns and contingencies, then sit around at his big dining table, eating and bing more than just co-leaders of an army; they were fast bing friends.

    Despite her fear of rumors, Va had taken up residence in one of the spare bedrooms in his home. He wished something was going on that might be worthy of rumors; after their little stroll through Persi Gables, there¡¯d been little in the way of affection between them. He¡¯d hoped her words hadrgely been bluster, her espoused desire not to be a ¡°constion¡± for him. The truth was, Victor didn¡¯t know how to respond to that. Should he have said his feelings for Tes were just a crush, that they didn¡¯t matter and weren¡¯t real? He felt like she would have read the lie in those words.

    As the others kept talking about the road ahead,menting on the army¡¯s progress as it slowly snaked over the bridge, Victor stole sideways looks at Va, wishing he were smarter when it came to women. Was he doomed to be alone until he someday proved worthy of Tes¡¯s attention? He shook his head and almost called himself a dummy out loud. Only Va knew about Tes. Only Va would realize she was beingpared to the dragon-woman. He could meet someone else. Spend time with someone else. He sighed and rubbed at his head¡ªhe didn¡¯t want someone else. He wanted Va, but she was right; he wanted Tes too.

    ¡°Something wrong?¡± Lam asked him, looking up from the back of her stocky rdii.

    Va and Rellia were talking about cavalry drills they nned to implement when they finished crossing and pitched camp, so Victor spoke to Lam in a low voice, ¡°Nah, just thinking about all the stuff I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°No matter how much you learn, you¡¯ll always find more you don¡¯t know.¡±

    Victor looked more closely at Lam, recognizing the experience behind her words. Her glittering wings were folded behind her, and she sat with her hands, one atop the other, on her saddle horn. Her eyes were distant, and he asked, ¡°Remembering something in particr?¡±

    ¡°Mistakes made, Victor. Many, many mistakes. For what it¡¯s worth, I think you¡¯re doing a good job so far. You¡¯re listening to the advice of more experienced people, you¡¯re present and attentive to the captains, and you¡¯ve been building camaraderie among themanders. The soldiers have heard of your victory over the Ridonne, and while many quake in fear that the Empire is against us, most of them are buoyed by your strength. It¡¯s good that you spar with Polo on the practice green each night¡ªyour bouts are the premier entertainment for the troops; they barter for free shifts so they can observe.¡±

    ¡°Hah! Thanks, Lam. Yeah, I noticed our audience seems to grow a bit each day. It¡¯s fun.¡± While Lam was speaking, Rellia and Va had moved further along the hillside. Judging by their gestures, they were looking at and discussing something about the sixth cohort, one of the two fully mounted ones. Victor looked back at Lam, considered whether he should open his mouth about the subject on his mind, and finally said, ¡°Hey, can I ask you something? Just between us.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Lam matched his conspiratorial tone, shifting her rdii a little closer.

    ¡°Well, I want to joke right now and ask if you can tell me the secret to understanding women, but seriously . . . oh, shit, it¡¯s tooplicated. Forget I said anything.¡± Victor sighed, desperately resisting the urge to look at Va lest Lam figure out what he was thinking.

    ¡°You¡¯re closer to Va than she lets on?¡± Lam asked, ncing toward the mother and daughter, ensuring they weren¡¯t listening.

    ¡°No. She¡¯s very honest about how close we are.¡±

    ¡°You want to be closer?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I do, but she has a very damn valid reason for not wanting that.¡±

    ¡°And it¡¯s tooplicated to exin?¡± Lam frowned, one of her emerald eyes narrowing as she said, ¡°Ah, let me guess, there¡¯s another woman.¡±

    ¡°<em>Chingado</em>,¡± Victor hissed. ¡°Not exactly, Lam, but yeah, pretty close. It¡¯s just,¡± Victor struggled to pick the right words and finally just blurted, ¡°Well, she was a hell of a lot higher level than us¡ªa hell of a lot older. We met in Coloss, and let¡¯s just say she¡¯s not in our league. I probably won¡¯t see her for a very, very long time. Nothing happened, but Va¡¯s not blind¡ªshe saw I fell for her; I mean the other woman. Is that a good reason not to be with me?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not Va, but I can rte. I¡¯d hate to think the one I gave my heart to was holding something back, waiting, hoping for something more. If you really think it¡¯s unlikely you¡¯ll meet this other woman again soon, perhaps the feeling will fade. For both of you, I mean. Perhaps you¡¯lle to realize that the woman you¡¯re so enchanted by is different in here,¡± she tapped her forehead, ¡°than out here.¡± She gestured around, indicating the world. ¡°Maybe Va wille to realize you¡¯re serious about her. Maybe she¡¯ll see and understand you¡¯d do just about anything for her and decide that¡¯s enough.¡± Lam shrugged. ¡°You¡¯ve got time.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Lam.¡± Victor offered her a rather pathetic smile, and she chuckled. They sat in silence for a long while, watching the army progress, and, despite Rellia¡¯s concerns, they were soon watching thest of the cohorts cross the bridge, with only the wagons, nonbat personnel, and the rear guard left on the close side.

    ¡°That went well,¡± Rellia said as she and Va rode close again.

    ¡°Yep.¡± Victor offered her and Va a thumbs-up and felt like an idiot.

    Rellia, to his surprise, mimicked the gesture and then asked, ¡°Your friend¡¯s n is a day¡¯s march from here, yes?¡±

    ¡°Right. I think so. Va showed you on the map, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Correct. I was just confirming. So, have you had any word? Do you think they¡¯ll join our cause? We could use another couple hundred skilled scouts.¡±

    ¡°No. Tha won¡¯t be in the spirit realm for a couple more weeks. We¡¯ll have to wait and see.¡±

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s go and oversee the fortifications.¡± Lam urged her rdii down the hill toward the line of big wagons waiting to cross the bridge. By the time they caught up to the tail-end of the train, almost all of the wagons had crossed, and it was only a matter of minutes until it was their turn. As they rode over the wooden bridge with its great spans of lumber, clearly crafted with prodigious use of Energy, some Ghelli scouts fluttered up from underneath, their job done. Borrius had insisted on Ghelli being stationed under the bridge during the crossing to guard against sabotage.

    ¡°All¡¯s clear?¡± Va called to the lead scout, a sergeant named Feya.

    ¡°All clear, Primus.¡±

    Once over the bridge, they rode down from the hillside, rejoining the enormous expanse of tall, blue-green grass. Victor knew the ins would extend all the way to the Starfall Mountains, around which the army would have to pass, and, after that, they¡¯d follow roads through foothills, forests, and, if all went well, in a couple more weeks, they¡¯d pass through the Granite Gates and descend into the Untamed Marches. He and the othermanders stopped at the bottom of the slope and watched the sergeants break their cohorts into squads and begin fortifying their evening camp.

    The legion was immensely efficient at the procedure of making camp. Every squad knew their role, and they all had the advantage of magic, dimensional containers, and stamina beyond anything a base human could match. Latrines were dug, and solid outhouses summoned from dimensional wagons to ce overtop the holes. Trenches were scooped from the earth by squads with members adept in the use of their earth affinity. Walls were thrown up in great sections, once again, pulled from magical wagons that circled the camp in opposite directions. Tents were erected, leaving a central area for themanders to call forth their dwellings. Finally, the wagons were circled, and a mess hall of sorts was set up between them.

    After the main camp was done, the mounted cohorts built a corral for their animals, and squads broke up into their shift work, drilling, cleaning, assisting the cooks, standing watch in a staggered perimeter, and, if they were lucky¡ªor unlucky depending on whom you asked¡ªresting, eating, and leisure time for ater shift. Victor rode through the gates before the soldiers closed them, then made his way to the center of the camp, where he took his usual position to set down his travel home and activate it.

    He and Polo typically drilled a couple of hours after the camp was made, and he liked to use this time to hang out in the library with Va; they¡¯d been slowly working on copying the books Tes had given her, and Victor was finding a new, strange enjoyment in reading through the spellcrafting tomes. Reading through was probably a poor description; he was only about a fourth of the way through the first book in the series. That evening, Va hadn¡¯t apanied him to the center of camp, so when he went into the jade house, he sat by himself in the library, thumbing through the sections of the book he¡¯d already read.

    The minutes ticked by, bing an hour, and he lost himself studying spell patterns meant to improve the variability of a spell, allowing for multiple contingencies in the target¡¯s status that would change the oue of the casting. He was so deeply engrossed that Va startled him when she cleared her throat, leaning an elbow on the map table. ¡°Hey,¡± he said, looking up from the chair in the corner where he liked to sit.

    ¡°I was meeting with the livestock master. He¡¯s concerned about Thistle.¡±

    ¡°What? Why?¡±

    ¡°He says he¡¯s not eating as much. When was thest time you visited him?¡±

    ¡°Yesterday!¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay. Don¡¯t get upset.¡± Va made a cating gesture with her hand. ¡°He¡¯s probably tired of being tethered with a bunch of stupid rdii.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, he¡¯ll be rejoining his sister tomorrow, so that should help a lot.¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s good. Are you nervous?¡±

    ¡°About?¡±

    ¡°To see Tha and Tellen. To hear their decision about joining us.¡±

    ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t.¡± Victor closed his book and sat up straighter. ¡°Now I¡¯m feeling like I should be.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Vaughed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to hint at anything. Either way, it¡¯s fine, Victor. If they don¡¯t join us for the campaign, you can try to get them to relocate closer to the Marches after we¡¯ve won somend.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor nodded. He stretched his neck, frowned, then said, ¡°What time is it? I should probably find Polo.¡±

    ¡°Oh, he asked me to let you know he can¡¯t spar tonight. He lost a bet with Captain Gaks; his cohort is standing two watches.¡±

    ¡°What? No, that¡¯s bullshit.¡± Victor scooted to the edge of his seat. ¡°I¡¯m missing out on training, and we¡¯re going to have tired soldiers on watch. I¡¯m not cool with it.¡±

    ¡°I told him you wouldn¡¯t like it.¡± Va eyed him coolly, perhaps waiting to see how he¡¯d solve the problem.

    ¡°What were they betting on?¡±

    ¡°Polo thought we¡¯d get ambushed at the bridge, and Gak said there was no way you¡¯d walk us into a trap so obvious.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck? Polo was against me?¡±

    ¡°Not against you, Victor! He simply thought it was too perfect an ambush site. He thought the Ridonne had something up their sleeves.¡±

    ¡°Shit. Now I want him to have extra guard duty. At least he¡¯s going out with the men. Captains don¡¯t usually do that, right?¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡± Va was smiling, watching him work through the situation.

    ¡°You think it¡¯s all right?¡±

    ¡°Yes. His men will get four hours of sleep, even standing two watches. They¡¯re Energy users, Victor; they¡¯ll be fine. As you said, Polo will be out with them.¡±

    ¡°Right, well, screw it. I can use a break from the axe. I¡¯m so fucking close to hitting epic! I can taste it! It¡¯s driving me crazy. I wish I had that Ridonne around to spar with.¡±

    ¡°Gah!¡± Va almost choked as she twisted her fingers in a weird gesture. ¡°Don¡¯t say things like that!¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Victor leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with amusement. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you make that sign. Are you feeling superstitious?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m hopeful that the Ridonne you chased away was just testing us, feeling us out, and that he wasn¡¯t acting with the blessing of the Empire.¡±

    Victor stood up and moved over to the map table to lean against it, standing beside Va. ¡°Why don¡¯t we know yet? Why don¡¯t we know that <em>pendejo¡¯s</em> name? What¡¯s going on with the prisoners?¡±

    ¡°Rellia¡¯s Mind Caster has done everything he knows how to do, but he can¡¯t crack the geas that clouds their minds. He¡¯s killed several of the Imperials trying.¡±

    ¡°Damn it, Va. I didn¡¯t want to know that.¡± Victor rubbed at his chin, then said, ¡°Well, I can¡¯t hide from that kind of stuff, I guess. Is he still trying?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°All right, well, wanna help me do some cooking? Since Polo screwed me over, I might as well have some fun in the kitchen. I¡¯m going to try my hand at recreating one of my favorites from home¡ª<em>tamales</em>.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,e on, let¡¯s see if I can remember what I saw my <em>abu </em>mixing up. I¡¯m sure I need something like corn flour. Shit, do you guys have corn?¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Pazra-dak leaned against the tree bole, looking up at the canopy of massive branches far over his head. He rubbed his shoulder spine, or, more urately, at the spot on his shoulder where the giant had cut him. He growled at the memory, growled at the feeling of rough, knobby skin where he¡¯d scarred. The first mark a lesser being had ever made upon his flesh. He banished the thought, savoring the night air. It was cool there in the Blue Deep, cool, dim, and quiet. It had better be quiet; he¡¯d ordered his Legion to be silent. No sense in letting the fool hunters on the ins have a clue that they lurked nearby.

    He folded his arms over his chest, carefully avoiding the spines at his elbows. It had taken him a decade to get used to the things, frustrated by how theyplicated his life, from clothing to furniture to lovers. He saw them as the blessing they were now; he¡¯de to understand that the spines were a mark of his greatness, his strength, his durability, and his right to rule. Not all Ridonne gained them, but those who did were regarded as powerful, the enforcers of the Imperial bloodline, not to be trifled with.

    He let his golden-tinted vision fall upon his camp and saw his soldiers about their tasks, moving slowly and carefully, never uttering a word as they sharpened weapons, ate cold rations, or maintained the camp. Six thousand soldiers, minus the hundred he¡¯d lost on the ins. Would they be a match for the legion that upstart, ap¡¯Yensha, had gathered? If not for the giant, he would say yes. It didn¡¯t matter, in any case¡ªhis brother, Rosh-dak, and his Legion would soon be there. With twelve thousand men, they¡¯d crush the fools between them.

    He motioned for his witch, Senena, to approach. She straightened up, unfolding from the shadow of a nearby tree, and hurried to him, her skin more ck and gold with tattooed glyphs than the red of their people. She¡¯de close to joining the ranks of the Ridonne, but her father had insisted she embrace the Wanact bloodline. As a result, her spirit was adrift, constantly glimpsing more than the here and now. ¡°Tell me, witch. Will my brother arrive in time?¡±

    ¡°I see him,¡± she said, her voice a husky whisper. ¡°He dives between trees and leaps brambles. I see great trees with mighty trunks, bigger than these. Hope lives in his heart, not despair.¡±

    ¡°Good. He runs to us from Twilight Home. If he carries hope, he¡¯ll make it. And the giant?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you, Lord. I cannot look at him. He burns my eye.¡±

    ¡°Then burn your eye! Tell me where he is!¡±

    ¡°I see only white fire when my gaze drifts his way. His spirit is stronger than mine, Lord.¡±

    ¡°Begone. We¡¯ll speakter.¡± As she slunk away, Pazra turned to where his scout captain lurked, hunkered down on a stone, chewing the meat from a bird carcass he¡¯d roasted. Ancestors only knew when. ¡°Come here, Gildyn.¡±

    ¡°Aye, Lord?¡± the scout replied, leaping up, allowing his meal to fall to the leafy loam.

    ¡°What word from your scouts?¡±

    ¡°The giant and his army are close. They crossed the ravine this day.¡±

    ¡°So, as we''d suspected, they¡¯ll be with the hunters tomorrow.¡± Pazra waved the man away, then pressed his fist against the tree behind him, grinding it into the bark until his knuckles cracked. ¡°Come, brother. Hurry. We¡¯ve a feast before us.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 27: Reunion

    Book 5: Chapter 27: Reunion

    The next day, in thete afternoon, the legion set up camp a few miles west of the Shadeni hunter n¡¯s winter and spring campground, and Victor, Polo, Rellia, and Va rode forth with the hopes of meeting with Tha, Tellen and all the other people Victor had been missing rather dearly. Rellia had wanted to bring Borrius, but the one-time legate insisted they¡¯d have a warmer reception without him¡ªhis reputation among the Shadeni hunter ns wasn¡¯t born of friendship. As for Lam, she had insisted on staying with the army; too many leaders away might encourage apse in discipline.

    They¡¯d only cleared the army¡¯s encampment by half a mile when figures emerged from the grass, and Victorughed, spurring his Mustang toward them. The others followed, though slowly, likely to give him a chance to ensure they weren¡¯t hostile. ¡°Hi!¡± he shouted as he rode up, forck of a better greeting.

    ¡°Is that you, Victor? Where¡¯d you get that fiery-eyed steed?¡±

    ¡°Forget that one, Victor. How¡¯d you grow so much?¡±

    Victorughed, slowing his mount near the two scouts¡ªhunters from Tellen¡¯s band, ones he¡¯d rescued from a monster high in the hills to the east. ¡°Visha! Kolo! It¡¯s great to see you again!¡± Victor dropped from his horse¡¯s back and approached them as they shifted the tips of their spears upright. He spread his arms as if to embrace them, but Kolo, wary as always, backed up a step.

    ¡°You look like Victor. You sound like Victor . . . you¡¯re different, though. You know my name . . .¡±

    ¡°I sure do, Kolo. I remember finding you in a cursed keep in a blood-soaked ravine. I remember killing a real asshole to get you and the others in Tellen¡¯s party to safety . . .¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s him, Kolo,¡± Visha said, stepping forward to reach up, trying to p Victor on the shoulder. ¡°Who else would call that devil an asshole?¡±

    ¡°Will you tell us about the changes in you?¡± Kolo asked, also reaching out to grasp Victor¡¯s other arm in his wiry fingers. ¡°You¡¯re enormous. Ah! Look at his axe, Visha!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s pretty, no?¡± Victor winked, then added, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you many stories, but first, we should get to the n. I need to speak with Tha and Tellen.¡±

    ¡°Yes, you should!¡± Kolo whistled shrilly, and out of the tall grass to the south, a small, sturdy rdii trotted forward. ¡°I¡¯ll ride with them, Visha.¡±

    ¡°Of course, you will,¡± Visha sighed.

    ¡°It¡¯s my turn!¡± Kolo cried in mock outrage.

    Victor motioned for Polo and thedies to ride closer and said, ¡°These are mypanions.¡±

    ¡°Aye.¡± Kolo eyed Va¡¯s mount. ¡°I remember the great cat.¡±

    Rellia, riding her beautiful white vidanii,ughed. ¡°Only around my daughter would my poor Tig escape notice and praise.¡± She gently stroked the animal¡¯s neck, and it bleated, making a high-pitched sound almost like a honk¡ªVictor had never heard Thistle make such a noise. When she looked up, she eyed Victor and Guapo. ¡°I suppose she¡¯s a bit outshone by that great beast of yours, too.¡±

    ¡°How do you think Hob feels?¡± Polo asked, pping his big hand on the thick neck of his stocky bull rdii.

    Victorughed, slung himself onto his Mustang¡¯s back, and said, ¡°Who wants to race?¡± Everyone ignored the questions; they¡¯d all seen him tearing across the ins over thest couple of weeks and knew full well he was being facetious. Shrugging, he started forward, waving to Visha as he rode past.

    Kolo rode up beside him. ¡°What news? We saw your great army. Been watching since you crossed the old bridge.¡±

    ¡°Should have said hello.¡± Victor chuckled. ¡°I have much to share, but I need to speak to Tellen first. Sorry, Kolo.¡±

    ¡°I understand¡ªBan-tok business.¡±

    ¡°Right. At least for now.¡±

    ¡°Is that mount as fast as he looks? What beautiful eyes! Why do his hoofs spark with magic when he walks? Is he a creature from this world?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a spirit animal.¡± Victor patted the Mustang¡¯s muscr shoulder. ¡°Aren¡¯t you, <em>guapo?¡±</em>

    ¡°Is that his name? Handsome? Fitting . . .¡±

    ¡°Yes, it is,¡± Va answered before Victor could respond.

    ¡°Well, I guess so.¡± Victor whooped as the Mustang started prancing, lifting his feet high and arching his neck, turning sideways so his eye could sh at everyone, especially Va. Victor continued tough, saying, ¡°He likes you, Va! I think he might be in love.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Ancestors!¡± Va cried, urging Uvu to turn and put a bit of distance between herself and Victor.

    ¡°Chandri¡¯s going to love him,¡± Kolo said, chuckling along with Victor, admiring the huge, prancing mount.

    ¡°Is she well?¡±

    ¡°Oh aye, busy, busy with the young hunters. Since your little one, Deyni, came, she¡¯s taken on a teacher role. A dozen youngsters hunt with her.¡±

    ¡°My little one . . .¡± Victor started to protest but decided it wasn¡¯t worth it. He kind of liked the idea that he shared some responsibility for Deyni. When he saw the questioning look on Polo¡¯s face, Victor spent some time describing Deyni and talking about how he¡¯d left Starlight for her, filling him in on a bit of his backstory with the n, and by the time he paused to take a breath and scan the horizon, he saw the low, earthen longhouses arranged in a circle¡ªthe n¡¯s campground. More tents were standing in the center of the clearing near the well, and the paddock for the rdii seemed more extensive, but other than that, it was much the way Victor remembered it.

    They didn¡¯t have to wonder where Tellen and Tha might be; a crowd of Shadeni had gathered near the campground¡¯s perimeter, and Victor saw Chandri, Ch, Tellen, and Tha all standing together near the front. Deyni sat atop Tellen¡¯s shoulders, and Victor felt a foolish pang of jealousy before he wrestled it away and let his joy at seeing them all color his expression.

    He didn¡¯t ask him to, but Guapo broke into a gallop, leaving the others behind, racing over the distance. He came to a sliding stop before the crowd, whinnying proudly and prancing before them. Victor saw the delight in Chandri¡¯s eyes, and once again, his stupid heart ached, remembering holding her hand and kissing her under the starlight. He tore his gaze away from her magenta irises and the sly smile on her ck-painted lips, instead focusing on Deyni. He held out a hand and said, ¡°Hand me up that little huntress, Tellen!¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Tellen asked,ughing as Deyni began to kick her feet, urging him to hurry.

    ¡°Come on, little dragon,¡± Victorughed, grabbing her wrist. She weighed almost nothing, and he swung her up before himself. ¡°Are you ready to fly like the wind?¡±

    ¡°Victor! Yes!¡± Her little hands were like mps on the forearm he held in front of her, keeping her close as Guapo began to trot around in a big circle.

    ¡°Don¡¯t steal my daughter!¡± Tha called out, but there wasughter in her voice.

    ¡°Not to worry,¡± Victor replied, making eye contact with her and Tellen when Guapo finished his circle. ¡°We¡¯ll be right back!¡± Then, answering an unspokenmand, Guapo reared up on his hind legs, whinnying again. When his front hooves fell, they sparked with glorious Energy, and then he was off, galloping over the ins, his back rolling with his gait but smoother than any truly physical animal could run. Victor ripped past the rest of his party, and all the while, Deyni screamed her pleasure, digging her fingers into his wrist, her dark, braided hair whipping in the wind, tickling Victor¡¯s neck and chin.

    They ran for several minutes, and then Victor urged Guapo to turn. The horse seemed to challenge himself not to let Va and the others reach the campground ahead of him, kicking into a gear Victor had yet to experience¡ªthe grass became a blue-green blur, and the wind drowned out Deyni¡¯s yips and cries of excitement. Secondster, they slid to a stop, once again before the gathered Shadeni, and Guapo pranced some more before Victor pped his shoulder and calmed him down with his will. ¡°You big, goofy show-off!¡± heughed, turning to see that the rest of his party had ridden up behind the wild Mustang.

    Deyni was dumbstruck, unable to speak, but giggles wouldn¡¯t stop welling out of her as she leaned forward on Guapo¡¯s neck, hugging her arms around him and rubbing her cheek in his thick, rich mane. ¡°Do you like him?¡± Victor asked.

    ¡°I love him, Victor! I¡¯ve never seen such an animal!¡±

    ¡°Come on, young one.¡± Chandri stepped forward and reached up toward Victor, her hands barelying to the top of Guapo¡¯s shoulder. Victor lifted Deyni and handed her down, then hopped off the great steed, a little wobbly on his feet after moving so fast.

    ¡°He¡¯s even faster than I thought,¡± Va said, giving Uvu a p on the rump, sending him off to hunt in the ins. ¡°No rdii!¡± she called after him. The big cat grumbled, not quite a growl, but definitely not a happy sound, then he was gone, slipping into the grass. After that, Victor couldn¡¯t have recounted precisely what happened because he was overwhelmed with hugs, questions,ments about his size, his mount, his armor, his axe, and question after question about where he¡¯d been and why he¡¯d returned with an army.

    Victor savored the attention, despite knowing that Rellia, Va, and Polo were standing off to the side, somewhat awkwardly, probably waiting for him to wrap things up so they could get down to business. It was Tha, though, who brought an end to the impromptu gathering. She stood off to the side, still flushed with mussed hair after having been engulfed in a Victor-sized bear hug, and yelled, ¡°That¡¯s enough for now! We¡¯ll feast tonight, but now we must meet with these esteemed guests. Leave your Ban-tok and me to do business!¡±

    Victor was impressed by how quickly the crowd dispersed. It seemed Tha was more than Tellen¡¯s new mate; the n respected her. When everyone had left, Chandri, Ch, and Deynist, quite reluctantly, and not without securing a promise for some one-on-one time with Victor, Tellen turned to him. ¡°You never fail to impress. Will you introduce yourpanions?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course.¡± Victor cleared his throat, unable to banish the smile that had already made his cheeks ache. ¡°This is Rellia ap¡¯Yensha, a great woman from Gelica and the chief sponsor of our campaign into the Untamed Marches. Beside her is my dear friend,panion, and one of the leaders of our army, Rellia¡¯s daughter, Va ap¡¯Yensha. And this big man, this big, fuzzy man with the friendly face, is Polo Vosh. He¡¯s a great warrior and an even better instructor in the ways of the axe.¡± Victor pped Polo on the back and draped his arm over his shoulders, making his use of the word ¡°big¡± to describe the Vodkin something of a joke; Victor was a solid foot taller.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to regret those words next time we spar, pup,¡± Polo grumbled.

    ¡°Heh, I¡¯m sure I will.¡± Victor squeezed his shoulder, then he turned to Tha and Tellen and said, ¡°This is Tellen, the Ban-tok of this n, and Tha.¡± Victor released Polo and, reaching into his Core, cast Shape Self, reducing his size to something closer to what he¡¯d been thest time he¡¯d seen Tha. He stepped toward her, and by the time he grabbed her into a side hug, the spell had finished its magic. ¡°She¡¯s also ruling this n alongside Tellen, but I don¡¯t know her proper title.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s our n Mother, Victor. She¡¯s working terribly hard to fill the hole Oyna left behind.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m honored,¡± Rellia said, stepping forward and ducking her head, reaching for Tha¡¯s hand with hers.

    Tha, to Victor¡¯s surprise, didn¡¯t reach for Rellia¡¯s in return. She stared at her coolly. Her dark magenta eyes narrowed, and she said, ¡°I¡¯ve met you in passing. I was at the estate of that magistrate . . . his name eludes me. The estate where you tried to kill Victor.¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± Rellia managed to maintain her smile, but she pulled back her hand and looked imploringly at Victor. ¡°We¡¯ve put that behind us, though, haven¡¯t we, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Come on, Tha. We¡¯ve been over this . . .¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Tha¡¯s stony countenance crumbled as she looked into his eyes, ¡°if Victor can forgive you, then I will try to put the memory behind me. Shall we go inside? If my brief discussion with Victor earlier in the month was any indication, I¡¯d say we¡¯ve much to discuss.¡±

    ¡°Yes. We¡¯ve cleared the dining hall of our lodge. Come, refreshments await. I¡¯m sure your throats are dry from the ride.¡± Tellen paused and looked at Polo¡¯s rdii and Rellia¡¯s beautiful vidanii. ¡°Would you like your mounts seen to?¡±

    ¡°No, no,¡± Rellia said, checking to make sure Polo nodded along with her, ¡°They¡¯ll be fine here; plenty of grass. Perhaps some water . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got that.¡± Suddenly Polo was holding a short barrel, staggering under its weight as he squatted to set it on the grass.

    ¡°Why not just pull it from your container directly onto the grass?¡± Va shook her head, a crooked smile aimed at the big Vodkin.

    ¡°I . . .¡± Polo shrugged and made a funny sound through his fuzzy lips.

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s go.¡± Victor spread his arms as if corralling everyone and walked behind them as they made their way between two long, grass-covered buildings to the entrance of Tellen¡¯s lodge. True to his words, the big hall at the entrance of the first level was abandoned, though the first of the five long tables was set with a pale-yellow cloth and tters of fruit, meats, and cheeses. Clustered in the center were pitchers of fruit juice, wine, and water.

    ¡°Sit, please,¡± Tellen said, and then he led by example, pulling out the bench and sitting down near the center. Tha sat next to him and watched as Victor, Rellia, and Va sat across from them. Polo, ever his own creature, sat next to Tha. ¡°So,¡± Tellen began, producing six carved bone cups that Victor recognized well. ¡°I know what you told Tha, Victor. Your words caused many a sleepless night for her and me.¡±

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t what . . .¡±

    ¡°No, no. I wasn¡¯t insinuating anything.¡± He¡¯d lined up the bone cups, and a dark ss bottle, bulbous and round, with a long slender neck, appeared in his hands, and Victor¡¯s mouth began to water.

    ¡°The good stuff,¡± he breathed softly.

    ¡°Aye, my best cheb-cheb. Let us toast.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been too long,¡± Polo said, grunting as he scooted a little closer, watching as Tellen unstoppered the bottle. Tellen grinned, looking from Polo to Va, then to Rellia and Victor. After he poured the rich, vaporous liquid into the cups, he slid them over the table until everyone had one in front of them.

    He picked his up and held it out, and everyone else followed suit. ¡°To old friends and new.¡±

    ¡°To crushing our enemies!¡± Polo said, hot on the heels of Tellen¡¯s words.

    ¡°To those who warm our hearts,¡± Tha said, turning to gaze upon Polo with narrowed eyes.

    ¡°To hope,¡± Va said, her voice small and her eyes downcast.

    ¡°To a just society.¡± Rellia held her cup high as she spoke.

    Victor grinned as everyone¡¯s eyes turned to him, and he said, ¡°To glory.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Polo growled, and everyone drank, mming their empty cups on the tablecloth. ¡°Bearded Turtle, that was good!¡± Polo moaned, rocking back and holding a hand to his heart.

    ¡°Truly, it was.¡± Rellia smiled unctuously at Tellen.

    ¡°Well?¡± Victor prompted, tired of everyone being coy. ¡°What did you two decide? Are you bringing the n with us?¡±

    ¡°We have a few questions.¡± Tha reached over the table to wrap her long, slender fingers around his wrist.

    ¡°Such as?¡± Rellia pressed.

    ¡°Are the rumors true? Is the Empire against you?¡±

    ¡°Fah!¡± Rellia growled. ¡°Word has traveled this way already?¡±

    ¡°I heard a whisper on the wind . . .¡± Tha winked at Victor.

    ¡°Oh, God,¡± he groaned, ¡°You¡¯re already talking like her.¡±

    ¡°But truthfully,¡± Tha turned back to Rellia, ¡°tell me.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t know. We¡¯ve been attacked by . . . representatives of the Empire, but there hasn¡¯t been an official condemnation of our campaign. We¡¯ve not been dered ouws, and when I sought answers in Persi Gables, the magisters professed ignorance. People we¡¯ve captured all have geases silencing them, cast by a Mind Caster stronger than mine, it seems.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Soon, we¡¯ll be quit of the Empire¡¯snds, and it won¡¯t matter.¡±

    ¡°It matters to us if the Legion decides to descend on your army before then. If we¡¯re dragging our homes, children, and livestock along in your train, we¡¯ll be massacred.¡±

    ¡°No fucking way,¡± Victor growled. ¡°I won¡¯t let that happen.¡±

    ¡°You have what? Six thousand soldiers?¡± Tellen asked. ¡°The Empire can muster more than forty. Am I mistaken?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true the Empire has seven full legions.¡± Va¡¯s voice almost startled Victor; she¡¯d been quiet for so long. ¡°However, it would take a monumental effort to bring them all together. Two are needed for peacekeeping near the Vinduv Confederation, the Free Cities. Two patrol the northern and western frontiers. One sits idle in Tharcray. That leaves the legion garrisoned at Twilight Home, but that¡¯s a month¡¯s journey away through the Blue Deep. If we¡¯re swift, I believe the chances are good that we¡¯ll reach the Granite Gates unmolested by any Imperial armies.¡±

    Tha looked at Va as though gauging the veracity of her words; then she turned to Tellen. ¡°That makes me feel better.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful . . .¡± Rellia started to say, but Tellen cut her off.

    ¡°What terms do you offer for our aid? What will we gain in this new country?¡±

    ¡°Everyone, from me and Victor down to the lowest foot soldier in our army, will be rewarded withnd. The bigger the part you y, the morend you will earn. Victor, Lam¡ªyou know her, yes, Tha?¡± At Tha¡¯s nod, she continued, ¡°Victor, Lam, and I will divide the conquerednds among us, and then we each will award plots to the soldiers, officers, and,¡± she nodded to Tellen and Tha, ¡°contributors to the effort. We¡¯re not talking about small parcels¡ªthe Untamed Marches stretch far beyond the Granite Gates, millions of acres of forest, grasnd, rolling hills, mountains rich in resources, crystallinekes, and a coastline that rivals that along the Great Western Sea.¡±

    ¡°Humor me and exin this like I¡¯m a child: why hasn¡¯t the Empire moved into those pristinends?¡± Tellen asked.

    ¡°Because they¡¯re fat,cent, and the nobility fights too much, too scared tomit the resources. I¡¯ve bankrupted my family for this venture. Failure will lead to my death and our ruination. More than that, it¡¯s fear. Fear of what the System will throw against them when they descend through the Granite Gates.¡±

    ¡°The System will challenge us?¡± Tha frowned, perhaps remembering the System-controlled dungeon she¡¯d traversed with Victor.

    ¡°Yes, but we¡¯re up to the challenge.¡± Polo sounded confident as he forlornly spun his empty cup on the table.

    ¡°We have Victor,¡± Va said softly, and everyone¡¯s eyes turned toward him.

    ¡°Ah,¡± he smiled sardonically, ¡°there¡¯s that old familiar pressure.¡± He chuckled and started to speak, aiming to reassure everyone, but the door to the longhouse opened, and a tall Shadeni scout dressed in damp, dark leather stepped into the light.

    ¡°Tellen!¡±

    ¡°What is it, Lefen? We discuss important matters.¡±

    ¡°I was scouting near the forest. Dark clouds came in, unnaturally fast, rolling over the Deep. Hail began to fall, Tellen, and, as I turned toward home, I saw many figures moving among the trees.¡±

    ¡°How many?¡± Victor asked, scooting back, sliding the bench despite Va and Rellia sitting upon it.

    ¡°Hundreds. Thousands. Darknesses with the clouds, Ban-tok. What is it?¡±

    ¡°Ridonne,¡± Rellia hissed.

 Book 5: Chapter 28: Two

    Book 5: Chapter 28: Two

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say an Imperial Legion was stationed in Twilight Home? Could that be the source of the trouble we¡¯ve had? Whomands them?¡± Rellia asked, turning to her daughter.

    ¡°Like all legions¡ªa Ridonne. No one ever sees them, at least no one outside the Imperial households. They move in carriages or fly on ships, always observing andmanding from afar. Does anyone know their names? How many there are? No¡ªit¡¯s part of their power. The fact that one of them confronted us directly was unheard of. Is he among his troops? Is this another force altogether and not a sanctioned army? Questions we¡¯ll struggle to find answers to out here. Perhaps Chokodo-dak could shed some light on it.¡±

    ¡°He and his wife are . . . indisposed.¡± Rellia frowned, and everyone was quiet for a moment, contemting questions they couldn¡¯t answer.

    Victor¡¯s mind raced, his impatience driven to new heights as he began to connect the dots and realize that most of the people he cared about were now in mortal danger. Va¡¯s long-winded response to her mother became background noise as he stood up and started for the door, then stopped, unsure exactly what to do but wanting to do something. He looked at Tha, and everyone stared at him. ¡°You need to get Deyni, Chandri, Ch¡ªanyone else you want¡ªand put ¡®em in the wagon and get the fuck out of here.¡±

    ¡°We have bolt holes in the longhouses, tunnels on the lowest levels that lead to hidden caverns. We¡¯ll evacuate.¡± Tellen stood up, his face losing some of its color, and began to walk toward the wooden steps that led down to the next level of his longhouse. ¡°I¡¯ll get some scouts to spread the word.¡±

    ¡°We need to prepare the army. I need to inform Borrius.¡± Rellia stood, and everyone else followed suit.

    Victor watched her, frowning, thinking about Tellen¡¯s words¡ªhidden tunnels and bolt holes. He shook his head, thoughtsing together, and said, ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Rellia asked.

    ¡°No, Tellen. Get everyone, all your people, and hurry to our encampment. The asshole was waiting here. He was hiding in the Blue Deep. He knew we wereing this way. He probably knows I have a connection here. He¡¯s going to kill you all to draw us out, to make us do something stupid. Bolt holes won¡¯t stop him.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Va said. ¡°We¡¯re strong in our encampment. We can stand against an equal force there and put the burden of attack on him. If they¡¯re on the move, we must hurry before we¡¯re cut off.¡±

    ¡°Do it, Tellen,¡± Tha said, locking eyes with Victor. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry.¡± She didn¡¯t wait for a response, charging for the door and rushing outside, calling out to the hunters nearby. The next twenty minutes felt like pure madness and chaos to Victor as the n evacuated their longhouses. The hunters were trained for this; Victor knew well that they had often been chased off their hunting grounds by Imperial forces or overzealous nobles with their personal armies. It was part of the reason they rotated camps throughout the year, moving on before they were noticed by too many and garnered unwanted attention.

    All of that considered, it still took a while for the rdii to be brought into order, fitted with tack, and then mounted up. Everyone in the n was either riding a mount or a wagon pulled by bigger rdii as they moved out, hurrying as quietly as possible through the darkness of the grasnds.

    Darkness was an understatement. Thick ck clouds had rolled in, blotting out the moons and the stars and testing the resolve of the children and craft folk of the n. Victor wanted to summon his banner, wanted to cast Inspiration of the Quinametzin, but he didn¡¯t¡ªthey were hurrying quietly through the grass, the forest some miles to the south. He didn¡¯t want to bring attention to their shadowy procession.

    Instead, he rode up and down the column, softly encouraging everyone, trusting in Guapo to inspire them with his shing eyes and sparking hooves. All the while, he hoped the tall grass sufficiently masked the Mustang¡¯s showy behavior. He used the vantage of his height to look toward the line of ckness in the distance, just a shade darker than the sky, knowing it was the forest on the horizon. He willed himself to see the Ridonne¡¯s forces approaching them, but he couldn¡¯t. He had to trust the scouts that Tellen had sent out. Hopefully, the Shadeni, at home on these ins, could outmaneuver any Imperials sent to guard against the n¡¯s escape.

    The army encampment wasn¡¯t far, and after a tense half hour of hurrying silently through the ckness, the lights of the fortifications came into view, and Victor could feel the mood change among the fleeing n folk. They saw those glowing Energymps and murmured with excitement and hope¡ªVictor could no longer contain himself. He reached into his Core and, with a massive torrent of Energy, summoned his Banner of the Champion. Golden light zed from the prominent sun on his standard, bathing the n in its light, and Guapo whinnied wildly, rearing up on his hind hooves.

    The Shadeni gasped and cried out, and Victor was sure he heard Deyni whoop from the bench of his wagon up the line. He raced his horse along the row of n folk all the way to the front, waving to Deyni and Chandri as he passed them, then looped the front of the column and raced down the other side, trying to share his banner¡¯s positive effect with all the dozens of families. It had been a while since he¡¯d seen the whole n out like this, and he¡¯d almost forgotten how big a group it was¡ªmore than a thousand people, many of them children. What would he do if they were killed because of his need to try to convince Tha to join him?

    That thought driving his words, he began to exhort them to hurry, to urge them to run. ¡°Go! Go; hurry to the palisade! Get inside the camp!¡± Tellen and the other high-ranking hunters in the n took up his cry, urging their mounts to gallop, racing along the column with him, trying to get the wagons to move faster. At first, Victor didn¡¯t know if he was being smart or foolish; what if one of the wagons broke down or someone fell off? Some of the rdii were overburdened, with several children sharing a seat. His doubts were soon banished when horns began to blow from the direction of the forest, and fiery missiles by the hundreds filled the sky, screaming through the ck toward the fleeing n.

    ¡°Run!¡± Victor screamed, no longer worried about keeping order. What good would it be if they were calm while riddled with ming arrows? The Shadeni responded to his bellow, whipping their rdii into a gallop. The wagons bounced and jostled their upants, but the ins werergely smooth, the slope leading up to the camp gentle. He saw Tellen yelling and gesturing to his scouts, saw Rellia charging ahead on her white vidanii, yelling for the sentries to open the gate. When he turned, he found Va and Polo rushing toward him as the first arrows began to fall, whistling through the air, stinking of pitch and magical sulfur.

    ¡°Get down!¡± Polo bellowed, stepping in where Victor had frozen, his eyes wide, tracking the falling, fiery arcs of the missiles and watching as they <em>thunked</em> into wagons or punctured thick rdii hides, dropping them or pulling forth agonized screams¡ªa sound Victor had never heard from the throat of one of the funny, feathered, docile mounts. It wasn¡¯t the falling or screaming rdii that had stalled him, though¡ªhe¡¯d seen a little girl, probably younger than Deyni, fall from a wagon, a ming arrow igniting her with its magical mes.

    There was no helping it after that; his rage Core began to flow, and he cast Iron Berserk. He vaguely heard Va and Polo speaking, yelling, and gesturing, but he didn¡¯t listen. He did spare them a nce and grunted, ¡°Go to Borrius. Defend the camp.¡± Then he urged his, suddenly muchrger, Mustang to charge the distant row of archers just as theyunched another volley of ming arrows at the panicking, surging column of refugees. The only peace in the back of his roiling, rage-filled mind came from the sight of his magical wagon, pulled by the sturdy, quick vidanii, Starlight, slipping through the gap in the camp¡¯s fortifications.

    With his banner high over his massive shoulders, and his fiery hooved steed tearing over the grass, Victor raced through the darkness, galloping straight through fires that had begun to spread, the grass ignited by the magical mes of the Imperial archers. So fast was the Mustang that he sucked the wind in behind him, and fires died as Victor charged through. He was among the archers in only a few heartbeats, and Lifedrinker began to reap a bloody harvest as he trampled through them, swinging the axe left and right.

    He cut through flimsy gold and ck helmets and armor, shattered bows like kindling, and doused the tall grass with the red blood of the Imperials. Perhaps they hadn¡¯t anticipated him charging. Perhaps they¡¯d rushed ahead to get some volleys off, surprised by the sudden flight of the n. Whatever the cause, the archers were exposed with no heavy soldiers to guard them and no Ridonne to challenge Victor. He couldn¡¯t have counted them, and it didn¡¯t matter to him if there were ten or a million of the bastards¡ªVictor was determined to kill everyst one of them. Every time his rage began to cool, he remembered that little girl, ignited by a random arrow fired by one of the men or women he was currently butchering.

    The archers weren¡¯t straw dummies; they tried to flee, to fire upon him, to hide. It didn¡¯t matter. Victor¡¯s banner was brilliant, and he rode through the grass like death incarnate, trampling and shing them. If he¡¯d been cognizant, if he hadn¡¯t allowed his rage to overtake him, he might have realized he¡¯d killed dozens, maybe hundreds of the archers and that he was slowly being drawn further away from the army encampment. The archers, perpetrators in his mind, had be bait, and he gobbled it up, a lone light in the ckness of a magical night, zing as he raced from one fleeing Imperial to another.

    <strong>#</strong>

    ¡°What¡¯s the mad fool doing?¡± Borrius asked, standing atop the army¡¯s fortifications, watching the zing standard of their leader as it raced back and forth in the distant darkness. Everywhere was ckness, from the sky to the grasnds, to the distant horizon where he knew the enemy lurked in their numbers¡ªthe Blue Deep.

    ¡°He saw the arrowse down, saw some of the n folk fall. He¡¯s mad with rage,¡± Va replied. ¡°I should go to him.¡±

    She, Rellia, and Lam stood nearby. Everyone else had gone tomand their cohorts, readying for a direct attack. Borrius felt good about their chances against an Imperial Legion. Their army was strong, stronger than thest he¡¯dmanded, and, more than that, they had the advantage of fortification. ¡°He shoulde back. Look how distant he is. They could have a trap prepared for him; what if that Ridonne is out there? What if he¡¯s devised a warded cage or worse?

    Rellia removed the looking ss from her eye and said, ¡°He¡¯s ughtering them. I think he¡¯s killed half the archers. Don¡¯t go out there, Va; his mount is far faster than Uvu.¡±

    ¡°And if this is a trap?¡± Va hissed, tugging the hilt of her sword to expose several inches of cobalt metal.

    ¡°If it is, it won¡¯t be just for him,¡± Borrius said, his mind made up. ¡°They¡¯ll want to draw us out, to get us to rush to our leader¡¯s aid. The attack on the hunters was likely meant to do just that. Ancestors be praised that you had a chance to evacuate them.¡±

    ¡°So, we should just let him die?¡± Lam asked, her luminous wings twitching with impatience.

    ¡°He¡¯s not easy to kill,¡± Va said, and Borrius nodded to her, grateful that, though she was close to the gigantic legate, she had a good head on her shoulders.

    ¡°We must prepare. Gather the strongest fire casters among us. Let¡¯s get some orbs in the sky. No point sitting in the darkness like this.¡±

    ¡°Sending the word.¡± Edeya scribbled in themand book. Not half a minuteter, all around the palisade, orbs of fiery light surged into the air, bathing the grasnds around them in their warm, yellow-red glow.

    ¡°Why fire?¡± Rellia asked, ¡°Why not pure Energy? The light is brighter.¡±

    ¡°Come, you must remember from your studies. Why would we use fire orbs for light?¡± If Borrius enjoyed anything as much asmanding an army, it was teaching.

    ¡°Because they can be made into weapons,¡± Va replied, her eyes still trained on the distant zing standard.

    ¡°Why this darkness? Is he hiding his numbers?¡± Lam turned in a slow circle, trying to pierce the ckness with her sharp gaze.

    ¡°Likely, or concealing his approach. We could be surrounded. Rellia, I¡¯d like you to send the airships up and get eyes on the ravine we crossed yesterday. If we¡¯re wrong about his numbers, we might be wise to stage a fighting retreat to the canyon, cross and utilize the choke point.¡±

    ¡°In this ckness?¡±

    ¡°Do they not fly in storms? In the night?¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡± She nodded to Edeya, and the lieutenant began to scribble out orders.

    ¡°We¡¯ll lose many lives if we must retreat. Too many nonbat personnel. Too many wagons.¡± Va sounded grim, and once again, Borrius found himself reassessing her. ¡°Damn it, Victor, get back here.¡± Almost as though she¡¯d summoned them into being with her words, two zing orbs of light erupted in the darkness beyond their Legate Primus, one red and one yellow, illuminating enormous golden-armored figures on nightmarish steeds.

    <strong>#</strong>

    After a time, when he struggled to find more archers to cut down, Victor¡¯s anger began to cool, and he started to consider his actions. It felt good to mete out justice, punishing the callous fools who¡¯dunched deadly missiles into the fleeing Shadeni hunters, heedless of the repercussions of those actions, uncaring that children and peaceful crafts folk would be killed. Regardless of the pleasure his vengeance gave him, Victor knew he was being foolish. He was never truly without autonomy anymore; his rage and Berserk made it easy to let go, easy to excuse brash behavior, but part of him knew, the whole time, that he was making himself vulnerable.

    The problem with that knowledge was that Victor didn¡¯t care. He hoped that the Ridonne woulde out and try to take him. He wished the fool would bring a friend or two. Why shouldn¡¯t he try to settle things out here on the ins while Tellen, Tha, Deyni, and all the others, Va and Rellia included, were safe behind the palisade? So it was with no great surprise, and certainly, very little fear, when he saw the two Ridonne show themselves. They illuminated the darkness around them, one with a golden yellow orb¡ªVictor recognized the spine-covered bastard he¡¯d already fought¡ªand another with a fat, baleful red light.

    They sat atop mounts that looked straight out of a prehistoric movie back on Earth¡ªsome kind of raptors with ck, leathery skin painted with wild red and yellow patterns and stripes. They were roughly a football field away from Victor, one slightly to his left and the other off to the right, just outside his banner''s bright circle of illumination. ¡°A football field,¡± he chuckled; he hadn¡¯t thought about football in a long time. As much as he wanted to fight them, as much as he wanted to charge forward and rip them limb from limb, he had to consider the possibility that they might kill him. What would happen to his friends then?

    He might be angry, might be willing to fight to the death, but was he willing to let his friends die? No, he decided, staring at those two Ridonne; he shouldn¡¯t y their game. He¡¯d let them stew for a while. In response to his desire, his will, the Mustang reared up and whinnied loudly, then leaped into movement, ripping over the grass in a wide arc as it turned back toward the camp. Victor heard the stomping feet of the Ridonnes¡¯ raptor mounts. He heard the creatures, muchrger than rdii, shrieking and gnashing their teeth, but they didn¡¯t stand a chance in a race with Guapo. The horse literally streaked over the ins, and when Victor looked over his shoulder, tears ripping out of his eyes in the stiff wind of his passage, he saw that they¡¯d pulled off, unwilling to pursue him into the lights around the fortifications.

    In seconds, he was sliding to a halt before the gates, having arrived faster than the men could pull them open. Victor¡¯s only regret about his actions was that it probably looked like he¡¯d run away. How would that affect the troops¡¯ morale? He needn¡¯t have worried much¡ªthey cheered him and howled at the bloody state of his armor and axe, pleased to have some vengeance for the Shadeni who¡¯d been shot down as they raced for the safety of the camp.

    The n wasn¡¯t near the gate; Victor figured Rellia would have ordered them escorted to the center of the encampment with the other wagons and nonbat personnel. He wanted to go to them, to hug Tha and Deyni, to grasp Tellen¡¯s shoulder, and apologize for the people he¡¯d lost. He couldn¡¯t, though; Rellia and Borrius were standing on the palisade nearby, and the noblewoman met his eye as he rode through, clearly wanting a word with him. Victor hopped down from Guapo, sending him away to frolic on the spirit ne until he needed him again, and then stomped up the sturdy steps to the wooden rampart where the othermanders stood.

    Victor was still gigantic, still channeling his Iron Berserk, and when he felt the rampart shudder with his steps, he let the spell drop. Borrius was speaking when he arrived, and Victor caught the tail end, ¡°. . . foolish, but at least he didn¡¯t ept their further baiting.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± Victor grumbled, striding forward, ¡°I¡¯m foolish. I¡¯m impulsive. I¡¯m all that shit. What have you got for me? There are two Ridonne out there, and I killed something like fifty or a hundred archers. How many of Tellen¡¯s people did we lose?¡±

    ¡°Twenty-six,¡± Va said. ¡°Mostly children and nonbat personnel. The arrows hit some hunters, but they proved more resilient; our healers are seeing to them.¡±

    ¡°We have scouts and the airships out. When we know more, we can make a better n,¡± Borrius said, unconcerned that Victor had overheard him.

    ¡°What can I do? Should I try to bait the leaders closer? I can¡¯t imagine their army will be as effective if we kill those two.¡± Victor leaned against the thick wooden rampart, willing his eyes to see further into the darkness, wishing he knew exactly what to do.

    ¡°They won¡¯t take such bait,¡± Borrius chuckled. ¡°Those men are sly; they¡¯ll have something . . .¡±

    ¡°Legate,¡± Edeya said suddenly, interrupting the older man. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have just received a message from <em>Balestar.</em>¡± Victor knew the name; it was Rellia¡¯s personal airship.

    ¡°Well? Out with it.¡± Borrius didn¡¯t wait for one of the two people there with the ¡°Legate¡± title to acknowledge her.

    ¡°The bridge is gone, sir.¡± She gulped, looking around the group. ¡°Sirs. The bridge is gone, and they¡¯re under fire. <em>The Petal</em> attacked them.¡±

    ¡°Treachery!¡± Rellia cried. Victor couldn¡¯t me her; <em>The Petal</em> was the name of the airship she¡¯d hired to supplement <em>Balestar¡¯s</em> scouting.

    Victor¡¯s mind raced with the implications as Borrius swore, and Va reflexively jerked her sword loose from her sheath. Rellia frowned, her eyes going very dark, even in the light of Victor¡¯s banner. ¡°Ancestors, damn them. Despite the bad news, it means he¡¯s split his Legion. Should we sally forth? Charge the fools near the forest or perhaps the ones back toward the ravine?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Borrius sighed and looked back over the field where, minutes ago, Victor had been fighting. ¡°I fear things are worse than that. Two Ridonne. They wouldn¡¯t be so foolish as to split their army if we matched them evenly. If I¡¯m not wrong, there are two armies out there in the ck. Two Legions. We may be in trouble.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 29: Morale

    Book 5: Chapter 29: Morale

    Victor watched as Borrius barked orders, doing everything he knew to prepare the temporary fortification of the legion¡¯s encampment for the assault of a muchrger force. Hemanded the Earth Casters to increase the width, depth, and number of trenches outside the walls, row upon row of them. Water and Fire Casters followed in their footsteps, filling the trenches with deadly traps. Archers lined the palisades, Air Casters enchanting their arrows with magic that would bolster their range and damage so long as they used them before the enchantments faded.

    Meanwhile, one of the magical storage wagons was emptied of its cargo¡ªthousands of tons of stone blocks, arranged in a sturdy outer ring of fortifications, meant to slow or stop any charging soldiers who made it through the trenches and pitfalls in the field. Ranged casters stood at the ready, prepared to make traversing the uneven, difficult terrain a costly affair. ¡°Will it be enough,¡± he asked, staring into the ckness.

    ¡°No,¡± Borrius sighed. ¡°It will cost them dearly to take us, but we don¡¯t have what we need to defend against two legions properly. If we had a true keep or a mountain top, some sort of choke point . . . but we don¡¯t. We¡¯re in the ins, with no significantndmarks for leagues, and the only hope of retreat cut off.¡±

    ¡°What if I kill the Ridonne?¡±

    ¡°That would certainly help. Morale is a powerful weapon.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm,¡± Victor grunted, starting to regret not engaging with the two Imperials when he¡¯d had the chance. He supposed they wouldn¡¯t have baited him if they hadn¡¯t had a n. ¡°So, you¡¯re saying you can¡¯t win this?¡± He gestured out over the battlements where the soldiers were hard at work.

    Only Edeya, Rellia, and Va were within earshot, but Borrius still looked around, frowning, before he answered, ¡°I¡¯m not saying that. If they are too eager or too bold, we might punish them enough in their first assault to make a clean victory impossible for them.¡±

    ¡°So,¡± Rellia cut in, ¡°our fate may depend on the pride or foolishness of the Ridonne.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see. How long can they keep up this darkness?¡± Victor asked, ¡°When¡¯s sunrise supposed to be?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re an hour from dawn, but we won¡¯t see it,¡± Borrius replied. ¡°Not unless we turn our Wind Casters to the task. Personally, I¡¯d rather fight in the dark, using their Energy to aid the archers and drop lightning strikes on the enemy; if the Imperials are using their casters to bring these ck clouds, it will reduce their offensive capabilities.¡±

    ¡°Not great for morale, though,¡± Va sighed.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m for.¡± Victor turned and started for the steps leading down from the ramparts. Va was close on his heels.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Rellia called,

    ¡°First, I¡¯m going to apologize to Tha and Tellen. Then I¡¯m going to do something to help bolster the troops.¡± He didn¡¯t hear any response, so he kept walking. Soldiers saw him and saluted, and Victor felt a mixture of emotions¡ªguilt warred with pride, warred with sympathy. The soldiers were frightened. They¡¯d heard rumors, seen the Ridonne out on the ins, and seen their leader ride away from them. The darkness was oppressive, despite the orbs of me hovering over the palisade.

    He reached into his Core and cast Inspiration of the Quinametzin, powering it with more Energy than he ever had. To him, the shadows retreated, the lights in the camp and hanging in the sky grew brighter, shed a purer light, and doubts began to flee his mind. The effect must have been simr for his troops because the dozens nearby began to cheer, dropping what they were doing to look at him. Victor stood tall¡ªnot a titan, but a giant of a man. He wrapped his fist around Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, and he lifted her high, shouting, ¡°They¡¯ve picked the wrong army to mess with! We¡¯re going to water these fields with the blood of the Ridonne if that¡¯s what they want!¡±

    The soldiers cheered, though some of them nched and looked around as though the shadows out there might manifest into something physical, might punish them for even thinking ill of the Empire. Victor kept walking, spreading his inspiration as he made his way to the center of the camp, dread in his heart, but duty pushing him forward¡ªhe had to face Tellen. He had to tell him how sorry he was that some of his people had died.

    ¡°I¡¯ve another thought,¡± Va said, causing him to slow his steps and turn to regard her.

    ¡°About?¡±

    ¡°About this darkness and how you should respond. I didn¡¯t want to say anything in front of Borrius in case you disagreed.¡±

    ¡°Go on.¡± Victor fully turned to face her, d she¡¯d spoken up before they¡¯de too close to the circled wagons.

    ¡°The Empire wants to break us, to weaken our morale. They¡¯re circling us, waiting out in the darkness. They know we won¡¯t assault them for two reasons: we have fewer numbers, and we don¡¯t know how they¡¯re arranged. They sit out there,fortable in this ckness. Perhaps you should give them a reason to fear the dark.¡±

    ¡°Are you suggesting . . .¡±

    ¡°Your terror spell, the one you killed Karnice with. Victor, I¡¯ve felt it. If you were set loose out there, among their troops . . . Even if they could catch you, would the Ridonne be able to kill you? Perhaps, but, well, maybe my opinion of you is inted, but I think you¡¯d make them regret trying.¡±

    ¡°You think so?¡± Was Va honestly asking him to unleash his Aspect of Terror? She¡¯d either managed to block the experience from her mind, or she was a lot more worried about their situation than she let on.

    ¡°I do. I think haste is key, too. You have to get out there and sow chaos, fear, and discord before they attack. Let me pass your condolences on to Tellen and Tha.¡±

    ¡°Uh-uh, Va. I¡¯ll think about your idea, but I won¡¯t act impulsively. Let me speak with the hunters. I¡¯ll be quick. Then I¡¯ll run your idea past Borrius and Rellia. If they don¡¯t convince me otherwise, I¡¯ll do as you ask.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Va pressed her lips together, visibly clenching her jaw, then she blew out a pent-up breath. ¡°Very well. Let¡¯s hurry, though.¡± She started walking, and Victor followed suit. ¡°Rellia and Borrius don¡¯t know what you can do. They¡¯ll try to dissuade you. Keep in mind their ignorance before you let them convince you to hold back.¡±

    ¡°Rellia knows what I can do . . .¡±

    ¡°She knows you barely beat her in a duel. She doesn¡¯t know you could swat her like a fly now.¡±

    Victor wanted to respond, to argue that Rellia had seen him in action since then, but they were walking quickly, and he saw a familiar wagon ahead. His heart lifted to see Thistle and Starlight together, tethered just outside the perimeter of the inner ring. Chandri was setting down a bucket near Thistle, and when she looked up and met his eyes, she ran to him. ¡°Oh, man,¡± Victor had time to say before she crashed into him, squeezing his waist and pressing her face into his stomach, despite the hard armor between them.

    ¡°They killed Bassa. They killed <em>children</em>, Victor. We didn¡¯t even attack them or offer them any resistance! Why would they do that?¡± She looked up at him, tears streaking her cheeks, and he saw from the state of her face paints that they weren¡¯t the first.

    ¡°Because they wanted to hurt me. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°The Empire are the wrongdoers here, Victor.¡± Va frowned at Chandri.

    ¡°She¡¯s right. It¡¯s not your fault. Tellen and Tha are with the wounded. Should I get them?¡±

    ¡°Go ahead. I¡¯m going to speak to the people.¡± Victor squeezed Chandri briefly, then stepped up to his one-time wagon and grabbed the top, hoisting himself up. He stood there for a moment, contemting, looking out over the tents and wagons clustered in the center of the encampment, crowds milling about or gathered around fires, and decided some more light might help. He reached into his pathways and built the pattern for Dauntless Radiance¡ªsome courage might do these people some good. He pushed a massive torrent of Energy into it and then unleashed the spell high overhead, in the dark sky over the milling refugees.

    Like a rip appearing in the fabric of existence, a break in the evil clouds, a wide fan of reddish, golden light arced downward, illuminating a hundred feet in every direction with its warm, encouraging glow. Conversations died down, and people looked up, shielding their eyes against the bright re, and if a smile didn¡¯t touch their lips, at least some frowns fell away, and tears dried up. For the second time in his life, Victor tried his hand at public speaking. He cleared his throat and shouted, ¡°Proud Shadeni!¡±

    If any of them hadn¡¯t noticed him yet, that got their attention, and the hundreds of figures began to gravitate toward him, quieting, waiting to hear what else he¡¯d say. As they approached, they felt the Inspiration of the Quinametzin, and their mood improved markedly. At first, Victor was d to see it, but then he remembered the dead girl and the dozens he hadn¡¯t witnessed dying. He frowned and bellowed, ¡°You¡¯ve been wronged, and it¡¯s my fault. The scum out there wanted to punish me by hurting those I care for. I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    Cries of ¡°No!¡± or even ¡°We love you, Victor!¡± came from the ins folk, and when he heard not a single outcry or word of hate-filled me, tears began to pool in Victor¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°I want you to know something! If the Ridonne are against us, it¡¯s because they¡¯re corrupt and evil. We¡¯re on the right side of things here. That should be clear by the way they attack children and peaceful hunters. I promise you: justice will find those that ordered the attack. I will find them. If you hear screams in the ckness out there, know it is me, wreaking our vengeance.¡±

    The Shadeni were hurt, they were down, but they were strong, proud people, and when they heard Victor¡¯s words, his promise of retribution, they started to cheer. They stomped their feet and chanted rhythmic hunting songs, and Victor felt his heart begin to swell. Good as it felt to have their continued support, seeing them gathered like that, hearing their cries of love and gratitude, broke something in Victor. He no longer wanted to speak to Tha and Tellen. He didn¡¯t want to ask Borrius for permission. He had Va¡¯s blessing, and he wanted to do as she¡¯d suggested.

    He raised his voice, bellowing onest time, ¡°Listen to the night! Listen and know that these Imperial bastards chose the wrong people to attack!¡± With that, he dropped from the wagon and started walking toward the gates. Va hurried to match his stride, having to jog lightly. ¡°You need to whip the troops up. My . . . shrieks might scare them. Let them know it¡¯s me. Let them know I¡¯m out there among the enemy, making them regret this bullshit.¡±

    ¡°Victor . . .¡± her voice was shaky, breathy, ¡°What if I¡¯m wrong?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Despite his anger, the urgency in his gut, and the guilt he felt about the Shadeni n, he couldn¡¯t help it---¡ªhe grinned at her and said, ¡°Are you worried?¡±

    ¡°I am! This was my idea! I¡¯ll never forgive . . .¡± she stopped, shaking her head, almost jerking it side to side, and added, ¡°I have to be strong. You¡¯re the one taking the risk.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to make me promise to return safely?¡±

    ¡°Are you . . . are you teasing me at a time like this?¡± Her bright eyes, different, redder, and more luminescent than usual in the weird lights cast by all the magical orbs in the sky, shed at him beneath scowling brows.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Victor sighed and gestured around. ¡°I think I¡¯m just trying to focus on anything to make this all seem less real. We¡¯re surrounded by magical darkness with an unknown number of soldiers waiting to attack us. People I knew, people I¡¯d spoken to, helped, and eaten meals with, were killed just a little while ago! I think the chance to flirt with you let me push some of that away.¡±

    ¡°Well. I hope you¡¯ll remember me when you¡¯re out there. I hope the thought of me praying that you¡¯re safe and that you don¡¯t go too far will keep you from losing yourself to the beast you be. Ancestors! Are we sure you must do this?¡±

    ¡°I have to do something. Borrius is spinning a lot of bullshit to act like we still have a chance.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± Va huffed, ¡°No matter how you frame it, we¡¯re likely outnumbered two to one. We aren¡¯t alone with our abilities, our preparations.¡± She gestured to the walls and the fiery orbs. ¡°Our fortifications will help, but they aren¡¯t castle walls enhanced by glyphs and magic . . .¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll try toe back before I run out of juice. Tell Borrius to get hunters out in the grass to try to gauge my sess. This might be the moment. If I can break them or cause enough chaos, maybe we should attack.¡±

    ¡°He won¡¯t like that. I¡¯ll pass it on, though!¡± she added hastily when Victor looked back at her with a frown. ¡°Victor, it doesn¡¯t matter. Do enough damage, and the Imperials will dread attacking. It will make a difference.¡± She reached out to grasp his wrist. Her fingers were cold, and they made him take note of the fact that the air had chilled quite a lot with the thickyer of clouds the Ridonne¡¯s casters had called in. His breath plumed as he paused to look down at her again. He let her pull his arm back, pull his hand toward her, and she held it there, against her chest, staring into his eyes. ¡°Promise me you¡¯lle back.¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± he said, serious for once. Then he turned and shouted, ¡°Open!¡± He stomped toward the gates, and Va let his hand fall away. The soldiers moved to respond, bolstered by Victor¡¯s inspiration spell, still coursing through him. Rellia and Borrius, on the rampart above, heard him, and he saw them look over the side.

    Rellia called out, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Va will exin.¡± Victor strode through the gates. He let his Inspiration of the Quinametzin drop, heard the responding groans from the soldiers behind him, and cast Iron Berserk.

    ¡°Victor!¡± Rellia called again, this time from the outward-facing edge of the parapet. He ignored her as he doubled in size and let go of his aura, sighing as the weight was taken off his mind. He took several steps away from the gates, down the shallow slope, past a pit with boiling water somehow sloshing about in its depths. The Ridonne had tasted his axe, had felt his might, but he didn¡¯t know everything about Victor. He didn¡¯t know about the fear that lived in his heart, didn¡¯t know that Victor could share it with him and his troops.

    Victor slowed the flow of rage from his Core, cutting it to just the minimum he¡¯d need to maintain his Iron Berserk, and then he let his fear-attuned Energy course into his pathways, summoning the pattern for Aspect of Terror. With a savage cry of fury and frustration, he let the dark power roll through his body, working its magic on his flesh.

    <strong>#</strong>

    ¡°What¡¯s the fool doing?¡± Borrius asked, leaning next to Rellia to see better what the giant Legate had gotten up to. He¡¯d cried out a horrible sound and then hunkered down. Now a cloud of shadows surrounded him, and a terrible weight had fallen on Borrius and all the people nearby. Was the madman going to attack them?

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen this magic from him . . .¡± Rellia¡¯s voice was a whisper, and no small amount of fear tinged her words.

    ¡°He¡¯s going to break their morale,¡± Va said, breathless from her run up the steps as she joined them.

    Borrius whirled on her, ¡°You¡¯re in on this? What is it? You should have spoken to us about any n you two dreamed up!¡±

    ¡°I take full responsibility. This was my idea. I also told Victor not to speak to you. I knew you both would try to dissuade him because you don¡¯t know what he¡¯s capable of. You know nothing of,¡± she gestured to the man, wholly wreathed in shadows outside the ramparts, ¡°this.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Rellia asked, her face pale, and Borrius couldn¡¯t me her; the weight on his spirit was almost unbearable. Was that the madman¡¯s aura? His spell? Somebination of the two?

    ¡°He has more types of Energy than rage and inspiration. You saw his banner, the glory. Well, his strongest affinity is darker; it scares him; he¡¯s worried it will consume him, so he uses it infrequently.¡± Va¡¯s voice was hushed, her eyes wide, something in them that Borrius didn¡¯t recognize. As he and Rellia continued to stare at her, she said, ¡°Fear.¡±

    Borrius started to scoff, started to ask her to exin herself, but then a shriek broke the night. It was a sound so awful, so primally terrifying, that Borrius fell to his knees, hunkering behind the parapet. ¡°What the devil?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s him,¡± Rellia said, staring with Va over the rampart, looking out into the night. ¡°It¡¯s Victor. Oh, Ancestors, Va, he¡¯s looking at us.¡±

    ¡°Stand still. Ancestors, damn it! Tell the guards to lower their weapons!¡± Va spoke in a hushed voice, staring past Borrius, and Rellia didn¡¯t respond, certainly didn¡¯t carry out her request.

    He almost straightened, almost turned to look out at what had transfixed them so, but then he worried that he¡¯d be simrly affected. Instead, Borrius cleared his throat and screamed, ¡°Stand down! Lower your weapons. Do not antagonize him!¡± He red at the guards on the rampart and saw them lower their bows, faces wan, eyes wide. ¡°What in the world is going on out there?¡± he grumbled, turning andboriously pulling himself to his feet.

    As soon as his eyes cleared the rampart, he wished he¡¯d stayed down. A creature stood out there, not two dozen strides from the gates. It was enormous, easily the size of Victor in his giant form. Was that him? Borrius couldn¡¯t believe it. The creature was hulking, more wolf than man, but, Ancestors, were those ck feathers? Was that a hooked beak at the end of its snout? Were those shadows part of it? They seemed to cling to the creature, moving with it as it paced and sniffed at the night sky. ¡°What the rotting grandfathers . . .¡±

    The monster whirled at the sound of his voice. It stomped toward him, and Borrius felt a terror ignite in his chest like he¡¯d never experienced. He felt his bowels loosen, felt adrenaline explode into frozen muscles, and, unable to put together a coherent thought, he stood there and trembled, transfixed by the baleful orangentern-like eyes of the monster as it lifted its gleaming ck beak and sniffed. Borrius would have fainted if he could have. He would have fallen off the wall to escape that re, especially when the fur and feather-covered snout peeled back to reveal a maw full of razor-edged, needle-sharp teeth.

    The only thought he managed to form was a babbling, hardly intelligible question about how the creature could have a beak, teeth, fur, and feathers. Then, moving calmly and purposefully, Va stepped between him and the monster. As Borrius took cover behind her, and his gaze was interrupted, he found himself able to think again, able to act. He drew a deep breath, ready to call the soldiers to the attack, but then Va spoke. ¡°Go. Go, Victor. Punish those that threaten us. Break them!¡±

    Borrius heard gravel scraping and loud footfalls fading away down the gentle slope past the trenches and pitfalls his men had dug. Then another wild, terrible shriek split the night, and his dder joined his bowels in their dereliction of duty.

 Book 5: Chapter 30: Pact

    Book 5: Chapter 30: Pact

    Victor felt the difference his Born of Terror feat made immediately; though the fear pervaded his body, altering it, changing him from a man of muscle and sinew into a creature of shadow and talon, he still knew himself. This was a massive change from his previous experience with the Aspect of Terror¡ªhe knew, deep inside, that he was Victor, that he had a goal in mind, and that feeding upon the fear of all the bright spirits around him was secondary to that. Still, when he stretched his form, free of his temporary chrysalis of shadow, he sniffed at the air, savoring the rich scent of despair.

    The world was no longer dark, the shadows fell away, and though he didn¡¯t see the bright colors a simple flesh-bound beast might, he could see clearly in the night. The ckness was gone, reced by a grayscalendscape punctuated by bright lights¡ªspirits ripe for the reaping. He looked down the slope into the wavy grasnds, admiring the rime of frost that was forming despite thete spring date. His breath plumed and huffed as he sniffed, looking out into those fields, seeing the spirits out there, gathering near the tall boughs of the great deep forest. They teemed there, thronging and milling about, congregating, waiting for something¡ªhim?

    He knew more of the bright spirits waited behind him, lurking in the wooden fortress, hiding behind their flimsy walls. He also knew they weren¡¯t for him. He was meant to feast upon those in the fields and the forest. He was meant to drive them to madness, to panic. He grinned, spreading the leathery lips behind his beak, exposing rows of fangs. That ck, razor-edged beak clicked in a weird, devilish chuckle. Behind him, someone hollered, some throaty human voice bellowing a question. Who would dare?

    Victor whirled and stalked toward the palisade, his head nearly high enough to see over it to the other side. Some spirits lingered atop that wall; most shrank back, wilting before him, but one stood tall, the one who¡¯d barked at him. Victor stretched his long neck, extended his double-jointed knees, and pushed his beak-tipped snout toward the spirit, sniffing. Who was this insolent one? Suddenly the ripe scent of opened bowels touched his nose, and Victor growled, offended by the stench. He took another step toward the wall, the hunger in his Core, spurred by his anger at that quaking, insolent spirit, pushing him toward violence.

    He knew this spirit, did he not? Should it be so disrespectful? Wasn¡¯t it one who¡¯d sworn obeisance? Shouldn¡¯t he give it a taste of his fear? Shouldn¡¯t he share it? Before he could decide, another spirit came into view, one that had been behind the crention of rough timber. It was bright, beautiful, and very familiar to Victor. He sniffed at it, leaning close, the other foolish, much dimmer spirit forgotten. As his snout tasted the air, it spoke, ¡°Go. Go, Victor. Punish those that threaten us. Break them!¡±

    Va! The word came to him, strange and foreign tasting in his mouth. He wanted to say it aloud but knew his tongue wasn¡¯t meant for such things¡ªnot anymore. Instead, he listened, and he remembered. This was a spirit he cared about, one he didn¡¯t want to feel the fear pounding through his pathways. It wanted him to visit terror upon the fools in the fields and forest. If that were so, then he would oblige. He would relish it! Victor turned and responded to an urge born in his bones, in his blood; he screeched his madness, his fear-steeped heart, and willed those who heard him to share in it. He bounded down the slope, leaping pits and trenches, crashing through barriers too flimsy to slow him.

    Soon, Victor was tearing through the tall grass, his long limbs devouring the distance between the bright, wonderful spirit and the ones she wanted him to visit destruction upon. She. ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± he growled in a twisted, guttural voice. ¡°Va!¡± he roared, but it came out more like a screech than a name. He tore through the tall grass, aiming for a cluster of bright spirits somewhat closer than therger congregation, a small group of them squatting, lurking behind the grass, conspiring. Victor didn¡¯t give them a chance to react to him. He ran on taloned pads that caressed the grass like feathers on mist, and when he burst into their little clearing, it was like an avnche of shadowy ws descending on Va¡¯s enemies, <em>his</em> enemies.

    Victor howled and smashed them about, knocking them down, ripping them with his talons, and, one by one, crouched over them, drawing the fear out of them as itpounded on itself. He used the Energy he cultivated to feed his form, to extend his spell, and to propel himself from one stunned target to the next. When he¡¯d taken all the group of scouts could give, when theyy, bleeding and gasping theirst breaths, he tore through the grass, a whispery shadow on the wind, andunched himself against more of the bright spirit¡¯s enemies.

    Some of the spirits he feasted upon were stronger than others. Sometimes their sharp, shiny ws bit into his flesh or chipped at his bones and talons. It didn¡¯t matter; as he drained them of Energy and his Core churned out rage and fear, he healed. Most of the spirits¡¯ attacks were fruitless; they slid off his hard bones, his thick feathers, and the shadows that clung to him. He overwhelmed his victims with ferocious speed and power, gripping them with his talons, pressing them down, draining their Energy, and feeding his Core. Each enemy he overwhelmed restored and sustained him. No, he reconsidered, more than sustained¡ªhe thrived. As his rampage went on, as he charged from one quaking enemy or group of enemies to another, he grew more and more powerful, more and more hungry.

    Soon, it wasn¡¯t only the victims underneath him, pinned by his talons, that fed him. No, he felt the fearing to him from distant corners of the ins, drifting over the grass from the forest. His Core swelled with it, and his form grew denser, thicker with shadows, as the fuel for his frenzied feasting began to outpace his usage. Mad with the glut of pure fear, he lifted his head and screeched again and again as the night wore on.

    <strong>#</strong>

    ¡°They wear on me, those cries! What¡¯s he doing out there?¡± Borrius asked, his eyes wide with stress, sweat beading on his pale blue forehead, despite the chill. He¡¯d taken a moment to clean himself up after his brief encounter with Victor¡¯s terror aspect, and, not exactly refreshed but certainly less soiled, he¡¯d tracked Va down; she¡¯d been patrolling the ramparts.

    ¡°He¡¯s killing them. He¡¯s running them down, driving them to mad fear, and reaping the harvest. It¡¯s how his fear aspect cultivates.¡± She turned toward another screech, distant, perhaps all the way at the edge of the Blue Deep. Had he pursued them so far? Were they not in the fields?

    ¡°I wish we could get him to report back to us and tell us their numbers and locations.¡±

    ¡°He probably won¡¯t remember much of what he sees out there when he returns to himself.¡±

    Borrius frowned as he saw a cluster of guardsmen below, huddled close, whispering with wide, fearful eyes. ¡°He¡¯s breaking not only the enemy¡¯s morale but our own.¡±

    Va turned away from the grasnd, following his gaze, and nodded. ¡°Where¡¯s my mother?¡±

    ¡°Near the gate,st I saw.¡±

    ¡°Come, we need to do our part.¡± Va started around the rampart toward the palisade gate, and Borrius, feeling as though control were slipping through his fingers, followed after her.

    Ten minutester, he stood next to Rellia and Lam¡¯s aide, Edeya, watching as Va addressed the cohort captains. ¡°Captains!¡± she said, her voice sharp and demanding, drawing their eyes away from the darkness outside the walls. ¡°I¡¯ve called you here for a reason. Your Legate Primus has left a task for you¡ªwe must bolster the troops¡¯ morale. We must spread the tale of Victor¡¯s rampage outside this palisade. Those screeches ripping the nighte from his throat. He¡¯s out there tearing apart the Imperial forces. He works to make them regret bringing in this night.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s him?¡± Polo asked, straightening up and shifting the great axe slung over his thick shoulder.

    ¡°That¡¯s Victor.¡± Va¡¯s words were punctuated by another screech distantly echoing over the ins.

    ¡°We must join him, in that case!¡± Sarl said, a rapier materializing in his hand.

    ¡°No, Sarl. Victor does his terrible work, so we might stand a chance against the Ridonne when they make their offensive. He works to break their morale, to thin their numbers, and to soften the tip of their spear. If we charge now, we¡¯ll undermine his efforts.¡±

    ¡°What if he¡¯s surrounded? What if the Ridonne surprise him?¡± Yarsha, captain of the fifth cavalry cohort, asked.

    ¡°Does it sound like he¡¯s in danger? Do you hear any pain in that horrible screech?¡± Borrius asked, jumping onto Va¡¯s bandwagon. ¡°If those two devils can catch him, which I highly doubt, having seen him move through the night with my own two eyes, then I fear they¡¯ll regret doing so.¡±

    ¡°Come,¡± Va said, pping her hands. ¡°Get out there and encourage the troops. Spread the tale of Victor¡¯s work. Let them know the darkness might be against us, but the nightmare stalking through it is one of our own.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    ¡°Desertion is starting to feel like a very real concern, Pazra,¡± the tall, golden-fleshed paragon of the Ridonne said, resting a hand on his shoulder, carefully avoiding the spikes. Pazra pulled away, moving to the other side of his map table. They stood inside hismand tent, lushly appointed with thick rugs, opulent furnishings, and ample space for the two huge men and their attendants.

    ¡°Brother. Dear, Rosh-dak, if you fear your men are deserting, then you must punish them. I can assure you; my men will stand fast.¡±

    ¡°Your men are dying,¡± Rosh said, chuckling, looking down his long, straight nose as he was wont to do, always so eager to demonstrate how much taller he was, how much more handsome, how much more loved.

    Pazra growled his response, ¡°Small numbers. The beast can y all night, and it will only be a fraction of us. What is the thing, anyway? Have you set eyes upon it yet? Old bones, but its shriek wears on me!¡±

    ¡°My scouts close in. It seems to hunt at random, never in a straight line. Still, they close the, and when they do, they¡¯ll call to me.¡±

    ¡°So sure? When was thest you heard from them? What of the airship your flyers captured?¡±

    ¡°Minutes ago, dear brother. Don¡¯t judge my men as harshly as your own. The cries you hear, the gaps in our line¡ªall yours. As for the airship, it will be of no use. The other one brought it down with it; they proved more resilient than my plucky, flying tribune anticipated.¡± Rosh chuckled, reaching up to finger the golden-capped, spiral horn that swept back from his temple over his ear. Pazra admired those glorious horns. What must life be like to be so handsome? ¡°In any case, they did their job. We¡¯ve removed the wench¡¯s air support. My men perform their duties with aplomb.¡±

    ¡°Your men fair well only because they guard the far side of the encampment. If the beast wends its way toward them, we¡¯ll see how well they stand.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t. I¡¯ll kill it before then. You should hope I do, at least. Myst missive from our dear uncle wasn¡¯t very charitable in itsnguage referencing this little military campaign of yours.¡±

    ¡°Ours,¡± Pazra corrected, ¡°This is a joint venture, brother.¡±

    ¡°So it is, so it is. He sees my involvement somewhat more charitably, however. I came here to help you, after all. He¡¯s wondering why two Ridonne and their Legions are needed for a simple uprising orchestrated by a backwater noblewoman. If it weren¡¯t for the reports of this champion of hers, this so-called giant, and what the auguries have shown, I fear you¡¯d be in a bit of trouble for allowing things to escte to this level.¡±

    ¡°Brother, is that how you¡¯ve sold your involvement?¡± Pazra stood up straight, looking away from the map for the first time, his anger suddenly redirected toward his sibling. ¡°I may not be as handsome as you, as loved, but don¡¯t mistake that for a weakness of the mind. I appreciate you being here, and I appreciate your help, but don¡¯t try to capitalize on this situation; do not attempt to curry favor among the family. Favor with me? Yes. You have it, but not if it means you will attempt to drag me down. What do you have to gain? I¡¯m already far removed from the session.¡±

    ¡°What is there ever to gain by sibling rivalry? Is not the joy in the contest enough?¡± Rosh smiled slyly and reached out a long, powerful arm to jostle Pazra¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Come, I know you¡¯re not beingpletely honest with me. Do you not attempt to please our mother with your activities? Do you not run to her, squealing the tale of every mistake I¡¯ve made?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t, but you do, and she sees through it. You know Farscribe Books can have more than one copy; she¡¯s seen all your missives goading me to violence, swearing your assistance. I give you this bit of advice freely: don¡¯t try to y our uncle for favor. She¡¯ll see through it, and she has his ear. She¡¯s well aware of every misstep I¡¯ve made but also of your involvement.¡±

    Rosh chuckled, stroking his chin and narrowing his eyes as he looked down at Pazra. ¡°You did that? Gave her a copy? You little churl!¡± His chuckle seemed genuine; was he truly so unbothered? ¡°No matter. We¡¯ll solve this debacle, and the family will see it was I who came to your aid.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me, Lord Pazra-dak,¡± V, one of Pazra¡¯s tribunes, said, stepping into the light of hismp and approaching the table.

    ¡°Speak,¡± he said, wincing as another horrifying shriek cut through the night.

    ¡°It seems the losses are somewhat greater than I first tabted. There are . . . gaps in the secondary line.¡±

    ¡°Gaps?¡± Rosh asked, his amusement and further words forgotten; their sibling rivalry was old news, and here was something new. His golden lips pulled back from sharp, white teeth, exposing bright canines that shed in the gleam of the light. Pazra hated how his heart grew sick with envy whenever his brother smiled.

    ¡°Aye, sir. There are missing reinforcements.¡±

    ¡°Not dead?¡± Pazra asked, a deep frown marring his already scrunched countenance.

    ¡°That¡¯s unclear. It¡¯s possible that some of them rushed the beast to aid the first line, but I¡¯m getting reports of men slipping away, deeper into the forest. I was . . . wondering if we should invoke the pact.¡±

    ¡°Of course! Desertion isn¡¯t something ever to be tolerated,¡± Rosh answered for him, and Pazra growled, feeling the heat of his fiery Energy begin to seep out of his Core.

    ¡°Yes!¡± he barked. ¡°Invoke the pact! Alert the captains¡ªI want an urate count on our numbers¡ªhow many we lose after the invocation. We¡¯ll gain some use from those cowardly fools.¡±

    ¡°How entertaining,¡± Rosh said, continuing to gently stroke his golden chin, his long, ck nails making a soft susurration as they scraped over his fine stubble. ¡°Yes. This has a lovely symmetry; let us send our own monsters into the night.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    R ran. Without thought, without a n, she ran. One thing upied her mind, and it was an image, a scene, reying again and again. As she leaped underbrush and crashed through low-hanging branches, she saw, in her mind¡¯s eye, Te-dak being pinned to the ground by an enormous, horrible creature that oozed primal Energies. Energies that brought fear and terror out of R. Urges buried in her deepest ancestral memories came to the surface, and she knew one thing: she must run.

    She didn¡¯t think of her duty, hermander, or the Empire. Only the desire to escape that horrific creature propelled her forward. If she couldn¡¯t think of her sergeant, the ever-snarling, ever-angry, ever-present Egrolo-dak, how could she possibly remember the pact? How could she think of a document she¡¯d signed years ago in a time like this? Sadly, it didn¡¯t matter if she remembered the pact, for it remembered her.

    R paused by a thick tree, frozen with fear, hunching against its rough bark as the creature screamed again. As the echoes of that weird, terrible cry began to fade, and she felt the muscles in her legs unclench, she looked ahead, choosing a direction in which to sprint. Then her heart exploded. It didn¡¯t <em>actually </em>explode, but it certainly felt like it. No, she wasn¡¯t dead¡ªfire burned in her chest, and she couldn¡¯t breathe, but she wasn¡¯t dead. She writhed, her hands wing at the damp, cold mulch of the forest floor. When had she fallen?

    As the horrible pain, the hot burning Energy spread from her chest into her arms and down toward her legs, R looked at her hands to see them changing. Her fingers stretched into hard, dark ws, the skin peeling back from ck bones. Her wrist cracked, and as she screamed in agony, her bones elongated, and her joints shifted. Her vision changed then, and so did her mind; she no longer felt afraid. All she knew was pain and the unbearable hunger for the Empire¡¯s foes.

    She lifted her head and, in her red-tinged vision, scanned the sky for the moon, for the stars, for some sign of what she should do. Nothing outside herself held the answer, but something else did; a deep voice, the Princep who¡¯d taken her oath, spoke in her mind, ¡°Seek them. Seek the foes of the Empire. Run to them. Tear them apart. Eat their leaders.¡±

    R howled, lifting her strange, animalistic snout, long tusks protruding from a lower jaw that her father, a man who¡¯d once doted on her and called her his beautiful princess, wouldn¡¯t recognize. Her cry rose into the ck night, and others took up the call¡ªdozens, hundreds, of voices rose in unison, singing a hungry, desperate, mournful song. Then she turned and began to charge toward the edge of the forest. The grasnds were nearby; she knew that much, remembered that little bit of her old life. The tall grasnds were nearby, and on them, the enemies of the Empire.

 Book 5: Chapter 31: Fear-fueled Melee

    Book 5: Chapter 31: Fear-fueled Melee

    Victor stalked through the night, hunting amid the great, ancient trees, ripping the life and Energy from one foe after another. They were fleeing; he could feel the fear drifting to him through the forest like a bloodhound might catch a scent. While rich, it grew fainter as the spirits took flight, and he hung back, gorging on one downed spirit after another. Something was happening inside him, something in his Core; it grew fat and throbbed, seeking an outlet, and he knew, instinctively, he was supposed to do something with it. That awareness and the pleasure he drew from savoring the Energy kept him from charging wildly into the deep woods.

    As the light faded from the spirit he held beneath his massive talons, he arched his back, causing his great, shadow-d spine to creak and pop. He shook his head and shivered at the pleasure of it, feeling the fur and feathers that lined his form vibrate with the movement. Somewhere in his mind, Victor still existed, still fought for dominance over his fear and rage, and that fragment of himself had the wherewithal to wonder why he had fur and feathers. Why not one or the other?

    The question felt like a clue. It felt like it had something to do with the enormous, swelling maelstrom of fear-attuned Energy that sat in his Core. He¡¯d harvested so much Energy and drained so many spirits that night! To what end? He felt the answer to the riddle was right under his thumb, no, his talon¡ªthat he was on the verge of making a breakthrough. He could feel the drifting ribbons of fear growing more distant, though he wasn¡¯t worried; hundreds or thousands of prey yet lingered, hiding in the tall grass or among the trees. There would be no going hungry for him.

    He continued to stare inward, mind entranced by that throbbing ball of densely packed fear. He¡¯d begun to tease at it, to pull some forth, when a wild, mournful cry echoed through the night and was taken up by hundreds of other throats. What was this? More prey? Victor lifted his beaked snout and tasted the air, tasted the sound, and found itcking sustenance. No, these sad creatures felt no fear. There was nothing for him in them. Nevertheless, they were intriguing. Where had theye from? Would theypete with him for the spirits? Their wails wound down, but he heard them crashing through the darkness, charging away from the forest toward the tall grass.

    Should he give chase? Something in him loved the idea, but what was the point? Why hunt something that had no meat for his hunger? Besides, hadn¡¯t he decided to please the bright spirit, the one he recognized? ¡°Va,¡± he grumbled, sniffing again, seeking a taste of fear. There was a great deal less of it on the wind. What was going on? Had so many spirits escaped? He sniffed again, and though the totality of the fear was lessened, there were some strong scents very nearby.

    Victor slowly turned, snout raised, drawing the fear in; one, two, three, four, five spirits slowly approached him, five fear-filled morsels. They came closer despite their terror; this was new! Victor lowered himself, stalking along the frost-rimed, leaf-covered duff. His movements were cloaked in shadow, silent as a whisper as he moved toward the nearest. He was halfway to it, his haunches straining with the urge to spring, when the spirit, and the others converging on him, ceased their movement. He felt a surge of Energy, something clean and bright, no taint of attunement. Rather than wait to see what they were doing, Victor leaped, crashing through a stand of saplings to fall upon the hazy spirit, weakpared to some of the others he¡¯d consumed.

    The poor thing wailed as he smashed it to the ground and tore into its shoulder with his beak and fangs, pulling the suddenly ripe, rich flow of fear-attuned Energy into his Core. As he consumed it, he felt the other four fleeing. He chuckled, a dark guttural sound that rumbled in his chest, as blood dripped off his beak. As he feasted, something began to tickle the back of his mind, a feeling of urgency, easy to ignore at first but stronger, more persistent with each passing second. What was this? He had his mission¡ªfeast on the fear of these fools, punish them, and please the bright spirit.

    He stood taller on his long, shadowy limbs, once again tasting the wind. Something new wasing to him, a taste of fear that hadn¡¯t been there before. He stood up further, on his hind legs, stretching his spine, reaching his head into the sky, and stared north toward the grasnds where he¡¯d first rampaged. The other spirits, those not meant for his feasting, were afraid. They were exuding the emotion. It rose like a nebulous cloud over their walled encampment. Again that feeling at the back of his mind scratched at him, less a tickle than a w now, a sharp reminder of his duty, a pang to wake up his sleeping self¡ªhe was Victor, and his men needed him.

    The maelstrom of darkly-attuned Energy in his Core forgotten, his hunger for fear abandoned, Victor reached to sever the spell that bound him to the Aspect of Terror. Before he could cut it loose, though, a great roaring avnche of man and metal fell upon him, cracking his bones, ripping his feathers, and sending him tumbling over the frosty ground to smash into the bole of a gigantic tree. His crashing impact was tremendous, cracking the wood, shaking loose old branches and thousands of leaves, and Victor knew nothing but fury. Who had dared to strike him so?

    He needn¡¯t have asked; a Ridonne, taller than the one he¡¯d met before, stood where, moments before, Victor had been, a great shield on his left arm and a thick, golden broadsword in his other fist. It wasn¡¯t only the sword that was golden; the <em>man</em> was golden, from his armor to his shield to his very flesh. Victor felt his bones snap back into ce, felt the shadows wrap around his torn limbs, and, before a heartbeat might be counted twice, heunched himself at the golden warrior, streaking like a shadowy missile through the night to smash into him. The Ridonne looked surprised, and Victor saw his spirit start to bleed through his physical form. It was brilliant.

    Victor¡¯s hunger reignited, and he almost forgot about his duty, about his troops, but that pang in the back of his mind returned, ripping into his thoughts, pushing the nightmare away and bringing Victor forward. He couldn¡¯t y with this fool. He had somewhere he needed to be. He¡¯d locked his talon-like ws on the Ridonne¡¯s shoulders, and as they tumbled through damp, frosty, dead leaves, he stared into his eyes, willing him to be afraid. He might have seen a flicker of doubt in those golden orbs, but the man held firm, hacking his sharp, terribly heavy sword into Victor¡¯s side.

    Victor wanted to fight, wanted to rip that arm off and shove that sword down the Imperial¡¯s throat, but he felt that godawful pang again, and he knew he must hurry back to the encampment. In those desperate seconds, while they thrashed and struck at each other, he began to imagine Va in danger, Deyni being killed, and Tha being taken. ¡°Enough!¡± he roared, and, acting on pure instinct, he pushed the massive torrent of fear-attuned Energy out of his Core into his pathways and willed himself to take flight.

    A new kind of shriek erupted from Victor¡¯s throat¡ªlouder, higher-pitched, and loaded with primal memories that stirred the bowels of all those who tarried nearby, turning them to water and pausing the very beats of their hearts. Once again, he felt his limbs stretching and changing. He felt the fur coating his shadowy, skeletal form fall away, reced by more of the glossy ck feathers, and then, with yet another terrible shriek, he raked his talons down the Ridonne¡¯s chest, rending his fancy armor and tearing deep, festering grooves through his flesh.

    As the Imperial cried out and released him, Victor snapped his massive, shadowy wings andunched himself into the ck night. The Ridonne sobbed, rolling to his side, writhing in agony. Blood turned ck from corruption seeped out of the deep, horrible wounds in his chest. With wide, panicked eyes, he scanned the sky, looking for the monstrosity that had wounded him so, marring his perfect flesh, and ruining his peerless armor. Only darkness met his gaze, and that fear, that feeling he¡¯d only felt a hint of before, grew in his chest, darkening his heart and bringing a cold sweat to his flesh.

    Victor knew none of that. He didn¡¯t bother to look back at the golden warrior. He didn¡¯t care. His people needed him, and he could see why. From his new winged vantage, he saw hundreds of dark, twisted shapes leaping over the barriers outside the encampment. He cracked his wings again, shrieking his fury at their audacity, and then, he dove, streaking like a nightmare raven as it swooped to snatch a mouse. He crashed into one of the contorted figures. His talons gripped opposite shoulders, and he ripped it in twain, showering the dark grass with blood and entrails.

    Another figure charged past him, then another, and soon he saw there were nearly a dozen already fighting on the wall, battering the bright spirits¡ªhis allies. Understanding drove the hunger from his mind yet again, and Victor reached into his pathway, severing the spell tying him to the Aspect of Terror. As the magic left him and the shadows obscured his transformation back to his human form, Victor began to cast Banner of the Champion.

    When the shadows fell away, Victor stood tall, and a zing standard erupted behind his back, washing the blood-soaked ins in its glorious light. Victor lifted Lifedrinker, roaring his enthusiasm for battle. Before he joined the fray, before he leaped upon a cluster of the twisted men and women, he called forth his great bear totem, fueling him with a tremendous torrent of inspiration-attuned Energy. As the bear burst into being from a cloud of glimmering white-gold motes, Victor urged hispanion to ughter the twisted men and women assaulting the encampment. Then he used Titanic Leap to send himself flying toward the nearest parapet.

    Now that his vision had returned to normal, he noted the red-orange glow all around and realized the soldiers hadn¡¯t stood idly by to be ughtered. Fires burned out on the ins where they¡¯dunched fireballs at the charging, horribly mutated men and women. ¡°What the fuck are these things?¡± Victor roared as he split one in half with his axe. The being was clearly once a Shadeni, though he¡¯d been twisted beyond easy recognition. He had a long, tooth-filled lower jaw, one eye muchrger than the other, and a weird, twisted horn that grew from one side of his head, winding around the back to jut out the other side. His body was simrly disfigured¡ªone limbrger than the others ending in an enormous, wed paw.

    As Victor smashed one and then two of the creatures to bloody fragments, the soldiers nearby cheered and redoubled their efforts. He didn¡¯t know what had happened to these people and no longer cared. Victor charged at another group of the monstrosities, hacking them to bits and spreading the bolstering effect of his banner. He felt an urgent need to go farther into the camp, and he jumped from the wooden parapet,nding with a ground-shaking thud near the central pathway. He saw a great cluster of the twisted humanoid figures, hundreds of them, not far away, and ran at them. A glimmering, lightning-wreathed sword shed among them, and he knew it was Va.

    Victor roared, cast Energy Charge with rage-attuned Energy, and exploded over the ground, erasing the distance between himself and the monstrous figures. He was easily three times the mass of one of the weird, misshapen people, and when he crashed into the crowd of them, he sent several careening into others with such force that the impact split their flesh and pulverized their bones. The chain of collisions was so violent that when Victor recovered from the rapid movement to look for Lifedrinker¡¯s next target, he saw that he¡¯d killed several and wounded twice as many.

    Va, Rellia, and Lam fought back-to-back-to-back; Edeyay, broken and bleeding at Lam¡¯s feet, and Borrius crouched, shielding his head near Rellia. Victor realized he was lucky he hadn¡¯t smashed any of the aggressors into his friends, but he only thought about it for a second; he had work to do. He and Lifedrinker began to dance, then, and what a bloody waltz it was! He worked among the horror-born men and women, cutting limbs, cleaving necks, and smashing through skulls, painting himself, his friends, and the nearby tents red with sprays of hot, misty blood.

    The attackers were fearless, unrelenting, and willing to fight with mortal wounds. Victor knew men and women were dying all over the encampment, but he also knew the greatest number of the monsters were there, at that location, trying to kill the leaders of his army. In the rity of battle, he¡¯de to realize the pangs he¡¯d felt were from his Battle Awareness feat, urging him to go where he was most needed, and he felt nothing from it now; he was exactly where he should be.

    His banner and his arrival greatly bolstered Va, Rellia, and Lam. When he cleared a swath to them, giving them the freedom to stop guarding their backs, they went on the offensive, and the disfigured one-time soldiers began to dwindle in numbers as the fierce women helped him cut them down. The monsters were tough, mentally and physically¡ªVictor¡¯s banner didn¡¯t seem to affect them, but it didn¡¯t matter; it did its other job perfectly, encouraging and strengthening his friends and, more importantly, all the soldiers in the camp. Even if they were too far from him to get the direct, magical benefit, anyone within a mile of him could see that Victor was fighting the monsters, that his banner stood and zed.

    As was his habit, Victor roared and screamed as he crushed, cleaved, battered, and threw the attackers. Echoing him, out on the grasnds, his great, brilliant, inspiration-born bear did the same, and Victor found his love of battle and joy in conquest wouldn¡¯t allow him to keep fromughing like a madman during his ughter. As the creatures mounted the wall, most were killed by the troops atop it. Those that fought their way through, leaping down to charge toward Borrius and Rellia, met their demise on the end of Victor¡¯s axe, the edge of Va¡¯s sword, the point of Rellia¡¯s rapier, or the terrible smashing Energy of Lam¡¯s warhammer.

    The stream of mutated men and women became a trickle, and when thest of them died screaming and crying with Lifedrinker draining it of Energy, a break appeared in the ck night, and sunlight slipped through. Throughout the encampment, soldiers and civilians began to cheer, and Victor, heaving for breath and grinning wildly, allowed his Iron Berserk to fade. He was nearly out of rage-attuned Energy.

    Leaning on Lifedrinker, leaving her buried in the monster¡¯s chest, he watched as Lam rushed to Edeya and administered a swirling, golden potion to the girl¡¯s pale, colorless lips. Victor¡¯s joy of battle rapidly faded as he saw the poor injured Ghelli, remembering all he¡¯d done to save her back in the Greatbone Mine. He began to wonder how many other allies had died or been injured in the attack.

    He started toward her, but then, like a secondary sunrise, golden motes gathered on the hundreds of corpses nearby and the hundreds out on the ins and the walls. As the System determined the battle over, the reaping of rewards was nigh, and soon those globes of Energy coalesced, streaming over the ins, through the camp, and into the victors. True to his name, Victor was the clear champion when it came to tallying the killing. A torrential river of Energy rushed through the brightening dark, washing him with its current, lifting him into the air, and filling him with its power.

    Messages from the System began to fill his vision, and while he hung in the air, helpless to do anything else, he read through them:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 51 Battlemaster, gained 10 strength, 9 vitality, 4 agility, 4 dexterity, 3 will, and 3 intelligence.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have earned a ss spell: Guard Ally - Basic.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Guard Ally - Basic: You expend some Energy to create a barrier around a nearby ally for a short time, transferring damage they take to yourself. You will suffer double the damage intended for your ally. Energy cost: 100, Cooldown: Long.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have learned the spell: Aspect of Terror - Advanced.***</strong>

    <strong>***Aspect of Terror - Advanced: Prerequisite: Affinity - Fear or rted affinity. You change your appearance to represent something terrifying, an aspect molded from the deep roots of your primogenitors. Using the force of your will, you have refined this form, mastering it and shaping it into something truly terrible that sparks fear in the hearts of those who behold it. While wearing this form, you will passively harvest and cultivate fear-attuned Energy emanating from those who perceive you and cannot resist your will. Energy Cost: Minimum 100 - scble. Cooldown: Long.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have learned the spell: Impart Nightmare ¨C Basic.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Impart Nightmare ¨C Basic: While wearing your Aspect of Terror, using gathered fear-attuned Energy, you can corrupt the spirit of another being with a seed of fear, sending it to dwell in their Core where it will grow and fester. This ability will fail upon those whose will can resist your intention. Energy Cost: Minimum 100 ¨C scble. Cooldown: Dependent on harvested fear.***</strong>

    When he came down, Victor nced at Edeya and saw she was standing, leaning on her knees, apparently recovered. Even so, he saw she was missing two of her four wings, and his heart ached for her. Lam was leaning close, speaking softly to her, and he knew there wasn¡¯t anything he could say at that moment to make her feel better. In any case, he wouldn¡¯t have had the chance¡ªVa hurried to him and smashed him into a hug.

    ¡°You made it back!¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± he said, pulling her tight, savoring the feel of her, even through theirbined wyrm-scale armors. ¡°Come on. We need to see how many we lost. What the fuck are these things?¡± he asked for the second time, nudging one of the dead monstrosities with his boot.

    ¡°They¡¯re Imperial soldiers,¡± Borrius said, walking over to them, running a hand through his blood-slicked hair.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°The pact.¡± Va¡¯s voice was quiet, almost hushed.

    ¡°Exactly. Just as we made our soldiers sign a contract, so does the Legion. Theirs has harsher consequences for desertion than ours.¡±

    ¡°They were deserting?¡± Rellia asked,ing to join the conversation.

    ¡°I guess so,¡± Victor said. ¡°I could feel them fleeing, the soldiers out there. I mean, not all of them, but a lot. So, their contract did this to them?¡±

    ¡°Themanders of their army would have to invoke it, but yes.¡± Borrius didn¡¯t seem upset; in fact, he wore a savage grin as he continued speaking. ¡°There must be a thousand,¡± he said, looking around. ¡°This will profoundly affect their morale, much greater than just the number of losses. A thousand dead Imperials is wonderful, but thanks to the fear you invoked, we aren¡¯t looking at a thousand dead foot soldiers. We¡¯re looking at a mix of soldiers, officers, and even cavalry.¡±

    ¡°Roots!¡± Lam looked up from where she¡¯d been tending to Edeya. ¡°He¡¯s right. Look here.¡± She pointed to a nearby corpse. ¡°He¡¯s wearing captain¡¯s livery.¡±

    ¡°We should talk about what¡¯s next.¡± Victor eyed Edeya, still leaning against Lam, her cheek on her shoulder, looking away from the group ofmanders.

    ¡°Can you tell us about their numbers? Their fortifications? Anything?¡±

    ¡°Nothing concrete.¡± Victor shrugged, then tried to borate, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m trying to be difficult. It¡¯s just that when I¡¯m in that form, when the spell takes hold, I¡¯m different. When Ie out of it, the things that happened are like a dream. A nightmare. I¡¯m pretty sure I fought the other Ridonne, but I knew there was trouble here, so I left him.¡± Victor paused, his face puzzled as he tried to remember the details, then he nced at the sky, at the rapidly diminishing ck clouds, and said, ¡°Holy shit, I was fucking flying.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 32: A Lull

    Book 5: Chapter 32: A Lull

    Pazra-dak looked at Rosh, writhing on his bed, sheets tangled around him, soaked in sweat. His eyes rolled in his sockets, bloodshot and wide. Some living terror wracked his mind, driving him to gibber and froth, his once handsome face nothing but a sick caricature of itself. What had that devil done to him? ¡°Brother. Speak to me. What do you see? What torments you so? Your wounds are healed. The scars, while severe, will fade with time and bloodline advancements.¡±

    ¡°Ites! Devil! Wings! Hide! Must hide . . .¡± he turned and buried his face in the mattress, pulling his wet sheets toward his golden, hairless skull.

    Pazra whirled and screamed at Bothelio-dak, the highest-ranking surgeon in theirbined armies, ¡°What are you doing to fix this?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a sickness of the mind, Lord! Something has corrupted him, tainted his spirit. Perhaps your aide, the Wanact witch . . .¡± his words were lost as Pazra struck him with the back of his hand, knocking a tooth loose and sending the fool sprawling.

    ¡°Only I will refer to her as such. She is not avable, but when she is, rest assured, she will mend this great man¡¯s spirit.¡± Pazra looked around his tent at the crestfallen tribunes, the useless legate. He opened his mouth to speak but paused, listening to the distant screams and roarsing from the upstart¡¯s encampment. ¡°And why have you not attacked? Why have you not seized this opportunity to follow on the heels of the pact breakers?¡± His words were spoken to the room, but Legate Ghel-dak knew they were for him.

    ¡°Lord,¡± he started, his once haughty voice tremulous. ¡°Our lines are in disarray. Many of the pact breakers were officers. I fear any assault now would be haphazard and lead to massive losses. The, um, upstart¡¯s troops seem to be handily crushing the pact breakers. To attempt to capitalize now would lead to . . .¡±

    ¡°Silence!¡± Pazra waved his hand in disgust, pacing back and forth near the mewling, broken shadow of a man that used to be his glorious brother. His mind worked furiously, wondering where Senena was, why she hadn¡¯te to him, why she didn¡¯t know he needed her help. ¡°Damned witch!¡± he hissed.

    ¡°Lord!¡± a new voice said, interrupting his fuming reverie. He whirled, looking for the one who¡¯d spoken, and saw it was one of the lieutenants, one of the Command Book scribes.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Captain Chelna reports that the Wind Casters have failed to maintain the clouds. They were exposed to the horror that roamed the ranks. Many were breaking, fleeing, and the pact invocation cost us nearly half their number.¡±

    ¡°Ancestors, <em>damn</em> it!¡± Pazra roared, smashing a huge, ck-wed fist onto the table where he kept his map. The blow broke the support arm that held up the leaf, and it flopped to the floor, spilling his map and scattering the carefully ced markers. As his aides scurried to clean the mess, he paced, trying to think of a n. What would he do? His brother would know. Pazra looked at the broken man and almost screamed again, almost struck something. He had to do something before he lost control of the armies. When his brother¡¯s Legion learned of his condition, would they hold firm? They had better! ¡°Well?¡± he said, whirling on hismand staff.

    ¡°Lord?¡± Ghel-dak asked.

    ¡°<em>Lord</em>?¡± Pazra mocked. ¡°You worthless bastards! What would you do if I weren¡¯t here? Our lines crumble, we¡¯ve lost the darkness, and their hellspawn beast has brought low one of the Ridonne, one of our greatest! Do we have an urate headcount? The creature seems to have retreated or left¡ªdo we have any men remaining? What will you do to manage that gigantic mongrel that I fought on the ins? My brother won¡¯t be much help at this rate!¡± He gesticted madly while he ranted, pointing left and right and finishing with a flourish at his pathetic brother.

    ¡°Lord, I believe it would be best to stall for time. We need to regroup, to gather our men, fill in the gaps inmand, and, hopefully, find a way to help your brother.¡±

    ¡°And how shall I do that? How shall I stall?¡±

    ¡°You must bluff,¡± one of his tribunes said, jumping in to rescue the foolish Legate. Pazra motioned for him to continue, and the slight, neatly dressed man said, ¡°Act as though the removal of the clouds was done as a gesture of goodwill, a chance for them to gather their corpses and consider your offer.¡±

    ¡°My offer?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Lord. We¡¯re here because the noblewoman has raised a full legion without Imperial sanction. She¡¯s been overheard speaking about Imperial corruption. Tell her she can turn herself over, disband this illegitimate army, and we¡¯ll let those she deluded with false promises walk away, their lives intact.¡±

    ¡°What is your name, Tribune?¡± Pazra stalked menacingly toward the man, looming imposingly over him and the two aides by his side.

    ¡°I am Venis-dak, Lord.¡±

    ¡°Venis-dak, I hereby promote you to Legate. Ghel-dak will serve as your second.¡±

    ¡°Lord!¡± Venis said, pping his fist to his chest in a sharp salute.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor watched the dark, ominous clouds drift through the sky, a stiff breeze helping to undo the work of the Ridonne army¡¯s casters. He let his gaze fall to the wrecked airship outside the western fortifications¡ªRellia¡¯s ship, <em>Balestar</em>. It had finally limped home, smoking and with a much-lightened crew, carving a trench in the ground as it slid to a crashnding. The surviving sailors had spun quite a tale about a flying squadron of Imperial troops that had attacked <em>The</em><em>Petal</em>, overpowering its crew and then turning their Energy-driven ballistae on the <em>Balestar.</em>

    Rellia¡¯s ship didn¡¯t go down easily, though, and ended up winning the engagement, though it had barely made it home. ¡°Two weeks?¡± he grunted, looking down at Lieutenant Darro.

    ¡°That¡¯s what the engineers say, sir. Two weeks to get that ship back in the air.¡±

    ¡°Assuming the army besieging us doesn¡¯t do more damage in their attack.¡± Victor stretched, cracking his back noisily as he scanned the distant horizon. Even here, facing westward into the grasnds, he could see the line of encircling troops, their fortified trench lines, and fires. Smokezily drifted into the pale sky. Changing the subject, he asked, ¡°How¡¯s Edeya?¡±

    ¡°She puts on a brave face, sir, but Lam has given her light duty. I¡¯m told she almost died.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she looked dead when I joined the fight. I¡¯m d she was only injured.¡±

    ¡°Aye, sir, but to a Ghelli, the injury is rather bleak. I know she couldn¡¯t fly yet, but she¡¯d had hopes.¡±

    Victor frowned at the words and said, ¡°That¡¯s nothing to worry about. When she advances her race sufficiently, she¡¯ll grow new wings, right?¡±

    ¡°I believe so, though such advancements are few and far between . . .¡±

    ¡°Bullshit. If we were in town, I¡¯d buy her what she needs right now. Hey, do me a favor. Go find her and send her to my travel home. I¡¯ve got a job for her while we¡¯ve got a lull in the action.¡±

    ¡°Aye, sir!¡± Darro turned to hurry away, but Victor grasped his shoulder.

    ¡°Hold on. After you do that, find Va and the othermanders and tell them where I am, but then go to the Shadeni encampment and tell their Ban-tok I¡¯d like a word. Lead him to my travel home.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Darro said, and when Victor released his shoulder, he walk-jogged toward the wooden rampart steps and charged down them. Victor turned and started in the same direction at a much more rxed pace. It wasn¡¯t that he was particrly at ease; being surrounded by enemies, knowing they could attack at any time, gave him a certain baseline of stress that would probably have been overwhelming a year ago. These days it felt like just another day.

    Borrius was sure the Imperials wouldn¡¯t attack that day, arguing that they¡¯d need time to reestablish chains ofmand and formte an organized strategy. His money had been on an attacking the following day at dawn. Victor wasn¡¯t so sure; the Ridonne seemed to like the dark, and he wondered if they wouldn¡¯t wait until Victor¡¯s army was lulled into a false sense of ease, expecting a morning assault, and then strike in the middle of the night. In any case, Victor had left that discussion and ns for further fortifications and prep work to othermanders. He¡¯d wanted to walk around the wall, take stock of things, and let the troops feel his presence.

    The sky still seemed overcast, but, wrinkling his nose, he knew much of that was due to the pyres the troops had built on each side of the encampment. They were burning huge piles of Imperial soldiers with magical mes. Of course, the dead, twisted men and women had been searched first, their magical talismans, weapons, and storage devices collected by the quartermaster and his assistants. Victor reminded himself to ask how such things might be distributed.

    When he got to his travel home, set up on a slight rise near the southern, central portion of the encampment, he noticed that Rellia¡¯s vidanii and Uvu were tethered near her travel home, next door to his. ¡°So, Va and her mother are having a conference.¡± He shrugged and went into his house. He felt like being alone or at least only seeing certain people. The night¡¯s activities had taken a lot out of him, and the thought of listening to people discuss strategy and make demands of him seemed a bit much at that moment. ¡°Time for that in an hour or two.¡±

    He walked to his library and leaned over the map, making a liar of himself as he started trying to imagine theyout of the nearbynd, the size of the Imperial army, and what he could do to make up for the still-huge gap in their numbers. He lifted Lifedrinker from her harness and set her on the table before him, gently caressing her dark, star-filled, living-wood handle. ¡°We counted eleven hundred corpses around the encampment. If we¡¯re optimistic and guess I killed hundreds more, say four hundred, which I have a hard time believing, that still leaves us outnumbered almost two to one.¡±

    Lifedrinker trembled under his touch, and he heard her sharp, smoky voice in his head. <em>One or ten thousand¡ªthe numbers mean nothing. Can a thousand ants y a great wolf? Kill them; if they begin to overwhelm you, depart. One such as thee cannot be held by such as they.</em>

    ¡°Ah, I know you know me better than that.¡±

    <em>Aye. You will not leave your pack. So, we must y their alpha and take his pack.</em>

    ¡°Shit, <em>chica</em>,¡± Victor chuckled. ¡°Were you a wolf in a past life?¡±

    <em>I have memories from before I was me. The haft you made for me, that wood you caress in your mighty hands, love. It came from a great tree, standing tall and proud in a dreamy ce where stars shone likenterns in the night. I remember wolves, many, many wolves. I watched them, no, the tree watched them. I see dreamy memories of them challenging each other, loving each other, and raising pups to be new leaders and hunters. Love, you are like some of those great wolves. If you desire it, you can take your challenger¡¯s pack. If they won¡¯t have you, kill them or send them running¡ªthey should not tarry in your presence.</em>

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Victor asked, stunned by Lifedrinker¡¯s verbose response. ¡°I had no idea you could remember things from before you were . . . you. I remember the name of the ce where this wood came from. The woodworker told me,¡± Victor scratched at his jawline, searching for the memory. ¡°Something Vale. Starlight? No, that¡¯s just me thinking of the image you painted in my mind. Coruscating.¡± Victor snapped his fingers, ¡°Coruscating Vale.¡±

    <em>It matters not what others call it. The name is the memory in my mind¡ªblue grass, the breeze making the branches of my children dance beneath my bows. The birds and animals that frolicked in my . . . Victor! Are you tricking me? Those aren¡¯t my memories; they¡¯re like the memories of a parent. My memories start with thee!</em> Lifedrinker sounded genuinely peeved, and Victor almostughed, but he was too worried he¡¯d offend her. Instead, he moved his hand to the Heart Silver of her de and rubbed his thumb against the warm metal.

    ¡°Okay, <em>chica</em>. Okay. I didn¡¯t mean to confuse you.¡±

    If she had an answer for him, it wasn¡¯t forting, at least not in time to keep Edeya from interrupting. The lieutenant had entered his home, and he heard her calling, ¡°Victor? Legate, Sir?¡±

    ¡°In here, Edeya. I¡¯m alone, so drop the legate shit.¡± He straightened up and watched as the young, diminutive Ghelli stepped into his library. She stood straight, her shoulders back, and he saw a new scar notching the pale brown eyebrow over her left eye. Her two left dragonfly wings stood out proudly from her back, but only jagged stumps were visible on the right side. He was proud of her in that moment, standing tall, putting on a brave face despite the injuries she¡¯d just suffered.

    ¡°Hey, Victor.¡± She offered him a half-hearted smile, one that evoked a lot of memories of Greatbone Mine and the times they¡¯d been assigned to the same task, joking about other delvers on their team.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since we were in the mine together. I mean, not <em>really</em> all that long, but it feels like a hundred years, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± She approached, stopping near the table. ¡°Roots. If I¡¯d known how you¡¯d turn out, I would¡¯ve treated you differently.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m d you didn¡¯t.¡±

    She smiled again, then looked at the map, frowning. ¡°You wanted me for something?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I have a job for you. Just a sec.¡± Victor ran a hand down his wyrm-scale hauberk, magically parting it, and then he began thumbing through the various pouches and little sacks hanging from his magical belt. ¡°I collected a bunch of jewelry from those Imperials back there near Fainhallow, the ones who tried to kill me,¡± he said, untying the heavy, supple leather sack. ¡°I know a bunch of it is magical, and I¡¯m sure there are a few dimensional containers. You know, one of those guys was a princep, and one was a consort or some shit¡ªa woman meant to be one of the emperor¡¯s wives.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡ªChokodo-dak and Reesha-dak.¡± Edeya nodded, then asked, ¡°You didn¡¯t turn those things over when you handed off the prisoners?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Hell no. I killed those guys and captured the other two. These are my spoils. I mean, some belong to Va, but she trusts me.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Edeya¡¯s eyes said she thought he should have shared the loot with Lam if no one else. Victor turned the sack upside down, spilling out the exquisite jewels, from Reesha¡¯s veil to the many rings and nes. Edeya gasped, ¡°Roots!¡±

    ¡°Yeah. You can see from the quality of what they wear on the outside that the things inside the dimensional containers are probably pretty good. I want you to go through all this stuff and catalog it.¡±

    ¡°Now?¡±

    ¡°You can take it with you. I trust you. If you¡¯re worried about being robbed or something, you can keep this stuff in my house and do your work here. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor. I can do that.¡± Edeya nodded, and, with wide eyes and careful fingers, she began to gather up the jewels, putting them back into the sack.

    ¡°Now, I want to talk to you about something else.¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± Her voice was small as she continued to look down, slowly turning a beautiful diamond choker in the light.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to worry about your injuries.¡±

    That got her attention. Edeya dropped the choker and looked up at Victor, a startled expression on her face as though he¡¯d said something rming. She narrowed her eyes, her brows pulling together, and growled, ¡°I . . . Victor, you have a way of saying the worst thing!¡±

    ¡°Ah! There¡¯s the old Edeya! Don¡¯t get mad, though! Hear me out, okay?¡± As if he were afraid she¡¯d try to run away, he reached out and grasped her wrist, not hard, not forcefully. He just wrapped his big fingers around the slender, bone-thin appendage. When she didn¡¯t pull away and didn¡¯t say anything, he continued, ¡°In my adventures, I¡¯vee across a lot of things that are probably considered very rare by people you¡¯ve known¡ªthings even Lam would be amazed to see. I bet Lam tried tofort you by saying she¡¯d work to help you advance your race, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Edeya¡¯s eyes started to well with moisture.

    ¡°Lisen to me. We¡¯re going to get all sorts of spoils on this campaign. These,¡± Victor lifted the sack from her hand and let it thunk down onto the table, ¡°are just the start. I won¡¯t be surprised if one of those rich <em>pendejos</em> has just what you need in one of their rings¡ªa racial advancement treasure. If you find one, I¡¯ll give it to you.¡±

    ¡°Victor . . .¡± she started to protest, but he kept speaking.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t, we might find one after we defeat this army out there.¡± He waved vaguely toward the wall. It didn¡¯t matter which direction; the army was all around them. ¡°If we don¡¯t, then we might find one when we get to the Untamed Marches. If we still haven¡¯t found what you need, I¡¯ll go to a city, buy one or two or three, and get you fixed up better than ever. Do you understand me? You¡¯re my friend, Edeya, not just a lieutenant in my army. I take care of my friends.¡± At his words, the tears brimming in her eyes began to stream down her cheeks, and Victor pulled her in, crushing her against his stomach.

    ¡°Oof!¡± Sheughed, sniffing noisily. ¡°I¡¯m d you opened your armor, but your body is hard as wood. At least you¡¯re warm.¡± She wormed her arms around his waist and dug her face into his shirt, sniffing and sobbing, and Victor held her there for several minutes, happy he¡¯d said the right thing for a change.

    He was thinking about how to push her away without upsetting the perfect moment when he heard Va call from his foyer, ¡°Victor! Are you here?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he replied, gently extricating himself from Edeya¡¯s grasp. Her face was a mess, red and puffy, and her eyes bloodshot, but she seemed happy.

    She smiled at him. ¡°Thank you, Victor. Thank you for looking out for me so many times.¡±

    ¡°Bah.¡± He chuckled and jostled her shoulder. ¡°I only saved you once or twice, right? I¡¯m sure you kept me out of trouble just as many times.¡±

    ¡°Victor!¡± Va said from the doorway, her voice breathy like she¡¯d been running.

    ¡°Yeah?¡± He looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

    ¡°The Ridonne is out in the grasnds. He¡¯s flying a parley g; he wants to talk.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 33: Parley

    Book 5: Chapter 33: Parley

    Victor sat atop a titan-sized Guapo, dwarfing hispanions and their mounts. Rellia rode to his left, Va and Borrius to his right. Borrius, like Rellia, rode a vidanii, a beautiful creature with dark gray hair and shorter horns than those on Starlight and Thistle. It was barded in glittering brass-colored chain armor, a showy creature, clearly never before used in an actual battle by Borrius, but still impressive looking. ¡°Do you think he knows who I am?¡± Victor asked, nodding toward the distant figures waiting under a bright blue standard¡ªthe Empire¡¯s signal for parley.

    ¡°He knows much about you, no doubt. He¡¯s fought you for one thing,¡± Rellia said¡ªthey¡¯d seen through her spyss that it was the spiked Ridonne, the burly tough bastard Victor had tussled with outside of Persi Gables, who¡¯de to talk. The other two beside him, riding simple armored rdii, were Shadeni, both wearing Legion regalia. ¡°He no doubt has spies among the nobility in Persi Gables and Gelica, and the Ridonne are well known to have powerful Augurs in their ranks.¡±

    ¡°Despite all that, I¡¯d like you and Borrius to do the speaking. I¡¯ll listen and interject when I think it will be effective. I may just lurk behind you and glower the whole time. Don¡¯t prompt me to speak. Act like I¡¯m not there.¡±

    ¡°A clever ploy.¡± Borrius nodded. ¡°Keep them guessing about his standing among us.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t attack them.¡± Va¡¯s words were soft, clearly meant for only Victor. Of course, the others could hear her, but they held their tongues, and Victor wondered if this had been discussed earlier; were they leaving the dirty work up to Va?

    ¡°I know what parley means, Va.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± She reached up fruitlessly; his hands were well out of her reach while he rode the gigantic Mustang.

    ¡°No worries,¡± he chuckled, ¡°I¡¯ve done some boneheaded things in my day. You guys don¡¯t suppose he¡¯s here to surrender, do you?¡±

    ¡°The Empire doesn¡¯t surrender,¡± Borrius said, but then he amended himself, ¡°Not mere mortals in the Legion, at least. Perhaps a Ridonne could suffer a loss and not be killed outright.¡±

    ¡°Mortals?¡±

    ¡°The Ridonne view themselves as something more than the rest of us. They think their bloodline makes them special and gives them the license to treat us as lesser beings, even though anyone who improves their race enough could extend their lives simrly. I suppose ites from them having ess to more racial advancements than most of the popce. Some say the Emperor has been alive since the forming of Fanwath.¡±

    ¡°Hah. What is that four hundred years?¡± Victor scoffed. ¡°They should meet the Warlord, eh, Va?¡±

    ¡°I hope not. I¡¯d hate for them to learn the things he knows.¡±

    ¡°Shit. No kidding.¡± Victor scowled, memories of his time in Coloss shing through his mind.

    ¡°If he doesn¡¯t wish to surrender, the best we can hope for, Victor, is for you to goad him into an early assault. If the right moment seems right, don¡¯t hesitate to impugn his honor, to give him an ultimatum that may push him into hasty action.¡±

    ¡°Is that wise?¡± Rellia looked at Borrius, eyebrows arched. Victor could see she was irritated at not being consulted about Borrius¡¯s machinations.

    ¡°I believe so. The more time they have to recover and prepare, the less we can hope to seize from the boon their losses in the night granted us. We should be quiet, however. We¡¯re close enough for good ears to hear us now.¡± Borrius demonstrated his caution by speaking in a harsh whisper.

    Victor grunted his agreement, and everyone stopped talking. He watched the Ridonne¡¯s raptor-like mount growrger as the distance closed. It was an impressive creature, but he thought it looked ugly and smallpared to Guapo. Its bumpy flesh was dark ck, but the orange and yellow stripes on its side and head were kind of neat, he had to admit. It had a broad, t skull and big, vertically slit eyes that shone amber in the bright sunlight¡ªthe ck clouds had nearly all drifted away.

    As they came to a stop a dozen yards from the Ridonne¡¯s delegation, Rellia in the middle, Va and Borrius nking her, and Victor loomingrgely behind, the Ridonne said, his voice booming, ¡°Rellia ap¡¯Yensha, I presume?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. I¡¯d love to hear your name and reason for using an Imperial army to attack my troops uwfully.¡±

    ¡°I am Pazra-dak, and nothing I do on thesends is uwful, for I am Ridonne.¡± His mount fidgeted and snorted through its slit-like nostrils, its thick hide pulling back from a dense row of dagger-like teeth. A low growl rumbled in its chest, but Pazra-dak jerked his reins, and it quieted.

    ¡°Ridonne you are, sir, but we¡¯re at a loss.¡± Borrius gently stroked the neck of his beautiful vidanii, calming it in the face of the enormous raptor¡¯s show of hostility. ¡°Would you be kind enough to exin why your army has been so hostile? Surely, the murder of small children can¡¯t serve to further the storied history of this great Empire.¡±

    ¡°Where a threat to this Empire exists, I cannot afford to be sentimental. Come, ap¡¯Yensha, do your people not know why we are here? Will you feign ignorance?¡±

    ¡°I cannot feign that which is genuine, Lord Pazra-dak.¡± Rellia¡¯s brows turned down in a scowl. Her vidanii hadn¡¯t budged, standing stock still, and Victor had to admire her poise in the face of the Ridonne¡¯s usation. He was an intimidating figure, golden armor gleaming, ck spikes protruding from his shoulders and legs, but most of all, his great bulk dwarfed the others¡ªall save Victor.

    ¡°Your family was granted a writ of conquest, yes?¡±

    ¡°More than a century ago, sir.¡±

    ¡°And in that writ, were the restrictions on household army sizes waived?¡±

    ¡°Household army sizes . . .¡± Rellia genuinely sounded puzzled.

    ¡°There is no household in the Ridonne Empire that may raise a levy of more than three thousand soldiers. Nor can anybination of households put together their levies to circumvent that limit.¡±

    ¡°Lord Pazra-dak, the citizens were enthusiastic about a push into the Untamed Marches!¡± Borrius interjected, ¡°How well-known is that limitation? Has anyone tested it? I¡¯ve never heard such a rule in all my days . . .¡±

    ¡°No one has tested it because it would be madness. Such an openly hostile act against the Empire is tantamount to suicide. Yet here I am, ready to enforce it.¡± Pazra spoke loudly, quickly, cutting Borrius off.

    ¡°Sir,¡± Rellia tried again, ¡°if there is such aw, it is not in any book or code that sits in the very extensive libraries of house ap¡¯Yensha!¡±

    ¡°If? Do you call me a liar, woman? Let us set aside that transgression. Will you deny the reportsing out of Gelica that you¡¯ve openly spoken to members of your family about, and I quote, ¡®corruption in Tharcray?¡¯¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡±

    ¡°You cannot deny it, can you? Lady, trust me when I say I can smell a lie.¡± He paused and looked at each member of Victor¡¯s party, staring at them for long seconds, everyone except Victor; when their eyes met, Pazra smirked and quickly moved his gaze to Va. ¡°Will you see your daughter die here on these ins, Rellia? Will you see the many thousands of fools who¡¯vee to follow you die to appease your ill-formed, sentimental idea that there¡¯s been some sort of mishandling of justice? Turn yourself over, and all these people may walk away with their lives. Even this brute who dared to cross des with me. I¡¯ll favor him with my benevolence and presume he knew not whom he faced.¡±

    Again, Rellia started to speak, ¡°I . . .¡± and again, she was interrupted, this time by Va.

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Uvu took two quick lunging steps toward the Ridonne, growling in that deep, throaty rumble that only a great cat can make.

    ¡°Tribune Va, calm yourself and your beast,¡± Borrius barked.

    ¡°Yes, young woman,¡± Pazra said, glowering at her. It was good, Victor mused, that he looked at Va and not at him. Victor felt sure his glowering expression was enough to either send the Ridonne into retreat or spur him into a fight.

    ¡°If you think we¡¯ll stand idly while my mother sacrifices herself for us, you¡¯ve very little understanding of the loyalty this army has to her.¡± Va jerked Uvu¡¯s reins while she spoke, wrestling the angry cat back under control and getting him to back up a few paces.

    ¡°Is the army so loyal they¡¯ll throw down their lives?¡± Pazra scoffed.

    ¡°They are,¡± Borrius said, voice calm and cultured. ¡°They are very loyal, and more than that, they are weary of supping on the dregs of the Empire. We¡¯ll im ournds in the Untamed Marches, or we¡¯ll die fighting for that right.¡±

    ¡°You sound confident,¡± Pazra said, ¡°but I¡¯ve known confident men to be wrong. Are your men so eager to die after what they experienced in the dark?¡±

    ¡°Surely you jest.¡± This time it was Borrius who scoffed. ¡°We suffered very light casualties while ughtering more than a thousand of your troops. No, forgive me, not just troops. We counted more than fifty officers among your dead. Tell us true, Pazra,¡± the Ridonne bristled at Borrius¡¯s omission of an honorific, ¡°are you here to try to coax a surrender because your army is in disarray?¡±

    ¡°Hah,¡± Pazra forced augh, but Victor saw the twisted grimaces on hispanions¡¯ faces. They weren¡¯t so good at bluffing. ¡°I assure you, I couldmand this army without <em>any</em> officers. I am Ridonne. My bloodline is gifted with leadership abilities that will make crushing a much, much smaller army trivial. Now, speak, Rellia! Are you ready to hand yourself . . .¡±

    ¡°This is bullshit,¡± Victor growled, letting his voice rumble deep in his chest.

    ¡°Excuse me? Bull . . . shit?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Pazra. You¡¯re scared shitless right now. I know it because I can taste iting off you like a stench, like a sick, sticky, rotten fish odor. Where¡¯s the other one? The tall, pretty one. The one I fucked upst night?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Pazra¡¯s eyes widened, and despite Victor¡¯s antagonistic, disrespectful tone, rather than shout obscenities or threats, rather than charge forward to confront someone speaking to him in a way he¡¯d probably never experienced, he shrank back, and, in that moment, everyone could see the fear behind his eyes, not only Victor.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Victor said, flooding his pathways with dark, purple-ck fear-attuned Energy and releasing his aura so it fell, heavy as a lead nket, on everyone around him, causing the mounts to fidget and whine and their riders to groan ufortably, even his allies. Victor leaned forward, his entire form limned in ck, smoky shadows, and growled, ¡°I¡¯m going to give you one warning and one chance, Pazra. Take your troops, every single one of them, and flee this ce. Slink away like the child-killing worms you are, and I won¡¯t hunt you down and kill you tonight.¡±

    When Victor paused, to gather his thoughts and take a breath, Pazra opened his mouth to speak, but Victor snapped, ¡°Don¡¯t speak! Listen! Take your fucking army and leave this ce, or I swear, I¡¯lle again each night that you try toy siege to us, and I will kill you in the darkness. I¡¯ll kill you and every officer in your army.¡± He nodded to the two Shadeni nking Pazra, shrinking back from Victor and his dark aura. ¡°I¡¯ll kill them, and I¡¯ll drive your men to madness, bleeding your army, drinking the fear that pours out of you until there¡¯s nothing left.¡± Victor let Guapo know what he wanted with a thought, and the horse pranced forward, snorting, stopping just in front of Rellia and Borrius.

    He reached down and rested a hand on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, then he said, ¡°Borrius, how many days can you hold our fortification against an army, even one twice our size?¡±

    ¡°Days? I can hold our position for weeks.¡± Victor was proud of the firmness in the older man¡¯s voice and reassessed his earlier opinion that the man wasn¡¯t as strong as he was clever.

    ¡°It will be a matter of days before I¡¯ve destroyed your army, Pazra. If you think I¡¯ll hand Rellia over for some bullshit charges, some hearsay from jealous nobles in Gelica, you need to think again. I¡¯ll tell you this one time¡ªwe¡¯re not interested in your Empire. We¡¯re not interested in your family. We¡¯re heading outside thesends, and if you, or anyone from Tharcray or the other Imperial Legions,e to try to stop us, we¡¯ll destroy them, and if any more of my people are harmed, I¡¯ll take the fight to the capital. I won¡¯t stop until the Ridonne are a memory, forgotten and cursed like the Yovashi. Take this chance, this one chance, to save yourself and the poor, foolish soldiers who follow you.¡± He spun Guapo, the great Mustang¡¯s hooves sparking, to face the others. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Victor watched as Rellia, face pale and eyes wide, turned her vidanii and started to ride back toward the encampment, Borrius and Va right behind her, then he spun and faced Pazra again. ¡°You¡¯ve got until morning tomorrow to break your siege and march north. Not south, not into the forest, and not east or west. You need to get your asses further into the Empire.¡±

    ¡°How <em>dare</em> you!¡± Pazra managed to hiss, his pinched, reddish-gold face darkening as it flushed with blood.

    ¡°How dare I? For too long, your family has monopolized true power in this world. Think about it. How would you treat Rellia if I weren¡¯t here? How would you act right now if I hadn¡¯t visited you in the dark and destroyed the morale of your troops and if you hadn¡¯t thrown away a huge number of them because they had the audacity to fear me? Imagine what you¡¯d do to Rellia. Now understand that I can do the same to <em>you,</em> and I really want to, Pazra. Believe that. When the sun rises in the morning, if your army isn¡¯t marching, I wille out of that encampment, I will find you, and I will kill you.¡±

    Guapo lifted his front hooves, whinnied loudly, and then charged after the others, leaving Pazra and hisckeys to watch with mouths agape. When he caught up, Rellia looked at him, something like fear in her eyes, and said, ¡°I can¡¯t believe you just threatened the entire Imperial family.¡±

    Victor pulled back his aura and let his Core absorb his fear-attuned Energy. Then he said, ¡°I mean, could I really make things worse?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Borrius chuckled. ¡°I don¡¯t believe he¡¯ll take his army away, however. No, I believe he¡¯ll muster his troops and attack us with everything he has. Excellent job, Victor; he¡¯d never be able to live down such a disgrace. No, he¡¯ll gather his forces, his allies, and he¡¯ll try to win a decisive victory tonight.¡±

    ¡°I thought maybe he¡¯d be scared enough to bail. I <em>am</em> going to kill him if they don¡¯t leave.¡±

    Borrius nodded to Victor, smiling. ¡°You did us a favor. Rather than wear us down, saving his troops, he¡¯lle at us madly, and his soldiers are, indeed, going to be wary¡ªafter his losses in the dark, we¡¯ll have a good chance.¡±

    ¡°We have more than a chance,¡± Va said. ¡°If Victor rides forth and kills that giant bastard, they¡¯ll break.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Pazra fumed. He rode atop Xinz, the great raptor his father had purchased from the world of Era¡¯neh, and he contemted murder. He <em>wanted</em> to kill that bastard giant who¡¯d dared to speak to him with such insolence, but he wasn¡¯t sure he could. That doubt troubled him the most; had the brute been right? Was Pazra afraid? If he didn¡¯t think he could win, he must contemte flight, and if he genuinely took that possibility seriously, he had to consider the men who rode with him. At the very least, he would have to murder them. Better he murdered all hismanders and med the rebel army. He knew the folly of that road, though; his mother would see through his lies.

    Pazra looked at his two tribunes. They avoided his gaze, eyes down, no doubt wondering if they were about to die. ¡°Do not speak of this meeting. It will further degrade our morale. I will know, and I swear to you, if you utter one word of that mongrel¡¯s ultimatum, I will have your hearts fed to Xinz.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Lord!¡± they both said in unison.

    He waved their words away and continued, speaking calmly, regally, if he were any judge, ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll ignore that buffoon¡¯s demands. We¡¯ll crush these worms; I don¡¯t care how strong he is; he won¡¯t stand against my brother and me.¡±

    ¡°Is the prognosis good, then, Lord?¡± Venis-dak asked, and Pazra decided to indulge him; after all, the man had shown promise.

    ¡°Even now, Senena works with him. She will purge the poison from his mind, have no doubt.¡±

    ¡°Wonderful news, Lord. We¡¯d feared she¡¯d been lost in the fray . . .¡±

    ¡°Fool,¡± Venis said, distancing himself from Ghel-dak. ¡°Lord, I had no such fear.¡±

    Pazra scowled at Ghel-dak and finally settled on sighing with displeasure. Let the man stew on things, wondering how angry Pazra was, how he might find himself punished when the time was right. He turned to Venis and said, ¡°Get me a full ounting of the troops, make certain you¡¯ve enforced new contracts on the promoted officers, and report to my tent in an hour. I will speak with Senena and my brother.¡± Without awaiting a response, he urged his raptor to run, and soon he¡¯d left the two men behind.

    When Pazra entered hismand tent, he stepped through the foyer and sitting room into the rear, curtained-off area where his bed, study, and bathy. Through another curtain, he found Senena burning incense and muttering over the shivering form of his withered brother. ¡°How goes it?¡±

    She didn¡¯t answer at first, and he contemted pping her. He decided her aid of his brother was too important to interrupt. Perhaps she couldn¡¯t speak; she seemed strained, her lips rapidly moving as she feverishly muttered her nonsense. He stared at her for several long moments and was about to ask her again when her eyes shot open. She began to cough, a great racking cough that left her face dark purple and her eyes watering before it calmed. Wheezing, gasping for air, she looked up at him through the dark, ck hollows of her eyes.

    ¡°Well?¡± he pressed.

    ¡°Hees back to us. I fought the poison in him, took much of it, and destroyed it in my Core, but some still lingers and festers. He¡¯ll need my betters at the capital to make him well.¡±

    ¡°Will he recover enough to fight?¡± Pazra eagerly stepped toward the bed, reaching down to grasp his brother¡¯s long, golden arm. It was mmy and cool. ¡°Sickly,¡± he tsked, ¡°unseemly.¡±

    ¡°Brother,¡± Rosh-dak croaked, cracking open one blood-washed golden eye. ¡°Did we flee?¡±

    ¡°No, brother. We still encircle the upstart and her army.¡±

    ¡°The nightmare, the . . . the beast . . .¡±

    ¡°Yes, brother. I know it hurt you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s too strong. We must perform the rite, no matter the cost.¡±

    ¡°The rite?¡± Pazra recoiled, released his brother¡¯s arm, and began to pace. He nced at Senena and jerked his fist toward the curtain. ¡°Get out.¡± She ducked her head, the bones and charms clicking in her braids, and scurried away. Pazra looked at his brother and said, ¡°Will you bear the cost?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m ruined, brother. I will bear it.¡±

    ¡°So be it,¡± Pazra said, and in that moment, he couldn¡¯t have been prouder to call Rosh-dak brother. A true champion of the Ridonne, a true, glorious paragon. It was time to make that bastard giant pay the price for his insolence!

 Book 5: Chapter 34: A Lottery

    Book 5: Chapter 34: A Lottery

    ¡°Well?¡± Victor stood to one side of his map table, looking around at hismanders. ¡°Let¡¯s hear it.¡± The lighting in his little library wasfortable on the eyes, though amp above the table kept it well-illuminated. Borrius, much recovered from his several brushes with death during the night, stood on one side of the map, frowning as he stroked his chin. Va and Lam stood opposite him, and across from Victor was Rellia. Everyone stared at the map, and Victor wondered who would speak first. He¡¯d been expecting it to be Rellia, but she¡¯d grown quiet and introspective ever since the Ridonne had outed her as the reason for their army¡¯s current troubles.

    ¡°I have several ideas,¡± Borrius said, finally, clearing his throat and gesturing at the map currently on disy¡ªa close-up, hand-drawn depiction of their encampment, and the surrounding grounds, all the way to the Blue Deep. The big paper had been marked, probably by Darro, with Imperial troop locations as observed by the army¡¯s scouts.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s start with your best one,¡± Victor prompted.

    ¡°My best one? It involves a great deal of personal risk to you, Legate.¡±

    ¡°Go on.¡± Victor¡¯s words were almost instantaneous, heading off any protests from Va or the others.

    ¡°I considered many ploys. However, we¡¯re rather limited by the terrain¡ªno passes to take advantage of, no cover to speak of, and entirely surrounded by arger force. We don¡¯t even have true fortifications. You¡¯re aware of all this, but I feel I need to exin my reasoning. If I could think of a clever ruse or feint, if I could devise some way to escape this encirclement without massive losses to our nonbatants, I wouldn¡¯t suggest what I¡¯m about to say.¡±

    ¡°Oh, for the love of . . . out with it!¡± Lam growled.

    ¡°I suggest that we continue our entrenchment. We fight a massively defensive battle and stall for time while Victor charges forth and ys the Ridonne. I know you can thrashmon soldiers, but we should wait for them to attack so that you aren¡¯t overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Even you cannot y indefinitely, or am I wrong?¡±

    ¡°Hah. No, you aren¡¯t wrong. As my injuries mount and time drags on, my Energy fades. I could fight free, using my size and abilities, but if I want to fight one, or probably two, Ridonne, it would be hard if I had thousands of tier-two soldiers on my back.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll surround themselves with just such a force, and not only second tier; they¡¯ll pick out their best troops, tier-threes, and a few fours. If they have ten thousand troops, they¡¯ll keep two around the Ridonne.¡± Va thumped the table with her fingertips as she spoke.

    ¡°I had a simr thought.¡± Borrius nodded, gesturing to the drawing of their encampment. ¡°This might be a problem if we weren¡¯t so solidly entrenched and if we didn¡¯t have an extra five hundred ranged fighters, newly added to our ranks.¡±

    ¡°The Shadeni n,¡± Rellia spoke for the first time in the meeting.

    ¡°Yes, so they¡¯ll help to bolster the defenses. What¡¯s that to do with Victor and his gambit against the Ridonne?¡± Lam asked.

    ¡°It will allow us to send troops with him,¡± Va said, nodding in understanding.

    ¡°Suicide!¡± Rellia shook her head. ¡°Victor may be able to fight or <em>jump</em> free, but what of those troops? They¡¯ll be deep behind enemy lines, outnumbered . . .¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t take a bunch of people to die so I can have an easier fight.¡±

    ¡°Do you wish us to win this battle? Do you want to keep even greater numbers from dying?¡± Borrius¡¯s voice rose, brittle with disdain, scowling at Victor. ¡°Sacrifices must be made in war! I hate tobel them as sacrifices so bluntly, but the soldiers who go with you will risk everything to save the entire army.¡±

    ¡°How many?¡± Rellia asked.

    ¡°An elite force of five hundred should do,¡± Borrius immediately answered, clearly having thought his idea through to logical conclusions.

    ¡°And if I¡¯m right, and thousands of troops guard the Ridonne?¡±

    ¡°Five hundred strong men and women can create arge enough perimeter around Victor for him to do his work. If they hold until he¡¯s won, there¡¯s no guarantee the Imperials won¡¯t break, and many of those heroes will live to fight again.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll lead them,¡± Lam said, looking at Victor, meeting his eyes and nodding solemnly.

    ¡°Like hell!¡± Va¡¯s eyes sparked with outrage. ¡°I will lead them. You cane if you want.¡±

    ¡°Va . . .¡± Rellia started to say, then she stopped, looking at her daughter, looking <em>up</em> at her daughter, taking in her wyrm-scale armor and the determined, fiery look in her bright, green-blue eyes, and she shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll join you.¡±

    ¡°Bah!¡± Borrius growled. ¡°We cannot have all ourmanders out there! Rellia, you must stay with me.¡±

    ¡°Hold on a fucking minute,¡± Victor growled, leaning his prodigious bulk on the table. ¡°I didn¡¯t agree to this shit yet. I might go along with the idea, but first, we need to agree that only volunteers are going to join this fight. If we can¡¯te up with five hundred volunteers, I¡¯ll go with however many we get. If Lam and Va want toe, obviously, I¡¯d be a horrible hypocrite to try to stop them, but that doesn¡¯t mean I like it. Rellia, I agree with Borrius¡ªwe need you here.¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t right.¡± For the first time in a while, Victor saw genuine anger in Rellia¡¯s eyes. ¡°This entire problem is because of me! Because I trusted the wrong people in my family, let my lips loosen with too much wine, and thered about my distrust of the Empire, spoke my treason to traitorous boot lickers. I can end this now. Let me go to the Ridonne and ept his parley offer!¡± When she finished speaking, Rellia was looking at Va again, staring into her eyes, tears pooling in her own.

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Va growled.

    ¡°No.¡± Borrius held up a hand, and to Victor¡¯s surprise, he was chuckling. ¡°No, dear Rellia. Firstly, I promised your mother to protect you, secondly, we,¡± he gestured around, obviously not meaning only those in the room, but everyone outside it, the entire army, ¡°are not interested in having our conquest cut short. We will see victory here, and then we will see it again in the Untamed Marches. We¡¯ll have that, or we¡¯ll have death.¡±

    ¡°You speak for everyone?¡± Rellia snapped.

    ¡°Indeed, I do! That¡¯s what it means to join a legion! Those men and women out there,¡± again he waved his hand in a big arc, ¡°joined this endeavor for many reasons, but they all agreed to follow ourmand. We will <em>not</em> be stopped by these Imperial <em>conscripts.</em>¡± When he said conscripts, he sneered, and Victor had a feeling it was an old insult.

    ¡°What do you mean? Conscripts? The Legion isn¡¯t voluntary?¡±

    Lam looked at Victor and cleared her throat. ¡°Not for everyone. I joined freely, though many in my station wouldn¡¯t have. Nobles, on the other hand,¡± she nodded at Va, ¡°usually enlist. Even so, many, many soldiers do not willingly sign up for war. They¡¯re recruited, and sometimes they¡¯re rather reluctant.¡±

    ¡°We would crush Pazra-dak¡¯s army if another hadn¡¯te to support him. If you kill the Ridonne, Pazra and the other, then we will crush them still. We¡¯ll have them fleeing before an hour passes if you cut the head off the snake,¡± Borrius continued speaking as though the topic hadn¡¯t diverged.

    ¡°So?¡± Va steered the conversation back on course, ¡°How will we get our force through their main lines to defend Victor?¡±

    ¡°With a charge, with Victor as the spearpoint.¡± Borrius pointed at the map, cing his finger near the gate of their encampment, and then drew a straight line over the grasnds to the drawing of a tentbeled ¡°Ridonne.¡±

    ¡°Cavalry? All of us?¡± Lam frowned, and Victor could see she was trying to wrap her head around the logistics.

    ¡°Do we have that many mounts?¡± Va asked.

    ¡°No, closer to two hundred . . .¡± Rellia said, but then her eyes widened, ¡°the Shadeni.¡±

    ¡°Will they let us use their rdii? A few hundred?¡± Va looked to Victor with her question.

    ¡°Yeah, they will, but it sucks we have to ask it of them.¡±

    ¡°Their lives are just as dependent on this action as the rest of ours.¡± Borrius shrugged. ¡°If you could uncast the die that threw their lot in with ours, I¡¯m sure you would, but there¡¯s no going back. The hunter n is with us, for good or ill.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor straightened up, ¡°I¡¯ve been putting off talking to Tellen and Tha. I¡¯ll go do it now and break this news to them.¡± He looked at Va and Lam, ¡°Gather the troops, and I¡¯ll address them in a few minutes, say half an hour.¡± They nodded to him, and Victor turned to leave.

    ¡°Victor,¡± Rellia said, and he turned back, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Thank you. Thank you for not throwing me to Ridonne, and thank you for risking yourself to try to win this confrontation.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll win, Rellia. We¡¯ll win, and don¡¯t thank me. Thank the soldiers, though; I think it¡¯ll mean a loting from you.¡± Victor hurried out of his home, and, with purpose and haste, he made his way through the encampment to the Shadeni wagons and tents. He didn¡¯t have to announce himself¡ªhe was a spectacle going through the camp, receiving shouts of wee and drawing a small crowd everywhere he moved. The Shadeni saw himing, and one of them must have alerted Tellen and Tha, for they were waiting when he walked between tworge wagons.

    ¡°Victor!¡± Tellen rushed forward, Tha behind him, wearing a less enthusiastic expression. ¡°I¡¯ve been hoping you¡¯d find time to stop by!¡±

    ¡°I should havee sooner, Tellen, but I kept getting interrupted.¡± Victorughed at the absurdity of his words. ¡°Well, you know what I mean.¡±

    ¡°We saw your speech in the darkness. Saw you standing atop your wagon, stealing the hearts of our people.¡± Tha wore a slight smirk, betraying her real feelings. ¡°Victor, did you punish them? Did you make them pay for what they did to our people?¡±

    ¡°I did, Tha. I killed more than I can count. I drove them mad with fear until their vile contract twisted them into monsters and sent them here to be ughtered. I know it wasn¡¯t all of them, and no matter how many there were, it will never bring back the people you lost, but I hope you¡¯ll feel some justice was done. I¡¯m not finished, either.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t your fault, brother.¡± Tellen grasped his shoulder, and Victor smiled. Had Tellen ever called him brother before?

    ¡°Not directly, but I can¡¯t help feeling if we¡¯d taken another route and if I hadn¡¯t been set on trying to recruit you to our cause, they never would have bothered you.¡± He frowned and added, ¡°I have more to ask of you, more pain to cause you.¡±

    ¡°Out with it.¡± Tha stepped closer and dropped the haughty, angry act. ¡°You know we¡¯ll help where we can.¡±

    ¡°We need your people on the walls, anyone who can shoot a bow or throw ranged magic. Our fortifications won¡¯t hold without the number of troops we¡¯ve designed them for, and I have to take almost a full cohort out on an attack¡ªfive hundred troops.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll take five hundred against more than ten thousand? Don¡¯t look surprised¡ªwe have ears. We know their numbers.¡± Tha took Tellen¡¯s hand while she spoke, and Victor could see the worry in her eyes, the dark circles there. She¡¯d been crying, probably consoling the families who¡¯d lost loved ones in the flight from their winter camp.

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m going to take five hundred and punch through their lines when they next attack. They¡¯re going to fight to give me a chance to kill the leaders, the Ridonne.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll die . . .¡± Tellen said softly.

    ¡°Probably. At least a lot of them, which makes my next ask a little hard.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Tellen pulled Tha close as though using her to brace for Victor¡¯s bad news.

    ¡°To make a sessful charge, we¡¯ll want mounts, and we don¡¯t have enough cavalry, enough mounts. We need . . .¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll have them. However many rdii you require! We have nearly eight hundred here,¡± he jerked his thumb back toward the Shadeni section of the encampment.

    ¡°Really? I¡¯d thought you¡¯d be more upset . . .¡±

    ¡°If you and your troops will risk your lives, then we can risk some livestock.¡± Tha sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t you know us by now?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course I do. It¡¯s just that I feel shitty ¡®cause we¡¯ve done nothing but bring you trouble so far. I¡¯m going to make it up to you!¡±

    ¡°I know you will, Victor.¡± Tellen held out his hand, and Victor engulfed it with his big fist, squeezing the man¡¯s wrist. ¡°Tell me, though, why wait for their attack? Why not rush out now and attack their leaders?¡±

    ¡°The idea is that if they¡¯re mid-attack when we charge out, we won¡¯t have their whole army trying to stop me from killing the Ridonne, hopefully just a couple of thousand. My troops will try to keep them off me while I fight.¡± Victor shrugged; it made sense to him, but he didn¡¯t know if it was the right move. He was trusting Borrius to know how the Imperials operated. ¡°Anyway, if you wouldn¡¯t mind choosing three hundred rdii and driving them toward the gates, I have to go figure out which soldiers will go on this . . .¡± he almost said suicide mission but didn¡¯t want to be flippant about the lives his soldiers would be putting on the line. ¡°Dangerous mission.¡±

    ¡°Victor, be careful. Deyni is hoping to spend some time with you soon. Don¡¯t let her down.¡± Tha stepped forward and grasped his wrist with her two hands, holding on until he met her eyes. ¡°Promise me.¡±

    ¡°<em>Chingado,</em> Tha! I can¡¯t promise! I promise I¡¯ll do everything I can to win ande back, okay?¡±

    ¡°No. Promise me you¡¯ll kill those bastards!¡± She squeezed his wrist, her nails digging into his skin, and Victor saw that she was raw with emotion, feelings she¡¯d been holding down with the force of her will.¡±

    ¡°I will fucking kill those bastards,¡± he growled.

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± She let him go, and Victor nodded, then turned, hurrying toward the encampment gate. Troops were already starting to gather; some were millingzily toward the gate¡ªsoldiers on their free shift. Most, though, were being driven in perfect marching formation by their sergeants. Their discipline faltered whenever Victor walked by, and many called out greetings or cheered. A few howled, mimicking the horrible cry of his Aspect of Terror, and Victor couldn¡¯t help smiling at their boldness. He unslung Lifedrinker and lifted her high, meeting the soldiers¡¯ eyes and nodding as he strode past.

    When he got to the gate, the othermanders were already standing on the parapet above it, and Victor broke into a jog, heading for some nearby stairs so he could join them. He stomped onto the reinforced wooden walkway, pleased by how sturdy it was¡ªthe engineers had been hard at work bolstering things with materials and Energy. When he stood at the center of the gate, looking back into the encampment, the troops were still gathering, and Rellia asked, ¡°Were they receptive?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll have our mounts, and their people will join our troops on the walls.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s excellent, Victor.¡± Borrius pushed closer and nudged past Rellia. ¡°Did they have any concrete numbers for you?¡±

    ¡°No, but it will be plenty. More than the five hundred you guessed. Most of the hunters are good with a bow.¡±

    ¡°Excellent, excellent.¡± Borrius nodded, pulling back, oblivious to the scowl Rellia had directed at him.

    Va, standing with Lam on Victor¡¯s left, asked, ¡°Do you want us to speak?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I know what I¡¯m going to say.¡± He nced around the tform, then, nodding, said, ¡°You all should back up a pace or two. They hurried toply, and Victor chuckled, then he cast Titanic Aspect, taking a deep, steadying breath as his perspective changed and the ground grew further away. He heard a lot more muttering and even some scattered cheers from the troops, and he looked out over them, watching as thest few units marched into position. Nodding, he loosened his hauberk and reached in to pull out the voice amplifier Lam had given him.

    After he activated it, he squared his shoulders and yelled, ¡°Troops! Listen up.¡± His voice boomed out and echoed over the encampment, and in its wake, silence reigned, silence soplete a cough to clear a throat stood out like a squalling child in a quiet room. ¡°Thank you,¡± Victor said, speaking normally, trusting the magic to carry his voice far enough. ¡°We made it through the long, dark night! Congrattions on your victory, troops!¡±

    Cheers and shouts answered that promation and Victor couldn¡¯t help smiling, couldn¡¯t help holding Lifedrinker high again, shaking her to more and more cheers. ¡°They can hear you!¡± he roared. ¡°They can hear you cheering, and they know fear! Trust me¡ªthey <em>know</em> fear!¡± When the double meaning of his words registered, the troops¡¯ cheering and stomping grew to thunderous levels, and Victor pumped Lifedrinker up and down, loving every minute of it. When he started to glow with a sparkling, golden aura, he realized he¡¯d let glory-attuned Energy seep out of his Core, filling his pathways, and heughed, shaking his head ruefully; he was a hound for glory. There wasn¡¯t any denying it.

    ¡°Listen now!¡± he roared, and the cheering and stomping almost instantly stopped. ¡°Our expert on the Imperial Legion, Tribune Borrius,¡± Victor pointed to the older man who stood up straight and visibly began to perspire, ¡°is quite certain the Imperials will attack us with everything they have tonight or early in the morning. They will try to overwhelm us because they know damn well that we¡¯ll win in a drawn-out conflict.¡± He paused for a moment to see his words register on the troops. He waited just long enough for them to start muttering, then he continued.

    ¡°We have a n to break them, however. I¡¯m going to ride forth with the greatest swordswoman in this army, my Tribune Primus, Va.¡± Victor reached down his mighty fist and snatched Va¡¯s wrist between his thumb and forefinger, lifting her arm high. The soldiers began to cheer, but Victor held up a gigantic arm silencing them, then continued, ¡°Not just us, though. We¡¯ll also ride with the mighty Tribune Lam,¡± something came over him, steeped in glory as he was, and he roared, ¡°Lam the Empire Breaker! Va Ridonne Bane!¡± He stepped to the side, almost stomping on Rellia and Borrius as they scurried back, and held his hands out, showcasing the two women.

    His words had the desired effect; the troops went wild with cheers, breaking their formations, howling, waving weapons, and firing spells into the air to burst in every color and element. Va red at Victor but knew she couldn¡¯t rebuke him. She drew Midnight and held her high, and Lam spread her magnificent wings, lifting herself into the air, spreading her arms wide, apparently enjoying the glory. Victor watched them for a few moments, then, with a huge smile, he turned on the troops and roared, ¡°That¡¯s not all!¡±

    It took a moment for everyone to quiet down, but by the time Lam settled beside Victor, most of the muttering had dissipated. ¡°We three will be riding out to kill the Ridonne who lead that army,¡± Victor threw his great arm in a wide circle, indicating the distant troops. Again, the soldiers started to cheer, but he kept speaking, his voice booming over them, ¡°We¡¯ll need some soldiers to ride with us, brave soldiers willing to pit themselves against a muchrger force. We want volunteers because there¡¯s a good chance they¡¯ll die out there. I¡¯ll be busy fighting the Ridonne, and I need courageous, strong soldiers to keep the bastard Imperials off my back.¡± As his words died down, the troops were quiet, but they didn¡¯t look crestfallen; they looked like they were holding their breath, eager to hear his next words.

    ¡°Do I have any volunteers?¡±

    As the troops erupted with shouts and frenzied hand waving, and nearly every soldier and many of the nonbat personnel pushed forward, trying to be noticed by Victor, Borrius muttered, perhaps only for Rellia¡¯s ears, though Victor heard him, ¡°They¡¯re going to kill each other fighting to join him. We¡¯ll have to have a lottery¡ªan ancestors-damned lottery to form a suicide unit.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 35: Sacrifice

    Book 5: Chapter 35: Sacrifice

    Victor and his five hundred cavalry soldiers sat atop their mounts, arranged in a V pattern, outside the battlements of the army¡¯s encampment. He¡¯d wondered at the wisdom of getting set outside the walls; wouldn¡¯t they make a target for all the Ridonne¡¯s troops? Borrius hade up with the n to give them an obstacle-free charge at the enemy lines, however, and when Victor saw how it worked, he once again realized he needed to start wrapping his head around how things were different in wars that involved magic.

    First, Borrius had ordered the engineers to clear a path for Victor¡¯s unit to charge through, removing pits, spikes, and barriers. They did their work under the guise of adding more such things, hiding their efforts with piles of grass and fresh dirt, making it look like the clear runway was, in fact, riddled with traps. Then he¡¯d called in the air and water-attuned casters, giving them orders to gather fog around the entire perimeter of the encampment, and they¡¯d done so, somehow forming a dense bank of thick mist that seeped up out of the ground topletely obscure the walls, the defensive traps, and Victor¡¯s men when they silently rode out the gate to form up.

    Victor thought the fog was a great idea, regardless of how it hid him and his soldiers. When he¡¯d remarked as much to Va and Lam, they¡¯d agreed but pointed out that the Ridonne had casters, too, and they¡¯d probably conjure a wind to blow it away when they charged. Regardless, it would be toote to stop Victor and his troops. Borrius was sure the Imperials would already bemitted, spread out in a thin ring to encircle the entire encampment, attacking from all angles in the hopes of finding a weak spot in the defenses, a ce to focus their efforts and bring an end to Rellia¡¯s ¡°uprising.¡±

    Victor looked down at Guapo and grinned with pleasure; he¡¯d summoned the mount with fear-attuned Energy, and though he was still handsome and impressive, he was a mount fit for a nightmare. The Mustang was jet ck with the fear Energy coursing through him, his mane wild and long, his eyes glowering purple through the flowing shadows that bled off him like heavy smoke. When he ran, rather than sparking hooves, he left a trail of those shadows that clung to the ground and seemed to grasp at people who moved through them. The effect was spooky and gave no small amount of distress to his troops, but when Victor had spoken to the soldiers who¡¯d won the opportunity to run into battle with him, he¡¯d exined that the shadows had no hunger for them; they were for their enemies.

    The lottery had been quite a distraction for the troops, and several brawls had broken out when jealous rivals had tried to demand the winning tokens from squad mates. The sergeants and lieutenants had quickly restored order, though, and it wasn¡¯t long before the five hundred had been mounted and the order of the charge had been established; the strongest, most hardened troops were in the front lines, ready to break any resistance. As they¡¯d been assigning those positions, the most violent outburst, the loudest objection to being left behind, hade from Polo.

    When Victor heard him arguing with Borrius, the older man insisting that all active, troopmanding captains must be present for the defense, Victor had stepped in. The great warrior was built for this sort of mission; he wore heavy armor, was stronger than any five Imperial grunts, and he¡¯d stand a good chance of winning free when Victor finished his work. More than that, Victor knew his presence would inspire the others. Borrius had acquiesced when Victor suggested they give Polo¡¯smand to the captain Sarl had reced, a man named Agus-dak.

    ¡°How will we be sure to charge at the Ridonne?¡± Polo asked, sitting atop his huge, armored rdii at Victor¡¯s left. The question broke Victor from his recollections, and he cleared his throat to answer, but then Lam spoke up.

    ¡°I had the same question.¡±

    Victor looked at Lam and, beyond her, Va. When his eyes locked on his Tribune Primus, he said, ¡°I have a n for that.¡±

    ¡°Can we know it?¡± Lam pressed.

    ¡°Sure. I have a spell that will let me feel where they are. I didn¡¯t really want to use it because it kind of makes it hard to use my other spells that¡¯ll help the troops more; my inspiration and glory-attuned ones. It doesn¡¯t matter, though¡ªwe have to know we¡¯re charging in the right direction, or we¡¯ll all get killed for nothing.¡± He spoke in a low voice, his words meant only for the champions by his side.

    ¡°When you feel them, can you not drop it and summon your other powers?¡± Pollo asked.

    ¡°Maybe. The spell has a weird effect on me. I¡¯ll probably be able to cancel it and summon my banner, but I don¡¯t want to promise. Be ready to kick ass regardless.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be ready.¡± Va moved one of her hands from Uvu¡¯s reins to rest on Midnight¡¯s pommel.

    ¡°That in mind, I think you three should move back.¡± Victor turned to face the first row of soldiers lined up behind him. There were ten rows of troops, each one longer than the one in front of it, with the toughest soldiers, hand-picked by Polo, in the front row and at the outer edges of the formation. ¡°Spread yourselves among the troops. I think you¡¯ll each have more impact on morale that way.¡±

    ¡°Agreed,¡± Polo said. ¡°I¡¯ll take the center of the second line. If the front line caves, I¡¯ll bolster things up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go to the left, outside edge.¡± Lam nodded as if it were settled, then, to Va, she added, ¡°Can you take the right?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± She shifted that way but lingered while Lam and Polo moved off. ¡°I wanted to be with you. In case the two Ridonne are more dangerous than you think.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I figured you¡¯d feel that way. You¡¯ll be able to see and hear me fighting those two assholes, though.¡± Victor looked over his shoulder at the troops again, then leaned close to Va and whispered, ¡°I won¡¯t tell you to stay out of it, but if you see me losing, really think about getting the hell out of there. You can fight free if you try; those guys won¡¯t stop Uvu.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just saying that to appease your conscience. You know very well that I won¡¯t flee the field if I think you¡¯re losing.¡± Victor was his normal size, riding a normal-sized Guapo, but he still loomed over her, much higher on the Mustang¡¯s back than she was on Uvu¡¯s. Even so, she reached up, and he leaned further toward her so he could take her hand. It was cold, and he wrapped his fingers around the back of it, gently caressing her palm with his thumb.

    ¡°It¡¯s cold in this fog, huh?¡±

    ¡°Your hand¡¯s not cold . . .¡±

    ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t really get cold or hot too easily these days.¡±

    ¡°I wish I could feel your warmth on more than my hand right now.¡± Her voice was soft, full ofyered meanings. Before Victor could respond, she freed her hand. ¡°Come, Uvu; we have Imperials to y.¡± As the cat grumbled his cat noises and started to turn, she locked eyes with him again. ¡°Kill them, Victor. Give the Ridonne in Tharcray a reason to fear us.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Pazra-dak looked at his brother, watching the witch do her work, tattooing the lines of the rite into his flesh, lines that matched the design of those on the wooden boards upon which he sat. The witch sweated; her hands shook as she mumbled her prayers and painstakingly etched upon his sibling¡¯s fine, golden flesh, ruining the perfection, the pride of his family. ¡°Steady yourself, witch!¡± he growled. ¡°One wrong line and we all may die when the rite is invoked, my brother¡¯s sacrifice for naught!¡±

    ¡°I am poisoned!¡± she hissed, her usual self-control beginning to fray. ¡°I nearly died to save this great man¡¯s life, and you bark at me while I bleed my life into this work? Kill me now, then! Kill me, and let¡¯s see how this rite fares with my loss!¡±

    ¡°Brother,¡± Rosh-dak wheezed, his voice frail from his ordeal. ¡°Please don¡¯t antagonize Senena further. She does good work, work that no one within a thousand leagues could replicate.¡±

    Pazra bit back his retort. If his brother wanted peace, he would have it. What else could he do to show his appreciation, his respect? Instead, he paced; he walked in a wide circle around the wooden tform where Senena worked on the rite. They were inside his tent, though everything had been packed away other than the tform. The wood was special, some sort of heartwood from the grove of his ancestors, valuable in its own right but priceless in its ability to hold the Energy of his bloodline, its ability to form the magical connections that would rip open the veil between this world and the ne where his Ridonne ancestors lingered, hungry for conquest.

    The rite was taught to all Ridonne children, all who touched the bloodline and began to exhibit a connection to it. Pazra shook his head, correcting himself¡ªthe rite wasn¡¯t taught to children, only the history of it. No, the rite itself was only known to those who may survive it, those who reached an adequate rank in the bloodline. Senena was an exception, her value as a spiritual guide, teacher, and historian more important than her unclean blood. Rosh was one who¡¯d reached the required status, however. He had been for decades. ¡°Yes,¡± he muttered to himself, ¡°Rosh will hold the ancestor on this ne for a good long while.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about me, brother?¡±

    ¡°I only wish to reassure myself. I only sing your praises, brother. You will make our kind proud tonight. You will crush the giant, theny waste to the walls of that encampment, ughtering countless rebels!¡±

    ¡°Aye, I will. With luck, our ancestor will be pleased with me and drag me back to the Vizashath with him.¡± Rosh¡¯s voice was hoarse and soft, but his lips turned up in a smile at the thought. Pazra hoped he was right, hoped the tales of the Vizashath weren¡¯t lies meant to coerce unwilling Ridonne into epting the rite. Supposedly the Ridonne, in their heyday, before the System, before the joining of the worlds, learned to open a portal to the ne they called the Vizashath, a ce they conquered and imed as their home. The entity they¡¯d summon would being in spirit on a torrent of Energy, and he¡¯d transform Rosh into a true Ridonne for a time¡ªuntil his body, the vessel, came apart from the strain.

    ¡°Ancestors,¡± Pazra prayed almost silently, ¡°let it take him. Let Rosh-dak travel to the Vizashath.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    ¡°This is the best ce for us?¡± Rellia asked, looking at Borrius skeptically. He¡¯d positioned hismand tform on the northeastern edge of the encampment. It was a tall structure, a tower made of great logs that were kept in one of the storage wagons when not in use. A gangway ran from the tower¡¯s center to the wall¡¯s ramparts, butdders led up another thirty feet from there to the wide tform upon which she, Borrius, and Edeya stood. From their vantage, they could see the entire encampment, its walls, and the surrounding ins over the top of the roiling fog banks that hugged their fortifications.

    ¡°Yes. Victor rampaged on the southeastern enemy encampment toward the Blue Deep. The troops out here, toward the canyon and destroyed bridge, will be the freshest and least fearful. They¡¯ll charge more swiftly and strike this section of our wall first. I want to be close. More than that, I want us to be evident here, hence the use of the tower so close to the wall. It presents a tantalizing bait for them, a distraction for their eyes. Thanks to us dangling ourselves here, Victor¡¯s unit will have an easier time with their charge.¡±

    ¡°Ah, so nice to be useful,¡± Rellia grumbled, looking out over the walls, proud of the soldiers, hunters, and casters standing ready. They knew an army wasing soon but stood firm and resolute. She was sure Victor¡¯s earlier speech helped with that. She still couldn¡¯t believe how many of the soldiers had wanted to join his charge. ¡°Their readiness hasn¡¯t suffered from the wait. Not yet.¡±

    ¡°No, they¡¯ll hold that way a good long while.¡± Borrius chuckled, shaking his head in amusement at a memory. ¡°Victor stirred something up in them, and they¡¯ve all got their Heartfast potions ready. Our alchemist has been quite busy.¡±

    ¡°Heartfast.¡± Rellia¡¯s eyes shifted to the potion hanging on Edeya¡¯s belt, a small vial of bubbly blue liquid. ¡°Have you ever taken it?¡± She asked because she had not; she¡¯d heard of it from Va and knew it was supposed to make a person eager, alert, and brave. Va said it was like being a little drunk, excited for your battle the way you might yearn to see a boy you had a crush on. Rellia thought it sounded like mind magic, and she didn¡¯t fancy the idea of someone mucking about with her thoughts or emotions.

    ¡°No. I¡¯ve never needed it, not in mymand position. I¡¯m eager as it is.¡± The look on his face made a believer out of Rellia; the man¡¯s eyes were bright, his posture leaning forward, and he repeatedly drummed his fingers on the railing of their tform as he scanned the horizon.

    ¡°You love it, hmm?¡±

    ¡°Of course! This is the greatest game, Rellia. Never mind that nonsense the nobles y on their fancy boards in their parlors! Look at the pieces arrayed before us,¡± he gestured widely with both arms. ¡°Look at the board upon which we y! This game matters, Rellia; this game has real stakes! Our very lives are forfeit should we misstep! I know what you¡¯ll say, that politics has just the same thrill, and it may be true, it may be true, but I can¡¯t stomach the idea that my moves might take months or years to bear fruit. No, give me a battlefield, and I¡¯m a happy man.¡±

    Rellia eyed her old mentor, her lips pursing, trying to think of a way to scold him for treating people¡¯s lives like a game, but then she thought about his words, that he¡¯d included himself in the ounting; it was true¡ªhe and she would be dead should the Ridonne win the night. She saw, over his shoulder, that Edeya looked disturbed, and she frowned at the girl, wishing Darro was with them in the tower instead of down with the captains. ¡°You have something to say, Lieutenant?¡±

    ¡°No, ma¡¯am.¡±

    Borrius nced at Edeya, then waved his hand dismissively, ¡°Until you¡¯ve risen tomand, don¡¯t try to judge me, girl. Many, many nights of sleep have I lost thanks to my mistakes, mistakes that cost many lives¡ªmore than I can count. The only way I find peace is to remember my victories and the lives they saved. The ancestors know my work, and they¡¯re keeping an ount. I¡¯ll see the tally when I¡¯m dead. Until then, I won¡¯t listen to criticism from those who can¡¯t fathom my decisions.¡± Rellia knew he was speaking for her benefit as well as Edeya¡¯s. Ever the teacher, Borrius knew, despite her protestations, that Rellia had much yet to learn.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if my face betrayed my foolish thoughts, sir.¡± The girl¡¯s tone almost made Rellia sorry for her, especially as her eyes drifted to the young Ghelli¡¯s wing stubs. Like most people born without wings, she had a hard time thinking of their loss the same way she might have an arm or leg, but she knew Ghelli felt differently. To them, wings were more essential even than fingers.

    ¡°Go easy, Borrius. When I was her age . . .¡± Rellia was cut off by the distant sound of horns, long, brassy-sounding notes that began in the south then rapidly spread, reverberating off each other as more and more metallic throats took up the call. Soon the horns were calling out from every direction, confirming what she already knew¡ªthe attack wasing from all sides.

    ¡°Imperial war horns,¡± Borrius said, perhaps for her benefit, perhaps for Edeya¡¯s¡ªneither of them had served in the Legion. ¡°It¡¯s time.¡±

    Rellia hurried to the southern edge of their tform, leaning over the railing, looking out over the battlement where Victor and her daughter had arrayed their force. The fog obscured them, for the most part, but she knew they¡¯d charge out of it soon, waiting just long enough to ensure the Imperials weren¡¯t feinting, that they were truly attacking. ¡°How soon will we know if it¡¯s real?¡±

    ¡°Very soon. They¡¯ll bring their artillery to bear, try to soften us, and when we resist, when our preparations and casters prove too much, they¡¯ll charge.¡± Almost like he¡¯d called for it, the sky lit up with bright, fiery balls¡ªming, alchemical missiles fired by trebuchets. Rellia¡¯s mouth fell agape as she tried to count them and lost track after twenty. Weird shadows danced on the grasnds and the fortifications outside the walls as the balls of fire surged through the air.

    ¡°Ancestors! We¡¯re sitting like feyris for a hawk!¡± She¡¯d never seen such a sight, so much destructive power hurtling toward a single target; all her fights had been on a much smaller scale.

    ¡°We¡¯re not helpless. As I said, we¡¯re well entrenched. See there,¡± Borrius pointed to the battlement below where several uniformed men and women were raising their hands, frosty Energy gathering around them, thickening the air and raising a rime on their hands and sleeves. Rellia nced left and right, knowing simr groups of casters stood, spread out along the battlements, ready for such an action. She watched, wondering if they¡¯dunch a counter to the iing projectiles, but nothing flew forth.

    Edeya gasped and said, ¡°They¡¯re going out!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Rellia jerked her gaze to the sky, and sure enough, the iing, meteoric missiles were winking out, one by one, their fire extinguished. The dark, smoking balls continued to fly toward the encampment, but something had been taken from them, some of their momentum dulled by the countermagic. They fell to thud in the grass, well short of the walls, rolling impotently until they fell into a pit or cracked against a barrier. Not a single soldier was injured.

    As the troops below cheered and jeered, Borrius said, ¡°They¡¯ll see the futility in bombardment soon. Write this to the captains, Lieutenant: praise your troops and bolster them with encouragement. Remind them that the test is yet toe. Remind them that our Legate Primus risks his life this night for them, that they have yet to earn the sacrifice he and his soldiers will make.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 36: Charge

    Book 5: Chapter 36: Charge

    Pazra-dak grasped the Energy crystal at the edge of the spell pattern surrounding his brother, ready to feed him more of their blood-attuned Energy. He wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d have to, but Senena seemed to think it was likely. ¡°How would she know,¡± he growled, frowning at the woman who sat, exhausted on the far side of the tent, watching him, watching his brother, through the dark hollows of her eyes.

    ¡°I begin,¡± Rosh wheezed, his throat, like the rest of him, raw from the torments the ancestors-damned, monstrous giant-devil had visited upon him.

    ¡°You will teach that fool what happens to those who threaten the Ridonne!¡± Pazra¡¯s words oozed with pride, and as his brother began to mutter his incantation, he looked over his shoulder and called sharply, ¡°Venis!¡±

    The tent p fluttered as his new Legate hurried to his side. ¡°Yes, Lord?¡±

    ¡°It is time. Are the soldiers prepared?¡±

    ¡°Aye, lord. We¡¯ve held a thousand of our best to guard your tent. The others are set, ready to charge. Of course, we¡¯ll begin with siege weapons to soften them.¡±

    ¡°Any more of their absurd festivities? Wouldn¡¯t it be wonderful if the fools drank themselves into a stupor? Did we figure out what they were shouting about? Do they think they¡¯ve won something, killing the most fearful of our soldiers?¡±

    ¡°No, Lord, we specte they were simply trying to bolster their troops; it can¡¯t be good for their morale to see our great force surrounding them. There have been no more celebrations this evening. The camp grew quiet, and they¡¯ve encircled themselves with fog, likely to obscure their traps. We¡¯ll easily shred their preparations. Shall I move to the fieldmand?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Begin. You know the order of attack. See that you overwhelm that camp, and we¡¯ll deal with their little champion. Hurry now, before the Energies in this circle drag your soul from your bones!¡± Pazra gestured to the tform where Senena had drawn the ritual circle, and Venis nched when his eyes followed the gesture and took in the sight of Rosh, covered in bloody tattoos, seeping a dense, red fog of bloody Energy as he feverishly muttered the words of the rite. Venis turned on his heel and rushed from themand tent, and Pazra chuckled, pleased to see an appropriate response to the workings of the Ridonne.

    ¡°Ready yourself.¡± Senena¡¯s voice startled him; somehow, the witch had crept up, walking around the circle. ¡°Already his Core runs low¡ªI feared as much considering the mental battle we fought just hours ago.¡±

    ¡°Truly? So soon?¡± Pazra frowned, narrowing his eyes, wondering how the witch could see into Rosh¡¯s Core.

    ¡°Yes. Grasp the crystal, ready yourself, fill your pathways with Energy, and when the timees, when I tell you, push your blood-attuned Energy into it, and <em>only</em> that Energy! The circle will carry it to your brother.¡±

    ¡°Must I bleed myself dry?¡±

    Senena, with a mocking, utterly disrespectful note in her voice, replied, ¡°Do you want to summon a weakling from the Vizashath or a great terror of a Ridonne?¡±

    ¡°Witch, watch that insolence. You know what I want.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, Lord. Here.¡± She produced a dark red vial and handed it to him. ¡°This will restore you should the spell threaten to drain you. I¡¯d give it to Lord Rosh-dak, but he¡¯ll be in the throes of the rite and won¡¯t be able to think of quaffing it.¡±

    Pazra gripped the warm potion, nodding. He should have had some of those, himself, but he¡¯d never imagined being tested in this manner. He¡¯d thought to handily crush the upstart¡¯s rebellious forces with his brother¡¯s aid. Rosh¡¯s muttered incantation took on a frenzied note, and his voice rose, cracking with the effort. Pazra gripped the crystal, his palm beginning to sweat, and reached into his Core, pulling forth a thick tendril of the hot red Energy that pulsed within him. He primed it into his pathway, filling it to bursting, ready to send it into the crystal when the moment was right.

    His Energy wasn¡¯t as pure as Rosh¡¯s, but it was potent, nheless. It would work. He felt like he was trying to reassure himself, felt something gnawing at the corners of his mind, and he fumed inwardly about it. That damned bastard had given him something he¡¯d never had before¡ªdoubt. He¡¯d never doubted the might of the Ridonne, never doubted <em>his</em> might. So supremely did they dominate this world that he¡¯d begun to take it for granted. Hadn¡¯t his uncle warned him? Hadn¡¯t he told both he and Rosh that greater challenges awaited on other worlds? His warnings ofcency rang truer than ever after their encounter with the bastard nightmare-making giant.

    ¡°Now!¡± Senena hissed, interrupting his internal dialogue. Pazra pushed, driving his Energy into the crystal. At first, it resisted him, but as a critical mass of his Energy umted in the magical stone, he felt the resistance break. Then it <em>pulled,</em> drawing his Energy out of his pathways, emptying them, and then it reached directly into his Core. Pazra gasped at the sensation, groaning as he felt the lethargy of low Energy, and he peeled his eyes open, unsure when he¡¯d even closed them.

    The crystal was aze with orange-red light, and the same bright Energy traced the pattern carved into the tform on which his brother sat. His brother . . . his brother was transfixed, floating above the circle, limbs spread wide, mouth agape, eyes wide, zing with Energy, unseeing, as far as Pazra could tell.

    ¡°Drink it!¡± Senena hissed. Pazra jerked his eyes away from his brother and quaffed the coppery potion, sighing with relief as the dense Energy in the liquid surged into his Core, replenishing him. However, the crystal was still hungry, and it pulled at his new stores, drawing the Energy out, ring brightly as it sent it on through the pattern to his brother. ¡°Old bones,¡± Senena cried, her voice quavering. ¡°He¡¯s reached through! One of them has hold¡ªa hungry one!¡±

    Pazra grunted in acknowledgment, looking at his brother, watching as his flesh split, deep orange-red lines marring his body, radiating heat. A bit of motion from the corner of his eye, a sense that someone had moved, made him look over his shoulder just in time to see Senena¡¯s back as she fled the tent. ¡°Worm,¡± he growled or tried to growl¡ªit came out more as a wheeze. The spell was pulling too hard, taking too much. With a tremendous effort, he unpeeled his fingers one by one, straining to free his hand from the crystal. He couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°<em>Ah-ah-oh!¡±</em> Rosh-dak cried, his voice rising in a weird ultion. Pazra looked at him, panic making his movements jerky as he strained against the crystal¡¯s pull, against the hunger of the being reaching through the pattern. Rosh was stretching, his flesh continuing to split as his bones elongated. The weird, magma glow between his split skin intensified, and his eyes began to ze with it, literal beams scorching the top of the tent as the man, the once-great, handsome son of the Ridonne, wailed and arched his back.

    For his part, Pazra, too, cried out, though his voice was a hoarse whisper as darkness began to creep in around the edges of his vision. He felt the Energy in his Core dwindle to nothing again, and still, the rite didn¡¯t leave him be, didn¡¯t drop him; it began to pull at his very essence, snatching the blood from his veins, igniting it, taking out the Energy he¡¯d earned through many, many years of cultivation, battle, and triumph. It ripped away the fruits of the many treasures he¡¯d consumed to enhance himself. Though he couldn¡¯t scream, couldn¡¯t thrash, so weak had he be, Pazra wept. Tears of hot blood ran down his cheeks as he wilted.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor and his soldiers watched as the Imperial forcesunched their many ranged attacks at the encampment. They waited as the defenses held, and the elemental casters in his army dismantled fireballs, tamped down and calmed sudden earthquakes, and shielded the encamped army from icy squalls with great gusts of winds high in the air. All the while, they maintained theyer of fog near the fortifications, and Victor had to admire their skill and tenacity. Surely the Imperials had more casters, but they couldn¡¯t break those on the ramparts behind him. Victor vowed to award some medals to those tough <em>cabr¨®ns</em> if he and they survived the night.

    After a long while, Victor heard the rion, stato horn Borrius had told him to listen for; it meant the charge had begun. ¡°Get ready!¡± he roared, casting Iron Berserk. As he surged in size, so too did Guapo, and soon his head was up near the top of the fog bank. He couldn¡¯t quite see over it, though that didn¡¯t stop his troops from cheering when those nearby saw him expand in size. Victor unslung Lifedrinker and held her ready in his right hand. ¡°Good boy,¡± he said, pping his spirit steed¡¯s shoulder. The nightmare Mustang whinnied, a fierce, bone-chilling sound that sent a plume of ck shadows from his nostrils.

    ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± Victor mainly spoke to himself, trying to bolster his nerves. He hated the spell he was about to cast. Something about the detachment he felt when he wore the guise of the Inevitable Huntsman made him ufortable. Victor was an emotional man, and he liked it. He liked how he loved and hated, lusted and feared¡ªwhen the world went gray, and all he could think about was finding his quarry, it was like he wasn¡¯t himself, even more so than when he was wearing his Aspect of Terror.

    Growling at himself, at his hesitation, Victor built the pattern and, as the spell pulled his various Energies to form justice-attuned Energy and it shared his pathways with his rage, the world inside the fog grew even grayer. He felt the changee over him, and he tried to focus on the images of Pazra-dak and the other Ridonne, the one he¡¯d shed with while on his nightmare tirade. As other things fell away, love, hate, fear, hope, one thing remained¡ªhis need to punish those who¡¯d done wrong, his need to deliver justice. The world grew more and more dim, the people around him more and more meaningless, and then he felt it¡ªa hot pulse ahead and to his left. There. There were those who needed to taste the righteous judgment of his hand.

    Without a word, Victor and Guapo started forward, and he felt a deep need to hurry, to bring justice to his quarry, to punish them. He began to urge his steed forward, a great beast, a powerful beast, an animal fit to convey the inevitability of justice. Dimly, in the back of his mind, he was aware of others running with him, spurring their own animals to carry them on his heels. This was fine, he decided, fitting, even. Should not the archon of justice have followers? Should others not want to join his crusade?

    Still, his nightmare, shadow-cloaked mount was far faster than they, and he felt them falling behind. He heard some of them crying out. Were they cheering? Lamenting? Did it matter? At first, his answer was no, but then, a tiny voice in his head said, ¡°Slow down,¡± and he pondered that for a heartbeat. Should he? ¡°Do it!¡± the voice snarled, and suddenly the gray began to fade as some color slipped in. ¡°Time to wake up, <em>hermano</em>,¡± the voice growled, louder now, more robust. ¡°We know where they are. Time to snap out of it!¡± With the abruptness of a light being turned on, the spell broke, the gray faded from his vision, and Victorughed, back behind the wheel, so to speak.

    Victor urged Guapo to slow. He could see the front line of the Ridonne army ahead of him, maybe half a mile distant, and, looking back, he saw he¡¯d surged a hundred yards or more ahead of his troops. While he cantered forward, waiting for his allies to gain on him, Victor summoned his standard, and suddenly the darkness was aze with sparkling golden glory. His soldiers, the brave men and women who urged their mounts to catch him, cheered, and Victor lifted his head, roaring his encouragement. He felt them as they drew near, and he willed Guapo forward, setting a breakneck pace, pushing the limits of the rdii most of his troops rode.

    When he was close enough to see the individual Imperials, Victorughed to see none were mounted. They were foot soldiers and only five ranks deep; he briefly wondered at the wisdom of trying to attack the encampment from every direction. He continued to charge them, saw them waver in the light of his banner, and then he screamed, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± He dug into his Core, pulled out a massive torrent of fear-attuned Energy, and cast Project Spirit, sending forth an enormous cone of dark, twisted tendrils of shadowy Energy that struck the line of spear, sword, and axe wielders ahead of him.

    They faltered, eyes going wide, and many of them fled. Some dropped their weapons as they turned. Others fell to their knees, their bodies abandoning them in sheer terror. Victor smashed through them. The great fear-born Mustang trampled them like so many children under his hooves. With a tremendous crash, the front of his troops¡¯ wedge struck the faltering Imperials behind him, and then he was through, continuing straight toward where he¡¯d felt the Ridonne.

    He wanted to look back, to witness the glory of his men smashing through the Imperial line, but he had to focus and watch for traps and the soldiers no doubt left behind to protect the Ridonne. He¡¯d led the charge, broken through, given his soldiers the bolstering light of his banner, and crushed his enemies¡¯ will; it was time to give Guapo his head. Victor leaned forward, and the Mustang knew what he wanted. The great steed exploded with speed, driving him over the ground, leaping a long series of trenches, hardly jostling Victor in his passage.

    Victor threw a giant Globe of Insight into the air, leaving behind a brilliant floodlight, exposing the pitfalls for his soldiers as they followed in his wake. Soon, he saw them, a row of soldiers, and his mind, quickened by his many enhancements, calcted their numbers. He could see their front line was maybe a hundred strong, but they were only three rows deep; there were fewer than he¡¯d expected, even if you considered there were probably more around the perimeter of the Ridonne¡¯s camp. Victorughed, and as he sped toward them, he reached out and summoned a monstrous rage-fueled bear totem, setting it loose in the ranks of soldiers ahead of him.

    The Imperials swarmed around each other, trying to bolster up those suddenly caught amid the rampages of a massive spirit bear. It swiped left and right, sending the soldiers flying, and, in that chaos, that disarray, Victor and Guapo crashed into them at great speed. The Mustang smashed and stomped through them. He was enormous, his hooves the size of five-gallon buckets made of ck, diamond-hard keratin, and he spread shadows of fear all around him, clearing his nks¡ªnone of the soldiers could stand before him or summon the will to try to strike at him as he rode past. In three heartbeats, Victor was through and charging for the tents ahead.

    ¡°Good,¡± Victorughed, taking a moment to realize he¡¯d managed to summon his bear while still riding his mount; had he done that before? He continued tough, admiring the beauty of his revised totem spell. Then he was trampling through tents, noting that the camp was empty; had the Ridonne sent the nonbat personnel away? Were they off supporting the attacking lines? It didn¡¯t matter; Victor saw an enormous round tent atop a nearby rise near the center of the camp. More, it was glowing with orange-red light, a beacon to pull at Victor¡¯s urge forbat.

    He slowed, and as Guapo¡¯s thunderous hooves settled and the wind ceased its whistling in his ears, Victor heard the crash as his soldiers mmed into the line of defenders. He listened to his bear roaring and the screams of soldiers dying. A grim smile spread his lips, baring white, clenched teeth. The poor bastards who¡¯d thought they¡¯d drawn an easy duty staying back, protecting their leaders, would have a rough night. Girded for battle, wearing his wyrm-scale vest, his Kethian Juggernaut helm, his dragonsteel belt, and wielding the greatest axe on the, Victor urged Guapo forward. ¡°Time toe out of your tent, assholes.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    ¡°You were right,¡± Rellia said, her eyes wide as she took in the size of the forceing at them from the northwest. The Imperials were like a tide, flowing over the grasnds, thousands of them mounted, riding behind the foot soldiers. Energy globes hung in the air¡ªsmoldering orange fire, cool, pale-blue ice, crackling balls of lightning and sma, and hundreds of bright, yellow, pure Energy orbs. It was like dawn hade early as the Ridonne soldiers arrayed themselves outside the fortifications, inspecting them, perhaps, before they charged.

    ¡°Yes, though I was more right than I¡¯d hoped. I¡¯d hoped they¡¯d spread out more, truly try to test all our fortifications. It seems they¡¯re going to concentrate most of their efforts here. Honestly,¡± he said, voice low, ¡°I¡¯m not sure we¡¯ll hold for long.¡±

    ¡°We have to.¡± Rellia leaned forward on the parapet. ¡°Should we not order more soldiers to this wall?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Lieutenant,¡± Borrius turned to Edeya, ¡°alert the captains. We need another full cohort on this wall. Take two hundred soldiers from each of the others.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Edeya said, scribbling in hermand book.

    ¡°This is going to be a true test. We may die here tonight,dies. If we do, it¡¯s been a pleasure.¡±

    ¡°Sir, if I may speak?¡± Edeya¡¯s voice was shaky.

    ¡°Out with it; the time for chatter fades,¡± he replied curtly.

    ¡°Victor will win. He has to. When he does, he¡¯lle back, and the soldiers out there; they¡¯re going to break. We just have to hold them for a while.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s the trick, Lieutenant¡ªholding them.¡± He¡¯d just finished speaking when something shook the night, a sound that cut the air like a nail through a board, a scream that echoed over the grasnds from the southeast. It was a sound both foreign and familiar, bringing back memories of the long night when Victor had been out terrorizing the Imperials. ¡°Ancestors! Was that him?¡±

    Rellia shook her head, eyes wide with a mixture of confusion and despair. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. It sounded different. Wasn¡¯t it louder? Deeper?¡±

    ¡°Look!¡± Edeya said, standing at the tform¡¯s edge, pointing toward the southeast where Victor had charged, toward the origin of the weird, terrible shriek. Rellia followed her finger, and there, in the distance¡ªa mile or two¡ªshe saw an eerie red light, like a rip in the night. It zed, putting spots in her vision when she blinked for a few seconds, and then it began to shrink and, in just a few moments, was gone.

    ¡°What in the shit . . .¡± Borrius started to say but collected himself in time to shake his head and change his words, ¡°It¡¯s not our problem. Not yet. We have more immediate things to worry about.¡± At his words, Rellia turned, and sure enough, more horns started to sound, and the Imperials began their charge.

 Book 5: Chapter 37: Lights in the Night

    Book 5: Chapter 37: Lights in the Night

    Eyes on the glowing tent, Victor dismounted from Guapo and dismissed the sturdy mount. The center of the Imperial camp was deserted. No one challenged him, and he could be atop that rise, smashing through the tent in one leap¡ªthe Mustang wasn¡¯t needed. He shifted his Sovereign Will boost from agility and dexterity to strength and vitality. As his muscles swelled with power and he felt the vibrant Energy bolster his already sturdy form, he lifted Lifedrinker and began to stalk forward.

    The sounds of battle behind him grew louder as his troops shed with the Ridonnes¡¯ guardian forces. He knew if he looked back, he¡¯d see his cavalry breaking through, riding in a loop, and then charging again. They nned to do so over and over until they lost too many mounts, were surrounded by too many enemies, or one of a myriad of potential circumstances prevented their repeated charges. Victor felt good about their chances; he¡¯d given them a hell of a first charge, and the defenders seemed far fewer than they¡¯d anticipated. Maybe with Polo, Va, and Lam leading them, they¡¯d actually win.

    Victor brushed the thoughts of his troops out of his mind and focused on the task at hand. He began to regte his breathing, visualizing how he¡¯d crush first one Ridonne and then the other. He figured he¡¯d kill the shorter, spiky Ridonne first; he hadn¡¯t seemed as strong as the big golden-skinned one. He ran through his n of attack, solidifying it in his mind, imagining how he¡¯d charge, feint, and respond to their defensive movements. He was halfway up the rise, passing by empty, smaller tents, perhaps fifty yards from the big glowing one when it exploded.

    Exploded was probably the wrong word, he revised, ducking down, shielding his eyes from the bright re. The orange-red burst of light was so bright, so intense, that he¡¯d thought something had blown up in the tent, his mind drawing ridiculous pictures of cartoon-style TNT barrels. No explosion apanied the sh, though, and as the bloom faded, he saw a massive rip in the fabric of reality. It wasn¡¯t smooth or neatly oval like some of the portals he¡¯d seen; it looked like a jagged tear through which weird, red mist flowed, traveling on a current of wind Victor couldn¡¯t feel. As the mist passed through and the rip began to shrink, a terrible shrieking cry echoed through the night, loud and multi-voiced, like a trio including a bass, a treble, and a warbling, pain-filled soprano.

    Something stirred in Victor¡¯s chest at the sound, and he began to regress in his Berserk state to the way he used to feel before he¡¯d learned his Iron Berserk spell. He felt himself straightening, his shoulders squaring, and a thought, almost foreign in his mind, echoed through his psyche¡ªwho was this weakling to scream so in his presence? Victor stoked the rage in his pathways and pushed it into his arms, using Channel Spirit to fill Lifedrinker with it. She shimmered with a red heat, and then the silvery sheen of her axe head burst into molten orange fury, ck smoke drifting into the night as she smoldered and cooked the air. He stalked forward toward the diminishing red cut in the sky.

    Distantly he felt his bear fade away as it sumbed to thousands of wounds. He wasn¡¯t upset; he¡¯d gotten a sense of conquest from the great beast and knew it had crushed many, many Imperials before it fell. He contemted summoning his coyotes but decided to wait; he wanted to see what lurked in the bright glow of that portal. What creature had dared to utter such a shriek? It had been a challenge, there was no doubt, and Victor felt his blood boiling at the idea. By the time he crested the hill and stood there, looking at the ruins of the great tent under the rapidly fading light of the tear in reality, he was limned with red rage, his chest heaving with fury, his knuckles white on his axe.

    The wind blew heavily over the hilltop, and he saw two individuals there at the center of the pping, torn, smoldering tent. One, a frail-looking Shadeni, scrabbled at the ground, worming his way under the ripped fabric of the tent. The other wasrge, squatting on its haunches, a shadowy hulk that peered out from hooded brows withntern-sized glowering red eyes. Here was his challenger, Victor decided. Here was the one who needed to feel his might.

    With a raw, scraping, grating voice, the thing hissed, ¡°A snack to wee me home? How pleasing!¡± Then it flew through the air, quick as a thought, toward Victor. Enraged as he was, full of the proud blood of his ancestors, Victor bristled at the thing¡¯s words and lifted Lifedrinker, swinging her hatchet-like at the iing ball of smokey shadows. He might not have been boosting his agility, but Victor wasn¡¯t slow, especially when Berserk. Lifedrinker, smoldering like a razor-edged coal, smashed into the challenger, pulling forth a wail of agony.

    Victor didn¡¯t have time to celebrate or gloat; though wounded and stopped short by his cleave, the creature stood tall before him and hacked down with a jagged, blood-red sword at Victor¡¯s chest. Victor felt his wyrm-scale vest eat the blow, though the impact was immense, and he had to take a step back to steady himself. He didn¡¯t look down at his chest to see the damage done to his armor; he didn¡¯t have the time or mental bandwidth for that. He was too engrossed by the appearance of his foe now that it had emerged from its hunched, shadow-d posture.

    The man before him, for it was evident this was a man, not a beast, was nearly as tall as Victor in his Quinametzin form, slighter, perhaps, but impressive in almost every way. More than his height and red-gold flesh that shimmered with Energy and power, the man was handsome in a weird, inhuman sense. His eyes were like golden orbs with red irises, and his hair was a flowing mane of feathery, red locks. He¡¯d unfurled two massive wings that spread wide behind him, giving him the impression of a vastly greater bulk. The wings were bedecked with thousands of red feathers that matched his hair, and he wore golden armor simr to what Victor had seen on the Ridonne he¡¯d previously fought.

    When his red, shimmering de didn¡¯t split Victor in twain, the weird, handsome man stepped back, twisted his full, red lips into a sneer, and said, in that raw, scraping voice, ¡°Sumb. Make this easy. I have ying to do.¡±

    Victor had gathered his wits enough to realize this <em>was</em> some kind of Ridonne¡ªa third one. Perhaps he was one of their champions,e to rescue the two others he¡¯d already thrashed. He grinned, thinking of it, likening the pompous, winged buffoon before him to an angry uncle or parent. Rather than speak to the fool, rather than break his rule about shit-talking during a fight, Victor closed the gap between them, only five yards or so, with an Energy Charge fueled by inspiration. He streaked over the ground in a blur of white light and glittering motes and smashed his enormously dense Kethian Juggernaut helm into the Ridonne¡¯s chin.

    In the terrible concussion that followed, Victor was shielded by the Energy of his spell. The Ridonne tried to stand firm and put some Energy into his pathways, zing with red-orange light, but it wasn¡¯t enough; as Victor reced him on the contested soil, the Ridonne tumbled back,pleting a half back-flip before his head struck the ground and he slid through two nearby tents, digging a foot-deep furrow in the grassy loam. Victor knew better than to stand around and watch what his enemy would do. He leaped after him, bringing Lifedrinker down in a terrible chop at the downed giant.

    He soared downward, Lifedrinker¡¯s edge mere feet from the Ridonne¡¯s corbone, when a globe of red Energy expanded from the weird warrior¡¯s chest in a brilliant sh. Like an explosion centered on the tall, golden man¡¯s body, the red Energy consumed everything it touched, vaporizing the tent remains, the grass, and the very soil upon which hey. Worse, as it expanded in a point-nk explosion, the outer edge hit Victor as he fell from the sky.

    The Energy was hot, angry, and filled with destructive power. Lifedrinker was the first to feel it, and he heard her scream in tortured agony, a sound that ripped through his mind. Panicked at the idea that she might be destroyed, Victor jerked his arm upward, flinging her away. She spun through the air, smoldering and ckened, tond in the grass fifty yards distant. Before Victor could feel relief that she wasn¡¯t vaporized, he fell into the globe of destructive Energy and knew nothing but pain.

    Victor felt his flesh begin toe apart on his left hand, forearm, and his knees, as they were the first parts of him to touch thatser-hot sphere. As he continued downward, and his arm and legs, then his chest and torso, passed through it, he felt something akin to what he¡¯d experienced when he¡¯d inhaled the smoke of the fire drake. If whatever Energy was tearing him apart was fire, he¡¯d feel better, knowing he¡¯d resist much of it, but it didn¡¯t burn like fire. It was something else, some horrible Energy that wed at him with the strength of acid and the heat of an inferno.

    Many people might have thrashed and tried to roll away or change their trajectory. Many people might have panicked and folded from the pain. Many people would have lost the battle in that instant in their desperation to save themselves, to escape that agony no matter the cost. Victor wasn¡¯t an average man, however. The problem for the Ridonne was that Victor had one thing in his mind, and it was to rip the heart from his enemy, damage to himself be damned. Still falling in a red haze of fury and agony, Victor brought both bloody, dissolving hands toward his prone enemy¡¯s throat.

    As he finished passing through the expanding bubble of terrible Energy, he smashed down on the golden man¡¯s chest. Blood showered off him at the impact, leaking from the many breaches in his flesh, but he¡¯d felt worse, seen worse. He was already healing, his powerful flesh absorbing the terrible abuse as his Berserk healing and massive vitality worked to undo the damage he¡¯d suffered. Meanwhile, his knees brought forth loud cracks and pops from the Ridonne¡¯s big chest, and his hands had found their purchase around his golden throat. Victor squeezed as he leaned forward, eyes red with blood and madness as he leered with bloody teeth at the Ridonne¡¯s shock.

    As his enemy thrashed and vast torrents of Energy coursed through his golden body, Victor bore down with his enormous fingers, the cable-like muscles in his forearms standing out like the roots of a mighty tree. He squeezed with such fury, such single-minded madness, intent on seeing the eyes pop from the Ridonne¡¯s skull, that he almost didn¡¯t realize his foe was lifting that long, jagged, red de, aiming its curved edge at the gap between his wyrm-scale armor and the rim of his helm. He meant to decapitate Victor.

    Growling, Victor released one hand from the golden man¡¯s throat and grasped at his wrist, stopping the sword stroke inches from his flesh. Somehow the reprieve was enough for the Ridonne to recover slightly, to get some blood up to his brain or manage some kind of spell, for, in another burst of hot, red Energy, he exploded into a crimson mist that sped over the ground, stopping to gather dozens of yards from the furious titan.

    Victor stood up, his death grip foiled, and took stock of himself. He was bloody, but the soreness of his flesh was fading quickly. His pants were shredded to tatters, but his more robust magical gear was intact. His vest was shinier than ever as it glimmered in the weird lights filling the sky from the battles taking ce all over the grassy ins. He knew his helmet was fine without looking at it; the damn thing was nigh indestructible. As he stood there, stewing in his rage, watching the weird red cloud, wondering if the Ridonne would rematerialize or flee like they all seemed to love doing, he patted at his waist, felt his steaming, ticking belt, and knew it had absorbed much of the spell¡¯s potency. What would have happened to him without it?

    Watching the mist, wondering what the Ridonne was doing in there, Victor stalked over the ground to his smoking axe. When he picked her up, Lifedrinker hummed, scorched but alive. She radiated fury warring with gratitude, d he¡¯d been so quick to pull her from her torment but ready to kill the one who¡¯d stung her. Brushing some of the char from her haft, he started toward the cloud, wondering what spell to use to force his foe to show himself. He needn¡¯t have wondered; as soon as he closed within ten yards of the cloud, it shimmered, swirled, and condensed into the form of the golden man.

    He grinned, whipping his red de back and forth as he watched Victor. ¡°Well,¡± he hissed, ¡°what a surprise. What have my foolish descendants allowed to walk into their world? Hmm? I can¡¯t have this. Come, let us dance; let me see how you use that axe, giant.¡±

    ¡°Titan,¡± Victor corrected, and then he cast Energy charge again, this time fueling it with rage, though his Core was running low on the preciousmodity.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Borrius watched as his world began toe apart. It started with some irrationally brave Imperials who charged on their rdii, got close enough to the ramparts to use wind-attuned spells to mount the wall, and as they were cut to ribbons, managed to kill a handful of the defensive casters for that side of the fort. What madness would spur men and women, clearly all at or near tier four, to throw their lives away so valiantly? They weren¡¯t here to defend their families but to stop an army that wanted nothing to do with them! Why would they sacrifice themselves so?

    The irrationality of their heroism was the only thing he hadn¡¯t ounted for, the only thing that he couldn¡¯t have expected; Imperial troops were not known for their selfless valor! He¡¯d screamed at Edeya to send for more defensive casters, but they were all busy on their ramparts, and their extrication from duty took too long. Imperial Earth Casters, clearly heavily stacked on this side of the fort, had summoned the soil and teased it forth with rocks and boulders to build an earthen ramp that stretched down from the top of the ramparts some two hundred yards, burying many of the defenses the army¡¯s engineers had so painstakingly erected.

    Such a working wasn¡¯t generally seen on a battle of this scale, Borrius told himself, trying to wrap his mind around how easily he¡¯d been outwitted. Had he been, though? He shook his head. If anyone had outwitted him, it was himself; he¡¯d relied far too heavily on his knowledge of Imperial tactics. These soldiers weren¡¯t behaving like Imperials; the Ridonne must have done something to their minds. It was moot now, he decided, listening to the hysterical sh of magic and steel below him, watching as their rampart was overwhelmed. Rellia was screaming something, orders for Edeya to write down, no doubt. He couldn¡¯t focus on her; his eyes were glued to the carnage below.

    The Imperials were being ughtered two or more for every man or woman on the wall, but they still came. They fought like they were possessed even when Borrius had called out orders to use their ramp against them, allowing them to fill it with bodies and then using firebombs and archers to mow them down. Lightning strikes, sleeting gales, pits of magma, all summoned by the remaining defensive casters to great effect, ying hundreds, even thousands of the charging Imperials, but they kepting. They kepting, and the greater number of casters out on the field had begun to turn the tide.

    As the charging soldiers gained a foothold on the walls and discipline began to fray, the Imperial casters had brought forth their own miniature hells, unleashing them on the defenders and attackers alike, indiscriminate in their destruction. More lightning strikes rained down, gales of burning, acidic rain washed the ramparts, and tremors shook the earth, crumbling the defensive structure and allowing more and more Imperials to pour in. Once again, Rellia¡¯s shouts interrupted his thoughts, his observation of the chaos and the end of his world.

    ¡°. . . a weapon, now¡¯s the time to use it!¡± she shouted, her rapier in her hand.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯reing up thedders! Our defenders below are nearly overwhelmed. They¡¯ll be on us soon!¡±

    Borrius looked at the opening in the center of the tform, wondering what sort of Imperial would show his or her face first. Edeya stood on the other side of the hole, her book stowed away and arge spear in her two hands. Had ite to this, then? Perhaps the army wouldn¡¯t lose. Though their tform was nearly overwhelmed, perhaps the other ramparts were moving to bolster this wall. Perhaps their defense was going more easily. It had to be, didn¡¯t it? Clearly, the Imperials had put their efforts into breaching this wall. Maybe Victor would prevail and return to the encampment in time to rally the troops.

    ¡°Well,¡± he said, digging around in his storage ring. ¡°I haven¡¯t used it in a number of years, but I used to be fairly good with a mace. I¡¯ve a shield in here somewhere, too.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit. Let¡¯s take some with us.¡± As if summoned by Rellia¡¯s words, a soldier wearing an Imperial helmet popped his head through the hole, and she drove her wickedly fast rapier through his eye. He screamed and dropped away.

    ¡°Commander!¡± Edeya cried, and Borrius didn¡¯t know if she spoke to Rellia or him, but it didn¡¯t matter; she continued before either answered, ¡°What¡¯s that? In the sky? Are they fireballs? No, some other kind of attack?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Borrius asked, turning, still in the midst of strapping on his shield. Sure enough, out in the ck night, high above the ground, hundreds of flickering orange lights twinkled in the dark. ¡°Ancestors, damn them!¡± he growled. ¡°They held some mages in reserve to the north?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps, but what a strange-looking attack. What are they?¡± Rellia grunted as she stabbed at another attacker. She squinted into the ck night, watching the weird, flickering ochre lights as they slowly drew nearer. ¡°I¡¯ll wager it¡¯s an alchemical attack. One thing is certain, though, the attackers below will torch this tower soon or knock it down.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps. Perhaps they want us alive for . . . questioning.¡± Borrius continued to frown, staring into the darkness, trying to put a name to the mysterious lights. They didn¡¯t move like projectiles. Were they some sort of balloon or kite¡ªsomething meant to explode overtop the encampment?

    ¡°Nothing we can do but hold as long as we can.¡± Edeya¡¯s voice was firm. The lieutenant was oddly more resolute and focused in the face of near-certain death than Borrius felt. He looked at her and nodded.

    ¡°Yes. Let us extract from them a dear price for our lives.¡± He stepped forward, gripping the familiar handle of his old friend, the cudgel of ckstar, his father¡¯s mace, the only weapon he¡¯d ever killed someone with, long before he¡¯d learned that leading men was more rewarding than fighting them.

 Book 5: Chapter 38: The Heart to Win

    Book 5: Chapter 38: The Heart to Win

    Victor smashed into the Ridonne again, and this time the concussion shook the ground, sending up a shower of torn sod, soil, and stones as somehow the golden warrior deflected the impact away from himself. Victor found himself standing, face to face with the armored figure, Lifedrinker¡¯s edge caught on the de of that wicked, jagged scimitar. The Ridonne¡¯s wings were spread wide, and he brought them forward with a <em>crack</em> and thrust with his arms, pushing Victor away and himself back, smirking at the titan¡¯s ineffectual charge.

    Victor didn¡¯t let him gloat, didn¡¯t let him taunt him; instead, he dove forward, and, using everything he¡¯d learned from Polo, everything he¡¯d learned fighting on Zaafor, he began to hack at his foe, feinting, shing, thrusting, even using his free fist and feet to strike out, forcing openings for his axe. This Ridonne was something else, though, something far beyond the two Victor had already fought. It felt almost like he¡¯d been toying with Victor before; for now, he parried, dodged, and blocked his attacks, even using his damnable wings to deflect and rebuff Victor¡¯s blows.

    Despite his skill, the red-winged giant of a man couldn¡¯t do much to harm Victor, either. They danced, and their blows rang through the night, and though the Ridonne snuck a few shes and thrusts past Victor¡¯s guard, his armor ate them, or they left only superficial wounds that closed almost as soon as the de slipped away. Victor snarled, his fury rising with each moment they fought, and the Ridonne simrly grew frustrated; it was clear he didn¡¯t enjoy the dy Victor was causing him. Did he desire to ughter weaker foes so much? The idea further infuriated Victor.

    ¡°So,¡± the Ridonne grunted after minutes of intense battle, stepping back after a fresh parry that had left Victor overextended. ¡°I see why my lesser kin have summoned me. You are a worthy opponent, but in the Vizashath, I¡¯ve battled worse. Come, flee this world. Leave me to my ughter. As I grow ustomed to this flesh, my power only grows.¡±

    The golden man¡¯s words echoed in Victor¡¯s head as he circled him and, as his rage ran low and he struggled to keep enough in his pathways to stoke his Berserk, part of his brain puzzled over their meaning. He was growing ustomed to his flesh? Some ¡°lesser kin¡± had summoned him? The Vizashath? Was this enormous, winged Ridonne from somewhere outside of Fanwath? If not for his dwindling Energy, specifically his rage, Victor wouldn¡¯t care, wouldn¡¯t listen to the mouthy bastard¡¯s words; he¡¯d be content to work on him for hours, days if need be¡ªit was excellent axe practice, after all!

    As they stood apart, the Ridonne still thering about Victor leaving him so he could get on with his ¡°bloody work,¡± Victor continued to circle him and nced inward at his Core. His fear Energy was brimming, his rage nearly empty, his inspiration full, zing bright, and his glory nearly half-gone; his banner, though a great boon, had been slowly eating it away as he continued to energize it past its normal duration. He quickly returned his focus to his foe, though that sickly, dim orb of rage weighed heavily on his mind; if his Berserk faded, he¡¯d lose more than half his strength and speed. Worse, he¡¯d also lose his enhanced healing.

    He contemted recasting his Inevitable Huntsman spell, but he didn¡¯t think he had enough rage to fuel it¡ªjustice required equal parts rage and fear woven with inspiration. Each second he deliberated, his furious red Energy ticked away, and he could see something in the Ridonne¡¯s eyes, something like sly cleverness, as he watched Victor circle him. Could he see his Energy dwindling? Victor knew others could do so; Tes could easily see the Energy in his Core. ¡°Enough,¡± Victor growled, and then he poured a massive torrent of fear-attuned Energy into his Wild Totem spell, summoning a pack of huge, nightmarish coyotes.

    The golden warrior¡¯s eyes widened, and he backed up another step, ncing left to right, seeing the massive, pony-sized hounds coalescing out of pools of steaming, purple-ck darkness. Their eyes glowered balefully like violet wisps in the depths of shadow, and they began to yip and whine as they circled Victor¡¯s foe. ¡°So, enough testing our metal, then?¡± the Ridonne quipped, flicking his sword about. ¡°I¡¯d hoped to keep gathering my strength, but . . .¡± he choked off his words as Victor charged him again, using inspiration-attuned Energy.

    He shed over the ground in a cloud of bright, white mist, and as the Ridonne flooded his body with Energy, the evil-looking hounds leaped at him. They snapped at his legs and wide-flung wrists, and one of them even jumped toward his back, wrapping its razor-filled jaws around the edge of a crimson-feathered wing. The Ridonne made no effort to dodge the totems; he didn¡¯t even flinch from Victor¡¯s charge. Just as before, he somehow deflected the Energy of Victor¡¯s spell, and this time, rather than sending it into the ground, he let it explode outward in a ball of force that rolled away, with him at the epicenter. Victor was flung back by his own power, and his shadowy, nightmarishpanions were ripped to shreds, reduced to tatters of shadow that rapidly faded to nothing.

    Victor had seen the effects of his Energy charge on his foes, seen how it could ruin a lesser opponent like Chokodo-dak, and seen how it would send even an enemy like this Ridonne flying. For the first time, Victor felt it turned on him, and he didn¡¯t enjoy the experience. The concussion wracked his body, ruptured his ears, and burst the tiny vessels in his eyes and nose. As he staggered back, stunned and concussed by the force of his own power, the Ridonne gathered another great burst of his potent red-orange Energy and, from the palm of his outstretched left hand, fired a beam of it directly into Victor¡¯s chest.

    Victor¡¯s Dragonsteel belt was spent, unable to absorb any more for the day, but his wyrm-scale armor, lovingly crafted by a true dragon, took the beam of Energy and mightily reduced it. Still, thence of Energy bore down, pushing the stunned titan backward, slowly eating through the wyrm scales. As the Energy began to bleed through his armor, the agony of it rending his flesh and bone was like a smelling salt to Victor¡¯s concussed mind. He thrashed, trying to roll away from the beam, but the Ridonne tracked him with it, scoring it over his body, looking for a lethal spot to focus it upon.

    Screaming with agony every time it bit through his armor or found a gap, digging furrows in his flesh, Victor rolled and dove, trying to somersault away, only to find unarmored parts of himself exposed to the beam. His arms, his legs, and even his neck felt that biting ray as he struggled to get out of it. Finally, in desperation, he bunched his legs and used Titanic Leap to escape the horrible,ncing Energy. He crashed to the earth a hundred yards distant from the devilish Ridonne, rolling and crashing through empty tents, his body smoking, his armor steaming and ticking with the potent Energy it had absorbed.

    Victor heard the Ridonne chuckling, and hisck of fury made him aware that his Berserk had faded as he fell. He was his natural size, his natural strength, and he was severely hurt. As he struggled to gather his jumbled thoughts, furiously contemting the contents of his storage devices, trying to decide on a healing potion to consume, his mind¡¯s eye settled on something he¡¯d set aside, something he¡¯d been meaning to use next time he had a moment¡¯s break to concentrate on himself for a while.

    Images ran through his mind, memories of racing through a vast wastnd, chasing after Tes, never quite catching her. He remembered how his rage would run low, and he¡¯d start to lose his Berserk, and she¡¯d say, ¡°Aren¡¯t you hungry, titan-blood?¡± Victor summoned the wyrm heart from his storage ring, and, lying there, wrapped in the smoldering remnants of enemy tents, he contemted eating it. It was enormous, even in his half-titan hands. ¡°This will take too long,¡± he grunted, agony surging with the effort; the beam had carved a ck welt over his throat and lower jaw.

    The pain served to focus his mind, and Victor cast Titanic Aspect, using his most plentiful Energy source, fear. It didn¡¯t seem to matter; the Energy didn¡¯t affect the spell. He simply surged in size, ripping the fabric of the tents shrouding his body, and making the heart look more like a snack than an impossible meal. ¡°Witness my glory, Ancestors,¡± he grunted, and then he took a massive bite of the heart. He crushed it between his teeth, savoring the hot, coppery juices as they exploded into his mouth. He swallowed great hunks of it, gulping them down, then bit another third of the morsel away and did the same.

    Already he felt the effects¡ªheat was exploding in his gut, coursing through him. Energy poured into his pathways like floodwaters down culverts, draining into his Core, pushing his different attunements to the edges of their ability to contain it. As his Core expanded, the Energy rolled out again, exploding through his pathways and then out of his body, great waves of it. As he choked down thest bite of the wyrm¡¯s heart, anyone looking at him would have thought he¡¯d exploded. The fiery, powerful Energy of the heart had fully engulfed him, wrapped around him like a cocoon of smoldering magma.

    From the outside, the Ridonne saw a great ball of fiery Energy roiling where Victor had fallen, roiling and pulsing, sending waves of that hot Energy outward, scorching the tents, grass, and the ground beneath, leaving a barren, dead, ck circle nearly a hundred yards in diameter. The Ridonne had been stalking toward the downed titan, ready to finish his work with that blood-red scimitar, but when the first pulse of that volcanic Energy washed over him, he pped his wings and, screaming with fury and pain, flew free of the area of destruction.

    Victor wasn¡¯t aware of the Ridonne or his movements. Though draconic fire boiled in his pathways, flooded his body, and churned around him, he didn¡¯t burn. Nothing but pure, unadulterated pleasure coursed through him as his cells absorbed the Energy, his pathways simmered with it, and his mind drifted on currents of me. He saw gigantic halls beneath theary surface, so deep down that only a great creature such as a wyrm or dragon could hope to visit them.

    Pirs of basalt a mile high supported arched caverns through which mighty magma flows ran like rivers, and fungi forests stretched further than the eye could see. Wyrms coiled and writhed together in mating nests, screeching and roaring their enthusiasm. Some of the greater ones, the ancient elders of the hive, coiled around hoards of Energy-rich stones and metals high on the walls, their private nests of tunnels guarded by their very bulk. Here were the greatest of their kind, the most potent wyrms of Zaafor, and no scaleless soft-skin had ever or could ever set foot in these storied halls.

    Victor¡¯s mind¡¯s eye soared through one great cavern after another, where he saw countless wyrms of every age and type. He saw every kind of wyrm Zaafor had to offer in those depths, from mighty rock wyrms to potent magma wyrms. He saw hordes of wealth that would buy a nation on most worlds, wealth buried beneath mountains and mountains of rock, magma, and soil. These ces weren¡¯t meant for his eyes, but he saw them, and he felt awe; why would any wyrm venture forth from their deep kingdom? The answer came to him as he watched a clutch of eggs hatching, watched the young wyrms fight for space and food, and saw them driven forth by the older wyrms, pushed out to make their future where they might.

    As the vision began to fade and Victor came back to himself, he felt invigorated and powerful. He knew something was different about him, something new. He felt more vibrant than ever before; a power deep in his chest roiled and surged. Before he could take the time to investigate himself, though, he remembered the Ridonne and his frustrating battle with the red-winged bastard. Deep in his Core, his rage began to boil, trickling forth into his pathways.

    Victor leaped to his feet, his experience with the wyrm heart forgotten; something nagged at the corner of his vision¡ªSystem messages. He didn¡¯t have time to look just then; a pang in his head, a warning from his Battlefield Awareness, told him his troops were in jeopardy in more than one ce. He scanned the area for the Ridonne, only to see a great ckened circle of which he was the center.

    As the pang wracked his mind again, he turned toward the source, and his eyes lit up with a bright red bloom of foreign Energy. The Ridonne had left him; it had descended on his troops, the brave men and women who¡¯de to fight beside him to keep the Imperials at bay! Rage exploded from his Core, and Victor cast Iron Berserk. In the span of two heartbeats, he was engorged with power, and his vision dimmed to crimson as he used Titanic Leap to close the distance between himself and his embattled soldiers and friends.

    As he soared through the air, he resummoned his Banner of the Champion, and bright, golden light lit up the night, throwing back the shadows and revealing the carnage of the battle that had been waging the entire time he¡¯d been busy with the Ridonne and then with his strange vision of the depths of Zaafor. Bodies were strewn in the mud churned up by the five-hundred charging cavalry that had apanied Victor. Bodies of Imperials were everywhere, dead rdii were scattered throughout, and his troops were in the center of a long, thin ring of Imperial soldiers, pressed into a tight square where they fought, shoulder to shoulder, against their foes.

    Victor believed they could win; the Imperials, though encircling them, were fewer in number. How devastating his troops¡¯ charges must have been! He wanted to scream with pride and praise, but the Ridonne hade upon the scene, and his influence had turned the tide. As he descended toward the conflict, Victor saw dozens of his soldiers¡¯ bodies around the enormous golden figure. In a near panic, Victor scanned for Va, for Lam, and he saw them. They stood with Polo before the Ridonne, backs pressed to their troops, ready to try to fight him off.

    Victor squeezed Lifedrinker in his fist, and as hended on the field twenty yards behind the Ridonne, his banner bathing everyone around in its influential light, he roared. His voice rumbled over the battlefield like never before. It was a palpable thing, that roar; it took hold of the air and shook it, vibrating the hearts and minds of those nearby. It drove courage into his troops and fear into the Imperials. The golden warrior spun, eyes wide with surprise. As Victor stalked toward him, he growled, ¡°<em>Chica,</em> it¡¯s time for you to drink this <em>pendejo</em>.¡±

    The Ridonne bloomed with crimson Energy. He channeled it up into his outstretched hand and pointed it at Victor again. Victor changed his sovereign will boost from strength to agility, leaving the bonus on his vitality alone. Then, as he charged at the Ridonne, moving like an enraged grizzly, closing the distance in seconds, he cast Project Spirit and bathed the golden-d warrior in a nket of pure, potent fear. The Ridonne balked, his beam of red, terrible Energy sputtering as soon as it started, and then Victor was on him, Lifedrinker weaving a web of smoldering destruction.

    As his troops backed away, some of them impacted by his brief burst of fear-attuned Energy, they watched the battle with wide eyes. Those on the edges of their formation stood their ground, watching the Imperials, but it was clear their will was broken; most of them were fleeing the conflict and had been ever since Victor had roared his challenge and dropped into the corpse-strewn field with his zing banner. Those who stayed couldn¡¯t move; they were transfixed by fear and stunned by the battle between the two giant men.

    Victor fought differently than before. His boost to agility was just what he needed, and more, the Ridonne looked taxed; whatever limit he suffered from, be it Energy or simply time, he was starting to feel it, and Victor was slipping Lifedrinker past his guard again and again. His first truly damaging blow caught the Ridonne¡¯s left wing as the warrior tried to bring it around to knock Victor off guard. Victor was just a touch too fast, though, and he brought Lifedrinker¡¯s smoldering edge down on the edge of that great appendage and cut it in half.

    ¡°Whoreson!¡± the golden man screamed, and then he went into a frenzy of hacks, charging his arm and sword with that vile red Energy. However, Victor wasn¡¯t one to be battered away with a furious outburst. He ducked his chin and waded into those sword strokes, and as the de nged against his helm, he hacked Lifedrinker again and again, into the winged warrior¡¯s side, from his shoulder to his ribs to his hip to his knee. At the end of the furious exchange of blows, Victor had a few rapidly healing gashes, but the Ridonney in the bloody mud, writhing. Victor had nearly severed one of his arms, smashed his armored te into a concave shape, shattered his ribs, and cut his leg off at the knee.

    The Ridonne lifted his scimitar in his one good hand and held it in front of his face as though to shield himself from a deathblow, and he gasped, ¡°You¡¯ve made an enemy here, fool, one who will haunt you through the worlds.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not scared of ghosts,¡± Victor growled, and then, with all his might, he hacked Lifedrinker into the sword, and she drove that crimson de down until it hit the Ridonne¡¯s chest, and she bit clean through it and the gold-ted armor, and buried herself deep in the golden man¡¯s sternum. As the crimson scimitar fell away in two pieces, Lifedrinker bucked and pulsed, pulling herself deeper as thick rivulets of potent red Energy surged into her. The char fell away from her haft, and she seemed to expand, her axe head growing in mass. ¡°That¡¯s it, <em>chica</em>; get a good drink.¡± Victor¡¯s chest heaved as he gulped in deep breaths.

    The Ridonne struggled for a while, blood spraying from his gasping, breathless mouth. He thrashed side to side, wing at Lifedrinker with his one working arm, but as she drank his Energy and the crimson light faded from his eyes, the once-great winged warrior¡¯s thrashing grew listless, and he fell still. Suddenly the battlefield erupted with cheers and bright lights as his surviving soldiers witnessed his victory.

    Victor was deaf to it all; the only voice he could hear was Va¡¯s as she ran up to him, drenched in blood. Midnight clutched before her, dripping with gore, she shouted, ¡°When he came, when he fell upon us, we thought you were dead!¡±

    ¡°Not a chance, beautiful, not a chance,¡± Victor grinned, and if he wasn¡¯t fifteen feet tall, he might have tried to kiss her. ¡°Take them.¡± Victor gestured to the cheering troops. ¡°They need us at the encampment.¡± Having resolved this danger to his soldiers, Victor was very aware of another pang, another urge to go and help his embattled army.

    ¡°Are the Ridonne gone?¡± Va asked as Lam and Polo started shouting orders.

    ¡°I think so. I think they brought this <em>pendejo</em> here somehow. I¡¯ll look for them afterward. Go! I¡¯ll catch up, but first, I want to cut something out of this asshole. As Lifedrinker finished her feast, Victor smashed his fist through the hole she¡¯d made and began grasping through the hot insides of the Ridonne¡¯s chest, feeling for the warm, stiff organ that was his prize. He grinned, huge, bloody, and red-eyed, at Va, and she nodded, then, stumbling in her haste, she joined her voice to those of Lam and Polo, exhorting their troops to action.

    Victor wrapped his fingers around the muscr heart of the Ridonne, and, with squelching pops, he yanked it free, steaming into the night air. Saliva flooded his mouth, but Victor knew better than to try to savor his prize at that moment. He tucked it away into his storage ring and then turned to the north, where his army¡¯s encampment zed with a thousand magical lights¡ªthey needed his help.

 1. Summoned

    1. Summoned

    Tucson was hot in the summer; that wasn¡¯t anything new, but today the heating off the pavement felt particrly nasty to Victor. He was walking home from summer school - fuck Mr. Briggs and his fucking bullshit giarism. Victor spat and shook his head. No, he couldn¡¯t me Briggs. He¡¯d paid Tony for that essay; it wasn¡¯t Brigg¡¯s fault that Tony had got it off the inte. ¡°Fucking <em>pendejo</em>,¡± Victorughed. That asshole charged him twenty-five bucks and then just cut and pasted it off some website. ¡°Why am I thinking about this shit again? Fuck.¡± He¡¯d almost lost his chance to graduate and, along with it, his schrship to Pima Community College. Yeah, big fucking deal,munity college, right? But it was a start, and if he did well on the wrestling team there and kept his grades up, he¡¯d maybe get to transfer to the U of A. Truthfully, he was fucking lucky Briggs had agreed to let him make up the missing credit through summer school. Well, Briggs, the Dean, and Ms. Marshal, the counselor. Damn, but she¡¯d gone to bat for Victor.

    ¡°Look out, you fucking dipshit!¡± The shout apanied a ring horn and squealing tires. Victor stumbled back and realized he¡¯d walked onto a crosswalk at a red light.

    ¡°Fuck you!¡± he shouted reflexively. The car was already speeding down Dodge Street, and Victor kicked some rocks waiting for the light to change. He almost dropped and did some pushups, but it was just too hot. He wiped some sweat off his brow, shoving it back into his short ck hair. The hot wind blowing through the wet hair felt good for a couple of seconds, then it was just hot again. The light changed, and he jogged over Dodge back onto the sidewalk, following Grant Road west. His backpack bounced against his shoulder des, sweat soaking the fabric of his shirt. The soles of his old Adidas tennies were worn so thin that the hot sidewalk made the rubber super malleable and almost ufortably warm. Impulsively, he picked up the pace, pushing himself into a jog, then a run, then a sprint as he came to Chrysler and took a left, his grandparent¡¯s neighborhood opening up before him.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, just like coach says, ¡®always finish hard,¡¯¡± Victor hissed. He sprinted past the Alvarez house, cutting the corner of their overgrown yard, into his grandparent¡¯s front yard, diving between the two huge old Oleander bushes, hopped the little barrel cactus, and then slid onto the shaded front porch. He knew his <em>Abu </em>would have some juice made, and after he downed a huge ss, he¡¯d take a shower and go see Marcy. She¡¯d been funnytely, kinda distant. He was starting to wonder if she was gonna ditch him when she went to ASU. He opened the screen door and called, ¡°<em>Abu</em>!¡± He stepped into the living room, and then everything went ck.

    At first, Victor thought he¡¯d passed out, but he was still conscious, still thinking, while he drifted in darkness. Was he drifting? He supposed he didn¡¯t know. He tried to wave his arms around, but he couldn''t be sure they even moved. ¡°What the fuck, man?¡± he tried to say, but no sound came out. He could think it, though, and he did. Just what the fuck was going on? Did he have a stroke? Sunstroke? No, man, he¡¯d overheated before, and he knew what it felt like. He¡¯d been fine, no headache, nothing. Some time passed while he contemted his fate; he reflected on Marcy for a while, realizing he really didn¡¯t think it would be such a bad thing for them to take a break. She had a lot going on, and he needed to focus on getting his shit together. He thought about his grandma and how he needed to make her proud, which made him think about his <em>Abuelo </em>and how he¡¯d never really done anything to make him proud before he died. Well, that wasn¡¯t entirely true: his grandpa saw him take second at statest year. Still, he¡¯d wanted to do more. He¡¯d always wanted to pay them back for taking him in when his parents died. His mom¡¯s parents hadn¡¯t given him the time of day.

    A pinprick of light erupted in the vast expanse of darkness, and it jerked him out of his reverie. He watched as the pinprick expanded to a thumbnail, then a baseball, then a basketball, and then it rapidly widened to fill his vision, and Victor found himself standing in a big wooden room. Like everything was wood - the floor, the walls, the ceiling, everything. Four guys were standing in front of him wearing baggy brown robes with hoods, and they were all holding glowing metal rods. That¡¯s not what made Victor say, ¡°What the fuck?¡± though. No, it was the strangers¡¯ blue skin and fucking fluorescent hair.

    ¡°T!¡± one of the blue-skinned guys said.

    <strong>***Integrating non-system entity***</strong>

    <strong>***Human species recognized and integrated***</strong>

    The messages shed in front of Victor¡¯s eyes, and he swiped a hand over his face, thinking he had on some VR goggles or something, but there was nothing there. ¡°What the fuck?¡± he repeated.

    ¡°Silence!¡± the blue-skinned guy on the left said.

    ¡°Well?¡± A deep voice sounded from Victor¡¯s left, and he looked to see a man leaning back against the wooden wall in the shadow of a support beam.

    ¡°I can sense a high Energy affinity in this one, but he¡¯s of pitiful rank and racial advancement - I¡¯d say he¡¯s base zero. He must be from a dead world.¡± One of the blue guys said. This one stood out with his bright green hair and eyes.

    ¡°Bah, another. Sell him to the pits.¡±

    ¡°Hey, who are you, assholes? How¡¯d you get me out of my <em>Abu¡¯s </em>house?¡± A yellow-haired blue guy stepped forward and swiftly tapped his metal rod on Victor¡¯s forearm, and Victor felt cold wash over him. It was a deep, bitter cold that spread through his skin, into his bones, and down to the pit of his stomach. He felt like the life was being pulled out of him, but he couldn¡¯t move; he didn¡¯t even think he could breathe. The yellow-haired blue guy waved his rod again and uttered something, and then Victor felt himself lift up and float along, like how you might imagine Drac would glide over the misty ground.

    All the color in the world seemed drained, and Victor could mostly only see shades of gray as he floated along behind the blue man. He drifted through some doors, down a wooded forest path, and onto a wide dirt road. Victor panicked at first when he realized he wasn¡¯t breathing, but then he noticed he didn''t feel any burning in his chest, didn¡¯t feel any shadows creeping in on his vision, and he figured something the blue guy had done was keeping his body in a sort of state of suspended animation. He vowed to take that fucker down if he got the chance, though. This was a bullshit way to treat someone.

    They followed the road for a while, and eventually, they started passing other people going in different directions. People in wagons and on weird mounts - things that looked like giant lizard birds, one guy rode a big fucking elk, and a huge hay wagon was pulled along by a lizard the size of an elephant. They came to a tall stone-block wall with a gate in it, and the blue guy leading Victor was waved through, though one of the guards frowned and spat as he walked by. Victor floated along behind the asshole through busy streets filled with lots of different kinds of people. So many weird-looking people that Victor started to think he must be tripping on acid or something. There were tall, beautiful women with glistening, magical-looking wings. He saw an eagle-headed guy arguing with a huge dude that looked like an otter. And there were lots and lots of blue and red-skinned people. The red guys were a bit bigger and meaner looking than the blue guys, and some of them had wings - enormous red dragon-style wings.

    They wended their way into back alleys, past very unsavory looking people, and deeper into the city still, where piled garbage was ubiquitous, and pools of questionable fluids had to be hopped by his blue-skinned escort. After more turns than Victor could keep track of, they finally entered arge wooden building with a giant wagon wheel hung over the barn-style doors. The blue man led Victor past men and women who sparred with fists and weapons. They were punching and wrestling all over the hay and sawdust-covered floors. They went to the back wall, through a small door, and into an office where an obese red-skinned man with ck hair and ck eyes sat at a small desk. He looked up, a wide grin splitting his thick lips and revealing long, gleaming white fangs. ¡°What did you bring me today?¡±

    ¡°We got an item from a colleague at Fainhallow, he thought it might lead to an interesting summon, but we just got this base zero runt.¡± The blue guy waved a hand at Victor. ¡°He has a high affinity, though. If you train him, he might be worth something someday.¡±

    ¡°Base zero, you say? He won¡¯t make it through one Pit Night. I can¡¯t pay much for fodder. I hope the summon wasn¡¯t too costly.¡±

    ¡°Master ap¡¯Gravin will take it out of his son¡¯s hide; don¡¯t you worry about that. Anyway, I¡¯mte for dinner. What¡¯ll you give us for him?¡±

    ¡°Oh, here¡¯s five. More than that, and I¡¯ll be losing money on his upkeep before Pit Night.¡± He pushed a little brown pouch toward the blue guy.

    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s all the same to me; I didn¡¯t put any money into his summon. I¡¯m going to release him now; he¡¯s your problem going forward. See you next time.¡± The blue asshole turned and walked past Victor, waving a hand as he went by. Victor felt warm tingles spread through his body, starting with his skin and progressing like a wave of ecstasy toward his stomach.

    ¡°Ah, Jesus, fucking <em>pendejo</em>!¡± Victor leaned forward and put his hands on his knees, gathering himself.

    ¡°Alright, boy. What¡¯s your name?¡± The enormous red devil asked, standing up and shoving his chair back.

    ¡°Victor. Where the fuck am I?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in my pit fighting hall, in a city called Persi Gables. You¡¯re not from this world, just in case you were confused about that. Oh, and you¡¯re my property now. Don¡¯t make me exert dominance over you because I¡¯d like you to be in one piece for Pit Night.¡±

    ¡°What? Assert dominance? The fuck are you talking about, man?¡±

    ¡°Did thenguage integration fail with you? Are you confused? Listen to my words, boy: you belong to me. You are no longer on your home. You will do as I say, or I will beat the piss out of you. Is the meaning of my wordsing through?¡±

    ¡°Yes, fuck, man. How the¡­.¡±

    ¡°Quiet now. I¡¯m going to take you back to the pens, and one of the other fighters can y question and answer with you. I don¡¯t have time for that nonsense. Follow me, and if you run, you¡¯ll just follow me with a broken leg the next time.¡± Victor followed him. He didn¡¯t like the idea of having to try to follow someone around with a broken leg, and the guy was big enough to do it; he had to weigh more than three hundred pounds. For all his size, the man walked briskly, passing over the sparring floor, through a side door, and into a long hallway lined with cages. Some of the cages were big with several people in them, and some were small and only held one upant.

    ¡°Sir, what¡¯s your name?¡± Victor asked, wondering if he could get anything out of the big man.

    ¡°You can call me Boss or Sir.¡± He chuckled to himself as he fumbled with a big keyring, opening the door to a medium-sized cage with two other upants. ¡°I¡¯ll put you in here, Victor, because these are my two nicest fighters, and they might give you some pointers before Pit Night. You¡¯re wee.¡± He pulled the metal door open and gestured for Victor to enter. Not seeing any other option, Victorplied, stepping into the cage with a goat-man and a red-skinned woman with bright green-yellow eyes. ¡°Vullu and Yre, this is Victor. Victor¡¯s new around here; where are you from, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Um, Tucson?¡±

    ¡°Hah, okay, this is Victor of Tucson. Show him how things work around here.¡± He mmed the metal door shut, and the two upants went back to the dice game they¡¯d been ying before Victor¡¯s arrival. He sat down on the straw floor and looked out through the bars of his cage, watching the strange prisoners of the other cells pacing around or sleeping or muttering threats at each other. What the fuck had he gotten into?

 2. Status

    2. Status

    Victor had never been religious; sure, his Abu was, and she made him go to church when he was little, but Victor had never seen eye to eye with the Catholic idea of life and death. That didn¡¯t stop him from falling on his knees in the hay and praying for a while, though. Hands sped in front of him, eyes squeezed shut, he performed more Hail Marys than he ever had in his life, all the while wishing he had his grandma¡¯s rosary. This went on for a while until a cutting feminine voice said, ¡°Kid, I don¡¯t know what you''re doing, but stop it. You¡¯re driving me crazy.¡± Victor opened his scrunched eyes, spots ring in his vision, to see thenky red-skinned woman squatting in front of him, scowling into his face. Her eyes were something else, though: mossy-green with specks of bright yellow and gold. When the lights hanging from the high wooden ceiling caught them just right, they almost glittered.

    ¡°Damn, your eyes are pretty,¡± he said before he could catch himself. Her scowl didn¡¯t change, but her right hand came up faster than a striking cobra and pped him on the cheek. Not hard, though, just enough to let him know she could. Victor tipped back onto his butt with momentum as he brought a hand up to his cheek out of reflex. He didn¡¯t say anything, though; why let her know it bothered him? ¡°So, anyway, my name¡¯s Victor.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm, I¡¯m Yre. This is Vullu.¡± She gestured to the goat-man, who leaned back into the far corner of the cage.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve tried holding my breath, pinching myself, even praying, and I¡¯m still fucking here, so I¡¯d appreciate it, ma¡¯am, if you could tell me what the fuck is going on.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± she smiled and nced at Vullu, sharing a joke. ¡°So you¡¯re really not from this world, hmm? Old Yund sure has some interesting connections, eh, Vullu?¡±

    ¡°That he does, that he does. You know, I went to his house once, and not as a fighter, as a guest. Well, as the escort to a guest. His vi would send some of the nobility into fits of jealousy. Anyway, the point I¡¯m making is don¡¯t judge the man by the stinking cesspool where he works.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I wouldn¡¯t do that. I¡¯m well aware of his connections.¡± Yre sat in front of Victor, crossing her legs in front of her, and contemted him for a few seconds.

    ¡°Hey, excuse me? Would you mind just filling me in a little?¡± Victor couldn¡¯t take it anymore.

    ¡°Oh, rx, kid. We aren¡¯t going anywhere for a while. They won¡¯t let us out to exercise until morning, anyway. So, tell me where you¡¯re from, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Like my? It¡¯s Earth.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, Earth. Not one I¡¯ve heard before. You, Vullu?¡± The goat-man shook his head, eyes closed. ¡°Well, what¡¯s it like? Does everyone look like you there?¡±

    ¡°Uh, like, as in human? Yeah, but they all don¡¯t look like me. Some have whiter skin; some have darker skin. Everyone has different hair. We¡¯re all different sizes. Is that what you mean?¡±

    ¡°Human, hmm? Another new one. Well, you seem pretty weak, even if you are bigger than most Shadeni. What¡¯s your level?¡±

    ¡°My what, now?¡±

    ¡°Your level. Hello? Maybe he¡¯s not understanding everything, Vullu. Maybe thenguage integration didn¡¯t work for him.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s possible, I suppose.¡± Vullu nodded, eyes closed, clearly almost asleep.

    ¡°Hey, what the fuck are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Look at your status sheet. Do you see System Language Integration under your skills?¡±

    ¡°<em>Pendeja</em>, are you fucking crazy? You¡¯re talking like we¡¯re ying a video game or something.¡± Yre cocked an eyebrow and turned to look at Vullu, who had opened his eyes.

    ¡°What the Ancestors is going on with this kid?¡±

    ¡°Kid, say ¡®status¡¯ out loud and tell me what you see,¡± Vullu said. Victor looked from the goat-man to the demon woman, then shrugged.

    ¡°Status.¡±

    <strong>Status</strong>

    <strong>Name:</strong>

    <strong>Victor Sandoval</strong>

    <strong>Race:</strong>

    <strong>Human - Base 1</strong>

    <strong>ss:</strong>

    <strong>¨C</strong>

    <strong>Level:</strong>

    <strong>0</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>¨C</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>6.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>0/0</strong>

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>9</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>10</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>9</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>10</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>8</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>8</strong>

    <strong>Points Avable:</strong>

    <strong>0</strong>

    <strong>Titles & Feats:</strong>

    <strong>¨C</strong>

    <strong>Skills:</strong> <ul><li><strong>System Language Integration - Not Upgradeable</strong></li></ul>

    ¡°<em>Chingado</em>¡­.¡±

    ¡°Well?¡± Yre pressed.

    ¡°Alright, what the fuck is this? There¡¯s a fucking menu floating in front of my face.¡±

    ¡°Are you not familiar with the System?¡± Vullu asked.

    ¡°The what? No, we don¡¯t have this system where I¡¯m from. Are there fucking contacts in my eyes or something?¡±

    Vullu and Yre shared another look, then the goat-man sat up and scooted closer to Victor. ¡°No, I mean the System, not a system. What level are you, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Umm, it says zero.¡±

    ¡°How can he be zero? He¡¯s a man grown!¡± Yre said.

    ¡°Victor, is there much Energy in your world?¡±

    ¡°Uh, yeah, even poor people have electricity where I¡¯m from.¡±

    ¡°Electricity? Everyone is air-attuned on your world?¡±

    ¡°What? Dude, I don¡¯t fucking get what you''re asking me.¡±

    ¡°How can they summon him from a System void? And from a dead world? He has to be from a dead world, right? How could he grow to his age, be fit physically and mentally, and not at least gain one level?¡± Yre sat back, blowing out her breath incredulously.

    ¡°What the hell is a dead world? My world is plenty alive - billions of people, plenty of trees and fish and shit.¡±

    ¡°No, ¡®dead world¡¯ is a term for a world without Energy.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re talking in circles here! There¡¯s fucking energy on my world. We have better lights and AC than this dump, that¡¯s for sure.¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t know what we¡¯re talking about,¡± Vullu said, ¡°Here, Victor, look at my hand. These cages are warded, but I can get a little Energy out.¡± Vullu held his hand out, palm up, and closed his eyes. A momentter, a flickering blue me took shape over his palm, growing to about three inches in height. Victor¡¯s eyes opened wide, and he leaned forward, stretching out a hand toward the me. It was hot!

    ¡°How the fuck you doing that?¡±

    ¡°Energy!¡± Vullu shook his hand, and the me went away. A lightbulb went off in Victor¡¯s head just then, and he looked at his status sheet again. There it was: Energy 0/0.

    ¡°Okay, I get it. I¡¯ve yed plenty of games; it¡¯s like mana or some other bullshit. Well, I have zero out of zero.¡±

    ¡°Zero? It makes sense, I guess. If you don¡¯t have Energy in your world, how would you form a Core? Well, don¡¯t let that bother you. If you survive a few fights, you should start to build up some Energy, and someone can teach you to form a Core. That¡¯s a big if, though, kid. Level zero? You¡¯re probably gonna get killed pretty fast. Sorry.¡± In her defense, she really did look kinda sad, at least in Victor¡¯s inexpert opinion.

    ¡°So that big asshole is going to make me fight? For real? Like to the death, or are we talking MMA shit?¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s usually to the death. Fighters want to get stronger, which means killing their opponents for an Energy increase.¡± Vullu shook his head while he spoke.

    ¡°So what the fuck? People can just enve people and make them fight to the death in this world? That¡¯s pretty fucked up.¡±

    ¡°Hah. There are rules, of course, but might makes right around here, kid, which puts you in a pretty shitty spot.¡±

    ¡°Hey, you said ¡®shitty¡¯ - so we have the same ng and everything? Is that thenguage integration you were talking about?¡±

    ¡°Oh, some of our ng will match, but you say some words I¡¯m not understanding, and I¡¯m sure I could find a word in mynguage you wouldn¡¯t get. It¡¯s pretty close, though. The System might be heartless, but it¡¯s smart.¡±

    ¡°So what are the rules? How can that guy enve us and get away with it? Aren¡¯t therews?¡±

    ¡°Oh, sure, that¡¯s how he got us. Vullu and I got caught robbing a nobleman¡¯s home. You go to prison, and people can buy your sentence. If we had powerful friends, they could have made Yund back off or bought our sentences themselves. We don¡¯t have any, though, and you sure as hell don¡¯t.¡± Yre smiled, kind of glumly, and shrugged.

    ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m not a criminal!¡±

    ¡°No one in this entire world knows you, kid. Yund can do whatever he wants to you, and not a single soul will know or care. People will be having too much fun wagering on your fight to worry too much about where you came from.¡± Vullu scooted back to his corner and leaned back, crossing his hooved feet out in front of him.

    ¡°This is fucking bullshit.¡± Victor slid on his butt into the corner diagonally facing Vullu¡¯s and leaned back, stretching out and crossing his arms on his chest. ¡°Does this fucking System have any games? Or just this status shit?¡±

    ¡°Games? No, but we have some bone dice we made. I¡¯ll teach you a game tomorrow, but let¡¯s get some sleep before the other prisoners start throwing shit at us for talking too loudly.¡± Vullu yawned and nestled his chin down into his chest. Yre didn¡¯t say anything, but shey on her side, resting her head on Vullu¡¯s thigh.

    ¡°Did you mean that literally? Are they going to throw actual shit at us?¡± Victor asked quietly, looking around at the other cages and the sprawled-out inhabitants.

    ¡°Oh, I meant it. Good night, Victor.¡± A note of finality in Vullu¡¯s voice forestalled any more questions from Victor. Instead, he grunted, rolling onto his side, wishing he had a jacket or his backpack for a pillow.

    ¡°At least I wore jeans today instead of shorts. I almost fucking wore shorts to school,¡± he muttered, closing his eyes, and had he been conscious to appreciate it; he would have been surprised at how quickly he fell asleep.

    ****

    ¡°Get up, Victor. You don¡¯t want to miss breakfast.¡± Yre nudged Victor with her foot, and his eyes popped open. It felt like he¡¯d just gone to sleep. He groaned and rolled onto his hands and knees. Out of habit, he started pumping out some pushups. He always did them first thing upon waking up - another thing his wrestling coach had drilled into his mind: before going to the bathroom, before brushing his teeth, before anything: pushups and situps. A booted foot pressed his shoulder and then shoved him sprawling onto his side. ¡°The hell are you doing? You trying to get beat up in the yard? These meatheads don¡¯t want to see a runt like you trying to show off. Get up and line up behind me, so we can get out and eat.¡± Yre¡¯s voice was higher than usual like she couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing.

    ¡°Alright, jeez.¡± Victor hopped up and stood behind Yre, who stood behind Vullu, waiting for someone toe and open the door, he supposed. He looked up and down the long aisle between the pens, trying to discern if anything had changed, and he noticed the two cages to the left of them, toward the door, were empty. ¡°Is it our turn next?¡±

    ¡°You learn quickly,¡± Vullu said, a distinctly goat-like chuckle escaping his throat.

    ¡°After we eat, we get yard time?¡± Victor felt like he was in a prison VR. Now, he just had to keep his eyes open for some loose bricks or a guard who slipped away to be with his girlfriend, and then he could make a break for it. Yeah, right. He was mostly joking, but he did intend to try to get out of this ce the first chance he got.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯ll try to help you pick up a skill or two while we¡¯re out there.¡±

    ¡°I know a few moves, but sure, I¡¯m always up to learn something new. I guess fighting to the death is different from a wrestling match.¡± Vullu looked back over his shoulder, up at Victor, and slowly nodded, and something was different in his eyes, almost like he¡¯d appraised Victor differently. Victor looked down at Yre¡¯s curly ck hair, and before he could rein in his mouth, he said, ¡°You seemed taller when we were all sitting in the cage.¡± Yre turned and looked at him, and Victor saw her right eye narrow slightly like she was contemting something, but then she slowly exhaled through her nose and turned around without a word.

    The door at the end of the aisle opened, and arge, furry otter-man came through, jangling a ring of keys. ¡°You¡¯re up!¡± he announced, stepping up to their door and unlocking the cage door. Victor noticed that he had a metal rod with weird letters inscribed all over it, hanging from a loop on his belt. He stared at Victor with big, moist ck eyes as he walked through the cage door. ¡°Don¡¯t try anything funny, kid. Just ¡®cause Boss didn¡¯t tag you doesn¡¯t mean we won¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Victor said, hurrying after Yre as she stepped through the door into the central portion of the building. He could smell something cooking, and as he stepped through the door, he saw that on the right, through a broad, short hallway, a cafeteria of sorts had been set up. He followed Yre and Vullu as they walked around a few long wooden tables to a counter where a blue person in an apron was serving tes of food. Victor took his, noting the buttered piece of round tbread and the heaping scoop of fatty beans and mystery meat.

    The trio sat at one of the tables without anyone else sitting at it andmenced to eat their food. Victor had eaten plenty of beans and eggs with tortis, so he didn¡¯t balk at theck of silverware; he just scooped his beans onto a hunk of tbread and wolfed it down. The meat tasted like pork. ¡°It¡¯s not bad, actually,¡± he said. ¡°Is there anything to drink?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Vullu said, gesturing to a barrel and a small table stacked with wooden mugs. ¡°Get us all a scoop, will ya?¡± Victor shrugged and went over to the barrel, grabbed a wooden mug, and scooped up some room-temperature water. He set the cup down by Yre, then went back for two more.

    ¡°Not very refreshing,¡± he said, sitting back down and taking a big gulp.

    ¡°Nope, but it does the job.¡± Yre mmed her empty mug down and burped. Vulluughed, sipped his water delicately, and set his mug down.

    ¡°Well, what sort of fighting can you do, Victor?¡± Vullu asked, suddenly serious, ¡°I¡¯d like to see you survive your first Pit Night.¡±

 3. Practice

    3. Practice

    After they ate, Yre told Victor that they¡¯d have two hours to exercise before they had to go back to their pen. She and Vullu led him out of the cafeteria to therge grappling hall. There were already about twenty others tousling, exercising, and lounging around on benches watching. ¡°What keeps you all from rising up? Fighting your way out of here?¡±

    ¡°Aside from the fact that most of these assholes would kill each other just as soon as they¡¯d work together, most of us that Yund feels threatened by have been tagged.¡±

    ¡°Tagged?¡± Victor looked at her quizzically. Yre pulled her loose gray blouse up by her waist and showed him a bright blue tattoo on her hard, red stomach.

    ¡°Tagged. The ink is infused with an alchemical mixture that binds us to the control rods Yund and hisckeys have. It¡¯s an expensive process, so they don¡¯t do it to all of the fresh meat.¡± She winked at Victor and tousled his hair.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve got some fucking tight abs.¡± He smiled at Yre¡¯s confused face, then looked around the room and said, ¡°Any workout gear? Or I gotta wear my jeans and shit?¡±

    ¡°Your clothes? You¡¯ll have to make do with what you have. Yund is a cheap bastard when ites to us fighters.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Victor,¡± Vullu cut in, ¡°let¡¯s see what kind of fighting you do.¡± They were standing in a rtively quiet corner of the sparring gym, and Vullu sidestepped, facing Victor, beckoning him toe at him with one of his hands. Victor hopped up and down a few times, getting his blood pumping, then he faced Vullu, his center of gravity low, and moved toward him, circling with him, watching him for any forward movement. ¡°Come, Victor, show me¡­.¡± He couldn¡¯t finish the sentence because Victor had feinted with his right hand, drawing Vullu¡¯s eye, then he¡¯d swept in low, grabbed Vullu¡¯s back ankle/hoof, lifted it tight to his chest, and swept his other leg, dropping the goat-man onto his back.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned Unarmed Combat - Basic.***</strong>

    ¡°Ancestors! That was smooth! You didn¡¯t even see himing, Vullu!¡± Yreughed, mockingly offering to help Vullu stand, then pulling her hand back. Victor was too astounded by the message floating in his vision to pay them any attention.

    ¡°What the fuck is this? I just learned unarmedbat, basic. What the fuck? Basic? I don¡¯t think so!¡±

    ¡°Do you feel like you know anything new? Really think about it; concentrate on what you know about fighting.¡± Vullu said, grunting and standing up. Victor did as he said and couldn¡¯t find anything new in his head. It was weird, exhaustively trying to contemte what he knew about something, but nothing was new as far as he could tell.

    ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    ¡°I think the System is still trying to categorize what you know, at least with regard to fighting. Let¡¯s go, try that again, and if you get it, keep going. Show me what you¡¯d do next.¡± Victor nodded and moved back into circling with Vullu. This time he closed in and grappled with Vullu a bit, reached in, grabbed his neck, pulled on him, grabbed his wrist, pulled it, let him try to grab his wrist, and then rolled it out of the grip. Then just as Vullu was starting to get lulled by the push-pull of the grappling rhythm, Victor swept low and forward, grabbed both of Vullu¡¯s legs, and drove him backward onto the wooden floor.

    Vullu thrashed and tried to flop over, but Victor¡¯s ground game was strong. He scrambled up, keeping his center of mass pressing down on Vullu the whole time, then scooped up his head and left arm in a lock, driving his full weight into his shoulder, pressing down on Vullu¡¯s chest while he squeezed his head and arm. Vullu was definitely pinned, but now what? They weren¡¯t in a wrestling match.

    ¡°Uh, you have me immobilized, but now what? What if I start punching you?¡± Vullu grunted, balling up his free hand into a fist and pounding it into Victor¡¯s upper back and side. Victor hunkered down, so his head wouldn¡¯t get hit and squeezed harder, going up on his toes to push more of his weight into his shoulder, bearing down on Vullu¡¯s chest even more. ¡°Ugh, that¡¯s ufortable, but it won¡¯t stop anyone with any decent points in strength and vitality. What are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°Alright, <em>pinche</em>,¡± Victor growled, then he hauled up on the smaller man, scooting his legs under him, so he was behind him, still holding his arm and head in a death grip. This wasn¡¯t high school wrestling; why the fuck was he following rules? He let Vullu¡¯s arm slip out of his grasp, but then he redoubled his hold on Vullu¡¯s neck, wrapping it deep into the crook of his elbow and pressing on the back of his head in a full, rear-naked chokehold. He held it until Vullu stopped thrashing, then he let go, pushing the goat-man off himself and standing up.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned Grappling - Improved.***</strong>

    Vullu had started gasping for breath almost the moment Victor let go. He and his buddies had yed around plenty with chokeholds; he knew when to let go to avoid hurting someone. ¡°Fuck yeah! Improved Grappling that time!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a more specialized skill, but improved? How can someone without a ss learn beyond basic?¡± Vullu looked at Yre, and she just shrugged. He looked back at Victor and said, ¡°That was a good choke, but you realize I haven¡¯t been fighting back, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, I kinda could tell.¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°Hey, I just had a thought,¡± Yre said. ¡°Victor, do you feel like you know more about grappling now?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t feel any fucking different.¡±

    ¡°Uncle¡¯s arse, but you use that word a lot - ¡®fuck, fucking, fuck, fuck.¡¯ What does it even mean?¡±

    ¡°Fuck? You guys don¡¯t have that word? It means a lot of stuff. It can mean the same as shit, or it can mean extremely, like if I said, ¡®that is fucking cool,¡¯ that would mean something is extremely cool. It also means sex. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s more to it, but that¡¯s all I can think of right now.¡± Victor shrugged. Yre looked at him strangely, opened her mouth to say something, then stopped and shook her head slightly.

    ¡°Anyway, I was thinking the System isn¡¯t giving you those skills; it¡¯s just recognizing that you have them.¡± She turned to Vullu, ¡°So it didn¡¯t give him an improved skill; he already had it.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, yes. That makes more sense. If he¡¯d just learned those skills, he¡¯d have gotten Energy with them. Maybe even enough to gain his first level.¡± Vullu was nodding. ¡°Victor, answer me this: have you ever learned to fight with any weapons?¡±

    ¡°No, not really. I mean, me and my buddies used to y around with wooden swords, but we never learned any real skills.¡±

    ¡°Yre, will you go check out a couple of practice axes?¡±

    ¡°Axes? You sure that¡¯s best for him to learn with?¡±

    ¡°Well, no. The spear would probably be better, but I like axes, so that¡¯s what he¡¯s getting.¡± Yre shrugged and sauntered over through a doorway near Yund¡¯s office. Victor watched her go, and Vullu snorted, ¡°Don¡¯t let her catch you looking at her like that, kid.¡± Victor jerked his head away and feigned a stretch.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, man.¡±

    ¡°Good, y it off. That one has teeth, and you have enough problems to deal with, you hear me?¡± Victor looked at the little goat-man again, more closely, and he had to admit the older guy could be intimidating when he wanted to be. He had a short gray beard, and a mostly human-looking face, except for those weird yellow-gold eyes with weird-ass irises.

    ¡°Hey, what are you, er your people, like called?¡±

    ¡°Ahh, no Cadwalli on your world, eh? Makes sense; I¡¯ve never seen a wingless Ghelli like you.¡±

    ¡°The fuck? Ghelli?¡±

    ¡°Well, you look kind of like a Ghelli, though they¡¯re very slight people - you¡¯re too stocky, and, as I said, they have wings. Ahh, here shees.¡± Vullu turned and held out a hand, to which Yre tossed a heavy-looking single-ded hand axe. He caught it, gave it a twirl, then nodded to Victor. Victor turned and took the axe Yre was holding out to him. It had a stout wooden handle, and the axehead was broad and heavy, definitely bigger than his grandpa¡¯s hatchet. He held a thumb to the de and saw that it was rounded and smooth; he couldn¡¯t cut butter with this thing.

    ¡°Alright, Victor. Stand behind me. I¡¯m going to run through some standard axe forms, and I want you to mirror my movements. We¡¯ll do each one five times at first, then run through them faster and faster. Victor nodded and took up position behind Vullu. Yre stood to the side, scrutinizing him as he tried to copy Vullu¡¯s movements as precisely as possible. The way Vullu moved reminded Victor of old dudes on VR doing that Tai Chi stuff - he moved slowly and smoothly, and Victor found it easy to mimic him, at least at first. After they¡¯d gone through about ten different movements, repeating each one five times, like Vullu said they would, he picked up the pace, moving a little faster and only repeating the movements four times. Then he moved even faster, cutting the repetitions down to three. By now, Victor¡¯s arm and shoulder muscles were starting to burn, and he was breathing heavily. Still, he pushed through - if coach Dorgan had taught him anything, it was to push through the burn, push past the pain. When they were on their next run through, doing two quick repetitions, a new message appeared in Victor¡¯s vision:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned Axe Mastery - Basic.***</strong>

    Victor stopped swinging in surprise when he saw a bunch of tiny golden flecks of light start to gather in the air around him. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head, wondering if he was about to pass out or something, but then the little motes of golden light rushed toward him, and he felt like he¡¯d just popped an E-bomb. He shook his head and put his hands on his knees. ¡°Whoah, fucking hell.¡±

    <strong>***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 1 base human.***</strong>

    The rush faded quickly, and Victor stood up, feeling fresh, almost like he hadn¡¯t been working out at all that day. ¡°Well, I¡¯m fucking level one now. Watch out, bitches!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s how things work when you learn a new skill, Victor. Think about the axe and what you know now about fighting.¡± Vullu held up his axe like a visual aid. Victor did as he said and was surprised that he did seem to know an awful lot about axe fighting that he had no business knowing. He knew what angle to hold the de at for different types of chops, he knew about not extending his center of bnce when he swung, and he knew about following through and using momentum to create new opportunities. The number of little facts he knew about axes was simply mind-boggling.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s nuts. So the ¡®System¡¯ just put a bunch of shit in my head? I could¡¯ve used this during Chemistry ss.¡± He held his fingers up, making quotes when he said System, and Yre and Vullu looked at him quizzically. He shrugged and said, ¡°Eh, never mind. So, like, can I get my axe skill even higher by practicing with you?¡±

    ¡°No, not really. You can get more fluid and increase your ability to the very edge of ¡®basic,¡¯ but you won¡¯t be able to move to improved until you have a ss that supports it.

    ¡°A ss? Jesus, this ce really is like a game. So, how do I get a ss?¡±

    ¡°You live long enough to get to level ten. Or, at least that¡¯s when most races get their ss. I¡¯ve heard that some of the lower races, like Urghat, get a ss much earlier, though they have terrible potential for growth.¡±

    ¡°Bro, you¡¯re losing me. So, if I¡¯m like you guys, I should get a ss around level ten. Alright, let¡¯s hope I can get there. Can you guys teach me more skills that will give me levels?¡± Victor looked from Yre to Vullu, and they exchanged nces also, then Yre shrugged.

    ¡°I could teach you some things with knives, spears, and swords. Vullu, you should teach him bludgeons. You¡¯ll just have basic skills with them, but you won¡¯t be helpless if they put weapons in your pit match. Vullu and I both have some Energy skills we could try to teach you if you had a Core, but you¡¯ll need a few levels worth of Energy to build a Core. Oh, look at your status - do you have any Energy now?¡±

    ¡°Um,¡± Victor said, pulling up his status menu and looking at the little Energybel. ¡°I have thirty over zero now.¡±

    ¡°Good, your body is absorbing Energy properly. We just need to help you build enough to allow you to form a Core. I doubt we¡¯ll get there with just a few skills, though. You¡¯ll get a lot more from killing your opponents in the pit.¡±

    ¡°Fuck. I keep forgetting about that shit, but I really have to fight to the death, huh? This shit is nuts.¡±

    ¡°Unless you want to sit down and die. Trust me; they aren¡¯t going to throw you in there with a pacifist.¡± Yre said, stepping forward and squeezing Victor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You gotta get your head right, kid. This isn¡¯t a joke. There are worse ces on Fanwath you could be, but not many.¡±

 4. The Rusty Nail

    4. The Rusty Nail

    Victor followed Yre through the spear forms for the third time, stepping, thrusting, and shouting, ¡°Eyah!¡± Then he brought the spear shaft around, pushing it with the rear gripping hand, then stepping back, snapping the spear back straight, and moving the spearhead in a small loop. He really didn¡¯t know what the fuck all these moves were for, but he could imagine an enemy before him and did his best to mimic Yre.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned Spear Mastery - Basic.***</strong>

    ¡°That did it!¡± Victor braced himself for the rush of Energy as the tiny golden motes coalesced in the air and then surged into him. He whooped loudly and shouted, ¡°Fuck yes! That never gets old.¡±

    <strong>***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 2 base human. You have 5 attribute points to allocate.***</strong>

    ¡°Oh, nice! I hit level two, Yre!¡± The spear was the third weapon that he¡¯d gained skill with that day; he¡¯d started with bludgeons with Vullu, then Yre had taken over and taught him some knife fighting skills before the spear. ¡°I have five attribute points to spend, too!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good. It seems like your race has simr base properties to mine. The fact that you¡¯re leveling off a few simple basic skills shows you have good affinity, too. Celebrate; your people are stronger than Yeksa!¡±

    ¡°The fuck is a Yeksa?¡±

    ¡°You should hope to find out. With any luck, they¡¯ll throw some Yeksa against you in the pit for your first few matches; I think you could win.¡±

    ¡°So they¡¯re scrubs?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re,¡± she looked at him closely, squinted her eyes, then continued, ¡°lesser creatures. They have poor affinity and struggle to gain a few levels in a lifetime.¡±

    ¡°Well, what should I do with my points?¡±

    ¡°Five points spread over several attributes will mean very little in tomorrow¡¯s pit fight. I¡¯d put them all into one - maybe strength or vitality.¡±

    ¡°Hey, you guys have been very helpful to me, and I appreciate it, but I can trust you, right? I mean, like, why have you been so nice? I don''t think you¡¯d tell me some bullshit, but I gotta ask.¡± Victor braced himself for an angry reaction, but Yre just smirked.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t altruistic.¡± She nodded to Vullu, who was mming his fists into a wooden post. ¡°Vullu and I get some time knocked off our sentences for each win we get, and if we help out new fighters, we get a little bit of time knocked off if they win.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, damn. Well, thanks for letting me know.¡± Victor had a sudden thought, ¡°Hey, so you guys have set amounts of time you belong to Boss,¡± he gestured to the big red man who was berating one of his employees in the far corner of the exercise hall, ¡°but what about me? I don¡¯t have a fucking sentence I¡¯m serving. Am I trapped here forever?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good question, Victor. I¡¯d focus on solving that problem after dealing with the more immediate issue - you have a pit fight tomorrow, and you¡¯re level two without a Core.¡± She twirled her spear between her two hands, making it dance between them as she spoke. Victor frowned but didn¡¯t argue. He called up his status sheet and decided to dump all five points into strength. Maybe it would let him break a hold or squeeze someone¡¯s neck just that extra bit that would make the difference.

    A wave of Energy flooded through his body after distributing the points on his status screen, and he took in a deep breath, stretching with his arms held out wide, arching his back as the tingles flooded through him. When it passed, he flexed his biceps, and they definitely popped a lot more than they used to. ¡°Fuck yes!¡± He had very little body fat, even before he was summoned, but now, with his strength jacked and after a workout, his muscles felt and looked pumped like never before. Yre snorted.

    ¡°You¡¯re still just a baby, don¡¯t go getting full of yourself. Some of the monsters in here,¡± she gestured around the warehouse, ¡°would kill you just for the way you look.¡±

    ¡°Oh, like they¡¯re fucking racists or something?¡±

    ¡°Racist? Yes, I suppose plenty of Shadeni hate other people just because they¡¯re different, and I have bad news for you, Victor: you¡¯re more different than anyone I¡¯ve met.¡±

    ¡°Um, I didn¡¯t want to be rude, but is that what your race is called? Shadeni?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± She knelt to pick up the spear that Victor had dropped.

    ¡°Well, I mean, it¡¯s not really true that I¡¯m the most different - I mean, we have different colored skin, but I don¡¯t have furry legs and hooves like old Vullu, there.¡± He nodded at the goat-man, who had stopped punching the wooden post and was unwinding the cloth strips around his knuckles.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so literal, kid. I meant there¡¯s no one else like you in this world, as far as I know. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go turn these spears in. Our time¡¯s almost up.¡± She handed him his spear, and he followed her toward the equipment room.

    ¡°Do you think there¡¯s any way I could get home? I mean, assuming I survive the pit and somehow get free of this ce. You think I could find a way?¡±

    ¡°Assuming all that? Sure, why not? Some powerful mages summoned you, but I bet there are powerful mages that can undo it or just help you teleport home. A lot is possible for the higher tier Energy users.¡± That gave Victor plenty to think about, so he didn¡¯t reply, just silently followed her as they turned in their gear. Further conversation was cut short when they were shouted at by one of Yund¡¯sckeys to get their asses back to their cage.

    Victor was given a hard piece of buttered bread that afternoon, just like on his first day, after they were put back in their cage. As far as he could tell, he was the only one that got this treatment, and Vullu had exined that his low Energy level andck of a Core meant he had to eat more food than the others to survive. He didn¡¯t argue - he was starving like a motherfucker, pretty much all the time. Their water bucket was filled each day, and they all shared the same tin cup, but Victor also drank more than the others.

    The afternoons were the most boring for Victor. Everyone else spent time doing something they called ¡°cultivating.¡± They sat around meditating and didn¡¯t speak for hours. Yre tried to exin that once he had a Core, he¡¯d learn how to cultivate Energy to build it up. That might be, but for now, he just had to bide his time, waiting for them to get tired of it so they could talk for a while before lights out. That afternoon proved worse than usual - Yre and Vullu spent extra time cultivating, apparently trying to squeeze in as much as possible on the eve of Pit Night.

    Victor wrestled with his fears and despair. He was good at bluster and bravado and shoving his feelings where he didn¡¯t have to think about them, especially when he had training to do, but here, in the quiet cell, with everyone preparing for battle, he couldn¡¯t escape his mental demons. What was going to happen? Was he going to die tomorrow? Was he going to have to kill someone? Could he? Tucson seemed like a million years in the past when he tried to think of his friends or Marcy or his Abu.

    For the first time in a long while, he thought of his parents. He¡¯d been eight when they died in a car wreck. He¡¯d been in the backseat, but he didn¡¯t remember the crash at all. He remembered them arguing, though. His mom had been yelling, her red-brown hair tied up in a bun, her eyes red with tears. His father¡¯s hands gripped the steering wheel, staring straight ahead, refusing to answer her. That was thest image he could muster up from the depths of his mind. He didn¡¯t remember what they were saying or how the crash had happened; he just remembered his grandma picking him up from the hospital and taking him home. Then there¡¯d been a funeral, and he remembered his aunties talking about how rotten his other grandparents were for noting.

    When Yre finally stirred and interrupted his reverie, Victor was grateful. He was ready to jump at any excuse to banish the memories, so when she shook her dice, he scooted over in front of her, and they yed the simple dice game for a couple of hours before Vullu spoke up and said they should be quiet and go to sleep. Victor groaned, but he was dog tired, so he slid over to his corner andid down on his side, using his arm for a pillow, and closed his eyes. Sleep came quickly, as it inexplicably usually did in this ce, and when he felt Yre¡¯s boot shaking his shoulder, he hopped up, feeling refreshed, if a bit stiff.

    They were given their normal breakfast rotation, but then the routine changed. Yund and his goons gathered up almost all the cage upants and made them stand shoulder to shoulder in two rows of twenty. Then, Yund moved to the front of the hall, near the big barn doors, and addressed them in a booming voice, ¡°Alright, you worthless slugs! Time to earn your food. Today we¡¯re going to the dockyard, fighting in the Rusty Nail, which means we need to travel. You know what it means when we travel, right?¡± He paused here, but whatever he¡¯d been hoping Victor¡¯s fellow prisoners would say didn¡¯te, so he kept speaking, ¡°That means you better damn well be on your best behavior. Urt, Ponda, and I will be quick on the batons, and I swear to the Ancestors that I¡¯ll make you piss blood before I let off the pressure. You get me?¡±

    No one spoke, some of the prisoners shuffled their feet and grumbled, but it seemed that everyone had learned, or inferred, in Victor¡¯s case, that Boss Yund didn¡¯t want anyone to answer his questions. Victor wondered if they were going to be allowed to just walk freely toward whatever the Rusty Nail was. Still, his hopes of sprinting away down an alley were dashed when Yund¡¯sckeys, Urt and Ponda, came along the line, somehow producing leather belts out of thin air and handing them to each prisoner. When Ponda, the big furry, otter-looking fucker passed Victor a belt, he nced at Yre and saw she was already fastening hers around her waist. Victor did the same, noting that the sp had an iron loop on it.

    Urt came along then, leading a long, clinking chain. He went down the row, hooking the chain to each prisoner¡¯s belt through the iron loop. When he got to Victor, he reached out and yanked on the belt, making sure it was tight before he slipped the chain through the loop. After this went on for a few minutes, Yund cranked open the big barn doors and led the prisoners, in two lines, out into the dirty street, walking toward the fat, orange, setting sun. Victor nced around, happy for his first real look at the city, and he caught his breath when he saw the two moons halfway up the sky opposite the sun. One was huge with rings around it, and the other was small and looked almost like Earth¡¯s moon. ¡°<em>Chingada</em>!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Vullu asked from behind him.

    ¡°The moons. Fucking hell, we really aren¡¯t on Earth, are we?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t believe it until now?¡± Yre looked back over her shoulder at him.

    ¡°I guess I did, but seeing these fucking moons makes it a little more real.¡±

    ¡°Wee to Fanwath, runt!¡± a huge red-skinned man said over Vullu¡¯s shoulder. He was a good foot taller than Yre, and he had big red spikes growing out of his shoulders; otherwise, he looked like one of her people. Victor just swallowed and turned back to the front, following behind Yre and trying not to get noticed by any of the other prisoners. He nced from side to side, noting the buildings and how they were so very different from those in Tucson. Every building was at least two stories high, and they were made from wood and stone blocks. He didn¡¯t see any sto, nor did he see any concrete. The streets were made of bricks or, he supposed, cobbles. Trees were nowhere to be seen at first, but then they passed out of the shitty neighborhood where Yund¡¯s building was, and he started seeing big tall trees with fucking weird-ass blue leaves. They passed some parks with blue-green grass and some tall stone buildings with actual streetmps outside them, just starting to click on and give off a warm amber glow in the fading daylight; then, they were out of the rich section of town and walking downhill to a more industrial area.

    When they crossed through a rather busy square that reminded Victor of a swap meet, something startling happened. A few spots ahead of Victor, one of the other prisoners grunted loudly and hunched over, his broad, musclebound red shoulders flexing with strain, and then he was suddenly sprinting away from the line. Victor saw his ripped belt fall to the cobbles, but as soon as he realized what had even happened, Ponda lept through the air, trails of wispy orange smoke in his wake, and smashed down atop the fleeing prisoner. Victor heard the snap of bones and winced. Ponda lifted therge prisoner with one hand, gripping him by the back of the neck, and dragged him back to the line. The man thrashed and cried out, clearly in pain, but Ponda strode doggedly along as if he were hauling a misbehaving toddler. Ponda produced a pair of iron manacles, hooked one to the man¡¯s wrist and another to the cable connecting all the other prisoners, and said, ¡°Thanks for letting us know you need a cor. Don¡¯t try that again.¡±

    ¡°Poor asshole,¡± Victor said.

    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯ll be stuck now; they¡¯ll cor him or put a mark on him like me,¡± Yre replied.

    When they went around a corner and turned down another hill, Victor caught his first glimpse of the shipyard and a vast expanse of water. Victor had never been out of Arizona before, and when he saw the setting sun reflecting over the glittering water as far as he could see, he caught his breath and said, ¡°Holy shit, is that the ocean?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s actually a freshwaterke - Lake Beliss,¡± Yre said quietly, and Victor could see that she was also taking in the view. ¡°My uncle had a ship and crew and fished out there when I was young.¡± She sighed heavily. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll get back out there someday. It¡¯s beautiful out on the water this time of day.¡±

    ¡°Especially if you have some wine and buttered freshwater qrell, right, beautiful?¡± Yund boomed from just behind Victor. How the fuck had he snuck up on them? Yre ignored him, but Yund justughed and walked up the line, jostling or yelling at various prisoners andughing at their difort. They continued down the slope to the docks and then turned to the left, following a crowded wharf street to an even more crowded yard outside arge wooden structure. On the building, above the wide-open doors, a huge rusty metal spike had been mounted, and an equally rusted metal sign proimed, ¡°The Rusty Nail.¡±

 5. Pit Night

    5. Pit Night

    The Rusty Nail was like a bad fever dream to Victor. As the sun set and the crowd grew, he and hisrades from Yund¡¯s stable were kept sequestered in a roped-off section of the enormous warehouse, but he could see the craziness unfold from behind the ropes, just fine. Just like when he¡¯d been led through the streets, he noticed the wide variety of people who cohabitated in this strange world. Red, blue, white, brown, ck, tall, thin, short, fat, winged, feathered, furred, hooved, wed, horned, almost anything he could fucking imagine was represented in the crowd of jostling, drinking,ughing, cussing, and fighting people. As the night outside deepened, the air in the warehouse grew heavy with odors and smoke and heat.

    Yund wasn¡¯t the only boss that had brought a troupe of fighters. The various groups, some asrge as Yund¡¯s and others with just one or two fighters, were all kept in roped-off areas on the back periphery of the Rusty Nail. The majority of the thousands of square feet in the warehouse''s interior were taken up by stands for spectators, mobile food carts, desks for bookies, and a dozen or so pits. The pits were about twenty feet in diameter, about eight feet deep, and each had a big wooden sign on a post that had a number on it. Victor surprised himself by not being a nervous wreck. He thought part of it was that the warehouse and the pits reminded him a lot of the inside of a big gym during a wrestling invitational. The pits were like different mats, and the pit fighters were like wrestling teams. He knew it was a bullshitparison, but it was keeping him cool, so he didn¡¯t overthink it.

    ¡°This is fucking nuts,¡± he said to Vullu as he watched the crowd grow and a band started ying some strange, wild music on a small stage over by the big doors leading to the festival-like yard outside the warehouse. The music reminded him kind of like some fucking weird mix of country bluegrass and mariachi, with lots of stringed instruments and a really upbeat section of horns ring over the noise in the crowd.

    ¡°Oh, aye. People love Pit Night in this city. There are at least four other locations like this. Yund even hosts a smaller gathering at the Wagon Wheel once a month.¡±

    ¡°Did I hear you use my name, Cadwalli?¡± Yund turned from where he¡¯d been talking to a sleazy-looking little blue guy and scowled at Vullu.

    ¡°No, boss, I think that came from just behind me. Not sure who it was.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Yund glowered at him for a moment, then turned back to the clipboard the little blue man was holding. After a few minutes and some grunted curses, Yund chased the guy away and then turned to his gathered troupe of fighter-ves. ¡°Listen up, you dogs!¡±

    ¡°Are there dogs here?¡± Victor asked Vullu quietly.

    ¡°Of course!¡± he said, then held a finger to his lips.

    ¡°We¡¯re overrepresented, and that little asshole just let me know that I need to adjust our roster to make up for it. That means some of you fodder will be fighting as a group against a stronger opponent. It¡¯s your chance for glory! You¡¯ll get a gold-tier reward when we get back to the Wagon Wheel if you win! Get yourselves ready - you know who you are.¡± Then he turned and walked over to a table where a harried, white-haired woman was frantically flipping through some papers.

    ¡°That¡¯s you, kiddo,¡± Yre said from behind Victor.

    ¡°That didn¡¯t sound like good news to me.¡±

    ¡°Not really. Just remember: no matter how strong, a fatal wound is a fatal wound. There are no trinkets or potions allowed in the pits. Cut through a neck, pierce a heart, smash a skull, and you can win.¡± Yre rubbed the outsides of Victor¡¯s shoulders briskly, then gave them a good p. ¡°Get your fire up, kid. You need to win; there¡¯s no other option.¡± Victor nodded, scowling, trying to get himself pumped. He pped his hands together and jogged in ce, and then Yund was back.

    ¡°Alright, listen: Sarl, Turdwater, Asslick, Vel, and Victor, get in front of me!¡± Victor almostughed when he heard some of the names, but adrenaline and nerves kept him from really enjoying it, so he ducked under the rope and stood in front of Yund. The others Yund had called jostled him as they came up from behind, pushing and shoving to stand close to Yund. Victor nced at them and saw two blue guys, one with yellow hair and the other colored bright rust. He saw another otter-person, but he thought it must be a female because she was slight and had some curves that stood differently than he¡¯d seen on Ponda. The fifth member of their impromptu team was a fragile-looking man with lusterless, limp dragonfly wings on his back.

    ¡°Here, Boss,¡± yellow-hair said.

    ¡°Right, Asslick. Follow me!¡± Yund turned and started to wend his way along the wooden pathway between pits, stands, and tables. He shoved people that blocked his way, and, generally, people scrambled to get out of his way. Victor followed closely, aware of all the eyes on him but still wondering if there was any fucking way at all that he might get out of this mess. Most of the pits were empty, the first fights just getting lined up, but they passed by one with some action going on. As they got close, Victor stared into the pit and almost puked his guts out when a tall, bird-headed guy tore a blue guy¡¯s throat out with his oversized beak.

    ¡°Fuck me,¡± he said, and strangely, the otter-woman reached forward and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

    ¡°Courage,¡± she said in a soft, rich voice. Victor looked back into her big moist eyes, and he nodded, drawing his brows together, trying to look fierce. He looked back to Yund¡¯s back, followed him around one more empty pit, and then they were there, standing before pit number four. A good-sized crowd was standing around the pit¡¯s edge, but they cleared the path for Yund, and he waded up to the edge and gestured with one hand.

    ¡°In you go, runts. Good luck! Taste some glory in your miserable lives!¡± Victor walked up to the edge, thinking about jumping down to the sand. Before he did, he nced over his shoulder at his ¡°team¡± first. The otter-woman was right behind him, but the bright-yellow-haired blue guy had dropped to his knees in front of Yund.

    ¡°Please, Boss! I can be valuable to you in other ways; I¡¯m not cut out for fighting!¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mere, Asslick. Stand up,¡± Yund said in a surprisingly gentle voice. Asslick stood and walked closer to Yund, hope in his eyes, and then Yund put one meaty hand around Asslick¡¯s neck and yanked him over the edge and into the pit. Asslicknded awkwardly on the packed sand, crying out as his knee buckled under him. ¡°Get in the father-damned pit!¡± he roared. Victor didn¡¯t wait for another invitation and hopped down,nding lightly on his feet. Otter-woman followed, stumbling as shended, and Victor caught her arm, keeping her from falling. The other blue guy hopped down, a nasty sneer on his face, and then the tall, winged guy carefully scooted to the edge and hung down by his hands from the edge until his toes touched the sand. ¡°My team¡¯s ready!¡± Yund hollered from above Victor¡¯s head.

    A goat-man like Vullu stood on the other side of the pit, and he nodded, gesturing to the pit. The woman who hopped down into the pit from behind the goat-man looked so much like Yre that, at first, Victor thought Yund would make her fight them. When she straightened up, though, Victor could see the differences. She was taller, more muscr, had little horns poking through her ck hair, and her eyes were like smokey orange coals. She stood on her side of the pit, watching the five members of Yund¡¯s team coolly. A momentter, a blue guy with violet hair approached the edge of the pit with a spear in each hand.

    ¡°This fight willmence on my word. Are both teams ready?¡± While he listened to Yund and the goat-man answer in the affirmative, he tossed the two spears toward the far side of the pit, toward the middle. He looked at Victor¡¯s team, then at the tall Shadeni woman, then he shouted, ¡°Begin!¡±

    Asslick scrambled toward one of the spears; Victor crouched down and moved to his right, keeping the Shadeni woman in view. Otter-woman followed along with Victor, but the other blue guy stumbled back, trying to get to the pit''s edge, his knee buckling with each step. The thin winged guy moved toward the horned woman with his hands out in fists. Asslick made it to a spear and turned, grinning, toward the tall red woman. She hadn¡¯t yet taken a step, but she smiled at Asslick and strode toward him. He charged with the spear, driving the point toward her stomach, but she smoothly sidestepped, then burst forward so fast that Victor thought she blurred a little, and drove the edge of her hand into Asslick¡¯s throat with such force that he was flipped backward off his feet tond on his back with a resounding thud.

    As Asslicky writhing, choking, and scrabbling at his neck, the winged guy dove at the woman with surprising grace, dodging her kick and thennding a solid punch to the side of her head. She smoothly stepped back, assessing the winged guy anew, then began to circle him. ¡°C¡¯mon,¡± Victor said to Otter-girl. ¡°She¡¯ll take us apart if we fight her one by one.¡± Otter-girl nodded, then they started to circle the Shadeni woman, already named Big Red in Victor¡¯s mind, making her split her attention from the winged guy. The woman hadn¡¯t bothered to pick up the spear that Asslick had dropped, and Victor thought he could get to it pretty easily, but he wondered if he should. Would it just make him her next target? Instead, he moved over toward the spear, keeping his hands out, his center low, ready for the woman to charge him.

    ¡°Ghelli, justy down, and I¡¯ll end this quickly,¡± Big Red purred, her voice sending chills down Victor¡¯s spine.

    ¡°I didn¡¯ty down when ap¡¯Guin¡¯s men raped my wife. I didn¡¯t stand down when my men and I tore his household limb from limb. I didn¡¯t stand down when the Count burned my estate. I didn¡¯t stand down when the farcical trial sent me to the mines. I didn¡¯t stand down when I was sold to this hell. No, you will have to finish me kicking and screaming the whole way.¡±

    ¡°Quite a speech! Did you rehearse that?¡± She glided over the sandy ground to the winged man like a rattler darting toward a mouse. They exchanged a flurry of blows and blocks that Victor couldn¡¯t keep track of, but he didn¡¯t care; he¡¯d been waiting for this moment, and he flicked the spear up with the top of his old worn Adidas, grabbed the haft in his right hand and chucked it like a javelin at the woman¡¯s back. She must have sensed his movement because she whirled around as though to strike him, but it wasn¡¯t him ripping through the air; it was a sharp spear. Her outflung arm deflected the spear¡¯s trajectory, but it tore a long gash along her forearm. As she hissed and grabbed at the cut with her other hand, the winged dudended a thunderous haymaker into the back of her skull.

    Victor figured that if the winged guy were stronger, it would have been lights out for Big Red, but though she stumbled forward, shaking her head, she didn¡¯t go down. That¡¯s when the otter-woman strode forward past Victor, hands outstretched. Victor felt the air temperature drop, and then white frost started forming around the otter-woman¡¯s hands, and a spray of tiny shards of ice sted out, tearing into the Shadeni woman. She screamed, holding her arms in front of her face, then she whirled away, rolling over the sand to the spear against the far wall. The spray of ice shards sputtered out, and the otter-woman leaned forward, gasping for breath. Victor ran toward the other spear, looking around to see what the fuck the rest of his team was doing. Asslick was lying still on his back, eyes open and staring. Was he fucking dead? The other blue guy was scrabbling at the pit''s edge, trying to climb out.

    ¡°You fucking dick! Get down and fight!¡± Victor screamed as he slid into the spear like he wasing in hot to home base. He scooped up the spear, scrambled to his feet, and whirled to face the Shadeni woman. She wasn¡¯t where he¡¯dst seen her, though; she was standing over the otter-woman, spear buried in her furry chest. ¡°Fuck!¡± Victor choked out when he saw the blood bubbling out of the woman¡¯s sad-looking mouth and her moist eyes slowly blinking while she scratched fruitlessly at the sand with her little, webbed hands. Big Red twisted the spear a couple of times, then yanked it free, trailing an arc of bright crimson blood.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name, Shadeni?¡± The winged guy asked as he circled behind her, trying, Victor thought, to get her to turn her back on him again.

    ¡°I¡¯m Thessa-dak. Learn it well, Ghelli; my offer of a quick death has been rescinded.¡± She didn¡¯t look at the winged man while she spoke; she hefted her spear and turned to the blue guy who had given up climbing out of the pit and was leaning with his back to the wall, edging sideways. Maybe theughing, jeering spectators standing above him had something to do with his decision to stop trying to climb. A slow grin spread on Big Red¡¯s face, then she took two steps and let the spear fly. It punched through the blue guy¡¯s chest and pinned him to the wooden wall of the pit. A short scream tore out of his throat, but it quickly subsided to soft gurgling.

    ¡°Hey, <em>pendeja</em>, you think it makes you tough to fuck up some people weaker than you?¡± Victor didn¡¯t really give a shit about the chickenshit guy she¡¯d just killed, but he was fucking torn up about that otter-woman. He felt tears stinging his eyes, but they were tears of futile rage, not fear. ¡°This fight is fucking bullshit!¡± He started striding toward Big Red, reason having fled his mind. He dropped low, spear out, and went through the motions as he had practiced with Yre and Vullu. At first, a tiny voice in the back of his mind said he wasmitting suicide, and though he tuned it out, he knew a part of him believed he was about to die. After he¡¯d blinked away his frustrated tears, though, the only thing left in his mind was furious rage. Rage at being tossed into this pit, rage at being summoned to this world, rage at this fucking bitch that killed that soft little Otter-woman.

    She was fast and strong, but every time she started to push past Victor¡¯s guard, the winged guy would dart forward andnd a kidney punch or a snap kick, and she¡¯d be forced to back away to regroup. She was getting visibly frustrated; she was more than a match for either of them, but now that they¡¯d found a rhythm, they were beginning to wear her down. Suddenly she hissed loudly and screamed, turning away from Victor and leaping through the air, a move that would have made a pro baller proud, andnded on the winged guy, driving him to the ground. Victor didn¡¯t waste a second, though; while she was bearing him to the ground, biting at his neck, Victor charged forward and drove the spear into her lower back, punching it through where he figured her kidney should be. She screamed and writhed, turning toward Victor, but the winged guy grabbed her in a bear hug, wrapping his arms and legs around her and holding her down. Victor yanked the spear out and drove it again and again, filling her back with gushing, spurting holes.

    Finally, Thessa-dak stopped thrashing andy still on top of the bloody, panting man. Victor leaned forward on his spear, lungs heaving for breath.

    ¡°I am Sarl, brother. I take it you are Victor?¡± the man gasped, trying to shove the woman off himself.

    ¡°Yeah, Sarl, that¡¯s me. Good to meet you. What the fuck¡­.¡± Victor cut himself off as he watched motes of golden Energy start to bead up and coalesce all around Thessa-dak¡¯s body. A great swarm of them split into two streams and flooded into him and Sarl.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You¡¯ve achieved level 3 base human. You have 5 attribute points to allocate.***</strong>

    The euphoria of the Energy flooding him filled Victor with strength, and he stood up straight, looking around the edge of the pit. For the first time, he noticed the roaring of the crowd, their cheers, and stomping feet. He felt high from the influx of Energy, and the cheers filled him with that old feeling he used to get when he pinned an opponent, so he held up his fist, screaming triumphantly into the face of the crowd.

 Victor of Tucson Books 1 & 2 - Available on Kindle Unlimited and Audible - Book 3 coming soon.

    Victor of Tucson Books 1 & 2 - Avable on Kindle Unlimited and Audible - Book 3ing soon.

    Please See the note above - Victor of Tucson, Books 1, 2, and 3 are avable on KU and Audible. If you aren''t aware, removal from other sites is a requirement of Amazon, not a choice I would like to make. If I could keep them here for free, forever, I would - I think it drives more people to the books in the long run. Sadly, it isn''t my decision!

    Thank you so much for all of your support and for reading.

    -Plum

    Kindle

    Audible

    <strong>VOT #1 and #2 are avable NOW</strong>

    <strong>VOT #3 will be avable on Kindle and Audible after September 18th, 2022. If you are finding this message between 8/18 and 9/18 and want to read book 3, you''ll find those chapters avable on my Patreon.</strong>

 Book 4: Chapter 5: The Elementalist Guild

    Book 4: Chapter 5: The Elementalist Guild

    ¡°We don¡¯t have to visit the Elementalist Guild today,¡± Va said as they walked away from the arena. ¡°We¡¯re due to go to the War Captain¡¯s dinner in a couple of hours.¡±

    ¡°What else are we gonna do? No, I think this is important, and you¡¯ve been patient with me while I messed around here. Come on, aren¡¯t you excited? It¡¯s a whole guild dedicated to your kind of magic! Do they even have those on Fanwath?¡±

    ¡°There are guilds of practitioners, but none that specialize in elemental magic, at least none that I know of. I suppose there might be private groups in some of the academies . . .¡± She trailed off, her eyes going kind of vacant as she searched her memory.

    ¡°You see? Tomorrow you¡¯ll be busy cheering for me in the arena, and who knows what¡¯ll happen after that. Let¡¯s at least stop by.¡± Victor dashed across the busy street that ran alongside the arena, trying to follow Gorz¡¯s instructions to the guild house Livag had told them about.

    ¡°This way, Gorz?¡± he asked, turning up a less crowded, upward-slopingne. Gorz didn¡¯t reply at first, so he repeated the question.

    <em>¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct, Victor.¡±</em>

    ¡°You okay, buddy?¡±

    <em>¡°I feel the same as when west spoke. When was that? It feels like years . . .¡±</em>

    ¡°Gorz, I asked you for directions about ten minutes ago.¡±

    <em>¡°My apologies. How strange . . .¡±</em>

    ¡°Something wrong?¡± Va asked, and Victor realized he¡¯d been scowling while he spoke to the amulet.

    ¡°Yeah, actually. The spirit in my amulet, you know, the one that memorizes maps and documents and, well, everything¡ªhe¡¯s kind of losing it. He feels like he¡¯s being pulled, like his bindings to the amulet are fading, and every time I speak to him, he acts like it¡¯s been years.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m no Artificer, but maybe we could visit one here that might be able to help.¡±

    ¡°Not a bad idea at all. We should do some shopping here, anyway¡ªI imagine, in a world with so many high-tier Energy users, shops like that are going to have some good magical items for sale.¡±

    The road they were walking along was less busy than the other streets they¡¯d visited, and Victor noted that the architecture was starting to look a little more refined. Tall, more delicate structures with towers capped with colorful tile became more and moremon, and Victor noted that none of them were sized for the Degh giants.

    ¡°Seems like a wealthier part of the city,¡± Va said, echoing his thoughts.

    ¡°Yeah, and maybe older? Livag said this wasn¡¯t a Degh city, so maybe that¡¯s why this section doesn¡¯t have buildings sized for them.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps. We¡¯re climbing upward, so you would presume the city started up this way, and as it expanded, it stretched down the hill and into the surrounding country.¡± Va turned back and gestured the way they¡¯de, and it was evident they¡¯d gained a lot of altitude, more than Victor had realized. The tops of buildings and tightly packed streets stretched out below them for miles, right up to the edge of the enormous walls that surrounded the city.

    ¡°How many streets have we passed since we started up this one?¡±

    ¡°Four, I think. No, five,¡± Va said, looking back the way they¡¯de again.

    ¡°Okay, the guild¡¯s supposed to be up around the next corner on the left.¡± Victor led the way, turning past a storefront disying beautifully woven rugs, then down a broad avenue with very light traffic. The pedestrians in the area were almost all Vesh, though a few of the snake people, the Yazzians, walked here and there in their typical hooded robes woven from muted earth-toned fabrics. ¡°Gorz? The Elementalist Guild¡¯s on this street, right?¡±

    <em>¡°Victor! Are you still seeking that guild? My instructions must have been unclear; my apologies. From the corner, it¡¯s supposed to be the seventh building on the left.¡±</em>

    ¡°Thanks, Gorz, and your instructions are fine.¡± Victor wanted to tell him it had only been a few minutes since hest spoke to him, but he was starting to feel like a broken record. It didn¡¯t seem to do any good to remind the amulet of the correct passage of time.

    He continued walking, looking back to count the buildings he¡¯d passed, and when he came to the seventh structure, he stopped and looked at the tall brick wall with wrought iron arches and gates. The central gate was open on one side, so he started forward, hoping to get a better look at the building.

    A gust of air rushed up before him, creating a sort of swirling curtain of air that reminded Victor of a dust devil, though with less dirt. Unlike a dust devil, it didn¡¯t move, hanging in the air before him. A crackling, electric voice said, ¡°Hold, stranger! I detect no elemental Energy at your Core.¡±

    ¡°Uh . . .¡± Victor grunted, backing up a step, not sure what to say.

    ¡°I seek entry,¡± Va said, stepping forward, and again the voice crackled out of the swirling wind, ¡°You may pass, Elementalist.¡±

    ¡°May I bring mypanion?¡±

    ¡°You are permitted a guest. Hostilities will not be tolerated within,¡± the voice said, its weird, static-like nature giving Victor goosebumps at the nape of his neck.

    ¡°Understood,¡± Va replied, and the wind suddenly died away, leaving a clear passage through the arched gateway to the stone paved walkway that led to the tall, narrow brick structure within. Victor counted the stories as he followed Va through the courtyard,ing up with six distinct sets of windows. The peaked gables at the top were capped in brilliant turquoise tiles.

    Victor allowed his eyes to drift down and noticed that all the shrubs and flower bushes in the garden were manicured into the shapes of wild creatures. Fountains burbled weingly, and, to his amazement, Victor saw one fountain¡¯s water rise up from the cid pool in its base and take the shapes of a pair of dancing, translucent people. ¡°Pretty cool,¡± he said, jostling Va¡¯s shoulder and pointing.

    ¡°Beautiful,¡± she breathed, a rare smile touching her lips. Then she turned and climbed the short flight of stairs to the canopy-covered front doors of the building, and when she reached for the handle, they opened inward, seemingly at their own impetus. Victor followed her into the foyer of the building, where a broad, gleaming hardwood floor led into a vaulted, round room with hallways leading off in every direction. An intricately carved spiral staircase led up to the exposedndings of the upper levels, its wood made to look like flowering vines, branches, and roots.

    A young woman wearing pale yellow robes approached them from one of the side passages, and though she was clearly a Vesh with a pair of short, ivory horns, she reminded Victor of one of his old ssmates¡ªSierra Harwick. She looked so much like her that Victor felt struck by deja vu, and for a heartbeat, his mind skipped back to thest time he¡¯d been in school, and he felt perplexed and lost¡ªlike when a person wakes up in a strange bed, momentarily forgetting how they¡¯d gotten there.

    ¡°Wee,¡± the woman said, pressing her hands together and bowing slightly as she walked toward them. Her attention was wholly on Va.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Va replied.

    ¡°How can we help you today, Mistress? Are you seeking to join the ranks of the Elementalist Guild?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps, though, I primarily came here for advice. I¡¯m new to this world and understand that there¡¯s much I could learn from the masters here.¡± Va¡¯s diction never failed to impress Victor, and he stood quietly, sure he¡¯d say the wrong thing or be kicked out if he interrupted.

    ¡°Advice is freely given by many of the masters that make their home here. What topic, if I may ask, do you seek elucidation upon? I¡¯ll more easily take you to the correct person if you can share such information.¡± The woman spoke in a sort of sing-song that felt both pleasant and forced to Victor, and he wasn¡¯t sure what to think of her. Was she a servant? Was she an Elementalist herself? She didn¡¯t give him the impression of a powerful aura like he¡¯d felt from the arena master or even some of the potentialpetitors.

    ¡°I seek advice to better my Core, my abilities, and my potential for my next ss refinement. My world is less practiced in these areas than this one. I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ll be here, but our hope,¡± she indicated Victor with a tilt of her head, ¡°is to leave fairly soon.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t wish to remain on Zaafor?¡± The woman frowned, pursing her bright red lips, almost in a pout.

    ¡°No, we have obligations we must see to back home,¡± Va replied, ever stoic in the face of feigned emotion. Victor found himself opening his mouth, about to step into the conversation, and he realized he was going to say something flirty. He mped his mouth shut and carefully arranged his face in a neutral expression¡ªthey were here for Va, and he needed to let her handle things.

    ¡°Well, I believe I feel a hint of an air-affinity about you. Is there something more?¡±

    Va shifted ufortably and stole a nce at Victor. He broke his determination to stay out of things and gave her a brief nod. She nodded back and said, ¡°I also have an affinity for iron.¡±

    ¡°Iron? Oh, intriguing! I know just the Elementalist to bring you to. Follow me please,¡± the woman reached up to tuck a curly strand of blond hair behind an ear and, as she walked toward the spiral staircase, she gave Victor a look and said, ¡°Will you be bringing your . . .panion? I could show him to the parlor.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll attend me.¡± Va¡¯s tone didn¡¯t brook any argument, and the woman nodded, continuing on her way. Victor¡¯s mouth fell open again, and he wanted to ask Va what the fuck she meant by ¡°attend,¡± but, again, he mped it shut and followed along.

    As they walked, the woman said, ¡°My name is Camia. Might I ask yours, mistress?¡±

    ¡°Va,¡± she said, and nothing more. Victor wasn¡¯t surprised. They climbed the stairs past twondings, and then their guide led them down a long, broad, wood-paneled hallway past several doors, stopping at a lovely set of double doors made from some sort of cherry-colored wood. Camia straightened up, cleared her throat, and knocked politely.

    ¡°Elementalist Troft is a master of iron and fire. Hopefully, he isn¡¯t engaged in anything that cannot be interrupted . . .¡± Camia began to say but was stopped as the door opened slightly.

    ¡°Hello, Camia,¡± said a young man in an orange robe, much like Camia¡¯s yellow one.

    ¡°Ry, hello yourself! This is Mistress Va, and she seeks an audience with Master Troft.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Something important?¡± Ry asked, still holding the door partially closed, only exposing his rather mousy face. Victor couldn¡¯t really have described him, though; his attention was focused on the fact that Ry had sharp quills all over his head rather than hair.

    ¡°Important to Lady Va, yes. Nothing that should trouble your master, though. Is he avable?¡±

    ¡°I believe so. Pleasee in,¡± Ry replied, stepping back and pulling the door wide. The room beyond was a simple but spacious sitting area lined with couches, bookshelves, and a pair of desks upying one corner. ¡°Please have a seat,¡± Ry said, gesturing toward a couch and then adding, ¡°I¡¯ll tell Master Troft that you¡¯re waiting.¡±

    ¡°Very well,¡± Camia said, then she stepped to the side and, as Ry walked through a doorway in the opposite wall, said, ¡°You should be in good hands with Elementalist Troft. Pleasee down to the foyer if you need anything else, and I¡¯ll be d to assist you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Camia.¡± Va nodded her head and then walked over to the flower-patterned couch. Victor followed, offering Camia a smile, perhaps because he felt Va should have done so, but the woman ignored him, slipping back through the door and closing it behind her. Victor sat down next to Va, and she said, ¡°So far, everyone¡¯s been very polite. I¡¯m worried there¡¯s somethinging¡ªa binding contract, an exorbitant fee, or some such.¡±

    ¡°Well, try to stay positive,¡± Victor said, enjoying not being in the driver¡¯s seat for a change.

    Va looked ready to say something more, but the door opened, and a man wearing brilliant red, manyyered robes stepped through. He was tall and lean, his cheek and skull bones evident on his clean-shaven head and face. He was a Vesh, Victor was sure, because he had great, green-scaled wings folded at his back, and his eyes were bright yellow with vertical pupils. ¡°Hello,¡± he said, walking toward the couch. His voice was warm and mellow, and his eyes squinted as he smiled, reaching a hand out to Va.

    Va stood up and took his hand, ¡°Pleased to meet you. I¡¯m Va ap¡¯Yensha from the world of Fanwath.¡± She nced at Victor, still sitting down, and added, ¡°This is mypanion, Victor.¡±

    Troft had eyes only for Va,pletely ignoring Victor as he scratched his chin and said, ¡°Fanwath. Hmm, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve heard of that one. What brings you to Coloss?¡±

    ¡°An ident,¡± Va said truthfully. ¡°We were battling a mage in our world who¡¯d created a portal to this world. He forced me through the portal, and Victor came through to aid me.¡± Troft finally gave Victor a solid nce as she exined, and his eyes narrowed in momentary confusion.

    ¡°Ah! At first nce, I thought yourpanion was a Deshi. I see I was mistaken. Good of you to chase your mistress into the unknown that way,d.¡±

    ¡°My . . .¡± Victor started to say, then sighed and said, ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°While we¡¯re stranded here, I thought I should take advantage of the greater knowledge of elemental magic in this world. It¡¯s be apparent to me that my power is rathercking for my level.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm,¡± Troft said, rubbing his chin and looking closely at Va. He looked around, and his gaze settled on a nearby chair that he pulled over so he could sit directly in front of her. He stared at her for a long minute, enough that Victor was starting to feel ufortable, but Va sat there stoically, staring directly back at the Elementalist. ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± he said after a long while, ¡°air and an earth affinity, aha, iron. Just like me! Well, as far as the iron goes.¡±

    ¡°You have a good eye,¡± Va said, nodding.

    ¡°What level are you, Va? I¡¯d guess something like thirty?¡±

    ¡°Fifty-two,¡± Va replied, frowning.

    ¡°Oh dear,¡± he said frowning, ¡°Yes, I see how that¡¯s a problem. Your auracks the appropriate weight. Have you not been building your will and intelligence attributes?¡±

    ¡°I was raised in a martial family and have taken sses that primarily boosted my physical attributes.¡±

    ¡°Ahh,¡± Troft nodded, ¡°a pity, but nothing a dozen levels focused on the right things won¡¯t fix. You¡¯ve got your work cut out for you during this tier, though¡ªyou¡¯ll want to ensure you get the right kind of refinement at tier-six.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard simr from others I¡¯ve spoken to, but I don¡¯t know how to proceed.¡±

    ¡°Does your current ss give you any unbound attribute points at each level?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a Sword Dancer, and no, my agility, dexterity, and vitality are each improved with my levels.¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯ll need to seek alchemical mixtures and natural treasures to improve your mental attributes as much as possible until level sixty. You¡¯ll want to focus your time on improving your Core. What¡¯s your Core¡¯s current level?¡±

    ¡°Improved-nine.¡± Her answer surprised Victor. He¡¯d thought she was miles ahead of him, but he was already nearing Improved-two.

    ¡°Ah! So low? By tier-five, your Core should be in the advanced stages.¡± Those words caused Va¡¯s eyes to widen, and Victor felt his own heart start to beat as a bit of panic touched his mind¡ªhe felt like he was listening to a teacher exining how he should have mastered College Algebra a long time ago. ¡°You¡¯ll want to really work on that. Buy Core enhancements, spend time cultivating,¡± he paused and then continued, his voice stern and emphasizing his words, ¡°much more time than you spend on swordwork!¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t weapon skills important . . .¡±

    ¡°Of course, but with your affinities, you¡¯ll be able to enhance your weapon skills far beyond what you can do with natural skills.¡±

    ¡°Really? The impression I got from Elementalists back home was that iron and air were a terrible pair, that they conflict.¡±

    Troft looked at Va, raising his eyebrows, and then heughed, a deep rich bellyugh. He leaned back in his chair and seemed to give in to it, literally holding his sides andughing until tears sprang from his eyes. Victor couldn¡¯t help smiling with him, and though he didn¡¯t know what was funny, a chuckle of his own escaped his lips, breaking his silent streak.

    Va didn¡¯tugh. She didn¡¯t even smile. She frowned at Victor, then at Troft, and said, ¡°I wish I knew what was funny.¡±

    ¡°Oh dear,¡± Troft said, wiping at his cheeks and finally calming enough to speak, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but that was the first goodugh I¡¯ve had in years, and I wanted to embrace it.¡±

    Va stared at him until he continued, ¡°The Elementalists on your world are either lying to you, or you¡¯ve only spoken to abject idiots.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Va¡¯s frown began to fade.

    ¡°Yes! Iron and air are a powerfulbination of affinities. I¡¯ve a dozen spells I could teach you that use both elements to great effect. Do you not know how to weave your air affinity into electricity?¡±

    ¡°Weave it into . . .¡± Va said softly, absently scratching at one pale green eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯ve been taught that if I wanted to weave my Energies, I would have to weave iron with air and that it was impossible because they are opposing elements.¡±

    ¡°Gods! Is that true? Are they really so backward?¡± Troft leaned forward and took Va¡¯s hand, ¡°Iron is an excellent match for an air affinity, but first, you must convert the form of your air energy into electricity. It¡¯s really not hard, Va. I know a spell that will grant your sword tremendous speed and enhance its damage. There¡¯s a spell that will let you warp from one part of a battlefield to another. Both use air-attuned Energy but in the form of electricity. Just as a water affinity can take the form of ice or mist, and earth can take the shape of stone or soil, so too can air take the shape of electricity. You didn¡¯t know this?¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Va started to say, then shook her head and continued, ¡°I¡¯m a fool. I know there are mages that cast lightning spells and that they have air affinities. I never learned them, and I never thought to try changing the shape of my Energy to mix it with my iron affinity. I was warned off mixing air with iron, but I should have pursued it further. I should have spoken to more experts.¡±

    ¡°Tut, don¡¯t be hard on yourself, youngster. It sounds to me that the people in your life who had an influence over you were steering you away from such things, no? I¡¯m sure you¡¯d have figured things out eventually; I¡¯m just d I could help you avoid some painful mistakes going forward.¡± He watched as Va¡¯s frown deepened, but she nodded, and Victor knew what she was thinking¡ªfor all her help and guidance, Rellia had messed Va up by pushing her to master the sword and forego the other aspects of her affinities.

    ¡°What must I do to learn some of your spells, Master Troft?¡± Va asked, her voice quiet but determined.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you two things for free, Va. I¡¯ll show you the weave to turn air into electricity, and I¡¯ll give you one spell. After that, if you want more teaching, I¡¯ll need something from you.¡±

    ¡°What do . . .¡± Va started to ask, but Master Troft held up a hand, and she stopped speaking.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about what my fee might be, not yet. Master what I give you; if you want more, we can speak. I think this will keep you busy for a long while because just knowing how to make electricity from your air affinity will allow you to alter the skills and spells you already know. Oh, dear! I said I was only going to give you two things, and here I am giving you clues to pursue so many more . . .¡± He chuckled as Va¡¯s eyes widened. Victor couldn¡¯t help himself and bumped an elbow into Va¡¯s shoulder, grinning like a fool at her good news.

    Va ignored Victor and stood, bowing before the Elementalist and saying, ¡°Thank you very much, Master Troft.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re quite wee, Va. How would it look if I didn¡¯t help a young Elementalist, the first visitor I know of from a new world? Wait here, won¡¯t you? I¡¯ll have one of my assistants write out the weave and the spell pattern. Come back and let me know when you¡¯ve mastered them.¡± With that, he stood, patted Va in aradely fashion on the shoulder, and exited the way he¡¯de.

    ¡°That¡¯s some pretty cool shit,¡± Victor said when they were alone. ¡°You never knew you could make electricity from air?¡±

    ¡°I knew it, but I thought it had to do with the spells you cast; all the spells I learned used simple air-attuned Energy.¡± She looked at Victor and said, ¡°What about you? Are there other forms of your affinities?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I think so. I mean, I know so¡ªI can twist my inspiration-attuned Energy into discouragement.¡± Victor¡¯s eyes squinted as his thoughts began to race, ¡°I never thought about it, but I wonder if I can twist rage into the opposite form like that? What the fuck would it be anyway? What¡¯s the opposite of rage? Peace?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know . . . happiness?¡± Va shrugged. ¡°I think you should do some experimenting when we have some time. I¡¯ll have plenty to keep me busy, it sounds like.¡± Victor nodded, still deep in thought and only half registering her words.

    He thought about how he¡¯d used his inspiration-attuned Energy when he cast Project Spirit; Victor had never been taught any sort of pattern to twist it the way he did. In a way, it was instinctual. Something told him twisting rage in a simr way wouldn¡¯t be so easy. When he projected rage, he stripped out aspects of it, taking away the benefits to strength and healing, but it was still rage.

    They both sat quietly, lost in their own thoughts, until the door opened, and Ry stepped through, holding two tightly-bound paper scrolls. ¡°Lady, the master sends these with hispliments. I¡¯m instructed to let you know that you¡¯re wee here any time and that he wishes you great sess.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Va said, standing up and epting the two scrolls.

    ¡°Now, allow me to show you out,¡± Ry said, moving to the exit and pulling open the door. ¡°The stairway is just down the hallway to the right.¡±

    When Victor and Va descended the grand staircase, Va was deep in thought, and Victor spent time ogling the architecture¡ªthe high, arched windows, the beautifully carved wood, from the balustrade to the lintels to the doors themselves, and the way the space just seemed so grand, so vast. He wondered if the building wasrger inside than outside, and he chuckled, ¡°Of course it is,¡± he said, remembering that it was the home of a guild of powerful wizards.

    Camia greeted them at the bottom of the stairs and asked, ¡°Was Master Troft able to help you?¡±

    ¡°Very much so,¡± Va said, nodding. ¡°Thank you, Camia.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re quite wee! You should know I¡¯ve earned several merits with the guild for my assistance to you. So, it¡¯s you I should be thanking for the opportunity.¡± Camia smiled broadly as she spoke and opened the front door for them.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Va said as they exited. ¡°An intriguing system.¡±

    Victor couldn¡¯t help himself and said, ¡°Nice to meet you, Camia,¡± on his way out. The woman smiled and nodded at him, and that was that; they were outside, and Camia had closed the door behind them. Va didn¡¯t linger, walking straight down the path, out the gate, and then finally turning to Victor.

    ¡°That was nerve-wracking. Thank you for apanying me.¡±

    ¡°It was? I thought it was pretty rxing. I didn¡¯t know you were stressing out.¡±

    ¡°Well, I was. I¡¯ve avoided seeking help from mages in the past. I think the news I¡¯ve gotten through Rellia¡¯s ¡®experts¡¯ dissuaded me on the subject. I¡¯ve focused on swordwork because that¡¯s where my talent seemed to be, but I¡¯ve worried it was a great mistake which made me fear I¡¯d hear some bad news in there,¡± she gestured toward the Elementalist Guild. ¡°I was afraid they¡¯d say something that would destroy any hopes I¡¯ve been harboring in here.¡± She touched her chest over her heart.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m d it was good news,¡± Victor said, surprising himself with a yawn and stretching. ¡°Guess we¡¯re about out of time,¡± he pointed to the orange sky in the west where the sun was setting. ¡°Dinner time, soon. What do you think we should wear?¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 39: Uneasy Allies

    Book 5: Chapter 39: Uneasy Allies

    Victor stood and looked around, fury still bleeding into his vision, tinting the night a shade of crimson. He watched his troops charging down the slope, none but Va mounted. Where had Uvu gone during the battle? Had he been ying Imperials on his own? Victor marveled at the outstanding training the cat must have toe to her now, allowing her to mount for the return to camp. In all the time he¡¯d spent with her, he¡¯d never seen Va whistle or call the cat; how had it known? ¡°Something to ask herter,¡± he grunted, but then something caught his attention. The corpse at his feet was moving!

    ¡°No way . . .¡± he said, lifting Lifedrinker for some more bloody work, but when he looked down, he realized it wasn¡¯t moving; it was shrinking. The corpse was shriveling in on itself, generating a stinky, gray, murky steam. Victor stepped back, waving a hand before his face, not wanting to inhale those gross vapors. When they faded, a smaller figurey before him¡ªit was the Ridonne he¡¯d fought with during his nightmare rampage, the tall golden one. He didn¡¯t look so good anymore. His flesh was split, thin like paper, and covered in weird tattoos; only a shadow of its former golden luster remained. The man¡¯s face was frozen in a rictus of pain, and his golden eyes were dim, fogged over in a way that reminded Victor of cataracts.

    As he stared at the corpse, he saw beads of shimmering purple Energy begin to pop up all over it, and he knew the System had decided there was enough of a lull in his fighting for him to reap his rewards. He stood tall, watching the tiny beads rapidly expand to fist-sized balls. Then they floated together, shimmering, pulsating, and coalescing into a stream that began to flow around him, <em>whooshing</em> in a corkscrew pattern around his gigantic body until it rose to his chest, where it plunged into him, flooding his pathways with raw, potent Energy. Victor arched his back and managed a mighty yawp before the euphoria overcame him. When the moment passed, and he stood there, fully renewed, fresh, and ready for battle, he looked at the many System messages vying for his attention.

    <strong></strong><strong>***Congrattions! Your absorption of an Elder Wyrm¡¯s heart has granted you the seed of a Breath Core.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Breath Affinity Gained: Magma.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Resistance enhanced: Fire.***</strong>

    <strong>***Breath Core: Your Quinametzin bloodline has allowed you to im the rare and potent power of an elder wyrm. The seed of your Breath Core will germinate, growing in potency as you consume appropriate Energy sources. The Breath Core exists within you in conjunction with your Energy Core. It grants you an affinity for the wyrm¡¯s breath (magma.) As your Breath Core grows, so too will your resistance to (fire) and rted elements. Further boons, based on your Breath Core¡¯s affinity (magma), will be granted as it matures.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 52 Battlemaster, gained 10 strength, 9 vitality, 4 agility, 4 dexterity, 3 will, and 3 intelligence.***</strong>

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Victor grasped at his chest where, even now, he could feel the roiling, hot potential, the power he¡¯d wondered at earlier. Despite his situation, standing in the middle of a battlefield, his troops in need, he couldn¡¯t help looking at the first page of his status sheet:

    <strong>Name:</strong>

    <strong>Victor Sandoval</strong>

    <strong>Race:</strong>

    <strong>Human (Quinametzin Bloodline) - Advanced 7</strong>

    <strong>ss:</strong>

    <strong>Battlemaster - Epic</strong>

    <strong>Level:</strong>

    <strong>52</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core:</strong>

    <strong>Elder Seed - Base 1</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Spirit ss - Advanced 5</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Magma 9.0</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Energy:</strong>

    <strong>5/100</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Glory 8.6, Inspiration 7.4, Unattuned 3.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>12568/12568</strong>

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>240</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>353 (378)</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>108</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>131</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>98</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>479</strong>

    <strong>Points Avable:</strong>

    <strong>0</strong>

    <strong>Titles & Feats:</strong>

    <strong>Titanic Rage, Ancestral Bond, me-Touched, Titanic Constitution, Titanic Presence, Desperate Grace, Challenger, Elder Magic, Born of Terror, Battlefield Awareness</strong>

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± he whispered, ¡°I can fucking breathe fire?¡± Before he could examine himself further or attempt any mad experimentation, an almost crippling pang of urgency struck him. Victor jerked his head toward the encampment. He was needed in many ces, and there wasn¡¯t a clear priority.

    He started jogging toward the distant camp, explosions of far-away magic blooming in his eyes. As he ran, he summoned Guapo with a torrent of glory-attuned Energy, and as the beast sprang from a glittering, golden pool, he swung himself onto the Mustang¡¯s back. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± He leaned forward, grasped Guapo¡¯s mane, and squeezed his knees. The spirit animal knew what he wanted, and, trailing his brilliant banner, he tore over the battlefield, quickly overtaking the surviving troops of his unit.

    As his banner¡¯s light fell on them, they cheered, their urgency to fight renewed, and Va briefly paced him with her great cat. She called out, ¡°Is something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Yeah! I think we¡¯re losing the siege!¡± he shouted over his shoulder, and then Guapo really turned it on, and he streaked away from her. He¡¯d cleared half the distance back to camp in something less than a minute, and he could see that the walls facing him weren¡¯t exactly overwhelmed. In fact, the enemy troops were all but nonexistent, just a few scattered units here and there, but all of them seemed to be trying to work their way around the walls to the far side of the encampment.

    Victor let his gaze lift and instantly saw where he was needed; the far side of the camp was swarming with activity. He couldn¡¯t see exactly what was happening, thanks to all the magical attacks exploding in the night. Wild lightning strikes, bursts of me, explosions of Energy in almost every imaginable color, and, most obscuring of all, clouds, geysers, and sheeting rains of Energy-based liquids allbined to make an obfuscating haze. He contemted riding around the perimeter to smash into the enemies on the far side but decided to charge straight for the wall; he could leap over it.

    As he rode, the pangs in his head, urging him onward, came more and more frequently, and he began to wonder if he was toote. If he arrived to wade into the enemy troops, broke their spirit, and drove them out of the camp, what good would it do if half his army was dead? What if Rellia and Borrius were already gone? Had he taken too long with the Ridonne? How long had hein in the cocoon of fire? Had it been very long? His unit had fought the Imperials left behind to a standstill while he¡¯d absorbed the wyrm¡¯s heart¡ªthat couldn¡¯t have happened quickly . . . Victor shook his head, banishing the fruitless spection, and leaned forward, urging Guapo to give it his all.

    <strong>#</strong>

    The tower shook, rocking wildly, and Edeya cried out, dropping her spear and sliding to the railing, grasping the sturdy nks with both arms. Rellia danced nimbly over the boards, disying her grace and unnatural agility as she grabbed Borrius¡¯s wrist in fingers like steel bands. ¡°I¡¯ve got you,¡± she said, halting his tumble¡ªhe¡¯d nearly gone over the top of the railing.

    ¡°Are they bringing it down?¡± he grunted, steadying himself on the wooden rail the same way as the lieutenant.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. They¡¯ve stopped¡ªperhaps it was a warning.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Borrius sighed. The three of them had killed dozens of Imperials trying to mount the tower. Many hade up thedder, but quite a few had scaled the exterior. A few Ghelli had even flown up. Rellia was a match for them, though; her speed and deadly uracy with her rapier made defending such a small space child¡¯s y, especially when it became clear the Imperials were, in fact, trying to take them alive. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s time to hand ourselves over . . .¡±

    ¡°I thought we were fighting to the death,¡± Edeya gasped, wincing in pain as she knelt to recover her spear. At some point, she¡¯d taken an arrow to her hip, the broken shaft still jutted forth, blood drizzling along it like a leaky keg tap.

    ¡°What¡¯s the point?¡± Borrius gasped, leaning forward to breathe better. Pinprick stars filled his vision, and he felt woozy. He gestured to the north, where the flickering lights had grown steadily closer over thest fifteen minutes of desperate fighting. ¡°Perhaps we can stop them unleashing whatever that is on the troops. Perhaps we can prevent the ughter of our entire army.¡±

    Rellia had been pacing around the still-shaking tower¡¯s perimeter, looking for the next assault, but when Borrius mentioned the lights in the sky, she stopped and stared. He watched her lean forward, watched her mouth fall agape, and then listened as she hissed, ¡°Those are wings!¡±

    ¡°Your eyes are better than mine, but those don¡¯t look like Ghelli.¡± He squinted, wishing, not for the first time, that he¡¯d squandered some of his savings on racial advancements instead of buying favor in Tharcray. He supposed there was nothing to be done now, but if he could go back in time, he would certainly do things differently. What had his many years serving the Empire gotten him? It was a cold, hard truth that he hadn¡¯t gained any consideration from the troops breaking down this tower.

    ¡°No,¡± Edeya said, also squinting into the night. ¡°We¡¯d see the motes falling down; such flight would require very advanced wings.¡±

    Her words rang true. Even Lam couldn¡¯t fly that far, and her wings gave off sparkling motes that showered the air around her. If she could soar like those supposed flyers to the north, Borrius could only imagine the light show.

    A rough voice shouted up from beneath thedder hole, interrupting their spection, ¡°Will youe alive? Our leaders wish to question you. Order your troops to surrender, and many may yet live!¡±

    Rellia was still staring into the ck night to the north, but Edeya ran her eyes around the camp, perhaps hoping for desperate salvation. Borrius stood up straight and cleared his throat, ready to talk to the man below, if for no other reason than to stall him. A gasp from Rellia halted the half-formed words in his throat, though, and she hoarsely whispered, ¡°Ancestors . . . are we so cursed?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Borrius lifted his shield, his arm numb from the exertion, and stared at thedder hole, wondering what the Imperials had nned if he didn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°They aren¡¯t Ghelli. They¡¯re Naghelli.¡± Rellia¡¯s voice was hushed, full of dread, disbelief, and defeat.

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Borrius couldn¡¯t help his scoffing tone. ¡°They¡¯re all dead¡ªgenerations ago.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen paintings. I¡¯ve heard stories. I know what I¡¯m seeing. Let me paint you a picture: ochre and red wings,nky bodies, pale flesh, glittering dark mail. It¡¯s like they¡¯re flying out of the painting my grandfather had hanging in his reception hall. You know the one, Borrius!¡±

    Scorn and disbelief began to war with dread at Rellia¡¯s further description. ¡°What dark deal have the Ridonne wrought? How could the Naghelli be here now? They¡¯ll kill us all!¡± Borrius felt his heart hammering in his chest, nightmare stories running through his mind.

    ¡°I said, are you ready to talk? You don¡¯t all need to die tonight!¡± the rough voice called again from thedder.

    ¡°What have you fools done?¡± Borrius wailed, his mind going from defeat to utter despair. ¡°The Naghelli? Where were you bastards hiding them all these years?¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± Rellia said. ¡°Wait, Borrius.¡± Her voice carried a note of something different, and she whirled on Edeya. ¡°Did Victor not have an encounter with Naghelli on his way from the mines?¡±

    ¡°Aye, Lady. In a pocket realm¡ªa dungeon. Only a handful, though, perhaps two score. They were in league with the Death Caster, Belikot.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more than two score!¡± Borrius cried as the glowing ochre-stained wings loomedrger, and even he began to see the dark figures suspended between them.

    ¡°What if . . .¡± Rellia started to say, and then the winged figures began to burst into weird blurs, their wings leaving streaks in the air as they fell upon the Imperial army where they were pouring through the breached wall into the encampment. Wails of rm and surprise warred with death screams from the mass of soldiers below. Borrius watched Rellia¡¯s face, saw the shock there as she heard those cries¡ªperhaps the Imperials, too, had assumed their Ridonne masters had sent the flyers to aid them. It seemed everyone had been wrong.

    <strong>#</strong>

    When Victor leaped upon the southern wall of the encampment, the soldiers still there, stoically holding their positions, cheered for him, the light of hope igniting in their blood and soot-stained faces. Bodies were strewn everywhere, far more wearing the Imperial uniform than not. ¡°What¡¯s the story?¡± Victor boomed, towering over the soldiers, his banner zing with light, bathing the wall and the ground around it in its brilliant glow. His Battlefield Awareness, and his gut, told him he needed to get to the far side of the camp where the light show signaled the wildbat still underway.

    ¡°They broke through at the northwest corner! Legate ap¡¯Yensha called almost all the troops to defend there. Sir, flyers arrived a while ago, and everything went mad. Should we go? Should we hold the wall?¡± Anky woman with bright yellow eyes staring out of her helmet¡¯s visor shouted in a husky voice.

    ¡°Flyers?¡± Victor frowned and bent his legs, readying another leap. ¡°Hold the wall,¡± he grunted, and then he was gone, exploding into the air, lifting Lifedrinker, fully healed, heavier, and with a haft better suited in size for his enormous hand. She vibrated with eagerness, ready for battle, and like a distant echo on the wind, she filled the air with a soprano warcry, her spirit hungry for conquest. Victornded near the center of the encampment, and then he sprinted toward the battle, his banner throwing crazy shadows on the ground as he tore through the camp, passing tents, wagons, huddled nonbat personnel, animals, and wounded soldiers who¡¯d fought their way free of the furious melee.

    When he came upon the chaos of battle, he saw men and women fighting desperately and saw the tower where he knew hismanders were supposed to be standing. Then he saw them, the Naghelli, weaving among the Imperial forces like winds of death, cutting them apart with that deadly, unnatural speed of theirs. When the light of his banner fell upon the chaos, ragged cheers rose from the throats of his troops. The Imperials surging through the breach in the wall, already faltering from the onught of the Naghelli, broke. They turned and, pursued by soldiers with hearts engorged by glory, fled the way they¡¯de.

    Victor screamed his encouragement and bounded through the fighting, smashing Lifedrinker into Imperials as he passed them, ending death struggles and eliciting more hoarse cheers from blood-streaked faces. Victor took two bounding steps and then leaped past the tower toward the crumbled fortification, and when he came down, he stood among the fleeing Imperials. He roared, hacking Lifedrinker left and right, spraying hot red mist as she ripped through the enemy soldiers, and then, as if his banner, his presence, and his killing weren¡¯t enough, he conjured forth a rage-fueled bear totem, letting it lose a hundred paces down the earthen ramp the Imperials must have constructed.

    The bear came into existence roaring and swinging, and the poor Imperials could do nothing but try to speed their already desperate flight. Victor¡¯s army, like him, was eager for the glory ofbat and saw the fleeing enemies as nothing but encouragement. They charged after them, threw spells, and flung weapons, hacking them down as they ran. Victor¡¯s mind was filled with mad battle lust, driven so by rage, glory, and the idea that his army had almost been overwhelmed. He was still cognizant, however, still able to observe his surroundings, and he noted that the Naghelli didn¡¯t join him or his troops in the pursuit of the fleeing Imperials.

    After a time, the ughter ceased to feed his lust for glory, and Victor slowed. His gigantic figure and zing standard were a beacon to his troops, and when they saw him give up the pursuit, saw him lower his smoldering axe and watch the scattered, overwhelmed Imperial remnants dashing into the darkness of the grasnds, utterly defeated, they gathered around him. They lifted their weapons and cheered, savoring the glory of victory. Victor spun to look back at the camp, saw his bear pacing around the base of the earthen ramp, saw more friendly troops and Naghelli atop the wall, and he lifted his axe and roared. The bear stood up on its hind legs and roared almost simultaneously, and the troops joined in, waving their weapons and screaming their lust for life and their pride in triumph.

    At some point, while he¡¯d been pursuing the fleeing Imperials, Va, Lam, and Polo had arrived with their troops, and Victor could see Va up there, at the top of the earthen ramp, sitting atop Uvu¡¯s back, facing a group of Naghelli. He figured it would probably be wise to join her and make sure he introduced Vellia to themanders. ¡°Oh, brother,¡± he sighed, turning and stomping back toward the wall, gesturing for the soldiers to follow him. ¡°Just what I needed, Vellia, Rellia, and Va in the same room.¡± Shaking his head, he decided he¡¯d better enunciate his v¡¯s and r¡¯s very clearly.

    He walked quickly, being fifteen feet tall, and soon he¡¯d outpaced his soldiers, though they jogged to keep up as best they could. He strode up the earthen ramp, and as he came up to the level of the battered parapet, he saw that Va, Rellia, and Borrius were standing across from a dozen Naghelli. He thought he saw Vellia near the center, but most of the attention was on the tall,nky man at the center. He wore glittering ck chainmail, an ornate tinum crown atop his white hair, and wielded two slender longswords, their des dancing with silver-blue Energy.

    The swordsman had a presence that drew Victor¡¯s eye, eclipsing the other Naghelli nearby, and he instantly knew who he was. He couldn¡¯t think of his name, but he remembered Vellia saying that her ¡°faction¡± of the Naghelli had someone on their side, a man who was, ording to her, the greatest swordsman in the world. No one was speaking at the moment he walked up, but everyone looked tense. Whatever words he¡¯d missed must not have been overly friendly.

    Heads turned, and eyes focused on him, and he spotted Vellia standing to the swordsman¡¯s left, just a bit behind. She sketched an elegant curtsey when his eyes fell on her, and Victor couldn¡¯t help a grin spreading his lips.

    ¡°You know these Naghelli, Victor?¡± Rellia asked, breaking the silence.

    ¡°Well . . .¡± He paused and looked over the Naghelli on the wall, then further into the encampment where a great crowd of the winged cousins of the Ghelli clustered together. They held naked weapons and looked at the soldiers surrounding them with hostility in their dark, depthless ck eyes. He knew they probably hadn¡¯t been close to anyone other than themselves in a very long time, and he hoped his army could keep their cool. ¡°I know Vellia.¡± He nodded to the beautiful woman with her ck gossamer wings patterned with glowing orange Energy. ¡°I probably fought a few of the others around here, but we should be good now. Thanks for helping with the Imperials.¡±

    ¡°May I introduce our leader?¡± Vellia asked, stepping forward.

    ¡°Please,¡± Victor said, and he¡¯d cooled down sufficiently to be well aware of the frowns and scowls on the faces of themanders and troops standing nearby. Inwardly he railed at himself for not taking the time to brief Rellia and the others on the possibility that the Naghelli might try to join them. Why had he not asked about them? Why hadn¡¯t he sought answers to his own questions about why they were so hated? He knew the answer was simple if not satisfying; he¡¯d been busy with a lot of shit since the Ridonne showed up back near Persi Gables and hadn¡¯t thought about it.

    ¡°This is Kethelket,¡± Vellia said, gesturing to the tall swordsman, ¡°Prince of Zerevia, the greatest swordsman in this world and the elected leader of us,¡± she gestured at the group of Naghelli standing on the wall, ¡°thest of the Naghelli.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 40: Ancestors or Gods

    Book 5: Chapter 40: Ancestors or Gods

    ¡°Kethelket, this is Victor, the one who freed us from Belikot.¡± Vellia bowed rather than curtsey this time, sweeping one arm low, dragging it over the rough, bloody boards of the battlements, and remaining that way, nearly folded over, for several seconds until Victor figured out she was waiting for him, or maybe anyone, to speak.

    ¡°Thanks, Vellia.¡± He was toorge to properly shake any of their hands, toorge even to get close without jostling people around, so he spoke to everyone, allowing his voice to carry, not trying to be quiet, ¡°We just fought a hell of a battle, the Ridonne who led these attackers are dead or have fled. Our soldiers are tired, and no doubt your people are too. Let¡¯s take some time to sort things out and see to the injured, and then we can all meet and discuss what¡¯s next. Kethelket . . . am I saying that right?¡± Victor paused, waiting for the tall soldier to lock his deep ck eyes on his and nod, then he continued, ¡°Do your people mind setting up camp nearby? Until we¡¯ve all,¡± he gestured at the thousands of soldiers standing around the wall on both sides, ¡°had a chance to getfortable with each other?¡±

    He could see Rellia wanted to speak, that Borrius was chomping at the bit, his bruised, sweaty face giving away his every emotion, but Kethelket spoke before they did. He had a deep, smooth voice, and his words rolled off his tongue with something almost like a lilt. ¡°Thank you, Victor. Thank you for the service you did for the world when you crushed that vile man, Belikot. I know seeing my kind is a shock for all the people here. I know the world has grown to revile us, that the history books have not been kind to us. I¡¯m here to assure you; we seek to change our destiny, we seek redemption, and it was to that end that we joined your battle.¡± As his words wound down, he flicked his two long, slender swords, twirling them with a flourish and driving them home into scabbards, one over his shoulder and one at his hip.

    ¡°We will set up camp within sight of your walls,¡± Vellia said, stepping forward next to Kethelket. ¡°We¡¯re eager to meet with you and the leaders of this great army.¡±

    Victor nodded, and then, almost silently, the Naghelli lifted into the air on their gossamer wings, the ones on the battlement and the others down below. Victor tried to count them, but it was hard as they all kept crossing in front of each other as they flew. He thought it had to be more than a hundred, though, perhaps hundreds. Hadn¡¯t Vellia told him she and the thirty or so in Belikot¡¯s weird dungeon were thest of their kind? The ochre and crimson glow of the Naghelli¡¯s wings drifted through the night to the north, and then, maybe a mile from the camp, they settled to the ground.

    As their flight came to an end, it was like a spell had been broken, and Uvu pierced the silence with a grumbling yawn. Without thinking, Victor reached over his titan-sized hand and rubbed the great cat¡¯s head. He arched his neck and pressed his head into his palm, and Victor smiled, scratching the surprisingly soft fur.

    ¡°I think you have much to exin, Legate.¡± Rellia didn¡¯t speak loudly, clearly not wanting to disy any conflict in leadership in front of the troops. Victor was about to reply, but suddenly the night began to lighten, and he frowned. Had dawne so soon? His answer came to him with the cheers of his soldiers. When he looked out over the battlefield, he saw millions of tiny golden motes drifting up from the bodies of the in Imperials. All around the encampment, the motes gathered, casting an eerie golden glow on the walls that steadily brightened as more and more appeared.

    In a matter of minutes, the motes began to flow together, pooling into bigger and bigger clumps, and then, as the soldiers cheered, yammered, and celebrated their continued existence, the motes burst into movement, drifting and flowing toward the soldiers. A sizeable portion plunged into Victor, but it was nothingpared to the influx he¡¯d received after his battle with the Ridonne. He didn¡¯t level again, but he saw that many soldiers gathered near the broken wall, including Edeya, Rellia, and even Borrius, received substantial Energy torrents. They whooped with excitement, shouting about levels gained and skills improved.

    The System¡¯s disbursement of post-battle Energy put an end to any chance for calm, quiet talks atop the wall; the soldiers went mad with celebration, healed, recharged, buoyed by victory; their cheers couldn¡¯t be contained. ¡°Do we let them just party, or what?¡± Victor asked, leaning close to Rellia and Borrius.

    ¡°No. For a while, maybe half an hour, but discipline is paramount after a battle. We don¡¯t know what other threats lurk out there,¡± Borrius replied.

    ¡°Exactly. You killed the Ridonne, Victor?¡± Rellia stepped closer so she could be heard over the din.

    ¡°I killed one. He was possessed by something that made him stronger than usual. Much, much stronger. I didn¡¯t see the other one. Either he ran away, or something else happened to him.¡± Victor shrugged, and then he let his Iron Berserk and his banner fall away, resuming his usual half-titan size. ¡°Are you guys all okay?¡±

    ¡°We are. Thanks to your dangerous friends. We really need to talk about them . . .¡± Rellia started to say, but Borrius cut her off.

    ¡°We do, but now¡¯s not the time. Let us convene amand council in an hour. Victor¡¯s home?¡±

    ¡°Very well.¡± Rellia sighed and stretched, and for the first time, Victor saw just how ragged she looked. Despite the Energy she¡¯d just received, she was covered in scabbed-over cuts and blood stters. Her clothes were torn, and her hair was disheveled. He wondered how long she¡¯d had to fight to keep the Imperials from taking her and Borrius.

    Va slid down from Uvu¡¯s back and pped his rump. ¡°Go hunt!¡± The cat chuffed and pushed his big head into her, almost knocking her over, but then he turned and bounded down the ramp, disappearing into the night. ¡°I¡¯ll follow you to your home, Victor.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll join you soon.¡± Borrius looked around, and when his eyes fell on Edeya, he said, ¡°Lieutenant, youe with me. We¡¯ll get some messages out to the captains, establish some duty rotations and, hopefully, get a count on our casualties.¡± The young Ghelli immediately straightened; she¡¯d been fidgeting with a tear in her pants, rubbing at a wound that had mostly healed. She rushed to his side as the oldmander began making his way around rubble, bodies, and broken, discarded weapons toward the nearest working stairway.

    Rellia started following the oldmander. ¡°I¡¯ll go with him. You know, you cane with us, Victor, but I think it¡¯s going to be . . .¡±

    ¡°No, he and I have things we must discuss. Thank you, Legate.¡± Va pointedly used her mother¡¯s title.

    ¡°Very well. Until themand council, then.¡±

    Victor looked down at Va. ¡°Something up?¡±

    ¡°Many somethings. Can we please get out of this noise?¡± It was true; the troops were still being raucous, so Victor nodded and motioned for her to precede him. To his surprise, she turned, walked to the edge of the battlement, and dropped off,nding lightly on her feet, some twenty feet below on a mound of soil that had spilled through a breach in the wall. Victor followed her, amused at himself; the drop for him was nothing, and why should it be much for her? She probably had higher agility than he did and wasn¡¯t anywhere close to a base-level Ardeni.

    They walked together toward the section of the camp where themand tents and travel homes were arranged. He might have dropped his banner and his titanic size, but he was still a striking, recognizable figure, so it wasn¡¯t a surprise that troops and support personnel called out to him all along the way. He had to pause many times to shake hands, p shoulders, andmiserate with soldiers mourning a fallenrade. Va spokeforting and encouraging words along with him. As they finally neared his travel home, a familiar voice called, ¡°Victor, hold up!¡±

    He turned to see Chandri running toward him and Va. ¡°Hey.¡± He raised his hand, offering a wave and warm smile. She slid to a halt before him, and her face was a mosaic of emotions. He couldn¡¯t read it but thought he saw some relief, some anger, and something else . . .

    ¡°Hey?¡± She scowled as she repeated the word back to him. ¡°That¡¯s what you have to say after that nightmare? We thought the night was lost! Our kin fell back from your wall when the Imperials broke through. We set up a perimeter around the wagons, ready to fight to ourst breath! Victor, we thought it was the end!¡±

    ¡°Shit.¡± Victor sighed, and while Va watched with arched eyebrows, he tried to pull her into a hug. She resisted, of course, and as she pulled back, he said, ¡°Listen, Chandri, I¡¯m sorry. My fight with the Ridonne took longer than I¡¯d hoped, and I guess the Imperials did better against our walls than Borrius expected. I should havee to you right away. I should meet with Tellen and Tha . . .¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re busy dealing with the n. We lost forty-three hunters and have twice as many wounded.¡±

    ¡°Oh, man.¡± Victor felt the pit of his stomach drop out, imagining the loss the Shadeni had suffered. He lowered himself to a knee, still nearly able to look Chandri in the eye. He asked, ¡°Are the army¡¯s medics helping?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Of course.¡± She seemed less angry suddenly, and he wondered if it was the thought of all those dead n folk.

    ¡°What about Deyni and Ch?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re fine. We kept them in the wagon with the youngest children throughout the battle. You can¡¯t really hear the outside very well from in there.¡± She sniffed, her brow furrowed, and asked, ¡°You killed the Imperial bastard who led the army?¡±

    ¡°One of them. I don¡¯t know what happened to the other¡ªprobably crawling back to Tharcray with his tail between his legs.¡± Victor squeezed Chandri¡¯s arms, wishing she¡¯d let him pull her close.

    ¡°That¡¯s good, then. Let the Empire fear us. Still, I wish you wouldn¡¯t let him get away. What about those flying folk? Is it true they¡¯re Naghelli? Are they your friends?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re . . . allies, at least. Yeah, they¡¯re Naghelli. I think they¡¯re thest of their kind. They¡¯re going to join us in the conquest of the Marches, and with them along, I don¡¯t think any other armies will be able to sneak up on us. Can you pass that along to Tellen and Tha? Please tell them I want to see them as soon as they can break away.¡±

    ¡°I will, Victor.¡± Chandri pulled back, nced at Va, who¡¯d been standing nearby quite patiently, and then turned back to Victor and grinned. ¡°I shot many, many arrows into those Imperials! I gained a level!¡±

    ¡°Oh, shit! That¡¯s what I like to hear, Chandri!¡± Her fierce grin was a wee expression on her soot-stained face, and Victor smiled back as she began to jog toward the wagon enclosure.

    Before she was gone from sight, she turned. ¡°Speak to you soon, Ridonne yer!¡± Her teeth shed as she called out the words, then she was gone, ducking between two tents.

    ¡°Your legend grows.¡± Va smirked and turned back toward his jade travel home, and Victor followed, a look of consternation in on his face. When he stepped into the foyer, she asked, ¡°The library?¡±

    ¡°Uh, sure. What¡¯s up?¡± He was growing increasingly leery about this conversation she wanted to have. Her mood was always difficult for him to read, but she was being even more curt or mysterious¡ªhe didn¡¯t know how to phrase it¡ªthan usual. She didn¡¯t reply until they were inside the library, and then she turned to him, leaning against the big map table.

    ¡°Tell me what happened to you when you fought the Ridonne. Why did he leave you toe and attack our unit?¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that all? He was a tough bastard.¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°He had me down for a minute, there, so I ate my wyrm heart.¡±

    ¡°You were ¡®down¡¯ for a minute?¡± Her eyes opened in rm. ¡°Yet when you arrived, leaping into battle, you seemed to thrash him rather easily!¡±

    ¡°Well, I was fully recharged, and I think that dude was losing power the longer he stayed here, inside the Ridonne¡¯s body. Like, I think it was a different . . . person in there. He kind of threatened me, said I¡¯d made a powerful enemy or some bullshit. He said it while dying, so maybe take it with a grain of salt.¡± Victor shrugged again, trying to lift the mood with a sheepish smile.

    Va didn¡¯t bite, though. She narrowed her eyes further. ¡°What did the wyrm heart do to you?¡±

    ¡°Is something different about me?¡± Victor¡¯s impulse was to turn around in a circle like he wanted her to see every angle, but he held still, just a half smile quirking up a corner of his mouth.

    ¡°Let me see.¡± Va surprised him by stepping forward and taking one of his big hands in both of hers. Her fingers felt cool, and she squeezed his palm, massaging the meat of it between her fingers. ¡°You¡¯re hot, not just warm, despite the chill. It feels like I¡¯m holding a cup of tea.¡±

    ¡°Well, <em>ahem</em>.¡± Victor cleared his throat and looked up at the ceiling for a minute, trying to choose his words. ¡°When I ate the wyrm¡¯s heart, I gained something from it. I have a Breath Core now, and it came with a new affinity.¡± He shrugged, looking into Va¡¯s wide eyes. ¡°It¡¯s magma. I guess that wyrm we killed could breathe magma, but Lifedrinker never gave it a chance.¡±

    ¡°You have a . . . Breath Core? I¡¯ve never even heard of such a thing. You can . . . breathe <em>magma</em>?¡± She sounded incredulous, stunned, even, and she stopped squeezing his hand with her fingers, but she didn¡¯t let go.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how it works. Also, it¡¯s just a ¡®seed,¡¯ whatever that means. The System said something about consuming the appropriate types of Energy to try to grow it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re very surprising, Victor. I have to tell you something, and I want you to know it¡¯s not easy for me to say things like this. You remember what I said when we spoke about Tes? I still feel that way, but . . .¡± She broke off and looked down, almost pulling her hands away, but Victor closed his fist, trapping her fingers within.

    ¡°But?¡± he prompted, voice gentle, coaxing.

    ¡°But when the Ridonne arrived to attack our troops, I feared you¡¯d lost. I feared you¡¯d died, and my heart nearly burst with grief. I can¡¯t stand the idea of losing you. I was moments from throwing myself at him, from doing everything I could to kill him or die trying. I was intent on following you into the spirit realm!¡± Her words came out as almost a sob, and Victor¡¯s teasing smile fell off his face as he pulled her close, their wyrm-scale armors clicking and sliding against each other.

    ¡°Shit, Va! I¡¯m sorry! You know, I was pretty panic-stricken when I saw that asshole¡¯s magic going off near you guys. I never meant to let him get that close to you. Damn, though, I don¡¯t want you thinking like that.¡± He lifted her chin so her big teal eyes looked into his and continued softly, ¡°Hey, I¡¯m serious. You know I¡¯m going to risk my life over and over again. It¡¯s my nature. You know that by now, right? You have to wrap your head around the idea that I might lose someday. That doesn¡¯t mean your life¡¯s over!¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± she sighed, leaning into him. ¡°Ancestors, you¡¯re warm.¡±

    ¡°Do you hate it?¡±

    ¡°No! It feels nice.¡± She wormed her hand in between them and brushed it down the front of her armor, opening the scale hauberk so just her soft shirt pressed against him. ¡°Open your armor.¡±

    Victor could onlyply, and when he¡¯d opened his vest, Va pushed her arms inside the seam, spreading the sides apart and working her slender, muscr arms around his ribs. She buried her face in his chest and sighed heavily. ¡°God, that feels good. Did I say that right? I hear you saying it all the time.¡±

    ¡°God? Yeah. I mean, no, if you ask my <em>abuelita</em>. We¡¯re not supposed to take his name in vain, but I think most people just ept that they¡¯re being naughty and hope he forgives them. I mean, if they really believe.¡± He felt like he was babbling. It seemed like Va had tuned him out as she pressed herself against him, absorbing his warmth and eliciting all sorts of responses from Victor¡¯s body.

    He tried to lean down, maybe to kiss the top of her head or sniff her hair, but it was too far with her so close, so he reached inside himself and cast Alter Self, reducing his size by a foot or so. Va didn¡¯t even flinch, but she used the reduction in his bulk to get a better grip on his torso with her arms. Chuckling, enjoying the affection, Victor did what he¡¯d wanted to do earlier and kissed her head through her hair, noting the smell of ash, sweat, and, unsurprisingly, blood.

    ¡°Don¡¯t sniff me,¡± she mumbled, face still buried in his chest.

    ¡°Maybe we should take a bath . . .¡± he tried, but herughter cut him off.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯d like that! No, the others will be here soon enough. Let¡¯s just be close for a while. Let¡¯s just savor our victory and thank the ancestors or . . . gods and enjoy this small reprieve from the madness toe.¡±

    ¡°You think we¡¯re in for some madness?¡± Victor asked, stroking her hair, pleased that she¡¯d let it grow a bit and that it hade loose from her usual tight bindings.

    ¡°Undoubtedly. The others will soon be in here, hysterical about those Naghelli you apparently invited to join the campaign.¡± Suddenly she pushed back from him and looked up with narrowed eyes. ¡°Tell me about that woman, Victor. The one who so tantly shed her cleavage your way.¡±

    ¡°Oh, God,¡± Victor sighed.

 Book 5: Chapter 41: Death Tallies and Camaraderie

    Book 5: Chapter 41: Death Tallies and Camaraderie

    Victor tried to exin the Naghelli to Va. He found himself going back to when he and Tha had found the skull containing part of Belikot¡¯s spirit, and then, in frustration, he said, ¡°I¡¯m just going to have to exin all this again when the others get there!¡±

    ¡°True.¡± Va sighed and stretched, then she looked at Victor critically and let her eyes run down his form, stopping somewhere below his waist. Before he could get excited about her gaze, she said, ¡°You should put on some different pants. Those arepletely ruined.¡±

    He looked down and saw that his legs were mostly exposed, only threads holding together the remnants of the once fine, magical garment. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been kinda busy.¡± He shrugged and summoned a new pair out of his storage ring. While Va perused the battle map, he pulled off his boots, which had held up significantly better, the magic within them slowly repairing the damage they¡¯d suffered, and changed his pants. He¡¯d just pulled his boots back on when he heard conversationing from his foyer. ¡°Here theye,¡± he grunted, straightening up and moving to lean on the table near Va.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve some exining to do,¡± Rellia said by way of greeting, striding up to the table and standing across from Victor, storm clouds in her eyes.

    ¡°I . . .¡±

    ¡°What madness!¡± Borrius marched into the room behind the red-haired, crimson-eyed noblewoman. ¡°What mad fool keeps an army of Naghelli lying secretly in reserve? I might have believed the Ridonne would do something so foolish, but my ally? The leader of my own legion? And now you want to add them to our ranks?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, um . . .¡±

    ¡°Excuse my impertinence, Tribune,¡± Edeya stepped out of the shadows beyond the doorway, holding up a pointer finger toward Borrius, ¡°but we¡¯d be dead if not for those Naghelli. You and I, for certain.¡±

    ¡°Remember your ce, Lieutenant. Stand there,¡± he pointed to the far wall, some five yards removed from the table, ¡°and take your notes!¡±

    ¡°Easy, Borrius.¡± Lam stepped up behind the much more diminutive Ghelli, resting a hand on Edeya¡¯s shoulder, holding the young woman in ce even as she tried to follow Borrius¡¯smand. ¡°I know we¡¯re all a little stressed. I no less than you; the Naghelli are cousins to my,¡± she pulled Edeya close, ¡°<em>our</em> people, after all.¡±

    ¡°Any chance you could all chill out and let me exin?¡± Victor asked, trying to regte his breathing. He felt himself, almost subconsciously, channeling some inspiration-attuned Energy into his pathways and felt quite a lot better as it began to permeate his being. As the others grew quiet, he took a deep, steadying breath. ¡°I¡¯m not from Fanwath, obviously. Maybe that¡¯s why I was willing to listen to Vellia. That¡¯s the woman who introduced their leader, Kethelket, to us. It seems that you all have a deep fear of the Naghelli.¡±

    ¡°For good reason!¡± Rellia barked.

    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Lam nodded to Rellia, signaling her support.

    ¡°This is madness!¡± Borrius growled again, leaning forward, his pale blue skin darkening, flushing angrily.

    ¡°You all won¡¯t listen to Victor?¡± Va¡¯s voice was severe, cutting the air like a knife, and the implication was clear¡ªwere they all so willing to dismiss his words, to ignore his desire to speak? How far would they take their disobedience? Would they mutiny? As silence fell and everyone began toe to grips with the fact that Victor was, in fact, their leader, Victor found himself standing with everyone¡¯s eyes on him, their mouths closed, demonstrating their willingness to listen, if nothing else.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± He released his hold on the edge of the table, straightening up, rolling his neck, and squaring his shoulders. With a deep inhtion through his nose, he began to speak again, ¡°I listened to her after I killed the mage that had been ruling the remnants of her people. He was a left-over from a time when Fanwath was at war. More than it is now,¡± he said, nodding as memories came back to him. ¡°Her people had sworn to serve him. Belikot was his name, and there was a time, not long ago, when speaking it aloud was dangerous.¡±

    Victor let his words sink in, looking around, meeting each of the othermander¡¯s eyes, and when they all remained respectfully silent, he continued, ¡°Vellia didn¡¯t use that as an excuse. I asked her point nk if she was just a victim, and she told me the truth: she and her people had done terrible things. They were vile, their souls darkened by their deeds. They joined Belikot for power, not because he forced them.¡± He saw the disgust twisting Borrius¡¯s face and the way Rellia¡¯s eyes had turned down, and her lips had begun to frown. He knew they were thinking simrly to how he once had when he¡¯d thought he might have to y all the Naghelli.

    ¡°Thank you for continuing to listen.¡± Victor leaned forward again, cing his hands on the table. ¡°She told me that much changed during their exile, during the decades, centuries, maybe¡ªI don¡¯t remember¡ªthat they spent in the pocket realm with Belikot. Most of them began to regret their crimes and the things they¡¯d done in the name of power. Most of them grew to resent Belikot, and though they felt his control was absolute, they began to loathe everything he wanted, the ns he made. She was stunned when I killed him. Stunned and grateful. She swore that she and the faction led by Kethelket would work to atone for their sins.¡±

    Rellia cleared her throat and held up a hand as though asking for permission to speak, but Victor said, ¡°Just a minute. I have a bit more to say. I¡¯m not na?ve, or at least not as na?ve as I used to be. I know those guys are dangerous. You saw how they fight. Every single one of them has some magic that makes them incredibly fast, and they¡¯ve had a long, long time to practice with their weapons. That said, there¡¯s no damn way that a hundred or two hundred, whatever it is, can threaten this army, not with me here.

    ¡°Finally, I want to say that I agree that we need to get some answers from them. First, we need to find out why there are so many of them. Vellia told me there were something like thirty. Secondly, we need to learn their intentions. What do they want with the Untamed Marches? What do they expect? Will they sign a contract the way our troops did? If so, would that make you all feel better?¡± Victor paused, looked at their faces again, and saw some lessening of the tension in Rellia¡¯s brow and an almost thoughtful expression on Borrius¡¯s face. Lam leaned on the table, resting her chin in her palms, and Victor couldn¡¯t guess what was going through her head. He turned to Va and said, ¡°I¡¯m done.¡±

    ¡°I will be greatly heartened if they¡¯ll sign a contract,¡± Borrius said immediately.

    ¡°They could kill us all in our sleep.¡± Lam¡¯s voice was soft, and Victor stared at her, willing her to look into his eyes, but she continued to stare, almost dreamily, at the map.

    ¡°I will listen to them.¡± Rellia turned to Victor. ¡°Can we bring their leader here? We should settle this as soon as possible. We should be marching again by noon to ensure we don¡¯t allow the opportunity for another Ridonne ambush.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s meet with Kethelket.¡± Victor turned to Lam. ¡°What¡¯s going on, Lam? They¡¯re not going to kill us all in our sleep.¡±

    ¡°Tell that to the residents of Night Boughs.¡±

    ¡°Night Boughs? I haven¡¯t heard of it . . .¡± Va started to say, but Edeya spoke up from Lam¡¯s shadow.

    ¡°She¡¯s talking about a city from the old world¡ªbefore we were formed into Fanwath. It¡¯s an old Ghelli story about how a hundred Naghelli, moving like shadows of death, slit the throats of an entire city.¡±

    ¡°Is it true?¡± Va¡¯s eyes were wide with horror.

    ¡°My grandmother certainly thought so,¡± Edeya replied, resting a hand on Lam¡¯s shoulder, just beneath one of her glittering wings.

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor said, ¡°these Naghelli are not here to kill us all in our sleep! Why the hell would they help fight off the Imperials if they wanted us dead? Be honest: is there something about their bloodline that makes them evil? Is it possible there¡¯s some prejudice involved here? I¡¯m not saying they never did anything wrong, but don¡¯t you think a war between factions might have led to some atrocities and the entire group might have gottenbeled evil? Maybe things written in your histories were . . . nted.¡±

    ¡°I will admit to the possibility,¡± Rellia turned to Lam, taking up Victor¡¯s cause, ¡°that in times long past, there were Naghelli who weren¡¯t reviled. Could not their losing role in a great conflict have driven the remainder of their kind to seek desperate bargains, to join with scoundrels like this Belikot fellow?¡±

    ¡°History from the old world is rather spotty. Tales of the Naghelli are mostly whispered at night from elders to children.¡± Lam sighed and straightened up, taking Edeya¡¯s small, delicate hand in hers. ¡°I¡¯ll listen to this Kethelket fellow.¡±

    ¡°Good. Now, before we move on to that, we should talk about the Imperials and the Ridonne. I¡¯m certain one is dead, but the other never showed his face.¡±

    ¡°Their army is broken. We slew more than half their number. The survivors are scattered and on the run. If we march with purpose and haste, there¡¯s no possible way another of the Legions could be moved into a position that will threaten our progress into the Untamed Marches.¡± Borrius sounded sure and confident.

    Still, Victor pressed him, ¡°You¡¯re certain of that?¡±

    ¡°Yes! These two Legions were the closest; one of them must havee all the way from Twilight Home, and the other was meant to be patrolling the frontier. We¡¯ve destroyed a third of the Empire¡¯s standing army! They need their remaining troops to keep the Free Cities in check and to hold back the hordes in the North. The Emperor will never let the Legion in Tharcray march forth. If he truly wants to beat us now, he¡¯ll have to conscript new troops, taking some cohorts from the existing Legions as a backbone, but that would take months. Winter will be upon us before he can hope to march the new army against us. We¡¯ll be deep in the Marches by the time spring rolls around. We may even have a base of operations built before they could hope to challenge us.¡±

    ¡°Meanwhile, our army will continue to grow in strength.¡± Lam locked eyes with Borrius, nodding in agreement.

    ¡°Exactly! So long as we continue to win, volunteers will continue to trickle in, and our troops will gain levels from the conquest. This legion will soon be a very tough nut to crack!¡± Borrius¡¯s eyes lit up with excitement as he spoke, and his fist pounded the table to emphasize his enthusiasm.

    ¡°So, we don¡¯t need to worry about the Empire anymore?¡± Victor frowned, not so sure things could be that simple.

    ¡°Not in the near term, no. If we establish our ownnds in the Marches, though, you can be assured that the Empire will view us as a threat. In a year or five or ten, I¡¯m sure a veryrge army, indeed, maye against us.¡±

    ¡°Leaving them open to their other enemies.¡± Rellia shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve thought about this a great deal, Borrius. If we aren¡¯t hostile to them, I think the Ridonne will leave us be, especially if our power continues to grow. When we have a foothold and open some portals . . . you can imagine the influx. People grow weary of the Empire¡¯s stagnation.¡±

    ¡°I wish that bastard Ridonne hadn¡¯t gotten away,¡± Borrius growled. ¡°I¡¯m not sure which one of them ordered the attack on the Shadeni n, but I hate to think one of the responsible parties has escaped.¡±

    ¡°I can catch him.¡± Victor looked down and locked eyes with Va, nodding. ¡°I should. I think it¡¯s important that there be consequences for the leaders of this Empire when they attack us. We need to set a precedent. They need to learn that they¡¯re not untouchable anymore.¡±

    ¡°I like that idea.¡± Borrius mmed his fist on the table again. Victor was enjoying seeing this side of the old man, fired up and ready for action. ¡°Let¡¯s get Kethelket in here, and then you should go, Victor. You should seek out that bastard. We¡¯ll get the army sorted, get us ready march. Do you reckon it will take you long?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so, Borrius.¡± Victor chuckled, then looked at Edeya. ¡°Can you message Polo in the book? Have him go escort Kethelket here. I think he¡¯s the least likely to be nervous about a job like that.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Edeya said, suddenly very deferential. In a way, it made him sad. He felt like he¡¯d gained her respect but that he¡¯d begun to outgrow their friendship, that she¡¯d forgotten that he was just the dummy from the mines who¡¯d always had his foot in his mouth. He resolved to spend some time with her soon. Maybe they could go over the contents of that bag of jewelry she was supposed to be cataloging for him . . .

    ¡°Sirs,¡± Edeya said suddenly, looking up from themand book and interrupting his musings, ¡°there are reports on casualties from the captains.¡±

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s hear the bad news,¡± Borrius sighed.

    ¡°Casualties, including deaths and disabling injuries, are as follows: First Cohort: 70,¡± Edeya read the number clinically and clearly, but Victor could hear a bit of a quaver in her voice as she continued, ¡°Second Cohort: 18 . . .¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s better,¡± Rellia interrupted, ¡°They were on the south wall, right?¡±

    ¡°Correct,¡± Borrius replied. ¡°Continue, Lieutenant.¡±

    ¡°Third Cohort: 188.¡± The table grew quiet at the tally¡ªThird Cohort had been stationed on the wall where the Imperials had breached. ¡°Fourth Cohort: three.¡± Va let out a pent-up breath, relief evident on her face. ¡°Fifth Cohort: 31, Sixth Cohort: 21, Seventh Cohort: 94, Eighth Cohort: 62, Ninth Cohort: 357 . . .¡±

    ¡°Old Bones!¡± Borrius cried.

    ¡°They were at the breach as well. They must have taken the brunt.¡± Rellia shook her head, making a <em>tsk</em> sound with her tongue.

    ¡°Tenth Cohort: Nine.¡± Edeya closed her book, blinking rapidly.

    ¡°850,¡± Lam said.

    ¡°Aye,¡± Borrius agreed, ¡°Close to a cohort and a half. Do we copse one of them to bolster the numbers of the other nine? Or do we keep the ten and let those devils who lived serve as the backbone as we add new troops to their numbers?¡±

    ¡°It stands to reason that the survivors in the Ninth and the Third saw the most action and gained the most experience,¡± Va said. ¡°If you break them up, it will hurt their morale. I think you should keep the cohorts intact and add to them as we gain new troops. We¡¯re due to pass by, what, two towns and half a dozen viges once we skirt Starfall Ridge and turn south?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Borrius nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that we probably have a hundred troops with Farscribe Books, sharing their exploits with their families back home. Our victories will bring more and more adventurers and fortune seekers. The numbers will swell.¡±

    ¡°Did Polo reply to you, Edeya?¡± Victor interrupted the talk of casualties and troop counts.

    ¡°Oh, yes. He did right away.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Victor looked around at the filthy, exhausted members of hismand council. ¡°I think we could all use a drink, huh? Maybe some refreshments? Let¡¯s move the meeting to the big table, and I¡¯ll get some stuff together.¡±

    ¡°I could kill for a stiff drink.¡± Borrius turned, oblivious to his poor choice of words.

    ¡°You did enough of that tonight already,¡± Rellia quipped, and, at first, Victor thought she was talking shit about his management of the troops. He opened his mouth to try to forestall a fight, but Edeya beat him to it.

    ¡°I was impressed with how you used that mace, Tribune Borrius! You saved me from several arrows, too.¡±

    ¡°Well, you were no slouch up there, Lieutenant. I saw you fighting with that arrow in your hip; that couldn¡¯t have been easy!¡±

    ¡°Nothing some pliers and a little healing salve couldn¡¯t fix, sir.¡± They continued their banter, exiting the library and walking toward the kitchen area. Victor inhaled deeply through his nose and blew it out, trying to send his tension with it.

    When he and Va were alone in the room, he turned to her and said, ¡°I thought Rellia was giving him grief about hismand of the troops!¡±

    Va winked at him. ¡°I think she might have been. Luckily, he¡¯s full of himself enough that it went right over his head.¡±

    ¡°Did he do badly?¡± Victor tried to keep his voice hushed.

    ¡°I know about as much as you, but I¡¯ll try to get the gossip from my motherter.¡± She took hold of his arm above the elbow, and they started after the others. ¡°I wish I could take this armor off, but I want it on when we speak to Kethelket.

    ¡°Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I mean, he already saw me when I was titan-sized, but I still feel a lot more substantial with Tes¡¯s armor on.¡±

    ¡°It truly is wonderous stuff, isn¡¯t it?¡± Va let go of him as they entered the dining and kitchen area, but she continued to speak, ¡°I was struck so many times in the melee and when I charged with Uvu. Nothing got through these scales.¡±

    Victor nodded, running his palms over the front of his armor, looking at it closely. ¡°That big, winged bastard had some spells that got through it, but it stopped a lot of the damage¡ªseems to have repaired itself just fine, too.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to cook?¡± Rellia asked, standing near the kitchen.

    ¡°I could, but I have a lot of hot food in my storage containers.¡±

    ¡°Probably for the best.¡± Rellia smirked and then moved to the table, sitting next to Lam.

    ¡°Was that an insult?¡± Victor asked the room, letting his eyes dart from one face to the next. Edeya held a hand over her mouth, avoiding his eyes. Lam looked at him directly and nodded, grinning slyly. Borrius grumbled something iprehensible and started leafing through themand book he¡¯d taken from Edeya. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m trying, you know! I only have basic cooking, but I¡¯ll never improve it without practice. I didn¡¯t hear anyints when I made steaks the other day . . .¡±

    ¡°Rather hard to ruin a steak.¡± Borrius didn¡¯t even look up as he spoke.

    Va snorted and tugged at Victor¡¯s arm. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s pull out some hot dishes and set up some tters. That Naghelli will be here soon.¡±

    ¡°Victor,¡± Rellia called over her shoulder, ¡°if you have any of that good cheb-cheb, I¡¯d owe you dearly for a ss.¡±

    ¡°Me too, Victor!¡± Lam echoed.

    Victor paused and looked back at the four sitting at the table. ¡°Borrius?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°What do you want to drink?¡±

    ¡°Wine,¡± he grumbled, flipping a page in the book. ¡°Always wine for me, Legate.¡±

    ¡°Edeya?¡±

    ¡°Oh, um, am I allowed?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Relliaughed, ¡°We fought a battle more difficult than most encounters I¡¯ve seen in dungeons! We¡¯re sisters in blood now, Edeya. If I¡¯m drinking, you¡¯re drinking.¡±

    ¡°In that case, Victor, do you have any mead? Something sweet like honey . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got a bunch of it.¡± Heughed and nudged Va. ¡°Come on; I know what you want.¡±

    ¡°The pale ale from Fainhallow?¡±

    ¡°Yep. It¡¯s cold as ice, too.¡± As they worked to fill some tters with various types of food they¡¯d purchased while in towns and cities, Victor could hear Edeya asking Rellia about her time in dungeons, and every so often, Lam would chime in, remarking about things she¡¯d heard or experiences she¡¯d had. It was nice to see them rxing, he decided. He was d none of them had died in the battle.

    Of course, those thoughts reminded him of the death toll for the army, and he knew there were people in the camp who were mourning friends or even brothers and sisters. He knew there were people living far away who¡¯d learn about a son or daughter who died in this battle, and his expression turned dark, a glower overtaking his face as he said, in a low, raspy growl, ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m going to have to go and find that piece of shit Ridonne who ran away.¡±

    Va set down the hot, cheese-and-herb-covered tbread she was arranging and looked at him. He was afraid she would object, but she just nodded. ¡°Yes. I suppose you are.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 42: Pazra

    Book 5: Chapter 42: Pazra

    Pazra-dak suffered. His body ached in a way that he couldn¡¯t ever remember happening before. Even when he was young, a child in Tharcray, he¡¯d never been made to hurt so badly. His back ached, his stomach grumbled, his mouth was dry and raw, and his feet bled. Feet! His glorious, shiny ck hooves were gone. He¡¯d been running for more than a day now. Running and walking, he silently corrected; his body could no longer sustain the effort of a run for more than a few minutes at a time. How shameful!

    The rite, that damnable, mysterious ritual taught to his ancestors by the Ridonne who¡¯d ventured into the Vizashath, had ruined him. Had Rosh known it would do this to him? Had he been aware that his little brother would have to pay some of the toll? Pazra groaned and fell to his knees in the tall grass of the ins. He¡¯d been steadily moving northward, and he thanked his ancestors that it was tall grass he ran through and not forests or mountains. His feet suffered enough.

    He fished around in his ring for another drink, pulling forth a bottle of rare wine that he could have traded for a small apartment in Tharcray. He had no water. Why would he, a Ridonne nearing epic advancement, require such a mundane beverage? ¡°What a fool,¡± he chided himself, sipping at the wine, wincing at how it stung his swollen lips. He struggled to stand, but his knees quavered with the effort, his thighs burned, and his feet screamed for reprieve. Time to rest then, he decided.

    He wondered how long his luck wouldst, how long he could avoid the predators that hunted these ins. Thus far, he hadn¡¯t seen anythingrger than a feyris scurrying through the grass. Were the big game animals hunted out? Had the Shadeni driven the boyii hounds away? He hoped so, but the further he traveled, the less likely he¡¯d be able to avoid them. ¡°Shameful,¡± he wheezed, this time saying the word rather than thinking it. Before the rite, he could have smitten a pack of boyii without effort. Now, he feared them. No small surprise, that fear¡ªhis Core had be a pitiful thing, his attributes embarrassingly low. Had they ever been so meager? Surely, when he was a child, but not in his memory; his family had fed him fruits and cakes, bolstering his race early on.

    With hopeless tears in his eyes, Pazra fell to his side and curled his knees toward his chest. He drifted into an ufortable, feverish sleep, with tall, blue-green grass shielding him on every side. His sleep was gued with nightmares. Most revolved around his mother, confronting him and ming him for one mistake or another. asionally, images of gigantic warriors would march into his mind¡¯s eye, shattering any peace he might begin to find. It was after one such dream that his eyes snapped open, and he found himself in the dark.

    The sun had set, and why shouldn¡¯t it? He had no idea what time he¡¯d fallen asleep. Still, he wasn¡¯t used to the darkness. Before the rite stole his advancements, he¡¯d been able to see at night just as easily as in broad daylight. Something tickled his nose, something spicy andforting. Tea? Pazra jerked upright, ripping a groan of pain from his lips as his abdominal muscles protested. A dark figure sat nearby, a tiny kettle simmering before it on a brass, Energy-powered camp stove. The figure was shrouded in darkness, with ck robes obscuring its form and features.

    ¡°I¡¯m pleased you live, Pazra,¡± the figure said, and he recognized the voice¡ªthe witch, Senena.

    ¡°Lord Pazra-dak, witch.¡± His rebuke fell t; his voice croaked and came out sounding like a pubescent child¡¯s.

    ¡°No longer, I fear. Your Ridonne bloodline seems to have been stripped from you. Perhaps with the right investment, you might recover it, though I think the Empire might have better uses for such resources, considering your failure.¡±

    ¡°You dare!¡± He struggled to sit further upright and crawl over the ttened grass toward the woman.

    ¡°I do, yes. I dare. I could crush you like a bug, Pazra. Don¡¯t test my patience. I¡¯m going to keep you alive, after all. I¡¯ll help you get to the capital so you can make your report, confess your sins, and suffer the judgment of the Emperor. Should I leave you, I would say it¡¯s a safe bet you¡¯ll be dead before you leave these grasnds.¡±

    Pazra sat there, stunned. He¡¯d never heard such insolence in his life, let alone from this woman¡¯s mouth. Senena had <em>served</em> him. She was <em>his</em> witch! Was he truly so bereft of power? No, no, he shook his head and tried a different approach. ¡°I may have lost my power, but the blood of Ridonne still beats in my veins. With enough investment, I¡¯ll soon be able to stand on my own. I have wealth beyond your dreams, Senena! Help me recover, and I¡¯ll make it worth your while!¡±

    ¡°Wealth, have you?¡± Her voice carried amusement as she lifted the kettle and produced two cups, into which she began to pour the luxurious, steamy liquid.

    ¡°Yes! In my rings, I have enough beads to buy half of Tharcray! My brother handed me his before he submitted to the rite . . .¡± Pazra¡¯s words trailed off as he held up his hands and beheld his naked fingers. ¡°You!¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes.¡± Senena offered him a cup of tea, and Pazra¡¯s traitorous, trembling body wouldn¡¯t let him refuse it. He shakily reached out and took the drink. ¡°Yes, dear, Pazra. I¡¯ve liberated you of your rings and the medallion you wore beneath your shirt. I¡¯m sorry, but this is the rule of thend; the weak must bend to the strong, and you are weak now.¡± She leaned forward so the dim orange light of the stove illuminated her hooded face. Pazra looked into those pale magenta eyes set deep within tattooed eye sockets and shivered. ¡°You may rail about the unfairness; you may report my theft to the Imperial Adjudicator who hears your case, but I assure you, nothing wille of your protestations.¡±

    Pazra fell back, any glimmer of hope he¡¯d once held deep in his heart flickering and winking out. No, he silently objected, sipping from the rich, potent tea. There was one more hope; he simply needed to see his mother. Surely, they¡¯d allow that. Surely, they¡¯d let him go to her. He was herst son, after all. She¡¯d help him! She¡¯d take his wealth away from this impertinent witch! ¡°Very well, wit . . . Senena. You may hold onto my wealth, but when we reach Tharcray, there may be a reckoning for the way you¡¯ve treated me.

    ¡°That¡¯s good, Pazra. Hold onto that hope. It will serve you well as we travel.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re here, so I¡¯m assuming my inclination to flee was well-founded?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The nightmarish warrior from another world has defeated the ancient Ridonne. I watched from afar, and a good thing I did¡ªsuch destruction was eye-opening. The Legion was defeated and sent running, scattered. Most survivors make haste through the Blue Deep, hoping the nightmare won¡¯te to them there.¡±

    ¡°Would he do that? Hunt them down?¡±

    ¡°No one, not even our wisest ancestor, knows what he will do. I left when I saw the arrival of the Naghelli.¡±

    ¡°What? Naghelli?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Pazra; he has an army of them. They came to his soldiers¡¯ aid as our Legion swarmed his encampment. You and Rosh-dak were fools. The ap¡¯Yensha woman was never the one to worry about. Legate Borrius was not the head of this snake. The otherworldly champion was the threat. You should havee with ten Ridonne and put him in the ground when you could. It¡¯s toote now.¡± Senena sipped her tea, shaking her head and clicking her tongue at him.

    ¡°Are you mad? How many times did I ask you for advice on this matter? How many times did I ask you to scry that man and guide me in the destruction of this army? Did you not encourage me to call for my brother¡¯s aid? How was I to know what a monster he was?¡±

    ¡°Simply opening your ears might have worked. Your Emperor sought answers and gave you the freedom to choose your own path, and you chose very stupidly! You never had to attack them! Did you seek counsel from those in Gelica who¡¯d dealt with the giant? What of Persi Gables? No, you found a whispered rumor of ap¡¯Yensha¡¯s treason and ran with it! You could have confronted her, traveled with her, even. You could have allowed me to get close to the off-worlder, allowed me to see what we were dealing with. How many times did I say I could not view him from afar? How many times did I counsel caution? It was only after you had your fool princep attack him that I suggested you ask your brother for help.

    ¡°That¡¯s not . . .¡± Pazra began to object, but Senena cut him off.

    ¡°I grow weary of this. I don¡¯t care what you think, in any case. You¡¯re an insignificant mortal. As I said, I¡¯ll keep you alive long enough to give your answers to the Imperial Adjudicator. In the meantime, I¡¯ll have your silence.¡±

    Pazra opened his mouth to reply, but Senena¡¯s eyes red with dangerous silver Energy, and he mped it shut; he had to y her game¡ªfor now. He sipped his tea, allowing the magical brew to run through him, bringing him energy and strength. Senena tossed him a heel of bread, and he ate that, too, satisfying the unfamiliar gnawing at the center of his gut. While he ate, she produced a pair of soft leather slippers and tossed them to him. They were far too small for him, but she let him bond with them, and they expanded to fit himfortably.

    The sun began to turn the eastern horizon shades of yellow and pink, and Senena urged him to stand. In that pleasant light of dawn, they started their long trek through the grasnds. The two Imperials traveled that way, Senena setting a pace that Pazra could just barely match for the entire day, pausing only so that Pazra could drink water and asionally eat a morsel Senena doled out. In the evening, she fixed him more of her magical tea, and he immediately fell into a fitful slumber.

    Sometime early in the morning, before the sun brightened the sky or shared its warmth, Pazra was woken by a feeling of dread that clutched his heart like a steel vise. When his eyes sprang open, and he searched for a sign of Senena, he found her sitting still as the ice sculpture he¡¯d hadmissioned for his nephew¡¯s birth. Her eyes were wide, the whites reflecting an unearthly pale glow that seemed to being from behind Pazra. Something was there; he could feel it. Something like dread incarnate hung in the air behind him, and Pazra gulped, expecting death to fall upon him.

    He closed his eyes, waiting, but when the feeling persisted, and his life didn¡¯t end, he opened them again. Senena still sat where he¡¯d seen her, unmoving, barely breathing. With a terrible effort of will, Pazra took a breath and croaked out, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Justice,¡± a deep, soulless voice said, shivering the hairs on the nape of his neck. Such was the power in that voice, the weight of the aura hanging over him, that Pazra voided his dder, unable to keep his body from reacting to the fear that coursed through him. He felt adrenaline flood him, and without a thought, he lurched to his feet and started to run. He only made it one step before a mighty grip squeezed his neck, holding him in ce. The hand was like steel, hot and full of power. Pazra¡¯s knees began to quake, shamefully knocking against each other as he lost control of his body. He hung there, in that terrible grasp, waiting for his judgment, too afraid to try to turn his head to look at the one who held him.

    ¡°I will take this one,¡± the horrible voice boomed, and Pazra realized his captor was speaking to Senena. ¡°He will face those he wronged. You will carry word of his fate to the others like him. Ridonne is not wee where we go.¡± Pazra was still facing Senena, and he saw her shrink back as his captor spoke to her, flinching with each word. Nevertheless, she managed to nod, and then Pazra felt himself being lifted by his neck.

    As the man who held him turned, Pazra was brought face to face with a nightmare, a beast of shadow and fear, with eyes of purple Energy ring at him through drifting smoke-like darkness. It reared, snorting more of that terrible horror smoke, and Pazra¡¯s heart began to hammer as his helpless body twitched. ¡°Hush,¡± the emotionless voice rumbled, and then the beast was still. Effortlessly, his captor flung him over the broad shoulders of the nightmare, and then Pazra felt him mount the beast, resting a hand on his back to hold him steady. Pazra still hadn¡¯t summoned the courage to look at the one who¡¯d taken him.

    In a haze of ck shadows and wispy, palpable fear, the beast began to run. Pazra could feel its shoulders working, could see the grasnds, dimly, drifting by outside the cloud of shadows, but the ride was smooth, and the pressure on his back never relented, holding him still as stone on the terrible mount. The tall grass became a blue-green blur as the mount¡¯s speed increased, and Pazra had to close his eyes lest his stomach empty itself through his mouth.

    After a short time, a terrible pressure of Energy began to form nearby, and Pazra knew it wasing from his captor. The Energy built and built until it seemed the world would implode upon him, and then, with a release that felt like a massive bubble popping, something happened. The world faded, Pazra felt himself bing transparent, felt his bodying apart, and then, with a snap, he was back to normal; the pressure was gone, and the grasnds were streaming by just as before.

    He had no idea what the spell was, but it happened again and again, a dozen minutes or so passing between each weird urrence. After each one, Pazra felt his sanity slipping further and further away, found himself losing sight of where he was, who he was, and what had brought him to such straits. After some time¡ªhe had no idea how long¡ªhe felt the massive, horrible steed begin to slow. As it came to a halt, Pazra¡¯s captor slid off and pulled him down, dropping him not onto grass but rough dirt.

    A momentter, he felt a shift in the Energy around him. The fear began to fade, the weird, cold presence as well, and then, as the shadows fell away, Pazra blinked up into a bright blue sky. He scrambled to his knees and started to stand, but then a different voice addressed him, and that same, powerful hand grasped his shoulder, hot and hard as iron. ¡°Hold still,¡± it said, and Pazra knew who it was¡ªVictor, the off-worlder. With the fear Energy faded away, he managed the courage to turn his head, to look up into the giant¡¯s angry, amber eyes. He only held that gaze for a moment before looking away in shame.

    ¡°What do you want . . .¡±

    ¡°Quiet.¡± Victor jerked his shoulder, forcing him to turn toward another familiar sight, the encampment of his foes. He and the giant were a hundred paces from the wall, standing atop a mound of fresh soil. Why? Why had they built this mound here? The wall was covered with soldiers, and the ground before it, as well. Was this their entire army? Had the giant brought him here to gloat? The giant grumbled behind him, ¡°I wish you hadn¡¯t fucked yourself up so badly. Not the same image¡ªhanging a puny asshole versus a giant asshole with spikes and hooves. Doesn¡¯t matter, I guess. You¡¯ve got crimes to answer for.¡±

    ¡°Hanging?¡± Pazra had a hard time following the giant¡¯s vernacr. He used curses that weren¡¯t familiar, and what exactly did he mean by ¡°hanging?¡±

    ¡°Walk.¡± The giant squeezed his shoulder and directed him to turn to his right. A new sight filled his vision, then. A wooden tform, like a stage, with steps upon which the giant propelled him. Pazra stumbled up the steps onto the wooden nks, his footfalls silent next to the resounding thumps of Victor¡¯s boots. A device had been constructed at the center of the stage¡ªtwo poles connected via a beam. They were sturdy posts and tall. Hanging from the thick wooden beam was a rope fashioned into a loop. A short ramp of steps sat in the center of the posts, and Victor pushed Pazra toward it.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening here?¡± Pazra managed to ask before the giant squeezed his neck, painfully cutting off his words.

    ¡°Stand on the top step.¡± Pazra could onlyply, and when he stood there on the step, facing the eerily silent army in the distance, he felt his body begin to tremble, perhaps instinctively knowing what sort of trouble he was in before his sluggish mind could put the pieces together. Victor released his hold and reached up, pulling the rough, thick rope down over Pazra¡¯s head. When it had settled around his neck, Victor adjusted the knot until it felt snug.

    Absurdly, the whole while Victor fidgeted with the rope, Pazra could only think about how good the man smelled¡ªlike spices and smoke. The sky was bright, the blue beautiful, and Pazra tried to remember thest time he¡¯d looked at the sky and appreciated the color. How odd, he thought, to find such a pleasure amid such a resounding defeat. The breeze blowing over the ins was cool but not cold, and he savored it, trying to think of how these sights and smells, these good feelings, were a sign¡ªhe might be defeated now, but he woulde back from this. He¡¯d find a way to grow in power again . . .

    ¡°Soldiers!¡± Victor roared, interrupting Pazra¡¯s reflection. ¡°This is the Ridonne who ordered the attack on our people. Not once, not twice, but at least three different times. Not only did he attack me and the leaders of this army uwfully and without any sort of trial, but he also ordered his troops tounch arrows into fleeing civilians and children!¡±

    Pazra¡¯s eyes bulged as he looked from the grumbling, shouting, stomping army in the distance to the giant beside him. What was this? A trial? Where was the Magistrate? Where were his witnesses?

    ¡°He might not look like a Ridonne right now, but he is. This is Pazra-dak. Let his name forever be cursed!¡± Victor roared, and then, without any warning whatsoever, he kicked the stand of steps out from under Pazra.

    The one-time-great Imperial fell, tightening the noose around his neck and cutting the blood flow to his head. His mind tried to race, tried to grasp the strangeness of his situation, but he was weak, and theck of oxygen to his brain rapidly affected him. He jerked and thrashed, arching his back as he heaved for breath that wouldn¡¯te. Despite his mind¡¯s surrender, his body tried valiantly to hold onto life. But then, a heavy hand took hold of his ankle and tugged. With weird, terrible pressure in his neck, the world shrank away, down to a pinprick that burst in a shower of sparks, just like the fancy light shows he¡¯d seen at his mother¡¯sst birthday. When they faded, all he knew was ck emptiness, and Pazra was no more.

 Book 5: Chapter 43: Room to Breathe

    Book 5: Chapter 43: Room to Breathe

    Victor watched Pazra¡¯s corpse swaying in the breeze, the rope creaking on the gibbet. It was strange to see his dark idea brought to fruition, strange to feel no horror or guilt at what he¡¯d done to the man. He¡¯d thought his justice would be hollow, that he¡¯d probably feel worse after it was over, but that wasn¡¯t the case. Instead, he felt good, especially after hearing the cries of vindication from the army in the distance.

    The Shadeni hanging from the noose didn¡¯t look much like the Ridonne Victor had fought, but he could see the resemnce in the face. Regardless of his recognition, when he¡¯d been in his Inevitable Huntsman guise, he¡¯d felt that this was Pazra¡ªhe¡¯d <em>known</em>. This was the man who¡¯d needed to taste justice, just as much as the woman he¡¯d found with him was the one who needed to deliver the word of his fate to Tharcray. Victor didn¡¯te to those decisions with logical inner dialogues. He¡¯d simply known that was how it should be. No, he corrected himself; the huntsman had known.

    He nced down the hillock his army¡¯s Earth Casters had constructed, then over the grassy ins to the encampment, and saw the sergeants calling their units to order, getting the soldiers into marching positions. It was time for them to get back on the road, to start making progress again to their destination. A small cluster of people were walking through the ranks, heading his way. He studied them for a moment¡ªVa, Lam, Rellia, Tellen, Tha, Borrius, and even Kethelket.

    Things had gone well with the Naghelli. Kethelket had been smooth with his words and promises, and, more than that, he¡¯d been convincing, believable. It truly seemed like the Naghelli were intent on changing their image, on finding a ce of their own where they could peacefully coexist with the settlers of the Untamed Marches. The one-time prince hadn¡¯t hesitated in agreeing to sign a contract with the legion and had promised his soldiers would do the same, all 312 of them.

    Victor sat down on the edge of the gallows, allowing his Iron Berserk to drop, and as he watched the leaders of his army approach, he thought about Kethelket¡¯s words. Victor had asked him where all the Naghelli hade from, reminding the swordsman that Vellia had told him only thirty-something of them lived in the pocket realm with Belikot. His question had brought forth an interesting tale, one in which the Naghelli found Belikot¡¯s secret writings. Reading them, they learned that he¡¯d entombed nearly three hundred of their kin in a kind of stasis, waiting for him to wake them. That was where the Naghelli had been in thest months, solving the riddles of Belikot¡¯s wards, opening the prison he¡¯d created, and waking the rest of their people.

    The rope¡¯s creaking distracted him, and Victor looked up at the corpse again. It felt like a dream, his ride to snatch up the Ridonne and bring him back to face justice. ¡°What happened to you?¡± he asked the body. Something had drained all the power out of the man, reversed whatever bloodline enhancements he¡¯d gone through, and turned him into a mewling weakling. Victor had figured he¡¯d need to subdue the Ridonne before hanging him would work, but the man he¡¯d brought back had sumbed to the rope quite easily. He¡¯d almost hated to see how frail Pazra had be; could such a thing happen to him?

    ¡°An interesting spectacle,¡± Kethelket called as the group of leaders trudged up the new-made hill.

    ¡°That¡¯s a way to describe it . . .¡± Rellia said, sort of under her breath, her head tilted toward Va. Victor figured she hadn¡¯t meant for him to hear her words, but his ears missed very little these days.

    ¡°It was for the troops and for Tellen¡¯s n. I think it¡¯s important that our people know we won¡¯t tolerate crimes against them. It¡¯s important that we frame this man¡¯s actions that way, as crimes¡ªattacking children and civilians as they flee isn¡¯t something the rulers of any people should be permitted to do, not if they expect to keep their positions of power.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Borrius grunted, breathing heavily from the climb. ¡°You exined as much yesterday when you asked us to build this . . . stage.¡± He waved vaguely at the gallows upon which Victor sat.

    ¡°Do you disagree?¡± Victor¡¯s dark brows drew together.

    ¡°Not at all. This will work mightily in our favor. The Ridonne should know fear when they think of attacking us. Our troops, our people, should know that no one, of any station, is free to assault them.¡±

    ¡°As he says, Victor, my people are greatly heartened to see that you are able to stand up to the Empire¡¯s strongest.¡± Tellen nodded to Borrius as he stopped before Victor, standing with the others.

    ¡°Good.¡± Victor rubbed his hands together as though wiping them after finishing some work. ¡°How long ¡®til we march?¡±

    ¡°Less than an hour. Most of the preparations are made.¡± Lam came to a halt next to Kethelket, and it was interesting to see their simrities and differences. To Victor, it was almost likeparing a moth to a butterfly, Lam being the butterfly. Despite the ochre and crimson patterns in the Naghelli¡¯s wings, he was like a shadow to her bright light. From her brilliant emerald eyes and hale, rosy cheeks to her dragonfly wings that dusted the air with Energy motes, she simply outshone him.

    ¡°Good! Anything I need to do?¡± Victor slid off the edge of the gallows, a few feet from the gently swaying corpse, and looked at the leaders of his army one by one, making eye contact with each.

    ¡°Nothing with regard to the troops.¡± Rellia¡¯s voice was tentative, but her eyes drifted to the corpse, and she continued, ¡°We were wondering what happened to this Ridonne. Why is he so frail?¡±

    ¡°No idea. Well, that¡¯s not true. After I killed the huge, powerful bastard during the battle, he withered away down to a sickly version of the Ridonne I had fought earlier. I wonder if something simr happened to this guy.¡± Victor jerked his thumb at Pazra¡¯s corpse. ¡°Maybe whatever they did to power up the other one took something out of them¡ªsomething permanent.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a person losing their racial enhancements. There are those who can give up Energy, even enough to lose a level, with ritual magics. It¡¯s something certain Blood and Death Casters can do, though it¡¯s always done willingly; to rip someone¡¯s power away like that would be to do battle with their will and at a massive disadvantage.¡± Kethelket idly tapped the hilt of one of his swords. Victor, again, noticed he had one on his belt and one over his shoulder. He wondered at that¡ªwas it for a particr fighting style? He also wondered if the man¡¯s swords were both conscious. They¡¯d certainly looked impressive the other night on the battlements.

    ¡°Shall we ride, Victor?¡± Va asked. Victor looked at her, and off to the left, down the hill, he saw Uvu slipping out of the tall grass like a ghost.

    ¡°Yeah, I guess we should. We can push eastward, scout ahead a bit.¡±

    ¡°I wish you¡¯d stop by the wagon and see Deyni.¡± Tha stepped toward him, hesitantly, finally speaking up, her eyes darting from Victor¡¯s face to the hanging corpse, a frown creasing her brow as she spoke.

    ¡°I will. Can she ride with us?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll keep her safe and not stray too far?¡± Tha¡¯s scowl deepened, and she shook her head. If Victor had to guess, she was annoyed with herself for asking; she knew Victor would do anything to keep Deyni safe.

    ¡°Yeah, of course.¡± He held a hand toward her, slightly bridging the gap between them, but let it fall as she wound her fingers together with Tellen¡¯s.

    ¡°Very well. Thistle can pull the wagon if you want her to ride Starlight . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask her, but she might want to ride with me on Guapo.¡± Victor turned his gaze back to Rellia and Borrius. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about cohort numbers and cements when we camp tonight. I¡¯d like to discuss ribbons tomemorate the battle¡ªfor all the troops, but special medals for the third and ninth. I want you to talk to the sergeants and lieutenants. Get me a list of soldiers who stood out for exemry bravery or prowess. I¡¯ll hand out special awards if we can get some nominations.¡±

    ¡°Very good, Legate.¡± Borrius¡¯s use of the title and his grave nod told Victor he¡¯d said something the oldmander approved of.

    Victor started down the hill with Va beside him, deliberating whether to summon Guapo then or wait until he¡¯d found Deyni when Lam called out, ¡°Victor!¡±

    He looked back at her. ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Can Edeya ride with you? You should have someone with amand book along, and it will do her some good to . . .¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course.¡± Victor waved and smiled, hoping she could see that further exnation wasn¡¯t necessary.

    ¡°What kind of mount does Edeya have?¡± Victor asked Va as she reached up to scratch Uvu¡¯s ear. The cat had stalked up to them without a sound.

    ¡°I think just a rdii.¡±

    ¡°Think she¡¯d like to ride Thistle?¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Va shook her head. ¡°Of course! Who wouldn¡¯t? Come to think of it, her rdii might be dead; we lost something like three hundred during the battle.¡±

    ¡°All right. Let¡¯s find her; I¡¯ll have Deyni ride with me on Guapo and leave Starlight for Tha¡¯s wagon.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s there.¡± Va pointed toward the encampment, and sure enough, Edeya stood on the wall looking down, watching some engineers leading their massive storage wagons around the perimeter, collecting the non-permanent parts of the fortifications. Victor waved his arm, whistling shrilly until she looked down at him, and then he gestured for her toe over. Va asked, ¡°You like her, hmm?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s an old friend¡ªone of the first I made in this world. She¡¯s almost died a few times since I met her, and I¡¯d like to help her stay alive. Besides, she owes me an ounting of some storage rings and other jewels. We can talk about it on the ride.¡±

    ¡°Understandable. I like her too, for the record.¡± Va gave his shoulder a yful shove with her knuckles. ¡°Let¡¯s have a nice ride, yeah? It¡¯ll be good to put death and battle behind us for a little while¡ªgive ourselves a little room to breathe.¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± Victor threw an arm over her shoulders, pulling her into his side. Uvu grumbled but passed it off as a yawn, bounding after something that rustled in the tall grass as Va leaned into him. ¡°We¡¯ll have plenty of killing to deal with in the Untamed Marches. Let¡¯s enjoy this little lull, yeah?¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Lesh¡¯ro¡¯zen gazed through the tall trees at the strange city. It had high white-washed walls and tall, gabled buildings within. The sight was very different from the cities in his homnd, especially the cave-riddled peaks of his home. He sniffed, his nose tickling with all the strange scents carried by the wind. The air was cool, the sky soft and blue, and the weird, lush vegetation made him feel sick for his home. ¡°I¡¯d give much to smell some ash and taste some blood,¡± he growled, contemting his decision to maintain a peaceful demeanor.

    He¡¯d met many soft people in this world, many scaleless ones who¡¯d do just as well roasting over his campfire as sitting beside him. Nevertheless, he¡¯d yed his friendly act, unsure of the power structure of this strange ce, unsure if the weaklings belonged to stronger foes, perhaps the rulers of this softnd. He had a person he needed to kill, and having armies or champions hunting for him would only impede that aim, would only slow his return to Ashenshoal and Yassa.

    His tolerance for the soft ones had paid off, however. His encounters with pleasant, red and blue-skinned people had led him to this city. It seemed the one called Victor had made a name for himself in parts of this world. The vigers and field tenders had heard of him¡ªa great man who fought in arenas and vanquished foes thought stronger than himself. The rumors had led him steadily southward toward this ce, this city where the man was supposedly raising an army. Lesh cared not; he¡¯d call the man out, confront him before his troops, and demand singlebat. If hecked the honor or his fear was too intense, Lesh would reap the Energy of any soldiers who stood between them.

    ¡°An army or not, I will battle this man.¡± His voice rumbled up from his thick throat as he began trudging over the soft ground, his talons digging into the leafy soft soil as he mounted the berm along the road. The people he¡¯d met had been apprehensive, many eximing theirck of experience with ¡°people such as he.¡± He chuckled, imagining how they¡¯d feel if he unleashed his aura or allowed his Breath Core to swell his stature. Regardless, he kept a tight hold on himself and endeavored to match their pleasant expressions.

    He stepped onto the road near a wagon filled with bales of agricultural products, some sort of green grass, and red fruit; Lesh had no idea of its use. His people took their meat from the creatures they killed; they didn¡¯t harvest it from nts. The funny little animal pulling the wagon shied away from him. It had leathery gray skin and bright feathers around its neck, and it made a timid honking sound as Lesh looked down his snout at the wagon¡¯s driver. The little red man looked ready to bolt or do something even stupider, so Lesh tried to forestall any hysterics, ¡°I mean you no harm, small one.¡±

    ¡°Great Ancestors! Thank you for saying so, sir. I¡¯m not familiar with your kind; forgive my brief panic.¡±

    ¡°Tell me,¡± Lesh ignored the man¡¯s words, ¡°is this Persi Gables?¡± He gestured down the road to the tall gate and the small crowd lining up to get through.

    ¡°You¡¯vee to the right ce if it¡¯s Persi Gables you seek, aye.¡±

    Lesh snorted and looked from the man¡¯s sweating face down to his unkempt, dirty clothing, then over the contents of his cart. Curiosity getting the better of him, he asked, ¡°Why do you carry bound grass in your wagon?¡±

    ¡°Oh, sir, that¡¯s not just grass; that¡¯s Meadow Dew. Dairy farmers pay a handsome sum for it¡ªmakes holbyis milk rather sweet.¡±

    ¡°Holbyis?¡±

    ¡°Aye; we breed ¡®em for wool, for meat, and for milk.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Lesh¡¯s mouth began to water at the thought of some fresh meat, but he decided not to raid his storage ring for a snack. He¡¯d soon be at the gate. ¡°Good luck,¡± Lesh said, stepping away from the little wagon and the rather tasty-looking beast that pulled it. He trudged past the line of other carts, wagons, and basket-burdened people waiting to have their wares examined. Another guard monitored pedestrian traffic, and Lesh stopped before him.

    ¡°State your business!¡± The thinly armored man cried, lowering his pike toward the big dragonkin. Lesh wore a heavy, ck-stained leather cloak over the burgundy furs of fire hounds fashioned into leggings and a vest. His cudgel, Bgog, hung from a hook on his thick girdle, but he didn¡¯t reach for it. Instead, he turned up his dark, partially scaled lips, exposing long, white fangs, attempting to smile like the weaklings he¡¯d met on the road.

    ¡°I am here for trade and to seek a friend. Perhaps you know him? His name is Victor Sandoval, and he won a great arena fight in Gelica against some noblewoman or other.¡±

    ¡°Oh? A friend of Victor¡¯s? Aye, sir, I know of him. Everyone in Persi Gables knows of him. You¡¯re a bitte, though; his army marched off weeks ago.¡± The guard, one of the slight, blue-fleshed people, lifted his pike, resting the butt on the cobbles, and shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re wee toe into the city to trade, though.¡±

    ¡°His army left?¡± Lesh grumbled.

    ¡°Aye, sir. Um, do you mind me askin¡¯ where you¡¯re from? Is it the same world as Victor? Are you a different kind of . . .¡± he looked over at his fellow guardsman, a strange, short, furry individual. ¡°What was it he was called?¡±

    ¡°Hoomin,¡± the hatchling-sized, hooved one replied, waving through a pair of women pulling a handcart filled to the brim with roots and tubers.

    ¡°No.¡± Lesh looked around, peering through the gate at the throngs of strange people wandering up and down the cobbled street. He frowned and reached up to run his thick fingers over the smooth surface of one of his three horns, a gesture that always served to calm him. He looked down at the small blue fellow again and said, ¡°Where did his army march?¡±

    ¡°Uh, they¡¯re off to try to imnd in the Untamed Marches. I¡¯m not sure exactly where that is, but it¡¯s off to the east at the edge of the Empire.¡± He shrugged, looking up at Lesh, and something in the dragonkin¡¯s expression must have rmed him because he took a step back and lowered his pike slightly. ¡°Is everyone from Victor¡¯s world gigantic?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not from his world, soft one. East, you said?¡± Lesh turned in the direction from which he¡¯de, gazing down the tree-shroudedne. ¡°This road turns north and south beyond these trees. Is there another that leads east?¡±

    ¡°Not nearby; the army was out on the ins. I¡¯m sure you could pick up their tracks. I almost joined them, you know? My wife, though, she wouldn¡¯t have it. We¡¯ve a newborn at home, and she needs my help in the evenings, elsewise she¡¯d never get any sleep. With the rumors going around, I¡¯m feeling a bit relieved that I stayed home.¡±

    ¡°Rumors?¡± Lesh leaned forward, bridging the gap between them slightly; the man only stood as high as his waist.

    ¡°Aye. Word around the city is that the Empire is against them¡ªrumorsing in through Farscribe Books tell tales of Ridonne nobles attacking them personally. There are family members of some of the soldiers iming Victor killed a Ridonne and that they defeated two Imperial Legions; it can¡¯t be true, can it?¡± The guard shook his head. Lesh couldn¡¯t help noticing how he¡¯d lowered his voice to a hush when he discussed the ¡°Empire¡¯s¡± supposed actions. Just as back home, it seemed politics wereplicated in this world.

    Lesh reached into his dimensional ring and fished out a tinum nugget. He flicked it toward the guard and turned, marching down the cobbledne toward the rising sun, sparing not a second nce at the stunned man as he stammered his thanks.

 Book 6: Chapter 1: Rockfall

    Book 6: Chapter 1: Rockfall

    Guapo¡¯s hooves echoed hollowly on the wide, wooden archway of the bridge as Victor rode his spirit steed toward the center of the expanse. The river below rushed and rumbled as it coursed over the massive granite boulders that dotted its bed, and as a gust of powerful, chilly wind rushed over him, Victor shuddered at the idea of falling into those white-capped waters. He urged Guapo to stop as he reached the apex, and then, with a clear view ahead, he studied the jagged, enormous peaks of the Granite Gates.

    Even at this distance, they were awe-inspiring. He could see how those who¡¯d named them had thought of them as gates¡ªat this distance, the range was like a gray wall blocking off one part of the world from another, with the two peaks directly ahead standing shoulder to shoulder, separating a narrow canyon. He could imagine them shifting slightly and closing off the passage. Even with a few days¡¯ travel worth of distance between him and the mountains, they were gigantic, seeming to stretch up into the sky, their sharp peaks scraping the border between sky and stars.

    Beyond the bridge was a small hamlet, ringed with a high stone wall. The cobbled road continued past the walled vige and turned to gray gravel as it passed between the first two peaks, smoothly rising until it wended behind the shoulder of the one on the right. It <em>seemed</em> smooth, at least, a gentle grade up to those high gray mountains, but Victor knew it was deceptive; they were still fifty miles or more from the first of the foothills, so the distance hid all the ripples in thend¡¯s contours. More than that, the two foremost gigantic mountains hid the dozens lined up behind them. His army would be marching through that gap for several days.

    Borrius told him the town was called, aptly, Rockfall, and the people there were primarily employed in the Imperial granite quarry at the mouth of the pass. He could see activity on the road and outside the town; it looked like wagons heading in through the gate, not out, which made sense¡ªit would be dark in the next hour or so. Victor turned, Guapo stepping lithely, rotating, sensing his desire.

    Far down the road, looking much like a row of insects in the distance, Victor saw his army approaching. A column of soldiers, nked by two narrower columns of cavalry, and behind them, like beetles following ants, were the wagons, moving through the dust stirred up by the mounted soldiers. It was an impressive sight¡ªtheir numbers had swelled as they advanced over the hills and ins at the southeastern edge of the Ridonne Empire. Thest count Victor had read showed that their ten cohorts were back to full strength and then some.

    Borrius hadn¡¯t created a new cohort, though they had the numbers to support nearly two more. He wanted them overfull, wanted them resilient to losses. After all, if things went as expected, they¡¯d be fighting soon. Victor was ready for it. He¡¯d been ready for a fight ever since the Empire had tried to crush their army before their campaign even got started. The Ridonne hadn¡¯t been eager to test his wrath, though. They¡¯d not made a peep, not shown a single Imperial soldier to Victor¡¯s scouts.

    Even the towns and viges they¡¯d passed through were deserted of Imperial officials. Word traveled fast, and adjudicators, soldiers, and other representatives of the Empire seemed to flee ahead of the army¡¯s arrival. Victor was fine with that. He figured the town down the road would be simrly bereft of Imperials, though they¡¯d probably slink back home after the army passed through. For all he knew, they simply doffed their Imperial garb and hid among their friends and family. He turned and looked back at the mountains.

    They were impressive, no doubt. Much higher, sharper, and ominous than the ones they¡¯d skirted around the Starfall Sea. Much, much bigger than anything he¡¯d seen around Tucson. Rellia and Borrius were nervous about passing through them¡ªsomething about ¡°wild folk¡± and rock trolls. Victor wasn¡¯t worried. If something terrible attacked them, he¡¯d deal with it, and if it was just a tribe of monsters tossing rocks down on them, the army would endure. He clicked his tongue, and Guapo started forward, walking with the drum of hooves on hollow boards toward the bridge¡¯s far side.

    He''d charged ahead of the army, wanting a bit of peace, some time to himself. Nobody tried to keep pace with Guapo, and the othermanders had grown ustomed to him ranging forth. While good for such a considerable force, the army''s pace was mind-numbingly slow to Victor, and if it weren¡¯t for his daily sprints on the Mustang, he¡¯d probably have gone mad. Weeks of travel weren¡¯t his cup of tea, and the passage over these mountains couldn¡¯t be over soon enough as far as he was concerned.

    He paused at the far side of the bridge, breathing in the fresh, cool air, examining the well-traveled road and the sparse ins between the river and the hamlet. He figured they should march the army a few miles beyond the settlement and set camp for the night. They¡¯d push on toward the pass early in the morning. ¡°No sense lingering around the town, making everybody nervous, eh, boy?¡± He scratched Guapo¡¯s neck.

    Looking up, he saw three figures riding out of the hamlet toward him. They rode animals that looked simr to vidanii, though they were stouter and shaggier, and their horns were thicker and swept backward in a curl, kind of like a ram¡¯s on Earth. As they grew nearer, Victor saw they were all Ardeni. They all wore mismatched armor, though some looked like it was well made. The one in the middle was a bit older, a bit stockier, and carried two crescent-moon axes hanging from his belt. The others both had bows on their backs and had various weapons strapped to their saddles, from javelins to a fur-wrapped great sword.

    Victor had begun to grow used to such sights¡ªadventurers and fortune seekersing to join the expedition. They made up a sizeable percentage of the new recruits they¡¯d picked up along the march. The trio brought their mounts to a halt a good fifty yards from Victor, and the bigger one cleared his throat. ¡°Well met, sir.¡±

    ¡°Hello.¡± Victor sat still, his hands folded on the muscr mound of Guapo¡¯s shoulders. Lifedrinker buzzed eagerly on his back, perhaps trying to urge him to leap into battle simply because three armed men stood before him. He grinned at her eagerness; he could rte.

    ¡°Are you him? Victor?¡± the same man asked, eyeing Victor through wide, silver-blue eyes.

    ¡°Of course he is, Thed. You ever seen another like him? Or that beast he¡¯s riding.¡± The second speaker was on Thed¡¯s left, and he clicked his tongue, urging his sturdy mount forward a couple of steps. ¡°We was surprised to see youe over the bridge so soon¡ªword is your army¡¯s still a few hours out.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Victor. What can I do for you, fes?¡±

    ¡°We,¡± Thed said, nudging his mount¡¯s side with his heels, moving it forward so he was, once again, in the lead, ¡°were wanting to join up with ya. We heard tale of your expedition some weeks back and rode like a banshee-chased boyii to get here ahead of you all. We made it with some time to spare; spent near a week at the tavern over yonder.¡± He gestured back toward the walled hamlet. ¡°Can¡¯t say I could stomach another pot of the stew the innkeep makes. What do you say, sir? Are you recruiting?¡±

    ¡°Well, boys,¡± Victor said, smirking inwardly as he considered the very real possibility that these three men were more than twice his age, ¡°we can always use some tough <em>pendejos</em> in the army. What tier are you three?¡± Sensing his desire, Guapo started forward so Victor could better size the men up.

    ¡°We¡¯re all tier-four, sir; been making our fortune testing the dungeons out near the free cities.¡±

    ¡°Fourth tier, huh? That¡¯s good.¡± Victor nodded, rubbing his chin, looking further and further down his nose at the three men as he and his big Mustang grew closer. He stopped when he was only a few feet away, and the men¡¯s faces had lost a shade of blue, growing pale as they watched him loom over them; he wasn¡¯t even in his titanic aspect. Still, he let just a fraction of his aura start to bleed out, touching the three adventurers, and watched to see if they flinched or, worse, fled. To his surprise, they held up all right, only tightening their grip on their reins and grimacing as they fought to control their mounts.

    He grunted and pulled back his aura, nodding. ¡°Good. All right, head up the road to the army. When the scouts stop you, tell them I sent you to speak to Sarl, the captain of the Glorious Ninth. You¡¯ve got a lot of work to do to earn one of their armbands, but if you work hard and fight bravely, you¡¯ll find yourselves surrounded by the best soldiers in the legion.¡±

    The three men babbled their thanks, speaking over each other to profess their gratitude, and then they urged their mounts around him, cantering over the bridge in a noisy rumble. Victor grinned, always pleased to see more strong recruits joining the ranks. He¡¯d just turned back toward the mountains when he heard a thunderous roar echoing through the air, reverberating over the wooden bridge. ¡°Uvu,¡± he chuckled.

    A few momentster, he felt more than he heard Uvu pad over the wooden nks and then stir some gravel nearby. ¡°Hey, Va.¡± He didn¡¯t turn to watch her approach.

    ¡°Getting better at noticing peopleing up behind you?¡±

    ¡°Not hard when Uvu¡¯s scaring the shit out of some poor adventurers.¡±

    ¡°They didn¡¯t react nearly as badly as thest ones who came along.¡± Va and Uvu stopped on his left side, and she smiled up at him in greeting. Victor felt his heart racing as he looked down at her, saw those big teal eyes, and basked in the brightness of her smile. She really didn¡¯t smile often, and he felt like it made the few she threw out every day a lot more meaningful. He supposed there was a lesson in there for him¡ªsomething about swearing too much, perhaps.

    He wanted to tell her how beautiful she looked to him at that moment, with the reddish-orange sunset lighting her eyes and face with a sort of golden glow. He¡¯d tried that, though, and when he was blunt about his attraction, it seemed to chase her off, make her withdraw a bit. He¡¯d found that if he just yed it cool and made himself avable, she was apt to show him a little affection, hinting at the heat they¡¯d shared the night of the battle with the Imperials. She definitely wasn¡¯t ready for an open, romantic rtionship, but he felt like slow and steady might win the race. He hoped. The truth was, Victor had no damn idea if he was doing things right¡ªmaybe he should be more forward. On a whim, he said, ¡°Your eyes look pretty in this light.¡±

    ¡°Is that any way to speak to your Primus?¡± Her voice was scolding, but her eyes wereughing.

    ¡°Yeah, when she¡¯s got eyes like polished turquoise, and the sunset makes ¡®em look like they were dipped in gold . . .¡±

    ¡°All right, enough, Sir Legate.¡± She chuckled and, as some color flooded her cheeks, turned toward the hamlet. ¡°We¡¯ll push past before camping?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I think that¡¯s for the best. No sense panicking the locals.¡±

    ¡°Agreed. Imagine how it would look if we encamped outside their walls. The children would be terrified. Let¡¯s march five miles or so past the walls. The moons will be out tonight, and the soldiers are sturdy. I know you¡¯re eager to get through the pass in any case.¡±

    ¡°Damn right. I know this is important, and the rewards will be worthwhile, at least for everyone back there,¡± he jerked his thumb toward the army, ¡°but I¡¯m ready to do something else for a while. I¡¯ve been talking to Khul Bach, and the old bastard still doesn¡¯t think I¡¯m anywhere near ready to do what he wants me to do on Zaafor. I think we need to find a ce to adventure when we¡¯re done here. A world that¡¯ll challenge us and where we can learn ways to push ourselves into new improvements.¡± He frowned momentarily, reaching down to tug her chin toward him so their eyes locked. ¡°You¡¯reing with me, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my n.¡± She nodded gravely, pushing his arm away. Then, in a softer voice, she added, ¡°Not sure how I¡¯m going to exin it to Rellia . . .¡± She always used her mother¡¯s name when she was frustrated.

    ¡°We¡¯ll cross that one when wee to it. She¡¯s going to have her hands full, anyway.¡± He clicked his tongue, and Guapo started forward at a walk. Va and Uvu kept pace with him. ¡°I mean with the kingdom building and whatnot.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, she¡¯ll be a pig in a banquet.¡±

    Victor looked at her sharply, thinking the System had broken down for a moment when he heard the word ¡°pig¡±e out of her mouth. Then he remembered all the bacon and stewden with pork he¡¯d eaten in this world and nodded. ¡°Trips me out that you have an animal here close enough to the one I have on my world that the System uses the same word. It¡¯s weird the System doesn¡¯t call holbyis ¡®sheep,¡¯ too, ¡®cause they¡¯re pretty damn close.¡±

    Va didn¡¯t reply immediately, just looking at him with narrowed eyes, perhaps trying to make sense of his words. After a moment, she shook her head slightly. ¡°The System is certainly interesting. Have you given any thought to the treasures we found after the battle? And the more potent items Edeya discovered in the valuables you had her catalog for you?¡±

    Victor grunted, his mind turning to the list of items she was referring to. The army had scoured the fallen Imperials, taking their weapons and armor and recovering over a thousand storage containers, from rings to pouches to magical backpacks. Va wasn¡¯t talking about the more mundane treasures¡ªbeads, jewelry, gems, various potions, lesser armor, or weapons. No, she was talking about the half-dozen racial enhancement items, a conscious rapier, and a few magical artifacts that would enhance users of certain affinities.

    None of those treasures were of much use to Victor. He could eat all of the racial enhancements and probably only gain one rank. He didn¡¯t want the rapier, and none of the artifacts were much good for a Spirit Caster. Edeya had cataloged a trove of wealth, and he¡¯d taken ownership of it all; he could pass some out here and there as rewards or use the money for purchases at another time. The racial enhancements were from the field, though, found in an overturned Imperial supply wagon. Could he just hand them to whomever he wanted? If Edeya had been the one to find them, he would have had her consume one immediately.

    ¡°I told you I want Edeya to have at least one.¡±

    ¡°And I reminded you that the unit that recovered those items spread the word around camp. Soldiers are eager to see how you¡¯ll assign them.¡±

    Victor nodded, thinking it over while they rode. They were only a half mile or so from the town, and he wanted to assure the people within that the army would be passing by without any threat to their popce. ¡°I have the lists from the captains. The ones I used to hand out medals andmendations.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but you already did that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about this for a few days now, and I¡¯vee up with a n. First, I don¡¯t care what anyone says; Edeya¡¯s getting one of the racial enhancements. After that, I think I¡¯ll put together a list. I¡¯m going to write down all the treasures we have avable, and I¡¯ll institute a token system.¡± He looked at Va, instantly knew what she was about to say, and cut her off, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m ripping off the Warlord¡¯s idea. We¡¯re going to have Campaign Tokens, and soldiers will earn one for every battle they¡¯re in.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t help if everyone has the same amount of tokens . . .¡±

    ¡°No, hold on, let me finish. They¡¯ll also earn them by doing special tasks, like scouting in dangerous areas or training recruits. They can earn extra tokens for valor, for which they have to be nominated by a higher-ranking soldier. We can flesh out the system and add some details, but I think if we have a bunch of items for, like, one or two tokens, many soldiers will blow them early, and then it will be a race for the more frugal ones to build up enough for the better items.¡±

    ¡°I like it.¡± Va didn¡¯t say more, as they were nearly in front of the gate to the little town. Victor admired the hard work that had gone into the wall¡ªcarefully chiseled stone blocks, likely cut with Energy, fit together nearly seamlessly to form a rather formidable barrier almost twenty feet high, and if the tunnel behind the gate were any indication, about half that wide. Nobody was present outside the gate or further down the road. Victor had watched them all going inside as he and Va approached. The gate was open, though, so he didn¡¯t think they¡¯d terrified the popce too much¡ªthat, or they were afraid of offending him.

    After they sat outside the gates for a few moments, Victor heard somemotion from the tunnel, and then a woman appeared, walking hesitantly through the tunnel and out the gate. She was d in soft-looking yellow linens, and a white fur cap sat atop her bright green curls. She was an Ardeni and young, with little freckles dotting her nose and cheeks. She stopped by the gate and looked from Victor to Va to Uvu, then back to Victor. ¡°May we help you, Lord and Lady?¡±

    ¡°We just want to assure you that we¡¯ll be passing by. The troops marching past your town will not seek to enter or harass any of your citizens.¡± Va spoke¡ªVictor was used to her doing so when they met strangers together.

    ¡°Will it enrage you if we close the gates until you¡¯ve passed by?¡± The girl, for Victor didn¡¯t think she could be older than fifteen, shrank back a little as she spoke.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°Why¡¯d they send you out here instead of the mayor or whoever¡¯s in charge?¡±

    ¡°I lost the lottery . . .¡±

    ¡°What the fu . . .¡±

    ¡°<em>Thank</em> you,¡± Va said, speaking over Victor¡¯s outburst. ¡°Go inside now and close your gates. We¡¯ll be gone before you¡¯ve all had your supper.¡±

    ¡°Hang on,¡± Victor said before the girl could fully turn around. He reached into his dimensional container and fished out a small bag of beads. ¡°Catch.¡± He tossed them to the girl, and she deftly snatched the pouch out of the air, causing the beads to click together satisfyingly. ¡°Don¡¯t share that with those chickenshit assholes in there.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Before Victor could reply, she was gone, slipping through the gates, already swinging shut¡ªthe operator must have heard Va¡¯s words.

    ¡°A lottery,¡± Victor scoffed, clicking his tongue to get Guapo moving again. ¡°Come on; let¡¯s pick out our campsite. I want to set up my house and kick my feet up for a while before Borrius starts boring me.¡± He shook his head,ughing at his choice of words. Va didn¡¯t join in, so he stared at her for a minute until she broke, a smile spreading her lips as her low, softugh joined his.

 Book 6: Chapter 2: The Granite Gates

    Book 6: Chapter 2: The Granite Gates

    It took the army another two days to climb into the wide pass of the Granite Gates. As they climbed the foothills, Victor saw that the wide, gravel road followed a sort of natural cleft between the two nearest, enormous peaks of the range. Enormous was an understatement. The mountains began to take on a kind of mythical proportion as the distance shortened. Gigantic, dark gray, very lightly treed slopes rose to staggering heights, blotting out the sky, bing the entirety of the marchers¡¯ world.

    Fanwath was a big world, and though they¡¯d moved steadily southward for weeks, they were still in a temperate climate, and the temperature began to grow chilly as they climbed into the heights. It didn¡¯t bother Victor, and it certainly didn¡¯t affect Guapo, but he saw the breath pluming forth from the soldiers and their rdii. He saw the soldiers pulling out furs, cloaks, and hats of all sorts. The shadows grew very long, and the going was dimly lit as they progressed. Thick gray clouds filled the sky, and snow that seemed distant, remotely nestled in the peaks when they¡¯d approached over the ins, was now visible on the nearby slopes.

    Rellia¡¯s airship never managed to rejoin the army; it had needed weeks¡¯ worth of refitting and repairs, and by the time she received notice in her Farscribe book that it was taking flight, they were only days from the pass. Victor had asked why it couldn¡¯t fly over the range or even through the very pass they were hiking, and Borrius had snorted, saying he¡¯d understand when they got nearer the summit of the pass in a few days. Victor was starting to understand¡ªdespite the steep incline of the narrower and narrower roadway, they were nowhere near the highest point, and the winds were beginning to rip and hammer at the column.

    On the third day of their ascent, Va and Victor sat on their mounts, discussing their progress. ¡°We¡¯re moving out of the settlednds.¡± She tugged her heavy fur cloak tight at her throat. It was a pretty thing, made up of a dozen or more small-game furs. Each was white in some way, though dappled with different colored fur from ck to red to pale taupe. ¡°Energy is wilder up here and south of here in the Marches.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I heard the briefingst night, too.¡± Victor grinned to show he was teasing; Rellia had droned on for a while the previous night in Victor¡¯s travel home. She¡¯d spoken about the wild nature of Energy they were marching into, about how the System would be taking their measure, creating a suitable challenge for the army¡ªit seemed newnds didn¡¯te easily to the citizens of System-run worlds.

    ¡°Why do you think it does it?¡± He wasn¡¯t specific, but he thought Va would infer his meaning. They were a mile or so ahead of the column, a short way behind the forward scouts, taking a small break for a bit of travel food and water.

    Va put a piece of dried fruit in her mouth, chewing slowly while she considered. She idly scratched Uvu¡¯s neck for a moment, then said, ¡°I think the System gains something from us as we gain power. This isn¡¯t my theory; I learned it from one of the tutors Rellia hired for me before I chased him off. As we fight and die, we release Energy from those we kill. The System awards us some while it keeps a portion.¡± She looked at him briefly, running her eyes over his frame. ¡°Imagine the Energy stored up in your body. Not just in your Core; you can see how much is in your Core, but what about all the Energy that was put into improving your attributes? If you died, that would all be released. Whoever killed you would profit, but how much would the System leach away?¡±

    ¡°So it wants us to have to fight and die . . . or kill to gain these newnds. But it makes the challenge? How?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe monsters or savages are living in the Marches. Maybe the System will drag them from a dungeon or,¡± her eyes widened, ¡°another world.¡±

    Victor chewed on hisst bite of dried meat, washing it down with a swig of cold water. He put away his canteen. ¡°You think the System thinks about us? I mean, do you think it¡¯s more like a force of nature or a being?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Itmunicates with words, but they don¡¯t usually convey much emotion. Even those ¡®warnings¡¯ you got were sort of detached, right?¡± She shrugged and made a flicking motion with her finger. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. We¡¯re like ants to it. Do ants try to understand the person stepping on their home?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like being an ant.¡± Victor looked down the road past Va. ¡°I can see the vanguard. Let¡¯s keep going.¡± He turned and started forward, and the afternoon drifted by in a blur of gray rocky slopes speckled with patches of snow. The wind grew ever harsher, ever colder, and the climb grew steeper, the path narrower. By the time darkness fell, Victor was starting to worry that therger wagons wouldn¡¯t be able to continue much further.

    The road¡¯s edge was well-defined; whatever Earth Casters had built, it had cleaved the roadway into the Western, right-hand side of the pass, and the shoulder grew steep and rocky, and the fall on the left became a dizzying drop¡ªit made Victor nervous to get within ten feet of it. In the evening, he asked Rellia about it, but she assured him that her record books indicated that the road would remain wide enough, if only by a matter of inches, for her wagons to make it through. They might have to clear snow or scree from the shoulder, but that wouldn¡¯t be hard with more than six thousand soldiers ready to do thebor.

    The next day, as the sky lightened from ck to gray, the column started out again, eager to get through the pass. If Rellia¡¯s records were correct, they should reach the summit by nightfall, and the most challenging part of the climb would be over; the trip down was shorter¡ªthe Marches were higher in elevation than the Imperialnds.

    The cold wind began to sting even Victor as it delivered flecks of icy rain in its passage. Borrius called out the Wind Casters, risking the wrath of the elemental spirits in the heights by pushing the gusts to the sides, trying to clear a path for the army that wouldn¡¯t be so punishing. It paid off for most of the day, but by the afternoon, the casters grew taxed, found their efforts too little to fend off the wild winds, and the army had to buckle down and forge ahead.

    Visibility was poor, so Victor summoned his banner, riding Guapo with the vanguard, providing a beacon for everyone to drive toward. Though the sun was still hours from setting, it grew very dim and gray; snow dusted the stones of the roadway, kicked up in swirling eddies by the gusts, and Victor could see the soldiers, even Va, shivering. He noticed the sharpness of the frozen flecks of moisture on the wind, but it didn¡¯t bother him; his skin was ruddy with warmth, the magma in his chest keeping him warm despite his naked arms.

    He still didn¡¯t know how to use the Breath Core, not really. He¡¯d yed around with it a bit, using his mind¡¯s eye to study the swirling, writhing ball of orange-red Energy, focusing his will upon it and trying to pull it into his pathways. It didn¡¯t move like the Energy in his other Core, though. It didn¡¯t seem to want to flow into the same pathways, and he knew there was a different trick to it, a different way to ess it. He just hadn¡¯t figured it out. He¡¯d begun to wonder if he had to do something else first. Maybe he had to build up the Core and get it out of the ¡°seed¡± stage. Perhaps he had to build a different pathway, something he had no idea how to do, just like he didn¡¯t know how to cultivate the magma Energy.

    He''d tried. He¡¯d tried pulling Energy out of campfires, out of fire-attuned Energy beads, and from orbs of fire summoned by the Elemental Casters in the army. Nothing had worked; it seemed there was something different about cultivating Energy for a Breath Core. All that considered, Victor felt frustrated by his inability to help the army cope with the inclement, brutal weather in the pass. He looked down at Va, shivering on Uvu¡¯s back. ¡°Hey, why won¡¯t you ride with me?¡± He patted Guapo¡¯s back, sliding back to show there was plenty of room. ¡°I¡¯ll keep you warm.

    She looked up at him, frost in her eyebrows, and for a second, he thought she¡¯d ept the invitation, but she nced over her shoulder at the first line of soldiers marching behind them, steadily driving forward into the wind, chasing Victor¡¯s banner, and shook her head. ¡°Bad example.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit. Come on¡ªUvu¡¯s fine. Let him run off and hunt himself a snack. The soldiers don¡¯t care if you ride with me.¡± Victor leaned down, holding out his hand. Watching her eyes, he saw her will crumble, and she reached up to grasp hold of him, and he tugged, almost effortlessly lifting her off Uvu¡¯s back to straddle Guapo in front of him. As the big cat yowled and ran off into the icy wind, Victor wrapped his arms around Va, savoring the victorious moment.

    ¡°Ancestors, you¡¯re warm even in this cold.¡± She nestled back into him, folding her arms up under her cloak. Victor reached up and pulled the front of her hood down as Guapo started plodding forward again, utterly oblivious to the weather.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± He chuckled, once again wishing there weren¡¯t so manyyers between them. Still, it felt good to hold her, and he wondered at that, at how he¡¯d grown to think of Va, and really, only Va in that regard. When they¡¯d spoken more than a month ago in Persi Gables, and Va had called him out about his infatuation with Tes, he¡¯d had to admit that she was right. If they had the same discussion today, though, he felt like his response would be different. Already, Tes was kind of like a pleasant dream, a beautiful unreal near-deity that he¡¯d met in a strange far-offnd. The whole thing was surreal to the point of feeling like a fantasy he¡¯d conjured up.

    Va was real. She was brave, intelligent, talented, and very, very principled. ¡°And beautiful,¡± he muttered, wondering if she¡¯d connect the dots and figure out his thoughts. She didn¡¯t speak, though, and he held her so close that he wasn¡¯t sure she was awake; maybe she¡¯d dosed off. He hated that he had to move so slowly. If he and Va were alone, they¡¯d have crossed through the mountains in half a day, Guapo charging through the pass, ignoring the cold. ¡°God, that would be fun!¡±

    Victor looked over his shoulder and saw the shadowy, hunched figures of the vanguard pushing forward, many with balls of glowing Energy floating near their heads. They were doing their best; it was kind of shitty of him to want to bail on them, even if it was just a fleeting impulse. He urged Guapo to slow down a little, allowing the soldiers to gain on him so his banner fell on more of them. With a determined frown, he buckled down, using his will against himself for a change, reminding himself of his responsibilities.

    As the gray sky darkened and the shadows grew long and thick, Victor heard a shout from behind and slowed, turning. He felt Va stir and realized he¡¯d been right earlier; she¡¯d fallen asleep in his arms. He was grinning slyly, pleased with himself, when he caught sight of Rellia and Borrius riding forward. ¡°Hey,¡± he called, straightening, letting his hands and arms fall to his sides. For some reason, he was self-conscious about hugging Va close as her mother approached.

    ¡°Scouts with Far Sight spells say they see shadows moving on the slopes. We¡¯re afraid we¡¯re about to be ambushed by rock trolls or . . . something.¡± Borrius shrugged.

    ¡°We don¡¯t think we should camp,¡± Rellia added, her eyes drifting from Victor¡¯s face down to Va¡¯s shrouded, hooded form. Both she and Borrius were bundled in furs, though neither looked particrly chilly¡ªVictor had already heard about their warmth-enchanted cloaks. They weren¡¯t the only ones in the army with such garments, but the vast majority relied on good, old-fashionedyers to make it through the cold.

    ¡°Yes. We¡¯ll call out for more lights and keep pushing forward. Victor, we had an idea.¡± Borrius licked his lips, then drove ahead, ¡°We think you should ride forward a bit more and unleash your aura. Let the denizens of this pass know what they¡¯re stalking.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°All right. I¡¯ll keep my banner up. Are we pushing through the whole night?¡±

    ¡°We think that would be best.¡± Rellia continued to peer at Va, then said, and when her daughter met her gaze, she asked, ¡°Want to join me until Uvu returns?¡±

    ¡°No. I¡¯ve felt Victor¡¯s aura many times. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m finally warm¡ªancestors, mother! Why didn¡¯t you warn us about the heights of this pass? I would have bought better cold-weather gear.¡±

    ¡°Is it my fault you didn¡¯t study the geography of thends you intend to conquer?¡± Rellia snorted, then tugged at her reins, turning her beautiful vidanii around. Over her shoulder, she called, ¡°We¡¯ll be close behind should trouble arise.¡±

    Borrius nodded and turned also, and Va, with some rare humor in her voice, said, ¡°She doesn¡¯t like that I¡¯m riding with you.¡±

    ¡°Tough.¡± Victor clicked his tongue, and Guapo started forward, putting a hundred yards or so between them and the front ranks of the army¡¯s vanguard. His banner still zed, and when Victor let go of his aura, he felt like it brightened as the part of his will relegated to holding his aura in check was released of its burden.

    ¡°Oof!¡± Va groaned. ¡°It¡¯s been a while. I think it¡¯s heavier now.¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°No. Truthfully, it¡¯s almostforting. Something in me knows that pressure isn¡¯t meant for me.¡±

    ¡°Hang on.¡± Victor concentrated for a moment. Then he summoned forth a pack of pony-sized, inspiration-attuned coyotes. As they yipped and howled, pacing around in the windy, frigid ind of light cast by his banner, he willed them to patrol, to climb the slopes where they could and where they couldn¡¯t, to pace the length of the army, weaving among the soldiers, spreading the influence of the inspiration Energy that bled from their silvery, misty forms. He watched them pad off into the darkness, and even outside his banner¡¯s light, he could see them glowing with faint luminescence in the dark.

    ¡°Will they tell you if they find trouble?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly tell me, but I can feel what they¡¯re up to. I¡¯ll know if they find something.¡±

    Va nestled back into him, and Victor continued forward, his banner banishing the darkness as they climbed. Soon, he became aware of presences outside the glow, a vague feeling of animosity, and the asional falling pebbles or stones. The impression he got from the lurkers was one of fear and flight; they weren¡¯t sticking around to watch him; they were trying to get away. His coyotes¡¯ howls, yips, cries, and yapping barks echoed through the canyon, and he knew they were heartening the troops as they walked back and forth through the column.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice how the Energy you use summoning thosepanions of yours affects their nature.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I felt the inspiration had the right note for what we¡¯re trying to do. Courage would have been good, but the army isn¡¯t exactly scared right now. At least, I didn¡¯t get that impression.¡±

    ¡°Agreed.¡± Va gestured to the left at the sloping, rocky mountainside on the other side of the dizzying drop. ¡°I saw a shadow off that way.¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh, we were surrounded for a while, but most of them ran away.¡±

    ¡°Truly?¡± She jerked, twisting in front of him to look up into his face, perhaps to see if he was teasing.

    ¡°Truly. You didn¡¯t feel them?¡±

    ¡°No, but I feel something else . . . we¡¯re no longer climbing!¡±

    Victor immediately realized she was right; the rocky roadway had leveled off, and though the wind still sted at them out of the heights, he thought he could see a sliver of light in the distance. ¡°Is that one of the moons?¡±

    ¡°If so, it¡¯s kind of strange; doesn¡¯t it seem green?¡± Va leaned forward, reaching out to grasp Guapo¡¯s mane. Victor could see she was right. The clouds and flicking gusts of frosty rain made it hard to focus, but somewhere ahead, as distant as the imagined horizon, a weird green light seemed to be glowing. ¡°Definitely not a moon unless something in the air is tinting it oddly.¡± Va leaned back again, pulling her hood down.

    ¡°We¡¯ll see soon enough.¡± Nothing attacked, though Victor felt several more entities flee his banner and aura through the night. He didn¡¯t know what they were, and they might not know what or who he was, but they knew they didn¡¯t want any part of him or his people. As the night wore on, and the pass shifted into a downward slope, he chuckled, and Va stirred, turning to look up at him again.

    ¡°What¡¯s funny?¡±

    ¡°What if this whole thing is that easy? What if our numbers or our levels are so daunting to the creatures of the Marches that they just kind of flee ahead of us? What if we just walk down there and can im all thend we want?¡±

    ¡°A lovely thought, but don¡¯t get your hopes up. This pass is still, technically, part of the Ridonne Empire. Whatever the first peoples on Fanwath did to im thends north of here also counted for this pass. The creatures in the darkness, threatening the column, are just typical monsters simr to what you might find anywhere in the wilds of the Empire. When we emerge from these mountains, the real test will begin. Well, that¡¯s what Rellia says. I believe her, though; she¡¯s probably the most versed schr on the subject in the Empire.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s wanted to do this her whole life, huh?¡±

    ¡°Maybe not her entire life, but most of it. Didn¡¯t she tell you about how she used to chastise her uncles about theircency? She¡¯s wanted to conquer newnds since she learned about the Writs of Conquest.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. She mentioned it.¡± As they followed the road as it wound around an outcropping of solid stone, an umonly straight view down the pass resolved, and Victor could see the ck sky was lightening, turning toward gray. He wished he could see through the mountains on the left toward the sunrise. However, the thought of sunrises faded from his mind as the path switched to the right, skirting another bend. When it straightened again, they had a view of the distant sky from a new angle, and he felt Va stop breathing. He couldn¡¯t me her.

    ¡°What . . .¡± Her voice caught in her throat. Sensing Victor¡¯s stress, Guapo slowed to a stop, his front hooves lifting up and down, pawing at the rock road. Victor hardly noticed; he was staring at the brilliant ball of sickly green light in the sky. It had to be a hundred miles away, but it hung nearly at their eye level like a weird, diseased sun had fallen from the heavens to shed its light on a small part of the world. Victor could see the contours of hills, forests,kes, and ins under that otherworldly light, though everything was glimpsed through a haze of thin, anemic fog. He tried to formte a statement or question and was just about to give voice to his words when a System message appeared, sting the thoughts from his mind:

    <strong>***Challenge of Conquest! Halt the invasion from the world of Dark Ember. Drive the forces of Prince Hector of Heart Rot from Fanwath and reim thends they¡¯ve begun to taint. Rewards: New territory, a Colony Stone, and Chests of Conquest at strategic locations.***</strong>

 Book 6: Chapter 3: Making the Rounds

    Book 6: Chapter 3: Making the Rounds

    Borrius counseled Victor to halt the army a mile from the bottom of the pass in a particrly narrow portion where sheer rock walls climbed for thousands of feet on either side of the rough, rock-strewn roadway. They knew what was behind them, and with the massive cliffs, they didn¡¯t have to worry about their nks, leaving the southern road sloping down into the weirdly misty valley as the only avenue by which unknown enemies might attack. As the summer sun struggled to make itself known through the thick cloud cover, Victor watched the efforts of the army to fortify their position.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯vee this far,¡± Rellia said from beside him, sitting on the edge of arge boulder. She, along with the othermanders of the army, had ridden a short way down the road, perhaps half a mile from where it abruptly ended in the rolling hills of thick scrub and grass.

    ¡°They?¡± Borrius asked, still atop his barded mount.

    ¡°The forces of this Prince of Heart Rot, whatever that is. What an absurd name; why would you call yournds something so . . .¡±

    ¡°Gross?¡± Va suggested.

    ¡°It makes me think of death magic.¡± Lam¡¯s boots scraped on the rough stone as she moved to sit by Rellia.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor nodded. ¡°The whole System message was like something out of a cheesy video game.¡± He waved his hand in the air. ¡°Yeah, yeah. I know you don¡¯t know what that is. I mean, it¡¯s like a bad fairy tale. Does that make sense?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Va pointed down the slope toward the dimly lit expanse ofnd leading into the valley below the pass. Victor tracked where she pointed, watching as thendscape grew more and more dark, more and more covered by miasmic mists, until his eyes met the distant horizon where dark clouds roiled, utterly obscuring thend. ¡°That¡¯s no fairy tale, though.¡±

    ¡°This is good.¡± Borrius turned his mount, looking upslope to where the army engineers toiled, then shifting to scan the valley. ¡°We¡¯ve got the high ground. We can see any enemy approaching. We should build something a bit more permanent here. A keep that bridges the entire pass. It¡¯s a solid foothold from which to march forth.¡±

    ¡°If we had true fortifications here, it would alleviate us having to watch over our shoulders for the Empire. We could make the pass very costly for them toe through.¡± Rellia idly massaged the palm of her left hand between her fingers and thumb as she spoke, her eyes distant, perhaps imagining the fortification Borrius proposed.

    ¡°There¡¯s certainly plenty of stone in these cliffs . . .¡±

    ¡°Are you guys forgetting something?¡± Victor interrupted.

    ¡°I¡¯m with Victor. That System message didn¡¯t say anything about the influx of ¡®invaders¡¯ slowing. The longer we dilly dally up here building a keep, the more enemies we may have to contend with. If we were higher in the pass, and if it was still night, we¡¯d have that green star hanging in the sky to remind us.¡± As she¡¯d suggested, Lam¡¯s words echoed Victor¡¯s thinking; as the army had descended from the heights, the clouds had begun to block their view of the green orb or portal or whatever it was. Even so, in the dark, everything had been cast in an eerie greenish glow, especially the clouds and mist in the distance. Only as the sun climbed toward noon did it begin to fade.

    ¡°We can manage both.¡± Borrius chuckled, shaking his head. ¡°The nonbat personnel will remain here, along with most of the Shadeni tribe. I¡¯ll leave most of the engineers and Earth Casters to work on the fortification. I propose we peel off the extra troops from the various cohorts, forming an eleventh cohort to serve as a rear guard.¡±

    ¡°What happened to ¡®swelling¡¯ the cohorts to amodate losses?¡± Va knelt, picked up a smooth rock, and chucked it down the stone roadway. It flew a good distance, then clicked and ttered over the ground.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have these reserves, holding our base and ready to fill in when called for duty. We still may have more volunteers heading our way through the pass. In any event, we¡¯ll need a garrison here to receive and train them.¡±

    ¡°All right, Borrius.¡± Victor nodded to the oldmander. ¡°You¡¯ve made a good argument, and I think it makes sense. It¡¯s clear Rellia agrees with you, so I think we can go ahead and make the order. Meanwhile, I think I¡¯d like to ride out with the Ninth and see if I can get eyes on this enemy we¡¯re dealing with. It¡¯d be good to size them up, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°The Ninth?¡± Lam turned to Victor. ¡°Because they¡¯re the highest level?¡±

    ¡°Highest average level, and more than half of them have fought a hopeless battle already on this campaign. You know what I mean? They thought they were going to die before the Naghelli joined the fight.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of the Naghelli . . .¡± Va pointed to the cluster of dark, round tents further up the pass where the winged fighters had set up camp. They kept to themselves each night, but Victor was d to have them in the rear¡ªnothing would be sneaking past Kethelket and his people.

    ¡°It would be good if they¡¯d do some scouting . . .¡±

    ¡°I worry about that,¡± Rellia spoke before Victor could finish his thought. ¡°Did they not serve a Death Caster?¡±

    ¡°Not happily. We¡¯ve been over this, Rellia.¡± Victor hopped down from the boulder to look at her more easily.

    ¡°Still, what if this Prince Hector tries to recruit them? What if they like his offer?¡±

    ¡°So, we¡¯re back to not trusting them?¡± Va sighed, shaking her head at her mother.

    Rellia held up her hands, signaling capittion. ¡°I¡¯m only trying to suggest we use caution where they are concerned. Let us not leave ourselves open to an easy betrayal.¡± She saw Victor¡¯s scowl and pressed on, ¡°I know we owe them much! I know they¡¯ve been good, easypanions on this journey. I don¡¯t propose we sideline them; let¡¯s give them more opportunities to prove themselves, but, at the same time, let¡¯s be prepared for what will happen should they act out our worst fears.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Victor stepped away from the others, feeling the need to walk, clear his head, and speak to some different people for a change. He wanted to see Tha and Deyni. ¡°By all means, be cautious with them. Anyway, I¡¯m going to go check in on the Shadeni and maybe do some axe work. I¡¯m so close to the edge of epic I can taste it.¡± He turned, stalking up the slope toward the encampment, pointedly avoiding making eye contact with any of the othermanders; he didn¡¯t want to give them a chance to suck him back into another debate.

    He felt a little guilty for not inviting Va along, but he rationalized his abrupt departure by figuring she¡¯de after him if she wanted to. He¡¯d spent a lot of time with her over thest few weeks, thest couple of days in particr. Hadn¡¯t he had her wrapped in his arms through the dark, frigid night? ¡°And not a word from her when we parted.¡± Was he being unfair? Maybe, but so was she, in his mind. More brooding was forestalled as soldiers called out greetings, snapping smart salutes, pride in their leader evident on their faces. Victor forced a cheerful expression and answered back with encouragement.

    ¡°Nice looking wall!¡± he said, inanely, to a pair of soldiers working to stack blocks from the innards of one of the massive supply wagons. They saluted, though, pleased with the praise. Earth Caster engineers woulde along behind them and bond the stones more securely than concrete ever could. Despite his intention to make his way to the Shadeni section of the encampment, further up the stony pass, he caught sight of Sarl addressing his cohort near the western canyon wall and walked that way.

    ¡°. . . and that¡¯s why we have much to prove, much to live up to! Each of you who joined this cohort after the battle on the ins has a debt to pay those soldiers who died, giving you a ce in this fine fighting force. Further . . . <em>Attention!</em> Legate Primus!¡± Sarl turned and snapped an impable salute when he saw Victor step up next to him.

    Victor had been practicing the traditional salute the army employed. It wasn¡¯t very hard once you got the order of things¡ªStep one: Stand up straight, make a fist, and hold it out before you. Step two: Lift your right foot. Step three: Stomp your foot next to your left and m your fist into your chest above your heart. That was it; you just had to hold that position until themanding officer released you or, if you were themanding officer, for a second or two. He responded to Sarl¡¯s salute with one of his own, then said, ¡°At ease, everyone. I need to speak to Captain Sarl.¡±

    ¡°Dismissed!¡± Sarl watched his cohort disburse for a moment, then turned to Victor. ¡°How are things, sir?¡±

    ¡°Victor. Call me Victor when we¡¯re alone, please, Sarl.¡± When Sarl nodded, a small smile altering his usual dour expression, he continued, ¡°Things look good. We¡¯re going to build a base of operations here.¡±

    ¡°A sensible n.¡±

    Victor looked at Sarl closely, studying his shrewd eyes. The one-time Ghelli nobleman was a clever man with a strong will. He looked shabby next to a Ghelli like Lam, but he was a skilled fencer, and he¡¯d been through hell in his life. Victor valued his opinion. ¡°Any thoughts on the conquest quest the System handed out?¡±

    ¡°I think we¡¯re in for a difficult time. The System thrives on conflict, in my experience, and I believe it¡¯s clever enough to know how to challenge even you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I know there are plenty of people in the System¡¯s worlds who can whip my ass. I just hope it remembers we¡¯re on Fanwath and doesn¡¯t throw something at us that¡¯ll ughter all these good people.¡± Victor gestured around the bustling camp. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯ll find out soon. I¡¯m heading down there tomorrow, and I want the Ninth toe with.¡±

    Sarl¡¯s eyebrows arched up, and a savage grin spread on his face. Victor couldn¡¯t help noticing how his dragonfly-like wings stiffened, vibrating ever-so-slightly. ¡°That¡¯s fantastic, Victor! You won¡¯t regret it!¡±

    ¡°Good. Have your men lined up and ready to go at dawn.¡± By way of response, Sarl performed another sharp salute, and Victor nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve more people to speak to. See youter.¡± As he walked away, he heard Sarl shouting orders to his lieutenants and sergeants. Something stirred in his chest as he thought about Sarl, thinking that at least one person who¡¯d been there at the very beginning, back when he¡¯d been a skinny kid fighting in the Wagon Wheel, was still with him. An image shed through his mind of a face he hadn¡¯t pictured in a long while¡ªYre. ¡°God, I wish she was still alive.¡±

    Victor rapidly blinked his eyes, banishing the thought as he lengthened his stride toward the Shadeni wagons. He didn¡¯t have to struggle to find the people he sought; Chandri, Cha, and Deyni were standing outside, near the wagon he¡¯d left behind with Tha. To Victor''s surprise and horror, Chandri was watching as Cha and Deyni performed spear drills. Deyni was still a foot shorter than Cha, but she was fierce and quick, her movements nearly as sharp as the vicious teenager¡¯s. More startling than anything, she¡¯d painted her face like her stepsisters.

    Sharp angles of white and ck paint did the job of making her look tougher than usual, but the ent of red around her lips and eyes made it all the worse. Could little Deyni be learning how to kill people already? No, Victor stopped that line of thought; she was learning to defend herself, and a damn good idea it was, too. ¡°Hey,¡± he called, stepping up to the trio.

    ¡°Victor!¡± Deyni cried, dropping her practice spear and running to wrap her arms around his waist. Victor peeled her off, then hoisted her up, hugging her into his chest and kissing the top of her head.

    ¡°You little huntress! You¡¯re learning to stab pigs?¡±

    ¡°Not pigs! Imperials!¡± she growled, baring her teeth.

    ¡°Oh, man.¡± Victor supposed there was no helping it; the Empire had made their bed, and now they had to sleep in it. Deyni had lost friends to their assault, people she¡¯d grown to think of as family. It would take time for them to stop thinking about the Empire or characterizing them as viins. ¡°We¡¯ve punished those responsible. Don¡¯t carry too much hate in your heart; it gives power to things like fear, and you don¡¯t want fear to grow in your Core.¡±

    ¡°You have fear in your Core!¡±

    ¡°I do, and I struggle with it all the time. I much prefer my inspiration and glory. Let¡¯s try to find something like that in your spirit, all right?¡±

    ¡°Will you still love me if I have something else?¡±

    ¡°Of course, silly.¡± Victor had been holding her against his side, on his hip, and he squeezed her close again. ¡°Love¡¯s the best, I think. I bet you have love in your spirit.¡±

    ¡°How do you know? Do you have love, too?¡±

    ¡°Maybe. I just haven¡¯t found it yet. When I first came here, all I had was rage, you know.¡±

    ¡°I know. Old Mother taught me about it before she walked away with the spirits.¡±

    Victor continued to squeeze her as he watched the two sisters standing nearby, Chandri smiling knowingly at him and Cha leaning on her spear, looking bored. ¡°Can I count on you three to help build our base here? We¡¯ll need clever ideas to make a ce that feels like home to people used to living on the ins.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re settling here?¡± Cha asked, disgust in her voice. ¡°I thought we¡¯d settle the ins and forests!¡±

    ¡°No, <em>hermanita,</em> we¡¯re just making a base here, but it might be some time before we think it¡¯s safe for people who aren¡¯t in the army to go further down into the Marches.¡±

    ¡°You can count on me, Victor.¡± Deyni reached one of her tiny hands toward his face, gently rubbing her fingertips along the rough stubble on his jawline. ¡°Pokey,¡± she giggled.

    ¡°All right, all right.¡± Victor set her down and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s your <em>mama</em>?¡±

    ¡°I want to join the legion!¡± Cha said, finally formting a response.

    ¡°Uh.¡± Victor frowned and looked at her. The truth was, she was probably the same age as many of the soldiers who¡¯d joined back near Persi Gables. ¡°You need to talk to Tellen about that. Even if you do, though, you¡¯ll start working here, near the base.¡±

    ¡°Uh, uh, Cha,¡± Chandri stepped in. ¡°You¡¯ll be a huntress like me, and you¡¯ll help that way¡ªwith scouting and gathering food. You¡¯re not ready yet, though.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m better at stealth than you are!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s more to it than being sneaky, little shadow-Core! You need to have the will and discipline to make smart decisions.¡±

    ¡°I can . . .¡±

    ¡°Hey,dies,¡± Victor interrupted. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get in the middle of this. Can you point me toward Tha?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s in the wagon . . .¡± Deyni pointed to the nearby conveyance.

    ¡°Of course you don¡¯t.¡± Chandri folded her arms, scowling, then turned on her heel and started to walk away.

    Victor looked at Cha, met her stormy eyes, and asked, ¡°What¡¯s up with her?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. She¡¯s moody. Come on, Deyni! Let¡¯s get Wista and hunt some cliff bats.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s your adristii?¡± Victor smiled and squatted down to better look at Deyni¡¯s face. The adristii was her falcon-like pet, a raptor she¡¯d used to hunt small game all the way from Persi Gables.

    ¡°She¡¯s good, Victor! I¡¯m getting better and better at calling her and telling her what I want her to do.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because animals can sense your good heart.¡± Victor smiled again, reached out, and gave her little arm a squeeze.

    ¡°Will youe say hi to Wista?¡±

    ¡°Not right now, but yes, I will.¡±

    Deyni turned and ran to Cha, holding out her hand, and as they ran off, she called, ¡°Just tell me when!¡±

    Victor watched the two girls run around the side of the wagon, amazed at how quickly he¡¯d been dismissed. Then he turned toward where Chandri had gone, seeing no trace of her; she¡¯d slipped away between wagons, lost in the crowd of other Shadeni performing camp tasks. ¡°Maybe Tha knows what her deal is.¡± With that in mind, he walked around to the other side of the wagon and knocked on the door. A few seconds passed before thetch clicked, and Tha pushed it open.

    ¡°Victor! I¡¯m d to see you; Tellen and I were just talking, wondering how long we¡¯d camp here.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I . . .¡±

    ¡°Come in! We¡¯re having soup, and I know you like this recipe.¡± She backed away from the door, and Victor followed, ducking low to get through the opening but standing up straight as he stepped into the vaulted interior. The ce was much smaller than he remembered it but a great deal ¡°homier,¡± too. Woven tapestries hung on the walls, and more furniture filled the space, including several smaller beds along the wall with the two original,rger beds. Wooden, folding screens separated the bed in the far corner of the room, and Victor figured that was where Tellen and Tha slept. He got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach thinking about that.

    When he¡¯d purchased the wagon, he¡¯d never imagined Tha having a family here, including a husband. He knew the feeling was stupid, the thought was selfish, but he couldn¡¯t help the emotion. Still, he swallowed it and brought forth a smile, turning to the long pic-style table and saying, ¡°Hey, Tellen. Man, that soup smells good! I¡¯ve missed the meals I had with your peoplest winter.¡±

    ¡°Come on, then. Sit down. Tell us what¡¯s happening with the army and what we¡¯ll do about those invaders and that strange green light in the sky.¡± Tellen pped the bench next to him, and Victor walked that way, watching Tha as she got a bowl off the shelf and began todle out some of the steaming soup from her big, well-used copper pot. Another powerful wave of emotion hit him, this time nostalgia. He remembered meals shared with her on the road, in various inns, and in this very wagon. Wouldn¡¯t it have been nice just to stay with her? Why was he so intent on fighting, exploring, and adventuring?

    ¡°That¡¯s just my hunger talking,¡± he muttered,ughing at himself. He winked at Tellen¡¯s puzzled expression and sat beside the much smaller man. ¡°I feel like I haven¡¯t eaten in weeks, Tha. I hope there¡¯s plenty!¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 4: Scouting Mission

    Book 6: Chapter 4: Scouting Mission

    Victor didn¡¯t sleep much the night before his ¡°scouting mission,¡± as Va had been describing it. The two of them sat together at his big dining table, drinking thest of their cold, bitter ale from Fainhallow. It was a rxing time, with hardly any conversation, but it wasfortable and pleasant, and he hadn¡¯t wanted it to end. It seemed Va felt the same way, and it was well past midnight before they¡¯d gone to sleep. Theck of rest didn¡¯t seem to bother him much. Now, he stood south of the encampment watching the soldiers muster, and his body, as always these days, felt strong, rested, and ready.

    He''d been surprised that Va hadn¡¯t joined him for breakfast, and when he¡¯d gotten ready to leave, he¡¯d been tempted to knock on the door to her room but decided that if she wanted to join the scouting foray, she would; he¡¯d never known her to oversleep. Meanwhile, the ninth cohort, or ¡°the Glorious Ninth,¡± as Victor, Sarl, his veterans, and pretty much everyone else called them, was forming up. They were arraying themselves in thirty rows of twenty soldiers, their armor and weapons glinting in the dawn light.

    The sun was just turning the sky gray, with brighter shades of orange and yellow to the east, pushing back some of the green glow leaching out of the dense foggy clouds near the horizon. Victor was eager to get out there, to see what that sickly fog was like, to find out what the green light in the sky was, and to test the mettle of the mysterious ¡°invaders.¡± With that in mind, he wondered if bringing an entire cohort of foot soldiers was wise. He wondered if he should instead use a smaller group of mounted troops. ¡°Need more mounts in this army.¡±

    ¡°It would be helpful, indeed,¡± a smooth tenor voice said from behind him. Victor whirled, always annoyed when someone surprised him, a scowl darkening his expression.

    ¡°Kethelket.¡± He tried to keep the word from sounding like an expletive, but he wasn¡¯t sure how sessful he was.

    ¡°Good morning, Legate. I see you¡¯re nning an excursion.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Gonna see they of thend, so to speak.¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s a scouting report you¡¯re after, you might have asked me. I¡¯d be pleased to pick a squadron of Naghelli to take a look into things. You know we¡¯re a great deal more mobile and stealthier than those soldiers, no slight intended.¡±

    ¡°None taken. I¡¯m still sort of formting my n. I¡¯m also a lot faster than those soldiers, but if we¡¯re supposed to conquer thesends, I¡¯d like to have a decent force along with me in case we run into an enemy outpost or something.¡± Victor paused, considering. The truth was, Kethelket was right; his people could do this job far more easily. It all came down to trust, and Victor knew the issue was probably transparent to the Naghelli prince.

    ¡°Of course . . .¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t think you all could do this on your own, but I want to ease into working with you. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying? I¡¯d like these soldiers to get experience not only with the territory and the enemy but with your people. Why don¡¯t you pick fifty Naghelli to join this expedition? We can have you do the forward scouting, and then you¡¯ll have this cohort to fall back to.¡±

    ¡°I think that¡¯s wise. I¡¯ll be happy to select a squadron of Naghelli to join. I will lead them.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Like you, I¡¯d enjoy learning to work with the rest of the army. In particr, I¡¯d like to learn to work with you. How long do you anticipate this scouting expedition tost?¡± Kethelket reached up and pulled some loose strands of long, white hair back, refastening his hair tie to keep them at the back of his head. It gave Victor the impression of someone getting ready to get down to work, to get his hands dirty.

    ¡°Depends on what we run into. No more than a week, but maybe as short as a day.¡±

    ¡°Well, if we do spend some time out there, camping, as it were, I¡¯d enjoy a chance to spar with you. I¡¯ve watched you with that burly Vodkin, Polo Vosh, and I think we could learn something from one another.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Victor grinned. ¡°I¡¯d love that! I feel like I¡¯m stuck on a teau¡ªbeen feeling like I¡¯m close to advancing for a while now but never quite get the breakthrough I need.¡±

    ¡°Excellent! I¡¯m sure I can help.¡± He looked over the assembled soldiers, listening for a moment while Sarl called out orders. ¡°Feel free to start them marching. My scouts and I will catch up. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll start getting the unit together.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good.¡± Before he could help himself, Victor held out a fist, and he was surprised when Kethelket reached up to knock his knuckles into his. He grinned madly, looking into the Naghelli¡¯s dark, ck eyes. Kethelket grinned back at him, baring white teeth with sharp canines, exposing another difference between his people and their cousins, the Ghelli. The fallen prince nodded, then turned adroitly on his heel and glided over the gravel-strewn rock roadway with unnatural grace and silence. Victor turned and tromped down the slope toward Sarl and his troops.

    When he walked past the assembled soldiers, they struggled to ignore him, maintaining their attention as Sarl and his officers walked up and down their lines, inspecting their uniforms, weapons, and posture. Victor did his best not to make eye contact with them; he didn¡¯t want to get anyone in trouble by distracting them. When he reached the front of the column, Sarl approached and held out a hand. Even though Victor was currently reducing his size, the man¡¯s hand still felt small and fragile. He knew better than to judge his strength by his size, however. ¡°Are we ready?¡±

    ¡°Aye, sir.¡± Sarl knew some soldiers could hear him, so Victor understood the formality. It was good to maintain order and discipline in front of the troops.

    ¡°We can move out, but I wanted to tell you that I asked Kethelket to join us with fifty Naghelli. We¡¯ll use them as forward scouts.¡±

    ¡°Excellent.¡± Sarl nodded, and Victor stared into his pale eyes, wondering if he was being sincere. He didn¡¯t seem at all bothered.

    He nodded firmly. ¡°Good. I¡¯ll be riding ahead as well. Once we get down the slope and into the foothills, we¡¯ll selectndmarks for rendezvous.¡±

    ¡°Will you be alone, sir?¡±

    Victor looked over the heads of the soldiers, suddenly a lot less cool about Va not being there. Wouldn¡¯t she have said something if she weren¡¯ting? What about Edeya? Shouldn¡¯t he have asked her toe along? She¡¯d been with him a lot during the march, managing his Farscribe book. ¡°No, I won¡¯t be alone. I wanted to let you know you can start the soldiers marching, and I¡¯ll catch up. I¡¯ve got a couple of othersing with me, mounted, so it won¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    ¡°Very good, sir.¡± Sarl turned to his six lieutenants and nodded, his voice suddenly much harsher and louder, ¡°Begin the march!¡±

    Victor moved to the side of the roadway as the order was passed down the column. He summoned Guapo and rode along the side, against the flow of troops, back toward the encampment, feeling rather foolish about his sudden change of mind. Many more people were stirring now that the sun was up. It was hard to ignore the start of the day when the troops were making so much noise down the road. Victor didn¡¯t have any trouble finding a sergeant, one from the Second Cohort, to holler at, ¡°Find me Lieutenant Edeya!¡±

    With that quest initiated, Victor hurried Guapo back to his travel home and, in the process, pped himself in the head¡ªwouldn¡¯t he want his travel home along with him on this scouting mission? Had he really left it sitting there just because he¡¯d thought Va might be sleeping in? What was he trying to prove? He hopped off Guapo and stepped inside, and he¡¯d only taken two steps before he was hollering, ¡°Va! Are you up?¡±

    ¡°Victor?¡± she called almost immediately from straight ahead. He stomped up the hallway into the central living space, and there she was, leaning over a cup of steaming liquid, probably tea.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t youing?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°On my scouting mission!¡±

    ¡°Oh? You want me toe along?¡± She stood up, clearly feigning surprise, her voice risingically with the question.

    ¡°Are you busting my balls right now?¡±

    ¡°Well, we spent four or five hours drinking togetherst night, and all you did was mope about Tha and Tellen and how you missed her cooking and ¡®hanging out¡¯ with the Shadeni. I figured if you wanted me toe along this morning, you¡¯d have mentioned it.¡±

    This was a side of Va Victor hadn¡¯t seen before, at least not thoroughly on disy. He stood there, ck-jawed, trying to wrap his head around what she was saying. He didn¡¯t remember their conversation going that way. He remembered them sitting together,fortably getting buzzed, hardly talking about anything at all. Had he mentioned his feelings about seeing Tellen living with Tha in the wagon? He probably had, but it had been a passingment in Victor¡¯s mind. ¡°Was I that bad?¡±

    Perhaps hisck of a retort took some of the steam out of her because Va¡¯s expression softened. ¡°Well, I would have liked to hear a little less about your regrets. Let¡¯s leave it at that.¡±

    ¡°Noted. I . . . Va, I thought we were both venting a little, then I thought we were both rxed and happy. I think I missed some subtext or something. Well, I mean, maybe I focus on myself too much sometimes.¡±

    She sighed heavily and shook her head. ¡°Oh, Victor! I¡¯m not really upset. I was irritated, and, as you said, maybe we <em>both</em> were a little too focused on our feelings. Sorry if I¡¯m being childish. When are you leaving?¡± She lifted her tea and gulped it down; apparently, it wasn¡¯t very hot.

    ¡°The Ninth is marching. I told ¡®em we could catch up.¡±

    ¡°Truly?¡± A look of panic entered Va¡¯s eyes, and Victor grinned, recognizing the cause; she hated to bete.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯re waiting on Edeya too. I . . . forgot to tell her she¡¯sing.¡±

    ¡°Does Lam know?¡± Va produced her wyrm-scale armor. It rustled and clicked as the scales rubbed together in her arms. ¡°Help me with this.¡±

    Victor moved around the counter to grasp the heavy coat, holding it open so she could slip her arms into the long sleeves. ¡°Nope. Think she¡¯ll be pissed?¡±

    ¡°She may want toe. You know how protective she is of Edeya.¡± Va held her armor closed and passed her hand over the seam, sealing it. ¡°I just need to grab Midnight, and then we can go.¡± She brushed past Victor, but not without squeezing his forearm gently, sending a tingle up his arm.

    As his heart began to speed up, triggered by the tiny show of affection, Victor walked toward the foyer. ¡°Meet you outside!¡± A stupid smile pulled his cheeks tight as he congratted himself on returning to get Va and for saying the right things¡ªfor once¡ªwhen he found her. The sky was a shade brighter when he stepped outside, and he saw Edeya approaching, tromping along the stone pathway and kicking at loose stones.

    Despite him giving her a racial enhancement elixir, she still looked lopsided; the wings on one side of her body cut down to stumps. He¡¯d been bugging her to use the concoction for days, ever since they¡¯de into the pass, but she¡¯d refused, afraid it would put her out ofmission for too long; they didn¡¯t know precisely how strong it was or how her body would react. She was just ¡°waiting for some downtime,¡± she¡¯d reply whenever he asked her about it.

    ¡°What did you need,¡± she nced around, saw a few soldiers nearby, and added, ¡°Sir?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re going scouting.¡±

    ¡°I know you are . . .¡±

    ¡°No. We. Go get Thistle and meet me outside the gate.¡±

    ¡°Oh, roots! Are you serious? I thought I¡¯d be here a while; Lam said Borrius and Rellia want to build a fort here.¡±

    ¡°Hurry up! I¡¯ll exin on the way. Be sure to tell Lam you¡¯re going, and don¡¯t forget the Farscribe book!¡± Victor chuckled as she turned and ran, taking his words literally. He¡¯d just summoned Guapo again when Va came out of the home, dressed for battle with Midnight on her hip.

    ¡°Give me a ride to the gate, will you? I think Uvu is out hunting.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, just a minute.¡± Victor turned back to his house, touched the polished wooden railing, and sent themand to pack itself up. While it vibrated and shrank, he said, ¡°Might be out a few days.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good you¡¯re bringing Edeya. She can use the experience, and she¡¯s much better about keeping in touch with the othermanders.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s kind of her job, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes . . .¡±

    Victor snatched up the still-trembling miniature travel home and slipped it into the leather carrying case on his belt, then he hopped up on the Mustang¡¯s back and reached down for Va¡¯s hand. She jumped, and he pulled, and then she slid her arms around him, leaning into his back. Victor¡¯s stupid smile returned as he urged Guapo to get moving. ¡°How does Uvu always know when you want him? I¡¯ve never seen you call him.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s an evolved creature, Victor. He can sense my intentions; we¡¯re sort of bonded.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡±

    ¡°Why would I lie?¡± She squeezed his ribs, and Victor couldn¡¯t think of an objection. They passed through the gate and sat there for a couple of minutes under the scrutiny of the guards on the camp fortification¡¯s parapets while they waited for Uvu and Edeya. The cat got there first, and Victor swore he saw some pink stains on the pale fur around its jaws. It warbled a funny greeting, and Va slid off Guapo to jog over to him, summoning his riding tack from her storage ring. While she got mounted, Edeya arrived, looking pleased with herself atop Thistle¡¯s proud shoulders.

    She greeted Victor with, ¡°Lam says that she¡¯ll do something terrible to you in your sleep if you let any harme to me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s . . . disturbing.¡± He shrugged and turned to Va, now sitting atop Uvu. ¡°Right. Are you two sleepy heads ready to go? Can¡¯t believe howte we are!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not . . .¡± Edeya started to say.

    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Va cried.

    Victorughed and whistled, and Guapounched down the road in a tter of sparking hooves, leaving the two outraged women behind. He could see the soldiers down the road, just now reaching the end of the stone highway. It was still strange to Victor how the Empire hade this far, exploring through the Granite Gates, creating the wide pass and solid road, only to stop at the edge of the Marches. Had they gotten a simr conquest directive from the System and lost or backed down? He doubted he¡¯d ever know the real story unless he went to Tharcray and beat it out of someone.

    He easily caught up to the column and rode around them toward the front where Sarl marched. Victor looked over the soldiers¡¯ heads and saw that Edeya and Va were halfway to the cohort, trotting or loping, in Uvu¡¯s case, down the road. Then he saw shadows leap into the sky behind them, orange and red patterns flickering in the air. ¡°The Naghelli are almost here.¡±

    ¡°Perfect timing, sir.¡±

    ¡°You think the road¡¯s end is the start of the Marches or up in the pass where we received the System quest?¡±

    ¡°No idea, I¡¯m afraid.¡± Sarl ran his gaze up toward the high mountains and then out over the hilly ins below. Victor admired that the captain marched on foot with his cohort. He knew not all of the captains did so¡ªhe¡¯d seen Rellia¡¯s uncle, Ordus, riding a vidanii almost as fancy as hers.

    ¡°How far away do you think that greenish mist is?¡± Victor could see the haze hanging on the ground toward the horizon and, beyond that, the high bank of dark fog that everyone agreed had to be the doing of the invaders.

    ¡°We can see that fog wall because it¡¯s so tall¡ªlikely fifty miles or so. The mist is much closer, maybe three miles. I can barely see it from the ground here, but I imagine it¡¯s clearer to you up on that beast of yours.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor turned as Edeya and Va caught up, Thistle pounding the ground as he slowed. ¡°We¡¯ll ride up and see what the story is with the mist. I don¡¯t want anyone but me going into it¡ªat first, anyway.¡±

    ¡°A little slower, please, Legate.¡± Va gave him a funny look¡ªhalf grin, half narrowed eye.

    ¡°Right. Sarl, when the Naghelli get here, have Kethelket catch up to us.¡±

    ¡°Will do, sir.¡±

    ¡°Come on, you two.¡± Victor clicked his tongue, Guapo started trotting, and the two women hurried after him.

    ¡°What do we do,¡± he said to Va as she brought Uvu up on his right, ¡°if that mist is toxic?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll have the alchemists study it and create an elixir of resistance.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, yeah.¡± Victor nodded. ¡°Magic helps everything. Still, that would be a pain in the ass.¡±

    ¡°True. Depending on what sort of duration the resistance has and how many troops we¡¯ll need to push through to battle, it could pose quite a dy.¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t answer, contemting the idea of having to craft thousands of vials of magical resistance potions and imagining what it would be like for the effects to wear off mid-battle. He hoped the mist wasn¡¯t like that. As they continued into the brush and hardy grass of the low hills, leaving the Empire¡¯s roadway behind, he noted how dark the soil was as their mounts kicked up the loose sod. It seemed rich and fertile. The air was temperate, not very humid, but not dry. ¡°Nice countryside if that shit wasn¡¯t up there.¡± He nodded forward toward the gray-green mist.

    ¡°Reminds me of the farnd south of Persi Gables,¡± Edeya said, urging Thistle toe up on Victor¡¯s left.

    Victor nodded to her, then looked over at Va. ¡°I was serious, by the way. I¡¯ll be the first to ride into that haze. If I feel okay, you guys can test it. First Va, then you, Edeya. It¡¯ll give us a good gauge of its toxicity. You¡¯re still tier-two, yeah?¡±

    ¡°I am, though tier three is calling me close after the battle with the Imperials.¡±

    ¡°Awesome.¡± He held his hand down, palm up, and when Edeya looked up at him with raised eyebrows, he said, ¡°p my palm with yours. It¡¯s called ¡®giving five.¡¯¡±

    She grinned and did as he said, pping her small hand into his meaty palm. ¡°Why five?¡±

    ¡°How many fingers do you have?¡±

    ¡°Ahh!¡± Sheughed, delighted by the stupid ritual, and Victor turned to see Va¡¯s expression. She was shaking her head, clearly struggling not to grin.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with a good handshake or a firm grasp of the wrist? What¡¯s your obsession with all these hand and knuckle-pping rituals?¡±

    ¡°The troops love ¡®em. It¡¯s a lot faster than a handshake. I¡¯m not saying you <em>shouldn¡¯t</em> shake hands, but sometimes you just want a quick fist bump, you know?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better than a p on the ass,¡± Edeya added.

    ¡°Who¡¯s pping your ass?¡± Victor¡¯s voice rose with outrage.

    ¡°The delvers used to do it all the time¡ªp me on the shoulder, squeeze me in a stinky hug, or p my ass! They all did it to each other! You never noticed?¡±

    ¡°Nah. Maybe I was too ugly.¡±

    ¡°More likely too smelly.¡± Va couldn¡¯t contain herugh as she fled, Uvu loping up the next hill. Victor and Edeya urged their mounts after her, herugh trilling as she followed hot on Victor¡¯s heels. They¡¯d barely crested the hill, though, when Va pulled Uvu to a halt, holding up a hand and pointing ahead. Victor followed her gesture and saw what had brought her to a stop¡ªsome dark figures were moving through the mists ahead, and one of them was veryrge with baleful red eyes that glowed through the obscuring haze.

 Book 6: Chapter 5: Contact

    Book 6: Chapter 5: Contact

    ¡°How many did you count?¡± Victor asked Va, mentally urging Guapo to stop.

    ¡°I saw the big one and a few shapes behind it . . .¡±

    ¡°There were at least ten that I made out.¡± Victor had watched the shadowy figures as they turned away from him, shuffling further into the misty haze. He nced over his shoulder and saw the army was still a ways off but noted the dark shape of Kethelket fluttering toward them. ¡°Edeya, ride back. Tell Sarl what we found. I don¡¯t want those things to get away.¡± He jerked his head toward the mist. ¡°Va, wait for Kethelket; he¡¯s almost here. If that mist is toxic, I¡¯ll warn you.¡±

    ¡°Victor, wait . . .¡± Va started to say, but he¡¯d alreadyunched himself down the hill, and Guapo¡¯s long strides left her objection behind. Twenty secondster, the Mustang¡¯s hooves were kicking up the mist, causing it to swirl and drift. It was thick and damp, and when Victor felt it clinging to his knuckles and arms, then onto his face, he took a breath, tasting his breaths, determined to see if there was anything for his troops to worry about.

    The air was moist and carried a musty odor that reminded Victor of an old garbage bag that needed changing. It brought to mind rotting things and wet crawlspaces. Still, it fed his lungs, and he didn¡¯t cough or feel ill. If there was something dangerous about it, it wasn¡¯t immediately evident. Perhaps it was more a byproduct of the invading creatures than a tool of the conquest. He urged Guapo forward, and the big horse ate up the ground, even walking.

    Victor found his ability to see inside the mist limited as it closed behind him. He could make out the ground nearby and perhaps twenty feet ahead. Beyond that, things grew hazy; the shrubs, asional clumps of stones, and sporadic, small trees took on ominous appearances. Everywhere he looked, he thought he saw dark shadows lurking in wait. Victor frowned and cast Iron Berserk, savoring the power that swelled his being. As his vision tinted to red, he made room in his pathways and summoned his banner. The zing golden sun seemed to have a physical impact on the mists, cooking them off and forcing them back.

    ¡°That¡¯s better,¡± he rumbled, clicking his tongue. As Guapo steered around a slight stony rise, Victor reached up and loosened Lifedrinker. She was eager in his hands, and he knew what she wanted. ¡°We might have some fun today, <em>chica.</em>¡±

    He didn¡¯t know if she would respond, but if so, she never got the chance. With strange grunts and hisses, a dozen shambling, bulky figures charged out of the mist, leaping at Victor and the Mustang. They were big, bipedal, and covered with ragged cloth, strange tatters of vegetation, and mismatched, patchwork armor. What flesh Victor could make out was pale, pitted with gross yellow ulcers and gaping wounds that oozed ck fluid.

    Victor was Berserk and no slouch, so he saw the attacking and instantly urged Guapo to dance back. It would have been a good reaction if something massive hadn¡¯t been flying at him from the top of the stone outcropping. A tremendous weight smashed into his right shoulder, bowling him over, off the horse, to tumble onto the rough ground where the other assants piled on, grasping, wing, and biting.

    Victor roared and thrashed, grasping with his left hand, ripping anything he got ahold of, flinging the bulky figures off him. His right hand did even more to win him free, hacking Lifedrinker in wild arcs. Her de almost immediately burst into smoldering orange magma-like fury, sizzling through the attackers, ripping their armor, clothing, and flesh. The weirdest thing about the attack and the creatures perpetrating it was their utterck of vocalization¡ªthey breathed loudly and grunted. Still, they didn¡¯t growl, scream, or cry out as Victor finally fought to his feet and began toy about him with Lifedrinker in a series of masterful cleaves, feints, and hacks.

    The shambling hulks were about half his size in his titan form, and they fully upied Victor¡¯s attention, which might be why he lost track of the bigger one, the creature that had knocked him off his horse. He was soon reminded of its presence, though, when it smashed into him from behind, knocking him forward in a stumble. Despite the attack on his blindside, Victor gathered his bnce by ramming into a pair of the smaller shamblers and breaking through before turning to put all his enemies in his frontal arc.

    The bigger creature, for Victor had decided these weren¡¯t exactly people, was close to his size, bulky with arms so long they dragged on the ground. It was clearly a different species from the shambling monsters; it had a yellowed bone-like carapace that covered its chest and back. Worse, its brawny, too-long, spongy, gray-fleshed arms were spotted with knobby calcified growths. Despite its monstrous appearance, the thing wore ck leather trousers on its stubby, thick legs. Victor hadn¡¯t been able to get a good look at its face because a thick leather mask covered it, exposing nothing but apple-sized, baleful, faintly luminescent, blood-shot eyes.

    ¡°Victor!¡± As he¡¯d squared off with the gigantic, masked brute and the remaining shamblers, Va and Kethelket stumbled onto the scene of the ambush. She called out as soon as she saw him with Lifedrinker held ready, pacing sideways, trying to get a feel for how fast the monsters could move.

    ¡°Kill these little <em>pendejos</em>! Let me work on this big boy!¡± He needn¡¯t have said anything more¡ªfaster than a blink of the eye, Kethelket was dancing among the shamblers on Victor¡¯s left nk, his swords arcing with silver-blue Energy, ripping hunks off them as they shuffled to turn their attention on this new threat. Va stayed back, but she held up her hands, and suddenly, an arc of lightning, apanied by an immediate crack of deafening thunder, smashed into one of the shamblers to Victor¡¯s right. In a whirlwind of sparking gusts, sheunched herself at the creature she¡¯d stunned with her spell, hacking one of its arms off with Midnight.

    Victor saw all that, but he wasn¡¯t standing idly. As soon as Kethelket moved, he leaped forward, and, Lifedrinker held high, hacked downward, determined to split the bony carapace-like armor on the hulk¡¯s chest. The bulky juggernaut flung one of its arms up, trying to intercept Victor¡¯s blow, but he was too slow; Lifedrinker, smoldering and trailing ck smoke like aet hitting the atmosphere, smashed down into that bony te and . . . bounced off, a few chips of bone following her rebound as Victor struggled to maintain his grip. Meanwhile, the juggernaut¡¯s other arm swung up, and a fist like a wrecking ball hit Victor just under his left ribs, sending him reeling and gasping as his lungs emptied.

    ¡°Okay, okay, hang on, <em>chica</em>, I¡¯ll get you a better bite.¡± Victor danced to the right, hopping the smoldering corpse of a shambler¡ªone Va had finished off with another thunderous lightning st. He circled the colossal monster, noting that while it could swing its arms quickly, it didn¡¯t seem too quick on the uptake. It followed his movements but was always a bit behind. It was as though it had to think for a second to confirm what its bulging red eyes were telling it. At least, that¡¯s the impression Victor had as he easily outmaneuvered the creature, circling behind it tounch a zing diagonal cleave at the leathery cap wrapped around its bulbous head.

    Again, Lifedrinker sang her fury and eagerness as she ripped through the air. Again, she crashed into the target Victor had chosen, and this time, her edge bit deeply, slicing the leather, spraying ck fluids in a shower, and cleaving a two-inch trench through the monster¡¯s skull. The juggernaut staggered, grunting a weird whistling cry, a sound that made Victor imagine arge man trying to blow a note from a PVC pipe. Victor was a born fighter, a rage-fueled machine with a killer instinct, and he capitalized on the brute¡¯s stumble. He followed behind it, hacking left and right, aiming for any part of the monster not covered by that bony carapace.

    Steaming ck blood showered the battlefield, spraying the ground, the other monsters, and Victor. Lifedrinker easily bit through the gray flesh on the juggernaut¡¯s arms, hacking to the bone, biting into it, and leaving the limbs mangled and ineffectual. His rage simmered and boiled as he worked to savage the brutish creature. As he drenched himself in the hot, rancid blood, he began tough and roar. He worked his way around it, shredding the flesh on its arms, repeatedly cutting grooves in its skull. Finally, as he found himself at its back again, he hacked into its knee, again and again, until the thing toppled forward, causing the ground to shudder with the impact.

    The juggernaut continued to writhe, flopping its ruined arms, trying to get them beneath it as though it might push itself up. Victor could see the gray flesh beneath the rim of that leather cap, and he stepped to the side, lifted Lifedrinker high, and brought her down like a guillotine de, burying her silvery, smoldering edge halfway through that gray tree trunk of a neck. The monster bucked and thrashed, kicking its stumpy legs as Lifedrinker took her due, drawing the pulsing reddish-ck Energy out of the festering flesh, helping the juggernaut realize its time in this life was over. While she feasted, Victor looked up through the eye slits of his helmet, watching the ck blood drip off the metal.

    Kethelket was still dancing with a couple of badly injured shamblers, and Va was hard at work, weaving between another three. Victor looked down at Lifedrinker again and saw she was nearly done, the Energy flowing reduced to a thin trickle. ¡°Come on, beautiful. Let¡¯s help Va.¡± He pulled the axe out andunched himself into the back of the nearest shambler, knocking it down andying into it. In two heavy cleaves, it was dead, and then he pounced on another. By the time it was motionless at his feet, Va had finished thest of the three.

    Victor turned to see Kethelket whipping his swords in an borate flourish, flinging the ck blood from their des just before he sheathed them. He met Victor¡¯s eyes and nodded. ¡°Sturdy creatures. If they hit us with numbers, we¡¯ll have to fight defensively lest we¡¯re overwhelmed.¡±

    ¡°They were certainly more dangerous than the average Imperial soldier.¡± Va prodded at a dead shambler with her boot.

    ¡°Huh.¡± Victor¡¯sck of a detailedment was due to him staring at the juggernaut he¡¯d in. He walked over to it and leaned down, knocking his knuckles against its bony armor. ¡°I couldn¡¯t cut through this shit. Is it armor, or is it growing out of him?¡± He heard the soft footfalls of the Naghelli as he came near, tiny next to the giant monster, and pressed his palm against the bone.

    ¡°This is a creature of death magic. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s been purpose-grown with that bony armor. If this is an example of what the invaders are capable of, then we may indeed be in for a difficult conquest.¡±

    Va hopped up the side of the stone outcropping, pulling herself to the top. She stood there, looking southward, and said, ¡°Do you think they¡¯re aware of this? I mean, aware that we just killed some of them?¡±

    ¡°Belikot would know. He could feel when his creations were destroyed.¡± Kethelket tapped his chin thoughtfully.

    ¡°I see a structure!¡± Va pointed further south into the mists.

    ¡°What kind?¡±

    ¡°Stone. High walls and square. It was visible for only a few seconds as the wind shifted this sickly fog.¡±

    ¡°This was a small party. Do you think they haverger forces nearby?¡± Kethelket was walking among the dead shamblers, examining them. Victor nced his way, and then he noticed the Energy gathering among the corpses, and he braced himself; the motes boiling out of the juggernaut¡¯s corpse were purple. He saw Va hop down from the pile of jumbled boulders, and then it hit him, and he lost himself in the euphoria of victory.

    When it was over, and he didn¡¯t have any System messages waiting, he felt a little disappointed, but he supposed it was to be expected. Gaining levels was, as everyone kept telling him, slower the higher one¡¯s tier. It wasn¡¯t as though he¡¯d been in any real danger during the battle¡ªhe hadn¡¯t had to strain to win. ¡°Maybe next time,¡± he said, flipping Lifedrinker and snatching her out of the air by the handle. She was a big axe, but not when he was titan-sized. Thinking about it, Victor cut off his Iron Berserk and resumed his normal stature. He looked at Kethelket, standing idly, perhaps reading a System message, perhaps just deep in thought.

    ¡°Hey,¡± he said. ¡°The army should be here soon. Kethelket, can you get your people and try to scout out that building? I think we should proceed with caution; the main purpose of this mist seems to be to hinder visibility. My banner does good work on it, but I bet there are other affinities that can burn it off; maybe even fire would work.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll speak to my people. We¡¯ll have a look around.¡±

    ¡°Any thoughts, Va?¡± Victor asked, watching Kethelket flutter into the air and then streak northward. As she contemted the question, Victor kicked at the corpse of the juggernaut again, looking for any sign of a ring or pouch¡ªanything that might be valuable. He supposed if he were in Coloss, they¡¯d probably harvest some of the parts. He didn¡¯t know what was worth harvesting, though, aside from maybe the dense bone carapace. How would he, though? He needed a knife like Tes¡¯s.

    ¡°If you consider the fact that the area of ground apparently affected by this mist and the thicker fog further south is hundreds, maybe thousands of square miles, and we stumbled upon this force of fifteen in the first hundred yards . . . what are the odds? What if there are units like this all over the ce? What if they canmunicate? What if another ten or hundred units like this areing toward us as we speak?¡±

    ¡°How tough were they? I mean, really? I thought the shambling, rotting creeps were kind of weak.¡±

    ¡°They aren¡¯t particrly dangerous one at a time, but they¡¯re incredibly resilient. Look at them; they¡¯re like constructs of dead body parts and . . . nts or fungus. Ancestors! They stink!¡± She¡¯d approached one of the dead shamblers and showed Victor how the flesh was rotting on their strange, pale faces. Their eyes were milky, some even rotting with ooze and pus dripping from the sockets. Victor could see strands of hair, twisted and damp, hanging down over some of the creatures¡¯ faces, but worst of all was the way gray-green creepers and clumps of moss or fungus seemed to grow in the rotten flesh.

    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s get back to the soldiers.¡± Victor looked about, and, as if in response to his thoughts, Guapo charged out of the mist. ¡°Where¡¯d you go, boy? Just hanging back watching me fight?¡± He pulled himself up and saw Va looking around, a scowl creasing her brow. ¡°No Uvu?¡±

    ¡°He was fighting with us at first . . . I think he chased something. He¡¯s usually better about checking back with me.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll get one of the scouts to track him. Come on.¡± Victor held his hand down, and Va nodded, taking it. He hoisted her up behind him, and then Guapo began to pound over the ground. He¡¯d only crested the first hill when Victor saw a group of soldiers, maybe fifty-strong, running down the next slope toward them. Sarl led them, and Edeya kept pace alongside, riding Thistle. When everyone had halted, Victor rode up to them and said, ¡°They¡¯re dead, but we feel like more are probablying. We should get the soldiers set.¡±

    ¡°The rest of the cohort isn¡¯t far behind.¡± Sarl gestured back the way they¡¯de. ¡°What are we dealing with?¡±

    ¡°We killed some . . .¡± Victor let his words trail off as something new pricked at his ears. A distant low rumble that he almost missed at first. When he concentrated, though, he began to pick out the distinct notes¡ªdrums. He heard drums, and they were in sync, rolling through the cloying mist like distant thunder. He couldn¡¯t pinpoint exactly where they came from, other than south, but he thought it seemed like there was more than one source. ¡°I think you might have been at least partially right, Va.¡±

    ¡°Soldiers! Back up the hill! Form a front line! Shield wall formation!¡± Sarl immediately began barking orders, and the soldiers responded with crity, turning in an about-face and marching up the gentle slope toward the top. Victor hoped they¡¯d be able to form up before whatever was banging those drums showed up. He hoped the soldiers were ready, and he hoped there wasn¡¯t anything much worse than what he, Kethelket, and Va had already dealt with. ¡°Any furthermands?¡± Sarl asked him, breaking his train of thought.

    ¡°No. I¡¯ll be here. I¡¯ll keep my banner up, and I¡¯ll help deal with whateveres our way. I¡¯ll be up in a minute; I want to talk to Kethelket first.¡±

    Sarl nodded and turned to follow his soldiers. ¡°On the double!¡±

    Victor turned back to the south, watching the mist, listening to the drums, wondering if he should just get the soldiers to start double-timing it all the way back up to the keep. What if a thousand shamblers came out of that fog? What if a hundred of the bone juggernauts did? What if the entire Glorious Ninth got wiped out because he didn¡¯t know better than to retreat when they had the chance?

    ¡°Here theye,¡± Va said, tugging on his shoulder and gesturing to the sky above the retreating soldiers. Victor looked and saw the Naghelli, all fifty, fluttering toward him. ¡°What are you going to tell them?¡±

    ¡°Just to get us an idea of what¡¯sing and to get a look at that structure you saw. I feel like we should maybe run. Another part of me wants to spit in my own face for thinking it. We¡¯ve caught the invaders by surprise here. They might have a lot of units nearby, but for all we know, they¡¯re sending a response to the three of us. They don¡¯t know we¡¯ve got more than six hundred soldiers on that hill. This might be our best chance to really sucker punch ¡®em.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m with you. Listen to your instincts, Victor.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 6: Hordes

    Book 6: Chapter 6: Hordes

    Victor was once again erged by Iron Berserk, and he rode Guapo up and down the front rank of soldiers, looming over them, gigantic on his massive Mustang, his great banner zing with light that pushed back the obscuring mists. In the cohort¡¯spact, modified phnx formation, that golden aura touched almost every one of the soldiers. The drums had grown louder, rumbling over the ground, but the troops didn¡¯t care; they were buoyed by Victor¡¯s presence, by the closeness of their shield brothers and sisters, and by the months of drilling they¡¯d done, preparing for a battle like this.

    Victor had been hollering at them to get ready, to show these ¡°undead <em>pendejos</em>¡± what they could do. Now he wrapped it up by shouting, ¡°You¡¯re the Glorious Ninth, and you have the spirits of fallenrades watching¡ªit¡¯s time to kick some ass!¡± The soldiers cheered, bashing their spears, axes, swords, and cudgels against their shields. Victor whirled Guapo, looking down the slight slope toward the sound of the drums, wondering what Kethelket and his people were finding.

    He looked to the left, at the forward corner of the formation, and saw Edeya and Va, both mounted on Thistle. Va wouldn¡¯t admit it, but Victor could see she was very worried about Uvu. He¡¯d asked her, outside of Edeya¡¯s hearing, to keep an eye on the young Ghelli, to stay with her during the battle and help her break free for a retreat if need be. She¡¯d wanted to argue but knew how Victor fought, knew he¡¯d be all over the ce, shoring up the shield wall and pursuing the more powerful of the enemybatants. She caught him looking their way and offered him a kind of salute, holding Midnight high and nodding her head. Victor nodded back.

    He turned back to the approaching drums, and then he saw, materializing out of the mist, a pair of Naghelli, their wings a ck and glowing orange blur, as they streaked toward him, covering the hundred yards or so in seconds. Theynded before him, a slight woman with pale hair in tight braids and a tall, thin man, his headpletely shaven smooth. They both wore close-fitting ck leather armor with the signature glimmering, onyx-ck chainmail vests of their kind. The man spoke, his voice breathless, while the woman leaned over, her hands on her knees as she regained her wind. ¡°Kethelket sent us to report.¡±

    ¡°Out with it then.¡±

    ¡°More than five hundred of those you call shamblers, a half dozen bone giants, and a great many lesser undead, more than we could count.¡±

    ¡°Shit.¡± Victor¡¯s curse was nearly silent; he didn¡¯t want to break the troops¡¯ morale. ¡°How close?¡±

    ¡°They run, and when we set out, they were less than two miles away. They¡¯ll break through into your light in minutes. They don¡¯t move like a disciplined army. Also, Kethelket wants you to know he¡¯s taken the rest of the Naghelli to inspect the structure you glimpsed.¡±

    ¡°We could probably use their help . . .¡±

    The woman straightened up and spoke in a surprisingly bright contralto voice, ¡°We¡¯re to rejoin him with orders¡ªthe approaching horde did not seem to notice us in the sky. Kethelket thinks these are . . . ¡®simple troops,¡¯ I believe is how he put it.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Tell him to see what the structure is, then fall on the enemy from behind. We¡¯ll hold this ground.¡±

    ¡°As you say,¡± the man said, and Victor briefly wondered if he should have gotten their names. The moment passed, though, as they both crisply saluted him and thenunched into the air, streaking southward toward the thicker mists.

    The drums had steadily increased in volume while they spoke, and when Victor let his eyes drift down from the flying scouts, he saw the first figures break from the mists and start tearing up the slopes; they reminded him of the ghouls he fought in the dungeon near Greatbone Mine¡ªpale creatures, hairless and naked, with long, wed fingers running on all fours. They lifted their weird, noseless faces to the sky and coughed out their inhuman cries through mouths lined with jagged, gore-stained teeth. Their eyes were yellow in the light of his banner, and they seemed to shy from it and the sunlight that pierced the weakened mist.

    Still, they charged forth in the hundreds, much smaller than the shamblers but quick and vicious-looking. When they were a mere fifty yards distant, the archers at the center of the modified phnx unleashed hundreds of arrows at Sarl¡¯s shoutedmand. They streaked through the air, trailing ck smoke from their zing shafts, and when they struck home, many of the ghouls fell, tumbling over the rough ground. Victor roared his approval and summoned an enormous, rage-fueled bear, cing it halfway between the army and the charging creatures. The bear roared to life, springing from a red mist of Energy and bounding into the face of the monsters.

    ¡°Hold!¡± Victor roared as he saw some soldiers step forward, perhaps feeling they should run to fight beside the bear. ¡°Let my bear soften their charge!¡±

    ¡°Fire!¡± Sarl screamed, and another volley of arrows streaked into the charging ghouls with the precision only an Energy user could provide. More of them fell, and then, in a flurry of coughing shrieks, dirt, and ws, they fell upon the front row of soldiers, smashing into their shields. Meanwhile, Victor¡¯s bear rampaged among them, throwing them left and right, snapping their limbs and heads off with vicious bites. Ghouls clung to its back, raking its thick hide with their ws, utterly fearless despite how the bear mauled theirrades.

    Victor charged up and down the front line, smashing over the ghouls with Guapo, hacking down with his axe. Lifedrinker obliterated the monsters when she hit home, her scorching, razor-sharp de more than a match for their leathery skin and hard bones. Meanwhile, his banner zed, givingfort and aid to his soldiers and, seemingly, causing pain and near blindness to the undead. He watched as thest of the ghouls crested the hill and the Phnx opened, the sides moving out in unison to a trumpetedmand, boxing in and nking the creatures.

    Victor and his bear rampaged among the enemy while the soldiers beat them back, hacking and stabbing over the shields of the front line. Arrows and spells fell upon the horde, and Victorughed at the ughter, a part of him thankful to the forces of Prince Hector for theirck of discipline¡ªit wasn¡¯t until the ghouls were nearly ughtered that therger part of the attacking force began to mount the hill. Sarl ordered the bugler to call for the phnx to reform, and the wings copsed, pressing in tight, forming that imprable box again. As thest of the ghouls were mopped up, mindlessly flinging themselves on the front line, Victor watched the next wave approach.

    His earlier euphoria was challenged as he saw the numbers pouring out of the mist. These creatures were slower than the ghouls, but they were bigger and far more numerous¡ªhundreds of shamblers and at least twice that number of smaller but better-equipped monsters. Despite the hundred yards between them, Victor¡¯s eyes were good, piercing the haze of the half-formed mist trying to seep into the light of his banner. He studied the smaller enemybatants and saw they looked very much like zombies from movies he¡¯d seen back on Earth but geared out with all sorts of armor, shields, and weapons.

    They shuffled along with the shamblers, sometimes getting trampled or knocked aside by therger undead. Their eyes were vacant, and their mouths, if they had a lower jaw, hung open. They looked almost pathetic in that regard, but Victor knew better. He could see the waves of dark Energy pulsing through their forms, and he knew they weren¡¯t just mindless, slow zombies that could be mowed down; they looked formidable.

    Marching among the shamblers and zombies were at least half a dozen of the bone-ted juggernauts like he¡¯d faced earlier. ¡°Five too many,¡± he grumbled, wondering how much damage they¡¯d do while he struggled to kill them one by one. Victor whirled to find Sarl, saw him exhorting his soldiers to tighten up their shield wall, and urged Guapo over to him. ¡°Sarl!¡± he called.

    ¡°Aye, Legate!¡±

    ¡°You need your casters to slow the giants. The ones with the bone tes. They¡¯re hard as hell to kill, and I can¡¯t get them all at once.¡±

    ¡°Say no more, sir!¡± Sarl dove into the ranks of his soldiers, pushing his way toward the center of the phnx, where his dedicated ranged units were arrayed. Victor, trusting the captain to get the job done, turned back to the advancing enemies and watched as missiles erupted from the formation behind him. Arrows and spells showered down among the zombies and shamblers, catching them alight, freezing them, or exploding in showers of sparks or even magma. Their slow, steady march didn¡¯t stop; they didn¡¯t scream or flee. The monsters simply continued to trudge forward, ignoring their fallen, broken brethren as more and more ranged attacks fell among them.

    Victor, meanwhile, eyed the six juggernauts, watching them make their inevitable progress toward the phnx. Arrows and spells hit them to no avail; they didn¡¯t flinch, and they certainly didn¡¯t fall. He nced over his shoulder at the soldiers; they looked good, eager, even. He didn¡¯t see any dead or wounded. Either they¡¯d had an exceptionally easy time with the ghouls, or they¡¯d pulled their casualties back into their ranks. Victor let his eye drift further into the phnx, looking for Sarl, wondering what he and his casters could do about the rapidly approaching juggernauts.

    He¡¯d finally picked out Sarl¡¯s red-plumed helmet when, in unison, several mages cried out, a weird note in their voice as the temperature of the air dropped by several degrees. Frost sprang into existence on the helmets of the soldiers near the center of the formation, and then, with a great <em>whoosh</em>, a ball of icy, swirling water erupted from a trio of casters, surging through the air, arcing high, crystallizing the thin mist as it passed, creating a sort of faux snowfall. Victor watched its progress as it hurtled down the slight slope, passing by the front rows of shamblers and zombies and then crashing into one of the bone-ted juggernauts. The creature staggered and nearly fell back, and when the ssh of icy water and mist faded away, Victor could see it was frozen in ce, unmoving.

    ¡°Hell, yes!¡± He pumped his fist in the air, waving Lifedrinker. ¡°Okay, <em>chica, </em>we need to figure out how to kill these things quicker.¡± Victor tightened his knuckles on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, then pushed his Sovereign Will bonus into his muscles, enhancing his strength and vitality. As the sinews of his neck and shoulders bulged and battle fury began to tint his vision red, he cast Channel Spirit, filling his right arm and Lifedrinker with his furious, rage-attuned Energy.

    Victor urged Guapo into a charge, and he saw another ball of icy water streak over the zombies and shamblers, bursting into the chest of yet another juggernaut. Victor veered to the left; the now-frozen giant had been his intended target. He didn¡¯t have to look far to see a new goal. Not thirty yards distant, the front line of shamblers and zombies surged toward him, and just a few ranks back marched another juggernaut. It wasn¡¯t quick, but itsrger stature afforded it more speed, and it was, literally, trampling its smallerrades in its hurry toward the front line of Victor¡¯s soldiers. Victor leaned forward, and Guapo leaped into motion, streaking toward the enemy.

    The shamblers were big, maybe big enough to stop Guapo in his tracks, so Victor aimed for gaps in their ranks, trusting the giant Mustang to trample the smaller zombies despite their armor and shields. His trust was well founded; the horse crashed into the first rank, utterly ttening one zombie and then bowling aside two more as Victor¡¯s outstretched boot kicked a shambler aside. Five secondster, they¡¯d crashed through two more ranks, and the juggernaut was before him.

    Victor couldn¡¯t have urately guessed his speed when Guapo charged past, and he swung Lifedrinker into the juggernaut¡¯s leather-wrapped forehead, but it had to be pretty damn fast. He put everything he had into that hacking cleave, trusting that his instinct was right, that Lifedrinker could handle it, and that she wouldn¡¯t bounce off or break. He believed her haft was stronger than the juggernaut¡¯s skull. At least, he hoped so. He hoped this particr creature wasn¡¯t any tougher than the one he¡¯d already killed.

    His gamble paid off; Lifedrinker¡¯s smoldering edge sliced through the air, hardly slowing when it touched the thick leather wrapping the juggernaut¡¯s brow, splitting the bone beneath with a thunderous <em>crack</em> that echoed through the wild melee. In a steaming spray of ck blood, Lifedrinker chopped through the top third of the monster¡¯s skull, slicing off a leather-wrapped, bone bowl full of rancid, frothing brains. As Guapo thundered past and Victor recovered Lifedrinker¡¯s momentum in a looping swing, the juggernaut copsed, face first onto the rough, blood-spattered turf, utterly still.

    Victor held Lifedrinker high, her de smoldering and streaming ck smoke into the air, and he screamed his battle lust. Despite the imminent assault on the phnx by shamblers and zombies, many of his troops echoed his warcry, having watched him drop the giant bone-ted monstrosity. Victor whirled Guapo, hacking downward with this axe, giving the Mustang some room to move. As he spun, he took in the battlefield and saw that three of the juggernauts were now frozen in ce, only two more still making progress toward his army. He zeroed in on the closest one, and Guapo leaped into action.

    The Mustang trampled the zombies with ease, but their ws and weapons began to take a toll, leaving long gouges in the horse¡¯s nks. Victor knew the spirit animal wasn¡¯t indestructible, knew it would have to depart this realm soon, but he hoped he could get one more good charge out of him. ¡°Come on, <em>Guapito</em>!¡± He urged the horse with his will to continue the charge, trampling zombies and shouldering between shamblers. The Mustang soldiered on, and Victor, too, began to amass wounds.

    The shamblers¡¯ ws and the zombie¡¯s weapons cut through his sturdy leather pants, and when they met his flesh, they left shallow cuts that his Berserk Energy rapidly healed. Nevertheless, the wounds stung, and something vile was on the des and ws, something that his body had to fight off. He began to notice the effect and felt his rage seeping away as the Energy was forced to fight harder and harder to heal him. ¡°Dirty assholes,¡± he growled as, with a tremendous yawp, he brought Lifedrinker down on the back of the second juggernaut¡¯s skull. She split the thing¡¯s head like a dry log, showering brains to either side as it copsed in a heap.

    Victor felt Guapo fading, so he released him. As the mount dispersed in a cloud of sparkling golden mist, Victornded on his feet and began toy about himself with Lifedrinker, ughtering shamblers and zombies. The zombies were surprisingly sturdy. Even though Victor was more than twice their size, some of them managed to deflect his blows. Of course, this only furthered to enrage Victor, and he began to lose himself to the mad dance of ughter. He swung Lifedrinker one-handed, and with his left hand, he grabbed his opponents, threw them, and swung them about, smashing them into each other and creating openings for his axe.

    Simultaneously, he became aware of a low roar, like a distant river crashing over boulders, and he felt a pang from his Battle Awareness feat. Victor paused his ughter and jerked his head toward the formation of his soldiers. Sure enough, the roar was the sound of zombies and shamblers pounding on shields, punctuated by the shouts, screams, and battle cries of the troops. Then his eyes fell on the other unfrozen juggernaut¡ªit was carving a swath through the phnx, already three ranks deep. Victor roared and leaped, bunching his mighty legs and exploding into the air. He arched his back, hoisted Lifedrinker in a two-handed grip, and, screaming like a wyrm-scale-d meteor, fell toward the colossal monster¡¯s back.

    His aim wasn¡¯t perfect, or the monster moved, or both, but Lifedrinker¡¯s edge cut a groove through the back of the juggernaut¡¯s skull instead ofpletely splitting it. She slid through the bone, and then her smoldering edge impacted the back of the undead monstrosity¡¯s bone carapace, and, with the sound of a cannon shot, she split it.

    <em>Ayeeeeeeeeeee!</em> she shrieked, the warcry of an avenging angel, and she <em>pulled</em> with more force than Victor had ever felt from her, burying herself into the rotten spine of the monster as it fell on its face, shaking the ground and eliciting thunderous cheers from the nearby soldiers.

    ¡°Good work, beautiful. Take what¡¯s yours.¡± Victor released the axe and reached into his storage container, the one he¡¯d taken from Karnice, and pulled out a massive, two-handed maul. It was a hugely heavy weapon, one that Victor had examined before and determined would be a nice weapon in a pinch. Every part of the maul was made of a copper-colored metal, a single piece from which the handle and the two hammerheads were forged. The handle was grooved and rough, easy to grip, and the sides of the anvil-sized hammerhead were etched with ck-iid runes.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see what you can do, big boy,¡± heughed, shouldering past his troops toward the front line, where they struggled to hold back the massive shamblers. ¡°Come on, <em>pendejos!</em>¡± he roared, lifting the hammer high. ¡°Fight like you fucking <em>mean </em>it!¡± Then he waded between an Ardeni man with a tower shield and a wild-looking Shadeni with a silvery round shield on one arm and a short trident in her other hand. He thrust the maul forward, mming it into the face of a shambler, knocking it back, and then he was in the fight, whipping that great hammer around like an <em>abu</em> with a broomstick.

 Book 6: Chapter 7: Glory and Death

    Book 6: Chapter 7: Glory and Death

    Victor began to regret leaving Lifedrinker to drink her fill almost immediately. The maul was a good weapon, probably crafted of something extremely rare or powerful, but it was nothing like his axe. Lifedrinker was alive in his hands; she <em>pulled</em> toward his targets, was weightless on his backswings, and effortlessly changed direction with just a nudge. The maul, on the other hand, felt like swinging a Volkswagen attached to a lead rod. It was ponderous, momentous, and when he heaved it to and fro, Victor had to follow through, had to move his body to amodate the immensely dense hammerhead.

    Nheless, the effects of all that weight and momentum were satisfying; Victor cleared great swathes of zombies and shamblers with a single swing, putting all his strength into massive, ripping cleaves that required him to take several steps to keep control. It would have been a disastrous battle if he weren¡¯t so tough, so well-armored, and sorge. With each swing, as he smashed the undead aside, a dozen more rushed in behind him to w and hack at his sides and back. The maul was a tedious weapon to redirect, and he rarely found himself able to put it between himself and an attacker. Instead, he had to focus on his ability to be mobile¡ªhe leaped, he charged, and he smashed pathways for himself, always turning, spinning, and dodging to relieve the pressure on his nks.

    Meanwhile, the soldiers in the Ninth fought like the rugged, resilient terriers they were. They maintained their shield wall, pulling back dead or dyingrades and filling the gap from the next rank. They used their Energy abilities to bolster their lines, to fling fire and other elements onto the hordes of undead, and, encouraged by Victor¡¯s banner and his roaring, screaming, smashing titanic form, they slowly but surely began to turn the tide of the battle. They must have been outnumbered nearly three to one at the start, but with the quick dispatch of the ghouls and the steady whittling of the zombies and shamblers, the mounds of dead, destroyed, or maimed attackers began to grow, and the numbers of those still pressing against their shields dwindled.

    Things took a different turn when the undead drummers finally joined the fray. Perhaps they¡¯d held back, lurking in the mist, using their otherworldly, gut-twisting music to bolster the attacking hordes. Maybe their Energy was running dry, and their default next action was to attack. Or, just maybe, the intelligence that drove this army against Victor and the Ninth saw that their drums weren¡¯t helping enough and urged them forward. Whatever the reason, six gigantic, humanoid skeletons with purple mes dancing in the sockets of their eyes charged onto the field ofbat.

    The skeletal drummers carried polished bone clubs in one hand and enormous bone, disc-like shields in the other. Victor knew they were the ¡°drummers¡± because they came onto the battlefield, smashing those clubs against their shields, creating the low, concussive beat that had been the backdrop of the entire battle. This close, though, the concussions rolled up the slope, smashing through the undead and into the phnx shield wall. The drumbeats had a physical presence¡ªone of the giant drummers was down the hill directly in front of Victor, and when it banged out that note, the shockwave rolled into him, knocking him back several steps. It felt almost like a wave of water had crashed over him.

    The undead knocked down by the drummers¡¯ magic sprang back to their feet, almost like they¡¯d been invigorated. Unfortunately, the shockwave had the opposite effect on the soldiers of the Ninth¡ªthey were knocked t, and when they struggled to their feet, they looked dazed and disoriented. The shield wall began to crumble, the invigorated undead rushing to take advantage of the downed soldiers.

    Throughout the battle, Victor had worked to kill the frozen juggernauts, and only one remained, held fast by the mages¡¯ repeated balls of icy water Energy. Victor had smashed the skulls of the other two and had been on his way to the final one when the drummers joined the fight. Seeing the effects of their sonic attacks, he made a split-second decision and used Titanic Leap to close the distance, aiming for the centermost skeletal drummer as it climbed over the corpses of itsrade zombies toward the phnx.

    Hended behind and to the left of the giant skeleton, marveled that he had to look up to see its head, and then brought the maul, whistling through the air in a two-handed, overhead blow, down on the creature¡¯s spine. An ear-bleeding concussion resounded from the impact, and, to Victor¡¯s shock, the skeleton stumbled forward, and the enormously heavy maul rebounded¡ªhe couldn¡¯t see any damage to the bone. ¡°No way!¡± he said, wondering if even Lifedrinker could cleave that bone. He felt like he¡¯d hit the monstrosity hard enough to tten an engine block. He might not have killed the skeleton, but he¡¯d gotten its attention.

    As it turned faster than it seemed it should be able to, the skeletonshed out with its bone club, catching Victor in the ribs. The wyrm-scales ate most of the damage, disbursing the force, but he still stumbled, though hot rage began to rece his battle euphoria. Victor needed a better weapon, and he didn¡¯t have time to hunt for Lifedrinker. Rather than dig around trying to find something else in his rings, he gripped the maul¡¯s handle tight and cast Imbue Spirit, sending his most abundant, potent Energy source into the spell pattern¡ªfear.

    Victor felt a piece of himself detach and flow with the spell¡¯s Energy into the maul. The weakness and lethargy from the loss was brief; he quickly adjusted. As the processpleted, he saw the coppery, dense metal of the weapon darken. Purple-ck swirls of Energy began to pulse along the haft, up to the hammer. Then they multiplied, magnifying each other, creating weird, smokey discs of Energy that radiated outward from the center of the hammerhead and toward the business ends of the hammer. Victor grinned, marveling at the sudden lightness of the weapon, the sudden vibrancy of it. Why hadn¡¯t he ever tried imbuing Lifedrinker? ¡°Because her spirit is already in there . . .¡± he reminded himself.

    As the skeleton staggered toward him, Victor cast Energy Charge, extending the hammer like a battering ram, and when he smashed into the undead giant, an explosion of bone fragments sprayed outward, utterly ttening the undead horde around him in a twenty-foot radius. ¡°Fuck yes!¡± Victor roared, lifted the hammer high, and leaped at the next bony giant. The drummer saw himing, lifted its shield, and Victor¡¯s enchanted maul smashed into it with a horrific <em>bong</em> that exploded over the battlefield, ttening a hundred or more shamblers and zombies¡ªthankfully, the soundwave rolled away from Victor¡¯s impact toward the west, and not the phnx of soldiers.

    The giant skeleton staggered at the blow, its shield vibrating wildly, pulling its arm back, giving Victor room for a perfect follow-up smash in the monster¡¯s chest. The Energy-driven hammerhead sent a wave of purple-ck force through the bones, shattering them, releasing whatever Energy or spirit or malignant power drove the skeleton onward. It copsed in a heap, and Victor whirled, looking for his next target. Panic gripped his heart as he saw the other four drummers were already assaulting the lines, pushing the soldiers back, flinging them left and right with their polished bone cudgels.

    He ran toward the closest one, trying to get close enough to activate Energy Charge again, and then he heard a new sound, the susurration of rapidly pping wings. He looked up and saw that the Naghelli had finally made a return appearance led by none other than Kethelket. They split into three groups, flying toward the furthermost skeletal drummers, and Victor took the hint¡ªthey were leaving the center one to him. When he¡¯d closed to twenty yards, Victor cast Energy Charge, but he didn¡¯t lead with the maul; he didn¡¯t want to kill a bunch of soldiers with the explosion.

    Instead, he mmed his shoulder into the giant¡¯s back, sending it flopping forward, crashing into the ground, and knocking back several shield bearers who¡¯d been bravely trying to hold it at bay. Victor hoped they¡¯d be all right, but in his mind, they should be¡ªno one should be out on this battlefield if they couldn¡¯t take getting knocked around a little. He stomped over to the skeleton, kicking it down as it struggled to rise, and brought the maul down, smashing the monster into the bloody dirt. The giant¡¯s spine shattered, and Victor drove the fragments into the ground, pulverizing a handful of ribs and the creature¡¯s sternum along the way.

    The soldiers nearby cheered, but Victor roared, ¡°Don¡¯t stand around! Reform the line!¡± Then he scanned the field and saw the Naghelli were engaged with the skeletons, baiting them with rapid attacks, darting out of their reach, leading them away from the phnx lines. Satisfied that the immediate threat was being dealt with, Victor turned to thest juggernaut and saw that it was starting to break free of its icy prison¡ªthe mages had been killed, drained of Energy, or too distracted by the copse of the shield wall to maintain the spell. Victor tried to leap at the distant juggernaut but found his ability unresponsive.

    As he struggled to figure out what was wrong, he ran toward the monster, smashing through the sparse lines of zombies and shamblers. He looked inward, wondering if the answer was at his Core, and found his hunch was correct¡ªhis Energies were dangerously low. He was about to lose his Berserk because his rage Core was nearly empty. His fear Core was holding steady at around ten percent; had he really sent so much of it into the maul? His glory-attuned Energy was less than half, and so was his inspiration-attuned Energy¡ªhe¡¯d been using that to power his charges. He didn¡¯t remember his Titanic Leap ability saying anything about Energy requirements, but something in his gut told him that was the problem; with his Energy so low, it wouldn¡¯t work.

    Growling and gripping the maul tightly, Victor determined to finish the juggernaut before his Berserk faded. He primed his pathways with inspiration-attuned Energy, and when he was within a dozen strides, he cast Energy Charge. He tore over the ground to the side of the juggernaut, holding the maul over his left shoulder, and he timed a decisive blow at the monster¡¯s chest as he streaked past. It was a perfect hit, and the enchanted maul absolutely obliterated the juggernaut''s bony te armor. The shockwave rocked the battlefield as the enormous undead creature tumbled head over heels down the slope, devoid of the Energy that had earlier animated it.

    Victor was protected by the weird magic of his charge, which was probably what drained his Energy so much each time he used it; part of the Energy went into the charge, but another, sometimes more significant, part went into creating a shell to protect him from the destructive forces. Regardless, he didn¡¯t feel the concussion of his collision, but the straggling undead nearby did; they came apart in it, their rotting flesh and armor peeled off their bones. Their limbs were torn away, their necks and backs shattered, and their weapons and shields were ripped from grasping hands.

    Victor felt his body contracting, felt the rage seep away from him, and he stood there, leaning on the maul¡¯s handle, now long enough toe to his chin. He lifted it, found it was still easy to hoist with part of his spirit inhabiting it, and turned back to the formation of soldiers. Just as his eyes fell on them, horns sounded¡ªthe signal to charge¡ªand the soldiers holding up the shield lines parted way, allowing the third, fourth, and fifth lines to rush forth, smashing into the remaining undead, beating them back. Victor looked to the Naghelli swarming around thest of the skeletal drummers and saw that they were winning, somehow slowly draining the Energy from the giant undead, weakening the magic binding the bones.

    ¡°Victor!¡± Va¡¯s distant voice made Victor jerk his head around, looking for her, wondering how he could have forgotten her for the entirety of the battle; not once had he worried about her safety or thought to seek her out. He finallyid eyes on her, waving Midnight high above her head, her other hand on Edeya¡¯s shoulder. The young Ghelli was gore-sshed, but she wore a toothy grin, and Victor jogged toward them. Along the way, he broke the connection to his Impart Spirit spell and sent the now-mundane maul into his storage ring. Leaping corpses, weaving between thest of the skirmishes, he saw Edeya waving her spear above her head, trying to catch his eye.

    ¡°We did it! We won!¡± she cried as he drew near. Va stood over her, fatigue clear in her expression, and Victor wondered how hard she¡¯d had to battle to keep the young Ghelli safe. Hopefully, they¡¯d both reap plenty of rewards for the effort. Thinking of rewards, Victor turned to scan the battlefield. Only a handful of small fights were yet taking ce, and it was clear most of the Ninth had survived, though an undeniable number of corpses wearing the campaign uniform littered the field.

    ¡°Another hard-fought victory for the Ninth.¡± Va followed his gaze, taking in the dead.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope. I don¡¯t see any motes yet.¡±

    ¡°Combat persists.¡± Va pointed to thest of the battles out on the slope. Victor was about to reply when, with a flutter of wings and shadows, Kethelketnded before them.

    ¡°We made an important discovery,¡± he announced, forgoing niceties. Victor saw fatigue in his eyes, and blood spatters dotted his pale flesh.

    ¡°Good work on those bone drummers.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. It costs a heavy toll in Energy, but we can weaken the death magic that binds their spirits, allowing us to damage their nigh-indestructible frames. Put that to the side, though, Lord. We must discuss the keep yonder.¡± He pointed south into the mist where Va had seen the stone structure.

    ¡°What about it?¡±

    ¡°It housed many of the creatures your army slew here on this field. When they marched past, we hid in the trees that dot the slopes near the walls. Afterward, we went inside and slew a guardian beast in the courtyard¡ªa great rotting mound that moved with evil intent. The System then announced that we could capture the ¡®strategic location.¡¯ When I tried to do so, resting my hand upon a strange floating stone at the center of the courtyard, it said that a greater force must be present. I think we should go there, with this army of yours, before the invaders can rally more forces to thwart you.¡±

    Victor looked at Kethelket again, at his dark eyes and shimmering swords, at his glimmering armor and glowing wings; he seemed to know a lot about death magic and seemed highlypetent. He hoped he could trust him because it was damn nice being able to rely on someone else to get shit done. He nced at Va, took in her slight shrug, and said, ¡°Right. We¡¯ll get marching as soon as I speak to Sarl. Edeya, contact Lam and the others. Give them an update.¡± He paused, looked at the gore-sshed Ghelli, and then at Va and said, ¡°Where¡¯s Thistle?¡±

    ¡°He took a bad gash to his haunches, and we sent him off. He¡¯s not meant to be surrounded by undead, Victor.¡± Va had seen his frown and responded in kind, as though daring him to second-guess her.

    ¡°All right. Try to call him; you guys know how?¡±

    ¡°I know the whistle.¡± Edeya demonstrated, holding two fingers between her lips and making a trilling call, the same one Victor had learned from Chandri.

    ¡°Good. Keep doing that, but message the base first.¡± Victor turned toward the milling soldiers, and then he saw the golden motes starting to gather among the dead. ¡°Sarl!¡± he called, walking toward the captain, getting ready for the stream of Energy that would no doubt throw everyone off task while it rewarded the victors. He¡¯d only made it a few steps before his eyes were drawn to the thick purple motes growing out of a juggernaut corpse. He turned toward it, pping a hand at Lifedrinker¡¯s empty harness, and hurried to retrieve her.

    ¡°Hey! Good work! Nice fighting! Gather your brothers and sisters! We march soon!¡± he called out to the soldiers he ran past, and then he was before the giant corpse, and he saw Lifedrinker¡¯s haft sticking out of its hunched, rotting shoulders. He reached forward, grabbed hold of her, and, just as he pulled her gore-covered axe head free, a torrent of Energy smashed into him.

    <strong> ***Congrattions! You have achieved level 53 Battlemaster, gained 10 strength, 9 vitality, 4 agility, 4 dexterity, 3 will, and 3 intelligence.***</strong>

    When the euphoria faded, and he fell back to the ground, Victor couldn¡¯t fight the grin on his face or hold back his shout, ¡°Hell yes!¡± He felt glorious, full of Energy, and stronger than ever. He looked at Lifedrinker and saw that she¡¯d changed a little, too. Her de was slightly bigger, her handle a bit thicker and longer, and more than that, he knew she was heavier. Even though she was denser, Victor had no trouble swinging her around, thanks to her spirit and the way she seemed to aid him with her movements. She ripped the air with deadly <em>whooshes</em> as he grinned, cleaving her left and right. ¡°You¡¯re feeling good too, huh, <em>chica</em>?¡±

    <em>I learned much from the dark Energy I drank from the bone-d one we split. I grow eager to taste more of his kind; my edge itches to part their bones.</em>

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t get to kill all these assholes with you. I wonder if you¡¯d like to try something sometime.¡±

    <em>Try something?</em>

    ¡°How would you feel about me putting a bit of my spirit in there with you?¡±

    <em>I . . . I think I¡¯d like that, Victor. I think I¡¯d like that very much.</em>

 Book 6: Chapter 8: Old Walls

    Book 6: Chapter 8: Old Walls

    After the battle, Sarl began to order his cohort to collect samples from the various undead, loot them for valuables, and then gather them into mounds so the Pyromancers could reduce them to ash. When Victor heard him giving themand, he approached the captain and said, ¡°You¡¯re going to burn them all?¡±

    ¡°When dealing with the undead, it¡¯s usually best.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess that makes sense.¡± Victor looked over the battlefield, taking in the piles of undead. The soldiers had been quick to gather their fallenrades, but Victor thought he saw a legion uniform here and there beneath the rotting, gory bodies of zombies. No doubt, they¡¯d be recovered as Sarl¡¯s orders were carried out, but Victor hated to see them, hated to think that people he¡¯d just watched vibrantly marching forth were now cold flesh, spattered with gore, pinned beneath these vile creatures. ¡°How many did we lose?¡±

    Sarl inhaled slowly through his nose, frowning as he followed Victor¡¯s gaze. ¡°Headcounts from the sergeants indicate seventy-four dead, but we¡¯ve only recovered sixty-two bodies.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll turn up. I¡¯m sorry for your losses, Sarl. Your troops fought damn well, though. I was amazed by those phnx maneuvers.¡±

    Sarl stiffened his back at Victor¡¯s words, some pride bleeding into his stature. ¡°Thank you, sir. I¡¯m proud of them. We saw great gains after the battle.¡±

    ¡°Damn right. The Ninth is going to be formidable at this rate.¡±

    ¡°As you say, sir.¡±

    Victor watched him walk over to speak to one of his lieutenants, then turned to gaze over the field to where Edeya and Va stood with Thistle. The vidanii hade around after the battle ended, limping from a deep gash in his left haunch. Va had been treating the wound, rubbing some healing ointment into the cut, when Victor left to speak with Sarl. Frowning, wondering what had happened to Uvu and how he should broach the subject with Va, he walked over to her. ¡°How is he?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll be fine. Just a scar he can show off to Starlight,¡± Edeya answered. She was upbeat, cheerful, even. After the battle, she¡¯d announced that she was level twenty-nine, so Victor could see why¡ªit was exciting to be on the cusp of a ss refinement. Va didn¡¯t look up, still massaging anotheryer of ointment into the vidanii¡¯s course fur, watching with a satisfied expression as the swollen, red flesh around the puckered scar faded and diminished.

    ¡°Edeya, you better chug that racial advancement soon. You won¡¯t be able to advance to tier three without it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m well aware, sir.¡± Edeya¡¯s toothy smile told Victor she probably couldn¡¯t think of much else.

    ¡°When we return to the base, then.¡± Victor turned to Va and ced a hand on her shoulder, gently squeezing. ¡°I hate to bring it up, but . . . Uvu?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t feel him.¡± She didn¡¯t look at him, refused to meet his gaze, as she continued her ministrations on Thistle¡¯s haunch.

    ¡°Can you usually?¡±

    ¡°Always.¡± She sniffed, then looked up from her work. Her soft, seafoam eyes were bloodshot as she said, ¡°I can ride with you for now.¡±

    ¡°Shit, Va, I . . .¡±

    ¡°Nothing to be said. He¡¯s not a vidanii. He¡¯s a creature of war and conflict. I¡¯ve been bracing myself for the possibility he¡¯d get himself killed since Rellia gave him to me as a cub.¡± Victor could see she was trying to put on a brave face, but her voice choked on thest sentence, and he knew she was hurting. He wanted to hug her, pull her close, and stroke her hair, but they were surrounded by soldiers, and Edeya was standing right there; he knew Va wouldn¡¯t appreciate it¡ªnot at that exact moment.

    ¡°Maybe he¡¯lle around.¡± Edeya squeezed Va¡¯s hand, interrupting her slow, methodical stroking of Thistle¡¯s course hide, trying to break the gloomy spell. ¡°Maybe something in this mist or a different effect of the invaders¡¯ magic makes your connection to him silent.¡±

    ¡°Maybe . . .¡± Va shrugged but offered Edeya a small smile. ¡°Thanks for the thought.¡±

    Victor summoned Guapo, once again using glory-attuned Energy. He liked the Mustang in that guise; he was showy and positive, and his brilliant eyes and the sparks of his hooves helped to drive back the gloom of the mist that kept creeping toward the army. The horse erupted from his weird, sparkling, golden pool of Energy and pranced about, his neck arched and his eyes shing. ¡°Good boy,¡± Victor immediately said, patting his muscr shoulder. He nced at the two women and was pleased to see some light in Va¡¯s eyes and a broad smile on Edeya¡¯s face as they took in the proud animal.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go see what Kethelket was talking about.¡± He swung onto the horse¡¯s back, then reached down to pull Va up behind him. Edeya stepped into Thistle¡¯s stirrup and nodded her readiness. Before they left ahead of the army, Victor rode over to Sarl and said, ¡°As soon as you¡¯re done here, Captain, march due southwest until you see the structure Kethelket told us about. We¡¯ll be waiting.¡±

    ¡°Will do, sir!¡± Of course, he had to snap a perfect salute, which Victor had no way of returning from atop the horse. He mmed his fist into his chest, though, and gave the captain a solemn nod. Then he clicked his tongue, and Guapo leaped down the slope, weaving between the various squads of soldiers as they did their dirty work on the battlefield.

    They¡¯d already concluded that the mist, while not exactly harmless, wasn¡¯t much of a risk to soldiers. Victor couldn¡¯t notice anything when he stood in it, but some of the lower-tier soldiersined of shortness of breath, a certainssitude of the muscles, and a desire to get back to camp for a good sleep. Still, with the presence of stronger individuals driving them on, none seemed to be at any risk of being ovee.

    Guapo and Thistle made short work of the slope, diving into the thicker mists as they thundered over the ground toward the structure Kethelket and his Naghelli were currently securing. Victor looked over at Edeya. ¡°Doing all right?¡±

    ¡°Sleepy.¡± Her eyes looked heavy, and she leaned forward toward Thistle¡¯s neck as she rode.

    ¡°Perk up, <em>chica.</em>¡± Heughed, leaned down, grasped her shoulder, and gave her a rough jostle. ¡°You¡¯re drinking that racial advancement the minute we get back!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay!¡± Her voice rose with outrage as she thrust his hand away, steering Thistle so he veered a few feet further from Guapo. Va was silent through the exchange, her grip steady on Victor¡¯s ribs, and he suddenly felt ashamed for horsing around with Uvu missing. Before he could worry about it further, a dark structure loomed out of the mist ahead. He steered Guapo to the left, aiming to circle the building where, ording to Kethelket, he¡¯d find an open gate on the other side.

    As they neared the corner, he felt Va stir, and she said, ¡°Those stones look old.¡±

    Victor eyed the building, noting the smoothly chiseled gray stone blocks and fine dark mortar lines. They¡¯d been cut with precision and were huge; the blocks had to be three feet square. Victor followed the smooth, t wall upward with his eyes, noting crions about forty feet above them. Va was right, though¡ªthe base of the stone wall was overgrown with lichen, and green-leafed vines were trying to climb the heights, though they only stretched twenty feet or so upward. It didn¡¯t look like something that had been built in recent history.

    As they rounded the corner, he guessed the edifice was a square; it seemed this new side was the same length as the one they¡¯d just ridden past. ¡°A square, ancient keep.¡± Va¡¯s voice was soft and spective.

    ¡°Does it mean something?¡±

    ¡°I wonder if this is part of one of the old empires from before the joining. A castle from one of the worlds that made up Fanwath. It reminds me of a story about an Onaghi empire¡ªthey were adept at manipting earth-attuned Energy even before the System came.¡±

    ¡°Onaghi . . .¡± Victor let the word trail off, his mind searching the depths of his memory for the meaning.

    ¡°There aren¡¯t many left,¡± Edeya bailed him out, ¡°They don¡¯t look like the rest of us; they float in the air and have kind of translucent skin . . .¡±

    ¡°Ah, yeah! The jellyfish people.¡± Victor nodded, remembering a group of the strange folk he¡¯d seen in Persi Gables. He turned Guapo around the next corner, and, true to his word, Kethelket waited for them before an open gate halfway along the stony wall. He stood in the swirling mists with five of his people standing in a semi-circle around him, all wielding wicked, gleaming des.

    ¡°Not sure what that is,¡± Edeya said, responding to Victor¡¯sment, ¡°but Onaghi definitely aren¡¯t fish.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, my bad.¡± Victor only half paid attention to her; he was too busy studying the front of the keep and the area before it. Like the side and rear, it rose in a sheer wall of perfectly cut stone blocks, but above the open stone gates, long slits were carved in the wall. Victor wondered if they were meant to allow defenders tounch attacks on enemies who might try to breach those thick, t bs. He examined the gates and noted the gigantic, ck metal hinges and the massive bolt affixed to the inner side; it seemed they¡¯d be hard to break.

    More than that, Victor felt the Energy in the stones around him¡ªthis was a ce steeped in power, built with magical defenses that he didn¡¯t understand. He wondered why the undead had charged forth to attack him rather than try to hold on to it. As they drew near, he voiced his curiosity to Kethelket. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to fight any defenders?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that, Lord.¡±

    ¡°Lord¡¯s a bit much, Kethelket. Call me Victor or, if you want to show respect in front of the troops, sir.¡±

    ¡°My apologies. If I wasn¡¯t clear before, let me amend my report: most of the defenders charged forth to attack you, but a garrison of fifty undead was left behind, along with the mound of . . . undead matter and fungi. We ughtered them.¡±

    Victor hopped down from Guapo and held up a hand to help Va. She took it, though he thought he saw a flicker of annoyance in her eyes as she slid down. She stepped away, down a gravel-strewn dirt track that led from the gates into the misty rolling hills, and he saw her staring searchingly into the distance. He wanted to go to her, to ask if she was looking for Uvu or if there was anything he could do, but other things were vying for his attention, things he felt a duty to address. ¡°So, show me this stone you tried to interact with.¡±

    ¡°Right inside, sir, at the center of the courtyard.¡±

    ¡°Take notes, Edeya.¡± Victor left Guapo standing where he was and started toward the opening, but first, he looked at the Naghelli standing nearby and gestured toward Va as she walked in a slow circuit around the front of the keep. ¡°Keep an eye on her.¡±

    ¡°I heard that.¡± She turned to scowl at him, but he could see it wasn¡¯t a real scowl. Some lightness in her eyes gave away the fact that she appreciated his attention.

    The Naghelli didn¡¯t respond, but every single one offered him a salute. Kethelket nodded to them, then gestured between the massive stone gates. ¡°Shall we?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor followed him through, looking up at the impressive stone bs, noting that the insides were banded with dark metal. The oversized bolt he¡¯d seen when riding up was one of four; three smaller ones were on the inside of the other gate. ¡°Looks like it¡¯d be a bitch to break this gate open.¡±

    ¡°The warding glyphs worked into the stone are of an ancient design. I haven¡¯t seen the like; I believe this keep is from Havah.¡±

    Victor paused in the oppressive stone tunnel behind the gates, looking up at the hundreds of dark holes in the stone overhead. ¡°Havah?¡±

    ¡°The world from which the Onaghi and Bogoli originate.¡±

    ¡°Oh? The little guys who paint themselves? They came from the same world?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Of all the races who came to Fanwath, those two were known for their high Energy affinity and talent with using it. Well, of the races who were friendly. The Yovashi were simrly gifted.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve met a Yovashi. He tried to destroy my Core.¡± Victor turned and continued through the tunnel, imagining what it would be like if some horrible magical fire or molten metal were poured down out of those murder holes. Whether his remark had surprised Kethelket or not, he couldn¡¯t tell; the Naghelli shadowed him noiselessly withoutment. When he emerged from the tunnel, Victor was surprised by the brightness of the sky. The clouds above, though pale gray, weren¡¯t obscured by any of the mist that had been ever-present outside the keep.

    As he shielded his eyes, allowing them to adjust, Edeya¡¯s voice echoed out of the gate tunnel, ¡°I can breathe again! The mist doesn¡¯te in here?¡±

    ¡°Not since we killed the defenders. My people carried the corpses out and burned them. A short time after that, the mists receded beyond the walls. That¡¯s when we noticed the stone yonder.¡± Victor jerked his gaze down from the parapets where he¡¯d been observing the other Naghelli lurking in the shadows of the crions. As he surveyed the courtyard, he instantly saw what Kethelket was talking about¡ªa cylindrical stone hovered there. It was maybe two yards high and half a dozen inches thick. It spun slowly in the air, its smooth gray surface interrupted by shimmering yellow runes. They looked like the System runes you could find on any City Stone, like the one at the center of the citadel in Coloss.

    ¡°That¡¯s from the System.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I agree.¡± Kethelket walked toward it. ¡°When I tried to interact with it, the System put a message in my vision saying we needed arger force to interact. So, we flew forth to help you y the undead and fetch your army here.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yeah. Do you remember what the System said when it gave us the conquest quest?¡±

    ¡°Chests of Conquest at strategic locations!¡± Edeya practically shouted.

    ¡°Exactly.¡± Victor stepped toward the stone. He could feel the power in it; it was dense with Energy in a way that reminded him of the Warlord¡¯s cultivation chamber back in Coloss. He¡¯d felt something simr from the City Stones he¡¯d interacted with, but this was different; it felt more vtile, as though it had a certain raw edge to it. He felt like it was waiting for him, and when he reached his hand toward it, the stone stopped its constant spinning, holding still while he rested his palm on its cool, lightly vibrating surface.

    <strong>***This stone is undefended, but you must have arger force in the vicinity to interact.***</strong>

    ¡°Still need more people here. Sarl and the Ninth will be along soon.¡± Victor turned to examine the courtyard, noting the stone benches here and there, the piles of rotting refuse, some bones and dposing flesh, and arge mound of decaying nt matter near a broad archway that led into a dark interior. He wrinkled his nose, wondering at the idea that the air had smelled fine to him before he¡¯d seen the bones and refuse. ¡°You¡¯ve cleared the inside?¡±

    ¡°Aye. Nothing but stone remains; whatever wood was present has long rotted away. We slew the undead within and dragged them forth, but there are messes like this,¡± Kethelket gestured to a pile of bones and rotting flesh, ¡°inside as well. It¡¯ll take a good, deep cleaning, and we didn¡¯t think we should begin while watching for undead reinforcements.¡±

    ¡°How many troops can be housed inside?¡±

    ¡°Barracks for a few hundred, and then there are finer rooms for themanders or nobility. I¡¯m assuming; I know little of the peoples of Havah.¡± Kethelket shrugged, resting a foot on a stone bench and leaning an elbow on his slender, leather-d knee.

    ¡°Theye!¡± one of the Naghelli on the wall cried out.

    ¡°The undead?¡± Edeya asked, hurrying forward to put Victor between her and the gate.

    ¡°No, no,¡± Kethelket chuckled, ¡°the soldiers.¡±

    Victor looked at Edeya and grinned, noting she held the Farscribe Book in her arms, hugging it to her chest. ¡°You updated the base?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Lam wants us to return before dark, but they¡¯re waiting to hear from you about this keep.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± Victor moved to sit on one of the ancient stone benches, idly drumming his fingers on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft. ¡°I wish these assholes weren¡¯t undead.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d prefer a different sort of enemy?¡± Kethelket raised an eyebrow in amusement.

    ¡°Well, yeah. They don¡¯t carry much in the way of loot, and my ancestors have little use for their empty husks after we¡¯ve in them.¡±

    ¡°Your ancestors?¡±

    ¡°He sends them treasures in the spirit realm; it helps them to conquer the new worlds they walk upon.¡±

    Victor looked at Edeya in surprise. ¡°I don¡¯t remember telling you about that.¡±

    ¡°You talked about it for about an hour one night when we gathered in your travel home. Well, you and Va; she went on and on about the treasures you ¡®burned up¡¯ back in that world you two visited.¡±

    ¡°Is she still out there?¡± Victor frowned, looking toward the gate tunnel.

    ¡°I¡¯ll check on her.¡± Edeya jogged off, still clutching the Far Scribe book, into the shadows of the intimidating keep wall.

    ¡°She¡¯s eager to please you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s funny ¡®cause she used to give me a pretty damn hard time.¡± Victor sighed and shook his head, a smile touching his lips at the fond memory. ¡°That was a different life, though. Hey,¡± he turned to make eye contact with Kethelket, ¡°do any of your people have some skill with the spear?¡±

    ¡°Of course. The spear is nearly unrivaled in its versatility. Before I took up the sword, I reached epic proficiency with the long spear. Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m trying to help Edeya. She uses a spear, but I¡¯ve never seen her training with anyone. I think she could learn a lot from one of you . . .¡±

    ¡°I will train her,¡± Kethelket spoke quickly, heading off further words from Victor. ¡°I will consider it an honor to help a closepanion of yours, Victor.¡±

    Victor stood up and held out a hand. ¡°Thank you, Kethelket.¡± The Naghelli prince nodded solemnly and took Victor¡¯s hand in his. As they shook, a great roar echoed through the gate tunnel, a roar that Victor recognized¡ªit was Uvu, and he sounded distressed and angry.

 Book 6: Chapter 9: Outpost

    Book 6: Chapter 9: Outpost

    Victor ripped Lifedrinker from her harness and charged for the tunnel. As he surged through the darkened opening, he almost instinctually cast Iron Berserk, and by the time he exploded out the other side, he was hunched over, his shoulders scraping along the stone ceiling. A chaotic scene greeted him¡ªVa and the five Naghelli who¡¯d been watching the gate were dancing around a frenzied Uvu and a monstrous aggressor.

    The giant cat¡¯s rear haunches were both speared by barbed harpoon-like, bony tines, and, attached to those tines, long vibrating sinews stretched forth to a pulsing, sucking mound of bone-filled gtin. The jelly-like heap shivered and pulsed. The bones within its translucent structure shifted and seemed to heave with its movements as it surged forward and back, trying to, if Victor were guessing, reel in the cat¡ªto pull Uvu into the slurping, toothless maw that kept opening and closing on the near side between the weird sinew-bound harpoons.

    Va danced forward, swinging Midnight at one of the sinews holding Uvu, but her de bounced off. The Naghelli were fast, too fast perhaps for the mound to respond to their attacks, but their efforts were fruitless; they shed and stabbed it, only to have the wounds they imparted instantly refilled with the clear jelly. Va regained her momentum and went in for another strike, but then, with a sick explosion of puss-like gel, another harpoon fired out of the mound and impaled her leg. She screamed, stumbling and falling back, dropping her sword as she scrabbled at the ground, joining Uvu in his attempts to keep from being reeled in.

    Victor had seen enough. With hot rageing unbidden to fill his pathways to bursting, he focused his blood-red vision on the near side of the mound and cast Energy Charge, leading with Lifedrinker¡¯s gleaming, red-hot edge. Like a smoking meteor, he ripped over the gravel and grass, and when he smashed into the mound, he buried the axe and his arms up to the elbows into its gooey,id body. The impalement was only an after-effect, though¡ªthe real damage came from the concussion of his enormous body smashing into the monster. He hit it so hard, riding on a wave of powerful rage-attuned Energy, that the shockwave rippled through the thing, sending the bones inside exploding out the far side, spattering its gel-like innards and flesh over a dozen yards.

    It didn¡¯t make a sound as it continued to dete, the gel breaking apart, bing liquid before his eyes, leaving a wet spatter of bones and rubbery sinews scattered over the stony ground. Victor jerked his eyes from the destruction to Va and Uvu. Va was up to one knee, her impaled thigh held out straight as she worried at the jagged, ivory-colored harpoon. She kept ncing toward Uvu, but the cat was doing better now that it wasn¡¯t being pulled by those bloody impalements. Hey on the ground, stretching his neck to chew and worry at the harpoon in his left haunch.

    ¡°Be still, boy,¡± Va said. ¡°We¡¯ll help you in a minute.¡±

    Victor started toward her, ready to help remove the barbed tine, but then some movement caught his eye, and he looked back at the sttered monster and noticed the fluid-like material was slowly flowing away, trickling over the gravely ground. ¡°Somebody burn that shit!¡±

    ¡°Tuvai!¡± Kethelket yelled, and one of the Naghelli who¡¯d been trying to help Uvu, sprang forward, a ball of mes forming between her hands. The ball grew in density and brightness until it was yellow-white, and then she flung it forth. It smoked through the air to smash into the center of the flowing pool of oozing liquid, where it burst into a carpet of brilliant mes. This time, something screamed, or maybe it just made that sound as it burned, and thick ck smoke billowed into the air as the puddle ignited, almost like an oil slick had been set alight.

    Victor nodded and moved over to Va, kneeling to get a better look at the barbed harpoon. As he knelt, he ended his Iron Berserk and cast Alter Self, reducing his size further so he could better see what he was dealing with. He followed the sinewy rope away from Va to where it ended in the smoking, burning pool. Nodding to himself, he said, ¡°Hold still.¡± Then he hacked Lifedrinker into the sinew near Va¡¯s leg, where ity on the ground. Lifedrinker¡¯s smoldering, razor edge made short work of the material, slicing through and into the ground, shattering a few gravelly clumps of granite. ¡°Sorry, girl.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay . . .¡± Va started to say, then she looked at his axe and into his eyes and sighed. ¡°You were talking to her.¡±

    ¡°Sorry to you, too.¡± Victor gripped the barbed end of the harpoon sticking out of Va¡¯s leg and said, ¡°One, two . . .¡± rather than say three, he jerked and pulled the tine and the much-shortened sinew through the wound. To her credit, Va didn¡¯t cry out, though she hissed in pain and mped her hands on either side of the puckered hole in her leg. Hot, dark blood pumped out between her fingers, and Victor dug out a healing potion, popping the wax seal and holding it to her lips. She drank it thirstily and then sighed as the magic went to work.

    ¡°Thank you. Let me help with Uvu so he doesn¡¯t bite your arm off.¡±

    Victor looked at the bloody barb he still held, frowning at the almost imperceptible edge. ¡°This thing¡¯s sharp as hell. I wonder if your armor would¡¯ve stopped it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to think so.¡± Va grunted, climbed to her feet, then moved over to the grumbling, softly growling cat. As Victor moved to help her, Kethelket barked orders at his men, having them spread out in a semi-circle, watching the mists more closely. They¡¯d gotten one barb out and were working on the other when the fire finally stopped smoldering, and Energy motes bubbled up out of the ckened sludge left on the ground. They were shimmering, purple and rich, dappled with other tiny, rainbow hues, and Victor realized the monster they¡¯d in had been formidable indeed¡ªit was lucky his attack had been so effective.

    When the Energy streamed forth, some of it went to Victor, and tiny streams went to everyone else, including Uvu, but the Naghelli who¡¯d burned it, Tuvai, received an enormous share, and she whooped and hollered as it lifted her into the air, limning her with bright white light. When she settled back, she looked around and proimed, ¡°I¡¯ve leveled! The first in a decade!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions!¡± Victor said as he yanked the second barb out of Uvu¡¯s thigh. Va stood between him and the cat¡¯s head, an arm over the big creature¡¯s neck, but he still flinched away as Uvu roared his displeasure. ¡°Quiet,¡± heughed, ¡°big baby! Doesn¡¯t it feel better to have that out of you?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s grateful.¡± Va¡¯s smile had been ever-present since they¡¯d lit the gtinous monster on fire¡ªit was clear to everyone that she¡¯d been sick with worry about herpanion and was relieved to have him back. Victor nodded, took the barbed bone harpoon, and set it on the ground with the other two.

    ¡°Maybe my ancestors can use these.¡± Without waiting for ament, he cast Honor the Spirits, and in a silvery sh of ghostly fire, the three harpoons ceased to exist, disappearing in a cloud of spirit smoke that drifted out of this world and into the next.

    ¡°That was well-fought.¡± Kethelket moved closer, eyeing Uvu warily.

    ¡°Indeed, it was,¡± another voice called out. Victor turned toward the sound to see Sarl approaching. Behind him, a long line of soldiers marched around the keep, passing through the gates to the courtyard beyond.

    ¡°You saw?¡±

    ¡°Aye, we heard Va¡¯s valiant mount roaring and hurried around the corner only to find you smashing into that . . . thing. After I saw it set alight, I figured we could continue our march into yonder keep.¡± Sarl jerked his thumb over his shoulder to the open gateway.

    ¡°Good. Help the Naghelli set up a watch rotation and get the men started cleaning out the debris and filth.¡±

    ¡°As you say, sir.¡± Sarl snapped a quick salute, then marched back toward the keep. Victor saw Edeya moving in the opposite direction toward him and Va, and he paused to wait for her.

    ¡°What should I report about that . . . monster?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous but apparently weak to fire. You got a good look at it?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Okay, so describe it and mention the bit about burning it. Also, concussive damage seems to break it up.¡± Victor turned to Va. ¡°Can you bring him into the courtyard? I want to try interacting with that stone again now that the cohort is here.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Va screwed the top back onto a jar of healing salve she¡¯d been spreading into Uvu¡¯s puncture wounds. She took hold of his reins, muddy and sttered with gore, and led the great cat toward the gateway, speaking softly and scratching him with her free hand behind the ear.

    Victor turned to Edeya. ¡°I¡¯m sure d he fought his way here. That mound of jelly had to weigh a thousand pounds, and he dragged it here with two harpoons through his legs.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a valiant animal.¡± Edeya nodded, though she only gave Victor half her attention; she was busily scribbling into the Farscribe Book.

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor snorted, e on.¡± When he returned to the slowly rotating System stone inside the keep, the courtyard was far more crowded. Soldiers were gathering refuse into piles where Pyromancers set it alight, rendering it to ash. The lingering smoke tickled Victor¡¯s nose as he looked around, watching the cohort¡¯s engineers as they rapidly constructed doors to mount in the doorways and built railings to line the stone stairways that led up to the parapets. It was amazing how much faster things went when dimensional containers and magic were a factor.

    Victor approached the stone and ced his hand upon its surface. Once again, it paused its rotating, and a message appeared in his vision:

    <strong>***This stone is undefended, and you have sufficient forces in the vicinity to im this outpost. Do you wish to do so?***</strong>

    Beneath the message was a simple menu with a yes and a no option. Victor mentally selected the affirmative, and almost instantly, a breeze began to blow into the keep. The wind tickled his senses, buzzing along his pathways, and he knew it was rich with Energy; some magical working was taking ce. The stone tingled under his hand, and he gently tugged but found he couldn¡¯t pull away from it. He wished he could go up to the wall to see what was happening from a greater height, but failing that, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s happening on the wall?¡±

    Kethelket stood nearby and shouted his question to his men, and one of them called down, ¡°The mists recede! I can see trees and hills now! Dark creatures flee to the north! More undead!¡±

    Another guardsman, this one a Shadeni,ughed and shouted, ¡°They smoke in the sunlight! You should see the panic in their flight!¡±

    ¡°So,¡± Edeya said, nodding, ¡°the mist signifies their controllednds.¡±

    ¡°I mean, I kinda figured that, didn¡¯t you guys?¡± Victor looked around, and Kethelket and Va nodded.

    ¡°I suppose if I¡¯d thought about it . . .¡± Edeya stuck her pen between her teeth and chewed on the wooden end in contemtion.

    Before Victor could respond, another System message appeared in his vision:

    <strong>***Congrattions! Your forces have imed this outpost and its surroundingnds. Defend it from your enemies and continue your conquest! For your victory, your faction will be rewarded a Chest of Conquest¡ªthis only urs the first time you im any given territory.***</strong>

    Victor felt the weird grip on his hand fade, and as he pulled it away, a thick blue fog began to swirl out of the stones at his feet. He backed up and watched as the fog or smoke or steam¡ªhe couldn¡¯t detect any smell at all¡ªbegan to swirl together, thickening and then blowing away on the weird, magical breeze. In its wake, arge wooden chest sat on the gstones of the courtyard, the nks of which were stained the same shade of blue.

    ¡°Woah!¡± Edeya cried, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of System chests, but I¡¯ve never seen one!¡±

    ¡°I have, but only in dungeons.¡± Kethelket stepped toward the chest, squatting to examine it better.

    ¡°Same.¡± Victor moved to rest his hand on the top of the chest. It was warm and solid and throbbed with Energy. ¡°Did any of you see the messages from the System as I was interacting with the stone?¡±

    ¡°I did not.¡± Kethelket straightened and looked at Victor with those depthless ck eyes. In his reduced state, Victor was only a couple of inches taller than thenky Naghelli.

    ¡°No.¡± Va stepped up next to him, for some reason eyeing Kethelket warily.

    ¡°Nothing big; it just said we¡¯d imed this outpost for our faction, that we needed to defend it, and that we were being awarded this chest. Oh, and we¡¯ll only get a chest the first time we im ¡®any given¡¯ territory.¡±

    ¡°Interesting. I suppose the System wouldn¡¯t want two generals from opposing factions to take turns swapping an outpost, collecting chest after chest.¡± Kethelket nodded as though the System were being clever, and Victor had to admit he¡¯d had the same thought.

    ¡°Would anyone ever? I can¡¯t imagine working together with these undead monstrosities.¡± Va¡¯s frown had only deepened at Kethelket¡¯s words.

    ¡°I doubt every conflict the System sets up is between such prizing factions. What if it were Shadeni fighting Ardeni?¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Va closed her mouth and looked around with more understanding. ¡°Yes, I suppose with countless worlds and even more peoples, such things might happen.¡±

    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s see what¡¯s in here.¡± Victor reached for the chest¡¯s sp, but Kethelket held up a hand.

    ¡°A moment, sir. Have you considered it may be trapped?¡±

    ¡°Would the System trap a reward?¡± Edeya¡¯s eyes bulged at the implication.

    ¡°I doubt it,¡± Kethelket said, ¡°but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to be sure. I have a rather talented artificer here with me. Perhaps we can give him a moment to examine the container?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Sure.¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°Relekani!¡± Kethelket called, turning around in a slow circle, trying toy eyes on the Naghelli in question. A shadow detached from the parapet near the keep where one of the engineers was crafting a wooden door for the upper level. He drifted down to the courtyard in a flutter of softly glowing orange and charcoal wings.

    ¡°Sir?¡± Relekani was a slight Naghelli, a good six inches shorter than Kethelket and with very slender limbs. He had a delicate, narrow nose and wore his white hair short and parted to the side, smoothed down with some sort of wax.

    ¡°Examine this chest. Ensure it will not harm the one who opens it.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, of course.¡± Relekani produced a pair of spectacles with dark amber lenses and put them on, then he held out his hands, muttering something under his breath as he carefully studied the blue container. He started in the front, staring at the sp for a solid minute before slowly moving around it, scrutinizing every corner and edge.

    ¡°What do you guys think is in it?¡± Victor asked to pass the time.

    ¡°Weapons!¡± Edeya said with certainty.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It could be anything from armaments to rations to alchemical ingredients. Perhaps it¡¯s just beads¡ªthe System loves to encourage trade.¡± Victor noticed that Va wasn¡¯t even looking at the chest as she spoke; her eyes were on Uvu. The big cat was resting in the shadows near the gatehouse, cleaning his long, sharp ws with his enormous pink tongue.

    ¡°Agreed.¡± Kethelket nodded, eyes on Va. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say what the System would think was a worthy reward for this keep. I wonder if the blue color is any indication. I suppose we¡¯ll learn more as we continue with this conquest.¡±

    Victor grunted and was about to make a guess when Relekani straightened up. ¡°I see nothing of concern.¡±

    ¡°Good! Thanks for checking.¡± Victor didn¡¯t wait for any further objections and stepped up to the chest, flinging thetch up and lifting the lid. More blue mist escaped the interior, and when it faded away, he peered inside. ¡°Oh, nice!¡± He spoke reflexively as he saw the rack of six shimmering, pearlescent white potion bottles at the top of the chest. He felt the others crowding near to look within, so rather than exin what he¡¯d seen, he kept looking.

    He lifted the potion rack, handed it off to Va, then picked up the next item¡ªa bolt of dense ck cloth that smoked with the dark shadowy-Energy that pervaded it. Kethelket hissed in appreciation, but, again, Victor handed it to Va. She set it on the ground near the chest, and Victor heard soldiers muttering as a crowd began to gather. ¡°Yeah,¡± he said, ncing at Kethelket and Edeya, then around at the milling soldiers, ¡°how about everyone stand back a bit? Va willy the items out as I retrieve them.¡±

    ¡°You heard the Legate!¡± Sarl barked from up the steps near the keep door. ¡°Form a wide circle and show some respect!¡±

    Victor nced at Kethelket, saw a slight frown on his face, but nodded as the man took a few steps back. Edeya hurried toply as well. Victor returned to the chest and lifted out the next object¡ªa dense hunk of charcoal-ck metal. He lifted it easily but could tell it was incredibly dense. It almost reminded him of his helmet, the way it pulled at his fingers as though trying to get to the ground. He handed it to Va, and she grunted as she carried it in two hands to set on the gstones next to the shadowy cloth.

    ¡°Is there more?¡± Edeya asked.

    ¡°A lot.¡± Victor reached into the chest again and lifted out a tooled leather container. At first, he wasn¡¯t sure what it was, but as he turned it, he saw an opening on one end that was densely packed with red-fletched arrows. ¡°Huh.¡± He passed it to Va. Next, he pulled out a fist-sized metallic ball densely inscribed with runes. He could feel the Energy in it¡ªit throbbed so richly that he felt it in his knuckles. ¡°I have no idea what this one is, but it¡¯s full of power.¡±

    ¡°I can help to determine the use of these objects,¡± Relekani offered.

    ¡°As can any number of Artificers with the legion.¡± Va didn¡¯t frown or snap, but her words were a clear rebuke. Relekani backed up, and Victor could <em>feel</em> the frown on his face. He reached back into the chest and lifted out a gold-foil-wrapped brick-sized object. It was light, but again, he could feel the Energy within, and when he lifted it to his nose for a sniff, his mouth began to water.

    ¡°Careful with that one,¡± he said, handing it to Va. She nodded and quickly set it down, careful not to allow whatever magical odor permeated the contents to waft toward her nose.

    Victor looked into the chest and saw only one more object. As he retrieved it, the chest vanished in a puff of dense blue smoke. Victor waved it away with the final reward¡ªa folded, silky g made of cream-colored fabric and emzoned with a blood-drenched golden sun. ¡°Huh! I guess the System likes my glorious banner.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 10: Pieces on a Board

    Book 6: Chapter 10: Pieces on a Board

    Victor hung the g, or banner, he supposed, over his shoulder and looked around at the expectant faces of the soldiers gathered in the courtyard. ¡°Well done, everyone! We¡¯ve captured our first outpost and driven the enemy deeper into their conquerednds. Once again, the legion has the exploits of the Glorious Ninth to live up to!¡±

    The soldiers cheered his words, pumping fists and weapons in the air, pping each other on the back, and, generally, creating quite a din. Edeya stepped closer to Victor and gestured at the treasures arrayed on the gstones. ¡°What will we do with these?¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor cleared his throat and held up a hand for quiet. As the raucous celebrations died down, he yelled, ¡°We need to examine these items to find out their value, but they¡¯ll all be going into the Campaign Token Exchange.¡± Some of the soldiers¡¯ faces fell at that announcement, and Victor heard some grumbling, so he followed up with, ¡°Cheer up! You all just fought a battle and won! You¡¯ll gain a token for that, and Sarl has my permission to award another sixty tokens for exceptional skill and bravery disyed during the fight!¡± Victor turned to Kethelket. ¡°You too, Captain¡ªthree extra tokens for your scouts to use at your discretion.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Legate.¡± Kethelket saluted, and Victor saw something like approval in his eyes. Victor hadn¡¯t called him a captain before, but it made sense; he had more than three hundred flying scouts and killers under hismand.

    ¡°Edeya, you have the book. Take note of the awarded tokens, collect these treasures, and make sure the quartermaster hears of it.¡±

    ¡°You heard the Legate! Get back to work, soldiers!¡± Sarl barked, and then the moment was over, and the outpost was abuzz with activity again.

    Edeya leaned closer and, in a voice pitched low, asked, ¡°Victor, um, Legate, I know the token system is fair, and the soldiers appreciate it, but don¡¯t you think some of these items might better serve the army if they were awarded personally by you? Or, I guess, used by you?¡±

    ¡°Well . . .¡±

    Va stepped in, where his words faltered, ¡°She¡¯s right, but we can work within the system you¡¯ve created. You should be sure to award yourself tokens for your various victories. You¡¯ve personally destroyed many of the most dangerousbatants and dozens or hundreds of lesser creatures. Not even Kethelket and his kine close to your impact on the battlefield.¡±

    ¡°All right.¡± Victor shrugged. He wasn¡¯t going to argue about what sorts of treasures he deserved, and if he imed a prize, it didn¡¯t mean he had to use it. He could always gift it to a captain ormander if he thought they deserved it more than he did. Edeya began to gather up the treasures and scribble notes in her Farscribe Book. ¡°Should I tell the othermanders you¡¯ll be returning?¡±

    ¡°Just a minute.¡± Victor grabbed the shoulder of a passing sergeant. ¡°Hang this over the gates, will you?¡± After he¡¯d handed off the new banner, he turned back to Edeya. ¡°Tell them we¡¯re staying here with the Ninth for the night to assess the keep and surroundings. We¡¯ll check in tomorrow.¡± Victor turned to Kethelket. ¡°When we depart tomorrow, will you leave some of your people here with Captain Sarl?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Will five suit the outpost¡¯s needs?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I just want some capable scouts with good mobility here. Sarl has his captain¡¯s book, so he can keep the rest of the army updated on his situation here.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, sir.¡± Sarl nodded, but then his eyes narrowed, and Victor could see something was bothering him.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t be stuck on garrison duty, will we? Just because we took the outpost?¡±

    ¡°No, Sarl. You¡¯ll hold it until we settle on something more permanent. I¡¯m sure Borrius will have some ideas.¡±

    ¡°Very good, sir.¡±

    Victor looked around the courtyard, then at the new door the engineers were installing over the entrance to the tall, narrow interior keep. ¡°I think I¡¯ll have a look around in there.¡±

    ¡°Good idea.¡± Va¡¯s words said something different than her actions¡ªher eyes were on Uvu, still licking his scarred-over wounds in the shadows near the gate.

    ¡°Talk to me. What¡¯s the deal with your cat?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s . . . we aren¡¯t the same, our connection, I mean. When I lost contact with him, it was the first time in nearly a decade. Now I can feel him, but,¡± Va paused, taking a deep shuddering breath and slowly shaking her head, ¡°it¡¯s not the same.¡±

    ¡°Maybe it needs time. Maybe whatever that <em>pinch¨¦</em> jelly monster did to cut you off will continue to fade.¡±

    Va nodded, pressing her lips together firmly. ¡°Yes. Yes, I¡¯m sure that¡¯s it. I need to be patient. Let¡¯s have a look around in there.¡±

    ¡°Legate.¡± Kethelket, who¡¯d been lingering, perhaps waiting for the right moment to interject, stepped up to Victor as he, nked by Va and Edeya, began to ascend the short flight of steps to the keep. ¡°Would you mind if I sent some of my people out scouting? I think it would be wise to determine the extent of thends we freed from the mist by iming this keep. Perhaps they might set eyes on the next fortifications we need to target.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Of course, that¡¯s a good idea. Keep me posted, all right?¡±

    ¡°I will do so. If you find time before you retire, I¡¯d still enjoy sparring a bit.¡± Kethelket bowed this time rather than salute, and Victor noticed he almost stopped himself halfway; perhaps it was an old habit of a culture he¡¯d left behind. As he straightened, his broad, shadowy wings fluttered rapidly, and he ascended to the parapet where some of his people waited.

    ¡°It¡¯s strange, this ancient keep being here.¡± Edeya paused near the top of the steps and looked around once again, and Victor followed her gaze. ¡°I haven¡¯t been many ces in my life, but I always thought we built up the cities and castles around the Empire long after the System joined the worlds.¡±

    ¡°Well, you know better than that. Remember the mines? The ancient shit we dug up down there?¡±

    ¡°Oh, aye, that¡¯s a good point.¡±

    ¡°I wonder how many ces of power the Empire has snatched up, painted over, and imed as their own aplishment.¡± Va nodded to the Engineer attaching thetches to the new doors, then passed inside. Victor followed, watching her closely. He hoped things were okay with Uvu, but he could see the strain in her shoulders and neck. His thoughts fled, though, when he saw the strange but elegant construction inside the stone keep.

    A vaulted hall opened directly behind the doorway, a delicate, molded, circr stone stairway dominating the center of the space. Victor couldn¡¯t see any seams in the stonework of the stairs, and he wondered what sort of magic must have been used to carve or shape or join so much stone into the graceful shape. It fit in well with the rest of the entry hall¡ªtall, shapely pirs held up an arched ceiling that would seem high even to his giant alter-ego. The design of the interior was, in effect, the pr opposite of the exterior. Where the building¡¯s outsides were sturdy, square, and utilitarian, the interior was a masterpiece in filigrees, spirals, shapely curves, and smooth, almost seamless joinery. ¡°Shit, this is a lot nicer than I imagined.¡±

    ¡°The light ying over the stonework from the high windows is a masterpiece in design. Look how the afternoon sun highlights certain carvings.¡± Edeya pointed with one slender arm, and Victor marveled at how, even now, he was seeing a new side of her.

    ¡°You have a good eye.¡± He turned to take in what she¡¯d pointed out, noting how a circle of light fell on a stone tree, its branches heavy with meticulously carved bunches of tiny fruit.

    ¡°Aye, she does.¡± Va¡¯s voice was hushed, and Victor was pleased to see some of the tension leaving her posture.

    ¡°Legate, sir, you should see this,¡± one of Sarl¡¯s Lieutenants called down from over the stone banister at the top of the circr staircase.

    ¡°Coming up,¡± Victor grunted as he mounted the steps, taking two at a time. He could hear the softer footfalls of hispanions behind him as he rounded the stair and emerged on a widending that ran the length of the rear and two sides of the entry hall. Just as below, everything was smooth stone with arches and delicate carvings at the focal point of every viewing angle. Soldiers were scattered about sweeping, dusting, and mopping, bringing the ancient keep back to life, and the lieutenant who¡¯d summoned Victor, a tall,nky young Ardeni with shockingly bright yellow hair, gestured to one of the arched openings leading toward the back of the keep.

    ¡°Sir, I think it¡¯s a System thing.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Aye, it has them runes, like the ones in the stone in the courtyard and in the town and city stones.¡± He fidgeted slightly, taking a step back, reaching up to tug at his uniform cor.

    ¡°I¡¯m just a man, Lieutenant. You don¡¯t have to stress out in my presence.¡±

    ¡°Aye, sorry, sir. Begging your pardon, though, sir, you aren¡¯t just a man. We . . . me and theds in my division, we¡¯re damn grateful to be following you into battle out here.¡± He ducked his head several times as he stepped back, making room for the trio to pass by.

    ¡°At ease, Lieutenant,¡± Va said, pushing Victor¡¯s shoulder, propelling him forward past the soldier. ¡°Do me a favor, though.¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget the soldiers in your division aren¡¯t all ds.¡¯ Give thedies some credit, hmm?¡±

    ¡°O¡¯ course, ma¡¯am! I¡¯m sorry!¡± Again, he ducked his head several times, touching his knuckles to his forehead. Victor smirked and kept walking, torn between wanting tough at Va¡¯s very valid point and feeling sorry for the soldier. ¡°Just straight down that hallway, sir! It¡¯s the circr room at the end.¡±

    Taking the man at his word, Victor ignored the four side passages and aimed straight for the arched, sunlit opening at the end of the long corridor. When he stepped through, he immediately saw what had caught the lieutenant¡¯s attention. The room was circr, about ten yards in diameter, and lining the upper third of the left-hand wall, west, if Victor¡¯s sense of direction hadn¡¯t failed him, smooth, seamless ss let in the setting sun¡¯s light. That, alone, was noteworthy, but the center of the room was what made him catch his breath and proceed into the room with great care.

    ¡°Ancient Grandfathers,¡± Va hissed, following him in.

    ¡°A . . . map?¡± Edeya breathed, close behind her.

    ¡°Sort of.¡± Victor walked around the slightly raised tform and eyed the golden runes lining the perimeter. They shifted and pulsed inside the stone¡ªa sure sign that this was something left for them by the System. On the tform itself was a miniature model of, if Victor had to guess, the area around the keep. He could see the tiny, square edifice situated in a green vale. North of the building were the jagged rows of the Granite Gates and, amazingly, a tiny representation of a partially built fortress at the mouth of the pass. More importantly, the area around the keep was modeled with tiny, lifelike trees and blue, silky ribbons representing water andkes.

    ¡°Is it y?¡± Edeya began to reach toward the rough, realistic spikes of the mountains, but Victor snatched her wrist.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch it. I doubt we can do any damage, but let¡¯s not risk it. I think we can learn a lot of shit from this map. Look.¡± He gestured to the area outside the keep¡¯s influence, at the weird, cloudy smoke that clung to the majority of the space. ¡°I think this is the invaders¡¯ territory. You can just make out thend at the edges of it, though.¡± Victor leaned forward and tried to blow at the smoke, but his breath had no effect. ¡°Yeah. Sorry, I grabbed your wrist, Edeya. I¡¯m pretty sure we can¡¯t do anything to affect this map; it¡¯s System magic.¡±

    ¡°Look.¡± Va pointed to the misty area west of the keep. ¡°If you observe closely, you can see the trees of a forest at the edge.¡±

    ¡°And here.¡± Edeya pointed to the eastern edge. ¡°Mountains.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s different. Look how the mountains are at the very edge of the map¡ªI think they¡¯re part of the boundary of this ¡®conquest¡¯ we¡¯re all a part of. Not the forest, though.¡± He nodded to Va. ¡°Those look like contestednds.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Edeya nodded. ¡°I see why¡ªthere¡¯s a lot of map area beyond, a lot of mist. So, if you really think this is the extent of the contestednds, we¡¯ve only conquered about . . .¡± she ran her hand above the visible part where the keep and the pass were represented, trying to calcte.

    ¡°About ten percent,¡± Va helped.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Victorughed, ¡°I¡¯m notining about conquering ten percent of the invaders¡¯nds in one day.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s strange, though, isn¡¯t it?¡± Va walked around therge, mostly foggy, magical map.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Why is the System showing us this? It¡¯s like . . .¡±

    ¡°Like a game.¡± Though Va nodded at his words, Victor knew she wasn¡¯t thinking of the same kind of game he was. ¡°I mean, we¡¯re given a clear goal, and now we get to see the board. The System . . . it¡¯s like we¡¯re the pieces it ys with.¡±

    ¡°Well, we know the System loves conflict.¡± Edeya shrugged as though that was all there was to say.

    ¡°Right, because we release Energy when we kill each other.¡± Victor spoke sarcastically, a definite edge in his voice, so he wasn¡¯t surprised by the puzzled nces the two women sent him. ¡°Look, I¡¯m not arguing against the idea that the System leeches some of the Energy away when we kill each other. Think about it, though; before the System came around, people used to cultivate, gather, and im their own Energy from those they killed. Do you even know how to do that? I mean, if you killed a . . . bone juggernaut¡ªVictor used his internal name for the undead monster out loud for the first time, but the two seemed to know what he meant¡ªwould you know how to im its Energy if the System didn¡¯t gather it up and send it your way?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Va shook her head, and Edeya shrugged.

    ¡°So, like, if the System just wants Energy, why doesn¡¯t it just kill us all and take our Energy? Why do we need to fight each other so it can steal our Energy?¡±

    ¡°Could it?¡±

    ¡°Kill us? I mean, it¡¯s pretty damn powerful, right?¡± Victor gestured to the map. ¡°It¡¯s everywhere.¡± He gestured around, indicating the world atrge. ¡°It knows a hell of a lot more about everything than any of us. Nah, I¡¯m not buying it. I think there¡¯s more to the System than it simply wanting to leech off us.¡±

    Edeya surprised him by nodding. ¡°I agree, Victor. There¡¯s more to it. Why do we call it a ¡®system,¡¯ after all? We all ept the name, but . . . it must have had more meaning in the beginning, don¡¯t you think? A ¡®system¡¯ for what? The very name impliesplexity; it also implies impartiality. You don¡¯t set up a system for things to be random or arbitrary. You don¡¯t make a system for something you want to disy sentimentality or favoritism. Whatever the reason, the System is in charge of many aspects of our usage of Energy, and . . . well, I don¡¯t know where I was going with this, but I think I agree that it¡¯s got to be a much moreplicated than some of the detractors make out.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve listened to many debates about it. We all have our jaded viewpoints, but I think, deep down, most of us know there¡¯s more that we don¡¯t know than we do.¡± Va shrugged and gestured back at the map. ¡°But back to the original topic. What¡¯s the point of this?¡±

    ¡°I dunno.¡± Victor squatted down and pressed a thumb onto the keep that represented their current location. It was like pressing onto a stone¡ªjagged and hard and not at all moveable. ¡°Maybe to incentivize us, to keep our interest. We can see the progress we¡¯re making, and, I¡¯m guessing, so can the invaders, especially if you¡¯re right, Edeya, about the System¡¯s impartiality. When they see this area we¡¯ve liberated, what do you think they¡¯ll do?¡±

    ¡°Send another army. They likely have victory conditions just as we do,¡± Va said, smacking her fist into her palm.

    ¡°Edeya,¡± Victor turned to the plucky lieutenant, still clutching her Farscribe Book, ¡°tell Borrius I think we¡¯re going to need reinforcements here. Tell him if he¡¯s smart, he might be able to smash another undead army between his forces and the walls of this keep.¡±

    ¡°On it!¡± Edeya snapped the book open, and a magical pen appeared between her fingers. Victor watched her scribbling for a few seconds, and then he started back down the corridor.

    ¡°Where are you off to?¡± Va followed close behind.

    ¡°I want to talk to Kethelket. I want him to send a scout into the forest we saw at the edge of this keep¡¯s territory. I want to see if there¡¯s another keep in that direction. If we can capture it, we¡¯ll have the northern section of the ¡®conquest territory¡¯ locked up.¡± Victor noticed the corridor and the beautiful hall beyond were much dimmer than when he¡¯d firste in. ¡°Sun must¡¯ve set.¡± He saw some of Sarl¡¯s soldiers hoisting an Energymp up to one of the stone arches and followed the pulley line with his eye, wondering how they¡¯d secured it to the stone, hoping they hadn¡¯t bored a hole in it. He sighed with relief when he saw the ancient ceiling was carved with elegant hooks, almost like they¡¯d been designed to hold just such a contraption. ¡°And why not? They had holes for the door hinges.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. Just kind of wondering what this ce looked like when it was new.¡±

    ¡°I imagine much like it will when we¡¯re done fix . . .¡± Va¡¯s words were cut off by a sharp horn note ring from the courtyard. She locked eyes with Victor. ¡°They¡¯re here already?¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 11: A Baron and His Retinue

    Book 6: Chapter 11: A Baron and His Retinue

    The ce was abuzz with activity when Victor, Va, and Edeya burst into the courtyard. Soldiers were hurrying to the ramparts, and sergeants were shouting orders. Victor scanned the area for Sarl, but too many people in simr uniforms crowded the confines between the rampart walls. Finally, his eyes settled on a thicker cluster of Naghelli on the ramparts over the gate, and he figured it made sense that Sarl would be at a central location like that. He was tempted to use Titanic Leap tounch himself up there, but then he¡¯d have to Berserk or at least take on his Titanic Aspect, and he wasn¡¯t ready for that yet. He wanted to see what he was dealing with.

    He jogged for the nearest stairs, leaped up them, two at a time, and nodded to the soldiers who rapidly cleared a path for him on the ramparts. As he turned toward the gated section of the wall facing south, he saw what hadunched the mad frenzy of activity¡ªlines of ck-d soldiers were marching over the twilit hillsides. These soldiers were different from the undead they¡¯d faced; they were orderly and armored, moving with discipline. ¡°Not undead?¡± The question came unbidden to his lips as he stepped toward the cluster of officers and Naghelli above the gate.

    ¡°We¡¯re not sure, sir.¡± Sarl turned and nodded to Kethelket. ¡°One of his people got close enough to see their faces. They, well, sir, they look a bit like you. I mean the coloring and size.¡±

    ¡°Like me or like humans?¡±

    Kethelket cleared his throat. ¡°I¡¯ve not met other humans, Victor, but my scout tells me they resemble stocky, wingless Ghelli. That is to say, they aren¡¯t red or blue like our other friends here.¡± He gestured to a pair of lieutenants, one Ardeni and one Shadeni. ¡°Speak up, Offathi.¡±

    ¡°Aye, sir.¡± A slender Naghelli stepped around behind Kethelket and looked shyly up at Victor. ¡°They have skin a good deal paler than yours, sir, and, well, their eyes are mostly red. Brighter than Shadeni eyes. They might be a kind of undead, but I couldn¡¯t tell for certain. I didn¡¯t see any rot on them; they weren¡¯t like the zombies and . . . things we killed earlier.¡±

    ¡°Look.¡± Va pointed over the crions toward the advancing army. A small group had detached from the main force about a mile out and continued to march forward while the bulk of the army hung back. ¡°Do they want to talk?¡±

    ¡°Maybe.¡± Victor frowned, running his eyes over the lines of soldiers, their numbers darkening the shadowy slopes of the nearby hills. ¡°How many do you count?¡±

    Kethelket answered before Sarl could, ¡°Something close to a thousand.¡±

    ¡°So, probably not the entire invading army.¡± Victor nodded, stroking his chin. ¡°Maybe they don¡¯t know about our forces up in the pass?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps, or perhaps this army was near and chose to risk a quick assault to retake the keep.¡±

    Victor looked at Sarl, then Kethelket and Va. ¡°Let¡¯s ride out to see what this small grouping forward has to say. Sarl, we¡¯ll let Kethelket do the talking for now. Act like you¡¯re his subordinate, as will Va and I.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Va was quick to ask.

    ¡°I liked how I could observe the Ridonne when Borrius and Rellia spoke to him. Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll speak up when the time is right.¡±

    ¡°Very well.¡± Kethelket gestured toward the distant group, still walking toward them over the grassy hills. ¡°Will you ride your mounts? They seem to be on foot . . .¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we can walk out. Uvu is still recuperating, and I can summon Guapo if we need some speed. We¡¯ll take our time.¡± When the others looked at him as though he had more to say, Victor added, ¡°I mean, so we¡¯re talking closer to the keep than his army.¡±

    ¡°Shall Ie, Victor?¡± Edeya looked both eager and trepidatious.

    ¡°Yeah. Bring your book and look officious.¡± As he spoke, Victor caught her ncing over her shoulder as though to see her truncated wings, and he growled, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare worry about those. You look badass.¡±

    She narrowed her eyes, stood up straighter, and saluted. ¡°As you say, sir!¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Victor gestured for the stairs, and the others started ahead of him. One of the lieutenants nearby cleared his throat and approached Sarl.

    ¡°Will you be bringing a guard detachment, sir?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be quite all right with the Legate, Tribune ap¡¯Yensha, and Captain Kethelket. If they can¡¯t defend any sort of ambush, then I don¡¯t think a detachment of soldiers will tip the scales.¡±

    ¡°Of course, sir.¡± The lieutenant backed away, his pale blue cheeks darkening, and Victor had to give him a double-take¡ªhe looked like he was about fifteen years old. As he descended to the gate, he looked around and had to remind himself that he wasn¡¯t surrounded by people younger than he; the truth was, with Energy so prevalent in the world, nobody really looked their age. That lieutenant might very well be forty years old.

    ¡°Shit, he could be older than that.¡±

    ¡°Something on your mind?¡± Va rested her hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly. ¡°I like it when you reduce your size like this.¡±

    ¡°I knew it was a good idea to learn that spell!¡± Victor winked at her, but then he shrugged and, following the others through the gate, said, ¡°I was just thinking that I don¡¯t feel my age. I feel old. I mean, I know that¡¯s stupid, but I feel like thest year has aged the shit out of me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve seen a lot. More than most people ever do¡ªmore fighting, for certain.¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve been with me for a lot of it.¡±

    ¡°A lot more toe, too.¡± She returned his wink, and Victor suddenly felt very damn good, far better than he had any right to feel, what with an unknown army waiting a couple of miles away.

    ¡°Keep walking,¡± he said as Kethelket, Sarl, and Edeya paused outside the gate, waiting for him and Va. ¡°We¡¯ll be right behind. With our simr armor, maybe they¡¯ll think we¡¯re your guards.¡±

    ¡°As you say.¡± Kethelket motioned for Edeya to walk beside him. ¡°Come, you¡¯re my aide for the moment.¡±

    Victor¡¯s n to lure the foreign party closer didn¡¯t bear fruit; they stopped a good half mile from the keep¡¯s walls and waited. As they drew closer, Victor tried to peer through the gloom of the darkening twilight to see what they looked like. Kethelket¡¯s scout hadn¡¯t been lying; the figures were all quite imposing physically¡ªthe smallest of them had to be halfway between six and seven feet tall. Moreover, they wore glossy ck te breasttes and helmets, the tops of which were festooned with ck feathered plumes.

    Victor noted slung round shields on three of the seven figures, and each of them wore a sword of some sort or another, from dual short des to one enormous man with a gigantic, naked, two-handed, straight-ded sword attached to a harness on his back. ¡°That sword must be seven feet long,¡± Va said, following Victor¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Yeah. They like swords, it seems.¡±

    ¡°Their armor shines and reflects the starlight . . .¡± Edeya started to say, but Kethelket held up a closed fist, and she mped her mouth shut. The message was clear¡ªthey were getting too close, and it wouldn¡¯t do for the enemy to hear them speaking in awe about their weapons and armor. Victor felt a little bad for the slight Ghelli; she¡¯d no doubt heard him and Va talking and wanted to join in, only to be chastised by the ancient Naghelli prince. Victor thought about that, about how Kethelket was supposedly from a time before the joining, from the original world where the Ghelli, Ilyathi, and Yovashi originated. Had he met anyone else on Fanwath that old?

    He had so many questions he wanted to ask the man and wondered at how he¡¯d been able to push all those thoughts to the background while they¡¯d traveled. ¡°Always something more important than my simple interests,¡± he muttered, rubbing his thumb idly on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft as they walked, his scowl deepening to the point where, if he were cognizant of it, he might have worried the approaching party might think he was intent on murder. He pushed his annoyance aside as they came to a stop atop a smooth grassy hillock, just twenty yards separating Kethelket¡¯s diverse group of five from the seven uniform, ck-armored, pale-fleshed invaders.

    ¡°You seem to be upying my keep,¡± the man in the center announced by way of greeting. His voice was resonant and sharp, and he leaned forward with the vehemence of his words. He wasnky, much slighter than the giant with the massive sword, but still a formidable, imposing figure in his shiny ck armor with the tall, feathered plume. He wore a single de at his hip, though it was broad and heavy and looked to have something close to a five-foot reach. Victor could feel the aura the man, or perhaps his entire party, projected¡ªit was heavy and full of violence. These people had fought and killed many people and were prepared to do so again.

    Victor shrugged it off, though he ducked his head, ying his part, trying not to look sturdier than their ¡°leader.¡± Kethelket, despite his experience, cringed back a bit but managed to straighten up and scowl. His gossamer, orange-lit wings spread wide, and he touched a hand to the hilt of the sword he wore at his hip and replied, ¡°The keep just yonder?¡± He jerked his thumb toward the walls behind them. ¡°No, no. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ve been ill-informed. That¡¯s mine.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve deigned to give you this chance to surrender or flee; I¡¯m not here to y games or bargain. You slew a horde of mindless chaff; don¡¯t let that bolster your ego to the point where you¡¯ll throw your lives away¡ªthose creatures were simply meant to hold thesends under the influence of my lord while I gathered my retinue and traveled here. Your trespass, while insulting, can be forgiven¡ªyou knew not whom you crossed.¡±

    ¡°And whom is it that I have slighted?¡±

    ¡°Why me, and, of course, my lord.¡±

    ¡°Must I ask again?¡±

    ¡°So, you truly are an ignorant victim in all of this? A simple bumpkin stumbling upon matters far above his station?¡± The man smirked, and some of those in his imposing retinue chuckled or tittered. For the first time, Victor realized one of the tallest, most heavily armored of his retainers was a woman. He could just make out her red-painted lips through the narrow gap in the center of her heavy helm. He¡¯d given her a double take when a trillingugh echoed out of that thick armored encasement. The speaker sighed and waved his hand as though brushing off an embarrassing mistake. ¡°I am Baron Eric Gore Lust, and I serve Prince Hector of Heart Rot.¡±

    ¡°Such names . . .¡± Kethelket shook his head slowly, a note of disbelief in his voice. Victor knew the Naghelli prince was remarking about the ¡®Gore Lust¡¯ part of the baron¡¯s name, but he couldn¡¯t help wondering about the first part¡ªEric. Hector and Eric were both familiar names to him, names that harkened back to Earth, and he pondered that coincidence. More than that, if it weren¡¯t for their size and strange pale skin and red eyes, these people could very well be human.

    ¡°Such names. Now, will you depart my keep, or must I and my reavers wash the stones with your blood?¡±

    ¡°Well, I, too, serve a lord, you see. If I were to pass off this keep without a struggle, I imagine he¡¯d be rather perturbed.¡± Kethelket turned to Sarl. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you agree, Captain?¡±

    ¡°Oh, aye, sir. I believe our Legate would be furious. Might be worse for us if we returned home having abandoned his keep.¡±

    ¡°This is <em>not</em> his keep!¡± the self-styled baron growled.

    ¡°Well, what¡¯s that they say?¡± Sarl asked, eyeing Kethelket as he straightened thepel on his uniform jacket. ¡°He who holds the pie decides who will eat?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve certainly heard something of the like . . .¡±

    ¡°So, you choose death?¡± the tall, pale, red-eyed man asked, interrupting Kethelket¡¯s quip.

    ¡°Choose it? No, sir. I believe we¡¯ll put up a fight.¡±

    ¡°And your men?¡± the baron growled, ¡°Will they stay and fight with your head on a pike out here?¡±

    ¡°Are we not going to honor the standard terms of parley?¡±

    ¡°Why should we? Our kind has little concern for the respect of the quick-blooded.¡±

    ¡°Quick . . .¡± Kethelket peered more closely at the baron. ¡°Are you undead, sir?¡±

    ¡°We are immortal.¡± As he answered, the eight-foot giant with the massive sword reached up and grasped the hilt, taking a step forward. ¡°Hold, Porter. We¡¯ll not yet water this grass.¡± The baron held up a finger as though urging everyone to pause and pay attention and then looked at Kethelket, eyeing him more closely, taking in his swords and luminescent wings. ¡°I have another option, sirrah.¡±

    ¡°By all means! I¡¯d love to hear all of my options.¡±

    ¡°You have a sharp tongue; are your des as bold? Let us settle this like gentlemen. A simple duel here on this hill; should you y me, my men will leave for the nonce. If I kill you, your men will have one hour to take flight.¡± After he spoke, the man who¡¯d named himself Gore Lust let his eyes drift over Edeya¡¯s slight form, then to Sarl, and finally to Victor and Va, still lingering behind the other three. ¡°What say you, soldiers? Do you wish to die tonight, or would you appreciate your leader settling this score here and now?¡±

    Kethelket grinned and turned to regard hispanions. ¡°Yes, do any of you have something to say in this matter?¡±

    Victor stepped forward and nodded. ¡°I do.¡± He regarded the self-styled baron. ¡°So, you¡¯re saying you want to duel the leader of our little army here?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, young man. Should I win, you have my word that your people will have a full hour to depart thesends. I won¡¯t promise you¡¯ll remain safe after that. I can promise that if don¡¯t linger near my keep, I, personally, will not give chase.¡±

    ¡°And if our leader wins?¡±

    ¡°My army here will depart.¡±

    ¡°Depart this world?¡± Victor pressed, noticing some of the baron¡¯s retinue had begun to fan out, shifting their hands to weapons.

    ¡°Oh . . . well, I can¡¯t guarantee that. Prince Hector, you see, is a rather demanding lord. He may insist on fealty from my thralls.¡±

    ¡°No, Lord,¡± the giant said, ¡°My allegiance would be to yourdy back on Dark Ember.¡±

    ¡°Ah, Porter. Ever loyal to my blood. This is a moot point, good reaver¡ªI will not lose. Still, you should know Lady Charisma will be unable to draw you home past the Prince¡¯s lines. He¡¯ll have first im.¡±

    Victor watched the exchange, trying to make sense of all the words but gaining far more understanding in the expressions of the few invaders wearing open-faced helms¡ªthey didn¡¯t like the idea of serving Prince Hector directly. They were loyal to this man and his dy.¡± He found it interesting and a bit heartening; some infighting among his enemies was good in his book. He didn¡¯t like the idea of all these soldiers returning to serve the Prince, but he couldn¡¯t pass up the opportunity to cut the head off this particr snake. He leaned forward, knuckles white on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll ept.¡±

    ¡°You?¡± The baron took a step back and eyed Victor more carefully, then nced at Kethelket and back to Victor with confusion in his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re this one¡¯s champion? I hardly think anky young man with a crude weapon will serve as an appropriate opponent for me. Do you not fight your own battles, sirrah?¡± He scowled at Kethelket, who¡¯d stepped back beside Sarl.

    ¡°Oh, I do indeed, <em>sirrah.</em> Sadly, this isn¡¯t my fight; you said you wanted to fight our leader.¡±

    ¡°This one? You all bow to this man?¡±

    ¡°Oh, aye, he¡¯s the strongest of us.¡± Va stepped to the side, edging in front of Sarl and Edeya, putting herself between them and the other invaders who¡¯d slowly been forming a semi-circle around their leader.

    ¡°Truly?¡±

    ¡°Truly,¡± Victor growled, and he cut the connection to his Alter Self spell. His body swelled with power, surging with mass and Energy as his true, nigh-eight-foot form took shape. Simultaneously, he released his hold on his aura, letting the full murderous, fear-fueled fury of his being roll out in a heavy wave that fell like a lead nket of scorching hatred around him, so palpable that it rippled in the air, like shimmering heat on a blistering day in the desert. ¡°Draw your de, Eric.¡± His voice rumbled from his belly, thick with intent so evident that images of corpses and sshes of blood shed through the minds of all who heard him.

    The baron¡¯s retinue balked, stepping back, even the giant stumbling in his involuntary haste to escape the cone of Victor¡¯s gaze. Eric¡¯s jaw had ckened, and his eyes widened, but, to his credit, he held his ground, and his hand found his sword. ¡°So, it will be a contest, after all.¡± He turned to his six retainers. ¡°You all heard my wishes. I made an offer, and this man has epted. We will dance the blood waltz on this hill, and you all will witness my victory.¡±

    ¡°Stand back,¡± Victor growled, and though he addressed nobody in particr, everyone scrambled to obey, creating a loose circle around him and Eric. Edeya and Sarl, in particr, stumbled in their haste to put a bit of distance between themselves and the two fighters; they might have felt his aura before, but never with such baleful fury behind it. Something about the baron¡¯s haughty attitude and desire to fight an opponent he¡¯d seen as weaker than himself had angered Victor; no, pissed him off was a better way to describe his feelings. He wanted to teach the asshole a lesson abouting to his world and thinking he could walk all over everyone.

    If he¡¯d been more aware of his inner dialogue and motivations, Victor might have been surprised to note that he was thinking of Fanwath as his world, his home. Later, he might reflect on this moment and wonder at that change, but for the moment, he had eyes and thoughts only for Eric Gore Lust and the shimmering, smoky de he drew forth from his scabbard. It was a deadly-looking weapon, moving in flickers and jumps as Eric stroked it through the air, and Victor knew it was alive and that it wanted to taste his blood. The thought brought a savage grin to his face as he unslung Lifedrinker. ¡°Time to drink, <em>chica</em>.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 12: A Waltz of Blood

    Book 6: Chapter 12: A Waltz of Blood

    Victor and Eric circled each other. Victor held Lifedrinker light and ready to strike, crosswise before him, while Eric deftly stroked the air as if testing it with his broad de of ck smoke. Victor definitely had a reach advantage on the smaller man, but he wanted to test him, wanted to see what sort of style he would fight with. Was he about to face another lightning-fast opponent, or was the darkly armored stranger a brawler, a man of brutal strength? His sword was certainly dangerous looking, but could he use it? Were his skills a match for his braggadocious mouth?

    Full dark had set in, but plenty of light lit the grassy hilltop. The sisters were bright in the sky, and, in the distance, the southern horizon was limned with sickly green light. ¡°I can see your eyes strain to follow my movements in the dim lighting,¡± the baron said, though he couldn¡¯t have seen such¡ªVictor¡¯s eyes were good, and he saw him clearly enough. ¡°Karl, a light for my opponent to see by, if you would.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t . . .¡± Victor began to protest but then shook his head, growling; he didn¡¯t need to take the bait, didn¡¯t need to be distracted. Even so, a member of the baron¡¯s retinue summoned a shimmering globe of reddish-yellow Energy, sending it aloft, throwing everyone¡¯s shadows into sudden movement. It was with that unexpected re and the flicker of shadows that Eric made his first move. He grunted, almost noiselessly, more a heavy breath than a vocalization, and lunged forward, driving the point of his long, broad sword straight at Victor¡¯s belly.

    Victor moved with grace and precision, stepping lightly to the right and hacking Lifedrinker down and to the left, sweeping the dark smoke-d de to the side with a ng and shower of bright red sparks. ¡°So, there¡¯s metal under all that smoke.¡± Victor grinned and lunged forward in a follow-up, pressing the attack, sweeping his axe in careful, precise cleaves and jabs, using his long arms and height to keep the baron on his back foot as he struggled to bring his long, apparently heavy, de between himself and Lifedrinker¡¯s biting edge. Victor was bolstering his agility and strength with Sovereign Will, and he seemed to be more than a match for the red-eyed invader. He danced around him, repeatedly slipping his guard, smashing and dragging Lifedrinker¡¯s edge against that polished, ck-enameled armor.

    He wasn¡¯t one to show all his cards at the start of a fight, and thus far, he¡¯d done nothing but use his prodigious attributes and skill with an axe to press the baron, pushing him into an increasingly erratic, defensive struggle as he backpedaled. He almost stepped outside the circle of onlookers, but his giant follower, Porter, blocked his path, allowing his shoulder to bump into his chest. As Victor pressed forward, Porter nudged the baron back into the circle and said, ¡°How long will you toy with the man?¡±

    ¡°Toy? He presses me more than you do when we spar!¡±

    ¡°Come, Baron, it¡¯s not kind to y with your food,¡± the big, red-lipped woman said through the narrow gap in her helm.

    Victor heard all of this, of course, but he wasn¡¯t one to let banter distract him in a fight. He was on the verge of sealing the deal, casting Energy Charge or something simr to end this annoying man¡¯s defensive retreat, when the baron began to exude thick, hot, red Energy that was very familiar to Victor. He¡¯d felt something simr when he¡¯d killed ap¡¯Horrin in his secret oubliette and again when he¡¯d fought the Ridonne. He¡¯de to recognize the heat and taste of it¡ªa blood affinity.

    The surge was massive, a level of Energy that Victor had onlye to expect from himself or enemies he found too dangerous to tangle with, such as the Warlord or his War Captains back in Coloss. The sensation triggered a burst of adrenaline in him, an instinctual need to act, to interrupt whatever was happening. Without a second thought, he cast Energy Charge, fueling it with rage, and, in a sh of red light, he ripped over the grass, sending dirt and debris into the air in his wake, and smashed into the tall, armored baron.

    As always, the impact he delivered was devastating, but it wasn¡¯t exactly the effect he¡¯d hoped for; Victor had nned to smash the baron, send him sprawling, and interrupt whatever he was trying to do. Unfortunately, Eric¡¯s spell was in progress; he was sheathed in his hot, red, hungry, blood-attuned Energy, and the forces generated by Victor¡¯s impact rolled off him, shattering the night with a tremendous <em>boom</em> that shook the ground, spraying grass, soil, and rocks outward in a stinging, tearing shockwave. Everyone save Victor and the baron were knocked back and sent sprawling. For his part, Victor was protected by his spell¡¯s nature; the very Energy that propelled him shielded him from the impact.

    When the dust settled and Victor was able to take stock of his situation, he found that he stood in a shallow crater, nothing but dirt under his feet. Before him, the baron loomed, much changed. He glowered down at Victor through red eyes set deep in a twisted, gray, snouted countenance. Enormous fangs hung over thick ck lips that twitched into a semnce of a smile that was half snarl due to the very nature of that face.

    More shocking than the change in his countenance was the transformation of the baron¡¯s form. His mass had increased by half, though the alterations extended beyond size. The baron¡¯s shoulders in their dark armor were like cast iron stoves; his arms were long, knuckles close to the ground, his once-massive sword like a toy in the grip of his right w. He leaned forward, lifting that dark, flickering, smoke-ded sword high, and snarled, ¡°Let¡¯s finish this little dance; me and my kin are thirsty.¡± Then he brought the de down like a falling star, straight at Victor¡¯s neck.

    Perhaps worse than the baron¡¯s new size, strength, and speed was the dark wave of something Victor felt a kindred connection to that seemed to radiate from the man¡ªterror. If he¡¯d had an ordinary will, something akin to what Va, Rellia, and others of their tier had built up, Victor would likely have fallen to his knees at the touch of that dark aura. Even with his prodigious will, he might have met his fate in that moment, but another factor came into y. Victor was no stranger to fear, and as the baron¡¯s dark Energy washed over him, it felt almost familiar, almost natural. He didn¡¯t so much as flinch, and he brought Lifedrinker up, catching that falling sword on the top of her axe head.

    Despite his quick parry attempt, the baron¡¯s strength felt like it had multiplied tenfold. Victor thought to drive the de up, step under the arc of the swing, and deliver a terrible hack to the baron¡¯s chest. That idea flew out the window when his opponent exerted his new might, continuing to drive the de down despite Victor¡¯s efforts to deflect it with his axe. The dark, smoky sword screeched as the edge rubbed against Lifedrinker¡¯s steel, and Victor growled, driving with all his strength. His efforts fell short, though, and the baron relentlessly gained ground. Soon, the edge was touching his shoulder, heating the scales of his vest as it tried to cut through the formidable armor.

    They hung there for a moment, Victor and his armor struggling against the baron¡¯s inexorable force, and then the wicked de parted one of his scales, and the faintest touch of its edge reached Victor¡¯s flesh. Pain erupted in his shoulder, and Victor cried out, kicking reflexively with his right foot at the baron¡¯s knee, breaking free of the contest,unching himself backward to roll over one shoulder and back to his feet, axe ready. The baron hadn¡¯t chased him, though; he stood there, leering, as his long, bright-red tongue slipped out between his lips and tasted Victor¡¯s blood from the edge of his evil sword.

    ¡°<em>Pendejo</em>,¡± Victor growled, reaching up to rub at his shoulder, warily pacing to his left, eyeing the monstrous man for any hint of attack. At the periphery of his vision, he was aware of movement and the sounds apanying it¡ªhispanions and the baron¡¯s retinue had regained their feet and were gathering around the area sted by Victor¡¯s collision with the baron.

    ¡°Rich blood, sirrah,¡± the baron-creature growled in a hissing, clicking voice that seemed to emanate from somewhere in its throat.

    ¡°You like that?¡± Victor smirked, continuing to circle the creature, contemting his next move. In a way, it was amusing how his enemy felt entirely at ease in his supremacy. He was clearly stronger and faster than Victor now, and Victor had to admit he was beginning to enjoy the not-so-subtle game he was ying. How long could he fight the monster before he had to y one of his cards? Should he Berserk? Cast Inspiration of the Quinametzin? Summon one of his totems? Conjure his banner? He shook his head at all the ideas¡ªhe¡¯d do what felt right in the moment, but for now, he wanted to see if he could cut the bastard as he was.

    Victor stalked forward, feinted to his left, and looped Lifedrinker in a downward hack at the monstrous man¡¯s knee. The baron was much faster than before his transformation, though, and he dodged back, returning the blow with one of his own. His de flicked out and caught Victor just above the ear. He hardly felt it; his juggernaut helm absorbed the impact and sent the weapon skittering along the top of his crown. Meanwhile, the baron was wide open, and Victor used one of the many tricks he¡¯d learned in his sparring sessions to capture his momentum and reverse the trajectory of his cleave. Lifedrinker raked along the dark te at the baron¡¯s thigh, scraping off a thick pile of enamel and sinking into the joint near his knee.

    The baron hiss-screamed as she bit into his flesh and erupted in a frenzy of hacks with his sword. Victor ducked a shoulder, taking the blows on his scale hauberk and helmet as he was pummeled backward, forced to pull Lifedrinker away before she could begin to drink. The baron¡¯s powerful blows smashed into him, crunching against his armor, marring the scales but not quite cutting through. ¡°Fool! Do you not see you are beaten? Relent, and let me finish you with dignity.¡±

    ¡°What are you?¡± Victor asked, breaking his rule about not talking during a fight. He was curious and couldn¡¯t help himself.

    ¡°What am I? A lord of blood, an immortal master of death, a drinker of knaves and weaklings. You impress me with your boldness, however. Perhaps another fate will suit you, hmm? Would you like to join my blood reavers?¡± At his words, angry snarls and bitter curses erupted from the circle¡ªVictor could see the baron¡¯s lieutenants weren¡¯t keen on sharing their privileged status.

    ¡°Perhaps. What would it entail?¡± While he spoke, Victor let his eyes drift past the baron, searching for hisrades. The ¡°reavers¡± had survived his explosive impact with the baron just fine, but how about his friends? Some of them were less sturdy. He saw Va immediately, standing tall in her wyrm-scale armor, Midnight Hope resting, naked, on her shoulder. Next to her was Edeya, and as he circled the Baron, he saw Sarl and Kethelket¡ªall were fine.

    ¡°Let me work my blood magic upon you. Let me nt the seed of blood lust in your soul. Let it consume the life in your flesh and rece it with something far more potent!¡± The baron seemed to believe Victor was interested. Perhaps what he was offering was something appealing to the people of his home world, but Victor wasn¡¯t intrigued. Still, he toyed with the man.

    ¡°And mypanions?¡±

    ¡°Take them as your first thralls! They will serve well in our army!¡±

    ¡°Lord!¡± one of his retainers¡ªVictor couldn¡¯t see which¡ªcried, outraged.

    ¡°Are you, like, being literal?¡± Victor asked, half ying around and half curious. ¡°Do you drink blood? I mean, are you a vampire?¡±

    ¡°Vampyr!¡± the baron crowed, his guttural voice rolling the r and enunciating the second syble with a distinctive ¡°y¡± sound. ¡°So, you¡¯ve heard of my kind?¡±

    Victor frowned; this was all starting to feel too weird to him. He supposed he shouldn¡¯t be surprised¡ªhe¡¯d fought ghouls and zombies, why not vampires of one sort or another? Still, the familiar names and the oddly human-like appearance of the baron before his transformation into a hulking monster were starting to feel like too much. He¡¯d had enough of messing around. ¡°Sure, but I have to ask, why would I want to do what you suggest? What would I get out of it?¡±

    ¡°Are you daft? Perhaps I¡¯ve offered my gift prematurely. Do you not see the power that awaits?¡± The baron stood tall, spreading his arms wide, demonstrating his immense reach and the robust frame that lurked beneath his thick armor. ¡°In my vampyr form, I am ten times the man I was!¡±

    ¡°Not really a man, though, right?¡± Victor smirked, carelessly tossing Lifedrinker from one hand to the other and back again. ¡°To be honest, it looks like a bit of a downgrade.¡±

    ¡°Enough! I grow weary of this banter. I shall feast on your blood, and if my rage is sufficiently cooled, I may restrict myself to our earlier bargain and give these morsels a chance to flee.¡± He ran his long, pointy tongue over his lips, lingering on his left fang, allowing it to curl wetly around the protruding tooth. Then his eyes began to burn more balefully, more brightly in the deep hollows of his protruding brow, and Victor felt another surge of that hot, coppery Energy. This time, he acted even more quickly, but rather than charge the man, he reached into his own Core and pulled forth a torrent of rage-attuned Energy, pushing it into the pattern for Iron Berserk.

    As power exploded through his pathways, flooding his every cell, engorging them, expanding them, Victor roared, holding Lifedrinker aloft. His body red with the potent baleful Energy in his Core, and the ground shifted under his feet, tiny fissures erupting in clouds of freshly exposed soil. Eric, the vampyr, was no longer looming over him. No, it was with wide eyes and a flinching flourish that he finished his spell and sent a spray of hot, needle-shaped, bloody rain from his outstretched hand toward Victor. His attack fell somewhat t, however. Rather than engulfing arge human, pouring into every crevice and nook of his armor, it sttered against a titan-sized chest, losing its terrible inertia and dribbling ineffectually to the ground.

    Victor lunged, suddenly much, much faster and stronger than before. The baron wasn¡¯t ready; perhaps he was still in shock from Victor¡¯s sudden change in stature. Victor smashed a shoulder into the huge, armored man, sending him stumbling, but he wasn¡¯t done. He pressed his advantage and hacked Lifedrinker, one-handed, into the man, smashing against his armored shoulder, his helmet, and into the arm he lifted to defend himself.

    Victor felt more potent than ever, hungrier, and more lustful for battle than he could remember, even with the Ridonne. He wanted to see this fool¡¯s insides on the outside, and he wasn¡¯t even sure why. Perhaps it was his pathetic use of terror in an attempt to cow him. Perhaps it was his almostckadaisical threat against Va and the others. He didn¡¯t know, but he was seeing red like he hadn¡¯t in a very long time. As he hacked, his grunts of effort became a growl, and Lifedrinker screamed, whistling through the air, her axe head aze, throwing ck smoke in her wake, sparking with the impacts and throwing hunks of rent armor into the darkness like a smith pounding out an ingot on an anvil.

    The vampyr was silent, desperately trying to turn intact pieces of his armor into those blows, swinging his sword in turn, trading blow for blow. Victor felt the sword smash into his armor, sh over his bare arms, slicing like a caustic razor into his flesh, but it only served to anger him further. Each wound the baron inflicted sprayed hot blood, and then it was closed, his flesh knitting together, closing those clean, precise cuts with hardly a scar. Meanwhile, Lifedrinker¡¯s smoldering silver de grew hotter and brighter with each smashing impact, and Victor could hear her screaming her fury in his mind. A tiny fragment of his consciousness wondered if others could hear her too or if her battle song was for him alone.

    One thing was sure, Victor thought, as he and the baron beat on each other¡ªthe vampyr was a sturdy, sturdy bastard. Victor was pounding him with such force that the blows rang out like gunshots, <em>boom, boom, boom</em>, and though the baron¡¯s armor was battered, dented, and torn, few of Victor¡¯s blows got through to the flesh. When he did manage to cut his opponent¡¯s gray, thick hide, it, like Victor¡¯s flesh, seemed to have the power to regenerate. This furious, brutal exchange went on for a handful of seconds, and then the baron regained his bnce, digging metal spikes protruding from the toes of his boots into the soil and driving forward, shouldering into Victor¡¯s midriff, and careening past him.

    Something feral was in his big red eyes, something insane about how he leered as he spun and greedily licked the de of his sword, ¡°Gods be good, but you¡¯ve a rich taste!¡± he groaned, a weird orgasmic note in his voice.

    ¡°Come,¡± Victor growled and opened his pathways wide, channeling a thick river of glory-attuned Energy into them, pouring it into his Banner of the Champion. Suddenly, the light cast by the baron¡¯s retainer was banished by his banner''s glorious, pulsing sun. zing golden light bathed the hilltop, driving back the shadows and exposing every rend, dent, scrape, and muddy smear on the baron¡¯s armor. Eric shrank back from the glow, shielding his eyes, and suddenly Victor understood why his follower had earlier provided the illumination¡ªsome quality in it wasfortable for the undead creatures of the night. His golden, bloody sun, though, seemed to offend them on a cellr level. In fact, Victor could swear he saw smoke rising from the seams in the baron¡¯s armor.

    ¡°Kill him!¡± the vampyr shrieked. ¡°Kill them all!¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 13: Contested Ground

    Book 6: Chapter 13: Contested Ground

    At the baron¡¯s words, Victor pounced. His already smoldering rage red like coals under a bellows, and, in his blood-red vision, he could focus on only one thing: the cowardly liar with the smoking, bleeding flesh before him. In the light of his banner, much of the baron¡¯s supernatural vitality seemed to have fled, and when Victor fell upon him, he smashed his knee into his chin, sending him flopping back into the torn earth of the hilltop. He drove forward, crushing his prodigious bulk onto the baron¡¯s midriff and hacking Lifedrinker at the vampyr¡¯s neck with all his might. She was furious, her rage an echo of his own, and when her smoldering de met the bent, chipped gorget at the baron¡¯s throat, she bit clean through.

    Lifedrinker knew what to do at that point, and she jerked in Victor¡¯s hand, pulling deeper and deeper into the pale gray flesh while the baron bucked and screamed, trying to throw Victor off. Victor held onto his axe, pushing, aiding her in her desire to dig deeper and draw the Energy from his foe, but just as she¡¯d sunk halfway through the sinewy neck, a massive form crashed into him, knocking him loose. Victor kept his grip on Lifedrinker, and as she pulled free of the baron¡¯s neck, great gobs of ck, viscous, jelly-like blood flew forth in her wake. The baron screamed and thrashed, rolling about, reaching up to squeeze his wounded neck in an odd caricature of a man choking himself.

    Victor saw the baron¡¯s throes as he slid on his back, another bulky vampyr driving him forward with thick arms around his waist. The creature was bigger than Eric. If Victor were guessing, he¡¯d say it was Porter, the loyal giant. He wasrge, but Victor could tell from the force of his grasp that he was weaker than the baron, far weaker than he. Perhaps it was the light of his banner affecting the monster, but Victor had no trouble pulling on the creature¡¯s bulky neck, driving him down and to the side, and pushing him off. As he did so, he smashed Lifedrinker several times at the gap where the vampyr¡¯s shoulder armor met the tes covering his arm. She tore through the thin links of the joint, sliced the gray flesh, and burned through the sinews and cartge.

    When Victor stood up, he held Porter¡¯s arm in one hand and Lifedrinker in the other. The huge vampyr screamed in outrage, thick, near-ck blood pumping from his ripped shoulder as he scrabbled backward. Victor ignored him, scanning for the¡ªhopefully¡ªmortally wounded baron. He saw his friends fighting a defensive retreat down the hill''s northern slope, the other five vampyrs pressing them with a brutal offensive. Victor wanted to help them, but he saw movement to the south, a dark form slithering downslope over the grass, and he pounced, unable to stifle his lust for a bloody victory and hoping hispanions could hold out just a little longer.

    He crashed to the ground just feet from the crawling form of the vampyr, and his banner¡¯s light exposed the baron, no longer huge and gray and monstrous, but man-sized, bloody, and screaming with pain as Victor¡¯s light burned his flesh. Victor felt the urgency of the situation and knew he was putting his friends¡ªVa!¡ªat risk, so he was quick and efficient as he fell upon the wounded vampyr. He smashed Lifedrinker through an already bent and jagged backte and buried her through the creature¡¯s spine, halting his writhing retreat.

    ¡°Bastard! Spare me, and I will plead your case with Prince Hector.¡± A gurgle of ck blood chased Eric¡¯s words as he vomited onto the grass.

    ¡°Shut up.¡± Victor yanked Lifedrinker free, then grasped the man by the cor of his battered breastte, flipping him onto his back. He lifted the axe high, aiming it at the side of Eric¡¯s neck where she¡¯d already started the work he was about to finish.

    ¡°You can¡¯t stand against him, against the others . . .¡± the baron began to wheeze, but his words were cut short as Lifedrinker separated his head from his shoulders. Victor didn¡¯t gloat or savor the glory of the kill. He snatched the body into one of his storage rings and turned, charging back toward Va and the others. Where he¡¯d left Porter, he saw only a ck stain on the grass. He raced past it, scanning the northern downslope, and he didn¡¯t have to look far. His friends were surrounded, beleaguered, losing . . .

    Victor screamed with fury as he saw the giant woman, the one with the helm that hid all but her blood-red lips, lifting Edeya into the air, swinging her by one frail-looking ankle, smashing her with a wet thump into the ground. Victor¡¯s Core emptied itself of rage, flooding his pathways, his muscles, and his brain with its hot fury. He cast Energy Charge, and as he streaked over thest twenty yards to the enormous woman, he lifted Lifedrinker high, bringing her down at the point of impact. Like a guided missile, she impacted the big woman at the crook of her neck and left shoulder. Lifedrinker screamed, and her voice was echoed by the ripping metal of the vampyr¡¯s armor as she split the giant woman in twain, from shoulder to hip.

    Hot blood showered the battlefield, and Victor roared his frustration, fury, and horror as an echo from his past floated through his mind, oveying the battlefield¡ªYre, dead, limp, the life gone from her eyes, as Victor watched on the sidelines. With desperation in his heart, Victor summoned his great bear, pumping the spell pattern with the mix of Energies needed to form courage. A cacophonous roar sounded, echoing over the hillside as the great bear burst into being. He was a mighty, wonderful creature with blonde-brown fur, enormous gleaming teeth and ws, and eyes that shone with red-gold reassurance.

    In the light of his banner, Victor saw the bear fall upon one of the three vampyrs pressing Va, crushing him to the ground and savaging him. The great creature engulfed his entire head with his jaws and began to rip and jerk his neck like a terrier with a rat. Victor prayed Va could hold her own for a moment, hoped Sarl and Kethelket could double-team the other vampyr, and then he knelt by his broken, battered friend. Edeya was still. One of her arms was bent awkwardly, a shard of bloody bone piercing the flesh. Her face was a mottled mess of bruises and cuts, and as Victor pulled her battered lips apart to try to administer a potion, he saw that most of her front teeth were broken or missing.

    ¡°<em>?Que horrible, chica!</em>¡± he cried, the rage fleeing his body as horror and fear reced it. Had he lost her? Was Edeya dead? He tipped the potion between her bloody lips into her swollen mouth. The thick silver-blue liquid shimmered and sparked as it flowed over her torn, bloody gums, and he saw the cuts pull together, her flesh knitting. He took it as a good sign; would it heal a corpse? Relief began to wash over him as more of her swollen bruises faded, and the cuts on her cheeks and forehead stopped bleeding and scabbed over. He could hear the sounds ofbat fading away to his left and, no longer afraid that his dy had inadvertently killed one of his oldest friends, Victor looked up.

    His bear had ripped the head from the vampyr and was lumbering toward Va, bearing down on one of the two she was defending against. Part of Victor wanted to leap up and run to her defense, but another part was stunned, admiring her grace as she slipped between their swords,shing out with Midnight, giving far worse than she got. When his golden bear crashed into the tall vampyr on Va¡¯s left, smashing him to the ground with a roar, Va switched gears, taking the offensive, and rapidly shing and stabbing herst remaining opponent, beating her down until she got a clean opportunity for an overhead cleave, ripping Midnight through the woman¡¯s neck.

    Victor scanned for Sarl and Kethelket and saw them fighting further north, off to his right. They had one of the transformed vampyrs between them, huge and monstrous. They stabbed and shed it, Kethelket applying three devastating wounds for every one of Sarl¡¯s, but the creature kept healing,shing out and screaming its fury. Victor grunted, standing up with Edeya still in his arms, and began to trudge toward them. He was no longer Berserk, but his banner still hung in the air behind him. With one more nce toward Va and his bear, ensuring they would defeat their two opponents, he summoned Guapo.

    He gentlyid Edeya over the stallion¡¯s shoulders, then hopped up behind her. As he trotted toward Sarl and Kethelket, he wondered why some vampyrs had transformed and others hadn¡¯t. Were they not all able to do it? He didn¡¯t bother hopping down from Guapo as he came close to the furious battle the two captains were waging against the huge creature. He watched, smiling grimly, as it screamed and began to smoke in the light of his banner, and then Sarl and Kethelket cut it to pieces. Just like the baron, this vampyr couldn¡¯t seem to heal with his banner¡¯s light shining upon it.

    In moments, the fight was over, and Kethelket removed the head from the smoldering, bleeding creature. Victor nodded to him and then pointed to the keep where a unit of soldiers was charging through the gates, rushing toward the scene. ¡°Get back. I¡¯ll get Va.¡±

    ¡°Aye. Is . . . is she alive?¡± Sarl pointed at Edeya, frowning as his dragonfly wings twitched in agitation.

    ¡°Yeah. Hurt bad but alive.¡± Victor whirled Guapo and galloped up the hill toward Va. When he arrived, he found his bear lying in the bloody grass near another headless vampyr and Va strolling toward him, wiping Midnight with an oiled swatch of leather.

    ¡°Is she . . .¡±

    ¡°Alive, but another healing potion might not hurt. Let¡¯s get back to the keep.¡± He held down his hand, and Va took it, hauling herself up behind him.

    She wrapped her arms around his waist and said, ¡°They¡¯reing.¡±

    ¡°The soldiers? Yeah, they saw us fighting . . .¡±

    ¡°No, the other army. Look. Listen.¡± She pointed to the north, and Victor saw it¡ªa darker shadow rolling over the night-dndscape. They were still a mile out, but it seemed like the vampyr¡¯s entire army was charging. He clicked his tongue, and Guapo broke into a canter, smoothly running over the grassy hills toward the keep. Victor yelled at Sarl and Kethelket to hurry as he rode past, but he didn¡¯t slow; he wanted to get Edeya inside, check her out, and maybe give her another potion. He needn¡¯t have worried, in any case. Before they reached the gate, the air brightened, and he turned to see a braided ribbon of thick purple-gold Energy flowing toward the three of them atop Guapo.

    ¡°Ah, shit,¡± he had time to say before it hit him. Guapo had the good sense to stop his forward movement as Victor and his passengers were seized by a paroxysm of Energy and euphoria. He howled inadvertently as he flung his arms wide, absorbing the lion¡¯s share of the river of Energy. Still, quite a bit flowed into Va and Edeya, and he saw his diminutive friend¡¯s bent arm straighten and her eyes pop open before the wave of victory blinded him momentarily. When he came back to himself, the System had words for him:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 54 Battlemaster, gained 10 strength, 9 vitality, 4 agility, 4 dexterity, 3 will, and 3 intelligence.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Congrattions! You have learned the skill Titanic Leap ¨C Improved.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Titanic Leap ¨C Improved: Whenever your form reflects the aspect of your titanic bloodline, you will find that you are able to leap quickly and powerfully, covering distances seemingly imusible, even considering your tremendous size and power. Foes who wish to contain you will find their efforts stymied by your ability to burst free from most mundane bindings.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>¡°Victor, are you there?¡± Edeya said tremulously, her high, scratchy voice lisping oddly. She was still face-down on Guapo¡¯s shoulders in front of him, so he put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

    ¡°I¡¯m here, <em>chica.</em>¡±

    ¡°I . . . I almost leveled, but the System said I need to advance my race.¡±

    ¡°As you should.¡± Va leaned to the side, peering around Victor¡¯s shoulder at the young Ghelli. ¡°You need to regrow some teeth along with those wings.¡±

    Edeya gasped, and, as she gently bounced with Guapo¡¯s plodding steps, she pped a hand to her mouth, probing for damage. ¡°I don¡¯t remember anything after we . . .¡± She got quiet for a minute, then said, ¡°That big one, she stuck her sword in my side, then she grabbed me . . . that¡¯s thest thing I can remember.¡±

    Victor steered Guapo through the gates and shouted down to the lieutenants standing there, waiting for news, ¡°Get ready! They¡¯re charging, but I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll try to scale the walls or if they can fucking fly or something. Be ready for anything; Captain Sarl will be here in a few seconds.¡± He and Va hopped down, and then he reached up and helped Edeya slide off Guapo¡¯s high shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s good you don¡¯t remember.¡± He gently pinched her chin between his thumb and forefinger, turning her to look him in the eyes. ¡°We need to toughen you up some more, or I¡¯ll need to start making Va do all my Farscribing.¡±

    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be my preference, Edeya, so please, go advance your race.¡±

    ¡°Here?¡± Edeya lisped, holding a hand in front of her mouth as her cheeks bloomed red.

    ¡°Yeah. We¡¯re not going to lose this keep. Not if I can help it, and if we do have to retreat and you¡¯re still out of it, I¡¯ll carry you myself. Go find a quiet room, lock the door, and do it.¡± She hesitated, looking at the gate, at the walls, then back to Victor. He could see she wanted to protest, so he grabbed her shoulders and turned her toward the keep, giving her a gentle shove. ¡°Now. It¡¯s an order.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think she realizes how close she was.¡± Va watched Edeya¡¯s slight figure climbing the steps to the keep¡¯s door.

    ¡°I thought I¡¯d lost her. I thought I¡¯d let another friend die.¡±

    ¡°Let?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I chased that fucking baron and killed him instead of running to help you guys.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d you finished him. What scum! How could he betray the sanctity of parley like that?¡± Victor looked at Va, surprised by her vehemence.

    ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯re pissed about?¡±

    ¡°Among other things. Still, they¡¯re all dead. They paid the price for their treachery . . .¡±

    ¡°Not all.¡± Victor sighed, shaking his head. ¡°The biggest one. Porter? I took an arm from him, but he got away while I was finishing the baron.¡±

    ¡°Damn.¡± Va frowned and turned back to the gate. ¡°I was hoping that army would be leaderless.¡±

    ¡°Well, regardless of that dude getting away, I¡¯m sure they left someone in charge of those troops. Someone must have ordered them to charge.¡±

    ¡°True.¡± Va snapped her fingers. ¡°The Farscribe book! I mean Edeya¡¯s!¡± She turned and jogged after the Ghelli as Victor connected the dots¡ªshe wanted to see if Borrius had replied. She wanted to know if he wasing to nk their attackers.

    ¡°Come on, old man. We¡¯re serving them up to you on a tter.¡± Victor turned to a stairway and stomped up to the parapet, intent on watching the enemies charge. He¡¯d just reached the top when Sarl and Kethelket came through the gate. Victor had to admire the Naghelli for staying afoot, keeping Sarlpany as they hurried back to the walls. He walked around the wall, toward the front, then stomped up the short steps to the higher section just above the gatehouse. From that vantage, he could see the southern hills clearly and the enemy forces flowing down their slopes.

    None of the ¡°reavers¡± were mounted, but they certainly moved quickly, somehow maintaining orderly lines as they ran. They seemed to effortlessly glide over the ground, holding a speed that was something close to a standard, mounted rdii. As they drew near, despite the dark, Victor could make out their individual shapes. He saw that every one of them wore shiny, ck-enameled armor simr to the baron and his retinue. They ran in rows of fifty or so, each line capped with a standard bearer. It was hard to see the colors in the weird green illumination of the sky and the pale light of the moons, but it seemed the banners were deep red, stitched with a ck fist under a crescent moon. He wondered if the symbol represented the now-dead baron or Prince Hector.

    Victor could hear Sarl and his lieutenants shouting orders in the courtyard, and he saw soldiers running about madly, unloading and carrying munitions to archers lining up on the southern parapet. He pushed forward, making room for a row of them behind him, noting the humming Energy in their bows, primed to fire with the magic of their ss abilities. Even with the losses the Ninth suffered earlier that day, nearly six hundred defenders were in the keep. Did these thousand attackers think they could take the castle with such a garrison? Were they suicidal? He remembered Porter¡¯s words to the baron, remembered how he¡¯d seemed fiercely loyal. Perhaps he <em>was</em> suicidal. Perhaps the troops he was leading didn¡¯t know what they faced.

    ¡°He responded!¡± Va¡¯s voice called from his left. He turned and looked at her, running toward him with Edeya¡¯s Farscribe book clutched under one arm.

    ¡°Borrius?¡±

    ¡°Yes! He¡¯s sent the fifth cohort, fully mounted. They¡¯re swinging out to the east and will nk the attackers.¡±

    ¡°Shit. These guys don¡¯t know what they¡¯re in for if they attack the keep . . .¡± As he spoke, Victor watched the charging enemye to a sudden halt. No horns blew, no drums sounded, but they all stopped running at nearly the same instant¡ªan awesome exemr of unit cohesion. They paused for a few seconds, and then, as though they¡¯d heard every word Va had just said, they turned to their right, the east, and began to run in that direction, every single one of them.

    ¡°Are they . . .¡± Va trailed off, so Victor finished for her.

    ¡°Charging our reinforcements.¡± He turned, pushed his way to the parapet on the courtyard side, and shouted down, ¡°Sarl! We have to get out there, or the fifth cohort is going to be wiped out!¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 14: For the Love of Battle

    Book 6: Chapter 14: For the Love of Battle

    ¡°Are you mad? We have no mounts! We¡¯ll be caught tfooted, outnumbered, fools for their feint!¡± Sarl¡¯s face betrayed the conflict he felt, standing up to Victor, a man to whom he owed so much.

    ¡°They aren¡¯t feinting, Sarl! They must have scouts or magic or . . . something! They must know that the fifth cohort ising around from the east. They¡¯ll crush them, just as you fear they¡¯ll do to us! If we can catch them from behind, though . . .¡± Victor looked around at the lieutenants, at Va and Kethelket, then back to Sarl. He hated how he sounded like he was pleading. He was the boss here, right? He supposed the problem was that part of him feared Sarl was right. He wasn¡¯t totally sure it was the right move to charge.

    ¡°But we can¡¯t catch them,¡± Sarl sighed, his voice losing its edge, clearly troubled by the idea that another cohort was going to die out there without his troops¡¯ aid.

    ¡°We can catch up, though!¡± Victor felt his frustration mounting and heard the rumble in his voice as his rage began to seep into his pathways. ¡°They¡¯ll smash into the fifth, probably do some damage, but we can get there in time to make a difference, to turn the tide.¡±

    ¡°And if we march forth,¡± Kethelket interjected, ¡°gain some distance from the keep, and they turn to charge us? You saw how fast they run! We don¡¯t know how close the fifth is. They could be an hour or two distant.¡±

    Victor stood straight, squared his shoulders, and looked at the dark sky. He inhaled deeply through his nose, and with its exhtion, he sent his doubts and frustrations into the air. While everyone watched him, waiting for his next words, he cleared his mind and listened to his instincts. Everything in him said to summon Guapo and charge after the ck-ted, pale warriors¡ªthete Baron Eric¡¯s reavers. With a calm, steady voice, he said, ¡°Va, you will ride with me. Bring themand Farscribe Book. Captain Yarsha isn¡¯t responding to the messages we¡¯ve sent to the fifth; perhaps they¡¯re already fighting, and she can¡¯t check her book, but you have yours, right, Sarl?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    ¡°I will ride after the invaders, ensure they aren¡¯tying a trap for you, and Va will send word via the Farscribe book. When you see themand to march, you will double-time it onto the field, and you will smash into the reavers. Get your troops ready to move.¡± Victor turned to the gate, hardly registering Sarl¡¯s salute or the troubled look in his eyes¡ªif Victor had to guess, the captain was worried that he¡¯d burned a bridge with him by challenging hismand in front of his soldiers. Victor was too stressed to think about it; it was a problem for a more peaceful night. He reached into his Core, pulling forth a ribbon of glory-attuned Energy, and summoned Guapo.

    As the great Mustang burst into being, leaping out of the shimmering golden pool of Energy, Victor reached into his ring and pulled out the corpse of Baron Eric Gore Lust. The dead vampyr still gripped the smoky, evil, deadly-potent sword as it flopped onto the hard-packed gravel outside the gate. Va and the others who¡¯d been following behind gasped at the sudden reminder of what Victor had in earlier that night.

    ¡°What are you . . .¡± Va started to ask, but Victor was already acting, building the pattern for Honor the Spirits. The big, oddly bloodless corpse, d in battered dark te, and the wicked, probably living sword, red with bright white mes, eliciting gasps and curses from the officers and soldiers nearby. The mes lingered longer than usual, ring and surging as they consumed the man and the sword. The baron¡¯s body was gone before the sword, almost as though it fought against the workings of the spell, but Victor¡¯s spirit magic was strong, and with a final burst of brilliant white mes, it winked out of existence, and nothing but ghostly smoke remained.

    Victor swung atop Guapo and held out a hand, hoisting Va up behind him, and then he turned to Sarl. ¡°Get them lined up and ready to march.¡± Guapo didn¡¯t need him to kick his heels or flick any reins; he knew what Victor wanted, and he delivered, bursting into motion, streaking over the dark rolling hills, leaving a trail of golden sparks where his hooves struck the ground. Victor had ridden Guapo t-out a few times, and he knew what he could do. Still, it brought a surge of adrenaline into his blood as the wind screamed past his face, and the moonlit countryside became a blur.

    Va squeezed her arms around his waist, burying her face in his back. Victor would have worried about her, wondering if she was afraid or angry, but he couldn¡¯t think of anything other than the idea that he had soldiers out there who needed him. He hadn¡¯t felt any pangs from his Battlemaster feat, but something told him he had to get out there, had to make a difference; those troops wereing to help him¡ªhow could he leave them to hang?

    The wild ride through the dark proved mercifully short. After just a few minutes, they mounted a sizeable grassy hilltop with a solitary tree at its crest, and on the other side, all of Victor¡¯s questions and concerns came into focus. At his urging, Guapo slid to a halt, tearing up a deep furrow of sod, and Victor looked down into a wide, grassy meadow upon which hell was breaking loose. On the far side, perhaps three or five miles distant, he saw the fifth cohort, beset by massive wolf-like creatures in the hundreds. Nearer, still charging toward the fight, were the ck-ted reavers. In a minute or less, they¡¯d pile into the fight, and the fifth would surely be destroyed.

    ¡°Get off,¡± he grunted.

    ¡°Victor . . .¡±

    ¡°Get down and tell Sarl to hurry.¡± His voice had be a growl.

    ¡°Will there be any fifth left to save by the time . . .¡±

    ¡°Now, Va!¡± Victor reached behind himself to nudge her with one big hand, pushing her to the side until she relented and slid off Guapo¡¯s back. ¡°Wait here for the Ninth.¡±

    ¡°Victor! I know I won¡¯t stop you from acting, but promise me you aren¡¯t going down there to die! Think about why you aren¡¯t taking me with you!¡± Va¡¯s words were pleading and had taken a desperate edge. They gave him pause, and he looked down at her, into her beautiful eyes, and he resolved to talk to her about his feelings again, really talk to her, not just y around with hints and hugs.

    ¡°I¡¯m not nning to die, Va, but I have to slow those <em>pendejos</em> down.¡± She nodded, taking the small victory, and with those final words, Victor summoned his banner and, almost simultaneously, cast Iron Berserk. As the brilliant light of his banner¡¯s sun burst into being, illuminating the hilltop like a fallen star, he exploded with furious Energy, and Guapo grew with him. Victor urged the Mustang forward and, responding to an instinct that ran deep in his blood, roared into the night, ¡°Ancestors! Watch me fight these mother <em>fuckers</em>!¡±

    Sized as he was to amodate Victor¡¯s titanic form, Guapo devoured the distance between the hilltop and the charging reavers. As they tore over the grassy meadow, Victor pulled Lifedrinker free of her harness and held her high, ready toy about himself with her smoldering de. ¡°Come on, boy!¡± he urged, willing the great Mustang to run even faster. As they thundered over the ground, everything became a blur, everything except the rear ranks of the reavers¡ªthe center of Victor¡¯s focus. In seconds, they were upon them, and then Guapo was trampling through them like a draft horse running through a schoolyard.

    The reavers screamed and iled as the Mustang smashed through them, crushing them to the ground and sending many more flying left and right, all while Victor¡¯s banner seemed to ignite their exposed, pale flesh. In the chaos, Victor could see smoke billowing out of helmets and the seams of dark armor, and he knew these reavers suffered even more than theirte baron in his glorious light. He howled and roared, mad with wild battle lust as Guapo trampled through rank after rank. He cleaved left and right with his axe until he and his mount finally burst through the far side of the reavers¡¯ formation.

    The Mustang had suffered many gashes and cuts in his passage, but he was snorting, prancing, neck arched in a proud disy of resilience as he whirled and paced in front of the host of reavers, he and Victor the only obstacle between them and the beleaguered fifth cohort. Even so, the reavers had slowed their mad charge and taken pause to examine this new threat. Victor could see dozens of broken forms lying in Guapo¡¯s wake¡ªvictims of the mighty Mustang¡¯s hooves and Victor¡¯s vicious axe blows.

    The idea that he was facing down nearly a thousand enemies filled him with mad battle lust, a hunger for glory that dwarfed anything he¡¯d ever felt. Victor wanted to leap off Guapo¡¯s back and wade into the host, wanted to feel their bones and flesh breaking under the de of his axe, and wanted to bathe in their blood and howl with their screams of defeat. Part of him was rational, though¡ªpart of him knew he would kill many of them, but that eventually, he¡¯d run out of Energy, and they¡¯d overwhelm him. As Guapo pranced in front of the army, up and down their front rank, as his banner bathed them in its light, forcing them to shrink back and shield their eyes, that lucid part of his mind urged him to shout, ¡°I¡¯ve killed your leaders. Will you be next?¡±

    If he¡¯d been hoping to send them running, he was disappointed¡ªhis words seemed to enrage them. Whatever bond they¡¯d had with the baron was still there, or at least their loyalty to his faction had survived his death. Victor could feel them gathering their Energy, could see many of them, dozens, hundreds exploding with growth, taking on vampyr forms like the baron and some of his retinue had done. He saw weapons bursting into mes or limning with other kinds of Energy, from frost and lightning to acid. Some of those who shrank from his banner¡¯s light straightened up, shimmering with magical defenses, perhaps banking on killing Victor before their Energy ran out.

    Victor saw that his shout hadn¡¯t cowed the horde, and his heart sang with the news¡ªit was time to get bloody. He slid off Guapo¡¯s back and pped a massive hand on the Mustang¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Good boy. You did enough. Go recover in the Spirit ne, and I¡¯ll call you again soon.¡± The horse, part of Victor¡¯s spirit, nudged him with its muzzle, perhaps unwilling to leave him, but Victor chuckled and severed his connection, sighing deeply as the horse dispersed in a shimmering fog of golden Energy.

    Victor turned to the horde of reavers and saw that the transformed creatures were starting to rush toward him, pushing past their smaller brethren. He could feel the gathering Energy of spells and knew the momentary standoff was nearly over. Soon he¡¯d be surrounded, and though he was muchrger and more powerful than these lesser vampyrs, he knew he couldn¡¯t hold off a thousand of them for long. As he hefted Lifedrinker in his fists, channeling rage-fueled Energy into his arms and into her, he grinned. ¡°Hope you¡¯re hurrying, Sarl.¡± The reavers and vampyrs screamed in a cacophonous frenzy and charged him.

    Rather than meet the elite of their number as they shoved to the front ranks of the host, Victor bunched his legs andunched himself into the air, soaring over the first several ranks. Missiles of fire and ice, lightning and magma, acid and metal tore through the air at him. Many struck home, but he shrugged them off. His mass, his durability, his armor, and his magical belt did much to mitigate the attacks. The damage that got through was quickly mended by his incredible ability to regenerate while Berserk. When hended at the center of the armored reavers, none of whom were even half his size, he ttened one outright, and then he began madly hacking at the screaming horde.

    Lifedrinker was aze with her own fury; her silvery de was magma orange, and ck smoke roiled in her wake. She split the reavers¡¯ enameled te like it was made from porcin. She burned their flesh and shattered their bones, and with each wide cleave Victor made, she left broken, writhing, screaming reavers lying and iling on the ground. Victor felt impacts on his back, against his impossibly dense helmet, and from every other angle. He began to amas wounds on his legs and arms, and though he was seeing red and focused on ughter, a corner of his mind suggested he seek more armoring if he meant to battle this way in the future.

    The stray thought brought wildughter out of him, and as blood showered up from a terrible cleave heid into a reaver¡¯s chest, Victor wondered if there would be a future for him. Despite the broken mounds of enemies, despite the mist of their blood hanging thick in the air, the host of enemies stretched away from him in every direction. He was alone, and as fast as he could kill them, they kepting. They, too, were wild with the desire to kill. They¡¯d seen his devilish work, seen how he¡¯d destroyed theirrades and boasted about killing their lord, and whatever else might be true about these invaders, they weren¡¯t cowards.

    At some point, Victor summoned his mighty bear, fueling it with fear-attuned Energy, and the powerful beast gave him some respite, clearing one of his nks, so he turned his back to the monstrous ck bear with its indigo eyes. He listened to its roars and responded in kind, the two of them drowning out the din of the hundreds of reavers as they fought. When he¡¯d summoned the totem, Victor had seen how his fear-attuned Energy was more prevalent in his Core than the others, so he decided to use it, throwing out waves of ck terror with Project Energy. The effect varied, causing some reavers to flee, others to stand stunned, and others only to grimace in difort.

    The transformed vampyrs were the least affected, and though Victor killed them in the dozens, they were the ones to leave the deepest, most painful wounds on Victor¡¯s nks as they fought through their allies to get at him. He took spear stabs, axe wounds, crushing blows, and gashes everywhere he wasn¡¯t covered by Tes¡¯s amazing wyrm-scale armor. If not for that armor and his helmet, Victor knew the fight would have ended far sooner.

    He did all he could to prolong his fight. He used Energy Charge to make space for himself, smashing through several ranks of reavers, crashing into a vampyr orrge reaver with a devastating explosion of Energy, giving himself a brief break before more unwounded enemies filled the gaps. He used Titanic Leap to much the same effect; when he felt he had too many powerful enemies nearby, he¡¯d jump away, smash into a distant section of the reaver horde, and work on thoseggards for a while, ughtering them while their strongerrades worked through the ranks to get at him again.

    So, the incredible, wild battle dragged on. Victor couldn¡¯t possibly count the number of reavers he slew, couldn¡¯t count the number of wounds he¡¯d healed from. He knew he¡¯d have a new patchwork of pale scars on his body if he managed to survive, but he was starting to believe that wouldn¡¯t be a concern¡ªhis Energy was running low. He could feel his rage waning along with the rest of his affinities; he¡¯d been trying to spread their usage, and he¡¯d done a good job, but they were all drawing down, and he knew it was soon going to be over when his Titanic Leap would no longer activate.

    In his blood-red vision, things seemed darker, and he wondered if it was a result of him losing so much blood; was he starting to fade? Then, it clicked when he saw that the reavers and vampyrs nearby weren¡¯t smoking and that their wounds were mending before his eyes¡ªhis banner had faded. Victor thought about trying to choke down a heart, an arachnid one from Zaafor, perhaps, or¡ªheughed madly at the idea¡ªthe Ridonne heart he¡¯d ripped out not long ago. As his deep, insaneugh rumbled out of his blood-soaked face, some of the reavers in front of him shrank back, triggering moreughter from the titanic berserker.

    ¡°What fucking <em>fun</em>!¡± he roared, and then he forgot about his Energy; he forgot about his Core and his spells, and he began to dance in earnest. He felt Lifedrinker¡¯s joy in battle echoing his own, and the two of them began to move with a new kind of grace and rhythm. He moved with speed and power that was a pile of thermite burning next to the wax candles of the reavers. He wove between them, smooth and easy, ducking hacks and stabs and carrying with him a shard of death and destruction, leaving bloody bits and broken armor in his wake.

    As thest of his rage burned up in his pathways, and his vision returned to normal, Victor found himself surrounded by vampyrs that were more massive than he and reavers he could no longer shove aside or fling about, but he didn¡¯t care. Hisughter rang out as he continued his dance. In his joy of battle, he almost appreciated the wounds that no longer near-instantly healed. He relished the bloody, painful work of fighting, and he savored each hard-fought victory. Still, the injuries began to mount, his vigor began to fade, and he knew it was nearly his time to join Old Mother on the Spirit ne.

    ¡°Good!¡± he screamed, proud of his efforts¡ªsurely Sarl and his foot soldiers were nearly there. Surely, they¡¯de in time to mop up this army of reavers and join with the fifth cohort. They¡¯d see what he¡¯d done. They¡¯d tell stories of hisst battle. Va would be sad, but she¡¯d be free. She¡¯d live a great life, and maybe Victor would meet her in the next one. A huge vampyr smashed a spiked mace into his stomach, puncturing his vest with one of its long barbs, and it growled savagely as Victor¡¯s wind was knocked out.

    ¡°He fades! Kill him!¡± it screeched. Of course, those words brought moreughter from Victor; hadn¡¯t they <em>been</em> trying to kill him?

    ¡°Come on, you fucking <em>pendejos</em>!¡± He whirled, rolling his shoulder to the left, jerking the mace from the vampyr¡¯s grip, and then, with the weapon still hanging from his midriff, he continued his bloody dance between a pair of reavers. Lifedrinker took the head from one, and he kicked the other down to the torn, bloody sod. He whirled in a circle, swinging his wonderful axe in a wide arc, and the reavers and vampyrs hung back; they knew he was dying, but they also knew he had what it would take to bring more of them with him. ¡°Come on! You <em>pinch¨¦</em> rat fuckers!¡± he screamed, ¡°<em>Abu! Ancestors!¡±</em> Tears sprang into his eyes at the thought of his grandmother among the rest of his ancestors. ¡°I¡¯ming to you!¡±

    <em>Is your bloody work over? I don¡¯t think so, child of the Quinametzin. I am Chantico, brave son, and I lend you my strength and my fire. Stand tall among these undead fiends. Teach them what it means to corner a titan!</em>

 Book 6: Chapter 15: Ancestors Fire

    Book 6: Chapter 15: Ancestor''s Fire

    Kethelket gestured to the hillside bordering the western side of the vale, directing his thirty brothers and sisters tond next to the lone, armored woman. He recognized the shimmering scales and knew it was Va. He wasn¡¯t surprised to see her with sword in hand, staring into the narrow valley where her¡ªtheir¡ªleader was streaking over the grass on that magnificent mount of his. How fast it was! Even airborne, on wings and magic, he and his squadron couldn¡¯t match its pace. The mad giant was charging directly toward the rear ranks of the reaver army, more than a thousand strong, and beyond them, Kethelket could see what had prevented the fifth cohort from responding to messages; they were beset by enormous hounds.

    ¡°It¡¯s madness,¡± Rince cried from his right as they descended toward Va.

    ¡°Aye, a mad scene, indeed.¡± Va looked up at the sound of their voices, and he called down, ¡°Do I need to send word to Captain Sarl?¡±

    She watched him and his folknd lightly on the grass, shaking her head. ¡°I spoke to him through the book. He marches. How long will it take?¡±

    ¡°If they double-time? Over these hills, maintaining some semnce of order? Half an hour? Three quarters?¡± Kethelket shrugged. He wasn¡¯t an expert on foot soldier speeds.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I feared, and look.¡± Va pointed as Victor¡¯s incredible charge neared the enemy ranks. Kethelket held his breath, wondering if the madman would veer at thest instant, taunting the enemies, trying to get them to slow or chase him. He heard Va¡¯s intake of breath as she, too, braced, watching the distant figure and trail of sparks his horse threw up in its wake.

    ¡°Gods!¡± she cried as he smashed right into the charging reavers, trampling through them. The explosive impact took a heartbeat to reach them, and in that gap, Kethelket looked at Va, wondering where she¡¯d taken the strange habit of invoking gods. Then the sounds of crashing metal, screaming men and women, and the thunderous roars of the mad titan echoed up the slope to them, and those wondering thoughts were chased from Kethelket¡¯s mind as he watched the incredible, giant mount smash through the entire formation of reavers.

    Gasps, cheers, curses, and various other exmations broke out among the Naghelli nking him and Va. ¡°I yearn to join him, but we¡¯d be in. There are too many; we¡¯d be swarmed.¡± His words weren¡¯t only for Va; he knew some of his kin would want to join the titan in his madness. ¡°His size gives him mobility among their host that we could not match.¡±

    ¡°I know, but I won¡¯t stand here and watch him die. I hope he¡¯s in control of his rage. He¡¯s seemed so much bettertely, but tonight . . . tonight he seemed different.¡±

    ¡°Lord,¡± one of his men said, forgetting that he was no longer a true prince, ¡°will we not at least join the cavalry on the far side of the vale? There, we may make a difference against those giant hounds.¡±

    ¡°Good question, Givahn. Yes. Go. Rince, you will lead these thirty to aid the fifth cohort. I will stay with Tribune ap¡¯Yensha.¡±

    The dark Naghelli lifted her fist to her heart and leaped into the air, her shadowy wings with their amber markings streaking into the sky as the rest of the thirty flew after her. Kethelket watched them, trusting they¡¯d be wise enough to avoid death among their soil-boundrades. Quick strikes, feints, and retreats were the order of the night¡ªRince knew as much.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to stay with me.¡±

    ¡°No, but I will.¡± Kethelket followed Va¡¯s gaze to the giant, now riding his bloodied, prancing mount to and fro before the line of reavers who¡¯de to a halt and were cringing in the light of his enormous, zing banner. ¡°You wish you were with him.¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Va spat the words, and Kethelket¡¯s suspicions that she saw more in Victor than a leader began to deepen.

    ¡°He can break free. His size and speed . . .¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Va sighed in frustration, turning to look back toward the west, perhaps trying to spy some sign of Sarl¡¯s troops.

    ¡°On a positive note, it seemed the fifth cohort was holding their own against those giant hounds. With my squad of Naghelli aiding them, they may prevail while Victor dys these reavers. Ancestors!¡± His outburst came as Victor slid from his mount, sending it away, and then charged into the thick of the reaver army with explosive force. More sounds of smashing metal and screaming soldiers echoed over the hillsides. ¡°Did he actually dismiss his mount?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t surprise me.¡± Va now sounded resigned, though her eyes darted about, following Victor¡¯s movements, and her breaths were slow, each one held until her body forced her to exhale and take a new one. Kethelket watched the giant and realized he didn¡¯t seem so gigantic anymore; many of the reavers, hundreds of them, had exploded with their own growth, taking on vampyric forms like the baron and his kin they¡¯d met earlier in the night. ¡°Shit!¡± Va cried, using one of the strange legate¡¯s favorite curses. ¡°Some of those vampyrs are nearly his size!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s far mightier than they, however.¡± Kethelket tried to sound reassuring, but she was correct; there were so many of the creatures. How could he hope to win? He attempted to answer his own question, ¡°They can¡¯t match his explosive power and speed, his ability to leap great distances. He merely bides his time, tormenting and ying many of them. Without question, he¡¯ll fight free before he sumbs to their numbers, and, hopefully, he¡¯ll have dyed them long enough for Sarl toe.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Va looked up at him, gratitude in her eyes; she knew he was trying to reassure her. ¡°If I didn¡¯t think it would be a distraction, if I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be overrun in minutes, I¡¯d charge down there.¡±

    ¡°As would I, Lady Va. If there were but a hundred for me to y, I would try it.¡± Kethelket rested his hand on the pommel of his off-hand de, Gevel, and listened to the hunger in her song as it trilled through the bones of his palm. She wanted to fight, but then, she always wanted to fight. Va didn¡¯t respond, and Kethelket allowed his mouth to rest while his eyes followed the mad, beautiful dance of destruction the titanic legate wove among the reavers. At this distance, it was hard to see details, but he could see the orange streak of his massive axe as it ripped, smashed, and tore among the reavers and the dark mist that clouded the air in its wake¡ªsmoke and blood.

    Victor smashed through row upon row of the reavers, never standing still long enough for them to pile on. Still, it was clear he took wounds, and Kethelket couldn¡¯t imagine the kind of Energy he had coursing through his pathways to mend him so quickly. Aside from his rapid healing, he was unfathomably sturdy. Kethelket saw spears, driven byrge, powerful men, strike the giant¡¯s legs and fail to prate enough to find purchase, falling away or shattering under the sweeps of Victor¡¯s axe.

    ¡°He¡¯s like an iron colossus.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a true titan while Berserk; his bloodline is rich. Still, he bleeds, Kethelket, and the spells he weaves to bolster himself take a toll. He¡¯s been fighting too long, been cut so many times. If not for his armor . . .¡±

    ¡°Such armor. Yours is the same?¡±

    ¡°Not the same, but crafted by the same artisan.¡±

    ¡°Wonderful stuff. Might I know the name of . . .¡±

    ¡°Not now, sir.¡± Va¡¯s words were clipped, her eyes narrowed as she stared at the battle below, and Kethelket felt a fool for trying to make small talk about armor while such a great man battled for his life. In the hope of redeeming himself, heunched into the air and turned to the west, scanning the hillsides. Sure enough, perhaps a mile distant, he saw the lights of the ninth cohort, the Glorious Ninth, as Victor had styled them.

    He quickly descended, announcing as he did, ¡°I see the Ninth¡ªonly a mile distant.¡±

    ¡°A mile over shrub-covered hillsides. Ten minutes, maybe? An eternity for Victor. Ancestors, damn it! Why doesn¡¯t he break free? Look at how he slows . . .¡± her voice rose in a near-panic, ¡°Oh no! His banner!¡± Kethelket saw what she meant¡ªthe zing light of Victor¡¯s glorious banner had winked out. Va jerked her sword up, pulling its point from the sod, and began to jog down the hill. Kethelket hurried after her and grabbed her by the shoulder, darting back as she reflexivelyshed out at him. ¡°Unhand me!¡±

    ¡°Lady! Hold! Use your reason¡ªwould Victor want you to charge now? Would you even be able to get near him? Hundreds of reavers stand between us and him! Surely, he has a n! Surely, he doesn¡¯t want to die this night.¡±

    ¡°He . . .¡± Va stopped pulling, some of the anger fading from her eyes, bright moisture pooling there to take its ce. ¡°He¡¯s not so easy to predict! Somethinges over him when he¡¯s fighting¡ªhe loves it. His heart, his spirit, there¡¯s so much conflict there! Rage, fear, glory, inspiration! It¡¯s what he is, he¡¯s . . . I can¡¯t see him running, dammit!¡±

    ¡°He still battles, despite the banner¡¯s fading, by all the dead and the spirits that w at the gates, look! He¡¯s no longer a giant, yet he fights on!¡± Kethelket pointed, and Va, perhaps epting that she couldn¡¯t get to Victor in time to make a difference, joined him in his appreciation of Victor¡¯s prowess. He was remarkable; the skill he showed among that host of enemies was the seed of a legend being born. Kethelket might fight so beautifully against a single foe, a dance of skill and grace with his two living des, but he couldn¡¯t hope to move that way among a horde of moring armored enemies. He¡¯d be overrun, unable to find or create the gaps to move about like Victor did.

    ¡°He¡¯s gotten so good with that axe. He¡¯s making fools of them. Look how he ducks and weaves¡ªI taught him that one!¡±

    ¡°I pray he¡¯ll win free so I may yet spar with him.¡± Kethelket¡¯s voice was hushed, watching how Victor, just a dark shadow at this distance in the moonlight, moved among the reavers and vampyrs,rge and small, his glowing axe hacking limbs off, smashing skulls, and ripping in wide arcs, spraying steaming blood in misting clouds. ¡°He truly is like a dancer . . .¡±

    Every so often, Victor would explode with light and speed, ripping through more of the reavers, thunderously colliding with an enemy, and driving the hordes back with the concussion of his impact. Now, after just such a move, Victor paused, leaning on his axe, and, in the bright, green-tinted moonlight, Kethelket could see his shoulders heaving up and down with his inhtions¡ªthe man was exhausted. He knew if he were closer, he¡¯d see that he was covered with wounds, that he was dark with blood, and that he must be near the end.

    He nced at Va, saw tears streaking her cheeks, and turned to the west to see that the Ninth was close, cresting a hilltop only a quarter of a mile distant. ¡°I will go to him. I¡¯ll try to pull him free; fly off with him!¡± Va¡¯s eyes focused on him, and she nodded emphatically, something like desperate hope springing to life in them. Kethelket leaped into the air, streaking toward the army and the lone, heroic warrior at their center. He¡¯d only covered half the distance when it seemed like Victor burst into mes.

    <strong>#</strong>

    <em>Is your bloody work over? I don¡¯t think so, child of the Quinametzin. I am Chantico, brave son, and I lend you my strength and my fire. Stand tall among these undead fiends. Teach them what it means to corner a titan!</em>

    At his ancestor¡¯s words, Victor¡¯s eyes began to smolder with deep, yellow-orange mes, and his vision took on a bright, yellow tint. He felt a warmth in his belly, an echo of the fire in his chest where his breath Core smoldered. At first, it was an echo, but as the reavers closed in, oveing their fear of Lifedrinker¡¯s edge, ready to finish him, the fire in his belly grew hot, turned into an inferno, and then exploded through his body.

    His pathways zed with the Energy, and Victor arched his back, screaming his enthusiasm for the fire, weing it as it invigorated his tired muscles and fueled his body¡¯s healing. Victor¡¯s dozens¡ªhundreds¡ªof wounds were cauterized on the spot, sealed beneath hot, new flesh, and, though the fiery Energy wasn¡¯tpatible with his Core, and he struggled to bend it to his will, to push it into his spell patterns, Victor could feel his breath Core yearning for it, could feel it pulsing and throbbing, aching to absorb that hot Energy.

    Had his ancestor known that he had an affinity for magma, for fire? Had she known about his breath Core? Had she gifted him this Energy for that use or simply to heal and revitalize him? Victor began to dance again, moving with grace and power, slipping blows, hacking limbs, and weaving between his many, many foes. All the while, he felt that fire burning, felt his breath Core yearning, and he wished he knew how to bring them together. Could he solve the puzzle before he was overwhelmed? Did it matter? He¡¯d in so many! Surely, his ancestors were proud. Surely, he¡¯d left his mark on this world. Sarl must be close¡ªthe fifth cohort would be saved, and Rellia would have her foothold in thesends.

    Va . . . Va would be proud of him, though she¡¯d be angry at first. He was angry that he wouldn¡¯t hold her again, and that thought made Victor turn more of his attention to his pathways, to his breath Core. ¡°What¡¯s the fucking deal?¡± he growled, shouldering aside a massive Vampyr and hacking down with Lifedrinker, carving a groove through its femur as he danced around it and spun, cleaving in an arc, driving back several reavers. Even with half his attention pointed inward, he and Lifedrinker were making fools of these <em>pendejos.</em>

    He''d looked at his pathways so many times that he didn¡¯t need to look now to know how they traversed his body. They rose from his Core to his head and out to his arms and hands. They went down from his Core to his legs and his feet. They branched into little tributaries that touched different parts of his body¡ªhis heart, his lungs, his . . .¡± Victor paused, and he felt like a spark had ignited in his brain. His lungs . . . his ¡°breath¡± Core . . . Victor exerted his will, gathering all the Energy in his pathways and pushing it, driving it into the pathways that went to his lungs, driving it harder and harder until he forced new openings like he had in his hands.

    He was a man, a titan, and he was used to doing <em>things</em> with his hands. He directed his magic with his hands, and he pulled it in through his hands. Humans and titans didn¡¯t naturally have a breath Core; they didn¡¯t naturally pull or push their magic with their lungs. ¡°Time to change that!¡± Victor roared as he split the head of yet another reaver. Lifedrinker screamed with fury and pleasure, excited to still be fighting, proud of Victor for finding a second wind. Victor pushed the fiery magic in his pathways into his lungs, and then, with a deep inhtion, he willed it to flow into his breath Core.

    He''d never felt anything like what happened next. It was, forck of a more eloquent analogy, orgasmic. Pure pleasure radiated through his being as his breath Core swelled, as it split a shell Victor didn¡¯t know had held it, and it expanded, ring like a miniature, fiery sun, sending heat through his body. Victor felt his chest swell as he inhaled, felt his breath ignite, and savored the feeling. It was like all his life he¡¯d been breathing something dead and lifeless, and now he had a living, dancing, raging wind in his lungs, and it wanted <em>out</em>.

    Whatever fiery magic his ancestor had sent into him, Victor knew it was potent beyond his means, something epic and magnificent, something not meant for the world of Fanwath. The gift brought tears to his eyes as he realized what he¡¯d received, as he tasted the life the mes had filled him with. He spread his arms wide, expanding his chest as he strained to fill himself with as much air as possible, savoring the pleasure as his Core continued to ignite it, as he swelled with the potent mes of his ancestor. His inaction encouraged the reavers and vampyrs, and they began to creep close, weapons and ws raised. Then Victor exhaled, and the world burst into mes.

    Fire streamed out of Victor¡¯s mouth like water from a fire hose. It cooked the flesh off the reavers before him in a thirty-foot cone, ckened their bones, and reduced them to ash. Victor wasn¡¯t done¡ªhe turned in a circle, blowing that terrible, wonderful, awful yellow-white fire in a circr cone, utterly destroying hundreds of reavers and vampyrs. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was the potency of the fire his ancestor gave him or a particr weakness to fire, but his enemies crumbled before his efforts, and the ones outside his cone, who only felt the <em>heat</em> of his mes, fell back, scrabbling to get away from him.

    By the time he¡¯d turned full circle and the awesome fire had fled his breath Core, Victor stood at the center of an enormous ck circle of smoldering corpses. The reaver host was in disarray as they fought over each other to put more distance between themselves and the one who¡¯d breathed the fury of a sun onto the battlefield. Victor lifted Lifedrinker high, and he roared his enthusiastic thanks, praising his ancestors with an ulting, howling scream. The reavers were broken, their will to fight demolished by the disy of destruction, and that¡¯s how the Glorious Ninth found them as they charged down the slope and smashed into them with Va and Kethelket at the center of their front rank.

 Book 6: Chapter 16: Masters of the Axe

    Book 6: Chapter 16: Masters of the Axe

    Lesh¡¯ro¡¯zen sat by his solitary campfire, and he contemted. Campfire was a generous term for the handful of smoldering coals and hot rocks. He sat upon a partially petrified log, more stone than wood, and he gently caressed the smooth, polished handle of Bgog, his cudgel. His mind was in turmoil, his usual drive blunted, his heart and soul torn, and his contempt and hatred of the System soared to new heights. Things had been going well until earlier that night. He''d been set to iste and y Victor, had been ready to call him out and challenge his honor, sure the warrior would take the bait. That had been before Lesh saw him breathe fire that would give even a full-blooded dragon pause.

    ¡°A breath Core! A <em>mighty</em> breath Core. And the System wants me to y him? For what?¡± Lesh spat into the coals, watched his saliva sizzle, and tried to contemte his options. It had taken him more than a month to catch up to Victor¡¯s army. He¡¯d stalked them¡ªno small feat with those shadowy flying scouts¡ªfor further weeks, and then, when they¡¯d finally crossed that damnable frozen pass, he¡¯d used every trick in his bag to slip by their encampment to follow the titan-blood further into these newnds.

    It had been a surprise when the System offered him the conquest quest. Still, it exined why Victor hade to thesends with his army. Lesh hunkered down over his coals, adjusting his mottled gar viper cloak, peering out through the voluminous hood at the sickly mists that fought to cover the tiny ind of warmth his coals created. Without the cloak, he¡¯d have been spotted several times by the titan¡¯s scouts, but it hid him well, and thus far, he¡¯d managed to avoid ying any of the soldiers that followed the giant warrior.

    After he¡¯d witnessed the epic battle between Victor and an entire army of undead, Lesh hadn¡¯t felt right about piling on. He hadn¡¯t thought it would be an honorable way to gain victory. Only a fool would presume that Lesh would jump upon a beleaguered rival, only a fool who didn¡¯t understand Lesh¡¯s pride, his honor, and his determination to be the best. Could he im such if he had to fight his enemy when he was near death, surrounded by a horde of enemies? No, if anything, Lesh had been tempted to aid the berserker. He¡¯d been tempted to try to fight to the center of those undead warriors, hoist the battered human, and fight free, giving him a chance to recover¡ªbefore Lesh challenged him, of course.

    That was putting aside the feelings that had begun to roil in Lesh¡¯s chest as he watched Victor battle, though. He¡¯d never seen such a contest, such a desperate battle that seemed so hopeless yet dragged on, one new surprise after another. He¡¯d never seen someone, not even his mentor, Thov¡¯kinal¡¯rovessi, fight so artfully, so gracefully while surrounded by so many enemies. It was clear that Victor was made for war, made for the battlefield. He¡¯d never looked afraid, never seemed discouraged or weary, even when he¡¯d been drenched in his own blood and covered with wounds, one arm hanging limply by his side, the axe warrior had worn a grin, his eyes shining with excitement¡ªeagerness. Then he¡¯d breathed fire, such fire, that when it ended, Lesh had been surprised to find himself kneeling, mouth agape in awe.

    ¡°And the System wants me to kill this man?¡± He snorted, reached down, and poked at the coals with one long, ck w, shifting away some ash to expose the red heat. ¡°No. Not yet, at least. I think I¡¯ll watch this man for a while longer. I think I might try to puzzle out why you want him dead. Do you hear me, System?¡± Lesh spat again, hawking up phlegm from deep in his throat. He doubted the gods-damned System listened to him¡ªdoubted it would spare him a thought until he¡¯d done its bidding. Still, it felt good to voice his disdain, his bitterness. Watching his mucus bubble on the coals, a new thought urred to him. ¡°Do you want him dead, or do you want <em>me</em> dead?¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor stood at the center of his sted wastnd, the remains of corpses and molten armor steaming and smoking in a wide circle around him as the Glorious Ninth smashed into the remnants of the reaver army. He was tired; the breath attack he¡¯d pulled off had been exhrating, incredible, but it had pulled all of his ancestor¡¯s Energy out of him, leaving him standing at the epicenter with just his slowly replenishing Core to sustain him. He could still fight, but hadn¡¯t he done his share? He chuckled at the idea, lifting Lifedrinker to rest on his shoulder while he watched Sarl¡¯s troops use their discipline and fresh reserves of Energy to dominate the battlefield.

    He wasn¡¯t surprised when, amid the screaming fighters, crashing weapons and shields, and explosions of Energy, he saw Va dancing through thebat toward him. She ran on gusts of wind that sparkled with bursts of lightning, and soon she was before him, concern in her eyes as she looked him up and down. They stood in an area of rtive calm; the remaining reavers seemed to want to avoid the ce he¡¯d burned to ash, and the Ninth was driving them further west, away from the scene of his one-man war. ¡°Are you all right?¡±

    In answer, Victor smiled and shrugged, pleased that most of his wounds had been mended by his ancestor¡¯s fire. ¡°Thanks to my ancestor.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re an asshole!¡± Va growled, and Victor, probably angering her further, couldn¡¯t helpughing.

    ¡°I¡¯m rubbing off on you!¡±

    ¡°You were going to fight to the death!¡± Va didn¡¯t look amused, standing before him, lightning dancing behind her eyes, Midnight naked in her hands, held ready, almost like she meant to swing the dark de at him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that . . . I had some hope that my ancestors might step in. You heard me call out to them when I charged.¡±

    ¡°Some hope,¡± Va growled and leaned close to him, her face livid beneath the eyeholes of her helmet. ¡°And if they chose not to aid you? If you died on this field, you were okay with that? No thought of retreat? No thought of me?¡±

    ¡°I thought of you. You were in my mind the whole time.¡± Victor frowned. What more could he say but the truth?

    ¡°I was?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course. I was . . .¡± Victor sighed and turned, looking to where the Ninth was driving the reavers, further and further westward, toward the fifth cohort. He couldn¡¯t see it from where he stood, but he hoped the Naghelli and the cavalry had been able to hold their own against the giant wolves. He hoped they¡¯de together and smash the remains of the reavers. He looked back at Va; the noise ofbat had lessened, and they were, surprisingly, quite alone. ¡°I was full of regret.¡± He reached a hand, caked in dried blood, to her chin and tilted her face toward him. Her eyes were brimming with tears¡ªrelief, frustration, anger, fear? Victor didn¡¯t know, but he thought they were beautiful. He leaned toward her and softly said, ¡°I wished I¡¯d at least kissed you.¡±

    To his relief and immeasurable delight, she didn¡¯t pull away, didn¡¯t say anything. He touched his lips¡ªprobably disgusting to her, covered in blood and gore¡ªto hers. It was a simple gesture, a soft pressure, nothing overly amorous, but it meant everything to Victor. Her lips were soft and warm, and she pressed them into his, and when he pulled back, she leaned toward him, eyes hungry. When he continued to straighten, though, she smiled with a corner of her mouth and said, ¡°If you think that gets you out of trouble, think again.¡±

    ¡°Nah. What would I do with myself if I was out of trouble? I wouldn¡¯t know how to act.¡± He looked inward to his Core, saw that he¡¯d regenerated nearly a fourth of his Energy, and said, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go help them finish this. I think I have enough in me to summon my banner again.¡±

    Victor called Guapo using inspiration-attuned Energy, and the Mustang burst into being from a simmering, white-gold mist. He was beautiful, with brilliant, zing eyes, a tawny coat, and a long, flowing white mane. Victor hopped onto his back and pulled Va up behind him. Then, as they charged toward the ongoing battle, he summoned his banner. If they¡¯d been winning before, driving the reavers across the meadow, when the soldiers felt Victor¡¯s presence and the effect of the sun zing over his shoulder, they truly began to ughter the exhausted reavers and vampyrs.

    Victor rode wherever he saw clusters of the huge gray vampyrs still putting up a fight, and when his banner¡¯s light touched them, the soldiers of the Glorious Ninth bore them down, hacked them to pieces, and continued on to the next. Soon, the two cohorts came together, and Victor got his first good look at the pony-sized wolves that had been holding the cavalry in check. Their corpses littered the field, yet those that survived fought on mindlessly, rage in their eyes, and Victor saw that they, too, were undead; bones showed through their ragged fur, and the flesh, as often as not, was missing from their snouts, leaving their fangs exposed in perpetual snarls.

    Once Sarl¡¯s troops provided some relief and took the pressure off their nk, the fifth began to put their mounts to use, breaking free, whirling, and charging into the enemy¡¯s exposed nks. In just minutes, a strange calm fell over the blood-soaked meadow until, in the rtive silence of soldiers catching their breath and the coughing wheezes of the dying, cheers began to break out, and the men and women of Fanwath celebrated another, hard-fought victory.

    Sarl and Yarsha, the captain of the fifth cohort, began to bark orders, and their lieutenants passed them around, and soon, the field was busy with squadsbing the piles of bodies for survivors and collecting their deadrades. Other units began to pile the undead, stripping them of weapons, jewelry, and pieces of armor¡ªmany of the reavers still wore te that wasrgely intact, and there wasn¡¯t any denying its fine craftsmanship. With the soldiers performing afterbat activities, the System must have decided the battle was over because a sea of golden Energy motes began gathering in the little valley, and the soldiers¡¯ cheering started again.

    Victor, still sitting atop Guapo, his banner zing at the center of the bloody field, felt Va¡¯s arms tighten around his waist, and she said, ¡°I think I should hold onto you; maybe some of the ocean of Energying your way will bleed into me.¡±

    ¡°Hah! If the System would let me, I¡¯d be happy to share.¡±

    ¡°I know you would.¡± She squeezed him harder, and Victor felt a different kind of warmth ignite in his chest, right next to his breath Core. He savored the feeling for a few moments, but then a cascade of Energy unlike anything he¡¯d felt before washed over him, and he was made insensate, lost to the world, as rivers of golden light poured into him from all corners of the battlefield, lifting him into the air like a rising star, zing in the night. Victor¡¯s consciousness departed his physical form for a while, a sensation not unlike when he¡¯d advanced his race and had visions of his ancestral past.

    This was different, though; he didn¡¯t have the feeling that he was traveling anywhere, be it through space or time. Instead, he felt like he was hovering between ces, on the edge of universes or nes of existence. He felt presences nearby, beings he could barelyprehend as such and whom he could not fully fathom. In a way, it felt like he was being looked at, studied, and perhaps judged. He didn¡¯t feel threatened¡ªjust as he couldn¡¯t fully grasp those entities, he felt they couldn¡¯t entirely interact with him. He was being glimpsed through a veil, and, in his titanic pride, bursting with Energy as he was, he shrugged and willed them to know that he didn¡¯t give a shit.

    Victor had the immediate impression that some of the entities departed. He felt the ones that lingered more strongly and, in the less crowded space, became aware that they were struggling with each other, a contest of wills nearly beyond hisprehension. As he hung there, suspended in that weird in-between, nothing but angles of light and strange swirling patterns to upy his mind, the entities around him winked out, one by one, until he felt the looming presence of only one being. As if through a great tunnel, echoing and vibrating with the passage, a voice came to him. Despite its odd, reverberating nature, it was masculine and powerful, and it said, ¡°I am Golgothaz, and I am pleased with your axe dance, young warrior.¡±

    Victor opened his mouth and tried to respond, to at least say thank you, but he couldn¡¯t form the words. The voice came to him again, ¡°Do not try to speak; you haven¡¯t the will to make your voice heard in this ce. I can read your intent: you desire to give me thanks. Instead, I will thank you¡ªwhen we masters of the axe felt your contest and your breakthrough, we watched your dance, and it was entertaining. Great spans of time often pass betwixt the asions when I might consider myself entertained. I will give you my blessing, a mark upon your soul. It will help you to shape a destiny of true mastery with your weapon. Good hunting, young warrior!¡±

    As the voice faded, Victor saw a point of light pierce the strange fabric of the ce he hung in, and then itnced forth, searing into Victor¡¯s chest. It was painful but nothing close to the worst thing he¡¯d ever felt, and as the burning sensation began to fade, so too did the limbo he hung in. Bright lights filled his vision, and Victor found himself lying on his back in the bloody grass of the battlefield, hundreds of soldiers encircling him, watching with rapt attention as he struggled to sit up. Va was nearby, and she spoke, but her words didn¡¯t register¡ªVictor¡¯s attention was on the System messages that filled his vision:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 55 Battlemaster, gained 10 strength, 9 vitality, 4 agility, 4 dexterity, 3 will, and 3 intelligence.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Congrattions! Your mastery of the axe has advanced: Epic.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Congrattions! Your Breath Core has evolved beyond the seed stage. It is now an active Core.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Congrattions! Your Breath Core has advanced to Base 5.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Congrattions! You have gained a new ss Feat: Battlefield Presence.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Battlefield Presence: Your Battlemaster ss has allowed you to expand your presence on the battlefield. Any aura, bolstering, or debilitating effect that you radiate will affect an area twice asrge as normal.***</strong>

    As he finished reading the messages, a slow smile spreading on his face, Victor became aware of the cheering of the soldiers surrounding him. They were chanting, stomping their feet, and smashing weapons against shields as they thundered, ¡°Victor! Victor! Victor!¡±

    Victor leaped to his feet and saw that Sarl, Kethelket, and Captain Yarsha stood nearby. Of course, right next to him was Va, and she wore a bit of a frown, probably annoyed that he¡¯d ignored whatever she¡¯d been trying to say to him when he snapped out of his trance. He reached down to rest a hand on her shoulder, then he snatched Lifedrinker out of her harness and held her high. Of course, the axe was happy to put on a show, bursting into furious yellow-orange heat, igniting the air around her de, and sending ck smoke into the night. The soldiers¡¯ cheers grew louder and more frenzied.

    Victor turned slowly, making eye contact with as many soldiers as he could, and then he brought the axe down next to his side, and the cheering died down. The soldiers wanted to hear him, and Victor couldn¡¯t deny them. He felt terrific, fully replenished by the post-battle Energy, his high affinity allowing his body to make instant use of it, healing his wounds, banishing his fatigue, and replenishing his Core. More than that, he was exuberant about his gains, about having his ancestors act through him, and, most of all, about being alive with Va by his side.

    ¡°That was a hell of a battle!¡± he roared. He probably could have said anything¡ªannounced he loved warm tortis or that cold beer was best, and the troops would have gone mad with more cheering. In any case, they screamed their bloodlust and their pride, and Victor basked in it, fed off it, and nearly cast Iron Berserk and summoned his banner, but he saw the fatigue on the officers¡¯ faces, and he felt Va reach up to grip his thumb with her cold fingers, and he knew not everyone was as fresh and full of joy as he.

    Victor lifted Lifedrinker and brought her down, and again, the soldiers ceased their raucous cheering. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you, soldiers! We¡¯ve surely put a dent in the invaders¡¯ armies. That said, we need to get back to the keep we captured. We need to secure thisnd, and we need to make ns for how we¡¯ll keep up this momentum. Listen to your captains, your lieutenants, and your sergeants.¡±

    He turned, figuring he¡¯d summon Guapo and ride back to the keep with Va, but some brave soldier shouted, ¡°We love you, Legate!¡± Victor turned, trying to find the speaker, but he couldn¡¯t make him out. He saw many eager faces meeting his gaze, many soldiers who looked ready to im ownership of the words, so he sighed and smiled.

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯d face down a thousand reavers for men and women I didn¡¯t care about? You¡¯re my soldiers, and I¡¯m here to fight with you every inch of the way to that bastard green star! I¡¯ll never leave any of you hanging. If I¡¯m the only backup I can bring, then dammit, I¡¯ll be there.¡± The soldiers erupted in cheering again, and Victor gave up trying to calm them. They¡¯d settle down when he wasn¡¯t around. He summoned Guapo, and after the glorious Mustang burst out of his puddle of sparkling Energy, he mounted and reached down a hand for Va.

    ¡°Where will you go?¡± Sarl asked, shouting to be heard over the din.

    ¡°Meet you at the keep!¡± Guapo began to walk, and the soldiers made way for him, those close by reaching out to run their fingers over the great stallion¡¯s silky coat as he passed.

    ¡°You need a bath,¡± Va said as they finally broke free of the moring soldiers, and Victor urged the Mustang into a trot.

    Victor twisted in the saddle and looked into her eyes. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll set my house up in the courtyard and take one. Maybe you should join me.¡± She looked down, and if the light were a bit brighter, he might have seen her pale blue skin darkening. She didn¡¯t say no, though, so Victor¡¯s grin broadened, and Guapo began to gallop.

 Book 6: Chapter 17: A Full Life

    Book 6: Chapter 17: A Full Life

    When Victor and Va dismounted from Guapo, she ran over to Uvu, who, uncharacteristically, was still lying in the same spot near the courtyard gates where Victor hadst seen him. He patted Guapo¡¯s shoulder and sent the spirit totem back to his realm, then stood there, pondering Va and her giant cat. Could he do anything to help the creature?

    Sarl had left fifty soldiers to hold the fort¡ªa risky number, but he¡¯d obviously not wanted to arrive short-handed to help Victor and the fifth cohort. The watchmander, a young Shadeni lieutenant, had greeted Victor and Va at the gates and, after asking about the battle¡¯s oue, had returned to patrolling the ramparts. Now Victor stood alone, trying to decide if he should set up his travel home or speak to Va. He¡¯d been on such a high when they rode back toward the keep, rich with the endorphins of post-battle Energy, victory, and the hope of amorous activities¡ªatst!¡ªwith Va. Things weren¡¯t so clear now.

    His feet crunched on the gravel-strewn cobbles as he approached her and the big cat. He saw dark smears in her hair where it hade loose duringbat. The bottom edges hanging beneath her helmet had soaked up some of the blood that had sshed her way. Her armor, however, glimmered in the moonlight, shiny and fresh-looking, the enchantments having mended the damage and cleaned away the gory residue of battle. She knelt beside Uvu, whoy on his side, a listless look in his saucer-sized eyes as he made odd cat grumbles. ¡°He¡¯s no better?¡±

    ¡°Something ails him. Something clouds my connection to him.¡± She looked up at him, and he saw her eyes brimming with unshed tears. Her voice was thick with emotion, and Victor could hear the strain in it; her earlier relief at his survival and the army¡¯s victory had fled before a renewed concern for Uvu.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing stuck in his wounds? I mean, under the scars, a bit of the creature¡¯s harpoons, maybe?¡±

    ¡°Nothing I can feel. I used an expensive healing salve; I¡¯ve seen it pull broken arrows from a soldier¡¯s ribs.¡±

    ¡°Huh. If it¡¯s not physical . . .¡± Victor knelt beside her, Uvu¡¯s forelegs between them. He held out a hand toward the big cat¡¯s nose, and the beast lifted his head, snuffled at it for a moment, then dropped his chin to the ground and closed his eyes, apparentlyfortable enough with Victor¡¯s presence. ¡°Let me see here.¡± Victor thought about when Tha had been infected, overtaken, really, by Belikot¡¯s spirit. He remembered how he¡¯d been able to force that spirit out of her and back into the skull where he¡¯d locked it away. Could Uvu have a simr affliction of his spirit?

    He leaned forward and rested his hand, palm down, on Uvu¡¯s side. As the cat inhaled and exhaled and Victor felt his ribs moving up and down, he closed his eyes and turned his mind inward toward his pathways and his Cores. He could see them both now, his Cores. The multi-colored constetion of his primary Core outshone his fiery breath Core, but it was there, smolderingfortingly, a single orb north, in his weird mental sense of direction, of his spirit Core. His pathways ran between them and outward, like highways ready for the powerful traffic of his Energy. He traced the one that led out through his arm and hand to the opening, where it met with Uvu¡¯s flesh.

    As he¡¯d done with Tha, Victor sent a trickle of Energy through that pathway, some inspiration because, of all his Energies, he felt it was the most benign. He let it pour forth from his hand, tracing over Uvu¡¯s flesh, seeking an opening into the cat¡¯s pathways. Did animals have them? Victor didn¡¯t know, but he assumed they must. Hadn¡¯t Va told him that Uvu was an ¡°evolved¡± creature? Did they not use Energy like people? Before he could doubt himself further, his probing Energy found an opening. He should have guessed where it was¡ªin Uvu¡¯s mouth. Thinking about it, he didn¡¯t doubt the cat had openings in his paws, too, but it didn¡¯t matter; Victor had found what he needed.

    He sent his Energy gently probing into that opening, into the wide, straight pathway that led from Uvu¡¯s mouth toward his Core. He wondered at the ease with which he did so; Uvu didn¡¯t resist at all. Could he? Victor would think so, would assume the cat¡¯s will, in his own body, should have been difficult to ovee. Had he recognized a friendly touch? Was his will too taxed? As Victor¡¯s inspiration-attuned Energy progressed, his mind¡¯s eye became aware of everything it touched. He saw Uvu¡¯s Energy pathway; he saw how wide and simple it was, not convoluted and twisting like his own. It was a highway straight to his Core, which Victor could see like a smoldering campfire in the distance, a dim light down a dark road. ¡°What kind of Energy is that, <em>hermano?</em>¡±

    He heard Va say something, but her words didn¡¯t register. Victor was too focused and too intrigued by what he was seeing. He let his Energy progress, probing toward that distant Core, exploring the pathway, illuminating it. Victor felt no traces of Uvu¡¯s Energy. Shouldn¡¯t there be some in there? Victor¡¯s pathways were never totally empty. As his consciousness pressed on, he soon began to realize that Uvu¡¯s Core wasn¡¯t exactly smoldering, as he¡¯d first thought. He¡¯d seen the sensation of flickering or pulsing, but the closer he got, the more he realized that it was the result of something moving about the Core, something dark and gray, something translucent that let the light of Uvu¡¯s Energy through, but not clearly.

    ¡°Ah, I see what that fucking thing did!¡± he hissed as he pushed his Energy further, nearly at the cat¡¯s Core now.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Va asked, her voice loud and clear, impossible for Victor to ignore.

    Before he got too engrossed with what he knew he had to do, Victor answered her, ¡°There¡¯s something around Uvu¡¯s Core. Give me a minute to fight with it.¡± That said, Victor released his hold on his own Core; he let the trickle of Energy he¡¯d sent into the cat swell into a torrent, and he pushed it forth with all the strength and determination of his prodigious will. His body began to glow with a white-gold aura, and then Uvu¡¯s did as well. He knew why the cat hadn¡¯t resisted his initial intrusion; he couldn¡¯t. His Core was bound up, his will utterly spent in an effort to keep that gray . . . shit from thoroughly corrupting him.

    Victor drove his inspiration-attuned Energy like a spear into the weird, sickly membrane around Uvu¡¯s Core, and it recoiled. It thrashed andshed out, but it was like a puppy trying to maul a grizzly bear. Victor wrapped it up and bore down on it with his will, twisting his Energy like a boa constrictor around that gray blob, crushing it into oblivion. Uvu¡¯s Core immediately brightened, though it was obviously worn down. It pulsed with pure golden Energy, and Victor could feel the cat¡¯s spirit start to recover and probe at his Energy. He began to pull away, back into himself, still holding onto thatpressed blob of gray corruption.

    Victor wondered what he should do with it when he dragged it back into himself. Then he had a thought. He tugged it through his pathways and pressed it toward the new opening he¡¯d made leading to his lungs. When it was through, Victor inhaled deeply and pulled that corruption right into his smoldering breath Core. He felt it re as the magma-attuned Energy ignited it. He felt the urge to cough as soon as that bright re faded. As he hacked, he lost his concentration and resumed his normal perspective of the world through his eyes. Some ck smoke hung in the air, and more joined it as he continued to cough out the burnt corruption.

    Uvu stood up suddenly, arched his long back in a tremendous stretch, and then began to lick Victor¡¯s face. Victorughed and pushed at the cat¡¯s big head, still sputtering, still trying to take a breath that didn¡¯t tickle his lungs. ¡°Thanks for the kisses!¡±

    ¡°Victor! You healed him?¡± Va practically tackled him as she threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him into a hug. She was standing, he was still kneeling, and Uvu was purring loudly as he tried to get in on the affection, rubbing his long body on them both as he pressed into them, walking in a circle, looping his tail around Victor¡¯s and Va¡¯s necks. Victor was still sputtering, trying not to cough on Va as her hug transitioned to gentle kisses on his cheek, then his forehead. ¡°Thank you, thank you, thank you,¡± she kept saying between each kiss.

    Victor wasn¡¯t someone who¡¯din about affection, not from a woman and not from a giant cat. Heughed, waving away the cloud of lingering smoke, and then he stood, hoisting Va up with him, holding her pressed tight to his chest as she continued to shower him with kisses, tears streaming freely down her cheeks. Uvu chuffed and yawned, making big cat sounds as he continued to circle Victor, pressing his big body into him. Pretty much anyone else would have been knocked over by the cat¡¯s enthusiastic affection, but Victor stood tall, hugging Va close, and let the pony-sized monster cat show his gratitude.

    He came to realize they¡¯d drawn a small crowd; the garrison troops had turned their attention toward the inner courtyard, and many were staring, smiling, andughing. They could recognize an asion of joy when it was in front of them, and they were happy to join in. The mood in the keep was good enough already, what with Victor¡¯s news of the Ninth¡¯s second victory of the day. The happy Legate and his Tribune Primus were just icing on the cake. After a long moment of celebration, Victor finally set Va down and gave Uvu a big, friendly shove. ¡°Okay, big guy. That¡¯s enough. You¡¯re wee.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve earned a true friend this night, Victor.¡± Va leaned into him, grasping one of his hands with both of hers.

    ¡°I thought you were already my friend . . .¡±

    She shoved him yfully. ¡°Always joking around.¡± She turned to the center of the courtyard. ¡°Where¡¯s your house?¡±

    ¡°Ah, yeah.¡± Victor¡¯s smile broadened, and he took his home off his belt, walked toward a particrly empty corner of the courtyard, and ced it on the gstones. He activated it, and as it rumbled and jumped, expanding to its full size, he stood with Va and watched Uvu as he worked on cleaning himself in earnest. ¡°He seems happy.¡±

    ¡°Of course! You healed him! I can feel him just as before. What was wrong with him, Victor?¡±

    ¡°Something was wrapped around his Core. Something . . . vile.¡± It was a word Victor wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d ever used, but it fit. ¡°I burned it in my breath Core,¡± he chuckled.

    ¡°The smoke?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°I wanted to ask, how did you find your breath? I mean, how did you do what you did in the battle? Such mes; I¡¯ve never seen anything like it, not even from a tier-four Pyromancer . . .¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. I mean, the breathing of the fire, that was me, but the fire was from my ancestor.¡± Victor searched his memory, the nameing to him easily. ¡°Chantico.¡±

    ¡°Chantico? Was it a woman?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°She saved you, I think. You were . . .¡± Va grew quiet and then gestured to the house, now fully erged, sitting quietly in the courtyard. ¡°Let¡¯s speak within.¡± She tugged his hand, and following behind her, Victor cast Shape Self, reducing his size to something more like he¡¯d been when they first met. Va led him straight to the stairs toward his bedroom, and Victor felt his stomach start to flutter, a nervousness like nothing he¡¯d experienced in a very long time. As they walked through the long hallway that led off to branching, empty rooms, Va continued, her voice small. ¡°You were going to die, weren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t want to. I was going to fight until I couldn¡¯t anymore. I think I¡¯de to ept that I might die.¡±

    ¡°I know I already said this on the battlefield, but, well, maybe I didn¡¯t say this¡ªVictor, I don¡¯t want you to die. I don¡¯t want you to be okay with dying!¡± She still wasn¡¯t looking at him. She walked before him, still holding his hand, but he could tell she was having a hard time finding the words to match what she was feeling.

    He tried to help her out. ¡°I thought about you a lot while I was fighting. I thought about you with regret, angry at myself for not acting on my feelings more. I know I¡¯ve told you how I feel about you, but, well, I let you think you weren¡¯t the most important woman to me. I let you believe I was stuck on Tes.¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you?¡± Va had stopped before his door, and now her back was to it, and she looked up into his eyes.

    ¡°I think I was confused. Like you were.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t . . .¡±

    ¡°Yes, you were,¡± he said, leaning toward her, one hand on the door next to her head, his eyes inches from hers. ¡°You were confused about yourself. You wereparing yourself to Tes, and for some reason, you wereing up short in thatparison. Va, you¡¯re every bit as incredible as she is. She¡¯s had more time to gain levels, to learn things, but you, shit, I bet you¡¯re twice the woman she was at your age.¡±

    ¡°Truly?¡± She looked up at him, her big, turquoise-green eyes staring into his soul as she delicately bit at her lower lip, and Victor felt his heart jump in his chest.

    ¡°Yeah. Truly.¡± He leaned closer and stopped, his lips a hair¡¯s breadth from hers, and waited. Va inhaled through her nose and then pressed her lips to his, and this time, their kiss was far deeper, more passionate. Victor felt like he couldn¡¯t get enough. He savored her warm, soft skin, her hot breath, and the tender, gentle way her hands grasped the backs of his arms, holding him close as they stood, locked together.

    Victor wasn¡¯t exactly experienced in love. His one ¡°serious¡± girlfriend back on Earth had been a girl he texted and hung out with now and then¡ªnothing like the women he¡¯d met on Fanwath. His feelings back then were different; they were kid feelings. Even his affection for Chandri felt small and shallowpared to what he felt there with Va. When he thought about shallow feelings, he couldn¡¯t help thinking of Teil, but he couldn¡¯t find any regret; she¡¯d needed him, and he hadn¡¯t suffered for their night together. Still, what he felt with Va was different; he knew her so well, her quirks, her dreams, her fears. She¡¯d been with him through thick and thin. She¡¯d watched him nearly die half a dozen times, and she¡¯d always been there to support him. He swore, in that moment, while they kissed, he could feel her spirit.

    Victor felt like his heart would pound out of his chest, like he was high on something better than anything he¡¯d ever tried, even better than the euphoria following a System-granted Energy rush. He could certainly feel Va¡¯s Energy, hot and vibrant, electric under her skin, tickling his flesh. He let his hand slide down the door to the handle. He pulled it open, then he pushed her through, still trying to kiss her while they stumbled into his room. Va pushed him off, then ran a hand over the front of her hauberk, slipping out of the armor and letting it fall to the hardwood floor with a tter. She was panting, breathless, as she started pulling off the rest of her clothes. Victor did the same, proving he¡¯d had more practice with rapid clothing changes by getting naked several seconds before she did.

    They never made it into the bathtub, at least not at first. They didn¡¯t even make it to the bed; they fell to the floor on a plush gold and crimson rug that hade with Victor¡¯s travel home. Va wrapped her legs around him, and they shared every part of themselves. Though they were both breathless and eager, hungry for each other, Victor tried to take things slow, and again, he reflected on how different the experience was for him. It meant so much more to him than the other sex he¡¯d had that he couldn¡¯t find a validparison. Nothing he¡¯d ever done came close to the mixture of physical and emotional release he went through that night.

    For her part, Va seemed just as happy, just as engrossed by their amorous activities. After they¡¯d exhausted themselves there on the floor, they¡¯d bathed, but then Va started things up again, and they wound up in his bed together. Sometimeter, theyy together, and though the room was dark, and Victor was on his back, staring at the ceiling, his mind wandering through a rey of their activities, he knew Va was staring at him. He cleared his throat and asked, ¡°Are you regretting anything?¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Her hand snaked under the thin linen sheet, and she rested a cool, soft palm against his chest, over his heart. ¡°I regret nothing.¡±

    ¡°Do . . .¡± Victor struggled, trying to coax out his thoughts into words. ¡°Don¡¯t you regret waiting this long?¡±

    ¡°What? No. That¡¯s like asking if I wish I¡¯d eaten a meal before it was cooked.¡±

    Victor rolled to his side, trying to find her eyes in the near-total dark. Almost without thinking, he summoned a tiny Globe of Insight and let it float toward the ceiling, casting their bed in its dim, pale light. He smiled as she shifted to look him in the eyes better. ¡°Are youparing me to a meal?¡±

    ¡°A big, hearty, stomach-filling meal, aye.¡± She grinned and leaned toward him, then her eyes widened, and she touched his chest. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Victor looked down at his pectoral and saw what she pointed at. It looked almost like one of the many dozens of pale scars on his body, but it was darker and had a definite pattern, like a crescent moon with a straight line descending from the bottom point. ¡°Huh. A weird scar?¡±

    ¡°It looks almost like an axe . . .¡±

    ¡°Ah! Golgothaz!¡±

    ¡°Excuse you!¡±

    ¡°No! It¡¯s a name, a being who spoke to me when I finished the battle. I guess when my axe skill advanced to epic . . .¡±

    ¡°Epic?¡± Va¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°Yeah! Some beings were interested in my fight, and one of them, well, I think he chased the others away, and then he said he was giving me his mark.¡± Victor rubbed a finger over the scar. ¡°This must be it.¡±

    Va flopped onto her back and got quiet, and Victor wondered if something was bothering her. ¡°Something I said?¡±

    ¡°Something I let myself forget for a little while.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    She sighed and turned back to him. ¡°You¡¯re born to fight. Every time you push yourself to the breaking point, youe out stronger. Like a piece of rare metal being worked over and over, heated and cooled. You¡¯re not going to stop, are you?¡± She stretched out her pale blue fingers to trace his jawline as she spoke, and Victor reached out to her, resting a hand on her hip.

    ¡°Heree the regrets?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± She smiled. ¡°This is you, and it¡¯s nothing new. I have to ept that you¡¯re going to be pushing the edge. You¡¯re not a small man.¡± She chuckled. ¡°I don¡¯t mean physically. You haverge <em>goals,</em> and you¡¯re not meant for small things. I like that about you, Victor, despite the risks. Besides, if you or I die in this life seeking and tasting glory, then we¡¯ll meet again in the next one, yes? Isn¡¯t it better to live a life like that¡ªa full one of our own choosing, of our design, out from under the thumbs of those who would control us?¡± Victor knew who sat heavy in her mind with those words¡ªRellia, the Empire, the responsibilities thrust on her since she¡¯d been strong enough to hold a sword.

    ¡°Damn right.¡± Victor leaned toward her and kissed her forehead. ¡°This life or the next.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 18: Making Time

    Book 6: Chapter 18: Making Time

    Victor wasn¡¯t sure what time he and Va finally fell asleep. If the soldiers returned, they didn¡¯t bother him, and when he slept, Va¡¯s soft hair tickling his nose, sharing the same pillow, he¡¯d really slept, deep and untroubled. When he woke, Va was awake, but she was sitting in bed beside him, writing in one of her Farscribe books. She smiled at him, raising one feathery, seafoam eyebrow. ¡°Must have been tired.¡±

    ¡°Well, I had a big day. Had to y a monster, and before that, I fought a whole army . . .¡±

    ¡°A monster? y?¡± She reached out and snatched his ear between her thumb and forefinger, giving it a tweak.

    ¡°Just a euphemism,¡± heughed.

    She smiled and let go. ¡°You have a good vocabry when you want to. It seems to me that sometimes you curse and roar just because you think it¡¯s what we expect of you.¡±

    ¡°Is this you trying to change me? Is it happening already?¡± Victor grinned, his white teeth bared as he shifted to look at her better, a mischievous arch to his eyebrow.

    ¡°Oh no.¡± She held up a hand. ¡°Don¡¯t start, not this morning. Rellia and Borrius are on their way, Lam too.¡±

    Victor groaned, shifted to his back, and arched into his pillow, stretching his spine and sucking in a deep yawn. ¡°I figured it was too much to hope we¡¯d have more than a night to forget about this campaign.¡± When he turned back to Va, he let his mouth get away from him, ¡°I like that you¡¯re cool hanging out naked with the lights on.¡±

    Va was sitting up, pillows piled behind her, and she looked down at her breasts, then narrowed her eyes at Victor. ¡°You expect me to get dressed while in bed?¡±

    ¡°Nah, ¡®course not. Some women would, though. Wear something, I mean.¡±

    ¡°Would they?¡± Again, that eyebrow shot up. ¡°Know the sleeping habits of many women, do you?¡±

    ¡°Uh, no . . .¡±

    ¡°Just how many women have you spent time with? In bed?¡±

    ¡°Oh, wow!¡± Victor looked at his wrist. ¡°Sheesh! Look at the time! I promised Kethelket some sparring, and I should probably check in with Sarl.¡± He shifted his legs to the side of the bed and started to stand up.

    ¡°I¡¯m teasing! You don¡¯t have to flee!¡±

    He looked back at her, and as he took in the sight of her there, pale blue skin against white sheets, he silently thanked God and his ancestors for his luck. ¡°Nah, I know you¡¯re messing with me, but we should get out there, don¡¯t you agree? I keep thinking of this campaign like a fight, and one thing I know about fighting¡ªwhen you¡¯ve got your enemy on his back foot, you should push the attack.¡±

    Va¡¯s book disappeared into one of her rings, and she stood up, nodding. ¡°You want to find the next keep and attack.¡±

    ¡°<em>Exactamente.¡±</em> Victor started pulling clean clothes out of his ring and dressing. When he looked up, he saw Va was also dressed and already shrugging into her scale armor. ¡°That was fast.¡±

    ¡°As you said, there¡¯s much to do.¡± She smiled then, scales clinking, stepped over to him, and pointed her face up. Victor didn¡¯t need an invitation; he kissed her softly, and she pulled away. ¡°Come, let¡¯s check on Edeya.¡±

    ¡°Right!¡± They stopped by the kitchen for a ss of cold water, magically dispensed from a dimensional container that held a massive reservoir. The container was built into the ground beneath the basement level, and next to it was an identical one holding hot water. Victor had learned of these little features after purchasing the home, and sometimes, he wondered what other little secrets the ce held. As they drank their water, he perused the cold cab, or fridge, as he liked to call it, bothering Borrius to no end. ¡°Nothing great in here unless you want me to cook up some bacon and eggs.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in the mood for something sweet, and I have some pastries in my ring from Gelica.¡±

    ¡°Gelica? Those are old as hell . . .¡±

    ¡°The ring preserves them!¡± She scowled at him as she produced a woven basket lined with a pale linen cloth and stuffed with frosting-covered pastries. Victor¡¯s mouth began to water as he smelled the warm, sugary dough. ¡°You don¡¯t want one?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I want one,¡± Victor grumbled sheepishly.

    He was halfway through his second helping when a voice called out from near the front of his home, ¡°Victor! Are you up?¡± He recognized Lam at once. Only a handful of people had ess to enter his home unapanied, and she was one.

    ¡°In the kitchen,¡± he called, covering his mouth to keep from spraying bits of pastry. He heard her boots before he saw her, and then she came into view, walking around the long, empty table to the kitchen counter that separated the dining and cooking spaces.

    She sat in front of the counter. ¡°Where¡¯s Edeya?¡±

    ¡°In the keep.¡± Va leaned forward and pushed the basket of pastries toward her. ¡°She consumed her racial advancement reward yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Really? Here?¡± Lam delicately plucked a pastry from the basket. ¡°No milk?¡±

    ¡°In the fridge.¡± Victor¡¯s voice was muffled because he¡¯d stuffed the second half of his pastry into his mouth.

    ¡°The fridge? Oh, right.¡± Lam walked over to the cold cab and fished out a bottle of milk.

    ¡°We thought she needed to do it; she almost died again in a skirmish on the field, and Victor wanted her to level; she¡¯s nearly thirty.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m d someone finally pushed her to it. She¡¯s been dragging her feet long enough. Did she . . . suffer much?¡±

    ¡°From the injury?¡± Va asked.

    Victor shrugged. ¡°She got beat to hell and knocked out. She didn¡¯t remember much of the fight.¡±

    ¡°And you? You seem different.¡± Lam nced Victor up and down, and then her eyes drifted to Va. ¡°You too. What did I miss?¡±

    ¡°Victor leveled and gained some abilitiesst night. He, well, didn¡¯t anyone give you a summary of the battle?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly. I heard you beat another army to the east. Caught ¡®em between the ninth and the fifth, if I¡¯m guessing, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Sort of.¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°Victor held off an army of a thousand reavers¡ªundead heavy fighters with some ability to transform into more deadly monsters. They were close to pouncing on the fifth cohort while they dealt with an army of hounds.¡±

    ¡°More like wolves.¡± Victor leaned his elbows on the table, watching Lam eat.

    ¡°Well, they seemed like boyii hounds, but the size of rdii. I guess they weren¡¯t colorful, and I didn¡¯t see any with more than one tail . . . does that sound like wolves?¡±

    ¡°Yeah . . .¡± Victor frowned at her. ¡°You¡¯ve never seen a wolf?¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯te to this part of the world,¡± Lam interjected, obviously trying to move the side discussion along.

    ¡°Anyway, Victor rode his steed down among the reavers and fought them until Sarl could arrive with the Ninth.¡±

    ¡°The Glorious Ninth.¡± Victor smiled, pleased with the moniker he¡¯d given Sarl¡¯s cohort.

    ¡°You fought off a thousand heavy troops?¡± Lam gave Victor another appraising look.

    ¡°I had help from my ancestors and probably would have died anyway if not for the Ninth arriving.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a discussion for another time.¡± Va frowned at him, and he figured she didn¡¯t like being reminded that he¡¯d been ready to fight to the death. Victor had been trying to downy his heroics, but he¡¯d gone a while without putting his foot in his mouth, so he just shrugged and picked up another pastry.

    ¡°So, you destroyed three armies yesterday?¡± Lam pulled a stool out from beside the counter and sat down. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should be annoyed or pleased. On the one hand, I¡¯m d we¡¯re making headway in this conquest, but on the other . . . I¡¯d like to get some of the action!¡±

    ¡°Victor improved his axe skill to epic!¡±

    ¡°Probably not helping . . .¡± Victor mumbled as Lam turned wide eyes his way.

    ¡°Polo Vosh was decades between advanced and epic if I¡¯m not mistaken . . .¡±

    ¡°Well, he didn¡¯t have an axe like Lifedrinker. I think she¡¯s taught me as much as anyone I¡¯ve trained with.¡± Victor rested his hand on the warm, gleaming metal of Lifedrinker¡¯s bearded de.¡±

    ¡°I certainly chose the right man to give that weapon to.¡±

    ¡°You gave him Lifedrinker?¡± Va joined Victor, leaning forward over the counter, resting on her elbows, and letting her gaze travel between Lam and Victor. ¡°Why haven¡¯t I heard that story?¡±

    ¡°I never thought . . .¡±

    ¡°The axe wasn¡¯t awake back then. I thought I was giving Victor a decent de, an old weapon I no longer used. He was the one who woke her up, so I take none of the credit.¡±

    <em>Victor, your she-wolves speak about me?</em>

    ¡°That¡¯s right, beautiful.¡± Victor smiled at the expressions he received from Lam and Va. ¡°Not you guys! She wanted to know if you were talking about her.¡± He almost told them what the axe had called them but decided he didn¡¯t feel like having his skin yed off. He shrugged and turned back to the earlier topic. ¡°I wasn¡¯t exaggerating when I mentioned how much I¡¯ve learned from her. When we get into a really good fight, it¡¯s like she and I move together as one. Like a dance, almost, but bigger. Shit, I can¡¯t think of the right words.¡±

    ¡°Well, if that¡¯s helped you advance so quickly, you are a lucky man.¡± Lam took a drink of her milk and contemted the remains of the pastry in her hand.

    ¡°I am lucky. No argument from me.¡± Victor nced at Va, and they shared a knowing smile. Then he asked, ¡°Where are Rellia and Borrius?¡±

    ¡°En route. They march with the army. We¡¯re leaving the Shadeni and the reserve cohort Borrius made from surplus troops. All eight cohorts will be here within the hour to join the ninth and the fifth. Talk to me about your losses.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get Sarl in on this; he¡¯ll have more concrete info. Va and I were . . . out of itst night.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lam raised an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes as she looked between the two of them but said no more.

    Victor shrugged and led the way out of his house, unwilling to expound on the subject. They were met with a flurry of activity when they stepped into the courtyard. Soldiers were sparring in loose circles, others were cleaning, and still more were carrying items to and fro¡ªsacks, barrels, boards, even furniture. Victor gged down a passing sergeant. ¡°Where¡¯s Captain Sarl?¡± Several soldiers passed by in a group, interrupting the man¡¯s answer, and Victor reflected on the fact that the keep was overfull¡ªit was meant to house a force smaller than a single cohort, not two.

    ¡°He¡¯s outside the gate, sir.¡±

    ¡°Fetch him, please. We¡¯ll be in the . . . map room on the second floor.¡± Victor turned away from him and said to Lam, ¡°You gotta see this.¡± He led the way into the keep, up the spiral stairs, and down the long hallway to the weird round room with its raised dais depicting, in three dimensions, the contestednds of the Untamed Marches.

    ¡°Wonderful!¡± Lam said, walking around it, her dragonfly wings twitching and fluttering with excitement. ¡°So, the unobscurednds are the ones we hold.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Va pointed to the little model of the keep. ¡°That¡¯s us. Up the road there, that¡¯s the pass. Victor, look!¡± She pointed to the grassy, hilly area east of the keep. ¡°Wasn¡¯t more of this obscured yesterday? I think we opened up morend when we beat those armiesst night.¡±

    ¡°Makes sense.¡± Victor stepped around the dais and pointed to the foggy area west of the keep. ¡°See those trees there? You can just make them out on the edge of the fog. I think it¡¯s a forest, and I¡¯m betting Hector¡¯s forces have another stronghold in there. If we take it, we¡¯ll have the northern edge of the Marches under our control. Then we can start pushing south.¡±

    He¡¯d just finished speaking when Sarl and Kethelket came into the room. ¡°Legate!¡± Sarl saluted. ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re well. Quite the heroics you pulled offst night . . .¡±

    ¡°I was stunned, Victor. Sir.¡± Kethelket, too, saluted. ¡°I was determined to try to fly you out of that melee. I was on my way in when you burst out with those . . . iparable mes.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Va smiled at Kethelket. ¡°He was on his way into that madness. It was when you paused, your Berserk gone, your banner . . .¡± she trailed off, shaking her head. ¡°Let¡¯s not dwell on it. Sarl, can you report on the losses for the ninth and fifth cohorts?¡±

    ¡°Of course. The fifth suffered heavy losses at first but rallied and soon took control of their fight with the great wolves¡ªthat¡¯s what the Naghelli have been calling them. They lost, in total, a hundred and twelve soldiers. ¡°We fared better. The reavers and vampyrs were demoralized when we smashed into them. Only seventeen losses, sir.¡±

    ¡°The Ninth grow harder and harder,¡± Kethelket said, grinning at Sarl.

    ¡°And what about your troops, Captain?¡± Victor asked thenky Naghelli.

    ¡°They are ready for action, sir. I wondered if you wanted to put together a scouting force to prepare for the next offensive.¡±

    ¡°I do. We¡¯ll wait for Borrius and Rellia, but I have some ideas. Speaking of . . . sometimes my head is clearer after some exercise. Kethelket, while Lam grills Sarl and Va, how about we get in some weapon practice?¡±

    ¡°It would be my pleasure, sir.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor nodded and turned to the doorway, refusing to look directly at Lam or Va, fearing the daggers that might be lurking in their eyes. ¡°We¡¯ll be in the courtyard!¡± He called over his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll stop as soon as the othermanders arrive.¡±

    To his surprise, Lam called back, ¡°Thank you, Victor. I¡¯ll try to get up to speed so I can help brief Borrius.¡±

    ¡°Huh. How about that.¡± Feeling decidedly braver, he turned to get a final look at Va. She stood tall and serene, arms folded on her glimmering wyrm-scale armor, watching him depart. He saw amusement in her eyes, though, so he winked, then hurried ahead of Kethelket to the stairway, down, and out of the keep.

    ¡°You seem well, Lord. My apologies¡ªsir.¡± Kethelket hurried to walk beside him, and Victor looked over at the man; they weren¡¯t too different in height, with his size reduced as it was.

    ¡°I am well, Kethelket. I had the most epic battle of my lifest night. I was blessed by my ancestors. I broke through to epic with my axe, and, well, things are just going well for me. Hope I didn¡¯t just jinx things by talking about everything like that . . .¡±

    ¡°Jinx? As in curse? Excuse my bluntness, sir, but that¡¯s nonsense. It¡¯s important to acknowledge our blessings. Wee them in, share them; in a world of war and despair, good tidings should be weed by all.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡± Victor eyed the ancient warrior and gave him a nod. The more he spoke to Kethelket, the more he liked the man. He wasn¡¯t what he¡¯d imagined when he¡¯d learned about the Naghelli and when Vellia had told him about the leader of her ¡°faction.¡± He¡¯d pictured him as old-looking and stodgy, not fierce and eager to engage with the enemy. He led him to a rtively quiet corner of the courtyard, an area behind Victor¡¯s travel home in the rear northwest corner. Standing, facing each other, he asked, ¡°Do you remember a lot about the world, I mean yours, before it was joined to Fanwath?¡±

    ¡°I remember much. What I don¡¯t remember is the joining; the System either made us dream or forget, but one day, we were fighting our own small fights, and the next, we were part of something far greater. It was world-shattering. I mean, personally. Our small wars becamerge ones. My servitude to Belikot saw me embroiled in a massive conflict with peoples from all four worlds. Oh, how I regretted the bargain I¡¯d struck with that man!¡±

    Victor contemted his words, unslinging Lifedrinker and limbering up his shoulders. ¡°Are there many like you? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve met anyone else who was alive before the joining.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll find many in Tharcray. There are others around the world, though, if you take the time to look for them.¡±

    ¡°Were the Ridonne from the old worlds?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. How do you think they gained the upper hand so quickly? The Shadeni and Ardeni outnumbered the civilized peoples from the other worlds by a factor of four. The Ridonne were the strongest among them, other than the Vessi, but they¡¯d been at war for centuries before the joining, and the Vessi were all but gone by the time the System brought us together.¡±

    ¡°The Vessi . . . an Ardeni bloodline, yeah? Supposedly as strong as the Ridonne? Did you ever meet one?¡±

    ¡°Aye, I did, Victor! You¡¯re full of questions today!¡± Kethelket¡¯s words were friendly, and though hisrge, strange, ck eyes were hard to read, Victor thought he saw kindness in them.

    ¡°I¡¯ve wanted to talk more for a while now. I always feel so driven, though, worried about expectations of me. I¡¯m going to start putting a change to that. I need to make time for life while I¡¯m living it, you know?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, but you also have the right intensity when ites to winning battles; you seem to know when to push an enemy, and you have an instinct for finishing things.¡±

    ¡°A killer¡¯s instinct?¡± Victor raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good way to put it.¡± Kethelket nodded. ¡°Shall we see how you fair against Gevel and Uthac?¡± He drew his two dark metal des, and they danced with flickering, swirling blue-yellow Energy.

    ¡°They¡¯re both awake?¡±

    ¡°Aye, have been since before the joining.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s dance, but hang on! I was curious¡ªwhat did the Vessi look like?¡±

    Kethelket let his des hang down, and he looked up at the sky, somewhere beyond Victor¡¯s head, his eyes going distant. ¡°They were every bit as impressive as the Ridonne, Victor. Where the Ridonne are golden and red, the Vessi were blue and silver.¡± His voice grew soft with remembered wonder, ¡°Beautiful, fast, taller than other Ardeni, with silver-feathered wings that cut the air so fast I couldn¡¯t begin to follow. My wings are better now than they were then, but I still am no match for their soaring glory . . .¡±

    ¡°Sounds awesome.¡± Victor grinned and lifted Lifedrinker. ¡°All right,e on!¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 19: Paragons and Battle Plans

    Book 6: Chapter 19: Paragons and Battle ns

    Victor soon realized he¡¯d been missing out when it came to weapons practice; he¡¯d had ess to Kethelket ever since the battle on the ins with the Ridonne, and he¡¯d squandered that time. The Naghelli prince was a dervish with his des, easily outssing Victor¡¯s other sparring partners. He was faster, more versatile, and somehow just as strong as Polo. With Midnight, Va¡¯s skill level was described as ¡°epic,¡± but Kethelket soon showed Victor that she had much to learn. He had a way of moving those twin des of his, one always seeking an opening while the other parried or redirected Victor¡¯s attacks.

    The man was clearly at an epic level with the sword, and had Victor not recently had a breakthrough of his own, he figured Kethelket would have had to hold back considerably. As it was, though, Victor found himself stretching himself to new heights, finding the rhythm ofbat that rarely came to him during a practice session. Usually, he had to be dancing the killing dance, the all-out, full-contact frenzy ofbat that came to him when the stakes were high, and he was pushed to his limits on the battlefield. With Kethelket as his partner, Victor began to find that rhythm and began to feel the changes in himself since his skill had broken through to the epic tier.

    As he wove Lifedrinker in and out of shes with the Naghelli, using her size, power, and his near-absurd ability to move her about in lightning-fast cleaves that cut the air in <em>whooshes</em> and <em>snaps</em>, he began to enter a battle trance that excluded the rest of the world. Kethelket seemed simrly engrossed, his face serene, his body flowing with his movements, his swords like extensions of his arms. He and Victor were simr in size and reach, and though they both knew the match would be different if Victor released his Shape Self spell and let himself stretch to his full potential, that wasn¡¯t the point¡ªthey were trying to work on their weapon skill, and having Victor dominate the contest with size and overwhelming power wouldn¡¯t serve either of them in that regard.

    A Globe of Insight hung over them, feeding their creativity, pushing their already brilliant weapon work to the limit, and, as they shed, soldiers began to gather, their faces ck-jawed in wonderment to see the skills on disy. Later, sergeants and lieutenants would report that many soldiers had breakthroughs of their own simply by observing the two masters at work. While Victor and Kethelket danced, moving about their corner of the yard, pushing, retreating, circling, all the while weaving their weapons in an borate contest of feints, parries, shes, thrusts, and cleaves, something extraordinary began to happen.

    At first, Victor didn¡¯t realize it was happening, but eventually, he became aware of his cuts extending beyond the physical dimensions of his de. Lifedrinker was mindful of the friendly nature of their bout, so she hadn¡¯t burst into smoldering orange heat; her silvery edge was cool in the air as she cleaved the wind, but something new was happening. Her de was limned with a shimmering, ghostlike edge that extended outward a hand¡¯s breadth from her metal and even further from the top and bottom. That de of force cut the air like aser, creating tiny concussions in her wake as the air hurried to fill in the gaps she sliced.

    Kethelket¡¯s eyes widened as he realized what was happening, and Victor¡¯s axe became harder and harder to counter. He seemed to begin to struggle to get his swords into position fast enough to match the blurring speed of Lifedrinker¡¯s ghost edge, and when he did, his parries were rebuffed, and he had to hustle to move with the force topensate for the extra speed and power of Victor¡¯s attacks. To his credit, he maintained his defensive dance for several long minutes before his constant giving of ground began to wear him down, and he finally backpedaled out of the ¡°circle¡± of their contest and, with a flourishing salute, said, ¡°I yield.¡±

    Victor, a huge smile stered to his face, was almost startled at the end of their dance. Lifedrinker hummed in his hands, light as a feather, eager to keep going, but he brought her around in a weaving cut, slicing the air between him and Kethelket, then let her hang from one hand as he, chest heaving with the healthy exertion of their efforts, said, ¡°What a match! Thank you, Kethelket!¡±

    Before Kethelket could respond, the soldiers who¡¯d gathered in the courtyard, both on the gstones and up on the parapets, began to p and cheer, whistling and shouting their excitement. As the noise died down, Kethelket stepped closer to Victor and said, ¡°You were manifesting a paragon.¡±

    ¡°The what?¡±

    ¡°The Paragon of the Axe. The essential spirit of it. It was projecting forth from your fabulous weapon, there.¡± He nodded to Lifedrinker, still hanging from his hand. ¡°I could feel Gevel and Uthac strain to deflect it; I fear that had you been intent on harm, you may have shattered one or both of them. Certainly, you could have done some damage.¡± Kethelket spun both of his swords in his wrists, then held them up, scrutinizing their des. ¡°They¡¯re fine, however. I thank you.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t even know . . .¡±

    ¡°Few can manifest a paragon of a weapon at will. I, well, what I know is only through the lips of old masters; I¡¯ve seen the Paragon of the Sword a time or two, but not in my own hands. My first master, Inderiga, brought it forth during her duel with Queen Aledra. I was just a boy, but the memory is burned in my mind.¡± Kethelket shook his head and smiled at Victor. ¡°A time long gone, my friend. Thank you for this wonderful exercise; I feel I¡¯ve gained some ground in my mastery of the sword for the first time in a long, long while.¡±

    ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± Victor¡¯s voice was light with the pleasure of good, rich fun. ¡°I¡¯ve never had such a good match. I¡¯ve only felt that . . . I don¡¯t know what to call it. Trance? I¡¯ve only felt that <em>connected</em> to the axe, to my fighting, a couple of times, and that was when everything was on the line, like, I was near death. I have a feat, Desperate Grace, that sometimes kicks in, and in our match just now, I felt even faster and smoother than it makes me. Shit, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen that paragon before. That¡¯s the right word? Paragon?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Kethelket looked around, taking in the crowd of observing, listening soldiers. He raised his voice so others might hear, ¡°You all witnessed something rare today! Your Legate manifested the Paragon of the Axe. Mark this moment well in your minds; you¡¯ll be telling your grandchildren about it!¡± If he hadn¡¯t had enough cheering directed his way, those words pushed Victor¡¯s love for attention to the limit, and he cleared his throat, chuckling and shaking his head a bit sheepishly.

    ¡°All right, everyone. Show¡¯s over. Get back to your duties.¡± The soldiers began to disperse, but Victor knew there weren¡¯t really all that many ¡°duties¡± to get to; the outpost was overcrowded with troops, and two-thirds of them were free of active obligations. Thinking of obligations, he realized he¡¯d lost track of time while sparring. ncing at the sky, searching for the sun¡¯s position, he wondered what time it was. He looked back to Kethelket. ¡°Wonder if Borrius is close.¡±

    ¡°Aye, the army approaches.¡± Victor had begun to turn toward the gate, but he gave Kethelket a second nce, narrowing his eyes.

    ¡°How can you tell?¡±

    Kethelket pointed to the parapets where a pair of his Naghelli stood talking quietly. ¡°I saw Cheksi arrive. She¡¯s part of the main group of my people, one of those I¡¯d left in the pass.¡±

    Victor nodded and reached up to connect Lifedrinker to her harness. ¡°Speaking of your people, I¡¯ve hardly seen Vellia. Is she well?¡±

    ¡°Aye.¡± Kethelket nodded, stroking his chin. ¡°Well, but busy. I¡¯ve given her most of the responsibility for governing our people. She¡¯s constantly dealing with disagreements and making decisions I¡¯d rather not be troubled with.¡±

    Victor chuckled. ¡°Smart.¡± He led the way over to the stoop outside his travel home, and the two sat there, drinking water from containers they each produced from their storage rings, and waited for the madness of the main army to arrive. The opposite of Victor¡¯s expectations came to bear, however, as a messenger arrived, calling the fifth cohort out of the keep and out to the field where the army was setting up an encampment. As half the soldiers in the garrison filed out, things became a lot calmer in the courtyard, that is, until Borrius and Rellia arrived with their retainers.

    When Victor saw Darro, he remembered Edeya and wondered how the young Ghelli was doing. With luck, the racial advancement was a potent one, and she¡¯d be out for a while yet, perhaps days more. Still, he wanted to look in on her and resolved to do so after he¡¯d spoken to themanders about his n. Lam, Va, and Sarl came out of keep to greet Rellia and Borrius and arrived at the front of Victor¡¯s home at nearly the same time. ¡°Greetings,¡± Borrius called from the saddle of his vidanii, sliding down to allow one of the staffers to lead it away.

    ¡°Borrius, it¡¯s good to see you.¡± Victor stood from the step, and Kethelket followed on his heels. He took a minute to shake hands with Borrius and Rellia. Then he gestured to the jade travel home. ¡°Shall we?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to show them the map in the keep?¡± Va stepped forward and pulled her mother into a brief hug. Rellia responded warmly, a look of surprise on her face; such affection wasn¡¯t something Victor had often seen between them.

    ¡°I do, I do, but it¡¯s easy enough to describe for now. We have a lot to discuss, and that room isn¡¯t exactlyfortable. Let¡¯s go sit around my table; I bet Tribune Borrius could use a drink after that ride.¡±

    ¡°Indeed!¡± Borrius nodded enthusiastically. The ride down from the pass to the outpost keep was a short, easy one, but the older man was happy to behave as though he¡¯d had to battle for every inch ofnd between the two ces.

    Soon enough, themanders of the army were sitting around Victor¡¯s table, and Victor had included Kethelket in that number, though he only held the rank of captain. He¡¯d grown to value the man¡¯s opinion and experience, and Kethelket held a unique position as the leader of an entire culture. Additionally, he invited Sarl because he had the firmest grip on the logistics of the previous night¡¯s battles and the garrison of the outpost.

    He began the meeting by describing, for Rellia and Borrius, the previous day¡¯s encounters with the undead. The retelling of their fight with Baron Eric and his reavers took a while; Borrius and Rellia had many questions and interrupted the ount several times. After that, Victor tried to hurry through the fight with the reaver army as they attempted to crush the fifth cohort, aiding the animalistic great wolf army. Borrius, of course, wouldn¡¯t allow the story to unfold without interruptions.

    ¡°So, they were using their superior mobility to turn our maneuver against us! They wanted to y the fifth and then perhaps catch the ninth outside the keep, destroying them as well?¡±

    ¡°I believe that was their hope, aye,¡± Sarl said. ¡°I¡¯m embarrassed to say I was so fearful of such a maneuver that I argued with our Legate about whether we should rush to the aid of the fifth.¡±

    ¡°Nothing to be ashamed of!¡± Borrius growled, pping a hand on the table. ¡°Every good Legate needs clevermanders who aren¡¯t afraid to speak up! Your reasoning was sound, but it seems none of us quite understood Victor¡¯s ability to catch and, single-handedly, distract and dy an entire army.¡±

    ¡°Dy, sure, but not beat. I owe the Ninth and the Naghelli for my life.¡±

    ¡°Well said.¡± Rellia nodded to Victor.

    Victor could see Sarl start to open his mouth, perhaps to object, to try to expound on Victor¡¯s exploits, but he spoke first, ¡°So, now you¡¯re mostly up to speed. We beat three of the invaders¡¯ armies yesterday: the undead horde, the reavers, and the great wolf ¡®cavalry.¡¯ I believe we caught Prince Hector unprepared. It seems he¡¯s had little resistance here in the Marches, and his armies are spread out, holding various ¡®points of conquest.¡¯ I want to move quickly to the next. I want to keep our momentum."

    ¡°And you know this how?¡± Borrius frowned, sipping his chilled wine.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know it, exactly, but I have a feeling. My every instinct is saying to keep pushing, to keep him on his back foot until we knock his ass down.¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a duel, Victor.¡± Borrius shook his head. ¡°You can¡¯t treat a general with many armies at his disposal the same way you would a brawler in the arena.¡± Kethelket snorted, and Borrius turned to him. ¡°Something to say, <em>Prince</em>?¡± His use of the title came out as a sneer, and Victor frowned at the older man; he hadn¡¯t acted so petty in the past. Was he upset about something? He wondered if the one-time legate was upset that he¡¯d missed all the action so far.

    ¡°I do.¡± Kethelket cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. Victor thought it looked like he wanted to stand up. He settled for leaning forward, gripping the tabletop with both hands as he red from Borrius to Rellia to Lam and then back to Borrius. ¡°This man beside me led us to victory not once but four times yesterday. He fought a great monster that called itself a vampyr, and then he, against the arguments of myself and Captain Sarl, rushed to save the fifth cohort. He nearly died and wouldn¡¯t havee nearly so close to defeat had we rushed forth with our troops as soon as he suggested it. Instead, we chose caution.¡± Victor liked how he was saying ¡°we¡± in support of Sarl, even though he¡¯d flown out with his Naghelli almost immediately.

    Kethelket paused for a moment, then he continued, ¡°His instincts were spot on. He knew the fifth was in trouble. He knew the right move was an aggressive response. He¡¯s a natural-born fighter, sure, but he¡¯s also a natural leader. If he says the right move now is to push our advantage, to drive on to the next target, I will be there with my people.¡±

    Victor saw Rellia nodding and knew he had her vote, but clever as she was, she didn¡¯t speak up. She looked at Borrius and waited, perhaps hoping, perhaps betting that he¡¯d read the room, see the tide changing, and row with it rather than against it. Victor knew he could bulldoze the situation, especially with Rellia¡¯s support, but he followed her lead, holding his tongue, waiting to see if Borrius woulde to the correct conclusion. If the oldmander came to see things his way, he¡¯d be a lot more helpful than if Victor had to cow him by flexing his rank.

    Borrius looked at Kethelket for a long moment, then sighed and shrugged. ¡°I, too, would have held the army in ce, just as Sarl argued. It was the right, conservative move, one that any Legionmander would make. Being baited out of the keep and then, potentially, turned on by therger, more mobile force could have been disastrous. I appreciate that Victor, our Legate Primus, didn¡¯t force Sarl to march immediately butpromised, offering the solution of scouting out the situation. Still, it cost him dearly, nearly cost us our champion. Perhaps a bit more trust in our leader¡¯s instincts is in order. I¡¯ve been wrong to rely on my Imperial training several times on this campaign.¡±

    ¡°So?¡± Lam asked after a pregnant pause in the conversation. ¡°What¡¯s your order, Victor?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take the Naghelli and the Ninth to the west, into that forest, and we¡¯ll take the conquest point there. I¡¯m sure there is one. Meanwhile, Borrius and Rellia will lead the bulk of the army straight south where, if I¡¯m not wrong, Prince Hector is going to be amassing more of his armies in a n toe here to crush us. I¡¯ll strike first, and when he sees that we¡¯ve conquered yet another territory, he¡¯ll either split his force or hurry northward, hoping to recapture this outpost while we¡¯re upied to the west. You¡¯ll fall upon his forces from a fortified ambush.¡±

    ¡°So, we won¡¯t march all the way south buty in wait?¡± Rellia rified.

    ¡°Right. You¡¯ll find a good choke point near the edge of thend we¡¯ve conquered andy in wait.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re certain you can conquer another outpost with just the Ninth?¡± Borrius asked, though his head was nodding, his eyes distant, perhaps picturing an imaginary map.

    ¡°The Ninth and the Naghelli.¡± Victor amended.

    ¡°Might I suggest leaving some of my people with Borrius to act as scouts? They are able to hide and have excellent mobility.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Kethelket, that won¡¯t be . . .¡± Borrius started to say, but Victor cut him off.

    ¡°Borrius, if you have to cut down a tree, would you turn down the use of a saw just because you held your favorite hammer?¡±

    ¡°I . . . no, Legate.¡± He turned to Kethelket and nodded. ¡°Some of your people would be well-received by my captains.¡±

    ¡°All right.¡± Victor turned to Kethelket. ¡°Can you send some troops out scouting now? Try to find a good ambush site to the south and begin scouting out the forest that lies in the mist to the west. I¡¯d like to leave as soon as possible. Sarl, how quickly can the ninth be ready?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be ready in a day, sir. Thanks to the Farscribe books, Borrius and Rellia brought reservists to fill our ranks, and we¡¯re at full strength; I just need to integrate the new troops with their units.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good. If you study the map in the keep¡ªwe¡¯ll adjourn soon, and you all can check it out¡ªyou¡¯ll see that the contested area is about ten times the size of what we control here on the northern edge. There¡¯s no way Hector will be able to gather all his forces or a significant number of them from the various areas he¡¯s holding within a day. Not without using portals or something, but I don¡¯t think he can do that. The Baron we killed, the leader of the reavers, suggested that the mindless undead horde was here ¡®holding¡¯ thesends for him while he gathered his forces from their home world.¡±

    ¡°Which would imply some travel time was required.¡± Rellia nodded.

    ¡°I¡¯d like toe with you this time, Victor.¡± Lam leaned forward earnestly, and Victor could see that old hunger in her eyes, that look he¡¯d seen so many times back in the mines. It sparked a simr one in him, a desire for exploration, growth, and glory. Perhaps Lam was more like him than he¡¯d ever noticed before.

    ¡°Of course, Lam. We¡¯ll go into that forest and mess up some undead <em>pendejos</em>.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 20: Ghostly Guardians

    Book 6: Chapter 20: Ghostly Guardians

    Victor grunted as he lifted his helm to his head. He stood outside the gates, Guapo huffing out plumes of hot breath in the chilly morning air. The idea of his spirit horse breathing hot air brought a lot of questions to his mind, but he was distracted from the thought as Va came bounding into view, riding atop a very spirited Uvu. The big cat was full of energy, a definite spring in his loping passage, and lots of grumbling, groaning, big-cat noises emerging from his broad chest as she directed him over to Victor.

    ¡°He wanted to chase every animal he heard! It feels like when I first started training him!¡± Va¡¯s flushed cheeks and big smile let Victor know she wasn¡¯t upset with the cat¡¯s enthusiasm. Rather, she was thrilled by his exuberance.

    ¡°So, he¡¯s feeling good, huh?¡± Victor swung himself up onto Guapo¡¯s back. They were going to ride out, just the two of them, while Lam, Sarl, and Edeya marched with the Ninth. Kethelket and two hundred of his Naghelli were already gone, leaving before sunrise to scout the edges of the forest to the west.

    ¡°He is! Speaking of exuberance, did you see Edeya yet?¡±

    ¡°Nah, she was in the bath when I went to check on her. Lam said I¡¯d see her soon enough, so I packed up and headed out to find you. Looks like, as usual, you found me first.¡±

    ¡°I was with her when she woke.¡± Va leaned forward, resting her elbows on the front of her cat¡¯s soft, burgundy-stained leather saddle, and stroked his furry shoulder. As he began to rumble a definitive purr, she said, ¡°You heard she gained five ranks, yes?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I heard. Lam said she¡¯s showing signs of a bloodline, too¡ªCobalt Wing? Is that right?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve never seen one, but I think they¡¯re rather revered among the Ghelli. Instead of the yellow Energy motes like Lam¡¯s wings give off, Ghelli with the Cobalt Wing bloodline have distinctive blue wings and give off azure motes.¡±

    ¡°Is that the only difference?¡± Victor clicked his tongue, and Guapo started moving, trotting away from the keep, away from the sunrise.

    ¡°No!¡± Vaughed as Uvu pounced into motion, swerving so much toward Guapo that Victor thought they¡¯d collide. The cat chuffed and pulled away, justing close enough for his furry side to rub against Victor¡¯s leg. ¡°It¡¯s more than the color of their wings; it also changes their Core! Edeya is gaining an affinity for water, though she says it¡¯s not as strong as her pure Energy affinity yet. However, if she keeps advancing her race, she should be a formidable Elementalist someday.¡±

    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s cool.¡±

    ¡°Cool.¡± Va shook her head and snorted.

    ¡°Hey, that word did a lot of heavy lifting in my old life.¡±

    ¡°I can tell!¡± Vaughed, but then, as a bit of silence grew between them, and they rode without speaking for a few minutes, she spoke up. ¡°Are you worried about our . . . disparity?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Victor frowned at her.

    ¡°Every time you do just about anything, you grow in power. I heard about your ¡®sparring¡¯ session with Kethelket. You disyed some sort of paragon? I never knew such a thing was possible.¡± Victor started to try to exin, but she hurriedly kept speaking. ¡°It¡¯s not just that; you fought off an army the other night, an army of foes, any one or two of which would have given me a difficult battle. I¡¯m not weak, Victor. I¡¯m strong, maybe stronger than nearly anyone else in our army, save Kethelket. I think I could beat Polo, my mother . . .¡± She trailed off, sighing and shaking her head. ¡°I¡¯ve lost my train of thought. I think what I¡¯m trying to say is . . .¡±

    ¡°You think I¡¯m going to leave you behind.¡±

    ¡°Not intentionally!¡± She was quick to protest, but Victor could see the worry behind her words.

    ¡°Like how, then? You think I¡¯ll just kind of be so powerful that I¡¯ll ascend into a new realm or some shit?¡± Victor was, perhaps irrationally, irritated by the turn of conversation. Things had been going so well between themtely that he couldn¡¯t help but feel she was inventing a problem where there wasn¡¯t one.

    ¡°No, you Urghat-brain!¡± she growled, and Victor barked a shortugh; she¡¯d never called him that one.

    ¡°Urghat? I think I fought some of those in the pits way back in the day . . .¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject! I¡¯m not saying you¡¯ll ¡®ascend¡¯ or anything like that. I¡¯m saying that you¡¯re going to keep facing challenges that I¡¯m not ready for. You¡¯re going to look at me and think about how risky things are for me, and then you¡¯ll want to leave me behind. ¡®For my safety,¡¯ you¡¯ll say. ¡®I¡¯ll return when it¡¯s safe,¡¯ you¡¯ll say, and before we know it, you¡¯ll spend more time away than with me, all the while growing more powerful, creating arger andrger disparity between us.¡±

    ¡°Holy shit, Va! Take a breath. Tell me something; were you feeling too happy? Did guilt have something to do with this? Did you speak to Rellia? Did she warn you about our ¡®disparity?¡¯ I¡¯m asking because things were going great this morning when we woke up together and . . .¡±

    ¡°What if she did?¡± Va asked, frowning, eyes stormy. Her voice was a little muted, though, and Victor could tell he¡¯d made her think.

    ¡°You know she¡¯s got ulterior motives, right? She doesn¡¯t want you to leave her. If¡ªwhen¡ªwe conquer thesends, she¡¯s going to have governing to do. She raised you to be her right-hand woman. I think she knows I¡¯m not nning to stick around, much as I love some of the people here. I fully intend to return, to visit, to share what I gain in my explorations of therger universe, but I have bigger ns than the Untamed Marches. You do, too! Don¡¯t lose sight of that.¡±

    ¡°I know. But . . .¡±

    ¡°But she was convincing. I get it. You¡¯re worried about our disparity? Then get stronger! Shit, you never thought you could do what Tes showed you, improving your affinity, learning to use your affinities together, fighting with ranged abilities. What level are you now?¡±

    ¡°Fifty-eight.¡±

    ¡°Fuck yeah! Two more and you get a new ss. You think you won¡¯t see huge gains after all you did in Coloss? Everything we¡¯ve done since? You¡¯re going to get an awesome ss. Oh, what about your race? Have you ever told me what rank you¡¯ve gotten it to?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m at improved-five.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough for you to get level sixty, right?¡±

    ¡°I think so.¡± She¡¯d lost some of her steam and looked contemtive as she answered his questions.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get it up to advanced, anyway, just to be safe. I¡¯ll share my tokens with you; I¡¯m pretty damn sure one of those conquest awards was a racial advancement. My mouth started watering when I smelled it.¡±

    ¡°Aye, mine too! But, Victor, you should use it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the first of many. It feels like the System is treating this conquest like a game or a contest, and if I know anything, things are going to get harder, and that means bigger rewards. I¡¯ll get something like that advancement cake or even better. Believe it.¡± Heughed and reached into his storage container, pulling out a blood-soaked, white linen towel. He held it in his hand, hefting the weighty contents. ¡°I still have this to eat, too.¡±

    ¡°Ancestors!¡± Va wrinkled her nose. ¡°Is that . . .¡±

    ¡°That huge Ridonne¡¯s heart. I got it out of him before he shrank again.¡± Victor stowed it away again and shrugged. ¡°Looking forward to seeing what that one does.¡±

    ¡°What if it¡¯s not good? Could you absorb a negative trait?¡±

    Victor snorted and shook his head. ¡°A Quinametzin absorbs the strength of his foes by eating their heart, not their sickness or weakness.¡±

    ¡°Always? Can you be so sure?¡±

    ¡°I know it like you know how to breathe. When I had my vision, I was inside my ancestor¡¯s mind; I was him! I knew what he knew, and he <em>knew</em> this. You understand?¡±

    ¡°Aye.¡± Va smiled and nodded, locking eyes with him as though to convey her trust in his words. ¡°I haven¡¯t had a vision like that.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, things are changing for you, Va. You¡¯re on the road to some great shit, and just because I¡¯m leading the way a little right now, you¡¯re with me; you¡¯re taking every step I¡¯m taking. Let¡¯s get you to sixty, get you a racial advancement or two, and see how things are shaping up, hmm? I mean, with Midnight, your sword skill is already epic, yeah?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. If I can push my true rank to epic, I wonder if Midnight can carry me to legendary.¡±

    ¡°That would be fucking badass!¡± Victor yelled his enthusiasm, and his voice echoed through the grassy hills. Vaughed and looked around, perhaps wondering if they were as alone as they seemed. Victor wasn¡¯t worried; the Naghelli had already scouted this way, and they had an armying behind them. If some undead wanted to challenge him in broad daylight, it would be their funeral.

    They rode for a while in rtive silence, just ament about the countryside here and there. Thendscape was pretty, almost idyllic. Victor came from a country where green wasn¡¯t somon, and what green there was existed on tough, hardy trees and bushes. He¡¯d experienced massive grasnds, extensive forests, and even the twilight ins of the Spirit ne since then. Still, thisndscape reminded him of what he¡¯d always imagined fantasy worlds to be like. They passed through rolling green hills dotted here and there with clumps of trees, some of which bore fruit that resembled apples or pears.

    The influence of the undead seemed to have wholly fled thends, and the greenery seemed no worse for its previous presence. While he watched the trees and grass pass by, noting that the blue tint was much fainter here than in thends north of the pass where he¡¯d done most of his adventuring, Victor¡¯s mind drifted toward his sparring bout with Kethelket and the paragon he¡¯d somehow brought into being through Lifedrinker. He¡¯d seen it, like a ghostly ovey on Lifedrinker, but he¡¯d been so absorbed by the perfection of his movements, his oneness with his axe, and the dance they performed with Kethelket and his swords that it hadn¡¯t registered in the moment.

    Looking back, though, Victor wondered what that paragon had been doing for him. What exactly was it? Was there an actual spirit out there, some essence of all axes? That¡¯s what Kethelket seemed to think, but it seemed so wild to Victor. Axes weren¡¯t even alive, in general, so how could they have a spirit? Was the paragon more like an idea? ¡°Or an ideal,¡± he muttered.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Va looked up at him.

    ¡°Just trying to think through this idea of a paragon. Kethelket said he¡¯d seen an old master summon the Paragon of the Sword, so I know it¡¯s not just axes. Is there a paragon for everything?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. For perhaps the first time, I know even less than you on the subject.¡± She chuckled. ¡°Let me know if you figure it out.¡±

    ¡°I think maybe that something needs to have a lot of devotion and energy put into it to create a paragon. People, me included, have spent a lot of time, big parts of their lives, working to master the axe. I think that kind of energy and effort helps the paragon toe into being. I doubt there¡¯s a Paragon of the Fork.¡±

    ¡°Some people devote a lot of energy and practice to the art of eating . . .¡± Va chuckled, but Victor had to concede she had a point. Were there people who made the use of the fork an art? He doubted it, but he had to wonder.

    ¡°It¡¯s got to be more than that. Maybe it has something to do with the mortal intent of the axe or the sword, the lives they take. The different arts and styles shing, perhaps. You might love to eat and practice with that fork, but will you ever sh with another eater? If so, it doesn¡¯t happen with the bloody results brought forth by the sh of weapon wielders.¡±

    ¡°One would hope.¡± Again, Va chuckled, and Victor looked at her with a smile of his own.

    ¡°d to see your mood has improved. It¡¯s almost like with distance from Relliaes an increase in good humor.¡±

    ¡°Look!¡± Va pointed, conveniently spotting a reason to change the topic. Victor followed her finger with his eyes and saw what had gotten her attention. They were riding down a long, sloping hillside, and not too far ahead, perhaps three miles, a dark line of mist began to cloud the horizon.

    ¡°Here we go.¡± Victor loosened Lifedrinker in her harness despite the sunny sky and the fact that the Naghelli were already scouting the area ahead of them.

    ¡°Should we wait for the Ninth?¡±

    ¡°Nah, let¡¯s see if Kethelket left a scout behind to fill us in.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Va urged Uvu forward, and Victor let Guapo keep pace, though he had to exert his will to get the Mustang to settle as he began to snort and lunge, lengthening his stride; the big horse didn¡¯t like to have another mount leading the way. In minutes, they were kicking up wisps of foggy mist as it gradually enveloped them. They slowed, and after another couple of minutes of walking,rge, wide-boled trees with high, broad canopies began to blot out the sun, further darkening the foggy area. Everything grew quiet; even Guapo¡¯s big hooves were muted as they crunched down on soggy, dead leaves and damp earth.

    The branches were high, hanging over even Victor¡¯s head, and the ground between the big knobby trunks was free of undergrowth; if not for the mist, they would have had an easy passage between them. As it was, their visibility was low, and they had to keep their mounts moving slowly lest they ride into a trunk or get separated by the need to maneuver around the trees. After just a few minutes, Victor was wondering if they should stop and light a fire or something. Then Va spoke up, and he pped himself on the head. ¡°Why not summon your banner?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m an idiot!¡± Heughed and channeled his Energy into his pathway, summoning the glorious banner. It zed to life, palpable heat radiating from its sparkling, pulsing, blood-drenched sun. The mist recoiled like a living thing, falling back from the circle of light the banner cast, and Vaughed, a sound Victor hade to love, though he heard it all too infrequently.

    ¡°It''s like the light of your banner burns it off.¡±

    ¡°Well, if it¡¯s created by the same Energy that powers the undead, that¡¯s not surprising. My banner has a way of messing those dudes up.¡±

    ¡°We should hold here, no? If we get too deep in these woods, the army will have the same trouble finding us as we were having before you summoned the banner.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I suppose the Naghelli can find us . . .¡± Victor let his words trail off as several dark shadows with glowing ochre wings drifted into the light of his banner, seeming to fall down from the heights.

    ¡°Lord,¡± one of them said, offering a salute. ¡°We saw your banner and made haste to report. Kethelket has eyes on the next fortification.¡±

    Victor almost corrected the man, exining that he wasn¡¯t a ¡®lord,¡¯ whatever qualified someone for that title, but thought he¡¯d spend his time better asking about Kethelket. ¡°What¡¯s the story? How far is the keep? What kind of defenders?¡±

    The Naghelli looked left and right at hispatriots, his eyes wide with something like apprehension, perhaps dreading what he had to say. He sighed, straightened his back, and opened his moth-like wings wide, maybe to give himself confidence. ¡°The keep is not more than three leagues further west. We¡¯ve in dozens of undead in these woods, but something else lurks on the parapets, Lord. We saw figures cloaked in mist and shadow but oddly illuminated. Kethelket sent two of our number to try to subdue one, a single guardian on the southeastern corner. My brothers fought valiantly, but it was in to see that their weapons could not touch the being. We watched, aghast, as invisible knives shed them, their blood pulled from them in great fonts. Their bloodless corpses hang above the gates.¡±

    The Naghelli scout bowed, folded his wings, and stepped back, waiting for Victor¡¯s response to the news. ¡°Ghosts?¡± Victor asked, looking from the dour-faced scout to Va. She wore a puzzled, pensive expression and narrowed her eyes at his question.

    ¡°Ghosts? Like haunting spirits?¡±

    ¡°Exactly. If they¡¯re spirits, but they¡¯re hurting people here outside the Spirit ne . . . is that possible? Does that happen?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t think so. You can¡¯t interact with this world when you Spirit Walk, can you?¡±

    ¡°Forgive me, Lord, but Prince Kethelket said we need not despair. He said that you would know what to do, that you were a master of the spirit, and that if anyone could face these beings, it would be you. Did he speak true?¡± This question came from one of the other scouts, a woman that Victor recognized; she¡¯d been one of the scouts who¡¯d first spotted the reaver army.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be honest.¡± Victor took a moment to look each of the five Naghelli scouts in the eye. ¡°I don¡¯t know what those things are, but if that¡¯s how they¡¯re doing what they¡¯re doing¡ªavoiding the weapons of your brothers by lurking on the Spirit ne, then, yeah, I know what to do about ¡®em. I¡¯ll go into the Spirit ne, and I¡¯ll fuck their shit up.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 21: A Ghostly Gambit

    Book 6: Chapter 21: A Ghostly Gambit

    ¡°You can¡¯t do it here!¡± Va gestured around the forest, at the mists pushing against the light of his banner like it was some kind of palpable barrier.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going all the way back to the keep. Besides, the Ninth will be here soon, and you know Borrius and the others are expecting us to take this keep sooner rather thanter. They can¡¯t keep up an ambush position forever. Who knows when some undead scout or scrying magic will reveal them? We need to capitalize on the invaders¡¯ urgency, their need to get back what we¡¯ve taken.¡± He saw she wasn¡¯t happy, looking into his eyes with doubt in hers. ¡°I¡¯ve got you and all these Naghelli to watch over me. I¡¯ll summon my coyotes, too.¡±

    As Va frowned and folded her arms over her chest, Kethelket spoke up, ¡°Will your banner persist while your spirit walks?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe not. My totems can think for themselves, but the banner . . .¡± Victor searched for the right words, ¡°It kind of needs me to concentrate on keeping it around.¡±

    ¡°Aye. I have a spell or two that require concentration.¡± He nodded and turned to Va. ¡°My kin have in any undead within a mile of this location. The mists don¡¯t bother us much; our eyes see through most of the obscuring magics. We¡¯ll see that nothing bothers Victor.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Va wasn¡¯t speaking to Kethelket; her eyes were boring into Victor¡¯s. He reached out, resting a hand on her shoulder, running a thumb gently along her neck, brushing the soft, stray hairs hanging down beneath the rim of her shiny helmet. Kethelket pointedly turned away, ostensibly to observe the positions of his scouts.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure, Va. We talked about this. Something in me feels the challenge these ghostly assholes are presenting. They took Kethelket¡¯s men and hung them from the keep¡¯s walls. I can¡¯t turn away from that.¡± His words were soft, meant for Va, but he saw Kethelket¡¯s shoulders stiffen. He hoped he hadn¡¯t offended the man. Va¡¯s helm had a nose guard and angr slits for her eyes, making them look perpetually angry, but her mouth was exposed, and a soft smile curled her lips as she shook her head in resignation. Victor wanted to kiss those lips but knew their helms would sh long before his mouth could find hers.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way you and Uvu would let anything happen to me, anyway.¡± Victor loosened Lifedrinker from her harness, holding her in both hands, crossways over hisp as he sat down on the damp mulch, back to a huge tree. He concentrated briefly, summoning his coyotes with a surge of inspiration-attuned Energy. ¡°Good boys,¡± he said and wondered if they were all boys. They were aspects of his spirit, so he assumed they were, but he¡¯d never made the effort to examine them all that closely. A chuckle escaped him at the random thought.

    ¡°Something¡¯s funny?¡±

    ¡°Nah, just thinking about my coyotes.¡± Victor watched them as they took shape from the white-gold mist his spell called into being. They yipped and whined, pacing around, sniffing at the Naghelli, and taking up positions in a loose circle around Victor and the tree he leaned against.

    ¡°Fascinating creatures.¡± Kethelket knelt next to the closest coyote and stared at it, his dark, depthless eyes peering into its bright, shining ones. ¡°Likerge boyii hounds, but those sounds they make; it¡¯s like they speak to each other.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re bigger than normal coyotes. I put a lot of Energy into their summoning.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the same ability that allows you to create that steed of yours and the great bear?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Amazing. I¡¯ve never heard of a Spirit Caster with such talent. It puts our contest of weapons in a different light. How would I fare should you unleash these loyal guardians while we matched des?¡± He shook his head, sighing as he stood up, making the rhetorical nature of his question evident.

    Victor replied, nheless, ¡°Don¡¯t sell yourself short. You¡¯ve got some abilities you held back while we sparred.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± He bowed briefly and then turned to face the mists, drawing his des, ready to take up his guard. Victor admired that he didn¡¯t try to push theparison of their abilities further. He could have protested, pointing out that Victor could go Berserk or turn his banner or spirit affinities against him. Instead, he took thepliment and let the matter drop.

    He turned to Va and smiled again. ¡°All right. I¡¯m heading out. See you soon.¡± He closed his eyes and began to form the pattern for his Spirit Walk spell, but he¡¯d only just started to pull some Energy into it when he felt Va¡¯s hot breath on his lips, and then she pressed her mouth hungrily against his, and he kissed her for a long moment. When she finally pulled back, and he opened his eyes, he saw she¡¯d taken her helmet off in a rush, her teal hair hanging loose and wild.

    ¡°Hurry back,¡± she said, then she stood, pressed her helmet back onto her head, and whipped Midnight out of her sheath. Victor smiled and closed his eyes again. He had a warm spot in his chest as he cast his Spirit Walk.

    When he stood up, he still clutched Lifedrinker, but she was different¡ªher dark, polished haft was brighter than ever with the starry motes that lurked within, and her de shone with ghostly light. If Victor were guessing, he¡¯d say it was her spirit, more evident in this realm than in thend of the living. He looked around, heartened to have her close, and saw that the twilit Spirit ne was darker, more foreboding, and ominous than in other ces he¡¯d walked. The trees had persisted across nes, and their great, dark canopies blocked out the brilliant starfield usually visible on Victor¡¯s Spirit Walks and, adding to that gloom, was the mist that had somehow persisted in this realm.

    ¡°Fucking Death Casters.¡± Victor¡¯s words were a growl as he stared into the fog, twisting his hands on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft. ¡°All right, <em>chica</em>, let¡¯s go find out what these ghosts are made of.¡±

    <em>I hunger for your foes, Victor! When will you share your spirit with me?</em>

    ¡°Oh, yeah, well,¡± Victor was caught by surprise by her sharp, lilting, but vehement words. ¡°It¡¯s been a busy few days. Maybe we can try it here, huh? Let¡¯s see what we¡¯re up against first.¡±

    She didn¡¯t respond with words, but he felt her emotion, transferred through the axe''s haft, straight to his heart¡ªeager anticipation, eptance, trust.

    Victor turned toward the west, wondering how stealthy he should try to be. He¡¯d never tried to sneak around on the Spirit ne before. He walked boldly, probably too boldly, and never feared what he¡¯d encounter. Did he need to worry about scaring the ghosts off? They were defending a location; if they ran off, wasn¡¯t that a win for him? Was he worried that he might draw too many of them? Victor couldn¡¯t find any sense of caution in his heart. He was on Fanwath; the spirits knew him there. Who were these invaders toe into the Spirit ne where he¡¯d hugged Old Mother goodbye and act like they owned the ce?

    Victor growled, twisting his hands on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft again, and then he did what he wanted to do; he cast Iron Berserk and summoned his glorious banner. As he exploded in size and his banner¡¯s light burst around him, he lifted Lifedrinker into the air and screamed his challenge into the shadowy, twilit forest. His voice echoed through the trees, leaves fell, and the mist rolled away from his light, seeming to retreat from his roar. Victor began to stomp through the forest.

    He held Lifedrinker in his right hand, her ghostly edge bright in the darkness. His eyes smoldered with the red heat of his rage affinity as he prowled forward, the mist pulling back before his light and very slowly, almost reluctantly falling back in behind him as he passed through the woods. Victor''s long strides were quick to deliver him to the keep. He hadn¡¯t gotten a good description of the ce from Kethelket, so he couldn¡¯tpare its appearance on the Spirit ne to what his Naghelli friends had seen. However, he imagined it must be vastly different because he couldn¡¯t believe they wouldn¡¯t have described it if they¡¯d seen anything like what his eyes beheld.

    ck, bus-sized stones stood vertically at the base of the round walls. Atop them ran a ring of horizontal stones of the same size, and then another row of vertically aligned blocks, and so on. The circr keep rose a thousand feet into the starry sky of the Spirit ne. Victor stood at the edge of the trees, looking out over the faintly luminescent grassy clearing at the massive keep and wondering how he was supposed to assault the ghosts within. Growling, he stalked into the open and began to walk in a wide circle around the walls, looking for a gate. ¡°If I can¡¯t find a <em>pinch¨¦ </em>gate, I¡¯m going to climb that son of a bitch.¡±

    As he walked through the wavy, knee-high grass, he heard a faint whistling and looked up toward it, only to see a dozen bright bolts of Energy rippling through the air toward him. He broke into a jog and watched over his shoulder as the magical missiles struck the grassy turf, sending up ghostly white mes that did no harm to the environment. He didn¡¯t think the bolts would be so harmless if they touched him; they gave off a chill he could feel in the bones of his spirit body. He picked up his pace as he heard more whistling in the air, and he wondered how long it would take the shooters to figure out they had to lead him a little in order to pelt him with those spells.

    Rather than take chances, as he scanned the walls for a gateway, he began to zig and zag, cutting left, right, and even leaping periodically. The keep was enormous, at least here on the Spirit ne, and it took him several minutes to make his way halfway around it, even as he jogged and leaped. When he¡¯d seen no sign of a gate or doorway after covering more than half the perimeter, Victor¡¯s frustration began to mount. He nced at the wall, squinting in the dim, silvery light, trying to determine how hard it would be to climb. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look that bad,¡± he grumbled. He felt a pulse of encouragement from Lifedrinker, and that was all he needed.

    With a burst of speed, he sprinted toward the wall, bunched his massive, powerful legs, andunched himself with a Titanic Leap toward the wall. He¡¯d timed his jump well; Victor had just hit the apex when the wall came within grasping range. ¡°Sorry, beautiful!¡± he cried as he aimed Lifedrinker for a seam in the giant ck stones. Her silvery head burst into molten glory as she smoked through the air and buried her de between the monolithic stones in a shower of sharp, ck chips.

    Of course, being an axe, her wedge shape was perfect to lodge her firmly in ce, and Victor held onto her handle as his body smashed into the hard stones. Hanging there, Lifedrinker¡¯s de creaking and the stones cracking further, tiny crumbles falling down the wall, he wondered what his n was. The gap between stones was too thin to jamb his fingers between. How would he climb it? When he looked away, up and down the wall, he found his answer. The stones, side by side, were nearly seamlessly lined up. Lifedrinker could find the gap, but his fingers couldn¡¯t. The tiers, though, one atop the other, were offset by half a foot or so; the tall circr keep grew ever-so-slightly narrower with each level.

    Victor grunted and wriggled Lifedrinker¡¯s haft until she slipped free, and he fell¡ªtwo feet to the tiny ledge atop the tier below him. He hooked Lifedrinker into her harness as he pressed his body against the wall, arms spread wide. His toes in their boots worked heroically, holding him there, fifty feet or more above the ground. Victor craned his neck to look up, gauging the next ledge¡¯s height, then he bent his knees and exploded upward. He didn¡¯t activate Titanic Leap, but he still soared up enough to grasp the next ledge with his fingertips. Grunting, he pulled himself up. The only tricky part was leaning forward so he didn¡¯t topple as he got his feet underneath him.

    Victor looked side to side. The curved wall of the keep stretched away in either direction, disappearing in the fog. Then he craned his neck and looked up toward the top of the towering, impossibly high wall. Again, the smooth obsidian wall disappeared in thick fog. It hadn¡¯t seemed foggy from the ground, and he wondered if some sort of twisted enchantment was at work, messing with his perspective. ¡°Huh.¡± He rolled his neck side to side, eliciting loud pops, and then he jumped up to the next ledge. ¡°Let¡¯s see how high this fucker is.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Va watched Victor¡¯s still form. He seemed serene, untroubled, sitting there against the tree. His eyes were closed, but his dark brow was unfurrowed, his hands at ease on Lifedrinker in hisp. When he¡¯d first gone into the Spirit ne, she¡¯d felt the surge of Energy, then a short timeter, a much greater surge, and she knew he was casting spells in that other realm, a ce that was aplete mystery to her. She couldn¡¯t quite understand how Victor could be here yet travel about in that other ce.

    She¡¯d known of people with spirit Cores, Spirit Casters, everyone called them, but she¡¯d always thought they did things like make love potions, help troubled children, or cause problems¡ªberserkers, fear casters, and the like. She¡¯d never known about Spirit Walks. In a way, it gave herfort; if Victor¡¯s spirit was on the loose, moving about in some parallel world, didn¡¯t that mean there was proof that further lives were possible? She¡¯d begun to believe so, and she knew Victor did. She¡¯d tried to show him as much when she¡¯d said they¡¯d find happiness together in the next life, if not this one. She found the idea romantic and, judging by his amorous response, so did Victor.

    ¡°I knew he was a powerful Spirit Caster,¡± Kethelket¡¯s voice broke her from her musing, and she, perhaps a little guiltily, jerked her gaze away from Victor¡¯s face, ¡°but I had no real idea, I think. I shouldn¡¯t be surprised; Belikot was formidable on the Spirit ne, a dangerous man indeed with his knowledge of breaching the veil and dominating the spirits he pulled through. Still, Victor slew him, so I shouldn¡¯t be surprised that he¡¯s willing to rush forth and do battle with those ¡®ghosts,¡¯ as he termed them. A fitting name, I think.¡± He squatted, resting his elbows on his knees as he stared at Victor.

    ¡°Why?¡± Va found the ancient Naghelli fascinating. He had something interesting to say about nearly any topic, and his skill with those swords was inspiring; she could see he knew things she didn¡¯t, even with Midnight in her hands. She wasn¡¯t surprised he¡¯d achieved the epic rank.

    ¡°Ghost. It¡¯s a word we use to describe one who moves without sound, unseen, a killer who can send your spirit out of this world with a silent touch. It was a title given out by our queen in the old world. Only a handful ever walked the face of Kthe at any given time.¡±

    ¡°Kthe? The Ghelli home world?¡±

    ¡°Aye, and we Naghelli, don¡¯t forget.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Va nodded. She knew as much, of course, but she hadn¡¯t heard the name of that particr home world in a long, long while¡ªnot since she¡¯d studied with the myriad tutors Rellia had saddled with her, perhaps. ¡°So, you think those spirits, the ones who killed your men, are like those ghosts? I think it makes sense.¡± Va looked at Victor again, her heart swelling and fluttering in her chest as she stared at his strong brow, angr nose, and sharp jawline. As she thought of her youth and all that came with it, she realized she felt like that again, like she was a girl, sent off to the Legion, spending time with young men who weren¡¯t in some way rted to Rellia for the first time. Victor had woken something in her heart that she¡¯d let go dormant, and it frightened her.

    ¡°He¡¯s a master of spirits. Even his banner is doom to the undead. We¡¯re lucky to have him in the battle.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Va watched as Kethelket stood and turned, scanning the forest in a slow circle. His soldiers were all around them, hidden in the trees, behind trunks, and even in the fog. They were silent, efficient fighters, and she knew most of them were many times her age, with experience she could only begin toprehend. Knowing that, her chest swelled with pride a little, knowing she was a match for any of them, save maybe Kethelket. Victor was right; she¡¯d vastly improved in the time she¡¯d known him. Of course, Tes was the main reason, but she¡¯d never have met Tes if she hadn¡¯t been following him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go speak with Sarl, check on his cohort, and see that they¡¯re ready to charge.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Va nodded and watched him move off to the east, where the Ninth was encamped near the edge of the fog. Too many of Sarl¡¯s troops were affected by the strange mise the mist caused for him to have them stand ready, idle, in the forest. Instead, he¡¯d set them in a ready position close by, prepared to charge when the word came down. She let her mind wander, trying to picture how things would go. Victor would find and kill or at least get an understanding of the spirit guardians on the walls of the keep. He¡¯d return, and then they¡¯d attack? She wasn¡¯t sure how things would go at that point. Perhaps he¡¯d find he couldn¡¯t affect the ¡°ghosts,¡± even from the Spirit ne.

    ¡°Ware!¡± Kethelket cried, interrupting her reverie, charging toward her from around a trio of trees grown so close together that their canopies were intertwined. At almost the same time, Victor¡¯s ghostly coyotes broke into yips and howls and grew restless,ing closer to Victor and pacing in little circles, eyes focused outward, watching the mists.

    ¡°My scouts are engaged. Undead havee in great numbers; they swarm this way. I sent word to Sarl, but in this darkness and the mist . . .¡± Va didn¡¯t need him to finish the thought¡ªthey were on their own, at least for a while.

    Va whipped Midnight out of her sheath and put her back to Victor, standing between two coyotes. ¡°Which direction?¡± she called.

    She heard Kethelket¡¯s swords ring as he pulled them free. She nced at him and watched as he put his back to her on the other side of Victor, ¡°All.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 22: A Fated Meeting

    Book 6: Chapter 22: A Fated Meeting

    The climb to the top of the keep¡¯s wall was brutal, but whatever had been bombarding him on the ground stopped, so Victor was thankful for small mercies. He wondered if perhaps the defenders so high up couldn¡¯t see him clinging to the shadows of the ck stone monoliths, especially now that the mist seemed to have made a reappearance, crowding the light of his banner, making it difficult to judge his progress. In any direction beyond fifty yards or so, all he saw was gray. Still, he climbed, leaping from one narrow ledge to the next, devouring the heights with superhuman endurance, strength, and agility.

    He''d been climbing for several minutes, perhaps longer, when he felt some agitation from his coyotes. Something was happening around his body, but Victor refused to leave, to retreat to the Material ne, as one of Va¡¯s books called the realm of the living. He¡¯de too far to give up now. Distances were strange on the Spirit ne; Victor had always found them to be shorter so long as he knew where he was going, a person or ce he wanted to reach. He was beginning to understand that things could work in the opposite manner. Something the Death Casters, perhaps Prince Hector himself, had done to this ce made it difficult to find the top of the keep¡¯s wall. It wasn¡¯t this high in reality, but here, in thend of spirits, it seemed to stretch endlessly.

    ¡°So,¡± he grunted, leaping to the next ledge, ¡°is it a matter of wills? Is their desire to keep me away stronger than mine to end this climb?¡± He growled, stoking his rage, allowing his vision to tint red as he pulled himself up. ¡°Bullshit.¡± This time, before he leaped further, he stared at the wall before him, not the ledge he aimed to climb. He focused on the wall and firmly nted his desired destination in his mind, the wall¡¯s top, an area with no stone in front of him, only under his feet. Focusing on that image, he stretched his hands up, fingers ready to grab the top of the wall, and jumped. This time, he felt it, the familiar blur of passage, the sensation he usually felt when he was ¡°walking¡± toward Old Mother on the many asions when they¡¯d met in this realm.

    When his fingers found purchase and his knees bumped against the hard stone, Victor opened his eyes and pulled, a savage grin of triumph baring his teeth as he pulled a leg over the crention to stand atop a dark stone parapet. He yanked Lifedrinker from her harness and stalked toward a weird, flickering red and ck shadow to his right. One of the guardians, if he had to guess, was standing with smoky hands atop the stone wall, leaning down in a posture that made Victor think it was searching for something. Was it looking for him? Victor didn¡¯t have to wait long to find out. As the circle of his banner¡¯s light fell on the shadow, it screamed and turned to him with wide-open, blood-red eyes.

    The smoky shadows sted away from it as though the light was a gale-force wind, and the ghost, as Victor hade to think of the keep''s defenders, summoned a shadowy spear and charged. Victor met the spear haft with Lifedrinker¡¯s shimmering, moonlight de, cleaving through it like a twig, then he brought her up in a loop, arcing to the diminutive spirit¡¯s armpit, and she lopped its right arm off in a spray of weird, luminescent ck-red blood. The ghost was the size of an average human with weird gray-tinted, faintly translucent skin, and when Victor maimed it, its mouth stretched into a noiseless howl of agony.

    The ghost tumbled back, stumbling in its haste to avoid another cleave. Victor¡¯s moves with Lifedrinker were machine-like in their perfect execution, though, and hepensated for the ghost¡¯s movement, slipping the axe through its shadowy ck leather armor, disemboweling it as it fell. Shiny, slippery entrails fell forth onto the ck stones. They were silver, red, and cloaked in smoky shadows, and the ghost thrashed, bucking in silent agony as the smoky red Energy spilled out onto the stones. It grew paler and more translucent, and then the spirit was gone. Nothing but a slippery mess of weird Energy remained on the stones.

    ¡°Not so tough, are they, <em>chica</em>?¡±

    <em>Simple pawns with weak Energy. Let us seek their master!</em>

    ¡°Not a bad idea,¡± Victor growled, stalking toward the inner rampart and peering left and right, then down, wondering where the rest of the defenders were. His vision was limited to the circle of his banner¡¯s light, however, and he couldn¡¯t quite make out the stones of the inner courtyard. He thought he could see a gap in the parapet near the edge of his light. ¡°Maybe some stairs there.¡± He was tempted to jump down,e what may, but decided he¡¯d check the perimeter a bit further first.

    Victor started around the corner, moving along the walkway, aiming for the gap he¡¯d seen, but then a horde of silently screaming ghosts burst into the light of his banner, ck smoke flowing off them like it was caught in a stiff wind. He tried to take stock, to count the enemiesing toward him, but it wasn''t easy with them bunched into a crowd, obscured by the smoke as they were. He thought there must be more than twenty.

    Victor took advantage of his much greater size, reach, and strength, stepping toward the throng and cleaving Lifedrinker in a wide, powerful arc, shearing through their weapons, armor, and ghostly bodies, breaking their charge. He stomped forward and used Project Spirit to send a wave of sickly yellow, twisted, inspiration-attuned Energy through the crowd. His cleave and the wave of anti-inspiration broke their momentum, and the survivors stumbled back, only to have Victor dance among them, weaving a deadly Lifedrinker through them like they were practice dummies.

    ¡°Pathetic!¡± he roared, ripping them apart, and then another crowd of the ghosts came from the other direction, and he was forced to increase the ferocity of his deadly dance, kicking, hacking, whirling, cleaving, grabbing, throwing, and utterly destroying the spirit-like assants. To their credit, though he broke their momentum, smashed theirrades, and dashed their ghostly blood in a thick mist, they never fled. Pack after pack came at him, and Victor felt his movements forming a rhythm, his cleaves and chops the percussion for the roars, howls, and screams he and Lifedrinker let loose.

    When he stood heaving for breath, Lifedrinker¡¯s metal head zing with ghostly light, engorged on the bloody Energy of his foes, the keep¡¯s high, ck stone wall was drenched in the weird, luminescent blood-like remnants of his enemies and the mist stretching away from his banner¡¯s light seemed thinner. Many minutes had passed while he wove his dance of destruction, and he could feel the rage in his Core ebbing low. Victor let his Berserk fade, wanting to give his Core a chance to recover. As his size reduced and the slick, ghostly blood slowly misted away, he stalked toward the gap in the now much taller-seeming parapet. He could see it clearly; his banner was still burning brightly; only half his glory-attuned Energy had been spent.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Va wrenched Midnight, trying to pull her from the ghoul¡¯s skull, grunting with the effort as the bones clung to the de and the creature¡¯s undead body flopped along the ground. A shambler, as Victor called the giant, nt-and-corpse monstrosities, lurched toward her, and she ducked a shoulder, trying to present her armor to its ws as it raked at her while she struggled to free her de.

    They were surrounded, overwhelmed, the Naghelli outnumbered ten to one and falling back into an ever-tighter circle around Victor. Still, the undead broke through, and Victor¡¯s coyotes, Kethelket and Va, struggled to keep them from charging past to attack his freakishly serene body. In the distance, she could hear the horns of the Ninth, and she hoped it meant Sarl was pushing his soldiers into the mist, into the rear or nk of the undead horde. She didn¡¯t know what position they held rtive to the monsters; all she knew was that they were beset from every direction, and they were losing ground.

    The shambler knocked her back, and she fell to the damp mulch, using the momentum to give another yank to Midnight, pulling her free from the ghoul''s corpse. She jumped up, only to see two of Victor¡¯s great coyotes pull the shambler to the ground, grabbing its arms and loose bits, yanking them apart with frenzied jerks of their necks.

    Va took the short respite to look around. The Naghelli were fast and deadly with their weapons, their coordination the pr opposite of the undead horde¡¯s fanatical, mindless charge. She could see them fighting, shoulder to shoulder, in the nearby mist, moving like orange-lit shadows, shing, stabbing, and hacking at the endless wave of monsters that pushed at their thin line. How long could they hold? Would the Ninth be enough? It seemed thousands of undead beset them, and Sarlmanded a mere six hundred. They needed Victor¡¯s banner, its light, and its bolstering effect. Should she wake him? <em>Could</em> she wake him?

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor started down the steps, noting theck of any sort of Energy award from the hundred or so ghosts he¡¯d just in. He wondered if the System deemed hisbat still ongoing or if the Energy wasn¡¯ting to him on this ne. He supposed it was possible the ghosts hadn¡¯t been worth any; maybe he hadn¡¯t even really killed them. The fog continued to retreat as he pushed forward with his banner, and when he reached the base of the steps, he could see a wide circle of ck gstones leading away into the courtyard. He felt something ahead, something malevolent and powerful, a different sort of presence than the weak ghosts who¡¯d thought to challenge him. Was it their leader?

    <em>I feel it, my champion! Let us go! Let us fight what awaits! Don¡¯t you wish to taste its blood?</em>

    ¡°Easy, <em>chica.</em> Of course I do. Give me a minute to breathe, though. Let me get my rage back.¡± Victor looked inside himself, at his Core, and saw his fear and inspiration were full, his glory above half, and his rage slowly building, stoking itself from the ever-full furnace of his spirit. His Core was different from those like Va¡¯s; it fed on emotions, not elements or other forces that existed in the world. He could be in the vacuum of space, and his Core would recover, building up its power from the feelings that roiled within Victor¡¯s spirit. Could other cultivators say the same? He honestly didn¡¯t know, but the important point remained¡ªhe was recovering even in this strange ce controlled by death.

    As he stood there at the bottom of the steps, gazing into the fog at the edge of his light, a voice came to him, whispering sibntly on the wind, ¡°Why dy? Come to me, warrior. Come and let me behold you, who have in my guardians. Let me feel the fury of that mighty spirit.¡± The voice was decidedly feminine and seductive. Victor knew that, had he a weaker will, he would have felt a powerful pull, an urge to obey and walk into the mist, releasing Lifedrinker to tter upon the stones. His will wasn¡¯t weak, though; he could detect the pull, ignore it, and grasp Lifedrinker¡¯s haft even more tightly, twisting it between his hands as he stood there, watching his rage Core grow ever brighter.

    He was feeling good, almost ready to charge forward, when a pang struck him, a pain in his heart that told him one of his guardians had fallen, one of his coyotes had sumbed and returned to the Spirit ne. ¡°They¡¯re fighting, and it must be bad.¡±

    <em>Let us make haste, then! y the presence before us, and we will return to our corporeal bodies andy waste to whatever threatens our mate!</em>

    ¡°Our . . .¡± Victor let the thought drop; there was too much to unpack at that moment. Instead, he took Lifedrinker¡¯s advice and began to stalk forward, revealing more and more of the courtyard as his banner¡¯s light burned off the mist. The stones he trod upon were ck and smooth, enormous like the ones on the walls. His boots clicked upon them, echoing oddly in the foggy space. He¡¯d traversed a dozen yards when he heard the voice again.

    ¡°Good,e to me, angry one. Let me help you find peace in that throbbing heart of yours.¡± The words came to him as a husky, feminine whisper, and it sent shivers along Victor¡¯s spine like the lips that uttered the words were just an inch from his ears. He swore he could feel the cold breath of the speaker on his flesh, and, despite his will, his love for Va, and his simmering rage, he could feel his pulse quicken at the touch.

    ¡°I¡¯ming,¡± he growled, stalking forward toward the presence he could feel but couldn¡¯t see. Lifedrinker vibrated in his palms, grounding him, and Victor opened his pathways, pulling some rage into them, letting it smolder through him, limning his body in waves of red, flickering light and tinting his vision crimson. As the mists continued to part before his banner, he finally saw her, the author of the whispers. She was a woman, ghostly inplexion, her flesh luminescent and faintly translucent. She was tall, lithe, and utterly naked, swaying back and forth on long legs, moving to a rhythm or tune Victor couldn¡¯t hear.

    Her eyes were piercing, bright, cobalt blue that seemed backlit by the Energy within the woman¡¯s frame. Her hair, long and ck, drifted behind her in the nonexistent breeze, reminiscent of how hair floated when a person was submerged in water. Victor tried to ignore her naked form, but his traitor eyes wouldn¡¯t avoid a darting nce down, taking in the woman¡¯s pale, bare chest and the dark triangle between her legs. When he jerked his head back to her face, she smiled seductively, spreading cherry-red lips to reveal white teeth that, like her eyes, seemed too bright. ¡°Why so grumpy, warrior? Come, wouldn¡¯t it be better to talk and takefort in my hospitality? You¡¯ve in my watchers; surely you owe me the courtesy of a conversation.¡±

    Victor stalked forward, Lifedrinker held crossways before him, herforting buzz a reminder of who and where he was, something he needed as the woman¡¯s mesmerizing gaze locked with his. He found himself looking her in the eye, that she was nearly as tall as he in his non-Quinametzin form, and he frowned at the realization. Was she so tall before? Wouldn¡¯t he have noticed something like that? ¡°A spirit then,¡± he growled.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we all in this ce?¡±

    Victor had to admit she had a point. Even Old Mother had looked young when she Spirit Walked. He knew very well that he could manipte his appearance on the Spirit Realm if he tried hard enough. He¡¯d simply never felt the need. ¡°Where¡¯s your body?¡± he asked before he realized the words were forming on his lips.

    ¡°Nearby. Does it matter? Tell me, angry one. Why do youe to my keep? Why do you attack my guardians? Now you stand before me, full of rage, murder in your eyes, and I have to ask, again, why?¡±

    ¡°This keep, thesends, they aren¡¯t yours. You¡¯re part of an invading army, and you¡¯ve in men of mine.¡±

    ¡°Have I?¡± She frowned, an expression that looked decidedly like a pout on her beautiful face. Victor, forced to stare into her eyes lest he look upon her nakedness, found they were pulsing ever-so-softly with pale blue light. ¡°Who were they?¡±

    ¡°The Naghelli. Two men who came bravely to scout your keep, to have a look at the ghostly guardians atop its walls. Not only did your ghosts y them, but you hung them from the walls. You shouldn¡¯t have done that.¡± Victor¡¯s final sentence was a growl, and he began to pump his pathways with rage again. His red, flickering aura surged intensely, casting a red glow that reflected from the polished ck gstones.

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t make an example of assassins that came out of the darkness to attack one of my guardians? I thought to forestall further violence. I hoped their disy above my gates would deter further invasion!¡± She¡¯de closer as she spoke, and Victor was stunned to see her cool, pale fingertips resting on his wrist, just above his fist where it gripped Lifedrinker¡¯s haft. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you like to put that brutal weapon down? Sit with me and see what I¡¯ve done with this special ce. I¡¯ve built it up here on the Spirit ne, and there are wonders to behold within these walls. Can¡¯t you feel them?¡±

    Victor loosened his grip on Lifedrinker as he looked into her eyes. He wanted to stare into them, to plumb their depths, and to learn more about this mysterious, amazing woman. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± he asked, letting his rage recede, pulling back his aura and holding it close.

    ¡°I¡¯m Victoria. And you, angry one? What do I call you?¡±

    ¡°Seriously? I¡¯m Victor . . .¡±

    ¡°A fated meeting!¡± Her expression brightened, her eyes lit up, and Victor found himself letting go of Lifedrinker with his left hand, letting her fall to his side, loosely held in his right. ¡°We were meant toe together here, Victor! Can¡¯t you feel it? I think we could learn much from each other. Such strength flows through you, and now that your rage has ebbed and you¡¯ve let go of that brutal aura, I can see there¡¯s a great deal more to you . . .¡± She¡¯de close, just inches separating them, and Victor smiled into her face, his hot breath mingling with her cool, quick exhtions. She tilted her chin, staring into his eyes, and Victor felt like she wanted him to kiss her. He could feel her <em>willing</em> him to do it.

    Victor brought his left hand up, brushed her wild, ck, opalescent hair away from her cheek, and then let his fingers settle against her neck, the side of his hand resting lightly on her shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re beautiful, and I bet there is something interesting about you, but,¡± quick as a viper snatching up a rodent, he wrapped his fingers around her pale, slender throat, ¡°I don¡¯t like Death Casters trying to mess with my mind!¡± He growled, tightening his grip and flooding his pathways with rage again. He lifted Lifedrinker, and her edge burst into ghostly orange mes as she howled her fury.

 Book 6: Chapter 23: A Risky Bargain

    Book 6: Chapter 23: A Risky Bargain

    Va looked to her Core, saw her Energy was dwindling, and cut short her n tounch another lightning strike into the pack of ghouls that harried one of Victor¡¯s coyotes. The brave, white-gold hounds were beset, as were she and Kethelket. If she looked further than the small circle they made around Victor, she knew the other Naghelli and, likely, the Ninth were also overwhelmed; there were just too many of the damnable undead pouring out of the fog-shrouded forest.

    She was tired, her body sore and battered, her helmet dented and smeared with gore, and her arm like a lead weight. If not for the magic of her de, if not for Midnight¡¯s desire to fight, she didn¡¯t think she¡¯d be able to swing the sword with any effect. Desperately, she stole a nce at Victor, still sitting with his back to the tree, oblivious to the battle despite the ghoul corpse atop hisp¡ªKethelket had beheaded it at thest instant¡ªand the sshes of gore that marred his fierce countenance. ¡°Wake up, Victor!¡± she cried for the dozenth time, and then she lowered her shoulder, allowing her wyrm-scale armor to block the shing ws of yet another ghoul.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victoria¡¯s beautiful, ice-blue eyes sprang open with shock, and her mouth twisted in fury as she burst into mist, leaving nothing but damp air between Victor¡¯s fingers. Lifedrinker cleaved the cloud, but nothing came of it save a swirl of steamy moisture, and the axe screamed her frustration. A trillingugh echoed around the courtyard, and Victor spun in a circle, scanning the area illuminated by his banner and seeing nothing. ¡°So vicious!¡± Victoria¡¯s mocking,ughing voice echoed without a source. ¡°What a will! Were you even tempted?¡±

    ¡°Come out here and let me show you.¡± Victor released his aura, letting it fall around him like a nket of murderous intent. He, in fact, had <em>not</em> been tempted by the ghostly woman¡¯s words or her beauty. When he felt her will pushing against him the entire time she spoke, it turned a part of him critical, and he¡¯d seen through her fa?ade; she was a Death Caster, and her attempts to bend his will to hers were a low and dirty kind of magic, a prettier version of the control cors the vers in the mines used. Victor wasn¡¯t having it. Herughter echoed again, but Victor thought he heard the original note in the air above him this time. She was flying, perhaps.

    It made sense, he supposed, that a Death Caster who¡¯d taken on a spectral form would be able to fly. He thought about Berserking and leaping into the air, hacking Lifedrinker about when he next heard her voice. He discarded the idea. Iron Berserk was a marvelous ability, but it wouldn¡¯t serve him here. He needed something a bit more versatile, a bit more unexpected. She¡¯d seen and tasted his rage. She¡¯d felt his will. Perhaps it was time to give her a taste of fear. Before he could talk himself out of it, Victor formed the pattern for Aspect of Terror, channeling his fear-attuned Energy into it.

    As always happened, ck shadows exploded into being around Victor and began to wrap around his rapidly changing form. He grunted and screamed, a sound that started deep in his gut, rumbling with bass, and ended with a high shriek¡ªa sound no human throat could make. As his cries and shrieks echoed around the courtyard, Victor felt his body changing, elongating, shifting, and hardening as it absorbed his mass, his weapons, and his armor. His vision changed as the colors faded away; everything turned gray, and the misty fog summoned by the Death Caster no longer troubled him; his hungry eyes saw through it, spotting bright, ring spirits here and there, but none that shone as brightly as the one that hung in the air a hundred yards overhead.

    When Victor¡¯s baleful yellow-red eyes settled on the brilliant spirit, clearly staring right at it, it seemed to realize he could see it. It began to fly in a slow,zy circle, perhaps thinking he¡¯d caught a glimpse and that it could lose him in the fog. It was wrong. Victor¡¯s hunger surged, his Core cried out for Energy, and he tracked that spirit with his deadly hunter¡¯s vision. As it settled, hovering near the top of a round tower, a structure Victor hadn¡¯t been able to see before, he took a step toward it, and his hard, razor-sharp talons clicked on the obsidian stones.

    ¡°What have you done to yourself?¡± a feminine voice asked his mind, but Victor had no patience for words. He shook his long head, clicking his razor beak angrily, then he focused on that bright spirit, on the Energy within it, and he leaped into the air, his great, ck-feathered, shadow-d wings snapping with a <em>crack</em> that echoed off the courtyard walls. Victor hadn¡¯t cast Iron Berserk prior to taking on the Aspect of Terror, and his pathways were utterly flooded with fear-attuned Energy. The shadowy steam streaking off his feathered form was rife with it, tainting the air, radiating outward, giving everything within sight of his terrible aspect a taste.

    More than the sight of him, the sounds he made carried the palpable fear in his nature through the Spirit ne. Any spirit not belonging to the Death Caster who¡¯d imed that keep and its environs fled at the sound. Victor was dimly aware of the lesser spirits¡¯ flight; he could see their bright forms streaking away through the twilight realm. However, the prize, the brilliant one he¡¯d seen flying above him, was the center of his focus, and its radiant Energy kept his attention. Victor wanted to breathe his fear into that being, wanted it to feel it, to experience it, and to send it back to him. He would feast on one so bright.

    He screamed his hunger as he streaked through the misty air, a gigantic, vulture-like, hunched form of ck feathers, razored talons, and glowering red eyes. The radiant spirit erupted with blue Energy,unching a beam of the stuff directly at him. It hit Victor in the chest, turned his feathers to ice, sted them off, and froze the leathery ck skin beneath, peeling it back and frosting the white, ivory-hard bones beneath. It hurt, an icy fire that spread to his very marrow, but Victor was beyond caring about pain. Pain was a matter of concern for lesser things, things that didn¡¯t hunt in the dark and feed on the terror they inspired. He shrieked and snapped his wings all the harder, hurtling toward the startled spirit.

    Completely absorbed by his Aspect of Terror, Victor didn¡¯t think to cast spells, channel Energy, or project it; he had one n¡ªgrasp onto the spirit, drive it to the ground, and consume the fear he would pull forth. It was a simple n, but sometimes simplicity was what a situation called for. The spirit flitted indecisively left then right, perhaps surprised at his ability to shrug off its attack. When it finally chose a direction and began to flee, it was toote; Victor was upon it, his great dark talons gripping the faintly translucent pale flesh between its shoulder des, and, as he¡¯d nned, he cracked his enormous ck wings and dove for the unforgiving ck gstones, nning to use the spirit as anding perch.

    His quarry screamed, thrashed, and with a surge of Energy, attempted to apparate, intending to burst into ghostly mist and flee again, but Victor was wise to it, and his hungry talons, formed from his Energy-drinking axe, pulled the spell out of the spirit¡¯s pathways, foiling her attempt to flee. He crashed to the hard gstones, and his talons burst through the shimmering flesh and bones to gouge the stone, leaving an enormous bloody smear as he came to rest atop his prey. The spirit screamed and cried, thrashing its limbs weakly. Victor felt the fear and terror truly begin to flow from the being, great waves of it that washed over him, adding to the fric edge of his hunger.

    His ability to impart fear was unchecked now, the spirit unable to fight him off, and its deep wells of Energy began to convert, rolling out in those heavy, satisfying waves of fear-attuned Energy that Victor¡¯s Core greedily drew in. Despite his hunger and the glorious feeding frenzy he undertook, Victor never truly lost himself; his Born of Terror feat wouldn¡¯t let him, not to mention his prodigious will. That said, he didn¡¯t really want to control himself, and he gave in to his hunger for a long while, pulling until only a trickle of Energy still drizzled forth from the pale, dull spirit. He was contemting pulling thatst bit into his Core when the spirit shivered violently and coughed out a hoarse plea, ¡°Stop! Please! I can save your army!¡±

    The words struck a chord in Victor, and he climbed out of the shadowy corner of his mind, pulled back on the Aspect of Terror, pushed his way into the driver¡¯s seat, so to speak, and took some control. He shifted away from the spirit, carefully, methodically extricating one talon after another from its dull, gray form. The satisfaction of his feast began to fade as he came more and more into himself and slowly severed the connection to his spell, grunting with difort as his body, wrapped in writhing shadows, returned to its usual form. When the dark cloak of shadowy tendrils faded, he found himself straddling Victoria¡¯s blood-drenched body, a bloody Lifedrinker held crossways over her naked chest.

    She shivered and trembled, pale as snow. All her luminescent bloody pooled around them, shimmering on the ck gstones. Only a tiny spark of light still hung behind her sky-blue irises. She coughed weakly and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry I underestimated you. I¡¯m sorry I tried to control you. Please don¡¯t kill me. A horde, a true undead horde, is attacking the army you brought here.¡±

    ¡°And?¡± Victor growled, leaning forward, staring into her nearly dead eyes.

    ¡°And they are winning; your troops are outnumbered fifty to one.¡±

    ¡°Fifty thousand?¡± Victor couldn¡¯t help the surprise in his voice.

    ¡°Yes! Mindless, but fearless and tough. They will overwhelm your forces before you can rally them and fight free. Spare me, and I¡¯ll issue amand for the horde to be still. It will buy you a reprieve.¡±

    ¡°Fifty thousand . . . And you¡¯re in the keep?¡±

    ¡°I am! I was here with my spectral guards, whom you slew.¡±

    ¡°Call the horde off and open the gates. We¡¯lle inside.¡±

    ¡°Impossible! Prince Hector will . . .¡±

    ¡°Nah, no deal. I¡¯ll kill you now and take my chances.¡± Victor lifted Lifedrinker, and the woman flinched and took a slow, shuddering breath.

    ¡°Very well. Very well. Perhaps you¡¯re strong enough to break the tether he has upon me. If you can do that, then I can aid you. I¡¯m close to death, though! Let me leave this ce so I can seek healing. I can only grant you a short reprieve from the horde; when Hector sees what I¡¯ve done, he¡¯ll retake control.¡±

    ¡°How short?¡±

    ¡°Minutes!¡±

    ¡°Listen.¡± Victor stood up and glowered down at the once beautiful figure. ¡°I found you once on this ne, but I can find you on the other, too. Don¡¯t make me hunt you down. Get your gates open and wait for my army.¡±

    ¡°You have my word.¡± She coughed the words, chasing them with flecks of luminescent blood, and Victor found he believed her. He didn¡¯t trust her, not even a little, but he believed she¡¯dplete this bargain, at least. He pulled back his aura, released the almost unconscious hold he¡¯d pressed on her with his will, and then she was gone in a puff of pale mist. He took onest look around the ck stone courtyard, and then he cut the ties to his Spirit Walk spell.

    Victor¡¯s eyes sprang open, and he was greeted by chaos. Undead corpsesy piled around him, his four remaining coyotes snarled and howled, whining with angst as they wove between ghouls, biting at their legs, pulling out tendons, dragging them away from him. Va, drenched in gore and blood but still bound in lightning and wind, hacked Midnight in a two-handed grip, grunting with the effort to hold the ghouls, zombies, and shamblers at bay. Other forms writhed in mortalbat nearby, Naghelli, no doubt.

    Victor surged to his feet, cast Iron Berserk, and summoned his banner. Many of the Naghelli had invoked orbs of light, but they paled inparison to the light that poured out from the bloody sun on his standard. The undead shrank back, cringing, their flesh steaming, and Va turned with wide, relieved eyes to see Victor towering over the piled corpses at the center of their circle. From his new height, Victor could make out Kethelket and Uvu fighting a cluster of shamblers further afield. He filled his lungs and bellowed, ¡°Follow me! We need to join up with the Ninth!¡± Then he strode to the east, toward the edge of the fog-filled forest, hacking Lifedrinker in wide, <em>whooshing</em> arcs as the Naghelli, his coyotes, and even Uvu fell in behind him.

    His banner had broken the enthusiasm of the undead creatures¡¯ charge, winning his guardians a bit of a respite as they followed him through the trees. Victor could hear the Ninth fighting and knew they weren¡¯t far. He hoped to get to them before Victoria called off the undead; he wanted to lead them through the fog to the keep. Part of him questioned the sanity of his decision to bring the army further into the forest, to put them into the keep while nearly fifty thousand undead lurked outside. Part of him thought they should break free, charge over their imednds to the keep they already held, to the support of the rest of the army.

    Victor didn¡¯t like that idea, however. If Prince Hector had such a huge force here, in this territory, it stood to reason that other parts of hisnds weren¡¯t so heavily guarded. If Victor could find a way to upy this horde, even destroy it, then Borrius and Rellia could push harder into the next territory. He drove forward, hacking, kicking, even throwing undead out of his path, carving the way for those who¡¯d so steadfastly defended him. He still couldn¡¯t quite believe that they¡¯d been fighting so vigorously around him, and he hadn¡¯t noticed a thing. The idea that Va and the Naghelli had been bleeding, maybe dying for him, caused a twinge of guilt, but he shook it off. Hadn¡¯t he bled for them? Hadn¡¯t he been willing to die to defend his troops?

    When they burst through the tree line, Victor found the Ninth in a defensive phnx, surrounded by a sea of undead. Thankfully, this hordecked the giants they¡¯d faced earlier¡ªno bone colossuses or gigantic skeletal drummers stood out in the massive army, and the Ninth seemed to be holding their own, able to keep the immense horde of undead at bay with their Energy-bolstered shield wall. Victor didn¡¯t know how many of the monsters surrounded them; it would take hours to count them all, even if they stood still. In that thrashing, surging throng, all he could do was estimate.

    The Ninth had roughly six hundred soldiers, and he could see them clearly at the center of the horde. If he were guessing, he¡¯d say there were easily ten times as many undead heaving and pressing against those shields. Where was the rest of the horde Victoria had warned him about? Were they still in the forest, stilling this way? Victor looked left and right over his shoulders and saw the Naghelli, blood-soaked though they were, ready to follow his lead. Victor was proud of them, proud of Va, who stood stoically to his right. They didn¡¯t know a reprieve wasing, didn¡¯t know Victoria had promised to call the horde off. For all they knew, they were about to charge into a hopeless battle to try to help the Ninth.

    His banner kept the undead off them, the ones behind in the forest, but he could still see clusters of them breaking from the trees further away, rushing over the ins to join the thronging horde pressing against the Ninth¡¯s shields. ¡°Listen!¡± Victor roared. ¡°This looks hopeless, but it¡¯s not! These undead will break away soon, and then we¡¯ll have minutes to make our next move. Stay by my side, and we¡¯ll get through this!¡±

    The Naghelli responded with cheers, weapons smashing on shields, and feet stomping the ground. Kethelket, standing to Victor¡¯s left, whipped his twin des in an borate flourish and said, ¡°On your lead, Lord!¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t want to waste the time or breath correcting him. Instead, he ensured his boost from Sovereign Will was on his strength and vitality, then he held Lifedrinker high, and he began lumbering over the muddy, torn-up grass toward the rear ranks of that enormous undead army. His four coyotes loped beside him, and he contemted sending them home and calling for this bear, but they¡¯d fought so hard to keep him alive that he didn¡¯t want to take this from them. No, they deserved to join him in this charge. ¡°Come on, <em>muchachos!</em>¡±

    When he was just a dozen yards from the thrashing, bucking horde, Victor cast Energy Charge and ripped over the ground to smash into them. Dozens of zombies flew away from his impact like pins before a bowling ball. Turf exploded into the air, and blood, torn, rotten flesh, and bones showered down in a rain of destruction. Victor didn¡¯t slow. Rather, he capitalized on the momentum, using his enormous size and strength to push his way among the undead, cleaving their smoking, smoldering flesh apart with a red-hot Lifedrinker.

    His banner did more damage than any cleave of an axe. As its illumination fell on a vast area of the battlefield, the undead lost their focus, cringing away from it, physically affected by the fiery light. It seemed to cook at the bindings of death magic that held them on this ne, held them together. They writhed and screamed their silent screams as they fought with each other to get out of it. Victor drove forward, the Naghelli, Va, his coyotes, and Uvu at his back, ughtering the few that escaped his cleaves, pushing through the ocean of undead, and carving a pathway through it.

    As he grew nearer and his banner¡¯s light fell on the Ninth, cheers erupted over the sounds of battle, and Victor roared his encouragement as he drove ever closer. The undead were weak and mindless, and he began to wonder if they might be able to win free even without Victoria¡¯s help. At one point, when he was a mere fifty yards from the front lines of the phnx, he looked over his shoulder to see thousands of undead pressing toward him over the ins, hanging back just far enough to avoid his banner¡¯s light. He grunted and reassessed his idea that they might survive out there¡ªwhen he ran low on Energy, things would get ugly.

    As if she were somehow reading his mind, Victoria waited until Victor began to feel some doubt in his assessment of her word. He began to wonder if something had gone wrong, and she¡¯d failed to issue themand to the horde¡ªhowever that was done¡ªto fall back. Had she died, after all, from the damage he¡¯d done to her spirit form? As that doubt took shape, and Victor pressed his way through thest few hundred zombies and ghouls between him and the Ninth, something happened. A bell toll sounded like a great rion gong that rang through the air on reverberating waves of magic.

    The undead, already creepily silent in their aggression, grew still, lowering their arms and swaying in ce like horrible, rotting corpses somehow put to rest in a standing position. In the stunned silence of the livingbatants, Victor shouted, ¡°Glorious Ninth! With me! To the west, into the forest! We¡¯re going to take the keep while these <em>pendejos</em> sleep! Come on!¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 24: Good Habits

    Book 6: Chapter 24: Good Habits

    Victor didn¡¯t wait for the soldiers to respond or for any of their leaders, Sarl included, to rush forward with questions that might dy their movements. He didn¡¯t know exactly how long Victoria¡¯smand to halt the undead wouldst, but she¡¯d said minutes, and they were several miles from the keep. They had to move. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s go!¡± he roared, turning and stomping back the way he and the Naghelli hade. He could hear Sarl¡¯s sergeants shoutingmands, could hear the Ninth moving forward, hacking and bashing their way through the strangely dormant undead that still surrounded them.

    Victor wondered how much of a dent they could make in the horde if they went wild with ughter. How many could they y before Prince Hector gave them themand to resume their attack? ¡°Can¡¯t risk it,¡± he grunted. There might have been twenty thousand undead on the field, but that meant another thirty thousand lurked in the woods, still making their way to the fight. The undead were sturdy and not so easy to dispatch for a typical soldier. It would take a long time to kill them all, and Victor didn¡¯t think they¡¯d be halfway done before they reanimated and fought back.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Va asked, jogging to keep up with his long strides. Now that they didn¡¯t have to fight through the undead as they progressed, Victor wasn¡¯t surprised she¡¯d taken the chance to get some answers.

    ¡°I fought with themander in the keep. I beat her, and she swore to halt the undead long enough for us to win free.¡±

    ¡°In exchange for?¡±

    ¡°For not killing her.¡±

    Va muttered something under her breath. Victor grinned as he realized she¡¯d cursed. ¡°Let me guess¡ªshe was beautiful with soulful eyes and a pout that tore at your heart . . .¡±

    ¡°I was in my nightmare form. It was hard to stop feasting, but she managed to say something about my army¡ªyou¡ªbeing surrounded. I pulled back at those words.¡± Victor didn¡¯t enjoy talking about ¡°feasting¡± on a sentient being, but he knew it would straighten out Va¡¯s perception of events.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was being petty.¡±

    ¡°Nah, don¡¯t apologize. She did try to seduce me at first. She tried to twist me to her will, but mine was stronger. Besides,¡± Victor leaned down from his towering height to speak more softly, ¡°all I had to do was think about you.¡±

    Va¡¯s answering smile swelled his heart, and Victor almost canceled his Iron Berserk so he could more easily hold her hand and run beside her. He held off, though¡ªno telling what heroics might be needed before his army was safe behind walls. Thinking of the army, he turned and walked backward for a moment, looking between the trees to see the Ninth rushing behind the Naghelli, a loose column of soldiers. They held their shields and weapons ready, eyes wide as they looked at the piles of vanquished undead and the shifting, listless hordes that still lingered further from the trail of destruction Victor had wrought. ¡°Keep moving! No slowing!¡± Victor roared, then he turned and continued to trudge forward.

    ¡°The keep will open to us?¡± Kethelket asked, hurrying to jog beside Va.

    ¡°It better,¡± Victor growled. He gave the Naghelli captain another look and added, ¡°I have a bargain with thedy inside. She swore to open it to us.¡±

    ¡°And if she betrays her word? We¡¯ll be smashed between this horde and the walls.¡±

    ¡°If ites to that, I¡¯ll open those fucking gates. Believe it.¡± At his words, Kethelket looked up and locked eyes with Victor, nodding gravely. He believed him. The confidence made Victor feel d and proud but also nervous; what if he couldn¡¯t deliver? Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the present. They were traversing the scene of Va¡¯s and the Naghelli¡¯s stand, where they¡¯d defended Victor¡¯s insensate body. The corpses of the undead were so thickly piled that it almost seemed like an impromptu fortification around the loose circle of ughter.

    Victor pushed through the area, past the tree where he¡¯d sat, and then he sent his four shimmering, white-gold coyotes ahead, ranging toward the keep, seeking the best path. He didn¡¯t wait for their report, though, continuing between trees, working his way in a generally westerly direction. All the while they walked between trees, they passed by clusters of undead, and Victor didn¡¯t hesitate to smash and decapitate them as he strode by. He could hear the wet <em>thunks</em> of others¡¯ weapons doing the same and knew the Naghelli and the Ninth would carve a bloody path through the dormant horde. The idea that, though they might kill a thousand, they were hardly denting the undead army was a little daunting.

    ¡°I see Lam,¡± Va said at one point. Victor turned and scanned back over the column, and, sure enough, he saw Lam¡¯s shimmering, golden Energy hammer smash apart another cluster of idle undead.

    ¡°I¡¯d forgotten she was with the Ninth. Do you see Edeya?¡±

    ¡°No . . .¡± Va¡¯s voice was pensive, and Victor knew she was worried. He slowed further and concentrated, looking back. After a while, near the rear of the column, a flicker of bright blue movement caught his eye, and, staring, he made out Edeya¡¯s slim form striding among the rear troops. Her wings were back; they wererger than before, and they glittered with sparkling blue Energy.

    ¡°I see her! Near the rear of the column.¡± Victor pointed, and Va sighed with relief.

    Following the wordless messages from his coyotes, Victor wound his way between trees, clusters of zombies and shamblers, and past other obstacles like great, fallen trees, lichen-filled ravines, and tumbled boulders; the forest wasn¡¯t anything close to parklike, and though his banner burned away the fog, the going wasn¡¯t easy. They¡¯d only been traveling for about twenty minutes when the zombies began to stir. Thankfully, the undead were far less dense in this part of the woods, but Victor and the army had passed by thousands and left tens of thousands behind. As the creatures woke, they began to noiselessly make their way toward the column as if they somehow could feel their presence.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Victor roared. ¡°Double-time! Run for the keep!¡± Though he ordered the soldiers to run, Victor continued to walk, urging them to rush past him as he tried to benefit as many as possible with the light of his banner. When he felt like he was in the middle of the troops and they were surging around him, jogging with their shields up, he started forward again, pleased to note that Va rode beside him, once again in Uvu¡¯s saddle. shes sounded from the edges of their column, and Victor knew the undead were closing in again. Still, if they kept moving forward, he knew they could outpace the bulk of the horde. He hoped. What if a great many undead sat outside the walls, waiting? Had he led the Ninth to their doom?

    His doubts were unfounded. When they broke out of the trees into the clearing around the keep, only a hundred yards of gravel-strewn dirt and patchy grass separated the troops from the high ck walls. Mist still clung to the area, thick in the air near the keep, but as Victor started forward over the clearednd, his banner¡¯s light drove it back, and he saw the gates standing open, the corpses of two Naghelli hanging above them. He frowned at the sight and stood still, waiting to take up the rearguard, letting the rest of the soldiers pass him by.

    The keep was impressive, though nothing like the Spirit ne version. The wall was circr, carved from obsidian-colored stones, but there the resemnce ended. The parapet was only thirty feet high, maybe forty, and the gates were made from iron-banded wood. No towering walls disappeared into the clouds, and no monolithic stones made up the walls¡ªthe ck blocks that formed the keep were more the size of overge bricks. Still, the keep wasrge. The walls were probably a quarter mile in circumference, and the tall, round towers that rose behind them were impressive. There wouldn¡¯t be any trouble fitting the Ninth and their Naghellirades into the fortification.

    As thest soldiers rushed past him, Victor turned and watched the tree line as their undead pursuers began to break through into the light of his banner. They shied back, parting as they rushed forward, working around the banner¡¯s glow along the edges of the clearing as though they meant to go around him to keep up their pursuit. Victor chuckled and turned, walking with long, heavy strides toward the rear lines of the soldiers as they pressed forward into the keep.

    The gates were probably twenty feet high, and when Victor stood before them, he took a moment to reach up with Lifedrinker to slice the cords holding the dead Naghelli against the stones. He carefully cradled their lifeless, pale bodies, strangely light and limp, in his arms as he stepped into the tunnel behind the gate. The passage was long with high ceilings and lined with various defensive measures¡ªmurder holes for arrows, nged, wide-mouthed brass openings that looked perfectly suited for spraying oil, andrge ballista tips protruding by the dozens. Victor was grateful Victoria hadn¡¯t yet betrayed him; he¡¯d hate to be walking through that tunnel observing the damage done to the troops he¡¯d sent through before him.

    When he stepped into the courtyard, he noted, again, its simrities and differences from the Spirit ne version. Smooth ck stones lined the ground and the inner walls, but, again, everything was smaller. He could see the ramparts easily. The steps leading up to the keep with its round towers were just a few dozen yards beyond the gate, and standing atop them was a tall woman d in ck gossamer. Lam, Sarl, and Kethelket stood before the steps, the soldiers arrayed in rows, filling the courtyard. Still sitting atop Uvu, Va waited just beyond the inner gates and nodded to Victor as he stepped through.

    Victor wanted to address the woman and reassure his troops before someone did something violent, but first, he looked at the nearest sergeant and said, ¡°Take some soldiers and get that gate closed. The undead areing.¡±

    ¡°Sir!¡± She saluted him sharply and then addressed the line of bloodied soldiers she was standing with. ¡°Come on, Green Squad!¡±

    Victor watched them hurry into the tunnel behind him, and then he gentlyid the corpses of the dead Naghelli on the ck stones to the side of the gateway. Straightening, he turned and strode forward down the central aisle between the ranks of soldiers. Va rode beside him, keeping pace atop Uvu. The soldiers stood up straighter as he passed. Whether it was pride or the bolstering effect of his banner, Victor didn¡¯t know. Voices muttering echoed over the stone gs, and Victor knew the soldiers wanted to know what was happening. Who was this ck-d woman, why were they in the keep, and what would they do about the horde of undead closing around them?

    Victor stopped behind Lam and the others and looked up the steps, making eye contact with the woman¡ªVictoria. She looked simr to how he¡¯d seen her on the Spirit ne, but not exactly the same. She was tall, pale, and had blue eyes and long hair, but she didn¡¯t glow with ethereal light here. On this ne, her eyes were like pale ice, not cold stars. Her skin wasn¡¯t like polished ivory; it was a white, almost sickly pallor, and her lips weren¡¯t plump and red. They were thin, pressed together in something like a grimace as she obviously struggled to stand before them. She swayed slightly and gripped her side with one long-fingered hand, clearly in some difort.

    ¡°Lord Victor. I¡¯ve kept my part of the bargain. Will you keep yours?¡± Her voice rang through the courtyard, high and clear, and the soldiers grew quiet as they realized they were about to be privy to important talks.

    ¡°My part?¡± Victor¡¯s voice rumbled, rolling over the stone, bass notes echoing off the hard ck walls.

    ¡°You agreed not to kill me, to help me free myself from Prince Hector.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance.¡± Victor reached down and jostled Kethelket, getting the Naghelli¡¯s attention. ¡°Choose three of your best. Three with the highest will. Take this woman to a room in the keep and hold her until I have a chance toe speak with her.¡± Victor turned back to Victoria. ¡°You are not to speak a word to anyone¡ªnot until we¡¯ve spoken further. Your guardians will report to me immediately if you utter so much as a syble. Is that clear?¡±

    ¡°It is clear, Lord.¡± She attempted to curtsey and nearly copsed. Sarl moved to climb the steps, intent on aiding her, but Victor shot out a long arm and held him by the shoulder.

    ¡°Careful, Sarl. She¡¯s not one to be underestimated.¡± Victor stepped forward, mounting the steps three at a time, and when he loomed over Victoria, he held out his left hand, palm up. ¡°All of your rings, jewels, and dimensional containers. Don¡¯t test me by trying to be sneaky.¡±

    If possible, she nched further, but she started toply, pulling several rings off her left hand. ¡°Lord, some of these are precious to me. Heirlooms. Will you grant me a chance to bargain for their return?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep them safe for now.¡± He stood there, waiting as she deposited ring after ring onto his enormous palm, then she untied her silkyce sash and unwound it from her waist. She rolled it into a neat ball and pressed it to his palm.

    ¡°A container,¡± she sighed. Victor had to hand it to her; he wouldn¡¯t have thought the sash held a dimensional space.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the System stone?¡±

    ¡°You intend to im . . . of course you do.¡± She looked at him, her ice-chip eyes staring into his warm gold-brown ones, and when she spoke, he noted the yellowed nature of her teeth. They looked almost like old ivory, and he wondered if she was undead. He supposed it was likely; hadn¡¯t everyone else they¡¯d met from the invading army been undead? ¡°It¡¯s in the great hall beyond the doors here. Lord Victor, if you im this keep while I¡¯m here, I don¡¯t know what will happen to me.¡±

    Victor turned to see Kethelket standing behind him with three darkly cowled Naghelli. Had they put those cowls on as some sort of protection? As a means to intimidate their charge? Victor didn¡¯t know, but he liked it. ¡°Take her.¡± He stepped past them, ignoring Victoria¡¯s pleas to speak further, and when he stopped before Sarl, Victor cut his connection to his Iron Berserk, reducing his size to something a little morefortable for his captain to speak to. ¡°Get your soldiers on the walls. Find out everything you can about this keep¡¯s defenses. We have a horde to kill.¡±

    ¡°Aye, sir!¡± Sarl turned and began barking orders to his lieutenants.

    Victor looked at Va and Lam. ¡°Let¡¯s get a dialogue going with Borrius. I think our n has changed, but it might be even better now.¡± He nodded to a less crowded area of the courtyard, a corner to the left of the steps leading up. He walked over, and they followed. He noted a pensive expression on Va¡¯s face.

    She gripped his arm. ¡°Do you want to try to im this ce first?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk to Borrius first; it might be wise to time that with his assault. Hector is going to know it when I im this keep. He¡¯ll surely react. Let¡¯s be certain the main army¡¯s in a position to take advantage of that.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Va nodded curtly, and Victor paused to really look at her. She was covered in gore, well, all but her hauberk, which had already cleaned and polished itself. She¡¯d taken her helmet off in the courtyard, and he could see how her hair was soaked with sweat, how thickyers of grime covered her jawline where her sweat had dried with dust and blood over and over again. She¡¯d been through hell while he was on the Spirit ne.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I took so long.¡± He spoke softly, and Lam cleared her throat, moving a few steps away. She waved an arm and called Edeya closer, and they moved off, speaking in low tones.

    ¡°You did your best. It sounds like she was quite cunning.¡± Va tightened her grip on his forearm, pulling his attention back to her.

    ¡°She was, but most of the time I was gone was because I was an idiot and didn¡¯t remember how to move about on the Spirit ne.¡±

    ¡°An idiot?¡± Va raised an eyebrow. ¡°Do you know that no one else in this entire army could have done what you did?¡± Again, she squeezed his forearm, and he loathed the idea of her ever taking that hand away. At that moment, he wished she could hold his arm forever, however impractical. ¡°Will she aid us, do you think?¡±

    ¡°I think so. Maybe not willingly, but she seems to have a healthy sense of self-preservation. Speaking of that,¡± Victor turned back to the keep where the Naghelli had taken Victoria, ¡°I think I should speak to her sooner rather thanter. She¡¯s dangerous.¡± Victor realized he was still clutching the Death Caster¡¯s rings and sash in his left hand, so he raised his voice and said, ¡°Hey, Edeya.¡±

    The two Ghelli, one with golden wings and one with blue, turned away from their quiet conversation and walked toward him. ¡°Yes, Legate?¡±

    ¡°Your, uh, wings look cool.¡±

    Edeya¡¯s eyes opened wider, and she smiled. For someone who¡¯d just been embroiled in a massive battle with the undead, Victor thought she looked damn good. She¡¯d gotten taller, filled out a little, and her cheeks were glowing vibrantly. Her wings were broader and much more robust looking. He wondered if she could fly at all. Standing next to Lam, he could see she still had a ways to go to reach her stature, but she was definitely not the frail-looking, wispy girl he¡¯d be friends with. ¡°Cool?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Now quit trying to think of a way to make fun of me ande take these rings and stuff. Keep them separate from your other things, okay? We need to go through them carefully.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Edeya winked at him and smartly saluted, then took the bundle of Victoria¡¯s belongings from him. ¡°Lam and I are going to explore the keep a bit. Will that be all right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Let me know if you two find anything like that weird map in the other one.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the idea.¡± Lam grinned, and they walked back up the steps and into the open double doors.

    Victor continued to stare at the doorway, his mind drifting toward the strange undead woman he had to interrogate. Va shifted beside him. ¡°I should go with you.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to?¡±

    ¡°I think so.¡±

    Victor knew there was more to her desire than simply wanting to be present or to hear what Victoria had to say. He couldn¡¯t me her. He¡¯d feel the same in her shoes. ¡°God, so much is happening. I need to slow down and take a beat, get some advice. Shit! When¡¯s thest time I spoke to Kuhl Bach?¡±

    ¡°You spoke to him regrly while we traveled, but I haven¡¯t seen you do so since we came into the Marches. In your defense, you¡¯ve been busy, one fight leading to the next . . .¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know, but,¡± Victor shook his head, ¡°it¡¯s just that I always feel like this¡ªlike things are running away from me. Like I¡¯m running behind a horse, trying to grab the reins, trying to steer it away from one disaster or another. Remind me to take a minute to talk to him and, shit, to look at the Farscribe book I share with my cousin.¡±

    ¡°I will. For now, though, shall we contact Borrius?¡± She produced themand book from her storage ring.

    ¡°Yeah. Do you mind writing?¡±

    ¡°Not at all.¡± She smiled at him, and Victor could tell she was trying to help him rx. She was always like that. Always so damn supportive and cool. He remembered the first time he¡¯de to realize that, back in Coloss, when she¡¯d followed him over to the arena. He remembered how surprised he was when she didn¡¯t try to talk him out of enrolling in the fights. He¡¯d grown so used to others like Tha, Lam, and Rellia trying to direct his actions. Va never did that. Did she? He couldn¡¯t think of an instance. As he cleared his mind and tried to think of the best way to voice his intentions to Borrius, Victor resolved to let Va know how much he appreciated her. He¡¯d said as much recently, but he wanted to show her again. He wanted to make a habit of it.

 Book 6: Chapter 25: Ties That No Longer Bind

    Book 6: Chapter 25: Ties That No Longer Bind

    ¡°What it boils down to,¡± Victor sighed, closing the mand book,¡± the Farscribe book he shared with Rellia, Borrius, and Lam, ¡°is that we need more information. I think I need to speak to Victoria.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it odd? Her name? I¡¯ve never heard one like it before I met you.¡± Va and he sat together in his library. Victor had set up his travel home inside the courtyard, much as he had in the first keep they¡¯d conquered. They still hadn¡¯t ¡°conquered¡± this keep, but, for all intents and purposes, the Ninth and the Naghelli were in control despite the fact that a massive horde of undead surrounded them.

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely a name you could hear in my home world, same with Eric and Hector.¡± He looked at Va, watching how she pressed her lips together and clenched her fist. She was stressed, and he wasn¡¯t sure he should add any more detail, but he also wanted to be honest with her. ¡°She said our meeting was ¡®fated¡¯ when she learned my name. I think she¡¯s full of shit, that she was just struggling with things to say to keep me from killing her. Still, it¡¯s weird that our names are so simr. I want to get some answers from her. Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Va stood, her chair ttering on the hardwoods as it slid back.

    ¡°You okay?¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯d like a little more time between near-death experiences, but other than that, I¡¯m fine.¡±

    ¡°Yeah . . .¡± Victor let his response trail off as she turned to walk toward the front door. He sighed, straightened his clean shirt¡ªthey¡¯d taken a few minutes to wash up and change clothes¡ªand ran a hand in front of his wyrm-scale vest, sealing it shut. That done, he followed after her. She was waiting for him in the courtyard, looking up at the walls, watching the activity there. The soldiers were thick on the parapets, and it looked like they were taking shots at the undead outside.

    Before they¡¯d gone into his house tomunicate with Borrius and Rellia, Victor had watched from the parapets as the undead horde stopped and gathered outside of easy bow-shot range. They were so thick and tightly pressed together that a few zombies would inevitably stumble out of the formation¡ªif you could call it that¡ªand meander a bit closer. The soldiers were making a sport of trying to kill them from range. He didn¡¯t mind, and it seemed Sarl didn¡¯t either. It kept the troops entertained, and if they killed a few of the undead in the process, well, that meant fewer enemies to deal with down the road.

    ¡°Still at it?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I wonder if we shouldn¡¯t get more serious about it.¡± Va reached up, resting one slender-fingered hand at her throat, gently fidgeting with the choker Victor had given her. She was clearly deep in thought, picturing something, but she shook it off and looked up at him. ¡°Should we put together somerger attacks?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Definitely. Not yet, though. Let¡¯s get some information out of Victoria. Come on.¡± Victor turned to the steps leading into the keep, and when he¡¯d reached the top, he looked at the sergeant on duty and asked, ¡°Where are they holding the . . .dy who was here?¡±

    ¡°Inside, sir. Second level¡ªthe western tower. Guards are posted outside the door.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Victor stepped inside. He¡¯d only looked around the keep briefly before going into his travel home, but it was a very utilitarian, if impressively designed, structure. The smooth ck stones of the exterior continued inside, rising to arched ceilings illuminated by windows andmps, all ssed with blue and red stained crystal. The tinted lighting made the shadows strange and mysterious and gave the dark stone more depth. Just beyond the door was a great hall, and at its center was a hovering, slowly rotating stone just like the one in the other keep. Victor figured he¡¯d need to interact with it to officially ¡°im¡± the keep.

    Borrius and Rellia had agreed that he should wait. They were at odds, though, on what they should be doing in the meantime. Borrius wanted to hold his position. He¡¯d found a valley just south of the other keep where he¡¯d set up a massive ambush, hoping to catch Hector¡¯s troops as they rushed to retake the first keep. Rellia thought they should scout out the next territory to the south, get into position, and attack when Victor imed this ce. They¡¯d all agreed to hold off on a decision until Victor had interrogated Victoria.

    He climbed the stairs leading to the second level and followed the directions of posted guards to the hallway leading to the tower stairs. Two Naghelli stood outside the doors, darkly cowled, their faces so shadowed that Victor couldn¡¯t see their eyes. His earlier curiosity came to the fore, and he asked, ¡°Are those cowls significant?¡±

    ¡°Aye, Lord,¡± said the one on the left in a lilting soprano, startling him with its rity, ¡°they¡¯re heavily warded to protect us against Mind Energy.¡±

    ¡°Do you all have them?¡±

    ¡°No, Lord,¡± said the other guard, ¡°a few of us have the Mage Hunter ss and, as such, were outfitted with gear to help us in our profession.¡±

    ¡°Outfitted by?¡±

    ¡°Belikot, Lord,¡± said the first guard, her voice hushed, likely still nervous about uttering her old master¡¯s name aloud. Victor frowned, not pleased to be reminded that some of his best troops were once the bloodthirsty servants of a madman bent on world domination. He contemted telling the two Naghelli to stop calling him ¡°lord¡± but decided he had bigger fish to fry. Part of him also, he might admit with some guilt, wanted them to harbor as much respect and deference toward him as possible; he thought it might hinder thoughts of rebellion from forming in their minds.

    ¡°The prisoner is above?¡±

    ¡°Aye, Lord, with three guards.¡±

    Victor gestured to the door, and the female guard hurried to pull it open for him. It swung silently on hinges that fit into the stonework as though grown from it. He started through but paused and looked at the solid, hardwood door and the hinges again. ¡°Were the doors here already, or did our engineers make them?¡±

    ¡°They were here, Lord.¡±

    Victor nodded and started up the narrow steps, winding his way to the top with Va¡¯s boots clicking on the stones behind him. They¡¯d passed a couple of doorways when Va spoke up, ¡°You didn¡¯t stop them calling you lord.¡±

    ¡°You noticed?¡± Victor nced back at her with a crooked smile. ¡°Can you guess why?¡±

    ¡°You . . . want their respect.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but not for egotistical reasons.¡±

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t mean that. Some of our fear, the othermanders, has rubbed off on you. You have doubts about the Naghelli and want them to fear betraying you.¡±

    ¡°You can read me like a book, huh?¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯m learning to know you fairly well.¡± Her voice carried a hint of amusement, and Victor wondered if a double entendre was mixed in there.

    He changed the subject. ¡°You noticed this keep seems newer than the other?¡±

    ¡°It seems that way, but it could be just as old with better preservation magic.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Good point.¡± Victor stepped onto a broadnding at the top of the stairs, and when he looked to his left, he saw two more cowled Naghelli. He stepped toward them. ¡°Where¡¯s your third?¡±

    ¡°Within, Lord. One of us has eyes on the prisoner at all times.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Victor nodded to the door. ¡°Any problems? I¡¯m going in.¡±

    ¡°No problems, Lord. She¡¯s not uttered a word.¡± He turned to the tower, twisted arge, silver key in thetch, and then began to open the door.

    ¡°The key was here?¡±

    ¡°Aye. In the door.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡± Victor stepped into the room, squinting against the bright light. The room was circr and clearly upied the entire top of the tower. Pale blue stained-ss panels, bonded with strips of melted silver, filled alcoves in every wall, and the sunlighting in was, thus, tinted and seemed to draw out hints of blue in the dark stones of the floor and vaulted ceiling. The only furniture in the room was a plush, straight-backed wooden chair at the center where Victoria sat. A Naghelli, who¡¯d been standing in front of the door, turned to bow as Victor and Va stepped into the room.

    ¡°You can wait outside.¡± Victor nodded to the guard.

    ¡°Aye, Lord.¡± The slight figure hurried past him, and Victor caught a whiff of something like cinnamon on the air stirred by her passage. Every time he started to think he was getting to know the peoples of this world along with their customs, he found more unanswered questions. He pushed the thought aside and regarded Victoria. She sat with a straight back, her dark, multiyered, silky dress and skirts hiding most of her body; only her pale neck, face, and hands were exposed to the light. She tracked his movement with her pale blue eyes, never once ncing at Va, who also stepped into the room, closing the door with a satisfying, well-oiled <em>click</em> behind her.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you didn¡¯t try to influence my soldiers.¡± When she didn¡¯t reply but only watched him, unblinking, Victor added, ¡°You may speak.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a fool, nor do I wish my existence to end this day. You brought me to the brink of true death, and I¡¯ll not soon forget the feeling.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Victor stood in front of Victoria, rubbing at the rough stubble on his chin, staring at her while Va walked in a slow circle around the room, looking out the windows, then back at the woman, then up at Victor. She never said anything, but he knew she was thinking, taking things in.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Victoria dared to echo after a few moments of silence.

    ¡°I was thinking about that term¡ªtrue death. What do you mean, exactly? Are you undead?¡±

    ¡°No sense hiding it, is there? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve Death Casters in your army who will be able to confirm your suspicions. Where Ie from, if you¡¯re not undead, you¡¯re a ve, a meal, or fodder for the army. If we¡¯re honest, even if you¡¯re undead, you¡¯re likely one of those things anyway.¡±

    ¡°Where youe from?¡± Victor arched an eyebrow, trying to imagine a world like she described. It wasn¡¯t that hard for him; hadn¡¯t he seen movies and yed games with simr premises? He supposed it would be horrible in person, but hearing about it was just as abstract as those fictions.

    ¡°Dark Ember.¡± She winced as she spoke, and then, gasping, she said, ¡°If you want me to tell you more, Lord Victor, you¡¯ll need to sever my connection to Prince Hector. I¡¯ll die if I try to tell you anything of consequence.¡±

    Victor looked at Va and raised an eyebrow. It took her a moment to realize he was waiting for her to say something; she¡¯d been staring at Victoria¡¯s face. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Her eyes said she wished she could help more, but she had no experience with this sort of magic. Victor had an idea; he¡¯d dealt with a tether tying Belikot to his phctery and to Tha. Still, he wasn¡¯t exactly sure how he was supposed to help Victoria.

    ¡°What do I need to do?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll need . . .¡± Again, she winced and coughed, and dark flecks of nearly-ck blood touched her faded pink lips. She looked up at the ceiling, avoiding Victor¡¯s gaze, and said, through a throat that sounded strained and constricted, ¡°If someone were to attempt to sever a tether of control between a Death Caster and his thrall, he or she would need to open their inner eye to the Energy. When they found the thread stretching away, they¡¯d need to focus their will upon it and break it with a knife of their own Energy.¡± She squeezed her eyes shut and looked down, trembling, and Victor saw heavy, dark droplets leaking from the corners of her eyes, leaving long red tracks on her chalk-white cheeks. Was she weeping blood?

    ¡°Watch me,¡± he said to Va, then he turned his mind inward, focusing himself by looking at his Core. His four orbs of Energy pulsed and throbbed, full of power and potential, and he found it easy to calm his breathing and steady himself as he observed them. That done, he followed his pathways out of his body, taking the short route through his lungs and marveling at the smoldering magma in his breath Core as his mind¡¯s eye traveled past. Then his ¡°inner¡± eye was seeing outward, and he regarded Victoria before him, a thin, wavering, pale-blue ribbon stretching from the top of her head to the north-facing window.

    The ribbon fluttered as though caught in a breeze. Every so often, he could see a sh of brighter blue Energy traversing it, and he wondered what that was¡ªjust a bit of Energy that refreshed the spell from time to time? Information from Prince Hector to his thrall? The other way around? Could he see what Victor was doing? Victor didn¡¯t like that idea. He took two strides to close the distance, and then he reached out with his hand, cupping the ethereal ribbon. He couldn¡¯t feel it with his flesh, but he felt the tingle of the cold Energy as it prated it, touching the pathways beneath.

    Without a second thought, Victor yanked a heavy tendril of inspiration-attuned Energy out of his Core and pulled it through his pathways to his hand. He wasn¡¯t sure how to form the flowing Energy into a knife, but he had another idea. Focusing his will, he bent the bright, pulsing rope of his Energy around the pale, shimmering blue ribbon of the tether, and then he drew it tight. Victoria gasped and began to seize, shaking and shuddering. ¡°Hold her,¡± he growled as he focused his will, tightening his inspiration-attuned Energy, aiming to strangle and sever the tether.

    ¡°She¡¯s frothing at the mouth!¡± Va cried, but Victor couldn¡¯t look down to see her struggles. He was too focused, straining with everything he had to constrict his rope of Energy around the tether. He grew frustrated and angry as it resisted him, and he released his nearly ever-present hold on his aura, growling with his frustration as he bore down on his efforts. Still, the tether resisted him, and Victor, worried that his captive would die or be damaged beyond healing, reached into his Core and pulled out thick bands of his other three Energy types, stretching them out through his pathways where he wound them around the tether next to his original strand.

    The baleful red rope of rage, the dread-inducing coil of fear, and the glimmering, sparking ribbon of glory joined his inspiration-attuned Energy, and Victor pulled them all tight with a grunt and a headache-inducing effort of will. A keening wail burst from Victoria, and Va cried out as she fought to hold the undead woman still. Victor focused on his task, watching as the tether went from pale to dark blue to ck and then crumbled into motes of ash, utterly destroyed. He sighed heavily and let his Core retract his Energy. When he opened his eyes, he found Va sitting on the polished ck stone flooring with Victoria lying, insensate, in herp.

    ¡°Is she . . .¡±

    ¡°Not dead. Well, not totally dead.¡± Va frowned, and Victor could tell she wanted to drop the woman, to stand up and maybe wash her hands. Victoria¡¯s chin and throat were drenched in dark blood, as were her cheeks and ears; she¡¯d been bleeding profusely, it seemed.

    ¡°Do healing potions work on undead?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know . . .¡± Va gingerlyid her palm over Victoria¡¯s brow, one of the few ces unstained by her blood. ¡°She¡¯s cold, but I can feel her breathing. Why do the undead breathe?¡±

    ¡°Good question.¡±

    With a soft groan and a wheezing cough, Victoria opened her bloodshot eyes and struggled to sit on her own. Va helped her, pushing her off herp so she sat, legs sprawled out with her dark dress covering them in front of her. After a few minutes of wheezing breathing, she cleared her throat and said, ¡°There are undead, and then there are undead, Lord Victor. My body still breathes and flows with blood, though more sluggishly than yours.¡±

    ¡°Did I free you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but far more slowly and torturously than I¡¯d hoped. Why didn¡¯t you simply sever the tether? You strangled it to death! All the while, Hector tried to pull my spirit through it.¡±

    ¡°Be grateful, witch!¡± Va growled, and Victoria jerked to look over her shoulder at her.

    ¡°My apologies, Lady.¡± She put a hand on the cushioned chair, struggling to stand up, but her arm was too shaky, and she fell back to the ground. ¡°I should, indeed, be grateful. Not I nor any of Prince Hector¡¯s Barons could have severed that tether.¡±

    ¡°Here.¡± Victor held out a hand, and when she took it in her cold fingers, he pulled her to her feet. ¡°Sit down.¡± He nodded to the chair. Va hopped up before Victor could offer her a hand. ¡°Well? Can you answer all of my questions now?¡±

    ¡°All that I know the answers to, aye.¡± She wiped at the blood around her mouth with the back of her long, ck sleeve. ¡°Would a bath be possible? Perhaps when you¡¯re done with my questions?¡±

    ¡°If we don¡¯t decide to execute you.¡± Va stood behind Victoria, and for the first time in a while, Victor noticed her cat-like canines as she growled the threat. She¡¯d leaned close and spoke into Victoria¡¯s right ear.

    ¡°Ah . . .¡± Victoria¡¯s eyes widened, and she looked from Victor toward Va, but the Sword Dancer had noiselessly stepped back and was on her other side. Victoria looked back to Victor and nodded. ¡°Of course. I might say, I do hope you¡¯ll find mercy in your hearts . . .¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not get bogged down with emotion right now.¡± Victor squatted before the undead woman and began his questioning, ¡°Tell me what thesends were like when Prince Hector¡¯s army arrived. Were there any defenders? Natives, I mean? People living in these keeps?¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 26: Information

    Book 6: Chapter 26: Information

    ¡°There were beasts and monsters; at least, that¡¯s how Prince Hector characterized them. I wasn¡¯t with his vanguard¡ªI didn¡¯t see the initial settlement. I was allowed through the portal nearly six months after his conquest began. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here, on the edge of his territory and not in Heart Sorrow.¡±

    ¡°Heart Sorrow?¡± Va asked from behind the pale woman.

    ¡°His capital in the new world. The city, well, town, really, beneath the veil star.¡±

    ¡°Veil star?¡± This time, it was Victor who prodded.

    ¡°The green light in the sky?¡± Victoria widened her bloodshot eyes, surprised, it seemed, by her captors¡¯ ignorance. ¡°It¡¯s a ritual creation of death-attuned Energy. Prince Hector uses it to weaken the veil, the barrier between the Spirit ne and a number of other nes where the undead thrive.¡±

    ¡°And that has the effect of . . .?¡± Va leaned close to Victoria from behind, speaking into her ear.

    ¡°It makes Death Casters¡¯ spells more effective and easier. It allows Prince Hector to bolster his forces with beings he pulls through the veil. It, well, it weakens the living, supnting the natural Energy that suffuses an area with death-attuned Energy. Many such stars hang in the skies of Dark Ember.¡±

    ¡°Are all undead Death Casters?¡± Victor dug around in his ring for a chair and produced a in, wooden one with wicker ts. When he set it down and slowly lowered his frame atop it, the ts creaked with the strain.

    ¡°All undead have some death affinity. Some have stronger affinities that they focus on, though.¡±

    ¡°Like blood?¡± Va asked, still pacing behind their prisoner.

    ¡°Exactly.¡± Once again, Victoria tried to twist her head to look at Va as she answered, but, like a cat, Va had silently stepped away. ¡°Will you kill me?¡± She turned back to Victor.

    ¡°I¡¯m not in the habit of killing in cold blood, but there are some crimes we¡¯ll need you to answer for. The more helpful you are now, the more it might aid your case.¡± He surprised himself with the answer. He wasn¡¯t sure where it came from but supposed it was true. She had killed the two Naghelli who¡¯d flown into the keep, but it could be argued that they were in the wrong¡ªinvading her territory, attacking the ghost. Still, she didn¡¯t have to hang them from the walls. That was going to be hard to get the troops to forget.

    On a more personal level, she¡¯d tried to . . . do something to Victor on the Spirit ne. Again, though, they¡¯d been at war. Could he forgive it? He¡¯d given her worse than he¡¯d gotten in their little scuffle. The truth was, he wasn¡¯t sure what he¡¯d do with the undead woman. Was her very nature arge enough crime to warrant destruction? Were undead ever peaceful? He had too many questions, but at the moment, he needed answers to more pressing concerns. ¡°What tier are you? What about Prince Hector?¡±

    ¡°Tier?¡±

    ¡°If the word confuses you, then tell us your level, witch.¡± Va, Victor thought, was doing a fantastic job of ying bad cop. Every time she spoke, Victoria flinched.

    ¡°I . . .¡± She licked at her dry, pink lips, and Victor was almost surprised to see her tongue provide some moisture. Did undead create saliva? Apparently, this one did. ¡°Forgive my hesitation. It¡¯s not something one speaks of on Dark Ember. Still,¡± she held up a hand when Victor scowled, ¡°you have me at a disadvantage. I am level fifty-nine, and Prince Hector is significantly stronger than I.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know his level?¡± Victor¡¯s scowl deepened.

    ¡°I do not, though many have spected that he¡¯s above seventy.¡± At her words, Victor looked past Victoria¡¯s shoulder to Va, and she raised her eyebrows but shrugged. He knew what she was thinking¡ªVictor had faced worse on Zaafor.

    ¡°You¡¯re doing well, Victoria.¡± Victor shifted, leaning back slightly, and his chair creaked in protest. ¡°Do you want something to drink? Do you? Drink, I mean.¡±

    ¡°I . . . yes, I do. Might I have a touch of wine? I¡¯m exceedingly nervous, and my mouth is dry. The ordeal of severing the tether has . . .¡± She stopped speaking as Va stepped around to face her, producing a silver cup and a dark bottle of wine. She held the cup out, Victoria took it, and then Va carefully poured it full of the wine. ¡°Thank you.¡± Va didn¡¯t smile or respond. She put the bottle away, sending it into one of her rings, and then she walked behind Victoria again.

    Victor watched as his prisoner carefully sipped at the dark liquid. ¡°How many troops does Hector have? I was surprised to hear that there are fifty thousand undead around this keep.¡±

    Victoria swallowed and exhaled softly, closing her eyes as though savoring the beverage. ¡°That wine is exquisite, Lady . . .¡± she trailed off, perhaps hoping Va would respond. When she didn¡¯t, she answered Victor¡¯s question, ¡°The undead in the forest around this keep are mindless chaff. They are the bulk of the lesser undead that Hectormands, though there are some thousands here and there, adding to the numbers of his more potent forces. As I¡¯m sure you know by now, there are five perimeter keeps like this one. A baron or baroness holds each,¡± she gestured to herself, ¡°and each has an army, though some, like myself, have only a few loyal guards. Well, <em>had.</em>¡±

    ¡°And past the perimeter keeps toward Hector?¡± Va leaned close again, startling Victoria with her words.

    ¡°The Gateway Citadels. They guard the causeway leading to Hector¡¯s fortress under the veil star.¡±

    ¡°And we can¡¯t just go around the citadels?¡±

    ¡°It would be difficult. Hector¡¯s foothold sits atop a mountain. Well, a dormant volcano, really. As I told you, I wasn¡¯t here when he first arrived, so I don¡¯t know if he built it into what it is or if the System deliberately ced his portal there, but sheer cliffs protect him on all sides. The citadels guard the only road leading up.¡±

    ¡°So, why is the undead horde here?¡± Victor was trying not to get bogged down in details that wouldn¡¯t be pertinent for a while; they¡¯d deal with the citadels when the time was right. It was enough for him to know they were there for now; he¡¯d let his subconscious stew on the issue for a while.

    ¡°This forest and thends to the east, which you just took from the reavers, are the northernmost border of Hector¡¯s new domain. I believe he was gathering forces to push through the mountains.¡±

    ¡°You believe?¡±

    ¡°Hector does not confide in me. The only person who might know his full ns is his consort, Catalina.¡±

    ¡°Catalina?¡± Victor sat up, grunted, and rubbed at his head. Each question this woman answered led to five more in his head. ¡°Are you guys from Earth?¡±

    ¡°Earth . . .¡± Victoria¡¯s eyes grew wide, and she stared into nothing for a moment, then she refocused, looking directly at Victor. ¡°Not we, but those who settled Dark Ember.¡±

    Victor lifted his focus over Victoria¡¯s head, meeting Va¡¯s gaze. She looked surprised, but she nodded, encouraging him to continue that line of questioning. ¡°How long? How long ago did they ¡®settle¡¯ Dark Ember?¡±

    ¡°The Ebon Circle came to and conquered Dark Ember twelve hundred years ago.¡± She sipped her wine as Victor stared at her, silently doing math in his head, trying to imagine some powerful Death Casters leaving Earth in the eighth or ninth century. ¡°How do you know of Earth?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t think it¡¯s odd that my name is simr to yours?¡±

    ¡°But Earth was dead, devoid of Energy . . . it¡¯s why the founders fled!¡±

    ¡°Well, that might be, but people still live there.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not that old?¡± Va leaned close as she asked her question, once again startling Victoria.

    ¡°Me? I¡¯m no founder. I¡¯ve yet to see my first century. No, the rulers of Dark Ember weren¡¯t invited by the System to this little conquest. The portal repels those beyond a certain threshold of power.¡±

    Va looked interested but shook her head and stepped back, meeting Victor¡¯s eyes. ¡°We need to focus.¡± She gestured to the windows, and though it was vague, Victor knew what she meant. They were surrounded by undead, had Borrius and Rellia waiting for information, and needed to make a decision about their next move. He stood from the chair, stretched his back, and paced in a small circle behind the poor, overtaxed piece of furniture.

    ¡°Problem is, I¡¯ve got a million questions. How sensitive are Hector¡¯s forces to light? Is it just my banner? Certain types of Energy? Are the other barons any stronger than Eric was? Are . . .¡±

    ¡°Was? Eric is dead?¡±

    Victor held up his hand and continued his train of thought, ¡°How many more invaders areing? How many undead can Hector create, pulling them through the ¡®veil?¡¯ Doesn¡¯t he need bodies for them?¡± He saw Victoria inhale, saw her preparing to speak, but he cut her off, ¡°Don¡¯t answer yet. I¡¯ve got a dozen more questions, but we really need to focus on one thing: What will Hector do if I im this keep?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll assume I¡¯m dead now that you¡¯ve cut the tether¡ªdead or being tortured.¡± She licked her lips, noticeably stained by the wine. ¡°He may be acting already. He knows his horde is alive¡ªhe can feel his thralls, all of them, to one degree or another. He¡¯ll assume they¡¯re holding your army here in the keep, preventing you from marching forth. Even without you iming this keep, I would wager that he¡¯s already sent forces to reim the one meant for Eric. He¡¯s likely sending one of his stronger Barons here, as well. He knows his horde, the mindless undead outside these walls, cannot breach these walls. He¡¯ll send someone with siege units. Someone like Karl the Crimson.¡±

    ¡°Va,e with me for a minute.¡± Victor walked to the door and opened it. He looked at the trio of cowled Naghelli standing on thending outside. ¡°Watch her. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Then he walked down the stairs a ways, putting some distance between himself and the tower. When he turned, he found Va right behind him, still moving with near-silent steps. ¡°We need to make some preparations here, but, more importantly, we need Borrius to hold fast in his ambush position. I hadn¡¯t thought about Hector knowing we were trapped here.¡±

    ¡°Are we?¡± Va frowned.

    ¡°Trapped? I mean, not you and me. Not the Naghelli, but the Ninth? I think so, Va; there are fifty thousand undead surrounding this ce by now. We have to think of a way to destroy them, or the Ninth won¡¯t be able to leave.¡±

    Va nodded and pulled the Command book out of her storage. ¡°What should I tell them?¡±

    ¡°Tell them to hold their position, to crush the army on its way to the keep.¡± Victor shook his head and rubbed his chin. ¡°We need to think of different names for these keeps. I¡¯m not feeling particrly creative, but we¡¯ll call the first one Old Keep and this one ck Keep for now.¡±

    Va raised an eyebrow, and her mouth twisted into a half smile. Victor knew she wanted to tease him, but she didn¡¯t, and he was grateful. ¡°Very well. They¡¯re to destroy the armying to reim Old Keep and thene to help us?¡±

    ¡°No. Then they¡¯re to push south and take whatever keep those forces came from.¡±

    That got a reaction out of Va. She lowered the book, still unopened, and looked at him with something like rm. ¡°We¡¯re going to take on fifty thousand enemies? Plus, whatever monstrosities this Karl the Crimson is bringing?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t risk getting our whole army bogged down with this horde. We need to deal with it. As long as we¡¯re holding this keep and fighting them, then it¡¯s like we¡¯ve tied one of Hector¡¯s hands behind his back. We¡¯ve already beaten three of his armies. If Borrius and Rellia can kill the armying to take back Old Keep, then take the next . . . he¡¯s going to get desperate. Desperate enemies make mistakes.¡±

    Va nodded, and her expression told Victor she was trusting him, and it stressed him out more than if she¡¯d argued. What if he was wrong? What if Karl the Crimson came here and smashed the walls, allowing that enormous army to swarm into the keep? The best he could hope for in such a scenario was for a small percentage of them to flee. Victor forced his face to remain neutral, to project confidence as he said, ¡°I¡¯m going to get some more answers from her.¡± He jerked his head up the steps. ¡°Can youmunicate with the othermanders? Can you fill Lam, Sarl, and Kethelket in on what we¡¯ve learned? Get Edeya to help you if you want.¡±

    ¡°I will . . .¡± She paused, her mouth slightly open, and nced up the steps. When she looked back at him, she smiled and continued, ¡°I want to caution you about her ability to manipte you, but I don¡¯t think she¡¯s your type. Something about cold, dead skin doesn¡¯t seem like it would attract you . . .¡±

    Victor chuckled and reached out, pulling Va into a hug. He was three steps down from her, so she pressed nicely into his chest as he said, ¡°She¡¯s definitely not going to manipte me that way, don¡¯t worry. It wouldn¡¯t matter if she were fully alive and beautiful; she doesn¡¯t hold a candle to you.¡±

    Va pushed out of his hug, her hands on his chest, and then she reached up and grabbed the sides of his neck, tugging. Her fingers always felt cool to him, probably because he had a Core of magma inside his chest. He leaned into her pull, and she kissed him softly and briefly. Then, without another word, she was gone, slipping silently down the steps, not even her wyrm-scale armor betraying her passage. Victor turned and trudged back up to the tower door.

    Inside, after the guard had left and closed the door, Victor carefully sat down in the chair again. Victoria stared at him, eyes full of concern. They were very expressive, those eyes. Her flesh was pale, but dark rings circled their hollows, and the pale irises hadyers and depths that Victor could look into for a long while, guessing at the thoughts inside her head. He didn¡¯t have time for that, though, so he asked, ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I kill you?¡±

    ¡°I can see the oceans of blood you¡¯ve shed in your gaze, Lord. I can see that my death would be just a feather atop a pile of lead. Still, I think it woulde to weigh on you¡ªI mean you no harm. I¡¯m free of my bond to Prince Hector, and I <em>want</em> to live. Trust that, if nothing else. I will not act in a way that will make me a threat to you simply because I know you will then have a reason to y me. Keep me bound in this tower if you like. When you win this war, you can banish me.¡±

    ¡°And if I lose?¡±

    ¡°Then Prince Hector will likely kill me. He won¡¯t trust that I didn¡¯t aid you. I <em>have</em> aided you, have I not?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve dealt with undead and Death Casters in the past, but it was always with an axe in my hand.¡± Victor rested a hand on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft in illustration. ¡°Tell me, can the undead live peacefully among the living?¡±

    Victoria chewed at the dry flesh of her lower lip nervously, and her eyes darted up to Lifedrinker¡¯s haft and then back to Victor¡¯s face. ¡°In truth? Not easily, Lord. We must cultivate death-attuned Energy. It¡¯s difficult to do so in a thriving environment among living things. In worlds where the undead don¡¯t dominate, we keep to ourselves in ces of death. Of course, Prince Hector has other ideas for this realm; that veil star is the first of many he intends to call into being. He means to turn this world into one much like Dark Ember¡ªa ce where the living are held in pens or kept as pets and used . . .¡±

    ¡°I get it. You don¡¯t have to sell me on the idea that I need to stop Hector. Tell me how you¡¯re going to avoid his fate. Won¡¯t you wither away in this tower if I im thesends and we don¡¯t bring you near any sources of death Energy?¡±

    ¡°I have many reserves, Lord. I will be fine if I stay here and don¡¯t use my Energy. It will sustain me for years. As I said, you can decide where to send me when you''ve won. I have suggestions . . .¡±

    ¡°Tell me about this Karl, guy.¡± Again, Victor interrupted her. He wasn''t sure if he was impatient, angry, or just trying to keep her off-bnce. Whatever the reason, it seemed to be working; for a woman who was at least partially dead, she seemed incredibly stressed.

    ¡°Karl is a brute! He¡¯s a colossus of a man with gargantuan constructs of flesh and bone for soldiers.¡±

    ¡°Big like Eric or big like me?¡±

    ¡°More like you, Lord. He¡¯s worked for centuries modifying his mortal vessel. He¡¯s a Carnemancer¡ªa certain type of Death Caster who uses death Energy to control and mold the undead. He, himself, is undead, and he¡¯s done much work on his form.¡± Her lips twisted in distaste, and Victor chuckled at her double standard.

    ¡°You think you¡¯re better?¡±

    ¡°I am! My phantoms serve me in their natural forms, growing more powerful through their cooperation with me. I don¡¯t enve them and warp them and . . .¡±

    ¡°Enough.¡± Victor shook his head and stood up, depositing his chair into storage. ¡°Same rules as before¡ªno talking unless it''s to me. I¡¯ll be back to speak to you soon enough.¡± She nodded, and Victor stepped out of the room and, after reiterating his expectations to the guards, he started down toward the courtyard. He had to meet with Sarl and the others; they had a siege to prepare for.

 Book 6: Chapter 27: - Old Friends and More Plans

    Book 6: Chapter 27: - Old Friends and More ns

    ¡°A fire?¡± Edeya frowned, peering beyond the parapet, over the rough ground to the distant milling throng of the undead.

    ¡°Yeah, a real horror of a forest fire. Something you¡¯d never wish to see happen, except for maybe if your forest was full of zombies and shit.¡± Victor leaned against the smooth ck stones on one elbow and looked at Edeya with a wry smile. ¡°What do you think?¡± He¡¯d been standing on the ramparts, watching the undead for hours. Va had gone off to write in the Command book, hoping for an update from Rellia or Borrius. Sarl was busy with his lieutenants, Kethelket was scouting with a few of his Naghelli, and Lam was sleeping¡ªcatching up on a few nights of inadequate sleep, as she¡¯d put it. Edeya, though, had been keeping himpany.

    ¡°I . . . I think it sounds too easy. Do you think they¡¯ll burn?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯m betting if we send the Naghelli south, over the horde to the edge of the forest, then have them light it up, fan it with some magical winds . . .¡± Victor pantomimed mes burning with his fingers wriggling in the air and then blew on them. ¡°Whoosh! I bet we can cut down the number of undead outside our walls.¡±

    ¡°But the forest . . .¡±

    ¡°I mean, fires happen, right? It sucks, but the forest will recover. Don¡¯t some trees need fires to make their seeds sprout?¡±

    Edeya¡¯s blue dragonfly wings vibrated rapidly for a second, shedding thousands of little motes of light, and she blushed. ¡°Sorry! I¡¯m still getting used to how expressive my wings have be!¡± Victor just grinned at her, and she continued speaking rapidly, ¡°It¡¯s true; a forest will recover from a fire. A <em>normal</em> fire. I hope whatever mes the Naghelli Pyromancers can summon won¡¯t prove too destructive.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s put it this way¡ªthat forest is never going to recover if Prince Hector wins. It¡¯ll be a dreary, dying, horrible ce.¡±

    ¡°A fair point, Legate.¡± Edeya smiled, and Victor marveled at how good she looked. He¡¯d never have recognized her if she had shown up looking like this back in the mines¡ªher wings were twice the size of the runty things she¡¯d had before. She was a good deal taller and far more filled out; her forearms, protruding from her rolled-up uniform sleeves, were wiry with muscle.

    ¡°Have you had a chance to practice with Kethelket?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Oh, never mind. I guess he¡¯s been pretty busy, and so have you. I asked him to work on your spear skills with you.¡±

    ¡°You asked . . .¡± Edeya¡¯s eyebrows turned down, and her newly blue eyes turned stormy. ¡°You asked a Naghelli to teach me to use the spear?¡±

    ¡°Not teach you to use . . .¡±

    ¡°Do you know how insulting that is to a Ghelli?¡± Her voice had grown shrill with outrage.

    ¡°No, I guess . . .¡±

    ¡°I will <em>not</em> take lessons from <em>Prince</em> Kethelket!¡± Her eyes sparked with blue Energy, and Edeya turned on her heel and stomped away.

    ¡°What the hell?¡± The abrupt disy of furypletely took Victor aback. Hadn¡¯t Edeya been one of the more reasonable ones when it came to epting the Naghelli? What was the deal with her eyes shing with Energy? Was it something to do with her new bloodline? The more Victor thought about it, the more he felt that was the answer to the puzzling outburst. He considered how his Quinametzin bloodline sometimes rose up in him and made him say something or act a certain way. Maybe some Cobalt Wing ancestor of Edeya¡¯s had a real problem with Naghelli, and she was unconsciously channeling her. ¡°Or him.¡± Victor shrugged.

    He looked out over the clearing toward the forest again, watching the shifting, aimless, uncountable thousands of undead. How long did they have before some baron of Hector¡¯s showed up and took charge of the horde? How long before these undead were pouring through a shattered wall, flooding the keep with their bodies, overwhelming the Ninth? They needed to do something. He had half a mind to jump out there and start going to town with Lifedrinker, killing as many as he could before his Energy ran low, and he had to retreat. Wouldn¡¯t that work? If he killed a few hundred or even thousands of them at a time? The answer was that it depended on how much time they had.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he grunted, starting for the stairs, nodding to the soldiers he walked past, ¡°time to quit wasting time.¡± A young woman with bright yellow hair saluted him with wide eyes, clearly having heard what he said. Victor winked at her and hopped down the steps, five at a time. ¡°Sarl!¡± he yelled.

    ¡°Sir!¡± Sarl replied, startling him; he¡¯d been standing near the base of the stairs.

    ¡°Can you get ahold of Kethelket? It¡¯s time to do something about this horde.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s within the keep, sir. Something about updating the maps in the Command book.¡±

    ¡°Can you grab him and Va? Also, get Lam¡ªwake her if you need to. We¡¯ll meet in my house in fifteen minutes.¡±

    Sarl didn¡¯t waste time with words. He mmed his fist to his chest and then hurried to the keep. The two lieutenants he¡¯d been speaking to looked around with nk expressions, clearly wondering what to do now that Victor had interrupted whatever they¡¯d been up to with Sarl. He nodded to them. ¡°Go on, then. Practice with your weapons if you don¡¯t know what else to do.¡± He strode across the courtyard and into his house, only to almost smash face-first into Edeya. She¡¯d been heading for the exit when he stepped in.

    ¡°Victor, I . . .¡±

    ¡°You okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I don¡¯t know what came over me! I got filled with such anger when you mentioned the . . . you know.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t say it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to! Something in me really, really doesn¡¯t like them.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s your bloodline, I¡¯m guessing. Did you have a vision when you advanced?¡±

    ¡°Yes! An amazing experience! I walked in the Blue Deep when the world was new. I . . .¡±

    ¡°Hold up!¡± Victor held up a hand, chuckling. ¡°I want to hear about your vision bute sit with me. The others will be here soon, and we might be interrupted, but I want you to know that I get it. My bloodline changed me a little, too.¡± Heughed and walked past her to the long table, where he pulled out the chair at the right end and sat down. ¡°Sit down.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Edeya was stiffly formal as she pulled out the chair and folded her hands before her on the tabletop. Victor knew she was trying to make up for her outburst.

    ¡°Rx, all right? I¡¯m not upset. Sometimes, my Quinametzin ancestry influences how I respond to certain things, especially when I feel like someone is challenging me. I¡¯m sure your Cobalt Wing ancestor has a good reason to hate the Naghelli, but you can take control of those emotions. They don¡¯t have to control you. It¡¯s a matter of practice and, well, I guess will.¡±

    ¡°My will is one of my lower attributes, but Lam thinks I should start to focus on it now that I have a new affinity.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I agree with Lam. Everyone could benefit from more will. You know ites in handy in many ways, right? It helps you to resist mental influences, it helps you to affect others with your magic, it helps your Energy pool to grow, but even more, it helps it to recover more quickly. I could go on, but did you know will is my primary attribute? It¡¯s higher than my strength and even my vitality.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Edeya¡¯s eyes were wide, and she leaned forward with genuine interest. ¡°I never would have guessed that, but looking back, it makes a kind of sense. You never broke, no matter the hell you went through. When you disappeared into the depths with Tha, I thought I¡¯d seen thest of you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Well, I¡¯m trying to make the point that you don¡¯t have to let your bloodline dictate your actions or feelings. You can push back if you want to, and I think in the case of Kethelket, you should try. He has a lot to teach someone like you, hell, anyone, really. He¡¯s very skilled with weapons. You know he was alive before the joining, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I knew that.¡± She frowned, and he saw her fingers tightening where she held them sped. ¡°I guess I never <em>really</em> thought about the implications, though. I didn¡¯t know he was a spear fighter.¡±

    ¡°He learned the spear before the sword.¡±

    ¡°I will try to hold my feelings in check, Victor.¡± She nodded curtly, and Victor knew she was struggling to maintain herposure. He decided to let the matter drop for the moment.

    ¡°All right. I don¡¯t want to keep bugging you, so I¡¯ll drop it. You know, Edeya, I¡¯m still Victor¡ªthe one you met in the mines. I have nice armor and gained a bunch of levels, but I¡¯m not really much older or wiser or anything. I¡¯m still screwing up constantly. Don¡¯t worry about yelling at me, okay?¡±

    Edeya smiled, and it was the same expression he remembered despite the many changes that had urred in her. ¡°You¡¯ve changed more than you think. You¡¯re a hero¡ªa literal hero. You¡¯ve saved so many people and performed some feats that people all over the Empire are talking about. You might feel the same in here,¡± she rapped her knuckles on his armored chest, ¡°but you¡¯re not. You¡¯ve learned a lot.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor coughed into the back of his hand, hiding a brief surge of emotion, ¡°I appreciate you saying that. I¡¯m d I still have you to talk to. You know, of all the people in this army, even Tha, only one person has known me longer than you have.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s kind of sad. Who? Lam?¡±

    ¡°Uh, well, I guess, technically, Lam has known <em>about</em> me at least as long as you, but you <em>knew</em> me first. Right? Anyway, I was talking about Sarl. I met him when I was new in the world.¡±

    ¡°So . . .¡±

    ¡°So, you¡¯re important to me. Remember that! Now, have you had a chance to look at Victoria¡¯s things?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re important to me too, Victor. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t forget what a strange, idiotic boy you used to be.¡± Sheughed and punched him on the shoulder. ¡°About the undeaddy¡¯s things, only briefly. I was afraid to do more than a cursory examination. The containers are still bonded to her, and I didn¡¯t know if you intended to return any of the objects.¡±

    ¡°What kinds of things did she have?¡±

    ¡°Two storage rings. Thatcy sash was also a storage device. Let¡¯s see, a mundane if pretty bracelet, three other magical rings, and a very Energy-dense amulet that frightened me. I didn¡¯t try to investigate it.¡±

    ¡°Let me see it.¡±

    Edeya opened arge leather satchel she wore attached to her belt and dug around for a moment, and then she deposited a silver pendant attached to a long, fine-linked silver chain on the table. She ced it face up, and Victor could see it was carved with the likeness of a youthful woman,plete with fine details like individual strands of hair looping down over the sharp jawline. Her eyes were just as detailed, and the irises were tiny, perfectly cut red gemstones. ¡°Damn.¡± He picked it up and ran his thumb over the carving, marveling at the craftsmanship and wanting to confirm that it wasn¡¯t some trick of the light, that it wasn¡¯t, in fact, a portrait.

    ¡°Do you feel it?¡±

    ¡°Nothing in particr. I mean, other than the tiny, carved details.¡±

    ¡°I felt something stir within. It almost seemed alive when I touched it.¡±

    ¡°Well.¡± Victor frowned. ¡°Do you want me to take it? I can ask her about it.¡±

    ¡°I can keep it with the other things.¡± Edeya held out her hand, and Victor handed the amulet over. He was about to ask her to let him see one of the storage rings when he heard footsteps approaching from the foyer.

    ¡°Tell you what,¡± he said, standing up to greet the others, ¡°I¡¯ll bring you with me when I go talk to herter. We can give her the in bracelet and try to go over some of that stuff. Cool?¡±

    Edeya smirked. ¡°Cool.¡±

    ¡°Now you¡¯re getting it!¡±

    ¡°You have a n?¡± Lam¡¯s voice rang out as she strode into the room. ¡°I was looking for you, Edeya.¡±

    ¡°Oh . . .¡±

    ¡°She was helping me with the n.¡±

    ¡°A n?¡± This time, it was Kethelket who spoke up as he entered the room. Right on his heels were Va and Sarl.

    ¡°You¡¯re all here, good. Sit down, everyone.¡± Victor gestured to the empty seats, then he led by example, pulling his chair up, grinding the feet over the wooden floor.

    ¡°Please tell me you aren¡¯t going to try to fight the whole horde all alone.¡± Va ran her fingertips over the nape of his neck as she passed, sending an electric shiver down his spine. She grinned at him as she sat in the chair to his right.

    ¡°Not exactly.¡± Victor waited for everyone to sit down and give him their attention. ¡°We¡¯re going to start a forest fire, a real motherfucking inferno of one.¡±

    ¡°Mother . . .¡± Kethelket shook his head, eyes wide with disgust.

    ¡°Not literally! Rx, listen. Kethelket, how many Pyromancers are among your people here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not exactly sure, but at least,¡± he looked up at the ceiling, and Victor could see his fingers moving as he silently counted, ¡°thirty. At least thirty of my two hundred have fire affinities. Some much stronger than others.¡±

    ¡°And you have a simr amount with air affinities?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d say so, yes.¡± Victor could see him connecting the dots in his head, putting together what Victor was going to ask of him. ¡°There may be some problems with this n.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I figured I might not have thought of everything.¡±

    ¡°You want the Naghelli to fly past the undead and light the forest afire?¡± Sarl nodded enthusiastically. ¡°I like it. They seem to burn well, the undead.¡±

    ¡°The mist is thick in the woods, and it seems to hinder mes. My casters were mentioning it after the battles the other day, but . . .¡± Kethelket stood and paced about while Victor watched, waiting for him to finish his statement. ¡°We may be able to mix some potent alchemical elerants. Yes. I believe Vussa and Holn have what we¡¯d need. May I speak to my people?¡±

    ¡°I have an alchemist with four assistants in my cohort. I¡¯m sure they can help.¡± Sarl also stood.

    ¡°Well, shit, I didn¡¯t have to exin much at all. Okay, go try to make a n¡ªkeep one thing in mind for your logistics: When you¡¯re ready, I¡¯m going to ride out and try to get the undead to chase me on Guapo. I¡¯ll lead them deeper into the woods.¡± At his words, Lam, Va, and Edeya all groaned. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I was simply waiting to see how this n would involve you risking your life. When you mentioned the Naghelli, I was hopeful that you¡¯d decided to let some others carry part of the burden for a while.¡± Va sighed heavily after speaking, and Victor saw Lam nodding along with her.

    ¡°You don¡¯t think I should do that? They can¡¯t catch Guapo . . .¡±

    ¡°Can Guapo truly charge through tens of thousands of undead?¡± Edeya held her face straight, but Victor could hear theughter in her words.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure he could get through a lot, and then I can leap and hack, and, well, you guys know I¡¯m pretty resistant to fire, right?¡±

    ¡°Forgive my dissension,¡± Kethelket had been nearly out of the room when Victor spoke up, but now he walked back to the table, ¡°but I feel you should be at the keep in case this other baron you mentioned shows up. He may already be en route, and the fire may not deter him, not if he¡¯s as strong as your prisoner indicated.¡±

    ¡°Well, I guess . . .¡±

    ¡°Additionally,¡± Kethelket continued, ¡°I have some ns to lure the undead further into the woods. My people are quite adept at baiting foes.¡±

    ¡°All right, all right.¡± Victor waved a hand toward the door. ¡°Don¡¯t let me slow you down. Let¡¯s make this happen.¡± He turned back to the table as they left. ¡°Any word from Borrius?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re lying in wait, but the scouts Kethelket left with them report an army approaching. They only counted two thousand, and Borrius is frothing at the mouth with anticipation.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯d hoped. I bet Hector thinks the main army is here. He either split his forces or sent the only nearby army he had to try to take Old Keep. I bet it¡¯s option number two. I think Borrius and Rellia will be able to push south and im another territory with hardly any resistance.¡±

    ¡°You really think this forest fire idea is going to work?¡± Victor could always trust Lam to speak her mind.

    ¡°I feel confident that it will at least partially work. We¡¯ll still have fighting to do here, especially if this Karl the Crimson asshole is on his way. Which,¡± he paused and summoned a bloody rag from his dimensional container, ¡°brings me to my next question. Do you guys think I should eat this now or save it?¡±

    ¡°Oh, roots! Is that a heart?¡± Edeya recoiled; she knew about Victor¡¯s strange ancestral habit, but she¡¯d never seen him in the act.

    ¡°I¡¯m not gonna eat it here, rx.¡± Victor sent the organ back into his ring. ¡°I like to be in my titan form first anyway.¡±

    ¡°Will it leave you insensate? Is it like a racial advancement?¡± Lam didn¡¯t seem bothered at all.

    ¡°I¡¯ve eaten a couple of potent hearts, and both times, I lost myself to some kind of vision, but only briefly.¡±

    ¡°Is that heart more or less potent?¡± Lam looked from Victor to Va as though she¡¯d keep him honest.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s less potent. A lot of tough <em>pendejos</em> had to work to bring the wyrm down, and our very strong friend killed the Night Brute Prince.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard . . .¡± Edeya started to say, but Lam interrupted her.

    ¡°Then eat it. You might as well have every advantage.¡±

    ¡°I agree, Victor.¡± Va reached over and put her cool, soft palm atop his knuckles. Edeya¡¯s eyes nearly shot out of her head as she looked from Va to Victor and back again. She opened her mouth, but Lam punched her in the shoulder, and she closed it.

    Victor stood up, identally knocking his chair over behind him, and nodded to the three women. ¡°Right. It¡¯s settled, then. I¡¯ll eat this thing right away. That corpse-crafting dude could be here at any moment.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 28: Wrong Place

    Book 6: Chapter 28: Wrong ce

    Victor was alone in his travel home, sitting on the floor of one of the empty rooms in the basement. He had several tasks to aplish, and for the first time in a while, he¡¯d told everyone to get on without him. He¡¯d given Kethelket his objective, and the Naghelli prince was working with the alchemists to create fire bombs that would, hopefully, significantly reduce the number of undead lurking in the forest. Va, Lam, and Sarl were coordinating the defensive preparations in the keep while Edeya kept a close eye on themand book. If Victor nned to get anything done before things started to boil over, now was probably that moment.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see what you¡¯ve got to say, old man.¡± Victor touched the pink gemstone on his bracer and sent some Energy into it. He was used to the weird aspect of the Ancestor Crystal¡¯s realm now, but it still took his attention enough, with its sharp, angr nes and lights, odd refractions and shadows, that when Khul Bach spoke, it startled him.

    ¡°I see much has changed since youst visited. That nascent Core in your chest has ignited into a smolder.¡±

    ¡°Hello, sir.¡± Victor shifted so that he was more directly facing the giant Degh spirit. ¡°Yes, I had a breakthrough with some Energy gifted to me by my Quinametzin ancestor.¡±

    ¡°Excellent! So, you¡¯ve learned to cultivate the Core?¡±

    ¡°I think so. I had to create a pathway opening into my lungs, and when I pull Energy into them, I can harvest it into my breath Core. I haven¡¯t had much time to experiment, but it seems to work.¡±

    ¡°Good! This will increase your power, young titan! Imagine your strength with two powerful Cores to draw upon! I¡¯ve known the great wyrms had a second Core; the learned among the Degh have studied them for millennia, though we never thought we could im one for ourselves. A shame that you cannot share with us your ability to grow stronger from the consumption of your foes! I wonder if it¡¯s something that cane about naturally. If my kin were taught to consume the hearts of the vanquished . . .¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Khul Bach. Maybe? I understand my gift and know how it works, but not its origin. If I ever learn more in a vision of my ancestors or throughmunion with them, I¡¯ll let you know.¡± Victor didn¡¯t see the harm in the promise¡ªhe doubted he¡¯d ever learn the secret of how the Quinametzin got their uncanny ability to gain strength from eating hearts. He didn¡¯t know, but it could be a matter of belief or faith. It could be a matter of DNA. Whatever the reason, the Quinametzin were strong and grew stronger with each enemy they vanquished. The same could be said about any cultivator, but the Quinametzin, with their heart-eating, took it to another level.

    ¡°That is good. The more you learn, the stronger you be, the better it will go for my people when you return to Zaafor. Do youe to me for advice or simply to visit?¡±

    ¡°I was wondering if you knew anything about paragons. I, apparently, manifested the Paragon of the Axe recently.¡± Victor rested his hand on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft while he spoke, and she vibrated eagerly against his flesh.

    ¡°Excellent! This is something that many of those who break through to the higher tiers of weapon skill are able to do. Not all, but many. It¡¯s a matter of talent, focus, and will. Not all warriors can exhibit all three, at least not so early as you. In the legendary tier, it bes moremonce.¡±

    ¡°Are many on Zaafor at that level?¡± Victor was surprised by how the giant took the news in stride. He¡¯d fought some talented people on Zaafor and never seen evidence of a paragon. If anyone in Coloss would have been able, he¡¯d have thought it would have been Karnice. Had he? Victor tried to remember the times when Karnice grew annoyed with him in the arena and beat him down. Had he disyed the Paragon of the Spear, and Victor hadn¡¯t noticed? Had he assumed it was some kind of Energy ability? He remembered Karnice manifesting a great red doppelganger that wielded spears in all four arms . . .

    ¡°Not many, but enough that the phenomenon is well known.¡±

    ¡°Does it do anything?¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Khul Bach pped his knee. ¡°Of course! A paragon manifests in a reflection of your spirit. It can make your weaponrger, faster, and sharper. It can mirror your weapon and give you two cutting edges¡ªassuming we¡¯re talking about the axe. I¡¯ve heard stories of an archer manifesting the Paragon of the Arrow, and when she took her shot, nine mirrored arrows would join hers to devastate her target.¡±

    ¡°Where do theye from?¡±

    ¡°The paragons?¡± Victor nodded, and Khul Bach rubbed his chin. ¡°I believe they¡¯re like spirits, great spirits that move on a different ne. They gather Energy from the dedication and focus of those who practice their craft. When they feel a practitioner reaches a certain level of art, they visit them with boons.¡±

    ¡°You believe?¡± Victor frowned.

    ¡°Aye, young titan. I don¡¯t know. I wasn¡¯t given a secret manual of the universe with all of its secretsid bare. No, I must learn from experience and make my own hypotheses about such matters. Are my answers not wise enough for you?¡±

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t mean that . . .¡±

    Khul Bach waved Victor¡¯s objection away. ¡°How goes your conquest of these young, fertilends?¡±

    ¡°I think well, so far. We caught the invaders with their pants down. We¡¯ve in a few thousand of their troops, but I¡¯m currently surrounded by a massive army. I¡¯m not too stressed yet, though, because our main force is free and wreaking havoc while my smaller army keeps Hector¡¯s attention.¡±

    ¡°Clever. A stiff thorn in his heel to distract him from the deing toward his neck? Is Hector the name of the enemymander?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor shook his head. Had it really been since before the Granite Gates that he¡¯d spoken to Khul Bach? ¡°He¡¯s some kind of powerful Death Caster. We¡¯re fighting a lot of undead.¡±

    ¡°Ah. Death Casters are anathema to the living. Be wary of their wiles.¡±

    ¡°I will. Hey, speaking of that, I captured one of his ¡®barons,¡¯ and she¡¯s giving me intel. Do you think it¡¯s safe to bargain with her? I mean, all I intend to offer her is her life¡ªI¡¯ll let her flee after we¡¯ve won. In exchange, she¡¯s giving me information about Hector and his armies.¡±

    ¡°So long as you guard your will when you¡¯re with her. Death Casters are dangerous in their own right, but many, for whatever reason, also have an affinity for mind Energy. Still, they suffer from the same primary desire most mortals do¡ªthe urge to keep living. If she¡¯ll trade information about this enemy army in exchange for her continued existence, it seems a triumph to me.¡± He paused and frowned. ¡°I doubt this enemy lord is eager for her to share all of her secrets with you. Be sure to guard her well . . .¡±

    ¡°Shit.¡± Victor stood, suddenly stressed. How safe was Victoria in that tower? He¡¯d ced three guards to watch her, but were they strong enough to <em>protect</em> her? Victor hadn¡¯t imed the keep yet¡ªwould it even be difficult for some winged assant to enter that tower? ¡°Thank you, Khul Bach. I think I should check on her.¡±

    ¡°Until we speak again.¡± Khul Bach¡¯s words faded to a soft echo as Victor severed the connection of Energy to the bracer on his wrist, and the natural world snapped into focus. Despite knowing that he was probably overreacting, Victor stood up and jogged all the way out of his house, into the keep, and up the steps to the tower where Victoria was being held.

    He was relieved to see the two Naghelli guards outside the door. ¡°Any problems?¡±

    ¡°No, Lord,¡± the woman on the left replied, and Victor thought her voice was familiar.

    ¡°Have you been on duty here since I first spoke to the prisoner?¡±

    ¡°Aye.¡± Instead of calling him lord this time, she snapped a salute with her answer.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you need a break? Some sleep?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Lord. We take turns resting out here. I hope it¡¯s not against protocol . . .¡±

    ¡°No, only that I think it¡¯s a shitty duty. I could understand it for a short time, but there¡¯s no reason you three should give up your freedom to watch this woman. It could be months before I move her. I¡¯ll mention it to Kethelket and see that you have some guards to switch off with so you can get time to yourselves each day.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Lord. Going in?¡± She reached for the key in the door. Victor nodded, and she turned the key, pulling the door open. He braced himself; some small part of him was convinced that Victoria and the guard inside the room had been in. His fears were unfounded, however. The guard stood by the windows watching Victoria from the side, and she sat with her hands folded in herp. Victor wondered how ufortable she must be after hours and hours in that chair. Did the guards let her walk around to stretch? He stepped into the room, and the inside guard moved out, closing the door quietly behind him.

    ¡°Am I mistaken, or do you look relieved, Lord Victor?¡±

    ¡°I . . . had a sudden thought that it wouldn¡¯t be so hard for a talented assassin to reach you here.¡±

    ¡°That may be, but you have not hobbled me. I¡¯m far from defenseless. The guards you¡¯ve ced with me seem quite capable as well.¡± She smiled, exposing her strange teeth, more fit for an old skull than a youthful woman¡¯s face.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good. Still, I¡¯m wondering if this is the best ce for you. I think my travel home might serve better. It¡¯s, um, a kind of dimensional container. I think it might be harder for Hector or assassins to find you there.¡±

    ¡°An extra-nar dwelling? Yes, Hector would not be able to sense my presence there easily.¡±

    ¡°If I move the home, I¡¯ll have to take you out, but, for now . . .¡± Victor nodded and called out, ¡°Guards!¡±

    The door crashed open, and the three Naghelli suddenly stood around Victoria with naked swords inches from her flesh. Victor had nearly forgotten how fast they could move with that strange shadow magic they all seemed to share. ¡°Lord?¡± the slight guard he¡¯d spoken to earlier asked.

    ¡°Sorry! Nothing¡¯s wrong, but we need to move her. We¡¯ll hold her in my travel home, but you¡¯ll still guard her, just as before. I¡¯ll lead the way. Follow me, Victoria, and please don¡¯t make eye contact with anyone we pass by.¡±

    ¡°As you say, Lord Victor.¡± Victoria waited until the Naghelli stepped back and sheathed their shining des, then she stood and nodded her readiness. Victor turned and led the way back to his home, Victoria right behind him and the Naghelli keeping pace, shadowing them from various angles. They drew many stares from the soldiers in the keep, but Victor didn¡¯t say anything. He figured the sooner they passed by, the sooner the soldiers would get back to their duties.

    He knew better than to expect to make it through the courtyard without drawing attention from Va and Lam, so he wasn¡¯t surprised when they both, leaving Sarl to continue a meeting with his lieutenants, walked toward him from the gatehouse. ¡°You¡¯re taking her somewhere?¡± Lam asked, frowning, but Va just folded her arms, waiting for Victor¡¯s response.

    ¡°Just into my travel home. I suddenly grew concerned about an assassin. My home is warded and,¡± Victor nced at Victoria, ¡°extra-nar. We¡¯ll continue to guard her there.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Lam nodded, looking up to the top of the round tower where Victoria had previously been held. ¡°Not a bad idea¡ªif Hector has killers who can fly . . .¡±

    ¡°Not only fly but teleport short distances.¡± Victoria spread her lips in that uncanny smile again. ¡°I can, for instance.¡± Victor whirled on her, Lifedrinker suddenly in his fist, but she held up a pale hand. ¡°I am not keen on seeing true death anytime soon, Lord. I know you can track me down, so I will not flee. I¡¯ve already promised you as much.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor grumbled. ¡°Come on, then.¡± A few minutester, Victoria was seated in the same cushioned chair¡ªone of the guards had brought it along in a storage device¡ªin the center of one of the empty rooms in the home¡¯s lower level. ¡°Comfortable?¡±

    ¡°The tower had better lighting . . .¡±

    ¡°Really? Banter already?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lord.¡± Victoria looked down, and Victor suddenly felt like a bully. She was undead, probably three or four times his age, likely responsible for all kinds of atrocities back in her world, but she¡¯d been cooperative with him.

    ¡°Just remember that we¡¯re not friends, all right? What else do you need? A better light? A bed? You can¡¯t befortable in that chair all the time.¡±

    ¡°I have some things in one of my rings that would make this room much more tolerable for me.¡± She looked up at him with a hopeful expression.

    ¡°We¡¯ll go over your belongings a bitter. I have to take care of something first, and, as you know, we¡¯re in the middle of a war. Your things are safe, though, and we¡¯ll do it soon. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡±

    ¡°All right.¡± Victor turned and stepped outside, holding the door open for one of the guards to take his ce. Once he¡¯d closed it, he pointed to another empty room across the hall. ¡°I¡¯ll be in there.¡±

    ¡°As you say, Lord.¡±

    Victor sighed, stepped into the empty room, and was about to close its door when Va appeared, silently descending from the stairs. He waited so she could step inside with him, then he pulled the door shut. ¡°I was just about to, you know, eat that heart.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I came down because it seemed you¡¯d be distracted with your prisoner, and I was curious what she might be saying. Should I leave?¡±

    ¡°Depends. You want to see me munch down on a raw heart?¡± Victor chuckled, then moved to the center of the room and sat down in a cross-legged position.

    ¡°It¡¯s not something I haven¡¯t seen before.¡± Va shrugged and sat down on the bare wooden floor beside the door. ¡°Nothing dangerous will happen?¡±

    ¡°Uh.¡± Victor frowned, looking at her. Hadn¡¯t he burst into mes when he ate the elder wyrm''s heart? When ate the Night Brute Prince''s heart, hadn¡¯t the room filled with tendrils of terror-attuned Energy? ¡°That¡¯s not a sure thing. I don¡¯t really know how strong this heart is,pared to . . . other hearts. I think maybe you should wait outside.¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll be fine.¡± She looked him in the eyes and smiled. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t hurt me.¡±

    ¡°No. It¡¯s not that, Va. Sometimes, the Energy I¡¯m absorbing does things outside my body. When I ate the wyrm heart, I torched a huge area of the battlefield.¡±

    Va sighed and stood up. With a scowl of scrutiny, she looked around the room, studying the close walls and low ceiling. ¡°Is this a safe ce, then? If you do too much damage in here, you could cause the home to copse.¡±

    ¡°Shit! Seriously?¡±

    ¡°I think it would take a lot¡ªthis home is designed to self-repair, and the material is very strong and dense. The . . . jade; I¡¯ve forgotten the name.¡±

    ¡°Hah, me too. Anyway, I guess I shouldn¡¯t risk it. I¡¯ll go back to the tower where we were holding Victoria. That way, if I explode, it will be above the rest of the keep.¡± Heughed, but Va wasn¡¯t smiling. ¡°Do you want toe? I mean, it should be safe to wait a few steps down.¡± Victor stood up and walked through the door as Va opened it.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll return to work with Lam and Sarl on the siege preparations. Sorry if I¡¯ve disturbed your ns.¡±

    Victor put an arm over her shoulders¡ªhe was in a reduced size¡ªand led her to the stairs. ¡°Not at all, Va. You might have just saved all of our lives!¡± He winked at the two Naghelli guards as they walked by.

    ¡°Perhaps!¡± She shook her head, and Victor couldn¡¯t tell if she was amused or dismayed. When they returned to the courtyard, she shrugged out from under his arm and said, ¡°Please be careful, will you?¡±

    ¡°I will.¡± He leaned down, and she kissed him softly, and then he hurried back into the keep, up the stairs, and into the now-empty room at the top. He closed the door and sat in the center, looking around at the stained-ss windows, admiring the y of colored light on the shiny ck stones. ¡°Well, she was right¡ªthe lighting in here is a lot better.¡±

    Victor severed the connection to his Shape Self spell, groaning with relief as his full power and potential returned, and his mass rapidly increased. ¡°Right. Let¡¯s see here,¡± he muttered as he formed the Iron Berserk pattern and cast the spell. His vision tinted red, his muscles and bones filled with roiling, hot Energy, and he expanded again. Victor lifted his arms, a grunt that turned into a roar escaping his throat as he stretched, and his muscles erupted with power. Cords like iron stood out on his forearms and around his neck, and his wyrm-scale shirt grew to its natural size¡ªTes had crafted it for a true titan.

    ¡°Yes!¡± he grunted, enjoying the surge of power. Victor reached into his storage ring and pulled out the Ridonne Heart. He unfolded the bloody cloth and tossed it aside, feasting his eyes on the still-warm, bloody organ. His mouth began to salivate, and Victor took a bite, ripping a third of the flesh off and chomping on it. The rich, coppery juices sluiced around in his throat, and when he swallowed them, Victor groaned with pleasure. He felt the power of the flesh almost immediately. It was hot and rich and began to roil in his gut as his Quinametzin body and soul began to consume it, the Energy, and, Victor suddenly realized, the shard of spirit still clinging to the heart.

    He felt the spirit, the bit of the Ridonne ancestor recoiling, fighting him, and suddenly Victor made another connection¡ªthat bastard was still alive somewhere. He growled and took another chomp of the heart, then focused his will on that spirit, squeezing it in his gut, holding tight. ¡°You¡¯re not getting away, <em>pendejo</em>,¡± he growled, droplets of hot blood running down his chin and onto his chest as he ground the meat of the heart in his mighty mrs and swallowed down the chunks. He was reaching up with thest bite when the window before him shimmered brightly and exploded into colorful yellow and orange motes. A momentter, in a burst of crackling red electricity, a ck-robed and cowled individual took shape before him.

    ¡°Wrong ce,¡± Victor grunted, then stuffed thest bit of the Ridonne''s heart into his mouth.

 Book 6: Chapter 29: What You Wish For

    Book 6: Chapter 29: What You Wish For

    Victor tried to focus on the strange, hooded intruder, but he had a fiery battle taking ce in his gut and with his spirit. He grunted as he sat there, crunching down on the remains of the heart, smashing the meat between his teeth, and then swallowing it. The being who¡¯d appeared before him took a step back, brushing against the stone sill of the window. The hooded head nced rapidly left and right, taking in the strange scene at the top of the tower. ¡°Who are you?¡± The voice that echoed oddly out of the hood was definitively masculine, and as that dark cowl shifted to look more directly into Victor¡¯s eyes, some of the lighting through the windows prated those shadows to reveal smoldering orange eyes set within deep, ck sockets.

    Victor didn¡¯t answer. He wasn¡¯t sure he could. He¡¯d swallowed thest of the heart, and now he was truly battling the fragment of spirit the Ridonne had left behind. The only exnation Victor could muster was that it must have been tied to the heart''s flesh. Now that he¡¯d consumed it, the fragment of spirit was trying to flee this ne of existence, to rip through the fabric of time and space and rejoin the greater whole, which, apparently, was alive and well elsewhere in the universe. He growled and bore down with his will, surrounding the fragment with his Energy, calling on the instincts of his primogenitors to handle this strange situation.

    This bit of spirit, this remnant of his foe, was what his bloodline would use to garner strength from the defeated Ridonne. Victor was too busy to think about it, but some part of him realized that this must be what happened when he pulled the hearts from his foes. Some instinctual magic in that ritual bound a bit of the departing spirit to the flesh, and when he pulled it forth and consumed it, the Energy or essence or some other intangible quality of the defeated enemy became his. He was determined to take his due from the Ridonne.

    ¡°I asked who you are, giant!¡± the hooded figure repeated, stepping closer, perhaps noting Victor¡¯s internal struggle and growing bolder, seeing his preupation. Again, Victor ignored him, and the hooded figure stepped closer still. He would be a tall man with broad shoulders, but next to Victor¡¯s hulking form, he looked tiny. Victor sat, legs crossed, but still, the hooded man had to look up to meet his gaze. He stared into Victor¡¯s eyes, but Victor was gazing inward, and it was evident he wasn¡¯t giving the hooded intruder any attention. ¡°What goes on in there, giant? I can feel the Energies roiling within you. Have you consumed a racial advancement? Are you insensate? What a fortuitous asion!¡±

    Crackling red Energy began to spark around the intruder¡¯s ck-gloved fingers, dancing and buzzing along those long digits and then arcing between his two hands. The energy created a redttice of electricity that sparked and ignited something in the air, sending puffs of ck smoke up to the domed ceiling of the tower. Just as a corner of Victor¡¯s mind became aware of the intruder¡¯s words and the bright, red sparks shing in his eyes, he finally managed to fully surround the Ridonne¡¯s spirit fragment withyers of his Energy, bearing down on it, smashing it, letting his bloodline work its mysterious magic, ripping it to shreds and pulling it into himself on a cellr level.

    A weird, disembodied howl of agony broke through the fabric of reality and reverberated through the air, echoing through Victor¡¯s mind and, apparently, that of the intruder. His red, sparking magic faded as he stumbled back and grasped his head, pushing his cowl back in the process. Victor had been fighting the battle of wills; he¡¯d been prepared for the burst of Energy and whatever mighte with it, so the howl didn¡¯t bother him much. He surged to his feet and inhaled deeply, swelling with the power of the heart now that he¡¯d broken apart the Ridonne¡¯s still-living spirit fragment. Evenrge as he was, the tower¡¯s domed ceiling was spacious, and he lifted his arms wide and roared his triumph.

    His outburst was so loud that, had one of the windows not been broken to serve as an outlet, he likely would have shattered more of the stained ss. The intruder was still staggering, gripping his ebon, hairless head, but Victor didn¡¯t have attention to spare him. He was preupied with the rivers of hot red Energy surging through his pathways and into his Core, where he converted it to affinities that suited him. As the power pulsed through him, he began to notice a subtle change in his essence. He felt it tickling his bones and pulsing out through him into the weird, extra dimension where he always observed his Core, his pathways, and his aura. Along with the sensation, an otherworldly scene took shape in his mind¡¯s eye.

    <em>Stazzo-dak stood tall under the red glower of the Vizashath sun. He cut an impressive figure¡ªthe height of two grown Shadeni, one standing atop the other, burnished red-gold flesh, crimson-feathered wings that shimmered with the ruby light of his Energy, and a crown of ebon horns that were the envy of his peers. He shouldn¡¯t feel nervous, he reminded himself. He was a proud archon of his people. Steeling himself, he looked out over the assembled forces. Before him stretched rank upon rank of gold and crimson-d soldiers. They stood on the field that spanned from the orange grass before his podium to the extent of his vision. As he turned left to right, letting his gaze glide over their burnished helms, he saw that their ranks extended to every horizon.</em>

    <em></em><em>Half a million soldiers, half a million natives and Ridonne stood before him, ready to march against the Thivaan at his bidding. Stazzo-dak rxed his will and allowed his Aura of Command to roll out, touching the soldiers nearest his tform, perhaps ten thousand of them, a drop in the great sea of conscripts, but enough to spread his influence. He felt their attention focus. He felt his aura bending them to his state of mind. When he lifted his voice to address them, it mattered not what he¡¯d say; his aura had done most of his work for him.</em>

    <em></em><em>¡°Listen well, soldiers!¡± he began . . .</em>

    <em></em>Victor blinked rapidly, the weird vision fading from his mind to be reced by his reality. He immediately became aware of a deep, burning pain in his leg, and when he looked down, he saw the robed intruder standing there, stabbing a spear of crackling red Energy into his thigh. He grunted and brought his fist,rger than the intruder¡¯s head, down to swat him away. As his knuckles cracked into the man¡¯s shoulder and neck, he felt bones break. The intruder tumbled back to smash into the stone wall, his head shattering a pane of blue-stained ss. The spear of Energy winked out of existence, and Victor felt immediate relief as his Berserk healing closed the wound.

    The intruder groaned, and Victor stepped toward him, but the man burst into crackling red lightning and disappeared with a <em>zwap. </em>Nothing but ck smoke hung in the space where he¡¯d been, and Victor whirled, scanning the room. No sign of the intruder remained. He stepped over to the window the strange, cowled man hade through and peered out. Shouts echoed up to him from the courtyard below, and Victor saw a flurry of activity. The window was too small for him to fit through, or he might have flung himself out when he saw what was happening.

    The intruder was on the ground, each hand clutching a long, red-lightning whip that snaked out to snap and rip at the soldiers surrounding him. Victor vacited for a couple of seconds on what he should do. Should he drop his Berserk and jump out the window in his natural state? Would he survive the fall without injuries? No, he decided, he¡¯d run for the courtyard. He¡¯d just begun to turn when he saw Va step forward into the square, Midnight in her hands, blue lightning and wind wrapping her like a crackling miniature tornado as she streaked toward the assassin.

    Victor turned and ran for the door, yanking so hard on the little knob that he wrenched it from its hinges. He leaped down the steps, a flight at a time, and reached the bottom in seconds. Soldiers ran for the main doors of the keep, cries of rm in their throats. To them, it must seem the keep was under attack. Maybe it was, Victor reasoned; just because he¡¯d only seen the one invader didn¡¯t mean there weren¡¯t more. He leaped from the balcony to the front entry hall and stormed for the door, trying not to stomp or knock down any of his soldiers.

    When he burst out, he found hundreds of soldiers standing in a circle, crowding the courtyard and lining the parapets. At their center, Va and the whip-wielding invader were fighting. Victor wanted to scream at the soldiers to get in there and help her, but then he saw how they held their weapons and shields up, making a circle, and he wondered if this was Va¡¯s wish. Had she warned them off, wanting to do battle with the invader alone? His suspicion solidified as he saw Kethelket and Lam standing near the gatehouse, on the inner ring of observing soldiers, watching Va¡¯s struggle with intent, worried expressions. They wouldn¡¯t hold back unless she¡¯d told them to.

    Victor stood at the top of the steps outside the keep, and he did battle with himself, turning the full force of his will against his urge to leap over the assembled fighters and interfere, smashing the intruder to a pulp. Instead, he let his rage simmer in his pathways, and he watched the woman he¡¯d professed his love for, truly watched her in a way he hadn¡¯t in a long time.

    Va¡¯s style with her sword differed significantly from Kethelket¡¯s. She wielded midnight in an alternating two-handed and one-handed grip. She moved with speed and fluidity, which made her fight look more like a dance. Kethelket knew a million counters,binations, and gambits, but Va''s grace made you forget you were watching someone in a fight. It made you want to drop everything and learn to move like her. Despite the invisibly fast cracks of the invader¡¯s red-lightning whips, she always seemed to be elsewhere when they snapped on empty air. She surged with the speed of the wind, her sword like a moonbeam arcing out of a gusting breeze.

    At first, the intruder matched her, winking out of existence in quick bursts of bright, crackling red lightning, only to appear behind or to the side of her. From his new position, he¡¯d snap his long, buzzing whips, but Va was too quick, too aware, too graceful to be caught. Midnight might parry a whip, or she might sh away in a burst of speed before it snapped. In either case, she was unscathed, and Victor could see she was taking a toll on the intruder. Each time he teleported, he covered less distance. Each time he snapped that whip, his smoldering orange eyes telegraphed the strain.

    Victor found himself clutching his fists, his knuckles white with the effort as he watched, every part of him trembling to interfere, but he knew how that would look to the soldiers and how it would infuriate Va. She was winning, and he needed to bide his time and watch, much as he had during her duel in Coloss. At least here, she wasn¡¯t fighting a rigged match. ¡°She¡¯s kicking his ass!¡±

    ¡°Aye, Lord!¡± a nearby Naghelli said.

    ¡°What a fighter!¡± another soldier cried, making Victor nce away from the fight to look at the watching troops. They were riveted by the contest, eyes tracking every move, mouths opening and closing in silent reactions, clearly stunned and impressed by the prowess of their Tribune Primus. More than ever, Victor realized he couldn¡¯t interfere. This invader¡¯s assassination attempt had turned into a duel, whether he liked it or not, and the soldiers would be demoralized if he involved himself.

    The more he watched, though, the less Victor worried. Va still seemed fresh and graceful, unscathed, while the intruder¡¯s face continued to betray his strain. His lightning whips were shorter, and he swung them less frequently. He¡¯d stopped teleporting and was fighting in a constant, circr backpedal, using the reach of his whips to keep Va at bay. After several seconds of that, his whips disappeared with a crackling sizzle, and suddenly, a single, six-foot spear of lightning appeared in his hands. It was obvious, to Victor at least, that he¡¯d summoned a less Energy-intensive weapon.

    Va smiled and paused, whipping Midnight in an borate flourish as she bowed. Was she signaling something? Victor decided he really needed to read up on dueling etiquette. The stranger only scowled at her gesture and hefted his big, crackling spear. Va streaked forward and, in a series of feints and shes that Victor struggled to follow, she knocked the spear aside, hacked the assassin¡¯s left leg off at the knee, and glided past him. Midnight arced up, and Va pivoted, bringing the sword down on the back of the intruder¡¯s neck. In the silence that followed the brilliant attack, the intruder¡¯s bald, ebon head struck the stones of the courtyard with a hollow <em>thunk</em> that brought to mind a melon rolling off a kitchen counter.

    ¡°Jesus,¡± Victor invoked, for once sincere in his holy appeal. He snatched Lifedrinker from her harness and lifted her high, screaming, ¡°Va!¡±

    The soldiers were quick to take up the cry, and soon, they were chanting and stomping their feet, ¡°Va! Va! Va!¡±

    Va whipped Midnight in another flourish, sending droplets of ck blood spattering to disappear against the equally dark courtyard stones, and then she sheathed the magical de. She turned a slow circle, and when her eyes fell on Victor, her lips twitched in a small smile as she bowed. Suddenly, motes of purple Energy began to bubble up from the intruder¡¯s corpse. When hundreds of them had burst into existence, they flowed together and surged into Va, lifting her into the air, arms wide, face lost in the ecstasy of Energy euphoria. The soldiers¡¯ cheers grew louder as though they were lifting her up, and Victor¡¯s heart pounded as the warmth of pride poured through him.

    It was a different sensation, that pride. He wasn¡¯t proud of himself; he wasn¡¯t stoking the mes of his glory affinity. He was proud of Va, and if he hadn¡¯t already been so fond of her, he would have found himself smitten at that moment. He wondered how many soldiers were silently proiming their love for his girlfriend. He chuckled as that term entered his mind. Girlfriend. Victor shook his head at the notion; it seemed too juvenile for what he felt. Watching Va absorb her Energy, Victor finally noticed a System message in the corner of his vision. He¡¯d been so intent on catching the intruder and watching Va that he¡¯dpletely disregarded it. With a brief concentration, he brought it to the fore:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have gained a new Feat: Aura of Command.***</strong>

    <strong>***Aura of Command: The right to rule runs in your blood. Those exposed to your aura be aware of your nature and, should their will prove weaker than yours, they will be more amenable to yourmands.***</strong>

    Victor frowned as he read the description. Was that the secret of the Ridonne? Had they gained their power by pushing their will upon the people of Fanwath? He didn¡¯t like the sound of it and was a little disturbed to know it was now a part of him. Was it something he could control? Would he be forced to keep his aura in check now if he didn¡¯t want to influence the people around him unfairly? Victor¡¯s frown deepened as he remembered his conversation with Va about gaining something he didn¡¯t want from the Ridonne. He¡¯d scoffed at her, and now he found he very well may have done just that.

    Victor let his Iron Berserk drop, and as his size came more in line with the people around him, he sat down on the step. He watched as Va came back to herself, listened to her celebrate with the soldiers around her, and he hated that he wasn¡¯t able to stop stewing about the feat he¡¯d gained from the Ridonne heart. He was dimly aware of the soldiers'' excited chatter, of the ps on his shoulders and back as the bolder ones congratted him on Va¡¯s sess as though he had something to do with it. He heard Sarl shouting for order, Kethelket calling his Naghelli to him, and then he felt Va¡¯s cool hand on his wrist as she sat beside him.

    ¡°Thank you for letting me have that fight.¡± Her voice was soft, and despite her victory, she sounded trepidatious. When Victor realized that, he was able to snap out of his funk long enough to look at her and see the concern in her eyes.

    ¡°Hey,¡± he forced a smile, ¡°I was so proud of you. What a fighter you¡¯ve be!¡±

    ¡°But you seem upset.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not about you, though. I loved watching you fight, and . . .¡± He sighed and let his words fade. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, Va. I ate that Ridonne¡¯s heart and it wasn¡¯t the experience I¡¯d hoped, that¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to talk about it?¡± She added her other hand to the one on his wrist and squeezed gently with them both. Victor loved her touch; he loved her attention, but he felt gross and dirty, and something in him didn¡¯t want anyone to be kind to him just then. He cleared his throat and stood up.

    ¡°Not right now. I think Kethelket¡¯s getting ready to try to burn the forest down. Let¡¯s see how things are going.¡± He paused a moment, then added, ¡°And we should check out that guy you killed.¡± He didn¡¯t look her in the eyes, and he forced a hollow smile to his lips as he started down the steps. He¡¯d have toe to grips with the new feat somehow, but he didn¡¯t want to dwell on it at the moment; shit was about to get crazy around the ck Keep.

 Book 6: Chapter 30: Correspondence

    Book 6: Chapter 30: Correspondence

    Victor hefted the lead-stoppered, blue jar in his hand, watching the thick liquid sluggishly slosh around inside. ¡°It just starts burning when broken?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Kethelket grinned as Victor handed it back. ¡°Once the containment runes are broken, the alchemical mixture will ignite. We have ten for each of my Naghelli. As you¡¯d nned, we¡¯ll try to lure the undead further into the forest, and then we¡¯ll fly past them, into the thicker trees, and start bombarding.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Victor did the math as he looked over Kethelket¡¯s winged troops massing on the battlement, lining up to receive their bombs. He had two hundred here at the ck Keep, having left some back at the pass and still more with Borrius and Rellia. ¡°Two thousand firebombs ought to do the trick!¡±

    Sarl spoke up, ¡°I¡¯d have my doubts, considering this mist, but the alchemical agent is meant to cling to surfaces and burns very hotly. We tested it on a section of grass, and the mist retreated before the heat.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great. Be sure to award your alchemists with an extra campaign token.¡± Victor turned back to Kethelket. ¡°No sign of giant mutant undead monstrositiesing this way?¡±

    ¡°My scouts have not reported back yet for this hour, but, as of thest, no.¡±

    ¡°Right. Well, let¡¯s get this show on the road.¡± Victor watched as the alchemists and their assistants continued to make their way down the line of waiting Naghelli, handing out their explosive jars. After a minute, he cleared his throat and raised his voice. ¡°Naghelli! I¡¯d like to speak to you briefly before you depart!¡± The conversations died down, and soon, the only sound was the clink of ss as the crates of bombs were slowly emptied.

    Victor continued, ¡°When you joined the conquest expedition, there were many among us who had their doubts about your intentions. In my mind, you¡¯ve already proven yourselves, but after your heroics in thest few days, none can doubt the sincerity of your bravery! Here we are, asking you to risk your lives again, flying into this shitty, clinging, death-stinking mist to confront a monstrous host, and it¡¯s not without risk! If you somehow get knocked out of the sky, you¡¯ll face a thousand times your number of undead out there. If that happens, I want you to retreat and try to regroup. If it¡¯s chaos and you can¡¯t find your brothers and sisters, then make your way north, out of the mist.¡±

    Everyone had grown even more quiet and still at his words, and Victor didn¡¯t want them to feel demoralized by his doomced words. ¡°Listen! That¡¯s a worst-case scenario. If all goes well, you¡¯ll fly out, throw your bombs, and then fly back. We appreciate the risk you¡¯re taking, and we know that each of you represents one of the veryst of your kind. Don¡¯t sell your lives cheaply!¡± Victor didn¡¯t know where some of the phrasing of his words wasing from; it wasn¡¯t the way he usually spoke, but he supposed he¡¯d heard people speak that way before, and his brain was just better at pulling stuff out of the recesses of his memory than it used to be. That said, he didn¡¯t want to end on a dour note, so he lifted Lifedrinker and screamed, ¡°Now get out there and torch some <em>pinch¨¦</em> undead!¡±

    His words brought a cheer out of the darkly d flyers, and many of them lifted a firebomb in their hand as they cheered, which made Victor more than a little nervous. Still, heughed and cheered and then watched as Kethelket tookmand of his troops, ordering them into the air. They split in the misty, twilit sky into two lines of flying shadows, each circling the keep in opposite directions. Victor knew they were nning to use ranged attacks to draw the undead into a chase, trying to lure the ones in the open clearing around the keep into the forest before flying further out and lighting their fires.

    They¡¯d only been at the ck Keep for a little over a day, but he was both nervous and optimistic about the timing of their attack. On the one hand, he worried the invaders¡¯ heavy reinforcements they¡¯d been anticipating would arrive at any moment, and on the other, he hoped they were close¡ªmaybe they¡¯d be caught in the fire, too.

    ¡°They¡¯ll be all right,¡± Va said, though Victor felt her words were meant to reassure herself just as much as him.

    ¡°Yeah, I mean, the undead out there don¡¯t have ranged attacks to speak of . . .¡±

    ¡°Unless something worse lurks further into the woods.¡± Edeya shrugged, and Victor nodded, pleased to see that she was speaking up more and more, even with othermanders present. If it were up to him, she¡¯d see a promotion soon.

    Va leaned forward, peering into the dim light, and then turned to Lam. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the scouts have seen them? We¡¯ve had Naghelli flying out there all day.¡±

    Lam nodded. ¡°I think so. I¡¯ve also flown out a couple of times and seen no sign of anything other than this mindless horde.¡± She pointed. ¡°Look! They¡¯ve started to draw them.¡± Victor followed her gesture to see sparks and shes in the darkness, and he knew the Naghelli were throwing spells down at the horde.

    ¡°Can¡¯t really see much through the fog.¡± The flickers and shes grew in intensity and number, and then they seemed to fade, and Victor knew the Naghelli were moving further into the woods. He¡¯d been tempted to im the keep, hoping it would cause the obscuring haze of death magic to withdraw as it had around Old Keep, but they¡¯d been afraid it would tip their hand to Prince Hector. So much had been happening, and things were going well, so he¡¯d decided to hold that card forter. Thinking of things going well, he turned to Edeya. ¡°Any further word from Borrius and Rellia?¡± The main army had earlier reported a decisive victory over yet another of Hector¡¯s undead armies; their ambush had gone off wlessly.

    Edeya pulled out her Command book and skimmed the most recent entries. ¡°They¡¯ve burned the corpses on pyres and are marching on a keep that their Naghelli scouts have located six leagues to the south. Borrius says it¡¯s simr in size and fortifications to Old Keep, though it¡¯s clearly of different origin.¡±

    Victor cracked his knuckles and clenched his jaw, trying to think of something he should be doing. Va must have read his mind because she said, ¡°I know it¡¯s hard to leave matters in the hands of others, but right now, you¡¯re doing what you must. We¡¯re still likely to be attacked here, so we must wait a while to see how this fire gambit will y out.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± Victor nced at Va and met her eyes, noting some dirt or ash or something smudged on her chin. His instinct was to reach out and brush it off, but he knew that would probably irritate her, especially with Lam and the others standing nearby. Instead, he said, ¡°You¡¯ve all been working hard with no rest. Let¡¯s grab a minute while we can. If the firebombs work, we¡¯ll know soon enough.¡±

    ¡°Victor? Um, Legate?¡± Edeya said, holding up a different Farscribe book, a thinner, narrower one. ¡°You asked me to keep an eye on this, and I noticed a new message from your, uh, cousin, is it?¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Victor had only given the book to Edeya the day before and hadn¡¯t had any new correspondence from Olivia then.

    ¡°Yes! I checked beforeing up here to watch the send-off, and there it was.¡±

    ¡°Right. Well, I¡¯m off to check on the troops.¡± Sarl saluted and marched away, but Lam and Va didn¡¯t seem to have any such intention. Victor sighed and held out his hand, resigned to having an audience watch him read the message. Edeya handed him the book, and he flipped to thest written-in page:<blockquote>

    <em>Victor,</em>

    <em>I hope this message finds you in good health and that your military campaign is having some sess. I¡¯d be dishonest if I didn¡¯t say I know you¡¯ve already had a run-in with the Imperial forces. Word has traveled, even all the way out here, to the ¡°frontier,¡± as the Ridonne citizens call our corner of the wilds. I know you¡¯ve been hoping for an update about ap¡¯Gravin and the magic he used to summon you, but I¡¯ll rip the bandage off and let you know that I haven¡¯t learned anything. Ap¡¯Gravin has fled, and though I intend to track him down, I¡¯ve been preupied with matters closer to home.</em>

    <em>First Landing has gone through a bit of a political upheaval recently, and I¡¯ve been needed here to help maintain some stability as power has shifted away from some of the original council members. You see, there was a bit of a scandal, but I won¡¯t bore you with all the details. Suffice it to say that things are looking better, and I think the human colony is in good hands. We¡¯re going to be moving away from the simple council leadership model, and as we expand, we will be establishing a parliamentary system with executive, legitive, and judicial branches. This is important because we¡¯re looking to set First Landing up as a free city outside the control of the Ridonne Empire.</em>

    <em>I don¡¯t want to get lost in the details here; I know you¡¯re probably busy, but I wanted you to know that I¡¯ve made contact with a member of Rellia ap¡¯Yensha¡¯s n through Fainhallow Academy and that I¡¯ll be able to use one of her family portals to visit when you get things settled. Once I¡¯m there, I¡¯ll give you a portal stone that will link First Landing to your settlement if that¡¯s still amenable to you. The link will be purely for travel and convenience; we are not trying toy im to yournds in any way, though should you desire it, I¡¯m sure the argument could be made for adding whatever settlement you establish as a member state.</em>

    <em>I¡¯ve been using your story as an example to the people here, trying to educate them on the dangers ofcency. Even after the troubles we''ve encountered, many of the citizens of First Landing aren¡¯t convinced that the pursuit of personal strength is all that important. Many live as though they¡¯re still on Earth, seeking to establish themselves financially or politically or, worse, to live a simple, peaceful life raising their children. As much as I admire such an idyllic pursuit, I don¡¯t think the human species is yet in a position to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. There are great powers out there, and I don¡¯t mean just the Ridonne Empire.</em>

    <em></em><em>o that end, I was hoping there mighte a time when you could visit and give a talk or lead a public square discussion or something of the sort. You could talk about your time in other worlds, highlighting the ease of travel betweens for the powerful and also the dangers those powerful beings represent. As I said, I know you¡¯re busy, but perhaps you''d consider this request when things have settled down. I think it would be good for you to set your eyes on the human colony here, in any case; I know you have people in this world you care about, but won¡¯t it be good to eat some familiar foods, hear some familiar music, and perhaps make some connections here among people who share so much heritage with you?</em>

    <em>I¡¯m sorry this letter brought you no answers but only requests. I¡¯m sorry that ap¡¯Gravin is a cowardly worm who fled, perhapspletely off-world, when he caught wind of his son¡¯s transgressions. I¡¯m determined to find answers for you, though, and I¡¯m a woman who has a way of making things happen. I¡¯ll check this book daily in hopes of hearing from you. I look forward to getting to know you better, cousin.</em>

    <em> I</em><em>n much anticipation,</em>

    <em></em><em>Olivia Be</em></blockquote>

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor said, reverting back to his old vernacr.

    ¡°Well?¡± To his surprise, it was Edeya who prompted him, though Lam and Va also watched his face intently.

    ¡°Oh, well, nothing much. She didn¡¯t get any answers for me, and she wants me to visit.¡± He shrugged. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting much, anyway.¡± He snapped the book closed and handed it to Edeya.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to write back?¡± Va reached for the book.

    ¡°Maybe, but I¡¯m kind of busy. You know, in the middle of a war.¡± He gestured into the disturbingly quiet, fog-filled night.

    ¡°You seem upset,¡± Edeya said, handing the book to Va. ¡°Are you sure there wasn¡¯t anything . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Victor growled, then he snatched the book from Va. ¡°I¡¯ll be in my house. Come and get me if something happens.¡± He turned and walked, not waiting for an answer, and anyone looking at his face would see that he knew he was being a jerk. He almost stopped and apologized, but he didn¡¯t. He stomped down the steps, over the courtyard, and into his house. He pointedly didn¡¯t think about anything until he¡¯d gone into his library and sat down in one of thefortable chairs. Sitting there, staring at the bookcases, only about ten percent full of books, he frowned and tried to figure out why he was feeling pissed off.

    He supposed it would be easy to say he was mad that ap¡¯Gravin was in the wind and, along with him, any further answers about how Victor had been summoned, if he¡¯d been brought through time intentionally, by ident, or at all. What if he was from a different universe? The stupid idea had been tickling the back of his mindtely, but he had no idea if such a thing was possible. He¡¯d heard people use ¡°universes¡± in the plural sense, but he didn¡¯t know if they were using the term generically to mean the vastness of the current universebined with different nes of existence and all the things in between.

    Still, he¡¯d found himself fantasizing that his <em>abu</em> was alive and well in a different universe with a slightly different timeline than this one. At other times, he was at peace with the idea that his <em>abu</em> had moved on and even thought of her living among his other ancestors. The truth was, Victor had no idea how such things worked, and he knew it. Sitting there, alone, stewing in his bad mood, he began to realize that a part of him had believed his new ¡°cousin¡± woulde through with some answers. He¡¯d offloaded some of the weight of his worries and, worse, his hopes on her, and now he was pissed off that she¡¯d failed. He knew it was irrational. He knew she¡¯d said she wasn¡¯t giving up, but he couldn¡¯t help how he felt. Could he?

    ¡°Yeah, I can,¡± he sighed. He could do better; he knew what was bothering him, and he knew it wasn¡¯t something he or, more importantly, Olivia could control. With an audible groan, he summoned a pen from his ring and opened the book:<blockquote>

    <em>Olivia,</em>

    <em>I don¡¯t me you for not being able to get answers. I also don¡¯t expect you to. Don¡¯t do anything foolish or dangerous trying to figure out something that likely was an ident. Ap¡¯Gravin isn¡¯t some kind of mysterious magical genius. He hired Boaegh to try to build up his own power and probably didn¡¯t pay any attention to what that evil bastard was doing. I¡¯ll get my answers someday, but I doubt they¡¯lle from that little prick.</em>

    <em>You¡¯re right about the worlds being full of dangerous things and people, but they¡¯re also full of wonder and mystery. It¡¯s good that you¡¯re trying to get the people from Earth to ept their new reality and see beyond whatever little lives they¡¯re building there in First Landing, but you should also know that plenty of natives do just that. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen the simple people living in the vige around Fainhallow. Not everyone is suited for adventure and power, and if someone doesn¡¯t feel the drive or calling, you can¡¯t force it.</em>

    <em>I wouldn¡¯t wish my experiences on anyone, to be honest. It¡¯s a miracle of lucky coincidences that I¡¯m even alive to write this. Well, that¡¯s not true¡ªyou mentioned that I¡¯ve met people I care about, but that¡¯s a massive understatement. I wouldn¡¯t be alive if I didn¡¯t have these people to care about and to care about me. Olivia, personal connections are essential, especially for someone who¡¯s an emotional wreck like me. You know, we really don¡¯t know a lot about each other, having only met once, so why don¡¯t I write a little about myself? Maybe you can do the same, and next time we meet, we might feel like real cousins who actually know each other.</em>

    <em>You see, an important thing I learned right away when I got summoned to this world was that I¡¯m a very emotional person. I am so emotional that my Core and the affinities I have are based on emotions. They call it a spirit Core, but what I¡¯ve learned is that our spirits are built up of our aspects, our virtues and vices, our experiences, and our feelings about those experiences. I had a lot of rage in my heart when I first got here, and I might have be something a lot worse if I hadn¡¯t been shownpassion and love by some of the first people I met . . .</em></blockquote>

    Victor wrote for a long time, losing himself in his story and finding some genuine therapy in the act of writing about his experiences in the Wagon Wheel. He finished writing about how Yund had betrayed him, selling him to ap¡¯Horrin, and decided to call it good for the time being. He signed the letter, asking Olivia to get back to him soon, and snapped the book closed, feeling like he¡¯d dropped a heavy weight, one which had sat on his shoulder for a long, long time. Was that all it took to feel better about something, to write about it?

    He was still sitting in thatfortable chair in his library when he heard the front door open and close, and then Va quietly stepped into the room. She had a funny expression, and Victor figured it had something to do with her being mad at him, mixed with feeling sorry for him, mixed with not knowing if she should interrupt him. He headed things off by saying, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry I was an asshole earlier. I wrote a bunch of stuff to Olivia, and I hope you¡¯ll read it, too. It¡¯s stuff I never talk about.¡±

    Her expression brightened, and she said, ¡°Really? I think I¡¯d like that. Can I see itter, though? I think your n is working, Victor. The darkness is gone, and the night is aglow with orange light bleeding through the fog. I think the forest is truly burning.¡±

    Victor stood up, something unwinding in his chest. At some level, he¡¯d been afraid his forest fire n would fail. ¡°Yes!¡± He started toward her, slipping his Farscribe book into a storage ring. He¡¯d just pulled her into a hug when the door opened and mmed again. A momentter, Lam stormed into the room.

    ¡°Va, check your Farscribe book! The legion¡¯s under attack! Also, Kethelket is here; some of his people are missing. He¡¯s enraged, Victor. He¡¯s raving about betrayal!¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 31: Allies in Need

    Book 6: Chapter 31: Allies in Need

    Victor sprang out of the chair and started for the foyer at Lam''s words, brushing past her. His mind raced, trying to make sense of what she¡¯d said. As he hurried toward the front door, he gave voice to his questions, ¡°What do you mean? What betrayal?¡±

    Lam and Va were right behind him, and Lam said, ¡°Not sure! I came to get you immediately. He¡¯s talking to Sarl.¡± Victor¡¯s mind continued to spin, dark scenarios ying out¡ªhad Kethelket¡¯s people betrayed him? Had he failed to root out all of Belikot¡¯s loyalists? Was Prince Hector about to gain some new followers with intimate knowledge of Victor¡¯s military structure, positions, and capabilities?

    Victor stepped out of his house, nning to jog up to the ramparts, but found himself face-to-face with Kethelket. ¡°I need to speak to her!¡± He growled by way of greeting. His face was streaked with blood, soot, and grime, and his dark, depthless eyes looked unusually strained.

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°The undead witch. She lied, and my people die as a result!¡± Victor noticed one of his longswords was naked in his hand, de pointed down beside his leg. ¡°I need answers!¡±

    ¡°Woah! Tell me what happened first, Captain.¡± Victor hoped the use of his honorary title would ground the man, but Kethelket only scowled further.

    ¡°There were no giant abominations, no heavy reinforcementsing this way. Instead, we faced great winged monstrosities in their hundreds. Thousands! They came upon us from the south as we lit our mes. We saw the moon and the green star fade from view as their wings darkened the night sky, and then they were upon us. My people, Victor! Thest of our kind! Less than half of us won free!¡± While he spoke, Victor gazed upward, scanning the parapets, wondering where this horde of flying monstrosities was; why weren¡¯t they attacking the keep?

    ¡°Where are they?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your question? My people die, we be extinct before your eyes, and you seek to verify my tale?¡±

    ¡°No, Kethelket!¡± Victor growled, the man¡¯s fury sparking a simr emotion to life in Victor¡¯s heart. ¡°I¡¯m trying to determine if we need to brace for an attack!¡±

    ¡°As we broke free, those of us who could, they fell back, flying south, away from the burning forest. They clutched my kin, paralyzed, in their talons!¡±

    ¡°Va, Lam, get in touch with Borrius and Rellia. I¡¯ll need an update when Ie out. Kethelket,e with me.¡± Victor waited a moment to lock eyes with Va, to see her nod in understanding, and then he stepped into his house. With Kethelket striding beside him, he hurried downstairs to the room where Victoria was being held.

    ¡°Stand aside,¡± Kethelket growled as they approached the door to her room, and his men hurried out of their way. Victor pulled the door open and stepped inside. He¡¯d been half expecting Victoria to be gone, dead, or something equally vexing, but he found her sitting on her chair, a look of surprise evident as he and Kethelket strode into the room. He saw Kethelket lift his sword, blue flickers of Energy dancing over the dark metal, but Victor held out an arm, barring the man from pressing too close to his prisoner.

    ¡°Victoria,¡± he said, hoping to get ahead of Kethelket¡¯s burgeoning outburst. ¡°Tell us about Hector¡¯s flying troops.¡±

    ¡°His flying . . .¡±

    ¡°Gray, hairless, yellow eyes, wings that make Victor¡¯s arm span seem small!¡± Kethelket growled, lifting the point of his sword and gesticting with it as though to punctuate his words. Victor had never seen the man, usually so calm and cool with his advice, agitated like that.

    To her credit, Victoria didn¡¯t flinch before Kethelket¡¯s rage. She didn¡¯t shrink back from his sword point. She looked Victor in the eye and said, ¡°You describe creatures belonging to Baron Dunstan. He¡¯s a creature simr to Eric Gore Lust. A type of vampyr, though he dubs his creatures, his followers, wampyr¡ªin their monstrous form, they have wings and can fly. He holds the keep south of here, south of this forest on the shores of the Silver Sea.¡±

    ¡°Silver Sea?¡± Suddenly, Victor felt stupid. Why hadn¡¯t he made Victoria draw a map depicting what she could of the Marches?

    ¡°A great body of water that borders the western edge of thesends.¡± She turned to Kethelket and said, ¡°You¡¯d be able to see it, flying out over the forest, if not for the fog Hector has summoned to obscure and poison hisnds.¡±

    ¡°Why did you not warn us of these flying fiends? Why did you spin tales of hulking monstrosities bound to the ground?¡± A note of desperation hung in Kethelket¡¯s words, and Victor knew the man was strained to the breaking point. What must it be like to know that you were in charge of the remnants of an entire species? What must it be like to know that each time you flew out to do the bidding of a giant stranger, you risked extinction? As he examined his use of the Naghelli in that light, Victor felt shame, even though Kethelket and his kin had insisted they wanted to help.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to hide anything! I answered the questions Victor asked of me! I thought it most likely Hector would send his heavy champion, Karl the Crimson, to face his might.¡± Though she answered Kethelket¡¯s question, her pale blue eyes locked with Victor¡¯s.

    ¡°Why did he take my people alive? Are they doomed?¡± Kethelket had lowered his sword, and his voice had lost much of its angry edge, though a note of desperation still clung to his words.

    ¡°He¡¯s a fiend, sir.¡± Victoria looked Kethelket in the eyes, and Victor saw his rage continue to cool as the ancient Naghelli saw the genuine sympathy in her expression. ¡°He will torment and torture them. He¡¯ll turn as many as he can into followers and feed upon the rest.¡±

    ¡°How many of these ¡®wampyrs¡¯ are there?¡± Victor growled.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯m sorry, but I never set foot in Dunstan¡¯snds, not here and not back on Dark Ember. Hundreds? I doubt it can be much more than a thousand; otherwise, he¡¯d be too hard for Hector to control. He¡¯s a very powerful creature. Much stronger than Eric or me. He holds thergest of the outer keeps, a great, double-walled castle that backs up to a cliff beside the sea. He bragged at great length thest time Hector called us to a council, describing great winding tunnels and sea caverns that open up in its depths.¡±

    ¡°Then I must go.¡± Kethelket turned, sliding his sword into its sheath and moving toward the door.

    ¡°Hold, Kethelket.¡± Victor put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ming with you.¡±

    Victoria peered at Victor, narrowing her eyes. ¡°If he took your people, there¡¯s a chance they may yet live, though for how long, I don¡¯t know. Do you have time to march an army to his keep? It¡¯s thirty leagues or more from here, and the terrain isn¡¯t easy¡ªforests and hills before you can descend toward the sea.¡±

    ¡°I can make it fast. The army will remain here.¡± Victor had never told Victoria about his strategies before. She didn¡¯t know that he onlymanded a small part of their overall army here in the ck Keep. She didn¡¯t know that Borrius and Rellia were elsewhere, hopefully winning another conflict with the bulk of the legion. He didn¡¯t intend to change that, just on the off chance that she might have some way ofmunicating with Hector or his people, just in case she might yet betray him.

    ¡°I can help you! I have magic tailored for such a challenge, Victor! Let me prove myself to you!¡± She saw his eyes narrow with doubt, saw that he was about to shut her down, and desperately pressed on. ¡°I can hide you from his wampyrs. I can get you past his wards without rming him! We can get to your people without his entire army learning of your presence and putting themselves in your way or, worse, ughtering the prisoners before you can reach them.¡±

    Thest point struck a note, and Victor nced at Kethelket, hoping the older man would have an opinion. He frowned and nodded, ¡°I have confidence in my ability to win past his guards, but I¡¯m not sure I could find my people without raising an rm. If she can do as she ims, perhaps . . .¡±

    ¡°I can move quickly, too! I can take on an incorporeal form and fly beside your friend here.¡±

    ¡°You can?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Please, Victor, let me help you! Let me earn some bit of trust from you and your people. I do you no servicenguishing, imprisoned. Let me help you against Prince Hector with more than simple information. I¡¯m doomed if he wins this war, so let me aid in his destruction!¡±

    Victor frowned and rubbed at his chin. He could feel Kethelket¡¯s agitation; the man wanted to be moving, and he couldn¡¯t me him. His people were in grave danger, and every second they lingered here, deliberating, put them at further risk. If he trusted this woman, this undead creature, to help him, then he was risking her betrayal. And so what if she betrayed him? Was he so worried about her that he¡¯d refuse a chance to save a hundred or more of Kethelket¡¯s people? ¡°All right. Walk with us, and do not use your Energy until you¡¯ve cleared it with me. Every time.¡± He stared at her until she nodded.

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    Victor left the room, nced at the guards, and said, ¡°You can return to normal duty for now.¡± With Kethelket and the Death Caster in tow, he walked out of his home, only to find Edeya, Va, Lam, and Sarl waiting for him right outside. The sky was aglow with orange light, the fog in the air strangely illuminated, amplifying the glow of the fires raging through the forest surrounding the keep. When Vaid eyes on Victoria, she hissed and drew Midnight. ¡°Easy.¡± Victor jerked a thumb at Victoria in heryered, gauzy ck dress and robes. ¡°She¡¯s going to help me and Kethelket rescue his people and, I suppose, kill another of Hector¡¯s barons.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Victoria and Va both asked. Va frowned and red at the undead woman, and Victor turned to her with a raised eyebrow. Victoria stammered, ¡°You didn¡¯t mention killing Dunstan!¡±

    ¡°Yeah. We''ll capture the keep once we get Kethelket¡¯s people free.¡± Victor shrugged as though it made perfect sense. Kethelket nodded, locking his dark eyes on Victor¡¯s; he was in agreement.

    ¡°Why infiltrate an enemy keep if you don¡¯t intend to do the most damage possible?¡± Kethelket grinned savagely, perhaps savoring the idea of some payback.

    ¡°He¡¯s very strong, Victor.¡± Victoria clenched her pale, long-fingered hands before her, clearly feeling some regrets.

    ¡°I¡¯lle as well,¡± Va said, surprising no one.

    ¡°I have to get through those mes, Va.¡± Victor gestured to the orange sky. ¡°I¡¯ll probably have to dismount and do some leaping; you know I¡¯m not as sensitive to heat and fire as . . . others are.¡± She knew he meant her, and she opened her mouth, prepared to argue, but he could see she was struggling to find the words to convince him.

    ¡°Perhaps I could cloak myself in winds and hurry through . . .¡±

    ¡°Those forests ze with a terrible fury,¡± Kethelket said, ¡°not just a narrow band of me, but miles of inferno. I could try to carry you past them.¡± He folded his arms and looked past Va into the courtyard where some of his people sat, drinking water and recovering from their ordeal. ¡°I could order a pair of my people to transport you via a harness . . .¡±

    ¡°No. No, it¡¯s fine. I must ept that I can¡¯t always rush into battle with Victor. What shall the rest of us do while you¡¯re gone?¡±

    ¡°I can probably fly past the mes,¡± Lam interjected.

    ¡°So could I,¡± Edeya was quick to add.

    Lam frowned at her. ¡°I think not, Edeya! Your new wings are strong, but you¡¯ve never flown more than a few hundred yards.¡±

    ¡°Rx, you guys!¡± Victor growled, his agitation rising with every second he dyed his departure. ¡°I need you all to stay with the army. There¡¯s a chance that not all the undead will die in this fire. There¡¯s a chance yet another army ising to attack this keep. I want you to hold it, but don¡¯t im it yet. Hector has to be wondering why we don¡¯t; he may assume we don¡¯t have enough people here to do so and send others to take control, in which case we¡¯ll need strong people here to help the Ninth battle them off. They may have a champion or two, hell they might send that big asshole Victoria already warned us about. Va, Lam, it¡¯ll be on you guys to defeat or hold him off until we finish our mission.¡±

    He looked at Kethelket, saw the agreement in his eyes, and continued, ¡°We need to go. Every second we stand around, the captured Naghelli are more at risk.¡± He looked at Victoria and then Kethelket. ¡°You two fly. Now. I¡¯ll meet you due south of here, beyond the forest. I think you¡¯ll see meing.¡± Kethelket didn¡¯t wait for further instruction. He leaped into the air with a blur of ck wings, flickering with the ochre light of his Energy.

    Victoria said, ¡°Cover your ears. For your protection.¡± When Victor and the others did so, she took a deep breath and then shrieked in a weird, horrible, multi-voiced cry that echoed off the courtyard walls, and then white, misty Energy burst out of her, washing the color out of her flesh and giving it a strange translucent nature. She looked like a ghost. Without moving her lips, she spoke in a strange, disembodied, echoing voice, ¡°I will await you beyond the mes. Thank you for your trust.¡± Then she streaked into the air, quickly catching Kethelket and matching his pace.

    ¡°Roots!¡± Edeya said, watching her luminous, ck-clothed form streak into the glowing orange sky.

    ¡°I hope you didn¡¯t make a mistake . . .¡± Lam said softly, but Victor didn¡¯t feel like justifying himself. He turned to Sarl.

    ¡°Command your soldiers well, Captain. Don¡¯t lose this keep.¡± Sarl saluted without a word, his expression serious and dour. Victor turned to Lam, Va, and Edeya. ¡°I¡¯m counting on you three. Keep in touch with Borrius and Rellia . . . Shit! Any word from them?¡±

    Edeya brightened, and she spoke excitedly, ¡°Yes! They had just captured the fortress south of Old Keep when another army arrived, perhaps meaning to add to the garrison there. The forces he described sounded a lot like the army we first met when you were scouting¡ªshamblers, ghouls, giant skeleton drummers. They hurled themselves mindlessly at the walls, and the legion destroyed them.¡±

    ¡°Borrius wants to keep pushing. He¡¯s sent scouts out looking for the next objective,¡± Va added.

    ¡°Okay. Okay, you guys. I¡¯m sorry I have to leave right now, but I think this might pay off. I think we''ll be in a great position if I can keep this Dunstan guy busy or kill him. That¡¯ll mean we have control of four of the five perimeter keeps, and a lot of Hector¡¯s troops will be dead, or, I guess, more dead. Destroyed. After the fire¡¯s gone and you¡¯ve assessed things here, go ahead and im the keep, Va.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll record any awards.¡± Edeya held up her logbook. Victor had almost forgotten about that. The System would give them another chest when they imed the ck Keep. ¡°Did Rellia im the other keep? The one they just took?¡±

    ¡°Yes. They¡¯re calling it Rust Keep on ount of it having an outer wall made from some kind of iron alloy. The bottom half of it is stained orange with rust.¡± Lam shrugged. ¡°Not a very pretty or creative name, but it¡¯s in keeping with the names you¡¯ve chosen so far.¡±

    ¡°They aren¡¯t permanent! Just for keeping track . . .¡± Victor shook his head, dismissing the topic. ¡°I need to get going.¡± He began to reach into himself, preparing to sever his connection to the Alter Self spell, allowing himself to expand to normal proportions and power, but Va rushed forward and grabbed him into a hug. Victor hugged her back and winked over her head at Edeya and Lam, who both smiled and turned away, leaning close to whisper. Sarl saluted again and walked across the courtyard, calling for his lieutenants. Victor appreciated the courtesy, but he didn¡¯t care. He wasn¡¯t trying to hide his feelings for Va anymore.

    ¡°Hush,¡± he said, despite her silence. He put his hands on the sides of her face and tilted her head away from his chest so he could look into her eyes. ¡°We¡¯ll be back together soon. As much as you might worry about me, you know I¡¯m worried about you, all right? Stay safe, and don¡¯t do anything crazy. This is just a keep. Hold it if you can, but don¡¯t give your life for it.¡±

    Her brows creased, her eyes narrowed, and she said, voice firm, ¡°I won¡¯t abandon any soldiers here. You know that.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± Victor hugged her again, happy she hadn¡¯t asked him to promise anything. ¡°I¡¯ve gotta go.¡± He let go and kissed her softly once, then he opened the floodgates of his Core and cast Iron Berserk. As he surged in size and power, he summoned Guapo. The glorious Mustang burst out of a pool of shimmering golden Energy, whinnied loudly, and rose up on his hind legs, pawing the air with his front hooves. ¡°That¡¯s my boy,¡± Victorughed.

    ¡°He¡¯s something,¡± Va chuckled, and though she tried to make it nonchnt, Victor saw her wipe the back of her hand at the corner of her eye. He reached down with his gigantic hand and gently took her tiny palm between his thumb and fingertips, giving it a soft squeeze. She sniffed, nodded, and smiled at him, and then he turned and sprang atop his stallion. As Guapo¡¯s hooves thundered over the ck stones, he roared, ¡°Open the gate!¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 32: From Fire to Sea

    Book 6: Chapter 32: From Fire to Sea

    As Victor and Guapo tore through the smoke-filled forest surrounding the keep, he truly began to appreciate how much his body had changed since he¡¯d left Earth. It was one thing to say he was stronger or bigger or that he was sturdier and healed faster, but some of the more subtle changes weren¡¯t so ring. They weren¡¯t things he noticed every day. Sure, he¡¯d epted the fact that the more he evolved, the more his body became dependent on Energy and the less sustenance it required from other sources, but he hadn¡¯t realized just how little he needed to <em>breathe</em>. That night, charging through dense, rolling waves of hot smoke, he came to realize that he could take a deep breath and not think about breathing again for a very long time, indeed.

    He leaned forward, hugging close to Guapo¡¯s neck, and let the Mustang do what he did best¡ªrun. With Guapo doing most of the work, even navigating through the forest, Victor¡¯s mind began to wander toward the changes that had urred in his body as he¡¯d advanced his race. Could he even call himself human anymore? He shook his head; he¡¯d been down that road before. He was Victor, and that was the important thing. If his <em>abu</em> saw him today, she¡¯d know him. Thinking of the changes he¡¯d gone through, he began to wonder what was in store. His race was at the seventh stage of ¡°advanced.¡± What would happen when he broke into epic? Was there something beyond epic? Did the System categorize ¡°race¡± in the same way it did sses?

    The undead were everywhere in the forest, but they wandered in the smoke, listless, onlyshing out at Guapo if he came close. Even then, they seemed disoriented, and Guapo was huge and fast and, more often than not, knocked the undead down before they could make contact with ws or rusty weapons. Victor was no expert on fires or the undead, but he had a feeling most of these slow, dumb zombies, shamblers, and even the ghouls would burn that night.

    Guapo leaped over a fallen tree, crashing through smoldering underbrush, and Victor noticed that the smoke had a different quality now. It was hot and bitter, thick to the point that it burned even his advanced eyes. The air itself was stifling, and though it wasn¡¯t much of a concern for him, he began to wonder how resilient Guapo was. The Mustang was a creature of spirit, of <em>his </em>spirit, and he¡¯d seen him trample hundreds of undead, suffering many gashes and stabs, certainly more than a normal horse could handle. Would he be able to keep charging through these smoldering woods? What about when they came to the fire itself?

    The thought of Guapo running into the mes, bravely pushing forward while he slowly burned, turned Victor¡¯s stomach, and he decided that when they got to the worst part of the fire, he¡¯d send Guapo home to the Spirit ne and make his own way through. That time came sooner than he¡¯d expected. The orange glow in the sky had steadily grown brighter, the smoke had steadily grown thicker and hotter, and now Victor could hear it, a great roar that brought forth images of ancient lotives orndslides or something equally massive and destructive. He¡¯d never been in the proximity of a fire like this, and he found himself awestruck by its size and power.

    He climbed off Guapo as they crested a slight rise in the forest. Down the slope, he saw the advancing line of fire, like a living, hungry monster, surging through the woods. A ravenous orange wave that consumed the trees, the undead, and anything else that hadn¡¯t fled; it was insatiable, relentless. Victor couldn¡¯t see what was beyond the wall of mes or tell how deep the furnace extended. All he saw was smoke and ash and embers. ¡°See you soon, <em>Guapito</em>.¡± He hopped off the Mustang¡¯s back and sent him home in a cloud of sparkling Energy motes. Then, perhaps to bolster his confidence, he summoned his Banner of the Champion and charged toward those mes.

    Victor¡¯s massive legs ate the slope in just a few bounds, and then he was careening into the face of the towering inferno. Fire didn¡¯t evoke fear in him the way it might most people, not since his ordeal with Boaegh, not since he¡¯d nearly died from his magical fireballs and been burned from the inside out by the cleansing, scalding, final breath of the fire drake. More than that, Victor had a magma Core in his chest and an affinity for fire-based Energies. Combined with his titanic constitution and berserk healing ability, those things made him quite confident that he could pass through this firergely unharmed.

    As he ran into the whipping, furious mes, smashing past staggering, smoldering undead, Victor bunched his great thighs and, using his Titanic Leap ability,unched himself upward and forward. He exploded through the smoky, roaring fire, smashed tree branches that had yet to ignite, and then he was over the bulk of the smoke, and he could see and breathe clearly for a few seconds until he began to descend. He fell back down into the whirling, cinder-filled clouds, squinting his eyes against the sting, andnded with a crash that shook the ground. He slid through hot ash, ckened tree branches, and the still-smoldering corpses of the undead by the hundreds.

    Victor smashed his way forward, bunched his legs, and did it again. It took him five leaps to make it through the worst of the forest fire, and then he was running through a smoky, ckened wastnd. Trees still stood in the forest, though they were bare of leaves and soot-covered. The undergrowth was gone, and nothing remained of the undead who¡¯d been in the area save smoldering corpses. Victor summoned Guapo again and swung himself onto his back. The two of them continued their mad dash to the south.

    While they raced through the burned forest, Victor took stock of himself. His skin was soot-stained, and his eyes stung from the smoke, but he was otherwise unmarred by the mes he¡¯d passed through. Even his leather pants had survived, and he supposed the material, being resilient in itself and enchanted for self-repair, had been the right choice for this endeavor. Lifedrinker was, of course, fine. She¡¯d drained an ancient magma wyrm of his Energy and had a strong molten heart; he could probably toss her in a volcano, and she¡¯de out all right.

    With Guapo¡¯s speed and the forest clear of many obstacles thanks to the fire, it didn¡¯t take too long to break free of the trees, and soon Victor found himself charging over moonlit, grassy ins, the fire just an orange glow on the northern horizon, almost like a false sunrise. He¡¯d been streaking over the grasnd, Guapo¡¯s hooves leaving a bright trail of sparkling Energy, for a few minutes when he felt a presence nearby and slowed. He looked up to see Kethelket¡¯s orange and ck wings blurring with effort as he streaked toward him. Keeping pace with the Naghelli prince was Victoria, a faintly luminous, spectral figure that effortlessly flowed on the breeze.

    When theynded next to Guapo, two tiny figurespared to the enormous titan-sized Mustang, Victor could see that Kethelket was exhausted. He held down a hand and said, ¡°Come on. Ride with me on Guapo for now. Recover your strength.¡±

    ¡°Aye.¡± Kethelket took his hand and pulled himself up, surprising Victor with his lightness; even Va was heavier than the tall, thin Naghelli. ¡°It¡¯s for the best.¡±

    ¡°Victoria,¡± Victor turned to the spectral woman, ¡°you lead the way.¡± And so they ran, racing over the ins and hills, Victoria setting a pace that strained even Guapo¡¯s significant reserves of speed. If they passed within sight of enemy patrols or other creatures that might have been a threat, Victor never knew it. Erged as he was, riding a gigantic Mustang faster than any creature native to Fanwath could run, they didn¡¯t linger in any area long enough to warrant caution. Besides, in Victor¡¯s mind, they didn¡¯t have time for caution; Kethelket¡¯s people could be dying or suffering with each second they dyed.

    Even considering all that, Victoria had other ideas, and she led Victor ever downslope, into ravines and gullies, alongside rivers and streams that no doubt wended their way toward the Silver Sea she¡¯d spoken of. Using those hillsides and narrow canyons as cover and as a means of descent, there was little chance anyone could see them from a distance, even with Guapo¡¯s showy, sparkling progress in the night.

    Guapo had no trouble racing through shallow waters, running on the uneven stones of the streambeds that would have tripped or broken the legs of a natural horse. His uncanny ability to bnce and run over the ground without disturbing the soil seemed to know few limits, and so they made incredible time as the Death Caster flew ahead with Victor and Kethelket close behind on the spirit steed¡¯s steady back. The moons were still out, and the sun had yet to brighten the eastern horizon when they charged out of a tree-choked gulley onto gravel-strewn sand that stretched for half a mile to the shores of a beautiful, cid body of water.

    The invaders must have named it the Silver Sea because they¡¯d first found it at night, for it reflected the light of the Sisters with a pale, shining luminescence that truly brought to mind the luster of the precious metal. ¡°Is there something in the water to make it shine so?¡± Kethelket asked, echoing Victor¡¯s curiosity.

    ¡°No idea, but it¡¯s something else, isn¡¯t it?¡± Victor scanned the water, wondering if he could see the far shore, but no hint of it touched the horizon. Looking from right to left, along the sandy shoreline, he saw hills and copses, inlets and rocky outcroppings, and, far to his left, backing up to a steep, stony cliffside, a great, looming keep with a massive curtain wall surrounding a smaller, closer inner wall. ¡°Shit! We¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡°We are,¡± Victoria said, gliding down to the sand and looking up at Victor and Kethelket. ¡°We should walk now, and I will work my magic to hide you from the eyes of Dunstan¡¯s watchers.¡±

    ¡°All right.¡± Victor and Kethelket slid from Guapo¡¯s back, and then Victor sent the steed back to the Spirit ne. During their mad run toward the sea, Victor had let his Berserk drop, not wanting to arrive without any rage in his Core. Now, he considered casting it again but decided to wait; they would rely on stealth for the time being. When the sparkling lights from Guapo¡¯s dismissal had faded, he saw that Victoria had taken on her more corporeal form, and her ck gowns blended into the night so thoroughly that her hands and face looked almost bodiless, floating in the night.

    ¡°May I work my magics, Victor?¡±

    He stared into her pale eyes for a moment, then nodded. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Suddenly, the air felt ten degrees colder, and he saw his breath begin to plume forth as pale mist seemed to pour out of Victoria¡¯s hands. It hung in a cloud around her, then expanded to wrap around him and Kethelket. Victor thought he¡¯d be blinded by the dense mist, but as soon as it engulfed him, he found he could see through it, and the world was tinted with a strange, pale-yellow luminescence.

    ¡°My mist will hide us; those who look upon it will see a thin haze in the air, nothing more.¡± Victoria¡¯s voice was clear and echoed strangely as she continued, ¡°It will also enhance your senses; you should be able to see and hear more clearly within it.¡±

    ¡°A clever working,¡± Kethelket said, nodding his approval.

    ¡°Come on,¡± Victor gestured toward the keep, ¡°we need to hurry.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Victoria started forward, gliding gracefully over the rocky beach toward the keep. ¡°Dunstan is powerful, but his abilities are more inclined toward destruction than subterfuge. I don¡¯t believe he¡¯ll have defenses against my magic. We may be able to walk right through the gate.¡±

    ¡°Nah.¡± Victor shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t risk it. Find a quiet ce on the wall, and we¡¯ll scale it. Well, I¡¯ll scale it; you two can fly.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll lower a rope.¡± Kethelket pped a hand on Victor¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°I cannot maintain my mist and my banshee form.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll carry you up.¡± Victor jerked a thumb toward his back. ¡°I won¡¯t even feel your weight.¡±

    ¡°As you say.¡± She didn¡¯t look happy, perhaps feeling Victor was being overly cautious and not trusting her magic to hide them as they walked through the gate, but Victor didn¡¯t care. He wasn¡¯t here to win Victoria¡¯s approval; he had people to rescue, and he¡¯d avoid the guards until he couldn¡¯t, and then he¡¯d start killing. With those thoughts in his mind, he turned to Kethelket.

    ¡°If we get caught, and shit starts to go sideways, I want you and Victoria to find your people. I¡¯ll keep these vampyrs busy.¡±

    Kethelket looked at him gravely, then nodded. ¡°Once I free them, we¡¯lle to your aid.¡±

    ¡°How many of your kin were taken?¡± Victoria nced over her shoulder, almost flinching, as she looked toward Victor, perhaps afraid she¡¯d overstepped.

    ¡°More than a hundred.¡±

    ¡°With so many, they¡¯re likely being held together. I don¡¯t know Dunstan¡¯s policies when ites to dealing with prisoners, but he¡¯ll likely want to choose several for his own . . . needs. These creatures are nocturnal, and though they are strong flyers, I can¡¯t imagine they got here much ahead of us, considering they had to carry prisoners. With dawn nearing, I¡¯m hopeful your people will be held until night falls again.¡±

    ¡°I thank you for the added hope.¡± Kethelket¡¯s words were calm, but Victor could see his right hand gripping the hilt of one of his swords. His knuckles were strained, and Victor could hear the leather of the hilt squeaking under the pressure. He was angry or stressed or both. Of course he was, Victor silently chided himself.

    ¡°If you get your people free and I¡¯m fighting, just get the fuck out of there, Kethelket. I can get away if I have to, but there¡¯s no sense getting more of your people killed. They have us ten to one.¡±

    ¡°Dunstan is a powerful man, Victor. He has several underlings who rivaled Eric Gore Lust.¡± Victoria nced at him again, perhaps gauging her odds of escaping the keep alive.

    Victor kept walking, staring at the fast-approaching curtain wall, and thought about her words, about Kethelket and his people, and then about the greater campaign. What was he hoping to achieve in there? A rescue? No, he decided, it was more than that. ¡°I¡¯m not nning to leave that ce until this Dunstan guy is dead.¡±

    Kethelket jerked his head to stare at him, locking his dark eyes on Victor¡¯s for a moment, but he didn¡¯t say anything. He didn¡¯t object, but he didn¡¯t encourage him either. Victoria kept walking, and Victor could feel the tension thickening the air as she fought back some kind of retort or objection; she knew it wasn¡¯t her ce. Was she afraid he¡¯d keep her with him until he was satisfied with his ughter, or, worse, was overwhelmed and killed? That made him wonder what his intentions for her were. Did he expect her to fight against such wildly lopsided odds?

    ¡°Rx, Victoria. You¡¯ll stay with Kethelket and go with him as he fights free of the keep with his people.¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± She started, perhaps, to object, but Kethelket spoke before she could formte her response.

    ¡°If I leave you to battle this keep full of monsters, Va will y me herself.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor sighed, ¡°you need to make her understand; I¡¯m not trying to kill myself. This is a keep with tunnels and caves under it. It¡¯s not a battlefield where hundreds of enemies can face me at once; I intend to move and kill as I go, never allowing myself to be surrounded. Besides, listen: We¡¯ll use stealth as much as possible and hopefully free your people before any fighting starts. Then I¡¯m going to blitz my way to this Dunstan asshole and deal with him. Before you object, think about how you¡¯re going to get your people out. You¡¯ll need the distraction.¡±

    ¡°Dunstan¡¯s people will suffer greatly with his demise. If you have a hope of winning, that¡¯s how you must do it: y him early to weaken his many thralls.¡±

    ¡°Victor.¡± Kethelket stopped walking and turned to him. ¡°I yield to your leadership, but I must argue this point. There are more than a hundred of my people in there. If we free them, that means odds of only ten to one, as you said earlier. If you y their leader and weaken the other vampyrs, shouldn¡¯t we stay and try to kill them all? Shouldn¡¯t we capture this keep? You hinted as much before you left ck Keep.¡±

    ¡°Well, yeah, but as I traveled here with you two, I started to think about how precious the few remaining Naghelli lives are. Even if we win, but you lose half of your people, is it worth it?¡± Before Kethelket could respond or object, he shook his head and said, ¡°No. It¡¯s not. Listen, Kethelket. You will get your people out of that keep, and after I¡¯ve killed Dunstan and you see the effect it has on his people, we can reassess. You can reassess.¡± Victor looked at Victoria. ¡°Do you know how much it will affect his ¡®thralls¡¯ when he dies?¡±

    ¡°I do not. I know he has a stronger connection to them than Eric did to his. They¡¯re, as I said, a different bloodline of vampyr. I don¡¯t know their origin or history or anything that might be of use, only that Dunstan calls his thralls wampyr and refers to them as his children.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Victor looked at the high, curved, gray-stone curtain wall and cracked his knuckles. He knew what he was going to do, and it didn¡¯t matter what anyone said. Even if Va were standing right there, his n would be the same. He had a goal in mind, and there wasn¡¯t going to be any turning him away from it. ¡°It¡¯s settled then. Stealth by any means until the Naghelli are free, then I¡¯ll make my way to where Dunstan is and kill him. You guys will get free and wait to see what happens between me and the wampyr lord.¡± He couldn¡¯t help the grin that exposed his teeth, shining in the moonlight. Had he really just announced that he was going into a big, dark castle to kill a vampire lord? Who was he, Van Helsing?

 Book 6: Chapter 33: Rescue

    Book 6: Chapter 33: Rescue

    Victor carefully descended the inner courtyard steps, warily avoiding clomping or scuffing his boots on the stones. Victoria¡¯s obscuring mist had worked like a charm so far, clinging to the three of them, hiding them from the watchful eyes of Dunstan¡¯s posted guards. Kethelket had flittered up to the top of each wall, lowering a rope for Victor to climb while Victoria clung to his back, a process Victor hadn¡¯t much enjoyed.

    Victoria¡¯s flesh was cold, and despite the heat his body radiated, it never warmed. She¡¯d held on to him, chilly, oddly rigid arms around his neck, and not made a sound as he climbed, but he¡¯d savored the moment she let go, allowing the cleansing air to touch his skin where she¡¯d held him. If he¡¯d had doubts about her status as an undead creature, they were banished after that.

    The courtyard was enormous and filled with barrels, wagons, coaches, and myriad odds and ends. It was a trivial matter to walk carefully around the clutter, avoiding the handful of guards walking about, and make their way to a side passage that led into an area that once must have been kitchens. The ovens were cold, the pantries bare, and Victor was reminded that Dunstan and his people, his thralls or ¡°children,¡± didn¡¯t take sustenance like normal, fully alive people. It was probably to their advantage; not a soul lingered in those big, dusty kitchens and dining halls, and they found an easily essible stairway leading down.

    None of them knew where they were going, but Victoria knew Dunstan and his people had discovered hidden depths to the keep. She¡¯d heard him boasting about their expansive darkness, hidden away from the sun, the ideal ce for people of his ilk to rest during the day. Victor didn¡¯t know much, but one thing he knew was that when you were searching for ¡°hidden depths,¡± it was probably best to go down. So, they descended every stairway they could find, and soon, they were walking through damp, dripping stone tunnels. Those tunnels were constructed of rough-hewn blocks, but the mortar was looser and patchy, with asional stretches of natural stone lining one side or the other.

    Once they¡¯d passed beyond the courtyard and descended their first flight of steps, they hadn¡¯t encountered any of Dunstan¡¯s people, no vampyrs or wampyrs or whatever they wanted to be called, no people whatsoever. Victor was beginning to wonder if they¡¯d entered some unused portion of the underground, a set of tunnels and rooms to which the invaders hadn¡¯t yet spread. That doubt nagged at him for a while but was banished when they passed through a dripping, ancient stone arch into a massive, vaulted cavern, and Victoria softly hissed, ¡°There!¡± and pointed to the ceiling.

    Sure enough, straight out of a horror movie, Victor saw dozens of naked, gray-skinned, monstrous humanoids hanging from the great, calcified wooden beams that held up the vaulted ceiling. They wererge, probably nine feet tall, and hung upside down with leathery, vein-filled wings folded about their forms. Their hairless gray heads protruded with long, pointed ears and ugly, noseless faces lost in slumber. Victor scanned the chamber and saw another high arch on the other side. He motioned toward it, and Victoria nodded, leading the way.

    She and Kethelket were noiseless and probably would be even without her obscuring mist, but Victor had to concentrate, watching where he set hisrge, booted feet, careful to step lightly. Even so, with her magic aiding them, they passed through the room without disturbing the sleeping creatures, and when they¡¯d progressed into the next damp tunnel a short distance, Victor asked in a rough whisper, ¡°Are they always like that? They don¡¯t change shape like Eric¡¯s vampyrs?¡±

    ¡°His oldest thralls, aye. The younger ones need to exert Energy to transform.¡±

    Victor considered Victoria¡¯s words and then nodded. ¡°I guess we¡¯re on the right track. Hold here for a moment.¡± Victor concentrated, and, channeling some fear-attuned Energy, he summoned his coyotes. Being a part of him, they knew he was hunting, stalking something, so they emerged from the cloud of roiling shadows silently, padding around the trio with noses lowered, sniffing, silently circling them. ¡°We¡¯ll wait here a minute and let my <em>hermanos</em> prowl around and see if they can find Kethelket¡¯s people. No reason to spend all day going down the wrong tunnels.¡±

    Without direction, responding to Victor¡¯s will, the coyotes drew near Kethelket, sniffing him carefully, then darting away down the tunnel, silent, ck, cloaked in shadows, and invisible to Victor¡¯s eye after just a few steps into the darkness, even with Victoria¡¯s magical mist enhancing his vision. ¡°You don¡¯t fear they¡¯ll alert Dunstan¡¯s thralls?¡± Kethelket stared into the darkness of the tunnel intently, perhaps readying himself to react to an rm or outcry.

    ¡°They¡¯re sneakier than we are.¡± Victor grinned at Kethelket. ¡°Even you.¡± He could sense his spiritpanions, as usual, and though he couldn¡¯t see through their eyes, he knew he¡¯d feel it when they found something. Confident in that knowledge, he leaned his armored shoulder against the damp stone wall and waited.

    ¡°Yourpanions, are they a spirit shaping?¡± Victoria stepped close, speaking softly.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°As a Death Caster, I¡¯ve always found spirit Cores fascinating. Few Spirit Casters I¡¯ve met, though, had much power at all. There¡¯s some prejudice among my kind about them; at least on Dark Ember, they¡¯re looked at as primitive.¡± She hurriedly held up her hands and continued, ¡°I know how that sounds, but I¡¯m not casting aspersions; I¡¯m simply noting that we were clearly misinformed.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of casting,¡± Victor replied, choosing to ignore her fishing expedition, ¡°if wee upon Kethelket¡¯s people and have to kill some guards, can you use this mist of yours to keep the noise down?¡±

    ¡°I can, but Dunstan will feel it when his thralls die.¡±

    Kethelket frowned, locking eyes with Victor. ¡°I suppose there¡¯s a limit to the stealthy part of this endeavor.¡±

    ¡°Unless you two know a way to silence and incapacitate the guards without killing them.¡±

    ¡°Were they not undead, I could.¡± Victoria¡¯s words were almost a sigh.

    ¡°Can undead be rendered unconscious from a blow to the head?¡± Kethelket directed his question to Victoria.

    ¡°Not easily, not these wampyrs. Perhaps with the sunlight from Victor¡¯s banner, though I fear it will also banish my mist, which would thwart my ability to mute the sounds of conflict.¡± As she spoke, Victor got a sense of excited sess from one of his coyotes, and he knew they¡¯d found the missing Naghelli. Rather than tell Kethelket and Victoria, he concentrated his will upon hispanions and tried to impress upon them what he wanted. He pictured the hanging wampyrs, then tried to direct the coyotes to find the biggest, greatest creature like that. When he felt like they understood and sensed that they were on the hunt once again, he turned to Kethelket.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. When we break your people out, I¡¯ll head for Dunstan, and I¡¯ll make a pretty big scene about it. You all should be able to fight free; I¡¯ll leave one of my coyotes to guide you.¡±

    Kethelket looked him in the eye, saw his conviction, and slowly nodded. ¡°Once we¡¯re out, we¡¯ll make an assessment. I won¡¯t risk all of my people, but if we can aid you, we will.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all I could ask for.¡±

    ¡°Assuming we find your people alive . . .¡± Victoria said, perhaps before she could consider the impact of her words. Kethelket growled and whirled to face her, reaching a hand toward the de at his belt. Victor forestalled his angry retort, though, by putting a hand on his shoulder and speaking.

    ¡°My coyotes found them. I¡¯m not sure how many, but definitely your people.¡±

    ¡°Why are we standing here?¡±

    ¡°Patience. They¡¯re learning theyout of these tunnels so they can guide us where we need to go.¡±

    Kethelket nodded. ¡°You mean after we rescue them.¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡± They stood in silence a few minutes longer, and then Victor felt a wave of excitement from his dark coyotes; they¡¯d found his quarry. He could feel them struggling to remain quiet, to remember to sneak back to him rather than yipping and howling, surrounding their prey, and calling him to them. He couldn¡¯t have med them if they¡¯d done it; they were smart, clever helpers, but they had a nature of their own, and he was asking them to behave very much outside of it. Still, he exerted his will, calling them back to him, reminding them of their need to be silent, and they contained themselves, gliding through the dark, damp tunnels and caves, clinging to the shadows as though they were a part of them.

    A few minutester, Victoria gasped softly and pointed into the darkness; several sets of dark, smoky, purple eyes were bobbing toward them up out of the recesses. ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± Victor said, loosening Lifedrinker from her harness, grinning savagely as she hummed in his hands. He stalked into the darkness, and his coyotes turned to lead the way. They silently descended, turning at junction after junction, and he congratted himself a few times on having the forethought to send them out hunting; he might have been hours exploring all of the branching passages, and each minute they spent down there was another minute they might be exposed too soon.

    They passed half a dozen vaulted chambers like the one where they¡¯d first seen the wampyrs hanging from the supports, sleeping away the day, and, all told, probably passed by another hundred of the creatures. Knowing that the ones perpetually in that monstrous form were Dunstan¡¯s oldest, strongest thralls, he had to wonder where the more junior members of his army were. Did they sleep up in the keep in regr barracks? If so, it might make his job easier. He reasoned it would take them more time to get down to join the fight against him than it would take him to get to wherever his coyotes had found Dunstan.

    As he contemted, nning in his mind how he¡¯d fight his way to Dunstan, visualizing his moves, the abilities he¡¯d use, and picturing how he¡¯d most quickly dispatch any wampyrs that got in his way, his coyotes stopped before a narrow, tall opening with arched, curved blocks holding up the boulder-like lintel. They paced in a small circle, and Victor knew they wanted to yip and cry, wanted to signal that the object of the hunt was there. He stepped forward, holding out his left palm reassuringly. He looked to Victoria and Kethelket and nodded. Approaching the archway, he realized it was much wider than it had seemed; it was just so tall that it seemed narrow.

    He couldn¡¯t see any light in the space beyond, but within Victoria¡¯s magical mist, he could see rows of iron cages lining the far wall of an enormous natural cavern. High, stone-block arches held up a rough, cavernous ceiling from which water fell in steady drips down to pools dotting the uneven cavern floor. Victor could see the huddled forms of dozens of Naghelli within the cages, and he breathed out a sigh, releasing some pent-up stress; it looked like most of Kethelket¡¯s people still lived.

    At first, he thought they might be unguarded. He couldn¡¯t see any wampyrs hanging from the ceiling, and theck of light or furniture made him wonder if any non-monstrous guard would be present, but then he saw a faint flicker of silvery light from the left side of the cavern. Peering that way, he could just make out a small archway. He pointed, and Kethelket nodded, whispering, ¡°A guard room?¡±

    Victor nodded again, then gestured for his twopanions to follow him. He crept into the cavern, stealthy and silent within Victoria¡¯s mist, and when they rounded a heap of broken crates and stood only a dozen feet or so from the first of the iron cages, Victor could see into the distant archway. Two men sat at a small table with a tiny silvery orb of light hanging above their heads. They were ying some sort of board game that looked almost like chess. Victor looked at Kethelket and Victoria and pointed at the cages, then he pointed at himself and then to the guards. When Kethelket nodded, Victor stalked forward.

    He was still a dozen feet from the archway when he cast Iron Berserk. He strained to contain his usual roar as he surged in size and power, and his vision tinted red. He must have seeded, or Victoria¡¯s mist was still working to hide and silence him because the guards never looked up. When he was just five feet from the archway, Victor channeled fear-attuned Energy into Lifedrinker, imparting her with dark, roiling, shadowy power. Then, almost simultaneously, Victor summoned his Banner of the Champion and cast Energy Charge, streaking toward the two guards and hacking Lifedrinker in a broad, forward cleave.

    The two guards might have been able to put up a bit of a fight had they seen Victoring, but he took them entirely by surprise. If Lifedrinker¡¯s razor-sharp, gleaming edge hadn¡¯t separated their heads from their bodies, Victor¡¯s impact would surely have rendered them insensate. When he struck the guard on the left, such a concussion resulted that both men¡¯s bodies crunched into the far wall with wet, bone-grinding impacts, leaving little doubt that they were destroyed. Victor whirled, red fury tinting his gaze, and stomped back into therge chamber with the cages.

    He saw Kethelket breaking locks with a gleaming chisel and hammer, saw the Naghelli silently crowding the doors, and then he took in Victoria; she was standing near the archway, weaving a cloud of writhing mist that filled the opening, perhaps hoping to buy them some time by damping down the noise of their activities. Victor whistled for his coyotes, and they slunk out of the shadows, crowding close. He stared at one of them, letting his will be known, and it yipped and whined but hurried over to Kethelket¡¯s side.

    ¡°That one will guide you out.¡± He looked from Kethelket to the men and women in the cages. ¡°I¡¯m d you all are alive! Follow my coyote and listen to your captain.¡± They answered him with muted cheers and thanks, and when he turned his hulking form and started for the exit, he heard some of them asking Kethelket where he was going. He didn¡¯t linger to hear the answer. As he stepped into Victoria¡¯s mist, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t betray me. Listen to Kethelket. He¡¯ll honor our bargain if something happens to me.¡±

    ¡°As you say.¡± She ducked her head, refusing to meet his gaze. Was he so terrifying in his berserk state? Perhaps it brought back memories of the ordeal she¡¯d faced on the Spirit ne with him. When he saw her mist burning away, he realized it wasn¡¯t fear that made her look away; it was the burning heat of his banner¡¯s bloody sun. With a rumbling growl in his throat, he strode into the dark passageway, banishing the shadows as he progressed. His coyotes yipped and barked as they followed him, somehow knowing the time for stealth was past. No, it was time for Victor to make some noise. He gestured ahead with his left hand, letting his pack know he wanted to find the big wampyr leader, and they surged past him, trotting up the sloping tunnel.

    He''d barely followed them to the next junction when he felt their rm, and then he saw the roiling, hulking shadows of a pack of wampyrs. Had they felt their lesserpatriots¡¯ deaths? Victor had been expecting as much, so he didn¡¯t react with rm. Instead, he lifted Lifedrinker and ran forward, letting loose a terrible roar that shook the dripping water loose from the stones, showering everyone in the tunnel with a fine mist. Heughed as the light of his banner refracted in the damp haze, making an incongruous rainbow in the middle of the corridor between Victor and the wampyrs.

    He felt like he¡¯d been stuck in traffic, forced to drive five miles an hour, stopping and starting for thest hour, and now he had an open freeway ahead. He stomped the elerator. Roaring andughing, he charged among the big, leathery-skinned, gray figures. He hacked Lifedrinker left and right, and as soon as she sliced the first wing, she burst into molten, white-hot glory, adding her screams of battle lust to his grunts and roars. The wampyrs weren¡¯t silent either, hissing, screeching, crying out as their ws raked his arms or slid off his armor. They yowled in pain and tried to retreat as he delivered vicious, mortal wounds, hacking into them like a butcher making scraps.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere!¡± he roared, using his bulk to keep them from surrounding him, forcing them to face him one or two at a time and utterly dominating them. These wampyrs were probably as tough as the monstrous vampyrs he¡¯d fought out on the ins, but he was fresh, and he wasn¡¯t facing them in the hundreds, surrounded, bloodied, and beleaguered. He worked his way through the pack like a terrier let loose in a rat den, and in minutes, he was standing at the far end of a bloody, corpse-littered stretch of corridor, heaving and panting, blood dripping from every inch of his person.

    His coyotes came out of the shadows, hazy purple eyes focused on him, yipping in a way that almost sounded likeughter as he urged them to continue on, to find the object of their hunt. He chased after them, winding through the tunnels, howling,ughing, and roaring alternately as he progressed. He was mad with battle lust, but only because he¡¯d allowed himself to be. He¡¯d decided early on that he would put on a show, savage his way through these corridors, drawing the wampyrs into a chase that would leave Kethelket and his kin in peace, allowing them to find their way out with as little resistance as possible.

    It seemed his n was working because he could hear the sounds of pursuit, and it didn¡¯t sound like a small number. He could hear their ws scrabbling over stone in the gaps between his roars. He could hear their outraged cursing in sibnt hisses, and he knew they were frustrated by his speed and unerring sense of direction, thanks to his coyotes. Hispanions guided him through the maze and away from therger packs of enemies. When he came upon one or two wampyrs, Victor¡¯s axe fell with bloody, crunching hacks, severing limbs, cleaving bodies, and spraying hot, ck blood on the stones. He never lingered long enough for the bulk of his pursuers to catch up and slow him.

    Because they helped him avoid therger packs and because they could tell their quarry was on the move, his coyotes didn¡¯t lead him on a direct course to where they¡¯d seen the wampyr lord. They followed their noses, yipping, braying, and howling their way through the subterranean maze. Along the way, Victor probably killed several dozen wampyrs, and he knew he could probably clear the ce out if his Energy would hold out that long. As it was, he knew he needed to find Dunstan sooner rather thanter, lest his rage run low. He needn¡¯t have been concerned; just as he began to allow such worries to find root in his mind, he burst into an enormous cavern and immediately caught sight of his quarry.

    Dunstan stood before a massive throne-like stone chair at the far end of the cavern. Perhaps cavern was the wrong word to describe the space, Victor revised, noting the high, massive wooden beams holding up the stone ceiling, the thin, ancient red carpetsid out over the marble-b flooring, and the furnishings¡ªtables, chairs, benches, and candbra in their hundreds¡ªscattered about the space.

    Victor slowed and took everything in, sauntering forward, his coyotes yapping nervously as they walked around him in a loose circle. Dunstan was a big wampyr, twice the size of the ones Victor had faced thus far, with enormous wings that were more ck than gray. Like his brethren, he was naked save for a thick, gleaming obsidian crown that sat atop his ugly, bat-like head. He had baleful red eyes, and as they watched Victor approach, he spoke in a deep, guttural voice, wet with loose consonants and the promise of violence, ¡°So youe into my home bold and full of fury? You dare? I¡¯ll bathe in your blood and spend the next hundred years hunting everyone you¡¯ve ever known. They¡¯ll be my ythings for millennia.¡±

    Victor continued forward, trying to decide whether he¡¯d break his rule about shit-talking. He¡¯d gotten halfway into therge chamber when he heard his pursuers catch up and start to file in. He¡¯d figured they¡¯d do so, but he had plenty of ideas to deal with the superior numbers, not least of which was charging back into the tunnel and forcing them to funnel into him in smaller packs. He just wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d start the fight with the big bastard first. Dunstan made his decision easier when he growled, ¡°Stand back, children. Watch your lord y this great buffoon.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 34: A Duel in the Depths

    Book 6: Chapter 34: A Duel in the Depths

    Victor¡¯s Quinametzin heart surged with fury at the wampyr¡¯s words¡ªa challenge and an insult. Did this ugly, gray monstrosity think it could stand before him so brazenly? Did it believe itself a match for his fury? Victor red around, Lifedrinker on his shoulder, and, as blood dripped from his armor, from his knuckles, and his elbows, making little pools on the marble, he smiled, a toothy, fierce smile that said more about murder than amusement. His aura was fully untethered, lying heavy around him, sharing space with the smoldering heat of the bloody sun on his banner. The wampyr lord¡¯s ¡°children¡± could feel it; they shrank back from him, hugging the edges of the great chamber in their hundreds.

    ¡°Well, then? Come to me, <em>meal</em>.¡± Dunstan¡¯s voice was thick with lust as he turned to his enormous throne-like chair and snatched up a great, jagged sword that looked to be carved from rose-colored stone. Despite its strange material, the de looked sharp and heavy, and the tiny part of Victor¡¯s mind that wasn¡¯t hot with blood lust didn¡¯t relish having it strike him. He took a step toward the monstrous figure, but Dunstan had other ideas, cracking his vast, veiny wings and streaking toward him, sword held high.

    Victor was no novice when it came to a brawl and certainly not where the axe was concerned. The great wampyr was fast, but Victor was a match for him, and he sidestepped, ducked a shoulder, put his thick juggernaut helm in the path of that stony sword, and hacked Lifedrinker down in a brutal chop, aimed at where he could predict Dunstan¡¯s leg wouldnd. The gambit paid off perfectly, or it would have if Lifedrinker had been able to do more than scratch the wampyr¡¯s thick, wrinkled, gray flesh.

    The sword rang like a gong as it smashed into the crown of his helm. Lifedrinker rebounded from the creature¡¯s knee, and Victor danced behind the monstrosity, ducking under a wide wing. As he passed behind Dunstan, he tried to drag Lifedrinker along the veiny, gray membrane of that wing, and again, she failed to prate it. She was fully aze, engorged with his dark, fear-attuned Energy, yet she wailed in frustration as she fruitlessly slid along that dense, pliable flesh.

    ¡°You bring a toy to fight with me?¡± Dunstanughed and whirled, whipping his huge, cleaver-like stone sword in a wide arc. Victor backstepped and brought Lifedrinker up in a parry, aiming to knock the de away with the t top of her axe head. He was just a fraction of a second too slow, and though she slid along his sword, he didn¡¯t have the right angle or momentum to stop that ripping edge, and it bit into his shoulder. For once, Victor wasn¡¯t happy to only have a vest of wyrm-scale armor. The cold, razor edge of that stone sword parted his flesh like a scalpel with an anvil behind it, cutting him to the bone and then some.

    Victor stumbled back, painncing through his shoulder as his arm went numb, and he nearly lost his grip on Lifedrinker. Growling in frustration, he circled the wampyr, watching as the monster ran a long, pointy tongue over the edge of his sword and chortled wetly. Victor held his axe in two hands, using his left to support most of the weight while he waited for his Berserk healing to knit his muscles and tendons together. His failure to harm the creature with two good hitsbined with the blow to his shoulder had sobered him, turning his feral grin into a frown of concentration.

    More than the injury and Lifedrinker¡¯s ineffectual cuts, Victor¡¯s serious state of mind frustrated him. He inwardly railed at himself¡ªwhy wasn¡¯t he getting pissed? Why was he being so cautious? Just beat the fucker down! Still, despite his harsh self-talk, he circled and listened to the jeers and taunts of the gathered wampyrs. He had half a mind to turn his back on Dunstan, ignoring the giant wampyr while he waded through his ¡°children¡± and gave Lifedrinker another bath in their blood. He knew better, though; if he took his eyes off that stone cleaver, he¡¯d wind up losing his head.

    Dunstan cracked his wings and charged forward again, and Victor met his flurry of blows with parries and dodges, ducking shes and cleaves, catching them on his helm or knocking them aside. When they separated, he had no new wounds, but neither did Dunstan, and the wampyr didn¡¯t look tired. He looked like he was just getting started. As the creature lifted his hacking sword high, preparing another charge, no doubt, Victor beat him to it,unching forward with a rage-attuned Energy Charge. He smashed into the enormous creature¡¯s chest, Lifedrinker leading the way.

    Victor had crashed into some big creatures before using that spell. Each time, his own magic sustained and protected him while he either sent the enemy sprawling or they somehow shielded themselves. This time was different. Dunstan didn¡¯t shield himself, but neither did he fly backward from the concussion. He pped his wings and stepped back, but that was the extent of the damage. Victor, for once, had met his match in bulk and strength. The wampyr was built like a diesel engine, solid, unyielding, and just as ugly.

    While red, rippling Energy clouded the air in the wake of their crash, Dunstan lifted a hook-nailed foot and kicked Victor in the thigh, dragging his toe ws savagely downward. They ripped through his pants and his flesh, leaving burning tracks that instantly began to bubble and turn ck with putrescence. The foul creature had used some disease-ridden Energy to corrupt Victor¡¯s flesh. Victor stumbled, agony opening his pathways wide, making room for more rage as hepensated for the knot of fear he felt forming in his gut. Had he bitten off more than he could chew?

    Lifedrinker bucked and vibrated in his hand, yearning to fly forth and strike the demonic wampyr, but Victor held her tight; she¡¯d only get herself knocked away, out of his reach, unable to help him further. ¡°Help me . . .¡± the thought struck a match of inspiration alight in his head, and Victor began to chuckle, annoyed and amused at himself for waiting, once again, for near disaster to think of or, worse, remember what he should have done all along.

    ¡°Youugh, meat?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor could already feel his robust vitality and Berserk regeneration battling the corruption in his leg. He could feel the dark, putrescence running down his leg as his body pushed it out, the flesh in his muscles knitting. ¡°Did you call her a toy? My axe?¡±

    Dunstan backed off a step, whipping his stone sword in great, whooshing arcs before himself. ¡°That pitiful de cannot harm me. I wonder, how long can you maintain this state? This berserk nature? I¡¯ve fought your kind before¡ªsimple-minded rage casters. The berserker rage is certainly intoxicating, but it doesn¡¯tst. You¡¯re a big man, but you¡¯re no wampyr. I¡¯ll wear you down, and then we¡¯ll sup on that rich blood, me and my kin. Worse, I¡¯ll pay your kind back tenfold for the children you¡¯ve in tonight. Take those words to heart, fool; do they not bring despair?¡±

    Victor flexed his thigh, feeling it respond without pain, then he lifted Lifedrinker and said, softly, for her alone, ¡°Okay, <em>chica</em>, let¡¯s kill this fucker. I¡¯ll give you a boost.¡± Then, Victor cast Imbue Spirit, powering the spell with inspiration-attuned Energy. He sent a shard of his spirit into Lifedrinker, and she instantly reacted, ring with white, heatless mes. Victor swung her left and right, and her cries of fury and hunger rang through the chamber, bodiless but savage and fierce. A wave of nausea and fatigue struck him as his power poured into Lifedrinker, but he quicklypensated, and then he changed his Sovereign Will boost from strength and vitality to dexterity and agility; it was time for Lifedrinker to work, and that meant he needed tond some more hits.

    Victor watched as Dunstan observed his axe coated in ghostly mes. Then, as the great wampyr took in a deep breath, perhaps ready to shout something or release a spell, Victor used some of his abundant fear-attuned Energy and cast Energy Charge. This time, he aimed to the side, and as he ripped over the hard marble floor, he swung Lifedrinker with all his enhanced speed and uracy, aiming for the giant creature¡¯s chest. Dunstan was fast, though, and he managed to get his huge stone sword between Lifedrinker and his flesh. It was a move that may have saved him a mortal injury, but it cost him dearly.

    Lifedrinker, tempered by Victor¡¯s spirit, imbued with his very soul, his power, his potential, rang like a chime as she impacted that enormous, rose-colored de and she bit clean through the stone, parting it like a chisel through sandstone. Dunstan roared in fury as he fell back, avoiding Victor¡¯s follow-through, clutching the stump of his sword, shortened by two-thirds. Victor, as always, knew when to press an advantage, and he darted forward, weaving Lifedrinker through feints, hacks, thrusts, and cleaves like only a true aficionado of the axe might do. Dunstan, meanwhile, was hobbled, unable to use his broken sword effectively. He might have tried to get a new weapon from some storage container, but Victor¡¯s incessant pressure wouldn¡¯t allow it.

    Lifedrinker began to take a toll, carving away his thick gray flesh and exposing the rotten, thick sludge that passed for Dunstan¡¯s blood. Victor roared andughed, reveling in his foe¡¯s distress. ¡°That¡¯s right, <em>chica</em>! Carve that fucker like a turkey!¡± He drove the great wampyr back toward his throne, and as he exposed more and more of the meat beneath the creature¡¯s flesh, his banner began to take its toll, sizzling the creature¡¯s blood, muscle, and bone with the hot, glittering, yellow light of its bloody sun. Dunstan roared in frustration, gnashing his teeth, hissing, and swinging that truncated de in futile attempts to stop Lifedrinker¡¯s graceful, weaving cleaves.

    Victor pushed forward, the dance of death upon him. He was in tune with Lifedrinker, aware of her de, her handle, every hair¡¯s breadth of her steel and wood. He could feel her life force, and she could feel his; they were joined in battle, and nothing Dunstan could do, no trick of Energy, no feat of strength or speed could save him from that shing, weaving, ming axe. The heat of her molten core was transformed, adding to the ghostly fire of Victor¡¯s inspiration Energy. Each cut she made left a gaping, ckened wound that refused to heal, not only because of Victor¡¯s banner but because of the melding of Victor¡¯s and Lifedrinker¡¯s spirits within the axe.

    Defeated, broken, cowering, Dunstan groveled and scurried, trying to avoid Victor¡¯s cuts with the bulk of his stone throne. When he finally realized there was no salvation, he cried out, ¡°y this fool! Extinguish his light!¡± The frenzied susurration of rushing, gray-skinned creatures and pping hairless wings distracted Victor and made him nce away for just a moment, and that was all Dunstan needed. He depressed some hidden catch on his throne, causing a hidden clockwork mechanism to rotate it, revealing a deep ck hole down which the elder wampyr dropped, and then his children, in their hundreds, were upon Victor.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Kethelket looked at his haggard, bloodied people. They were gathered upon the banks of the Silver Sea, the dark, brooding fortress of Dunstan the Wampyr several miles away. The sun was still high in the sky, else they¡¯d no doubt have been pursued further. The corpses of Dunstan¡¯s thralls, the ones who¡¯d chased them this far, littered the rocky beach. Further upslope toward the keep were dozens more of their corpses¡ªthe brave fools who¡¯d tried to keep the Naghelli from fleeing forth.

    He silently counted his kin,ing up with ny-three. He turned to Offathi, ¡°Well? What was your count?¡±

    ¡°Ny-four, Lord.¡±

    ¡°Ny . . . Oh, you counted me?¡±

    ¡°Aye, Lord.¡± She ducked her head, and Kethelket noted the bloody w marks on her cheeks, the ripped and battered nature of her armor. Most of his people had been stripped of their dimensional containers. Most of them had damaged or missing armor. Most of them were using weapons he¡¯d passed out from his own containers or taken from dead enemies. He wanted to take the fight to the wampyrs and their thralls. He wanted to y them all and loot the keep, taking the price of his dead kinfolk in dark, tainted blood. Looking at their faces, the bloody wounds, and the abused state of their equipment, he knew it would cost them dearly to do so.

    Even with Victor possibly distracting the worst of the wampyrs, perhaps even killing the lord of the keep, hundreds of fresh, well-armed troops were within those walls. He had no doubt that his people could take a heavy toll, perhaps killing them all, but he¡¯d lose too many. No, he couldn¡¯t do that, not when these ragged men and women represented nearly a third of all the Naghelli left in the world.

    ¡°Will he live?¡± At her voice, Kethelket whirled to face Victoria. He¡¯d almost forgotten the strange, undead witch was there.

    ¡°He¡¯s a survivor.¡±

    ¡°So, you think he will?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t bet against him.¡± Kethelket frowned, wishing there was some way he could tell how Victor was doing, some way he could sense him.

    ¡°I cannot feel him. He¡¯s too deep,¡± Victoria said, uncannily guessing what he¡¯d been thinking.

    ¡°Well, witch, what will you do?¡±

    ¡°I will follow you and await my release.¡± She smoothed the ckce bodice on her incongruous flowing gown. Her hands were pale as new snow, even more devoid of color than his own flesh. At least his skin flushed with exertion; hers was always the same: t white, punctuated by dark veins here and there. She was an odd creature, sure, but she¡¯d shown some honor this day, and if things went badly for Victor, Kethelket would uphold her bargain.

    He nodded to her then called out, ¡°Fanasti?¡±

    ¡°Aye, Lord?¡± The tall scout, sporting a new eyepatch, pushed his way through the huddled Naghelli to stand before him.

    ¡°Can you still work your Far Sight magic?¡±

    ¡°Aye, even one-eyed, I can see farther than any of you!¡± He managed a brave smile despite his obvious difort.

    ¡°Good. Study those thralls on the parapets yonder. Tell me if you see anything amiss with them.¡±

    Fanasti nodded and turned, holding his two hands in front of his face and concentrating. A momentter, the air between his palms shimmered and turned opaque, taking on an almost liquid nature. As he watched through the strange air, he said, ¡°I see a hundred or more on the walls. They patrol with heightened alertness. Many stand atop the gatehouse, watching us as I watch them. They don¡¯t seem upset more than they ought to be, considering our escape and theirrades¡¯ corpses littering the trail of our passage.¡±

    Kethelket turned back to Victoria. ¡°You¡¯re sure they¡¯ll react when Dunstan dies?¡±

    ¡°Aye. I¡¯m not sure how severely it will affect them, but they¡¯ll feel it. I¡¯d be surprised if they didn¡¯t wail with mad hysterics when it happens.¡±

    Kethelket looked to the sun, then back to the keep. His people were tired, and they weren¡¯t as fast as the wampyr on a good day. They needed a head start if he wanted them to find safety back at the ck Keep. Was he betting against Victor if he left now? ¡°No,¡± he shook his head, ¡°I have to think of my people first.¡±

    ¡°Pardon, Lord?¡± Offathi asked. She was probably the only person in this group of Naghelli who would question his mutterings, feisty scout that she was.

    He put his hand on Fanasti¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You can stop watching. Spread the word. We fly soon.¡± Then he turned to Offathi, ¡°I was saying we need to leave.¡±

    ¡°What about Lord Victor?¡± Her frown was profound, and he could see the tremor along her jaw. She wanted to scream or cry or argue, and she was battling with the impulse. To his surprise, it was Victoria who came to his aid.

    ¡°Lord Victor fights to give your people a chance at freedom, at life. If you go back to the keep or linger here too long, any sacrifice he makes, any heroic efforts, will have been wasted.¡±

    Kethelket nodded. ¡°She speaks true. Victor bade me assess my people and the defense of the keep and decide what to do. I have decided to get you all back to the ck Keep and to rally the Ninth toe here to finish off these ghoul-faced, blood-sucking batmen.¡± He raised his voice as he spoke, noting that many of his people were gathering close, trying to hear.

    ¡°But Victor . . .¡±

    ¡°We cannot flee!¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°I will fight until my fingers cannot hold . . .¡±

    The protests took many shapes, and the faces of his people, fierce and fiery, gave him pride, but Kethelket raised his voice and shouted them down, ¡°Silence! We will return to the ck Keep, and the Ninth will venture forth to give Victor aid. If Lord Victor wishes to leave this ce, do any of you think some wampyr vermin will stop him?¡± That brought silence to their lips as the Naghelli survivors looked at one another, waiting to see if anyone had a different answer. Kethelket knew what they all thought, however. ¡°No,¡± he shouted, ¡°If Lord Victor wishes to leave without killing every undead creature in that keep, then he will do so. He will break free and rejoin us. For now, though, we fly. We fly to safety because that¡¯s what he¡¯s bought for you, for us.¡±

    Kethelket turned and nodded to Victoria, and then he spread his wings, and with a surge of primal, shadow-attuned Energy, heunched himself into the air. He didn¡¯t look back. He didn¡¯t need to; he could hear his people following him. They may be exhausted, but they¡¯d make haste, and, old ancestors willing, the Ninth would be free to march forth and finish the hard work Victor had started in that keep.

 Book 6: Chapter 35: Into the Darkness

    Book 6: Chapter 35: Into the Darkness

    Victor roared with fury and dove toward the opening at the base of the throne, but it slid closed as he hurtled through the air. He smashed a shoulder into the huge stone seat, and he felt it give, but nearly imperceptibly so. Victor was just contemting pulling his gigantic hammer from his storage ring when the first of the wampyrs mmed into him, screaming in a strange mixture of fury, fear, and pain as it found the courage to brave his banner¡¯s light and strike a blow for its fleeing lord.

    Victor whirled, fury incarnate, and hacked Lifedrinker¡¯s razor edge through its throat, sending a fountain of hot, ck blood spraying forth. Then the horde was upon him, and despite his superior size, strength, and skill, he found himself losing ground, being pushed away from the dais upon which the throne sat. Victor growled curses in fury and pain¡ªhe was fast, and Lifedrinker, enhanced by his spirit, cut the lesser wampyrs like a scythe through grass, but he was overwhelmed as they wed over each other, pressing him from every angle, like swarming ants upon a grasshopper.

    As their wed hands grasped and grabbed, pulling at his arms, his helmet, his armor, even his legs and ankles, Victor felt a strange panic, almost like ustrophobia, grip him as he found himself unable to swing Lifedrinker. The wampyrs behind him had taken hold of her haft and were using her length for leverage to pull his arm back. They screamed in agony as the ghostly mes burned their evil flesh, but still, they held on, yanking, howling, and gnashing. Victor had had enough; he bunched his legs, instinctually channeling his Energy to break free with a Titanic Leap. He exploded upward, wampyrs clinging to his every limb, and nearly smashed into the high, vaulted ceiling.

    His helmet brushed one of the colossal support beams, and then he began to descend. He¡¯d shed many of the clinging creatures, but some still held on tight, not enough, however. Victor found he was able to swing Lifedrinker again, and so he did, smashing her edge through the skull of a wampyr holding tight to his left leg. The creature fell away in a shower of ck, steaming blood and brain matter. Victor¡¯s feet hit the marble floor, and he charged for the tunnel entrance. A wampyr on his back bit and wed at his neck and arms, trying to get past the rim of his helmet, finding purchase in the flesh not covered by his wyrm-scale vest.

    Victor roared in pain and mad frustration, reaching a hand over his shoulder to grasp the creature¡¯s bat-like ear, yanking it hard as he ran. He felt flesh tear, heard the monster scream, and then it was off his back and falling behind him. When he reached the archway leading to the tunnel from which he¡¯de, Victor whirled and faced the throng of wampyrs chasing after him. He was insane with fury at this point,pletely letting go of reason, letting his rage consume him. He had no intention of allowing Dunstan to get away, had no intention to flee these creatures. If a ughter was what the wampyr lord had ordered, Victor would deliver it.

    The first Wampyr to leap into the tunnel with him met Lifedrinker¡¯s edge and was split from its right shoulder to its left hip, falling in two bloody, squelching halves at his feet. Victor roared into the mist of blood, and the charging creatures slowed, realizing they couldn¡¯t overwhelm him as easily now that they couldn¡¯t surround him. Victor didn¡¯t pause, didn¡¯t think; he squatted down, smashed a fist into the open chest cavity of the wampyr that he¡¯d just split, and yanked out its hot, ck heart. In a calm, rxed setting, Victor might have balked at what his Quinametzin alter ego was doing, but his titanic, rageful self didn¡¯t flinch. He¡¯d eaten worse¡ªarachnid hearts, night brute hearts; this was nothing, just a snack.

    He tossed the steaming morsel into his mouth and bit down with his strong jaws. The heat of the blood seemed to intensify as he swallowed, and he felt it explode with Energy in his gut as his Quinametzin bloodline did its thing, capturing some essence from the in wampyr and sending it into him. Victor felt his nearly depleted rage-attuned Energy surge with renewed power as the heart¡¯s Energy flowed into his Core. As his vision darkened to deep crimson, tunneling on the edges so his only focus was before him, the creatures keeping him from his prey, Victor let loose.

    He cast Energy Charge with fear-attuned Energy, streaking to the front of their pack, punching Lifedrinker¡¯s smoking axe head through the central wampyr¡¯s chest, and sting a dozen of the creatures back into each other, breaking bones, cracking skulls, and rupturing flesh with the thunderous impact. Then he began toy about himself with Lifedrinker, moving like a graceful executioner among the condemned, hacking limbs, cleaving skulls, and smashing bones. All the while, he continued to roar and scream his fury. Soon the air of that underground hall was thick with a hot, humid mist; blood and piss and fear filled the air.

    Whenever the wampyrs began to crowd around him, using their numbers to overwhelm him, Victor would charge or leap away, regrouping in the tunnel and ughtering those who came after him. When the creatures grew too wary to pursue, he¡¯d charge them instead, starting the cycle anew. Twice more, Victor ate the hearts of his foes, and each time, he felt his Core swell with the Energy, not only refueling him but expanding, pushing toward advancement. The idea of it made himugh all the more, reveling in the ughter and the fact that, while he wore the awful creatures down, he grew more powerful.

    To their credit, the monstrous wampyrs never gave up, never fled. Perhaps they couldn¡¯t¡ªthe only exits to the great hall that Victor could see were the tunnel in which he stood and the closed throne. His banner¡¯s light kept them from regenerating and likely reduced their strength and potency. Something about the light shed by his bloody sun was too real for them, too like the sun outside, and it burned their exposed wounds, sizzled their blood, and stole the confidence from their movements.

    When the attacks stoppeding, and Victor stood in the tunnel mouth surrounded by piles of corpses and pools of blood, it was almost a surprise to him. He¡¯d gotten into a rhythm of death, a dance of destruction, and nearly lost track of his purpose beyond fighting and ying. He stood, a gore-covered giant, chest heaving, axe dripping and sizzling with the blood of his vanquished enemies. After a moment, when it registered that he¡¯d won, that the fight was over, he strode toward the throne, but not before the System decided the lull in his fighting was enough, that it was time to award him the Energy he¡¯d won.

    Gigantic pools of it, gleaming golden in the dark, began to form above the mounds of corpses, and soon, they flowed together and streamed toward Victor, joined by thinner streams from the corridors above where he¡¯d fought his way to face Dunstan. The shimmering purple and gold Energy told Victor these creatures weren¡¯t much higher than tier five. Still, altogether, the Energy he¡¯d won from them was enough to lift him into an insensate paroxysm of euphoria. He arched his back and yawped like the titan he was, and his victory sound echoed through the chamber and into the corridors above.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 56 Battlemaster, gained 10 strength, 9 vitality, 4 agility, 4 dexterity, 3 will, and 3 intelligence.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Congrattions! Your Core has leveled: Advanced 6.***</strong>

    Victor¡¯s fury hadn¡¯t survived the flood of euphoria, and when he finally fell back to the floor, refreshed and renewed, he was no longer Berserk. He stood and took stock; it seemed the wampyrs who¡¯d been willing to fight were all dead; no sounds of pursuit or reinforcement came from the tunnel. The room was silent save for the asional drip of blood from one surface or another into puddles on the floor. Victor looked at the throne and frowned. Though his rage had faded, his determination to chase Dunstan had not.

    Lifedrinker still smoked with the fire of inspiration, flickering with white mes ignited by the shard of his spirit he¡¯d sent into her. ¡°Are you good, <em>chica</em>?¡±

    The axe didn¡¯t answer him with words, but he felt overwhelming confidence and affection as the haft vibrated eagerly in his hand. Victor smiled and then looked at the mounds of dead wampyrs. He could spend some time searching their hairless, naked, mangled corpses for loot, but instead, he figured he could earn some points with his ancestors. He walked around the room, casting Honor the Spirits on each pile. As they burst into ghostly fire, he gathered the lone corpses scattered here and there and sent that pile to the spirits as well. After burning thatst mound of bodies, he held Lifedrinker before himself and pronounced, ¡°This fight was for you, Chantico. Thank you for saving me and granting me your mes!¡±

    ¡°Now let¡¯s see about this <em>pinch¨¦</em> throne.¡± Victor was about to summon his maul from storage, but then he saw the bloody smears near the rear corner of the throne where Dunstan had been scrabbling with his mangled arm. He studied the marks and the stonework and then reached out to press on a loop of stone with a hairline gap around it. It pressed down with a soft grinding click, and then the throne rumbled and slid to the side, revealing the dark hole down which Dunstan had leaped.

    ¡°Okay, <em>chica</em>, what am I supposed to do here? Jump in there? That fucker can fly; what if it¡¯s a mile deep?¡± Victor summoned a Globe of Insight, sending the ghostly light down through the hole. All he saw was the orb in a void of ckness. He sent it further and again, only saw the orb, even as it grew small. ¡°That¡¯s one big damn hole or cave or something.¡± He looked at Lifedrinker, studying her ghostly flickering mes. ¡°I¡¯m going to take my spirit back for now. Time to change things up a little.¡± Lifedrinker pulsed with emotion, sending it into Victor through his hands, where they held her.

    The emotion was so raw and direct that Victor momentarily felt it was his own. He felt like someone he loved was leaving, like his heart was breaking, like he¡¯d be left all alone, and he found himself on one knee before the open hole in the ground, blinking back tears. ¡°Jesus, <em>chica</em>! It¡¯s not that bad! I¡¯ll be right here, like always.¡±

    <em>¡°Not the same!¡±</em> Her words came to his mind in a rushed whisper, tinged with despair. ¡°<em>I¡¯ve never felt so close to you before. This is more, Victor! Please don¡¯t leave me long.¡±</em>

    ¡°I won¡¯t. You know I fight a lot. I¡¯ll share my spirit with you again.¡± Reluctant eptance came to him through the axe, and Victor breathed a long, shaky sigh. He carefully severed the connection of Energy to the spell, and he felt his spirite back into him, expanding his potential and adding to his attributes and Energy. He wiped his forehead, breathing a deep, shaky breath, unable to lose the feeling that something about him was different. Had his spirit changed while it was with Lifedrinker? Had he changed from the connection they¡¯d shared?

    He found himself cradling the axe, still kneeling by the hole, and shook his head, standing up and growling as he tried to refocus his mind, remembering why he was there. ¡°Time to find this <em>pendejo</em>. Okay, buddy, if you want to hide in a deep, dark hole, maybe I should give you a reason to fear the dark.¡± He knew that Dunstan had fled into the depths, weakened and horribly wounded, but the wampyr had the ability to regenerate. Could he have fully healed in the time Victor was fighting his thralls? Victor could have; he knew that, especially with the aid of healing potions. Surely, the wampyr lord had healing potions . . .

    ¡°Oh well. I¡¯ll find him. Then, if I need to, I¡¯ll beat him down again.¡± Victor reached into his Core, pulled out a thick ribbon of fear-attuned Energy, and cast Aspect of Terror. As the shadows poured forth, cloaking his body in their cold embrace, he groaned and growled, used to, but not loving the feeling of his body changing, stretching, twisting into something terrible. Perhaps it was his mind growing ustomed to the effect, or maybe it had something to do with the strength of his Core and his powerful will, but the metamorphosis seemed faster, less jarring, and, though his sense of himself, of Victor, fled to a corner of his mind, he still felt aware, in control, as the shadows fell away to gather at his taloned feet.

    The world had grown colorless, just a field of gray-scale angles and shapes. As he¡¯d changed, his Banner of the Champion had faded, and Victor knew, on a basic level, that his glory-attuned Energy couldn¡¯t share his pathways with his fear-attuned Energy; they were ipatible. He thought about that, about how his inspiration Energy was probably the same, as his Aspect of Terror stalked around the hole, turning to re around, noting the absence of life, of Energy in that big, vaulted chamber. There was nothing there to feed his hunger, nothing there to share his fear. No, what he sought was down below, through that dark opening. Without another thought, he dropped through.

    The space he fell into was gargantuan¡ªa vast underground cavern in which a city might be erected. Victor didn¡¯t fall; he spread his ck-feathered wings and banked, gliding in a wide circle as he scanned the gray expanse. He saw signs of life, little glimmering spirits among the stones and boulders so far below. He saw them in the heights, near tunnel mouths and adjoining caverns. They were pitiful little things, hardly worth the effort to chase down. No, he sought something more; the foe that had fled him was down here, and it had a rich spirit, something worthy of his time.

    Ever widening his spiral, he glided, peering into the darkness with his smoky purple-ck eyes. No shadow could obscure his quarry; the blooming glow of spirits was the only color in his world, the only brightness. He knew that when he saw the object of his hunt, it would be like a star rising in a ck sky. So vast was the cavern that he could only see two sides of it, even from his high, spiraling flight. He began to bank away from the walls, into the darkness, further toward the distant reaches of the enormous space, hoping to find the extremities.

    Hunger gripped him, twisting his mind and making him consider desperate ideas. Should he leave this ce? Could he fight his way to the surface where he might find more spirits to feast upon? He¡¯d only been wearing the Aspect of Terror for a dozen minutes, yet it was already twisting his intention. Yes, there was a feast for him down here, but it was hiding, and how enriching could one spirit be? Shouldn¡¯t he seek more fruitful pastures? Couldn¡¯t he find a city nearby? Something like the one he¡¯d glimpsed back when he¡¯d been new to the Aspect? Surely there must be better hunting grounds than . . .

    Victor was saved from further debate with his terror-born self by the rushing p of great leathery wings and Dunstan¡¯s savage roar as he tore through the air, driving a yard of steel, the tip of a great pike, through Victor¡¯s side, forcing him down, twisting and bleeding, toward the rocky ground. He didn¡¯t feel pain, not in that shape, not as a manifestation of terror. What would be the point of that? No, he felt the spear, knew it was piercing his shadowy flesh, but he didn¡¯t care. All that mattered was his loss of control. Dunstan was muchrger than he, and his wings were powerful. Soon, he¡¯d crash into that ground, and he¡¯d be trapped by that glimmering, dark-metal pike.

    In the corner of his mind, Victor reached into his Core and summoned forth a thick rope of rage-attuned Energy, letting it loose in his pathways as he invoked his Iron Berserk. Suddenly, the Aspect of Terror opened its razor-edged beak and screeched with fury, a shriek that elongated and rose in volume as his mass surged, doubling in an instant. He twisted, wrenching the pike sideways, ignoring the pain as he furiouslyshed out with his talons, grasping Dunstan¡¯s shoulders and squeezing, driving their long, dagger tips into his skin, griding down into the bones.

    The wampyr lord roared in agony, twisting the pike, still piercing Victor¡¯s shadowy torso. They tumbled together, falling rapidly, but the Aspect of Terror was in control now, and it cracked open its great wings, taking charge of their descent. Now, it was Dunstan falling backward toward the ground, with Victor¡¯s nightmarish form on top, wings spread wide. Still, when they impacted the ground, despite his back and head smashing into the hard, stony surface, Dunstan held onto the pike, and the leverage it afforded him, poking through Victor¡¯s body, sent them tumbling apart.

    When the dust settled, Victory twenty paces from the downed wampyr, the pike still jutting from his guts. He grasped it with a bloody talon and yanked it free, allowing his shadowy flesh to swirl and close over the gaping holes. Dunstan was already on his feet, a tremendous, spiked mace in one hand. ¡°Quite the transformation. A more suitable guise, indeed. I felt the loss of my children, fiend. Trust that your kin will suffer for an eternity to pay the passage of their souls. Come then, you¡¯ll not fare so well down here in the shadows of my seat of power.¡±

    The Aspect of Terror studied the brilliant, ring spirit. Such colors! It pulsed from yellow to ochre to crimson, always bright, always alluring. It was speaking, saying some words that didn¡¯t register, but it didn¡¯t matter¡ªhere was a feast worthy of his efforts! He lifted his razored beak and shrieked, sending out a wave of fear-attuned Energy, watching to see how it would affect this spirit. Would it take root and begin the process of converting its Energy into something he could consume?

    Dunstan stepped back from the screech, holding the mace high, ready to strike the monstrous nightmare should it leap for him. He reached up to touch the puncture wounds on his shoulder with his free hand. He smiled as his fingers felt his flesh knitting closed. His eyes shed with crimson light as he began to summon Energy. The creature snapped its wings, leaping for him, ws extended. Dunstan whipped his spiked mace as fast as a thunderbolt, deep red-ck Energy enhancing the weapon. It smashed into the nightmare¡¯s side, but the creaturepletely ignored the attack, falling on him with shing, stabbing talons and beak.

    The Aspect of Terror ripped and wed, ignoring the crushing, puncturing blows Dunstan delivered to its side, ignoring the sts of dark, burning Energy that rolled out of the wampyr. Victor¡¯s Berserk Energy, his nightmarish form, was durable beyond Dunstan¡¯s ability to harm him. For each crushing blow that bent or broke his bones, shadows poured forth, weaving around the damage, knitting him together. His very flesh was shadow, and as Dunstan damaged it, more flowed to fill the gaps.

    Meanwhile, he ripped and tore, but that shimmering, glowing spirit never broke, never bled forth, never flowed into him, shaped into fear. Dunstan was resilient, and the Aspect of Terror couldn¡¯t rip him enough to pull him apart, couldn¡¯t break his will, not in that dark ce. Deep in the corner of his mind where he¡¯d retreated, where he¡¯d gone to allow the Aspect to do what it did best, Victor became aware of its frustration. Dustan healed too quickly and was too strong without the light of his Banner weakening him.

    Victor knew he was the one really in control, knew he could banish the Aspect of Terror with a thought, but he also knew he was in a gigantic dark space. If he couldn¡¯t fly, Dunstan could flee. If he dropped the Aspect, he feared the wampyr would escape. Instead, he considered an alternative. With a desperately fervent focus of his will, he urged the Aspect to look to his chest, to his lungs, to feel the fire burning there. He urged it to use those roiling mes.

 Book 6: Chapter 36: The Voices in Our Minds

    Book 6: Chapter 36: The Voices in Our Minds

    Va stood atop the parapet and watched as the world burned. When Victor hade up with the idea to burn the trees, to start a fire that would hopefully kill the undead hordes hiding in that foggy forest, she¡¯d tried to visualize what it would be like. She¡¯d never seen a forest fire, never seen one of the brush fires that sometimes brought refugees into Gelica from the northern ins. She¡¯d smelled the smoke in the air and seen the sun turn into a hazy, red-orange globe in the sky, but she¡¯d never been close enough to see the mes. She¡¯d never seen the night sky light up with such an evil, amber glow.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize how big it would be . . .¡± she muttered, mostly to herself, but Edeya heard her.

    ¡°It¡¯s like we unleashed a monster, something a hundred times worse than the undead lurking in those trees.¡± Apparently, the young Ghelli was also struggling toe to grips with what they¡¯d done. The mes hadn¡¯t yet reached the trees directly bordering the extensive clearing around the keep, but they couldn¡¯t be far off. Va could hear the fire, a low, incessant, rumbling roar. If you didn¡¯t focus on it, you could almost forget it was there, a testament to the adaptability of the mind, almost like living near a loud river or waterfall.

    ¡°Hard to believe that low rumble is the sound of the fire. Imagine! If you broke down those noises, you¡¯d hear crackling mes, cracking and popping wood, falling branches and trees, thrashing, burning undead. Stampeding animals!¡± She turned to Edeya, looking into her bright, blue eyes, her pale face highlighted by the beautiful, blue, shimmering lights of her new wings. ¡°The mes will reach us soon. Sarl has his Wind Casters ready to funnel the smoke away while it passes.¡±

    ¡°Good for us, but what of all the creatures that made this forest their home?¡±

    Va frowned. ¡°As Victor said, if we don¡¯t beat these undead invaders, this forest would soon be dead or twisted, the animals worse off. At least they can flee the mes.¡±

    ¡°True. However, many creatures have perished already. Did you see the stampede a couple of hours ago? I¡¯ve never seen so many woond animals together!¡±

    ¡°I was corresponding with Rellia, but Sarl told me about it.¡± Va gripped the smooth, ck stones of the parapet and, still staring out into the glowing orange smoke, quietly asked, ¡°Do you think they¡¯ve made it yet?¡±

    ¡°Victor?¡± When Va¡¯s only response was a quick nod, Edeya sped her slender hand around her wrist. ¡°I¡¯m sure they have. You¡¯ve seen how fast that great spirit mount can run!¡±

    ¡°I hate that he took that woman with him.¡±

    ¡°I know! She . . . gives me a bad feeling. I suppose it¡¯s primarily because she¡¯s one of them.¡± Edeya gestured toward the forest, and Va knew she meant the undead. ¡°Still, I worry that she¡¯s taking advantage of Victor¡¯s big, stupid heart.¡± Sheughed to soften the words, and Va chuckled along with her.

    ¡°He certainly suffers from that affliction. Too much heart.¡± Her smile fell away, and she looked upward, blinking rapidly. ¡°Of course, that¡¯s what I love about him, too.¡±

    ¡°I know. I <em>know</em>!¡± Edeya squeezed her wrist again, and Va cleared her throat, ncing up and down the parapet, confirming that the soldiers on watch weren¡¯t staring at her.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s enough misty-eyed nonsense. Those mes will be here soon, and with their passage, we¡¯ll learn how effective they were at culling the undead.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    At the urging pressure of Victor¡¯s will, his nightmarish alter ego, struggling in a shing, gnashing, grappling match with the huge wampyr, took note of the warmth in his otherwise cold, hard chest. Now that he was aware, that fire within vied for his attention, almost outshining the brilliant crimson-orange-yellow spirit with which he fought. The heat tickled there, almost like an itch, like a pressure that wanted to release. Yes, that was it; it wanted out. It wanted to vent forth!

    Gripping Dunstan with his talons, shing at him with his razor beak, the Aspect of Terror pped his wings, fighting against Dunstan¡¯s near-equal strength as the huge wampyr gripped and wed at his shadowy flesh and pushed and pulled with his own wings. The two wrestled and rolled, smashing into stones and sliding over the enormous cavern¡¯s floor. They tore through great fungi mounds, slid through brackish, muddy water, and scattered ancient bones left over from some vast predator¡¯s meal. They screamed and shrieked and cried out with fury and pain, though thetter came only from the wampyr; the Aspect of Terror felt no pain, only hunger.

    As they battered and struggled, Victor¡¯s nightmare form exuded fear, pushing it out in cloudy, purple-ck waves. His roiling shadows sought to wrap around the wampyr, tried to enter his wounds and twist his spirit. Dunstan was powerful, though, and his will resisted him. The nightmare¡¯s frustration mounted, and he continued to ponder the fire in his chest, seeking a way to send it forth. Victor, tiny in that dark corner of his mind, was aware of his hungry nightmare form¡¯s frustration, and he tried to guide it. He willed it to breathe, to open its Energy pathway, and exhale.

    With a triumphant shriek, the Aspect of Terror finally made the connection. With a minute shift of his will, the Energy pathway to his lungs opened, the roiling mes of its breath Core drained into his lungs, and he opened his mouth to let them pour forth. Dunstan instantly released his hold on Victor¡¯s terror-born aspect. His monstrous face twisted in agony and surprise as those hot, liquid mes bathed his chest and neck, pouring down over his torso and sshing onto his arms, face, and legs. He thrashed desperately, trying to get free, but the nightmare held him, ws bone-deep in his shoulders and thighs.

    As Dunstan thrashed and his flesh burned away, his magical healing halted by the fire, Victor¡¯s monstrous archon of fear began to taste the echo of that dark emotion in Dunstan¡¯s heart. Finally, he¡¯d ovee the wampyr¡¯s prodigious will. That bright spirit began to bleed out in dark, purple-ck waves, and he took it in. Dunstan moaned and writhed, but he grew ever weaker as his spirit dimmed and Victor¡¯s Core expanded with his feeding frenzy. Victor felt it, knew what was happening, and let go of any control he¡¯d been fighting to maintain; his alter ego had earned his reward.

    Sometimeter, he opened his eyes to utter darkness. Hey t on his back on a hard surface, and the only sounds he could make out were faint drips of water, distant rustles like a paper blown by a breeze, and asional scrabbling scratches that evoked images of mice or rats in his mind. Thest thing he remembered was being a passenger to his Aspect of Terror, watching and helping as it sought to kill Dunstan. He remembered the glorious release of his breath Core and the subsequent feasting on Dunstan¡¯s spirit, but then he¡¯d let go, exhausted by his struggles with the Aspect¡¯s will.

    It was a strange thing to think about. The Aspect was him. The will he¡¯d been struggling against was his own. What part of him was putting up that fight? What part of him was ¡°Victor,¡± and what part was the Aspect? He knew, objectively, that the part of him that was ruled by fear, that hungered for its release, took over when he transformed, but that was just his Energy. No, he corrected himself; it was a part of his spirit, of who he was, and it was strong. He supposed ¡°Victor,¡± when it came to those struggles, was the rest of him, the other facets of his nature.

    Shaking his head at his waking musings, Victor pushed himself to a sitting position, immediately noting that he clutched Lifedrinker¡¯s haft in one hand. ¡°<em>Como estas, </em>beautiful?¡± The axe didn¡¯t answer him with words, but she vibratedfortingly in his hand¡ªshe was fine. ¡°Let¡¯s get some light on this subject!¡± Victor built the pattern for Globe of Insight and pushed a huge amount of Energy into it. Like a re igniting, a brilliant ball of white-gold light exploded into being above his head. Victor willed it to rise and watched as his surroundings were revealed.

    He knew immediately that he was still in the great cavern beneath Dunstan¡¯s castle. He could tell from the hunks of rock, the pools of water, the mounds of fungi. Even in the brilliant light of his orb, he couldn¡¯t see the walls, couldn¡¯t see the distant ceiling. ¡°Where is that <em>pendejo</em>?¡± Victor frowned, realizing he had no System messages waiting for him. Even so, he¡¯d only recently leveled. There was a good chance he hadn¡¯t gained anything tangible from the death of the wampyr lord¡ªthe System wouldn¡¯t tell him if he¡¯d improved skills or levels unless they¡¯d crested the next threshold.

    He scanned the ground nearby, saw scattered bones, smears, and smudges of mud and blood, and knew he¡¯d been fighting the wampyr nearby. Had he sacrificed his body to his ancestors? No, the Aspect wouldn¡¯t do that, and Victor would remember if he had. He turned in a slow circle, looking for clues, and then he saw, on the other side of a shallow, brackish pool, smears of silty y and blood, almost like something had been dragged through the water and out the other side. ¡°Or like something dragged itself,¡± he grunted, striding forward, willing his globe to follow.

    He sshed through the shallow pool, only sinking to his ankles in the thin sediment at the bottom, and when he emerged on the other side, he stood stock still, closed his eyes, and listened. He heard dripping water nearby and in the distance. He heard the soft flutter of tiny wings, the scuttle of little wed feet, and then, almost too soft to notice, the faint, panting breaths and scuffing rustle of flesh dragging over stone. Victor opened his eyes and walked toward the sound. He rounded arge boulder, skirted a monstrous mushroom, and saw his pitiful quarry.

    Dunstan¡¯s body was withered and frail. One wing was gone, burned to a ckened stump; his torso was simrly charred, and both of his arms were more like something you¡¯d see on a rotting corpse than a vital, powerful vampiric creature. Through his ckened, charred flesh, Victor could see the white of bones, and he knew his enemy must be on death¡¯s door. ¡°Leaving?¡± he asked, striding forward, Lifedrinker in a loose, two-handed grip.

    Dunstan grunted and hissed, twisting to peer back at him through a face half burned to the skull. Only one eye reflected the glow of his light as he coughed in a wheezing voice, ¡°Leave me.¡±

    ¡°Is that a request?¡±

    ¡°Mercy, devil!¡±

    ¡°Oh? <em>I¡¯m</em> the devil? Wasn¡¯t it you who threatened everyone I knew, said you¡¯d make their lives an eternity of suffering?¡± Victor wasn¡¯t a cold-blooded killer. No, he liked to think he only enjoyed fighting and killing when his blood was hot. Nheless, he couldn¡¯t find any mercy in his heart for the twisted, ignoble monster crawling before him. He had questions he¡¯d like to ask, information he¡¯d like to gather from this man, this thing, but he couldn¡¯t stomach the idea of bargaining with the fiend. Though he didn¡¯t feel any qualms about finishing him off, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to embrace the idea of torture, either.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you against Hector!¡±

    Just as Victor had surmised, he was bargaining already. Could he take his information with false promises? Say he¡¯d let him live, get what he wanted, and then kill him? He felt that was taking things beyond justice and into territory that might feed the darker parts of his soul. Instead, he tried honesty. ¡°I¡¯m going to end your suffering, Dunstan. I will not allow you to recover and will not bargain with you. Is there anything you¡¯d like to tell me before the end?¡± As he mentioned allowing Dustan to recover, Victor wondered what that would entail. Did he need blood like the vampires in the stories on Earth? Did he simply need time? Rather than risk it, he summoned his Banner of the Champion and watched as its glittering yellow light joined that of his globe, and Dunstan cried out, recoiling and curling into a fetal position.

    ¡°Devil!¡± he croaked. ¡°Kill me, then! Know that I¡¯ll curse you to hell and back. If I don¡¯t kill you in this life, I . . .¡± His words stopped short as Lifedrinker¡¯s smoking edge severed his thick, ckened neck. Victor watched the wampyr¡¯s misshapen head roll away, and then he kicked the giant, charred corpse with his boot, flipping it onto its back. He lifted Lifedrinker and chopped at the ckened flesh over the ribs, hacking again and again until she split through those lifeless bones. The corpse was less resilient than in life, and soon, he¡¯d made arge opening.

    ¡°Thank you,<em> chica.</em>¡± He carefully wiped Lifedrinker¡¯s edge on his sturdy leather pants and slung her into her harness. ¡°Come here, bastard.¡± He grabbed the edges of the wampyr¡¯s ribs and pulled, straining to widen the opening. When the dead bones still resisted him, he remembered his Sovereign Will bonus and switched it from dexterity to strength. As his muscles swelled and he felt a surge of vigor, he yanked and pulled on those bones, eliciting wet crunches and cracks as the cartge and bone cracked and tore. When the hole was big enough, he plunged his fist into the opening and dug until he wrapped his fingers around the huge, stiff muscle of the creature¡¯s heart.

    Victor tugged and jerked, but the damn thing wouldn¡¯te loose. In frustration, he let his rage loose into his pathways, and as his vision reddened and his anger began to mount, he gave in and cast Iron Berserk. His fist was still closed around the heart, and as he exploded with size, mass, and power, he roared and yanked, ripping the heart out of the creature with a triumphant bellow. Bits of flesh, blood, and bone showered down as he beheld the glistening prize in his fist. His chest heaved with the effort, and his mouth began to salivate at the sight.

    A soft crackling sound distracted him enough to look away from the heart. Looking down, he saw that the wampyr¡¯s corpse was slowly ckening further, and as the flesh fell off, he saw the bones had be like ckened coals with orange embers burning their way out from the inside. The creature was burning to ash before his eyes! Even in his rageful state, Victor wasn¡¯t dumb, and when he felt the heart growing hot in his hand, he understood what was happening¡ªhis trophy would burn up and join the rest of the wampyr as it dissolved. Without a second thought, he opened his titanic jaws and bit the organ in half, choking it down as quickly as he could before stuffing the other half in.

    Beneath his rage, Victor felt satisfaction; even in death, Dunstan had tried to cheat him of his due, but he¡¯d acted quickly and decisively. He wanted tough, roar, and taunt Dunstan¡¯s departing spirit, but his mouth was full, and he could feel the flesh trying to ignite despite his efforts. It was hot, like he¡¯d gulped adle of boiling soup, but he didn¡¯t care. He was me-Touched and a child of the Quinametzin. Hot flesh wouldn¡¯t dissuade him. Victor chomped the rest of the meaty, bitter heart and swallowed it down. As it ignited in his belly, he lifted his head and roared into the enormous cavern. Echoes responded¡ªtitans roaring back to him, and he smiled at the sound as he fell to his knees, then tilted backward as darkness took him.

    <strong>#</strong>

    In the light of dawn, Va looked out again over the castle¡¯s ramparts. She saw nothing but a ckened, twisted wastnd that surrounded the keep. She walked the parapets, looking in every direction for signs of the undead, for signs of other enemies, and, most of all, for signs of Victor. The fires hade an hour after sunset and burned with the fury of mythical hells¡ªwalls of me that rose hundreds of feet into the air, higher than the tallest trees surrounding the keep. If there hadn¡¯t been half a mile of damp, misty grass between the forest and the keep, she wasn¡¯t sure even the Pyromancers and Wind Casters could have saved them. They might have cooked to death inside the stone walls.

    As it was, the casters of the Ninth had been taxed, working for hours to funnel the smoke and heat away from the keep while the wall of fire slowly burned its way past them. Va couldn¡¯t see any undead moving on the scorched fields around the keep, and nothing moved in the ckened forest. She wasn¡¯t surprised; she didn¡¯t know how anything could live through that. Had Victor even made it through? She¡¯d seen him leap and knew he was resistant to fire, but even so, she had a new worry now that she¡¯d seen the fire¡¯s ferocity.

    She stopped her tour on the north side of the keep, looking to where the fire had gone, wondering if it had reached the edge of the trees. Had it consumed all the fuel, starved itself, and ended its brief, violent reign of terror? That¡¯s where she stood, hands gripping the ck stone parapet with white knuckles, her tension bleeding into her every move when a soft flutter behind her and a sparkle of blue light told her Edeya had found her. ¡°Did Sarl give you the news?¡± she asked as she settled onto the stone beside her.

    ¡°No! Tell me!¡±

    ¡°They rescued the Naghelli, almost all of them. Kethelket brings them here, but he says Victor stayed. He ordered Kethelket to get the Naghelli out while he created a distraction and tried to kill Dunstan.¡±

    ¡°Why are theying here? We¡¯re only hearing this now?¡± Va practically shrieked.

    ¡°I asked the same. Ronaga, one of Kethelket¡¯s lieutenants, let me read the message. His people were badly injured, missing their armor and weapons. They were fleeing pursuit, and he knew we couldn¡¯t leave until the fire passed anyway, so he didn¡¯t write immediately. He didn¡¯t want to leave, Va, but Victor told Kethelket not to let his people die trying to help him. He says . . .¡±

    ¡°Damn him!¡± Va interrupted and didn¡¯t know if she was angry at Kethelket or Victor. She turned and reached for her sword hilt, trusting in the spirit within the de to calm her. She¡¯d yet to awaken it, to hear its conscious thoughts, but she swore she could feel things from it. As she¡¯d hoped, the cool, vibrant Energy within the hilt helped to ground her. ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°He says that his people need to recover, but he wants to join you and the Ninth in taking Dunstan¡¯s keep. He says that the keep¡¯s defenders are weakened whether Victor wins or not. He says it may not be toote to help Victor.¡± Edeya stopped speaking and watched Va¡¯s face, and when Va¡¯s emotions and thoughts spun out of control, and she struggled to find a response, Edeya said, ¡°Let¡¯s im this keep right now and march! Leave a hundred soldiers to hold it with Kethelket¡¯s wounded people.¡±

    Edeya¡¯s words were like a p in the face, snapping her out of it. Of course! They needed to march! Victor might be in trouble, might need her help. Despite her conscious thought, a tiny voice in the back of her mind said, ¡°Or he might be dead.¡± She scowled, squelching that dissenting fragment of her mind, and started jogging for the nearest stairway. ¡°Let¡¯s go! I¡¯ll meet you by the System stone!¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 37: Out of Darkness

    Book 6: Chapter 37: Out of Darkness

    Victor floated in a dark, timeless void, his meandering thoughts the only clue to his continued existence. His physical presence was gone; his inner self, the ce where his aura and Cores existed, was gone. He drifted free, weightless, bodiless, a clump of thoughts held together by his conscious perusal of them. He looked at his youth, at his frustrations with identity, at his fear of being abandoned. He studied his teen years, his anger, his violence, and his desperate grasp at control and belonging inpetitive sports. He reviewed his time on Fanwath and Zaafor and studied his growth, the rtionships he¡¯d made, and the control he¡¯d gained over his raw emotions.

    Victor, if he were able to mark time, would have noted the disparate length of time he spent watching, savoring, and rewatching his time with those he held affection for. He remembered Yre, poor, kind, luckless, Yre. He watched himself grow close to Edeya, saw himself lose his mind trying to protect her from the vile bastards that ran the mine. He saw himself befriending Tha and then growing to love and respect her. Yre and Edeya had been enough, but when Victor saw Tha, he felt his heart would burst, and that¡¯s when he remembered who he was and believed he still existed, still lived.

    Still, the void lingered, and his mind continued on, reviewing his rtionships. He saw Chandri, felt his infatuation with her again, felt a sting and warm glow in his shoulder, and that sensation nearly pulled him out of the void he lingered in; he had a body, he just couldn¡¯t see it, couldn¡¯t feel it. His heart was fit to burst, but then he relived his time with Oyna, Old Mother, and a stinging, itching sensation reminded him that he had eyes and that they were weeping. His mind drifted on, and he remembered Va. He saw her as he¡¯d first met her, standing in the antechamber to Rellia¡¯s quarters¡ªprim, polite, stiff as a board. Again, his heart swelled to bursting as he relived his rtionship with her.

    He remembered getting to know her on the ride to Persi Gables, how she¡¯d gone against Rellia to aid him in his quest for knowledge and vengeance. He watched as they were trapped on Zaafor and how they grew closer and closer, despite Tes or, perhaps, because of their mutual affection for her. Tes! Victor hadn¡¯t thought of her in a while, but he did now, and his affection and love-swollen heart panged with a nostalgia his young spirit wasn¡¯t used to. What could have been? What might be?

    ¡°Gods be good,d; your tethers pull hard! I almost lost hold of you!¡± The voice shattered his reminiscence, pulling him back to the dark void, to the nothingness in which he drifted. He recognized it, a gruff, deep, manly voice¡ªGolgothaz. He tried to respond, but, as before, he hadn¡¯t the means with which to form words. ¡°Don¡¯t fight to speak. Just listen! I took an interest in you and told you I¡¯d give you my mark, and I did. Through that connection, I felt a struggle within you, and now I¡¯ve pulled you here to provide a warning. Hear me well: the spirit you¡¯ve consumed and try to integrate into yourself will indeed grant you a boon, but ites at a great cost. Gain the unnatural resistance to death of your foe at the expense of your vital force. If that isn¡¯t something you desire, I suggest you fight it; battle the change, crush the spirit, and absorb only its Energy.¡±

    Victor¡¯s mind spun. Vital force? Did Golgothaz mean that literally, as in the attribute, vitality? Or did he mean vital as in life? Was Dunstan¡¯s heart making him undead as he drifted in the strange, timeless void? Again, he wished he could speak, to question the powerful entity, but his drifting had taken on a different nature; he experienced the sensation of falling despite theck of gravity or even a body, and Golgothaz¡¯s final words came to him as though from a great distance. ¡°You¡¯ve been warned. Choose as you will.¡±

    Suddenly, Victor was back in his body, fully cognizant of his flesh, his heart, his Core, his spirit, and his pathways. He could feel the burning, acidic touch of the heart¡¯s strange brand of Energy as it worked to corrupt his cells, to change them into something more resilient, more dense, and capable of holding Energy, but thanks to Golgothaz¡¯s warning, he recognized the cost; his body would be more immediately powerful at the expense of his vital, living force. What other costs would he have to bear? Would his unfeeling flesh affect his spirit? His heart? Would he lose the depths of his emotions? How different would a Victor, numb to his passions, be? Would he even be Victor?

    These thoughts rushed at him, conclusions he leaped to by following logic that may be faulty but was surely grounded in anecdotal evidence. Victor was a man of passion and warmth, a man who loved deeply and rode raging rivers of anger like a mythical steed. He knew one thing for certain: he would never trade his life, his potential, his current dreams, and his goals for an undead existence, even if it strengthened him in the short term. Hadn¡¯t he just beat the shit out of thousands of undead? Perhaps he¡¯d not met their greatest exemrs, but there was no way he wanted to join that team.

    With that conviction, Victor gathered his will. He turned his gaze inward and pulled on his indomitable aura for strength. He reached out beyond his pathways and pulled it in, using it to lead the charge against the foreign Energy he¡¯d consumed, driving it out of his pathways, ripping it from the cells it had invaded, corralling it into his Core where he wound his furious hot rage-attuned Energy around it, thenyered his other Energies, one after the other, around that cold, blue-ck ball of death-attuned Energy that had exploded out of the heart. Within that ball of Energy, at the very center, a shard of Dunstan¡¯s spirit burned like a white-hot coal, pulsing, and flexing, resisting his efforts to break it down.

    Victor growled, clenching his teeth as sweat exploded from his pores. His face turned bright red, and the veins in his eyes burst, turning the scleras crimson. He pressed his mountainous will down on the ball of Energies, exerting such a psychic pressure that he felt certain its copse would cause an implosion that might be his undoing. Still, he focused and squeezed, pouring more and more of his Energy into the ball, and finally, with a release that felt like death, the fragment of Dunstan¡¯s spirit broke apart and bled into the death-attuned Energy. Without the wampyr lord¡¯s spirit providing resistance, his other Energies crushed the death affinity out of the ball, converting it to roiling, pure golden Energy that he carefully fed into his four affinities.

    Victor sighed, releasing his hold on his Core, rxing his aura, and letting himself breathe. When he opened his eyes, he saw nothing but darkness but, bright against that ckndscape, was a System message:

    <strong>***Congrattions! Your Core has leveled: Advanced 8.***</strong>

    ¡°No ¡®unnatural resistance to death,¡¯ but two Core levels. I¡¯ll take it.¡± He sighed heavily, sat up, and cast Globe of Inspiration. He still sat in the depths of the massive cavern beneath Dunstan¡¯s castle. Not far away was a vaguely humanoid-shaped pile of ash, and he knew it was the wampyr¡¯s remains. The idea that he¡¯d almost joined the ranks of the undead sent an involuntary shiver up the nape of his neck, and he said, ¡°Fucking hell. Thanks, Golgothaz.¡±

    Thinking about it, though, he wondered why he hadn¡¯t had any trouble consuming the lesser wampyr hearts. Were the shards of their spirits too weak to begin the process? Had they simply copsed under the weight of his will? One thing was sure: Dunstan¡¯s will had been prodigious. He¡¯d fought off his Aspect of Terror for a long, long time, only sumbing when he¡¯d been nearly cooked to death. His shard had put up a hell of a fight, too, not wanting to be broken down to pure Energy. ¡°Note to self: Don¡¯t eat powerful undead hearts.¡±

    Victor stood up and walked over to the pile of ashes. He dragged his boots through them, sifting for anything the creature might have left behind. He was about to give up, finding nothing but rocks and fungi beneath the remains, but then a tinkling clink of metal caught his ear, and he reached down to snag up arge, silver key with four sets of teeth. It hung from a finely crafted, jewel-studded chain. Victor held the key and its lovely chain up in the bright light of his orb. ¡°I wonder what you¡¯re meant to open.¡± He stored the key away, and then he sent more Energy into his light, growing it to floodlight proportions and sending it as high as he could with his will.

    In the brighter light, he could just make out the extremities of the cavern in front of him and on his left. Looking up, he saw the distant ceiling and, scrutinizing it, didn¡¯t see the hole he¡¯d fallen through. He turned toward what he thought was the center of the enormous space and started walking, scanning his surroundings for clues and constantly looking up, trying to see the hole that would be his exit back to the keep above. It only took him a few minutes to see it. The opening might be small, a square shadow among other shadows, but Victor had good eyes, and his light touched the ceiling just enough to highlight the contours of the opening.

    ¡°How the hell am I supposed to . . .¡± Victor let his words trail off as he contemted how he¡¯d get up to that distant opening. It had to be a thousand feet high. Could he leap that far? He didn¡¯t think so. He supposed he could summon his Aspect of Terror, but he was loath to. He hated the feeling of being locked away in a corner of his mind while the Aspect did its thing. Worse, he knew the Aspect would be focused on finding spirits it could absorb. Would he be able to steer it up to that hole, into Dunstan¡¯s underground throne room where nothing lived?

    Victor growled in frustration and, on a whim, extinguished his Globe of Inspiration. In the pitch ck that resulted, he slowly turned in a circle, staring into the depths of gloom, wondering if he might have missed something, some clue to navigate the buried recesses of the ancient cavern system. He knew from experience in the Greatbone Mine that the depths of Fanwath could be very deep indeed. He was already a tremendous distance beneath the surface, but if he tried to explore, he could find himself going into ces from which egress might be nearly impossible. Still, something in his chest didn¡¯t want to allow the Aspect loose, didn¡¯t want to fight that battle of wills again so soon.

    He was about to give up, a half-baked idea of stacking boulders into a tform from which to leap forming in his mind, when he saw a faint flicker of yellow light. It was well beyond the opening above, high in the cavern wall but not nearly as high as the ceiling. Grunting with surprise and renewed hope, he started toward it. He didn¡¯t resummon his globe, fearing it would make his surroundings so bright that he wouldn¡¯t be able to navigate to the faint, distant light. Instead, he worked his way through the darkness by feel, walking slowly and carefully, trusting his incredible senses and instincts to help steer him around obstacles.

    After a while, he realized he wasn¡¯t just ¡°instinctively¡± walking around boulders, fungi patches, and pools. There might not be any light to speak of, but the shadows where objects existed had a different depth to them. It wasn¡¯t something he could readily see, or at least consciously point out, with his eyes, but he felt them. That said, he made good time over the cavern floor, and the tiny spot of light gradually grew more prominent and easier to see. It stretched into a circle, and then, as the minutes dragged on, and he felt he¡¯d been walking more than an hour, he could clearly make out an ovoid tunnel opening, something like a hundred feet up the cavern wall.

    He could remember seeing many tunnels in the walls when he¡¯d been a passenger to the Aspect of Terror, but he didn¡¯t remember seeing light in any of them. What was this ce so deep under the keep¡¯s grounds that was illuminated? When he made his way through the wampyrir, it had been clear that they didn¡¯t value light. Why would they illuminate this buried passage?

    He might not feel confident about leaping a thousand feet into the air, but he knew he could make it to that tunnel. Rather than cast Iron Berserk, Victor formed the pattern for Titanic Aspect. He didn¡¯t feel like getting pissed off again so soon after his ordeals with the wampyr. His body erged, he felt his perspective change, and then he squatted low and exploded into the air, hurtling toward that glowing opening in the darkness. The cool air rushed past him, whistling in his ears, and then hended on hard, dusty stone, sliding several yards into a well-lit passage.

    The mystery of the light¡¯s source was immediately cleared up. An ancient-looking glowmp hung from the stone ceiling, and Victor could see in its illumination that the dusty corridor had been crafted, or at least refined; it wasn¡¯t a natural tunnel. The floor was solid stone, but gray granite blocks made up the walls. They were thick with rusty-orange mold, and Victor could smell a strange sulfurous odor in the air as he walked, kicking up little clouds of dust with his boots.

    Despite his titanic size, the ceiling of the passageway was several feet overhead, and he didn¡¯t feel cramped by the walls. Whoever had crafted those stone walls had built something impressive. He didn¡¯t feel nervous, didn¡¯t feel watched, but he still reached up and loosened Lifedrinker in her harness, pulling her down into his hands. She was aforting presence, and holding her reminded him of theirst interaction, the one where she¡¯d practically begged him to leave a fragment of his spirit with her. How was he going to deal with that? His approach to a T-junction chased the quandary from his mind as he slowly advanced.

    When he reached the junction, he looked left and right and contemted the choice. The tunnels looked identical, save the one on the left seemed to have a very slight downward grade. ¡°What the hell am I doing? Dummy!¡± Heughed, shook his head at his behavior, and summoned his coyotes with inspiration-attuned Energy. They came into the world from a cloud of white-gold mist, yipping and crying, walking close to him, rubbing his legs as they circled. ¡°All right, <em>muchachos</em>, find me the way out of this ce.¡±

    As they yipped and barked, charging into the branching tunnels, he sat under the faint, yellow glow of the ancient crystal and brass glowmp and took a long, deep breath. He didn¡¯t want to lean against the weird orange mold or fungi, or whatever it was called, so he sat in the middle of the floor and pulled a still-warm loaf of bread and a tall copper bottle of water from his storage ring. Five minutester, he was munching on slices of bread spread with butter and jam and taking long, satisfying gulps of water from the bottle. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s good. Thirsty work messing up all those <em>vampiros</em>.¡±

    He got the impression from the feelings his pack sent his way that they were traversing a lot of ground and not finding much. Sometimes, he¡¯d sense that one of the coyotes was chasing something small, probably a rat, but never that they felt any threat or rm. It probably took an hour before he finally felt a surge of excitement and a sense of sess from one of the pack; the faithfulpanion had found a way up and out. Victor stood up and turned right, instinctively knowing the coyote who¡¯d signaled sess could be found in that direction.

    He only walked up that passage for ten minutes or so before it started to slope upward gradually. He continued, and slowly, one by one, his coyotes found their way back to him. Thest one to rejoin the pack was the one he¡¯d been waiting for, and when it saw him, it turned and started trotting ahead. Victor broke into a jog, following it through ancient, dusty tunnels, turning again and again, gradually working his way up and up through the bedrock beneath the mountain on which the wampyrs¡¯ keep had been built.

    Eventually, he came to an ancient stone stairway and noted the different nature of the mold clinging to the stones and the damp, seeping water that shimmered in the still-present glowmps. He wondered how old thosemps must be, silently praising the long-gone individual who¡¯d crafted them. With his pack at his heels, he climbed those steps, two at a time; his titanic aspect had long since faded. After a hundred steps or so, he came to the rotten, partially petrified timbers of an ancient, iron-strapped door. He tried to open it, but it was swollen, wedged to the stone by moisture and moldy growths.

    Victor smashed a boot into the ancient, rustytch, and the door broke apart, fragments flying off into the dark room beyond. ¡°No more ancientmps?¡± As his coyotes, panting, yipping, and crying, rushed past him into the new area, Victor summoned his Globe of Inspiration. The light revealed an ancient stone room, and Victor could seerge gaps in the walls, through which, he was quite certain, stars flickered. He stepped through, turned left, and saw an archway beyond which he could see the light of the Sisters glimmering on silvery waves as they crashed with a distant roar on a beach.

    Victor hurried out and stood on the crumblingnding of a long-forgotten stairway. Behind him rose a simrly crumbled tower, and to his right, half a mile along the slopes of a tall, granite cliff face, Dunstan¡¯s keep rose against the mountainside. ¡°Huh. Well, <em>chica</em>, let¡¯s go see how those wampyrs feel about me killing their <em>padre</em>.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 38: Different Kinds of Freedom

    Book 6: Chapter 38: Different Kinds of Freedom

    Victor patted Guapo¡¯s shoulder as he approached the big curtain wall. He wasn¡¯t trying to hide or sneak into the keep this second time. He¡¯d killed anything in there that was a threat to him, and he was tired of skulking around in shadows. He¡¯d cast Iron Berserk, summoned his banner, and now he sat atop a glory-attuned Mustang, the center of a zing circle of daylight in the middle of the night. He wasn¡¯t sure how much time had passed since he first entered the keep with Kethelket and Victoria. It felt like a dozen hours to him, but it could have been longer¡ªhe¡¯d lost track of time when in his Aspect of Terror and also when he ate the wampyr¡¯s heart.

    The strange thing was that he didn¡¯t see any defenders atop the wall, nor were there any lights to speak of. Hadn¡¯t he noticedmps when they¡¯d snuck in? Dunstan¡¯s non-monstrous followers seemed to require illumination to see. This time, the keep was dark, quiet, and felt utterly deserted. Victor rode straight up to the gate, and when no challenge, no arrows, no magical bolts came his way, he sat there for a moment and watched. The gate was impressive¡ªthirty feet high and twenty wide, constructed of massive, thick nks of some kind of hardwood. He could see the bolts in the wood that must hold the crossbeams on the other side in ce.

    Given time, Victor figured he could break through that gate, but he wouldn¡¯t waste the effort. If he had to force his way into the keep, he¡¯d just leap up to the parapets. After studying the weathered stone of the wall for a while, hoping to catch sight of any movement within, he grew impatient and shouted, ¡°Open the gate!¡± It was a longshot, he knew, but still, he figured if they weren¡¯t actively trying to defend, maybe the soldiers within were broken or fled, and some forgotten servant or thrall might do as he asked. He was just getting ready to dismount and leap up to the ramparts when he heard cking and creaking as someone turned a winss in the gatehouse.

    The gates shuddered and shook as the bar was slowly lifted. <em>¡°?Interesante, verdad, chico?¡±</em> Victor patted Guapo again as he waited and watched the left-hand gate haltingly swing open. He could hear grunting and muffled curses, and he saw a pale hand gripping the wooden edge, so he knew someone was there, working to grant him entrance. He still didn¡¯t feel any threat, so he sat, rxed, Lifedrinker still in her harness, and waited until the gate was pulled wide and a man stepped out from behind it into the light of his banner. He squinted and shielded his eyes, but his pale flesh didn¡¯t burn or smoke.

    He wore a ck tunic over ck leggings and carried a sword sheathed at his waist. When he slowly lowered his hand, exposing his face, Victor was surprised to see a very normal, if pale, human man looking up at him. ¡°Hail, Lord. We beg your mercy.¡±

    ¡°We?¡±

    ¡°Us that survived the death of Lord Dunstan.¡±

    ¡°Exin.¡± Victor nudged Guapo forward, and the massive Mustang¡¯s hooves danced with sparks as he pranced toward the gate, each step a bass drumbeat on the gravel roadway. The man stumbled back but caught himself as Victor slowed, stopping inside the entrance, making it clear that he wasn¡¯t going anywhere.

    ¡°Some of us were newly taken by Lord . . .¡± he shook his head, and Victor saw him grimace. ¡°By Dunstan. We hadn¡¯t taken much of the wampyr nature from him yet, and so when he died, we reverted to our old selves. Well, our old selves, in addition to memories of a waking nightmare. Most of Dunstan¡¯s people burned to ash when he died. There¡¯s just a hundred or so of us inside.¡±

    ¡°Gather everyone. Bring them to the courtyard. If you deal with me honestly, there will be mercy.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Lord!¡± The man bowed and turned to hurry through the gate tunnel, but he stopped and turned. ¡°Lord, do you mean the inner courtyard or the baily here between the walls?¡±

    ¡°Inner.¡±

    Victor watched him hurry away, running up the slightly sloping cobbled roadway that led from the curtain wall to the inner keep gates. He took his time following, contemting the man¡¯s words. Dunstan¡¯s grip on the wampyrs had been so thorough that when he died, so did they? What did they get in that bargain? Eternal ¡°life?¡± A faster route to power than gaining their own levels and skills? Perhaps it wasn¡¯t a gift. If he believed the man who¡¯d just spoken to him, it was more of a curse. It sounded like he hadn¡¯te into Dunstan¡¯s service willingly. Whatever the case, it highlighted another difference between the wampyr and vampyr factions of the invading army.

    As he allowed Guapo to walk toward the open inner gateway, he looked left and right, taking in the bailey grounds. The whole space between the walls was cobbled, and he saw ballistae and barrels lining the inner parapets. Barricades stood on the bailey ground, and he could imagine archers using them to slow attackers who¡¯d breached the curtain wall. It was a strong keep, and he figured the right defenders could hold off quite an army from within. Scanning around, he tried to see remnants of the defenders who¡¯d supposedly spontaneouslybusted at Dunstan¡¯s death, but the air was damp with mist, and he could smell rain. So close to the sea, he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they¡¯d been washed away.

    Even taking his time, Guapo¡¯s steps were huge, and soon he <em>clip-clopped</em> his way through the inner gatehouse and came into the courtyard where, in rows of twenty, more than a hundred men and women, dressed much like the first man he¡¯d seen, knelt on the hard cobbles, heads down, waiting for him. He sat atop Guapo, looking down at them, running his eyes over the rows, staring at each of them for a second or two, wondering what he might see. None looked up to meet his gaze. None gave off any whiff of power or Energy use. He thought he saw several of them trembling; from fear or weakness, he didn¡¯t know.

    ¡°Who spoke to me at the gate?¡±

    A figure in the front row straightened and looked up, meeting his gaze. ¡°I did, Lord.¡±

    ¡°Your name?¡±

    ¡°Smythe, Lord, Perry Smythe.¡± His voice was steady, and he looked earnest, his brown eyes unflinching when Victor gazed into them.

    ¡°Perry, what would you have me do with a bunch of one-time enemies? Undead creatures who sought to y me and mine?¡±

    ¡°Lord, we aren¡¯t undead. If we were, well, it¡¯s ¡®cause that bastard took us from the viges on hisnds and made us so.¡±

    ¡°On Dark Ember?¡±

    ¡°Aye. We were serfs on hisnds; the vampiric lords anddies keep us for food and to fill their armies.¡±

    ¡°And entertainment,¡± a woman said from somewhere in the middle of the group.

    Victor frowned and contemted the group. He believed them, but could he trust them? ¡°What happened to the belongings of the ones who burned up?¡±

    ¡°Most of their things burned with ¡®em, Lord, but we found some weapons and jewels in the ashes.¡±

    Victor took a deep breath through his nose and sighed heavily. ¡°Listen. I¡¯ll give you all a chance to earn some trust. Bring everything you looted from the dead and from this ce and pile it before my horse. Let¡¯s keep this orderly¡ªone by one, left to right, row by row.¡± Victor watched as they did just as he¡¯dmanded. The one-time wampyr thralls stood and began to deposit knives, swords, maces, axes, spears, and jewelry of all sorts, but mostly rings, in neat piles in front of Guapo. He maintained his banner and watched them as they approached, looking into their eyes, trying to read if any were harboring hidden animosity or faking their tolerance of the fiery sun hanging behind him.

    In the end, all he felt was pity for the wan, thin, desperate men and women. The piles of jewelry were impressive, and Victor wondered if these poor survivors had thought themselves rich and free until he¡¯d shown up. When they finished, he asked Perry, ¡°Did you loot the dead in the tunnels beneath the keep?¡±

    ¡°Aye, Lord.¡±

    Victor pulled out the huge silver key from storage and held it up by its chain. ¡°Do you know what this opens?¡±

    ¡°Aye, Lord,¡± he said again, ¡°that¡¯s the key to the silver door atop yonder tower.¡± He pointed to the big round tower that rose near the rear of the keep. There weren¡¯t any windows near the top, and its roof was made of some kind of dark, unreflective metal. Lead?

    ¡°Okay, Perry, let me ask you again: What would you have me do with you all, undead or not?¡±

    Again, a woman spoke up before Perry could answer, ¡°We want freedom!¡± Murmurs of agreement vied with shushes and pleas for mercy from the kneeling crowd. Victor frowned and contemted the people. If what they imed was true, then they certainly deserved pity and probably the mercy they asked for. They¡¯d taken up arms for Dunstan but hadn¡¯t been part of the winged wampyr horde that had kidnapped Kethelket¡¯s people. Could he me them, anyway? Apparently, Dunstan had taken them and infected them with his brand of vampirism against their will, and somewhat recently, if he were understanding things correctly. That was why they hadn¡¯t burned to ash.

    Even taking all that at face value, their demands for freedom were a bit much. All the men and women in the legion and supporting it were here, fighting for their ownnds, their own freedom. Should it just be given to these people? Shouldn¡¯t they help? He thought about it some more, watching the crowd, knowing he held their lives in his hands. ¡°I¡¯ll grant you the mercy of not holding you responsible for the actions of Dunstan and his wampyrs. I¡¯ll also grant you your freedom, but if you¡¯re hoping to settle in thesends, you¡¯ll need to aid our cause. If you don¡¯t want to do that, if you don¡¯t want to fight against Hector¡¯s undead invasion, then you¡¯ll need to march your asses north through the pass, and you can try to find your freedom in the Ridonne Empire.¡±

    As he spoke, many of the kneeling, ck-d former wampyr thralls looked up, their pale faces staring toward him atop his gigantic steed, and Victor saw hope and relief in their eyes. He knew what they were feeling; he¡¯d felt it too when the nobility of Fanwath had enved him, sent him into the mines, and then he¡¯d had a glimmer of hope sparked to life in his heart with just a touch of kindness from Captain Lam. ¡°Stand up,¡± he growled. As theyplied, rising to stand in ranks before him, he continued, ¡°If you mean to stick with me and put the undead assholes invading thisnd to the torch, then stay put. If you want to head out and try to make your fortune beyond the mountains to the north, then walk out this gate and wait for me. I¡¯ll write you a letter so the people guarding the pass will let you through.¡±

    He watched as the people slowly looked around at each other, none speaking, none moving. After a few minutes, when they¡¯d ceased their looking around, and every one of them still stood before him, he said, ¡°You¡¯re sure? None of you want to leave?¡±

    The same woman spoke up again, her voice strident, ¡°Lord, there are different kinds of freedom, and my heart won¡¯t feel truly free ¡®til I¡¯ve seen that green star extinguished and know the portal to Dark Ember is closed.¡± The crowd shouted their agreement, some of them raising fists in the air, and for the first time, Victor saw fire in their eyes, perhaps fanned to life from the hope he¡¯d given them.

    ¡°That¡¯s how you all feel?¡± Victor slid off Guapo¡¯s back and, with a firm pat to his haunch, sent the mount back to the Spirit ne. He stood before the assembled defectors, towering over them in his titanic form, his banner zing behind him. When none of them objected to the woman¡¯s words, Victor nodded, loosening Lifedrinker from her harness and holding her before him. ¡°If you want to stay with me, you¡¯ll need to swear an oath. I want each of you to stand before me, tell me your name, and swear that you¡¯ll stay loyal to our cause. Swear that you¡¯ll fight against the invaders from Dark Ember. More, I want you to swear to learn about the customs of this world and work to fit in.¡±

    The woman was the first to step to the front, and the man who¡¯d first spoken to him, Perry Smythe, lined up behind her, then everyone else jostled to get into line. The woman was slender but tall, and her long, wavy red hair was pulled back and tied into braids with leather cords. She took a knee before him and looked up, tiny next to his bulk but pale eyes fierce as she said, ¡°Lord, I am Agnes, and I swear to help you and your army to push the invaders out. I swear, on the bones of my mother, Sigrid, that I¡¯ll stay loyal to you and learn the ways of this new world.¡±

    ¡°Well said, Agnes. I ept you and swear to treat you fairly and fight with you against our mutual enemies.¡± Victor saw tears spring into the woman¡¯s eyes as he said the words, and when she stood and moved back into line, they were streaming freely down her cheeks. So began a very emotional experience for Victor and the survivors of Dunstan¡¯s vampirism. One after another, the former thralls knelt before him, swore their loyalty, and heard his pledge in return. Many of them wept openly, and Victor struggled to keep his own eyes dry, imagining the roller coaster of emotions these people were feeling, the struggles they¡¯d gone through.

    As he¡¯d thought earlier, he had somemon ground with them, had known the feeling of a yoke around his neck. He also knew what it felt like to be free and to feel the bond of loyalty when he¡¯d thought he was alone. He didn¡¯t know what these people had nned when their lord died, didn¡¯t know if they were expecting to be recaptured, killed, or if they had some hope that they might break free and find a way to live with their newfound freedom. He hoped they didn¡¯t see his arrival as that of simply a new lord they had to serve. That was why he¡¯d offered them the chance to leave, to find their way outside thesends. To him, their unanimous decision to stay meant a lot; they could have, just as easily, all decided to leave.

    When thest one swore to him, Victor nodded to his newly assembled allies and severed the connection to his Iron Berserk spell, reducing himself down from mythic proportions. ¡°Thank you, everyone. One thing you¡¯ll need to know, though, is that I value your word, and I consider you my brothers and sisters in battle now, but the people of Fanwath aren¡¯t so quick to trust. They have customs that are hard to shake. Everyone in our army has bound themselves with a System contract, agreeing to pretty much the same thing you all just swore to me. When I assign you to a new captain, you¡¯ll need to do the same.¡±

    ¡°How long will we be so bound to the captain, Lord?¡±

    ¡°Only until this campaign ends. Once we¡¯ve driven the invaders out, the contract expires, but I¡¯ll always hold you to the oath we just swore to each other. Does anyone have an objection?¡± Silence met his question, so Victor nodded, swinging Lifedrinker back up and into her harness. ¡°Someone show me the System stone in this keep. I mean to im it.¡±

    Agnes pointed to the keep''s open, darkly stained wooden doors and said, ¡°In the great hall, just past those doors and through the next.¡±

    Victor strode forward, down the ranks of his new soldiers, and heard them fall into line behind him. When he nced over his shoulder, he saw two single-file lines, remarkable in their orderly formation. He climbed the steps, passed through the door, and saw a faintly illuminated pair of doors straight ahead in the dim, unlit shadows of the grand foyer. He walked toward them and pulled the handle of the one on the right. It swung open with a squeak of unoiled hinges, and then he saw Dunstan¡¯s former great hall, or, at least, the one he hadn¡¯t used, the one not buried in twisting catbs full of ugly vampiric monsters.

    The hall of the Sea Keep, as Victor was starting to call the ce mentally, was vast. It wasn¡¯t remarkable for much more than that, however. The ceilings were massively vaulted with at least twenty, two-hundred-foot beams spanning the length of it, holding up the great weight of the stones above. It spread out from left to right, rectangr in shape, with a grand stone firece at either end. No furniture adorned the ample space, but floating at the center, directly in front of the door where Victor stood, was another System stone, just like the ones he¡¯d seen in the other keeps.

    Victor walked forward, the former thralls at his heels, and ced his hand on the slowly rotating stone. It stopped its movement immediately, and he saw a familiar message before his eyes:

    <strong>***This stone is undefended, and you have sufficient forces in the vicinity to im this outpost. Do you wish to do so?***</strong>

    ¡°Good,¡± Victor muttered, d to see the System had recognized these people as his ¡°forces.¡± He mentally affirmed his decision to im the outpost, and, just as before, an Energy-rich breeze began to blow through the keep, seeminglying out of nowhere or perhaps from the stone itself. It gently blew over his flesh, tickling it with an electric touch, and he heard the people around him sighing andughing, perhaps feeling Energy untainted by a death affinity for the first time.

    Though no lights came to life in the hall, his banner brilliantly lit it, and the stones, the wood, and the very air seemed to feel lighter, less oppressive. He knew that if he went outside, the darkness wouldn¡¯t be so dark, the mist and fog in the air would be gone, and he and his new followers would be able to breathe easier.

    <strong>***Congrattions! Your forces have imed this outpost and its surroundingnds. Defend it from your enemies and continue your conquest! For your victory, your faction will be rewarded a Chest of Conquest¡ªthis only urs the first time you im any given territory.***</strong>

    Cheers broke out around him as the System¡¯s message appeared, and Victor smiled, d his new allies were sharing in the victory. His hand suddenly fell away from the stone, released as the process of iming the outpost ended. Smoke began to gather at his feet, and he knew what it was: The chest of conquest was about to take form. Something was different, however. He remembered blue smoke at Old Keep, but this smoke was purple and sparkled with silvery lights.

 Book 6: Chapter 39: Treasures and Mysteries

    Book 6: Chapter 39: Treasures and Mysteries

    As the chest took form, Victor looked around at the men and women who¡¯d just joined his cause. ¡°Perry, can you take some soldiers and secure the gate?¡±

    ¡°Aye, right away, Lord.¡± Perry called out several names and led a small group toward the courtyard. Victor nodded, looking around the crowd.

    ¡°Agnes, will you put together a list of troops for me? Everyone¡¯s names, their level, and their particr talents? It¡¯ll help me get your people ced with the proper units when the army arrives. Oh, and go ahead and pick out an assistant or two¡ªwe¡¯ll need to catalog all the weapons and other loot you found on the dead wampyrs.¡±

    ¡°I can do that.¡±

    Victor noticed her eyes linger on the chest by his feet, and he shook his head. ¡°This one¡¯s for me. I went through quite a bloodbath to earn this chest.¡± He spoke loudly, looking around the crowd, meeting the eyes of any who would dare. He wasn¡¯t ashamed of iming this prize, and if anyone objected, he¡¯d love to hear their arguments. None did, however. In fact, most of the one-time thralls nodded enthusiastically to his deration.

    ¡°Lord Victor?¡± Agnes spoke up, interrupting his perusal of the room and the expressions on the soldiers¡¯ faces.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Do you have an extra bit of paper and a writing utensil?¡± She looked almost embarrassed, and Victor felt stupid. These people had been little more than ves before Dunstan had died, and then he¡¯de along and demanded they give up all the loot they¡¯d scavenged.

    He produced a notebook and an enchanted pen from one of his storage rings and handed it over. ¡°Of course.¡± He almost asked her if she knew how to read and write, trying to imagine the kind of vige she¡¯de from, a ce where normal humans were allowed to live and have families but were treated as livestock to the wampyrs. He caught himself, though, deciding to trust that she¡¯d say so if she couldn¡¯t. Even so, he couldn¡¯t help asking a tangential question, ¡°You all had ess to Energy, to cultivation and whatnot back on Dark Ember, right? I mean, back in your viges before Dunstan took you.¡±

    ¡°We did, to a degree, though Dunstan¡¯s sheriffs saw to it that none of us grew powerful enough to pose a threat.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s over now. At least for you all.¡±

    ¡°It is, but the thirst for vengeance burns in my throat. I hope you won¡¯t send us far from the front, into some training camp or on garrison duty.¡± Victor could hear the ferocity in her words, saw the spark in her eyes, and knew she spoke the truth. It resonated in his chest, echoed the fury he¡¯d once felt when he¡¯d wanted to rip the arms off every baton-wielding mine employee.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. If I have my way, you¡¯ll be joining up with the Glorious Ninth¡ªmy army¡¯s best cohort, and you¡¯ll see plenty of action with them.¡±

    Agnes nodded and smashed a fist to her chest before turning and calling out the names of her chosen helpers, striding out of the hall. Many of the others had already left, returning to the courtyard, perhaps to go up on the walls and witness the withdrawal of the sickly fog. The ones who¡¯d remained were likely hoping to see something of the treasure he would pull from the chest, and Victor, too, was interested to see what he¡¯d earned. He¡¯d briefly considered setting aside whatever he got for the ¡°campaign store,¡± but he¡¯d decided he¡¯d been selfless enough; it was time to take his due. He¡¯d im what he wanted and give the rest to the quartermaster for the store.

    He bent to lift the hinged lid of the dark, metallic chest, watching as more sparkling, purple smoke escaped from the interior. It was odorless, that smoke, and when Victor waved it away, not a hint of it remained. It had simply dispersed into nothingness, much like the smoke left behind by his spirit fire did when it consumed the sacrifices he made to his ancestors. Peering into the open container, Victor saw only four items. An ornately carved silver spyss sat beside a shimmering opalescent potion bottle, and next to that were two gold-foil-wrapped, apple-shaped objects.

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Victor said, reaching into the chest to retrieve the spyss. It was small in his hand, only six inches long, but every square millimeter was delicately carved in whorls and tiny images, from flowers to stars to weird angr runes that, despite his System Language Integration skill, meant nothing to Victor. It was heavy for its size, and even from a distance, Victor could see the weird flickers of Energy and color within the lens.

    He held the small end to his eye and pointed it at one of the former thralls at the other end of the great hall. The blurry image rified almost instantly as the magical lens focused, and then the close-up view of the soldier changed slightly as a pale green halo took shape around her head. ¡°Huh.¡± Victor pulled the spyss away from his eye and then chose a new target, aiming his view at a burly man near the exit. Just as before, the ss focused quickly, and a soft, pale green halo appeared around his head. Victor pocketed the little scope, intent on experimenting with it further, then turned back to the chest.

    He picked up the opalescent potion and, to his relief, found a handwrittenbel stuck to the bottom of the little bottle. ¡°Vanderstahl¡¯s Regenerative Tonic,¡± he softly read, raising an eyebrow. He¡¯d, of course, learned about potions that could regenerate lost limbs and worse while he¡¯d been in Coloss, and he wondered if this was just such an item. He nodded, pleased to have something like that to fall back on, and tucked it away in a storage ring. Next, he reached down and plucked up one of the foil-covered fruits.

    The feel and heft served to confirm his theory; it felt just like an apple. He needn¡¯t have wondered, however. Just as with the potion, he found abel affixed to the gold foil on the bottom of the fruit, reading, ¡°Apple of Evolution.¡± The fruit had no odor, and he couldn¡¯t sense any Energy within it, though he reasoned that could be because of the foil¡ªit might be magical, designed to keep the fruit¡¯s potency intact. He tucked them both into his ring, already making ns for what he¡¯d do with them; he might have decided this chest¡¯s rewards were his to im, but that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t share.

    While he¡¯d been studying the final contents, he¡¯d expected the chest to disappear, but it was still there when he nced down. Wondering what he¡¯d missed, he peered back inside to see the lining at the bottom hadn¡¯t been just part of the container¡ªit was another banner. When he lifted it out, the chest broke apart into purple, shimmering smoke and was gone. Victor hung the banner, exactly like the one he¡¯d gotten at Old Keep, over his shoulder and walked outside. It wasn¡¯t lost on him that he had an entourage of a dozen or so soldiers who seemed intent on following him around.

    In the courtyard, he found Agnes and three others sitting around the pile of weapons and other loot, sorting them by type and apparent quality. Looking up on the ramparts, he saw Perry and a dozen or more other soldiers walking about, keeping watch. The skies were cloudy, though brighter, the unnatural fog having fled the keep''s environs. Victor took a good, long, deep breath and nodded. He held out the banner in one big fist and said, ¡°Someone take this and put it over the outer gates so my allies don¡¯t mistakenly attack us.¡±

    ¡°Aye, Lord!¡± one of his hangers-on said, stepping forward to grab the big, silky cloth. Victor watched him hurry out of the courtyard, running through the baily toward the curtain wall, and then he let his gaze drift up to the big tower. ¡°All right, let¡¯s go see what this key will reveal.¡± He was talking to himself, mostly, or maybe Lifedrinker, but he realized the soldiers following him around thought he was speaking to them¡ªseveral muttered their agreement, and they turned to the keep, hurrying to open the door for him.

    Victor paused to look over the group of men and women. There were nine of them gathered near the door, watching, waiting for him to move or say something. He wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about having an entourage escorting him around the new keep, but he didn¡¯t know if he should even make a big deal about it. Maybe they were just bored. There wasn¡¯t a lot going on while they waited for word from, well, anyone.

    He¡¯d hoped to find Kethelket outside when he emerged, but he hadn¡¯t been surprised not to. He must have taken his people to rejoin the rest of their forces. Still, he¡¯d hoped for some sign or signal from him, Va, or even Rellia and Borrius. ¡°Should have kept one of themand books for myself.¡± He looked up, noting the puzzled looks on those nearby, and asked, ¡°How many days ago did I kill Dunstan?¡±

    ¡°Five days, Lord.¡±

    ¡°Five, sir!¡±

    ¡°Five days and nights have passed . . .¡± the third to answer trailed off as they all hurried to be the one to give him the news. Five days was a lot more than he¡¯d thought, but he wasn¡¯t too surprised. How many times had he passed out, had visions, and lost days or even weeks as his mind and body processed whatever weird thing he¡¯d done to it? The news made Kethelket¡¯s absence even more understandable.

    ¡°Right. I¡¯ll be surprised if my people aren¡¯t nearby, perhaps already watching the keep. Hopefully, we¡¯ll get word when they see my banner on disy. For now, I need you folks to help keep watch for them. Be sure to exin that I¡¯m in the keep and that I¡¯lle to speak to them if any appear. Be aware that some can fly and may approach from the air. Don¡¯t respond with violence! Spread the word.¡± Several of the group nodded and hurried off, but Victor wasn¡¯t satisfied. ¡°I only need one of you to stay with me. Someone who knows the way to the tower so I¡¯m not wandering around this keep.¡±

    ¡°I will!¡± a young woman announced, ring at the others until they nodded and began to shuffle off, a few with unhappy grumbles. Victor chuckled and examined his guide. She was an interesting-looking character. The sides of her head were shorn down to a ck stubble, and the top hung in braids woven through with carved, wooden, and, if he wasn¡¯t mistaken, bone loops. Her pale face was marked by dozens of deep, raised, red scars, and the hollows of her dark eyes were shaded by ck paint. She looked fierce and sturdy, tall and broad-shouldered.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Nia, Lord.¡±

    ¡°All right, Nia. Lead me to the tower, please.¡± At his words, she turned and began to hurry through the keep. She led him up two flights of stairs, down several long corridors, and then through a heavy, polished door into another steep, winding stairway. Victor could tell they were in the tower by the nature of the curved walls and by peering through the asional window. ¡°Did Dunstan have this ss installed, or was it here?¡±

    ¡°I believe it was here, Lord.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to say ¡®lord¡¯ whenever you speak to me. I¡¯d rather you didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Very well.¡± She climbed steadily without tiring, and as they passed the first door on a shortnding, she pointed to it. ¡°Nothing much in there. Some old scraps of furniture.¡±

    ¡°Okay. You know the keep well?¡±

    ¡°Aye, from our time here as thralls and from thest few days scrounging for food and valuables.¡±

    ¡°Food . . . did you have to eat when you were thralls?¡±

    ¡°Lord, please forgive me, but I¡¯d rather not dwell on my time under the curse. It¡¯s a nightmare I¡¯d soon put behind me, but to answer your question, we ate but sparingly; our bodies were changing, and we hungered for only one thing¡ªthe blood Dunstan¡¯s wampyrs doled out to us.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s shitty. We¡¯ll get your bellies full of warm, good food soon.¡± He followed her up several more levels and then asked, ¡°Do you have any idea what¡¯s behind the door?¡±

    ¡°Likely something unholy. Dunstan kept it well guarded, and it resisted all our attempts to break it open. The door¡¯s metal is magically warded and infused; we pounded and pried at it, but it mended itself faster than we could damage it. Some of theds were thinking of chipping away the stone walls to get inside, but our explorations through the keep and catbs kept us distracted.¡± She looked over her shoulder, her dark, shadowed eyes briefly locking with his. ¡°Then you came along.¡±

    ¡°Do you resent me?¡±

    ¡°Resent? The one who freed us? The one who saved our very souls? Not in a million lifetimes, Lord.¡±

    ¡°What level are you, Nia? Forgive my bluntness.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m level twenty-four. I have the damned blood affinity of my former master, but I¡¯ll be using it for healing. I swear on the graves of my mother and my baby sister, taken by the fiend that was my father.¡±

    ¡°Your father . . .¡±

    ¡°Aye. He was taken by Dunstan when I was a girl of twelve. He came back to visit us in Brook Hollow, the vige where we lived when I was fifteen, and on that visit, he flew into a rage . . .¡± her voice grew quiet, her words trailing off.

    ¡°Forget it. I¡¯m sorry I asked; I didn¡¯t mean to open up old wounds.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Lor . . . thank you.¡±

    Victor let his mind wander down dark roads, imagining the lives of the people, the ordinary humans on Dark Ember, and their horrific existence. Despite his efforts to avoid it, despite consciously trying to keep the thought from forming, he found a part of himself beginning to wonder if he¡¯d be satisfied with simply killing Prince Hector and driving the invaders out of Fanwath. He scowled, shaking his head. Hadn¡¯t Victoria told him that Hector was a minor lord in the grand scheme of Dark Ember? Hadn¡¯t she said the old ones, the truly powerful undying masters of that world, had been in power for hundreds of years, that they¡¯d been ancient even before fleeing Earth? ¡°Talk about biting off more than I can chew . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, Nia. Well, not nothing, but nothing I can really contemte right now.¡± As he spoke, they rounded the final curve of the stairs, and there, before him, was an ornate, rune-inscribed, silver door with a big, four-pronged keyhole at its center. ¡°Well, well. What¡¯s hiding behind such a fancy door, I wonder.¡±

    Nia moved to the side, taking up a position against the stone wall to the left of the door. Victor produced the heavy silver key and stepped forward to insert it into the weird slot. I sank home with a satisfyingly smooth series of clicks, almost like a ma pulled it in. He slowly rotated the key, each quarter-turn eliciting a resounding click in the silver door. When he¡¯d spun it through a full rotation, the door pulled away from the frame with a hiss of moist, warm air. ¡°Woah, airtight.¡± Victor held an arm over his nose, troubled by the strange, musty, ripe air. It didn¡¯t quite smell like decay or death, but it didn¡¯t smell fresh.

    Before he opened the door further, he listened, waiting to see what might reveal itself. The only sound toe to his ears was a faint ticking as the door¡¯s metal began to contract, perhaps adjusting to the much cooler ambient temperature outside the interior room. Victor put a hand on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft and pulled the door open with the other. When the steam wafted out of his eyes, and he focused on the weird, red-lit interior, he almost ripped her free from her harness and cast Iron Berserk.

    The room was oval in shape andpletely lined with the same rune-inscribed silver as the door he¡¯d just opened. It was like a vault, almost, making Victor realize the former thralls never would have been able to break into it by chipping away the stone walls outside. A globe of red-veined crystal hung from the center of the domed ceiling, pulsing with crimson light, and beneath it was a silver chair. What had startled Victor and almost sent him into a violent rage was the naked, shriveled body of a man on the metal chair. He wore nothing save the same ck stone crown that Victor had seen on the horrible wampyr, Dunstan.

    Victor might have thought the wampyr had cheated death somehow, reconstituted himself in this chamber, if not for the gaping hole in the body¡¯s chest where a heart should have been. Had Victor stopped the creature from resurrecting itself by eating its heart? If not the consumption of the flesh, had his destruction of part of its spirit disrupted the weird magic? Victor turned to Nia. ¡°You know anything about this?¡± He moved to the side, making room for her so she could gaze within, and watched as her eyes widened in horror and a hand flew to her mouth. Her surprise seemed genuine.

    ¡°There were rumors, whispers that Dunstan was immortal, more than . . . usual for his kind. It¡¯s certainly true that he was very old, though not as ancient as the great masters of Dark Ember.¡±

    Victor jerked his chin at the metal door and the room beyond. ¡°Was this silver chamber here when you all arrived?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, Lord. I was a lowly thrall, however¡ªI know not what Dunstan brought from Dark Ember. I was set to watch the battlements almost from the moment we arrived. I do recall seeing the windows of this tower being filled in with stone, though.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Do me a favor and go to the stairs. Holler if you hear anyoneing.¡± Victor gestured around the curve of the tower to where thending was. Nia hurried to fulfill his request, and he turned back to the door. He¡¯d had a strange wave of paranoia when he thought about investigating the chamber, a spine-tingling wave of ustrophobia at the idea that someone might swing that silver door shut on him. With that in mind, he moved around to the front of the door and tried to remove the key, but it wouldn¡¯t slide free in the open position.

    Growling, Victor summoned his great bear totem with inspiration-attuned Energy. The monstrous creature stepped out of a cloud of shimmering, white-gold mist, a deep rumble of greeting in his throat. A yelp from the other side of him, near the stairs, told Victor that Nia had noticed his massivepanion, so he called out, ¡°Don¡¯t worry; he¡¯s here to watch my back, too.¡±

    ¡°As you say, Lord,¡± Nia¡¯s voice came to him from beyond the bulk of his friend.

    ¡°Okay, <em>hermano</em>, you sit in front of that door and don¡¯t let anyone close it on me, <emprende</em>?¡±

    The bear huffed, pressing his enormous forehead down and into Victor¡¯s shoulder, then he stepped back and ponderouslyid down before the door. There was no way anyone was going to swing that thing shut without making a hell of a scene trying to move hispanion. Nodding, Victor steeled himself and stepped into the weird, round chamber, ready to try to figure out the mystery of the humanoid corpse wearing Dunstan¡¯s crown.

 Book 6: Chapter 40: A Need for Clarity

    Book 6: Chapter 40: A Need for rity

    The air in the spherical chamber was moist and warm, and Victor hated breathing it into his lungs. Nheless, he walked in and let his gaze drift over the rune-inscribed walls, floors, and ceiling. With nothing else to focus on, he stepped toward the body in the silver chair and the crystal globe suspended above it. Victor had seen plenty of undead, and though they often looked much like a corpse, much like the body before him, they always had some sort of aura, an Energy that gave their deathly aspect some palpable vitality. This body was inert, of that he was certain.

    Was it Dunstan? Victor found himself asking the question repeatedly as he took in the frail, withered form. He supposed it could be. This is what the man might have looked like sans his transformation into a wampyr. How would he ever know? Even if he could test DNA, he didn¡¯t have a sample from the previous monster before it was reduced to ash and left buried in the depths of the catbs. ¡°The crown,¡± he muttered. It was the only real clue he had¡ªthat and the hole where the corpse¡¯s heart should be. Why would nothing but the key to this chamber remain in the ashes of the wampyr? The crown hadn¡¯t been there; it was here.

    With dread sending a chill down his spine, he lifted a hand toward the weird, crudely inscribed stone circle. The artifact certainly didn¡¯t match the aesthetic of the silver sphere. Its stone material was one thing, but its sharp, angr runes were also at odds with the borate, fanciful text scribed on every square inch of the sphere. When his flesh touched the stone, his mind shed with images of Dunstan¡¯s wampyr form wearing it, loomingrge with lustful red eyes. He couldn¡¯t tell if it was just his memory jumping to recollections of his battle or if the crown really projected them.

    It was cold to the touch but thrummed with Energy, a powerful artifact indeed. ¡°But what do you do?¡± Victor whispered, running his fingertips along the rough, sharp runes. Was it alive? Did a spirit dwell within? Did he dare try to bond with it? Victor had undoubtedly done some impulsive things in his day, but the idea seemed like madness, even to him; there was no hurry here, no reason he had to make a breakthrough with this strange, ancient-seeming artifact. No, he decided, it was better to wait and have someone with more knowledge evaluate the thing first. In any case, he was careful with it. He lifted it from the desated scalp, leaving behind imprinted gray flesh and wisps of white, dead hair.

    Victor found a leather strap in one of his rings and tied it around the heavy crown, hooking it to his belt so it dangled near his hip. On the off chance that it was alive, he didn¡¯t want to risk damaging the spirit within by putting it into a dimensional container. Victor studied the naked, withered corpse for another moment, then gripped it by the shoulder and dragged it off the metal chair. He took it to the doorway and threw it out of the room to crumple against the stone wall beyond. He didn¡¯t know what this silver room was for, but he wouldn¡¯t leave that thing in there. He had a vague notion that the sphere was meant to reanimate the dead wampyr somehow, and he didn¡¯t want to leave any possibility that it might have some crazy potential to bring Dunstan¡¯s spirit back to the body and restore him with vigor.

    He studied the room carefully one more time, and, not seeing anything else of note, he backed out and swung the door shut. He grabbed the key and twisted it counterclockwise to relock the door, and when it hadpleted its full circuit, Victor felt some give as though he could continue twisting it. ¡°Hmm,¡± he muttered and turned the key further to the left, eliciting one more click out of it. The silver metal shed brightly with Energy, and then the key was yanked out of his hand as the door, and the room to which it was attached, began to shrink rapidly. It was so fast and red so brightly that when Victor¡¯s vision cleared, he was stunned to see the key, still attached to the jeweled chain, sitting in the center of the original stone-walled room of the tower.

    Stepping toward it, Victor saw, upon closer inspection, that the key no longer ended in its original four prongs but had a small round, silver ball at that end¡ªthe room. It had shrunk down to the size of arge marble. Victor picked it up and looked over his shoulder at his big bear totem, apparently asleep with its gigantic head on its front paws. Shrugging, he hung the chain and key over his head and stuffed them down inside his armor, another object he¡¯d need someone with the proper talents to identify.

    ¡°Lord Victor!¡± Nia¡¯s voice came to him from beyond his giant, sleepingpanion.

    ¡°Yeah?¡± He waved a hand at his bear, releasing the creature from this realm.

    As he strode through the mist left behind, Nia called out again, unaware that he was mere steps from her, ¡°Some of your people are at the gate!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good! Do me a favor and burn this corpse while I go see who it is.¡± When Victor mounted the steps, he saw another soldier leaning forward, hands on knees, trying to regain his breath. ¡°Did you sprint all the way up here?¡±

    ¡°Aye, Lord.¡±

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Victor waved as he bounded down the steps, leaving Nia and the other soldier watching him with wide eyes. He was in the courtyard in less than a minute, jogging toward the inner gate, then across the bailey to the big curtain wall. He hollered, ¡°Open up!¡± as he drew near. He slowed as he entered the gatehouse tunnel, standing under hundreds of tons of stone and the murder holes above his head. Somewhere within, he heard the winss creak, and then the massive gate bar lifted up and away from the gates. As soon as it was clear, Victor grabbed the handle and pulled the right half open.

    He''d barely pulled it halfway before an armor-d woman with a shiny helm and bright teal eyes smashed into him, hugging him with a ferocity that made Victorugh as he stumbled back against the wall. ¡°I missed you too!¡±

    ¡°Idiot! For days, we¡¯ve been marching, and for days, I¡¯ve been dreading what I¡¯d find. You couldn¡¯t send word?¡±

    ¡°Edeya has my book!¡±

    ¡°What about these soldiers you conscripted?¡±

    ¡°I only just got here! I¡¯ve been unconscious for most of that time!¡± Victor¡¯sugh had faded, and he spoke soothingly, still squeezing Va close. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, okay, but I¡¯m d you¡¯re here. Come on, let¡¯s go inside, and I¡¯ll fill you in.¡± He¡¯d been leaning slightly down, speaking into the side of Va¡¯s helm, and when he looked up, he saw Kethelket, Lam, and Edeya waiting in the gateway. ¡°Hi, everyone! It¡¯s great to see you all. You especially, Kethelket; I wasn¡¯t sure you made it out, but I had a feeling you had.¡± He smiled down at Va again, then turned and motioned for everyone to follow him. ¡°It¡¯s good that you all didn¡¯t attack. I mean, I¡¯m d you waited at the gate and didn¡¯t kill any of our new soldiers.¡±

    ¡°Well, your banner was flying, and we could tell you imed the keep, so it would have been madness to assault it without checking what had happened.¡± Va entwined her fingers in his while she spoke, and they led the way through the gatehouse.

    As they walked, Kethelket spoke, raising his voice to be heard from behind Edeya and Lam, ¡°Victor, we fought free quickly, my kin and I. I want you to know that most of my rescued brothers and sisters wanted to rush to your aid, but I wouldn¡¯t allow it. They were wounded, stripped of their gear, and many foes were left between us and you. Taking stock, I remembered your words and felt it prudent to bring them to safety. Tell me, though, how came you to the soldiers patrolling the walls above?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡± Victor slowed in the baily so that Kethelket could walk beside him. ¡°Let me see if I can give you a brief version¡ªI killed Dunstan deep underground after a pretty good fight. Due to some impulsiveness on my part, I ended up losing consciousness for a handful of days. When I found my way out of the depths and back to the keep, all the wampyrs were dead, even those I hadn¡¯t killed with my axe. Dunstan¡¯s true followers died when he died. Some of his soldiers, more thralls than true believers, who hadn¡¯t yet grown into fully undead creatures, regained their humanity. I mean, they returned to their true selves, their living bodies, and healthy spirits.¡± Victor guided the others through the inner gatehouse.

    ¡°I gave them the option to flee to the north, seeking their freedom in thends beyond the pass, or to join us in the destruction of these undead invaders. Not a single one of them opted to flee, and they all swore loyalty to me.¡± He nced over his shoulder at the faces of the others, expecting objections, but they were surprisingly calm and introspective. ¡°Kethelket, the survivors gathered all the treasure and gear they could find from the dead wampyrs. I bet your people¡¯s things are among them.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± He nodded, but his eyes were distant. ¡°I¡¯m pleased that you¡¯ve given these people a chance to redeem themselves. I know what it means to serve an evil master.¡±

    Victor frowned, wondering how far he should go with the thought that had struck him. Should he voice it? Toote to pull it back, his mouth started almost of its own ord, ¡°That¡¯s good, Kethelket, but keep in mind that these people were raised like cattle, enved by the vampiric asshole who owned thends where they lived. They didn¡¯t want to join his army, and they definitely didn¡¯t want his ¡®gift.¡¯ I wish I could do more for them than give them a chance to kill more of the monsters from their home world, but it¡¯s the best I could do.¡±

    ¡°Understood, Victor. Sir.¡± The tone in his voice almost made Victor regret his words, but he felt it was an important distinction. These people had no redeeming to do; they had vengeance to seek. He felt Va¡¯s hand tighten on his and let the matter drop. He had Kethelket¡¯s support, and that¡¯s what mattered.

    ¡°Anyway, I imed the keep, and I took the treasures the System doled out. After I have them identified, if I don¡¯t need them, I¡¯ll either put them in the campaign store or gift them to people.¡±

    ¡°Well deserved.¡± Lam pped him on the shoulder as they stepped into the courtyard. Many of the former thralls were present, watching to see the leaders of the army they¡¯d be joining, perhaps wondering if someone would talk Victor out of his decision to wee them. He hated the idea that they had to worry about their future, that they didn¡¯t feel secure in their ce.

    ¡°Edeya, I have work for you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m ready!¡± She stepped forward, and Victor was once again struck by the beautiful changes in her appearance due to her new bloodline. Her wings were dazzling, and she just seemed so much more . . . everything¡ªconfident, powerful, capable. It all added up to a weight of presence that just hadn¡¯t been there before.

    ¡°First, where¡¯s Sarl?¡±

    ¡°With the Ninth, ready to rush to our rescue should we need it.¡±

    ¡°Lam, can you go ahead and give him the all-clear? Have him get his soldiers in here, and let¡¯s set up some duty rotations.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Lam looked around, sighing heavily, perhaps annoyed that she¡¯d been the one selected to y messenger girl. ¡°On my way. Save a drink for me; I want to hear about your battles!¡±

    ¡°I''ll wait for you!¡± Victorughed, watching her turn andunch herself into the sky. ¡°Edeya,e over here. I want you to meet Agnes.¡± Victor walked over to where Agnes still sat with her two assistants, going through equipment and jewels, many of which must have been dimensional containers. Va and Kethelket kept pace, clearly interested in what he¡¯d have Edeya do. ¡°Edeya, this is Agnes, and she¡¯s been cataloging not only these items but also the soldiers who swore fealty to me. I want you to look at her notes and help with the process. Can you do that for me?¡±

    ¡°Of course, sir.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Victor made eye contact with Agnes and added, ¡°Edeya is a very old friend as well as a high-ranking lieutenant in our army. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Aye, Lord.¡± Agnes stood up straight, eyes on Edeya, waiting for her toe forward and take charge of the process. Victor nodded and led Kethelket and Va away from the group, leaving them to their work. When they stood rtively alone near the stairs leading into the keep, he turned to Va. ¡°Is it too much to hope that you brought my travel home?¡±

    ¡°I did. After we imed ck Keep, we marched, and I brought it with us, not knowing if we¡¯d return.¡±

    ¡°You imed it? Good! What about Borrius and Rellia?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ve imed Rust Keep and are now besieging the southernmost outpost. They¡¯re calling it High Keep because it sits high in a pass that controls ess to the south beyond these contestednds. The legion has it surrounded, having left garrisons in Old Keep and Rust Keep, but are waiting on word of you and the Ninth beforemitting to an attack. Additionally, they have eyes on the two citadels that guard ess to Hector¡¯s base of operations¡ªthe walled town that sits atop the mountain beneath the green star.¡±

    ¡°Damn! They¡¯ve been busy. So, we¡¯ve locked down four of the five outposts? Any word from the pass? Are our people doing well? Any word from the Empire?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s expand your house and go within before we speak further. Briefly, though, our people in the northern pass are well. I believe Edeya has correspondence for you from Tha.¡± Va dug around in her belt pouch and pulled out the little jade rectangle of his travel home. ¡°I¡¯m d you gave me permissions with this.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, me too, but I guess it would¡¯ve been safe in ck Keep. You all left a garrison?¡± Victor moved further toward the corner of the courtyard, looking for a good spot to set the house down.

    ¡°Of course! Kethelket left nearly a hundred of his people, those who needed rest, and Sarl left fifty of his soldiers behind.

    Victor grunted, setting the jade down and activating it. As it thumped and jumped around, he backed up. ¡°It¡¯s good I got us another hundred soldiers here, then.¡±

    Va opened her mouth to say something but seemed to change her mind, looking around the courtyard. ¡°Let¡¯s get inside,¡± she said instead, nodding to Victor¡¯s fully-expanded travel home.

    ¡°Right.¡± He stepped up to the door, pulling it open. Pausing, he nced back toward the gate to see if the Ninth was making their way inside yet but didn¡¯t see any activity. Victor was a little worried about how the troops would respond to the new recruits, but he could trust Sarl to maintain order, couldn¡¯t he? Growling with annoyance, he said, ¡°Hang on a minute.¡± He looked down at Va and met her eyes. ¡°Are you wanting to get me inside so you can try to talk me out of adding these folks to our army?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly, but couldn¡¯t we discuss . . .¡±

    ¡°Nah, this isn¡¯t going to work like this. I need to talk to everyone. I think there¡¯s a need for some rity about these people. Kethelket, will you please fly out and meet Sarl and Lam? I¡¯d like the cohort assembled in the bailey. I have words for everyone.¡±

    Kethelket looked at Victor, his dark eyes narrowing as understanding clicked in his mind. ¡°Of course, Victor. Consider it done.¡± With that, he spread his wings; they fluttered, and he streaked up and over the inner wall.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on, Victor?¡± Va¡¯s voice was hushed, subdued.

    ¡°I love you, Va, but the prejudices and traditions of Fanwath rub me the wrong way sometimes. I need to make a few things very clear to the soldiers and officers about our new soldiers and about how things will be going forward.¡±

    Va stepped back, her mouth closed, lips in a straight line, and Victor could tell she felt rebuked. It wasn¡¯t what he¡¯d wanted, but he didn¡¯t want to go into the privacy of his house and have her start in on him about how he couldn¡¯t trust all of the former thralls. He didn¡¯t want to hear it because he wouldn¡¯t agree but also because he wanted to have a sliver of fantasy in his mind that she wouldn¡¯t do that. ¡°As you say. I¡¯ll take my ce with the troops.¡± She turned stiffly and began to walk away, but Victor took another step and reached down to grab her hand.

    ¡°I feel like you missed the first part of what I said. I love you, Va. Come on, stand by my side and hear my words. I¡¯ll listen to you afterward if you have objections, okay? I promise.¡±

    She nced up at him and quickly nced down, perhaps not wanting him to see the moisture in her eyes. She nodded, though, and squeezed his hand back, so he took the win. Striding to the center of the inner courtyard, Victor raised his voice and shouted, ¡°Perry, Nia, Agnes, and every other survivor of Dunstan and his wampyrs, get down here and line up!¡± As the former thralls nearby scurried to obey hismand, Victor walked up to Edeya. ¡°Put that stuff on hold a minute. We need to have a bit of a briefing out in the bailey. Would you mind going to stand with Lam and Sarl?¡±

    ¡°On my way, sir!¡± Edeya winked at him, letting him know her old self was still in there, as she fluttered her new wings and lifted into the air, showering him and Va with beautiful, blue motes of Energy. Victor turned to see most of the new soldiers already forming ranks in the courtyard, many of them watching Edeya fly away with wonder in their eyes. He imagined such a sight wasn¡¯t something they might witness in a dark, undead world.

    ¡°Listen up, soldiers!¡± Victor said, turning and holding Va¡¯s hand aloft. ¡°This is Va ap¡¯Yensha, the Tribune Primus of our army, and if that doesn¡¯t mean much to you, you need to be aware that she¡¯s the third highest-ranking officer in the entire legion.¡± The former thralls weren¡¯t disciplined in the way that ordinary soldiers were¡ªthey¡¯d been controlled by fear and magic their entire lives. Still, they stood still and straight, gazing at Va with wonder and admiration in in their eyes, and Victor felt Va tighten her grip when she looked into their faces.

    She gave his hand one more squeeze, then let go and, lifting her voice to be heard, she said, ¡°I¡¯m very pleased to meet you all, and I¡¯m pleased that you¡¯re joining our cause. I have much to learn about your kind and each of you, but you can believe that if your Legate Primus here,¡± she nodded to Victor, ¡°has vouched for you, then everyone in this army will respect you.¡±

    Victor felt his grin growing wide as she spoke. ¡°That¡¯s right. Now, form a single file line and follow me into the bailey. Your brothers and sisters at arms need to meet you, and I have some words of introduction for all to hear.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 41: Post-Mortem

    Book 6: Chapter 41: Post-Mortem

    Victor stood before the ranks of the ninth cohort, running his eyes up and down their rows. They were tough-looking men and women. Every single one of them, from the smallest, slightest Ghelli to the biggest, most muscr Shadeni, looked like they could handle themselves. They each bore scars and carried experience in their eyes. Many wore ribbons and medals on their chests. Some wore awards from previous campaigns in the Imperial Legion, but most only disyed what they¡¯d earned during the campaign, and, in this cohort, almost everyone had won des.

    About half of them had earned multiple medals for the battle with the Ridonne. During the weeks of travel from Persi Gables to the Untamed Marches, the legion quartermaster, with his many assistants, had been hard at work creating more medals and ribbons to be handed out after further skirmishes and battles. Sarl¡¯s lieutenants had been busy awarding them for the cohort¡¯s many victories against the undead. Victor saw silver battlememorations, red-ribboned medals for valor, blue for sustaining injuries, and gold medals for exceptional prowess, usually measured in enemies killed. The Glorious Ninth were the most decorated men and women in the legion, of that Victor was sure, even not having seen all that Rellia and Borrius had taken the rest of the army through in thest week.

    While the cohort stood at attention, quiet, ready to hear his words, Victor turned his gaze over his shoulder to see the ck-d men and women who¡¯d survived their existence as thralls under Dunstan. It was a much smaller group, about a sixth as many as were lined up facing them, but they were solid, serious-looking people. Of course, they were all human, so they had a size advantage on the Ardeni and Ghelli and certainly on the asional goat-like Cadwalli and the diminutive Bogoli. Victor thought about that briefly while he let his eyes run along their number¡ªthese were the first non-undead humans he¡¯d run into other than his cousin, Olivia.

    How strange! It was weird toy eyes on so many men and women who didn¡¯t have red or blue skin, who didn¡¯t have brightly colored eyes or hair or horns or wings, or any of the other myriad oddities that he¡¯d grown ustomed to in his time on Fanwath. Still, it was in that these people¡¯s ancestors hade from Earth. They, too, stared back at him quietly, waiting for him to speak. He locked eyes with Perry for a moment and offered a brief nod before turning back to the cohort. He looked to the left, ncing over to Sarl and the heavily cowled figure beside him¡ªVictoria. He was d she hadn¡¯t tried to flee; he had questions for her. Beside them were Edeya, Kethelket, Lam, and now Va, as she finished walking over and turned, standing shoulder to shoulder with Lam. Suddenly, he felt nervous.

    Victor frowned, reminding himself of who he was. He was the man who¡¯d delved into the dark, twisting depths below this very keep. He¡¯d descended into the nest of wampyrs and single-handedly in most of their number. Then he¡¯d battled, deep underground, their evil lord and freed this keep and the people behind him. He was Victor, the man who¡¯d faced down a thousand reavers and bought time for these other men and women to arrive on the field, saving the fifth cohort. He was the man who¡¯d led these people to victory against the Ridonne, ying their champion from another world or dimension. He had no need to be nervous; these soldiers loved him. Many had said as much. They¡¯d listen to him, and his words would be well-received. He was sure of it.

    Victor reached into his Core and opened his pathways to a flood of inspiration-attuned Energy, using it to cast Inspiration of the Quinametzin. As the white-gold Energy spread through him and radiated out, touching every soldier assembled in the bailey, he saw eyes light up, smiles widen, and understanding sh across their faces¡ªit was obvious why they were there; it was time for Victor to exin who the men and women lined up behind him were. ¡°Brave, tireless Ninth!¡± he began, speaking in a loud, clear voice.

    He wasn¡¯t titan-sized. He was just Victor, a manrger than life with or without his titanic aspect. He stood before them, decked out in his shimmering magical wyrm-scale armor and his massive, intimidating Helm of the Kethian Juggernaut. With the bright light of inspiration running through his mind, Victor knew it didn¡¯t matter what size he made himself; these soldiers respected him. They¡¯d seen him put himself on the line for them again and again. They not only would listen to him, but they wanted to. They wanted to please him. He suddenly realized that this wouldn¡¯t be difficult at all; his nervous energy was from his fear, and it had no ce here.

    Everyone stood quietly, so still that a distant observer might think they were statues. Victor nodded and continued, ¡°Thank you for rushing to this keep, ready toe to my aid. As you can see, Dunstan is dead. His ugly, undead wampyrs are dead, and the keep is ours.¡± He paused a moment as some of the more exuberant soldiers began to whoop and cheer. He smiled, nodded, then lifted a hand, and they grew quiet. ¡°When I killed the foul creature that ruled in this keep, some of his thralls were set free from his control.¡± He turned and held out a hand as though presenting the humans lined up behind him.

    ¡°I know it¡¯s easy to be suspicious of them. These are men and women who, not long ago, might have been forced to fight against you. I think it¡¯s important that you all understand the hell they¡¯ve been through. On the world of Dark Ember, where Hector and his undead servantse from, people like these,¡± again he gestured to the one-time thralls, ¡°are allowed to live small lives in viges. They¡¯re controlled by bullies, not unlike the Ridonne, but a thousand times worse. Whenever the vampiric lords want fresh meat or soldiers for their armies, theye to the vige and take them. They don¡¯t offer riches and power; they don¡¯t convince them to sign up. They simply take them, infect them with the dark magic of their vampiric bloodline, and force them to be monsters like those you and I have been fighting.¡±

    ¡°It seems the curse takes time to grow roots in a person¡¯s soul, to really grab hold and twist their spirits into undead things. These men and women behind me were the lucky few who hadn¡¯t been fully consumed by it. Whether consciously or with some instinct for survival, they¡¯d been fighting against it. When Dunstan died, his magic fled their blood, and they became normal, living people again. More than that, they have a thirst for vengeance in their blood! They remember the vile things Dunstan and his kind have done to them, their families, and loved ones. They want justice! I offered them freedom. I offered them the chance to flee this war. Every single one of them chose to stay and fight. They want to see that green star snuffed out! They want to feel the undead break beneath the blows of their weapons!¡±

    Again, Victor paused, looking left to right, up and down the ranks, meeting many eyes, looking for dissension. He didn¡¯t find any. ¡°Can I count on you, Glorious Ninth? Can I count on you to take these new soldiers under your wing? Will you teach them the ways of our legion? Will you help them fill your ranks? You won¡¯t find fiercerpanions! Nia,e here.¡± Victor turned and watched as the tall, scarred woman stepped forward stiffly, her broad shoulders pulled back. Her eyes were nervous, but Victor saw the spark in them, the same light that had made him want to ensure his people would treat her and her kind fairly. ¡°Nia, how many loved ones have the wampyr and their kind taken from you?¡±

    ¡°All, Lord. More than I like to think about to count.¡±

    ¡°What does it mean to you to join the Ninth here?¡±

    ¡°Everything, Lord!¡± She spoke with breathless passion, eyes bright, springing with tears as she looked upon the assembled soldiers, her desire to be one of them so in, so desperate, that it was palpable.

    ¡°Thank you, Nia.¡± Victor turned back to the line of ck-d former thralls. ¡°Let me see your fists in the air if you have a score to settle with Lord Hector!¡± He watched as they each lifted their fists, scowling fiercely, perhaps thinking of one lost family member or another, perhaps remembering being treated as cattle. Victor nodded and turned back to the cohort. ¡°Well? Can I count on you?¡±

    ¡°YES!¡± they thundered, mming their fists to their chests in a vigorous salute.

    ¡°Captain Sarl.¡± Victor locked gazes with him until he stepped forward and saluted.

    ¡°Legate, sir!¡±

    ¡°Get your lieutenants together and work these new soldiers into your unit rosters. Take their oaths of service and assign them a partner, someone who will be there to guide them through the many customs and routines of our legion.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir! Lieutenants! Step forward!¡±

    Victor nodded, then lifted his voice again. ¡°Thank you, Ninth! I¡¯m counting on you to make this work. I¡¯m counting on you to help these men and women find the justice they seek.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    ¡°That was a good thing you did, if a bit awkward for your recruits.¡± Lam pulled out a chair at the table and sat down, smiling across at Victor and Va. Edeya and Kethelket took seats on either side of her.

    ¡°Awkward?¡± Victor nodded. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know how I envisioned it in my head, but I suppose putting them all on the spot like that, on disy, I guess, was a little rough. Still, I wanted the army to know how I felt. I didn¡¯t want there to be any doubt that if they held grudges or conspired against the former thralls, they¡¯d be acting against my wishes.¡± He turned to Sarl, thest of them still standing, leaning on the chair to Va¡¯s left. ¡°Did I put you in a bad spot, Captain?¡±

    ¡°Not at all. I need the bodies. If you trust them, then I trust them. Besides, they¡¯re signing the same contract the rest of us did.¡±

    ¡°Good. That¡¯s the attitude I was hoping for.¡± Victor nced around, noting the silence from everyone else, especially feeling it from Va. He knew she¡¯d meant to argue caution with the new troops, but he¡¯d put her in an impossible position to do so with his public disy of eptance. Now, he supposed, they would all wait and find out if he¡¯d been short-sighted. It was fine with him. As Sarl said, the former thralls were all signing a contract, and he believed their sincerity when it came to their desire to fight their former masters. ¡°Enough about them. Where¡¯s Victoria?¡±

    Sarl gestured toward the front door. ¡°She¡¯s waiting for you to call her in. I told her we had strategy to discuss and you¡¯d call for her when you were ready.¡±

    ¡°Good. Edeya, any word from Rellia and Borrius?¡±

    ¡°Yes! They¡¯re thrilled to hear of your sess here. They still hold the High Keep under siege. Borrius is reviewing strategic options but has some ideas. Rellia fears that if you bring the ninth cohort to support them, we¡¯ll make it easy for Hector to make a counterstrike against one of the outposts we¡¯ve secured. Borrius is in agreement and even thinks we should perhaps start putting pressure on one of the citadels, relieving them of the worry of undead reinforcementsing to High Keep.¡±

    ¡°What about the ¡®baron¡¯ there? Isn¡¯t he some gargantuan flesh-shaping guy, the one Victoria thought mighte to ck Keep to attack us?¡±

    ¡°Yes, they¡¯ve had sightings and encounters with his constructs. So far, Polo Vosh and Rellia have risen to the asion. It seems the legion outnumbers Karl the Crimson¡¯s forces handily, and though he has some powerful units, he¡¯s loath to send them out, not after he lost many in his first engagement.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just Polo and Rellia,¡± Lam interjected. ¡°There are hundreds of rank four and higher individuals with the legion. Even considering their average level is lower than the Ninth¡¯s, they¡¯ve had little difficulty wiping out the undead chaff. Only a few of this Karl fellow¡¯s units are a significant threat, and, so far, the legion has had the numbers to neutralize them with ease, usually with the help of well-nned control magic.¡±

    ¡°Aye,¡± Edeya nodded. ¡°It seems they¡¯re quite weak to certain elemental magics.¡±

    ¡°So, we leave them to wrap up that siege and move against one of the citadels. How are they situated with regard to the teau where Hector¡¯s base is?¡± Victor took out a nk piece of parchment and began to draw the contestednds between the mountains and the Silver Sea. On the northern edge, he drew a square andbeled it Old Keep. Then he shaded in a forest southwest of it and drew ck Keep in the center. Mentally tracing the path he¡¯d taken on Guapo, he drew in the square for the Sea Keep, and then on the eastern edge, he made a square for Rust Keep. To the south, before the second row of mountains, he made a square for High Keep. Finally, at the center, he drew a representation of a big, t-topped mountain andbeled it Hector.

    ¡°The citadels are here and here,¡± Edeya said, leaning forward and pointing to the northern side of the teau. ¡°They¡¯re near each other, connected via an enormous, vaulted span. Either can send troops to support the other.¡±

    ¡°And they guard the only road up the teau,¡± Lam added.

    ¡°That¡¯s inconvenient for us, but it also limits Hector; he can¡¯t easily send troops out unless they go down that road.¡± Va leaned forward and pointed. ¡°If we¡¯re besieging them or even making feints and ambushes around those citadels, Borrius and Rellia will be free to finish with High Keep.¡±

    ¡°Guys . . .¡± Victor took a deep breath and shook his head. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because I haven¡¯tid eyes on it, but I have a hard time believing some undead invader with powerful magic would be stuck using roads. Can¡¯t he have his minions carve a path down the side of the mountain elsewhere? Come to think of it, can¡¯t we carve a path up?¡±

    ¡°Certainly.¡± Kethelket nodded but kept speaking, ¡°But I¡¯ve had scouts observe the ce, and it¡¯s not what you might be picturing. It¡¯s more a tremendous mountain with sheer rock walls and cliffs that rise to a concave mountain top. I can see why people are calling it a teau¡ªthe area on the top is significant. However, there were simr peaks on Kthe before the worlds were joined. I think those who describe it as a dormant volcano are more correct.¡± He stood and began to pace as he continued to speak, ¡°I¡¯m not saying your point doesn¡¯t stand, but it would be a massive undertaking to create a new roadway of any significance down or up the side of that peak. If I¡¯m not mistaken, Borrius has stationed scouts to observe the slopes; we¡¯ll be well warned if Hector begins work upon a new egress from his base.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not mistaken.¡± Edeya tapped themand book, indicating she had the reports avable to read.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Victor sat back and folded his arms before his chest. ¡°How long will it take to get the Ninth into a position to harass those citadels?¡±

    Sarl cleared his throat to respond. ¡°It took us five days to get here from ck Keep, but Victor, the soldiers are exhausted. We double-timed it and only slept in four-hour shifts. I rmend the opposite as we move toward the citadels. We should travel slowly with plenty of time for rest and drills at the end of each day¡¯s march. We still need to integrate your recruits. Considering the distance, linearly, is a bit smaller than the march to ck Keep, I¡¯d estimate a seven-day journey.¡±

    ¡°We should be able to do that,¡± Lam chimed in. ¡°We must have bought ourselves some downtime, destroying so many of the invaders¡¯ armies. Consider the horde that burned to ash in the forest. Consider that four of Hector¡¯s five barons have fallen. If he¡¯s raising an army of undead to try to take back some territory, he can¡¯t possibly do so faster than that. Kethelket?¡±

    ¡°I agree. I know a thing or two about Death Casters, and even if this Hector is twice what Belikot was, it would take months to raise a significant force, something that could truly challenge the legion. However, that doesn¡¯t consider the forces he has avable at the citadels or in his base. It doesn¡¯t take into ount more troops he might pull through the portal. Even so, I think seven days is an appropriate pace. What¡¯s the alternative? Pushing the Ninth to the point of breaking? As tough as they are, they¡¯re mortal and require rest.¡±

    ¡°Okay. So, numbers-wise, we¡¯ve got how many troops?¡± Victor looked at Sarl for the answer.

    ¡°We have a hundred or so Naghelli, the ones who didn¡¯t stay behind at ck Keep. We have five-hundred and sixty-two soldiers in the Ninth, not counting the hundred-plus recruits you just got for us.¡±

    ¡°Victor,¡± Edeya spoke up, hot on Sarl¡¯s heels.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°There are more than a cohort¡¯s-worth of soldiers at the pass. Tha wrote to you in the book, and that was one of the things she mentioned. You should read her message, by the way, some of it was more personal.¡±

    Victor mentally made a note to read the message. ¡°Does that include the Shadeni tribe?¡±

    ¡°No! Borrius left behind many of the extra troops who¡¯d been swelling the cohorts on the march, and there¡¯s been a steady influx of fortune-seekersing over the pass.¡±

    Victor looked to his right, locking eyes with Va. ¡°Thoughts?¡±

    ¡°We should call for reinforcements. We should bolster the Ninth to a double cohort. Have six hundred of the highest-level soldiers at the pass meet us at the citadels.¡±

    ¡°I like the sound of that. Sarl?¡±

    ¡°It would be easy to double-up unit numbers. I could keep the samemand structure in ce.¡±

    ¡°Kind of the beauty of the legion structure,¡± Lam added. ¡°Cohorts are often bolstered like that depending on the assignment.¡±

    Victor nodded, looking at Edeya. ¡°The troops at the pass have been drilling? They know themands?¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course. Most of them were drilling with the legion all the way here during the march.¡±

    ¡°Right. Okay, I¡¯ll leave that to you, Sarl and Lam. Coordinate the meet-up. Now, I have one more request, Sarl. When ites time to leave behind a hundred soldiers to garrison this keep, take volunteers. I¡¯d like those who are most weary, those who could use a break from the constant fighting, to stay here. I promised the former thralls that they¡¯d be brought to the front line, that they¡¯d get a chance at spilling some undead blood.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡°Okay. I want hourly watch rotations this afternoon and tonight so that no one has to be on duty for long. Let¡¯s let the soldiers rx and celebrate a little; they deserve it.¡± Victor smiled at the people around the table and added, ¡°You all deserve it. I¡¯m so lucky to have such dependable,petent friends leading this army.¡±

    ¡°Here, here!¡± Lamughed, pounding a fist on the table.

    ¡°Well said!¡± Kethelket nodded, inhaling deeply through his nose and sitting up straighter.

    Va reached under the table and grasped Victor¡¯s hand, squeezing it tightly. Her cool fingers against his hot flesh brought to mind another matter, and he added, ¡°When you march tomorrow, Va and I will stay behind.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Edeya was the first to respond, eyes wide, voice rising with a tinge of panic.

    ¡°Rx!¡± heughed. ¡°I don¡¯t mean permanently. We¡¯re going to use these.¡± Victor fished the two ¡°apples of evolution¡± out of his ring and set them on the table. ¡°I received these when I imed the keep, and I¡¯m . . . iming them. Va will, of course, object,¡± he chuckled and winked at her, ¡°but she deserves one. I¡¯m eating the other because I have to keep advancing, too, regardless of my current strength. We don¡¯t know what Hector or his closest subordinates will be like. I have to be strong.¡±

    ¡°What are they?¡± Sarl leaned close, looking at the foil-wrapped fruit.

    ¡°Apples of Evolution, whatever that is. I¡¯m assuming racial advancements.¡±

    ¡°Victor, I . . .¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I already say you¡¯d object? Overruled.¡± Victor squeezed her hand.

    ¡°He¡¯s right, Va.¡± Lam reached over the table and took Va¡¯s other hand. ¡°You¡¯re too selfless, and you¡¯re often in the thick of things with Victor. I¡¯ve even pushed my race to advanced. What are you? Still in the improved ranks, yeah?¡±

    ¡°I, too, am at the advanced stage.¡± Kethelket nodded.

    ¡°Well, I . . .¡± Sarl chuckled and shook his head.

    ¡°You need to spend some of the campaign tokens you¡¯ve earned, buddy,¡± Victorughed. ¡°Okay,¡± Victor smiled and nodded at Va as she bit back further objections, ¡°it¡¯s settled, then. We¡¯ll eat these apples here, then haul ass on Guapo to rejoin you all. Oh!¡± He paused and snapped his fingers, reaching back into his dimensional storage container. He retrieved the silver, rune-etched spyss and held it up. ¡°Before we end the meeting, help me figure out what this thing does.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 42: Relationships

    Book 6: Chapter 42: Rtionships

    After their meeting, when everyone had had their fill of talk and drink, and things going forward were settled, Victor walked hismand staff to the front door to say goodnight. On the way, as they passed by the short hallway leading to his library, Edeya tugged Victor¡¯s sleeve and asked, ¡°Could I speak to you for a minute? It¡¯s about the message from Tha.¡±

    Va had been walking beside him, and she squeezed his hand briefly before stepping forward. ¡°I¡¯ll show the others out.¡±

    ¡°All right. Night, all!¡± Victor called, smiling stupidly¡ªVa had produced a bottle of brandy she¡¯d been hanging onto from Coloss, and Victor had enjoyed it a bit too much. He followed Edeya into the library and, on a whim, lifted the little spyss, focusing it on her. A green halo limned her body almost immediately as the ss magically rified the image. They¡¯d figured out the little artifact¡¯s purpose, or at least one of them, while sitting around the table. It seemed to indicate the strength of the people observed through it, rtive to the viewer, with a crude, if effective, color system.

    When Victor had studied the soldiers outside, almost all had been green, like Edeya, but he¡¯d gotten some more clues when he¡¯d looked at Va, Lam, and Kethelket. They¡¯d all been shades of blue. The real breakthrough hade when he¡¯d handed the spyss to Va, and she¡¯d seen him as deep crimson, Lam and Kethelket as pale yellow, Edeya as pale blue, and Sarl as green.

    Victor was shaken from his thoughts of the spyss when he walked into the big map table, stumbled, and nearly dropped the little scope. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Edeyaughed.

    ¡°Heh, fine.¡± He shook his head, grinning, and slipped the spyss back into his storage ring. Edeya produced a thick Farscribe book and held it close to her chest, hugging her arms around it. She seemed nervous to him, like she was struggling to find the right words. ¡°Spit it out, <em>chica.</em>¡± He knew calling her that would break the tension.

    ¡°Back to that, are we?¡± Sheughed, then set the book down on the big table. ¡°Well, I wanted to let you read this message from Tha. There are two Farscribe books at the pass that they¡¯re using to stay in touch with the legion, this one that I carry and another that Lieutenant Darro carries for Rellia and Borrius.¡± Edeya flipped the book to one of the most recent entries, and Victor saw some paragraphs of Tha¡¯s sharp-angled handwriting addressed to him. Edeya pointed to a note at the bottom of the page, ¡°Edeya, please pull the next page from the book and give it to Victor so he can write back when he has a minute.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Victor nodded, his buzz fading as he began to worry about what the hell Tha had written to make Edeya so nervous.

    ¡°Yeah, she even wrote on the top of the page.¡± Edeya pointed to the next page where, neatly printed on the top, were the words, <em>This Page For Victor¡¯s Use.</em> Without further ado, Edeya ripped the page out along with the previous page where Tha¡¯s message was written.

    ¡°They¡¯ll still work?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. These two pages will still reflect the words written on them with the ones in the copy back at the pass.¡± Edeya smiled, then gripped Victor by the back of the arm, squeezing gently. ¡°If we don¡¯t talk before we march, be careful, and don¡¯t take too long to catch up to us, okay? I¡¯m nervous about what awaits us as we move toward the center of all this corruption.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, all right. Don¡¯t worry; I don¡¯t n to take my time.¡± He watched her leave, and as she got to the doorway, he added, ¡°Thanks, Edeya.¡± She smiled again, nodded, and left, her shimmering, azure wings drifting through the dim hallway like fairy dust. Victor sighed and picked up the two pages, shuffling them so Tha¡¯s letter was on top. He¡¯d just turned his eyes to the first line when Va spoke up from the doorway.

    ¡°Anything to worry about?¡±

    Victor held up the pages. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, just a letter from Tha. Haven¡¯t read it yet.¡±

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. Edeya mentioned it earlier. Well, I¡¯ll leave you to concentrate on that. I¡¯m headed to bed. See you soon?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah. I won¡¯t be up much longer.¡± Victor¡¯s eyes were still on the page, and when he looked up to see if Va had more to say, she was already gone. Was she upset? He didn¡¯t think so. ¡°Let¡¯s see here.¡± He straightened out the page and began to read:<blockquote>

    <em>Victor,</em>

    <em>We hear much of your campaign here in Northpass, as they¡¯re starting to call the little vige between the walls the engineers and Earth Casters are building. I know this book isn¡¯t for our private use, so I¡¯ll trust Edeya to stop reading here and pass this note along to you. Things sound promising with regard to the campaign, and you should know that things are good here, too. I won¡¯t bore you with all the details, as I¡¯m sure Edeya gets reports from the legion personnel in this same book, and you¡¯ve no doubt heard it all from her already. Things are exciting, though! We¡¯ve all enjoyed watching the construction process, learning to hunt the slopes south of the pass, and observing the reserve forces here drilling on the new parade grounds outside the walls. What a strange name for a bunch of gravel fields! It must have something to do with Imperial traditions, don¡¯t you think?</em>

    <em>Deyni is well! She¡¯s be quite a huntress with that bird of hers! She and Cha go out every morning, and they¡¯ve impressed everyone with their contribution to the food stores. It¡¯s not me or Deyni that I write to you about, however. I¡¯m worried about Chandri, and I¡¯m not sure what to do. Tellen isn¡¯t any help¡ªhe¡¯s too hands-off with those girls, and I¡¯vee into their lives toote to change any of that. He says she¡¯ll figure things out, and she probably will. That said, I¡¯ve made the, perhaps foolish, decision to add to your no-doubt immense pile of worries. Chandri has grown bitter and angry. When I confronted her about her attitude, she made an offhandment about things being her fault, ¡®her choice to live a small, stupid life.¡¯</em>

    <em>When I pressed her, she fought with me, saying things women say to each other when their anger gets ahold of them. I know she didn¡¯t mean them, so I won¡¯t bother repeating her words here, but your name came up more than once. I think that when you left in the winter, when you said goodbye, Chandri figured it would be thest she¡¯d see of you. I don¡¯t think she ever imagined she¡¯d be embroiled in a campaign like this, that she¡¯d ever see you leading an army, dragging her people along with it. She¡¯d never imagined spending so much time in your proximity, and if she did, that she¡¯d be such a footnote, someone whom you passed by now and then and said hello to. I think she imagined she was more than that to you.</em>

    <em>She knew you¡¯d be moving on to bigger things, but she thought it would happen far from her. She feels snubbed, Victor. She thought she held an important ce in your heart. It may not seem logical, but she was ready to have you fade out of her life, but she wasn¡¯t prepared for it to happen while she could still observe you.</em>

    <em>What can you do? I have no idea. Talk to her? I know you care about her, despite what she might think. I know you¡¯re very, very busy, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find a way to make things right with her. I just wasn¡¯t sure you knew things needed making right. I hope this news doesn¡¯t distract you too much. I hope you¡¯ll have great sess and, hopefully, have a chance to rest soon, a chance to visit those of us who aren¡¯t on the frontlines.</em>

    <em></em><em>With much love,</em>

    <em></em><em>Tha</em></blockquote>

    ¡°Oh, what the hell?¡± Victor groaned as he lowered the page and stood from the edge of the table. He walked over to the big,fortable chair he favored and copsed into it. ¡°If it¡¯s not one thing, it¡¯s another.¡± He reached over his shoulder and pulled Lifedrinker loose from her harness. At first, he was just trying to getfortable, but he realized he also wanted thefort she usually provided. He pressed the cool metal of her axe head to his forehead and sighed, ¡°Well, beautiful, once again, I¡¯m dealing with some damn drama I seem to have created simply by being myself.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t sure what he¡¯d expected from Lifedrinker. Usually, when heined about things like that, she provided some rity in the form of a simple desire to fight something. He didn¡¯t always agree with her urge forbat, but it always made him feel better to see a different perspective, a different focus on priorities. One thing was sure: Lifedrinker never made him feel bad, always supported him, and was usually quick to point out how he was in the right and those who disagreed shouldn¡¯t have crossed him. Of course, on this asion, Lifedrinker decided toplicate things instead of providing rity. Rather than love, unquestioning support, and a desire for battle, she sent waves of uncertainty, doubt, and even resentment through their bond.

    <em>Victor, why do you forsake me? You promised to share your spirit again soon, and I¡¯ve ached for it!</em>

    An image shed through Victor¡¯s mind. A great, silver-furred wolf, alone, howling into the dark, waiting for a response and hearing nothing but silence as the howl echoed away. He frowned and held the axe at arm¡¯s length, staring at it. ¡°Seriously? It hasn¡¯t been very long! You know I love you, <em>chica</em>! I¡¯m . . . conflicted, though. What exactly am I doing with you when I join my spirit to yours? Is it . . . am I being faithful to Va? I know people teased me about it, about us, I mean, but I never thought of you like that before. It wasn¡¯t something possible, you know? You were an axe; I was a man. If our spirits can get together, though . . . what does that even mean?¡±

    Lifedrinker was an axe of few words, and rather than answer his question, he felt hot emotion pulse out of the haft into his hands. Her feelings were clear; she didn¡¯t care about anything other than her love for him. She didn¡¯t care what he said or did with anyone else so long as they were together. Images of him standing tall, swinging her through battle after battle, killing monsters, creatures, and men and women in the hundreds shed through his mind. Along with those images flowed Lifedrinker¡¯s feelings of raw, palpable excitement, pride, hunger for conflict, and, under it all, a deep, unwavering devotion to Victor.

    Victor shook his head and balled up his fist, gently thumping it against his forehead as he squeezed his eyes in frustration. ¡°God, you¡¯re so good, Lifedrinker, so straightforward and true. You don¡¯t lie. You don¡¯t y games. Are you too good for me? Do I even deserve you?¡± He sighed and sat up, shaking his head. ¡°Still, you must know how I¡¯m different than you, right? I love to fight, true, but I also enjoy other things in life. You know I¡¯m not always focused on you or what we do together, right? You know how I feel about Va. You know I care about other people and other things. I want people who enjoy peace to have it. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here, in thesends, fighting these undead <em>pendejos.</em>¡±

    Victor paused, unsure what he was getting at, where his thoughts were going. ¡°I think what I¡¯m trying to say is that I understand what you want and how you feel, but you have to understand that my life and my desires are a little moreplicated. You have to understand that I¡¯m a little concerned about what it means to you and me when I connect our spirits like that. If I¡¯m not doing it to win a fight, am I just doing it to be closer to you, to show my love and affection? If so, is that disloyal to Va? Because you¡¯ve got to understand something, <em>chica</em>, I enjoyed it too. I felt different somehow when I pulled my spirit back, and it was <em>good</em>.¡±

    <em>If it¡¯s good, it¡¯s good!</em>

    The words were so clear and so simple that Victor had tough. Still chuckling, he turned Lifedrinker crossways over hisp, holding her haft with both hands, admiring the weird, depthless nature of her living-wood haft with its tiny motes of light winking at him from the dark grains and whorls. ¡°Let me think about things a little more, okay? Hell, let me talk to Va.¡± Reluctant eptance came to him through the dense, warm wood. ¡°<em>Gracias, amor mio.</em>¡±

    Victor rubbed his temples and pressed his eyes shut briefly, trying to wrap his head around everything. He¡¯d hoped to get somefort from Lifedrinker, but now he had another thing to worry about. With a grunt, he stood up, re-slung his axe, and moved over to the table, summoning a pen from his storage ring. He took the nk page on which he was supposed to write a response, smoothed it out with his hand, and got to work, trying not to let his frustration bleed into his words.<blockquote>

    <em>Tha,</em>

    <em>Thanks for the message. I appreciate you looking out for me concerning Chandri¡¯s feelings¡ªit¡¯s certainly not something you had to do, but I recognize that you¡¯re looking out for her as much, or maybe more, than me. I promise I¡¯ll have a good, long heart-to-heart with her when I get back. Problem is, I don¡¯t know when that¡¯ll be. Things haven¡¯t really slowed down here, and we¡¯re trying to capitalize on our momentum. Realistically, it¡¯ll be weeks, at least, before I can get back up there. In the meantime, maybe you can let Chandri know that I¡¯m awfully sorry for not . . . Scratch that! If you do that, she¡¯ll realize you messaged me about her, and she¡¯ll probably get even angrier. How about this: next time you¡¯re all together, let her, Deyni, and everyone know that I asked about them and that I¡¯m looking forward to spending time with them all. I promise I¡¯ll try to make things right.</em>

    <em>No matter what, it was nice to hear from you, Tha. It¡¯s nice to be reminded of what I¡¯m fighting for.</em>

    <em>Love,</em>

    <em>Victor</em></blockquote>

    Victor sighed and folded the pages in half, sending them into his storage ring. Feeling a little lighter for having at least responded to Tha, he made his way downstairs and into his room. The lights were dim, hardly on, but he saw Va curled up under the nket, breathing peacefully in her sleep. He started to undress, hanging his armor and Lifedrinker on a rack of wooden pegs near the door. He¡¯d just sat down on a bench to pull his boots off when he heard the sheets rustle, and Va sleepily spoke up, ¡°Coming to bed?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    There must have been something in his voice because she asked, ¡°Want to talk about it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think my current troubles are anything you want to hear about, to be honest.¡± He chuckled a little ruefully and tugged at his boot.

    More rustling of sheets signaled Va sitting up against the pillows as he started on his second boot. ¡°I always want to hear about your troubles. How else can I be any help?¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor¡¯s nervous chuckle returned as he dropped his boot and decided to be honest, ¡°I guess you could say I¡¯m having some women troubles.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me? I think I¡¯d know about that. Something to do with Tha? I thought you and she were . . .¡±

    ¡°Nah.¡± Victor stood and pulled his shirt off. ¡°It¡¯s not like that. She¡¯s fine; she wrote to me about Chandri.¡±

    ¡°Chandri? Did you and she? Victor, really?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that! We were close, is all, back when I was staying with the n. I mean, we almost were something, but it was just a couple of flirting kisses, and then she . . . God, Va! You don¡¯t want to hear all this!¡±

    ¡°Well, hold on!¡± Suddenly, her voice wasn¡¯t sleepy at all. ¡°You said ¡®women¡¯ not ¡®woman.¡¯ Is there another former lover I need to . . .¡±

    ¡°Oh my God, Va! For one thing, Chandri wasn¡¯t a ¡®former lover.¡¯ Anyway, the other ¡®woman¡¯ is Lifedrinker.¡± Victor nced at the axe hanging by the door, feeling a surge of guilt for talking about her like that.

    ¡°<em>Lifedrinker?</em>¡± Va leaned forward, the sheets falling away from her, revealing a sheer, silky white nightgown that Victor hadn¡¯t seen her wear before. Did that mean something? He pped his head, groaning.

    ¡°I¡¯m an idiot. Our first night back together, and I¡¯ming to bedte, moaning about problems with other women. It¡¯s not what it sounds like, Va. I¡¯m just worried about their feelings. You know me.¡±

    She sighed and leaned back, letting her furrowed brow rx. ¡°Yes, Victor, I know you. Your heart is too big, but, of course, that¡¯s what I love about you. So, let¡¯s start with the woman in the room with us. What¡¯s wrong with Lifedrinker?¡±

    Victor unbuckled his pants and let them drop to the ground, then he walked over to the bed and sat on the side of it, nudging Va¡¯s legs over to make room. ¡°Well, you remember my Imbue Spirit spell? The one I used on you and Barn when we fought the night brutes?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you shared your courage with us.¡±

    ¡°Right. Well, it was more than my courage. It¡¯s a piece of my spirit. I guess, in that case, it was a piece that reflected my courage because that¡¯s the Energy I used when I cast it. Anyway, that¡¯s beside the point. Recently, I cast that spell on Lifedrinker, sending part of my spirit into her. It empowered her, allowing her to damage Dunstan, for instance, when she couldn¡¯t before.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm. What¡¯s the problem with that?¡±

    ¡°The problem came when I called my spirit back into me, and Lifedrinker got depressed! She loves having my spirit with her. It brings us closer together, and, well, I hate to deny her, but I also feel guilty. What exactly are we sharing when I do that?¡±

    ¡°You feel . . . guilty?¡± Va frowned at him, narrowing her eyes again. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I love you, and I¡¯d never do something to hurt you. I wouldn¡¯t . . . well, shit, I wouldn¡¯t cheat on you. When I share my spirit with Lifedrinker, we¡¯re <em>close</em>, Va. How is that okay?¡± Victor spoke from his heart and wasn¡¯t trying to hide anything. Va must have recognized that because he could see the sympathy in her eyes. She didn¡¯t get angry as he¡¯d feared she might. Instead, she reached out to grasp one of his big hands in her slender, cool fingers, gently squeezing it.

    ¡°You¡¯re an idiot.¡±

    The words were familiar to Victor, but he was used to hearing them from people like Tha and Edeya. Hearing them from Va brought an instant bark ofughter out of him. ¡°Am I?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Do you love Lifedrinker in the same way you love me?¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Then why would you feel guilty about being close to her? You <em>should</em> feel close to her! You¡¯ve been through quite a lot together, haven¡¯t you?¡± When Victor nodded, she pressed on, ¡°You¡¯re allowed to love people other than me, you know. Do you feel sexually attracted to her?¡±

    ¡°Va! No!¡±

    ¡°Well, I had to ask because you¡¯re being very strange! You don¡¯t feel guilty about loving Tha, do you? Don¡¯t deny it; I know you love her!¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t feel guilty ¡®cause we both know we aren¡¯t going anywhere in that . . . direction.¡±

    ¡°Well, I think you and Lifedrinker know you won¡¯t be mates, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor sighed, chuckling nervously. Was he being honest? He could speak for himself, but what did he know of Lifedrinker¡¯s true feelings? Hadn¡¯t she spoken possessively of Va before? Was that something he should mention? ¡°I can¡¯t really speak for her; she¡¯s not the same as us, you know? Some of her memories are ancient ande from the heartwood in her haft. I¡¯m saying she might view a rtionship differently than you and I.¡±

    ¡°I care about what¡¯s in here.¡± Va held her palm to Victor¡¯s chest, over his heart. ¡°If you can make her life better, this spirit who¡¯s done so much with and for you, don¡¯t you think you should? Share your spirit with her when she wants. I love her too, you know? If she hadn¡¯t been there for you, loving and caring for you, you¡¯d have died on more than one asion. Am I wrong?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Victor couldn¡¯t say anything else; he was too fraught with emotion. He squeezed his eyes shut, images of battles where he¡¯d almost died running through his mind. From the ¡°boss¡± of the dungeon Lifedrinker had drained to his duel with Rellia, where she¡¯d gifted him her own life Energy, to half a dozen other close battles where she¡¯d made the difference between a loss and a win¡ªwhere she¡¯d been the difference between life and death. He felt Va pull on his wrist, and he fell forward into her arms.

    She stroked his head, rubbing her fingers through the stiff, shorter hair on the sides of his head. ¡°Shh,¡± she said, leaning forward to kiss his forehead. ¡°Did anyone ever tell you not to worry quite so much about everyone else¡¯s feelings?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he mumbled, ¡°Lifedrinker.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 43: Bloodlines

    Book 6: Chapter 43: Bloodlines

    Victor and Va watched the Glorious Ninth march away from the keep, a long column of armor-d individuals wending its way east and north along the beach toward a gap in the hills where they¡¯d turn toward the center of the contestednds. Victor let his gaze drift that way, proud of the clear air and bright sun in the vicinity; he¡¯d been responsible for removing the sickly haze, allowing him to see the heavy curtain of mist that hung in the eastern sky so clearly. It was distant, days and days of travel away, but it was there. Even in the morning sunlight, he could make out the faint green glow of the Death Caster¡¯s ¡°veil star.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll be all right.¡± Va had mistaken Victor¡¯s angry scowl for one of concern.

    ¡°Yeah. I just want to get these undead assholes out of here. It stresses me out to think he¡¯s got an open portal there, but we don¡¯t know what kinds of limitations he has on calling more troops through.¡±

    ¡°Limitations?¡±

    ¡°Remember what Victoria said? I mean about the portal repelling those beyond a certain threshold of power.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, I remember.¡± Va frowned, watching the distant column of marching soldiers. ¡°I hope Lam keeps a close eye on that woman.¡±

    ¡°Lam and Kethelket will both watch her. Kethelket won¡¯t let her surprise him.¡±

    Va turned to lean an elbow on the parapet, looking more fully at Victor. ¡°Did you suspect there are other limitations?¡±

    ¡°I suspect, but I don¡¯t know. The System seems to have rules for this invasion. Hector already has far more troops than we do. Well, he did before the forest fire and our recent victories. Still, if he had the resources back home, would he be allowed to send out the call to bring another fifty thousand troops through? It doesn¡¯t seem that would be fair, so would the System deny their passage through its portal? Of course, the System might consider us as part of Fanwath as a whole. It might think we could gather more troops if we tried our hand at diplomacy, begging the Ridonne or the free cities for aid.¡±

    ¡°Or it might just consider the number of us who have the quest it issued in the pass . . .¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s what I¡¯m getting at. We just don¡¯t know. Hector might have already pulled through all the troops he has ess to. We might be about to wrap this whole thing up.¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°I can see it¡¯s the frustration of not knowing that¡¯s bothering you. I suppose all we can do is find out, and that starts with you and me eating those apples.¡± She stepped close to him and gazed over the parapet at the waves crashing against the beach. She leaned her head against his arm and entwined her fingers with his. ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    Victor squeezed her hand and nodded, though she couldn¡¯t see the gesture. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s get this over with.¡± He led the way off the parapets, returning the salutes of the guards stationed on the wall. When they¡¯d crossed the bailey into the inner courtyard, he saw Uvu reclining on the cobbles outside his travel home and felt a surge of fondness for the big cat. He was lying on his side, soaking in the sunlight, his head just at the foot of the steps leading up to the house. Victor wondered if, in his mind, he was guarding their home. ¡°Good boy!¡± He squatted to scratch thezy cat¡¯s ear, eliciting a twitch and a partial yawn.

    ¡°He¡¯s enjoying the sun.¡± Va, too, paused to give the cat some affection, hugging him around the neck before following Victor up the steps and into the house. He turned and, pressing his finger to one of the runes next to the door, activated it with a trickle of Energy, securing the magical locks. A few minutester, he and Va were in his bedroom, kicking off their shoes, hanging up their armor and weapons, and then reclining on the bed, propped up by pillows, side by side.

    ¡°Hope these apples work fast. I mean, I hope they have a big effect, but we don¡¯t lose weeks in the process.¡± Victor produced the two gold-wrapped fruits, handing one to Va.

    Va lifted it, weighing it in one hand. ¡°Do you remember the racial advancement rewards for sale in the Warlord¡¯s token store?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course.¡±

    ¡°Remember how he sold them in tiers¡ªadvanced, epic, legendary?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah. You¡¯re wondering what tier these might fall under, huh?¡± Victor regarded the apple as Va nodded. ¡°Well, I guess we don¡¯t get to know. If they¡¯re only ¡®improved¡¯ or whatever, then it won¡¯t affect me as much as it does you.¡±

    ¡°Well, I hope they¡¯re potent, as you said. Then we¡¯ll both make good strides.¡±

    As he thought about her words, Victor nodded and stood up, moving to the foot of the bed. ¡°I think I¡¯lly on the floor. There¡¯s no way my Alter Self spell willst through this process, and if this process does add a lot to my Quinametzin bloodline, I might grow even more. Don¡¯t want to break the bed . . .¡±

    ¡°Okay, but I wasn¡¯t trying to hint at that.¡± Va began to run one of her sharp nails along the gold foil¡¯s seam. ¡°Ready?¡±

    Victor grunted as hey on the rug at the foot of the bed. ¡°Ready.¡± He couldn¡¯t see Va any longer, but he heard her sharp inhtion and slight gasp. Peeling the foil from his own apple, he soon understood her reaction. It smelled amazing, bringing to mind every food Victor had ever loved¡ªhot pancakes dripping with syrup, fresh, hot tortis with his <em>abu¡¯s</em> homemade refries, albondigas sprinkled with freshtro and lime juice; the images kept shing through his mind with every tiny whiff of the apple¡¯s potent vapors.

    ¡°Eat it quickly!¡± Va called. ¡°Its essence escapes with each second!¡± That was thest he heard from her before the tell-tale sound of teeth crunching into an apple came to him. Victor couldn¡¯t argue, so he took a huge bite, ripping through almost half the apple with his powerful jaw and teeth. Of course, the smells only amplified with the fruit¡¯s juice exploding in his mouth, and Victor almost lost himself in an ecstasy of pleasant tastes. It was sweet but also carried hidden depths of vor, things his mind couldn¡¯t immediately wrap around. He thought he tasted vani, and he¡¯d try to focus on that vor only to be swept away by something altogether different, like hints of rosemary or cinnamon.

    Soon, he couldn¡¯t focus on the vors any longer because, as he swallowed down the second half of the apple, he became aware of the roiling ball of Energies in his stomach. He knew it was more than one type immediately. He recognized the pure natural Energy, the hot, metallic touch of a blood attunement, and the many biting vors of elemental Energies. He was sure there were others. He even felt hints of spirit attunements¡ªthe cloying, cold fingers of fear, the hot fangs of rage, and something warm and pure that he couldn¡¯t pin down. As he tried to examine those forces, turning his mind¡¯s eye inward, wondering what the magical fruit was doing, they began propagating through his pathways and into his body, touching every cell. Victor¡¯s awareness began to slip away, no matter how he scrabbled to hold on, to watch the process.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Ichtaca sat upon his carved-bone stool and looked into the red, sweating face of the youngster. ¡°Mecati, can you hear me?¡± The girl shivered and shook, her brow furrowing and rxing at odd intervals. She was deep in a fever dream, the poison coursing through her blood. Was what the father had said possible? A poisoned barb shot from the bow of a fey creature? The puckered, oozing wound looked usible, but why hadn¡¯t he brought the offending dart? It didn¡¯t matter; whether he lied or told the truth, the solution was the same¡ªthis was Mecati¡¯s time to earn her ce among the Quinametzin. Whatever the source of the toxin, her fortitude must prevail against it.

    Ichtaca took the cloth from the bowl of cold spring water and twisted most of the water out. Then heid it upon her brow and tried again, speaking forcefully into her ear, letting his prodigious aura press against her, ¡°Mecati, open your eyes.¡±

    The girl¡¯s eyes snapped open, glossy with fever, red veins standing out. She was still, though, observing, taking in her surroundings. ¡°Healer?¡± Her use of his status was a good sign; she recognized him.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to fight now, Mecati. You can¡¯t let your body, strong as it is, do all the work. Turn your mind inward. Quinametzin need not fall prey to things as mundane as a toxin. It¡¯s an invader in your system, and you can drive it out.¡±

    The girl¡¯s eyes darted from him to the window and back again, then she licked her dry, peeling lips. ¡°How?¡± Her voice was hoarse, the breath pushing the word past her lips thready and weak. If she didn¡¯t master the poison that rampaged through her veins, she¡¯d be dead soon.

    ¡°How do you see your Core? How do you force your <em>essence</em> to bend to your will? The same way, Mecati! You are Quinametzin, and we do not suffer poison!¡± Her dark brows drew together as his words woke something in her, breaking through the fear and weakness, stirring her Quinametzin pride. ¡°Good! You are above these things, are you not? Do you suffer as the small people do? Do you cry from hunger or whimper in fear of the dark?¡±

    ¡°<em>No</em>!¡± This time, though her voice cracked, Mecati spoke clearly.

    ¡°A Quinametzin worships no other. We do not seek salvation or guidance. We do not bend our knees. We do not tolerate invaders on ournds or in our <em>bodies</em>! Are you Quinametzin?¡±

    Mecati¡¯s teeth ground together, her lips pulled back in a fierce grimace as she scrunched her eyes tight, clearly struggling to do what he¡¯d asked, to look inward, through her pathways and into her body, into her blood where the offending toxin must now lurk. Could she do it? Could she peer into herself in such a way? Could she use her will to drive her <em>essence</em> against the invading poison?

    ¡°You are one of the mighty, Mecati! You are one of the great ones, the rulers of thesends! Will you tolerate that poison in your blood?¡± Ichtaca slid off his stool and crawled onto the wooden cot, straddling the girl, cing his tattooed, fetish-bedecked hands on either side of her neck, pressing his hot, powerful flesh against hers. How far should he go to help her? Not far, he decided. This was a test for the girl, a rite of passage. He shouldn¡¯t interfere much. Just a touch of <em>essence</em> to aid her weakened Core. He let the barest trickle bleed forth into her, and she began to tremble, no, vibrate! Her heels bounced up and down on the cot, her body convulsed and thrashed as her head bounced upon the pillow her mother had brought.

    Despite her convulsions, Mecati¡¯s brows stayed furrowed; her bared teeth maintained their grimacing snarl, and Ichtaca felt the heat from her body begin to radiate like a forge. ¡°Good!¡± he growled, squeezing her shoulders in encouragement as he stood up. She¡¯d found the path, and she was doing what she must. If he knew <em>medicine</em>, and he did, she¡¯d soon be free of the toxin. She¡¯d be exhausted but stronger for the ordeal. More importantly, she¡¯d proven her worthiness to walk among her people. Ichtaca nodded firmly, then turned for the door; it was time to give the young Quinametzin¡¯s parents the good news.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Va drifted into nothingness. Though she opened her eyes wide and looked from left to right, up and down, she saw naught but ckness. Why did she have the sensation of drifting? Was it because she couldn¡¯t feel anything beneath her? Nothing was under her feet, nothing beneath her back. When she moved her arms, she felt nothing. Could she even be sure she moved them? That thought brought brief panic, but she forced herself to calm. She must be dreaming or having some sort of vision. Hadn¡¯t Victor described something of the sort?

    She¡¯d advanced her race several times but never experienced anything as he¡¯d described. She¡¯d never had a fruit like what she¡¯d just eaten, however. It had beenbeled as providing some sort of ¡°evolution.¡± Was that hinting at a bloodline? Was she about to have a vision as Victor did when he¡¯d learned of his Quinametzin heritage? Hope sprang into her heart, though she wasn¡¯t sure she even had a heart. Was she breathing? Again, panic ran through her consciousness, but realizing it, she reasoned that she was at least thinking and feeling emotions. Would that happen if she didn¡¯t exist any longer? Somehow, her consciousness was apart from her body, but that was all right. ¡°Nothing to panic about,¡± she tried to speak, but she wasn¡¯t sure it worked.

    As she drifted and lost track of time, she let her mind run through all those things that weighed heavily upon her but which she rarely felt she had the time to ponder. Of course, Victor was foremost in her thoughts. She thought of their closeness and their intimacy, and warmth infused her floating consciousness. Then she thought of her fears¡ªof losing him to death or simply due to falling behind, forgotten as he took on quest after quest where she wouldn¡¯t be strong enough to follow. What did it say about her that she feared thetter more than the former?

    Unable to think of a resolution, she let her mind drift to other worries. What about her mother? What about Rellia, the woman who¡¯d adopted her, raised her, and spent so much of her life forging her into an aide and sessor? How would Rellia handle it if she left Fanwath to adventure with Victor? Would she break down? Would she grow bitter and distant? Would she and the others they left be overrun and killed by the Ridonne?

    In despair at the idea and herck of solutions, Va turned her mind to other things, wondering if there couldn¡¯t possibly be something pleasant to think about. Of course, her mind had other ns and began to consider the campaign and question whether her thoughts of leaving with Victor weren¡¯t premature. How closely had Victore to death already? How nearly had he died against the reavers? What wasn¡¯t he telling her about his sh with Dunstan? Why had it taken him almost a week to climb from the depths to im the keep?

    iling, trying to escape the negative, worrisome thoughts, Va tried to force herself to think of anything else, and, had she been able, she would have sighed with relief when her thoughts settled on Midnight Hope, her sword. What a wonderful weapon! She was sure she was making headway with bringing her to consciousness. She¡¯d begun to feel emotions from the weapon¡ªanger, excitement, hunger. The de loved to fight and loved to be held by Va. She would haveughed at that thought; it reminded her of Victor¡¯s troubles with Lifedrinker. If only he knew how she could rte. Her sword was a jealous de, always eager to be held and disappointed when Va sheathed her.

    <em>I¡¯ve been listening to you, Va.</em>

    The voice seemed toe from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Va was just grateful for a change in the empty, nothingness. ¡°You have?¡± Again, she formed the words and spoke as she would at any other time, but she couldn¡¯t feel her mouth, her lungs, or her ears. Did the words take shape?

    <em>Yes. You¡¯re a kind and strong woman, and I¡¯m impressed by you.</em>

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    <em>I¡¯m a fragment of your lineage, a tiny bit of your ancestry, a progenitor that has faded to near nothingness in the dilution of your bloodlines.</em>

    ¡°The dilution . . .¡±

    <em>Many are the peoples who make up your history, Va. My time was long and long ago. I faded in your ancestors¡¯ blood even before my people began to die out among therger poption. Still, I was there, near the beginning, an ancient spark that traveled through history to bring you into existence.</em>

    ¡°You¡¯re my ancestor? Who are you, though?¡±

    <em>So little of me still exists. Heranya was my name, and I rode the winds around the Tarcris Peaks.</em>

    ¡°Tarcris? That was in the old world, on Alurath? I¡¯ve never met someone with that name; is it Ardeni?

    <em>Alurath, aye. Ardeni, nay, Va. I was Ordeni with the Rihven bloodline.</em>

    ¡°I had Ordeni ancestors?¡±

    <em>At least one! As you drifted here, I searched your thoughts for my people, but they¡¯re gone, aren¡¯t they?</em>

    ¡°They were small in number when the worlds were joined. They were the first toe together to build a new civilization. I wasn¡¯t alive, but it¡¯s taught that the Yovashi, a species from another world, called down pieces of the moon to destroy their city, all but wiping them out.¡±

    <em>As I feared. I saw glimpses of your world, and not a single Ordeni face graced the crowds in your memories. I feel great sorrow, Va, this fragment of me that lives in you. Will you help to revive the memory of my¡ªour¡ªpeople? Will you take up the mantle of an entire species and carry it forth into the worlds?</em>

    ¡°I . . .¡± Va could feel the sadnesscing the words of her ancestor, and she struggled with the impulse to immediately agree. ¡°Will I have your bloodline, too? Can you tell me about it?¡±

    <em>In your memories, I saw many Shadeni and Ardeni but only one Ridonne. Do the Vessi and Ridonne no longer wage war?</em>

    ¡°The Vessi are dead. The Ridonne have wiped their bloodline clean from the world. I¡¯ve only seen one Ridonne because they rule from high ces and don¡¯t mingle with those they deem lesser.¡±

    <em>What a tragedy! The worst of us lives on, then. No Vessi and no Rihven¡ªa fallen world.</em>

    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad . . .¡±

    <em>Forgive me, Va, daughter. Little of me lives on in you, but it''s enough for me to feel¡ªenough for sorrow and rage to war for space in my fragmented heart. You¡¯ve consumed something potent, daughter, something that wants to wake a bloodline. You have more and newer contenders. You could spurn me, and something else will wake in the ce of your Rihven heritage, but I beg you to embrace me!</em>

    Again, Va grappled with emotion and the impulse to say yes. Her ancestor hadn¡¯t answered her question, hadn¡¯t told her what a Rihven was. Still, she¡¯d given her a hint¡ªthe Ordeni had been the strongest Energy users from Alurath, driven to extinction by the jealousy of the Yovashi, though they¡¯d been few in number before that. Had their Rihven bloodline been the cause? Had they been brought low because of the Ridonne¡¯s obsession with exterminating the Vessi and, apparently, the Rihven? Va stopped deliberating and answered her progenitor with her heart, ¡°I will embrace the Rihven bloodline.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 44: Rest and Reflections

    Book 6: Chapter 44: Rest and Reflections

    As his vision faded and Victor suddenly felt himself in his own body again, he snapped his eyes open, only to be bombarded with System messages. He inhaled deeply and blinked his eyes a few times, trying to push past the strange disorientation he felt, lying on the floor, looking up to see, beyond the obscuring, opaque System windows, a cloud of something like smoke or steam. Figuring he¡¯d reorient in a few seconds, he turned his attention to the messages:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have refined your bloodline to the epic stages! As a result, for all species-rted considerations, you are effectively Quinametzin. You stand as the embodiment of your ancient progenitors and will continue to inherit their talents and further reflect their nature as you delve into the secrets buried in your ancestry. Stand tall, Quinametzin, for you are a titan!***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Congrattions! You have gained a new Bloodline Feat: Epic Quinametzin.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Epic Quinametzin: As a result of breaking through to the epic levels of your bloodline, all of your attributes have permanently increased by 50 points.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Congrattions! Your Feat, Titanic Constitution, has been refined to Greater Titanic Constitution.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Greater Titanic Constitution: Your titanic bloodline has enriched and fortified the microscopic structures of your body, from your blood to your bones to the hairs on your head. Your body is capable of sustaining legendary levels of Energy, with the potential for tremendous physical attributes. Henceforth, you¡¯ll automatically receive 5 bonus points in vitality each time you gain a level. Moreover, your battles against invasive Energies and infections have fortified you, making your resistance to such incursions unrivaled in the natural world.***</strong>

    ¡°Holy shit.¡± Victor had to blink his eyes several times and reread the description of his new Feats before it really sank in. He¡¯d just gained nearly ten levels¡¯ worth of attribute points. Were Quinametzin really so much more robust than a human? His prideful instinct was to say, ¡°Of course!¡± Still, he had to remember that he¡¯d apparently reached the epic level on his racial advancement stat; an ¡°epic¡± human might receive a simr boost. He chuckled and shook his head, somehow doubting it. Before he could be distracted by anything else, he looked at his status page for the first time in a while:

    <strong>Name:</strong>

    <strong>Victor Sandoval</strong>

    <strong>Race:</strong>

    <strong>Quinametzin Bloodline - Epic 1</strong>

    <strong>ss:</strong>

    <strong>Battlemaster - Epic</strong>

    <strong>Level:</strong>

    <strong>56</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core:</strong>

    <strong>Elder ss - Base 5</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Spirit ss - Advanced 8</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Magma - 9</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Energy:</strong>

    <strong>500/500</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Glory 8.6, Inspiration 7.4, Unattuned 3.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>21412/21412</strong>

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>330</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>439 (483)</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>174</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>197</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>160</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>541</strong>

    <strong>Points Avable:</strong>

    <strong>0</strong>

    <strong>Titles & Feats:</strong>

    <strong>Titanic Rage, Ancestral Bond, me-Touched, Greater Titanic Constitution, Titanic Presence, Desperate Grace, Challenger, Elder Magic, Born of Terror, Battlefield Awareness, Battlefield Presence, Aura of Command, Epic Quinametzin</strong>

    ¡°Holy shit!¡± he said again, this time more vehemently. His Energy levels had massively increased with the fifty points added to his intelligence and will. Aside from that, his other attributes looked much healthier to his eye. Six months ago, he would have been overjoyed to see his secondary physical attributes so high; they were on par with what his strength and vitality had been back then. He almost lost track of himself lying there, daydreaming about his next sparring match with Kethelket, wondering how much quicker he¡¯d be.

    Victor let his eyes drift over the various line items he¡¯d taken for granted in the past, and something stood out to him. His race was listed as ¡°Quinametzin Bloodline.¡± There was no mention of ¡°human.¡± ¡°<em>Que interesante</em>,¡± he muttered, again thinking of himself six months ago and chuckling. He would have been freaked out by that fact, but now he didn¡¯t care. He was Quinametzin. Surely, they were plentypatible with humans, or else he wouldn¡¯t exist.

    One other thing got him thinking as he looked over his status sheet¡ªhis Breath Core Energy was clearly influenced by his Breath Core level, but not by his intelligence and will as his normal Energy stat was. Did no attribute affect his Breath Core? Was he missing some other stat that creatures born with such an ability had? It would be something he¡¯d have to investigate, but he knew he wouldn¡¯t find answers to that question on Fanwath. Putting the thoughts aside, Victor sat up and regarded his surroundings.

    His early impression that the room was clouded with a haze of fog hadn¡¯t been a hallucination. A faint mist of blue-gray steam hung in the air, hot and moist in his nostrils as he breathed deeply. Victor had a hard time concentrating on the anomaly because he couldn¡¯t get over the lightning-charged strength, vitality, and overall wellness that pervaded his body. He felt incredible. Holding his big, powerful hands in front of him, he stared as he squeezed them into fists, released the pressure, and squeezed again. It felt like he could crush rocks with those hands.

    He stood up and found himself engulfed in the weird steam, and then his head bumped into the generous nine-foot ceiling. ¡°Hah!¡± A wild chuckle escaped him as he considered his new stature. It wouldn¡¯t do for the indoors, he decided, not until he¡¯d built himself a home fit for a titan. He reached into his Core, teased out a bit of Energy, and cast Alter Self, reducing himself to something closer to what he¡¯d once been¡ªa tall, powerfully built human. The spell formed effortlessly, and his body absorbed the potent Energies much more easily than before. He felt he could have reduced himself a lot more if he wanted. Hadn¡¯t Tes said something about his then-advanced bloodline allowing the spell to work? It seemed it worked even better now.

    As his height lowered and he came out of the steam cloud lingering near the ceiling, Victor immediately noticed its source¡ªVay cocooned in writhing coils of the thick stuff. He couldn¡¯t see her clearly, only asionally catching a glimpse of her face or feet as the steam roiled. Is this what it was like when someone underwent a sizeable racial advancement? The apples must have been potent to give him three full ranks and take him into the epic tier. How greatly must they be affecting Va? She¡¯d only been in the improved ranks.

    She didn¡¯t seem to be suffering or in any kind of trouble; her body was still as the steam did whatever it was doing. Victor began to wonder how long he¡¯d been out and how much longer Va would be. He reached into his storage ring to pull out the Farscribe sheets he and Edeya had exchanged before the ninth cohort marched. Sure enough, he had several updates from her, each written a day apart. ¡°So, assuming she¡¯s writing an update each day, I was out of it for four.¡±

    He skimmed through the messages, pleased to find that the Ninth had been having an uneventful march thus far. They¡¯d been traveling at half-time, taking long rests between marches for drills and rest. The new troops were fitting in well, learning the tactics and camp procedures quickly. Edeya described them as fierce and eager to fight their former overlords. Most importantly, ording to thest message, they weren¡¯t yet halfway to the citadels that guarded the road up to the poison-shrouded mountain where Hector held his seat of power.

    Victor looked again at Va, wondering if he should do anything. Should he sit nearby, or could he venture out of the house to check on the keep and the soldiers standing guard? If the apple were affecting her anything like the racial advancement he¡¯d consumed inside the dungeon near Greatbone Mine, she could be out for days or weeks. He was tempted to lean close, to wave away the steam surrounding her face, but he feared such interference might cause some sort of problem. No, he decided, best to leave her to the process. He¡¯d go outside and check on her frequently.

    With that decided, Victor put on his armor and picked up Lifedrinker, shrugging into her leather harness. He hurried out of the house, eager to stretch his legs, get a breath of fresh air, and bask in some sunlight. When he stepped out into the courtyard, he squinted into the bright sky, gauging the sun to be nearing its zenith but not there yet. ¡°Morning still.¡± He smiled, turning his face upward, soaking in the heat. The sunlight was warm, but this close to the sea, the air had a bit of cool dampness to it, and he stretched his lungs, pulling in a prodigious breath. ¡°Damn, that feels good.¡±

    Some soldiers performing day-to-day chores, dumping feed out of a tbed wagon the Ninth had left behind into a handcart, looked up at the sound of his voice. They dropped their shovels and snapped to attention. Victor smiled hugely and returned the salute. ¡°Come here, men.¡± His voice boomed out, echoing off the stone walls and cobbles, and the two hurried over. Victor saw more soldiers move into view on the parapets, responding to the sound of his unintentional hollering. ¡°Give me an update. How long was I out?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the fourth day, sir!¡± The Ardeni had to crane his blue face and bright green eyes upward to look Victor in the face.

    ¡°Mmhmm, good. That¡¯s what I thought. Well, what¡¯s the update? How¡¯s the keep?¡±

    ¡°Shall I get Lieutenant ap¡¯Fanin?¡±

    ¡°Is that who Sarl left in charge?¡±

    ¡°Aye, sir!¡±

    ¡°All right, get him. I¡¯ll stretch my legs and walk out to look at the sea. Send him after me.¡± As the Ardeni and his silent partner hurried away, Victor strode for the courtyard gate. It was wide open, so he walked through and into the bailey, ncing to his left at the sound of shing weapons and shields. A dozen soldiers were practicing under the shouted instruction of a sergeant Victor recognized but whose name he¡¯d forgotten. He waved as he continued toward the curtain wall and the exterior gate. ¡°This is a good keep.¡± He rested a hand on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft as he spoke, and she immediately responded.

    <em>I¡¯ve missed you! You feel different, stronger. Will you share your spirit with me? Your she-wolf said she cared not!</em>

    ¡°Now?¡± Victorughed, strolling into the corridor under the gatehouse. ¡°Why not?¡± Victor pulled her from his harness and gathered up some glory-attuned Energy. He cast the spell, sending a portion of his prideful spirit into Lifedrinker. ¡°See how you like that!¡± Her reaction was instantaneous. Her de shimmered and sparkled, motes of golden, sizzling Energy dripping from her gleaming edge. A burst of emotion came through his grip on her haft¡ªexcitement, pleasure, and, of course, pride. Whether she was proud of him for sharing his spirit with him or proud of herself for convincing him, he had no clue. For all he knew, it was just his spirit bringing out her own cockiness.

    The gate was closed, but a guard was stationed beside it. From the center of the trap-lined tunnel, Victor shouted, ¡°Open up!¡± The guard yanked on a chain, causing a bell to ring up above, and momentster, the winss began to turn, lifting the great bar holding the gates closed. ¡°Thanks.¡± The guard snapped a fierce salute. Victor nodded, then stepped outside. He stood in the shade of the tall curtain wall and gazed down the rocky slope to the beach and the cresting, silvery waves of the sea. ¡°Hell yeah. I like this keep.¡±

    The ocean was loud, crashing and crashing as the wind-tossed waves hit the shore. He watched them, admiring their relentless power as he walked down the slope a short way. A rocky overhang made a direct approach to the keep impossible, forcing the gravel roadway to wend its way down to the beach like a snake. Victor didn¡¯t want to go down, though, so he stood on the rocky ledge and, holding the buzzing Lifedrinker on his shoulder, stared out over the water, savoring the fresh air, the warm sun, and the glorious view. He felt more alive than he ever had, more ready for anything. He wanted to venture forth into that wild, wide world. He wanted to find new things and conquer new ces. He wanted to . . .

    ¡°Ahem, excuse me, sir.¡±

    Victor turned to see the young Ardeni Lieutenant ap¡¯Fanin standing at attention behind him. ¡°Rx. Thanks foring out to speak with me. I wanted to see something other than stone walls.¡±

    ¡°My pleasure, sir. I, too, grow weary of the confines of yonder keep.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm. So, tell me, how have thest few days gone?¡±

    ¡°Uneventfully, sir. We¡¯ve spent our shifts keeping watch, cleaning, and drilling. So far, we¡¯ve notid eyes on anything more threatening than a flock of erebii, and they weren¡¯t a problem for anyone save poor Delia, whom they shat upon as they flew past.¡±

    ¡°Erebii? Those are the big white and brown birds?¡±

    ¡°Aye, sir.¡±

    ¡°Heh, well, my condolences to Delia.¡± Victor smiled, gazing back at the keep, imagining the soldiers standing watch on the walls when the birds flew overhead, scurrying to escape their indiscriminate bombardment. ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to be here a while longer, I figure. Tribune Primus ap¡¯Yensha isn¡¯t yet ready to leave. Anything you all need help with? Could I help with some sparring? I think it would be good for the troops to practice teamwork against arger opponent.¡±

    ¡°I think that would prove invaluable, sir.¡± The man spoke firmly and nodded to add weight to his words.

    ¡°What¡¯s your first name, Lieutenant?¡±

    ¡°Rano, sir.¡±

    ¡°Care if I call you that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be honored!¡±

    ¡°Good! All right, Rano, how many troops are at the keep? A hundred?¡±

    ¡°One hundred and one, sir.¡±

    ¡°Okay, have you broken them into squads?¡±

    ¡°Aye, sir! We have ten squads.¡±

    Victor looked away from the keep, back to the ocean, wondering why there wasn¡¯t a dock. Who built this keep, anyway? Judging by the old watchtower he¡¯d used to escape the underground, it had been on thesends for a while. Were they remnants from an old world before the joining, as others suspected? Wouldn¡¯t there have been a vige by the sea? Had the seae from one world, the keep, and thesends from another? The idea that the System had somehow squashed four worlds together to make Fanwath still boggled his mind. When Rano sniffed and moved his arm to push some hair out of his eyes, blown there by the breezeing off the water, Victor turned back to him. ¡°Right. Well, go make a schedule. I¡¯ll work with two squads daily¡ªone in the morning and one after lunch.¡±

    ¡°Right away, sir.¡± He saluted, and Victor copied the gesture, then watched him jog back to the keep.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea, isn¡¯t it, <em>chica</em>? Those guys might face a big bastard wampyr or something on the battlefield. They should get some practice fighting a guy like me.¡± The truth was, he itched to get some practice in, to cast Iron Berserk and let his Energy swell his frame. He wanted to do a lot more than spar, but he¡¯d settle for that over nothing. With onest look at the water and a few more thoughts of adventure and exploration, he returned to the keep, resigning himself to finish what he¡¯d started before he entertained thoughts like that. He had to get rid of these <em>pinche</em> undead, which meant he needed to stick around for a while longer.

    The next few days fell into a rxing routine for Victor. He spent the evenings and nights with Va, watching her, marveling at the weird Energy-dense steam that seemed to perpetually issue from her,pletely swathing her body like a billowy cocoon. She didn¡¯t stir, or if she did, he couldn¡¯t see it through the thick clouds. He slept on the floor, quite content on the rug, and when he woke in the mornings, seeing no change in her, he¡¯d go outside and spar with one of the units, encouraging them to use their skills and abilities to gang up on him.

    For the first hour of those practice sessions, he¡¯d keep himself hobbled, sized-down the way he liked to be when indoors. After everyone was warmed up, he¡¯d release his hold on his form, cast Iron Berserk, and let the soldiers go all out. He still held back, and Lifedrinker recognized that they were ¡°ying,¡± in her words. She didn¡¯t burst into mes, and it almost felt like she helped him to pull back or angle her edge away when he slipped someone¡¯s guard too easily. Still, the soldiers were battered and tired at the end of each session, and Victor felt rxed, his stress driven away by the good fun of helping others learn something. It didn¡¯t hurt that he also cast Globe of Inspiration and Inspiration of the Quinametzin, and many soldiers reported skill gains at the end of each session.

    At noon, he¡¯d check on Va, eat a hearty meal with the soldiers in the keep, then start a new session with a second unit. After that, Victor would spend time cultivating, trying to work on his outdated cultivation drill, incorporating the things Khul Bach had taught him. He knew his drill was pathetic for his power level, but he¡¯d been cheating to improve his Core by eating hearts, an ability people like the Warlord would be and had been quite willing to murder andmit atrocities to learn.

    He met with Khul Bach twice during those three days and had long conversations about the nature of titans, what Victor should be working on, and how he¡¯d made good progress toward his goal of being strong enough to return to face the Warlord one day. Khul Bach, as usual, didn¡¯t like to talk for long, acting as though every second Victor spent in there speaking to him was a second he could be out trying to improve himself. It was after the second meeting, on the third day, when the soldiers on the parapets raised an rm. Victor was in his home at the time, so he didn¡¯t hear it, but eventually, Rano dispatched one of his sergeants to pound on his door.

    When Victor heard the pounding and hurried upstairs to open the door, the Shadeni woman, a soldier he recognized from an earlier sparring bout, spoke breathlessly, ¡°An army approaches, sir! Hundreds of foot soldiers and half a dozen giants! We can¡¯t see them clearly in the dark, but the giants have eyes that glow with red mes!¡±

    ¡°Hello, Ileya. Is your arm still sore?¡±

    Her eyes widened when he spoke her name, and she answered him, anxiety thick in her voice, ¡°My arm? Yes, sir, but I¡¯ve put some salve on it. I¡¯ll be fine. What of the army?¡±

    ¡°The army? Hmm. Seems like they think they¡¯re going to score an easy win here, what with only a small force left behind to guard this big keep. I¡¯m afraid they¡¯ve made a big mistake, though.¡± Victor grinned, his chest swelling as his Quinametzin pride opened his pathways, letting his Energy seep into them, his will to hold his aura in check slipping just a bit. ¡°Yeah, a big, fucking mistake.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 45: A Clash of Giants

    Book 6: Chapter 45: A sh of Giants

    Victor stood on the parapet, nked by Lieutenant ap¡¯Fanin, or Rano, and several of his sergeants. The beauty of Sea Keep was the one-sided approach any attacking army would have to take, assuming they couldn¡¯t fly. The sheer cliff behind the keep butted up against a great, rocky mountain range that stretched east for dozens of miles before giving way to more rolling hills and ins. Meanwhile, the front of the keep had limited exposure due to the rocky slope leading down to the shore. Only a narrow, winding, gravel-strewn road gave ess to the sliver of hard, stony ground before the curtain wall. Victor caught his first glimpse of the iing army down that winding stretch of road.

    ¡°How do they know we have a light garrison?¡± one of the sergeants asked, squinting as he peered into the moonlit shadows.

    ¡°They must have spies, observers. Who knows what manner of undead creatures might lurk up on yonder slopes.¡± Rano jerked a thumb to the right, toward the high, rocky peaks leading away to the east.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor nodded. ¡°They counted our guards, watched the light activity in the courtyard, and figured we were easy pickings. I just wonder where these guys came from.¡± He peered down at the army, his Quinametzin eyes easily piercing the shadows. To him, the darkness was tinged in strange orange and red tones, the pale light of the moon enhanced by his epic-level physiology. However it worked, Victor had a clear view of the shambling undead creatures and the hulking monstrosities marching in their midst. ¡°Looks like around eight hundred undead and six of those giants.¡±

    Rano turned to look up at him. ¡°You don¡¯t think they¡¯re from the other keep? The southern one?¡±

    ¡°I dunno. Maybe. Maybe they were outside when Borrius and Rellia surrounded it. It could be that this force was on its way to help one of the other keeps, even this one, and whoevermands it saw an opportunity. We don¡¯t know how Hectormunicates with his generals. Maybe he gave the order.¡±

    ¡°Can this wall resist those giants?¡± a sergeant to his left asked.

    ¡°For a while, maybe. They¡¯re about twenty feet tall, and I don¡¯t know if you all can see this, but they¡¯re kind of built like goris. Ugly, deformed, hairless goris, but what I mean is their oversized arms are practically dragging on the ground while they walk. I bet they pack quite a punch.¡±

    ¡°Goris?¡± Rano turned to lift an eyebrow at Victor.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m just saying they look like they were built to smash stuff.¡± Victor watched the army for a minute more, judging they were only about a mile distant, halfway up the winding road. ¡°If we¡¯re going to do something before they hit the wall, we better decide now. Any ideas?¡±

    ¡°If it were just the undead, we could hold them at the wall, I¡¯m sure.¡± Rano sounded stressed, almost like he¡¯d done something wrong. Victor could guess what he was thinking.

    ¡°You¡¯re wondering if you should¡¯ve built some defensive measures on the road, prepared more for a circumstance like this.¡±

    ¡°Aye. We spent too much time drilling and cleaning. We should¡¯ve been out there digging trenches,ying traps, building barricades.¡±

    ¡°Eh, we don¡¯t have time to y what-if. What are we going to do about those giants?¡± Victor had an idea of what he¡¯d do, but he was hoping to get some more ideas before he charged out there and tried to carry the battle on his shoulders.

    A feminine voice piped up from off to Rano¡¯s right, ¡°What if we don¡¯t close the outer gate?¡±

    Victor leaned forward to see around the lieutenant and one of his burlier Shadeni sergeants toy eyes on the speaker. She was a thin, pale-haired Ghelli with tiny wings, reminding him of Edeya before she¡¯d gone through her racial enhancement. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±

    ¡°If we don¡¯t close the outer gate, they¡¯ll funnel toward it. Why smash the wall when there¡¯s a big opening? Let them drive through, use the murder holes and whatnot, while you wait in the bailey for any giants thate out. We have ballistae on the inner wall to help with them, too. Obviously, we¡¯ll keep the inner gates closed . . .¡±

    Rano nodded. ¡°I like the idea of turning the bailey into a killing ground.¡±

    ¡°Huh. Not bad. I¡¯ll stand at the gatehouse tunnel and smash any thate through. We¡¯ll need men on this wall in case they try to usedders or something to swarm over. If we get overrun, you can use the wall to retreat to the inner courtyard, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Aye, sir!¡± Rano turned and began to give his orders. Victor turned away, focusing again on the approaching army. Were all those giants the same? Who was leading this force? Did theye without a general? Were they just an extra patrolling force Hector had called to action? He was beginning to think so, watching as the army neared thest bend in the road. He was getting ready to hop down to the courtyard to get into position, but then he noticed that one of the giants was hanging back while the other five plowed forward to the front of the pack of undead. ¡°Are you the boss? Okay, <em>pendejo</em>, we¡¯ll see what you guys are made of.¡±

    When he turned away, he found all the sergeants were busy ordering the hundred defenders into position. It looked like about two-thirds of the soldiers were ready to defend the curtain wall from climbers or whatever the army tried to send up the wall. He turned to look over the bailey to the inner wall and saw fire teams near each of the six ballistae. He knew other defenders were inside the gatehouse, ready to rain hell down on the undead that came through the tunnel. Victor pulled Lifedrinker from her harness, still gleaming and dripping with golden, glory-attuned Energy. He¡¯d left his Imbue Spirit in effect and didn¡¯t n to cancel it anytime soon. ¡°This¡¯ll be interesting, beautiful.¡±

    <em>I yearn to cleave their flesh! I hunger for it! Let all witness our might as wey your enemies low!</em>

    Victor chuckled, then severed his Alter Self spell, expanding to his natural size, nearly ten feet tall. He ced a hand on the parapet and hopped over the wall,nding on the cobbles with a thud that shook dust from the stones. He strode to the inner gate and stood at the opening as the soldiers inside raised the portcullis. The tunnel leading through the curtain wall was big but not big enough for those giants to get through easily. He could still walk through it, but they¡¯d have to stoop. He¡¯d have a simr problem if he berserked.

    Over thest few days, while drilling with the troops, he discovered a few things about himself. First, he¡¯d learned that, as the System had informed him, he was considered a Quinametzin now. He knew that because his Titanic Leap worked without Iron Berserk or Titanic Aspect. Another thing was that, just as he¡¯d grown in his natural state, he wasrger when he cast Iron Berserk, something like eighteen feet tall and God knows how many pounds. Finally, he¡¯d begun to notice changes in himself, in his personality. At first, it didn¡¯t register with him, probably because he was himself, and it¡¯s always a little hard to look at oneself objectively. Still, he¡¯d begun to notice a certain pridefulness that made the old Victor seem mild.

    This revtion might have been troubling to him once upon a time, but, likely due to the changes in him, he couldn¡¯t find it in himself to feel upset. So he was changing, wasn¡¯t that good and proper? Shouldn¡¯t one evolve as one grows in power? Should he still act like a lost kid from Tucson? No, he¡¯d moved well past that stage in his life. He was a warrior, a titan! He was Quinametzin, and those who challenged him should learn the folly of their ways . . . ¡°Heh, there I go again.¡± Victor chuckled, catching himself in the midst of his inner monologue.

    Standing before the gatehouse tunnel, he looked up at the parapets and shouted to Rano, ¡°What are they doing?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ve stopped at the end of the road! It looks like they¡¯re forming ranks¡ªthe giants are in the front. Well, five of them!¡±

    ¡°Well? Start shooting! That¡¯s only two hundred yards!¡± That was one of the things Victor appreciated about the Sea Keep; there wasn¡¯t enough room atop the rocky shelf for a proper army to assemble out of harm¡¯s way. The outer ballistae could easily reach the edge, and many of the soldiers had abilities and spells that could uratelyunch missiles at that range.

    ¡°Sorry, sir! I thought we might wait to hear their intentions!¡±

    ¡°Hell no! They marched onto ournd with undead soldiers. Fuck them up!¡±

    Rano¡¯s voice rose to new heights as he screamed the order up and down the line, ¡°Fire! Fire! Unleash your ancestors¡¯ fury! Burn the dogs!¡± He went on and on, and because of the distance of the enemy force and the discipline of the soldiers atop the wall, his words rang clearly through the bailey. Victor smiled at his colorful enthusiasm and nodded, twisting his fist on Lifedrinker''s haft. He listened to the thump of the ballistae and the cranking of their winsses as they were reloaded. He watched the sky brighten with shes of color as the Elementalists threw their fire and lightning at the iing undead.

    Soldiers began to yell and cheer, buoyed by their small victories, as the undead began to fall. For a moment, he regretted hopping down from the battlements so soon, thinking he should have watched the attack for a while, but then he considered the magical nature of his enemies and the idea that they might spy him standing up there. No, it was better to wait there, out of sight, and give them a titan-sized wee as they came through the tunnel. Still, he was curious, ¡°Rano!¡± he bellowed, ¡°Do the ballistae hurt the giants?¡±

    ¡°I . . . I think so, sir! They stille, though blood leaks from their misshapen forms!¡± Victor watched through the dark tunnel, waiting, getting ready. He wanted themmitted, wanted them in the tunnel before he exposed himself. The shouts and screams of his soldiers grew more fric, the shes of magical Energy more strobe-like, and Victor felt his breathing quicken, his heart begin to thump. He wasn¡¯t nervous; he was excited. Thunder and shes were frequent now, the casters with shorter-ranged spells unleashing all they had. When a cacophonous peal of thunder rolled over the courtyard, shaking the stones, Victor almost cheered, impressed by whatever soldier had cast such a spell. His enthusiasm dimmed, though, when he realized it wasn¡¯t friendly magic.

    A new kind of darkness obscured the moons, throwing more shadows around the courtyard, and then a frigid, stinging rain began to fall, bringing forth screams of pain from the garrison troops. Victor felt it, cold and burning on his flesh, but he shrugged it off. It would take more than that to hurt him. Still, the soldiers suffered and needed his support. ¡°Time for action, <em>chica</em>,¡± he growled, then he cast Banner of the Champion and Iron Berserk, and suddenly, the entire bailey was awash with brilliant golden light. Victor stood so tall that his massive banner hung in the air, visible over the parapets.

    Lifedrinker, despite the growth she¡¯d gone through in thest months, was once again a hatchet in his massive hand, and Victor held her high, ready to bring her down on the first fools to push through that tunnel. Despite his bolstering light, the soldiers were suffering, screaming in the burning rain, and Victor bellowed, ¡°Get inside the gatehouse, or fall back to the inner courtyard! Take cover!¡± His voice was booming, breaking through the screams, the crashing thunder, and the sounds of the undead horde as they streamed for the open gateway. He saw the soldiers hurry to obey, many going into the enormous gatehouse before him. Many others ran, panicked, with shields over their heads, for the far ends of the curtain wall, aiming for the heavy metal doors that would admit them into the higher, inner keep walls.

    Victor wasn¡¯t worried. So what if some of the undead climbed the wall unmolested? Where would they go? Into the bailey with him! Heughed at the thought, and before he grew too busy with fighting, he looked at his current physical ability scores.

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>330 (1377)</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>439 (596)</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>174 (313)</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>197 (355)</strong>

    Hisugh grew louder at what he saw, a throaty chuckle that rumbled out of his chest. Even giving ten percent of his power to Lifedrinker, his attributes were monstrous. His strength and vitality were boosted by Sovereign Will; his strength, dexterity, and agility were increased by Iron Berserk. On top of all that, his Titanic Rage feat further enhanced his strength. His physical attributes were far beyond what his level might indicate, and he could feel it. In his mind, he could drop his axe and smash his way through that wall with his bare hands.

    As his red-tinged eyes took in the first of the giants struggling to get through the tunnel, he held Lifedrinker high, waiting off to the side. Arrows pumped into the hulking shape as it lurched, hunched over, stumbling and jiggling toward Victor. As hot oil doused the form, sloshing over the creature and sloughing off great swaths of cooked flesh, he began to wonder if the poor bastard would get through to him. Another throaty chuckle escaped him as he began to stoke the mes of fury in his pathways, pumping it into his arms with Channel Spirit but leaving it out of Lifedrinker; she was glorious as she was, and he didn¡¯t want to distract her with more fury.

    He itched to charge into the tunnel, to ruin the giant stumbling its way through, but he didn¡¯t want to stand under those arrows, oil, and other projectiles being lobbed by those in the gatehouse. He waited, grinding his teeth in anticipation, and then the first giant came out of the tunnel, lifting its misshapen, knobby head in a bellow of victory, raising its giant, pink, club-like arms high in the air. Victor brought Lifedrinker down in a vicious hack, her brilliant gold-lit de ripping through the thing¡¯s shoulder, removing one of those big arms with a thunk and a thunderous crack as she tore through the bone.

    Victorughed and lifted one mighty boot, kicking the reeling giant in the hip and sending it sprawling away from the gate to slide over the cobbles. It thrashed and writhed, but it was terribly wounded. Its bulbous pink flesh was riddled with arrows, covered in blisters, and ripped with a hundred gashes. Its eyes had been boiled out of its head, and great gouts of red-ck blood pumped from the stump Victor had just made. ¡°You¡¯re big, but you¡¯re no titan!¡±

    He wanted to taunt it more, to cut pieces from its monstrous form, but another was already emerging from the tunnel, and this one wasn¡¯t nearly as badly hurt. It lowered one of its monstrous, lumpy shoulders, revealing a row of strange, ck, horn-like spines, and charged at him. Victor loved to grapple, and having something bigger than he was for a change was a rare treat. He lowered his center of gravity, caught hold of one of the longer horns, gripping it with a hand that could crush stone, and easily turned the monster¡¯s charge, giving it five rapid hacks with Lifedrinker as he threw it past.

    Lifedrinker screamed with fury and excitement, reveling in the action, sending sparks of golden Energy flying in her wake and showering forth from each impact. She tore massive gashes through flesh and bone alike, and when Victor flung the monstrosity aside, it tumbled to the ground. As it rolled, the cobbles were sshed with blood and dark, slippery things that were meant to be on the inside of the monster but had been freed by Lifedrinker¡¯s wicked de.

    Victor stepped to the side of the tunnel and peered around the stone, red fury obscuring details but making it easy to pick out the thrashing piles of undead in the passageway. The murder holes were doing their job, and the third giant struggled to push past the mounds of dead zombies and shamblers. Victor took the respite to dispatch the two downed flesh giants, hacking through their spines, splitting their skulls, and dashing their brains onto the cobbles. They were weak, in his opinion. ¡°Not even a challenge! The soldiers could handle these stupid things.¡± For some reason, the ease of his victories made him angry, and he could feel the rage in his heart begin to boil, beating through his blood and darkening his vision further.

    He stared into the tunnel, saw the third giant was still only a third of the way through, and decided he¡¯d had enough. Focusing on the thing, he lowered his heavy helmet and cast Energy Charge, fueling it with his most plentiful Energy¡ªfear. In a streak of screaming shadows, he tore through the mounds of corpses and collided with the great, fleshy monster, smashing it like a Mack truck t-boning a school bus. The explosion resounded through the stones of the gatehouse, but the fleshy giant came apart before the stones did, and it exploded out of the tunnel in a shower of blood, bones, viscera, and sagging, empty skin.

    Drenched in hot red fluids, Victor ran forward, screaming his fury. He began to curse his weak enemies as the undead massed outside the gate, waiting toe through, charged him. Some of his curses were out of character, things he¡¯d never think of to insult someone in a rational state of mind, ¡°Weaklings! Worms! Dare you challenge me? Feed the soil, then, pathetic things!¡± Other curses were more in character, more like the old Victor dialed to the max, ¡°Fucking die! Eat shit! I¡¯ll rip your shit-eating faces off!¡± Meanwhile, he tore a swath through the undead, aiming for the fourth and fifth of the lumpy, misshapen flesh giants.

    He hacked the zombies and shamblers apart with his axe, grabbed them with his left hand, and threw them about like ythings. He was surrounded by undead, too stupid to care that they weren¡¯t hurting him, that he was ripping them to shreds, and they kept filling in, hindering his progress toward the two giants. The big monsters were working their way around him toward the gate, and Victor had had enough. Again, he flooded his channels with fear-attuned Energy and cast Energy Charge. He obliterated scores of undead as he exploded with dark Energy, streaking through the miniature horde and mming into the first of the giants. Just like thest one, this one came apart in a shower of blood and gore.

    Victor roared and began toy into the second one, shrugging off its tree-trunk-sized arms as they rained return blows upon him. Those big, two-hundred-pound fists crashed into his Juggernaut helm, slid off his shoulders, or were knocked aside by Victor¡¯s left hand as he went to work with Lifedrinker, carving terrible wounds into the gigantic, roaring monster. The fleshy giants were ugly as sin up close. Folds of pink flesh surrounded bright, burning red eyes over huge, noseless nostrils from which blood and slime sprayed forth. Beneath those sickening orifices was a round mouth filled with rows of yellow, angr teeth. It tried to employ that sucker-shaped bite a few times, but Victor just threw it off, smashing it with Lifedrinker¡¯s edge for its efforts.

    When the final giant was dead, torn to bits at his feet, Victor¡¯s chest heaved as he looked around. Some of the undead were still charging toward him, but most had streamed into the tunnel now that it was clear of giant bodies. There couldn¡¯t have been more than five hundred, and Victor wasn¡¯t worried about them; the soldiers could finish their work on those stupid, mindless things; they had the walls to their advantage. No, he had other fish to fry. Where was thatst giant? Where was the general whomanded this little horde? Where was the one who¡¯d summoned that magical, evil rain?

    Drenched in blood and gore, Victor stood tall, smacking the asional undead that strayed near, and scanned the rocky shelf, looking toward the road. ¡°Where are you? Come and fight!¡± He started forward, kicking zombies like footballs and splitting shamblers like cordwood as he walked away from the keep. He¡¯d made it halfway to the road, a trail of ruined undead marking his progress when the giant stepped forward. His great, helmeted head was the first to appear as it made its way up thest stretch of the sloping road. The helmet was ck, the metal looked thick, and the angr eye slits shone with baleful red Energy. Then his enormous shoulders and chest rose into view, simrly d in heavy, ck tes, held together by links of ck chain.

    While Victor watched, the giant continued forward, and the rest of him came into view¡ªthighs like mighty oaks, fists in gauntlets that could have doubled for engine blocks, and finally, hanging from the giant¡¯s right hand, dragging a furrow in the ground behind him, an axe that made Lifedrinker look like a toy. ¡°d you came out to y with old Karl, little one. I¡¯d worried there wouldn¡¯t be any glory in this victory,¡± the giant rumbled.

 Book 6: Chapter 46: Battle on the Bluff

    Book 6: Chapter 46: Battle on the Bluff

    Victor watched Karl, or Karl the Crimson if this was the guy Victoria had told him about, continue to stride closer, and as he crested the rise, Victor took his measure. He was a true giant of a man, easily asrge as the monstrosities he¡¯d sent against the keep but not misshapen and lumpy. His gigantic tes of t ck armor made him even more impressive to behold. Victor felt a wave of excitement at the prospect of a good battle, felt his annoyance at the weakling undead begin to fade to background noise as he twisted his fist on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft. He didn¡¯t reply to the giant¡¯s taunt, but his teeth were bared in a hungry grin as he stalked toward his new opponent.

    ¡°I thought you¡¯d moved on, taking your little army toward Hector and your inevitable destruction. I¡¯m pleased I¡¯ll have a big, fat head to mount on my next creation.¡± With a grinding tter, Karl dragged his giant axe over the stony ground and swung it with a <em>whoosh</em> up to his shoulder, gripping the haft with both hands. Victor didn¡¯t answer, but a low growl began to rumble through his chest as he thought about the flimsy giants this man had just imed credit for.

    ¡°Come,¡± Victor growled, and then he danced forward. He moved like a bear, power evident in every step, every flex of his wrist as he wove Lifedrinker left and right. He wasn¡¯t impressed by the giant axe; when did making something big make it better? True, as a titan, he wasn¡¯t known for being small, and much of his dominating power came from his size, but he wasn¡¯t a giant, overfilled sack of bones like those creatures he¡¯d just in; he was Quinametzin, and he was hard as steel. The cords of muscle standing out on his forearms, shoulders, and back were powerful, ready to snap into action like pressure-driven pistons. Karl might have more bulk than he, especially with all that te armor, but Victor saw him as a concrete wall, and he was the sledgehammer.

    Karl waited for him to get near, then, like a spring snapping a beartrap closed, he ripped his great axe in an overhead smash, aiming to split Victor in half. The axe fell like a lightning-charged guillotine, slicing the air and crashing into the stony ground, showering the vicinity with shards of gray rock and hundreds of brilliant sparks. Victor wasn¡¯t there to appreciate the mighty blow, however; he¡¯d darted to the left, and as he skirted around the ck-d giant, he hacked Lifedrinker not once but three times into his armor-covered side, taking advantage of Karl¡¯s arms being extended, swinging that giant axe.

    Lifedrinker had cooled during the lull between Victor¡¯s ughter of the undead and this new contest. As he swung her, though, she burst into molten fury, her inner heat adding to the power of his enchantment. She still shed brilliant sparks of glory-attuned Energy, but they were hot and sizzled the air as they fell, scoring the stony ground with ck burn marks. Her gleaming edge shimmered hotly, heating the air to the point that even getting near her edge was a dangerous proposition. Karl¡¯s armor screeched as she split it, carving deep grooves in the dense material, so hot that she liquified the metal where her de touched it.

    When Karl regained his momentum and hacked his gigantic axe in a wide, t arc, hoping to catch Victor still on his nk, his face beneath the ck metal visor of his helm was crimson with fury and pain as blood sizzled against the torn, hot metal tes on his side. Victor wasn¡¯t there to receive the blow; he¡¯d continued to circle the giant, and this time, he darted forward and delivered one mighty hack to the side of Karl¡¯s right knee. Lifedrinker didn¡¯t have to cut through any inch-thick metal tes; he struck the gap between the jointed, round cap over Karl¡¯s knee and his thigh te. Lifedrinker screamed her excitement and lust for violence as she split the air, slicing through the chain armor like it wasn¡¯t there and burying herself deep in the giant¡¯s flesh, biting into his bone.

    Karl roared in agony and swept his axe around, kicking out with his other leg, trying to get at Victor. Victor ducked the whooshing de and yanked on Lifedrinker, using her grip on Karl¡¯s bone to pull his leg out from under him. The armor-ted giant¡¯s sweeping kick turned into a pirouette as he toppled and crashed to the ground with a tremendous thud and the rattle and nk of metal. Victor stepped on Karl¡¯s outflung forearm, holding it to the ground, and then he lifted Lifedrinker high, her de smoking as it scorched the very air, and chopped her at the giant¡¯s face with enough force to split stone.

    Lifedrinker¡¯s eager, high-pitched warcry echoed and bounced off the stone as she fell toward the giant, a lightning-fast streak of burning metal, but just as she was about to deliver her fatal blow, Karl exploded with cold death-attuned Energy twisted with something else, something familiar to Victor from his duels with Va¡ªiron. The Energy billowed out of Karl like an expanding shell, and Lifedrinker smashed into it. The defensive ability or spell was effective in that it slowed her decent, but it wasn¡¯t enough to stop her; Lifedrinker struck that shell with such burning, deadly force that its blue-gray surface turned white at the point of impact and instantly began to shatter ande apart.

    Though Lifedrinker broke through the barrier, she¡¯d been slowed enough for Karl to lift an armored forearm and deflect her deadly blow. Still, Victor ground down on Karl¡¯s other arm, keeping him in ce as he lifted Lifedrinker for another hack. Karl wasn¡¯t out of surprises, though; his right hand was pinned, and he hugged his left arm in front of his face, yet, somehow, his giant axe smashed into Victor¡¯s back, splitting his wyrm-scale armor and gouging deep into his tough, Quinametzin flesh.

    Victor stumbled at the unexpected blow, growling in fury as he spun, expecting to see some undead remnants of Karl¡¯s army had interfered with their contest. Instead, he saw the enormous axe wielded by a ghostly, translucent replica of Karl sans his armor. Karl¡¯s spirit form glowed with a deathly blue Energy, and Victor knew this was some kind of Death Caster magic. He instantly poured a torrent of fear-attuned Energy into his pathways and summoned his bear totem¡ªif Karl wanted to bring friends into the fight, Victor would oblige.

    As he stepped back, lifting Lifedrinker, warily circling the spectral copy of Karl, a dark, roiling mound of shadows rose from the ground, and deep, angry roars echoed out of it. Victor grinned as he heard his bear brother¡¯s fury. The giant axe-wielding spirit dove at him, whipping the enormous axe in a great cleave, and Victor backed away, tapping the clumsy strike with a quick thrust of Lifedrinker¡¯s head, adding to its momentum and then stepping into the blow as it <em>whooshed</em> past him. Meanwhile, with a bone-rattling roar, his great, dark, shadow-d bear erupted from the pile of darkness and fixed its furious, purple-lit eyes upon Karl as he struggled to rise.

    While Victor went to work on the spirit, his bear pounced on the giant. Even big as it was, the bear looked more like a dog as it mmed into him, but Karl¡¯s knee wasn¡¯t working right, and he wasn¡¯t armed. They both tumbled to the ground in a furious grappling melee as Victor¡¯s totem swiped its dark, eight-inch ws in a frenzy, snapping its great maw against Karl¡¯s arms as he tried to throw the bear off him. Victor hacked Lifedrinker, one-handed like a killer with a hatchet, to great effect on the spirit-like copy, cleaving off big hunks of its essence, which sttered to the stone ground in steaming, gel-like puddles.

    The spirit opened its mouth in silent screams as Victor whittled it down, easily dodging the clumsy swings of the massive axe, a weapon ill-suited for up close, dirty fighting. The spirit seemed to know what it was doing, constantly backpedaling to get some room to swing the weapon. Even so, it was trivial for Victor, an epic-ranked axe fighter, to press his advantage, to stay inside the big axe¡¯s arc, and continue to deliver blow after devastating blow to the spirit¡¯s form. It grew paler and paler, and after a final, powerful hack that seemed to shatter its essence, it exploded into a cold, damp, softly glowing mist and faded away.

    As Karl¡¯s axe fell to the stone with a cacophonous tter, he turned to the giant only to see him finally on his feet, lifting his bear above his head, ready to throw Victor¡¯s brave totem down the rocky slope toward the ocean. Victor growled in fury, released his bear to return to the Spirit ne, and then, as Karl stumbled, suddenly holding nothing but air, he cast Energy Charge, powering it with glory-attuned Energy.

    In a shower of golden sparks and a streak of bright light, he ripped over the rocky ground to m into Karl¡¯s exposed nk. The giant wasn¡¯t ready. How could he be? Victor hit him like a battering ram, the concussion so deafening that boulders broke free of their centuries-long resting ces and tumbled from the heights, crashing their way down the mountain slopes, many bouncing and cracking all the way to the sea. Victor nearly drained his glory-attuned pool of Energy as the spell worked to deflect the force of the impact. Karl wasn¡¯t so lucky.

    As Victor smashed into Karl¡¯s back, a ripple of energy tore through the giant that exploded blood vessels, ruptured organs, and sent fluids bursting out of Karl¡¯s every orifice. Many of his armor tes ripped free of the chains holding them, flying out over the rocky slope, and then Karl¡¯s body followed them, tumbling as he cried out in a final gasp of surprise and agony. He soared past the winding gravel road tond with a great <em>thump</em>, flopping like a broken toy from one rocky shelf to the next until he came to rest on the edge of the beach.

    Victor watched Karl¡¯s descent with a wild grin, and even before Karl¡¯s body came to a rest, he leaped down after him. He wouldn¡¯t leave the giant any room for some <em>pinch¨¦</em> undead recovery. In two Titanic Leaps, he stood on the beach and approached the broken giant with Lifedrinker buzzing in his hand, hungry for her due. As Victor¡¯s heavy footprints shook the ground and the giant, amazingly not yet dead, opened his blood-soaked eyes, he wheezed, ¡°What are you?¡±

    Victor regarded the giant. Much of his armor had fallen away as he¡¯d bounced his way down the rocky slope. His exposed flesh was pale and deathly, and Victor knew he was undead. His arms were twisted and broken, his knee that Lifedrinker had chopped was utterly ruined, and that foot rested near his shoulder, so badly bent was the leg. His helmet had broken free, and his thick head of orange-red hairy spread on the sand, almost like a pool of blood. Victor¡¯s anger was cooling quickly; he felt only contempt for this unnatural giant. He lifted Lifedrinker high, her smoldering de dripping hot sparks on Karl¡¯s broken chest. ¡°I¡¯m a titan!¡±

    ¡°But,¡± Karl wheezed, ¡°You¡¯re smaller than I . . .¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a giant of a man, Karl, but a giant next to a titan is like wood before steel. Make your peace.¡± With that, Victor brought Lifedrinker down in a devastating chop, nting her gleaming, white-hot edge directly through the center of Karl¡¯s breastte. She split the metal like a sheet of paper-thin tin, burying herself to the wood of her haft into Karl¡¯s chest. Karl¡¯s bloody eyes widened almostically, and he opened his beard-covered mouth in a silent O of pain and dismay. Then, the light faded from his eyes as Lifedrinker earned her name.

    As Victor¡¯s rage cooled further and he lost his Iron Berserk, he stood beside the gigantic corpse and waited until Lifedrinker finished. After he¡¯d yanked her free and hung her in her harness, he pulled the rings from Karl¡¯s giant fingers, three of them the size of bracelets. That done, he cast Honor the Spirits, watching as the brilliant white, ghostly fire consumed the massive corpse. As the mes died away, the ethereal smoke vanishing into nothing, he turned and began trudging up the slope to the keep.

    He was d to have won, d there hadn¡¯t been any terrible surprises with the army¡¯s attack, but he also felt uneasy, like he was wasting time. The giant had imed not to know Victor was there, but the whole thing almost felt like a distraction. He supposed it would be strange for Karl to throw his life away for a distraction. Victor shook his head, continuing up the ramp, ears peeled, listening for the sounds of battle from the keep. They were still there; shes of metal on metal, men and women shouting, but they were infrequent, and nothing sounded desperate. He figured the undead were struggling to do anything against the walls now that the giants were gone, and theirmander was dead. The soldiers were probably whittling them down from safety.

    When he reached the top of the slope and paused by the scene of his battle, he stooped to pick up the gigantic axe. Now that he was back to his normal size, the weapon seemed more monstrous, even absurd. It was a dark, gleaming gray-ck, singr piece of metal molded into a haft and an axe head, utilitarian and in. The de was shaped like a gigantic wedge, a simple shape for an axe, butrge and heavy and clearly designed to cut through anything with that deadly sharp de. Victor lifted it, his muscles straining from the weight, andughed at the absurdity; the weapon was bigger than he was. ¡°Are you alive?¡±

    No answer was forting, so he lowered the weapon and continued toward the gate, dragging it behind him, digging a trail in the blood-spattered gravel. He walked past hundreds of dead zombies and shamblers with only a vague recollection of ying them all. There¡¯d been more than he thought. He had to force his way through piles of the undead in the gate tunnel, and when he finally emerged, he paused to watch as the soldiers continued their ughter. They¡¯de out of the gatehouse and their shelter in the higher, inner courtyard walls to surround the bailey, raining death upon the shambling, lurching monsters.

    The rain had ceased when Victor engaged Karl, and the clouds that had obscured the moon were gone. Fiery bolts, arrows streaking with Energy, lightning, frost, and even stone projectiles fell from the heights. Only a few dozen of the undead, already battered and broken, still stumbled about on the cobbles, listless and undirected in their failed assault. Victor leaned against the giant axe, propping the cold metal haft against his shoulder as he watched the ughter. It was only minutes before the battle was over, and golden motes began to gather around the mounds of corpses.

    Victor chuckled, turning to look through the tunnel, but couldn¡¯t see anything through the massive clouds of golden stuff. ¡°Here we go,¡± heughed, then let the massive axe haft fall to the ground with a ng as he braced himself. Secondster, he was struck with a torrent of Energy; his conscious thoughts were dashed away as he spun on a wave of euphoria, drifting through rainbow-colored hallucinations of ecstasy. He swore he saw Va dancing through his visions,ughing and smiling like he¡¯d rarely seen her in reality. Tingles of pleasure danced through his skin as his muscles spasmed, and the reward for his efforts washed through him. The influx recharged and renewed him, leaving him gasping on his hands and knees minutester.

    Victor grinned, still debilitated by the afterglow of the infusion, when he saw the System message before his eyes:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 57 Battlemaster, gained 10 strength, 9 vitality, 4 agility, 4 dexterity, 3 will, and 3 intelligence.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>¡°Huh. Nothing more? I guess it wasn¡¯t that hard a fight.¡± Victor stood, lifting the big axe again, and walked across the bailey, dragging the giant weapon. He could hear the soldiers cheering and celebrating all around him, and when he reached the inner gate, Rano was there, bloody but happy, snapping a perfect salute.

    ¡°Sir! Well fought! You ughtered those giants!¡±

    ¡°Good fight to you, Rano. You and your soldiers didn¡¯t give an inch. Do me a favor and secure that outer gate, then write a message in themand book.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the message, sir?¡±

    ¡°Tell Borrius to quit twiddling his thumbs and attack High Keep; I just killed Karl the Crimson, and it should be easy pickings.¡±

    ¡°That was one of the barons? I was on the outer wall when you threw him from the ledge! You smashed him like a training dummy!¡±

    ¡°Heh. Well, let¡¯s hope whatever¡¯s holding the citadels dies as easily, huh? All right, get to it. Oh, one more thing. Get some men together and take this axe into the great hall. Hang it above the biggest firece.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Rano saluted again, then hurried toward the outer gates, hollering for some soldiers on the wall to join him.

    A few minutester, Victor sat on the floor at the foot of his bed, watching the weird, colorful steam swirling around Va. ¡°Well, you missed a good one, Va. Eh, not really. It was just a bit of a workout. You probably wouldn¡¯t have liked it¡ªno chance for fancy sword work.¡± Of course, she didn¡¯t stir, so Victor looked at his Core and saw his Energies throbbing with potential, ready for anything. He¡¯d run a little low on rage during the battle and almost burned up his glory-attuned Energy once, but he¡¯d never really been in danger of running dry. It would take a much longer battle to do that.

    Looking at his Core, though, studying his different Energies, a thought urred to him: Why hadn¡¯t he tried to build any new Energy attunements? He¡¯d learned to make courage and justice, but many morebinations were possible now that he had his glory affinity. What would glory and fear create? Glory and rage? What about glory and inspiration? ¡°Then there¡¯s the triplebos like justice. What if I reced inspiration in the justice weave with glory? What about glory, inspiration, and fear or rage? What if I could weave them all together?¡±

    He was just thinking out loud, but he pitched his voice as though he were speaking to Va. When she didn¡¯t respond, he sighed and pulled out a stack of paper sheets and some differently colored pens. ¡°I think I¡¯ll start working on some ideas while you¡¯re resting, <em>amor m¨ªo</em>.¡± He felt Lifedrinker vibrate slightly in her harness and chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t be jealous, <em>chica</em>. I love you differently.¡± With no further protest from the axe, Victor smiled and settled down to his work.

 Book 6: Chapter 47: Rhiven

    Book 6: Chapter 47: Rhiven

    Over the next couple of days, Victor spent less time than he wanted working on his new Energy weaves. The soldiers on garrison duty were still members of the ninth cohort, and they¡¯d gotten an infusion of excitement and enthusiasm when they¡¯d witnessed Victor¡¯s fights with the giants and then from their wless destruction of the undead swarm. He couldn¡¯t hold it against them when they asked for more training. After their extended bouts, Victor felt guilty going inside while they marched out to the roadway and began constructing barricades and rebuilding the watch tower on the beach. The only solution he could think of was to spend some of his free time helping with that endeavor.

    So, he spent most of his days working with the soldiers, and then, in the evening, while he sat with Va, he took time to visit with Khul Bach and worked on his cultivation drill, which he felt was very close to advancing out of the ¡°basic¡± category. Finally, after cooking up arge meal and checking his Farscribe books and pages for correspondence, he¡¯d sit with his notes and ponder theplex patterns of Energy that he hoped to weave. He was making progress, but it was slower than he¡¯d anticipated.

    When he¡¯d created courage and justice, he¡¯d had help from Gorz and Old Mother. Sure, he¡¯d learned a lot since then, even made some spells of his own, but weaving Energies was different from building spell patterns. At first, he thought he¡¯d do something simple by recing the inspiration in his justice weave with glory. He¡¯d thought it was a no-brainer¡ªaplex weave, sure, but all the hard work had been done. It turned out that different affinities weren¡¯t exactly plug-and-y. When he tried to build the weave in his pathway, the glory-attuned Energy didn¡¯t hold the pattern where inspiration did; it kept slipping and drifting. He tried to force it with the power of his will, and though he could do so, keeping it where he wanted it, the pattern never ¡°snapped¡± together; it never shed and became a new attunement.

    He wasted two days trying to modify the pattern to make the glory-attuned Energy work with it, but, in the end, he decided it was like trying to force a spring into a mechanism that wanted something more like a cog wheel. What he needed was to craft a mechanism meant for the spring from the ground up. What it boiled down to was that Victor¡¯s idea of tackling what he¡¯d thought would be the easiest new weave turned out to be one of the moreplicated ones, so after two days of struggling, he decided to try working with something a little simpler. Rather than trying to put together another weave involving three Energies, he chose two¡ªrage and glory.

    On the fourth night after Karl¡¯s ill-fated attack on the keep, after a hard day sparring and working on the watch tower, Victor sat down to eat a te of sliced meats, cheeses, and fruits. He quietly munched as he flipped through the pages he was sharing with Edeya, turning to hertest missive:

    <em>Victor,</em>

    <em></em>

    <em>I received word from Rellia today. The legion has captured High Keep and, leaving a sizeable garrison behind, will begin the march to reinforce us at the citadels. She said Borrius ns to split the legion; half will march north along the western edge of Hector¡¯s current territory, and the other half will march along the eastern perimeter. Along the way, they n to split off support units to add to each keep¡¯s garrison. They know we¡¯ve called for the reserve cohort at the pass to join us, so they n to take their time, ensuring they haven¡¯t missed any other ¡°surprise¡± armies like the one that assaulted you at Sea Keep.</em>

    <em></em>

    <em>As for us, we finally have eyes on the citadels. I thought we¡¯d see one, have to deal with it, and then the other, but they truly are twin structures, and they¡¯re connected via a great marble span that crosses a wide, raging river. We¡¯ve learned that the river flows from the east, originating in the mountains beyond Rust Keep. The legion crossed it on their way south to High Keep, but it was much more docile on the ins. Here, among the hills surrounding Hector¡¯s mountain, the river is a formidable barrier, rushing with white waters over boulders and falls. We¡¯ve crossed it further west and now make our way up through the hills toward the first citadel.</em>

    <em></em>

    <em>The castles are intimidating, each guarding a side of the massive arch. Their walls must be a hundred feet high, built from the same white stone as the bridge. Only a narrow approach is possible because of the steep slope, and there¡¯s no room to stage an army before the enormous gates. For now, Sarl and Kethelket have judged our best course of action will be toy siege, holding ground out of range of the defenders and preventing any more of Hector¡¯s forces from leaving the mountain. Sarl intends to build siege weapons, hoping to soften the defense and perhaps destroy the gate before our eventual charge.</em>

    <em></em>

    <em>It''s good that we got here ahead of the army; it¡¯ll take weeks to properly prepare for what looks to be a difficult assault. I hope you and Va are well and that we¡¯ll see you soon.</em>

    <em></em>

    <em>With affection,</em>

    <em></em>

    <em>Lieutenant Edeya</em>

    Victor frowned, staring at the page with unseeing eyes; he was busy picturing the scene, imagining the two tall keeps and the bridge between them. He was d the army would hold off, dig in, and prepare for a real siege. He wanted to be there when they attacked. If they couldn¡¯t breach the gates with siege equipment, then Victor would be the one to assault them. In days past, he¡¯d determined that Karl¡¯s axe was not conscious. However, it seemed to be made of incredibly dense, enchanted metal, and he had an idea that it would be better at smashing defensive structures than Lifedrinker. ¡°Which is good, lovely,¡± he said, resting a hand on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft. ¡°You¡¯re meant for better things than chopping wood.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t surprised when she didn¡¯t answer but simply hummed with pleasure. She wasn¡¯t the talkative sort. ¡°Unless you count screaming in battle.¡± Amusement rippled forth from the axe, and his grin widened. Victor stuffed thest slice of peppery cured meat into his mouth and stood. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go check on Va, then get to work on that Energy weave.¡± With a final pat to Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, he walked down the stairs through the long hallway to his bedroom. On some level, he knew something had changed the second he opened the door; he¡¯d grown used to theyer of magical fog hanging in the air near the ceiling, and when it wasn¡¯t present, he jerked his eyes to the bed, only to find it empty.

    ¡°Va?¡± He frantically scanned the room, eyes settling on the door to the bathroom.

    ¡°Don¡¯te in here!¡± her voice cried from behind it. Of course, Victor immediately started for the door.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He rested a palm on the warm wood, his need to see she was all right warring with his desire to respect her request.

    ¡°I¡¯m . . . I think I made a mistake, Victor! I¡¯m not me anymore!¡±

    Victor touched his hand to the handle, and the house, recognizing him as the owner, unlocked the door with a click. Still, he didn¡¯t open it. ¡°Take a breath, Va. Can Ie in?¡± He tried to keep his voice steady, tried to slow his pounding heart.

    ¡°No! Ancestors! Oh, Victor! Just wait until night, close your eyes, and let me slip away in the shadows. Let me hide among the other outcasts in the world!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re freaking me out, Va. I¡¯m opening the door.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± A thud apanied her objection, and he knew she was leaning against the other side of the door, pressing it closed.

    ¡°Okay, then tell me what happened.¡±

    ¡°One of my ancestors spoke to me. Somehow. Ugh! I don¡¯t know how it¡¯s even possible. Is she in my blood? Did I meet her spirit? No, she said it was just a fraction of herself . . .¡±

    ¡°Va, slow down! Take a breath. What actually happened?¡±

    ¡°She wasn¡¯t Ardeni, she was Ordeni.¡± Her words stirred a faint memory in Victor¡¯s mind, and he tried to pin it down. It was something Chandri had told him . . . a story about the world forming.

    ¡°Oh! Aren¡¯t they the people who got destroyed when the world was new? Didn¡¯t they all gather to build a new city, using what they learned when the System arrived? Like, weren¡¯t they really talented with Energy?¡±

    ¡°And the Yovashi called down a piece of the yet-unformed moons to annihte them.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah. Well, that part sucks, but it¡¯s neat that you have a piece of them in your ancestry . . .¡±

    ¡°A piece? Hah!¡± Soft thuds apanied her words, and Victor could tell she was bouncing her forehead against the wood.

    ¡°Come on, Va, just tell me.¡±

    ¡°My ancestor had the Rihven bloodline. She asked me to take it up.¡±

    ¡°Okay . . .¡±

    ¡°I thought it was the noble thing to do. I thought I should rise to the asion, to bring forth this lost bloodline, to ¡®share it with the world,¡¯ or some other nonsense she spouted.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exciting, right?¡± Silence. ¡°Va?¡± She didn¡¯t answer for several long seconds, and Victor pressed, ¡°Talk to me.¡±

    ¡°I just, well, I just didn¡¯t expect such changes. I should have known better; the Rihven werepared to the Ridonne. Why don¡¯t I remember any art depicting them? Did the Ridonne purge them from history? I didn¡¯t know I¡¯d look like this, dammit!¡± As she swore, Victor had to fight to push his amusement down; the woman he loved was in despair¡ªthis was the time to be serious.

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit if you¡¯ve sprouted tentacles and grown a dozen eyes. I love you, Va. Come on! I¡¯m a titan, not a chickenshit boy. Let me see what my lovely, beautiful, sweet, brave, powerful woman looks like.¡± In response, Victor felt the doorknob twist, and he let go of the handle as it slowly swung open, revealing her. ¡°Holy fucking shit, you dummy! You¡¯re gorgeous!¡±

    ¡°I am?¡± Tears streamed from her eyes, and Victor reached out to wipe them with a thumb as he looked at her, really taking in the changes. He could see why she¡¯d be upset, even though she was totally wrong. Yeah, she¡¯d changed a lot, but she was still Va; she was still amazingly beautiful by any standard. Even so, if he¡¯d changed that much with his first dose of the Quinametzin bloodline, he might have been freaked out at first, too. Va was a good foot taller than she¡¯d been, and though his house was built with high ceilings and amodating doors, she was as tall as he was in his slightly reduced form. Her skin, while still retaining a hint of blue, was much paler, and strangely, Victor thought he saw a shimmer of silver in it as he rubbed her tear away with his thumb.

    If the changes had ended there, with her added height and different skin, he imagined she would¡¯ve taken them in stride. Those were the most minor of changes, however. Her hair, too, was different. Only hints of its seafoam color remained,rgely reced by shimmering, metallic silver tresses. Her eyes, once pure, glittering teal, were flecked with swaths of silver. Even her facial structure was different; he felt like he was looking at Va¡¯s long-lost older sister; her cheeks were higher, her jaw more defined, and her brow more angr. She looked more . . . regal was the only word Victor could think of.

    Despite all those changes, Victor thought thest was the one she was really struggling with. Va had grown wings, and they weren¡¯t little fairy wings like a Ghelli¡¯s. They were full-on, massive, feather-covered wings. They twitched, expanding and contracting awkwardly, one at a time, clearly throwing Va off bnce. He could see her struggling to control them as he regarded her. Even so, the wings, while big and maybe cumbersome, were beautiful. The feathers were silver with teal highlights, just like her hair. ¡°Yeah, silly. If you were a ten before, now you¡¯re a fucking twenty.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, just trust me, okay? You look amazing. You¡¯re the prettiest person I¡¯ve ever seen, and I¡¯ve seen some knockouts, as you know . . .¡±

    Va punched him, blurting out a noise that was half sob, halfugh. ¡°Stop it! These wings are terrible! I don¡¯t know how to keep them still! Look at the bathroom; I destroyed it!¡± Victor looked over her shoulder to see the towels, knick-knacks, and toiletries they¡¯d umted on the counters were spilled and scattered all over the floor.

    ¡°You just got ¡®em, silly. It¡¯s going to take a little getting used to. Why do you think I was so obsessed with learning to make myself smaller when I¡¯d first started to look a little like a Quinametzin? It¡¯s hard to change your mental image of yourself. You need to practice with those wings, but think about it, Va! You¡¯re going to fly!¡± He watched her eyes, watched the tears still pooling, but saw something light up in them, a glimmer of excitement. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m jealous of that, dammit! Hey! If I make myself small enough, you could fly me around . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not carrying my lover around like a baby!¡± She growled, and Victor noticed another change; her sharp, catlike teeth were mostly gone¡ªher dentition looked very human now. Was that a result of her embracing her Ordeni ancestry? Was that one of the differences between them and the Ardeni?

    ¡°Okay, forget all this physical stuff. How do you <em>feel</em>? Did anything else change?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± She started to cry again, tears bursting out of her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. Victor pulled her close, still standing in the doorway, holding her against his chest and stroking her head, smoothing his fingers over her light, surprisingly fluffy, silvery hair. ¡°I . . . I¡¯m not crying from being sad! When I looked at my status sheet, I got hung up staring at my race; it says I¡¯m Ordeni now with a Rihven bloodline.¡± She sniffed and, pressing her face into his chest, kept speaking, ¡°But when I finally looked further, I saw the biggest change of all. I worked so <em>hard</em> to get my affinities up over six using the techniques I¡¯d learned from Tes. So <em>hard</em>!¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡± Victor was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Had she lost her affinity?

    ¡°Now my air affinity is over eight. Just like that, without any work!¡± She pushed away from him, scowling, and boy, could she scowl with those angr silver brows. ¡°I feel like I cheated!¡±

    ¡°Shit, Va, are you kidding?¡± Victor shook his head, bemused. ¡°You worked hard to get it up to six, and now it¡¯s eight. If you hadn¡¯t worked hard, it might not have risen as high. You¡¯re not a damn cheater. Anyone who can advance their race will do so. You know that!¡±

    ¡°Not everyone does . . .¡±

    ¡°Well, they aren¡¯t our peers. We need to be strong, and this is how you do it. Fucking-A, Va! Your affinity is awesome! This is going to help so much!¡±

    Va sniffed, the waterworks drying up. She looked into Victor¡¯s eyes, and he savored it, enjoying a little dive into those beautiful silver-teal orbs. After a moment, she let go of his arms and took another step back, shaking her head ruefully. ¡°I can¡¯t even put my armor on.¡±

    ¡°Ah, shit.¡± Victor nced at her new, huge appendages sprouting from between her shoulders and frowned. ¡°We gotta think of a way to fix that.¡± He frowned, shaking his head, putting the thought away for another time. ¡°We¡¯ll figure it out. On another note, though, how many racial ranks did you get? I got three . . .¡±

    ¡°Ten!¡±

    ¡°Damn! I¡¯m d I gave you one of those apples, then.¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re the one talking about how we need to get stronger, but that¡¯s a good example of how you don¡¯t follow through with your own advice . . .¡±

    ¡°Not true! If I ate another apple, I might get two ranks out of it. You think two more racial ranks for me is as valuable as having an ally as strong as you? How about having to worry less about the woman I love? How much is that worth?¡±

    ¡°A lot because this woman isn¡¯t going to let the man she loves do all the heavy lifting anymore.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Victor nodded, ¡°heavy lifting. Like when you fly me around . . .¡± Again, Va punched him, and he took a step back,ughing. ¡°Hey! Careful! I think your knuckles are bigger.¡± With that, she chased him out of the bathroom, and as she ran behind him into the bedroom, her wings unfurled, and sheughed, leaping after him. Soon, they were entangled, wrestling on the bed, and their horsey transitioned fromughter to kisses, and not much sleep was had in Victor¡¯s house that night.

    When he woke in the morning, hey with his face in the pillow, listening to the odd sounds of Va muttering and cursing to herself, apanied by the repeated sound of her wings folding and unfolding, sometimes slowly and sometimes with an audible <em>crack</em> as they snapped to their full span. He slowly turned to his side and peeked through one half-open eyelid to see her pacing back and forth through the room in nothing but her underwear as she fought to gain control over her new appendages. ¡°We¡¯ll stop early each day so you can practice on the way, too,¡± he muttered.

    ¡°We¡¯re supposed to . . . how did you put it? ¡®Haul ass on Guapo,¡¯ not dilly around so I can learn to control my gods-damned body!¡±

    ¡°Gods, huh?¡±

    ¡°Well, how do I know? Sure, we have ancestors, but your grandmother believed in a god. Tes mentioned old gods. Who knows what¡¯s out there?¡± She snapped her response at him, and when she turned to regard his sleepy smile, her angry, furrowed brow softened, and sheughed and flopped to the ground, sitting on the carpet beside the bed. ¡°I¡¯m ridiculous!¡±

    ¡°Nah, you¡¯re great.¡± Victor sat up and stretched, yawning. ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s okay if we take a little extra time; the Ninth is just sieging the road leading up to the first citadel while they wait for the reinforcements. Come on! Let¡¯s get breakfast, and then we¡¯ll get on the road. Have you got an old breastte or something you can wear ¡®til we find an armorer qualified to mess with Tes¡¯s wyrm scale?¡±

    ¡°Of course. In any case, I¡¯ll need you to help me cut some holes in the backs of my shirts.¡±

    ¡°I dunno, I kinda like you like that.¡± As Va¡¯s cheeks bloomed red and her eyebrows drew together, Victorughed and rolled to his side, burying his head under a pillow, bracing for her retaliatory attack.

 Book 6: Chapter 48: Wings

    Book 6: Chapter 48: Wings

    Rano and a few of his sergeants hung around in the courtyard while Victor prepared to leave. He¡¯d summoned Guapo, and Uvu prowled around the courtyard, well aware that something was going on. He kept sniffing the air, chuffing, and pacing near the stairs leading into Victor¡¯s travel home. Victor figured the big cat knew Va was awake and would emerge soon, probably alerted through their bond. While he waited for her, Victor took some time to go through the big storage rings he¡¯d taken from Karl.

    One was full of supplies¡ªbarrels ofmp oil, timbers, iron brackets, bolts, and pins, along with the tools that would be used to put them together. When Victor showed Rano, he suggested they were for building siege equipment. Victor shook his head, bewildered. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t the idiot use some of this stuff?¡±

    Rano shrugged. ¡°Perhaps he was overconfident in the power of his giants. Perhaps he didn¡¯t realize youid in wait.¡±

    Another of the rings was filled with more disturbing things. There were dozens of sealed casks within, and when Victor took one out and hammered it open, he found it full of blood. There were huge crates stuffed with body parts, from human limbs and skin to organs. Victor grew disgusted in his perusal and handed the ring off to Rano, ¡°Build bonfires near the sea and burn these things.¡±

    ¡°Aye, sir.¡±

    In thest of the storage rings, Victor found more personal things¡ªclothes, armor, notebooks, weapons, and myriad disgusting things that could only have been trophies or mementos. Thetter ranged from fingers in velvet-lined jewelry boxes torge portions of human skin mounted to frames meant for hanging on a wall. Scanning through them, Victor didn¡¯t find anything that interested him other than some sacks of beads numbering in the hundreds of thousands. He took those and, again, handed the ring to Rano. ¡°You can distribute the weapons and armor as awards to those who need them, but I¡¯d like you to destroy the disgusting trophies.¡±

    ¡°Trophies?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I think that sick asshole kept parts of, I dunno, victims or maybe friends to disy. You¡¯ll see what I mean.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll see it¡¯s done, sir.¡± Rano was mid-salute when he suddenly gasped and took a step back, eyes on something over Victor¡¯s shoulder. Uvu made a funny rumbling, yawning sound, and Victor knew Va had emerged. He turned to her, face lighting up with affection. He caught his breath, much like Rano, when he saw her standing there on the stoop of his travel home, her wings partially extended, catching the morning sunlight in a spectacr shimmer of silver and soft green-blue iridescence. She was tall, powerful, and sharp-looking in her snug ck uniform pants, well-shined boots, and white, tucked-in uniform shirt.

    Victor had helped her to trim some holes in the backs of her shirts for her wings, and they seemed to have worked well. Midnight hung from her waist on her sword belt, and Va had donned a shiny, silver breastte that covered her chest and matched her helmet. To him, she looked like a Valkyrie or angel, girded for war. When she met his eyes with those spectacr silver and teal irises awash with the rich, warm sunlight, he felt he could forget everything in the world and simply stare at her. Then she smiled, and he wanted nothing more than to rush over to her, hold her, and kiss her.

    Of course, Victor knew none of that would be cool with Va, not with the soldiers gathering in the courtyard and on the ramparts to stare. Silence had fallen over the keep like a nket; everyone was still, stunned by the appearance of a creature only vague legends alluded to. Va wasn¡¯t one to speak much in the best of times; she didn¡¯t like attention focused on her, and Victor could tell this was a struggle for her. Nheless, she squared her shoulders and spoke into the courtyard. Her voice, while still hers, was loud and powerful, and it carried well¡ªshe¡¯d been trained to address troops, after all.

    ¡°Soldiers, I thank you for guarding me well while I went through my bloodline evolution! As you can see, I¡¯ve brought forth the aspect of one of my more distant ancestors¡ªshe was an Ordeni and, more than that, a proud carrier of the Rihven bloodline. Look upon me and behold thest of a people who once walked among the Shadeni and Ardeni¡ªa people who stood up to the Ridonne and were exterminated for their trouble. Now, enough gawking! Back to your work! Guard this keep well in our absence!¡±

    It became apparent that the soldiers weren¡¯t sure how to react. Some cheered, some pped, some did as she said¡ªstopped gawking and got back to work, and some kept staring, unable to wipe the stupefaction from their faces. Victor broke the spell on Rano by walking between him and Va, holding out his hand to take hers. ¡°You look great.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, love.¡± She took his hand and stepped down to the cobbles where Uvu paced, rubbing his long, furry body against her as he circled with repeated, rumbling chuffs vibrating his chest. ¡°Hi, Uvu, sweet boy,¡± she cooed, rubbing his head and massaging his fuzzy ears. Looking at her with the cat, Victor wasn¡¯t so sure he¡¯d serve very well as a mount. Va had sort of outgrown him. He wondered if that mattered now that she had wings. Would she be able to fly further than the Ghelli? Her wings were undoubtedly muchrger. He wondered how that would work¡ªdidn¡¯t birds have hollow bones and a skeletal structure designed to support flight? He knew for a fact that Va was no lighter than before. In fact, she was heavier . . .

    ¡°Anything else, sir?¡± Rano asked, finally having found his voice, interrupting Victor¡¯s musing.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. We¡¯ll be off shortly.¡±

    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll make my rounds. It¡¯s wonderful to see you, Tribune Primus.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Lieutenant.¡± Va smiled, looking up from the affections she was pouring onto Uvu.

    As Rano saluted and walked away, Victor asked, ¡°What will you do about this big boy? I suppose you can still ride him, but your feet might touch the ground . . .¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll follow at his own pace. If not a mount, he¡¯s a boonpanion.¡± She hugged the giant cat around his neck. ¡°Aren¡¯t you, big soft boy?¡± The great cat yawned hugely, exposing six-inch fangs by way of reply.

    Victor clicked his tongue, and Guapo, golden and proud in his glory-attuned form, walked closer to the small group. ¡°I¡¯ll pack up the house¡ªyou¡¯re done in there?¡±

    ¡°For now, aye.¡± Va¡¯s words were muffled, her face still buried in the fur of Uvu¡¯s neck. Victor chuckled, rested a hand on the travel home¡¯s front stoop rail, and mentally issued themand topress. A few minutester, home securely fastened to his belt, he hopped onto Guapo¡¯s back and held his hand down for Va, swinging her up behind him. As they trotted out of the courtyard and through the bailey, Victor was surprised and a little embarrassed to see Rano and all of his soldiers lined up to watch them depart.

    He sat up straight and, not wanting to look like some kind of dopey nobleman or something, didn¡¯t wave. He just locked eyes with as many soldiers as possible, nodding his appreciation. He wasn¡¯t sure how Va responded to the attention, but he felt her shifting behind him and figured she might be waving or saluting. When they exited the outer gate, Victor urged Guapo to pick up the pace, and soon, they were trotting down the steep, winding road toward the beach. ¡°Hey,¡± he called over his shoulder, ¡°when are you going to try flying?¡±

    ¡°When no one else can see me!¡± Vaughed, squeezing his ribs as she leaned into him. Victor chuckled, then leaned forward, urging Guapo to go as fast as he could over the rough, curving road. They made the beach in no time, and then they really started to move as Guapo understood Victor wanted to follow in the tracks left behind by the Ninth. Despite a couple of weeks having passed, the passage of six hundred soldiers was still quite evident, especially as they got into the shrub-covered, loosely wooded hills. The turf was well-torn, and bushes were trampled in a wide swath. The cohort had chosen a route traversable on foot, and Guapo had no trouble pounding over the same path.

    After an hour or so, Victor knew poor Uvu was well behind them, and he shifted so he could look back at Va. At some point, she¡¯d removed her helmet, and though she still held his sides, she was leaning back, face in the wind, her hair streaming behind her. Her wings weren¡¯t unfurled, but they weren¡¯t tight to her back, either. Her eyes were closed, and she wore a contented smile. It looked like she was really enjoying the air coursing through her hair and feathers. Victor had intended to ask her if she worried about Uvu but didn¡¯t want to interrupt her joy with a worry she¡¯d clearly put out of her mind. Instead, he turned back to the front and enjoyed the ride, himself.

    When he ran like this, Victor had no doubt that Guapo was twenty or more times as fast as the cohort. He figured they could reach their destination in less than two days if they tried, but he didn¡¯t intend to hurry. He nned to let Guapo run until noon, and then he and Va would make camp, and he¡¯d give her some time to practice with her wings. Victor didn¡¯t want to bring her intobat if she¡¯d never even sparred with those new appendages; what if she couldn¡¯t find her bnce?

    When he pulled Guapo to a halt on a broad, grassy hill, it wasn¡¯t even noon, but he liked the spot so much that he¡¯d decided to stop early. A single tree, young and green, sat atop the hill next to a burned, broken stump of a muchrger one. Victor liked to imagine the sapling was growing from a seed left behind by the dead tree. When his big spirit horse stopped beside the tree, and Victor scanned the horizon, he could clearly see the wall of gray mist that made up the border of Hector¡¯snds. It was still quite distant, beyond hills and canyons, but from that height, he could imagine the route and figured Guapo could get there in less than a day.

    Of course, their route wasn¡¯t straight to Hector¡¯s mountain¡ªthey had to turn north, skirt those foothills, and find the river that led up to the dormant volcano and the roadway the citadels guarded. Even so, he knew if they left early the next day, they¡¯d make it; Guapo had hardly slowed from his fastest gallop all day as he followed the cohort¡¯s trail. ¡°Let¡¯s stop here.¡±

    ¡°For lunch?¡±

    ¡°Nah, for the day. We can finish the journey tomorrow, so let¡¯s take some time for you to practice with those wings.¡±

    ¡°Ugh! I was hoping to be alone. It¡¯s going to be embarrassing!¡±

    Victorughed, sliding off Guapo. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. You know I¡¯m not going to tease you! Much.¡± He reached up to help her dismount, but she ignored his hand, sliding off on her own.

    ¡°Think you¡¯re funny?¡± She stretched her back, slowly turning in a circle, admiring the view from the hilltop. ¡°A nice spot, at least!¡± She turned to look back the way they¡¯de over rolling hills covered in a mostly green carpet of grass that faded into the horizon. ¡°I hope Uvu enjoys himself and does some hunting and exploring on his way.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯s loving it.¡± Victor began pulling chairs and camping equipment from his storage rings, setting up a pic area in the grass. ¡°How about I cook us up something for lunch while you stretch those wings out?¡±

    ¡°Well, I can see you¡¯re not going to let the matter rest, hmm? All right. I <em>am</em> curious, but please, don¡¯t watch me at first.¡±

    ¡°Cross my heart.¡± Victorughed at her puzzled expression, then got to work, lighting up his camp stove and boiling some water. He could hear her steps as she moved down the hill a short way, then the flutter of wind through her wings as she spread them out. His hearing had improved along with the rest of his senses as he¡¯d grown more powerful and his body had evolved, so it wasn¡¯t hard to pick up her soft exhtion and the ruffle of feathers as she tried flying for the first time. He was surprised, though, when the sound rapidly faded. Had she taken flight so quickly? He broke his promise and turned to look for her.

    He immediately saw her, higher than the hilltop, yet hundreds of yards distant. She jerked from left to right as though trying to find her bnce, but it looked awkward and difficult, like she was at the mercy of the wind. Then her feet, trailing beneath her, straightened out behind her, and he could see her pull her heels together. Almost like magic, her flight evened out, and she banked to the left, exposing the full expanse of her massive wings. They glittered in the sunlight, and a distantugh came to him on the breeze. Victor sat down on one of thefortable chairs he¡¯d set out, envy gripping his heart as he watched her p those wings, gaining altitude and truly soaring like a bird.

    ¡°There must be magic involved,¡± he said to Guapo, who stood near the green sapling, idly chewing on grass. ¡°Her body isn¡¯t like a bird¡¯s, so magic must be buoying her flight, making those wings work so well.¡± He stared at the proud spirit Mustang for a long second. ¡°Why are you eating grass, you goofball?¡± Of course, no answer was forting, so Victor chuckled and returned to cooking. He didn¡¯t have a vast repertoire of dishes, and, in fact, he wasn¡¯t really cooking at all. He was just heating some soup he¡¯d bought in Coloss and adding some fresh ingredients. It was a brothy vegetable soup, and he pulled the meat from a whole roast bird he had from his time with the Shadeni, adding it to the pot. Guapo wandered closer, and Victorughed. ¡°I know it¡¯s a warm day, but I was in the mood for soup. Don¡¯t get any ideas; it¡¯s not for Mustangs.¡±

    As he stirred the pot, the thud of feet hitting the ground and rapid steps told him Va hadnded, so he turned to regard her. Her hair was wild, her cheeks were flushed, and a huge smile told him things had gone fine. ¡°Victor! I wish you could fly!¡±

    ¡°Hah! Me too! It went well?¡±

    ¡°Yes! It was like . . . well, it was like my body knew what to do as soon as I got some wind in my feathers!¡± She came closer to his camp stove, sniffing the air. ¡°Smells great!¡±

    ¡°Chicken vegetable soup!¡±

    Va folded her wings tight to her back and tried to sit on the chair, but they hung below her butt, and she couldn¡¯t make it work. ¡°This is absurd! How am I supposed to sit?¡±

    ¡°Maybe open them partially? So they hang to the sides of the chair?¡± He watched her frown with concentration, trying different positions and finally settling on something like what he¡¯d suggested. ¡°It¡¯ll take some getting used to, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s all worth it! I never imagined the feeling I had up there! I was so free and fast! I wager I can travel as quickly as Guapo!¡±

    ¡°Faster, I¡¯ll bet, once you get used to it. If you get really high and just soar on the wind, you won¡¯t have to worry about obstacles like he does.¡±

    ¡°True! And they¡¯re different from Ghelli and Naghelli wings, at least at the level we¡¯ve seen. I know I can go higher and faster than any of them.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, those wings of yours are serious business. Lam and Edeya have pretty wings, but there¡¯s no way they could keep up with you.¡±

    ¡°You watched me?¡± Va scowled in mock outrage.

    ¡°I waited for a little while . . . well, until you were in the air, at least!¡±

    Va¡¯sugh trilled again, and Victor couldn¡¯t help joining her. It was good to see her so happy; he could probably count the times she¡¯d reallyughed in the past on his ten fingers. The two of them sat together, enjoying each other''spany, eating soup and salty, wafer-like bread for a good hour. After lunch, Va took another flight. Then, when she returned, flushed and excited, full of tales of the things she¡¯d seen, they sat together, just taking in the fresh air and warm sunshine. Toward mid-afternoon, Victor suggested they spar for a while so Va could get used to her wings in such an activity.

    They started off slow, moving at half intensity, practicing their forms, their attacks, and counters. They had to stop and repeat things several times as Va kept throwing herself off bnce with her wings. After a while, Victor stopped and suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t you try using your wings more rather than trying to control them? Go ahead and extend them and use them like the limbs they are.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve just been trying to hold them tight so they don¡¯t throw me off . . .¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but have you ever seen birds fight? They have their wings out and use them as much as their talons or beaks.¡±

    ¡°Where have you watched birds fight?¡±

    ¡°Hah, I don¡¯t know. Probably some inte videos.¡± Heughed and shook his head. ¡°Never mind¡ªit¡¯s a thing from my world.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to exin it to me sometime. I¡¯d like to hear more about your world.¡± When Victor nodded, Va spread her wings with a crack, and they began again. This time, she kept her wings out, pping them to aid in her movement, and Victor found it a lot harder to close with her and deliver his attacks. Her wings were very strong, and she could use the hard, bony edge to knock him or his arm aside when she spun. He wondered at the metallic sheen to her feathers; would they continue to harden as she advanced her bloodline? Would they eventually be as good as armor?

    When they decided to break for dinner, sheughed and charged him with a violent, exuberant hug. ¡°You were right! I did much better when I stopped trying to control them, when I stopped trying to move like I did before I had them.¡±

    Victor hugged her back, smiling. She¡¯d been slower and a little awkward, but he could tell she was going to get stronger and stronger¡ªher ceiling had, literally, been vastly expanded. She would be very formidable when she grew used to those wings, and their movement became second nature. ¡°It¡¯s good, beautiful. You¡¯re going to be great.¡± As he hugged her, he set his eyes on the distant wall of eerie, green-tinted mist. Hector was waiting for him. He wondered what the <em>pendejo</em> was even like. ¡°When we catch up to the cohort, let''s talk to Victoria about Hector. I want to end this <em>pinch¨¦</em> invasion.¡±

    Sheughed and squeezed him harder. ¡°We will. Who could stop us now?¡± Victor chuckled at her confidence; she was sounding almost Quinametzin. It was good, but something in him wanted to look for a piece of wood to knock his knuckles against.

 Book 6: Chapter 49: Staging

    Book 6: Chapter 49: Staging

    It was near sunset the next day when Guapo powered up a steep hillside, providing an unobstructed view of the mountain approach, the cascading falls, and the citadels that sat like white-washed chess pieces on either side of the raging river. They were still too distant for Victor to pick out details; he couldn¡¯t see any people on the ramparts or crossing the impressive stone span of the bridge between them. He could see the snakelike road that led up through the foothills to the first citadel, and, not far from where he and Va sat atop Guapo¡¯s back, he could see his army encamped, guarding the approach to that road.

    He frowned as he looked away from the army, up the hill, back to the two massive keeps guarding the road to Hector¡¯s base, the town at the top of the mountain. He still couldn¡¯t see anything of the actual volcano or teau or whatever it was. Just past the second citadel, the curtain of green-tinted fog grew too thick. It was like a sickly cloud hade down to the ground, obscuring all observation. Even the air around the citadels was hazy, and Victor had a feeling that if they weren¡¯t so high on open hilltops, so exposed to the air currents and the flow of that raging river, they¡¯d also be near-impossible to see.

    Va shifted behind him and pointed. ¡°It looks like the reserves from the pass are here.¡± It was true; the encampment was far toorge just to be the ninth cohort. They¡¯d set up a perimeter fortification and even constructed a stone watchtower further out, directly on the curve of the gravel-strewn mountain road leading toward those two final fortifications guarding the approach to Hector¡¯s base.

    ¡°Yeah. Looks like they noticed us.¡± Victor pointed to movement down the slope, about halfway to the encampment. A rider on a rdii was galloping toward the camp.

    ¡°Well, I suppose we¡¯ll need to get this over with.¡± Va didn¡¯t sound excited, and Victor knew she was nervous. It would be the first time people who really knew her, other than Victor, would see how she¡¯d changed.

    He clicked his tongue, getting Guapo moving again, then reached back and found Va¡¯s hand, squeezing it in his. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine. Are you sure you don¡¯t want to fly into the camp? Really give them something to talk about?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± She snaked her other arm up around his chest, pulling herself close to his back. ¡°Could you maybe make yourself a little bigger so I don¡¯t look so tall?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Victor had been reducing his size the same amount as usual, which happened to be just about the same height Va now stood. ¡°Seriously?¡±

    ¡°At least at first?¡±

    ¡°I mean, we¡¯re tall right now, too tall forfort in some houses. You want me to add another couple of feet to myself? ¡®Cause that¡¯s what¡¯ll happen if I cancel my spell.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t cancel it! Just rx it a little. Give yourself another six inches. Just for now, Victor!¡± She squeezed him again, and he sighed, chuckling. His protest was more about teasing her than him actually caring. He extended his will and pulled back the flow of Energy to his Alter Self spell, and he and Guapo both expanded in size. ¡°Better!¡± Vaughed.

    Victor tapped his heels against Guapo¡¯s sides, and the Mustang leaped into a gallop, tearing down the hillside and thundering over the grass and scrub-covered ground toward the encampment. No one could mistake the massive horse for anything other than Victor¡¯s mount, so he wasn¡¯t worried about rming the sentries. As they pounded over the cleared area outside the camp¡¯s fortifications, Victor urged Guapo to slow, and they trotted through the wooden palisade gate. The soldiers atop the ramparts saluted, and some shouted excited greetings. Victor waved and turned back to wink at Va. She smiled, encouraged, and partly extended her beautiful silver-teal wings, allowing her feathers to ripple in the breeze of their passage.

    When they¡¯d ridden past thetrines, the stockyards, a few hundred tents, and the cook pavilion, Victor caught sight of Lam and Edeya, their wings glittering blue and gold in the early twilight, and turned Guapo toward them. Just as they arrived and slid down from the horse¡¯s back, so too did Kethelket and Sarl, one fluttering in from the east on dark, silent wings and the other walking briskly attended by a small retinue of junior officers.

    ¡°Va! Roots!¡± Lam cried, the first to find her voice as Victor and Va, smiling and waving, stepped toward the group.

    ¡°Rihven?¡± Kethelket asked, his voice hushed and his eyes distant with some ancient memory.

    ¡°Rihven?¡± Edeya asked, looking around the group, clearly puzzled by the word.

    Va wasn¡¯t one to enjoy the spotlight, and she spoke up, probably to put the mystery to rest so they¡¯d stop talking about her, ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve awakened the Rihven bloodline from an Ordeni ancestor. Now, forget about that, will you? Tell us what news you have of your siege efforts.¡±

    ¡°Oh, no!¡± Lamughed. ¡°We won¡¯t be put off quite that easily! I¡¯ve never even heard of the Rihven bloodline, but Va, your wings! They¡¯re just as spectacr as the Ridonne¡¯s! You¡¯re far more beautiful than any Ridonne could hope . . .¡±

    Va frowned and folded her arms. ¡°The Ridonne killed my ancestors. They drove them to extinction. Well, I suppose that¡¯s not wholly true, or I wouldn¡¯t exist. There are likely others among the Shadeni and Ardeni with traces of their bloodline, but . . . well, let¡¯s say I¡¯d rather you didn¡¯tpare me to one of them.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry . . .¡± Lam seemed to be having trouble finding the right words, and Victor was about to step in, but Edeya beat him to it.

    ¡°Va, Tribune, we Ghelli aren¡¯t always cognizant of the histories of the peoples from your home world. Tribune Lam didn¡¯t mean any offense.¡±

    ¡°Right, I didn¡¯t . . .¡±

    Va took a deep breath, and Victor noticed her clench and unclench her fists. ¡°Oh, rx, you two. I know you didn¡¯t mean anything by it. I have a newfound animosity for the Ridonne, finding myself disliking them even more now that I¡¯ve learned how they¡¯ve doctored history to erase entire species of people. I don¡¯t hold it against you.¡± Va turned to Kethelket. ¡°You recognized my bloodline?¡±

    ¡°Oh, aye. During the joining, when the world was new, I saw more than one Rihven among the Ordeni. I visited their settlement, the great garden city they¡¯d constructed at the heart of the continent.¡±

    ¡°Starfall Sea,¡± Sarl said softly.

    ¡°Aye. From a hundred leagues distant, I witnessed their destruction. It was cataclysmic. A single act that wiped out one people and sealed the doom of another.¡±

    ¡°What other?¡± Edeya¡¯s eyes were wide with fascination at the impromptu history lesson.

    ¡°The Yovashi, of course. When they called down the mountain-sized piece of moon to smash the Ordeni city, the disaster shook the ground and darkened the sky over the entire continent for months. It was the one thing that could unite all the other peoples from all four worlds; they made a pact to wipe out the Yovashi, and that¡¯s what they¡¯ve done. Largely.¡±

    As the little group grew quiet, Victor nced over their heads, noting the crowds gathering nearby¡ªsoldiers were curious, wondering what their arrival might herald. He was thinking about whether or not he should address everyone when Sarl spoke up, ¡°It¡¯s wonderful to see you both. Shall we go to themand tent and review what we¡¯ve learned and how our preparations have gone?¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°Lead the way.¡± As the group followed Sarl further into the camp, Edeya moved to walk beside Victor.

    ¡°You can see the reinforcements from the pass have arrived.¡± Victor could tell she had more to add, so he just nodded. ¡°Um, it seems one of your oldpanions came along with them. I know this because she came to me asking where you were and when you might arrive in camp. Her name is Chandri, and I know I wasn¡¯t supposed to read the note Tha sent you, but I¡¯m a fast reader, and I noticed that name in the text, so . . .¡±

    ¡°Ahh! She¡¯s here?¡± Victor looked around, twisting his neck left and right, wondering if he¡¯d catch a glimpse of her watching them among the other soldiers. When he didn¡¯t spy her, he looked back toward Edeya and caught Va grinning, shaking her head. ¡°Thanks for letting me know, but I¡¯ll have to think of an appropriate punishment for reading my personal messages.¡±

    Edeya¡¯s cheeks bloomed, and she sputtered, ¡°I didn¡¯t read . . .¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s teasing you, Edeya.¡± Va squeezed the much smaller woman¡¯s shoulder, <em>tsking</em> her tongue. ¡°You know him better than that.¡±

    ¡°True!¡± Edeyaughed. ¡°When he¡¯s thisrge, though, it¡¯s a little hard to remember that he¡¯s the same friend I had back in the mines.¡±

    ¡°All right, all right.¡± Victor held up his hand, shaking his head. ¡°I can see where this is going. Let¡¯s stay serious for a minute, okay? We have a war to win.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s riching from you.¡± Va wasn¡¯t letting him off that easily, but Victor was rescued by the group¡¯s arrival at themand tent.

    ¡°Here we are. I can go over they of thend on this map.¡± Sarl gestured to a big square table where arge, colorful map had been drawn,plete with hand-crafted, painted wooden models representing troops, hills, and structures.

    Victor stepped up to the table, and behind him, Va cleared her throat. ¡°Where¡¯s your prisoner?¡±

    Kethelket answered, ¡°Victoria? She¡¯s under guard in a nearby tent.¡±

    Victor was d she¡¯d asked. He had more questions for the woman and was happy to see Kethelket was taking his duty as her warden seriously. ¡°I¡¯ll want to meet with her after this.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Kethelket moved around the table to stand near Sarl. Victor approached on the near side, studying the table, already resenting his height; it felt like he was looking down at a child¡¯s y table. Still, when Va stood beside him, he remembered why he was sorge and pushed the selfishint out of his mind, concentrating.

    ¡°I see you have some of the road past the citadel mapped out.¡±

    ¡°My scouts flew into the death fog in the darkness of night. The road follows a switch-back pattern for approximately three miles before descending into the caldera.¡±

    Va leaned forward and ran her finger along the curved road to a nk space on the map. ¡°And what¡¯s that like? The caldera?¡±

    ¡°My scouts couldn¡¯t go within. Hector¡¯s magic is too thick in the air there. He has ward stones set up around the entire mountain top.¡± He paused, frowned, and stroked his chin. ¡°I have some soldiers who wanted to try anyway, to push past the wards, but I forbade it. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be caught.¡±

    Victor felt a growl rumbling in his chest. ¡°Good. I won¡¯t feed that bastard any easy victories.¡± He tapped his big, thick finger on the map near the white-painted models of the citadels. ¡°What about here? What kind of resistance are we going to face?¡±

    Sarl fielded the question, ¡°We¡¯ve estimated the troops in the first citadel at something more than a thousand, but we don¡¯t know much about them. They wear armor simr to the reavers we slew near Old Keep. Victoria ims ignorance about the lords of these keeps.¡±

    ¡°Any n for attack yet? Are we waiting for the main army?¡±

    Lam cleared her throat. ¡°That¡¯s one option. We¡¯ve constructed six trebuchets designed to be used by our earth casters. I believe we can destroy that gate.¡±

    While Victor stared at the map and tried to picture the assault, Va asked, ¡°And can they return fire? Are there no siege weapons atop those walls?¡±

    ¡°There are, but we can spread out, whereas those gates are stationary. We¡¯ve also only seen catapults and ballistae. Our Energy-driven trebuchets have a much greater range.¡± Sarl reached forward to the map and tapped the area where their camp was drawn. ¡°We can set up the trebuchets in a wide area.¡± He drew a semi-circr line with his finger. ¡°They can hit the gate from every angle, and it will take the engineers in the castle a long time and great luck before they¡¯ll return any damage to our fire teams. We can also reposition as they lock in a target. Time is on our side in a siege like this.¡±

    Victor finally spoke, ¡°Have you seen any troop reinforcementse down the mountain?¡±

    ¡°None per se,¡± Sarl replied, ¡°though our scouts and watchers have seen things flying in the mist. I¡¯m of the opinion that we don¡¯t have a good grasp on the forces Hector may yet bring to bear.¡±

    ¡°How far out is my mother?¡± Va asked.

    ¡°A week or more,¡± Edeya replied. ¡°The same with Borrius. They¡¯ve both encountered remnants of the armies Hector had patrolling his former territories, though they¡¯ve made short work of them.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡± Victor rubbed his chin, and his scowl must have been heavier than he¡¯d intended because everyone grew quiet until, finally, Sarl asked what everyone was wondering.

    ¡°Something¡¯s bothering you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Everything¡¯s going too damn well. I can see we caught Hector by surprise. I can believe that much; we caught him with his pants down and picked apart his armies one by one by keeping our momentum in the face of some lucky initial encounters. I don¡¯t believe that we¡¯re going to wrap this up so easily, however. It feels too . . . neat. I think he¡¯s biding his time¡ªhe saw we were wiping out his far-flung armies, and rather than throw his reinforcements at us piece by piece, he¡¯s consolidating. I think this mountain is going to be a bitch to invade.¡±

    Kethelket nodded. ¡°As troubling as those words are, I fear you¡¯re correct. From my understanding, this man was a prince in a world where war andpetition are fierce. He won¡¯t be a pushover.¡±

    Edeya surprised Victor by speaking up without prompting. ¡°So what do we do?¡±

    He looked at her and grinned, and his Quinametzin heritage gave the expression a savage aspect. ¡°We take it one bite at a time. We take the first citadel, and then we¡¯ll have a much stronger foothold on this mountain from which to advance. If we y it right, we might be able to lure more and more of his forces down to defend it and the bridge. Rellia and Borrius are setting up watch stations all around the mountain; we¡¯ll know if he does something unexpected. So, as Sarl said, we take our time, wear down this first citadel, then storm it. From there, we¡¯ll reassess.¡±

    When everyone was quiet, some nodding, some frowning, but everyone staring at the map, Victor continued, ¡°I¡¯ll go and speak with Victoria now. Let¡¯s begin our bombardment at dawn. Can you be ready by then, Sarl?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir! I¡¯ll have the trebuchets moved into position tonight.¡±

    Lam cleared her throat, ¡°Be sure they have strong fire teams with Elementalists to guard against ranged responses.¡±

    Sarl chuckled. ¡°Standard Legion protocol, aye?¡±

    ¡°Aye.¡± Lam smiled and pped him on the shoulder.

    Victor turned to the tent p. ¡°Right. I¡¯m off to speak with Victoria. Va?¡±

    ¡°Not this time. Hand me your house, and I¡¯ll get it set up. I want to meet with Edeya andpose some messages to Borrius and Rellia.¡±

    ¡°All right.¡± Victor pulled his jade travel home from the pouch at his belt and handed it to her. Her fingers lingered on his for a moment, and it looked like she wanted to say more, but she didn¡¯t. She nodded quickly and turned to leave the tent ahead of him, Edeya hot on her heels.

    Kethelket stepped forward. ¡°I¡¯ll show you the prisoner¡¯s tent.¡± He led the way out, and Victor followed him just a few dozen yards to a dark tent with a single amber glowmp posted outside. One of Kethelket¡¯s masked Naghelli stood outside. He saluted, and Kethelket nodded to him. ¡°The legate will see the prisoner.¡±

    ¡°Sir!¡± The guard hurried to lift the tent p.

    ¡°I¡¯ll meet youter, Victor. Shall we spar tomorrow, time permitting?¡±

    ¡°Maybe. Let¡¯s see how the bombardment goes.¡±

    ¡°Of course. I didn¡¯t say it before, but I hope you know how d we all are to have you here with us. The troops don¡¯t show it, but being in the shadow of that mist-shrouded mountaines with a burden that can be felt in lost sleep. Shadows within shadows awaken fears most men and women haven¡¯t felt since childhood.¡±

    Victor stared into his dark eyes for a minute, thinking about what he¡¯d said, then nodded solemnly. ¡°We¡¯ll shed some light on things around here, Kethelket. Starting tomorrow, the creatures on that mountain will be the ones losing sleep.¡± Kethelket smiled grimly, then snapped a sharp salute, something he¡¯d obviously been working on, and turned to walk briskly into the night.

    Victor stooped to enter the tent, d that the post at the center was a tall one, vaulting the fabric ceiling. When the second Naghelli guard saw him enter, she slipped out behind him. Victoria sat in afortable chair, a thick book in herp. The only other furnishings in the room were a plush red carpet and another amber-tinted glowmp. She¡¯d closed the book when he entered, but her fingers were inside, holding her ce. Victor summoned a chair from his storage ring and sat before her. ¡°Reading something good?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a book of folktales from this world. Fascinating stories, honestly.¡±

    ¡°Who gave you that?¡±

    ¡°The tall, winged woman with the golden hair. Lam, I think, is her name.¡± Victor frowned at her, something about that answer rubbing him the wrong way. Victoria knew Victor spoke to Lam often. She knew her name. Why did she put on this show of being unsure about it? Why did she describe her as though she wasn¡¯t sure?

    ¡°Been spending a lot of time speaking to Lam? Anyone else?¡±

    ¡°I . . . you didn¡¯t tell me I couldn¡¯t speak to anyone. Not since you first put me in the tower.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not an answer.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve spoken to anyone who would take the time to do so, Victor! I¡¯m alone, lonely, bored. Having people to speak to, things to read,¡± she held up the book, ¡°keeps me from thinking about the uncertainty of my future. I still fear Hector¡¯s reprisal. I fear a change in heart among you and your allies. I count every dawn I wake, still alive, as a small victory.¡±

    ¡°Are you? Alive?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m more alive than dead. Might we agree to that, at least?¡±

    Victor waved his hand, dismissing the subject. ¡°Let¡¯s turn our attention to something a little more important. Whomands these citadels? Why haven¡¯t you told us about them as you did the other ¡®barons¡¯ in the outposts? More importantly, talk to me about Hector. What kind of creature is he? Don¡¯t spare any details.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 50: Blowing Off Steam

    Book 6: Chapter 50: Blowing Off Steam

    ¡°Hector? He¡¯s a Death Caster, as pure of one as I¡¯ve ever known; he doesn¡¯t dabble in blood magic, nor does he feast on the life force of the living. He takes his power from beyond the veil, from the creatures he summons, and the dark pacts he makes. As for who he¡¯s put in charge of the citadels, I couldn¡¯t tell you. He didn¡¯t share that information with me.¡±

    Victor stared at Victoria as she spoke, unblinking, looking for any hint of subterfuge. He wasn¡¯t good at reading lies, though, and he briefly wished Rellia was there with him. If anyone could read a liar, it was her, perhaps because of her life navigating the dishonest politics of the Ridonne Empire. He shifted in his chair, rubbed the stubble on his chin, and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t it a little strange that you knew the other barons in the outposts but not the lords of these great castles?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Is it? Hector gathered us barons to talk about his strategy for expansion on many asions, but never was any lord ordy of the citadels announced to us. He has his sycophants, his hangers-on. He has powerful guardians that follow him everywhere. It¡¯s possible he¡¯s given one of those peoplemand of citadels as they¡¯re quite close to his base, all things considered. Perhaps he simply has armies stationed within, led by one of his apprentices.¡±

    ¡°He has apprentices?¡±

    ¡°Of course! While you are a master of your spirit Core, weaving spells with anger, fear, and glory, he is a master of death-attuned Energy. Manye to him for tutge. Even some of the great lords of Dark Ember send their young his way. Why do you think he was chosen to lead this invasion?¡±

    Victor frowned, something bothering him. It took a minute for him to realize it was how she¡¯d spoken about his Energy affinities. ¡°What do you know of my spirit Core?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± She leaned back, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Well, you nearly killed me with it . . .¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it strange to list off my affinities like that?¡± Victor leaned forward. Like an adult sitting before a child, he dwarfed her with his presence.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t list them all . . .¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°No! Is there a point to these questions, Victor? You¡¯re making me uneasy.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s been talking to you about my affinities?¡±

    ¡°Victor,¡± she swallowed nervously, running her tongue over her pale, dry lips, ¡°you are the most powerful man I¡¯ve ever met. Your soldiers and followers talk about you all the time; all I do is listen. You hold my fate in your hands, so of course, I listen.¡±

    Victor nced around the tent, straining his ears. ¡°I can hear murmured voices here and there, but no conversations taking ce nearby. Are your ears better than mine?¡±

    ¡°No! Lord Victor.¡± She paused, shaking her head, and Victor noticed the return of the honorific in her address. ¡°I think I must have said something to upset you, and that wasn¡¯t my intention. I traveled for weeks with this army from the ck Keep to the Sea Keep and then to this encampment. I¡¯m sorry if I should have ignored the men talking as they marched. I¡¯m sorry if I grew toofortable chatting with the army''s leaders. I didn¡¯t intend to cause any trouble . . .¡±

    ¡°Forget it.¡± Victor had grown tired of the topic. He wasn¡¯t even sure why he¡¯d been bothered. Perhaps he simply didn¡¯t like someone who¡¯d been an enemy talking about his affinities like that. Her exnation made sense, though, and he supposed it was a strange thing toin about. It wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d tried to hide his power when they¡¯d fought, and he¡¯d nearly killed her. ¡°Tell me something useful, then. How many soldiers can Hector bring through his gateway? Is there a limit?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact . . .¡±

    Victor growled, interrupting her. ¡°Make an educated guess.¡±

    ¡°He raised funds and soldiers by holding lotteries for the barons he¡¯d take with him in the invasion. Karl and Eric were the first to im their ces; they led the initial invading armies, conquering most of the territory.¡± She sneered in contempt, her voice twisting into a snarl, ¡°Small feat that it was¡ªnothing was here to resist them!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get sidetracked.¡± Victor rolled his hand for her to continue.

    ¡°Dunstan, Faust, and I were part of Hector¡¯s second wave. We were chosen to hold three of the keeps that Eric and Karl uncovered.¡±

    ¡°Faust?¡±

    ¡°The lord stationed in the keep your people have dubbed ¡®Rust.¡¯ He was of middling power¡ªsomething of a savage. An upjumped ghoul, if you want me to get to the meat of the matter.¡±

    ¡°Huh. I guess I missed that detail from Borrius and Rellia.¡±

    ¡°Likely they didn¡¯t know they¡¯d in a baron; as I said, he was a savage, barely capable of speech.¡±

    ¡°So, was there a third ¡®wave¡¯ of invaders?¡±

    ¡°Not that I¡¯m aware of. Hector made it known from the early days that he¡¯d be awarding five slots for other nobles to join in his invasion. I believe the System put limits on how many from our world could pass through the portal. He¡¯s not helpless, though; he¡¯s a powerful Death Caster, and his personal army is¡ªwas¡ªenormous. The great horde you burned up in the forest was part of it, but he keeps his strongest soldiers close to hand.¡±

    Victor leaned back in his chair and thought for a minute, mulling over her words. He didn¡¯t see how lying to him would help her at this point, but he still felt like she was holding something back. It seemed strange that Hector would appoint barons tomand the outposts but not the citadels. Could it be that Victoria simply didn¡¯t know? It was apparent these death-worshipping invaders didn¡¯t trust each other overly much, so perhaps Hector had kept her in the dark on purpose. Hadn¡¯t he sent an assassin to the ck Keep to try to dispatch her after Victor severed their tether? ¡°How do I destroy that veil star?¡± He jerked his thumb in the direction of the mist-shrouded mountain.

    ¡°If you y Hector, it will be easy enough. If you try to extinguish it before his demise, you¡¯ll have to battle with it on the Spirit ne.¡±

    ¡°How about that? If I Spirit Walk now and make my way up that mountain, will I find Hector on that ne? Could I end this invasion that way?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t advise it, Lord Victor. I fought you on the Spirit ne, and you are, indeed, mighty in that realm. Hector is, too, and the veil star gives him great strength. If you ventured into its light and faced Hector with all of his apprentices, I think you¡¯d lose.¡± She held up her hands as Victor¡¯s scowl deepened, and his Quinametzin pride allowed a trickle of rage to slip into his pathways. ¡°I mean no offense, Lord. In a fair fight, I¡¯m sure you could beat Hector on this ne or any other.¡±

    Victor forced himself to calm down, pushing that bristling part of himself back. Had that been his problem when she¡¯d mentioned his affinities? Had his Quinametzin nature been offended to have someone he viewed as a prisoner talking about him? Was he simply going to have to keep a tighter grip on his pride and watch himself for inexplicable frustration with others? ¡°All right. Tell me about Hector¡¯s base. What¡¯s inside that caldera?¡±

    ¡°I wasst there months ago.¡± When Victor scowled, she hurriedly continued, ¡°I¡¯ll describe what I saw¡ªa wide low wall and dozens of stone buildings built from basalt quarried in the depths of the ancientva flows. He has a castle there, but it was built hastily by vassals. It¡¯s no ancient keep with mighty walls. If you can bring your army past the citadels and into the caldera, I think you will be able to crush him.¡±

    ¡°This army?¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± she licked her lips again, ¡°I meant your entire army. I don¡¯t doubt you may win with just this force, but I¡¯ve heard talk of a muchrger army en route; was I mistaken?¡±

    ¡°Does he have innocent people working or living up there? People who aren¡¯t in his army?¡±

    ¡°With the restrictions on the portal, I don¡¯t think he brought his ves with him. I heard Eric and Dunstan talking about how Hector had promised them the first choice of natives to rece their thralls.¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Victor stood and sent his chair back into his storage ring. ¡°We¡¯ll talk moreter.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Victor. By the way, I appreciate you allowing me to have this back.¡± She touched the silver bracelet on her wrist. It was set with arge, nearly pink pearl.

    ¡°I did?¡±

    ¡°Your lieutenant. The one with the blue wings? She said you gave her permission . . .¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah. I think I told her you could have any non-magical items back. You said they were heirlooms, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Yes! This was my mother¡¯s.¡± She looked a little pathetic as she gently touched the bracelet, and Victor could appreciate wanting something to remember your mother by. As he felt his heart softening, he scowled and allowed some more rage into his pathways.

    ¡°You''re wee.¡± He turned and left before she could say anything more. ¡°Keep a close eye on her,¡± he said to the guards as he walked by. Standing outside the tent, he scanned the area, wondering where Sarl was. He didn¡¯t see him, but he saw Kethelket speaking to some Naghelli not too far away, so he approached the ancient prince.

    When he saw himing, Kethelket waved to Victor, dismissing his scouts. ¡°Well, how was your meeting with the prisoner?¡±

    ¡°Not too enlightening, to be honest. More unsettling. I wish we had eyes on Hector¡¯s town and his troops. Don¡¯t take that the wrong way; I¡¯m not hinting that I want to send your scouts in there. We can¡¯t afford to throw lives away.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure it would be a death sentence . . .¡±

    ¡°No, Kethelket. If someone¡¯s going to try to get eyes on that ce, it¡¯ll be me. Victoria gave me an idea, but I don¡¯t think she meant to. If I could Spirit Walk up there . . .¡±

    ¡°Into the heart of a death caster¡¯s territory? Victor, you¡¯ve said, yourself, that Belikot was far weaker than even Hector¡¯s barons. How strong do you think he is? It feels like an opportunity to spring a trap to me.¡±

    Victor nodded, rubbing his chin and looking back at the tent where Victoria was being held. ¡°You know, it really does, doesn¡¯t it? She¡¯s cunning, that one; do you think she mentioned something off-hand like that only to tempt my ego? Gah!¡± Victor shook his head and spat, a foul taste in his mouth. ¡°I can¡¯t wrap my head around it. Why would she try to trick me at this point? I had to break Hector¡¯s tether on her and kill an assassin he sent her way. She¡¯s seen us take one keep after another. Would she try to sabotage me somehow after all that? Still, I get a feeling . . .¡±

    ¡°Did she try to convince you to go up there via the Spirit ne?¡±

    ¡°No. That¡¯s the thing, she said what you said¡ªtold me not to go, that Hector would be too strong. My Quinametzin pride, though, it doesn¡¯t like to back down from a challenge . . .¡±

    ¡°And you think she knows that? I think you give her too much credit. Take her words at face value, and don¡¯t go up there, Victor. We¡¯ll start our assault at dawn, yes? Let¡¯s see how things go before we start taking drastic action.¡± He turned and gestured further into the camp. ¡°If you¡¯re wondering, I saw Va setting your home up that way, just past themand tent.¡±

    ¡°Hah! Now I know what you¡¯re doing¡ªget me to speak to Va, and she¡¯ll surely talk me out of it, eh?¡± Victor pped a massive hand on Kethelket¡¯s shoulder, and the much older man chuckled.

    ¡°You give me too much credit! I was hoping thoughts of yourdy love would send your blood pumping a different way . . .¡±

    ¡°Shit! You dirty dog!¡± Victorughed. ¡°Forget that, though. Let¡¯s spar, huh? That¡¯ll get my mind off these irritating thoughts.¡±

    ¡°How can I deny such a request?¡± Kethelket pointed to the western edge of the encampment. ¡°We have some cleared space for drills over there. Shall we?¡±

    Victor nodded, and the two men walked that way. He knew there were probably a dozen things he should do before taking the time to practice with his axe, but Victor had some pent-up frustration that he wanted to work out. He wanted to clear his head and try to see things in a new light, and the best way he knew how to do that was to exercise. He felt like he had to take advantage of the old sword master while he still could; who knew when they¡¯d be parting ways again?

    Victor felt like this campaign was drawing near the end, which meant he¡¯d be moving on. He supposed he didn¡¯t have to do so immediately. It might be nice to hang around in the Marches for a while to see how things shaped up. He could spend some weeks or months training with Kethelket and helping some of his other friends to make some gains before he left. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. Wouldn¡¯t it be interesting to see how Rellia and Borrius grew the colony? He, too, hadnds to im. Shouldn¡¯t he build a house or something? He had the storage container holding the ns and materials for the hermitage. He could set that up before he left, maybe. Then there was Olivia to consider and the rest of the humans from their colony . . .

    ¡°How does this look?¡± Kethelket interrupted his thoughts, and Victor saw they stood in a wide-open gravel and dirt field outside the camp¡¯s fortifications. Several other soldiers were scattered around the space, sparring or working on maneuvers, but he and the one-time prince stood in arge, empty area.

    ¡°Perfect.¡± Victor slipped Lifedrinker out of her harness and stretched his back and neck, limbering up.

    ¡°Are you going to stay that size?¡±

    ¡°You want me smaller?¡± He grinned. ¡°Or bigger?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to go big, perhaps I¡¯ll need some teammates.¡± Kethelket let his eyes drift over the soldiers on the practice grounds. Victor shrugged, watching and waiting to see what the old sword master would decide. Kethelket lifted his fingers to his lips and let out a shrill whistle, waving to a group of four soldiers. When they stopped their sparring and looked up, he gestured for them toe over. They hurried toply, all four jogging toward them and saluting Kethelket and Victor as they slid to a halt in the dusty gravel. Kethelket nodded to them and jerked his thumb at Victor. ¡°We¡¯ll practice fighting a much stronger opponent as a team today. Victor, sir, will you do us the honor?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course.¡± Victor smiled, then severed the connection to his Alter Self spell, sighing with pleasure as his full potential unlocked. He stretched to his near-ten-feet height, and his muscles rippled with renewed energy.

    ¡°Is that all?¡± a familiar voice called from behind him. Victor turned to see Chandri dropping down from the stone perimeter wall, crunching over the gravel with her long spear in her hands. She was painted for war, as usual, but she was also dressed for it, wearing a shiny steel helmet and breastte that Victor hadn¡¯t ever seen on her before. ¡°I remember you being bigger when you went berserk!¡±

    ¡°Oh? You want me to berserk?¡±

    ¡°Seems only fair if six of us are going to fight you.¡± She circled Victor as she approached, moving near Kethelket. ¡°You don¡¯t mind if I help, sir?¡±

    ¡°Oh? Do you want to spar? I¡¯m not sure we¡¯ve met, yet you speak as though I should know you . . .¡±

    ¡°Kethelket, this is my old friend, Chandri.¡± Victor sighed and shook his head at her. ¡°What are you doing? You don¡¯t know the drills or formations the soldiers . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been practicing with the troops back at the pass. I know the maneuvers and formations. I won¡¯t get in the way, sir.¡± She directed thest to Kethelket, and Victor frowned again. Was she trying to prove some kind of point?

    ¡°Chandri, are you . . .¡±

    This time, she did speak to him, ¡°I¡¯m just trying to get better, sir. I¡¯m officially enrolled in the ninth cohort. I joined up with the reserves. Captain Sarl ced me with the Red Boyii Unit.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, sir,¡± one of the other soldiers said, a tall Ardeni woman wearing brown, chitinous armor. ¡°She¡¯s in my brother¡¯s unit.¡±

    ¡°Huh. Well,¡± Victor shrugged, ¡°enough standing around wasting time. I need some exercise.¡± With that, he reached into his Core and summoned a thick rope of rage attuned Energy, casting Iron Berserk. As he exploded in size, he swapped Lifedrinker to his left hand and lunged forward, swiping at Chandri¡¯s with his open right hand, sending her sprawling, tumbling through the gravel and dirt. He turned to the other soldiers and Kethelket, and he roared, his voice like a peel of thunder. Two of them nearly dropped their weapons in surprise. Not Kethelket, though; the old sword master burst into motion, moving like a gust of wind-blown smoke as he circled behind Victor, shing at his hamstrings with his two named des.

    Victorughed and rolled forward over one shoulder, shaking the earth and sending more soldiers stumbling. When he bounded to his feet, he saw Chandri was back up, wiping bloody dust from under her nose and off her chin. She scowled darkly, but he saw an eager gleam in her eyes as she charged at him with her spear. Victorughed again, beckoning her and two other soldiers as they leaped forward, weapons lifted high.

    He kept fighting with his open hand, using Lifedrinker only to defend himself, knocking away weapons or waving her about to give himself space. Heughed andughed, pping soldiers and friends left and right. It wasn¡¯t a mean-spiritedugh, more one of pleasure and genuine joy seeing his much smaller allies get up again and again toe at him. When Kethelketnded a brutal cut to his calf and Victor stumbled, the soldiers cheered and renewed their efforts. Victor felt his cheeks stretch with joy as he tossed Lifedrinker aside and fell to his knees, grappling with them all.

    He didn¡¯t try to hurt anyone but wasn¡¯t gentle, either. He sent them flying, tumbling, rolling, and flopping through dirt and gravel. He smacked them with his open palm, stunning them, bloodying them, but always showed it when they got a hit in, cutting him or saving one another with a heroic parry or attack. They carried on like that for at least an hour, and Kethelket gave Victor a dozen good cuts in the process. Victor didn¡¯t care; his body was so sturdy and his healing so rapid that he hardly bled.

    Some of the other soldiersnded hits on his armor or helm, mostly because Victor didn¡¯t try to defend against those blows, and once Chandri capitalized on Victor¡¯s distraction as he dodged away from a lightningbination by Kethelket and managed to drive her spear nearly four inches into his thigh. He wailed in mock agony, and Chandriughed as the soldiers cheered. After everyone was scraped, bloodied, and filthy from repeated tumbles through the gravel, Victor held up his hand and shouted, ¡°Enough, enough!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Chandri cried, utterly covered in blood-caked dust. ¡°We¡¯re just starting to get the knack of it . . .¡±

    ¡°Hold on,¡± Victor said, rising from his knees to stand at his full, absurd height. He severed the connection to his Iron Berserk, then cast Alter Self, reducing himself to something more like seven feet tall. He stepped over and picked up Lifedrinker, then summoned his Globe of Inspiration. ¡°That was a good warmup, but now I¡¯d like to get in some weapon practice. I won¡¯t use any abilities, and your team can attack me two at a time. Anytime one of you needs a rest, you must tap one of the onlookers¡¯ shoulders, and then they can take your ce.¡± He grinned and held Lifedrinker before himself in two hands. ¡°Who¡¯s first?¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 51: Motivations

    Book 6: Chapter 51: Motivations

    Victor sat beside Chandri on the stone wall Sarl¡¯s engineers had built around the encampment. They were facing the mountain where, in the darkness, Victor could make out the dim lights of the twin keeps guarding the road up to Hector¡¯s base of operations. After their lengthy sparring, when everyone, including Victor, had let off a good amount of steam and the soldiers moved off to perform their evening duties, Victor had pulled Chandri aside and asked if he could speak with her. Now they sat, looking into the darkness, Chandri quiet, perhaps ufortable, and Victor unsure of what he¡¯d wanted to say.

    After a few moments, he cleared his throat and pointed toward the dim lights up on the mountain. ¡°Can you hear it? The river roaring down the falls?¡±

    ¡°Of course. It¡¯s a big river, but not so big as the Rill Catcher. I¡¯ve seen bigger falls west of Gelica, toward the frontier.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I guess you¡¯re right. I¡¯ve seen that river, too, but not the falls. Where I grew up, there weren¡¯t any big rivers; I lived in a desert. Sometimes, when it rained really hard, the washes, as we called them, would flood and pour through the desert like rivers, but they usually dried up in a day or two.¡±

    ¡°Do you miss it? Home?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course. Mostly, I miss people. My grandmother especially. I¡¯ve learned a lot about spirits and my ancestry, though. I know she¡¯s in here.¡± Victor thumped his fist against his chest. ¡°And out there.¡± He gestured toward the distant, twinkling stars. ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll meet again someday, though probably not in this life.¡±

    ¡°I remember you asking me questions about how we Shadeni are always talking to our ancestors. It¡¯s interesting to see you take it even further. I¡¯ve heard about your sacrifices and how your ancestors take action through you. For weeks, everyone at the pass talked about how you fought off an entire army, breathing fire and shouting for your ancestors¡¯ glory.¡±

    Victor turned away from the stars to look at her face, her magenta eyes dark in the shadows. ¡°Is that why you came here? The stories of our victories?¡±

    ¡°Well . . .¡± She frowned and folded her arms, covered in bloody, dusty scrapes. Victor felt a twinge of guilt at how rough he¡¯d been with her and the other soldiers, but they¡¯d seemed to enjoy it at the time. Besides, it was good for them to feel how a giant opponent might toss them about, wasn¡¯t it? ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m not sure. I felt like . . . I felt like I was missing something. I was spending my days watching children and teaching them to hunt. I know it¡¯s an important task, but Cha knows as much as I do, and she¡¯s matured a lottely. I think having Deyni look up to her has helped in that regard. Anyway, I¡¯ve felt angry, and I don¡¯t know why, but I knew I wanted to see you, and I wanted to help somehow.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Victor nodded and rubbed his chin, feeling a little nervous. If they¡¯d heard the tales of his exploits back at the pass, had they also heard that he and Va were together? She wouldn¡¯t be here to try to rekindle any sort of . . .

    Chandri interrupted his racing thoughts. ¡°I don¡¯t think I regret rejecting you back when you stayed with us, Victor. I think I regret deciding I wanted a simple life, though. How could so much change in a few months? I¡¯d been sure I wanted to continue our old way of life, following the same hunting migration my father and his fathers had followed for a hundred years. Now we¡¯re in a newnd, fighting wars, joining with people I¡¯d never imagined would be so close. Everything highlights how simple I¡¯d been, how short-sighted.¡± She paused, <em>tsking</em> and shaking her head, but before Victor could respond, she kept talking.

    ¡°I was angry with you initially, and I know how irrational that is. Was it your fault you were born with such potential? Was it your fault you were molded from a lump of iron into a de by the crucible of your hardships? Those are Tellen¡¯s words¡ªhe and I had a good, long talk before I left to join this army. I think a part of my heart was angry with myself for limiting my future with simple dreams, for not at least entertaining the idea that my future wasn¡¯t with the n, living as a huntress. Still, it¡¯s hard to see so much change and not feel some heartache. Where will we hang our midwinter ribbons this year? What trees will fill that role? The Blue Deep is too far. What about in spring? Will we still have a feast to wee the spirits of the small creatures? Many of our old ones have died, and I worry that traditions will be lost.¡±

    ¡°I get that . . .¡±

    ¡°I know you¡¯ve suffered loss, too. I also know that I¡¯m not making sense! In one breath, I talk about how I¡¯m angry that I limited myself, and in another, Iment the loss of tradition.¡±

    ¡°There aren¡¯t easy answers, Chandri. I can¡¯t promise that things will be better here, but that¡¯s what I¡¯m working for. Once we drive out these invaders, your people will have a part of this newnd to call their own. You won¡¯t have to look over your shoulders any longer. The animals you hunt and thend you nurture will be your own. Your traditions will survive, especially if there are more like you who value them.¡±

    ¡°I know that¡¯s your dream, Victor. I hope you¡¯re right, and I think it will bring me joy to see my father, Tha, and the others build something permanent. I hope it will make things easier for me as I leave to know they¡¯ve done so, that they¡¯ll be here.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Victor was beginning to understand. ¡°You¡¯ve decided to leave?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I want to help the effort to im thisnd, and then I intend to travel and adventure. There arends beyond these marches, beyond the mountains and the sea. I¡¯m going to explore, Victor! I know there are other continents and other unimednds. I want to return to the town my father settles with maps and tales of ces and people that no one in the Ridonne Empire has seen or heard of in hundreds of years.¡±

    ¡°A lot of history has been lost because of those guys, the Ridonne. Have you seen Va?¡± Victor intended to talk about the Ordeni and Rihven, but Chandri¡¯s eyes told him he¡¯d misstepped.

    ¡°Yourdy love?¡± She chuckled, but Victor detected a bitter note in theugh. ¡°How could I not? She¡¯s a goddess walking among primitives.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Victor couldn¡¯t help himself. He reached out and grabbed her chin, turning her face to his. He stared into her eyes as he spoke, ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid, all right? If your face wasn¡¯t smeared with dusty, bloody war paint, you wouldn¡¯t look half so scary . . .¡± He grinned, flinching back, hoping she¡¯d take a swipe at him because of his stupid joke, but she shook her head, and he saw tears forming in her eyes. ¡°Come on! That was a joke! I¡¯m trying to lighten the mood here. You know she¡¯s had a lot of racial enhancements, right? You could . . .¡±

    ¡°I could what? Do you know how many racial enhancements our entire n hase across in my lifetime? One. One that Tellen tried to get Old Mother to consume, but she refused, saying it was better used on a hunter. So, we had a festival with contests to choose the recipient, and my cousin Rorrin won. Guess where he is now.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t . . .¡±

    ¡°Dead. Killed by a boyii alpha while he sought a vision from the spirits.¡± She sighed and pped her hands on her leather-d thighs, stirring up a cloud of dust. ¡°Forget it, Victor. I appreciate you talking with me. I know you have a good heart, and I want you to know I¡¯m not angry with you. I¡¯m just angry. I need to do something meaningful, and that starts with helping to finish this war. Will you let me be? Will you let me seek my own destiny?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I . . .¡±

    She hopped to her feet with a grunt. ¡°That¡¯s all I want. Thank you for taking the time to speak, Legate.¡± She snapped a perfect salute, her fist sending another puff of dust off her chest, and then she turned and hopped off the wall, leaving Victor sitting there feeling dumbfounded. After a while, he stood up and wandered around the camp, observing soldiers performing evening tasks, sitting around cookfires, or rushing to and fro, likely working on tasks vital to Sarl¡¯s nned bombardment of the citadel gates in the morning. Eventually, he made his way to his travel home, and when he went inside, he wasn¡¯t surprised to find Va still talking with Lam and Edeya. They sat near each other around one end of his dining table.

    ¡°There he is! Were your ears itching?¡± Lam smiled when she saw himing in from the foyer.

    ¡°You were talking about me?¡±

    ¡°We were wondering how serious you were about the assault in the morning,¡± Va said, standing up and walking to meet him.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± He held open his arms so she could hug him more easily.

    Lam provided the response, ¡°If the trebuchets work and break the gates, will you attack?¡±

    ¡°And if they don¡¯t, will you break them yourself?¡± Edeya added.

    ¡°You guys think I can?¡±

    Va pulled away and looked up into his face. ¡°Is that a question meant to confound us? If we say yes, are we encouraging you? If we say no, will you take it as a challenge?¡± She winked at him and turned back to the table, pulling his hand to bring him along.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s been a while since I had a good fight, and I¡¯m getting antsy. The more time we give someone like Hector, if he¡¯s anything like Belikot, the longer he¡¯ll have to prepare something surprising. I feel like we should take the citadels so he can¡¯t stage some kind of surprise. If we hold them, or at least the first one, it will be a much stronger position. Also, I don¡¯t like Hector in charge of that bridge; what if he broke it?¡±

    ¡°I told you,¡± Lam said, nodding. ¡°Sarl, though he prepares his bombardment for the morning, is of the opinion that you mean to wait for Rellia and Borrius to bring the full legion here.¡±

    ¡°I do intend to wait for them, but I¡¯d rather wait from within one of those fortresses.¡±

    Lam nodded, pounding her fist on the table. ¡°And then we couldunch a full-scale assault on the mountain!¡±

    Victor smiled at her enthusiasm, but it was half-hearted. He pulled out a chair, and Edeya poured a ss of some kind of chilled wine for him. He sat there, sipping it, while Va and Lam began a conversation about siege engines, their effectiveness against warded structures, and the different times they¡¯d seen them put to use. He nodded, made encouraging sounds, and tried to follow the conversation, but he kept thinking about Chandri charging that wall with the other soldiers. He kept thinking about how quiet Hector had been. He felt like he was missing something.

    It was still rtively early when he pushed his chair back and said, ¡°I think I¡¯m going to turn in. Maybe I¡¯ll do some cultivating and try to clear my head. I¡¯d hoped some exercise would do it, but my brain is still pretty damn busy. Don¡¯t mind me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯lle with you . . .¡± Va started to stand, but Victor shook his head.

    ¡°Nah, I won¡¯t be goodpany. You should invite Kethelket over for his opinion on the siege. He has a couple hundred flying troops, after all.¡±

    Lam chuckled. ¡°Well, of course, we were going to talk to him. I¡¯m surprised he¡¯s not here already¡ªdid you hurt him on the practice field?¡±

    ¡°Nah.¡± Victor smiled a little ruefully. ¡°In fact, I think he got more solid hits in than I did. Anyway, tell me how it goes when you finish up.¡± He leaned forward and kissed Va¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°You¡¯re sure you don¡¯t wantpany?¡± Va stood and took his hand, following him as he walked toward the dimly lit staircase.

    ¡°No, I have some things tickling my brain that I need to figure out. Some quiet is all I¡¯m after.¡± He squeezed her fingers and started down the steps, happy to hear her turn and call for Edeya to ¡°go find Kethelket.¡± Something was bothering him, but the problem was that he couldn¡¯t tell if it was all in his head. Maybe he was being paranoid. Still, he kept reying his conversation with Victoria over in his mind; who had mentioned Spirit Walking first? She had, right? Something about him having to battle the veil star on the Spirit ne if he wanted to be rid of it. ¡°Then she said I shouldn¡¯t try . . .¡± Victor growled as he opened the door to his bedroom.

    No matter how hard he tried to stop, he kept thinking back to Belikot. He kept remembering how everyone said not to mess with him on the Spirit ne, to build a troop of heroes to dig out hisir and face him that way. Victor had ended the matter by ignoring them, by using his prodigious gift with spirit-attuned Energies to crush him in the Spirit ne. Hadn¡¯t Old Mother encouraged him to do so? Growling, Victor sat down on the rug in the empty area beside his bed. How much time and how many lives had he saved by handling Belikot in such a way? Was he irritated because his pride had been questioned or because he felt like Victoria was scheming somehow? Why did he feel that way?

    Victor unstrapped Lifedrinker and held her on hisp. ¡°She doesn¡¯t want me in there. She doesn¡¯t want me to see what Hector is doing up there on that mountain.¡±

    <em>We should hunt! Let your enemies quake, knowing you are on the prowl!</em>

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor growled. ¡°I think we should.¡± He reached into his Core and severed the connection to his Alter Self spell. The stone gs under the rug didn¡¯tin as his mass surged, and he expanded, upying a much more significant portion of his bedroom. He took long, deep breaths and tried to calm his mind. He wasn¡¯t sure he was doing something clever, but it felt right¡ªhow could he ask his troops to begin an assault at dawn when they had no idea what to expect from Hector? What if he had another massive horde of undead up there, just waiting for his army to be entrenched in a battle?

    They needed intel, and he couldn¡¯t risk more Naghelli, not when he was perfectly capable of taking a look around. Hadn¡¯t he already proven he was powerful enough to match Hector¡¯s death casters? Hadn¡¯t he ughtered Victoria¡¯s ghostly guardians and thrashed her into submission? ¡°Yeah. I think it¡¯s time I got my eyes on Hector and gave him something to worry about.¡± Victor reached into his Core and pulled out a strand of inspiration-attuned Energy, pulling it into the pattern for Spirit Walk.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victoria¡¯s eyes snapped open, and she smiled, unable to contain her glee. She¡¯d glimpsed Victor¡¯s spirit, blooming into being on the Spirit ne like a bonfire among candles. She¡¯d immediately fled, long before he might have taken note of her presence. As she continued to grin, wringing her hands in excitement, her guard scowled at her from within the dark folds of his cowl, but she ignored him. He might have a solid resistance to her charms, but he was utterly blind where her spirit walking was concerned. It hardly took a trickle of Energy for her to send part of herself into that realm; her phctery kept her partially anchored to it at all times.

    Her little ruse with the tether she¡¯d had Victor sever had done a good job of building trust, showing a false animosity between her and the dark prince. That and the ¡°assassination attempt¡± had served to convince all of these fools to lower their guard, at least enough so she could work around their watchful attention. Meanwhile, her connection to her phctery and, through it, to Hector had been her saving grace. Just a tiny trickle of Energy was all it took to contact him. To convey news of Victor¡¯s armies and warn him about the champions who sought to y him and halt his imminent dominion over this rich world.

    What a simple matter it had been to ensconce herself among these mortals! When Eric¡¯s man, Porter, came running, weak and near death, a bloody stump where his powerful arm had once been, Hector had made the n, and Victor had fallen for it every step of the way. Hector¡¯s idea to ce her in the Obsidian Keep, the next obvious target of Victor¡¯s assault, had only been the first step. Oh, Victor was strong and a cunning fighter, but not cunning enough. She chuckled, ignoring the re of the guardian standing near the tent¡¯s exit. She¡¯d learned so much about Victor, first from battling with him, then from listening to the tales spun by his followers. They worshiped him like a god among men, and in that worship, she¡¯d found his downfall.

    His rage, glory, and fear were apparent; she¡¯d felt them for herself. The tales from his lieutenants and even the soldiers¡¯ gossip had filled in the rest of the story¡ªjustice to hunt down the wicked, inspiration to help his allies learn, and courage to bolster them in the face of even the most awful and terrifying of foes. It was a potent mix of attunements, but nothing that couldn¡¯t be prepared for. She¡¯d whispered her news to her lord; she¡¯d told him all she¡¯d learned, and now Victor was on the Spirit ne, and she knew what he was doing there.

    ¡°What a fool,¡± she chuckled, grinning at the guard as he stepped forward, hand on his sword hilt.

    ¡°Silence!¡±

    Victoria smirked and settled back in her chair. All it had taken was a hint, a mere mention of the Spirit ne, and then feigned concern, ¡°No, no! You mustn¡¯t go there! Hector is too strong under the veil star!¡± She almostughed again as she remembered how the titan-blood had bristled. That was another thing his worshipful troops loved to speak about¡ªVictor¡¯s pride. It wouldn¡¯t matter if they never mentioned it; she¡¯d tasted it herself. Still, she¡¯d heard the story of Belikot and yed Victor like a harp, strumming the chords of his downfall.

    ¡°Well,¡± she said, standing from her chair, ¡°I think it¡¯s time I introduce myself . . .¡±

    ¡°Silence!¡± the guard yelled, and the tent p opened, admitting the other two, each with an exposed de.

    ¡°No, I think not. My name is Catalina, consort and confidant of Prince Hector, the rightful monarch of thesends, and I¡¯m afraid my patience has expired.¡± She unstoppered the flow of her death Energy and, as the guards burst into lightning motion, shing her with their wickedly sharp des, she exploded into cool mist, wrapping herself around them, pulling them close, draining the heat and life force from their bodies.

 Book 6: Chapter 52: Despair

    Book 6: Chapter 52: Despair

    Catalina floated above the bodies of her guards, full to bursting on their life Energy. They¡¯d certainly provided much-needed nourishment! What a toil it had been to remain pleasant and demure all these weeks while existing on the dregs of a months-old meal! She allowed a tendril of her misty form to seep under the tent p, scanning the area. As she¡¯d hoped, it was well dark, and mist had begun to encroach on the army¡¯s encampment despite their glowmps and fires. Victor would need to im one of the citadels if he meant to keep Hector¡¯s mist at bay, and there was little hope of that now.

    She could feel it, the mounting pressure of Hector¡¯s will. Soon, his crypt ghouls would pour down that mountain road, over the ridgelines, down the slopes, and over the walls, poor, pitiful Sarl had worked so hard to construct. She almostughed aloud, thinking of his surprise as this little camp was overrun and their great hero was brought low by the Prince of Heart Rot. ¡°Now, to find that blue-winged, simpleton of a girl.¡± Catalina allowed her misty form to flow and merge with the tainted tendrils of fog clinging to the cold soil outside her tent. She drifted through the camp, picking up snatches of conversation as she peered into clusters of soldiers and drifted toward themand tents.

    ¡°. . . first thing in the morning.¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll get old Troff to carry it, ¡®cause my back¡¯s had enough . . .¡±

    ¡°. . . this mist, it gives me . . .¡±

    ¡°. . . the Legate will show ¡®em . . .¡±

    ¡°Makes me wonder about them lights . . .¡±

    Catalina swept past thest cluster of soldiers stationed near the inner perimeter of the camp, and, as she flowed between tworge, vaulted tents, she paused in the shadows, her form nearly invisible as she clung to the cold, grassy soil, observing the green jade house where Victor had once imprisoned her. She was sure she¡¯d heard passersby mention themanders were meeting there tonight. Had they already left, or was this a good ce to wait for the girl?

    She didn¡¯t have to wonder long. Not fifteen minutes after she¡¯d arrived, the two ¡°Ghelli¡± women who kept Victor¡¯s counsel stepped out of the home. The tall, older one with golden wings led the way, while the younger one, Catalina¡¯s target, followed close behind, her slender hand gripping the taller one¡¯s elbow. Theyughed and spoke loudly as they departed the home, moving toward a cluster of narrow but high-ceilinged red tents. Catalina silently followed.

    ¡°Wonder what¡¯s gotten into Victor. He seemed kind of morose,¡± the one with the pale blond hair said.

    ¡°He¡¯s probably trying to think of a way to justify charging alone up that mountain,¡± the blue-winged one said with a trill of high-pitchedughter.

    ¡°You don¡¯t give him enough credit! Look at all he¡¯s done for our efforts here!¡± Lam <em>tsked</em>, but she also chuckled, signaling at least tacit agreement with Edeya¡¯s teasing.

    They paused before one of the tents, and Edeya asked, ¡°Will you sleep?¡±

    ¡°Aye. We should get rest if we¡¯re to be of use when the bombardment starts. Who knows what insects might stir when we begin kicking that mound.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Edeya leaned into the slightly taller, older woman, and, as though she¡¯d expected it, Lam pulled her into an embrace. She kissed the top of Edeya¡¯s head and then pushed her back so their eyes could meet.

    ¡°I was proud of you tonight. Your smiles toward Kethelket seemed genuine.¡±

    ¡°My ancestor begins to learn, I think. It was hard at first, but I think her nature is deferring more and more to me.¡±

    ¡°As Victor said it would!¡± Lamughed.

    ¡°Yes, yes; I need to give him more credit.¡± Edeya smiled and added, ¡°Tomorrow, then.¡±

    ¡°Tomorrow.¡± With one more gentle squeeze of her shoulders, Lam released Edeya and turned to meander toward a campfire where several lieutenants stood drinking steamy liquid from mugs. Catalina shivered with anticipation as she watched Edeya lift the tent p and step inside. She flowed over the ground toward the shadow-decked rear of the tent and pushed a tendril under the heavy canvas, peering with her magic sight inside. She saw the beautiful girl standing beside afortable, pillow-bedecked bed, removing her armor, piece by piece, and cing it upon a wooden stand.

    She was half-finished, down to an undershirt and her silvery greaves, when she spun, peering into the shadows at the deep folds of her tent where it touched the ground, as though she could feel Catalina¡¯s presence. ¡°Ugh, that mist!¡± She turned to a flickeringmp near her bed, an actualmp with a me, not a glowing Energy stone, and turned the knob. The fire dancing on the fuel-soaked wick jumped, and Catalina had to withdraw further to keep her misty form from being revealed. ¡°Better,¡± Edeya said, returning to her task, unbuckling the straps holding her armor to her thighs.

    Many of the soldiers had procured fire-basedmps. Catalina had heard them speaking of their effectiveness against the clinging, death-tainted mist. It was true; a fire was far more a hindrance to the death fog than glowing Energy. Nevertheless, the little fierymp wouldn¡¯t save this wretch. Catalina surged under the canvas, bringing her entire form into the tent. Then, while Edeya was still bent, loosening her greaves, she expanded into the center of the tent, sending a thick tendril of nearly corporeal mist around Edeya¡¯s face and neck, squeezing tight, jerking her back, fully into her cold embrace. At the same time, she pinched the me of hermp, throwing the tent into darkness.

    ¡°Well, girl?¡± she hissed, a whisper of death itself, ¡°Where have you put my ne? The one with the beautifuldy?¡± Edeya tried to speak, tried to w the mist away from her face and neck, but her fingers passed through Catalina harmlessly. She summoned a torrent of stormy Energy, but Catalina wrapped around her tighter, folding her cold, wet, misty form around the girl, pulling her Energy out of her before she could form it into an attack. She wasn¡¯t a weakling, this beautiful girl, but she was no match for Catalina. Dozens of levels separated them.

    She peeled back a bit of her grip on the girl¡¯s mouth and neck, still holding the rest of her tightly, wrapped up like a warm, pulsing meal. Her glowing flesh and ruddy cheeks had turned ashen. Her brightly sparkling, blue dragonfly wings were dull and lusterless. Catalina hissed a graveyard breath into the girl¡¯s ear, ¡°Fading so quickly? No, no, love, not before I have my answer.¡±

    Poor Edeya could barely utter a whispered, ¡°Wha . . . what?¡±

    ¡°The amulet, girl. The one that gave you shivers. The beautiful woman?¡± She could see it in her memories, could see her cringe from it, could feel her fear, even now. An image came to her of a pearl-iid box. Catalina jerked her gaze toward the bed and the bureau beside it. There! Still holding the girl tightly, she sent a tendril of her misty form flowing toward the beautifully crafted chest of drawers and the delicate box atop it. As she threw the lid back, she felt it, felt <em>her</em>, pulsing and throbbing within, waiting for Catalina¡¯s touch to release her.

    ¡°Thank you for keeping her safe, girl.¡± Catalina shifted to support her head, forcing her eyes upon the figurine as she lifted it from the box. ¡°She¡¯s one of my patrons and hungers for release. I promised her a feast, and she¡¯s unhappy with the wait. Watch now! You can be the first to feel her kiss!¡± Catalina¡¯s whispery voice purred as she caressed the limp girl¡¯s neck with a tendril of her ethereal form. She pulled a thick coil of death-attuned Energy out of her Core and sent it through her into the effigy, summoning her malevolent mistress for a night of ughter. It was time for chaos to ensue amid these hapless natives.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor climbed the volcano as it rose, magnificent and smoldering, into the twilight sky of the Spirit ne. There were no keeps, bridges, or roads here, only the rough, creviced slope and the eerie green light high above, tinting everything with its malignant glow. The mountain was more prominent on this ne, more alive, and definitely angry. Victor could feel its wrath bubbling deep beneath his feet.

    At first, as he strode toward the foothills and lesser slopes, he¡¯d made good time, but now, as the incline grew steep and the smoldering peak seemed further and further away, he began to wonder if some dark magic was at work, much as it had been in the ck Keep when he¡¯d tried to climb the walls. He¡¯d learned his lesson there, so he didn¡¯t waste time¡ªhe focused his mind on his destination and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, willing himself to traverse the spiritnds as he always had, devouring the distance between himself and his goal.

    It wasn¡¯t with any surprise when, in hardly any time at all, he found his steps on more level ground, and he saw the stony crags that bordered the volcano¡¯s ancient caldera. He turned and looked out on the twilightnds, unable to move or even breathe, when he beheld the glorious vista behind him. Everything shimmered with that strange, ethereal twilight nature that seemed to infuse the Spirit ne. The stars and moons above were bright and impossibly close, and as Victor¡¯s eyes tracked the enormous, glittering starscape toward the distant horizon, it seemed like the¡¯s surface merged with space.

    He could see ins and forests and seas shimmering in the reflection of the starlight. He could see ribbons of sparkling rivers and glistening clouds of moisture, rich with the essential Energy of the,id out like thick, fluffy carpets here and there over the valleys and woonds. He stared for a long time, and then he noticed the flickering green light on the nearby slopes, tinting the rocks¡ªFanwath¡¯s very bones¡ªand his anger and pride began to stir anew. With a low growl, he turned back to the caldera and the sickly mist clouding the interior. He reached into his Core, summoned a rope of glory-attuned Energy, and brought his banner into being, bathing the area in its glittering, golden light.

    He stepped toward the volcano¡¯s rocky crown, and by the time he¡¯d taken three strides, he was the size of a titan, simmering with and radiating rage. The green tint was gone; now he saw things in a haze of red rage, lit brightly by the powerful shine of his banner. The spiked, rocky ridge had seemed daunting before, but now it was child¡¯s y to traverse. He hopped over bouldersrger than vehicles or even homes. He vaulted ridges an ordinary man would need to climb with ropes, and in no time at all, he was over the top, sliding down a steep, rocky slope into the dense, roiling, death-attuned mist.

    His banner drove it back for a hundred yards, and Victor, encouraged by his easy progress, leaped and slid down the slope. He held Lifedrinker¡¯s spirit form in one mighty fist, ready to visit his rage upon the Death Casters and their creations that must surely lurk within. Soon, the slope leveled off to rough stone, the leavings of ancient eruptions, no doubt, and Victor increased his pace, jogging deeper and deeper into the caldera, frustrated by the mist that hugged the limits of his light, making it impossible to gain any perspective on distance or see any sign of what lurked further ahead.

    That eerie green glow suffused the mist around and above him; his banner created a ball of light that pushed it away, but it hung so heavy in the air that it was like he was traversing the inside of a massive, sickly cloud. Where was the veil star? Shouldn¡¯t he be able to see a brighter spot? He made the mistake of turning in a circle, hoping to see some sign of the star, a hint of the center of the caldera, but as the mist swirled and writhed around his light, he lost his sense of direction, the ground was the same rough basalt, pumice, and other dark stones in every direction. He saw shards of obsidian and a fewrger clumps of rocks, but he hadn¡¯t memorized them before turning, and now his senses were frustrated.

    Growling, Victor bunched his legs and leaped straight upward, soaring into the air, his bright banner ripping through the fog above him. Even at the apex of his jump, though, he was surrounded by the mist, and when he came down, the ground was different, and he was further disoriented. Closing his eyes and cursing briefly, Victor wracked his brain for a clue. He gathered up a thick band of inspiration and summoned his coyotes; if he couldn¡¯t find his way through the mist, perhaps they could. They came into being, bursting out of pools of white-gold light, yipping, howling, and immediately pacing in circles around him.

    ¡°Find me that <em>pinch¨¦</em> green star, <em>hermanos</em>!¡±

    His coyotes howled and yipped, crying their weird, nervous sounds as theyunched into action, charging into the mist. Victor twisted his hand on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, waiting to sense something from them, closing his eyes to maintain his connection better. He felt them, clouded by the death Energy, but still there, as they ran in ever-widening circles, trying to find what he sought. He might have stood there like that for five minutes, or it could have been five hours. The Spirit ne was strange in that regard, and the mist and his disorientation made it worse.

    Eventually, though, it came, a feeling of excitement and encouragement, and Victor felt his sessful coyote like a beacon in the dark, a lighthouse guiding him on. He leaped into action, charging toward the coyote, sprinting headlong into the mist, sting it away in a wide cone as his banner¡¯s light preceded him. In just minutes, he burst through thest wall of the fog, and there was his coyote, sitting atop a mound of frozen magma, staring at the veil star where it hung over the empty center of the volcano¡¯s basin. Victor could see dark openings in the ground, leading down into volcano¡ªancientva tubes that still steamed and smoldered here on the Spirit ne.

    ¡°Good boy,¡± Victor said, brushing his hand over the coyote¡¯s furry neck and head as he strode past it, staring at the veil star, scanning the ground around it for any sign of Hector or his apprentices. Not a soul stirred, and the light pulsed balefully as though daring him to approach. It was massive, hanging at least a hundred yards over the top of the caldera, smoldering like a green bonfire rolled into a ball and sent aloft to ze its deathly glory into the night. It was bright, too bright to stare atfortably, so Victor looked down as he approached, wondering how he was supposed to destroy the thing, for if Hector wasn¡¯t here to challenge him, Victor intended to do so.

    As he strode toward the center, to the smooth spot under the veil star, Victor began to notice formations of shaped stones¡ªpirs, carved, round stones, and half-moon shapes arranged in a circr pattern beneath the star. He hurried toward the nearest one, and as he drew close, the cruel, sickly light became burdensome, even for him. He found himself shielding his eyes as he slid to a halt near the first cluster of weird artifacts, his rage waning and his strength fading under that harsh, baleful gaze. Standing there, he began to note runes and sigils carved into the shaped rocks.

    Determined to do some damage and perhaps banish the foul star before retreating to regather his strength, Victor grabbed up one of the rune-covered stones and threw it over his shoulder, putting all his titanic might into the act. The stone was heavy, heavier than it should have been, and cold blue Energy shed and smoked through the air as he threw it. ¡°Hah!¡± he roared, kicking one of the rune-covered pirs over, watching as it fell to the hard rocky ground and split in half with another sh of death-attuned Energy.

    The caldera began to vibrate, shaking beneath Victor¡¯s feet, and he held Lifedrinker high, roaring his fury and determination. Had he ruined the spell? Was it so easy to bring that numbing, ghostly light out of the sky? Something didn¡¯t feel right. Something in the pit of his stomach began to ache, and he felt a deep, horrid surge of ennui, a kind of sickness of the spirit that made him want simply to sit down and rest. He looked up at the star, squinting to see what he¡¯d done, but it looked the same. Then he felt his coyotes¡¯ spirits wink out, one by one, their manifestations banished by something.

    Victor felt slow and sluggish, not just physically but mentally. It took him far too long to realize his coyotes had faded due to his low Energy. His berserk was gone, his banner, too, and now the cold, sickly mist was closing in on him even more tightly. When he turned and started to try to walk away from the veil star, he saw what had caused the ground to rumble. In a loose circle around him, a dozen more pirs had risen from the ground, and, atop each, a smaller version of the veil star burned, though each modted its pulsing light differently. They hurt to look at; their weird pulses seemed tuned to wring him of strength, to wrack his mind with torturous patterns.

    Victor looked into his Core and saw his powerful, zing orbs of attuned Energies, now shrunken, cold balls, just tiny flickers of smoky Energy tendrils keeping them alive. It seemed that as soon as Victor¡¯s Core generated more Energy, it was pulled off and dispersed. He was devoid of power, brought low by this sickly star and its echoes that surrounded him. Despair began to im him as weakness found its way into every muscle of his body. He wanted to sit, wanted to copse into a heap and pull his knees to his chest as the waves of nausea and fatigue continued to wrack him. ¡°What have I done?¡± he groaned, though even that was almost too much work, just a frail whimper slipping past his lips.

 Book 6: Chapter 53: Hope and its Absence

    Book 6: Chapter 53: Hope and its Absence

    Lam spied a group of soldiers standing around a camp stove, warm mugs steaming in their hands, and, feeling a little cozy in her heart from Edeya¡¯s parting hug, thought she¡¯d stop by to have a sip with the troops. Grinning, she walked that way and already had her favorite mug in hand when she stepped up. ¡°Something good in the kettle?¡±

    ¡°Tribune!¡± the first to notice her sputtered, trying to salute while still holding a hot drink.

    ¡°Rx! At ease, everyone. It¡¯s a chilly night, and the warm drink looked appealing. We¡¯ve a big day tomorrow, so I thought I¡¯d have a drink before sleep. Do you mind?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Tribune.¡± A young Ardeni woman bent to pick up the steaming kettle and poured it into Lam¡¯s mug. She had interesting tattoos on the back of her hand and wrist, visible because she¡¯d rolled up the sleeves of her uniform.

    Lam smiled, blowing on the warm liquid to cool it, catching a whiff of hot cider and something spicy. ¡°What¡¯s the significance of that tattoo, the one with the broken wall?¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s one our unit got after the Ridonne attacked our encampment!¡± A different soldier said, this one a burly Shadeni man. He pulled aside his unbuttoned uniform shirt to disy the same tattoo on his chest.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve quite a fewmemorating battles, myself.¡± Lam took a sip of the cider, enjoying the sweet and spicy mix. ¡°Carry on! What were you all talking about?¡±

    Another man chuckled, a wiry, bald-headed Ardeni with a long, jagged scar running the length of his forehead. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a little embarrassing, ma¡¯am, but they were all teasing me about how one of the new recruits beat me to a pulp with a quarterstaff this afternoon.¡±

    ¡°New recruits?¡± Lam raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Well, not so new anymore¡ªthem the Legate recruited back at the Sea Keep.¡±

    ¡°Oh, aye, I¡¯ve heard good things about them, watched ¡®em drilling with you all. Seems they¡¯re fitting in nicely.¡± Her words opened the floodgates as the unit started sharing their experiences working with the humans from Dark Ember, and Lam listened with a smile, enjoying her stolen camaraderie. She was about half done with her cider when a shiver ran up her spine, so sharp and cold that she almost dropped her mug. She turned to look behind her, sure some shadowy nightmare hade for her, but saw nothing except an empty path and, a couple of dozen paces down it, Edeya¡¯s dark tent.

    ¡°Ancestors! Did you feel that chill? I hope a storm¡¯s noting,¡± the young woman with the tattooed wrist said. Lam didn¡¯t turn to respond; she was still staring at Edeya¡¯s tent. Something about the shadows and mist clinging to the ground nearby bothered her. The fool girl should have amp burning¡ªall the soldiers had been admonished to sleep with a me nearby while this close to Hector¡¯s territory. She tilted her mug, draining the rest of her cider onto the ground, and then sent it into her storage ring.

    ¡°Thanks, soldiers,¡± she said, still facing away. They all hurried to wish her a good night and thank her for herpany, but the words fell on deaf ears; Lam was focusing on Edeya¡¯s tent, a dark feeling gripping her heart. Was she seeing things? Was she jumping at shadows? Perhaps, but Edeya wouldn¡¯t mind her poking her head in to check on her. As she approached the tent, the chill in the air seemed to intensify, and Lam felt an irrational panic, a fear that something terrible was happening. She looked to the sky and nced at the mountainside cloaked in darkness, but nothing save the chill in the air supported her mounting dread.

    Nevertheless, almost unbidden, her heavy hammer appeared in her hands, and she began to pull Energy out of her Core into her pathways. Her wings shed more motes, sparkling in the dark, banishing the fog that tried to cling to her ankles as she drew near the tent. Her breath plumed in the air, and realizing that, she knew her perception of the chill wasn¡¯t in her head. Lam heard something, then, a dark, sibnt whisper that lifted the fine hairs on the back of her neck. With doubt driven from her mind, she leaped thest few feet to the tent and yanked the p to the side. ¡°Damned roots!¡± she cried when she took in the scene.

    Edeya hung in the air, gripped by thick ropes of sickly mist. Her eyes were white, the color drained from her irises, her face ashen, her mouth agape as a horrible rattling breath choked out through the constricting tendrils. Lam was so shocked by the sight of her distress that she almost missed the horror that hunched in the darkness at the back of the tent. A slender figure with ropes of shadowy hair falling around a pale face with blood-red eyes. As her eyes adjusted and her shimmering wings pushed back some of the darkness, Lam took in the creature and found that she was a woman. She stood in the darkness, pale breasts wreathed in that dark hair, fingers tipped in long, ck ws like knives, fangs dripping blood on her chin as she grinned wickedly and ran her tongue over her lower lip.

    Lam¡¯s fear fled from her as fury boiled in her heart. She screamed in outraged anger and sent a torrent of Energy into her hammer. Lifting it high, she brought it down, smashing the shadows with the weapon¡¯s projection¡ªa golden maul the size of a draft rdii that crashed into the ground, ripping the mist to shreds. The hammer¡¯s impact rolled through the tent with a shockwave that upended furniture and sent rugs, splintered wood, and Edeya¡¯s many little treasures flying. The explosive Energy of the spell disrupted whatever held Edeya aloft, and she fell, flopping to the ground, utterly still.

    The darkness-d woman stood tall and cackled as Lam¡¯s shockwave rolled harmlessly over her feet, past her long naked legs, and tore through the back of the tent. Lam was already furious, but theughter drove her to further madness. Her wings hummed as they sent her flying forward, hammer high, a deathblow aimed at the woman¡¯s smiling face. She hurtled through the air, closing the distance to the center of the tent in a fraction of a second, but there her momentum halted; those thick mists that had held Edeya wrapped around her, stopping her like a butterfly in a.

    ¡°Fool,¡± a hissing whisper said into her ear, and then Lam realized her error; the tall naked woman wasn¡¯t alone. The prisoner, Victoria, was in the mist¡ªno, she <em>was</em> the mist.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor slumped to the ground, dropping his axe, but not before he desperately tried to sever his connection to the Spirit ne. Just as he¡¯d held Victoria there, however, something held him. Was it the veil star? The smaller, pulsing echoes of it? Was it Hector flexing his will upon a weakened opponent? Victor couldn¡¯t tell, and that knowledge deepened his despair. A sensation unlike anything he¡¯d felt in a very long time began to seep through him, chilling him to the bone¡ªhopelessness. Weakness and a loss of drive pervaded his being.

    It happened so suddenly and with such finality that Victor was stunned by his new frailty. How long had it been since he¡¯d felt weak? How long since he¡¯d felt the world was closing in on him, that he was doomed and alone? The suddenness of it was the worst thing; he hadn¡¯t had a chance to mount a defense, to rally his will, to fight back with his prodigious rage and lust for glory. Where was that lust now? Where was the anger? He was bereft, stripped bare, a hollow husk of himself. What had he thought he¡¯d do, charging into the seat of a Death Caster¡¯s power? What had he expected would happen when he confronted that baleful star of death-attuned Energy? Was he a god? Was he even a true hero? ¡°No,¡± he spat.

    Victor buried his face in his hands. What could he do? Bathed in the sickly, terrible light of the veil star, he wracked his mind, feeble as it felt, for an answer. He had trouble thinking about who he was, let alone what he could do in this predicament. He was just a stupid kid. How could he think he could face a powerful necromantic lord from a distant world? Was he a match for a being who¡¯d gathered his power over centuries? He was in a trap, a trap he¡¯d walked into like the idiot he was. Still, angry as he knew he should be, he had trouble stirring up the emotion. Naturally¡ªthe trap was draining his anger. Was that how it worked? Victor struggled to bring his mind back to the point he¡¯d almost made.

    ¡°How . . . what worked?¡± Even his voice was weak, soft, and hoarse, a bare whisper that struggled to emerge from his lips.

    Despite the frailty of his voice, an answering whisper came to him on the wind, ¡°Child. Soak in the light of my star. Reflect on your worthlessness. As I y those you love, remember that you are the cause. In a decade or century, perhaps I¡¯ll pull you forth from your prison and make you a thrall, and we can reflect together on your failings.¡±

    Something cold and wet tickled Victor¡¯s cheek as he absorbed the words. It took his sluggish mind several seconds to realize he was crying. How strange, he thought, that he could feel such horrible despair and loss but not any anger or fear. Something tickled his mind again, and he knew he¡¯d almost had a brilliant thought. Another wave of despair ran through him, though, pushing the idea away. What had the voice said to bring the moisture to his eyes? ¡°Oh,¡± Victor moaned as he remembered the words; Hector was going to kill everyone he loved. ¡°Va,¡± he sighed, unable to muster the strength to vibrate his vocal cords.

    <strong>#</strong>

    ¡°Victor!¡± Va cried, leaping out of the bed. When she¡¯de to the room and found Victor in his meditation pose, unresponsive to her words, she¡¯d figured he was conducting a Spirit Walk. He¡¯d done it many times in her presence, so she knew the look of it. His face was always the same, serene and untroubled, and he never responded to words or even jostling shakes. When he¡¯d moved against the ck keep, she¡¯d learned all too well that he wouldn¡¯t wake from any stimulus she could provide. Still, it didn¡¯t worry her; his many spirit trips had dulled her to any risk involved. So, with a kiss on his forehead, she¡¯d gotten ready for bed and climbed under the covers. That was when she¡¯d felt the change.

    The air had grown cold, and Va had felt something almost like a vacuum or void tugging at her Core, pulling at her Energy. As she leaped out of her covers, she saw that Victor had turned ashen and wan, the color gone from his vibrant flesh. Moreover, he was the center of the chill, and the ever-present, throbbing furnace of his Core had faded. His powerful spirit-attuned Energies had fled, and their sudden absence was still pulling at her own. ¡°Victor!¡± she cried again, running to him, grasping the sides of his head, jostling him, trying to get him to open his eyes.

    He didn¡¯t respond, of course, and Va felt herself being pulled as though she could be drawn through whatever void had taken his spirit. Crying with despair and fear, she let go of him and took a step back. ¡°Victor! Wake up!¡± Desperately, she looked around the room. Where were hispanions, his steadfast coyotes? Where was his great bear? Where was the heat of his dominating spirit? Something terrible was happening, and she had no answers. Would a healing drought work? With flickering hope, she dug one out of her ring and rushed forward again, tipping it into his mouth. It dribbled from the corners of his lips, and she pped her hand over them, trying to tilt his head so the precious fluid would roll down his throat.

    As he reflexively swallowed, she backed up, still feeling that horrible pulling sensation. She watched and watched for two long, painful minutes, and when he didn¡¯t move or react, she snatched up Midnight and sprinted past him, running through the house toward the front door. She didn¡¯t know who could help her, but she had Kethelket in her mind; he was old and had seen many horrible things. Perhaps he¡¯d know what to do. When she burst through the door into the night air, she wasn¡¯t prepared for what she found.

    Chaos reigned around her. Pale, naked creatures ran amok, hunched figures bereft of hair with long faces bearing glowing red and yellow eyes. They opened their yawning mouths filled with fangs as they leaped upon soldiers who desperately battled for their lives and the ground the ninth cohort had imed. Shrieks, screams, and bellows filled the air. Fires burned as spells thrown by the defenders ignited enemies and tents alike. Smoke added to the sickly fog to make Va¡¯s eyes water as she stared, mouth agape. Her hopes of finding help for Victor were dashed as she realized the camp was being overrun.

    Scowling grimly, she drew Midnight from her sheath and felt a spark of hope ignite in her chest as her de sang her song into the darkness. Wearing nothing but her nightgown, Va lifted her glorious sword, spread her wings, andunched herself into the air. Victor was a hero, and he¡¯d have to look after himself for now. The Glorious Ninth was under attack, and they needed her.

    Once she was aloft, the cold wind tickling her feathers, she saw the scene more clearly. Dark shadows rushed down the hillsides, pouring out of the citadel, swarming the wall with their mad leaps and frenzied battle lust. They weren¡¯t ghouls like she¡¯d seen before, but something worse. She focused on a clump of the creatures overwhelming the defenders at the center of the wall and called down a lightning strike, pouring a good fraction of her air-attuned Energy into it. With a crack of thunder, blue Energy exploded in the pack, sending a dozen creatures flying and giving the defenders a chance to press the attack.

    Va scanned the air and saw the orange and ochre glow of Naghelli wings all over, doing their best to aid from the air, fighting the horde of undead savages. Were they ghouls? Were they lesser vampires? Whatever they were, the Ninth was struggling, failing to hold the line at the wall, and packs of the creatures were rampaging through the camp. Va summoned her helmet from her ring, pressed it onto her head, and, trailing the silkyyers of her gown, she lifted Midnight and dove for thergest group.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Gradually, Victor¡¯s mind turned back to the despair he felt, to his depression at the thought of losing Va, Edeya, Chandri, Lam, Kethelket, Sarl, and all the soldiers he¡¯de to appreciate. With the study of that despair, he wondered, again, why he wasn¡¯t afraid. Hadn¡¯t he always feared being alone? Why wasn¡¯t he angry? Shouldn¡¯t he be furious at himself, at Hector? Finally, his sluggish mind held onto the thought long enough for him to make the connection. Naturally, he couldn¡¯t feel those things when this trap was dragging his Energy from his spirit Core¡ªhis spirit Core that fed on those emotions.

    After he realized that, he shook his head. Didn¡¯t he already know that? What was the point? Why did it matter? Finally, after going over the thought ten or more times, he realized what he¡¯d been trying to bring into his conscious thought¡ªhe could still feel despair and love, but not his attuned emotions. His glory was gone, his inspiration, his fear, his anger¡ªall gone. Briefly, despite the dullness of his mind, he managed to contemte forming a different Energy¡ªjustice or courage¡ªbut how could he? He needed Energy to weave, and he had none. As soon as some formed in his Core, it was gone.

    Again, he fell into a wallowing well of self-loathing. He thought about his stupid mistakes, his lifetime of failing in one way or another, and he capped it all off with a reaffirming whisper, ¡°Without my Energy, I¡¯m nothing.¡± When he heard the words aloud, however, something stirred in his heart, something rted to glory but different, something that had been held down by his loss of that bright, wonderful Energy but not wholly banished¡ªhis pride. ¡°I¡¯m not nothing,¡± he whispered, and then, mustering everything he had in him, he managed to make his vocal cords rumble in a faint growl. ¡°I¡¯m Quinametzin.¡±

    At the words, the thing in his heart grew hotter, and then he realized it wasn¡¯t in his heart but in his chest. His despair and the weakness he¡¯d felt as his mighty Core was depleted had been so overwhelming that he¡¯d forgotten his breath Core. Even so, shouldn¡¯t he have felt it? Shouldn¡¯t he have realized he still had Energy within him? As the heat grew, his mind became less sluggish, and Victor realized something: The trap had depleted his breath Core, too, but it couldn¡¯t stop it from replenishing. ¡°But how,¡± he breathed, and then the ball of magma in his chest red again.

    Victor closed his eyes and focused his inner eye upon his magma breath Core, and though it was dim, smoldering weakly, it burned. He exhaled and took his first, truly deep breath since he¡¯d fallen into despair. Sure enough, hot tendrils of roiling red-orange Energy, carried by his breath, flowed into his magma Core, charging it further, brightening the furnace in his chest like a bellows in a forge. Victor took another deep breath and followed the trails of those ribbons of fiery Energy, and now that he¡¯d identified them, he could see their long, wispy tails leading away into the magma tubes that opened beyond the ring of his veil star prison.

    As the heat spread through him and the chill of his Energy-deprived titanic form faded, he found his thoughtsing more quickly and sharply. The emotions tied to his spirit Core might have faded and might be eluding him, but his breath Core held a different kind of smoldering rage, and he could feel it echoed in the mountain beneath him. The veil star prison was keeping him in, was blocking his regeneration of Energies, but it couldn¡¯t block the furious wrath of the mountain beneath it. It was like trying to put a wine cork on a fire hydrant.

    Now that he could think again, Victor put his mind to work¡ªwhat could he do with his breath Core? Could he pull its Energy into his pathways and into his Spirit Core, changing it into rage-attuned Energy? What if he could? What would being enraged do for him? If he could recover enough, perhaps he could force his way out of his trap. Maybe he could battle this prison with his will. He shook his head, doubtful. He¡¯d had a full Core when he came in and lost it so quickly that he¡¯d never had a chance to fight. If he converted his magma-attuned Energy to rage or any other attunement, he¡¯d just lose it again.

    Could he force the magma-attuned Energy into his pathways and then use it to cast a spell? Could he berserk with it? Was that a thing? Could elemental Energy be used to alter one¡¯s state? He¡¯d never seen any ¡°fire berserkers¡± or anything like that. He nced at his status sheet, and doubt grew heavy in his heart. Even if he could manage the spell, it would be a shadow of his normal Iron Berserk¡ªhis magma Energy had a maximum value of five hundred, whereas his spirit Core topped twenty-one thousand.

    Growling and inhaling, savoring the hot magma-attuned Energy as it entered his lungs, Victor grabbed hold of Lifedrinker and stood up. If he could do that much, could he fight back? Could he break this trap? Victor stepped toward the veil star and started gathering his breath, preparing to exhale, sending his magma Energy out with his breath. He stopped, though, noticing something different. The fog around him had thinned. When he looked past the smaller veil stars, shielding his eyes from their painful, pulsing patterns, he saw thick, hot vapors rising around the nearby magma tubes, and the deathly mist was retreating from the heat.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Victor looked at his feet, imagining the roilingke of magma in the center of the mountain. He closed his eyes, and with all his might, he sucked in an enormous breath, willing his lungs to keep filling, willing the magma in the depths toe to him, to fill his Core and expand it. With an explosion of heat and warmth, he felt his Core expand and stretch, and then, like he¡¯d broken bands strapping it tight, it surged to new heights, and more Energy came into him.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have learned a new skill: Breath Core Cultivation Drill ¨C Basic.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! Your breath Core has advanced: Base 6.***</strong>

    Victor looked at his status sheet, saw his breath Core Energy had risen to six hundred, and lifted his head to the baleful, pulsing star and roared. As his voice faded, sucked into the misty air high above his head, he felt an echoing rumble from beneath his feet, and Victor began to breathe, returning to his new cultivation drill with a savage purpose. ¡°Time to wake up, big brother.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 54: Tests of Heart

    Book 6: Chapter 54: Tests of Heart

    Lam felt the icy, numbing grip of Victoria¡¯s misty tendril begin to pull the Energy from her Core, and she raged against it. She fought the pull with everything in her, desperately struggling to keep the Death Caster from overwhelming her with her insidious will. She pulled and thrashed, willing her Energy to stay in her pathways, knowing the mist would pull it from her if she cast a spell. In her struggles, she caught a glimpse of Edeya lying insensate, devoid of color, by her feet. Even her wings had lost their azure luster, and there were no beautiful motes of blue Energy anywhere in their transparent, fragile membranes.

    The tent was in shambles, half copsed, many of the furnishings blown out, through or under the fabric by her explosive attack. She might have gotten herself caught, but at least she¡¯d knocked Edeya from that vile bitch¡¯s misty clutches. The other one, the tall, demonic woman, regarded her thrashing, watching as Victoria worked to subdue her. ¡°You waste time, Catalina,¡± she hissed in a voice that sounded like a chorus of shrieking children. ¡°Shall I take my due?¡± She reached a long arm, tipped in needle-sharp ck ws, toward Lam. Her voice brought tears to Lam¡¯s eyes, and she thrashed and struggled more, fighting with everything she had to keep her Energy in her Core, resisting the insidious pull of the mist.

    ¡°She¡¯s mine!¡± Victoria hissed. Lam fought hard, barely able to wonder if she¡¯d heard the demon right¡ªwas her name really Catalina? Where had she heard it before? ¡°Long have I lusted for her golden Energy. Long has she tormented me with her vibrance. Come, sweet, rx, and sumb to my embrace. I¡¯ll always keep a part of you alive within me.¡±

    ¡°Foolish child,¡± the beautiful, horrible woman said. ¡°Do you not hear themotion? Finish your meal quickly, then. I will begin my own feast.¡± She stood tall, lifting her skeletally thin arm high, pushing the lopsided canvas of the tent away from her as she turned away and began to work free of the failing structure. Lam grunted, sweat streaming down her brow, dripping from her chin, as she was held motionless. Her sweat was proof of her efforts, for it was frigidly cold in the tent surrounded by the Death Caster¡¯s mist. The tall, demonic woman only took two steps before, in a gust of cleansing air, the entire tent was ripped away from the ground, lifted into the air by the fluttering ochre wings of several Naghelli.

    Like a snake striking from its hole, the naked woman leaped into the air, wrapping her long arms around one of the Naghelli, bearing her to the ground, and biting into her neck. The Naghelli didn¡¯t even have time to cry out as the demon drank her life force and Energy. A crowd of soldiers and other Naghelli fell on her, but Lam lost sight of the mad melee that ensued as Catalina redoubled her efforts, squeezing with her mist and jerking her left and right. ¡°Sumb, fairy woman! Sumb!¡±

    ¡°And why should she, witch?¡± Suddenly, Kethelket was there, dancing through the freezing tendrils that made up Catalina¡¯s misty body, shing his two named swords left and right, shredding the misty arms, eliciting screams of pain and outrage from the Death Caster. Lam felt the grip on her neck loosen and fall away, felt herself falling to the ground, and she caught herself, dropping into a squat. She snatched up her fallen hammer, spared Edeya¡¯s insensate form a single worrying nce, and then leaped into action, bright, golden Energy exploding through her pathways.

    Kethelket had driven Catalina back, forcing her to pull her misty tendrils in, solidifying herself further so she might have a chance to parry those wicked twin des. She moved with unbelievable speed, surging left and right, forward and back, up and down. Kethelket was more than a match with his shadowy Energy. He drove her back, further and further away. Lam followed their duel, and, seeing a pattern, she brought down a hammer strike directly where Catalina next retreated. The Energy poured out of her Core as she gave it everything she had, and a massive, dense hammer-shaped construct fell from the heavens, spinning as a thrown warhammer might, and smashing into Catalina, driving her to the turf in a ground-shaking impact.

    Kethelket, in a blur of shadows, darted into the spray of dirt, fog, and shattered camp equipment, his des shing in brilliant arcs, ripping the now-physical form of the Death Caster to shreds. Lam heard her wails, ear-piercing, horrible sounds that threatened to render anyone nearby deaf. She pped her hands to her ears, her hammer falling to the ground, and stumbled over to Edeya. Chaos had erupted around her¡ªsoldiers screamed, magical attacks exploded everywhere, wild, rainbow lights shed in the night sky, and the thunder of thousands of feet pounding the ground rumbled under her knees as she fell beside her friend¡¯s pitiful figure.

    ¡°Edeya!¡± she cried, ¡°Edeya!¡± She gripped her face, shivering at the chill of the flesh. Was she toote? Was she dead? Tears burst from her eyes, running down her cheeks as a sob of impotent rage and despair constricted her throat. Why hadn¡¯t she checked on her just a little sooner? Desperately, she summoned a healing drought from her ring and tipped it into Edeya¡¯s colorless lips. The liquid pooled against her teeth, running from the corners of her mouth. Lam pulled at her chin, letting the potion into her mouth, but nothing seemed to happen.

    Suddenly, a shadow loomed over her, and she looked up to see the dark Naghelli Prince. ¡°The witch didn¡¯t die. With my third eye, I saw her tether pulsing with her death Energy. She must have a phctery up on yonder mount.¡±

    Lam was too stupefied by her grief, too stunned with guilt to register his words. She hugged Edeya¡¯s cold body to her chest, lifting her limp, too-light form from the soil and hugging her tightly. Had she really loved the girl so much? The answer was in the stuttering skips of her heart and her desire to stop breathing. If Edeya had fled this world, then what was the point of anything? What was the point of all the wealth she¡¯d built, all the battles she¡¯d won? What was the point of founding a new country away from the Ridonne nobility when she had no one to love, no one with whom to share it?

    Through the blur of her tears, she saw the shadow, Kethelket, loom closer, and he said, with an urgent note in his voice. ¡°Her wings!¡± Lam sniffed and blinked her eyes, clearing them enough to look down at Edeya¡¯s limp, colorless wings, and, as fresh waves of despair threatened to constrict her throat further, she saw, briefly, a tiny flicker of sapphire light. It was so dim and fleeting that she doubted herself, wondering if it had been a trick of the light. As she stared, though, another flickered in a different spot, gone before she could focus on it. Kethelket straightened, already turning away. ¡°She yet lives, though barely. Get her to a safe ce¡ªI must face the demon that wreaks havoc among the troops. Make haste! Enemy soldiers assault the walls. See if Victor has yet emerged from his home!¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Lesh sat in his hiding spot among the hills, watching the camp below. Many nights had he followed Victor¡¯s army through the fair, softnds they sought to conquer. Many nights had he contemted showing himself, asking about their giant hero, about his uncanny ability to breathe fire and his unstoppable physical might. He¡¯d seen him conquer enemy after enemy, seen him descend into depths swarming with powerful undead, only toe up dayster, unscathed. Lesh had abandoned his quest from the System and, along with it, any thoughts of returning home. How could he face the War Council in Garspire? How could he face his father? How could he face Yassa?

    Thatst hurt the most. While the others pained his pride, the loss of Yassa crushed his heart. Nevertheless, his decision had been made. On that fateful night when he¡¯d seen the titan-blood breathe fire that would be the envy of an elder drake, he¡¯d known¡ªVictor was not a man he would kill but a man he would follow. Was it fear? Was it inspiration? Lesh wasn¡¯t sure, and to im one or the other would be dishonest. Regardless, he refused to entertain the idea of challenging that man who¡¯d done nothing to impugn his honor, threaten his home, ory im to his freedom¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t let the System twist his hunger for power into something dishonorable. So, he¡¯d bided his time, watching, waiting, seeking the right opportunity to approach.

    He wanted to speak, to sound out his thoughts as he often did while alone. He was quiet, though, knowing the titan¡¯s dark-winged watchers were out there, seeking any danger to their camp. It seemed they were preparing to begin their assault on the undead stronghold. Shouldn¡¯t he approach before then? Shouldn¡¯t he give his aid here before it was toote, before it was over, and he came scrounging around like a carrion hound to the ughter? Not in the dark, however. No, he¡¯d approach with the dawn¡¯s light, offering his services to break the defenses of those high keeps.

    Would the titan even want him? He¡¯d grown more and more powerful, and so had his mate. Elder wyrms! Lesh shook his head, remembering her shimmering wings and impressive figure as he¡¯d watched the two ride into camp. She was no Yassa, but she was something special. Well, Lesh might not be ready or willing to challenge Victor, but he was mighty in his own right. He¡¯d make a good case for himself, and when the time came to assault those walls, he and Bgog would make a name for themselves among these people.

    Lesh¡¯s inner dialogue grew silent as he saw something strange on the hillside. His yellow-tinted sight made short work of the darkness, piercing even the denseyers of life-draining mist clinging to the hills. He looked for the dark-winged watchers sent by Victor¡¯s general into the slopes. Their wings had patterns of Energy that stood out like beacons, burning silver-white in his enhanced vision. It made them easy for him to avoid, and Lesh made it a habit to mark their locations each night, drawing a mental map of his surroundings. Something new had happened just now, though. Those watchers in the hills had disappeared; the glow of their wings winking out had drawn his attention.

    He stood, still hooded in his obscuring cloak, and peered, sending a touch of Energy into his pathways, enhancing his vision further, into the distant hills, staring at the spot where he¡¯dst seen the scouts. He almost missed it, taking the movement as mist shifting on the wind, but then he looked closer and saw that, clinging to the shadows and fog, a line of pale, feral undead creatures were creeping down from the heights. He followed their line upward, catching glimpses of their column in gaps between hills, slipping through groves of gnarled trees and dropping down sheer rock faces. When his eyes finally came to rest on their source, a bend in the high cliffside above which roared the mighty falls, Lesh knew the truth¡ªthere was a tunnel behind those waters, and it was spilling forth thousands of the creatures.

    Lesh threw back his hood and picked up Bgog. ¡°It¡¯s time we made an appearance, brother.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor could feel the fury of the volcano beneath him. The ground rumbled, the air grew warm, and Hector¡¯s deathly mist had been almost wholly cooked out of the caldera. All he¡¯d been doing was pulling on that hot magma-attuned Energy, drawing it into his breath Core,pressing and packing it in until it grew too full to contain, and <em>boom,</em> his breath Core expanded, gaining a new rank, making room for more and more Energy. He could tell he was on the brink of another gain, another expansion of his breath Core as his lungs filled to bursting with air, and he sucked in those hot, potent vapors, driving them into the swirling ball of magma in his chest with every ounce of his will.

    Like a damn breaking, his Core expanded, and he felt a re of heat course through his body¡ªhe was veritably glowing with the Energy by now.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have learned a new skill: Breath Core Cultivation Drill ¨C Improved.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Congrattions! Your breath Core has advanced: Base 9.***</strong>

    He couldn¡¯t believe how quickly he was making gains. It felt like he¡¯d only been at it for minutes, but he knew it had to be longer than that. As he started another cycle, impressed by how much more Energy he could pull using the improved cultivation drill, he wondered if he was doing the right thing. Was there a faster way out of the caldera? Could he destroy this trap with the mes in his Core? He¡¯d seen how quickly the trap had drained him; it might not be able to contain the Energying from the volcano, but wouldn¡¯t it be able to suck away his measly nine hundred points of breath Energy?

    And then what? If he drained himself again and left his body with no Energy, how long would he wallow before he began to recover? How much time would he lose trying to fight for a simple thought or to move his Energy-starved body? No, his breath Core was fueling him, a titanic form grown powerful and ustomed to twenty times that much Energy. He was thinking; he was doing something; he couldn¡¯t risk that by blowing off his painstakingly gained progress.

    He funneled another deep breath of hot Energy into his Core and heard and felt the burning magma furnace beneath him ever more intimately. It was waking. Its anger was stoking. Victor didn¡¯t know what would happen if he could get the magma to start flowing or even go so far as to make the volcano erupt. If it happened here, on the Spirit ne, would it be echoed on the Material ne? Would he destroy Hector¡¯s army? Would he kill the Glorious Ninth? Victor shook the worry from his mind¡ªhe had to do something, or he¡¯d be trapped here forever, and right now, waking the magma beneath him felt right.

    ¡°Come on! One more!¡± he growled, pulling in another massive lungful of hot, smoky air. He didn¡¯t know what would happen when he pushed his breath Core out of the ¡°base¡± levels, but he hoped it would be more than a simple hundred-point boost. He didn¡¯t have an attribute that improved his breath Energy like will and intelligence did for his spirit Core, so he did the only thing he knew how¡ªhe gathered the rich, powerful magma-attuned Energy from the volcano and he packed it in, folding,yering,pressing it with his will, building that breath Core up. He watched as the red-orange fury of it grew brighter, orange-yellow, yellow, yellow-white¡ªpulsing, throbbing, straining. ¡°Just a little more!¡± he growled, inhaling,pressing, expanding his lungs until they hurt.

    He was making a draft, a vacuum almost, prodding the hot Energy to flow quicker and quicker up from the depths. The veil stars were still there, throbbing their green light at him, but he felt them less and less. The volcano¡¯s Energy was overwhelming them. Could that bastard, Hector, feel what he was doing? Was he worried? ¡°Or is that <em>pendejo</em> too busy killing my friends?¡±

    The thought came to him on a wave of red fury, and Victor realized his vision was tinted slightly red as he pulled another massive breath of magma-attuned, hot air into his lungs. As he packed the Energy into his breath Core, he turned his gaze to his spirit Core, hoping to see his rage recovering, but it was still dim, still flickering with wisps of Energy that faded as soon as they formed. Where was this rageing from? The ground rumbled beneath him, and his chest answered with a rumbled growl of his own. ¡°You¡¯re pissed off, eh, <em>hermano</em>? Me too!¡±

    As he finishedpressing thest of his current magma Energy haul, Victor leaped to his feet and shouted into the smoky, green-tinted darkness, ¡°Come on, brother! Wake up and fuck this shit up!¡± Victor could feel it in his bones, in his blood, in his flesh¡ªthe heat of his magma Core was boiling over, ready to burst, and it had deep echoes of rage in it. Could he use it like rage? Could he turn his breath Core inward? As he contemted, he automatically started another cycle of his breath Core cultivation drill. He pumped his lungs like a bellows, expanding, contracting, expanding, siphoning the magma-attuned Energy from the hot air he brought in and exhaling vast plumes of smoke.

    The heat in his chest intensified. His Core, a ball of white-hot,pressed magma, was ready to blow, the pressure so intense that it dwarfed thest few expansions he¡¯d managed. He was certain something momentous was going to happen when he broke through. It almost felt like it would destroy him. If his other Core was full, rich with Energy, he might not feel the expansion of his magma Core so acutely, but as it was, it felt like he was building a bomb in his chest.

    With each cycle of his drill, the Energy in the air grew thicker. The heat grew more sweltering. The smoke obscured more and more of the sickly green light. He felt the ground rumbling, felt the torrents of magma-attuned Energy swirling up out of theva tubes. ¡°Come on!¡± he screamed and began another cycle. The Energy flew into him, almost more fire than air as he sucked it in. It was so thick and dense with power that it took him longer to pack it into his Core than it did to process the breath.

    As hepressed the air in his lungs, bearing down with all his might, forcing the Energy into his Core, he stood there, red-faced, body clenched in a mad, tight-fisted pose. When he finally broke through, advancing his Core to the next tier, he exhaled with a ground-shaking roar, and a plume of fire exploded out of his mouth.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Va found her rhythm fighting among the hairless, naked, savage ghouls. She danced among them cloaked in lightningced wind, her wings adding a new dimension to her fighting that made her death-incarnate to the feral creatures. She whirled, dashed, and leaped, her wings cracking the air to grant her more speed, manipting the elemental magic of her Core,shing out with lightning and iron-charged Energy, knocking aside shing ws and ripping through pale flesh.

    Midnight was like a bolt of lightning held tight in her fist, exploding through the air, shattering pale bodies, cracking against skulls, ws, and bones with ps of thunder that stunned her opponents. When she felt they were crowding too thickly, she¡¯d flex her mighty wings and jump, soaring above their heads, only toe down riding the wind like an angelic avnche of lightning and metal. Her silky white gown was torn, soaked in blood, but not her own. It flowed on the wind, presenting itself as a target for ws, but as the foolish undead sought to swipe at it, Va cut them apart with her deadly de.

    She was fighting outside the northern gate, serving as a ma for the hordes of monsters making their way out of the hills. There were thousands of them, maybe tens of thousands, but she couldn¡¯t be bothered to count, couldn¡¯t be bothered to care. She was busy dancing and killing, ughtering them by the hundreds. Her distraction had given the defenders on the ramparts time to retake their ground, to hurl the vicious undead out of the camp. Now, they were raining death upon the iing horde. Lightning, fireballs, arrows, stones¡ªany kind of missile you could imagine¡ªfell from the air, ughtering the monsters wholesale.

    In the back of her mind, Va wondered where Victor was, where Kethelket was. Why was she the lone hero, holding back the horde, giving the army time to mount their defense? She shook her head at the thought, angry with herself¡ªshe wasn¡¯t alone. The heroes of the Ninth were all over the wall, performing feats that would humble the decorated champions of the Ridonne Empire. She was doing fine; the mountains of dead around here were a testament to that. They could win, they could . . .

    A horrible shriek shook the night, echoing through the darkness, stunning everyone, even the undead, into stillness for a heartbeat. Va tracked the sound, looking into the sky, and that glimmer of hope, that flicker of confidence, began to fall apart in her heart. A skeletal nightmare soared through the darkness, descending toward the encampment. It looked like a wyrm, a hundred times the size of Guapo, with skeletal wings pumping the air, catching the wind with membranes of sickly green magic. Worse, atop its head, perched between two massive horns, rode a ck-robed demon of a man wielding an enormous spear and wearing a crown of red lightning.

 Book 6: Chapter 55: Victories and Defeats

    Book 6: Chapter 55: Victories and Defeats

    Kethelket followed the trail of bodies further into the camp. He could hear the rallying cries at the walls, the horns bleating their frantic rms. He knew the camp was under attack from the outside as well as within, but he couldn¡¯t turn from his quarry. He¡¯d shouted for his people to take flight, to aid from the safety of the ck, fog-filled sky. Already, he¡¯d lost too many¡ªpoor Divinia, snatched and drained by the creature he now pursued, Velnar, Brosk, and Evedelia, the guardians in by Victoria, and who knew how many others Kethelket had yet to find. As he pushed his way through the wreckage and chaos, he saw evidence of plenty of ughter, though none of the victims bore the dark wings of his kind.

    The creature, demon, evil woman¡ªhe didn¡¯t know what to call it¡ªseemed to prefer disembowelment as a means of quick murder. Kethelket ran down a bloody path strewn with entrails and pale bodies. He could see clusters of defenders here and there, torn, broken, ripped apart like caricatures at a child¡¯s party. Whatever the thing was, it was strong. His pursuit brought him toward the north wall, and he could guess the thing was heading for the gate. Did it hope to open them? He supposed it made sense. The camp had sturdy fortifications. They were well dug in. A sh of shadow in the corner of his eye sent a jolt of adrenaline through him, and Kethelket exploded into shadow, streaking away from shing ws as they ripped the air where he¡¯d been.

    ¡°A quick ything?¡± the creature¡¯s voice grated on his ears like nails over bone. A dozen voices vied for control of those vocal cords, and the chorus was mind-wracking. Kethelket didn¡¯t wait for an invitation. He streaked through the air, his vision gray and white from the expansion of shadow-attuned Energy through his pathways. Gevel and Uthac were angry, hungry for the blood of this yer of Kethelket¡¯s kin. Theyshed out, quicker than thought, and carved twin gashes along the demon¡¯s naked ribs. An answering rake of ws caught Kethelket¡¯s shoulder, and he burned some more Energy, streaking through the shadowscape to lessen their bite.

    He moved, in a semi-incorporeal blur, around the tall, gangly creature, aiming to assault her from behind. Up close, he was disturbed by the incongruous nature of the monster¡ªher face was beautiful and bore a pleasant smile, while her body was all sharp angles and ws, too-long limbs, corpse-like flesh, and hair that hung in long, damp strands, heavy with the blood of those she¡¯d already in. Kethelket drove Gevel into the woman¡¯s lower back and hacked Uthac into her knee. Gevel bit deeply, and a spurt of dark blood followed as Kethelket pulled him out, but Uthac rebounded from bone, the impact painfully jarring.

    Kethelket expected a quick response; he¡¯d see how the creature could move. He¡¯d already shifted to shadow and was streaking away when the nightmare whirled and wed. Her movement was fast enough to catch the tail end of his passage, and Kethelket cried out as his concentration was shattered by pain. Somehow, she¡¯d torn those long, ck ws through his shadow form and broken his spell. He tumbled into the side of a tent, copsing the canvas and rolling through it. Though fiery aches told him he¡¯d been badly cut from his lower back down to his left knee, he leaped into motion again, ripping Gevel in a shing upward parry, knocking aside the creature¡¯s follow-up attack.

    With everything he had, heunched a masterfulbination of hacks, stabs, feints, and parries, driving forward into the frenzied flurry of ws and insane, multi-voicedughter. They battled that way for mere seconds, but those seconds stretched into hours, days, and weeks in Kethelket¡¯s mind. Every sh, every parry, every riposte became the focus of his lifetime, the pinnacle of everything he¡¯d studied for. A hundred years of swordsmanship, three times that many studyingbat with other weapons, building his Core, learning to use the shadow Energy instinctually¡ªeverything came down to that moment, that furious exchange that was over before most people would have realized it had happened.

    When Kethelket stepped back, the demonic woman fell at his feet, her heart punctured, her throat cut to the bone, and her entrails drooping from a gaping wound. Kethelket stood over her, victorious, and then he fell to a knee, nting his two swords in the cold, damp soil to prop himself up. He¡¯d felt her ws part the soft flesh of his neck, felt them puncture his side, driving six inches into his vulnerable organs. He knew he¡¯d choke if he breathed, so he didn¡¯t. He held his breath and watched the darkness closing in on his vision. He willed it away, furious that his body would give in before he¡¯d seen the foul light go out of his enemy¡¯s eyes.

    As the darkness shrank away from his furious will, he refocused on the woman¡¯s face, watching those lips spew blood as she tried to breathe, watching as she heaved and shuddered, fitfully scrabbling at the cold earth with her long fingers, trying to pull her failing body closer to him. Kethelket couldn¡¯t breathe, but he refused to stay on his knees before her. Holding onto the hilts of his swords, he slowly, shakily, regained his feet, staring down at the creature, watching its struggles fade. Only then, when it shuddered itsst breath, did Kethelket pull a healing draught from his storage ring and tip it into his mouth.

    <strong>#</strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! Your breath Core has advanced: Improved 1.***</strong>

    As the smoke and waves of hot air washed over him, as the release of Energy flowing hotly through his lungs and igniting in the air just past his mouth began to fade, Victor read the System notification and then looked at his Energy status:

    <strong>Breath Core:</strong>

    <strong>Elder ss - Improved 1</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Spirit ss - Advanced 8</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Magma - 9</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Energy:</strong>

    <strong>2000/2000</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Glory 8.6, Inspiration 7.4, Unattuned 3.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>15/21864</strong>

    When his breath Core had been ¡°Base 9,¡± he¡¯d had 900 Energy. Did that mean he¡¯d simply gained 1100 from the level up, or had he gained the usual 100, and then his total had doubled? He shook his head¡ªno way to tell until he did it again. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this.¡± Victor twisted his hands around Lifedrinker¡¯s ghostly Spirit ne projection, but the axe was silent, just as she had been since the trap had been sprung. Was it draining her, too? Was it cutting her off, somehow?

    Victor looked up at the veil star, pleased to see it obscured by waves of hot, stinging smoke. Theva tubes looked like giant incense burners, the ck smoke pouring out of themced with tiny, flickering motes of fiery ash. He was doing something. That much was certain. Something under his feet was waking up¡ªthe magma-attuned Energy was so heavy and thick in the air that he barely had to breathe to pull it into his Core. The more prevalent it became, the more Victor felt its secondary effects; he found it easier and easier to find the anger in his heart, the fury he knew he should be feeling toward Hector. Before, the thought of Va and the others in danger brought him only despair. Now, anger surged within him. He felt his teeth grind, his vision tint red, and a deep-seated desire to find Hector and put an end to him.

    If the anger in the air could do that for him and allow him to feel the emotion the veil star trap was blocking from his Core, could he use that? He¡¯d built up his breath Core significantly; could he use that Energy to kickstart his rage? To summon enough into his pathways to cast Berserk again? If he did that, would it be enough to break the hold on him? Could he break free of his prison? The idea felt good, but as soon as he looked more closely at it, he knew it would fail. He''d <em>been</em> berserk when the trap was sprung, and he¡¯d had a hell of a lot more than two thousand Energy. As soon as he managed to cast the spell, his spirit Core would be drained, and the spell would fade.

    No, if he wanted any spell tost, it had to be fueled by his magma-attuned Energy. ¡°But my <em>pinch¨¦</em> spells are meant for spirit Energies!¡± Victor growled, thumping his clenched fist against his forehead. As he stood there, anger grinding his teeth, frustration making him pound his head over and over again, something of a lightbulb went off in his brain. There had to be more to this magma-attuned Energy than the elemental aspect. He could feel it, the fury of the mountain beneath him, the smoldering anger in the air. More than that, he could <em>use</em> it. His brain was working because of it. Thanks to that Energy, his back was straight, and he wasn¡¯t wallowing in the dirt. Rather than self-pitying defeat, he felt angry.

    ¡°Okay, <em>hermano</em>, if you¡¯re pissed off and your anger is thick in the air and in my breath Core, then why the hell can¡¯t I use that?¡± Victor closed his eyes again, turning his gaze inward to the smoldering, throbbing heart of his breath Core. It was apparent that the volcano¡¯s Energy was spewing forth much faster than the veil star and its smaller twins could siphon it off. Hector¡¯s trap had meant to deprive Victor, a single person, of his magma-attuned Energy. It wasn¡¯t a match for the mighty, angry spirit under his feet. That idea got Victor thinking. Was it a spirit? Was the mountain alive, or was it just a natural generator for the kind of Energy he could feel? Victor felt like it was more than that. Something was angry under him.

    Looking closely at his breath Core, he focused his will and pulled a tendril of that Energy out, studying its smoldering, pulsing flow as he pushed it around in the pathways of his lungs. Just as he¡¯d instinctively known, he could see the Energy was multi-faceted. Entwined with the amber glow of the fiery Energy was a tendril of deep crimson. It echoed the appearance of his rage-attuned Energy so closely that Victor couldn¡¯t help but recognize it. He supposed some might think it was just another brand of fiery Energy, aplexity to the magma that separated it from other, purer forms of elemental fire Energy. Victor knew better.

    Victor slowly began to inhale, pulling a steady stream of the volcano¡¯s magma-attuned Energy into his lungs, sending it into his breath Core. At the same time, as the Core swirled and pulsed, he pulled that tiny thread of red, furious Energy out of it, separating it from his magma-attuned Core and slipping it into his pathway, out of his lungs, and down, into his spirit Core. Once that thin thread of Energy felt the tug of his rage-attuned Core, it began to siphon, and he didn¡¯t have to try any longer.

    Grinning madly, he continued to pull the mountain¡¯s Energy into his lungs, feeding it to his breath Core and watching as the ribbon of red, furious Energy rippled down through his pathways into his spirit Core. His dim, cold rage Core began to smolder like an ember given a breath of wind. He saw the Energy sucked away, like crimson smoke, into the trap Hector had created, but as he continued to pull Energy into his lungs, that ribbon kept flowing, and it was slowly gaining ground¡ªthe Core was getting brighter.

    If he weren¡¯t busy inhaling, following the cultivation drill he¡¯d figured out for his breath Core, Victor would have howled with excited, bloodthirsty excitement. He could feel the heat of his rage truly begin to take shape. He¡¯d only been at it for a few moments when suddenly, System messages shed in his vision:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have learned a new skill: Breath Core Cultivation Drill ¨C Advanced.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Congrattions! You have learned a new skill: Spirit Core Cultivation Drill ¨C Advanced.***</strong>

    Victor¡¯s insane grin spread wider, and his immense, rhythmic, chest-expanding inhtions took on a maniacal, frenzied pace as the messages encouraged him. He¡¯d been on the brink of improving his Spirit Core Cultivation Drill for months but never broken through. Now he¡¯d skipped ¡°improved¡± and gone straight to ¡°advanced.¡± Was this what he¡¯d been meant to do? To see the reflections of his spirit Energies in the elements around him? He¡¯d always cultivated from his own emotions, but apparently, that was only part of the equation.

    Victor continued to watch his Cores with his inner eye. His breath Core was full, growing slowly brighter, his input of magma-attuned Energy faster than the outlet of red, angry Energy he was sending into his spirit Core. His rage Core continued to grow, continued to get brighter and brighter. What was his goal? What would he do? If he stopped cultivating the magma Energy in the air, his rage Core would just be drained again. Could he berserk and still cultivate? Could he . . . Victor frowned as an idea came to him, something that he should have seen the moment he realized he could harvest rage from the magma Energy.

    If he could pull rage out of his breath Core into his pathways and down into his spirit Core, why couldn¡¯t he pull that rage into a spell? He could do it. He could cast Berserk with his breath Core. He wasn¡¯t sure it would work the same, but it was better than doing nothing. Nodding to himself, still sucking Energy out of the air, he took that thread of red, furious Energy and, rather than stopping it from flowing into his Spirit Core, he pulled it back out into his pathway and wound it into the pattern for Berserk, just as he¡¯d done hundreds of other times.

    As the spell took shape, snapping into ce, he felt the pull on his breath Core intensify. The spell waspensating for his depleted spirit Core, pulling on that long thread running through his pathways. Iron Berserk was a hungry spell, brutal in its demands for instant Energy, and that thin thread of angry red Energy wasn¡¯t enough. As it pulled, a thick rope of orange-red magma-attuned Energy flowed out of his breath Core, into his pathways, into the spell, and then Victor erupted with mad, fiery Energy.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Lam burst into Victor¡¯s home, charging down the short hallway to the dining area with Edeya in her arms. ¡°Victor!¡± she screamed. ¡°Va!¡± She gentlyid Edeya on the table and put her ear to her lips, confirming she was still breathing, though her wispy puffs were hardly breaths. ¡°Victor!¡± she screamed again, desperate fear and frail hope adding a note of panic to her voice. She charged down the steps, down the hallway to Victor¡¯s wide-open bedroom door. ¡°They must be out fighting.¡± Nevertheless, she went through the door, wanting to be sure, and then she saw him.

    Victor sat on the rug, huge and pale as ash, the air cold around him. His eyes were closed but jumping around behind the lids. He breathed fitfully, strangely, and Lam thought she could hear some weird, muttered, unformed words in his throat. ¡°Victor! Wake up! Victor!¡± She ran to him, grasped his massive shoulders, and shook him. He was stiff and so bound with muscle, it felt like she was trying to shake a tree. She moved around to face him and, winding back her arm, pped him full across the face. He hardly moved. ¡°Rotten roots!¡± she cried and ran from the room, returning to check on Edeya.

    The frail, pale Ghelli was the same. The only hints she was alive were the asional tiny motes of color in her wings and the faint, wispy, shallow breaths puffing between her colorless lips. ¡°Why won¡¯t the healing draught work?¡± Lam knew the answer; her body wasn¡¯t hurt. It was her spirit, and the one person she hoped might be able to help her was simrly lifeless. Something was happening elsewhere. Something was happening in that ce of spirits Victor often spoke about. If he was under assault there, if Edeya had been taken there, then Lam could only do her best to give them time to finish their fights. She had to help protect the encampment.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Va crashed and tumbled over the ground, tucking her wings, charging them with air-attuned Energy to protect them and herself. Gusts of wind sheathed her, made her light, and added a great distance to her tumbling, sliding progress. The skeletal dragon, for that was what Va had decided the terrible, monstrous mount had to be, had smashed her with its tremendous, spiny tail, knocking her aside as she might do to a rodent. Hector had brought the beast down onto the wall. The thing had gripped the ramparts with its rdii-sized talons and ripped them apart. Men and women had been smashed, sent flying, or torn to pieces by the horrific show of power.

    Va had tried to attack, had leaped into the air, streaking toward Hector, aiming Midnight like a lightning-charged headsman¡¯s de at his neck, only to be smashed by the dragon¡¯s tail as Hector spun the creature. He¡¯dughed and roared, firing bolts or red lightning at defenders while the great, dead dragon snapped up soldiers and crunched them into a paste in its fleshless jaws. Va finally came to rest against a gnarled tree trunk, and she unfolded her battered wings and wearily climbed to her feet. She was a hundred yards from the wall and could see the battle clearly.

    Hector and his pet were too much. They¡¯d leveled most of the northern wall, allowing the ghouls easy ingress. The dragon shrugged off the feeble-looking ranged attacks of the defenders¡ªarrows did nothing, and fireballs failed to ignite. Lightning might hurt it, but not the tiny bolts thrown by the beleaguered defenders. She saw stinging ice shards, hurled earthen balls, and even freezing rains¡ªnone harmed the gigantic, green-glowing, skeletal mount. Its wings tore through entire units, sending broken men and women flying. Its jaws and ws were instant death, and though some Naghelli tried to attack Hector directly, he sted them from the air with those horrible red lightning bolts.

    ¡°We have to flee,¡± Va muttered, with little hope of making it happen. How could you run away from a creature like that? What about the thousands of savage ghouls? They were too fast. ¡°Some might live.¡± Va didn¡¯t voice her unspoken, cowardly thought¡ªshe could escape. Scowling, angry that the notion had even entered her mind, she gripped Midnight¡¯s hilt and stalked toward the horrible melee. She breathed deeply, steeling her mind, finding her focus, staring at Hector, carefully timing the lurching momentum of the giant mount. When she was sure of herself, she channeled most of her remaining air-attuned Energy into a mighty Lightning Strike, seeking to reduce the damned Death Caster to ash.

    Just as Hector threw a red bolt of lightning into the air, sending yet another Naghelli hurtling to the ground trailing ck smoke, Va¡¯s bolt of blue lightning exploded out of the dark sky, poleaxing him. His arms flew wide, and he vibrated for a long second with the surge of powerful Energy. A ragged cheer broke out from the entrenched soldiers as the Death Caster slumped and the bone dragon¡¯s animating green Energy faded. Just as Va felt herself begin to breathe, just as she felt there might yet be some hope for them, Hector jerked his head up, his red, lightning-bound crown red to life, and the dragon whirled, suddenly full of life again.

    Va spread her wings, lifted Midnight, and, in her shredded, bloody nightgown, she screamed, ¡°Come on then!¡± The bone dragon bunched its legs and leaped, snapping its tremendous wings hard enough to send soldiers and ghouls flying. Hector and his mount soared through the air, ready to tten Va with those enormous talons. She didn¡¯t n to stand still, however. Va cracked her own wings,unching into the air.

    If she couldn¡¯t kill Hector, she could perhaps give the Ninth some room. She could lead him on a chase. Maybe, just maybe, she could keep him busy until Victor finally woke, finally came to help. With those thoughts in her mind, she pumped her wings like she never had before, streaking upward, urging the Energy in her pathways to aid her flight. That¡¯s when she realized her miscalction; her air-attuned Energy was nearly depleted. More, the dragon was faster than she¡¯d thought. She felt it closing on her almost immediately. Va cried out with effort as she furiously worked her wings. Her weary body tried to obey her, but all too quickly, she heard Hector¡¯s high, screechingughter and then felt the bony talons of his mount closing around her.

 Book 6: Chapter 56: Volcanic Fury

    Book 6: Chapter 56: Volcanic Fury

    Va thrashed and struggled in the terrible grip of the skeletal dragon. Its talons were hard and unyielding, and her arms were pinned ufortably by its grasp. She could feel the rough texture of the bones, and her racing mind took a moment to wonder how old they were. Where had Hector dug up this ancient construct? Panic and despair made her thoughts erratic as she struggled to win free. She still gripped Midnight, though the de was awkwardly pinned to her side by the grip of the massive bones. She tried everything she could to win free, even burning most of her remaining Energy to summon her Steel Tempest, hoping the whirling winds and shing, razor-sharp bits of metal would aggravate the dragon, making it loosen its hold.

    Her efforts were for naught. Drained, weak, struggling to breathe, she wondered if this was the end. Would Hector, still madly cackling above her,mand his undead beast to crunch her in its great, toothy maw? Would she never see Victor again? Her stomach lurched as the dragon plummeted toward the ground, and Va still had the presence of mind to wonder if it took a great effort to keep the monstrous mount aloft. Tears streaming from her eyes, pulled out by the whistling wind, Va watched the ground rapidly approach, bracing for the beast to smash her against it with a forcefulnding.

    Though her descent ended in a spine-thrashing wrench, she didn¡¯t get pulverized into the ground; it seemed Hector wasn¡¯t done with her yet. The dragon took a lurching step, holding her above the ground, and Va had just enough time to wonder what she could do to break free before a colossal, deafening crack resounded through the bony w grasping her, and the dragon spastically released her to tumble onto the ground. Va knew an opportunity when she felt one and exploded into motion, pushing the dregs of her wind-attuned Energy into her pathways, then into her wings. She jerked them with a <em>snap</em> and leaped up, streaking into the air.

    She had time to hear a deep, bellowing voice roar, ¡°You dare to ride my ancestor¡¯s bones?¡± Then, another cracking impact echoed through the night, and Hector¡¯s red lightning red in Va¡¯s peripheral vision. She spun and pumped her wings, gaining distance, sure she was being pursued, but after a moment, when no grasping talons or snapping jaws came for her, she turned to look back and down at what had saved her. She saw a figure, small now that she was high in the air, but even the dragon looked small from there. No, the dark, hulking man had to be big and strong, for she watched as he smashed away a grasping skeletal talon with a huge, strangely pulsating cudgel.

    Hector¡¯s skeletal mount reared back and then lunged forward with its great, fang-filled maw, aiming to snap Va¡¯s rescuer in half, but the nimble, ck-d figure leaped backward, smashing that cudgel with its weird, throbbing, resonating Energy against the dragon¡¯s bony chin. He used the giant skeleton¡¯s momentum to drive himself back, away from the deafening <em>ck</em> of those snapping jaws.

    Va didn¡¯t know who the man was or where he¡¯de from, but she wasn¡¯t about to let his distraction go to waste. Her little flight and the dragon¡¯s pursuit had brought Hector more than a mile away from the encampment into the wilderness, and that meant the Ninth might have a chance to regroup and throw out the undead, especially if Victor snapped out of his trance and helped them rally.

    ¡°So, let¡¯s help this stranger and keep Hector busy.¡± Va lifted Midnight high and dove, using the pull of gravity and her uncanny ability to ride the wind to streak down. She bared her teeth, eyes narrowed against the wind, and though she was silent, Midnight began to howl, eager to sh with Va¡¯s ck-robed tormentor. The stranger continued to harass the dragon, and Va saw him shrug aside not one or two but several of Hector¡¯s lightning strikes. The red bolts of sting, cacophonous Energy slid off him like drops of hot oil on a stone. Hector failed to notice Va until she was almost upon him, but, at thest second, he threw up his left arm, and a dome of blistering red Energy snapped into ce between them.

    Va barely altered her course enough to avoid smashing into the dome, but she managed, and as she streaked by, she hammered that shield of sizzling Energy with Midnight. The de struck with such force that, though she refused to let go of her hilt, the bones in her hand and wrist vibrated painfully together. Still, the impact had an effect on Hector, as well. The shield red like a miniature nova, and Va knew she¡¯d cost him dearly in terms of Energy usage. She continued her glide, aiming for a low hill a few hundred yards beyond the dragon. Exhausted, arm aching, Core nearly drained, she came to a running, stumbling halt.

    Turning back, she saw the colossal stranger more clearly now that she was on the ground. He was unlike anyone she¡¯d ever seen. He was simr in size to Victor now that he¡¯d awoken so much of his titanic bloodline¡ªprobably nine or ten feet tall. What she¡¯d taken for dark armor turned out to be scales grown on ck flesh; he looked like a man who was half drake or wyrm. He wore clothes, but not many¡ªdark leather leggings that ended just below his knees, no boots, for his feet were big and bore heavy talons, no shirt, and no armor other than his natural scales. A dark, weirdly shadowy, light-shifting cloak hung from his shoulders, whipped to and fro by the wind of his and the dragon¡¯s movements.

    The stranger continued to growl insults and challenges at Hector, swinging his pulsating cudgel in powerful, arcing parries, batting away the dragon¡¯s repeated attempts to grasp him in its ws or maw. ¡°Put those bones to rest, undead scum! Face me on the firm soil!¡± Though a massive man, he was still too small to stand firmly and pound away at the dragon; its swiping blows sent him sliding or scrabbling every time he knocked them aside. Nevertheless, he was impressively resilient, shrugging off Hector¡¯s magical attacks and confounding the bony dragon¡¯s attacks.

    Va looked to her Core, saw it very slowly recovering, and, growling with frustration, lifted Midnight, snapping her wings. If she could only harry Hector with her sword, then that was what she¡¯d do. This time, she didn¡¯t spend the effort gaining altitude; she pumped her wings and flew straight at Hector, hoping his Energy was running low. If it was, she didn¡¯t find out¡ªHector saw hering and pointed one pale, long-fingered hand her way, and a bolt of red lightning struck her full in the chest. Va screamed and flew off course, stunned by the jolt of electricity, her white, bloody gown charred ck and trailing smoke as she crashed to the ground.

    Some instinct or reflexive contraction of her wings saved her from breaking her limbs; she wrapped those massive, shimmering appendages around herself and tumbled like a lopsided ball over the ground, ttening shrubs, sliding over loose gravel and dirt, and rolling down into a gully. Shey there, stunned, for several long seconds, and then she felt the ground shake and knew the skeletal dragon wasing for her. She was exhausted, burned, and bloody. Her Energy was spent, but still, she lifted her sword, arm shaking, and tried to sit up. The ground rumbled and shook again, and she braced herself; the dragon must be close, about to slide down the slope and smash her.

    When she heard the stranger shouting and cursing distantly and heard the simrly distant <em>ck</em> of the dragon¡¯s jaws, she frowned. Had she imagined the ground shaking? Could the giant skeleton make the stones jump from such a distance? Va struggled to her knees, using Midnight to brace herself. Then the ground lurched, and she fell onto her face. Distantly, she heard a different noise, like low, rumbling thunder that went on and on. Va stood, shaky, bloody knees struggling to support her as she wondered what new nightmare was about to be unleashed.

    <strong>#</strong>

    As the pattern for Iron Berserk absorbed the potent, furious magma-attuned Energy,bined with the thread of rageing from his spirit Core, Victor¡¯s vision tinted crimson, and fury boiled in his blood like it hadn¡¯t in a very long time. If he¡¯d had the presence of mind to think about it, he¡¯dpare his blind, thoughtless anger to the way he¡¯d felt in the early days of his rage Core, back when he¡¯d fought for the Wagon Wheel. The absolute dominance of the emotion was so overwhelming that every thought fled his mind. As his body expanded and hot, red-orange mes ignited along his shoulders and arms, he lifted his fire-filled eyes to the sky, opened his mouth, and roared.

    His voice was the fury of the boiling, hidden depths of the world, his breath the smoky fire of the mountain¡¯s heart. When he stomped toward the green light that had tormented him, the ground cracked under his feet, and orange mes licked the stones where he stepped. He felt something in his hand and lifted it high¡ªa burning brand topped with white-hot metal shaped like a crescent moon, screaming her fury, a match for his own. Victor wanted to kill that green light, wanted to smash it in his hands, bite it, rip it, grind it into nothing. It was out of his reach, but he wasn¡¯t beyond trying to leap for it.

    He stomped closer, but then an answering fury echoed beneath his feet. The ground lurched, and hot, vtile Energy poured out of the round tunnels all over the mountaintop. Victor breathed it in, sending it into his Core without conscious thought. His transformation used it, fueled itself with that Energy. Again, he roared into the green-tinted, smoky night, and this time, his ck, cinder-filled breath caught fire, bursting upward in a cloud of rolling crimson mes. As he stared, something like squiggly worms danced across his blood-red vision, but he snarled and pped at his face until they no longer bothered him.

    He was power incarnate, destruction given form, and he wanted to fulfill his purpose. Rather than focus on the big, floating green light, he turned to the smaller ones. Roaring, cloaked in mes and ck smoke, he charged the nearest one. His shoulder smashed into the enormous stone pir upon which it sat, and he exploded through it like it was made of matchsticks. The green, pulsating veil star winked out as the rune-inscribed stone pir crumbled and shattered into dust and fragments. The destruction felt good, and Victor whirled to the next pir, charging it, smashing it, and howling as the ground rumbled again and another hot surge of magma-infused Energy pumped into the air.

    Victor knew only fury, only the mad need for destruction, and he took it out on the only things within reach. He smashed the other pirs, one after another, and when he finished, the ground lurched, the mountain roared, and explosive, steamy smoke sted out of theva tubes. At one with the volcano¡¯s fury, Victor, nimble beyond reason, rode the rumbling, tilting ground like he was born to it. He stood at the center of the caldera, eyes focused on the hated veil star, and he screamed his fury. He could feel the mountain wanting to answer him. He could feel the furious thick Energy in the air, and he sucked it in with each breath. With each exhtion, plumes of smoke and sparks flew.

    Staring at that green, pulsing orb in the sky, Victor began to pump his lungs like a bellows, sucking in breath after breath, holding the Energy he harvested on those hot winds until he thought he¡¯d burst. His body swelled with it, and his veins burned with it, standing out on his red flesh like yellow-white rivers ofva. His eyes burned incandescent with the heat of the Energy in his pathways, turning the world a brighter shade of crimson, blotting out the green of the veil star, making it a wispy pale light that he needed to extinguish. When he couldn¡¯t bear it any longer, when it felt like his flesh would crack and his bones would explode, Victor roared out that pent-up Energy, sending it forth on a plume of ck, smoky breath. It ignited with a <em>whoosh</em> that sucked the oxygen out of the air for a hundred yards around him.

    Bright yellow magma exploded from Victor¡¯s breath, straight up in a fanning plume that fully engulfed the veil star. Victor¡¯s rage dimmed markedly as that tremendous burst of magma-attuned Energy was ejected from his body, and he leaned forward, gasping for breath, Lifedrinker loose in his grip. He felt the ground bucking under him, rolling up and down like rocky, earthen waves. The volcano had felt his outburst, and it wanted to answer him. Victor looked up and saw the veil star was dim, sputtering, and weak.

    He was still furious, still felt the anger in the air influencing him, but he¡¯d lost that single-minded madness for destruction with the expenditure of magma-attuned Energy. He nced inward and saw his spirit Core recovering¡ªevery one of his attuned orbs of Energy was growing brighter or, in the case of his fear, darker. The stink of death-attuned Energy was gone; nothing but smoke and heat filled the air around him. The volcano would destroy whatever shreds of the veil star might survive his attack.

    Victor took one more look around his one-time prison, and then, before something might happen to stop him, he focused his will and ended his Spirit Walk. With a gasp, he returned to himself, falling forward onto his hands. It was disorienting at first to find himself gripping the thick pile of his bedroom rug. As his senses recovered, he lifted his face and blinked. ¡°Va?¡± He leaped to his feet, nced around the room, and saw it was empty. Victor turned to the door but paused to clear the System messages hovering in front of his eyes, dismissing them one by one as he nced over them.

    <strong>***Congrattions! Your breath Core has advanced: Improved 2.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Congrattions! You have learned a new spell: Volcanic Fury ¨C Basic.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Volcanic Fury ¨C Basic: Prerequisites: Affinity ¨C Rage, Fury, or Hatred. Affinity ¨C Magma. You channel the fury of the fiery depths. While affected by this transformation, you are immune to fire-based attacks, your magma-based abilities double in effectiveness, and you benefit from the effects of Berserk: Double strength and speed, increased resilience, and powerful regenerative capabilities. Be cautious, for the fury of the volcano knows no bounds¡ªreason andpassion will flee before its heat. Energy Cost: Minimum 1000 ¨C scble. Cooldown: Long.***</strong>

    The notifications were good news, and he wanted to read them and savor his aplishment, but he had yet to learn the costs of his imprisonment. He didn¡¯t even know how long he¡¯d been held on the Spirit ne. Had Hector¡¯s taunting whisper been just that, a taunt? ¡°Come on, <em>chica</em>.¡± Victor picked up Lifedrinker and started walking up the hallway, dreading what he was about to find. As he climbed the steps, he summoned his helmet from his storage ring and ced the heavy, dense armor on his head. When he stepped onto the uppernding, his eyes fell on a still, pale form lying on his dining table.

    ¡°Edeya?¡± He hurried to her, gripped her tiny wrist in his overge, warm hand, and leaned close to her face. She looked dead, and the thought of it nearly stopped his heart. He felt his fear begin to bleed out of his Core into his pathways, but then, like a tiny fluttering vibration, he felt her pulse. It was slow and soft, but it was there. ¡°Edeya!¡± He pressed his big palm over her forehead, cupping her entire scull in his hand. Closing his eyes, he said, ¡°Come on, <em>hermanita</em>. Come back to me. Wake up.¡±

    Eyes closed, Victor turned his gaze inward, starting at his Core. It burned brightly with Energy as it rapidly recovered from his ordeal. He followed his pathways outward, and when he looked away from his body into Edeya, he saw the answer: A sickly blue tether stretched away from her into darkness. ¡°Those <em>pinch¨¦</em> motherfuckers did something to you, huh? I¡¯ll fix it, little sister. Hang in there.¡± Victor let go of her, turned, and growling with renewed fury, he twisted his hands on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft as he stalked toward the door of his home.

    As soon as he stepped out, his senses were nearly overwhelmed. He smelled smoke, blood, guts, and the rotten, unmistakable stench of the undead. He saw shes of light¡ªfire, Energy bolts, lightning. He heard shrieks, roars, screams, sobbing, growling. Under it all, he felt the ground shifting and rumbling as, just as he¡¯d feared, the volcano began to wake. Victor summoned his Banner of the Champion, and he cast Iron Berserk. He wanted to explore the strengths and benefits of his new transformation, but right now, he needed control, and he needed to be able to think.

    As his banner¡¯s light burst into fiery glory and he expanded in size and potency, he looked around, wondering why the noise seemed so distant. His answer came to his ears with the sounds of horns blowing¡ªthemand to charge. He turned to the north, and there he saw a concentration of spell Energy flying through the ck night. Nodding, he lifted Lifedrinker and ran that way, intent on helping the troops. He¡¯d covered half the distance when a terrible, gut-wrenching shriek shook the night off to his left, and, in the light of a massive red lightning bolt, he saw the nightmare form of a gigantic undead dragon.

    Victor altered his path, aiming for the dragon. Perhaps it was simply the size of it that awoke some desire in his Quinametzin heart to fight the strongest opponent. Perhaps it was something else in his heart, sensing that Va was there and that she needed him. Perhaps it was the red lightning and the distant echoes of unnaturalughter that reminded his subconscious of the voice that had taunted him on the Spirit ne. Whatever the reason, Victor knew his battley there with that gigantic undead beast.

 Book 6: Chapter 57: To Wake the Mountain

    Book 6: Chapter 57: To Wake the Mountain

    .r87d2c0bfe837439282ff852bd6912c3b{ disy: none; }

    As Victor raced through the camp, building up momentum, nning to leap the fortification between himself and the distant, gigantic form of the skeletal dragon, he berated himself for being a fool. It was obvious the camp had been overrun at one point, obvious the soldiers had managed to rally, but not without cost¡ªbodies were everywhere, scattered among the piles of pale, naked, ghoulish undead. How much of this assault had been due to his entrapment? Would Hector have sprung this assault if Victor hadn¡¯t Spirit Walked into the caldera? As if it could hear him thinking about it, the volcano rumbled again, sending him sliding into an overturned wagon.

    The stumble brought his thoughts back to the present, and he growled, shaking his head. ¡°Focus!¡± He sprinted several steps, bunched his legs, and leaped over the rough stone wall the soldiers had spent thest week building. When hended, sliding over the hard-packed, gravel-strewn ground outside, he caught his first full view of the gigantic draconic skeleton and the battle it waged. In a sh of red lightning, his sharp eyes caught sight of Va¡¯s silhouette, flying in an arcing dive, trying to hit the cloaked figure atop the dragon¡¯s horn-crowned head. She was rebuffed by a curved shield of red Energy, sent spiraling to the ground and tumbling into a nearby gully.

    The sight of her going down cleared Victor¡¯s mind, driving out all thoughts, leaving behind only a hunger for battle, a thirst for vengeance, and a deep, pulsating fury at the idea that this worm would dare to harm the woman he loved. As he burst into motion, his gigantic, powerful legs driving him into a mad sprint, he was sure Hector would turn his mount to pursue Va, to finish her while she was down. He jumped a narrow, scrub-filled gully, and when he mounted thest hilltop between himself and his foe, he realized anotherbatant was on the field. A huge, powerfully built man was standing toe to toe with the giant skeleton, smashing aside its swiping ws and snapping maw with a rod-like cudgel, its impacts resounding with thunderous <em>cracks</em>.

    The dragon skeleton wasn¡¯t as big as the elder wyrm Victor had helped to y on Zaafor. It wasn¡¯t even half asrge, but it was massive. Even in his full titanic aspect, Victor doubted he could manhandle it, but if that man, big as he was, could stand against those swipes, Victor knew he could do better. ¡°Come on, beautiful!¡± he growled, lifting Lifedrinker high and furiously pumping his legs into a sprint. He was channeling Sovereign Will into his strength and agility. He wanted to move quickly and powerfully and had a target in mind.

    As he closed thest hundred yards, his opponent utterly oblivious to his approach, Victor focused on the joint where one of the dragon¡¯s wings met with its spine. Victor was fast when he sprinted. His strides devoured the distance, covering half a dozen yards at a time. As soon as he felt close enough, he channeled rage into an Energy Charge and exploded through the air, ripping a furrow in the rough scrub and grass. He and Lifedrinker impacted the skeletal dragon with such a thunderous crash that it rumbled over the countryside like a bomb going off.

    He¡¯d kept his focus on his target, and when he hit, Lifedrinker sank into that joint, cleaving into the bone, sending fragments flying like razor-edged daggers. Victor felt the Energy being sucked out of his Core, summoned by the spell to protect him from the horrific forces generated by his violent impact into the airliner-sized pile of animated bones. His Core was ready for it; brilliant, furious Energy expanded in a ball around him, and he felt none of the devastating concussion. The same couldn¡¯t be said for the skeleton or its rider.

    Lifedrinker¡¯s edge served as a focal point for the ruinous energies unleashed by Victor¡¯s charge. They entered that gap and, having found purchase, expanded between the bones into the cavity of the skeleton¡¯s animated ribs, sting them apart. The dragon¡¯s wing burst into its thousands ofponent pieces, flying in every direction. Its spine rippled with the impact, dozens of gigantic vertebrae ripping through the air, and, riding the shockwave of Victor¡¯s freight train charge, the entire skeleton tumbled sideways down the hillside, the sickly green Energy animating its wings and bones flickering, fading, and winking out as Hector fell, bouncing onto the ground.

    ¡°Well-timed, titan!¡± the hulking, club-wielding stranger hollered, though Victor hardly registered the words; he had eyes only for his tumbling enemy. Lifting Lifedrinker, exulting in her furious war cry, he leaped after him. Hector didn¡¯t lie still, waiting for him. More of the bright red lightning-like Energy Victor had seen him flinging about burst into existence around him. It shimmered and shed, a tremendous whirling maelstrom of destruction that spun around Hector¡¯s darkly cloaked form for a dozen feet in every direction. Victor didn¡¯t care, and neither did Lifedrinker. She erupted into molten fury at the proximity of their foe, and Victor ran straight into that maelstrom of lightning.

    If he¡¯d been expecting to shrug it off, Victor might have learned a lesson. He hadn¡¯t been, however. That would have required thought, and Victor wasn¡¯t thinking about anything other than reducing Hector to a pile of bloody chunks. When he entered that red whirlwind, the lightning surrounding Hector seemed to pause in its flickering random discharges. The lightning hung in the air for a fraction of a second, brightening to the point of painful brilliance, and then, in unison, a hundred different bolts exploded into Victor¡¯s chest.

    Victor had yet to see Hector¡¯s face, but he dimly heard his echoing, maniacalughter as his vision went ck, his body went numb, and he lost all sense of direction, tumbling through the air. He didn¡¯t even feel it when he crashed to the ground, sliding through the dirt, his helmet and armor scraping over rocks and prickly, rough scrub brush. Victory insensate for several long seconds, and Hector¡¯sughter grew increasingly mad as he recloaked himself in red, sparkling Energy, lifting himself into the air, hovering as easily as a person might float in cid water.

    If he¡¯d thought Victor vanquished, he must have been disappointed when, with a <em>thump</em> that resounded through the ground beneath him, Victor¡¯s heart began to pump, no longer stunned by the electrical burst of Energy. As light flooded his eyes, Victor was immediately cognizant of the heat around his waist, the furious ticking of his dragonsteel belt¡ªit had absorbed its fill. Still t on his back, Victor looked up, saw Hector floating toward him, and then heard the crunch of gravel as heavy feet stepped close. He nced to his left and saw the tall, hulking stranger, noticing for the first time that he was covered in dark scales and that his face was reptilian with a short snout and bright yellow-green eyes.

    Victor noticed how horns swooped back along the sides of the stranger¡¯s head as he nced down at him. ¡°Get up, titan. This isn¡¯t over.¡±

    ¡°No shit,¡± Victor growled. He flexed his core muscles and lurched to his feet, staggering a little. The lightning st had broken his concentration, extinguishing his banner and his berserk, but he felt fine, if a little numb. Hector still hovered twenty feet in the air, maybe three times that distant, facing the tworge men. He¡¯d stopped short at the reptilian man¡¯s approach, and when Victor regained his feet, hisughter died down.

    ¡°So you broke free of your prison, hmm?¡± His voice reverberated in the air, hollow and grating, almost like it echoed out of a metal pipe. ¡°No matter. I can still feel the veil star, so you failed in that regard. You¡¯ll learn you¡¯re no match for a true Death Caster, pitiful Berserker.¡±

    ¡°He dares to mock you? After you freed the spirit of my ancestor with a single blow?¡± The stranger¡¯s words rumbled, deep and powerful, and Victor could hear the fury beneath them. He thought about what he¡¯d said¡ªdid he mean the dragon skeleton? Was he rted to dragons? He eyed Hector and his cloak of lightning. Would it strike so powerfully a second time? How big were his reserves of Energy? Surely, he must be running low on that caustic lightning. Victor nced at his Core and saw that most of his Energies were full, that his rage was recovering quickly, perhaps fueled by his frustration.

    Movement caught his eye behind Hector, and he saw Va limping up the slope, Midnight gripped in one hand. One of her wings was held askew, and he thought it looked injured. The sight of her like that, dressed in bloody white rags, limping, injured, clearly on herst dregs of Energy, Victor felt his fury stoking to new heights, and he began to channel it into his pathways, ready to cast Iron Berserk again. Hector, too, had noticed Va and turned toward her, lifting a hand high. Victor bunched his legs, ready to leap at him, ready to interrupt whatever attack he meant to deliver, but then the ground shook more violently than ever, and Victor stumbled, falling to a knee.

    The strangerpletely lost his footing, sliding and tumbling for several feet, and Va, too, fell, slipping out of view back down the slope she¡¯d just mounted. Hector might have pursued her, might have turned his lightning on Victor or the stranger, but, along with the rumbling of the ground, a plume of orange, fiery magma erupted from the high slope of the volcano. It sparked into the night like a fiery geyser, showering down, backlighting the high citadels. The magma flew through the air, falling to the slope, gathering in clump-like pools not yet thick enough to flow. ¡°You can kiss your veil star goodbye, asshole!¡± Victor shouted, gripping Lifedrinker and stalking toward the death-wielding wizard.

    Hector had frozen at the eruption, but he whirled at Victor¡¯s taunt, turning to face him as he stomped forward. ¡°Fool!¡± he screamed, and for the first time, Victor saw his face through the shadows of his robes and the re of his red-lightning crown¡ªhe looked like a human man, pale with sunken, ck eyes and flesh so thin and stretched that Victor could see the contours of his skull and the rictus grin of his exposed, ck-gummed teeth. His death mask said it all¡ªhe wanted Victor dead, and he intended to kill him, but he had to deal with an emergency.

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it.

    When he felt Hector gathering a massive torrent of Energy, Victor lifted Lifedrinker and pulled her back, ready to throw her, but Hector¡¯s flight was more abrupt and quicker than he¡¯d expected. He streaked through the air in a sh of red sparks, flying like a bottle rocket straight toward the top of the waking volcano. ¡°<em>Pinch¨¦</em> motherfucker!¡± Victor roared, then sprinted to where he¡¯d seen Va fall. He found her at the bottom of the slope, tilting a healing draught to her lips. Blood, soot, and tears streaked her face, but she smiled when she saw him approaching.

    ¡°I knew you¡¯de.¡±

    Heavy footfalls told him the stranger was approaching. He turned to him just in time to see his draconic, fang-filled mouth snarl out a curse, ¡°Shit-eating undead. He fears the volcano will demolish his portal and his source of strength, that green star.¡±

    Va mbered to her feet while Victor regarded the stranger, turning to follow his gaze toward that venting tendril ofva on the side of the volcano. ¡°Thank you for your help, stranger. I might have been in dire trouble if not for you and that mighty weapon.¡±

    ¡°Bgog enjoys a good challenge.¡± The man lifted his rough, metallic cudgel, and Victor could see how it throbbed with Energy.

    ¡°I have to go up there. I can¡¯t let him recover. I can¡¯t let him calm the volcano. I can finish waking it.¡±

    ¡°No! Victor . . .¡±

    ¡°I have to, Va. This attack is my fault. I got stuck in the Spirit ne by that fucker. Please help the troops rally, gather the survivors, and get away from here.¡±

    ¡°We can help you, titan,¡± the stranger said.

    Victor shook his head. ¡°No. No one can help me with this. I¡¯m going to be mad with rage. Nothing will be safe near me.¡±

    ¡°But you can control your rage . . .¡±

    ¡°No, Va, this is different. I¡¯ll exinter, but I have to hurry. It¡¯s going to take me a few minutes to climb that slope, and I don¡¯t want that asshole to have any more time. Please! Get the troops to safety. Trust me.¡± Victor turned to the big, draconic warrior. ¡°Thank you . . .¡±

    ¡°Lesh¡¯ro¡¯zen. Lesh.¡±

    Victor felt a wave of gratitude to the giant fighter. Had he really saved Va? He held out his hand, and the man took it in his rough, calloused grip. His hand was nearly a match for Victor¡¯s in size, and the two men nodded, locking eyes for a minute while they squeezed against each other¡¯s might.

    ¡°Victor, is there no other . . .¡±

    ¡°I have to do this, Va. Get Edeya out of the house before you pack it. Please! Go now!¡± He turned and started walking, getting ready to cast Volcanic Fury. He didn¡¯t know exactly how it would work, but he knew that if he wanted to encourage the volcano, if he wanted to keep Hector from somehow stopping it from waking, he had to let it feel his answering fury. He¡¯d taken two steps before he felt Va grab his elbow and pull, forcing him to turn toward her if he didn¡¯t want to send her sprawling.

    Her eyes were pooled with tears, and she practically screamed at him, ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened, where you were, but I need you to know that I was desperate to help you. I . . . I didn¡¯t want to leave you but the others . . .¡± She shook her head, grimacing at her struggle to find the right words. ¡°I want to help!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Va, but the best help you can give me is to save these people. I care about them, and if I know you¡¯re saving them, I can focus on stopping Hector!¡± He started walking again, and she kept hold of his arm, running beside him.

    ¡°How will you get free if you wake that volcano? How will . . .¡±

    ¡°Va!¡± Victor stopped, grabbed her shoulders, and looked into her eyes. ¡°The volcano is not going to harm me. I promise you that much. Let me get up there and fuck this asshole up, please!¡±

    ¡°I love you!¡± she said, almost like she was pleading, and Victor couldn¡¯t help his hardened, angry heart from melting a little. He grabbed her into a hug and squeezed her tight, his arms enveloping even her wings. She sobbed, ¡°I want you to return. You have to survive!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not nning to die!¡± Victor kissed the top of her head, still smashing her into a hug, then he let go and began to jog up the slope, and this time Va didn¡¯t follow. When he¡¯d made a dozen long strides away from her, he formed the pattern for Volcanic Fury and let it pull the Energy out of his Cores.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Va stood, watching Victor run up the slope toward the gravel and dirt road leading up to the first citadel. He¡¯d just reached the crest of the first low hill when she felt a surge of Energy, felt his aura break loose of his constant hold, and, as she reeled from the weight of it, she saw him expand, growing into his titan-sized form, but something was different. As his mass more than doubled, as his corded muscles bunched and piled atop each other, his body exploded with red-orange mes. He stood, limned in fire, drops of magma falling to the ground around him, scorching the rocks, burning the grass and scrub.

    Victor lifted Lifedrinker high, and her metallic head burst into answering red-hot brilliance. He arched his back, arms wide, and screamed a furious, horrible challenge at the mountain. His voice rumbled and echoed over the hillsides, crashing off the high rocky slopes and cliffs. Va was distracted, at first, by the warcry, but then she saw that Victor had turned back toward her. He stared at her for a long, terrifying moment, his eyes burning like white-hot mes, smoke flowing out of his nostrils as his chest heaved and pumped. The worst part of that gaze, of those zing orbs, was that she saw not a single hint of recognition in them. She didn¡¯t dare move, fearing that he¡¯d change course and fly down that hill, intent on ripping her to shreds.

    As he seethed and stared, fire dripping off his hands, the ground burning under his feet, a distant rumble shook the hillside, and the magma flow high on the mountain erupted again, showering the night with its orange glow. Victor turned away from Va and, on seeing the eruption, roared his fury again and began running up the slope, loping over the near-vertical climb like it was nothing. ¡°That was scary,¡± Va hissed, her voice shaking.

    ¡°He¡¯s awe-inspiring. I haven¡¯t felt that cold bite of fear in my heart since I was a hatchling.¡± The stranger¡¯s deep voice rumbled beside her, and Va turned quickly, startled by the stranger¡¯s¡ªLesh¡¯s¡ªproximity.

    ¡°Thank you again.¡± She turned to the encampment. ¡°I have to do what Victor asked.¡±

    ¡°And I will aid you.¡± Lesh turned, looking over Va¡¯s head toward the distant signs of battle. ¡°The dark-winged warrior, the one with twin des, has led the soldiers in an offensive, driving back and crushing most of the remaining undead.¡±

    ¡°You can see so far?¡±

    ¡°Aye. I fear you¡¯ve lost many soldiers this night, but if the titan can destroy the undead base, their lives will have been well spent.¡±

    Va frowned, not liking the gigantic fighter¡¯s pragmatism. ¡°I¡¯ll fly ahead. I have to get my friend out of our travel home before we hurry away from here.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll run quickly behind. Best if I stay with you so the soldiers know not to attack me.¡± He nodded, his dark eyes bright in the darkness. Then he turned back to the slope where Victor still climbed, a bright, humanoid torch leaving a trail of fire, and he added, ¡°We have enough time to flee. He¡¯ll be a few minutes making that climb, and then we don¡¯t know how long it will take him to seed in his task. Even so, I¡¯ve seen many a volcano in my day, and this one is old and sluggish. We¡¯ll win free of danger. Go now! I will hurry behind.¡±

    Va nodded, stretching her wings, relieved to feel only a slight stiffness; the healing potion had done its work. She snapped them downward, sending Energy into her pathways, and soon she was soaring upward and then, almost immediately, angling down to glide toward the glimmering jade travel home. She¡¯d just begun to descend when another rumble shook the night, and a new plume ofva erupted from the side of the mountain, this one higher, nearly at the caldera. Seeing it, Va realized most of the green-tinted fog was gone.

    She could see clearly all the way to the summit of the high, volcanic mountain, and much more easily, she could see the citadels outlined in orange light from the rapidly gatheringva high on the slopes. As her eyes fell on the first, closest of the keeps, she saw its gates were burning, smashed open. Victor had already broken through. ¡°Go, love. Go with speed and vengeance and destroy them all,¡± she breathed, spiraling down tond outside the travel home. ¡°Destroy them all and hurry back to me.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 58: Caldera of Madness

    Book 6: Chapter 58: Caldera of Madness

    Through the hazy, red fire of his fury, Victor could see figures on the long, arching span that crossed the raging waters. He didn¡¯t care what they were doing. The idea that they might be nning something nefarious to break the bridge or send him tumbling into the waters didn¡¯t enter his mind. He had a singr goal¡ªfind the <em>pendejo</em> who flew away from him, who fled their fight, and smash him to a pulp. He ran, loping on long, powerful legs, leaving a trail of smoking, burning footsteps. Fire flickered in his wake whether he traversed grass, dirt, or stone. Lifedrinker buzzed with anticipation, hunger, and glee; she was aze, a partner in his fiery rage.

    When Victor mounted the bridge and began to sprint toward the distant figures, an Energy Charge might have been an apt choice, the right thing to close that gap in a hurry and put an end to whatever they were doing. Unfortunately, Victor¡¯s singr mindset, driven by the rage boiling through his pathways, didn¡¯t leave room for other spells. When the stone beneath his feet lurched, and gunshot-loud cracks erupted in the stone, he didn¡¯t panic, didn¡¯t react other than to pump his legs harder. When the arch shattered ahead of him, the stone crumbling down into the abyss, falling to the white-capped river, he watched the group of robed figures plummet to their doom, a sacrifice for their undead master.

    Maybe if he weren¡¯t so enraged, Victor would have reacted differently. Maybe he would have turned and tried to outrun the crumbling stone. Victor didn¡¯t slow, however. Engorged by rage and fire, he pushed harder, and when the falling curtain of stones was right before him, he bunched his legs and leaped for the far side of the gap. Whatever mad strength powered his burning, titanic form pushed his Titanic Leap to new levels, and he soared through the air, a smokinget hell-bent on destruction. He crashed onto the intact portion of the bridge near the far edge. Showers of sparks, droplets of magma, and ck smoke burst into the air with his impact. In two heartbeats, Victor was pounding up the ramp away from the fallen span toward the second gateway citadel.

    Just as he had when he charged the first tall keep, Victor focused on the gates and ignored all else. Arrows burst into me as they touched his form. Firebolts and lightning nced off him, insignificant as the thrall-like subordinates who threw them. By the time he smashed into the high stone gates, he must have been running more than sixty miles per hour, and, with a lowered shoulder, he impacted them with the ferocity of a hurtling granite boulder. As he shattered the Energy-enhanced crossbeam, the crack was so loud that it echoed up and down the mountain like a bomb st.

    Victor hardly slowed as the gates mmed open, and dense fragments of timber and stone exploded away from him, ripping through the puny defenders crowding the gatehouse tunnel. He steamrolled through them, moving too fast, his form toorge, his Energy too hot and caustic for them to withstand. They burst into mes as he approached, screaming their silent screams. Victor barely acknowledged their existence¡ªsome kind of skeletal warriors in ragged armor lined up with zombies, shamblers, and ghouls. They were nothing more than an impedance, like brambles on a path, something to stumble on before he found sound footing and exploded forth again.

    In moments, Victor had cleared the second citadel and was racing up the road, climbing toward the top of the mountain, his giant, grumbling brother. He knew his prey was up there. He knew the Death Caster was doing something Victor wanted to stop, but he didn¡¯t care. The only thing he really wanted was to see him ripped apart, reduced to several hunks of smoldering ash. He rounded a corner in the road, and a wall of ice sheeted up from the ground before him. Dense, frozen Energy radiated from it, and Victor didn¡¯t have time to slow, didn¡¯t have time to jump. He lowered his shoulder and pushed on.

    He felt the cold sapping his heat, felt it pulling the hot magma-rich Energy out of his pathways. He felt the fire limning his form dim, and the white-hot mes in his eyes fading, but then he hit the ice. It resisted him for a fraction of a second, but Victor bunched his legs and drove forward, a rage-fueled lotive hell-bent on ripping up the track. The ice began to crack, and then it was all over¡ªVictor burst through it in a shower of spraying shards, and his heat red back to life. His vision brightened, his form burst into me anew, and he powered on. He caught sight of a blue-robed figure kneeling on the side of the road, his skeletal hands gripping his head in agony. With a madugh, Victor swiped his zing axe through the undead Elementalist, cleaving his skull in twain.

    He saw a curve ahead, realized the road switched back and forth, and, impatient to get to his quarry, he faced the mountainside and jumped, clearing twenty yards of slope tond higher up the road. Victor was too mad with battle lust, too engorged by fire and fury to think about his Energy reserves, but if he hadn¡¯t been, he would have noted that his rage-attuned Energy was slowly burning down, and his magma-fueled breath Core was more than half empty. He didn¡¯t, though; it wasn¡¯t even a flicker of concern in his mind.

    Victor continued apace, leaping to avoid long switchbacks several more times, and soon, he was nearing the mountain¡¯s top, the volcanic caldera. Luck was with him that night, for when he rounded thatst bend, he came close to theva flow that had erupted from the mountain¡¯s side. When he grew near, he felt the fury in the air. He felt the kindred heat and anger of the mountain beneath him, but sharper, richer, thick enough to breathe, thick enough to channel almost passively into his breath Core. As he felt that decadent power flowing into him, as he felt the rumble under his feet and heard the mountain¡¯s anger, Victor paused to lift his head to the sky and howl madly into the night.

    His voice, deep at first, then rising into a wild ultion, echoed off the stones, reverberating back and forth through the many canyons surrounding the tall, high-sloped mountain. Smoke and cinders escaped his mouth as he screamed his madness, and the mountain heard him. It bucked wildly, but Victor moved with the motion instinctually, not bothered in the least. Theva flows that had already burst from the mountain¡¯s ancient shoulders geysered forth again, and Victor heard the distant sounds of more destruction above him. The mountain was waking, and those in the caldera were feeling its wrath.

    He pulled back his lips, revealing a hungry, savage grin limned in ck smoke as he leaped into motion, pounding up the slope, aiming for that rough, stony rampart behind which he knew the caldera valley opened up. He saw fortifications around the road, battlements, gates, and even siege equipment, but it was all scattered and abandoned. He didn¡¯t bother smashing the gates. Instead, he kept running and leaped over the wall, only twenty feet high. At the apex of his flight, he saw a glorious view of the caldera valley, and what he saw brought more madughter out of him.

    Unlike the version on the Spirit ne, this material version of the caldera was packed with structures¡ªtowers, walls, and buildings of all shapes and sizes. He didn¡¯tugh because he saw them; heughed because they were crumbling, and fires were everywhere. He saw crowds fleeing through broken, cobbled roads, scrabbling around copsed stone buildings, and hordes of undead furiously working to dig rubble out from around the wreckage. What spurred his madness the most, though, was the scene at the center of the caldera.

    Hundreds of robed figures knelt in a circle around the high, flickering, dim veil star. Beneath it, on a stone tform, sat a dark rip in the fabric of reality. Victor wasn¡¯t in a state of mind to contemte the meaning of the weird rend in space, but something told him that his quarry might try to escape through it. Even in his madness, he knew the kneeling magic-users were working to keep the green light aze and that it was somehow connected to that shimmering doorway to another world. As he crashed to the ground, sliding down the gravel and dirt of the roadway, he bunched his legs and sprinted toward the distant scene.

    Thousands of undead and living thralls were between him and his target, but he paid them no heed. If they got in his way, they¡¯d die like those in the citadels. If they fled before his approach, they might live long enough to feel the volcano''s wrath. Either way, Victor didn¡¯t care. He was tall, more than eighteen feet in his titanic form, and he saw over the buildings to the caldera''s center.

    He saw a long line of figures forming, many carrying heavy bags and some bearing children in their arms. His eyes were good, superhuman in their fiery glory. He could see through the darkness as though it were noon with a bright sun in the sky. He could pick out faces among those distant figures and see that they weren¡¯t undead, not all of them, but Victor didn¡¯t care in his state. Enemies were trying to flee him, servants of the bastard who¡¯d tried to kill people he cared about. Dim visions of Va¡¯s face floated through his mind, snatches of memory when they¡¯d been in bed together, fought together,ughed together.

    The images were almost abstract in their vagueness, but they were enough to stoke his rage, to remind him that these people and creatures ahead of him had tried to kill someone he cared about. Moreover, the air in the caldera was so thick with magma-fueled Energy, so heavy with the volcano¡¯s fury, that he felt like he was swimming through it. He could feel it flowing over him, brushing his skin, fanning the mes that flickered andshed out behind him. He could taste it in every breath. He could feel it pour into his breath Core, stream into his pathways, and ignite, joining his rage-attuned Energy to power his Volcanic Fury.

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    He grew hotter and hotter, more and more furious as he charged into the caldera. He began to lose focus even on chasing Hector, began to look for things near at hand to destroy. When he jumped over a fallen tower, and the volcano shuddered again, sending an arcing spray of magma into the air on the far side of the caldera, he paused and screamed again, his mouth forming mangled, nearly inarticte words, ¡°Come on, <em>hermano</em>!¡± He glimpsed a crowd of undead digging away at some rubble and couldn¡¯t help himself from charging into them,ying about with Lifedrinker.

    He was sorge, his furious heat so potent that they withered before him, falling back, scrabbling to get away, but he pursued, hacking, kicking, grabbing, and throwing them until all were dead or scattered out of his sight. The green veil star pulsed, catching his attention, and when he looked at it and saw it was brighter than before, his eyes burned so intensely that anyone watching him would have looked away in pain. Victor began to rant as he charged toward the veil star, words that made no sense, noises that probably wouldn¡¯t have been considered words to anyone listening.

    He didn¡¯t know what he was saying; he didn¡¯t care. He was trying to vent some of the fury that boiled in his veins and pathways. He was trying to release some of the pressure. He indiscriminately swung Lifedrinker left and right, sometimes chopping her into wood, sometimes into stone, and sometimes into a foe. She screamed and screamed, just as furious as he. She was white hot with fiery fury, and when Victor burst into the clearing around the veil star, he lifted her high and threw her at it. It wasn¡¯t a nned attack. It wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d ever have done if he was himself, but he wanted that thing dead, and so did Lifedrinker.

    The idea of ¡°killing¡± the veil star wasn¡¯t a rational one. It wasn¡¯t something Victor would think to try if he had a shred of reason in his mind. Still, Lifedrinker didn¡¯t object, and his throw was true¡ªshe flew like a smoking, white-hotet, ripping the air in concussive shockwaves that thundered over the t, stone clearing, sending the more frail of Hector¡¯s wizards sprawling. When she hit the veil star, Victor saw, in his red-tinted madness, the green glow shrink to a tiny point, eclipsed by the zing heat of Lifedrinker¡¯s mes, and then it expanded, rolling out like an inting ball of dense green energy.

    The globe of green and fiery Energy expanded to something that looked to be a good fifty feet in diameter, seeming to suck the noise and light out of the caldera. As the green Energy shifted more and more to yellow-white, as it became more and more a roiling ball of fire, everything was still. Everyone was quiet for a pregnant heartbeat, and then the massive ball of roiling Energy exploded, washing the center of the caldera in fiery, white-hot mes. Victor arched his back and roared, watching the fire roll toward him, stomping toward it, hungry for its touch.

    As the mes engulfed him, he felt Lifedrinker in them and knew she¡¯d won her battle with the veil star. Whatever it was, whatever had hung in the air up there, she¡¯d pierced it, and she¡¯d ovee it. Of course, the explosion and the fire did nothing to quench the furnace in his heart nor in that of the volcano. Victor rushed forward through the mes, hands clenching and unclenching, eyes mad with the lust for violence. The volcano bucked and shook, moreva flows erupting out of the stony ground, and some part of Victor knew it was done¡ªthe volcano was waking, and nothing would stop it.

    He charged among the hundreds of robed Death Casters, snatching up those who still moved, those who¡¯d shielded themselves from the veil star¡¯s destruction. He threw them, used them as weapons, smashing them about, ripping them limb from limb. He shrugged off magical attacks, nothing fazing him. None of Hector¡¯s apprentices, at least those still gathered there at the center of the volcano, had anything near enough power to prate Victor¡¯s furious constitution or to leave a wound that his magma-filled blood wouldn¡¯t instantly heal. All they did was further infuriate him, further drive him into a berserker frenzy as he sought the true target of his wrath.

    As he ripped the arms from a screaming, ashen-faced mage, he looked through the mist of blood toward the central tform where the rip in space still hung. He saw Hector¡¯s people wildly charging through, saw tall, powerful figures trying to hold some of them back, and, though he couldn¡¯t contemte their intentions, Victor saw them as a better outlet for his frustrated rage. He leaped toward them,ing down among a crowd of fleeing people. Victor snatched a woman up and, as she burst into me, threw her at the front of the line, smashing her smoldering corpse into one of the tall guardians of the gateway.

    The man, dressed in ck te that might have been familiar to a rational Victor, might have reminded him of the reavers he¡¯d in weeks earlier, tumbled backward, bouncing over the stone dais. At the same time, hispanion mmed the visor down on his helmet, lifted a massive ck-ded, two-handed sword, and charged straight at Victor. The people fleeing screamed and cried, running to and fro in a panic, trying to get away from Victor, but having nowhere to go¡ªmadness had ovee the caldera, geysers of me were exploding everywhere, the ground was rumbling and shaking, and the air was thick with ash and smoke.

    When the sword-wielding giant, a good four feet shy of Victor¡¯s height, reached him, hacking down with that mighty de, Victor caught it in his left hand and squeezed. The de bit his flesh and opened an outlet for his fiery blood. It ran down the de, turning the ck metal orange with heat, and the warrior cried out inside his helmet, letting go as the leather-wrapped hilt burst into me. Victor pounded his right fist down on that helmet, smashing his head with a sickening series of wet crunches. When the warrior copsed, Victor stepped forward, resting his foot on his chest.

    He eyed the rip in space as the corpse began to smoke, and the metal armor began to glow with heat. Had his quarry gone through already? The only thing stopping Victor from madly charging through was a feeling in his gut that his foe was still here, a deep-seated desire not to be fooled into going somewhere where he¡¯d lose track of him. Absent Hector to fight, he had to find an outlet for his rage, so he furiously scanned the tform for a target, and that¡¯s when he saw, just beyond the portal to another world, a floating, spinning stone, dimly glowing with gold and silver runes.

    Victor stalked forward, crunching the corpse, now ash inside hot metal, and angled himself around the rift, getting a better look at the floating stone. Something deep in the back of his mind said, ¡°System.¡± Was this the source of the portal? Was it something else? Victor pulled back his lips, exposing his insane grin as he took a deep breath, inhaling until he felt his lungs would burst. If Hector wanted to hide, he¡¯d take out his frustration on this thing. Maybe if he could break it, the portal would close. Just as he was about to exhale, to bathe the floating stone in the magma fury of his breath, a tremendous crack of thunder shook the air, and a massive bolt of red lightning hit him in the shoulder, sending him stumbling toward the rift.

    The ground lurched as the volcano continued to wake, and Victor might have fallen, might have rolled right into that gap through time and space, but he was awash with Volcanic Fury. He was brother to the mountain, and he walked along the bucking ground as though it were cid and t. He avoided the rift and turned to see where his enemy was. His shoulder was sore, but he could feel it rapidly healing; Hector¡¯s lightning was powerful, but a single bolt wasn¡¯t enough to stop him or, really, to even give him pause.

    Hector rode the air on a cloud of charged air. It crackled with red electricity, and as he swooped by, firing another bolt of lightning at him, Victor saw Hector¡¯s pale, rictus face beneath his zing red crown. The sight renewed his fury and reminded him of why he was there. Something deep in him woke up at the proximity of his foe¡ªsomething with a stiff back and pride that wouldn¡¯t be quenched by fury alone. Who was this worm floating around, daring to taunt him with tickles of lightning? Who was this man who¡¯d threatened the friends and loved ones of a mighty Quinametzin?

    Victor took two steps away from the rift and stooped to pick up Lifedrinker from where she¡¯d fallen, her de buried in the stone. As soon as he pulled her free, she burst into mes again, and he heard her seething whisper in his mind.

    <em>Come, love! Let usy waste to this fool and bask in the glory of the volcano¡¯s fury!</em>

    The words were sharp and spoke straight to his soul¡ªthe only way he heard them, for Victor¡¯s ears buzzed with fury. His mind could focus only on his hatred of the man floating about above him. He stood before the rift, staring at Hector, clenching and unclenching his fist on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft. He could feel his rage building, could feel his bones and flesh igniting with it. How much could he take? How much of the mountain¡¯s horrible temper could he absorb before he burst?

    Hector swooped toward him, streaking like a Roman candle, and Victor swiped at him, forcing him to veer away. Had he been trying to get past him? Trying to enter the rift? The idea of his foe running away, disappearing through that hole, was so upsetting that Victor felt his rage cool slightly as his mind raced for a way to keep him here. Could he close the rift by breaking the stone? <em>Could</em> he break the stone? Lifedrinker was a powerful weapon, but Victor knew she was nothing to the System. Would he risk her by smashing her against that System stone? He felt his rage cool further as his thoughts raced, and then Hector hit him with another red thunderbolt.

    The burning shock shook him enough to knock the thoughts out of his head. Hector raced forward again, clearly trying to swoop past him to the rift, but Victor wasn¡¯t stunned, just refocused. He squared off with the Death Caster and lifted his axe. Hector jerked away, streaking off into the caldera at thest instant, clearly afraid of Lifedrinker¡¯s bite.

    <em>Throw me again, love!</em>

    Lifedrinker¡¯s hungry plea rang through Victor¡¯s mind, and he almost did it, almost listened to her, but he had another action in mind and was too stubborn with rage to turn away from it. He stared at Hector, watching him, inhaling, breathing deep into his belly, pulling Energy into his breath Core just as he¡¯d done on the Spirit ne. He pumped his lungs in and out, gathering the Volcano¡¯s furious magma-fueled Energy, packing his pathways with it, and letting it seep into his blood, flesh, and bones. As Hector swooped around, ready for another pass, gathering red, crackling lightning on the tip of a dark scepter, Victor¡¯s grin grew, and the madness overtook him again. Heughed, and yellow mes licked his lips, sending ck smoke into the air with the sounds of his insanity.

 Book 6: Chapter 59: Escape

    Book 6: Chapter 59: Escape

    Rather than attack or try to charge past him, Hector stymied Victor¡¯s desire to fight by hovering a good twenty yards away and shouting, ¡°Fool! You¡¯ve conjured ruin upon us all! Let me leave, and you can rule over this wastednd!¡± Victor didn¡¯t reply but shifted, putting himself squarely before the portal. His grin widened, and, as he exhaled, ck smoke tendrils drifted out of his nostrils. The message was clear¡ªif Hector wanted to flee this world, he¡¯d need to remove Victor. In wild frustration, Hector jerked back his head and screamed, his crown of red lightning sparking and dancing with Energy, creating an arcing feedback loop with the ck scepter that Hector raised aloft. With a grimace of desperate determination, he raced forward, sting Victor with a torrent of arcing, writhing crimson electricity.

    Victor was full to bursting with magma-attuned Energy. His Core was overflowing, on the verge of another expansion. He¡¯d stretched it to its limit with his lungs, inhaling the heavy, thick Energy of the volcano, cultivating as he stood there, waiting for Hector¡¯s next attack. As that st of arcane, thunderous Energy arced out of Hector¡¯s dark scepter, he took it full in the center of his chest. It burned and pulsed and would probably have stunned or killed a lesser foe, someone not so maddened with his own fury and the echoing, long-slumbering rage of a mountain. As it was, the powerful st only served to contract Victor¡¯s lungs further as he exhaled a plume of hot air so thick with Energy that it misted the air more like a liquid than a gas before igniting with <em>woosh.</em>

    The jet of superheated magma-infused fire sucked the oxygen out of the air as it engulfed Hector, cooking through his cloud of charged red Energy. The Death Caster screamed and gathered up all his reserves to save himself, cloaking himself in a red, crackling shield and girding his flesh and bones with cold, blue, death-attuned Energy, clearly something he¡¯d been holding back. Victor tracked him as he descended to the ground, still spraying forth a plume of magma. The Energying from his mouth was dense and thick and hot, but it wasn¡¯t ame; it didn¡¯t burn until it was several inches from his lips. From there, it streamed like a demon¡¯s firehose, bright with destructive power, unrelenting as it coated his foe, slowly burning through his defenses.

    Victor had made incredible gains with his breath Core in a brief span of time, all thanks to the Volcano¡¯s radiated Energy. It was that heat, that magma-fueled rage in the air, that allowed Victor to send forth a plume of destructive force that would otherwise be beyond his young magma Core. More than that, his Volcanic Fury doubled his potential, extending his breath and increasing its potency. All that said, he only had so much; he couldn¡¯t maintain his Volcanic Fury with an empty breath Core, and some instinctive self-preservation wouldn¡¯t allow him to breathe it dry. After sting Hector for several seconds with fiery destruction, Victor stopped and, heaving with the effort, began to suck air into his lungs again, restarting the cycle that would send Energy into his Core and then into his pathways, extending his Volcanic Fury¡¯s duration.

    Hector was crouched low, his arms above his head. Victor had watched his magma-based fire destroy Hector¡¯s crimson shield of electricity, and he¡¯d watched as Hector fought to sustain himself by expending a massive amount of cold, grave-scented, death-attuned power. Though he was hell-bent on destruction, his enraged mind incapable of clever quips or convoluted nning, he understood that Hector was spent, that he¡¯d nearly exhausted himself. He wouldn¡¯t be flying out of reach anytime soon. Victor lifted Lifedrinker and, on long, powerful, titan-sized legs, he stalked toward his prey. He grinned, a burning, fiery smile that spread from ear to ear, exposing me-licked teeth as a low, rumbling growl built in his gut.

    Hector stood, backing rapidly away from the muchrger titan, his arms high, sputtering blue wisps of smoky Energy tendrils gathering on his fingertips. He couldn¡¯t go far. Behind him, the mountain had shaken open a rift in the ground, and hot billows of ck, smoky air drifted up from it. Victor¡¯s growl intensified as his mouth began to salivate, dripping from his toothy grin in orange, fiery droplets to sizzle on the rough, ckened stone. He was savoring the moment, his fury hot and smoldering, ready to feel the satisfaction as Lifedrinker split the Death Caster from neck to crotch.

    As though she could see the images ying through Victor¡¯s mind, Lifedrinker began to hum in anticipation, vibrating and bucking in his hand as he lifted her high. When he was just two titan-sized strides away, Hectorshed out with spectral, blue, misty ws. They flickered and faded in the hot air, hardly scratching Victor¡¯s neck and groin. Hector had aimed for his softest, least armored body parts and failed to make an impact; the Death Caster was truly spent, and his remaining Energy affinity was ineffectual in the magma-thick air. Victor lifted Lifedrinker, and, too mad to form any words, he grunted savagely, swiping her downward.

    His blow should surely have destroyed his enemy; Lifedrinker¡¯s smoldering edge was wide enough, and with Victor¡¯s strength behind her, she would have cleaved him in half lengthwise. Something strange happened, however. Billowing steam rose from the ground and materialized out of the hot air, clouding Victor¡¯s view. A high-pitched screech resounded, echoing weirdly through the vaporous air, but not before Victor ripped Lifedrinker downward, aiming to destroy Hector utterly. She rippled through the steam, sending it whirling away on superheated winds, and before he could stop the downward chop short, she bit into the stony ground with a tremendous crash and an explosion of basalt shards. Hector was gone.

    Victor whirled in time to see a familiar ghostly form. Victoria hovered near the rift, and before her, condensing into flesh from the hot, moist air, was Hector; somehow, she¡¯d transported him in her foggy tendrils away from Victor¡¯s destructive blow. Victor¡¯s fury soared to new heights. His vision darkened to murderous crimson so dense that he felt he was swimming in blood. He roared his frustration, fire erupting from his mouth, the mes limning his shoulders and arms torching upward in white-hot tendrils. He focused on Hector and ran, lifting Lifedrinker high again.

    Victoria didn¡¯t stick around to watch; she spun and, trailing a cacklingugh, soared through the portal. Hector wasn¡¯t a fool; he could see his destruction written on Victor¡¯s face. Only two steps from the rift, he leaped for it, and despite Victor¡¯s explosive speed, his mad surge of muscr, rage-driven power, he was just shy of catching the Death Caster before he hit the weird tear in the universe. Victor screamed in wild, frustrated fury, continuing with his diving charge, hacking Lifedrinker at Hector¡¯s leaping form despite knowing he woulde up short.

    Hector wore a desperate grin, almost like he couldn¡¯t believe he was still alive, that he would escape. As his outstretched arms hit the rift, though, they were rebuffed. He came up against the tear in space and stopped short like he¡¯d hit a solid wall. Victor, unable toprehend what had just happened, didn¡¯t care¡ªhe finished his diving chop, and Lifedrinker buried herself in the center of Hector¡¯s spine, splitting through his torso and pinning him to the stone tform as she bit into it. Victor mmed into the stony ground beside Hector¡¯s much smaller form, still gripping Lifedrinker. He twisted her left and right, growling in savage pleasure as Hector screamed and wailed, thrashing his arms and legs.

    Hector¡¯s lips twisted into a grimace, and he wheezed a defeated curse, ¡°God damned System.¡± Then Lifedrinker¡¯s ministrations rendered him incapable of speech, and Victor was too furious for words. The only sounds beyond the bubbling ofva, the rumble of the mountain, and the weird hissing crackle of the rift above them were Victor¡¯s growls and Hector¡¯s desperate mewling gasps. Lifedrinker bucked and throbbed, pulling the dregs out of Hector¡¯s Core. Victor watched through a deep, crimson haze as the Death Caster¡¯s pale, drawn flesh began to cken and crumble from his bones in a fine, powdery ash.

    The anger in Victor¡¯s heart throbbed with each beat, and as he watched his nemesis crumble into dust, he felt a deep, profound satisfaction. He¡¯d destroyed his enemy, answered the challenge to his bloodline, avenged himself against the man who¡¯d trapped him, and redeemed his failure, his mistake that had enabled this man¡¯s foul attack on his friends and soldiers. When nothing was left of Hector other than a pile of ck ash, a hissing, sizzling <em>pop</em> resounded through the air, and Victor looked up in time to see the rip in the air disappear in a brilliant sh of white light.

    As the mountain bucked and throbbed, he stood to his feet, and, still engorged by furious magma, he was barely able toprehend the System messages blinking before his eyes, one of which had been there for several minutes already:

    <strong>***Transport Refused: A System invasionmander may not flee the field duringbat.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Congrattions! Challenge of Conquest Completed! You have put an end to the invasion from the world of Dark Ember. Prince Hector of Heart Rot is no more. The enemy stronghold will suffer imminent destruction. Should you survive, im your reward at any other outpost System stone. Rewards due: Colony Stone and a Chest of Conquest.***</strong>

    Victor nced at the text, flicking the messages away in his rage-addled state. He turned to look around the caldera. Nothing in sight lived. He saw flowing magma, jets of superheated ck smoke and steam, and trembling, lurching stone in every direction. The air was dark with smoke, though he thought he could glimpse some brighter light in one direction. He wasn¡¯t sure why, but he began tough as he loped that way, fearlessly stepping into magma, riding the roiling, heaving ground as though he was born to it. He could hear the angry rumble of the mountain beneath him, could feel it ready to burst.

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    ¡°Yes!¡± he roared, his voice thick with wild, madughter. ¡°Yes! Shout your fury to the world, <em>hermano</em>!¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    ¡°Gather the dead as we run! Put them in your storage containers,¡± Va screamed, looking up to the billowing clouds of ck smoke and thick orangeva flows beginning to pour from the distant volcano. The sky had grown light with the dawn, illuminating the destruction all around the remnants of the ninth cohort. She¡¯d never seen a volcano before, didn¡¯t know what it would be like if it erupted, but something in her knew they had to get further away. She led by example, dashing from body to body, throwing them into her storage rings. The soldiers did the same, and she could see Kethelket¡¯s people flitting on their dark wings up and down around the scattered battlefield and broken encampment.

    When she¡¯d picked up at least a dozen corpses and didn¡¯t see any others nearby, she gathered Edeya¡¯s still-unconscious form into her arms and channeled Energy into her wings, pping them to bring her aloft. ¡°To the west! Rally to the west!¡± she screamed, and though she wanted to streak away, riding the wind to a distant hilltop far from the volcano, she held herself back, watching the poor, beleaguered soldiers still afoot, trying to hurry away from the enraged mountain. She couldn¡¯t get an urate count in the messy, sporadic line, but she didn¡¯t think there were more than a few hundred.

    Less than half of the cohort and the reserves had survived the night, but judging from the System message she¡¯d just seen, at least the battle was won. She hoped Rellia and Borrius would be smart enough to heed their instinct, that deep-seated primal desire to live, and get away from the rumbling, angry mountain. Surely, they¡¯d already put many miles between themselves and its smoldering slopes. Spiraling slowly, using the wind to keep herself aloft without straining her muscles, she looked down at Edeya, still wan, still hardly alive, and she wondered what it would take to wake her. The conquest was over¡ªHector was dead. Why hadn¡¯t she recovered?

    asionally, she¡¯d swoop low and shout encouragement to the fleeing soldiers. They were exhausted, but they were Energy users, and the Glorious Ninth had plenty of troops in the fourth and fifth tiers. With a grimace, Va acknowledged the cold truth that most of the deaths had probablye from the lower-tier ranks. These survivors, bloody, filthy, and exhausted though they were, flew over the ground on powerful legs, gaining strength and momentum despite their hardbor¡ªtheir Cores were recovering.

    As their flight lengthened into dozens of minutes, they received another boost as streams of thick, potent yellow Energy began to flow toward them from the distant battlefield. The System had finally agreed that the fight was won and was delivering their reward. Va knew what wasing and didn¡¯t want to be airborne when the surge hit her. She watched as the Naghelli and a handful of Ghelli flyers came to the same conclusion, hurrying to the ground ahead of the rushing, yellow ribbons.

    She¡¯d justnded when Lam fluttered down beside her. ¡°I was looking for her! Thank you for bringing her out!¡±

    Va held Edeya close, offering Lam a fierce smile. ¡°Victor told me to get her.¡±

    ¡°Thank the roots he awoke. Whatever he did up in that volcano, it won the day. Do you think . . .¡± Lam let her words trail away, but Va knew what she was going to ask¡ªdid she think Victor had lived?

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like he¡¯s dead, but I suppose I can¡¯t really know. I hope he can get away before . . .¡±

    Her words were cut off as a river of Energy smashed into her, and a simr one hit Lam. They both cried out in ecstasy, and though she tried not to, Va dropped Edeya to the hilltop as her arms flew wide, and she lost herself in the euphoria.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 60 Sword Dancer, gained 20 agility, 20 dexterity, and have 16 attribute points to allocate.*** </strong>

    <strong>***Level 60 ss refinement is avable. ss refinement is permanent. Ordeni Energy cultivators will next be offered a ss refinement selection at level 70. To view your options and make your selection, ess the menu through your status page.***</strong>

    The message awaited her when she fell to her feet and regained her mental faculties. ¡°Two levels,¡± she said to Lam as the other woman staggered to her feet.

    ¡°Three!¡± Lam replied, stooping to pick up Edeya. Va grasped her shoulder, stopping her short.

    ¡°Let me carry her. My wings can ride the wind.¡± She¡¯d seen how the Ghelli flew; they had to p their little sets of wings rapidly, and she knew it was tiring. Lam, herself, had told her she couldn¡¯t fly very far, even when rested.

    ¡°Ah. Thank you, then.¡± Va stooped to pick up Edeya, and that¡¯s when the mountain exploded. Even where she stood, some six leagues from the mountain, Va was thrown to the ground. The air boomed with a continuous thunderp sound that temporarily deafened her. As she struggled to her hands and knees, eyes on the distant peak, the ground bucking and shaking underneath her, she felt the flow of hot, furious Energy rippling through the air, dwarfing the Energies in her Core like grains of sand whipped aloft by a hurricane.

    The mountain was ejecting a plume of ash and smoke high into the sky, towering toward the firmament, shing and rippling with menacing colors¡ªgrays, cks, and, lower down, reds and oranges. The sky darkened as the ash cloud spread, and Va finally regained her feet. Orange rivers ran down from the mountain¡¯s peak, and she wondered how far they¡¯d reach before the volcano¡¯s fury was spent.

    ¡°It feels like Victor!¡± Lam screamed, and Va knew what she meant¡ªthe fury and hatred in the air reminded her of Victor¡¯s aura when she¡¯d first felt its full weight, though it was a thousand times heavier.

    ¡°We need to keep moving!¡± She bent to pick up Edeya, and as she and Lam retook the air, she could see the surviving members of the ninth cohort had simr ideas; they raced pell-mell away from the mountain toward the distant clear sky in the west.

    <strong>#</strong>

    When Victor came back to himself, he was utterly disoriented. He sat up, blinking rapidly, staring at his environment for several long minutes before blurry memories began to fill the gaps in his mind. He sat on warm, ash-covered stone, and, looking around, he realized it was a boulder the size of a small house. All around him was a dim, smoky wastnd. Leafless, ckened trees dotted a nearby hillside, but most vegetation was gone entirely, with nothing on the ground but ash, as far as he could see. A ticking, steaming river of half-hardenedva filled a gulley to his left, and the sky was dark gray, barely lit by the faint white orb of the sun overhead.

    ¡°Volcano,¡± he muttered, his throat dry and his voice hoarse. In a series of images and feelings, he remembered what had happened, though it was like looking at a slideshow in his memory, not a movie. shes of the roiling caldera, the rift to Dark Ember, Victoria escaping, Hector dying to Lifedrinker¡¯s bite . . . ¡°Lifedrinker!¡± Victor furiously scrabbled at her harness, only to find it gone; all of his belongings were gone save his helmet, his wyrm-scale vest, his dragonsteel belt, his bracer with Khul Bach¡¯s shard, and his various storage rings. Panic sending his heart racing, he leaped to his feet. Like a cold shower, relief washed over him when he saw Lifedrinker lying on the boulder behind where he¡¯d been sitting.

    ¡°Thank God, <em>chica</em>.¡± He breathed a deep sigh of relief, running his hands through his hair. He looked down at himself, half-naked as he was, and chuckled, pulling some new pants and boots out of his ring. ¡°Shit!¡± he patted at his waist, realizing that his older dimensional pouches hadn¡¯t survived. It had been so long since he¡¯d organized his things that he didn¡¯t even know what items he¡¯d lost. Regardless, he knew his most precious belongings were in his rings; he hardly touched the pouches anymore.

    Once he¡¯d put on a new pair of self-sizing and repairing leather pants and a pair of sturdy boots, he scooped up Lifedrinker and turned his attention to the System messages that, at some point during his madness, he¡¯d shoved to the side of his vision.

    He vaguely remembered the first one:

    <strong>***Transport Refused: A System invasionmander may not flee the field duringbat.***</strong>

    Victorughed when he read it. Heughed andughed, pping his hands together as he imagined Hector¡¯s thoughts when he¡¯d realized he wasn¡¯t going to escape. ¡°That poor <em>pendejo!</em> First, he thought I¡¯d kill him, then he thought Victoria saved him, then the System yanked it away!¡± Shaking his head in amusement, Victor looked at the next message:

    <strong>***Congrattions! Challenge of Conquest Completed! You have put an end to the invasion from the world of Dark Ember. Prince Hector of Heart Rot is no more. The enemy stronghold will suffer imminent destruction. Should you survive, im your reward at any other outpost System stone. Rewards due: Colony Stone and a Chest of Conquest.***</strong>

    ¡°Right.¡± He turned in a slow circle, looking through the dim, smoky air. He could see the volcano¡¯s slope a dozen miles or more behind him. It no longer shook, and only a half-hearted plume of smoke continued to rise from its peak. Theva flows were still orange near the top but faded as they descended the slopes. ¡°You were pissed, but you shouted out your rage all at once, eh, <em>hermano</em>?¡± He turned back to the System messages:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 59 Battlemaster, gained 20 strength, 18 vitality, 8 agility, 8 dexterity, 6 will, and 6 intelligence.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Congrattions! Your breath Core has advanced: Improved 3.***</strong>

    ¡°Two levels and a breath Core rank, huh?¡± Victor nodded, looking up at the top of the smoking mountain. ¡°Thanks, Hector.¡± His amusement was short-lived when he thought back further than his victory over the Death Caster. What damage had been done? How many lives had been lost because of Hector¡¯s ambush, because Victor had let himself get trapped? He turned and looked over the ash-covered wastnd, wondering how many of his friends had escaped.

    ¡°Va . . .¡± He reached into his Core and used some inspiration-attuned Energy to summon Guapo. As he swung onto his back, the Mustang knew where he wanted to go¡ªthe System said to collect his reward at an outpost, and the closest one was Sea Keep, west of the mountain. Va had been on the same side of the mountain. It stood to reason that she and the surviving members of the Ninth would go that way. ¡°Let¡¯s go, buddy.¡± He pped Guapo¡¯s shoulder and leaned forward, urging the horse to pick up the pace. Hope and dread battled in his heart as he raced toward the distant sliver of blue sky.

 Book 6: Chapter 60: Coming to Grips

    Book 6: Chapter 60: Coming to Grips

    Riding on Guapo, it only took a few hours before Victor cleared the area covered in soot by the volcano¡¯s eruption. Even so, the sky remained dark, the sun obscured by the ash in the air, so much so that it felt like he was riding under heavy cloud cover. He might have thought that was the case if not for the gritty, stinging nature of the breeze that blew into his face as the Mustang charged over hills, raced through meadows, and sshed through streams and rivers.

    Essentially, Victor retraced his journey from the Sea Keep with Va, though he veered to follow signs of the Ninth¡¯s passage. On many asions, he¡¯d spotted their tracks and even passed by more than one campsite, which made him wonder¡ªhow long had he been mad with the volcano¡¯s rage? How long had it been since it erupted?

    To Victor, it felt like he¡¯d awoken the day after his battle with Hector, but if that were the case, he would have passed the fleeing soldiers by now; Guapo was far faster than they. So, in contrast to his rxing journey from the sea with Va, Victor urged Guapo to hurry, and he didn¡¯t stop to rest. The spirit Mustang tore through the countryside, and despite his thundering passage, he hardly left a trail in his wake. Where other mounts might need Victor to skirt a rocky slope, Guapo pounded up it without slowing. While some creatures might need to hunt for hours to find a ford, Guapo tore through cid rivers, even leaping and swimming when shallow water couldn¡¯t be found.

    So, it was only midway through the second day of his journey when Victor caught his first glimpse of the sea and, with it, the tail end of the column of soldiers, the straggling remnants of the Glorious Ninth. They were in a staggered, disorderly line, wending their way up the curving gravel and dirt road to the keep. This far from the mountain, the sky was hazy but not heavy with the ash that had blotted the sun, making it a glowering orange ball. Looking east toward the distant volcano, it seemed like a great, cataclysmic storm hung in the air, and he wondered how long it would take for the ash to finish falling.

    In no time, Guapo was pounding over the sandy beach toward the road, and some of the soldiers noted the sounds of his thundering hooves. He could see them stop and turn, then shout and wave their arms. Before he knew it, the entire line of rough-looking, beleaguered troops watched his approach. Victor hoped this was only a part of the surviving cohort¡ªit looked like a much smaller group than when he¡¯dst seen them marching.

    Guapo rapidly climbed the steep road, approaching the rear of the ragged column, and slowed. As the thunder of the spirit horse¡¯s steps faded, he heard a cheer rise up from the soldiers, and it twisted something in his gut. It took him a moment to realize he was scowling, that he¡¯d let his inner disappointment and guilt show on his face. When the cheer faded, and some of the soldiers stepped back, uncertainty on their dirty, haggard faces, Victor forced his brows to even out and spread his lips into something like a smile. He nodded to the cluster of men and women to his right and called out, ¡°Are you just arriving?¡±

    ¡°Aye, Legate, sir!¡± one of the bigger, bolder soldiers shouted. He looked familiar, and Victor chased the memory in his mind, trying to remember if he knew the soldier¡¯s name. After a moment of staring, it clicked; he was one of the adventurers who¡¯d approached him outside the Granite Pass just before any of this had started. Victor had sent him with his friends to join the ninth cohort. His frown returned when he wondered if the man regretted approaching him that day.

    Reaching deep into his memory, he surprised himself when he asked, ¡°Thed, right?¡±

    ¡°You remember me, sir?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I do. d to see you made it.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± He pounded his chest. ¡°Gave them undead a right thrashing. Shame we lost so many, but none went easy! We made them scum pay dearly!¡± Scattered cheers broke out among the disordered line of soldiers, and Victor took the clue; this wasn¡¯t the time to be morose. These men and women were celebrating being alive. Yet again, the Glorious Ninth hade through hell.

    ¡°Well fought soldiers. Thanks to you,¡± Victor turned and gestured expansively, from the sea all the way around and back to the keep, ¡°all of thisnd is ours. The invaders are dead or home licking their wounds, millions of miles away.¡± Another cheer met his words, much louder this time. ¡°Is your captain above?¡±

    Thed frowned and shielded his eyes, looking up at Victor on his massive horse. ¡°I, uh, I¡¯m sorry, sir, but Captain Sarl didn¡¯t make it through the fight. Lieutenant ap¡¯Lissa has takenmand.¡± He turned and squinted up the hill. ¡°She¡¯s at the head of the line, near the gate.¡± The words hit Victor in the gut like he¡¯d swallowed a mouthful of cold stones. Sarl, his oldest friend in the world, the only man who might remember Victor the way he¡¯d been when he came to Fanwath, was gone. He couldn¡¯t fake pleasantries after that. He nodded, lips pressed together, eyes distant, unfocused, and urged Guapo back into a canter.

    Hearing Sarl was dead had sobered him immensely, and he began to wonder about others. Why hadn¡¯t Va flown out to meet him? Was she dead? Injured? What about Kethelket? He heard soldiers shouting things at him. It sounded mostly like cheers, and Victor wanted to stop and scream at them. He wanted to let them know that he¡¯d caused their losses, that if he hadn¡¯t gotten himself trapped, Hector¡¯s ambush wouldn¡¯t have been half as effective. If he¡¯d been able to meet him and his bone dragon from the start, if he¡¯d been bolstering the troops with his banner, they might have only lost a handful of soldiers in that battle.

    He saw Lieutenant ap¡¯Lissa standing before the gate, nodding to her troops as they went by, speaking quietly to other officers, one of whom was writing in amand book. When Victor jumped off Guapo with a massive <em>thud</em> and dismissed his trusty mount back to the Spirit ne, she stopped what she was doing and snapped a smart salute. All of them did. Victor wanted to ignore her and rush inside, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it. It wasn¡¯t her fault that all of this had happened. Instead, he nodded to her and barked, ¡°At ease.¡± He stepped up to her, cutting off the flow of soldiers who all stopped, staring openly at their giantmander. ¡°Lieutenant, I¡¯ve been unconscious, it seems, after my battle with Hector. How much time has passed since the mountain blew?¡±

    ¡°Nine days, sir!¡±

    ¡°And our losses?¡±

    ¡°There are currently four hundred and sixty-three members of the ninth cohort, including the reserves we pulled in from the pass, and not counting those we left behind as garrison troops.¡±

    Victor wanted to exim, wanted to cuss, but he wouldn¡¯t let the soldiers think he was disappointed in them. How many had they had before the battle? A thousand? He knew the number had swelled far past six hundred with the reserves. ¡°A tragic loss, but you should all be proud.¡± He spoke loudly, ensuring the soldiers gathering behind him could hear. ¡°And the Naghelli?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen an official report, but we, unofficially, counted more than seventy flying ahead of us. Groups of them flew past a few times, too, picking up wounded and slower troops.¡±

    Victor dreaded the answer, wanted to slip past her and seek out the truth of his worry himself, but steeled himself and asked, ¡°Tribune ap¡¯Yensha?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s been here since the first day! She flew back to scout out stragglers and check on us daily, too, sir.¡± Relief washed over him, and it must have shown because the lieutenant added, ¡°She seems quite hale, sir.¡±

    ¡°And Captain Kethelket?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him, but at campst night, some soldiers said they saw him flying with the other Naghelli.¡±

    Victor had heard enough. ¡°All right. Back to your work; I¡¯ll head in.¡± As they all saluted again, Victor stomped into the long gate tunnel and across the bailey to the inner gate. He¡¯d only made it halfway through the yard before, in a sh of silvery, shimmering feathers, Va hurtled over the inner wall andnded in front of him, smashing into his stomach with a furious hug. He wanted tough, joke about her crushing his ribs, but he couldn¡¯t find the humor in him. Despite his relief, he felt dour and depressed, and underlying those emotions was his guilt. Sarl was dead because of him. In a sudden wave of panic, other faces ran through his mind¡ªChandri, Lam, Edeya. He pushed Va¡¯s shoulders, separating her from him so he could look her in the face.

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Tears flowed down her cheeks as she spoke, ¡°I knew you¡¯d return. Some feared the mountain took you. Some spected you¡¯d chased Hector through his portal. I could feel you, though. I knew you¡¯d show up soon.¡± Her smile was dazzling, her beauty something unearthly, and Victor''s angry, sullen heart lightened. Even so, he couldn¡¯t stop the words that slipped from his lips.

    ¡°I killed them.¡±

    ¡°The invaders? Hector? Catalina?¡± Va¡¯s eyes narrowed, and her broad smile faded when she saw the look on Victor¡¯s face and heard the dour tone in his voice.

    ¡°No.¡± Victor nced around at the straggling soldiers working their way into the inner gate, giving him and Va a wide berth. ¡°No. I killed Sarl and the Ninth. I got myself trapped, Va. That ambush was my fault.¡±

    Va¡¯s left hand darted up to stroke his jawline, and she spoke instantly, without hesitation, ¡°Hush! Don¡¯t you dare say that. Without you, how many soldiers would have died in this war? Sarl died a hero, Victor. Don¡¯t take that from him.¡±

    Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, ¡°What about Chandri? Edeya?¡±

    Va took a steadying breath and then said, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Chandri yet. Edeya is alive, but there¡¯s something wrong with her. She was frail, hardly breathing, and we feared she¡¯d die if something weren¡¯t done soon, so I carried one of the surviving healers here. He¡¯s a Blood Caster and an Artificer; he¡¯s stabilized her and ensured her body won¡¯t waste away while we try to figure out the rest. Lam¡¯s with her in your house.¡±

    Victor started walking, and Va hurried to keep pace, her long fingers gripping his wrist, almost like she feared he¡¯d disappear or leave her. When he stepped into the inner courtyard, he saw a queue of soldiers lined up before the main doors of the keep. ¡°What are they lining up for?¡±

    ¡°Their System reward. Everyone gets a conquest chest if they interact with the stone inside.¡±

    Thinking of the soldiers getting rewarded brought to mind the others who¡¯d gotten the conquest challenge but hadn¡¯t been at the final battle. ¡°Any word from Rellia? Borrius?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re both fine. Rellia took her half of the cohort to Old Keep, and Borrius retreated to the High Keep ahead of the ashfall.¡±

    ¡°Are they all getting awarded, too?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Everyone with the quest! Even those at the pass.¡±

    ¡°Shit, that¡¯s good.¡± Victor set his sights on his jade travel home and hurried toward it.

    ¡°It¡¯s proportionate to your contribution. I received a purple chest, and so did Kethelket. Some of the garrison troops only got green or blue chests.¡±

    ¡°Green?¡±

    ¡°Seems to be lower than blue.¡± Va hopped up the steps ahead of him because Victor had paused. He was too big to enter the homefortably. With a moment''s concentration, he reduced his height to be closer to Va¡¯s, which was still incredibly tall by any human standard. He followed her into the home, but a dark thought had entered his mind. He¡¯d ridden past the surviving soldiers; Va had been in the keep. If neither he nor she had seen Chandri, didn¡¯t that mean she was dead? The idea brought a sick, fluttering lump into his throat, and he found himself holding his breath when he entered his foyer.

    Va tugged on his wrist, but he resisted, and she looked into his eyes again. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°I think Chandri¡¯s dead. I passed the soldiers. You . . . you would have known if she was here.¡± He balled up his left fist and pounded it on his forehead. ¡°Dammit! She was so full of life, Va! She had dreams! I know that¡¯s stupid¡ªeveryone has dreams, but she¡¯d just sat down with me and told me about them.¡± Victor leaned forward, hands on his knees, and Va gently stroked the back of his neck. ¡°What am I going to tell Tha and Tellen?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll tell them the truth. Wait, though, Victor. I didn¡¯t study every face, and some of the first to arrive were the worst wounded, carried by the Naghelli. I haven¡¯t seen to them because the healers shoo us away. Kethelket and his people have made several trips to pick up stragglers. I didn¡¯t recognize every face, especially covered in ash and blood! She could be here. We¡¯ll check after you see Edeya, okay?¡±

    ¡°Is that Victor?¡± Lam called from off to the right. Victor straightened up, nodded to Va, and walked into the short hallway leading to his library.

    ¡°You in there?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Lam rushed into the hallway, and Victor immediately noticed something different about her. She was maybe a little taller, but her wings were muchrger than before. All four of the shimmering, gossamer wings, though folded and hanging downward, were easily four feet long, and they shimmered with densely packed motes of golden Energy, far more than he¡¯d noticed before. Moreover, it looked like many of Lam¡¯s tattoos had faded. Only a few with bright, shining azure ink remained on her forearms. Her eyes were brighter than ever, like backlit emeralds, and seeing her so glorious brought a smile to Victor¡¯s lips, banishing some of the storm clouds that had been following him.

    ¡°You advanced your race?¡± he asked, unconsciously touching his shoulder with his left hand, thinking about the tattoo Chandri had given him. It was still there, somehow surviving all of his racial advancements.

    ¡°I did! My award in the conquest chest was a ¡®cake of heritage.¡¯ It gave me five ranks. Victor, we can speak about happy news anytime. Please,e and look at Edeya! I¡¯m so worried about her.¡± She turned, and he and Va followed her into the library. He immediately saw his young friend sitting in one of the puffy,fortable chairs, staring straight ahead, breathing slowly, hands folded in herp. She looked pale and fragile, more so than when he¡¯dst seen her, fresh and strong from her racial advancement. She wore a set of silky blue robes, and his eyes were drawn to a silver, rune-etched metal band about an inch thick around her forehead.

    ¡°Edeya!¡± he said, hurrying toward her. He took one of her hands in his and found it warm but limp. She didn¡¯t react to him at all. ¡°The hell¡¯s going on with her?¡±

    ¡°She was catatonic, barely breathing. We struggled to get her to eat or drink anything, and the healer was afraid her body would wither and die. He crafted this crown that gives her some vitality, allows her blood to flow better, and gives her caretaker some control over her body¡ªI can get her to walk beside me, eat, drink, and sleep. I can bring her to the bathroom . . .¡±

    ¡°Ah, sheesh.¡± Victor ran a hand through his hair, frowning at the nk-eyed woman. ¡°She¡¯s like a robot now? A living robot?¡±

    ¡°Robot?¡±

    ¡°I mean, she doesn¡¯t do anything on her own? What did the healer say? What¡¯s actually wrong with her? Brain damage?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t know. When that traitorous bitch escaped . . .¡±

    ¡°Victoria did this?¡± Victor growled, scowling.

    ¡°Catalina. She was lying the whole time¡ªshe was Hector¡¯s lover.¡± At Va¡¯s words, Victor felt his blood begin to boil, felt both his Cores begin to roil, and it wasn¡¯t until he noticed Lam and Va had taken a step back that he realized he was radiating hot, furious Energy. With a great effort of will, he dragged his Energy back into his Core and tamped down on his fury. With a deep, cleansing breath, he gently let go of Edeya¡¯s hand and looked at Lam.

    ¡°Tell me what happened.¡±

    ¡°I found her in Vict . . . Catalina¡¯s grasp, wrapped up in her mist, pale and dead-looking. When Kethelket drove Catalina off, destroyed her body, he said she didn¡¯t seem to die, that she might have a . . . a, uh . . .¡±

    Va provided the word she was struggling to find, ¡°Phctery.¡±

    ¡°Right. When she was gone, I carried Edeya to your home, and she¡¯s been like this ever since. She wasn¡¯t injured physically, not that I could see. I even got her to drink a healing draught, but it did nothing.¡±

    Victor felt a sinking sensation in his stomach as he heard the tale. Closing his eyes, he turned his gaze inward to his Core and followed his pathways into his hand that still grasped Edeya¡¯s. He had no trouble finding her pathway in her palm and sending a tendril of Energy into it. He knew it should have been difficult to do so; he should have felt some resistance. There was nothing there, though, nothing in her pathways to contend with his thin tendril of inspiration-attuned Energy.

    He guided it further into her, seeking out her Core. Her pathways wereid out simrly to his, though with more loops and swirls, and it took him a minute to find his way to the cool, pulsing blue heart of her Energy. It was there, alive and full of shimmering Energy, but it wasn¡¯t animated. Nothing moved it. He¡¯d hoped to see the problem there, that maybe Catalina had cut off her flow of Energy. Finding nothing amiss, he opened his eyes and pulled back his Energy with a growl of frustration.

    ¡°Do you see anything?¡± Lam asked, breathless hope in her voice.

    ¡°Not yet. Watch me a minute; I¡¯m going into the Spirit ne.¡± Victor knelt on the floor, and, taking Edeya¡¯s hands in his, he cast Spirit Walk. He stood up immediately, surrounded by pristine, blue-tinted grass. When he looked around, he saw the smooth slope of the hillside falling away to the glittering, frothy waves of the sea. The water shone with the expansive, infinite dome of stars that seemed close enough to touch. He looked down at the grass in front of his feet, frowning at the spot where Edeya would be if she¡¯de through with him into the Spirit ne.

    At first, he saw nothing and almost canceled his spell in frustration, but then he caught a glimpse of a faint shimmering tendril of wispy, smoky air. Like a streamer of the Energy he sent to his ancestors when he cast Honor the Spirits. When Victor knelt to study the weird, wispy ribbon, it brought Belikot and what he¡¯d learned about spirit shards and phcteries to mind. Gently, he ran his translucent fingers through that ribbon, and he felt, fainter than the gentle brush of a butterfly¡¯s wing, a wisp of emotion, of personality distinctly reminiscent of Edeya. Like a jolt of electricity, understanding hit him, and Victor ended his spirit walk and leaped to his feet. ¡°I know what¡¯s wrong with her.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 61: No Time for Blame

    Book 6: Chapter 61: No Time for me

    ¡°You do?¡± Lam leaned forward, hope in her eyes. Victor wanted tofort her, to give her good news, but he felt such an overwhelming sense of frustration and defeat that he had a hard time keeping it out of his voice.

    ¡°Yeah. Victoria or Catalina, whatever the <em>bruja¡¯s</em> name is¡ªI¡¯m pretty sure she was capturing Edeya¡¯s spirit when you and Kethelket interrupted her.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Lam pressed, kneeling before Edeya, grasping her hand between hers.

    ¡°She took it with her, well, most of it. There¡¯s a sliver of her spirit still in here, a shard.¡± Victor gently stroked Edeya¡¯s pale hair, pushing a loose tendril away from her face. ¡°It¡¯s what¡¯s keeping her alive.¡±

    ¡°Took it where?¡± Va¡¯s voice was hard, hinting at pent-up violence.

    Victor groaned and stood up, looking away from Edeya. He felt frustrated and angry, but worse, he felt the warm, painful heat of shame flushing the blood up the back of his neck. He squeezed his eyes shut and, while he spoke, thumped a clenched fist against his forehead. ¡°She slipped past me. Through the portal. She¡¯s back on Dark Ember, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Dark Ember?¡± Lam frowned and continued to massage Edeya¡¯s hand. ¡°Can¡¯t we call her back? She¡¯s still alive; there¡¯s still part of her spirit here! You said so yourself! Will she recover? Can this fragment be strengthened?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Victor groaned. ¡°God dammit! I should have chased that lying . . .¡± Victor frowned from Lam to Va, saw the anger and frustration in their eyes, and knew he couldn¡¯t be the one to act out right now. As much as he cared about Edeya, Lam cared more. As much as he wanted to me himself for everything, that wouldn¡¯t get her spirit back. ¡°She interrupted me fighting with Hector. She almost helped him escape, too, but he couldn¡¯t go through the portal. The System wouldn¡¯t let him¡ªsomething about an invasion leader not being allowed to flee.¡±

    ¡°Is the portal gone?¡± Lam asked, her eyes drifting to the exit as though she¡¯d charge away, up into the volcano, right that second.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s gone. Nothing wouldst through that eruption, but it was closed even before the mountain blew. Screw this.¡± Victor took Lam¡¯s shoulders in his hands, turning the woman he¡¯d once idolized to face him. ¡°I¡¯ll get her spirit back, Lam, or I¡¯ll die trying.¡± She stared at him with those glittering jewel-like eyes. She was a woman so beautiful he¡¯d struggled to breathe in her presence when he¡¯d first arrived as a ve to Greatbone Mine. Where once she¡¯d looked at him with pity, kindness, and encouragement, she now looked at him with hope, a kind of beseeching, searching look in those eyes.

    ¡°I believe you, and I¡¯ll help.¡±

    ¡°As will I, Lam!¡± Va reached out to grasp Victor¡¯s shoulder with one hand and the back of Lam¡¯s neck with the other. They stared at each other, and it was evident in their eyes what they were saying, even without words; they¡¯d do whatever they could to get Edeya¡¯s spirit away from Victoria, no matter what. ¡°Victor, im your reward from the System. I don¡¯t know how it works, but we¡¯ve yet to get the promised colony stone. I think, if we nt it, whatever settlement we build around it will be our capital.¡±

    ¡°And if we have a capital stone, it might open up options for world travel,¡± Lam said, finishing Va¡¯s point. ¡°Rellia will be angry if we nt it without consulting her . . .¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± Victor let go of Lam¡¯s shoulders and turned toward the exit. ¡°If you want, send her a message. Tell her what¡¯s going on. If she has another idea, I¡¯ll listen.¡± He took two steps, then paused. ¡°Va, can you show me where the wounded are? I¡¯d like to see if Chandri . . .¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Once again, she took his hand and started walking, tugging him toward the exit.

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay with Edeya.¡± As Lam spoke, Victor looked back to see her sitting in the seat she¡¯d pulled close to Edeya¡¯s. She held the girl¡¯s hand and stared at her face, whispering something only she could hear. He wondered if it was a prayer or a promise.

    When they stepped outside into the courtyard, Victor came face to face with Kethelket and, beside him, the gigantic stranger who¡¯d intervened in the battle with Hector and his dragon skeleton. In the light of day, the man was no less impressive. If Victor had never seen the people of Zaafor, the giant Degh, the animalistic Vesh, and the snake-like Yazzians, he might have been more taken aback by the neer¡¯s massive, draconic form. With his size currently reduced, even Victor had to look up to meet the man¡¯s gaze. After staring for a half second, he reached out and took the hand Kethelket held out. ¡°I¡¯m d you made it.¡±

    ¡°As am I, Victor. Your victory and survival won the day. Ancestors! I would have loved to see that battle!¡±

    ¡°I as well,¡± the big stranger rumbled. Victor let go of Kethelket¡¯s hand and looked at the scaled man, frowning with suspicion. He knew he didn¡¯t have a right to use him of anything, but after Victoria¡¯s lies, after learning she was really Catalina and had been ying him all along, he felt it would be stupid to trust anyone blindly.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but your name. Did you tell it to me during the fight? I was enraged . . .¡±

    ¡°I am Lesh¡¯ro¡¯zen, and I hail from the world of Ashenshoal. Simply call me Lesh.¡± His voice was deep with a kind of guttural edge, especially when he pronounced the Z in his name.

    ¡°I know you helped Va against Hector, so you have my thanks, but tell me, what brings you to Fanwath? Why were we so lucky to have your aid?¡±

    The big, darkly scaled man¡¯s mouth was surprisingly expressive as it twisted into a snarl. He practically spat as he growled, ¡°The System.¡± Victor watched his taloned hand twist on the heavy, ck metal haft of his huge, staff-like cudgel.

    ¡°Can you borate?¡±

    Kethelket¡¯s nervous fidget and sour expression weren¡¯t lost on Victor as he said, ¡°Perhaps now isn¡¯t the time for that tale, Legate. It¡¯s a lengthy one.¡±

    ¡°Just a quick summary, maybe?¡± Victor stared hard into the draconic man¡¯s darkly gleaming green eyes. Victor might have expected an answer or a polite refusal, but he didn¡¯t expect Lesh to fall to a knee before him, holding his enormous cudgel lengthwise on his open palms.

    ¡°I offer you my service, Lord Victor. As such, I cannot build upon a foundation of lies or deceit. I came here, to this world, to y you.¡±

    Victor felt something in him break free, something he subconsciously always held in check. Without thought, he severed his connection to his Alter Self spell, surging in size while he ripped Lifedrinker from the temporary loop at his belt. His aura fell around him, heavy and dense with murderous intent. As his muscles bunched and coiled, as Va stumbled away from him, he loomed over Lesh and growled, eyes red with rage and smoldering heat, ¡°You <em>what</em>?¡±

    To his credit, Lesh didn¡¯t flinch. ¡°I answered a System quest, months and months ago, toe to this world and y the one known as Victor.¡±

    ¡°You dare to challenge me?¡± If he thought about it, Victor would have recognized his Quinametzin pride asserting itself. As it was, he was barely cognizant of his ancestral need to be respected and dominate his surroundings. He twisted his hands on Lifedrinker and felt her vibrate with eagerness. Was this a worthy foe atst? He could smell something in the man kneeling before him, something ancient that echoed in his blood memories. ¡°Kneeling . . .¡± his voice rumbled. Again, something deep in him recognized the respect Lesh was showing, and that recognition gave Victor just enough control to stay his hand.

    ¡°Yes, I kneel. Months ago, the thought of it would have broken me. Months ago, I would have sooner dug out my own heart than bend the knee to anyone. That was before I met you, Victor, before I watched you battle a legion of undead. It was before I saw you breathe fire that would have shamed every dragonkin on Ashenshoal. It was before I followed you through thesends and saw the respect your actions demanded. When I measured myself against you, I found myself wanting. Lord Victor, I stood tall on Ashenshoal because strength earns respect there, and I was stronger than any in my n. I believed myself stronger than those in the capital, Garspire. When I witnessed your might, I knew I must follow you rather than attempt to y you by underhanded means.¡±

    ¡°And I should believe you?¡±

    ¡°Victor!¡± Va tried to interject, but he ignored her, staring at the kneeling dragonkin.

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    ¡°I have rejected the System¡¯s quest, forfeiting my reward. To return to Ashenshoal would be shameful, for I will not lie. Nothing matters more to me than my honor, and so I give up my life, my love, my people, and my home. I will follow you, or I will die by your hand.¡± He lifted his great staff-like cudgel higher as though offering it to Victor, and that angry voice in Victor¡¯s heart subsided, appeased by the man¡¯s obeisance.

    ¡°Keep your weapon,¡± he growled, pushing his rage back into his Core and straining to pull in his aura.

    Lesh didn¡¯t move as he spoke again, ¡°Will you ept me into your service?¡±

    His instinct was to say yes, but Victor had newfound doubts about his instincts. Hadn¡¯t he decided Victoria wasn¡¯t a threat? Hadn¡¯t he nearly trusted her to go free on more than one asion? Hadn¡¯t he refused to let Sarl cor her? Wasn¡¯t Sarl dead now because of his sentimentality and desire to see the good in everyone? Rather than say yes or no, Victor looked down at Kethelket, and the heroic, dark-eyed prince nodded to him. He trusted Kethelket¡¯s judgment, even if he couldn¡¯t trust his own. Still, he had questions. ¡°Why the hell did the System give you a quest to kill me?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea.¡± Lesh offered nothing more, but his words rang true to Victor.

    ¡°It¡¯s not unheard of,¡± Va said, ¡°For the System to take an interest in a person. There are stories of heroes, champions of the Ridonne . . .¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t want to specte right then. He had a million things on his mind, and the System¡¯s apparent vendetta against him wasn¡¯t something he could spare the mental bandwidth on. ¡°I ept your service, Lesh, but we need to talk about what that means. Later though, this isn¡¯t the time.¡±

    The man¡¯s draconic face split into a grin that exposed fangs that would¡¯ve given a Bengal tiger a run for its money as he leaped to his feet. ¡°Thank you, Lord . . .¡±

    ¡°Just Victor.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Victor! What task shall I busy myself with?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to visit the wounded. Can you and Kethelket meet me by the System stone?¡± Victor turned to Kethelket as he spoke.

    ¡°We can,¡± the dark, one-time prince said with a salute.

    ¡°Kethelket. Lesh.¡± Victor held up a hand, forestalling their departure. ¡°Thank you for fighting with me against Hector and his people. Thank you for saving the lives of people I care about. It¡¯s not lost on me that if it weren¡¯t for you, I¡¯d be mourning a great deal more today. I¡¯m grateful.¡±

    Kethelket didn¡¯t object, nor did he bbor the issue. He nodded and turned, and Lesh followed suit. Victor watched them march up the steps and into the keep, a giant, leather-d, scale-covered hulk and a much smaller, slender man with moth-like wings glimmering with bright, ochre patterns. He couldn¡¯t imagine a more dissimr pair, but they seemed easy in each other¡¯spany. ¡°They¡¯ve made friends quickly.¡±

    Once again, Va¡¯s fingers entwined with his. ¡°After you chased Hector up the mountain, the two of themid waste to the undead, rallying the soldiers and driving them away from the encampment. I believe a strong bond was forged that night.¡±

    ¡°And you?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I slew my fair share.¡± She squeezed his hand. ¡°Come, make yourself smaller again, and let¡¯s see if Chandri¡¯s in the barracks.¡±

    Victor took her advice, recasting Alter Self, and followed her into a different keep entrance and down a short hallway that opened into a much longer one lined with doors. A soldier sat at a desk in the hallway, and she jumped up, face flushed, saluting Victor and Va. She stood, straight as a board, staring into the wall opposite her desk until Va said, ¡°At ease, Sergeant. Do you have a list of the wounded?¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± She turned to the desk and lifted a clipboard, dense with script. ¡°Who are you looking for, ma¡¯am?¡±

    ¡°A soldier named Chandri. I don¡¯t recall what unit . . .¡± Victor started to say, but the young sergeant perked up and lowered the clipboard.

    ¡°She¡¯s here, sir! Healer Breeva just approved and administered one of the regeneration draughts for her. She¡¯s in the first room on the left.¡± She might have kept speaking, but Victor didn¡¯t hear her; his blood had rushed to his ears, throbbing and pounding as he hurried to the door and yanked it open. He didn¡¯t know what he¡¯d expected, but it wasn¡¯t a room filled with six beds, most upied by sleeping soldiers. He barely got hold of the door, halting it before it mmed into the wall. When he, more calmly, peered through the doorway, scrutinizing the beds, his eyes finally found her on the third bed to the left. She was lying on her back, eyes closed, tightly swathed in nkets. Thick bandages covered her forehead and right eye, but the unbandaged side of her face was visible, and Victor recognized her immediately.

    When he felt Va next to him, also peering through the door, he asked softly, so as not to wake the sleeping soldiers, ¡°Regeneration draught?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve won quite a few from the System chests. I just looked at her patient notes¡ªChandri lost an eye, and her right arm was badly smashed. She was on the wall when Hector¡¯s dragon skeleton tore it apart.¡± She wound her cool fingers around his wrist and added, ¡°We should let her rest. The regeneration magic is powerful but works slowly.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I sit with her?¡± Victor kept his voice hushed. He knew he should be worried about Chandri, upset that she¡¯d been hurt so badly, but the fact that she was alive overwhelmed those feelings, filling him with relief that was so tangible he could taste it.

    ¡°Give it a little time; there¡¯s still much for you to do today, yes? We can sit with her after we have some answers and ns regarding . . .¡±

    ¡°Edeya. The stone. Right.¡± Victor slowly closed the door. Then he led Va out to the courtyard and into the central hall where straggling soldiers were still lined up, waiting for their turn with the System stone. Victor stood at the entrance, taking in the scene, amazed by how much the hall had changed since he and Va had left. The garrison soldiers had been hard at work, it seemed.

    Long tables lined both sides of the hall, three on each side, leaving a long central aisle strewn with colorful but mismatched rugs, likely taken from personal storage rings or those looted from the dead wampyrs. Warm light shone down from two Energy chandeliers hanging on the high rafters, and the smell of cooked food wafted from the tes and bowls in front of the many soldiers who¡¯d gathered to eat. The mood was festive, and Victor could see why¡ªthese people were celebrating being alive, celebrating victory and a bright future despite their loss ofrades. More than that, every couple of minutes, another soldier received a magical chest delivered in clouds of green, blue, or even golden, steamy Energy.

    ¡°There¡¯s Kethelket,¡± Va pointed to the Naghelli leader sitting on a bench near the far end of the hall, watching the soldiers interacting with the System stone. Lesh was beside him, though he sat on the hard floor, his legs folded before him, studying a text of some sort. Victor walked toward them, nodding to the soldiers who grew quiet and stared as he and Va passed. Her wings were folded tightly against her back, and Victor draped an arm over her shoulders, too happy to be near her to care what others thought about propriety.

    ¡°I can see from theck of gloom that your friend lives.¡± Kethelket held up a mug of something steamy and asked, ¡°Would you like some cider? It¡¯s not something I pulled from my ring; the soldiers found an apple orchard in the hills to the east.¡±

    ¡°Ah! I knew it smelled good in here, but I hadn¡¯t ced the scent.¡± Victor¡¯s mouth had begun to salivate at the idea. ¡°I¡¯ll go to the kitchen in a while. Maybe after I clean up.¡±

    ¡°Will you im your prize, Victor?¡± Lesh asked, looking up from his thick book.

    ¡°I¡¯ll wait for the soldiers to finish. Looks like only a dozen or so still in line.¡± Victor studied the dragonkin momentarily, then asked, ¡°How¡¯d you get here, Lesh? A portal?¡±

    ¡°I used the System stone in our capital.¡±

    ¡°I know there are ways to open portals to worlds without using the System stones, but it¡¯s not easy, is it? We had a powerful friend help us travel here from Zaafor.¡±

    ¡°No, not easy at all. None in my n have the knowledge.¡±

    Va sat beside Kethelket and interjected, ¡°Didn¡¯t your cousin say she knew how to open portals? Or was that her powerful friend?¡±

    ¡°I . . . don¡¯t remember. We talked about a lot in a short time. Even if she can make portals, do you think she can open one to anywhere?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s all this about?¡± Kethelket asked. ¡°Portal to where?¡±

    Va turned to him and bluntly summarized, ¡°Catalina has Edeya¡¯s spirit, or most of it. We¡¯re trying to figure out how we can get to her.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the girl with the pretty blue wings?¡± Lesh asked, closing his book and, perhaps unintentionally, growling deep in his chest.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor sighed and scratched his head, running his fingers through his hair. For a moment, he wondered why it was so stiff and clumpy before he realized his sweat had soaked up the ash in the air.

    Kethelket took a sip of his cider. ¡°Can you not summon her spirit? Rip it from that Death Caster¡¯s clutches?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. If so, it¡¯s beyond what I know how to do.¡±

    ¡°Why not go to a hub world?¡± Lesh asked, his frown deepening.

    Va saved Victor from embarrassment by asking, ¡°Hub world?¡±

    Lesh looked at her with narrow eyes, then he turned to Kethelket and Victor, and when he saw no understanding in either of their faces, he said, ¡°You¡¯ve not traveled to a hub world?¡±

    Kethelket shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve been locked in a dimensional dungeon for thest few hundred years.¡±

    Victor shook his head, and Va said, ¡°The rulers of this world have restricted ess to the System stone in the capital. We can reach certain worlds from the other city stones, but I¡¯ve never heard of a hub world.¡±

    The draconic man took a deep breath and began a lengthy exnation in his rumbling, rather pleasant baritone, ¡°Aha. Well, if the System gives you a colony or settlement stone, you¡¯ll probably have limited world travel options at first, but I¡¯m sure one of the options will be a hub world. A hub world is like a crossroads, a world where the people have worked hard to meet the System¡¯s requirements to open more and more world connections. They do it in the hopes that their singr focus will facilitate trade and the flow of travelers and wealth, offsetting their neglect of other System options.¡±

    ¡°What other options?¡± Kethelket had grown very still, clearly intrigued by Lesh¡¯s words.

    ¡°Hmm, let me see.¡± As he paused, Victor saw, for the first time, a tendril of greenish-gray vapor drift up out of Lesh¡¯s snout. ¡°On my home world, the rulers have concentrated their efforts on opening more and more dungeons to challenge us. The central goal of my people is always to improve individual strength and advancement. Every dragonkin lives with the ultimate desire to achieve evolution into a true dragon and, failing that, to have a clutch of strong children starting further along on the path than they were.¡±

    ¡°So, a hub world concentrates on world connections rather than dungeons?¡± Va rified, nodding her head.

    ¡°Yes, though there are myriad other ways to spend Energy at a colony stone.¡±

    ¡°No wonder those bastards have held onto power so long,¡± Victor growled, and he knew Kethelket and Va would understand who he meant¡ªthe Ridonne.

    ¡°Uh, yes, well,¡± Lesh held up his thick book, ¡°you can find knowledge about nearly any topic in a hub world.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor nodded, rubbing his chin. He turned back to the stone and saw that only three more soldiers were in the queue to interact. ¡°It¡¯s time I find out what the System decided I deserve as my award.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 62: Victorious

    Book 6: Chapter 62: Victorious

    Victor waited until all of the soldiers who¡¯d been lined up at the stone had collected their prizes and moved away. He¡¯d hoped to be able to interact with the rtively small, slowly spinning System artifact without making too much of a scene, but his hopes were in vain. As soon as he strode forward, the hall grew quiet. People stopped eating, and their conversations lowered to hushed whispers. As he lifted his palm toward the stone, it stopped moving, but he hesitated, looking toward Va. He wasn¡¯t sure why; he needed to do this, had to find out if he¡¯d be awarded the colony stone, but for some reason, he was nervous.

    Va sat on the bench near Kethelket, both looking small next to Lesh¡¯s hulking figure despite the dragonkin sitting on the floor. She looked him right in the eye and nodded, and something rxed in his chest. Part of him was annoyed by the reaction. He was Quinametzin; why should he care what anyone thought? Was it not his right to im his award for his contributions during the campaign? Victor growled, driving that voice down, and turned away from Va, focusing on the weirdly shifting golden and silver runes that seemed to be buried just under the stone¡¯s surface. ¡°Okay, System. You want me dead, huh? Well, tough shit, ¡®cause it ain¡¯t happening today. What you got for me?¡±

    When hisrge, wide palm rested on the cool surface of the stone, the runes all red for a fraction of a second, and then System messages flooded his field of view.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You are victorious! Your exceptional bravery and skill have earned you the apex position in the campaign against the invaders from Dark Ember. Your pivotal role in vanquishing the enemy forces, defeating theirmanders, and sealing the invasion portal stands unparalleled. For your heroic deeds, you will be awarded a legendary conquest chest, guaranteed to contain a colony stone, allowing you to establish a third System-recognized capital on the world of Fanwath. Do you wish to im your prize at this time?***</strong>

    ¡°Third?¡± Victor narrowed his eyes in confusion. Was there another capital on Fanwath? He¡¯d thought Tharcray was the only one. Perhaps his confusion showed on his face because the whispers of anticipation became spective murmurs, and Victor thought he saw movement to his left where Va sat. Was sheing over? He shook the feeling off; it didn¡¯t matter if there was another capital somewhere. What mattered was that he needed this stone to set up the capital he and everyone else had fought for. There wasn¡¯t a menu or anything that he could interact with, so he just said, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Nothing happened for a few seconds, and Victor began to reread the System message, wondering if he¡¯d missed something. He¡¯d just gotten to the part about his ¡°heroic deeds¡± when, with little sizzling crackles, sparks began to pop into existence above the faded blue carpet at his feet. He stepped back and watched as more and more sparks sprang into existence, shing and crackling. With each spark, a brilliant, shimmering golden cloud of smoke or mist or steam began to take shape. Before he knew it, the cloud had grownrge enough to engulf him up to the waist. Excited chatter broke out in the hall as people leaped up from their seats and crowded closer.

    Victor stood still, waving his hands through the cloud, unable to feel or smell it; he decided it was simply a visual artifact of whatever summoning magic the System used to conjure up his award. He¡¯d wondered before, but the thought reurred to him that he had no idea if the awards the System granted were crafted on the spot from the System¡¯s tremendous stores of Energy or if it had awards in some magical dimension, a repository of sorts, and simply sent them forth with a kind of dimensional magic. He added the question to the list of things he didn¡¯t know and probably never would.

    The sizzling, crackling shes were new to him. He¡¯d seen the System deliver items in colorful gasses, but never with all those sparks. They sort of reminded him of his glory-attuned Energy, and he began to get excited; was the System tailoring a prize for his particr affinity? It took longer than usual for the golden steam or smoke to fade away, but when it did, the crowd erupted in excited chatter and a smattering of apuse¡ªarge, golden, metallic chest sat at Victor¡¯s feet. ¡°If size is any measure, you¡¯ve won quite a prize,¡± Kethelket said. Victor turned to the man, surprised by his nearness, only to find Lesh, Va, and a dozen others had crowded close.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor felt he should say more, but he didn¡¯t have the words, and he still didn¡¯t feel like himself. He still had that nagging worry about Edeya hanging over him and the lingering guilt that hundreds had died because of his foolishness. With that thought, he clenched his jaw and tried to shake off the gloom¡ªwhat good was he doing anyone by moping with self-doubt? Rather than saying more or worrying about what everyone around him was thinking, he lifted the metallic sp on the chest and flung the heavy lid wide, sending it to crash against the back of the chest, straining the ornate hinges.

    A cloud of golden steam rushed into the air, and Victor waved it away, peering inside the big, red-velvet-lined container. He leaned forward to look within, and behind him, he heard Va sternly caution the crowding soldiers, ¡°Stand back. Your legate will share with you what he wills.¡± Victor heard more chatter, questions, exmations, and further warnings, but he tuned them out as his eyes fell on the objects within. He reached down and picked up the first reward, a folded pile of what seemed to be supple, silky-smooth, ck leather. A card embossed with golden, curly, borate lettering told him what it was.

    He decided he¡¯d put on a show for the soldiers; they¡¯d been through hell, and he owed them at least that much. He turned and held the supple leather aloft and read the card, ¡°Master-artisan-grade hide of ava king.¡±

    All sorts ofments, questions, and exmations resulted from his pronouncement, such as, ¡°What¡¯s ava king?¡± ¡°Master artisan grade? Is that the highest?¡± ¡°It must be magical!¡± ¡°Is it because of the volcano?¡±

    Victorughed, sent the hide into his ring, and turned back to the chest. He purposefully ignored the object at the center and reached in to lift out a shimmering red-orange gem. As soon as he touched it, he felt the deep wells of Energy within it, and his magma Core red and roiled. He held it aloft, turning so all could see it clearly, and read the card, ¡°A legendary-tier magma-attunement gem. Use to enchant a suitably powerful artifact.¡±

    ¡°What will you enchant, Legate?¡±

    ¡°Amazing!¡±

    ¡°Ancestors!¡±

    ¡°It has to be the volcano!¡± The same soldier piped up about the volcano again, and Victor couldn¡¯t help the smile that tugged his cheeks toward his ears. The hype was getting to him. He sent the gem into his ring and reached into the chest again. He tried to grab a shimmering ball of golden Energy, but it wouldn¡¯t move, and as soon as he touched it, he felt the power within trying to flow into his pathway. He pushed his will against it and quickly pulled his hand away. It seemed the System would award him with an infusion of Energy, but he didn¡¯t want to do that yet. There was something else to examine first. He moved his hand to the right and lifted the next item and its card.

    It was a ck pouch the size of his fist, and when he read the card, the soldiers erupted in a mor of disbelief and rowdy excitement, ¡°One million magma-attuned Energy beads.¡± Victorughed, watched, and listened as the soldiers cheered, joked, and spected about the amount,paring it to their much smaller prizes. None seemed bitter, and the smiling faces told him they were happy. Their good humor and excitement made it seem like they were winning the prizes alongside him, and Victor was d he hadn¡¯t taken his awards in private.

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    ¡°Two more!¡± Victor shouted, his deep, powerful voice booming over the noise. The soldiers grew quiet with anticipation, and he reached into the chest and touched the ball of golden Energy, this time allowing it to flow into his pathways. Victor had won Energy in System chests before and earned plenty of infusions after battles. This one wasrge, but nothing like he¡¯d gotten after ying the reaver army. It flowed into his Core, swelling each of his attunements to bursting before flooding into his body, lifting him off the ground. A golden, shimmering halo exploded around him, eclipsing the glowmps in the hall.

    The soldiers eximed, some of them shielding their eyes and stumbling back. Victor spread his arms and arched his back, enjoying the infusion, and, not for the first time, he noted the euphoria that came with it. Perhaps it was because of his underlying guilt, his worry about Edeya, but this time, he really noticed how his outlook changed¡ªhow, when the euphoria passed, he felt better, less troubled than before. It struck him how he always seemed to bounce back after traumatic, horrific ordeals, and he wondered how much of that was due to the Energy healing his mind as much as it did his weary body. Whatever the cause, Victor felt better, and it was with a wide grin that he read the new System messages floating before his eyes.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 60 Battlemaster, gained 10 strength, 9 vitality, 4 agility, 4 dexterity, 3 will, and 3 intelligence.***</strong>

    <strong>***Level 60 ss refinement is avable. ss refinement is permanent. Quinametzin Energy cultivators will next be offered a ss refinement selection at level 70. To view your options and make your selection, ess the menu through your status page.***</strong>

    Victor lifted his hands in the air, turned in a slow circle, and roared, ¡°Level Sixty!¡± The crowd¡¯s reaction was thunderous, and Victorughed when he heard them cheering, stomping, and howling. They pped each other¡¯s backs, summoned drinks from dimensional containers, downed them, and shook each other, faces flushed with excitement. Looking over their heads, Victor saw the crowd had grown, that most of the ninth cohort¡¯s survivors were now gathered in the great hall, and he nodded at them, proud and pleased that he could give them something more to celebrate. After a while, he shouted, ¡°One more!¡±

    When the noise died down, he reached into the chest and lifted the impossibly heavy, pint-ss-sized, oblong stone. It had six facets, each etched with the now-familiar gold and silver runes of the System. He held it aloft and shouted, ¡°Our colony stone!¡± It probably weighed a hundred pounds, which was a lot for such a small item, but, really, nothing to Victor. He held it up for a long time as the crowd went wild again, and the chest disappeared in a cloud of golden steam.

    After a while, Va pushed closer to him and wrapped one arm around his waist, pressing herself against him. When he looked down at her, she smiled, and nothing but happiness could find a grip on his heart at that moment. Even when he looked around the hall, over the heads of the cheering soldiers, and saw arge group of Naghelli sitting at one of the now-empty tables with Kethelket, he didn¡¯t let dour guilt invade his mind. They weren¡¯t celebrating as raucously as the soldiers, but they wore friendly expressions, and he could see drinks in their hands. They¡¯d lost many and suffered, but their long exile was over. They had a home. Plenty of people would think that was worth dying for¡ªVictor certainly did.

    A long timeter, after much drinking, feasting, and story-telling, Victor and Va left the celebration and moved Chandri to one of the empty rooms in his home, furnishing it for her with items taken from plundered storage containers. She was still out of it, her body working hard to regenerate her damaged and missing tissue. The process required Energy, and her Core had to slowly recuperate it, constantly being drained to feed the elixir she¡¯d been given. While they were making Chandrifortable, Lam spent time with Edeya, sending messages back and forth to Rellia; they were trying to figure out where Victor should nt the colony stone.

    ¡°How urgent do you think it is?¡± Va asked. They¡¯d put afortable, blue-upholstered couch next to Edeya¡¯s bed and sat on it together, watching her sleep.

    ¡°It?¡± Victor looked at Chandri and frowned. ¡°Her healing?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. I was talking about Edeya.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I know I¡¯m not an expert, but, well, forget that; I think I know more about Death Casters than a lot of people. I¡¯ve certainly dealt with some real bastards in that regard.¡± Victor chuckled at himself and scratched his head. ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is that it seems to me that Death Casters don¡¯t do things quickly. They have big ns that take years, decades, and centuries to put together. I think if Catalina were going to try to destroy Edeya¡¯s spirit, we¡¯d have seen it by now. The attack she used on her, the way she snatched her spirit out of her, wasn¡¯t something she could do to me. Maybe not to you, either; she took Edeya because she¡¯s much weaker. I mean, inparison to Catalina.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not exactly good, though . . .¡±

    ¡°Well, it kind of is. What can she do with a single spirit that¡¯s so many Energy tiers beneath her? Not much. She probably has rituals she performs, a way of gaining power from her victims, but I bet she gathers a lot of them. I bet she locks them away in a phctery, something like the skull Belikot was inhabiting with his spirit shard. So, she has a big part of Edeya¡¯s spirit, but we have part of it too. I don¡¯t think she can do a lot with that. I think we¡¯ll have time to figure out a way to help her. I have to think that, Va, or I¡¯m going to go crazy with worry and do something rash.¡±

    ¡°Something rash? I like it when you talk that way.¡± Va snuggled closer into his side, and Victor couldn¡¯t tell if she was being serious or teasing him. He decided he didn¡¯t care. He¡¯d already decided he wanted to enjoy good things while he could, and, despite his mistakes, as long as he wasn¡¯t actually trying to harm the people he cared about, he wasn¡¯t going to wallow in grief and guilt.

    ¡°What do you think about Lesh?¡± She sounded almost sleepy, and he wondered why she was bringing the dragonkin up if she was so tired.

    ¡°What? I guess I think he¡¯s pretty cool. I mean, he helped a lot during the battle. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m cool about him wanting to follow me or whatever, though. He¡¯s pretty . . . intense.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s very strong. He reminded me of you when he faced off against Hector and his dragon skeleton. That weapon of his is conscious, I¡¯m sure. He calls it Bgog. I asked him about it, and he offered to let me hold it, so I tried, and it fell to the ground, pulling me with it. I couldn¡¯t budge it! Oh, heughed raucously!¡±

    ¡°You think he was testing me when he held it out? You think I should have tried to take it?¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s an interesting question! I hadn¡¯t thought of that. It puts his supposed fealty in a new light.¡±

    ¡°Well, the System chose him toe after me for a reason. I figure we¡¯re both kind of . . .¡± Victor frowned, trying to pick the right word without sounding like an ass. Finally, he sighed and just said what he¡¯d been thinking. ¡°I guess the System views us as overpowered for our level. Well, I think¡ªwhat level is he?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Use your little scope thing on him!¡±

    ¡°My scope thing? Am I getting more articte while you be less so?¡±

    Her eyes narrowed mischievously. ¡°Hush, <em>pendejo</em>.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Victor¡¯s outburst broke the spell of their whispered conversation, and Chandri groaned and turned to her side. Her unbandaged magenta eye opened a bare slit, and she stared at Victor and Va for several seconds before recognition illuminated it, and she croaked out a question.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Va jumped up and gently smoothed Chandri¡¯s hair, whispering softly, ¡°Nothing, sorry we woke you. You were injured in the battle, but you¡¯ll be fine. You need to rest.¡±

    ¡°Mm,¡± Chandri murmured something else, but Victor couldn¡¯t make sense of it. Then she fell back asleep.

    When Va sat back down, he pulled her close, squeezing her into his side, and whispered, ¡°So, are we going to talk about our ss refinements?¡±

    ¡°I already made my selection. I¡¯m sorry, but I did it while you were missing, hoping it would somehow make it easier to find you.¡±

    Victor¡¯s eyes opened wide, and he stared at her for a long minute. How could she be so cool about something like that? She¡¯d been fifth tier for longer than he¡¯d known her. She had to have been bursting with excitement about the refinement. ¡°Well?¡±

    ¡°Well, I chose something I thought Tes would approve of.¡± She grinned, leaning back, closing her eyes, and generally taking her sweet time. Victor reached toward her neck, pretending to choke her, lifting his upper lip in a snarl.

    ¡°If you make me choke it out of you . . .¡±

    She pped a hand over his mouth. ¡°Hush! Okay, okay. My new ss is Storm Dancer, which, based on the description, will help me gain more offensive magic and skills to use while in flight. It¡¯s an epic ss, and the prerequisites were interesting. I had to have the ¡®power of flight,¡¯ affinity with air-attuned Energy, and a previous ¡®dancer¡¯ ss.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s awesome, Va! You were a Sword Dancer before, yeah?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± She smiled, clearly pleased with herself. Victor pulled her tight again, and they snuggled side by side for a few minutes before she said, ¡°Well? What about you?¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 63: The Free Marches

    Book 6: Chapter 63: The Free Marches

    ¡°You mean my refinement?¡± Victor whispered, leaning close and resting his cheek against Va¡¯s head as she leaned into him. ¡°I haven¡¯t looked yet. I¡¯m nervous about it, and, well, we¡¯ve been busy.¡±

    ¡°Nervous?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the whole reason I took this Battlemaster ss instead of a legendary option was because it¡¯s supposed to open up better sses or something. What if it didn¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry. Even if you were stuck with keeping Battlemaster, it¡¯s not as if it¡¯s weak. My new ss isn¡¯t legendary. Should I be ashamed?¡±

    Victor could tell from her tone that she wasn¡¯t upset; she was teasing. Nevertheless, he felt bad for his choice of words. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean that. I just . . .¡±

    ¡°Hush; I know what you meant.¡± She pulled away from him and gestured to Chandri. ¡°She¡¯ll probably sleep through the night. Why don¡¯t we go somece we can talk.¡± Victor let her pull him up from the couch and followed her into the hallway, then down to their bedroom. They had a table and chairs in the corner to the left of the door, but he walked past and sat on the thick red rug beside the bed. Va sat down in front of him and waited expectantly.

    ¡°All right. Let me pull up the options.¡± He activated his status page, gave his attributes a quick once-over, and then mentally selected the blinking ¡°ss Refinement¡± tab. The first option filled his view:

    <strong>***ss refinement option 1: Quinametzin Foe yer - Legendary. Prerequisites: 1. Sufficiently advanced Quinametzin bloodline. 2. Epic-level Berserk or Berserk-like ability. 3. Epic-level strength or vitality. You have unlocked the secrets of one of your primogenitors¡¯ sses. epting this new ss will grant you abilities based upon those buried deep in the history of your blood. ss attributes: Strength, Vitality.***</strong>

    ¡°Do you remember the Quinametzin Foe yer I was offeredst time?¡±

    ¡°The name is familiar . . .¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my first choice this time. Um, it¡¯s legendary, and basically, all it says is, ¡®epting this new ss will grant you abilities based upon those buried deep in the history of your blood.¡¯ The ss attributes are strength and vitality.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound bad. I imagine if it¡¯s only granting you increases to two attributes, they¡¯ll be significant.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I bet.¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°Let¡¯s see what option two is.¡± He mentally selected ¡°Next,¡± and his eyes widened as he read the description.

    <strong>***ss refinement option 2: Warlord - Legendary. Prerequisites: 1. Prior ss levels in Battlemaster, Martial Sage, or Combat Savant. 2. Sufficiently advanced bloodline. 3. Sufficiently advanced weapon skills. 4. Sufficiently advanced attributes. 5. A sufficiently advanced Core with appropriate affinities. 6. A history of leading followers intorge-scale conflicts and achieving victory. ss attributes: Vitality, Intelligence.***</strong>

    ¡°Well, shit. I guess Khul Bach knew what he was talking about.¡±

    ¡°Warlord?¡± Va¡¯s voice was hushed as she leaned toward him, clenching her fists excitedly.

    ¡°Yep! It lists Battlemaster as a prerequisite, but also some other sses I haven¡¯t heard of, Martial Sage and Combat Savant.¡±

    ¡°Really? It makes you wonder if other worlds have more knowledge of sses and their refinements.¡±

    ¡°Wonder? Nah, I¡¯m certain they do. I bet, for example, whatever world Tes was operating out of, the one with the guild she was a member of, has entire libraries dedicated to the subject.¡±

    ¡°You think so? Do you think the ¡®hub worlds¡¯ Lesh mentioned will have something like that?¡±

    ¡°I mean, they must. Don¡¯t you think? Imagine how much money people could make offering ess to their secret ss tomes. On the other hand, I guess there are probably sects that don¡¯t let anyone know their secrets.¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°Something we can try to find out, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Do you have other options?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡± Victor could see that another option awaited because of the still-blinking ¡°Next¡± floating on his System interface, but he didn¡¯t know if it was simply the old ¡°keep your current ss¡± option. He selected it:

    <strong>***ss refinement option 3: Herald of the Mountain¡¯s Wrath ¨C Legendary. Prerequisites: 1. Titan, giantkin, leviathan, behemoth, or colossus bloodline. 2. Rage or rage-derived affinity. 3. Magma, or magma-derived affinity. 4. Berserk or berserk-like ability. 5. Marked by the mountain¡¯s fury. You have discovered the depthless anger of a mountain¡¯s heart, and the furious spirit of that mountain has marked you as kindred. epting this new ss will further mark you as a herald of the angry, sleeping gods of the earth, reminding the waking world of the smoldering anger that rests in their hearts. ss attributes: Strength, Vitality, Will.***</strong>

    ¡°Holy . . .¡± Victor struggled for words, so many questions springing into his mind that he couldn¡¯t get his tongue to form them one at a time. As Va stared at him, he finally blurted out, ¡°Have you ever heard the System describe anything as a god or gods?¡±

    ¡°The System? Never.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s being, like, figurative or literal, but it seems to be calling volcanos sleeping gods.¡±

    Va¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Back up, Victor. What¡¯s the ss?¡±

    ¡°Herald of the Mountain¡¯s Wrath. It¡¯s also legendary, and it has some pretty wild prerequisites. I think the fifth one is the hardest¡ªa person has to have been ¡®marked as kindred¡¯ by the ¡®furious spirit¡¯ of a mountain. Also, it requires specific bloodlines, rage, and magma affinities. Like, I can¡¯t imagine thosebinations aremon.¡±

    ¡°Does it interest you more than the Warlord ss?¡±

    Victor thought about her question. He¡¯d taken the Battlemaster ss specifically to try to get the Warlord ss offered to him. Now, he had it before him and found himself less than enthused. Something in him was vibrating with excitement about the herald ss, though, and he didn¡¯t have to try very hard to see the root of his enthusiasm. He knew it was his Quinametzin nature. He knew it was his memory of the volcano¡¯s power, the heat of its fury in the air. The volcano had saved him. More than that, it had saved the people he most cared about.

    Victor had truly felt the hand of something unimaginably powerful. He¡¯d bathed in its Energy, incorporated it into himself, and turned it against his enemies. He¡¯d met a Warlord, one who¡¯de to dominate his world with that ss, but what was he next to a volcano? Sure, Warlord Thoargh was strong; he¡¯d intimidated Victor and chased him out of his world, but would he be able to stand in a volcano¡¯s fury unscathed? Victor didn¡¯t think so. This ss, this Herald of the Mountain¡¯s Wrath, seemed to be offering him the chance to take what he¡¯d experienced inside the volcano and carry it out into the world. ¡°Worlds,¡± he corrected himself.

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°Will you be angry if I don¡¯t take the Warlord ss?¡±

    ¡°What? Why would I be angry? It¡¯s Khul Bach you might have a problem with.¡±

    ¡°Tough. I¡¯m Quinametzin, not Degh, and everything in my blood is screaming for me to take this ss.¡± It was true. He felt it in his bones, in his blood, and in his spirit, a deep reverberating sureness. He¡¯d speak to Khul Bach about it eventually, but he didn¡¯t need the old giant¡¯s advice right then. If Khul Bach had never heard of the ss, he might argue, might try to change his mind, and Victor didn¡¯t want to deal with that. Khul Bach didn¡¯t know what he¡¯d felt when he¡¯d stood in that caldera, steeped in the Energy of the Volcano. There was something there, a connection that couldn¡¯t be described with words.

    ¡°The, um, mountain herald one?¡± Va was smiling, looking at him in a way that he¡¯de to recognize as loving acquiescence; she knew he¡¯d made up his mind. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you at least see if there are more choices?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, good call.¡± Victor advanced the selection screen and was strangely relieved when he read:

    <strong>***ss refinement option 4: No Refinement - You are pleased with the path on which you find yourself and choose to continue until your next refinement option.***</strong>

    ¡°No other options.¡±

    ¡°So, you¡¯re sure?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, more sure than I¡¯ve felt about anything for a long time.¡±

    ¡°Well, the Warlord ss will probably be avable at seventy if you change your mind.¡± Vaughed and shook her head. ¡°Imagine! I never thought I¡¯d be talking so blithely about reaching level seventy!¡±

    Victor struggled to find any trace of his earlier gloom as he leaned forward to kiss her. She gently returned the affection, reaching up to lightly scratch the short, stiff hair on the sides of his head with her nails. Victor felt like melting into her embrace, but he chuckled, pulling himself away. ¡°All right, I¡¯m doing it.¡± Before any doubt could find its way into his heart, Victor scrolled back to the third refinement option and selected it. Warmth rushed through his body as System messages scrolled before his eyes.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have refined your ss: Herald of the Mountain¡¯s Wrath.***</strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! World-first Herald of the Mountain¡¯s Wrath! Feat Awarded: Mountain¡¯s Resilience.***</strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have earned a ss spell: Wake the Earth ¨C Basic.***</strong>

    <strong>***Mountain¡¯s Resilience: The strength of the mountain infuses your very bones. Like the mighty rocky slopes of a slumbering god, you are resilient against the elemental Energies. You will take 80% less damage from earth, 80% less damage from fire, 50% less damage from air, and 25% less damage from water. These resistances will stack with other sources of protection.***</strong>

    <strong>***Wake the Earth ¨C Basic: Remind the earth under your feet of the fury that lies dormant in its depths. When you cast this spell, you will cause a violent upheaval by transferring some of your Energy into the ground beneath your feet. The size and magnitude of the upheaval will depend on the Energy you unleash. Energy Cost: Minimum 2500, scble. Cooldown: Medium.***</strong>

    ¡°Uh, this is awesome.¡± Victor swiped thest message away and, as he refocused on his surroundings, saw that Va had moved away from him, standing by the door. It was only then that he realized the air was full of smoke.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to burn up the furniture!¡± Va cried. Victor looked down and saw the carpet turning to ash in a circle around him and his body outlined in smoldering mes.

    ¡°Oh shit!¡± Victor turned his gaze inward, saw that his pathways were absolutely flooded with magma-attuned Energy, andboriously forced it back into his lungs and then into his breath Core. As he did so, the mes flickered and winked out, and the heat radiating from his flesh faded to a much more tolerable level. He looked at Va sheepishly, ¡°Sorry about that.¡±

    She arched an eyebrow and stepped closer to him. ¡°Are you pleased with your choice?¡±

    ¡°Yes! I got a title and feat for being the ¡®world-first¡¯ in my new ss. That¡¯s never happened before!¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± she nodded, tapping a nail thoughtfully on her chin, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of that. Obviously, it happens less frequently nowadays, but when Fanwath was new, many such titles were handed out.¡±

    She walked in a circle around him, stomping on the still-smoldering carpet. ¡°Well? Tell me about what you gained.¡±

    Victor joined her, stomping on the ruined carpet with his muchrger feet. ¡°All right, I¡¯ll give you the details, but then I want to hear more about your new ss.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make that bargain, but let¡¯s go sit upstairs while this room airs out.¡±

    ¡°Will it?¡± The bottom level of Victor¡¯s home was devoid of windows; his one bigint about it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get a wind gust circting, just a moment.¡± While Va concentrated, a soft, gentle breeze flowing from her outstretched hand, Victor pulled up his status sheet and perused the details. He wanted to get the numbers right when he and Vapared their gains:

    <strong>Status</strong>

    <strong>Name:</strong>

    <strong>Victor Sandoval</strong>

    <strong>Race:</strong>

    <strong>Quinametzin Bloodline - Epic 1</strong>

    <strong>ss:</strong>

    <strong>Herald of the Mountain''s Wrath - Legendary</strong>

    <strong>Level:</strong>

    <strong>60</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core:</strong>

    <strong>Elder ss - Improved 3</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Spirit ss - Advanced 8</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Magma - 9</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Energy:</strong>

    <strong>2200/2200</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Glory 8.6, Inspiration 7.4, Unattuned 3.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>23243/23243</strong>

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>370</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>475 (523)</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.

    <strong>190</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>213</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>172</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>553</strong>

    <strong>Points Avable:</strong>

    <strong>0</strong>

    <strong>Titles & Feats:</strong>

    <strong>Titanic Rage, Ancestral Bond, me-Touched, Greater Titanic Constitution, Titanic Presence, Desperate Grace, Challenger, Elder Magic, Born of Terror, Battlefield Awareness, Battlefield Presence, Aura of Command, Epic Quinametzin, Mountain''s Resilience</strong>

    <strong>Skills:</strong>

    <strong>System Language Integration</strong>

    <strong>Not Upgradeable</strong>

    <strong>Spirit Core Cultivation Drill</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Cultivation Drill</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Cooking</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Animal Taming</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Unarmed Combat</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Knife Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Spear Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Bludgeon Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Axe Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Epic</strong>

    <strong>Grappling</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Sovereign Will</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Titanic Leap</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Spells:</strong>

    <strong>Iron Berserk</strong>

    <strong>Epic</strong>

    <strong>Inspiration of the Quinametzin</strong>

    <strong>Epic</strong>

    <strong>Channel Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Enraging Orb</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Globe of Insight</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Project Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Dauntless Radiance</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Heroic Heart</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Spirit Walk</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Tether Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Harsh Light of Justice</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>The Inevitable Huntsman</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Aspect of Terror</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Imbue Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Honor the Spirits</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Titanic Aspect</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Alter Self</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Energy Charge</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Banner of the Champion</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Wild Totem</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Impart Nightmare</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Guard Ally</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Volcanic Fury</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Wake the Earth</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>#</strong>

    The next day, Victor found himself arguing with Rellia; she¡¯d ridden ahead of her portion of the legion, pushing her vidanii to its limits to get to the Sea Keep in time to personally help Victor and Lam decide what to do with the colony stone. They sat at his dining table with Va, Kethelket, and Edeya, though thetter simply stared nkly, sipping from a cup of lukewarm tea Lam had given her. Victor had watched Lam touch a thin, matching silver rod to Edeya¡¯s crown and tell her to drink. It was creepy, and he hated seeing Edeya that way, which was the root of his argument with Rellia. ¡°I don¡¯t want to waste another week gathering everyone to nt the stone. We need to get Edeya help, like, starting today.¡±

    Rellia looked at Edeya, and though her eyes betrayed her sympathy, she frowned. ¡°I understand, but consider the fact that she¡¯s already been stable like this for more than ten days. Consider also that we¡¯ll need time to build up the System stone once it¡¯s nted. It won¡¯t have the options for world travel right away. We¡¯ll need the legion members to im their citizenship. We¡¯ll need to set up portal stones to Gelica and Persi Gables to bring our families over, and then they¡¯ll need to im citizenship. The options for growth are dependent on citizens. Once we¡¯ve done that, we¡¯ll need to sink millions of Energy beads into the stone to open up construction and development avenues in the System menu and . . .¡±

    ¡°I get it! Shit!¡± Victor growled, staring at Edeya, scratching his stubble angrily. ¡°How much time are we talking?¡±

    ¡°Weeks, perhaps. I hope not months. We can¡¯t jump straight to world travel; we have to go through certain growth phases. The System does things in a methodical way, and, no, I¡¯m not sure why. I¡¯m going off books written by some of the people who were around when Fanwath was formed. They weren¡¯t easy toe by, you know; the Ridonne have done much to destroy the history of those times. Nevertheless, I think it¡¯s your best option of quickly finding reliable passage off-world unless you want to go to Persi Gables or Gelica and travel to one of the backwater worlds the Ridonne have opened up in those cities.¡±

    ¡°What about Tharcray?¡±

    Rellia chuckled. ¡°By all means. Go and ask the Ridonne to allow you to use their colony stone. Never mind the months-long journey to get there.¡±

    Lam interrupted the spection with some of her own, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say Catalina probably won¡¯t do anything with Edeya¡¯s spirit right away, that she might have ns that spanned decades or centuries?¡±

    ¡°Lam, I don¡¯t know, though! I was just guessing, thinking aloud, trying to make people feel better. Regardless, we should hurry. I thought you¡¯d be the first to agree with me on that point.¡±

    Lam¡¯s eyes narrowed, and Victor could see she was getting angry. She held Edeya¡¯s free hand, and her thumb outlined little circles on the young woman¡¯s palm. ¡°I agree with you. I do. It¡¯s just that she has a good point; thousands have sacrificed for this endeavor. Should we really nt the colony stone here, ahead of their arrival? Is this the best ce for it?¡±

    Kethelket cleared his throat. ¡°The central location, the one Hector held, is not an option.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I will rmend that you all do not build anything on that volcano.¡± Victor couldn¡¯t keep the amusement out of his voice.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a time for jokes,¡± Lam growled.

    ¡°I¡¯m not joking. Do you think I¡¯m the only one who might be able to wake that volcano?¡± He didn¡¯t wait for an answer. Gesturing to Kethelket, he added, ¡°He has a point. The central location is a no-go. We don¡¯t want the capital at the pass; what if Ridonne invades? We don¡¯t know what¡¯s south of thesends, so why build it south? We¡¯re on the western edge of the Marches, and there¡¯s a sea here. On the eastern edge, you¡¯ve got more mountains. I think this <em>is</em> the best spot! Wouldn¡¯t it be smart for the capital to have a port?¡±

    ¡°I agree.¡± Kethelket nodded. He and Victor had spoken at length that morning, and Victor had spent a good part of that conversation trying to apologize for the losses the Naghelli had suffered. Kethelket wouldn¡¯t hear it; he insisted that Victor was responsible for a swift victory with rtively minor losses, all told. No matter how Victor described his foolish mistake of venturing into the caldera alone and bing trapped, Kethelket continued to point out their crushing victories over much greater numbers. More than that, he insisted that they all shared in the me; they could have done more to hobble Victoria¡ªCatalina. All in all, there were still more than two hundred Naghelli, and they were eager to live among the Ghelli again, no longer outcasts.

    Rellia surprised him by nodding, clearing her throat, and pushing her chair back. Victor hadn¡¯t seen her in weeks, and though she looked much the same, she also looked different. It took him a while when she first arrived to realize what it was, but after he¡¯d figured it out, it was obvious¡ªshe¡¯d advanced her race at some point. She was taller than before, leaner with brighter eyes and more pronounced canines. He couldn¡¯t help noting how her ears curved upward through her thick, lustrous red hair. He wondered if she¡¯d unlocked the same bloodline as that cat-like Ardeni he¡¯d killed near Fainhallow after they¡¯d attacked his airship. She stood up and rested a hand on Lam¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I agree. We¡¯ll find a suitable site here, near the sea. Better to get the stone in the ground and start working on it.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor climbed to the top of the grassy hill. He could hear Lesh¡¯s steps close on his heels, but his long, powerful legs devoured the slope, leaving most of the others behind. When he reached the broad, t hilltop and stood at the center, he turned in a slow circle, taking in the view. To the south, small in the distance, he saw Sea Keep butting up to a range of rocky cliffs and hills. To the west, maybe a mile distant, the Silver Sea stretched to the horizon, glittering in the sun''s light. To the north, more rolling hills fell away, and distantly on the horizon, he saw the green-blue smear of grasnds. He knew that beyond those grasnds was the burnt-out forest of ck Keep. Turning to the east, he saw the ash-dark sky hanging over more hills and valleys and, just a purple smear in the gray sky, the slope of the mighty volcano.

    ¡°A good site,¡± Lesh rumbled. Victor turned to him and saw that many others had mounted the hill¡ªRellia, Va, Kethelket, Lam, dozens of soldiers, and most of the Naghelli. He watched them continue to climb up the slope,ing into view, and that¡¯s when he picked out Chandri. She was much recovered from her injuries. Her hair was short, cut that way to keep it out of her wounds before she¡¯d gotten the regeneration potion, but otherwise, she looked like her old self. She was evenughing at something the soldier beside her had said.

    ¡°I think so too. From here, the city will have space to grow out toward the sea and in every other direction. And this hilltop is the highest around¡ªa good ce to defend.¡± Victor watched as Va approached, and she smiled brightly, waving. She could have flown up ahead of everyone, but she kept Lampany, holding one of Edeya¡¯s hands while Lam held the other. As he stared at her, his eyes wandered to Lam, Rellia, and even Edeya; they all looked stunningly beautiful in the bright sunlight, their clothing clean and colorful, their eyes glittering like jewels as they shed smiles, talking excitedly. Victor hoped their good mood wasn¡¯t misced; he hoped he was right and they¡¯d still be able to help Edeya. It made him nervous that Lam was acting as though it was a sure thing. He figured that might be how she coped with the stress.

    He waited a few more minutes until almost everyone had assembled, forming a big, loose semi-circle around him at the center of the hilltop. Lesh stepped back and sat in the grass near Kethelket, and Victor raised his voice, ¡°Everyone! Give your attention to Legate ap¡¯Yensha!¡± He locked eyes with Rellia, and she smiled and nodded.

    ¡°Soldiers! Fellow citizens of these newnds! Our time hase to make our im! I rushed to get here, but many other worthyrades are also hurrying to join us, so let¡¯s keep them in our hearts on this momentous day! Today, we found our colony. Today, we im our freedom! Today, we begin building toward something great, leaving our mark on this world so that our children¡¯s children will remember us and be grateful for the freedom we fought for, for their lives unburdened by the yoke of Ridonne oppression!¡± She smiled and nodded as her words were drowned in cheers and apuse. The soldiers were happy for her praise, but everyone knew the situation. Everyone knew Edeya, standing there with a nk expression, desperately needed help and that the colony stone was the fastest way to get it for her.

    When it didn¡¯t seem like Rellia would say more, Victor hollered, ¡°Glorious Ninth! We¡¯re here because of your bravery!¡± Again, the soldiers went wild with cheers, and Victor saw Agnes and some of the other former thralls shaking their fists in the air, howling with excitement. They¡¯d fit in well with the cohort, and it looked like they¡¯d made many friends, judging by how close the others crowded around, exchanging ps on the shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t have much more to say other than I¡¯m proud of you all. We¡¯re going to build something amazing here.¡±

    Victor smiled and turned away as the crowd continued to apud. He looked questioningly at Rellia, then Lam and Va. When they all nodded, he hefted the heavy System-created colony stone and knelt in the grass, twisting it with the slightly broader end until it was stuck in the grass, standing upright. Nothing happened, and Victor chuckled; what had he expected? He had to activate it. ¡°Channel some Energy . . .¡± Lam called, but Victor lifted a hand and waved her off. He knew how to kick-start a magical item. He pulled a thread of inspiration-attuned Energy out of his Core and sent it out through his palm into the stone.

    <strong>***Colony Stone, activate at the present location?***</strong>

    Victor smiled and turned to nod at thergest part of the crowd behind him. ¡°Yes.¡±

    <strong>***Who is the leader of this settlement?***</strong>

    Rellia had prepared Victor for this. As soon as she¡¯d realized they were going to go through with the colony founding that day, she¡¯d walked Victor through a ten-page dissertation about the colony stones and what he should do to set it up properly. As he sat there, contemting the question from the System, Victor knew he could be selfish and im the colony for himself. He could even make himself a dictator like the Warlord in Coloss. ¡°I¡¯m not that kind of <em>pendejo</em>, though.¡± He spoke aloud, low so only he could hear himself, but he almost had a heart attack when the prompt shed in his vision:

    <strong>***Who is the leader of this settlement?***</strong>

    Seeing it was the same question, his racing heart slowed, and Victor carefully said what Rellia had written, ¡°Rellia ap¡¯Yensha, Victor Sandoval, Lam, daughter of Fellis from Twilight Home. A temporary triumvirate with equal voting authority and weight.¡± Lam and Rellia had some sort ofndholder republic in mind, and Victor didn¡¯t know enough about the subject to want to argue. He just wanted his share of thends they¡¯d conquered. The temporary triumvirate would serve until they¡¯d opened more options up in the stone, and she could change things around.

    <strong>***What is the name of your settlement?***</strong>

    Victor smiled and loudly proimed, ¡°The Free Marches.¡± Of course, cheers broke out around him as the prompt disappeared, and he heard the sound of thousands of tiny cracks splitting the stone. Heat and steam burst forth from the seams, and Victor grinned, inhaling the hot gasses, utterly unfazed.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± someone cried, and he realized he was leaning over the stone, watching, and blocking almost everyone¡¯s view with his bulk. He stood up and backed away, watching as, in seemingly random order, segments of the stone split apart, stretched, and then re-fused with the whole. This urred over and over, hundreds or thousands of times; all the while, steam lit with golden highlights burst forth from the splits in the stone. With each cracking and fusing, the obelisk grew, and Victor continued to back up until he was standing beside Va.

    The crowd became quiet, watching, mouths agape, as the stone grew to immense proportions; after a minute or two, there was so much steam flowing down the sides of the hilltop that it rose to even Victor¡¯s hips, and some people had to cough and wave it away from their faces. The stone continued to grow, cracking, fusing, and emitting gouts of dense steam the whole time. After what must have been fifteen or twenty minutes, it finally started to slow and gradually settled into its final, solid shape. The little obelisk-shaped stone was now a true monolith, towering forty feet into the air, each of its six facets measuring four feet wide at the base.

    The enormous monolithic stone had nted itself in the ground, and its dark gray surface ticked as it settled. Victor watched as the golden runes seemed to float up from the depths, hovering and shimmering just beneath the stony surface. As the steam blew away on the wind, a System message appeared in front of his eyes:

    <strong>***Colony: The Free Marches, established. Initial area of influence: Thends granted in the System-generated conquest challenge¡ª66 million acres south of the mountains known as the Granite Gates, east of the body of water known as the Silver Sea, and bordered on the south and east by as-yet-unnamed mountain ranges. Current poption: 3. Colony Stone level: 1.***</strong>

 Book 7: Chapter 1: The State of Things

    Book 7: Chapter 1: The State of Things

    Leshs enormous two-handed cudgel, Bgog, whistled through the air with enough momentum and weight to pulverize a granite boulder. He wasnt trying to break a boulder, though; he was trying to smash Victors skull. Unlike a boulder, Victor wasnt nning to stand still for the tremendous blow. He stepped forward and to the left, inside Leshs swing, moving much faster than anyone his size had a right to do. Lesh immediately saw his mistake, and his eyes widened as he lifted a wed foot to rake Victors thigh in a bid to buy himself a fraction of a second and a few inches to recover.

    Victors epic axe skill showed as he adjusted his hack. Hed been aiming at Leshs exposed ribs, but he swooped the de downward, and Lifedrinker screamed, ck smoke billowing from her smoldering edge as she took aim at Leshs outstretched knee. Victor wasnt berserk, but he was running Inspiration of the Quinametzin. He had his strength and agility boosted with Sovereign Will, and Lifedrinker was imbued with a shard of his spirit. Lesh saw the blowing, but he couldnt evade it. Still, he twisted, following the momentum of his two-handed swing, trying to minimize Lifedrinkers impact.

    When she cut into Leshs knee, despite the dragonkins potent defensive spells, his dense, scale-covered flesh, and his quick reflexes, Lifedrinker bit deeply, slicing into the meat of his thigh and Lesh grunted and roared, Gods be cursed! Again?

    Victorughed and lifted Lifedrinker. She boiled the blood off her de, sending it into the air as more ck smoke. First blood!

    Lesh growled but lifted Bgog to his forehead, bowing to Victor. Well done, Lor . . . Victor. Perhaps another . . .

    Thats it for me today, Lesh, sorry. Victor let his Inspiration drop, and as he began to rx and talk, Lifedrinker calmed as well, the smoldering heat of her de fading. He and Lesh had been sparring almost every day since the colony''s founding, and Victor enjoyed it, but he was spending far too much time on the practice field for his taste. Between bouts with Kethelket, Lesh, and Va, he sometimes found an entire morning slipping between his fingers. There were so many other projects he wanted to work onthings like studying the spellcrafting books Va had gotten from Tes, experimenting with new affinity weaves, and, most importantly, helping the colony to grow so that they could open up world portals.

    That one will sting for a while. Lesh rubbed the cut on his leg, but Victor wasnt worried; Lesh was the only opponent he never really tried to pull his attacks onthe big dragon-blooded warrior healed almost as fast as he did. Big was an understatement. Lesh stood nearly ten feet tall and was even stockier than Victor. They both enjoyed fighting each other because if Victor didnt enrage himself to titanic proportions, they were pretty closely matched in strength and size; it was the only time Victor could go all out and not reduce himself with the Shape Self spell Tes had given him.

    You told me it was fine if Lifedrinker ignited. I didntin when Bgog cracked my cor bone . . .

    Im notining! Lesh shook his head and spat some ck, tar-like saliva at a grouping of nearby stones. It sizzled for several seconds. Im paying you apliment!

    Ah, all right. Good, cause you know, its fun for me when we go all out like that, right? I can feel myself improving, too.

    Aye, me as well. Lesh looked to the west, toward the Silver Sea. They were atop a hill, not more than a mile from where Victor had nted the colony stone, and they had a good vantage of the various ongoing construction projects. He gestured to the southern edge of the budding colony where Earth Casters were working to erect massive stone pirs in a rectangr pattern. It was the framework for something Rellia called a travel pavilion. I heard theyd set up the first portal to that city many of you hail from. What is it again? Parshi Gables?

    Persi Gables. Yeah. I guess we have a connection to Rellias estate there now, which means well see a big influx of new colonists. I think shes nning to get the portal to Gelica up and running today or tomorrow, too.

    Lesh nodded, thumping Bgog head-first into the soil. He leaned on the metal haft, and Victor watched the head sink another four inches into the well-packed ground. Which will speed the growth. Perhaps youll soon have ess to world travel. You must be pleased.

    Ill be pleased as long as we can get Edeya some help before its toote.

    She seems stable. I believe you were correct; the witch who snatched her spirit has no immediate ns for it. Either that or she waits for the girls body to die so she can get thest fragment she left behind.

    Victor frowned. Thinking about Edeya always put him in a bad mood,rgely because it reminded him of his guilt. Lifedrinker had cooled sufficiently, so he held her over his shoulder, and his new harness snatched her, the enchanted leather straps wrapping around her and pulling her snugly against his back. The volcano had destroyed his old harness, and Rellia hadmissioned this new one for him. Shed, of course, brought several talented Artificers along on the campaign.

    Lesh had seen Victors mood turn sour. I dont mean to pester you with unpleasant thoughts. I only bring up the topic because Im eager to help. Im eager to see your friend made whole.

    Ah, yeah. No, I appreciate that, Lesh. Victor had resigned himself to the fact that hed have a small entourage when he traveled to the hub world, as Lesh described it. Naturally, Va intended to go with him. Lesh insisted that he had to follow Victor no matter the destination, and then there were Edeya and Lam; the self-made noblewoman would hardly let Edeya out of her sight.

    In the two weeks since the founding, Victor had gotten to know Lesh pretty well. At first, hed tried to talk the dragonkin into going home. The giant warrior spoke fondly of the many battles hed won, the social standing hed gained, and the wife hed left behind. To Victor, it seemed crazy to throw all that away to follow around a man youd traveled through the universe to kill. To Lesh, it was the only honorable choiceif he couldnt kill Victor, then he had to follow him. He had to learn from him, and he had to make an ally of him. Victor didnt see the logic but chalked it up to cultural differences. The simple truth he couldnt argue with was that Lesh was stronger than anyone else he knew, at least on Fanwath, and Victor figured hed need the help where he was going.

    Are you going to study your spells? Lesh was used to Victor using that excuse to end their practice sessions.

    Not today. Today, Im going to see the Shadeni n off. Yesterday, Rellia and Lam finally signed off on their settlement location, and Tellen doesnt want to waste any more time; hes eager to get some structures built before Fall.

    Ah, yes. The people with the red skin?

    Right, though not everyone with red skin is part of their n. Victor started walking toward the sea and the bulk of the new construction. He was still living out of his travel home, and it was set up in the courtyard of the keep Rellia had been building around the colony stone. He waved onest time to Lesh, and the mans green, reptilian eyes narrowed as he grinned and nodded.

    Ill get you next time!

    Victor shook his head and chuckled. Well see. He and the others whod been using the hilltop for sparring had worn a trail in the hillside. As he walked down it toward the little gravel pathway that would take him more directly into the settlement, he took in the view, letting his eyes traverse the various projects Rellia and her engineers had begun. The travel pavilion was impressive on its own, but it seemed insignificant in the shadow of the keep being built atop the central hill.

    Magic made everything faster, but it was especially apparent when it came to buildingrge structures. The Earth Casters were pulling massive stones from the quarry the surveyors had found in the mountains to the south and, again using magic, were carving and transporting them to the settlement much more quickly than even modern construction equipment might have done back on Earth. Victor had to admit that he didnt know much aboutrge-scale construction, but hed watched some big buildings go up in Tucson, and hed seen how it took months before the outer shell looked like an actual building. That wasnt the case here.

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    The keeps foundations had been dug and filled with stone footings in a single dayhundreds of yards of trenches, dug down twenty feet or more to solid bedrock, then filled with stone footings magically melded together without the need for mortar. Days after that, the outer walls had been built with enormous metal gates fit for an emperors pce put into ce. Rellia hadmissioned the gates back in Gelica, and theyd been carried in one of the capacious supply wagons.

    Victor appreciated her preparedness, especially with regard to how quickly shed built the keep wall around the colony stone. If, for some reason, they were attacked, they were already in a position to defend the stone. The keep itself wasnt going up quite as quickly. It took nning to build the foundation, digging out the basement levels, and ensuring the infrastructure was in ce for water and sewage. These were all things that had interested Victor, and theyd eaten away many afternoons as he wandered around observing, asking questions, and, of course, meeting with Rellia and Lam to approve this or that project.

    They were still governing the colony as a triumvirate, though Rellia and Lam had ns to change that in theing month, as the friends and family members of the legion came through the portal in their thousands. Victor didnt know all the details, but he knew thered be a sort of elected republic, but elections wouldnt be open to just any citizens; voting citizens had to holdnd in the Free Marches, and those holdings would determine the weight of a persons vote. Naturally, Rellia, Lam, and Victor, being awarded the mostnd from the conquest, would have the most influence, but it was amodity that could change hands.

    Rellia was sharing arge portion of her im with Lam, and the three of them, Victor included, were awarding parcels to the veterans of the conquest, including the Naghelli, Shadeni n, and all of the support personnel. To Victor, it didnt seem like much; the most significant awards for general troops were only a hundred acres, and some support personnel would only receive a single acre. People like Borrius would receive thousands, and some of the nobility from Rellias family would see more than that, but those were alling out of her share. Victor was going to have a stretch ofnd numbering in the tens of millions of acres.

    Because Victor had recruited the Naghelli and Shadeni, hed agreed to award themnd from his share. On the one hand, he didnt care because he had plenty, more than hed ever wanted or could conceive of using. On the other hand, he didnt care because he liked the idea of having them close. He liked Kethelket and his people, and he felt they deserved it; it felt good to give it to them. The same went for the Shadeni, only doubly so.

    Victor had lobbied with Lam and Rellia for arge tract ofnd that ran along most of the southern mountain range and then up the coast of the Silver Sea. There was an old-growth forest near the mountains and plenty of seaside hills where he might build a keep with a view. Grasnds stretched for a hundred miles north of the hills and forests, and Victor liked the idea of having so many different sorts ofnd to call his own. More importantly, he thought theyd amodate his friends nicely; the agreement hede to with Tellen granted the Shadeni a million square acres of grasnd and forest to call their own. Kethelket and his people were eager to im some territory in the mountains near the forest, and Victor thought that would be fine.

    He couldnt take all the credit for choosing hisndsVa hade up with the idea of building a road and maintaining a garrison at the southern pass. It would put him, or, more likely, whomever he left in charge, in control of further exploration into unimed territory. Hisnds would meet with Rellias, which began near the Sea Keep and epassed the primary settlement.

    When he and Va had made their proposal, Rellia hadnt been hard to convince. She wanted the northwesternnds, primarily because she wanted to be in control of the colony stone and the pass to Ridonne. Lam, also, had been easy-going; she had her eyes set on vast tracts of farnd that abutted the eastern mountains. All in all, so farVictor had the urge to knock on some woodthe fledgling colony and its triumvirate of leaders had been running smoothly.

    As he contemted the state of things, Victor rounded thest hill before the expansive, cleared area where Rellias engineers wereying out the new town square. With the sea as a backdrop and surrounded by the scaffolding of a dozen new buildings, he saw the Shadeni wagons and the bustling activity of nearly a thousand people as they readied their caravan. Some butterflies began to stir in his belly as Victor thought about meeting with Tellen, Tha, and their family. Hed hardly spoken to Chandri since shed recovered, and he might not be a genius when it came to reading women, but he felt like she harbored some severe animosity.

    I wish I knew why. Victor had no problem finding fault with himself; he med the disastrous final battle and the assault on the Glorious Ninth on himself, but he couldnt find anyone else whod admit to harboring the same opinion. He wouldnt me Chandri if she were angry with him about that, but he didnt think that was it. Whatever, he grumbled as he reached into his Core and let some Energy out to cast Shape Self. He shrank down to a morefortable six and a half feet and hurried his steps toward the front of the caravan, where he saw his old wagon and the two vidanii, Thistle and Starlight. If nothing else, he was eager to see Deyni.

    He hadnt made it ten steps before jogging footsteps approached, and he turned to see Nia running his way. The former thrall of Dunstan hade through the battle unscathed, and shed been working as something of an aide for Victor in the weeks following the colony''s founding. It hadnt been his idea; shed approached him and asked to swear into his household guard, something Va found very amusing, but also, after shed rxed and thought about it for a minute, a good ideaVictor would have to establish some sort of governance and militia for his territory.

    Nia was sharp and determined, and there was just something Victor liked about the scar-faced, dark-eyed woman. Her personal tale was tragic, but she never seemed down or tired or less than enthusiastic about any hard work. Lord Victor! She held up a thin leatherbound volume. Youve received a response!

    Ah! Really? She held the Farscribe book Victor shared with his cousin, Olivia. Hed written to her about their victory and about their ns for the Free Marches, but he hadnt received an immediate response. Afraid hed put the book into a ring and forget about it, hed given Nia the task of checking for a response twice daily. He slowed his pace to a stop and waited for her to catch up, then took the book. Did you read it?

    Her eyes flew wide with shock, and her tone bordered on outrage, I would never!

    Victorughed. Rx! Im not using you, and I never said you couldnt. Still, I guess its good you didnt. Thanks for your discretion.

    Of course!

    Well, let me check it quickly before I get tied up with the Shadeni. Victor flipped the pages to thest written-in one and began to read:<blockquote>

    <em>Victor,</em>

    <em>Well done with the Free Marches! Congrattions! Im sorry its been a few days since I received your message, but I was rather busy with a challenge of my ownsomething we can talk about next time were together. My response was further dyed by my having tomunicate with First Landing via another Farscribe book. It took a few days to ry the significance of your victory and for the Council Parliament toe up with a proper response to your good news. Forgive the cross outIm still getting used to the new system.</em>

    <em>Along with the new government, First Landing has expanded. It seems weve unlocked the option to purchase town stones from the colony stone, so two new settlements are being developed out there in the frontier. As much as I was against it, some of the low-affinity species we rescued from another worldthis is a very long story Ill share with you sometimehave decided to found their own town half a days journey north of First Landing. Thanks to the colony stone providing the town stone for them, theyll be a member of our budding, as-yet-unnamed, and unofficialmore on this in a momentnew country.</em>

    <em>Simrly, weve purchased another stone to make the miningmunity south of us official; the people have decided to name it Clearwater because of a lovely little stream that flows through the canyon. You can imagine the Ridonne Empire wont be pleased if they catch wind of our steady growth. You know that my friend, the aptly named champion of our people, Morgan Hall, traveled to the capital, Tharcray, to treat with them, right? Well, thats another very long story, and its not resolved yet, but Morgansst message to us was something along the lines of, The Ridonne have their hands full. Still, he cautioned us to stay in the frontier and to keep a low profile as we continue to expand.</em>

    <em>You know humanity, Victor. Were working to replicate much of the tech we lost to the System with Energy-based versions, and frankly, if Morgans right and the Ridonne are too busy to bother with us for much longer, I feel well be in a position to demand our ce in this world when they finally get around to us. Thats without considering you and your allies in the Free Marches. What a great name for a country, by the way!</em>

    <em>So, on to the business at hand. Im going to be tied up with some academy work, a special project for my sponsoring professor, for another month before I can take a break. The Coun Parliament has appointed a very good man, Alec Green, a dear friend of mine, to visit you as an ambassador. You mentioned that your friend, Lady Rellia, will be opening portals from Gelica and Persi Gables to your new settlement. I was going to send Alec to you with one of Morgans tower portal stones, but we, too, have some artificers whove finally reached the skill level required to create them.</em>

    <em>Would it be possible for Alec to travel through Persi Gables to you? If so, hell bring a portal stone, and we can set up a direct connection to First Landing. If we did that, you could visit! Wouldnt that be great?</em>

    <em>Ive rambled on enough for now. Ill await your response about Alec and directions for how he might ess the portal in Persi Gables before I get lost on another tangent.</em>

    <em>Ill look forward to your reply.</em>

    <em>With affection,</em>

    <em>Olivia Be</em></blockquote>

    Jeez. Victor snapped the book shut. I thought I was already busy.

    <em></em>

    <em></em>

    <em></em>

    <em></em>

 Book 7: Chapter 2: A Short Goodbye

    Book 7: Chapter 2: A Short Goodbye

    Victor squatted down to better look into Deynis dark turquoise eyes. He remembered the first time he saw her; hed been behind bars, waiting for his big duel with Rellia. Hed noticed how her skin was more purple than red and how her hair and eyes were different from the Shadeni hed metmost of them had red-toned eyes from pink or magenta to deep crimson. He reached toward her, picked up one of her long, greenish-blue braids, and held it between his fingers. He knew now that her coloring had much to do with her father, an Ardeni man shed never met. You know what?

    What, Victor? She always grinned when she spoke to him, like she was anticipating him teasing her or, at the very least, saying something silly.

    I never put two and two together, but have you noticed how your hair and eyes are simr to Vas?

    Lady apYensha? Deynis eyes opened in wonder, and Victor knew she was picturing Va as she looked now with her glorious wings and silver highlights.

    Yeah. I wonder if maybe you two share amon ancestor. Im trying to remember, but I dont think Ive ever met another Ardeni with such a pretty color in their eyes.

    Deynis skin was far too dark to show her blush, but her eyes squinted in a bashful smile as she looked away. Stop teasing me, Victor!

    Im not, silly! They were outside of Victors old wagon, and he was waiting for Tellin and Tha toe to see himCha had run to fetch them when Victor approached. He gave Deynis braid a little tug andughed. Sorry if I embarrassed you. Ive been thinking a lot about bloodlinestely, thats all.

    I wish I could have your bloodline! Deyni puffed out her chest and began to stomp around, arms out to her sides, her hands balled up in fists. Id smash my enemies and throw the Ridonne off the nearest mountain!

    Victorughed and, tired of squatting, fell back onto the grass, folding his legs in front of himself. Youre still angry about the Ridonne?

    Of course! They killed my friends!

    Well, the ones who did that have been punished. Its not healthy to hold onto a grudge, but its probably smart to keep a wary eye on the North. We dont want them to surprise us someday.

    Thats right! Ill help to guard the Free Marches!

    Victor plucked a long de of blue-green grass and stuck the stem in his mouth. When he chewed the juicy end, it was almost sweet. Mm! I can see why Thistle likes this stuff.

    A new voice spoke up behind him, Ive seen you eat! You couldnt live off grass.

    Victor turned toward the voice, squinting into the bright sun. Chandri stood there, the sunlight like a halo around her short, spiky hair. For the first time in quite a while, shed washed the warpaint from her face, but she bore some new tattoosa fanged skull on her throat and, along her jawline, a series of crossed bones. She had other, older tattoos tomemorate her hunts, but these were the first shed added since Victor had known her. Hi, Chandri.

    Milord. She mock curtsied, and Deyni broke into a giggle.

    Well, Im d to see you smiling. I like your new tattoos. Victor pulled up the sleeve of hisfortable gray shirt, or tunic, as the people in this world kept calling it, and disyed the tattoo shed given him. You do good work; this onessted through quite a few racial advancements.

    Deyni stepped closer and leaned in to look at the markings. What does it mean?

    Chandri squatted beside her and pointed to the de-tipped hand. This is the hand of the monster Victor slew. Her finger traced upward to the spears. These are the six hunters whose lives he saved. She touched the bright orange sun. This is the dawn that came, though wed all thought wed die before we saw it. Her voice was soft and her touch very gentle, and Victor was suddenly hit with a deep, gut-wrenching sense of wistful mncholy. Though it felt absurd, he couldnt help wondering what his life would be like if hed embraced his feelings for Chandri and never returned to Persi Gables. For the first time, he thought he understood the emotion that lurked behind Chandris outwardly smiling eyes.

    I wonder if Ill earn a tattoo someday. Deynis innocent remark broke the spell, saving him from further contemtion.

    Chandri sat down at his side and closed her eyes, lifting her face to soak in the sunlight. Without opening them, she said, Youll have to be choosy about what tattoos to put on yourself; otherwise, youll run out of room. Youll be a famous beast tamer and adventurer, right?

    Thats right!

    Victorughed, reaching out to pluck another de of grass. And you, Chandri? Do you still dream of exploring beyond the Silver Sea?

    More than ever. I think my brush with death has only deepened my desire to see more of the world.

    I get that.

    I hate it! I want you to stay with us. Deyni stepped behind Chandri and began to pull her fingers through her hair. Id braid it for you, but its not long enough yet.

    Chandri smiled and replied, Im not going to leave right away, and when I do, you can bet Ill be back often. She leaned back, clearly enjoying Deynis attentions, and narrowed her eyes at Victor. I wonder if Victor can say the same.

    Well, Victor? Deyni continued to stroke Chandris hair as she locked eyes with him.

    The only thing I can promise is that I want to visit you. I want to spend time with you. Of course, Ill try. My first priority is helping Edeya, and I dont know what that will take. I bet I can visit after shes better, though.

    Just visit? Chandri asked, relentless in her desire to keep him on the spot.

    Come on, Chandri. You know Ive got other things calling me. Challenges I need to pursue, people Ive mademitments to.

    People? Commitments? I only hear rumors; you havent told us much. Now Victor heard a touch of bitterness in her tone, and he began to sense a clue to her recent distance.

    Is that what youve been bothered about? I thought you were mad at me about the attack . . .

    Stolen novel; please report.

    What? Im not mad at you! Chandri scrunched her eyes shut and leaned back toward Deyni, who was listening and watching Victors face while she massaged Chandris scalp. I would like to know more about you, though. Id like to be more than an afterthought . . .

    Come on, Chandri! Weve been over this, havent we? Youre important to me! Im sorry Ive been so preupied, and I know I should spend more time with you, Victor paused, looking at Deyni and winking, and other people.

    Its not just spending time; I know youre busy. I just think it would be nice if we spoke about more meaningful things more often. Like, just whom do you havemitments to out there? She waved a hand toward the sky, and Victor figured she meant out in the world or perhaps beyond it.

    Yeah! Deyni nodded and winked at Victor, and he almostughed, wondering if she had any idea what hed meant by his earlier wink.

    Ill give you an example. I mean, you already know about Edeya. I visited another world where an evil Warlord has dominated society for a thousand years or more. Hes almost destroyed a species of titan there, and I befriended some of them. I sort of promised to return and try to restore them to their former strength. Its a big job because they had an artifact called an Ancestor Stone where theyd somehow preserved their titanic bloodline and the powers thate with it. The Warlord shattered it, and finding all the pieces will take a lot of work. Look! Victor held up his wrist with his silver bracer and the single pink fragment of the ancestor stone. I have one piece, but I have to find sixteen more.

    And it has to be you? Deyni pressed, apparently taking over the questioning for Chandri, whod leaned further back, soaking in the sun while Deyni yed with her hair.

    Right now, Im the only titan-blood whos been to their world and offered to help. He shifted and looked past the wagon to the bustling activity of the Shadeni n as they hurried to finish their travel preparations. He wondered what was taking Tellen and Tha so long. Anyway, he said, trying to wrap up the topic neatly, you both should know this feels like home to me here on Fanwath. Especially with you and other people I care about here. Im going to build a house or . . . something near to where you all settle, and, of course, Ill visit when I can.

    A house? Chandri opened her eyes. I thought that keep to the south was on yournds. The one guarding the pass.

    Yeah, but I haventid eyes on it, and I want to be near the sea, anyway; Im not sure I want to move into a castle up there in the mountains. Besides, thends I granted to your n arent far from the sea. ording to Rellia, theres an easy ride over some grasnds and low hills, and then, there you are.

    Victor! Tha called out, breaking into a jog over the patchy grass. Tellen wasnt with her, but her smile was bright, and she seemed untroubled.

    Mom! Deyna gave Chandri a quick kiss on the forehead, then let go of her hair and ran to greet her mom.

    Shes so sweet, Chandri said, sitting up to watch Deyni run. Im truly happy that Tha and Tellen found love.

    Yeah. Victor nodded, suddenly a little choked up. Im d that Deyni has you, Chandri. I hope you realize how much she looks up to you.

    Huh. Seems like you dont realize that everyone looks up to me! Her tone was bright, and Victor had to give her a double-take.

    Hey! Theres the old Chandri I knew. His words made her smile, and though it looked like she might want to reply, Tha and Deyni arrived and plopped down in the grass.

    Sorry it took me so long! Weve been drawing ns for our new settlement, and some of the families are arguing about . . . things. Its not easy for amunity used to a nomadic lifestyle to trust that they have nothing to fear, no reason to believe an army will try to take their homes or property. Many want to keep to the old ways, and were trying to find apromise.

    Oh, dont worry about me. I just wanted to say goodbye; I thought you were heading out today.

    We are! Well likely continue the debate on the trail. She paused, looked around for a few seconds, and then looked him right in the eyes. Victor, how long do you think youll stay here? Dont you need to establish your home? Set up somend grants to build up your ie? You need to have a garrison or something in your keep . . .

    Victor held up his hands and groaned. Tha! You sound like Rellia and Borrius. I guess its safe to say that Im going to be terrible at this governing business, at least for right now. Im probably going to appoint a governor. Someone to run the ce and set up just the sorts of things youre asking me about, at least for now.

    And youre certain this person will respect your wishes and the promises youve made to us and the Naghelli?

    Of course, Ill be certain about that! More importantly, Rellia knows what Ive given you, and she supports itpletely, Lam, too! He gestured to the wagons. Thend grant Ive written for you is legally binding and endorsed by all the stakeholders in the Free Marches. Yournds arepletely yours. Once thendholder republic is established, youll only have to pay taxes for services that benefit the whole of the Free Marchesgame wardens, roads, a standing military to protect the border, etcetera. Victorughed and shook his head. I wouldnt know any of that if I hadnt had a dozen lectures from Rellia over thest couple of weeks. Anyway, the governor I put in ce will have to abide by the rules. Yournds are yours. Ive relinquished all ims.

    And if you dont return? Tha frowned and leaned forward to grasp Victors hand. Im not trying to be a problem, but this is the sort of argument were hearing from our people, the ones reluctant to build a permanent settlement.

    Tha, you have your deed, in writing, sealed by me, Rellia, and Lam. No matter hownd is split down the road, your deed was written and approved by one hundred percent of thendholders in the Free Marches. I know youre worried that something will happen, but if, for some reason, I die or get captured, your rights wont go away. Va says I should set up a trust or something so that, even if I never returned, my share of the Free Marches will continue to be governed the way I would like.

    Thank you, Victor. Tha nodded. That will help with our arguments, to know that even if you disappear, things will continue as youve promised. I know our deed entitles us to thends, but well be surrounded by yours. Regardless, I pray that you wont disappear. Do you think we could share a Farscribe book?

    Yeah, definitely! Well do that, and Ill also give one to my governor. Well make sure things continue smoothly here whenever Im away. Victor was d to see the conversation moving along; he felt like they were going in circles, but he supposed it made sense considering the history of the Shadeni n with the Ridonne. Theyd been disced many times and often despite promises to the contrary. He offered Tha another smile and looked past her to thergest cluster of Shadeni, imagining Tellen at the center, busily trying to calm peoples worries. Do you think hell be able to break free?

    Tellen? Hell say goodbye before we roll out, but hes going to be with those elders for a while. Im sorry, Victor.

    Nah, its no problem. Id offer to speak with them, but I doubt it would help. Would it?

    No, they trust you. Its just a general distrust of circumstances that has everyone worried. Its no secret that you n to leave soon. Hows Edeya, by the way?

    The same. I wish I could do something for her. As Im sure you know, it''s frustrating not having someone here whos more knowledgeable about the subject. I mean, as little as I know, Im finding that I know more than most when ites to spirits and spirit Cores.

    Believe me, I know. Old Mother used to talk about how she wished she could offer you more guidance, but its an affinity type thats been greatly maligned in this world. Most of what she knew, she taught herself. I hope that youll be able to learn more when you travel, and ancestors willing, bring that knowledge home to us.

    Please, Victor! Deyni said, scooting closer to Tha so her mother could wrap an arm over her shoulders.

    You better believe I will, Deyni. Well give you everything you need to grow your Core into something special. He nced at the sky, judged the sun to be just a bit past its midpoint, and said, Since Tellens tied up, I think Ill run a different errand. I left an artifact in Sea Keep and want to pick it up. If I cant figure it out here, Ill bring it with me when we travel.

    Chandri perked up at Victors words, sitting up straight and blinking her eyes against the sun''s re. What sort of artifact?

    Its a crown made of dark stone with weird runes all over it. Dunstan, the wampyr lord, was wearing it when I killed him. I didnt want to put it in my storage ring because it felt powerful and, Im not sure why, but I had a feeling that it might be, you know, conscious.

    Tha nodded, distracted while she worked on fixing one of Deynis braids. So you hid it in the keep before you left?

    Yeah.

    Chandri jumped up. Ill go with you!

    Tha frowned and opened her mouth, but Victor could almost see the second thought cross her mind as she reconsidered what shed been about to say. Thats up to Victor. We can spare you for now.

    Yeah, sure. Victor mbered to his feet as Deyni also jumped up.

    What about me?

    Oh no, sweetie! I need your help with Starlight and Thistle. We must brush and feed them before we harness them to the wagon for days and days. Tha snatched Deynis hand and pulled on her to help herself stand.

    Victor squatted down and held out his arms. Give me a hug, you little huntress. Ill surely see you again before you leave, but I can never get too many hugs.

    Deyni didnt need to be asked twiceshe crashed into him and wrapped her arms around his neck. While he squeezed her, she whispered in his ear, Promise this isnt a forever goodbye.

    Victor felt that familiar lump in his throat and the sting in his eyes as tears tried to fight free. He wasnt sad or upset; he was just happy to have such an innocent, sweet person giving him her love. He hadnt been lying when he said he felt like his home was there with the people he cared about. No, <em>mija</em>, its not forever. I promise. This is just a short goodbye. He didnt hesitate at all to break his earliermitment about making promises.

    As he realized how much he wanted to return, how much he cared about Deyni and so many others, another realization hit himthe reason he hadnt been very excited about the news from Olivia that an ambassador and a portal stone to First Landing would be on the way, was because, to him, they were just strangers, regardless of their origin. He was more eager to see how the Naghelli made out than he was with First Landings prospects. He supposed that would change as he came to know them. He hoped he might make friends there and figured he ought to work to build a rtionship with Olivia.

    Sighing, he gave Deyni onest squeeze, then stood up and pulled some Energy out of his Core to summon Guapo. As the Mustang burst out of the pool of sparkling glory-attuned Energy, he turned to Chandri and grinned. Ready to see how fast this guy can run? Guapo interrupted her answer by rearing onto his hind legs and whinnying mightily. Victorughed and pped his rump. You big showoff!

 Book 7: Chapter 3: Ambassador

    Book 7: Chapter 3: Ambassador

    Victor sat in the grass beside Edeya, watching Va, Pollo Vosh, Kethelket, Lam, and Lesh have a wild practice melee a short way down the slope. Hed already been in half a dozen brawls that morning, and it was his turn to sit out with the incapacitated young woman. It had been Polos ideahavingst one standing contests once a week. There were rules, of course. Victor wasnt allowed to go berserk; two hits from any source meant you were out, and, because of the wild nature of a free-for-all, no blows to the head or neck were permitted. That was just for starters; others also had limitations on their powers. For instance, Kethelket couldnt use his full shadow speed, and Lesh couldnt belch acid.

    Victor snorted a quickugh, gently squeezing Edeyas tiny, limp hand in his. He hates it when I say that, <em>chica</em>. Belch. Thats what it looks like, though! He doesnt breathe acid out in a spray. Its more like he coughs up a big glob of the stuff. Victor had spoken a lot to Lesh over thest few weeks, and hede to understand that Leshs decision to reject the Systems quest to kill him had been primarily because hed witnessed Victor breathing his ancestors fire. Breath Cores were a big deal among Leshs peoplethey werent born with them and had to evolve to gain one. Once done, the stronger a dragonkins breath, the more respect he or she might earn. Apparently, Lesh had never seen anything like what Victor had done to Erics army of reavers.

    Victorughed as Polo roared in frustration, stomping off the field with his great axe hung over his shoulder. Too many fast ones in there. Id gain more with a long fight against that dragon friend of yours.

    This was your idea. Victor chuckled and patted the grass beside him. Take a load off.

    Polo nced at the sun, saw it was nearly midday, and shook his head. I would, Victor, but Im already pushing it. Rellias finally going to sit down with me and talk about mynd grant. Ive got family arriving in a day or two through the new portal, and well be surveying for a suitable building site.

    Oh? Thats exciting, isnt it? I don''t remember you talking about your family, Polo. Will I get a chance to meet them?

    Aye! Of course! Perhaps Ill invite you to see the building site, or, he paused, eyeing Edeyas motionless form, if you need to leave soon, maybe when you return, Ill have a proper dining hall and kitchen constructed.

    Okay. Whichever works out, you know wed love toe by. Youre right about Edeya, however. Im hoping well have world portals essible sooner rather thanter. As peoplee through from the cities and im their citizenship, the advancement options on the stone are opening up quicker than ever.

    Aye. I heard as much from Rellia when I was pestering her about mynds. Polo squinted toward the sun again and raised his voice to be heard over the sh of weapons, shouts, and curses as the nearby fight escted. Tell me, Victor, what have you decided to do about your holdings? Borrius mentioned you approached him about governing for you, but hes going to be busy with his own im.

    Yeah. Id hoped hed be interested, but he wanted farnd, and I guess Rellia put him further north, near Old Keep. He doesnt want to split his time visiting my properties. Victor shrugged. He told me hed speak to some qualified people he knew.

    Aye, thats why he brought it up with me. Poloughed, shaking his head. Not because he thought I should do it, mind you, but because he knows I am good friends with a man named Gorro apDommiches currently acting as the steward for my estate near Tharcray. Well, he was until I put him in charge of its sale. He should be arriving through the Gelica portal in a few days.

    Oh yeah? Borrius thinks hes the man for the job? Victor shifted, leaning back to look up at the big furry Vodkin more easily.

    Yes, and I wont need his services on these newnds; my family and I will have things well in hand. Polo turned toward the melee andughed as Lam threw her hammer to the ground in frustration, stomping toward them. Gorro is a very experienced steward. I hired him right after Lam and I cleared the Dolondric RuinsI was flush with treasure, and hed just left the service of a Ridonne whod granted the estate he was managing to a cousin. Hes been at it for decadesgot his start in the Legion, of course; thats how Borrius knows him.

    Kethelket cheats! Lam announced, flopping onto the grass beside Edeya.

    Hah! Poloughed, and Victor just grinned, plucking a de of grass to chew on. In any case, Victor, shall I send him to see you when he arrives?

    Thatd be great. Thanks, Polo.

    A pleasure. The Vodkin bowed at the waist toward Lam, aical maneuver for a man as bulky as he, and then waved. Im off to see Rellia, then. As he turned to leave, he hollered at the threebatants left on the field, Good luck! Then, he strolled down the grassy slope toward the ever-growing settlement.

    What was that all about?

    Hes rmending someone to be my governor. Is that the right word? He said the guy was a steward. Maybe I should be calling him that.

    No. Not withnds as extensive as yours. The person you hire will need to manage settlements, attend political meetings, and maintain your militia. Governor is the right term. Lam leaned forward and shouted, Thats it, Va! Keep his nk!

    You want her to win? Victor grinned around the de of grass.

    Of course! She eliminated me, so if she wins, that makes me look better. Lam sighed, turning to examine Edeya and lifting a handkerchief to wipe at the corners of her eyes. This breeze is making her eyes water. That damn circlet doesnt make her blink often enough.

    Shit. Does it control that much? I thought her blinks would be automatic.

    No. Shed be unconscious without it. Even her breathing is shallow and barely enough to keep her alive without it. Lam tucked her handkerchief away and gestured toward the slope leading down to the settlement. The stones level eight, and you know Rellias literature says we should start seeing world travel options at level ten. Will you be ready to leave as soon as it opens up?

    Yeah, Ill be ready. It could be sooner, you know; were only a few steps away on the advancement tree. Rellias been steering the colony''s development toward our goal. By the way, Ive been corresponding with my cousin, and she says the human colony stone is almost level twenty, but they dont have any options for world travel yet. I guess theyve been very general about their advancement, not focusing the way we have. It had been a week since Victors first message from Olivia, and since then, theyd written back and forth several times.

    That makes sense. Were missing many System-developed infrastructure itemswere building our own walls, our own plumbing and sewage system, our own roads, and so much more. We could have spent advancement points on all of those things, had them done instantly and, probably, a lot more seamlessly integrated with thendscape.

    Yeah, but were getting all sorts of intangible benefits going down the tree toward world travelEnergy storage, mapping, trade beacons,munication rys, the astral observatory. Victor pointed to the enormous white tower jutting up from the seas edge. It looked very out of ce among all the half-constructed structures, but it was undeniably awesome. Victor liked how the top was made of some kind of crystal, and he knew that the more prominent facets were lenses. Hed been in it a few times, peering through the weird brass and crystal scopes that could be aligned and moved to face the different external lenses. It was fun and interesting, but, in the end, to him, it was just like looking through a telescope, and hed never been into that sort of thing.

    Lam nodded. That one took much of our savings, but it ranked the stone up from five to seven. Perhaps the next . . . Lam was cut off as Lesh jogged over to them and flopped onto his back, shaking the ground enough to jostle Edeya and send her toppling backward. Lam caught her, scowling at Lesh. Have some care, you thunderak!

    Lesh looked at Victor and narrowed his green, reptilian eyes. Thunderak?

    Uh, giant lizards they use to pull heavy loads. Victor grinned, finding the moniker rather apt.

    Pardon my bulk, Lady Lam.

    Victor nudged the giant mans shoulder with his boot. Who got you?

    One from Kethelket and one from the angel.

    Victor chuckled at Leshs nickname for VaVictor had started it, calling her an angel. When hed described what he meant by the word, some of the others had taken it up. Va certainly fit the bill with her big silvery wings and beautiful countenance. Shed paid one of the better armor artisans whode through the Gelica portal to adjust the enchantment on her wyrm-scale armor, giving it the ability to open holes to amodate the wings sprouting from her back. With that armor, her shiny silver helm, and, well, everything else about her, she either looked like an avenging Valkyrie or, yeah, some kind of angel.

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Anyway, Lam said, pointedly looking over Leshs thick body toward Victor, We just need the travel beacons, the astral cartography crystal, and the portal enclosure. Whether we need rank ten or not, I think well be there soon.

    Yeah. As more citizens arrive and we continue to collect Energy, our advancement credits build up pretty fast. Still, another Energy bead infusion might not go amiss. Im still holding my million from the conquest . . .

    Youll need that, Lesh said, rolling to his side and lifting his head on an elbow as he watched Kethelket and Va weave their lightning-quick dance. Theres no telling what things will cost in the world hub, and you know, the System wont let you travel for free just because you rule thesends.

    Yeah. Victor sighed, shaking his head. Nothing was ever easy. Right. Well . . . Oho! Good job, Va! Shed done some sort of rolling maneuver using her wings, curved before her like a moving shield, ande around behind Kethelket, giving him a swift gash on his left calf. Is that the match? he asked Lesh.

    Aye! They each had one mark already.

    Victor stood up and reached down to take Edeyas hand. As he gently tugged it, she stood upthe artificed circlet she wore made her verypliant, moving with gentle prompts from her caretakers. Lam also stood and took the young Ghellis hand from him as Va strutted over the grass, her sword, Midnight, resting on her armored shoulder and a very self-satisfied smile on her face. I heard you grousing! sheughed, pointing at Lesh, still lying like a small hillock on the grass. He didnt respond, just grumbled and yawned.

    Nicely done, Va. Victor looked past her to Kethelket and nodded when their eyes locked. Not bad for your farewell match.

    Oh, thats right! Lam looked up from where shed been straightening Edeyas coat cor. Your people will fly tonight?

    Aye! Weve resupplied and rested and are eager to begin the construction of Nighthome. Weve three Ghelli families alreadymitted to joining us, Lamveterans from the conquest eager to help mend old rifts. I hope you and Edeya will visit when youre back.

    Im sure we will, Kethelket. Im just as eager to bandage over old wounds.

    Whos this? Lesh rumbled, and Victor turned to follow his gaze. An Ardeni man wearing Rellias house livery was running up the well-worn path from the settlement.

    Hmm. Victor frowned. Rellia should be meeting with Polo. The whole group grew quiet as the man made his final approach, his breath huffing heavily as he came to a stop twenty paces away.

    Lord Victor! A man is requesting you! Hes juste through the portal from Persi Gables.

    Oh yeah? Victor looked at the others, all staring, waiting to hear more. See you all a bitter. If we dont speak before you leave, Kethelket, you know how to get ahold of me. The two of them had exchanged Farscribe books. He shook his hand, and Kethelket stared into his face, suddenly serious.

    Of course. Thank you again for letting us select such a fine location for the new town.

    Are you kidding me? Your people earned it. Itll be nice having such good neighbors, anyway.

    Before he and Kethelket could go further down their mutually congrattory path, Lam called out to the messenger, Who is it?

    Oh, um, its a man from the human colony in the Ridonne frontier. Alec Green. The messenger looked at Victor almost apologetically.

    Thatll be our ambassador from the humans, Va exined when she saw Lams nk expression.

    Victor let go of Kethelkets hand and turned to the messenger. Lets go, Va; you can make sure I dont say something too stupid.

    You think she can save you from that? Lam chuckled, and Lesh snorted, shifting his bulk to wink at her more easily.

    All right, all right. Dont make me drag you both out there for a quick thrashing. Victor grabbed Vas hand and started walking down the slope. He gestured to the messenger. Lead the way.

    Farewell! Kethelket called.

    Dont make promises you dont intend to keep! Lesh rumbled.

    Lam didnt say anything more, but Victor could feel her smiling eyes following him and Va as they walked down the slope. Theyve lost all their respect now that the wars over.

    Oh, dont begrudge them theirughs. They only tease you because they know they cantpete with you in other ways. Va tightened the grip on his hand and lifted it to her chest, pulling it close as she cupped it with her other hand.

    Like neither will ever have someone like you? Howd I get so lucky? Have I mentioned I love you? Victor almostughed when he saw the messengers hurried but stiff, awkward gait. He was clearly embarrassed to hear their conversation. Victor decided to spare the poor guy and change the subject, Youve really gotten good at dealing with Kethelkets two-weapon style.

    I know! Hes a difficult opponent, but Ive made some good gains over thest weeks. It helps to have your inspiration active while we spar. Well, and lets not forget hes only using a fraction of his full speed.

    Even so. Your grace with those wings is really something. I notice youre using Midnight one-handed more and more; have you ever thought about a second de or maybe a shield?

    Perhaps someday. I enjoy having the option to grip her hilt with both hands for more powerful swings.

    Well, I dont know jack about sword fighting, so Ill leave that to you.

    Jack? Vaughed as they stepped off their gravel path onto the new cobbled roadway that led east out of town.

    Uh, its short for jack-shit, and no, I have no idea where ites from.

    Colorful.

    Victor, currently only a little taller than she, looked into her smiling eyes above her flushed, pale blue cheeks and paused to lean down and kiss her on the lips. As always, she reciprocated, and Victor marveled at his luck for the second time in just a few minutes. When he straightened up, he said, Does my word choice embarrass you?

    No! I love how you can sound stiff and formal as though youre channeling Borrius one minute and then break into a string of curses that would drain the color from a soldiers face the next. Theyd stopped, and the messenger had taken a few steps before realizing it. Victor could feel him turn to observe them. When Va refused to look away, Victor stared into her silver and teal irises and wondered if it was true about eyescould he see her spirit in there? He almost thought he could, which made him want to try harder, but her smile widened, and she gave him a yful shove. Come on, <em>Lord</em> Victor! The ambassador is waiting.

    Fair enough. Messenger! Whered you leave the ambassador?

    In the new gardens adjacent to the travel pavilion, Lord.

    Ah, good choice. Near my travel home?

    Aye. He gestured to the road. Shall we continue?

    Proceed. Victorughed at his formality. He was fairly sure of the answer but asked, Were you part of the campaign?

    No, Lord. Im a member of Lady apYenshas household staff. I came through the portal from Gelica.

    Ah. Well, wee to the Free Marches.

    The man paused, turned, and performed a short but slow, deliberate bow. Im eternally grateful for the opportunity to make a life here, Lord.

    When the young man turned and continued walking, Victor followed, suddenly sobered by his show of respect. Hed been about to judge the messenger, almost mocking him mentally for calling him lord when any of the men and women whod fought in the campaign would have been addressing him as sir. He chastised himselfnot every man or woman was cut out for war, and those whode through the portals to join the colony were just as valuable right now as anyone else; without their numbers, their contributions, the growth would have been much, much slower. It would have taken years to open the deeper advancement options on the colony stone.

    Something on your mind? Va asked, still holding his hand with both of hers.

    Nah. I just have a lot to learn, Va. Every time I think Im getting a grip on things, I realize how much I dont know, how much of what I think I know is wrong.

    She smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder, speaking softly, And that makes you a good leader. The worst kinds of leaders are those who think they know everything and refuse to admit when theyre mistaken.

    When they arrived at the gardens, the messenger bowed and took his leave, and Victor led the way through the curved pathways, his boots crunching on the deep bed of round, rust-colored pebbles the herbalists, Nature Casters, and engineers assigned to them had imported. Beds of new floraherbs, flowers, and nts of a thousand different varietieslined the walkways, and a fountain burbled at each junction of paths. It wasnt pristine yet; dirt and mud marred the marble steppingstones and benches, the beds were only about half nted with their future upants, and trellises were still under construction. Still, it was a good deal more done than when Victor had decided to move his travel home in, cing it at the end of one of the far-flung paths.

    They found Alec Green sitting on a bench, admiring a little fountain shaped like a bulbous flower with long thorny stems adorned with tiny, delicate songbirds. The water trickled out of the pale-yellow stone flower petals and dribbled pleasantly into the basin. Alec was a slender, average-looking fellow, but his sandy brown hair was neatlybed, his short beard well-manicured, and his soft brown eyes were full of wonder as he took in the sight of Victor and Va as they rounded a bend in the path. He jumped to his feet, straightening thepels on his plush, velvety gray jacket. Victor? He stepped toward them, holding out a hand. Im Alec Green from First Landing.

    Victor grinned and reached out to wrap the mans slender hand in his own, giving it ato himgentle squeeze. Nice to meet you, Alec. This is Va apYensha. As soon as he released the mans hand, Va took it.

    Alec smiled and stared, perhaps a little dumbstruck, into Vas eyes. Nice to meet you! Still shaking Vas hand, he forcefully turned back to Victor. Ive heard a lot about youfrom Olivia Be and also people in Persi Gables. Hah! From the tales, Id expected you to be twenty feet tall!

    Oh, Vaughed, sometimes hes nearly that tall. When she winked, Victor had toughpoor Alecs face said he didnt know whether or not he was being teased.

    He decided to bail him out and change the subject. Im d youvee to represent the other humans, Alec. I want to build a rtionship with your colony, but if we can advance the stone enough, Ill be leaving soon. Its good that Ill get a chance to introduce you to everyone around here before I go.

    Alec took a step back and looked Victor up and down. Youre leaving?

    I have a friend who needs to travel to a more advanced world, one with more world portals open.

    Ah! Olivia said something like that in her messages, something about you all focusing on advancing your colony to open world travel.

    Yep.

    You couldnt travel from one of the other cities?

    Victor sighed. He didnt want to get into a lengthy exnation, so he tried to summarize things quickly and with some finality, The Ridonne havent opened much world travel for their subordinate cities, and if I went to Tharcray and asked to use their colony stone . . . Well, lets just say the journey is long, and Id as likely as not start a war I dont think we have the stomach for right now.

    I see. Well, perhaps my proposal will be of interest.

    Youe with a proposal? Va asked, wrapping her fingers around Victors elbow, leaning into him a little while she smiled at Alec.

    Alec nodded, grinning. Wed be willing to kick in a substantial sum of Energy beads toward your stones development if you could do us a little favor.

 Book 7: Chapter 4: - The Proposal

    Book 7: Chapter 4: - The Proposal

    Victor felt a sudden urge to direct Alec toward Sea Keep, where Rellia was currently managing her operations. Hed been speaking to the guy for less than a minute, and he was already talking about favors. Victor knew rtionships between towns, countries, and political factions were built on mutual benefits, but hed hoped to just talk to the guy and show him around, not start wheeling and dealing immediately. His scowl must have been more evident than hed intended because Alec held up his hands and, after a quick, shakyugh, said, Let me stress, its not a big favor. I mean, its not for you, but for us, it might mean the difference between continued existence and destructionOlivias words, not mine.

    Va squeezed Victors arm, her cool fingers pressing into his biceps. Dont worry about him, Alec. Hes always frowning like that. Why dont we show you to Victors home, and you can tell us about this favor over a cup of tea and a crumble cake one of Victors admirers gave us?

    Victor chuckled at Vas description of the cake one of Dunstans former thralls had baked for him. Actually, thats a good idea. I bet youll be interested to hear about the woman who baked it. Shes a human from a world other than Earth.

    Oh? Alecs eyebrows rose, his surprise evident.

    Victor nodded, gesturing toward the path that would lead to his travel home. Yeah. Im not sure if its a coincidence or . . . Victorughed at himself, shaking his head. No, never mind that. Its definitely not a coincidence. The System chose vampires and their undead minions to invade thesends. The world they came from was settled by Death Casters whod fled Earth when the Energy stopped flowing there.

    Ah, seriously? So, your conquest was against invaders from another world? Alec turned when Victor gestured to his left. Straight ahead, down a long, flower-lined gravelne, sat Victors jade travel home. Oh, what an interesting dwelling!

    Its Victors travel home. Hell build something more substantial eventually. Va led the way up the steps, and Victor stood back, holding the door as she and Alec stepped inside.

    Ah! Dimensional magic. We have a few structures employing it back in First Landing, but not so heavily as this one! Well, other than Morgans tower, I suppose.

    Morgan . . . Victor frowned, scratching his chin. Thats the one who went to Tharcray, yeah? Olivia told me about him.

    Right.

    Howd that go? Va asked, taking the lead down the hallway toward the dining area.

    Um, he hasnt brokered any sort ofsting deal, but he did manage to get some assurances that the Ridonne dont care too much about us at the moment. Theyre dealing with some inner strife and political issues concerning their presence in other worlds. In fact, Morgans gone off-world, which threw our littlemunity for a bit of a loop . . . Alec trailed off as he stepped into the dining hall and the adjacent kitchen area, his eyes taking in the big table, the bright daylight streaming through the kitchen windows, and the vaulted ceiling with the skylight. What a space! Id never have guessed looking at the exterior.

    Take a seat there with Victor, and Ill put together a snack. Va didnt wait for any objections, walking past the table and into the kitchen.

    Victor rapped his knuckles on the tables smooth surface. Anywhere you like, Alec.

    Thanks. Alec sat down in the chair closest to the head of the table on the near side, so Victor moved around to sit across from him. As soon as hed taken his seat, Alec hit him with some questions, Youre saying you had to fight invaders from another world to win thesends? I thought the conquest would just involve fighting monsters or, well, natives, is the right word, I guess.

    Id have a hard time justifying something like that, but yes, the System made that part easy by filling thesends with undead monstrosities. Victor shook his head, grinning wryly. Dont you think its interesting to learn that there used to be Energy users on Earth powerful enough to flee through portals they created?

    Its more than interesting. It conflicts with what we thought we knew of the System. Morgan was the first human to wake here on Fanwath, and, ording to him, the System didnt recognize humanity right away. It makes you wonder how broad the System is and how often each part of itmunicates with the others. Does it send out updates once a month, once a century? Does it need to do that, or does it just know everything thats happening everywhere all the time? Sounds more like God than a system, if so.

    Yeah. Im pretty damn sure the System isnt God. Victor chuckled and looked over his shoulder to check on Va. He hated being responsible for entertaining strangers.

    What makes you say that?

    Uh, the fact that there are plenty of species that existed and worked with Energy long before the System came around. My ancestors, for instance.

    Ah! Thats one of the things you might be able to help us with. How about I go over my little proposal? Is it too soon? I hope Im not overstepping . . .

    Nah, its fine. Victor was annoyed, but he also was happy to let Alec talk for a while. It would give Va time to rejoin the conversation.

    Well, Olivia indicated in ourmunications that when shes brought up the idea of youing to First Landing, youve been less than enthusiastic. Shes a bit of an outlier among our citizenry, what with her unusually high affinity with multiple attunements and her unnatural proclivity for mastering new magic. Alec held up a hand andughed. Dont get me wrongfrom what weve gathered, dealing with some unpleasant nobility and the locals in our neck of the woods, it seems humans generally have high Energy affinity, but Olivias a standout. Im bringing this up because shes often banging the drum about how important advancing in levels and gaining power is when shees to town, and her words are often less than enthusiastically received.

    Yeah? Victor was having a hard time figuring out why he should care.

    Yeah. I mean, there are some who are pretty gung-ho about leveling and exploring, but oftentimes, their abilities and enthusiasm dont exactly match up. Take me, for instance. I was pretty happy just running a business in town; I opened the first tavern and made a killing. I expanded the business, and now Ive got a full-blown hotel; well, inn is probably more urate. Im a level eighteen Tavernkeeper. Alec smiled, shaking his head at a pleasant memory. When I first told Olivia that was my ss, sheughed andughed. Shed already been at Fainhallow, you see, and was studying about sses with a great deal more . . . gravitas, shall we say?

    Uh-huh. Victor nodded, ncing again for Va and sighing with relief when he saw her approaching with a tray. Here we go. Youre going to love this cake, Alec.

    Oh, Im certain youre right. He paused his discourse to watch Va set down the tray with three steaming mugs, a crock of whipped butter, and the sweet, nut-and-fruit-loaded crumble cake.

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Help yourself. Va smiled and sat at the head of the table between the two men.

    Dont mind if I do. Alec grinned, took one of the mugs, and then thered a slice of the cake with some of the soft, creamy butter. Once his little te was before him, he sipped the tea, smiled and sighed, then took a bite of the cake. Mm! His eyes zed over as he chewed. Va helped herself, and Victor, of course, carved off a generous slice. The conversation was put on hold for a few minutes once they were all working on their snack, and Alec continued to exim about how good it was.

    So, Va said, pushing her te away. You were telling Victor that there are some ambitious folks among you, but theyre a minority? Is that the right way to exin things?

    Ah, no, not exactly. I was about to use myself as an example of how most of us are ambitious but not in the way that makes us personally powerful. Im very interested in seeing my business grow, gaining wealth, and buying properties. Back on Earth, such sess would eventually have made me a powerful person. Here, ording to Olivia and our few run-ins with less-than-savory folks, Ive learned that that kind of sess can be very fleeting. Everything I have can be taken away in a snap. To illustrate, Alec snapped his fingers. I believe it, Olivia believes it, but many of the people in our settlement think that our government will protect them and that they can continue to focus on finding sess as theyd always done.

    Well, theyre not exactly wrong. Victor shrugged, not seeing the problem. Its the same in native cities; not everyone is out challenging dungeons or going to war. Plenty of people build businesses or lead small service-oriented lives.

    Right, but ording to what Ive learned from Morgans correspondence and Olivias studies, this world has been rather sheltered. Havent the Ridonne limited travel beyond this world? Havent they, themselves, grown powerful beyond even the heroes who make their living facing dungeons and whatnot? Isnt it only a matter of time before a more dangerous world connects to this one? What if a true powerhousees through and makes some real trouble for us? If I can read between the lines well enough, thats whats happening in Tharcray. I think the Ridonne have stunted the growth of this world to their own detriment. I believe theyve encountered something theyre struggling with and, due to their imposed limitations, the rest of the popce isnt in a position to help them.

    I mean, I dont know what youve heard, but the trouble the Ridonne have been having might just be me . . .

    Oh, I heard about your encounter with their Legion. Talk of it was all over Persi Gables when I passed through. Thats not it, however. Morgan contacted us about the Ridonnes troubles a good four months prior.

    Why so cryptic? Cant he just tell you whats up?

    I would think so, but hes . . . imunicado.

    Va set her steaming cup down and cleared her throat. Okay, Alec, were losing sight of what you actually want.

    Right! I was hoping that Victor and you, of course, he nodded at Va, would speak to our popce. I was hoping youd sit down and have a sort of town hall where you speak about what youve seen on other worlds, or from other worlds, and why its important to . . . Whats the word they use, um, cultivate power? Thats it, cultivate. Why its important to build up a Core, to gain levels, and advance your bloodline.

    Victor grunted, shaking his head. It seems pretty damn obvious to me, Alec. You really need me to tell people why power is important?

    Our people are stubborn, Victor. Weve got a hundred engineers working on reinventing automobiles and airnes using Energy-driven engines. Weve got people making repeating cannons,ndmines, and machine guns. I mean, its great, but Olivia says one elder being could wipe them all out, that someone whod achieved tier ten or, hell, even tier five could probably ignore most of the war machines we cane up with. Whats worse is that our Artisan ss citizens are far outstripping the cultivatorsweve learned to build portal stones, for instance. Whats going to happen when we open a connection to a high-tier world, and someone truly powerful sees our potential as, well, as ves?

    So you want me toe there and scare them?

    Alecughed, shaking his head. I mean, that might work, but Olivia had the idea that you could just talk about your time in, um, I have it in my notes, but what was the name of the world where . . .

    Zaafor? Va supplied.

    Thats it! She says you met many powerful beings and that you had to flee because of a viinous warlord or some such. Is that right?

    Victor sighed and nodded. Sure, Alec. Youre right that opening yourselves up to advanced worlds and powerful people before youre ready is a real risk. In fact, I wouldnt be surprised if the Ridonnes tight control over world travel has a lot to do with that, but that wont stop travel in the other direction. The System can be a real bitch, but it wont send a challenge here thats much beyond you. That doesnt mean a powerful individual or, yeah, warlord couldnt find their way here. If they did, if they opened their own gateway without the Systems help, then they could easily dominate this.

    So, just a town hall? Va pressed, trying to pin down themitment Alec was looking for.

    And perhaps a demonstration. Our Artificers have been building war machinesEnergy-driven automatons. Think of a tank crossed with a robot. Theres a faction in our government who think were already strong enough to take on the Ridonne, that theyre just backward, medieval tyrants whom we can steamroll like Patton taking on a Roman legion.

    Patton? Va frowned, slowly turning her cup between her palms.

    Hes talking about people from Earth.

    Oh, Im sorry, Lady apYensha! I was trying to draw aparison between a modern military with guns and heavy artillery versus an army using spears and swords. When Va continued to frown, her eyes betraying her confusion, he added, I mean, Im sure Victor has described our world to you a little, yes? We didnt have Energy or magic, but we had technology far beyond what you see on Fanwath. We had weapons that could strike a person down instantly from great distances. We had bombs and missiles that could destroy entire cities. Olivia worries well go down that road again, be too sure of our capabilities, and then run into someone with deific powers. Victor, here, might be able to give our popce a taste of that. Thats all Im saying.

    Va nodded and, to Victors delight, continued leading the conversation. If you want Victor to do battle with your automatons, youll need to tell us what youll put on the table.

    Alec nodded. I understand you want to advance your colony stone.

    Thats right. We need to advance at least two more ranks before we can open world travel.

    Thats what we can help you with. Weve stockpiled a lot of Energy beads through our own development and from trade with neighboring towns and viges. I have it on good authority from our developmentmittee that a million beads will go a long way in the early colony stone ranks.

    Is that what youre offering? A million beads? Va didnt betray much, but Victor knew her well enough to hear the excitement in her voice. A million beads would probably get them where they needed to be.

    Thats right. What do you say? To Alecs credit, he didnt break eye contact with Va to gauge Victors response. It was probably a good thing because Victor was sold and didnt have a good poker face.

    Victor and I will visit your town, answer your questions, and Victor will destroy your automatons for one and a half million beads.

    Victor almostughed, surprised to hear Va being so cutthroat. However, Alec didntugh and didnt even look surprised. He smiled, nodded, and said, Its a deal, but youve reached the limit of my negotiation authority, so please dont push it any harder.

    Okay, Victor? Va looked at him for the final word.

    Hmm, I guess. I dont mind beating the shit out of some robots, but Im not really excited to be on the spot answering questions on a stage. Ill do it for Edeya, though.

    Edeya? Alec was smiling ear-to-ear like hed just made the deal of the century.

    Va began gathering the empty tes, stacking them on the tray. Our friend. Shes the reason we need to open world travel as soon as possible. That said, Ambassador, when shall we depart for your town?

    I left the portal stone with the steward of your, um, travel pavilion. Im ready to go whenever youd like, though Id hoped to meet the other leaders here and perhaps establish a residenceI intend to participate in themunity youre building.

    Victor pushed his chair back and stood up. Its early still. Lets take him around. Rellia and Borrius will want to meet him. Well get him a room in the inn, and then, Victor paused for breath and to lock eyes with Alec, if youre feeling up to it, we can go to First Landing in the morning. Im sorry to rush things, but I feel like Ive put my friends welfare on hold long enough. She needs help, and if youre offering the Energy to advance the stone, Id like to do my part as soon as possible.

    Alec, too, stood, slowly nodding his head. The inn, hmm? Well, itll do for now. Will I be permitted to build an official embassy eventually?

    Definitely. If Rellia wont allow you one here, then you can build it on mynds.

    Yournds? Theyre separate from these? Alec looked confused, and Va chuckled. She stood and moved beside him, taking his elbow and steering him toward the front of the house.

    Theres much you need to understand, Ambassador. I dont know how much Victor told Olivia, but thesends, the Free Marches, are more vast than the entirety of the Ridonne frontier. Even after gifting deeds to his allies, Victors share of the conquerednds numbers nearly thirty million acres. Thats assuming we dont continue to expand, pushing into the untamednds further south. Victor listened to her as she and Alec walked ahead, his mind struggling to stay focused as he thought about everything Alec had told him.

    The idea that humans hade to this world and were immediately trying to recapture the way of life theyd left behind didnt surprise him, but it certainly bothered him. Of course, theyd try to make nes and tanks and machine guns. Of course, theyd see Energy as just another fuel source, a way to power their tech. He hoped they werent all focused on such things. They couldnt be, could they? Some among them had to have awoken spirit Cores. Surely, some of them had learned to see their inner selves and auras. There was so much more to Energy than, well, energy. It was the essential, vital force of everything and the connection every cultivator had to the universe. If a person didnt see that, didnt internalize and process the gifts Energy could grant, theyd never understand. Victor would have to show them. Hed have to give them a glimpse of the power of a sleeping god.

 Book 7: Chapter 5: First Landing

    Book 7: Chapter 5: First Landing

    Victor sat on the stone bench in the new travel pavilion and watched Va speak to Alec Green about the structure. They were waiting for the other members of their delegation to First Landing, and he was trying to rx, trying not to think about having to answer questions in front of hundreds or maybe thousands of strangers. Hed opted not to wear his armor, at least not at first, and he feltfortable in his silky gray button-up shirt and soft, slim-fitting ck trousers. Va had gotten them for him from a tailor she knewa man whode through the portal from Gelica. He appreciated that they werent overly fancy but simply very well made from materials that were clearly a cut above what hed been wearing for most of his time on Fanwath.

    His new silver-toed ck boots were polished to a glossy sheen, and Lifedrinker restedfortably behind his shoulder, held snugly by the new magical harness that matched his belt and boots. All-in-all, he felt good because he knew he looked good. Va said that was important when you were speaking in publicto look and feel good about yourself. In all honesty, Victor knew he shouldnt be worried; he was Quinametzin, and all he had to do was rx his hold on his alter ego a little, and hed have no trouble speaking on just about any topic in front of just about anyone.

    Weve built a simr structure ourselves, though weve been calling it a portal hallso far, weve only set up a portal to Persi Gables and, now, to your settlement. Olivia will undoubtedly pick up a portal stone to bring to Fainhallow next time she visits home. Alec was nodding, rubbing his chin, staring at something across the open-air structure. Victor followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at the shimmering, mirror-like portal to Gelica on the other side of the pavilion. It wasnt usually open, and Victor watched as what looked like arge family began toe through, gathering on the stone dais on this side of the portal.

    Looks like more new citizens, he grunted.

    Ah, yes. Alec nodded, watching as one of the yellow-robed concierge staff Rellias people had appointed hurried forward to greet the new family and guide them to the settlement registration center.

    Herees your aide, Victor. Va pointed as Nia strode through the big archway that led toward the center of town. The former vampire thrall had changed quite a lot in the weeks since the end of the campaign, and Victor could see shed made an effort to look nice for their visit to First Landing.

    Nia had exchanged her ck clothing and leather for a knee-length, flowing blue dress with long sleeves trimmed incy blue gauze. She still wore high leather boots, which Victor thought was kind of cool, but he wondered what the locals thought of her style. Shed washed out the ck oil or grease or whatever shed used to slick her hair back but still styled it in braids adorned with polished ivory charms and jewels. Victor could see shed recently scrubbed her face from the rosy, pink hue of her cheeks and the somewhat inmed nature of her many scars.

    When she approached, Nia bowed quickly and nervously, her eyes darting from Va to Alec and then settling on Victor, reclining on the bench. Lords, Lady. Victor found it strange to see her standing beside Va. In the old days, when hed been an average human back on Earth, he would have thought Nia was tall, imposing, and, despite her scars, quite beautiful. Beside her, though, Va looked like a demigoding to walk among mortals. She towered over the woman, her silvery, pale blue skin glistening in the diffuse sunlight that filtered through the trellised roof of the pavilion.

    Vas hair was delicately styled, held in tight, elegant curls with jeweledbs. She wore the silver choker Victor had given her with its carved sapphire runes. And, as if to highlight her Ordeni skin tone, she was dressed in flowing, silky, silver and blue robes that, as far as Victor was concerned, clung to her in all the right ways. He shook his head, forcing himself to quit staring at Va, and stood up. He nodded at Nia and smiled. You look nice, Nia. Thanks for agreeing toe with us.

    Of course, milord.

    I know its a habit, but you dont have to address us as lords anddies, Nia, Va said, saving Victor from having to say the same thing for probably the twentieth time. If you take a permanent position in Victors household, you can use that honorific, but for now, were all members of a delegation to First Landing, and theres no need for such deference. Victor thought Va was being nice, and he was sure that was her intent, but Nias face paled, and her eyes widened as she looked toward Victor.

    I thought my position was permanent! She stepped past Alec, looking up to lock eyes with Victor.

    Oh, I didnt . . . Va started to say, but Victor waved his hand, chuckling.

    Its just a mimunication, Va. Nia, of course, as long as you want to work for me and help me manage things here, Ill have plenty to keep you busy. I think Va simply means we havent established any formal agreements.

    Then, as the lord of thends on which I serve, I will address you as such. Again, she bowed at the waist, and Victor saw a smile behind her blue eyes. He looked at Va and shrugged slightly. She arched an eyebrow, perhaps amused by Nias persistence.

    Where the hell is Borrius? Victor turned in a circle, looking at all of the entrances to the pavilion, wondering if the old general wasing from a different direction. Hed asked him toe along primarily because the man loved to hear himself talk, and Victor figured hed take some of the pressure off him in the town hall.

    Im sure hell be along. Rx, Victor. Were still early. Va moved to stand beside him, sping his hand. Her wing brushed his shoulder, the feathers twitching and shivering against him as she shifted. Her feathers were incredible things; they almost tinkled metallically as she moved. Hed spent many a long evening with her, feeling those wings, ying with her feathers, and he knew they were incredibly resilient, though they were light as air. Va had gotten veryfortable with her new appendages and moved so gracefully that it was hard to remember how awkward shed been at first.

    Alec shook him from his reflections by asking, Is he thest member of your party? Borrius, um, what was his surname?

    Va answered him, Borrius apGandrohes a formermander of the Imperial Legion, a legate, and now andholder and nobleman in the Free Marches. We feel hell be invaluable when ites to exining the dangers of having a popce controlled by more powerful Energy users. Whatever you know of the Ridonne, I can assure you, Borrius knows more. Va pointed over Alecs shoulder. Here hees with his aide, Lieutenant Darro. Victor exhaled a pent-up breath as he watched Borrius and Darro stride into the pavilion. Of course, they wore their military uniforms.

    Well met all, the oldmander said, striding up the marble path. Am I tardy?

    Not at all, sir! Alec smiled and strode forward, offering his hand. Im Alec Green from First Landing, and Ill be serving as an ambassador to your fine settlement here. Id hoped to meet you yesterday, but Lady apYensha indicated you were busy with other matters.

    Ah, yes, quite. Its a pleasure, young man. Borrius took Alecs hand in his and gave it a firm shake. Handshakes werent asmon on Fanwath as on Earth, but Borrius was a well-traveled man and wasnt put off by the custom. Well? Shall we? Are we waiting for any others, Victor?

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    Nope. Were all here. Alec?

    Im ready if you folks are. He stepped onto the nearby dais where the travel pavilion attendants had set up his portal stone and approached the big marble archway. Victor could see the portal stone at the center of the archdarker than the surrounding stones and adorned with silver-iid runes. Lets see, I think Im just supposed to put my hand here. Alec ced his hand on a cluster of runes on the side of the arch. Then, I, what? Do I just feed it some of my Energy?

    Thats right. Va stepped up beside him. Just as you would use any magical item, for instance, a glowmp.

    Right, right. Alec closed his eyes momentarily, and then Victor felt the surge of Energy as the portal stone activated and a shimmering blue sheet of Energy filled the archway. It rippled and crackled almost like electricity. It didnt look like any of the other portals hed stepped through, and he wondered at thatwas a portals appearance dependent on the person whod created it? Was it affected by the destination?

    Interesting, Borrius said, perhaps thinking along the same lines. That Energy feels like a mix of air and water attunements. Do you know the Artificer who crafted that stone?

    I do! Boris Saltzkihes our highest-level artificer. Alec jerked his thumb at the shimmering electric doorway and grinned. I suppose I should be the one to demonstrate its safe, huh? Ill see you all on the other side! With that, he stepped through in a sizzling shower of blue sparks.

    Huh. Victor chuckled and stepped up to the archway. Well, I didnt expect to be nervous about the portal.

    Im sure its fine. Va smiled encouragingly.

    Right. Victor took a deep breath and stepped through. He felt the magic tickling his flesh as he passed through. When his foot set down on springy wood and he walked into a brightly lit hall the size of a high school gym, he looked around, taking in the scene. Hed been right about the floor; polished, pale wooden nks covered the expansive space, running to white-ster walls that rose to a high vaulted ceiling held up by beams of the same pale wood. It was a lovely building, but very empty. The only adornments were the massive Energy-powered chandeliers that hung from the rafters.

    This is our new portal hall, Alec said, taking Victors shoulder and directing him away from the portal. Dont want your friends to bump into you when theye through.

    Right. Victor turned and watched as Nia and then Va came through the portal, blinking in the bright lights and looking around the space.

    Sorry, there isnt much to see in here. Its brand new, and we figured we should keep lots of space open for delegations or trade materials going through the portals. As he finished speaking, Darro and Borrius came through with a shimmer of blue, electric sparks. Thats all of us! Just a moment while I close the portal. Alec held his hand to the side of the archway, and then, with a sizzling <em>pop</em>, the blue gateway disappeared. There we go! Well, I know it was early morning in your settlement, but its the middle of the night here. How about I show you to my inn, get you settled, and then we can go over your schedule? Ive beenmunicating with themittee responsible for setting up your town hall and the military demonstration, as theyre calling it, and a representative will meet us at the inn.

    Sounds good to me. Victor shrugged and took Vas hand. Hed, as usual, altered his size to be close to hers, which was still quite tall by human standards. Hed been anticipating a lot of strange looks as they walked through town and was almost relieved to find that there was a significant time change. When they followed Alec outside through the big, double doors of their portal hall, he was surprised. Hed been picturing First Landing as a quaint little vige, but from the raised ground on which the portal hall sat, he had a rather expansive view of a sprawling, busy-looking town. He almost wanted to revise that and consider the ce a city, but he could see it wasnt as extensive or populous as Persi Gables or Gelica. Still, it was a good deal more than hed expected.

    Impressive! Va said. I thought youd only been here a few years.

    Oh, we have, but weve been hard at work, and our open policy with new citizens has helped us to proliferate. Alec pointed down the cobbled road toward a distant cluster of tall buildings. Thats the center of townwe built outward from the colony stone, which is on a hill you cant see thanks to that big rectangr building. Thats my inn. He gestured past that to a distant row of lights that encircled the town. Those lights are on the top of the wall. Weve outgrown that wall but kept it as a second line of defense. We have a bigger one about a mile out and have begun expanding the residential areas into that outer circle.

    How many people . . . Victor started to ask.

    Well, Alec chuckled, we started with about five thousand humans. The first year was kind of harshwe had a conflict with some local, um, low-affinity types and lost a few hundred. The children have more than made up for that, however. Were prospering. Um, he nced at Va and smiled, Im not sure if you wanted this much information, but weve found that humanity is quitepatible with Ardeni, Shadeni, and Ghelli as far as, well, children go. Weve had quite a few people from neighboring towns and viges settle here, and we took in arge number of refugees . . . Alec groaned and rubbed a hand through his short, brown hair. Oh, brother, Im rambling. The point Im trying to make is that upwards of twenty-thousand people live in First Landing.

    Very interesting, Borrius said, stroking his chin. I can see the lights of airships if Im not mistaken.

    Oh, yes! Weve got three cargo ships and seven warships.

    No nes yet? Victor asked, remembering Alecs words from the day before.

    There are some, but theyre still inferior to the airships when ites to cargo capacity and durability. The engineers are excited about their progress, though. He started down the cobbled road. Come on, Ill show you to the inn. By the way, Im sorry we dont have a big weingmittee here for youIssa didnt think youd appreciate that.

    Issa?

    Oh, Issa apRoald; shes the member of parliament whos heading up themittee that organized my appointment as ambassador to the Free Marches and your visit here. He started walking as he spoke, and they all fell in around him. They were the only people on the narrow, slightly winding road leading down from the portal hall. However, Victor could see hundreds of lights in the buildings around them and, further down the road, some sparse pedestrian traffic.

    You have an Ardeni on your ruling council? Va asked.

    Ah, yes. Issas been a part of thismunity since near the beginning. Shes engaged to Morgan Hallwould be married, certainly, if not for his prolonged absence. Still, the people here generally love her, and she didnt have any trouble getting elected to one of the parliament seats. Shes also an impressive crafter. Shell meet you all in the inn when the sunse up.

    If you dont mind me asking, Alec, and please dont take this the wrong way, but why do you think Issa thought we wouldnt like a weingmittee? Va wrapped her fingers around Victors elbow, walking in step with him as she spoke.

    Alec looked over his shoulder and smiled, nodding toward Victor. Hmm, well, I suppose its due to Olivias correspondence. She sort of indicated that Victor, here, was reticent to visit and wouldnt enjoy a bunch of fanfare. Was she wrong?

    Not at all, Victor grunted.

    Excuse me, dear boy, Borrius said, quickening his stride to walk beside Alec. Ive only had a cursory briefing about why wereing here aside from meeting amunity simrly in poor favor with the Ridonne, but I do have a bit of a concern itching the back of my brain.

    Oh?

    Yes, well, you see, Victor seemed to think that were meant to speak to arge gathering about the dangers of allowing oneself to fall behind on Energy cultivation, about the dangers of growingcent in a universe full of powerful beings who could make their presence known on our little backwater world.

    Alec nodded. Um, thats urate, I suppose.

    Well, what sort of opposition should we expect? It stands to reason that if the people here need convincing, there must be others working to shore up the opposing argument, namely that your current trajectory is the way to go. There must be some profit involved, Id think.

    Ah, yeah. Alec nodded enthusiastically. I see your point, Lord Borrius. It wasnt lost on Victor that Alec was buttering the oldmander up. Its not exactly profit in riches that theyre after, but there is a faction here trying to profit politically by arguing against Olivias frequent warnings and trying to marginalize those on Parliament who side with Issa.

    As I thought, Borrius said, turning to Victor and winking at him in an utterly uncharacteristic move. Were being used as pawns for someones political gain. I hope the rewards will be adequate.

    Ah . . . Alec seemed a little lost for words, and he nced at Victor and Va, then turned back to Borrius. I dont know if its exactly like that, but I wont deny that theres a faction of very good people in this settlement who will definitely benefit if you can shut some of the louder know-it-alls up.

    Well, Alec, Va chuckled, breathing in through her nose and twitching her wings as a cool breeze passed over them, You can rest assured that if theres one thing Victors good at, its shutting up know-it-alls.

 Book 7: Chapter 6: Factions

    Book 7: Chapter 6: Factions

    Greens Inn and Suites was much more like a hotel on Earth than the inns Victor had seen in the cities of Fanwath and Zaafor. It had a lobby separate from a bar and restaurant and, in a show of Earthling ingenuity, an Energy-powered elevator. It was a five-story building, and Alec put everyone in suites on the top floorit was evident that hed built the hotel with growth in mind because it felt rtively empty. Victor and Va had a corner suite with lots of windows, and they both enjoyed looking through the crystal-clear ss as the town woke up around them.

    Im surprised at how diverse the popce is, Va said, looking down at the busy central hub of retail businesses. They were built around a lovely red-brick street that surrounded a hill at the center of themunity. Steps led up the sides of the hill to a garden-like za that surrounded the colony stone. People were opening shops, sweeping sidewalks, and bustling to and fro, getting ready for what looked to be a busy day ofmerce. Victor could see what Va meantfewer than half the people walking around down there were humans.

    Victor nodded. I guess, with only five thousand original settlers, they had to open their doors to the natives of Fanwath if they wanted themunity to grow quickly.

    Isnt that strange? I understand they all came on one ship and that it was likely crowded, but youd think theyd send more people to settle a new world.

    Yeah, I dont know anything about that. Victor shrugged. They werent expecting to run into the System or arrive on a world full of other people. Maybe if theyd actually been allowed tond their ship and if theyd been alone . . . Victor trailed off, acutely feeling hisck of knowledge on the subject. Shit, I should ask Olivia more about this stuff. I should be more interested in her. Shes always asking for details about me and my experiences, and I havent been good about showing an equal interest in her. He gestured out the window. In them.

    Well, something tells me youll learn a lot about these people today.

    Yeah. Victor looked to the horizon at the pink, yellow, and orange-hued sunrise and said, I thought thatdy wasing to meet us at dawn.

    Thats not an exact time, though, is it? Is dawn when you first see the sun? Is it now, when the sun is halfway visible? Is it the hour or so after its just risen?

    Victor didnt take the bait. Lets go down to the lobby. I want to be ready. He walked to the door, crossing a plush, intricately woven rug featuring multicolored flowers on an olive-green background. The hotel suite was nicely appointed and much more familiar in style than some of the furnishings hed seen on Fanwath. The difference was especially evident in the arttheir suite was adorned with paintings of objects andndscapes, but not a single person, a stark contrast to what wasmon on Fanwath. Rellias vi, for instance, had walls covered with portraits of family or historical figures. The bathroom was another big changesomehow, the humans were making porcin. Victor hadnt realized how much hed gotten used to seeing brass and copper tubs and toilets.

    In the hallway, he paused to knock on doors, alerting the rest of their party that they were heading down to the lobby, and, a few minutester, they rode down in the weirdly smooth, silent elevator. I dont think this thing is on a cable, Victor said, stepping out and turning to regard the elevator as the polished brass doors slid shut.

    A cable? Va frowned.

    Never mind. Lets sit over by the fire while we wait. Victor led the party to the grouping of couches near the big stone firece across the lobby from the reception desk.

    On the way, Borrius stepped over to the young Ardeni man who staffed the desk. Ahem, young fellow. Please let Ambassador Green know that were sitting together there by the fire.

    Of course, sir.

    Victor smiled at the exchange, d hed brought the oldmander along; he was perfect for this sort of thing. The couches werefortable, the room was cozy despite its vaulted ceilings, and they all sat, making small talk for several minutes. Victor enjoyed the lull in activity, though it felt like he was wasting time, and part of him wanted to stand up and seek out the people he was supposed to speak to and get it over with. Still, he sat back and tried to be present, listening to Va as she attempted to bring Nia out of her shell a little.

    I know its not a pleasant memory, but can you tell us about your home a little? Your people originated from the same world as those whove settled here. Does anything seem familiar?

    Aside from them being human, not much. I suppose . . . She looked around, frowning, I suppose the aesthetic is a little familiar. I grew up in a vige without an inn, but I know the cities of the great lords have hotels and restaurants. I havent seen enough of the town to say more.

    Have you thought about what youll say today? About the great lords as you name them?

    I didnt name them that. Nia scowled, but then she seemed to remember whom she was speaking to, and her eyes widened as she stammered an apology, Im sorry! I didnt mean to snap; my bitterness found its way off my tongue. The great lords of Dark Ember are called that by decree, and if those such as myself were to name them otherwise, we could be killed or worse for the offense.

    Dont apologize. Va leaned forward so she could reach over to take Nias wrist, giving it a gentle squeeze. Youre rightfully bitter about what theyve done to you. Still, my question stands.

    Oh, um, Nia paused and licked her lips. They were dry and cracked, and Victor realized that if he was nervous about speaking in front of a bunch of strangers, Nia was probably feeling a thousand times worse. I suppose Ill talk about how it felt when they passed through town. How . . . Her description was cut short as a cheerful voice called out from the front of the lobby.

    Folks from the Free Marches! I see youre eager to get started. This is Issa apRoald, a member of our parliament and the head of themittee responsible for your visit today.

    Victor turned toward the hotel doors and saw Alec striding toward them, apanied by a stunningly beautiful Ardeni woman with gleaming yellow eyes and hair that hung like spun threads of gold. She was impressively tall for an Ardeni and moved with a grace that spoke of many racial advancements. Where Alec was dressed in a nicely tailored brown and cream suit, Issa wore a silky blue, kimono-style dress with a tight, high cor and sleeves that covered her arms down to the backs of her hands. It hugged her figure, and the single smooth garment from neck to ankles entuated her height.

    Victor stood up, as did the rest of his party, and he stepped forward, extending a hand. Its nice to meet you.

    Issa took his hand warmly between both of hers, and the smile she offered him was reflected in her bright eyes. Its so nice to meet you finally, Victor. Ive heard much about you from Olivia, and Ive been hoping for your sess in the Marches.

    Um, thank you. Victor felt lost for words, annoyed with himself again for not asking Olivia more about the people of First Landing. He felt like he should know more about this woman. Va cleared her throat gently, saving him from standing there like an idiot. He let go of Issas hand and gestured to Va and the others. This is Va apYensha. She represents the most influential family in the Free Marches.

    Lady apYensha, its my pleasure to make your acquaintance. Issa took Vas hand, and it was obvious that she wanted to ask more as her eyes locked onto Vas silvery-turquoise wings.

    My pleasure. Va smiled, and the two women sped hands for several seconds before they let go and turned back to Victor.

    This, Victor reached behind Va to grasp Borriuss shoulder, is Borrius apGandro. His military leadership is renowned on Fanwath, and he''s here to share his experience and knowledge with your people.

    Well met, madame. Borrius shocked Victor by taking Issas hand and kissing it, bowing with a flourish.

    You honor me, sir! Issa chuckled a little nervously if Victor were any judge. Perhaps to save further embarrassment, she looked at Darro and Nia. And these two? Are they alsondholders from the Free Marches?

    Victor knew Alec must have already told her who was in their party, so her question, while polite, bothered him a little. Was she ying politics already? Thats Lieutenant Darro; hes Borriuss aide, and this is Nia, daughter of Efa, a woman from Dark Ember. She has much to share about the dangers of allowing a single faction to gain too much power in a world.

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.

    Wonderful! Thank you both foring! Issa surprised Victor by taking Darros hand and then earnestly shaking Nias. I know youve traveled far, though with the portals, it doesnt seem so. Theres still time for you to eat or rest for an hour or two before the town hall; weve scheduled it for mid-morning. I just wanted to meet you before the big event so I could answer any questions you might have.

    Victor wont ask, so I will, Va said, smiling as she nced sideways at him. What sort of demonstration do they expect from him? I mean against your automatons?

    Well, Issa looked at Victor, and her smile seemed almost nervous, I have to say, we can cancel that if youd like. Olivias description of you and your exploits left a different impression than Im getting right now. With what she told them and the, perhaps misguided, desire to prove that theyre ready for anything, the Defense Department has arrayed quite a force on the parade grounds. She looked at Alec and frowned slightly as she continued, It might be better for our cause to await Morgans return to highlight their mistakes.

    And how would that affect our payment? Borrius asked, demonstrating his priorities.

    Oh, well . . . Issa started, but Victor held up a hand and cleared his throat, interrupting her.

    Dont sweat it, Lady Issa. Im reducing myself significantly right now.

    Hmm? She looked at him with a cocked eyebrow.

    Victor learned magic to make himself morefortable in the quaint dwellings of we small folk. Va hid her smile behind her hand as she exined.

    Victor couldnt help hamming it up a little as he put an arm around Vas shoulders, wings and all, Well, its not just so I can fit through doors more easily; I also can hug you better like this, yeah?

    Yes, she nodded, no longer hiding her smile, theres that, too.

    Well, in that case, Ill let you be the judge of your readiness. Issa spoke with her hands, gesturing to illustrate her words as she continued, Theyve arrayed something like twenty of the tank automatons on the field. Ive also heard rumors of two juggernauts. Theyre like giant, person-shaped constructs built of wood and metal and highly charged with Energy. Ive seen them demonstrated before, and . . . Im not sure Id like to do battle with one. She paused and looked around. They were all still standing in the lobby, and though the hotel was quiet, it seemed she was feeling a little self-conscious about standing there. Would you all join me for breakfast? I know its not breakfast time for you, but . . .

    Ill excuse myself, Lady. Borrius bowed and turned to Darro. We have some work to do for my estate back in the Marches, and we can make good use of this time.

    Ill go to my room until you need me, if you dont mind, Nia said to Victor.

    He nodded. Youre wee, you know . . .

    No, thank you, Lord Victor. Ill use this time to meditate.

    Well, Victor and I will join you, Lady apRoald, Va said, taking the lead.

    Just Issa, please. She smiled and gestured to the arched opening of the hotels restaurant. Are your kitchens open, Alec?

    Always! He led the way, and Issa and Va followed.

    See you guys soon, Victor said, nodding to Borrius and Nia. A few minutester, he was sitting at a small table near a window with Va and Issa; Alec had begged off, saying he had hotel business to manage before the big meeting. A waiter had brought over steaming cups of coffee with a tiny pitcher of thick cream, and Victor was savoring the drink, watching Issa eat pancakes and listening to the two women talk.

    I hope you dont find it rude, but Im very curious about your bloodline, Lady apYensha, Issa said between bites.

    Please, if Im going to call you Issa, you must call me Va. Hmm, my bloodline stems from an ancient ancestor, a Rihven. Have you heard of them?

    Rihven . . . Issas eyes unfocused, and Victor could see she was searching through her memory. Im afraid I havent.

    Youre well versed in the Ridonne, though, Ill wager.

    Oh yes. Obviously. Issa snickered as though the two women were sharing a joke.

    You know about the Vessi, yes?

    All but gone, no thanks to the Ridonne. Issa nodded and took another bite. Are you sure you two arent hungry?

    Im always hungry, Victorughed, But I dont want to eat so soon before the meeting. Id probably spill syrup on my shirt.

    Victor! Va sighed. Your shirt is enchanted to clean . . .

    I know, I know. Victor sipped his coffee. Ill eat when Im done beating up all these <em>pinch</em> robots Issas people have set up for me.

    That sounds like something Morgan would say, Issaughed.

    Va gave Victor a knowing look and continued speaking, Well, back on the topic of the Rihven, you know that there were three species of people that came from our homeworld, yes?

    From Alurath?

    Yes. Before the joiningthe Ardeni, the Shadeni, and the Ordeni.

    Oh, yes! The Ordeni were almost gone before the joining; the Ridonne were at war with them. Didnt the Yovashi finish them off?

    Right, the Yovashi were from Kthethe homeworld of the Ghelli. You could say that when the System merged the worlds, they didnt exactly get along with the new species they were confronted with. The Ordeni especially threatened them, being at least equally gifted with Energy usage. Va stopped, sipped her coffee, then chuckled, shaking her head. Im sorry for the history lesson; I promise I have a point.

    No, please go on!

    Well, as you no doubt know, we people from Alurath are quitepatible physically; if a Shadeni loves an Ardeni, they have no trouble bearing children.

    Of course. Issa nodded.

    Before I found my bloodline, I was, as far as I knew, Ardeni. I discovered, though, a distant ancestor who was Ordeni. Through her, I brought forth this Rihven bloodline. Its the equivalent of the Ridonne and the Vessi bloodlines.

    Ah! I love this sort of discussion! Wouldnt you say, then, that the Ordeni arent really gone? Im sure millions of Shadeni and Ardeni have Ordeni ancestors!

    Thats right! Va smiled and leaned back, sipping her coffee. Id like to go to Tharcray and liberate the texts in the Imperial Archives. Id like to learn more about the Ordeni, to learn more about everything the Ridonne have tried to bury or erase from the public record.

    We should . . . Victor started, but Va sighed and shook her head.

    Someday, maybe. We have other priorities.

    Issa nodded at Vas words, setting her fork down. Do I understand correctly that youre seeking to open world travel so you can get to ces the Ridonne have blocked?

    Yes! Were hoping to open up a hub world where we can learn more and, perhaps, travel further.

    A pity the timing is off, but thats just the sort of thing my Morgan is working on.

    Hes off-world?

    Yes. He bargained with the Ridonne, and, for a favor, hes been granted passage. This was before we learned of your troubles with them, before we realized the extent of their corruption. She frowned and shook her head, I hate to make excuses for my ignorance, but Im from Tarns Crossing, a frontier vige, and my knowledge of world affairs was sorelycking. Sadly, thats the case for most of us who arent living in the bigger cities. The Ridonne have done well in spreading their version of history.

    Issas face betrayed some worry or tension, and Va leaned closer, her voice soft and sympathetic, Have you had contact with him? Morgan, I mean.

    Oh, goodness! Does my worry show so much? Morgan is very resourceful, and when he contacted me, asked for my blessing to undertake the journey, he set the appropriate expectations. Dont trouble yourself a second longer worrying about me. Ill be fine. Now, she turned to Victor, Victor, I dont normally speak bluntly about political motives, but I want you to know that my reasons for lobbying for your visit werent wholly altruistic.

    I figured. Victor shrugged.

    Its true that these people need to understand what a powerful cultivator can aplish, but just as importantly, for me, theres a faction here in First Landing who must be taken down a notch. If they lost some political face, it would benefit Olivia, me, and others who think like us. I want that to be clear before you go into that town hall. I wont have you thinking me duplicitous.

    Well, if thats the case, maybe you should tell me about this other faction. What sorts of beliefs do they have that you think are problematic?

    For one, most of them think I should have been excluded from the election. Im the only non-human in Parliament. For another, they believe in recapturing the technology they left behind on Earth as a priority that supersedes all othersgaining levels, cultivating, trade agreements, exploration, nothing matters to them more than their lost tech. They advocate for human expansion and supremacy, and, though I think it isnt such a terrible idea, they are actively working to build a vessel that can travel into orbit where they believe their ark ship still flies. There are a hundred thousand human embryos on that vessel.

    Victor snorted, You think thats not terrible?

    Well, not the recovery of the embryos, no, not in and of itself. Everything will depend on which faction wins control. Things are very divided here. Theres a reason the low-affinity species Morgan and his friends rescued have left First Landing to found their own Vige a days travel from here. Publicly, people say its because they wanted their own homes, their own farms, and their own traditional buildings, but there were many people here who made them ufortable. I think it had more to do with that.

    Victor looked from Issas earnest face to Vas frowning, contemtive expression and growled, Wherever people gather, youll find assholes. There are assholes among the Ardeni and the Shadeni, and, yeah, of course, there are going to be some assholes among this many humans. I like you, Issa, but I dont really know you, do I? I wont promise that Ill be on your side right away, but if anyone at that townhall says something as stupid as what you just described, if any of them try to tell me that humans are better for some reason or another, Ill be d set them straight. Olivia tells me humans have a high average affinity, but thats nothingpared to dragons or, Victor shuddered as he involuntarily remembered his encounter with Fox and Three on the Spirit ne, some of the scarier individuals Ive run into.

    Thats all I ask, Victor. I just hope it wasnt a mistake to advertise your demonstration. Theres a faction led by a man named Norton Holmes whos very influential with the Defense Department here, and, well, Im worried about what hes going to throw at you. There are rumors about a special project.

    Oh? Are they ying for keeps, then? Like, no holds barred? As he spoke, Va shifted and grimaced, reaching under the table to put a hand on his wrist, almost like she thought she had to restrain him.

    I . . . Issa tilted her head, contemting. I believe theyre going to try to convince you to sign some sort of contract indicating that theyll not be held responsible for your death.

    Hah! Victor shook his head as his burgeoning rage subsided, reced by amusement. I guess its only fair. I was going to make you, or them, I guess, sign something saying I wont be responsible for the damage I do.

 Book 7: Chapter 7: Town Hall

    Book 7: Chapter 7: Town Hall

    Victor stood on the stone, stage-like dais and looked up at the rows of benches made from the same material. They rose in ranks up the slope of a kind of natural depression. The people of First Landing had built an outdoor amphitheater on the outskirts of their town near the foothills of a small range of mountains that helped to form the valley in which the settlement had been founded. High granite cliffs formed the stages backdrop and helped redirect sound to the audience. However, the runes inscribed in the magical devices at their feet pulsing with Energy made it clear that more than natural acoustics were at work.

    The tiered seating wasnt as bad as hed fearedhe figured maybe five hundred people could fitfortably in the little amphitheater, and, upon their arrival, about a third of the benches were empty. He supposed he wasnt too surprised. It wasnt like he and hispanions were celebrities. They were people from anothermunitying to answer questions and talk about things that, to him, seemed pretty mundane. He doubted hede to watch something simr if he were in their shoes. Their seats,fortable wooden chairs, were arranged in a loose semi-circle in the middle of the stage, and as they sat down, Alec stood before them, back to the audience, nodding and smiling.

    Everything all right? As I exined earlier, weve arranged for people to ask questions and for you all to answer. If a question isnt directed at an individual, well leave it to you to decide who answers. If theres something you dont want to respond tothere shouldnt be, but we cant vet every personfeel free to pass and ask for the next question.

    Am I to understand, Borrius said, leaning forward, clearing his throat, that we arent to deliver a prepared speech? I believe I was misinformed. He turned to re at Victor.

    I never said you had to prepare a speech!

    Uh, Alec smiled and lifted his hands, tamping down at the air as though to cool hot tempers, I dont see how it wouldnt be helpful to be prepared! Im sure many questions will touch on the topics you wrote about, Commander apGandro. He looked at a wristwatch, the first Victor had seen anyone in this world wearing, and added, Were actually a bit behind schedule. Will it be all right if I introduce you? Just stand up as I say your name, and when were done, you can all sit together. We have speaking stones embedded in the aisles, so only someone standing on one will be heard clearlyit will keep people from shouting out questions haphazardly.

    Victor nodded. Its fine. Go ahead. He looked to his left, smiling at Va, and then leaned forward a little so he could see Nia beyond her. Youll be great, Nia. Dont worry.

    Thank you, Lord Victor. She sped her hands together and tried to smile, but her nerves made the expression look more like a grimace. Victor wasnt worried about being overheard as they spokejust as the audience had speaking stones to use, identical devices were on the stage before each of their chairs. Alec had exined that they had two modes, blue and yellow. If they werent glowing yellow, the audience wouldnt hear their voices. Apparently, they worked to dampen sounds as much as project them. The speaking stones were about ten inches in diameter and rtively t. To Victor, they looked more like dinner tes than stones. If hed understood Alec correctly, all they had to do to change the stone from blue to yellow was to rest a foot upon it.

    His contemtion of the sound-projecting artifacts was cut short as Alec began to speak, his voice stridently rising off the stage to cut through the murmur of the crowd, Good people of First Landing, I wee you all to this town hall, the first of, hopefully, many as we seek to increase our knowledge and understanding of the System-controlled universea universe we are new to, despite the centuries of study we and other scientists have conducted back on Earth. When we embarked on our incredibly long voyage to Tau Ceti, we couldnt have imagined what wed find. Every day, we learn something new about our environment, and each tidbit of precious knowledge reveals ten more mysteries.

    Some of you are frustrated with our current situation, while others are enthralled by this vast expanse of new frontiers, this great void in understanding waiting to be filled. To that end, members of the Concordia Forum have worked to bring some fascinating guest speakers before you today. Theyve given up precious time to travel here to answer your questions, and I hope youll all join me in weing them with warm hearts and open arms to First Landing. Please, before I introduce them individually, join me in giving them all a round of apuse.

    Victor smiled and nodded as the audience began to p. He looked at hispanions. Nia blushed and looked down. Va was impassive, and the oldmander smiled, nodded, and soaked up the adtion. Darro had been spared the stage; he sat in the front row beside Issa, along with some other members of parliament. Theyd introduced themselves when Victors party first arrived in the amphitheater, but hed already forgotten their names. As the pping died down, Alec continued to speak, As you know, these guestse to us from the newly formed republic of The Free Marches, where they battled the undead invaders from the world of Dark Ember to winnds free from the Ridonne Empires influence.

    Now, as Ive told our guests, most of the people of First Landing, especially you all whove shown an interest in this town hall, are well versed in the details of that conquest and invasion, so I wont bore you by rehashing it. Im sure there are those among you whove prepared questions for our guests on that topic, so theres no sense repeating everything now. As I introduce each of them, Ill keep things brief; well have plenty of time to get to know these people over the next couple of hours.

    First, allow me to introduce Borrius apGandro, a formermander in the Ridonnian Imperial Legion. As Borrius stood and performed a half bow, Victor wondered at Alecs use of the term Ridonnianwas that the correct phrasing? Hed never heard anyone from the Ridonne Empirebel themselves as such. Borrius sat down, and Victor braced himself, but he apparently wasnt going in order of seating. Next, please wee Nia, a young woman, a survivor and freedom fighter from the world of Dark Ember! Nia hesitantly stood, ncing at Victor with a puzzled expression as the audience pped more enthusiastically for her than Borrius.

    Victor frowned, slightly annoyed by Alecs very liberal interpretation of Nias situation. Freedom fighter? Clearly, he was trying to sway the public opinion about the speakers hed gathered for them. Nia sat down, and Alec said, Beside Nia is Lady Va apYensha, a powerful person in her own right, but also the heiress to the most influential family in the Free Marches.

    Va stood up and, surprising Victor, stepped onto the speaking stone, clearing her throat. The audience had already grown hushed as she stood to her full stature, towering over Alec. She spread her wings slightly, and their lustrous metallic sheen as they rustled in the morning breeze was probably the source of the audiences stupefaction. Pardon me, Mr. Green, but Id like to rify one thing: Victor Sandoval is the most influentialndholder in the Free Marches, not my family. She smiled radiantly, bowed with a flourish, and sat back down, removing her foot from her speaking stone.

    Ah, thank you, Lady apYensha. Your timely correction brings me to our final guest, a man many of you have already heard spoken about in parliamentary sessionsVictor Sandoval. Victor stood up and nodded to Alec, his eyes focusing on him as he continued to speak, Victor is a new citizen to Fanwath, just as we area traveler from Earth! Despite Alecs assurance that many of the audience members already knew about his origins, there was quite a hubbub at his promation. Victor could hear the murmur of conversations, could see people speaking openly to their neighbors, but the magic of the amphitheater kept the noise from impacting Alecs introduction as he continued, Victor was summoned to this world; he didnt travel via spacecraft. His wee to Fanwath was a good deal harsher than ours, even considering our troubles with the Urghat.

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    Despite that, or perhaps because of it, Victor has grown in power and prestige beyond anything weve aplished here in First Landing. Heughed at the faint sounds of outrage or disagreementing from the muted audience. You dont have to take my word for it! Ill borate with some facts about the man: Hes reached levels of personal power that none of us here can begin toprehend. Hes conquered armies led by the Ridonne and traveled to another world where he rose to fame in a matter of weeks, besting champions in their arena and battling creaturesrger than the shuttles you all took to board the ark ship.

    Victor Sandoval helped to lead the army that drove the invaders from Dark Ember from this world, and, as Lady apYensha just assured you all, hes now the most influentialndholder in those liberatednds. Even saying all that, you dont have to believe me! Believe the man himself, standing here ready to answer your questions about the true nature of power in this, our new reality. Alec turned and, with the audience, began to apud Victor. Victor might have protested if someone asked whether he enjoyed the adtion, but the truth was that he ate it up. He stood tall, teetering on the brink of canceling his Alter Self spell but managing to keep it together until Alec stopped pping and turned back to the audience.

    Now, Ill yield the floor to you, citizens of First Landing. You know the procedure. Form lines at the speaking stones, and well allow our guests to answer you one at a time.

    Victor sat down, noticing the sour expression on Borriuss face as he did so. Something wrong, Borrius?

    Oh, nothing. Id hoped to have a chance to take the stage without you. Ill forever be clouded by your shadow while we share it.

    Hah, Victor chuckled, amazed, as usual, by the mans conceit. Try to keep your chin up, old man. Ill make sure you get to answer plenty of questions.

    Old man? Hah! You know I purchased a racial upgrade from the campaign store. Ill eat that, and the next time we meet, youll see what a handsome fellow I am. Victor couldnt tell if Borrius was being droll or serious, so he just snorted, amused either way.

    Ahem, a womans voice rang out over the audience, and Victor realized the first citizen had stepped up to the speaking stone. She was a tall, thin woman with long brown braids, wearing peach-colored overalls and a long-sleeved white shirt. I was wondering if you consider the Free Marches to be at war with the Ridonne Empire.

    Victor grinned at Borrius. Nows your chance!

    Borrius stood, sped his hands behind his back, and stepped onto the speaking stone. An excellent question! Are we at war? Not openly, no. The Ridonne, who led their legions against us as we made our way to the Untamed Marches, acted without Imperial sanction. Their armies were destroyed, and Victor, here, meted out justice most severe to the perpetrators. He nodded, stroked his jawline, and added, I would say that our rtions are cool and that we keep a watchful eye to the north, but we are not at war.

    As Borrius bowed and took his seat, a portly, bald man stepped up to the stone. Victor, er, Mr. Sandoval, is it true that youre the highest-level person on Fanwath?

    Victor barked a shortugh at the mans bluntness. He stood up and stepped a foot onto the speaking stone. As it turned yellow, he said, Thats an interesting question. First, Ill offer a little advice: Be careful with such a blunt question about a persons level. In some circles, that could get you in trouble. Most people would think its rude, but there are those, for instance, many of the people on Zaafor, who would thrash you or, at the very least, challenge you to a duel.

    My, uh, my apologies . . . he began to stammer, but Victor held up a hand and continued.

    Ill answer you, in any case. I might be the highest-level human, but Im not sure. As for the highest-level person, I can definitively say no. Theres at least one person on this stage whos my level. Ive never been to Tharcray, so there might be many people there who are higher level. I hear thats where all the old masters go to live, primarily because the colony stone there allows them to visit other, more powerful worlds. Considering some of those folks are more than four hundred years old, yeah, they might be higher level. Victor shrugged, stepped off the stone, and sat down.

    Pardon me, sir, but if you arent the . . .

    Thats your question, Gerald. Give the next person a chance, Alec interrupted. Gerald, a bit red in the face, stepped off the stone and moved back to his seat while a thin, dark-skinned woman wearing a tie-dye blouse and pants that looked very much like blue jeans stepped forward.

    Hello, Mr. Sandoval. Since youre standing, I have another question for you. When Victor nodded, she continued, Im Andrea Belgrade, and Ive been studying and trying topile a list of Core types. I saw from Geralds question that you find invasive questions rude, but would you mind if I asked a little about your Core? I believe it will be enlightening to this assembly.

    Victor tapped his toes onto the stone and responded, I dont mind.

    Thank you! From Olivia Bes briefings, many of us whove had an interest have learned a bit about you. As Gerald indicated, one thing we learned is that youre higher level than most or all of us here. Another is that you spoke to her in your correspondence about cultivating Energy for the advancement of your Core. Would you feel offended if I asked what type of Core you have? Your affinities?

    Heh, Victor didnt have to raise his voice; the speaking stone carried his softly spoken reaction perfectly to every ear in the amphitheater. He shook his head, amused and dismayed, unsure how to proceed. Here he was, confronted with hundreds of people, and they wanted to know things that were rather intimate, things that could lead to him being harmed by his enemies. He supposed the best way to handle it was to exin. First, I can see you all have been a little sheltered out here in the frontier. Im surprised Olivia, at least, hasnt spoken to you about etiquette when ites to sharing things like affinities, levels, skills, etcetera. If she has tried to exin and you all havent taken her seriously, let me say that you should listen. You dont want people in the wider world or beyond to know about your affinities.

    He wanted to pace about as he spoke, but he had to keep his foot on the stone, so he settled for stretching his neck while he gathered his thoughts. For example, during our war against the invaders from Dark Ember, one of my enemies learned too much about my affinities and managed to entrap me. That action led to the deaths of hundreds of good people, people who were counting on me. You have to believe that there are those who will use you in any way possible to advance their agenda, whatever it might be. You should have learned something like that from your experience with apGravin. Olivia told me he almost kidnapped half your poption!

    The woman didnt back down. She only nodded, holding up a hand to forestall Alecs objection, I understand that, Victor, but this town hall is about learning, and I think we could learn much from you. Without telling me your affinities, then, will you talk about your Core type? ording to Olivia, that cats out of the bag, yes? This is a relevant topic, and Ill illustrate that with a quick follow-up. Victor suddenly realized what she was getting at. She knew his Core type and wanted to make a point about it, but sought his permission to speak openly.

    Ah, I understand. I appreciate your consideration. I have a spirit Core. He looked around at the people sitting on the stone benches and tried to gauge their reaction. The murmuring buzz of conversation had increased, and he saw some tantly dismissive expressions from quite a number of people. A couple of men near the upper exit actually stood and began to leave.

    Do you see the ignorant reaction some of my fellow citizens are having to your statement, Mr. Sandoval? Not a single human in First Landing has a Spirit Core, yet they were rather abundant with the so-called low-affinity species, which, until recently, were living among us. Despite the novelty of Cores in general, our great dearth of understanding, there are those among us who believe they know enough to dismiss an entire category as inferior and less evolved. What say you?

    Victor frowned and rubbed his chin. His Quinametzin pride was annoyed, and he was toying with the idea of casting Iron Berserk and demonstrating his inferiority to those pitiful people, especially the men whod stood and begun to leave. He thought about canceling his Shape Self spell and letting his full aura roll out over them, crushing them into submission with his Aura of Command. Instead, he shrugged and smiled, speaking more calmly than ever, letting his deep voice rumble smoothly out to the audience, Plenty of people have underestimated me. Plenty have thought to punish or kill me with their superior affinities, only to be ground to dust, forgotten as a footnote in the history of my conquests.

 Book 7: Chapter 8: The Opposition

    Book 7: Chapter 8: The Opposition

    At the crowd''s reaction to his words, Victor immediately began questioning his decision not to put some weight behind his statement. Maybe he should have let his aura loose and allowed the people in the audience to understand that his words werent empty. Hed struggled with his Quinametzin pride, though, and won, and now he wouldnt change course. Many people had shot to their feet, crowding toward the speaking stones. There were four of them, with four different queues, but orderly patience had been cast aside as some of the audience members apparently took Victors words about grinding his enemies to dust as a threat.

    Despite the noise-dampening magic in the amphitheater, the buzz of the crowd was loud enough to make the people at the front of the lines feel they had to shout. The stones amplified those shouts, so they felt they had to contend with each other, creating a chaotic din in which Victor began to revel. It almost sounded like a battlefield to him, and something of a mad grin spread on his lips as he stood tall on the stage and watched the chaos unfold. Alec wasnt so content to let his town hall fall apart. He stood and, red-faced, began to shout. Whatever magic the amphitheater employed allowed his voice to cut through the mor.

    Quiet! Order! Keep your seats! We have a process here, and you all know it. Victor will be happy to answer follow-up questions, and, as you can see, he means no harm with his words. Alec gestured to Victor as he stood calmly atop his speaking stone, arms loose by his sides, aperhaps disturbingsmile on his face. Order! Quiet! One at a time! Alec continued to admonish the crowd until, after four or five repeated requests for order, the buzz finally began to die down. Alec pointed to the man at the front of the centermost line of waiting townsfolk. Richard, you were about to leave, and now youre at the front of the line. I see the people behind you are content to allow you to hold that spot, so why dont you ask your question.

    Victor could see what Alec was doing. It was evident that more than half the audience hadnt liked his response. It was also apparent that they had some ring leaders among them, and this guy, Richard, was one of them. If Alec let Victor deal with his questions, he probably figured the town hall could move on to more productive topics. As Richard, a thin man with very broad shoulders wearing clothing that wouldnt have been out of ce in an Ancient Rome revival, cleared his throat, Victor stared down his nose at him and folded his arms. Ahem, yes, Victor, is it? Right, well, would you mind rifying what you just said? Was that meant as a threat to First Landing?

    Victor looked around the audience and saw that most of them had settled down, and the queues had returned to orderly lines near the speaking stones. He looked down to the front row where Issa and other high-ranking guests sat. She was impassive, though he thought he saw something of a smile in her eyes as she watched him. However, her neighbor, an older man with swarthy skin and hard eyes wearing a very Earth-style suit, looked more than disturbed. Victor figured hed try to turn the tables on the guy asking him questions. I was talking about people who sought to do me harm. Did you take that to mean you? As he spoke, he unfolded his arms and tried to look rxed and reasonable.

    Perhaps you could enlighten us. Whom have you been grinding to dust during your time away from Earth? Why should we be entertaining a violent warmonger?

    Are you entertaining me? Victors smile faded, and his eyes began to glower, his restraint on his pride fading far more quickly than hed anticipated. So far, Im unamused. To answer your question, I was brought into this world as a ve, and I killed most of those who wanted to keep me that way. Victor was, of course, simplifying things, but he wasnt feeling charitable with his words just then.

    Alec had seen enough, and it was clear he was starting to worry that the town hall would devolve into a shouting match again. Do you have a question for our guest, or are you going to badger him? The topic at hand, I believe, is spirit Cores.

    Certainly. The man adjusted the sash-like belt around his waist and straightened up, clearing his throat. Weve learned through our study that the use of spirit Cores is relegated to the low-affinity species of this world because they are directly tied to emotion. As anyone whos studied history can tell you, emotion isnt what sessful nations are built upon. Why should we take advice from you, a man who is, admittedly, a ve to his emotions?

    Victor chuckled, shaking his head and rubbing his chin as he tried to unpack the loaded question. Again, he felt frustrated being tied to the speaking stone; he was a man who liked to move and especially so when he was trying to think. Finally, after several long seconds during which he could hear the faint buzz of the audience growing impatient, he replied, First, Id say that you need to revisit your studies. Spirit Cores arent tied to emotions, but our emotions connect us to our spirits. Notice I said our. All of you have spirits, but those of us gifted with a spirit Core are able to harness that Energy. Ill say one final word on this matter publicly: A person with a spirit Core isnt a ve to their emotions but rather one who must learn to master them. If not for my many hours of torturous introspection, I would have lost myself to one emotion or another during this town hall, for instance. Victor nodded as though confirming his words to himself, and then he sat down.

    But thats not . . . the man started to say, only to be cut off from Alec.

    Lets keep things moving, folks. He pointed to another queue and said, Raif, what''s your question?

    Ahem, yes. I was wondering if we might hear some more about this invasion that took ce. How did an army arrive on Fanwath from another world? How many soldiers were there? Why was it imperative that you do battle? Rumors Im hearing are that mere thousands of people were fighting over millions of acres. Couldnt negotiations have taken ce?

    Va stood up. Ill take this one. She stepped onto her speaking stone and, with a clear, unemotional voice, said, Thats an interesting question, and I can see why youd ask it, being that you and your people are from a world untouched by the System. Those of us whove lived our lives under the System, though, know that while it may seem like a deity at times, it does not, in fact, care about us, or, if it does, it cares in the way a mother boyii hound cares about her youngsurvival is the only important goal. If theres only food for three pups and she has four, she will abandon the weakest one.

    Think of the System as that harsh mother hound. It sees growth as the most important thing, and to foster that growth, it will pit its pups against each other. In the case of the invasion from Dark Ember, the System chose invaders who were fundamentally ipatible with us, opened a portal, and allowed them to funnel tens of thousands of their people into thend we were marching to settle. To foster thepetition, the System offered rewards for conquest along with the high stakes of knowing that if one side failed, it would spell doom for their kind on this world.

    Va clearly wasnt done speaking, but the man interjected, How can that be? What sort of doom? Weve not seen any evidence of world-ending weapons on this. No nuclear technology or gue or . . .

    Sir, if youd allow me to finish, the answer to your question may be clear. Va paused, but the man nodded, waiting, so she continued, Firstly, if youve not seen any world-ending magic or gues, youve not been here long enough. They exist. Secondly, these invaders were just such a thinga gue given sapience. They were undead, and not only did they seek to subjugate all the peoples of Fanwath, but they sought to turn the verynd into a haven for their kind. As they spread . . .

    Va continued to expound on the dangers of the undead, answering many follow-up questions about the System, about conquests, about portals, and her evidence for the Systems harsh nature. It seemed that the people who wanted to press for more and more detail were never satisfied, and Victor began to remember how frustrating it could be to argue with those whod already made their minds up about something. The entire town hall was a bit of a sham in his mind. Issas people thought a certain way, herpetition thought another, and they both sought to make the other look stupid. It felt like Issa was the more rational, correct one, but Victor couldnt help feeling used.

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    While Va spoke, he wondered if they were just wasting time. Looking around the audience, the same people looked incredulous as when hed first riled them up by talking about how hed crushed his enemies. He was beginning to understand why Issa had talked her opposition into setting up a demonstration of their war machines. It was going to take the p of harsh reality to make them see reason. . . . perhaps Nia, here, will better be able to illustrate that point. Victor snapped his mind back to reality as Nia, nervously clenching her hands together, stood up to speak.

    Hello, she said, flinching as her voice echoed through the amphitheater.

    Ah, hello, Miss Nia, Alec said, trying to smooth the transition. Allow me to repeat the questionwould you say the, um, great undead lords, as Lady apYensha called them, are equivalent to the Ridonne faction of the Empire?

    I . . . Nia paused and licked her lips, ncing at Victor. He nodded at her, and he could almost see the determination take shape in her eyes as she steeled herself and kept speaking, I havent met your Ridonne, but Ive heard tales. The soldiers Ive fought with, they told me about the Ridonne Lords Victor fought, and they sounded fierce, indeed. Still, those soldiers said Prince Hector was worse, that his bone dragon alone was enough to send a Ridonne lord running. Well, Prince Hector was a lickboot on Dark Ember, a princeling, the great lords called him. So, to answer your question, aye, the great lords are like your Ridonne, but only cause they rule over a world. If they were toe here, the Ridonne would be on bent knee within a day.

    Victor grinned as he watched the crowds reaction. The suppressed hum of conversation rose in volume, and several people tried to speak using the stones at once. Alec calmed them down, and then Victor listened as the following ten questions seemed to be aimed at getting Nia to admit she was exaggerating. She wouldnt budge. The town hall went on like that, and Victor tried to stay seated as much as possible, giving hispanions plenty of opportunity to speak. Borrius did an excellent job dragging out the responses to questions about the Ridonne Empire, its ruling practices, and its military capabilities.

    Va spoke at length about Zaafor and Coloss, but she grew frustrated at one point trying to describe the disparity in strength between the Warlord and his war captains, so she asked Victor to help exin things. He stood up and talked about how the Warlord kept his colony stone under tight control, issuing tokens for its use and keeping the best rewards for himself. The real lesson wasnt there, though; it was in how the Warlord himself was stagnating, so Victor tried to exin, What you all need to understand is that the Warlord, despite spending more than a thousand years working to improve his Core and gain levels, was kind of stuck. Hed reached the limit of what he could do in his world. I believe thats a good lesson for you if I understand Lady apRoalds concern.

    Pardon me? the man at the speaking stone asked. Victor didnt remember his name, but he was a member of the First Landing parliament. He looked fit, and if Victor were guessing, hed say the guy had eaten a racial advancement or two. Is that the concern <em>Lady</em> Issa has? What nonsense. How can staying in one world stagnate a person? Innovation doesnt cease because youve not ventured forth. Rather than support Issas stance, I believe youve undermined it. This man, the Warlord you speak of, exemplifies how trying to gain power through Energy cultivation is a fools errand. Rather, we need to demonstrate to these backward peoples what technology is capable of. If someone like this Warlord presented a threat to us, how would he fare versus a missile strike?

    Victor snorted and shook his head. You arent listening. The Warlord worked for millennia to improve himself. He grew powerful enough to rule his world, and, if he came here, he could conquer this one easily. You cant stop a guy like that with guns or bombsyoud never see himing! Forget him, though; he was nothing next to a dragon I met . . .

    A dragon? Whats next? Are you going to join in on the hysterics of Doctor Be about fairies and . . .

    Ah, Alec said, speaking over the man, his master speaking stone making his voice impossible to ignore, Thats just about the end of our time, and I feel its a good note to end onLester, you speak about the superiority of human technology and, as you know, Victor has agreed to participate in your partys demonstration. By his own admission, Victor has a long way to go before hes at the Warlord of Colosss level, so it should be a good indication of how ready our defenses are when ites to powerful invaders. Several people tried to speak using the stones, but Alec did something to turn them off, fiddling with a device he held.

    Victor noticed the stone he stood on was also no longer glowing, and he turned to Va. What a bunch of assholes.

    Oh, I dont know, Borrius said, I sat in many sessions of the Imperial Senate, and this was far less contentious. Politics is an ugly business, Victor.

    Was I all right? Nia asked before Va could formte a response to Victors deration of assholery.

    You were great. Victor held out his hand, and Va took it, standing up beside him. As the audience began to file out, men and women wearing blue and gray uniforms and carrying bulky musket-like guns walked in from the stage''s wings. They stood at the aisles, ensuring everyone left and that Victor and hispanions werent osted by people wanting to get some one-on-one questions in. These people really have already made guns, he sighed as Alec walked over to them with Issa.

    Im so sorry, Issa said before Alec could get a word in.

    Nonsense, Va said, smiling. As Borrius just said, politics are ugly.

    Id so hoped to have something more academic in this town hall! When Olivia proposed it, shed thought youd have time to detail your experiences and, through them, convince people of the need for cooperation and mutual edification. I didnt think wed have to talk in circles again and again while the P and Ds tried to discredit you. Alec, how did they get so many representatives in the queues?

    I dont know. Im sorry, Issa. We interviewed everyone, but they must have lied.

    P and Ds? Va raised an eyebrow.

    Issa sighed, shaking her head. Theyre the opposition party to everything we try to aplish. Progress and Dominiona tform for recapturing their Earth technologies and expansion through, as the name implies, dominion. Its ugly!

    Excuse me, a deep-voiced man said from off to the left. Victor looked to see a familiar figurethe guy in the business suit. He had two men walking behind him, and they both carried weapons that looked very much like fancy, hand-crafted machine guns. He wasnt very tall, but he looked reasonably fit beneath his suit. He had a full head of wavy, dark hair, and his equally dark eyes twinkled with amusement as he chuckled, approaching them all. Oh, dear, that wasnt anything like wed hoped, was it, Issa? I had so many questions we never got round to. I hope we might sit down together before you all leave.

    This is Darren Whitehorse, a member of our parliament and the leader of the P and D party.

    Right, right, he nodded, extending his hand to Borrius, My apologies, I should have introduced myself. Borrius shook his hand, and Victor regarded him. The man looked smug and very secure in his position, likely due to therge men with guns standing behind him. Maybe it was Victors ranks in intelligence, maybe it was his gut, or maybe it was just more obvious than it should have been, but he connected some dots.

    As he shook the mans hand, purposefully barely squeezing, he said, I think I can see why a political party would want to push an agenda like yours.

    Oh? What an interesting greeting. What agenda do you mean?

    Isnt it obvious? When people learn about the strength they can unlock through Core, level, and racial advancement, when they learn therespetition for resources to improve those things, theyll do what they can to suppress the interest of others.

    Ah, hmm. Darren frowned, then shrugged. An interesting take, sir. In any case, a crowd is gathering on the northern wall, and the demonstration is ready. Are you still willing to put yourself on disy? My people are eager to show everyone what weve aplished.

    Mmhmm. After that town hall, Ive got the urge to break something. Victor smiled, put an arm over Vas shoulders, and gestured toward the stairs leading out of the amphitheater. Shall we?

    Of course, of course. There is just one small matter we need to discuss on the topic of liability. Were rather worried that your allies and, he nced at Nia and narrowed his eyes, followers will seek retribution should something untoward happen to you during the demonstration. He held out his hand, and one of the machine-gun-toting soldiers handed him a rolled parchment. Would you mind agreeing to an Energy contract indemnifying us?

    Hmm? Oh, that shouldnt be a problem. I believe Borrius has one for you as well. Hell review your contract while we walk. Victor looked at the solemn-faced oldmander. Thats right, isnt Borrius?

    Indeed. We wouldnt want First Landing to grow angry if you destroy their war machines.

    Right, right. Again, Victor gestured to the stairs. Shall we?

    Yes, right this way, Issa said, leading their small procession off the stage and up through the now-empty amphitheater.

    Oh, but . . . Darren Whitehorse hurried to walk beside Victor as he took the steps two at a time. Wouldnt you want to read the contract?

    Borrius will read it. Hes written and signed hundreds of them. Victor looked at the man, offered him a sly wink, and added, Wouldnt want to strain my primitive mind on all those words, you know? He would have said more, would have maybe tried to pick a fight with the guy, but Va squeezed his biceps where she held his arm as they walked, and he convinced his inner titan to hold backit was almost time to break some shit.

 Book 7: Chapter 9: A Prelude to Violence

    Book 7: Chapter 9: A Prelude to Violence

    I dont get how an Energy contract is going to help here, Victor said, looking at the document in Borriuss hands. If I die, how is a bargain I struck going to keep my allies and followers, as he put it, from seeking revenge?

    Ah, well, its quite aplicated contract. As youplete it, youll be required to list three individuals who will suffer an Energy-fueled bacsh of sorts should punitive action be taken against First Landing as a result of your demise. Before the contract isplete, their signatory party will have to approve the names.

    Nah, thats bullshit. Im not putting others at risk. Go back to them and work something else out. When Borrius frowned, Victor heard his words and tone echoing in his head and tried to soften them. I know its not your fault, and I appreciate you helping with this. Can you please try to negotiate something else? Im afraid I dont have the tact.

    Borrius nodded, his frown smoothing over. Of course. He turned and approached the group of First Landing representativesmembers of parliament and their aidesabout twenty paces away. They were standing atop the southern ramparts of First Landings outer walls. Now that the sun was well up, Victor had to admit the walls were pretty spectacr. Much about the settlement was impressive. After the town hall, theyd taken a leisurely walk with Alec and Issa as guides. Despite knowing that Darren Whitehorse and his Progress and Dominion party were waiting for them, Issa insisted that they see some of the infrastructure the colony had been hard at work implementing.

    The roads were the first thing Victor noticedthey were straight, t, and orderly,id out in a pattern that made him realize just how different the cities of Fanwath were from those hed known on Earth, an admittedly small sample. In Persi Gables, for instance, the streets were narrow, winding, and very difficult to navigate if you werent a native. In First Landing, once Victor had learned that the tall, metallic tower was on the southern side of town, he never had any trouble figuring out where he was. It also helped that the center of town was on higher ground, with streets leading away from it like spokes on a wheel. Avenues circled Bronwyns Hill, every one of them crossing the two central boulevards. No matter where a person was, they could walk along one of those gently curving roads, and eventually, theyde to Broadway or Main.

    Victor wasnt impressed with the creativity in their street names, but he couldnt argue with the practicality of theyout. As theyd walked, Issa pointed out the streetlights powered by Energy, which wasnt a big deal to Victor, but when she pointed to weird copper posts on every corner and said they weremunication hubs, allowing nearby homes and businesses to connect to a telephone system, Victor had to give props to the artisan-engineers whode from Earth.

    The other standout was the cars. Victor had seen vehicles powered by Energy in other cities, especially Coloss, but the humans had gone a long way to recapturing the look of modern automobiles from Earth. They had metallic bodies and ss windshields and were painted in bright colors. More than that, they were aerodynamic, had some kind of rubbery material for tires, and were equipped with brake lights and turn signals. Nothing like them existed in the other cities of Fanwath.

    Standing atop the gigantic, white-washed outer wall, Victor could look back toward the town, across arge expanse of mostly emptynd where residences were being constructed, to the older, earthen wall that surrounded the central built-up part of First Landing. Jutting above it, on the gently sloping ground, was the gleaming brass tower that Issa said was her home. It was tall and imposing, considering it was made of metal, and it made for a goodndmark. Issa had exined that the System had awarded it to Morgan Hall forpleting some kind of dungeon.

    What are you thinking? Va asked, turning toward him and leaning an elbow on the chalky, white crention. Seems youre avoiding looking out at the field. Are you getting nervous?

    Victor scoffed, shook his head, and then smiled at her. Youre joking, right? He turned to the field beyond the high wall and looked at the twenty shiny steel tanks. There was no mistaking that they were tanks. They had treads, not wheels, no windows, and they all sported a turret with various types of protruding tubesclearly weapons.

    Theyrerge and made of thick, enchanted metal. Are you sure you can damage them? What if you injure Lifedrinker?

    If I were a normal person, or, well, even a low-level cultivator, Id be worried. Id say they have to weigh ten or twenty tons each, and I bet the Energy weapons these guys have cooked up are impressive. They figure they can st some airships out of the sky and steamroll some little soldiers, but theyve never seen a titan. Anyway, dont worry about Lifedrinker. I have another axe Ive been holding onto, one I got from Karl the Crimson while you were sleeping the days away back at Sea Keep.

    She darted out her hand, pinching him on the side of his pectoral. Sleeping the days away? He winced andughed, and she relented, chuckling along with him. Well, you never showed me an axe.

    We got kind of busy after you woke up. Victor winked at her, and herugh got louder, her cheeks flushing just a little as she squinted at him in the bright sunlight.

    She nodded toward the rampart behind him. Herees Borrius.

    Victor turned and smiled at the dour-faced oldmander. Whats the verdict?

    I have managed to strike new terms with them. They ask that, in lieu of you signing the contract, Va does. She must agree that the Free Marches will not hold them responsible for your demise, else she will suffer Energy depletion.

    Not a chance . . .

    Ill do it. When does it expire?

    In two hours time. They think that will be plenty for the demonstration.

    Victor frowned at Va and shook his head. I dont want you getting tied up in this BS.

    Its nothing, Victor. We need the quick supply of Energy beads if we want to help Edeya soon. If you were to lose, I wouldnt me them anyway. Youve agreed to this with open eyes. It bothers me a bit that they dont trust our honor, but Ill sign the stupid document.

    Victor stared at her for a long moment, then turned to Borrius. Youre sure nothing sneaky is in thenguage?

    Nothing at all, and that Darren Whitehorse fellow will be signing my contract, thenguage of which explicitly states that he is not being duplicitous. He paused, shook his head, then added, I suppose I should state that they insist on a single line in the contract that gives me some doubt.

    Yeah? Victor raised an eyebrow.

    Yes. The terms of the contest are that they can bring to bear all defense machinery on the field, visible or otherwise.

    Huh? Victor looked out at the twenty shiny tanks, squinting as he scanned the field for anything else. Something invisible? A thought urred to him, and he summoned his little magical spyss from his ring. Scanning through it at the tanks, he saw they had no halo at all. Either the magic of the spyss thought he was right, and they wouldnt be a problem, or it didnt work on non-living machines. He figured it was thetter.

    Or hidden inside the machines? Va spected.

    Borrius nodded and shrugged. Or under the ground. Does it concern you?

    Nah. Victor put his spyss away.

    I thought not. Shall we? He gestured toward the group of First Landers.

    All right. Victor wasnt happy about Va signing the contract, but if it onlysted two hours and all she had to do was not seek retribution, he couldnt see how it was a problem for her. The real issue was that Darren and his people thought they needed it. Why were they so confident that Victor was going to die? Were they simply underestimating him, or was he the one doing the underestimating? Hed seen plenty of videos featuring tanks back on Earth. Hed seen them drive through buildings, smash cars and trucks like they were made of cardboard, and, of course, shoot their cannons, destroying all manner of things. Was he being stupid? Could he take on twenty tanks, even as a titan? Victor chuckled at theck of concern he still felt. Maybe his Quinametzin pride was making him stupid, but he wasnt worried.

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    Amused? Whitehorse asked as they approached.

    Yeah, I guess so. Victor shrugged.

    Victor, you dont have to do this, Issa said, stepping around Whitehorse to get closer.

    Like I said earlier, Im looking forward to it. I havent had any exercise in a couple of days. Victor heard muttering and incredulity from the crowd behind them. Hed met a lot of the members of parliament and some other government officials, but if he were being honest, Victor didnt feel like memorizing all of their names. Maybe if he came back after helping Edeya and stuck around for a while, hed make more of an effort, but right now, they were just a bunch of politicians to him. Issa and Alec were friendly faces, Whitehorse was kind of a prick, and that was about the extent of his desire to get to know these people.

    Excellent. Whitehorse smiled, and to Victor, he looked like a cat getting his ears rubbed. Why was the guy so damn happy? Lets sign these documents, and you can use the lift there to descend to the gate. He pointed to therge freight elevator theyd built into their wall. Victor stepped back and let Borrius and Va handle the paperwork. He leaned against the wall and stared out at the field, wondering what Whitehorse was hiding. He supposed the tanks could be full of robots. Maybe they really didnt understand the difference between a tier three or four human and a tier six Quinametzin. Did they think they could overwhelm him with numbers? He smiled in anticipation.

    Thats a very hungry grin on your face, Victor. Issa had quietlye to stand beside him.

    He looked into her bright, golden-yellow eyes and saw concern. Hey, rx. Itll be fine.

    I just want you to know that Darrens Engineers have been hard at work preparing for this demonstration. Theyve really talked it up. You can see, she gestured down the walkway atop the rampart, past the roped cordon and security guards, at the enormous crowd gathered to watch the event, that theyve been running a promotional campaign. He thinks this will catapult his party into primacy.

    Victor shrugged. Okay, well, I dont intend to make them look good. I mean, it cant have been cheap to make those things. I almost feel a little guilty.

    She looked at him, tilting her neck to take in his height fully. Youre a big man, no question, but not much taller than my Morgan. He has powerful magic, and Im sure he could destroy these machines. At least one of them . . . She frowned and trailed off. When Victor didnt respond, she blurted, Ive seen how thick the enchanted metal armor on those things is! How can you hope to damage them with that axe?

    This axe? Victor pulled Lifedrinker from her harness and held her toward Issa. Id never abuse this beauty by making her smash up some dumb machines. No, shes too good for this sort of thing. Lifedrinker buzzed in his grip, pleased by his attention. Her heart-silver de gleamed in the sunlight, but she was coolnot a hint of heat or smoke drifted out of her. Smiling, he slung her back over his shoulder, and her harness snatched her up, pulling her tight to his back. Dont worry, Lady Issa.

    Thats that, Darren announced,ing to stand beside Issa. He was grinning from ear to ear, disying very nice, straight white teeth. I appreciate your willingness to help us demonstrate the effectiveness of our machines. As Im sure your representative, Mr. apGandro, informed you, should things prove difficult and you wish to save your own life, simply run for the gate, and well let you in. The contest will then be over.

    Mmhmm. And you guys? Victor looked at him, still grinning, still excited at the idea that hed soon be breaking things.

    Us?

    Yeah, how will you signal for me to stop? Breaking your little machines, I mean.

    Little, hmm? Well, dont you worry, Mr. Sandoval. Thats not an eventuality that were concerned with.

    Victor cocked an eyebrow at him and then shrugged. You signed the contract, yeah? Im not paying for em.

    Of course, of course. Whitehorse had the nerve to squint slightly in amusement and wink at Victor. Victor felt a little heat start to leak out of his Core into his pathways; if he hadnt been ready before, now he really wanted to smash some shit.

    So, you want me just to go out there and stand in the middle of the field? Are you going to signal when to start?

    Of course! Well fire a re to make it clear, but the machines will also begin. Please be on your toes, sir, and remember my offer to cease hostilities should you run for the gate. Whitehorse smiled and turned, gesturing toward the elevator, but Va, whod followed him over from the document signing, stood in his way.

    Id like your assurance that youll stop the machines if I ask you to as well. What if Victor cant break free?

    Va . . . Victor started to protest, but Whitehorse responded immediately, effusive in his eagerness to please.

    I will happily agree to that! No one wants to see Victor lose his life today.

    Victor sighed but decided to let it drop; if it made Va feel better, he was fine with the condition. Since he wasnt arguing, he hopped atop the white-washed crention and, amid the gasps and startled exmations of the crowd, said, Ill head down. Dont start til I wave. He didnt wait for a response; he simply stepped into the air and let himself fall nearly a hundred feet to the hard-packed gravel ground. As the wind whistled past his ears, he severed his connection to his Shape Self spell, expanding from something near seven feet tall to nearly ten.

    He doubted anyone on the rampart could see the change now that he was below them and some distance away, but it was important because once he was back to normal, his Titanic Leap ability allowed him tond from the great fall without any difort. Even so, his impact was loud, and the ground rippled beneath his feet, a dust cloud bursting up around him. Victor had good hearing, along with all his other senses, and he could hear the gasps and exmations from atop the wall. He smiled in his dust cloud, wondering what they thought.

    As he caught himself enjoying the reaction, he felt a little guilty, a little childish. He hadnt even hugged Va or said goodbye, so intent had he been on catching the First Landing folk by surprise. Ah fuck it. Ill see her soon enough. With that, he started forward, striding out of the slight depression hed created and onto the field. At ground level, the tanks were bigger than theyd seemed from the ramparts. Shit, he muttered, looking at the twenty gleaming, colossal vehicles. They were probably ten feet high at the tops of their turrets, maybe just as wide and twice that in length. These things are going to take a pounding. Victor scanned through his storage ring, looking for Karls axe. Dont be upset, <em>chica</em>; Im just going to use this other axe for a little while, just to smash some big tin cans.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Issa watched the young human drop from the ramparts and smiled as most of the people around her responded with rm. She knew better; even she could survive that fall, and shed yet to reach tier three. Undoubtedly, someone who was, if the rumors were to be believed, higher than tier five wouldnt be overly harmed by such a drop. The fact that Va didnt so much as flinch was a good signal that nothing was amiss. Still, it illustrated how much the people of First Landing had to learn. Many of them clearly thought hed just leaped to his death. When he impacted the ground, and the sound traveled up to their lofty position like a brief rumble of thunder, that was another matter.

    Is he all right? she asked, peering over the crion to the cloud of dust that obscured the man from view. That sounded like quite an impact!

    Hes heavier than he looks. Va smiled at her reassuringly. Hes fine. She looked over her shoulder at the startled, even panicked, faces of the governmental delegation. Hes fine, everyone. Dont worry.

    He walks! someone cried from the audience further down the wall where therge crowd of onlookers had gathered. A smattering of apuse broke out, and even a few cheers as Victor strode out of the dust cloud, walking as though out for a stroll into the middle of the field of short, blue-green grass. He looked tinypared to the giant metal automatons Darrens people had been toiling so hard to build over thest months.

    Hell eat that up, Va said, sighing as she leaned over the crention. Her words said one thing, but her smile said another.

    You truly love him. Issas face flushed, and she quickly added, Im sorry, thats none of my business.

    Its anyones business who wants to know. I love Victor Sandoval with all my heart.

    Yet youre not worried?

    Hes worried me before. I was worried when he faced off against a thousand undead reavers. I was worried when he chased a mad Death Caster up the slopes of an active volcano. This doesnt worry me much.

    Well, Darren said, speaking up from Vas other side, Im very sorry for any harm that maye to him. You heard me warn him. Please be ready to throw in the towel for him. Issa hadnt heard the expression before, but she could figure out what he meant. She was sure Va did as well. He cleared his throat, and Issa could tell he was getting ready to signal the start of the demonstration, but then he coughed and started tough. God! Look at the foolish man. That axe isrger than he is! Can he even swing it?

    Issa jerked her eyes back to the field and Victor. He still stood in the center of the field, but a few things had changed. He wore a ck and red armored vest that shimmered as the bright sunlight reflected off its scales. Atop his head was a thick dark metal helmet that covered the top of his face, shielding his eyes behind angry, angr slits. He also now held the handle of a weapon. An impossibly massive, ck metal axe rested on the ground behind his shoulder, on which he held its handle. The handle had to be fourteen or fifteen feet long, and at its end, half buried in the grass, was a chisel-like axe head that probably weighed a thousand pounds.

    Oh, Va said, a slow smile spreading her beautiful lips, he can swing it.

 Book 7: Chapter 10: Timing is Everything

    Book 7: Chapter 10: Timing is Everything

    Victor hefted the handle of the giant axe, grinning at the way he had to strain just to lift it onto his shoulder. The massive axe head was still resting on the ground behind him. He figured if the axe were made of steel, it would weigh a couple thousand pounds. The de stood up from the ground more than a yard, and the spike on the backside was buried in the soft soil another foot, sunk there by gravity when Victor summoned it from his ring. The fact of the matter, though, was that the axe wasnt made of steel. It wasnt iron. It was some alloy or magical metal that neither he nor any of the men and women of the ninth could identify. It was far heavier and denser than an iron-based alloy, but it wasnt soft like lead or goldtheyd ruined hammers trying to test the edge.

    Without his Iron Berserk, Victor could lift the axe and swing it, but it was unwieldy, and the momentum of the great weapon would throw him off bnce. No, hed found that to use it effectively, he needed the size his Berserk granted him and the strength from his Titanic Rage feat. He twisted his hands on the metal axe haft, grinning at how his fingers could barely wrap around the dark metal. He wondered what the silly bastards up on the wall were thinking. Did they think he was insane? Did they wonder how hed swing such a massive implement? He was having a good time keeping them wondering.

    When hed released his Alter Self spell, hed done it as he fell away from the crowds, far beneath them. His hope was that they wouldnt be able to discern the fact that hed suddenly grown. No other people were on the field, and the axe was enormous, so he figured they thought he was still the same size hed been. He loved the idea of pounding those tanks into scrap without revealing his full titanic form. He loved it so much that he was going to try to fight them without berserking, just to see if he could pull it off. Yep, <em>chica</em>, he said, looking at his shoulder where Lifedrinkers haft jutted up, Ill just start off slow. Its better I dont get too pissed off, anyway, right? Wouldnt want me to lose my shit and smash through that wall. He chuckled, shaking his head, starting to daydream, but then he realized they were probably waiting for him to signal that he was ready.

    Victor smiled and muttered, Timing is everything, then lifted his right arm in the air, waving it back and forth. Almost immediately, an answering <em>boom</em> sounded from the far corner of the wall, and a sparkling red re flew into the air, arcing over the field. Victor had good reflexes when it came to starting a contest. From the ancient-seeming days when hed been a wrestler and waited for the whistle or beep to the death battles in the pits, arenas, and colosseums, hed always been quick to jump intobat. This was no different, and he literally leaped into action. He squatted, flexed his powerful thighs, and, gripping the massive axe like he was trying to uproot a streemp, heunched into the air toward the centermost tank on the field''s eastern edge.

    The axe ripped a massive divot out of the ground, trailing dirt and grass as he flew through the air with it hanging behind his shoulder. Soaring through the air, he began to bunch the wire-taut muscles of his shoulders and arms, getting ready to swing the tremendous weapon over his shoulder as he descended. Of course, he was channeling Sovereign Will into his strength and vitality. Of course, hed pulled that hot, familiar rage-attuned Energy from his Core and into his pathways, casting Channel Spirit to fill his arms and the massive axe with its furious heat. Considering the axes ck metal and the trail of dirt, it was hard to see, but if one were discerning, they might catch the hint of a faint red halo limning the weapon.

    As he reached the apex of his leap, some thirty yards in the air, and began to descend, Victor saw the automated, Energy-driven tanks had reacted to the signal, or perhaps some remote operator had. He didnt know how smart the things were on their own. Regardless, theyd all rumbled to life, their treads glowing with yellow Energy, their turrets turning to try to track him, but only a few had enough vertical mobility. Victor had no idea what they might fire out of their many differently-shaped barrels, but he didnt find out right away; hed gotten the jump on themVictorughed at the punand before they could react enough to stop him, he fell like a flesh and metalet on his chosen victim. With a roar loud enough to be heard over the rumble of the many machines, he jerked his gigantic axe over his head. His feet hit the turf with a muffled <em>boom</em>, and he smashed the weapon down on the tank.

    Karls axe, focusing thousands of pounds of metal on a wedge-shaped cutting edge, split through the shiny tank like a hatchet hitting an aluminum can. Victor had ced his blow on the front quarter of the machine, just in front of the turret, and the axe tore through the armor, the metal gears, and whatever else was inside, all the way down into the ground. In a spectacr shower of rainbow-hued sparks and mes, the machine began toe apart at the seams. Victor would have loved to watch the show, to see the various liquids spurting forth, to listen to the pop of magical crystals and fuses, but he knew better than to stand around when neen other enemies were targeting him.

    As the concussive sounds of cannons being fired echoed around him, Victor jerked on the enormous axe and started running toward the machine to his left. The shots werent aimed at where he currently was, thankfully, because the axe didnt want toe free. Victors momentum was brought to a screeching halt as the de caught up in the smoldering, smoking metal of the ruined tank, and, despite the vast disparity in their rtive mass, Victor began to drag the vehicle through the grass. He only made it a few feet before it became too much for him, the treads buried a foot into the soft soil. Still, as it bit into the ground, the axe jerked free, and Victor veritably flew through the grass toward the next tank as it set its sights on him.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Jesus Christ! someone off to her right eximed, confirming, if Va had doubted the fact, that these people came from Victors home world. The outburst hade when Victorunched himself into the air and smashed one of the machines before any of the automatons could react. She couldnt help her small smile and slight nod, approving of Victors showmanship. He was holding a lot back, but it was probably wise; Borrius thought these humans had something in reserve, and she agreed.

    She watched Victor struggle to pull his axe out of the wreckage of the first machine, saw him actually pull the massive vehicle a short way through the grass, and then sprint toward the next one as the axe broke free. All the while, colorful explosions were bursting in the air as the other war machines fired, btedly, at the ces Victor had been as he soared toward the first broken construct. Quite a spectacle, Issa said beside her. Reminds me of a harvest celebration back home.

    That axe, Darren Whitehorse said from the other side of her, it must weigh thousands of pounds to do that to our tank. How does he move with it like that? He sounded genuinely incredulous. Hadnt he seen the magic people could work in this world? Hadnt he listened to Victors cousin? Was he so dense?

    Before she could respond, Issa did, I suppose hes put much of his Energy cultivation into improving his physical attributes.

    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    But . . . Whitehorse said, wincing as Victor destroyed another machine, this time cleaving the axe in a sideways arc so it broke free with its own momentum. But, weve had citizens put their leveling attributes into strength; the ones whove focused on that exclusively have reached limits, unable to add more past a ceiling. A ceiling, I might add, that is far less than what would allow anyone to do that!

    Have you truly refused to listen to what people have tried to exin? Victor has advanced his race to the point where the ceiling for his attributes is far beyond what a normal human, or, she winked at Issa, Ardeni could reach.

    Hesrge, but it doesnt exin it. Its not logical! How can he swing that weapon without flinging himself off the ground? He winced again as Victor, using his weapons momentum, sprinted across the field toward the advancing row of tanks on the other side. In his wake, the automaton hed just destroyed was further ruined by the explosions of bted friendly fire. The ground erupted in clouds of smoke and soil as the other machines tried to track Victors movement but fell short.

    Va peered down her nose at the man, her regal brows narrowing. Did you not hear him hit the ground when he leaped off this wall? Did you not feel the stones beneath your feet shudder? You underestimate Victor at your own peril.

    Hes destroyed two of twenty, and surely hes growing tired. No one can run that fast carrying a weight like that for long. As if he could hear Darrens words, Victor suddenly exploded into the air, performing another impossible leap, the enormous axe hanging behind him as he traversed the second half of the gap between him and the oing machines. The ground where hedunched himself exploded in a series of massive concussions. The soil was pockmarked with craters, and colorful smoke rose in small clouds. Had the machines been too slow-witted to realize hed leaped? Theyd all fired on thest spot hed stood as though he were still there.

    As another tremendous crash echoed up the wall from the field, Va jerked her eyes away from the smoking, cratered field to see Victor had buried the axe into the center of his target, crumpling the automaton. Hed hit it squarely on the round, swiveling part with the cannon barrels, and it exploded, sending Victor and his axe flying through the air. He lost his grip on the weapon and smashed into the field, bouncing and flopping while the axe hit the ground with an audible <em>thud</em> and sank into the soil, unmoving. Gasps sounded around her, and further away, down the wall, where the townspeople had gathered, she heard some cries of rm and, disturbingly, some apuse.

    Ah, a pity, Whitehorse said, a smug smile twisting the corner of his mouth. He seems to have underestimated the explosives within the turret housing. Im sorry, Lady apYensha.

    Va will do, sir. Please dont apologize. I doubt Victor is much bothered by that little tumble.

    Whitehorse jerked his eyes away from the field, looking at Va incredulously. He was just exploded! You saw him flopping on the ground. He looked past her to Issa, Lady Issa, perhaps you should counsel our guest. I fear shes in . . .

    Hes up! one of the other members of parliament crowed. Va squinted at him, trying to remember his nameBad? Bannard? Something like that. She followed his and everyones gaze back to the field where Victor had stood, looking around with a slightly dazed expression. She wondered if now was the time hed cast his Iron Berserk spell or summon his banner. Perhaps hed conjure one of his totems to distract the many machines turning their barrels his way. She saw him moving oddly, his shoulders moving up and down while he rested his hands on his knees. A slow smile crept over her lips as she realized what he was doing.

    Is he all right? Shall I cancel the demonstration? Whitehorse sounded hopeful.

    Hes trying to breathe! another man said.

    No, Va said, raising her voice to be heard by all nearby. Hesughing.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Hah, what a <em>pendejo</em> I am! Victorughed, sharing his amusement with Lifedrinker. I should know these things might explode. Before he could say anything more, he heard the deep booms of the tanks firing at him, and he instinctively jumped into the air. He tried to angle his reflexive leap toward his fallen axe, but he wasnt facing quite the right way, and he couldnt turn once he was airborne. Still, he cleared the area in time to avoid getting pelted with whatever projectiles those things were firing, and when hended, he turned and sprinted for the gigantic weapon.

    He was a little battered, his arms cut and scraped, his face and neck raw from the explosion. His entire body was a little sore; when hed crashed into the ground, it hadnt felt great. Still, his armor and helmet kept the brunt of the explosion from really affecting him. His feats and affinities made him almost immune to fire. If I couldnt berserk, Id feel like hell tomorrow. Victor smiled grimly as he grabbed ahold of the tree-like axe handle. When he pulled on it, he realized the de had buried itself a good six feet into the soft ground. Jerking and tugging, he grew a little annoyed. His shoulder was sore, and he knew those cannons were retargeting him. As they fired<em>thum, thum, thum, thum</em>his frustration got the better of him, and he released his tight control on his Core and let his rage flow into his pathways. Without a second thought, he cast Iron Berserk.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Hes gotten himself in a pickle now. That axe is too much for him in his battered state! Darren Whitehorse smiled at Felicity, his aide and one of the best engineering experts in the colony. She nodded to him, habitually pressing at the space on the bridge of her nose where her sses used to be; she no longer needed them, but her brain hadnt caught up to the fact.

    Hell have to abandon it, or theyll fire upon him there. She leaned close, looking left and right, perhaps trying to time the rudimentary intelligence shed helped program into the tanks. Right about now . . .

    The long-range-cannon-equipped tanks interrupted her with their booms<em>thum, thum, thum, thum</em>. Darren watched the big man, still struggling with the axe. It was hard to see his expression at this distance, but he imagined he was frustrated and exhausted. Undoubtedly, that explosion had hurt. He had to be exhausted, ready to quit. Perhaps that was why he didnt jump again, why he didnt flee. Was he really too tired? Was this the end? Darren wouldnt relish seeing the haughty, beautiful woman beside him in mourning, but he also wouldnt mind taking her down a notch. What would Issa say? Would she finally bend a little, admitting that what they brought from Earth, their technical know-how, made them worth listening to?

    With those thoughts racing through his mind, Darren clenched his hands into fists of nervous anticipation and watched as the big man disappeared in a cloud of colorful smoke, turned-up soil, and fiery gasses. The four long-barreled tanks had struck direct hits, and already, the others were firingmortars, fire canisters, and short-range cluster munitions. Yes! Felicity hissed, pping her small hands together. Direct hits!

    Darren was watching as she spoke, and sure enough, the smoky ground zero of the first shots suddenly erupted with fire and more smoke as the dozen other tanksnded their hits. Ouch! Again, my apologies, Lady . . . Va. I do wish youd have surrendered for him.

    She didnt respond, but when Darren looked at her, he saw for the first time that shed pressed her lips into a firm, t line. She was worried. His heart began to race at the idea. Had they just killed him? The hero of the Free Marches as that fool, Alec Green, had been billing him? Had Darren really just orchestrated his death? The idea was both terrifying and thrilling. Hed truly advanced his agenda with this disy. Who would stand against him? This demonstration would certainly sway the voters, and the next election would be andslide . . .

    Like something out of a monster movie, a roar ripped through the smoke and dust, echoing over the field and up the wall. It shook the very mortar in the stone crentions, and Darren found his knees buckling as they started to tremble involuntarily. What the . . . he managed to say through lips suddenly dry, with a tongue that felt like it had been salt-cured. But then the roar sounded again, and this time, it ended in a mad, bedeviledugh that threatened to loosen his bowels. <em>Something</em> fell on him with that sound. Something like a nket of pure, oppressive dread. He had to clutch at the crention to keep from falling, and he realized he wasnt alone. Many people on the wall had fainted or fallen, pressed down by that palpable field of hatred, fury, and fear.

    What . . . Felicity tried to say, her voice trembling and thready. What is . . . she had to stop and lick her lips, also hugging the smooth, lime-washed wall to keep from copsing.

    Thats Victors aura, the tall, angelic warrior-woman said, her voice perfectly steady. He must have summoned his banner. Youll see it after that smoke clears. Judging by that madughter, I''m afraid that hes likely gone berserk, too. I dont think any of your machines will be salvageable.

 Book 7: Chapter 11: A Clear Message

    Book 7: Chapter 11: A Clear Message

    Victor couldnt have timed his Iron Berserk better if hed tried. Hed just felt the swelling, burning, furious surge of rage-attuned Energy pour into his body when the first explosive shells struck. One hit his chest, another the crown of his head, and two exploded at his feet. His wyrm-scale vest took the impact with aplomb, the intricateyers of Tess enchantments helping to disburse the force of the impact and utterly ignoring the congration that erupted as the shell smashed apart. Victor was jostled, certainly, but he wasnt knocked over.

    As for the shell that struck him atop his head, he hardly felt that. The Kethian Juggernaut helm was a hundred times more dense than whatever metal casing the humans had fired at him. The explosions nearby shook the ground and threw dirt on him, but all that did was further enrage him. Something itched at his throat, fighting to get out of his lungs, and Victor opened his mouth to let it loosea roar that echoed off and rattled the stones of the nearby wall. Victor suddenly didnt know why he was holding back, and with a rather mean-spiritedugh, he summoned his Banner of the Champion and let loose any semnce of control he still held over his aura.

    More shells and cannisters hit him, unleashing fire and heat. Sparkling, weaponized Energy of various vors rippled through him, shocking him, freezing him, burning him, though never enough to really harm him, never enough to do more than momentarily make his flesh a little raw before his hyper-paced healing washed away the difort. Part of Victor was amused, yet part of him was angrywho were these gnats to sting him so? Did they not know their ce before one such as he?

    As the smoke of the bombardment cleared, Victor saw the ck metal haft of his axe thrusting up from the ground near his hip, so he snatched it up, ripping it out of the soil where it hadin buried. It was a big axe, true, but nothing he couldnt easily swing. He looked through the haze of smoke and ash, saw the glowing Energy limning the treads of a tank moving into position, and jogged toward it. Despite his rxed pace, the vehicles tracking and firing at him struggled to time their shots, and he was only struck a few times before he smashed the huge, slow-moving vehicle with the axe. It was trivial to destroy the thingone hit, then two, and it was a pile of smoldering scrap.

    While he dismantled the tank, he was hit in the back by several more explosive rounds. Something hot and wet sshed onto his neck, burning painfully, and the red haze of fury began to darken his vision. Though he wasnt in pain for more than a couple of seconds, the impudence of the incessant attacks and the irritation they caused him was beginning to take a toll on his clear thinking. He whirled, scanning the field, noting that four or five of the tanks had clustered together in their attempts to follow and aim at him. Grinning madly, Victor leaped into the air, aiming for the vehicles. None of the machines were able to effectively aim at and shoot him as he soared through the air, and when he smashed into the ground a dozen paces from the tanks, he stomped forward.

    Victor stood before the group of Energy-driven war machines, lifted his axe into the air, and roared. His face flushed with his fury and the exertion of his bellow, and as it tapered off, he poured a massive surge of Energy into the pattern for his Wake the Earth spell.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Silence had fallen over the crowd atop the parapet, and Va turned to regard the governmental delegation. Darren Whitehorse stood with his hands on the ramparts, his mouth ajar and his eyes wide and fixed upon Victor as he strode over to one of the tanks, shrugging off cannon shots and then, as quickly as a grown man might swat an offending gnat, he pounded the thing into scrap.

    When Victor had emerged from the smoke and focused his attention on the tanks, some of the weight of his burdensome aura fell away, and everyone had stood or straightened, much relieved. Now, that relief was reced with a mixture of fear and awe as the full-sized titan demonstrated his physical power and resilience. Victor was pelted with more missiles fired by the remaining automatons, but they seemed to do little more than irritate him. Va could see it in the narrowed re he gave the far line of machines when he whirled away from the one hed just destroyed. He took two steps and thenunched himself into the air, aiming for a cluster of the things.

    How . . . Darren started to stay, then trailed off, watching Victors great bulk soar through the air.

    How is he not burned? How is his flesh not pierced? Those shells are steel-jacketed! the young woman beside Darren wailed in dismay. She reached toward her face, touching her nose, then grasped the sides of her head. Va could practically see her mind racing through scenario after scenario. Then, as Victor roared again, faintly vibrating the rampart stones so bits of loose mortar and gravel bounced about, she cried, We have to stop it! If we cant harm him, hell just work his way through them, destroying everything!

    Hes using Energy, though, Darren said, nodding to confirm his own words. Hell run out . . . He might have intended to say more, but Victor stomped, and the world shook. Darren and most others atop the wall fell to the hard stones as the wall shifted rmingly. Va maintained her bnce, but she had to work at it. It was a strange sensation having the ground roll beneath your feet; if she hadnt recently been involved in a battle near an active volcano, she might not have realized what was happening. The damage to the wall was significantcracks emerged between the stones, parts of the crions toppled down to smash onto the ground below, and, with a loud, grinding, ripping sound, the attached, bronze-colored elevator pulled away from the stone, hanging precariously to the walls inner surface.

    If the wall was damaged, the battlefield where Victor fought was devastated. His spell had pulled great boulders up, surging out of the earth. It had split the ground with wide crevices that spewed hot steam. Half a dozen of the automatons had fallen in or been smashed by the boulders as they toppled, hot and steaming from their traversal through the ground. Through it all, Victor roared, jumping, charging, and smashing into the huge metallic vehicles. He seemed utterly unbothered by the bucking ground, dancing between rends in the soil, rolling stones, and sting steam geysers.

    The wall only shook for a handful of seconds, and as things grew still there on the ramparts, the citizens of First Landing scrabbled to their feet, using the less-than-solid stonework to steady themselves. Wide-eyed and gasping for breath, Darren Whitehorse helped his assistant stand, as yet unaware of the destruction Victor was wreaking out on the field. Va looked over his head to the crowd of government representatives and saw many of them scurrying for a stairwell, ready to be away from the wall theyd once thought the pinnacle of solidity. She turned the other way and saw Issa taking charge of the civilians, trying to encourage them to vacate the structure as well.

    What the fuck! Darren gasped as he finally looked over the rampart to see Victor squat, grasp the bottom treads of one of the construct machines, and deadlift it up, flipping it over sideways to tumble into a steaming fissure.

    Hes . . . the woman started to say, shaking her head and rubbing at her eyes as though she could banish the scene before her. Hes unstoppable.

    What about Project Omega? Darren wailed, looking out at the smoking, ruined field.

    The woman took a t crystal te from some storage device and began tapping her fingers on it. Oh, God! Its not responding! What if it sank? Those fissures! Theyre right where it was buried!

    God dammit! Stop that maniac! Darren cried, turning to Va with pleading eyes.

    Va smiled at him and then looked out at the stedndscape. There were only two or three automatons that seemed to be whole. Victor was currently ripping one to pieces with his hands, his axe left buried in the wreckage of another. While he peeled the turret off his current victim, she said, I can try. Hes somewhat more reasonable while berserk than he used to be. I can probably calm him as long as he doesnt channel his volcanic rage.

    Do it! Do it! Darren screamed. Va almost stalled, almost insisted he speak to her with more respect and consideration. She wanted to rub his nose in things, reminding him hed insisted he wouldnt need the means to signal surrender. She wasnt mean-spirited, though, and it looked as though the poor fellow had just had his view of the universe shatteredeverything hed believed upended in a matter of minutes. Rather than salt his wounds, she spread her wings and leaped off the wall, soaring toward the mad titan.

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    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor hoisted the tanks turret, gripping the barrel like it was a handle, and with a spin and a grunt,unched it into the air, flinging it to the northern edge of the cleared field to bounce and roll away into the ins beyond. Heughed, turning to regard the smoking ripped parade grounds. Only a few of the tanks were still functioning, and none were currently shooting at him. He was picking out his next target, getting ready to bound over the fissure-riddled ground, when he felt a presence above him. He reached a hand for Lifedrinkers haft, jerking his eyes upward, only to see Vas glittering turquoise-silver wings reflecting the suns light as she descended tond atop a rough boulder, facing him.

    She shouted over the sounds of popping, crackling explosions as a dozen of the tanks burned, their ordinance losing its integrity in the mes, They cry mercy, Victor!

    Oh? He grinned as his voice boomed out. Shall I grant it?

    Forget the automatons; youve wrecked this field and greatly damaged their wall. I think some mercy is in order. Va smiled, and he could see the pride in her eyes. Darren didnt say as much, but Im fairly certain that when you moved the earth, it ruined their surprise. They had something buried, lying in wait, and you . . . sent it to the depths.

    Hah! Victor grinned, brushing his hands together, sending ck soot and dirt falling in a shower to the ground. Im done smashing things, I guess. Its good I didnt cast Volcanic Fury. Victor turned toward the gate. Ill meet you inside. Tell em to open the gate, or should I jump the wall as onest lesson?

    No, no. Perhaps you should cool your rage as you go. The people on the wall took a tumble when you did this. She gestured to the ripped ground and mountainous boulders. They dont deserve to be further terrified.

    Ah, shit. Victor felt his rage seeping away as guilt took hold. He wouldnt mind seeing Darren and some of the other politicians taken down a notch or two, but he hadnt wanted to hurt anyone. Are they okay?

    Im sure they are. It was just a bit of a scare. She spread her wings and waved. See you soon. Then sheunched herself back into the air. Victor sighed and lumbered over to the giant axe, touching it to send it into his storage ring.

    He touched Lifedrinkers haft. Well, <em>chica</em>, hope I didnt overdo things too much. As he walked toward the gate, he worked to pull his rage out of his pathways, sending it into his Core. He cut the connection to his banner and then to Iron Berserk, and by the time he was standing before the gate, waiting as it slowly ratcheted up into the wall, he was back to his usual size, having recast Alter Self. He stood there, rubbing some soot off his knuckles, waiting patiently as the opening gate revealed him. Issa, Alec, and Va were the only ones in the tunnel, and they all looked somewhat relieved to see him back down to human proportions.

    What a show! Alec crowed, pumping his fist. Issa smiled beside him, but she didnt speak right away.

    Was that all right? Sorry about all the damage. That was the first time I used that spell, and I think I dumped too much Energy into it.

    Issa nodded. It was an effective lessona clear message. Thank you, Victor. As the crews work to salvage the constructs and repair the field, it will be a good reminder of how ill-equipped we are to face a truly powerful Energy user. She turned and started back through the long tunnel, and everyone fell in around her. As they walked, she continued, The citizens were rmed at first, but I hope you heard the cheers as you pummeled those machines. Your incredible show of power inspired many people. Theres quite a crowd waiting near the inner gate to greet you. Would you mind fielding some questions from them?

    Victor shrugged. As long as it gets me closer to collecting our pay and heading back home, thats fine.

    Arent you exhausted? Alec looked over his shoulder, eyeing Victor incredulously.

    From that? Nah, Ive had sparring matches more tiring. I mean, to be honest, it was mostly just kind of fun.

    Va jostled him. Dont be so dismissive, Victor! They worked hard on those machines.

    Well, Issa and I didnt, Alecughed, but, yeah, maybe dont rub it in so hard when you see the others. Not that the P&Ds hung around.

    Darren looked like his heels were on fire as he retreated! Issaughed.

    On the one hand, Alec said, winking at Victor, you cost the colony a lot of money; weve sunk much of our budget into building those tanks. On the other, you saved us from growingcent, believing they could protect us.

    Issa sighed, nodding along with him. Or worse, if Darren and his cronies gained power, trying to use them to intimidate the older powers in this world.

    Such as the Ridonne? Va asked.

    Exactly. Issa smiled at Va. This was a costly but valuable lesson.

    Well, the Ridonne arent a match for Victorat least not the ones weve met, but they would rather easily trounce machines like that. Dont you think? Va looked up at him, catching his eye, and Victor shrugged.

    I think so. I mean, I doubt the couple Ive fought were the strongest in the Empire. Borrius thinks there are dozens of them, too, so yeah, better not to pick fights with those <em>pendejos</em>. You folks arent ready yet. Victor stretched his neck from side to side, wringing a series of pops out of it. You know, it sucks, but the System didnt think I deserved any Energy for killing those tanks. I was kind of hoping Id make some progress toward leveling.

    Uh . . . Alec didnt seem to have an appropriate response.

    Do you cultivate for Energy and levels, Victor? Issa asked as they stepped out of the tunnel into the sunlight. Victor turned to look at the wall, noting a lot ofmotion off to his right. There, he saw the damage hed done: Large spiderwebs of cracks ran through the stone of the massive wall, and the big, cleverly designed elevator was hanging at an angle, the metal tracks it ran on having separated from the stone near the top.

    Shit, he said, putting Issas question to the side. Youre sure no one got hurt?

    Were sure. Everyone is fine. Issa smiled at him, maybe d to see he was concerned and chagrined.

    They started walking again, and Victor saw the throng waiting by the next gateway. He felt a little excited at the idea of fielding questions to an enthusiastic crowd; it ought to be a lot different from the town hall, especially now that these folks had an idea of what he was capable of. Um, he said, turning back to Issa, I mostly level from killing my enemies. Luckily thats usually a monster or an undead asshole. I can cultivate, but Im really undisciplined. He grinned at Va, reaching to grasp her hand in his. Isnt that right?

    Hes very disciplined about some things, but I will agree that his cultivation habits could stand some improving; hes found a workaround for leveling his Core, so he doesnt have quite the incentive that we mere mortals do.

    Workaround? Issa raised an eyebrow.

    Mortal? Is . . . Alec visibly gulped, Are you not a mortal?

    Victorughed and pped the much smaller man on the shoulder. Shes being cute, Alec. Rx. As for my workaround, Lady Issa, thats a trade secret. He squeezed Vas hand to indicate he wasnt joking around. He might like these two people, and he didnt mind sharing some knowledge, but hed seen the lengths one asshole would go to try to steal his ability to gain power from eating the hearts of his foes. Who could say what a diabolical human mind mighte up with if they knew such a thing was possible?

    When they approached the crowd of citizens, Victor could see the guards or police or peacekeepershe had no idea what they called their uniformed officershad managed to get them all to stand behind ropes tied to stanchions on either side of the road, leaving the area directly before the inner gate clear for Victor and his escort to stand. Still, hundreds or maybe thousands of people lined the road, and an equallyrge crowd had gathered atop the inner wall. He could see Borrius, Darro, and Nia standing close to the gate on this side of the ropes and was a little relieved to see his travelingpanions were still being treated well despite the destruction hed wrought out on the field.

    The crowds excitement was palpable; many of them shouted his name or greetings, and quite a few burst into apuse at their approach. Victor loved an adoring crowd, so he raised his arms and hammed it up while Issa moved forward a few steps, clearly waiting for the people to grow quiet before speaking. With a crowd like that, though, it was hard to get everyones attention, and she didnt try for perfection, beginning to shout as soon as she thought she could make her voice clear over the noise. Citizens of First Landing! I hope many of you could witness Victor Sandovals demonstration on the parade grounds. Hes graciously agreed to pause here today to answer a few of your questions!

    Victor grinned as more apuse burst out, his glory-attuned Energy seeping into his pathways. He had half a mind to summon Guapo and put on a real show but decided to try to y it a little cool. He held up a hand, staring around at the thronging people, making eye contact with many. The noise began to die down, and when it was almost quiet, he said, in a loud,manding voice, Raise your hands. If I point at you, ask your question. Immediately, a hundred hands shot into the air, and Victorughed, looking the people over. When his eyes fell on a young man who reminded him of himself before hed gained a thousand pounds of muscle, he pointed at him.

    The fellow cleared his throat, then, in a high voice with a slight Spanish ent, asked, Why arent you gigantic all the time? Is it just a spell?

    Victor decided a little hyperbole was in order. Other way around, <em>cabrn</em>! I use a spell to make myself small. You ever tried sitting in a chair when you weigh ten thousand pounds?

 Book 7: Chapter 12: A Surprising Proposal

    Book 7: Chapter 12: A Surprising Proposal

    Victor sat in the formal dining room of Issas home in the metallic tower on the edge of First Landing. Shed invited him and the others for dinnera sendoff and thank-you for their efforts. Only Alec, Issa, a man named Boris Saltzki, and a woman named Diane Royce were there to represent the growing colony, and Victor was fine with that. Still, it didnt stop Issa from feeling self-conscious about the little group. I hope you dont mind that I kept things small, she said, leaning to her right, close to Victor and, beside him, Va. There were dozens, maybe hundreds of people moring to join us, and I couldnt think of a fair way to pair things down. Instead, I insisted that youd want some calm after your heroics on the field and the frenzy of the crowd afterward.

    You used me as an excuse? Victor grinned as Va elbowed him in the ribs.

    As he hammed it up, wincing and rubbing at his side, she said, You dont know his humor. Hes teasing. This is perfect.

    Well, I have some ulterior motives for keeping it small. I wanted to be sure that Boris and Diane had a chance to speak with you. Issa gestured to her left, where her two other guests upied the spots across from Victor and Va. Further down the table were Alec, Borrius, Darro, and Nia. As Victor scanned the table, he started tough.

    Hey, Borrius. I just realized you and Boris have almost the same name.

    How astute, Victor. Borrius sighed at the interruption, then turned back to Alec and continued his description of an inn hed been impressed by in Tharcray. Leave it to the oldmander to try to teach Alec about the hotel business.

    Ive cooked something simple, but I hope it will remind you of home, Victor; its one of the first dishes from Earth that I tasted when I came to First Landing. My friend, Maria, taught me how to make it. Victor saw her focus, and she spoke very carefully, trying to properly enunciate the vowels and sybles as she said, <em>Enchdas</em>.

    <em>En serio?</em> Victors eyes opened wide with excitement.

    Yes! Seriously. I hope I did them justice, but Im not too worried. Im good with recipes, and Maria has tasted my efforts. Im fairly sure shed tell the truth if they werent good.

    Awesome! Thank you, Issa. Suddenly, Victors entire outlook had changed. Hed been sort of dreading sitting around talking over another fancy meal. Now, he had enchdas to look forward to.

    Its my pleasure. Issa looked tickled by Victors genuine enthusiasm. Excuse me while I check on my children and then the food. Ill be back shortly. Diane, now would be a good time to speak to our guests about your research. She stood and walked away while Diane cleared her throat and looked at Victor and Va. She was clearly nervous, struggling to maintain eye contact with either of them.

    She has kids? Victor asked, saving the woman from having to speak first.

    Oh, you didnt know? Boris chuckled. Two little ones and a few older ones shes kind of adopted. Youd never know it, considering how hard she works, but yeah, shes one of the most generous, big-hearted people Ive ever met.

    Sheesh, Victor sighed, leaning back. Now I feelzy.

    Ah! Diane finally found her voice. Thats an excellent segue, Mr. Sandoval. I wouldnt call what you did on the field todayzyin fact, it was the most eye-opening demonstration of personal power Ive ever seen, and Ive seen Morgan Hall in action! She smiled again, looking nervous as everyone turned to her. She was a small, jittery woman with light brown hair, cut short above the ears and tapered at the necknot too different from Victors usual haircut. She had rosy cheeks and brown eyes, and when she blushed nervously, she reminded Victor of a school kid who knew the answer but was scared to say it in front of the ss. Ive been, um, researching the spirit Cores among the Urghat, Grugell, and Krystree peoples.

    Victor frowned and nced at Va. Ive heard of the Urghat but not the others.

    Theyre all considered low-affinity by the System, and so they arent given ess to the boons it grantslevels, skills, even thenguage integration skill. When we began integrating them into our society, I was on the team to help document theirnguages and cultural practices. Thats when I made the connection about the low-affinity species having a higher incidence of spirit Cores than among other peoples. She gestured around the table. In fact, Victor, youre the first human Ive heard of who has one.

    Yeah, I heard something simr during that town hall. Victor shrugged. He could tell she wasnt trying to be insulting, so he waited to hear her out.

    Ive learned that those with spirit Cores are revered among the low-affinity folks; theyre seen as leaders and as a living connection to their ancestors. I believe such Cores used to be moremon among other peoples, toothe Shadeni, Ardeni, and Ghelli in particr. Have you run across others with such an affinity in your travels?

    Not many, but yeah. It was a Shadeni Old Motherkind of a wise womanwho taught me most of what Ive learned. Well, and a spirit fragment I found in an artifact deep under the earth. Victor nced at Va, scratched his jaw in contemtion, then added, It shouldnt be a secret that spirit Core affinities are tied to a persons character traits and emotions. Theyre the essence of who we are. Old Mother used to tell me that civilized folkher wordsworked hard to weed emotions out of their magic. That prejudice made it kind of rare for people to form a spirit Core, even if it might have been possible for them. There are tons of Ardeni and Shadeni with simple pearl Cores. They use basic, unattuned Energy, and I bet many of them might have formed spirit Cores but were steered away from them by a mentor.

    But why? Its clear that your magic isnt weak. Why would the magical schools and mentors, as you call them, try to weed spirit Cores out?

    Va answered for him, her voice soft but thick with emotion as she remembered something disturbing, Because theyre dangerous. She nced at Victor almost apologetically.

    Its all right. Tell her.

    People have dark sides to their spirits, and often theyre the stronger affinities. You saw Victor unleash his rage on the field outside the wall, but what you dont know is that he had to work very hard to gain that kind of control. Once upon a time, anyone around him, even us up on the wall, would have been at risk. I . . . I doubt Victor wants to speak about it, but there are other affinities that are even more dangerous, more frightening.

    Ah! Victor had heard the idiom about a lightbulb going off in someones head, but hed never seen it so well represented as at that moment in Dianes expression. That exins everythingthe stigma, the prejudice, theck of such Cores among the city-dwelling folk. I can imagine how affinities based on negative traits or emotions could cause problems among people whose ties werent as close-knit as a n or tribal structure. Imagine someone with an affinity for paranoia running amok in New York City! She turned to Boris as she spoke, and he nodded along with her.

    Its not just negative affinities that can be a problem, Victor added. When they looked at him with questioning expressions, he said, Think of the damage someone with an affinity for love could do with the wrong intentions.

    You mean . . . Boriss words trailed off as his mind traced dark paths.

    Yeah. Victor shrugged. I could be a real asshole with some of my affinities, especially as my Core continues to grow in power. The conversation was put on hold as Issa returned carrying a big, steaming casserole dish. Victors mouth began to water as the unmistakable, smoky scents of baked chili peppers, onions, and corn tickled his nose, waking up memories hed left buried for far too long. He saw his <em>abus</em> smiling face as she lifted a pot from the oven. He saw his cousinsughing around the big table in her kitchen. He felt a loss so keen that his eyes began to tear up, and he had to look down and squeeze them shut for a moment.

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    The dinner was delicious, and Victor had a lot of fun describing some of the dishes he missed from home. Issas enchdas were great, the best thing hed eaten in months, but they werent exactly like his <em>abus</em>. It made senseevery family did something a little different. They werent very spicy, and there was more cheese and greens than he was used to, but Victor couldnt imagineining; the meal was terrific.

    As they ate, they spoke about Cores, about cultivating, and about how important it was to find natural treasures that would allow them to craft more powerful items and to improve their bodies. As Dennis Whitehorse had learned the hard way, a persons strength, or any other attribute, could reach heights that the people in the human colony hadnt entirely realized. Overall, it was a pleasant meal with good food andpany, and Victor felt much better about the human settlement than he had going into it.

    They wrapped things up earlyIssa insisted she had to spend some time with her children, and Victor and the others hoped to sleep in their own beds that night. With that in mind, Alec guided them back through town in the early evening to the portal hall. The people they passed on the way were pleasant, and several pped and called out Victors name. He felt almost like theyd ask for an autograph if times were a little different. They were even stopped by a few parliament members who offered their thanks.

    Unsurprisingly, they saw nothing of Whitehorse or his faction. As they approached the portal hall, Alec chuckled as Victor mentioned the contentious mans absence. Oh, hes off with his aides trying to salvage something from his defense budget. Hes going to get massacred in the assembly on Monday.

    Speaking of budgets, Borrius said, clearing his throat obnoxiously.

    Ah, dont you worry, good sir! I have your payment right here. Alec pped a pouch that hung from his belt. A lot of beads, but I think its worth it, considering you probably saved us from just as much trouble. P&D will have to curtail their warmongering for the foreseeable future. He unfastened the pouch and handed it to Victor. When Victor trickled a bit of Energy into it, he was pleased to find the full sum of promised Energy beads within the dimensional container.

    You guys can make these? Victor held up the bag.

    Beads? Or dimensional containers? Well, yes to both. That many beads would take us a long time to craft, but we earn a lot through our trade partners. Weve apparently thought of some clever uses for Energy that hadnt yet urred to the people in this world. The telephones, for instanceTarns Crossing paid us a tidy sum for a simr system. Boris is in talks with Persi Gables now that we have a portal connecting us. I think were going to see some big paydays soon.

    Youreing back with us, yes? Va asked, stepping closer to Alec.

    Oh, Ille through in the morning if thats all right. Id like to spend a little time with the hotel staff tonight. There are a few adjustments I want to make to the schedule.

    Of course, thats fine. Va smiled, reaching out to sp Alecs hand. Thank you so much for this opportunity. Lam will be thrilled that we have the funding for the stones advancement. Were all very worried about our friend and want to start taking action to help her.

    Will you leave right away?

    Victor nodded, gesturing toward Nia, Darro, and Borrius. Probably, yeah. Well drop these folks off, and then Im going to go down to the stone to see how much I can unlock with these. He jostled the sack of beads, though they didnt click together, and the bag felt emptythey were all in the dimensional space. He shook Alecs hand when Va released him, and then the five of them waited while Alec activated the teleportation stone. The crackling blue portal appeared, bright enough to make Victor squint in the dim light of the hall, and, with a wave, he stepped through.

    He emerged into the dark, silent, cold air of the Travel Pavilion back in the Free Marches. It was well past midnight there, and the colony was fast asleep. With crackling bursts of light, hispanions came through behind him, and then the portal shimmered and <em>popped</em> out of existence. I almost expected some treachery, Borrius announced, looking around.

    Nia nodded, hand on the hilt of her belt knife. Me as well, Lord Borrius.

    Why didnt you say something? Va asked.

    The scarred, angry-looking woman formed a rare smile, showing her surprisingly white, straight teeth. I didnt want to insult our host and trusted Lord Victor would see us through any deceit.

    All right, well, things went fine. Im heading to the colony stone. Victor turned to look Va in the eyes. I have a meeting with that steward tomorrow, the one who used to work for Polo. If I can get him to agree to work for me, Ill be ready to leave. Will you find Lam and Lesh and fill them in?

    I was thinking Id find her, aye. Shell want to hear the good news. She stepped forward, offered him a quick kiss, and then started toward the door. Victor had just turned to pass some final instructions to Nia when the portal burst to life again with crackling blue Energy. He stepped back, snatched Lifedrinker out of her harness, and severed the Energy feeding his Alter Self spell, surging to his full, natural height. He heard Vas wings crack open and Midnight sing as she drew the de. Nia, grimacing with determination, drew her long, curved knife and hurried to stand beside him. A secondter, a man stepped through the portal.

    Oh, God, dont hit me! Darren Whitehorse wailed, holding his hands up, illustrating hisck of weaponry. Ie in peace!

    Victor growled and lowered his axe. What the fuck, Darren? Youre supposed to schedule activation of this portal using the Farscribe Book.

    In a stunning disy of obsequious groveling, the man fell to his knees before Victor, ducking his head so his long, dark ponytail flopped over his shoulder. I . . . Im not authorized to use the portal. Ivee to join you, to follow you, Victor. Its the only way Ill ever save any face. I have to learn what Ive failed to grasp. My political ambitions are overIve left my resignation from parliament with a friend. Please! I have to learn!

    Nah, thats not happening. Im not babysitting you. Theres just as much chance youd die as learn something. Everyones eyes were on him now, and Victor waved Nia, Darro, and Borrius off. You guys can go. Nia,e see me in the morning, please.

    As you say, Lord. Nia mmed her knife back into its sheath, a look of something like disappointment in her eyes. She left, and Darro followed, but Borrius lingered.

    The oldmander cleared his throat. Victor, you could do much for your people, I mean your kin from your homeworld, if you were to help this man. Assuming his intentions are true.

    They are! They are! Truly, Victoryouve opened my eyes! I know you can swat me like a gnat. I know Im nothing to you. Let me learn! Ive failed so many people and wasted so much time, Energy, and wealth! Please! Ive left my aide; Ive left most of my belongingsits just me, and I swear Ill be no burden. Ive brought enough money to fund my passage. Let me see whats beyond this world. Let me learn the truth about this new System-controlled universe. Let me bring something valuable home to our people. Let me spread true knowledge, not the nonsense Id allowed to cloud my mind! The mans pleas were desperate in their apparent sincerity, tears pooling in his eyes as he begged. Victor had never seen anything like it.

    Victor looked at Borrius, then down at Darren, and his scowl sent a shudder through the man. To his credit, Whitehorse didnt look away. First of all, those arent my people. I like some of them, and I suppose Im rted to one of em, but these, Victor gestured around, indicating Rellias burgeoning capital, are my people. He looked over his shoulder at Va, but she simply shrugged. He supposed shed have advice for himter when the others werent listening. Borrius, will you show him where the inn is? Ill talk to him in the morning. Scowling, furious annoyance threatening to push regretful words through his lips, Victor turned and stalked into the night.

    He''d only managed a dozen paces into the garden outside the Travel Pavilion when Va caught up to him. He was still full-sized, his long strides forcing her to jog as she said, Calm down, Victor. Talk to me.

    He slowed and red down at her; for a moment, his anger was directed toward her, and she flinched. That expression finally got through to him, and the scope of his overreaction dawned on him. Jesus, whats wrong with me?

    I was going to ask that! So what if he came here begging to join you? Just say no. Why are you upset?

    I . . . Victor closed his eyes and thought about it. When it clicked, he chuckled. Id convinced myself that man was my enemy. Some part of me is pissed that hes here. Some part of me wants to rip him to pieces. Dammit, Va, I have to get a grip on this Quinametzin anger. Pride? Its all a blurry, hot mess in my head. I think I wanted him to suffer through his humiliation back home. Im irritated that he slipped away and did the only really smart thing he could doask us for help.

    And part of you knows its the right thing to do. If he was the primary obstacle to your cousins politics, wouldnt it help her if we can educate the man? Wouldnt it promise a more hopeful future for your species here on Fanwath if he were to return and help her and Issa rather than rallying people against them?

    Yeah. Victor sighed, then turned back toward the center of the colony. Ill go feed the stone. Lets talk about thister. Just because we help him doesnt mean he has to tag along. We could leave him with Borrius. Victor barked a shortugh. Imagine that! Borrius would lecture him night and day! Va wasnt quite as amused as he was, but she hugged him briefly, and then Victor walked alone to the colony stone. As he went, his mind ran through the situation, and he knew he was full of shit; hed probably bring Darren with him, if for no other reason than to watch his face when he realized how wrong hed been. Whats one more guy following me around? Ill put Lesh in charge of him,<em> chica</em>. Victorughed at the idea. I gotta admit, though, the guy surprised me. I think Olivia will thank me if I keep him. Better hes here, learning a lesson than stirring up more trouble for her.

 Book 7: Chapter 13: World Travel

    Book 7: Chapter 13: World Travel

    Victor handed the pouch to Gorro apDommic, nodding as though the act sealed the deal theyd made. On a hillside with a view of the sea. It contained the hermitage blueprints and all of the exotic building supplies it would require to build.

    Of course, Lord Victor. Ill hire a proper surveyor to select the most idyllic location for your home. In the meantime, Ill run things from my travel tentits quite luxurious, and themand table I liberated from the Legion when I retired will aid greatly in the logistics of mapping and plotting yournds as the surveyorsplete their work. With the funds youve given me, Ill be able to hire your personal staff and begin forming the militia. You wont recognize the ce when you return! Ive got big ns for your townyout, beginning with the central fountain square . . .

    Right, right. Victor held up his hand. No need to rehash it all; Im sure its going to be great. The truth was the guy liked to talk, and Victor could swear theyd been over his ns for the town square three times in thest couple of hours. He didnt know why he had to establish a town, but Gorro seemed to think there would be homesteaders flocking to hisnds, seeking property in the form of leases and grants, depending on what they had to offer. Gorro said his massive holdings would fund everything he needed if appropriately managed, and that all started with getting some tenants. If he were honest, Victor was kind of annoyed that he had to leave; it sounded like a lot of fun and a nice break from constantly fighting.

    Oh, yes, Im sorry. I know youre in a hurry to get things ready for your journey. Gorro nodded to Nia, standing near the doorway leading out of Victors library. Do I understand correctly that Nia will be working for your household guard, not the militia?

    Thats right. I also want you to give special consideration to any other veterans from the conquest who want a position with either my household or the standing militia.

    I was under the impression that the bulk of the legion soldiers were receiving theirnd grants from Lady apYensha.

    Thats right, but, like I said, if any of them want to settle on mynds, work with them.

    Understood.

    All right. Lets head out cause I need to pack up my house. Victor started for the doorway, nodding to the dark-haired, scar-faced woman standing there. Nia had been following him even more closely than before the trip to First Landing, and Victor wondered what she would do with herself when he and Va left. As he passed, he said, Nia, lets head out. I have to pack the house. Governor apDommic is counting on you to help secure my new homestead and build up my household guard. Youre up to it?

    Yes, Lord Victor.

    I know you have some friends from Dark Ember, and you can hire any who want toe to work for me, but make sure you never turn away anyone from the ninth. God, I wish Sarl was here. Victor saw Nia look down at the mention of the dead captain. Victor shook his head and forced himself to acknowledge that Sarl had been a lot more than a captain to him. Not because you arent doing good work, Nia, but because he was a friend, and I wish he could see what weve won.

    I understand, Nias voice was soft, and, ncing down at her, Victor saw her eyes were distant. She understood loss.

    Outside the house, in the corner of the garden he and Va had imed, he found her squatting beside Uvu, scratching the big cats ears and cooing soft praises. Hell be all right. Victor walked over to her, Gorro and Nia in tow.

    Yes, he will. Its a paradise here for himhes getting fat. Im wondering if hell find a mate, but so far, there dont seem to be any predators around, not even boyii hounds. I think the undead left quite a void.

    Nia cleared her throat. Lady Va, Im sure theyll start to creep back in now that the threats gone and that miasma has dispersed. Your big cat might find a friend.

    Oh, he will, but sooner than you think. Nia, this is Uvu. Uvu, Nia. Va grinned and stood up. Give him a scratch, will you? I want him to follow you down south to Victors holdings. If hes going to hunt and range about, I want him to do it from our home.

    Oh, Lady, I couldnt . . . Nia shrank back, her pale face going paler.

    Victor chuckled, but Va reached out and snatched Nias hand, tugging her closer to Uvu. Nonsense. He already told me he likes you.

    Truly? Nias eyes were wide, and she licked her lips nervously.

    Oh, very truly. He can sense a persons intentions, and he thinks yours are good. Do you like to hunt, Nia?

    I do, though the sheriff only allowed it if something threatened the lords game.

    Va smiled and pulled the womans hand a little closer to the cat. Well, youre not on Dark Ember anymore. Uvu will hunt with you, and I think youll be fast friends. Does that sound all right?

    Nia gingerly reached out to scratch the cats enormous head between his ears, and Uvu chuffed, arching his neck and pressing against her hand. He . . . He likes it!

    Have you ever had a pet? Victor asked.

    No, we werent allowed such. The vampyrs would know. I tried to keep a fox cub once, but my mother, in a frenzy of terror, swatted my butt and took the animal out to the woods.

    Va rested her hand on Nias shoulder and gently squeezed it. Well, Uvus not a pet, but hell be apanion. You see, I dont want him to get lonely while were gone.

    I will do my best to be a boonpanion to him! Nias joy was palpable, and Victor felt good watching her. It reminded him that, despite his blunder that had cost so many soldiers their lives, hed managed to do some good in the campaign. He caught himself thinking about how hed been fooled into entrapping himself in the caldera, and, as Khul Bach had counseled him, he turned his ire toward Victoria, or, more urately, Catalina. He was just minutes away from finally starting on the road to catch up with her, to bring her justice. The Energies in his Core swirled at the idea, eager to be let out, eager for him to do some bloody work. At least, that was his interpretation of his eagernessit might have been the Quinametzin in him coloring his perspective.

    Ready? Va asked.

    Yeah. Let me get the house. Victor heard Gorro asking Va questions about Uvu as he turned back to the travel home, but their conversation faded to the background, and he began to wonder what was in store for them. If they found someone who could trace Edeyas spirit tether, someone powerful enough to reach out and open a gateway to Dark Ember, what would it cost them? He assumed they wouldnt find Dark Ember as a destination when they reached the hub world. With countless worlds in a universe impossibly vast, the odds seemed slim.

    When Victor had unlocked world travel on their stone, only five destinations had been offered. He had no idea how it worked, exactly, but it seemed theyd have to advance the stone a lot more to open up a broader list. Were the five worlds chosen by the System for them? Were they the closest? Were they of simr level? As he touched his house and gave it themand to shrink, Victor, again,mented hisck of knowledge. Luckily, Lesh seemed to know quite a bit more than he or any of the FanwathiansVictor wasnt sure he liked the term, but he figured it might be technically correct.

    Lesh had looked at the list of worlds, pointed to the third one, Sojourn, and said it was likely a world hub. When Rellia had asked how he knew, hed shrugged and said that worlds that worked hard to open all the travel options often prided themselves for it, seeking to name themselves in such a manner. Hed seen world hubs called Portalus, Veridian Gateway, Waypoint Crossroads, and Odessey. Knowing that, Victor had to agree that Sojourn was a good fit. The other travel options were Zikza, Ves, Monota, and Robaleach one an order of magnitude cheaper to travel to than Sojourn.

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    Victor stooped to pick up his house, clipping it to his belt. When he turned back to the others, they looked at him expectantly. Well, this is it, I guess. Gorro, I cant thank you enough; it makes it easier to leave knowing mynds will be in good hands. Nia, Im counting on you to ensure the Naghelli and Shadeni are treated well. Make sure you both keep in touch through the Farscribe book. Depending on how far away we get, there will be some dy, but Ill respond as soon as I see any messages.

    As you say, Lord Victor. Gorro bowed and stepped back, eyes on Nia.

    Thank you, Lord Victor and Lady Va. I feel like I have a home again, and Ill be sure to keep yournds clear of threats. The first thing Ill do with the budget you and Gorro approved is hire a few rangers.

    Youre wee, Nia. Uvu will help you range, too. Va took Victors hand and tugged him toward the path. Come. Lesh and the others will be waiting.

    Right. Victor waved again, smiling as Nia saluted and Gorro bowed. Then, he and Va hurried through the garden toward Rellias central keep on the hill, where the System stone nestled in its bailey. The keep was still under construction, but the wall was in ce and formidable. It wasnt as high as the one in First Landing that hed nearly wrecked, but he knew it was enchanted with earth-attuned magics, and there was little chance he could copse it. It gave himfort knowing that Rellia and the people here in the Free Marches werent quite as clueless as they might be if the Ridonne had their way.

    The gates to the keep were wide open, and some soldiers Victor recognized were on guard dutymany of them had signed up for newmissions with Rellia, Borrius, and Lam. He was sure Gorro and Nia would end up hiring quite a few veterans for his household as well. Inside the courtyard, things were quiet. It was still early enough that only the cooks and the kennel master were up and about. The workers hadnt yet arrived to continue building up the keep, but Victor could see the scaffolding and the framework in ce. It was going to be an impressive structure when finished.

    As theyd leveled the stone, the System had built, forck of a better word, infrastructure around it. It still jutted up from the cobbled courtyard, but a low marble wall surrounded it, and a recessed stair led down, under the ground, to the lower levelthe stone had expanded into the earth as theyd purchased more and more upgrades. It was in that underground level that the teleportation tform awaited. Despite the low traffic and protective wall, Rellia had guards on duty, watching anyone who approached the stone. They waved Victor and Va through, though, without a second of hesitation.

    The filigreed, shiny silver gates at the base of the stairs were open, and Victor could hear the weird echo of a conversation taking ce withinweird because the hollow stone chamber caused the voices to reverberate oddly, the sounds mixing and muffling. Ah, I hearrge feet clomping. Is that you, Victor? Rellias voice rang out sharply, and Va looked at Victor with a knowing smile. Shed teased him the other day, referring to Rellia as their mother, and hed almost had a fit.

    Its us, Victor said, walking around the stone partition that separated the stairs from the chamber beyond. Warm yellow light suffused the space as if shed by the very stone. Broad stone hallways led away from the central chamber where the dark, rune-covered System stone stretched from ceiling to floor. There was another level below them that had yet to popte with any functionality, but he knew it was only a matter of time before the people of the Free Marches expanded the stone further.

    Rellia stood there with Lesh, Lam, Edeya, and, irritatingly, Darren Whitehorse. Victor paused to take in the sight of them. Lesh was dressed, as always, sparingly, preferring, it seemed, to let his scales be his garb. Still, he wore ck leather pants, boots, and a thick leather baldric from which his absurdly heavy, jagged bludgeon hung. He was resting a massive hand on Darrens shoulder, and Victor could see theyd been talking. Darren wore gray suit pants, shiny leather shoes, and a tailored burgundy dress shirt. Over his shoulder, hed slung a hand-tooled leather satchel, and Victor knew it was a dimensional container crafted by one of the Artificers back in First Landing.

    Lam was dressed sharply in her military-style pants and jacket. Shed stolen the design of the Ridonne Legion officer uniforms but changed the colorspale, creamy trousers, shiny brown boots, and a soft leather coat with shiny polished horn buttons over a gauzy mauve blouse. Her hammer hung at her waist, and her wings dripped golden motes onto the polished marble floor. Edeya, sadly, looked wan and limp, her wings sagging and her eyes staring nkly over dark circles. Lam had dressed her in silky blue robes, which lookedfortable, but he doubted Edeya would have liked them if she were cognizant.

    You two look ready for war. Rellia hurried over and grabbed Va in a hug.

    Victor shrugged. They were wearing their wyrm-scale armorVa had found an Artificer capable of altering it to allow for her wings. Her armor had tones of blue, while his had shades of red, but they were clearly crafted by the same person. It wasnt exactly a uniform, but anyone who saw them would know they were together. Other than that, Victor had Lifedrinker slung over his shoulder as always, and Va wore Midnight at her waist. It wasnt like they had helmets and gauntlets on. Should we not wear armor?

    No, no. Im teasing. This armor is so fine that youre sure to make a good impression. Rellia had to look up as she examined her adoptive daughter. Victor watched her and saw the pride in her eyes but also the angst and worry. Shed always meant for Va to help her build this new nation, and now she was leaving.

    Almost reflexively, he said, Well be back.

    Rellia jerked her gaze away from Va to look at him, and he saw her narrowed eyes soften. Then, she opened her arms wide and hugged him, too. I know you will. Youve been so good for Va, Victor. Im not upset that youre leaving, especially because young Edeya here needs your help! She and I fought back to back more than once during this campaign, and Ill not see her fade and die with her spirit held captive on some distant world. You need to make her whole, and you need to find that traitorous bitch who did this. Dont let her get away!

    That was the most clearly anyone had spelled out his mandate, and Victor felt a spur of eagerness in his chest at themand. His voice was a growl, deep in his gut, and he saw Darren flinch back behind Lesh when he spoke, Justice will have his due. The words werent as impactful on Lesh and Darren as they were on the otherstheyd seen Victor wearing the Inevitable Huntsmans guise, and their faces said they almost pitied Catalina when Victor caught up to her. He looked away from Rellia to the others and asked, Everyone has their fare?

    The System was charging them each a hundred thousand Energy beads, or, in Leshs case, the equivalent of Energy-rich metal coins. He hefted a dimensional pouch and rumbled, Aye, but Ill need to make some money in the next world if we have to pay the System for travel again.

    I think thats true for most of us, Lam said. Im rich on paper, but it wasnt easy scrounging up the beads.

    If theres an emergency, and you must return in haste, Va has funds she can lend.

    Va nodded, and Victor said, So do I. Provided we dont spend it all getting help for Edeya.

    We shouldnt be paying the System, Lesh grumbled. I had to find Fanwath, but there are those with the power to open gateways. They rarely charge as much as the System stones.

    Right. Well, with any luck, well find someone like that on Sojourn.

    Rellia jostled Vas shoulder, still clinging to her with one hand. Write to me immediately! Ill want to know what that world is like and that youre all right. Keep us informed on the details of your quest.

    We will, Mother.

    Um, Ill be happy to help in that endeavor, Whitehorse said, stepping out from behind Lesh to look up at Rellia. He held out his hand, and a neatly bound book appeared. I brought several of these Farscribe books, and I have no one to report to. Most in First Landing arent interested in my correspondence at the moment, but hopefully, Ill gain some favor with a detailed record of our journey and all that I can learn. I do have a couple of friends back home keeping our leadership appraised of my efforts.

    Thank you. Rellia took the book, offering the man a smile that, if Victor could believe it, made him look away like a blushing schoolboy.

    Right. Enough stalling. Lets get going. Victor stepped forward to the stone and rested his hand upon it, navigating the menu with his mind until he saw the selection for world travel. He scanned the offered worlds again, saw nothing had changed, and selected Sojourn.

    <strong>***Travel to the world of Sojourn? The cost of travel from this stone is 100,000 unattuned Energy beads.***</strong>

    Victor looked around the room, and when his eyes locked with Rellias, he asked, Any final objections? Last chance.

    No objections, but a request: Please be careful and keep Va safe.

    Mother . . .

    Ill try. Victor nodded, then answered the stone in the affirmative. Suddenly, the world spun away with a weird rippling shift, like he was sliding backward through a person-sized kaleidoscope. Just as the dizziness became overwhelming and he thought he was going to pass out or vomit, it faded, and the world snapped into focus. Victor found himself standing on a big metal circle made of bronze or some simr alloy. The circle was iid in a marble floor that stretched for hundreds of yards in every direction toward mountainous walls that rose to a cavernous ceiling suspended by magnificent, filigreed metal arches.

    Eight enormous circr windows of stained ss lined the ceiling, each depicting a different stylistic scene, from a shepherd by a stream to an unmistakable fire-breathing dragon. The hall itself was jaw-dropping in its gargantuan proportions and splendor, but the thing that had Victor dazed and, quite frankly, speechless was the thronging crowd. Thousands of people of all sorts milled about, walking to and fro, materializing out of thin air or disappearing just the same. People with suitcases, people in armor, people in fancy clothing, and people wearing nothing but tattoos.

    And what people! If Fanwath''s species were diverse, here there was an extraordinary spectrum of existenceGiants and fairies,nky skeletal creatures and squat teddy bear men, people that looked almost human, and others that reminded him of elves from video games. Victor was gaping like a fool, turning in a slow circle as hispanions materialized around him. Perhaps because he was the most alone among them, Darren said what they all were thinking, It doesnt seem like anyone noticed our arrival.

 Book 7: Chapter 14: Sojourn

    Book 7: Chapter 14: Sojourn

    Darren was disturbed to find his mouth hanging ajar again. He closed it with an audible <em>ck</em> of his teeth, his head swiveling left and right, his mind unable to choose something to focus on. Victor grunted, jerking his big thumb left and right as he spoke to the giant dragon-man. Are we good to just wander into the city? Theres no check-in or something?

    The giant, ck-scaled fellow rumbled in reply, I dont think so. Ive never been to Sojourn, but the other hub worlds I passed through didnt require such.

    The tall, blonde Ghelli leading the other one, the frail, mentally vacant one, spoke up, We should secure lodging and try to find our bearings from there. Id feel better if we could speak and . . . think away from this crowd.

    Darren saw his chance to demonstrate his worldliness. Yes, its not unlike Times Square or Heathrow Station back home. This hubbub is quite a shock after the quiet of Fanwath! He found himself raising his voice to be heard over the constant background noise of the crowd. Victor scowled at him for his efforts, but Va smiled, humoring hisment with a slight nod, though she clearly had no idea what he meant.

    Suddenly, a great insect-man, something like a bipedal cricket, boomed at them in a basso voice, Clear the arrival pad, please. Information services are there, he pointed to a tremendous arched opening on the distant side of the building, easily a kilometer away, at the north exit. Victor took up the catatonic young womans left hand while Lam took her right, and they hurried off the metallic disc. Everyone, including Darren, followed closely. Thest thing he wanted was to be separated from the group, not in this ce. The cricket man spoke again, Use thenes and avoid walking on the bronze padsthe System wont allow arrivals or departures if non-travelers are standing on them.

    Thank you, soldier, Lesh said, for some reason assuming the cricket was such. Thebel didnt seem to offend, though; he nodded his thick, chitinous neck, then turned and marched away.

    Darren, Victor said, turning to face him. Can you make yourself useful and hold Edeyas hand? I dont want anyone to jostle her, and its hard for Lam to manage alone. He held the girls limp arm toward him, and Darren hurried toply. It might not be much, but Victors simple acknowledgment that he could be of use was enough to put some spring in his step. He took the young womans hand in his, noting that it was paper-dry and barely warm. How long could she exist in such a state? Thanks, Victor grunted, then, in an uncanny show of power, he grew in size, easily matching Leshs towering height. I want to be able to see a little better.

    Ancestors! Do you feel the auras around us? Va asked, her wings ruffling in a shiver, or was it excitement?

    Only a little, and that says a lot considering their strength. Victor red around at the party, even at Lesh. Dont insult anyone. Some of these people remind me of the volcano. With that ominous warning, he turned and began leading the way to the distant archway. Darren waited for Lam to follow, pulling Edeya along behind the others while Darren matched her pace, doing his best to keep close to the frail, sickly girls side. As Victor had requested, he was determined to ensure that no one jostled her. As he stumbled after the party, he tried to understand what theyd meant by the auras around them.

    Ever since arriving on Sojourn, stepping into this massive, busy hall, hed felt a weight on his mind, a kind of invisible pressure. Was that what they meant? Were the auras the overbearing sense of heaviness in the air? Hed assumed the sensation had something to do with the atmosphere or climate of the new world. They couldnt all be perfect for humanity, right? Some worlds must have too much gravity or air difficult to breathe. Still, maybe that wasnt it. Perhaps that constant shifting pressure was due to the power of the individuals walking about. He supposed it was simr to the weight hed felt when Victor had destroyed his future back in First Landing.

    No, Darren said softly, shaking his head. Hed made an agreement with himselfhe wouldnt me Victor, and he wouldnt count himself out yet. Hed asked the giant man to do what he did. Hed even goaded him with haughty pride. Darren snorted in derision, d that the hall was so noisy lest the expression be taken the wrong way by one of hispanions. He was derisive, yes, but it was aimed at himself. Hed been so sure the tanks could crush any person. Hed honestly been feeling guilty about forcing people to watch what had been, in his mind, tantamount to an ancient diatorial disythe barbarian versus the lions. How wrong hed been!

    Still, that aside, he supposed the shifting psychic pressure could be the auras the others spoke of. How did they know they were powerful? They felt the same to him. Perhaps that was it; everyone felt powerful to Darren with this pathetic status, which made it impossible for him to appreciate the difference. What had Victor said? He barely felt them, and that somehow indicated their power. Was it a matter of control? Darren lost his train of thought and almost dropped Edeyas hand when a creature that looked very much like a mauve elephant lifted off the ground ahead of them, buoyed by a dder of sparkling, rainbow gas that expanded from its back. It warbled a strange tune from its tusked mouth as it floated away toward a distant corner of the hall.

    With his eyes following the floating creatureperson?Darren was made aware of the many other flight-gifted people traversing the heights of the hall. People with wings, people who simply seemed to float, and people on magical conveyances from rugs to chairs to wing-like capes. It was chaotic and dizzying, and Darren had to look down, focusing on Victors back, to ground himself. For the first time, he was thankful for Victor and Lesh and their bulk; they cleared a path through the crowd that was easy to follow, keeping him, Edeya, and Lam from being overwhelmed. Even Va hung back a bit, though, with her height and stunning appearance, Darren had little doubt she could traverse the scene.

    Ever since Victor had humiliated him, Darren had been taking hard looks inward to where hed learned the seed of his Core dwelled. Back on Earth, hed been a decently fit man, a good-looking fellow with an Apache grandfather, a Norwegian mother, and a penchant for organization. Hed been hired because of his contacts in the upper management of the Ark Program and, ostensibly, for his experience in project management, but when theyd arrived on Fanwath, things had rapidly fallen out of his control. The System and that damned colony stone had erased many of his presumed duties. Hed found himself listless and had taken up politics to fill that void.

    Oof, he said, realizing hed fallen behind and Lam was pulling Edeya away from him. He hurried his step to catch up and tried to refocus his musing. Where had he been? Oh, the Core! Hed never bothered forming one and was still, as his detractors mockingly pointed out, without any levels. Still, with some tutge from Dr. Kerns in the early days, hed learned to look inward and see the nascent swirl of Energy where he was supposed to form one. Hed grown busy, though, focusing on more mundane, Earth-based defenses, and as the months slipped by, hed eventually grown too pridefulembarrassed, honestlyto ask for further help.

    However, that pride was a thing of the past, thanks to the titanic man before him. No, Darren would ask for help. Hed figure something out on this trip that would help him regain some standing back home. Either that, or hed find a reason to stop caring what they thought of him. So far, he wasnt regretful; this space alone was enough to grant him a new perspective. He was surrounded by beings resembling demigods, mythical heroes, and creatures. What was more, as they drew near the massive archway leading out of the north end of the structure, he began to see what waited outside, and, again, his steps faltered, and he almost lost hold of Edeyas hand.

    Darren, keep up! Lam snapped, looking over her right wing, scowling down at him. Why was everyone so damn tall? Even the frail, sick one was nearing six feet.

    He hurried his steps and nodded toward the archway. Sorry, I just saw those crystal buildings and almost fainted. What was the point of pride among people such as these?

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    Almost fainted? Lam followed his gaze, and her scowl melted. Roots! Darren grinned at her outburst. At least he wasnt the only one amazed to see iridescent, shimmering, crystalline skyscrapers outside. He and Lam werent alone in their stupefaction; Victor and the others, too, were staring at the view beyond the archway. More than the crystal towers, the very sky was a marvelshimmering stars, seemingly too close to be real, rainbow archways upon which fantastical beings and vehicles traversed the heights, and ss-paved roads that wended in sweeping curves between the structures.

    Look at the train! Victor said, and they all followed his pointing finger toward a sleek, silver passenger train that traversed an elevated rail held aloft by glowing, floating tforms. It moved quickly and silently past the busy square outside and had to be five kilometers long from the first car to thest.

    Train? Va asked.

    Darren quickly stepped in, Thats an antiquated term for a conveyance like that from our home world. It consists of many cars pulled or pushed by an engine car along a set track or railway. He stepped forward and pointed. Do you see the gaps between the segments? Those segments are individually called train cars, and theyre usually joined to each other via some sort of coupling.

    Thank you, Darren, Va said, smiling at him. Darren almost melted on the spot, but he looked down quickly, nodding, his voice fading to a mutter as her attention stole his ability to think clearly.

    There! Lesh said, pointing to a booth set into the wall of the grand arrival hall, as Darren hade to think of the ce, near the exit. The party moved toward it, and Darren began to breathe again. He watched Victor drape a massive arm over Vas shoulders, and his heart began to bleed with envy. It wasnt so much that he was envious of Victors rtionship with Va, but more of him in general. What must it be like to wield such power, to have such ease around people who would have been heralded as deities back home?

    As they approached the window and Victor stepped forward to speak with the humanoid, porcin-skinned woman behind the ss, Darren had to give her a double-take; she didnt simply have pale skin; her flesh was, literally, porcin. Wee. May I aid you with information, traveler? Her voice was high-pitched, musical, and carried a weird edge like a tuning fork being pulled over smooth ss.

    Um, yes, thanks, Victor said, and if Darren hadnt been in awe of the man, he might have pped his forehead at the giants poor diction. Were new here from a much, um, smaller . . .

    Lower-affinity, Va interjected.

    Yeah, lower-affinity world. Weve never been to Sojourn. Are there rules or something we should know about?

    Again, my heartfelt wee, travelers. The womans strange, sky-blue eyes peered around Victor to take in the rest of them, and her ss-like red lips tilted up in a smile. How could it look like pottery and yet move like flesh? Darren fought to keep his mouth closed. You should know that Sojourn is a world for all. We value every individual, and there will be no tolerance of violence or crime in our streets. She gestured to the massive archway leading out of the building. We are a city-world, much smaller than normal worlds, but very populous and with doorways to many realms. Here, you can find a million billion items for sale, a million different species, and tens of millions of ssers. If you seek knowledge or merchandise, youvee to the right ce. If you seek travel elsewhere, you are simrly well positioned. If you seek entertainment or to provide it, this is the world for you. If your power be minuscule or great, youll find ways to advance.

    She paused, and Victor cleared his throat, perhaps thinking she had finished, but the porcin woman began to speak again. I see you are all within the iron ranks, and thus, you should avoid attempting to traverse the high roads. There are those who will not tolerate the presence of others so low and, though we havews against violent behavior, their might is beyond our ability to reproach.

    Iron ranks? Va asked.

    Victor spoke simultaneously, High roads?

    Ah, I see you are, indeed, untraveled. Allow me to expound: The System levels one through one hundred are often referred to as the iron ranks because theyre seen as the forging process in which the raw ore of your bodies, spirits, and Cores are refined into something more precious. The high roads are the crystalline pathways in the sky where those who have passed through to steel and beyond traverse Sojourn. While you may mingle with such folks in private domains and some public facilities, we find its best for the iron rankers to avoid them in the streets.

    Va stepped a little closer, inserting herself into the womans attention. Are those termsmon in the universe, or are they specific to Sojourn?

    They aremon in our region of the universe. The ssifications originated from Sojourn, but as millennia passed and we spread our influence to other worlds, many hundreds have taken up the terminology.

    Are you familiar with Fanwath? Victor asked, surprising Darren yet again with his quick wit.

    Fanwath? The porcin woman closed her pale blue eyes with a <em>snick,</em> then opened them and nodded. Yes, Fanwath connected with Sojourn three hundred and twelve years ago.

    Those fucking Ridonne, Victor growled, and Darren felt enough heat from his simmering rage to necessitate taking a step back.

    Please remain calm, sir. As I alluded to earlier, there are fewws in Sojourn, but we have a simple mandate to keep violence out of the streets and to respect each individual.

    He wont be violent, maam, Va said, grasping Victors arm at the elbow. Almost like a switch being thrown, the hot waves of palpable anger faded away.

    No, I wont, but that doesnt mean I cant think violent thoughts, right? Victor chuckled to lighten his words, and the porcindy simply nodded, her weird, shiny red lips curving up in a demure smile. Victor cleared his throat, shook his head, and then asked, Can you direct us to lodging fit for those of our level? Victor nced over his shoulder, and his dark brows narrowed when his golden-brown eyes settled on Darren. Somece where people respect individual rights; we have some . . . delicate members in our party.

    Of course. She pointed to a sigil of iid bronze beside her window. It seemed to shift as Darren stared at it until he realized it was a stylized SJ. Had it been so before, or had it shifted until his mind could understand it? What a wonder! This is the official seal of Sojourn, and if you find an establishment bearing such a mark, you can rest assured that theyve passed monthly audits to ensure that they uphold the high standards of Sojourn''s business practices. I would highly rmend you avoid establishments without our sigil.

    Should we just go out and wander, or is there a map? Lam asked, perhaps tired of waiting for Victor or Va to get to the point. Speaking of silent people . . . Darren looked at Lesh to find the big man looking outside through the massive archway, his eyes zed as he stared into space. He wondered what the dragon man was thinking about. Darren turned back to the window to see the woman handing Victor a sigil-covered document.

    . . . for only one hundred System beads. Victor plopped a heavy sack of beads onto the counter, and the woman touched it with a ck rod. Darren had seen simr; it would take the correct amount from the sack without anyone having to count them out. Victor stowed the pouch away, then nodded, muttering his thanks as he stepped back from the window. He started to move off with Va and everyone else in tow.

    Darren took a step, following, still grasping the now-warm hand of the catatonic girl, but the porcin woman spoke, nearly stopping his heart with her words, Darren Whitehorse. Its not often that people without a formed Core find their way to Sojourn. Please take great care, for there are forces in this city that could snuff out your life with careless ease. I advise you to ask your master to escort you to one of the Genesis Centers so that you may develop some small level of resilience.

    Darren, startled beyond words for a moment, turned to formte a reply, only to find the woman looking down, reading a document. He was tugged along by Edeya, who was, in turn, pulled by Lam. He looked around the party, wondering what they thought of the womans words, but none seemed to have heard her. Had he imagined it? Had she somehow mentally spoken to him? As Victor guided them on the ss-like sidewalk along the simrly crystalline cobbles, through thick crowds, and under the fantastic expanse of stars and crystal structures, Darren struggled to wrap his head around everything hed heard.

    Victor was an iron ranker. The idea that this man, this titan of unimaginable strength and destructive power, was too weak to travel upon the high roads in this city was almost more than he could grasp. The woman had hinted at the upper power structure. What had she said? Passed through to steel and beyond? If steel was after iron, what was next? Silver? Gold? Were there even greater heights? How could such power even be measured? God, I was a fool, he said, and in a quirk of luckwhether good or bad, he didnt knowthey happened to be standing on a rtively quiet corner while Victor studied the map, and everyone heard him.

    Victor looked at him and raised an eyebrow, Humbling, isnt it? I felt this way in Coloss, too, but, shit, that ce is a backwaterpared to this.

    Darren nodded, irrationally pleased by Victors attempt to rte with him. Um, Victor, is there any ce on that map called a, uh, Genesis Center?

 Book 7: Chapter 15: A Suitable Space

    Book 7: Chapter 15: A Suitable Space

    Victor felt himself starting to rx a little as they moved away from the crystalline towers of the city center and into more normal-looking buildings with brick and stone facades. Something about being on those ssy streets under the high, shimmering roads, beneath people with godlike power traversing the soaring heights, had made him ufortable. Hed felt a kind of primal tension in his chest, a tightening of his muscles, and a fraying of his nerves. He wondered if that was how rabbits felt while a wolf stalked through the meadow. The analogy rankledhe was Quinametzin, andparing himself to a prey animal was galling, but he couldnt help how hed felt.

    Looking back at the tall gleaming towers as they reflected the sun in rainbow shimmers, he could imagine it was a city of the gods, a ce mortals werent meant to tread, and something in him believed it. That, more than anything else, illustrated to him that, though he was a big fish in a little pond back on Fanwath, here he was swimming in a vast, dangerous ocean. He let his eyes drift from the ssy towers to the stars visible through the thin atmosphere and shook his head in bewilderment. How is gravity the same? How can we breathe so well? Why arent, I dunno, <em>pinch</em> meteorites or something smashing into this little?

    I, too, wondered at the physics of it all, Darren said, mouth agape, eyes following the direction of Victors bewildered gaze. Victor nodded, frankly impressed with the guys ability to keep his cool. If Victor felt like prey among those powerful forces, how must that dude feel?

    Energy, Lam said, stepping closer to the building so arge, antlered man and the petite woman he escorted could pass by. Its so thick in the air. Cant you feel it? This world must be in the center of a river or ocean of it. I dont know how it works, but Ive heard some worlds are richer with Energy than others. Thats right, isnt it? She looked at Lesh with her question.

    Aye, he rumbled. Its denser here than Ive ever felt. I suppose, when Energy is involved, some of the rules of the universe be more like suggestions.

    Victor held up the magical ss map hed purchased from the information kiosk. It functioned a lot like a very simple tablet back on Earth. He touched things with his fingers to center the view and could zoom in and out by tapping. The map it disyed was in color and even had a slightly three-dimensional aspect, making it clear how much bigger some buildings were than others. It also had a simple menu, and one of the headings indicated a lot more to the device. This map has a guidebook section. I havent opened it yet, but when we get to a hotel or inn or whatever, we can probably get a lot of our questions answered by looking through it.

    Are we close?

    Yeah, Victor held the map lower so Va could see, pointing with his index finger at a section circled in bright pink andbeled, Abundant Lodging. The information clerk had done that for him, showing him how to make annotations to the map with ones finger. It really felt like a high-quality tablet, something the rich kids up in the foothills back home might have in their ssrooms.

    And the blue dot is us?

    Well, the tablet. I guess its connected to some kind of magicalwork. Victor shrugged.

    Va wrinkled her nose. Network? Like the, what was it, telephones in First Landing?

    I think thats probably right, Darren said, nodding. It would seem the people of Sojourn have, once again, illustrated my provincial ignorance. To think I thought we could recapture our dominance away from Earth with a few tanks and bombs. Just standing here, in the shadow of those great towers, I feel the power steeped in them. Can you imagine if someone tried to let off a mundane bomb in there? Those beings could wave a hand and send the explosion away!

    Try to stop that, Darren, Va said, smiling down at the man. Looking at him, watching him frown in confusion, Victor wondered how old he was. Thirties, probably. He looked like hed experienced some living, but he definitely wasnt middle-aged. Victor might think Energy was making him look younger, but he knew the guy hadnt even formed a Core yet, let alone advanced his race somehow.

    Stop what, um, Lady Va? He looked down, as usual,pletely unable to lock eyes with Va for more than a second. Victor wanted tough and tease him a little, but he held his tongue, also wondering about Vas point.

    Thinking of how youd attack every new ce youe across. Isnt that what got you into trouble back in First Landing? Wasnt a t of your political party about dominion? Your people are new to the System and the part of the universe it rules. Domination shouldnt be your primary reason for exploration.

    Of course, I suppose, well, yes. Youre right. Darren nodded and closed his mouth, and, once again, Victor had to give him props; it was clear he wanted to exin himself, wanted to make excuses for his outlook, but he was choosing to let it go.

    Right. Come on, then. He started across the street, walking on one of the ubiquitous arched pedestrian crossways in the city. There werent traffic lights, but the roads were orderly and safe. The magical and mundane conveyances, from glowing bullet-shaped carriages propelled by Energy to mythical mounts with horns and wings, traversed the city on one-way streets. At the same time, the pedestrians walked on wide, smooth sidewalks and crossed streets overtop the traffic. Most of the intersections were circr, and it seemed there was some unpostedw about taking them slowly because he never saw anyone who appeared to be in a hurry. ncing up at the flying vehicles and winged people and animals, he supposed rushing was left to those with the gift of flight.

    Darren seemed to be following his gaze with his own. He spoke up, looking at Lam with his question, Does it make you want to fly?

    Hmm? Lam looked at him past Edeya, whose hands they both held.

    The people soaring about up there. Wouldnt you rather join them than walk on the ground with usndlubbers?

    Landlubber? Lam snorted at the strange word. Is that . . .

    A silly word from home, aye. Darren looked at Victor, perhaps hoping for some backup, but Victor just looked at his map, ignoring the conversation. He was warming up to the guy, not exactly despising him anymore, but he didnt want to act like his buddy.

    I presume it means someone who cant fly? Lam prodded.

    Oh, actually, its meant to be disparaging toward people who dont like to sail the seas. It was a stupid word choice.

    Well, back to your question, Lam said, taking pity on the poor man, I wouldnt mind flying a bit, but I cant soar the way Va and those folks up there can. For now, Im only able to manage short flights. Someday, maybe. She looked up at the sky longingly, and Victor saw something in her eyes that made him give her a double-take. In his mind, Lam had always been Captain Lam, the heroic, powerful, wealthy woman whod bucked the social hierarchies and given Victor a chance to escape injustice. He admired and looked up to her, but here, she had wide, hopeful eyes and seemed younger than hed ever seen her. For some reason, he felt like he had to protect her, and the idea was freaking him out.

    They walked for a few minutes, everyone lost in their thoughts or speechless in the wonder of the strange city of Sojourn. Lesh was always quiet, but Victor could see he was also lost in thought, pondering the implications of the ce and its people. As they rounded the corner and meandered down a gently sloping sidewalk cobbled with smooth red stones, their destination finally came into view. It was a big park square surrounded by tall, many-storied brick buildings. They were charming in their uniqueness, each building a different shade with slightly different architecture, but they were clearly all hotels.

    Weing awnings and stylish wooden or metal cards announced them each. He saw names ranging from the Astral Loom Suites to the Prism of Dreams to the Whispering Wyrd Inn and a dozen others, besides. The park wasnt massive, probably only a few acres of grass and thin, willowy trees surrounding a big, white stone fountain with a dozen matching benches at the center. From their vantage on the elevated, approaching street, they could see most of the buildings, the entirety of the park, and the crowds of people meandering about.

    Where do the vehicles go? I only see pedestrians, Darren asked.

    Looks like theres another road around the back of the square. Lesh pointed to the left down the street. Victor could see he was right; the wagons, carriages, and magical vehicles were all being diverted down a side street, and it was easy to guess that it would turn to parallel the now pedestrian-only roadway approaching the park.

    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Any of those inns catch anyones eye? Victor asked, giving Va a nudge. Shed been quiet, but she was always like that, especially when she wasnt alone with him.

    Im partial to the one with the red gables. She pointed, and Victor squinted, trying to read the sign.

    Wayward Wanderer Inn?

    I think it fits us better than some of those more fanciful names.

    Agreed, Lesh said with a note of finality.

    Victor shrugged and started forward. Im not gonna argue. I dont care as long as it has big beds and bathtubs.

    Yes! With boiling water! Lesh rumbled enthusiastically. Victorughed, imagining the big guy reclining in a bath of water that would boil the flesh off a human.

    I know youve been busy with that map, Victor, but now that weve arrived, would you mind if I search for that ce the guide suggested to me? Darren asked, stepping quickly to keep up with everyone elses long strides. Victor looked at him and at Edeya, listlessly walking between him and Lam, and he slowed down.

    He turned to Lam. Sorry if Im going too fast. Is this all right for Edeya?

    Its probably good for her. I doubt sitting around is healthy for her body.

    Okay, good. Uh, yeah, Darren, you can check the map, but wait til we get to the inn. I dont want you to try to walk and read it at the same time. What if you bump into the wrong guy, and he ttens you? Victor was half joking, but he was also quite serious. He could only imagine how dangerous it would be for Darren if the wrong person decided hed done something insulting. Also, I told you Lesh is your buddy while were here, so if you want to check the ce out, youll have to work with him.

    Of course! Thank you, Victor.

    Victor paused and turned to look down at Darren, glowering a little. He appreciated his attitude change and his attempt to be respectful but didnt want apanion acting obsequious all the time. Darren, chill out with that stuff, will you? Im not going to beat you up or anything. Just be yourself; you dont have to kiss my ass.

    Darrens eyes widened with dismay, clearly fearing that hed angered Victor despite his words. I didnt mean anything . . .

    He knows, Lam said, narrowing her eyes at Victor. Va tugged at his arm, so Victor turned and continued walking. What was it with everyone? They acted like he was going to kill the guy. As far as he was concerned, after they got to the hotel, Darren was Leshs problem. Hed already told the big dragonkin as much, and Lesh had agreed with such solemn eptance that Victor had almost taken back the request. It was like hed given out some kind of noble quest, and Lesh was determined to seed beyond his expectations. Did he feel chaperoning the one-time politician would earn him some points with Victor? How would he feel if he learned Victor didnt really care what happened to the guy? That thought gave him pause. Was it true? Had he grown so heartless?

    Victor found himself scowling, feeling kind of irritated with himself as they walked through the hotel''s big ss and brass doors. He barely heard the hirsute doorman as he bowed and greeted them, pulling the massive door wide. He slowed his steps, enjoying the dcor of the expansive lobby, and allowed Va to take the lead, approaching the reception desk. Victor had never been to a fancy hotel on Earth, but he imagined it would look something like this. Marble floors, covered with lush blue carpets intricately patterned in a green floral print, ran through the expansive space to meet walls decked invish artworkportraits, disy cases filled with crystal and fine te wear, and hanging tapestries thatplemented the carpets.

    nts hung from the heights, along with the bright, sunny lighting that emanated from high crystal chandeliers, gave warmth and vibrancy to the space. Victor took a deep, cleansing breath and tried to push his stress aside. They had things to aplish in this ceEdeyas catatonic face was a constant reminder of thatbut that didnt mean they couldnt enjoy themselves while they were at it. A tiny voice in a deep corner of his mind, one hed been repeatedly shoving down since the battle at the volcano, whispered, Should you really enjoy yourself after getting hundreds of people killed?

    <strong>#</strong>

    Darren hung back with Lam and Edeya while the others spoke to the hotel clerk. He watched Victor staring into space, glowering, while Va made arrangements for their rooms. He was happy to let them handle things; hed spent most of the fortune hed been hoarding back in First Landing to pay for his travel through the System stone, and though he hadnt said anything, he desperately hoped theyd find alternative means of further travel. Otherwise, hed have to throw himself on Victor and Vas mercy again.

    He wondered what Victor was so tense about. Hed seemed rather surly since Darren had arrived unexpectedly in the Free Marches. Darren had expected him to be annoyed and hadnt been surprised when hed been reticent to allow him to travel with them, but it wasnt just Darren Victor had been short with. Hed seen the faces Lam and Va made. Lesh, eager to please Victor, wasnt so easy to read. Besides, he scowled almost as much as Victor. No, he wasnt a good indicator of Victors mood.

    Darren wondered if it was simply the stress of being responsible for all of them. He had a vague idea that Lam, Va, and Lesh were far from helpless, but hed seen how they all looked up to Victor back on Fanwath. Was Victor perhaps feeling out of his depth, worried that hed led them all into waters too choppy to swim through? Darren wanted to help but felt like an infant trying to advise nuclear scientists. No, he figured the best thing he could do was get himself out of Victors hair and work on making himself less of a burden.

    Lesh stepped away from the counter, holding a shiny brass key. He looked at Darren and said, Come, fosterling, you will stay with me.

    I, uh, oh. Very well, thank you, Lesh. The dragon-man narrowed his gold-banded green eyes and grunted, turning back to Victor.

    Lord Victor, Ill be ready for your call. Please keep me apprised of the situation. He nodded to Edeya meaningfully and then gestured for Darren to follow him, stepping briskly toward an ornate, wrought-iron and marble stairway.

    Darren started to hurry after him, but Victor held up a hand. Wait. Lesh froze, and Darren turned to Victor, unconsciously shrinking inward, flinching as though the giant might smack him. He was relieved to see Victors face in a neutral expression as he held out the ss, notebook-sized map. Use this for now, but dont take it from your room. Im going to want to look through itter. As Darren epted the magical device, Victor looked at Lesh. If you go anywhere, leave a notice with the desk here. Well do the same.

    Lesh nodded, then turned, beckoning for Darren to hurry. Darren clutched the tablet to his chest and hustled after the big warrior, jogging to keep up. When they approached the stairway, Lesh looked at Darren and asked, Have you used a travel stair before?

    A, uh, what?

    This is a travel stair. It will aid your movement with dimensional magic. You must keep your destination in mind as you step, or youll get lost.

    Lost on a stairway?

    Exactly. We are on floor seventeen. Think of that number as you climb. With that, the giant turned, lifted his foot to the fourth step, and started up. To Darrens dismay, he vanished from sight after only one more giant step. Darren hurriedly started climbing the steps, picturing a big floating seventeen in his mind, and after three steps, he stumbled onto anding.

    How the hell? He looked around, surprised to find himself facing into a hallway with Lesh striding away from him. He hurried after him, and when they approached a doorbeled 1755, Lesh stopped and pushed his key into the lock. The door opened with a click, and they stepped into their suite. Lesh put his fists on his hips and looked around, breathing deeply. He bared his many pointy teeth in a smile. This is a suitable space.

    Their hotel room must have been constructed with heavy use of dimensional magic. The ceiling soared some thirty meters overhead, and windows the size of tennis courts lined the far wall, providing an expansive view of the hotel square and park. Half a dozen couches were arrayed before the windows and the big, free-standing circr firece. Arge kitchen lined one side of the room, and doorways to the bedroom suites were on the other. All in all, it was decorated much like the lobby, with deep shades of blue and dark, polished wood. It was luxurious on a level Darren had seldom seen, and on a scale hed never encountered. Amazing, he breathed, stepping into the massive space, savoring the thick carpeting as his feet sank into it.

    Elder, Lesh said, catching him by surprise.

    Im sorry?

    You need not apologize. Now you know; do not fail to use the honorific in the future when we are in mixedpany. Lesh brushed past him toward the windows, and Darren stared at him, confused for several seconds before it clicked; back in the lobby, hed scowled when Darren called him Lesh. He expected him to call him Elder?

    Um, do you mean I should always call you Elder, or do I say Elder Lesh?

    Either will do, fosterling.

    You, uh, Elder Lesh, you know Im an adult human, right?

    Regardless. You are as helpless as a hatchling, and Ive taken you into my protection. You are my fosterling, and you will address me with the proper show of respect. Something in Darren wanted to balk at the idea, wanted to argue, but another part of him felt admiration and gratitude for the giant, ck-scaled man. Calling Darren a fosterling was going a lot further than Victor had demanded. If Victor were the most powerful person in their party, Lesh would probably be second, though Darren wasnt sure of that; Va was also an unknown entity. The point was that Lesh was a powerhouse, and if he was willing to foster Darren, that was a win in his eyes.

    Thank you, Elder. At his words, Lesh folded his arms over his chest and nodded solemnly, still staring out the window.

    Good. Now, fosterling, you will contact the man at the front desk and ask that the furniture in this suite be stored away. We have no use for it. A bath and a dry floor are all men such as we require.

    Oh, Darren looked around the room at thefortable, luxurious furniture. He supposed sleeping on the floor wouldnt be so awful; at least they were well-carpeted. Ill do that right away, Elder.

    Yes, Lesh nodded, his ck, reptilian lips curving into a slow smile. Arge cave with a good view will benefit our outlook. Look out there, fosterling. Look at those people, at those buildings, at the stars beyond. See what there is within your grasp and be filled with inspiration. Think of the man who changed your life and took you in, assigning you to me. Think of how you will work to impress him and make him d that you exist. That is our mission here, in this great cityto grow stronger so that we might aid Victor in his quests. Through his victories, we will have our own.

 Book 7: Chapter 16: Progress

    Book 7: Chapter 16: Progress

    Victor sat on the supple leather couch, looking through the enormous windows at the park and the city beyond it. Rather than a medieval magical world, he felt like he was looking out at a futuristic New York or Parishe really had no clue, having never been to a big city on Earth. It was hard not to feel rxed with that view in thefort of his hotel room, but he managed. He was tense and annoyed and feeling like everything was too damnplicated.

    When hed gone from Fanwath to the city of Coloss, hed been irritated to find that people there were generally a lot more powerful than those on Fanwath. Hed been expecting something simr when they traveled to Sojourn, but not on this scale. There were times hed been talking to people on FanwathBorrius, Rellia, even the folks at First Landingand while he spoke about being prepared and growing in power, hed often wondered, quietly, why someone truly mighty, someone like Tes but opposite in temperament, wouldnte to Fanwath and take the ce over. Being here, walking around in the thick Energy, slinking through the shadows cast by the god-like powers up above, he realized that Fanwath wasnt worth noticing for these people.

    Do you want to talk about it?

    Victor looked up to see Va stepping out of the bedroom. Shed been hanging some clothes in the wardrobe, something he didnt understand. He was fine keeping his things in his storage ring, but he supposed Va liked to visualize her outfits. Hmm?

    Are you ready to talk about your mood? Youve been . . . short with people. She walked closer to the couch, pausing to look out the window while he considered his answer.

    I just hate feeling so small, I guess.

    She looked at him and frowned, making an expression that was half irritated and half sympathetic. Firstly, love, if thats truly bothering you, then you need to take a step back and put yourself in everyone elses shoes. Secondly, thats not it. Youve been distant since we beat the invasion, distant with me, and short with everyone else. You have bouts of good humor, but theres more bothering you, and its only going to fester until you confront it.

    I dont know what you want to hear. Im worried about Edeya. Im stressed having so many dangerous . . . beings, I guess, around us.

    Va shook her head, sighing, then walked around behind the couch. He could hear her steps as she continued toward the door. Im going to get that guidebook thing from Darren. We need to figure out where to ask for help with Edeya.

    Want me toe with you?

    No. Be back soon. With that, she stepped through the door, and he heard it click shut. Victor felt his irritation start to steep into something more like anger and clenched his fists, sitting there alone, feeling stupid and childish. Something in him wouldnt allow him to take all the me, though. Was it his fault he felt stressed? He hadnt exactly been mean to anyone, had he? Hadnt he even told Darren to rx and stop sucking up? What was he supposed to do, kiss everyones ass? Was Va right about him being distant since the volcano? Again, what was he supposed to do about that? Forget about all the good people whod died? Forget about Sarl?

    Victor found he was clenching his teeth, his jaw bulging from the pressure, and forced himself to physically rx by taking a deep, slow breath through his nose. He stood and paced before the window. Even at his full, natural size, it took him five steps to traverse its length, and a part of him was impressed with the weird spatial magic that allowed the massive windows on the interior of the building while making them a tenth the size on the exterior. The thought didntst long, though, in the storm of emotions raging in his mind. Looking deep, where he hated to gaze, he knew it was more than stress, anger, sadness, or disappointment that was messing with his mind; it was shame.

    He''d put on a brave face and epted everyones insistence that it wasnt his fault that so many had died when Hector had sprung his trap, but what it boiled down to was that he didnt believe the titudes. He didnt believe that Kethelket wasnt upset with him, not after losing nearly a third of all his people. When hed joined the campaign, hed brought more than three hundred Naghelli. Now, he was settling thends theyd earned with something like a hundred and eighty. Even if Victor put that aside, how could he ever be okay knowing that more than seven hundred members of the ninth and the reserve cohort had died in that attack?

    People said things like, If not for you, more would have died during the campaign, but the words didnt help. To him, Edeya had be the symbol of his failures. She was a constant reminder of what had gone wrong that night, and the sadness lurking in Lams eyes onlypounded that feeling. Lam put on a brave face and tried to keep hopeful about a solution, but Victor wasnt so sure. Catalina was cruel, sadistic even, and he didnt doubt that the part of Edeya shed taken wasnt being treated well. He wasnt sure what a Death Caster would do with someones spirit, but he knew it wouldnt be pretty. Even if they made her whole again, would she ever be the same?

    His stewing was interrupted when the door opened, and Va walked in carrying the ss tablet. She held it aloft and said, A different person was working at the desk, a strange metallic being with four arms. I couldnt tell if it was a man or a woman or something else. Anyway, they were very kind, and when they heard me speaking to Lesh and Darren, they offered to send a runner back to the World Hall, as they called the ce where we arrived, and fetch us another one of these. Lesh paid for it and said hed wait for the recement.

    Thats cool. Victor sighed, shaking his head. Listen, I know Im not a greatmunicator. I dont know how to voice all the shit going on in my head, but I want you to know Im sorry if Im making you miserable.

    Va, too, sighed, and she walked toward him, pulling her wings close with an almost metallic rustle. Come here. She opened her arms, but Victor didnt move. He wasnt feeling right, and receiving morefort or kindness from someone wasnt what he was looking for; it wasnt what he deserved. That didnt deter Va, though, and she continued toward him. When she stepped around the couch into the bright sun shining through the window, the light in her eyes was mesmerizing, and Victor almost didnt realize it when she took his hands in hers, looking up at him. I noticed youre not reducing your size here.

    I . . .

    You want to put more distance between yourself and us. She didnt ask; it was clear she thought she was right, and she might be. It was easier to stand high above Lam and Edeya. It was easier to avoid looking into peoples eyes. I know the source of your pain, and I know people have tried words to make you feel differently. Maybe you should try some words. Put to voice whats haunting you.

    Whats haunting me? A thousand ghosts! Victor snapped, jerking free of her grasp and turning back to the window. A thousand people who died because I was a prideful idiot. Because I let that . . . He trailed off, not wanting to start throwing out curses and invectives he mighte to regret.

    You let her y upon your pride? You took some bait and, with every good intention, attempted something perilous? How many others could say the same? How many of us wouldnt put ourselves at risk if we thought it would save the lives of others? You made a bad decision, but you made it for the right reasons.

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Va! The Naghelli are practically gone!

    Would it be better if youd never killed Belikot? Would they be better off?

    Victor turned to the ss, refusing to meet her gaze, and pressed his forehead against the cool surface. So, if I do something good, it excuses <em>hundreds</em> of deaths?

    Get over yourself, Victor! Va snapped, apparently tired of coddling him. When he turned, eyes wide, surprised at the outburst, she continued, How are you so certain no one would have died if youd been there? Most of the deaths urred when Hector descended with that bone dragon! What if youd run off like me and Kethelket, pursuing and ughtering the ghouls? He still would havended on that wall. He still would have run amok among the troops while you fought your way to him. Should Kethelket and I carry the burden of those deaths because we didnt stand back with the soldiers? Now, tell me, if youd pursued him up that mountain but hadnt had the breakthrough you were <em>forced</em> to make while trapped, do you think you would have beaten him so cleanly up in that volcano? Keep in mind that his veil star would have still been there. Keep in mind that the volcano wouldnt have awakened. Stop moping and grousing about what <em>could</em> have been when youve got so much to be thankful for! We won! We destroyed a vast army of undead and drove the invaders from Fanwath, and that wasrgely due to your heroics!

    I . . . Victor stopped, mouth hanging open, unable to formte a coherent string of words. Hed rarely heard Va speak so much at once and never with such ferocity. She red at him for a handful of seconds, then turned and walked to the couch. She sat and began tapping her fingers on the tablet, scowling. Victor turned back to the window, staring out at the crystal city center in the distance, and, for the first time, he appreciated the beauty of it. For the first time, he didnt think about the beings walking the heights, wondering about their intentions. Its beautiful, he said, voicing his thoughts.

    Va didnt reply, so he turned to her and watched her eyes scanning the tablet. Her eyebrows were drawn down in a scowl, and he wondered what it must have taken for her to yell at him like that. Had he really been so wrong? He moved over to the couch, casting Alter Self, reducing his size to something more on her level. When he sat, he was sure to leave some space between them. He watched her scanning through the guidebook information, pointedly ignoring him, and after a few minutes, he said, Youre right. Her finger paused for a moment, then went back to scrolling through the information. You know, youre a lot older than I am. Its not really my fault that I dont see things as clearly as you do . . .

    What? She whirled on him, dropping the tablet to the carpet. Did you just say Im <em>old</em>?

    Victor grinned, leaning back as though taunting her, daring her to do something. I mean, Im just stating the facts . . . She leaped on him, hands going for his throat, her wings spreading wide. Victorughed and fell back, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her close. Her feigned chokes became caresses, became kisses, and then it was only a matter of time before they were pulling each others clothes off and, in the shadow of the glittering, rainbow-lit city, they made love, or, more aptly, had sexwild, pent-up sex that left them both sweaty and drained and, at least in Victors case, much clearer of mind.

    Later that afternoon, after theyd cleaned up, Lam came to their suite with Edeya in tow. While she and Va sat talking, Victor perused the guidebook. It didnt take long to find a listing of Sojourn-sanctioned businesses, and among them, subheadings for practitioners of spirit and portal magic, among other promising categories. When he saw that, he looked up, tuning in for the first time to the conversation taking ce.

    . . . think its kind of endearing. He could have be bitter or vengeful, but hes epted his failure and chosen to better himself. In fact, I was the one who convinced Victor to bring him.

    Thats all well and good, but are we sure Lesh is the right one to mentor him? What do we even know about that mans culture?

    Uh, sorry to interrupt,dies, but I think I have a lead here. This guidebook has listings for different kinds of businesses and dozens of spirit and portal experts. I figure if someone cant help Edeya here, maybe someone can help us find a way to get to Dark Ember. Or at least to send me. If I can get my hands on that bi . . .

    Woah, Lam said,ughing. The genuine humor in the sound and the light in her eyes reminded Victor of what an idiot hed been earlier. She might be upset about Edeya, but there was great hope there, enough to let her enjoy the moment. And why shouldnt she be hopeful? While Edeya had life, there was a chance shed recover. There was so much in this universe he didnt understand, so much power he couldnt fathom. Who was he to decide something was hopeless? Those beings whod inspired dread in him as he walked beneath those crystal towers were just as worthy of inspiring hope.

    Right. One step at a time. Do you guys want to go see one before it gets dark?

    Va smiled. This is a city, Victor. Darkness doesnt mean businesses close . . .

    Right, well, dark was the wrong word. I meantte. Businesses do close, you know.

    Im up for it, Lam said, illustrating her words by standing.

    When Va nodded, Victor said, Lets pick a ce first. I say we should visit a spirit practitioner first. It would be good to have another opinion about whats going on with Edeya, and I wouldnt mind asking about, shit, I dont know, an instructor? What do you call it when you want to learn more about your magic?

    A teacher, or master, or mentor, or . . . Lam looked like she meant to continue listing synonyms, so Victor held up his hand for mercy,ughing.

    Right, right, you know what I mean. Here are some of the names. He read from the list: Vyrts Wonders of the Soul, The Love Loom, Empathy Echoes, Hopes Horizon, Chamber of Remorse, Harmonys Haven, Ether Echoes, Celestines Crystal Gaze . . . Victor trailed off, frowning.

    Is that all of them? Lam prodded.

    No, theres about forty more, but I was just thinking that these names dont say a lot. We might as well just pick one, and if they cant help us, we can ask whoever runs that shop for advice on where to go next.

    Well, Im partial to the, uh, hope one, Va said, gesturing to her sword, Midnight Hope, leaning in her scabbard against the wall beside Lifedrinker.

    Right. Victor grinned. Hopes Horizon, it is. He and Va gathered up their weapons, and then, with Lam holding Edeyas hand, they walked through the long hallway to the magical stairway. When they approached it, a thought urred to Victor, Hey, how does Edeya use the stairs? Dont you have to think of your destination?

    Lam shrugged. I just hold her hand, and she moves with me.

    Well, thats good. I guess if nothing else worked, I could carry her . . .

    Not necessary, Lamughed.

    The map made it easy to navigate the city; it was like having GPS on your phone back on Earth. Victor led the way, but the sidewalks were wide, the denizens of the city were pleasant, and they didnt encounter any trouble as they made the short walk to the address in the guidebook. Their route took them back toward the citys center, but they stopped well short of the first crystal tower, finding Hopes Horizon to be a small shopfront on the side of arge building upied mainly by a huge bookstore.

    Oh! Va said, grabbing Victors wrist. Can we go into the bookstore when were done in there?

    Yeah, for sure. Victor nced at Lam, That all right with you?

    She nodded, smiling at Vas excitement. I love books.

    Never saw you reading back in the mine . . .

    Spent a lot of time watching me in my private quarters, did you? Lam gave his shoulder a bit of a shove.

    See? Thats what happens when I walk around all tiny like this; people think they can shove me around.

    Tiny? Lam scoffed. None of us are tiny. It was true; even if he reduced his height to be simr to Va''s, the three of them were all seven feet tall or more. Victor shrugged, then approached the business door. The bright yellow sun was dipping toward the horizon, providing a breathtaking sunset that filled the western sky with deep shades of red, magenta, and purple while darkening the rest of the atmosphere, allowing the already visible stars to shine more brightly in the ckness. Hed nearly walked into traffic twice, trying to stare up into that expanse as they traversed the city. With that in mind, he worried they were toote as he pulled on the door handle. It opened easily, putting his fears to rest, and they stepped inside.

    Victor found himself in a small,fortable-looking shop with couches on the right-hand side, a counter on the left, and rows of trinkets and potion bottles on shelves behind it. A man with long, wavy pink hair, massive, pointy gray ears, and golden eyes that reminded Victor of a cat looked up from the counter. His eyes narrowed with interest. Wee in. Hurry now, dont let all the warm air out. Ah, ah, I see a bright spirit Core among you, and . . . whats this? This poor girls spirit is fragmented. Come,e, sit down. Let me have a better look.

 Book 7: Chapter 17: Prying Eyes

    Book 7: Chapter 17: Prying Eyes

    The door to the suite clicked open, and Leshs voice boomed out, Fosterling!

    Darren jumped, startled more by the volume than the sudden return of the giant, reptilian man. Was that right? Were dragonkin reptiles? Were dragons? Darren decided it would be best to guard his words and thoughts about the subject on the off chance thatbeling them such would be considered an insult. He mbered to his feet and cleared his throat, Here, Elder. Hed been lounging in front of the windows, lying on the carpetthe hospitality staff hade in with dimensional containers and removed all the furnishings. Lesh had been pleased by the wide-open feeling of the room, but Darren found it strange; it felt hollow, and sounds seemed to echo and bounce off the naked walls.

    I have regained the information device. No, better; I have acquired a new one. We no longer have to worry about returning this to Lord Victor.

    Oh? Thats excellent news! May I see . . .

    You will take this and find the location of the Genesis Building. Is that not the name of the ce the steward of the portals whispered in your ear?

    Um, right, Elder. Genesis Center, actually. Darren hurried over to Lesh, as always daunted by the fact that his head only reached the enormous warriors waist. Holding the device between a wed thumb and finger, Lesh handed it down to him. I cannot make myself small as Victor does to use thisfortably. I may require you to navigate here and there, depending on how long we stay in this city.

    Darren took the tablet, nodding, as he tapped the screen. When it didnt light up like the first one, he said, Elder, I think you need to activate it. Lesh grumbled a sound, half sigh and half <em>tsk,</em> as he reached out with one of his three, wed fingers, each as wide around as Darrens wrist, and pressed it into the ss. A half secondter, it red with amber light, and the map of the city appeared. Thank you, sir, um, Elder.

    Good. As your education advances, I will teach you a proper honorific in the tongue of the dragons. For now, Elder will continue to suffice. Will it take you long to find the center? Ive half a mind to bask in the afternoon sun. Lesh eyed the bright, sunny section of blue carpeting in front of the windows.

    Only a moment, but we can wait to go if . . .

    No. We will go now. I cannot condone your Coreless existence for a moment longer than necessary. If this grove or nursery cannot help you, I will guide you through the process, painful as it may be. First, however, we will give the teachers of children a try.

    Im not so sure its a ce for children . . . While he muttered his half-hearted objection, Darren scanned through the listing of businesses and public buildings. Somehow, it was organized alphabetically in words that looked just like English to him, and for the millionth time since waking up on Fanwath, he wondered how the System could do that. It had to be aplex spell or something that existed in their minds. Is that what skills granted by the System were? Could it take them away as easily as grant them? He tapped the name of the business and selected the map option, and then he saw, just like his GPS back on Earth, a faint golden line leading away from the hotel on the map toward the destination. It didnt look far. I have it, Elder.

    Good! You see, fosterling? Your mind is quick; there may be a useful ss for you.

    As Lesh turned toward the door, Darren fell into his shadow, following behind. Um, thank you. When they reached the sidewalk outside the hotel, Lesh paused and turned to look down his short, tooth-filled snout at him, narrowing his mossy green eyes in the dark hollow beneath his prominent, scaled brow.

    You will lead us. Fear notI will be close behind.

    Darren nodded and continued down the cobbled walkway past the park. Just as before, he was nearly dumbstruck by the sights, sounds, and smells of the magical city. The smell was a big one; it was clear from what they could see through their hotel window that the city was massive. It sprawled to the horizon, and its downtown, with the giant crystal towers, was easily the size of skyscraper zones in the big cities of Earth. That said, it didnt smell like New York. Darren had been there a few times for seminars, and the thing he always noticed, provided the weather was warm enough, was the ever-present underlying stench of urine. The air is fresh, Elder, he said over his shoulder.

    Should it not be?

    Well, I dont know why, but Id often find cities smelled of garbage and waste on my homeworld. Darren shrugged; he really didnt know why. He supposed that when lots of people gathered, you got all kinds, and some of those would rather pee on the side of a building than find a restroom.

    Shameful. One who cannot dispose of their own waste should be banished. Lesh rumbled his promation offhandedly, and when Darren looked back at him, he saw that his big mentor was busily staring at a procession of veiled, feminine figures. They wererger than humans, had four arms with blue and purple skin, and beneath their veils, bright lights shone from where their eyes should be. Darren tried not to stare as the twelve figures sauntered by, studiously staring at his map while he hurried.

    What interestingdies, Lesh said after theyd rounded the corner. Something about a hidden face makes me want to see it more. Do you feel the same, fosterling?

    I suppose. The allure of the unknown or the mystery of what we cannot see . . . Darren trailed off as he rounded thest corner and saw his destination ahead. It was a domed, crystalline building upying something like four city blocks. The afternoon sun shimmered on the structure, making it appear bright white, painful to the eyes, near the top, and gradually darkening to a glimmering orange-red near the street level. Beautiful, he breathed, beginning to walk again.

    Indeed. Thats an edifice worthy of a visit, even if the services within are meant for the youth of this world. Leshs cocksure certainty that the ce was for children was almost amusing to Darren. He couldnt argue, though; he figured most adults whod been born in a System world would have developed their Core and whatever other services the Genesis Center provided. It didnt help matters when, as they approached, a group of childrenpointy-eared, colorful folk who reminded Darren of fairy storiessurged out of the central doors, corralled by a floating, cloud-like being as theyughed and jumped, running with the exuberance of youth, toward the sidewalk.

    Darren didnt wait around for Lesh toment, hurrying up the steps to the enormous ss, or maybe crystal, doors. When he approached, they swung open quickly and noiselessly, and Darren stepped into an oval reception area constructed of the same crystal substance as the buildings exterior. It was domed and almost cave-like, with a dozen oval passages leading away in every direction. The lighting came from the crystal walls, ceiling, and floora soft blue-white glow that permeated everything. The air was remarkably crisp and fresh, and Darren folded his arms, gripping his shoulders as he registered the temperature, bordering on cold.

    He was about to turn to Lesh to ask him for advice on where to begin when a cloud of misty light coalesced in front of him. It pulsed with a soft glow as a pleasant, masculine voice asked, Darren Whitehorse, wee to the Genesis Center. Are you here to begin your journey toward Energy cultivation? Before he could answer, the misty ball of light floated over to Lesh and said, Leshrozen, wee to the Genesis Center. Is Darren Whitehorse your charge?

    He is my fosterling.

    The misty light bobbed up and down, then moved back to Darren. In his peripheral vision, Darren could see other such lights, speaking to other people in the hall. Darren? Will you learn with us today?

    Am, Darren licked his lips, unsure what he wanted to ask. Am I allowed?

    Of course! The Genesis Center is funded and maintained by the generosity of charitable citizens of Sojourn. All of our instruction and counseling services are free to the public.

    You will learn here today, fosterling, Lesh rumbled, making his decision for him.

    If youre sure. Darren nced up at the giant man. Elder.

    Your elder is wise to give you time to study here, Darren. Theres much that we can teach you. Leshrozen, please retrieve your charge here tomorrow at noon; hell be ready for rest and recovery by then.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.

    Good. When Lesh turned, Darren thought he would leave, but he stopped halfway, facing him. He took Darrens shoulder in one of his enormous wed hands, turning him so they were face to face. Look in my eyes, fosterling. Darren looked up. He hadnt even realized he was looking down. What was it about people like Victor and Lesh that made them hard to lock eyes with? No, it was more than those two; Darren felt the same about Va. Hed thought it was her beauty, but could it be more? Could it be their raw power? Darren forced himself to keep his eyes open, staring into the mossy green, yellow-banded eyes, feeling the weight of the consciousness behind them. Here, in this public ce, I have dered that you are my fosterling. You are a member of my household. You will bring pride to my name. He didnt say it like he was asking or telling Darren to make him proud, but rather as a statement of fact. Darren felt his chest swelling as he stood up straighter. Had he ever had a boss or mentor put such faith in him?

    Thank you, Elder.

    Lesh nodded and turned to leave without a backward nce. The floating ball of mist and light moved between Darrens eyes and his view of Leshs diminishing form stalking down the steps outside the ss doors. Darren, please follow me to your genesis pod. It moved slowly, as though to ensure Darren was following, then it gradually increased its speed until he had to step with brisk, long strides to keep up. It led him into one of the round crystal-lined passages, which meandered in a winding, unpredictable pattern as it slowly climbed into the enormous edifice. When they stepped into a small, perfectly circr room, Darren had no idea how far theyde or in what part of the building he might be.

    This is your genesis pod, Darren. You will learn and practice here for your first day at the center. If your elder brings you again, you may return to a room like this or work with other students, depending on your progress today.

    Will, um, will I have a teacher?

    I will be your instructor and guide today. You may call me Y-seven.

    Y-seven? Darren had turned to address the light and was faintly disturbed to see the doorway was gone; he was in a round ball of faintly cloudy, luminous crystal. Forgive my ignorance, Y-seven, but are you a lifeform or a construct of some kind?

    There is no need to forgive ack of knowledge so long as the desire exists to learn. I am a member of the Orushra species, and yes, I am alive, though my body functions differently than yours. Speaking of body functions, Darren, will you require nourishment or a ce to void biological waste?

    I, um, not right now, thank you.

    Very good. Please move your body into its mostfortable position while still remaining alert. Many bipedal beings prefer to sit on the floor, for example. Youll find the crystal will amodate your form.

    Part of Darren wanted to ask for a chair, but when hed fled First Landing and thrown himself on Victors mercy, hed made the conscious decision to be open-minded and agreeable. I will sit, he said, kneeling and then sitting on his butt, trying to fold his legs before himself. His knees were a bit stiff, so he kept them up, wrapping his arms around them forfort. The being hadnt lied; the crystal seemed to shift under his weight, and rather than a hard, unyielding ss-like crystal, he felt as though he was sitting on a warm, soft cushion.

    Are youfortable? Y-seven asked, and Darren nodded. Good. I can see much about you thanks to the divination glyphs woven into this structure. Still, it would be good if we had a conversation. Will that be all right? Again, Darren nodded. As I ask you questions and you answer them, feel free to ask me questions of your own.

    Thank you, I will.

    Darren, are you a child of your species?

    No, Im considered an adult man. Most people consider humans to be adults around the age of twenty years. Im thirty-four.

    And yet, youve not formed a Core. Are you a member of a caste that isnt allowed the use of Energy on your homeworld?

    Not exactly. You see, my peoplee from a world where Energy doesnt exist. Ive heard stories from, well, from two sources, now, that say Energy used to be rich on my homeworld but that, for some reason, it stopped flowing there.

    And, with no Energy, the System is not present, either?

    Thats right.

    Y-seven pulsed and throbbed with light for several seconds, and then it said, I will guide you, Darren. You are lucky to have been brought here. Truly, considering yourck of Energy, its quite fortunate that you were taken in by such a formidable and kind master. There are many worse ces you might have found yourself than here on Sojourn. Now, tell me, what do you know of Energy Cores?

    <strong>#</strong>

    The strange-looking man hurried out from behind his counter and ushered their party over to his couches. Lam and Edeya sat in one, while Victor and Va took the other. The couches were amodating but still a bit small forfort. Victor wanted to reduce his size further but knew it would probably irritate Va, so he sat there, knees as high as his chest, and watched as the long-eared, cat-eyed man alternated staring at him and Edeya. Quite a surprising visit! Sir, have you embarked upon your test of steel?

    My, uh? Victor frowned, looking at hispanions, wondering if hed missed something.

    Your test of steel. Are you yet in the iron ranks?

    He is. Va smiled at Victor, sighing almost wistfully as though longing for a day when someone wouldnt be impressed by him.

    Very good! The man smiled, exposing toorge teeth, and wiped at his brow. I was afraid Id have to mind my manners to an absurd degree, but we iron-rankers can speak frankly, no? My name is Erd Van.

    That we can, Lam said, leaning forward. I am Lam, there are Va and Victor, and this is Edeya. Shes in a bad way, Erd Van. Can you help her?

    This poor soul? He stepped close to Edeya, peering into her listless eyes. A moment! he bustled around the counter, the tails of his patchwork coat pping with his rapid movement. Victor heard bottles clinking and drawers opening and mming shut, and then the man reappeared, hurrying forward with a disc-shaped, blue lens. He stood before Edeya, peering at her through the lens. Victor felt a small surge of Energy, and then the lens began to sparkle with silvery light, throwing off rainbow sparks as he moved it around, peering at Edeya from every angle. After a while, he put the lens into his breast pocket and stood there, scratching the very short, very pink hairs on his chin.

    Well? Lam prodded.

    Well, Im sure youre aware that shes being made to appear far better than the reality of the situation. That circlet around her brow is giving her body some appearance of vibrancy, but were it taken away, I fear shed wither and die.

    Thats right. Victor leaned forward and gestured to Edeya. Can you tell us anything we dont know? Can you help her? He didnt mean to sound short with the guy, but something about his smug assessment rubbed him the wrong way.

    Only a fragment of her spirit is there! What happened? Was she attacked on the Spirit ne? Was she attempting a breakthrough with a Khalnav infusion? Did she do battle with . . .

    A Death Caster, Lam said, frustration and hopelessness creeping into her voice. She was attacked by a traitorous Death Caster who fled our world when confronted.

    Ah! That makes much more sense. Someone was trying to take her spirit, then, and was interrupted?

    Yes. Lams eyes filled with tears, and Victor knew she was reliving her encounter with Catalina. He wanted to sit beside her and offer her somefort, but there wasnt room on the little couch.

    Do not despair! Erd Van said, moving close to Lam and resting one of his small, wiry hands on her shoulder. The thing about spirits is that they yearn to be whole. The greater part will constantly tug at the lesser fragments. This one would have fled this vessel if not for your stalwart vigil! You being here, he gestured to them all, your spirits, along with the pull of her body, a familiar vessel, are providing a counterbnce. With a strong enough influence, you might be able to use the innate tether all soul fragments have with each other to snatch the rest of her from the clutches of that Death Caster!

    Really? Lams eyes sprang tears at his words, but they seemed to be tears of relief or joy. Victor felt his eyes watering up in sympathy. Can you do that?

    Me? Erd Van held a hand to his chest and chuckled. Oh, no, dear. Im afraid not. Even your friend here with the mighty furnace of rage and fear in his Core wouldnt be able to, even if he had the know-how. No, I fear youll need to find a patron whospleted their Test of Steel and moved into their Lustrous Veil. Someone of that level of power could probably ovee the enormous imbnce between your friendsrger spirit and this fragment. They may be able to exert the force required to help her spirit break free and find its way home to her. Of course, there are risks, but there is hope. Sojourn is just the ce to find the right patron!

    While Lam and the others absorbed his words, he turned to Victor and narrowed his eyes, staring at him for a long minute. Do you not have a powerful patron already, sir?

    Not exactly. Victor shrugged, not sure what he was getting at. Could he sense Khul Bach? Was there something about his Core? It rankled Victor that the guy could apparently see his Core. How was he doing that? Was it just that he was very sensitive to spirit Energies? Maybe it was a skill or ability with his ss . . .

    I only ask because I can see wispy remnantstendrils of left-behind powerof spirits that have touched yours. Their connections to you seem tenuous, but it seems they are still there, as though great beings are connected to you through the Spirit ne. I wonder if . . .

    Something came over Victor at that moment, and he felt his rage begin to seep into his pathways. He surged to his feet and glowered down at the man. When he spoke, it was him, his voice, his mind, but he felt the firmforting influence of his ancestors guiding his tongue. You may cease your ogling of my spirit! I am Quinametzin, and my ancestors walk with me. Be wary of insulting them with your prying eyes. Instinctively, he reached out with his will, grabbed ahold of his aura that hed been dutifully squeezing into submission, and pulled it closer still, drawing a curtain of the furious, potent stuff around his Core.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have learned a new skill: Aura Veil  Basic.***</strong>

    <strong></strong><strong>***Aura Veil - Basic: Using your will, you have learned to obscure your Core and affinities from the prying eyes of others. Your veil is only as strong as your aura, and those whose will is greater than your own can pierce your concealment.***</strong>

    My apologies, sir! Erd Van fell to his knees, pressing his forehead to the carpet.

    Victor might once have felt embarrassed at the obsequious disy, but in his current state, bolstered by the haughty presence of his ancestors, it felt just right. He nodded to the man, ignoring the looks Lam and Va were giving him, and said, Your insult was innocent. You may rx. Tell us, Erd Van, can you direct us to someone who might be able to pull Edeyas spirit home?

 Book 7: Chapter 18: Favors

    Book 7: Chapter 18: Favors

    Victor, please. Va gently tugged on his wrist, urging him to sit back down. Give the man a moment to gather himself.

    Victor glowered, and when Vas eyebrows drew together, mimicking his expression of irritation, it felt like someone had sshed cold water on him. He looked inward, at his roiling rage Core, at the heat in his pathways, and he sighed, sumbing to her pull and sitting back down. Not trusting himself to speak, he folded his arms and made a point of not staring at Erd Van, who still knelt before the couch.

    Maybe to change the subject or ease the tension, Lam spoke up, Erd, or is it always Erd Van?

    The man sat up straight, smoothing his long, pink hair back. You may call me Erd at your pleasure, Lady.

    Lam smiled and leaned against the couch arm, shifting to cross her legs more easily. Can you tell me what you mean by test of steel? Ive never traveled to Sojourn before.

    Ah. Erd lithely stood, ncing at Victor as he did so, then almost eagerly looking back toward Lam. The term originated here on Sojourn. Our founders had a flowery way of speaking and a poetic way of looking at things. When Lams face didnt betray any understanding, and Victor and Va remained silent, he continued, Its all based around the idea that were forging our ss during the iron ranks. You know, until the synthesis at level one hundred.

    Lam frowned, looking over at Victor and Va with an arched eyebrow. Forgive me, Va said, stealing Erds attention. The people in my world rarely ascend beyond level fifty. Those who do are secretive. Would you mind exining this synthesis? It wasnt lost on Victor that both women had phrased their questions saying I rather than we. Were they worried his Quinametzin pride was still bristling?

    Oh, of course, of course! On System-controlled worlds, just as most races receive a ss refinement every ten levels, at level one hundred, the System will guide you through a process in which you build a ss based on the aspects of your previous sses that youve most fully mastered.

    Well create our own ss?

    Yes, which leads to the test of steel, thanks to our founders'' creative sensibilities. You see, most people, when they first build their ss, end up with something at the base level. In the ranks that follow, a person must sharpen and hone their steel until it reaches a level of ascendancy, whereupon they can move into their lustrous veil, something Im far less knowledgeable about. You see, for every one hundred iron rankers, theres likely to be only a single person working on their test of steel, and for every thousand of those, there might be one person in their lustrous veil. At least thats the old adage here on Sojourn. Im sure the numbers differ from world to world. For instance, ording to you, there may not be many outside the iron ranks in your homeworld.

    Or Zaafor, Victor said, looking at Va.

    She nodded. Perhaps only the Warlord and his closest supporters.

    Lam cleared her throat. So, do I have it right in my understanding that the test of steel is not the same for everyone?

    Yes! Erd nodded enthusiastically. Some people begin their test by creating a more advanced ss, so their journey is shorter. Some jump multiple tiers at their first refinement, while others struggle to move out of the base tier. Everyones journey is different.

    So you cant just grind it out? Victor asked, and when Erds frown signaled puzzlement, he borated. I mean, you cant just keep gaining levels, eventually moving into the next stage?

    Ah, correct, sir. There are many in the test of steel who have reached a level beyond which they struggle to grow, and their ss is still in the lower tiers. They are collectively known as steelbound.

    Still more powerful than anyone we likely know, Lam said, shaking her head, grinning at the absurdity of it all.

    Oh, there are steelbound who can shift the tides of culture, who rules and systems, who . . . he trailed off, ncing nervously at Victor. Perhaps I could acquaint you with my mentor? He has passed through his test of steel, and though he disappears for decades at a time working toward his mysterious goals, hes currently in the cityhe also spends years and decades in recreation, you see. It may be that your timing is just right, for Ive scheduled a consultation with him next week. For a small fee, Id be willing to spend part of my precious, allocated time with my mentor, asking about your friends situation. Hes the only person I know who can guide me as I approach my seventh ss refinement, and Im sure hed have some insights. He nodded at Edeya.

    Couldnt we make an appointment of our own? Lam asked, uncannily guessing the exact question Victor was about to voice.

    Yes, absolutely. Youll find his waiting list for consultations is something like three years out.

    Victor groaned. Seriously? Do you think hell even help?

    I think hell be intrigued. I think he may . . . want to meet you, sir. He paused while he spoke as though weighing his choice of words.

    Why? Victor had to fight hard to suppress the urge to snarl the word.

    Your spirit Core, sir, is uncannily potent for an iron ranker, let alone one closer to the middle than the top. His eyes widened with horror at his words, and he hastily scrambled to add, Forgive me! I saw much before you veiled off your Core! I dont mean to. You see, um, seeing into people is second nature to me. I have a legendary ss called Soul Diviner, which grew out of my original Scryer ss. When I look at an unshielded person, its actually quite difficult for me not to see things like that.

    Forget it, Victor waved his hand. He was smart enough to notice how hed felt almost appeased by the idea that this guys master might find his Core interesting. Impressing people was what his Quinametzin alter-ego lived for.

    Even if hes interested in Victor, how does that help us? You said his next appointment is in three years, Lam asked, lifting Edeyas hand, their fingers interlocked. Shes not going to make it three years.

    No, no, Erd waved catingly, thats how long it would take to schedule an appointment with him without a sponsor to make him aware of you. You see, he doesnt make many appointments. If he finds something interesting, believe me, hell make time for it.

    All right. Do it. What kind of fee are we talking about? Victor looked into his storage ring, the one where he kept most of his easily traded wealthgems, precious metals, Energy beads, and the like.

    Well, youll find that, in Sojourn, favors are usually paid for with favors.

    Victor felt his Core begin to bleed rage into his pathways, and he fought against it, buckling down with his will, forcing it back, concentrating on maintaining a neutral expression. He wasnt a bully, and he wouldnt let his bloodline make one of him, not without a fight. Im listening. He didnt look at Va, but Lams expression was surprised enough for both of them. She arched both her eyebrows and shook her head slightly, grinning crookedly.

    Well, sir, as you can no doubt discern by the deference I give you, not all iron rankers are built the same. Im skilled with auguries, counseling, and guidance. I make good money helping people to ovee mental trauma, and, in so doing, I continue to improve those aspects of myself that make such thingse easily. As you might guess, such a peaceful existence, while pleasant andfortable, especially here in Sojourn, doesnt afford me many opportunities for the true breakthroughs that will eventually allow me to surpass these iron ranks and then find sess in my test of steel.

    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the vition.

    And we can help you somehow?

    Just so! I require an artifact, something that will allow me to impress my mentor significantly. If I can do that, hell aid me with my particr affinity. However, the item I see is well out of my reach at the moment.

    But not out of ours? Lam narrowed her eyes quizzically.

    I would think not. I have the location of the world on which this artifact is purported to . . .

    What a fucking minute. Victor held up a hand. You want us to travel to another world?

    Oh, well, yes. I''d not need your aid if it were an item avable on Sojourn. I will pay your fare and, if things go well, you shouldnt be gone more than a few days . . .

    Sir, would you mind if we stepped outside to discuss your proposal? Va asked.

    Lets hear the whole thing first, Lam said. What will it take to get this artifact of yours?

    What I require lies at the bottom of an insect hive. The insects are called ivid. Are you familiar?

    Ivid? No. Victor shook his head.

    Theyrergeperson-sized, though more like me than you, sir. They arent intelligent, per se, not individually, but, as a hive, they function with a single mind, one that is formidable.

    Victor groaned. Do they fly? Do they sting? Like, what are we talking about here, man? Ants, bees?

    I will provide you with a dossier on the creatures. I believe they all have six legs, though there are different castessome are simple workers, others are tasked with warfare. As I said, they arent intelligent enough for sses or sophisticated Energy maniption, but they have instinctual abilities that can prove quite dangerous. What I require will be in their of the hive matriarch.

    The queen? Victor shook his head, liking this idea less and less.

    They reproduce byying eggs, you see, and every so often, one of their eggs will not hatch. Rather, it will enter a kind of permanent gestation. The unborn ivid in the egg bes a being of nearly pure spirit, growing connections through the Spirit ne to other realms of existence. I must acquire one of those spirit eggs in order to present it to my mentor. With it, he can enter into a ritualmunion with the spirit egg and, over the course of years or decades, learn from it.

    How big is it? Victor couldnt imagine theyd be able to put the thing into a dimensional container.

    At the same time, Va asked, Surely you could hire someone better at thievery than we three? Someone who can hide and even teleport?

    Ah! Astute questions! The egg wont berge, perhaps about like so. He held his hands apart from each other, miming an object about the size of a football. As for more qualified adventurers, Im afraid youd be quite mistaken. Remember, together, the ivid hive creates a formidable minda mind which actively defends their realm from invasionportal or teleportation magic will not work to pierce their strange, dimensional space.

    The hive is a dimensional container?

    Of a sort, aye. Its almost like a natural dungeon, not unlike the System-controlled ones. I wont lie to you; Ive needed a relic like this spirit egg for a long time and sent quite a few intrepid iron rankers after it, never to be seen again. In the years since thest excursion, Ive had a rather talented alchemist develop a concoction that may help. Its a perfume of sorts that you can spray to mask your presence in the hive. I sponsored a test by the alchemist in question, and he returned with promising results.

    Victors frown deepened. How promising?

    Well, it seems to do a good job of preventing a hive-wide rm due to an invaders presence, but some of the more alert ivid will still attack if they encounter the invader, um, you.

    Victor abruptly stood. Well discuss this outside.

    No need; I dont mind stepping away. I hate for you to have to stand around on the street . . .

    Its fine. Edeya could use the air. Lam, too, stood, pulling Edeya toward the door. That only left Va, and she was quick to follow Lam out.

    Before he pulled the door closed, Victor briefly locked eyes with Erd. Well be back in soon.

    Well? Lam asked as he turned toward her. It wasnt chilly, exactly, but it wasnt warm now that the sun had slipped below the horizon. Victor never really felt cold anymore, but he worried about Edeya, so he stepped closer to her, putting one of his warm arms over her shoulders and pulling her against his side.

    Well, I think weve got a decision to make. Go on this guys quest, which sounds nuts, by the way, in the hope that his master might want to meet with us about Edeyas problem. Or . . .

    Va interrupted, smiling as she tried to guess what hed say, Or we can waste time trying to find another demigod to listen to our tale?

    Demigod? Lam frowned.

    Victor calls those up there, Va pointed to the glimmering rainbow lights of the city heights, such. He says its like a person whos part god.

    Lam nodded. Whatever it means, its an apt term if what that man said is true. One in a hundred iron rankers reach their test of steel, and only one in a thousand of those makes it to the next stage? How many might be experts on the spirit like this mans master?

    Victor thought about the math, his enhanced intelligence making it a lot easier than he would have found it in the old days. He probably could have used a proper equation, but he just brute forced the division and multiplication a couple of times and said, I guess if there are, I dunno, ten million people in Sojourn, that means theres only something like a hundred whove gotten out of their test of steel. If this guy has an in with one of them, maybe we should consider his offer. He pulled Edeyas frail, still form closer to his side and added, I mean, I should. We wont all go.

    Now, Victor . . . Lam started to say.

    Im going with you! Va growled, grabbing the strap for Lifedrinkers harness that crossed his chest, pulling him close. You will not leave me here!

    Okay. She red at him, and he said, more forcefully, Fine! I was thinking Id go with Lesh, but he could stay here with Darren and Lam.

    And Edeya. Lam nodded. I wasnt going to argue that I should go along; I wont leave her. I just didnt want you to go alone. You should take Lesh, too. I can keep track of Darren.

    Victor shrugged. He wouldnt mind taking Lesh, that was for sure, and he supposed Lam was right; Darren would be all right without Lesh to hold his hand for a few days. Right. Lets give Erd the good news and get the details.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Y-seven bobbed and floated around Darren, the wisps of his strange, incorporeal form brushing his shoulders asionally. The tendrils felt chilly and tickled the hairs at the nape of his neck, almost like someone was gently blowing on them. Describe what you see when you look inward, Darren. Theyd been practicing something Darren had already sort of learned from friends back in First Landing. Hed contemted trying to build a Core, trying to do the little quests and introductions to Energy the System had offered them all, but something had rankled in him, some stubborn desire to show the new world that they had what it took to seed and flourish without the tricks. Looking back, he could see how shrill and tiresome his objections had be, and he felt ashamed.

    I see a ck space, but not like a void. I feel like the ck is bordered by something, like . . . it has structure. Its sort of warm. Even though I cant feel it, thats the impression I get. I can see a soft golden misty ball at the center of the space, though its borders are undefined; its not a perfect sphere.

    Verry good, Darren! Your inward eye is seeing clearly. You should be pleased; on asion, Ive spent days trying to guide novices through this process. Y-seven moved away from him, lowering toward the floor so he floated at Darrens eye level. That was wonderfully quick and leaves us time to study your affinities. Would you like to learn what types of Energies you have a proclivity for? Knowing that will help us determine what sort of Core you should attempt to form.

    Yes! I would appreciate that, Y-seven.

    Very good. There are many methods to achieve what I just described, but I have a means that always seems to work well with candidates who can clearly see their nascent Core. Thats the ball of misty golden energy you can see with your inner eye.

    Darren nodded. Ive had colleagues tell me as much back home.

    Excellent. My method is simple for you. You must keep your inner eye open, staring at that Core and telling me what you see. I will be conjuring different types of Energy into this space; your nascent Core will react to some of them, most strongly with those you have an affinity for. Does that make sense?

    Yes. What sorts of things will I see?

    Mostly colors or movement. Just describe any change you see; Ill do the interpreting. Are you ready, Darren? Close your eyes and tell me when you have a clear view of your Core space.

    Darren did as he askedhed taken to thinking of Y-seven as he simply because of his voiceclosing his eyes, peering into the ckness of his eyelids, and then <em>shifting</em> his view to that ce that didnt used to exist when hed lived back on Earth. Suddenly, he was looking in at that soft, glowing ball of formless Energy, feeling very much like he was there with it in a dark, warm chamber. I see it.

    Good. I will begin in a few moments but wont speak again until were done. Do not stop viewing your Core space until I say weve finished. Understood?

    Understood. True to his word, Y-seven didnt speak, and the silence became heavy. Darren allowed his bodiless consciousness to drift around in the space where he could see his nascent Core, watching the very gently pulsing golden cloud, waiting for something to happen. After a while, when he began to fear he wouldnt see anything, some wisps of that cloudy, golden stuff began to flicker and lift upward like a draft was passing over them. Their golden tendrils darkened to red-gold, then to bright crimson, dancing atop the cloud like flickering mes. Ah! he gasped, excited. My Energy looks like red mes! Part of it, anyway!

    Y-seven didnt respond, but the red tendrils began to fade, shifting back to gold and falling back into the cloud. Darren continued to watch until another change urred. The whole cloud of Energy just turned green! Again, Y-seven didnt respond, but the change reverted, and soon, Darren was looking at the formless golden cloud again. After a while, that cloud began to shimmer and shift, remaining golden but moving almost like a whirlpool. He described the change, then the next, and the next, and soon he realized he might be there a while; apparently, Y-Seven was going to be quite exhaustive in his search for Darrens affinities.

    He settled in, suddenly feeling impossibly fortunate. How big a boon was it to have an expert helping him with this process? How much could the people of First Landing benefit from something like this? A slow smile spread on Darrens face as he continued to watch his Core. He aimed to learn and intuit as much as he could. If nothing else, hed have this to bring home. It might not elevate him to greatness among his people, but it was a hell of a lot better legacy than being theughingstock whod tried to fight a titan with some steel tanks.

 Book 7: Chapter 19: Minor and Major

    Book 7: Chapter 19: Minor and Major

    Darren, you may stop concentrating on your Core space. Weve finished the affinity assessment. Y-sevens voice cut through Darrens concentration, snapping him out of his semi-meditative state. He wasnt sure how long theyd been at it, but it felt like hours. Hed stared at his nascent Core that entire time. Mostly, it had sat there, unmoving, but quite a few times, it had reacted, changing colors, shapes, and movement patterns. Sometimes, the changes were singr, and sometimes, they were manifold. He wondered if the more significant reactions meant a higher affinity or if there was some other way to interpret them.

    Blinking his eyes blearily in the soft, white light of his crystal, cell-like genesis pod, he looked up at Y-seven, still floating before him, seemingly in the exact same spot hed upied prior to the assessment. Will it take long to learn the results?

    Not at all. Ive alreadypiled a list of your affinities, minor and major.

    Oh? Its that easy?

    For me, yes. Bear in mind that Ive been at this for a long time. Would you like to take a break before we go over your lists? Do you require sustenance? Have you any biological needs requiring attention?

    Darren shifted slightly, realizing his knees and back had grown quite stiff. I wouldnt mind a stretch and some water. Heck, I could eat.

    I dont have much data on your species, Darren. What sort of sustenance would suit you best? Do you consume the meat of prey animals? Can you eat the fruit of trees?

    Yes to both, assuming theyre carbon-based, I guess. Um, Id prefer it if the meat wasnt raw . . .

    Very good. Youll find a newly-opened passageway behind you. It will lead you to a private area where you might see to your biological needs. When you return, Ill have some food and drink for you.

    Darren looked over his shoulder; sure enough, a round passageway in the crystal led downward. He stood and, after stretching for a moment, bending his waist and flexing his knees, he followed the passage. It meandered downward in a winding pattern for what felt like quite a distance without passing any other openings until he stepped into a round room, much like the one where hed been with Y-seven. This room had some fixtures, thougha device clearly meant to function as a toilet and a free-standing sink beside it. The toilet had an appropriately sized seat over a bowl containing a stream of continuously flowing water, and the sink, too, didnt have valves but functioned more like a small fountain, water dribbling into a half-full basin. Both fixtures were seemingly grown from the surrounding crystal, smooth, opaque, and faintly luminescent.

    He looked around, a little ufortable with the open doorway, but figured the only other person with ess to the corridor hed traversed was Y-seven, and he was waiting back in the genesis pod. Shrugging, Darren stood over the toilet and relieved his very full dder, sighing with relief. He rinsed his hands in the sink, looking around for a towel, only to hear a <em>woosh</em> as warm air blew from a spout he hadnt noticed in the crystal wall near the sink. He held his hands in the air, enjoying the warmth while he rubbed his palms together, and then walked back the way hede.

    When he returned to his genesis pod, he found a low table dressed in a white tablecloth and upied by a tall ss of water, a bowl of cut fruit, and a tray of sliced, cured meats. Y-seven floated nearby, his lights softly pulsing as his pleasant, rich voice greeted Darren, Wee back. I hope these refreshments will be satisfactory.

    That looks perfect, thank you. Darren sat before the little table and began to sample the fruits and meat. They tasted much like something hed get back on Earthmelons, berries, and salty meats that reminded him of various types of pork. The water was cool and refreshing, and Y-seven waited several minutes, allowing Darren to eat in silence before he spoke again.

    Shall I list your affinities? We will start with the minor ones.

    Darren swallowed his current bite, then asked, Why spend time with minor affinities? Wouldnt it be wise to focus on the, um, major ones?

    Not exactly. We have yet to form your Core, and certain affinitiesplement certain Core types. You might find that one of your major affinities will go hand-in-hand with one of your minor ones, both taking shape within your newly formed Core. Its important to note that while I can see if you are strongly attracted to certain affinities or only mildly so, I dont know the exact levels. Some of your minor affinities may be nearly as strong as your major ones.

    Ah. Darren nodded. Thank you for exining.

    My pleasure. Now, for minor affinities, allow me to list them, and then we can discuss the implications.

    All right. Darren sat back from his meal, giving Y-seven his full attention.

    Mind, fire, pride, dream, ss, maism, and bone.

    Darren sat there, dumbfounded, for several moments while Y-seven allowed him to process the information. He could figure out what most of those meant, but hed never heard of them in the context of Energy affinities. That wasnt entirely truethere were quite a few people with fire affinities back in First Landing. The others seemed so esoteric, though, and he wondered if it was simply because Y-seven was better at rooting out affinities than the tutorial the System had put the humans through when theyd arrived on Fanwath. I think I understand the fire, but can you exin the others?

    Certainly. While, in your case, its only minor, a mind affinity can be quite powerful and also quite dangerous. In many civilizations, such an affinity is frowned upon. Simply put, a strong Mind Caster can influence the thoughts and actions of others. Y-seven paused, perhaps waiting for questions, then continued, Pride is a spirit affinity, and, should you choose to formte a Core to take advantage of it, youd find yourself limited when utilizing other types of Energies. After we discuss your stronger affinities, we can decide if thats a wise path for you. A dream affinity can be potent in its broad range of applicationsdivination, prophecy, dreamwalking, and illusion.

    But I only have a minor affinity? Darren liked the sound of a dream affinity. The mind affinity sounded great, too, but something about it made him uneasy. He could feel the politician in him getting excited by it, and that frightened him. Hed worked hard thest few days to turn a new leaf, and the way his heartbeat had begun to race when Y-seven exined that mind affinity made his palms sweat with stress and excitement. He felt like a kid whod opened a shoebox in his dads closet and found a loaded gun.

    Thats correct, Darren. Well discuss your major affinities momentarily. Shall I continue borating about your minor ones?

    Darren nodded. Yes, please.

    Maism is an interesting affinity in that it is a blend of earth and air and allows the cultivator to interact with certain types of metal quite profoundly. Darren nodded; maism wasnt so hard for him to understand. It brought to mind certain oldics and superhero stories hed enjoyed as a kid. He doubted it was the same, but Y-sevens description made it seem simr. ss is a particr type of earth affinity, again, blended with the electrical aspect of an air affinity. Finally, theres your bone affinitya specialized form of blood affinity. Many things are possible with bone-attuned Energy, from healing to mutation to golemancy.

    Golemancy?

    The art of crafting and animating golems. Im sure you can guess what material a bone caster would use to craft their golems.

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Darren frowned. He had an idea of what Y-seven meant by golems, but he wasnt a hundred percent sure. Still, he didnt like the idea of spending his days manipting bones, so he decided to let it go. I get it, I think. Did I have as many major affinities?

    Not quite. Allow me to list them: fear, chaos, lightning, and paranoia.

    What? Holy shit . . . Darren trailed off, disturbed by the sound of his major affinities. What did it say about him that his strongest affinities included things like fear and paranoia? Was chaos any better? The only one that didnt give him an uneasy feeling was lightning. I dont like the sound of those, Y-seven, he sighed.

    I can understand that those affinities convey certain negative connotations, especially to one whose knowledge of such things is limited. Its good that you are cautious, and I will strongly counsel you against pursuing some of these affinities, but at least one here bears serious consideration. May I expound on the subject?

    Um, sure.

    Firstly, fear and paranoia are both spirit affinities. If you chose to create a spirit Core, you could probably split it into threeponent parts, cultivating Energy attuned to fear, paranoia, and also pride. Having three differently-attuned Energies to work with would open a wide array of skills and spells. However, we must consider that building a spirit Core and focusing on cultivating those Energies will affect you on a fundamental level. Its called a spirit Core for a reasonthese affinities are tied to your most true, inner self. Your particr spirit affinities are all known to impact a cultivators personality in a less-than-ideal manner, especially without other, more positive, affinities to counterbnce them. Think of your Core like a power sourcecan you see how having a potent Core of fear and pride at the center of your being might negatively impact you?

    Yeah. It doesnt sound ideal. Darren frowned, then asked, Can you exin the difference between an affinity and an attunement?

    Of course. An affinity is like a proclivity, a talent, with a certain type of attunement. You have an affinity for fear-attuned Energy. Does that make sense?

    Yeah. Darren frowned, unhappy to hear that his spirit affinities were so negative. Since seeing Victor in action, hed liked the idea of building a spirit Core. Hed wondered how therger-than-life man would react if Darren showed up with a spirit Core. Would he respect him more? Would he be more willing to help him, more patient with hisck of power? I must say, Im not too excited about those affinities.

    In that case, let us talk about chaos and lightning, two rather rare affinities.

    Rare?

    Indeed. People associate negative connotations with chaos, and usually for good reason, but thats generally because we think of chaos in terms of conscious beings and the madness we are capable of. Chaos itself is a fundamental pir of the universe. Some argue that without chaos, there would be no order. Just as there could be no light without darkness. An affinity for chaos means that you can grasp hold of that illusive yet dreadfully powerful Energy and use your influence to alter reality itself. This is a dangerous but extremely potent affinity, Darren Whitehorse, and if you choose to pursue it, Ill need to insist on further evaluation and education here at the Genesis Center.

    I . . . see. Darren nodded, his mind suddenly awash with imagined possibilities, his disappointment in his spirit affinities forgotten.

    As for lightning, its quite rarea specialized air affinity. As you may know, air affinities have some broad utility with lightning, though far less potent than what a true lightning affinity can aplish. For example, while a Wind Caster might call down a bolt of lightning or even conjure a lightning-filled storm, a true Lightning Caster might travel upon a bolt of electrical Energy. The difference may not seem profound, but it''s akin to the disparate nature of a handful of sand and a vase of blown ss.

    Truly? So, almost like teleportation?

    Yes! That is but one application of such an affinity, but not one you will learn quickly; such powers are reserved for those well into their iron ranks.

    Darren sat quietly for a moment, contemting the ideas of chaos and lightning. He kept thinking about the mind affinity, though, wondering how it might have changed things if hed had it while pursuing a political career. He thought about his other minor affinities, wondering about dreamwhat if he couldbine mind with dream? What if he could master more than one?

    Y-seven spoke again, interrupting his meandering fantasy. Almost as though he were reading Darrens thoughts, he said, There are Cores capable of harnessing more than one affinity. My reference manual indicates that lightning is technically an elemental affinity, and chaos has been known to function well whenbined with elemental Energies.

    You . . . Darren squinted up at the being of misty light. Youre reading a manual?

    Yes. I have an extensive database in a special dimensional space, one that I can mentally ess. Its an ability rted to my specialized ss.

    I see. Darren didnt see but didnt want to bbor the subject. He licked his lips and shook his head, banishing thoughts of trying to learn to influence peoples minds and dreams. Hadnt he learned his lesson already? If he could do something like that, if hed managed to gain control of First Landing through such desperate, nefarious means, all hed have done was make them too weak to fend for themselves. If Victor could demolish their war machines, what damage could be wrought by one of the more powerful beings hed glimpsed in Sojourn? Do you think that would be a wise decision? To try to capitalize on my two strong, rare affinities?

    I do, Darren Whitehorse. For me to guide you in the formation of such a potent Core, however, youll have to be evaluated by others in my order. Such knowledge is guarded, you see. Youll have to prove your character.

    My character? What if I refused?

    Then you may leave and seek knowledge elsewhere. This is not a prison, Darren.

    Darren nodded. Something about that statement felt right. He was trying to change, was he not? Turning a new leaf was an understatement; he was rebuilding himself. It only made sense that something worth having wouldnte easily. I will take your tests.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Hes where? Victor frowned at Lesh, trying to make sense of what hed said.

    Hes in this city''s nursery, a ce for novices to learn about Energy and Cores.

    Until tomorrow? Va, too, was trying to wrap her head around the idea.

    Yes. Lesh nodded, and his tone indicated he considered the matter settled. I will retrieve him tomorrow at noon.

    Victor shook his head. Lam might have to do that for you. Is it far?

    Not at all. A short walk. I am Darrens mentor, however, and feel it is my duty to . . .

    We have a job, Lesh. To help Edeya, Victor nodded to Lam and Edeya, who were sitting on the nearby couch.

    Ah! I see. If Im being called to duty, my fosterling will have to survive without me for the time being. Lesh turned to Lam and raised his voice. Lam, will you please take responsibility for my fosterling until our return? When she nodded, smiling, Lesh turned back to Victor. What is our task?

    Victor grinned, trying to think of the best way to summarize Erd Van''s request. He took a deep breath and rattled off, We have to take a portal to another world, infiltrate some kind of monstrous insect hive, reach the deepest part where the queen lives, collect a magical egg, and get it back here.

    Blech! Insects? I deplore the things.

    Yeah. Victor shrugged, nodding. Yeah, me too. Apparently, theyre big, too, like, the size of a person, but, you know, with six legs, exoskeletons, magical abilities, and, yeah, I guess some of them are venomous.

    Lesh growled deep in his belly, but the sound faded quickly, and he shrugged. Bgog will enjoy crushing their hard shells. What of the portal fees? My Energy-rich treasures grow thin.

    Victor pped him on the shoulder. Our travel is paid for, <em>hombre</em>.

    If you have shopping to do, nows the time, Va said, moving toward the door. Im going to buy healing and curative droughts. Victor is going to have that malevolent crown examined. Do you want toe with me?

    Lesh let his eyes drift to the dark stone crown hanging from Victors belt. It will be good to know what spirit that artifact contains. He nodded and stepped toward Va. I will apany you, Lady Va.

    Victor watched them go, returning Vas wave as she paused by the door. When they were gone, he walked closer to Lam and squatted to better look at Edeya. She seems the same to me. I wish I knew what to do with her spirit. I wish I had more to go on than that guys word. What if its not as hard as he said? What if we dont need someone as powerful as his master?

    Lam frowned, creasing her brow, gently rubbing her thumb on the back of Edeyas hand as she held it. If we werent worried, if we werent hurrying to save Edeya, we could spend more time asking around. I think you should do this job, get that egg, and while youre gone, Ill do more research and talk to more spirit specialists. If you return with the egg and we find we dont need Erd Vans master, well make him pay for it.

    All right, then. Victor nodded and stood up, but Lam wasnt done. She reached out and grabbed his wrist.

    Just dont get killed. If the hive seems impossible, then leave. Edeya would hate for you or the others to get hurt trying to help her. Id hate to lose you all and have to try to help her on my own. Her voice sounded strained, and Victor could tell she was feeling the stress of the situation, pulled thin to the point of breaking.

    I know. I know youre going to be worried while were gone; youll hate being alone in this strange city.

    I wont be alone . . . Lam smirked, and Victor knew what wasing, so he finished her thought for her.

    Oh yeah! You have Darren! Nothing to worry about. He and Lamughed for a minute, and then he started for the door. Ill be back soon, I hope. Just gonna find out what this creepy crowns all about. With that, he left, making his way out of the hotel and into the strange, wondrous city of Sojourn.

 Book 7: Chapter 20: Ivid

    Book 7: Chapter 20: Ivid

    Victor, Va, and Lesh stood on one of the copper discs inside the World Hall, each holding a token of travel theyd purchased from a counter near the entrance. More urately, Erd Van had purchased them, along with some tokens of recall. Victor had been a little surprised at the ease with which theyd imed the tokens; either the travel attendant was very trusting, or shed had some way to determine they were who they imed to be. Whatever the case, they had their tokens, they stood on one of the portal tforms, and now they simply had to activate them. Were ready? he asked, looking from Va to Lesh.

    Va shrugged. As ready as I can be. We have thirty different types of poison remedies, a dozen powerful healing draughts, besides whatever we each already had in our possession, and weve got the perfume Erd says will keep the bugs from noticing us.

    Can we really call them bugs? I mean, bugs are . . . small. Victor grinned, chuckling at his stupid attempt at humor.

    I will smash them just like bugs, should theye near. Lesh lifted Bgog to his shoulder in illustration. Victor had to admit he was d to have the big guy along.

    All right. Lets get this over with. He concentrated on the chalky blue ball in his hand. As he sent some of his inspiration-attuned Energy into it, it crumbled away, swirling on an invisible current of air, spreading into a cloud that shimmered with Energy and flickered like a billion tiny lights. The effect obscured his vision, and when it cleared, he almost fell overhe was in a different world.

    The sky was tinted yellow, the air hurt his throat to breathe, and twin suns hung high overheadone blue and brilliant, one red and glowering. He stood atop a hill, and in every direction, all he could see was short, dry, yellow grass. Suddenly, a sparkle of blue lights erupted beside him, and when they faded, Va stood there. As he reached out to steady her, he heard the crackling pops of Leshs arrival behind him. Great dead gods! the giant dragonkin grumbled as he coughed, slowly turning, taking in the sights.

    The airs terrible! Va said, choking out a sympathetic cough.

    Victor nodded. Yeah, its not great. Honestly smells like cat piss. I can feel it sort of making my throat raw.

    It does! Va replied. Ive smelled that lingering stench after seeing Uvu relieve himself!

    Its the hive, Lesh said.

    Where? Victor turned in a slow circle again, but when he faced Lesh, the dragonkin was grinning a toothy smile at him. Are your eyes that good? I cant see anything all the way to the horizon.

    Look closer, titan.

    At his words, Victor looked down at the dry yellow grass under his feet, noting the fine white sand among its roots rather than dirt. This hill?

    Aye. I have a sense for this sort of thing, and I can tell you this mound isrgely hollow. I can feel it in my bones. Theres an entrance just below the surface this way. He started walking down the slope, and when Victor looked at Va, she just shrugged again and began following the big warrior.

    You have a sense for these things? Victor hurried his steps to catch up.

    Yes. Perhaps one of my ancestors dwelled beneath the soil for too long, but I have an uncanny knack for finding caves and navigating beneath the surface.

    Still trying to limate to the harsh air, Va coughed and spat, then, wiping her mouth, smiled at the two men. Looks like we picked the rightpanion to explore a giant insect hive.

    I led an army against the Kothids on my homeworld, so, aye, you did.

    Va shot Victor a nce, eyebrow raised, and he shrugged. He really hadnt had the chance to get to know the guy. Most of the time theyd spent together had been sparring, and Lesh wasnt exactly talkative. Taking Vas cue, though, he said, Lesh, man, I know you feel like youre doing the right thing following me around, but are you sure you shouldve left all that behind? Dont get me wrong . . .

    I might have doubted myself once, but when you climbed the volcano, awash with the power of a mountain, my conviction grew resolute. Theres much I can learn from you, and much we will uncover together. Already, we seek an artifact that may grant us an audience with a being more powerful than any to walk the craggy slopes of Ashenshoal.

    In a tant attempt to steer the conversation away from boosting Victors ego, Va asked, Tell us about the Kothids.

    Kothids. Lesh spat in the grass, and it sizzled and smoked. Serpentine insects. Some were the size of my arm, others the size of twenty dragonkinid out end to end. They crawl through tunnels on hundreds of legs, bear an acidic bite, and have shells as hard as stone. Bgog and I earned the title Kothid Bane during the war. My breath Core awoke during those long years fighting through their tunnels, pushing them back to their warrens beyond the Rukspagh Mountains.

    Va sniffed, rubbing at her watering eyes, clearly still struggling with the vapors in the air. Sounds awful.

    Awful and glorious. I gained nine levels in that war and earned a fruit of evolution. Not as potent as a heart, but good. I gained many scales. He stopped, looking around and sniffing. They were about two-thirds of the way down the slope, and Victor couldnt tell anything different about dead grass and sand under their feet. Here. Its not deep. He lifted Bgog off his shoulder and up over his head.

    Victor frowned, watching him, and, before he could stop himself, asked, Is Bgog a he or a she?

    Bgog? He doesnt speak much, but hes nody. With that, he brought the massive, jagged, pole-like cudgel down onto the sandy hillside. It impacted the ground with a dull <em>thud</em> that rippled through the sand and dry grass, even five feet up the hill where Victor stood, making him take a step to keep his bnce. Lesh didnt strike again but took a few more steps down the hill and stared at the spot hed struck. Va moved next to him, also watching.

    Victor frowned, wondering if hed missed something. What are we watching for?

    If this was a Kothid nest, one of them would investigate . . . Lesh stopped speaking as something began to happen. The sandy depression where the cudgel had struck seemed to be growing deeper. It reminded Victor of sand draining out of an hourss. Seeping down through some kind of opening, the depression growing everrger.

    Did you break through? he asked, stepping further back, wondering how big the hole would be. It was already several feet across and probably three feet deep at the center.

    Perhaps . . . This time, when he stopped speaking, it was because he jumped back, lifting his cudgel high. Victor could see whylong, dark brown, chitinous, prodding limbs had pushed through the sand at the center of the hole hed made.

    Ware! Va cried, snapping her wings wide and jerking Midnight from her scabbard. Victor didnt need the heads up; hed already pulled Lifedrinker from her harness and was channeling rage into his pathways, getting ready to cast Iron Berserk. The ivid, if thats what the thing was, didnt n to wait around for them to react. In a shower of stinging, flying sand and yellow, burning gas, it erupted from the hole,unching itself at Lesh. Victor stumbled back, blinded by the shower of sand and gas, but he didnt wait for his vision to clear. He cast Iron Berserk and released his aura, letting it fall around him as he summoned his Banner of the Championhe wasnt going to take half-measures until he had an idea what they were up against.

    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.

    Victor had only seen a glimpse of the carapace-covered monstrosity, but one thing was sure: Either Erd Van was a liar, or hed been woefully misinformedthe thing was closer to the size of an SUV than a person. Suddenly, a gust of hot wind blew the stinging gas and sand away, and Victor could feel something of Va in that wind; shed summoned it. Lesh was struggling with the ivid. Bgog was caught between a pair of massive pincers, and he was fending off another set of pincers with his free hand. Meanwhile, the giant insect pushed him down the hill, driving with its four other legs. Victor stomped forward, skirting the muchrger hole, and, without further ado, hacked Lifedrinker through one of those legs.

    Hot, yellow fluid geysered from the hewn appendage, and where it hit Victor, it sizzled and burned, almost like acid. His Iron Berserk and titanic constitution handled the burn, making it only a painful annoyance, but he shuddered to imagine Va getting doused with the stuff. His attack had sent the insect into a frenzy, and it whirled, letting go of Lesh to see what had harmed it. One of its shovel-sized, pincer-like ws snapped out at him, but Victor was fast when he was Berserk, too fast for that w. He dodged aside, hacking Lifedrinker down, splitting the ws chitin and producing another spray of caustic yellow blood.

    His distraction was just what Lesh neededhe lifted his enormous cudgel and brought it down with a terrible <em>crack</em> on the ivids bulbous abdomen, splitting the hard shell and sending fragments to fall to the sandy ground amid a shower of hot, acidic guts and blood. The insect went wild, mortally wounded but not nearly ready to quit. It leaped at Victor, but Lifedrinker was ready, and he was too damn big to be pushed around by a bug, even one that size. He snatched its pincer-bearing arm with his left hand and brought Lifedrinker down with the force of a falling anvil, right at the center of its head, between half a dozen eyestalks. She cracked the shell and buried herself to the haft, and Victor felt her throbbing and vibrating, digging for the veins of Energy within the creature.

    The ivids legs writhed, spreading and contracting as it died, but Victor held it still, one hand gripping the intact pincer, the other still holding Lifedrinkers haft. Lesh, ensuring the thing would truly die, pounded it three more times, nearly deshelling the monstrous insect as he broke its carapace apart. While it died and Lifedrinker took her due, Vanded with a gentle flutter of her wings.

    I was going to call lightning down, but you two had it in hand. This thing is muchrger than Erd Van indicated.

    Quiet! Lesh growled, and Victor felt his prideful anger bristle. He almost told the guy off, but when he turned to him, scowling, he saw Lesh leaning down, one ear cocked at the ground. Somethinges. Troll shit! Many thingse! We must fly! With that, he turned and began charging down the hill. Victor yanked Lifedrinker from the insects head, flinging the corpse aside. Then he looked at the hole and contemted fighting; he was Quinametzin, and the thought of fleeing from bugs rankled.

    He felt wind against his neck and turned to see Va taking flight. Summon Guapo! she cried, then pped her wings and dove toward Lesh, following him away from the hill. Victor growled, watching the two of them grow distant.

    Just you and me, beautiful? Now, he could feel the shaking of the earth, and he began to wonder if he was being stupid. Well, maybe I should follow them, you know, just to be sure they get away okay. I mean, if I get busy killing a swarm, what if they get caught up in it? Lifedrinker hummedzily; she was content with her meal. All right. Victor concentrated and, using glory-attuned Energy, summoned a titan-sized Guapo from a pool of sparkling golden light. Hed just swung onto his back when something burst out of the sandy tunnel opening. Guapo began running, leaping down the hill in a single bound, and Victor looked over his shoulder to see not one, not ten, but dozens and dozens of the massive, wed, ivid bursting out of the tunnel in a stream of ck, hissing and clicking chitin.

    Guapo devoured the distance between himself and Lesh, and when they drew near, Victor leaned over to take the dragonkins arm, pulling him up behind him on the giant Mustangs back. Lesh was a big, heavy man, but in his Berserk state, Victor pulled him up like he was a child. Watch them! he yelled over his shoulder.

    They yet pursue us! A dark swarm that streams forth from the tunnel. Hundreds. After a few more seconds of running, Lesh amended, Thousands!

    Get that <em>pinch</em> spray! Victor urged Guapo to stop; they were a few miles ahead of the swarm by then. Va! he yelled. Come here!

    I have it! Lesh said, holding up one of the containers of liquid Erd Van had given them. It was in a quart-sized bottle with a bulbous pump spray attached, and Lesh began dousing himself and Victor with it. He pumped out a dozen spurts, basically clouding Guapo and his passengers in the thick, oily substance. It smelled terriblepungent and eye-watering. It reminded Victor of urine and mothballs, and he wanted to gag but stoically refused. With a <em>woosh</em> and a gust of refreshing air, Vanded, and Lesh turned the nozzle of the spray bottle on her.

    Victor watched the dark line of insects approaching. They were fast but not rmingly so; he could easily leave them behind on Guapo. They were stilling out of the mound, and he figured there had to be thousands of them out on the sandy, grass-covered ins, as Lesh had spected. I think theyre slowing.

    Lesh looked up, having finished dousing Va in the awful stuff. Aye, they slow. Victor turned Guapo so he could watch the insects morefortably.

    This stuff is terrible, Va said, and Victor could see she was fighting back a gag.

    Dont spit, Lesh said. They may smell it.

    Va groaned, swallowing noisily and coughing into her elbow. From there?

    Aye. Theyve slowed because they lost our scent thanks to this concoction. He held the jar aloft. Something gives them an uncanny ability to smell intruders. Likely a natural ability boosted by the Energy they harvest.

    You think they cultivate Energy?

    Lesh shook his head, grimacing as he swallowed, clearly as disgusted by the oily spray as Victor and Va. No. Theyre more like animals, passively gathering it, evolving and advancing. Did the man who hired you say how long it had been since hisst attempt at this artifact?

    Va shook her head. No.

    Perhaps theyve advanced as a species. Hives are . . . amazing and terrible in an Energy-rich world. If their queen has made a breakthrough, her children will reflect it. Lesh pointed with Bgog. Look, they turn back.

    Victor nodded, watching the ivid slowly file back into the wide tunnel from which theyd emerged. How much of that stuff do you have left?

    I used a third to douse us. Lesh looked from Va to Victor. You each have a bottle, yes?

    Right, Va said. So, we must stay covered in it, or well be in trouble.

    Victor nodded. Yeah, but Erd said some of the insects will be hostile if they even see us. Do you think those were their warriors? Or do you think worse things are waiting for us in there?

    Those were warriors. Lesh nodded. There will be worse things, however. If theyre anything like the Kothids, theyll have more dangerous castes deeper in the hive.

    Well, if we meet em, well have to kill them quickly. I think as long as we stay covered in this shit, we shouldnt get swarmed. He frowned, thinking, then said, You know, if things get really bad, I can probably get out alive. I have some cards I can y, but it wouldnt exactly be safe for you guys to be around. Victor was thinking of his new Volcanic Fury and Wake the Earth abilities. Maybe you should, like, keep watch out here?

    No. Vaughed, shaking her head. If things get that bad, I wont argue if you want to distract the creatures long enough for Lesh and me to use our recall tokens, but we should go in with you. Its better if we try to seed without you trying to take on an entire hive with thousands . . .

    Lesh shook his head and interjected, Millions.

    Vas eyes widened. Millions! No, Victor! We must do this without you trying to do battle with the entire hive! Her voice was strained and almost pleading, and Victor had to take a second, trying to understand why she thought hed be so hard to convince. He wasnt an idiot; he knew he could kill a thousand or more of those things, but there was no way his Energy wouldst long enough to take on even ten times that many, let alone millions of them.

    Yeah. All right. Only ast resort, then, to buy you guys time to use those tokens. The tokens Erd had purchased for them were single-use and would transport them back to Sojourns World Hall. ording to him, they cost nearly twice as much as their travel tokens, which Victor could only assume was at least as much as what the System had charged them to travel from Fanwath. Lets hope Erd was right, and these tokens will work in the hive.

    Va looked at him and frowned. He said the magic keeping people from teleporting into the hive only guarded against entry . . .

    Yeah, but how much does that dude even know? He said these damn bugs were only your size. Victor looked at Lesh. Hop down, <em>hermano</em>. Im going to cancel my rage, and Guapos going to shrink. Might as well try to sneak in there at first. Victor looked back at the retreating horde of insects as Lesh dismounted. This job wouldnt be easy, but hopefully, it would be worth it. Hopefully, theyd earn some levels . . . Hey, why didnt we get Energy for that big damn bug?

    Lesh followed Victors gaze and said, Perhaps the System is waiting for those hostilebatants to leave the field. It can be cruel, but it usually wont interfere with the affairs of the people and creatures it governs. It might consider sending Energy streaming toward us, exposing us to that horde, as interference.

    I hope thats true, Va said, moving to a patch of short yellow grass and sitting down. Those things are returning more slowly than they emerged.

    Victor canceled his spells, and as Guapo shrank, he hopped down. Yep. Lets chill here for a little while, then well try a sneaky, stinky approach.

 Book 7: Chapter 21: Limits

    Book 7: Chapter 21: Limits

    When thest of the ivid had disappeared into the vast, gaping hole in the side of the hill, Lesh said, We should wait. If theyre anything like the Kothids, the warriors will take time to settle and move back to their nooks and crannies. When Victor nodded, Lesh produced a leather-topped camp stool and sat down. Victor and Va had their own camp furniture, hers an upholstered, fancy chair, his a sturdy wooden one. Soon, they were all three seated, sipping at canteens, looking through Farscribe books, or, in Victors case, just staring at the weird yellow sky and the scattered, wispy clouds.

    Va, Lesh rumbled, breaking the quiet. Tell me about your new ss.

    Va looked up from her book, smiling. I chose one that improves my mental attributes in hopes of offsetting my focus on martial ones for most of my life. The System said it was a ss derived from the memories of my progenitors, whatever that means.

    It means youve awakened enough of your bloodline for the System to delve into hidden memories, finding the secrets of their ancient bond with Energy. Lesh always sounded a little pissed off when he mentioned the System, and Victor knew why. The big, scaly man felt hed gotten a raw deal with the Systems quest to hunt Victor down, but more, he felt like his people had been borderline persecuted by the System and the favoritism it showed other species of dragonkin, which seemed to be a pretty broad category of peoples. What is it called, if I may ask?

    Victor almost answered for her, but Leshs wording stopped him; he supposed it was possible that Va didnt want everyone to know. His caution was needlessshe replied almost immediately, Storm Dancer.

    Lesh made an approving sound deep in his chest that sounded almost like a purr. Legendary?

    Epic.

    I believe that was wise of you. Your sword skill is already quite masterful, and improving your casting ability will prove invaluable. I chose a different route; toughness and brute power have been the focus of my sses for many tiers, though I begin to wonder if I will ever see a proper pathway to the glory of my dragon ancestors.

    Thinking of Tes, Victor said, Im not sure dragons ever submitted to the System. Arent they still kind of doing things their own way? He didnt want to mention that hed tasted, even used, the elder magic of a dragon.

    Indeed, so the legends say. Ashenshoal saw itsst true dragon four thousand years before I was born.

    Victor made a vague gesture, trying to indicate the world or greater universe. And youve never met one from another world?

    Lesh chuckled. Nay, battle-brother. If one visited my world, I wasnt told. If one traversed the worlds I passed through, I was not made aware. No, when I saw that Death Casters skeletal mount, it was the first time Iid eyes upon one of my ancestors, well, her bones at least.

    It was a female? Va asked, raising an eyebrow.

    Certainly. Her hipbones and delicate crown of horns gave her away.

    Delicate? Victor snorted. Leshs reptilian eyes narrowed, and Victor held up his hand in surrender. Ill take your word for it. He tried to move the subject back to elder magic because he selfishly wondered what Lesh knew. If dragons dont use the System, do you worry about using System sses and System skills and spells? Do you think it will make it hard to evolve your species?

    No. It will not stop me. If I can evolve my bloodline sufficiently and find the Systems rules and guideposts are hindering me, I will learn what I must to break free.

    I guess a dragon, one who uses elder magic, might help you at that point, yeah?

    Lesh shrugged. I have no idea. Our histories indicate that dragons are as varied as any other peoplesome might help me, while others may be just as happy to y me.

    Victor desperately wanted to mention Tes, exin what she was, and describe how helpful she was. He wanted to give Lesh some hope, but he also wanted to keep Tess trust. He held his tongue. Instead, he asked, Ever met any other elder race? Ever met anyone using elder magic? His question got him a look from Va; she knew about his run-in with the System when hed used Elder magic to modify his spirit totem spell.

    There are those on Ashenshoal who dabble with the old texts, attempting to develop their abilities outside the System. They are stunted and weak. What we know is too little. Perhaps if I ever meet a true practitioner, I can learn to throw off the Systems shackles.

    You think the System limits us? Victor found himself nodding. Before Lesh could answer, he borated, I think the System gains something from us as we grow in power. So, I think it helps us gain strength, but I also think it likes to do it <em>systematically</em>. He emphasized systematically, grinning. I think it wants us to grow stronger so we gather more Energy, but I think it also wants to control us and keep us on a certain path, or, maybe more urately, away from certain paths. He could still hear and feel the anger in the Systems messages when hed built his Wild Totem spell, coloring outside the lines with Elder magic.

    Aye. I think youre getting to the truth of the matter. True dragons and others outside the System give it nothing. Hence, they are isted, removed from the Systems portalwork . . .

    They dont care, though, Victorughed, interrupting him. They can open their own gateways, and I think they even have a presence on System worlds, sometimes. I heard things when I was on Zaafor, stories from a powerful friend. Victor looked at Va, wondering if he should just talk openly about Tes. Hed promised her to keep quiet about true nature, but Lesh only wanted to befriend dragons, to be one, even. Surely, he wasnt a threat. Victor shook his head. A promise was a promise.

    Good! Perhaps when we return to Sojourn, I can do some looking around. Id hoped to have more time in that city.

    Va stood up, brushing her hands together. Speaking of returning to Sojourn, lets start walking. By the time we get to the tunnel, Im sure theyll be settled, dont you think?

    Lesh stood also, nodding. Yes. If we take our time.

    All right. No Guapo, then. Lets just walk. He stood, sending his chair into storage, and led the way. As Va hurried to walk beside him, he turned to Lesh and asked another question hed been wondering about. Do you want to trade secrets about breath Cores? Maybe we could give each other some pointers about cultivating and, well, breathing.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the vition.

    I will share what I know, Victor. I would not pledge to follow you and then withhold knowledge that may aid you. His words made Victor feel all the more guilty for not telling him about Tes and what he knew of dragons, but no matter the loyalty he owed Lesh, he also owed Tes. Hed have to find another way to broach the subject, teach him what he knew of elder magic, and see if the two of them could expand Victors current understanding. He might not need it now, might not even need it for another hundred levels or more, but someday, if he genuinely wanted to grasp the greatness of his ancestors, if he wanted to be his own man and a true power in the universe, hed need to learn to go outside the Systems guide rails.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Darren Whitehorse, I am pleased that youve decided to undergo evaluation by the Genesis Order. I am K-eight, and I will be responsible for determining if you are a suitable candidate for the knowledge you seek.

    Thank you, K-eight. Darren smiled at the floating light. It looked identical to Y-seven, but this one had a voice that sounded more like it wasing from a flute than a human throat, and certainly neither male nor female. Y-seven had left him shortly after divining his affinities, saying that he wasnt of appropriate status to evaluate Darrens character. Hed only waited an hour or so, but it had been long enough for Darren to wonder if hed made a mistake. He was interested in the most powerful Core he could develop, certainly, but who were these lights with their rules and standards? Who were they to judge his character?

    Darren Whitehorse . . .

    Just Darren is fine.

    Ah, yes. Thank you, Darren. I have the ability to see into your memories and to listen to your current, active thoughts. I would never do so without permission, and though youve asked to be evaluated by my order, I have yet to begin. I wanted to ensure that such an invasive inspection would not offend you.

    Darrens palms had grown mmy at the mention of mind reading, and he felt himself bristling. I, um, I dont think that sounds very good. Is there any way to evaluate me without you seeing all of my private memories? He scrambled for some sort of justification for balking. You see, in my culture, individual freedom is valued very highly, and having someone see our private thoughts and cherished personal experiences feels very invasive, very oppressive.

    I see. The Genesis Center is provided freely to the citizens of Sojourn. My order is funded by wealthy donors, and we provide basic knowledge to anyone without question of loyalty or morality. Some of our knowledge, however, is recognized as dangerous, and our servicese with the responsibility of guarding it from those whose morality is antithetical to our order. I must, therefore, inform you that I am not at liberty to waive these restrictions. If you do not pass a thorough assessment, I am limited in what I can teach you.

    If you deem me unfit, what will happen?

    If such should happen, then Y-seven will return and offer you what services we can approve. If you are unhappy with those offerings, you are free to leave and seek knowledge elsewhere.

    Well. All right, then. I suppose Ive nothing to lose . . . Darrens voice trailed off as K-eight began to glow with a soft yellow luminescence, and he felt a weird, tingling sensation all over his scalp. Rainbow lights danced in his eyes, and unbidden, all sorts of memories came to mind. He watched himself showing his secondary-school grade report to his father, watched his father have a meltdown, andter, bribe Professor Renfield to allow Darren to submit corrections on his term paper. He watched himself having a screaming match with his first wife and,ter, log into her socials to post humiliating photos. Shame red, hot and ufortable, and he said, pitifully, We married young, and I was stupid . . .

    Another string of memories came into focus: memories of his time working at Charter Logistics, snippets of all the times hed pretended to befriend colleagues only to undermine themter with management. The flood of memories was so dense that Darren felt himself reeling, dazed by the avnche of backstabbing. Was he truly so bad? Before he could object or try to defend his actions, more memories streamed through his mind, horrible, ufortable recollections, and almost all of them had to do with being dishonest or disloyal. He was constantly looking to advance, and hed never considered the fallout his words and actions might have on the people who trusted him.

    When the memories became more current and relevanthis many political interactions in First Landingthings didnt improve. Looking in on those memories did nothing but deepen Darrens shame and self-loathing. When K-eight finished with him, he was on his knees, head drooping, hot shame flushing the back of his neck as his hands and armpits produced an ufortable sheen of cold sweat. Darren Whitehorse, I apologize for the difort youve been through. Such memories can be painful when witnessed all together. At this time, Im afraid the knowledge we are willing to impart will be limited. Please be patient, and Y-seven will be with you again soon.

    Darren blinked slowly, trying to breathe deeply, trying to banish all of those shameful memories. He felt defeated, ruined. He hated himself; it was the feeling after Victors demonstration all over again, only this time, he had nowhere to run. He was alone in the crystal pod-like room with no doors. His voice thick with emotion and the constriction of his throat, he spoke into the silence. I am ready to leave. Please open the door or whatever. He wanted out. He wanted to flee. He wanted to forget what hed been forced to remember. Darren stood, walked up to the smooth crystal wall, and began to pound on it. Open up, please! I want to leave!

    Y-sevens voice sounded behind him, and he whirled to face the floating, glowing, misty orb. Darren, you have my sympathies. I am unable to teach you that which you requested, but there are other options . . .

    No. If Im not good enough for your order, Id like to leave. Darrens indignation slid on like afortable old glove, filling the void left by his demolished pride.

    Its not a matter of whether you are good enough, Darren. Rather, we want to ensure we dont give harmful knowledge to someone with the wrong temperament. This is not a permanent decision. If you can live your life well and build your character, we will re-evaluate youas many times as youd like to try. Darren, K-eight informed me that you are rtively young. You have many years ahead of you in which to improve yourself. If you returned in ten years, after having . . .

    Ten years? Darrens question was more of an exmation. Please show me out, Y-seven.

    Would you not like help forming a Core? You have several affinities that K-eight deemed safe . . .

    No. If you wont help me, Ill find the answer elsewhere.

    As you wish, Darren. Please be cautious. Y-seven didnt borate on the kind of caution he should have, but Darren could guess there were probably several meanings behind the words. Y-sevens glowing, misty form drifted past him into a tunnel that hadnt been there a moment before, and Darren sullenly followed him out. When they reached the vaulted crystal cavern that made up the entrance hall, Y-seven paused and spoke again. Please return if you change your mind, Darren. If you allow us to help you form a Core, it will be for your growth, and it will be something we can build upon when youve proven yourself worthy.

    Darren didnt reply. He was too angryangry at himself and at Y-seven and K-eight and the stupid system theyd set up that would judge a person based on the hardships theyd faced in life. Who was K-eight to decide Darrens actions were immoral or showed poor character? He hadnt been in Darrens shoes. He hadnt had to deal with the demands of an overbearing father, of a society that expected so much! Was it Darrens fault hed had the odds stacked against him most of his life? It wasnt easy getting where he was! It hadnt been easy gaining the support of nearly half the colony on Fanwath! Was it his fault he hadnt known the absurd truth of Energy, levels, and wild, mythical races?

    Bah! Darren growled as he shoved the door open and stepped outside. His thoughts and his guilty feelings were bouncing all over the ce, and he tried to calm them by focusing on the gorgeous early-morning view of the city of Sojourn. He could see pale blues, yellows, and oranges to the east and knew the sun would be up soon. The crystal towers at the city center, not too far from where he stood, shimmered with the predawn light, and everything felt a little surreal and dreamlike. So, if they wont help me, then Ill help myself. Darren nodded, balling his fists up. As usual.

    He inhaled deeply through his nose and then turned, looking around for something hed seen when he and Lesh had first arrived. Just as hed remembered, a kiosk stood at the end of the sidewalk right before the steps leading up to the Genesis Center. He walked down the steps. Only a few people were out and about near the building, and he supposed that made sense; who woulde for training before the sun was even up? He honestly had a hard time believing he''d been there all evening; to him, it only felt like four or five hours had passed.

    The kiosk was prominentlybeled Visitor Information and, despite the early hour, was staffed by one of the now-familiar glowing beings of mist and light. Hello, he said, stepping up to the window.

    Wee, Darren Whitehorse. How may I help you?

    I was hoping you had one of those interactive city maps for sale. Im not sure how to get where I need to go.

    Of course. Please take this with Y-sevenspliments. One of the crystal tablet-like devices materialized on the counter.

    Y-seven? He told you to give me this?

    Y-sevenmunicated the intention when you asked me for the map, yes.

    How much are they normally? Darren produced a handful of Energy beads from his dimensional pouch.

    Twenty-five standard beads. The light pulsed, unfazed by his refusal to take the tablet gratis. Still, Darren counted out the beads and set them on the counter, taking the tablet with a frown.

    Im not good enough for what you all have to offer. As he turned to walk away, Darren knew he was being petty, but it felt good, anyway. Who needed some charity organization to grow a Core? In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he was d theyd refused to teach him a Core to utilize the chaos and lightning affinities. Maybe those werent his best choices. Hadnt it felt like Y-seven was steering him toward those? Hadnt it felt like he hadnt wanted Darren to think about that mind affinity?

    No, Darren muttered, flipping through the map to a list of businesses in the city. I think I need a second opinion, and if that doesnt work, maybe I need a third. Im going to make the Core I want, and if no one will teach me, then Ill find a book and teach myself.

 Book 7: Chapter 22: In the Hive

    Book 7: Chapter 22: In the Hive

    The ivid tunnels didnt provide convenient hiding ces. The best the three adventurers could hope for was to duck out of sight around the many corners and bends whenever they saw one of the giant insectsing their way. The magical perfumeVictor wondered if it was somehow mimicking pheromonesseemed to work very well, however, and as long as they didnt stand directly in the path of one of the lumbering worker ivid, they didnt get attacked or, worse, swarmed.

    After they snuck into the opening, he, Va, and Lesh had hidden behind some of the fallen dirt as a dozen workers arrived and began sealing the opening the warrior ivid had made as theyd streamed forth to defend the nest. The workers looked much like the warriors but were smaller, closer to orange than dark brown, and had long, multi-jointed digits on their front legs rather than pincers. The trio had slipped away wholly unnoticed, and since then, something like an hour had passed, and theyd traversed endlessly descending tunnels with no sign that they were anywhere close to their goal.

    Victor pulled his tiny Globe of Insight close, cupping his hands over the dim light and motioning for the others toe close. I think I should send my coyotes out exploring, he whisperedthey were afraid speaking aloud would alert the warriors who seemed to be lurking in omnipresent dugouts lining the tunnels every dozen feet or so. They were clearly in some kind of stasis with their eyes closed andpletely motionless, but Lesh was sure the wrong smell or sound would have them up and swarming in a matter of seconds. Victor, obviously, wanted to avoid that.

    Can we mask their scent? Do they have a scent? Lesh frowned, the expression very pronounced on his reptilian face, exposing half a dozen sharp teeth.

    I dont know, Victor sighed.

    I think we should avoid the risk while we can, Va hissed. The tunnels were wide, easily ten yards across, and the soil they passed through was somehow hardened with a clear, resin-like ze. Va had been leaning against the far wall, keeping to the shadow as much as she could, but now she leaned close, speaking quickly and softly. While we can find a way down, we should be content. If wee to a blockage or some obstacle we cant find a way around, then we should consider other measures.

    All right. Victor nodded; she made sense. They knew they had to get to the bottom, and so far, they hadnt had trouble finding a downward-sloping tunnel. He started forward again, and when he came to one of the alcoves cut out for a sleeping warrior, he veritably tiptoed past the opening. Ayer of transparent resin sealed off some of the warrior alcoves, but others, like this one, were partially open, as though the warrior had been out of his pod recently and hadnt been sealed in yet. Who closed them in? The workers? It made sense; the workers were currently closing up the exit tunnel the three of them hade through. Would they seal the repacked dirt with this resin? Was it some kind of excretion, or was it made from a natural use of Energy? Victor was strangely intrigued by the insects and their weird lives.

    I wonder if any of them think for themselves, he hissed to Va, who was silently shadowing him.

    I hope not. She didnt borate, but Victor could catch the further meaning of her words. So far, theyd remained undetected thanks to the workersck of critical thinking. They might be in trouble if they came upon a different caste that operated on something other than instinct or hidden impulses from the queen.

    Somethinges, Lesh hissed, and, as theyd done ten or more times already, they hurried back, ahead of the iing ivid, until they reached a junction theyd recently passed. They ducked down one of the narrower side tunnels and waited, watching the intersection. Half a minuteter, with a sweat-inducing tter of ws on the hard tunnel surface, ten workers scurried through.

    Va let out a breath shed been holding. Were lucky they never seem to turn down these side tunnels.

    I believe these shafts lead to worker cells. There may be other tunnels essible to other castes.

    Victor thought about it, trying to imagine theyout of the enormous hive. If thats true, if they dont use that big tunnel up there for anything other than, I dont know, like a highway, then maybe it doesnt ess the heart of the hive. Maybe we need to check out one of the, uh, cells where the workers live to see if there are other tunnels.

    Lesh nodded. We havent seen any downward-traveling workers. Where are those that hunt and gather? Surely, they must bring some sort of harvest into the hive . . .

    Well, lets be honest: We dont know shit about these guys. Maybe they have openings to their hive a thousand miles from here. Maybe they grow their food underground. Lets check down this side tunnel, though, just to see if we get any ideas. When Va silently nodded, Victor turned and walked further into the side tunnel, away from the junction. This tunnel was smaller but still plentyrge enough for Lesh and Victor. The workers, while smaller than the soldiers, were the size of small automobiles, and the tunnel was wide enough to amodate one traveling in any orientation. Victor shuddered, imagining a horde of the things swarming through the tunnel, some on the walls, some on the ceiling.

    Theyd only traversed a hundred yards or so when the tunnel took a very steep downward turn, so much so that Victor worried he might lose his footing and tumble. He turned, facing backward, and, using his hands with his feet, began descending almost like he was backing down adder. Lesh followed his example, but Va seemed unbothered by the slope, partially spreading her wings and lightly hopping down, keeping pace with Victors ponderous descent.

    After another hundred yards, the slope smoothed out a bit, and Victor turned to continue creeping along as he had been up above. The tunnel wended left and right for quite a while, and Victor was beginning to worry hed wasted a lot of time checking the side passage when he heard a strange, vibrating susurration in the air. He paused, straining his ears, and looked to Va and Lesh with raised eyebrows. I know not, Lesh hissed. Va shrugged, and Victor continued. When it rounded the next prominent curve, he saw an opening ahead and, for the first time, the glow of a light source other than his own.

    He pointed, and Lesh and Va nodded. They both held their weapons ready, and Victor reached over his shoulder, trusting his magical harness to push Lifedrinker into his hand. He pulled back the thread of Energy feeding his Globe of Insight, reducing it to a tiny spark that hovered near his head, and then he silently stalked forward, ready to see whaty beyond the dim opening. At the tunnels edge, he leaned his head forward, peering around the strangely smooth corner.

    A vast space greeted him, a hall that rose hundreds of feet in the air and stretched for such a distance that the far wall seemed tiny. Lining the long walls of the chamber were rows of cells just like those the warriors slept in, carved from the earth and stacked atop each other by the thousands. These were slightly smaller and lit with a faint amber glow. When Victor focused on one of the closer cells, he saw the source of the glow: The ivid within was slowly consuming a pile of yellow-orange, luminescent sludge that looked very much like peach jam. Another difference he noted was that they were all opennot a single cell was closed off by the hard, clear resin that coated the tunnel walls.

    There must be ten thousand in this chamber, Va said, her voice just a faint breath beside Victors ear. Victor nodded and pointed to the far wall, where he could just see a procession of much smaller insects winding out through a narrow tunnel. Va leaned forward, close to him, peering where he pointed, and when she realized what she was looking at, she moved her mouth close to his ear and whispered, Are those a different kind of worker?

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    Dunno, Victor said, trying to whisper as softly as she did and failing miserably. Still, he didnt seem to have alerted any of the ivid, so he turned and included Lesh in his following words, Those insects at the far wall are different. Maybe they brought the food in here. Maybe that tunnel goes deeper.

    Lesh nodded, pulling his magical perfume dispenser from a dimensional container and holding it up. The message was clearhe thought they should refresh their disguising scent. Victor nodded, producing his own bottle. Va did the same, and soon, they were all silently gagging amid a cloud of rank, eye-watering ammonia. Crouching low, eager to be out of the cloud, Victor started forward, trying to dart quickly past each upied cell, hugging the short sections of wall between them. By the time theyd cleared half the chamber, the line of smaller insects had finished exiting, leaving Victor a clear tunnel opening to hurry toward.

    None of the workers seemed to pay them any attention. It looked to Victor like their eyes were closed as they doggedly nibbled at the glowing piles of jelly in their cells. Did they rest while they ate? Were they too simple of mind to do anything but one task at a time? He figured hed never learn the answers to his constant questions about the strange species, but he was d for whatever kept them calm in their cells, ignoring the three intruders hiding in their cloud of caustic odor. The smell of the perfume was strong to Victor and the others, but to the insects, it must have been a familiar, non-threatening odor because they made it through the enormous dormitory without incident.

    As Victor slipped into the new, much smaller opening, he had to duck to keep his head from scraping the hard, resin-coated ceiling. He took a dozen steps, rounding a slight bend, and then turned to look at Lesh and Va. Good?

    If ufortable, Lesh replied, grimacing as his hunched shoulders rubbed the ceiling.

    Lets hope this smaller tunnel opens into something bigger. Cmon, I wanna see where those bugs went. Victor turned and started forward again, and he heard the other two close behind. He barely rounded the rest of the curve when he found himself face to face with an insect that wasnt only much smallerperson-sized, as Erd Van might put itbut also bipedal with two sets of arms ending in three-fingered, hook-like hands. The two-legged ivids eyes, while definitely those of an insect, were far more expressive than those of the giant workers and warriors, and Victor swore he saw the carapace around them widen as its beak-like mouth opened and a warbling, clicking sound of obvious distress sounded from deep in its thorax.

    Victor knew a cry for help when he heard it, and he reflexively cast Energy Charge and streaked through the ten feet between them in an eruption of hot, rage-attuned Energy. He barely had time to lift Lifedrinker, but he did, and her de cleaved sideways between the sharp razor-like ridges of the insects mouth, carving off the top half of its head. The warbling rm cut off as abruptly as it had begun, and Victor stood in the silence, Lifedrinker dripping yellow gore onto the fallen body of the ivid. He strained his ears, worried it was toote, that the cry had gone out and nearby warriors would be on top of them in seconds.

    He stood that way, with Va and Lesh simrly silent, their weapons ready, for thirty long seconds, and when they didnt hear anything more, Victor finally lowered his axe and turned to regard Va and Lesh. What the fuck is this thing? Hed barely finished the question before a bunch of golden Energy motes gathered around the dead insect. Victor sighed with relief and pleasure as they all streamed into him.

    Ah, that must be nice. Va shook her head, <em>tsking</em> her tongue at him. Anyway, it seemed more intelligent, and its alone . . . She shrugged. I dont know enough about insects to guess.

    Some sort of hive attendant, I would guess, Lesh whispered. Performing rounds, checking the status of the workers, perhaps reporting to the queen what it sees. The big lizard-like warrior strode forward, spraying some of his alchemical mixture on the corpse. If these thingsmunicate with scents, then we have to assume a corpse would alert something or other. Best to dy that if we can.

    Yeah, Victor said, then he stooped and pulled the dead body and its dismembered head into one of his storage rings. Hows that?

    Lesh didntugh aloud, but something like amusement rumbled deep in his chest. Good. Victor grinned and then turned back to the tunnel, advancing with Lifedrinker held ready. The passage continued, more or less straight, for another hundred paces before they came to a T junction. Victor peered left and right and settled on going right because it had a slightly downward slope. It wasnt long before they approached another intersection, this one more like a Y, and from the left-hand branch, Victor heard clicks that reminded him of the strange rm the insect hed killed made. However, these clicks were more varied and far quieter, and he wondered if it was the sound of the insects talking.

    Are theymunicating? Va whispered, echoing his thoughts.

    Victor shrugged. Maybe. Maybe one of those hive attendants is down there giving instructions to some workers or something.

    This tunnel is too small for workers. We should investigate. Leshs hunched, dark form loomed close behind Victor, and his low, rumbling whisper barely carried more than a few inches. Victor was tornpart of him knew Lesh was right and that they should learn what they could about the insects before going deeper, but another part wanted to avoid any possible interaction. Shouldnt they just turn right and skip whatever was making those clicks? In the end, Va helped him with the decision.

    Yes, lets see what we can see.

    Victor shrugged and stalked down the left passage, very carefully and slowly rounding the slight curve, aware of the faint glow of amber light from ahead. When an opening began toe into view, he froze, ever so slowly inching his head to the left, past the curve, so he could see what was there. The passage opened into a low but vast space, and in it were thousands of insects that looked to be halfway between the attendant theyd run into and one of the big workers upstairs. They were probably a match for Victor or Lesh in mass, but they walked on all six legs. Their forelegs ended in articted joints but were only two-pronged, and their coloring was less yellow and more brown than that of the bipedal creature Victor had killed. Even so, they were clearly different from the workers up above.

    Stranger than their appearance was their behavior. The smaller workers were arrayed in dozens of rows, fanning out from the center of the room. They all faced the middle, and there, on a raised dais of resin-coated dirt, stood one of the bipedal insects and, before it, kneeled, for there was no better way to describe their posture, five of the small workers. The kneeling insects faced the ground, heads low, and the attendant insect paced before them. It was from his beak-like mouth that the clicks emanated.

    Victor felt Va and Lesh press close behind him, peering down the short length of the tunnel to therge, strange gathering of insects, but his eyes were glued to the scene in the middle. The bipedal insect walked before the five workers, its four hands gesticting as it clicked. After a minute, though, it bent before the kneeling insects, one by one, and while Victor watched in fascinated horror, it bit through the chitin atop their heads with a clear, echoing <em>snick</em>. With each bite, the victims spasmed, arms twitching, chitinous bodies shivering, but they didnt die.

    First, the attendant bit the two on the left, then the two on the right, and when Victor thought it would bite the fifth one, the one at the center, he was proven wrong. Instead, it took its dexterous-looking fingers, pulled something wet and glistening from the incision it had made in the others, and held it in its palm for the fifth worker to consume. Victor felt his mouth go dry as a dizzying sense of nausea came over him. That thing was feeding parts of the four workers to the fifth while they still lived! Vas hand tightened on his shoulder, and that was the first time Victor realized shed gripped him.

    He looked at her and saw her wide eyes and frantic gestures for him to turn around, so he followed her back toward thest intersection. Lesh was already there, waiting when they came around. The big dragonkin nodded when they approached and softly rumbled, I know not what rite it was performing, but we should move while they are all in attendance. If it finishes and releases that horde, well be overrun.

    Yeah. Victor started down the other branch of the intersection and continued to whisper, Pretty weird, though. Did you see it pull something out of their heads to feed the one?

    Perhaps its lifting one up. Lesh said the lifting one up as though it had a universal meaning. Victor looked at him quizzically.

    Huh?

    Perhaps it can elevate one caste to the next with the sacrifice of its fellows.

    Is it recing the one we killed? So quickly? Va asked.

    Perhaps. The Kothid were quick to rece the forces we slew during the war. Evolved hives are . . . disturbingly alien in their operation. We should consider that theres a greater awareness here, that there is a mind at work beyond each individual, even beyond the queen.

    Victor nodded, looking back to reply, Like awork.

    I wish we knew how deep we had to go and how deep wevee. I wish we knew what to expect, Va sighed.

    Yeah . . . Victor started to agree with her, but Lesh spoke too, and his words came more quickly, his thoughts fully formed.

    I expect death. This cannot end well. Weve been descending for a mere hour, and already, tens of thousands of insects lurk above us. Already, weve learned that theres some intelligence at work. Ill be amazed if this stinking concoction works much longer. He wrinkled his short snout as he sniffed his forearm in illustration.

    Neither Va nor Victor responded to his sudden bout of negativity. Victor figured it was his memories of the war hed fought back on his homeworld. It couldnt be easy sneaking into a massive hive like thisit was bound to dredge up all sorts of feelings. Still, he had to admit he was feeling a little less optimistic. Theyd passed a hundred side passages. Theyd descended through miles and miles of tunnel. What were the odds they were on the right track? What were the odds the magical egg artifact would be waiting for them when theyd gone down as far as they could? How many hordes of insects would be waiting? What other weird castes were there? One thing gave him a glimmer of relief in the darkness of doubtthey had the recall tokens Erd Van had given them.

    Lets just hope they work, he muttered, rounding yet another gentle curve and nearly stumbling into a ck void. His light was dim, only allowing him to see a few feet ahead, but it was enough to show him that his next step would be into empty air. He braced an arm on the tunnel wall, then looked back at Lesh and Va. Do we want to risk a brighter light?

    Va sighed and stepped forward. Perhaps its time I put my wings to use.

 Book 7: Chapter 23: Deeper

    Book 7: Chapter 23: Deeper

    Wait, Lesh rumbled, nudging past Va to better peer into the darkness. Victor felt a small surge of Energy, and then the giant warriors reptilian eyes began to shine with mossy green luminescence. I see a great chasm with tunnels branching off at the bottom. Its fifty times as deep as I am tall. There are shapes moving at the bottomivid, Id wager. Theres a narrow path cut into the face of this wall. If were careful, we should be able to descend, though Id brighten your globe a bit.

    Victor nodded and willed his globe of light closer to the ground, brightening it slightly. Sure enough, a narrow path led downward to the left. Too narrow for anything but the bipedal ivid, he whispered, stepping down and onto the path, hardly wide enough for hisrge, booted foot.

    Should I fly down?

    If you do, you wont be alone. Leshs reply, for some reason, made Victor chuckle. He supposed it had to do with his dry tone without any judgment. He wasnt saying Va <em>shouldnt</em> fly down, but he wasnt saying she should, either.

    Ill stay with you. She didnt sound happy, and Victor could imagine why: being forced to trudge around through tunnels deep underground when youve tasted the freedom of flight in an open, windy sky . . . He shook his head, pushing the thought aside; he needed to focus. The narrow path hade to a switchback, and there wasnt much room for maneuvering. He almost slipped as he turned back the opposite way, but the resin-coated dirt was hard, giving good traction, and his boot caught well enough for him to recover his bnce.

    Victor, Lesh hoarsely whispered as they made the next turn.

    Yeah?

    You should put your light out. Some of the insects have been ncing up at us. Ill warn you when the next switchback ising.

    Great. Victor pulled his Energy back from his globe, reducing it to a tiny flickering mote of light that he kept close to his feet. It was barely enough to illuminate the tops of his boots, but his Quinametzin eyes used it to paint the path before him in monochromatic gray anglessufficient to keep him from walking off into the abyss. They descended like that, painstakingly slowly, for nearly an hour before they came to the final stretch that would take them to the bottom of the underground crevasse. Victor couldnt quite make out the furtive, clicking shapes below, so he turned to Lesh, waiting for the big warrior to tell him when to move.

    The ground is ten feet below us, and theres a tunnel straight across. I havent seen any of the small workers going into it, so we should be safe to regroup there. Take hold of my belt, Va, and Victor will hold your hand as we move. Straight down and across when I say. Ready?

    Ready, Victor replied softly. Va said the same, and then they waited for Lesh to choose the right moment. Seconds ticked into minutes, and then, just as Victor was beginning to daydream about things he wanted to search for in Sojourn, Lesh silently dropped off the ledge. Va made a soft yip of surprise, and then she dropped after him, and Victor followed. When hended beside her, surprisingly without stumbling, Va fumbled for and grabbed his hand. Then, Lesh darted forward, pulling her and Victor along. Victor could barely see the ground around them, but when they ran forward, he could feel the weight of the space above them, and his skin crawled with the sensation of being watched by a thousand sets of eyes.

    He was almost surprised when they made it to the tunnel without some sort of clicking, hissing rm being sounded. Lesh pulled them in, then turned back and rumbled, You can make your light brighter here.

    Victor did so, finding that they stood in a tunnel very much like the one theyd left up at the top of the chasm. At least were still going down.

    Lesh nodded. We are deep, indeed, by now.

    Lets keep moving, Va said, and Victor thought he heard some strain in her voice. As Lesh turned, leading the way deeper, he moved his light closer to Va to see her face better.

    You doing all right? he asked, motioning for her to walk ahead of him.

    Not really. I think part of my racial evolution has made me more . . . ustrophobic, I suppose, is the right word. Im not enjoying having miles of earth and insects above our heads. What if the recall tokens dont work? She looked back at him, eyes wide with stress as she asked her question.

    Look, Im not loving it down here, either, but I promise you, if I have to move the earth itself, I will get you out of this hive. Of course, Victor recognized his Quinametzin ego asserting itself, but it seemed to put Va at ease, so he went with it. Was he really sure he could get them out of there? He supposed not, but hed die trying, and that was good enough; thered be time in the next life for regretting poorly made promises. Va followed Lesh, and Victor followed Va, and they made their way steadily downward.

    They passed another great worker hall, this one housing tens of thousands of the smaller workers. In that hall, narrow catwalks made of dirt and resin ran between the dozens of upper tiers of insect cells. Constant traffic flowed over those high, strange bridgeways and at the ground level where Victor and the others walked. Still, the workers moved purposefully, heads down, and as long as they kept their distance, the bugs didnt seem to pay any mind to the three outsiders.

    Lesh was good about keeping a retreat nned; every time a worker or one of the attendants approached them, he hastily moved back to a side tunnel or an empty cell, ducking to the side while the ivid went by. Another hour of descent became two hours, then three, and Victor lost count of the chambers full of cells and side passages they passed. Though they traversed mile after mile of tunnel, they constantly moved downward, and Victor began to wonder just how deep they were.

    After a long period of silence, he asked, Theres no way we could have doubled back, right?

    Were always going down . . . Va started to say, but Lesh shook his head and rumbled over her.

    No. I can feel the ground around us. Its differentwe make progress.

    I know patience is important and that I dont want to fight the entire hive, but Im starting to lose it here. You guys dont think I should summon my coyotes? Theyre pretty damn sneaky . . .

    I can feel vast voids below us. I think we grow close to the heart of the hive. Lesh pointed downward in illustration. Give me another hour before you call forth your spirit scouts. Victor nodded, and the dragonkin turned and started forward. Va followed, and Victor, still gripping Lifedrinker, brought up the rear. He felt a tremendous build-up of tension in his neck and back and yearned to feel the sky above him. He was sure Va was suffering even more, so, with her as an exemr, he kept himself under control, venting some pent-up energy by gripping Lifedrinkers haft tightly, twisting his hands back and forth.

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    True to his word, Leshs downward path eventually took them into a vast tunnel that reminded Victor of the main thoroughfare of Great Bone Mine. It was illuminated by strange veins of yellow-white minerals, giving the whole ce a kind of hazy, sepia glow. The vaulted ceiling was a hundred feet overhead, and the sides of the tunnel were separated by a hundred paces of smooth, resin-coated ground. The tunnel that led them to that great passage was high in the wall, and down below, Victor could see rows of orderly insects, some traveling inward at a slightly downward grade and some traveling up and, presumably, out. Between the high ceiling and the ground, suspended highways of dirt and resin crawled with the hunched, earthen-toned insects. The columns of ivid stretched further than Victor could see.

    There must be tens of thousands of them marching along down there, Va whispered from where shey, peering over the lip of the tunnel.

    Do you see that side passage? Lesh pointed, and Victor thought he saw what he meant. A wide, oval opening about half a mile up the tunnel. I believe that leads down to a great cavern that way. He pointed, indicating the side of the tunnel ahead of them. Its a bigger space than any Ive sensed.

    How do we get there? There are a thousand ivid between us and that tunnel. Victor frowned, contemting the violence hed have to unleash to fight his way into the tunnel. Then what?

    We must choose a time when none of the attendants are near. Well refresh our odor, then jump down and shuffle along with the workers.

    Do you think they wont raise an rm? Va asked. So far, they hadnt stood near one of the small workers long enough to determine whether theyd notice them.

    We are close. We cannot teleport or tunnel through this dirt. What option is there? Lesh, for the first time, sounded a little on edge. Victor wondered if he was starting to lose it, being down in the belly of the hive for so long. While Lesh and Va stared at the ground, contemting what they had to do, Victor let his eyes drift over the many suspended walkways and the crazy architecture that allowed the ivid to take advantage of that third axis. As his eyes settled on something interesting, he nudged Lesh with his elbow.

    Look. That suspended walkway is empty. It was on the far side of the tunnel, only about fifty feet above and parallel to the ground. If they could get on it, it seemed like it would take them right above the opening Lesh had pointed out.

    Lesh must have been thinking simrly because he said, How do we get to it?

    I can fly over there. Vas tone was matter-of-fact.

    You could string us a line. Victor nodded as Lesh produced a thin, silky rope rolled in a tight bundle.

    This is razzka silk; it will not break.

    Va took the loose end and said, Feed it quickly; I dont want to get hung up.

    Wait, Victor said, bringing out his scent-dispensing bottle. We should refresh this stuff before we go into that big tunnel.

    Lesh and Va nodded, and soon, they were all breathing into their sleeves, eyes watering as the caustic chemical settled over them. Once the air had cleared enough to breathe without gagging, Va climbed to her feet and stood at the tunnel''s edge, knees bent, wings partially open, staring into the big open space, perhaps trying to choose a moment when none of the attendants were passing near. Victor wanted to tell her to be careful, but he knew it was stupidof course, she would be. Nevertheless, he was nervous for her, and his knuckles were white where they gripped Lifedrinker.

    After several long seconds in which Victor and Lesh exchanged several looks, Va abruptly dropped off the ledge, and her wings <em>whooshed</em> back, just once, propelling her like a silvery arrow straight through the gap between two of the suspended walkways and then tond with perfect grace upon the empty, target walkway. As she flew, the silky rope whistled softly as it rushed between Leshs fingers. Victor watched her loop and tie her end around the walkway; it was only about three feet wide. She crouched low, utterly exposed out there, but so far, the insects had ignored her.

    You first, Lesh said, holding his end of the rope tight in his scaled fist.

    How are you gonna cross without anyone to hold your end?

    Ill leap out, swinging from the rope, and climb up.

    Victor looked the huge dragonkin up and down and snorted. <em>Hermano</em>, you arent built for that kind of shit. Let me hold it while you climb across, then Ill do the leaping, yeah?

    I suppose. Lesh frowned. You could reduce your size further?

    Yeah, of course. If I fall, I can probably jump up to that walkway, too.

    Very well. Lesh handed him the rope, and then, as Victor pulled it tight, he tested his weight against it, pulling hard. Victor grunted and had to dig in his heels, but he knew he could support the dragonkins weight. If he got worried, he could always cast Iron Berserkhe was already channeling his Sovereign Will into his strength and vitality.

    Go on! he urged the dragonkin. Lesh gave him one more nod, then, with surprising grace, leaped out onto the silken line, pulling himself hand over hand toward Va. Victor was surprised by the initial leap and had to jerk back on the rope, leaning backward with all his weight to keep from being pulled out of the tunnel, but after that, it was easy to keep the rope supported. Luck must have been with them, or the fresh dose of ivid scent must have been especially potent because, though Lesh passed between two other walkways, none of the ivid gave him a second nce as he passed over and under them.

    When he was safely squatting beside Va, Victor nodded, contemting things. If he dropped off the ledge and hung from the rope, hed be hanging across another walkway, and his line might touch one of them or, worse, knock one off as he descended. The only apparent way he could see himself getting to the walkway where Va and Lesh waited was to jump past the other intervening span. Then, he could let himself swing and climb his way up beside Va. Yep, gonna have to do it. He hung Lifedrinker back in her harness, then gathered up the feather-light rope and backed up for a running start.

    He wrapped the rope around his right wrist several times and then switched his Sovereign Will boost from vitality to agility. Here we go, he breathed, then took two long strides and leaped out of the tunnel, aiming to cross the walkway about twenty feet out and five feet below the ledge. He soared over it effortlessly and had enough momentum that he was afraid hed hit the far wall on his way down, but then the silken rope snapped taut, pulling on his right arm, and he swung upward. Victor didnt wait to swing back the other way; he immediately started to climb the strand, easily pulling his weight up hand over hand. By the time he reached the end of his swing and started back the other way, hed shortened his hanging distance from the walkway by half.

    In seconds, he pped a hand onto the smooth span and felt Lesh and Va grab ahold of it. Once, with their aid, hed scrambled onto the walkway, Lesh untied his rope and gathered it up. Very nimbly done, he rumbled as they hunkered down together.

    Lets go! Victor didnt like being out in the open like they were. He took the lead, crouching low and hurrying along the walkway toward the distant tunnel opening Lesh had pointed out. Ivid moved along all around them. Some shuffled in the same direction, others in the opposite. They made strange sounds as they walked, like a constant susurration that filled the air, and Victor wondered if it was their breathing or just the sound of their chitin or fluid-filled joints. Whatever it was, it was nerve-wracking being amidst it, and he moved very quickly toward their goal, trusting that Lesh and Va would speak up if he went too fast.

    They reached the tunnel, and, for the first time in the hive, Victor saw smooth stone walls and flooring. Either this tunnel had been there before the ivid, or they had another caste of workers that could shape stone. He looked back at Va and Lesh. Ready? Lesh held up his rope, so Victor nodded. Could the big dragonkin really not drop fifty feet? Or was he worried hed be too loud? Victor held the rope for him without arguing or questioningtime for thatter. Lesh made short work of the climb down, and soon, hed darted into the stone tunnel, peering up at Victor and Va.

    I can hold the rope for you, she said.

    I can jump down . . .

    Will that not be loud?

    Victor frowned, more annoyed that hed been mentally judging Lesh for needing a rope than that she was right. All right, he sighed, giving it a tug and grinning as Va stumbled toward him. Hold it tight. Ill put my weight on it slowly.

    Youd better! She bared her teeth at him in a nervous smile, and he realized she was doing everything she could to keep it together. He quickly stepped toward her, trying to hug her, to offer somefort, but she bristled, pushing him back. Not now! I . . . I cant keep it together out here among them much longer!

    Right. Sorry. Victor gripped the rope and slowly backed off the walkway, waiting for Va to have his full weight before he rapidly descended. He set foot on the smooth stone only ten feet from a long column of workers, and he hurriedly turned and jogged into the tunnel to Lesh. When he nced back, he was almost surprised to find that none of the bugs had chased him or raised an rm. With a flutter of ammoniaced air, Vanded beside him and passed the silken rope to Lesh.

    Come on! she hissed, moving further into the tunnel away from the crowded ivid highway. Lesh and Victor followed her, and theyd only descended into the wide stone hall for a dozen paces before she pulled up short and mmed herself against the stone wall, trying to sink into the darkness there. Lesh followed her lead, and Victor slowed, crouching low, trying to see what had alerted her. He didnt have to look farabout a half mile down the smooth, straight tunnel was a massive arched opening backlit by what looked like daylight. On either side of the tremendous, bright archway stood bipedal ivid with shiny, silvery, metallic carapaces and wielding enormous polearms.

    What the fu . . . Victor started to say, but Va pped a hand to his mouthone of the ivid guardians had turned toward them, though it seemed its eyesight couldnt peel Victors shape from the shadows. After just a moment of scrutiny, it turned forward. Victor put his lips just a fraction of an inch from Vas ear and whispered, I can see why other groups failed this bullshit quest.

 Book 7: Chapter 24: Hive World

    Book 7: Chapter 24: Hive World

    Theyre certainly more intelligent <em>seeming</em> than those weve encountered thus far. Va leaned past Victor, peering down the long, gradual slope of the tunnel toward the two huge insectoid guards. Guards they clearly werestanding still, armored, holding weapons as their shiny-carapace-covered heads swiveled left to right, ever alert. Victor had stared at them for a long while, using his excellent Quinametzin vision to discern details in their appearance. Hed convinced himself that the insects, with their four bulky arms and long, scorpion-like stingers, were simr enough to the ivid that they must be the same species.

    The simrities were most apparent in their faces and torsos, though the weird metallic nature of their chitin made it a little hard to see. It was the eyes that really made Victor sure; they were identical in shape and numberfive slightly ovoid eyes on each side of the nose, all of them narrower at one end and getting wider away from the cluster. More than the shape, their eyes had the same weird iridescent shimmer over the predominantly ck color. Do we try to talk to them? He didnt see a way to sneak past them, so, in his mind, it was either fight or talk. Or talk, then fight.

    If they raise an rm . . . Lesh grumbled, leaving the rest of his concern unspoken.

    So, we can try to murder them quickly or speak to them. Vas choice in verbiage wasnt lost on Victor. Did her using the word murder mean she wanted to try a more peaceful tactic?

    He wasnt one to y guessing games. You think we should try talking?

    Yes, but first use your scope.

    Victor snapped his fingers, grateful shed remembered the device that he constantly forgot. He pulled the little brass and ss device out of his storage ring and pointed it at the ivid guard on the left. Immediately, a soft yellow aura bloomed around the creature. Victor pointed it at the other one, and if he wasnt mistaken, the yellow aura on that one was a little darker. Yellow. He hadnt used the scope since hed been on Fanwath, and everyone there gave him green or blue responses. He turned the scope on Lesh, having never tested it on him, and found that he, too, had a yellow aura, though much paler than the two ivid. Victor handed the scope to the dragonkin. You try.

    Lesh held the little scope,ically small in his big, wed fingers, to his eye and peered down the ramp at the two ivid. Orange and . . . dark orange, almost red. He handed the scope to Va, and she held it to her eye.

    She stared for a long while, then lowered the scope and said, Deep red.

    Darker than me?

    No. She pointed the scope at him, double-checking. Youre so red its almost purple.

    Am I to believe this device has determined that those creatures are more powerful than I? Lesh didnt sound happy.

    Its not really that exact. I dont know what it measuresmaybe just total Energy or something simple like that. Still, we can bet these two <em>pendejos</em> are going to be a lot tougher than the bugs weve fought already.

    Va sighed, shaking her head. We should try to reason with them. If they canmunicate, we might save ourselves much trouble.

    Victor nodded, twisting Lifedrinker in his fists while he thought aloud. Its not really that Im afraid to fight two tough guys, but I doubt we could kill them quickly, not before we made some noise, anyway. Im sure theyd call for help. Could we take on another ten bugs that tough? What about a thousand? Who knows whats through that archway? Why does it look like daylight?

    Weve in their kin. Will they even speak with us?

    Good question. Victor shrugged. Be ready to try to kill them as quickly as you can. Charge up your best offensive ability. Try to look intimidating. Victor looked at Va and Lesh, nodding. Im going to take on my full size and cast Iron Berserk. Hopefully, theyll be more willing to talk if they think we could pose a threat. Ready?

    Vas eyes began to shimmer with silvery-blue shes deep in their depths, and a charged breeze picked up around them, ruffling her feathers. Im ready.

    Leshs chest expanded as he inhaled and stood up straight. Bgog, gripped firmly in both hands, began to smoke and drip caustic green liquid to the tunnel floor, each drop sizzling and sinking into the hard, smooth stone. I am ready.

    Victor turned and started walking down the slope. Okay, <em>chica.</em> Get ready. He channeled his Sovereign Will into strength and vitality. He cut his connection to his Alter Shape spell, expanded to his full, nearly ten-foot height, and cast Iron Berserk. His body surged with power and hot, potent, rage-attuned Energy. His vision tinted to crimson, and he swelled massively. His armor shivered and nked as it grew with him, his boots and pants strained against his bulging proportions, their resizing capabilities not quite as robust as his finer gear. The tunnel resounded with his further steps as he, faintly flickering with red, rage-attuned Energy, stalked down the pathway toward the two ivid guards.

    They noticed him almost immediately, and though something like half a mile of tunnel separated the insects from the trio, they stepped toward each other, crossing their long, metallic polearms, clearly signaling their intent to stop anyone from passing through the archway. As Victor approached, despite the rage smoldering in his chest, held in check by his iron will, he felt heartened not to hear any outcry. It seemed the guardians would wait and see what sort of threat Victor and hispanions posed.

    As he descended and the ivid grew more prominent, he began to realize the perspective he and the others had enjoyed, looking down the long sloping tunnel, had been misleading. The tunnel grew gradually wider, and Victor realized the archway leading into the brightly lit area was much bigger than hed thought. He was still a few hundred paces from the ivid, and he could tell the tunnel opening was something like a hundred feet high, making the ivid standing before it nearly his fully berserk size.

    Theyre huge, Va whispered, walking behind and to the left of him. Lesh was on his right side, and he could feel the tension in the dragonkins postureif there were hundreds, thousands, or millions of ivid like these two, then the adventurers were in way over their heads. It was hard to see beyond the two guardians through the bright opening; some kind of haze hung in the air behind them, making the air translucent but blurry, obscuring whatever was in the brightly lit space. Victor thought it must be some kind of magical warding, something to keep prying eyes, mundane or magical, from seeing what the ivid were up to at the heart of their hive.

    The guardians posture became more and more threatening the closer they got. By the time Victor was a few dozen yards away from the giant insects, they were hunched forward, their polearmslong metallic bars with enormous, triangr spear tips on one endheld menacingly high, ready to be swept down or thrust forward. Their many eyes were trained on Victor, and he could see a kind of Energy pulsing in them, a smoky gray, shimmering aura that hinted at deep wells of power. Victor stopped thirty yards from the enormous, bright archway and cleared his throat. We seek an audience with your rulers.

    He still held Lifedrinker in his hand, and he made a show of lifting her to his shoulder and allowing his harness to snatch her out of his hand so she sat snugly against his back. As soon as he did so, the two ivid noticeably rxed, their posture straightening slightly, the angle of their weapons moving away from Victor. Put your weapons away, he said. He heard Vas sword slide into her sheath and the <em>clunk</em> of metal on stone as Lesh lowered Bgog. The two ivid straightened further and moved their weapons back together, forming an X before the archway but no longer threatening the trio. Can you speak?

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.

    His query was met with silence as the two insectoid guardians continued to stare. Lesh spoke, his voice rumbling softly in the enormous passageway, Perhaps they simply respond to threats. Could we pass if we dont exhibit any hostility?

    We could try . . . Victor took a step forward, but then something happened behind the crossed polearms of the two guardians. The air shimmered, and with a soft <em>pop</em> like arge soap bubble bursting, a much smaller ivid stepped out of the archway. This one was simr to the hive attendants theyd seen on their way down through the endless tunnels. There were significant differences, however, starting with the fact that it was clothed in shimmering gray, silky robes and carried a long rod of transparent rose-colored stone.

    In a clicking, rasping voice that made the hairs on Victors neck stand up, it addressed them, Do you understand this one?

    The statement took Victor by surprise. Hed expected many things, hostility being the most likely in his mind, but this hadnt been on his list. I understand you.

    This one was created to speak to you. It stopped speaking words and clicked and hissed oddly for several seconds. After staring at Victor through its ten eyes for several seconds afterward, it said, You cannot understand ournguage, but it is far superior. Can you not learn?

    Um, Victor nced at Va and Lesh, neither offering him any help. Not easily. Can we keep using thisnguage, please?

    This one can speak thisnguage. Why do you trespass? The smaller ivid, about the size of Va, stepped forward directly under the arch of the two giant guardians polearms.

    We didnt know our presence wasnt allowed. Victor figured he wasnt exactly lyingthey knew the ivid would attack intruders, but he hadnt known they were smart enough to understand trespassing. He thought it was just an automatically defensive posture.

    The hive is for ivid. Many hiveless have entered, only to be consumed and added to the record. From those memories, we have constructed this one to speak to you. Would you like to join the hive? Would you like your memories to live in the record?

    No! Va said before Victor could wrap his head around the weird question.

    Then why do youe? It would benefit the hive to add you to the record.

    We seek an artifact and will trade in kind, Lesh rumbled, stepping forward.

    Knowledge, not artifacts, makes the hive stronger. We can take knowledge with your memories. Why will you not join the hive? There is no strength in the individual, no continuance.

    While your hive is glorious, Lesh said, We owe our memories to others on a distant world. There is no threat to your hive here. He gestured to Victor and Va, then to himself. We will leave, and you will be stronger for our visit. Victor had to hand it to him; he seemed to have grasped the idea of how to talk to the hive emissary rather quickly.

    What artifact do you seek? Only recently have we begun to clothe and arm these ones.

    Lesh looked at Victor, raising his scaled eye ridge in question. Victor shrugged and spoke up, his voice booming in the tunnel, We want one of your eggs that never hatched, one of your dreamers. The insect didnt react but stood unmoving for several long moments. Victor was starting to wonder if he should say something more, but then it lifted its crystal rod, tracing a strange pattern in the air. A disc of shimmering light appeared, floating in the air before the ivid. It lifted one three-fingered hand to the disc, shifting it so its eyes could peer through it at Victor and the others. Was it examining them somehow?

    We will trade one of our sleeping children for one of the female''s eggs and a sample of the males seed.

    Victor felt his rage re, felt his fists clench, and he gathered his breath, ready to tell the damn bug-man off, but then Vas cool fingers gripped his wrist, squeezing, reminding him that he wasnt there alone. Before he could speak or react further, she said, May we discuss your proposal?

    Yes. Hiveless mustmunicate with sounds or script. This, we have learned.

    Va tugged Victors wrist, leading him down the tunnel further from the three ivid. When theyd put another fifty feet or so between them, she said, We have to think about this rationally.

    I dont like the idea that these insects will have my seed to experiment with, Lesh growled.

    I mean, same here. But worse, how the hell will they take one of your eggs, Va? Victor hissed, trying to whisper but struggling to contain his emotions. He contemted dropping his Iron Berserk to push the rage out of his pathways.

    Victor, Lesh said before Va could answer, use your scope on the speaking insect.

    Grimacing with frustration, Victor did as he asked, summoning the scope from his ring and pointing it at the diminutive ivid between the two hulking, metal-ted guardians. At first, he thought something was wrong, that the ivid wasnt showing up, but then he realized what it wasthe hive representative had an aura so thick and dark that it looked like a shadow, a hole in space between the two guardians. Dread crept into his chest, pushing the rage back, summoning tendrils of fear-attuned Energy from his Core. He didnt have an instruction manual for the scope, but something deep in his gut told Victor all he needed to knowthis thing was an order of magnitude more potent than he was.

    He pushed the scope back into his storage container and, with a cold shiver threatening to cancel his Iron Berserk before he was ready, said, That things a lot more powerful than the others.

    What color?

    ck. Like a hole in the universe.

    Lesh grunted. So, we should eschew violence. It seems willing to bargain. Perhaps we can negotiate different terms.

    Any ideas? Victor nced back at the ivid as he waited for Va and Lesh to think it through.

    Lesh rubbed his chin, tapping a sharp w against one of his hanging canines. I have some treasures from my various conquests. I have a Kothid ravager pincer. Perhaps it would be interested in another insect species.

    I have some things, too. Victors mind went to Dunstans crown, still sitting in the hotel room back on Sojourn. He might have killed two birds with one stone if he''d brought that along. He reached to his chest where the key hung, the one with the silver globe that would expand into a room, its purpose unknown to him. It seemed stupid to bargain with things he didnt understand. I have the hide from theva king I was awarded. I think its worth a lot. Also, the legendary magma-attunement gem.

    They may be interested in such things. Lesh nodded, then looked at Va. Victor followed his gaze, looking into Vas distant eyes. She realized they were looking at her, and she smiled, shrugging.

    I dont think theyll want objects. If its an egg theyre after, is that so much to ask? We want the same from them, after all. If it will save Edeya, Ill give one up. She pressed a hand to her abdomen, and Victor could only imagine what was going through her mind. The idea of some weird, powerful insect hive wanting her gic material, wanting to take an egg from her ovaries . . . He shook his head, hating the thought of it.

    Just a minute. Victor turned and stalked toward the ivid emissary. He knew Vas bloodline was special; he knew Lesh, too, had potent ancestry. Victor was Quinametzin, though, and if the bugs had to pick one of them to sample, his pride wouldnt let him believe theyd choose either of hispanions. He stopped a dozen paces from the ivid and, with a deep, firm voice, said, We want one egg. You can choose one of us to sample.

    A moment. While the ivid stared into space, Victor felt Lesh and Va step beside him. Va took his thumb in her much smaller hand, holding it. Thanks to his constant inner heat, her skin always felt cool, and he felt his rage slipping further from his pathways at her touch. Some part of him knew he wasnt going to fight, and it was harder and harder to keep his Iron Berserk stoked. As he wrestled with the urge to let the spell slip away, the ivid began speaking again in its unsettling, clicking, hissing voice. This one will guide you to the queen. Yourpanions will be fed and housed during your absence.

    It didnt wait for a response. In perfect unison, the two guardians lifted their polearms and sidestepped away from the center of the bright, shimmering passage. At the same time, the emissary turned and walked back through the hazy curtain of light. <em>Chingado</em>, Victor hissed, looking down at Va and then at Lesh. Do we go in?

    Va sighed, shaking her head. We must. Thank you, Victor, for being protective of Lesh and me, but I hate that youre once again risking yourself for me. She didnt look happy as she let go of his finger and stepped into hazy air.

    My thanks are without caveat, Lord Victor, Lesh rumbled, stepping after Va. Victor, frowning, annoyed that Va was annoyed, followed them. The air felt normal. The haze didnt smell, wasnt moist, and didnt sting his eyesit had to be some kind of magical screen. The bright re of light forced him to shield his eyes as soon as hed stepped through. As they adjusted to the brightness, he couldnt help the exmation that slipped through his lips.

    What the fuck? He stood atop a hillside with a long stretch of smooth, ssy-brown roadway leading down toward a massive, sprawling city of smooth, stone towers. A yellow sky with a glowering orange sun hung overhead, and beneath it, as far as he could see, stretched roads and buildings. He could see thousands and thousands of the ivid moving around down there, traversing the streets, walking in and out of the buildings. Most of them were bipedal, though there were quite a few variants of the six-legged ivid theyd seen up in the hive.

    The foliage was strangeeverything was sharp and angr. The trees and shrubs beside the ivid roadway reminded him of desert ntscacti and thorn bushes, with very little green. A weird, rumbling buzzing sound overhead grabbed his attention, and Victor looked up to see a great, bulbous insect with huge, buzzing wings floating byzily, a colossal tform hanging from its long, ck legs. He could just make out the tiny forms of bipedal ivid crowding the metallic railing of the tform. They were using another insect for transportation.

    None of what he saw exined how a world,plete with sky and sun, could be twenty miles beneath the''s surface. Had they gone through a portal? Were they in yet another different world? He couldnt contain the questions. Where are we?

    You are in the hive world. Follow me, individuals. You will not be harmed by the hive if you do not threaten these ones. The emissary gestured left and right with its crystal rod, indicating everything below the hill.

    How many? Va licked her lips and spoke a little louder. How many of you are here?

    The ivid didnt answer right away as it started down the hill. Victor and the others followed, and after a short while, it turned to look at Va. This one cannot answer that question with words. Our memories of other outsiders indicate that the best way to reply is to ask you how many cells are in your body?

    Cells . . . Va breathed, shaking her head. Victor had learned from his time on Fanwath that the people there were quite familiar with the world of microscopic things, from cells to bacteria to concepts very much like DNA. Va knew what the insect was implyingit, or the hive speaking through it, didnt see its individual ivid as people but as parts of itselftiny, receable parts, too numerous to count. It was a frightening concept, considering the apparent power of the emissary.

 Book 7: Chapter 25: Transport

    Book 7: Chapter 25: Transport

    The ivid emissary led them down the hill into the weird cityscape of towering, smooth, funnel-shaped buildings. Some of them were wider at the top and some at the bottom, and once they were among them, it felt like they were underground again because it became impossible to see beyond one or two of the structures. Meanwhile, ivid walked everywhere, always moving with purpose, sometimes carrying things from rocks to nts to glittering gemstones.

    Many of the ivid in the city were clothed in shimmering robes like those of the emissary, while others wore nothing but their chitin. Stationed at nearly every building, Victor saw the members of the guardian caste with their metallic carapaces. As they walked, Va cleared her throat and asked, Do you have a name?

    This one does not, the emissary replied almost immediately.

    A title? she pressed.

    No, but you may think of this one as a spokesperson or . . .

    Emissary? Victor provided, hoping to keep thinking of the strange insectoid as he had been.

    This term seems adequate. The emissary led them between identical-seeming buildings, walking in the center of the road between the lines of ivid traffic that marched in either direction. None of the insects looked at them, and certainly none spoke. Though they never uttered any words or even sounds, the air was filled with the steady background hum made up of tens of thousands of ivid breathing, clicking their mandibles, and tapping their hard feet against the resin-coated roadways. It was loud enough to make Victor feel like he was in a machine shop. They walked for probably half an hour before the emissary directed them to the oval opening of one of the stone towers.

    The arched entryway wasrge enough for one of the guardians to hunch within it while leaving room for Lesh and Victor to pass through behind their guide. The guardian didnt even look at them, and it made Victor wonder if the hives awareness, the entity talking to them through the emissary, was able to control the insects on an individual level or if the emissary was emitting some kind of pheromone to keep the ivid around them cid.

    The inside of the tower was much as Victor had imagined itsmooth walls, no furnishings, and round tunnels leading in every direction. The ivid emissary took them on a winding path, past many identical openings, and finally stopped in a round room with soft, silken cushions lining the far wall. They looked like they were made of the same material as the emissarys robes. The ivid turned and gestured with one of its four arms at Victor. Please wait here,panions, while this one takes this individual to see our queen. He will be returned before the sun crosses the sky twice.

    Two days? Vas voice conveyed her rm as she looked at Victor.

    The brooding center is quite distant.

    Lesh frowned, looking around at the bare room. We must stay within this chamber?

    Va added her objection, How will we gauge the time? We cannot see the sun! Victor supposed she had a pointeven if she took a clock or watch from her storage devices, they had no idea how long an ivid day was. How long would it take for the sun to cross the sky?

    This one can amend this. The emissary stepped past Va over to the smooth wall and rested a hand against the stone. Victor felt a violent surge of Energy, pure and potent. Then the stone began to swirl like liquid, receding from the ivids touch and forming a smooth, four-foot-wide tunnel that stretched upward for nearly twenty feet until the pale, yellow sky was exposed. Will the individualpanions require sustenance or waste receptacles?

    Victor spoke up on hispanions behalf, A room to wash up and a toilet would be nice. The emissary didnt respond but touched its hand to the wall again, and Victor felt the familiar surge of potent Energy. A door-sized opening opposite the window appeared, and Victor watched as a tunnel expanded beyond it, rounding a gentle curve. He couldnt see what transpired after that, but he heard the weird liquid sound of shifting stone and, momentster, the faint trickle of water flowing into some sort of basin.

    Please inspect the amodations and ensure there is nothing else required.

    Thank you, Emissary, Va said. Then, she took Victors hand and tugged him toward the new exit. Please allow me to speak to mypanion privately as we inspect your work.

    The emissary stared at her from its strange, faintly shimmering ck eyes and, after a pregnant pause, said, Privacy is an interesting concept. We will endeavor not to hear your vocalizations.

    Thank you. Va pulled Victor through the opening, and though she didnt say he couldnte, Lesh sighed and sat down on one of the silky cushions. Once theyd rounded the corner, Victor saw that the emissary had created a spacious and practical bathroom. There were three fountains in an oval spaceone shaped like a bath, one like a sink, and one obviously meant to serve as a toilet. The bath-like basin steamed faintly, making it clear that the water was warm. Va sighed, looking around the room. Whatever memories it took from those the hive has in seem to have provided it with the knowledge for making a restroom.

    Yeah, I guess so.

    Va faced Victor, taking his wrists in her cool fingers, concern digging a furrow between her eyes. What will you do? Are you really going to give this hive your seed?

    Can you think of another option? I guess we could ask to leave and try to find another way to help Edeya.

    What if it wants to . . . copte with you?

    With a giant insect? Victor tried to keep his voice pitched low, but some incredulity entered his tone.

    It created that emissary to speak with us. What if it creates a . . . concubine for you?

    Um, not happening, Va. Victor couldnt imagine the insect hive mind creating anything hed be willing to have sex with, but even if he could, it didnt feel right putting Va through that. Look, its embarrassing enough trying to imagine giving these insects some of my seed, you know.

    I could offer toe along. To . . . help. She grinned a little mischievously, and Victor chuckled.

    Im d you can find some humor in this.

    Her smile faded, and her eyes narrowed as she said, her tone deadly serious, You understand what it might mean to give a hive like this your gic material? Its evident that these ivid have gone through some massive changes since Erd Vanst sent explorers here. What might they do with a sample of your Quinametzin heritage?

    I dont know. It seems kind of far-fetched that they could even use it. Theres no way insects and titans were meant to mate. I think theyll need to do a lot with my . . . sample before its of any use to them. Maybe they just want to study it. Shit, I dont know, Va. Can you imagine those giant guardians with titan blood? Maybe I should refuse just for the sake of the universe.

    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the vition.

    She sighed and shook her head. As much as I want you to be careful, as much as Id like to find a way around this situation, Im reminded that the universe is vast. I cant imagine these ivid are the only hive species to reach this level of ascendancy. We know there are worlds where dragons reign. We know there are ces where people like Tes aremonce. You felt the powerful beings striding through the heights of Sojourn. I dont think a sample of your seed given to these insects will upset the bnce of the universe. Her eyes narrowed further, and she grew quiet as her expression became decidedly pensive.

    What else? Victor prodded.

    What if . . . what if its not looking to do research but to create children? What if its curious about individuality and wants to make offspring that can think for themselves? Do you want children sprung from your . . .

    Va! Victor cried, then more softly, Va, Va, Va. He pulled her close, gripping her behind the shoulders and peering down into her eyes. He had half a mind to reduce his height further to more easily hold her close, but he didnt want to interrupt his train of thought. Anything this hive creates will not be a child of mine. It might have some of my DNA, bute on! I cant imagine a more alien species. Nothing it grows will be anything like me and certainly wont need me to take a role in its life. Heughed, imagining a half-insect, long-lost childing to collect some overdue child support. Va didnt say anything, so he pressed on, Ill talk to this queen or, if she cant speak, the emissary and try to get some reassurances.

    Promise? Promise youll walk away if it doesnt sound tenable?

    Promise.

    Well, lets get you going. The sooner you leave, the sooner youll be back, and the sooner we can leave this strange ce. She spoke softly, and though her words said she was ready to head back to the emissary, her face said another. Victor stared at her eyes, the big silvery-teal irises, the soft, feathery eyebrows, and all he wanted was to hold her close and get away from all this bullshit. It felt like he was always going from one emergency to another, and he was fucking sick of it.

    I just want to do thatbe done with this bullshit, so I can spend some time with you, doing what we fucking want to do without having to solve some goddamn crisis. If this is what it takes, me giving these asshole bugs some of my <em>pinch leche</em>, then Im going to do it. His voice had grown hoarse with emotion, and when he heard the expletives flowing from his tongue like the old days, he chuckled and shook his head. Sorry.

    Dont apologize for expressing how we <em>both</em> feel. She grabbed the sides of his head and pulled him down so she could kiss him squarely on the mouth. It was a hungry kiss, hot and full of carnal intent, and Victor almost lost it right there. She wouldnt allow that, though,ughing and pushing him off as he tried to push her back toward the bathing fountain. Come on, now. Get goingtime for this when were done with this hive. Victor calmed himself, nodded, and, as they turned to walk back to Lesh and the emissary, she snickered. Really? Milk?

    Victor groaned. Its ng . . . and its Spanish in my head.

    Yournguage? Victor had spoken to her about Spanish and English and how strange it was to have all of his words tranted the same by the System.

    My dadsnguage. Theyd also talked about their childhoods a few times, and she knew what he meant. She knew hed never been fluent in his fathersnguage and that it had been one of the many factors giving him a chip on his shoulder when he was younger. He couldnt get into it right then, anyway; they were already back to the waiting room. Ready? he asked the impassive insect man, still standing where hed been when he and Va had left.

    This one will guide you now. It started walking for the hallway theyde through, but before he followed it, Victor looked at Lesh.

    You good?

    He nodded, rumbling, I will take this opportunity to meditate, cultivate, and expand my breath Core. Va and I will be well. Be wary and wise, Lord Victor.

    I will. Victor nodded, then squeezed Vas hand again before letting go. Her jaw fairly trembled with her desire to say something, but she mped her lips into a tight line and watched him, unblinking, as he turned and followed the insect into the oval tunnel. When he caught up to his ivid guide, he asked, Well, Emissary, can I ask if you have a gender?

    It didnt hesitate to answer, This one is non-gendered.

    Victor followed it quietly until they exited the building and started meandering through the city again. Then, he decided to try to get some of his many questions answered. When you met us deep underground, and we walked through the misty opening, was that a portal? Are we very far from the world where we met?

    We met at the aperture to the hive world. We are not far from the world where we met but within it.

    I dont understand. How can a sky and sun exist within a? Are those illusions to make your hive morefortable?

    The hive world exists within its own universe, young individual, a universe of our devising. That simple statement carried so many underlying messages that Victor found himself dumbstruck, pondering them all. This hive was creating a universe? Is that what it meant by our devising? If they could do that, if they could somehow manufacture worlds and suns . . . Victor couldnt wrap his head around it. It couldnt be that. How could any being create a sun? They were too damned massive. Even the System had called volcanos sleeping gods. What would itbel a sun? What would itbel a species that could create a sun?

    Do you create all of the things in this universe? Did you create the sun?

    We do not create these things; we find them and bridge our universe to the space where the things we covet exist, encapsting them.

    You coveted the sun?

    The hive world required heat and light. We found a sun to match our needs and brought it and itss into our universe. Now we have heat and light and the resources of fives.

    Did thoses have life?

    Two, yes. Very plentiful resources.

    Victor chewed on those words for a while, stunned by the idea that a species of insect could simply snatch a sr system out of its universe and bring it into its own. What was this universe? Was it a gigantic pocket dimension within the where the hive originated? Was it even really inside the, or was that simply where the aperture was? The train of thought brought another question to mind. Why do you keep that aperture open? Why do you still have a hive on the where we met?

    The answer to such a question is not easily exined to one not of the hive.

    Victor tried a different approach, What about the System? Are you part of it?

    We know of the System from the memories of individuals who have joined the hive. This entity has no connection to us. Victor could have guessed as much; if the System were present in the hive, surely it would have tranted the insects nativenguage.

    They turned left, past one of the giant conical towers, and, for the first time in the ivid city, the horizon opened up ahead of them. Victor was looking down a long, straight stretch of road toward an enormous, open area shaped like a hexagon. At its center, on a tform the size of a city block, sat a gigantic beetle with two gas-filled membranes straining against cable-like tendons attached to its back. The membranes were shaped like oblong balloons and looked, from Victors vantage, to be five or ten times the size of the hot air balloons hed seen on TV. What is that thing?

    That will serve as this ones transport to the brooding.

    Brooding <em</em>?

    Yes, this one will guide you to the queens residence within the hive world.

    That balloon beetle is going to take us to another? In less than a day?

    In less than a day for this, yes.

    Victor frowned, worried something had been lost in trantion. He tried to think of a way to get the answer he wanted out of the emissary. Can you search your memories for terms my kind use to describe time? For instance, everyone in the System-controlled part of the universe knows what a day or week means. Theres a standard. Can you . . .

    This one apologizes. We have essed memories that make your meaning clear. Our journey to the brooding will take two of your months.

    Goddammit. Can you somehowmunicate to mypanions how long this is going to take? It sounds like well be gone longer than they expected.

    They were walking quickly, the emissary having no trouble setting a pace that had Victor striding with the entire length of his legs. As they descended the sloping road, the beetles size became more and more impressive. It was roughly as big as one of the gigantic mine dump trucks Victor had seen on a school field trip. He could still remember how unbelievable it had seemed when hed stood near one of the tirestaller than three adults standing on each other''s shoulders. Nowadays, such scale wasnt as impressive, obviously, but the beetle was still something else. Theyd closed half the distance before the emissary finally responded.

    We have altered another of our children for speech. It will ry your situation to yourpanions.

    Ah, shit. Is that what you did for this emissary?

    This one was created when you were approaching the aperture.

    Then how did it get here? You said the brooding was a months journey.

    This ones Energy reserves and tolerances are much greater than our other children''s. We sent it between space.

    Between . . . Did it mean it teleported? Can you not do the same for me? Do we really have to ride that beetle for two months?

    The emissary stopped walking for the first time and turned to regard Victor. We do not believe you will survive such transport. It turned and, once again, continued toward the beetle. Victor hated the idea that hed lose so much time and that Va and Lesh were essentially in prison while they waited for him, but he couldnt think of a way around it. Realizing that, realizing he couldnt even grasp the concept of how it had transported its emissary between space, he tried one more angle.

    You seem to have great knowledge about universes and worlds and space. Can you not think of a method to transport me that wouldnt be fatal? There are those far more fragile than I who can teleport great distances. Again, the emissary didnt answer immediately, and Victor watched the beetle as they continued toward it. It was ck with rather beautiful, curlicued orange patterns on its carapace. Its legs were probably fifty feet long, and the pincer-like mandibles jutting from its jaw looked like they could slice a city bus in half. Now that they were closer, he could see the shimmering, iridescent quality of the air dders and wondered what kind of gas was in them. Frowning, he studied the beetle for some sort of structure, wondering how they were supposed to ride it . . .

    We have considered your question. The primary difficulty lies in the density of Energy and space around the brooding. The forces required for instant traversal of that space would separate your molecules. We will, instead, transport you to a waiting transport beetle outside the dense space. The emissary stopped and turned to face him. Are you prepared for the journey? This method will shorten transit duration by more than ny-eight percent.

    Yes! Yes, lets do that. Victor nodded enthusiastically.

    Very well. Please grasp this ones appendage, and it will initiate the transfer. It held out one of its four, three-fingered hands, and Victor reached down to grasp it. Hed expected it to be hard, but the chitin was strangely springy and tactile, and the three digits grasped the side of his muchrger palm firmly. Then, with a surge of Energy so strong it took the wind out of his lungs and drained the blood from his brain, the world exploded into light, and Victor ceased to exist.

 Book 7: Chapter 26: A Sense of Scale - Also, VoT is taking a short break - back April 7th.

    Book 7: Chapter 26: A Sense of Scale - Also, VoT is taking a short break - back April 7th.

    When Darren left the Genesis Center, hed had the determined mindset he often felt when he knew he had to prove somebody wrong. If he had the self-awareness to look back on his life, he might have seen a patternfailure leading to perceived judgment from others, leading to him trying to demonstrate how hed been right by any means necessary. Hed tried other tactics; hed tried doing things their way many times. In fact, hadnt he tried to put himself in Y-sevens hands? Was it his fault they wouldnt help him unlock his potential? How would he prove himself to Victor and everyone back home if he settled for a middling Core and the least of his affinities?

    Part of him was angry Y-seven had ever told him about all of his potential, especially if hed intended to deny him ess to the knowledge hed need to tap into it. Still, another part of him was grateful. Even if they wouldnt help him, theyd at least made him aware of thetent gifts waiting beneath the surface. He wasnt meant to be a failure; would a failure have so many potent affinities?

    Those were the types of thoughts running through his mind as he made his way through the city, further and further from the great crystalline towers at its center, toward the glowing dot on his magical mapRodars Emporium of Esoteric Knowledge. The directory didnt list things as inly as he would have liked; there were no entries for Core Building Instruction, Affinity Tutoring, or any of the other hundreds of ideas hed searched for. What it boiled down to, hed decided, was that he sought knowledge and, so, hed searched under the subheading for libraries and book shops, and thats when hed settled on Rodars business. It just sounded right. At the very least, perhaps this Rodar person would be able to direct him to the right ce.

    The further he wandered from the city center and the area where he and his travelingpanions had secured lodging, the more diverse and strange the popce seemed. He saw clusters of beings who looked more like deep sea creatures than peopletentacles, sometimes floating, with eyestalks and clothing made of living moss. He saw a manhe assumed based on the beardwith nine-foot-long legs that seemed to be made of hardwood, a turtles shell, and flesh as green as a granny smith apple. He passed a group of dog-like ruffians who gave him menacing stares but either feared thews of Sojourn or determined he wasnt worth their time.

    At one street corner, he walked by a group of children with red, beetle-like bodies and long, ck antennae. If he were describing them to a friend, he might say he saw some humanoiddybugs. Along with the innumerable variations in people, the construction of the buildings grew less and less uniform as he meandered. He saw domes made of colored ss, a cylindrical tower with a dozen steam-venting chimneys, and an inverted silo-type building with an endless winding stairway leading down into depths too distant for his eyes to see. He stood against the wrought-iron railing around that open pit and stared for a long while, wondering what sorts of people might live or work in such a strange ce rather than above ground in the wonderous city.

    Despite his many ogling pauses, eventually, he came to his destinationarge, two-story red-brick building decorated with a dozen borate murals. He stood before the wooden door with its iid polished stones, admiring the fancifulndscape painted around it. His eyes traced the green hills, the bright stars, and the young, very human-seeming woman leaning against a tree, reading a book, wonder on her face. The artwork reminded him of something hed seen as a kid, something on a book cover, perhaps, but he couldnt put his finger on it. After a while, feeling good about his decision to visit that particr establishment, he opened the door and stepped into Rodars Emporium.

    Darren was struck by something like vertigo as he walked over the threshold. His brain reeled at the disparity between his expectation and the reality of the interiorshelves of books, equipped with rollingdders, rose up to a ceiling that had to be a hundred feet above his head. The central row, into which the door opened, stretched so far into the distance that the counter and bookcases behind it seemed tiny from his perspective. The stores interior might well have been the singlergest room hed ever seen, and hed been in some considerable auditoriums in his day. What boggled his mind, even more than the space that couldnt possibly fit inside the building hed seen, was that it was utterly crammed with books.

    If there were other patrons in the shop, he couldnt see them. Of course, a thousand bookcases were obscuring his view in every direction other than straight ahead, so there was no telling if he were alone. After he gathered himself, epting that this was undoubtedly just a very advanced use of the same spatial and dimensional magic that made his storage pouches work, he started forward, aiming for the distant counter, hoping there was a proprietor to help him find the knowledge he sought.

    He''d only traversed the first hundred yards before a deep voice cleared its throat and spoke up from off to his right,ing from behind the nearest towering bookcase. Wee in, stranger. Might I help you find something?

    Darren paused and looked at the case, peering between a shelf and the books below it, trying to spy the speaker. Um, hello. I certainly hope so because Im quite overwhelmed by the number of books I see!

    Haha! Yes, old Rodar is quite the collector. He buys out libraries regrly. As he spoke, a figure emerged from behind the books, surprising Darren with his appearance. Despite his deep voice, he was quite diminutive, a three-foot-tall man who looked remarkably like a bipedal hedgehog wearing a green and brown pinstriped vest and pants. I am Rodars assistant, Ferl.

    Pleased to meet you. Im Darren. He gestured around him at the cavernous space and its millions of books and asked, Is there any sort of system to all of this?

    Oh, of course! Rodar wrote the cataloging spells himself. We have sprites that gather and organize the books on a constant basis.

    Sprites?

    You arent familiar? Magical entities with a penchant for various things. The ones Rodar employs are knowledge sprites or book sprites. Hmm, I believe he has an ink sprite or two. In any case, they keep things well organized and maintain Rodars catalog. He stepped closer, peering through beautifully crafted, amber-tinted crystal spectacles up at Darren. What can old Ferl help you find, youngster?

    Darren was slightly taken aback by the little, furry mans choice of words, but he held his tongue, trying to remember some of the humility hed been working so hard to disy when near Victor and hispanions. I, well, you see, Ie from a world where Energy is very new. I dont know much about it or Cores and whatnot. I was hoping to find some texts to learn from.

    Ah! Im sure I can find quite a lot on that subject, but have you visited the Genesis . . .

    Darren held up a hand, cutting him off. Ive been there and learned a few things, but its not for me. I prefer self-study.

    Well, this is the right ce for that. Lets see here. Ferl held out his left palm, and a heavy ck, leather-bound book appeared. My copy of the catalog, he said by way of exnation. He ced his pointer finger atop an iid silver rune and closed his eyes. When he opened them a momentter, the book flipped open, and the pages, thin and densely filled with text, fanned with a rustling whir. Several secondster, the pages stopped moving, and Ferl peered at the page the book had settled on. Row ny-seven, stack fourteen, shelves one through eighty-four.

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the vition.

    That was quick. Can you point me in . . .

    Ill lead you there. Not much else to do, if Im honest. The sprites handle most of my job. Ferl turned and began waddling, for there wasnt a better way to describe his gait, up the central aisle. Other sections might suit your needs, but I think this is the best one. Its categorized as Core Development by Affinity Type. Have you purchased books from Rodars before?

    No, this is my first visit.

    In that case, I should exin the usage policyRodar doesnt run a charity. You may peruse the books at your leisure, but the enchantments of this emporium will prevent you from seeing anything beyond the first one percent of the pages.

    Thats . . . fair. So, if I want to read more, Ill need to purchase the books?

    Exactly so.

    What if you have a book with only a single page?

    Hah! I cant say Ive seen any single-page books, but we do have many with fewer than a hundred. We also sell scrolls. You can rest assured, my goodd, the magic is clever. It will prevent you from reading more than a single percent of the content. My earlier exnation is generally enough for the youngsters we get in the emporium. Im impressed by your curious wit!

    Darren couldnt ignore the continued references to his age, so he asked, Excuse me, Ferl, but how old do you think I am?

    Oh, Ive no idea! We get all sorts of species in here, and they all have different ideas about what constitutes adulthood.

    But you keep calling me things like youngster. Why is that?

    Well, youve barely a whiff of Energy about you! I assumed you were a child.

    No, Im a grown man, sir. As I said, Energy is new to our world.

    Apologies, then, sir. Though his words said one thing, his tone said anotherFerl was patronizing him, Darren was sure. Regardless, he let the matter drop; he needed the little mans help, after all. If you dont mind me asking, how did youe to visit Sojourn? Surely, if youve not even had a chance to cultivate a Core, you couldnt have built up a System stone capable of transporting you here. Did a powerful Energy user visit your world? Did they open a portal for you?

    Yes, sir, something along those lines. As they walked, turning down one long row of books after another, Darren plied the furry, well-dressed little man for information. How will I know the cost of a book? Will you stay with me while I peruse?

    Each book is clearly marked with a price in Energy beads. Rodar has been known to consider other trades, but wed prefer to keep our exchanges simple. As for whether Ill stay with you, thats entirely up to you. As I said, Ive time to help, and so long as another customer doesnt require my service, I will be happy to attend you.

    Well, thank you. Are there books that are . . . Darren tried to think of the best way to phrase his question. Hed been about to say banned but figured that might be a bit too severe a term. Restricted to certain, um, castes?

    Restricted? Thats the case, though caste would be the wrong word. Rodar protects the innocent by cing dangerous books in a separate section.

    Dangerous? As in dangerous ideas, or do you mean something more literal?

    Oh, quite literal! Some books would turn you or me to dust if we read them; their contents are meant for those of significant power.

    So, these books, the ones youre taking me to see, will they have information about all sorts of affinities and Cores or only those deemed appropriate by society?

    Society? Why, this world is a crossroads. You realize this, yes? What one society deems eptable, another might consider abhorrent. Rodar, wisely, does not take sides.

    Just what I wanted to hear, Ferl. Thank you. As he spoke, Ferl stopped walking and gestured to the towering stack of shelves on his left.

    Here we are, Darren. Now, I can help you sift through these if youll just tell me the affinities you are interested in. I believe thats how the sprites sorted them . . . He paused and ran his finger along the spines on a shelf at his nose level. Yes, yes, thats it. Here we have a whole row about Cores for various nature affinities.

    That will be very helpful! Lets see, Im most interested in learning about chaos and mind affinities. Do you think there are any books on those subjects?

    Chaos and mind? My, my! I see why you were curious about Rodars policies on restricted subject matter. No matter, no matter. Lets see here . . . Ferls words trailed off as he peered through his special sses at the shelf, his odd, button-like ck nose twitching as he mumbled titles to himself.

    Darren grinned, excitement filling his belly with butterflies, relief washing over him, banishing the unspoken worries hed been battling the entire time theyd walked through the bookstore. Part of him had been sure the books he sought would be locked away or banned from sale in the city. Hed thought that if the Genesis Center was so concerned about the affinities, undoubtedly, the city would have rules about them. Hed feared hed have to find an illicit merchant, someone selling things on a ck market of sorts. I love a free market, he said, mostly to himself, but he thought he saw an answering gleam in Ferls eyes.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor swore he felt his bodying apart, shredded, atom by atom. It was the most agonizing thing hed ever experienced, and though it happened in an instant, it felt more like a thousand years. Time stretched and yawned, light bent and streamed around him, the individual waves of photons speckling his vision in cascades of brilliant dots. Not a single thought entered his mind while, simultaneously, he re-experienced every second of his lifetime. He thought hed go mad; he thought he was mad, his consciousness dashed to bits by the potent, sr-system-moving power of the hive channeled through the emissarys hand into Victor.

    Later, when he looked back at the experience, hed never be able to truly recall the horror of that infinite-seeming instant, as that moment of time and space dted to infinity and then snapped back, ripping him from one part of the universe and inserting him into another without care or concern for the rules of physics. One second, Victor was standing in the enormous square, looking at the giant beetle; the next, he was in an empty ss-walled room, looking down at the curve of a verdant green as whatever carried him descended throughyers of swirling, silver Energy. That time between, that eternity of horror, disappeared from his mind, and all he remembered was that instant, hurtling transition.

    When he felt the ss beneath his feet and saw the madness of the view before him, Victor fell to his knees and heaved his guts out onto the smooth surface. As the contents of his stomachhis most recent meal and arge quantity of fluidsloshed away from him toward the smooth curve where the ss wall met the ss floor, hot embarrassment flushed his neck and ears, and he looked up to see the emissary regarding him. Are you unwell? it asked.

    The . . . transition, Victor started to say, unable to find the words to exin what had made him ill. He felt like something had happened during the teleportation, something that had bothered him, but it was like trying to remember a dream; all he could grasp was the vaguely disturbed sensation that something bad had urred.

    Ah. The transport, while survivable, was difficult for you to tolerate. This one did not experience difficulty, but other members of the hive have suffered worse. It is good that you yet live.

    Was, Victor coughed and stood up, his wooziness fading. Was it in doubt? Were you not sure Id live through that?

    We were certain your flesh would tolerate the transport, but we failed to consider the fragility of your mind. Well endeavor to modify our transport spell for your return, ensuring an easier transition for your consciousness.

    That would be nice. Victor coughed again, summoned a bottle of water from his ring, and drank it. He was starting to feel normal again; the sensation that something was wrong had nearly faded. Looking down, he wasnt surprised to see that his vomit was gone; somehow, the emissary, or perhaps whatever vehicle they were in, had cleaned it up. The vehicle passed through another swirling, shimmeringyer of silvery EnergyVictor wasnt sure how he knew it was Energy, but somehow he did. As the sparkling shes faded, he saw that they were much closer to thes surface, enough so that he could make out individual trees.

    Big trees, he noted.

    Vast and wonderful in their ability to house and channel Energy. The emissary didnt say more, but it didnt need to. Victor could feel the Energy in the air; not only were they passing through dense rings oryers of it, but the felt like a smoldering roiling ball of it to his inner eye, the one that saw and felt Energy in and around himself. In the past, hed looked inward to his Core and been proud and impressed by the power there. Now, in the face of this and the power radiating from it, he felt like a spec of dust being tossed around in Jupiters atmosphere. He was nothing to the power before him.

    He blurted the thought that came to mind, unable to stop the words forming on his tongue, You guys dont need my DNA.

    This one is not familiar with the term.

    My gics. The information in my seed, as you put it.

    Ah. The hive wishes to expand its universe. Thus, all knowledge has value. We will learn much of interest from your elder gics.

    Expand? Are you going to take over other sr systems like this one?

    We think not. We are on the verge of something monumental, something that will allow us to release our hold on our origin world. Soon, we will transcend the need for other-made matter and Energy. Soon, we will spark our first hive-made sun.

    Spark . . . Victor swallowed, unable to think of a proper reply. Instead, he asked, You always say we or this one. Am I ever going to meet you? Are you the queen speaking through this emissary?

    We have met. This one contains part of me, as do all members of the hive. Still, when you meet the queen, you will meet one with individual thoughts. Brace yourself, for the transport will now rapidly descend. Behold and be honoredyou are the first outside individual to visit the brooding pce. The emissary gestured to the clear ss wall, and Victor looked to see that the trees hed thought enormous were, in fact, absurdly so.

    He hadnt had anything to measure them against until now, but as he looked out, he saw a pyramid growing huge as the ship, or whatever it was, rapidly approached. It was a smooth-sided, pale, rust-colored structure, but the slopes were decorated with immense carvings of ivid faces, their eyes tiled with millions of glittering, blue and ck gemstones. He barely registered the pyramid, though, because he kept dragging his eyes back to the trees that towered over it, dozens of timesrger. From the perspective as they approached, he guessed that the pyramid was several thousand feet tall at its apex, meaning the millions of trees theyd flown over were miles tall.

    Holy shit.

 Book 7: Chapter 27: Crystal

    Book 7: Chapter 27: Crystal

    When the vehicle or insect carrying Victor and the emissary descended to the immense pyramids base, depositing the ss carriage to the smooth sandstone ground, it settled with an almost delicate series of <em>clinks</em>. Then a dark shadow moved away, and Victor craned his neck, looking through the translucent ceiling to see a great shape rapidly climbing into the air, its precise form obscured by the streamers of bright sunlight filtering through thick, white cumulus clouds. Was that one of those giant beetles?

    This is an urate description. The emissary strode toward one of the ss walls, and with a <em>pop</em> and <em>tinkle,</em> their conveyance burst into billions of silvery motes of Energy. Victor stumbled briefly as he fell several inches to the sandstone, and when he straightened and looked around, he saw no sign of the vessel that had transported them to thes surface. From his current vantage, the trees surrounding the pyramid looked like skyscrapers, and if it werent for the clearing around the structure, he was sure he wouldnt be able to see the sky through their thick canopy. He turned to the pyramid and saw that the emissary was several paces away already but had turned to regard him.

    Iming. Victor followed him toward an opening in the pyramida yawning passage that could easily allow a dozen passenger nes to fly through it at once. As they approached and its scale became apparent, and the pyramids heights grew too distant to see, he said, Why is the pyramid so damn big? Do you have, um, children that need an opening that size?

    This pyramid houses our young in their millions before they move off to other facilities. Every eleven of our days, a brood must pass through the neen stages of this structure. The emissary spoke almost off-handedly, but Victor''s mind reeled at the idea, trying to imagine the hordes of ivid children as they hurried through their mysterious stages.

    Of course, he voiced the most disturbing of his thoughts, How can your queeny so many damn eggs? Is she gigantic?

    The queen is simr in size to your titanic form. Fear not for her health, for while her eggs are great in number, they are tiny, and their production does not overly tax her.

    Huh. Victor watched the streams of ivid moving down avenues lined with trees, into and out of the pyramid, and flying in endless streams from the heights. After theyd walked for a while and were still quite far from the great opening, he asked, Why no wings for your emissary?

    This one has wings, though you cannot currently see them. Our journey is short, however, traveler. The queen will see you in one of her gardens.

    The queen has gardens? Victors imagined idea of an insect queenying eggs in a massive underground nest began to crumble.

    Please be patient, individual. This one will save exnations for the queen.

    All right. Victor grew quiet and let his eyes explore as they walked. To his surprise, they didnt enter the pyramid but took a side path that led toward the distant corner of the structure. As they progressed, he found many such side paths meandered up and down stairs, into walled-off sections of the grounds, and even down into steeply sloping tunnels. From the air, the grounds had seemed t, covered in stone, and simply there to provide a clearing for the pyramid. This is different than Id imagined. Its . . . pretty.

    We appreciate yourplimentarynguage. The queen has particr aesthetics. The emissary led him around a high, sandstone wall, then through a red crystal gate that swung open noiselessly. Victor found himself standing in a garden of tall hedgerows bedecked in immense purple and red flowers. He couldnt see far in any direction because of the enormity of the hedges, but what he could see was something out of a fantasy, for it wasnt simply the flowers and perfect hedges, but the attendant ivid that drew his eyes.

    They wore shimmering silvery robes, not unlike the emissarys, and carried delicate, crystalline clippers, but more than that, they hardly looked insectoid. Unlike the emissarys robes, theirs were hooded and veiled, and their hands were covered in gloves of the same material. If Victor saw those strange, silent gardeners elsewhere, hed assume they were just ordinary people under those garments, not members of a bizarre, alien insect species. The emissary pointed to one of the clipper-bearing, hooded ivid. These are attendants to the queen. She will be nearby.

    Ah, Victor nodded, unsure what else to say. He followed the emissary through the maze of hedgerows until he stepped through into a wide clearing dominated by a crystal fountain with fluted spouts that delicately dropped clear water into a basin filled with floating purple and red flower buds. The ground at the center of the clearing wasnt tiled in sandstone like the rest of the area Victor had seen but covered in a well-manicuredwn. Reclining on thatwn was a being that had to be the ivid queen.

    Her robes were made of silky material just like all the others Victor had seen, except for their colorrather than silver, they were golden. As the emissary had indicated, she wasrge, but not the gigantic, building-sized insect with a bulbous eggying appendage that science fiction movies had told Victor to expect. No, she was shaped very much like the other bipedal ivid. She had a crystal device in front of her, sitting on a small, delicate wooden table, and was busily shifting tiny levers and strings with her four delicate hands. Victor couldnt see her face through her golden, diamond-studded veil, but he could see her eyes, and they were beautiful, if alien.

    The ivid hed met so far all had ten ck eyes with an iridescent sheen. The queens were fully iridescent, shimmering in rainbow hues, with a silvery backlight that shone forth. More, there were only two of them, angr and inset beneath a hairless brow that was absent on the other insects. The emissary stopped walking as soon as they rounded the corner into the clearing, and it held two of its hands out, indicating that Victor should stop as well. Please wait for the queens attention, individual.

    Victor nodded and stood still, looking around the clearing, slowly bing aware of all the other ivid in the area. They stood like statues near the hedges, robed attendants, guardians with metallic carapaces, and another sort of warrior-ivid with twin crystalline des crossed before their chests. Victor counted twenty-one altogether. When he turned his gaze inward, opening his inner eye, Victor saw that the ivid around him were all restraining prodigious auras. If he had to guess, hed say the twenty-one attendants in that clearing were on par with the emissary in power. Still, when Victor tried to gaze at the queen with that inner eye, he found it akin to looking at the sun with his eyes, and he had to turn away quickly. The being before him was exceptional on a scale he couldnt quite wrap his head around.

    The queen didnt look up, but a sharp, melodic voice, clear and natural, sounded in Victors head, You may approach, outsider. Immediately, the emissarys hands dropped to its side, and it stepped away from Victor, clearing the path forward.

    Victor nodded and started toward her. He was no longer altering his size, but he wasnt berserk, so he felt rather puny approaching the enormous insectoid monarch. Her size was an insignificant factor, though, for within her raged the power of a being on the scale of deities. This was a being capable of moving worlds, capable of, as the emissary had mentioned, sparking suns.

    Your thoughts are inurate, outsider. While I am the focal point of their efforts, those powers belong to the hive. I am but a vessel for all of us.

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    Youre an individual, though?

    I am. In our evolution, we have seen the value of having some individuals in the hive. We see things from perspectives the hive could not fathom in its infancy. After a slight pause, the voice resumed, Ah, you wonder how clearly your thoughts unfold before me. Quite clearly. No, Victor, I do not intend to force you to mate with me. I will take the promised payment, and the gift of a dreaming egg will be yours. You are made ufortable by my intrusion . . . apologies, Victor. I will withdraw from your mind.

    Victor felt the weight of the alien mind pull away, and he sighed in relief, tension falling from his neck and spine. The queen had entered his thoughts so suddenly, and her presence had been so powerful that hed almost been struck dumb, struggling to keep up with her one-sided conversation as he fought to contain his emotions. His prideful outrage was a tiny voice beside his relief, so he simply muttered, Thank you.

    Let us speak, Victor. This time, the queens voice came from behind her veil, smooth and clear. While listening to you and yourpanions, we endeavored to improve upon the vocal capabilities we granted our emissary. Does my voice please your ears?

    Um, yes, its very clear.

    If I hadnt learned your name from listening to your conversations, I would have learned it when I rudely invaded your mind. My apologies. You may call me Crystal.

    Crystal?

    Yes. Until this moment, I did not have a name, but this one came to me during my brief exploration of your thoughts. You found our fountain to be beautiful, and that word stood out. Will it suit?

    Victor swallowed, nodding. Yes, its a nice name.

    I know our emissary told you that youre the first individual to visit this. We find you intriguing, but Id like you to know that these circumstances only came about through happenstance. Earlier visitors to our origin hive were more violent in their intrusion, and our more autonomous defenses saw their demise. Additionally, weve made many strides in recent years, and our . . . understanding of alien nature has be moreprehensive.

    Is, um, have you always been the queen?

    No, Victor. My life serves the hive, and so have the lives of the many queens before me. When the hive deems it necessary, I will be reced. I believe I have much time to enjoy my gardens and my trivialities, she gestured to the crystal device on the table before her, before that happens.

    She smiled andughed, a soft, delicate sound that didnt seem righting from an eighteen-foot-tall insectdy. I listened to your conversation with the emissary. You know we are on the verge of great things. We do not believe in deities, but we believe in fate and the bonds of spirits on the ethereal ne, ties that are difficult to see but hard to miss once theyve been exposed. You were meant toe here, and it is fortuitous that it happened at this hour. Soon, we will sever our connection to our origin world and be gone from the universe we once called home. Contact with us will be impossible for most beings. I am pleased that we will have your bloodline to study as we separate.

    About that . . . Victor cleared his throat and shuffled a little nervously. What exactly are your intentions with my . . . bloodline. He decided he was tired of talking about his seed and went with her choice of phrasing.

    You walk proudly with the blood of an elder race. There are those among the elder species who gained power enough to ascend beyond the mortal realms. While we toil to craft our own niche, our own pocket carved out of the void, we do so with the intent to continue our advancement, to move onto a higher ne. We hope that your bloodline will provide clues in that endeavor. It will be a millennia-long task, but one to which we are quite well attuned.

    So, youre not going to create a species of, um, titan-insects to take over the universe?

    Again, that trillingugh sounded, and the queen shifted where she sat, lying down on her side in the grass, head propped up with one of her arms so she could more easily look Victor in the eyes. Why would we trouble ourselves with your universe when we are creating our own? Our kind is not smitten with material things or the worship of lesser beings. We seek elevation and true enlightenment which cannot be found in the subjugation or destruction of others.

    I hope thats true. I hope youre right, I mean. There are powerful people in the worlds Ive visited who believe strengthes only through the conquering of others.

    For a time, that seems true; the theft of Energy from others and the gathering of resources far and wide serve to provide advancement, but we are beyond that. We generate more Energy each second than the consumption of a hundred heroes like yourself could provide. No, we have determined that growth at the cost of destruction is no longer a wise course. You can see it wasnt always so. Did you note the world of our origin hive? It shames me to say we killed it. Only our more instinctive children now live in its soil.

    But you stole this whole sr system, right?

    Yes. Again, we have learned lessons from each stage of our development. Such theft is no longer necessary; we have learned many secrets in the study of this star. Victor, do you know about stars? That they arent gods or fires but massive generators? I oversimplifyof course, they burn, so there is fire, but its only a side effect. I was newly born when we annexed theses and our sun, and the revtions in my lifetime from its study have moved us forward so . . . The queen stopped speaking and cocked her head sideways as though listening to something.

    Her hypnotic, beautiful eyes stared into space for several long seconds, and Victor looked around nervously. None of the other ivid had moved. Is, um, Queen Crystal, is everything all right?

    Apologies, Victor. A matter of some import will soon require my attention. Shall we conclude our business so our emissary might guide you back to yourpanions and thence on your way?

    Victor swallowed, looking around the garden, very aware of all the ivid standing around. It wasnt so much that he was embarrassed, but he wasnt exactly sure he could even perform with everyone looking at him. How was she going to get his . . . sample? Um, yeah. I mean, sure. How, exactly . . .

    If you will permit me, I have the means to painlessly retrieve a small sample of the seed that lies within your sexual organs. I will not harm you, Victor. Sheughed softly, and Victor wished he could see her face behind the veil, wondering if she was smiling or if she could even smile. With that thought, he decided he was d he couldnt see; hed rather imagine she had a nice mouth with friendly lips and not mandibles or something worse. I know from the memories we have of outside individuals that this might be rather mortifying. Think of this as a business transaction, Victor. Just as Ill soon have a sample of your material, youll be walking away with one of my very own eggs, a dreaming ivid fetus that has been nourished and kept alive with great care.

    All right. You can collect it so long as you promise not to take one of my <em>cojones</em>. Victor snorted, amused by his absurd turn of phrase.

    The queen took him seriously. Nothing of the sort. She held out one of her golden gloved hands, and suddenly, a tiny crystal jar appeared on her palm. It was minuscule in her hand, but Victor could see it was small by any measure, not muchrger than the sewing thimble his <em>abu</em> used to wear on her thumb when she mended his torn jeans. We are in agreement?

    Yes.

    Excellent. Victor felt a pulse of Energy, experienced a slight sensation of warmth, and then the crystal jar shed and disappeared. Thats your half of the bargain. Now, please carefully ept the dreaming egg from our emissary. Please never send it into one of your crude storage devices; it would be torture. As she spoke, Victor felt the emissarys presence as it stepped beside him, and when he turned to face it, he saw that it held a blue, silk-wrapped bundle.

    Thank you, he said, epting it. He could feel the egg within, round, pliable, and warm, about the size of a ser ball. He could feel the Energy pulsing steadily from it.

    I am pleased by you, Victor, the queen said as he carefully cradled the egg in the crook of his elbow, tucking it against his chest. May I give you a gift?

    Victor looked back at her and raised an eyebrow. Youve already been kind. I was very damn nervous about providing my, uh, sample. You made it painless.

    Are you refusing further gifts, then?

    Hey, if there arent any strings attached, Im not going to turn down a gift.

    The queen nodded and gestured to the emissary, and it hurried away. The emissary will fetch my gift for you. I am doing something the hive doesnt understandbeing impulsive. I have few individuals to interact with; the seven of us have important roles to fill, and our duties do not often allow for it. Impulsivity is something Ive only recently begun to explore, but I must be cautious; worlds are at stake when ites to my actions. This whim, the desire to gift you with something valuable, feels harmless, but I suppose there is some risk to you.

    Risk?

    My gift is potent and, outside our hive, something that would be nigh impossible to acquire. Im giving you a sample of the royal jelly my attendants fed to me in order to make me a queen. Its the same substance they will feed to my recement. I do not feel it will threaten our hive at all to give you this small sample. You will take it away to your world, and soon, we will be separated from your universe. For this reason, Im willing to risk the unknown effects it will have upon you. It will be up to you to decide if you are willing to take that same risk.

    Ah . . . Victor didnt know how to respond. For once, his mouth, both the polite and impolite versions, was struck dumb.

    We have not fed this jelly to those not of the hive, but you have the constitution of an elder race, Victor. I believe you will survive and reap some benefits. Still, it would be wise to grow more powerful on your own first. Use this gift when you have encountered a ceiling with regard to your advancement.

    All right. Well, thank you. Im, um, honored, Queen Crys . . .

    Simply call me Crystal. No one else in my life would do so.

    Victor looked into those weirdly alien, hypnotically beautiful eyes and smiled. She was a person, no matter how powerful and strange, and she was clearly very lonely. In a way, he wished he could spend more time with her, but in another way, he was ready to be away from that strange ce. Still, his smile was genuine, and impulsively, he stepped forward, holding out his free hand. Thank you, Crystal, he said as the alien insect queen took his hand in hers, and he felt the spark of her power lurking beneath the flesh, enough power to destroy worlds.

 Book 7: Chapter 28: The Return

    Book 7: Chapter 28: The Return

    The longest part of Victors return trip was the slow ascent upward through the enormous broodings atmosphere. First, he had to wait for what felt like half a day for the great beetle to return. He did so in the expansive courtyard of the pyramid, following the emissary from one garden to another, taking in the scenery and trying to build memories solid enough tost a lifetime; he kept reminding himself that he was in a different universe entirely and that the chances of him or anyone he knew ever returning to the ivid world were microscopically small. So, he stared at the strange crystal fountains and the decorative mosaics of glittering gemstonesart from an alien mindand tried to imprint them in his mind, images he could conjure up in times of reflection.

    When the beetle came, and the emissary recreated the ss bubble for them to ride in, Victor sat on the floor and watched the great slowly recede as they rose into space. It was an experience he wanted to savor, a memory to add to the collection of his visit to these strange, powerful beings. It was evident to him that the ivid had somehow gone around the System, somehow found a way to advance their species to the level of transcendence; they wouldnt just be moving to their own universe, but theyd be progressing beyond this reality, moving on to the next stage, whatever that was. One thing he was sure of, though, was that hed gained new perspectives on power, individuality, and the many roads and doorways that might seem closed but were waiting to be opened with the proper application of leverage.

    The ivid queen had indicated that they were generating Energy, which created more questions for Victor, questions the emissary didnt seem capable of answering. He supposed that might not be the case; the emissarys silence might just as well indicate an unwillingness as much as an inability. The ivid had their secrets, and Victor would have to content himself with the clues hed seen. As the mossy-green orb of the ivid brooding fell away, bing smaller and smaller, and flickers of dense Energy indicated the beetles passage into deeper space, the emissary spoke, breaking an hours long silence, We will soon move between space again, individual. This passage will be morefortable for you as weve modified the technique to shield your mind.

    All right. Should I stand?

    That will not be necessary. Are you ready? The emissary stepped closer to him, holding out one of its three-fingered hands. Victor nodded, but his hands were fullhe still cradled the dreaming egg, and, clutched in his free hand, was the warm, spherical crystal container of amber-colored royal jelly. It was about the size of a billiard ball, but Victor estimated its weight at something like fifty pounds. It was dense in more than one waywhen he turned his inner eye toward it, it zed like a miniature sun. Hed never seen an inert substance with such potency, and the idea of consuming it gave him serious pause.

    Ah, um, this is all right to put in a storage container?

    Yes, though your spatial devices will degrade rapidly as they attempt to contain the royal jelly. We rmend . . . The ivid trailed off as it reached up to its shoulder and, with the precision of aser scalpel, severed its voluminous sleeve. It held the length of fabric out to Victor. Use this as a sling. You can hang the orb of jelly from your belt until youve acquired a more durable storage device. This material will have the added benefit of shielding the jellys potency from casual observation.

    Ah! Victor gently set the egg down in hisp, then took the sleeve, pulling it over the heavy, crystal globe. Once it was nestled in the tough, magical silk, he tied the two ends together and then looped the extra length around his belt, tying it off. Thank you. He picked up the egg, tucked it against his chest, and then reached up to take the emissarys hand. White light flooded his vision, and then he found himself sitting on a smooth, zed roadway leading to the great aperture that led from the hive world back to the ivids origin world. Va and Lesh sat nearby, facing each other, speaking quietly.

    We have returned, the emissary said, and Va leaped to her feet in surprise. Lesh made a reptilian hiss, clearly also startled, and scrambled to his feet, reaching for Bgog.

    Victor! Va cried, rushing to him. Victor, meanwhile, was mbering to his feet, awkwardly cradling the priceless egg.

    Hey, beautiful. He smiled as she grasped his free hand, helping him up. Mission sessful! He nced at Lesh, nodded, and then jerked his head toward the enormous, misty opening in the mountainside. We ready to get out of here?

    Lesh strode forward, nodding. We were surprised when the other emissary told us to await you here this morning. We thought youd be gone longer.

    Yeah, I think the, uh, intelligence behind the emissary perfected their teleportation magic while I spoke to the queen.

    We made improvements. The emissary nodded its expressionless, ten-eyed head. This one will apany you through the aperture and, once on the origin world, move you safely out of the hive.

    Lesh frowned and rumbled, Move us?

    A trivial jump between space.

    Victorughed, shaking his head. Dont worry, Lesh. Its painless. With his free hand, he took Vas and started toward the opening. Come on. Lets get back to Sojourn. Im ready to be done with this weird quest. He heard Leshs heavy footsteps behind him, then he stepped into the misty air hanging in the opening, and when hed taken half a dozen steps, he found himself beneath the crossed des of the guardians polearms. He was, once again, deep in the ivid hive. The guardians didnt react to him; it almost seemed like they hadnt moved since their party had gone into the hive world, but Victor couldnt believe that was the case. Theyd been in there for more than a day, maybe closer to two.

    He turned, still holding Vas hand, to watch Lesh and the emissarye through the opaque archway, and when their shadows resolved into their flesh and blood bodies, he nodded to the emissary. Can you take us up from right here?

    This one will do so. Please, each of you, take one of this ones hands. It held its four arms out to the sides, palms up, and Victor reached for one of them. Seeing his quickpliance, Va followed suit, and then Lesh took one of the two free hands on the ivids left side. Another sh of white light clouded Victors mind, and then he was standing on the dead grass atop the hive beneath the hazy yellow sky of the ivid home world.

    That was sudden! Lesh grunted, stumbling back in surprise, shielding his eyes from the ring orange sun. Va coughed, holding an elbow to her nose, as the weird chemical scent of the air began to make all of their eyes water.

    This one will leave you here, travelers. We bear a final word of caution: Do not return to this ce, for its departure from this universe is imminent.

    Victor nodded, and Va said, a slight wheeze in her voice, Thank you.

    The insect nodded, and then, with a surge of potent Energy, it was gone, and they were standing alone, very near the spot where theyd first arrived. Is that the egg? Lesh asked, looking at Victors cradled bundle of silk.

    Yep.

    And this? Va touched the sling of silver-gray silk hanging at his belt.

    A gift from the queen. Something too potent for any of us to contemte consuming yet.Consuming? Lesh rumbled, and Vas eyebrow arched.

    A heart? she guessed.

    No, but something just as good, Im sure.

    Just as good . . . Va scoffed and shook her head.

    Lesh had had enough dilly-dallyinghe held up his coin-shaped token of recall and asked, Shall we be gone from this ce?

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    Victor nodded, summoning his token from his ring. Do we just channel Energy into it?

    Thats right. Lesh nodded and looked at Va, ensuring she was ready.

    You guys first, Victor said, watching Va delicately twirl the token between her long, nimble fingers.

    As you say, Lesh said; then, with a crackle of silvery Energy, the coin rippled with light and power, expanding with a bright, slow-motion sh that vanished with a soft <em>pop</em>. Lesh was gone.

    He was ready to go! Vaughed.

    Yeah, this trip wasnt what hed hoped. He hardly got to fight a single bug. Victor chuckled and shook his head, then nodded to Va. Your turn.

    Together. She held up her token, locking eyes with him.

    All right. Victor gripped his token in his fist and counted down. Three, two, one . . . Just as when theyd teleported via the System from world to world, he felt the transition as he hurtled through space back to Sojourn. It was a decidedly different experience now that hed tasted the teleportation magic of the ivid. Somehow, he was aware of the enormity of the distance he traveled, and it wasnt instantaneous. Still, when he appeared in the World Hall back on Sojourn, he barely stumbled as his feet caught up with his brain, and his senses were pounded with the sounds, sights, and smells of the vastly different location.

    To his relief, Va and Lesh were there, and she ran to him, hugging her arms around his waist. I thought you were deceiving us somehow. I thought youd made some damnable bargain and had to remain or go elsewhere.

    Why? Victorughed.

    Because you told us to go first! She punched him in the shoulder.

    Lesh rumbled a deepugh. I didnt fear any such thing.

    Because you dont know him well enough! Va cried.

    All right, all right. Were here, so just rx. He shifted the ivid egg from his left arm to the right and nodded toward it as he did so. Lets go deliver this thing cause Im ready to see Edeya get some damn help. Im ready to be done running from one fire to the next. Bout time we did something we want for a change, dont you think?

    Mmhmm. Va nodded and took his hand, walking with him as Victor moved off the metal teleportation disc toward one of the sunlit exits. Lesh followed behind, but as they exited the building into the shadows of tall, dazzling, sunlit crystal towers, the big dragonkin stepped up beside Victor and grasped his shoulder to get his attention.

    Lord Victor . . .

    Victors fine, man.

    Yes. I was wondering if youd mind if I took my leave and returned to the inn. Ive a mind to check in on my charge.

    Ah, yeah. I wonder how old Darren got along with his training. Yeah, sure, Lesh. Va and I can deliver this egg.

    Thank you. Ill await word of your sess at the inn, then. He nodded to Va. Lady . . .

    Just Va, Lesh. She giggled and winked, and Victor knew she was making fun of him.

    Lesh rumbled his deep, purr-likeugh, the one Victor was beginning to understand was reserved for things that genuinely amused him. He nodded his big, t, angr head, and then he was gone, striding purposefully away from the city center. Hes a character when you get to know him, Va said, squeezing Victors fingers.

    Yeah. Hes a good guy, but Id hate to be Darren if he hasnt behaved himself. Victorughed at the idea and started walking, falling in behind arge group of ck-robed women, each with their long, red hair coiled atop their heads and adorned with jewelden veils. It still rankled something in him to know that people the society of Sojourn found greater-than were striding along the shimmering, rainbowced walkways above his head, but something was different now that hed tasted the power of the ivid. There were things in the universe that could humble the beings above him, so why should he be upset that they did so to him? All it meant was that he knew he had growing yet to do, and there was something worthy in thathaving a goal to attain.

    It didnt take them long to reach their destination. As the building where Erd Van kept his shop came into view, Victor paused and looked back, noting the distance theyd traveled. Theres some <em>pinch</em> magic going on here.

    Hmm?

    I think the sidewalks make you move faster than normal. Look. Victor pointed to the distant crystal towers. Weve covered something like ten miles, but it only took us, what? Twenty minutes? We werent exactly running.

    I . . . Va looked back, then turned and looked at Erd Vans shop. I think youre right!

    Funny, we didnt notice it before. Must have been too immersed in finding our way.

    A passing woman, small and round, wearing a bright yellow cloak tied tightly beneath the wagging flesh of her extra chin, looked up at him with angr, deep, red eyes and said, Pardon my intrusion, but I couldnt help hearing your conversation. These walkways will speed up your travel, but only if you know your destination and dont pay attention to your surroundings. The trick is to let your feet do the walking and allow your mind to wander! Sheughed, winked, and then hurried past.

    Interesting woman . . . Va watched her go, then she squeezed Victors fingers and tugged his hand, pulling him toward their goal. Come. As you said, its time we were done with this quest. He followed along, pondering the idea that an entire city had enchanted sidewalks. Then he grew distracted as she pulled the door open and stepped inside, apanied by the magical chimes Erd Van had hung from the entryway. Victor cast Alter Self almost automatically, reducing his size to fit through the doorway more easily, though he and Va still had to duck beneath the lintel.

    Inside, things were just as he remembered, though Erd wasnt in sight. Va looked at him, shrugged, and then walked over to the couches, taking a seat to wait. Victor didnt feel so patient, however, and he walked over to the counter and rapped his heavy knuckles against the polished wood. Erd!

    A distant voice came to him, muffled by the closed door in the far wall, A moment, please!

    Victor sighed and walked over to Va, sitting on the couch and depositing the silk-wrapped bundle between them. Va shifted to look at the egg, gently resting one of her pale, silver-blue hands atop it. She sighed softly as she felt its warmth and said, Its . . . I think I can feel something! Almost like its tugging at my consciousness.

    Careful. Victor took her wrist and lifted her hand away. It didnt do that to me. It might be dangerous to someone without sufficient will. I have no idea.

    Va licked her lips, her eyes shifting back and forth from Victors eyes to the egg. Then, almost reluctantly, she nodded and folded her hands in herp. I think you may be right. The sound of the door clicking open took their attention, and Victor looked up to see Erd leaning against his counter, looking at them with narrowed eyes.

    So, youve returned. You met with failure? Did the alchemical perfume not work? He sighed and shook his head, waving a hand dismissively. No matter. Im sorry if you lost anyrades in the effort. Im afraid my coffers cannot fund another expedition at this time.

    We didnt fail, Victor growled, something in him deeply annoyed by Erds assumption.

    Oh? Erds eyes darted from Victor to Va, then to the silk-wrapped bundle between them. But I cant sense anything that could possibly be the object of my . . . His eyes bulged, and he gasped, his hands falling to his knees to steady himself as Victor unwrapped the egg and lifted it in his bare hand. Hed only briefly touched the egg back in the hive-world, wondering what it looked like under all that silk. He could feel it, the weight of the power in the thing. It was definitely spirit-attuned Energy, but not one of his affinities. Still, it was something else, that heavy, powerful spirit presence.

    Vas eyes opened wide, and she stared at the egg longingly, but her reaction was different from Erds. He gasped and took a stumbling step toward them, faltering and falling to one knee. W-wra . . . he coughed and rubbed a hand over his face, pping his cheek several times. Wrap it! Please!

    Victor chuckled and wrapped the egg in the silken cloth, and Va sighed longingly while Erd began to gasp deep breaths. When hed recovered a little, heughed like a madman. Oh, by the ancient elder gods! Youve done it! Youve actually done it! Master Dar will be so pleased! So pleased! Heroes! He scrambled to his feet and rushed forward, hands outstretched, but Victor pulled the egg close, snugly in the crook of his arm. D-dont you intend to uphold our bargain?

    Oh, I do. I just need to make sure were clear on the terms.

    You bring me the egg, and I get you an audience with my mentor, Ranish Dar! Erds face had begun to flush with frustration and perceived insult.

    Rx, Erd. Listen; sit down. Victor nodded to the couch nearby. Erd scowled at him, but heplied, and Victor knew the guy was afraid of him. If it hadnt been obvious when hed fallen to his knees before his Quinametzin anger, Victor would have figured it out when he sent them on what was basically a suicide mission. Lets start being very honest with each other, yeah? You expected us to fail, right?

    Something in his eyes or voice must have cautioned Erd because he didnt try very hard to deny the statement. I had high hopes for the alchemical perfume, but Ive had so many failures over the years, I didnt think there was much chance youd be able to retrieve the egg. He shrugged.

    You sent us to die? Va growled, the stupor brought on by the exposure of the egg rapidly fading.

    No! Erd cried, then more quietly, No, no, no. I gave you tokens of recall, did I not? I spent a great deal of money in that regard, ensuring you had a way out. I simply thought the task would prove too much. None of my earlier questors ever evenid eyes on the eggs.

    Okay, so, as you felt, this things very damn powerful. I dont want to get an audience with this master of yours only to discover he has aundry list of requirements before he helps us. If you want this egg, if you want what it promises, you need to impress upon him that weve earned his help.

    Ah, Erd held up a single finger and clicked his tongue, almost wincing as he continued, Ah, I may have misled you slightly. The egg is, um, as you say, powerful and valuable, but its beyond me. No, that egg is for my master. Still, I believe he will be very grateful for it. Im not the only student whos been trying to get something of this caliber for him; I believe its instrumental for his next breakthrough. Even so, Im unsure that hell grant me what I need in addition to helping you. The best I will promise is that I will ensure that he sees you and hears of your friends plight.

    Victor growled, but Va put her hand on his wrist, gently squeezing, and he knew she was trying to remind him to be reasonable. He was just so damn tired of ying games. Im not fucking around, Erd. If this egg is for your master, then well go with you. I dont want you to take it to him and then get some line about how your master is busy and hell see us in a month or a year or some other bullshit. Yeah. When are you going?

    I . . . he looked both panicked and excited. I will go now! Hell surely see us if we have the egg, even before my assigned meeting time.

    Victor nodded. Thats the spirit. Lets go pick up our friend, and well all go together. I told you Id give you this egg, and I will, but I want to be standing in front of the guy who can help us before I hand it over. Fair?

    To his surprise, Va spoke before Erd, I think it sounds fair. Come, Erd. You can still im credit for sending us after it.

    Well, he stood up from the couch, his eyes darting around, clearly searching for a suitable response. Finally, he nodded and said, Very well. Its enough. As though to reassure himself, he repeated. Its enough. Hell be pleased. Yes. He continued nodding as he walked over to his front door and clicked the locks shut. Yes, this will be fine. Well take my coach. Come, its in the back alley.

 Book 7: Chapter 29: Costs

    Book 7: Chapter 29: Costs

    Erds coach was a rune-inscribed brass-colored globe the size of a small sedan that floated two feet off the ground. When he tapped a matching brass rod against a panel on its side, it rotated on hidden gears, sliding open like the aperture on a camera, revealing a spacious interior upholstered in soft red velvets. Victor and Va had to struggle to get through the opening, but once inside, they had plenty of room to stretch out. All the while, Victor kept the egg held tight in the crook of his arm, shaking his head at Erd when he offered to hold it as he mbered through the doorway. Something about the man didnt inspire Victors trust.

    The coach surged forward, smoothly but quickly, and whatever magic guided it delivered them to the partys hotel in just a few minutes. During their brief transit, Erd was silent, though he looked upied, and when the coach pulled to a stop, he said, Ivemuned with Master Dars assistant, and the master has agreed to see us. Its difficult to tell, but I believe hes excited! This means good things for us, Victor!

    Yeah? Victor scooted toward the door, ready to go into the hotel to fetch Lam and Edeya.

    Yes! Id hoped the egg would be something he needed, but I wasnt entirely sure. Now that weve secured an audience, I dont mind telling you that my relief is monumental. Id feared your wrath if hed been uninterested in the artifact.

    Is that why you seemed so nervous? Va asked as she scooted forward in her seat, ready to follow Victor.

    Yes. I apologize for not being wholly forthright with you. I was reasonably sure the artifact would get his attention, earning me Dars favor and his aid in my development, but I wasnt certain. Things seem to be working out, however. He nodded, grinning widely, and his relief was palpable.

    Part of Victor wanted to cuss the guy out for sending them into the ivid hive on what was starting to feel like a hunch, but he simply grunted and said, Ill be right back. He slipped through the doorway and reached up to take Vas hand, helping her down. You mind waiting here and keeping an eye on this guy? Ill go get Lam and Edeya.

    Of course. She pointed to the egg. Want me to hold that?

    Thanks, but no. If someones going to try to steal this, theyll have to take it from me. When Va nodded and leaned back against the coach, Victor turned and hurried into the hotel, up the magical stairs, and directly to the room where Lesh and Darren were staying. He only had to knock twice before the door opened wide, and Leshs draconic countenance greeted him.

    He looked down at the bundle in Victors arm and said, You ran into trouble?

    Not exactly. Were going to meet that guys master right now, but I want you to watch this. Victor reached down with his free hand and began unlooping the sling of ivid silk that held the globe of royal jelly. I dont know how good this silk is at hiding whats inside it, but if this guys as powerful as we think, he might sniff it out. I dont want to get mugged, you know?

    Ah. Of course. Ill keep it safe here.

    Yeah, dont go wandering around with it. Just wait for me, all right? Keep it out of your storage containers unless you dont mind destroying them. Victor held the heavy bundle up, and Lesh nodded, taking it with a profoundly sober expression.

    I will guard it with my life.

    Victor thought about telling him it wasnt worth his life and not to do anything crazy, but he decided that no matter what he said, Lesh wouldnt rx about the responsibility. It was just the way he was. All right. Thanks, Lesh. Hopefully, well be back soon. Have you seen Lam yet?

    No. Ive been listening to the fosterlings report. He seems to have learned a great deal about his Core and has acquired some texts to aid his study. Ill give you the details after I hear it all.

    Uh, all right. Victor almost chuckled, but he held it in. He didnt really care all that much about what Darren was learning, but he had to give Lesh credit for taking his duty so seriously. Still, every time he called Darren a fosterling, it made him smile. Yeah, lets catch up when I get back. As Lesh nodded, Victor turned and walked to Lams room. On the way, thinking about the jelly hed just left with Lesh, he remembered the crown Lam was holding for him and wondered if he should give that to Lesh, too, or just carry it with him. He doubted it had a fraction of the value of the royal jelly, but he still didnt want to tempt thieves.

    Lam opened her door immediately and surprised Victor by rushing to hug him. Im so relieved to see you! Is everyone well? Wheres Va? Her response to his arrival surprised him at first, but then Victor put himself in her shoesleft behind, tending to her nearatose friend, waiting in a strange city on a strange world in the hopes that the only people she knew wouldnt die trying to invade an alien insect hive. He gripped her shoulders as she released him, her cheeks reddening in sudden embarrassment.

    Shes fine. Waiting downstairs. Fetch Edeya; were going to see that guy about helping her now.

    Truly? Moisture sprang into Lams eyes, and she turned, hurrying toward a couch near the big, floor-to-ceiling windows facing the park. Victor stepped inside the doorway and watched Lam use the control rod to get Edeya up and moving. What about your crown?

    Hide it here. Ill see to it when were done with this business.

    Its already hidden. I was nervous with that thing around.

    You felt something? Victor had, too, every time he held the crown, a kind of uneasiness like distant whispering and watching eyes.

    Yes. It made my skin crawl. Lam led Edeya to the door, and Victor stepped back out, holding it wide for them. As they all walked to the steps, Lam asked, What was it like? The insect world?

    Dead. Nothing lived except for the bugs. We got to the bottom of the hive and found out that the ivid had evolved, opening a . . . gateway, I guess, into a new universe they were creating. I gained a new perspective on power from them, Lam. Their queen . . . Victor trailed off, unsure how to describe what hed felt.

    That bad, huh? Did you have to fight?

    Only at first, against the insect soldiers near the top of the hive. Then we snuck down, and the, um, evolved ivid dealt with us peacefully. He finished his sentence and stepped down the magical stairway, waiting for Lam and Edeya to join him before continuing. Keep that between us. I had to trade for the egg, but it wasnt nearly as hard to get as Erd Van thinks. Ill use that for bargaining.

    Understood.

    While they walked, Victor looked at Edeya, noting the dimness of her wings, the wan, sallow look of her face, and the deep, dark circles under her eyes. He knew shed looked bad before they left, but she seemed worse, and he didnt think they could keep her like this much longer. They exited the hotel, and Victor pointed to the floating globe-shaped coach down the sidewalk. Thats our ride.

    Lam started forward, but he stopped her and said, Listen, Lam, if this guy wont or cant help, then Im going to find a way to get to Dark Ember, and Im going to kill my way to Victoria or Catalina, whatever that <em>bruja</em> calls herself, and Im going to rip her apart bone by bone until she frees Edeyas spirit. Dont give up hope.

    To his surprise, Lam smiled and nodded. She didnt try to protest or insist that shed join him. She just said, I know you will, Victor. He looked into her emerald eyes for several seconds, wondering at the pain, guilt, and loneliness he saw there. After a short, awkward silence, they walked the rest of the way to the coach, where Lam and Va embraced before they all climbed inside, Victor bringing up the rear, still clutching the warm, silk-wrapped bundle in his left arm. The coach didnt have windows, so they couldnt see exactly where they were going, but Victor could feel the coach lifting them and had the sensation of great speed as he was pulled down into the cushions.

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.

    Where are we meeting your master? Va asked.

    Erd smiled at her and made an expression that seemed almost smug. He awaits us in a private tower of the Arcanum.

    Lam came to everyones rescue and asked, The Arcanum?

    Ah, yes. I keep forgetting youre all new to the city. The Arcanum of a Thousand Towers. It began as a library and research facility and has be something of a university over the centuries. People like me save our money and favors and spend them there, learning from people like Ranish Dar. Well, when they have the time and patience for those of us so far beneath them.

    Does it really have a thousand towers? Va asked.

    Oh, likely far more by now. Erd rubbed his chin, looking around the coachs interior, then added, Apologies for theck of a view. Youll get a good look at the Arcanum when we step out, though. His answer seemed to satisfy Lam and Va, and Victor had enough on his mind, so the coach grew quiet as it silently conveyed them through the air.

    After a few minutes, Va said, Edeya doesnt look well.

    She hasnt . . . Lam started to say, frowning.

    I mean, she looks worse.

    Does she? Lam leaned closer to Edeya, taking her limp hands and gently massaging her palms with her thumbs. Ive been ensuring she eats good food and gets sunlight, but something still fails within her.

    A body cannot exist long without a spirit. Her fragment will suffice for a time, but the flesh will fail. Erd looked at Victor and continued, Forgive my unearned knowledge, but when I glimpsed your Core when you first came to my shop, I was surprised you were seeking help from me. Im surprised by how little you know of spirits, considering . . .

    Erd, I earned my power throughbat and suffering. Ive never found a very knowledgeable teacher, so, yeah, theres a lot I dont know.

    Of course. I dont mean to imply any willful ignorance . . . He stumbled on his words, obviously aware of Victors irritation, and then the coach rapidly slowed, sending everyone lurching forward in their seats. With a <em>thunk</em> and soft grinding sound, it came to a halt, and he announced, Weve arrived! He practically flew out of the coach, and Victor had a feeling he saw their arrival as a lifeline, saving him from the awkward conversation.

    Lam and Edeya followed Erd out, and before she stepped through the open doorway, Va grabbed Victors hand and said, Be patient. Were out of our depth here, and I dont think your rage will serve you well.

    I dont n to get angry, Va; it just happens. Anyway, Im out of patience where Edeyas concerned. He stared hard at her, unblinking, and eventually, she nodded and climbed out of the coach. Victor followed, and when he stepped out, he had to take a minute to regather his wits as they were blown out of his mind by the vista that awaited him.

    The coach hade to rest on a dock of sorts, built from gold and pearl iid marblea short span of solid stone that stretched out from the roof of a floating tower, which was, in turn, connected to ten other towers, also floating in the sky, and connected to hundreds more. The cluster of floating towers and the tunnels and bridges between them were, literally, hanging in the clouds, and Victor could see, distant and small, like a city seen from an airne, the crystal buildings and streets of Sojourn down below. Holy shit, he said, slowly turning in a circle, trying to guess how many towers hung there in the sky and losing count in the hundreds.

    Some of the spires were marble, some were gray stone, and many were made of bricks of all sorts. Victor saw tile roofs, copper gables, and everything in between. The diversity of building materials might have seemed haphazard if not for the fact that every building was a tower, and they were all floating together high among the clouds. The sun was dim, approaching the western horizon, and the clouds and breeze turned the stiff wind chilly. Though it hardly bothered Victor, he could see the goosebumps standing out on Edeyas frail arms, and he nodded toward the doorway at the center of the roof. We should get her out of the wind.

    Of course, of course! Erd hurried to the door, resting his hand on thetch and muttering a few words that were indistinct and strange to Victors ears. Lam pulled Edeya after him, and Victor and Va followed. By the time theyd all gathered, Erd had the door open and pulled it wide for them all to go through. When he reached the door, Victor held it open with his free hand and nodded to Erd.

    Ill follow you.

    Erd swallowed his reply, nodding and looking down, then hurried in. When Victor stepped through, he let the metal door ng shut behind him. Erd led them down several flights of stairs, past a few closed doors, and finally to the base of the narrow stairway where a single door opened into an arched, spacious gallery from which three doors and two other stairs led away. Erd approached the central door, a wide, darkly stained wooden one, and delicately knocked. This is his usual study.

    Come! barked a deep, scratchy voice, and Erd visibly flinched as he turned the brass knob and pushed the door open. Ah, um, Master Dar, it is I, Erd Van, here to gift you with the ivid dreaming egg . . .

    The deep voiceughed and said, Erd Van! Its been a decade at least, no? Id nearly written you off as rusted.

    Va looked at Victor and mouthed, Rusted?

    Victor shrugged and continued to listen, stepping forward to see through the doorway where Erd still stood. He couldnt make much out. Soft golden light, seeming to fall from an overhead fixture, illuminated stacks of books, built-in shelves, and clutter of every sort. Most prominent, obscuring most of his view, was a wrought-iron rack formed to delicately hold dozens of shimmering crystal globes that looked very much like tinys to Victor.

    Um, no, Master, since myst session with you, Ive advanced three levels and sit upon the cusp of tier eight. I hoped that, with this gift, I might earn a bit of guidance . . .

    Yes, yes, I heard your message. Come in, boy, and bring your entourage. Ill have a look at you all.

    Erd turned and furtively motioned for everyone to follow him, and then he stepped through. Lam moved to the side with Edeya, waiting for Victor and Va to precede her into the room. Va seemed hesitant to go in for some reason, and Victor was out of patience, ready to see the man behind the voice, so he moved past her. Clutching the egg close, he ducked under the lintel and entered the study. Once inside, he saw it was cluttered butrge, with massive bay windows on the far wall providing a stunning view of the sunset and the golden, ochre, and rust-colored cloudsid out like a magical cotton-candyndscape outside.

    Amid the shelves, cases, tables, stacks of books, curios, and artifacts was an imposing desk with legs carved like dragon ws. Sitting behind it was a man who had to be Ranish Dar. Victor had expected an old, cranky schr-type. Hed pictured a man with sses and white hair with sharp eyes. What he saw was a giant made of ck stone that moved like flesh. His eyes zed like miniature golden suns, and bizarrely, he wore mint-green silken pajamas. At least, they looked like pajamas to Victor.

    Hah! rumbled the colossal man, easily a match for Victors usual size. Whats this, then, Erd Van? Did you convince one of your betters to fetch the artifact? And is he willing to share the prize? Whats your name, berserker? Victor stepped forward, making room for hispanions to follow him in. He didnt answer right away, and when Ranish Dar caught sight of Edeya, he made a sound that reminded Victor of a train whistling and said, And a shattered spirit? Well, Ill hand it to you, Erd; this is the most interesting supplication Ive had in a good many years.

    Um, thank you, Master Dar, I was hoping that . . .

    Quiet now while I see what Ive got before me. Well, berserker? Ranish Dar leaned forward on his desk, the wood creaking under the pressure of his elbows.

    Im Victor.

    And you hail from?

    Victor shrugged and said, Tucson, I guessby way of Fanwath.

    Yes, thats quite a Core youve been building for yourself, there. Well shielded, too. Its no wonder Erds willing to lead you about, acting the prancing prince, unaware that hes got a dragon by the tail. Quite impressive, indeed.

    Victor didnt betray any emotion or even flinch as Ranish Dar effortlessly saw through his Aura Veil. He thought the imagery of his idiom was apt and amusing, picturing Erd walking around with a dragons tail, unaware of the monster on the other end. He wondered how urate it was. Was he really so much stronger than the nearly level eighty spirit expert? Surprisingly, his Quinametzin pride wasnt the least ruffled, perhaps because something in him recognized the power of the man before him. Some instinct in him wanted to show respect. Thank you. He decided no other words were yet necessary.

    So, an ivid dreaming egg, is it? He nodded to Victors bundle. Bring it here. Ill have a look before I hear any more of your story.

    Victor nced at Erd and saw him looking down, clenching his jaw, clearly humiliated by Dars earlier words. Deciding there wasnt much else he could dohe was reasonably sure Dar could take the egg if he wanted tohe stepped up to the desk, and, as he walked, he canceled his Alter Self spell, rising to his full height. He didnt want to have to reach up to put something on a desk. As he smoothly stretched upward and outward, expanding in size and power, Ranish Dar chuckled and said, A dragon, indeed!

    Victor couldnt contain the inner voice that insisted he correct the record, and he said, Titan, as he ced the silk-wrapped egg on the desktop.

    Of course, of course. A figure of speech, young man. Erd pulled the bundle close and carefully unwrapped the silk. When the pale, glittering flesh of the egg was exposed, and Victor felt its warm, potent Energy wash over him, he heard the gasps behind him and saw the smile on Dars stony face. Lovely, lovely, lovely! He rested two huge fingers on the egg and closed his zing eyes. A momentter, he said, Yes, this will do.

    Are you pleased, Master Dar? Erd asked, his voice high and strained. Victor looked at him to see hed fallen to his knees. His fists were clenched, and he was sweating bullets over his squeezed-shut eyes. Victor turned to see Lam and Va leaning on each other, wan and gasping as they stood in the wash of powering off the egg. Victor was a little surprised; he could definitely feel the egg''s influence, feel the weight of it, but to him, it was like standing out on the pavement on an Arizona summer day. It was hot and ufortable, but nothing he couldnt handle.

    Youre entirely too strong for an iron-ranker, Victor, Dar said, ignoring Erds question as he chuckled and slowly wrapped the egg, to the others great relief. Well? How will my blessings be bestowed upon this party? Erd Van would have me believe he is responsible for this great treasure. Is that the case?

    I . . . Erd started to say, but Ranish Dar held up a hand, silencing him.

    Ill hear from the only one of you capable of standing in its presence. He fixed those zing eyes on Victor.

    Something in Victor wouldnt let him take all the credit for the egg despite his significant role. He said, Erd told us about the egg. He paid for our transport and gave us the means to sneak past many of the ivid. We, Victor nodded to Va, fought and bargained for it.

    And what do you seek, Victor? I know what Erd wants.

    I wish to have my friends spirit made whole. I hoped that youd be able to pull it home. If you cant do that, I hoped youd help me find a way to the world where its being held, and Ill kill the one whos taken it.

    Gods, Ranish Dar said, surprising Victor. Such conviction and power behind those words. Did you feel that, Erd? An oath of power made in our presence, one with binding karmic ties, and he did it with hardly a thought for the repercussions! Thats the sort of spirit we need to cultivate, Erd. What a bloodline! What a Core! What a spirit! Erd, you need another few decades of hard, hard toil before you can hope to put such an edge to your words. Ill grant you your desired lessons, five of them, but then youll need to put yourself through a crucible or two before Ill look upon you again. Go now. Await my summons. He made a shooing gesture at Erd, and the man stood and practically flew from the room, ncing at Victor on his way past with haunted eyes.

    And us? Victor asked.

    Ill aid your friend, Victor, the titan from Tucson, but my help wille with a cost. A cost for your friend and a cost for you. Will you bear it?

    Victor didnt hesitate. He was ready to be done with this situation, ready to help his friend, and he wasnt afraid of any fee this man might charge. He opened his mouth to say yes, but Va spoke first, filling the brief silence, He will hear the cost before he decides.

    Ranish Dar mmed his palm atop his massive desk with an ear-popping, thunderous <em>crack</em> and barked a shortugh, Hah! A wise woman and a boonpanion. Very well. First, well discuss what it will cost your friend. The mending of a shattered spirit and the trauma of my indelicate, mighty pull, dragging it through the fabric of the universe to be made whole in her body, will take a toll, paid for by the Energy shes gathered in her life. She will likely lose many levels. As for you, Victor, the cost I will demand of you will be years of service, for I need a protg worthy of my knowledge.

 Book 7: Chapter 30: Whole

    Book 7: Chapter 30: Whole

    After Ranish Dar spoke, the room grew quiet as everyone looked at Victor for a reaction. When he stood there for several seconds, clearly deep in thought, Lam broke the spell and asked, How many levels will she lose?

    Unknown. Ranish peered past Victor at Edeya for several seconds, then said, Shes just barely into the iron ranks. Just touching tier three, yes?

    Thats right.

    With so little to draw upon, she might find herself back in the stages of a neophyte, ssless and ready for the crucible. Victor heard him; part of his mind was listening to their conversation, but most of his concentration was dealing with his many half-formed reactions to Dars demand. Hed hoped to have Edeya healed and to be done with obligations for a while. Hed hoped for some freedom to explore and live his life, enjoying some real, quality time with Va. What kinds of demands would Dar make of his protg? Would Victors entire life be co-opted? Could he refuse and risk Edeyas life in the hopes that hed find another solution?

    While he struggled with his concerns, another part of him began to weigh the demand in the light of an opportunity. Hed seen firsthand how badly some iron-rankers desired the guidance of a man like Ranish Dar. Erd Van had spent a fortune and decades of his life to acquire the dreaming egg, and all it had gotten him was five lessons with Dar. Should Victor pass up the opportunity for regr tutge from the master? As his brain spun through the implications, he felt Va move beside him, entwining her fingers with his.

    So far to fall . . . Lam said, her expression drooping into something like despair.

    It is far, Dar said, chuckling, to you. To me, those first few dozen levels in the iron ranks are a blink of an eye, a drop in the ocean of my journey to this stage of my life. Theres more I can tell you that might give youfort. Would you believe that there are iron-rankers who pay tremendous sums to spirit casters like myself to put them through such a process intentionally? Its not without risk, either, as you well know. Still, there are those who would give anything to make another gamble with ss selections, to focus their advancement differently. No, your friend will suffer some loss, but shes likely toe back stronger than ever. Its not as though shell forget what she learned in her young life. Well, she shouldnt. Some memory loss is one of the many risks, however.

    Lam nodded, and in the corner of his eye, Victor saw her put her arm around Edeya, pulling her close to her side. Still, we cannot ask this of you, Victor.

    Youre not asking. Edeyas not asking. Victor red at Ranish Dar and asked, What sort of service will you require of me?

    Dars smoldering, fiery eyes red, and Victor swore he felt some heat waft over the desk into his face. Dont be too confident, young titan. Im impressed by you, but Ill not be disrespected in my own study. Ill have yourmitment, and then, after Ive helped your friend, well discuss the details. Ill not say more on this matter, so either ept or take your broken friend and depart.

    For the first time in the huge stone mans presence, Victor felt the pressure of his rage-attuned Energy seeping into his pathways. He felt his pride begin to bristle, but with a tremendous effort of will, he pushed it back and calmed his angry expression. He focused on Vas cool fingers, lightly gripping his palm, and took a slow, even breath. All right. I ept.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Darren closed the book and looked up, frowning, as his giant babysitter repeated the demand, Exin to me again why you were not given a Core at this citys nursery. Darren sighed and closed the book, <em>Averas Treatise on the Mind and its Elusive Affinity</em>, and looked into Leshs green and yellow reptilian eyes.

    Well, they dont exactly give a person a Core there. They guide you in the process of creating one. Darren thought about lying. So far, all hed said was that he didnt get the help he needed at the Genesis Center and that hed found some books to figure things out on his own. Still, a lie was something he felt would be easy for Lesh to pick out; he was far shrewder than he looked. Instead, Darren decided to give him part of the truth. They said my stronger affinities were too dangerous and offered to teach me to build a Core that didnt utilize them.

    So you took the initiative to find books on the subject and to teach yourself? Lesh nodded. I, too, would have balked at the idea of settling for a weaker Core than my potential would allow. Tell me, then, what are these affinities you are pursuing?

    Again, Darren knew better than to lie, My strongest one is chaos, and I have a lesser affinity for mind-attuned Energy.

    Ah. Lesh sat on the hard marble floor opposite Darren, his back to the window behind him. Both are rare in my home world, but a strong mind caster is someone to fear. I can see why a soft ce like this would discourage it. Ive never met a chaos caster, but I can imagine what mighte of such an affinity. So, this world found the prospect too daunting. Again, I cannot feign surprise. You had no other affinities that interested you?

    I have a strong affinity for lightning, but its hard to find a Core that will amodate that and mind-attuned Energy. Chaos seems more malleable, able to be worked in with many different types of Energy.

    Lesh grunted. Lightning is a strong battle attunement. Youre so set on mind-attuned Energy?

    I just feel it will help me to achieve the goals Im most interested in.

    There are many worlds where the rule of might is the onlyw of thend. There are other ces, like this one, where manyws keep people civil. I visited several worlds on my way to find Victor, and some of them had strictly enforcedws regarding certain affinities; they were either seen as abhorrent and banned from existence, or they were tightly controlled by the powers that be. Mind casters are often in that category.

    When he didnt say anything more, Darren prompted him, And, Elder?

    And you should know that. He shrugged. Its your choice.

    Youre not going to try to talk me out of it? You wont forbid me to study it?

    Why would I? Do you think I fear any affinity? If you try to toy with my mind, Bgog will mash you into a paste. Id say Victor would likewise be willing to correct you. Knowing that, and also knowing that there are beings here who could just as easily smash me, I hope you will understand that caution and good judgment are more important than any affinity.

    Darren was surprised and strangely grateful. For once, he wasnt being judged by his past or for what he might do. Before he could think about it, he said as much to Lesh, Thank you, Elder. Im d to know that you dont assume I will do something terrible. Ive made mistakes in my life, but its nice to know you arent judging me for them.

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    Youve yet to give me a reason to doubt you, fosterling. In my book, youve barely a page written. Let us see that you inspire tales of praise rather than condemnation. Lesh pointed to the book Darren was reading and asked, Well? What sorts of Cores are you considering?

    Darren nodded. Of the Core types Ive found for mind affinities, only one meets the criteria I need. First, it has to bepatible with chaos-attuned Energy. Second, it must be something I could hope to create. Several require certain bloodlinesthings Ive never heard of. Darren flipped the pages so he could read aloud. For instance, Tovekian Arkashi or Sevenii Ash Progenitor. Some require rare artifacts like a pearl of introspection. Still others require a cadre of Mind Casters to help focus the Energy into a specific aspect. The only one I think I can create is fairly generic soundingChaotic Mind Core. Still, the book describes it as robust with wide Energy pathways suitable for any caster whose primary sensory organ is visual. What do you think?

    Do you sense things with your eyes more than your nose or ears?

    Yes. I believe so. Humans have evolved with sight as our predominant sense.

    Then I think you are a grown man with no Core, and you should quit dawdling and create something.

    This is a momentous decision, Elder. If I steer myself wrong, God knows what itll take to correct my course.

    Lesh scoffed and waved his hand, leaning back into the window, basking in the warm sunlight. As he closed his eyes and folded his arms over his prodigious chest, he rumbled, Speak to me when youve decided on a course of action.

    Darren sighed and looked back down at the book in hisp. Hed spent thest couple of days reading nearly nonstop, pausing only to use the bathroom, eat a quick meal, and, when exhaustion truly set it, sleep a few hours. While Lesh and the others had been gone, Lam had hardly bothered him. He doubted shed have even looked in on him if not for some obligation to Lesh. All in all, hed been happy to be left alone. Hed spent most of his savings acquiring three books. The one in hisp, another about chaos Energy, and a third about air affinitiesthe closest he could find to a book rting to his lightning affinity.

    He''d found a Core that would allow him to cultivate lighting and chaos Energy but set it aside because of his strange fascination with his mind affinity. After speaking to Lesh, though, he was beginning to wonder if hed been acting out of somepulsion to defy rules or the expectations of people he didnt respect, namely those damn living lights at the Genesys Center, Y-seven and K-eight. Mind was a minor affinity for him, after all; shouldnt he focus on the lightning and chaos? Darren reached over and picked up the book about air affinities.

    It was called <em>Bortons Electric Life</em> and was an autobiography of sorts, following the career and adventures of Borton as he rose in power from a novice to a master Wind Elementalist. It was only partially applicable to Darrenlightning was, as Y-seven had so smugly reported, a more specialized form of the elemental affinity. Still, in the small section at the beginning of the book, Borton mentioned some Core options he didnt pursue, and one was called a Wildarc Core, which Darren also found mentioned in his chaos-focused text. He read the small paragraph hed annotated again:

    <em>On the subject of Cores, Maester Fvius suggested a Wildarc, but Daenistra doesnt think I have the necessary minor affinities to make it worth the effort and slow cultivation. Fvius, of course, argued. He was of the opinion that the slower cultivation meant greater gains in the long run, but I tend to side with Daenistra. My air affinity so outstrips my minors that the need to weave in something else would surely slow me down, and lets not forget that slow growth with high potential sounds wonderful, but quick growth might mean the difference between life and death in the Reekvah Trials, which Im due to start in two short years.</em>

    Darren set the book aside and picked up the chaos tome, cryptically titled <em>Seeds of Infinity</em>. The first hundred pages or so were dedicated to the creation of a chaos-focused Core, and he had to flip through more than a dozen before he came to the section boldly titled Wildarc  The Surge Lord Core. Hed only nced at it before, being obsessed with mind-affinity-focused Cores, but now he gave it a careful read, pleased to see that each step of the process was exined and that he had everything he neededaffinities for lightning and chaos and an undeveloped Core. Suddenly, Darren was excited by the prospect, and he had to set the book down and take a hard look at himself.

    Had he really been about to embrace a minor affinity out of spite? Had he wanted to build a Core around mind-attuned Energy because he wanted to influence peoples minds or because of how taboo Y-seven had made it sound? What was that? Some sort of defiance? Some self-destructive need to rebuke authority? It would be one thing if the mind affinity were the best thing for him, but he didnt think it was. If he were honest, he could see how it might lead him into one troubling situation after another. When would he ever use it for good? He supposed that if he could influence peoples minds, he could try to find bad people and get them to change their behavior, but that was a slippery slope, and Darren wasnt good at slippery slopes.

    Once again, he felt grateful to Lesh. If he hadnte over and asked about his studies, if he hadnt given him the benefit of the doubt, Darren might not have been introspective enough to see what a foolish decision hed been about to make. Elder Lesh, Ive made a decision. Im going to create something called a Wildarc Core, and it will allow me to cultivate and use lightning and chaos-attuned Energies.

    Good, Darren, Lesh mumbled, clearly dozing.

    Darren nodded, for some reason feeling like hed shed a heavy weight. He sat up straighter and propped the book against the other two, tilting its open pages to make it easy to read. As illustrated in the book, he assumed a lotus position and squinted, reading the first instruction softly to himself: Turn your inner eye toward your umted Energy and, while studying it, contemte the chaotic nature of the many branches in a bolt of lightning.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Ranish Dar led the party out of his study and up one of the other stairways just outside. Despite his stone-like ck flesh, his bare feet were silent on the steps, and he moved with the grace of a cat. Hed asked Lam and Edeya to follow him, and, of course, Victor and Va apanied themhe hadnt said they couldnt. They walked through high, vaulted corridors brightly lit by an invisible source, past stained-ss windows, a dozen closed doors, and, eventually, into arge room with floor-to-ceiling cabs lining every wall. The only other furnishings were two long tables lined with stools. Everything was made for a person of Dars size, so it was a little amusing to see Edeya standing beside one of the tables, the top an inch higher than her head.

    Victor, ce yourpanion here, Dar said as he shifted one of the stools from the side to the head of the table. ce her head here. He gently tapped the smooth wooden surface in front of him. I will conduct a spirit walk. Are you familiar, Victor?

    Yes.

    Yes, Im sure you are. Dar looked at Victor, then let his eyes drift to Lam and Va. Perhaps you think Ill be helpless while spirit walking, but please be aware that my Spirit Walk is at the legendary tier and that a fragment of my spirit will be standing guard over my physical form. I do not suspect you of duplicity, but for your safety, do not make any threatening actions toward me.

    Victor lifted Edeya in his arms, disturbed by how light she was, and gentlyid her on the table. Dar continued speaking, I will need to channel a great amount of Energy, and, depending on the distance between this world and the one where this young womans spirit lies, I may need to refresh my stores. He held out his hand, and a softly glowing, silvery-white potion appeared in his palm. He held it out to Victor.

    Victor took the little bottle, amazed by the depths of Energy he felt within it. What do I do with it?

    Watch me with your inner eye. Youll see my spirit fragment standing guard. If it begins to fade, pour this into my mouth. Hopefully, I wont need it, for it was costly and time-consuming to produce. He looked at Victor and <em>tsked</em>, shaking his head. A pity we dont have more time to prepare; I believe I could make use of that inspiration-attuned Energy in your Core. Its close to one of mine. Youll feel it. With that, he nodded and rested his fingertips on either side of Edeyas head. One more thing before I begin. What is this womans name?

    Edeya, Lam said, breathless with anxiety.

    Fear not. Your loved one will be whole again soon. Ranish Dar closed his eyes and, with a soul-sucking vortex of Energy, he slipped into the spirit ne. Victor stumbled forward and caught himself on the table. Lam fell to her knees, and Va slowly sank to the ground, gripping Victors wrist to slow her descent. Victor shook his head, forcing himself to focus, and turned his gaze inward. When he saw his Core, he quickly traced his pathways out and looked at the room with his inner eye. Just as Dar had promised, Victor saw his spirit-self standing there, a great, hulking shadow wielding a dark spear that bled waves of darkness like smoke from a torch. It regarded him with eyes like singrities, and Victor felt his blood grow cold.

    If that thing was only a splinter of Ranish Dar, something like one of Victors coyotes, then it only confirmed what hed already known: He didnt want to make an enemy of that man. It also made him wonder what Dar had meant when hed said Victor would feel his Energy, something close to his inspiration. That shadowy fragment felt a lot more like his fear affinity.

    Just as the thought crossed his mind, though, he felt a surge of Energy erupt from the master Spirit Caster, so potent and brilliant that, once again, Victor had to fight for bnce, gripping the edge of the table to the point where the wood creaked and groaned from the pressure of his fingers. He knew Lam and Va were still down; theyd just begun to gather themselves when this new wave of power wracked the room.

    As the initial shock of the Energy surge passed, Victor realized he was feeling something deep in his heart, something that sang to his spirit and made the Energy in his Core roil and churn. He felt endless possibilities and saw the shadowy gloom haunting the periphery of his thoughts fall away, only the brightest paths shining brightly before him. Everything would be all right, of that, he was sure. Edeya would recover, hed find a way to work with Ranish Dar that would still allow for some freedom, and the specters of distant enemies wouldnt find their way to him, not before he was ready. Hah, Victor said as realization dawned on him. Its hope. Hes using hope-attuned Energy to pull Edeya home.

    He nced down to see both Lam and Va openly weeping, great, wracking sobs of relief and joy, and he knew the Energy was overwhelming them. He turned to the gloomy watcher, noting that despite the warm, wonderful hope in the air, the specter was still dark, still balefully watching, his dark spear still held ready. It didnt look like it was fading, but Victor held the potion ready; he wouldnt fail in his task. He never had to prove it, thoughwith a suddenness that left him gasping, the flow of hopeful Energy suddenly cut off, and Dar opened his zing eyes, announcing, Her spirit is whole.

 Book 7: Chapter 31: Apprentice

    Book 7: Chapter 31: Apprentice

    Ranish Dar reached down and pulled the rune-inscribed circlet off Edeyas head, handing it to Lam. This will only make it harder for her to wake. He took one of his thumbs, massive beside Edeyas much smaller form, and gently smoothed some hair away from her face. Standing close as he was, Victor could see the masters strange, stony flesh bend andpress just like normal skin. It made him wonder why it looked like stone to the eye while behaving like flesh. Would it feel hard if you touched it? Was it resistant to damage, or was it all just a visual artifact of Dars exotic species, whatever that might be? While he spected, Dar took the warm potion from his grip, and it disappeared into some hidden storage device. He said, She will wake soon. I will give you some space.

    Thank you, Lam said, climbing atop one of the tall stools to lean close to Edeyas face, peering intently at her slightly twitching, fluttering eyes. Victor watched Dar move to the other table and take a seat. He still watched them, and when he caught Victors eye, he nodded. Victor knew what the gesture meanttheyd talk after Edeya woke. Victor returned the gesture, then turned back to the others, taking one of Edeyas slender, limp hands. To his surprise, it was much warmer than thest time hed held it. He could feel a change in the flesh, a vibrancy that had been absent before.

    Shes in there, he said. Lam looked at him and nodded; she held Edeyas other hand. Va took hold of Edeyas wrist, stroking it gently with her thumb.

    Edeya? Lam said. Wake up, sweet girl. Victor looked from Edeya to Lam, a little surprised by those words. Hed seen Lam show affection to Edeya, knew she was desperate to help her, but the depth of emotion in those words was a little surprising. Clearly, she loved her, but he wasnt sure if it was the love of a sister, a mother, or something altogether different. Of course, he wasnt stupid enough to ask. When Lam gasped, and new tears sprang from her eyes, dripping down her sharp cheekbones, Victor looked back to Edeya and saw that shed opened her eyes. She blinked several times, and her brow creased in confusion.

    In a raspy, scratchy whisper, she asked, Where are we?

    Youre safe, Dey-dey. Lam leaned forward and pressed herself against the young woman, resting her head on her chest. Va sniffed, and Victor looked to see tears in her eyes, too. He put his arm over her shoulder and smiled when Edeya squinted his way.

    Victor?

    He squeezed her hand. Thats right, brat.

    Brat? Her voice was hoarse, and she cleared it and swallowed, then added. Youre the brat! She coughed again and peered down at the top of Lams head. What happened?

    Lam lifted her head to look with bloodshot, streaming eyes at Edeyas face. What do you remember?

    I feel . . . She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head briefly. I feel so weak. I remember floating in darkness. Was I lost at sea? I feel like I was surrounded by water and fog. Her eyes sprang open, and she said, What happened with the fire? I remember we were in a keep. Its all so blurry. Victor was going to have them burn the forest. The undead . . . As she spoke, her voice grew more and more hoarse, and she cut herself off, coughing so violently that Lam sat up, retaking her hand.

    Hush. Ill fill you in, but now you should rest.

    Excellent advice, Ranish Dar said, his voice loud and sharp like boulders scraping against each other. Take her to your residence. Feed her. Give her a healing draught. Shell be fine, physically, in a day or two.

    As her fit subsided, Edeya looked to the voice, and her eyes sprang wide. Her hand gripped Victors like she was about to fall off a cliff, and she looked at him. Victor! Who . . .

    Dont worry. Hes a friend.

    Ill tell you everything, Lam said, reaching to scoop her arm under Edeyas knees, easily lifting her from the table.

    Do you have to carry me? I think I can walk . . . Edeyas words trailed off as Victor released her, and she leaned into Lams chest.

    Lam kissed her forehead. Id carry you anywhere, sweet. Youre not heavy.

    Victor. Ranish beckoned him over. Well have a talk now. Yourpanions can await you at their residence. I wont keep you long today.

    Ill stay . . . Va started to say, but Ranish cut her words off with a stern shake of his head.

    Ill speak to Victor alone. It was a pleasure to meet you all. Perhaps our paths will cross again. He snapped his finger, and a shimmering, misty bird appeared, swooping and trilling delicate, musical cries. Guide these women to the lower dock and instruct Fregasius to convey them home. The little misty, glowing bird trilled something that sounded almost like words and swooped over to Va and Lam, circling them, trailing glowing mist that slowly faded into nothing.

    Go, Victor said, giving Va a brief hug. Ill be fine. See you soon. She looked into his eyes for a long moment, then nodded and turned, walking to the door where Lam, Edeya, and the swooping, magical bird waited.

    As they walked out, Victor heard Edeyas sleepy voice ask, Who . . . is that Va? But you have wings!

    Ranish interrupted his listening by saying, Come over here, Victor. It is good news that your friend remembers you all.

    Shes lost something, though. She should know Va has wings, and more than a month passed between what she said shest remembered and her . . . injury.

    That wille. Be pleased that she can speak and knows your name. Ive seen worse. He pointed to the stool beside his. Sit here. Victor nodded and approached, climbing atop therge stool, just about perfectly sized for his nearly ten-foot frame. We have much to speak about. Youve agreed to enter my service as an apprentice, and I appreciate the consternation this has caused you. Would you like to give voice to your concerns?

    Victor wondered if the invitation was a trap. Would Dar use what he said against him? Was a cruel heart lurking in that chest? Was his affable nature with Va and Lam a show? Hed certainly let his anger re at least once in Victors presence, and he hadnt exactly been kind to Erd Van. With those thoughts in mind, Victor decided to hold his cards close to his chest. He shrugged. I was looking forward to some time when I wasnt running from one problem to the next.

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    Much of your life has been a trial, hmm? He watched Victor until he nodded. If that werent true, I wouldnt be interested in mentoring you. Its made you hard in ways that Erd Van will never understand. Looking at you, I can see that youve felt deaths talons on your flesh, gripping so tightly that you nearly fell through the veil. Hmm? Victor nodded, images of some of his close calls shing through his mindthe boss of the dungeon near Greatbone, Rellias lightning-fast rapier, the Nightbrute Prince, a horde of undead reavers, and the sharpest, most painful one, his time beneath Hectors veil star.

    Yeah, I guess thats true.

    And yet, you sacrifice much for a friend. I can assure you, Erd Van would never do such a thing. Victor didnt respond. He didnt know what Ranish was looking for; did he want Victor to trash-talk Erd? He didnt care enough about the guy to do so. Ranish didnt seem bothered by his reticence. You have much to be proud of; I have the ability to see a great deal about you. Your Cores, for instance. Do you know how rare it is for a non-draconic species to have a breath Core in addition to their primary Energy Core? I can see youve done much to advance your bloodline, too. Youve the blood of an elder race in your veins, and not just a hint of it. Whats more, I can see that you have acquired a legendary ss. It''s not unheard of for an iron-ranker to do that, but its usually the scion of an ancient family with resources that make even my wealth seem insignificant.

    Victor shifted ufortably. It was one thing to dread what this guy would put him through, but having him heap praise upon him made him feel decidedly awkward. Was he supposed to say thank you? I had plenty of help.

    Hah! Another thing thosepdogs whoe crawling round here for scraps wouldnt say. Ranish sighed and stretched his neck, bringing forth loud cracks and pops that sounded like someone snapping pieces of te in half. Im a very busy man, Victor. Think of the obligations you have around the worlds where youve traveled and multiply that by a hundred, nay, a thousand. Still, I find I must take time to myself now and then, or I begin to go mad. I begin to react to problems in ways that might seem . . . overzealous. I happen to be enjoying a time like thatsome respite from the duties Ive created for myself around the worlds, and one of my favorite ces toe, when Im using my time selfishly, is here, to Sojourn.

    Victor contemted his words, thinking about his friends back home, about Olivia and First Landing, about the Ridonne, and even about Zaafor and the Warlord and the promises hed made to the Degh. He tried to imagine a thousand times as many concerns and failed to wrap his head around the idea. I think I get it.

    Well, the reason Im telling you this is two-fold. One, you should know that demands on your time will always exist, and youll have to carve space for yourself and your own desires. That problem doesnt go away. Two, you should know that Ill be here, in Sojourn, for perhaps a decade before I get back to my other obligations. When I take time, I take enough to savor it. What that means for you is that Ill spend some of my recreational time instructing and guiding you, but Ill also send you ces to manage tasks that I feel will challenge and instruct you.

    Victor thought about his words, forcing himself not to react impulsively. Part of him was d to hear that Dar was going to be around Sojourn for a while and that he was going to be giving Victor things to do on his own, but another part was utterly freaking out at the mention of ten years and an open-ended hint at getting back to obligations after that. Just how long did this guy expect Victor to work for him? Hed already upset him once that day when hed asked. Hed taken it as a show of disrespect. With that in mind, Victor spoke very evenly, trying to avoidcing his words with any emotion. Can you give me some idea of how long you expect me to work for you?

    Dar sighed heavily, but his eyes didnt re, and he didnt smash his fist on the table, so Victor felt like hed managed to avoid pissing him off again. Its not a matter of working for me, Victor. Its a matter of learning from me. In the process of which, you will certainly do some tasks that benefit me, but, and I wish you could trust me here, theyll benefit you more. He looked at Victor for a long, measured minute, during which neither of them blinked.

    Finally, satisfied with whatever hed read in Victors eyes, he nodded and continued, That said, I am ancient inparison to you, and I move in a timeframe that likely seems cial to one so young. In these ten years that I linger in Sojourn, I will rx, contemte my recent gains, and take amusement in your progress. After that, I will be busy, and our interactions will be less frequent. Decades may pass between our meetings, and during that time, Ill expect you to make progress, following the guidance I give you. The length of this engagement between you and me will depend entirely on your growth. With any luck, there wille a time when I can be proud to name you as my protg, and you will need to strike out on a path of your own making.

    So, a long time. Victor tried not to sound glum or even to betray any emotion, but something must have shown on his face because Ranish Dar chuckled and reached over to grip his shoulder.

    Is it so bad to learn from a master? What is it that rankles you, Victor? I could list a thousand spirit cultivators who would be singing in the streets for this opportunity.

    Victor tried to smile and nodded, then shook his head, his body unsure what his mind wanted. I dont know. Its something in here. He thumped a fist to his chest. Maybe my Quinametzin ancestry or maybe growing up wanting to carve out my own future, but something doesnt like the idea of such a longmitment. Then, theres the issue that Ive alreadymitted myself to other people for things . . .

    Such as?

    There are people back on Fanwath who depend on me, but, well, I guess I dont necessarily have to live there to help them. If could visit now and then? When Dar graced him with a slight nod, he continued, Theres also this. He lifted his bracer and tapped the pink shard of the Degh ancestor stone. I promised the Degh giants on Zaafor that Id return and mend their ancestor stone, and, he grinned fiercely, I owe the Warlord there an ass kicking.

    Dar let go of Victors shoulder and pressed one of his thick, stony fingers against the pink crystal. Very, very interesting! Heughed and shook his head. You think Id deny you such glory? No,d, that would be a good lesson for you, if nothing else. As I said, Ill take some amusement from your progress these next ten years, and during that time, if you feel ready, Ill quite enjoy seeing you take on a warlord in a barbaric world.

    Id also like to hunt down the <em>bruja</em> who stole Edeyas spirit. Shes on a world filled with undead, and some of them are thousands of years old. I guess Im not really ready to go there and start throwing shit around, but . . .

    But you will be! Elder gods! It feels good to talk to someone with some <em>fucking</em> spirit! Victors eyes opened in startled amazement, and he answered Dars smile with a fierce grin. The master nodded, narrowed his zing eyes, and said, Enough. I must learn more about you, so Ill give you your first . . . learning task, shall we call it?

    Victor nodded, still a little dumbstruck after hearing the ancient, powerful being cuss. Sure.

    Those like me who fancy themselves the lords of Sojourn often partake inpetitions with each other. One such contest is a dungeon where we can send our iron-ranked students, children, or sponsored recruits topete with each other in a dangerous, randomly generated series of challenges. Does that sound interesting?

    Sure, but how will that help you learn about . . .

    We will see everything that happens in the dungeon. We designed it through the use of the System stone, so we have some control over the things that happen there. While its dangerous, there are safeguards built in. Youll be given a Lifesavera magical device that will transport you to safety if you appear to be near death. Its not perfect; if someone were obliterated in an instant, the device would not save them, but for someone as sturdy as you, I dont see much risk in that.

    Will I have to fight other, uh, participants?

    There are no rules in the dungeon, but you could just as easily ally with someone.

    What about Va, or, I have another friend, a dragonkin . . .

    No, no, Victor. Ill not sponsor another; its quite costly, and your performance will affect my influence in Sojourn. I have confidence in you, but not so much your friends. I mean no offense, but youre on a different level than your sweetdy friend. As for your dragonkin friend, I can only offer cautiondragons are dangerous beings.

    How long do I have?

    A new challenge begins on the seventeenth of each month. You have several days to rx. He pushed his stool back and stood. Now, Ill give you two assignments to work on. One, he produced a closed, leather-bound book, use this Farscribe book to write to me about yourself. Your life, your greatest adventures, your abilities and spells. When Victor took the book, he nodded and said, Two, acquire a dwelling in Sojourn. I take it youre staying at an inn? When Victor nodded, he continued, Ill be helping you build a cultivation chamber, so youll need your own ce. It would be best if it had ess to the actual soil of this smalldont purchase or rent an apartment.

    Okay. Victor felt a little numb, a little shell-shocked. How had things moved so quickly? Hed somehow agreed to spend many years helping and learning from this guy, and now he was getting signed up topete in a free-for-allpetition in a dungeon and being sent to buy a house. Uh . . .

    What is it? Any questions? Ill be in touch. If you see my spirit bird, allow it to chirp in your ear, and youll hear its words.

    Um, Victors mind felt scattered, so he blurted the only question that came to his tongue, I have some magical things to identify. Could you rmend . . .

    Hah! No, boy. I have things to teach you, the first of which is to figure things out on your own when you can. You may leave. As I said, Ill be in touch with the details for your entry into the Vault of Valor.

    Vault of . . .

    Thats the name of the dungeon. Now, get going. I have an important meeting. He snapped his fingers, and the spirit bird reappeared. Show him to Fregasius. Hes to convey him home. The bird swooped around Victor, rushed to the door, andmenced flitting about, waiting for him. Victor turned to follow it, but Ranish Dar spoke again, Victor, wait.

    Victor turned back to him. Yes?

    Take this, he flicked something small that glinted like silver his way, and Victor snatched it out of the air. It was a si ringa broad silver band with a ck gemstone iid with a flickering, golden sun that seemed to burn in the depths of the facet. Wear it. It will grant you certain privileges in this tower of the Arcanum, and, should you run into trouble in Sojourn, people will know to alert me so that I mighte to your aid. Do not use it to curry favor in my name, however. He stared hard at Victor until he nodded. Good. Take some time to rx and live your life, Victor. Youre going to be very busy soon.

 Book 7: Chapter 32: Success

    Book 7: Chapter 32: Sess

    It turned out that Fregasius was some sort of being of magic and shadow, fully enveloped by dark robes and a hooded cloak. Victor could see two pale, dim orbs in the depths of the hood that must have been his eyes, but he never spoke in the short time Victor spent with him. When the flitting magical bird chirped into his ear, Fregasius stepped onto a rune-inscribed silver disc about eight feet in diameter and beckoned for Victor to follow. As soon as he set foot upon it, the disk red with blue Energy, and the next thing Victor knew, he was standing in front of the inn where he and hispanions had rented rooms.

    Shit, he muttered,pletely taken off guard. When hed seen the disc, he thought it might be some kind of flying tform, not a teleportation tform! Outside the inn, pedestrian traffic was light, but plenty of people were going about their evening business, and they gave him a bit of a wide berth, likely due to his sudden appearance, not because of any threat they felt. Victor made a fist with his right hand and looked at Ranish Dars si ring. It was cool, he supposed, to have it, but it also rankled something in him, almost like Dar wasying im to his property. He shook his head and lowered his fist.

    No point crying about it now. He appreciated thefort Lifedrinkers harness gave him, holding her out of the way on his back, but he also missed resting his hand on her silvery axe head when he spoke to himself; it made it easier to shrug off any concern about how his muttered dialogue made him look to any casual observers. Sighing, he turned and made his way up to the room he shared with Va. When he arrived, he found a note pinned to the door with a silver hairpin:

    <em>V,</em>

    <em></em>

    <em>Were in Lams room. Come see us when youre back!</em>

    <em></em>

    <em>-V</em>

    Victor chuckled at the note from V to V, then turned and walked down the hall until he came to Lams door. The handle was locked, but when he knocked on the wood, it opened in just a few seconds, revealing Vas hopeful face. When she saw him, she pulled it wide and veritably jumped into his arms, squeezing him around the neck. We were worried Ranish had duplicitous motives for sending us off without you.

    Nah. Hes a serious guy, but I think he shoots pretty straight. When she let go of his neck, he handed her the hairpin hed pulled from their door. Im saving that note. Might get it made into a tattoo, he said, pulling her a little closer to kiss her gently on the forehead. Well? he asked, pulling back. How is she?

    Vas smile fell away, and she whispered, Inconsble! Shes only level seven now! Also, she broke into a sobbing fit when she found out youd agreed to be Ranish Dars apprentice in exchange for helping her. You should speak to her.

    Victor groaned, shaking his head. Hed hoped Edeya would only lose a single tier at most, dropping down into the twenties from her recent acquisition of level thirty. All right. He stepped into the room, and Va closed the door with a solid <em>thunk</em>. He could hear womens voices from the bedroom and walked that way.

    Va didnt follow him. Ill wait out here. Tell Lam I need something from her. When Victor looked at her with a raised eyebrow, she added, You need to speak to her alone.

    Sheesh. Why do I feel like Im going into an arena fight?

    She chuckled, squinting at him. Be brave! Youll be fine.

    Victor looked at her for a long second, savoring every detail, from her narrowed, amused eyes to the gleam of reflected light on her wings. Then, he nodded and went into the bedroom, where he found Lam sitting on the side of the bed beside a nket-covered Edeya. They were speaking quietly, but he picked up a snippet of Edeyasst words, muttered in a bitter tone.

    . . . forward to going back to the Blue Deep and hunting forest Yeksa trying to get my ss again. When her eyes fell on Victor, though, they opened wide, and she threw her nket off and tried to climb out of bed. Lam restrained her, pressing on her shoulder, apparently easily holding her down. In frustration, Edeya cried, Let me up! I just want to hug him! Lam relented, sighing and shaking her head.

    You need to rest . . . Despite her words, she trailed off and smiled when she saw how furiously Edeya charged over the soft gray carpet to m into Victor. Heughed and gently pressed her close, trying not to ruffle her delicate dragonfly wings. They red brightly, shimmering with sparkling blue Energy, dripping motes that fell at their feet, forming a misty cloud around their ankles.

    Hey, hey, he said softly. Youre squeezing me like Im going off to prison. Im not going anywhere. She kept squeezing, and Victorughed, Jeez, youre going to break my ribs! The truth was, he could hardly feel the pressure, but he could see her straining and didnt want to highlight herck of strength. Damn! Look at the Energy pouring out of those wings! Are they always like that?

    Its enhanced by emotion, Lam answered for her.

    Edeya finally spoke, loosening her hold on him, Thank you, Victor. Thank you so much! Lam told me everything. I . . . Im starting to remember that night. Just shes of horrible things . . . that womans evilugh! She shuddered against him and, frustrated with his inability to look her in the face, Victor channeled some Energy into his Alter Self Spell, reducing his size further, down to something like six feet so that he could hold her at arms length and peer into her beautiful blue, faintly-glowing eyes.

    Dont think about that shit, all right? Those assholes are dead or gone, and theyll never get anywhere near you again.

    Shes still out there, Victor. I . . . Again, she stammered, but she forced herself to soldier on,pleting the thought with wide eyes, staring into Victors soul. I have faint memories, like glimpses of a dream. She spoke to me in my prison, whispered terrible promises . . .

    Dammit! Stop giving that <em>bruja</em> power. She cant touch you now. Shes a trillion miles away, and theres no one in her whole fucking world who can get to you here. He gently nudged her toward the bed and helped her back into her spot. Lam stood and pulled the nket back over her, and then Victor said, Um, Lam, Va wanted to speak to you.

    Oh? She narrowed her eyes at Victor, then nced at Edeya and nodded. Ill be right out there, sweet.

    I know. Edeya sniffed and offered her a smile. Victor sat down where Lam had been and took Edeyas small, slender hand. Roots, your hands are <em>rough</em>! Sheughed, and the genuine amusement in her eyes looked good on her.

    Youre going to be fine, Victor said, as though hed juste to that realization.

    She groaned, and the amusement faded, reced by fresh moisture as tears sprang into her eyes. Im so weak! I lost my ss; Im back to childrens levels!

    Eh, I wasnt much higher than that when we met. It doesnt take that long to get up to where you were . . .

    Only my entire life! She pulled her hand out of his, made a fist, and thumped him on the thigh. Her knuckles were light, and he barely registered the impact.

    That was the first time. Now you have resources and friends. Youve got an advanced bloodline! This is good, Edeya. Youre going to get different ss options, and I bet theyll be a hell of a lot better than the first time through. Didnt Lam tell you? Ranish Dar said there are rich, powerful people who would pay good money for a second chance at ss selection.

    Edeya exhaled a big, shuddering sigh and, to Victors surprise, chuckled again. She tried. I havent been very reasonable. What about you, though? What about what you had to promise that giant . . . stone man? She hesitated before she said stone, and it was Victors turn to chuckle.

    Hes crazy looking, isnt he?

    Again, Edeya went from near tears to giggling, and she nodded. He looked more like a monster than a man.

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    Thats just because you didnt hear him speak much. Hes very, very powerful, Edeya. Dont worry about me, all right? Of course, I dont like being pushed into it, but learning from him will probably be good for me in the long run.

    I just feel so guilty. If I was stronger; if I could have fought her off . . . Lam said she almost killed her, too. If Kethelket hadnt . . .

    Didnt I tell you to stop thinking about that shit? Victor growled and took her hand again, squeezing it. Think my hands got hard like this cause I sit around moping about the fights I lost?

    Edeyas eyes narrowed, and he couldnt tell if she was getting ready tough or yell. She settled for calling him out on his bullshit. Lam said you moped around for about a month after the final battle.

    Victorughed. Fair enough. You got me. Okay, so do you wannapare screw-ups? You got caught by surprise by a Death Caster with thirty levels on you. I walked into a trap because I was too full of myself. He shrugged. So, yeah, you can be mad, but not at yourself. Got it?

    She nodded. Ive got it.

    Victor smiled and reached up to brush some lingering moisture off her cheek. Now, lets talk about how youre going to get some levels quickly, huh?

    <strong>#</strong>

    Darren gazed upon his newly formed Core and basked in the pride of his aplishment. He could hardly believe hed done it, could scarcely believe that the swirling ball of crackling red Energy was his. The process had been tedious, requiring some leaps of faith and deep contemtion, but, in the end, hed done it, pulling his Energy into the correct shape and infusing it with the <em>idea</em> of chaotic lightning. Where before hed had an amorphous blob of golden, cid Energy, he now had a swirling, elliptical storm of wild, red lightning in his Core. It seemed richer, deeper, and more potent despite the amount of reported Energy being the same on his status sheet. Before they faded or he identally sent them away, he looked at his System messages again:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have learned a new skill: Wildarc Cultivation Drill  Basic.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have formed a new Core: Wildarc ss  Base 1.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have gained a new affinity: Lightning  8.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have gained a new affinity: Chaos  7.4.***</strong>

    He felt an overwhelming sense of pride seeing those messages and wished he could save them somehow or share them with Lesh. As they began to fade, though, Darren sighed and pulled up his status sheet:

    <strong>Status</strong>

    <strong>Name:</strong>

    <strong>Darren Whitehorse</strong>

    <strong>Race:</strong>

    <strong>Human - Base 1</strong>

    <strong>ss:</strong>

    <strong>-</strong>

    <strong>Level:</strong>

    <strong>1</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Wildarc ss - Base 1</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Lightning 8, Chaos 7.4, Unattuned 6.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>97/97</strong>

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>6</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>7</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>5</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>5</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>9</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>3</strong>

    <strong>Points Avable:</strong>

    <strong>0</strong>

    <strong>Titles & Feats:</strong>

    <strong>-</strong>

    <strong>Skills:</strong>

    <strong>System Language Integration</strong>

    <strong>Not Upgradeable</strong>

    <strong>Wildarc Cultivation Drill</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Spells:</strong>

    <strong>-</strong>

    <strong>-</strong>

    He didnt know how impressive it might look to anyone else, but to him, it was a damn sight better to see that he no longer had nks where his Core was listed. It didnt hurt that the tome hed been studying and the process of building his Core had granted him a cultivation drill. If he hadnt listened to his colleagues back in First Landing going on and on about their levels and Energy, he wouldnt have a clue what that meant. Still, he <em>had</em> listened to them and knew he now had a way to build up his Energy reserves and, hopefully, level up his Core.

    He was still sitting, legs crossed before him, in front of the big bay windows, and he looked out at the beautiful lights in the nighttime city of Sojourn. It was, literally, magic view that would rival a Manhattan penthouse for sheer impressiveness. The crystal towers of the city center looked like the fingers of gods sticking up from the glittering streets. Magical conveyances filled the night sky, all lit up with one magical light or another. Some glowed like faint neon roses; others flickered like rainbow bottle rockets as they zoomed hither and yon. God, Im d I came with them, he muttered, feeling something like contentment for the first time in many, many years.

    He was startled from his nightgazing when the hotel room door opened and shut with a thud. Fosterling! Lesh boomed. How goes your toil?

    Darren sprang to his feet, his knees almost buckling from the sudden straightening after being crossed for hours. Lesh! Er, <em>Elder</em> Lesh! I did it! I made a Core! Darren stumbled forward, almost falling to the carpet, but gathered himself as he walked toward the door and the imposing dragonkin.

    I knew you would, fosterling. Youre a member of my household now; failure was impossible.

    I . . . Darren suddenly felt a wave of emotion he hadnt expected. It was something he couldnt quite exin, something like pride but differentsofter, more . . . emotional. Thank you, Elder.

    Well? Tell me about your Core.

    I sessfully created a Wildarc Core, Elder. I also learned a cultivation drill in the process.

    Excellent! Not many can say the same. Thats something to take pride in! Youll be gaining levels in no time. So? You have affinities for lightning and chaos, yes?

    Yes! I think theyre high, too. My lightning is . . .

    Stop there, fosterling. I appreciate your trust, but you must know that the numbers the System puts on your affinities are things you should hold close to your chest. I will hear them if you trust me; youve already shared with me your affinities, so I know much that could harm you already. Still, keep such information well-guarded. Only share them with people you fear no betrayal from, only with people who wont spread your secrets.

    Darren stood only a few feet from the huge man, and he could feel something different about him, something like a palpable, heavy heat radiating from him. Was that his Energy? His aura? Darren wondered if he was more sensitive now that he had a Core of his own. He nodded and smiled, sping his hands before himself nervously. He wanted to share! He was proud of what hed done. Would Lesh think him stupid for doing so? Despite his fear, Darren nodded and said, I trust you, Elder Lesh.

    Tell me, then.

    My Lightning affinity is eight, and my chaos is seven-point-two.

    Lesh coughed and then chuckled, shaking his big reptilian head. Those are excellent numbers, Darren. Very high, by any worlds standard. Youre going to work great magics one day. Suddenly, a small cask was in Leshs hand, and he moved across the room, sitting before the big windows on the ground near the spot Darren had previously upied. This calls for celebration. Well drink to your sess. Sit. I also have news for you.

    Darren followed and sat beside him, epting the mug of pungent, eye-watering alcohol Lesh poured for him. News?

    Lord Victor has seeded in his quest to aid Edeya. She is awake and whole.

    Oh? Thats great! Darren looked out the window, and a wistful expression crossed his face. Does that mean were leaving soon?

    I think not. Lesh reached over, clicked his mug against Darrens, and said, A toast to your sess! <em>Frakgrakshra!</em> Thest word sounded like Lesh was either choking or growling, and Darren winced at the volume of the word. Leshughed. Its a toast from my home. It basically means that we enjoy the marrow of our enemies bones.

    Darren chuckled nervously, licked his lips, and said, Ill drink to that. Of course, the liquor was potent and burned all the way down, sending him into a coughing fit until his face was beet red. Still, when it passed, he had a delightful buzz, and the view out the window looked even more beautiful. Were not leaving?

    No. The young Ghelli princess suffered a great loss of Energy in the process of her recovery. Victor and the others think this city offers too many opportunities for her to leave so soon. More than that, Lord Victor has new obligations to a great master here. We may be living in Sojourn for a while.

    Despite himself, Darren took another drink of the harsh liquor. This time, it didnt choke him, and he noted some of the spiceshe thought he tasted something like cinnamon and a weird floral aftertaste. As the warm, euphoric buzz intensified, he stared out the window, watching a soaring silver and green bird that seemed to be made of living light. When it faded from view, he said, I think Im d.

    As you should be. I never could have dreamed of gaining my first levels in a ce so rich. I have bargained with Victor on your behalf. Hes agreed to allow you to apany Edeya into one of the many dimensional dungeons in this world.

    A dungeon?

    Lesh nodded, grinning and drinking his booze. Darren had, of course, heard of such things. Hed heard plenty of stories about Morgan Hall and his adventures prior toing to First Landing. Hed had to sit through many spective conversations and meetings about the System and its strange penchant for challenging the people who lived under its rule. Something was different now, however. For the first time, he was excited about the idea of leveling. He couldnt say he liked the thought of crawling through a dark maze filled with monsters, but there had to be a price for gaining levels, spells, skills, and Energy, right? Besides, if Victor sent Edeya into a dungeon, hed ensure she was ready. Even if he didnt like Darren, hed probably be safe with her, wouldnt he? Did you say shes a princess?

    Ah, nothing official. She just seems like one to me. Dont you think shes beautiful?

    Um, sure. I mean, she seems kind of wan and sickly, but maybe if she werent on deaths door . . .

    Hah! Lesh pped him on the back, and Darren sloshed some of his drink onto the carpet. Thats right! Youve only ever seen her as a spiritless ghoul. Youll see what I mean. Lesh kicked his feet out and leaned back. Im pleased by your progress, Darren. I think your growth will be entertaining. I just need to convince Lord Victor to help me improve, too. I hope he shares some of the wealth of knowledge he gains from the great master hes now bound to.

    Darren nodded, sipping his drink and mimicking Leshs posture. Im sure he will, Elder Lesh. Im sure he will.

 Book 7: Chapter 33: The Vault

    Book 7: Chapter 33: The Vault

    Three days after Ranish Dar healed Edeyas spirit, Victor woke early in the morning, and his mind wouldnt let him fall back asleep. He slipped from his bed, donned somefortable clothes, and picked up the leather shoulder satchel where hed stowed the dark-stone crown and the globe of ivid royal jelly. He stared for a long moment at Vas sleeping form, a stupid smile on his face. Despite her wings, she looked small and peaceful, and he savored the serene expression she bore as shey curled under the fluffy whiteforter, her head buried in an equally luxurious pillow. After several long seconds, soaking in the sight, he quietly slipped out of the bedroom and left a note for her on their suites dining table.

    <em>Va,</em>

    <em></em>

    <em>Gone to do some shopping - back before lunch.</em>

    <em></em>

    <em>-Victor</em>

    He left the hotel unarmored, but Lifedrinker hungfortably in her harness, and he wasnt really worried about a fight without his wyrm-scale vest; hed grown much sturdier since Tes made it for him. It wasnt that he didnt think it helped. It was just that anything that couldnt cut through it wasnt likely to kill him very easily, especially if he berserked. Naturally, hed rather not get cut or scraped or stabbed, but, for a shopping trip, he feltfort was worth the risk. Hed picked out a merchant from the maps guidebook the night before and hurriedly made his way toward the address, following the little line on the crystal tablet, chuckling at how much it reminded him of GPS.

    After ten minutes of his long strides through little to no traffic, he approached the building just as the sun began to rise, sending the distant crystal towers into a jaw-dropping spectacle of orange, yellow, and red shimmers. The artificers shop was a long, narrow structure made of in, brown brick, but it looked well-maintained, and the sign that hung over the ck iron door looked like a piece of artwood carved into the shape of a sleeping dragon painted turquoise and gold, and inscribed with the words, Slevensors Fine Enchantments.

    When he pulled on the cold, iron handle, the door didnt budge. Of course, Victor sighed. Just because he couldnt sleep didnt mean the whole city would wake up for him. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned, looking up and down the street, wondering if any nearby businesses were open, hoping to find somece to kill some time. He saw smoke rising from a chimney on the building at the corner and started walking that way, hoping hed spy a bakery or restaurant. Hed only taken two steps, though, when a shutter ttered open above him, and a sharp, feminine voice called out, Whoes calling at this hour?

    Victor turned, looking up, and saw a human-sized bird looking out at him. Bird was the wrong termshe had a beak and downy yellow feathers, but he could also see her arms and hands on the window sill. She wore a gauzy blue robe over her feather-covered but humanoid torso. Oh, hello, he said, shielding his eyes from the rising sun as he peered at her.

    Well, are you here for business or something more sinister? After she finished speaking, she made a funny cooing sound in her throat.

    Business.

    Come on, then. Ill open the door. Just finished my breakfast. Before he could reply, she mmed the shutters closed. Victor stepped back to the door and waited. A couple of minutester, he heard the locks click, and then the same bird-woman pushed the door open and beckoned him in. Hurry now, dont let the morning chill in.

    Victor had resized himself to afortable six and a half feet and easily slipped into the shop, allowing her to pull the door closed. The interior was a lot like hed expectedlots of wooden shelves built into the walls and lots of curios, figurines, books, and knick-knack-looking objects all over the ce. The proprietress beckoned him to follow her to the counter, where she hopped atop a stool, trilled a pleased-sounding note, and asked, What can I help you with?

    A few things, I suppose. Im Victor, by the way.

    Tria is what the beakless call me. Again, she chirped a funny, pleasant sound, bobbing her head, and Victor wondered if that was a thing avian species did because they couldnt express themselves with smiles and frowns.

    Nice to meet you. Um, first, Id like you to have a look at an item. I think it has a spirit in it, or maybe its just conscious, but I didnt want to bond with it until I knew more. He lifted the crown from his belt and set it on the wooden counter with a <em>thunk</em>. Tria immediately recoiled, waving her feather-bedecked arm back and forth in front of her.

    Ill not touch that, but I can see its auras and read its runes from here. You truly have no idea what it is?

    Victor shrugged. I took it from the corpse of an undead son of a bitch. He frowned and added, Actually, I killed him, then found his corpse in another ce with this on his head.

    That makes sense. It has a wounded, mad spirit within. Moreover, the runes indicate that this is a lifeward relicmore precisely, an <em>undead</em> lifeward relic. Its a brutal, crude enchantment, too. Whoever created it was new to the concept, Id wager. I can assure you that anyone whose undying life was preserved by this relic would have had a long, painful recovery. You say his body was dead, though, when you found him?

    Yeah. Victor sighed and fidgeted for a minute, rubbing his chin. I, uh, pulled his heart out before he could disappear. I also destroyed a piece of his spirit that was in the heart. Would that matter?

    The womansrge ck and yellow eyes widened further, and she shrank back from him. Elder gods! Such savagery!

    He had iting. Victor shrugged and put his hands in his pockets, trying not to look threatening. Im not a madman; you can rx.

    Whatever the circumstances, yes, I believe what you did to the being who wore this crown surely interrupted his reconstitution. Undoubtedly, its his damaged spirit that dwells within it. Tell me, did you not find the crowns anchor?

    Anchor?

    A paired artifact where the crown would bring the wearer when it saved his life.

    Ah! Victor pulled the heavy key still inside the marble-sized silver ball from around his neck and set it on the counter. If I twist this key, that little ball of silver expands to make a round room. Inside that is where I found the corpse and the crown.

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    Lovely! Tria leaned forward, making tiny cooing sounds as she peered at the key. This is something altogether different. Where the crown is crude and brutal in its function, this is elegant and powerfulits Fae-forged silver and of a quality, Im not ashamed to admit, I wouldnt be able to match. I have difficulty believing this is the anchor to that ghastly crown. Can we open it?

    Victor picked up the key and looked around the shop, frowning. I dont think itll fit in here.

    To my workshop thenthis way. She stepped through the curtain hanging behind her, and Victor followed, snatching the crown off the counter on his way. The room behind the shop was very spacious, with high ceilings and workbenches on three of the four walls. Tria pointed to some wooden tables near the center and said, If we move those to the side, will there be enough room?

    I think so. It filled the top of a stone tower when I found it, but it couldnt have been more than ten paces across. Victor measured the workshop with his strides, nodding when he reached fourteen before he could touch the back workbench. Yeah, I think its plenty big.

    Tria lingered by the door. Please proceed to open it, then. Ill watch from here. Victor nodded, stepped to the center of the room, and ced the little silver marble on the ground. Holding it in ce with his finger and thumb, he twisted the key and stepped back. Brilliant, silver light and hissing steam erupted from the little device as it rapidly expanded, filling the center of the workshop as it grew into the room-sized, silvery, rune-etched, spherical vault. When it stopped growing and steaming, the door with the key protruding from it faced Victor and Tria. She began to make that cooing sound, rushing forward to run her delicate fingers over the surface of the rune-etched metal. I wasnt wrong!

    About?

    This is Fae-craftthis metal, these wondrous designs! This is, indeed, a vault, Victor. A portable vault made for the storage of items most dear. I shudder to think of the power required to open this chamber without the key. She gestured to the key. May I? Victor nodded, his mind running away with her words. Was the Fae-craft vault capable of holding the ivid royal jelly? He wanted to ask her but worried about her reaction when she saw the treasure. What if she coveted it? What if she sold the information of his possession to someone more powerful who would want it? While he pondered the idea, Tria opened the door and stepped into the sphere.

    Almost immediately, she cried, I can see the crowns anchor. He followed her in and saw she was pointing at the hanging red crystal, squinting at the baleful red light it cast. This doesnt belong. Nor does that silver chair. Look there, at the chairs feet; the silver clearly doesnt match the Fae-forged silver. Its crudely designed, too, inparison to the spheres elegance.

    Victor nodded. Yeah, well, the guys corpse was in the chair, under the gem, so maybe he installed it for that purpose. He frowned, lifting the crown from his belt again. Is this thing valuable? Could it save me the way it tried to save Dunstan?

    Dunstan?

    The name of the undead guy.

    Oh, I see. No, Im afraid not. She chirped softly and shivered, ruffling her feathers up and down her arms. Not unless you wanted to be a member of the unliving. As for its value, Im sure you could find a Death Caster or even one of the openly undead here in Sojourn whod pay a tidy sum for it and the anchor. She pointed at the glowing, round jewel.

    I have a better idea. Victor reached up and pulled on the red, crystal globe, putting more and more pressure on the silvery chain it hung from, smiling as the soft weld of molten silver separated from the harder metal of the dome. When it came free, he set the strange, glowing artifact atop the throne, then ced the crown beside it. Stand back. As Tria scurried away, her dexterous, taloned feet clicking on the metal, he cast Honor the Spirits and a wild grin spread on his face as the white mes of his spirit magic took the throne, the crown, and the red globe away to the Spirit ne.

    What did . . . Tria rushed forward, little clicking chirps sounding from her throat. What did you do?

    I gave them to my ancestors.

    What? She looked at him with wide, stunned eyes. You destroyed them? For superstition?

    Suddenly, Victors rage-attuned Energy red into his pathways, and he felt his aura slipping from his control as his Quinametzin haughtiness asserted itself. He seemed to swell with the power, and his eyes red with dangerous, red Energy as he snapped, My ancestors would not be pleased to hear those words!

    Tria shrank back and ducked her head, waving her feathery arms over her head. Apologies, Lord! I spoke hastily, shocked at the loss of those materials, thats all. I beg you, forget I said such a thoughtless thing. Her obvious fear and obsequious behavior were like a ssh of cold water to Victor. He hated that hed scared her and was furious that hed let his control slip. He yanked his rage back into his Core and mped down on his aura like an iron vise.

    No, Tria, Im the one whos sorry. I didnt mean to let your words upset me like that. Its my bloodlinesometimes I lose my grip on it.

    She slowly straightened, dropping her arms to her side and squinting her big round eyes up at him. She was probably only about five feet tall, and clearly, any levels shed gained hade from craftinghe felt like a total asshole for frightening her. May I ask you a question without enraging you? Her voice was trepidatious, and he could hear the nervousness in the little clicking coos she made after speaking.

    Yeah, of course. Im paying attention now; I wont lose it again.

    Are you young?

    Yeah. I guess so. In years, anyway.

    She nodded and took a hesitant step closer. I think I understand then. My ss allows me to see more about people and objects than the average person, and I can see youve advanced your bloodline greatly. Thats always harder the younger you are. As one gains the power of a potent species without much time between ranks, its sometimes difficult toe to grips with it. In that case, Imend you for the control youve thus far disyed.

    Thank you. By the way, I appreciate your help in identifying the crown and helping me understand this vault better. Im happy to pay a fee for that help. I have another question, too, if you wouldnt mind.

    Ive done nothing worthy of payment today, Victor. I happily share my knowledge with clients in the hopes of building a rtionship. I only ask that you please think of my shop first if you need magical goods.

    Done. Victor gestured to the room, no longer tinged with the baleful red light of the crystal orb but instead seemingly lit from an invisible ambient source in a soft silvery glow. Can this vault hold more powerful artifacts than my other storage devices? My rings, for example? Victor held up his right hand, wriggling his fingers and the storage rings.

    Oh, yes! This vault is much, much, much sturdier! More than that, its safe to put sapient beings within this vault and then reduce its size. Even a living person could sit in this room while you carried it about on that chain around your neck. She paused and made a strange, tremulous clicking coo. Well, only until they ran out of air. This space would be quite tightly sealed when closed.

    Really? Victor looked around the vault''s interior at the softly illuminated silver walls utterly covered with strange, engraved runes and patterns. It can?

    Yes! If you have the knowledge to understand them, Ill show you the enchantments that make it possible. Whoever earned or stole this vault from the Fae had a wondrous treasure on their hands. I can create something simr, but nothing thisrge or this sturdy.

    Victor smiled. Im not an enchanter. He tried to think of a way to ask about the ivid royal jelly without putting himself or it at risk and decided it wasnt worth it. If she coveted what he had, she was likely too weak or fearful to take him on, but there was no telling what sort of powerful people she might know. Instead, he asked, Is there any way to tell if something I put into this vault is harming it?

    She made a different sort of bubbling, cooing sound, clearly augh, and shook her head. If you had something that could damage this vault, Id be astonished. Nothing Ive ever worked with could harm it, and Ive assisted some of the masters deep into their lustrous veils, crafting special artifacts, one of which was so potent that I had to ward myself against it lest I turn to dust in its presence.

    Even so, is there any way to tell if Ive damaged it?

    Certainly. The walls of this sphere will begin to tarnish and then crack. If you see that happening, remove the item, and the vault will repair itself given enough time.

    Victor sighed and nodded, delighted by the unexpected turn of events. Hed thought hed have to begin a tedious search for a container capable of holding the royal jelly, only to find the thing hed been carrying around his neck for weeks and weeks was exactly what he needed. That, and being rid of the dark crown, were like two weights off his shoulders. He gestured to the door. Shall we? Before I leave, Id like to look at some of the things you have for sale.

    Of course! She preceded him out of the vault, and before he followed, Victor lowered the leather satchel containing the royal jelly to the floor, setting it just inside the doorway. Once outside, he swung the door closed with a heavy, satisfying <em>ng</em> and then turned the key all the way to the left, locking it and reducing the room back down to marble-sized. He put the chain over his head and let the priceless talisman hang beneath his shirt. Feeling much lighter without his earlier burdens, he followed Tria back into her storefront. She perched atop her stool and asked, What sorts of things do you need?

    I have a couple of very low-level friends who are going to have their first adventure in a dungeon soon. I thought I should buy them some supplies. A weapon for one, maybe some armor or magical clothing, some helpful trinkets, and maybe an expanding shelter. He chuckled and shook his head. Nothing like my vault, but, yeah, a sturdy tent or . . .

    A cozy little cabin thats bigger on the inside than out? Something they might erect after a difficult battle?

    Now youre speaking mynguage! Victor leaned his elbow on the counter, grinning. Truthfully, Im only really concerned about one of them, but I cant very well bring her a bunch of equipment and leave the other guy empty-handed, right? I guess the better he does, the more help hell be for her, so . . . Victor let his words trail off and shrugged.

    I think we cane up with a wonderful beginners kit for both of them, and it shouldnt cost you too much, either. Lets start by talking about armorIve got some vests with shimmersteel rings you should take a look at, and then . . .

 Book 7: Chapter 34: A Brief Respite

    Book 7: Chapter 34: A Brief Respite

    The few days following his visit to Trias shop were some of the best days Victor could ever remember. Reflecting on that time, he knew it was because he spent it with Va, and they didnt feel like there was anything they had to do, no emergency they had to handle. Nothing felt like life or death, and they took their time sleeping in, touring vis and townhomes for sale, eating at restaurants, and forgetting about everyone elses problems for a while. Hed purchased some low-tier dungeoneering gear, as Tria called it, for Darren and Edeya, and then hed left them in Lam and Leshs capable hands while he worked on his first quest for Ranish Darprocuring property in Sojourn.

    Even after buying a few excellent items for the two low-level members of his entourage, he still had roughly a million Energy beads, but Victor quickly learned that a million beads wouldnt go very far in Sojourn. He also learned that there were well-established money-lending institutions in the city and that he, being tier-six and having an epic-tier racial status, would easily qualify for enormous loansall he had to do was sign his soul away.

    Thats how he thought of it, at least, but even hed admit he was being hyperbolic. The loans were structured in such a way that should he miss a payment, hed start to notice a tiny draw on his Energy, a siphoning of his Core. If he continued to miss them, the draw would increase, and that process would repeat until he either became a living battery, feeding the bank a constant supply of Energy, or he paid the loan bnce.

    To Victor, the process sounded like glorified very, and he refused to consider it. Va was in his corner, and so the property broker theyd found in the guidebook relented and began showing them homes that fit his budgetthey werent exactly ptial. In the end, on the third day of touring, Victor settled on a small vi in an older part of Sojourn about an hours walk from the downtown crystal towers, and that was taking into ount the sidewalks that sped a persons movement.

    The vi was sandwiched between two others, and they all shared courtyard walls, but those walls were thick, made of sturdy stone, and twelve feet tallonce inside, it felt private. The vi was old but well-made, built from whitewashed stone of some sort, and all the floors were tiled in a way that reminded Victor very much of Saltillo, so much so that he almost immediately agreed to the asking price of eight hundred thousand beads.

    The homesyout was simple, with a kitchen, dining room, parlor, three bedrooms, and amunal bath. Victors favorite part of the ce was the basement, or cer, which was spacious, cool, and fully lined with the same stone that made up the home. He figured it would be good enough for whatever Ranish Dar had nned with regard to a cultivation chamber.

    Va loved the courtyard and garden. It was clear that the previous owner had possessed a green thumb, and many of the mature nts bore fruit and flowers year-round in the city''s mild climate. A small fountain trickled musically amid a tiny hidden nook surrounded by high, flowering shrubs, and it felt almost like a secret getaway from the rest of the city and even the home itself.

    When Lam heard Victor had bought a property in Sojourn, she, of course, felt like she had to as well, but Victor talked her out of it. His home only had three bedrooms, but he reminded her about his travel home, saying hed set it up in the courtyard. That opened a great deal more space for the group, and he reasoned it was silly for her to buy property when she had so much building and governing to get back to in the Free Marches.

    Lam had agreed, and so, thats where Victor and the others were, sitting outside in the garden onfortable camp chairs with full bellies and sses full of wine, when Ranish Dars magical messenger bird flitted over the wall and swooped its way through the garden until it found him. When it fluttered near his ear, it chirped so that only he could discern its words, Read the message in the masters Farscribe book! It didnt wait around for an answer. Rather, it streaked away into the night sky like a bottle rocket.

    What was it? Va asked, and everyone else stared at him with wide, expectant eyes, even Darren.

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    I, uh, must have a message from Dar. Victor quickly scanned through his storage ring for the appropriate Farscribe book and summoned it forth. He turned to the most recently filled page, just past the dense dissertation about his abilities and training that hed written for Ranish Dar. On the new page, he found a short, elegantly scribed message:<blockquote>

    <em>Victor,</em>

    <em></em>

    <em>The time is nigh. Report to the World Hall at midnight.</em>

    <em></em>

    <em>-Ranish</em></blockquote>

    Huh. Short and sweet. He sighed, stretching his neck until it popped like an inch-thick branch being snapped. Guess I have to report to that dungeon tonight.

    Dungeon? Edeya asked, shooting to her feet. I thought that was just me and Darren! Shed grown quitefortable with the idea over thest few days, and, ording to Lesh, she and Darren had been working hard on their basicbat abilities, though Edeya was miles ahead of the one-time politician.

    Nah, my new, uh, shit, what do I call that guy? Teacher? Im <em>not</em> calling him master. Anyway, he wants me to go into thispetition dungeon so he can watch my performance and, I guess, earn some clout in the city if I kick some ass.

    Edeya looked from Lam to Lesh to Va, scowling. You knew about this?

    Yes . . . Lam started to say.

    Why didnt you tell me? She looked incensed, and Victor couldnt quite figure out why, especially half-inebriated as he was. When Lam frowned and didnt reply immediately, she whirled on Victor. Why didnt you tell me?

    It didnte up! You were busy with Lam or Lesh whenever we talked about it. Whats the . . .

    So you would have just slipped away tonight if I hadnt been here when that magic bird arrived?

    Victor felt his pulse quicken, felt the heat of indignation on his neck, and then he felt Vas cool fingers gripping his wrist. He took a deep breath and said, Hell no, Dey! He and Va had picked up on Lams affectionate nickname for Edeya and had used variations of it frequently while she recovered. I wouldve said goodbye. You dont need to be worried; Dar says this dungeon has training wheels.

    Training wheels? She frowned, turning to Va with questioning eyes.

    Va nodded, smiling reassuringly. Hell wear a talisman that will transport him out of the dungeon if he bes badly wounded. Of course, Victor had neglected to mention to her or the others Dars exact words, leaving off the part about how someone killed suddenly or near-instantlyhe couldnt remember the exact wordscouldnt be protected by the talismans.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the vition.

    Do the other dungeons have those? Darren asked, sudden hope blooming in his eyes.

    Leshughed and pped his back, nearly knocking him off his chair. Not the one youre going into, fosterling. However, the system sometimes awards recall tokens. Perhaps youll win something like that along the way.

    So, how long will you be gone? Edeya asked, ignoring the side conversation.

    No idea. I guess until I clear the dungeon. He looked at Lam and Lesh. Theres probably a boss or something, right?

    Lesh answered first, I know not. Ive never seen a dungeon built forpetitions, nor one that allowed certain parties as spectators. I have, of course, heard tales of peoplepeting within a dungeonkilling each other over treasures or trying to cut off ess to the deeper levels. On my homeworld, there are many dungeons with entrances controlled by different factions, and Ive witnessed great battles to clear those entrances, allowing rival factions to enter. What you are about to partake in sounds far more organized.

    Im no help either, Victor. I fought in some dungeons on Fanwath, but never to the end and never under any sort of organized control. Lam took a drink of her wine and smiled with purple-stained teeth. I love your confidence, though. I wonder if theres a ce to make bets. Her eyes widened, and she leaned forward in excitement. I wonder if theres a ce for the public to watch!

    Vas grip tightened on Victor''s wrist, and she, too, leaned forward in excitement. Why didnt we look into that? Weve known about this for nearly a week! Well watch if we can, Victor!

    Cool, Victor sighed, chuckling as he began to rx again. He was too buzzed and too happy, surrounded by his friends, to be stressed about anything. He was especially happy to see Edeya looking like her old self, irate as she still seemed about his imminent departure. Anyone got the time?

    Lesh surprised him by producing a delicate, golden pocket watch. Four hours to midnight.

    Thanks.

    Is that it? Edeya asked, back in her seat but still looking irritated.

    What? Victor took another drink.

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    Darren and I are scheduled to go into the Grotto in two days. Do you think youll be back? Her voice, very slightly tremulous, which was a sharp turn from her indignation a minute ago, took Victor by surprise. Theyd picked the Grotto as the first dungeon for her and Darren because it was listed in the guidebook as safe and suitable for ssless teams or solo explorers.

    Hey, two days? Shit, Ill be shocked if Im in that ce that long. If I am, though, you guys are going to do great. He looked at Darren, amused by the idea that he was giving a guy nearly ten years his senior encouragement.

    Some humor must have been evident in his expression because Edeya shot to her feet and strode down the path leading to the kitchen''s back door, her wings dropping motes of blue lights along the cobbles in her wake. I dont know why everythings a joke to you, she said without looking back.

    What the hell? Victor asked, looking from Va to Lam, genuinely perplexed by the outburst.

    Id go after her, Lam said, but I think you should, Victor. She feels guilty for you being here, guilty that you must go into that dungeon, and so shesshing out. Im sure thats what it is.

    Ill try . . . Victor stood, but before he left, he looked around the group. From Darren, with his long ck hair and dark eyes, to Lesh, sprawled in the gravel, no chair needed, to Lam, still smiling despite the outburst, to Va, looking at him with concern in her eyes. I, um, appreciate you all. I hope you know that. Im not upset or worried about this dungeon, either. Not sure you all know this. I mean, I know Va does, but I lovepetition, and Im kind of looking forward to it. So, anyway, if anyone else is feeling raw about things, dont. His impromptu speech seemed to catch them all by surprise. Va smiled, and he saw from the eager expression in her eyes that she was pleased.

    Lesh nodded solemnly. You will crush them beneath your boot. I only wish I could fight at your side.

    Darren surprised him by agreeing. As Elder Lesh said, Victor, the soft people of this world dont know what theyre in for.

    Lesh barked a roughugh that almost sounded like a roar. Well said, fosterling!

    Darren, if you arent careful, Im going to end up thinking youre an all-right guy. Victor snorted, shaking his head as he started after Edeya. He was relieved to find her in the kitchen, rooting through the pantry. Hey, he said, sitting on one of the benches that lined the long wooden table.

    She groaned. Im such a dummy. Im sorry about that. I dont know whats going on with me. She didnt look at him while she spoke, and he could tell she was close to crying.

    He decided to y dumb. Hungry? Ive got some damn good pastries stashed away. I got em in Coloss.

    Pastries? She looked at him, closing the pantry door.

    Yeah. Sugary, buttery, a little cinnamon-like spice, but different. Youll see. He stared off into space for a minute while he looked through his rings, trying to find the treats in question. When he couldnt, he groaned and pped his forehead. Dammit! I think they were in one of my dimensional pouches. They got destroyed in the volcano.

    Oh, she said, her voice small, as she sat beside him.

    Dont give up hope! I have other stuff stowed away. He kept looking for a minute and then snapped his fingers. Aha! A secondter, he deposited a tray of gooey msses cookies with some kind of dried fruit he couldnt name pressed into the center. It was soft and sweet, almost like a date. Thesell solve the craving. Dont remember where I . . .

    Gelica! I used to get these from a bakery near Lams estate! Edeya grabbed one and took a big bite.

    Hey, he said, while her mouth was full and she couldnt interrupt, You didnt hear me out there, but you need to know that theres nothing to be upset about with me going into this dungeon. Remember I told you it would be good for me to have a mentor, even if I didnte here looking for one? Well, this is part of that. Im looking forward to it. Im looking forward to thepetition, to the fighting, to the treasure, but mostly I just fucking love the attention. Shit, Edeya, I was like that before I ever had a single level. Back on my homeworld, I used to wrestle for sport, and it was pretty much the only damn thing I was good at. I loved to hear the crowd! I loved looking at the stands when the ref held my hand up at the end of the match, watching them cheer and stomp their feet on the bleachers. You know about the pits, about the Coloss arena, shit, you saw me on the battlefield. Im built for this. Dont feel bad, all right?

    Promise? Promise you dont resent me?

    Never. Youre so important to me, <em>chica</em>! Youre, shit, youre my oldest friend. You know that? Victor felt moisture in his eyes and shook his head, squeezing them tight.

    I know. Im so sorry about Sarl, Victor. They were both sitting with their backs to the table, their legs away from it, and she leaned her head against his shoulder, taking his big hand in her delicate, slender fingers. Promise me youre not going to die in there?

    Promise me youll be okay in the Grotto?

    I promise! she said immediately.

    All right, I promise, too. He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head, smiling and inhaling, savoring and memorizing the scent of her hairbeeswax and honey and something like vani. Im gonna remember this moment the next time youre calling me a big dummy.

    Thats all right. I want you to, she said, her voice quiet and happy. They sat that way a while longer, and then the rest of the party came inside, and the spell was broken. They relocated to the parlor, but everyone stopped drinking, giving Victor a chance to sober up. After visiting for a bit longer, most of the others went to bed, hugging Victor goodbye and good luck. Va and Victor sat together for another hour, holding hands and being content in each others silentpany.

    When Victor stood and cleared his throat, Va did, too, and she surprised him by saying, Lesh and I have been talking.

    Oh?

    We want to go into a dungeon when Edeya and Darren enter the Grotto. Theres a tier-six dungeon called Desperation Gap, and there are rumors of unique System rewards and titles for clearing it.

    Va, I . . .

    Dont want me to risk my life? Too bad, lover. I know thispetition youre going into isnt as safe as you im. I understand, though. Its the life weve chosenwe, Victor, not you. Lesh and I need this. If youre back, maybe you cane with us, but I know Ranish Dar might have other ns, so dont let it weigh heavy on your mind. Promise me?

    Ugh! So many promises tonight! Victor smiled and shook his head. I wont ever try to hold you back, Va. I love you and trust you. If Im not back, or if I cant go, then, yeah, go kick some ass with the big, acid-spitting bruiser. She smiled at his words and grabbed him around the waist, hugging him tightly. He kissed her, tried to leave, and nearly got bowled over as she mmed into him, demanding another hug and another long kiss. He savored it and tried to memorize her taste and smell, and when he began tough, interrupting their amorous moment, she pulled back, looking scandalized.

    Youreughing?

    Its just . . . Im trying to memorize how you feel and taste, and I did the same with Edeya. I mean her smell. When I realized I was doing it, I thought it was fucking weird, and it made meugh.

    Its not weird! I was doing the same! Her scowl melted into a richugh, and Victor loved the sound of it. Now go before I drag you inside and make youte.

    Victor nodded, gave her one more quick kiss, and then walked out the gate onto the sidewalk. He knew he could make it in time if he walked, but he didnt want to be there without any time to spare, so he started jogging, and the magical sidewalk boosted his speed proportionately. With his gaze focused on the brilliant towers and the rainbow walkways of the god-like beings at their pinnacles, the sides of his vision began to blur as he flew through the city.

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    He felt good; he hadnt been lying to his friends. He decided the way to describe him was profoundly full of anticipation, excited about the many potentials unfolding in his future. Heughed and shook his head, Fuck that! Im stoked! That was the truth of it: He was stoked as hell, ready to kick some ass, and happy to know that he wouldnt have to kill anyone. If some of the otherpetitors wanted to mess with him, hed just beat the shit out of them until their Lifeguard talismans bailed them out.

    Fuck yeah! he yelled into the wind as he charged through the streets, almost ripping Lifedrinker from her harness and screaming for his ancestors to watch him, but he stopped himself with a wildugh. It wasnt quite time for that. When he arrived at the World Hall, it was just as busy as ever; Sojourn wasnt a city that slept much. He only had to look around for a moment, though, before Dar found him. The great, dark, stone-like man stomped toward him, seemingly out of nowhere.

    His voice rumbled and cracked through the air, Good, Victor. You look vibrant and ready for the challenge.

    Victor nodded. Im ready.

    Dar smiled, his weird, stony flesh bending inexplicably. His fiery eyes zed, and he said, Don your armor and gird yourself, apprentice. There are twenty-seven entrants, the highest number in a century, and four are tier-nine.

 Book 7: Chapter 35: Competition

    Book 7: Chapter 35: Competition

    As soon as Victor put on his armor, Dar started walking,pelling him to hurry after him. Their brisk pace didnt stop Victor from asking questions as they went, Why so many? Did you say tier nine?

    Dar guided him into a side passage, still significant in dimension but ten times smaller than the main World Hall. I suspect my boasting and wagering on the oue has piqued some interest among my rivals. He nced at Victor, one zing eye making contact with his. Tier nine, aye. This challenge dungeon is open to all iron-rankers. Id say the majority of the entrants will be tier seven or higher.

    Victor didnt respond. He didnt see a point to ithe was going in, regardless. Hed learned from fighting Karnice that levels werent the only measure of a person that mattered. Dar took a side passage, an actual hallway this time, not a great hall, and Victor followed him, admiring the wild murals painted on the smooth ster walls and ceilingsforest scenes with naked fairy-like creatures, gigantic buildings perched on cliffs, exploding mountains, and soaring dragons. The artwork was, forck of a better word, epic. Another question came to mind, and he asked, There will be monsters and stuff, right? You think Ill see enough action to gain a level or two?

    Ah, yes, I would hope. I should warn you, though, that the Lifesaver talismanes with a costshould it activate, saving you from death, the System will hook its greedy ws into you, drawing out ten percent of your umted Energy. Its greedy, but it wants to keep its subjects engaged in the pursuit of power, so it will award some of that Energy to the others still lingering in the dungeon.

    I take it you dont mean the Energy in my Core.

    Dar chuckled. No, sadly, in your case, being level sixty, the System would drain you enough to take away six levels.

    And anyone still in the dungeon gets a share? Even if they had nothing to do with my, uh, life-threatening situation?

    Correct. That being the case, if youst to the end, you will likely see great gains in the dungeon.

    Victor squeezed his hands into fists until his knuckles popped satisfyingly. All right. Sounds fair.

    Dars chuckle sounded again, like stones cking together as they fell from a wheelbarrow. I knew you had the right sort of spirit. Were going to work well together, Victor.

    Do we all start in the same spot?

    No! The dungeon is structured like a tower, and youll all start at the bottom, but its vast and has dozens of starting positions. The level is designed in such a way that each starting position is equidistant from the stairway up. Dar paused, breaking his stride as he scratched his head. If I recall, theres only one way up from the first level, so even if you start in a room by yourself, be prepared to encounter others as you ascend.

    Victor nodded. And you and the others will be watching? That reminds memy friends were wondering if theres any way for them to watch. Are there public, uh, viewing screens or something?

    Naturally! Many establishments in the city have ess to the viewing stones. Ah! I should exin that. Each of you will have an egg-shaped stone following you, floating in the air behind and above you. People with the correct ess can view you and your exploits through that stone.

    Huh. Like a drone, I guess.

    A drone? In a sense, I suppose the word makes sense, though these viewing stones are not controlled by anyone. Still, they arent particrly intelligent, and you couldpare them to an insect serving a hive.

    Uh . . . right. Victor didnt want to exin what hed meant by the word. Dar walked a bit further and stopped beforerge, bronze doors held ajar by soldiers in dull red te armor, their visors obscuring their features. Victor might have assumed they were human if not for their four arms and segmented, chitin-covered tails protruding from their lower backs. Inside the chamber beyond the door, a single transport pad sat on a big, marble floor in a domed chamber decorated with murals very much like those Victor had seen earlier.

    More than a hundred people stood around in the chamber, though everyone clung to the stone walkway at the tform''s edgenone stood on the metal. Dar gestured and said, This is where youll all teleport into the dungeon. It upies a pocket dimension very close to Sojourn, as do all the dungeons purchased through the System stone.

    Do you get to them all from the World Hall?

    No, some are essed through portals in parks, special buildings, or even in the limited real estate not upied by the city. He and Victor had stepped to the side of the door and were standing apart from the other groups of people. Dar looked at Victor and nodded. Your armor is good for an iron-ranker. That helmet is nigh-indestructible, and I can see the wyrm-scale was crafted by a master. He turned and slowly scanned the room, and Victor followed his gaze.

    The people gathered in the hall were incredibly diverse. Most were bipedal or humanoid, as Victor thought of them, but he saw people with multiple sets of legs and others with noneserpent-like in their lotion. Perhaps a third of the people gathered had wings of some sort, and they all varied in size from a single-eyed, brutish-looking man half again as tall as Victor to a tiny rabbit-like individual who couldnt have weighed more than twenty pounds.

    Dar looked at Victor again, and his face didnt betray what he was thinking as he said, There are some very dangerous foes in this room, but I dont see many with racial advancements on par with yours. Thats an edge for you. Even those in the epic tier dont have such potent bloodlines. Theyll underestimate you at their peril.

    Because of my level?

    Exactly.

    Victor folded his arms and continued to stare at the people around the room. It was hard to pick out which were contestants and which were there to send off their friends, loved ones, or, as in Dars case, their students. Victor found the idea of calling himself a student sort of funny; he hadnt learned anything much from the man yet, but he supposed that woulde. Hed only known him for a week. Any rules? he asked, figuring he should try to get more out of the master.

    Oh, excellent question! Once inside the dungeon, any dimensional containers on your person will be inessible.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the vition.

    Shit. Seriously?

    Aye. Too many folks carry too many artifacts in their storage rings. This rule keeps things a little fairer. Looking around, though, I can see many of the entrants have strapped all manner of containers on their bodies. Hmm. Do you have a satchel or pack you can fill with food? Im not sure how long youll be in there, but you may get hungry or thirsty.

    Jesus, Dar! Now, you tell me?

    I dont require sustenance as you do. He frowned. Not that you should require much with your bloodline so advanced. Have you never fasted?

    Uh, yeah. Now that you mention it, Ive gone quite a few days without food or water, and that was when my bloodline was only advanced or so.

    Aye. I imagine you mostly eat out of habit and pleasure these days. I wouldnt be concerned. Ive never known this challenge to take longer than a week. Youll likelye across food and water in the tower anyway. He snapped his fingers and said, Which reminds me: If you find a storage item in the dungeon, youll be allowed to ess it as much as youd like.

    What about loot? I mean, if one of the others, Victor jerked his chin at the crowded room, dies. Can I take their stuff?

    If the System fails to rescue them with the Lifesaver, then yes, their corpses and all items upon them are fair game.

    Victor opened his mouth, intent on grilling Ranish Dar until thest second, but then a gong sounded, and a bodiless voice announced, Teleportation willmence in three minutes. All entrants must now step onto the circle.

    Dar pped him on the shoulder. Good luck, Victor. Dont disappoint me. For the first time that day, he spoke without any levity in his voice, and Victor wondered what Dar would do if he got eliminated right away. He might lose six levels, but it also might be a quick way out of the master Spirit Casters service. He almostughed at the stupid thoughtno way hed throw a match even if there werent any penalty. He nodded at Dar, gave him a thumbs up, and strode onto the circle, watching the others as they, too, made their way onto it.

    He saw that Dar was right; the people going into the dungeon were easy to pick out now that he knew to look for packs and satchels. Almost all of them had them, and one guy, who looked part snail, part lizard, part man, had no fewer than four packs and satchels hanging from his sizeable neck and shoulders, each bulging at the seams. Victor thought about digging out some healing potions and a few drinks and snacks and bundling them into an extra shirt or cloakhe was sure he had somethingbut decided against it. The main reason being that he didnt want to look like an idiot in front of all of hispetition. Even he had to admit the sentiment was foolish, but he couldnt help it.

    As he stood there, he noticed the weight of some of thepetitors auras. Hed been keeping his aura entirely in check, but he began to wonder if he should let it loose. Should he give them a taste of his power, or should he keep them guessing? The auras he felt werent particrly potent, and he was sure his would drive them back and press far more heavily on the people around. What if he was wrong, though, and there were others standing on the pedestal who had more potent auras, only waiting to see who would give a hint of their strength?

    He kept remembering when Tes had taught him how to control it, saying that people in civilized, high-Energy worlds would judge him harshly if he didnt have that control. He decided it was worse not knowing someones strength than having a good measure, so he kept a firm grip on it. His decision was reinforced when he heard a tall man with rams horns mutter to someone nearby, Some weak wills on disy.

    Again, the gong sounded, and the weird, bodiless voice announced, Teleportation willmence in one minute. At the announcement, a circr aperture opened in the center of the ceiling and, with a faint humming sound, pale blue, oval objects, almost exactly the size of a chickens egg, floated down through the air, one for each person standing on the tform.

    Thanks to Dar, Victor knew what they were, but one of the contestants nearby, someone behind him, asked in a deep, scratchy voice, What the scourge are these, then?

    A lisping, feminine voice replied, Thems how our exploits get disyed for all them folk in the city.

    Victor stood far taller than most of the contestants, so when he looked around, turning in a slow circle, he could see everyone. Some wore armor, while others wore silky robes, and quite a few were dressed in very normal-looking clothes. One woman even had on an outfit that reminded him of the Legion uniform Va used to wear. He saw weapons of all sorts, from quarter staves to bows to hammers to a man who gripped the hilts of two short, curved swords, each glowing faintly with magenta Energy. While no one looked exactly human, quite a few came close. Many such looked like human-animal hybrids, and he wondered if stories on Earth of werewolves or fox-people had their origins with such folk.

    As he looked around, he immediately spotted at least one of the tier-nine individuals. He wasnt sure how he knew other than the sense of danger he felt when he saw the flickering mes that seemed to sheath his body, the dancing fires behind his cold, blue eyes, and the mean, thin-lipped half-smile he wore as everyone near him tried to make space. As Victor stood there, wondering if he was right, if he was one of the bigpetitors as hed subconsciouslybeled the tier nines, he snapped his fingers and said, Shit! Hed almost forgotten about his little magical scope, and he barely located and dug it out of his storage ring before the gong chimed and the voice announced that they had ten seconds.

    In a near-panic, he dug around in his storage rings for a leather pouch, bag, or satchel that he could tie to his belt. Hed barely located a mundane belt pouch and tucked the scope into it as, with a sh of white light and nausea-inducing lurch, the portal hall faded away, and he found himself stumbling onto a slightly canted stone tform. The lighting had changed; bright daylight filtered down to him through the leaves of high trees, and wild animal calls sounded in the distance. Not far away, he heard the babbling of a stream or small river, and, just to his left, the diminutive rabbit person hed seen earlier squealed in surprise and leaped a dozen yards down a gravel-strewn flight of stone steps, taking flight into a stand of berry-covered saplings before Victor could so much as say hello.

    Victor shrugged and tied the pouch with his scope onto his belt, then reached up and pulled Lifedrinker out of her harness. All right, <em>chica</em>. Lets see what this ce is all about. If this is a tower, its gotta be big to have trees and sunlight in it, yeah?

    He descended the steps where the rabbit person had fled, switching his Sovereign Will boost to vitality and agility as he went. He figured hed like to move quickly if someone got the jump on him, and, failing that, hed like to be as sturdy as possible. Hed only made it two steps, though, before a gong sounded, seemingly out of the sky, and several System announcements appeared in his vision:

    <strong>***All entrants are present; thispetitive dungeon instance is now locked.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***A Lifesaver Talisman will appear at your feet; wear it at your discretion. If you are saved by this device, you will be stripped of ten percent of your overall umted levels, and a portion of that Energy will be awarded to the remaining entrants.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***The denizens of this dungeon have treasures that may be won throughbat or subterfuge. Additionally, each entrant progressing to a new floor will be awarded a personal System-generated reward chest. The value of such rewards will be divided by the number of entrants in the dungeon.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Good Luck, Victor.***</strong>

    Victor chuckled. He had to assume the final message was tailored to everyone. He doubted the System would single him out like that, especially to wish him luck. He noticed a little cloud of blue smoke at his feet, and when he bent down to wave it away, he found a golden chain affixed to a tiny, dime-sized medallion with no markings. He shrugged and hung it over his head, tucking it under his vest. As he did so, he thought about how hed arrived on the tform at the same time as the little rabbit person. What if hed killed him? None of them had Lifesavers at that point. It seemed kind of sloppy to him but not at all at odds with his view of the often-callous System.

    So, he said, giving voice to his thoughts, using Lifedrinker as an excuse, the more people in here, the shittier the rewards. Typical System BS. He hopped down the steps, noticed a faint dirt trail, and started down it, brushing aside the thin branches covered with juicy-looking, red berries that grew close. They looked delicious, but he knew better than to start eating stuff he found in a dungeon.

    True, this was only the third pocket dimension hed ever been in, and only one of those others had been a dungeon, but hed learned not to trust things managed by the System. Especially if were in some kind ofpetition, he muttered. He pushed his way through the grove, and when he came out, he saw a long green slope below him. From that vantage, he could see a lot more of thendscape, confirming that he was, indeed, in some sort of structure despite the open-feeling air and magical sunlight.

    Down the slope, he saw high white walls in disrepair and past them, more and more walls and weird, crumbling old structures that might once have been towers or buildings. In the great distance, through a haze that seemed almost like mist or fog, he could see walls rising to a firmament-like ceiling thousands of feet above. At the center of the distant, cloud-obscured stone ceiling, he saw a great spiral stairway descending. Yeah, this ce is nuts. Nobody could make a room this big. His distant gaze was interrupted by a sh of something bright and a squeal of pain or surprise.

    Victor jerked his eyes toward the source of the sh and saw an eruption of bright yellow fire, and then, before he could decide to charge toward or away from it, a System message appeared:

    <strong>***Ekus Vi-dronip has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Twenty-six entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>

    Victor stepped back into the grove of berry trees and crouched down, watching thendscape between the narrow trunks. Sure enough, like a sun blooming to life near the top of the central stair, a ball of Energy appeared and then exploded, streaking down toward the ground in dozens of fragments, one of which came straight toward him.

    He braced himself, but the infusion wasnt enough to make him lose himself in the euphoria. It was a lot, but nothing like hed gotten from some of his battles back in the Free Marches. While he absorbed it, he tried to track some of the other Energy balls, and he was sure he saw two of them sh down at the foot of the grassy slope just a bit past the big crumbling wall.

    Two, huh? So those guys took out the rabbit? Or was the rabbit the one who took someone out? He doubted it. If the rabbit person had been aggressive, why would he or she have run at the sight of Victor? He gripped Lifedrinkers haft and, with a grin that said a lot about how much fun he was already having, he started jogging down the slope. Lets find out, eh, <em>chica</em>?

 Book 7: Chapter 36: Heavy Feet

    Book 7: Chapter 36: Heavy Feet

    Victor loped down the grassy slope toward the tall, crumbling wall, aiming for a gap near a thorny, nearly leafless hedge. The grass gave way to dirt and chips of stone that looked to be remnants of ancient mortar and fallen blocks. He slowed as he approached the wall, not wanting to sound like a bull let loose in a garden. He quietly padded to the gap in the wall and edged around it, slowly taking in the scene beyond, inch by inch.

    Dust and gravel coated an ancient gstone floor, surrounded by high stone walls, enclosing a space about fifteen yards across. He saw an opening in the wall to his right, and he darted over the stone floor to that archway, pausing to peer into the next room. Just like the roofless room he was standing in, the one beyond the archway was empty save for chunks of rubble and dusty debris on the ground.

    Victor stepped into the space, aiming for another opening in the wall across the room and to his left, but he paused, peering more closely at the floor. Are those tracks? he whispered to Lifedrinker, crouching and creeping toward the scuff marks on the stone. They certainly looked like tracks to him, and he could see they led toward the opening hed been aiming for. He hurried, nimbly stepping between chips of stone, to the wall and peered through.

    The area revealed by the opening wasrger than the two hed just explored. It had grassy, overgrown floor sections and a slope that led down to a central depression where it looked as though the ground had caved in millennia ago. Down in that depression, Victor saw wisps of smoke rising off scorched grass and the g of something that looked almost like molten stone. He immediately concluded that this was the site of Ekus Vi-dronips demise.

    He scanned the area and couldnt see any sign of the aggressors. Other than the one he lurked in, two exits led from the room: one through the far wall and another to the left. Still holding Lifedrinker ready, he moved in a stealthy crouch and approached the closer, left-hand exit.

    He''d just reached the opening when he heard voices. A feminine one, low and kind of smoky, said, Agreed. Well part, but the next time we meet, we shant hold back.

    A deep, masculine voice rumbled a chuckle and said, You act as though you do me a favor. I show you this one mercy because you alerted me and stayed your hand when I slew the beastkin.

    You didnt y him . . .

    I would have if the System hadnte to the rescue.

    A rescue were all afforded in this ce . . .

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    The masculine voice scoffed in exasperation. Are you trying to ignite hostilities?

    No . . .

    At that point, Victor, unable to contain himself, itching for a confrontation, and feeling annoyed by the tone of the snippet of conversation hed listened to, stepped through the opening and loudly proimed, Well, you attacked that poor rabbit for no reason? Not very nice.

    The woman hed interrupted reminded him so much of VictoriaCatalina! He cursed the name in his mindthat he almost attacked her outright. She was pale to the point of near-transparency, had long dark hair that hung behind her as though caught in a constant breeze, and woreyers of thin, silky robes that were both revealing and obscuring at the same time. She bore a short, twisted, ck staff that looked freshly cut from a dead tree, and when she saw Victor, she took two graceful steps back.

    The man was another matterVictor had seen him before. He was the one with the fiery blue eyes and the cloak of constant mes that sheathed his body. He looked human, for the most part, though he had a bearing that was hard to picture on someone from Earth, a kind of presence that screamed nobility and power, and when he turned his gaze to Victor, there wasnt an ounce of rm in his eyes.

    Well, he said, smirking, as his mes grew brighter and danced more eagerly along his shoulders, how nice of you to save me the chase. Without another word or even a flicker of movement to signal the danger, a column of fire, like a me geyser, erupted from his body, crackled and ripped into the air, and then reversed course, dropping like an avnche of liquid fire toward Victor.

    Victor didnt hesitate; he squatted and jumped back, performing a rather impressive backflip. Even in his usual, non-enraged state, he was resistant to heat and fire thanks to his racial advancements and his feats, namely me Touched and Mountains Resilience. Nevertheless, despite his more than eighty percent resistance and his brilliant backward flip out of the center of the fire strike, he felt the heat of those mes and, for the first time in a while, cried out in rm and pain as his exposed flesh burned. It wasnt enough to kill or even slow him down, but it was plenty to enrage him. Like floodgates opening, his Core poured out a torrent of rage-attuned Energy into his pathways, and he pushed it into the pattern for Iron Berserk.

    He''d gotten out of the fire casters line of sight, but even as he expanded in size and his rapid regeneration began to heal his burns, a sound like thunderbined with a tornado made him look to the sky, and there he saw half a dozen fiery projectiles streaking down toward him, growingrger andrger as they approached.

    Fucking hell! he shouted in his deep, basso titan voice. He dove for the far corner of the room, and hell was brought to life around him as something like a meteor shower pounded down in the ancient ruins. Fire, shattered stone, hot gasses, uprooted soil turned molten, and the roar of a cataclysm assailed Victor as he flopped and bounced through the stone walls. Eventually, he came to rest in a pile of rubble dozens of yards from where hed first been struck.

    He was bruised, battered, and singed, but more than anything, Victor felt fury. So, this fire-loving magician had decided to lead with some sort of alpha strike? Hed opened up the sky and called down the fury of a mountain upon him. On <em>him</em>? Did he not know who he was messing with? Ill teach him, Victor growled, feeling his spirit Core roil with rage, feeling the echoing growl deep in his magma-attuned breath Core. Burn me? Throw stones at me? His voice was like thunder.

    Victor clenched his fist around Lifedrinkers haft, still lying on the stone floor, face down, with piled rubble on his back, his pants all but burned to shreds, his skin ckened from soot but fully healed beneath it. He could hear distant words, the Pyromancer speaking, perhaps saying something to the other. Victors mind was too thick with fury to make sense.

    His magma-attuned Energy was seeping into his pathways, weaving with his rage, entwining it, dulling the rifying effects of his Iron Berserk. He wanted to smash and rip, to show the world who he was. How could he be thrown aside like this? How could he let those faceless, nameless observers watch him be so humiliated?

    As the rage mounted, his body began to glow with the heat of magma. He pumped his lungs like bellows, and his eyes sparked alight with the mountains fiery heart; ck smoke plumed out from beneath his bed of broken stone and rubble. Victor allowed the pattern for Volcanic Fury to build in his pathways, and then he channeled all that hot, deadly rage and magma Energy into it, overwriting his Iron Berserk.

    The world brightened in sepia tones, and Victor knew only hunger. Hunger for blood, for justice, for glory and destruction. Deep in his angry heart, he knew there was one nearby who deserved his ire. As his body began to burn, as his rage pulsed away from him like waves of radioactive fire, he surged to his feet, throwing thousands of pounds of stone off him like so much dust.

    He towered over the ruins, his head and shoulders clearing the walls, affording him a view of nearby spaces enclosed by walls. He turned, looking at the trail of charred, broken walls, and was dimly aware that hed passed that way. He took a step, and a ball of fire streaked at him from an ancient, half-crumbled archway.

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the vition.

    Victor lifted a hand and let the fireball strike it, the mes washing over him like a warm breeze. He strode forward, and when he saw the red-robed, fire-sheathed man whod thrown it, his fury took on a palpable presence, mming out, assaulting the psyche of any who witnessed it. He leaned forward and screamed his wrath.

    As his terrible fury roared forth, shaking stones loose from the walls, vibrating the dust and gravel as a passing train might, he opened his breath Core and let loose a spray of white-hot magma that spattered a cone-shaped area in front of him, liberally coating the man twenty-yards in front of him. Victors breath Core wasnt high level, wasnt up to the challenge of a high-tier brawl, but his Volcanic Fury doubled its efficacy, and the ssh of magma sent the Pyromancer reeling.

    While the man did something to mitigate the horrible heat of the molten stone that had drenched him, Victor charged forward, lifted Lifedrinker in one hand, and brought her white-hot, smoking edge down in an air-splitting chop. Somehow, the Pyromancer summoned a torrent of fiery Energy, and with a pulse that rivaled Victors fury, it burst out of him, scorching the world ck in a hundred-yard radius.

    The spell sted the magma off the mage, and it had a palpable weight that caught Lifedrinker in its momentum, slowing her descent and pushing Victor back a handful of yards. Still, the fire didnt harm him, nor did it bother Lifedrinker. When it was over, the Pyromancer stood, a victorious expression on his face that crumbled when he saw Victor still looming over him,pletely untouched by his cataclysmic mes.

    The setback had done nothing but further infuriate Victor. His every muscle, every sinew, every inch of heavy, dense bone, wanted to turn that man to paste. Again, he lifted Lifedrinker, and again, he stepped forward, bringing her down like a falling star. The Pyromancer lifted his arms, formed them into an X, and brilliant white fire erupted from them, creating a partial dome that covered the wizard.

    The appearance of the fiery shield didnt daunt or give Victor pause; he smashed Lifedrinker into it with abandon, putting all his tremendous weight and strength behind the blow. A shockwave erupted from the impact like a bomb going off, ripping through ruins, knocking down walls, and throwing up a cloud of dust and debris that could be seen far and wide.

    The concussive, thunderous sound caused by the strike would have been deafening to anyone nearby, but Victor hardly noticed it; he was too engrossed in his rage, too hungry for destruction. When the burst of white fire and light faded, he looked down with bloodthirsty, dark thoughts of ughter, only to find that Lifedrinker was buried in the earth beneath a split stone, and the only remnant of the Pyromancer was a dismembered arm.

    Weird, annoying squiggles filled his vision, and he growled, ignoring them, looking around for something to kill. He stood amidst devastationall around were ckened stones and piles of rubble. Everywhere he turned, his view was obscured by smoke.

    When he saw nothing to fight, he straightened and started walking, intent on finding something to kill. As the immediacy ofbat faded, as his rage was forced to cool slightly, he became aware of Lifedrinker, and though he had no room for worry or concern in his rage-filled magma heart, he felt bothered by her difort. Something was wrong with the axe. Still, Victor couldnt be bothered with sentimentality. He stalked the ruins, looking for a fight, until, with a surprising burst of euphoria, he was transfixed by an infusion of Energy that lifted him off the ground, dispelling his fury and leaving him senseless for several long minutes.

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    Victor knew he was back to himself when he realized there were System messages in front of his eyes. He looked around, saw he was in a section of ruins indistinguishable from any others hed passed through, and sat down on a huge, fallen stone. He lifted Lifedrinker, saw the cracks in her living-wood handle, and gently stroked her. Im sorry, <em>chica</em>.

    She vibrated in his hand, and he heard her thoughts: <em>I will heal, though my heart aches for the feast we were denied. Something pulled him away before I could take my fill! You were glorious, my brave, vengeful warrior! Promise me well find that one and take whats ours!</em>

    Ill . . . I dont know if well meet him in a ce where we can fight again. Well see. Victor turned to the System messages and ran through them.

    <strong>***Gyanna Rose has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Twenty-five entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>

    <strong>***Arcus Volpur has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Twenty-four entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 61 Herald of the Mountains Wrath and gained 12 strength, 17 vitality, and 12 will.***</strong>

    Victor sat there, thinking about the messages and about what had happened with the PyromancerArcus Volpur, he was pretty sure. The other name seemed more feminine, and he figured it belonged to the woman hed seen speaking with Volpur. Of course, he could be wrong. Gyanna could be a masculine name, or whatever culture they came from could havepletely different ideas about naming. Still, he felt like he was right. Arcus was the man whod called down some kind of meteor strike on him, and if Victor hadnt been so nearly immune to fire, he might have been in serious trouble.

    He thought about how hed approached the two casters as they bickered. Had he been expecting them to banter with him? Why had he been surprised by that immediate attack? The obvious strategy for the most significant gains in thispetition was to take out as many entrants as possible.

    There were still twenty-three others in there with him, many of whom may be just as dangerous or more so than Arcus. Many may have affinities that Victor couldnt so easily shrug off. He needed to be more careful. Sure, his Volcanic Fury was a hell of a trump card, but he hadnt wanted to y it so soon. He also didnt want to rely on it; hed almost broken Lifedrinker, and while hed been mad with the volcanos wrath, he hadnt even cared.

    Had he taken Gyanna Rose out, or had she just been coteral damage? Victor couldnt even remember. The whole battle, beyond the point where hed been smashed by the meteor strike, was a blur of fragmented images in his mind.

    He stood up and looked around. The dungeon seemed to have a day-and-night cycle, and the sky was noticeably dimmer above the walls surrounding him. Where are all the monsters? he muttered, finding it strange that hed wandered for a while without encountering anything. Or had he? He was fairly sure but couldnt be certain, not with his spotty memory.

    I need to be smarter, beautiful, he said, once again caressing Lifedrinkers haft, watching as the cracks in the beautiful, dark, star-speckled wood slowly knitted back together. I need to expect everyone to be hostile. Just as he said the words, System messages scrolled in front of his eyes:

    <strong>***Zandastreva has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Twenty-three entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>

    <strong>***Borna Hullstrava has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Twenty-two entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>

    <strong>***Kim Jyster has been in! Twenty-one entrants remain.***</strong>

    Holy shit, Victor said, standing up and holding Lifedrinker close. He looked to the sky, watching the globe of Energy form and waiting for it to break apart, hoping to see if any portions were sent to other participants nearby. So, one of them died, and it sounds like the System doesnt share that Energy with everyone. Whoever killed Kim Jyster is getting the full amount, I guess.

    Lifedrinker throbbed in his grip, her only response eagerness. The globe of Energy in the center of the sky burst apart, and, to Victors surprise and dismay, several of the balls of Energy shot upward toward the ceiling where the central stair led to the second floor. Many of the other globes streaked toward the center of the first floor, and, as far as Victor could tell, only one came his way, while others streaked to various far-flung corners of the level.

    Seeing that so many participants were closer to the stairs than he and several were already either on the stairs or the second level, Victor felt a deep, painful disappointment in himself. Was he really so far behind?

    I need to quit messing around and get serious, he muttered just as his ball of Energy hit him, and this time, he really felt it. It was so strong that he thought he might level, but he was still level sixty-one when the euphoria passed. Close, though. All right, <em>chica</em>, lets get moving. Time to make up some ground.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Dar reclined in his usual booth, watching the view portal that filled the entire wall of Harbinger Row, his favorite drinking establishment in the upper spires. A section along the bottom of the wall disyed a small view of each of the remaining contestants, while therger section was dedicated to those currently embroiled in the most action. At that moment, an avian woman with distinct griffin bloodline markings was battling a hydra on the second level. Whos that? he rumbled. Yons girl?

    His friend and sometimes rival, Loro the Grim, stirred from his reverie and looked at the screen. Aye, he whispered in his scratchy undead voice. Shes closing in on her test of steel. He looked at Dar from the depths of his dark cowl and asked, Are you disappointed? In your prodigy, I mean?

    Hmm? No, I think not. Hes still in, isnt he? A bit . . . heavy-footed so far, but I think hell warm up to the contest. Hes been at war for thest year, and before that, he might as well have been. What hecks in nuance, he makes up for in determination and, well, sturdiness. You saw what happened when Arcus dumped his Energy pool on him. Elder Gods! Crovius is going to be apoplectic. Can you imagine? His prime student was eliminated in the first few minutes! Not to mention Lady Rose! Her daughter ripped to safety as an <em>afterthought</em>. She simply got too close to the struggle!

    Yes. Some heavy pockets will grow noticeably lighter thanks to your boy. When Loro finished speaking, he took a breath as though to say more, but he seemed to hesitate.

    What is it? Dar pressed.

    Did you give your apprentice a means ofmunicating?

    Dar was genuinely surprised by the question. What? That would breach the code of conduct.

    Aye, but Ive heard rumors. I hope Im wrong, but Ive heard whispers from an Artificer friend about unscrupulous members of his ss providing high-end, quite easily hiddenmunication devices. Hopefully, word of yourds ability to shrug off fire damage doesnt get around.

    Dar shrugged and leaned back, reaching for his potent liquor. You heard him talking to himself. Hell start being a bit more clever. Im not worried.

    It is nice that he narrates his thoughts for the viewing public. Clea reports that hes one of the favorites amongst the public down in the city.

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    Clea? One of your students?

    Yes, thats right. My bloodline gift allows us to share thoughts.

    Youve mentioned it. Cant say Im keen on the idea. Id rather its just me up here. Dar chuckled and tapped his thick, stony knuckle against his forehead.

    Something that takes getting used to, but Ive grown quite fond of some of my disciples minds.

    Dar didnt respond; He just nodded and sipped his drink. Hed known Loro for centuries, and he liked the man well enough, but there were things about the undead that he simply couldnt condone, one of which was the many ways they enthralled lesser undead, promising them power but feeding it to them on such a slow drip that they were paid a thousand-times in service for what they gave in knowledge. Still, that was not a problem for Ranish Dar to solve, though Victor certainly seemed to have a vendetta against some of Loros kind. He chuckled at the thought. It might be an amusing venture to observe.

 Book 7: Chapter 37: Ambush

    Book 7: Chapter 37: Ambush

    Victor used the stairs, still visible in the twilight of the dungeons night cycle, as a guide, hurrying toward the center of the first level as quickly as he could. The ruined walls seemed to extend all the way to that distant point, and it felt almost like traversing a maze, though an easy onehe never felt lost, and when he came to a dead-end, he simply hopped the wall in the direction he wanted to travel. When he drew close enough to the central stairway to see the individual steps in the distance without any haze obscuring his view, he paused and summoned his coyotes.

    Okay, <em>hermanos</em>, spread out, have a look around, and let me know if you see any other <em>pendejos</em> lurking around. As his coyotes, yipping and calling to each other, slipped away through the gaps in the stone wall, Victor continued making his way toward the dungeon''s center.

    He was always sort of aware of his coyotes. He couldnt see what they saw but could tell if they found something or sensed danger. He was still a little surprised that he hadnt encountered any denizens of the dungeon, concluding that the people whod designed the ce, or at least chosen options from the System, had intended for the first level to serve as a staging ground. He had to assume there would be more to encounter if he could climb higher.

    When hed covered another few hundred yards toward the center, and the rooms surrounded by high, crumbling walls grew ever smaller and closer together, one of his coyotes alerted on a presence. Victor mentally urged his other scouts to return and started stalking toward the excited pack member. He knew roughly what direction to go and could sense how far away he was, but he still had to find his way through the broken walls. He could climb overtop, of course, shortening his path by making it more direct, but that close to the center of the level, he was afraid others would see him as his bulky body rose above the ruins.

    So, he prowled through the ruins, growing ever closer to his coyote as it, in turn, stalked the presenceVictor had the impression of more than one target. After a few minutes, his other coyotes came to him. They were empowered by inspiration-attuned Energy, and he constantly had to remind them to quit yipping. After a few minutes, he sent them home to the Spirit ne; at least he felt he could be confident that the one whod found some prey was being quiet as it hunted. Next time, he whispered to Lifedrinker, remind me to use fear Energy; those boys are always better at sneaking.

    When he entered the ruined chamber where his coyote waited, he quietly thanked his little brother and sent him back home. Then, Victor crept up to the gap in the wall and strained his ears, hoping for a clue as to what the scouting canine had found. It wasnt long before a feminine voice came to him, I think were close. Just another few rooms, and well be at the stair.

    And likely our doom as one of the needy brutes is sure to be waiting to strike us down. This voice was masculine, though very young, if Victor was guessing.

    Which young monster worries you? Arcus is out. Zandastreva is out. I suppose we still have Arona to worry about.

    Whoever beat Arcus is sure to be a dangerous one to encounter . . .

    Whos to say that wasnt Arona?

    The man, or boy, ignored the question. I saw Valeska Thornrend in the chamber. Shes known to have a cold heart . . .

    Are we just going to list all the names? The woman sounded exasperated, and Victor had a feeling she had more to say, but suddenly her tone changed, and she called out, Who lurks yonder? We dont seek a fight!

    Victor froze, wondering if he was the target of her words, figuring he probably was because what did he know about sneaking? The people in the dungeon were all high-tier, at least as far as he was concerned, and he honestly had no idea what sorts of skills and abilities such people might employ. There were probably some sses that gave people heightened awareness.

    He contemted retreating, leaping over a few walls and putting some distance between the two others. They sounded like underdogs, though, and from what hed overheard, they didnt seem to be spoiling for a fight, even if he didnt believe her direct deration to that effect. He decided to try his luck; if they were afraid of Arcus, and Victor had beaten Arcus, it stood to reason that he shouldnt cower from this encounter. He cleared his throat and said, Ill be willing to talk if you dont try anything.

    Victor, on a sudden whim, cast Inspiration of the Quinametzin. As he swelled with positivity, the world looked brighter, and his problems seemed more distant. He stood tall, holding Lifedrinker on his shoulder with one hand, and stepped into the crumbled archway to look into the room where hed heard the other two. They stood close together, one, a wispy, elfin woman with wavy gray hair, angr silver eyes, and a fierce expression, the other a short, boyish fellow with a bit too much pudge and soft, dewy eyes. The woman held a bow, an arrow nocked but not drawn back, and the boy held a thick, red wand made of smooth ss. Victor could see and feel the Energy built up in the wand, and he knew the kid was on the verge of unleashing a spell.

    Stop there! the woman said in a sharp voice.

    Victor smiled and leaned a shoulder against the wall, some ancient mortar crumbling with the pressure. Im not the kind of guy who attacks people for no reason.

    Ah, but we all have reason in this ce, no? the kid said, his voice surprisingly firm.

    Victor shrugged. Well, it takes more than a bit of Energy to provoke me into a fight. Lets put it that way.

    I dont know you, stranger, the woman said, stepping to the side and separating herself from herpanion. Are you new to Sojourn?

    I guess so. Im Victor.

    The youth lifted his wand and, with a flourish, bowed borately. I am Cam Lightly, and this finedy is Sora Deval.

    Youre arge fellow, and I can feel the aura youre creating; its. . . lovely, Sora said, gently lifting the arrow from her bow.

    Ah, you feel the inspiration? That means I dont consider you an enemy. Victor grinned further and then straightened up. Can Ie a little closer?

    Something tells me youd do so even if we said no. Cam sounded a little petnt, but Victor could feel the Energy pull back from his wand as he began to rx. He stepped toward them, kicking some loose gravel to the side as he approached. Drawing near, he gestured to his pants, mostly tatters from mid-thigh down.

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the vition.

    Sorry for my appearance. I got a little scorched earlier. When he was just a few feet from the others and loomed over their much smaller frames, he gestured toward the stairway in the distance. I heard you two talking as I approached. You think some of the others will be waiting to ambush people at the stairs?

    I think so, Cam nodded, peering up at Victor and stepping back.

    Who burned you? Sora asked, ignoring Cams response.

    Oh, one of the other entrants. You guys didnt see the meteor shower over that way? Victor jerked his thumb in the general direction of his earlier battle.

    Arcus! Cam said, eyes widening. You battled Arcus?

    Victor just grinned and shrugged. Anyway, I figure if we all approach the stairs together, theres a better chance we might survive an ambush. How many do you think would do that? Lay a trap, I mean. Do you think the others get along well enough to help each other in that way?

    Are you offering us your protection, good sir? Sora lifted a sharp gray eyebrow, something like amusement in her tone.

    Um, not exactly, but Id fight with you if we all got jumped. Look, Im not trying to force the matter, and Ive wasted enough time in this ce, so I can go ahead alone if . . .

    No, no! Cam waved his wand frantically. Wed love to apany you with a gentlemans agreement.

    Gentlefolk, Sora corrected.

    Sure, right, whatever. What say you, Victor? Well aid each other until such time that its a hindrance on one or all of us, and then well part ways amicably.

    Sounds just right. Victor swapped Lifedrinker to his left hand, causing Cam and Sora to flinch, then reached out with his right hand, ready to shake on the deal. Cam looked at it for a heartbeat, apparently weighing the risk, then shot out his soft, pale hand, grabbing a portion of Victors palm. He smiled and backed away, and Victor held his hand out to Sora. She wore an odd expression, sort of puzzled and amused, then grabbed Victors muchrger hand in thin fingers that felt like iron bars.

    She might be small, Victor realized, but she was damn sturdy. For the second time, he reminded himself that he couldnt judge people by appearances in this ceCam might look like a pudgy kid, but, ording to Ranish Dar, everyone in there was level seventy or higher. Victor could only guess what that soft, almost cherubic face might be hiding.

    Were close, Sora said, gesturing with her bow toward a gap in the wall. A few more wall segments, and well be there.

    My mentor, Duvius ck, will tan my hide for suggesting this, Cam said, wincing at some imagined punishment, but I think I should go into the clearing first. If a trap there lies, surely theyll spring it on me, thus revealing their fangs for you two to pluck.

    And you? Victor asked, frowning.

    I shall utilize my ability to slip free from harm.

    He has a chance affinity, Sora said as though it exined everything.

    Chance? Victor tried to connect the dots. Was he talking about luck? Randomness? Both?

    Lets just say I have a few abilities that, while on lengthy timers, make harming me a rather confounding enterprise. He smiled and bowed again, his red ss wand flickering with faint sparkles. Well? Is my n suitable?

    Sora nodded firmly. I have no arguments.

    Sure. Victor shrugged. If this guy wanted to spring the trap for them, he wouldnt argue. As they walked, Victor felt several soft pulses of Energy emanating from Sora, and when he looked at her, trying to spot a clue as to what she was doing, she caught his eyes and hurriedly exined.

    Im not doing anything untoward! Im scrying the area nearby; its how I noticed you lurking earlier. For the record, it will also obscure our presence from others.

    Lurking? Victor chuckled. I guess I was. Anyway, your ability isnt perfect. I listened to you for a while before you noticed me.

    Likely your passive resistance . . . she muttered but cut her words short, holding a finger to her lips. She looked from Cams wide eyes to Victors puzzled, questioning nce and mouthed, Two, pointing past the next gap in the stone wall.

    Victor nodded, pulling Lifedrinker off his shoulder and holding her ready. Cam, rather blithely, waved to the two of them and began to stroll for the opening, looking very much the part of a careless youth out for a stroll. Victor saw his red wand sparkle faintly and felt a surge of strange, almost pleasant Energy, and then the young-looking man practically skipped through the crumbled archway. When Sora darted forward, aiming for the side of the arch, Victor followed suit, taking up the other side, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever happened. Peering from the shadows, hoping Soras magic did the job of keeping them hidden, he watched as Cam entered an enormous, rubble-strewn clearing.

    Piles of stone blocks, clearly once part of the ruins, were scattered all over the clearing, but beyond them, beyond a hundred yards of crab-grass-covered rocky soil, the pristine white marble spiral staircase rose into the sky. Cal veritably skipped into the clearing, whistling a tune that wouldnt have sounded out of ce at a Renaissance fair. Hed made it a quarter of the way into the clearing, edging to the left to skirt a high pile of rubble, when, with a peel of thunder that rattled the wall where Victor leaned, a bolt of magenta lightning ripped the sky and exploded into the little fellow.

    Victor blinked several times, trying to get the brilliant imprint out of his vision. When he finally focused on the spot where Cam had been, he saw only scorched grass and ckened stone. He looked left to right, and then he saw him, standing a dozen yards away from where the lightning had struck, tilting his head in confusion. In a singsong voice, the little guy called out, Why would someone st the soil in such a way? Whatd that poor patch of grass do to hurt anyone?

    Stones ttered in the distance, and Victor squinted to see a metallic glint as a humanoid figure moved around the side of a nearby pile of rubble, trying, he supposed, to get Cam back in their sights. Victor felt a surge of Energy and looked to see Sora drawing her bow, taking aim with a shimmering, mirror-polished arrow.

    Victor wanted to jump into action, but he held steady, waiting. Sora had said two people were lurking in the clearing, and he wanted to get his eyes on the second one before he made a move. Soras bowstring <em>thrummed,</em> and he watched as the glittering arrow streaked toward the pile of rubble, not directly at the person Victor had glimpsed. Just before it looked like it would smash into arge, toppled block, it burst like a shattering mirror, and when the shes of light settled, there were half a dozen copies of Sora standing on the pile of rubble. More impressive than the copies was that they all performed different actions.

    Two drew their bows, aiming arrows at the shadow-obscured figure edging toward Cam. One of the mirror copies began picking up hunks of rubble, throwing them this way and that. Another began to howl strange words, summoning a storm of sparkling magic. Before he could continue staring, waiting to see what theyd do next, a new actor stepped onto the proverbial stagefifty yards away, past where Cam currently stood, still shouting taunts in his sing-song voice, a hulking green man with a leathery shell not unlike a turtles, exploded out from behind a great toppled monolith. He bore a heavy-looking hammer in each hand and moved like hed used a charge ability. The soil churned under his feet, a cloud of debris in his wake, and Victor predicted hed crash into Cam in less than a second.

    Thats my cue, he grunted,unching himself out of the archway, bumping Sora as he passed, knocking her sprawling. Victor didnt notice his inadvertent rudeness; he was in the zone, focused on the big warrior, already visualizing how hed deliver Lifedrinkers first blow. He didnt have eyes for it, but if hed been watching, hed have seen the shadowy attacker near the central pile of rubble sting Soras doubles into oblivion, one after the other, with metallic missiles that crackled through the air like lightning-charged rail-gun rounds. As Victor ran, he cast Iron Berserk, and as his legs extended and his strength and speed increased, he turned the long-distance sprint into a short one.

    Even so, the shelled-backed brute reached Cam first, his charge demolishing the ground between them. Victor watched, cringing, but, just as before with the lightning strike, Cam was suddenly elsewhere, standing halfway between the dazed turtle-man and the battle the other unknown assant was waging against Soras doubles. Meanwhile, Victor closed the gap, and just as he was only four titan-sized strides away, he cast Energy Charge, fueling the ability with fear-attuned Energy. In a streak of smoky shadow, he sted over the ground and collided with his opponent. The big, shelled warrior wasnt a slouchhe saw Victoring and somehow turned just in time, exposing his hard, leathery armor to his charge.

    Victor didnt care. He lowered his shoulder and swung Lifedrinker with abandon. He had no doubt she was up to the challenge; she bore a shard of his spirithe regrly kept her imbued with inspiration-attuned Energy. He exploded into the turtle-man, and Lifedrinker, screaming her excitement and fury, buried herself halfway to the haft in the thick material. The concussive release of Energy as he collided with his target echoed through the ruins like thunder. Victor felt a tremendous torrent of fear-attuned Energy drain from his Core as his ability shielded him from harm.

    Meanwhile, his target exploded away from him, sted by the force of his impact. Victor made the split-second decision to release Lifedrinker as the guy was pulled awayshed screamed her hunger at him, and he knew shed struck a veinhe thought hed let her do some draining while the turtle-man bounced and flopped over the stony ground.

    He nced at the other ambusher and saw him sprinting for the stairs, a rain of glittering arrows falling in his wake, exploding against the ground like mortars. A flicker in the corner of his vision alerted him to Cam casting a spell with his ss wand, and then, like an optical illusion, the youthful wizard flickered through the air until hed closed the distance with the runner. He shouted something in his falsetto singsong, and then . . . the ambusher tripped, sliding through a patch of dirt and lying still just long enough for three of Soras arrows to strike direct hits.

    Victor turned back to his foe and saw the big, leathery, hairless green man struggling to his feet. Lifedrinker stood proudly from his shell as the hammer-wielding warrior started walking toward him, limping slightly. Victor was easily five feet taller than the bulky man and wasnt too worried about fighting him with his bare hands for a while. Thats right, <em>chica</em>! he growled, Drink up that ugly suckers Energy. He jogged toward him, pping his chest. Come on!

    The man really did look like a turtle up close. He had no hair on his face, a smooth, t nose, and a mouth that looked almost like a beak. Still, he scowled and grunted, Big, huh? Ive killed bigger! Then, to Victors shock and delight, he surged with a very familiar feeling Energy. His eyes began to ze with red fury, and his muscles seemed to double in mass, bulging like theyd burst out of his skin. He lifted both his hammers and screamed, Lets fight!

 Book 7: Chapter 38: Collision Course

    Book 7: Chapter 38: Collision Course

    Despite his obvious berserk nature, the shelled warrior didnt grow with his rage, aside from his bulging and swelling muscles. Still, his bruises and scuffs disappeared as his fury fueled his regeneration, and he moved with a sudden crity that put Victor momentarily on the defensive. He darted forward, whipping his sledge-like weapons through the air, aiming to shatter Victors bones with each frenzied attack. Victor, for his part, began tough with the glee of good, cleanbat, darting back, slipping blows, and pping the smaller warrior''s arms aside as he ducked close.

    While Victor enjoyed the contest, ducking, dodging, shoving, and grappling, he could see the green-skinned warrior was getting more and more enraged, his eyes zing, his skin burning with palpable hate. He may have advanced his Berserk ability to a tier simr to Victors, but he certainly hadnt unlocked Iron Berserk. Victor still felt rage when under the effects of his ability, but he was also rational and able to take joy inbathis opponent was clearly feeling no joy.

    After Victor ducked a wild overhand blow, sidestepping and shoving the back of the smaller warriors shell, the turtle-like man stumbled forward and tried to perform a shoulder roll. Unfortunately, Lifedrinker interfered, using her impact with the stony ground to drive herself deeper into the leathery flesh where her razor-sharp, smoldering de had already begun to draw great torrents of hot, red Energy into her hungry metal. The green warrior roared in pain and frustration, aborting his somersault to flop to his belly and drive himself up with a powerful thrust of his muscle-bound arms. He veritably dove at Victor, whipping his hammers like a whirlwind.

    Victor stepped into the charge, lowered his center of gravity with a deep squat, gripped the green warrior behind his bulky, swollen thighs, and drove himself up and back, flinging him through the air with a tremendous roar. When Victor watched his opponent sail, arms iling, feet kicking fruitlessly, he almost lost his rage in his amusement. Heughed and leaned forward to p his knees as the hammer-wielding warrior smashed to the ground with a reverberating thud that jolted the ground enough to lift a cloud of dust all over the clearing. At nearly the same time, a System message shed in front of Victors eyes.

    <strong>***Vek Dydallion has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Twenty entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>

    At first, the message confused Victor because he could see the turtle-man already struggling to his feet. For a second, he thought the System had made a mistake, but then he nced back toward the central stair and saw his twopanions standing together with no sign of thebatant theyd been chasing.

    The gray-haired woman, Sora, lifted her bow and started striding toward the downed berserker, but Victor waved her off and shouted, No. She and Cam exchanged looks, and the soft-looking wizard shrugged, immediately turning to jog toward the stairs leading up. Sora looked at Victor for a long moment, then waved a hand and hurried after him.

    Victor turned back to his opponent, stoking the rage in his pathways with a fresh infusion from his Core. Hispanions were, apparently, willing to let him fight alone, but they werent going to wait around. He was all right with that. The turtle warrior had regained his feet, and he was looking at Victor with murder in his eyes. Hed lowered himself to a squat, his legs spread wide, and Victor could feel the hot rage building in him, even from forty yards distant. Part of him knew he should try to interrupt whatever he was doing, but another part was eager to see what it would be. Hed never fought a berserker before, never seen someone using a rage affinity, at least not so purely as this man was.

    He lowered himself into a fighting stance, slowly moving forward, watching with hungry eyes, waiting to see what the warrior would do. The turtle-man was beginning to shimmer with heat and power, and the air around him looked ready to explode as hot waves of Energy wafted away from him. The ground began to tremble, pebbles danced on the ancient gstones, and hairline cracks started propagating away from the warriors feet, spreading outward like a spiders web. Whatever he was building up to was going to be awesome, and Victor peeled his eyes, eager to see it. Come on! he roared, Show me!

    The turtle warrior screamed something inarticte. His hammers suddenly zed like twin, molten stars, and the ground erupted under his feet. Victor, staring at the cloud of dust and broken stone, almost didnt see the warrior ripping toward him, tearing the earth in his passage, streaking like aet, hammers held high, ready to crash into him on impact. He was moving very close to the extremity of Victors perception, almost too fast for him to track, but not quite. If Victor hadnt been boosting his agility, and if he hadnt been further enhanced by Iron Berserk, he surely would have been devastated by the charge. He was boosted, though, and he had a fraction of a second to react.

    Some warriors might have dodged to the side. Others might have jumped. Still others would have braced for the impact, hoping to use their opponents momentum to slip the majority of the force. Victors mind never contemted those actions; he immediately channeled a torrent of glory-attuned Energy into his pathways and cast Energy Charge, answering the turtle-mans charge with one of his own. He ripped over the ground, a brilliant sparkling gold missile of meat and metal. He didnt wield a weapon but lowered his head and let his massively dense Juggernaut Helm lead the impact.

    The green warrior was beyond fear or cautionhed stoked his rage to apoplectic levels, and even if hed been able to react in time, he likely wouldnt have turned aside or aborted his charge. They met in a full, head-on collision that resulted in such an explosion of physical force and discharged Energy that the entire dungeon level shook. Victor felt his glory-attuned Energy drain like water down a whirlpool, the shielding portion of the spell valiantly trying to protect him from the destructive forces. The turtle-man must have had a simr function with his charge ability because the two of them hung together for a pregnant second as their Energies bled out, erupting in a nova-like mixture between them.

    Victor grinned hungrily while his opponent snapped his beak and scowled. Then, the turtles red, glowering Energy flickered out, and his flesh rippled with force as the explosion took him. He flew back like hed been hit full in the chest by a streakinget. The concussion continued wracking Victor, and his glory-attuned Energy burned out a second after the turtles.

    He, too, was thrown back, hot gasses, burning Energies, and shockwaves of force flinging him head over heels. Victor bounced and tumbled, his bones cracking, his skin ripping, but only brieflyhe had a surging store of rage-attuned Energy, and his Iron Berserk drew on it, healing him almost as quickly as he took each new injury. When he finally slid to a stop, dozens of yards from the impact point, he was quick to mber to his feet.

    As hed suspected, his opponent either didnt have multiple affinities or couldnt use them while enraged, much like Victor under the effects of Volcanic Fury. The turtle-many crumpled at the end of a deep, long furrow in the ground, heaps of upturned gstones and churned-up soil piled along the track of his passage. Victor started toward him, noting the eager, hungry, keening song Lifedrinker was emitting, either directly into his head or into the sudden silence left in the wake of their collisionit wasnt clear to him which.

    He walked into the trench, followed it to its end, and the battered, broken man whoy there, his arms and legs bent and bloody, the leathery skin of his shell half peeled away, and his face a mass of scrapes and purple bruises. He was on his side, and Victor could see Lifedrinker pulsing with stolen red Energy, still digging and throbbing, trying to get something more out of the broken man. Even so, the shattered warrior lifted a bent, bloody arm, formed half a fist with his crooked fingers, and muttered, Drobna, from a mouth full of blood and bits of broken beak.

    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Victors rage was subsiding; he knew he could extend it by pulling more Energy out of his Core, but he let it fade, and as he rapidly contracted back to his normal size, he made a fist and pressed his knuckles against the sturdy, battered, nearly dead warriors. Victor. A soft silvery glow epassed Drobna, and as he dissipated into a pearly fog, the System sent out another message:

    <strong>***Drobna Wyrm-shell has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Neen entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>

    Victor stooped to snatch up Lifedrinker, noting her satisfied glow and the thick rivers of angry, red Energy marking her silvery axe head. Nice work, beautiful. He had no doubt that Drobna would have had another round in him if not for her. The axe hummed in his hands, and as he slung her onto his shoulder, looking up at the sky to track the iing Energy infusion, Victor could feel her pleasure; shed enjoyed tormenting his foe while he wrestled around with him.

    He watched the Energy ball form in the sky, watched it explode into neen different golden missiles, and braced himself to receive the one streaking straight toward him. Two others shot for the base of the stairs, several others went up the top, and quite a few streaked away to distant areas of the first level. When the Energy struck him, Victor was instantly lifted, poleaxed by the tremendous influx. He was d the System had waited for him and Drobna to finish their fight before awarding the Energy from the guy Cam and Sora had taken out. Still, thebined award was a lot, enough that he fell to his knees after the infusion while the System informed him of another level gained.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 62 Herald of the Mountains Wrath and gained 12 strength, 17 vitality, and 12 will.*** </strong>

    Thats fast, he grunted. He supposed it made sense; five entrants had been taken out of the contest since hisst level. That meant all those awards were being split with fewer and fewer people. What would happen if everyone kept getting knocked out? What if he were thest one standing? It seemed certain hed stand to gain quite a few more levels in this contest, and he was beginning to understand why so many people were willing to risk so much for a shot. Thanks to his gains, hed already started to mitigate the risk of getting rescued.

    Victor stood, hopped out of the trench Drobna had created, and started toward the stairs, just fifty yards or so distant. He chuckled as he walked, noting the clean-sted groundhis impact with the berserker had sent a shockwave out that had blown all the rubble and gravel to the edges of the clearing. He slowly turned in a circle and realized theyd done more than that. The impact had toppled many of the nearby walls. He craned his neck as he approached the smooth, white marble stairway, trying to trace it to the second level but losing track as it faded into the misty clouds.

    Well fought, Victor, a youthful, exuberant voice called from the stairs.

    Cam, Victor chuckled, lifting his hand to his eyes, shading them so he could squint into the shadows of the spiral steps. He spotted the youths tousled blond hair peering over the rail about twenty yards up. Thought you two would be up to level two by now.

    Nah, Sora said, stepping out from behind the stairs. She held her bow in a rxed grip with no arrow in sight, putting Victors thoughts of betrayal to rest. We just wanted to get out of the way and, well, position ourselves to run if you lost.

    As if he would! Camughed.

    Was it a struggle, Victor? Sora lifted one of her silvery gray eyebrows.

    It was a good bra good clean fight. Nothing against Drobna, but he wasnt ready for me. Victor shrugged and started up the steps.

    Is anyone? Cam hopped down a few steps to get closer, awaiting an answer.

    In here? Victor shrugged. No idea. Im new around town. He looked at Cam, then down to Sora, who still leaned against the railing at the bottom of the stairs. So, whats this? We traveling together some more?

    Sora nodded. Wed like our gentlefolks agreement to stay in ce if youre willing.

    Sure. Victor smiled, inhaling deeply through his nose and sighing, feeling far too rxed and generally gooda side effect of the Energy infusion, he was sure. Wonder how many are above us. I saw a few Energy balls go that way, but I figure if we stay together, maybe theyll think twice about jumping us. Lets clear some levels, yeah?

    Yeah! Cam cried, pumping his red ss wand in the air.

    <strong>#</strong>

    God, hes a monster! Darren cried, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head while the crowd around them erupted in simr shouts and cheers. Va nced sharply at him, initially thinking it was an insult but then realizing it was a sort ofpliment. Lesh pped his strange protgs shoulder,ughing as he mmed down another pint of harsh, fortified ale.

    Va turned back to the screen, looking over the heads of half a hundred other patrons who crowded the floor of the drinking establishment, sitting around low tables strewn with empty cups, pitchers of beer, and stacks of chips, dice, and other gambling implements. The viewing house was a wild, rough establishment, and Lesh had already proimed his love for it several times.

    Lam seemed right at home, too, but Edeya was happy to be sandwiched between her and Va, secure in the middle of the bench. Lesh had already drunk more than Va had seen anyone drink in one sitting, and that included Victor when he was actively trying to get drunk. Darren was a bit red-faced, his words a little slurred, but he seemed to be having a great time watching the screen. Of course, it helped that Victor had been center stage a few times, his view filling the big screen while he got himself into fights. Thetest one, with the shelled warrior named Drobna, had driven the crowd wild.

    Va had enjoyed it, but only because Victor had beenughing. Shed never seen him lose a fight when he was doing that. Well, she reconsidered, had she ever seen him lose? She supposed it hade close a few timeswhen hed fought Rellia, back before she even knew him, shed thought he was a dead man. Naturally, hed surprised her and everyone else that night. Then there was the reaver army, the night-brute prince, the warlord, the Ridonne, his various arena battles, the ancient wyrm, his . . . Va shook her head, refocusing on the present, content to admit that hed been in a lot of close calls.

    Hes not a monster, she said, finally deciding to correct the record.

    I didnt mean . . .

    No, I know what you meant, but someone should speak for him. Victor has a big, good heart. It might prove his undoing, but hell never be pleased to be considered a monster.

    Undershtood, Lady Va, Darren slurred.

    Well, that charge . . . Lam shook her head, snorting. Those two nearly knocked the stairs out of the sky. Hah! I wonder what would have happened if they had broken them, cutting off the second level. Forfeit?

    Lesh cleared his throat, mming his ss down and gesturing to a serving boy. Id pay all my wealth to see that! The Systems in charge of that dungeon, after all.

    The, um, the dungeon Darren and I are going to, Edeya shifted while she spoke, sitting up straighter between the tworger women, it wont bepetitive, right? I mean, other people wont be in at the same time, right?

    No! Lam smiled, leaning against the booth''s rear wall so she could look more easily at Edeyas face. Thats why you had to sign up for a time slotthey only allow one party in each instance at a time, and you only get thirty-six hours in there.

    Some of them have much longer permit expirations, Darren said, pping his hand on the guidebook on the table before him. Theres a tower dungeon for tier-twos that has week-long passes.

    Edeya nodded and started to say something, but Va heard Victors voiceing from the viewscreen, and she hushed them, pointing. They all got quiet, listening as Victor spoke to his two new friends, agreeing to stay together for the time being. Then they started climbing the steps, and the proprietor switched the view to another entranta ck and gold-feathered avian woman who was digging through their of a great multi-headed, wyrm-like creature shed in.

    Im d he made some friends in there, Edeya said.

    I think hell want to be friends with that berserker, too! Leshughed.

    Edeya nodded. They touched fists! Victor loves that.

    Va sighed and stretched, wondering what sort of toilets she might find in the establishment. Im tired of watching and waiting while others do things, she said, surprising herself. Im eager for our dungeon, Lesh. She nced at Lam. Youre still invited, Captain. Lam certainly held higher ranks than captain these days, but the old Legion title brought back many memories for the two of them, and Lam didnt seem to mind.

    Well, Captain, Lam said, returning the favor, I might take you up on it. I was thinking I should stay out and wait in case Edeya and Darren needed something, but . . . She trailed off for a second, looking into Edeyas eyes. Watching Victor has brought back something of an old hunger.

    Good! Edeya smiled. You should go with them! Va had a hard time telling if she was being sincere or just brave, but Lam smiled, nodding.

    Ill think about it.

    Lesh pounded his empty ss on the table, waving his huge, thick arm in the air. Come over here! he said under his breath. These folk are ignoring me!

    Va, ironically, ignored him, still looking at Lam. Dont think too long. Less than two days until our entry slot.

    No, I wont. Ill let you know tonight. Look! Lam pointed to the screen. Theyre back on Victors party. Are they approaching some kind ofir?

 Book 7: Chapter 39: Lair

    Book 7: Chapter 39: Lair

    The stairs worked with the same kind of magic Victor had seen in other ces. Climbing a few steps seemed to activate it, and then, without any warning, he stumbled onto anding. He lifted his axe, looking around, startled. His caution was unwarranted; he was in a small, pale marble room with a single door on the far wall, closed and barred from the inside. Other than the stairs leading down, the only other object in the room was a marble chest the size of a shoebox sitting in the center. Victor turned, wondering where hispanions were, but they didnt arrive, and he guessed the dungeon had used its transportation magic to separate them. Hopefully, just so we can open our chests in peace, he muttered.

    Speaking aloud reminded him that he was being observed, so he nced up, looking for the floating stone egg recording his every move, but it wasnt there, further reinforcing the idea that the dungeon wanted them to have a private, safe moment in which to im their rewards. Victor slung Lifedrinker into her harness and then walked over to the chest. He squatted before it and noted it was molded to the marble floorhe wouldnt be moving or taking this chest.

    With a shrug, he lifted the lid. Motes of golden Energy sparkled out of the chest in a showy disy, and when Victor blinked, clearing his eyes, he was left staring at two objects. One was a small, ck pouch that looked to be made of silk, and the other was a heavy leather, left-handed glove with a wide wrist cuff.

    The hell is this? Victor grunted, not exactly impressed. He picked up the pouch and confirmed that it felt like silk and also that it was empty. Hed been around long enough to guess there must be more to it, so he carefully trickled a tiny thread of inspiration-attuned Energy into it. Suddenly, his mind expanded with the knowledge of the pouchs contentsit was empty but contained a vast dimensional space. Victor nodded and tied the pouch to his belt. It seemed the dungeon was giving him a container since all of his were off-limits. With that mystery solved, he reached in and picked up the leather glove.

    The leather was supple and fine, but the knuckles were stitched with an extrayer of much stiffer stuff. Still, it was just leather. Victor didnt even notice a particrly strong Energy auraing off it. Frowning, he trickled some inspiration-attuned Energy into it, and a System description appeared in his vision:

    <strong>***Gauntlet of Sojourn  This is a set item. Collect five pieces of the set and bring them to the Sojourn City Stone to imbue them with curated set bonuses.***</strong>

    Victor turned the gauntlet in his hand a few times, wondering if he was missing something, but found nothing really notable about it. It didnt seem like anything special to him, but he supposed it might change drastically after you collected a set and had the items imbued. Whatever that means. He stood up, put the glove into his new storage pouch, and walked over to the door. He paused long enough to pull Lifedrinker out of her harness, and then he unbarred the exit and walked through. His vision flickered for an instant, the only clue that hed been transported, and then he stumbled into a gray stone chamber and almost bowled Cam over.

    Oof! Cam said, stumbling back. He caught himself by reaching out to rest a hand on the stone wall.

    Sorry! Victor grunted. I just stepped through the door, and the dungeon dumped me on top of you.

    Not a problem. I, too, just arrived. Did you get a chest?

    Victor didnt see any point in lying. Yeah. You?

    Oh yes! Twenty-five thousand death-attuned Energy beads.

    Death? That useful to you?

    Cam shrugged, pursing his pouty pink lips. Only as money. Covers half my entry fee, if nothing else.

    You paid fifty thousand beads to get in here?

    A hundred, my friend. A hundred, unattuned. What, you didnt?

    Victor opened his mouth to reply, but then the air shimmered, and Sora appeared, stumbling toward him. Victor held out his hand, catching her. Gods! That was careless! I almost fell atop you, she said, grasping his wrist with her slender fingers. He could feel the points of her nails, and she quickly let go. I didnt scratch you, did I?

    Victor turned his wrist left and right, disying his unmarred flesh. Nah. Ive got thick skin.

    Well? Cam asked, his tone almost petnt. Victor turned to him with a scowl, but the young mans eyes were trained on Sora.

    Well, what? She snapped.

    What did you get in your chest? I was made a touch richer.

    Sora sighed and shrugged. Just a bolt of something called Evensong Silk. It seems rather fine, but Im not sure Ill find a use. Ill likely just sell it.

    She looked at Victor, and so did Cam, and he knew they wanted him to say what the System had awarded him. Their hesitance to ask outright probably stemmed from the same reason he didnt really want to saythey hadnt built any trust for each other yet. So far, theyd gotten into one fight as partners, and it had been mutually beneficial to cooperate. So, Victor shrugged and said, Pretty much the samesome leather. He almost grinned at his duplicity; he wasnt technically lying.

    Sora nodded and looked around the room. More like a dungeon on this level, eh?

    Cam pped the cold stone wall near the closed wooden door. Seems so, based upon these dank stone walls. He reached for the rough irontch on the door but paused, turning to look at Victor and Sora. Since the stairs deposited us together, likely because the dungeon assumes weve teamed up, we can assume there are multiple entry points to this level. We may run into others, or we may not, but Im certain there will be dungeon denizens starting on this floor. Im not the first student Duvius ck has sponsored in this contest, and he told me as much.

    Soraughed, shaking her head. This is what happens when you spend all of your time studying and ying Vongboard. Anyone whos watched previouspetitions knows as much, Cam.

    Oh. Yes, I suppose that makes sense. Shall we? He jiggled the door handle.

    Youre going first? Victor asked.

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Traps have a tendency to miss me. He shed a bright smile, pulled the handle, and stepped through. Victor nced at Sora, and she just shrugged, shaking her head so her long, nearly white hair bobbed back and forth.

    One day, hell regret relying on whatever skill that is. She eyed Victor for a moment, then added, Perhaps you should guard our rear nk. She held her bow in her left hand, and when she touched the string with her other hand, Victor was surprised to see a dark metal arrow appear under her fingers. Its razor-edged tip dripped something to the stone that sizzled.

    How do you do that? I thought dimensional containers were locked . . .

    Its a function of my magical bow. I purchased an exemption so that I could pull the arrows from its storage.

    Purchased an exemption, huh? Victor shook his head. It was starting to be evident to him that not every participant in the dungeon was on equal footing, even putting aside the level disparities. Sora winked and lithely followed Cam through the door. Victor brought up the rear, walking into a long marble passage dimly lit by regrly ced amber gemstones embedded in the ceiling. He could already count six branching passages in the long stretch before them.

    Cam had walked ahead about twenty yards to the first intersection and was carefully peering around the corners. When Sora and Victor caught up to him, he sighed and whined, How are we supposed to find our way through this maze? Do we even know what were looking for?

    Victor answered, his voice more a growl than hed intended, Stairs. Something to kill.

    Suggestions? Cam leaned against the wall, but not casually; it was more like he needed the support, as though his feet were killing him.

    I could scout . . . Sora started to say, but Victor shook his head, channeling dark, fear-attuned Energy into his pathways. He summoned his coyotes, and this time, when they appeared, crawling out of a pool of shadows by his feet, they were eerily silent, their smoky purple eyes peering beneath dark, shadowy brows as they scrutinized Victorspanions.

    Cam yelped and leaned back. Each of the five stalking canines wasrge enough to grab ahold of his leg and drag him off if they wanted to. Sora stepped back, too, but she seemed to recognize that Victorspanions werent being hostile so much as curious. He could see she wanted to reach out a hand toward the closest one, but she resisted the temptation.

    Before he said anything, Victor silently impressed his will upon hispanions, and, on nearly silent, padding feet, they darted off, separating at the various junctions to explore the side corridors. Then, he looked to Sora and exined, Ill know if they find something interesting.

    Amazing! Cam said. Here, I thought you were just a brute, a powerful one, but a brute, nheless. When Victor didnt speak but glowered at the man, he stammered, I mean that with the utmost respect for raw, brute power . . .

    Sora chuckled and pped Cams shoulder. Hush, Cam! Youre making things worse. She looked at Victor. Do we just wait here?

    We can. Or we can go ahead and explore that passage on the left up there. I didnt have enough coyotes to cover every option.

    Coyotes? Cam smiled. What a lovely name for your hounds. Theyre a special breed, indeed!

    Quit trying to put honey on a burn, Cam. Sora clicked her tongue and gave the youngster a shove, and he hurried ahead, bypassing another junction but stopping at the third. Victor watched him peering around the corners, but when he and Sora approached, he got a sensation from one of his coyotesprey and danger.

    I think one of mypanions found a monster. He paused, thought for a moment, and shrugged. Or a person.

    Do we go to it? Cam asked. I see nothing but a long corridor down this way.

    Sora nodded, looking at Victor. Better to take the sure shot than pray for another hare.

    All right. Follow me. Victor turned and jogged back to thest junction. He could feel his coyote to the left, so he turned that way and hurried forward. He was reasonably sure hed know if hispanion had spotted or triggered any traps, so he didnt move too cautiously. They came to a four-way junction, and he could feel his coyote to the left, but still further ahead, so he wasnt sure if he should turn. He paused and willed the coyote to return. Wait. Hesing to guide us.

    What a skill! Are they summoned beasts? How clever are they?

    Theyre some sort of spirit . . . Sora started to say, but Victor ignored them. His coyote was already there, silently darting out of the shadows on the left-hand passage.

    Good boy! Show me, he whispered, then, holding Lifedrinker ready, he jogged after the eager scout. He could hear Sora and Cam following. Victor wasnt reducing his size and had to lean forward to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling. For that reason, when he moved, he looked predatory and aggressive.

    As he followed hispanion, he channeled hot, rage-attuned Energy into his arms and Lifedrinker, and he recast his Inspiration of the Quinametzin, washing himself and hispanions in a warm, encouraging light that pushed away the shadows. When his coyote came to a right-hand junction and stopped, pointing with his nose like only a canine can do, Victor slowed and nced back.

    He saw the egg-shaped spying stone dart back, having moved close to him as he was running. He scowled at it, something deep in his blood annoyed at being spied on. Further back, he saw Cam and Sora. Cam gave him a thumbs-up when he saw him looking, and Sora nodded. Victor turned, stalked to the corner, and leaning forward like a tiger ready to pounce, he peered around it.

    A short hallway opened into an immense cavern, and near its center was an enormous, pink-skinned creature that looked like part elephant, part eel, and part octopus. It was shifting through piles of sludge-like refuse, and Victor could smell the rot and decay from where he stood despite a faint current of air tickling his ears as it wafted into therger room. At that thought, Victors eyes widened; could the thing smell him?

    It didnt seem to. He watched its enormous body on its trunk-like legs shifting left and right while its great, circr maw munched the piled sludge. The tentacle-like appendages surrounding its head reached out, pulling things into its mouth, where it squeezed shut, grinding the stuff into a paste that it could swallow. Victor felt bile roiling in his gut, threatening to rise up as he watched the process. He ducked back, looked over his shoulder, and waved the others forward. When they came to the corner, he held a finger to his lips and motioned for them to peek around the corner.

    Sludge Gargantuopod, Cam hissed.

    Shit! Sora softly cursed, earning a smile and a respectful nod from Victor.

    Do we kill it? he whispered hoarsely.

    Can we? Cam shook his head. They regenerate very rapidly, and, no offense, big man, but theyre strong and huge and . . .

    Let me rephrase, Victor interrupted. Is it worth killing?

    Oh, Gods, yes, Cam nodded. If we can, theres sure to be great loot . . .

    So, it regenerates. Anything tobat that?

    Sora nodded, Ill use fire arrows. Thatll help.

    I can try to confuse it. If I can trick its mind into thinking its uninjured . . . Cam trailed off, shaking his head. My mind affinity is my weakest. No promises.

    Do your best. I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Victor cut the Energy feeding his coyotes as he spoke, sending them back to the Spirit ne. He had anotherpanion he meant to call up for this battle.

    Its going to spew toxic gases, Cam said, snapping his fingers as though hed just remembered the fact.

    Im pretty sturdy. Ill summon a banner that should help you two; hopefully, itll push the gasses away.

    Sora nodded. I have some air affinity.

    Victor couldnt help the grin stretching his face, and he knew he was baring his teeth at his twopanions while they huddled there. He probably looked insane, but he couldnt help ithe loved fighting, and that thing in the next room looked like it would put up a good brawl. More than that, he was eager to see what kind of treasure would prompt Cam tobel it great loot. He nodded, twisting his white-knuckled grip on Lifedrinkers haft. So? Ready?

    Cam pped his thick red ss wand against his palm. Not in the least, but Ill do my best.

    Im ready, Sora said, her brow narrowed fiercely.

    All right. Victor looked at Lifedrinkers shiny axe head. The rivulets of rage Energy shed siphoned away from Drobna Wyrm-shell were all but gone, absorbed into her metal. What about you, beautiful? Ready for another drink? In response, her metal brightened and then burst into molten fire, ck smoke billowing up to coalesce along the dungeon ceiling.

    Cam recoiled; hed been just inches from the axe while they hunkered together. Victorughed, lifted her, and began stalking toward the giant monster, opening his Core to flood his pathways with hot, rage-attuned Energy. Lets kill this big <em>hijo de puta</em>!

    He broke into a jog, and as he ran, he cast Iron Berserk, then Banner of the Champion. He exploded with mass, taking advantage of therger space. His banner zed, pushing the gross, hazy, stagnant air away from him. Victor paused halfway between the tunnel opening and the giant monster grazing amid the piles of refuse and began to build his pattern for Wild Totem again. As he did so, the elephant-sized Sludge Gargantuopod whirled on him, taking note of his presence. Victor couldnt see any eyes on the things head, just a sphincter-like maw that twisted open and closed on rows and rows of stubby, razor-sharp teeth, many of which were adorned with bits of rotting flesh and refuse.

    As Victorpleted his spell, the creature inhaled a massive torrent of air and exhaled it in a monstrous roar that rode the wind of an acrid, green gas. The wave of caustic air billowed toward him, but Victor didnt flinch away. In fact, he stepped toward it, unable to resist roaring his own answer to the challenge.

    His voice echoed off the chamber''s stone walls, and his banners light pushed back the bulk of the gas, but some of it touched him. It was acidic and smelled like chlorine, but Victor refused to shrink away. He was Quinametzin. He was the Herald of the Mountains Wrath. Gasses couldnt bother him. Poison couldnt take root in his lungs or blood.

    Come on, <em>pendejo</em>! He roared, Ill burn your <em>pinch</em> gas up in my lungs! To illustrate hisck of hyperbole, Victor opened his breath Core, allowing some hot magma-attuned Energy to fill his lungs. As heughed, ck smoke and mes licked his lips. He lifted Lifedrinker high as a third roar rocked the chamber, and Victors nightmare bear, nearly asrge as the monster before him, exploded out of a pool of shadows on the far side of the chamber and leaped on the Sludge Gargantuopods back.

    Lets go, <em>hermano!</em> Victor cried, charging for the monster as it whirled to face the new threat posed by Victors massive bear. As he closed the distance, a hail of fiery arrows streaked past him, punching into the things thick pink hide, and then the fight was on.

 Book 7: Chapter 40: Gargantuopod

    Book 7: Chapter 40: Gargantuopod

    In his titanic form, Victor figured he weighed close to a couple of thousand pounds, especially with his helmet on, which added to his mass considerably. Even so, when he mmed Lifedrinker into the gargantuopods rear-left nk, despite her white-hot axe head and the imbuement of his spirit, she barely prated its hide, and the great creature hardly flinched. When hed first seen the monster alone in itsir, Victor had estimated it at about the size of an elephant. Standing behind it, Lifedrinker furiously trying to dig into its flesh, he altered that opinion; it had to be quite a lotrger because his head barely cleared its belly.

    Sora''s fiery arrows were sputtering, the mes failing to ignite the monsters calloused pink hide. And, as the behemoth shifted, trying to throw Victors bear aside, its hip crashed into him, sending him sprawling. He felt like a truck had just run into him. He came to rest against a pile of rubbish that stank of dposition and shit and immediately struggled to his feet, eager to be away from the smell. The way the thing had rebuffed his attack was infuriating, and Victor could feel his rage Core surge with renewed intensity, pumping more and more of the hot, smoldering power into his pathways. Still, he couldnt help pausing to stare at the furious melee between his bear and the monstrosity.

    The bear, muchrger and more primordial than any bear to walk the Earth in Victors lifetime, was drenched in blood, his thick dark coat torn in a dozen ces by the gargantuopods sucking, twisting maw. He roared savagely, his eyes aze with a fury akin to Victors, and he swiped his great ws with terrible force against the monsters head, slicing through its groping tentacles and leaving long, bleeding gashes in the more tender flesh of its open mouth.

    Victor felt his heart surge with pride, and he almost started to cheer on his big, furry brother, but then, almost as quickly as theyd appeared, the gashes closed up. The monsters tentacles wrapped around the bears right forelimb and tugged it into its maw. It swirled shut like a tooth-lined sphincter, and with a horrible wrenching of its neck, left then right, it peeled the fur and flesh from the bears limb.

    You <em>mother fucker</em>! Victor screamed, horrified as he saw his bravepanion stumble back, his mutted leg iling in the air as he fell to his side. Victor opened the floodgates on his Core, filling his pathways with fear-attuned Energy, and cast Energy Charge, aiming for the side of the monstrous creature, determined to knock it away from the bear. In a ripple of roiling shadows, he flew toward the gargantuopod, and his collision with its exposed nk was akin to charging a brick wall. Even so, Victor hadnt met a brick wall he couldnt do some damage to.

    When he mmed into the mound of thick, pink flesh, it rippled like a mud puddle might if you dropped a boulder into it. Moreover, the enormous, stony ribs under the surface cracked like saplings in andslide. As Victors Core drained itself of fear-attuned Energy to protect him, the colossal monster slid a dozen feet from him, writhing and thrashing as its gore-filled maw yodeled out a weird, undting scream-roar of pain.

    Victor had the wherewithal to release his bear, ending its suffering and sending it home to the Spirit ne. Then, he leaped at the monster, targeting its damaged side. Heunched into a frenzy of attacks, hacking Lifedrinker in tremendous two-handed blows, left then right, almost like he was trying to cut through a gargantuan fallen tree.

    While he dug bloody furrows in the flesh, exposing splintered bones, the monster roared and thrashed, trying to get to its feet while simultaneously twisting tosh its hook-ended tentacles at Victor. He ignored them as they wrapped around his left leg and armthey might as well have been clinging cobwebs; they were utterly unable to budge his rigid, titanic frame as he lost himself in the furious frenzy of his assault. More fiery arrows punched into the monsters hide. There were fewer of them this time, but they seemed to burn more fiercely, and Victor was dimly aware that portions of the creatures thick, pink hide were beginning to char and turn ck.

    Lifedrinker took two hits to prate the hide, and Victor was swinging in such a frenzy that she must have scored a half dozen bone-deep cuts, burning and charring the flesh on her way through, before the monster finally surged back to its feet and whirled so violently to face Victor that he had to thrust out a boot to keep it from snatching him up in its gaping mouth.

    He slid back, driven by his foot on the edge of its sucking maw, and had a brief, heart-fluttering panic as his foot started to slide into the orifice. As it came loose, he stomped into the ground and, still gripping her in two hands, hacked Lifedrinker with all his might into the lower rim of the monster''s lunging, sputtering mouth.

    She bit between the rows of dagger-like teeth, and her smoldering axe head sank to the haft, fully buried. Victor roared his approval as Lifedrinker writhed and pulled, digging like a parasite into the folds of the softer flesh. He released her and leaped back, avoiding another lunge, and watched with sadistic pleasure as the monsters maw swirled shut on the axe.

    Her haft stuck out of the puckered opening like a toothpick, but only for an instant as the creature opened wide again, coughing gouts of blood, saliva, and gore. Its remaining tentacles grabbed at the axe, wrapping around the haft, trying to draw it out, but Lifedrinker had dug deep, and the worm-like appendages didnt seem to have much leverage pulling away as opposed to pulling things in.

    While it struggled, in a panic to get the hungry axe out, Victor noticed Cam darting around the edges of the chamber, nting thin, metallic rods into the ground. He hoped the weird, youthful caster had a trick up his sleeve to help finish the gargantuopod off. His rage was still high, simmering like recently boiled water in his veins, but hed let off a lot of steam in his frenzied assault. Seeing Lifedrinker take root, driving the great monster mad as she dug into the softer flesh of its inner mouth, also served to cool his boiling blood. With his banner burning brightly, pushing away the toxic air, he turned to regard his otherpanion.

    Sora stood atop a distant refuse pile, her bow held high, watching Victor, the monster, and Cam. He frowned at her, annoyed that all hed seen her do thus far was release a few volleys of magical arrows. Was she up to something? Were she and Cam scheming to get him to wear himself out fighting the great monster? Did they intend to double-cross him?

    Sora saw him looking her way and nodded. Then he saw the air around her begin to shimmer with blistering Energy. It coalesced like a fine orange mist and then streamed to the point of the arrow she held nocked to her bow. With the fluid grace of a master archer, she drew it back and released the string.

    The arrow streaked through the air like a bolt of light, and Victor jerked his head around to watch its impact. The monstrous gargantuopod was on its hind legs, swaying back and forth, maw wide open as it struggled with all six of its tentacles to dig Lifedrinker out of its flesh. Soras zing arrow buried itself deep in the creatures goo-filled throat, ring and smoking like a chemical fire. Green and ck gas billowed from the monsters mouth as it howled and jerked its head left and right in a pain-filled frenzy.

    Victor knew Lifedrinker was doing good work, draining away the things Energy, likely interrupting some of its abilities. Even so, he wished he had another weapon, somethingrge enough to continue his punishment of the monster.

    Rather than dig through the piles of refuse and debris in their, hoping to find something to pummel the monster with, he inhaled deeply, stoking the mes of his magma-attuned breath Core. The gargantuopod had given up all pretense of an offensive and was rolling on the ground, shaking the cavern floor, throwing up mounds of rotting meat and slimy detritus as it struggled with Lifedrinkers deep bite and the ring arrow still burning a pit in its insides.

    As his breath Core swelled and his lungs filled to bursting, Victor stomped forward. Risking a fate simr to his bears, he reached out and snatched ahold of the monster''s maw as it puckered open. He found grips on the round, smooth sides of the sharp grinding teeth in fingers of steel, digging in, straining with every ounce of his prodigious strength. At the same time, he stepped on the bottom rim of the sphincter mouth, holding the great maw gaping wide around him.

    When he felt himself losing, when the weird muscles that contracted that grinding orifice began to pull him in, Victor switched his Sovereign Will boost to strength and roared, pushing and stretching the maw wide. Then, he emptied his breath Core, blowing out every ounce of his magma-attuned Energy in a stream of liquid, orange-glowing fiery rock, dumping gallons and gallons of it into the things throat and down into its belly.

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    The horrible damage his magma did to the things insides was enough to send it into apoplectic convulsions, and even Victors terrible grip wasnt able to keep hold. The monster bucked and flopped, and Victor was thrown, head over heels, backward as it rolled around on the ground, desperately seeking a release from its agony but unable to reach the fire destroying its insides.

    Victor mbered back to his feet, and he was stunned to see a System message sh before his eyes:

    <strong>***Cam Lightly has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Eighteen entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>

    Blinking, Victor looked around the room but couldnt spot the young magician. When his gaze returned to the monster, still convulsing, spewing ck and green gases from an orifice that had to be its anus, Victor saw one of the silver rods Cam had nted jutting out of its rigid, pink flesh. Did the damn thing roll over him?

    To his surprise, Sora responded from just behind him, No, I shot him. Victor whirled on her, hands up in a fighting stance, but she smiled and shook her head. I didnt break the trust; he was trying to betray you. Those gs he was nting were meant to mesmerize you as you fought with the monster. She looked back to the giant creature and coughed, unable to easily breathe in the green and ck fumes despite Victors banner. Is it going to die?

    Victor looked down at the woman, tiny to him in his titanic form, and contemted grabbing her and flinging her toward the dying beast. The impulse came on the heels of a frustrated thought about how he couldnt trust anyone in that ce. She could be lying. She could have seen an opportunity to eliminate a weaker opponent.

    Scowling, growling faintly, some smoke drifting out of his nostrils, he stepped back to keep her in view while observing the monstrous creature. It was thrashing much more feebly now, lying on its side, exposed ribs heaving up and down as it struggled to breathe through its ruined throat and esophagus. Itll die, he said with finality. Lifedrinker wont let it recover.

    Lifedrinker? Sora held a sleeve over her face, coughing again.

    My axe. Shes deep in its maw.

    Ah! Sora looked up from her sleeve, her eyes bloodshot from the fumes. When she saw Victors scowling countenance, she took a step back, releasing her bow with one hand and letting it hang by her side. I swear, Victor. Cam and I are friends in the city. He will be furious with me, but I told him not to try his scheme. He ignored me.

    Victor kept one eye on the dying monster and shrugged. So you shot him? I thought he was hard to surprise.

    Yes, but his talent doesnt help so much against people he deems friendly. If you doubt me, collect his gs after that thing dies. See what their purpose is.

    Victor did doubt her, and he did intend to examine the silver rods, but no matter what they were, it wouldnt reinforce his trust in the archer; for all Victor knew, she could have encouraged Cam with the intent to betray him from the beginning. The cloud of noxious gas and smoke around the monster had grown so thick that he was having trouble seeing it. Wait here if you want, he grunted, then strode into the caustic haze.

    The gargantuopod was barely moving, its breaths shallow and rapid, and he could see Lifedrinkers haft jutting out of its open, smoking pit of a mouth. He wanted to be close as the axe finished her feast; he didnt feel good without her in his hand.

    Standing beside the monsters head, the thing seemed pitiful, even though its gaping jaw was probably ten yards wide. Come on, <em>hombre</em>, he said, wishing it had an eye he could look into. Give it up. Time to move on. In a coincidence that sent shivers down his spine, the thing took a deep shuddering breath, wheezed it out in a cloud of ck smoke, and fell still.

    Before the System could st him with a torrent of Energy, Victor grabbed Lifedrinkers haft and gave her a tug. She slipped free almost effortlessly. She throbbed in his hand, waves of satisfaction rolling into him as he noticed the thick veins of shimmering green Energy that stretched through her silvery metal and into her living wood haft. He wondered if shed evolve again soon, perhaps after processing thistest feast.

    A soft breeze tickled his neck, and when he turned, he saw Sora standing where hed left her, eyes closed, hands outstretched, her hair whipping in a breeze she seemed to be creating. Thats when a ball of golden Energy struck her in the chest and, at nearly the same time, another hit Victor. The influx was significant, enough to lift him off the ground and fully replenish his Core. Euphoria washed over him, his anger melted away, and Victor dropped to his knees, panting like hed just sprinted a mile.

    When he looked up, he saw Sora lying on her back in a simr state. As he mbered to his knees, then his feet, he turned to look at the dead gargantuopod and saw great balls of rainbow-hued Energy drifting up from the corpse, forming a big, shimmering blob. Shit, here we go again, he muttered.

    Hed only seen the rainbow-tinted globes of Energy a time or two before, and he knew it would hit him like a runaway train. He was leery of being made insensate by the influx, still suspicious of Sora as he was, but he knew shed be just as impacted. That said, he stood close to the monsters corpse, Lifedrinker in his hand. He figured that if he were closer, the Energy would hit him first, which meant hed recover first.

    Sora was still lying on her back when the shimmering cloud of Energy split into two streams, and one mmed into his back between his shoulder des. Victor started to yell, not in anger but in victory, lifting his arms high, Lifedrinker in one fist as the enormous wave of power washed over him, lifting him into the air. Hed been hit with surges like this beforehis greatest post-battle rush had to have been the reaver army hed defeated single-handedly, but this was up there in the top five. Even as his conscious mind began to depart, drifting on waves of euphoria, he felt sure hed gain another level.

    When the Energy released him, and he fell to the ground, he caught himself on the knuckles of his free hand before he tumbled to the filthy floor. Standing, he looked past the System message waiting for him until he caught sight of Sora sitting on the ground, her bow resting on her knees. She regarded him cidly and nodded at his instant scrutiny. That was quite a reward you just received. Mine wasnt sorge.

    Victor sighed, stretching his neck until it popped. He should have guessed shed recover more quickly if the System decided shed contributed less to the kill. Remembering the battle, though, he frowned. I thought that arrow you shot into its throat was pretty damn effective.

    As she inhaled, gathering her words, he read the System message:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 63 Herald of the Mountains Wrath and gained 12 strength, 17 vitality, and 12 will.***</strong>

    He looked at his attribute panel on his status page, wondering how things were shaping up after three levels in his new ss:

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>406</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>526 (579)</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>190</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>213</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>172</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>589</strong>

    While he stared at the numbers, inwardly amused by how much theyd changed since hed first stepped foot into the Wagon Wheel and Yre and Vullu had taught him how to look at his status, Sora said, Im sure I hurt it, and I got a lot of Energy, but that fiery kiss of death was what did the creature in. I dont know how its possible for a giant to breathe fire like a dragon, but color me impressed. She rose to her feet with effortless grace and gestured with her bow to something behind him. We received a chest.

    Titan, Victor grunted absently while he turned. Sure enough, resting on the filthy, blood and gore-spattered stone floor was arge, ornate, silver-iid marble chest.

    Excuse me? Sora stood beside him, no longer tiny but still quite a lot smaller than he was.

    Im Quinametzin. Titan. Not a giant.

    Theres a difference?

    Victor jerked his thumb at the crumpled corpse of the gargantuopod. Titans can kill shit like that. He pointed to the chest. How we doing this?

    Sora lithely hopped past the chest and mounted the corpse, like climbing a hill for her, to pull the silver rod from its side. Do you want to inspect this? Id prefer to think you believe me and that I neednt fear you will smite me down out of suspicion.

    Victor shrugged. I made a deal with you. A, uh, gentlefolks agreement. Remember? Im not going to hurt you unless you betray me or unless we agree to split up. As for that thing, whats it going to matter? You could have tricked that little guy into cing them for all I know.

    Sora frowned, and her brow narrowed. She was clearly angry at the implication, but it seemed she couldnt formte an argument that would counter Victors logic. Instead, she tossed the g to the ground with a <em>ping</em> and brushed her hands together, wiping off some unseen debris. I hope I can earn your trust, Victor. I appreciate your honesty.

    You dont want that? Victor pointed to the rod where it had rolled into a sticky mess of rotted flesh.

    Theyre useless to me. They require a mind affinity, and the set is iplete; he still had more to ce. She walked to the chest and stood beside it. It wasrge enough that he figured she could get inside if she curled up. As for the treasure, Ill defer the first choice of the loot to you. Then we can take turns. Maybe theres one item in here, or maybe there are twenty. I have no idea what to expect after ying a monster of this caliber.

    Victor realized he was still gripping Lifedrinkers haft in white knuckles. He lifted her and looked at her de; she was unusually quiet, and he wondered if it had something to do with the thick rivers of Energy she was processing. He held her over his shoulder, and his harness snatched her, pulling her close against his back.

    He turned in a slow circle, looking around the great chamber. It was big enough to house a couple of full-court basketball games with room left over for the fans. The haze had cleared from the ground level, but near the high stone ceiling, a cloud of ck and green vapors still clung. He saw the stone tunnel where theyd entered the chamber and, on the far wall, not too far from where the monster''s corpsey, was another exit.

    Victor nodded, and as he stepped toward the chest, he called forth his coyotes, infusing them with inspiration-attuned Energy. Naturally, they came into the world yipping and whining, and Victorughed. Hey, <em>hermanos</em>, go watch those tunnels and make sure nobody surprises me and my friend here. They yipped and split up, darting through the refuse-strewn cavern. Victor looked at Sora, and when he grinned, she returned the smile. All right, lets see what kind of loot that big boy had for us.

 Book 7: Chapter 41: Skulls and Doppelgangers

    Book 7: Chapter 41: Skulls and Doppelgangers

    Loro gestured to the doors, indicating amotion, and Ranish Dar turned his gaze that way. He recognized the maning through, Duvius ck, with his signature midnight robes and feline features covered with silken ck hair, impossible to miss. Someone must have said something snide because the Magician was hissing, his robes puffing up along his back as his hair stood on end. The man looked ready to fight to the death. Somethings got him quite ruffled, Loro chuckled.

    Dar nodded. You saw what happened to his student. Im sure one of those drunkards said something a touch too biting.

    You reckon hes here to confront you? Loro sipped his strange milk-white liquor, his pale features and dark eyes giving no hints of amusement to match his light-hearted tone.

    Confront me? It was my student who was nearly sabotaged. More likely, hes here to save face, to try to deny the Elven girls usations. Dar looked at the viewing screen, watching as some students still on the first level traded blows. He was beginning to root for the young beastkin boy when, sure enough, Duvius ck stepped up to the table.

    Ranish! he purred, his voice smooth and calm, as though he hadnt just been in a screaming match with those men near the door.

    Duvius. Its been a while, hasnt it? Why, more than a decade since we traded words, Id think.

    Has it been so long? My, the years just slip away like sand through our fingers, do they not? He shifted to the side, standing beside the bench on Loros side of the table. The undead Death Caster chuckled and slid further into the booth, nodding his hairless head at the seat.

    Please, sit down.

    Why thank you . . . Duvius trailed off, clicking his tongue. Im so sorry, but Ive misced your name, good sir.

    Ranish had no doubt that Duvius knew exactly who Loro was, but he humored him in his little power y: Duvius, this is Loro the Grim, an old friend of mine.

    A pleasure! he said, sliding into the seat. As he settled, hepulsively ran his long, pink tongue along his short-haired forearm. He quickly folded his hands on hisp beneath the table when he caught himself.

    The pleasure is mine, Mr. ck. Ive heard much about you. Loros thin lips pulled back in a smile, revealing teeth that hinted at his ancestors love of meat.

    Duvius nodded, then focused hisrge, feline eyes on Ranishs smoldering, fiery ones. Thats quite a young monster youve thrown into the sandpit with our students.

    Pardon me? My young, under-leveled student is a monster? Need we rehash the words of that white-haired Fae-blood? She made it clear to all who watched what your boy was up to.

    Duvius leaned forward, his ck lips curling back, lifting his whiskers to reveal impressive canines. Now, Ranish, thats exactly why Im here! Cam is beside himself with grief; hes lost eight levels, and those were tough levels toe by. Still, even in his wallowing sorrow, he denies what the girl said. He has no reason to lie to me! We all know the stakes, and were all reasonable enough to recognize a clever gambit, even if it didnt pay.

    Ah, let me guess, Loro said, unconcerned about offending the man hed just met. She encouraged him, said shed help, then, when the moment was right, it was she who did the betraying?

    Exactly! Duvius mmed a furry fist on the table. Either he was too dense to register Loros teasing, or he chose to ignore it, giving the Death Caster a chance to back off. He nced at the wall disying the various images from the view stones. How many remain? There were eighteen when I left my club.

    Loro was quick to answer, Fifteen now. I reckon Ranishs boy must be about to gain another level.

    Did you see what he and that little bitch pulled from their chest?

    No; the System blocked the feed from the view stones. Ranish pointed to the far end of the wall where two cked-out rectangles hung near the edge. They must still be in there.

    A gargantuopod! Duvius <em>tsked</em>. My student deserved a piece of that price. He will challenge that Fae girl after this. You watch!

    That doesnt seem wise, considering what hes just lost. I suppose if she gets rescued, she might be an easier target. Ranish shrugged.

    Fah! Duviuss eyes narrowed, and he jerked his head to the side, hissing like only a feline can. Its infuriating!

    Did you have a lot riding on your student?

    You know how rare a chance affinity is! Im still stunned shended that shot.

    He must have been very focused on his gsaplicated ritual to perform amid a battle betwixt titans, Loro chuckled.

    Dar held up a finger. Only one titan and a behemoth.

    Loro shrugged. Is it such an important distinction? Behemoth-type monsters are often on par with a titans strength.

    Not that one. Dar smiled, enjoying his gloating a bit too much. Hed already made a fortune on Victors showing.

    Youre awfully smug, Dar. Duvius seemed to have tired of ying nice. Id be watchful, were I you. When Dar scowled, he held up his hands, palms out, No, no. I make no threats. I simply say that your student isnt making friends there. Ive already heard word that Arcus Volpur will seek vengeance. Even after his early defeat, hes still nearly ninth-tier.

    You think my student needs to fear a man he soundly thrashed despite giving him the advantage of first strike? Despite himself, Ranish Dar couldnt help closing his massive, stony hands into fists atop the table. He didnt like threats, even indirect ones.

    Perhaps not, though Volpur is a dastard; he might seek to hurt him in other ways. Tell me, does your student have a family?

    Dar leaned forward, and his eyes red, heating the air around their booth. He does not, so feel free to spread that word. Moreover, any who seek to battle or harm him in this city without the proper formalities will find themselves on the wrong end of my wrath.

    Dar! Duvius held a hand to his chest, a look of dismay stered on his face. Do you think I would do any such thing? Im no fool; I simply repeat the whispered rumors propagating the high streets.

    Dar sat back, his frown like an upturned scythe de on his stony countenance. Im weary of your warnings, Duvius. Leave me and my friend in peace, would you?

    Oh, he cleared his throat and nced from Dar to Loro. Of course. I simply wanted to congratte you on your new protg. Tell me, is he entertaining other offers? Surely you cannot devote too much of your precious attention to a single student . . .

    He is not. Dar folded his arms over his chest, his brows angled inward, a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

    Very well, Duvius sighed, sliding out of the bench. Im sure well speak again soon. With those cryptic words, he turned and strode out of the club.

    Stolen story; please report.

    What a strange visit, Loro said, his humor bubbling into each word.

    Im d youre amused.

    Do you think theres any truth to . . .

    Dar waved a hand, dismissing the topic. He pointed to the wall where Victors rectangr viewing portal once again projected an image of therge man. Well have plenty of time for spection. Im hungry, and Victors spy has resumed coverage.

    <strong>#</strong>

    While Victor and Sora stood before the chest, preparing to open it, the System announced the rescue of three more entrants, bringing the remainder to fifteen. Again, they were struck by a massive Energy influx, but, to Victors surprise, he didnt gain a level. When he mentioned as much, Sora chuckled and said shed only gained one level since entering the ce. What level are you, he asked bluntly as she reached for the chests sp.

    She paused, her fingers just brushing the silverytch, and looked at him with narrowed eyes. I suppose its not such a great secret. If we survive this ce, you could find plenty in Sojourn who know Im just a hair over level eighty. She resumed her movement and lifted the lid of the chest, releasing a cloud of sparkling golden mist. And you, Victor?

    He shrugged. Just a bit past sixty. He figured it was only fair to answer, considering it had been his question. As she looked askance at him, obvious doubt in her eyes, Victor stepped forward and looked into the chest. Man, your buddy wasnt lying. Theres a lot of loot in here.

    My buddy? Oh, Cam. No, Im sure he was right. The gargantuopod was a worthy challenge. She joined him, looking down into the box. There were quite a few different objects withinVictor saw something that looked like an empty crystal bottle, a dark, vaguely humanoid skull with two horns, a ring, a cloak, and a crystal that looked almost like a prism hed seen in a teachers ssroom when he was younger. Half the space in the box was taken up by a bulging leather sack. Shall we identify them before you make your first choice?

    Yeah. Victor jostled the big sack, and the familiar sound of beads clinking against each other came to his ears. Cash.

    Cash? She frowned and then nodded. Beads. Currency. I get it. She lifted out the bottle, and Victor saw her concentrate briefly while trickling some Energy into it. The breath of a legendary masterone-time use. Inhale the contents to be inspired by a great master in a time of need. She set the bottle on the chests lid. And Victor picked up the skull. He trickled some Energy into it and read the System-generated description:

    <strong>***Whispering Skull: This artifact is tied to the undying spirit of a once-great magic user. Ask it questions, but be prepared to deal with the spirits cryptguage and penchant for trickery.***</strong>

    Victor immediately set the skull next to the bottle, not at all interested in it. He had enough trouble figuring out who was lying to him without adding an undead skull to the mix. Nevertheless, he described it to Sora, and she seemed intrigued. She lifted out the ring and a momentter said, Voidstone Ringonce per day, this artifact will absorb and nullify any one spell cast toward the wearer.

    Victor rubbed his chin. Not bad. He watched her set it down, then picked up the prism, slowly turning it in his fingers so it caught the dim light and split it into rainbows against his palm. He could feel Sora staring at him, so he trickled some Energy into it:

    <strong>***Prism of the Doppelganger: If a single being carries this prism for a year, that being may use it to summon a temporary duplicate of themself. This doppelganger will share their desires, thoughts, and abilities, but will disappear after one hour, not to be resummoned until another year has passed.***</strong>

    At first, Victor frowned. He didnt like the idea of an item he could only use once a year, but then he thought about how powerful it was, imagining how easy most of his previous battles would have been if hed had a twin brother as strong as he was, who wanted exactly what he did. He carefully set the prism next to the skull as he described it to Sora.

    Quite an item. I can see why it requires so much time to charge. She stared longingly at the prism for several seconds, then reached in to pick up the cloak. A few secondster, she said, Mantle of Dreamweaving. Its a cloak that allows you to enter and manipte the dreams of others, depending on the strength of their will.

    Victor frowned, shaking his head. Sounds kind of shitty. If I found out someone was messing with my dreams . . . He trailed off, sighing and shaking his head. While hed been imagining creative ways to pummel someone whod interfered with his sleep, Sora untied the bag of beads and plucked one out. Dual attunedfire and earth. Id estimate ten thousand, but it could be more; that bag might have a dimensional enchantment.

    Right. So, were taking turns? When Sora nodded, Victor picked up the prism and slipped it into his new storage pouch.

    She nodded. I wouldve done the same. Victor watched her hand hesitate between the cloak and the bottle of masters breath, but she settled on the cloak.

    Victor rubbed his chin, contemting. Had she been hovering between the cloak and the bottle to make him think the bottle was the next best item, or had she genuinely been tempted by it? Victor had no idea what a legendary masters inspiration would be like, but he supposed it might get him out of a jam someday. The Voidstone ring was pretty great, too, though. Once per day, it could save him from a surprise magical attack. Once per day, it could mess up an opponents first move. He knew he didnt want the skull. Sighing, unsure if he was making the right choice, he grabbed the ring and immediately sent some Energy into it, bonding with the item before slipping it onto his finger.

    Sora smirked and picked up the bottle. Im surprised you didnt take this. It may prove invaluable when we reach the end of the iron ranks.

    Yeah. It might. Victor shrugged, then reached into the chest and lifted the sack of beads. You can have that <em>pinch</em> skull. He tried to put the sack into his magical pouch, but it wouldnt go, which brought a wide grin to his face. Sending some Energy into the bag, his mind became aware of a sizeable dimensional space and a hefty mound of Energy beads within it. Sora didnt seem to notice; she was busy turning her new skull in her hands. She had thin lips on her angr face, and her frown of concentration was almostical as she said, Skull, tell us the best route to the stairs.

    A voice as dry as dust began to emanate from the ancient, ckened skull, "Ah, seeker of paths untrodden and stairs unseen, listen well: Where shadows dance at the edge of sight, and the echoes of footsteps are your guiding light, follow the gaze of the stone-lined throat, but heed this warning I do bring: The truest path often lies hidden beneathyers of deceit and sin. Seek not with eyes but with your mind''s might, for only the wise can pierce the night."

    What the fu . . . Victor started to say but broke off asughter took over. I knew that thing would be useless. Sora tried several more times to get a straight answer out of the skull, but Victor keptughing as each subsequent response was more obscure than the one before. While she messed with it, he tied his sack of Energy beads to his belt and then walked over to the gigantic corpse of the gargantuopod. He reached over his shoulder to loosen Lifedrinker from her harness and mbered atop the beast, using Lifedrinker like a climbing pick.

    What are you doing? Sora called, her annoying skull hanging from a leather cord at her belt.

    Im going to get its heart. With that, Victor began the long, dirty process of hacking through the monsters ribs; unfortunately, it had copsed on the side hed already cut through. While he worked, building up a sweat, Sora walked closer and called up to him.

    Why?

    I can use it for something, Victor grunted. Lucky for him, Lifedrinker was up to the task, and after a while, hed chopped through several ribs and managed to dig around in the bloody, hot meat until he found the things enormous heart. It resisted him; the arteries were tough and thick, and it didnt want toe out. The entire time he grunted and jerked on the thing, trying to pull it free, Victor wished he could go through his rings for a nice, long, sharp knife. Eventually, in a fit of frustration, he cast Iron Berserk again, and then, with surging strength and muchrger fingers, he popped the recalcitrant organ out of the carcass and held it aloft in two hands, hoisting it over his head with a savage grin.

    He had half a mind to eat it on the spot but managed to control his desire. There was no telling what would happen to him, and he didnt want to be left helpless while his body went through some kind of evolution. With a tremendous push of his will, he slipped the big organ into his storage pouch and pulled his rage-attuned Energy back into his Core, ending his Berserk. When he hopped down from the body, Sora was sitting on a rtively clean section of the ground, talking to the skull. Im afraid it''s mad, she sighed, watching Victor try to rub the blood off his hands using the tatters of his leather pants. I hope that heart was worth all that effort.

    Me too. Victor turned to the great corpse and cast Honor the Spirits, smiling as a ghostly bonfire burst into being, consuming the carcass in a matter of seconds.

    Sora stumbled back, surprised, then red at Victor. What did you just do?

    Sent my ancestors that big damn corpse. He shrugged. Who knows what they can do with it. He pointed to the corridor leading away from the chamber, now clearly visible with the corpse out of the way. Lets see where that goes.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Darren mmed his mug on the table and practically howled with excitement. Did you see that? He breathed fire into its throat! He cooked it from the inside! He wasnt the only one in hysterics. The entire bar was breaking into pandemonium. People were standing on benches, sloshing drinks in the air as they cheered, waving for bet-takers toe to their table, breaking into songs and chants, and generally acting as though theyd done the killing instead of Victor. Darren could see why; it had been an amazing spectacle, and when it started, most of the people in the bar thought Victor and his friends would lose.

    Everything had changed when Victor doubled in size and mmed into the monster with such force that hed sent it sliding. Who could do that? The thing had to weigh thousands of tons. Darrenughed, drinking more of his beer and remembering how hed thought his little tanks would be able to stand up to people like him. He looked around the table and saw the pride in Vas eyes, the joy on Edeyas face, and the solemn, knowing gaze Lesh gave him. Lam had excused herself to go to the restroom halfway through the fight, and Darren had a sneaking suspicion shed been nervous for Victor.

    Thats why I follow that man, Lesh said, his deep, rumbling voice having a little trouble with the consonantshe must have drunk two gallons of liquor by now.

    Were you worried, Edeya asked, looking earnestly up at Va.

    Me? I was only worried that hed be betrayed by those twopanions of his. It seems the woman may be too clever to tempt Victors wrath. She looked at the wall and frowned as the image shifted to show another pair of adventurers bickering about which path to take. Why do they change it? Wouldnt seeing their rewards be more interesting than this?

    The view window turned ck when they looked at the chest, Lesh said. The System may be granting them privacy. He leaned back in his seat and reached down to pull a pocket watch out of his belt. He peered blearily at it, then looked from Darren to Edeya. You two should rest. It may be hours before Victor sees more action, and the night grows old.

    We have a whole day before our dungeon shlot, Lesh, Edeya said, folding her arms over her chest. Shed had plenty to drink.

    Do as you please, but Darren will retire. He looked at Darren and raised a scaly eyebrow.

    Um, right. Yes, Elder Lesh. Darren sighed and began to slide to the end of his bench.

    Oh, fine! Edeya groused. Ill go back with you.

    Suddenly, Lam was there, leaning on the table beside Va. Ill walk with them. You and Lesh can stay and keep watching. Use the Farscribe book if something happens. Otherwise, Ille back in the morning.

    Thank you, Lam. I will. Did you see the battle?

    Oh, yes. I was returning from the privy and saw him finish that thing off. She shook her head, grinning wryly. Remind me to buy that man some soothing tea for his throat. She looked at Darren and Edeya. Ready?

    Darren nodded, and Edeya smiled brightly with red cheeks. Yesh!

    He followed the two women out of the bar; Lam was a good deal taller than he, so she cut through the crowds, looking over the patrons heads for the best route. Once they were outside in the chilly evening air, he took a deep breath and sighed happily. What a fun time!

    Lamughed and led the way past the many groups of loitering patrons. Thats because you were rooting for Victor. If youd been friends with one of those others, you might not have had so much fun.

    Well, most of these people dont know any of them, Edeya said, waving her arm in an arc, indicating all the various strangers lingering around, talking and carousing. And they had plenty of fun!

    Good point! Lam put her arm over the smaller womans shoulders and, to Darrens surprise and immense joy, paused for him to catch up so she could drape her other arm over his shoulders. Ill keep you close, or Leshll have my hide.

    Ah, ahem, yes. Darren nodded, his cheeks flushing. Wouldnt want Elder Lesh angry.

    Oh my! Edeyaughed. Is he mocking his mentor? Im telling Lesh!

    No! Darren cried. No, I wasnt mocking . . .

    Hush, Lamughed. Shes teasing.

    Darren tried to regte his breathing, allowing himself to rx as Lam guided them along. Theyd only cleared a building or two and were approaching a corner when a smooth, masculine voice called out from behind them. Excuse me! I say, excuse me, but did I hear correctly? Are you three friends with that gigantic warrior in the challenge dungeon?

 Book 7: Chapter 42: Tension

    Book 7: Chapter 42: Tension

    <strong>***Savannah Dores has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Eleven entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>

    Victor nced at Sora, and she nodded, closing the door behind them. Theyd just found what they believed to be a set of stairs leading up to the third dungeon level and were preparing to climb them when the message appeared. It was the second one since theyd left the gargantuopodsir, and Victor was sure it would level him. He could feel the tension in his body and Core; it felt like even a hint of Energy would push him over the edge. They were in a round stone chamber with one exit and a spiral staircase leading up to shadowy heights.

    Sora sat down with her back to the door, her bow in herp. It might be a few minutes; it seems the System tries to wait for battles to halt before throwing the Energy at us.

    Yeah. Victor sat down on the steps facing her. You think well get another chest when we go up?

    Thats my understanding. Each level awards a chest, and the value of the prizes is supposed to increase as the number of participants dwindles. She smiled, shrugging. Should be quite a bit better than thest one. A few people have been knocked out since.

    Mmhmm. Victor nodded absently as he stroked Lifedrinkers haft. Shed been very quiet since the gargantuopod, and he could still see the faint lines of shimmering green Energy in her silvery metal. He didnt know exactly how it worked, but it seemed like she was slowly digesting what shed taken.

    Your axe is made of Heart Silver? Soras intonation made a question out of the statement.

    Yeah. Well, she started with just a Heart Silver core, but it''s expanded as shes . . . evolved is the word for it, I guess.

    A wonderful weapon, to be sure. She must have drained much from the gargantuopod. Im sure it helped our fire to y it. When Victor didnt respond, not wanting to chatter about his axe or her secrets, Sora tried another topic, You called yourself a titan, yes? Are there many of your kind on your homeworld?

    Victor looked at her with narrowed eyes. Hed grown leery of strangers trying to dig information out of him. So many unscrupulous people had tried to use knowledge of his abilities against him that he was mistrustful. The problem with his thinking, though, was that the questions felt innocent enough; she could simply be trying to make conversation, perhaps trying to bolster their tenuous alliance.

    Rather than answer her, he decided to turn the tables to see how she handled some personal probing. Hmm, how about you tell me about yourself? On my homeworld, people who look like you are often called elves. Is that right? He didnt mention that hed only seen them in fiction.

    Elves? Well, I have a Fae bloodline and, as a result, have devoured many a text on the subject of the Fae. They have subgroups of people, and yes, Ive read the terms elf, elfin, and even elvish. However, my people are called the Ramash, and most dont share my pointy ears, strange coloring, andrge eyes. I hail from a world somewhat distant from Sojourn; I had to traverse another hub to reach this ce.

    Victor nodded, more interested than hed expected to be in her answer. Hed made a lot of assumptions about herabout most of the people in the dungeon. For some reason, hed held himself apart as though he werent benefiting from a wealthy patron like most of the other entrants.

    He was starting to see that he often gave himself more credit than he deserved, that he considered his efforts to get where he was somehow out of the norm. In his mind, the other dungeon goers were akin to spoiled rich kids, pampered on an easy world and handed opportunities that hed had to work for. Had he, though? It sounded like hed had an easier time getting to Sojourn than Sora. He decided to be more open-minded and to try to learn more about the people he encountered. Howd you get to know Cam?

    In another dungeon. We were both signed up for the same time slot, and the coordinators put us together. I still consider him a friend, and Im dreading the oue of my betrayal. She looked down, and Victor saw real emotion in her eyes, real hurt. Hed been so suspicious of her earlier that he hadnt considered the weight of her actions if she were telling the truth; shed gone against a friend to keep from betraying Victors trust. As hepleted the thought, another voice in his head scoffedshed betrayed a friend to keep from getting smashed by him. Just because she wasnt stupid didnt mean she was loyal to him.

    I dont know exactly what Cam was going to do, but you made the right choice. I dont tolerate betrayal well. At least in here, your friend had the Lifesaver, and your attack wasnt enough to kill him outright. I couldnt make promises to that effect if I lost myself in rage.

    So you dont always have control?

    Again, Soras question rubbed Victor the wrong way, as if she was fishing. He nced up to the air at the center of the spiral stair and saw the two spy stones floating around up there. There was no telling who was listening to their conversation. He was about to change the subject again when, out of nowhere, glittering balls of bright golden Energy mmed into each of their chests. Victor grunted as the euphoria swept over him, and when he came back to his senses, he had a System message waiting for him:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 64 Herald of the Mountains Wrath and gained 12 strength, 17 vitality, and 12 will.***</strong>

    He waved the message away and looked at Sora. She was staring into space, her eyes moving left to right as though reading something. She did it for a long while, and Victor figured shed gotten more notifications than a simple level; maybe shed gained a new skill or spell or some other kind of upgrade. With a grunt, he stood up and slung Lifedrinker back over his shoulder. Ready to head up?

    Sora shook her head and blinked rapidly, hopping gracefully to her feet. Aye. If were separated again, Ill wait outside the award chamber.

    Yep, same here. Victor turned and started up the stairs. Sure enough, after just a few steps, he found himself stepping into a room almost identical to the one at the end of the first level. The only difference he could perceive was that the chest was made of wood and iid with dark, metallic runes. He stepped toward it, looking over his shoulder to ensure he was alone, that the floating spy stone was gone, and that Sora hadnt been sent to the same award room. The stair leading down was empty and quiet, so he turned back to the chest.

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    It was about the same size as thest one, only about twenty inches by twelve and something like ten inches deep. When he reached down to lift the sp, it made a kind of ringing sound as it rubbed against the metal of thetch, and when Victor lifted the lid, sparkling golden fog billowed out, apanied by a distinct chime. Fancy, he chuckled, waving the haze away so he could see the contents.

    When his eyes found his award, Victor frowned and reached in to lift out a pair of sturdy-looking, dark leather boots. As soon as he saw them, he knew they were part of the same set as the gauntlet hed gotten in the first chest. Two boots. Does that count as two parts of the set? To answer his question, Victor channeled a little Energy into the left boot to read what the System had to tell him:

    <strong>***Boots of Sojourn  these boots count as one item in a set. Collect five pieces of the set and bring them to the Sojourn City Stone to imbue them with curated set bonuses.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    Victors scowl deepened as he set the boot down and peered inside the chest again. It was utterly empty. Seems like bullshit, he grumbled and sent the pair into his storage bag. He stood up, ready to head out, but then he felt Lifedrinker begin to vibrate on his back, and, with a nerve-grating, elongated crackling sound, he felt a sudden increase in her weight pulling against his harness.

    Victors mind flew down paned pathways: Had the Energy Lifedrinker absorbed harmed her somehow? Was she trying to tell him something? Had some invisible fiend tried to pull her off his back? With his thoughts whirling, he reached up to grab her haft and found it much more of a handful than before.

    Sudden understanding dawned on him, and Victors worry turned to excitement as he lifted her free of her harness and pulled her around to grasp in both hands. He lifted her high before his face, staring at her beautiful shape. Lifedrinkers star-dappled, living wood haft had grown by more than a foot, and her brilliant silver axe head had to have increased its mass by fifty percent. The de wasrger and heavier, with wicked swoops at the ends of the crescent. She glinted with her own inner light, and when Victor held her close to inspect the shimmering glow, he saw that her edge was so fine as to be nearly transparent. <em>Qu rico</em>, beautiful!

    Pride and satisfaction emanated through her haft into his hands, and Lifedrinker veritably hummed with excitement. <em>Let us hunt!</em> she cried, filling his mind with images of wolves chasing down prey. Victor chuckled and slung her back over his shoulder. Her new size felt right, a good deal more substantial and a more proper fit for his own growth. As he stepped forward to open the door, his disappointing treasure was forgotten in the warm pride he felt for Lifedrinkers advancement.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Darren felt Lam stiffen as the stranger called out his question. When she turned, he stepped back as she slowly lifted her arm from around his shoulders, nudging him and Edeya behind her. Whats that, stranger? Were you speaking to me? Lams voice was crisp and sharp, her earlier slurring utterly banished by either adrenaline or the strength of her will. Darren peeked around her faintly fluttering dragonfly wings, peering through the cascades of golden Energy motes at the man whod stopped them.

    He was tall and had that palpable vibrancy that spoke of many racial advancements. It was a feeling Darren often felt when near Va and Victor and, to a lesser extent, Lam and Lesh. Even Edeya felt simr, though the depth of her power was clearly much shallower.

    Before he got too sidetracked, wondering about racial advancements, Darren continued his inspection of the man. His skin looked almost golden, and, half-extended behind him, were broad, powerful wings adorned with crimson feathers. The wings tilted forward and hugged his shoulders like a great cloak. He was terribly handsome, with big, golden, almond-shaped eyes, full, pleasant lips that spread in a gentle smile, and feathery red hair that matched his wings.

    While Darren feltforted by the pleasant aspect of the man, he saw Lam bristle, and suddenly a shimmering, silvery warhammer was in her hand. Ridonne, she said, veritably spitting the word.

    Ah! I wasnt mistaken, then! I thought sure those were Ghelli wings, but I wasnt aware of any Ghelli in Sojourn. Have they changed the ess policy in Tharcray?

    Not likely. We came by other means. Lam didnt lower her hammer, and the enormous, sledge-like head began to hum, vibrating the air in discernable waves of force.

    Dear me! Im not sure what fills you with such angst, dear Ghelli, but I offer no threat. I was simply intrigued by the sight of you and yourpanion there, and when I walked near, I heard you mention the giant warrior. Curiosity is the only motive for my approach!

    When Lam didnt respond immediately, and her hammer remained in her hand, he cleared his throat and folded his arms, cocking his head at her. Youre aware of thews in Sojourn, yes? Id hate for us both to get into some trouble if you start swinging that thing. Tell me, why the hostility? I havent been home in decades and was hoping for a bit of news.

    His mention of Sojournsws seemed to get through whatever was clouding Lams mind, and she slowly inhaled, lowering the hammer but keeping it in her hand. Darren had a good idea why shed reacted the way she had. Hed heard plenty about the Ridonne and, of course, had heard all about how theyd attacked Victors army before he reached the Untamed Marches. If this particr Ridonne had been in Sojourn for decades, though, then surely, she couldnt hold that against him.

    Before Lam could prove Darren right or wrong, Edeya stepped out from behind her and snarled, Weve seen what kind of honor to expect from the Ridonne.

    My, my! Id hate to bear the brunt of that anger. What makes such a lovelyss spit such venom? The Ridonne stepped closer, lowering his arms but sping his hands before him in an unthreatening posture. My dear, Ive never seen a Ghelli with your coloring! Such striking shades of azure! Whatever my kin did to you back home, please dont hold me ountable. Who was it? Ravasha? Trenia? Mordo-dak? Ive so many ill-mannered kin that I could probably list names all night. Is there aught that I can do to make amends? Ive so wanted to speak to someone from home without the tedium of checking in with my family! Couldnt I entice you to a dinner or . . . Oh! I have it! Wont youe to Warin-daks victory ball?

    That took some of the steam out of Edeya, and she looked up at Lam in confusion, waiting to see if shed made more sense of the tall strangers words. Warin Dak? Lam asked, obviously trying to dredge through her memory for the name. Darren could see whythe man before them spoke it like everyone should be acquainted with his meaning.

    Oh, ancestors! The Ridonne chuckled, shaking his head. Im so out of practice. My name is Chal-dak, and Warin is my cousin. Hell likely win in the challenge dungeon, and Im sure hell throw quite a feast.

    What? Lams eyes opened wide. Theres a Ridonne in there? She looked at Edeya, then down at Darren. I didnt see one on any of the spy windows . . .

    Ah! I see the confusion! Warin-dak didnt awaken the, um, more pleasant side of the bloodline. Hes more bedecked with horns, and his coloring leans more toward crimson and less toward golden. Moreover, he fancies himself a wizard and wears heavy robes with a hooded cowl . . .

    Oh! The one who killed the three others while they battled those troll things, Edeya said. Darren knew precisely who she was talking about; theyd watched the battle on the big viewing window just before Victor and his two friends began exploring the second level. Three adventurers had been fighting a pack of brutish horned giants with green, pox-ridden flesh when a fourth had arrived, sting them all with terrible bolts of red Energy. It looked like something out of a science fiction movie to Darrendeath beams that melted through flesh and stone alike.

    They didnt die . . . Chal-dak began to say, but Lam spoke at the same time.

    Eliminated . . . She shook her head as they both stopped short, not wanting to speak over each other. When Chal-dak remained silent, she said, I wouldnt n a victory party just yet.

    Aha! Our conversationes full circle! Might I enquire again? You know the giant warrior?

    It was Lams turn to fold her arms over her chest and smile knowingly at the Ridonne. I do know him, and though hed be angry if I spoke much about him to a stranger, I would say he has no love for the Ridonne.

    Ah! Such a shame. I dont suppose youll expand on the source of hisand youranimosity?

    Again, it was Edeya who spoke up, her voice fierce, her brow narrowed in a scowl. Should we start with how you and your kind have kept the rest of Fanwath ignorant and subservient, locking away the world travel options for you and yours?

    Oh? I suppose I cant be surprised that you dont know the Systems mandate, handed down when Fanwath was new. As far as I know, its not something they teach outside our academy.

    Lam frowned. Mandate? Academy?

    You see! There are things for us to talk about! Theres much I could exin. Wont youe to our party after the challenge dungeon?

    Lam sighed, clearly ready to end the conversation. I wontmit to anything, and, as I said, you shouldnt invest too much in a victory party. In any case, we have other obligations in the near future.

    Well. I do hope you manage to find the time. Even if Warin-dak fails to secure the top position, well celebrate his homing. Here, he flicked his fingers out, and a glittering, golden card appeared between his pointer and middle finger. He extended it to Lam, My calling card. Simply feed it a touch of Energy, and you can send me a message. Conversely, I can leave a message for you. Ill send you the address of our estate in Sojourn and any forting details about the victoryor notg. Darren knew he shouldnt, but he found himself liking the man. He was smooth and charming despite the hostility Lam and Edeya had been showing him.

    Lam took the card, sent it into one of her dimensional containers, and nodded. We must be moving on. Obligations.

    It was my pleasure, Lady . . . He lifted an eyebrow expectantly, obviously hoping to learn Lams name.

    Lam.

    Ah! He smiled, his eyes glittering with pleasure. No surname? Well, Lam the Ghelli from FanwathIll have to be content with that. I do hope to hear from you soon. With that, he bowed with a flourish, spun on his heel, and strode confidently away, back toward the drinking establishment.

    What a cocky asshole! Edeya growled.

    Lam groaned. Roots, Edeya! Youve been around Victor too much.

 Book 7: Chapter 43: For Glory

    Book 7: Chapter 43: For Glory

    So? Get anything you want to talk about? Sora was waiting for Victor when he stepped out of the award room onto a vine-covered stone tform that appeared to be in the middle of a jungle. He looked at her and noted she was wearing a silky, dark-gray cloak with a luxurious-looking, rust-colored lining. Rather than answering her, he shrugged and pointed at her new garment.

    Got yourself a new cloak?

    Aye. Its not doing anything for me at the moment, but its one of those new Sojourn set pieces. She shrugged and smiled, pulling the cloaks sides close over her chest. Itsfortable!

    Victor seized the opportunity to fish for some information. Set pieces? You say theyre new?

    She nodded, rubbing the silky fabric of her hood against her cheek. Yes. The lords of the city recently unlocked the option in the System Stone. Supposedly, these items are rare drops in any of the city dungeons. They all have different potentialyou cant enchant the ones from the low-tier dungeons as much as ones like this. She gestured around her, indicating the dungeon. When they announced it, they listed off a bunch of features I cant remember, but I think you can upgrade them with rare materials and add all sorts of enchantments at the city stone. Some of the artisans in town were up in arms about the whole thing.

    Victor frowned as he considered the statement. They think the sets will take business away?

    Mmhmm. Sora turned to face the narrow path into the jungle. Of course, the lords said the drops were too rare to have much of an impact. Its not like they care what some iron-rank crafters think; they all have powerful artisan friends who are above the likes of us. She pointed down the trail. I heard roaring a minute before you came out, but it seemed distant. Shall we explore?

    Sure. Victor unslung Lifedrinker and started after her. While she crept forward, presumably using her abilities to sense for presences and traps, Victor followed quietly, boosting his agility and dexterity with Sovereign Will. He wanted to cast Inspiration of the Quinametzin but wasnt sure if the aura, which would negatively impact enemies, might give them away to lurking beasts or other dungeon entrants. As that thought crossed his mind, he quietly asked, Is there a time limit on this dungeon? I think my mentor mentioned something like that, but Ive forgotten. This whole thing kind of came up suddenly for me.

    Sora paused and turned to speak softly over her shoulder, No set time limit. Well be in here until only one person is standing or someone clears the boss of the top level.

    And how many levels are there?

    She shrugged. Between five and ten. I think its random, or the Lords of Sojourn select the number in secret. Victor contemted her words while he followed her further into the jungle. Other than the two of them, only nine others were still in the dungeon, and he had no idea how many were ahead, beyond the third floor. Hed already picked up a few levels and gained a couple of pieces of, apparently, rare loot. Wouldnt it be wise to ride things out, kill some monsters on this floor, maybe go up another, and avoid people until one of the high-ranking local heroes finished the dungeon? After that, they could all make it out with their gains. Something about the idea of coasting, lurking on the sidelines, while someone else took the glory of victory didnt sit well with him.

    Victor paused, concentrated, and then summoned his fear-attuned coyotes again. As they sprang out of pools of shadow, slinking silently along the sides of the path, he said, Okay, <em>hermanos</em>. Find the stairs up. <em>Pronto!</em> The five mastiff-sized coyotes darted away without a sound, one bolting past Sora on the path, the others charging into the jungle. Sora turned to look at him quizzically.

    A new n?

    Yeah. Well quit messing around and start climbing this sucker like we mean it. He nced over his shoulder at the thin line of hazy sky through the trees. Sure enough, amid the nearby branches, the spy stones floated, ever watching. Lets give em something to watch.

    Shouldnt we be cautious? I know some tier-nines made it up to the second level long before we did.

    Couldnt have been that long before. Victor frowned at her. You can be cautious, but Im about to start moving. Stay with me if you want. As he spoke, Victor cast Inspiration of the Quinametzin, then Iron Berserk, rxing his hold on his aura. If people were lying in wait, hed let them feel what they hading.

    At first, as he surged in size and began to radiate heat and fury, Sora stepped away but kept her face neutral, having seen his titan form before. Then, when he cast his inspiration spell, her brow uncreased, a slight smile yed over her lips, and she leaned toward him. Thats when Victor unleashed his aura, and though she didnt stumble or fall, she certainly stepped back again, and her eyes opened with rm.

    Dead Gods! she hissed. Are war and conquest all youve known? Ive never felt such an aura from an iron ranker, even from the blowhards down at the martial yard! Victor ignored the question, inhaling deeply, tasting the Energy in the air, and sucking it into his lungs. He tried to pull some magma-rted Energy out, but all he tasted was verdant and thick with life. He exhaled and nodded.

    As soon as one of my brothers finds a hint, Ill start running. Stay close if youreing.

    Of course, Iming! Sora was more than small to Victor now, her voice tiny with the rage roaring in his ears. Hed turned his attention outward, listening and feeling through his coyotes, but the determination in her words caught his attention, and he looked down at her with red, glowering eyes.

    Good. Glory awaits. Hed just uttered the words when one of his scouts alerted him; something was happening off to his left through the junglea battle!

    A fight! he roared, dashing into the clinging, thick undergrowth, bowling over saplings and snapping branches as he shouldered through. Lifedrinker began to buzz and hum in his hands. Her silvery head shone with Energy that deepened from white-hot to smoldering orange as she began to trail a plume of ck smoke over Victors shoulder.

    He leaped thornbushes, smashed through thick ferns, and, as some of the trees actively tried to ensnare him, ripped vines and branches from trunks as he exploded through the jungle, leaving a broad, easy-to-navigate wake for Sora. He was breathing heavily, his lungs pumping like a steam engine, his Breath Core ring with smoldering magma as the excitement of battle spun his glory-seeking Quinametzin pride into a frenzy. At some point, he switched his Sovereign Will boost to strength and vitality, readying himself for anything.

    He could feel his coyote approaching and sense res of Energy tickling his widespread aura. He was determined to smash any resistance he met, but he was inspired and a clever fighterVictor knew enough to slow his rampaging, headlong rush as he drew near to his scout. He slid to a halt before a thick stand of wide-boled trees and their hanging vines, crouching next to his coyote. He rested a hand on his shoulders, his fingers and thumb on either side of the animals rib cage. He felt the warmth of pride seep out of the canine into him, and Victor grinned as he followed the animals dark-eyed stare with his smoldering, furious one.

    A clearing opened up beyond the trees, and three figures battled on its grassy ground. Victor saw an avian womantall andnky, with ck and gold feathers, a sharp beak, and predatory, hawkish golden eyes. She woreyered leather armor, wielded an enormously long whip, and seemed to be defending against the other two.

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    One was a man who had to be twelve feet tall, wearing shining silver and red-enameled full-te armor and wielding a tremendous two-handed sword. The other was a woman who looked like she might have been a rtive of Soras. She was slight, wore green tights, a gleaming silver breastte, and carried a deadly-looking crossbow. She tucked it close as she rolled and leaped, avoiding the avian womans whip.

    A tiny whisper came to him, and Victor nced down to see Sora crouched near his coyote. The bird woman is Strista Kono. Shes ninth tier. The man is Dovalion Boarheart, also tier-nine, and the Fae blood is L Rosehis wife.

    Victor nodded as he touched his dimensional belt pouch, summoning the spy scope hed stowed away in there. The thing was tiny in his hand, but he held it between his thumb and finger and peered through it, noting the auras of the three in the clearing. The avian woman, Strista, was yellow, deepening toward orange. The giant man in his thick head-to-toe armor was yellow, and the woman with the crossbow was dark blue.

    Victor grinned, tucked his scope away, then looked at Sora. Thanks. Stay hidden. Dont let anyone sneak up on me, he rumbled, then stood up and pushed through the trees. Part of his brain asked him what he was doing, but he pushed it down. Hed decided to act, to try to win this stupid dungeon challenge, which meant he needed to crack some skulls.

    As soon as he stepped into the clearing, toppling one of the trees with a creaking, popping crash, the three stopped fighting. Facing each other warily, they all regarded him with hostility. You intrude, stranger, the hawk-faced woman screeched.

    Victors Iron Berserk let him keep his mind clear enough to contemte the statement. He thought about a response, about making an offer to these three, but arge part of him wanted to leap into battle, uncaring about sides or numbers. He had to fight his urges for a heartbeat, and, in that time, he took a few steps forward, and he saw the reaction as his aura fell upon the three. Each one flinched, though the Fae woman with the crossbow nearly fell. He knew they werent exactly friends, so he decided to see how deep their animosity ran. Ill take you all one by one or three together. What will you prefer?

    L and her husband stood to Victors left and Strista to his right. Victor saw the giant warrior, Dovalion, tilt his metal-covered face to the hawk-woman, and they both nodded almost imperceptibly. I say die, then, fool! the huge warrior cried, lifting his sword. It burst into me, white-hot but clean-burningnot a shred of smoke rose from the ring metal.

    Victor felt his cheeks rise as his smile widened, and he began tough with the joy of impendingbat. Then, a whirlwind erupted at his feet, and a tremendous, cyclone-force wind lifted him off his feet, hoisting him into the air. As he spun, he saw Strista lifting her arms, crackling blue Energy dancing along her dark feathers, and he knew shed summoned the wind. Painnced through his left thigh, glute, and lower back as he was hammered with powerful crossbow bolts.

    Victor arched his back, trying to find some sort of control over his movements, straining as he reached back to yank one of the thick bolts from his leg. As he did so, he caught a glimpse of L reloading her crossbow and a gleaming streak as Dovalion charged him, his burning greatsword held high.

    Victor dropped the bolt, noting how green fluid pumped from its tip, sizzling on the grass. He wondered if it was poison, which made his madugh all the louder. Just then, Dovalion crashed into him, his great, burning sword cleaving into his unarmored thigh and sending him careening through the air to crash and tumble into the underbrush at the clearings edge.

    Victor didnt like being controlled and made helpless. His pathways were so full of frustrated rage that he veritably burned with it. More than frustration, he was in pain; Dovalions sword had bitten deeply, grinding against his bone. He wondered if hed been more solidly braced, not floating in the air, if the greatsword would have cut through his leg entirely.

    When his tumbling fall came to a stop, he pressed his hand to the wound, watching great torrents of hot blood spewing through his fingers. Still, it slowed almost immediately, his immense vitality and the healing nature of his Berserk already working to stitch the wound closed. He yanked the other bolts out with soft grunts, dropped them to the ground, and stood.

    Victor had been in enough fights to know hed bitten off a massive mouthful, maybe more than he could chew, but he couldnt help the joy in his chest at the prospect of finally being challenged. How long had it been since hed bled like that? He could feel the pressure against his aura as Dovalion gave chase, stomping over the clearing toward the wrecked foliage where Victor had fallen. With a grunt, he leaped to his feet and, surprisingly adroitly, darted around the edge of the clearing, putting some distance between himself and the metal-d warrior. As he crouched low, stalking around the edge, he called hispanions to him.

    He could hear the hawk woman screeching at the others, telling them he was moving. He heard cracks of thunder and saw trees and branches explode into ming, smoking splinters not far from him, but the noise and wreckage gave him further cover as he continued to nk the winged, whip-wielding caster. When he felt his coyotes growing close, hed nearly circled the entire clearing and could still hear Dovalion grunting, crashing around, hacking his sword in wide, burning arcs, slicing through trees and undergrowth. The jungle didnt love the destruction; ck, acrid smoke rose from the burning nts, and Victors feral grin widened as he heard the enormous, armored warrior coughing.

    Victor was big, and if he hadnt been in a dungeon filled with giant, magical trees, it might have been harder to sneak around, but he wasnt so sure. It felt natural for him, darting through the vines, broad-leafed nts, and ferns. The ground was spongy and somehow familiar to his feet, and he was almost surprised by how quickly he left Dovalion and Stristas lightning bolts behind.

    Couldnt they feel his aura? Couldnt they track his Energy? On the heels of the idea, another followedhis aura was overwhelming them. They felt it, but it was confounding them, dulling their senses and wearing down their wills. That was the price of fighting inside a stronger enemys aura. As he lurked behind a massive tree, peering around at the clearing, his smile gleamed in the shadows.

    He saw the Fae, L, crouching near the center of the clearing, turning in a slow circle, eyes narrowed. Her back was to him, but he knew her sharp senses would feel him if he kept watching. Rather than hide again and wait, he urged his coyotes to attack her, and then he bolted forward, scanning for Strista.

    His dark, shadow-d brothers burst out of the jungle, streaking toward the archer. One exploded in a st of blue lightning, and L pumped another with three rapid-fire crossbow bolts, sending it back to the Spirit ne as it melted into a pool of shadow. Then, the other three were on her, and she had to dart and weave, using her impressively graceful movements to avoid being mauled and ripped to shreds by the three savage canines.

    Meanwhile, Victor burst into the clearing and saw Strista to his left, near the edge where Dovalion still lumbered about, hacking through trees. She was facing L, lifting her hands, ready to st another coyote, when Victor cast a fear-fueled Energy Charge, streaking through the clearing in a ball of roiling shadow. She saw him at thest second and pumped her huge ck wings, but it was toote; Victor collided with her right nk, and she wasnt built to take a charge from a titan. In an explosion of ck feathers, Victor sent her flying, tumbling out of control into the jungle, where she smashed through half a dozen trees. The air rained feathers.

    <strong>***Strista Kono has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Ten entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    Victor lifted his head, arched his back, and screamed his triumph to the dungeon. He could hear Dovalion crashing through the burning undergrowth toward him, but Victor whirled on L and saw shed put down two more of his coyotes, but thest one had her by the ankle, pulling her over the grass. She had bleeding wounds on her shoulders and arms and had dropped her crossbow. Victors heart swelled with pride when he saw how dearly hispanions had made her pay for their lives. He stomped over to her bow and lifted Lifedrinker to hack it. No! she cried, giving up her struggle against his coyote. She lives!

    Victor frowned, stooped to pick up the bow, then stalked toward her. He wasnt exactly feeling merciful, but he knew how hed feel if someone destroyed Lifedrinker. He wasnt that kind of asshole. His coyote had stopped dragging her but had her bloody ankle in a death grip, growling and snarling. He heard Dovalions stomping steps as he broke back into the clearing. Victor was right beside the bloodied, desperate woman, though, and, lifting Lifedrinker high, he stepped around behind her so he could see Dovalion, too.

    The warriors armor was smeared with soot, but his sword still burned, and his posture said he was ready to charge Victor at any second. Wait, Victor growled. He clicked his tongue, and the coyote released Ls foot. As she gasped in relief, he dropped her bow onto herp and said, Use the Lifesaver. Youre done.

    L looked from Victor to Dovalion, her face streaked in bloody smudges, her eyes filling with frustrated tears, but she reached into her leather vest and pulled the medallion out. She and the helmeted warrior stared at each other for several long, silent seconds. Then L sent Energy into the Lifesaver, and, in a cloud of hazy blue smoke, she disappeared.

    <strong>***L Rose has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Nine entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    Thank you for your small mercy, Dovalion said, bowing at the waist. Victor saw a gray shadow flitting around the edge of the clearing behind the knight. Sora? He regarded the man for several seconds. He was easily asrge and bulky as the Degh back on Zaafor. He had to have some kind of giant bloodline.

    Sora, stay out of it. Make sure no one else sneaks up, he shouted. Then he gathered up his rage-attuned Energy, sending it into his Core and canceling his Iron Berserk. As he fell back to his usual size, Victor called forth his glory-attuned Energy and summoned his Banner of the Champion. Golden light red behind him, shadows fell away, and Victor felt the glorious pride of a spectacle, of being the center of everyones rapt attention. He looked up at the sky, saw the floating spy stones, and lifted Lifedrinker. Ancestors! he roared. Witness me!

    <strong>#</strong>

    What is that young fool doing? Loro asked, scooting further toward the edge of the booth, his dark, undead eyes staring at the view window. Why would he cancel his berserking titan form? Is he out of Energy?

    Ranish Dar sighed, shaking his head. No, my friend. Im sure hes not. Hes putting on a show in some misguided attempt to earn favor or honor or . . . glory. Ah, thats it. He has a glory affinity, and Im afraid, coupled with his titan ancestry, this is something I should have probably anticipated.

    Do you think the Fae girl will betray him? What others are still on the third floor? Loro and Dar both scanned the other windows. Three showed the same sceneVictor''s, Soras, and Dovalions. Of the other six, none showed any jungle scenery. It seems he might be lucky this time.

    Luck? Was it luck that sent Strista home with a single blow? Was it luck that made L Rose, the ck Thorn, surrender? Dar frowned and shrugged. Perhaps theres some luck involved, but Victor is as pure a warrior as Ive ever seen. Even Dovalion there has spent decades crafting, meditating, and raising a family. How many entrants do you think have a skillset so purely focused on conquest? Victors Core, his ss choices, his bloodline, and his life experiences are all focused on battle. Few of the other entrants understand what that means. Few could imagine what kind of spirit is forged from the constant exposure to deaths cold embrace. He may have dropped his berserk form, but, my friend, he did so because he saw no glory in the utter domination of another warrior.

 Book 7: Chapter 44: Dungeon Friends

    Book 7: Chapter 44: Dungeon Friends

    Dovalion straightened from his bow and stepped forward, his white-hot, ming greatsword held up and tilted slightly back in a high guard. His voice came out of his fully enclosed helmet, echoing strangely, like a man speaking from inside a well, ¡°So, you have a hidden ally?¡±

    Victor ignored him, grinning, Lifedrinker held loosely before him. She was eager, tugging toward the giant warrior, hungry to test her edge against his thick te armor. Victor often fought Lesh without Iron Berserk, so he wasn¡¯t daunted by the man¡¯s size. The armor-d man wasn¡¯t muchrger than Victor, after all, and Victor was stronger than he looked, which said a lot. He quietly circled the tall warrior, his posture more like a wrestler¡¯s than a proper duelist¡¯s. He kept his center of gravity low, his shoulders and arms loose, leaning slightly forward in a hungry, predatory posture.

    ¡°I see you¡¯ve dropped your rage. I salute your control. A test of skill, then?¡± Dovalion did something quick with his hands, and the great sword whipped through the air before him, arcing in a circle, the white mes ring as he spun it. It was a quick movement, one meant to showcase his talent, and when his sword stopped moving, it was once again in a high guard, ready to strike or react to Victor.

    For his part, Victor felt he¡¯d been patient enough. He darted forward, thrusting out Lifedrinker, feinting a crushing blow toward the giant¡¯s face. Dovalion tilted his de to parry, but Victor yanked the axe back at thest second, darted past the warrior¡¯s nk, and performed a quick, lightning hack at his torso. Dovalion was fast and nimble, but he was hampered by his thick armor, at least enough so that he failed to dodge the blow. Lifedrinker sparked and red as she tried to dig through the heavy te on his stomach and side, but, as far as Victor could tell, she only bit about halfway through.

    ¡°A fine axe, sir, but my armor is a relic from an ancient world, crafted from the ore of a fallen-ungh!¡± He choked off his impromptu lesson regarding his family heirloom as Victorunched himself into an attack, swinging Lifedrinker in a series of swooping, lightning hacks, driving the giant back, scraping and denting the armor in a shower of molten sparks. Lifedrinker¡¯s frustration was palpable as she red and glowed, using every bit of the edge Victor¡¯s inspiration-attuned spirit fragment gave her.

    Dovalion turned one of his heavy shoulder tes into the attack and swung his zing sword in a great circr cleave. Victor was loathe to let up the pressure of his assault, and he decided to keep swinging, moving with the cleave, hoping to mitigate the damage. The zing greatsword struck him in the ribs, sparking against his wyrm-scale, the edge finding purchase as it slid between two scales, ripping through the heavy wyrm-hide backing, then splitting Victor¡¯s skin and sliding along his ribs. Dovalion channeled some Energy, whipping the sword through the arc of his cleave faster than should have been possible and transitioning into an overhead chop that Victor barely avoided by diving to the side and rolling. When he bounded to his feet, he was grinning like a madman.

    ¡°First blood, sirrah!¡± Dovalion¡¯s hollow voice announced as he spun his ming sword in another flourish, tracking Victor¡¯s predatory circling movements. Victor grunted in response, his wound already forgotten, despite the sheeting blood running down his side beneath his armor to dribble onto the grass. He may not be berserk, but his vitality was high, his body was strong, and he wasn¡¯t worried about a cut on his nk. Grunting in frustration, annoyed that Lifedrinker couldn¡¯t pierce the man¡¯s formidable armor without his berserk strength behind her, Victor determined to continue the dance, to find a gap in that armor or, failing that, beat on it long enough that it started to affect the man beneath.

    So, he darted forward again, his great thighs bulging with the force of his dash. He wove his axe, his partner, through a series of hacks, feints, fricbinations, and parries. For every two or three swings of Lifedrinker, Dovalion only answered with one with his greatsword, choosing to use his bracers, pauldrons, and even helmet to deflect many of the blows. He was skilled with that mighty sword, but he fought a very different style ofbat than Victor or, if he were honest, anyone he¡¯d ever sparred with. He was like a juggernaut, wading through Victor¡¯s mighty blows, trusting his armor and sturdy frame to absorb the damage while he waited to deliver decisive hacks and thrusts with that deadly, burning sword.

    Victor began to amass cuts on his arms that smoked as the sword boiled his blood but failed to ignite his flesh. His wyrm-scale armor deflected indirect hits but parted beneath cleaves or stabs. Still, it held well enough for Victor to roll away from those hits, taking only minor wounds. Part of Victor grew increasingly irritated, yearning to unleash more of his abilities. His mind was distracted, debating with itself. If he didn¡¯t want to cast Iron Berserk, fine, then why not unleash his Aspect of Terror? If not that, then how would Dovalion fare against the Inevitable Huntsman? Why not some Energy Charges? Dovalion was burning Energy to speed his movements; wouldn¡¯t that, at least, be fair? Perhaps some coyotes or his bear would enjoy mixing things up with the giant warrior.

    Victor gritted his teeth and growled through his internal debate, trying to focus on his axe work. He wanted to give his ancestors a show. He wanted to keep his other, darker aspects a secret for now. More than any of that, though, he wanted to enjoy a good, hard fight, one where he didn¡¯t have to pull any punches. As Dovalion surged with golden Energy and some of the crumpled dents in his armor popped out and smoothed over, Victor frowned and gave in just a little, casting Inspiration of the Quinametzin. As the white-gold light of inspiration merged with the golden, sparkling glory of his banner, Victor smiled andughed.

    As he ducked, weaved, parried, and hacked, he began to see patterns in Dovalion¡¯s movements. He was skilled, sure, but he was just a man, and he relied on his armor a great deal. Victor knew he would have won the fight a dozen times over if not for that man¡¯s skilled use of his nigh-indestructible metal shell. He wondered if he could call forth the Paragon of the Axe. Would that give his hacks enough bite to cleave that metal? He was reasonably sure it would, but the problem was that Dovalion didn¡¯t use his weapon like a master. He didn¡¯t push Victor¡¯s axe work to the limits.

    As he dodged back, avoiding another cleave, Victor shook his head. That was an excuse. Hadn¡¯t he seen glimpses of the ghostly Paragon edge when he¡¯d fought the reaver army? He¡¯d been pushed to his limits, but not because those reavers were exceptionally skilled with their weapons. No, Victor had let his mind rx, he¡¯d stopped worrying about nonsense, and he¡¯d embraced the battle. With that thought, Victor endeavored to cease all further thinking. He inhaled deeply and felt the magma in his chest surge but savored the warmth rather than thinking about using it. As he exhaled with a clear mind, he went to work.

    <strong>#</strong>

    ¡°Bah!¡± Lesh growled, thumping his massive fist on the thick wooden table, jostling the empty cups and mugs. ¡°Why does he toy with that man?¡±

    Va looked away from the battle depicted through the magical window and offered him a pained smile. ¡°He . . . I don¡¯t know, Lesh. He gets strange ideas in his head. You saw him fight the reavers. You saw . . .¡±

    ¡°Aye. I¡¯ve seen enough. Some point of pride won¡¯t let him use his berserking rage.¡± Lesh clenched and unclenched his fist. ¡°If he doesn¡¯t, though, he might lose. Look at the wounds he¡¯s amassed. He has the wrong weapon to fight a man with armor like that!¡±

    ¡°Look closer.¡± Va nodded toward the view window. ¡°His wounds are all but closed, and he¡¯s not taken one in a while. Can¡¯t you see a difference? Perhaps he¡¯d been distracted, or perhaps he was getting a feel for this armored warrior, but don¡¯t you see how he dances around him?¡±

    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Lesh narrowed his eyes and stared for a while, watching the fight. Va saw understanding start to dawn as the dragonkin watched. She knew she was right. She could see the metal-d giant burning Energy more and more frequently, trying to speed his greatsword¡¯s cleaves, repairing his armor as it more and more rapidly amassed dents and ckened score marks from Lifedrinker¡¯s hungry, burning edge. Even as his burning greatsword moved in nearly invisible blurs, Victor was never there to feel its fiery edge. Was he reacting too fast? Was he thinking ahead, aware of what the warrior would do before he did it? Va didn¡¯t know, but she felt her heart swelling with pride. The crowd hadn¡¯t realized it yet, but Victor was making a fool of the giant.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t burn Energy,¡± Lesh said after staring for a long while. His tone had gone from frustrated to amused or, perhaps, amazed. ¡°He¡¯ll wear the giant down? How long can they battle like this?¡±

    Va didn¡¯t answer as she watched Victor glide around the warrior¡¯s nk, hack Lifedrinker against his side and back in three lightning chops, then roll away as the greatsword split the air where he¡¯d been standing like a thunderbolt. The spy stones projected sound as well as images, and the grunts and heavy breaths of the metal-bound warrior were starting to grow loud and strained. Conversely, Victor looked fresh and hadn¡¯t stopped smiling in a long while.

    ¡°Old Gods!¡± a stooped, white-haired, bear-like man hissed at a nearby table. ¡°They¡¯ve been fighting for nigh-on twenty minutes!¡± he thumped a younger, ck-haired individual on the back. ¡°You¡¯ll learn about this in your training, Goja! Even a couple of minutes is exhausting!¡± Va smiled, looking around the public house. The tables had grown silent as they watched the deadly dance ying out.

    Earlier, when Victor had dropped his rage and reduced his size, the bet-takers had gone wild, crying out new odds, and there¡¯d been a frenzy of noise and activity as money changed hands and people spected about there being something wrong with Victor: Was he out of Energy? Was Dovalion working some magic to cancel his Berserk? Would he run? Then, as the fight drew out, with both men trading blows, things had begun to get quiet, and now she was confident she¡¯d hear a whisper in the ce. Everyone¡¯s eyes were glued to the contest. Va almost chuckled at the irony of her thoughts when several people gasped, and a loud, strident voice cried out, ¡°Look!¡±

    She followed the man¡¯s pointing w and saw what had gotten the crowd talking again¡ªa ghostly extra edge had begun to flicker in the air around Lifedrinker. Va took a breath and held it while she watched Victor swing his axe, watched as that shimmering ss-like edge moved with the smoldering metal one, and split Dovalion¡¯s armor with a terrible ringing eruption of gasses and ring Energy.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor knew it when the Paragon of the Axe appeared; he could feel it. His movements took on a new level of perfection. It was the difference between a student who knew the keys of the piano and how to read music and put the notes together and a master ying from inspiration and intuition. He¡¯d stopped diving and rolling around, and now he shifted just a hair, this way and that, letting Dovalion¡¯s de carve the air inches from his flesh and armor. He moved with the giant, Lifedrinker like a rudder in a storm, guiding Victor away from the monstrous swings with a tap against the fiery de.

    When Victor felt the Paragon, when he felt the ghostly specter of the perfect axe, he stepped back, parried, and when Dovalion was extended, he hacked Lifedrinker against the hard, magical armor of the giant¡¯s right arm. The ghostly edge wreathing Lifedrinker¡¯s fiery axe head split that metal like a steel chisel through a soda can. As a can might spew its carbonated contents, the armor vented gas, heat, and Energy as though it had been under pressure. Dovalion cried out, stumbling forward as his right arm fell to the bloody grass. He fought to hold onto his swinging sword with his left hand, but the momentum and weight of it were too much, and its fiery tip sank into the soil. He kept his hand on the hilt, but he slumped as steam and blood spewed from the truncated armor of his right arm.

    All his life, Victor had trained to finish. He¡¯d never been taught to stop when his opponent was on his heels. It didn¡¯t even cross his mind to stop; this wasn¡¯t wrestling, but Victor aimed for the equivalent of a pin, not a draw. He was on Dovalion in an instant, gliding like a leopard over the grass. He held Lifedrinker high, her de wreathed with the ghostly edge of the Paragon, as he swung her like a falling star at the spot where Dovalion¡¯s neck met his shoulder. She bit into the metal, and he heard that awful, splitting sound again. Then, Dovalion was gone; there was nothing but a cloud of blue smoke where he¡¯d stood.

    <strong>***Dovalion Boarheart has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Eight entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>

    Victor grunted in frustration as Lifedrinker hacked through the smoke. He¡¯d won, and he¡¯d done it cleanly, but the victory felt hollow. He felt robbed. He stood there, letting the smoke of Dovalion¡¯s rescue drift into nothing, contemting the battle and his win. He lifted Lifedrinker and looked at her smoldering de, seeing no sign of the Paragon. He¡¯d lost the battle trance that had summoned it. Footsteps alerted him to Sora¡¯s approach, and he turned to regard her.

    ¡°An amazing battle, Victor. I can¡¯t believe you took all three of them.¡± She held her bow loosely in one hand by her side. Victor nodded, offering her a half smile. His frustration was fading, and he knew they¡¯d be hit with some Energy at any moment.

    ¡°Thanks for watching my back.¡± He had no idea if she¡¯d done so. For all he knew, she¡¯d been training her arrows on him, waiting for the perfect moment to betray him. He supposed he could probably count on her loyalty now; she¡¯d have to be stupid to want to earn him as an enemy, and she seemed bright enough.

    ¡°It was nothing. Honestly, I was dumbstruck while you faced Strista and the other two; I couldn¡¯t believe you walked out there like that.¡±

    Victor chuckled and started to respond, but then swirling, potent balls of Energy streaked through the jungle canopy and struck both of them in the chest. It was a massive infusion, enough to st all thought from Victor¡¯s mind as weird rainbows and strange alien vistas passed before his mind¡¯s eye. He saw purple ins, heaving, swelling red-frothed seas, and bizarre, gigantic, naked, fur-covered people. Some had two eyes, and some had one, and more than a few wore great racks of horns like crowns. They toiled to climb a steep, rocky mountainside.

    Victor tried to make sense of the vision, but then the euphoric rush of Energy faded, and he saw his surroundings again. Sora was sprawled out on the grass before him, and a System message obscured his view:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 65 Herald of the Mountain¡¯s Wrath and gained 12 strength, 17 vitality, and 12 will.*** </strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have earned a ss spell: Roots of the Mountain ¨C Basic.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Roots of the Mountain ¨C Basic: A mountain weathers all storms. A mountain isn¡¯t moved. The mountain moves the earth. With this spell active, only the force of a true cataclysm can uproot or shift you. Energy Cost: 100 per second of active use. Cooldown: Minimal.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! Your Imbue Spirit ¨C Basic has be Imbue Spirit ¨C Improved.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Imbue Spirit ¨C Improved: You are able to imbue an object or individual with a shard of your own spirit, granting some of your own power and will to the recipient. At the improved level, the granted boons arerger. This effect willst until you recall your spirit shard. Energy Cost: Variable. Cooldown: Long*** </strong>

    ¡°Badass,¡± Victor said softly, sitting up in the grass.

    Sora blinked rapidly and looked at him. ¡°That was quite a lot of Energy. There are some very unhappy iron rankers sitting around Sojourn watching us right now.¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± Victor stood up, grunting as he did so. He hung Lifedrinker in her harness, then stood there, rubbing the soot and blood on his arms as though he had any chance of getting clean without a bath. The Energy had fully healed him; not even a scab remained of the many cuts Dovalion had given him. While Sora scanned the edges of the clearing, Victor summoned his coyotes, this time using inspiration-attuned Energy. They yapped, yipped, and whined as they circled him, and Victorughed. ¡°Go find the stairs going up, <em>hermanos</em>.¡±

    ¡°Why are they sometimes evil and dark and sometimes bright and full of exuberance?¡±

    Victor looked at her and narrowed his eyes. She was ever asking questions. When she looked back at him without a touch of animosity, he shrugged, relenting. ¡°Sometimes I want them to be quiet hunters, and sometimes I want them to be clever scouts.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to ask so much. I know how it feels when strangers want to know your business. May I ask you one more, though?¡±

    Victor¡¯s lips curled into a smile as he tried out the annoying line he¡¯d heard from so many coaches over the years, ¡°You just did.¡±

    She groaned and apparently decided just to forge ahead. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you keep your giant size when you fought Dovalion? I mean, I know you¡¯re quiterge as you are, but you were . . . muchrger before.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I wanted a good fight, and I knew my ancestors would have more fun watching a battle like that.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re watching?¡± Sora looked around, squinting with suspicion.

    ¡°Not always. If I want them to watch, I have to give them something worthwhile to see.¡± Victor could feel his coyotes covering ground, could feel their excitement as they hunted for the goal he¡¯d given them. So far, they hadn¡¯t run into anything to worry about, so he sat down in the grass.

    ¡°But,¡± Sora winced, shrugging as if to apologize for asking yet another question, ¡°why do you want them to watch?¡±

    ¡°How will I earn their favor if they don¡¯t see the glory I achieve? I have to earn my ce among them, you know. I don¡¯t want to show up like a weakling with no great story to tell, begging to carry water. I want to show up and be celebrated. I want to earn a good ce among them, and I want other titans to cry my name when they go into battle.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Sora sat down in front of him, leaning closer. ¡°So, you have a n to make proud? Titans who follow you? Children?¡±

    Victor sighed and leaned back, waiting for word from one of his scouts. He closed his eyes and let the heat from the incongruous dungeon jungle bring a sheen of sweat to his golden-brown skin. It felt good¡ªright. Somehow, he missed the jungle even though he¡¯d never visited one in his life. ¡°Enough questions, Sora. We¡¯re dungeon friends; if we stay friends afterward, we can learn more about each other.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 45: Alliances

    Book 7: Chapter 45: Alliances

    After only fifteen or twenty minutes of waiting, one of Victor¡¯s coyotes alerted on something, and to Victor, it felt like the triumphant pride of sess¡ªit had found the object of their hunt. So, he charged through the jungle, Sora hot on his heels, and on the way, he stumbled into a clearing filled with weird, half-flower, half-leopard creatures.

    Theyunched themselves at him with wild abandon, biting, wing, and grasping with thorn-tipped vines. The dungeon animals were tenacious and numerous but fell quickly to Lifedrinker¡¯s smoldering cleaves and Sora¡¯s fiery arrows. Once they¡¯d received some Energy for their quick victory, the two allies resumed their charge through the jungle.

    Victor savored the heat and moisture. He loved how his feet seemed to know exactly where to step, how he slipped through vines, snagging thorns, and clinging undergrowth almost effortlessly. This was the environment of his ancestors. The sweltering sun, the damp air, and the rich green foliage allbined into something oddly familiar andforting. When he passed between the boles of tworge, moss-covered trees and saw a vine-shrouded stone opening in a cliff face, he almost felt disappointed; if his coyote was right, the end of the jungle level was just ahead.

    <strong>***Tyra Vexmore has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Seven entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>

    ¡°Another!¡± Sora panted, leaning to rest her hands on her knees. She was drenched in sweat, and her silver-gray hair looked wild from the rough, fast passage through the jungle.

    ¡°You know that one?¡±

    ¡°Only by reputation. Very stealthy¡ªa Shadow Caster.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor nodded. ¡°Yet someone spotted her.¡±

    <strong>***Warin-dak has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Six entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>¡°What the fu . . .¡± Victor trailed off, staring at the announcement. It sounded like a Shadeni name. ¡°Or Ridonne,¡± he breathed softly, his mind racing with the implications. He shouldn¡¯t be surprised, he supposed¡ªthe Ridonne had had ess to Sojourn for nearly four centuries. Wouldn¡¯t it make sense for some of them to be there? Even so, it was a wake-up call. Sojourn might be a big city, but that didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t run into some enemies. The idea brought to mind Va and the others, especially Edeya and Darren, who were so fragile in their current state.

    It was Sora¡¯s turn to ask, ¡°You know him?¡±

    ¡°The name rings a bell. Have you seen him?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve watched him perform in other spectacles¡ªarena fights and sanctioned duels. He¡¯s popr in the city. I¡¯m surprised he was knocked out. I¡¯m quite sure he was tier-nine before entering.¡±

    ¡°Can you describe him?¡±

    ¡°Huge. Well, to me. He¡¯s about your size, with crimson flesh, spikes on his shoulders, elbows, and around his crown . . .¡±

    ¡°Golden eyes?¡±

    ¡°Um, some gold, perhaps, but mostly crimson. He¡¯s brutish but wields terrible Energy beams. It¡¯s some kind of specialized fire affinity, but not fire . . .¡± She trailed off, staring at the sky, searching her memory. ¡°Something to do with an infernal ne.¡± She shrugged and looked back at Victor. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t remember.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. More than I knew a minute ago.¡± Victor pointed to the stone tunnel opening. ¡°My coyote is just in there. I think it¡¯s the stairs.¡±

    Sora jogged toward it. ¡°Then let us climb before the Energy hits.¡± Victor nodded, following her. The tunnel was too low for him to enter without stooping, but after only a few yards, it opened up into a spiral shaft lined with steps, not much different from thest staircase they¡¯d found. Victor¡¯s coyote was sitting on his haunches by the steps and started whining with excitement when Victor and Sora stepped out of the tunnel. Victor patted his head, scratching around his ears.

    ¡°Good job, <em>hermano</em>.¡± He was about to send him home to the Spirit ne, but that¡¯s when orbs of golden Energy mmed into Sora and him, blinding him and sending his mind reeling through a kaleidoscopic series of images and colors, none of which made much sense to him. Part of him, still cognizant, hoped for another glimpse of the strange hirsute giants climbing the mountain, but it didn¡¯te. When the rush of Energy was over, he didn¡¯t have any System messages, but he felt fully refreshed and restored. Sora was sitting on the steps, petting his coyote, which made Victor wonder why she¡¯d recovered before he did. Hadn¡¯t they both gotten the same share of Energy from the System¡¯s award?

    ¡°That one really took you,¡± she remarked, looking up from his traitorous coyote. ¡°I think your friend likes me.¡±

    ¡°Oh, he likes the attention.¡± Victor almost joked about the coyote being a fragment of his spirit and how they both loved that sort of thing. He cut himself off, though, deciding Sora and everyone listening to their conversation had learned enough about him. ¡°Shall we go up?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Let¡¯s see if the awards are better this time!¡± She hopped to her feet and, with a final nce over her shoulder, ran up the stairs. After her fourth step, she shimmered briefly and faded from Victor¡¯s view.

    ¡°Okay, brother. Head on home. I¡¯ll call you again soon.¡± Victor dismissed hispanion and then followed Sora.

    For the third time, after just a few steps, he walked into a small stone room with a chest at the center and a closed door opposite the stairs. The chest was simr to thest one, but the material was different; it looked almost like sandstone with iid copper glyphs. ¡°Maybe a little bigger,¡± he muttered as he knelt before it, lifting the rough, delicate-seeming lid on its polished copper hinges. It swung wide, and, just as before, golden mist spewed forth. After waving it away, he saw two items: a thick leather belt and a piece of fruit that looked like an apple-sized blueberry.

    Victor picked up the fruit. It had a bright green stem with abel attached to it by a short length of silken string. The flesh under the taut blue skin felt soft, spongy, and strangely warm in his palm as he turned it to regard the words on the thin slip of pale yellow paper. Before reading it, he inhaled the scent of the fruit, savoring the odors that reminded him of orange blossoms and honey as they tickled his nose. With a salivating mouth, he read, ¡°Urd Berry of the Windswept Moon. Eat when nearing a difficult breakthrough.¡± Before he lost control and took a bite, he quickly slipped it into his storage pouch.

    Victor lifted out the belt, already guessing it was part of the same set as his gauntlet and boots. When he trickled some Energy into it, his guess was confirmed:

    <strong>***Belt of Sojourn ¨C this is a set item. Collect five pieces of the set and bring them to the Sojourn City Stone to imbue them with curated set bonuses.***</strong>

    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Too easy,¡± he muttered, slipping his third set piece into his pouch. He stood and pulled Lifedrinker out of her harness, striding toward the door. He tried to open it, but it wouldn¡¯t budge, and Victor turned, annoyed, wondering if he¡¯d missed something in the award room. He didn¡¯t see anything; even the stairway was gone, just a stone wall where it once had been. The chest had crumbled to sand, and the individual grains burst into golden steam as he watched. The room was utterly empty.

    Victor slowly walked around the wall, dragging his fingertips over the stone, but he found nothing out of the ordinary when he¡¯d made aplete circuit. The dy was annoying; Victor was tired of the dungeon and wanted to end it. Besides Sora and himself, there were only four others still in action; he figured if he and the slight, elven woman hurried, they¡¯d either get to the end or run into whoever was ahead of them, hopefully on the next level.

    He stared at the door, contemting hacking at it with Lifedrinker, but wondering if that would be stupid; it was part of the dungeon, controlled by the System. Would it really expect people to have to break through a door to leave an award room? He stood there for several long seconds, staring at it, working himself up to the action, but he heard a click just as he started to lift his axe.

    ¡°Finally,¡± he grumbled, pulling it open. He wanted to get out there, gather up Sora and haul ass for the next stairs. He figured he¡¯d summon his coyotes again to find them. Of course, ns were one thing, but reality was another.

    When he stepped out of the award room into an enormous, natural-looking cavern with gigantic, redwood-sized stgmites and stctites stretching from the floor and ceiling and a far wall so distant as to be shrouded in misty shadows, he found himself side by side with Sora, facing four other people. Victor sighed, looking at the threatening crew. He¡¯d wanted to chase down whoever was ahead, but he didn¡¯t think it would be four of them working together and a step ahead, waiting for him instead.

    They didn¡¯t look like slouches; each was primed with Energy, ring at him in varying degrees of hostility, weapons ready. Still, they hadn¡¯t immediately attacked, and, in fact, Victor had heard a choked-off utterance from the tall, armored woman at their center as though she¡¯d been mid-conversation with Sora. Mid-conversation or mid-threat? As he examined them each, he smiled grimly and twisted his fists on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, getting ready to prime some spells in his pathways.

    The man in the center was the biggest, but he didn¡¯t feel the most dangerous. That honor went to the dark-robed woman on Victor¡¯s left. He could feel the bite of her aura, thick with killing intent, cold with the chill of the grave, and slippery as it sought to glide around his own heavy aura. She held a staff that looked like a polished two-meter bone, and her ck eyes red at him from beneath a silken cowl.

    The man beside her was close to Victor¡¯s size. Seeing that, Victor¡¯s mind went off on a tangent about how he was starting to realize that the bipedal people of at least this part of the universe came in roughly three categories when it came to size¡ªhuman-sized, ¡°giant-sized,¡± which was around ten feet, and titan-sized, which was more like fifteen to twenty. Of course, Victor was technically a titan, but he hadn¡¯t grown into his full size, not unless he berserked. The weird side thought only took an instant as he regarded the giant in his fur-covered leather clothes. He wielded a club that reminded Victor of the giant axe he¡¯d used to smash Darren¡¯s tanks. It wasn¡¯t a fine weapon¡ªmore like a petrified tree branch, both enormous and heavy-looking.

    To the giant¡¯s right was another woman. She was lithe but tall, something between Va¡¯s height and Victor¡¯s¡ªmaybe eight feet. She wore fine, silvery mail, a winged, visored helmet, and held two hatchet-like axes. Finally, to her right was another magician-type. This man was cloaked in soft green robes, wielded a staff that looked like a living sapling, and wore a crown of fall leaves. He smiled rather pleasantly when Victor¡¯s eyes passed over him.

    ¡°They can¡¯t attack us,¡± Sora said.

    ¡°Tut, little elf,¡± the tall, hatchet-wielding woman said, pouting her full, red-stained lips beneath her silvery visor.

    ¡°Not until we step off this stone tform.¡± Sora tapped her foot, and Victor looked down, nodding. It made sense that the dungeon wouldn¡¯t allow someone to camp the entrances to each level, at least not without giving the peopleing up a chance to react.

    ¡°So? What is it? You <em>pendejos</em> want to fuck around?¡± Victor stepped toward the tform''s edge¡ªone more step, and he¡¯d be off it.

    ¡°Gods, you are a cocky one, aren¡¯t you?¡± again, the armored woman spoke. Victor ignored her¡ªhe could tell she wasn¡¯t the strongest. His instinct was to focus on the giant man, but he knew better. He felt strong, but Victor knew he¡¯d crumble if the two of them went toe to toe. He turned his gaze to the pale Death Caster and smiled.

    ¡°Well, <em>bruja</em>? What¡¯s it gonna be?¡±

    She looked at him, smiled her ck-painted lips, revealing teeth that would make a vampire proud, and turned to Sora. ¡°Well, elf? Did you make a decision?¡± Those words opened Victor¡¯s rage-attuned Core, sending hot, red Energy into his pathways. So, that was what they¡¯d been talking about when he¡¯d abruptly appeared¡ªthey¡¯d offered Sora a spot on their team.

    Victor turned to his right, looking down into almost toorge, angr silver-blue eyes. ¡°Well?¡± he repeated.

    She frowned, scowled at the dark-cloaked woman, then shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s apetition, Victor. You¡¯re strong, but Arona is in the ninth tier, Brontes has never lost a martial battle, and Valeska is sought as a master axe instructor by people from a dozen worlds.¡± She jerked her chin at the man in green with the living staff. ¡°Never mind that they have ndor here to work his nature magic.¡± She tentatively reached out her slender fingers to grasp his wrist. ¡°Will you hold it against me?¡±

    For some reason, Victor felt like what he said mattered to her. He had a feeling she might tie her fate to his if he asked her to. The thought brought a smile to his lips and lowered the heat of the rage in his pathways down to a simmer. He didn¡¯t need this woman¡¯s mercy. He didn¡¯t need her to sacrifice for him. He took a long, slow breath, then nodded as though to confirm his words were true, saying, ¡°To be honest, Sora, I¡¯ll fight better knowing I¡¯ve nobody to protect. I won¡¯t promise you¡¯ll survive if you join the four of them, but I won¡¯t hold it against you if we all make it out of here. At least you had the guts to betray me to my face.¡±

    ¡°Dead gods, this one has a pair of balls,¡± the big man said, his voice like a mudslide, loud and rumbling but indistinct and poorly enunciated.

    Victor stretched his neck, released a few stato <em>pops</em>, and then looked over the four again. ¡°How long is your deal with Sora going tost? If you beat me, she gets to work with you all the way to the end? You all like each other that much?¡±

    ¡°Do not concern yourself with our arrangements, big man,¡± the Death Caster, Arona, said. Her voice was cold and sharp, like her fangs and death-attuned Energy. ¡°Come, little Fae, join us.¡± Victor watched as Sora, her gaze averted, refusing to meet his eyes again, walked off the tform to stand beside the green-d man. As she stopped beside him, he reached out his left hand to gently squeeze her shoulder, offering her amiserating smile.

    Victor sighed and slowly turned in a circle. He was backed up to the cavern''s wall, and his four¡ªfive now¡ªenemies were arrayed in a loose semi-circle facing him. They were each about ten yards from the edge of the tform, giving them room to maneuver or react if he did something.

    They stared at him, each full of Energy, their pathways charged, their weapons throwing off auras from cold frost on Valeska¡¯s hatchets to something like toxic gas seeping out of Brontes¡¯s club. The Nature Caster, ndor, still wore that enigmatic smile, but Victor could feel the potent, verdant Energy pouring out of him. These were five high-level, dangerous people, and their skill sets were very diverse. He figured he might stand a decent chance of eliminating one of them with a burst attack, but he could be wrong. Any one of them could have some sort of skill that would let them avoid his attack or escape with their life. If he berserked, they might have a way to snare him up, confuse him, or lead him on a chase, forcing him to waste his Energy.

    What he needed was a way to separate them or get out from under their focus. They couldn¡¯t attack him while he was on the stone, and he had a feeling that protection would disappear if he initiated hostilities. He gazed over their heads at the forest of giant stgmites. If he could get out there among those stony protrusions, he might be able to use them for cover. He might be able to pair down his enemies one by one or two by two.

    He had to consider that they were expecting that. He had to consider that they¡¯d heard rumors of his rage or even talked to Sora about his abilities before he¡¯d interrupted. Had the damn dungeon kept him locked away so they could talk behind his back? Even if not, any of them might have witnessed one of his earlier fights, especially on the first level.

    No, rage might not be the answer yet, though his Volcanic Fury was always a nice Hail Mary. How would they fare if he brought the cavern down? He must have chuckled or grinned at the thought because Arona hissed, ¡°Something funny? Are you going to stand there all day? Take your medicine! If you¡¯re afraid, just use your Lifesaver now and save us the trouble!¡±

    Victor chuckled and gently twisted his hands on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, forming the pattern to summon his coyotes. He had to assume that his protection would fade as soon as he cast it, so he knew he had to be ready. Still, he wanted to catch them off guard, so he began pacing back and forth, carefully avoiding the tform''s edge.

    ¡°Sora, I feel sorry for you a little bit, and I feel like I¡¯d be bummed if you died, so let me just say, if you start to hear something that scares the living shit out of you, that literally starts to make your bowels turn to water, do me a favor, and use your Lifesaver. I don¡¯t want to kill you.¡± Victor had heard plenty of ounts of what people in his own army had thought of the sounds he¡¯d made during some of the battles they¡¯d waged.

    ¡°I . . .¡± she started to say, but Victor cut her off, not done nting his seeds of doubt.

    ¡°Actually, that goes for all of you. I don¡¯t know any of you enough to hate you yet. I can¡¯t promise the System will be able to pull you away fast enough if I get my hooks into you. Honestly, if you all back down now, I might just walk past and finish the dungeon, and you can escape this whole thing without any losses. I won¡¯t even make you use your Lifesavers. What do you say?¡± As he posed the question, Victor had three spell patterns ready to go, the most he¡¯d ever prepared all at once. He was surprised by how easy it had been.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re a fool who knows far too little about the world,¡± the hatchet-wielding woman said.

    Arona lifted a hand, ¡°Don¡¯t feed his ego with an answer, Valeska . . .¡± Her words were cut short as harsh growls erupted behind her. Victor¡¯s rage-attuned coyotes sprang out of red pools of Energy, leaping at his urgent instructions to attack his foes, one for each. Meanwhile, he cast Energy Charge using glory-attuned Energy, streaking in a shower of golden sparks at the man in green. He wasn¡¯t sure why he¡¯d chosen him as his first target, but something about him being attuned to nature made Victor think of grasping vines, thorn patches, and other things that might slow him. So, even before his coyote could leap at the man, Victor crashed into him.

    The impact was tremendous, and his glory-attuned Energy rapidly depleted as it protected him from the damage. ndor, too, used some sort of defensive spell; a brilliant green shell erupted around him, and the force of Victor¡¯s impact washed over it, throwing up dust, shattering a nearby stgmite, and sending Sora reeling. Victor didn¡¯t wait to see or experience any of that. As soon as he impacted the man¡¯s shield, he bunched his legs and fired off Titanic Leap, angling into the forest of enormous stgmites. While he soared through the air, he cast his third prepared spell: Aspect of Terror.

 Book 7: Chapter 46: Terror

    Book 7: Chapter 46: Terror

    Sora tumbled over the hard, dusty ground, channeling wind Energy into her Gusts of Bnce spell so she gracefully rolled to her feet. She lifted her bow, and one of her crystalline mesmer arrows appeared under her fingertips as she drew the string back, but Victor wasn¡¯t where she¡¯dst seen him.

    She saw ndor there, down on one knee, his hands grasping his staff as though it kept him from sinking into the earth, pumping torrents of green Energy into a shell as two massive, frothing, red-eyed, wolf-like creatures tore at his barrier. Looking around, seeing the others all dealing with simr canine antagonists, she had to wonder if one of the two on ndor had been meant for her.

    With a thought, she sent her arrow back into her bow and began firing simple moon-steel arrows into the wolves attacking ndor; the others were managing fine. As shended mortal shots, they disappeared in gusts of red-tinged smoke, and she wondered where they went. From what world had Victor summoned them? She tried to think of the word he¡¯d used to describe them. Cotees? The thought was shoved aside as a firm, armor-d hand grasped her shoulder, and Valeska growled, ¡°You didn¡¯t tell us he could fly!¡±

    Sora looked up, peering toward the massive stctites hanging down and the dense pockets of shadow between them all. ¡°He flew?¡± She¡¯d missed that part as she¡¯d tumbled in the force wave of Victor¡¯s charge. Before Valeska could say more, a terrible keening howl echoed through the cavern; the mists and reverberations made it impossible to discern its exact source, which made it all the more disturbing. Victor¡¯s words came back to her, his warning about fleeing if she heard something that ¡°turned her bowels to water.¡± That wasn¡¯t happening, but perhaps it was only the distance that lessened the wail¡¯s impact.

    ¡°Is he a man or a beast? Does he shift?¡± Brontes asked, lifting his club to his shoulder. None of the wolves remained.

    Sora was quick to reply, ¡°I never saw him change shape; I saw him grow, as I told you, but that¡¯s all. I knew he could charge but never saw him fly.¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t fly,¡± Arona rasped. Though her words were more a whisper than a shout, everyone flinched. ¡°He leaped into the shadows up there. An impossibly high leap, but a leap, not flight. I¡¯m sure he came down behind one of those protrusions.

    ¡°Stgmites,¡± ndor said, straightening from his kneeling position. He looked wan and exhausted. ¡°I¡¯ll need time to recover my Energy; my shield burned much, defending me from his charge.¡±

    Sora watched Arona as ndor spoke. The cowled woman smirked and shook her head. ndor had a Core that utilized life and nature-attuned Energies, and Arona was ever looking for a reason to mock him. The Death Caster lifted a ne of bones from around her head and said, ¡°You can wait here then.¡± The consideration surprised Sora, but she supposed the stakes were rather high; they were thest ones in the dungeon, and none of them had finished a challenge like this. The previous champion was already working on his test of steel.Arona broke the string of her ne and scattered the bones around the rocky cavern floor. Sora knew what wasing; she¡¯d adventured with her before. She backed up a few steps and watched as the Death Caster began to glow with misty blue Energy, and then the bones started rattling and jumping about.

    A surge of grave-scented wind rushed out from Arona, and then the bones exploded with growth, stretching and multiplying until the clearing around the tform was crowded¡ªdozens of skeletal horrors had sprung up from Arona¡¯s scattered bones. No two were alike; some were the size of people with two legs and two arms, but others looked like giant canines and others like demonic predators. The onlymonality was the eerie blue light in their eye sockets as they stared at Arona, waiting for their master¡¯s instruction.

    ¡°We should haveid in wait further afield and surprised them both well away from the tform!¡± Valeska growled, her hand still gripping Sora¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°She¡¯s with us now,¡± Brontes rumbled, stepping up behind the two women and nudging Valeska¡¯s hand away with his enormous fur-wrapped arm.

    ¡°Indeed, but was her loyalty worth giving up the surprise?¡± Valeska flicked her right hand, sending both of her hatchets twirling in an arc before her, then snatched them again, one in each hand. She didn¡¯t wait for a response, turning away from the giant savage and Sora, gazing at Arona through her thick, silvery visor. ¡°What¡¯s the n, then, boss?¡±

    The ck-cloaked woman let loose a surge of cold Energy, and the small army of skeletons turned in unison and <em>click-cked</em> into the forest of stgmites. ¡°My bones will fish him out.¡± As she spoke, another unnerving cry echoed through the cavern. Sora fought to keep her face neutral, and even Arona flinched.

    Valeska hissed, ¡°Dead gods! What is he?¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± ndor started to say, but another cry cut him off, and when Sora turned to him, she saw his face had grown even more pale. His eyes were wide, and he licked his lips, clearly feeling stressed in his depleted state. ¡°I can feel fear biting at me, permeating the air. Is that from him? I thought he was a Berserker!¡±

    Arona waved a hand. ¡°Many Spirit Casters have more than one affinity. Get a grip on yourself, nature boy. If this bothers you, you¡¯re lucky you haven¡¯t glimpsed the things I¡¯ve seen through the veil.¡± She turned to Valeska. ¡°You and I will search in that direction.¡± She waved vaguely northwest. Then she pointed to the southeast, ¡°Brontes and his little girlfriend can go that way. ndor, recover yourself here.¡±

    ¡°Alone?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s clearly not here. If he returns this way, we''ll see him¡ªhe¡¯s not small.¡± She shrugged and gestured toward the backs of some of her bony minions. ¡°My bones will likely flush him out shortly, in any case.¡± Turning back to Sora, she added, ¡°Fire something bright into the heights if you find him. I¡¯ll do simr.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    The Aspect of Terror hung high above the cavern floor, clinging to the rough stone of a stctite, fully shrouded in shadow. The cavern was dark, but darkness didn¡¯t exist for him. Everything was cast in shades of gray save the bright spirits of those he wished to feed upon. They sat clustered down there, brilliant sparks ring in the monochrome world. He wanted to leap upon them and feast until he burst, but a vestige of his former self, that one called Victor, still clung to his mind, curbing his enthusiasm. No, these were powerful spirits, and the feast would be short-lived if he tried to enjoy them all at once.

    So, he lurked hundreds of yards overhead. Now and again, losing himself in his hunger, he¡¯d cry out, sharing his fear and burning need with the world. A lesser predator might have been cautious of making such noise, but Terror knew better. His instincts were crafted over millennia, and he knew his cry would echo strangely in the cavern. Hadn¡¯t his kind hunted in the depths of the earth for thousands of years? His screams would echo, and his prey would begin to taste his fear, and when they felt his ws, they¡¯d be all the more ready to sumb.

    His great, shadow-d, ck-feathered wings hugged the stone, his talons bit into it, and there he perched, just another shadow among many as he watched the pale blue spirit burst, sending tiny motes of herself into nearly thirty smaller ones. Even so, her spirit still red brighter than any other, and those tiny motes were hardly tempting. While he puzzled over the strange phenomenon, he heard snatches of voices drifting up to him, tickling his ears and fanning the mes of his hunger. Why did he wait? What could these morsels offer to him in terms of a threat? He started to loosen his hold, preparing to dive, but then a thought came to him from that <em>other</em>, amand that bristled the feathers along his spine: <em>WAIT!</em>

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    So, Terror hung there, his shadows, steeped in fear, pooling around him like afortable bath. He watched as the tiny spirits drifted away from the five brighter ones, spreading out through the enormous cavern, several passing directly beneath his perch. A few more words drifted up to him, meaningless in the face of his hunger, and then, to his delight, the five spirits separated. Two moved off to his left, two to his right, and one, the dimmest, frailest, lingered. Terror¡¯s hunger surged, saliva dripped over his grinding teeth, down to his razored beak, to slide along the surface of the stctite.

    Still, the <em>other</em> urged him to bide his time, to wait until the four had well and truly separated from the lone straggler. He nced around the gray, monochrome environment. He saw the distant fall of a frigid waterfall and the tunnel behind its sheeting water. Some instinct or sense he couldn¡¯t understand told him a draft moved up through that tunnel.

    He saw other spirits, too, bright in their sluggish movements. There were denizens of this world that he could feast upon when he finished with the five who¡¯d troubled his alter-ego. Fantasies of ripping flesh, drawing fear-tinged Energy into himself, and gorging on the cries of his prey filled his mind for several minutes before he came back to himself and took stock of the wandering spirits. They¡¯d moved a long way from the lone straggler, which had, in turn, begun to grow brighter.

    Terror couldn¡¯t restrain himself longer. He released his hold on the hard stone and fell, his dark, shadow-d feathers rippling in the wind as he plummeted, streaking for his prey, talons extended. As Terror fell, he saw his prey sitting on the stone, his soft gray form awash with the light of his spirit.

    Something must have given the pale green spirit a hint that he was in danger¡ªhalfway there, feathers hissing in the wind, the spirit leaped to his feet, and a bright green orb of Energy surrounded him. Terror didn¡¯t care. He screeched his hunger, his fear, and his frustration, sharing it with the world. His bright, silvery talons began to glow, soft orange, then bright yellow-white as they gained more and more heat. ck smoke trailed from them, joining the shadowy tendrils streaming from his wings. Then, he impacted the spirit with another horrible, screaming cry of hunger.

    He could feel the Energy of the orb surrounding his prey, trying to fling him off, but, with crackling sizzles and drips of smoldering Energy, his talons pierced it, grasping hold, refusing to be dislodged. Terror pped his wings, using them for leverage as he dug and dug at the obstacle.

    The spirit was bright, but he could see it fading; he could feel the barrier growing more and more fragile as his talons sank deeper and began to rend it. With a final, savage cry, he drove his beak into the shield, and it shattered. He was muchrger than the little spirit and bore down on it, hooking his burning, knife-like talons into its flesh. He put his horrible maw before the spirit¡¯s eyes and opened it wide, screaming, projecting his fear-attuned Energy like a geyser.

    His terrible grasp, horrible aura, and projected Energy twisted the spirit¡¯s Energy into something he could feast upon. Terror clung to his prey, drinking deeply of the radiating fear. The spirit had gone entirely limp, lying on the stone, hot juices pouring from the deep, burning holes Terror had put in it. The feast was rich; despite this spirit being dimmer than the others, it was something incredible¡ªsatisfying on a level he couldn¡¯t remember.

    The satisfaction was brief; his hunger, after all, was insatiable. Worse, before he could even drink thest dregs from the limp vessel, the flow of Energy was suddenly cut off, and the System announced it had cheated him. Terror screamed.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Sora moved closer to Brontes as yet another scream echoed through the cavern. ¡°Was that from behind us?¡±

    ¡°How can anyone tell?¡± he grumbled, his consonants, as ever, indistinct. ¡°These stone columns echo and distort the sound.¡±

    ¡°It felt louder.¡±

    ¡°Aye,¡± he rumbled.

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have separated. Even if Iunch a fire arrow, who¡¯s to say Arona will see it? These stctites hanging above might block it from view.¡±

    ¡°Hush, little bird. Your arrow will shed light in the dark, making itself seen, even around these rocks.¡± Sora blushed at his words; she¡¯d known Brontes for a while, one of the first people she¡¯d met when she¡¯de to the city. He doted on her, but she¡¯d never been whollyfortable with his pet names. Another shriek sounded, and this time, she felt the hairs on her neck stand on end, and some moisture gather on her palms. Was the thing wearing her down? Was she losing control? Was her overactive imagination making things worse?

    ¡°Gods, that sound grates,¡± Brontes rumbled. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t he flee? He could move on or hide. Hells, he could use the Lifesaver. Why risk,¡± he gestured at himself and vaguely back toward Arona and the others, ¡°this?¡±

    Sora shook her head. ¡°You didn¡¯t see him fight. He¡¯s . . . well, he¡¯s like you¡ªfearless, powerful, shrugging off anything thrown at him. I would have stayed by his side if you weren''t here, despite my earlier arrangement with Arona.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let that witch hear you say . . .¡± his words were cut off by a shriek far louder and more frenzied than before. It also sounded like its source was moving. One cry after another split the air, echoing sharply off the stone walls, each one driving a knife of fear just a little deeper into Sora¡¯s chest. It sounded like Victor, or whatever he¡¯d be, was going mad or . . . ¡°He kills something!¡± Brontes growled, hefting his club and turning in a slow circle. Was he right? Sora thought it made sense; it reminded her of when she¡¯d been a child watching her father hunt¡ªthe sounds his hawk made when it fought a fox.

    ¡°A creature?¡± She asked, knowing full well there had to be dungeon monsters in the cavern with them. Before Brontes could ask, the shrieks rose into a crescendo of outrage, and a message appeared in her vision:

    <strong>***ndor Wildspeak has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Five entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>

    ¡°Bastard!¡± Brontes roared, turning to jog back the way they¡¯de. Sora trailed after him, her heart cold, her eyes wide, looking up into the shadows of the cavern.

    Her voice was small as she gripped her bow, ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have separated.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    When his feast was interrupted, the Aspect of Terrorunched himself up, soaring to the heights of the cavern. Something crackled and ripped the air behind it, but too slow, dispersing in a cascade of ghostly blue mes that fell downward, effectively blinding anyone trying to track his movement into the shadows of the stctites. Once he rounded arge cluster of them, he banked to the right, cracking his wings tounch himself further afield. His fear-attuned Core was pulsing, thick and swollen with Energy¡ªtime was on his side. Once he¡¯d maneuvered to the point where he could see the bright spirits of his pursuers, confirming that they¡¯d lost sight of him, he dug his talons into a stone stctite and hugged it close, watching their movements.

    The blue and orange spirits had stopped, lingering near where he¡¯d feasted, and the enormous golden spirit ran through the stgmite forest, aiming for the same spot. They were reuniting. Still, the more diminutive silvery spirit wasgging, hardly moving. Had it be wounded? Was it time to strike again so soon? He eyed their movements for several seconds, trying to time things in his mind. Something in him growled, the <em>other.</em> It was angry that he waited. A thought came to him: <em>Momentum</em>. Terror¡¯s hunger surged as it let go of the stone and drifted down, gliding toward the small but very bright spirit.

    He desperately wanted to scream his hunger and frustration, wanted to project his fear into the world, but he was on the hunt, and this time, he had to be stealthy as he struck. So, gliding on palpable waves of darkness, he descended like an eagle toward a rabbit. The spirit was strong with Energy, and she must have sensed him. Bright streaks of light and biting metal filled the air between them, punching holes in his wings and mming into his fur, feathers, and scale-d ribs. They ground furrows in his shadowy flesh, but the darkness streamed out of him, filling the holes, patching his bones, and wriggling the lodged missiles out, dropping them to the cavern floor as his talons mmed into his target.

    Terror didn¡¯t stop his glide. Hetched onto the spirit, pumping his wings and dragging her over the stone as he worked to turn his descent into a climb. He pulled the bright, silvery spirit into the air, trailing rivulets of Energy-tinged blood through the air. It sshed against the stone as it fell, a bloody, glowing trail. He felt his quarry writhing, struggling to do something, and he squeezed his talons, driving the knife-like hooks through her body, punching them through her chest and back. He¡¯d just gained the heights again, swerving left and right to avoid collisions with the many stone protrusions, when he suddenly lurched up to crash into the ceiling; his burden was gone.

    <strong>***Sora Deval has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Four entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>

    The Aspect of Terror screamed his bloody frustration, and a new but familiar sensation came over him. Hot rage was seeping out of his Core, crowding the dark, fear-attuned Energy, and something stirred deep in his mind. The <em>other</em> was starting to assert himself again.

    <strong>#</strong>

    ¡°What in the name of the ancient dead gods have you unleashed on our students?¡± The man was livid, red-faced, spittle flecking his pale green lips. Ranish regarded him; he was Fonroy Boloviture, the master of ndor Wildspeak. He was a well-regarded man known for his impressive healing abilities. Still, he was apparently unwilling to ept that his ¡°student,¡± a grown man well into his sixth decade, had started something he couldn¡¯t finish.

    Ranish would have shrugged, but his physique didn¡¯t lend itself to the gesture. Instead, he turned his thick, ck palms up and rumbled, ¡°I did not tell your student to join four others to attempt the assassination of mine.¡± Fonroy had appeared at his table not five minutes after ndor¡¯s elimination. Either he¡¯d been in the building or had teleported; both options were equally usible. Still, Ranish didn¡¯t know why he was osting him. ¡°Is there aught I can do? He escaped with his life; count yourself blessed. Kim Jyster¡¯s loved ones mourn today, thanks to the efforts of your student¡¯s team.¡±

    ¡°He is a shell of himself! Something in his wounds, unhealed by the System and its Lifesaver, taints his soul! He appeared on the ground, curled into himself, unable to speak coherently, fear alive in his eyes.¡±

    ¡°Ah! I knew my boy had a fear affinity, but I wasn¡¯t quite aware of how strong it was. A pity, but I¡¯m sure we can help to mend ndor¡¯s spirit; time and the right meditations will do wonders. Perhaps I¡¯ll give the task to Victor; he has much to learn in the areas of finesse.¡± He paused and rubbed his chin in contemtion. ¡°What of the Fae girl? Is she simrly stricken?¡±

    Fonroy¡¯s pale green flesh was still hot, and he scowled deeply, but he knew better than to press the matter further with a man like Ranish Dar. He frowned and nced from Dar to Lo¡¯ro, who watched the exchange with an amused grin. ¡°I don¡¯t know. She funded herself; does she even have a mentor?¡±

    ¡°Ah,¡± Lo¡¯ro clicked his tongue, ¡°Shall I send someone to find out, Dar? I¡¯m sure your boy will feel poorly if something terrible happens to her.¡±

    Dar nodded. ¡°That would be well received, old friend.¡± He looked back to Fonroy, and his heavy, stony brow shifted lower in a scowl of concentration. ¡°Tell me, Fonroy, do you think those other three havemunication with the outside?¡± He knew they likely did. If anyone in the contest were cheating, he¡¯dy a bet that it would be Arona and her master.

    Once again, the man¡¯s cheeks bloomed with a scarlet flush of blood. ¡°How would I know? Are you making an usation?¡±

    Ranish Dar chuckled, a sound like axe des on a whetstone, and shook his head. ¡°No, no. I was simply going to say that if those other three were my students and I had the means of contacting them, I¡¯d probably encourage the immediate use of their Lifesavers.¡±

 Victor of Tucson Books 1 through 5 - Available on Kindle Unlimited and Audible

    Victor of Tucson Books 1 through 5 - Avable on Kindle Unlimited and Audible

    Please See the note above - Victor of Tucson, Books 1 - 5 are avable on KU and Audible. If you aren''t aware, removal from other sites is a requirement of Amazon, not a choice I would like to make. If I could keep them here for free, forever, I would - I think it drives more people to the books in the long run. Sadly, it isn''t my decision!

    Thank you so much for all of your support and for reading.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been uwfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    -Plum

    Kindle

    Audible

    <strong>VOT #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5 are avable NOW</strong>

 Book 7: Chapter 47: A Brutal Brawl

    Book 7: Chapter 47: A Brutal Brawl

    As Victor¡¯s rage grew and he pushed his conscious mind into control of his body, he felt his Aspect of Terror begin to fade. He knew he could fight the change and maintain the aspect, but he never felt good when he came back to himself after running amok as an incarnation of fear. He wanted out of it. Flexing his wings and angling downward to swoop around a massive stgmite, he fought to push away the stomach-churning waves of guilt and paranoia that came to him the same way they might a drunk after a ckout binge. No, he was done with fear for now; he was ready to embrace some good, clean, hot-burning rage.

    So, as he scraped his talons on the stone,ing to rest behind the giant stgmite, he pushed the fear out of his pathways, flooding them with rage instead. The shadows swirled around him, taking with them the strange fur, scales, and feathers of his terror form. The hot fury boiling his blood straightened his limbs, pushed his muscles to the point of bursting, and tinted his gray, monochrome vision into shades of blood. Victor cast Iron Berserk and tilted his head back to roar into the echoing cavern.

    It was then that he noticed a System message lurking in the corner of his vision:

    <strong>***Congrattions! Your Impart Nightmare ¨C Basic has be Impart Nightmare ¨C Improved.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Impart Nightmare ¨C Improved: While wearing your Aspect of Terror, using gathered fear-attuned Energy, you can corrupt the spirit of another being with a seed of fear, sending it to dwell in their Core where it will grow and fester. This ability will fail upon those whose will can resist your intention. As you improve your mastery of this spell, it will be harder to resist and spread its roots more rapidly. Energy Cost: Minimum 100, scble. Cooldown: Dependent on harvested fear.***</strong>

    Victor brushed the message away; he didn¡¯t have time to contemte the repercussions. He was aware of what the Aspect of Terror had done while he¡¯d taken a back seat. He knew only three enemies were left in the dungeon, and, with the simmering heat of his rage stoking the fire in his chest, he didn¡¯t have the emotional bandwidth to feel sorry for Sora or the pitiful Nature Caster he¡¯d feasted upon.

    He could feel his swollen, fear-attuned Core and knew he¡¯d taken much from them both, even with the interference of the Lifesaver charms. He gripped Lifedrinker,fortable and eager in her proper, axe-shaped form, no longer the talons on his nightmare alter-ego. ¡°Let¡¯s y,¡± he rumbled, lifting her in one titanic fist, his smoldering gaze scanning the darkness.

    <strong>#</strong>Arona crept through the shadows, following behind Brontes and Valeska, pondering the sound of that great roar as it echoed through the cavern. It was of a decidedly different timbre than the screeches and shrieks that had pounded on everyone¡¯s psyche for thest several minutes. Had the stranger changed again? This new sound was that of a great beast¡ªa predator staking a im, a primal challenge for territory.

    She¡¯d anticipated losing some of her team in the confrontation, but not two, not before they¡¯d managed to harm their adversary in the slightest. For all she knew, he was fresh and whole, undamaged by Sora or ndor. She couldn¡¯t stop the doubt from creeping into her mind¡ªcould he handle them all at once? Was it wise to throw her lot in with these ¡°friends?¡±

    Thatst thought stung, but she couldn¡¯t help herself. What would Master Vesavo say? He¡¯d mock her for any sentimentality. He¡¯d remind her that the universe is cruel and friendship mere currency, meant to be spent for the greatest profit. Wouldn¡¯t it be wise to hedge her bets? As the so-called titan bellowed again, much closer, and Brontes began to surge with hot, golden glory, she rasped, ¡°I will try to nk.¡± Then, she cloaked herself in cold, dark mists and drifted away to the northwest, where they¡¯d earlier mapped out the exit to the fifth floor. Let these brutes thrash about, distracting each other; she would finish the dungeon.

    <strong>#</strong>

    ¡°Thash right,¡± Lesh slurred, mming his sack of arcanite billets on the table. ¡°Pure arcanite. I¡¯ll wager it on Victor winnin¡¯ tha¡¯ fight.¡± The bet-taker, a man who likely shared somemon ancestry with Lesh¡¯s people, ran a thick, pink tongue along the lip of his crocodilian snout.

    ¡°May I weigh it?¡±

    ¡°Yesh,¡± Lesh peered at him through a bleary eye while still trying to focus on the viewing window at the center of the big wall. Through one of the smaller, magical windows, he''d seen the Death Caster slink away, abandoning herpanions, and he had confidence that Victor was about toy out a titan-sized thrashing.

    ¡°Lesh,¡± Va said, reaching across the table to grip his wrist. ¡°You¡¯ve had much to drink . . .¡±

    Lash waved her hand away, snorting. A fine mist of acid escaped his nostrils, spotting the table and sizzling as it sank into the dense, heavily stained wood. ¡°Am fine!¡± he grunted, working hard to enunciate each word. ¡°Weight it!¡± he growled, ¡°But be quick before my bet is toote!¡±

    The man¡¯s scaled, wed fingers hefted the bag, and he grinned. ¡°Very well. On condition that it¡¯s proven to be pure arcanite, I¡¯ll value this sack at 200,000 beads.¡± He turned to nce at the various viewing windows. ¡°Seeing as your boy is now only facing two enemies, and considering his earlier victories, I¡¯m only willing to give one-point-three to one odds. That work for you?¡±

    Lesh nodded, waving him away. ¡°Yesh.¡± The bet-taker scribbled something in his notebook, hefted the sack, and wandered over to another table where patrons shouted for his attention. Meanwhile, Lesh turned a bleary eye on Va. ¡°Should¡¯ve bet earlier. Don-shu think he¡¯ll win?¡±

    Va sighed and shifted on the hard, wooden bench. He knew how she felt; his arse felt sore, too. ¡°I have to believe he will. Still, Lesh, those are powerful people, and they don¡¯t seem to be the soft, untested sort. The only thing keeping me sane right now is that I don¡¯t believe anyone in there can kill Victor so quickly that the Lifesaver won¡¯t function.¡±

    Lesh shook his head. ¡°He¡¯ll be pished if he gets reshcued.¡± He narrowed his eyes at the woman. He¡¯d never considered that Victor might die in that dungeon, but, for the first time, he let his mind wander down that path, wondering what Va would do. Putting that aside, he wondered what he¡¯d do. Seek vengeance against whoever killed him? Yes, he supposed that was the only honorable thing. He couldn¡¯t progress, couldn¡¯t move on with his life, with Victor¡¯s unavenged specter haunting him.

    Would Va return to Fanwath? Would the others? Not Darren. No, Lesh would keep him close and train him properly. He was making progress, changing his outlook, turning away from his old habits of me. When the youngster had built his own Core, Lesh had been surprised and proud, but he knew better than to offer too much praise too soon.

    ¡°Where did you go?¡± Va asked, chuckling. She pointed to the viewing window. ¡°Look. The two fighters close with Victor.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor didn¡¯t hide or stalk. He was ready for a brawl. He pumped his Sovereign Will boost into strength and vitality, summoned his Banner of the Champion, and stood waiting. He held Lifedrinker loose but ready; he and she both were limned with a red halo of rage, and Victor¡¯s eyes smoldered balefully under the golden light of his banner. Of course, his aura was enormous in his titanic form, and so, too, was the area affected by his banner¡¯s glow. Not a wisp of shadow surrounded him as the bloody sun sparkled in the air behind him. He breathed deeply, with purpose, stoking his breath Core, fanning the mes of his magma, priming it for the fight toe.

    When the giant, fur-and-leather-d warrior stepped around a stgmite into his banner¡¯s light, Victor¡¯s grin widened, his white teeth glinting as his keen eyes tracked the challenger. He recognized the answering gleam of golden Energy in the aura of the giant; here was another Spirit Caster, another glory hound. Something deep in Victor rejoiced¡ªhad he, atst, found a worthy opponent? Victor lifted Lifedrinker and roared a challenge. By way of answer, the burly giant smashed his club onto the stone floor, shaking the ground and cracking a nearby stgmite. Victor¡¯s furious Core surged at the challenge, and he cast Energy Charge, fueling it with glory-attuned Energy.

    Iron Berserk allowed Victor to control himself and think with a rational mind while driven to the brink of frenzy by his rage, but it only worked that way if he consciously exercised his will and made an effort. When his titanic pride and hunger for the glory of battle goaded his furious temper, there wasn¡¯t much thinking taking ce in his head. It seemed the big, mumbling giant didn¡¯t suffer simrly. He¡¯d been ready for Victor¡¯s charge, and, using some movement skill of his own, he flickered, almost like a ghost, and shifted behind an enormous stgmite.

    Victor was moving too fast to correct his course, so he propelled himself into darkness, bathing the new space in light as he moved, revealing the tall, hatchet-wielding warrior-woman. She stood to the side of his streaking path, hacking those deadly crescent des deep into Victor¡¯s side and hip as he passed by.

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Victor roared in fury, sliding to a halt, spinning with Lifedrinker arcing out, cleaving the space behind him, anticipating a follow-up attack. No one was there, but he saw the woman to his left and the giant to his right. Victor¡¯s instinct was to charge again, but he forced himself to breathe and think, giving his rage a moment to heal the deep cuts the woman had imparted. Had his wyrm-scale helped at all?

    The woman, Valeska, was half his size, maderger by some magic of her own, but the giant had swollen further still, probably two-thirds as tall as Victor but significantly bulkier. As Victor glowered at them, his mind going through a dozen attack scenarios, Valeskaughed, a sound full of confidence and genuine mirth. ¡°He struggles to think, Brontes.¡±

    ¡°Rage ca¡¯ make tha¡¯ har¡¯,¡± Brontes chuckled, his voice rumbling, his words flowing together, muddled by hiszy tongue.

    Victor had been goaded before. He¡¯d experienced a lifetime of trash talk long before he was ever summoned to Fanwath. It didn¡¯t further enrage him. In fact, it had the opposite effect, convincing him that these two were afraid. He let go of Lifedrinker with his left hand, reached to smear the blood off his side, and drew it across his face, grinning madly as he did so. If they thought he was enraged, they hadn¡¯t seen anything yet.

    Valeska stood beside a stgmite, and Brontes leaned on another. Two dozen yards separated them, and Victor knew they aimed to bait him, get him to charge again. They wanted to set him up for another sneaky attack, but he had other ideas.

    The fact was, he¡¯d expected something more; he¡¯d expected something from the Death Caster, but he¡¯d gotten a good feel for her aura, and there wasn¡¯t any sign of it. Was she lying in wait, hiding herself, looking for the perfect opportunity to strike? He figured that was the case. Still, he couldn¡¯t find it in himself to care all that much. He wanted to hit one of these two fighters, wanted to make up for that charge into nothing. As far as he was concerned, he¡¯d deal with the Death Caster when she showed her face.

    So, grinning, face bloody, Victor reached into his Core, pulled forth a torrent of inspiration-attuned Energy, and summoned his great bear, willing him to appear behind Valeska. He chose inspiration because he had plenty of it and because the bear would coalesce out of a cloud of white-gold Energy; it wouldn¡¯t be obvious in the light of his banner.

    Stalling momentarily, giving his bear time to appear, Victor pped Lifedrinker¡¯s haft into his left palm and growled, ¡°So? Two at once, then?¡± He kept his posture neutral and rxed, almostzily looking from Valeska to Brontes and back again. They both had eyes only for him, so neither saw the cloud of Energy behind the woman.

    ¡°He just cast something,¡± Valeska said, staring hard at Victor. ¡°Maneuver two . . .¡± Her words were cut off by a bone-rattling roar as Victor¡¯s bear burst into being¡ªtawny, almost golden fur covering a mountain of bone and muscle, bright, yellow-gold eyes, and teeth like gleaming sabers spread wide as it emptied its lungs directly behind the woman. Just as he¡¯d hoped, even Brontes couldn¡¯t resist looking to see the source of the roar. In that split second of distraction, he filled his pathways with fear-attuned Energy and charged again, rippling over the cavern floor in a cloak of purple-ck shadows.

    Valeska rolled to the side, avoiding a double swipe of the bear¡¯s saber-like ws. Brontes turned back to Victor, but only in time to register the streak of shadows flying his way. His eyes opened wide, and he jerked his club before himself and channeled his Energy, zing with brilliant golden light, as Victor smashed into him. Victor had timed an overhead chop with Lifedrinker, aiming to split the giant¡¯s sternum, but the great, gnarled club got in the way. Lifedrinker red with molten fury, and her razor edge cut into the trunk-sized bludgeon, biting deep. Meanwhile, the force wave of Victor¡¯s charge washed over them both.

    Victor¡¯s pool of fear-attuned Energy rapidly poured into the effort of shielding him. At the same time, Brontes red with golden, sparkling light, his entire body rigid with the strain of holding his club up and weathering the storm of the collision. As they stood, two juggernauts in a whirling tempest of destructive forces, the shockwave propagated, shattering stgmites, sending fragments of rock, showers of dust, and palpable, roiling waves of Energy outward. Valeska and the bear tore into each other, shing, hacking, gnashing, ducking, weaving, and stumbling in the force st from Victor¡¯s charge.

    As the collision resolved and Victor¡¯s fear-attuned Energy stopped pouring out to protect him, he jerked Lifedrinker, pulling her from the club, and began hacking in earnest, working to get past Brontes¡¯s guard. The stout warrior was surprisingly nimble and skilled with his bludgeon. Moreover, he used his glory-attuned Energy in weird, showy maneuvers that erupted with zing sparks or false images¡ªflickering copies of the club, the giant, or both that served to distract Victor or even draw strikes away from the real target. If they weren¡¯t both moving with lightning speed, Victor was sure the dazzling echoes of reality wouldn¡¯t be so effective, but when a tiny fraction of a second meant the difference betweennding a blow and striking nothing but air, they took a toll.

    Brontes was strong, his girth giving him what it took to absorb Lifedrinker¡¯s hacks, soaking them up as she bit into his enormous cudgel. The weapon was sturdier still; each deep, smoking groove Lifedrinker tore into the wood closed before Victor¡¯s eyes as he pulled her out. Even so, Victor maintained the offensive, pushing Brontes around and forcing him to expend his Energy abilities just to keep from being dismembered. He grunted and groaned, great gouts of golden Energy surging through him, bolstering his movements, distracting Victor, and drawing things out.

    Of course, the constant rebuttals to his masterful strokes began to wear on Victor¡¯s state of mind. More and more rage seeped into his pathways, turning his vision darker and darker shades of crimson. He¡¯d forgotten Valeska and his bear, their contest nothing but a token afterthought in the focus he devoted to breaking through the giant¡¯s resolute defenses. Just because he¡¯d set her aside mentally, though, didn¡¯t mean the axe woman had forgotten him.

    If Victor were paying attention, he would have known his bear had been vanquished. He would have probably backed off on his furious assault and tried to get eyes on the woman. He didn¡¯t, though, and she caught him mid-attack, using a charge of her own to streak through the air and bury her two hatchets into the meaty spaces beside his upper spine. They snipped through his armor like it wasn¡¯t there, and he knew they¡¯d buried themselves to the wooden hafts. To a man Victor¡¯s size, the wounds were an inconvenience, but he¡¯d taken much worse.

    Roaring in fury, he backed off his attack on Brontes, bunched his legs, andunched himself into the air, using Titanic Leap. Valeska was still clinging to her axe hafts, hanging from his back, and Victor aimed to impale her on a stctite. He was somitted that he fully expected to do the same thing to himself in the process, but he was banking on being able to recover faster than she could. Valeska was no slouch; she grunted with surprise as they exploded into the air but braced her shoulder against Victor¡¯s back, holding onto one of her hatchets for purchase. At the same time, she somehow created a silvery shield of Energy with her free arm.

    The glowing shield shattered the stctite, sending a rain of rubble down toward Brontes. Victor careened sideways from the impact, tumbling in slow motion as he fell toward the ground. At thest minute, he jerked his shoulder, rolling, trying to smash Valeska into the stone floor beneath him. She, too, jerked, pulling on the hatchet she still held, sliding it out of Victor¡¯s flesh, and rolling over his side, bouncing off as he hit the ground. Victor roared in pain and fury as the remaining hatchet was driven further into his back, and he bounced with a cavern-shaking crash.

    He¡¯d barely managed to get up to a knee before Valeska was on him, hacking her single hatchet like a mad woman, left and right, then downward and reversing the de to hack it up toward his chin. Victor bobbed and weaved, got an arm in the way, and then, as he bled from three or four deep gashes, finally brought Lifedrinker around in a terrible chop that caught the woman on the side of her helmet, sending her much smaller frame tumbling and bouncing over the stony ground. Victor couldn¡¯t savor the perfect hit¡ªBrontes smashed into him. The fur-covered giant had bounded across the cavern on floating discs of sparkling golden Energy, building momentum each time he pushed off.

    Victor grunted as thousands of pounds of meat, bone, and enormous club barreled into him, driving him back into another stgmite, shattering it. The two giants tumbled through the stone fragments, acquiring cuts in their flesh wherever they weren¡¯t armored. Victor was nearly blind with rage by then; everything was crimson, and he moved by touch, grabbing Brontes under one arm, then over his neck with the other. He arched his back and pulled with all his might, flinging the gigantic man over him, sending him flying over the rubble-strewn cavern floor. Grunting with fury, Victor lurched to his feet, dimly aware that Lifedrinker had slipped from his grasp.

    He turned, scanning the floor, trying to spot her gleaming, burning axe head in the crumbled stone. Struggling to focus with the rage clouding his sight, he just caught a glimpse of flickering silvery lighting toward him. Knowing it was Valeska charging him again, Victor growled, lowered his helm-covered head toward her iing form, and cast Roots of the Mountain.

    Maybe it was clever, or maybe it was stupid; he didn¡¯t know yet, but he was pleased by his quick reaction, regardless. Valeska¡¯s single hatchet led her charge, much like Lifedrinker usually led Victor¡¯s. The de hit him square on the crown of his Kethian Juggernaut helmet, and Victor¡¯s head and body didn¡¯t even flinch. His spell had made him unmovable. Instead, a hundred percent of the impact was absorbed by Valeska¡¯s hatchet, Victor¡¯s helmet, and Valeska¡¯s body as she crumpled against him.

    With a terrible screeching explosion, the magic that bound the incredibly dense metal of Victor¡¯s helmet failed, and he felt it loosen on his skull as it split. The hatchet must have been made of amazing stuff because its bright de survived the destructive forces, but the handle turned to splinters and dust in Valeska¡¯s hand. Her fingers twisted and snapped as they hit Victor between the eyes. Then, as her body crumpled against him, he heard several more sickening, wet snaps asrger bones broke. The entire collisionsted a split second, and then Victor was left reeling, blood dripping into his eyes, his ears ringing. Valeska writhed in agony at his feet.

    Growling, Victor reached up and pulled off his damaged helmet, shaking his head, trying to get his ears to work properly again. The mighty helmet was split from the nose-guard to the crown where the axe had hit. Worse, it didn¡¯t feel as heavy as it once did. Victor frowned and sent it into his storage pouch. Then, blinking and swiping at the blood in his eyes, he canceled the Roots of the Mountain spell before it drained his Core of Energy. He saw a glimmer in the dust to his left and stomped toward it, hoping it was Lifedrinker.

    His foot touched something soft, and he remembered Valeska. She was still alive, grunting and gasping, struggling to turn from her twisted back onto her side, away from him. Her broken arm was pitiful, curled up and bleeding with fragments of bone sticking out of the flesh. Victor couldn¡¯t find the rage in him to stomp on her, to break her neck, or shatter her skull¡ªwhatever it might take for the System to recognize she was done and activate her Lifesaver. Instead, he growled, ¡°You have until I pick up my axe to use your charm.¡±

    As he stalked over to the shiny glint of metal, he was well aware that he¡¯d lost sight of Brontes. His ears still rang, but he nced left and right, thankful for his banner¡¯s light, as he red through the blood in his eyes. The giant didn¡¯t make an appearance before he stooped to pick up Lifedrinker, but as soon as his fingers closed on her haft, the System announced Valeska¡¯s removal:

    <strong>***Valeska Thornrend has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Three entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    The message was a ssh of cold water on Victor¡¯s muddled thoughts¡ªhe¡¯d yet to see the Death Caster, and several of his Energy pools were running perilously low. Thanks to the System''s strange, hidden rules, he couldn¡¯t count on that Energy infusion until the fighting was done. Tumbling stones and rubble got his attention, and he turned in time to see Brontes lifting himself from the broken rubble of a stgmite; he¡¯d, apparently, tumbled into another when Victor had thrown him.

    The giant lifted his great gnarled club, and then, surprising Victor but sparking something like respect in his heart, the giant began to flicker with a strange, hazy, yellow-green aura as he strode toward him. He felt that weird spirit Energy immediately; it was something that pulled at him, digging up haunting moments of failure and secret regret¡ªhis inability to return to his <em>abu</em>, his rejection of Chandri and her simple, peaceful life, and, most damning, his choice to be with Va rather than wait and see if he could ever measure up to Tes. A dozen more shame-inducing thoughts fought for attention in his mind, and Victor felt his grip on Lifedrinker loosening.

    ¡°I didna¡¯ wan¡¯ ta use this,¡± the stout, bloody, dust-covered giant rumbled as he drew near. ¡°Makes things too easy.¡± He lifted his massive club and, with a belly-shaking grunt, jerked it down toward Victor¡¯s unprotected head.

    Now, Victor might have been troubled, shamed, and even dazed from the onught of the giant¡¯s unpleasant spirit Energy¡ªShame? Regret?¡ªbut his will was like a mountain fortress, and he saw the gianting his way, saw him lift his club, and fully recognized the threat. As the massive cudgel fell toward his head, he lifted his left hand and caught it, the fury in his eyes flickering red like twin torches in the face of that sickly yellow-green aura.

    Brontes grunted, jerking with his two arms, but Victor didn¡¯t let go; he squeezed his iron fingers into that hard, uncaring wood and felt it give. He felt his mighty grip find purchase, and his mad grin returned as he stoked the fires of rage in his pathways with something extra¡ªthe furious fire of his magma heart. mes began to flicker between his teeth, licking upward, as ck smoke drifted out of his nostrils. He didn¡¯t speak. He simply continued to squeeze that cudgel, looking down at the enormous fighter as the magma spread through his pathways, and he activated Volcanic Fury.

 Book 7: Chapter 48: The Mountains Fury

    Book 7: Chapter 48: The Mountain''s Fury

    Ranish Dar watched Fonroy as he stiffly retreated, walking through the crowded club to the elevator that would take him up to the more private viewing chambersno doubt on his way to report every word of their conversation to some of the other masters who were too proud to show their faces. Across from him, Loro chuckled as his privacy spell fell back into ce with an audible <em>pop</em>, dampening their words. A little hysterical, wasnt he? Has he never watched a death match in the colosseum?

    Ranish sighed and shook his head, idly watching Victor embrace his berserk titanic form, openly waiting for thest three challengers to find him. Gods, but he had a hell of a spirit! He turned to Loro. Not involving their students. Well, let me rephrase that: not unless they were certain their students would win. Thats the problem with Sojourn. Thousands of years of cidity have led to a generation of soft, untested souls. Consider this, Loro: That mans student, whats his name? ndor? How old is he? Seventy-odd years?

    Something like that. Not more than a hundred, certainly.

    Dar pped his hand on the table. Exactly my point! Thank you. You consider him young, yes?

    Naturally . . .

    In the world where Victor was born, ndor would be considered a senior citizen. Think of that! ndor has had a life of study, mentorship, and dungeon delving. A truly safe, tranquil existence.

    Loros eyes narrowed. Dungeons carry with them quite a risk . . .

    Fah! Dar waved his hand dismissively. In Sojourn? Where every dungeon is mapped and cataloged, and where they''re all curated and offered only to appropriately leveled entrants? You could read a dozen encyclopedias on any one of the dungeons avable to the citizens of this city. Do you think a pampered nature student like ndor would go into a dungeon if there were any chance he couldnt escape? This is likely the first contest hes entered where there was a true risk of death, however small; youve seen how effective the Lifesavers have been. Loro started to say something, but Dar wasnt finished. Lets not forget he went in with an alliance of rather absurd strength.

    I begin to see your point. So, youre saying this is why your boy is different?Exactly. Just this morning, I was reading through the journal I tasked him with writing. That young man has been on the brink of death more times than he wasnt. Hes been enved, tortured, had his Core shattered, and recovered while under the threat of constant death and brutal beatings. He has regrly battled enemies stronger than himself, and each time that hes felt deaths breath on his neck, hes fought his way back. I had no doubt he would thrash any one of the entrants in this dungeon, given a face-to-face challenge. The surprise of some of the other masters is telling.

    So, you think hell win?

    Hell win this fight, aye, but look. He pointed at Aronas viewing window. The young death caster has more wisdom than her friends, though some might call her cleverness cowardice. I wont be surprised if she wins the dungeon, but Victor wont be eliminated, especially as his biggest threat slinks away.

    Loro shifted, smiling. I know Im biased in my agreement, but tell me: Why do you consider her the biggest threat?

    I worked with her master on a project. Im sure you know himVesavo Bonewhisper?

    Oh, aye. I know him quite well, quite well, indeed. Im also well acquainted with the youngdy pictured there. Loro gestured to the viewing window where, even now, Arona was slipping away behind the curtain of the waterfall.

    Well, then you know that, unlike other Death Casters, his practice specializes in harnessing and cultivating champion spirits, bringing them forth in constructs of bone and flesh. Im certain that young woman has some powerful summons she can employ, and, with an enormous Energy pool, she might have been able to wear Victor down. Especially with her two brawny allies.

    We may never know. Again, Loro pointed to the viewing window. Arona had slipped into a short stone tunnel and now approached a set of stairs.

    Perhaps not in todays contest. Dar smiled, leaning back, interlocking his stout, ck fingers on the tabletop.

    Yet you seem smug, even in the face of Aronas impending victory.

    Victors showing has already confirmed my hopes and won me enough money in the gambling halls to fund a decade of projects. I am not displeased. Moreover, is it not lovely to know a few of the more passionate, active members of the Sojourn political scene have been taken down a notch or three?

    Aye. Loro smiled, his corpse-like skin stretching tight along his facial bones. Just a secondter, though, his eyes unfocused, and the smile faded from his expression. My follower has set eyes upon the Fae girl, Sora Deval. She suffers greatly.

    Is she alone, then?

    Aye. She lies in the recovery room of the World Hall, unattended.

    Will your follower convey her to my estate?

    Which?

    Theke house.

    Again, Loros eyes unfocused, and then he nodded. Shevelia is taking her now.

    Good. Ill teach Victor how to remove his curse upon her, and then Ill let him decide whether hell help ndor or not.

    Is he the only one who can . . .

    Hah! Dar chuckled. Not in the least. A hundred Spirit Casters in this city are qualified, but do you think those pompous fools know that? Dar pointed one of his thick fingers toward the ceiling, indicating the club''s private viewing parlors. He sighed and shrugged. Given a little research and the right expenditure, Im sure ndor will find the care he needs, but it would be good for Victor to put Fonroy Boloviture in his debt.

    Ah! A two-fold lesson for your prodigy, then.

    Again, Dar folded his hands, and his grin reappeared. Softy, he rumbled, Exactly. Exactly right, my old friend.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the vition.

    <strong>#</strong>

    As the potent mix of magma and rage began to propagate his pathways, flooding into Victors body, his vision shifted into pale shades of yellowish sepia. His banner flickered and faded in motes of sparkling golden Energy, and Victors need for destruction outweighed every other thought in his mind. He still gripped Brontess club, and smoke began to rise from the dense, stone-like wood as his fingers burned into it.

    For his part, Brontes seemed to have ovee his stunned surprise at Victors ability to shrug off his mental attack and was once again channeling his glory-attuned Energy. Grunting with the effort, he wrapped both hands around the narrow end of his club and pulled, jerking his stout body backward, driving a foot against Victors hip. Victor was preupied with his fury, only idly gripping the weapon by now, and the giants gambit worked; he freed his cudgel and flung himself back, losing his footing in the process.

    Victor saw the overrge man stumble away, copsing onto his butt and scrambling to stand, but something else was distracting him. Something stung at the center of his back, and he could hear a weird, keening, wailing sound almost on the edge of his range of hearing. He still held Lifedrinker in his right hand, but he took his now-empty left hand and reached back over his shoulder, probing for the source of his difort. Prodding around, he felt itsomething hard jutting from his flesh. Growling in annoyance, he gripped it with his vise-like fingers and tugged. It slid free, and when he held the object before him, a dim, distant part of his mind recognized Valeskas hatchet.

    The metal was white-hot, the wood charred ck, and his ears told him it was the source of the wailing sound. If hed had the capacity to care, he might have wondered if the axe had been suffering from the molten heat of his blood. He didnt, though; he only knew he was angry at the man before him, and he didnt want to hold the little weapon, so he threw it at him. It ripped through the air like a missile, smashing into the fur-covered chest of the stout giant, and, as if it were designed for throwingit wasthe smoldering de sank deeply into his flesh. Brontes grunted in pain, stumbling back further, and then Victor lifted Lifedrinker and did the only thing he had the presence of mind for: He tried to kill the man before him.

    Brontes had defended against Victors berserking axe attacks before. Hed stood toe to toe with him, using that massive club to intervene in Victors hatchet attacks. Earlier, hed been able to use glory-attuned spells and abilities to distract, daze, and misdirect, but none of that worked for him now. Victor had no eyes for distractions, no mind to be dazedhe saw only a target for the endless waves of hatred and fury boiling in his blood. Perhaps it said something about his Iron Berserk upgrade: It took away the purity of his rage, allowing his other emotions and thoughts to dull its edge. His Volcanic Fury had no such problem.

    Lifedrinker answered his molten violence with her own, her de zing like a white-hot scythe as she cut the air, ripping massive, smoking gouges in Brontess club, making wounds that were slow to close, carving off chunks that might be too much for the clubs ability to self-repair. Just being close to Victor was taking a toll on Brontes; the heat rolling off him was difficult for the giant to bear, and desperate sweat sheened his red, strained face as he struggled to avoid the terrible, powerful, skillful cleaves of that axe. To his credit, Brontes stood up to Victor for more than two dozen seconds before he started looking around, fervently hoping for some sort of intervention.

    If Victor could read his mind, he would have heard Brontes vehemently cursing Arona. He would have seen images reying Valeskas impotent charge. He would have heard him cursing himself for aligning against Victor rather than listening to Sora when shed whispered her doubts, suggesting he try to join her and Victor instead. Victor couldnt hear them, though, nor did he have any desire for it. He was lost in the heat of his rage, in the undeniable urge to deliver punishment to any who stood before him. With each resounding, deadly impact of Lifedrinker on the giants club, he bared his teeth in a cruel grimace of pleasure.

    His brutal punishment was cathartic, feeding his fury, encouraging his rage, driving him to more and more violence. Everyone who watched the fight could see the writing on the wall: Victor was too much for Brontes to handle. Hed been too much before, even with Valeskas aid, but now, in this state, seemingly burning with an endless supply of furious fire, he was utterly dominating him.

    The fur-covered giant was more than on the defensive; he was in full retreat, seeking an egress, a way to escape Victors fiery frenzy. He tried to dash away more than once, but even using the ability to run on glittering glory-infused steps of light, Victor was too fast, and Brontes couldnt risk showing him his nk. Finally, the frustrated despair was apparent on his face: Hed realized he had no way out other than to embrace the painful penalty of the Lifesaver.

    Victors breath was short and ragged as he panted his lustful fury, hacking Lifedrinker in precise, deadly strokes. His eyes smoldered, burning like white-hot coals. Smoke and mes licked his lips with each exhtion, and if he hadnt been reveling in the destructive smashes of his axe against that club, he might have sought to end things faster with a burst of magma-infused breath.

    His opponent stumbled back, and his face took on a new expression, one Victor couldnt read in his current state. After a deep inhtion, Brontes straightened and braced himself, zing with golden, glittering, glory-attuned Energy as he dug his left hand into his neckline, pulling on a cord from which a tiny charm dangled.

    Victor saw the charm, and a corner of his mind knew he didnt want the giant to activate it. With desperate, frustrated strength, he lifted Lifedrinker high. He hacked her down, seizing the moment to strike when the giants cudgel swayed to the side, unable to guard effectively with only one hand guiding it. Lifedrinker, trailing ck smoke, screaming through the air, descended toward the side of Brontess neck, and Victors maddened eyes widened with the anticipation of the blow, eager to see his enemys blood flow. Just as her edge sliced the firstyer of the giants flesh, though, he burst into golden smoke and was gone.

    Victors eyes red with fire as he stared at the dissipating smoke. Lifedrinker hung at his side, his hand gripping her handle with enough force to shatter stone. His veins bulged with boiling blood. The wreathing aura of fire that encased his body red, lifting toward the cavern ceiling like a torch doused with kerosene. His mind was driven nk by the apoplectic agony of his righteous fury. He had been denied, and the world would feel his wrath! Victor arched his back and opened his mouth in a scream of outrage that carried no sound other than the freight train roar of a torrent of fire as he emptied his magma Core in a fountain of streaming white-hotva.

    Simultaneously, he stomped his foot and cast Wake the Earth. As a Herald of the Mountains Wrath, Volcanic Fury and Wake the Earth walked hand in hand in his subconscious, instinctive brothers of destruction. It was instinctual, automatic, and there was not a single thought behind it. He poured everything he had into the spell, his wrath having removed any temperance. The ground shook, a ripple of force rolling out from him as the epicenter, and, like a spiders web, hundreds of cracks tore open on the stone cavern floor, widening as they spread away from him. Stgmites burst as the cracks went through them. Stctites fell as the world shook. Stones the size of buildings crashed down in a deafening cacophony of destruction.

    Through it all, Victor howled. His initial burst of magma had done much to paint the world in hues of orange and red. The fire of his breath Core was hot enough to melt stone and had a liquid quality that clung to the surfaces it touched, continuing to burn as the world came apart around him. He screamed and frothed, and the world exploded and fell, and through it all, Victors ire burned, his mind utterly gone in the face of it.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Arona watched as Shol-pan, the first spirit shed ever harnessed, finished killing the bridge trolls. She could see the stairs to the sixth level on the other side, and she hadnt minded the opportunity to let some frustration out. Valeska was out. That meant Brontes was left to stop or slow the stranger. Victor, I suppose, she muttered, facing the fact that everyone would know his name soon enough. And if Brontes failed? How quickly would Victor catch her? Shed hoped the fifth level would be the final one, that she could wrap things up quickly before he had a chance to pursue. It didnt seem likely, however. Not with the speed with which Valeska had fallen.

    Shol-pan glided back to her, trailing lines of blood from his long, spectral wsa trail of gore leading to the two dead trolls. Mistress. He bowed, staring at her through his weird, ice-blue eyes, waiting for praise, dismissal, or a new task.

    Well done, Shol-pan. You grow ever stronger; I am pleased. She stood and started over the bridge, pondering the bodies, contemting the removal of a bone or three forter use. No time, I suppose. Was she being overcautious? It could take Victor hours to find the stairs in that great cavern, assuming he beat Brontes . . .

    <strong>***Brontes Ironhide has been rescued from certain death and removed from the dungeon. Two entrants remain. Prepare for an Energy infusion.***</strong>

    Damn it! she hissed, breaking into a jog toward the distant stair. Shed just cleared the stone span when the ground lurched, and the dungeons diffuse, pale light flickered and winked out. Arona stumbled, falling to her hands and knees, scuffing her palms on the rough stone. Her eyes red with cold Energy, turning the darkness to twilight, and she looked around, mouth partially open, wondering what could have caused the dungeon to react in such a way. Another faint tremor vibrated the stone under her hands, and, to her shock, the bridge split with a thunderous <em>crack</em>, and the near side slipped into the chasm. Arona scrambled forward, putting more distance between herself and the abyss.

    Mistress . . . Shol-pan hissed, his semi-corporeal blue form glowing in the dark as he swooped near.

    Hush! she hissed, scrambling to her feet and stooping to pick up Balefrost where shed dropped him. The polished bone in her handforted her as her brain scrambled for an exnation. Leaning on the staff, its hard end pressed against the stone, she felt the vibrations continuing, and her grasping mind couldnt fathom what it could mean. Suddenly, the sourceless, simted daylight flickered on again, nearly dazzling her Ghost Sight-enhanced eyes.

    <strong>***Attention: This dungeons dimensional bonds are being strained, requiring an ongoing Energy infusion to maintain. All entrants will be removed to allow the owners an opportunity to provide Energy, facilitating repairs. The remaining entrants will be awarded a chest as though they have cleared their current level. No penalty will be applied to the entrants removed due to this emergency. No outstanding Energy infusions will be awarded.***</strong>

    Arona frowned, studying the words to ensure she understood. There wouldnt be an award for the elimination of Brontes, Valeska, Sora, or ndor. The city of Sojourn would be on the hook for the repairs, and she would get a chest for this level. And no penalty, Shol-pan. Ill take that. Again, I am pleased.

    Your pleasure brings me joy, Mistress.

    Arona started to make a quip about him being incapable of joy when the world red with white light. The ground seemed to shift under her feet, and as her vision recovered, she found herself stumbling onto the teleportation tform in the World Hall Annex, where theyd all gathered to enter the dungeon. Three gray-robed attendants rushed forward, but two of them stopped beside the enormous, steaming, dust-and-blood-covered form in front of herVictor.

 Book 7: Chapter 49: Consequences

    Book 7: Chapter 49: Consequences

    Victor was stunned by the sudden, violent shift in his circumstances. One moment, he¡¯d been a passenger to his rage and magma-fueled alter ego, half participating and half observing as he unleashed his frustrated wrath upon the world. The next, he¡¯d been stripped of his Volcanic Fury, ripped from the dungeon, and deposited on the metal teleportation tform back in Sojourn.

    As the world reeled, he dropped to one knee, cradling his spinning head with his dirt and blood-stained hands. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remember the System message text he¡¯d glimpsed before furiously swiping it away. ¡°What the hell did it say?¡± he grumbled.

    Several gray-robed attendants rushed onto the tform, two of them stopping next to him. Even with him kneeling, they had to look up slightly to make eye contact. ¡°Do you require healing?¡± the man on the left asked, reaching to scratch at his smooth, pink-skinned head nervously.

    ¡°Nah. I just wish I had read what the System said. Why am I here?¡± Victor stood, grunting with the effort, and started dusting his tattered, singed, utterly ruined pants.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t read it?¡± a raspy, emotionless, feminine voice behind him asked. Victor recognized Arona¡¯s affect, so when he turned, he found his hand reaching for Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, which made him wonder when he¡¯d put her back in her harness. Had the System done it? ¡°Peace, angry one!¡± the woman said, stepping back. She held her hands out in the universal sign of ¡°I¡¯m not looking for a fight.¡±

    Victor lowered his hand. His rage was gone, spent on his Volcanic Fury and then ripped away by the System. The only emotion he could muster at that moment was something a lot more like apathy than anger. ¡°I . . . was preupied.¡± He shrugged, narrowing his eyes, suddenly wondering why this woman hadn¡¯t helped her friends. ¡°Where the hell did you go, anyway?¡±

    Before she could answer, the attendant who¡¯d spoken earlier said, ¡°Please vacate this teleportation annex. We¡¯ll close it now that everyone¡¯s out of the dungeon.¡±

    Victor scowled and then walked to the door, which was currently held open by another attendant. Arona followed, saying, ¡°I was trying to win the dungeon while you and the others were upying each other.¡± There wasn¡¯t a hint of shame in her voice. ¡°The System, or at least the part of it in charge of the dungeon, threw us out. The message said something about the ¡®dimensional bonds¡¯ being strained. Whatever that means.¡±

    ¡°And the Energy?¡± Victor asked, turning to face her once he stood in the hall.

    ¡°You mean our pending infusion? The System greedily imed it, no doubt justifying the theft by using the Energy to maintain the dungeon¡¯s integrity.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s some bullshit,¡± Victor growled.

    Arona shrugged her broad, bony shoulders, her ck-painted lips curving into a wry smile. ¡°Well, at least we weren¡¯t penalized for our removal. We¡¯re supposed to get a chest, too, but I don¡¯t know where to im it.¡±

    Victor stretched his neck, and several loud pops erupted from the maneuver. He looked up the hallway and saw figures approaching. One of them was Ranish Dar. ¡°Heree some answers, I hope.¡±

    Arona leaned on her polished bone staff, facing the approaching group. Victor saw four others besides Dar, all humanoid, some even appearing human, though Victor doubted that was the case. He nced at Arona again, realizing she, too, looked human¡ªvampiric but human, nheless.

    ¡°What¡¯s your species?¡± he bluntly asked, seizing the moment to gather some information before the group arrived.

    ¡°Hmm? I¡¯m a Faeling,¡± she replied. When Victor wrinkled his brow in confusion, she sighed and exined, ¡°On my homeworld, the Fae havein with the natives for centuries, resulting in people like me.¡±

    It was strange, he decided, how rxed he was speaking to a woman who¡¯d been intent on killing him not long ago. Hadn¡¯t he been just as murderous, though? Hadn¡¯t he been eager to fight? Coming down from the enormous wave of rage he¡¯d been riding, he found himself oddly introspective. The truth was, he hadn¡¯t been treating the dungeon like real life; the Lifesavers and thepetitive nature of the setting had made him reckless and a lot less concerned about individuals and the lives of everyone involved, his included. He shook his head, forcing his mind to focus on present circumstances. He gestured toward the people walking with Dar. ¡°Are they? Faeling?¡±

    ¡°Oh, something simr, no doubt.¡± She narrowed her eyes, a gleam of amusement brightening her dark irises. ¡°Surely you know about the elder races? Many were simr in appearance; you could be descended from the Fae based on your features if not for your great size. Some elder giant race, no doubt?¡±

    Victor couldn¡¯t help but grunt, ¡°Titan.¡± After a pause to think, he asked, ¡°So, the elder races wandered around the universe screwing everything they came across until we all started looking like long-lost cousins?¡±

    ¡°Well, not <em>everything</em>. Surely, you¡¯ve seen the many unique species in this city. What an unexpected conversation! I thought you¡¯d be spewing threats and glowering with murderous . . .¡±

    ¡°Victor!¡± Dar bellowed, interrupting Arona.

    Victor nced back down the hallway and saw the group had drawn close, only a dozen strides away. ¡°Yeah?¡± Dar¡¯s tone and the scowls he saw on everyone¡¯s faces began to drive home the idea that everything wasn¡¯t exactly rosy.

    Two men in ornate robes, one silver and one ck, nked Dar, and behind them were tworge individuals wearing ck, metallic armor, their heavy helms hiding their faces. They carried long, wicked-looking polearms, and their posture was decidedly aggressive. The auras vying for dominance were palpable and heavy, and Victor had to brace himself in their presence as the group continued closer. Dar didn¡¯t answer Victor, and he soon realized why, listening to their ongoing conversation.

    ¡°. . . should be held until the trial.¡±

    ¡°There will be no God¡¯s damned trial!¡± Dar roared, whirling on the much smaller man. He wore a cape made of some kind of shimmering, almost metallic fiber. It was crimson with a high cor that gave Dar¡¯s already imposing stature an even more regal bearing. The fabric snapped as he turned dramatically, causing the smaller, silver-robed man to step back nervously.

    ¡°Inquest, then! Peace, Ranish, peace!¡± The fellow, a gray-skinned man with curly white hair, opened his deep-purple eyes wide, making a sort of soothing expression with his mouth as he tried to cate Victor¡¯s new mentor.

    Dar flexed his stony hands into anvil-sized fists, and something very much like rage began to emanate from his towering form. ¡°How can you think to hold him responsible for . . .¡±

    ¡°Peace!¡± the second, robed individual snapped, his voice like the hiss of a green log in a fire. Victor felt a wave of power behind it that made his knees threaten to buckle. It was enough to stop Dar¡¯s words in their tracks, and that was something Victor had never expected to see. He couldn¡¯t see the speaker¡¯s face; it seemed to be shrouded in ck smoke within the cowl of his robes, quickly banishing Victor¡¯s notion that he was human-like. Victor looked for his hands, hoping to catch a glimpse of his flesh, but they were obscured by the robe¡¯s long, voluminous sleeves. ¡°Save your arguments for the inquest.¡± He turned to Dar, adding, ¡°Yes, Ranish Dar, there will be one. It is decided.¡±

    The other man, the one in the silver robe with the much more pleasant demeanor, said, ¡°Arona Moonshadow and Victor Sandoval. You are both hereby ordered to attend an inquest by order of the ruling council of Sojourn. Report to the Council Spire at noon tomorrow. Am I understood?¡±

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Arona immediately bowed and mumbled, ¡°Yes, Lord.¡±

    Despite himself and his Quinametzin pride, Victor found he had no will to argue or refuse. He nodded his head and said, ¡°Yes.¡± He was heartened to see Dar nod along with him.

    The cowled, smoke-bound individual turned while simultaneously saying, ¡°Very good.¡± Then he, the two armored halberd-wielding guards, and the other silver-robed fellow departed just as quickly as they¡¯d arrived.

    ¡°Moonshadow, you should find your master,¡± Dar rumbled after waiting several seconds for the nking footsteps of the guards to retreat.

    Arona, still bowing, asked, ¡°What¡¯s this about, Lord Dar?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t fret. I believe Victor will bear the brunt of the council¡¯s wrath. He broke the dungeon.¡±

    She whirled on Victor, straightening, her ck eyes widening with the first emotion he¡¯d seen out of her. ¡°What? Is that why we were ejected? What did you do?¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡±

    ¡°Not now, Moonshadow. Begone.¡± Dar¡¯s voice had taken on a particr edge Victor recognized; he¡¯d spoken that way to him back when he¡¯d tried to argue about the cost of Edeya¡¯s healing. Arona pressed her palms together, bowed low to Dar, and then scurried away, walking quickly down the hallway. ¡°Making friends of your enemies so quickly?¡±

    ¡°Not friends.¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°Just talking.¡±

    ¡°You shared a challenging experience. It¡¯s only natural to find some camaraderie, so long as you can look past the cut-throat behavior so many of you disyed in there.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t betray anyone.¡± Victor found his brows drawing together in a new scowl. Was his rage Core recovering so quickly?

    ¡°Don¡¯t quibble, pup. You fought like the monster you are, and sore feelings abound in this city.¡± He nced at the distant figures of the two robed individuals. ¡°Even the current Consuls are eager to see you pay. The System¡¯s demanding a financial penalty to put the challenge dungeon back in order.¡± He shrugged. ¡°I won¡¯t rescue you with a gift, but there have been worse debts. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll sort things out at their little inquest.¡± He reached out to rest a heavy hand on Victor¡¯s shoulder, and, for the first time since his arrival, Dar showed a pleasant expression, not quite a smile, but certainly not a scowl. ¡°I think we can afford to celebrate a bit. First, let¡¯s go and get your chest. I hear it spawned near the city¡¯s System stone.¡±

    Victor¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What if someone grabs it?¡±

    ¡°Impossible. It¡¯s your reward; no one can take it, just as you couldn¡¯t take the one awaiting that young Death Caster.¡± He turned and started striding purposefully toward the main World Hall. Victor hurried to keep pace, and Dar kept speaking while they walked. ¡°Tell me, your friends, those who traveled here with you to find aid for the young insect girl . . .¡±

    ¡°Edeya¡¯s not an insect!¡± Victorughed.

    ¡°What? She has gossamer wings and tiny antennae on her head. Are you certain?¡±

    ¡°Uh, well, shit.¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°I never thought of Ghelli as insects. They make me think of fairies more than they do bugs.¡±

    ¡°Fairies, hmm? I suppose I could see some Fae in her appearance. This is beside the point, whelp! Tell me, are they still in Sojourn?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. They should be. How long was I in the dungeon? It only felt like half a day to me.¡±

    ¡°Closer to a day and a half! Time flies when you¡¯re bludgeoning half the city¡¯s most promising iron-rankers.¡± Dar chuckled. Then, his brows narrowed, and he growled, ¡°You distracted me again! I¡¯m trying to warn you! As I said earlier, you ruffled many feathers with your brutal dispatching of so many of Sojourn¡¯s finest. Most were tier eight or nine and have likely lost close to a decade¡¯s progress from the Lifesaver¡¯s Energy tax. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if some sought retribution.¡±

    Victor wasn¡¯t stupid. He growled and increased his pace. ¡°If anyone hurts one of my friends . . .¡±

    ¡°Calm down, Victor.¡± Ranish reached out and grabbed his shoulder again, effortlessly slowing his pace. ¡°I have spies out and about. I don¡¯t believe anyone¡¯s taken action yet, but it¡¯s something we should be wary of. Your friends should always travel in pairs, and the one I healed, being so low level, should be escorted by two or more of your stronger friends wherever they go.¡±

    ¡°She and another very low-level friend are nning to go into a dungeon, um,ter today, I think. Maybe tomorrow. I¡¯ve lost track. Should I have them cancel?¡±

    ¡°No! If they are partners, the tier-zero dungeons are perfect for them. No one of any strength can enter, so they¡¯ll be on at least even footing with any would-be assassins or kidnappers.¡± As Dar answered, they stepped out of the world hall into the morning sun, and Victor sighed, pausing to soak it in as he breathed deeply of Sojourn¡¯s fresh air.

    ¡°God, that feels good.¡± He saw Dar watching him with his smoldering, coal-like eyes and shrugged. ¡°So, you¡¯re saying they should spend as much time in dungeons as possible for now. Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Hah! Aye, though I warn you, you trounced some of those so-called champions in the challenge dungeon because they gained most of their levels in these dungeons. They don¡¯t know real war or the desperation of a true life-and-death battle. Well, they do now!¡± Darughed and pped Victor¡¯s shoulder again. ¡°At the least, encourage your friends to take on dungeons a tier higher than themselves. This advice pertains to their careers after they¡¯ve gotten their sses. The tier-zero dungeons are fitting for their current situation.¡±

    ¡°And Va? She and another tier-six friend are nning to enter a dungeon. Should they, too, take on a higher-tier dungeon?¡±

    ¡°As a team? Definitely.¡± Dar pointed down a nearby street. ¡°Come, the System stone is in the Council Spire, this way. It¡¯ll be good for you to see where we¡¯ll meet for tomorrow¡¯s sham of an inquest.¡±

    Victor frowned as he followed him. ¡°Can you exin that? I think I get the meaning of an inquest, but, like, am I on trial?¡±

    Dar sighed, shaking his head. ¡°Nine Consuls sit on the Sojourn ruling council at any given time. They¡¯re voted for by those few thousand of us with voting privileges and serve an eleven-year term. I¡¯ve served a time or ten over the years. Their word isw, so, no, it¡¯s not a trial like you might be thinking. Still, they must consider the political fallout of their actions and they¡¯ll want to avoid offending me and my allies too much.

    ¡°Your detractors will start off moring for your head, then they¡¯ll suggest envement, and finally, they¡¯ll look to levy a fine. We¡¯ll find a creative way to settle the debt; don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll bring an advocate for you and also stand by your side. Nothing much wille of this other than people rightly learning to show you a bit more respect than your level would usually warrant.¡±

    ¡°I still don¡¯t see why the hell I¡¯m in trouble. Was it my earthquake spell? How was I supposed to know the dungeon was so fragile? You¡¯d think it should be designed to handle any sort of Energy ability!¡±

    ¡°Aye. Your quake brought the entirety of the fourth level crashing down. I¡¯m d you weren¡¯t squashed before the System pulled you out.¡± Dar started up the steps of thergest building Victor had everid eyes on, save maybe the Warlord¡¯s citadel in Coloss. It was certainly much, much taller than that great structure, but the citadel had arger footprint. Regardless, Victor¡¯sints and objections were thrown from his mind by the wonder invading his thoughts as he craned his neck, looking toward the distant shimmering heights of the spire; he couldn¡¯t see the top from where he stood.

    ¡°I wonder if this is what skyscrapers look like up close.¡± Tucson had a few tall buildings downtown, but they were nothing like this or, he supposed, the great buildings in cities like New York.

    ¡°Skyscrapers? A poetic moniker for a great building. I think I¡¯ll add that to my vernacr. Come now, Victor. You may gawk on your own time. I¡¯ll see you to your chest, watch to see your award, and then I¡¯ll be off; I have a lovely friend waiting to grace me with herpany.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Victor smiled, wondering if he knew Dar well enough to rib him a little. He decided he didn¡¯t. Perhaps he would have risked it if he weren¡¯t so exhausted, filthy, and ready for rest. He was ready to hurry, too; Dar¡¯s talk of people seeking vengeance had him more than a little worried about Va and the others. As he followed Dar through the lobby, past floating tforms adorned with silken cushions, crystal fountains, and nts that looked to be a cross between gemstones and sulents, he had a sudden thought. ¡°Do people know I¡¯m alive? What did it look like when the System shut things down?¡±

    Dar walked through a massive archway into a great, domed cathedral-like central hall. The ceiling was hundreds of feet above them, supported by enormous gold-iid white marble archways. At the center of the space was the towering System stone of Sojourn. It looked a lot like the one Victor had nted in the Free Marches, only about five times the size¡ªa ck obelisk that rose more than a hundred feet into the air, pulsing with shifting, Energy-rich glyphs and runes that seemed to float beneath the surface. Dar paused and turned to answer him, ¡°The viewing windows went nk, but then the council announced what the System did and proimed you and Arona victorious. If your friends were watching, they know you¡¯re alive.¡±

    Victor nodded, his question almost forgotten as he looked at the monolithic stone. Nine separate sets of stairs approached the stone, allowing for multiple queues, but, for whatever reason, there wasn¡¯t much of a crowd at that hour. Only a few people stood near the stone¡ªhands resting on its surface¡ªand the stairs were clear. Dar pointed, and Victor saw a faintly glittering golden chest near the tform''s edge. Of course, not five feet from that unattended chest stood Arona with a skeletally thin man who had to be eight or nine feet tall. He wore a ck capelet over a fine, ck velour suit, and atop his bone-white skull sat a wide-brimmed ck hat.

    Dar shoved him. ¡°Climb those steps and im your chest. Let¡¯s see what you receive.¡±

    Victor started moving, but he turned back to his mentor. ¡°Who¡¯s that with Arona?¡±

    ¡°Her master, Vesavo Bonewhisper. Do not offend that man.¡±

    Victor sighed, shaking his head. Why did everyone expect him to pick a fight with everyone he met? He made short work of the steps and moved to stand by his chest, sort of hoping he could open it without having to talk to Arona again. His hopes were dashed when the scarecrow of a man beside her said, in a voice like dry tinder, ¡°Ah, Ranish Dar! I¡¯m pleased I¡¯ll have the opportunity to meet your young champion. What a thorn in my Arona¡¯s side he was!¡±

    ¡°Master . . .¡± Arona started to say, but when the man turned his weird, crystalline, diamond-colored eyes her way, she snapped her mouth shut and looked down.

    Dar moved very slightly between Victor and the other two and, staring at the tall, strangely dressed man, said, ¡°Victor Sandoval, greet Vesavo Bonewhisper, one of Sojourn¡¯s great Death Masters.¡±

    Victor cleared his throat and nodded, trying to banish any aggression from his features. ¡°Pleased to meet you, sir.¡± He could feel the cold Energy of the man¡¯s aura seeping out, and if he looked closely, he was sure he saw frost riming the marble tform near the man¡¯s feet. He kept his head ducked for three or four seconds, then looked up to see those weird diamond eyes staring at him. The man¡¯s skull-like face, with flesh so thin and pale as to be nearly transparent, regarded him for another two or three long, silent seconds, and then he nodded and turned to regard Dar.

    ¡°A good showing. We gave the lickboots and flower sniffers something to talk about, eh? Well, in three weeks'' time, I¡¯ll be hosting a dinner. You¡¯ll both attend, yes?¡±

    Dar¡¯s answer was immediate, ¡°With pleasure.¡±

    ¡°Excellent! One of mine will deliver the invitation.¡± He turned to Arona, who was still staring at the ground. ¡°Come.¡± With that, he turned and strode away. He didn¡¯t use the steps; rather, he gently glided down from the tform as if floating on an invisible cloud. Arona hurried after him, scurrying down the nearest stairway. Dar watched her and the strange, floating man depart through the nearby archway, then turned to Victor.

    ¡°That¡¯s one of the most dangerous people in Sojourn. I don¡¯t fear him, but I certainly respect him.¡± As Victor nodded, his eyes zing over as he stared after the two Death Casters, wondering what the man with the diamond eyes was capable of, Dar jostled him. ¡°Come now. Open the chest.¡±

    ¡°Right!¡± Victor turned and reached down, lifting the lid and watching as a torrent of glittering, golden steam burst forth. He waved away the steam, wondering if the award could possibly make up for all that he¡¯d lost by ruining the dungeon and getting kicked out.

 Book 7: Chapter 50: Welcome Home

    Book 7: Chapter 50: Wee Home

    Victor leaned over the chest and peered within, immediately amused by the System¡¯s sense of justice. His trusty old Kethian Juggernaut helm had been broken in the dungeon, so now he was being awarded a new one. Was that the case? Had the System tailored the reward for him, or was this just random chance? He supposed he¡¯d never know. He reached into the chest and lifted out the rather in, steel-colored helmet. It looked like it would cover his head, his brow, and the sides of his head. The inside was lined with supple, padded leather and looked quitefortable, but he couldn¡¯t help being disappointed; his old helmet had been a lot more unique and stylistically intimidating. ¡°Bleh,¡± he grunted, holding it up for Dar to see.

    ¡°You sound disappointed. Isn¡¯t that one of the new set pieces?¡±

    ¡°Probably,¡± Victor trickled some Energy into the helmet and was awarded with a System-generated description:

    <strong>***Helm of Sojourn ¨C this is a set item. Collect five pieces of the set and bring them to the Sojourn City Stone to imbue them with curated set bonuses.***</strong>

    ¡°Yeah, it is.¡± Still holding the helm aloft, Victor peered into the chest, ensuring he hadn¡¯t missed anything. As he looked, though, the chest began to break apart, turning into Energy mist and fading out of existence, going wherever the System drew it.

    Dar took the helm, turning it in his hands, studying the angles. ¡°These aren¡¯tmon awards. Did you receive any other pieces in the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I did.¡± Victor looked around, surprised they hadn¡¯t drawn any sort of crowd. Was it due to Dar¡¯s presence? Was he intimidating the ¡°lower¡± Sojourn denizens? He supposed it wasn¡¯t an everyday urrence for someone of his stature to be standing around with the simple folk.

    ¡°I believe these sets will change in appearance when fully enchanted, based on the imbuements you select or provide. It¡¯s quite a robust system; the council spent a fortune on it.¡± He handed the helmet back to Victor, who slipped it into the pouch with the rest of the pieces he had gotten.

    ¡°I need another piece before I can ¡®imbue¡¯ them.¡±

    ¡°Visit the auction house. The drop rates are high in the Vault of Valor, much higher than in the other city dungeons. Few people would have the patience to gather a full set on their own, so they¡¯re likely to be some for sale.¡± Dar turned to the archway leading from the vaulted hall. ¡°I¡¯m off. I¡¯ll send transport for you tomorrow. I¡¯d like you here early so my advocate can prepare you.¡±

    He gave Victor a long look, making a sound like softly grinding stones in his chest. Victor realized he was chuckling as he took in Victor¡¯s shredded, burned pants. ¡°Dress appropriately.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for a response; rather, he seemed to shimmer for a few seconds, and then he was gone. Victor had to jerk his head toward the entrance to see that Dar had either moved impossibly fast or teleported down from the tform. He just caught a glimpse of his flowing red cape as he departed the hall.

    ¡°All right, then.¡± Victor took a deep breath and started down the steps, ncing around nervously as he realized more and more people were stopping to look at him. It confirmed his earlier theory; no one had wanted to be caught daring to stare while Dar was around. He suddenly wished he could step into a bathroom or something to change his pants, but with no idea where to begin looking for one, he decided a hasty exit was more in order. He hurried down the steps and through the spacious, magically appointed lobby. The sun had risen further, and its light sparkled on the crystal towers, forcing him to squint as he looked around and inhaled the fresh air.

    Traffic had picked up, and throngs of people walked to and fro on the sidewalk. He saw a man wearing a short ck cape g down a passing vehicle¡ªsomething that brought to mind a cross between a carriage and a steam train. Victor noticed an emblem on the side like a fanciful P, and when he looked at the traffic, he saw several other strange vehicles, all different in design, with a simr emblem. He supposed he could summon Guapo and see what it was like riding around in the traffic, but he was tired and eager to be out of the public scrutiny, so he tried his luck gging one of the cars down.

    He chose arge one, about the size of a panel van from Earth. It was brass with tall, thin, spoked metal wheels. Something clung to the rims, moving around them like steam, and he figured it had to be some sort of Energy enchantment to provide padding and traction. The driver sat on the top, controlling the big vehicle with brass levers. He was a small fellow wearing a high, brimmed hat, and when he saw Victor wave, he nodded eagerly, steering the steam-belching conveyance over to the side of the street. ¡°Need a lift?¡± Victor nodded, giving him his address.

    The driver nodded. ¡°I know it! It¡¯s down in the old River View neighborhood, right?¡±

    Victor nodded, remembering the realtor mentioning a riverwalk a few blocks from his house. The driver pulled a lever, and the door opened with a hiss, revealing a spacious interior with headroom even for a man Victor¡¯s size once he¡¯d sat down. The seats were plush leather, and the air inside was scented with coffee and vani, making Victor¡¯s stomach rumble. He wondered about the scent''s origin but found nothing other than more leather seats when he looked around the interior. The door hissed closed, and the vehicle started moving. Surprised by its speed and smooth ride, he watched out the window as the buildings rushed by.

    They were forced to stop for traffic a few times, but Victor hardly noticed. He was close to drifting off to sleep, his mind reying the weird, jumbled events from his time in the challenge dungeon, especially his final encounter with Arona and her team. Had she really slipped away to try to finish the dungeon? He could only imagine how irritated those she¡¯d left behind were.

    He hardly remembered what he¡¯d done as the Aspect of Terror, but it couldn¡¯t have been pleasant for Sora and that nature guy. And Arona had left them to that! Thinking of the aspect, he didn¡¯t feel much lingering guilt after using the spell. That felt like a first. Was it because he knew he hadn¡¯t killed anyone? He thought it was probably more likely a result of them starting the fight five versus one. How could he feel bad about anything he did in that situation?

    When the taxi¡ªas Victor thought of it¡ªpulled up in front of his house, he was pleased to have solidified his outlook. He shouldn¡¯t feel guilty about any of that business, least of all damaging the dungeon. How was he supposed to know how fragile it was? For all he knew, the System and any environment it governed were indestructible. He found himself almost looking forward to the so-called inquest. In his mind, there was no way the council¡¯s usations would stand up to logic.

    The driver asked for five Energy beads, and Victor handed him ten, amazed that anyone could make a living on so little. He''d barely reached the gate leading to his little courtyard when Va mmed into him, wrapping her arms around his waist in a vise-like squeeze. ¡°Oof!¡± Victorughed.

    ¡°I¡¯m so d you¡¯re home. Rumors at the public house were wild! Some people thought you¡¯d be imprisoned!¡±

    ¡°What the hell? Why?¡±

    If youe across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Va looked up at him, squinting in the sunlight. ¡°As I said, rumors¡ªdrunken ones, at that. People seemed to think the council would hold you responsible for the dungeon¡¯s damage. Lesh wanted to find the council building, but he was drunk, and I hoped you or Ranish Dar would send word to us. Well, more, I hoped you¡¯de home. And here you are!¡± Sheughed and squeezed him again.

    ¡°Well, whatever rumors you heard were only half-right,¡± Victor sighed, returning her hug, pressing her against him, gently stroking her back, and running his fingers along the soft ridges of her feathers.

    ¡°Half-right?¡± She looked up at him, and Victor grew weary of stretching his neck down, so he cast Alter Self, bringing himself closer to her height.

    ¡°Yeah, I guess the System¡¯s going to charge them an arm and a leg to fix the dungeon, so they¡¯re mad at me.¡± He shrugged, draping an arm over her shoulders and guiding her toward the house. ¡°Dar says not to worry, so I¡¯m not going to. Anyway, I have to go to some stupid hearing tomorrow to argue about it.¡±

    Va stiffened under his arm. ¡°Tomorrow? But we¡¯re meant to head into Desperation Gap tomorrow! Lesh really hoped you¡¯de along!¡±

    ¡°Lesh did?¡± Victor cocked an eyebrow as he pulled the door open for her.

    ¡°Well, of course, I did too!¡±

    ¡°Look, Va, I want to go too, but I can¡¯t miss this hearing¡ªinquest. I also think Dar has ns for me. If I¡¯m honest, I¡¯m fucking tired, too; that challenge dungeon took a lot out . . .¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± She cut him off, lifting his arm off her shoulders, and despite her smile, he could see the strain behind it. Victor almost said to forget what he¡¯d said, that he¡¯d find a way to join them, but he wasn¡¯t only being selfish. He wanted Va and Lesh to get stronger, and how would they do that if he came along and steamrolled everything? Was he being a little full of himself with that thought? He supposed so, but he knew how much stronger he was than Va, and he had a good idea that he could toss Lesh around, too; they only had draws while sparring because Victor never used his strongest abilities; he never berserked.

    Rather than try to cate her, he shifted the topic. ¡°Is Laming with you?¡±

    Va sighed, shaking her head as they walked into the little kitchen. Victor sat down with his back to the table, stretching his legs out while she chose her words. ¡°She¡¯s determined to escort and wait for Darren and Edeya. I know it¡¯s for Edeya¡¯s benefit, really, but she keeps pointing out how Darren has yet to gain a single level: ¡®He¡¯s like a newborn,¡¯ etcetera. Lesh scoffs, tells her his ¡®fosterling¡¯ needs to stumble on his own, but she insists that, at least for this dungeon outing, she wants to be near at hand.¡±

    Victor grew curious as she mentioned the others, ¡°Where are they all?¡±

    ¡°In the travel home, sleeping the night off. Everyone had a bit too much, but you should have seen Lesh! It was both funny and frightening. He made a lot of money betting on you, by the way.¡±

    ¡°Really? Hah!¡± Victor pped his hand on the table, watching Va doing something by the sink. He thought he saw something red in her hand, and as he craned his neck, trying to see, she smiled and held up a bright red fruit; it looked almost like a tomato.

    ¡°From the garden.¡± She put it on the butcherblock counter and started slicing it into segments. ¡°You¡¯re going to love it. It¡¯s sweet but a little tart. Lesh puts salt on them, but I like sugar.¡± She looked at him, the question in on her face.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try both,¡± he chuckled, his stomach telling him he needed to eat a hell of a lot more than a fruit. Of course, that made him think of meat, which reminded him of the gargantuopod he¡¯d harvested. Should he eat that heart? Should he wait? He supposed he¡¯d ask Dar about it.

    ¡°Are you very hungry?¡± Va set the te before him, and Victor picked up the fruit, smelling it. It reminded him of citrus, and when he put the piece in his mouth¡ªsalty¡ªhe grinned.

    ¡°I¡¯m starved, and this reminds me of an orange, but, as you said, a little sour. I¡¯d say half orange and half lemon.¡±

    Va smiled, watching him eat more slices, then asked, ¡°Which is better?¡±

    ¡°Oh, the sugar is great, but the salt brings out the vors; I dunno which one I like more.¡± Heughed as she snorted, shaking her head.

    ¡°Won¡¯t pick a side, hmm?¡±

    ¡°Just telling the truth!¡± He finished off the fruit, and he had half a mind to start pulling some of his favorite foods out of his storage rings, but he wanted to see if Va had something nned first. She¡¯d resumed shuffling around in the kitchen, pulling things from the cold cab and pantry. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to make you some food!¡±

    ¡°So, you¡¯re not mad?¡±

    ¡°About?¡± When she didn¡¯t look at him, he knew darn well she knew what he was talking about.

    ¡°The dungeon?¡±

    ¡°No. How could I be mad at you for being honest? I was foolish to expect you to want to run straight into another dungeon after all you went through in that challenge.¡±

    Victor groaned and folded his arms on his chest, kicking his feet out further and pushing the table legs to the edge of their endurance as he leaned into it. ¡°I wish the stupid thing wasn¡¯t televised.¡±

    ¡°Televised?¡±

    ¡°Those dumb spy stones, projecting the whole thing for you guys to watch. It seems to me that couldn¡¯t have been fun for you.¡±

    ¡°It was nerve-wracking, but watching Lesh cheer and listening as you quickly became a crowd favorite was fun, too. Naturally, knowing about the Lifesavers helped, but I heard one of the entrants died. Is that true?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, early on, I saw that message.¡± Victor rubbed a hand through his hair, sighing as he felt the grit sticking between his fingers. ¡°I didn¡¯t meet the person, and I¡¯m not sure who eliminated them. You didn¡¯t see it on the screen?¡±

    Va began chopping some vegetables and turned on the sink; it all looked so much like a scene out of a modern Earth kitchen that Victor felt a weird wave of something like d¨¦j¨¤ vu, so strong that it started up some butterflies in his stomach. She turned and answered, ¡°No. When you weren¡¯t on the central viewing window, I watched your smaller window most of the time. I missed it.¡±

    Victor nodded and stood, jerking a thumb toward the hallway leading to the bedrooms. ¡°You care if I go clean up? I could use a soak in the bath if there''s time.¡±

    ¡°Of course! I should have suggested it.¡± She put down the knife and came over to him. ¡°I¡¯d join you, but I¡¯m enjoying the idea of cooking something good. I invited the others, too. Do you mind? We¡¯ll spend a lot of time alone tonight, yes?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Yeah, that¡¯s perfect. Thank you, Va.¡± He looked over to the counter at the start of her preparations and added, ¡°If you¡¯re tired, we could take a nap. I¡¯ve got tons of prepared food in my storage rings . . .¡±

    ¡°No! We¡¯ll have something fresh. There¡¯s much to celebrate and even more to discuss; Lam met someone you¡¯ll find interesting, and Darren and Edeya will enjoy some advice about their first dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah? Well, now you¡¯ve piqued my interest.¡± Victor leaned down and, intending to give her a quick kiss, found himself wrapped up in something far more amorous. Va¡¯s mouth tasted like the fruit he¡¯d just eaten, and she must have liked something about his because neither broke it off quickly. After several long, feverish moments while both of them did some exploring with their hands, she finally pushed him off.

    ¡°Tonight!¡± she panted, breathless.

    ¡°Right,¡± he chuckled, wiping his mouth with a grin.

    ¡°Did you just wipe my kiss off?¡±

    ¡°Uh . . .¡±

    Vaughed and pushed him again. ¡°I¡¯m teasing! Go get cleaned up; you stink.¡±

    ¡°I stink?¡± Victor grinned, then he stepped forward, squatted, stretched his arms around Va¡¯s hips, hooking them just below her butt, and hoisted her over his shoulder. ¡°I think that dinner can wait a few minutes. I¡¯m kidnapping you!¡± As she howled in protest, pping his butt with her palms as she dangled behind him, Victor carried her back to the bedroom and their private bath.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Arcus Volpur¨¦ leaned against the high, limewashed brick wall, gazing down the street at the little vi gate the giant and his winged woman had just stepped through. So, this was his home. He¡¯d expected something grander, but size and prowess didn¡¯t necessarily trante to ss. Still, it stung a bit more knowing a peasant had gotten the better of him. Strista shifted beside him, pulling her cowl forward, further sinking her visage into shadow. ¡°Nervous?¡± he asked, his thin lips curling into a smile.

    ¡°Of course. I said I was interested in vengeance, not suicide.¡±

    ¡°Rx. Didn¡¯t you see how they fell all over each other when she came to the gate? He won¡¯t be back out soon. Even if he did, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re doing anything untoward; we''re just out for a stroll.¡±

    ¡°As if he¡¯d buy that. Two people he¡¯d just vanquished happened to stroll into this old slum?¡± She turned and gestured toward the city. ¡°Come. You¡¯ve seen his home. It¡¯s enough for now.¡±

    ¡°A fearful little bird, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Strista turned a huge golden eye his way, and Arcus had to hand it to the avians; they could certainly scowl. Her dark feathers and golden beak only made it more severe. ¡°I¡¯m afraid of him, yes, but I¡¯m not a little bird, and I¡¯m not weak. Don¡¯t mock me, Pyromancer!¡± He noticed her hand resting on the coiled whip at her side and held up an open palm.

    ¡°Peace,dy. I agree; I¡¯ve seen enough for now. We must tread lightly with this matter¡ªhis master is influential.¡± He <em>had</em> seen enough; now that he knew the house, setting up a watchful familiar would be simple. He¡¯d learn the man¡¯s routines, learn more about his acquaintances, especially that lovely, celestial being who¡¯d just met him at the gate, and find a way to extract some payment, be it material or symbolic. ¡°I will have justice,¡± he whispered harshly, turning to his coach parked at the corner. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll deliver you to Balefor Estates. You still live there, yes?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Can your coach fly, then? It¡¯s rather distant.¡±

    ¡°Oh, aye. On wings of me, no less. I¡¯m happy for the ride; we can discuss who else might enjoy our little alliance. The giant made no small list of enemies yesterday. With a few good mindsing together, I''m sure we can think of a way to extract our due.¡±

    Strista nodded and took his proffered hand, careful not to hook his tender flesh with her needle-like talons. They¡¯d known each other most of their lives and had, once upon a time, been lovers. Now, though, Arcus had little time for romantic distractions; he was close to truly understanding the nature of fire, to bing one with it. Well, he¡¯d been closer two days ago. Now that he¡¯d fallen back into the eighth tier, he had years of hard work ahead of him to regain what he¡¯d lost.

    As the thought passed through his mind, his body began to steam, and mes lit up behind his eyes. Strista tried to pull her hand away, but Arcus tamped down the fire and persisted with his grip¡ªsomething in him yearned for the closeness despite his bravado. Something in him still stung from the punishment that bastard giant had doled out.

 Book 7: Chapter 51: Inquest

    Book 7: Chapter 51: Inquest

    Darren clutched the smooth hardwood quarterstaff Victor had bought for him. It was sturdy and supposedly enchanted to do extra bludgeoning damage, and he found it veryforting as he looked toward the glowing portal on the dais down in the little walled-off cave. He, Edeya, and Lam stood outside in one of Sojourn¡¯s many parks, waiting for the dungeon attendants to call them forward. Their entry slot was in just a few minutes.

    Edeya stood near, also clutching her weapon¡ªa fine ivory-colored spear with a gleaming, silvery de. Victor had given it to her, and when Darren¡¯s eyes had betrayed his jealousy, the giant man had shrugged and said, ¡°Edeya¡¯s been training to use weapons for years. That staff will suit you well for now.¡± Darren had immediately put aside his jealousy; Victor had gone out of his way to ensure he had something solid to swing around and defend with, which was more than he could ask for. Besides, it wasn¡¯t his only gift.

    Both he and Edeya wore armored vests made from rings of impossibly light metal. If Darren were back on Earth, he might guess it was aluminum if not for the odd blue tint. The rings were sewn to supple, pale leather, and the garments were enchanted to repair and clean themselves. Moreover, the rings were incredibly sturdy. Victor had demonstrated by tasking Edeya with trying to stab a knife through one while he held it in his palm. ¡°Shimmersteel,¡± he whispered, remembering the name of the material.

    Edeya heard him and smiled. ¡°Comfortable, huh?¡± Darren couldn''t deny that she looked especially good in her vest. It hugged her narrow frame, and the blue in the metal was highlighted by the cobalt Energy motes that constantly drifted down from her dragonfly wings.

    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s great.¡± Darren smiled, amazed at how different she looked from the pale, deathly figure she¡¯d been when they first met. Her cheeks were flushed, her blue eyes bright with excitement, and her red-gold hair hung in curly ringlets from the silver half-helm Victor had given her. She¡¯d gone to a lot of trouble to look nice for their first dungeon dive, which Darren found both amusing and endearing. It was like dressing up to work in the sewers. Or was it? He had no idea, truthfully.

    ording to the guidebook Edeya had been reading, the ¡°Grotto¡± was a cave system, but that didn¡¯t mean there would be rank or disgusting water in it. In fact, she¡¯d pointed out that some of the deeper sections were blocked off by clear, cold water they¡¯d have to swim through, assuming they went that far in. Darren wasn¡¯t too sure.

    Lam interrupted his thoughts, ¡°Show me again,¡± she said, nudging his shoulder. He knew what she meant; she and Edeya had spent quite a lot of time teaching him to channel his Energy into his first spell. He¡¯d even gained some Energy from the System when he learned it: Arclight Wisp. It was the name of his version of the very basic ¡°light¡± spell that most new Energy users learned.

    Darren held out his palm and built the spell pattern in his pathway, sending some of his lightning-attuned Energy into it. A tiny, buzzing, crackling mote of red light appeared above his palm, flickering then growing steadier and brighter, almost like an old incandescent light bulb warming up. It hovered in the air, moving to and fro as it waited for him to direct it with his will.

    ¡°Nice!¡± Edeyaughed and snatched at the wisp, but it flickered through her fingers. ¡°I think it¡¯s getting brighter.¡±Lam nodded and squeezed Darren¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I hope you gain a level quickly and learn a useful spell right away. Whatever the case, even if you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll gain some attribute points and more Energy, and we¡¯ll find a way to teach you some things when you get out.¡± She reached out with her other hand and pulled Edeya close, grasping her neck in the crook of her arm. ¡°Stick close to Edeya and follow her lead. She knows how to cast a lot of spells.¡±

    ¡°Most require more Energy than I have now,¡± Edeya pouted. ¡°But not all!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll both be fine. You¡¯re sure you have every . . .¡±

    ¡°Thing. Yes, Lam! You¡¯ve asked us ten times.¡± Edeyaughed and quickly stretched her neck up to kiss Lam on the cheek in a surprising show of sweetness and affection. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine. This dungeon is for babies.¡±

    ¡°Well . . .¡± Lam smiled, eyeing Darren meaningfully.

    ¡°All right, I get it!¡± Darren sighed, shaking his head. ¡°Lesh has made it abundantly clear that I¡¯m basically a newborn. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t get in Edeya¡¯s way.¡±

    Suddenly, in a strident, rion voice, one of the attendants called out, ¡°Edeya! Darren! Your timeslot begins now!¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    When they were finally invited into one of the council¡¯s conference chambers, Victor wasn¡¯t surprised to find a table ornately carved from what looked to him like a single, enormous b of ivory. Nor was he surprised to find chairs suitablyrge for himself and Ranish Dar. They sat on one side, Victor in the middle, Ranish to his right, and the advocate Ranish had hired on his left.

    The advocate was a strange individual, ostensibly a male, but not exhibiting any such mammalian characteristics. His flesh and body were entirelyposed of an odd, orange, gelid substance that jiggled and flowed bonelessly in a close approximation of a bipedal, humanoid figure. His eyes were like softly glowing red candies, and Victor couldn¡¯t help thinking of him as a Jello man. Even more strange, he refused to be named, insisting that Victor and Ranish address him as Advocate. Nheless, Ranish said he was highly regarded, so Victor went with it.

    Great stained-ss windows lined the wall behind the council members who were arrayed opposite the trio. The windows depicted scenes from nature¡ªbirds with bright plumage, colorful flowers, and other little animals like red-furred foxes bearing more than one tail alongside perfectly ordinary, white rabbits. Victor found the artistry hard to look away from, though the light in his eyes certainly put him at a disadvantage. He thought about that for a moment, how those windows would brightly light his face while the council members¡¯ faces were dim in the re of the midday sunlight. Surely, it was by design.

    Speaking of the council members, only five were in attendance, but Victor supposed that made sense; it was a big, busy city, and he doubted they could all be bothered by a problem with a single dungeon caused by a rtively insignificant new citizen. Of course, the man with the smoke-obscured face, deep in his dark gray cowl, was in attendance, sitting in the center. Victor had learned his name was Lord Roil and that he and Dar shared a centuries-old grudge. To his right was an avian man with the features of a ckbird. He looked so much like a giant, bipedal crow that Victor struggled not to stare; the man¡¯s wide, startled-looking yellow bird eyes were almostical as he turned his head left and right, his beak hanging slightly agape.

    The advocate had earlier told Victor who to expect, so he knew who the avian was¡ªYon, the master of Strista Kono, whom Victor had rather summarily vanquished from the dungeon. Lord Roil looked to his left, where a grandmotherly figure sat, and a sound like hissing steam issued forth. Was it some sort of whisper? Victor ignored it and looked more closely at the woman. She could have been human; she had pale flesh, deep wrinkles, and pudgy cheeks beneath curly gray hair held in a bun by long, wooden pins. She could have been if not for her unsettling ck eyes gleaming with a hidden inner light.

    To her left was a person who looked very much like a bright green praying mantis wearing yellow silken robes. On the other end, to the right of the birdman, sat an elf-like fellow¡ªtall, handsome, with a chiseled jawline, glistening golden hair, and ears that stood out from his head and pointed upward in a far more pronounced manner than the Fae girl, Sora¡¯s. Victor had forgotten the names of thosest three; he¡¯d only heard them once from the advocate and had been more preupied with his defense than memorizing the names of, then, faceless lords anddies. He¡¯d just taken in the scene and gotten a good look at the consuls when the door clicked open and Arona stepped in.

    ¡°Apologies, Lord Consuls,¡± she said in her whispery, scratchy voice, bowing low.

    ¡°Sit,¡± Lord Roil hissed, and the word wasced with power so absolute that Victor found himself trying to sit even though he already was. He heard Arona hurry toply, rushing to the seat to his advocate¡¯s left. ¡°You have no representation, Arona Moonshadow?¡± the hissing, smoky voice demanded.

    Arona ducked her head, her forehead nearly touching the table, and said, ¡°No, Lord Consul. I throw myself upon your mercy.¡± Victor¡¯s eyebrows shot up at that. Was she being smart or stupid? Perhaps she and her master had realized that Victor was the one really in trouble that day, and she was trying to earn favor by appearingpliant.

    Some mutters and several nodding heads on the consul''s side of the table confirmed his theory; they were pleased with her submission. ¡°Then we shall begin. If it pleases themittee, I will speak for us unless one of you has a dissenting opinion on a matter thates up.¡± Lord Roil turned his cowled head to the left and right, ensuring all his co-consuls nodded in affirmation. Victor got the impression that this had already been agreed upon before the meeting had begun. He nced at Ranish Dar, wondering if he should react, but the ck, stone-fleshed man sat almost like he was in a trance, his eyes half-shut and the white fire of his eyes subdued.

    The advocate¡¯s plump, jelly-like lips opened, and he spoke in an odd, liquid voice that made Victor want to clear his throat. ¡°We ept your appointment as spokesperson, Lord Roil.¡±

    ¡°It was not brought forth for debate.¡± For the first time, Victor saw a spark of light in the smoky depths of that cowl, and he wondered if it was one of Lord Roil¡¯s eyes ring with Energy. ¡°I will now outline the charges. Victor Sandoval, student of Ranish Dar, you are used of causing great damage to the Vault of Valor, resulting in a loss of revenue to the City of Sojourn and an unquantifiable loss of Energy and System-generated awards to Arona Moonshadow. How do you plead?¡±

    Hearing that Arona was not summoned as a co-defendant but as a victim, Victor almost lost control of his mouth. In fact, he inhaled sharply and would have barked an outragedugh if Dar hadn¡¯t bumped him in the ribs with a boulder-sized elbow as a warning.

    The advocate was quick to speak, though, forestalling any protest from Victor. ¡°Victor Sandoval is not guilty of any intent to harm the city¡¯s property and, further, cannot be held responsible for the System¡¯s judgment with regard to Arona Moonshadow. The System provided the award it felt she deserved, a single chest, and the System chose to withhold any Energy gains not only from Arona but from Victor, as well. One could argue that we have a case against the city for failing to provide the promised awards of thepetition.¡±

    ¡°Outrageous!¡± Yon, the crow-headed man, squawked. Lord Roil held up a long, flowing sleeve and turned his cowl toward him until he closed his beak and sat back, his feathery arms folded over his chest.

    ¡°You would try to countersue the Council on the grounds that we have a say in the System¡¯s judgment?¡±

    ¡°If you think Victor can influence the System or should be held liable for that very same judgment, does the logic not flow?¡± The advocate¡¯s voice was even, but Victor could hear a hint of ¡°gotcha¡± in his tone.

    ¡°There is a w with yourparison, Advocate,¡± Roil said, some wisps of smoke escaping his cowl. Was that because of his breath? Was there a breathing body behind all that smoke? ¡°Victor Sandoval caused the damage. The System withheld Energy from him and Arona because it used that Energy to stabilize the damage. Further, the penalty charged to the city for the dungeon¡¯s repair resulted from the damage he caused. Can you not see how he, logically, is the responsible party?¡±

    ¡°If we are going to boil the bone, then let us get the marrow out,¡± the advocate said, gently and silently tapping the table with one of his squishy fingers. ¡°Arona and her allies ambushed Victor. If he had not had to defend himself in a five-versus-one contest, he would not have had to utilize his most destructive powers. Should the me not bein at the feet of all participants in said battle? Considering he was not the aggressor, I feel it¡¯s generous that Victor would be willing to share one-sixth of the penalty.¡±

    Roil nodded. ¡°This has been considered, but the damage done to the dungeones down to poor judgment. Any person with good intentions would know that unleashing an earthquake-causing Energy ability in a dungeon level made entirely of stone and built like a cavern with thousand-ton stctites dotting its ceiling was a poor choice. Such a move was not only overtly destructive of the dungeon¡¯s framework but also self-destructive. Does Lord Dar not agree that his charge should be more respectful of the council¡¯s property and of himself? Does he think it wise that his student would throw away his own well-being for the vanity of pride and the refusal to keep his destructive instincts in check?¡±

    Victor knew what wasing next. The advocate and Dar had already prepared him for the concession they were willing to make. Still, when the advocate spoke up, Victor found himself clenching his fists in anger. ¡°Lord Dar agrees that his student showed poor judgment, but he disagrees that the fault lies entirely at his feet. Victor was unaware that a dungeon could be permanently damaged. Hees from a world with few dungeons, and those are not managed by citizens. They are naturally urring System-managed dives. My client agrees to pay a portion of the damages but feels the council, in its wisdom, should bear the brunt of the expense. It was the council who designed this activity, and it was the council who failed to warn the entrants of the dungeon''s fragility.¡±

    To Victor¡¯s surprise, Lord Roil¡¯s cowl moved in a slow nod. He shifted his focus to Arona and asked, ¡°What say you, Lady Moonshadow?¡±

    Victor looked at her closely, watching her dark eyes shift up from where they stared at the table. A pink flicker of her tongue on her ck-painted lips betrayed some nervousness as she quickly nced at Victor and then turned back to the consuls. ¡°Lords and Ladies of the Council, I seek no reparations. I cannot me this man sitting here for fighting with everything he had. I am sorry I wasn¡¯t allowed to finish the dungeon, but I recognize no malfeasance on his behalf.¡±

    Lord Roil¡¯s cowl shifted to the left, awaiting acknowledgment from the consuls on that side. When they both nodded, he turned to the right, and when Yon and the elf nodded, he turned to face Victor. ¡°Victor Sandoval, do you wish to speak on your own behalf before I render themittee¡¯s decision?¡±

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the vition.

    Again, Victor had been instructed on this matter; it wasmon practice for the used to be given a chance to speak, regardless of advocacy. Dar had told him what to say, and Victor found the words easy enough; his pride had retreated in the face of so many powerful auras. ¡°Lords and Ladies of the Council, I simply wish to apologize. As my advocate indicated, I had no idea that anything I did in that dungeon could damage its structure. I was pushed to the point of breaking by the challenges offered, and it didn¡¯t ur to me that I should withhold my strongest abilities. I ask for your mercy in your decision.¡±

    As he finished, something deep in his chest rebelled, and Victor had to press his lips together in a thin line to keep from frowning or growling. He hated being obsequious, and he really didn¡¯t mean the words; he wasn¡¯t truly sorry, and he hoped the lip service he gave to the consuls would be enough if they could sense hisck of remorse. He wouldn¡¯t have agreed to say those things if the advocate hadn¡¯t assured him that the council would go easy on him out of respect for Dar. It hadn¡¯t hurt to hear Arona¡¯s statement first; she¡¯d been surprisingly cool about the whole thing. Had she known she wasn¡¯t here as a defendant? He supposed it made sense.

    ¡°Very well. Hear our judgment: Victor Sandoval, in lieu of imprisonment, fines, and reparations to Arona Moonshadow, you are charged withpleting three tasks for the Council of Sojourn. A majority of the current Consuls must decide upon each task, and you must remain living in this city until you¡¯ve aplished this penance. Are there any objections?¡±

    If Victor had been grasping coals in his hands, he felt like he¡¯d have made some new diamonds as he listened to the decree. It was all he could do to clench his jaw and refuse the Quinametzin in him the chance to curse or yell. He¡¯d been hoping to pay some Energy beads and be done with this bullshit, but now he was tied to some nebulous ¡°tasks?¡± As he fumed and tried to make sense of it all, Dar pushed his chair back and stood. For the first time, the giant spoke, his voice grinding out with unchecked volume, forcing more than one of the consuls to flinch. ¡°Very well. The council knows how to reach me. I will receive the requests for my student¡¯s services and judge whether they are appropriate. Do you object?¡±

    ¡°Do not overstep, Ranish Dar,¡± Roil hissed. Though his voice was soft, it cut like a knife with the force of an aura that nked Victor¡¯s mind and made him instantly forget what he¡¯d been angry about.

    Dar pressed his palms on the ivory table, leaning forward into that aura, his eyes suddenly zing like twin suns. ¡°Is it overstepping to look out for the welfare of my student? I will have a say in these tasks, or there will be a need for further inquests. What say you, Roil?¡±

    The cowled figure faced the fire of Dar¡¯s eyes for several long seconds and then nodded. ¡°Very well. The matter is settled.¡± Then, he abruptly stood and glided out of the room, slipping through a side door before the other consuls had even managed to stand.

    ¡°Come,¡± Dar said, pping Victor on the shoulder. Victor started to stand, but then Yon opened his beak and squawked.

    ¡°What a farse! You were lucky this time, Dar.¡±

    Dar turned to regard him as Victor moved to stand by his side. The other consuls had all stopped in their tracks, eyeing the seven-foot, crow-like man and the towering, seething, statuesque Dar. ¡°There was no luck involved, bird. Speak to me again with such an unfettered tongue, and I¡¯ll issue a challenge.¡±

    Yon¡¯s beak closed with a <em>click</em>, and Victor wasn¡¯t alone in his smile as he turned to make a hasty exit. Everyone else started moving again, and the advocate broke the silence by saying, ¡°I¡¯ll go to the admin office to get this settlement recorded on a legal decree.¡±

    ¡°Good. You earned your pay, Advocate.¡± Dar pulled the door open for him, and then Arona stepped forward.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I was involved in this, Lord Dar.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense. It wasn¡¯t you or your master who put you into that position. I fully me Roil and the three or four others on the Council who hold various grudges against me. Your words here earned you a favor from me. Use it wisely.¡±

    Arona¡¯s pale, sharp-boned face lit up with undisguised pleasure, and she bowed very low. When she straightened, she nodded to Victor and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll meet again.¡± Then she slipped out the door, and Dar threw an arm over Victor¡¯s shoulders, guiding him out.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t bad; three tasks requiring my approval¡ªit¡¯s nothing. I¡¯ll be sure the demands will convey good learning opportunities for you.¡±

    ¡°I guess.¡± Victor sighed. ¡°It was hard to sit there and take all of that. This whole thing feels like a bad joke.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s how politics work, Victor. I won some clout with your performance in the dungeon, and my enemies wed a little back with this inquest. You¡¯re, unfortunately, a pawn at this stage of your life. Stick with me, and I¡¯ll teach you to be a yer.¡± As they walked through the lobby, Dar, apparently in a good mood, continued to speak loudly, his voice almost jovial. ¡°It¡¯s time you visited myke house. There¡¯s someone there I¡¯d like you to see; she¡¯ll provide a learning opportunity for you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡± Victor was tired of surprises, so he pressed for more details, ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°You know her¡ªthe Fae girl who switched sides on you in the dungeon. Your terror-born alter ego infected her with a creeping dread that leaves her broken. I thought you might want to learn how to remove such an affliction. Did you have other ns?¡±

    ¡°Nope. My friends have all gone into one dungeon or another¡ªwell, all but one, but I¡¯ll meet herter if that¡¯s okay. I wouldn¡¯t mind seeing Sora, and, yeah, I wouldn¡¯t want to think of her dealing with some mental trauma I caused. Besides,¡± Victor grinned and picked up the pace, heading for the ckcquered, flying carriage Dar had picked him up in, ¡°she has a cloak I might try to buy off her.¡±

    ¡°Ah, is that so? Your elusive fifth piece of the set?¡± Victor could hear the humor in Dar¡¯s voice.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I won¡¯t, like, refuse to help her unless she gives it to me, but I might drop some hints afterward. Maybe she¡¯ll be generous.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps, but you¡¯re a man of means. Don¡¯t be afraid to open negotiations. Now, get into the coach. I¡¯m weary of these robes and want to walk in the warm sands of my beach before the sunset.¡±

    ¡°Is it far?¡± Victor craned his neck, trying to spot the sun past the towering crystal buildings all around. As far as he could tell, it was still just a little past noon.

    ¡°Not too far. Not as the crow flies. I should have a teleportation tform installed, but I¡¯ve only had the house for a few years and haven¡¯t spent much time there.¡± Dar grunted as he climbed into the opulently appointed coach behind Victor, sitting with his back to the front end, facing Victor, who had taken a seat across from the door. ¡°I rather enjoy the need to travel there by conventional means, if I¡¯m honest. It adds to the notion that the home is meant as a retreat.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor smiled and leaned back, enjoying the sensation as the carriage lurched into motion. Dar¡¯s driver apparently knew what was expected of him. Victor was looking forward to staying in one town for a while and learning from someone who was a recognized master of spirit Energy. He might have to contend with the annoying politics of Sojourn, but there was a lot in the city for him to do and experience, and it was good for Va and the others, too. Besides, those guys could travel back and forth to Fanwath if they wanted; they weren¡¯t tied there like he was. Was he, though? ¡°Do you think I can travel at all, or will the council get angry?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure there will be some travel in store for you. Or did you mean for your own ends?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind visiting mynds on Fanwath now and then.¡±

    Dar chuckled and shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ll arrange something.¡±

    Victor¡¯s smile broadened, and he let his eyes drift closed as the coach hurtled through the air. He hoped Va and Lesh were doing well in their dungeon. They nned to take it slow, and their window was for a week, so he didn¡¯t expect them anytime soon. He¡¯d warned everyone about the potential of his enemies from the contest seeking to harm him by using them, so they were all on the lookout, but everyone should be fairly safe in their dungeons, other than Lam. He opened his eyes and turned to Dar, ¡°Can we send someone to pick up my friend? She¡¯ll be alone after our other friends enter a dungeon.¡±

    ¡°You want her toe to theke house?¡± Dar¡¯s weird, stony lips turned down while he contemted it. ¡°Why not? It¡¯s a big ce, and I¡¯ve plenty of food. Is she one of the insect-like ones?¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡± Victor couldn¡¯t imagine Lam would like that description. ¡°She¡¯s the one with the golden wings.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll send someone for her.¡±

    Victor nodded his thanks and closed his eyes again. With that settled, he really didn¡¯t feel stressed about anything, and he hadn¡¯t slept much the night before. He tried to keep thinking about his ns¡ªthe things he wanted to do and learn¡ªbut his mind had other ideas, and soon, he was drifting off into a deep, untroubled slumber.

    <strong>#</strong>

    <strong>Status</strong>

    <strong>Name:</strong>

    <strong>Victor Sandoval</strong>

    <strong>Race:</strong>

    <strong>Quinametzin Bloodline - Epic 1</strong>

    <strong>ss:</strong>

    <strong>Herald of the Mountain''s Wrath - Legendary</strong>

    <strong>Level:</strong>

    <strong>65</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core:</strong>

    <strong>Elder ss - Improved 3</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Spirit ss - Advanced 8</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Magma - 9</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Energy:</strong>

    <strong>2200/2200</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Glory 8.6, Inspiration 7.4, Unattuned 3.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>25307/25307</strong>

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>430</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>560 (616)</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>190</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>213</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>172</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>613</strong>

    <strong>Points Avable:</strong>

    <strong>0</strong>

    <strong>Titles & Feats:</strong>

    <strong>Titanic Rage, Ancestral Bond, me-Touched, Greater Titanic Constitution, Titanic Presence, Desperate Grace, Challenger, Elder Magic, Born of Terror, Battlefield Awareness, Battlefield Presence, Aura of Command, Epic Quinametzin, Mountain''s Resilience</strong>

    <strong>Skills:</strong>

    <strong>System Language Integration</strong>

    <strong>Not Upgradeable</strong>

    <strong>Spirit Core Cultivation Drill</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Cultivation Drill</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Cooking</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Animal Taming</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Unarmed Combat</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Knife Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Spear Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Bludgeon Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Axe Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Epic</strong>

    <strong>Grappling</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Sovereign Will</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Titanic Leap</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Aura Veil</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Spells:</strong>

    <strong>Iron Berserk</strong>

    <strong>Epic</strong>

    <strong>Inspiration of the Quinametzin</strong>

    <strong>Epic</strong>

    <strong>Channel Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Enraging Orb</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Globe of Insight</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Project Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Dauntless Radiance</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Heroic Heart</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Spirit Walk</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Tether Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Harsh Light of Justice</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>The Inevitable Huntsman</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Aspect of Terror</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Imbue Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Honor the Spirits</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Titanic Aspect</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Alter Self</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Energy Charge</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Banner of the Champion</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Wild Totem</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Impart Nightmare</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Guard Ally</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Volcanic Fury</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Wake the Earth</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Roots of the Mountain</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

 Book 8: Chapter 1: Nightmare Manifestation

    Book 8: Chapter 1: Nightmare Manifestation

    Victor and Ranish Dar sat together on a low, freshly oiled wooden pier that extended from the grounds of his mentor¡¯s house into the cid, deep blue waters of ake. Sojourn¡¯s atmosphere was thin, though the dense Energy of the small world served to make lifefortable for the people living there. The overall effect, however, was that the stars were almost always visible, especially away from the city. It also made the water look dark and almost like a mirror of the star-filled firmament overhead. Theke was beautiful, and the soft breeze tickling his bare chest as he dried off put Victor at ease as he dangled his feet over the edge.

    ¡°Enjoying the view?¡± Dar asked, his bright gaze aimed at the brilliant expanse of stars above.

    ¡°How could I not? When I heard the guide say Sojourn was a ¡®city world,¡¯ I¡¯d thought countryside homes andkes were out of the question.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a small world, and much of it is taken up by the city. People want to be where the action is, so the vast majority of the popce lives in, around, and above its streets.¡±

    ¡°Like the, uh, Arcanum where we met?¡± Victor pictured the floating spires on their stony, rune-etched tforms.

    ¡°Exactly. It doesn¡¯t hurt that grounds such as mine are prohibitively expensive. Those of us who own thekes, forests, and valleys would charge a dear price for the city to expand.¡±

    ¡°But no one owns the sky,¡± Victor said, connecting the dots. ¡°That¡¯s why the Arcanum is floating above the city?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps, though, it¡¯s likely that the first towers were simply put up as a show of power.¡± Dar shrugged and leaned back, basking in the sunlight. ¡°I received word from my driver; your friend is en route.¡±

    ¡°Lam? That¡¯s great.¡± A knot of tension Victor hadn¡¯t acknowledged melted away. Thanks to the way he''d dominated the challenge dungeon, he knew his friends weren¡¯t exactly safe around the city. He sighed, closing his eyes, enjoying how the cool waterpped on his shins with the gentle waves stirred by the breeze. ¡°I share Farscribe books with Edeya and Va, so when they finish their dungeons, I¡¯ll pick them up.¡±¡°Providing you¡¯re avable, aye, that¡¯s a good enough idea.¡±

    ¡°You think I might not be?¡± Victor opened one eye and regarded his stone-fleshed host.

    ¡°I have tasks and training for you. The city may reach out with one of their demands.¡± He shrugged, both of his zing eyes still closed. ¡°The future is fickle; don¡¯t make too many ns, especially about trivialities. If you¡¯re busy, I¡¯ll see your friends home safely.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Victor started to rx again.

    ¡°Speaking of tasks, there¡¯s the matter of the Fae girl.¡±

    ¡°Sora. Right.¡± Victor had been dreading the topic ever since Dar had mentioned it on the coach ride from the city. He didn¡¯t like thinking about his time as the Aspect of Terror, let alone looking at the aftermath.

    ¡°She¡¯ll likely have a fit and regress when she sees you. Well, perhaps not. In your current form, you don¡¯t resemble the one who terrorized her. You can make yourself smaller, yes?¡±

    Victor nodded. He was naturally close to Dar¡¯s size, closing in on ten feet, and with just the two of them on the pier, it felt perfectly natural. Still, he¡¯d recently improved his Alter Self spell and knew he could bring himself down to a much less intimidating stature if he wanted to. ¡°Yeah. You think I should be smaller when I see her?¡±

    ¡°I do. I¡¯m also quite interested in that spell. I noticed a curiousck of its mention in your journal.¡±

    ¡°Yeah . . .¡± Victor didn¡¯t know how to proceed. Dar was easily one of the top five most powerful people he¡¯d ever known, and he didn¡¯t want to offend him by lying or holding back information, but he also didn¡¯t want to betray Tes¡¯s trust. Now that he¡¯d visited Sojourn and learned about some of the power scales of people in the universe, he couldn¡¯t help wondering how she¡¯d stack up. She hadn¡¯t ever mentioned ¡°iron ranks¡± or ¡°tests of steel,¡± let alone the ¡°lustrous veil¡± thaty beyond. He knew those were terms coined by the old masters of Sojourn, but surely other civilizations had names for the same stages. Or did they?

    Tes came from a world of dragons, a ce where Elder magic reigned, and the System held no sway. Perhaps things were different in that case. How would Tespare to Dar? Victor had only seen her true form in a couple of illusory glimpses, but he¡¯d felt her aura, or, at least, the part of it she let loose to make a point. What¡¯s more, she¡¯d been altering herself down to the size of a petite human. If Victor changed himself so much, his Core would be a fraction of itself, yet Tes had been starting from the size and shape of a dragon! Even so reduced, she¡¯d been immensely powerful.

    ¡°My innocent question seems to have set your mind¡¯s gears spinning,¡± Dar chuckled.

    ¡°I¡¯m trying to think of a way to exin to you, without offending you, that a very powerful being taught me how to do that magic and made me promise not to spread that knowledge.¡±

    ¡°And you fear angering this being?¡± Dar¡¯s stony brow lifted over one eye.

    ¡°I . . . fear what it would do to my spirit if I betrayed her trust.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Don¡¯t lose sleep over it. We¡¯ve years of study and work ahead of us. Perhaps one day you¡¯ll introduce me to this friend of yours, or perhaps you¡¯ll realize the secret isn¡¯t something you need to fear sharing. It¡¯s possible I know more about it than you think.¡± Dar winked at him, and then, with a grunt, he stood, water streaming off his stone legs. Victor shook his head; he kept thinking of Dar¡¯s flesh as stone, but he knew it wasn¡¯t. It moved and felt like flesh. ¡°Come, it¡¯s time you faced your handiwork.¡±

    Victor swallowed a groan as it tried to escape his lips and hopped up, nodding. He summoned a clean pair of pants and afortable, loose, linen shirt. Dar gestured to the house. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you on the deck if you want to change.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Victor watched his retreating back, and then he quickly slipped out of his damp, homemade shorts; he¡¯d cut the legs off a pair of torn pants. He pulled on his dry clothes, shrugged into Lifedrinker¡¯s harness, and then, still barefoot, made his way up the long, steep flight of sandstone steps to the house. It was situated on a hill, but the slope was severe enough that Victor couldn¡¯t see the house until he stepped onto the uppernding. The back of the residence was set with windows that opened onto a broad wooden deck that overlooked theke, and Dar stood near one of the big ss doors, waiting for him.

    It was a beautiful, well-appointed home, but it wasn¡¯t ostentatious. It had a fewrge living spaces¡ªa dining room, two parlors, a library, and half a dozen or so bedrooms. Everything was open and bright, and Victor had the distinct impression that it was designed as a ce for Dar to rx. Victor liked the white-washed brick exterior walls and the tarnished copper roof; it looked like it belonged to the rocky, hillyndscape. Soft-spoken servants, all wearing the same uniform of pale blue shirts over tan pants, could be seen here and there, cleaning, cooking, and basically waiting on Dar¡¯s every whim.

    In the few hours Victor had been at the house, he¡¯d seen at least four different servants, but they all looked rted¡ªgreen skin, yellow eyes, and pointy ears. He was curious whether they worked for apany or directly for Dar and, if so, why they all looked so simr. The topic hadn¡¯te up yet, so he pushed the thoughts aside as he stepped across the deck and followed Dar through the giant-sized ss door into one of the home¡¯s parlors.

    ¡°The Fae girl is in one of the bedrooms. My steward restrained her for her safety.¡± He didn¡¯t borate, but Victor could read between the lines. Whatever his alter ego had infected her with might drive her to harm herself. ¡°I¡¯m going to exin what you must do, but then I¡¯ll leave you to it. My presence seemed to rm her.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you checked on her already?¡±

    ¡°Yes, while you were swimming, I took a look.¡± They were standing in a hallway now, and Dar nodded toward one of the closed wooden doors. ¡°Fear not; these doors and rooms are enchanted against prying ears. When I examined her, I could see the infection you caused, and while it would be devastating if left unchecked, it¡¯s nothing a strong Spirit Caster with the proper affinity couldn¡¯t remedy.¡± He inclined his head toward Victor. ¡°It should be trivial for the original caster to rectify.¡±

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say the other guy . . . what was his name? I wanna say Eleanor . . .¡±

    ¡°ndor. Yes, his mentor came to me distraught, but I¡¯ll be surprised if he hasn¡¯t paid someone to fix thed by now. I¡¯ll check on it before I send you there.¡±

    ¡°I thought you were going to give me a choice.¡± Victor¡¯s objection was half-hearted. He and Dar both knew he¡¯d do it.

    As if to illustrate that point, Dar ignored his words. ¡°When you look with your inner eye upon the girl beyond yonder door, you¡¯ll see that your fear-attuned Energy has manifested into a sort of pseudo spirit and is assaulting her on two fronts. It attacks her Core on this ne, and on the Spirit ne, it attacks her very spirit. It¡¯s powered by your will, so it shouldn¡¯t be difficult tomand it to return home. Pull that Energy out of her, and, if you must, Spirit Walk to im any that resists.¡±

    ¡°Seems easy enough.¡± Victor scratched the back of his neck, wondering if he¡¯d missed something.

    Dar was quick to drop the other shoe: ¡°There will be a small challenge involved. Your fear manifestation has been corrupting her Energy, attuning it to fear, making it something you could cultivate if you wanted. You may find it difficult to resist the urge to drain her dry, which would kill her just as surely as if you opened one of her veins.¡±

    ¡°Shit. Is that going to mess up her Core?¡±

    Dar pped him on the shoulder. ¡°Not permanently. Once you remove the influencing corruption, her Core will slowly cleanse itself. You have a powerful will. Use it. Silence your urges andmand your Energy to return. This is an excellent chance for you to practice¡ªa safe exercise; if she dies, none wille looking for her.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck, Dar?¡± Victor looked at his new mentor with sudden anger ring behind his eyes.

    Dar scowled at him and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m simply trying to put your mind at ease. This woman has no family or sponsor in Sojourn. Her homeworld is distant, as are her kin, and none know that I brought her here.¡± His big hand was still on Victor¡¯s shoulder. It was heavy, but none of his aura leaked out, and though his face was scowling, Victor didn¡¯t feel any anger. Was the man testing him? Was he making light of Sora¡¯s life to see how Victor would act?

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill her.¡± Victor turned to the door and took a step, part of him bracing, wondering if Dar would tighten his grip and stop him, but the giant let his hand drop. Victor stopped before the door, concentrated, and cast Alter Self, shrinking himself back to his old human proportions¡ªjust a fit, broad-shouldered man of about six feet. Without looking back, he opened the door and stepped through.

    The first thing he noticed was the stench. It smelled like sweat and piss and fear. Idly, he wondered when he¡¯d begun to be able to smell that scent. Had he always? ¡°No,¡± he whispered as his eyes caught up with his nose, and he took in the scene. The curtains were mostly closed, allowing only a sliver of light into the spacious suite. Closed doors on the left and right led away to other rooms, but there, in the main chamber, the space was dominated by a big, four-poster bed draped with gauzy, pale blue curtains. A table, bookcase, and severalfortable chairs filled the rest of the space.

    Victor stepped onto a plush, dark carpet and moved toward the bed, noting the shadowed, veiled figure writhing there. He could hear ragged breaths, whispered words, and the soft clink of chains. Victor reached up a hand to Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, seeking somefort as his nerves suddenly turned to ice. He¡¯d seen countless horrors, from monsters to evil men to the terrible aftermath on a battlefield, but this was something different. Sora wasn¡¯t a monster. She wasn¡¯t a dead soldier. She was a person twisted by the dark side of Victor¡¯s spirit, made ill and mad by the force of his will.

    Lifedrinker¡¯s haft was warm, and he felt strength radiating from her. Suddenly, he felt ashamed. Who was he to hide from his own handiwork? Did he answer to his fear, or did it answer to him? Growling, Victor summoned a torrent of inspiration-attuned Energy and cast Inspiration of the Quinametzin. As his eyes red with the white-gold Energy, the shadows fell back, driven away by the rity of his mind. He strode forward, and in three long steps, he was at Sora¡¯s bedside, throwing aside the gauzy curtains. Shey there, wrists and ankles bound by padded silver chains to the bed¡¯s posts.

    Sora¡¯s eyes were wild, wide open, and bloodshot. Her gray, nearly white hair was a sweat-matted mess, and he could see the sheets around her were drenched¡ªsweat or urine or both; Victor wasn¡¯t sure. It smelled like both. She wore the same clothes she¡¯d had on in the dungeon, though someone had removed her leather armor, leaving her in a soft, earth-toned, close-fitting vest over stained, tan pants. Her lips were pale and cracked with dehydration, her cheeks devoid of color, and when she briefly focused on him, a whisper croaked in her throat, but Victor couldn¡¯t make out the words.

    ¡°Shit, <em>chica</em>,¡± Victor sighed, reaching down to grasp her wrist. She tried to pull away, but Victor¡¯s fingers were like iron bands, his arm an immovable force. Still, he held her gently and willed his inspiration to extend, to include her. ¡°Come on, focus on me. You¡¯re okay. Whatever you''re seeing or feeling¡ªit¡¯s not real.¡± She continued to writhe, her knees going up and down, her hips shifting left and right, her head flopping about on the pillow. It almost seemed like she was trying to get something off herself. ¡°Goddamn it,¡± he hissed, ¡°If I knew this was so bad, I wouldn¡¯t have been swimming like an asshole while you were suffering. Fucking Dar should have said something.¡±

    Victor¡¯s frown deepened, and he closed his eyes, turning his gaze inward, starting with his Core and pathways as he always did to open his inner eye. He quickly let his gaze travel out of himself, and that¡¯s when he saw and felt the rich, roiling storm of fear-attuned Energy raging at the center of Sora¡¯s being. Despite himself, something in Victor felt excited, like a wolf eyeing a wounded rabbit. It would be so easy to pull that Energy out of her, to add it to his Core, swelling it, pushing it toward another advancement.

    Victor looked at the temptation abstractly, almost like he was outside his body, watching himself figuratively salivate over the feast his corruption had created for him. He squashed that feeling, crushing it into nothing with his will, and then he turned back to Sora and traced the corruption away from her Core into her pathways. He could see his Energy there, and, almost like an echo of one of his spiritpanions, he recognized the shape of his spirit. Dar¡¯s description was apt; his spell had created a pseudo-spirit entity that was carrying out his Aspect of Terror¡¯s will.

    With a surge of focused will, Victor walled off Sora¡¯s Core and pulled the corruption, dragging it through her pathways and into his, through the connection where he held her wrist. It resisted at first, hungry toplete its task, but once it felt his touch and tasted the familiar grounds of his pathways, it practically charged toward his Core. It rejoined the glowering ball of purple-ck Energy from whence it had spawned. When nothing more came out of Sora, Victor stared for a long time at her Core, watching to see if it would begin to recover, to drive away the corrupted, fear-attuned Energy.

    If Dar hadn¡¯t warned him, Victor might have tried to help, to siphon away some of that tainted Energy, but he knew better. Her Core needed time to cleanse itself and generate new, properly attuned Energy. If he pulled all of that tainted Energy out, she would die. ¡°Did I get it all?¡± he asked softly, not expecting an answer. Sora¡¯s writhing had ceased, and shey with closed eyes, still pale and slick with sweat but quiet. Victor kept hold of her wrist, then sat on the side of the bed, shifting her slightly to make more room. He needed to see how things looked on the Spirit ne.

    He wasn¡¯t worried about his body; he was in Dar¡¯s home, and there wasn¡¯t any way anyone would get to him to cause harm without the powerful Spirit Caster knowing. Additionally, if Dar wanted to harm him, he didn¡¯t need Victor to be on the Spirit ne to do so. He closed his eyes, built the pattern for Spirit Walk, and flooded it with Energy. When he looked around, the house was gone, and he was sitting on arge, t stone overlooking the twilightndscape of Sojourn.

    Before he could take in the vista, marveling at the changes between the world¡¯s Spirit ne version and that on the Material ne, he noticed the coiled, ck-feathered serpent on the stone beside him. It was both alien and familiar, and Victor knew it was the manifestation of the pseudo-spirit his Aspect of Terror had created to infect Sora. It watched him through hooded eyes, ck with vertical red pupils. As he regarded it, the serpent¡¯s tongue flicked out and seemed top up some misty white Energy that coalesced in the air before it.

    ¡°Is that Sora¡¯s spirit?¡± he growled. The serpent unwound and slithered toward him, but Victor didn¡¯t flinch. It was probably four feet long with weird, glossy ck feathers adorning its scales that invited his touch as it slithered into hisp, slowly sliding up along his chest, resting against him like it wasing home. Part of Victor wanted to recoil, but part of him recognized the serpent as part of himself. Its weight wasfortable, its chilly aura a perfect echo to the resonance of his fear-attuned Energy. ¡°Okay, <em>hombre</em>. You¡¯re done. Leave her alone now ande home.¡±

    The serpent¡¯s head was on his shoulder, and it lifted further still, bringing its face close to his and looking him in the eyes. Its dark tongue flickered out again, and then it simply burst into a cloud of purple-ck smoke. Unlike natural smoke, though, it didn¡¯t waft away. Rather, it settled on Victor and sank into him, and regardless of his wants or desires, he felt a massive influx of fear-attuned Energy. Victor grunted in surprise as his Core swelled, stretching to bursting and thenpressed with a soul-jarring pulse of Energy.

    <strong>***Congrattions! Your Core has advanced: Advanced 9.***</strong>

    ¡°Shit,¡± Victor muttered, then he cut the Energy feeding his Spirit Walk spell. As the material world mmed into his senses, he jerked his head, looking at Sora, hoping she was all right. To his relief, some color tinted her cheeks, and her eyes were closed as she breathed deep, steady breaths. He reasoned that the serpent had been the spiritual manifestation of his spell and had been slowly feeding on the corrupted Energy from Sora¡¯s Core, siphoning it like a leech.

    Using his inner eye, he looked at her Core again and saw it was still roiling with fear-attuned Energy, but that, at its center, a tiny, pale pearl of pale shimmering Energy slowly grew. Victor was reasonably sure that as her Core recovered, it would slowly push out the corrupted Energy, and she¡¯d be okay. ¡°Are you in there, Sora?¡± He squeezed her wrist, still cool to the touch, but then, everyone¡¯s skin felt cool to Victor¡¯s hot hands.

    Her eyelids fluttered, and she took a slow, wheezy breath. It took a few seconds, but her gray eyes finally focused on him. She licked her cracked lips and croaked, ¡°Victor?¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Victor summoned a copper water bottle from one of his rings and handed it to her. ¡°Drink that.¡±

    ¡°What . . .¡± Her eyes widened, and something flickered behind her irises like a shadow, and she shuddered. She squeezed them shut, took the bottle, gulped several mouthfuls, and then handed it back. ¡°I¡¯m embarrassed to say that I feel terrified right now. My Energy feels wrong, and I keep having shes of . . . nightmares. Has my Core been poisoned?¡±

    ¡°Sort of. I removed the infection; it¡¯ll recover. You¡¯ll probably feel much better if you can sleep until tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°You removed it? Why?¡±

    ¡°I caused it! I guess I tore you with my talons or something; it¡¯s all a blur to me. I mean, whenever I wear that aspect, things are unclear afterward.¡±

    She closed her eyes, and he could tell she relived some painful memories. When they opened again, he could see she had more questions, but she looked around, taking in the gauzy curtains around the bed and the dim room beyond. ¡°Where am I?¡±

    ¡°At my, uh, mentor¡¯s house. He had you picked up when he saw you didn¡¯t have anyone looking after you.¡±

    Sora nced at his hand, where it held her wrist, then up into his eyes. ¡°Weren¡¯t you taller before?¡± Before he could answer, she asked, ¡°You¡¯re not angry?¡± Her eyes pooled with tears.

    ¡°Seriously? I thought you were going to be pissed at me. I mean, you just went through a day of hell.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s . . . I don¡¯t remember it all.¡± Her voice was quiet and soft, and he could see her eyes getting heavy. Whether she remembered it or not, Victor¡¯s nightmare manifestation had done a number on her. He found himself feeling more than a little responsible for her. Learning that she had no mentor or family in the city and that one of Dar¡¯s people had found her alone and taken her without any objection¡ªit all felt a little sad.

    He recognized the feeling as different than guilt; they¡¯d been fighting, and she¡¯d known the risks. He wasn¡¯t guilty. He supposed he just empathized with her. Even he, the only earthling in this part of the universe, had a support group here in Sojourn. How bad would it feel to not only lose but to find yourself alone afterward?

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor shook his head, standing. ¡°Time for you to get some rest. We can talk more tomorrow.¡± His musings loosened his tongue, and he added, ¡°Hey, you know what?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± He couldn¡¯t help noticing how she turned her hand up, her fingers stretching toward his.

    Victor took a step back, but he smiled and said, ¡°I guess we¡¯re more than just dungeon friends.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 2: An Earnest Appeal

    Book 8: Chapter 2: An Earnest Appeal

    Lam sighed and stood, stretching as she took another deep breath of freshke air. She¡¯d been rxing on the little sandy, gravel-strewn beach outside the entrance to the Grotto, reluctant to leave in case Edeya and Darren found something was wrong and came out prematurely. She¡¯d hardly noticed the hours ticking by as shezily soaked in the sun and listened to the waterpping against the stony shore.

    She wasn¡¯t the only one who¡¯d been enjoying the day; ten or so others, even a couple with a child, had been picking on the sand. It was strange to think that children could be ying just a stone¡¯s throw from the entrance to a dungeon. It said a lot about how tame and regted Sojourn was.

    ¡°Guess they¡¯re noting out early,¡± she sighed, brushing the sand off her butt. With just a touch of obsessiveness, she pulled out the Farscribe book she shared with Edeya and flipped to thest page, ensuring she hadn¡¯t missed a message. Thest note was still the same: <em>We¡¯re in. Everything¡¯s fine¡ªwrite to you before we camp for the night.</em> Lam couldn¡¯t argue with that, so she tucked the book away and started following the path out of the narrowkeside gorge. The cave entrance and the beach were at one end, while the ess road and public transportation were at the other.

    Looking up, squinting into the setting sun, Lam was tempted to flutter her wings and fly to the top, but she saw other flight-gifted folks soaring by asionally, and she wasn¡¯t sure of the etiquette of it all. If she were honest, she might admit that she didn¡¯t want to flutter around while people soared past¡ªGhelli flight was best used for flitting between branches, not gliding through canyons. She¡¯d met a few who were fast and could fly great distances, but they had other, more advanced bloodlines. Lam¡¯s race was listed simply as ¡°Ghelli,¡± and when she¡¯d pushed it into advanced, her wings had grown, and she had gotten faster, but nothing like how Va could fly.

    ¡°A strange tangent,¡± she muttered, shaking her head. Was she already talking to herself? ¡°I¡¯m not that lonely!¡± She blushed a little when a pair of youngsters hurried past her, eyeing her strangely as they went. Sighing, she inwardly admitted she was, indeed, lonely and, on top of that, worried. It was quite normal for her to find odd topics to think about to keep from obsessing over Edeya. To her, it seemed mad to send her into a dungeon after all that she¡¯d been through, but everyone disagreed. Victor was the only one who¡¯d been partially on her side, but only because he worried too much. In a way, his agreement had helped Lam to take a second look at herself and realize she was being just as bad.

    Ultimately, it hadn¡¯t been anyone¡¯s decision but Edeya¡¯s. Well, she supposed, Edeya¡¯s and Darren''s. They were both adults, and they both wanted to go in. ¡°That was that,¡± she sighed, rounding, she was reasonably sure, thest bend before she¡¯d climb a slight slope to the cluster of carts and temporary storefronts. Apparently, many trailheads started at the same point, and people came out this way for recreation, nature walks, and ess to not only the Grotto but several other low-level dungeons. The city rented space near the road to merchants¡ªfood vendors, general suppliers, alchemists, and even taxidermists who would buy pelts and monster trophies.

    As she crested the rise and saw more and more people, Lam took in the eager faces and the bouncing steps and felt a little jealous. What would she have given to grow up in a ce like this? What would she have given to have parents who supported her, whom she didn¡¯t have to flee to seek a life of fortune, selling her early years to the Empire and its Legion? The thought brought her round full circle to Darren and Edeya, and she nodded, a little pride swelling her chest. If she couldn¡¯t have it, then they would. She couldn¡¯t have it, could she? A far-fetched idea began to tickle the back of her mind.

    ¡°Excuse me, miss,¡± a tremulous voice called from a nearby open-backed wagon. Lam paused and turned toward it, her hand opening, ready to summon her hammer from her ring. A girl, maybe seven years old, looking very much like a little red-skinned Shadeni with red, almost pink irises, looked back at her. She was sitting at the back of the wagon, her legs dangling, and beside her was a box of polished stones.

    Lam was curious about seeing a Shadeni there, so she stepped toward the wagon, looking for an adult that might belong to the girl. When she didn¡¯t see anyone, she said, ¡°Did you call me?¡±¡°Yes, miss. Are you from Fanwath?¡± She had a sweet, sing-song voice, and Lam smiled at her, nodding.

    ¡°How¡¯d you know?¡±

    ¡°My da has friends who look like you.¡±

    ¡°Your father?¡±

    ¡°Aye, miss. He works in Lord Warin-dak¡¯s household.¡± That statement made everything fall into ce. Of course, the Ridonne would bring servants over with them.

    ¡°And you, sweetling? What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°My da drops me off some mornings so I can sell some little enchantments. Luck stones.¡± She smiled with pride, exposing her pointy canines as she gestured to the case of polished rocks.

    ¡°Luck stones, hmm?¡± Lam looked again at the sun moving toward the western horizon. ¡°And you¡¯ve been here all day? By yourself?¡±

    ¡°Aye, miss. My da will pick me up when he¡¯s done for the day in the lord¡¯s kennels.¡±

    Lam stepped closer, peering at the colorful, smooth stones. ¡°What do they do?¡±

    ¡°Well, miss, I¡¯m a Spirit Caster like my granny, at least that¡¯s what my da told me. I was born here in Sojourn, so I¡¯ve never met her. I have an affinity for luck, and I put a bit of my spirit into these stones while I polish them. If you have one of my stones in your pocket, you''ll find things looking up for you!¡±

    Lam narrowed her eyes and looked more closely at the little girl. She didn¡¯t seem to be lying. She reached for one of the stones, ¡°May I?¡±

    ¡°Please!¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Lam hefted the little, smooth stone. It was striated with shades of orange and gray, but she felt some warmth emanating, just a hint of Energy. ¡°Luck, you say?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, miss.¡±

    Lam idly rubbed the stone with her thumb, enjoying the sensation. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Da, miss.¡± She ducked her head subserviently.

    ¡°Well, Da, I know a very strong Spirit Caster, and he¡¯s going to be thrilled to learn about you. Would you mind if I bought a few of your stones?¡±

    ¡°A few?¡± Her reserved formality faded as her bright eyes widened.

    ¡°Oh, aye. I can¡¯t buy one for just one of my friends. Let¡¯s see. I need . . .¡± Lam counted on her fingers as she silently recited the names of her friends. ¡°Six of them.¡±

    ¡°I sell ¡®em for three beads each, miss. Is that all right?¡±

    ¡°Oh, sure. Pick me out your best six, and I¡¯ll get your payment.¡± While she fished out one of her sacks of Energy beads, Lam couldn¡¯t help thinking of the strange coincidence. She¡¯d run into Warin-dak himself just the other night, and now she¡¯de across one of his servants¡¯ children? Was this an borate ruse? The stones were harmless, and she couldn¡¯t deny the positive nature of the Energy within them. Victor would likely know more¡ª

    This tale has been uwfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    ¡°Ahem, would you be the Lady Lam?¡± a stodgy voice behind her asked. Lam whirled, once again ready to summon her hammer, Victor¡¯s warning fresh in her mind. She rxed immediately when she saw a small, elderly man with wrinkled green skin and bright white hair. He wore a coachman¡¯s livery¡ªa tall ck hat, ck jacket, and a striped gray and blue shirt tucked into ck pants.

    She nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m one of Lord Dar¡¯s coachmen.¡±

    ¡°Dar? Oh! Ranish Dar?¡±

    The man nodded, the folds of skin on his neck piling up into four distinctyers. ¡°Yes, mydy. Yourpanion, Victor, has requested you join him at Lord Dar¡¯ske house.¡±

    ¡°Really? My, how things change! Back home, it was I sending coaches around for Victor.¡± Lam sighed, shaking her head, then turned back to the little girl. She carefully counted out eighteen beads into her cupped hands, then added three more and offered her a wink. ¡°Those are for you, just in case your father¡¯s counting your profits.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much, mi . . .¡± She caught herself, looked at Dar¡¯s driver, and quickly said, ¡°Mydy.¡±

    ¡°Sweet girl, you can call me Lam. I hope we meet again.¡±

    ¡°Me too!¡± Darra said, quickly looking down. Lam knew if her skin weren¡¯t so red, she¡¯d see her cheeks flush with color. Sheughed and reached out to tousle the girl¡¯s thick ck hair.

    ¡°Did you pick me six good ones?¡±

    ¡°Aye! The best!¡± She scooped up a little pile of the stones she¡¯d gathered by her knee. ¡°They¡¯re all good, but this one,¡± she held up a gray, silver-flecked, t stone, about twice the size of Lam¡¯s thumbnail, ¡°is very lucky.¡± She smiled again, her sharp, white teeth shing. Lam nodded and took the stones into her palm.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll keep that one with me.¡±

    ¡°Thank you again, Lady, um, Lam.¡± Again, the little girl ducked her head, and Lam¡¯s heart almost burst. Did she want a child so badly? She sighed, gently tousled her hair again, then turned back to the driver.

    ¡°Well? Shouldn¡¯t you show me Lord Dar¡¯s sigil or something?¡±

    ¡°Of course, mydy.¡± The driver opened his ck jacket, disying aplicated pattern on his vest¡¯s left breast. It meant nothing to Lam, but from what she¡¯d gathered about Dar and the city of Sojourn, it would be suicide for someone to go around pretending to be a member of his household. She nodded and gestured down the row of carts, wagons, and stands.

    ¡°Lead the way.¡±

    He pivoted on his heel and began striding toward a hovering, brass-colored metallic conveyance shaped vaguely like a coach¡ªone with no need for wheels or a tongue to tether animals. The inside was spacious, decorated in plush burgundy velour fabric and buttery smooth leather. Lam was the only upant; the coachman closed her in and entered a differentpartment. She sighed, leaning back in one of the soft couches, and opened the perfectly tooled little cabs, curious about what a man like Ranish Dar stocked in his coach.

    As her stomach flipped, indicating the vehicle had lurched into motion, she found a collection of liquors and crystal tumblers. Lam smiled as her mouth began to salivate at the idea of a strong drink; she¡¯d been too stressedtely. Didn¡¯t she deserve to let go a little? Edeya was ¡°safe¡± in the dungeon; none of Victor¡¯s enemies could reach her there. Lam nodded to herself and poured a quarter ss of a rich, caramel-colored liquor into it. The smell wafting from the ss reminded her of decadent spices and brown sugar. The first sip altered that opinion as she coughed, wondering if her breath had turned to fire.

    The second sip went down easier, and Lam was certain the liquor was her new favorite by the third. She wasn¡¯t sure how long the ride took because, as the tension left her body and the warm buzz of the alcohol brought a silly smile to her face, she began to doze. Of course, her half-waking thoughts were focused on Edeya. She saw her smile and heard herugh. She watched her shouting, her face fiercely determined as she worked to be just as tough as Victor and the other Deep Delvers. The coach vibrated slightly, startling her awake, and Lam chuckled as she tried to snatch at the dream, adding it to her waking memories. When was thest time she¡¯d thought of the mine? What a strange life!

    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived, Lady Lam,¡± the coachman said, standing just outside the open door. Lam yawned and stretched, then, graceful as a cat, slid out of the coach and onto the pink and tan cobbles of a walkway leading to a charming little estate with a tarnished copper roof and white-washed stone walls. In the distance, she could see a long, narrow,ndlockedke, its waters so dark and reflective that they looked like a mirror to the dark, starlit sky.

    ¡°Lovely,¡± she said, smiling.

    ¡°Yes, mydy. Lord Dar is proud of this property. He and your friend await within.¡± He gestured toward the house.

    ¡°Excellent.¡± Lam nodded to him, fished out a handful of Energy beads, and held them out. He epted them with a smile, and Lam winked, breezing past. At least that wasmon ground between Fanwath and Sojourn¡ªthe servant ss was eager for a few extra beads. Or, she supposed, he may have been humoring her. Perhaps she¡¯d just gravely insulted him. The idea made herugh, and she enjoyed her sudden good mood. A green-skinned, bald man with sharply pointed ears stood near the front door and pulled it wide as she approached.

    ¡°Wee, Lady Lam. The Lord and his guest are on the rear deck. Shall I guide you?¡±

    ¡°Just point the way, good man.¡± As he did so, she paused on the threshold and gave him a closer look, peering into his yellow irises. ¡°Tell me, what¡¯s the hour?¡±

    ¡°Just past seven.¡±

    ¡°Ah, not so bad. I had such a restful ride in Dar¡¯s coach.¡± Lam stretched again, then asked, ¡°Does your culture see gratuities favorably?¡±

    ¡°Gratuities are always wee, mydy.¡±

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a relief.¡± She smiled and handed him a few Energy beads. ¡°Thank you for your candor.¡± She followed his directions, walking through the foyer, past a small library, a well-appointed parlor, and then into another living area with great, crystal-clear windows open to a deck and the picturesque starlitke beyond. She saw Dar and Victor right away, standing near the far railing, each holding a ss, talking animatedly. Other green-skinned servants bustled about, nodding deferentially to her as she passed. She stepped onto the smooth, polished decking and said, ¡°Lovely ce you have here, Lord Dar.¡±

    The two men stopped talking, and Victor smiled brightly, his eyes twinkling in the starlight. Dar¡¯s eyes were zing like tiny suns, per usual, but he offered her a smile and gestured for her to approach. They were both gigantic, making her feel small¡ªan absurd notion considering she was a foot taller than an average Ghelli. Still, as she approached, she had to crane her neck to continue looking them in the eye. ¡°Wee to myke house, Lam. Victor¡¯s told me a bit about you today; I understand you¡¯ve a few lovely properties of your own.¡±

    ¡°I have some nice homes and recently have gained some beautiful acreage, but this is something quite different. Standing here, with theke below us and the night sky above, it almost feels like we¡¯re soaring through the stars!¡±

    ¡°Aye! That was my thought when I chose this spot to build. I rather enjoy your description. I may use that to impress the next guest I invite out this way.¡± Dar gestured toward one of the servants and said, ¡°Bring Lady Lam a ss of the forty-year Rovahl.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to like it, Lam,¡± Victor said, grinning, and Lam realized his cheeks were flushed; was the giant idiot drunk? She supposed if anyone had liquor that could get the titan buzzed, it would be Dar.

    ¡°Your young prot¨¦g¨¦s are safely ensconced in their dungeon?¡± Dar asked, leaning on an elbow, likely putting a tremendous strain on the railing, as he tried to lower himself more to Lam¡¯s level.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s the right word.¡± She didn¡¯t know what she¡¯d call Edeya, and to avoid having to think about it too much, she turned the topic to a target closer to hand. ¡°One time, I might have tried to call Victor that, but he quickly outpaced my grasp.¡±

    ¡°I know a very abbreviated version of Victor¡¯s history. He mentioned the mine and your role in his escape. I understand you must have been walking a fine line, trying not to anger the lords anddies you served while attempting to retain some semnce of morality.¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Lam sighed, and it was her turn to feel flushed. How did the topic get around to this? ¡°I¡¯m not really proud of that time, Lord Dar. Things changed when I met Victor and took Edeya under my wing. I used to do anything possible to improve my lot, to gather wealth and power. I sought a ce among the nobility, too blinded by my ambition, my desire to reach a ce of respect among them, to see that there were other ways to surpass them. I¡¯m happy to say that, rather than pay homage to their gatekeepers, I joined with Victor, and we made our own gate.¡±

    ¡°You disagree with the notion of nobility?¡± Dar asked, and Lam wondered if she¡¯d just put her foot in her mouth.

    ¡°The notion of it?¡± She nced at Victor and saw that he wasn¡¯t really drunk by the clever gleam in his eyes. He nodded, and Lam pressed on, ¡°I have a problem with nobility as it pertains to people being born into positions of power. I¡¯m far more impressed by those who earn their power.¡±

    ¡°Hard to argue with that,¡± Dar nodded. He gestured to her right, and Lam turned to see one of his servants holding a tray out to her, a tumbler like Victor¡¯s, but smaller, at its center. She lifted the chilled crystal and smelled the amber liquor within. It reminded her quite a lot of the alcohol she¡¯d helped herself to in Dar¡¯s coach. A sip confirmed it was the same stuff, and her smile widened as her tastebuds woke up.

    ¡°Excellent stuff, Lord Dar.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s one of my favorites. Well, Lam, tell me, what will you do with yourself for the next few days?¡±

    ¡°Honestly? I had an idea, Lord Dar. I know Victor¡¯s going to be learning from you for the next, um, few years.¡± She knew she was making an understatement; Victor had agreed to ten years of servitude, though honestly, it didn¡¯t exactly look like Dar intended to make him work in a quarry.

    Victor shifted, perhaps ufortable with the reminder. Lam smiled and fluttered her wings, sending motes of golden Energy sparkling down behind her. She watched as both men¡¯s eyes followed the motion, distracted as people always were by the disy. She fished her hand into the pocket where she¡¯d stowed Da¡¯s stone and gently rubbed it with her thumb. Grinning, she continued, ¡°Dar, might I bargain for your help?¡± She purposefully left off his honorific.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± He looked into her bright emerald eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this. Should I sober up before I hear your proposal?¡±

    ¡°I would think a great man such as you could match wits with a lowly soldier like me, no matter the drink involved!¡± Again, she fluttered her wings and leaned closer, resting one of her hands on the railing between Dar and Victor.

    ¡°What¡¯s this got to do with me serving Dar, Lam?¡± Victor¡¯s tone proved her right; she was making him nervous.

    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re going to be in Sojourn for years, and Edeya¡¯s going to be here learning and challenging dungeons and . . . other things, I don¡¯t see me running back to Fanwath to live.¡±

    Dar took a big sip from his veryrge tumbler of alcohol. ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°Well, when you saved Edeya, and she lost all those levels, you mentioned something I found very intriguing. You said something to the effect that there were powerful people who paid greatly for opportunities to have a second run at gaining their levels and sses, that they sought out master Spirit Casters to perform something very much like what Edeya went through.¡±

    ¡°This is true,¡± Dar nodded.

    ¡°Lam . . .¡± Victor started to say.

    Lam put her hand on Victor¡¯s wrist, startled by how hot his flesh felt. She licked her lips, swallowed, and, in a rush, asked the question, uttering the idea she¡¯d barely realized she¡¯d formed in the back of her mind, ¡°Well, what would it take for me to get you to do that to me? What favor or price could I pay to get you to wash away my umted Energy and bring me closer to Edeya¡¯s level?

 Book 8: Chapter 3: Dinner Time

    Book 8: Chapter 3: Dinner Time

    As Lam uttered her request, Victor felt his eyebrows shoot up, and even Dar grew quiet, staring with his zing eyes into Lam¡¯s. Was she serious? Victor couldn¡¯t imagine the Lam he knew giving away most of her levels and power. He found his brain scrambling for exnations. Was it all about Edeya? Was she going through some kind of identity crisis? He knew Kethelket had saved her from Catalina; had that near-death experience made her reconsider her strength, seeing weakness where once she¡¯d seen power?

    While his tongue was tied with too many questions to choose from, Dar simply said, ¡°Why?¡±

    Lam smiled, perhaps taking theck of an instant refusal as a good sign. Victor saw her thumb moving, rubbing against her palm or something small she clutched there. She looked up, her eyes filling with moisture as she gathered her thoughts. ¡°Many reasons,¡± she finally said.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to hear them before considering your request.¡± Dar¡¯s voice was softer than Victor had ever heard; there was no grating of boulders for Lam, but rather the soft susurration of gravel washed along stone by a gentle stream.

    ¡°To begin with, there¡¯s the obvious,¡± Lam said, wiping her eyes and smiling. ¡°I love Edeya, and I want to be close to her. It could take years for her to approach my level. Meanwhile, I¡¯ll find it hard to advance, knowing I¡¯d continue to leave her behind. Va and Lesh invited me to their dungeon dive; part of me wanted to go, but another part hated the idea of gaining another level while I¡¯m already nearly forty ahead of Edeya.¡±

    ¡°How do you love her? As a mother? An older sibling? In such a role, being more powerful is natural, it¡¯s . . .¡±

    ¡°Not like that,¡± Lam said, smiling and, to Victor¡¯s horror, blushing. What had be of the stoic champion he¡¯d so idolized? <em>Blushing</em>?

    ¡°Ah,¡± Dar nodded. ¡°What else?¡±

    ¡°I had a base-tier ss until twenty. I¡¯ve only had an advanced ss since. I was preupied with fast levels and gaining wealth; I took sses with those short-sighted goals in mind. I¡¯d like another chance to make those selections, to earn more powerful options.¡±As Dar nodded, she continued, ¡°More than anything, I crave the experience of adventuring with friends and learning for the sake of it. I never had friends orpanions when I was at a low level. I joined the Legion, and everything waspetitive; everyone was scheming. The few friends I made died or moved on, constantly transferred. I didn¡¯t see my first dungeon until I was tier-three, and that wasn¡¯t a fun experience, though I did make a valuable ally.¡± She looked at Victor and smiled, ¡°Polo.¡±

    ¡°Ah,¡± Victor said, nodding as he finally found his voice. ¡°Is this really something people do, Dar?¡±

    Dar leaned back on the railing, causing the wood to creak ominously, though he seemed unbothered by the sound. ¡°Very few, for obvious reasons. First, it takes a great leap of faith to relinquish decades worth of growth for the chance at a second run. Few people consider their lot so bad that it¡¯s worthwhile. I had an heir to an imperial throne from a world called Rikahl as a supplicant because he¡¯d failed to earn the ss all of his forefathers had held. He gave away eighty-nine levels. I wonder how he did on his second attempt . . .¡± Dar rubbed his chin, shrugging. ¡°Well, no matter. The second reason is that only a few Spirit Casters on a handful of worlds know how to perform the ritual. Yes, and I suppose there¡¯s a third factor: cost.¡±

    Victor sighed, knowing Lam had nothing Ranish Dar needed. He could only think of one thing that might pique the Spirit Master¡¯s interest, and there wasn¡¯t any way he was giving that up, not unless it meant saving someone¡¯s life¡ªthe ivid royal jelly. Lam, apparently, didn¡¯t share his pessimism. ¡°I¡¯m not one to be scared away by high costs, Ranish.¡± Victor almost snorted, hearing Lam use Dar¡¯s first name. Had he heard anyone call him Ranish?

    ¡°No. No, Lady Lam, I¡¯d be inclined to believe that statement. You¡¯ve quite a determined look in your eye. In fact, you remind me of my young prot¨¦g¨¦ here. It¡¯s no wonder you took to each other when he was naught but a ve.¡±

    Lam looked at Victor, and when their eyes locked, Victor couldn¡¯t help smiling. He remembered the first time he saw her back in the mines, how he¡¯d been utterly struck dumb by her beauty and power. The memory made him consider what she was asking of Dar in a different light; she was fearless. When she saw something she wanted, she took it. If she couldn¡¯t, she changed her life around that goal until she could. He nodded, deciding to take up her cause. ¡°You should do it, Dar. Earning Lam as an ally is worth it¡ªshe has a spine of solid steel.¡±

    ¡°Is that what you¡¯re offering, Lady? An alliance? A favor owed?¡± Something about Dar¡¯s tone and the way his eyes zed gave the words a lot more weight than their simple nature warranted. Dar was a man who might be thousands of years old; he had the patience to make long, long bargains.

    Lam seemed to understand the weight of his words, too. She locked her emerald eyes on Dar¡¯s zing ones, and her green irises sparkled with the reflected light. They stared at each other for several long seconds, and then she nodded. ¡°If that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking, then that¡¯s what I¡¯ll pay.¡±

    Dar straightened up, and Victor imagined the railing breathed a sigh of relief. Dar gestured for Lam to sit down around a small outdoor firepit one of his servants was stoking. The chairs arranged around it were of various sizes. Some were just right for Victor or Dar, but several were perfect for people of Lam¡¯s stature. Once they¡¯d all taken a seat and werefortably looking at one another over the faintly crackling fire, the Master Spirit Caster said, ¡°I¡¯d like to exin a few things to you before we continue this negotiation.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m all ears, sir,¡± Lam said, suddenly more deferential.

    ¡°Ensure you pay attention, Victor. This may be one of your first lessons.¡± Victor was already quite piqued, but the idea that Dar might teach him how to do the, apparently, secret ritual really got his attention. He nodded and leaned forward as Dar continued speaking, ¡°Lam, you need to know that there¡¯s some risk involved. What you ask for is known as a type of resurrection: we¡¯ll have to take your spirit from your body, leaving behind a tiny shard that I¡¯ll cleave from the whole. Once that¡¯s done, the ritual, which I won¡¯t exin at this time, will require the greater part of your spirit to pass through a crucible, testing it and burning away your Energy to protect it in the process. Your spirit, newly reforged in the process, will be reunited with the tiny shard in your body, bringing you back to life with a stronger spirit and broader karmic ties. You¡¯ll have a new chance at all the things for which you yearn.¡±

    Lam¡¯s eyes were wide, and she leaned forward, hanging on to every word of Dar¡¯s. As he finished, she nodded and fervently whispered, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°However!¡± Dar held up a thick, stony finger, wagging it back and forth. ¡°The crucible must be designed with precision, providing the perfect resistance to your spirit¡¯s passage. If I miscalcte, or your will is too weak, you may not make it. You may fade from this ne of existence, lost to wander the Spirit ne until such a time that you gather the Energy to breach the veil and begin the journey meant for all once-living spirits.¡±

    ¡°Do you think you can do it?¡±

    ¡°Oh, aye, I think so. I¡¯ve been wrong about important things before, however. Bear that in mind.¡± Dar looked at Lam and seemed to like what he saw. He nodded and said, ¡°Dinner then, we¡¯ll toast to our bargain, Lam.¡±

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.

    ¡°Truly? You¡¯ll do it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here in Sojourn to recover and amuse myself between tribtions. Victor has already proven his value in that regard, but I wouldn¡¯t mind seeing what you do with yourself if given a second run. I¡¯ll hold you to your word, however, Lam. There¡¯s no escaping an oath to a master of the spirit.¡±

    Lamunched herself out of her chair, and her wings veritably zed with golden motes, showering the deck in a carpet of bouncing, sparkling Energy as she fell to her knees before Dar, grasping one of his great, stony hands in her slender, tanned, well-scarred fingers. ¡°Thank you, Lord Dar. Thank you!¡±

    He nodded, suddenly sober. ¡°You thank me now, Lady Lam, but someday you may find yourself cursing my name.¡± When Lam¡¯s expression didn¡¯t waver, he nodded and said, ¡°Victor and I can perform the ritual. I have ns for him in two days, but if you¡¯re ready, we will do it tomorrow.¡±

    Victor was almost startled by the use of his name. ¡°You have ns for me . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m ready!¡± Lam said earnestly, cutting him off.

    ¡°Tomorrow, then. Victor, this will be a good lesson for you, and the day after, a good friend of mine, Lo¡¯ro the Grim, will help you start work on a cultivation chamber.¡±

    Victor heard him, and he nodded, but his mind had drifted back to Dar¡¯s words to Lam. Someday, she may curse his name? Was he trying to say that the payment he took, whatever favor he collected, would be unbearable? He didn¡¯t doubt that Dar could collect what he wanted; he¡¯d keep tabs on Lam, and she¡¯d never be able to outstrip his power before he came calling. Half his mind wanted to warn Lam off, to discourage her from bargaining with the man; wasn¡¯t one of them under his yoke enough? The other half thought about how he¡¯d feel. If someone tried to talk him out of doing whatever he could to be closer to Va or acted like he was too weak or stupid to enter into a bargain . . . Victor shook his head at the thought¡ªenough to say he¡¯d be pissed.

    ¡°Why not you?¡± he asked, suddenly snapping back to the current topic.

    ¡°What, boy?¡± Dar¡¯s chuckle sounded dangerously like a growl. ¡°I use up a precious favor to have one of the most powerful men in Sojourn spend his equally precious time helping you earn the heart of your cultivation chamber, and you dare to imply that I . . .¡±

    Victor held up both hands in surrender, ¡°No, no! I didn¡¯t mean it like that. I just meant, is there something your friend can do that¡¯s, I don¡¯t know, like, a specialty?¡±

    ¡°Yes. He can pierce the veil in the Spirit ne and open a gateway for you. With Lo¡¯ro¡¯s aid, you¡¯ll find spirits twisted into manifestations of your affinities. You¡¯ll need to capture and bring them back to add to your chamber.¡±

    Victor¡¯s mind painted wild images for him at those words. He¡¯d seen Belikot trying to pierce the veil, pulling spirits through to inhabit his undead armies. It didn¡¯t surprise him that Dar¡¯s friend could easily do what Belikot had been working for years to aplish, but it also gave him pause. ¡°I¡¯ve seen tormented spirits brought through the veil before. They weren¡¯t happy to be enved . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave the finer exnations to Lo¡¯ro, but you won¡¯t deal with intact, mindful spirits. You¡¯re going to be looking for spirits who have been twisted beyond rationality by their obsession with certain darker emotions. Can you guess which ones I mean?¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t have to think very hard. ¡°Fear and rage.¡±

    ¡°In one try!¡± Dar chuckled, snapping his fingers with a loud <em>crack</em>. He turned back to Lam, still kneeling on the floor before him. Her eyes had gone distant as she either listened to their side conversation or, Victor guessed, thought about what she¡¯d just agreed to. ¡°Dinner?¡± Dar raised one side of his stony brow.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Lam jumped up, her wings fluttering to make the move look magical. Victorughed and also stood. He was hungry and all too willing to push his darker contemtions aside. He¡¯d had a hell of a few months¡ªyears, even¡ªand he was pretty damn sure Dar wasn¡¯t going to be easy on him, so he nned to grab any chance he could to enjoy life. If Lam wanted to be happy right now, if she wanted to celebrate, then Victor wouldn¡¯t throw shadows on the asion.

    ¡°All right,¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯m fuckin¡¯ starved!¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Darren lifted his boot from the cold water onto the stone and smiled, realizing his feet had survived the passage without getting wet. ¡°These are damn good boots,¡± he whispered. Edeya had already scolded him several times for being too loud.

    ¡°Victor appreciates good footwear,¡± sheughed, making herself a hypocrite. She visibly winced as her high-pitched voice echoed down the partially submerged passage. ¡°Sorry,¡± she whispered.

    ¡°Do you think anything¡¯s down there?¡± Darren pointed to the opening they¡¯d spied upon rounding the bend. So far, they hadn¡¯t encountered anything other than cold, damp tunnels, stony caves, and lots and lots of lichen, moss, and, probably, mold. Darren wasn¡¯t great with identifying fungi and the like, but it seemed like all sorts of things were growing in the grotto.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a dungeon without monsters and traps, so, yeah, be ready,¡± Edeya whispered, shifting her grip on her spear. ¡°Make your light a little brighter.¡± Since he had no other abilities to use his Energy on, he was in charge of providing the light. He pushed a little more Energy into the little, faintly buzzing orb of red electricity floating above his head, and the sparks intensified, losing some of their red tint and shedding a lot more light in the dark tunnel. The walls lost some of their gloomy shadows, and the lichen and fungi brightened, disying a remarkable array of colors.

    ¡°Oh, nice,¡± Edeya whispered, ¡°It¡¯s not as red when you brighten it.¡±

    Darren nodded, feeling proud of his light for some stupid reason. He chuckled, gripped his staff, and gestured toward the tunnel opening. ¡°Shall we?¡±

    ¡°We shall!¡± Edeya grinned, and he saw her spear de start to rime over with a thinyer of frost. He''d learned she had a water affinity, which allowed her to deliver extra cold-based damage with each strike. She said she had other, more potent spells but that she¡¯d have to wait to use them until her level increased and she gained more attribute points and, consequently, more Energy. She stalked toward the opening. His light reflected off the Shimmersteel rings on the back of her vest, and Darren pressed his palm to his own chest, reminding himself he had armor on. He didn¡¯t know if he was terrified or excited, but his hands felt shaky, and his breaths were quick and shallow.

    ¡°Okay, Darren,¡± he mouthed, not really vocalizing, ¡°get it together. It¡¯s a newbie dungeon. Edeya¡¯s a good fighter. We got this.¡± Just then, Edeya stepped through the opening and froze. When he caught up to her, she pointed, and Darren followed the gesture, taking in the enormous cavern. It was wide but had a low ceiling, covered with more moss or whatever the green, orange, yellow, and white fuzzy stuff was. Water dripped from a dozen shallow points into pools, and about halfway across the expansive space, Darren saw some honest-to-God frogmenzing about, in and around arge pool of water.

    ¡°Frogmen?¡± he whispered an inch from Edeya¡¯s ear. She flinched and brushed at her ear, and he could see she wanted to scold him, but she regained herposure and nodded.

    ¡°Never seen ¡®em before, but they look amphibian. See the clubs?¡±

    Darren nodded, eyeing the big, polished, yellowed bones some of them clutched. He scanned the cavern, trying to get a count, and came up with five. He whispered as much, ¡°I see five.¡±

    Edeya nodded. ¡°Same.¡±

    ¡°Is there a chance they¡¯re friendly?¡±

    Edeya pped a hand over her mouth, stifling a snort ofughter. ¡°Friendly frog people? In a dungeon?¡±

    ¡°I guess that was dumb,¡± Darren sighed. ¡°What¡¯s the n?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s channel our inner Victor,¡± Edeya said, grinning wickedly.

    ¡°Uh,¡± Darren pictured Victor smashing his tanks, charging headlong into ordnance that would¡¯ve turned an average person to paste. ¡°There are five!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m level seven! C¡¯mon, Dare! Get my back!¡± Before he could object further, she turned and charged, spear gripped tightly in both hands. Darren stood dumbfounded for a moment, watching as she fluttered her blue, dazzling wings like a dragonfly, turning a hop into a twenty-foot leap, clearing one of the pools of water. She came down, stabbing her spear into one of the lounging frogmen.

    Darren¡¯s eyes widened as he saw the freezing Energy stored in her spear rush out into the little humanoid¡¯s flesh, freezing a significant portion of its torso. It croaked and thrashed weakly, and then the other frogmen jumped into action, moring in a cacophony of rm. Their croaks echoed in a dozen different tones throughout the cavern.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Darren said, realizing he was still standing there. He lifted his quarterstaff over his head and charged, skirting the pool of water Edeya had flown over, aiming for her right nk. Meanwhile, she began to dash and fly about, dodging the frogmen¡¯s retaliation and delivering punishing blows with her spear. It was clear to Darren, for the first time, that she really did know a thing or two about fighting. The frogmen might be a mottled green with yellow spots, but their blood sshed bright red as Edeyaid about with her wicked, ivory, enchanted spear.

    Darren arrived in time to crack his staff into a frogman¡¯s skull, shocking himself with the decisive blow. Victor had promised the staff was enchanted to increase its bludgeoning damage, and Darren was inclined to believe him after hearing the crunch of bone. Considering how Edeya was thrashing the frogmen, Darren realized there had to be more than the five they¡¯d counted. It was hectic in the melee, but he swore he counted more than five still up and about, warbling, croaking, and iling about with their primitive weapons. Darren used his quarterstaff¡¯s reach and his superior height to keep them at bay, delivering jabs and overhead chops whenever possible.

    ¡°Good job, Dare! Keep ¡®em busy!¡± Edeya shouted, and a spray of something hot hit him on the back of the neck. He spun to see she¡¯d impaled a frogman holding a sharpened bone that might have managed to stab him in the ass if not for her intervention. ¡°Don¡¯t stare at the dead ones! Look behind you!¡± Darren whirled, swinging his staff in a wide arc out of reflex. The length of heavy, polished wood cracked another frogman in the side of the head and carried through to drive back another two.

    Just as he began to fear they¡¯d be overwhelmed, the handful of frogmen left standing began to try to flee, and Edeya pursued them, stabbing them in their backs. She was relentless and fast, using her wings in bursts, streaking forward on showers of blue Energy motes to drive her spear home over and over. Darren knew he couldn¡¯t keep up, so he watched her flitting around the cavern, finishing them one by one.

    He was leaning on his staff, amused by the show and proud of their victory, when he heard a wet <em>thwap, thwap</em>, and turned to see an enormous toad, probably two hundred pounds of warty green-brown flesh, crawling out of the pool behind him. It opened its wide mouth, bulged out its huge, beady yellow eyes, and croaked a challenge.

    ¡°Ah, shit,¡± Darren said, lifting his staff, holding it sideways before himself as Lesh had told him to do when he needed to defend. ¡°Edeya!¡± he called. Then the frog flicked out its big pink tongue. It was faster than Darren¡¯s eye could follow as it streaked out and pped against his armored chest. ¡°Hah!¡± he chortled when it didn¡¯t even hurt. Then, as it began to tug him forward, he realized it wasn¡¯t trying to hurt him. It was trying to eat him.

 Book 8: Chapter 4: Grotto Talk

    Book 8: Chapter 4: Grotto Talk

    Darren panicked. His first instinct was to pull back, but the damn toad was twice his weight, and its tongue, well, it had to have some sort of magical effect because it wouldn¡¯t loosen its sticky grip. When he found himself losing the tug of war, he mmed his staff into the rubbery pink flesh, hoping to knock it loose, but only managed to get it caught in the sticky slime coating its surface. ¡°Son of a bitch!¡± Darren yelled, a note of hysteria tinging his voice. He bunched his legs and, with everything he could muster, leaped backward. He was awarded for his efforts; the tongue ripped free from his armored vest, but he also lost his grip on the staff.

    Darren scrambled backward, his hands scraping over the damp, stony cavern floor, his feet scrabbling for purchase as the toad struggled with the eight-foot length of hardwood it had inadvertently pulled into its maw. Suddenly, motes of blue Energy showered Darren as Edeya flitted over his head, streaking toward the monstrous amphibian, spear out like ance.

    She drove it straight into the soft, cream-colored flesh under the monster¡¯s mouth, punching the frost-coated, silvery de all the way through until it poked out the back of its neck, up near the base of its skull. Frosty rime spread from the devastating puncture wound, and the toad flopped onto its belly, legs syed, red and yellow fluids gushing from its burbling lips.

    Darren was on his feet in an instant, pumping his fist, ¡°Nice one!¡±

    ¡°Good job keeping it busy, Dare!¡± Edeyaughed, jerking her spear free. She scanned the cavern, ensuring nothing else would jump out at them. Then her eyes lit up, and she said, ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°For?¡± Darren looked around, trying to see what wasing.

    She pointed to the first cluster of frogmen she¡¯d fought, and he saw tiny orbs of golden Energy gathering in the air above them. ¡°Your first Energy infusion!¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Of course, he¡¯d heard tales of the System awarding battle victors some of the Energy from their defeated foes. He looked back to Edeya, and sure enough, there were now a few fat blobs of Energy drifting up from the dead toad. They gathered in two clumps, one a bitrger than the other, and as he watched, they streaked toward them, one directly to Edeya and one to him. The other motes of Energy around the cavern had done something simr, so both adventurers were struck by several thin streams of Energy at once.

    ¡°Holy cow!¡± Darren said, inadvertently using one of his father¡¯s favorite exmations as the Energy poured into him. It wasn¡¯t like anything he¡¯d ever felt¡ªshudders and chills wracked his body as he tried to wrap his mind around the physical euphoria that almost felt orgasmic. He swore he saw stars and shes of rainbow light, and when it ended, there was a message before his eyes¡ªfaintly transparent white letters on an opaque gray background:<strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 2 base human. You have 5 attribute points to allocate.***</strong>

    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± he breathed, finally experiencing what so many of his colleagues back in First Landing had tried to exin to him. He looked at Edeya and saw her smiling at him, her big gold-flecked blue eyes bright in her lean, angr face. She looked vibrant and alive, far more than he¡¯d ever seen her. ¡°Did you level, too?¡±

    ¡°Nope, but I reckon I¡¯m close. You¡¯re two now?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Darren leaned over, bracing his hands on his knees, still feeling woozy from the burst of Energy. A few secondster, he saw the butt of his staff thump into the stone before him and looked up to see Edeya grinning as she offered him his weapon.

    ¡°Gonna allocate your points?¡±

    Darren smiled and took the staff, standing up to lean on it instead of his knees. ¡°I guess I should. Lesh says I should focus on will and vitality.¡±

    Edeya nodded, rubbing her chin. ¡°I agree, especially after knowing Victor. I bet you wouldn¡¯t guess his main attribute.¡±

    ¡°Uh, <em>strength</em>?¡± He said it as though only an idiot would think otherwise.

    ¡°Wrong¡ªwill.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡±

    ¡°Yep. But he cheats; somehow, he can use his spirit magic to add some of his will to his physical attributes. So, in a way, you¡¯re right.¡± She thumped him on the shoulder. ¡°How¡¯d your master tell you to do it?¡±

    Darren sighed and chuckled. ¡°I know you¡¯re trying to get a rise out of me. Lesh isn¡¯t my ¡®master.¡¯ Anyway, he said to put five into vitality at level two, then five into will at level three, and alternate like that until ten. He thinks it will result in me getting some ss options that willplement my affinities at level ten.¡±

    Edeya frowned. ¡°He wants you to try to be some kind of spell flinger? No, no, I suppose not. He¡¯d have you take intelligence and some dexterity, too. Lesh is a strange one, but he knows a lot. I guess do what he says.¡±

    Darren shrugged. ¡°I suppose it¡¯d be foolish not to take advice from someone with so much experience.¡±

    ¡°Still, even if you wanted to be some kind of lightning master, you¡¯re going to need dexterity too¡ªweavingplicated spell patterns isn¡¯t easy. I guess at level ten, depending on what kind of ss you get, you can cross that bridge.¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± Darren had already made up his mind that he¡¯d follow Lesh¡¯s advice. So, as Edeya surveyed the cavern, he opened his status sheet and added all five of his new points into vitality. Back in Sojourn, when he¡¯d imagined this moment, he¡¯d wondered what it would be like to boost his vitality by five full points, nearly doubling his starting amount. He was a little disappointed by the reality. Thanks to the Energy infusion, he already felt fantastic, so he hardly noticed anything more¡ªsome general well-being, maybe, but it was impossible to tell if it was all in his head. Nevertheless, he looked at his status sheet with pride:

    <strong>Status</strong>

    <strong>Name:</strong>

    <strong>Darren Whitehorse</strong>

    <strong>Race:</strong>

    <strong>Human - Base 1</strong>

    <strong>ss:</strong>

    <strong>-</strong>

    <strong>Level:</strong>

    <strong>2</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Wildarc ss - Base 1</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Lightning 8, Chaos 7.4, Unattuned 6.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>97/97</strong>

    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>6</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>12</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>5</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>5</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>9</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>3</strong>

    <strong>Points Avable:</strong>

    <strong>0</strong>

    <strong>Titles & Feats:</strong>

    <strong>-</strong>

    <strong>Skills:</strong>

    <strong>System Language Integration</strong>

    <strong>Not Upgradeable</strong>

    <strong>Wildarc Cultivation Drill</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Spells:</strong>

    <strong>Arclight Wisp</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    ¡°All done?¡± Edeya asked, and Darren realized she was staring at him again.

    ¡°Yep!¡± He looked around, wrinkling his nose at all the bloody, slumped figures of dead frogmen. ¡°No treasure?¡± He¡¯d heard things about dungeons. Shouldn¡¯t there be a chest or something?

    Edeya shrugged. ¡°Not that I could see, but maybe this dungeon doesn¡¯t award special chests, or maybe it does, but only after we find a boss or something.¡±

    ¡°What did your book say?¡±

    ¡°There are definitely reports of special awards and System-generated loot. I just don¡¯t know where exactly. This dungeon changes itsyout and monsters regrly.¡±

    Darren nodded, scanning the periphery of the cavern. ¡°I don¡¯t see an exit . . .¡±

    ¡°Lucky for us, I have a water affinity. I can feel the extent of these little pools with my Core sight. I think that one near the wall over there is a passage.¡±

    ¡°Core sight? Oh, like your inner eye? What you see your Energy with?¡±

    ¡°Yes. C¡¯mon!¡± She fluttered her wings and sort of hop-glided toward the pool she¡¯d mentioned. Darren trudged after her. She was already slipping into the water when he caught up. ¡°Ugh! It¡¯s <em>cold</em>!¡± She visibly shivered.

    ¡°We¡¯re really getting in there? What if more frogs . . .¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a short swim under this cavern wall. I¡¯ll go first and try to spy out any trouble.¡± She must have noticed his perplexed expression because she added, ¡°It¡¯s not deep! You can walk on the bottom and just duck when you slip under here.¡± She sshed the water near the wall, and Darren saw a curtain of mossy growth sway with the current. ¡°Put your staff in your storage pouch.¡±

    Darren nodded and did so, then sat at the edge of the pool, sliding into the water, clothes and all, just as Edeya had done. Meanwhile, with a ripple of the chilly water, she ducked into the passage and disappeared. His light still hovered above, illuminating the scene, but Darren keenly felt her absence. The water wasn¡¯t cold enough to take his breath away, but it wasn¡¯tfortable, so he hurried toward the wall, hoping to follow Edeya and quickly be out of it. He¡¯d just gotten there and was lifting the curtain of slimy growth to peer into the darkness when she came back into view, her nose and eyes barely above the water.

    ¡°It¡¯s clear,e on.¡± She winked, then turned and went back into the darkness. Darren followed, relieved to feel the smooth, unobstructed nature of the stone under his feet. After a few steps into the narrow, watery tunnel, the ceiling dipped, and he had to hold his breath for a few steps, but then his light revealed the waterpping above him, and he poked his head up into another cavern, this one much smaller.

    Edeya sat on the edge, watching him as he approached. ¡°Good job, Dare!¡± Her pleasant enthusiasm brought a smile to his lips, and he nodded, pulling his long, damp hair back from his face and wringing it with his hands as he stood up in the shallower end of the pool.

    ¡°Should we put on dry clothes?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wearing the clothes you bought in Sojourn, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah . . .¡± He, Edeya, and Lam had gone shopping in preparation for the dungeon dive.

    ¡°They¡¯ll dry on their own.

    ¡°Oh! I knew they¡¯d self-repair and clean; I guess it makes sense they¡¯d dry faster.¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± She turned and pointed toward a waterlogged door in the little cavern, revealed by the glow of his floating light. ¡°Look¡ªa door. Want to take a minute for a snack before we continue?¡±

    Darren hopped out of the pool beside her, noted some nice t stones between the pool and the door, and shrugged. ¡°Yeah. This seems a good spot.¡±

    Edeya nodded and picked one of the natural benches to sit on. As Darren sat beside her, he rethought that assessment; the stones were worn smooth in the center like they¡¯d been used for just that purpose many, many times. ¡°You think the frogmen used these as seats?¡±

    ¡°Maybe. It¡¯s a dungeon, so there¡¯s no telling what¡¯s natural and what the System designed. I have no idea how all that works. Does the System take things from the worlds it governs and ce them into its dungeons? Does it just create copies of things it has seen? I wish I knew.¡±

    Darren nodded and fished a sandwich out of his storage pouch. ¡°Yeah. I wish the System would speak to us. I have so many questions.¡± Edeya nodded, chewing on a piece of bright yellow fruit. She looked vibrant and full of eager excitement. Darren couldn¡¯t help blurting, ¡°You look fantastic. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re the same person that we guided to Sojourn . . .¡± He trailed off, realizing he might be treading on a sensitive topic.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Dare. I don¡¯t really remember that whole ordeal. When I first woke up, I could remember little shes of it, almost like how you remember a nightmare. Now, though, it¡¯s like looking into thick fog¡ªI know something¡¯s there, but I can¡¯t remember what it is for the life of me.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t remember what that . . . um, Death Caster, right?¡±

    Edeya nodded and sank her teeth into the fruit with a loud <em>crunch</em>. ¡°Right, Death Caster,¡± she mumbled around herrge bite.

    ¡°You don¡¯t remember what she did?¡±

    She chewed and swallowed and said, ¡°I remember her wrapping me up in her creepy mist, and then . . .¡± Edeya closed her eyes, and her brows furrowed, but she shook her head. ¡°And then it¡¯s all fog.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m d you¡¯re okay. I know I never knew you before, but I heard plenty from Lam.¡±

    Edeya¡¯s eyes twinkled. ¡°She spoke about me?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes! I could tell she was desperate to see you recover. Um, are you two rted?¡±

    ¡°<em>What?</em>¡± Edeya almost choked on her bite.

    ¡°Oh, um, well, you¡¯re both Ghelli, right? And I saw how worried she was; I just sort of assumed she was . . .¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not rted!¡± Edeyaughed. ¡°She loves me, though.¡± As her cheeks flushed, the picture cleared up in Darren¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m an idiot.¡± He chuckled and chewed his food for a moment, then added, ¡°I should have realized.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not, like, sexual or anything. She¡¯s told me how much she loves me, and I definitely love her too, but we¡¯re just . . . close for now. I¡¯m younger than she is, and, yeah, we just want to be close.¡± Edeya shrugged and grinned at him. ¡°Ghelli are different about that sort of thing, Dare. We share spiritual connections a little more tangibly than some other species. Lam was suffering so much when I first met her! She didn¡¯t really know it, but when I got hurt, and Victor left me with her, she started caring for me, and through that, we built a connection.¡± She held her hand over her heart. ¡°In here,¡± she moved her fingers to her forehead, ¡°and here. She realized how empty her life had be¡ªshe¡¯d separated herself from the people she once loved, and, Dare, Ghelli don¡¯t do well alone.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Why was she alone?¡± Darren felt his neck heat up and winced. ¡°Am I overstepping with that?¡±

    Edeyaughed. ¡°The old Lam might have beaten you up for asking, but I think she¡¯d happily share her story with you. It¡¯s her story, but I¡¯ll just tell you the abbreviated version. Anyway, it¡¯s notplicated: She wanted to adventure, and her family didn¡¯t want her to leave home. She ran away, joined the Legion, and then spent her time pursuing wealth and power. When she met me, I was, well, I was sort of a ve, and she was in charge of me.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Darren¡¯s mouth fell open. ¡°She was a ve master?¡±

    ¡°Not . . . exactly. She worked for the mine as a mercenary, leading crews of diggers deeper and deeper, but while the miners worked, she was exploring, looking for artifacts and monsters to kill. So, I guess the diggers, like me and Victor, would have been down there with or without her. Oh,¡± Edeyaughed, shaking her head, ¡°I¡¯m being silly¡ªshe knew working for the mine was wrong. She¡¯s sorry for it now. If it matters to you, she helped Victor and his friend Tha escape, and then she took me under her wing and left the mine¡¯s employ.¡±

    ¡°So, she was out for herself down there? Using the miningpany as a means to explore and gain wealth?¡± Darren shrugged. ¡°Sometimes, we have to work within a corrupt system. I know all too well how onepromise can lead to another and another.¡± He sighed and took thest bite of his sandwich, chewing as he thought. After a while, when Edeya was done eating and sat there sipping from her water sk, he said, ¡°I¡¯m d you both found someone who makes you a better person. I mean, I¡¯m assuming Lam¡¯s good for you in some way, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, Dare!¡± Edeyaughed. ¡°She inspires me! You don¡¯t know what a strong person she is¡ªimpossibly brave, loyal to a fault, and Roots protect the fool who harms someone she loves!¡± Sheughed, clearly savoring a private memory. Darren brushed the crumbs off his surprisingly dry pants, then summoned his water bottle and took a long drink. While he was screwing the cap on, Edeya said, ¡°Ready to find our next encounter?¡±

    Darren stood, summoned his quarterstaff, and said, ¡°Yep. Let¡¯s get another level!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit!¡± Suddenly, Edeya¡¯s spear was in her hands, and she turned to the door.

    When Darren saw her spear start to frost over with ice, he asked, ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll learn any spells before I gain my ss at level ten?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Edeya paused and turned back to him. ¡°Yeah, I bet you will. Honestly, I bet I could teach you the spell that lets me put ice Energy into my spear now that you¡¯re level two with a little more Energy. I bet we could alter it to make it simpler. Part of the pattern turns my water affinity to ice; if we took that out and you used your lightning-attuned Energy instead of water . . .¡± She shrugged. ¡°I bet it could work.¡±

    ¡°Really? I can learn spells from patterns?¡±

    ¡°Yes! When you learned your light spell, we taught you how to channel Energy into the air through your pathways. Once the System saw you do it, you gained the spell, right? Now, you can see the pattern in your pathway when you cast the spell.¡±

    ¡°Right . . .¡± Darren nodded, squinting his eyes, trying to guess where she was going.

    ¡°So, if I drew you the pattern for my Frost Touch spell, you could build it in your pathways with lightning Energy from your Core. That would, in essence, cast the spell. The System would recognize what you did, and you¡¯d gain the spell knowledge. At least, that¡¯s how I¡¯ve learned a couple of spells. Most of the ones I learned came from levels in a particr ss, though.¡±

    ¡°Is it aplicated pattern? Would it be hard?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way I could write out one of my tier-two spells, not until I boost my dexterity and intelligence from some levels, but Frost Touch is pretty darn simple.¡± Edeya frowned and looked at the closed door. ¡°Want to try it? It shouldn¡¯t take too much time.¡±

    ¡°I have some paper!¡± Darren said, mentally digging through his pouch.

    Edeyaughed and proceeded to drag one of the heavier stones in the room in front of the door. ¡°Let¡¯s make sure we¡¯re not interrupted. I think this will be worthwhile; the dungeon will go faster if you¡¯re doing some lightning damage!¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 5: Horseplay

    Book 8: Chapter 5: Horsey

    The following day, Victor rose with the dawn and walked, barefoot and shirtless, out to the deck to greet the warm light of the sun. The house was quiet, and one of the servants looked up from dusting and polishing the furniture and told him that Dar was already gone, seeing to one errand or another, and wouldn¡¯t be back until noon. It wasn¡¯t a surprise, really; Dar had impressed on Victor hisck of a need for sleep. Victor had meant to ask him if it was some quirk of his species or a result of his advanced level, but their conversation had moved quickly away from the topic, and it hadn¡¯te up again.

    ¡°Next time,¡± he sighed, stretching, yawning, and wondering if his idea to take a quick morning swim was still a good one or if he should get some breakfast¡ªsomething smelled delicious.

    A soft, sleepy voice startled him by speaking up from one of the lounge chairs, ¡°Up with the sun, mighty berserker?¡± Victor took a few steps forward to better see the speaker¡¯s face and confirmed what his ears had already told him: Sora was up and about.

    ¡°Feeling better?¡±

    ¡°Much!¡± She yawned and stretched. The nket she¡¯d obviously brought out from her room slipped down over her shoulders, exposing the gossamer thin garment she¡¯d been sleeping in. Victor smiled and looked away; he couldn¡¯t be sure, but he was starting to suspect she wasing on to him. She wouldn¡¯t be the first, not since he¡¯d helped lead an army to victory in the Free Marches and be something of a celebrity back home. Once people learned about and saw Va, though, they tended to back off.

    ¡°Been out here long?¡±

    ¡°I woke in the early hours, and Lord Dar suggested some fresh air. He said the sunrise might help my day start on the right foot.¡±

    ¡°He spoke to you?¡± Victor leaned on the railing, still looking out at the water, watching as its dark, mysterious depths took on the orange glow of the sunrise.

    ¡°Yes, he looked in on me before he left. Quite a nice mentor you have, if frightening.¡±¡°I wouldn¡¯t really know. We only met a few days before the dungeon.¡±

    She didn¡¯t respond for a moment, and when she did, she changed the subject, ¡°Look at the sky¡ªsee how it streaks with color? It¡¯s the only time this world reminds me of home. I¡¯m used to a sky that¡¯s blue as an agate and stars that know they¡¯re only supposed to reveal themselves at night!¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor grunted. ¡°Same.¡±

    ¡°Not much of a talker, are you? Even in the dungeon, you were rather reticent with your words.¡±

    ¡°Eh, sometimes I talk too much. I¡¯m trying to learn to listen and choose my words more carefully.¡± Victor shifted to lean on one elbow so he could look back at her. Her hair looked more silver than gray in the sunlight, and her cheeks were flushed with vibrant color; she looked fully recovered. He said as much, ¡°I¡¯m d what I did to you in the dungeon didn¡¯t cause any permanent harm.¡±

    ¡°No. I¡¯m well, and that ordeal feels like a bad dream. It grows fainter by the minute.¡± She had to squint, looking at him with the sun in the background. ¡°Did you mean what you said yesterday?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°About us being friends?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± Victor smiled. ¡°I¡¯m new in town. It¡¯s good to make friends, right?¡±

    ¡°Even after my betrayal?¡± Something flickered behind her eyes, and she narrowed them, ¡°Can you tell me about the others? Did any of them die or . . .¡±

    ¡°Your friends? The ones you ditched me for?¡± Victor grinned, enjoying watching her expression reflect the emotions ying out: concern, shame, irritation, embarrassment. He didn¡¯t see any fear, though, and that made him happy. ¡°Nah, they¡¯re all ok. Even the nature guy; I guess his people paid someone Dar knew to remove his affliction.¡±

    ¡°Affliction?¡± She looked confused, and Victor realized she probably didn¡¯t have a clue about any of the fights he¡¯d gotten into in that dark cavern.

    ¡°Yeah. He had the same problem as you.¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± She nodded and, once again, pulled her nket up to her chin. He wondered if he saw a shudder run through her or if she¡¯d just felt a bit of a chill on her nearly bare shoulders. ¡°When you say the others are all fine, do you mean you didn¡¯t eliminate them?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I did. All but that Death Caster. What was her name?¡±

    ¡°Arona. She defeated you?¡±

    ¡°No, no.¡± Victor chuckled and moved to sit in the lounge chair next to her. ¡°We got kicked out before she and I fought. There was a . . . problem with the dungeon. Anyway, she¡¯s fine and doesn¡¯t seem to hold a grudge. I can¡¯t say the same about the others ¡®cause I haven¡¯t spoken to any of ¡®em.¡±

    ¡°Well, the only one I know well is Brontes, and he won¡¯t hold a grudge, not after I tell him you helped me recover.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I was going to ask you about that. Dar said you didn¡¯t have any family or sponsor here, but you seemed pretty friendly with Cam and seemed familiar with quite a few of the others. How¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re all of a simr rank, so we run into each other often in the dungeons around the city. There are also plenty of friendlypetitions and social gatherings.¡± She shrugged and smiled. ¡°I¡¯d have to be a real recluse to avoid making a few acquaintances here.¡±

    ¡°Dar thinks some of the people I knocked out will want revenge. He thinks they might go after my friends.¡±

    Sora frowned and turned onto her side, looking more directly at Victor. ¡°You have some friends here? Any family or,¡± she smiled slyly, ¡°anyone important?¡±

    Victor chuckled, nodding. ¡°Someone very important, yeah, but she¡¯s not the one I¡¯m worried about. I have a couple of low-level friends who are much more vulnerable.¡±

    Sora¡¯s frown turned into a wistful smile as she turned onto her back, breaking eye contact. ¡°Well, I hope I get to meet thisdy of yours. I¡¯m sure some of the rich folk around here will be throwing parties to celebrate this or that. I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t been inundated with invitations.¡±

    ¡°Her name¡¯s Va, and I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll enjoy meeting you. Right now, she and another friend are in one of the city dungeons. As for invitations, I mean, it¡¯s been less than a day. Dar will let me know.¡± He sniffed the air, his stomach rumbling at the scent of pork and fresh bread. ¡°Are you hungry?¡±

    ¡°I am, but I should get going.¡± She stood, her nket still clutched tightly around her, suddenly a good deal more demure.

    ¡°Why the rush?¡±

    ¡°My neighbors are probably worried, and I should write to my family. I . . .¡± She shrugged. ¡°I just want to be home and take some time to dpress. I lost five levels in that dungeon, which will have repercussions on my finances.¡±

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Really? Your finances?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I have a fund at Voyage Trust, but my family may cut me off when news of my . . . setback reaches my homeworld.¡±

    Victor blinked, his mind dumbfounded by the idea of inteary banks and trust funds. As everything slowly settled into ce, he nodded. ¡°That¡¯s how you paid for the exception for your dimensional quiver and bought your entry into the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I make a decent living adventuring around the city, but not enough to run with the crowd in the challenge dungeon.¡± She shrugged. ¡°So, I¡¯m off to plead my case with my family and to try to avoid getting called home.¡±

    Victor nodded but then remembered something he¡¯d meant to ask her: ¡°Hey, hold on. Before you go¡ªany chance you might sell that cloak you got in there?¡±

    ¡°The set piece?¡± She wrinkled her brow. ¡°You didn¡¯t seem impressed by it in the dungeon . . .¡± Understanding dawned in her eyes. ¡°You got more pieces?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got four.¡±

    ¡°Well, I could try to take advantage of you, but you¡¯d learn fairly quickly that people sell those nk set pieces at auction fairly often. I bet you could get a cloak like mine for twenty or thirty thousand beads . . .¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you thirty.¡± Victor figured he could shop around for another piece and maybe save some money, but thirty thousand beads wasn¡¯t a lot to him anymore, and he sort of felt sorry for Sora, seeing as she was about to beg her family for money.

    ¡°Sold!¡± Sheughed. ¡°That¡¯ll cover my rent for a few months. Maybe by then, I¡¯ll be back in my family¡¯s good graces.¡± She held out her hand, and the silky, dark gray garment appeared, draped over it. ¡°You know, the set bonuses aren¡¯t cheap, and the best ones require you to provide magical materials.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah? Well, that¡¯s all right; it¡¯ll give me something to work for.¡± Victor fished around in his dwindling Energy bead supply until he found a sack with nearly the right amount in it. He summoned it out of the storage ring and handed it over. ¡°There might be a few hundred more or less in there.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I know we¡¯ll be seeing each other.¡± She grinned mischievously and added, ¡°That cloak smells like my perfume; don¡¯t let yourdy get the wrong idea.¡± Before Victor could think of a witty reply, she shuffled, wrapped in her nket, into the house, and he heard her asking one of the servants about a ride back to the city. Her words got the better of him, and he lifted the cloak to his nose, giving it a good sniff. She hadn¡¯t been lying¡ªa distinct floral scent lingered.

    ¡°No big deal,¡± he muttered, sending the garment into the storage ring with the other set pieces. He was eager to go to the Sojourn City Stone to see what the deal was with the set bonuses, but he wasn¡¯t sure when he¡¯d get the chance. Dar and he were supposed to help Lam with her ritual that afternoon, and the next day, apparently, he was going to be taking a field trip with Dar¡¯s Death Caster buddy. He almost reached up to grab Lifedrinker¡¯s haft forfort, but he''d left her in his bedroom, which reminded him of his original intent foring out to the deck dressed in nothing but hisfortable, loose-fitting linen pants: He¡¯d meant to go for a swim.

    He turned back toward theke and took the steps, two at a time, down to the pier. He dove, sending his pants into his storage ring as he flew through the air and plunged into the water. It was chillier than he remembered it from the previous afternoon, and it instantly invigorated him.

    Victor swam for quite a while,ughing and diving, endlessly entertained by his body¡¯s capabilities. He could hold his breath for minutes and minutes, and his Quinametzin eyes could pick out the flicker of shiny scales on fish and the long, colorful drifts of strange aquatic nt life dozens of yards beneath him.

    After a time, he surfaced to find Lam sitting on the pier, her feet dangling into the water. Sheughed when he burst out of the water in a shower of bubbles and spray, leaning back to avoid the worst of it. ¡°It¡¯s cold, you big thunderak!¡±

    Victor was anything but cold after swimming for a while, and heughed with her, wiping his nose and face. ¡°You should swim and warm yourself up!¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t haveva for blood.¡±

    ¡°Neither do I.¡± Heughed again. ¡°I don¡¯t think!¡± He brought back his hand, acting like he was about to ssh her, and Lam squealed, leaning further onto the pier.

    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± she shrieked.

    ¡°Did I find the great Lam¡¯s weakness? Brought low by a bit of slightly chilly water?¡±

    Still smiling, Lam sat up, kicking one foot out to send a ssh his way. ¡°Stop it now, or I¡¯m going to tell Va.¡± Her mention of Va made Victor wonder how she and Lesh were doing in their dungeon, which made him remember why Lam wasn¡¯t with them. His smile fell away as he regarded the emerald-eyed Ghelli. She looked happier and more youthful than he¡¯d seen her in a long time.

    ¡°You look like a weight¡¯s been lifted,¡± he said, treading a few yards from her, d the water was dark because he was naked as the day he¡¯d been born.

    ¡°I feel so good, Victor. I sleptst night more than I have in months. I just woke!¡± She squinted toward the sun. ¡°It must be mid-morning, and I¡¯m usually up at dawn.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great. Edeya¡¯s gonna freak out when you tell her you can go in the next dungeon with her.¡± He chuckled, adding, ¡°And Darren.¡±

    Lam <em>tsked</em>. ¡°Oh, be a little easier on that poor man. He¡¯s trying very hard to impress you and Lesh, you know.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know. My first impression of him has been hard to shake, but I gotta give him credit. I thought he¡¯d be begging to go home long before now. I¡¯m pretty surprised he agreed to go on a dungeon dive at level one.¡±

    Lam nodded, leaning so her neck and upper chest were exposed to the morning sun. ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt that Edeya basically told him he wasing. She¡¯s been good for him.¡±

    ¡°She can be persuasive,¡± Victor chuckled.

    ¡°Roots! I remember thinking you and she would get in trouble back in the mine, flirting the way you did!¡±

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Victor¡¯s jaw fell open. ¡°We weren¡¯t flirting!¡±

    ¡°Oh, please, Victor. You might have a stoic, brooding face most of the time, but when you¡¯re talking to a pretty girl, you sure light up. Edeya got a lot ofughs out of you.¡±

    ¡°I was mostly trying to cheer <em>her</em> up if I recall correctly . . .¡± Victor tried to shrug in the water, letting his arguments fall away. Why did he care? ¡°Truth is, that time isn¡¯t so clear in my mind. I think I was a little too stressed to build good memories.¡±

    ¡°Understandable. Let¡¯s put it behind us, hmm?¡± She gestured expansively at theke and the horizon beyond. ¡°We¡¯re starting a new chapter.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re starting <em>over</em>!¡± Victor couldn¡¯t resist sending a small ssh her way, darkening the fabric of her rolled-up pants.

    ¡°Brat!¡± Suddenly, her wings began to flutter, throwing off motes of golden Energy, and sheunched off the deck toward him. Victor was too surprised to put up much of a fight as shended on his shoulders, pushing down on his head, trying to dunk him under the water. He took a breath and went down but didn¡¯t stop there. Snatching one of her ankles, he dove further still,pletely submerging her. He was amazed to see her wings continue to function underwater, spreading their golden light in the dark water as they buzzed, exposing his nakedness. In a panic, he dove further down and summoned some underwear to pull on before re-engaging. That began an hour of horsey that left them both starved and ready for a good brunch.

    Dar¡¯s ubiquitous serving folk delivered tters of savory meats, fresh bread, and fruit on the deck while he and Lam let the sun and soft breeze dry them off. They were mid-meal when the Spirit Master returned, arriving on the back of a misty, flying serpent with glowering yellow and green eyes. Victor was sure the serpent was a spiritpanion because as soon as Dar leaped off its back,nding on the decking, wringing forth creaks and groans from the sturdy wood, the creature disbursed like smoke in the breeze.

    ¡°You look well, children,¡± he observed in his booming voice, sitting on the opposite side of the table.

    ¡°Children?¡± Lam asked, arching an eyebrow.

    ¡°Well, to me, surely so. It¡¯s been a very long time since I was your age, dear Lam.¡± He nced over the table and picked up a fat, greasy sausage. He tucked it into his mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed it. ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re eating a hearty breakfast. This ritual will take a lot out of us all. Did you enjoy theke?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor said, spreading jam on a slice of fresh, dark, buttery bread. ¡°I¡¯m damn jealous, to be honest. My little house . . .¡± He thought about the manyints he might utter about his townhome and decided to keep it simple. ¡°Doesn¡¯t have a niceke out the back door.¡±

    Dar snorted and leaned back. ¡°Hah! Someday, Victor.¡±

    ¡°He has millions of acres with beachfront property back home, though,¡± Lam said, nudging Victor¡¯s shin with her toes under the table.

    ¡°Yeah . . .¡± Victor shrugged.

    ¡°Perhaps in a month or two, you can visit and check on things, hmm?¡± Dar said, surprising them both.

    ¡°Really?¡± Victor asked, pausing his food shoveling.

    ¡°Why not? After reading through your journal, I¡¯ve begun to devise some training for you in the near future, which may involve that world.¡± As Victor and Lam both opened their mouths, he held up a hand. ¡°I won¡¯t say more because I¡¯m still thinking about it, and there may be better opportunities I haven¡¯t considered. For now, just know that I¡¯ll certainly allow you to visit and check on your properties sometime rtively soon.¡± As Victor nodded, taking arge bite, Dar continued, ¡°I suppose you may have wondered where I went this morning?¡±

    ¡°I did!¡± Lam nodded, and Victor grunted his agreement.

    ¡°Lam¡¯s ritual required a few ingredients I didn¡¯t have handy here at theke house, so I took a morning flight out to the Arcanum. The weather was beautiful, but then it usually is in Sojourn.¡± He sighed, closing his dark eyelids, instantly extinguishing the fiery orbs of his eyes, and Victor wondered what he was thinking about. After a moment, though, he inhaled deeply, opened his eyes, and said, ¡°Are you ready, Lam? The perfect time is nearly upon us.¡±

    ¡°So soon?¡± Lam gulped herst bite of food and pushed her te away. ¡°Um, yes! Yes, I¡¯m ready, Lord Dar.¡±

    ¡°Very well.¡± He pushed himself up from the table and gestured to the house. ¡°Come, you two. We¡¯ll perform the ritual in the cers.¡±

    For some reason, Victor was nervous, and when he nced at Lam, he knew why. What if Dar made a mistake? What if his mistake was trusting Victor to help with the ritual? What if they did something wrong and Lam didn¡¯t make it through? What if they miscalcted and her Core was destroyed, or she was reduced to a shadow of herself? Could something like that happen?

    Dar must have seen the concern on his face because he pped his shoulder with one of his boulder-like hands and said, ¡°This is going to be an important lesson for you, Victor.¡± He nodded to Lam. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s much at stake, but all the best thingse with risk.¡± He smiled, exposing his glittering, diamond-like teeth. ¡°You know, I really am a great teacher, aren¡¯t I, Lam? Did you hear that drop of wisdom?¡±

    ¡°I did, Lord Dar. Victor is fortunate!¡± She grinned and winked at him, and Victor sighed.

    ¡°Is this what the next few decades will be like? Maybe I should piss off the council some more so I can get thrown in jail or something.¡±

    Dar nodded, squeezing his shoulder. ¡°You jest, but that was certainly on the table at that inquest. Why, it was a much closer thing than I let on! It''s better that you avoid the dungeon beneath the council building,d.¡±

    ¡°Do you mean dungeon as in . . .¡±

    ¡°As in filled with monsters and traps. Many a dangerous Energy user has been banished into that particr pocket dimension, never to return.¡± While Victor stewed on that, Dar led the way into the house and then through the kitchens to a stairwell situated at the rear of the pantry. It was a spiral, metal affair that led straight down into darkness. ¡°Come now, we¡¯ve work to do. There¡¯s a natural cave down here that will be just right; its echo on the Spirit ne has the perfect resonance.¡± With that, he started down, his bulk causing the stairs to creak with each step. Lam looked at Victor, raised her eyebrow, and then shrugged, following. Victor set his face in a determined mask and began his descent.

 Book 8: Chapter 6: Spirit Ritual

    Book 8: Chapter 6: Spirit Ritual

    ¡°You see,¡± Dar said, gesturing around the damp, dome-shaped cave, ¡°the space offers excellent resonance. Not as perfect as something constructed for the purpose, but very good, nheless.¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t know exactly what Dar meant by resonance or even ¡°the purpose,¡± but he tried to fill in the nks and sound like he had a clue: ¡°You mentioned something about the Spirit ne?¡±

    ¡°Correct. Tell me, Victor, when you Spirit Walk from within a city, how many buildings do you see on the Spirit ne?¡±

    ¡°Usually none.¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± Dar gently ushered Lam toward the center of the cave. ¡°Take a seat there on that smooth section of stone. Assume a cultivation pose and try to tune out our conversation; you should be working to still your mind and prepare for a difficult ordeal.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Lam looked around the cave, illuminated by a bright white globe of Energy that Dar had summoned. She suddenly looked less than enthusiastic, and Victor couldn¡¯t me her; this was a massive leap of faith she was taking. Nevertheless, she steeled herself and moved to sit where Dar had indicated.

    ¡°So, Victor, if a building doesn¡¯t exist on the Spirit ne, can we use it to focus Energy, creating our crucible for Lam¡¯s spirit?¡±

    ¡°No, but I¡¯ve seen structures on the Spirit ne. Would it be possible to¡ª¡±

    ¡°Build something more precise than a cave beneath my home? Certainly! Though it would take years to force the essence of such a structure to bleed into that realm. This natural space is perfectly fine, and I think Lam would rather not wait.¡±¡°You¡¯re right, sir,¡± Lam grunted as she sat and assumed a lotus position on the smooth stone.

    ¡°Stand close, Victor, and listen to what I say. I¡¯ll be using some spells you¡¯ve not learned, but this will be a good learning experience, nheless. Your primary role in this ritual will be to supplyrge amounts of Energy as I construct the crucible.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Victor moved closer to therge, stony man. Dar wore one of his signature pajama-like sets of silken clothing. They were the color of haba?ero peppers and looked veryfortable as he gracefully sat before Lam, hisrge frame dwarfing hers.

    ¡°Listen, Lam; part of this ritual involves me separating a part of your spirit to keep safe and secure in your body. It will be the anchor that pulls the rest of your spirit home through the crucible Victor and I will construct around it.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Lam licked her lips and nodded, her eyes darting to Victor and then back to Dar. Victor wanted to sit beside her, to put his arm over her shoulders and protect her. He banished the impulse, knowing there was a lot more to Lam than her current nervousness. She was a walking incarnation of determination; if she wanted to seed, she would.

    ¡°To that end, you¡¯ll need to slip into a cultivation trance, opening yourself to the Energy around us. That will help me ess your spirit from the Spirit ne.¡±

    ¡°Is that all?¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s only the first step. While you¡¯re meditating upon your Energy, I need you to focus your thoughts on the part of yourself that¡¯s most stubborn, most willful, and most defiant. Using your focus, I¡¯ll be able to carve that aspect away, and it will be that shard, with heavy, deep roots, that I¡¯ll leave anchored in your body.¡±

    ¡°How do I focus on that?¡±

    Surprising himself, Victor answered, ¡°Think about all the times you¡¯ve been denied and all the times you¡¯ve risen up to take what people said you couldn¡¯t have. Think about when you fled home. Think about how you rose in the Legion despite captains who tried to keep you down. Think about how you used the Greatbone Mining Consortium to gather wealth and power, taking a noble title when the old nobility tried to keep you under their boots. Think about . . .¡±

    ¡°I think I have it, Victor. Thank you,¡± Lam¡¯s eyes shimmered with unspent tears as she smiled at him. Maybe she didn¡¯t think he¡¯d paid attention to all those things, but he had.

    ¡°Good.¡± Dar nodded and then motioned for Victor to sit beside him. ¡°We¡¯ll Spirit Walk now, Lam. When you¡¯ve done what I instructed, we¡¯ll know it.¡±

    ¡°Should I summon my coyotes to watch us?¡± Victor asked.

    Dar shook his head. ¡°My guardian aspect will watch over us, apprentice. Save your Energy, for I¡¯ll use every drop.¡±

    Victor nodded and sat down, forming a triangle with Dar and Lam. He felt a small surge of Dar¡¯s Energy and knew the master had sent his spirit onto the Spirit ne. Before following him, Victor looked at Lam and said, ¡°I know you can do this.¡±

    ¡°I know, Victor. Thank you for your confidence and for being here with me. If something goes wrong, please tell . . .¡±

    ¡°Nothing¡¯s going to go wrong!¡± Victor growled.

    ¡°Please tell Edeya I loved her, and don¡¯t let her know what I was doing when I died.¡±

    ¡°Dammit, Lam!¡± It was one thing for her to contemte failure, but now, if the worst happened, she wanted him to lie to Edeya.

    ¡°Please?¡±

    Though he didn¡¯t like to admit there was a chance she¡¯d fail, he forced himself to contemte it and be serious. He took her hand, pressing her calloused, narrow palm with his thick, equally calloused thumb. ¡°You don¡¯t want to carry that kind of burden out of this world, Lam. Don¡¯t leave Edeya here with a lie, and don¡¯t make me be the one to deliver it. This isn¡¯t the sort of secret that would make her life easier. You¡¯re not doing this only for her, and she needs to know this side of you, the side that¡¯s willing to risk everything for a better shot.¡±

    Again, her eyes filled with tears, and she pressed her lips together, clearly stifling some emotion as she slowly nodded. ¡°Okay, Victor. You tell her then. Tell her I loved her with everything in me.¡±

    ¡°I will, but stop this line of thought. Focus on what Dar told you. You aren¡¯t going to fail this. Your spirit is fucking strong, <em>hermana</em>.¡±

    She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and nodded, pulling her hand free and resting it atop her knee. ¡°Okay. Go; I¡¯m sure your mentor wonders what you¡¯re doing.¡±

    Victor nodded, closed his eyes, formed the pattern for Spirit Walk, and cast it. When he opened them, he sat in the Spirit ne¡¯s strange echo of the cave. Weird wisps of Energy flitted about in the dark, glowing with faintvender light and turning the cave into a mysterious, magical ce. Dar¡¯s spirit-self paced about, carving runes into the stone floor with a rod of solid, peach-colored Energy. ¡°You had words with her?¡± the man rumbled.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.

    ¡°Yeah. She had some doubts, and I tried to get her focused on sess.¡± Victor stood as Dar grunted his acknowledgment.

    ¡°Last-minute nerves aremon in any high-stakes endeavor.¡± He gestured with his weird, glowing, orange rod. ¡°This is a manifestation of my Energy. I use it to impart my will upon this tiny piece of the Spirit ne. These runes will hold our Energy, funneling it into a pattern that will test Lam¡¯s spirit, forcing it to shed Energy to pass through, stripping it down to her most essential, most vital essence. I could try to exin each rune as I work, but they all will require a lesson, and each lesson could take hours. We don¡¯t want to turn this ritual into a week-long affair.¡±

    ¡°Will I ever learn them?¡± Victor asked, moving to peer down at one of the runes with its swirls and jagged lines. They reminded him of something he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on.

    ¡°Of course. You¡¯ll learn some of them as I teach you rituals, and I¡¯ll also give you a text to study.¡± Dar moved and began carving another of his magical glyphs into the stone, and Victor decided it was a good time to voice a concern he¡¯d only partially acknowledged himself.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll be in my current townhome for long, and it sounds like this cultivation chamber is a big project. Shouldn¡¯t I wait until I have a better, more permanent ce?¡±

    ¡°It can be moved. It¡¯s arge task, but as you gain more power and wealth, you¡¯ll want to do so in any case.¡± He looked up from his task, made eye contact with Victor, and nodded. ¡°You¡¯ll want to create a chamber in a portable room, something you can take with you from world to world on adventures and journeys.¡± He sighed and turned back to the glyph he was carving. ¡°Such a portable space, capable of holding the Energy of strong cultivation treasures, is not something an iron-ranker will likelye across. Not unless he was fabulously rich and could have his family purchase it for him at auction.¡±

    Victor narrowed his eyes and absently reached for his neck, but the vault wasn¡¯t present on the Spirit ne. ¡°I . . .¡±

    Dar snorted. ¡°Have a fabulously wealthy mentor who will absolutely not spoil you to such a degree.¡±

    ¡°I was going to say I might have something like that already.¡±

    ¡°Doubtful. Still, if you think I¡¯m wrong, we can look at what you have to evaluate the possibility.¡±

    Victor nodded, dropping the subject; he didn¡¯t want to show Dar the vault until he¡¯d hidden the ivid royal jelly somewhere else first. He trusted Dar, to a degree, but had no idea how an old monster like him would react to such a treasure. On many levels, Dar and his peers believed that might made right, and he very well may see Victor¡¯s possession of such a treasure as a mere formality.

    He bided his time and watched Dar work and, after a while, began to notice a shimmer of pale, yellow mist at the center of the circle of runes. When he stepped toward it, he had an overwhelming sensation of being close to Lam. He could smell her faintly musky, cloying perfume mixed with her sweat. He could hear herugh, her battle cry, and her desperate pleas for Edeya to wake. He could see her bright emerald eyes, the glitter of her wings, and the shimmer of golden Energy around her warhammer. He could feel her hard, muscr arms squeezing around his ribs. All those thingsbined into ¡°Lam,¡± yet when he took a step back, all he saw was the misty, yellow blur in the air.

    ¡°She¡¯s opening herself well. You¡¯re feeling her spirit, yes?¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Victor nodded, suddenly understanding. ¡°Yeah, I can definitely feel her.¡±

    ¡°Another fifteen or twenty minutes, and I¡¯ll have the circle prepared. Then we¡¯ll begin charging the runes.¡± He gestured with his free hand. ¡°Come. Watch me closely. Even if you don¡¯t understand the runes, you¡¯ll benefit from the experience.¡±

    Victor did as he was told, following Dar as he moved about the circle, seemingly at random, tracing one glowing glyph after another into the stone cavern floor. Meanwhile, Lam¡¯s spirit became more and more palpable as she opened herself to the Spirit ne. While watching, Victor asked, ¡°Is everyone open to the Spirit ne when they cultivate?¡±

    ¡°To some degree, aye, though Lam¡¯s in a ce where the barrier between nes is very thin, partly because of the nature of this cave, but mostly because you and I are currently spirit walking here, our spirits have pierced the veil, and they hold the doorway open for our return.¡±

    ¡°Veil? Like the veil to thend of the dead?¡±

    ¡°No, a more generic sense of the word. There are many veils separating the various nes, universes, and realities. The veil to thend of the dead is far moremonly mentioned, primarily thanks to Death Casters and their fascination with it.¡±

    ¡°But,¡± Victor couldn¡¯t help but fish for answers to questions that had gued him ever since he¡¯d learned about Belikot and his death-attuned magic, ¡°what is that ce? If the Spirit ne is where spirits wander, what¡¯s through the veil? The one the death casters are obsessed with? I mean, I met Old Mother on the Spirit ne, and she had no intention of going¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯splicated, Victor. Our spirits are influenced by our lives and our beliefs. When your Old Mother died, she believed she would wander far as a spirit and start a new life. Her belief strengthened her will, and she made it so. Some people have no such conviction, and they¡¯ll wander the Spirit ne for a while until their inertia fades, their lingering personality disburses, and they sumb to the pull of one of the ces beyond the veil. There, they may wallow and wander for millennia or even eons before something happens to spark their desire to begin anew. Alternatively, some force, some god or equally powerful entity, pulls them out, and they make their way into another material ne to begin a new life.¡±

    ¡°So, what you believe affects what happens to your spirit?¡±

    ¡°Exactly so. For that reason, I¡¯m convinced there are many heavens and many hells created from thebined force of will of millions of spirits believing one thing or another. Not everyone is lucky enough to be a Spirit Caster, walking around without their body long before they die, learning the universe''s secrets before their time. Your Old Mother has likely already wandered far and chosen a wonderous ce to begin anew.¡±

    ¡°So the ce your friend, Master Lo¡¯ro,¡± Victor tried to show the proper respect, ¡°is taking me through that veil, but will he know where we are when we step through?¡±

    ¡°Oh, he¡¯ll have his theories. It could be some version of a hell or limbo, but it won¡¯t be a nice ce; you¡¯re looking for tormented vestiges of intelligence. It may seem cruel, but you¡¯re likely doing those spirits a service, bringing them forth and exposing them to repeated contact with your will. It may shorten their torment by thousands of years.¡± Dar stood, and his glowing wand of Energy disappeared. He brushed his hands off, looked around the circle, and nodded. ¡°Done. We¡¯ll charge these sigils with Energy, strategically intermixing our harsher affinities with our more encouraging ones. We must test Lam¡¯s spirit, but we must be careful to ensure she makes it through.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to split off a shard to keep safe in her body?¡±

    ¡°Only when we¡¯re ready to begin will I pull her spirit through, entrapping it in this circle. Then we¡¯ll return to the Material ne with her shard and coax the rest of her home through this crucible.¡± He sped Victor¡¯s wrist in his massive, surprisingly soft hand and pulled him toward the edge of the circle. ¡°When I tell you to channel a certain Energy, do so; I¡¯ll guide it into the sigil.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Victor nodded, ¡°ready.¡±

    ¡°Fear,¡± Dar said. Victor pulled a ribbon of the dark, purple-ck Energy out of his Core and sent it through his pathways into Dar¡¯s hand, where it gripped his wrist. Dar grunted his approval, knelt, and touched a sigil with his other hand. It red with the dark Energy. ¡°Good!¡± He moved his hand to a nearby sigil and said, ¡°Rage.¡± Victor switched his pull, driving some of his red, angry Energy into Dar¡¯s hand, and a secondter, the sigil red with crimson fire. So it went on for nearly an hour. Dar led him around the circle, lighting most of the runes with fear or rage, but asionally, he¡¯d ask for glory or inspiration.

    When Dar finally released his wrist, he said, ¡°Rest now. I¡¯ll charge the rest.¡± Victor saw that he¡¯d only helped charge about half the runes. He nodded and sat down near the misty essence of Lam¡¯s spirit, watching as the giant, pajama-d man nimbly stepped around the circle, effortlessly charging each rune with taps of his bare toes. Some red with golden, sparkling Energy, others with orange light that reminded Victor of Dar¡¯s rune carving rod, and still others were popted with cold, gray Energy that filled Victor¡¯s heart with dread if he looked too long upon it.

    ¡°Stand,¡± Dar said, startling Victor out of his ruminations. He blinked, wondering where he¡¯d gone; he¡¯d lost himself looking into those cold, gray runes. ¡°Watch now as I reach through this aperture into Lam¡¯s Core and pull forth her spirit.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for Victor to acknowledge his words. He just did exactly what he said he¡¯d do; he pushed his thick, ck hand into the misty golden Energy hanging at the center of the circle. He seemed to concentrate for a couple of seconds, and then he pulled his hand back, gripping the ethereal, translucent shape of Lam¡¯s spirit by the wrist.

    She was naked, with wild hair and zing wings, and she looked furious. Her eyes scanned the cave, but they didn¡¯t seem to see Victor or Dar. Victor averted his gaze, somehow feeling dirty looking at Lam¡¯s nakedness, wishing he could banish that glimpse of her breasts from his mind. ¡°She won¡¯t be aware of us. Her senses on this ne are wanting. This is her defiant aspect, the tough, willful piece of her that you helped her to focus upon. When we return to the Material ne, I¡¯ll bring this part of her with us, but the bulk of her spirit will be left behind.¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I see the rest of her spirit?¡±

    ¡°Well, because this aspect is overbearing¡ªwhen I pull it home, what¡¯s left will look simr, though likely less . . . angry.¡± Dar chuckled, watching Lam¡¯s spirit crouch, hands out, ready to w anything that challenged her. Victor had never seen such a fierce expression on her face, not even when he¡¯d watched her fight.

    ¡°Are you sure she doesn¡¯t need that part of her to fight through the crucible?¡±

    ¡°She may, but it¡¯s better to have her strongest aspect in her body, clinging tightly to her flesh, forcing the rest of her toe home.¡± Dar pped Victor on the shoulder. ¡°I know you¡¯re worried, but trust me, boy. I know what I¡¯m doing. Let¡¯s return now.¡± This time, rather than lead the way, Dar watched Victor until he nodded and severed his connection to the Spirit Walk.

    When he returned to the dim, natural cave, he found Lam slumped over, staring at the stone floor, drool running down her chin. As he reached out to wipe the saliva from her face and gently push her mouth closed, Dar moved, grunting. He was back in his body, and he reached out to touch Lam¡¯s forehead. A sh of golden Energy told Victor the Spirit Master had put the defiant fragment of Lam¡¯s spirit back inside. Her eyes sparkled momentarily, but then she slipped back into catatonia.

    ¡°Now, Victor, you will take her left hand, and I¡¯ll take her right. Together, we¡¯ll urge her spirit fragment to call the rest of her spirit home. We¡¯ll lend her Energy for the fight, and her spirit will push its way through the crucible we constructed. When it breaks free andes home, Lam will be whole but greatly reduced in Energy potential.¡±

    Victor nodded, almost feeling like he¡¯d done something wrong, like he was guilty of something, as he took Lam¡¯s hand. Was this a mistake? Should he have talked Lam out of this? Between himself and Dar, they¡¯d put a hell of a lot of Energy into that ¡°crucible.¡± What if Lam couldn¡¯t make it? What if they took away too much of her defiance in the spirit shard they¡¯d left in her body? ¡°C¡¯mon, <em>hermana</em>,¡± he growled, gripping her thin, limp hand. ¡°I¡¯m not letting you get lost. Come on! Time toe home.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 7: Lam

    Book 8: Chapter 7: Lam

    Lam sat in her tent, just a small canvas thing with a woolen nket on the floor and her pack for a pillow. She could hear the others outside, talking,ughing, and carrying on about the women from Ardvale Falls, a small hamlet the cohort had marched through earlier that day. She frowned, pulled her polishing kit from her storage ring, and got to work on her boots. Lieutenant Vas had given her two demerits earlier for the scuffs on the leather.

    She grimaced in anger and embarrassment at the memory. Of course, she knew the boots needed polish, but they¡¯d been marching for days, and there were plenty of soldiers with boots in far worse condition. ¡°Why do we even have to do this? How much would it cost for a few enchantments to keep this leather looking nice?¡± She angrily smeared the red-brown polish into the leather. She knew the answer all too well; the same reason they had to carry packs when most everyone had dimensional containers¡ªcharacter.

    Hadn¡¯t Captain Trov-dak gone on and on about it when she¡¯d addressed the recruit cohort? A soldier who cares for their gear appreciates their gear. A soldier who carries their equipment on their back knows the worth of that equipment. She¡¯d heard simr things from her father when she was young. He wouldn¡¯t buy her a book about Evi ap¡¯Sheni, the Blue Deep assassin, but he let her work for a week in the family store to earn the money herself. What had his lesson been? If she earned it, she¡¯d appreciate it. Her father would have fit right in with the Legion.

    ¡°Ah, father, I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d miss you so soon,¡± she sighed, setting the boot down to dry before buffing. Had she really run away? The thought came to her out of nowhere. Had she really broken her father¡¯s heart and abandoned the family business? For what? To y at swords and spears with a bunch of crude, loud, sex-starved adolescents?

    As if to punctuate the thought, she heard Fol guffaw and shout, ¡°Ancestors be true! She was asking for it!¡±

    Lam bit her lip, wanting to shout something equally rude in defense of the unnamed woman, but knew better than to stir that ho¡¯s nest. She picked up her tin of polish, spitting a little too vehemently into it. She worked the saliva around with her rag until she had a good amount of dark, oily stain to smear on the second boot. She was just setting the finished product beside the other to dry when she heard footsteps outside her tent. ¡°Recruit Lam!¡± It was Sergeant Gonda. Lam felt her stomach start to churn with butterflies at the sound of his voice. The huge Vodkin never had a pleasant word on his tongue.

    She quickly leaned forward and threw the tent p wide. ¡°Yes, sir?¡±

    ¡°Get your boots on and walk with me.¡± He didn¡¯t wait; he just turned and started lumbering away. Lam jerked her boots onto her feet, wishing she¡¯d had time to buff the polish. The damp leather would attract dust and dirt, and she¡¯d have to start over. She scrambled after Gonda, and the men sitting around the cookpot¡ªmembers of her own squadughed as she almost tripped over her long, gangly legs; she¡¯d grown a lot in thest few years and was still awkward with her body. She caught up to the sergeant and walked a pace behind and to his left as he trudged down the central row of the cohort¡¯s encampment.

    ¡°Recruit Lam, I¡¯m going to have a talk with you that I reserve for a few individuals from every enlistment cohort.¡±¡°Yes, sir.¡± Lam had a feeling this was a bad thing, and she didn¡¯t know what a proper response was, so she went with the old standby.

    ¡°I can see you¡¯re struggling to fit in. I reviewed your enlistment interview, and I think it might be wise to reconsider your decision. The Legion isn¡¯t the ce for a runaway Ghelli. It¡¯s something of a miracle you¡¯ve been here for more than a month and haven¡¯t gotten seriously injured, killed, or worse, ravaged by one of the men.¡±

    Lam¡¯s mouth fell open at the sergeant¡¯s words. She wasn¡¯t sure if she should be thankful that he was concerned or angry that he expected so little from her. ¡°Thank you for your concern, Sergeant¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not concerned about you, recruit!¡± he barked, cutting her off. ¡°I don¡¯t want to lose good men dealing with a tribunal when you bring forth usations!¡± He stopped, turned, and regarded her, frowning through the yellowed tusks that hung over his furry chin. ¡°I¡¯m giving you a choice: discharge with no dishonor or transfer to the Beneset Steppes Garrison. You¡¯ve got until first duty to make a decision.¡±

    ¡°B-Beneset Steppes, sir?¡± She¡¯d heard of the ce, the great ins north of the Empire, where raiders and roving bands of primitive monster tribes were a constant threat.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Do the smart thing, youngdy. Go home.¡± His dark, ck eyes narrowed, and he shook his head slightly. ¡°I hope you can see I¡¯m trying to help you.¡± With that, he turned and stomped away, his heavy, enormous boots thudding on the freshly raked dirt. He called over his shoulder, ¡°Dismissed.¡±

    As despair gripped her heart, Lam listlessly walked back to her tent. She barely lifted her feet, no longer able to muster any concern for the dirt caking the damp leather of her boots. When she reached her squad¡¯s cookfire, most of them were sitting around eating. No one offered her anything from the pot. No one called out, asking if things were all right. She was sure she heard whispers and snickers, though. They were always teasing her¡ªshe was too light. Her bones were hollow. Why would a pretty girl with fragile wings want to wear the Legion uniform? It didn¡¯t help that she was the only female on the squad. It didn¡¯t help that she¡¯d never seen another Ghelli in the cohort.

    She slumped down onto her woolen nket and closed the p of her tent. What had she been thinking? She dug through her thin, tarnished storage ring and pulled out the Farscribe book she shared with her parents. She¡¯d written one note in it, the night she ran away, trying to exin herself, trying to convey her need for adventure and aplishment. They¡¯d never responded, and a nce confirmed it was still true. Lam knew her mother would have, but there was no way her father would allow it. His pride was too wounded, and, in their family, his word wasw. Lam was quite sure, as far as he was concerned, she was dead.

    If she went home at that moment, if she returned, wings tucked low in shame, begging for forgiveness, he¡¯d let her stay. He¡¯d punish her for years, though, and her miserable, simple existence from before would be twice as bad. Still, wasn¡¯t Sergeant Gonda right? She <em>wasn¡¯t</em> fitting in. She¡¯d never felt so alone as she did in that moment.

    When she¡¯d fled home, at least she¡¯d had her dreams and hopes to sustain her. At least she¡¯d carried some pride in her chest, thinking of the famous Ghelli heroes she¡¯d read so many tales about. But the Legion hadn¡¯t been what she¡¯d expected. They had more than enough conscripts and volunteers; a tall, scrawny Ghelli wasn¡¯t of much value. Gonda had proven that by offering her a discharge, a release from her oath.

    Shey in bed, listening to the murmured conversations andughter around her, wallowing in her despair. It was palpable, that hopelessness. She could feel it settling over her like a nket, and her mind listlessly cast about for some way out. If the Legion didn¡¯t want her, why would she stay? At least her mother would be happy to see her. At least she had some friends back in Twilight Home. What would they say? She hadn¡¯t said goodbye to a single person. They¡¯d resent her for that. They¡¯d mock her when she wasn¡¯t listening.

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Pools of tears overflowed from her eyes, soaking into her hair as they ran from the corners. Shey still, shivering, almost physically ill from the sadness overwhelming her, and the only thought that seemed to give her anyfort was a whisper of cold air tickling her ears and threatening to constrict her throat with its icy promise, ¡°Just give up.¡± She was lying still, contemting those three words, wondering the best course of action to make them a reality, when they came for her.

    A shadow fell over the tan material of her tent, and Lam wondered what it was; had someone moved one of the watchmps? But then her tent rustled and copsed on her, and a heavy hand pressed the material against her face, gagging her as other strong hands grabbed her ankles and wrists. She thrashed, but it was like they said; she was skinny and weakpared to the Shadeni and Ardeni recruits, and there had to be at least three of them holding her down, pinned under her copsed tent. She tried to scream, tried to think of a spell she could employ, but panic washed over her as the first heavy blow crunched into her unprotected stomach.

    She jerked and pulled but couldn¡¯t move, and the punch knocked the wind from her lungs. Lam tried to scream, but the heavy hand pressing her head into the ground just jammed more of the tent¡¯s fabric between her teeth as she opened her jaws. More blows rained down. Whoever was behind them, whoever was delivering the beating, knew better than to break any bones. They knew better than to use any weapons that might leave a distinctive mark. Big, heavy impacts rocked her, smashing into her stomach, her chest, her thighs, even her groin, and Lam couldn¡¯t manage to pull in a breath, let alone formte any sort of defense.

    As a different sort of ckness closed in on her vision, as her panicked mind began to shut down, the pain of the impacts seemed to fade, and she felt herself pulling inward, away from the torment of her body, hiding in the depths of her mind with a memory that seemed strange and out of ce. She saw a man, big and brooding, with short dark hair and golden, honey-brown eyes. He had a strong, sharp nose, and somehow, he looked at her and nodded, his eyes full of fiery anger. ¡°What are you doing, sister<em>?</em> You¡¯re not someone who gives up. Eat the pain. Eat the despair. Chew it up and turn it into rage. This won¡¯t kill you. You¡¯re tougher than that!¡±

    Lam¡¯s mouth, pressed so hard that her lips split and she could taste the blood seeping through the tent¡¯s fabric, tried to form a single word, and she didn¡¯t know where it came from. ¡°Victor,¡± she mumbled, but only she could have understood the sound as distinct from the grunts and whimpers she¡¯d been making. She didn¡¯t know who he was but wondered if the Roots were talking to her. Had they sent her an ancestor to stir her spirit? Chew up the pain? Chew up the despair? Turn it into rage? Suddenly, something snapped in her mind, and she saw her plight from a new perspective.

    Why <em>shouldn¡¯t</em> she be angry? Why <em>wasn¡¯t</em> she? Her parents shouldn¡¯t have disowned her. That wasn¡¯t <em>her</em> fault. She¡¯d written them a letter. She¡¯d promised to remember her kin when she found fame and fortune! Why hadn¡¯t they believed in her? Why had her father disowned her rather than honoring her desire and boasting about his daughter¡¯s bravery? Were his own ends so crucial that he¡¯d treat his only child as a means of achieving them?

    Why were none of her squadmates looking out for her? Why were they picking on her for being weaker? Shouldn¡¯t they protect and nurture her strength? Wouldn¡¯t she be stronger with them by her side and at her back? Why was the dirty, rot-infestedmand structure condoning her release, threatening her with a dangerous post on the edge of nowhere to get her to leave? Wouldn¡¯t the Legion do better if they found her strengths and brought those forth? Was any of that her fault? Was it her fault she had big dreams but no training? Was it her fault she¡¯d grown tall and thin but hadn¡¯t had the chance to build muscle to fill out her frame?

    As she endured the beating and ran through the litany of wrongs done to her, Lam noticed something strange; the blows, though just as heavy, just as measured, weren¡¯t bothering her anymore. She was breathing through her nose as she tensed her abdomen, absorbing the hits. A fierce, bloody smile spread beneath the crushing grip of her assant, and she felt something else¡ªan angry, smoldering heat at the center of her chest. They wanted to beat her into submission, but she wouldn¡¯t submit. She¡¯d take the beating. She¡¯d take the pain, the despair, the loneliness, and she¡¯d chew it up.

    When the punches and kicks or whatever they were raining down on her finally stopped, and the hand pulled away from her face, Lamy still. As several booted feet walked away into the night, she breathed deeply through her nose and cataloged the pain, letting her mind mentally take stock of the aches. They hadn¡¯t broken any ribs. They hadn¡¯t even hit her in the face. Her stomach ached. Her thighs and groin were swollen with contusions, and she knew she¡¯d struggle to stand, let alone march, in the morning, but, again, nothing was broken.

    Her wrists were sore from where they¡¯d been squeezed through the tent''s fabric, but she slowly lifted her arms, wincing at the sharp pains in her elbows and shoulders. She brought her hands to her chest, tenderly pressing on her breasts and sternum, wincing with the agony of bruised, aching flesh and bone. She had a minor healing potion in her storage ring, and she was tempted to drink it down, but another part of her, the angry part, sitting in the warm glow of the fiery rage deep in her core, wanted them to see the evidence of their crime in the morning. She wanted them to see what they¡¯d done, and she wanted them to realize it hadn¡¯t worked.

    She closed her eyes and, still lying under the fabric of her copsed tent, she tried to make herself sleep. She pictured the Beneset Steppes, and suddenly, the idea of being sent there didn¡¯t seem so bad. Maybe the men and women garrisoned near the frontier would be different. Maybe they¡¯d recognize her potential and treat her as a fellow soldier despite her inexperience. Something about the idea felt right. She wasn¡¯t sure if it was the anger destroying her sadness and despair, but she suddenly felt like she <em>wanted</em> to go there. Like the next step in her journeyy in that direction. It almost felt like the person she was supposed to be would be waiting for her if she just started down that path.

    When the horns blew the morning wake-up call, announcing the first duty, Lam opened her eyes to see that the fabric of her tent was no longer ck with night. She could make out faint, gray light through its coarse material. With winces and shuddering gasps of pain, she wormed her way out of it. When she emerged on hands and knees, she could hear others moving around the circle of her squad¡¯s tents. She could hear whispers and curses, but none came over. No one asked what was wrong. It wasn¡¯t a surprise, but it still stung knowing they¡¯d either been aware or active participants in the beating. Lam bit down on that sadness. She chewed it up and found that warm glow of anger.

    When she struggled to her feet, barefoot in the dirt, her boots tangled in the tent behind her, she leaned over and coughed until a long string of bloody drool hung from her lips. She wiped the bloody saliva with the back of her hand, smearing it across her chin, and looked around the camp with bloodshot, furious eyes. Not one of her squadmates would meet her gaze. ¡°Cowards,¡± she grunted, then leaned forward and spat another wad of bloody phlegm.

    She¡¯d just turned to try to dig her boots, nket, and pack out of her tent when heavy footsteps crunched on the gravel-strewn dirt behind her. She heard her squadmates mber to their feet and get quiet, so she knew it was the sergeant. He stopped behind her and cleared his throat, so Lam turned and offered him a salute, slower than was appropriate but faster than she could move without pain.

    ¡°Recruit,¡± he grunted. He eyed her up and down but didn¡¯t ask about her bruised and bloodied condition. Lam wasn¡¯t surprised. ¡°Have you made your decision? We have a supply wagon leaving for Gelica in a few hours.¡±

    Lam narrowed her white-blonde eyebrows and trained her bloodshot, bright green eyes on his, staring at him for several long seconds. When he blinked, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll go to the Beneset Steppes, sir. Thank you for the opportunity.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    ¡°I believe she¡¯s doing well,¡± Dar grunted, distracting Victor from his worry.

    ¡°What¡¯s it like for her?¡± he asked, ncing away from Lam¡¯s still, pale face to his mentor.

    ¡°The crucible will use memories from her mind to test her. It may change some minor details, but the overall goal of the ritual is to create an intelligent enchantment that will attempt to break her spirit in various ways. It¡¯s up to her to retain her focus and find her way back to herself. If she sumbs, well, she won¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Dammit,¡± Victor groaned, hating the idea that he couldn¡¯t help her more than just holding her hand and urging her ¡°be strong¡± and ¡°keep fighting.¡± He¡¯d been doing so for what felt like an hour already. ¡°If it seems like she isn¡¯t going to make it, can we stop this? Yeah, I know I should¡¯ve asked that before we started.¡±

    ¡°If she fails, we may be able to rescue a vestige of her spirit, but it might be less cruel to simply free the shard in her body, allowing her to pass on.¡± Dar¡¯s tone was final, and Victor stewed on that for a minute. He was distracted from his concern again when Dar chuckled and said, ¡°She surprises me!¡±

    ¡°How?¡± Not for the first time, Victor was annoyed by Dar¡¯s ability to see so much more than he could.

    ¡°I wove your rage into many of the crucible¡¯s trials, thinking it would be another barrier, but she seems to be using it more often as a lever to break out of my other traps¡ªdespair and fear, mostly. Take heart in that, boy. With glory, inspiration, and hope mixed in, I believe she¡¯ll find the breadcrumbs she needs to return to herself.¡±

    ¡°Fuck yeah, <em>hermana</em>,¡± Victor said, squeezing Lam¡¯s slender hand again, willing his words to reach her. ¡°You got this. Show them what you¡¯re made of! Show them all!¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 8: Fighting Spirit

    Book 8: Chapter 8: Fighting Spirit

    Darren grinned with glee as his quarterstaff impacted the mudman¡¯s stiff, y-like flesh. It wasn¡¯t the impact of hardwood against y¡ªthat was nothing special. It was the discharge of crackling red electricity that coursed through the little creature, sparking out of its eyeholes and sending steam into the air, that did the real damage. The mudman copsed, utterly devoid of the animating force that had driven it up to that point. Edeya¡¯s frosty spear was equally effective, and though they both had to reapply the damage-boosting effects to their weapons every few hits, they were making short work of the swarm of little creatures as they emerged from the brackish, muddy water.

    He''d learned the spell, just as Edeya had predicted, using her spell pattern. When he¡¯dpleted it in his pathways, the System had awarded him a boost of Energy and a congrattory message, informing him that he¡¯d unlocked a spell called Shocking Arms at the ¡°basic¡± level. At first, Darren had thought he¡¯d created a spell that would only affect his ¡°arms,¡± but Edeya had quickly corrected his interpretation¡ªby arms, the System meant weapons.

    With his far more effective staff, they¡¯d cleared another two chambers of frogmen, and now they were exploring a new area and battling their second wave of ¡°mudmen,¡± as Darren had creatively named the four-foot-tall, bipedal people who seemed to be entirely constructed of animated mud and y. He whipped his staff around, pounding another mudman on top of the head, allowing the vtile lightning housed in the weapon to do its work.

    He¡¯d already gained two more levels, and though he hadn¡¯t allocated any stat points in strength or agility, he felt he was far morepetent already, probably because the System had awarded him with ¡°basic¡± staff mastery. That had been an experience that he¡¯d never forget¡ªit felt like warm liquid coursing over the contours of his brain as sudden understanding and weird, phantom memories filled his consciousness.

    Out of nowhere, he realized he understood how to hold the staff properly, how to position his feet, and what muscles to tense when he blocked or swung the weapon. He knew about different guard positions, different attacks, how to follow through, and how to recover from overextension. He could, quite literally, fill a book with all the things he suddenly knew.

    Heughed as he zapped another mudman and then recast Shocking Arms, recharging the staff as he whirled to check on Edeya. She was standing over a mound of mud and y, grinning back at him. ¡°Nice one, Edeya!¡±

    ¡°Dare! I think you killed more than me that time!¡± she crowed, scanning the wide, low-ceilinged cave for further threats. The only thing of note that Darren could see was a low, muddy passage on the far side leading into darkness. ¡°I think we¡¯re done with that fight; herees the Energy.¡± He followed her gaze, saw the golden motes forming around the piles of mud, and braced himself. A few minutester, as they both shook off their euphoria, he read the System messages:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 5 base human. You have 5 attribute points to allocate.***</strong>

    ¡°Level!¡± he said, grinning at his partner. She nodded, smiling, her face flushed with the rush of Energy.¡°Me too, Dare,¡± she said with a happy trill in her voice. ¡°One more level, and I''ll get my ss back.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re nine?¡±

    ¡°Yep!¡± She nced at the dark tunnel and then back at him. ¡°Take a break? Or keep going? Maybe there¡¯s a boss nearby.¡±

    ¡°Let me spend my attribute points, then I¡¯m ready.¡± Darren quickly pulled up his status page and put all five of his points into will¡ªthe second time he¡¯d done so. He looked at his page with pride:

    <strong>Status</strong>

    <strong>Name:</strong>

    <strong>Darren Whitehorse</strong>

    <strong>Race:</strong>

    <strong>Human - Base 1</strong>

    <strong>ss:</strong>

    <strong>-</strong>

    <strong>Level:</strong>

    <strong>5</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Wildarc ss - Base 1</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Lightning 8, Chaos 7.4, Unattuned 6.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>113/113</strong>

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>6</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>17</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>5</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>5</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>9</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>13</strong>

    <strong>Points Avable:</strong>

    <strong>0</strong>

    <strong>Titles & Feats:</strong>

    <strong>-</strong>

    <strong>Skills:</strong>

    <strong>System Language Integration</strong>

    <strong>Not Upgradeable</strong>

    <strong>Wildarc Cultivation Drill</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Staff Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Spells:</strong>

    <strong>Arclight Wisp</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Shocking Arms</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    ¡°My Energy went up a little, just likest time I put my points into will.¡±

    Edeya nodded. ¡°Yep, intelligence will make it go up even more. Will gives you some, but it mostly effects how fast you regenerate your Energy.¡±

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the vition.

    ¡°How are you allocating your points? If you don¡¯t mind me asking.¡±

    ¡°I want to try for a more magic-focused ss. Unlike you, I was already level seven after, well, after that rotten witch took my spirit. When I leveled back in the day, I was trying to survive, so I put most of my points into vitality and agility. This time around, I¡¯m going to put more points into will and intelligence. At eight, I put my points into intelligence, and this time, I¡¯m putting all five into will. I hope it changes things for me at level ten.¡±

    ¡°Um,¡± Darren leaned on his staff, looking at the tall, slender young woman. ¡°Do you mind me asking what your first ss was?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, Dare!¡± She smiled and continued, ¡°When I reached level ten the first time, I still lived with my family in the Blue Deep.¡± She saw Darren¡¯s narrowed eyes and added, ¡°That¡¯s a huge forest in the southern part of the Empire. I spent my free time exploring and scrounging for small game, so no one was surprised when my first ss was Hunter.¡± She sighed, shrugged, and said, ¡°It¡¯s a basic ss.¡±

    Darren nodded and asked, ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll have different choices now?¡±

    ¡°Victor seems to think so. He thinks all my life experiences, all the skills and spells I¡¯ve learned, my racial advancement, my fights, and even what I went through when Catalina stole my spirit will lead to the System offering me very different choices.¡±

    ¡°Does Victor know?¡± Darren knew better than to underestimate Victor by then, but still, the giant warrior hadn¡¯t been away from Earth all that long.

    ¡°He¡¯s learned a lot, but I think his master, that big, stone monster of a man, told him that.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yeah. You told me about him. Or I heard you and Lam talking about him . . . can¡¯t remember.¡± Darren straightened up and pointed his staff, still faintly sparking with red-tinged electricity, toward the distant tunnel. ¡°Shall we?¡±

    ¡°All right, Dare. Let¡¯s do this!¡± Edeya shifted her spear so the tip was forward as she stalked along the muddy path toward the opening. As he usually did, Darren kept pace a few steps behind, and as they walked, he refreshed his Shocking Arms spell. It drained away fifty Energy points, but he regenerated five or so every few seconds. He supposed if he had more spells to cast, his small pool of Energy could be a problem, but as it was, he never had trouble keeping the staff charged up.

    His light spell would eat up a little bit of Energy, but Edeya was currently shedding light on the scene with a soft, blue orb that floated over her head. It was the same shade as the motes in her wings, but, like his spell, it turned more white than blue if she made it brighter. Darren watched the shadows retreat into the tunnel as she approached. She nced back once, and he nodded, so she went in. He followed her but only took a few steps into the opening when he found her crouched low, unmoving. She looked back at him and held a finger to her lips.

    Darren crouched and looked over Edeya¡¯s shoulder, immediately seeing what had alerted her. A flickering orange glow illuminated arge cave ahead. A big shadow slowly swayed on the far wall as though something moved in front of the source of the light. He leaned close to Edeya¡¯s ear and whispered, ¡°Gonna scout?¡± She usually wanted to be the first to approach a new space, especially if there was evidence of enemies.

    She kept her eyes on the cave opening but whispered, ¡°We both will. Follow my movements.¡±

    Tension gripped Darren¡¯s heart like a vise, but he nodded, excited by her show of confidence. Edeya crept toward the tunnel mouth, hunched low, spear pointing forward, and carefully stepping on the smooth, hard, y-like surfaces, avoiding the little pools of muddy water. Darren mimicked her movements and, despite his nerves, managed to avoid messing up. In just a few steps, they were both lurking near the opening and peering into the big, firelit cave.

    That was the source of the light, a fire. It burned in a low depression on the muddy floor, and Darren could see the fuel source nearby¡ªpiles of dry,pact bricks of something like moss. It burned with orange, nearly smokeless mes and gave off quite a lot of heat; Darren could feel it from almost twenty yards away. Tworge figures tended the fire, and Darren¡¯s hands tightened on his staff as he got a good look at them.

    One was enormously rotund, sitting on the hard, dry y in the basin, asionally tossing bricks of fuel into the mes. It was a mudman, but different; it wore a headdress of beads that glimmered like dull jewels in the firelight, and though it made the same sort of warbling grunts as the other mudmen, Darren thought he could detect sybles and intelligent intonations in the sounds. The other figure moved back and forth, shaking arge, bone-yellow staff above its head as it paced, lifting its high, bony knees with each step; it wasn¡¯t a mudman. The weirdly dancing figure looked like a skeleton coated in mud with too little of the y-like substance to cover its bonespletely.

    Edeya backed up a couple of steps, and Darren moved with her. Then she motioned for him to lean close, whispering, ¡°I¡¯m sure those are bosses. It could get pretty tough with just the two of us. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I, um, well, I think we¡¯ve beaten up all the minions really easily. We should try this!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit, Dare!¡± Edeya grinned fiercely. ¡°Which one do you want to take? I think the big mudman is a healer.¡±

    ¡°So,¡± Darren licked his lips, thinking. ¡°So, I think you should kill the healer. We should take him out fast! I¡¯ll try to keep the big muddy skeleton busy.¡±

    Edeya squinted her eyes, clearly ying the fight out in her head, before nodding. ¡°Good n. I¡¯ll try to sneak close to hit him before he sees us. I¡¯ll go right, you go left. If the skeleton sees you, try to get noisy so the big guy looks your way, too.¡±

    ¡°So I¡¯m the bait?¡± Darren chuckled, shaking his head. ¡°Sounds like a good n!¡±

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do this!¡± Edeya gripped her spear and crept back to the opening. She gave Darren one more look, confirming his readiness, and then she slipped into the cavern, hugging the right wall. Darren stepped in, moving to the left. There wasn¡¯t much to hide him in the room, not even any shadows, thanks to the bright fire, but he still crept low, moving slowly, hoping that if he didn¡¯t make any sudden movement, he might get close before they noticed him.

    Somehow, Edeya didn¡¯t suffer the same problem; even though nothing was between her and the fire pit, she seemed to find shadows to slink through along the base of the wall. Seeing that, Darren realized her idea was perfect; him going the opposite direction would give her the ideal opportunity to pounce once the bosses noticed him. He¡¯d only covered about ten yards before they did, or more urately, before the mud skeleton did.

    It lifted its bone staff and whirled to face him, eyes like candle mes flickering from the dark depressions under its brow. It warbled a weird, coughing curse, and the ground under Darren¡¯s feet instantly lost its firmness; he felt his feet sinking into cold mud as tendrils of ropy slime began to wrap around his ankles. ¡°Oof!¡± he cried as he nearly fell onto his face, which likely would have sealed his fate. He caught himself on his staff, though, and then lifted it to swipe down at the gross, ck, muddy tendrils.

    If his magical electricity behaved like natural electricity, he would surely have electrocuted himself as the red sparks <em>zapped</em> into the tentacles wrapping around his ankles. Fortunately, just as he could grip the staff without difort, the electricity washed over him without any ill effect. As the tentacles of slimy mud burst apart, he jammed the butt of his staff into the soft ground and, using it for bnce, yanked his feet free, one at a time, mbering onto firmer y. He regained his footing just in time to receive a wicked, side-swiping blow from the mud skeleton¡¯s ivory staff.

    The length of hard, polished bone caught him in the shoulder, and as a testament to the monster¡¯s strength, it knocked him off his feet and sent him sprawling. He slid sideways onto the semi-dry y, thankfully not into the liquid section he¡¯d just escaped. Darren could hear the monster begin to utter another mumbled spell, and he desperately scrambled to his hands and knees, favoring his numb left arm.

    He nced to the other side of the cavern where he''dst seen Edeya, but he didn¡¯t catch sight of her. Then he felt the ground loosen under his hands and, in a panic, drove forward with his feet. He exploded like back in high school when he¡¯d practiced football drills, trying to please his dad by signing up for a sport he¡¯d had no interest in. Still, the instinct was in him, and maybe he had his old, sadistic coach to thank. He caught the skeleton in its midriff with his right shoulder and, despite their size difference, knocked it sprawling.

    Darren fell with the boss, getting tangled in its mud-covered bony legs, but he¡¯d kept his grip on his staff. He thrashed the length of lightning-charged wood left and right, batting away the muddy skeleton¡¯s grasping hands and thrilling at the sight of sparks dancing along those bones. He fought like a madman, driving forward grimly as he repeatedly battered the monster with his staff. Even when the enchantment faded, and no more electricity aided his blows, the staff delivered noticeable damage, sting mud away and cracking bones.

    Darren couldn''t believe it when he knelt in a pile of broken bones and dried-up y. He¡¯d won! He¡¯d killed a boss! Somewhere in his frenzied, half-startled mind, Darren thanked Victor for the enchanted weapon. The sound of high-pitched grunts and repeated <em>thunk</em> sounds of something sharp impacting something wet startled him, and he looked toward the fire where the other boss had been.

    Heughed and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Edeya standing upon its enormous torso, repeatedly jamming her spear in and out of the soft, muddy y. Each blow sent tendrils of frost into the monster¡¯s body, and each time she drew the spear out and jabbed it in again, hunks of frozen y broke off the boss¡¯s body. ¡°I think it¡¯s dead!¡± he called after he¡¯d gathered his breath.

    ¡°Better be! I¡¯ve stabbed it twenty times!¡± she growled.

    Darren stood up, wincing and rubbing his sore shoulder. He saw the ivory staff buried in the bones and mud and picked it up before walking over to Edeya, a staff in each hand. ¡°Did that guy even get an attack off?¡±

    ¡°He was about to st you with something when I buried my spear in his back.¡± She breathed heavily, leaning on her spear, still jutting out of the muddy corpse. ¡°Nice job, by the way, Dare!¡±

    ¡°You too, Dey,¡± he¡¯d never used the nickname before the dungeon, but with her calling him ¡°Dare¡± constantly, he¡¯d decided it was fair game. She smiled and gave him an appraising look.

    ¡°Seems like you made a real mess of yourself. Are you hurt?¡±

    ¡°Just my shoulder. That guy was <em>strong</em>!¡±

    ¡°Need a healing potion?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t think so. We¡¯re about to get some Energy.¡± Darren gestured with the staff in his left hand to the glowing motes of bright gold Energy gathering on the mound of mud.

    ¡°Whew! Thank the Roots! I was afraid this guy wasn¡¯t really dead. That¡¯s why I kept stabbing him.¡± She sat down on the y of the monster¡¯s corpse and then slid down to stand before Darren. ¡°Get ready; I think it¡¯s a lot.¡± She wasn¡¯t wrong. A momentter, a torrent of Energy, muchrger than the ones Darren had felt before, surged into him, and he was lost in the euphoric bliss of it.

    When he came back to himself, he was sitting on his butt before the corpse and the bonfire, and his shoulder pain waspletely gone. Blinking, he squinted at the System message:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 6 base human. You have 5 attribute points to allocate.***</strong>

    ¡°Another level,¡± he said, looking around, wondering if Edeya got one too. He saw her sitting a few feet away, staring into space.

    ¡°Me too,¡± she muttered, clearly very distracted.

    ¡°New options?¡± he pressed.

    ¡°Oh, Roots, Darren! It¡¯s amazing! I have two epic choices and three advanced!¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor lost track of the hours as he sat there holding Lam¡¯s hand, gently encouraging her, constantly sending a thin tendril of Energy into her through that connection. Dar never told him to start doing so, but he never told him to stop. If it was cheating, he didn¡¯t care; he¡¯d do anything he could to ensure Lam¡¯s spirit came through. Dar hadn¡¯t spoken in a long time, and Victor noticed he didn¡¯t always hold Lam¡¯s hand. Sometimes, he¡¯d let it drop, and sometimes, he¡¯d pick it up, and Victor wondered what the master could see that told him when it was time to do so.

    After he began to think it would never end, Dar surprised him when he cleared his throat, making a sound like gravel sliding down a concrete embankment, and rumbled, ¡°She¡¯s nearly through, Victor. This is a good time to learn. Just as you gaze upon your own aura, spread your inner eye¡¯s awareness and watch her break through. Do it now!¡±

    Victor felt the urgency in themand, and he immediately turned his gaze inward. Then, he expanded his awareness from his Core, seeing his pathways and his dark, roiling aura. He stretched his awareness further still, and then he saw what Dar meant. Could he have been watching this the whole time? He silently cursed the stoic Spirit Master for not telling him sooner.

    From his inner eye¡¯s vantage, he could see his Core, his aura around it, and then, beside him, the wall of his mentor¡¯s aura, impossible to focus upon. However, between that deathly barrier and his own aura, he saw a split in the darkness, a breach between this world and that of the Spirit ne, and when he peered closely at it, he could catch glimpses of Lam¡¯s spirit as it fought to w through that aperture. ¡°Come on, Lam!¡± he urged, not yelling but whispering forcefully. ¡°Come on! You¡¯re almost there. Fight for it!¡±

    He saw her face, different than when he¡¯d stood with her naked, determined spirit on the Spirit ne and different from her physical self. She had bright, determined eyes, her brows drawn down in a sharp V, and teeth bared in a grimace. There was something primal and visceral about her. She pulled and tugged, squeezing first one shoulder, then another through the rip, and Victor couldn¡¯t helpparing the imagery to that of a birth, though Lam¡¯s spirit was wing her way out; there was no midwife there to deliver her.

    Suddenly, it was over; she¡¯d ovee whatever resistance held her back, and she streaked like a ghostly light out of the aperture. As the glow of her spirit faded, Victor assumed she¡¯d made it back into her body, so he turned his attention away from his inner eye and looked upon her still form with his physical eyes. He squeezed her hand and felt an answering twitch. There was a warmth in her flesh that hadn¡¯t been present before. ¡°She made it,¡± he breathed.

    ¡°Aye,d. She did, indeed, no small thanks to you. I believe you profoundly touched her spirit; there will besting effects.¡± Dar¡¯s hand pped his shoulder and gave it aradely squeeze. ¡°You¡¯re a loyal, big-hearted friend, and she¡¯s lucky to have you.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Victor asked, looking into the giant¡¯s zing white-hot eyes. ¡°I mean aboutsting effects?¡±

    ¡°I think you altered her affinities. Her Core. Can¡¯t you see it? Can¡¯t you feel it? I believe a new Spirit Caster was born this day.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 9: Ironheart

    Book 8: Chapter 9: Ironheart

    ¡°Really?¡± Victor¡¯s eyes widened as he looked down at Lam¡¯s sleeping form. ¡°You think I did that?¡±

    Dar nodded, his zing eyes staring intently into Victor¡¯s. ¡°Aye. You and she. You fed her a near-constant stream of spirit Energy, but she was the one who embraced it, turning it to her purpose of pushing forward. I saw what you were doing and contemted stopping you, but I was intrigued; I¡¯ve done this ritual a dozen times over the years, and never has a subject made such use of the Energy I provided. I think¡ªno, I know it has to do with your existing bond. She trusts you on an innate level. Despite the memory haze woven by the crucible, she recognized your spirit. Yes, this was quite an interesting turn of events, one upon which I¡¯ll need to meditate.¡±

    Victor stared at Lam, and though her body shouldn¡¯t have changed at all, he couldn¡¯t help but think she looked younger. Perhaps it was just that she was sleeping; all the worry lines she usually carried were gone, her face serene. ¡°What level will she be?¡±

    ¡°Close to base, but perhaps still first tier. I tried to calcte the crucible to bring her just beneath her first ss selection, but it¡¯s a tricky thing. Your aid may have also reduced the cost of her own Energy.¡±

    ¡°Can you see her Core? Her affinities?¡±

    ¡°Aye,d. I see a zing, red-gold Core of courage-attuned Energy. Did you feed her mostly rage and inspiration?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Glory, too, but the otherse more naturally to me; I¡¯ve had them longer.¡±

    ¡°She took what you offered and ran with it. She must have had sometent affinity for courage, in any case. Yes, I believe that¡¯s what happened. I wonder what else we might help her unlock as she progresses.¡± Dar stood and gestured down at Lam¡¯s sleeping form. ¡°Carry her. We¡¯ll put her to bed; then you should also turn in. Your day with Lo¡¯ro begins in seven hours.¡±

    ¡°Shit! The whole day is gone?¡±¡°Yes. She fought long and hard and will sleep a long while.¡±

    Victor nodded, stooping to lift Lam. He followed Dar out of the natural caves beneath his cer and then up the steps into his kitchens. When they stood in the open sitting area bordered by the big ss windows that provided a clear view of the deck andke, Dar turned to him. ¡°I have much to contemte, and I think I¡¯d like some time alone. Lo¡¯ro will fetch you in the morning, sometime after dawn. Be sure to show him the proper respect and learn well the lesson he will teach. When you return, I¡¯ll be here.¡±

    ¡°What about Lam?¡± Victor shifted the sleeping woman in his arms. ¡°She¡¯s going to be confused about her Core, don¡¯t you think? Will I have time to speak to her in the morning?¡±

    Dar scowled, his eyes ring slightly, but he paused momentarily before responding, and Victor wondered if he¡¯d been about to snap at him. Was the master tired? Irritable? ¡°You heard my words, yes? Lo¡¯ro wille sometime after dawn. Don¡¯t sleep in, and you¡¯ll have time to speak with your friend.¡± Without another word, he strode out the open door to the deck, and Victor watched as his flying spirit mount appeared out of a cloud of bright, sparkling Energy. It was probably thirty feet long and coiled around Dar like a great serpent until the giant straddled its luminescent back just behind its broad head. Then he streaked away, flying out over theke on wisps of golden Energy.

    ¡°All right.¡± Victor shook his head and walked toward the bedrooms. He deposited Lam on her bed, pulled off her boots, threw a soft, quilted nket over her, and then left, crossing the hall to his own room. Lifedrinker was where he¡¯d left her, leaning against the wall beside the bed¡¯s headboard. He lifted and rested her on hisp. ¡°Hey, <em>chica</em>. Tomorrow, we have to spend time with a Death Caster and go into some freaky ces. Are you ready?¡±

    <em>¡°Always!¡± the axe sang into his mind. ¡°Every moment I don¡¯t dwell on my memories, I¡¯m praying to enter battle in your hands!¡±</em>

    ¡°Heh,¡± he chuckled, ¡°I love how eager you are.¡± Victor kicked off his boots, shrugged off his shirt, and theny down atop his nkets; the air was warm, and he liked the night breeze drifting in through his window. He cradled his axe and, as he tried to sleep, murmured, ¡°Tell me about one of your memories. Tell me about the wolves that used to y in the vale where you grew.¡±

    <em>¡°I have another memory I¡¯d share! You know about the tree where my living wood was born, but have I told you of the time when I wandered the dark, deep depths, a being of fire and hunger?¡±</em>

    ¡°What? No¡ª¡±

    <em>¡°These memories are newly awakened! When I feasted on your recent foes, my increased Energy helped me to dig them from the depths of my dormant mind. Before I was a spirit, set loose to wander and find a home in the metal you now cradle, I was a primal being living deep beneath the surface of the world, content to gather the violent, primitive Energies from which worlds and stars are birthed. My existence was simple, and I knew but two things: hunger and a need for growth. I had kin, but we weren¡¯t close. Something happened to me, but it¡¯s not clear to me. Something released my spirit from my physical form, and somehow, I clung to the silver vein from which my de was forged.¡±</em>

    ¡°Was it just silver before you joined with it? Is that what made it Heart Silver?¡±

    <em>¡°I know not. With each answer, I find three new questions. The more I unravel my past, the more I realize I¡¯m not a simple being born from a tree or a vein of metal. I¡¯m both and more. You awakened me, Victor. Your Energy and spirit impacted mine. As you help me feast upon the Energy of your foes, my being solidifies, and I be more and, at the same time, less like I once was. It confuses me. Am I still me?¡±</em>

    ¡°We all change, <em>chica</em>. I¡¯m not the same person I once was, and it¡¯s my connections to you, Va, and all the others I spend time with that make me different. I know I¡¯m oversimplifying things, but, well, as you remember more about yourself and change, do you want something different?¡±

    <em>¡°No! My heart yearns for battle and always to be in your hand.¡±</em>

    ¡°Good, ¡®cause that¡¯s what I want. If something changes, just talk to me. We can work it out.¡±

    <em>¡°Before you sleep, will you share your spirit with me?¡±</em> When Victor had been ejected from the challenge dungeon, the System had canceled his spells, including his Imbue Spirit, which he, more often than not, cast on Lifedrinker.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he yawned, ¡°of course I will.¡± He concentrated and sent a fragment of his spirit, imbued with inspiration-attuned Energy, into the axe. As she hummed softly, clearly pleased, Victor closed his eyes and drifted into sleep. He had wild dreams about wolves and magma flows, fiery volcanos, and fleeing game. When he woke, it was to a gentle tap at his door, and he sprang up with unnatural alertness, Lifedrinker already lifted high in his right fist.

    The tap sounded again, and a soft, faint voice called, ¡°Sir, yourpanion, Lady Lam, requests your presence.¡±

    ¡°Coming,¡± Victor grunted, sliding to the edge of the bed and pulling on his boots. He quickly emptied his dder in the attached bathroom, then hurried into the hallway where one of Dar¡¯s servants waited. The demure, green-skinned woman ducked her head and hurried toward the sitting room adjoining the outside deck. Victor could see the sun had barely risen, which he hoped meant he had some time before Lo¡¯ro came calling. Lam sat at one of the couches sipping arge ss of peach-colored juice, and when she saw Victor, her eyes brightened.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°Victor!¡±

    ¡°How do you feel?¡± he asked, hurrying over.

    Before she could reply, the servant hastily asked, ¡°Can I bring you some fresh juice and breakfast?¡±

    ¡°Bring him the same as I ordered.¡± Lam gestured to her ss, and Victor smiled, seeing some of her old aura ofmand asserting itself.

    ¡°As you say.¡± The woman bowed and shuffled toward the kitchen. Victor still had many questions about Dar¡¯s strange household staff, but he never seemed to think to ask when the moment was right.

    ¡°To answer your question, Victor, I¡¯m well, but very, very, Roots-be-damned confused.¡±

    ¡°I take it you noticed your Core has changed?¡±

    ¡°Hah! What an understatement! I woke to about twenty-five System messages. Most of my spells have been wiped from my mind! ¡®Ipatible with your current affinity,¡¯ the System said!¡±

    Victor chuckled, well aware of the limitations of Spirit-attuned Energy. ¡°You wanted a fresh start, right? Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re going to learn new, badass abilities.¡±

    ¡°Am I? Courage¡ªit sounds wonderful, but Victor, all my life, I¡¯ve learned to look down on Spirit Casters!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because of Ridonne propaganda. Do you think I¡¯m weak?¡±

    ¡°Roots, no!¡± she cried. ¡°I don¡¯t remember what I went through, not every detail, but I feel such deep gratitude to you, Victor. I know you were in here,¡± sheid her palm over her heart, ¡°helping me. So, will you help me choose my first ss?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re level ten?¡±

    ¡°Yes! I think I was brought down to something like twelve, but then the System removed my Leaf Warden ss, saying it wasn¡¯t patible with . . .¡±

    ¡°Your current affinities,¡± Victorughed. ¡°So, it dumped you down to ten? I bet it loved stealing that Energy away.¡±

    ¡°I get the feeling the System isn¡¯t exactly approving of the ritual Dar performed. Or, I don¡¯t know; maybe that¡¯s just my bias.¡±

    ¡°No, I think you¡¯re right.¡± Victor sat beside her. ¡°The System wants us to be stronger so we can harvest more Energy, and it can siphon off its percentage. You dropped all those levels, bleeding that Energy off into the universe. That¡¯s, well, that¡¯s kind of a gamble. If you don¡¯t regain the levels, you¡¯re a smaller, weaker Energy battery in the System¡¯s eyes.¡±

    Lam narrowed her eyes, slowly nodding. ¡°I see what you¡¯re getting at. When I go fight tier-one monsters, the System¡¯s going to get a lot smaller cut than if I went into a tier-six dungeon with Va and Lesh.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor looked Lam over, smiling as he did so. ¡°You look good. The ritual didn¡¯t mess you up, at least.¡±

    ¡°Mess me up?¡±

    ¡°I mean your head. You seem upbeat.¡±

    ¡°I told you; it¡¯s all a blur. I think that¡¯s by design, yes?¡± When Victor nodded, though he was just guessing, she continued, ¡°I¡¯m a little disturbed about the loss of my Core and its levels, but it was just a pearl-ss Core, and those are so basic¡ªI had no affinities. All of my spells were cast with pure, unattuned Energy. It was easy to level, and I¡¯d learned some strong abilities, but I¡¯m trying to keep an open mind, hoping this new spirit-ss Core will have greater potential.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s the case!¡± Victor nodded, taking a tall ss of juice as the servant returned and handed it to him.

    ¡°Your food will be out shortly,¡± she said, ducking away.

    ¡°Hey, hang on a sec.¡± Victor looked at the woman, at her pointy ears, yellow eyes, and smooth, green skin. ¡°Are you all rted? You and the other staff?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, sir. Lord Dar liberated our world, and now he offers employment to my people. It¡¯s a great honor to work in one of his homes.¡±

    ¡°He liberated your world?¡± Lam asked, raising an eyebrow.

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am. A great demon conquered Wanxue many centuries ago. My people were ves, bred for service and entertainment. Lord Dar visited our world in his travels and helped us to rise up, throwing off the yoke of our suppressor.¡±

    ¡°How long ago was that?¡± Victor asked, curious to hear little of Dar¡¯s side-history.

    ¡°We celebrated the two hundredth anniversary of our liberation just a few years ago.¡± She bowed low and took a step back. ¡°May I please be excused? My shift ends, and my daughter awaits.¡±

    ¡°Oh, of course!¡± Lam eyed Victor with wide eyes. As the servant shuffled out, she said, ¡°Imagine that! How old is your master?¡±

    ¡°Not my <em>master</em>!¡± Victor growled, then shrugged. ¡°Yeah, thousands of years old, I think. He hints at it sometimes. When he takes a ¡®vacation,¡¯ itsts ten years. He acts like that¡¯s the blink of an eye. Speaking of Dar, he was excited about your Core, I think.¡±

    ¡°Truly?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. You know, I don¡¯t have a courage affinity. He thinks I helped you form your Core because I sent a lot of rage and inspiration into you; those two can be woven into courage.¡±

    ¡°There are spirit affinity weaves?¡± Lam grabbed his wrist in excitement.

    ¡°Oh yeah. Also, you probably have more affinities; we just need to help you find them.¡±

    ¡°Find them? I can add more?¡± Lam¡¯s voice had grown shrill with excitement.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Victorughed. ¡°When I first came to the mine, my only affinity was rage, but my Core was broken. I figured out how to rebuild it with a second affinity¡ªinspiration. You know what?¡± Victor¡¯s eyes widened, and he returned Lam¡¯s grip, squeezing her much more slender fingers.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You were a big part of that! You inspired me so much when you first flew into the mine and beat the shit out of those little beetle monsters. I focused on that feeling, and that¡¯s how I figured out I had an affinity for inspiration!¡±

    Lam sighed happily and leaned back on the couch, throwing her arms behind her head and smiling broadly. ¡°Imagine that! It seems lifetimes ago! Young, skinny Victor, fighting bravely against a horde of beetles!¡± Sheughed, shaking her head. ¡°Well, I won¡¯t be flying to your rescue anytime soon.¡±

    ¡°Hah. Well, you can rescue Edeya and Darren instead.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of which!¡± She leaned forward again. ¡°Help me choose my ss, though I think I¡¯ve already made up my mind.¡±

    ¡°Okay. What are the options?¡± Victor could smell their breakfast by then, and his stomach gurgled in anticipation.

    ¡°I won¡¯t bore you with the basic ones, but here are the two I¡¯m struggling with: Ironheart Sentinel and Valor Striker. They¡¯re both advanced!¡±

    ¡°Oh shit! Now you¡¯re making me jealous! I can see they¡¯re both based on your courage affinity, but how are they different?¡±

    ¡°Ironheart Sentinel gives will, vitality, and unassigned attribute points at every level, and it says members of that ss ¡®emphasize endurance and resilience, drawing on their unyielding hearts to withstand enemy assaults and defend theirrades.¡¯ The other one sounds more offensive. It gives strength, agility, and dexterity and says, ¡®These warriors specialize in bold attacks, often turning the tide of battle with their fearless assaults.¡¯ What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I mean, they both sound great. Personally, I¡¯m partial to will as an attribute, and the Ironheart Sentinel also gives you some unassigned points. That would make up my mind. It sounds a lot more defensive, but you could pump those unassigned points into strength and agility. Who knows what you¡¯ll get at twenty?¡±

    Lam¡¯s smile had grown broader as Victor spoke, and she nodded along with him. ¡°I¡¯m in agreement!¡± She got quiet, and her eyes unfocused, so Victor sat back and waited while she went through the process.

    Two members of Dar¡¯s staff brought steaming tters of food, some tes, silverware, and a basket of fresh buttered bread. He began tucking into the food and was chewing arge mouthful of eggs when Lam turned to him and grinned. ¡°I¡¯m a level ten Ironheart Sentinel! I gained a spell called Daunting Roar. It ¡®boldens the hearts of my allies and strikes fear into those of my foes.¡¯ Hah!¡±

    ¡°Badass!¡± Victor covered his mouth so she didn¡¯t see his half-chewed eggs. ¡°Hey! I need to teach you how to cultivate. It¡¯s different from normal Energy.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± She unfocused her eyes for a moment, then, in an rmed tone, added, ¡°Oh! I don¡¯t have a cultivation drill!¡±

    Victor chuckled, shaking his head. ¡°Rx, I¡¯ll teach you. I bet we can bug Dar for some pointers, too. I mean, I¡¯m not sure how involved he¡¯ll be with you, but anything he teaches me, I¡¯ll pass on. I have a feeling, though . . .¡± Victor trailed off, remembering how distracted Dar had been after Lam¡¯s spirit had made its way home. ¡°I think he¡¯s pretty interested in you.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Lam leaned back again, contemting, and Victor reloaded his te from the tter.

    ¡°Better eat something before I get it all,¡± he said around a bite of fresh, soft, buttery bread.

    ¡°Hey! I¡¯m only level ten now. I <em>need</em> this food! You¡¯re just a pig!¡± Lammenced to load her te, but before she started eating, she grew serious and gave him a look. ¡°Victor, what are we going to do about ournds back home?¡±

    While he chewed, Victor thought it over. Not a lot had changed for him in that regard. Yes, he owed Dar some service as an apprentice, but he¡¯d never intended to live full-time on Fanwath. Lam¡¯s entire world and her future ns had been upended by, first, Edeya¡¯s situation and then her own decision to ¡°resurrect.¡± He swallowed and shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to find an outstanding governor. You can visit as much as you like, or, I guess, as much as you can afford to, but I think, just like Edeya, you¡¯re better off in Sojourn for now.¡±

    Lam folded a piece of bacon into her mouth, licking the grease from her fingers, and nodded. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s right. I just have to face the facts; my priorities have changed. Speaking of Edeya . . .¡± She summoned a Farscribe book from her ring and began leafing through it. ¡°Roots!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re out of the dungeon! Edeya got to ten and wants our help choosing her ss. They want to know where we are.¡±

    At that moment, one of Dar¡¯s servants stepped into the room. ¡°Victor, sir?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Master Lo¡¯ro calls. His coachman awaits at the front door.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 10: Death Caster

    Book 8: Chapter 10: Death Caster

    ¡°Ah, damn,¡± Victor said, standing. ¡°I guess I gotta go, Lam.¡±

    She nodded, shifting to the edge of the couch as though she¡¯d get up, too. ¡°Should I stay here? Should I send for Edeya and Darren?¡±

    Victor looked at the servant who¡¯de to summon him. ¡°Excuse me, but is there a coach avable to pick up some friends of ours?¡±

    ¡°Master Dar left Mister Qwor at your disposal. He can fetch your friends.¡± Victor had heard the name a time or two. Qwor was one of Dar¡¯s drivers.

    ¡°Can you send him to speak to Lam? She can give him directions.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do better,¡± Lam said, standing. ¡°I¡¯ll ride along with him. Where will I find Mister Qwor?¡±

    ¡°At the carriage house. I¡¯ll guide you, mdy.¡±

    ¡°All right. See youter, Lam.¡± Victor wanted to get moving before he inadvertently upset Lo¡¯ro; he had no idea how touchy the master Death Caster might be.

    Lam and the servant walked with him toward the door, and the one-time Imperial Captain said, ¡°Keep an eye on your Farscribe book! We¡¯ll keep you updated on any developments. Speaking of Farscribe books, have you heard from Va or Lesh?¡±Victor shook his head, frowning. ¡°Not since they entered their dungeon. I¡¯m not too surprised, though; it¡¯s supposedly pretty challenging. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll send me an update sometime today.¡± With those words, Victor stepped through theke house¡¯s front door and saw Lo¡¯ro¡¯s coach.

    So did Lam, and she eximed, ¡°Roots, Victor! Be careful,¡± as she took in the weird, spectral carriage. It was a sleek, dark wood and metallic shape¡ªit reminded Victor of some kind of luxury car from the 1940s, butrger. It glowed an unearthly silver-blue and had a faintly translucent quality. As he approached, Victor saw that it hovered over the cobbles on two discs of pulsing blue light, and he could feel the air being disced by tangible waves of force. It had four doors like a sedan, but the rear ones were overge, and one of them opened as he stepped up to the strange vehicle.

    ¡°Get in, prodigy. We¡¯ve a task toplete, and I¡¯d prefer not to spend the whole day at it.¡± The voice that came out was rough but loud and clear, and Victor felt the words spur him to action. He nodded and slid through the opening, finding himself in a spaciouspartment that reminded him more of a parlor in an old manor than the inside of a vehicle. Two luxurious blue couches faced each other over a plush ck carpet. Dark wood paneling lined the walls, and matching wooden tables sat at the ends of the sofas. A man d in a dark gray suit with a fancy round hat and short, silk-lined cape gestured for Victor to sit across from him.

    He was clearly undead; the pale skin, ck eyes, and rictus grin gave it away, but his eyes shone with amusement as he took Victor in. Seeing that, Victor reflected on the other undead creatures he¡¯d met. Had any of them ever smiled orughed? If so, he couldn¡¯t remember it, not unless you counted Hector¡¯s mean-spirited, mockingughs as Victor had gotten trapped in the volcano¡¯s caldera. He sat on the sofa across from Lo¡¯ro. ¡°Thank you for picking me up.¡±

    ¡°Oh! He has <em>manners</em>, too! I wouldn¡¯t have guessed from the way you thrashed those mewling pups in the dungeon.¡± The coach lurched, and Victor felt a sinking sensation in his stomach, indicating they were moving upward and quickly. ¡°We¡¯ll travel to my research tower, and from there, I¡¯ll guide you through the veil. Don¡¯t worry; I made it sound like this would be a difficult job when I spoke to your master, but it won¡¯t be so bad. We¡¯ll be done by lunchtime.¡± He chuckled and cleared his throat. ¡°For those of us who eat lunch.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still not totally clear on what we¡¯re going to¡ª¡± Victor started to fish for details about their task, and Lo¡¯ro chuckled, waving a hand.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you through the veil into a ne of suffering and woe, a ce reserved for those spirits obsessed with darker emotions, overwhelmed by them, and lost to their pitiless embrace. You¡¯ll capture one or two of them and bring them back to this ne of existence so that your master can teach you to cultivate from them.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he kind of said that, but, like, why?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Lo¡¯ro lifted a hairless brow. ¡°You surprise me! I know you¡¯re not a dolt, so I must assume you understood my words when I said that you can cultivate from them. That means you must question the act of cultivating itself. Hmm, do you have another way to strengthen your Core?¡±

    Victor had not meant that, but now that Lo¡¯ro asked, he found himself looking down, not willing to share his secret about consuming the hearts of his foes. ¡°I have other ways to cultivate,¡± he said, trying to deflect. ¡°I create constructs of my emotions, pure, essential memories of rage or fear, for instance, and reflect on them. Doing that, I slowly create Energy to add to and build my Energy pool.¡±

    The deflection didn¡¯t fool Lo¡¯ro. ¡°Ah, thed has a secret!¡± His dusty words faded into a soft chuckle as he shook his head. ¡°Keep it, young prodigy. You and I both know that, yes, you can cultivate a spirit Core through reflection and meditation, focusing on the powerful emotions your memories can harbor. We also both know that it will only get you so far. You must seek sources of Energy outside yourself if you want to master your cultivation. I can tell from the strength zing in that inferno of roiling emotions you call a Core that you¡¯ve broken through at least a couple of tiers, so you must have something more that you¡¯re not sharing with me. Something to do with that Breath Core, perhaps?¡±

    Victor looked up sharply, narrowing his eyes, hoping that if he looked defensive about his Breath Core, it might deflect from his real secret. It seemed to work because Lo¡¯ro chuckled and waved it off. ¡°Worry not. I have my interests when ites to Spirit Casters, but such a strange application is too novel, too bloodline-specific to be of much use to me and mine.¡±

    ¡°Bloodline-specific?¡± Now, it was Victor¡¯s turn to show interest.

    ¡°Not just anyone can grow a Breath Core! Draconic species, elemental beings, and just a handful of Elder races with the right constitution, I¡¯d say. Still, I wonder how you did it. How¡¯d you get that second Core to take root in there, hmm?¡±

    For the second time in just a few minutes and from apletely different angle, Lo¡¯ro began to pry at the edges of Victor¡¯s biggest secret. How pissed would Dar be if he told this guy about his ability to consume hearts for his own gain? He had no idea, of course. The master Spirit Caster hadn¡¯t told him not to mention it, but somehow Victor knew he shouldn¡¯t. ¡°It¡¯s a long story,¡± he grunted, closing his eyes and leaning back on the couch. He decided it was better to be a little churlish than to spill his guts. He snorted as he thought of the word. Churlish¡ªhe must have gotten that one from Borrius.

    Lo¡¯ro rasped a soft chuckle, and when he spoke, Victor realized he¡¯d made the right decision, ¡°Keep your secrets, then,d. I¡¯m sure my old friend warned you about trading information freely among our kind. It¡¯s not as though he didn¡¯t pay dearly for what I will teach you today.¡±

    Stolen story; please report.

    They rode in silence for several minutes before Victor said, ¡°Dar was trying to exin the realms beyond the ¡®veil¡¯ to me. He said something along the lines of how spirits are influenced by their lives, by what they believe, when ites to what happens to them after they pass beyond the Spirit ne. Am I understanding that correctly?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Consider the tortured spirits we¡¯ll be seeking today¡ªthey lived lives obsessed with negative emotion to the point that it overcame their personality, their desires, and their dreams. When they died, they embodied that emotion. Passing through the veil, they find themselves drawn to kindred spirits. Theirbined will and influence carved out a piece of the universe, a ne for them to haunt and wallow in their misery. Dar mentioned fear and rage and, as luck would have it, I¡¯ve found a ne on which many such spirits roam.¡±

    ¡°What about my other affinities? Glory or inspiration?¡± Victor figured the Death Caster, being a peer of Dar¡¯s, would at least know his affinities, so he didn¡¯t bother trying to hide them.

    ¡°Ah, think, Victor!¡± Lo¡¯ro squinted his eyes once again in genuine amusement. It was in for Victor to see that he enjoyed teaching. ¡°What will you be doing with these spirits?¡±

    ¡°Cultivating from them, right? So, I¡¯ll be drawing the rage and fear out of them¡ª¡±

    ¡°Correct!¡± He stared at Victor, waiting for him to make the next connection.

    ¡°So, if I found a spirit with an excess of Glory . . .¡± Victor trailed off, trying to imagine it. He snapped his fingers. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be right. Draining a positive or even partially positive affinity would be wrong.¡±

    ¡°Yes! Now, many cultivators wouldn¡¯t care. If you wanted to be evil, though¡ªwhy, you could capture a living soul who exhibits great glory or inspiration and cultivate from them; far easier than finding such a being on one of the many nes of existence beyond our own. Your master believes in karmic bonds, debts, and merits, however. What we do today will be a positive in his eyes. Can you imagine how?¡±

    ¡°I guess, when I take these souls consumed by anger and fear back to my cultivation chamber and siphon away those negative emotions, over time, I¡¯ll be helping them?¡±

    ¡°Exactly so,d! You¡¯ll be doing your part to help those spirits move on from the folly of their previous lives. If you believe Dar¡¯s preaching, the spirits we seek have built up a tremendous karmic debt. Using them for cultivation will help them pay it off, allowing them to move on to a new existence.¡±

    ¡°I get it. So, I¡¯ll need to find different sources of Energy for Glory and Inspiration.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll not be helping with that. Your master will have ns within ns, however.¡±

    As the coach lurched, and Victor felt like he was riding in an elevator going down, he asked, ¡°Have you known him long?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. We¡¯ve been friends and foes for more years than I care to count.¡±

    ¡°Enemies?¡±

    ¡°Certainly, though only for brief spats. Overall, we see eye to eye.¡± The coach shuddered to a stop, and he stood, walking toward the polished wooden door. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived.¡± When Victor followed him out, he found they were atop one of the many spires of the Arcanum where he¡¯d first met Dar. This particr tower was ck as coal and just as t and non-reflective. Victor could only see the top fourth or so, looming above the dock where Lo¡¯ro¡¯s coach had settled, but it fit any preconceived notions he might have had about a Death Caster¡¯sir. Victor turned, scanning the dozens of spires within view, wondering if the one Dar used was in sight.

    ¡°Looking for your master¡¯s tower?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Just curious . . .¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s that way.¡± Lo¡¯ro pointed into the thin clouds toward an angr, pointed spire. ¡°Past that tower a ways. I can¡¯t see it from here at the moment, but if the sun¡¯s just right and the clouds cooperate, sometimes I catch a glimpse.¡± He moved to the big, ck metal door. ¡°Come.¡±

    Victor grunted in agreement and started after him, following the Death Caster through dark hallways, down winding iron stairs, and into a vaulted, ck marble chamber about the size of a half-court basketball gym. Victor thought of it in that light because of the rows of tiered benches on either side of the smooth, ck stone floor. The ceiling was vaulted, and strange, foggy, pale blue lights hung from the ck stone arches holding the ceiling aloft.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind the extra seating; my students will not be attending us. Still, this room has wonderful resonance with the Spirit ne, and I¡¯ve already created a breach through the veil on the other side. Make yourselffortable.¡± He gestured to the smooth stone floor. Victor nodded and sat down cross-legged in the center of the room. Lo¡¯ro moved to sit before him and said, ¡°First, the bulk of my debt to Dar will be paid in the form of a spell pattern.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Victor hadn¡¯t expected to learn a new spell.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I discovered this technique through many years of research and have only taught it to two of my apprentices. Well, and Dar, of course. The only reason he¡¯s having me help you is because I did the same for him when he built histest cultivation chamber. Still, this is valuable knowledge, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Um, thank you, Master Lo¡¯ro.¡± Victor suddenly felt the need to show more respect. There was no denying the man before him was powerful, and, knowing that, it didn¡¯t rankle his Quinametzin pride to be a little subservient.

    ¡°Study this,¡± Lo¡¯ro wheezed, producing a paper-thin sheet of silvery metal stamped with the pattern for aplex spell. He set it on the floor between them, and Victor leaned forward, eyeing the intricate whorls mixed with sharp angles; it was a spell unlike any he¡¯d ever learned, but nothing near asplicated as the Alter Self spell he¡¯d learned from Tes.

    While he stared at it, Lo¡¯ro continued to speak, ¡°I will supply two vessels in which you will capture the wayward geists.¡±

    ¡°Geists?¡±

    ¡°A term I use to describe spirits consumed by emotion.¡± Victor was smart enough, even when he was just a kid from Tucson, to recognize a word from Earth. He was also smart enough to know the System was probably choosing that word to fit whatever term Lo¡¯ro used. Whenever he thought about the System and its strangely powerfulnguage integration skill, he found himself falling down rabbit holes of contradictory evidence, so he forcefully turned his mind away from it. He, instead, continued staring at the pattern, trying to memorize its many shapes.

    Meanwhile, Lo¡¯ro had produced two polished bones, densely inscribed with runes. He nced at them, noting the harsh angles of the runes, far different from those the System used on its many artifacts. One of the bones looked like a femur, and the other was curved and thin, like a rib. Victor wondered if they came from people or animals, but he didn¡¯t really want to know. ¡°These took my apprentices many hours to prepare properly; understand that, and be aware that I will not teach you how to replicate them.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Victor didn¡¯t know what else to say; did Lo¡¯ro expect him to argue? To beg for the knowledge? If he ever wanted to learn how to make vessels that could hold spirits, he doubted Lo¡¯ro was the only person with such knowledge; even Belikot back on Fanwath had been able to do it.

    ¡°Now, once you¡¯ve learned that pattern, we¡¯ll step onto the Spirit ne where my window through the veil awaits. I¡¯ll guide you to the unquiet geists, but it will be up to you to choose the right ones and capture them. Even though I¡¯ve given you the spell to do it, you¡¯ll have to overpower their will, so it¡¯s important that you don¡¯t choose spirits that are too powerful. It¡¯s also important not to find one too weak; what good would that be for cultivation?¡±

    ¡°No, I guess that wouldn¡¯t be much good,¡± Victor grunted, only half listening as he studied the pattern.

    ¡°I¡¯ve promised Dar that I¡¯d show you this much and guide you, but I¡¯ve no obligation to protect you from your own folly. Attempt to bind the wrong spirit, and it could overwhelm your will and follow your tether back to your body.¡± That got Victor¡¯s attention, and he looked up and frowned.

    ¡°They could take over my body?¡±

    ¡°There will be geists in the realm I lead you to who are far more powerful than you. I¡¯ll protect us from their attention, but should you attempt to capture one, there¡¯s not much I can do to keep them at bay.¡± Lo¡¯ro reached up and took his fancy, round hat off, sending it into a dimensional container.

    Victor noted his wispy white hair, and a stray thought came unbidden to his lips, ¡°Do all Death Casters be undead?¡±

    ¡°Hah! Not easily daunted, are you?¡± Lo¡¯ro shook his head, chuckling that raspyugh. ¡°Not all, Victor, though the paths to power through death-attuned Energy almost all lead to that road in one way or another. It¡¯s difficult to walk the bnce between life and death without the perspective undeath provides.¡± He gestured to the pattern in Victor¡¯s hand. ¡°Well? Are you ready? You needn¡¯t memorize it perfectly; I¡¯ll create a circle of rtive calm where you can concentrate on your first casting.¡±

    ¡°Oh, in that case, yeah, I¡¯m ready.¡± Victor nodded. He wasn¡¯t scared off by Lo¡¯ro¡¯s warnings. If it was a matter of will, he was more than qualified. It sounded like he just had to avoid being stupid and trying to bite off more than he could chew. On the heels of that thought, another came to him, and he asked, ¡°Will it be difficult to tell how powerful the geists are? Will I be able to gauge their strength?¡±

    ¡°Excellent question! You will have two jobs while I maintain our calm oasis¡ªidentify the geists with the proper affinity for you to cultivate and then determine if you can overpower them with your will. Some will be obvious, but others not so much, and it is those that you must target; pick something too weak, and it will be a waste of our time, and pick something too strong and . . .¡± he trailed off, opening his hands as he shrugged.

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor chuckled, and then he summoned his coyotes using inspiration-attuned Energy. They sprang out of white-gold clouds of Energy, yipping and whining as they paced around the two men. Their nails clicked on the marble, and one paused to lick Victor¡¯s neck. ¡°Good boy,¡± heughed, unslinging Lifedrinker andying her across his knees. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    Lo¡¯ro wore an amused expression, his ck eyes gleaming from beneath his pale, bony brow. He watched the coyotes for several long seconds, then nodded. ¡°Wise to have yourpanions guard you, though this room is quite secure. Nevertheless, I won¡¯t hold it against you.¡± He lifted the two bones and nodded to Victor. ¡°When you¡¯re ready.¡±

    ¡°Here we go,¡± Victor whispered, mostly to himself, as he formed the pattern for Spirit Walk. The world shifted, and he became aware of the Spirit ne; he felt a baleful st of death-attuned Energy and leaped to his feet, shielding his eyes from the brilliant, icy-blue rip in the fabric of reality that hung in the air before him. Lo¡¯ro¡¯s tear in the veil reminded him of Belikot¡¯s half-formed one, though the Energy wafting off it was a thousand times more potent. Moreover, it reminded Victor of Hector¡¯s veil star. As dark thoughts and memories crowded for attention in his mind, he looked to the Death Caster, only to find a nightmare standing where Lo¡¯ro had been sitting.

 Book 8: Chapter 11: Loaded Propositions

    Book 8: Chapter 11: Loaded Propositions

    Darren sat on the bench, carefully nibbling the edges of the pastry, trying to savor the softer, sweeter, cream-filled portion at the center. Edeya had no such intention¡ªshe wolfed hers down in two big bites, groaning in pleasure as the hot, fresh dough melted in her mouth. ¡°Now it¡¯s gone,¡± Darren teased, taking another small bite.

    ¡°Worth it!¡± She licked her fingers. ¡°How can you even enjoy such tiny bites?¡± They were waiting for Lam in the small park at the entrance to thework of trails leading to a few different dungeons, including the Grotto. When it had taken Lam nearly an hour to respond to their first message, saying they were out, Edeya had insisted on waiting for word, just in case she was already in the park, en route, or elsewhere. It turned out to be a good idea; the older Ghelli was on her way to escort them to one of Victor¡¯s mentor¡¯s homes.

    ¡°You think Lam will agree with you about your ss choice?¡±

    Edeya shrugged, wiping her fingers on her pants. ¡°I hope so, but I¡¯m willing to consider the other option.¡± She¡¯d narrowed her decision down to the two ¡°epic¡± options she¡¯d been offered, refusing to consider any of the ¡°advanced¡± ones. Darren had to admit that the ss she preferred sounded decidedly fierce¡ªNimbus Reaver. Moreover, it seemed to focus on her strengths: her water affinity, weapon skill, and ability to fly. The other option was called a Cerulean Gale Summoner, and Edeya thought it was more of a caster ss. Both epic options mentioned her ¡°Cobalt Wing¡± bloodline as being critical in their unlocking.

    ¡°Whatever your choice, it seems like you¡¯re on a much different path than when you first gained levels.¡± Darren tried to be encouraging, but there must have been a hint of concern in his tone because Edeya looked at him more closely with those big, glittering blue eyes of hers.

    ¡°Something bothering you?¡±

    ¡°Oh, um, no.¡± Darren forced a smile. ¡°I think I¡¯m just a little worried about my first choice. I haven¡¯t exactly been training my whole life for this sort of thing like you have. I also don¡¯t have a fancy bloodline or¡ª¡±

    ¡°Oh hush, Dare! You¡¯re going to be fine. You have an amazing Core and powerful affinities. I bet you get at least an advanced option.¡±

    ¡°I hope you¡¯re¡ª¡± He cut his words short as he saw a slender, very human-looking young woman leaning close, slowly inching toward the two of them. She had pale skin and rosy cheeks, and she kept pursing her thin, pink lips in half-formed words as though she wanted to say something but feared interrupting. Darren pondered her, wondering if she was, in fact, human; her hair was a nondescript ck, her eyes pale brown, and he didn¡¯t see any wings or horns or other things that might set her apart. ¡°Um, hello?¡±¡°Oh dear! Excuse me! I didn¡¯t mean to intrude, but I saw you two leaving the Grotto and meant to approach you. I got a bit turned around on the path and only just now stumbled upon you.¡± She had a melodic voice and spoke with a funny quirk, stressing the first syble of seemingly random words.

    Edeya regarded her coolly, her wings fluttering as she turned on the bench to face her more fully. ¡°What can we help you with?¡±

    ¡°Um,¡± the girl¡ªDarren didn¡¯t think she could be much older than twenty¡ªheld her hand to her chest, gently touching the blue gem hanging from a loose, silver ne. ¡°I¡¯m Trin, Trin Volpur¨¦, and I¡¯m seeking tier-one adventures to fill out my party.¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Edeya waved her hand dismissively. ¡°We¡¯re good.¡±

    ¡°Hang on, Edeya,¡± Darren said, feeling a little sorry for the girl. She looked positively crestfallen as she turned away.

    ¡°Oh, fine,¡± Edeya sighed. ¡°We¡¯ll listen to what you have to say, but we¡¯re a strong duo and not really looking for a party right now. We have our own friends we need to catch up to.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Trin took another step closer, standing so she faced both Darren and Edeya. ¡°Well, you should know that a strong party makes leveling all the faster! Additionally, the reason I¡¯m trying to form a party, rather than soloing as I have been, is that my father acquired a pass for First sh Coliseum¡ªI¡¯ve heard of people gaining five levels into the second tier from a run through there. Of course, they likely went in at level neen; that¡¯s the level limit for the ce.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Edeya shifted her gaze from the willowy woman to Darren. ¡°I just hit ten, and Darren¡¯s only six. I think you should keep looking.¡±

    ¡°But you seemed so upbeat after exiting the Grotto; it seemed you had an easy time of it . . .¡± She trailed off, stepping back and looking Darren up and down.

    ¡°I mean, it was kind of a walk in the park, to be honest.¡± Darren wasn¡¯t sure if he was trying to impress the girl or save face after Edeya outed him as a tier-zero neophyte.

    ¡°I, myself, am level fourteen, but we have two weeks! Surely you can gain the first tier by then¡ªDarren, is it?¡±

    ¡°Right, Darren.¡± He held out a hand, a reflex from his recent years as a politician and a businessman before that. Trin regarded it for a moment with narrowed eyes, then sped it. Her fingers were strong and warm, making him feel much morefortable about her.

    ¡°Look, you only just met us, found out we¡¯re kinda low-level, and you¡¯re still pushing? Don¡¯t you have some friends you could ask?¡± Edeya sounded suspicious, but Darren couldn¡¯t really me her; she made a good point.

    ¡°I have friends,¡± Trin replied, nodding, ¡°but wepete more than we help each other. I¡¯ve been a bit on the outs with some of them ever since they formed a party without me andpleted Dagger¡¯s Warf. The truth is that my best friend is now second-tier and won¡¯t give me the time of day. I¡¯m desperate to help her hone her humility!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re waiting for a ride, so listening won¡¯t hurt.¡± Darren nudged Edeya¡¯s knee. ¡°Tell us about this First sh Coliseum.¡±

    Trin grinned, and suddenly, she was holding a canvas camp stool. She set it down so she could sit and face the two of them as she spoke. ¡°It¡¯s a dungeon set up like a series of arenas! You enter directly into the first arena, fight a wave of monsters, and then the boss. If you win, the door opens, and you progress to the next arena. It¡¯s supposed to be amazing! The crowds are popted by dungeon-dwelling denizens, and I¡¯ve heard stories about them throwing coins and trinkets into the arena if they like your performance. Each arena offers a unique treasure, and there¡¯s even a title awarded to those who finish the whole coliseum.¡±

    ¡°A title?¡± Darren frowned at Edeya.

    She shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s a special System award that usually gives you a feat.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! There are reports of several different titles being awarded in this dungeon.¡±

    ¡°And you have to be tier-one to go in?¡± Edeya rified.

    Trin smiled, and Darren noted a small gap between her front teeth. ¡°Correct.¡±

    Edeya sighed, shaking her head. She nced at Darren, clearly annoyed that she was the only one being critical. ¡°Look, it sounds great. I won¡¯t deny that, but don¡¯t you think it¡¯s odd toe up to a couple of random strangers and ask them to do this with you?¡±

    Stolen story; please report.

    Trin nodded, but her smile didn¡¯t falter. ¡°It would be strange, but I haven¡¯t beenpletely forthright with you. To me, you aren¡¯t random.¡±

    Edeya lifted an eyebrow. ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°My older brother, Arcus, was in the recent challenge dungeon. A man¡ªI believe it was your friend or patron or father¡ªI don¡¯t know¡ªbeat my brother. It was the happiest moment of my life!¡±

    Edeya turned red and almost choked. ¡°Victor is not my father!¡± Sheughed, pping Darren on the knee.

    Darren grinned along with her at the idea; as far as he had surmised, Victor was quite a bit younger than he was. Still, he tried to diffuse Edeya¡¯s sudden hysteria. ¡°He¡¯s kind of a patron, though.¡±

    Trin smiled along with Edeya¡¯sughter. She didn¡¯t seem insulted as she shrugged. ¡°Whatever he is to you, I am forever in his debt. He took my prideful brother down a few notches and lightened the shadow in which I live.¡±

    Edeya finally relented, breathing deeply, smiling as she pped Darren¡¯s knee again. ¡°Well, that¡¯s neat, but how do you know who we are?¡±

    Trin leaned closer and spoke softly, ¡°My family is wealthy, and I have many employees at my disposal. When your, um, patron, Victor, beat Arcus, I immediately had my head of security research him. I was desperate to know more about the man who humiliated my brother in the first few minutes of the challenge. I¡¯m sorry for the intrusion, but when I learned he had family or close friends who were near my level, it just felt like fate. You see, my father only gave me this dungeon pass because Arcus lost.¡±

    Darren leaned back, folding his arms over his chest. He didn¡¯t love the sound of the whole thing. It felt like scheming, and he was trying to get away from that sort of business. Edeya gave him a questioning look, and he said, ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of you using us as pawns to get at your brother. We don¡¯t know enough about the politics in this city to get involved in something like that.¡±

    ¡°Pawns? Not at all! I want to be strong! I want to make allies of people who are, themselves, allied with the great Victor! Surely, you¡¯d be boonpanions; I wasn¡¯t lying when I said you seemed rxed and unharrowed by your time in the Grotto. Not everyonees out of there so chipper.¡±

    She sighed and twisted her hands before her, looking deeply into Darren¡¯s eyes. ¡°My brother has eclipsed my life. My entire existence is a mere amusement for my father, an excuse to spend money on pretty nes or dresses while he devotes all of his real resources toward building Arcus and my other siblings up to their tests of steel. When your patron thrashed him, it was an eye-opening experience in my household. Only minutes after Arcus was rescued, my father gave me this dungeon pass, and I believe it¡¯s a test; he wants to see what I can do with it.¡±

    Darren opened his mouth to respond, but then Edeya pointed and jumped up. ¡°Lam¡¯s here!¡± She turned to Trin and said, ¡°It¡¯s an interesting proposal. Is there some way we can get ahold of you?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± She, too, stood and produced a small, gold-leafed card, a bitrger than a modern business card. ¡°My calling card.¡± Edeya took it, turning it front to back, a puzzled twist to her lips as her upturned nose twitched. Trin quickly added, ¡°Simply channel some Energy into it, and we¡¯ll be able tomunicate for a few moments.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good. Nice to meet you, Trin. Let¡¯s go, Dare!¡± Edeya practically skipped toward Lam and the waiting coach, her wings veritably showering the cobbles with sapphire motes of Energy.

    Darren started after her, but Trin took his wrist, tugging until he looked back into her eyes. ¡°It was very nice to meet you, Darren. I hope you¡¯ll consider my offer.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± He smiled, rather enjoying her gentle touch. ¡°Of course we will.¡±

    ¡°I mean, even if your friend is uninterested, I hope you¡¯ll still consider it. Here.¡± She handed him a calling card just like she¡¯d given Edeya.

    ¡°Dare! Come on!¡± Edeya called, and he nced back to see both of the Ghellidies waving at him to hurry.

    ¡°I gotta¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sorry to dy you.¡± Trin released his wrist, and Darren smiled at her once more before hurrying away. He was interested, and he thought Edeya probably was too. Still, the whole family politics aspect was a little off-putting, and he thought it would be wise to talk to Lesh about things first. He chuckled at the idea; the old Darren wouldn¡¯t have trusted anyone¡¯s opinion over his own.

    ¡°Maybe I really am changing,¡± he muttered, smiling as he approached Lam.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Lam asked, grinning very brightly. ¡°You two will love the house where Victor¡¯s mentor has us staying. I¡¯m not sure how long we¡¯ll be allowed to stay, but we¡¯ll enjoy it while we can.¡± She opened the coach door. ¡°Come on, I have some rather big news for you, Dey-dey.¡±

    ¡°Really? Well, wait until you hear about my new ss options!¡±

    Lam smiled and winked at Darren. ¡°I¡¯m breathless with anticipation!¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Lo¡¯ro the Grim had a terrifying countenance on the Spirit ne. His form had stretched to match Victor¡¯s, standing nearly ten feet tall, but his arms and legs were long and skeletal beneath his tattered,yered ck robes. His face, though, was a thing of nightmares¡ªgreat ck hollows in which white, haunting mes flickered, sharp cheekbones, pulling free of the paper-thin gray flesh that struggled to contain his skeletal maw with its worm-filled jagged teeth, and a forked tongue that slithered along his rotten lips like a ck, two-headed worm.

    He coughed at great length as Victor stood to his full height, Lifedrinker humming in his hands, yearning to cleave the monstrosity before him. After a moment, Lo¡¯ro gathered himself and said, ¡°My aspect here reflects my Core more than I¡¯d like; I¡¯ve mastered some facets of the Spirit ne, but it¡¯s never been afortable ce for me. Come, I¡¯ll tune the aperture to the realm we seek, and we can step free of this vile ce.¡±

    Victor squeezed Lifedrinker, reining her in; Lo¡¯ro might be a disgusting Death Caster on the Spirit ne, but that didn¡¯t make him weak. He nodded and watched as the master of death chanted an ancient-sounding limerick in anguage the System didn¡¯t trante, and then the zing blue rend in space red with ck smoke and took on a gray hue. ¡°Now!¡± Lo¡¯ro cried, and he led the way, stepping into the light. Victor figured he was toomitted to back out, so he followed him. It felt like his body sh froze as he passed through, and when he took stock of his surroundings, his spirit form¡¯s teeth were chattering.

    His eyes were immediately drawn to Lo¡¯ro, who once again looked like his physical self, back on the Material ne. The realm they stood in was a featureless gray ne, and Lo¡¯ro¡¯s faintly translucent body bled ck smoke into the gray air. Victor looked down at himself and saw that his usual form prevailed on this ne, too, though he was limned with faint white light that wisped away into foggy smoke. ¡°What¡¯s with the smoke?¡±

    ¡°Our Cores bleed Energy to keep us solid in this ce. Fear not. You¡¯re strong enough tost a good long while. Ware, now, while I craft a circle.¡± Lo¡¯ro summoned a long, thin ck rod and began to trace it on the weird, gray ground. The white-gray light of the aperture through which they¡¯d traveled illuminated their surroundings for nearly fifty yards in every direction, and Victor slowly turned in a circle, wondering what the denizens of that ce might look like.

    Lo¡¯ro drew a circle and then began etching runes within it while Victor watched their surroundings. He didn¡¯t have to wait long before he saw his first geist. It floated in the air, a being of red light that twitched and flickered, asionally giving Victor glimpses of its features¡ªa skeletal hand, a yawning, silently screaming mouth, wide horror-filled eyes, or strands of wispy, ragged hair. The creature drifted past them, nevering close, and as it moved beyond the light of the aperture, it faded from sight. ¡°How do I tell which geists share my affinities?¡±

    Lo¡¯ro grunted as he scrawled another glowing, white rune into the gray silty soil. ¡°You¡¯ll feel it. Don¡¯t worry; they¡¯ll start to crowd around after I finish my circle; it will bait them close while keeping them at bay.¡±

    Victor stooped to touch the ground, noting it felt a lot like the wet sand near theke back in the Free Marches. ¡°What is this stuff?¡±

    ¡°No idea. The primal roots of the universe? The spirits who¡¯ve carved this dimension out aren¡¯t concerned with scenery¡ªthis is a ce to wallow in misery and hate.¡± Lo¡¯ro straightened, and his rod disappeared. ¡°Done! Get that spell ready.¡± Victor nodded, lifting the silvery sheet. He nced at it, studying it while they waited. He was confident he could build the pattern in his pathways.

    Proving that the Death Caster knew what he was talking about, a few geists drifted out of the grayness. They weren¡¯t all red like the first one Victor had seen; some were sickly green, others shades of gray and ck, and still others in varying intensities of red, from pale, nearly pink to deep, bloody crimson. ¡°Do the colors indicate an affinity?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Lo¡¯ro chuckled. ¡°Use your inner eye.¡±

    The geists began to drift toward them, hissing and moaning, their features obscured by the wisps of smoky steam drifting off their forms. Victor could catch glimpses, though, their faces flickering with expressions of fury and pain, agony and terror. He closed his eyes and looked in on his Core, expanding his view outside himself, and then he saw what Lo¡¯ro meant¡ªthe various geists were like mes burning Energy. Victor immediately recognized some with fear and rage attunements; the Energy was too familiar to miss.

    He began to understand what Lo¡¯ro had meant about the geists varying in strength. Some of those mes flickered like candles, some burned bright like torches, and still others were like geysers of fire, difficult to look upon. Victor wondered if he could dominate such a spirit. He was concentrating on the red, rage-attuned geists, trying to choose a target for his first spell, when he heard a soft, sibnt whisper enter his mind, ¡°<em>I sense a kindred fear in your heart, bright one.¡±</em>

    Victor looked toward the source of the sound, how he could tell, he didn¡¯t know, and saw a dark, purple-ck me, a powerful, overbearing one that roared up from the ground like a pir of billowing ck smoke. He stopped looking with his inner eye and saw the geist, a willowy, spectral woman sheathed in misty ck and purple steam. The steam parted long enough for him to catch a glimpse of her horror-filled expression, wide eyes, yawning mouth. It flickered, and he swore she smiled, suddenly serene. It onlysted an instant before awful fear returned, clouding her eyes and twisting her face.

    The voice came into his mind again, ¡°<em>Take me! Take me with you, and I¡¯ll whisper secrets your master could only dream of.¡± </em>Victor frowned, wondering if she meant Lo¡¯ro. Surely that was the case; there wasn¡¯t any way the geist could know about Ranish Dar. The idea that this spirit couldmunicate bothered him. Lo¡¯ro had suggested that the spirits or geists, as he called them, were driven mindless by their past lives, their over-cultivation of fear or rage, or whatever other negative emotional affinity they¡¯d taken in.

    He looked at the Death Caster and saw his dark eyes on him, watching intently. Victor cleared his throat. ¡°Should they be able to speak to me?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Lo¡¯ro chuckled, shaking his head. ¡°Are you daftly trying tomunicate with them? They¡¯re mindless! Choose one and try the spell,d; I¡¯ve ns for the rest of my day.¡±

    <em>¡°Your master knows little. Take me! I won¡¯t fight!¡±</em> The voice came to him again, and Victor switched back to his inner eye, studying the powerful, dark pir of midnight purple Energy. The geist was strong; if it was overwhelmed by fear, how could it talk to him? Why would he be foolish enough to listen? Again, she spoke into his mind, <em>¡°Secrets! Bind me; take me from here! Help me!¡±</em>

    If the thing hadn¡¯t said thosest two words, if it hadn¡¯t asked for help, Victor might have ignored it. He might have chosen caution for once in his life and picked a fear-attuned geist with a much smaller presence. How could he ignore the pleas of any being able to think and form words in a ce like that, however? The smart thing would be to back away, not risk this thing trying to trick him, trying to overpower him, or trying to follow his spirit tether back to his physical form.

    Regardless of what was smart, his Quinametzin pride wouldn¡¯t let him back down. Not from a challenge and not from a plea for help. That was one factor. The other was that Lo¡¯ro didn¡¯t even know it was possible for a geist tomunicate; how could Victor ignore such a development? How could he pretend it didn¡¯t happen and leave it behind? Carefully weaving a thick rope of bright, glory-attuned Energy, he built the pattern for the spell Lo¡¯ro had given him, and, focusing on the purple-ck geist, he cast it.

 Book 8: Chapter 12: Unquiet Ancestors

    As Victor meticulouslypleted the intricate pattern, the spell snapped into ce, and a surge of Energy was drawn from his Core. Despite crafting the spell with glory-attuned Energy, a choice he instinctively believed would be most effective in subduing the will of a fear-attuned geist, the spell drew from all of his affinities, blending his various Energy types as it materialized. He could feel it flowing out of the pathway apertures in his hands, manifesting in the air. Mighty spectral chains burst forth, their nking links resonating eerily as if the sound had to ascend from a profound abyss.

    The ck, fear-drenched geist jerked back at their touch, thrashing, but Victor could feel the tugs, and they weren¡¯t strong. It was almost as though the spirit was putting on a show, making it look like she was resisting while, in reality, she weed the embrace of the bindings. He could feel the spell working, binding her Energy and seeking a ce to cage it. He nced at Lo¡¯ro and saw the Death Caster watching intently, a mad gleam in his eye, and the rune-inscribed rib bone held ready.

    ¡°That¡¯s it,d. You¡¯ve captured a formidable one¡ªwith such ease! I¡¯m astounded! Now, direct the chains to this vessel.¡± Victor obeyed, exerting his will through the Energy-forged chains, guiding them toward the bone. The geist silently writhed and screamed, but he encountered little resistance as the radiant, spectral chains plunged into the bone and began to retract, drawing her in. Victor observed, pondering the enigma he had be a part of; he could perceive with his inner eye that the geist was potent, yet he barely had to exert himself to guide the chains into the bone. Was the ruse just meant to fool Lo¡¯ro, or was he also being duped in some greater scheme?

    As if reading his mind, the voice came into his head again, <em>¡°Thank you for taking me! The bindings on this cage will keep me silent, but if you hold it, we can speak again. I will await your call, fear-brother!¡±</em> With that, the chains lurched, yanking her spectral form into the bone with a final, baleful red sh of the many jagged, harsh runes.

    ¡°Well done! You made quick work of that one! Do you require rest before attempting the second?¡±

    Victor took a deep breath and let it out slowly, ncing at the System messages he¡¯d previously ignored:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You¡¯ve learned a new spell: Greater Spirit Binding ¨C Advanced.***</strong>

    <strong>***Greater Spirit Binding - Advanced: You have learned to bind a bodiless spirit using spirit-attuned Energy. Once bound, you can draw it into a properly prepared vessel. This spell pits the potency of your Energybined with your will against that of the spirit, though the greater nature of this spell offers a force multiplier in your favor. Failure to control the target spirit will give it ess to your spirit¡¯s vessel. Energy Cost: 10000, Cooldown: minimal.***</strong>

    Victor¡¯s eyes widened when he saw the spell was at the ¡°advanced¡± stage¡ªnot something he¡¯din about. ¡°I should be good for another,¡± he grunted, noting he¡¯d already gained back a quarter of the Energy the first spell had required. His high will attribute was proving to be quite a boon when it came to Energy regeneration. A thought urred to him, and he asked, ¡°The spell description specifies spirit-attuned Energy. Are you also a Spirit Caster?¡±Lo¡¯ro nodded, his thin lips pulling back in a sly smile. ¡°I have some small talent, a specialized Core that harbors death and spirit Energies. I only tell you that much because it¡¯s not much of a secret, and I¡¯m sure your master would exin it if you asked him.¡±

    ¡°Ah, right. I actually know someone with something simr, though she¡¯s let her death affinity atrophy.¡± Victor was thinking of Tha, but what he didn¡¯t mention was that he was responsible for her affinity with courage-attuned spirit Energy.

    ¡°Intriguing, but not overly so; half a Death Caster¡¯s dealings are with the dead, and many of those are bodiless. It pays to learn a thing or two about the spirit. Still, it¡¯s not the same as you Spirit Casters; I don¡¯t delve into the deep secrets of my soul, seeking to harness the power of my psyche, my virtues, vices, and traumas. Hah! No,d, I cultivate a particr brand of attuned Energy, and I do it from an external source. Now, you <em>must</em> be ready! Find your second geist, and we can be on our way, my debt to Ranish Dar paid in full.¡±

    Victor watched as the Death Caster shifted the rib bone to his other hand and held the long, rune-inscribed femur ready. He changed his view to that of his inner eye and surveyed the geists crowding the circle Lo¡¯ro had drawn. He recognized a familiar heat, a simr smoldering anger in some of the geists. They were universally red-toned, though the darker, deeper, crimson-wreathed ones resonated most with his rage-attuned Energy. He narrowed his target down to a choice between two. Both had a clear rage signature, though one was significantly brighter than the other.

    Victor studied the baleful spirit, watching with his inner eye as the fury roiled out of it in a towering me that eclipsed the lights of the nearby geists. He could feel the furnace of that rage, taste the bitter hate that lingered along the edges of it. Was it too much for him? Could he master such a geist? He had no idea how hard it would be, thanks to the fear geisting along willingly. The other geist that seemed a match for his affinity was half its size but still significant. Should he settle? Victor snorted, drawing a quizzical re from Lo¡¯ro, but he ignored the death master.

    He''d snorted at his inner dialogue because he knew the question was basically rhetorical by now. It felt like he was a ve to his Quinametzin ego; if he saw a challenge, he felt he had to take it. Perhaps that was a challenge in itself. Was he in charge here, or was the blood coursing through his veins? Victor changed the focus of his gaze to the smaller yet still potent-seeming rage geist. There was no reason his pride had to push him away from doing something smart. Hadn¡¯t he already risked enough by binding that powerful fear geist?

    He formed the pattern for Greater Spirit Binding and grinned savagely as the spectral chains burst into being, immediatelyshing around the smaller rage geist. From there, things became less amusing as the spirit thrashed and jerked, and this time, Victor felt it. His connection to the chains was palpable, a coil of Energy connected directly to his own spirit, and the creature¡¯s first wild, bucking pulls against the chains almost yanked Victor out of the circle! He wrapped his hands around the spectral links and pulled, but it did little. He was being drawn, one shuddering inch at a time, toward Lo¡¯ro¡¯s carefully drawn lines.

    ¡°Don¡¯t pull with your hands, boy! Use your will as you did with the fear geist! What¡¯s gotten into you? The rage?¡±

    Victor growled and, switching to his inner eye, focused on the ming, ring light of the geist. He bore down on it with all of his prodigious intent, willing it forward, willing it to calm, to settle, and ept its fate. ¡°You¡¯re mine now!¡± Victor snarled, something rising in him, something ancient that knew what it meant to subjugate another¡¯s will. Victor didn¡¯t like it, but he needed it; he was still losing the tug of war.

    As his will surged and his blood grew hot, he could hear Lo¡¯ro chortling as the spirit bent to his demands, slowly, painfully, growing still and drifting toward the bone in the Death Caster¡¯s hand. Baleful hate and fury boiled off the geist as it crossed the circle, pulled in by the chains, but by then, it had grown sullen and quiet, and the chains sank into the bone, dragging it along with them.

    As the opposition to his will faded, so too did the specter of Victor¡¯s bloodline. Was it an ancestor rearing his or her head? Had one of theme through the veil to help him, or was it just a dormant, remnant personality trait buried in his Quinametzin bloodline? He growled, annoyed to have one more thing to watch out for as he continued to grow in power.

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Lo¡¯ro interrupted his musings, ¡°I was impressed! That must have been a feisty geist!¡± He chortled again, then added, ¡°Still, that wave of intent nearly had <em>me</em> wanting to crawl into that bone! Hah! Your master will be pleased to hear of it. Now, let¡¯s be gone from this realm. Step through the aperture and then end your Spirit Walk.¡±

    Victor only scowled, his mind too crowded with dark thoughts to find amusement in the Death Caster¡¯s words. He stepped through the rip in the veil, and the frigid cold of the death-attuned Energy did much to cool his frustration. By the time he¡¯d ended his Spirit Walk and found himself sitting among his coyotes, his mood had begun to lift. He let his coyotes lick his face while he waited for Lo¡¯ro¡¯s return. Victor dismissed the pack when the Death Caster stirred, sending them home to the Spirit ne.

    He was slinging Lifedrinker onto his back When Lo¡¯ro opened his eyes and stood, producing a polished ivory case with a silk-lined interior. He gently ced the two rune-inscribed bones into the case, closed it, and handed it over to Victor. ¡°Don¡¯t store that in your cheap dimensional containers.¡±

    Victor tucked the case against his side, holding it tight with his left hand and elbow. He nodded. ¡°I won¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Any idea where your master¡¯s run off to?¡±

    ¡°None. He said he had to contemte some things or something along those lines.¡±

    ¡°So introspective, you Spirit Casters!¡± Lo¡¯ro chuckled again, then beckoned Victor to follow him. ¡°I¡¯ll deliver you back to hiske house. You¡¯ve done me a favor bypleting this task so quickly. You might be interested in knowing why I wanted to finish it so quickly.¡± He looked back at Victor, raising one of his hairless eyebrows.

    Victor nodded and quickly said, ¡°Yes, sure.¡±

    ¡°Recall, if you will, the youngdy who nearlypleted the challenge dungeon while you tussled around in that great cave.¡±

    ¡°Arona?¡±

    ¡°Correct! Her master is Vesavo Bonewhisper, and we¡¯re rather friendly rivals. I¡¯m trying to steal her from him.¡± He began climbing the metal stairs that would take them to his tower¡¯s dock, and Victor followed, puzzling over his words.

    ¡°Steal her?¡±

    ¡°As an apprentice. She¡¯s too smart for Vesavo, and he¡¯s a cruel master. Well, so am I, but less so, I think.¡± Heughed, that dry, raspyugh of his, and Victor found himself scowling further. If he had Chantico¡¯s strength, he might burn the man on the spot to make the world a brighter ce. He stopped in his tracks as the thought ran through his mind. Chantico? It took a second for it to click; she was the ancestor who¡¯d gifted him with her fire when he faced the reaver army. He hadn¡¯t thought of her name in months, yet he¡¯d just named her like she was as familiar as a friend or cousin.

    Lo¡¯ro continued speaking, but when he realized he¡¯d moved ahead of Victor, he paused and looked back. ¡°Something amiss?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m . . . not quite myself,¡± Victor admitted.

    ¡°Ah! Not too surprising, considering the realm you just spent time in. Come now. Let¡¯s get you into the coach; you¡¯ll be feeling yourself in no time.¡±

    Victor grunted and began climbing the stairs again. ¡°Right, sorry about that. What were you saying about Arona?¡±

    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m attending a ball of sorts next week. Vesavo will be there, and I intend to steal his heart with mytest creation. He¡¯ll lose his mind when he sees her! He¡¯ll simply have to have her, and I intend to bargain for his apprentice.¡± They reached thending, and he pushed open the heavy metal door, exposing them to the chilly gusts of the heights. Victor stepped out, inhaling the fresh air deeply and sighing in relief to feel the sun on his face. Something about the Death Caster¡¯s tower had definitely been rubbing him the wrong way.

    As Lo¡¯ro pulled the door closed with a heavy <em>ng</em>, Victor looked at the pale, skeletal man. ¡°Yourtest creation is a woman?¡±

    ¡°In a sense! She¡¯s not done yet, which is why I¡¯m eager to get back to work today. She¡¯ll be a construct of flesh and blood, animated by my magic and infused with spirit fragments. It was quite the puzzle to find enoughplementing shards, ones that harmonize and strengthen each other. It¡¯s been abor of love for decades.¡± He led the way along the docking spire toward the coach as he continued, ¡°You see, I take more pleasure in the process than the final product, but Vesavo won¡¯t be able to say the same; I¡¯ve crafted her to resemble his first love, a woman we both knew as young men.¡±

    Victor thought the whole thing sounded macabre and, frankly, disgusting, and the only thing he could manage to feel other than that was sympathy for Arona. He grunted in a way that he hoped Lo¡¯ro might interpret as him being impressed, and then he climbed into the coach, walking over to sit on the sofa where he¡¯d ridden before. He closed his eyes and rubbed them with his thumbs, feeling a headache in the back of his skull, something he hadn¡¯t experienced in a very long time.

    ¡°That rip in the veil was deep,d. I have incredible torrents of death-attuned Energy feeding it from my tower. Your exposure to that, and also your spirit¡¯s travel beyond the veil¡ªI¡¯m sure, for someone with a sensitive spirit Core, it threw things out of bnce. You¡¯ll be fine after a bit more time out in the sun. Dar¡¯ske house is just what the doctor ordered.¡± He paused and added, ¡°Do you have a way tomunicate with your ancestors?¡±

    ¡°Um,¡± Victor was surprised by the question and wasn¡¯t quite sure how to answer. ¡°I guess sometimes I talk to them. I don¡¯t know if they hear. Oh! I can also send them gifts.¡±

    ¡°Do so again soon. It may be that they sensed you beyond the veil, which may make them unquiet.¡± Lo¡¯ro sounded sincerely concerned about him, and Victor forced himself to dial back some of the disdain or perhaps just dislike he was feeling for the man. Yes, his magic was creepy, and Victor wasn¡¯t on board with it, but he had just taught him a spell and helped him gather two powerful sources for cultivation. Not only that, but he seemed pleasant enough, though Victor would have bet money his joviality was a side effect of doing a favor for Ranish Dar.

    He nodded and forced a smile, then closed his eyes, letting his mind wander, thinking about the sun¡ªvisualizing its orange-red reflection on Dar¡¯ske. Soon, the image wavered in his mind¡¯s eye, and he pictured himself on the ziggurat¡¯s steps, the great sky-metal altar behind him, the sun glowing orange-red overtop the thick, hazy jungle canopy. It felt glorious on his face and chest, soaking into his muscles, blood, and bones. He savored it, pulling the potent Energy into his pathways, letting it run through its cycles . . .

    ¡°Dead gods! Wake up,d!¡± Victor felt a viselike, frigid grip on his shoulder, jostling him, and he opened his eyes, bleary with disorientation. He smelled smoke, and when he jerked fully awake, leaping to his feet, he saw that Lo¡¯ro¡¯s couch was ckened and smoking, and he, himself, was wreathed in red mes.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± he grunted, pping himself, but the mes were cool to the touch and hadn¡¯t burned him or his clothes. Still, the couch . . .

    ¡°What the fuck, indeed!¡± Lo¡¯roughed. He still gripped Victor¡¯s shoulder, and Victor could see his sleeve was scorched, but his hand was unharmed. ¡°Channeling spirit mes through the Spirit ne, if I¡¯m not mistaken. You were dreaming?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Shit, I¡¯m sorry, Lo¡¯ro!¡± Victor looked down at the couch, relieved to see the fire flickering and fading away from his body. ¡°I was . . . I was one of my ancestors, I think.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re worried about you. It seems one of them made a connection, in any case. That should put them at ease. Still, if you have something worth giving them, I¡¯d do so. Your connection to the realms beyond ours is profound; I don¡¯t think Dar quite realizes how much so. Is this something you want me to keep between us?¡±

    Victor opened his mouth to respond but paused, weighing the words. Was Lo¡¯ro offering to help him keep a secret from Dar? Was it a trap? Surely, the Death Caster valued Dar¡¯s friendship more than whatever he had with Victor. Victor sighed and shook his head. It didn¡¯t matter; he had no reason to hide his connection to his ancestors from Dar. ¡°It¡¯s nothing I¡¯m trying to hide. Thanks for your concern, though. Can I pay for that couch?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. The damage will be repaired in an hour¡¯s time, and I¡¯ll have this carriage cleaned; it was due in any case. Luckily, we¡¯re just now arriving, and you can get some fresh air and water¡ªthings I¡¯m told the living much prefer to an undead lord¡¯s crypt-like amodations!¡± Heughed, and Victor found it easier to forget his earlier disgust.

    Victor held up the ivory case containing the two bound geists, trying to shake off the strange thoughts, feelings, and, apparently, manifestations that had been guing him. ¡°Thank you for all of your help today, Master Lo¡¯ro.¡±

    ¡°It was my pleasure. Never doubt I got something out of this little endeavor. I do have a small proposal for you, though, my young friend. How would you like to earn a favor of your own?¡±

    Victor paused by the door, eager to be gone from that strange coach but also intrigued. Lo¡¯ro was a powerhouse; having him in his debt wouldn¡¯t go amiss. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±

    ¡°The ball I mentioned¡ªI¡¯d appreciate it if you attended. I¡¯m certain I can convince Vesavo to make the trade, but Arona might be unwilling; she¡¯s grown used to his tutge and might find the prospect of a new master daunting. If she saw you there as my guest, I might mention that your master and I are rather close and that there may be opportunities for joint training ventures sometime soon. I believe she¡¯ll be intrigued. Well, if I were honest, I might say that anyone who witnessed the events in the Vault of Valor would be.¡±

    ¡°You want me to help you convince her to switch, um, masters?¡± Victor hated the word and hated how Dar was constantly beingbeled as his master, but it seemed very ingrained in the culture of Sojourn and likely most worlds with powerful cultivators.

    ¡°Exactly so! As I said, I¡¯d owe you a favor.¡±

    ¡°Um, can I bring a guest?¡± Victor was missing Va and figured she might enjoy a party.

    ¡°Certainly! Never fear; I¡¯ll arrange things with Dar. It¡¯s settled, then?¡± He pulled the door to the coach open, and Victor felt the sun on his face like air to suffocating lungs.

    ¡°Sure. I can do that.¡± Victor smiled, respectfully nodded one more time, and then ducked out of the coach and into the bright sunshine. It was glorious. Lo¡¯ro waved and closed the door, and then his ghostly carriage silently streaked away in a hazy cloud of gray, spectral smoke. Victor squinted down the drive toward the front of the house, but before he walked toward the door, he fished the Farscribe book he shared with Va from his ring and flipped to thest page. He was suddenly desperate for some word from her. To his relief, a new message awaited him:<blockquote>

    <em>Victor,</em>

    <em>All is well, though we are exhausted and drained. More battles await us after our rest, and I¡¯m on watch. Lesh already snores nearby. I¡¯ll share more news when we¡¯re out, but for now, I¡¯ll give you this good news: We¡¯ve each gained two levels!</em>

    <em>I love you,</em>

    <em>Va</em></blockquote>

    Victor smiled and closed the book. He¡¯d write her a response once he was sitting in the sun with a big ss of something fresh and still full of life, something like orange juice. He clutched the ivory box and started for the house, wondering when Dar would make his next appearance.

 Book 8: Chapter 13: Personal Time

    Book 8: Chapter 13: Personal Time

    When Victor entered Dar¡¯ske house, it was quiet, and the servant who opened the door for him said, ¡°Your guests are down at theke, swimming, I believe.¡±

    He nodded, smiling at the woman. He tried to look her in the eyes while he spoke, but she kept looking down, and he didn¡¯t want to press the issue; he couldn¡¯t tell if she was trying to be respectful or if it was some cultural thing. ¡°I¡¯ll join them soon.¡± He gestured with the smooth, ivory case, ¡°I¡¯ll stop by my quarters first. Any word from Dar?¡±

    ¡°Lord Dar has indicated that he¡¯ll be here for dinner. He does not expect you to join him. I¡¯m sure he¡¯llmunicate his expectations. Do you share a Farscribe boo¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shit!¡± Victor pped his head, interrupting her. ¡°I do. I better check it. Thanks!¡± He hurried to the rooms Dar had given him to use and closed the door. He sat at the suite¡¯s study desk, pulled out the Farscribe book Dar had given him, and flipped past the several dozen pages he¡¯d written in already. On the furthest, script-covered page, he found a short note from Dar:<blockquote>

    <em>Victor,</em>

    <em>Lo¡¯ro has indicated to me that you were sessful. He has reported that the experience was hard on you and that your connection to the ne of Spirits and your ancestors is particrly sensitive. Given your history, I should have anticipated that. Do not be rmed; when you stepped through the rip in the veil, no doubt your ancestors sensed it and grew concerned. If they weren¡¯t trying to guide you to join them, they certainly, at least, wanted to know where you had gone. Perhaps they sought to aid you. In any case, their unrest will ease knowing you are back among the living.</em>

    <em>Take the next few days for yourself. See to your prizes from thepetition, consume that monster¡¯s heart¡ªI see no reason to dy that process. I¡¯ve made the decision to allow you and your guests to stay at myke house until such time that you¡¯ve built up your fortune and can afford a home more suitable to your stature. At first, I thought it was too much, that I¡¯d spoil you, but I believe the natural environment is vital to your spiritual development. That said, if you need funds, sell your home in the city.</em>

    <em>To avoid my ire, check this book each day at sunrise and sunset for my instructions. When we next meet, I¡¯ll guide you to a proper location in the caves beneath theke where we can begin the construction of your cultivation chamber.</em>

    <em>Congrattions on your sess,</em><em>Ranish Dar</em></blockquote>

    Victor read the text twice, feeling strangelyforted by the Spirit Master¡¯s words and concern. He looked around the room and smiled; it was a damn sight nicer than the one he and Va had imed in his townhome. She was going to love it at theke house. ¡°How the hell did he find all that out so fast? Lo¡¯ro <em>just</em> left!¡± He chuckled at his muttered words. He supposed he could assume the two masters had some way ofmunicating that he didn¡¯t understand. Maybe Lo¡¯ro spoke to Dar while Victor had dozed, having his ancestor¡¯s dream. ¡°Before I burned up the couch!¡± heughed.

    He reached up to his chest, feeling the vault pendant under his shirt. He supposed Dar¡¯s idea of building his cultivation chamber in a cave was smart for now. Victor liked having the vault with him, storing his treasures and secrets, apparently keeping them safe even from people as powerful as Lo¡¯ro and Dar. Nodding with purpose, he left the room, still clutching the ivory box, and made his way out onto the deck. Before he descended the stairs to the pier, where he could hearughter and sshing, he took his ne off and opened his vault on a clear section of the deck.

    The tiny metallic ball rapidly expanded with clicks and gouts of steam. The deck groaned a little under the weight, but Victor figured Dar had built it to amodate people of his stature. How much would a dinner party of giants weigh? He chuckled at the image that conjured and opened the vault, stepping inside. His ivid royal jelly, wrapped in the ivid silk, still sat in a satchel against the wall, and Victor set the ivory box containing his two trapped geists down a few feet away from it. That done, he stepped out, closed the heavy vault door, and twisted the key until it began to shrink again.

    One of Dar¡¯s household staff had approached, a look of concern on his face, but he rxed and offered a quick nod as Victor bent to pick up the pendant, hanging it over his neck. ¡°Just had to put something away.¡±

    ¡°Of course, sir.¡± He gestured toward the stairs leading down to theke. ¡°Would you like us to prepare refreshments?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that would be great.¡± When the man nodded and turned back to the house, Victor started down the steps. As he walked, he pulled off his shirt, sending it into the ring where he kept most of his clothes. The sun andke air felt terrific against his skin, and he let it soak in while he took in the sight below.

    Lam and Edeya sat at the end of the pier, wearing garments that looked more like underwear than swimsuits. Their wings were spread wide, fluttering in the warm breeze while they dipped their feet in the water. A ssh drew Victor¡¯s eyes out to theke, and he saw Darren floating on his back, his long ck hair syed out in the water behind him like a fan. They were certainly enjoying the setting.

    None of them had noticed him yet, and an evil grin spread on Victor¡¯s lips as he silently sat on the steps and reached down to send his boots, socks, and pants into his dimensional ring. He stood, wearing just his boxer-like underpants. With an effort of will, he mped down on his aura, ensuring none of it leaked out, and, like a hulking, musclebound barbarian sneaking up on a foe, he stalked down to the pier. He crept over its twenty-five-yard length until he was just a few feet behind the two women. He then bunched his thighs and leaped over them, cannonballing into the water.

    Screams and curses greeted his ears when he surfaced, and Victorughed, shaking his head and wiping the water off his face. He looked up with glee, observing the chaos he¡¯d caused. Lam was on her feet, a hammer much smaller than the one she usually used in her right hand. Edeya was hovering in the air behind her, her ivory spear in her hands. Her wings hummed and shed thousands of motes of blue-tinted Energy, and both women scowled, dripping water onto the drenched decking. ¡°What?¡± he asked with mock innocence.

    ¡°Victor!¡± Edeya screamed, diving toward him, swinging the spear like a club, intending to clobber him. Lam chuckled, shook her head, and sent her hammer back into her ring. Of course, Victor knew more about horsey in a pool than Edeya was prepared to handle. He snatched the spear haft as she swung it close, and with just a fraction of his titanic strength, he used it tounch her toward the center of theke.

    Edeya howled, her wings humming with effort to correct her flight. She almost seeded, righting herself and slowing her descent, but not quite enough; she sshed into the water a dozen yards beyond where Darren floated. Victorughed and reached the spear toward Lam so the other woman could take it andy it on the pier.

    ¡°She¡¯s going to be angry!¡± Lam said, shaking her head.

    ¡°Nah,¡± Victor chuckled. ¡°She enjoyed that. See?¡± He was right; Edeya¡¯s wings buzzed and sshed, and then she shot out of the water, streaking back toward the pier. He wasn¡¯t sure, but he thought she was flying faster than she used to.

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    ¡°Bully!¡± she cried as she settled onto the pier, then plopped down again beside Lam. Victor flopped onto his back in the water, letting his momentum carry him a little further away from them.

    When he surfaced, he chuckled, ¡°I¡¯m going shopping soon; I¡¯ll buy you all some swimsuits.¡± He stared up into the hazy sky, amazed by how many stars he could still see, even in the middle of the day.

    ¡°What?¡± Edeya asked, but then Lamughed, and Victor heard her whisper.

    ¡°He thinks our impromptu swimming garments are too immodest!¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± he said, trying not to sound like a prude, ¡°I mean, when they got wet, I could see through ¡®em.¡±

    ¡°Creep!¡± Edeya howled, and when he smiled her way, he saw she and Lam were both shrugging into loose-fitting shirts.

    ¡°He¡¯s not a creep,¡± Lam said, lifting an arm over Edeya¡¯s shoulders. ¡°He¡¯s just a man. He didn¡¯t have to say anything.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Edeya sighed. ¡°You know he and I like to tease. Don¡¯t fret. Besides, when I tell Va . . .¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Victor sshed a wave of water her way. ¡°Don¡¯t make me pull you down to the bottom!¡± She kicked water back at him, and when he finishedughing, he said, ¡°So? What did you think of Lam¡¯s news?¡± Victor heard sshing behind him and turned to see Darren slowly swimming back toward the dock. He had a smooth way of moving in the water like he¡¯d done a lot of swimming in his life.

    Meanwhile, Edeya gushed, ¡°It¡¯s amazing! We¡¯re going to level together! Can you think of anything more wonderful?¡± Victor had expected her to be a little upset with Lam, considering the risks involved in the process. When he peered at the older woman, she narrowed her eyes and ever-so-slightly shook her head. That rified things: Lam had omitted some of the facts. Victor figured she¡¯d give Edeya the details as time passed and the younger woman grew more and morefortable with the idea.

    He considered Edeya¡¯s question and shook his head. ¡°No, I really can¡¯t. I want to do the same with Va; I wish circumstances allowed us to do more together.¡±

    Lam looked at Edeya and sighed. ¡°I keep trying to tell her that I wanted a second go at leveling, at sses, skills, and rewards. It¡¯s not all about you, Dey-dey.¡± Victor could see Edeya wasn¡¯t buying it.

    ¡°Of course, of course.¡± She grinned, eyes twinkling. Then she gasped and turned to face Victor. ¡°You gave her a spirit Core! And we both have new sses!¡±

    Victor knew what she wanted, so he asked, ¡°Well? Tell me about your ss, then.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a Nimbus Reaver, and as soon as I chose it, I gained a skill! Improved flight!¡±

    ¡°I <em>thought</em> you seemed faster. Nice one, Edeya. Nimbus Reaver, huh? Sounds tough.¡± He nodded in approval. ¡°You can still use the spear?¡± He¡¯d given her one of the finer, though not overly heavy and powerful, spears that had belonged to Karnice, the one-time champion of Coloss. He knew the question wasn¡¯t necessary; hadn¡¯t he just flung her with that same spear? But he knew she wanted to talk about the ss, so he thought it was a good opening.

    ¡°Yes! It¡¯s a ss that will take advantage of my water affinity while nourishing my bloodline development andbat abilities.¡±

    ¡°Should go nicely with Lam¡¯s new ss, too.¡± Victor nodded and turned to look at Darren, who¡¯d been treading water nearby for a while. ¡°Getting close to ten, Darren?¡±

    He nodded. ¡°Level six, but close to seven, I think.¡±

    ¡°Cool. Nice job, man.¡± Victor wanted to go for a swim, but he figured he should share some of his news. ¡°Dar gave me permission to live here, and he explicitly said me and my ¡®guests,¡¯ so I think I¡¯ll head into town and pick up our belongings from the vi. I think I might sell it.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Edeya squealed, and Victor saw her grasp Lam¡¯s hand, squeezing it tightly.

    ¡°Yeah, he thinks it¡¯ll be good for my development.¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°Speaking of development, Lam, I have a few spell patterns I should teach you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d do that?¡±

    Her surprise caught Victor off guard. He nodded and shrugged. ¡°Of course I will.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Lam squinted down at him between the fingers of her hand, fighting to make eye contact in the bright re of the sun¡¯s reflections, ¡°I really appreciate that, Victor. We¡¯re talking about heading into another dungeon soon. If Lesh and Va get out in the next day or two, do you think Dar would be okay with us having a dinner party here? Edeya and I want to cook for you.¡±

    Victor grinned at the idea. ¡°He said I could live here with my guests, so there¡¯s no way he¡¯d say we can¡¯t have a dinner party. Besides, who knows how many houses that guy has? I¡¯ll write it into the Farscribe book when I make my report tonight.¡±

    ¡°Yay!¡± Edeya said, throwing an arm around Lam¡¯s neck and squeezing her close. ¡°We want to invite someone for you to meet. She asked us to join her party to go into a kind of exclusive dungeon, and we want your opinion about her.¡±

    Lam held up a hand. ¡°That¡¯s Edeya¡¯s idea. I haven¡¯t met this girl.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine with me. Maybe I could invite a friend, too.¡± Victor was thinking of Sora. He flopped back and kicked his legs, moving further into the water. ¡°I¡¯m heading to town in an hour or so if any of you want toe. For now, I¡¯m going to try to swim across theke.¡± With that, he turned and struck out, swimming over the surface, face down, marveling at how good it felt to exert himself in the cool water with the sun on his back.

    While he swam and considered the idea of hosting a dinner party, he pictured a few other potential guests. Would Drobna, the turtle-like berserker, want toe? Victor thought it would be fun to chat with him about the things they had inmon. He grinned as he imagined inviting Cam, too, just to put him on the spot to see how he acted toward Sora. Would he hold a grudge? Then, there was the giant armor-ted warrior and his wife¡ªthey¡¯d be fun to talk to, wouldn¡¯t they?

    When he realized he was thinking of inviting the people he¡¯d thrashed in the dungeon, Victor rolled onto his back andughed. Was he so eager for some drama? Was he trying to stir shit up, or was he trying to clear the air? He liked to think it was thetter.

    He stopped halfway into theke, not because he was tired but because it was taking too long. He didn¡¯t want the whole afternoon to slip away while he swam. When he returned, the others were already on the deck,fortably dressed and enjoying a light lunch. Victor¡¯s stomach rumbled, but he knew it was just habit; he felt amazing after the swim and knew the rich ambient Energy on Sojourn was doing plenty to nourish his body. Still, he sat down with the others and ate a te of cold meats, each marinated or cured with different seasonings and spices.

    The meats were rolled and skewered with toothpicks, along withplementing cold, crisp vegetables, and he wished he had some kind of guide to exin what each of them was. ¡°This is so good,¡± he mumbled around a mouthful. ¡°Va would love this.¡±

    ¡°Lesh wouldn¡¯t,¡± Darrenughed. ¡°He¡¯d take a tray, pull out all the toothpicks, and then eat the meat in one or two bites.¡±

    Victorughed and raised an eyebrow at the guy. He was a damn sight different from the suit-wearing politician from First Landing that he¡¯d been. He wore a loose, button-up linen shirt, the cor hanging wide, over soft-looking gray cks. His feet were bare, and his long, ck hair hung loose over his shoulders. The guy looked like a lounging movie star. ¡°You¡¯re looking better, Darren. Just a few levels, and you already seem more . . . solid, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Dare was great in the dungeon, Victor!¡± Edeya said, licking her fingers after a bite.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Yep. I was worried he¡¯d be, you know, maybe a little hesitant, I guess, but he was positively brave. He fended off a toad boss that was twice his size!¡±

    ¡°Dare, huh?¡± Victor nodded. ¡°I like it. Well, good job.¡± Victor stood and walked toward the house, pausing on his way to p Darren on the shoulder. He was careful not to knock him out of his seat, and he could see the man¡¯s smile broaden at the gesture. ¡°Anyone going with me?¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± Lam said. ¡°I want to shop for new hammers and a shield. I¡¯m going to try to be a front line for these two.¡± She looked at Victor. ¡°Will that be all right? Are you going to a weapon shop?¡±

    ¡°Better, I¡¯m gonna check out the auction house. Sora mentioned it to me while I was in the dungeon. I¡¯m pretty sure we can find you what you need.¡± Victor nned to try to trade one of the five set-piece items he had for a pair of pants in the set; he was tired of his pants getting shredded all the time. He also had his prizes from the campaign back on Fanwath to look into¡ªthe magma attunement gem and theva king hide. ¡°After that, I want to speak to my realtor and stop by the house.¡±

    Edeya gestured a toothpick toward Darren. ¡°I¡¯m going to help him cultivate.¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°When you get to level ten, Darren, if that staff isn¡¯t going to be ideal, I have a shitload of other weapons. We¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re ready for the next dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Darren stood, and it looked like he was about to bow, but he just nodded respectfully. ¡°I wish there was a way to level without going into a dungeon. Wouldn¡¯t it be great if I were ten before then?¡±

    ¡°A level or two from cultivating and learning spells isn¡¯t unheard of,¡± Lam said, ¡°But four levels in just a day or three won¡¯t be likely.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of spells,¡± Edeya said, leaping up. ¡°Victor, will you see if you can find any cheap, lower-level spell patterns for water or lightning affinities? I mean, chaos, too, but that sounds scary, so . . .¡±

    ¡°Uh,¡± Darren said, holding up a hand, ¡°don¡¯t go out of your way or anything . . .¡±

    ¡°Rx,¡± Victor chuckled, ¡°I¡¯ll check the auction house.¡±

    Lam gestured to the door. ¡°Come on, Victor. Before our shopping list grows any more. You can talk to me about courage affinity spells while we ride in the coach.¡±

    Victor shrugged and waved at Edeya as he followed Lam through the door. It was nice to have friends around him, but he missed Va. While he followed Lam to the coach house, he thought about the Gargantuopod heart in his dimensional ring. Should he eat it that night? He had Dar¡¯s blessing but didn¡¯t want to get knocked out for days. What if Va came home, and he missed her? He didn¡¯t think that was all that likely¡ªhe¡¯d eaten a few potent hearts, and none of them had knocked him out for all that long, unlike the bloodline evolution treasures he¡¯d consumed.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said, though all he got from Lam was a puzzled look. He winked at her, adding, ¡°I¡¯m going to have a busy night.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 14: Upgrades

    Book 8: Chapter 14: Upgrades

    ¡°So,¡± Victor said as Dar¡¯s coach pulled away, sending his stomach sinking as it lurched into the sky, ¡°Edeya seems happy.¡±

    ¡°She is! Thanks, Victor, for not mentioning the risks of the ritual. I¡¯ll let her warm up to the idea and put a little distance between us and what I did before I give her those details.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I figured.¡± Victor smiled and leaned back, enjoying thefortable ride; like Dar¡¯s other coach, this one had plenty of room for him at his normal stature. ¡°So you need a new hammer?¡±

    ¡°My current favorite requires a good deal more strength than I can muster. Oh! Speaking of equipment, though, I got you something.¡± She produced a small, t, circr stone and handed it over. Victor took it, feeling a slight warmth and a tiny tingle of Energy. It felt good.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°I met a girl by the path to the lower-level dungeons. She imed to have a luck affinity and sold these stones for extra money. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s real? I already gave one to Edeya and Darren.¡±

    ¡°There''s definitely something in here.¡± Victor narrowed his eyes. ¡°Luck, huh? Is that a spirit affinity?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re asking me?¡± Lamughed but nodded and added, ¡°She said it was. I liked the way it felt, and I think mine already brought me some luck. I was rubbing it when I asked Dar to help me.¡±

    Victor chuckled. ¡°Well, thanks, Lam. I won¡¯t turn down a bit of luck.¡± He tucked the little stone into a pocket. ¡°How about I give you a spell to study? From what I¡¯ve been able to figure out, it¡¯s a courage affinity¡¯s version of Berserk. I don¡¯t use it much, so I only have it at the basic level, but I bet it gets better and better as you improve it.¡±Lam leaned close and gripped his wrist in her much smaller hands. ¡°That would be amazing!¡±

    Victor smiled and produced a sheet of paper and one of the magical quills he¡¯d picked up while browsing curio shops. ¡°I have this pattern memorized and could probably draw it blindfolded.¡± As he began to trace the lines, he continued, ¡°It¡¯s called Heroic Heart. The basic level of the spell will give you immunity to fear effects and make it hard for anyone to affect your mind with spells that might confuse or even control you. Your will is important, of course, but the spell gives you a massive boost to any resistance you put up.¡±

    ¡°That sounds incredible!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, this is the basic pattern I used to create most of my most potent spells; I just try it with different affinities as I gain them. My first was Berserk, then I gained my inspiration affinity and learned to weave that with rage to create courage-attuned Energy. That¡¯s how I figured this one out.¡±

    ¡°So, mixing other spirit affinities can create a different one?¡±

    ¡°Yep! It¡¯s not just mixing, though.¡± Victor finished the pattern with a flourish. He had to admit that his higher dexterity and intelligence were really starting to show in his control of the pen; his lines were straight, his curves perfectly formed, and his artistic ir matched what he imagined in his mind. He¡¯d added shading and contours without even thinking about it. He handed the sheet to Lam. ¡°When youbine different spirit Energies, you have to use the right weave, which takes some guidance to learn the first few times. I¡¯ll help you, but first, we need to find a second affinity for you.¡±

    Lam took the pattern almost reverently, and her eyes widened as she studied it. ¡°This is so different from the other spell patterns I¡¯ve learned. It resonates with me somehow!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s meant to use the Energy in your Core, which is now a reflection of your spirit. I bet that¡¯s a lot different than learning spells for generic Energy.¡± Lam only nodded, her eyes glued on the pattern. ¡°I have a few other spells I should teach you before you go getting into fights. When we get back to the house, I¡¯ll write ¡®em out for you, okay?¡±

    Lam nodded, blinking her eyes andughing, looking away from him. ¡°I¡¯ve been so stupidly emotional ever since the ritual. Thank you, Victor.¡±

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry about it. If you think you¡¯re emotional now, wait until I show you what cultivating is all about as a Spirit Caster.¡± Victor chuckled ruefully. ¡°Be thankful your first affinity isn¡¯t rage.¡± He left it at that, and Lam was too engrossed in the spell pattern to dig further into his meaning, so Victor sat back and enjoyed the rest of the short ride into the city.

    Their first stop was the Sojourn Auction Hall, something he¡¯d heard Cam and Sora talking about during their initial, meandering trip through the ruins toward the stairs of thepetitive dungeon. When they arrived and the coachman opened the door, Victor looked at him and asked, ¡°Mister Qwor, should we find another ride back to theke house?¡±

    ¡°No, sir. Mytest instructions are to serve as your coachman until Lord Dar instructs me otherwise. I¡¯ll remain in the vicinity. If I¡¯m forced to move the coach while I wait, simply tap your si ring three times, and I¡¯ll locate you.¡±

    Victor looked down at his ring and frowned. ¡°It can do that?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. Three taps for your coach, two to summon a servant in the house. It has other functions, but I¡¯m sure Lord Dar has given you those details.¡±

    ¡°Not exactly.¡± Victor shrugged, adding it to the list of things to write to Dar about that evening. He nodded to the driver, then turned, joining Lam near the steps leading up to the auction house. ¡°Quite a building.¡± She only nodded, staring up at the massive, blue-crystal rectangr edifice that soared into the sky before them. The crystalline walls were dark blue at the base, in the shadows of the other towers of Sojourn, but grew progressively lighter as they gained altitude and were exposed to more and more light. Near the top, high in the sky, the building blended with the sky to be almost invisible.

    ¡°Incredible,¡± Lam said, finally gathering herself and looking to Victor to lead the way.

    ¡°Right. I¡¯m not sure how this ce works. Like, I wonder if there¡¯s always an auction going on or if there¡¯s some kind of listing. Let¡¯s go in and check things out.¡±

    Quite a crowd walked by at the street level, and a constant stream of people climbed the steps to and from the building. Victor had also noticed entrances in the clouds on the crystalline walkways of the elite. ¡°Popr ce,¡± he remarked, nodding to Lam and starting up. When they entered the open archways in the crystal walls, the ambient temperature dropped a few degrees, and the lighting reflected the blue of the structure. It wasn¡¯t a deep, off-putting color but a calming tint that fell on the pale gray marble floors.

    Beings of gas and light operated hundreds of kiosks in the big, open hall. They were members of the same alien species Victor had seen in other official capacities around the city. He¡¯d heard Dar mention their species name when they¡¯d had to go to the ¡°inquest¡± after his dungeon run, but Victor had already filed it away somewhere too difficult to retrieve. He picked a kiosk without a queue and approached, smiling toward the floating, pulsing ball of yellow light.

    ¡°Greetings, Sojourner. I am V-eleven. Are you here to ess the auction listings?¡± The creature spoke directly into his mind, or so it seemed, but Lam¡¯s bodynguage indicated she¡¯d heard the voice, too.

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    ¡°I¡¯d like to learn more about it. Is it difficult to put something up for sale? When are the auctions held?¡±

    ¡°Ah, my apologies,¡± the smooth, genderless voice replied. ¡°When I saw the si of Ranish Dar upon your finger, I assumed you were more familiar with Sojourn. This auction house is, essentially, arge, never-ending silent auction. You can ess the items listed for sale using a menu on your city tablet. I¡¯ll dly take any items you¡¯d like to list on the auction and store them in this building. I¡¯m sorry to say that we cannot list items that aren¡¯t in the custody of the Sojourn Auction House.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s even better than I¡¯d hoped.¡± Victor looked at Lam, raising an eyebrow, wanting to ensure she¡¯d heard everything the helpful being had said. She nodded.

    V-eleven pulsed, and Victor felt as though it exuded pleasure at his words. ¡°If you would like, I¡¯m happy to help you search through the listings. Is there anything you¡¯re interested in finding?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we have a few things. Can we start with this?¡± Victor fished his Cloak of Sojourn out of his storage ring and set it on the counter. ¡°It¡¯s really nice, and I like it, but I¡¯ve never been a guy to wear a cape or a cloak, and, honestly, I never get cold. I was hoping to sell or trade it for some pants in the set.¡±

    ¡°Direct trades aren¡¯t offered through the auction house. However, we can list this item. Simr items have an average list-to-sale time of four days, rounded up. I can see nine different ¡®pant¡¯ variations of items for this set. Would you like me to borate?¡±

    ¡°Are the pants different?¡±

    ¡°There are seven cloth variations and two leather. My database indicates that materials, regardless of their starting variety, can be altered by purchasing set upgrades at the Sojourn City Stone.¡±

    Lam helped Victor move things along, ¡°What are the prices?¡±

    V-eleven pulsed and said, ¡°The cloth variations range in price from 15,000 Energy beads to 27,000. The leather variations are 20,000 and 24,000.¡±

    ¡°What about this cloak? How much can I expect?¡±

    ¡°Seven others are listed for an average price of 18,000 beads.¡±

    Victor nodded. If he¡¯d known there were so many set pieces in the auction house, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered Sora for the cloak. He shrugged and said, ¡°List it for me, will you? Put it up for 17,000. Also, I¡¯ll buy the leather pants for 20k.¡± Almost before he finished his sentence, the cloak disappeared, clearly snatched away to some dimensional container, perhaps the building itself.

    V-eleven pulsed again and said, ¡°I¡¯ve listed the cloak with a 20,000-bead buyout and a one-month auction period with a minimum bid of 10,000 beads. If that¡¯s not eptable, I can change those terms.¡±

    Victor thought about that, having never really dealt with an auction house of any kind. It sounded like anyone could bid as little as 10,000 beads, and if no one else bid, they¡¯d get the item in a month. However, if anyone bid 20,000 beads, they¡¯d get the item immediately, just as he would for the pants. ¡°Is someone likely to get it for the minimum bid?¡±

    ¡°Minimum bids for such items have a sub-one-percent chance of sess on items in the Sojourn City set.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m fine with those terms.¡±

    V-eleven pulsed several times, then said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but unless you¡¯d like to open a credit ount with the auction house, I¡¯ll need to collect payment for the pants before taking them off the listing.¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡± Victor dug around in his bag, frowning at his dwindling hoard of Energy beads, and pulled out arge sack of them.

    ¡°May I?¡± the pulsing light asked.

    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± Victor watched as the sack shrank in on itself, the proper number of beads pulled away by some magic. A couple of secondster, a pair of fine, supple, chocte-colored leather pants appeared on the counter. Victor collected the remainder of his beads and the pants, sending them into storage. ¡°Thanks. I have a few more things to shop for, but talk to my friend here first. This is Lam, and I believe she¡¯s in the market for a warhammer.¡±

    He listened while V-eleven helped Lam narrow down the thousands of options, settling on a hammer that could be wielded one-handed by someone of her current strength while also providing two magicalbat bonuses¡ªreverberating impacts and a paired ring that allowed her to recall it, if thrown, at the expense of Energy from her Core. Victor liked that idea and wondered if there was any way to add such functionality to Lifedrinker. He almost felt like he should be able to talk to her about it and, as he¡¯d been doing a lottely, added it to his list of things to do. Lam also purchased a sturdy round shield, and it was Victor¡¯s turn again.

    He spent more time than he wanted to, if he were honest, trying to find spell books or just single spell patterns for Edeya and Darren. There were a lot of possibilities, but spell patterns weren¡¯t so blithely traded away, it seemed, and there were a lot of restrictions on some of the cheaper ones¡ªexacting affinity requirements, ss prerequisites, attribute prerequisites, and even disimers of potential harm if used ¡°incorrectly.¡±

    In the end, Victor decided to try to buy some well-known, stable offensive spells for each of them. He almost bought a Lightning Strike spell for Darren but stopped when he considered the sheer foolishness of spending nearly 40,000 Energy beads on a spell that Va could probably teach him. So, he asked for any chaos-attuned spells, and that¡¯s when he had a much more difficult decision to make: only one chaos-attuned spell was on the entire auction house and it was selling for 95,000 Energy beads.

    ¡°Fractured Reality?¡± he asked, frowning.

    V-eleven pulsed rapidly and said, ¡°The listing describes the spell as ¡®causing distortions and illusions that disorient and confuse enemies in a targeted area.¡¯ It¡¯s listed as rare.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll buy it,¡± Lam offered. Victor opened his mouth to argue, but Lam pressed, ¡°No, really. I¡¯m going to be spending time in dungeons with him, and I can afford it. Let me get this one. You buy one for Edeya.¡±

    Victor thought about it and nodded. He didn¡¯t know how much money Lam had squirreled away, but he knew it was probably more than he did. ¡°Okay, cool. In that case, V-eleven, I¡¯ll buy the Frozen Aura spell you told me about.¡± It was a spell that would persist as long as Edeya fed it Energy and was supposed to slow enemies she engaged in melee range, at least at the ¡°basic¡± level; it might be even more effective if she could rank it up. He handed over another 33,000 beads, and Lam paid for Darren¡¯s spell.

    ¡°Where now, Victor?¡± she asked as they stepped away from the kiosk.

    ¡°We¡¯re near the building that houses the System Stone. Let¡¯s go there next; I want to check out what I can do with this armor set I¡¯ve got.¡± She nodded, and Victor led the way. When they passed by the coach, he let Mister Qwor know where they were going, and the driver said he¡¯d be waiting outside.

    Victor enjoyed watching Lam¡¯s reaction walking around downtown, especially when they stepped into the hall where he¡¯d imed his prize from the dungeon. Her mouth fell agape, and she marveled at Sojourn¡¯s enormous, massively upgraded System Stone. ¡°Imagine the millions of beads they¡¯ve put into that!¡± Her neck craned back as she sought the highest point of the stone with her eyes.

    ¡°More like billions, I¡¯m pretty sure.¡± The hall was busier than when he¡¯de there with Dar. Hundreds of people milled about and moved to and fro, and lines of citizens led up to each side of the stone, waiting for their turn. Victor led the way up to the shortest queue on the far side of the stone, and they waited for their opportunity to interact with it.

    They made small talk about spirit Cores, Energy weaves, spell patterns, and how Victor had learned what he knew. He found it sort of cathartic to talk about Gorz and Old Mother. He spent half an hour or more talking about the old Shadeni and how she¡¯d reminded Victor of his own grandmother. When he finally got around to mentioning Khul Bach, though, he felt a surge of guilt and hastily changed the subject; he didn¡¯t want to think about how annoyed the sleeping Degh spirit would be when he finally got around to filling him in on everything that had happened in Sojourn.

    When it was his turn to approach the stone atst, Lam apanied him up to the dark surface with its hundreds of drifting golden runes. He navigated a simplified menu offered to the public until he came to a section titled <strong>EXCLUSIVE, SYSTEM-GRANTED EQUIPMENT SETS</strong>. He selected the option and found five options:<ol><li><strong></strong><blockquote><strong>IRON-RANKED, FIVE-PIECE ARMOR SET</strong></blockquote></li><li><blockquote><strong></strong><strong>IRON-RANKED, TWO-PIECE WEAPON AND ARMOR SET</strong></blockquote></li><li><blockquote><strong></strong><strong>IRON-RANKED, THREE-PIECE ARMOR SET</strong></blockquote></li><li><blockquote><strong></strong><strong>IRON-RANKED, THREE-PIECE JEWELRY SET</strong></blockquote></li><li><blockquote><strong></strong><strong>LUSTROUS SET</strong></blockquote></li></ol>

    ¡°Huh,¡± Victor said, a little surprised that there were several different sets. Only one option said ¡°five-piece,¡± so he figured that was the one. He selected it, and a prompt appeared:<blockquote>

    <strong>Please remove the set piece items from storage and ce them before the stone.</strong></blockquote>

    Victor did as prompted, pulling out the helmet, belt, gauntlet, boots, and pants and setting them on the smooth marble floor next to the stone. Another System message appeared on the weird, floating disy that, apparently, only he could see:<blockquote>

    <strong>This five-piece armor set can be upgraded with Energy-rich materials and enchantments prior to choosing set bonuses. If you wish to do so, ce the materials before the stone.</strong></blockquote>

    Victor thought about it for a moment, then dug through his rings until he found the ¡°legendary-tier, magma-attunement gem¡± and the ¡°master-artisan-grade hide of ava king¡± he¡¯d won during the conquest of the Untamed Marches. He set the heavy, incredibly dense, red, smoldering gem on the ground beside the thick roll of supple, deep crimson, mottled leather. Another message appeared:<blockquote>

    <strong>Analyzing.</strong></blockquote>

    ¡°Can it use those treasures?¡± Lam asked, finally unable to maintain her silent observation.

    Victor grinned at her. ¡°I¡¯m about to find out.¡± He watched the word pulse for several seconds, and then another message appeared:<blockquote>

    <strong>Lava King Hide is of sufficient Energy density and size to imbue all five items as follows:</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>Helm of Sojourn: Infused with the resilience of the Lava King: Immunity to fire damage, enhanced density, and rapid damage regeneration.</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>Belt of Sojourn: Infused with the vtile Energy of the Lava King: Once-daily activation to boost the wearer¡¯s agility and dexterity. Partially infused with the resilience of the Lava King: Immunity to fire damage and rapid damage regeneration.</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>Gauntlet of Sojourn: Infused with the resilience of the Lava King: Immunity to fire damage, enhanced density, and rapid damage regeneration.</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>Boots of Sojourn: Infused with the swiftness of the Lava King: Permanent movement speed boost to the wearer. Partially infused with the resilience of the Lava King: Immunity to fire damage and rapid damage regeneration.</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>Greaves of Sojourn: Infused with the stability of the Lava King: Enhanced stability and bnce for the wearer, regardless of terrain. Partially infused with the resilience of the Lava King: Immunity to fire damage and rapid damage regeneration.</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>Magma Attunement Gem is of sufficient Energy density to imbue one of two items. Please make a choice:</strong>

    <strong></strong><ol><li><strong></strong><strong>Helm of Sojourn: me Control ¨C Channel Energy of any type into this helmet to gain the ability to manipte and control any existing mes.</strong></li><li><strong></strong><strong>Gauntlet of Sojourn: Magma Lash ¨C Channel Energy of any type into this gauntlet to create a whip of stable magma, usable as a melee weapon capable of extending to strike even distant enemies.</strong></li></ol>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>Once you have made your decision, these items will be imbued, and then you may select and purchase the Sojourn set bonuses.</strong></blockquote>

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± Victorughed. ¡°I¡¯m about to get some massive upgrades, Lam, but let me run some options by you. I could use a second opinion.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 15: A Need for Funds

    Book 8: Chapter 15: A Need for Funds

    As he eagerly exined his choices to Lam, Victor''s eyes gleamed with anticipation. He nced over his shoulder at the line of people waiting, his annoyance at the rush fading into the background. This was a moment of significance for him, and he saw no reason to feel guilty about utilizing a service the city provided. He reasoned that the city must benefit from the transaction, and if it took him a few minutes, that was just the way it had to be.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard you say that you wish you had a weapon to use when Lifedrinker isn¡¯t handy,¡± Lam said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. ¡°The ability to control mes is nice, but what if there aren¡¯t any?¡±

    ¡°I guess I could make some,¡± Victor chuckled, thumping his chest.

    ¡°Ah! That¡¯s a good point. Still, ash that can stretch to hit ¡®distant¡¯ targets might be just the thing you need. I¡¯ve seen you fight. You¡¯re a terror up close, but you <em>do</em> have to get close.¡±

    Victor nodded, smiling at her a little sheepishly. ¡°I <em>wanted</em> the whip, so I¡¯m d you¡¯re not convincing me otherwise. One time, I channeled one of my ancestor¡¯s powers, and she gave me a magical whip to use. God, it was incredible. I¡¯m not saying this will be the same, but the idea that I might recapture that feeling even just a little . . .¡± He shrugged, trailing off, as Lam reached up to squeeze the meaty part of his shoulder.

    ¡°Do it then!¡±

    Victor turned to the stone and selected the second option, choosing to put the power of the magma attunement gem into the gauntlet. Suddenly, a new message appeared:

    <strong>Imbuing items with selected treasures in 5 seconds. To cancel, select the option now.</strong>

    Victor didn¡¯t cancel it, and he watched the items lying at his feet, wondering what the process would look like. As he mentally counted out five seconds, a shimmering cloud of gray and yellow fog erupted around the items. He heard crackles and pops and felt a wash of potent System Energy, and then the cloud dissipated, and he saw the objects had changed drastically.¡°Roots!¡± Lam breathed, suitably impressed. Victor grinned, studying the set. The gauntlet and helmet had changed the most; they weren¡¯t leather any longer but seemed to be made from a lustrous, deep red, almost ck metal. Was that because they¡¯d gotten the full ¡°resilience of the Lava King?¡± More than their material, they¡¯d changed in form. The helmet looked like a scowling monstrous reptile¡¯s head.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost like a dragon¡¯s head. Even more than a wyrm.¡± He could only say that with any authority because he¡¯d seen Tes¡¯s draconic form. It looked like his face would peer out between the metallic fangs that stood out from the draconic snout. The beast¡¯s angry eyes would be on his forehead, and the long, ck horns would sweep back from there. It was an intimidating countenance. The gauntlet was simr in style, made of the same dark red metal, and would sheath his entire arm up to the elbow in reticted scale tes. Spikes protruded from the knuckles, and he could see it was, like the helmet, lined with supple, red leather.

    The pants, belt, and boots retained their original leather material but underwent a transformation in appearance, mirroring the deep red-ck hue of the metalponents. The leather now appeared sleek and supple, as if infused with the essence of theva king''s hide. Each piece was meticulously tooled with intricate patterns and adorned with small, gleaming studs that caught the light with a faint, fiery shimmer.

    ¡°Fancy,¡± Lam said without a hint of sarcasm.

    ¡°It¡¯s not done,¡± Victor said, studying the System disy:

    <strong>Treasure imbuementplete. Sojourn five-piece set enchantments are avable. Note: This set may be imbued with up to three ss A enchantments, two ss B enchantments, one ss C Enchantment, and one ss D Enchantment. Prices are based on material imbuement and enchantment value. Options are dependent on material imbuement. Set bonuses do not have to be purchased at this time and can be purchased separately at different times. Set bonuses cannot be removed or changed.</strong>

    <strong>ss A:</strong><ol><li><strong></strong><strong>Resizing Enchantment ¨C 5,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong></strong><strong>Self-cleaning & Repairing Enchantment ¨C 5,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong></strong><strong>Enchantment Toggle: Disguise Armor as Clothing ¨C 25,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong></strong><strong>Feather Fall Enchantment ¨C 40,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong></strong><strong>Water Breathing Enchantment ¨C 55,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li></ol>

    <strong>ss B:</strong><ol start="6"><li><strong></strong><strong>Ten-Percent Bonus to a Physical Attribute. Choose one:</strong></li></ol><ul><li><strong>Strength ¨C 50,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong>Vitality ¨C 75,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong>Dexterity ¨C 50,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong>Agility ¨C 50,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li></ul><ol start="7"><li><strong></strong><strong>Fifteen-Percent Resistance to a Damage Type. Choose one:</strong><ul><li><strong>Fire ¨C 5,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong>Cold ¨C 500,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong>Electricity ¨C 25,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong>Poison ¨C 25,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong>Acid ¨C 25,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong>shing ¨C 10,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong>Piercing ¨C 15,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong>Crushing ¨C 20,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li></ul></li><li><strong></strong><strong>Ten-Percent Enhanced Damage Type. Choose one:</strong><ul><li><strong>Fire ¨C 5,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong>Cold ¨C 500,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong>Electricity ¨C 25,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong>Poison ¨C 25,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong>Acid ¨C 25,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong>Physical ¨C 25,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li></ul></li><li><strong></strong><strong>Enchantment Toggle: Reflective Shielding ¨C 90,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong></strong><strong>Enchantment Toggle: Fire Aura ¨C 125,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong></strong><strong>Minor Regeneration Enchantment ¨C 150,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li></ol>

    <strong>ss C:</strong><ol start="12"><li><strong></strong><strong>Enhanced Mass Enchantment ¨C 150,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong></strong><strong>Lava st Enchantment ¨C 250,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li></ol>

    <strong>ss D:</strong><ol start="14"><li><strong></strong><strong>Lava Domain Enchantment Toggle ¨C 1,000,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong></strong><strong>Roar of the Lava King Enchantment ¨C 1,250,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li><li><strong></strong><strong>Flight of the Lava King Enchantment Toggle ¨C 1,500,000 standard Energy beads</strong></li></ol>

    ¡°Shit,¡± Victor sighed, looking at the overwhelming list. He nced over his shoulder at the queue of citizens waiting for him to finish and shrugged, offering a quick, apologetic wave. He pulled out a notebook and pen, and, as quickly as he could, he scribbled down all of the options. ¡°I¡¯m going to need to think about this and probably raise some funds to get what I want. As usual, the System doesn¡¯t give enough details for me to feel confident, but maybe Dar will have an opinion.¡±

    Lam watched him writing, nodding. ¡°Lots of options. I bet the enchantment ¡®toggles¡¯ require a certain amount of Energy to activate. Otherwise, I bet low-tier rich folk would load up these sets with the most expensive options.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor muttered, finishing his work. ¡°Though a lot of these are clearly tuned to the hide of theva king I put in there. I wonder how rare that shit was? What the hell even is ava king? Judging by the helmet, it¡¯s rted to dragons.¡± He chuckled, amused and a little chagrined by his impulsive decision to put the hide into the mix. He picked up all the items, stowed them away, then turned away from the stone. ¡°I¡¯lle back.¡±

    Uwfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    He and Lam walked down the steps, and Victor winked at thedy who¡¯d been waiting to go next as he passed. ¡°You¡¯re up.¡± To his surprise, she smiled pleasantly, reaching up to preen her ck, feathery plume of ¡°hair,¡± blinking her overge, avian eyes at him while smiling coyly. She clearly wasn¡¯t a full avian; she didn¡¯t have a beak or wings, and Victor idly wondered if she was some mix of species or a different type of person entirely. It seemed like he saw a new kind of person everywhere he looked, and he despaired at the idea of ever getting them all straight. He¡¯d struggled in Coloss with only a handful of different species.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, flirt.¡± Lam pulled his arm, guiding him to the exit. ¡°You¡¯re going to sell the house, right? Seems you need some funds.¡±

    Victor nodded, and that¡¯s what they did. First, they visited the realtor who¡¯d helped him find the ce, and then, with her guidance, he put it back on the market, asking pretty much the same price he¡¯d paid, which was just a bit more than 800,000 beads. Even if he got his asking price, he¡¯d still be sitting at less than a million beads, and he could already predict he¡¯d want to spend at least twice that much on his armor enchantments.

    As he and Lam rode in the coach, heading to the house, intent on cleaning out the personal items they¡¯d all left behind, he upied himself thinking about the armor options. He felt like the three ¡°ss A¡± enchantments were going to be ones of necessity. He needed his armor to be able to resize, and he wanted it to be able to clean and mend itself, even though theva king hide seemed to have given it regeneration capabilities. Finally, he really liked the idea that he could make it look like regr clothing; it would be a game changer for social activities.

    Of course, the feather-falling and water-breathing enchantments seemed great, too. How much did he need those, though? He could fall from enormous heights without getting hurt, and when was thest time he¡¯d needed to breathe underwater? It sounded cool, but he could already hold his breath a ridiculous amount of time, and if he ever needed more, couldn¡¯t he buy a potion or item for that?

    The hard choices started with the ¡°ss B¡± options. He could only pick two, and he liked them all. Should he boost an attribute? Ten percent of his maximum was a <em>big</em> boost. Still, he liked the idea of buying two damage boosts¡ªfire and physical. He grinned at the thought but then shook his head. Maybe a ten-percent strength boost would outperform a ten-percent physical damage bonus. Considering his enormous strength when Berserk, he had to admit the choice wasn¡¯t a clear-cut one.

    Then there was the ¡°ss C¡± choice¡ªenhanced mass orva st? What did enhanced mass even mean? Was it like his old Kethian Juggernaut helm? Would all of his armor impart extra density to him? If so, that might be better than being able to ¡°stva,¡± but again, Victor didn¡¯t know. How big was the st? How often could he do it? Did it drain a lot of Energy? The System loved to be vague, and he hoped Ranish Dar would have some insight, especially when he considered the ¡°ss D¡± options.

    Of course, the Flight of the Lava King was immediately tempting. How great would it be to fly like Va? What if it wasn¡¯t like that, though? What if it just gave him short, hovering spurts of flight? It would help if he had any idea what a realva king could do. The roar was the least interesting option to him. He already did plenty of roaring. Ava domain, however? Would that change his surroundings? Would it give him boosts, thanks to his ss? ¡°Too many damn questions,¡± he muttered.

    ¡°Dwelling on your armor?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Hey, after the house, let¡¯s visit an enchanter I know. I¡¯ve got a few questions for her. Her shop¡¯s not far away.¡±

    She shrugged. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ve got nothing else to do, and so far, these errands have been very interesting. I¡¯d like to look into alternate means of travel back to Fanwath. There¡¯s got to be a cheaper way than paying the System at the World Hall.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Should I ask Dar about it? He might point me in the right direction, but he might just tell me to figure it out. If we have that dinner party, though, maybe one of our ¡®friends¡¯ will have some ideas.¡±

    ¡°Oof! Thanks for reminding me! Let¡¯s see if there¡¯s a stationary shop nearby.¡± She produced one of the crystal guide tablets and began flipping through it.

    ¡°You¡¯re cooking? Or should we look for a caterer?¡±

    She poked his knee. ¡°I¡¯m cooking! I told you that.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor smiled and rxed, waiting for the coach to arrive. When they reached his house, he spent a few minutes going through each room, collecting furniture, art, and odds and ends into his storage rings. His bedroom took longer because he tried to carefully separate Va¡¯s things from his so he could hand them over more easily. When he was done, he went out to the courtyard and collected his travel home, clipping it onto his belt.

    While he waited for Lam to go through the grounds one more time, ensuring he didn¡¯t miss anything, he looked at his wrist and the bracer where Khul Bach¡¯s gemstone sat. He really needed to talk to him and fill him in on everything that was going on. While he thought about it, he considered the gauntlet from the Sojourn set; it would go on the same arm. ¡°I guess I could put you into the vault,¡± he said, idly tapping the pink gem. ¡°Probably safer in there, anyway.¡± He liked the idea, though it did make him worry he¡¯d go even longer between his visits to the Degh spirit.

    Footsteps crunched on the gravel walkway leading into the garden, and Lam appeared, carrying a copper sculpture of roses that Va had purchased. ¡°Don¡¯t want to forget this.¡±

    ¡°Shit, right.¡± Victor reached out and imed the item into his storage ring. ¡°Thanks, Lam.¡±

    She winked at him, and, smiling, they left the house. Victor looked back at it and contemted the wrought-iron gate. He wondered if he should be upset about selling the house, but nothing stirred in his chest. He decided he hadn¡¯t spent enough time at the house to feel anything¡ªit hadn¡¯t be ¡°home¡± to him yet. Lam caught him looking back and reached up to grip his shoulder.

    ¡°Sad you didn¡¯t keep it longer?¡±

    ¡°Nah, the opposite. Maybe I should feel something, but I don¡¯t. I guess I didn¡¯t spend enough time here.¡± While he spoke, he pictured the night before thepetition dungeon. He remembered walking through the little courtyard to the gate, looking back to see Va in the doorway to the house¡ª¡°Ah! There it is,¡± he said as a little pang of nostalgia hit him. ¡°Just had to add Va to the picture.¡±

    ¡°Home is where the heart is. Just picture her at theke house waiting for you.¡±

    Victorughed and nodded, ¡°Yep, that¡¯ll do it. C¡¯mon.¡± He turned down the sidewalk and began walking, but he waved at Mr. Qwor and called, ¡°We¡¯re going to a nearby Artificer¡¯s shop.¡± The driver nodded and got into the coach. Victor was fairly sure he¡¯d be waiting outside Tria¡¯s shop when they finished.

    Ten minutester, he opened Tria¡¯s shop door and guided Lam inside. When he saw the yellow-feathered avian woman at her counter, he waved. ¡°Tria. How¡¯s it going?¡±

    She made her strange trilling, cooing pleasure sound and said, ¡°Hello, sir! Wee back. I¡¯m quite well, thank you.¡±

    Victor grinned as he approached the counter. ¡°You forgot my name, didn¡¯t you?¡± It felt wonderful to be on the other side of that problem for a change.

    ¡°I . . .¡± she sputtered, tilting her head to the side. ¡°I apologize, but your name escapes me! It''s something distinctly violent-sounding, if I¡¯m not mistaken. That¡¯s right! It starts with a ¡®<em>vvvv</em>¡¯ sound.¡± She drew out the consonant like she was revving a motor. ¡°I <em>should</em> know it! I saw you battling in the Iron Challenge! Another patron bought me a round when I said I knew you. Oh, drat! Put me out of my misery! What is it?¡±

    ¡°His name¡¯s Victor, and I¡¯m Lam. I¡¯m pleased to meet you, ma¡¯am.¡± Lam grinned and took the avian woman¡¯s softly feathered hand.

    ¡°Too easy, Lam,¡± Victor sighed. ¡°I could have tortured her a bit longer, don¡¯t you think?¡± He chuckled and leaned on the counter, causing it to creak ominously. ¡°Anyway, I promised I¡¯d bring you more business, and here I am. Do you know anything about the Sojourn item sets?¡±

    ¡°Bah! Of course! They¡¯re stealing a lot of my business with those damn things.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Lam asked, raising an eyebrow.

    Tria clicked her tongue and shook her head. ¡°Oh, not really. All of us Artificers like toin, but not enough people arepleting those sets for it to impact us much. What¡¯s your question, big fellow?¡±

    ¡°Well, one of the enchantments you can purchase for those items is to have the armor ¡®disguised¡¯ as clothing. Do you know anything about that?¡±

    ¡°Of course! It¡¯s not so much a disguise as it is a kind of altered state. Each armor piece is imbued with a dimensional space. The space is very limited, and it can only contain the item in question or the alternate version of the item, which, in this case, is a piece of clothing. If you had a breastte, for instance, it might share a dimensional space with a fine shirt. As you toggle the enchantment, they will swap ces.¡±

    ¡°So, I won¡¯t actually be armored unless the armor is showing?¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s instant? The change?¡±

    ¡°Yes, quick as a thought.¡±

    ¡°Do you know how to do that enchantment?¡± Victor brought out his wyrm-scale vest andid it on the counter. The scales rasped against each other, and the weight of the vest was palpable in the way it <em>thunked</em> onto the wood. ¡°I mean, to something like this?¡±

    Tria sucked in her breath, causing it to whistle through her beak as she leaned close, gently tracing her fingers over the wyrm scales. ¡°So fine! So perfectly cured, cut, treated, and imbued! A true master crafted this! What wonderful scales! A truly ancient wyrm, if I¡¯m not mistaken.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. He was a big son of a . . .¡± Victor trailed off, for once recognizing his cursing might not be appropriate.

    ¡°These scales are imbued with something exceedingly potent! It hurts my Artificer¡¯s sight to peer at them! The blood of something mighty, something well into the lustrous veil. Was it given freely? Did you y such a creature?¡±

    ¡°It was a gift,¡± Victor said, smiling. Some bittersweet memories of Tes ran through his mind at the memory. Did she know where he was? She had his blood, after all. What would he say to her now? How much had he changed since he¡¯dst seen her? Would she be proud? Disappointed?

    ¡°This armor is beyond me. I could add the enchantment you asked about, however. The materials won¡¯t mind the extra weight of such a simple working.¡± She looked up from her study of the armor and blinked her big, round eyes at him. ¡°You¡¯ll need to provide the alternate clothing item, and it will take me a few hours.¡±

    ¡°And the price?¡±

    ¡°A few thousand beads. Nothing much. It¡¯s basically the same as crafting a simple dimensional container. Oh!¡± She held up a finger. ¡°If I were you, I¡¯d buy an enchanted shirt! One that can change its style and color. Then, when you switch to it, you can make it fit your outfit!¡±

    Lamughed and elbowed Victor in the ribs. ¡°She¡¯s smart. You know, I¡¯ve been wanting to buy some new clothes.¡± She turned to Tria, ¡°Is there a tailor with such items nearby?¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 16: - Worthy Fights

    Book 8: Chapter 16: - Worthy Fights

    It was well into the evening before Victor and Lam returned to Dar¡¯ske house. Victor hadn¡¯t intended to be out sote, but they¡¯d spent hours at a tailor Tria had rmended. Victor had been focused on buying a single, good shirt that could change its color with a gentle nudge of Energy into a stitched rune pattern, but Lam had spent a lot more time shopping, buying half a dozen garments. Victor would be hard-pressed to describe any of them; he¡¯d gotten his shirt and then waited outside, watching the people of Sojourn while she shopped.

    After she was done, they¡¯d stopped by Tria¡¯s shop again so Victor could give her the shirt and his wyrm-scale armor to enchant, which she promised to have ready first thing in the morning. Victor was a little leery about leaving the armor, not because he worried Tria would steal it, but because it bore special meaning to him. It was priceless because Tes had crafted it for him, and she¡¯d literally put her blood into it. He resolved to wake up at dawn and wait outside for Tria¡¯s shop to open in the morning.

    Of course, they hadn¡¯t been done even after dropping off Victor¡¯s armor. Lam, brimming with excitement about the uing dinner party, had wanted to buy some fancy stationery for their invitations. This led to a lively discussion about how they had no idea how to address or deliver them. When Lam mentioned the problem to Mr. Qwor upon their arrival at the house, the coach driver had the answer. Apparently, Dar¡¯s staff at theke house was managed by a man named Mr. Ruln, who acted as the household steward. Mr. Qwor said Mr. Ruln would ¡°be happy to see the invitations delivered.¡±

    Walking down the cobbled path from the coach house to the front door, Victor''s curiosity was piqued. ¡°I wonder if I¡¯ve met Mr. Ruln. I need to start paying attention to people¡¯s names,¡± he mused aloud.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like they go around introducing themselves,¡± Lam replied, nodding toward the servant, who was standing ready to open the door for them as they approached. When they reached the stoop, she said, ¡°Excuse me, will you please let Mr. Ruln know that I¡¯d like to speak to him when he has a minute?¡±

    ¡°Of course, ma¡¯am.¡± He turned to Victor and added, ¡°Sir, your other guests await you in the central parlor.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Victor nodded and stepped into the home, leading the way back to therge sitting area that adjoined the outside deck. Darren and Edeya sat together on one of the couches, both reading. Edeya¡¯s nose was buried in a thick, leather-bound tome, and Darren was flipping through one of the crystal guidebook tablets.

    Darren didn¡¯t notice them and spoke almost idly as they approached, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not finding anything on that dungeon Trin mentioned. Either it¡¯s too exclusive to be in the guidebook, or she was making the whole thing up.¡±

    ¡°Mrs. Woy said there was a lot about Sojourn you won¡¯t find in that guidebook,¡± Edeya sighed, idly rubbing at something on her chin. She nced toward Darren, caught sight of Lam and Victor standing there, and leaped to her feet. ¡°You¡¯re back!¡¯¡°Hey.¡± Victor walked over as Lam hurried to sit beside Edeya. ¡°Who¡¯s Mrs. Woy?¡±

    ¡°One of your, um, mentor¡¯s staff. She made us dinner.¡±

    ¡°We missed dinner?¡± Lam¡¯s voice rose in a near whine. Victor chuckled, shaking his head. Though he felt like he could eat, he wasn¡¯t hungry. How would he feel if he were only level ten with a fraction of the Energy coursing through his body¡¯s cells, though?

    ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll fix you something¡ª¡± he started to say, but Edeya was already producing tes of steaming food from her storage ring, arranging them on the coffee table in front of the couch.

    ¡°I saved you plenty.¡±

    Lam grabbed a hot, buttered roll and started eating. Victor chuckled and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m going to go to my room and eat something else.¡± Everyone, even Darren, stopped what they were doing and looked at him strangely. He shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve got a monster¡¯s heart I want to consume, and the damn thing is massive.¡±

    Darren nched a little and looked at Edeya. ¡°I thought you were teasing me.¡±

    ¡°I <em>told</em> you!¡±

    ¡°Anyway,¡± Victor groaned, starting for the hallway leading to the bedrooms, ¡°I¡¯m going to write a note to Va, too. I¡¯ve got an early start tomorrow, so goodnight.¡±

    ¡°Night!¡± Edeya chirped.

    Lam cleared her throat, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and said, ¡°I know you want to retire, Victor, but when can we talk about more spell patterns?¡±

    ¡°Ah, shit.¡± Victor paused near the hallway. ¡°Tomorrow, when I return from picking up my armor. Promise. Oh!¡± He fished through his storage ring for the spell pattern he¡¯d purchased for Edeya. ¡°This is for you.¡± He tossed it to her and winked. ¡°Lam has one for Darren.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Edeya cried, snatching the rolled-up parchment from the air.

    Lam met his eyes and gave him a quick nod. ¡°See you tomorrow, then, Victor. Thank you for everything.¡± She didn¡¯t wait for a reply, turning to watch as Edeya scrambled to unwind the scroll.

    Victor watched them for a moment, then left. He was halfway down the hallway when his excellent Quinametzin ears picked up Darren¡¯s hushed whisper. ¡°Is he angry?¡±

    ¡°No, dummy,¡± Edeyaughed. ¡°I think he¡¯s probably missing Va.¡±

    Victor sighed and went into his room, locking the door behind him. Edeya was right on target. He felt like it had been months, not just a bit less than a week, since he¡¯d seen Va, and he was missing her. He sat on the side of the bed and opened the Farscribe book he shared with her. Nothing had been added since herst short message earlier that morning. He looked over the words again, frowning, wondering if there was something to them other than their face value.

    She said all was well, but they were exhausted, and more battles awaited after their rest. That was normal, wasn¡¯t it? They were in a dungeon, after all. She said Lesh was snoring, so things couldn¡¯t be that dire. He shook his head, forcing himself to stop worrying, to stop imagining nightmare scenarios that weren¡¯t at all likely. Instead, he drew a line and wrote a message:

    I miss you, Va. I hate that we aren¡¯t together, and I hope you¡¯ll be home soon. I hate the circumstances that keep us apart, but, on the other hand, this time away makes me appreciate you more. It makes me realize how damn lucky I am. Let''s do something together, just the two of us, when you¡¯re back. I¡¯ll be waiting for you.

    Victor paused, tapping the pen on his chin while he thought, imagining Dar or the Sojourn city council sending him toplete some quest or task before he got to wrap Va in his arms again. Grinning fiercely, he added:

    If someone tries to stop me from weing you home, I¡¯m going to fight them. I don¡¯t care. I really don¡¯t.

    I Love you,

    Victor

    He put the book away, then stood up, moving to arge open section between his door and the foot of his bed. He almost summoned the gargantuopod heart from his storage bag but stopped, thinking things over. What if something crazy happened? What if he started bursting with mes like when he¡¯d eaten the wyrm¡¯s heart? He doubted that would happen, but <em>something</em> might. Did he want to risk Dar¡¯s house? His decision made, he walked into the hallway and, rather than turning right and going back the way he¡¯de, he walked the other way.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    There was a small library at the end of the hall, just before the big double doors leading to Dar¡¯s suite. He headed that way because the library also opened onto a small deck connected via a wooden walkway to the main one. Victor hoped to make his way down to theke without being noticed; he didn¡¯t want to exin his actions or risk getting waid by a side conversation. A few minutester, having seeded in avoiding everyone except for a single member of the house staff tidying the main deck, he padded down the steps to the long, starlit pier.

    Theke was cid and beautiful at night, as it usually was. Its dark, deep waters reflected the stars, making Victor feel like he was standing on a wooden tform floating in space. He moved to the very end of the pier and stripped off most of his clothes. The air was a little chilly, but Victor was always warm, and he figured it would be nice to jump into the water when he was done with his task.

    He took a deep breath and cast Iron Berserk; there was no way he was going to try to consume the gargantuopod heart without the size boost of the spell. As the power of rage-attuned Energy flooded his body, tinting his vision with crimson, he stood there basking in the furnace of his heart, the cool night air a profound contrast to the heat radiating from his flesh. He reached into the storage pouch hanging from his belt and summoned out the enormous, still-bloody heart. It steamed in the night air, and the hot blood dripping from the great, severed arteries sizzled on the decking, sshing onto his bare toes.

    Even standing twenty feet tall, with hands the size of serving tters, the heart was enormous. Eating such a great organ would take time and effort, but Victor¡¯s mouth salivated at the idea. Another reason he wanted to be in his full titanic form was that more than his size changed with the transformation. Instincts that were bing ordinary for him in his usual state were far more profound in his rage-engorged body; he <em>hungered</em> for the flesh of the organ in his mighty hands. He yearned to bite into it. He wanted to taste that hot blood and chew the tough flesh. He yearned to swallow it and let his body sift through it for the secrets of his fallen foe¡¯s strength.

    Grinning madly, he gave in to his instincts and took a massive bite, his great Quinametzin teeth slicing the powerful flesh with ease. After that first coppery, tangy bite, there was no stopping him. He lost himself to the feast, gorging himself, bite after bite. He could feel the Energy buried in the meat of the heart in his stomach, churning and gathering. Despite the size of the organ, despite the need to take bloody bite after bloody bite, he never felt full, never felt like stopping. He couldn¡¯t have if he¡¯d wanted to¡ªthe gathering Energy was like the pleasure of a scratched itch, and each bite brought the metaphorical fingernails closer to the perfect spot.

    Even when he swallowed thest morsel, he lifted his hands and licked the bloody remnants from his palms and wrists. As he did so, he felt the ball of Energy in his gut begin to expand like a slow-motion explosion. It spread through his body, a wave of ecstasy that ignited the dense, potent molecules that made up his Quinametzin anatomy. A tiny voice in his mind wondered at that; if he hadn¡¯t been so thoroughly Quinametzin, if he¡¯d failed to advance his titanic race so far, would the heart have affected him differently? Would it have burned his flesh rather than refined it?

    The tiny voice was banished as the wave of Energy reached his mind and all thoughts were blown from his consciousness. Victor arched his back, and while the pulsing Energy of his mighty, vanquished foe coursed through him, he roared his triumph to the stars.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Lam was licking sticky honey from her fingers, and a member of the kitchen staff was taking away dirty tes when Darren looked up from his tablet and pointed to the windows facing the deck and theke beyond. ¡°Is it getting brighter out there?¡±

    Lam stood and turned, looking over the back of the couch to where he¡¯d pointed. Sure enough, a bright glow was starting to illuminate the darkness, and it seemed to being from theke. She looked at Edeya, who¡¯d stood to look with her. ¡°You don¡¯t think anyone would attack Dar¡¯s home, do you?¡±

    ¡°I hope not! That¡¯s definitely Energy, though!¡± Edeya spun toward the hallway leading to the bedrooms. ¡°We should get Victor.¡±

    The servant, Mrs. Woy, Lam had learned, cleared her throat and said, ¡°Nothing to be rmed about. Lord Dar warned the staff to stay inside; he and his student are working on something by theke.¡±

    ¡°Dar¡¯s here?¡± Lam asked, noting the brightness was still growing. It almost looked like a false sunrise.

    ¡°Yes, Lord Dar arrived at dinner time but has been in his quarters. His warning came just moments ago. At his bidding, I was just about to advise you all to stay inside.¡±

    Lam nodded to the woman and then walked around the couch to press her forehead against the ss. That¡¯s when the ground trembled, and a roar shook the night, rattling the ss and vibrating the curios in their cabs.

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Darren cried, scrambling off the couch and ducking down with a wide stance as though an earthquake were imminent.

    ¡°Is that?¡± Edeya asked with wide eyes, her voice hushed.

    ¡°Victor.¡± Lam nodded. The roar was deep and animalistic, like something from the mouth of a great monster, but it had a certain familiar note that brought back memories of battlefields back on Fanwath. She¡¯d seen and heard Victor roar into the night in triumph too many times not to recognize his voice, even though it was louder and deeper than ever.

    ¡°That¡¯s Victor?¡± Darren hissed. He hurried closer to the two of them and then, surprising them both, nodded. ¡°I¡¯m not surprised, I suppose. I heard him screaming like that when he destroyed my war machines in First Landing. Well, not quite like that, but he was further away . . .¡± As his words trailed off, so did the roaring, and the light began to dim. ¡°What was he yelling about? Is he angry? Is he battling something?¡±

    In the sudden stillness and absence of light, Lam shook her head, chuckling. ¡°No, that sounded more like victory to me. He must have liked the heart.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    When Victor came back to himself, he was floating on his back in theke, a good fifty yards from the pier. He was immediately aware of two things¡ªone, he had some System messages clouding his vision, and two, he felt amazing. Grinning, wanting tough at his circumstances, he quickly read through the notifications:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have advanced your Quinametzin Bloodline: Epic 2.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have earned a new Feat: Behemoth¡¯s Regeneration.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Behemoth¡¯s Regeneration: You have gained the uncanny resilience of a behemoth. Given enough time, your flesh will recover from even the most grievous wounds. This ability willplement and magnify simr benefits gained from other sources.***</strong>

    Victor, for once, was stupefied, unable to say anything, even ¡°huh¡± or ¡°cool.¡± He just stretched out on his back, floating in the cool water, staring up at the stars and smiling in wonder. He knew all about regeneration; his berserking abilities granted it to him, at least a limited form of rapid healing. This felt different, however. It sounded like he could regenerate all the time now, and it might extend beyond rapid healing. It might be genuine regeneration¡ªlike, he might be able to grow back limbs.

    A tiny part of him, some remnant from his old, human-boy self that grew up in Tucson, was freaked out. It felt like he was moving further and further away from that seed of himself. He wasn¡¯t just a human with ¡°titan blood¡± anymore. He was entirely Quinametzin. He¡¯d epted that. Now, though, he¡¯d absorbed some part of that giant, <em>pinch¨¦</em> monster from the dungeon. Was he straying away from his bloodline? Was he less Quinametzin now?

    That couldn¡¯t be, could it? Hadn¡¯t the heart also boosted his Quinametzin bloodline? After all, the whole reason he could steal the gargantuopod¡¯s ability was <em>because</em> he was Quinametzin. His further thoughts were interrupted by a deep, rumbling voice.

    ¡°Something troubling you,d?¡± Dar asked.

    Victor straightened, switching from a back float to water-treading, and turned toward the pier. Dar sat there, his bulky, dark form like a hulking shadow with zing eyes. ¡°Hello, sir. I didn¡¯t realize you were here.¡±

    ¡°A dozen creatures like the one you ripped that heart from could have approached unnoticed during the din you stirred up.¡± He chuckled and moved away from his original question, letting Victor off the hook at least momentarily. ¡°I¡¯ve been eager to watch you go through that process. My eyes see much; would you like to hear my thoughts?¡±

    Victor nodded, knowing the man could see him clearly despite the dark. Even so, he added words to the gesture, ¡°I would.¡±

    ¡°Your bloodline is incredibly potent. You know this, of course, but I don¡¯t think you quite understand the scope. The ability to gain strength from your foes¡ªthat ritual you justpleted¡ªis something I¡¯ve never seen before, not on that scale. I saw your body harness the Energy of that gargantuopod. You ripped it apart on a cellr level, subsuming some essential part of it¡ªsome piece of its bloodline. More than that, a piece of the creature¡¯s spirit lingered in that dead heart! How that¡¯s possible, I¡¯m not sure. It must have something to do with you taking it from the corpse; it must be part of the ritual whether you realize it or not.¡±

    ¡°Ritual?¡± Victor frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t do any kind of ritual¡ª¡±

    ¡°Hah! Says the man who rips the hot hearts from his foes and eats them bloody and raw. It¡¯s a ritual whether youbel it so or not.¡± Dar waved a hand in the air. ¡°That¡¯s not important, in any case. I could do the same thing but wouldn¡¯t gain what you do. All I¡¯d get is a raw, rather under-seasoned meal. Well? What did you gain? Shall I guess?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind telling you¡ª¡±

    ¡°Some advancement to your bloodline? Some Energy for your Core? Or something more? That was quite a re of Energy that tore through your body.¡±

    ¡°My bloodline advanced, and maybe my Core got some Energy, but it didn¡¯t advance. I, uh, gained a new feat, though.¡±

    Dar leaned forward, and his eyes red brighter. ¡°Is thatmon? What feat?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not all thatmon, though I <em>have</em> gained something unique from most of the more powerful hearts I¡¯ve eaten.¡±

    ¡°And this one?¡±

    Victor tried to shrug, which was not a natural movement while treading water, and said, ¡°I gained regeneration.¡± The Spirit Master grew quiet and leaned back, staring at the stars.

    ¡°Dead gods,d. This changes things. Such an ability . . .¡± He let his voice trail off, and Victor floated for a few moments while Dar stared at the stars. ¡°There are those who would do terrible, terrible things to gain that ability. We must keep the nature of your ability a secret. It would be one thing if all you gained from a heart was some Energy¡ªa bit of a cheat on cultivation. Absorbing aspects of other bloodlines, though¡ªwars have been fought for less.¡±

    Victor stared at the man who was meant to be his mentor and couldn¡¯t help the dark thoughts that nibbled at his mind. Could he trust him? Was he, even now, trying to plot a way to steal Victor¡¯s bloodline? If the Warlord of Coloss knew a way to do so, surely the great powers of Sojourn knew of methods. Dar chuckled, a deep grating sound like wet stones sliding against each other. ¡°Rx, Victor. I take my role as your mentor very seriously. It weighs on me. Knowing your secret, protecting it and you, will do much for my karmic bnce sheet.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d feel better if you, you know, <em>wanted</em> to.¡±

    ¡°Hah! Of course I do! Fear not,d. Having a desire to build karma in my favor only helps me tune out the dark whispers everyone hears asionally. My waking mind is set on teaching you, fostering your spirit, and building you into a true conqueror.¡±

    ¡°Conqueror?¡±

    Dar leaned forward and growled, his voice carrying sharply over the still water, ¡°Of course! Did you note to me with such desires? I recall tales of a warlord who needed ying, an undead world that needed to feel the fire of your wrath, and a certain history of righting injustices. Do those things no longer appeal to the rage burning in your heart?¡±

    Victor felt chills on his spine and a growl building in his chest as he answered, through a throat thick with emotion, ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Good. It¡¯s clear to me that your ancestors were a potent people, and I¡¯m not surprised they moved beyond this realm. You should be proud to carry their bloodline, proud to remind this universe of who they were. If hearts can advance your power so, then you should im more. We need to pick some worthy fights for you.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 17: Echoes of Insecurity

    Book 8: Chapter 17: Echoes of Insecurity

    When Victor woke up, he had a message from Va in the Farscribe book:<blockquote>

    <strong><em>Victor ¨C We failed the boss fight but escaped without serious injury. We¡¯re resting at an inn near the entrance. We¡¯ll return to the house after breakfast.</em></strong></blockquote>

    <em></em>

    ¡°Shit,¡± Victor grunted, sliding out of bed and pulling on his clothes. A nce at the window told him it was still early; the sky had yet to brighten with sunrise. He summoned a pen and wrote a quick reply:<blockquote>

    <strong><em>Va ¨C We¡¯re all staying at Dar¡¯ske house. I¡¯ming to pick you up. Wait there!</em></strong></blockquote>

    <em></em>

    That done, Victor went into the kitchen and asked the staff, the only people already awake, if one of them could wake Mr. Qwor to let him know he wanted to leave even earlier than nned. When a young woman nodded and hurried away, Victor went outside and stood by the cobbled drive, waiting. The coachman was quick to arrive, and Victor had a feeling he was an early riser because he was dressed sharply in his uniform, looking alert when he pulled the levitating vehicle around.

    ¡°Good morning, sir.¡±

    ¡°Hey, Mr. Qwor. Sorry to change things up, but I just found out some friends are out of a dungeon and need picking up. Do you know about a dungeon called ¡®Desperation Gap?¡¯ They¡¯re waiting at an inn near the entrance.¡±¡°Of course, sir. It¡¯s southwest of the city near the Opal Sea. I¡¯ll have you there in an hour.¡± So, Victor climbed into the coach, wrote Va another message saying he¡¯d be there in an hour, and then leaned back in the cushions,fortable and rxed, knowing he¡¯d soon be with her again.

    The Opal Sea wasn¡¯t as big as theke on Dar¡¯s property. Victor looked out the window to watch as they approached, and that was his first thought. Not only was it smaller, but the shoreline was rocky, barren, and lined with hundreds of piers, all crowded with fishing boats of varying sizes. The sight gave Victor a new perspective on Dar¡¯s power and influence. Clearly, this ¡°sea¡± wasn¡¯t privately owned and was in high demand for fishing, if nothing else. How much would the working-ss folk of Sojourn love to gain ess to the beautiful, clear, fish-filled waters on Dar¡¯s vacation property?

    The inn at the mouth of a narrow canyon where the Desperation Gap dungeon was situated was a tall, five-story, asymmetrical building that looked like only the force of Energy-fueled enchantments was keeping it upright. Victor stepped out of the coach amid a busy little market square. They¡¯d flown over many homes, and it was evident that this area near the Opal Sea was sort of a smaller town center away from therger city.

    Victor wondered if it was still considered part of Sojourn, which made him wonder just how things on the ¡°city world¡± were structured. The world and city were called Sojourn, but was every othermunity part of that? Were they all ruled by the same council of powerful beings?

    He¡¯d reduced his size to that of the majority of the local popce¡ªsomething close to an average human¡ªso he didn¡¯t have to duck when he stepped into the tavern on the inn''s ground floor. Va had yet to respond to his messages, but he hoped she and Lesh would be waiting there.

    When he pushed open the door, still d in regr clothes but with Lifedrinker on his back, it looked to him like the inn was still waking up and that breakfast was being served. The space was noisy and crowded, and Victor had to stand there for several seconds before anyone gave him any notice. He didn¡¯t care, though; he was scanning the crowded tables for Lesh¡¯s hulking form or Va¡¯s silvery wings.

    To his relief, he spotted them in the front, far corner by a window, and when he started toward them, Lesh caught sight of him first and stood up, knocking his chair back with a tter. ¡°Lord Victor!¡± he roared, which got Va¡¯s attention, whose back was to him. She shifted to look his way, and Victor almost fell over when he saw her face. She had a bandage over her left eye and, above and beneath it, on her forehead and cheek, was a deep, fresh scar that stood out, red and swollen, on her beautiful silvery-blue flesh.

    Victor rushed to her, indiscriminately shoving people, chairs and all, out of his way. He hadn¡¯t realized he was doing it, but by the time he stood before her, he¡¯d released his size-altering spell and easily lifted her into an embrace, gently cradling her head onto his shoulder as he held her. ¡°<em>Pobrecita!</em> What happened?<em>¡±</em>

    Va squirmed in his embrace, and he heard her muffled reply, ¡°Victor! Put me down!¡± He did as she asked, gently lowering her, oblivious to the outraged moring of the customers he¡¯d left in his wake. He had eyes and ears only for Va.

    As for her, all she could see was Victor, his giant form looming before her. She sighed and reached out to take his left hand with both of hers. ¡°I knew you were going to overreact! I got hurt; that¡¯s the whole story. Nothing more to say. It¡¯s a risk thates with the territory¡ª¡±

    ¡°<em>Fuck</em>, Va!¡± Victor reached toward her bandage, but then he was jostled, and a heavy hand gripped his biceps, pulling with enough strength to turn him.

    A deep, guttural voice growled, ¡°You owe me a gods-damned breakfast, you great oaf!¡±

    Victor released Va and whirled, rage rushing into pathways primed by his shock at seeing Va wounded. His vision turned red, and heid eyes on the man osting him and . . . fought to get himself under control. The man was old and gray with a bent, hunched back, but judging by the size of his forearm and powerful grip, Victor knew he was someone who¡¯d worked hard his whole, very long life. More sobering than that was the mess he saw behind the old fellow. In his haste to get to Va, Victor had overturned several chairs, sent a few folks sprawling, and even upended an entire table.

    ¡°Shit,¡± he said, his eyes widening. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that. I, uh, saw my¡ª¡±

    ¡°He saw me, sir,¡± Va said, stepping around to get a look at what Victor had done. ¡°He saw me and my injury and lost all sense. We¡¯ll pay for the damages, of course.¡±

    The old man released Victor¡¯s arm and nodded. ¡°Shoulda guessed. Well, I¡¯ve lost my head a time or two for a pretty face.¡± He nodded and turned, stooping with a grunt to lift his table upright.

    ¡°Help him!¡± Va hissed, and Victor, his rage utterly washed away by his embarrassment, cast Alter Self again, reducing his size so he could more nimbly help pick up the mess he¡¯d created. He was still worried about Va, but the initial, instinctual need to get to her had been banished by shame, especially as he watched her, injured as she was, helping to clean up. When the innkeeper came around to see what the fuss was about, she was the one who handed him a pouch full of beads and said that she wanted to buy everyone¡¯s meal.

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Lesh, toorge to help efficiently, sat back down and continued to eat while he watched. When all was righted, Va urged Victor to sit at the table. She gave him a long look, staring into his eyes with her single, unbandaged one. Victor tried not to stare at her bandage, forcing himself to peer into her silvery-turquoise iris. ¡°I know this looks bad, and I know how upset you are, but I will recover. My eye was damaged beyond a healing potion, but a regeneration mixture will probably restore it. I have one, a treasure from the war, but Lesh and I also won racial advancement elixirs, and my hope is that the process will mend my eye.¡±

    ¡°You did?¡± Victor nced at Lesh and saw the big dragonkin grinning a toothy, reptilian smile.

    ¡°Aye, Lord Victor. We gained three levels, too, and a great many minor treasures. We got far, much farther than the guidebook said we would as a duo.¡±

    ¡°The truth is, we went too far!¡± Va chuckled. ¡°We should have stopped before the boss encounter.¡±

    ¡°You got to the boss?¡±

    Va shook her head. ¡°Only of the section we were in. The dungeon is strange; it¡¯s not arranged in levels but rather like a long beach along a stony cliff. There are inlets and coves, caves, and beached ships¡ªall swarming with scaly, water-breathing men and women. Some are small ande in great numbers, while others are huge and monstrous and fight alone, too savage for even their own kind to approach. It was one such that seemed to be the ¡®boss¡¯ of the area we were exploring, and it was he who took my eye and forced us to retreat.¡±

    Victor found his vision clouding with red again and clenched his fists until his knuckles noisily popped. Va grabbed his hand. ¡°Stop it! Stop acting like I¡¯m a doll you have to protect. I¡¯m an adventurer, Victor.¡± He could hear real frustration in her voice, which, more than anything, allowed him to push the rage out of his pathways. While Lesh continued to feed his bottomless hunger and Va looked away, perhaps trying to think of the right thing to say, Victor struggled with his conflicting emotions.

    Part of him wanted to tell Va it wasn¡¯t worth it. What was she trying to prove? He loved her and didn¡¯t care if she was as powerful as he was. Didn¡¯t she understand that? She didn¡¯t have to go into dungeons and push her limits; he wouldn¡¯t leave her. Their rtionship was based on more than that. Of course, Victor wasn¡¯t stupid, not if he really tried to think through a problem, and he knew that saying those words would only infuriate her. He knew they weren¡¯t fair. If he didn¡¯t think Va had anything to prove, then what was he doing? How was it fair for him to constantly push himself if he didn¡¯t want her to do the same?

    Worse than the hypocrisy of his feelings was the knowledge that he had another objection that would only hurt and alienate Va if she ever knew he harbored it: he didn¡¯t think she would be able to catch him, so what was the point of risking her life? It was a shameful thing to admit to himself, but Victor knew he wasn¡¯t normal. He¡¯d thrashed not one but several tier-ninebatants in the challenge dungeon. He sparred with Va frequently¡ªshe wasn¡¯t a match for those folks.

    Victor knew that if he wanted to challenge himself, he¡¯d be doing things that she couldn¡¯t participate in, whether she was level sixty or a hundred. Would things be different if they both broke through the ¡°iron ranks?¡± Would it be different once they passed their ¡°test of steel?¡± He wanted to hope so, but that would also mean that other people at that level would be a risk to him and, by that virtue, a risk to Va. Would they be safer at that tier of power, or would they simply have more dangerous enemies? After all, the only thing keeping Victor safe from the masters of Sojourn was their self-imposed code of conduct¡ªthe rules andws of the city-world.

    Would that even matter if he didn¡¯t have Dar¡¯s backing? He supposed the city''sws stood for something, even to those without an influential mentor. While he sat there, lost in thought about his self-centered ambition and desire to keep Va safe, he must have worn a look that betrayed his disgust because she eventually said, ¡°I¡¯ve upset you.¡± Before he could deny it, she scowled further and pushed back her chair. ¡°Amazing. I¡¯m the one who should be irritated, but you¡¯ve somehow made me feel like I¡¯ve done something wrong!¡±

    ¡°No, I¡ª¡± His objection died on his lips as she walked stiffly past him to the door and out.

    ¡°Deep thoughts?¡± Lesh rumbled, wiping his toothy maw with a napkin.

    ¡°Unpleasant ones.¡±

    ¡°Va grows powerful, Victor. She has more than one solution for the eye.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not the eye. It¡¯s . . . I guess it¡¯s my own insecurity. She¡¯s trying so damn hard to catch up to me, or, if not that, at least keep up. What will she do if she can¡¯t? She¡¯s not a housewife, Lesh.¡± As he said the words, his real fear clicked into ce, and sudden understanding dawned on him. The root of all of his angst wasn¡¯t that he feared leaving Va behind or that he was already too far ahead; it was more that he was afraid she¡¯d figure it out and realize she couldn¡¯t catch up. Would she be willing to live a life in his shadow? Before Lesh could respond, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t repeat that.¡±

    ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t. You speak to me from the heart and seek advice; how could I even consider betraying that trust?¡± He made a face, and Victor wondered if he¡¯d alienated yet another person. Lesh didn¡¯t storm off, though. He took a moment to consider and then said, ¡°Why do you worry about something you can¡¯t control? You are what you are. Va is what she is. You both love each other, and, at least for the moment, you¡¯re together. Enjoy that.¡±

    Victor knew Lesh had a strange perspective on love. He¡¯d given up his life with his actual wife to follow Victor. Thinking about that and realizing they were talking about personal things, he voiced a question that had been on his mind since he¡¯d learned about the man¡¯s wife. ¡°Will your wife wait for you? Are you nning to return to her someday?¡±

    ¡°Yassa is my <em>mate</em>. I suppose it¡¯s simr to a wife in your culture, but . . . it has some nuances. She will wait for a time, but if I tarry too long, she will seek another.¡± Lesh¡¯s words were matter-of-fact, but Victor could feel some emotion behind them.

    ¡°I mean, do you hope to get back to her?¡±

    ¡°Ah, Victor, I know you mean well, but this is a topic I¡¯ve settled my mind about. I¡¯d rather not dwell on what <em>may</em> have been or what <em>may</em> be; I¡¯ve set my course for different shores. Fate¡¯s winds move me now.¡±

    The dragonkin¡¯s mild rebuke stung more than it should have. Victor realized he¡¯d been harboring some hope for wisdom or advice to see him through this, hopefully, minor conflict with Va. As he had the thought, he wondered if the conflict was really with Va or with himself. Sighing, feeling like nothing had been resolved, he pushed his chair back and stood. ¡°I better go after her.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be right behind. I need to visit the toilets.¡± Lesh stood and lumbered toward the back of the restaurant, and Victor silently wished the plumbing luck. He went outside to find Va sitting on the edge of the wooden boardwalk that lined the row of buildings. Her feet dangled toward the cobbled street, and she held her wings slightly open to make it easier to sit down. When Victor hopped down to the cobbles and turned to face her, she scowled and pointedly looked to the side.

    ¡°That mad? Won¡¯t even look at me?¡± A corner of her mouth quirked up, and he knew he had her on the ropes. ¡°Come on! I¡¯m sorry I reacted that way.¡± He reached out to take her chin and turned her face toward him. ¡°Let me see that cut. I bet you look tough as hell.¡± To his surprise, her cheeks flushed, and she looked away again. ¡°Are you being shy?¡±

    ¡°Stop it, Victor!¡± She pped his hand, and he sighed, turning his hand so his palm was facing up.

    ¡°Well, take my hand at least. I¡¯ll walk you to the coach.¡± She relented at that and put her hand in his, and he pulled, making it easy for her to slide to the edge of the boardwalk and hop to her feet. ¡°You¡¯re going to like Dar¡¯ske house.¡±

    ¡°How long will we stay there?¡±

    Victor paused, looking back at the inn. ¡°Let¡¯s wait a minute so Lesh can follow us. The coach is over there.¡± He pointed to the oval, ckcquered vehicle, where it floated a few feet over the cobbles on the other side of the square. ¡°Dar said that we can stay at theke house until I¡¯ve got enough money to buy a house that, uh, ¡®suits my station¡¯ or something like that.¡±

    To his further surprise, Va sighed and shook her head. ¡°I like our little townhome. It¡¯s cozy, and it, well, it¡¯s ours¡ª¡± She was looking up at him while she spoke, and Victor¡¯s guilt must have been apparent because she cut off her words and took a step away, turning to look at him more directly with her single eye. ¡°Why do you look like that? Did something happen to our house?¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± Victor had that feeling he¡¯d had too many times in his life when he realized he¡¯d been stupid, and it seemed so obvious after the fact that he couldn¡¯t quite believe the extent of his mind¡¯s betrayal. Of course, he should have spoken to Va before emptying the house and putting it up for sale. They¡¯d picked the ce together. They¡¯d moved in together. What would it say about his opinion of her that he¡¯d just undone all of that without so much as asking her what she thought?

    ¡°Is that the coach, Lord Victor?¡± Lesh asked, once again being overly formal for some damn reason. Victor nodded, his mind still on Va and how hurt she looked. He hadn¡¯t even told her what he¡¯d done, but she was more than clever and could read his face like a book. She slipped her hand from his and walked with Lesh to the coach. Victor followed, trying to think of a way to smooth things over. Nothing brilliant came to him. When he climbed into the vehicle''s spacious interior, he wasn¡¯t surprised to find Va sitting in one of the bucket seats rather than the longer benches, so he sat alone.

    ¡°I have to go to an enchanter¡¯s shop to get my armor. Should I take you two home first?¡±

    Va nodded. ¡°Yes, please.¡±

    Frowning, almost scowling, Victor slid open the little window to the driver¡¯spartment, ¡°Back to theke house first, Mr. Qwor.¡± After a few minutes of silence, Victor looked at Lesh. ¡°Tell me about the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Ah, my pleasure,¡± the big man rumbled, and Victor tried to rx, sitting back in the cushions, listening to Lesh recount their experience, describing the dungeon, the denizens, and the fights. Every so often, Victor would nce at Va, but she refused to meet his gaze, and he decided the best thing he could do was give her some space. There wasn¡¯t always a quick fix, some magicalbination of words, that would end a fight, and he figured he just had to give her some time to cool off.

    If their differences were just about the house and his unteral decision to sell it, he wouldn¡¯t have felt so troubled as he sat there listening to the dragonkin. His earlier thoughts, though, his admission to fearing Va would grow tired of being in his shadow, weighed heavily on him. He wondered if she also suspected there was more to the anger she felt. He wondered if she was sitting there drawing her own conclusions, finding rifts where before she¡¯d thought things were smooth.

    He hated how he felt. He hated that Va was upset with him. He hated that he hadn¡¯t said or done the right thing when he¡¯d seen her injury, and rather than make things better for her, he seemed to have made them worse. He tried to listen to Lesh, nodding along and acting impressed at the right moments, but he was only half-present as he reyed one conversation after another, trying to think of the right things to say. When he failed, he finally closed his eyes and leaned back, hoping he was right and that a bit of time was all it would take.

 Book 8: Chapter 18: Trust and Paranoia

    Book 8: Chapter 18: Trust and Paranoia

    Victor was heartened when Va looked at him and smiled as she exited the coach at theke house. Even so, he found his tongue sluggish when he tried to think of the right words. The moment passed, and she stepped away from the coach, briskly walking toward the waiting staff member by the front doors. Lesh pped his shoulder on his way out. ¡°You don¡¯t mind if I rest? I¡¯d go with you if you need someone to watch¡ª¡±

    Victor waved him off. ¡°Nah, it¡¯s nothing. I just need to run a couple of errands.¡± He watched the dragonkin turn to close the coach¡¯s door, then signaled Mr. Quar to leave. Once he was flying toward town again, alone in the coach, Victor sighed and leaned back. Feeling Lifedrinker press into his back reminded him that he wasn¡¯t really alone. He smiled at the idea and almost reached up to pull the axe free of her harness but stopped himself¡ªhe wanted his mind clear, and he knew Lifedrinker would just take his side in any sort of conflict. She was wonderful for her fierce loyalty, but she didn¡¯t give impartial advice.

    He rode in silence, and though he tried to think about Va and their issues, his mind wouldn¡¯t stay focused, and he thought about other things. His thoughts often wandered toward Coloss and their time in that strange, savage city. Victor wondered about the Warlord and how far beyond level one hundred he¡¯d reached. Had hepleted his ¡°test of steel?¡± Had he honed his ss to the point where he¡¯d entered his ¡°lustrous veil?¡±

    He knew the Warlord wouldn¡¯t call those stages of progression those names; they were unique to Sojourn and the worlds under its influence, but he imagined the process was the same no matter what someone called it. Remembering his fight with Karnice, Victor wondered how small the Warlord kept his little club of enlightened people. Karnice had been amon iron ranker, somewhere in the eighth tier. Were the Warlord¡¯s ¡°War Captains¡± beyond the iron ranks? Were they ¡°steel seekers,¡± or were they beyond that point?

    Victor remembered feeling War Captain ck¡¯s aura and his power. He remembered bowing to it, knowing the man far outstripped him, but he¡¯d changed a lot since then. Still, the man had been stronger than Karnice; there wasn¡¯t any doubt of that in Victor¡¯s mind. ¡°So, maybe I¡¯ll have to deal with some people beyond the iron ranks.¡± He nodded to himself. Then, realizing what he¡¯d said, he wondered what had made him contemte returning to Zaafor. He had to admit that maybe he was looking for a way to get away from things, to give himself something else to focus on.

    When the coach arrived, and Victor stepped out to collect his armor from Tria, he resolved to meet with Khul Bach when he returned to theke house. Considering all he¡¯d learned sinceing to Sojourn, he and the Degh spirit had much to discuss. Tria didn¡¯t fail to deliver on her promise; his wyrm-scale vest was in perfect condition, and the new enchantment worked wlessly.

    When he put the vest on and trickled a little Energy into the new rune, he felt a flicker of Energy over his skin, and then he was wearing the shirt he¡¯d purchased the day before. The shirt was made of a blend of fabric that breathed like cotton and hung luxuriously like silk. The fabric was dyed a rich gray-ck, but Victor knew he could make it match just about any color he could imagine with a simple focus of his will and touch of Energy.

    ¡°This is great, Tria.¡±

    ¡°Well, the shirt is lovely, but I didn¡¯t make it.¡±¡°No, I mean the enchantment. It¡¯s nice to walk around infort, knowing I can have my armor on in an instant.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Invaluable for a man of action, I¡¯m sure.¡± She made a funny chirping sound after her words, and Victor wondered if she wasughing at him.

    With a wave and a promise to return soon, he left and had Mr. Qwor take him back to the Sojourn City Hall, where the System Stone stood. He didn¡¯t want to empty his pockets by purchasing any of the massively expensive set bonuses for his new armor, but he figured he¡¯d buy the ¡°ss A¡± enchantments so he could wear the new armor infort. He especially wanted to equip the gauntlet so he¡¯d have the option of using the magma whip if he got into a fight.

    Either the early hour proved fruitful, or his luck was better that morning because not a single person stood in line when he arrived. He went straight to the Stone and selected the three ss-A bonuses he wanted: the resizing enchantment, the self-cleaning and self-repairing enchantment, and, of course, the enchantment to disguise the armor as clothing. Altogether, it cost him 35,000 standard beads, which he paid for using some of those he¡¯d won in the challenge dungeon.

    When he returned to the coach, Victor took a minute to put the armor on, switching Khul Bach¡¯s bracer to his right arm until he had a chance to stow it in his vault. The armor wasfortable, and even the dense, metallic gauntlet and helmet felt like they were made for his body, flexing and moving easily when he twisted and turned his wrist and neck. Still, he activated the disguise runes and was pleased to find that everything morphed into clothing that wouldn¡¯t be out of ce among the finely dressed individuals he¡¯d seen around Sojourn.

    The red leather pants seemed to take a cue from the shirt he wore, bing dark, narrow-legged cks of fine material and craftsmanship. The boots changed from heavy,bat-oriented adventuring boots to fine, polished leather ones, easily the mostfortable Victor had ever worn. The belt went from a girdle-like piece of heavy va king¡± hide to a supple leather strap that matched his boots. Even the bracer and helmet changed to something far morefortable¡ªsoft leather bands that looked almost stylish on his wrist and around his forehead. Looking closely, he saw that they were stitched with angr designs in a faintly metallic thread.

    Pleased, Victor closed his eyes and tried to rx during the short flight back to theke house. Upon arrival, he walked through the house and onto the deck, looking for any sign of Va and their friends. Following sounds of sshes andughter, he looked down the steps to the pier, where he saw Edeya, Lam, and Darren ying some convoluted game of keep away with Lesh. Darren leaped out of the water, something bright red clutched in his hand, and Victor could hear the breathless, almost panicked nature of hisughter as Lesh erupted like a damned crocodile, roaring as he gave chase. Edeya¡¯s high-pitched cackle was too much, and Victor turned away before he jumped down there and joined the fun.

    Of course, he wanted to, but he wondered where Va was, and he¡¯d also made a promise to himself to meet with Khul Bach before he found another excuse to put it off. So, he returned to the house and proceeded down the hall to his bedroom. He found Va inside, sound asleep under the covers, her left eye still covered by a thick white bandage. He knew she didn¡¯t need the bandage, that she was just hiding the damaged eye, either because she was self-conscious or because it was unpleasant to look at. He wanted to pull it aside, wanted to see what some <em>pinch¨¦</em> monster had done to her face, but he knew it would add to her list of grievances with him.

    Victor quietly passed through the room into the adjoining study. It was a rtivelyrge space with a big round table and chairs at the center, arge desk on the left-hand wall in front of a window, and built-in bookcases lining the right-hand wall. Victor carefully paced across the room and determined that if he removed the table and chairs, he should be able to open the vault.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the vition.

    Rather than drag the furniture around, moving it to the other room, he just pulled the table and chairs into one of his storage rings; he didn¡¯t think Dar would mind as long as he put them back when he moved out of the house. He closed the study door, then, on the big woven carpet, he twisted the key in the marble-sized vault and watched as it hissed with steam, slowly expanding to fill most of the empty space in the room.

    Victor opened the door and removed the key; he would be inside for a while and hated the idea that someone might lock him in. Inside the vault, he regarded the ivid royal jelly and the ivory box containing the geists. He worried that Ranish Dar, or anyone, really, might step into the vault while he was in there talking to Khul Bach, so he contemted the door and noticed a keyhole on the inside. ¡°Huh.¡± He inserted the key, ensuring it fit. He pulled the door shut and then turned the key until it clicked. He was reasonably sure the keyhole hadn¡¯t been present before. Was that because the key had been on the outside?

    He wondered if he could keep turning the key, shrinking the vault down with him inside it, but the idea sent shivers down his spine, and he refused to try it. Instead, he took a step back and sat down in the middle of the spherical chamber. He removed the bracer he¡¯d made to hold the seventeen Ancestor Stone shards and touched the only upied slot. After a moment to clear his head, Victor sent Energy into it, summoning the crystal''s weird, white-gray, angrndscape.

    ¡°You¡¯ve changed much, student of mine,¡± Khul Bach rumbled, suddenly sitting a few feet away, his countenance creased in its usual glower. He sat with his legs folded before him, his big, scarred knuckles resting on the ground at his sides.

    ¡°Hello, Khul Bach. I¡¯ve changed a bit and learned a lot. Have you been doing well?¡±

    ¡°You know how things go for me¡ªtime passes, and I hardly notice. How long has it been? A year? Twenty? More?¡±

    ¡°Nah, not all that long. Less than a year.¡±

    ¡°Yet you have a gravity about you that speaks of great advancements. Tell me, then,d, what have you been about?¡±

    Victor nodded, and, slowly at first, but then, in a rush of words, he told the old spirit about the Free Marches and all about his mistakes and triumphs in the war. He told the giant about First Landing and how he¡¯d smashed the human-made constructs before traveling to Sojourn. The giant grew quiet and very attentive when he described the power of the great masters of the city and then about his journey to the ivid hive world. When he mentioned Ranish Dar and his bargain with the Master Spirit Caster, Victor thought he saw a flicker of something odd on the giant¡¯s face¡ªdoubt? Fear? Worry? He supposed any of those reactions would be reasonable.

    ¡°So,¡± the giant said, resting one elbow on a knee and cing his chin in his palm. He looked almost depressed.

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°So. You¡¯ve no need for me and my backward ways.¡±

    ¡°Oh,e on!¡± Victor chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re still old as hell; you¡¯ll always have things to teach me.¡±

    ¡°My age?¡± the giant roared. ¡°Of all my qualities, you choose my age as my saving grace?¡±

    ¡°Khul Bach! Come on, I still n to talk to you regrly, and yes, I intend to fulfill my promise to you. I¡¯m going to free your people from the Warlord.¡±

    The Degh spirit nodded, somewhat mollified, and lifted his chin out of his palm. Sitting up, his backbone rigid, he said, ¡°You¡¯re stronger, but I still think Thoargh will beat you. He was strong when the Degh were yet whole.¡±

    ¡°I know I¡¯m not ready yet. Well, no, I don¡¯t, but I¡¯m not nning to go back soon. I have a lot to learn here. Khul Bach, do you know about what happens after level one hundred?¡±

    ¡°Aye. Endless, slow cultivation. Years spent in meditation to eke out a bit more Energy at cial paces. A rare level here and there that seems a hollow echo of those in the lower tiers.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know anything about something that might be described as a ¡®test of steel?¡¯ A custom ss that you need to improve and refine?¡±

    ¡°I know people who reach level one hundred are given a new choice of ss based on their earlier experiences. I don¡¯t recall anything about refining and improving that ss. Victor, very few Degh reached such a level, and few lingered on Zaafor; most are in the Ancestor Stone.¡±

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s more to the process of advancing after level one hundred, Khul Bach. I don¡¯t know the secrets yet; I¡¯ve only heard hints, but I¡¯m going to learn them before I go back to Zaafor. The Warlord might know the secrets; he might have advanced past his ¡®test of steel,¡¯ or whatever he called it. He might not, however. He seemed pretty damn frustrated with his progression . . .¡± Victor trailed off, letting the implications of his words speak for themselves.

    Khul Bach nodded. ¡°You should pass that milestone before you return.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, maybe. I¡¯ll see what Ranish Dar thinks. Is that all right with you? Are you doing okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,d. I¡¯venguished for millennia. My people await, but another year or twenty won¡¯t change much. No, I¡¯d rather you were ready and met with sess than attempt to take on Thoargh ill-prepared and fail.¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°I have another question for you. Have you ever heard of the idea that some people who be obsessed with or overwhelmed by a negative affinity like rage or fear might carry that Energy with them into the Spirit ne when they die? That they might go through the veil with it, driven mad, wandering in a kind of purgatory with their delusion?¡±

    ¡°The lure of a strong emotion is powerful. You should know this. Haven¡¯t you tasted the power of fear? Of rage? Imagine you sumbed to the call of your fear and never gave it up. Imagine you feasted on the emotion to the exclusion of all else. Now, imagine doing that for hundreds or thousands of years. What would be left of Victor when you died? Your spirit would be twisted and shunned. I¡¯ve seen it. I¡¯ve seen Degh who lost themselves to greed or envy, to vengeance or lust. Their spirits were pushed away from the Ancestor Stone and driven through the veil. Such poison couldn¡¯t be allowed to fester among us.¡±

    Victor folded his arms and frowned. ¡°Ranish Dar sent me with a death caster through the veil. He had me capture two such spirits. One full of rage and the other with fear. He wants me to use them for cultivation, to gather their attuned Energy.¡±

    Khul Bach frowned, rubbing his prodigious jawline with a thick thumb. ¡°It may be my ignorance speaking, but that sounds like a dark dealing to me, Victor. Use caution.¡±

    ¡°He says that we¡¯re helping the spirits by pulling their rage and fear off, helping them to recover faster than if we¡¯d let nature take its course.¡±

    ¡°An optimistic outlook. I won¡¯t pretend to know as much as this man, this Ranish Dar, who has lived for thousands of years and reached pinnacles of power unheard of on Zaafor. No, learn what you can, but please be cautious, Victor. You are a gifted warrior. A man with potent blood and deep potential. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time, nor even the millionth, that a powerful man promised great knowledge to a prot¨¦g¨¦ who had something he coveted. Perhaps my caution is misced, and your new mentor is so far beyond you that anything he may gain from your abuse would be too small, too trifling, to warrant such betrayal, but . . .¡± It was Khul Bach¡¯s turn to let his words die out, leaving Victor ruminating on them.

    ¡°All right. I appreciate the advice, Khul Bach. I¡¯ll try to keep a clear head and not get overwhelmed by the wonders I see.¡± Victor chuckled, trying to lighten the mood a little.

    ¡°Do that and keep working on your skills and spells. How many have you lifted into the epic tier?¡±

    Victor sighed, wishing he¡¯d said goodbye just a little quicker. ¡°Only two. My Iron Berserk and Inspiration of the Quinametzin.¡±

    ¡°What? All this time? All this advancement in power, and you¡¯ve neglected your Sovereign Will?¡± The giant Degh spirit leaned forward, his eyes boring into Victor¡¯s.

    ¡°No! I haven¡¯t neglected it. I use the damn skill all the time, but it won¡¯t move past advanced.¡±

    Khul Bach stared into his eyes for several seconds but finally relented, nodding with a grunt. ¡°I see you speak the truth. Well? Ask your new master for insight. There must be a way to push it forward, and push it forward, you must; it¡¯s a central, defining skill of yours. Don¡¯t let itnguish.¡± Victor nodded, opening his mouth to reply, but Khul Bach waved him off. ¡°I must rest and think on all that you¡¯ve revealed. Come again soon, Victor.¡±

    Victor felt Khul Bach¡¯s push and relented, pulling his Energy back into himself and slipping out of the domain of the Ancestor Stone shard. He looked around the curved, rune-inscribed walls of his vault and let his eyes drift toward the ivid royal jelly. The fact that he was hiding it in there said a lot; he clearly didn¡¯t fully trust Ranish Dar. Was there something to Khul Bach¡¯s warning? He sighed and stood. Moving over to the satchel, he slipped the bracer with the Ancestor Stone shard inside next to the silk-wrapped jelly, and then he stooped to pick up the ivory box containing the geists. Dar would want to see them when he helped set up Victor¡¯s ¡°cultivation chamber,¡± and he didn¡¯t want to have to awkwardly try to sneak them out of the vault, exposing the jelly.

    He turned the key counterclockwise until it clicked, pushed the door open, and stepped out. He was still alone in the study. Victor locked up the vault, and when he had it hanging from around his neck, tucked under his shirt, he breathed a sigh of relief, letting go of some stress he hadn¡¯t even been aware of. Was he being paranoid? He didn¡¯t think so. He didn¡¯t know what the royal jelly would do, but he knew it was powerful, the most potent stuff he¡¯d everid eyes on. Dar might be a good man who wanted to do right by him, but Victor didn¡¯t see any reason to tempt his good nature.

    When he opened the study door and walked into the bedroom, he tried to move silently, but he saw the light streaming through the window reflected in Va¡¯s eye as she peered at him from her nest of nkets. ¡°Hey,¡± he said softly, almost a whisper. She didn¡¯t reply, but she pulled the nkets down, revealing her naked chest, and then gently patted the sheet beside her. Victor wasn¡¯t stupid enough to question such an invitation.

 Book 8: Chapter 19: The Pull of Glory

    Book 8: Chapter 19: The Pull of Glory

    Sometimeter, Victory on his back, one arm behind his head on the pillow and the other outstretched, cradling Va. Shey on her side, looking at him, and after several minutes of silence, reached over and began to trace little circles on his chest. Her fingertip felt cool to his hot Quinametzin flesh, and he loved it. While he luxuriated in the attention, Va softly asked, ¡°You know why I was upset, why I¡¯m <em>still</em> upset, right?¡±

    Victor inhaled deeply through his nose. ¡°I guess ¡®cause I was impulsive and didn¡¯t ask you about selling the house.¡±

    ¡°You guess?¡± The finger stopped moving, pressing into his breastbone.

    ¡°No, Va, I know. I also know that¡¯s not the only thing that got you pissed at me. I shouldn¡¯t have freaked out in the restaurant when I saw you. I shouldn¡¯t have, but,¡± Victor turned slightly so he could look down into her good eye, ¡°I worry about a lot of things, and I¡¯m not good at exining what I¡¯m feeling.¡±

    ¡°So try. Just tell me what was going through your mind.¡± Her finger started moving, gently tracing the outline of his pectoral muscle.

    ¡°If I say it, you¡¯re going to think I¡¯m an even bigger asshole. It¡¯s a feeling I¡¯m not proud of.¡±

    ¡°Whatever kind of asshole you are, however big you are,¡± she chuckled, ¡°I still love you. So?¡±

    Victor¡¯s mind raced, and he wondered if he should be honest. It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to hide his feelings from Va, but in this case, he honestly thought his feelings made him seem like a prick. ¡°Even if I know my thoughts make me seem, I don¡¯t know, conceited? Full of myself? Insecure?¡± Va¡¯s thumb joined her finger, and she squeezed his skin between the two¡ªa clear threat of a wicked, iing pinch. ¡°Easy! Easy,¡± heughed. ¡°Let me gather my thoughts.¡±

    ¡°Just say what you¡¯re feeling. Don¡¯t spend time twisting words to hide the truth!¡±¡°Really? Well, get ready to be pissed again.¡± Victor took a deep breath, then began letting his thoughts fall out of his mouth in a rush, ¡°When you were telling me how you got hurt, I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about how I wished I¡¯d been there, that I could have killed that <em>pinch¨¦</em> boss. Of course, that made me think about how you and Lesh were just about my level, so why was I so sure? I <em>am</em> sure, though, which makes me sound like a conceited asshole, but, shit, Va, I¡¯ve beaten several tier eights and nines <em>at once</em>.¡±

    Va was quiet, and she released his flesh and started to withdraw her hand, so Victor rushed to try to exin, ¡°It¡¯s not that I was sitting there thinking you guys are weak or anything. I was worrying about how you might not be able to catch up to me. Ever. It¡¯s not just about levels, it¡¯s about . . . shit, I don¡¯t know. My bloodline? My ss? The goddamn freakish synergy of everything that makes me into some kind of monster. What if you get tired of trying? What if you decide it¡¯s not worth it? What if we grow further and further apart? I hated being away from you for just a few days, but honestly, it looks like there¡¯s more time apart than together in our future.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Victor,¡± Va sighed, flopping over onto her back with a huff and a faintly metallic rustle of feathers. ¡°Do you think I only want to gain levels and strength to ¡®catch up¡¯ to you?¡± The blunt question drove home the point so clearly that Victor, as usual, felt like an idiot.

    ¡°No. I guess not. But, even so, Va, what about,¡± he reached out and gently touched the scar on her forehead, just above her bandage, ¡°the rest of it. What about me getting pulled into more and more situations where you¡¯d be at risk if you were with me? What about me, during my downtime, sitting around missing you ¡®cause you¡¯re doing your thing?¡±

    ¡°Well, what did Lesh tell you?¡±

    The question seemed toe out of left field, surprising Victor and putting him even more off bnce. ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°You sat at the table for a while after I walked out. My hearing¡¯s not as good as yours, but I heard your voices. What did you tell him?¡± Something told Victor she¡¯d heard much more than she was letting on. She¡¯d been sitting right outside the window, after all. Was that why she¡¯d made the peace overture after her nap? Had she heard him stumble upon the truth of his self-centered concern?

    ¡°Well, he basically told me that I should be happy for the time I have. I should be happy for what I can grasp and stop trying to control what I can¡¯t.¡± He sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t remember the exact words.¡±

    ¡°So?¡± Va turned toward him again, reaching to gently scrape her nails through the rough, short stubble on his jawline. ¡°Aren¡¯t you happier having grasped this moment?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Of course. I don¡¯t like feeling like you¡¯re angry or that I¡¯ve messed things up. I just also wish I could count on some stability in our future together¡ª¡±

    ¡°Victor!¡± She spoke sharply, but her lips and eyes smiled as she leaned closer, pressing her forehead against his. ¡°The only way that will happen is if we both decide we¡¯re content with what we have, if we both stop going out and risking ourselves. We¡¯d have to decide we don¡¯t need more levels, more knowledge, or more strength. We¡¯d have to admit that we¡¯re okay with a huge portion of the poption being stronger than us and having power <em>over</em> us. Even if we returned to Fanwath, we¡¯d need to worry about the next threat that mighte through a gateway. Could you do that?¡±

    His voice was quiet and a little thick with emotion when he eventually responded, ¡°No.¡±

    Va smiled and leaned close, kissing him softly. ¡°I have to confess that I was feeling a simr way. It¡¯s why I got upset about the house. For a tiny moment, when we first moved in there, I could picture a life with you, making a home together. I¡¯m not saying we won¡¯t do that. I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s impossible, but I think when I realized you sold the house, I recognized the fantasy for what it was. So, let¡¯s do our best. Let¡¯s find ways to improve while spending as much time together as possible. Let¡¯s try not to be irritated with each other and spoil our precious time with fights.¡±

    ¡°All right.¡± He moved his hand to the side of her face, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. ¡°You know, it¡¯s not sold yet. I could tell the realtor to stop trying¡ª¡±

    ¡°No. You made the right decision. A home isn¡¯t the right ce to tie up our money right now. Besides, if we want to spend time in a ce that¡¯s truly ours, we can visit home.¡± Victor smiled at the words; having a ce to think of as home was nice, and the Free Marches fit nicely. She grasped his hand, halting his gentle exploration of her injury. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the scar. I¡¯ll consume the racial advancement elixir I earned in the dungeon. If it¡¯s not enough to repair my eye, I¡¯ll use the regeneration tonic I saved.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not worried. I don¡¯t give a shit how many scars you have!¡± Victor growled, his voice gaining some volume and a bit of a rumble. ¡°You¡¯re the most beautiful woman in the universe. Any scars you get only make things a little fairer for the other goddesses out there.¡±

    That brought a giggle burbling out of Va¡¯s throat, and she bounded atop him, her wings spreading wide. ¡°Did you just call me a goddess?¡±

    ¡°Obviously¡ª¡± Victor started to say, but then a knock at the door interrupted his further efforts to earn her good favor. ¡°What?¡± he barked, more harshly than he intended.

    A muffled voice came through the door, ¡°Victor, sir, Lord Dar would meet with you. He awaits you in the library.¡±

    ¡°Shit,¡± Victor sighed. ¡°I hope I¡¯m not in trouble. I wrote in the damn Farscribe book like he asked¡ª¡±

    ¡°Go!¡± Va rolled to the side and nimbly off the bed. She padded, barefoot and naked, toward the bathroom. ¡°I¡¯ll be here. I¡¯m going to consume the racial advancement! Check on meter.¡±

    ¡°I will.¡± Victor sat up on the side of the bed and quickly began pulling on his hastily discarded clothing.

    He thought she was gone, out of sight in the bathroom, but after a few seconds, she spoke up from the doorway, her voice very sweet and almost a little intive, ¡°I love you, Victor.¡±

    This novel is published on a different tform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    He jerked his head up to lock eyes with her and immediately replied, ¡°I love you too.¡± She smiled at that and pulled the door closed, and then Victor finished getting dressed and hurried out.

    When he stepped into the brightly lit Library, shielding his eyes from the sun reflecting off theke shining through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, he found Ranish Dar sitting at one of the study tables, thumbing through a text so thick that it would have put his <em>abu¡¯s</em> old-school dictionary to shame.

    ¡°Thank you for hurrying, Victor. I hope I didn¡¯t interrupt your nap.¡±

    Victor tried to hear sarcasm or wry humor in the man¡¯s deep, grating voice, but the words felt sincere. ¡°No, I was awake.¡± He strode over to the table and gestured to the empty seat across from Dar. ¡°Should I sit down?¡±

    ¡°Yes, by all means.¡± Dar closed the thick book with a <em>thud</em> and turned his smoldering eyes toward him, watching Victor take a seat. ¡°You¡¯ve made yourself small again?¡± He chuckled, clearly finding Victor¡¯s human-sized form in his oversized chair amusing.

    ¡°Well, I was with Va,¡± Victor mumbled, reaching into his Core to cut the connection to the Alter Self spell. As he surged in size, filling the chair out and putting himself eye to eye with Ranish Dar, he shrugged. ¡°It makes things easier.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Dar rubbed his stony chin. ¡°No doubt it does.¡± He leaned back, causing the dense hardwood chair to creak. ¡°I read your reports in the Farscribe book. I appreciate you asking if I mind you and your friends hosting a gathering here, but, as I told you before, I want you to consider this your home for now. I generally don¡¯t entertain, so you needn¡¯t worry about my schedule. Once I get you started on some rigorous practice routines, I will return to the tower and give you some space.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Well, thanks.¡± Victor smiled, knowing Lam and Edeya would be pleased.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about your ritual. The heart, I mean. We spoke only briefly after you consumed it, but I was serious about finding you some worthy opponents, enemies whose hearts might be worth iming. I believe I¡¯ve stumbled upon a solution in the most unlikely of ces¡ªa letter from one of my grandchildren.¡±

    ¡°Your, um, grandchildren?¡±

    ¡°Have I not mentioned that I¡¯m old, Victor? Some might say ancient.¡± He chuckled. ¡°When a man conquers worlds, a few dozen children here and there are to be expected.¡± He looked hard at Victor, and his stony brows lifted in amusement. ¡°Unless his heart is imed, perhaps. Love? I¡¯ve had love, Victor, but centuries tend to pull even the most desperate lovers apart.¡±

    Victor was silent, contemting Dar¡¯s words. Was it a coincidence? It felt strange to be hearing about love and centuries ¡°pulling people apart¡± directly after the discussion he¡¯d just had with Va. Was Dar teasing him? Offering him advice in a strange, roundabout manner?

    Despite Victor¡¯s preupation, Dar continued speaking. ¡°When I was younger, I conquered a kingdom in a world called Ruhn. I lived there for quite some time and built up a rather extended family before my yearnings for knowledge, adventure, and power called me away. My wife was gone, and my children had either left to seek their own glory or had be elderly due to theirck of ambition. I didn¡¯t feelpelled to stay.¡±

    That got Victor¡¯s attention, and he pushed away his unquiet thoughts and tried to pay attention to the master Spirit Caster. Dar noticed his renewed focus and smiled as he continued, ¡°These days on Ruhn, you can find many high-tier individuals in the iron ranks and even a few hundred working through their tests of steel. However, only a very few have entered their lustrous veil. ording to my granddaughter¡¯s letter, ten such individuals watch over the world, and they are, to put it simply, hands-off.¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡± Victor liked the sound of that, but probably only because he was still an ¡°iron ranker.¡± He didn¡¯t enjoy having hundreds or even thousands of people at Dar¡¯s power level hanging around, reminding him of his insignificance.

    ¡°Yes. Ruhn is, in effect, ruled by an empire of which the kingdoms, like the one I left to my descendants, are member states. The kingdoms are often vying for power and influence. The most influential will asionally force a war of session, changing the empire¡¯s rulership. I¡¯ve lost touch with the world and my children¡¯s children, but this letter surprised me recently. Well, it was recent to me¡ªsomething like four years ago. It was after our discussionst night, following your ritual, that I was reminded of my granddaughter¡¯s plight.¡±

    ¡°Her plight?¡± Victor was trying to keep track of Dar¡¯s rambling tale and how it might impact him. He¡¯d yet to figure that part out.

    ¡°Yes, the point of her letter¡ªmy kingdom, well, hers now, is beset by hostile neighbors who¡¯ve been putting tremendous strain on her economy and infrastructure. She fears they¡¯ll soon challenge her andy im to hernds, destroying my descendants¡¯ legacy.¡± Dar spoke matter-of-factly, betraying no emotion at all, and his uncaring demeanor brought storm clouds to Victor¡¯s narrowed eyes.

    ¡°She wanted your help? Four <em>years</em> ago?¡± He couldn¡¯t keep the snarl out of his words.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Dar nodded, drumming his fingers on the table, ignoring Victor¡¯s evident judgment. ¡°At the time, I contemted a walk back to Ruhn, but that would throw me into conflict with the ten veil walkers of that world. No, someone of my stature could not aid her. So, I set the letter aside with ns to find a solution, and now I have!¡±

    ¡°But . . .¡± Victor started to object, wanting to chastise his ¡°master¡± for taking so long to help his descendants, but something else had caught his attention. ¡°What do you mean you were thinking about a ¡®walk¡¯ back to Ruhn?¡± He quickly followed up with, ¡°And what¡¯s a veil walker?¡±

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right.¡± Dar looked at him with an even expression, and Victor got the distinct impression that he was pitying him. ¡°I let slip my mind yourck of formal education. Fear not; I¡¯ll spend some months giving you lessons before I send you on your way.¡±

    ¡°Send me¡ª¡±

    ¡°But, to answer your questions.¡± Dar held up a finger, interrupting Victor. ¡°When I ¡®walk¡¯ somewhere distant, I use the Spirit ne. Yet another lesson I must add to your long list of study topics.¡±

    ¡°You can¡ª¡±

    Dar brandished his finger again. ¡°Veil walker is a general term for those who¡¯vepleted their test of steel and moved into their lustrous veil.¡± He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in. ¡°Now, to the point: I told you we need to find you more hearts from worthy foes. On Ruhn, wars are decided by battles between two kingdoms¡¯ champions. The fools pressuring my distant granddaughter won¡¯t be worthy hearts for you, but after you¡¯ve vanquished them, you will champion my granddaughter as she begins a war of session. You and she will conquer Ruhn.¡±

    ¡°<em>Seriously</em>? When? How long will that take? Why wo¡ª¡±

    Dar held up a hand. ¡°Victor! Such panic from a titan? Calm yourself and think. There are more than a hundred kingdoms on Ruhn. Of those, twenty-two are formidable and will have champions that will truly test your mettle. When you face the seven great houses, you will earn hearts that will make the one from the behemoth seem a mere snack! Of course, those champions will likely all be steel seekers, so you¡¯ll have your work cut out for you.¡±

    Victor opened his mouth to reply, but Dar pressed on, ¡°There are several ways to gain raw power for a standard cultivator¡ªvanquish foes for their Energy, cultivate Energy from other sources, and improve one¡¯s species or bloodline. You have <em>another</em> method that does all three and <em>more!</em>¡±

    Dar¡¯s passion broke through to Victor, and he nodded, his eyes narrowing as he scowled in determination. Dar was right. He gained a lot of Energy from every heart he consumed, sometimes improved his bloodline, and often gained traits from his enemies. Even his breath Core came from eating a heart. ¡°Are the fights always to the death?¡±

    ¡°Always. It¡¯s meant to deter conflict.¡±

    ¡°So, I have to win a hundred duels?¡±

    ¡°Once the war of session has begun, other kingdoms will likely seize the opportunity to remove enemies, im weaker neighbors, or even unite in mutual defense. Many may kneel to my granddaughter, epting her im.¡±

    Victor¡¯s scowl deepened. He wanted to have an idea of what he was up against. ¡°How many? Will I have to win fifty? Twenty?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no telling. Thest champion to lead a imant to the imperial throne won sixty-four duels.¡±

    Victor shook his head, baffled by the strange custom. ¡°So that¡¯s all it takes? One champion kills another, and they lose their kingdom?¡±

    ¡°Not quite. Wars of session are much moreplicated. You''ll be dealing with shifting alliances, resource management, and political intrigue. A kingdom is not required to ept a duel, and should they refuse, my granddaughter will need to coerce them. That¡¯s what has been happening to her. Her hostile neighbors have been putting pressure on her in myriad ways¡ªcutting off food supplies, severingmunication with the greater empire, destroying resources, assassinating members of her court, and even kidnapping civilians.¡±

    ¡°How do you know she hasn¡¯t fallen?¡±

    ¡°Because I used a treasure to scry her this morning. Her current champion yet lives; she¡¯s close to breaking, but her neighbors feel no hurry; they slowly bleed her of resources and know she¡¯ll be forced to ept the challenge eventually. A year or ten is nothing for people who count their lives in centuries.¡±

    Victor sighed and reached up to run his fingers through his short, stiff hair as though he could stimte his brain by pulling on it. ¡°You said her neighbors are weaklings. Now you say they count their lives in centuries.¡±

    ¡°Few people push much past the middle of the iron ranks. Why would they? They feel not the pull of glory! Thepetition for resources bes deadly, the grind of cultivation bes an all-consuming obsession, and the pace of progress bes cial.¡± He snorted softly, amused by some private thought, as he eyed Victor knowingly. ¡°For most. Nevertheless, reaching level thirty or fifty greatly extends a natural life, yes? So, most people in worlds like Ruhn will gain levels while it is easy or entertaining and then fall back into rather mundane lives, enjoying the gains they¡¯ve umted for hundreds or thousands of years.¡±

    Victor slowly nodded, lowering his hands to the arms of his chair as he thought about that. His perception of the worlds he¡¯d visited was badly skewed; he was always seeking to advance, so he encountered other people on that path, whether it be in arenas, on monster hunts, in wars, or even in dungeons. Still, he encountered seemingly mundane people daily¡ªservants, officials, merchants, and countless people on the street about whom he knew nothing. Suddenly, Va¡¯s point that he and she would need to agree that they were content before having real, quality time together took on a new light.

    The truth was, Dar was out of touch. Victor knew that it wasn¡¯t just people who no longer found gaining levels ¡°easy or entertaining¡± who stopped. He knew that life wasn¡¯t fair and that on many worlds, maybe most of them, the people with power actively worked to keep others from acquiring it. All he had to do was remember the Wagon Wheel and the Greatbone Mine to cement that point in his mind.

    He turned his attention back to the topic of their meeting. ¡°So your granddaughter needs to force the other kingdoms to ept her challenges before I¡¯ll need to fight?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. She may need your help with some of her strategies, but, for the most part, you¡¯ll remain in her court, training and making yourself avable for duels. If a kingdom bends the knee to her rather than having their champion duel you, you¡¯ll receive a portion of the tribute they pay¡ªa tariff for your formidable intimidation value. I¡¯ll instruct my granddaughter to demand growth items as payment for your services.¡±

    ¡°How long?¡±

    ¡°Before I send you? Two to six months, I¡¯d say. There¡¯s the matter of your education¡ªetiquette, thews of session on Ruhn, and some general knowledge about advancement. More than that, I want to get you started on methods of training that you can practice while away.¡±

    ¡°And mypanions?¡± Victor already felt like he knew the answer before Dar shook his head.

    ¡°They must remain here. I will extend my hospitality to each of them; I know their safety is important to you and won¡¯t have you distracted with worry. Besides, I rather like Lam, and I¡¯m eager to see how she advances. I can see you formting an objection, especially with regard to yourdy love, but Victor, she willnguish on Ruhn. There aren¡¯t easily essible dungeons, and once it begins, the war will turn the countryside perilous with lurking assassins and saboteurs. She¡¯d have to stay at court and watch as you grew ever more powerful, winning duel after duel. No, I think it best you leave her here with your dragon-blood friend.¡±

    Victor felt that earlier dread, that cold, hard grip on his heart, slide back into ce. Had he somehow felt thising? Had he known Dar would be sending him ces for God knows how long? He must have suspected it on some subconscious level. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t she have the option?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Talk to her. Exin that Ruhn is four jumps away via a System Stone and that when I help you make the journey, you¡¯ll use the Spirit ne¡ªa method unavable to anyone without a sufficiently sturdy spirit Core.¡± Dar pushed his chair back and stood. ¡°Go now. I have things to arrange.¡± He scowled at Victor, but the slight tilt of an eyebrow made it clear he wasn¡¯t really upset. ¡°Primary among them, I must negotiate with the Sojourn Council in an attempt to release you from your debt of three tasks.¡±

    ¡°So that I can leave?¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Now, enjoy some time with your friends. Come dawn, we will build your cultivation chamber and begin your training in earnest.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 21: Renewed Focus

    Book 8: Chapter 21: Renewed Focus

    ¡°Have you seen a cultivation chamber before, Victor?¡± Dar asked, looking around the small cave. He¡¯d brought Victor down beneath hiske house again, not far from where they¡¯d performed Lam¡¯s ritual.

    ¡°Yeah. The Warlord in Coloss had one. He let me and Va use it for a little while before I figured out he was going to try to steal my bloodline.¡±

    Dar nodded. Victor had given him most of the details of his adventures on Zaafor, back when he¡¯d written in the Farscribe journal and recently when they¡¯d spoken about his ability to im power from the hearts of his defeated foes. ¡°From what I¡¯ve surmised about this ¡®Warlord,¡¯ I think it¡¯s safe to say that he¡¯s steel-bound. His frustrations sound like those of a man who hasn¡¯t been able to break through.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean I might be able to take him?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps, but I think caution is advisable. Someone who¡¯s been steel-bound for centuries, especially a man holding sway over an entire, may have gained enormous power, even though he never broke into his lustrous veil.¡±

    Victor sighed as he watched Dar slowly unpacking materials from a dimensional sack he¡¯d carried down, grasped in his thick, stony fist. At the moment, he was making stacks of te-sized, slightly concave stones that looked almost like they could be used for paving a garden. He held the sack, and it took no effort to summon the objects out, or Victor would have asked to help unload the supplies. He would have, that is, if his mind weren¡¯t fixated on something Dar had said. ¡°I¡¯m starting to get frustrated with the constant mentions of the ¡®test of steel¡¯ and the ¡®lustrous veil¡¯ when I really don¡¯t understand them. Is it such a mystery? Can¡¯t you tell me what to expect?

    ¡°You know more than you think. When you reach level one hundred, what will happen?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to choose a new ss?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to <em>create</em> a new ss.¡± Dar looked at Victor and moved his shoulders in a gesture he¡¯d hade to recognize as his best attempt at a shrug. ¡°There¡¯s a reason it seems mysterious; the process differs from person to person. Once you create your ss, you¡¯ll need to continue gaining levels, using a portion of the Energy to improve the ss¡ªanother ¡®mysterious¡¯ process in that it, as you may guess, isn¡¯t the same for any two individuals. If you think that¡¯s frustrating, understand that things only worsen. Your breakthrough will likely take you by surprise, and when it happens, you¡¯ll slip into your ¡®lustrous veil¡¯ and face new, unique roads to advancement.¡±¡°Why ¡®lustrous veil?¡¯ I mean, the term sounds¡ª¡±

    ¡°Frilly? Overly poetic? Think of it this way: in the iron ranks, you¡¯re building up your foundation, your core of strength. During the test of steel, you¡¯re refining all of that iron into something stronger, sharper. The lustrous veil is named so for two reasons: you¡¯re adding the shine to your steel, and your process is hidden, obscured in the mystery of your individualism. No two people will hone their steel to a mirrored, lustrous shine in the same way.¡±

    Victor sighed, realizing he wasn¡¯t going to get much help. Dar continued to look at him and chuckled. ¡°You think you¡¯re the first iron ranker who felt frustrated by this? Listen, Victor, I won¡¯t tell you what to do in your test of steel for a simple reason¡ªif you try to repeat what worked for me, you¡¯re likely to set yourself back. Things might <em>seem </em>to be working, and you may advance partially over the course of years or decades, only to find that the foundation you built with my guidance won¡¯t work for you. There¡¯s no surer way to be steel-bound.¡±

    ¡°So, it¡¯s something I need to figure out myself.¡±

    ¡°Not entirely. I¡¯ll guide you as you move from stage to stage, which should help you gain an advantage over this insr Warlord enemy of yours. He¡¯s done himself no favors by keeping to his world, refusing to learn from the greater universe.¡±

    ¡°I still don¡¯t get it, though.¡± Victor chuckled at himself, shaking his head. ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m stupid, but can you tell me how it¡¯s different after level one hundred? I get that the System will help me build a new ss, but so what? I choose the ss I like, and then I gain levels; what¡¯s <em>different</em>?¡±

    Dar set down his sack and turned to face him, a broad smile exposing his teeth. ¡°I see what¡¯s got you confused. You don¡¯t <em>pick</em> a ss and move on. You have to build your ss. Up to now, you¡¯ve been given a ss by the System. You have no idea how that works, how it molds the Energy into your body with each level. At level one hundred, you¡¯re going to have to do things the way our ancestors did before the System arrived. You''ll understand why you need that foundation when you enter your veil. As for the System, it won¡¯t give you much help. It¡¯ll start you on the first stage of creating your ss, and after that, you¡¯ll only hear from it when you seed in forming and refining it.¡±

    Victor nodded, feeling his frustration slipping away. ¡°I think I¡¯m starting to see the picture more clearly.¡± He wondered if the Warlord had even finished building his ss. If the System only got him started and he had no idea what was expected, being the only person on Zaafor to reach that stage . . . Victor shook his head; it wasn¡¯t worth specting. He¡¯d find out when he faced the man.

    ¡°Good. Now, let¡¯s talk about cultivation. There¡¯s a reason the Warlord had a cultivation chamber. A person¡¯s advancement has three interlocking restrictions. One, you must build up Energy in your physical form. The System measures that in ¡®levels.¡¯ Two, you must strengthen your Core, building it,pacting it, and expanding it. The System measures that in Core ranks. Finally, you must also improve your body with racial advancements. If you don¡¯t, two things will happen. Do you know what they are?¡±

    ¡°I know I can¡¯t gain levels past a certain point if I don¡¯t advance my race.¡±

    ¡°Exactly! How can you advance in levels, enhancing your physical aspect with Energy, if your body cannot contain that Energy without being destroyed? The second?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing it has something to do with advancing my Core?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Just as you can¡¯t gain levels beyond the limits of your body, your Core cannot outstrip your physical form, else it, too, could destroy you with the Energy it contains.¡±

    ¡°So, the Warlord?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the Warlord¡ªhe likely spends much of his time cultivating because he¡¯s grown too powerful for his world. The Energy he takes from ying the beasts or people on Zaafor likely doesn¡¯t impact him much. You¡¯ll learn that if you push your Core, reaching the limit of your racial tier, then you can use the excess cultivated Energy to advance your level. Again, you can only do that until you reach the peak of your body¡¯s capabilities. With an ¡®epic¡¯ race or bloodline, that peak is well over level two hundred.¡±

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    ¡°So, if he has an epic racial tier, he could be level two hundred or more?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and likely with a Core in the epic tier as well. Do you see how, even steel-bound, he could be formidable? Even so, it''s not as dire as it may seem. Levels gained while steel-bound are far less impactful than levels gained in the iron ranks.¡±

    ¡°Are all people who¡¯ve entered their ¡®lustrous veil¡¯ that high level?¡±

    ¡°Some. Some might break through early and quickly. I know a woman who was only level one hundred and eight when she broke through.¡±

    ¡°So, the Warlord could be stronger for staying steel-bound for so long?¡±

    Dar barked a quickugh, shaking his head. ¡°No,d. He¡¯ll be stronger than any iron ranker and some other steel-bound folks, but anyone in their veil will have glimpsed true power. They¡¯ll have abilities that he simply cannot fathom or counter.¡±

    Victor nodded, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. Was Tes in her lustrous veil or whatever name the dragons had for that stage of advancement? He had to think she was; she¡¯d been utterly fearless when facing the Warlord. Was her ¡°elder magic¡± a clue to the test of steel? Was it what masters in their lustrous veil used? He hoped her early lesson in the pre-System magic would aid him when the time came, and he resolved to practice with it and try to learn new applications for it like he¡¯d done with the spell to summon his spirit totems.

    ¡°Was the Warlord¡¯s cultivation chamber a spherical chamber?¡± Dar asked, interrupting his thoughts. Victor looked up to see his mentor was once again piling what looked like building materials on the cave floor.

    ¡°Yeah, it was. He had a tform suspended in the center so a person could sit in the middle of the chamber.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm. I imagine he had many treasures in there, considering he¡¯s lord over the entire. I¡¯ve done something simr in a world or three. I don¡¯t think you quite understand how wondrous your ability to build up your Core via the heart ritual is. Your tale of running through the wastes of Zaafor, eating the hearts of great spiders and minor wyrms, each time flooding your Core with Energy . . . Honestly, Victor, I wonder if we waste our time with this chamber. It might be wiser to simply send you into dungeons to rip the hearts from every monster you encounter.¡±

    Victor looked at him, not sure what to say. If he were honest, he¡¯d be just as happy to do what Dar suggested; the act of cultivation was sometimes cathartic, but frequently, for him, it dredged up painful memories as he forced himself to relive and work out what made him so angry and fearful.

    Dar saved him from a reply by saying, ¡°No. Cultivation isn¡¯t only about building Energy, not for a Spirit Caster. You must inure yourself to the Energies with which you toil. In any case, we won¡¯t try to match the Warlord¡¯s chamber with your first one¡ªa t floor, curved walls, and a domed ceiling will suffice.¡± He grunted as he shifted arge stack of lumber. ¡°I sent Drema to collect these building supplies, and she did you some favors. She had the timbers cut to the exact lengths I specified and purchased brackets to join them. You¡¯ll have an easy time of it.¡±

    Victor surveyed the stacks of stone, the bags of mortar, therge metal buckets, the sacks of nails, and the piles of wood. ¡°What am I building?¡±

    Dar smiled, produced arge roll of parchment, and unfurled it, holding it out to Victor. It was densely inscribed with the detailed ns for a domed, stone-lined room. Victor could see the blueprints for a wooden framework and instructions for building it down to the individual nails. The next stage showed where to ce each octagonal, te-sized stone, with precise instructions for mortaring them into ce. ¡°Huh. I thought there¡¯d be more magic involved.¡±

    ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s good to do things with your hands, Victor.¡± Dar nodded and moved toward the tunnel leading back to his house. ¡°While you construct the chamber, I¡¯ll procure the other cultivation items you¡¯ll need. Normally, I¡¯d send you on quests to gain each one, but we¡¯re a bit pressed for time. Speaking of which,¡± he pulled a golden watch from the pocket of his bright orange, silken pants and studied it, ¡°I also need to stop by the council building. They¡¯re making a decision about releasing you from your debt.¡±

    ¡°You think they¡¯ll let me off?¡±

    ¡°I have my enemies on the council, but I¡¯m hopeful that a bit of wealth and a favor owed will move things our way. The truth of the matter is that they cannot stop me from sending you away, though it could make your return problematic if we disregard their decision.¡±

    Victor wanted to tell him to forget it, that he¡¯d do the three tasks, but he knew Dar didn¡¯t want the Sojourn council to interrupt his training or dy his departure. Nevertheless, he hated that his debt to the master Spirit Caster was mounting by the day. Thinking of debts, he frowned, looking at the building supplies. ¡°Are these magical materials?¡±

    ¡°The tiles, aye. They¡¯re a dense material, resistant to the passage of Energy and further enchanted to reflect it. Don¡¯t fret; they''re cheap in the greater scheme of things. It¡¯s the cultivation sources that are going to cost me.¡±

    ¡°Nothing I can do?¡±

    ¡°Nay. Again, don¡¯t worry; the service you will provide to my neglected descendants on Ruhn will be worth the meager investments I make in you. Let¡¯s see here.¡± He paused by the tunnel opening and gave Victor a long look. ¡°You¡¯ve got fear and rage, so I need inspiration, glory, and magma, yes? Nothing else you¡¯re keeping secret?¡±

    Victor looked up from his study of the blueprint and narrowed his eyes at Dar. ¡°You expect me to believe you can¡¯t see my different affinities?¡±

    Dar smiled and shrugged. ¡°I believe you have a secret or two you¡¯ve yet to entrust to me.¡± When Victor¡¯s eyes widened, he held up a stony hand and said, ¡°No matter. I trust you¡¯ve told me what¡¯s important. We¡¯re all entitled to a closely held secret or three. Build this chamber, and we¡¯ll speak again tonight.¡±

    As his mentor turned to leave, Victor said, ¡°Dar, wait. Um, I promised Lesh I¡¯d try to get a regr practice schedule nned out. He¡¯s a good sparring partner, and I also was wondering if there was anything you could tell me about breath Cores¡ª¡±

    ¡°One thing at a time, Victor. Finish this construction, then spar with your friend. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll add your treasures to this chamber, and then we¡¯ll talk about your schedule. And yes, I have a few things I can tell you about breath Cores; it will be part of your training. Now, I¡¯m off.¡± With that, he turned and almost seemed to flicker out of sight as he employed some skill or spell to whisk himself away.

    Victor straightened the blueprint in his hands and looked over the steps Dar had outlined for him. Had he written this out? It wasn¡¯t exactly something only a master Spirit Caster would know; basically, Victor was going to do some wood framing and then build up an interior stone fa?ade. The whole thing made him think of corny movies where a martial arts master would make the student do sweeping or carry stones, driving the student crazy with frustration. Then, the master wouldugh and exin how the chore movements <em>were </em>the martial arts techniques.

    Victor chuckled as he began hammering nails into the pre-cut wooden frame pieces. The blueprints said to start with the base, so that¡¯s what he did, using metal brackets to connect each length of wood as he ced them around the edge of the cavern. Dar must have measured the space because the framework filled it as much as possible while maintaining a roughly circr shape. In reality, it would have sixteen sides, with each face aiming directly at the center of the space.

    His hands were nimble and strong, and Victor no longer grew tired from manualbor, at least nothing he¡¯d been able to throw at himself. Perhaps if he went to a world rich in Energy and had to dig or mine dense, powerful ore, he¡¯d find that exhausting. He didn¡¯t know. As it was, he had the frame built in less than an hour. Fifteen minutester, he¡¯d nailed up all the backer boards for the stone fa?ade. He set to work mixing the mortar, and when it felt thick enough to spread, he used the trowel Dar had given him to begin mounting the bottom row of eight-sided, concave stone tiles.

    While he worked, Victor¡¯s mind wandered. He thought about the dinner parties he had lined up and began to warm up to the idea of meeting and speaking with some of the people he¡¯d fought in the dungeon. He felt it was the right thing to do, inviting those folks. Even the ones who¡¯d talked trash in the dungeon might be totally different in a social setting. He¡¯d known wrestlers like that. Shouldn¡¯t he work to mend fences and build peaceful rtions before leaving his friends here? Lam had said she would invite them, so he didn¡¯t feel he had to do anything more. If some showed up, great, and if none did, so be it.

    Thinking of parties reminded him of Fanwath and the people he¡¯d left there. Wouldn¡¯t it be nice to visit? Wouldn¡¯t it be fun to invite them to see Dar¡¯ske house and experience Sojourn? Deyni would be in heaven! He wished he could afford a permanent portal like the ones connecting the cities of Fanwath.

    Something told him such a gateway between worlds would require an order of magnitude more power and know-how. Even setting that aside, though, he knew some people could open temporary gateways between worlds. He wanted to learn that kind of power. Would the ability to walk through the Spirit ne be simr? How hard would it be to bring people? Dar acted as though it wasn¡¯t trivial.

    The instructions on the blueprint were to trickle Energy into each stone after setting it, and when Victor did so, they grew solid and unmoving, the mortar beneathpletely cured. The ability to instantly set the tiles made for easy and quick work, and, despite the chamber being a good fifteen feet in diameter, he rapidly built up the stone fa?ade. Seeing the chamber take shape around him was gratifying work. Victor was rxed, and his mind gradually stopped worrying at all the things going on in his life, and he lost himself to the work, utterly zoning out.

    When he finished, he was almost disappointed that he was done. He¡¯d enjoyed the honestbor, seeing the room taking shape and feeling a little aplishment as each stone tile fit snugly into ce. He thought those feelings said a lot about what was going on with his life. He was trying to control too much. He was wracking his brain trying to understand love, trying to keep track of too many, sometimes conflicting, goals. He needed to take Lesh¡¯s advice and focus on what he could control, grasp the joys within reach, and make the best of the hand he''d been dealt.

    Building the enclosure perfectly¡ªand it was perfect¡ªhad been an excellent example of that. He felt better having done it, having let his mind rest, and having focused wholly on the task. It was an introduction to what he needed to do for the next few months. He needed to give himself over to his training. When he wasn¡¯t training, he needed to make the most of his time with Va. He needed to let go of the many worries that gnawed at the fabric of his sanity. ¡°Yeah,¡± he said, stooping to pick up the tools and leftover building supplies, stuffing them into the dimensional sack Dar had left behind, ¡°that feels good.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 22: Promises

    Book 8: Chapter 22: Promises

    When he emerged from the underground, it was only an hour or so after noon, and Victor found Lesh more than eager to get some sparring done. They made their way to the area Lesh had dubbed Dar¡¯s sparring ground, only for Victor to question the designation; to him, it felt more like a fancy courtyard meant for entertaining. Stone columns lined the space, and off to one side was a covered area that looked like an outdoor kitchen. Still, Victor couldn¡¯t argue that the sandy center of the space made for a perfect ce to do some fighting, especially considering how everything about Dar¡¯s home was giant-sized.

    They worked out like usual, falling into old routines. Victor used Inspiration of the Quinametzin, giving them both a little more insight into their training, and neither of the two used any Energy abilities, at least not at first. Victor wore his armor, wanting to see how Bgog, Lesh¡¯s cudgel, fared against the set pieces and theirva king materials. A few ncing blows got past his guard now and then, and the leather held up fine, though it wasn¡¯t adept at stopping bludgeoning damage. The helmet and heavy gauntlet were another matter; the dense material easily rebuffed the blows.

    About an hour into their practice, after a particrly violent exchange, Victor backed off and said, ¡°I want to try my new weapon.¡±

    ¡°A new weapon?¡± Lesh eyed Lifedrinker resting on Victor¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Yeah. I enchanted this gauntlet with the, um, magma attunement gem that I won from the conquest chest.¡±

    ¡°Ah! What will it do? Punch with fire damage?¡± Lesh readied Bgog, holding the great metallic cudgel in a two-handed grip before himself.

    ¡°Actually,¡± Victor said, channeling some Energy into the gauntlet, ¡°it¡¯s supposed to be a whip.¡± As the Energy fed the hungry runes along the back of the gauntlet where the metal wrapped around his wrist, hot, dripping, liquid fire began to drizzle from his palm into the sand, cooling with sizzling pops into beads of porous stone. Victor pushed more Energy into the gauntlet, increasing the steady flow from his Core. The trickle of liquid fire turned into a stream that partially solidified into a ming, smoking coil of magical magma that hung down from his gauntleted hand into the sand, where it sizzled and smoked.

    ¡°You wish to strike me with <em>that</em>?¡± Lesh backed up, eyes narrow, shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯ve the blood of dragons in my veins, but fire can still harm me!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I, uh, guess I need some practice with it before I can promise not to do any real damage. Can you hold Bgog out? Let me see how hard it is to control.¡±¡°Aye. Some fire won¡¯t hurt thisd,¡± Lesh chuckled, his voice deep and rumbling, as he extended the long, metal cudgel before him. Victor nodded and jerked his left hand back over his shoulder and then forward, whipping out his ¡°magmash¡± a little awkwardly. His much-improved dexterity and agility made him more adept than he had any right to be on his first attempt at such a feat, but the whip of smoking, glowingva still missed the cudgel. It snaked out and snapped in the air beneath it, cracking like a gunshot, spraying sizzling magma onto the sandy ground.

    ¡°Oho!¡± Lesh crowed, enjoying the show. ¡°That would sting!¡±

    Victor grinned, pleased by the savage crack and spray of magma. He pulled his wrist back, swinging thesh of magma around behind him with a <em>whoosh</em>. He tried again, adjusting his wrist movement slightly, and this time, thesh snapped around the cudgel, coiling with a ssh of magma and billowing ck smoke as it fought to transfer its fiery heat to Lesh¡¯s weapon. The cudgel was made of nigh-indestructible stuff, though, and Leshughed as he pulled against thesh, trying to unbnce Victor. Victor grinned, jerking his fist against Lesh¡¯s pull, and the two came to a stalemate.

    ¡°Not bad!¡± Victor panted as he and Lesh continued to strain. ¡°Thesh is durable; we¡¯re putting a lot of strain on it!¡±

    ¡°Aye! It¡¯s made of your Energy. I bet you can learn to guide and control it more than any physical whip; use your will!¡± Lesh grunted as he spoke, still straining to pull Victor off bnce. What he said made sense, and Victor reached out with his will, urging thesh of magma to uncoil so he could pull it back. To his amazement, it worked.

    ¡°That is badass!¡± he howled as thesh snapped in the air beside him, moving as much with the force of his will as the motion of his wrist. He turned and jogged to the far end of the sandy ground and then, still targeting Lesh¡¯s cudgel, some thirty yards distant, whipped the magmash forward, guiding the fiery tendril with his will. He howled with delight when it stretched out and struck home, snapping its distant, smoldering end around the weapon. ¡°You¡¯re a genius, Lesh!¡±

    After that, Victor spent another hour with Lesh as a willing participant, learning the ins and outs of his new weapon. He quickly realized that his first somewhat ranged attack was near the extent of the whip¡¯s reach¡ªsomething close to thirty or thirty-five yards. He learned that he could nudge the whip with his will, making minute targeting adjustments, and direct it to either coil around a target orsh it with devastating results based on how he flicked his wrist.

    Bgog was a good test subject, but Victor wanted to see how something less durable would hold up, so he destroyed several pieces of furniture he¡¯d stored in one of his dimensional rings. The whip sted them to fiery splinters in just a few strokes. By the time they called it a day, he felt good about the new weapon but knew it would require a lot of training to use effectively in conjunction with Lifedrinker in an actualbat situation.

    As they walked along the path leading back to the house, Lesh said, ¡°I will use my racial advancement elixir now, so I will likely be out for a while.¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°This is a good time. Va¡¯s still out, and I¡¯m gonna be training with Dar. When you wake up, I¡¯ll hopefully have something to share with you about breath Cores. I know you¡¯re eager to improve yours.¡±

    ¡°I am, though I always thought it was dependent upon improving my bloodline. I hope there¡¯s something more¡ª¡±

    Victor looked at him with raised eyebrows and interrupted, ¡°I mean, you know how to cultivate Energy into it, right?¡±

    ¡°Into my breath Core? When I cultivate Energy, it enters my pathways, which lead to my Energy Core¡ª¡±

    ¡°Holy shit! Seriously, Lesh? But, like, youe from a world full of <em>dragonkin</em>!¡± The truth of the matter was that Victor had only recently learned to cultivate with his breath Core, and that had been out of necessity, trapped in the caldera of a volcano by Hector. Still, once he¡¯d made the breakthrough, he thought it must have been something obvious to people <em>born</em> with one.

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    Lesh stopped in his tracks and looked at Victor with a scowl, though whether he was angry at Victor or irritated in general wasn¡¯t clear. ¡°Not all of us have a breath Core. We sometimes gain one when advancing our race, but it¡¯s not a guarantee, and my people are . . .bative. Having scales,¡± he held out one of his arms, clenching his fist so the faintly glossy, ck scales along his forearm flexed, ¡°is a mark of power and dominance¡ªa breath Core even more so. I was rising quickly in the esteem of my people, but those above me, those with the ability to send forth plumes of destructive breath,¡± he narrowed his eyes at Victor, reaching out to tap a long, thick w into his chest, ¡°like you, don¡¯t share their knowledge. It¡¯s something that must be discovered.¡±

    Victor stared at him, suddenprehension dawning on him, all of his conversations with Lesh taking on a new light. ¡°I¡¯m such a self-centered dumbass.¡±

    ¡°Self-centered?¡± Lesh let his w slide off Victor¡¯s scaled vest, his hand falling to his side.

    ¡°Yeah, Lesh. I listened to you ask to follow me. I listened to you say you turned against the damned <em>System</em> when you saw me breathe my ancestor¡¯s fire, but I never fucking sat down with you and asked what that meant. I thought you were . . . I don¡¯t know, weird! God! I¡¯m so sorry, man. Listen, when you get done with your racial advancement, we¡¯re going to sit down, and I¡¯ll teach you how to cultivate your breath Core. I need to find a source for mine, and while I¡¯m at it, I¡¯ll find one for yours. I¡¯ll go shopping tomorrow after Dar gives me my cultivation lesson. Deal?¡±

    ¡°A source?¡±

    ¡°I need something that gives off magma-attuned Energy. I can use fire, but it¡¯s not as effective¡ªturns out magma has the rage of a volcano mixed into it. Your breath affinity is acid, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Lesh leaned forward, speaking forcefully, and Victor could see the excitement in his eyes.

    ¡°All right, <em>hermano</em>! When you wake up, we¡¯re going to get to work. Promise.¡± He held out a fist, and Lesh smashed his rough knuckles into it, nodding with a wide grin, exposing the many pointy teeth along his short, snout-like mouth.

    ¡°Yes, brother!¡±

    With that, the two continued walking toward the house, but Victor felt a certain warmth of camaraderie that hadn¡¯t been there before. He <em>had </em>been preupied with all of his own problems and had been taking Lesh for granted. It was good that he¡¯d acknowledged it, and he meant to make things up to the man before he left Sojourn. They parted ways in the hallway, Lesh turning to enter the bedroom Dar¡¯s staff had assigned him.

    When Victor returned to his room, Va was still out, but the cloud of Energy-filled steam that had gathered around her was much thinner, and he didn¡¯t see any new vapors rising from her body. He leaned close, studying her face, and he was relieved to see the scar above and below her bandage was much fainter, just a thin, dark silver line in her pale flesh, almost more like a tattoo than a scar.

    He was tempted to peel the bandage aside and look at her eye but knew it would irritate her if she were awake, and doing it while she slept felt wrong. Her skin felt cool, and she breathed peacefully, almost like she was simply sleeping. He leaned down and kissed her forehead before going into the bathroom to clean up. Part of him hoped the gesture would wake her, but another part was pleased to see her resting so deeply.

    The bathrooms in Dar¡¯s house were marvels of magical ingenuity, especially the showers. The one in Victor¡¯s room was a sunken, tiled enclosure with a row of windows high in the wall, beneath which half a dozen lush ferns grew in a nter. When he stepped into the basin, some enchantment he couldn¡¯t see caused miniature storm clouds to form near the ceiling, and then, apanied by the rumble of distant-sounding thunder, they began to shed gentle, warm rain.

    It was difficult not to overindulge; Victor lost himself as he stood in the refreshing rain, asionally breaking from his reverie to soap off a body part, scrub his hair, or carefully scrape a razor-sharp de over his soapy stubble. There didn¡¯t seem to be any sort of time or Energy limitation on the shower, at least not one he¡¯d yet run into. By the time he got out and the storm cloud dissipated, he was pretty sure he¡¯d spent nearly two hours in there.

    He donned his wyrm-scale vest and new armor in its clothing form, first holding it up to his nose to ensure everything was still smelling fresh. ¡°It¡¯s damn nice never having to doundry,¡± he chuckled, stepping out of the bathroom.

    ¡°Finally!¡± Va said, sleepily stretching on the bed.

    ¡°Hey! You were out cold when I went in there.¡±

    She smiled, and Victor¡¯s gaze was drawn to her eye, devoid of its previous bandage. He stepped close and grinned when he saw her tracking him with both eyes. When he leaned close, the only sign of her earlier injury was a very faint line of silver in her teal iris. ¡°Looks all better!¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t looked in a mirror but can see fine.¡± She pulled him close, squeezing him in a tight hug. ¡°I was more worried than I let on. It was the worst injury I¡¯ve ever had. Before Lesh poured a healing potion over the wound . . .¡± She trailed off, and Victor hugged her again.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s all right. How many ranks did you get?¡±

    ¡°Just one. My bloodline is advanced-six now.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s pretty great that your eye basically regrew with just one racial rank.¡±

    ¡°How did¡ªDid you look?¡± She pushed him back, narrowing her eyebrows.

    ¡°No, I was just assuming, Va. I mean, you wouldn¡¯t let me see it, so I figured it was bad.¡± He chuckled and backed away from her. ¡°You never said anything about my new clothes. Check this out.¡± He trickled some Energy into the runes on his armor, and suddenly, he was d in his dark crimson and ck wyrm-scale vest, his gloweringva king helm, deep red, metallic gauntlet, and the rest of his thick, red leather armor.

    ¡°Ancestors!¡± Va said, leaning back and pping. ¡°Fierce! Is that helmet supposed to look like a dragon?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I think it¡¯s what ava king looks like.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Maybe they¡¯re rted¡ªyou know, like wyrms.¡± Victor made a slow turn, giving her a view of every angle, then sent Energy into the disguise runes, swapping the armor out for his clothing again. ¡°Pretty cool, huh?¡±

    ¡°Lava king? Isn¡¯t that the hide you won for the campaign?¡± She reached out to feel his shirt. ¡°But what about your armor? How are you changing it so quickly?¡±

    He chuckled, then spent a few minutes exining the set pieces and how he¡¯d added his treasures from the Free Marches. When he told her about the matching enchantment he¡¯d gotten on his wyrm-scale vest, she interrupted with a gasp, ¡°Victor! That¡¯s so helpful! I want it, too!¡±

    ¡°No problem! I¡¯ll introduce you to Tria.¡± Victor sat beside her and held her hand. ¡°Hey, you remember how Dar wanted to talk to me before you drank that elixir?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Was it bad?¡±

    ¡°Depends on how you look at it.¡± Victor inhaled deeply. ¡°I guess there¡¯s not an easy way to say this.¡±

    ¡°Just tell me, Victor.¡± She squeezed his hand. ¡°Are you going away?¡±

    He looked at her for a long minute, shifting sideways to stare into her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re pretty damn smart, you know that?¡± When she didn¡¯t reply, he sighed and told her, haltingly at first, then in a rush of words, about Dar¡¯s distant granddaughter and the plight of her kingdom. She tried to interject mid-way through, saying she¡¯de with him, but she slowly began to nod when he got to the part about fighting duels and not actual wars.

    ¡°You want me to stay here.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t <em>want </em>you to. I think it¡¯ll be smarter, though. You can continue to dungeon delve and train with Lesh. There are other things in the city, too¡ªnon-lethal tournaments, even some weird sports, ording to Mr. Qwor.¡±

    ¡°Sports?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, games for prizes. They have rules about Energy usage, I guess, and they vary in terms of physical conflict, but I think they might be worth looking into. The point I¡¯m getting at is that there¡¯s a lot for you to do here. There¡¯s a shitload of ways you can advance. If you came with me, the best thing you could hope for would be sparring with me or other people in the granddaughter¡¯s household. The world will be at war, and the only open part of it will be the champion duels. Everything else is going to be fucking cloak and dagger bullshit¡ªkidnappings, assassinations, sabotage, you name it.¡±

    Va frowned, thinking things over for a few moments before replying, ¡°You¡¯ll have dozens of duels, maybe more? Against people who are all likely at a higher level than you. You¡¯ll make huge gains, maybe not early on, but when you face the stronger champions. You¡¯re afraid I¡¯ll fall further behind if Ie along with nothing much to do but watch your duels? Does that about sum it up?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to earn hearts, Va¡ªhearts and tribute for my victories. I¡¯ll make gains in many ways, not just Energy from my kills. Don¡¯t you think it would be better if you and Lesh were here, earning treasure, gaining levels, and improving your bloodlines?¡±

    ¡°Of course, logically.¡± She chuckled and stood up, summoning some clothes from her storage ring. She began to change out of her pajamas as she continued speaking. ¡°I suppose things will be easier for me if I¡¯m not there to watch you fight champions who are beyond level one hundred. I understood that correctly, yes? Dar says many of the champions are steel seekers?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor looked at the floor as he answered, his voice low and resigned, expecting Va to start another argument.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯d rather not witness that. Fine, I¡¯ll stay here with Lesh, but you must promise to write to me daily in the Farscribe book. You have to promise you''ll visit me if you earn lots of tribute and have some time between duels.¡± She¡¯d pulled on a knee-length, pale gray skirt and a breezy white blouse, tying its tails in a knot at her waist. ¡°For now, though, let¡¯s go see thiske you were going on about to Lesh in the coach. I went straight to bed when we arrived, and I¡¯d like to get a little sun before it sets.¡±

    Victor looked at her, perhaps a little hungrily. ¡°I do, Va. I promise. Have I told you I love youtely?¡±

    ¡°Not enough.¡± She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him quickly before darting toward the door, her wings rustling with faint metallic tinkles. Victor gave chase, and soon, she was giggling in near hysterics as the two exploded through the open door and onto the deck. Victor was right on her heels when she spread her wings and, with a <em>crack</em>, snapped them down,unching herself over the rail and into the air. She soared out over theke, and Victorughed, too amazed by her grace to be bothered by her cheating escape.

 Book 8: Chapter 23: The Councils Response

    Book 8: Chapter 23: The Council''s Response

    When Victor woke the next day, he saw that the sun had yet to rise, which was good because he was supposed to meet Dar in his new cultivation chamber at dawn. He concentrated, reactivating Sovereign Will, which had a tendency to drop while he slept, and pushed his bonuses into dexterity and agility. With his already nimble body boosted, he practiced his stealthy movements, sliding out of the bed and creeping toward the door.

    He only paused to pick up Lifedrinker and the ivory case containing his captured geists before carefully pulling the door open, inch by inch, until he could slip through. He was certain he hadn¡¯t made any more noise than a feather falling onto grass, but Va still rolled over and mumbled, ¡°See you for lunch.¡±

    He chuckled. ¡°See you.¡± Then he slipped out and, standing in the dim, quiet hallway, got dressed. ¡°That was pointless,¡± he muttered, imagining one of the staffing upon him half-naked outside his room. With a grin and a shake of his head, he hurried to the kitchens, pausing to use the bathroom, where he cleaned his teeth and sshed water on his face. That done, he descended into the tunnels beneath the house. They were wide, well-lit, and sized for a giant, so it wasn¡¯t an unpleasant walk to his cultivation cave.

    Victor arrived before Dar, which had been his main goal for not lying in bed, waiting for the sun to brighten the sky outside his window. Smiling at his small victory, he sat in the center of the chamber and set the box before him. He hadn¡¯t opened it, let alone touched the bones since Lo¡¯ro had dropped him off at the house, and he was a little nervous. He¡¯d thought long and hard about the bone where the fear-attuned geist dwelled, wondering if he should mention how it spoke to him. Would Dar be angry? Would he destroy the spirit and force Victor to find another, less . . . conscious one?

    He didn¡¯t know, and part of him wanted to speak to the spirit again to see what it thought and discover the ¡°secrets¡± it had promised before Dar arrived. Another part recognized the danger of it and couldn¡¯t see a real downside to asking his mentor. He was trusting the master Spirit Caster with a lot, more than anyone outside of Va or Tes¡ªit felt like the right move would be to ask him for advice on the matter. So, he sat there, staring at the box, trying to clear his mind, until he heard the faint scuffs of Dar¡¯s bare feet on the stone.

    ¡°Ah, apprentice,¡± he said as though he was surprised to see him sitting there. Victor wasn¡¯t buying it¡ªhe was pretty sure Dar could feel every presence, down to the smallest rodent, on his property. ¡°Eager to renew your studies into cultivation?¡± He stepped out of the oval opening in Victor¡¯s stonework and surveyed the chamber before sitting across from him. The two giant men made the chamber feel small even as they sat on the floor, legs crossed. When their eyes met, and Dar¡¯s smoldering orbs peered into Victor¡¯s mind and soul, he said, ¡°I can feel a question burning your tongue.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s more like a confession.¡±

    Dar¡¯s stony brow lifted. ¡°Oh?¡±

    Victor bit the bullet and decided to get straight to the point, ¡°Yeah. When I went through the veil with Master Lo¡¯ro, I deceived him.¡±Dar¡¯s brow fell, his eyes narrowed, and Victor felt the tiniest fragment of the man¡¯s aura pressing against him. Even that brief touch felt like a mountain grinding against his spirit, vast and possessing a gravity that defiedmon adjectives. ¡°Yet you intend to speak inly and expose the deception to me. I am cated.¡± No hint of the weight remained, and Victor breathed out the breath he¡¯d been holding.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. When we were collecting the geists, trapping them in the bones,¡± Victor gestured to the ivory case between them, ¡°I managed to capture a powerful fear-attuned spirit. Lo¡¯ro was impressed, but the truth is, the spirit came willingly. There was no battle of wills. The spirit spoke to me, told me not to reveal that fact, and that she would share ¡®secrets¡¯ with me if I took her out of that ce with me.¡±

    Dar looked at the case. ¡°And has ¡®she¡¯ spoken to you since?¡±

    ¡°No. I haven¡¯t touched the bone.¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re both an idiot and wise, it seems.¡± When Victor opened his mouth, unsure if he should object to thebel or just apologize, Dar held up a thick, stony finger and continued, ¡°An idiot for risking your mind and spirit by pulling this geist into the containment vessel, wise for not trifling with the thing before first speaking to me.¡± He turned the box so the sp faced him and opened it. His eyes brightened momentarily as he stared at the two bones, and then he snatched the rib bone out, holding it before him.

    Suddenly, Victor felt a re of potent, brilliant Energy, and though he wasn¡¯t the focus, he felt the edge of Dar¡¯s formidable will. He stood beside a mighty river as it carved a canyon from the stony ground. His mind filled with the image, unable to resist visualizing the metaphor, watching as waters deeper than an ocean and broader than most continents dug through a Jupiter-sized of solid rock. The water broke it up, transforming the world as it went, sending life-giving tendrils through the stone, enabling trees and grass and . . .

    The feeling abruptly ended, and Victor opened his eyes, his mind once again his own. He saw Dar before him, holding the bone in his palm as half a dozen new runes etched themselves into it, glowing with brilliant white Energy. ¡°This enchantment will harmlessly prevent the spirit from interacting with you. I¡¯m quite impressed by the being lurking within this vessel, Victor. You¡¯re not ready to deal with such as she, however. You¡¯ll need to advance your will; I¡¯d say you¡¯re about halfway there. When you can easily wipe these runes free with your own Energy, then it will be safe for you tomune with the spirit who dwells within.¡± He set the bone back in the case.

    ¡°Thank you, Dar. Did she n to harm me?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a being utterly consumed and twisted by fear. Her intentions are less than lucid. She¡¯s ancient, even to me, but her potency in death is a fraction of what it might have been in life. Still, she wouldn¡¯t reveal her so-called secrets, even in the face of my wrath. I might have wrung them from her, but she entered a contract with you. I could feel the karmic ties. Fragile though they are, I won¡¯t be the one who severs them; the repercussions may be far-reaching.¡±

    ¡°A contract?¡±

    ¡°Did you not agree to bring her forth in exchange for her secrets?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡ª¡±

    ¡°Victor, you¡¯re no longer a boy with no weight in the universe. As your power grows, so do the impacts of your actions. Everything you say, especially where emotions are involved, bears weight¡ªeverything you <em>do</em>, even more so.¡± He held out his hand and wriggled it in the air. ¡°Someone like you, someone with an intense, potent spirit, sends ripples through the ether with every meaningful act. Making deals with desperate, powerful spirits is not something the universe takes lightly. There are beings even I cannot grasp who take notice of such things.¡±

    ¡°Gods?¡±

    Dar shifted his boulder-sized shoulders in an attempt at a shrug. ¡°Perhaps. There are people on myriad worlds who would see me and name me a god. Am I? I think not. I¡¯ve visited a thousand worlds, and my travel has taught me that I¡¯ve only scratched the surface. There are many <em>millions</em> ofs in the System-controlled part of the universe. I¡¯ve talked to schrs who specte that the System is rtively new, that there are more worlds outside its control than within. There are beings out there with the mystery and power to be considered godlike to even the likes of me. Knowing that, knowing how little I know. Who am I to say what a god is and whether they exist?¡±

    Everything Dar said made Victor think of Tes, and he asked, ¡°Have you ever been to one? I mean, a world that resisted the System?¡±

    ¡°Aye. The Fae don¡¯t traffic with the System, and I¡¯ve visited a world controlled by them. It¡¯s a lengthy tale, but I¡¯ll say this: I stood before the Winter Queen and felt insignificant. I finished my business and haven¡¯t looked back in centuries.¡± Dar sighed and pulled a small ring off his pinky. He held it in the palm of his hand, and Victor leaned close to look at it. ¡°Enough philosophizing. I have gifts for you.¡±

    The ring looked like it was made of polished, gray stone, though he saw a vein of silvery metal running through it. It was pretty and lustrous, and when Victor squinted, he could see that it gave off a tiny amount of light against Dar¡¯s ck, stony flesh. ¡°Nice,¡± he said, waiting for further exnation.

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the vition.

    ¡°It <em>is</em> nice.¡± Dar chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s a dimensional container, though far finer than any of those you wear. This container has limited space, but it can contain objects of power, such as these bones and the other cultivation items I¡¯ve acquired for you.¡± Dar moved his hand over the ring and suddenly held a perfectly round orb. It looked like the ss part of a snow globe, but inside, Victor could see the swirls and sparkles of bright, golden Energy that could only be glory. He knew he was right when his Core red in response.

    ¡°Glory.¡± His voice was barely a whisper.

    ¡°Aye.¡± Dar set the orb on the dark blue, silky padding inside the case, next to the two bones. He waved his hand over the ring again, producing another orb, this one full of bright, misty, white-gold Energy that Victor immediately knew was inspiration-attuned. Dar set it in the case, then, from the ring, produced a third¡ªthis one roiling with a heart of molten magma, white-hot in spots and cooling toward somber orange-red in others.

    After he¡¯d set it in the case, Dar touched the two bones and said, ¡°These captured spirits are more potent than these hearts, but¡ª¡±

    ¡°Hearts?¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± Dar clicked his tongue and shook his head briefly before saying. ¡°When a cultivator enters their lustrous veil, they be capable of creating these Energy hearts using a process simr to the creation of Energy beads. This heart,¡± he tapped the glory-attuned globe, ¡°is a hundred-thousand times more potent than a glory-attuned Energy bead you might create.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s worth a hundred thousand beads?¡±

    ¡°Hah. No,d, as t currency, Energy hearts are useless¡ªthe System will not ept them at its city stones. I¡¯m not sure why, but people specte that it doesn¡¯t want to destroy its economy for the vast majority of Energy users. Still, they can be used in trades; creating one is a lengthy, tedious process, and they can be valuable for someone who might need a particr Energy type.¡± He waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Let¡¯s not get distracted by trivia. These three hearts will serve as potent cultivation sources for you until you reach your test of steel. After that, you¡¯ll need to find sources with more depth.¡±

    ¡°The bones willst longer?¡±

    Dar snorted. ¡°Yes. That¡¯s like asking if your spirit is more potent than a single Energy bead.¡±

    ¡°Are they hard to get?¡± Victor could see the crease in Dar¡¯s brow as his questions began to irritate him, so he hurried to exin, ¡°I¡¯m just asking because I feel a, well, a duty to my friend, Lesh. He followed me here, hoping that I would help him advance, and I¡¯m leaving him behind to go to your granddaughter¡¯s world. I wanted to give him something he could use to cultivate his breath Core.¡±

    Dar frowned, but it seemed more contemtive than angry. ¡°An acid attunement?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll acquire one for him. However, that will be thest gift I will freely give to yourrades. I¡¯ve already offered my home¡ª¡±

    ¡°No, no. I understand, Dar. If you think it¡¯s within my means, I¡¯ll dly get Lesh a source for cultivation. He doesn¡¯t have to have an Energy heart.¡±

    Dar rubbed his chin and nodded. ¡°Actually, there is a way for you to aplish just that. Yes, that would be better than creating more debt between you or yourpanions and me. I was saving this news until after I¡¯d taught you your new cultivation technique, but I suppose it¡¯s something we can discuss now. Yes, perhaps that¡¯s best¡ªwe¡¯ll speak, I¡¯ll teach you the technique, and then I can leave you to practice.¡±

    ¡°News?¡± Victor didn¡¯t like Dar¡¯s almost ominous tone.

    His mentor shifted, pressing one fist into the stone floor and leaning into it, bringing himself closer to Victor as he replied, ¡°I told you I have some enemies on the council, yes?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± The question told Victor precisely what this was about; the council wasn¡¯t going to let him off when it came to the three ¡°tasks¡± he was supposed to perform.

    ¡°Well, that faction has made matters a touch difficult for us. Rather than epting my generous offer to pay the Energy debt in full, restoring the city¡¯s coffers after the repair of the training dungeon, they¡¯ve countered with an offer of their own.¡± He paused, ensuring he had Victor¡¯s attention, then continued, ¡°They¡¯ve agreed that if I pay for the repairs, they¡¯ll release you from two tasks. They im the remaining task was already decided upon and that losing you would greatly increase the risk of death for the others involved.¡±

    ¡°Others?¡±

    ¡°Aye. Two others. Do you recall me mentioning a prison dungeon beneath the Sojourn City Council?¡±

    ¡°I do.¡± Victor nodded, his mind racing with the implications of the question.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s called the Iron Prison because it¡¯s meant to contain iron rankers¡ªnothing higher. It was specifically purchased from the System with that restriction, and there¡¯s no altering that. The council cannot send anyone over level one hundred into that ce.¡±

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°So, the council has sent quite a few powerful iron rankers into it over the years. Unfortunately, evidence has surfaced indicating that one such individual was unjustly imprisoned, and they want him extracted. The System provides an interface for the dungeon, allowing the council to see who still lives in the dungeon, and they assure me that this man, Rasso Hine, has not been in.¡±

    Victor groaned and put his elbows on his knees, resting his chin in his palms. ¡°Why am I the only one who can do this? That¡¯s what you¡¯re about to tell me, right?¡±

    Dar chuckled, the sound deep and coarse. ¡°I asked the same. There are restrictions on dungeon entry¡ªone person per hour. In thest few weeks, as they¡¯ve attempted to retrieve Hine, each emissary has been killed within minutes. Apparently, they¡¯ve lost half a dozen promising iron rankers.¡±

    ¡°And this guy, Rasso Hine, is worth all those lives?¡±

    Dar nodded, his eyes dimming from their usual hot glow. ¡°The council believes the information he holds is that valuable, aye. I tend to agree with them after hearing the details of the case.¡± Before Victor could ask, he held up the hand he wasn¡¯t leaning on, forestalling his question. ¡°I cannot share those details.¡±

    Victor wanted to growl in frustration, but he settled for narrowing his eyes in a half scowl. ¡°If I have to go in alone, what¡¯s the deal with the two others you mentioned?¡±

    ¡°One is a Death Caster. You know her¡ªArona Moonshadow, the one from the challenge dungeon who outsmarted you.¡± Victor wanted to object, but he¡¯d reflected plenty on that dungeon challenge and had to agree¡ªhe hadn¡¯t exactly acted cleverly. Dar continued, ¡°They want her to apany you because she¡¯s one of the top Death Casters still in the iron ranks, and the dungeon is death-attuned. The other is Arcus Volpur¨¦, another friend of yours from the challenge dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Why is that name so familiar? I mean, I feel like I¡¯ve heard it since the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s an incredibly powerful Elementalist, and his master is Lord Roil, one of the Consuls. There¡¯s little love lost between Roil and me, if you¡¯ll recall the inquest. He ims to want Arcus to apany you and Arona because his fire magic will be a potent aid, but I suspect he intends to betray and kill you.¡±

    ¡°Lord Roil was the guy in the ck robes hiding his face with smoke, right?¡±

    ¡°Aye, though the smoke is a part of him, not a disguise; he¡¯s partially taken the aspect of an elemental.¡±

    Victor thought about that, about how powerful Dar was and about how he walked on eggshells around Roil. Was this the sort of enemy he wanted? ¡°So, they want me to go in first and clear the entrance so the other two cane in safely.¡± Victor smiled grimly as Dar nodded. ¡°Then we¡¯re supposed to find this dude, Rasso, and get him out? How¡¯s that work?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be given an attuned recall item that will function on yourself and one other. Arona and Arcus will also have such an item. Because they¡¯re attuned, no one else can use them to escape.¡± Dar shifted to his other fist, pressing it into the stone floor as he leaned the other way.

    ¡°And Arcus? Am I going to get in trouble if I kill that asshole?¡±

    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t start the conflict, I can shield you from Roil¡¯s temper. I believe you can count on the Moonshadow girl to be a neutral party. I know her master, Vesavo Bonewhisper, quite well. He¡¯s a cruel man but honest. We¡¯ve been aligned politically in the past, and I know he has no love for Roil.¡±

    Victor groaned again, dreading the answer to his next question. ¡°When?¡±

    Dar nodded, grinning widely, ¡°The day after your dinner party. They wanted quicker action, but I exined that you were hosting an event at my house and that several of their pupils were invited, including Arona and Arcus.¡±

    ¡°Ah, shit. That¡¯s where I heard that name. Lam was talking about him or . . . was it his sister?¡± Victor shook his head. ¡°Whatever. So, I have a few days before I get sent into a meat grinder?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Rasso has been in the dungeon for more than a decade¡ªa few more days shouldn¡¯t hurt. I thought to argue about this task, to im it was unjust and that it was a clear conspiracy to rid me of a promising prot¨¦g¨¦, but then I thought about you and how you tend to rise to challenges. I¡¯ve decided to treat this as an opportunity in disguise. I managed to squeeze some additional promises out of the council. If you seed in this task, there will be additionalpensation.¡±

    Victor grinned, matching his mentor¡¯s expression. ¡°That¡¯s where you think I can get Lesh¡¯s cultivation item.¡±

    ¡°Precisely. I won¡¯t be very surprised if you also gain some valuable treasures from the dungeon. Some of the criminals still lurking within are sure to have amassed rewards from the denizens, and they¡¯ll also be worth significant Energy infusions.¡±

    ¡°I can kill the prisoners?¡±

    ¡°I would hope so; they¡¯ll surely try to kill you! No soft men or women could survive in that vile ce. It will be a good challenge.¡± Dar chuckled and straightened up. ¡°Now, let¡¯s talk about cultivation. First,¡± he stood and scooped up Victor¡¯s cultivation items, ¡°ce the items around you in a loose circle. Because you¡¯ve built your chamber to contain and gather Energy, you can put them near the wall. As they emit Energy, the tiles will contain and condense it. Moreover, as you cycle the Energy¡ªin a way I will teach you¡ªthe shape of this chamber will help you focus it on yourself.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I have built a door to cover the tunnel opening?¡±

    ¡°In an ideal world, yes, a sealed cultivation chamber is best. You¡¯ll only be here a few months, though, and this is not your primary means of advancement, so I cut a few corners. The chamber will still contain most of the Energy emitted from your treasures.¡±

    ¡°Oh, will I leave them here?¡±

    ¡°While you¡¯re here on Sojourn, yes! That way, the Energy will gather while you''re gone, making your next cultivation session more fruitful.¡± As Dar spoke, Victor nodded along, but all the while, he couldn¡¯t help but imagine how his ¡°vault¡± container would make a perfect cultivation chamber. Victor tried to pay attention to Dar¡¯s lesson, picturing the flows of Energy and how he was supposed to weave them together as he drew them into his pathways. He told Victor it would be challenging to weave more than two differently-attuned Energies as he cultivated, but practice would make it easier. He was confident that Victor could eventually pull all five, including the magma he¡¯d send into his breath Core.

    The problem was that Victor felt distracted. Just as he¡¯d been learning to let go of the things he couldn¡¯t control, Dar had thrown another at him. He was literally going to step into a trap that had killed a ¡°handful¡± of promising iron-rankers ahead of him. Was Dar that confident in him, or did he simply not value Victor as more than an amusement? It was the same question he¡¯d had about the duels on his Ruhn¡ªdid Dar really think he could win against people well above level one hundred?

    ¡°You¡¯re not listening, Victor,¡± Dar growled. ¡°I have men and women scheming and killing for an hour of my time, and you sit there daydreaming while I exin the fundamentals of cultivation?¡± His eyes had taken on the dangerous gleam Victor had only seen a couple of times, and it brought his mind back into focus.

    ¡°Sorry, Lord Dar. I keep thinking about the trap waiting for me as I step into that prison.¡±

    Dar nodded and sat down in front of him again. ¡°This is why I think you must continue to cultivate, despite your ability to strengthen your Core through the consumption of hearts. When you cultivate, Victor, you must face all facets of your spirit Core. You must confront your fear, your rage, your glory, and even your inspiration to understand how they rule your spirit. You must master them. The fear, though, that¡¯s the biggest challenge for you. You mask it well, usually using your rage, but it runs amok in your mind.¡± He reached out and¡ªalmost gently¡ªpunched Victor¡¯s knee. ¡°Come, pay attention. Using this new drill, you¡¯ll learn to master your fear.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 24: Core Consolidation

    Book 8: Chapter 24: Core Consolidation

    Victor sat before Dar, waiting for his next words. His master¡¯s face was rxed, the fire in his eyes simmering low, but he knew, like coals, they were ready to ignite with the faintest breath of oxygen. So, he waited patiently, not willing to provide that fuel. The Spirit Master had just spent nearly two hours describing the method of gathering Energy from his various sources¡ªhow to weave the different aspects together and pull them into his Core. Victor had been about to make his first try at it, when Dar had said, ¡°I must study your Core.¡± And then he¡¯d, apparently, begun to do so, staring at Victor, unblinking for nearly another hour.

    Finally, just as Victor was starting to fear Dar had fallen asleep with his eyes open, the man¡¯s stony countenance shifted, his eyes moving to lock onto Victor¡¯s. The master took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. ¡°The cultivation method I just described isn¡¯t going to work. Not yet. The entire point of cultivating for you, rather than growing your Core, is to learn to harmonize your affinities and embrace every aspect of your spirit whilst tempering the more destructive aspects through the lens of the more positive. Your Core, however, is in disarray. I see what you¡¯ve done. I believe I even understand why you did it. It¡¯s simply not ideal. No,¡± he chuckled, ¡°not even an approximation of ideal.¡±

    ¡°What I¡¯ve done?¡±

    ¡°In the development of your Core. It makes a kind of sense; I can see how you¡¯ve tried to create counterbnces between your various affinities¡ªinspiration against rage, glory against fear, a sort of light versus dark side in your spirit, pushing and pulling against each other. The problem is that your affinities aren¡¯t equal, and even if they were¡ªa near impossibility¡ªthey contend with each other rather than building upon each other.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I had a teacher. Not really.¡± Victor¡¯s mind flitted to Gorz and then Old Mother¡ªboth had provided guidance, but neither had ever talked to him about the actual structure of his Core. Not even Khul Bach had broached the topic.

    ¡°I know. I can see the logic in your efforts. Energy tends topress into a sphere; it¡¯s the easiest way to build up the density and then break it through into the next stage. As you gained more affinities, you naturally assumed you should have more spheres of Energy. It¡¯s not a terrible thing, but there¡¯s a much better, more elegant design that I want to teach you. It¡¯s better because it will shore up the less vtile aspects of your spirit, using your stronger affinities topress them.

    ¡°You see, Victor, considering this formation, I¡¯m somewhat astounded by the strength of your spirit and Core. You¡¯ve essentially split your Core into four smaller ones. Rather thanpounding them, using the weight of each affinity topress the ones beneath it, your cultivation has revolved around building each one individually, pushing them to a breaking point before advancing the level of your Core. I¡¯m not sure you¡¯d ever break through into epic tier with this structure.

    ¡°The design I¡¯ll teach you willbine the weight¡ªthe gravity¡ªof each affinity, creating a single Core that will be far denser and stronger than these four individual ones. Moreover, it will take your most valuable aspect and put it closer to your spirit while keeping the others, the ones that tend to overwhelm your spirit, at a bit of a distance.¡±

    ¡°My most valuable aspect?¡± Victor guessed Dar would confirm his suspicion that his rage was the most valuable part of his Core, but he was surprised by the master¡¯s response.¡°Your inspiration,d. It¡¯s quite a rare affinity and one that any Spirit Caster would be wise to cultivate if they could. In fact, I suspect that affinity is responsible for much of your uncanny sess and strength. You may feel you¡¯re ¡®lucky¡¯ for learning a rare, treasured ability like Sovereign Will or that your hard work is what led you to the Paragon of the Axe, and to some degree, you¡¯d be right, but I believe your easily inspired nature has been arge influence in your growth. Thank the old gods that you¡¯ve had some positive influences in your recent development.¡±

    When Dar said thest bit, Victor saw a parade of faces run through his mind¡¯s eye: Yre and Vullu from the Wagon Wheel, Lam in the mines, Old Mother, Tha, Tellen, Tes, and even his enemies, like the Warlord and his subordinates. He did take inspiration from many sources¡ªthere was no denying it. ¡°So, even though it¡¯s not my strongest affinity?¡±

    Dar chuckled, clicking his tongue and shaking his head in admiration. ¡°Aye, you lean toward the others more, but your affinity to inspiration is by no means weak. All of your affinities are absurdly strong.¡±

    Victor nodded. He didn¡¯t want to argue. His rage had, without a doubt, kept him alive in many desperate situations, but he <em>liked</em> his inspiration more. If Dar thought he should bring that closer to his spirit, whatever that meant, then he wouldn¡¯t argue. ¡°What do I do?¡±

    ¡°This will not be easy, especially with your Core sitting on the cusp of epic. If I recall correctly, you told me it is ranked advanced-nine, yes?¡±

    Victor nodded but looked at the Energy and Core section of his status again to be certain:

    <strong>Breath Core:</strong>

    <strong>Elder ss - Improved 3</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Spirit ss - Advanced 9</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Magma - 9</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Energy:</strong>

    <strong>2200/2200</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Glory 8.6, Inspiration 7.4, Unattuned 3.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>25407/25407</strong>

    ¡°I believe this new formation will push you over into epic. Such tension will make the reshaping process incredibly difficult. I¡¯m pleased you¡¯ve worked so hard to cultivate your will because you¡¯ll need it.¡± He paused, then snapped his fingers. ¡°Didn¡¯t you mention a natural treasure from the challenge dungeon? Something for breakthroughs?¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Victor nodded, mentally sifting through his dimensional containers. ¡°I did, yes. Something like a berry, but bigger.¡± He found it and summoned the fruit onto his palm.

    Dar peered closely at the plump, blue, apple-sized fruit, reading thebel. ¡°Perfect! An Urd Berry¡ªuseful for a difficult breakthrough!¡±

    ¡°Should I eat it?¡± Victor¡¯s mouth was already filling with saliva at just a hint of the fruit¡¯s fragrance.

    ¡°Patience! First, I must describe the process. You¡¯ll need to focus on your Core space, and, using the strength of your will, you¡¯ll need to arrange the four orbs of your affinities into a stack, with inspiration at the bottom, then glory, then rage, and finally, at the top, fear.¡±

    ¡°I thought I wanted inspiration at the top?¡±

    ¡°No! Patience, welp!¡± Dar growled, and his eyes red momentarily. ¡°This will be a tremendous battle for your will, so listen carefully lest you hobble yourself with a lopsided, mangled Core!¡± He red for a moment, ensuring Victor would remain quiet and pay attention, then said, ¡°Once you¡¯ve created the stack, as I said, the real battle will begin. You will use part of your will to hold the stack in ce while stretching the orb of your glory-attuned Energy into a ring, encircling your inspiration-attuned Energy.

    ¡°If you do it correctly, you¡¯ll feel it snap into ce, and you¡¯ll no longer have to exert your will to hold the glory around your inspiration. After that¡¯s done, you¡¯ll repeat the process with rage, stretching it to encircle your glory. The ring will berger but narrower as it has to stretch further. Finally, you¡¯llplete the process with your fear-attuned Energy, pulling it into a ring that epasses the others.¡±

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the vition.

    Before Victor could ask the half dozen questions burning to escape his mouth, Dar continued, ¡°Each ring will be an order of magnitude harder to shape. The resistance will increase, but so, too, will thepression as it snaps into ce. This is what will push your Core toward the next tier¡ªthe different affinities working with each other instead of against each other as they¡¯re currently arrayed. I think you¡¯ll be able toplete the first ring without the fruit, so save it. When you begin to shape the rage ring, that will be the time to consume it.¡±

    Victor nodded, visualizing what Dar described. He could picture it, the inspiration at the center, still apact, glowing sphere, with each of the other affinities wrapped around it inyers. ¡°Um, how will this bring inspiration ¡®closer to my spirit?¡¯ I mean, aren¡¯t they all still in my Core?¡±

    Dar nodded, leaning back to look down his nose at Victor. ¡°A good question. This is an advanced topic, but one you should contemte as you approach your test of steel and beyond. Your spirit is tied to your physical form through a pathway, not unlike your Energy pathways. This pathway breaches the veil between nes at the very center of your Core. With inspiration there, every other affinity must pass through it before it can touch your spirit. Moreover, the outermost affinity, fear, will also need to pass through rage and glory.¡±

    Victor¡¯s eyes widened with understanding. ¡°So, right now, all of my affinities can touch my spirit equally?¡±

    ¡°They could if you had equal affinities. As it is, your rage and fear get through more often. This new Core structure will change you, Victor. You may not notice it right away, but you will start to experience your rage and fear to a lesser degree. What makes it through to your spirit will be colored by your glory and inspiration.

    ¡°This was the entire point of the cultivation drill I¡¯ve taught you¡ªhow to filter the fear and rage-attuned Energy through your other affinities, primarily your inspiration. It will grant you a greater measure of control over those powerful emotions. They¡¯ll still be a part of you, still powerful, especially when turned outward into the structure of a spell, but they¡¯ll influence you less.¡±

    ¡°Will it mean my Volcanic Rage won¡¯t make me lose control?¡± Victor had high hopes of holding onto that spell''s tremendous power while keeping his Iron Berserk''s rationality.

    ¡°No. That spell has an effect that you embrace when you cast it. Its destructive design is incredibly potent, but it opens your pathways wide to ept the rage in both your Cores. It will take improving the spell and strengthening your will to aplish greater control. What reshaping your Core will do, Victor, is allow you to begin thinking in your day-to-day life without the constant, unfiltered influence of your fear and rage.¡±

    ¡°What if all I had was rage or fear? Is that what happened to the geist I captured?¡±

    Dar nodded, ncing to his left where he¡¯d ced the rib bone. ¡°I¡¯m sure that was part of her problem, aye. She likely cultivated fear to the exclusion of all else. You can imagine how that would shape a spirit, especially if she were allowed to run amok, unchallenged by someone stronger in her world.¡± Before Victor could ask another question, the giant smoothly stood and, looking down at Victor, said, ¡°I¡¯ve spoken enough today¡ªmore than I have all at once in years. You know what to do.¡±

    Victor¡¯s heart began to hammer in embarrassing panic, and he pushed it down, his pride refusing to allow it to show on his face. Of course, he¡¯d wanted Dar to stick around to watch his progress, perhaps even helping somehow, but the way he¡¯d been dismissed rankled something inside him, and he just nodded. ¡°Thanks, Lord Dar.¡±

    He didn¡¯t doubt that Dar could read him like an open book, but the Master Spirit Caster didn¡¯t let on. ¡°I¡¯ll know when you¡¯re finished. We¡¯ll talk more after that.¡± As he strode from the room, Victor almost called after him to ask that he let Va know he¡¯d miss lunch but changed his mind; she¡¯d figure it out, and he didn¡¯t want to sound so needy to the gruff, powerful man.

    Frowning, gritting his teeth in angst, he turned his gaze inward and tried to control his racing thoughts. He took several deep, calming breaths, and then, staring at the four orbs of his Core, he gathered his will, contemting the method of his attack. He decided to try to move his inspiration-attuned Energy first, pushing it closer to the other three orbs. Countless times, Victor had pulled Energy out of the orbs in his Core. Simrly, he¡¯d gathered and pushed Energy into them more times than he could count, but he¡¯d never tried to move one of those densely packed globes of thick, pulsing Energy.

    When he began to exert the pressure of his will against the sphere of inspiration-attuned Energy, he felt it start to deform, bulging with the pressure, but then it stopped, and nothing more happened. Victor doubled down, pushing harder. He scowled in concentration and effort and bore down. Slowly at first, then with more and more momentum, he pushed it where he wanted it, near the center of his Core space, and definitely out of the original, almost circr pattern his four orbs had once maintained.

    Nodding with satisfaction, Victor repeated the process, moving his glory-attuned orb atop the inspiration. It shifted more easily, perhaps because he¡¯d started with a vicious jab of his will rather than a slow ramp-up. Wanting to maintain his momentum, Victor buckled down and drove his will against his rage orb, growling with the effort as beads of sweat emerged all over his scalp, running in rivulets down his forehead. Like a boulder breaking free of the stony soil, the red, glowering orb began to move, and Victor pushed with everything he had, driving it up and over to the top of the stack.

    His initial cement of the inspiration orb was paying off; he¡¯d arranged his three orbs so the empty spot near the top was close to his orb of fear-attuned Energy¡ªhe¡¯d guessed it would be the hardest to move. His fear¡ªVictor snorted at the thought¡ªproved well-founded. The dark, purple-ck orb, pulsing with slow, dread-filled beats, resisted his will for several long, strenuous minutes. Victor felt his ire rising but pushed it back, clearing his mind; rage might make him feel better, but it wouldn¡¯t help his concentration, and it would almost certainly undermine his will.

    He took a massive breath, filling his lungs to bursting, then bore down, concentrating on what he intended, bending that orb, that part of himself, to his resolute desire for it to <em>move</em>. If the rage orb had been a boulder, Victor¡¯s fear moved like a cier¡ªa mountain¡ªslowly, painfully, with tremendous gravity, sliding into position. ¡°<em>Chingado</em>,¡± he hissed, brushing the rivulets of sweat off his face, shaking his head, and sending a fine mist of perspiration around the chamber. ¡°That was the easy part?¡±

    Victor stretched and breathed, trying to recharge his reserves as he realized he¡¯d only just begun the task Dar had set before him. When he settled down and turned his gaze inward again, he was dismayed to see that his inspiration and glory-attuned orbs had begun to slide out of formation, pulled up around the rage by the fear-attuned orb. Victor cursed and forced them back into ce, holding them still with his will. It was clear that, outside of the semi-circr, lopsided ¡°bnce¡± he''d managed to push his Core into, the fear was trying to take the central position. It was trying to pull the other orbs into a sort of orbit.

    Once again, Victor took a deep breath, and, pushing all thoughts from his mind, he willed his glory-attuned Energy to begin stretching out. He pulled thergest tendril of Energy out of it that he could control, stretching it around the inspiration-attuned orb. The tendril kept trying to fly free, to drift through his Core space, back toward the orb of glory-attuned Energy. Victor held it firm, wrapping it down and around the inspiration orb and then up and back into itself.

    Once he¡¯d created that loop, things became a little easier¡ªeven though the Energy flowed back into the glory orb, his will held it firm around the inspiration orb, so it flowed like a river with a fat bulge at the top. From there, Victor used his will to manipte strand after strand, ttening the orb as he built up one loop after another. When he could no longer see any evidence of the glory orb, and he just had a dozen thick strands of glory looping the inspiration orb, he pressed them together, squeezing, <em>willing</em> them all tobine.

    When the strands of glory-attuned Energybined into one thick rope, it snapped into ce¡ªa bright, golden, glittering ring around his white-gold, misty orb of inspiration. ¡°Fuck yes!¡± he howled, pumping his fist. Victor felt like he¡¯d just defeated a state champion and proven his legitimate im to the title. He allowed himself a few minutes to rx and study his Core, basking in the pride of aplishment.

    What Dar hadn¡¯t told him was that it wasn¡¯t a two-dimensional ring. In that space, things had depth, and Victor felt more like he was looking at a multiyered sun, somehow able to perceive it in a cross-section. He saw how the glory-attuned Energy hugged the inspiration-attuned Energy, how they interacted with each other, the wisps interlocking, sping, <em>pulling</em> on each other. What he saw was no stack; it was a bond, and Victor couldn¡¯t imagine the force of will it would take to undo what he¡¯d done. The orbs of fear and rage, while heavy and dense, looked far less vibrant, less <em>vital</em>. Had he really had such an inferior Core all this time?

    With renewed excitement, Victor picked up the fruit. He chuckled at his reluctance to call it a berry just because it was the size of an apple. In his massive hand, it looked enough like a berry. Maybe the world where it grew was popted by giants. ¡°Or titans,¡± he chuckled, plucking the stem and plopping the whole thing into his mouth. It was the most delicious thing he could remember tasting. It tickled his tastebuds¡ªtangy and sweet, but more than that, it burst with uncountable vors, one rolling into the next as the juice washed over the flesh of his mouth, down his throat, and into his stomach.

    Victor¡¯s eyes were closed, but each new vor, from vani to honey to cloves to citrus to a thousand others, seemed to send bursts of colorful light into his mind. He felt inspired but a thousand-fold more than he ever had with his inspiration spells. Everything felt possible. No, Victor decided, not possible¡ªtrivial.

    Heughed as he considered his earlier struggles, and he turned to his rage-attuned orb of Energy and pulled a thin strand from it, looping his new inspiration and glory Core. It was easy, of course, to manipte a single thread like that, and he kept pulling, looping it again and again around the Core. The thread wanted to go back into his rage orb, but it was nothing to keep it away. It was so easy that he started moving it faster, looping around the edge of the glory-attuned Energy.

    It wasn¡¯t hard to keep the thread, now in a hundred loops, bunched up. All it took was a slight pressure from his will while he continued to pull. A hundred loops became two hundred became five hundred, and then, to his delight, he no longer found any rage-attuned Energy to pull. Victor had stretched his entire supply of rage into a long, looping thread around his Core. With a forceful exertion of his will, he pressed the loops together, and with a jolt like a thunderbolt to his heart, the rage snapped into ce.

    He now had a dark red, vibrant band of hot, angry Energy that slowly bled into the band of glory-attuned Energy, turning from hot red to orange to yellow to white-gold as it seeped toward the center of his Core. Victor wanted to celebrate, wanted to study the beauty of his new Core¡ªthe sturdy, dense, powerful nature of it¡ªbut he was still riding high on the fruit he¡¯d eaten and didn¡¯t want to lose his momentum.

    Just as he¡¯d done with the rage, he began to stretch his fear-attuned Energy around his new Core. He thought it would be more challenging, that there would be some hidden difficulty, but despite the density of that fear-attuned orb, his other three affinities, working together, had far more gravity. It was almost effortless at this point to pull his fear out in a ribbon, wrapping it again and again, faster and faster, around his Core. When he¡¯d stretched it to the limit, utterly diminishing the orb, he squeezed and, with a burst of blinding, soul-wrenching Energy, it snapped into ce. Victor¡¯s new, fully realized Core began to pulse like a neutron star, and System messages danced across his vision.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have advanced your Core: Epic 1.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have constructed a unified, multiyered Core. Your total Energy reflects the potential of any of your affinities.***</strong>

    ¡°Hah!¡± Victor pped his hands together in celebration, the crack of his thick palms echoing in the chamber. If he understood what he was reading, he was reasonably sure he could now use his entire pool of Energy to fuel a particr affinity. For instance, if he wanted to, he could burn all his Energy for Berserk. It would make managing his Energy duringbat a hundred times easier.

    A deep, rough voice rumbled behind him, ¡°I felt that five miles away. I am pleased, apprentice. If they thought you a monster before, wait until they feel the pressure of an epic-tier Core behind your aura.¡±

    Victor grinned fiercely, his white teeth shining in the dim chamber as he turned to regard Dar. ¡°They?¡±

    ¡°Your foolish enemies. Come. You¡¯ve been at this for hours and deserve to celebrate; we¡¯ll join your friends for dinner.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 25: Party

    Book 8: Chapter 25: Party

    Victor stood in his shower, washing away the sweat of a hard day¡¯s practice. He was a littlete for Lam''s party but figured he had some time before people¡ªLam and Va mostly¡ªbegan to get irritated with him. He and Lesh had been sparring for hours, and he was a mess. The dragonkin had put him through a rough one, eager to demonstrate his scales¡¯ new resilience and the strength and agility he¡¯d gained from his bloodline upgrade.

    Victor chuckled at the thought, turning his face toward the mini rainclouds, washing the soap out of his hair. While he had his eyes squeezed shut, he turned his gaze inward and marveled proudly at his new Core. Once he¡¯d started using the cultivation technique that Dar taught him, the bands of glory, rage, and fear-attuned Energy had begun to rotate around hispact, central sphere of inspiration. The gleaming, sparkling band of glory-attuned Energy moved quickly, while the overarching ring of smoky, purple-ck fear moved more ponderously. Rage was somewhere in between.

    It amazed Victor to no end, watching the intery between his different affinities. He could see the slow trickle of fear, rage, and glory toward the center, but he saw how they changed as they passed through eachyer. Dar hadn¡¯t been lying; his Energy fed his spirit, and now none of his rage or fear got through unaltered by his other affinities. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was a result of his Core¡¯s redesign or if he was just experiencing some sort of cebo effect, but Victor had felt great thest couple of days. His mood had been good, his outlook positive, and it seemed like he was getting more out of everything he did.

    Smiling at the idea, Victor got out of the shower, intent on being amicable at the party. He was a little apprehensive; there was the chance that some hard feelings mighte up. After all, he¡¯d been fighting, no-holds-barred, against many of Lam¡¯s guests not too long ago. Still, the challenge dungeon had been apetition, and he hoped some grudges could be forgiven after some pleasant conversation, drinks, and food.

    He dressed in the clothing version of his armor, choosing a midnight blue shade for his shirt. The other pieces, his pants, boots, belt, bracelet, and headband, all shifted to a deep ck thatplemented the choice. ¡°Nice,¡± he grunted, looking at himself in the mirror. The headband took a little getting used to, but it was supple leather, tooled with silvery thread, and, ording to Va, gave him an almost regal appearance.

    As he left the bathroom, he nced at Lifedrinker leaning beside the bed and thought about wearing her. He decided it was a little much, considering it was ¡°his¡± home. Still, he didn¡¯t trust all the people Lam was inviting, so he summoned his coyotes and left them in the room to keep watch. They yipped and cried a little, but when he expressed his intentions, they curled up like they were sheltering for the night on his bed. Grinning, Victor walked out and nearly bumped into Sora.

    ¡°Oof,¡± he said, falling back against his door, ¡°almost ran you over.¡±

    She looked up at him, smiling. ¡°Victor! I was just wandering a little, trying to avoid Cam.¡±

    ¡°Yeah? Cam¡¯s here?¡± Victor got a little frustrated looking down his nose at her, so he cast Alter Self, reducing his height to something more like seven feet.¡°So weird that you can do that! What an interesting ability!¡± She giggled and sipped her drink; from the flush of her cheeks, he didn¡¯t think it was her first. She looked lovely, Victor couldn¡¯t deny¡ªa slim-fitting dress that didn¡¯t cover much of her lithe, tan figure. Her grayish hair was curled and shone vibrantly, almost like silver, and she had a mischievous twinkle in her big, bright eyes.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re hiding from Cam?¡±

    She nodded, brushing a droplet of condensation from her drink off her chin. ¡°He¡¯s going to deny everything I told you about his betrayal. Be warned.¡±

    ¡°Well,e on. I¡¯ll shield you from his wrath,¡± Victor said, feeling too smooth for his own taste, and turned down the hallway. ¡°I should get to the party before Va kicks my ass.¡±

    ¡°I get to meet her? The mysterious woman that holds the leash of a mighty titan?¡±

    Victor sighed and chuckled. He had no doubt that there were plenty of rumors around Sojourn about him and, of course, anyone connected to him. ¡°You¡¯ll meet her, all right.¡± He could hear music, surprisingly modern Earth-like music, with instruments ying that reminded him of synthesizers, drums, and even guitars. It was mellow, nothing like rock and roll, but definitely not the jaunty medieval stuff he¡¯d gotten used to on Fanwath. ¡°Is that local music?¡±

    ¡°Strista brought a minstrel box, a good one, loaded with music from dozens of nearby worlds.¡±

    ¡°Strista . . .¡± Victor ran the name through his mind. ¡°The avian woman with the whip? Her master is a consul, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master Yon.¡± As she answered, Victor stepped out of the hallway into the main parlor of Dar¡¯s house and was a little surprised by the size of the crowd. There had to be more than thirty people in the room, and he could see, through the floor-to-ceiling windows, an equal or greater number out on the deck. ¡°Damn, Lam,¡± he breathed, scanning the space, seeing some familiar faces but many he didn¡¯t recognize.

    Sora leaned close, speaking low, ¡°Quite a showing. I don¡¯t think any invites went unanswered. Can you me them all? Everyone in the city is <em>still</em> talking about the thrashings you handed out in the Vault of Valor. Then there¡¯s the venue¡ªRanish Dar¡¯ske home! He¡¯s never had a gathering here. Many masters are feeling irritated that their apprentices were invited here before they were.¡±

    Victor nodded absently, still trying to spot Va while avoiding locking eyes with any of the dozens of people already staring his way. He saw a glimpse of silvery, teal wings out on the deck and started moving that way, only to have an enormous figure, someone he first thought was Dar because of his colorful, loose clothing, step into his path. ¡°Oho! There she is, and there¡¯s the man of the hour!¡± Victor looked up into Brontes¡¯s brutish face and couldn¡¯t help smiling at the giant¡¯s crooked-toothed grin. He also couldn¡¯t help noticing how Sora inched closer to him, practically pressing her side against his as Brontes stuck out a meaty hand.

    ¡°Brontes!¡± Victor sped the meaty palm. ¡°I¡¯m d to see you didn¡¯t bring your club.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Ballsmasher?¡± Heughed. ¡°I have him resting in a pool of hot y back home, still recovering from your axe¡¯s wicked edge!¡± His grip felt like a sandpaper-wrapped ham hock, and as he squeezed, Brontes frowned, his brow wrinkling in confusion. ¡°Shit! Have I gone mad, or have you shrunk?¡±

    ¡°Careful, Brontes,¡± Sora sighed.

    Victor chose to ignore the question and pulled his hand back. ¡°Nice to see you, big guy. Wanna do some sparring sometime soon? I have a friend I want you to meet.¡±

    ¡°Do you jest?¡± Brontes boomed. ¡°Of course!¡± He gestured expansively and enthusiastically, and Victor felt very d Dar¡¯s home had been built with giants in mind.

    ¡°Cool, well, let¡¯s talk some more in a bit. I need to go ask the hostess if she needs any help.¡±

    ¡°Cool?¡± Brontes frowned, then grinned. ¡°I like it. You were right, Sora, he¡¯s not half bad!¡± Victor just smiled and pushed by the big man, only to be osted by another group of people, all avian, one of whom was Strista Kono, the hawk-featureddy with the whip he¡¯d knocked out by charging and smashing her through a dozen trees. The two avians nking her both looked decidedly feminine and clung to her arms as though she were a flotation device keeping them above water.

    ¡°Victor!¡± she trilled, her voice surprisingly melodic. He could hear Brontes talking to Sora behind him¡ªit was hard <em>not</em> to hear the giant¡ªso Victor took another step closer to Strista and her entourage.

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    ¡°Hello, Strista.¡±

    ¡°You remembered my name?¡± Her golden eyes widened, and though her beak couldn¡¯t smile, he recognized the pleased-sounding clicks she made in her throat; he¡¯d learned them from Tria, his yellow-feathered, avian Artificer friend. ¡°Victor, can I speak to you alone for just a moment?¡± She leaned close. ¡°Before Arcus finds us?¡± She nced at her friends¡ªdates?¡ªand said, ¡°Mingle! Shoo! I¡¯ll be back in a moment.¡± Then, before Victor could even reply to her request, she grabbed his wrist in surprisingly strong fingers and tugged him toward the hallway leading to the kitchen.

    ¡°Strista!¡± He pulled against her grip, and it was only when his pull didn¡¯t slow her that he had to take into consideration that this woman might be stronger than he was at that moment. He wasn¡¯t channeling Sovereign Will into his strength, he wasn¡¯t Berserk, and worst of all, he¡¯d hobbled himself with Alter Self, reducing his attribute maximums by close to thirty percent. As far as he knew, Strista was tier-eight, and he had no idea how much she¡¯d built up her strength attribute. She pulled him around the corner and then let go, turning to face him.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry about that. I know it was rude. I know you could have gone mad and thrown me around like a child, so thank you for holding back. I wanted to grab you before you became too busy with all the fawning people in that room and before Arcus realized I was here. You see, Victor, I believe he means you harm! In fact, I know he does! He tried to involve me.¡±

    Victor sighed. Dar had already told him that Arcus Volpur¨¦ would probably try to kill him before they were clear of the Iron Prison. He was Lord Roil¡¯s prot¨¦g¨¦, and Lord Roil and Dar had plenty of history. He smiled at her and shrugged. ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°You do?¡± Her throat clicked awkwardly as she clutched her hands together. ¡°That¡¯s embarrassing. I seem to have betrayed a friend for naught.¡±

    ¡°Eh, rx. I appreciate the head¡¯s up, but yeah, I figure he¡¯ll pull something while we¡¯re in the prison. You¡¯ve heard about that, I suppose?¡±

    Strista nodded, her throat clicking rapidly. ¡°Yes! Arcus has been <em>crowing</em> nonstop about the mission to rescue Rasso Hine. He anticipates great rewards and, of course, a chance to avenge his pride against you. I¡¯m d you¡¯re aware. He told me that Arona will also be a part of the mission, yes? Be wary of her. I don¡¯t know her well, but Arcus does, and he speaks about her as though she¡¯s an ally.¡±

    Victor nodded absently, certain he heard Va¡¯s voice, slightly raised, saying his name. He turned back toward the hallway and nodded that way. ¡°Hey, thanks again, Strista. You¡¯re all right. I gotta get back in there; I think I heard my name.¡±

    She nodded but deftly snatched his wrist again, saying, ¡°Please don¡¯t mention my warning to anyone. I don¡¯t want Arcus to turn his schemes against me. He¡¯s already furious that I backed out of his n to ¡®avenge¡¯ himself. How ridiculous! We all went into that dungeon knowing the risks, and he¡¯s the one who struck first! I¡¯ve seen the full battle review in the Daily!¡±

    ¡°The, uh, Daily?¡±

    ¡°The Sojourn Daily? It¡¯s the biggest newspaper in the city . . .¡± She trailed off, giving him a chance to interject, so Victor did.

    ¡°Ah, right. Of course.¡± He nodded and jerked his head back toward the parlor. ¡°I¡¯m heading back. Have a good time, all right?¡±

    ¡°Thank you. I see a restroom down the hall. I think I¡¯ll use that before I rejoin the party.¡±

    Victor grunted in acknowledgment, already walking away. He supposed he should be more grateful to her, but what more could he do than say thank you? He wouldn¡¯t tell Arcus or anyone else that she¡¯d tried to warn him, so it wasn¡¯t like she¡¯d get in any trouble. When he stepped into the parlor, he saw several people angling his way, but he refused to make eye contact and hurried toward the door to the deck. He could see Va standing out there speaking to a man in a bright red robe with a high cor that obscured his head. If he were the kind of guy to say things like ¡°speak of the devil,¡± he might have uttered those words.

    Feeling just a hint of agitation, despite the buzz of conversation, music, and general good humor around him, Victor shoved his way out, muttering, ¡°Excuse me,¡± as he nudged people aside. When he stood a bit behind and to the right of the man in red, he grinned at Va as she shifted her eyes to meet his gaze. He felt his anxiety plummet as he listened to her, ¡°. . . several different instructors over the years, but haven¡¯t yet met anyone who practiced that particr style.¡±

    The man nodded, or at least Victor thought he did; he could only see the top of his head over his high cor. His voice was smooth and cultured as he replied, ¡°Ah, well, as I said, my father¡¯s man-at-arms is a master, and I¡¯m sure he¡¯d be interested to see how your style might differ.¡±

    Va smiled and nodded to Victor. ¡°Arcus, this is Victor. I believe you¡¯ve met.¡±

    Arcus whirled, his silken robe¡¯s hem ring out expansively at the movement, and turned to face Victor in surprise. He wasn¡¯t wreathed in me as he had been at the start of the challenge dungeon, but his eyes glowed like smoldering coals beneath his dark brows as he smiled and bowed shallowly¡ªreally, more of a respectful nod. Victor shifted closer to Va while the man said, ¡°I¡¯m pleased to meet you outside of a contest, Victor. I hope there aren¡¯t any hard feelings?¡±

    Victor grinned, perhaps a little savagely. ¡°Why would there be? You might have struck first, but I believe I hit back harder. We¡¯re all good in my book.¡±

    Arcus had thin lips, and they became even more so as he pressed them together in a smile that his eyes didn¡¯t reflect. No, his eyes spoke more of murder than pleasantries. ¡°You certainly are a sturdy fellow, no doubt about that. I underestimated you to my folly. Safe to say, I won¡¯t make that mistake again.¡± He nced to Victor¡¯s left and right, and Victor saw what had gotten his attention; they¡¯d drawn a small crowd. Arcus turned to Va. ¡°I can see why the council has chosen your man for such a dangerous job.¡±

    Victor felt a growl starting to take shape deep in his chest. The little asshole was trying to get Va upset. He¡¯d told her about the Iron Prison, of course, but, as he was wont to do, he¡¯d downyed the danger. She, of course, wasn¡¯t one to be easily manipted, however. ¡°Oh, Arcus!¡± Sheughed. ¡°It may seem dangerous to you, but that¡¯s only because you¡¯ve only just met Victor. He¡¯ll be fine.¡± She moved close to Victor and grabbed his arm, leaning against him. ¡°Won¡¯t you, my sweet?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he chuckled, kissing her forehead, ¡°of course.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not worried?¡± Arcus pressed. ¡°The council has lost five iron-rankers trying to make a foothold in that ce!¡± The muttered conversations on the deck told Victor they had done more than draw a small crowd; everyone was listening. He was about to spout some bravado to try to change the topic and prevent Arcus from actually getting to Va, but then another voice spoke up, raspy and low¡ªArona.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you read the reports of the fights after you were eliminated, Arcus? I think Victor will be fine.¡± The Death Caster stepped up to Victor¡¯s left as she spoke, and he nced at her; she looked simr to the other times he¡¯d seen her¡ªck lips, dark eyes, and sharp teeth. He quickly shifted his gaze back to Arcus when he saw that she wore a very slinky ck dress that exposed a lot of pale flesh rather than her usualyered ck robes. Va¡¯s hands tightened on his biceps.

    Arcus chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. ¡°Right, yes. I suppose if they couldn¡¯t get one of the top-ranked bulwarks in the city to clear the entrance, someone like Victor will have to suffice.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a top-ranked bulwark. Number two in the city. Thank your fiery gods that Victor will be going in there.¡± The new speaker had a deep, rumbling voice. Victor peered at him, only to see it was a man he didn¡¯t recognize, easily eight feet tall but leaner than Brontes, with a rigidly straight posture. He was dressed in a fine suityered in different shades of purple, and his face was ssically handsome with a square jaw, straight nose, and lips that curled in a pleasant smile. ¡°That man is the sturdiest, hardest-hitting bastard I¡¯ve ever crossed des with.¡±

    Finally, it clicked for Victor, and he realized it was the man who¡¯d been encased in te armor. He nced at the woman by his side to confirm¡ªshe didn¡¯t have her crossbow, but there was no doubt she was the one he¡¯d eliminated¡ªhis wife. Victor smiled at her and asked, ¡°How¡¯s your bow?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s fine, sir. Thank you for your honorable mercy.¡± She let go of the man¡¯s arm and bowed, and the tall man stepped closer, reaching out a hand.

    ¡°Victor, you have my thanks as well.¡±

    Victor took the hand and squeezed, nodding and smiling, pleased that most of the people he¡¯d fought seemed to be good sports about their losses. He wracked his brain, trying to remember the giant warrior¡¯s name, but it wouldn¡¯te to him. Finally, he sighed and shrugged helplessly. ¡°I¡¯d introduce you to Va, but I¡¯m an idiot when ites to names.¡±

    Va let go of his arm and reached out a hand to the woman, who smiled. ¡°I¡¯m L Rose, and this big fellow is Dovalion Boarheart.¡±

    It seemed that Arcus didn¡¯t like being left out. He shouldered closer, bumping Arona, and asked, ¡°Boarheart, why didn¡¯t you ept the council¡¯s offer?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯ve lost enough this decade. I¡¯ll be spending my time grinding away at the Dread Spire for the next few years.¡±

    ¡°<em>We</em> will be,¡± L corrected, sping Dovalion¡¯s hand with hers.

    Arona, done being patient, shifted to lock eyes with Victor. ¡°Don¡¯t let Arcus discourage you, Victor. If you can hold the entrance until the portal opens again, I¡¯ll help you subdue that dungeon. I¡¯d go first, but the council thinks that prisoners are lying in wait, killing the council representatives, not the undead inhabitants of the dungeon.¡± She frowned, and Victor felt some cold Energy wafting off her as she struggled to contain some emotion¡ªanger? Irritation? She sighed. ¡°I wanted to go in first. My bone thralls are made for such a situation, but Master Vesavo refused to allow it.¡±

    Arcus started talking then about how he¡¯d handle it if he were ¡°allowed¡± to go in first. Victor didn¡¯t buy it; he knew damn well that Arcus and his master hoped that Victor would die when he stepped into the dungeon. Then, they could drop the whole charade. Maybe he was being paranoid, but he doubted there was any real reason to get Rasso Hine out of the dungeon. As that thought urred to him, he waited for Arona to finish saying something about monsters respawning in a dungeon and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the deal with this Rasso Hine guy, anyway? They¡¯re risking all these lives to get one man out?¡±

    ¡°Justice!¡± Arcus cried. ¡°We cannot allow the council to punish an innocent man!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s more than that,¡± Arona added. ¡°My master thinks Hine knows something about the half-finished invasion circle that Consul Rexa found and destroyedst month.¡± The conversations around them had picked back up, but a new hush descended at Arona¡¯s raspy deration.

    ¡°Imagine that!¡± Arcus scoffed. ¡°Who would think to invade Sojourn? We¡¯ve nearly a thousand veil walkers in the city at any given time.¡±

    ¡°The circle was real,¡± Strista said. Victor hadn¡¯t seen her approach, but she stepped forward on the other side of Va. ¡°My master saw it with his own eyes. I saw him sketching it from memoryter that day.¡±

    ¡°Consul Yon?¡± Again, Arcus scoffed. ¡°You know what the other consuls call him, yes?¡±

    Arona nudged him with her elbow. ¡°Don¡¯t be rude.¡±

    ¡°Arcus is brave,¡± Strista said, irritated clicking soundsing from deep in her throat, ¡°when he has Lord Roil¡¯s robes to hide behind.¡±

    Victor saw Arcus¡¯s face tinting toward crimson and could even feel some heat emanating from the man, so he stepped forward and cleared his throat. ¡°Let¡¯s keep it cool, huh? This is a party. Strista, I liked the music I heard earlier; it had a different kind of beat¡ªa little faster. Can you y it again? On your device, I mean? Va, where¡¯s Lam? I wanted something to eat, and the table was picked over when I passed by. Also, damn, but I¡¯m thirsty! Anyone else want a drink?¡±

    His interjections seemed to have done the trick. Glowering but visibly restraining himself, Arcus turned to speak more quietly with a young woman who looked like she might have been his sister. Victor frowned at that thought¡ªhadn¡¯t Edeya said something about his sister? Everyone else started speaking at once about drinks, snacks, the view, the fabulous setting, or Strista¡¯s music. Va pulled his arm, and he turned to see her pointing out Lam, who was waving her hands, speaking to some of Dar¡¯s house staff. Victor chuckled and walked over; it would be a long night, but he was already having fun. He hoped he¡¯d run into the turtle-guy, Drobna.

 Book 8: Chapter 26: Gird Yourself

    Book 8: Chapter 26: Gird Yourself

    Victor ate some kind of sweet, smoky meat on a skewer as he listened to Lam, Darren, and Edeya talk to Arcus and his little sister. He and Va sat on a cushioned bench, their backs against the deck railing, as Arcus spoke, waving a hand for emphasis. Victor had done a lot of mingling, even spent some timeparing notes on Berserk with Drobna, and now things were winding down a little. It had been a surprisingly rxing night; Arcus hadn¡¯t stirred up any further arguments, and, in fact, Victor had hardly seen him, as the Pyromancer spent time with others, rarely in the same conversation.

    ¡°I, um, was going to bring that up,¡± Darren said, answering Arcus¡¯s pointed question about his ss. ¡°I¡¯m still only level eight.¡±

    The fire mage snorted. ¡°If you¡¯re going to enter the First sh Coliseum, you¡¯ll want a ss.¡±

    ¡°They have a week, brother dear. Well, nearly so. In any case, don¡¯t be dismissive! It¡¯s not like I have groupmates lining up at our door.¡± The familial resemnce between the two was striking; their eyes and noses mirrored each other, and they spoke with a certain refined air that Victor found grating from Arcus but almost endearing from Trin. He supposed he was biased.

    Lam cleared her throat. ¡°Speaking of the ¡®coliseum,¡¯ can you tell us why it¡¯s not in the guidebook?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Arcus chuckled. ¡°The dungeon is on my family¡¯s estate and not open to the public.¡±

    Edeya looked at Trin. ¡°You said your father ¡®acquired a pass¡¯ for the dungeon¡ª¡±

    She was cut off by a burst ofughter from Arcus as he shoved Trin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Trying to be coy? Trying to downy your¡ª¡±

    ¡°<em>Our</em> family¡¯s wealth? Yes, I was! It¡¯s embarrassing. I¡¯m sorry, Edeya. My father controls ess to the dungeon, so the ¡®pass¡¯ was a fabrication of sorts. The true part of my tale is that he never lets me go into the ce; it only opens a few times a month, and he sells the slots for favors and influence with the council.¡±Victor lost track of Edeya¡¯s response because Arona approached and leaned close to whisper, ¡°Victor, might we speak in private for a moment?¡±

    ¡°Um,¡± Victor nced at Va, but she shrugged and stood up, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze on the way.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to check on the kitchen staff. I¡¯ll find you again soon.¡±

    Arona stepped back, lowering her head in a respectful nod. Victor couldn¡¯t help smiling at how Va squared her shoulders and looked down her nose at the Death Caster as she brushed past.

    He stood. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s take a walk.¡± They meandered through the little conversation groups, following the deck along the back of the house, past the library, and then onto a cobbled path that led into Dar¡¯s gardens. The same path would eventually open up to the area where he and Lesh liked to spar. Once the music and conversation were a muted background hum, Arona quickened her step to walk beside him.

    ¡°I know I spoke confidently about the little quest the council is sending us on, but I hope you understand how dangerous your part in this will be.¡±

    Victor sniffed deeply of the night blooms, enjoying a faint citrus tang that tickled his nose. He shrugged. ¡°I need to do this to be free of them. You know about my punishment for damaging the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°I know. I hope you realize that anyone with a brain recognizes that there¡¯s a faction on the council trying to get to Dar through you.¡±

    ¡°Well, he used me pretty well to strike blows of his own, didn¡¯t he? I have a feeling he made a fortune betting on me, and let¡¯s not forget that many people, such as Arcus, are significantly weaker today than before going into that dungeon.¡± Victor shrugged, peering up at the bright stars. ¡°I guess I¡¯m just trying to say I don¡¯t me people like Roil for trying to abuse the situation.¡±

    ¡°You seem . . . different.¡± Arona chuckled, even herugh raspy and low. ¡°I¡¯d imagined you to be fuming over this whole situation.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve had some rity over thest couple of days. My rage is still there, trust me, but with Dar¡¯s guidance, I¡¯m learning to use it more like a tool than a road I must walk upon.¡±

    ¡°An interesting analogy. It doesn¡¯t bother you that the council has lost five representatives trying to gain a foothold in the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a part of me, Arona, that truly enjoys challenges. I love to fight, and more so when people are around to see me win. I mean, honestly, if people thought I¡¯d be discouraged because some others failed before me, they don¡¯t know me very well. Va knows that. It was funny listening to Arcus trying to rile her up; she knows me better than I know myself. I told her what we were doing, but I didn¡¯t mention the people dying before me. Still, do you think she didn¡¯t suspect something like that?¡± He barked a short, genuineugh. ¡°She¡¯s probably relieved to hear what¡¯s really going on.¡±

    Arona¡¯s small smile didn¡¯t waver, and in the starlight, her teeth shone in the dark void of her ck-painted lips. ¡°You think she was imagining something worse?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, considering the trouble I¡¯ve gotten up to in the past, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised.¡±

    Arona¡¯s voice grew even quieter as she said, ¡°She¡¯s beautiful. I¡¯ve never seen anyone like her.¡±

    Victor stopped and turned to look at her, listening to the night sounds¡ªchirps, clicks, and even the warbling song of a nocturnal bird. He took a deep breath and nodded¡ªhow could he deny it? ¡°Yeah, she is. Was there something else you wanted to say? Were you just hoping to warn me about the danger we¡¯d be facing tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to be sure you were aware of the politics at y. Some masters keep their students in the dark. Lord Roil and Master Dar have fought wars against each other¡ªnot only politically, here on Sojourn, but with armies on other worlds. Arcus is one of Roil¡¯s students, and he lost much favor by being eliminated from the Vault of Valor so quickly. He will be looking to save face and regain his master¡¯s favor. He may try something underhanded.¡±

    Victor grinned and reached out, resting a hand on Arona¡¯s bare shoulder. He supposed it was a little forward, but he wanted to convey his confidence and didn¡¯t think words were enough. Her flesh was icy to his hot flesh, and she shuddered slightly at the touch. ¡°You¡¯re the third person to give me that warning. If he surprises me, then I¡¯m a fool who deserves it. Do me a favor, though, will you?¡±

    ¡°I will.¡± She nodded, a little too eagerly, if Victor were being honest.

    ¡°Be the first to follow me through. I¡¯ll have that entrance safe for you.¡±

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Again, she nodded. ¡°I will!¡±

    ¡°Perfect, then.¡± Victor removed his hand and smiled, turning back to the house. ¡°Let¡¯s get another drink, then I¡¯m going to try to talk Va into a swim. Care to join us?¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor sat beside Dar in the Spirit Master¡¯s favorite coach, the ckcquered one that made Victor think of a steampunk bat mobile. It was hurtling through the air toward the Council Spire, where he was meant to descend to the Iron Prison and put his life on the line¡ªagain¡ªto establish a foothold in the ce. Dar was quiet, contemtive, perhaps, and Victor was reminded of Arona¡¯s words the night before. He cleared his throat and risked irritating the giant, stone-faced man. ¡°I heard you¡¯ve been at war with Roil for a long time.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you as much?¡± the giant rumbled.

    ¡°Well, I mean, you said you two had differences, but at the party, someone said you¡¯d actually had armies battling each other on other worlds.¡±

    ¡°Aye, that¡¯s a fact. We¡¯ve fought over some of the same territory. It¡¯s not umon, Victor. As new worlds are added to Sojourn¡¯s registry, one with resources or cultures worthy of notice asionally strikes the fancy of more than one of us old masters.¡± Apparently, he was done with the subject because he asked, ¡°Tell me of your cultivation. Any insights into your next breakthrough? I would suspect you¡¯d tell me if your drill had reached the epic tier.¡±

    ¡°Nope, still advanced, even using what you taught me. I can tell it¡¯s more effective than my old method, and it¡¯s a hell of a lot easier on my mind. I just don¡¯t know why it¡¯s still considered advanced.¡±

    ¡°Because, like your old one, it <em>is</em> an advanced method. It simply has more potential for growth. Never fear, the improvement wille, and when you see what you¡¯ve been doing wrong, you¡¯ll likely think yourself a dolt for not realizing it sooner.¡±

    ¡°Heh. I¡¯ll take your word for it.¡±

    ¡°You mentioned the party. How was it? I¡¯m told you had quite a showing¡ªmore than eighty guests, ording to Mister Ruln. I¡¯m pleased that no fights broke out.¡±

    ¡°It was surprisingly fun. Something like ten of the people I fought in the dungeon showed up, and they were all pretty cool, even Cam and Arcus. Arcus tried to start a little shit at the beginning, but he got over it after a few drinks. I still don¡¯t like the guy, but he behaved all right. I also set up a few new sparring partners¡ªDrobna, Brontes, Dovalion, and Sora¡ªassuming I survive the dungeon today.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll survive, but you may be in longer than a day. I believe there¡¯s some time dtion involved.¡± Victor opened his mouth to ask what he meant, but Dar must have read his mind. ¡°It won¡¯t be a major effect, but if I¡¯m not mistaken, each day in that dungeon is closer to a week of standard System time.¡±

    ¡°Is that on purpose?¡±

    ¡°Time dtion affects many dungeons, especially naturally formed ones, but it seems the System always adds the effect to level-locked dungeons to one degree or another. Didn¡¯t you notice how your time in the Vault of Valor seemed shorter than the time that passed outside?¡±

    Victor¡¯s eyes opened wide. ¡°Yeah. Shit! That makes sense! I thought I was only in there for about a day!¡±

    Dar chuckled, nodding. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to inform your friends so they don¡¯t worry.¡± He shifted, looking directly into Victor¡¯s eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about worst-case scenarios.¡±

    ¡°You mean for the dungeon or my friends if I die?¡±

    ¡°The dungeon, boy!¡± Dar chuckled, shaking his head. ¡°There¡¯s a good chance that someone has set up an Energy void on the other side of the transport portal, meaning, if you step through, you may not be able to use your Energy abilities; anything you expend from your Core will be depleted, pulled away by the formation.¡±

    ¡°Mmm.¡± Victor nodded, scratching his chin. ¡°Sounds bad.¡± He pointedly remembered his time in the Caldera, suffering from Hector¡¯s trap.

    ¡°The problem with such a formation is that it will only draw Energy you expend. Your Sovereign Will ability will function fine, and other abilities not dependent on an Energy expenditure will also work¡ªTitanic Leap, for instance.¡±

    ¡°And my axe.¡± Victor, out of habit, reached up to stroke Lifedrinker¡¯s haft.

    <em>Let us y your foolish foes! </em>she cried into his mind, her voice thick with the lust for battle.

    ¡°Precisely. I saw a list of the iron rankers who were in attempting to aplish this task, and three of the five were mages. They died quickly¡ªeach in under two minutes. Another was an assassin variant. No doubt he believed he could sneak past or use his incredible speed to bypass the trap, but he died in just under five minutes. However, one fellowsted nearly twenty minutes¡ªa bulwark-type with a legendary shield. I¡¯d seen him in a few diatorial events, and he was impressive.¡±

    ¡°So, he was the most sturdy without spending Energy?¡±

    ¡°Just so.¡± Dar nodded. ¡°You are both sturdy and deadly, with or without Energy.¡±

    ¡°Not so much if I can¡¯t Berserk.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Dar produced an obsidian de engraved with smoldering orange runes and, faster than even Victor¡¯s Quinametzin eyes could follow, shed it through the meat of Victor¡¯s forearm.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Victor hissed, pping his hand over the deep cut as blood began to swell out. Dar deftly pped his hand away, his stony fingers impossible to resist, and stared at the cut. Victor followed his gaze and watched as his flesh stitched back together in just a few seconds.

    ¡°A fine cut, easily healed, but it illustrates the point. You¡¯re a hard man to kill. Use that axe of yours, use that strength and vitality, and bully your way out of their trap. Once you¡¯re clear of whatever formation they¡¯ve set up, you can use your other abilities andy waste to them.¡±

    Victor rubbed the blood into his arm, trying to smear it into nothing. ¡°What will the formation look like?¡±

    Dar nodded. ¡°A good question. Look for a pattern of runes on the floor or pirs or totems or gs. If the magic prevents you from passing through, turn your axe against the formation. It will be sturdy and may resist your de, but Lifedrinker and you are strong. If you can get her edge to pierce the formation, she can siphon the Energy. Have you imparted your spirit unto her?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°What aspect?¡±

    ¡°Inspiration.¡± Victor snatched Lifedrinker from her harness and held her on his knees so Dar could see the white-gold gleam that limned her shiny metal head.

    ¡°Not a bad choice, but for this, give her rage. She must be her most ferocious, with a de that can melt stone.¡±

    Victor nodded, and then he quietly said, ¡°<em>Chica</em>, I¡¯m going to pull back this spirit, but then I¡¯ll give you another piece, the part of me that¡¯s always pissed off. Can you handle it?¡±

    <em>I yearn for it!</em>

    Victor chuckled, almost nervously, and then canceled his Imbue Spirit spell. Lifedrinker lost her white-gold aura, but as soon as it was gone, he cast the spell again, fueling it with rage-attuned Energy. A deep crimson light that smoldered almost like fire began to limn the axe, and he felt her eagerness for battle redouble¡ªshe vibrated and practically pulled away from him, desperate to strike <em>something</em>. Victor carefully lifted the axe over his shoulder and let his harness snatch her tight. ¡°She¡¯s ready.¡±

    ¡°And your Sovereign Will?¡±

    ¡°Already on strength and vitality.¡±

    Dar nodded. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t break free, if Montes Foh canst twenty minutes, you canst an hour.¡±

    Victor grunted his acknowledgment, leaned back, and tried to rx; the coach would arrive in just a few minutes. He¡¯d probably be nervous or worried if he thought about things too much, but he didn¡¯t like to do that. Before a match or, in this case, a fight, he simply wanted to think about how he¡¯d perform. It calmed him to visualize his movements, to picture foes taken down or cleaved in half. He liked to think about his axe work¡ªhis stances, cuts, blocks,binations, and counters. If he couldn¡¯t use his spells in this fight, it just meant he¡¯d get to concentrate more on his fighting style. Frankly, that sounded fun to him.

    It wasn¡¯t long before the coach settled with a gentle bump, and Dar threw the doors open, leaping out with a ground-shaking thud. Victor followed suit; he was just asrge as his mentor, and the two of them easily cleared the crowds on the bustling sidewalk outside the city council¡¯s tower. They made their way inside, past the enormous System Stone, and then onto an elevator made of crystal that, rather than ascending as Victor thought it would, dropped down beneath the ground floor and beyond, descending rapidly for several seconds.

    When the elevator lurched to a stop, Victor followed Dar out into a polished, gray-and-white marble corridor wide enough for a city bus to drive through. It led toward an equallyrge pair of wide-open double doors. As they approached, Victor¡¯s boots clicking on the stone, he saw a huddle of robed individuals in the room beyond. When Dar led the way into the chamber, the figures looked toward them, and Victor recognized several of the consuls he¡¯d met at his ¡°inquest.¡±

    As he nced around the spacious, domed chamber, taking in the murals¡ªtorture scenes, body-strewn battlefields, and a depiction of what could only be described as hell¡ªhe saw Arona and Arcus standing to the side of the otherwise empty chamber, chatting. Dar nodded toward them. ¡°Wait over there. We¡¯ll open the portal soon.¡±

    Victor walked over, and, to his surprise, Arcus inclined his head in a nod of greeting. ¡°A pleasure to see you made it, Victor.¡±

    Victor offered him a half smile. ¡°Arcus.¡± He shifted his gaze to Arona, noting she was back in her dark robes with the deep cowl. ¡°Arona.¡± He gestured to the macabre murals. ¡°Lovely space.¡±

    Arona breathed a soft chuckle, then rasped, ¡°This is the antechamber to a prison dungeon. You wanted flowers and angelic beings? Would you like a statue of yourdy love, Va, here?¡±

    Victor felt some heat in his chest, felt the rage trying to slide out of his Core into his pathways, but he willed it down. Arona¡¯s lips turned up in a smile, and he could see she was being yful, perhaps even trying to pay Va apliment with the ¡°angelic beings¡± line. He shrugged. ¡°If it were thest thing I¡¯d see before getting dumped into a death-attuned dungeon? Hell, yes!¡±

    Arona¡¯s smile widened, exposing her sharp canines. It looked like she¡¯d say something more, but then Arcus ran his gaze up and down Victor¡¯s figure. ¡°I see you¡¯re back to your gigantic size. No armor?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll put it on before I go in.¡± Victor was, in fact, wearing the clothing versions of his armor; he¡¯d been tempted to wear his old dragon-steel belt instead of the new Sojourn-set belt, but the old one was starting to lose its value; opponents at his level, especially casters like Arcus, could unleash enormous torrents of Energy in their attacks and the belt only absorbed a small fraction. His new one could boost his agility and dexterity in a pinch, and was pretty much immune to damage.

    ¡°Nervous?¡± Arcus asked, his head craning back inside his high, sharp cor to see Victor¡¯s face better.

    Victor stepped back to make it easier on the much shorter pair. ¡°I don¡¯t generally feel nervous before a fight, bud. I¡¯m a little anxious, I guess, but that¡¯s just because I¡¯d rather fight than stand around talking about it.¡± Arona stifled a raspyugh at his words, turning away and feigning a cough, and Arcus stiffened. Victor grinned and turned toward the gaggle of older men and women standing at the chamber''s center. ¡°Think they¡¯ll let me get things started soon?¡±

    As if his words had been prophetic, Victor felt a surge of chilly, death-attuned magic, and then, with the howl of a thousand tormented souls, a swirling portal formed at the center of the chamber, casting the space in malevolent, cold, blue light. Lord Roil¡¯s unmistakable cowled figure stepped out of the group of consuls and masters and called out, ¡°Victor, the time is nigh. Gird yourself.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 27: Foothold

    Book 8: Chapter 27: Foothold

    At Lord Roil¡¯s words, Victor nodded and channeled a little Energy into his armor, instantly armoring himself in crimson and ck scales, thick, red leather hide, and dense, deep-red, gleaming metal. Victor found the helmet strangelyfortable, and something about the enchantment allowed him an unobstructed view from within the va king¡¯s¡± fanged maw. Arona lifted an appreciative eyebrow, and Arcus nodded, a slow smile spreading on his face. The expression surprised Victor, but not as much as the Pyromancer¡¯s words.

    ¡°Impressive. I begin to wonder if I should have made some wagers on your sess.¡± Genuine levity tinged the man¡¯s voice.

    Victor smirked. His voice reverberated, slightly amplified by the nature of the helm, as he asked, ¡°I hope you didn¡¯t bet against me. You¡¯ve lost enough thanks to me, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    Arcus shrugged and again surprised him: ¡°Nothing I hadn¡¯t signed up for. Best hurry over; I see Lord Roil¡¯s vapors quickening¡ªan expression of impatience I¡¯m all too familiar with.¡±

    ¡°Right. See you soon.¡± Victor nodded to Arona.

    She smiled, exposing her sharp canines, and shrugged. ¡°Not soon enough. An hour for you, seven for us out here. I¡¯ll be ready.¡±

    With nothing to add, Victor turned and stomped toward the group of older, far more powerful men and women standing near the brightly glowing portal. His boots thudded on the marble, and he flexed his gauntleted left hand, eager to put his newvash to work. The thought brought a question to his mind, and as he approached, he asked, ¡°If they¡¯ve set up an Energy void, will it not drain my Core? If not, why can¡¯t I use abilities that stay within my body? Or this?¡± He channeled some Energy into the gauntlet, and the moltensh handle filled his hand, the coil sizzling and popping, dripping hissing magma onto the marble as it extended to hang from his hand.

    Dar opened his mouth to reply, but another consul, one Victor hadn¡¯t met, stepped forward. She was a tall, slender woman wearing silken blue robes. As she spoke, she pulled her cowl back, revealing a beautiful, elven face with odd, white-furred fox ears jutting up through her pale blonde hair. Her voice rang out, melodic and chime-like. ¡°Only an Energy trap properly attuned to your affinities can pull the Energy from your Core. However, a general void trap will drain any Energy that so much as touches one of the pathways outside your Core. You must resist the temptation to activate any abilities or spells, lest you diminish yourself for naught.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Lady Rexa,¡± Dar rumbled. Then he turned his gaze on Victor and, more loudly, said, ¡°Understand? Capture the foothold as we discussed, Victor.¡± Victor nodded and turned to the portal, but then he realized several consuls had stepped forward with packages. Again, Dar spoke, ¡°We¡¯ll equip you with a few minor treasures to help ensure your victory. I¡¯ll start.¡± He held out a small, brightly glowing golden pill-like capsule in his hand. ¡°If, for some reason, your Core bes drained, swallow this. It will partially replenish you.¡±Victor smiled, recognizing a waft of glorying off the little treasure. He took it in his palm and then tucked it into one of the many, near-invisible pockets on his new armored pants. To his surprise, Yon, the avian consul, and master of Strista, stepped forward with a brace of five vials, each filled to the cork stopper with thick red liquid. ¡°Regenerative healing draughts. Some of my best work. I give you these with the understanding that this undertaking will benefit all of Sojourn and is far beyond the scope of the three tasks you owe this council.¡±

    Victor was sure he heard Lord Roil hiss at those words, but when he nced at the man, all he saw was impassive smoke inside his heavy cowl. Victor slung the brace of vials crosswise over his shoulder so the five potions were on his chest and easily essible. Yon spoke again, ¡°The crystal containers are exceedingly sturdy.¡±

    ¡°Awesome,¡± Victor grunted, taking a moment to pull Lifedrinker from her harness while he was at it. He started to step toward the portal but realized one more consul was holding a package out to him. It was the grandmotherly woman from the inquest, the one with solid ck eyes. He¡¯d almost overlooked her, for, unlike most of the other consuls, she wasn¡¯t nearing giant-sized proportions. Rather, she was probably around five feet tall with a stooped back. She shakily stretched up her arm, and Victor epted the heavy, billiard-ball-sized orb she proffered. It was cold and metallic and inscribed with hundreds of tiny, neat runes. He could feel the Energy pulsing at its dense core.

    ¡°A bomb!¡± she cackled. ¡°Were I you, I¡¯d throw it at the first fool I saw once I emerged from the portal!¡±

    Victor grinned, hefting the ball in his gauntleted hand. ¡°Hell yeah! Thanks . . .¡±

    ¡°Kreshta Griss.¡± She mock-curtseyed, and it looked like she might fall as she grinned lopsidedly and cackled.

    Victor arched an eyebrow, then looked around at the old masters and, with the helmet adding extra resonance to his voice, boomed, ¡°Anything else?¡±

    Dar pped him on the shoulder. ¡°Only one more thing, Victor.¡± He held out a small mani-colored marble. ¡°This recall token will bring you and one other out of that ce. Attune it to yourself so another cannot use it in your stead.¡± Victor did as he asked, sending a trickle of Energy into the tiny ss ball. Then he tucked it away in his ¡°good¡± dimensional ring, along with his cultivation treasures. ¡°Excellent. Don¡¯t rely on that recall token in an emergency. Due to the nature of this prison dungeon, you¡¯ll need to channel Energy into it for several minutes before it will activate.¡±

    Victor nodded, then pped his mentor on the shoulder. ¡°See you soon.¡± Hefting Lifedrinker in his hands, he stepped toward the portal. When he stood before the blue, swirling rip in reality, he turned and ran his gaze over the room one more time. Arona and Arcus stood to the side, both looking pensive. Dar didn¡¯t flinch from his gaze, and the steady ze of his eyes gave Victor confidence. Roil¡¯s smoky cowl was useless when it came to reading his intentions or thoughts, so Victor shifted his gaze over the rest of the consuls. Some smiled and nodded. Some looked disturbed¡ªguilt, perhaps? More than half refused to meet his gaze.

    Victor couldn¡¯t stomach the idea that so many of them wouldn¡¯t even look him in the eyes or acknowledge him before he stepped through. He hefted Lifedrinker overhead, staring hard at each of the Consuls. They might be more powerful than he, they might be able to squash him if they wanted to, but he was damned if he¡¯d go into this death trap without them even looking at him. He released his aura, letting it fall around him like a lead nket. Of course, none of the old masters flinched, but he got a couple more to look his way.

    Victor grinned and lifted his head to the sky. Shouting as loudly as he could, with the magical amplification of his helm, he screamed, ¡°Ancestors! I go to bring you <em>glory</em>!¡± The final word was deafening, echoing strangely in the domed chamber. Seeing that his cry had gotten everyone¡¯s attention, Victor smiled savagely, turned, and leaped into the portal. Cold washed over him, but the passage was brief, and when he emerged, he was struck by the sudden change of his environs.

    He''d jumped into the portal, so he came out mid-leap, and, as he descended toward a bone-strewn, stone tform, he took in the scenery. He wasn¡¯t in a cave or awork of tunnels as he¡¯d always pictured ¡°dungeons¡± in his mind. A night sky hung overhead, devoid of stars but illuminated by a gibbous, gray moon. Andscape of broken ruinsy around him, low walls and small crumbling buildings in the foreground and taller, more whole structures further away.

    The portal was bright and blue, and before it snapped closed, Victor saw that the tform he was falling toward was surrounded by a dozen stone totems carved with brightly ring runes. He¡¯d just noticed the skulking, shadowy outlines of watching individuals, more than a handful, when the portal snapped shut with an ear-popping copse of air, and the world was thrown into momentary darkness.

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    It was only momentary because a bright white globe of Energy red to life, and a man in ragged gray robes stepped forward, just on the far side of the stone tform. The light was above his hood, casting his face in deep shadow, but his voice rang out stridently, ¡°What¡¯s this, then? Anotherckey of the councile to feed the grinder?¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t respond, ignoring the <em>pendejo</em> as he turned in a slow circle, allowing his eyes to adjust. He could feel the emptiness around him and knew that Dar¡¯s theory had been correct; there was no Energy in the space contained by the totems. He could feel their tug, and it brought to mind Hector¡¯s trap in the volcano¡¯s caldera, only weaker and less tailored to Victor¡¯s affinities. He could see the other figures moving closer to the circle, watching him. Most wore tattered clothing, but a few had armor on¡ªmismatched chainmail, leather, and a few pieces of te. One giant man with the head of a bull held a shield and a spiked mace.

    Nodding as he counted the seven different foes, Victor finally turned back to the speaker. ¡°What¡¯s the deal? You guys just camping here hoping for easy kills?¡± Victor stepped toward the man and the tform''s edge, wondering when they¡¯d attack, but the fellow just shifted to his left, keeping Victor in view as he approached the totem. Lifedrinker was vibrating hungrily in his right hand, but he kept her low, her smoldering edge hanging below his knee. He still held the ¡°bomb¡± in his left gauntlet, unsure of its best target. Should he toss it at the man? Should he try to blow up the totem?

    ¡°Look at the gear on this one,¡± the man said, chuckling. ¡°Ronkerz will appreciate the armor, no doubt.¡±

    Victor smirked, then lifted Lifedrinker toward the edge of the circle. She pressed against something invisible¡ªa barrier created by the totems, no doubt. If he tried to throw the bomb, he didn¡¯t think it would go well for him. ¡°Who¡¯s that? Your master?¡± Just then, a sizzling <em>zwap</em> echoed behind him, and a bolt of hot lightning mmed into his back. It hurt¡ªwell, stung was probably a better word for it¡ªand Victor took a step forward, bumping into the barrier. He grunted in annoyance, then turned around to see one of the others, a tall, thin man lowering a smoking iron rod. He wore a crooked, mad grin as he began to cackle.

    ¡°We have no master here, fool. In this realm, every man is free!¡±

    Victor chuckled at the irony of that statement. ¡°Free? You¡¯re in a prison, dipshit.¡± A twang sounded, and Victor shifted, lifting his left arm so the iing projectile bounced off his heavy bracer. ¡°Speaking of dipshits, are any of you guys Rasso Hine?¡± As he¡¯d figured they would, his words brought forth a torrent of attacks. The mage with the smoking rod fired another lightning bolt, which Victor ate, knowing he couldn¡¯t dodge it. He ducked his shoulder into another arrow, and then a huge fireball streaked through the air, cast by a woman standing on a pile of broken gray stones. Victor smiled as the orb of screaming mes came, ignoring it to deflect a hurled boulder with his bracer.

    As the fireball exploded at his feet, great orange mes burst out, ck smoke billowed upward, and Victor¡¯s mad smile spread in the almost pleasant heat. The attack obscured him, and he took that moment to turn and try Lifedrinker against the nearby totem. He grunted as he swung her, putting his muscle and bulk behind it, and she struck home, carving a thin groove in the rock in a shower of sparks. Victor grinned. It wouldn¡¯t be easy, but he could do it; he could break their formation.

    When the mes and ck smoke cleared, and the attackers saw he was still standing,rgely unscathed, he could feel them gathering Energy for another, perhaps more intense, round of attacks. ¡°Don¡¯t you think you should maybe try talking? You guys so sure killing me is the right move?¡±

    This time, one of the people behind him spoke, responding in a deep, hoarse voice that had Victor imagining him living a life in a smoky factory, shouting constantly at his coworkers. ¡°Unless you¡¯vee to take us out of this fucking hell, then you can die like the rest!¡±

    Victor sighed, lifted Lifedrinker, and, with a grunt, hacked her into the totem again. He aimed for the same spot, and she bit into her previous groove, chiseling it out just a little deeper than before. He figured, if they left him alone, he¡¯d cut through enough of the totem to break it in half within thirty or forty chops. He felt the attacksing before he saw them, and then he was bombarded by fire, electricity, arrows, stones, knives, crossbow bolts, and even something that felt like a ssh of acid.

    He tried to dodge around, rolling, jumping, and waving his gauntlet at any projectiles he saw in time. He kept his chin tucked, allowing his helmet to receive the attacks that might have hit his face through the open maw of theva king¡¯s snarling countenance. When the wave of attacks let up, he wasn¡¯t hurt all that badly. A few bolts and arrows protruded from his arms, and one veryrge, nearly spear-sized arrow had pierced the tough hide of his greaves and stood proudly from his left thigh. His armor smoked and ticked as it rapidly repaired itself, but overall, he felt okay.

    Holding the bomb in one hand and Lifedrinker in the other, he couldn¡¯t very easily pull the bolts and arrows out of his flesh. As more arrows and other projectiles flew toward him, Victor looked in frustration at the totem he¡¯d been attacking. During his dodging, he¡¯d ended up near the center of the tform, and the totem was a good ten yards from him. Shrugging, he tossed the bomb at it. A crossbow bolt, fired by a skilled or very lucky marksman, hit him in the armpit as heunched the bomb, burying itself a good eight inches into his flesh.

    ¡°Fucker!¡± Victor roared, and then the bomb went off. If his wits hadn¡¯t been blown from his mind, he might have reflected that he should have considered the word ¡°bomb¡± more literally. The billiard-ball-sized orb didn¡¯t explode like a grenade but more like a pile of dynamite. A white sh blinded Victor, a roar like a copsing mountain deafened him, and a shockwave like a tsunami pped him back to crash into the stone totem opposite the one he¡¯d thrown the bomb at.

    He smashed into the column of solid rock, carried by the wave of fire and pressure from the bomb. The forces ground him against the stone until the formation burst, and he was blown through. Blinded, deafened, stunned, and flopping brokenly, Victor tumbled head over heels into one of his attackers, knocking him aside like a bowling pin. If he hadn¡¯t been knocked senseless, he would have cried out at his broken, twisted limbs. He would have gasped in pain, struggling for air as his ribs copsed.

    All he knew, though, was silence, darkness, and a vague sense of movement as he bounced and slid over the stone. Later, he¡¯d reflect on whether he was unconscious or simply deprived of senses by the st. Had the damage to his body been so severe that it overwhelmed his nerves? Whatever the cause of his initial numbness, it soon faded. His nerves began to wake up, and agony washed over him like a hot nket. He still couldn¡¯t see or hear, but he could feel the strange, grating pain of his bones slowly, inexorably shifting, straightening, and knitting back together. His Behemoth¡¯s Regeneration wouldn¡¯t let him lie broken for long.

    Victor couldn¡¯t see it, but the effects of the bomb and his body shattering the formation were farther reaching than he knew. When the orb exploded, it sent a tremendous wave of fiery Energy out that gathered against the invisible barrier of the formation. It took nearly a full second for the first totem to fracture and for Victor to smash through the other. In that second, enormous forces gathered against the barrier, and when it failed, they washed outward in a tidal wave of fire.

    His ears began to heal, and the silence gave way to ringing. Then the ringing faded, and he heard the moans, woeful screams, and angry shouts of the others. Despite his own agony, Victor felt a smile tugging at his lips. He was lying in a crumpled ball, a pile of stone blocks covering much of his body¡ªa broken stone wall he¡¯d crashed through. He still couldn¡¯t see, but he heard more and more as each second ticked by.

    ¡°The fool killed himself,¡± the deep, hoarse voice said.

    ¡°<em>Himself</em>? Look at Forkan! He nearly killed us all,¡± panted a woman, her voice strained with pain.

    ¡°Check him!¡± the man who¡¯d first spoken, the one with the orb of light, shouted. He sounded distant; had he been knocked further in the other direction from the st? Victor almostughed but managed to keep his thoughts inside his head¡ª<em>Pendejo!</em><em>That crazy old bruja gave you a bomb, and you set it off inside the trap!</em> The thought was quickly followed by another: had she tried to kill him? Didn¡¯t she say to throw it right away?

    He felt a new pang of agony as a huge stone was shifted off his leg. They were uncovering him, and his body had yet to heal. He could feel his bones knitting with agonizing slowness, and Victor decided he¡¯d had enough. He turned his gaze inward to his pulsing, Energy-filled Core and tugged out a rope of thick Energy, channeling it into the pattern for Iron Berserk. His body exploded with increased mass, his bones straightening with audible <em>pops</em> and <em>cracks</em> as they grew. Victor choked out a sound that was half-roar, half-scream as his muscles expanded, and he lurched to his feet, shrugging off the tons of stone.

    ¡°He lives!¡± the hoarse voice cried.

    Victor felt the fiery warmth of rage in his eyes, and his vision rapidly returned to him as they healed. Darkness was reced by smoke and the crimson haze of his fury. He began to hear more clearly¡ªthe crackling of mes, the clink of tumbling stones, muttered curses, sobs, and angry shouts. Heughed as he flexed his mended muscles, his torn flesh rapidly smoothing over. He¡¯de up from the broken pile of stone hunched, leaning over, still in pain, but when he straightened, stiffly at first, then more smoothly, he realized he still clutched Lifedrinker¡ªit would take a lot more than a bomb and some shattered bones to knock her from his grasp.

    The giant, bull-headed man with the shield didn¡¯t waste time. He immediately charged Victor, but he wasn¡¯t a giant any longer. To Victor, he might as well have been a child. He grabbed the minotaur¡¯s¡ªhe figured that was as good a name as any¡ªshield, jerked it aside, and hacked Lifedrinker down, cutting halfway through his muscle-bound, fur-covered neck. Victor¡¯sughter intensified as hot blood sprayed his face.

    He threw the dying man aside and scanned the stedndscape through crimson-tinted eyes. He saw one charred corpse and another half-burned woman rolling and moaning in agony. He saw two men lying stunned and another loading a massive bow with an equally enormous arrow. He saw the cocky speaker, the one who¡¯d called him a boot licker, and Victor zeroed in on him.

    He held out his left hand and sent Energy into it. An angry, orange-and-red coil of magma unwound from his gauntlet, and Victor snapped it back and forward with a terrible <em>crack</em>, wrapping it around the archer¡¯s neck. At the same time, he cast Energy Charge, targeting the first man¡ªthe speaker. As he streaked forward in a cloud of howling, shrieking, purple-ck shadows, his whip pulled on the poor archer¡¯s neck ferociously, burning deep through his flesh to his spine and then ripping his head clean off. Meanwhile, he mmed into the criminals¡¯ spokesperson, with Lifedrinker leading the charge.

    The man wasn¡¯t weak; Victor would give him that much. He wasn¡¯t weak, but he wasn¡¯t a match for an enraged titan. Victor¡¯s Energy exploded out of his Core, tore through his pathways, and surged around him, protecting him from the impact. The man, too, managed to raise a shield of shimmering purple Energy that matched him . . . for a moment. Victor¡¯s Energy kepting, but the shield cracked and shattered, and the prisoner flew back to crumple wetly against a broken stone wall.

    Victor whirled, a mad grin on his face, his teeth white but washed in blood, his eyes aze with fiery rage. ¡°Well? Who¡¯s next?¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 28: Lay of the Land

    Book 8: Chapter 28: Lay of the Land

    Victor sat on arge stone block and, groaning and cursing, worked to dig the crossbow bolt out of his armpit. A dozen bloody, broken bolts and arrows alreadyy at his feet. He¡¯d finally run out of enemies to kill¡ªthey¡¯d kepting in twos and threes out of the ruins, seeking to capitalize on his ¡°weakness¡± after he¡¯d killed the original crew of ambushers. Thoseters had soon learned the folly of their ways. Victor chuckled at the thought, ncing around the clearing at the many corpses and pieces of corpses. A few had escaped sans a limb or two.

    One thing bothered him; the System had yet to send him any Energy, and he¡¯d been done fighting for nearly five minutes. Did that mean other attackers still lurked nearby? As the bolt finally slid free, following the widened channel he¡¯d made with his knife, Victor grunted in relief, dropping the bloody shaft. He stood and shouted, ¡°If anyone else is waiting for a fight, let¡¯s get this shit done. If not, then get the hell out of here!¡± His Iron Berserk had worn off, but his voice still boomed from his giant-sized chest.

    He heard some scrabbling, some sliding stones, and rapid footfalls, but nobody showed themselves, and the noises grew more and more distant. Had he just frightened off some would-be attackers? He looked around at the corpses. Some wererge¡ªgiant-sized as he¡¯de to consider his usual form¡ªothers were more human in proportion. None had been close to his titan form. None had been much of a challenge for him, either, not once he¡¯d gotten out of the formation trap.

    He supposed it wasn¡¯t quite a fairparison; these people had been stripped of everything before being sent into the prison. None had much in the way of armor or magical items, and few had any weapons that were worth mentioning. He wondered about that¡ªhadn¡¯t they in a few fully-geared iron rankers ahead of his arrival? He remembered the loudmouth saying something about giving his armor to someone named Ronkerz. Was there a hierarchy in the prison dungeon? Was there a caste system for divvying out loot gained from the monsters that spawned within? If so, these folks hadn¡¯t been high on the pecking order.

    Victor was approaching the ¡°minotaur¡± to look at his gear when he noticed rainbow-hued Energy beginning to coalesce around the body. He grinned, looking around to see a simr glow around the other bodies in the clearing. ¡°Here we go,¡± he said, eagerly twisting his hands on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft. A few momentster, an enormous surge of Energy hit him. The influx instantly healed his puncture wound, mending deep tissues that were slower to regenerate than simple flesh. More than that, it filled him to bursting, knocking him senseless as his mind drifted into the ether.

    Almost immediately, he felt a familiar presence. It was Golgothoz, the Master of the Axe, who¡¯d put his mark on Victor¡¯s chest. He came near, and Victor felt his approval, though the master said nothing. When Victor tried to speak, he found no voice in his throat. Soon, the weighty presence faded, and Victor¡¯s vision returned to normal. Once again, he stood in the sted ruins of the death-attuned dungeon, the glowering gray moon high overhead. A System message marred his vision, and he read it quickly.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 66 Herald of the Mountain¡¯s Wrath and gained 12 strength, 17 vitality, and 12 will.***</strong>

    ¡°Good,¡± he grunted, slowly turning, ensuring no one was sneaking up, ready to take advantage of his distraction. The ruins were quiet, though, so he turned back to the minotaur corpse. His spiked mace seemed to be rough ck iron, and his shield wasn¡¯t anything much better. Victor stooped and turned the corpse over, hoping that he¡¯d find something worth looting on the inmate¡¯s corpse; after all, he¡¯de into this dungeon hoping the denizens had managed to pry some treasures from the deeper, more powerful monsters. The man¡¯s clothes were ragged, stinking leather.

    Victor stood. ¡°Shit,¡± he growled. Not only were the inmates devoid of decent gear, but he¡¯d expected to gain more than one level. He¡¯d killed close to twenty attackers, and though they hadn¡¯t felt particrly strong, they were ¡°iron rankers.¡± Surely, some of them were higher level than he was. If not, how had they managed to kill five strong individuals before him? Was it just due to the trap?One thought tickled the back of his mind, and, examining it, he saw that he¡¯d been ready topare his gains from this battle against those awarded by the System in the challenge dungeon. The situations were too different, he decided. The System¡¯s awarded Energy in the Vault of Valor had been a portion of that taken from high-ranking, living cultivators¡ªenough to ount for ten levels. Looking around at the broken bodies of his foes, he began to understand just how little the System typically granted for ying someone.

    Victor spat, rubbing his hands together irritably. He¡¯d touched something damp on the minotaur¡¯s fur, and when he looked at the smear, he saw that his hands were covered in ash and blood. He dug a water bottle from one of his containers, poured some over his palm, then rubbed them together before drying them on a self-cleaning towel¡ªhe had half a dozen in one of his rings.

    He scanned the quiet ruins, wishing he¡¯d marked the time when he¡¯d arrived. He looked at his watch for the second time since the fighting ended and saw he¡¯d wasted another twelve minutes. ¡°Twelve minutes and what? Five minutes of fighting . . . Nah, longer than that with all those guys slinking in after the first group. So maybe twenty-something minutes so far? Gotta hold for forty more?¡±

    ¡°Who you talking to, mister?¡± a youthful voice asked behind him. Victor whirled to see a lean, impish young man sitting atop a nearby, broken wall, his bare feet kicking up and down as he stared. He had empty hands and wore nothing but brown sack-cloth pants and a rough-spun green shirt. Victor rxed his stance and lowered Lifedrinker. The kid had a pleasant face, smudged with grime as it was. Under a mop of sandy-brown hair, he had wide green eyes, a sharp, narrow nose, and a pleasant smile.

    ¡°Myself,¡± he grunted.

    ¡°Oh! I do that, too. Not many friendly folks to talk to around here, but the Enve¡¯s better.¡±

    ¡°Enve?¡± Victor frowned at the kid. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little young to be in a prison like this?¡±

    The young man smiled and shrugged. Even atop the wall, he had to look up to meet Victor¡¯s gaze. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not a prison to me. I was born here.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Victor shifted Lifedrinker onto his shoulder, holding onto her haft with one hand. He supposed he should have gotten more details about the ce from Dar or the council. How many iron rankers had they sent in there over the years? How big was it? If a man and woman managed to survive inside the ¡°prison¡± for a while and one thing led to another, he supposed it wasn¡¯t so far-fetched to think some kids might be born. In a dungeon, though? Who would want to raise a family in a death-attuned dungeon? ¡°Are there many kids here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a kid, sir! I¡¯m not strong enough to fight the spawns, but I know how to get around ¡®em. I¡¯m allowed out of the Enve, unlike the children. To answer your question, there are lots of ¡®em.¡± He held up his hands and started turning his fingers down one by one as his face twisted in concentration. ¡°Seventeen in the Enve, and I don¡¯t know how many in Rumble Town.¡±

    ¡°Rumble Town?¡±

    He nodded eagerly. ¡°Yeah, where Ronkerz rules.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a <em>town</em> here? How big is this ce?¡±

    ¡°<em>Big</em>!¡± the kidughed. ¡°It keeps growing, too. A gap opened in the southern rangest year, and my own father found a new valley!¡±

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    Victor scratched his head and turned in a slow circle, surveying the carnage he¡¯d wrought. ¡°You know these guys?¡±

    ¡°<em>Me</em>? No sir! Those are Ronkerz¡¯s people. They attack anyone from the Enve whoes this far north; that¡¯s why I was hiding.¡± He rubbed his chin, adding a new spot of soot. ¡°Well, they¡¯d probably capture me ¡®cause I¡¯m young and only tier-two. My da¡¯ says they¡¯d put me to work in the mine ¡®til I was tough enough to fight the spawns.¡±

    ¡°Tier two, huh?¡± The conversation had taken on a surreal feel to Victor. He was struggling to believe he was chatting with a random kid in the middle of a dungeon after fighting off nearly twenty criminal inmates. ¡°You know a guy named Rasso Hine?¡±

    ¡°Um,¡± the boy¡ªVictor couldn¡¯t help thinking of him as such¡ªcontinued to fidget, kicking his feet up and down, while he contemted, ¡°I think it sounds familiar, but there¡¯s a lot of folks at the Enve. My da¡¯ knows all their names.¡±

    ¡°How many people are in this ce, kid?¡±

    ¡°I dunno. Hundreds? Maybe more! I¡¯ve never been to Rumble Town or Vasso Cavern. My dad¡¯s gonna be mad I came up this way, but he¡¯ll be happy to hear you thrashed a bunch of Rumblers.¡±

    ¡°You should be more careful,¡± Victor sighed. ¡°You saw me kill all these people, and you still thought it would be smart to talk to me?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re bad folks. I heard you try to talk to ¡®em.¡± He lifted his toorge shirt, pulled a crude water skin from his belt, and held it over his mouth, wringing it tight in his fists to get a few drops to fall onto his tongue. ¡°Wish I knew where safe water was around here.¡±

    Victor tossed him the bottle he¡¯d used to wash his hands. ¡°Here. I¡¯ve got plenty.¡± It was true. He had cases of water bottles and a dozen kegs of weak wine. He had juices, liquor, beer, and mead. He¡¯d go for years before running out of fluids, not to mention his body didn¡¯t really need to drink much at all¡ªa perk of advancing his bloodline into the epic tier and having a body steeped in Energy.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got one of them, uh, di-dimension bag things?¡± the boy asked as he wriggled the cork from the ss.

    ¡°Dimensional container, yeah. Some people call them spatial containers. I think it depends on where you¡¯re from.¡± Victor nced back to the charred stone dais upon which he¡¯d arrived. ¡°Listen, I¡¯ve got some friendsing in the next hour or two. When they get here, you wanna earn a few beads or food or whatever? You can guide us to the Enve.¡±

    ¡°That would be great, but you¡¯ll have to pass by the Gate Warden before they let you into the Enve. He¡¯ll probably just ask you some questions; Duke Brosia will be happy to have a real fighter join us!¡±

    ¡°Duke Brosia?¡± Victor chuckled and shook his head. ¡°Never mind. What¡¯s your name, anyway, kid?¡±

    ¡°Tyn.¡± He hopped off the wall and approached Victor. He couldn¡¯t have been more than five and a half feet tall, and Victor doubted he weighed a hundred pounds. Still, he moved with vibrancy and stuck his hand out proudly for Victor to shake. Victor nodded and squeezed the slender appendage. ¡°My firstpanion should be here pretty soon. You think Ronkerz is going to send more people to attack me?¡±

    ¡°Probably, but the ones who ran will have to get back to him first. It¡¯s a good stretch of ground between here and Rumble Town, with lots of spawns in the way. It¡¯ll probably take half a day for any of his Big Ones toe out here.¡±

    Victor sighed, scratching his hair at yet another new term. ¡°And they are?¡±

    ¡°Big Ones? They¡¯re his . . . well, they¡¯re his head smashers, his bone breakers, his trouble makers. They¡¯re the ones who keep other folks froming into his territory. My da¡¯ says one of ¡®em killed a whole party of folks from the Enve ¡®cause they were farming a spawn in a valley that Ronkerz imed. That happened when I was six, which was eight <em>years</em> ago. We ain¡¯t had any big fights with ¡®em since, seeing as Duke Brosia put strict rules on where the Envers can wander¡ªsouth.¡±

    Victor snorted, shuffling over to the t stone where he¡¯d been sitting earlier. He kicked aside the arrows and bolts he¡¯d pulled out of himself and sat down. ¡°But you¡¯re here, and this is north of the Enve, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not supposed to be here, but I can hide and sneak better than most. I got my tier-two ss a while back and, along with it, a pretty good skill. Even so, my da¡¯ will get mad if he knows I came this far, so can you tell him you met me closer to the Enve?¡±

    Victor grunted, pulling some dried, smoked meat out of his ring. ¡°I barely know you, kid. Don¡¯t ask me to lie for you.¡±

    Tyn moved closer, squatting to sit on a smaller stone near Victor¡¯s seat. ¡°Well, can you at least not mention it?¡±

    Victor shrugged. ¡°I won¡¯t bring it up.¡± Sitting there, amid the carnage of his earlier battle, he reflected on how it wasn¡¯t such a healthy ce for a youngster to hang out, so he gathered a thread of Energy and shaped it into Honor the Spirits. The spell flickered out of his outstretched hand, a tendril of wispy, flickering white mes that jumped from corpse to corpse, ring brightly as it touched each one. The bodies burned away, reduced to ethereal smoke that vanished, transitioning away from the Material ne and into the realm of spirits.

    Victor must have been frowning as he sat, watching the corpses disappear because the boy asked, ¡°Are you angry?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Victor shifted to look at the kid. He ripped the hunk of dried meat in half and offered it to him. ¡°Nah, just thinking about how I didn¡¯t put on much of a show for my ancestors. These guys weren¡¯t worthy enemies. The only thing they had going for them was the trap they¡¯d set up.¡±

    Tyn took the meat and immediately stuffed it into his mouth, biting off arge hunk. The work of chewing the dense, dry meat kept him quiet for a while, and Victor brooded some more. He didn¡¯t like the idea that kids were being born and raised inside of a prison dungeon. The whole thing was a stark contrast to the elegance and beauty of Sojourn. The city seemed so evolved and advanced, yet this prison was disgusting on many levels. Victor could understand banishing iron rankers who caused trouble ormitted heinous crimes, but something about this situation didn¡¯t sit right with him.

    Sending hundreds or thousands of criminals into the same free-for-all wasn¡¯t justice¡ªthere was no way every prisoner was equal in terms of raw strength, so that meant the stronger ones were going to have more power inside. They would suffer less than the ones who couldn¡¯t stand up for themselves. Did they all deserve a fate like that? Even if you could argue that they did, Victor would be damned if he¡¯d hear anyone say the children born inside deserved that fate. Tyn looked like he was starved half to death, which was bad enough, but the kid clearly didn¡¯t have much going for him, even if he could get enough to eat.

    ¡°You said there are a lot of kids in the Enve?¡±

    ¡°Oh, sure! Like I said, I¡¯m a man, but I¡¯ve got a younger sister, and she¡¯s got many ssmates at the school.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a school?¡±

    ¡°Yessir. Lady Breeze runs it.¡±

    ¡°Lady Breeze?¡±

    ¡°The most beautiful woman in the world, sir.¡± Tyn grinned while he stuffed another wad of dried meat into his mouth. ¡°You should meet her, but be warned: I¡¯m going to marry her!¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Victor chuckled as he leaned back, watching the stone circle, waiting for the portal while listening for any signs of approaching inmates. Tyn grew quiet as he ate and drank, and Victor lost himself in half-baked ns to help the children in this weird pocket-world. He had no idea what he could do; he had the ability to rescue precisely one other person. He supposed he could argue their case with the council when he got out, but beyond that, he felt like his hands were tied.

    His frustrated musings were interrupted by the re of blue light and the weird wailing sounds of the portal, and then Arona appeared, stepping out of the swirling blue disc of Energy. She whirled, her polished-bone staff held out defensively, and when she saw Victor sitting on the stone watching her, she rxed and stepped closer as the portal snapped shut with an audible <em>pop.</em> ¡°You did it,¡± she said by way of greeting.

    ¡°Yeah. Almost killed myself with that olddy¡¯s bomb, but it broke the formation.¡±

    ¡°Olddy . . . Kreshta Griss? She gave you a ¡®bomb¡¯?¡± She looked around at the sted area around the dais. ¡°You set it off inside the formation with you?¡± Her raspy voice was incredulous as she shook her head. Victor simply nodded with a half-smile. ¡°Who¡¯s this then?¡± She looked at Tyn with a raised eyebrow.

    ¡°I¡¯m Tyn, mdy!¡± He hopped up and bowed sloppily, dragging both hands through the dusty gravel near his feet.

    Victor stood and gestured at the kid. ¡°I guess the inmates are building towns and having families. Tyn¡¯s going to show us to one of the towns and, hopefully, Rasso will be there. If not, maybe someone will know where to look.¡±

    ¡°Children . . .¡± Arona looked Tyn up and down, her slender fingers tapping the polished bone of her staff. ¡°How interesting.¡± She turned in a slow circle, her brows creasing as she observed the strange world with its ck sky and oddly close moon. ¡°The death-attuned Energy is strange here¡ªtoo thin. I wonder if perhaps the many cultivators are causing a shift in the ambient Energy. The dungeon was created with death-attuned Energy, but that was thousands of years ago, and they¡¯ve sent many cultivators into it since.¡±

    ¡°How many?¡± Victor asked. ¡°The kid doesn¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ve been sending a few dozen a year into this ce since it was opened. I always assumed that most criminals banished here would have short, violent lives dealing with the dungeon''s denizens¡ªit¡¯s supposedly tier-nine. If they¡¯re cooperating and having children, though . . .¡± Again, she trailed off, probably, like Victor, trying to imagine growing up <em>inside</em> a dungeon.

    ¡°They don¡¯t all cooperate. I had to kill a dozen or so people who were lurking outside the trap. They mentioned a guy named Ronkerz, and Tyn says he runs a town called . . .¡± Victor looked at the boy. ¡°What¡¯s it called, again?¡±

    ¡°Rumble Town, sir.¡±

    ¡°Ronkerz Gatebreaker is a legendary figure in Sojourn,¡± Arona rasped, and Victor felt a small surge of cold Energy waft off her staff as she gripped it and looked around nervously. ¡°He led an insurrection, trying to overthrow the council two thousand years ago. He breached the Spire and killed four council guardians¡ªall steel seekers. The story goes that Ronkerz was only tier-eight!¡±

    ¡°Great,¡± Victor said, shifting Lifedrinker on his shoulder and turning to look out over the deadndscape. ¡°And he¡¯s had two thousand years to get stronger.¡±

    ¡°Closer to three hundred¡ªremember the time dtion.¡± Arona pulled a handful of tiny bones from her robe and scattered them around her feet. ¡°We should get moving. I¡¯d rather not run into him.¡±

    Victor nodded, distracted, thinking about Ronkerz. The story of an iron ranker killing some guards in their ¡°test of steel¡± was acutely interesting to him, considering Dar¡¯s expectations for him when he went to Ruhn to help his granddaughter. In all honesty, Victor felt a wave of relief hearing about Ronkerz¡¯s exploits¡ªif he could do it, then it was possible. Maybe Dar¡¯s confidence in him wasn¡¯t so unusual. When he saw Arona¡¯s five bone guardians spring up from the stony soil, it brought him back to reality, and he gestured to the stone dais. ¡°We gotta wait for Arcus.¡±

    ¡°Do we?¡± Arona rasped. ¡°You know he can¡¯t be trusted. Wouldn¡¯t it be wiser to leave him to his own devices?¡±

    Victor chuckled and poked one of the weird, blue-fire-eyed skeletons with Lifedrinker¡¯s blunt axe head. It stumbled back in a tter and hissed at him like an angry cat. ¡°Arona, no offense, but I hardly know you. We¡¯ve had a few good conversations, and I¡¯ll hand it to you: you were honest when you spoke at the inquest. I appreciate that, but I think I¡¯ll wait for Arcus so I can keep you <em>both</em> where I can see you.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 29: A Slight Detour

    Arona wasn¡¯t exactly what Victor would consider a socially adept person, but after he¡¯d basically told her he didn¡¯t trust her, she became decidedly standoffish. She brooded by herself on the northern edge of the clearing with her five skeletal servants standing watch in a wide circle while Victor and Tyn continued to chat, sitting on t stones and snacking while they waited for Arcus. Victor checked his watch regrly, and after some time had passed, he called out, ¡°Just a few more minutes,¡± hoping to get Arona to perk up a little. She ignored him, staring into the ruins, leaning on her ivory staff.

    ¡°Is she angry with you?¡± Tyn whispered.

    ¡°She¡¯s a Death Caster, kid. Who knows?¡± Victor chuckled and handed him a slice of buttered pumpkin bread. At some point, he¡¯d decided to do what he could to put some meat on Tyn¡¯s bones. He watched him wolf the treat down, enjoying the expression of bliss on the youngster¡¯s face.

    After he swallowed a huge mouthful, Tyn cleared his throat and jerked his thumb at his chest. ¡°I¡¯m not a kid.¡±

    Victor nodded solemnly. ¡°Right.¡± He couldn¡¯t stop ncing at Arona¡¯s pale, glowering face as she stared into the dark sky. After another couple of minutes, he sighed, standing. ¡°Wait here.¡± He gave Tyn¡¯s shoulder a friendly p, careful not to knock him over, and walked over to the Death Caster. ¡°Hey, was I too blunt earlier?¡±

    She snorted and turned slightly, making it hard to see into her eyes. ¡°About not trusting me?¡±

    ¡°Do I know you, Arona? I mean, really? Give me a chance to¡ª¡±

    ¡°Please put the matter out of your mind, Victor. It¡¯s fine.¡± She still wouldn¡¯t look at him, and Victor could hear her bone guardians ttering as they moved. Were they agitated? Could they sense their master¡¯s mood? Staring at the side of her face, seeing the partial scowl and hearing the stiffness in her voice, Victor recognized a kindred outcast. He¡¯d been in her shoes a hundred times with his cousins and their friends. He knew what it was like to act unbothered when something was eating at him. He¡¯d gotten over it with friends from school and, obviously, his friends in this new life, but those memories still stung.

    He reached into his Core and pulled out a thread of inspiration, casting Globe of Insight. It had a more subtle effect than Inspiration of the Quinametzin, but he could exin it by saying, ¡°This dimndscape is getting to me.¡±Arona nced up at the glowing ball of white-gold Energy, and he saw some of the creases around her eyes fade as her glowering countenance rxed. ¡°A pleasant glow.¡±

    Victor nodded, watching her, and then, as he¡¯d hoped, some inspiration struck him. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re worried I won¡¯t ever trust you, huh? You¡¯re thinking about those friends of yours you abandoned in the challenge dungeon.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t¡ª¡± She cut her protest short, clenching her fist around her staff until her pale fingers turned white. After a moment, with Victor staring at her the whole time, she sighed and seemed to copse inward. ¡°I did. I left them to fight you so that I could win thepetition. My <em>master</em> was <em>proud</em>.¡± She practically spat thest sentence.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not thinking about that. I just, well, I¡¯ve got a bad history with Death Casters. I guess that¡¯s a kind of prejudice, but I can¡¯t help being wary.¡±

    She turned to face him, her dark eyes wide and earnest. ¡°You <em>should</em> be wary. Death-attuned Energy wears on a person¡¯s spirit. It eats away at qualities people generally view as virtuous¡ªhonesty, kindness, honor, empathy. I¡¯m tier-nine, Victor, but I¡¯m young¡ªa prodigy, some say. I haven¡¯t lived with this <em>cursed</em> Energy for centuries like most at my level. I tell you this with an open heart; do not trust a Death Caster, <em>especially</em> my master!¡±

    Victor¡¯s mouth hung open in surprise. He¡¯d expected her to deny being bothered or to shrug off his concerns and tell him she was different. He certainly hadn¡¯t expected that emotional outburst. He cleared his throat and tried to think of the proper response, but she was already turning, already stomping away, and he decided to give her some space. He shifted to look away, staring into the distant ruins as he contemted. Softly, he whispered, ¡°Shit, <em>chica</em>, I guess I hit a nerve.¡±

    Lifedrinker vibrated against his shoulder, and he knew exactly what she was thinking: It didn¡¯t matter to her what kind of Energy his enemies used¡ªshe was ready to fight. He was saved from further introspection when the portal howled to life in a re of bright blue Energy. Secondster, Arcus walked through in his bright red robes, a two-foot metallic rod in each of his hands. One was red and radiated heat. The other was dark iron and seemed to absorb the light around it.

    ¡°Well done, Victor! The council is pleased.¡± Before Victor could respond, Arcus whirled to face Tyn and lifted his red rod. It began to glow with white-hot mes, and Victor realized he was about to st the kid.

    ¡°Chill out!¡± he roared. ¡°That¡¯s my friend!¡±

    Arcus looked at him with a cocked eyebrow, his eyes aze. When Victor returned his gaze, glowering, the Pyromancer shrugged and lowered his rod. ¡°Who¡¯s this, then?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Tyn, sir!¡± The kid jumped up and surprised Victor by approaching Arcus with an outstretched hand. Victor stared, trying to decide if Tyn was too stupid to understand the danger he¡¯d been in or if he was just so used to being in danger that it hadn¡¯t registered.

    Victor cleared his throat. ¡°Arcus, did you know people were having kids in here? Did you know there are <em>towns</em> in this dungeon?¡±

    Arcus stared down his long, straight nose at Tyn, then, surprising Victor, took his hand. He shook his head slowly. ¡°I had no idea. How strange! You were born here, young man?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± He nodded eagerly, the unruly mop of hair atop his head bobbing back and forth.

    ¡°Come,¡± Arona said, and her skeletons emerged from the nearby ruins, <em>click-cking</em> over the stony ground as they took up positions around the four living beings. ¡°We should get moving before Ronkerz sends another group of attackers.¡±

    ¡°Ronkerz? He¡¯s still alive?¡± Arcus waved his red rod in the air, and Victor felt a surge of Energy. A sh of mes and sparks erupted above Arcus¡¯s head, and then a fiery bird appeared, shrieked, and pped its wings, flying high into the dark sky. Victor watched as the magical creature continued to rise and then leveled off, gliding in a wide circle around them. ¡°I¡¯ll be able to keep an eye out with my me kestrel.¡±

    ¡°Come on,¡± Victor said, following Arona and her bony guardians. ¡°I¡¯ll fill you in while we walk. Lead the way, Tyn.¡±

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    They hiked through the ruins for a while, moving ever ¡°south.¡± At first, Victor wasn¡¯t sure how Tyn could determine their direction, but when he asked, Tyn pointed to the moon. In all the time Victor had been there, he hadn¡¯t noticed it moving, but he could see how it hung in a particr half of the sky. If that was constant, he supposed it would be easy enough to mark direction using it as a guide.

    As they walked, he filled Arcus in on the situation in the dungeon and was surprised to find the fire mage ready to agree with him about the abhorrent nature of the ce. ¡°That¡¯s not right!¡± he shouted after Victor told him about the school children in the Enve.

    ¡°Do you think all the counselors and old masters know about this?¡± Victor asked, only to receive a derisive snort from Arona. He scowled at her. ¡°Stupid question?¡±

    It was Arcus who answered, ¡°I¡¯m sure they do. There¡¯s a reason they¡¯re called ¡®old masters¡¯ in Sojourn, you know. Not one of them is less than a thousand years old. I¡¯m sure the tribtions of some wretches born of criminals in one of their dungeons don¡¯t precisely <em>impact</em> their day-to-day ns.¡±

    ¡°Your tongue is awfully free when you know Lord Roil can¡¯t hear you,¡± Arona rasped, and Victor thought he caught her trying to send him a look. What the look meant, he couldn¡¯t say.

    ¡°Ah yes, I forgot I¡¯m with the ever-worshipful Arona Moonshadow. I¡¯m sorry if I cast any unintended aspersion your master¡¯s way.¡± Arcus mock-bowed, and Arona quickened her pace, moving ahead.

    Victor was about to change the subject when Arcus held up a hand and shouted, ¡°Stop!¡± Everyone froze, and he said, ¡°A palpable fog roils this way from the east. I see figures within.¡±

    ¡°Death wind!¡± Tyn cried. He broke into a run, heading the way they¡¯d been going but at an angle, toward the west. Arona waved her staff, and one of her bone constructs leaped after the boy, quickly catching him and wrapping its bony arms around him. They tumbled to the ground, and Tyn cried, ¡°Let me go! We¡¯ll die!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll not.¡± Arona¡¯s voice was firm as she turned to the east and asked, ¡°How far, Arcus?¡±

    ¡°Half a minute.¡± Arcus sounded almost bored.

    Victor looked at the sky where Arcus¡¯s fiery bird still circled, then he cast Banner of the Champion, and the world was instantly bathed in the golden, fiery light of his bloody sun.

    ¡°Old Gods!¡± Arcus whooped. ¡°Let¡¯s hope this ¡®death wind¡¯ brings us a challenge!¡± Suddenly, he was wreathed in fire, a man-shaped torch with a zing, fiery brand in one hand and a shaft of pure darkness in the other.

    ¡°Quiet, oafs!¡± Arona hissed. ¡°Let me dispel it lest we be embroiled in a cataclysmic battle that will draw denizens for miles.¡± She drew a long line in the dirt with the end of her staff and then began rapidly scrawling runes along its length. By the time she finished, stepping back from her line, Victor saw a wave of mist barreling over the broken, rocky hills and ruined buildings. It looked almost like a tsunami, but rather than water, it roiled with dark shadows, spirit-like wisps, shes of ghostly light, and ever-changing glimpses of horror-filled, rictus-bound faces.

    Arona mmed the butt of her staff into the ground on the near side of her rune-inscribed line, and suddenly a wall of blue, shimmering Energy sprang into being, soaring for dozens of feet into the air. Victor felt a surge of Energy pour out of the Death Caster, and the barrier widened, stretching north and south for hundreds of feet. The ¡®death wind¡¯ mmed into the barrier, and, with the wailing roar of a ghost-filled hurricane, it burst apart into blue-gray smoke that rose upward and faded into nothing.

    The process wasn¡¯t instant, and the noise was such that Victor wanted to cover his ears, but he held Lifedrinker ready. He and Arcus stood shoulder to shoulder, staring at the barrier as it tore the death wind to bits, reducing it to blue-tinged steam, inch by inch. When it was over, the silence was so profound that Victor had to speak to ensure he wasn¡¯t deaf. ¡°That was pretty damn wild! Nice one, Arona!¡±

    ¡°Was that a creature?¡± Arcus¡¯s mes dimmed as he slowly came to grips with the realization that he wouldn¡¯t have to burn anything.

    ¡°A pack of unquiet spirits, bound together by the thin nature of the veil in this ce. I¡¯ve never seen one thatrge.¡± Arona slumped against her staff, and Victor could see the circles under her eyes had grown. She looked exhausted.

    ¡°You,¡± Tyn said, kicking his legs and scrabbling away from the skeleton as it released him. ¡°You destroyed it! I¡¯ve never seen that! Even da¡¯ has to hide from those winds.¡± He rushed toward Arona, and, at first, Victor thought he was going to hug her, but he ran past her, leaping her runic line in the dirt. He rushed to and fro, scanning the ground. ¡°Lady Breeze says they can drop Energy orbs!¡±

    Arona twitched her staff, and her five guardians ttered into the area where the wave of spirits had been, flipping over rocks, running up and down the hillsides, and mbering over and through the ruins. Her raspy voice was even more ragged than usual as she said, ¡°If so, my servants will find it.¡±

    Victor stepped over to her, and though she tried to avoid his gaze, he persisted until she looked at him. ¡°You okay? That was bigger than you thought it would be, huh?¡±

    ¡°I need rest or, if the boy is right, an Energy orb.¡±

    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t the System simply award Energy for ying the thing?¡± Arcus asked, moving closer.

    Arona sighed, shaking her head. ¡°It¡¯s not exactly a monster. More a force of naturemon to death-attuned environs.¡±

    ¡°Would fire have an effect?¡± Arcus held up his red rod, still ticking with heat.

    ¡°Perhaps.¡± She squeezed her eyes closed for a second, then inclined her head to Arcus. ¡°Well, yes, I¡¯m sure it would. If we meet another and I cannot handle it, I¡¯ll call for your mes.¡±

    Victor was feeling particrly useless, wondering how he¡¯d handle a ¡®death wind.¡¯ Would Lifedrinker have any effect? He supposed if worst came to worst, he¡¯d go Berserk and breathe magma into it. He was about to say as much when Tyn cried, ¡°Here! Here! Great Lady!¡±

    They all looked to see that the boy had scrambled atop a high wall and was standing, pointing at his feet where a lustrous glow illuminated his rough, brown pants. ¡°You found one?¡± Arona perked up when she saw the light and gestured with her staff. One of her skeletons, humanoid like the others but with extra-long arms ending in hooked ws, bounded over and pulled itself atop the wall, nearly knocking the boy off. ¡°Careful, fool thing!¡± Arona growled. ¡°Sorry, Tyn. Don¡¯t fall!¡±

    Arona¡¯s skeletal helper lifted out a brightly glowing object and dropped down in a tter of bones. As Tyn more carefully descended, the skeleton loped over to Arona, holding an orb of swirling rainbow Energy cradled between two long ws. Arcus stepped forward and said, ¡°Transferrable? Usually, they¡¯re consumed on touch!¡±

    Arona smiled, her canines brightly reflecting the light from the orb. ¡°This isn¡¯t a System award. It¡¯s . . . I suppose it¡¯s a type of natural treasure.¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t want to look like an idiot, so he didn¡¯t speak up. He was fairly sure he knew what the orb was. He¡¯d gotten one in a chest from the dungeon when he¡¯d escaped the Greatbone Mine. The one he¡¯d received had glowed with golden Energy, and when he touched it, it gave him a level. To rify without sounding too ignorant, he asked, ¡°Will it give a full level?¡±

    ¡°I think so,¡± Arona said, making him feel a little better¡ªthey didn¡¯t know for sure, either. ¡°This would sell for a handsome prize to someone of our tier.¡± Victor could see she spoke mainly to Arcus but included him in the nce she threw their way.

    Arcus was clearly struggling with his words, trying to think of a reason why he should be able to im the orb or at least a partial stake. Victor decided to earn some points with the Death Caster and spoke his feelings inly, ¡°You did all the work. Keep it.¡±

    Arcus sputtered, ¡°She only did all the work because she told us to stand down! I could have summoned an inferno upon that <em>death wind.</em>¡± He spat the name derisively.

    ¡°Well, you didn¡¯t.¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have plenty of opportunities to earn our own prizes.¡±

    ¡°So unconcerned, hmm? So easy for you to be the generous one¡ªyou, who didn¡¯t lose any <em>cursed</em> Energy to the System¡¯s greedy clutches.¡± Arcus¡¯s smooth veneer had cracked, and Victor was only slightly surprised at how quickly it had urred.

    ¡°You want this so badly?¡± Arona rasped, gesturing at the orb still in her skeletal pawn¡¯s clutches.

    ¡°Of <em>course</em>! Don¡¯t act like you aren¡¯t thrilled. That, there, represents a year¡¯s hardbor for you or me at our tier!¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Victor raised an eyebrow, looking from Arcus to Arona. ¡°A year for a level?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not¡ª¡± Arona started to say, but Arcus spoke over her.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! When you¡¯re tier-nine, you¡¯ll see. Thingse <em>slowly</em>!¡±

    ¡°Probably depends on what you do, yeah? Didn¡¯t you gain any levels in the challenge dungeon, Arona?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°I did¡ªone.¡±

    Again, Victor shrugged. ¡°Well, there you go.¡±

    ¡°Listen to this rube! Victor, just because you stumbled ass-first into a challenge dungeon doesn¡¯t mean thepetition runs all the time. There¡¯s great risk involved. Take me¡ªrather than gaining a level, I lost <em>ten</em>!¡± He practically screamed thest word, and Victor saw mes dancing in his eyes. He was well and truly losing his grip on the rxed, friendly fa?ade he¡¯d been putting forth.

    Victor sighed and nced down at Tyn, watching the back and forth with wide eyes. ¡°How far to the Enve, Tyn?¡±

    ¡°Maybe an hour if we¡¯re careful and avoid the spawns.¡±

    ¡°Forget that.¡± Victor grinned at the kid and ruffled his mop of sandy brown hair. ¡°Lead me through all the spawns; let¡¯s kill some shit on the way, and maybe Arcus can find a treasure.¡± He snorted, turned his back on the casters, and stomped southward.

    ¡°Victor,¡± Arona called, her voice hoarse as she raised it. ¡°What of the orb?¡±

    He waved dismissively with his free hand. ¡°Do what you want.¡± He only took a dozen steps before Tyn jogged past him, angling for a row of low hills with scraggly, dead-looking trees on their slopes.

    ¡°Victor, sir!¡± he panted, turning to walk backward while he spoke. ¡°There¡¯s a lich-wyrm in those hills. We all give it a wide berth when we hunt and scavenge. I bet you could find a trinket or two in itsir!¡±

    Victorughed and turned to look back at Arona and Arcus. They were walking behind him, though separated by a good ten feet. Arona¡¯s skeletons were ranging out, establishing their usual marching perimeter. He couldn¡¯t see the orb, but he could tell by Arcus¡¯s scowl that Arona had kept it. ¡°Did you hear that, Arcus?¡±

    The Pyromancer quickened his steps, and though his eyes still burned with angry fire, he spoke almost pleasantly when he caught up. ¡°What¡¯s that? The boy said something of note?¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°There¡¯s a lich-wyrm ahead. I don¡¯t know exactly what that is, but I know what a wyrm is and what a lich is. Sounds like it might be a decent challenge. Sounds like it might drop a treasure or two. What do you say? Shall we make a slight detour?¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 30: Lich-Wyrm

    Book 8: Chapter 30: Lich-Wyrm

    Victor looked up the scree-covered slope to the dark cave entrance. It opened into the side of the hill, some hundred yards from where he and the others stood. He and the others were watching one of Arona¡¯s skeletons, the one with the long, hook-wed arms, scrabble upward. They stood in a narrow valley between two rows of low hills. The environment wasrgely barren, with only stunted trees here and there, devoid of leaves.

    While they stared, hardly moving, Victor looked at Tyn, who stood on his toes, clearly ready to run for his hiding spot. They¡¯d found him a ce around the hillside near a pile of boulders where he could watch whatever battle unfolded from rtive safety. ¡°Hey, what the hell do you all eat around here? Does anything grow?¡±

    Arona looked at him and shushed, but Tyn whispered, ¡°Gardens, sir! There are folks who can treat the soil with earth magic and¡ª¡±

    ¡°Hush!¡± Arona said, pping a slender, pale hand over Tyn¡¯s dirty, soot-stained face. ¡°Grasper sees something.¡±

    ¡°Grasper?¡± Victor whispered.

    ¡°My minion.¡± Arona gestured toward the bony creature who¡¯d, at that moment, begun crawling into the cave opening.

    Victor frowned, watching the skeleton slink into the darkness. He contemted calling forth his coyotes and sending them up to get a look, but it seemed Arona had much clearermunication with her minions. She imed to see through their eyes. He nced at Arcus, whose fiery bird still circled a thousand feet in the air, and began to wonder if he shouldn¡¯t try to add a new totem to his repertoire. He couldn¡¯t help thinking a flying one would be nice¡ªeither as a scout like Arcus¡¯s bird or a mount like the creature he¡¯d seen Ranish Dar riding.

    His mind wandered down paths of elder magic and hisst experience on the Spirit ne when he¡¯d imed Guapo. Should he tell Dar about those strange, powerful beings who¡¯d visited him? How would they match up to Dar in power? Could his new mentor protect him from those two who¡¯d seemed intent on finding him again once he¡¯d ¡®ripened¡¯? It was hard to say because they¡¯d only given him a glimpse of their power, and he¡¯d changed a lot since then. His musings were interrupted when the ground lurched under his feet, and a great <em>whump</em> of stale air, dust, and debris was thrown from the cave mouth.

    ¡°What the¡ª¡± he started to ask but was cut off as Arona cried out.¡°Ites! Grasper is no more!¡±

    Victor held Lifedrinker in both hands and watched the cave entrance, rapidly building the pattern for Iron Berserk in his pathways. Arcus had a simr idea¡ªVictor could feel the waves of heat radiating from him as he wreathed himself in fire and began to float above the ground. Arona had drawn forth arge, ck, silver-rune-inscribed bone and set it on the ground at her feet. ¡°Buy me a minute or two,¡± she rasped to no one in particr. Victor shrugged, cast Iron Berserk, then bunched his massive legs and leaped up the hill toward the cave opening.

    Lifedrinker had grown significantly as she¡¯d evolved, but she was still more of a hatchet than a battle axe when he gripped her in his titanic fist. He held her outstretched in one hand as he flew through the air and grinned savagely when a target for his wrath emerged from the cave. The lich-wyrm was much as he¡¯d imagined¡ªa great, slithering creature of desated flesh and bone, wreathed in cold, blue mist.

    Victor had battled an ancient wyrm on Zaafor, so he¡¯d been expecting something massive. This creature wasn¡¯t half the size of that great beast. How could it be with such air? The wyrm he¡¯d helped to kill on Zaafor wouldn¡¯t have begun to fit in that cave opening. Still, this monster was probably a hundred feet long, with a body as wide around as a horse¡¯s belly. Its fangs were like sabers, and it moved far more quickly than Victor had expected¡ªit had shot out of the cave and glided down the slope before his leap ended, and he crashed onto the stony ground outside the cave.

    The lich-wyrm was driving toward Arona, likely angered by her minion and tracing it to the source. As a pir of mes erupted from the ground, flipping the monster onto its side and sending it careening down the slope, Victor didn¡¯t hesitate and cast Energy Charge, fueling it with glory-attuned Energy. He streaked over the broken ground, gliding over the stones and broken trees like aet of sparkling golden Energy. As the bony serpent fought to right itself, he crashed into its side with a violent concussion. His impact shattered bones, and misty blue Energy erupted from the point of impact as the lich-wyrm flopped over in a tumble to the base of the hill.

    His spell had protected him, as usual, but it had also stopped his momentum at the point of impact. As the dust and mist cleared, he saw the serpent-shaped skeleton shift, righting itself, as its broken bones rapidly regrew, filling in the damage Victor had done. He was preparing another attack, bunching his legs to leap down the hill, when the sky darkened, and a swirling maelstrom of fire appeared over the valley. Victor paused to watch as a handful of tumbling boulders alight with mes and trailing ck smoke emerged from the cloud, falling like meteors toward the monster.

    Victor knew all too well how much that spell hurt. He nced back at Arona as he waited for the ming boulders to do their damage, unwilling to dive into the fray only to be sted back by the concussion. Arona was standing, arms wide, sheathed in a sciro of blue Energy as her ck bone stretched and multiplied, taking the form of a gargantuan, four-legged skeleton. It reminded Victor of museum exhibitions¡ªdisys of predatory dinosaurs. The thing,posed of ck bones and ws, looked like a cross between a Tyrannosaurus rex and an elephant. It had four legs ending in scythe-like ws, a body fifteen feet high at the shoulders, and a head like an enormous crocodile.

    The ground shook, and a roar like a series of bombs going off brought Victor¡¯s eyes back around to the destruction wrought by Arcus¡¯s spell. The lich-wyrm had been obscured by dust, smoke, and fire. Even so, he saw the blue glow of its Energy and caught glimpses of long, yellowed bones moving about in the destruction¡ªit wasn¡¯t dead. That was all he needed to know; he charged down the hill into the lingering mes and choking smoke, and when he ran up against the thrashing monster, furiously working to repair its shattered bones, he went to work with Lifedrinker.

    As he fought, beams of firenced through the ck smoke, scorching the monster, and then Victor was joined by Arona¡¯s skeletal monstrosity as it trampled down the hill and smashed into the bony wyrm, flipping it over. Victorughed and summoned his magmash, whipping it back and forth, wrapping it around bones, and yanking them out of the monster as the fire burned the creature¡¯s desated scales to ash. Lifedrinker split through bone after bone, and when she met the ancient armored hide of the monster, she tore it like paper.

    Not once did the wyrm manage tond a bite with its great, gnashing maw; Victor was too fast, and the thing simply had too many targets to choose from. One moment, Victor would think he had to dodge as the head snapped backward on its serpentine spine, only to have Arona¡¯s skeletal monster get in the way, shrugging off the attack with its iron-like bones. Many times, the lich-wyrm tried to summon great torrents of death-attuned Energy, only to have Arona siphon it away or Arcus break its concentration with a ball of explosive fire.

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    The melee was furious, but before long, Victor noted that the bones were slower to reknit and that some ribs he hacked out remained separate, inert, and no longer part of the monstrous undead being. He finished things by fighting his way up to the wyrm¡¯s thrashing head and nting Lifedrinker in the center of its skull with a thunderous <em>crack</em>. She screamed her fury and dug deep into the bone, jerking and pulling until he let go and let her do her thing. With a Titanic Leap, heunched himself up the hillside tond with an earthshaking <em>thud</em> beside Arona. As she staggered, heughed and watched the lich-wyrm¡¯s death throes.

    Arcus continued to pepper the monster withncing beams of fire and an asional ball of exploding mes, but it was over already; Victor could tell. Something like a hundred of the monster¡¯s rib bones were broken or missing, and the blue glow of its Energy had faded. It hardly moved as each explosion rocked it, and most damning of all was Lifedrinker¡¯s proud haft sticking up from the skull while rivulets of deep blue Energy coursed through the bone into her brightly gleaming metal.

    ¡°Your axe feeds,¡± Arona noted.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he rumbled, still titan-sized. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she doesn¡¯t take anything from the Energy awarded by the System.¡±

    ¡°I know. My Brutus is simr.¡± She pointed to the tremendous ck-boned monstrosity as it took bite after bite out of the wyrm¡¯s spine.

    ¡°He gets stronger?¡±

    ¡°Yes. He gains power from the foes we defeat together.¡± She pointed to Arcus standing on the hillside opposite them, still firing spells into the dying monster. ¡°Does he think to win a bigger stake in the kill? Can¡¯t he see it¡¯s over?¡±

    Victor shrugged. ¡°I think he just likes blowing shit up.¡±

    She rasped a soft chuckle, nodding. ¡°In truth, I believe any one of us could have killed this monster. Isn¡¯t it odd that the boy said everyone avoids this ¡®spawn¡¯? I know for a fact the council has sent many dozens of tier-seven and higher iron rankers into this prison. Of course, many of the prisoners are lower, and, of course, they¡¯re all sent in with no possessions, but I would think . . .¡± She trailed off, but Victor knew what she was thinking. It was strange that there weren¡¯t high-level groups of inmates regrly killing creatures like this lich.

    ¡°Speaking of prisoners and what you know of the inmates, do you think the council knows about the kids in here? Do they know generations of people have been born in this ce? If they can tell that Rasso Hine is alive, can¡¯t they see these other folks in here somehow?¡±

    Arona frowned, and her raspy voice was almost a whisper when she said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, Victor. None but veil walkers have ever been on the council, and they don¡¯t share the secrets of their power with the rest of us. Or, if they do, they don¡¯t announce their confidants. My master certainly doesn¡¯t tell me things like that. Perhaps Roil has told Arcus more.¡±

    Victor nodded, watching as Arcus engulfed himself in mes and began to float their way. ¡°You still think he¡¯s gonna try to screw me over?¡± She didn¡¯t answer him, and Victor turned away from the dying monster to regard her. Her jaw was clenched, and he could see her dark eyes drifting from one distant object to another, avoiding his gaze. He sighed, understanding what was going through her mind: why would he care what she thought if he didn¡¯t trust her? He turned and looked up the hill to the pile of boulders where Tyn had taken cover. ¡°Come out, Tyn.¡±

    As the kid scrambled from behind the outcropping and began sliding down the slope toward them, Arcusnded nearby. ¡°It dies,¡± he announced, as though they¡¯d all been waiting for his pronouncement.

    Victor chuckled and canceled his Iron Berserk, and, as he resumed his natural size, he started sliding down toward the dying creature, aiming for the head, where Lifedrinker still throbbed, pulling Energy into herself. Before he¡¯d gotten to the floor of the gully, the monster gave up its struggles, and gigantic orbs of rainbow-hued Energy began to bubble up around it, taking shape into three distinct streams. Victor stood still, waiting for his infusion, and when it hit, he was ready.

    The reward was significant, and he knew it moved him well toward the next level, but still, it wasn¡¯t as much as he received from defeating the ambush at the dungeon entrance. By the time he settled back down to the ground and the waves of euphoria began to fade, he¡¯d been joined by Tyn, who hadn¡¯t received anything from the kill. Victor looked up the hillside to see Arona and Arcus sitting on the slope, both looking dazed. ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯re used to infusions that size,¡± he said.

    ¡°That was a lot of Energy, Sir Victor.¡± Tyn bounced over to the inert skull of the monstrous lich-wyrm and tapped on a yard-long fang. ¡°If you reim your axe, could you cut me one of these fangs?¡±

    Victor chuckled and stepped over to the kid. He grasped ahold of the fang and gave it a jerk, cracking it out of the brittle jawbone. ¡°Here you go.¡± Once Tyn took the mighty tooth, a look of wonder in his eyes, Victor reached up and wriggled Lifedrinker back and forth until she slipped free of the skull. ¡°Have a good drink?¡± he asked, slinging her back into her harness. She didn¡¯t answer with words, but he felt a wave of satisfaction from her.

    A weird, grinding tter caught his attention, and he looked toward the sound only to see Arona¡¯s bone monster copsing into hundreds of smaller bones that rolled over the stony ground to collect in a clump. It shivered and vibrated until it had condensed into the singr, ck, rune-covered bone from which she¡¯d summoned the creature. ¡°We should check out the monster¡¯sir, sir!¡± Tyn cried, already struggling to climb up the steep slope. Victor nodded and stooped to pick up Arona¡¯s bone.

    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± she cried, halfway down the hillside on her way, no doubt, to collect the bone herself. Victor held it up to show he meant no harm, striding toward her. It was dense and heavy like lead, and the cold that radiated from it was almost ufortable, but it didn¡¯t bother his Quinametzin flesh much. She snatched it quickly when he held it out to her, and then it disappeared into one of her containers.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it conscious?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± she hissed, clearly flustered that he¡¯d had her treasured item in his grasp. Victor shrugged and started climbing toward the cave. He¡¯d asked because he still thought of dimensional containers as unsafe for conscious beings, but he wasn¡¯t surprised that Arona could afford a higher quality one that allowed for it. When he reached the opening, he found it brightly illuminated by fiery orbs and saw Arcus digging through the bones and debris strewn about.

    Tyn was climbing ever deeper, scrabbling over rocks and kicking piles of small bones, and Victor decided to let him and Arcus dig around. He didn¡¯t necessarily trust any of these people, but he had a feeling the kid would cry out if they found anything. He stood in the opening and turned, folding his arms over his chest, surveying the strange, darkndscape of the pocket world. From the cave mouth, he could see quite a ways, and judging by the moon, he was facing ¡°north.¡±

    Beyond the hills and the ruins where he¡¯de into the dungeon, it looked like some dark, massive mountains climbed toward the sky in the extreme distance. He was surprised to see a faint yellow glow in the side of one of those distant peaks, and, squinting against the gloom, he was reasonably sure they were either hundreds of little fires or, perhaps, the lights of a town. ¡°Rumble Town, maybe,¡± he mused.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re right,¡± Arona rasped, startling him. Somehow, she¡¯d approached and stood at the cave entrance with him.

    Victor exhaled in irritation, reaching behind himself to press his hands into his lower back as he stretched. ¡°Why do I feel like we¡¯re wasting our time going to this ¡®Enve¡¯? Something in my gut¡¯s telling me that Rasso Hine is up there, on that mountain.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can learn.¡± Arona reached into her dark robes and pulled out a clear, pale-blue crystal. With a surge of cold Energy, she threw it out of the cave mouth into the air, and it burst into a misty cloud. With a despondent wail, the cloud coalesced into an ethereal, ghost-like thing that rapidly surged through the air to the north, fading from sight in seconds.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Victor grunted. ¡°Didn¡¯t know you could do that.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s much you don¡¯t know, berserker.¡± The words were a dig¡ªa bit of ribbing, maybe¡ªbut her soft, raspy voice and the finality of her tone made them sound more like a confession. Victor looked at her, the moonlight making her pale face even more so than usual, but her dark eyes were focused on the ck night sky, and she didn¡¯t engage his gaze. Before he could question her further, Tyn whooped from deeper in the cave.

    ¡°A chest!¡± his youthful voice cried. Victor couldn¡¯t help grinning, wishing he could share his predictione-true with a friend. He turned to look and saw a re of fiery magic as Arcus summoned a disk of floating, ming Energy.

    ¡°He¡¯ll bring it forth,¡± Arona said. ¡°I¡¯ve delved into many a dungeon with that man-child. That disc is something he uses to carry burdens.¡± Victor nodded, suddenly feeling like he was missing out when it came to utility spells. He wondered if he could convince his bear to drag a chest out of a cave for him. A few minutester, sure enough, Arcus and Tyn came marching out of the cave with arge, iron-bound chest atop Arcus¡¯s magical, floating table of fiery Energy.

    When Victor stepped close, holding out a hand, curious as to why it wasn¡¯t burning the chest, he found the mes to be only warm, not even hot enough to burn paper. Arcus waved his red rod, and the disc lowered to the stone floor and sputtered out, leaving its burden behind. It was bigrge enough to hold Tyn if he wanted to curl up inside. Victor reached for the sp but paused, looking at the others. ¡°Can I open it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s safe,¡± Arcus said. ¡°I disrupted the trap runes.¡± His words, once again, reminded Victor of his ignorance, but he shrugged and opened the heavy lid, exposing a pile of glittering treasures, one of which was a brightly glowing, rainbow-hued orb just like the one Arona had gotten from the death wind. He heard Arcus¡¯s intake of breath and Arona¡¯s shifting feet, so Victor stepped back, afraid spells were about to start flying.

    ¡°Rx, you two,¡± he growled. ¡°Let¡¯s take stock of all the treasure before we worry about who gets that orb."

 Book 8: Chapter 31: Friends or Foes

    Book 8: Chapter 31: Friends or Foes

    Arcus locked eyes with Victor and nodded. ¡°Agreed. Let us evaluate the rest of this treasure before settling the matter of the orb.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Arona took a step back and gestured at the big, iron-bound chest. ¡°This orb is part of a treasure, likely generated by the System. If touched, it may be absorbed, so let¡¯s use caution.¡±

    Victor nodded, but part of him was thinking he should just grab the orb. If Arcus wanted to fight about it, maybe it was better to get it over with. It would be an easy way to push things to a head. Of course, it would make him the aggressor, and he¡¯d lose any moral high ground he might currently enjoy. As it was, all he had were rumors of Arcus¡¯s impending betrayal. So far, the man had been asionally acerbic, and his personality wasn¡¯t exactly Victor¡¯s cup of tea, but he hadn¡¯t done anything to warrant outright hostility.

    ¡°Victor,¡± Arcus said, startling him out of his musings of betrayal. ¡°Do you object to me taking out the other items in the chest? I won¡¯t touch the orb.¡±

    Victor shrugged and nced at Arona. Her dark eyes were focused on the chest, and her face was impassive. ¡°Why are you asking me?¡±

    Arcus smiled and tapped the heavy wood of the chest with his dark metal rod. ¡°I¡¯ve adventured with Arona. She knows I won¡¯t attempt any subterfuge.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± Arona rasped. ¡°Arcus may have character ws, but he¡¯s no thief.¡±

    Victor grunted in assent; he figured it was easy for a guy whose family was considered wealthy in a city full of rich demigods to resist the temptation of thievery. The Pyromancer leaned over the chest and lifted out a glittering, jewel-studded golden crown. It was a massive, gaudy thing, and Victor found himself hoping it wasn¡¯t anything great because he couldn¡¯t see himself wearing it. ¡°Mundane treasure,¡± Arcus announced. ¡°I¡¯d estimate its value at two hundred thousand standard beads.¡± He set it on the ground before the chest.

    Arcus reached back into the chest and took out a broadsword. It was about a yard long with a wide, double-edged de of shimmering, opalescent gray-ck metal. It would be a short sword to Victor, and he doubted his hand would befortable on the human-sized, narrow hilt. Still, the metal looked amazing, and he could sense the quality of the weapon without even touching it. Arcus cleared his throat, narrowing his eyes. ¡°A Rhovarian broadsword crafted from sableglow steel.¡±¡°Does it live?¡± Arona asked, leaning close.

    ¡°There is no conscious spirit within this de.¡± Arcus hefted it, a thoughtful expression behind his eyes, then added, ¡°It¡¯s well made, but I¡¯d say the materials are worth more than the sword itself. I¡¯d wager it would garner more than a million standard beads at auction.¡± He set the sword down beside the crown.

    Victor heard a grunt of consternation and turned to see Tyn leaning forward, hesitantly lifting a hand. ¡°What is it, Tyn?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s an auction?¡±

    Arona answered before Victor could think of an easy exnation, ¡°A way forrge numbers of people to express interest in an item. They make offers, and the one who ¡®bids¡¯ the most wins the item.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Tyn nodded eagerly.

    Arcus chuckled, then took another item from the chest. It was a dark blue crystal ring. ¡°A ring of Crystal Protection¡ªtwo charges.¡± He set the ring beside the crown, and when he looked up, he must have seen Victor¡¯s expression because he added, ¡°It will create a shell around the wearer made of dense crystal. The shellsts a few seconds and absorbs significant damage.¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Arcus reached back into the chest and withdrew a ck, leather-bound tome. It wasn¡¯t veryrge¡ªabout five by seven inches and, Victor figured, probably contained around fifty pages. Arcus frowned, opening the top cover and peering at the first page. He leafed through the following few pages and then shrugged. ¡°It doesn¡¯t offer any information when I attempt a bond, and I don¡¯t recognize these runes.¡± To Victor¡¯s slight vexation, he passed it to Arona. ¡°Any idea?¡±

    She, too, flipped through the pages and shrugged. ¡°My master has some tomes and scrolls with runes of this style on the binding. He¡¯s never taught me from any of them, and I certainly don¡¯t know what they mean. It may be precious, or it may be junk.¡±

    ¡°Can I see it?¡± Victor held out his hand, and Arona passed the book to him with a raised eyebrow. Victor knew what they were thinking; it wasn¡¯t a secret that he was a berserking brute inbat. He didn¡¯t often do things that exhibited much finesse, and it was probably bingmon knowledge that he was rtively uneducatedpared to the other ¡°prodigies¡± around Sojourn. With that in mind, he fought to keep a straight face when he thumbed through the pages and immediately recognized the runes and patterns as elder magic.

    The book contained a spell or, at least, some of the building blocks of a spell written in elder magic. Why would the System award it? Was it because the dungeon was tier-nine? Was it meant to help people prepare for their test of steel? It wasn¡¯t the first time Victor had postted that the ¡°test of steel¡± and ¡°lustrous veil¡± had something to do with learning to use Energy without the System¡¯s training wheels. He shrugged and set the book down next to the crown. ¡°Anything else?¡±

    Arcus reached into the chest, and Victor could hear the <em>clink</em> of metals rubbing against each other as he ran his hand around the bottom. ¡°Nothing but gems, precious metal coins, and some attuned Energy beads. I¡¯d estimate another million in total value.¡±

    Victor sighed and stretched his neck, wringing forth some pops, trying to look impatient as he said, ¡°Well, listen, nothing here looks all that great, and, as you said, a full level from an Energy orb is worth an awful lot for people at our level.¡± Inwardly, heughed as he said, ¡°our level.¡± If Arona and Arcus knew he was twenty or thirty levels beneath them, he could only imagine the apoplectic reaction his performance in the challenge dungeon would have elicited.

    ¡°I . . .¡± Arona paused and looked at Victor, then shrugged. ¡°I think it¡¯s more valuable to Arcus and me. I don¡¯t know your level, Victor, but my master indicated that you had a ways to go to reach tier nine.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I must concur with Arona, Victor. You¡¯re aware of the exponential increase in the Energy requirement for levels, yes? As I''m sure you know, the curve bes very steep around tier seven. Do you know, though, that going from level ny to ny-one is nearly thirty times that of seventy to seventy-one?¡±

    Victor, in fact, did <em>not</em> know that, but it made a lot of sense; he¡¯d gained his first few levels almost effortlessly and had gone through entire tiers in a matter of weeks. Things were definitely slower in the sixties, and hearing Arcus, it sounded like it would only get a lot worse. It also exined why Arona and Arcus had been so excited about an Energy orb they didn¡¯t have to use immediately. What if she could save that orb until she hit level ny-nine? It might save her years of work. Still, he didn¡¯t want them to know how little he knew. He nodded and shrugged. ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s still worth a lot to me.¡±

    Arcus¡¯s mouth fell open, and he looked a little flustered, like he was trying to exin to a child why he didn¡¯t need a grownup¡¯s dress shoes. Arona stepped in with, ¡°What if we give you your pick of two of the other items?¡±

    ¡°And the loose coins and treasure,¡± Arcus added.

    Victor rubbed his chin, trying to make it look like a hard sell. In truth, he wanted that book. ¡°If I take all that, it doesn¡¯t leave much for you or Arona if you don¡¯t get that Energy orb.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Arcus shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ll settle the matter by chance, and the loser will have to ept the smaller award. If you recuse yourself from the im on the orb, it increases our chances significantly.¡±

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Victor looked at Arona. ¡°You¡¯re okay with that?¡±

    ¡°Yes. We¡¯ve settled disputes like this before.¡±

    Victor nodded, then reached down and picked up the sword. He didn¡¯t n to start training with swords, but he liked the idea of having a piece of metal worth a million beads. He tucked it away in a storage ring and then picked up the book, quickly storing it as well.

    ¡°Interesting,¡± Arona said, her rough voice only a hoarse whisper.

    Arcus nodded. ¡°Indeed.¡±

    Victor shrugged. ¡°What? It might be valuable, and I¡¯m not interested in that crown or ring.¡±

    ¡°No matter.¡± Arcus pointed to the chest. ¡°Victor, will you kindly pick a coin and show both sides to us?¡± Victor did as he asked and picked up arge golden coin. One side disyed a tower, and the other a blooming flower. ¡°Now, Arona will call tower or flower when you flip it.¡±

    Arona grinned. ¡°I get to call?¡±

    Arcus just clenched his jaw and focused on Victor¡¯s hand. ¡°Do it.¡±

    Victor shrugged and flipped the coin. As it spun in the air, Arona said, ¡°Flower.¡± Victor caught the coin and pped it down on the palm of his gauntlet. Sure enough, the flower was showing.

    ¡°Gods <em>damn</em> it!¡± Arcus growled, stomping away from them, out of the cave, and onto the slope where he sat on a t rock in a huff.

    Arona sighed but didn¡¯t offer to give up the prize. She reached into the chest, and as soon as her finger touched the orb, she exploded with multi-colored light, zing like an incandescent bulb. She groaned and fell to her knees, slowly rocking back and forth as she processed the enormous Energy infusion. Victor shrugged and touched the chest, sending it and all the coins and gems into his storage container. ¡°Watch her,¡± he said to Tyn, then he picked up the crown and crystal ring and walked over to Arcus.

    He held them out. ¡°Here you go.¡±

    The man sighed bitterly and quickly touched each item, sending them into a storage device. ¡°She¡¯s a greedy bitch.¡±

    Victor sat down on a nearby rock. ¡°Eh, can you me her? She¡¯s tier-nine, so those two orbs she got were worth a shit load.¡±

    ¡°Of course! I <em>know</em> that! I would have done the same, but it doesn¡¯t lessen the sting.¡±

    Victor could hear the pain in the words, and he almost felt a little sorry for the man. Arcus seemed young, but Victor knew a person¡¯s looks were deceptive after they¡¯d gained twenty or thirty levels. ¡°Things haven¡¯t exactly gone your waytely, huh?¡±

    Arcus snorted. ¡°As you well know. I don¡¯t deal with failure well, Victor. You might be amused to know I contemted vengeance against you after that challenge dungeon.¡± When Victor raised an eyebrow, he waved a hand dismissively. ¡°I soon gave up the notion. I wish I could say I¡¯d found some honor to stiffen my backbone, but it was Roil who spoke sense to me. He made me watch recording crystals of your battles with the other entrants and reminded me that my first strike against you was better than any attack I¡¯d get off in a formal duel, considering I caught you by surprise. No, I¡¯m afraid I had to eat my pride and ept that my loss wasn¡¯t due to anyone¡¯s failing but my own.¡±

    Victor grunted, thinking. How was he supposed to respond to that? The Pyromancer had just admitted to everything he¡¯d suspected. Should he just ept that he¡¯d buried the hatchet? He didn¡¯t like that idea. No, he knew that Roil hated Dar and that Arcus found lies easy on his tongue. Victor let some rage seep into his pathways, and when he spoke, he allowed some palpable menace to tinge his voice. ¡°I appreciate your words, Arcus, but if you think I¡¯m going to be put at ease by some titudes, think again. I¡¯m d you watched my performance in the challenge dungeon, but know this: however harsh I seemed when I fought in there, I was holding back.¡±

    The sound of stones ttering as they slid down the hillside saved Arcus from having to reply. Both men looked up to see Arona and Tyn approaching. Arona may have been trying to avoid gloating, but her lips were curved upward, her face was full of vibrancy, and her step was vigorous. ¡°I guess that was a lot of Energy, huh?¡±

    ¡°If I could quantify it . . .¡± Arona trailed off, staring into the dark sky. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think I can. Yes, ¡®a lot¡¯ will suffice.¡± She gestured to the north. ¡°I have news. My ghostly scout has caught whispers of Rasso Hine. I believe he is, indeed, in that town we glimpsed to the north.¡±

    ¡°Rumble Town?¡± Tyn asked, his voice rising with dismay. ¡°But we¡¯re close to the Enve, and I¡ª¡±

    ¡°Listen, Tyn,¡± Victor said, reaching to sp the boy¡¯s slender shoulder. ¡°I want you to get home. We¡¯re going to handle our business here, but I promise you, I will make sure that something¡¯s changed about this ce. There¡¯s no reason for families to be trapped in here.¡± When Tyn just stared at him with wide eyes, Victor nced at Arona and Arcus, wondering if they¡¯d add anything. They stared back at him, and Victor felt a growl in his chest as he said, ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t know how, but those old bastards are going to change things. If they¡¯re so goddamn powerful, they ought to be able to think of something better than this.¡±

    ¡°I agree,¡± Arcus said, standing. ¡°I¡¯ll certainly support your report, Victor.¡±

    Victor caught Arona¡¯s narrowed eyes and the slight shake of her head as the other man spoke. Still, she cleared her throat, reached out to grasp Tyn¡¯s slight hand, and hoarsely whispered, ¡°There¡¯s a woman on the council, a good, kind, powerful woman who doesn¡¯t abide the suffering of children. We¡¯ll speak to her.¡±

    Arcus snorted, ¡°Rexa won¡¯t speak to the likes of you.¡±

    Arona¡¯s reply was more a hiss than a whisper, ¡°She¡¯ll speak to Victor.¡± A chill ran down Victor¡¯s spine as she said his name, and he felt the power behind her voice. She leaned close to Tyn¡¯s face. ¡°Get home, boy. Stay safe. Tell your father that things will be changing for the better and to avoid trouble.¡±

    Tyn took a step back and looked up at Victor, who grinned, nodded, and held out his massive fist. ¡°Punch it.¡± Tyn smiled, exposing teeth with many prominent gaps as he punched his small knuckles into Victor¡¯s. ¡°Right. Let¡¯s go.¡± Victor turned and started up the hill, setting a brutal pace for the shorter legs of hispanions. When he reached the top, he looked down the slope to see Tyn¡¯s small, wiry frame jogging up the gully, back the way they¡¯de.

    Arcus and Arona stopped to look back with him, and Arcus cleared his throat. ¡°I hope you¡¯re right about Rexa. Sometimes, she acts like mortal concerns are beneath her.¡±

    ¡°She won¡¯t abide this situation.¡±

    Victor turned and started hiking again. ¡°She can influence the others?¡±

    Arcus nodded. ¡°Oh yes. Especially considering many others are always on her side of things¡ªYour master, Lord Yon, Kreshta Griss, and Lord Venryn. Never mind the hundreds of veil walkers not currently serving as consuls who consider her a friend.¡±

    ¡°But not my master or the other undead.¡± Arona practically sighed as she spoke, and Victor could hear the disappointed longing in her words.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a Summer Fae. Well, not full-blooded, but very close. She¡¯s been to the Faewild and served on the Summer Court.¡± Arona shrugged. ¡°The Summer Fae see undead and Death Casters in general as antithetical to all they hold dear.¡±

    Victor looked at Arona as she spoke; the sadness in her voice was impossible to miss, but it was hard to see any emotion in her dark eyes. He didn¡¯t want to get personal with her, not really, especially with Arcus part of the conversation, but he couldn¡¯t stop himself from asking, ¡°Are you? Undead, I mean? I knew you were a Death Caster, but . . .¡± He trailed off, allowing her to assume his intention.

    ¡°I¡¯m . . . in between. It¡¯s hard to exin, Victor. Suffice it to say that in her eyes, I am. Given time, I will be, so why argue the fine point?¡±

    ¡°Oh, poor Arona,¡± Arcus scoffed. ¡°Here we go again. Victor, you¡¯ve no idea how many times I¡¯ve listened to her get drunk around a campfire andment her fate.¡± He shoved Arona¡¯s shoulder and continued, ¡°Weren¡¯t you and Valeska scheming to escape Sojourn and your mastersst Frost¡¯s Day? Didn¡¯t you betray her in the Vault of Valor?¡±

    ¡°Valeska¡ª¡± Victor started, about to say he remembered that name, but Arona cut him off.

    ¡°Eat corpse bowels, Arcus!¡± She quickened her pace, and Victor sighed, looking down at the Elementalist.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t too cool, dude.¡±

    ¡°What? To speak the truth? She¡¯s fickle, that one. She makes promises to that boy, but if killing the children in this ce would somehow advance her or her master¡¯s power, she¡¯d do it.¡± Arcus shook his head, gathered some phlegm, and spat. ¡°I¡¯ll take the lead. We should avoid more monster spawns so we can be done with this damned ce. Follow me or my bird if you can¡¯t see me.¡± He gestured to the fiery, circling bird of prey high in the sky. Before Victor could agree, Arcus burst into mes and began to jog, quickly outpacing Arona. When he reached a steep grade in the hill, he leaped off and glided to the next slope.

    When Victor caught up to Arona, she pointed to Arcus¡¯s fiery form, already climbing the next hill. ¡°He often does that in a dungeon, especially wide-open ones like this.¡±

    ¡°It must be hard growing up in a clique like that. I was going to say I remember Valeska; she was that tall, strong woman with the two hatchets, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Thorn and Bloom are her axes. She hasn¡¯t spoken to me since the contest, but I heard from a mutual friend that she nearly went wild with despair when she thought she¡¯d lost Thorn; the axe was stuck in your back when the System rescued her. Then you stabbed it into Brontes, and when the System rescued him, the axe came along. She was overjoyed. I¡¯m surprised she wasn¡¯t at your party.¡±

    ¡°Well . . .¡± Victor trailed off. He could think of a few reasons the woman might not want toe, starting with the fact that she¡¯d broken dozens of bones during their fight. He shrugged, though, and tried to keep things positive. ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll be able to spar or something. I¡¯m d she got her axe back, too. I wasn¡¯t exactly thinking clearly during that fight.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Arona chuckled. ¡°My master made me watch the battle, much as Arcus¡¯s did. I¡¯d say you were anything but analytical during that fight, though your battle instincts are incredible.¡±

    Victor ignored the veiledpliment. ¡°So, you don¡¯t like your master much, huh?¡±

    ¡°Well, I told you not to trust him for a reason.¡±

    Victor frowned, thinking, and then remembered what Dar¡¯s friend, Lo¡¯ro, had told him¡ªhow he meant to steal Arona away from Vesavo Bonewhisper. ¡°How do you feel about Lo¡¯ro?¡±

    ¡°Lo¡¯ro the Grim?¡± Arona shuddered. ¡°He¡¯s a different sort of horrible.¡±

    ¡°Damn.¡±

    ¡°Why do you ask?¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t want to make enemies by running his mouth about things that might have been said in confidence, so he tried to skirt around the subject. ¡°He¡¯s a friend of Ranish Dar¡¯s, I guess.¡± Before she could follow up for more detail, he changed the subject: ¡°You think your friends are really pissed? Don¡¯t you think they understand what you were trying to do?¡±

    ¡°Brontes doesn¡¯t hold a grudge, but Valeska and ndor refuse to speak to me. It¡¯s of little importance. My loyalty is to my master, and I did what he expected me to do.¡± She didn¡¯t say more, and Victor didn¡¯t want to press. She sounded depressed, and he knew it was a lot deeper than her recent betrayal in the challenge dungeon. She spoke scornfully of Death Casters and the undead. She spoke longingly of people like Rexa, the Summer Fae. She was trapped by the Energy in her Core, and Victor wished he could help her.

    Of course, he had some ideas. Tha had gained a death-attuned Core in the dungeon attached to Greatbone Mine, and he¡¯d helped her to alter it, giving her a courage affinity. Hadn¡¯t he done something simr for Lam? Could he help Arona escape the influence of her Core¡¯s attunement? Could he do something like that without bing public enemy number one to all the Death Casters in Sojourn? Should he? For all he knew, she was just manipting him. Victor was aware of his blind spot when it came to pretty women in need.

    He snorted, drawing a nce from her, but shook his head and looked away. The truth was that it wasn¡¯t just women. Didn¡¯t he want to help Tyn, too? He liked to think he enjoyed helping people in need¡ªunderdogs, forck of a better term. He nodded, liking the sound of that. It fit; wasn¡¯t he nning to return to Zaafor to help the Degh? Talk about underdogs! He just had to decide: was Arona an underdog in need of help, trapped by her affinity and master, or was she just manipting him? If so, why?

    He nced from Arona¡¯s dark-shrouded form to Arcus¡¯s distant, fiery one on the next hilltop. They were both dangerous. They both wanted something, but Victor wasn¡¯t sure what or how far they¡¯d each go to attain it. He knew he could take Arcus in a fight, but what about Arona? What if she was just trying to lull him intocency? What if she and Arcus were aligned against him? He hated the paranoia twisting his thoughts but couldn¡¯t help it. There were too many factions and too many different motivations to consider. He wished he had an ally he could trust in that ce, but without one, he simply determined to do what Arcus suggested: finish and get the hell out.

 Book 8: Chapter 32: Chaos and Lightning

    Book 8: Chapter 32: Chaos and Lightning

    ¡°Well?¡± Lam asked, wiping the toad blood from her cobalt-blue hammer head with a well-soiled rag. They¡¯d all just recovered from their Energy infusions after the ¡°boss¡± toad battle, and she wanted to know if Darren had hit level ten. He grinned at her, then at Edeya, who sat, eyes zed, staring at System messages of her own. He¡¯d hoped to have both of their attention, but Lam wasn¡¯t going to wait. She stepped closer to him and prodded his shoulder with her boot, almost knocking him off the t rock.

    ¡°Okay, okay!¡± Heughed and held up his fist triumphantly. ¡°Level ten! And, ording to the messages in front of my eyes, I¡¯m ready to choose my ss.¡±

    ¡°Excellent! That was faster than I feared! Spend your points before you look at your ss options. I don¡¯t know if it makes a difference, but I¡¯m superstitious.¡±

    Again, Darren nced at Edeya, but she was still distracted, so he nodded to Lam and put histest five points into vitality. That done, he studied his new attributes:

    <strong>Name:</strong>

    <strong>Darren Whitehorse</strong>

    <strong>Race:</strong>

    <strong>Human - Base 1</strong>

    <strong>ss:</strong> <strong>-</strong>

    <strong>Level:</strong>

    <strong>10</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Wildarc ss - Base 1</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Lightning 8, Chaos 7.4, Unattuned 6.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>140/140</strong>

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>6</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>32</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>5</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>5</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>9</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>28</strong>

    ¡°Not too bad.¡± He nodded to himself.

    ¡°Getting some big numbers, Dare?¡± Edeya asked, finally done staring off into space. ¡°Sorry,¡± she added, throwing him a wink with one of her big, blue eyes, ¡°I made level twelve.¡±

    ¡°Ugh!¡± Lamughed. ¡°Slow down! I¡¯m still only eleven.¡±

    ¡°Why did I gain four levels in the time you gained two, Edeya?¡± Darren knew more Energy was required as levels increased, but he thought the two women would simply receive arger share of the rewards.

    Before Edeya could answer, Lam spoke, ¡°A few factors. For one, affinity affects how much Energy impacts you as the System awards it. Also, contributions during a battle can change your share. The main thing, though, is that levels get slower and slower the higher you climb. We¡¯ll all get to tier three pretty fast, but then the requirements start to really get steep.¡± She nudged him with her boot again. ¡°Well? Tell us about your options!¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we get out of here first?¡± Edeya asked, fruitlessly trying to wipe some greenish-brown sludge off her hands.

    ¡°Darren?¡± Lam asked, hoisting her shield and raising an eyebrow. ¡°Can you wait until we¡¯re out, so Miss Edeya doesn¡¯t have to suffer this muck any longer?¡±

    Darren nodded and stood. ¡°Let¡¯s get out. I¡¯d prefer some fresh air to think.¡± He hopped up and, feeling fresh and invigorated after their Energy infusion, followed Lam back through the winding corridors, sunken, wet passages, and rooms filled with dead frogmen. Edeya and Lam chatted away; things were certainly different with Lam along for the dungeon crawl.

    The two Ghelli had a hundred topics to talk about, and though Darren wasn¡¯t usually involved in any of them, the two women made a point to include him¡ªmost of the time. At that moment, the women were talking about someone named Sergeant Fath,ughing about how he used to carry his shield atop his head while marching. Of course, Darren could infer why it came up; Lam was constantly stowing and pulling her shield from her storage ring.

    ¡°Lam,¡± he asked as they approached the dungeon¡¯s exit. ¡°Why didn¡¯t your friend, Sergeant Fath, use a storage device?¡±

    Edeyaughed and answered for the older Ghelli, ¡°Because Fath was an indentured soldier for the Greatbone Mine. He wasn¡¯t much higher on the pecking order than me and Victor.¡±

    Lam shrugged her agreement, and then they all stepped through the portal, emerging in the quiet, damp cave where Sojourn City caretakers stood nearby, monitoring the portal entrance. ¡°Out early?¡± asked a thin woman with palevender skin, massive ck eyes, and half a dozen finger-length tentacles constantly wriggling under herrge proboscis. ¡°Is anyone hurt?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re fine,¡± Edeya announced. ¡°Thank you. We¡¯re done with our slot.¡±

    ¡°Much appreciated.¡± The woman bowed, pressing her slender, four-fingered hands together at chest level.

    Lam sketched a quick bow, then led the way out of the cave. ¡°Let¡¯s get a carriage back to theke house, and you can go over your sses with us while we travel.¡±

    Darren nodded, and they hurried their way back to the small outdoor market at the entrance to the park. They¡¯d found that most of the coaches, or ¡°carriages¡± as some people called them, were much slower than the ones powerful individuals like Dar owned. When they¡¯d hired one to pick them up at theke house and deliver them to the grotto, the flight had taken over an hour. While they might be slower, there were plenty to choose from, and it wasn¡¯t long before they¡¯d gged down a strange, copper, bird-shaped coach with an open-air seating arrangement on its back.

    At first, Lam had wanted to wait for a different vehicle, afraid the wind would be too distracting for Darren to concentrate on his ss offerings, but the coachman, a small, beetle-like fellow with a bright yellow shell, had insisted that his coach was enchanted to shield the passengers from the elements. So, in short order, they were soaring into the wind,fortable on a wide, cushioned bench, with Darren somehow in the middle. The bird''s metallic wings nked and squeaked with each Energy-fueled p, but the ride was smooth as could be.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°All right, Dare.¡± Edeya scooted closer to him on the bench. ¡°Let¡¯s hear ¡®em!¡±

    ¡°Okay, um, give me a minute. I have to find the right screen . . .¡± Darren opened his status sheet and, just as the System had told him he would, he saw a blinking round button that said, ¡°Level Ten ss Selection.¡± He ¡°touched¡± the button by gesturing toward it with his finger, and then a list appeared, filling the strange, transparent, gray System screen with white text:

    <strong>ss selection option 1: Elemental Attendant - Basic. Control and wield Energypatible with your elemental affinity. Your primary focus is on harnessing elemental energy to perform attacks and defenses. ss attributes: Will, Intelligence, and Vitality.</strong><strong></strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>ss selection option 2: Arcane Battler - Basic. Use arcane and physical abilities inbat to gain an edge over your opponents. Master the bnce between magic and martial prowess to be a versatilebatant. ss attributes: Strength, Will, and Vitality.</strong><strong></strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>ss selection option 3: Chaos Sorcerer - Advanced. Prerequisites: Chaos affinity. Any Elemental affinity. Embrace the chaotic energies of the universe to perform powerful and unpredictable spells. Your ability to manipte chaosbined with your elemental mastery allows you to bend reality to your will and create mayhem on the battlefield. ss attributes: Intelligence, Dexterity, Will, and Vitality.</strong><strong></strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>ss selection option 4: Arc Reaver - Advanced. Prerequisites: Lightning affinity. Channel your mastery of lightning into both magical and physical attacks. You be a fearsome warrior who can strike with the speed and ferocity of an electrical storm,bining martial prowess with lightning Energy. ss attributes: Will, Vitality, Strength, and Agility.</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    Darren smiled and blew out a slow whistle. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t get any epic options, but I got some really neat-sounding ones.¡± He only mentioned ¡°epic¡± options because of Edeya¡¯s ss. ¡°I mean, honestly, all four of my options seem really good, even the basic ones.¡±

    Edeya groaned and punched him in the shoulder, bringing a giggle burbling out of Lam. ¡°So? <em>Tell</em> us!¡±

    Darren chuckled and nodded, then spent about five minutes describing his options to his twopanions. Lam rubbed her chin and then, demonstrating her wisdom, asked, ¡°Do you have any questions about those or the idea of sses, in general?¡±

    Darren nodded, his question already primed before she¡¯d asked. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d like to know, if the System is going to offer me an advanced ss, why does it keep the basic ones in there? Who would choose basic over advanced?¡±

    ¡°There are several reasons. My first time around, I skipped over an advanced ss twice to keep my basic one. I did it for two reasons: I liked my basic ss¡¯s focus, and I knew I¡¯d level faster. Each tier adds to the Energy requirement of your levels. That¡¯s another reason I only gained two levels in the dungeon today while you gained four¡ªI have an advanced ss, and the Energy the System requires to give me a level is higher than your ¡®base¡¯ levels. When I was young and first gaining levels, I was concerned with gaining power quickly. That¡¯s not quite so important to me now.¡± Darren didn¡¯t miss the sly smile Lam shared with Edeya.

    ¡°So, if I want fast levels, I should take one of the basic sses?¡±

    ¡°Come on, Dare! You want Lesh to whip your hide?¡± Edeya gave his shoulder another yful punch, and he nodded.

    ¡°Yeah. You¡¯re right. It wouldn¡¯t be fitting for a member of his household to take an easy solution.¡± He thought for a minute, then asked, ¡°Why does it list attributes at the end? Won¡¯t I get to assign them where I want?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± Edeya shook her head. ¡°Not with those sses. Sometimes the System offers sses with ¡®unbound¡¯ attribute points, but you didn¡¯t get one.¡±

    ¡°Looks like the, um, Arc Reaver ss will give me more physical attributes.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it sounds like a melee fighter ss. Does it interest you?¡± Lam shifted to look at him more squarely, and Darren felt a little flustered under the scrutiny of those beautiful emerald eyes. Both she and Edeya had such big, clear eyes that it was difficult for him to focus on anything else when he looked into them.

    ¡°Ye-yeah.¡± He nodded eagerly, shifting his gaze to nce over the side of the mechanical bird¡¯s passengerpartment. He almost swooned from vertigo when the thing banked, and he got a good look at the tiny trees below them. He looked back to Lam, cleared his throat, and said, ¡°I thought it sounded tough, like something Victor would approve of.¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to impress Victor or trying to pick what¡¯s right for you, Dare?¡± Edeya asked, nudging him with her elbow until he looked her way.

    ¡°Well, I want what¡¯s best for me, of course. And, well, the <em>other</em> advanced ss mentions both of my affinities. Do you think it¡¯s a better fit?¡±

    ¡°I think¡ª¡± Edeya started to say, but Lam reached across Darren to p her knee.

    ¡°Darren, why don¡¯t you tell us what <em>you</em> think.¡±

    Darren looked from one woman to the other and gathered his thoughts. Slowly at first, then with more confidence, he began to vocalize thoughts that had only been half-formed up to that point: ¡°Edeya is fast and deadly with her spear. You, Lam, are strong and durable and also fight in melee range. I know the two of you will have spells that do a lot of damage when we gain more levels, but I think our team would benefit more from me learning to use magic as much as possible. I think the Arc Reaver ss would suit me well, but the Chaos Sorcerer ss is even more ideal, especially as it focuses on magic-using attributes. If I¡¯m understanding things correctly, intelligence, will, and dexterity are all needed for advanced magic abilities, right?¡±

    Lam nodded. ¡°That¡¯s urate. Of course, it¡¯s nice to have some improved physical attributes, even if you are a spell caster, but you¡¯ll be gaining vitality, too. As for strength and agility, those maye with future ss evolutions, or you can always shore them up with enchantments.¡±

    ¡°I just hope that chaos affinity isn¡¯t too . . . chaotic,¡± Edeyaughed.

    Darren nodded. He¡¯d yet to use the new spell Lam had acquired for him. Lesh had promised to let him test it with him in a ¡°safe¡± manner, but the opportunity hadn¡¯t presented itself so far. ¡°I wonder . . . lightning is my strongest affinity. Maybe I should just focus on it. I mean, what if chaos spells are too unpredictable or something?¡±

    ¡°Is that why his lightning is red?¡± Edeya asked, ever quick to leap down tangents. ¡°Does the chaos in his Core change it? I¡¯ve only seen Elementalists casting lightning spells that looked, well, natural.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen red lightning,¡± Lam said, and her voice grew hushed as her gaze went distant. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t remember, Edeya, because it was the night Catalina betrayed us. Hector . . .¡± She trailed off.

    ¡°Tell us!¡± Darren urged, eager to hear anything that might reveal more about his seemingly umon mix of affinities.

    Lam sighed heavily and shrugged. ¡°When Hector flew down from the mountain on his undead dragon, he threw bolts of red lightning. We know he was a Death Caster, but he could have had other affinities. In any case, he was powerful. Victor fought him more closely. Maybe he could tell you something.¡±

    ¡°Right, well, who knows when he¡¯sing out of that prison dungeon? I¡¯ll talk to Lesh about the ss choices, but I¡¯m pretty settled on the Chaos Sorcerer.¡± Darren leaned back and tried to enjoy the view. His twopanions grew quiet, the mood soured by Lam¡¯s reminiscence of Hector, Catalina, and their army¡¯s near-pyrrhic victory over the ambushing undead. The flying mechanical bird proved faster than their earlier carriage, and they arrived back at theke house much more quickly than Darren had anticipated.

    Lam paid the coachman, and then they went their separate ways¡ªEdeya and Lam to unwind and Darren to seek out Lesh. Darren cornered one of Dar¡¯s house staff and asked where he might find Lesh. The young woman squinted her angr yellow eyes, smiled, and looked down submissively as she pointed toward the deck. If Darren hadn¡¯t thought it too wild a notion, he might have thought she was being shy and that a bit of color had tinged her pale green cheeks. As the thought struck him, he grinned and turned back to her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but what¡¯s your name? I¡¯m embarrassed that I¡¯ve waited so long to ask.¡±

    She continued to gaze toward Darren¡¯s feet as she wrung her hands. ¡°I¡¯m Wensa, sir.¡±

    ¡°Well, please call me Darren. I¡¯m nobody special. I¡¯m only here,¡± Darren gestured to the beautifully appointed parlor, ¡°because of the people I know.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Darren.¡± Her voice had a lilting quality that sounded almost melodic, and Darren found himself grinning stupidly as he savored the sound. After a moment, the silence became awkward, and he cleared his throat and gestured toward the deck.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go find Elder Lesh. Thanks again.¡± She ducked her head again, and Darren quickly hurried out the door, suddenly flustered by his brazen behavior¡ªit wasn¡¯t like him. How many pretty women had he admired in his life and never approached? Too many to count, he decided. Lesh wasn¡¯t on the deck, so he stepped to the railing and peered down at theke. Sure enough, his mentor''s giant, scaly form was stretched out on the pier, soaking in the afternoon sun.

    Darren hurried down the steps, and, as his footfalls echoed hollowly on the pier, Lesh lifted his fang-lined snout to peerzily at him. ¡°Fosterling. Your pride swells your aura.¡±

    ¡°I hit level ten, Elder Lesh!¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯ve chosen a ss?¡±

    ¡°I have a preference, but I wanted your advice.¡±

    Lesh grunted and used one of his thick arms to push himself into a sitting position. Darren could feel the heat radiating off his ck scales. How long had he been lying there? ¡°Well, tell me, then.¡±

    Darren nodded and sat down before his mentor, crossing his legs before himself. He took a few minutes to review his four options and, as Lesh yawned and stretched, said, ¡°I won¡¯t take a basic ss because it seems like a weakling¡¯s decision. I¡¯m not trying to find the easiest route to level. If I had an option higher than advanced, I¡¯d take that, too.¡± Lesh grunted, nodding, and Darren forged ahead, ¡°I think the ss that seems tailored to both of my affinities is the one I should take. Not only will I, hopefully, learn some chaos spells, but I¡¯ll be able to support my friends with a caster¡¯s abilities.¡±

    Lesh cleared his throat, summoned a bottle of pale green liquid, and took a long pull. Darren could smell the eye-watering alcohol vapors as Lesh exhaled a sigh of pleasure. ¡°Good logic, but let me ensure you understand something: All sorts of folks can gain ¡®caster¡¯s abilities,¡¯ as youbel them. Victor can do things with Energy that would make many pure ¡®casters¡¯ jealous. Of course, someone who specializes in intelligence and will and takes sses focused on ranged spells and support abilities will generally be better at spell casting, but don¡¯t assume a man in heavy armor and carrying a massive weapon won¡¯t be a dangerous Energy user.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡°Other than that small w in your logic, I agree with your decision. Taking a ss meant to take advantage of both of your affinities now will open better options for you at level twenty. Don¡¯t be concerned with your strength and agility. You¡¯re young, and your future options may well shore them up a bit. If not, we¡¯ll find natural treasures to improve you physically, at least to the point where you won¡¯t suffer from the imbnce.¡±

    Darren¡¯s ears had begun to woosh with the rush of blood in his excitement as Lesh signaled his agreement¡ªhe was about to take his first ss! ¡°I can take it?¡±

    Lesh chuckled and took another swig of liquor. When he belched, the mist that wafted away from his snout was green, and Darren took a step back as a hint of chlorine tickled his nose. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m d you sought my advice, but this decision is yours.¡±

    Darren didn¡¯t need to hear more than that. He opened his status page, selected the ss selection menu, and touched the option for Chaos Sorcerer.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have gained your first ss: Chaos Sorcerer.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have gained a ss skill: Sense Chaos ¨C Basic.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have gained a ss spell: Chaos Storm ¨C Basic.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Sense Chaos ¨C Basic: This ability allows you to discern thetent chaos Energy in a given area, thing, or being. Finding chaos is the first key to understanding it and allows for its cultivation.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Chaos Storm ¨C Basic: Calling on the nature of Chaos and the power of elemental lightning, you create an area of tumultuous, chaotic Energy. The area''s size depends on the Energy provided to the spell. Inside the Chaos Storm, any living being will be subject to random electrical discharges that can have the following effects: 1. Direct lightning-based damage, 2. Short, random teleportation, 3. Medium-duration stun, or 4. Temporary madness. This spell will not discern between friend and foe at the basic level. Energy Cost: Minimum 100 ¨C scble. Cooldown: Medium.***</strong>

 Book 8: Chapter 33: Rumble Town

    Book 8: Chapter 33: Rumble Town

    ¡°They don¡¯t seem threatening nor particrly dangerous.¡± Arcus was staring at the two men guarding the ¡°gatehouse¡± of the town as he spoke, and Victor had to agree with him. One of the men was sitting on his butt, leaning back against the rough-stone wall while idly tossing pebbles. The other sat on one of the stone blocks haphazardly scattered near the half-built structure. She was preupied with some dice, repeatedly tossing them on the t rock beside her. Neither wore much in the way of armor, nor had they touched the spears leaned against the nearby wall.

    It had taken Victor and hispanions the better part of a day to make the trek through the ruins and hills, but as they approached the town, Arona had solidified her certainty that Rasso Hine was within; her scouting ghost had¡ªording to her¡ªseen a man being addressed as such. It gave Victor somefort knowing that the day they¡¯d spent in the dungeon would hopefully be the only one; he didn¡¯t want to be gone from Sojourn for weeks or months. ¡°Already been away nearly seven days on the outside,¡± he muttered.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, so let¡¯s get this over with.¡± Arcus nudged Arona with his red metal rod. ¡°They¡¯d be fools to outright attack the three of us.¡± He¡¯d nudged Arona because she was the one who¡¯d urged caution, saying they should observe the town for a while before approaching. Victor hadn¡¯t argued, but, in this instance, he was inclined to agree with Arcus. Why not get things over with?

    ¡°If you want caution, Arona, let me approach the entrance. You and Arcus can back me up if shit goes sideways.¡±

    Arona had been crouching behind a stack of broken stone blocks, but she turned and arched a sharp, ck eyebrow at his words. ¡°You trust us for such a duty?¡±

    Victor chuckled as his earlier words came back to bite him. ¡°Okay, don¡¯t rub it in. Just look me in the eyes and tell me if you¡¯ll have my back.¡± He stared at her, and those ck eyes widened slightly as she straightened up and stepped in front of him, never breaking eye contact.

    ¡°I will aid and support you if the denizens of yondermunity seek to do you harm.¡± She spoke gravely, her rough voice rasping the words as she carefully enunciated every syble. Victor held her gaze for another few seconds, then nodded and turned to Arcus.

    ¡°You gonna betray me?¡±

    He grinned, and one of his eyes zed with inner mes. ¡°Not today, Victor.¡±¡°Fair enough.¡± Victor slid down the slope behind them into a small gully, then cleared his mind and summoned Guapo, using glory-attuned Energy. The mighty stallion burst from a pool of sparkling, golden Energy and lifted his hooves in the air, whinnying loudly. Victorughed, then swung onto the massive horse¡¯s back, letting him prance forward and back for a few steps. At first, Arona scowled at his disy, but a corner of her mouth twitched upward as he continued to show off. Arcus snorted a shortugh and nced through the stacks of broken stones.

    ¡°They¡¯re looking this way.¡±

    ¡°Good; they¡¯ll see meing in a second.¡± Victor mentally urged Guapo forward, and the horse bounded out of the gully, rounding the small hill where Arcus and Arona still watched. Then, he pounded down the slope toward the steep trail leading up to Rumble Town. They¡¯d gotten a pretty good look at the ce from their vantage. The town was situated in a natural cleft in the mountainside, forming a sort of canyon. Though a low, ramshackle wall had been built to block the entrance, it was easy to see the hundred or so buildings built up around the walls of the narrow box canyon.

    The trail switch-backed up the mountainside and was probably half a mile long, so it only took Guapo a few minutes to thunder his way up to the clearing before the gate. By the time Victor arrived, the two guards had mbered to their feet and stood with spears held ready. Victor could feel their auras; they were weighty but nothing near as substantial as those of Arcus or Arona. Even setting aside the fact that their equipment wasckluster, Victor figured he could take them both if he had to.

    ¡°Halt!¡± the man bellowed, and Victor pulled Guapo up short. The stallion snorted sparks and danced, each of his hooves <em>thudding</em> like bass drums on the firm, stony soil. Victor regarded the two guards from within his monstrous helm, and he could see their resolve weakening as they nced toward each other for support.

    The woman was covered with dirty orange hair, from her arms to her shoulders and even her face¡ªthe rest of her was hidden behind a dirty brown cloak and well-oiled, stained leather armor. She had a round, pink nose under big, green eyes, and her mouth spread in a decidedly feline grin as she said, ¡°Go get Ronkerz,¡± to herpanion. As he turned and slipped through the gate, she looked back at Victor, and he thought he caught the soft rumble of a purr in her voice as she asked, ¡°New around here?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s urate. The ce is certainly a lot different from the dungeon I expected.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Thought you¡¯d find some tunnels and monsters and a bunch of old prisoner bones?¡± She lowered her spear, and Victor saw her nostrils twitch as she looked him up and down. ¡°You¡¯re no prisoner, are you? Nobody gets sent into hell with a bunch of pretty armor and weapons. Are you one of them? One of the bastards who sent us here?¡±

    Victor grinned as her purr turned into a snarl. ¡°Nah, you ever heard of an iron ranker on the Sojourn City Council? I¡¯m just an asshole who owes them a debt.¡±

    ¡°Oh? That right? What kind of debt?¡± As she spoke, Victor couldn¡¯t help noticing how a crowd was gathering on the dirt road behind the gate. He frowned at that thought¡ªwhy call it a gate? It was just two short walls of roughly stacked stone blocks that narrowed the canyon¡¯s entrance; no door was attached. Still, people were gathering on the other side¡ªall sorts of people. He saw human-looking folks, Fae, avian, and beastkin. Some were the size of giants, and some were much smaller. All in all, there had to be a hundred people forming the crowd, and he could see signs of many moreing from the tumbledown structures of the town.

    ¡°I need to find someone and ask a few questions.¡± Victor and the others had decided that announcing they needed to get Rasso Hine <em>out</em> of the dungeon wouldn¡¯t be wise, not to a bunch of inmates. If the denizens of the prison knew they could take someone out with them, things could get ugly fast. Seeing the number of inmates gathered at ¡°Rumble Town¡± only reaffirmed Victor¡¯s conviction in that n. Even if he and the others could win in an all-out, mad free-for-all, he didn¡¯t relish the idea of ughtering a bunch of starved, ill-kept inmates.

    ¡°Oh? That right? Someone like me?¡± The purr had re-entered her voice.

    ¡°Maybe.¡± Victor sent a little Energy into his armor-changing runes and smiled as his helmet and heavy armor converted to clothing. He gently patted Guapo¡¯s neck as he directed his grin to the cat-woman. ¡°Are you the leader around here?¡±

    She opened her mouth to reply, but a basso voice echoed from behind the wall, ¡°That¡¯d be me, stranger.¡± As the words hit his ears, an aura fell over Victor that almost made him grimace. Guapo snorted and took a few sparking steps back, but Victor growled and pressed his knees into the Stallion¡¯s sides, and he pranced forward, deliberately lifting each hoof in a showy act of defiance in the face of the heavy aura.

    ¡°I¡¯m Victor,¡± he called to the opening, wondering why he couldn¡¯t see the man with the deep, echoing voice.

    ¡°I¡¯m Ronkerz,¡± the booming voice replied, and this time it was behind him. Guapo whirled with a whinny, lifting his front legs and snorting. Victor scowled when heid eyes on the man who¡¯d startled his mount. Ronkerz was a giant¡ªa hulking, ck-furred gori of a man. His arms were like tree trunks, and his knuckles, quite literally, dragged on the stone ground. He really <em>did</em> resemble a gori, with a few notable differences. His eyes were angr and shrewd and glowed with violet Energy. His mouth was more of a muzzle, with a long snout and big canines that made Victor think of a bull terrier more than a gori. Finally, he wore armor¡ªthick steel-ted armor with gleaming, needle-sharp spikes on the shoulders.

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    Victor slid off Guapo, gave his rump a p, and then sent the mount back to the spirit ne. As the glittering golden fog of his departure faded, Victor stepped toward Ronkerz and held out a hand. ¡°Good to meet you.¡± It wasn¡¯t lost on Victor that Ronkerz didn¡¯t hold a weapon, nor did he assume the man needed one to inflict some damage¡ªhis fists looked like wrecking balls.

    Ronkerz narrowed his shrewd-looking eyes and then took a lumbering step closer. He was probably about Victor¡¯s height but half-again as broad. When he swung one of his long arms out and grasped Victor''s hand, the power in that grip was apparent. It had been a while since Victor had trouble getting his fingers around a person¡¯s palm, but he grinned as he squeezed what he could and felt the other man¡¯s powerful fingers struggle topress his flesh¡ªeven the little bones in his hands were made of the stuff of titans and wouldn¡¯t bend easily.

    ¡°So, youe seeking an inmate?¡± Ronkerz asked as he released his hold and let his knuckles fall to the ground.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I guess he has some information that¡¯s important to the city''s safety.¡±

    ¡°And we should care?¡±

    Victor shrugged. ¡°My understanding is that the city maintains this dungeon. Not sure what would happen if the city stone were destroyed¡ª¡±

    ¡°Bah! Impossible!¡±

    ¡°Is it? Have you ever seen an invasion led by veil walkers? Sojourn¡¯s a ripe target for some of the darker corners of the universe.¡± Again, Victor spoke from prepared talking points. It had been Arona¡¯s idea to y up the invasion angle. Even prisoners generally wanted to continue existing, and the idea that an invasion might lead to the dungeon¡¯s destruction was the only card they could think to y to get some cooperation from the inmates.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ronkerz lifted one of his thick, powerful digits and scratched at the short, ck fur atop his head. ¡°What about your friends lurking on yonder rock pile?¡±

    Again, Victor shrugged. ¡°We didn¡¯t know what to expect.¡±

    Ronkerz huffed a breath out his nostrils, and the dust on the ground stirred at the powerful exhtion. Something in Victor stirred, and he found himself wondering what it would be like to fight the man. He remembered what Arona had said about how Ronkerz had beaten four steel seekers when he was just a tier-seven iron ranker. Something in Victor¡¯s chest began to swell with excitement as he imagined testing his strength against the formidable man.

    Ronkerz must have seen something in his expression because he took a step back, and a deep, rich chuckle welled out of him. ¡°Hah! Who did those fools send in here? You look like a dog eyeing a bitch in heat.¡± He stepped closer, putting his fang-filled snout just inches from Victor¡¯s face. ¡°If you want to test yourself, <em>boy</em>, stick around; I may give you the chance.¡±

    Once upon a time, having a man call him ¡°boy¡± like that might have set Victor off. His rage surged in his Core, but it was easy enough to hold it there. With a slight twitch of his will, he expanded the fiery, white-gold center of his Core and allowed a wave of inspiration to wash into his pathways. With a fierce grin, he nodded and thumped the thick metal te on the side of Ronkerz¡¯s boulder-like shoulder. ¡°I¡¯d like that. In the meantime, would you mind if I called mypanions closer? We could use a break. Been hiking through this damn dungeon for nearly a day, and that was after a bunch of scoundrels tried to ambush us at the entrance.¡±

    Ronkerz stared at him for several tense heartbeats, but then he, too, grinned, and it was quite a fierce expression on his animalistic face. ¡°Call them over. We can bargain for what you need.¡± Victor had been facing him throughout their entire conversation, but he was peripherally aware that a considerable crowd had formed on both sides of the gate and even atop the wall. Ronkerz turned and bellowed in a voice that echoed and reverberated through the narrow box canyon. ¡°Get back to work! If I have a fight, you¡¯ll damn well <em>know it</em>!¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t have to look to know that the denizens of Rumble Town knew who their boss was. He could hear their hurried steps as they scurried to do as hemanded, scattering into the canyon and the narrow streets and ramshackle buildings it contained. As they dispersed, Victor stepped closer to the trail leading down the slope and raised his arm, waving toward the hill where he knew Arona and Arcus lurked, watching. A few momentster, he and Ronkerz watched Arcus, red as a Christmas candle, and Arona, another shadow among many, walk down to the trail and climb toward the canyon entrance.

    ¡°Tell me who it is you seek,¡± Ronkerz demanded as the two spell casters fell out of view on the steep trail.

    ¡°Rasso Hine.¡±

    Ronkerz hummed or growled¡ªVictor wasn¡¯t sure¡ªin his throat but didn¡¯t say more. He was content to wait; he¡¯d done fairly well, in his opinion, but was eager to let Arona or Arcus do some talking, bargaining, or whatever it would take to get Ronkerz to hand over Hine. While they waited, Victor nced back at the canyon and saw only the two gate guards remained, though a few people could be seen lingering near the dirt road that led into the center of the town. Without thinking, he let his thoughts escape his mouth, ¡°Must be hard as hell to live in a ce like this. Does the sun evere out?¡±

    ¡°No sun in this world,¡± Ronkerz rumbled. ¡°No good soil. No game animals. Some fish and slugs can be found in the deeper caves. Some clever fools over the centuries have managed to bring in some seeds. Not on purpose, mind you; no one goes into prison thinking they¡¯ll need to farm. Still, there must be some council members who take pity on fools like us and have sent prisoners in with sacks of fruit and vegetables. With the right Energy, we can get some things to grow in this damned soil.¡± As he spoke, Ronkerz¡¯s voice became more and more pleasant, less gruff, and, if Victor closed his eyes, he couldn¡¯t make the smooth, well-enunciated words match up to the gori-like giant standing beside him.

    Before he could respond with ament or another question, Arcus came into view, sheathed in mes, floating along the trail. Victor snorted derisively; of <em>course,</em> the man had to make a showy entrance. Arona, just a short distance behind him, had no such qualms. She grunted softly as she climbed the steep slope using her ivory staff as a walking stick. ¡°Ronkerz,¡± Victor said, gesturing to the two arrivals. ¡°This is Arcus, and behind him is Arona.¡±

    Arcus settled to the ground, and his mes faded to a faint flicker that limned his shoulders as he bowed. ¡°I¡¯ve heard much about you. It may please you to know that your name still strikes fear into the hearts of the Sojourn elite.¡±

    Ronkerz snorted a huff of air, and the mes on Arcus¡¯s shoulders flickered and faded. Victor raised an eyebrow as he saw Arcus flinch back. Arona stepped forward and sketched a stiff, formal bow. ¡°Lord of Greatscarp, I greet you and offer you the regards of my master, Vesavo Bonewhisper.¡±

    ¡°Vesavo still haunts those gaudy towers?¡± Ronkerz leaned close to Arona; she was tiny in his shadow¡ªa thin, pale figure with a great, hairy, armor-d monster looming over her. Even so, she didn¡¯t flinch as his big nostrils twitched, and he snuffed the air around her. ¡°Yes, I remember that scent. <em>Interesting</em>.¡±

    The way he said ¡°interesting¡± left Victor wondering at theyers that word contained. Was he simply interested in the fact that Arona was Vesavo¡¯s apprentice? Or was he concerned? Dismayed? Did it impact his ns? What were his ns? Victor could have wondered about a thousand simr questions but forced his mind to be quiet; he¡¯d only learn by talking to the man and seeing what came. ¡°Ronkerz has agreed to bargain with us,¡± he said, hoping to get the ball rolling again.

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Ronkerz turned and lifted one of his long, powerful arms, gesturing toward the town. ¡°I¡¯d invite you to a feast, but I doubt you¡¯d enjoy our fare. Perhaps you have some rations you might share?¡±

    Victor nced at Arona and Arcus, hoping they¡¯d answer, but they both looked preupied. Arcus looked like he¡¯d seen a ghost, and Arona was pensive, her eyes distant. ¡°I¡¯ve got food to spare, Ronkerz. Let¡¯s sit down and talk.¡±

    Ronkerz shifted, and his shrewd, violet eyes regarded Victor. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be the leader.¡± Victor opened his mouth to protest but stopped short as the bulky simian turned and lumbered toward the gate. What had he meant? Could he tell Victor wasn¡¯t as high level as the others? Did he think the ¡°leader¡± would be one of the casters who hung back? Did he believe Victor didn¡¯t have leadership qualities? He almostughed as his mind raced. He shook his head and pushed the disquiet down, reminding himself, once again, that rity woulde with time.

    He followed Ronkerz past the gate guards and could hear Arona and Arcus walking behind him. They were still quiet, and he wondered if Ronkerz had dropped the full force of his aura on them. He wanted to question them, to speak softly about what they thought of the situation, but, giant as he was, that wasn¡¯t an option. He was a little annoyed at himself for revealing his actual size. If he¡¯d reduced himself, he could have saved his full strength as a bargaining chip. Not only that, but he would have been able to walk more closely to Arona and Arcus and gauge their moods. It would surely draw too much attention if he made himself small now.

    Victor contented himself by looking over his shoulder, down at the much smaller man and woman. He raised an eyebrow, and Arcus shrugged with something of a smirk on his face. Oddly, the haughty expression gave Victor somefort; Arcus was still his pretentious self. Arona pressed her darkly-stained lips together and gave him a firm nod. The look said plenty¡ªshe was ready to deal with whatever sort of bargain or trouble Ronkerz had in store.

    Those thoughts made Victor think of an ambush, so he turned his attention to the town as they walked. The buildings werergely built from stone, with mud and y used as mortar. The little wood he could find on roofs or shoring up leaning walls looked ancient and dry, and he wondered if it was scavenged from theirs of the dungeon¡¯s monsters. He could picture the nks as part of ancient ¡°ruins¡± where undead might spawn. None of the buildings were tall, and most were built against the canyon walls. Victor figured the citizens of Rumble Town gained a lot of square footage by carving caves out of the cliffsides.

    They were about two hundred yards past the gate when he saw the first children. Dirty faces with wide eyes watched from corners and dark alleys between structures. They wore rags and looked half-starved. Victor felt his rage stirring again. The whole ce was <em>wrong</em>. He could understand banishing a powerful, dangerous figure like Ronkerz. Victor didn¡¯t know his story, but even if he had been in the right, he was a grown man who¡¯d reaped the consequences of his own conflicts. You couldn¡¯t say the same for all of these children. There had to be a better solution.

    Ronkerz led them to the end of the road, an open square where the dirt had been cleared away from the hard stone bedrock. It was probably fifty yards across, and all around it, the canyon walls were lined with rough buildings and shoddydders that led up to open caves. Hundreds of people lingered around. They stood in clusters near buildings, sat in cave mouths with their legs dangling, and lined the rough stone walls separating one rough building from another. They reminded Victor of an audience, and, as he looked around the square, he understood why; they were standing in the center of an arena¡ªa fighting pit. As the understanding struck him, a sh of insight lit up his eyes, and he nced at Arona and Arcus and grinned. ¡°<em>Rumble</em> Town.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 34: Big Ones

    Book 8: Chapter 34: Big Ones

    Ronkerz turned to face the three of them, and that¡¯s when the nature of their situation became clear to everyone, not just Victor¡ªthe giant simian had no intention of bargaining, at least not with words. To drive the point home, a line of hulking, armored figures filed out of the center-most cave opening and took up positions in a semi-circle behind Ronkerz. Victor felt his lips begin to stretch into a grin as he took their measure.

    If he¡¯d wondered why everyone he¡¯d run into, save Ronkerz, had been dressed in rags and wielding low-quality weapons, the answer was bing apparent. If Victor had to guess, he¡¯d say that the denizens of Rumble Town paid for their rtive safety by pooling their resources. They took their loot from monster spawns and their scavenged items and gave them to Ronkerz, who distributed the equipment to these men and women.

    ¡°These are my Big Ones,¡± Ronkerz announced, spreading his arms in an impressively wide gesture. As he said ¡°Big Ones,¡± the thirteen men and women pounded their weapons in a reverberating <em>boom-boom</em>, smashing them on shields or onto the hard stone ground.

    ¡°Lord Ronkerz,¡± Arcus said, looking left to right at the line of heavily armored, mostly gigantic, warriors. ¡°I must confess that the ambiance of this gathering has begun to evoke a rather unsettling premonition. I might go so far as to specte that the atmosphere suggests an imminent disy of hostility¡ª¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Ronkerz barked a deep, roughugh that sent spittle flecking over the short ck hairs on his chin. ¡°Hostility? We live in <em>hell</em>, boy!¡±

    Arona tried another approach, ¡°We¡¯re your <em>guests</em>. You invited us in.¡±

    ¡°I invited you to bargain, and we¡¯ve got only one way of doing that in Rumble Town¡ª"

    ¡°Fighting,¡± Victor interrupted. He sent a stream of Energy into the runes on his armor, and suddenly, he was bedecked in his snarling draconic helm and armor. ¡°Great. How¡¯s this work?¡± His voice echoed, erged by the magic in theva king''s maw. He didn¡¯t remember reaching for Lifedrinker, but she was in his right hand, her head aglow with glowering red Energy and her haft twitching with eagerness.

    ¡°Victor.¡± Arona reached for his arm, but if she grabbed him, he didn¡¯t feel it; she was too small and his gauntlet too thick. He had eyes and ears only for Ronkerz. Ever since Arona had told him about how Ronkerz had wound up in the prison, something in him had wanted to fight the warrior. He wanted to test his mettle against a man who was¡ª¡°You think you can touch me, boy?¡± Ronkerz interrupted his rambling thoughts, leaning toward him with a curled lip. ¡°I was chewing up steel seekers before I got put in here, and that was four centuries ago! You think I haven¡¯t found my own steel by now?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a veil walker?¡± Arona asked, her voice hushed. Victor nced down at her and saw her eyes were wide and that she¡¯d taken a step back. He was just turning back to Ronkerz when the giant blurred and, with a sickening wet pop, snatched ahold of Arcus¡¯s right arm and ripped it off at the shoulder. To Victor¡¯s amazement, the arm shimmered with bright blue light and then disappeared. Meanwhile, Arcus had fallen backward, stumbling for two steps before sumbing to gravity and falling onto his butt. Crimson blood pumped into the torn sleeve of his robe, sluicing onto the stone ground.

    The crowd cheered, and the assembled ¡°Big Ones¡± smashed their weapons again. <em>Boom-boom</em>. ¡°Tried to leave the party early, boy?¡± Ronkerz rumbled a deep, mocking chuckle. ¡°Drink a healing draught before you¡¯re too weak to entertain the people.¡±

    Victor felt his eagerness to fight evaporate. Ronkerz had ripped Arcus¡¯s arm off so fast that he hadn¡¯t been able to track it. Moreover, Arcus hadn¡¯t even been able to utter a spell to defend himself. In fact, Ronkerz had moved so quickly that he¡¯d interrupted the recall spell, sending the recall charm and Arcus¡¯s severed arm out of the dungeon. How could someone that bulky and powerful move so damn <em>fast</em>? The Quinametzin pride that had been eager to test itself against the brute was suddenly nowhere to be found; it was almost enough to make Victorugh.

    ¡°That was unkind,¡± Arona said, and Victor noted she¡¯d moved her staff into a defensive position. She wasn¡¯t nning to let Ronkerz rip her arms off. Arcus¡¯s face was ashen, and he hadn¡¯t moved to drink a potion. He seemed dumbstruck, utterly shocked by the horror of his ruined arm. Victor didn¡¯t want him to bleed out, especially if they were going to be fighting for their lives for Rumble Town¡¯s amusement, so he lifted one of the healing potions Master Yon had given him from his baldric and pulled the cork stopper. While Ronkerz watched, Victor leaned over and tilted the oily red liquid into Arcus¡¯s mouth.

    The crowd¡¯s raucous cheer had died down, and Victor began to get the feeling that they were sort of y-acting, responding as tradition dictated. The people, the ¡°Big Ones,¡± even Ronkerz¡ªthey all behaved like they were putting on a show, and he wondered how much of their lives in the bleak dungeon-world were dedicated to strange ritual entertainment.

    Arcus greedily slurped the potion down, and his color immediately improved. The blood sputtering from his shoulder ceased, and he gasped, taking a deep breath. He looked at Victor and nodded. ¡°Thank you. I¡­¡± He frowned and looked at his shoulder. ¡°I¡­¡± Victor followed his gaze to see something wriggling under the torn fabric of his robe. ¡°I¡ªah! D-did, er, was that a regeneration p-pot¡ª¡± Arcus¡¯s words broke off in a wail of surprise and disgust as a ck, slippery tentacle began to probe its way out of his robe.

    ¡°What the <em>fuck</em>?¡± Victor stepped back as the tentacle continued to grow longer and thicker, stretching outward from Arcus¡¯s shoulder. It was lined on one side with tiny, pink suckers but was otherwise jet-ck. ¡°Dude, Master Yon told me they were regenerative potions. He said they were his best work!¡±

    ¡°Yon? That shit-eating bird gave you those potions?¡± Arcus wailed, leaping to his feet. His new appendage waved about, out of control, and Arcus grimaced with a mixture of pain and disgust as he fought to get it under control. ¡°One of his experiments, no doubt! Gods <em>damn</em> it!¡±

    Halting at first, then with more and more volume and intensity, Ronkerz began tough. His great chest heaved with the sound as he roared, ¡°Hah! Ha! <em>Hah</em>! Oh, dead gods, the beauty of it. Yes, young Pyromancer, rejoice, for now, a part of your body reflects the dark stain on your soul.¡±

    Arcus whirled on the man, his eyes wild with frustration, pain, anger, and a dozen other emotions¡ªVictor had no doubt. ¡°What do you know of my soul, fiend?¡±

    ¡°Only what I can see, which is <em>much</em>.¡± Ronkerz stared at Arcus for a couple of heavy seconds, but the pyromancer had stopped scowling at him and was now preupied, staring intently at his new tentacle as he attempted to wrap its narrow end around his fallen ck metallic rod. Ronkerz directed his gaze at Victor and Arona. ¡°Well, are you three ready to hear my offer, or will we have more theatrics? Do either of you other fools wish to attempt to flee?¡±

    Victor shrugged. ¡°I¡¯d rather keep my arms.¡±

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    Arona watched Ronkerz warily as she rasped, ¡°You have an offer?¡±

    ¡°I do!¡± he roared, lifting his arms wide again. His Big Ones bashed their weapons and shields, and the crowd cheered. The cacophony died down immediately when Ronkerz lowered his arms. ¡°I¡¯m sure you came here thinking to ply us with threats or a few trinkets or piteous scraps of food and liquor, hmm? Well, your fool masters should have warned you! They know I live! They fed the dungeon my <em>blood</em>, just as they took that vital force from every one of the people they sacrificed to live in this hell! The dungeon crystal would have told them I reached my test of steel more than three centuries ago. The dungeon crystal would have told them I broke through!¡±

    Ronkerz stopped to pace back and forth before his Big Ones. Some wererger than he, physically, but his presence made them seem small. They didn¡¯t shrink back, however. They stood straight and tall, and Victor began to realize something¡ªthe denizens of Rumble Town didn¡¯t fear Ronkerz; they worshipped him. He was a god incarnate to them. Being a Big One, in close proximity to the great man, was an honor everyone lining the cliff walls, the rooftops, the dirt streets, and the cave openings aspired to.

    Ronkerz continued his rant, ¡°So, they sent you to your doom, or they had some sort of mad confidence in your ability to deceive someone an order of magnitude more powerful than yourselves. No, we won¡¯t take your pitiful offerings. You¡¯ll y our games, and, if you prove worthy, we¡¯ll give you Rasso Hine. If you prove unworthy, we¡¯ll take everything you own and either kill you or add you to our ranks.¡±

    ¡°Ronkerz, wait¡ª¡± Arona started to say, but he whirled on her and growled.

    ¡°Just Ronkerz, now? No ¡®Lord of Greatscarp¡¯? What happened to your pretty tongue, death sparrow?¡±

    ¡°I-I just want¡ª¡±

    ¡°Irrelevant!¡± Ronkerz pped his hands thunderously. ¡°Let me introduce my thirteen Big Ones! My pride! After I honed my steel and breached my veil, I stopped hunting thesends and took on my first apprentice. That was two hundred years ago.¡± Ronkerz stepped to the center and rested his hand on a tall, avian woman¡¯s shoulder. She had a notched beak and dark, dirty-looking gray feathers, but her chainmail armor gleamed with power, and her curved saber rang like a crystal chime when she whipped it from its sheath. ¡°Lira Stormw is that apprentice. Like most of my Big Ones, she¡¯s a steel seeker, but I think she¡¯s getting closer and closer. Aren¡¯t you, my pretty bird?¡±

    ¡°I am, Lord Ronkerz.¡± Her voice was lyrical and breathy, and Victor could see the adoration in her big golden eyes as she stared at the great simian. Victor looked up and down the row of powerful warriors and wondered if the apish man was really going to introduce them all.

    ¡°Next to Lira is Gorruk the Crusher!¡± The crowd cheered, and Gorruk smashed his enormous gray hammer into his heavy, spiked shield. Ronkerz continued down the line, and each name brought forth cheers and a disy of power from the Big One. Victor, never great with names, sort of zoned out and tried to concentrate on which warriors seemed like they¡¯d be a threat to him. The answer was simple: all of them.

    Despite his mind¡¯s tendency to tune out details like names, some of them stood out¡ªZara Bloodmoon, an eight-foot, four-hundred-pound lupine woman with stark white fur and glowing crimson eyes, Thrak Ironfist, a man with hands and arms that were, literally, made of dark, blue-ck metal, and Ulgor the Brutal, a mountain of muscle that loomed half-again as tall as Ronkerz. He was hunched with piles of veiny muscles stacked on his shoulders and back. His red, bloodshot eyes peering from beneath his thick, hairy brows looked decidedly insane.

    After he finished, Ronkerz turned from thest of his Big Ones and regarded Victor, Arona, and Arcus. ¡°Well? Are you suitably impressed?¡±

    ¡°Are¡ª¡± Arcus started to speak, but his tentacle twitched violently, and he scowled and tried to grab it with his right hand, dropping his red scepter in the process. ¡°Dammit!¡±

    ¡°Are?¡± Ronkerz red his angr violet eyes at Arcus, then turned to regard Victor. ¡°Will you speak for your distractedpanion?¡±

    ¡°Um, I think he can speak.¡± Victor stepped closer to Arcus and reached down to snatch his writhing tentacle arm in his fist. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t slimy, but it certainly felt weird¡ªpulsing and throbbing as it flexed, trying to move. ¡°Pay attention, man! He¡¯s going to rip your other arm off.¡±

    Arcus scowled at him but nodded as the misbehaving appendage settled in Victor¡¯s firm grasp. ¡°I say, Lord Ronkerz, am I right in my understanding that these fine warriors are all beyond the iron ranks? I don¡¯t understand how. Aren¡¯t only iron rankers allowed in this dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Allowed in, yes, fool. We all were iron-ranked when we came to this hell.¡± Ronkerz ambled closer to Victor and Arona, his right fist acting as a third leg as he leaned on it, pressing his massive knuckles into the stone. ¡°By now, you must be putting things together, yes? I said we settle bargains by fighting here in Rumble Town, and then I introduced my Big Ones. What¡¯s in store for you? Hmm?¡±

    ¡°You want us to fight your champions,¡± Arona rasped.

    ¡°<em>Big Ones</em>!¡± Ronkerz roared and, for the first time, unleashed his true aura. Arona fell to her knees, tears of blood streaming out of her obsidian eyes. Victor stumbled back, and the tiniest voice in the back of his mind, crying out from a dark corner where he kept his deepest fears, told him to run. He nced left and right and caught sight of Arcus, lying t on his back, eyes squeezed shut, struggling to writhe away from Ronkerz. Seeing him like that, wriggling like a worm, woke something in Victor and, almost like a palpable whisper tickling his ear with her hot breath, he swore he heard Chantico¡¯s voice again. <em>¡°Do not break, child of the Sun. You are made of sterner stuff than that one.¡±</em>

    He looked away from Arcus, squared his shoulders, and stepped into the pressure of Ronkerz¡¯s will. He heard the screams of countless foes, felt the anger of a dozen lifetimes lived in captivity, tasted the bitterness of defeat, the hatred of a righteous man condemned, and the killing intent built from a hundred thousand brutal massacres. He had no right to stand against that weight but did it anyway. With eyes quivering in their sockets, bloody with burst vessels, he stared into Ronkerz¡¯s violet gaze as sweat erupted from his pores and his body shook with adrenaline.

    ¡°Oh, they chose you well, didn¡¯t they, boy? Do they hate you so much?¡± Like a switch being flipped, the aura was gone, and Victor could hear his heaving breaths and the rushing of his blood. He could hear Arona¡¯s soft gasps and Arcus¡¯s sobs. ¡°Well, as your Death Caster Princess has surmised, you¡¯ll need to best one of my Big Ones. You¡¯ll each need to¡ªone by one. No team fights, and, no, you don¡¯t get to pick which ones you¡¯ll be matched against. Tonight, I¡¯ll allow you to feed my people. We¡¯ll have a feast, ande the morrow, Rumble Town will watch you do battle!¡± He raised his voice at thest pronouncement, and, once again, the townsfolk cheered, and the Big Ones mmed their weapons.

    Ronkerz stepped closer and lifted one of his massive hands. ¡°Agreed?¡±

    Victor regarded the hand, then looked at Arcus, still t on his back, and Arona, slowly, shakily, struggling to stand. ¡°To the death?¡±

    ¡°Death, unless you yield, yes. Understand this, however: should you yield, you will remain in this world with us. Don¡¯t get any ideas about using your recall charms¡ªI¡¯m watching.¡±

    Victor knew he couldn¡¯t argue. Ronkerz had already proved that he could kill them all easily. Just because he¡¯d managed to remain on his feet while his aura was on disy didn¡¯t mean Victor could fight under that strain. He had trouble following the man¡¯s movements <em>without</em> that pressure; he had no delusions of being able to stand against him inbat. Something about breaking through to the ¡°lustrous veil¡± seemed to lift powerful Energy users into legitimate demigod status. Was that what Ronkerz had going for him here? Was he a god among mortals in the prison dungeon? As he began to judge the man, Victor reminded himself that Ronkerz wasn¡¯t there by choice.

    He reached out and sped the rough-fleshed hand, and Ronkerz squeezed firmly but didn¡¯t try to dominate him. When he released the grip, the veil walker grinned, exposing his lupine fangs, and then he <em>moved</em>. One second, he stood before them, and the next, he was standing in the mouth of a cave a hundred yards up the cliff face. He bellowed, his basso voice booming and echoing in the canyon, ¡°Rumble Town! Tonight, you FEAST! Tomorrow, there will be FIGHTS!¡±

    The cheering was thunderous, and, despite everything, Victor found himself basking in it. He raised his arms and slowly turned in a circle, and the cheers intensified, bringing a fierce grin to his face. If he had to fight, then he¡¯d give the Big Ones something to think about. He continued grinning as he tried to make eye contact with as many of them as he could. ¡°Okay, <em>pendejos</em>,¡± he said into the cacophony. ¡°Which one of you suckers has to fight me? Don¡¯t everyone jump at once.¡± His desire to intimidate them fell t as most of the Big Ones roared and cheered, iling their weapons in the air.

    ¡°Don¡¯t taunt them, fool!¡± Arcus hissed, and Victor looked to see he¡¯d managed to get to his feet. Even so, Arcus looked terrible despite the healing elixir, or maybe <em>because</em> of it. Apparently, The tentacle was still struggling to move on its own, and Arcus was fighting to hold it still with his other hand, having stowed away both of his magical scepters. ¡°Man, I¡¯m sorry about that <em>pinch¨¦</em> tentacle. That asshole didn¡¯t tell me it would do that.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t hold you to me. I saw the bastard hand them to you before you stepped in. Besides, I was stupefied. I might have died had you not stepped in.¡±

    Arona moved beside Victor and coughed, clearing her throat before asking, ¡°What are we supposed to do now?¡±

    Victor looked around, noting how the Big Ones had all gone off to wherever people of their status spent their days. The townsfolk were moving again, no longer lining the ¡°arena,¡± as he¡¯de to think of the space. They were walking about, talking, carrying things¡ªgoing about their usual business, he supposed. ¡°I dunno. I have a lot of food, but I''m not sure I can feed hundreds of people. What about you two?¡±

    Arcus ignored the question. ¡°How, by the fate of all the elder gods, did that man enter his lustrous veil while trapped in this damned dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Hundreds of years of killing tier-nine monsters, I suppose.¡± Arona shrugged. ¡°He was a prodigy before he was sent in here. I¡¯m sure he made breakthroughs that some of our masters would kill to learn.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll never let him out to ask. Think of the damage he could do!¡±

    ¡°Something tells me,¡± Victor said, rubbing his chin, turning slowly to look around the strange scenery of Rumble Town, ¡°that Ronkerz is kind of biding his time. I¡¯m not so sure a dungeon meant for iron-rankers can really hold a guy like him.¡±

    Arona and Arcus grew quiet at that, and then they, too, began to look around, evaluating the ce in the light of Victor¡¯s words. It was Arona who spoke first. ¡°He¡¯s building an army.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 35: A Toast Before We Die

    Book 8: Chapter 35: A Toast Before We Die

    ¡°The hell are we supposed to do?¡± Victor asked after he and his twopanions stood in the arena for several minutes, staring around, watching the people of Rumble Town go about their business.

    Arcus, still restraining his new appendage with his remaining hand, shrugged. ¡°I imagine they¡¯ll set something up for the feast and give us some instructions. I would hope¡­¡± He looked around with a sour expression, his once-fiery eyes mere embers, glowing faintly in their dark hollows. ¡°I¡¯d almost rather they just made us fight now¡ªnothing worse than stretching out your neck, waiting for the ponderous drop of the headsman¡¯s axe.¡±

    Arona leaned against her tall, ivory staff and sighed. ¡°I have foodstuffs, though they aren¡¯t exactly gourmet¡ªbarrels of spring water, some wheels of cheese, a few crates of tbread, and crocks of honey. They¡¯re remnants from a campaign I led on Brun-Jun, just some rations I¡¯d held as an emergency reserve.¡±

    Arcus nodded. ¡°I, too, have a plethora of rations from various training expeditions. That¡¯s not ounting for my own meals, stowed away from restaurants I enjoyed over the years. It¡¯s probably about time I cleaned out my containers.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor grunted. ¡°Same. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s what Ronkerz had in mind when he volunteered us to provide the feast.¡± As though their words had summoned them, a trio ofically mismatched inmates emerged from a cave carrying a long, surprisingly well-made wooden table. Looking at the delicate, polished wood, Victor supposed that if a powerful Energy user was a craftsman outside the prison, they might still be able to work some magic with the materials in the dungeon.

    As they set the table in ce near the center-rear of the open ¡°arena,¡± one of the inmates, a short, fuzzy ball of white fur, motioned at it and loudly squeaked, ¡°Feast go here!¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Victor waved a hand, acknowledging the strange creature¡¯s words. In a much quieter voice, he asked, ¡°The hell is that guy?¡±

    ¡°Shratling,¡± Arcus hissed, ¡°Native to a world one jump from Sojourn.¡±

    ¡°Usually mischievous, but not outright criminal. I¡¯m surprised to see one here,¡± Arona added.¡°Come on. Let¡¯s load this table up and get things moving. I¡¯m ready to get this business done.¡± Victor followed his own directive and began pulling casks of his cheaper wine, bushels of fruit, tters of snacks, meats, sandwiches, soups, deserts, and several other dozen dishes from his storage rings. The truth was, he was a food hoarder. Whenever he tasted something he enjoyed, he tended to buy a surplus of it and store it away. He wondered what that said about him. Conversely, he wondered what it meant that he felt a weird sense of relief cleaning all those random bits of food out of his rings.

    Arona and Arcus were, likewise, piling supplies and food on and under and to the sides of the table. Victor, of course, had started with things he didn¡¯t value much, but once he¡¯d pared it down to a few dozen tters of his favorites, he slowed, stepping back to watch hispanions as they unloaded. When the entire twelve-foot table wasden with food, with baskets and crates stacked beneath it and kegs and barrels lined up to the sides, the puffball stepped out of the cave again and squealed, ¡°Enough! Youe with me! Rest before fights!¡±

    ¡°Hah,¡± Victor chuckled, ¡°looks like we¡¯re not invited to the feast.¡±

    ¡°Not!¡± the weird, four-foot-tall ball of dirty white hair confirmed.

    ¡°Seems inhospitable,¡± Arona rasped, taking the lead, following the creature as it glided into the cave opening. Victor decided it must have arms and legs obscured by all that fur because it didn¡¯t exactly bounce or roll. The cave wasn¡¯t very impressive¡ªa long, low-ceilinged gallery that stretched about a hundred feet into the cliffside. Glowing amber and whitemps on the sides revealed passages and hanging ropes, but their guide didn¡¯t take them beyond that first space. Instead, he or she or it¡ªVictor had no idea what was appropriate¡ªpointed to a rickety table and benches in the far corner beneath a dim, amber glowmp.

    ¡°Wait.¡± After the pronouncement, the ¡°Shratling¡± glided away, bobbing slightly as it moved.

    Arcus, grimacing as he wrestled his tentacle, huffed and stomped over to the table to sit. Arona and Victor exchanged a nce and then followed him. Victor didn¡¯t want to reduce his size to make the benchfortable, so he pulled one of hisrge-sized camp chairs out of storage and sat down to the side, facing both hispanions. ¡°Not a great situation.¡±

    His words brought a snort of amusement out of Arcus, and the man shook his head ruefully. ¡°No, not great. If I didn¡¯t think Ronkerz would rip all our limbs off for trying, I might suggest we use the remaining recall tokens now.¡±

    Arona snorted. ¡°Victor and I have recall tokens that take time to activate. It¡¯s interesting that Roil gave you one that fired almost instantly.¡±

    Arcus shrugged, flopping his tentacle around. ¡°Not instantly enough.¡±

    Victor changed the subject; he already took it as a given that Roil wouldn¡¯t y fair. ¡°Could Ronkerz really do that? Get here fast enough to interrupt the recall?¡±

    Arona regarded him with an arched eyebrow. ¡°Ronkerz is a veil walker. He could be standing beside you, and if he didn¡¯t want you to know, you wouldn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°That big a difference, huh?¡± Victor spat to the side and shrugged. ¡°Go ahead and judge me; before I met Ranish Dar, I¡¯d never spent time with a veil walker.¡± As he said the words, he began to doubt their veracity; the more he learned about the stages beyond the ¡°iron ranks,¡± the more he suspected Tes had passed her test of steel and would bebeled a veil walker by the people of Sojourn. It wasn¡¯t hard for him to imagine that she could stand and observe them undetected if she so wished it.

    ¡°They call passing the test of steel a ¡®breakthrough¡¯ for a reason. Cultivators at that stage are on another ne, power-wise.¡± Arcus¡¯s tone was pleasant as he exined, though punctuated with frequent grunts as he fought his tentacle.

    ¡°I know this sounds rough, Arcus, but maybe I should cut that damn thing off. If you can¡¯t control it, it might do more harm than good.¡±

    Arcus¡¯s eyes widened in horror as he sharply disagreed, ¡°No! I can already get it to move a bit¡ªmy mind is just learning to deal with a new type of limb.¡±

    Victor raised his hands catingly. ¡°All right, all right. It was just a thought.¡±

    Arona watched the pyromancer with slightly narrowed eyes, staring at the tentacle as it throbbed and pulled against the grip of Arcus¡¯s hand. ¡°What will your father think of that new appendage?¡±

    ¡°Gods <em>damn</em> my father,¡± Arcus snarled. ¡°He and Roil both!¡± Arcus looked up toward the ceiling of the cave and cried, ¡°I hope you can hear me, you shit-bred, demented, scheming lickspittles!¡±

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    His outburst brought a chuckle out of Victor and a wide-eyed stare from Arona. She leaned forward, hissing, ¡°Don¡¯t tempt fate, fool! If Roil heard that¡ª¡±

    ¡°Roil can lick my balls! I¡¯ll be dead or trapped here after tonight, and that scheming old bastard <em>knew</em>. Don¡¯t you <em>dare</em> tell me you disagree! Perhaps your masters, not being on the council, were unaware of Ronkerz¡¯s status, but I assure you, Roil knew, and I¡¯m quite sure my father put him up to this. Money! It alles down to money!¡±

    ¡°Money?¡± Victor was enjoying this new side of Arcus. He almost felt bad that it took having his arm ripped off and being threatened with the prospect of a new life inside a dungeon to bring it out.

    Arona looked at Victor and offered a half-shrug with one shoulder. ¡°His father isn¡¯t high-tier. He¡¯s powerful due to the businesses and real estate he owns.¡±

    Arcus nodded. ¡°Power is power, regardless of its source, and my father¡¯s well of riches runs very, very deep.¡±

    Victor frowned, reclining in his chair and crossing his left foot over his right knee. ¡°So, let me get this straight; you think your, uh, dad and your mentor are working together to screw you over?¡± He couldn¡¯t keep a hint of amusement out of his voice.

    ¡°I don¡¯t <em>know!</em>¡± Spittle flew as Arcus pounded his fist on the table. Victor watched his tentacle writhe for a moment, waiting for him to borate, but it was Arona who did so.

    ¡°Your master and mine, Victor, are at odds with the current majority on the council. It¡¯s not surprising that we might be sent in here, against absurd odds, to retrieve Rasso Hine. If Arcus is correct, and the consuls know about Ronkerz being a veil walker, the only logical conclusion is that they hoped we¡¯d get very lucky and find our target without running afoul of him. That, or they expected us to fail and never return from this ce.¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°But your master,¡± He gestured to Arcus, ¡°Lord Roil¡ªyou¡¯re sure he knows about Ronkerz?¡±

    Again, Arcus rhythmically pounded his fist on the table as he spoke, ¡°Roil has been in charge of this prison for millennia. I¡¯m sure his close allies know its secrets¡ª¡± His face froze momentarily as understanding seemed to sh behind his eyes. ¡°Of course! The bastard! That¡¯s why he added me to your team!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Arona leaned in close to him.

    Arcus barked a short, bitterugh. ¡°He¡¯ll avoid usations if <em>his</em> apprentice also dies in this ce.¡±

    ¡°None of this makes any fucking sense.¡± Victor shook his head. ¡°Which is it? They want Rasso Hine, or they want us to die?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be simplistic, Victor.¡± Arcus saw Victor¡¯s re and rapidly held up his remaining hand. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t mean that as an insult. Think about this from my master¡¯s perspective. He has two ends in mind. One, he wants to earn points with the other consuls by bringing Rasso out of the prison. Part of that was getting someone past the blockade¡ªyou did that. Two, he wants to weaken his adversaries, Vesavo and Ranish Dar. One way to do that is to deprive them of their best students, two prodigies who embarrassed his own student.¡± Again, Arcusughed bitterly.

    ¡°Yeah, but you guys just said there¡¯s no way to get anything past Ronkerz¡­¡±

    Arcus sighed heavily. ¡°Again, Victor, please think of this from Lord Roil¡¯s perspective. If we <em>did</em> find Rasso Hine and got out with him, all would be well; Roil could scheme for vengeance in another way. If, however, we ran afoul of Ronkerz? Well, as far as he knows, that would be the end of us all. He loses a recently disgraced student¡ªone of many in his current ss, I might add¡ªbut Vesavo loses his best apprentice, and Ranish Dar loses, if I¡¯m not mistaken, his only one.¡±

    Victor frowned at Arcus and his feebly twitching tentacle. ¡°I thought you were the shit, man. You telling me you¡¯re not Roil¡¯s best student?¡±

    ¡°No. Perhaps in his top five before the Vault of Valor debacle. Now, I can barely get him to look my way. Add to that my father¡¯s desire to be rid of me. Hah! He likely offered him a handsome sum to make it happen¡ª¡±

    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t!¡± Arona interrupted.

    ¡°Oh, he <em>would</em>! My mother is currently waging <em>war</em> against him on our homeworld.¡±

    Victor¡¯s eyebrows shot up at that. ¡°Jesus. What about your sister?¡±

    ¡°Trin? Different mother. I have <em>thirty-seven</em> siblings, Victor.¡±

    ¡°And your dad¡¯s not a veil walker?¡±

    Arcus scoffed, ¡°Hardly. Level fifty-three thest I heard.¡±

    Victor let that sink in, processing everything Arcus had just dumped on him. In a way, he was beginning to understand his bitterness and almost felt a little sorry for him. He¡¯d been an asshole, true, but he also had a lot of shit to contend with. Growing up, Victor had been lucky to have his <em>abu</em>, and he might have had some problems with his cousins and even his aunties from time to time, but he couldn¡¯t imagine having a father actively trying to get rid of him. Add to that a hard-ass master willing to toss you aside to win some points against his ancient enemies, and you had a recipe for resentment with a desperate <em>need</em> to rise above your peers. It exined a lot.

    ¡°You think Vesavo and Dar will fall for this shit?¡± he asked Arona.

    ¡°If we all fail to return¡­¡± She shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Victor drummed his fingers on Lifedrinker¡¯s haft. ¡°Well, I intend to return.¡±

    ¡°As do I.¡± Arona¡¯s voice was raspy as usual, but there was an edge to it, a hardness. Victor saw that hardness reflected in her dark eyes.

    ¡°Gods!¡± Arcus said, holding his hand against his eyes in dismay. ¡°If this had happened to me before the Vault of Valor¡ªbefore I¡¯d lost¡­¡± He trailed off and looked at Victor, then slumped his shoulders, sliding down on the bench so he nearly reclined against the table. ¡°I used to be more confident, but I¡¯m not so sure I¡¯m up to the task of fighting a steel seeker.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re just at a higher level, right?¡± Victor was half trying to encourage Arcus and half trying to confirm what he thought he understood.

    ¡°Higher level, aye, and who knows how far along with their custom ss, their cultivation, their spell and skill mastery, their¡ª¡±

    ¡°Arcus!¡± Arona reached over to grasp his shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re among the hardest-hitting casters in Sojourn, at least among the iron rankers. Take Victor¡¯s advice and think of these ¡®Big Ones¡¯ as nothing more than iron rankers who¡¯ve leveled past one hundred. For all we know, their training and cultivation arecking. Vesavo has told me tales of steel seekers who were decidedly weaker than he was in his iron ranks.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good point.¡± Victor frowned, tempted to reveal his level and describe how easily he¡¯d vanquished some of the tier-eight and ninebatants in the challenge. He decided not to, though, simply because he didn¡¯t know what Arcus might do with that information once they were out of the dungeon. Instead, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve beat the shit out of some folks with dozens of levels on me. I mean, shit, these guys don¡¯t even have good food. I know high-level cultivators don¡¯t need much to eat, but think about it: how good could the training and cultivation they¡¯ve been doing in this death-attuned dungeon be?¡±

    Arona nodded. ¡°There¡¯s something to that; the Energy is weak in the air. Their Cores may not be up to the standards we¡¯re used to.¡±

    Arcus sighed. His tentacle flexed as he stared at it, and arge goblet of wine appeared in its coiled embrace. ¡°I did it! I pulled this from my dimensional container with my new¡­<em>arm</em>.¡± Arona and Victor watched, holding their breath, as he stared at the goblet and ever so slowly began to raise it toward his mouth. The tentacle twitched and throbbed, but it seemed to be doing what he wanted. When he got the rim to his lip and took a shaky, slurping sip, Victor pped his hands, and Aronaughed.

    ¡°Fuck! Nice one, man!¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Arcus crowed, but then the goblet tilted and poured out onto his red robes. Heughed harder as the liquid rolled onto the stone floor, leaving no hint of a stain. The sight of his pristine robes drew Victor¡¯s eye to Arcus¡¯s torn, bloody sleeve. It was utterly whole; his robe had cleaned and repaired itself. ¡°I¡¯ll master this damned thing yet!¡±

    Arona¡¯s ck-stained lips were still curved in a broad, genuine smile, and she reached over to gently pat the Pyromancer¡¯s back. ¡°Well done, Arcus.¡±

    ¡°Making me thirsty.¡± Victor summoned a bottle of honeyed mead. He¡¯d noticed the crate of bottles from Zaafor while putting out their ¡°feast¡± and marked its location in his storage ring; it was one of his favorite alcohols. As he took a long pull, he heard the faint <em>thump</em> of a drum and, close behind it, the twang of stringed instruments. ¡°Guess they¡¯re getting their party started.¡±

    ¡°What a miserable existence,¡± Arona said, staring toward the distant glowing opening of the cave.

    Arcus followed her gaze and, somewhat wistfully, said, ¡°At least they have Ronkerz to support them. At least they have cause to celebrate.¡±

    ¡°Were you serious about your dad?¡± Victor asked. ¡°I mean, if he wanted you dead, why¡­¡± He¡¯d been about to ask why the man didn¡¯t just kill him but let the words die on his tongue.

    ¡°As with anything political, it¡¯splicated¡ªdoubly so when you consider I¡¯m his child. A death in the line of duty, serving the greater interest of the city, however? That will aid him politically.¡± Arcus stared at his tentacle, and, while Arona and Victor looked on, he forced it to pick up his goblet and tilt the dregs of his wine into his mouth. He managed it much more quickly and steadily than the first time.

    ¡°What does it feel like?¡± Victor gestured to the long, ck appendage with its row of tiny, throbbing suckers.

    Arcus reached over to squeeze the tentacle with his fingers, frowning slightly. ¡°It feels like flesh. The, um, soft, pink part is very tender and sensitive, like a hundred fingertips. At first, I thought for sure I¡¯d seek out Yon and demand some sort of restoration, but this new arm has some potential. It¡¯s quite long if I stretch.¡± To illustrate, Arcus grimaced in concentration, and then his tentacle extended away from him, wriggling through the air toward Arona. Victor¡¯s eyes bugged out as the narrow point began to probe toward her breasts, but she wasn¡¯t having it. She swatted it away with a pale blue sh of Energy, and Arcus winced in pain. ¡°Bitch!¡±

    ¡°Please,¡± she tly sighed. ¡°You¡¯re lucky you still have your new limb attached.¡±

    ¡°I mean,¡± Victor chuckled, ¡°you gotta have better judgment than that, man.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t <em>aiming</em> for your chest, woman!¡± Arcus growled as he rubbed the tip of his tentacle. He sucked in his breath through his teeth, grimacing. ¡°I just got through saying they¡¯re sensitive!¡±

    Arona ignored him, summoning a small wooden tray filled with candied fruits. ¡°I suggest we have our own feast. It may be thest any of us will enjoy; if we lose our duels tomorrow, we¡¯ll either be dead or stripped of our gear and enved to Ronkerz.¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll drink to that.¡± He made good on his words, chugging the rest of his bottle of mead. Heughed and tossed his empty bottle to shatter against a nearby stone wall. Arona lifted one of her dark eyebrows, and Arcus chuckled. As the music grew louder and the noise of Rumble Town¡¯s celebration echoed into their stony holding cell, they all began to pull out their favorite foods¡ªthings they¡¯d held back from the feast.

    Knowing he was probably watching them in one way or another, Victor held up a fresh bottle of mead. He didn¡¯t like their situation, and he couldn¡¯t say if he liked Ronkerz or not, but he had to admit, the giant simian demanded respect. ¡°You know, Arona, considering your words¡ªthat this might be ourst meal¡ªhow about a toast before we die? To Ronkerz!¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Arcus spat onto the stone floor but didn¡¯t shrink away from the toast. He held up a fresh goblet of wine. ¡°To Ronkerz!¡±

    Arona, grinning with half of her mouth, seemed to recognize the irony of their actions. She narrowed her eyes briefly as she concentrated, and then a delicate flute of sparkling alcohol appeared in her slender fingers. Still smiling crookedly, she clinked it against Victor¡¯s bottle and Arcus¡¯s jeweled goblet. ¡°To Ronkerz!¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 36: Alpha Strike

    Book 8: Chapter 36: Alpha Strike

    Victory awake for most of the night after he and the others decided to get some rest. He wasn¡¯t worried about being on top of his game or feeling groggy; he hardly needed sleep since his body had evolved to the ¡°epic¡± stage, and if he got a few hours now and then, he always felt fine. So, while he listened to the sounds of Arcus muttering and sometimes whimpering and the soft, quiet breathsing from Arona, hey on his back and thought about everything he¡¯d seen in the dungeon. What he kepting back to was the children.

    It bothered him to no end, knowing that everyone on the council could kill him; when he returned to Sojourn, he desperately wanted to go on an ass-kicking spree. He¡¯d been away from Earth long enough to understand how power scaled when Energy was involved, but learning about veil walkers and their seemingly exponential increase in potency rubbed him the wrong way. He¡¯d <em>liked</em> the fact that someone being ten or twenty levels higher than another person didn¡¯t mean they could automatically dominate them. Being forced to recognize the superiority of all the people who¡¯d passed their ¡°tests of steel¡± rankled.

    Nevertheless, Victor didn¡¯t see a way around it. He simply had to watch his step and rely on his alliances and the customs andws that seemed to protect the iron rankers from the veil walkers. Even the System seemed to enforce their separation¡ªRonkerz should <em>not</em> be in this dungeon with all the iron rankers. In a way, Victor wasforted to see that the System wasn¡¯t without ws. He liked that it could make mistakes; having some omnipotent, all-knowing <em>force</em> ruling over their lives was stifling. It felt good to know it wasn¡¯t perfect.

    Aside from his fruitless pursuit of a solution for the children in the dungeon, he couldn¡¯t sleep because he was excited. In his mind, the whole situation was like being moved to a new, bigger school as a freshman and being expected to face off with the state champ just because he showed some talent. He chuckled at the idea; why did he still fall back on wrestling analogies? He¡¯d fought a hell of a lot more with his axe in thest couple of years than he¡¯d ever wrestled. He supposed it came down to formative years¡ªmemories integral to his personality.

    He wondered which Big One Ronkerz would pit him against. Victor hadn¡¯t disyed many of his abilities since entering the dungeon, so he hoped Ronkerz was judging him by his appearance. He hoped he thought he was a brutish axe fighter without any finesse. Victor had quite a few tricks up his sleeve that even Arona and Arcus knew nothing about, even after watching his performance in the Vault of Valor. Thinking about that brought his mind around to how he felt his twopanions would fare in their matches.

    Arcus was suffering from a bruised ego, but Victor knew the mage could pack a punch. He hoped he¡¯d pull something off and get away with a win. However, he was more interested in Arona¡¯s fight. He¡¯d felt the depths of her power in her aura and was curious what a Death Caster like her could do in a one-on-one contest. He pictured their fights, his imagination running wild, then he drifted back to himself and began envisioning his own battle, running his moves through his mind, visualizing counters and counter-counters. The hours of the night slipped away, and though the sun never rose in the dungeon, he began to hear the sounds of people stirring outside the cave.

    He was straining to hear a distant conversation when he felt a shift in Arona¡¯s soft, steady breaths, and then she whispered, ¡°Did you sleep?¡±

    ¡°Nah,¡± he whispered back, turning to look at her dim form atop a low cot between himself and Arcus. They were all lying on camping beds with nkets and sleeping bags¡ªnone of them had been willing to pull out their entire camp setups. Victor had a big tent and lots of furniture, and he was sure his setup paledpared to what the others had. Still, something had kept them modest¡ªprobably the knowledge that Ronkerz was watching them.

    ¡°You wondered if I was undead the other day. Now you know the truth of it; if I were, I wouldn¡¯t need to sleep.¡±¡°Ah. Never? I thought vampires slept while the sun was out.¡±

    ¡°Vampires? Well, there are many types of undead. If I be one, I¡¯ll be more like my master¡ªa lich.¡± Her raspy voice took on a smoother, softer quality when she whispered, and Victor could almost imagine what she might have sounded like as a younger woman before she¡¯d gotten involved with her death magic. She was obviously trying not to disturb Arcus because Victor had heard her whisper far more harshly near the lich-wyrm¡¯sir.

    Her mention of their earlier conversation brought a thought to Victor¡¯s mind. ¡°Do you really hate your magic? Your master?¡±

    ¡°<em>Shh</em>!¡± she hissed. Arcus still breathed deeply, each exhtion steady and even, but Victor realized she feared the Pyromancer would hear him. ¡°What I told you before is true, but please don¡¯t bring it up.¡±

    ¡°All right. Sorry.¡± Victor tried to shrug, but lying on his back, the movement didn¡¯t trante.

    Arona shifted, and then her arm stretched out toward him. ¡°Will you take this for me?¡± She held something dark that glinted with silver in the faint glowmp light. Victor reached out to grasp the object; it was about the size and shape of a socket wrench, and when his hand closed around it, he felt the deep, powerful well of cold Energy inside it. Arona let go, and he realized he was holding a dense, heavy bone. He pulled it closer, out of the shadows, to see it was dark, almost like it had been charred, and was inscribed with silvery runes. It seemed familiar.

    ¡°That¡¯s one of my best summons, the one I used against the lich-wyrm. He¡¯s not yet recovered, so I can¡¯t use him in the duel and¡­¡± She trailed off for a moment, then started again, her voice so quiet, Victor had to lean toward her to hear, ¡°And if I die or have to surrender, I don¡¯t want to lose him to Ronkerz. You know he¡¯ll strip us if we surrender.¡±

    ¡°What if I lose?¡± Victor clutched the heavy, cold bone, wondering what creature had once walked with it as part of its skeleton.

    ¡°I have a feeling Ronkerz will make you fightst. If I win, I¡¯ll take it back from you. If I lose and you lose, the end result would be the same.¡±

    Victor sighed and put the bone into the same container he¡¯d gotten from Dar for his cultivation items. ¡°Well, what do I do with it? You want me to give it to your master?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Arona¡¯s raspy whisper became a hiss. ¡°Do not tell him you have it! If you leave this ce without me, then please, just take it to Dar¡¯s estate and bury it near those lovely orchards. I¡¯ll rest easier knowing my oldest, most loyalpanion made it out of this ce and that he¡¯s resting peacefully in such a beautiful setting.¡±

    Victor narrowed his eyes at her. It was strange hearing words like ¡°lovely¡± and ¡°beautiful¡± in conjunction with burying a bone and hiding the fact from her undead master. He leaned close and whispered in a voice so low there wasn¡¯t a chance Arcus could hear him, ¡°You really <em>do</em> hate him, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Arona¡¯s dark eyes seemed to grow luminescent in the dim light as moisture pooled in them. ¡°I do, Victor. I hate him with every fiber of my being.¡±

    Victor drew a breath, ready to ask her a follow-up question, wanting to know more about Vesavo and what made Arona hate him, but then thudding footsteps sounded on the stony cave ground, and Victor knew their time was just about up; Ronkerz was approaching. He heard Arona shifting, sitting up, climbing out of her nkets. Victor did the same, stowing away his nket andfortable sleeping tform. He¡¯d just stood and was nudging Arcus¡¯s bed with his boot, jostling him awake, when Ronkerz¡¯s hulking form loomed into view, backlit by the glowmps.

    ¡°Your feast was a sess,¡± the giant announced, his angr violet eyes shifting from Victor to Arona to Arcus as he stopped to assess them. ¡°It¡¯s good that you rested rather than schemed to escape. I¡¯ve set wards, and any use of those recall tokens would have ended painfully.¡±

    ¡°We assumed you were watching,¡± Arcus replied, stifling a yawn with his new, writhing appendage.

    ¡°Excellent. I was watching and <em>listening</em>, and it seems to me that you three are, while spoiled and foolishlypliant, not exactly willing participants in your venture here. Well, perhaps that¡¯s giving some of you too much credit. Perhaps it¡¯s better to say you¡¯re somewhat unwilling pawns, hmm?¡±

    This tale has been uwfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    ¡°That¡¯s urate.¡± Arona shifted her staff as she spoke, cing it between herself and Ronkerz. ¡°Does that mean you won¡¯t make us fight for our lives?¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Faster than Victor¡¯s eyes could track, Ronkerzshed out and snatched Arona¡¯s staff. A sh of cold blue Energy rolled out of it, washing over the huge simian, and, for a moment, Victor thought Arona had tricked the giant, that she¡¯d somehow set a trap for him. That may have been true; it seemed the Energy was harsh and focused on the hulking figure, but he stood stoically as it poured over him. Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the Energy was gone, leaving behind a faint odor of decay, a rimed-over stone floor, and Ronkerz¡ªutterly untouched.

    ¡°Clever but fruitless, girl.¡± His massive forearm twitched, and, with a resounding <em>crack</em>, her staff broke into splinters in his grip. Arona cried out and fell to her knees as the giant dropped the pieces of her once beautiful, polished ivory staff to the frosty ground. Victor could see the tears of frustrated anger and despair in her eyes, and he wondered if her staff had been alive. How would he react if Ronkerz did something like that to Lifedrinker? Before he could envision the scene, Ronkerz grunted, ¡°Pyromancer, you will fight first. The three of you have fifteen minutes to enter the arena.¡±

    As they all watched his lumbering form recede into the tunnel''s darkness, Arona hissed, ¡°<em>Bastard!</em>¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss,¡± Arcus mumbled, awkwardly stepping close to the still-kneeling Death Caster. ¡°I know you had him for decades and were very close.¡±

    ¡°Him?¡± Victor didn¡¯t want to rub salt in the wound, but he was curious; it seemed that her staff had, indeed, been conscious.

    ¡°Ghivalt,¡± Arona sniffed. ¡°He was a sturdy soul and a boonpanion. Many were the nights I whispered my frustrations into his ever-heedful ear.¡± With shaking hands, she gathered up the splinters of her staff, sending them into one of her dimensional containers. Watching her,paring her staff to Lifedrinker in his mind, Victor¡¯s reluctant respect for Ronkerz began to wane.

    ¡°What an asshole.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to trap him; I simply had defensive spells primed in Ghivalt. It¡¯s a habit of mine to put him between myself and those I view as a threat. I didn¡¯t think Ronkerz would take offense.¡± She epted Arcus¡¯s hand and rose to her feet, suddenly holding a different staff, this one made of ck-streaked gnarled wood. ¡°Let us face today¡¯s trial.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor nodded and turned to Arcus. ¡°You ready, man?¡±

    ¡°Not especially, but I¡¯m resolved. Whatever champion they pit against me had best be ready.¡± With that, Arcus¡¯s red metal rod appeared in his right hand, and the ck one appeared in his tentacle¡¯s firm grasp.

    ¡°You¡¯re getting the hang of that thing.¡±

    ¡°My sleep, though troubled with strange dreams, seems to have helped my minde to grips with the change in my body.¡±

    ¡°Come,¡± Arona rasped, already walking toward the cave opening. Victor and Arcus followed, and soon, they came into view of the broad, low-ceilinged opening. The sky was still dark, and Victor had to remind himself that the sun never rose in the dungeon world. When they stood in the opening, facing the stone-walled box canyon that served as Rumble Town¡¯s arena, none of them were surprised by the gathered crowds or their raucous boos and hisses.

    ¡°You¡¯d think these assholes would be a little more grateful for the meal weid out yesterday,¡± he grumbled. He scanned the cliffsides, the rooftops and the gaps between wooden buildings and figured there were something like three hundred people watching. It seemed like a lot to him, but when he considered that the dungeon had been around for thousands of years and that people were having kids inside it, the number wasn¡¯t all that high. It made him wonder at the average life expectancy inside the ce. He also had to remember that he hadn¡¯t seen the other munities¡± in the dungeon. For all he knew, Rumble Town housed only a fraction of the popce.

    ¡°Rumble Town!¡± Ronkerz boomed, his basso voice rattling the wooden structures and causing pebbles to bounce on the stone ground. Victor turned to the sound and saw the giant simian high on the cliffside in a wide cave mouth, surrounded by his Big Ones. ¡°Today, we have <em>entertainment</em>! Three outsiders whoe to us in servitude of the vile criminals who govern this world will face off against three of our Big Ones!¡± The crowd went wild at the announcement, though Victor couldn¡¯t help but think it was all some kind of strange pageant; the people had to know already that they were going to fight.

    ¡°Arcus! Pyromancer of the family Volpur¨¦, step into the arena!¡± Ronkerz¡¯s voice was loud and shook the ground, but it was also clear, and it felt like it was aimed right into Victor¡¯s ear. It made him wonder if the veil walker was using a voice amplification device or if Ronkerz simply had to flex his will to push his voice out on the waves of his ocean of Energy.

    ¡°Fortune be with you, Arcus.¡± As she spoke, Arona reached out and caught ahold of Arcus¡¯s sleeve, causing him to turn toward her. ¡°I hope you know that, despite our many contentious bouts of¡ª¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± he sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not always easy to get along with, but neither are you. In any case, should I perish, try to remember me as I was when we were young, crushing one dungeon after another, hmm?¡± The words made Victor evaluate Arcus and Arona in a new light. She¡¯d warned him of Arcus¡¯s impending betrayal, so he¡¯d thought they were likely enemies, but it seemed they had quite a history. It made sense, he supposed; the ¡°gifted¡± students and apprentices in Sojourn seemed to be very familiar with each other. If they¡¯d grown up at the same time, why wouldn¡¯t they have been friends, especially when they were younger and had less pressure from masters and society when their ¡°tests of steel¡± were a distant proposition?

    They stared at each other for a couple of seconds, then Arcus¡¯s eyes red with bright, white-hot mes, and he turned and strode into the center of the ¡°arena.¡± Quietly, Victor muttered his own encouragement, ¡°Good luck, you asshole. Burn the shit out of ¡®em.¡±

    As Arcus stepped away from the cave mouth and into the focus of everyone¡¯s attention, he burst into mes, a living, walking brand of white-hot fire that slowly lifted off the ground, hovering some five feet in the air as he spread his arm and tentacle, brandishing his two magical rods. The crowd seemed torn¡ªsome cheered, likely eager and excited for a fight, while others jeered and booed, clearly holding their praise for the hometown champion.

    Ronkerz¡¯s voice boomed out over Rumble Town, ¡°Fighting the mighty Pyromancer will be one of your favorite Big Ones¡ªFanat the <em>Gasher</em>!¡± His voice rose to a heart-stopping crescendo as he howled thebatant¡¯s fighting name. The earlier noise for Arcus paled inparison as Rumble Town began to vibrate with cheers and stomps, screams and howls. One of the shadowy figures near Ronkerzunched into the air, falling like aet from the heights tond on the stone surface of the arena with a ground-shaking <em>thud</em>. Dust and pebbles flew into the air, and, as the dust slowly cleared, Victor got his first good look at Fanat.

    She was a tall, ebon-skinned woman with a high, spiked, white mohawk. Arcus wasn¡¯t a small man¡ªprobably Va¡¯s size, if Victor were guessing¡ªbut Fanat was giant-sized at nearly ten feet. She wasn¡¯t bulky like many giants, but she was powerful-looking, with arms and shoulders covered in ropy, bulging muscles. She wore a strangely shimmering green and ochre breastte and a mask of the same metal, cast in a scowling, goblinesque visage. Around her waist was a thick leather girdle, and¡ªlikely the source of her moniker¡ªtwo wickedly curved swords hung from it.

    Even as Ronkerz screamed, ¡°<em>Fight!</em>¡± The sky above the canyon darkened and erupted with angry, red, and orange shes of fire. Thunder crashed, and then fiery meteors the size ofpact cars howled through the darkness toward the center of the canyon. Arcus held his red rod high over his head as the mes limning his body surged upward, like a fire given too much oxygen.

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± Victor grunted¡ªhe¡¯d been on the receiving end of Arcus¡¯s meteor strike before, but this was on another level. It looked to him like the whole town was going to be wiped out when they impacted the ground.

    ¡°He¡¯s dumping everything into it! His Core <em>and </em>the stored Energy he has in that rod! Is he mad? Does he seek to destroy us all?¡± Arona looked at Victor as though he had the answer. He just shrugged and took a step back, only to be met with an invisible wall of force. Arona had followed him, and, just as the first meteor hit the ground with a cacophonous <em>boom</em>, she stumbled into the invisible barrier, too.

    ¡°Ronkerz!¡± She hissed and muttered something else, some curse in anguage the System didn¡¯t trante, then turned back to the arena as the rest of Arcus¡¯s payload smashed down like a cataclysm. The sound was deafening, and the ground shook and jumped and lurched, forcing Victor to concentrate on keeping his bnce, but, even as he struggled to stay on his feet, he realized something: the fire and smoke weren¡¯t touching him. The explosion rolled out from the impact point¡ªwaves of fire, clouds of ck smoke, curtains of dirt, rock shards, and rubble. Everything came up against another invisible barrier, channeled away by waves of force or magical wind.

    As the fire and smoke cleared, Arona sighed and gestured up the cliffside to where Ronkerz stood, his enormous arms spread wide, his violet eyes zing like twin stars. ¡°He¡¯s protecting the onlookers and town.¡±

    Victor nodded; he¡¯d figured something like that was happening. As the smoke and dust cleared, he started scanning the arena, wondering how Arcus¡¯s alpha strike had served him. The ce looked like a bomb had gone off, which, he supposed, made sense. What Arcus had done was the Energy-user equivalent of calling in an airstrike. The stone ground was cracked and pitted; pools of fire, red-glowing stone, and ck smoke still lingered. Hovering in the center of the destruction was Arcus¡¯s fiery form.

    The crowd had gotten quiet, but when Arcus slowly turned, his ming arm and tentacle held high in triumph, a murmur broke out. Several heartbeats passed as everyone looked for Fanat. When no one could see any sign of the champion, hushed and tentative at first, the onlookers began to cheer. The apuse started near the ground, where people stood like Victor and Arona in cave mouths or between buildings, but it slowly spread until the entire canyon was roaring with it. Meanwhile, Arcus continued to rotate, basking in the praise, his body too alight for Victor to see his expression.

    Ronkerz lowered his arms, but he didn¡¯t speak, and Victor began to feel a funny twinge of doubt in his gut. If Arcus had killed Fanat, Ronkerz would know it. He would be shouting <em>something</em>¡ªpraise or anger or amusement. He wouldn¡¯t stand there on his high perch, watching Arcus intently. ¡°He missed.¡±

    Arona looked at him sharply, ¡°You see her?¡±

    ¡°No, but Ronkerz¡ª¡± Just as he was about to exin his thought process, Fanat appeared behind Arcus and drove her twin des, not once or twice, but three times each, into Arcus¡¯s back. Arcus¡¯s mes winked out, and he fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. Fanat held up her bloody, curved swords, and the cheers, which had abruptly stopped when she¡¯d appeared, erupted with renewed frenzy, and the crowd took up a chant.

    ¡°<em>Gasher</em>! <em>Gasher</em>! <em>Gasher</em>!¡±

    ¡°He lives,¡± Arona said, pointing. Sure enough, Victor saw Arcus slowly,boriously flop onto his back, a great pool of blood blossoming out around his red-robed form. His tentacle shakily clutched a bulbous potion bottle, but Fanat saw his movement and <em>blinked</em> away. Suddenly, she loomed over the downed Pyromancer, her boot on his tentacle, holding the potion at bay.

    ¡°Yield?¡± She growled, but she didn¡¯t look at Arcus. Her mask was trained upward toward Ronkerz.

    Victor never heard Arcus say anything, but Ronkerz¡¯s voice boomed through the canyon, ¡°Fanat the Gasher has won! Her opponent yields! Wee, Arcus the <em>Inferno</em>, to Rumble Town¡ªour newest <em>Big One</em> in training!¡± While Victor and Arona absorbed those words, the town roared in a frenzy of excitement. Ronkerz let it go on for several long seconds, then held up his hands for silence. ¡°Arona, Death Caster, student of Vesavo Bonewhisper, the Demon of Tsuva, enter the arena!¡±

    ¡°Damn,¡± Victor muttered. ¡°I think you were right. He¡¯s building an army, and I feel like we¡¯re about to be recruited.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m quite certain that warrior could have killed Arcus with her strike. Teleportation skills, even short-ranged like that, are difficult to contend with.¡± Arona looked up at Victor, her dark eyes depthless and full of secrets. ¡°I won¡¯t be so easily conscripted.¡± With that, she stepped into the arena as Fanat scooped up Arcus¡¯s fallen, bloody form and simply disappeared.

    Victor had to admire Arona¡¯s confidence, but he was starting to have doubts¡ªhow was he supposed to contend with someone who could blink around the battlefield? Could he kill someone he couldn¡¯t touch? ¡°Shit, <em>chica</em>,¡± he muttered, hefting Lifedrinker in both of his hands as he watched the dark-robed, straight-backed Death Caster gliding through the wreckage of Arcus¡¯s meteor strike, ¡°we might get a decent workout after all. This is gonna get good and bloody.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 37: Deaths Maw

    Book 8: Chapter 37: Death''s Maw

    Ronkerz¡¯s voice roared out, vibrating the stone under Victor¡¯s feet. ¡°Which Big One shall we choose to face this disciple of death, Rumble Town? I¡¯ll give you a choice! Will it be Zara Bloodmoon, daughter of Rex Hangar and wielder of the Midnight Scythe, or will it be Gorruk the Crusher, Wrecker of Bones, and Ravager of the Lich King?¡± If the crowd made any noise while Ronkerz spoke, Victor couldn¡¯t hear them, but as soon as he finished, the onlookers broke into two distinct chants. Some rhythmically yelled, ¡°<em>Zara, Zara, Zara</em>,¡± while others contended with, ¡°<em>Gorruk, Gorruk, Gorruk</em>!¡±

    Victor watched Arona while the denizens of Rumble Town shouted for their favorite champions. She stood still, her twisted ck staff nted in the ground before her, while cold-looking blue mist seeped out of the dirt and sted stone, forming a hazy cloud that rose to her knees. Something moved in the cloud of vaporous air, and Victor thought he saw a faintly luminescent form lurking within it. Was she already summoning her minions? Was Ronkerz going to allow that? It seemed so, for, as Victor nced up to him, the great simian lord of the dungeon seemed to be basking in the roars of the crowd, enjoying their contest.

    Before long, it became clear that the Gorruk supporters would win. Slowly but surely, more and more people stopped chanting for Zara, and the cries for Gorruk grew louder and louder. After a handful of minutes, Ronkerz stepped to the edge of his high cave and held his arms wide, silencing the crowd. ¡°Rumble Town, you have chosen! Gorruk the Crusher, take the field!¡±

    One of the shadowy, hulking figures behind Ronkerz stepped forward and leaped off the ledge, falling to the ground with a tremendous impact that Victor felt through the stone, jarring the bones in his ankles and knees. When Gorruk stood tall, Victor winced¡ªhe was an imposing figure. The Big One was a reptilian creature that towered over Arona, easily more than ten feet tall. He wore red leather straps for armor but carried a massive metal-spiked shield and a hammer that looked fit for pounding boulders into dust. He arched his back, angled his alligator maw toward the sky, and roared.

    To her credit, Arona didn¡¯t flinch, and rather than quail before his disy of brute power, she flung out her hand, scattering a dozen tiny bones in a semi-circle behind the Big One. Ronkerz made it clear he knew things were kicking off by shouting, ¡°<em>Fight</em>!¡± Gorruk dashed forward, his spiked shield leading the way. Victor thought it was about to be over before it started, but Arona¡¯s spectralpanion rose from the mist, cing itself in the giant¡¯s path. Victor¡¯s eyes widened at the sight of the specter.

    The ghostly, semi-ethereal, semi-solid being was skeletally gaunt, clothed in ragged, luminescent chain mail. It wore a horned helm and wielded nothing but dagger-like ws on its hands. Still, it was huge, fast, and apparently quite strong. It rose from the mist looming over Arona and was more than a match for Gorruk¡¯s rushing form as it wrapped the ws of its right hand around the edge of his shield and stepped to the side, pulling the giant with it, forcing him to stumble as he windmilled his hammer for bnce.

    ¡°Take him, Shol-pan!¡± Arona cried. Again, the specter wailed, and he leaped after Gorruk, raking his long ws in a savage, wild frenzy, tearing long, bloody grooves in the giant¡¯s flesh, ripping the straps of his armor to shreds and sending bright red blood spraying in arcs with each lightning-fast, hacking gash. Gorruk screamed his fury and pain, but Victor felt something was off. The dozens of cuts were deep and bloody, but Gorruk¡¯s scream didn¡¯t have even a hint of desperation in it. In fact, Victor recognized a kindred battle lust in that sound, and he knew Gorruk was just getting warmed up.

    As the gashes mounted and Gorruk was driven further and further from Arona, the Death Caster began to surge with deep, cold Energy, preparing another spell. As she lifted her staff, Gorruk roared and whirled,shing out with his spiked shield. Victor thought the specter, Shol-pan, would evade the blow, or perhaps ignore it, being less than solid flesh, but the shield struck true and, with a ssh of blue-white ectosmic flesh, Arona¡¯s champion was thrown to the side, crumpled and deformed, tumbling over the charred stones of the arena.

    Victor winced, but as he turned back to Arona, the air temperature dropped by a dozen degrees. She held her arms wide, a strained, rictus grin on her face, as a whirlwind of ghostly, ethereal des exploded into existence, streaking toward Gorruk. The des howled as they sliced the air, and the temperature continued to plummet as they seemed to suck the very life out of the arena, riming everything with a frigidyer of hoarfrost as they traversed the space. Gorruk had barely turned from his struggle with Shol-pan when the whirlwind struck.He lifted his shield, roared, and then brightnces of Energy exploded from the spiked surface like a starburst. Where the beams of light shone, the des disintegrated, and the frost melted. The temperature in the arena immediately began to recover as half of Arona¡¯s spectral de storm was destroyed on impact. Still, the other half, the straggling, sputtering remnant of the whirlwind, washed over Gorruk and added to the many bleeding gashes on his hulking, green-scaled body. Even so, as his blood pooled on the stones, he stood resolute and straight when the spell faded.

    Victor looked at Arona, trying to gauge her strength, but, to his surprise, she¡¯d faded from view in a new bank of ghostly fog. Gorruk strode toward it, but then, with an explosion of grave-scented Energy, like moist soil and fresh decay, the bones Arona had strewn out earlier sprang into the air. They rapidly multiplied and grew until a small army of skeletal minions surrounded the cloud of blue-tinted fog. Each of the skeletons¡¯ skulls, in all their variety, held bright, ghostly blue lights in their eye sockets, and they turned, in unison, to focus on Gorruk. The way they moved in perfect synchrony made Victor shudder as a chill ran down his spine.

    Gorruk didn¡¯t wait for the skeletal monsters to act; he charged on a streak of light like a sunbeam toward the one furthest to the left and smashed it to bits with a cacophonous impact of his shield. The skeletal warrior¡¯s bones flew with a tter, but the other skeletons leaped into action, jumping, charging, and sliding over the ground to engage Gorruk from every side. Some wielded ws, but others held gleaming weapons¡ªhammers, axes, spears, and swords. Considering how quickly Gorruk had killed the first one, Victor thought they must not be very tough, but he was surprised to see them pushing the giant, reptilian man back.

    Gorruk fought with an impressive fury; he smashed his hammer in wide arcs, and it wrought destruction on any bones it touched¡ªshattering ribs, smashing skulls, crushing shoulders, hips, and spines. The skeletons didn¡¯t die passively; they stabbed and hacked at Gorruk, carving more and more bloody rents in his scaly hide. Meanwhile, Arona didn¡¯t stand idly by. Victor didn¡¯t know what she was doing, but she floated around the melee, nting white, coldly pulsating rods into the stone as though it were y.

    Several times, Gorruk saw what she was doing and tried to intervene, charging toward her, but each time, one of her skeletal minions interceded on her behalf, taking the charge and sacrificing its life. Victor swore he saw Gorruk destroy dozens of the skeletons, yet they kepting, and that¡¯s when he realized they weren¡¯t staying dead. No matter how badly Gorruk shattered them, the constructs slowly reformed, their bones pulling together on threads of pale-blue Energy.

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    He could see the Big One growing frustrated. His grunts grew more ragged and hoarse, his swings wilder and more reckless, and his zing sunlight sts more frequent. However, even the skeletons destroyed by that bright power didn¡¯t stay dead, and Victor felt a grin growing on his lips¡ªArona was going to wear him down. That¡¯s when he saw Arona¡¯s spectral champion, Shol-pan, rise from where he¡¯d been thrown and dive into the fray, knocking aside some of his smaller allies in his eagerness toy into Gorruk with his ten-inch spectral ws.

    Arona stabbed a seventh white rod into the stone, and then she rose up, carried by her spectral mist, to look down upon the melee at the center of her formation. She pped her hands, shouted a word that felt strange to Victor¡¯s ears, and fired a beam of strangely pulsating Energy into the nearest rod. The device absorbed the torrent of Energy and then red with white, sickly light that made Victor¡¯s eyes water and his stomach feel queasy. The light shot forth from one rod to the next, creating a sort of luminescentting over Gorruk and the undead minions fighting within the formation.

    ¡°Holy shit! Yes, <em>chica</em>!¡± Victor growled, pounding his fist into his palm as the of sickly, ethereal Energy began to contract, passing harmlessly through the undead monsters in the ring but pressing down against Gorruk¡¯s scales with sizzling, hissing burns that brought wild, enraged screams from the reptilian¡¯s throat. As the bands of deathly Energy tightened, burning into the Big One and driving him to his knees, Arona¡¯s mist began to fade, and she slowly lowered to the stone ground.

    Victor could tell she was exhausted, and it seemed she was trying to conserve some of her waning Energy because she waved her hand, and her skeletal minions copsed in heaps of bone that crumbled to dust, leaving behind only the tiny, singr enchanted bones from which they¡¯d sprung. During the battle, Victor had thought the minions were simply exceptionally resilient, reforming and rejoining the fight over and over, but he now realized that Arona had used her own Energy to rebuild or heal them each time. She sagged against her staff, watching as Shol-pan, too, faded away into wisps of blue smoke.

    Gorruk thrashed and writhed, and Victor could see the bands of Energy cutting into him deeper and deeper, driving him down, apparently helpless to resist. Arona held up her left hand and slowly, with great effort, began to clench it into a fist. Gorruk screamed in rage and pain, and just when Victor thought the fight was over, that he was done for, the scream shifted in tenor from pain and frustration to bone-deep rage.

    Suddenly, Victor felt a pull on his Core, like he stood in the presence of something massive, something profoundly powerful. Then, just as he steadied himself and focused on Gorruk¡ªthe source of that enormous surge of Energy¡ªhe saw the reptilian man begin to change. His body swelled grotesquely, rippling as bones expanded and shifted beneath his flesh. The bloody cuts, gashes, and stab wounds spread wide, ripping and joining in long, gory furrows that rapidly filled in with glistening, iridescent green scales.

    As the Big One¡¯s body expanded, Arona¡¯s trap formation fought to hold him down, to cut into him, but the Energy waves pouring out of Gorruk negated their deathly Energy, and, one by one, the sickly white metallic rods <em>pinged</em> out of the rocky ground, tumbling away to ng and tter on the arena walls. Arona fell to her knees, her pale arms shakily catching her from falling onto her face.

    Victor felt the dryness in his mouth and realized he¡¯d been holding it open. He licked his lips. ¡°Come on, Arona! Get up!¡± As if she¡¯d heard him, the Death Caster struggled to her feet, stumbling back from the still writhing, still expanding, still <em>roaring</em> Gorruk. Victor shifted his gaze to watch the gigantic reptilian form taking shape at the center of the arena.

    Victor had likened the Big One¡¯s snout to that of an alligator earlier, but now he was cursing the thought¡ªGorruk was, indeed, transforming into something gigantic and crocodilian. His scales were nothing like those of an Earth-based alligator or crocodile, though; they gleamed and shimmered like metal. Worse, he¡¯d sprouted a massive, twenty-foot tail, the tip of which ended in a knobby bone-like protrusion adorned with razor-sharp spines.

    As the monster thrashed back and forth, shaking off thest vestiges of his former body and armor, he whirled to aim one of his crocodilian eyes at Arona. The giant monstrosity heaved and huffed, puffing great billowing breaths out through his enormous nostrils as the eye narrowed in a hungry, almost lecherous stare. Each of Gorruk¡¯s four legs was as big as Arona¡¯s entire body, and they all ended in great, ck, scimitar-like ws. As the monster slowly began to circle his prey, for Victor couldn¡¯t see the depleted Death Caster as anything else, Ronkerz¡¯s voice boomed out, echoing off the canyon walls.

    ¡°Arona! You may yield! Gorruk¡¯s restraint is limited with his bloodline running wild!¡±

    Arona, holding her staff between herself and the gigantic reptile, took a shaky step back and looked up at Ronkerz¡¯s shelf, then to her right, locking eyes with Victor. What he saw in those depthless ck pools didn¡¯t look like resignation or even fear. Determination was inly written on her face, and Victor sucked in his breath when he realized she wouldn¡¯t be giving up. He almost shouted for her to concede, but something in him wouldn¡¯t let his lips form those words. Instead, he took a deep breath and bellowed, ¡°<em>Kill</em> that fucker!¡±

    Arona gave him a brief nod, and then, just as before, Victor felt the temperature in the arena begin to dip as faintly luminescent, blue-tinged mist began to rise from the ground. Arona raised her staff high and took a deep breath. Victor could feel her gathering Energy; the potential of her spell pulled at him, almost like the weighty nature of Gorruk¡¯s transformation. He leaned forward in anticipation, waiting to see what she would do, but the great reptile wasn¡¯t willing to be patient. With a swish of its enormous tail for impetus, Gorrukunched himself forward and closed his great jaws over Arona with a thunderous <em>snap</em>.

    One second, she¡¯d been about to work her magic, her staff held high. The next, only half her body remained to bleed out onto the cked stone of the arena floor. It happened so quickly that she never cried out. She¡¯d been looking at Gorruk, so Victor never saw her face, never got a chance to see if fear entered her steely gaze. He¡¯d never know if she¡¯d been surprised or embarrassed. He hoped not. He hoped she was too focused on her magic, too full of adrenaline and anger to see Gorruking. He hoped she died with that bravery in her heart and that she¡¯d carry it with her to the Spirit ne.

    The ground shook as Ronkerz leaped down and hooked one of his massive arms around Gorruk¡¯s thick, scaly neck. At first, Victor thought he was congratting him, but when he saw him squeeze, he wondered if he was angry. Would he punish the giant reptile? Would he kill him? As he squeezed Gorruk¡¯s thick neck, holding him steady, Victor saw him snake his other arm into that toothy maw and slowly extract the bloody, saliva-covered other half of Arona¡¯s body. ¡°Too much good equipment here for you to digest, champion.¡±

    The arena broke into an uproar of cheering as Arona¡¯s upper halfnded on the stone with a wet <em>squelch</em>. Her bloody, slime-covered face happened to be staring directly at Victor. Those depthless pools had zed over. Her pretty, pale face had deep tooth grooves ripped from brow to chin, and her tongue protruded from her carefully stained ck lips. Victor felt heat rising in his chest, saw his vision tinting red, and, before he realized he was doing it, he started stalking toward the corpse.

    ¡°Halt, boy!¡± Ronkerz roared, and once again, Victor felt the weight of the veil walker¡¯s aura pushing him back. Victor ignored him, his eyes locked on Arona¡¯s defiled corpse. One after the other, he continued to take steps. It felt like walking up a mountain through burning, oxygenless air with ten-thousand-pound chains hooked to his ankles. Still, he progressed¡ªvessels bursting in his eyes, blood flowing from his nose and ears, and veins standing out like rivers of blood on his engorged muscles.

    Ronkerz scowled, and the arena grew hushed. He took two strides to Victor and reached up with one of his enormous hands to grasp his neck, halting his forward movement. The grip felt like a band of steel, and it reminded Victor of his time as a ve in the Greatbone Mine, further fueling his rage. He opened his pathways, letting his Core unload into them, ready to cast Volcanic Fury and go for broke, but then, as suddenly as a switch being thrown, he felt the pressure of a tremendous will <em>pushing </em>his Energy back into his Core.

    His mind cleared, the red in his vision faded, and Victor realized that his hands were wrapped around Ronkerz¡¯s wrist, straining to pull his grasping fingers away from his neck. Lifedrinkery at his feet. When had he dropped her? Ronkerz must have seen the rity enter his eyes because he nodded, then slowly rxed his grip on Victor¡¯s throat. ¡°That eager to do battle, eh, boy? Well, you¡¯ll get your chance, but not against me. Not yet, anyway.¡± He nced down at Arona¡¯s mutted corpse. ¡°Angry at her rough treatment? I¡¯m not terribly pleased, either. Take heart¡ªI¡¯ll give her a good resting ce.¡±

    Once again, Ronkerz <em>moved¡ª</em>faster and more adroitly than Victor¡¯s eyes could properly track. He tried, though, and thought he saw some blurs of motion here and there, but still, almost without any trace, Ronkerz, Arona¡¯s body, and the gigantic crocodilian champion were gone. Victor stood alone in the arena. He stooped to pick up Lifedrinker and, with her resting on one shoulder, slowly turned, soaking in the attention of the onlookers.

    He sent some Energy into the runes on his armor, reactivating it, dding himself in heavy red-ck metal, scales, and leather. Lifting Lifedrinker high, he screamed¡ªnothing articte, no words, just a primal, bloodthirsty cry for battle, chaos, and blood. His outburst was fueled by fear and rage, but when the crowd roared their enthusiasm, the glory in his Core surged, and a mad grin twisted Victor¡¯s lips as he deeply inhaled, soaking up their enthusiasm. They wanted to see him fight, and he would give them something to remember.

 Book 8: Chapter 38: Stormclaw

    Book 8: Chapter 38: Stormw

    Victor paced in a circle, Lifedrinker held over his head, shouting into the crowd¡¯s roaring enthusiasm. Ronkerz must have enjoyed the spectacle because he let it go on for quite some time before his basso voice boomed like a gong, reverberating through the canyon. He didn¡¯t try to silence Victor or the crowd; he simply allowed the power of his projected voice to overwhelm their noise as he hollered, ¡°Thest of our visitors is eager to fight, Rumble Town! Look at him! See the might of an elder bloodline, here to entertain you! Which of our Big Ones can stand against such fury?¡±

    Ronkerz¡¯s echoing, booming voice broke through Victor¡¯s self-induced haze of anger, and he slowly lowered his axe as he listened. ¡°Make no mistake! The man below might not be through his iron ranks, but he¡¯s a monster in his own right¡ªa warrior with the blood of a titan in his veins, a berserker with a Core brimming with rage! You saw how he stood against my aura! Who among our champions could face such a challenger?¡±

    The crowd, hushed by Ronkerz¡¯s thunderous voice, began to murmur in low tones¡ªwords that, disparate at first, started to coalesce into a single name that they repeated, louder and louder, until the canyon echoed with the sound: ¡°<em>Stormw! Stormw! Stormw!¡±</em>

    ¡°My number one? My apprentice? My right hand? Lira Stormw? The Reaper of Bloodtide Cove? You think this challenger is worthy of <em>her</em> attention?¡± As he egged them on, the crowd grew more and more vociferous, howling her name and pounding their cudgels, shields, tankards, and brooms. They stomped their feet in rhythm to their frenzy, howling the Big One¡¯s name, ¡°<em>Stormw! Stormw! Stormw!¡±</em>

    Ronkerz seemed to like what he heard and saw, so he opened his massive arms and, he, too, shouted, ¡°Stormw! Take the field!¡± With a sh of shining armor reflecting the moon¡¯s light, Lira Stormw leaped from the ledge, spreading her great, gray-feathered wings and slowly spiraling down to the arena floor. Just as Victor had seen her before, she wore shiny, silver chainmail, but now she also had her head encased in a gleaming, polished helmet. She clutched her giant, curved saber in one hand, and, on her other arm, she wore a bright, metallic buckler that glinted in the pale light of the moon.

    Her talons crunched into the canyon floor, and Victor saw they¡¯d cut grooves in the stone. When her hawklike gaze locked with his, she spread her wings wide and held up her sword, and the crowd went wild again. She was the biggest avian person he¡¯d ever seen, easily nine feet tall, and her wingspan had to be more than twenty feet wide. She cut an imposing figure, especially considering her gleaming armor and the heavy, bold aura she let loose. Victor might have been intimidated if he hadn¡¯t already fought dozens of men, women, and creatures more intimidating¡ªif he hadn¡¯t already stood up against Ronkerz¡¯s aura, which was a hundred times denser.

    ¡°Well?¡± Lira asked, her voice once again surprising Victor with its melodic nature. ¡°Shall we dance?¡± She shed her saber through the air between them, leaving trails of glittering light and somehow producing a crystalline ring with each cut.

    Victor held Lifedrinker ready, hands loose on her haft, and began to circle the avian woman. ¡°Ready when you are.¡±

    Lira shrieked, cracked her wings, andunched into him, her curved sword whistling as sheid about with a frenzy of lightning-fast attacks. Victor tried to answer the ferocity of her blows but found himself unable to match her speed. Still, he was a skilled axe wielder and an experienced duelist, and she didn¡¯tnd any strikes clean enough to draw blood. She got past his guard a few times, but only because he saw her weapon would strike his armor and wanted to test its edge.Once, he caught the saber on his heavy gauntlet, and, though it sparked and drew a narrow, shiny scratch in the metal, he hardly felt it. His wyrm-scale vest didn¡¯t quite hold up as well, shedding a scale as she drew the de along his ribs, but still, he was unharmed, and the armor immediately began to mend itself¡ªthe fallen scale crumbled to dust and rapidly reformed to fill the gap. It was in that Lira was testing him, and Victor could see her shrewd, predatory gaze grow sharper as she was repeatedly rebuffed.

    When she surged with Energy and began to move faster than he could track, Victor cast Inspiration of the Quinametzin. As the white-gold Energy flooded his pathways and his consciousness expanded, he began to see the greater pattern of Lira¡¯s movements, and, though he still had trouble tracking her scimitar¡¯s shing de, he saw how she moved her feet, how her wings flexed, and where her center of gravity shifted as she went through the patterns of her attacks. He contemted those patterns and formed responses in his mind as his armor amassed scrapes.

    His grin turned savage as he predicted one of her shes and, for the first time, stepped inside it and brought Lifedrinker down in a brutal hack against the armor on the outside of Lira¡¯s thigh. Lifedrinker, still carrying a shard of Victor¡¯s spirit, dented the shiny armor and split it just enough for her razor edge to draw a thin gash that wept blood. Lira screeched her pain and frustration and pumped her wings, hurling herself into the air, flying a dozen yards back.

    Still brimming with inspiration, Victor tracked her trajectory and cast Energy Charge, flooding the spell¡¯s pattern with fear-attuned Energy. In a cloud of ck and purple shadows, he ripped through the fire-sted arena and, with Lifedrinker¡¯s edge leading the way, smashed into Lira just as shended. She was fast, though, and put her shiny buckler in the path of Lifedrinker¡¯s edge. Victor¡¯s spell moved him like a missile, and Lifedrinker pulled and vibrated with the urgency of her hack, but, even so, that shiny, tter-sized shield stopped her cold. The impact rang out like a cannonball hitting a gong, and Victor¡¯s momentum drove him past the impact point, nearly jerking the axe from his hands as Lira sidestepped his driving shoulder.

    Victor¡¯s grip was mighty, and Lifedrinker loathed the idea of being taken from him; it would take the weight of a mountain to pull her from his grip, so she slid along that shiny barrier, ringing out a crystalline screech as she tore a thin groove in the metal and followed Victor as he flew past Lira. The avian warrior snapped her wings andunched herself at Victor¡¯s back, scoring two powerful blows, left and right, smashing his wyrm-scale vest in an X pattern, shattering scales, cutting the thick wyrm-hide material, and, for the first time, drawing blood. Victor stumbled forward but whirled, cleaving Lifedrinker in a wide, one-handed backswing.

    Lira danced back, avoiding the savage blow, and then, with a surge of potent, sharp Energy that tasted like coppery blood and rust, a dozen ck-iron des, each the size and shape of Lira¡¯s saber, exploded out of the ground and began to dance in the air, moving like a storm of razored metal toward Victor. Victor¡¯s monstrous vitality, bolstered by Sovereign Will, had already closed the wounds on his back, and he felt fresh, like he¡¯d barely begun to exert himself. His savage grin widened as he waded into the magically hacking swords and began to dance, treating each like a new opponent.

    The des wove side to side, up and down, and hacked the air with palpable <em>whooshes</em>. Even so, they were far slower and duller than Lira¡¯s gleaming saber. Victor smashed them aside with Lifedrinker and his gauntlet. Sometimes, he even ducked his head and used his helmet to catch the des. All the while, he kept track of Lira, watching as she moved around her sword storm, timing the many swinging sabers so she could slip in and drive her much deadlier primary weapon at Victor¡¯s exposed nk or try to interfere with one of his parries.

    Victor took many hits from those magical swords, but most slid harmlessly off his armor. Still, his thickva king-hide pants were beginning to show their wear and tear, and he began to bleed as the minor cuts started to mount. His right arm was the worst¡ªno gauntlet protected his forearm, and it was repeatedly exposed as he swung Lifedrinker out to smash aside one sword or another. Even so, his natural regeneration could cope, and Victor fought the urge to scream his frustration and cast Iron Berserk. He knew Lira had more that she was holding back, and he didn¡¯t want to y his cards until he had to.

    After several minutes of battle against Lira¡¯s sword storm, Victor fell into an inspiration-fueled trance, and fewer and fewer swords hit him. He¡¯d begun to see a pattern to the whirling, weaving des; they had to make room for each other and, thus, weren¡¯t truly random. If he had to exin the pattern, he couldn¡¯t have. He caught glimpses of it on an instinctual level and began to modify his footwork and the weaving motions of his axe to capitalize, and soon, he was smashing four des aside with each swooping swing of Lifedrinker. As he found the rhythm and fell into the new dance, he could turn most of his attention to Lira and, once again, frustrate her efforts to cut him.

    ¡°Gods be damned! You¡¯re good with that axe!¡± she grunted after a while. The words hardly registered on Victor as he wove between the shing sabers and tried to work his way closer to the woman controlling them. As he closed the distance and began to put pressure on her despite her hacking storm of swords, Lira grunted, but it wasn¡¯t so much a frustrated sound as an excited one. The same sharp Energy filled the air, again filling Victor¡¯s mouth with the taste of rust and blood. Then, in an explosion of rock fragments, ck iron tes burst from the ground and began to spin violently around Lira.

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    The swords crumbled to ck dust, but the tes, varying in size, spun so rapidly that Victor was forced back. He ducked his head and held Lifedrinker up in defense, but Lira didn¡¯t press the attack; she was focused on her magic. The tes of magical iron wove in a whirling pattern around her body, and then, one by one, they began to m into her. At first, Victor thought she¡¯d made an error or cast a spell she couldn¡¯t control. He soon realized what was happening, though, and growled as he watched Lira encase herself. The tall, lean warrior became a massive juggernaut of ck metal.

    Even her wings were covered, and though he doubted they could still be used to fly, they looked like formidable weapons in their own right. Rather than feathers, they were lined with razored des, and, as she flexed them up and down, he could see they weren¡¯t immobile. As thest of the tes mmed into ce,pleting her suit of dense armor, Victor roared and cast Energy Charge again, this time fueling it with rage. He didn¡¯t want to risk Lifedrinker¡¯s edge or handle being damaged before he tested that thick armor, so he led the charge with his dense gauntlet, aiming to cave in the center of Lira¡¯s ted chest.

    Lira spread her arms, her saber looking small in her metal-ted fist, and seemed to wee Victor¡¯s impact. He soon learned why. As his gauntlet impacted that thick ck te, he realized it wasn¡¯t mundane armor that coated Lira¡¯s body. The metal was rife with Energy, infused with the magic of Lira¡¯s affinity, which, apparently, wasn¡¯t simple iron but something far more profound, something more like the very essence of ¡°metal.¡±

    Victor¡¯s gauntlet rebounded, the knuckles bent in by the tremendous impact. Even as his fist flew back, his body continued forward, and Victor mmed into Lira with a <em>boom</em> that cracked the stone around them. Victor¡¯s Core red, driving rage-attuned Energy into the magical shell meant to protect him. Even without looking, he could feel the hot sun at the center of his being cool as he depleted a tremendous portion of his reserves to keep from crushing himself against the immovable density of Lira¡¯s metal-d form.

    As the waves of force washed outward, throwing stones, boulders, and clouds of debris toward the arena''s edges, Lira punched her empty, gauntleted fist into Victor¡¯s side. She turned with the action, putting her considerable weight behind the blow, and Victor was lifted from his feet and sent flying. As he tumbled through the air, sure he¡¯d smash into a crowd of onlookers who stood between two buildings, he came up against the invisible force of Ronkerz¡¯s Energy. It felt like colliding with a stone wall.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Victor groaned as he slid down the invisible barrier to the hard rubble-strewn ground. He struggled to take a full breath, sharp painncing through his torso. Coughing and wheezing, he nted his hands on the ground and mbered to his feet. He was sure some of his ribs were shattered; he could feel the bones grinding painfully as his passive regeneration worked to undo the damage. Just as he¡¯d found his footing, he felt the ground trembling rhythmically, and that was when he realized Lira was already upon him. Victor whirled just in time to get his gauntleted left arm up and catch the descending edge of her brilliant saber.

    The blow struck his gauntlet so solidly that the edge bit clean through the extremely dense, heavy metal, and he felt the saber bite a full inch into his arm, grinding into his wrist bones. Not only was Lira a great deal heavier with her armor ting, but she must have gotten some sort of strength boost; it felt like a pneumatic hammering machine had been unleashed on him as she began to pummel, kick, and chop at him. Victor fought to deflect her blows, scrambling back, pain from a dozen new injuries spurring him away as her tremendously heavy feet stomped at him.

    ¡°<em>Enough</em>!¡± he roared and unleashed his Core, casting Iron Berserk. Lira swung a heavy, metal-ted boot at his knee, but Victor howled a roar of fury as his vision darkened with shades of crimson, and his body exploded with muscle. He caught her boot in one massive hand and, with a tremendous jerk of his entire body, with the muscles and tendons standing up around his neck like cords of woven steel, he threw her across the arena. Lira¡¯s wail of surprise echoed strangely from her metal-d head as she tumbled for two dozen yards before crashing onto the arena floor with a mor akin to a head-on truck collision.

    Victor bounded after her, already bunching his legs for a leap before she even hit the ground. He soared through the air, his gigantic form outstretched, his back arched, Lifedrinker held high in one hand. She smoldered and burst into baleful mes as her own rage and battle lust rose to match Victor¡¯s. When he came down like a falling mountainside, he nted Lifedrinker firmly in Lira¡¯s metallic shoulder as she struggled to rise. With a screech of rending metal, Lifedrinker burned through the armor, ring white-hot at her edge as she melted her way in.

    Lira screamed as Lifedrinker¡¯s merciless edge bit her flesh, severing muscles and tendons and boiling away her flesh and blood as she <em>dug</em> her way deeper. Victor let his rage mount, let his will to remain lucid fall away, and, with his renewed strength and much greater stature, he began to repay Lira¡¯s pummeling and then some.

    He let Lifedrinker work, tugging Energy out of his opponent, and, with his right hand, he grasped Lira so his left, gauntleted fist could pound her metal casing. Each blow sounded like a cannon firing, the great <em>bong</em> sound echoing through the arena, overwhelming the roars of the crowd. His gauntlet had grown with him and hadn¡¯t lost any of its density. No longer did the knuckles bend when he pounded against Lira¡¯s armor¡ªnow <em>she</em> bent. Victor jerked and punched, pounding dents into her back, her sides, her helmet, and her chest. All the while, Lifedrinker streamed ck smoke from the rip in Lira¡¯s shoulder armor as she dug and burned her way into her flesh.

    Lira screamed over and over. Her cries might have stopped Victor if he¡¯d been lucid¡ªif he¡¯d allowed his will to keep his rage at bay¡ªbut he didn¡¯t and continued to punish her. He saw visions of Arona¡¯s torn corpse, and, somewhere in his mind, they got convoluted with memories of a different face, a different woman who¡¯d died as he watched, helpless and slow, stupidly looking on when he should have done <em>something</em>. That frustration that remembered helplessness drove him nearly mad with rage, and Victor didn¡¯t let up his pounding, even when Lira¡¯s screams changed.

    At first, he didn¡¯t notice the difference, but slowly, even in his rage-addled mind, Victor began to register a tonal shift in Lira¡¯s screams. They went from pain-filled to angry. Still, Victor drove her to the ground, pressed his powerful knee into her lower back, and grabbed both sides of her metal-d head, intent on either pulling off her armor or her head¡ªhe didn¡¯t care which. ¡°<em>Aaaaaaaagh</em>!¡± Lira screamed, and then, like a charge in the air before a lightning strike, Victor felt her gathering that sharp, metallic Energy.

    ¡°Die!¡± he screamed, and, with all his might, he pulled, determined to stop whatever she was doing. He might have done it. He might have killed her, but, just as he felt the metal start to give, it expanded, and suddenly, he was struggling to keep his grip as Lira¡¯s body grew, lifting him off the ground as his titanic form was dwarfed by <em>hers</em>. Lira¡¯s metallic body outgrew his by a third, and the rent Lifedrinker had made filled in with new metal¡ªbrighter, shinier, harder. It pushed the axe out, and Victor grabbed her haft just as Lira reached around to snag his arm and m him to the ground.

    Victor¡¯s back hit the cracked stone with a ground-shaking impact that shattered his ribs, drove the air from his lungs, and dented the back of his helm, rattling his brain and stunning him. Hey there, stars shing in his vision, and watched the titanic form of the metal-d avian warrior as she held up her saber. Another surge of that weird metallic Energy flooded the air, and shards of metal flew from the ground to wrap her saber, expanding it, lengthening it, until Lira stood with a monstrous sword that gleamed with iridescent, rainbow-hued metal, shining like the light of a star.

    Victor grunted, trying to breathe, contemting that amazing sword and its ten-foot de. Lira held it above him, a metallic juggernaut poised to execute him. Victor¡¯s mind reeled, searching for a strategy, wondering if he could roll aside and avoid that deadly gleaming edge. He knew he couldn¡¯t block it with Lifedrinker. He doubted his arm would survive the attempt to block it with his gauntlet. He¡¯d just taken his first full breath, allowing the stars to fade from his vision, when he realized why Lira hadn¡¯t struck him yet¡ªshe was waiting for him to yield. As if to confirm things, Ronkerz¡¯s voice boomed through the arena. ¡°Yield, titan. Live to grow stronger and repay Lira for the lesson.¡±

    On his back, with a titanic de poised to carve him in half, he felt his rage fading. Victor began to growl. It was a low, guttural sound that had little to do with his bloodline and a lot to do with his stubborn refusal to lose. If his iron berserk was running out and he couldn¡¯t pummel that powerful metallic shell until its upant died, he¡¯d try something else. Ronkerz¡¯s voice echoed through the arena again, ¡°Do you yield?¡± Victor continued to growl as he poured Energy into his spell. Dark tendrils of tangible shadow began to coalesce around him, flowing out of the ground, out of the air, out of <em>him</em>.

    Lira screamed and brought her de down like a gleaming guillotine, but it was toote¡ªa wave of palpable terror exploded out of those shadows, and Lira balked, botching the aim of her killing blow. Victor, recovered from his dazed state, felt his consciousness receding as the <em>other</em> took over. A scream that scratched his throat erupted from his lungs, and the lights around the arena flickered, their weak Energy sources overwhelmed by the darkness of his terror-fueled will.

    With a crack of midnight wings, he burst from the pool of shadows into the air, circling the darkened arena. As he banked, swooping through the canyon, Terror observed the darkness and the many bright spirits surrounding him. A few were too dim to bother with, but hundreds were bright and tempting. Still, somethingy between him and most of those morsels, something that, even as he watched, began to obscure them. Soon, all he could see was the single, brilliant spirit that glowed like an inferno beneath him. Gigantic, true, with a shell hard to pierce and a bright, gleaming edge that could surely cause him harm, but tempting, nheless.

    As the spirit turned its eyes upward, spreading its broad metallic limbs and holding aloft that brilliant razor edge, Terror screamed and dove, weaving his shadows to obscure himself and confound the spirit¡¯s attempt to cut him. He had to infect his prey, had to poison that brilliant, sharp Energy with a seed of fear. As he swooped near, he screamed again, putting everything he knew of nightmares into the sound¡ªmillennia of tortured, pleading prey, conjured terrors, and lost, broken spirits.

    The bright edge arced out and nearly cut him, but the shadows did their work, obscuring his true position, and Terror pulled away into the air, circling,ing around, gathering his strength for another projection of fear. This time, when he passed close, screeching his worst, most terrifying sound, the bright spirit deceived him. It feinted with its gleaming edge, but the actual attack came from those spiny, metal wings. They arced upward, and the spirit spun. Terror was caught on the sharp spines and ripped from the sky to tumble onto the stony ground.

    As the ground shook with the spirit''s great, metallic steps, Terror tried to right himself, tried tounch back into the air, but his wings didn¡¯t work right; they were broken, and he wasn¡¯t healing quickly enough. In the back of his mind, the <em>other</em> growled, and he heard hismand: <em>Enough. You¡¯re not right for this fight.</em> Terror relented; he was broken¡ªlet the <em>other</em> deal with this spirit.

    As Victor came back to himself, his body still wrapped in shadow, painfully reverting to his normal form, he bunched his legs and activated Titanic Leap, narrowly escaping a devastating blow from Lira¡¯s saber. Soaring through the air, aiming for a clump of broken, scorched stones, he nced back to see the giant metallic figure stomping toward his destination. He turned his gaze inward, saw his Core was nearly depleted, and groaned. He had to buy some time, had to give his Core a chance to regenerate some Energy. Even if he managed that, though, he wasn¡¯t sure what he¡¯d do. Lira¡¯s armor was too dense; she was toorge and strong. How was he going to beat her?

 Book 8: Chapter 39: Colossal Takedown

    Book 8: Chapter 39: Colossal Takedown

    As he ran, leaping and dodging the brutal, weighty blows of Lira¡¯s zing saber, Victor reached back and slung Lifedrinker into her harness. The axe had grown considerably since he¡¯d first acquired her, but she was still only a hand axe to him in his titanic form. Against a foe like Lira, d in her dense, magical metal skin, Lifedrinker was too small, too light. It was a problem¡ªconsidering she was his favored weapon¡ªbut one that he¡¯d have to tackle another day. For now, he had a colossus to kill.

    As he leaped,nding hard in a pile of jagged broken stones where one of Arcus¡¯s meteors had torn up the arena floor, Victor took another look at his Core. Thanks to his enormous will attribute, his Energy was regenerating at a decent pace, but he still only had a third of his maximum pool to draw from. Was it enough? His breath Core was bursting with magma-attuned Energy. Would the fiery, titanic form granted by his Volcanic Fury be sufficient to stand against Lira¡¯s enormous, metallic body?

    Knowing he¡¯d lose himself to the rage and likely be unable to strategize, Victor continued to stall, suffering the jeers and taunts of the crowd while he dodged another of Lira¡¯s ground-shaking charges. As she pounded past him, hacking her massive, curved sword in a brilliant arc that seemed to cut the very air, Victor used Titanic Leap tounch himself to the far side of the arena. Mid-flight, he summoned the gigantic axe he¡¯d taken from Karl the Crimson, grunting as thousands of pounds of dense, ck metal appeared in his hands, pulling him toward the ground.

    As his feet touched down, he said, ¡°Sorry, <em>chica</em>,¡± and canceled his Imbue Spirit, taking his shard back from Lifedrinker. In the next heartbeat, he recast the spell, sending a shard of Glory-attuned spirit into the enormous axe as he ran, dragging it behind him like a plow de. The axe vibrated in his hands, humming with potential as the spell took hold, and Victor whirled, lifting the tremendous weapon crossways in both hands. The muscles on his shoulders and back bulged with the effort as he stared at Lira, watching her approach for the tenth time, her zing sword held high, ready to cleave him in twain.

    Karl¡¯s axe, usually dark as night and heavy as a fallen star, glowed with golden Energy, shedding sparks that sizzled and popped against the stone ground. Victor could feel its eagerness¡ªhis eagerness, considering the spirit within the weapon came from him. He smiled fiercely, watching Lira. When she¡¯d closed the distance to just thirty yards¡ªa few short steps for her¡ªVictor opened both his Cores, flooding his pathways with magma and rage. Gathering that Energy up, he cast Volcanic Fury.

    Lira, d in her magical, metallic form, had to weigh thousands of tons. Each of her steps crunched the stone beneath her boots, sending spiderwebs of cracks outward. When she stepped on loose rocks or even small boulders, she ground them to dust. Even so, she could <em>move</em>. She bunched her enormous legs and bound toward Victor, perhaps hoping to interrupt his spell. It was toote, though; Victor¡¯s berserk transformations were nearly instantaneous, and by the time that zing, star-bright saber ripped through the air at him, Victor had doubled in size, allowing him to lift Karl¡¯s axe high, as though it weighed no more than slender reed.

    Victor¡¯s parry was instinctual; he had no mind for strategy. The world had turned orange and yellow. He saw everything through a haze of heat, smoke, and flickering fire. He knew nothing but the desire to fight and kill, to destroy and demolish. When he saw the giant bearing down on him, swinging that bright, curved sword, he jerked his axe upward, catching the zing de with the edge of his metal, wedge-shaped axe head. If he¡¯d had the wherewithal to worry, it might have rmed him that, following the ear-shattering <em>ng</em> of the weapons¡¯ impact, a sliver of ck, sparkling metal fell, steaming and glowing white-hot to the rubble-strewn ground.

    Victor¡ªfaster, nimbler, and much, much stronger now that he¡¯d embraced the wrath of his Volcanic Fury¡ªstepped around the enormous, metallic woman and swung Karl¡¯s axe in a full three-hundred-sixty degree arc, winding it up so it <em>whooshed</em> through the air¡ªthousands of pounds of dense, enchanted metal¡ªand pounded it into her exposed right nk. The wedged axe head struck her right beneath her wing, nging against that impossibly dense, thick, metallic body with a reverberating <em>gong</em> that sent painful vibrations through the metallic haft of the axe.

    The sparkling, golden glow of Victor¡¯s imbuement red like fireworks exploding, and he felt the axe skip and slide down the woman¡¯s side. When the sparks faded, he saw the rewards for his efforts¡ªa thin, silvery scratch in the otherwise iridescent blue-ck armor. Fury tinted the sepia tones of his vision toward red, and Victor roared, his mind knowing one thing¡ªfrustration. How could this obstacle stand before his wrath? How <em>dare</em> it? As renewed strength exploded through his muscles, he went truly berserk, so mad with a frenzied <em>need</em> to smash and destroy that his conscious mind was pushed deep beneath the surface as his instincts drove him into a deep madness.With fire in his eyes, ck smoke streaming from his nostrils, and a wild, crazed snarl on his face, Victor swung his hammer of an axe in great arcing blows that rang like a madman pounding on a massive bell. He pummeled Lira¡¯s metallic form, driving her back despite her enormous mass. She tried to swing her saber to intervene, and each <em>whooshing</em> sh might have ended him, might have cut limbs from his body, but Victor moved too fast in his frenzy, and his powerful blows made Lira clumsy, her shes ugly and obvious. Victor ducked them and knocked them aside with his axe, failing to note the damage the saber inflicted as it carved grooves in the dense, ck metal and even shed off bits of the axe head.

    Despite his titanic strength, despite his impossible fury, Victor¡¯s frenzy had little effect other than to push Lira around. He never dented the armor, and the superficial scrapes and gouges had little impact on its effectiveness. Meanwhile, he was draining his Cores dry; his rage-attuned Energy was drawn from the deep, powerful well of his spirit Core, but his magma¡¯s source was far shallower. Victor¡¯s breath Core was a tenth the size of his spirit Core, and his Volcanic Fury required fuel from both Cores.

    Unfortunately, Victor¡¯s madness didn¡¯t allow him to worry about trivialities like the source of his rage and power; he only cared that it flowed and that he could use it to destroy and kill those who stood before him. Destruction was everything, and nothing else mattered. As his frustration mounted and he failed to damage or even knock down the giant metallic warrior, almost instinctually, he pulled great torrents of Energy from both of his Cores and, with a ground-shaking stomp of his boot, cast Wake the Earth.

    The effort of creating the spell drained his breath Core of Energy, and Victor felt his reason return as his Volcanic Fury was cut short. The abrupt loss of his size and strength might have spelled his doom, as Lira was just about to hack her saber in a tremendous overhead chop, but the ground lurched violently, and she was knocked aside by a fragment of steaming stone that split the earth between them. Victor was a Herald of the Mountain¡¯s Wrath and, as such, felt little difort as the ground roiled and heaved around him. He rode the shifting stone with sturdy feet¡ªa sailor well-ustomed to the bounding waves.

    Victor¡¯s wits had returned with the loss of his fury. As he rode the heaving shelves of rock, watching as steam exploded from fissures, stones burst from the ground, and Lira was tossed about like a ship in a hurricane, he looked up to see Ronkerz standing tall, his arms wide, constraining the massive destruction of his spell to the arena. Victor¡¯s faint, half-formed hope that he might bring the canyon walls down and bury the whole damn town died before it truly had a chance to take shape.

    Still, Ronkerz¡¯s efforts to force the spell to remain localized seemed to be concentrating its effects. The ground continued to buck and tilt while geysers of steam and smoke exploded from one rift after another. Shards of ck, smoldering stone erupted from the already tortured surface of the arena, tilting great bs of rock upward to grind against one another. Meanwhile, Victor found it harder and harder to maintain his bnce, but nowhere near as much as poor Lira.

    The gigantic metal-d woman was tossed from one surging hunk of stone to another, and it wasn¡¯t long before her dense, de-covered wings were bent and deformed. Victor might not have been able to impact the shape of her armored shell, but her own weight worked against her as she smashed and rolled around the cataclysmic, smoke-filled scene. Riding a b of stone that suddenly surged beneath his feet, Victor began tough as he watched his colossal foe struggle.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the vition.

    Somewhere in the madness, he¡¯d lost track of Karl¡¯s axe and brieflymented the fact; it was an excellent, sturdy weapon for pounding on foes too resolute for Lifedrinker¡¯s edge. He couldn¡¯t worry long, however, because even he was beginning to struggle in the madness of the arena. The air was thick with hot ck smoke, the fissures splitting the stone ground were starting to pool with actualva, and Victor was finding less and less solid ground on which to regain his bnce between tremors. He had to focus everything he had on the process.

    When the ground finally stopped moving, his spell having run its course, he stood on a peak of stone created by two tes colliding near the center of the arena. Turning in a slow circle, he found himself in a miniature hellscape. ck smoke filled the air, and where there wasn¡¯t smoke, his eyes and lungs found hot, acrid steam¡ªnot surprising, considering the geysers venting near the magma-filled fissures. Where the ground was solid, it was covered in piles of jumbled, broken, ckened stone. Lira, still in her colossal form, still d in iridescent blue-gray metal,y with one of her legs submerged in a pool ofva. Her wings were bent like old TV antennae, and her armor was scuffed and dented¡ªnot an inch of it was pristine.

    Victor hopped down, hoisting Lifedrinker from her harness. He canceled his Imbue Spirit, drawing his shard back from Karl¡¯s axe, wherever it had fallen, and then recast it on Lifedrinker, giving her back her usual shard of inspiration-attuned spirit. On nimble feet, he jumped from stone to stone, avoiding the bubbling, sulfur-scented pools of molten stone and giving a wide berth to a periodically spurting steam geyser. Lira hadn¡¯t moved, and he was hopeful that whatever spell she¡¯d cast to encase herself in that near-impervious metallic casing would fade.

    As he drew near, her giant helmet-shaped head turned toward him, and then, with a deep, hollow, echoing grunt, she lifted her gigantic leg out of theva and let it fall to the stone with a ground-shaking <em>thud</em>. The metal glowed a soft orange-red, and magma dripped off it like oil from a hot skillet. The leg was clean of residue in seconds, and the glow faded, revealing unmarred metal. ¡°That was a good effort,¡± she grunted in that same hollow, echoing voice, then, with a tremendous grinding of metal on stone, she began to mber to her feet.

    Victor watched her, his knuckles white where they gripped Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, and he began to despair. How deep must her reserves of Energy be to maintain that metallic shell? How was he supposed to damage her? Earlier, he¡¯d contemted employing his whip or even breathing magma on her, hoping it would cook her inside that shell, but she seemed immune to the heat. Lifedrinker couldn¡¯t pierce her shell. His giant axe could barely scratch it, and, besides, he didn¡¯t know where it was.

    As he slowly backed away from the colossus, watching her struggle to stand, her giant limbs slipping and scraping on the broken ground, Victor hastily scanned his dimensional containers, seeking a weapon that might pierce that shell. He nced over his many spears left over from Karnice and silently cursed the fact that he¡¯d traded the best of them away. ¡°Not that a spear would be ideal,¡± he grunted. No, he decided, what he really needed was an enormous maul made of something heavy enough to crack that shell¡ªsomething he simply didn¡¯t have. Karl¡¯s axe had been his heaviest, densest weapon, and it hadn¡¯t worked.

    Victor looked inward and saw that his spirit Core was up to about twenty percent. It was enough to cast Iron Berserk, though not to maintain it for long. Sighing in frustration, he gripped Lifedrinker, holding her close as Lira took her first, ground-jarring step toward him. Victor <em>wanted</em> to fight. He wanted to win, to break that shell and peel it off his enemy. He wanted to make Ronkerz eat his pride. Even as thest thought crossed his mind, he recognized his own wounded pride. Was he really going to lose? Was he going to kneel and ept Ronkerz¡¯s judgment?

    He thought about begging his ancestors for help, but something didn¡¯t feel right about it. He was in a duel where he could yield at any moment¡ªno one¡¯s life was on the line. Arcus and Arona had already been defeated. His people were safe back in Sojourn. Asking his ancestors to intervene felt¡­wasteful. Maybe, if he lost and took the defeat honorably, Ronkerz would work with him. Perhaps he could strike up a deal where Ronkerz would gain more by letting him leave than by keeping him around. ncing up, he wasn¡¯t surprised to have the giant simian¡¯s angr purple eyes lock onto his. ¡°What¡¯s your game, asshole?¡± Victor mouthed the words more than spoke them, but he meant them all the same.

    As Lira took another step toward him, Victor nearly backed into a pool of still-bubbling magma. He nced over his shoulder and saw that it was toorge a pool to step over; the ground had split for a dozen yards in either direction, and the rift was nearly fifteen feet wide at the center, filled with hot magma that bubbled with the steam of a buried geyser. Victor stood with his back to the pool and turned to watch Lira. Growling with frustration, he slung Lifedrinker over his shoulder and let her harness snatch her into ce.

    ¡°Okay, <em>puta madre!</em> Let¡¯s fucking do this!¡± He growled the words and took up a wrestling stance¡ªhis center of gravity low, his hands loose and ready before him. He watched the enormous metallic giant approach. She couldn¡¯t take full strides or even travel straight to him; the ground was too broken up. When she was two steps away, just seconds from being able to cleave him with that brilliant saber, Victor cast Iron Berserk, surging in size and strength. Lira didn¡¯t slow as he exploded with power, roaring as his vision tinted red.

    Her enormous sword held high, Lira stepped forward and chopped down. Victor didn¡¯t stand still, however. He also stepped forward, squatting low. Now inside the arc of her sword¡¯s cleave, he mmed his chest into her metal-d belly¡ªshe was still a good deal taller than he¡ªand, wrapping his arms around the back of her thighs, he pulled with all his might, lifting with his quads, his glutes, and every damn muscle he could dig into. Victor¡¯s center of gravity was far lower than hers, and he stunned himself by how easily he popped her off the ground.

    Everything after that was reflex, taught to his muscles through thousands of drills. He pivoted on his left foot and fell to the side, using her momentum as he¡¯d done in a hundred wrestling and football practices. Call it a ¡°double-leg takedown¡± or ¡°wrapping up¡± a tackle¡ªit didn¡¯t matter; either way, he dropped her to the ground or, in this case, into the pool of bubbling magma. Lira¡¯s arms iled, her scimitar went flying, and then her head and shoulders sshed into the boiling, molten stone. Victor released her waist and scrambled away as she began to slide, kicking and sshing, into the crevice.

    He stood and, brushing the gravel and dust off his hands, watched her slip, inch by inch, deeper into theva. Her legs kicked at first, but she stopped, perhaps realizing she was speeding her descent by thrashing. He could see the armor turning orange-hot near theva line, and he wondered what she was thinking. He figured she must be panicked; if she ended the armor spell, she¡¯d be deep in theva without protection. If she didn¡¯t, she would keep sinking, her arms too inflexible to reach up and grasp the fissure¡¯s stone edge.

    Frowning, remembering how she¡¯d held her de back and given him a chance to yield, Victor stepped forward and grasped one of her enormous ankles under his arm, stopping her from slipping further into theva. He looked up at Ronkerz and shouted, ¡°Does she yield?¡± The crowd, recovered from the madness of his earthquake, had been screaming for his blood as Lira recovered and stood. However, a hush had fallen over the arena when Victor had thrown their champion.

    Ronkerz stood and opened his arms, shouting into the canyon in his booming basso voice, ¡°Well, Rumble Town? Who¡¯s the winner? Victor the Titan or Lira the Big One?¡±

    As if they¡¯d been waiting for his permission, the crowd¡¯s hushed silence disappeared as they buzzed with conversation, shouted curses, and excited cheers. In seconds, someone took up a chant, and slowly but surely, more and more voices joined in, ¡°<em>Victor, Victor, Victor.</em>¡±

    Ronkerz spread his arms wide and shouted, ¡°Victor! You are the champion! Lira¡¯s life is yours.¡± Victor locked eyes with the great simian again and knew what Ronkerz knew: He wouldn¡¯t kill his Big One. Things might have been different if she hadn¡¯t offered him mercy and if his Core wasn¡¯t empty of rage. Still, Lira wasn¡¯t the one who¡¯d killed Arona. If he wanted to kill anyone at that moment, it was Ronkerz, and that was a fight he wasn¡¯t ready for. Victor grunted as he took a step back, heaving on Lira¡¯s enormous leg. She slid a couple of inches, grinding over the stone as more of her red-hot armor emerged from theva.

    ¡°Come on, then, <em>mujer grandota</em>,¡± he chuckled, backing up another step, heaving on the leg. With great effort, he slowly backed her out of theva until he¡¯d dragged her entire, unmoving form a dozen feet from the bubbling chasm. When he was finished and dropped the leg with a heavy, hollow <em>ng</em>, Ronkerz appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. ¡°You could have helped,¡± he grunted, leaning forward with his hands on his knees to suck in some deep breaths.

    Ronkerz shrugged. ¡°Better that she owes you her life cleanly.¡± As Lira¡¯s metal casing cooled, ticking and steaming, deep, heaving breaths echoed hollowly from within. ¡°As she recovers, you should go back to your resting cave. I will repair this stedndscape, and then you will receive your awards.¡±

    ¡°Awards?¡±

    Ronkerz nodded. ¡°Rasso Hine and a treasure from Lira. Something dear enough that she remembers this lesson well.¡±

    Victor nodded, more than a little surprised that it seemed Ronkerz would stick to their bargain and then some. ¡°Can I speak to Arcus?¡±

    The giant simian nodded. ¡°The man weeps, begging for an audience with you. He has something to get off his chest. I¡¯ll bring him around. I¡¯ll have words with you, too, before you quit this ce.¡± He nodded toward the cave on the far side of the smoldering canyon. ¡°Go now. I must put this ce right so my people can return to their lives.¡±

    Victor nodded, nced at the enormous woman, still d in her cooling armor, still lying unmoving, and turned to walk toward the cave. The crowd saw him separate from Ronkerz, saw him walking away of his own volition, and they began their chant again, hushed at first, then louder and louder until the canyon walls echoed with his name, ¡°<em>Victor, Victor, Victor!</em>¡± Hearing their adtion, feeling their eyes on him, Victor¡¯s back straightened, and he lifted an arm, slowly turning from side to side, clenching his fist. He felt his Core begin to re with renewed Energy, and something in him wanted to go berserk again, to lift his axe and scream his warcry, but he restrained himself and, with a broad smile on his lips, simply basked in the glory.

 Victor of Tucson Books 1 through 6 - Available on Kindle Unlimited and Audible

    Victor of Tucson Books 1 through 6 - Avable on Kindle Unlimited and Audible

    Please See the note above - Victor of Tucson, Books 1 - 5 are avable on KU and Audible. If you aren''t aware, removal from other sites is a requirement of Amazon, not a choice I would like to make. If I could keep them here for free, forever, I would - I think it drives more people to the books in the long run. Sadly, it isn''t my decision!

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the vition.

    Thank you so much for all of your support and for reading.

    -Plum

    <strong>VOT #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5 are avable NOW</strong>

    <strong>#6 will be avable on October 8th, 2024. If youe here looking for that book before that date, you can find it on my Patreon.</strong>

 Book 8: Chapter 40: Prizes

    Book 8: Chapter 40: Prizes

    Victor sat on the stone bench where, just hours earlier, he¡¯d been chatting quietly with Arona. Despite his victory and the still-lingering buzz of glory-fueled endorphins, images of her broken, torn body persisted in their attempts to worm their way into his mind¡¯s eye, but he pushed them away. He didn¡¯t know her all that well, so he didn¡¯t want to let himself <em>feel</em> for her the way his heart kept trying to. Was that something you could or <em>should </em>push aside? He doubted the wisdom of it, but he decided he¡¯d try. He¡¯d box it up until one day, when the thought of her death came around, it would be blunted by time, and he could look at it objectively. Right then, it was too fresh, too raw.

    To pass the time while he waited for Ronkerz to make good on his promises, Victor pulled Lifedrinker from her harness and contemted her edge. Despite her difficulties with Lira, she¡¯d fought hard and managed to drain a good bit of Energy out of the ¡°steel seeker.¡± He could see it pulsing darkly¡ªrivulets of metallic Energy buried in the depths of Lifedrinker¡¯s silvery metal. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you, <em>chica</em>. You cut her nice and deep before she grew.¡± The axe pulsed with prideful emotion, and Victor grinned.

    ¡°You treat her well,¡± a melodic voice said out of the dim shadows near the cave wall, and Victor looked up to see Lira approaching. She was no longer d in armor of any kind. Rather, she wore in, rough-spun pants and a baggy, sleeveless tunic that hung loosely around her feathery figure. She ruffled her wings, flexing them slightly as she approached, her talons surprisingly quiet on the stone floor.

    Victor shrugged, straightening to look at Lira more directly. ¡°She¡¯s a goodpanion, and she tried her best.¡±

    Lira nodded. ¡°She¡¯s a wondrous weapon, and I hope you know how rare she is. Spirit-bonded metals are umon enough, but she¡¯s especially conscious. If I couldn¡¯t sense the age of her heart-silver, I¡¯d think she was millennia older than she is.¡±

    Victor smiled and lifted Lifedrinker over his shoulder, allowing her harness to pull her into ce. ¡°Hey, uh, thanks for not trying to finish me right away when I was down. Seems like you might have had a chance to cut me pretty good.¡±

    ¡°Oof! That must sting your titan¡¯s ego, hmm? Well, I can say the same. You could have nudged me into that pool ofva rather than drag me out.¡± Lira moved closer and pointed to the empty area on the stone bench where Victor sat. When he nodded, she sat down, flexing her wings to amodate her. ¡°You¡¯re a resilient bastard, you know that?¡±

    ¡°<em>Me</em>?¡± Victor chuckled. ¡°Can you tell me about your affinity? I know it has to do with metal. At first, I thought it was iron¡ª¡±

    ¡°Hah! You would have trounced me if it were only iron. Part of my quest for steel¡ªin the figurative sense¡ªhas led me to refine my affinity, to broaden and strengthen it. When I was a child, I had a variant of an earth affinity, and it was, as you guessed, iron. I won¡¯t say much more simply because I don¡¯t want you to make the mistake of thinking all steel seekers go through the same sort of refinement. It would be unkind for me to lead you down a dead-end road. My affinity is, however, the reason for my visit. Ronkerz says I must give you something dear, and I understand the intention behind his lesson. That being the case, I have something very dear, indeed, for you.¡±¡°Hey,¡± Victor held up his hands, shaking his head with his lips quirked in half a smile, ¡°forget about it. You put up a hell of a fight, and I don¡¯t see why I should get any¡ª¡±

    ¡°No, Victor. This isn¡¯t something you can decide for me. Ronkerz made a demand, and he is my master. This gift I bear does not leave my hands grudgingly but with utmost respect for you and for Ronkerz. He is wise enough to know that I must feel loss when I consider my defeat. No battle should be entered lightly, and to walk away, defeated, from a contest such as ours, with no penalty, would upset my karmic bnce.¡±

    With one hand, she dusted the stone bench between them, then gestured at the air, and suddenly, an oblong package wrapped in deep, blue silk appeared on the stone. It was about the size of a football, and when Victor reached to grasp it, he found it was hard and incredibly dense. The muscles on his forearm bulged as he tried to lift it with one hand and failed. He gave up and let his palm rest on the cool silk, smiling as the object throbbed with potent Energy. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Well, you have some inkling about my affinity; you saw me summoning metal from the earth to use as weapons and armor. I can <em>feel</em> metal. I can <em>hear </em>it singing to me. Not long after I learned to¡­¡± She trailed off and shrugged. ¡°I won¡¯t get into the secrets of my affinity, but let¡¯s just say I learned to do something very difficult with metal. I''m sure you caught a glimpse of it in my colossus armor. That¡¯s beside the point, however. The point is that I gained a new insight into metal after that particr aplishment¡ªthat¡¯s the important part. I began to hear different types of metal singing from the depths of the world, but I only ever heard this song once.¡±

    Lira reached out one of her feathered arms and, with polished ck nails, gripped the blue silk surrounding the heavy object under Victor¡¯s hand. When she tugged, the silk slid away, and Victor lost all awareness of his surroundings as his eyes focused on the magnificent ore resting on the stone b. The lump of lustrous metal was a deep, depthless ck, but, at the same time, it was luminous, giving off an intangible glow that made Victor feel like he was staring into a person¡¯s eye, almost like he could see something in that ore, some kind of hidden intelligence or spirit.

    After a while, Lira cleared her throat. ¡°Mesmerizing, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Victor had to cough and lick his lips before he could respond. ¡°Amazing. What is it?¡±

    She shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never seen it before, never read about it in any books, and none of the masters I¡¯ve ever had have mentioned anything like it. Before I learned to fight, you see, I was a crafter¡ªa metal worker. I might have gone down a different path if I¡¯de upon this metal back then. Anyway, I¡¯ve called it soul ore simply because I feel like I¡¯m looking into a person¡¯s soul when I stare into that depthless metal.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you found this in this world?¡± Victor waved his hand around them, indicating the dungeon.

    ¡°Yes. I believe the System may have provided it as a reward for my breakthrough. Make no mistake; even with my new sense for metal, I had to explore dangerous depths in this dungeon before I heard this metal¡¯s song.¡±

    Victor stared at the metal while she spoke, and after he¡¯d absorbed her words, he asked, ¡°What do I do with it?¡± He reached out and, this time, wrapped both his hands around the lump of metal, heaving it up off the stone bench. His muscles strained with the effort; while it was a fraction of the size, he figured it weighed more than Karl¡¯s gigantic axe. Grunting, he set it back onto the stone with a dull, reverberating thud.

    ¡°Is that a serious question?¡± Lira cocked her head, looking at him sideways like he was stupid. When Victor continued to stare, unblinking and unapologetic for his question, she made an irritated clicking sound in her throat. ¡°Feed it to your axe, of course!¡±

    ¡°She absorbs Energy¡ª¡±

    ¡°She can do much more than that!¡± Lira chuckled, shaking her head. ¡°Gods! Can¡¯t you <em>feel</em> her hunger? She wants to grow, to be a match for you, but there¡¯s only so much she can do with Energy alone. You¡¯ve got to feed her materials, too! Ugh!¡± She huffed an exasperated sigh and scratched her long, pointed nails through the feathers on the side of her head. ¡°I have to remind myself how young your axe is. Perhaps she doesn¡¯t even know what she needs. Has she not asked for ore?¡± When Victor slowly began to shake his head, understanding dawning in his eyes, Lira smiled and nodded. ¡°I can see that. Trust me, Victor, this is exactly what she needs.¡±

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    ¡°How¡­¡± Victor trailed off, his question unfinished because he couldn¡¯t think of a way to ask how to feed metal to his axe without sounding like an idiot.

    Lira smiled and leaned forward, pping Victor¡¯s knee. ¡°I don¡¯t mind helping. I owe you, after all, do I not? It¡¯s easier than you think; simply put the axe against the ore and leave her in peace for a while. It may take her a week or a month, but she¡¯ll slowly pull this dense metal into herself. Beware¡ªshe¡¯s going to be much more of a handful after absorbing the soul ore.¡±

    ¡°Wait.¡± Victor rested his hand on the ore again, enjoying the steady buzz of potential he felt tingling his flesh. ¡°Does it really have one? A soul, I mean. I don¡¯t want Lifedrinker¡¯s personality to¡ª¡±

    ¡°No! It¡¯s not alive, as much as it seems to be.¡± She reached down to rest her hand on the stone with Victor¡¯s, her palm surprisingly warm and soft against his fingers. ¡°There¡¯s no intelligence in there. At least not in the sense that you, Lifedrinker, and I view intelligence. If I were guessing, I¡¯d say this ore is the stuff of the primordial universe. It has the wisdom of eons in its molecules but no real mind to use it.¡± She shifted her hand to grasp Victor¡¯s, and after a gentle squeeze, she let go and stood up. ¡°That¡¯s my duty done. When we meet again, I hope it won¡¯t be as foes.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Victor stood up, overwhelmed by how gracious Lira had been. ¡°Thank you, Lira. I learned a lot during our fight, and now you¡¯ve given me something precious. I hope you¡¯ll consider me a friend.¡±

    ¡°I will, but that doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t heed Ronkerz if he says we must be foes. I hope that, when the timees, you aren¡¯t defending the Sojourn Conste.¡±

    ¡°Tut, Lira,¡± a deep basso voice rumbled from the shadowy depths of the cave. ¡°Don¡¯t give away all of my secrets.¡± Victor looked past Lira to see twin, angr, purple lights approaching¡ªRonkerz¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Goodbye, Victor.¡± Lira ducked her head, her feathers ruffling as her wings twitched, then she turned and hurried away, walking past the massive shadowy form of the simian lord.

    When Ronkerz stepped into the dim light of the glowmp, he announced, ¡°I¡¯ll have words with you before you speak to Arcus andplete your quest.¡± He gestured to the lump of soul ore. ¡°Put that prize away.¡±

    Vitor touched the hunk of ore and sent it into the storage device Dar had given him. He wondered how much of a strain it was for the ring to hold all the powerful items he¡¯d put inside it. It worried him, and he decided he¡¯d better move the ore into his vault at the earliest opportunity. Ronkerz, ignorant of his inner conversation, interrupted Victor¡¯s thoughts, ¡°I will ask a favor of you.¡±

    That got Victor¡¯s attention. ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Even in my time, your master, Ranish Dar, was often at odds with the council. Is that still so?¡±

    Victor thought about the question and weighed his response. He didn¡¯t want to give something valuable away to the renegade veil walker, but he also didn¡¯t want to get his head crushed by one of those massive ape-like hands. ¡°He doesn¡¯t get along with all of the, uh, consuls.¡±

    ¡°Good! That¡¯s the way I remember him. Tell me, do you serve Sojourn, or do you serve Ranish Dar?¡±

    ¡°I already told you: I¡¯m not here because I work for the council; I¡¯m here because I owe them. It¡¯s a¡­punishment, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± Ronkerz grunted again, thumping one of his fists on the stone. ¡°You must know something, boy. I already know how to break this dungeon and free everyone inside it. I¡¯m waiting for some of my Big Ones to break through into their lustrous veils, and then we¡¯ll leave this ce. You needn¡¯t worry about the children born here or the suffering you think you see. Their lives are hard but not desperate, and, as you saw, great strength can be found here under my tutge.¡±

    Victor frowned. ¡°What about the people in the other settlements?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯lle around to my way of thinking. As the time grows near for us to make our move, they¡¯ll join me. If they don¡¯t, they¡¯ll still be freed. I¡¯m telling you this so that you won¡¯t return and raise any rms with the council. I know we struck a bargain, Victor, but if you don¡¯t promise to hold your report for any but Dar¡¯s ears, then I won¡¯t let you leave.¡±

    Victor folded his arms over his chest, contemting the warning in Ronkerz¡¯s words. ¡°I can still tell Dar everything?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t the council be able to see what¡¯s happening in here? Can¡¯t they tell who¡¯s alive and who¡¯s dead?¡±

    ¡°They can see much, aye, but I can block and obscure just as much. At the moment, I¡¯m quite sure they think Arcus is just as dead as Arona. They also think I¡¯m still struggling with my ascension through the test of steel and that my Big Ones are iron rankers.¡± He leaned forward, his knuckles grinding on the stone. ¡°Can you do what I asked? Can you save your report for Dar¡¯s ears alone?¡±

    Victor shrugged. ¡°I can do that.¡±

    For the third time, Ronkerz thumped his fist on the stone and said, ¡°Good!¡± Then he nodded and turned. ¡°Arcus and Rasso Hine approach. When your erstwhilepanion has said his piece, you may depart with Hine.¡± With that, Ronkerz turned and took a lumbering step into the shadows.

    Victor watched him leave, wondering if he should say something¡ªa promise of vengeance for Arona, a threat to fight him someday, a thank you, a curse. He couldn¡¯t decide, and before he settled on how he was supposed to feel, how he was supposed to act, Ronkerz was gone. Much smaller, lighter footsteps approached, and two humanoid figures emerged from the shadows. Both Arcus and Rasso Hine wore gray rough-spun clothes. Neither held any sort of weapon, and neither wore any jewelry.

    Arcus sighed and shrugged, gesturing at his much-humbled appearance, his tentacle arm twitching and writhing as it hung by his side. ¡°I¡¯ll be a while earning some privileges back.¡± He gestured to the clean-shaven, bald man beside him. ¡°This is the infamous Rasso Hine.¡±

    Rasso appeared to be human. Victor couldn¡¯t see anything about him that would make him stand out on Earth. Even his size was average¡ªprobably a few inches shy of six feet. He bowed somewhat stiffly. ¡°Hello,¡± he said in a hoarse, ented voice that sounded more like a mumble than a word.

    Arcus shrugged. ¡°I already filled him in on what the council said. He says he doesn¡¯t know anything about the invasion, but he¡¯s happy to leave this ce to tell them so himself.¡±

    Victor frowned at Arcus. ¡°You seem pretty upbeat.¡±

    ¡°I <em>am</em>! Something about being irrevocably sprung from the grasp of my father and the demands of society¡ªit feels good. Ronkerz is powerful, Victor, and I intend to learn a thing or two in here. If it takes a few centuries, what do I care? I¡¯ve no love waiting for me. I¡¯ve no family of any consequence. My father hates me, my sisters and brothers won¡¯t miss me, and my mother is busy with her wars.¡±

    Victor stepped closer, looking into Arcus¡¯s eyes, trying to gauge how much of his attitude was bravado and how much was sincere. The Pyromancer stared back at him, unflinching. Victor frowned. ¡°Sucks about Arona, though, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    Those words broke Arcus¡¯s fa?ade, and he looked down, inhaling shakily through his nose. ¡°I can¡¯t believe she died. She was the best of us¡ªour generation.¡± He looked up, his eyes red and watery, the mes behind his irises mere smolders. ¡°Please tell them I¡¯m dead, Victor.¡± His eyes sprang wide. ¡°Gods! That¡¯s why I needed to speak to you!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°My father! He uses my sister, Trin, as a pawn. He intends to trap your friends in our family¡¯s dungeon. You have to stop them; don¡¯t let them go in.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Victor blinked, confused by the sudden turn of the conversation, but something in him understood¡ªhis heart began to thud in his chest, and his rage slowly trickled into his pathways.

    ¡°Our dungeon, it¡¯s a wave challenge, but it won¡¯t end. There¡¯s no exit provided until the dungeon ispleted. Worse, it only allows tier-one iron rankers to enter, so you won¡¯t be able to go after¡ª¡± Arcus¡¯s words were cut short as Victor surged forward and grabbed his shirt in his fists, lifting him so their faces were an inch apart.

    ¡°You¡¯re telling me this <em>now</em>?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Victor, I¡¯m <em>sorry</em>! I meant to tell you¡ªI swear it. I¡¯d grown to respect you, grudgingly, yes, but it was there. I¡¯ve told you how I hate my father; I was <em>going</em> to help you.¡±

    Victor growled but released Arcus. ¡°What if I¡¯m toote? Something like two weeks have passed on the outside since we entered this dungeon!¡±

    ¡°My father has the dungeon control stone. He can end it. He can get them out. I¡¯m sure that was his n: trap them, with death looming, then <em>offer</em> to let them out for some sort of bargain¡ªa debt owed, or perhaps a piece of property from Ranish Dar, or¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll just kill him. You said he¡¯s only tier-five.¡±

    ¡°Ah! He has a champion. A steel seeker. Better to have Dar confront him. But¡­he¡¯d lose much political clout getting my father to release your friends. Do you want Dar to hold that over your head? I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s like, but I¡¯ve never thought it wise to collect debts to veil walkers.¡±

    Victor growled, punching his fist into his palm and pacing back and forth as he considered his options. If Arcus was right, he needed to haul ass to wherever his family home was and make sure Edeya, Darren, and Lam weren¡¯t inside their dungeon. Frowning at the thought, he looked at Arcus. ¡°What about your sister?¡±

    Arcus shrugged, his face pained. ¡°Um, different mother, but still not exactly loved by my father. She¡¯s mostly ignored by him, and I wouldn¡¯t be surprised to find her used as a sacrificial pawn; she¡¯s not exactly talented.¡±

    Victor was still struggling to wrap his head around the scheme. ¡°I don¡¯t get it. What if Lam and the others just win? If you have to be tier one to enter the dungeon¡ª¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a reason our dungeon isn¡¯t listed in the guidebook¡ªit¡¯s basically useless unless my father intervenes with the control stone, which strips the entrants of prizes. The only group that¡¯s everpleted the dungeon wasposed of six level neen prodigies, including Arona and me. I know your friends are talented, but¡­¡± He let his words trail off, and Victor drew his own conclusion: Lam and Edeya were good, but they weren¡¯t <em>that</em> good. If they brought Darren, he would probably barely be at level ten. At the low ranks, nine levels made a big difference.

    ¡°Listen, Arcus. You need to tell me everything you know about your dad¡¯s champion. I also need detailed instructions on the fastest route to your family home.¡± He red at Rasso Hine. ¡°Stand close, ¡®cause we¡¯re leaving in a minute, and I¡¯m dumping you off with the council.¡±

    Arcus nodded, licking his lips. ¡°Right, well, you need to know that he¡¯s a wizard with two powerful affinities¡ªnature and blood. His nature affinity has allowed him to cultivate a rtionship with a powerful beast¡ªa bog lion. Besides controlling hispanion, his affinity allows him to use vegetation to¡­¡±

    Victor listened to Arcus go on and on about his father¡¯s champion, Fak Loyle, slowly building a picture of the man in his mind. Arcus described his powers, and Victor contemted counters for them, slowly sketching a dance in his mind, one in which Fak Loyle was his partner. They moved in counterpoint to each other, Victor matching Fak¡¯s talents with those of his own, and when Arcus finished, he felt confident that he¡¯d have a chance. ¡°That¡¯s all I can think of. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s everything, though¡ªI¡¯ve seen him duel a dozen times. If he has a secret, it¡¯s one he hasn¡¯t used in forty years.¡±

    ¡°Right. Thanks, Arcus. Good luck in here.¡± Victor punched him lightly in the chest, then reached out to grasp Hine¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± With that, he summoned the recall token from his storage ring and channeled a trickle of Energy into it. He felt a surge of Energy, like being struck by a bolt of lightning, and the world faded in a brilliant sh of light.

 Book 8: Chapter 41: A Time for Killing

    Book 8: Chapter 41: A Time for Killing

    Darren stood back and listened as Lam and Edeya chatted with Trin and her father. He thought about that, about how he deferred to Lam with her years of experience and superior abilities, and wondered if it would have made the ¡°old¡± Darren resentful. Didn¡¯t he used to have to be at the center of every conversation? Didn¡¯t he used to think people would judge him if he didn¡¯t speak for whatever group he was a part of? He smiled wryly at the thought, almost like he¡¯d learned a secret, and maybe he had¡ªit felt good to let other people handle things, to <em>not</em> be responsible for everything.

    Trin¡¯s father was an imposing fellow. His skin was well-weathered, as though he¡¯d spent much of his time working hard in the sun, but his manicured nails and carefully subtle makeup gave the lie to that impression. His clothes were impossibly fine¡ªa silken suit in shades of brown and gold cut to fit him perfectly. His leather belt and boots were polished to a near-reflective sheen, and his many rings glittered with jewels. Again, Darren thought of his ¡°old¡± self and how he would have envied Bohn Volpur¨¦ for his regal appearance.

    ¡°A party of four, dear Trin?¡± Lord Volpur¨¦ asked, arching an eyebrow. ¡°At least I can see that you heeded my advice and sought the friends of that mostpetent fellow who bested your brother.¡±

    ¡°Yes, four. You said the dungeon would open for as few as three and no more than six.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, dear. I¡¯m just confirming a thing or two.¡± His eyes, rather hawklike under his sharp brows, nced over Trin¡¯s three guests, then settled on Lam. ¡°And have you been practicing? You¡¯re familiar with each other¡¯s capabilities?¡±

    Lam nodded. ¡°Yes, Lord Volpur¨¦. Just two days ago, wepleted the Grotto, even the tier-one area.¡±

    Trin¡¯s father nodded, folding his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his desk chair. ¡°Yes, yes. Very good. Well, dear Trin, I gave you the pass. Whether your party is ready or not is <em>your</em> decision.¡± He reached toward a small, gilded brass statuette made in the likeness of a young woman carrying a tray and tapped his golden si ring against it with a tiny metallic <em>click-click</em>. ¡°I¡¯ll have Efanie open the entrance hall for you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, father!¡±

    Edeya cleared her throat and stepped up beside Trin. ¡°Sir, would you mind telling us how long it usually takes people to clear the dungeon? I¡¯d like to leave a note for our friends.¡±Volpur¨¦ frowned and stroked his chin. ¡°Well, it¡¯s called First sh Coliseum for a reason. The dungeon is a series of coliseum battles, and after each battle, you¡¯re taken to a ready room, where you can rest between bouts. The arena master will permit nearly a full day of rest, but you don¡¯t have to take that long. When you¡¯re ready to fight, you simply report to the gate and strike the gong there. Conversely, if you rest too long, the monstrous diator handlers will force you into the arena at spear-point. A word of advice: do not attempt to battle the coliseum personnel.¡±

    ¡°How many rounds are there?¡± Darren shifted and cleared his throat nervously, embarrassed by his blurted question.

    ¡°Good question, young man! The answer is that I don¡¯t know. It seems to have some randomponent to it. I believe thest people to clear it went through more than twenty rounds.¡± He looked at Trin. ¡°Do you know the answer more precisely?¡±

    Trin looked down, her dark brows cloaking her eyes in shadow. ¡°No, father. I¡¯m sorry; I don¡¯t know much more about the dungeon than what you told me when you gave me the pass.¡±

    Darren looked more closely at Bohn Volpur¨¦, his perfect suit, refined appearance, and the all-too-familiar disingenuous glint in his eyes. This man was a political creature, and Darren¡¯s gut told him never to trust a word he said. Of course, he wasn¡¯t sure how that might apply to their present circumstance. All they were doing was paying their respects on the way to a dungeon adventure, but he resolved to be wary of Trin¡¯s father if he and his friends continued to associate with the Volpur¨¦ family. A gentle tap at the door broke him from his musings, and he turned to see a young woman in a very prim and stylish uniform standing in the open doorway.

    ¡°You called, Lord Volpur¨¦?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Efanie, please guide my daughter and herpanions to the family dungeon portal and unlock it for them.¡±

    ¡°Certainly.¡± Efanie, like all of the people Darren had seen in the Volpur¨¦<em></em>household, was a very human-looking woman, though her upturned nose, delicately pointed ears, andrge, amber-tinted eyes gave hints to a more exotic parentage. ¡°Right this way, Lady Trin.¡± She turned, took a few steps, then paused, waiting for the rest of them.

    ¡°Thank you again, Lord Volpur¨¦,¡± Lam said before following Efanie.

    ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure. Say, I wonder, do you suppose I might entice yourrade, Victor, to attend a celebration here upon your sessful exit from the dungeon?¡±

    Lam chuckled. ¡°I can¡¯t speak for Victor, but I¡¯ve never known him to turn down a feast.¡±

    ¡°Excellent! My sort of fellow. I¡¯ll send him an invitation.¡± He looked at Trin, who was already standing near the door. ¡°Did you say he¡¯s staying at Ranish Dar¡¯ske house?¡±

    ¡°I believe so¡ª¡±

    ¡°Actually,¡± Edeya¡¯s sharp voice cut through Trin¡¯s hesitant reply. ¡°He¡¯s currently in a dungeon, doing some kind of task for the council.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes! Of course, of course!¡±

    Trin narrowed her eyes and held a finger up. ¡°Father, isn¡¯t Arcus¡ª"

    ¡°Never mind Arcus!¡± Volpur¨¦ snapped, suddenly irritable. ¡°Suffice it to say, I¡¯m familiar with the task yourpanion is toiling toplete. Well,¡± he sighed and shrugged, ¡°we can only hope he¡¯ll make his exit from that unpleasant ce in time to celebrate your victory, hmm? Off you go now, good luck!¡±

    Darren followed the others out, sparing onest nce at Trin¡¯s father. He¡¯d already turned to read something in a leather-bound journal¡ªa Farscribe book if he were to guess. He trailed behind the four women, listening to their chatter. Trin seemed significantly more excited than anyone else, and Darren sort of felt sorry for her. He could tell she¡¯d led a sheltered life, and, seeing the pristine, rather sterile nature of their family estate, he couldn¡¯t helpparing her to the child of some of the more prominent politicians he¡¯d worked with back on Earth.

    The thought struck a chord in his mind, jarring loose a memory that had been nagging at him, and Darren hurried his steps so he could walk beside Trin. ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell Edeya and me that you sought us out because Victor beat your brother?¡±

    ¡°Um, that¡¯s right, Darren.¡±

    ¡°But your father¡ª¡± he started to say, but Lam spoke over him,pleting his thought.

    ¡°Said he sent you to us.¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t <em>send</em> me to you! He suggested that any man who could trounce my brother so handily likely hadpanions worthy of note. I¡¯m the one who figured out who you were and where to find you. Of <em>course,</em> my father wants to take credit¡ªI can¡¯t do anything without guidance as far as he¡¯s concerned.¡±

    ¡°Hush now, Lady Trin,¡± Efanie said. ¡°Don¡¯t give your guests the wrong impression.¡±

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    ¡°Efanie, why is he <em>like</em> that?¡±

    Darren watched as the smartly dressed woman tilted her head, her ringlets of neatly coiffed hair bouncing as she considered the question. Before she spoke, she gestured to a dimly lit stairwell and started down it. ¡°You¡¯ve never shown much interest in advancement, sweet girl. Your father favors his motivated children; I believe it¡¯s as simple as that.¡±

    ¡°What about Renny? He¡¯s still in the first tier and spends all his dayszing about, waiting for the next party to attend.¡±

    ¡°Well, Renny¡¯s a little special, isn¡¯t he?¡± To Darren¡¯s surprise, Efanie looked past Trin to wink in the general direction of Lam and Edeya. ¡°Renny¡¯s the only child from Lord Volpur¨¦¡¯s seventh marriage.¡±

    ¡°His <em>favorite</em> wife.¡± Trin emphasized ¡°favorite¡± like a curse.

    ¡°Well, she died very young, and I don¡¯t think your father had yet had a chance to fall out of love.¡± Again, Efanie looked at Lam, Edeya, and Darren, this time frowning slightly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, we shouldn¡¯t air our usual banter in front of guests.¡±

    Lam shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s fine. We won¡¯t repeat any of it.¡±

    Trin waved Lam¡¯s assurances away. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about that. Sniping, sarcasm, and making judgments about others are quite the normal, expected behavior in this household. Still, Efanie¡¯s right; I shouldn¡¯t do it in front of guests.¡±

    Darren continued to listen as Efaniemented her trouble wrangling enough staff for an uing feast; apparently, the head chef and his wife¡ªthe manor¡¯s head maid¡ªwere away with their four children¡ªalso employed by Volpur¨¦¡ªfor a family reunion. ¡°I¡¯ll have to borrow staff from Lord Arcorage at this rate!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Efanie, but that¡¯s the price you pay for being father¡¯s favor¡ª¡±

    ¡°Here we are!¡± Efanie announced, pointing to arge archway containing a twelve-foot-high gray metal door. She produced a metal key longer than her hand with teeth pointing in every direction, inserted it into the lock, and twisted it. With half a dozen smooth, well-lubricated clicks, the door unlocked. Pulling it wide, she gestured into the room beyond and said, ¡°Head on through. I need a quick word with Trin.¡±

    Darren followed Lam and Edeya into the chamber but didn¡¯t miss the long look Lam gave Efanie as she pulled Trin to the side. He lost track of any unfolding drama, though, when he saw the strange room. It was spherical in nature, built fromrge, carved stone blocks, each iid with a silvery sigil. At the apex of the chamber, a warm, yellow light shone down on a teleportation pad, or, at least, that¡¯s what Darren thought the metallic, circr tform was. He strode over to it, but before he could step on it, for some reason eager to hear his boots click on the dull gray metal, Edeya grabbed his elbow and hissed, ¡°Woah, Dare.¡±

    ¡°Woah?¡± He stumbled back a step as she continued to pull on his arm.

    ¡°Yeah, woah! We don¡¯t know if it¡¯s all right to step on it. Wait for Trin.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yeah. Of course.¡± Darren turned and saw Lam walking the room''s perimeter, intently studying the sigils in the stone blocks. He looked at Edeya, ¡°Can she read those?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. She¡¯s just . . . inspecting. Probably an old habit from being a militarymander.¡± She took a breath and looked like she¡¯d say more, but the sound of the huge metal door closing with a <em>nk</em> interrupted her.

    ¡°Well, are we ready?¡± Trin¡¯s smile and enthusiasm were contagious, at least to Darren, and he smiled along with her.

    ¡°I am!¡± he announced.

    ¡°Ready¡ª¡± Edeya began, but then Lam spoke, cutting off anything else she might say.

    ¡°What did your father¡¯s chambein have to say?¡±

    ¡°Efanie?¡± Trin¡¯s eyes opened wide, and Darren instinctively expected a lie toe out of her lips next. That¡¯s what people who were going to lie did¡ªrepeat or rify an obvious question before answering. He knew that because he¡¯d often practiced the behavior; it gave a person¡¯s mind a couple of seconds to craft the lie. When Lam only nodded, Trin continued, ¡°Well, it was a little strange, to be honest. She said I was free to use the token my father gave us but that I might want to reconsider. She said it would be safer with a party of six.¡±

    ¡°Is that all?¡± Lam pressed.

    ¡°She said something else a little odd, and not once, but twice.¡±

    ¡°Which was?¡± This time, Edeya was the one asking, and Darren could hear the exasperation in her voice.

    ¡°Simply that my father can end the dungeon run at any moment.¡±

    ¡°Why would she tell you that?¡±

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know.¡± Despite his earlier misgivings, Darren couldn¡¯t spot any duplicity in Trin¡¯s bodynguage. ¡°She was acting very strangely. I¡¯ve known her a long time; I suppose I should rify her role here at the manor. She¡¯s part of my family¡¯s personal guard. She was assigned to me as a child andter to my younger sister, Rae.¡± She smiled and shrugged, stepping onto the teleportation pad and throwing Lam another smile. ¡°That¡¯s why your question threw me off. My father¡¯s chambein is an absolute pig of an old lecher.¡±

    Edeya giggled, and Lam smiled, shrugging. ¡°If that¡¯s all, then I¡¯m game to give this dungeon a try despite our smaller-than-optimal party.¡±

    Darren nodded his agreement and stepped beside Trin, grinning as his boots clicked hollowly on the metal disk. Lam and Edeya were right behind him, and then Trin summoned a gilded piece of paper about the size of one of Darren¡¯s old business cards. She held it aloft, and Darren watched as a ribbon of golden Energy surged through the card. In seconds, it was gone, reced by a cloud of glowing, golden motes.

    The motes danced around in the air at the center of the tform and seemed to multiply, growing in density and size. Before Darren knew it, they¡¯d taken on an oval shape that seemed to shimmer and solidify until it looked like a pool of golden liquid hung in the air at the center of the room. ¡°Now we just step into it,¡± Trin announced, drawing her fancy, basket-hilted rapier with a ring of metal on metal. ¡°Ready?¡±

    ¡°Ready!¡± they all said in one way or another, and then Trin led the way, stepping through the portal with a liquid ripple. Darren looked from Lam to Edeya, nodded, and, gripping his staff tightly, stepped through the portal.

    <strong>#</strong>

    When the light faded from his eyes, Victor found himself standing in the chamber from which the Consuls had sent him into the prison dungeon. This time, the room was much more dimly lit, with only a single amber glowmp pulsing down onto the teleportation pad. For some reason, he¡¯d snatched Lifedrinker from her harness as he came through, but as he saw the two armor-d men striding toward him from the doorway, he was d he had. He gripped Rasso¡¯s rough, cloth shirt and pulled him behind him. The man was like a child to him, easily obscured by his bulk as Victor faced down the approaching figures.

    ¡°State your name and business in this chamber!¡± the armored figure on the left demanded. They were both sizeable warriors¡ªsomething close to eight feet tall if you counted the plumes on their shiny metal helms. The one who spoke, however, was significantly broader at the shoulders, and his growled demand had the tone Victor recognized as belonging to someone itching for a fight.

    ¡°Victor Sandoval. I¡¯m here ¡®cause that¡¯s where the <em>pinch¨¦</em> recall token dumped me.¡±

    ¡°Recall? You were in the prison?¡±

    ¡°But¡ª¡± the second warrior¡ªguard, Victor figured¡ªsaid in a much higher, more feminine voice, only to be cut off as the first guard chopped a hand sideways.

    ¡°Silence. Fetch Watch Commander Reythis.¡± As the woman turned and double-timed it out of the chamber, the remaining guard turned back to Victor. ¡°Stand down. Violence will be met with a lethal response.¡±

    Victor shrugged and put Lifedrinker in her harness. Then he reached back, put a heavy hand around Rasso¡¯s thin neck, and pulled him in front of him. He had a feeling Ronkerz had been cloaking a lot more than he let on. It seemed to Victor that the Council might have considered him lost. Maybe when they saw Arcus¡¯s severed arm return with a token and then registered Arona¡¯s death, they¡¯d decided Victor would soon be dead as well. Considering the time difference, he supposed it wasn¡¯t surprising they weren¡¯t standing around in the chamber waiting for him; if he got hung up for even a week in the dungeon, it would be almost two months on the outside.

    ¡°Listen, I dunno why you weren¡¯t expecting me, but I was supposed to get this dude out of the dungeon.¡± Victor jostled Rasso a little, and the man tried to pull away but found Victor¡¯s grip unyielding. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to mess around. I¡¯ve got ces to be. Can I turn him over to you?¡±

    ¡°Wait for the watchmander!¡±

    Victor sighed but shrugged, reaching into his ring to pull out the Farscribe book he shared with Dar. Unlike many standard dungeons, the prison dungeon wouldn¡¯t allow the books to work, but now that he was out, he figured he should let some people know. He started with Dar because he thought he might need his mentor¡¯s support with the council, assuming these guards didn¡¯t let him leave. As quickly as he could, which was quite fast, considering his much-improved dexterity, he scrawled out a note, letting Dar know he was out of the dungeon and had sessfully secured Rasso Hine. He also said he¡¯d be visiting the Volpur¨¦ estate for a ¡°personal¡± reason.

    Arcus had suggested he not tell anyone what he was going to do, and, though Victor barely trusted the Pyromancer, he¡¯d thought it was good advice. If he told Dar what he was about to do, his ¡°master¡± might try to intervene, and then Victor would owe him even more. No, if Volpur¨¦ wanted to mess with Victor, then Victor would be the one to mess back. He wasn¡¯t an idiot; he wouldn¡¯t try to stand up to a veil walker, but an iron ranker with a steel-seeker bodyguard? ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll take those odds,¡± Victor growled, closing the book and sending it back into his ring.

    The tter of running footsteps and nking armor made him look toward the doorway. ¡°Sir Victor!¡± a new voice said as the female guard and another man, this one dressed in fine Sojourn livery, strode into the room. ¡°Wee back, sir. We didn¡¯t expect you so soon.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Victor frowned. ¡°That¡¯s strange, isn¡¯t it? I was gone for a couple of days in there.¡±

    ¡°Verily, sir, but Lord Roil seemed to think it would be quite some time before anyone from your party might emerge. Is this the prisoner, sir?¡± He strode forward and stared hard at Rasso. ¡°Are you Hine?¡±

    ¡°I am¡ª¡±

    ¡°Come with me! I¡¯m to bring you directly to the council hall. Victor, you shoulde along; the council is bound to have ques¡ª¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Victor gave Rasso a shove toward the watchmander, then started toward the door. ¡°I¡¯ve fulfilled my obligation to the City of Sojourn. Pass my regards to the council and let them know they can reach me through Lord Ranish Dar.¡± As he spoke, Victor¡¯s voice started out clear and strident but ended in a growling snarl. His eyes had flooded with fire, and ck smoke drifted from his nostrils. The guards, likely all steel seekers, backed away as he stomped through the doorway. He didn¡¯t mean for it to happen, but his mind had already gone ahead, visualizing his battle with Lord Volpur¨¦¡¯s champion.

    If he¡¯d seen his face, if he¡¯d seen the baleful flicker of the magmatic mes roiling behind his irises, or seen his forearms flex as he clenched his fists, or smelled the brimstone in the smoke drifting out of his lungs, or if he¡¯d tasted the blood and murderced through his aura, then Victor would have understood why three steel seekers backed away, casting long, searching looks into each other''s eyes. Those nces seemed to ask, ¡°Is it only me? Am I mad, or should we fear this iron-ranker?¡±

    Of course, Victor didn¡¯t see those nces. He¡¯d dismissed the guards from his mind as he began to y out the uing battle in his mind. In a way, he was d Arcus had counseled him from telling Dar about the fight, and it wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t want to be further in Dar¡¯s debt. The truth was that Victor didn¡¯t want anyone to stop him. If he were willing to face that fact and understand his feelings, he might have seen that it was also why he didn¡¯t consider writing in his other Farscribe books. He loved Va and was eager to see her, but he didn¡¯t want to lose his focus.

    ¡°There¡¯s a time for killing and a time for loving, <em>chica</em>,¡± he grunted, Lifedrinker once more in his hands.

    <em>The deepest bonds of love are forged with the blood of battle. Let us kill together! </em>Her crystal-clear reply sounded in his mind, her voice half growl and half purr. Lifedrinker¡¯s reply almost broke him from his pre-battle focus, but rather than let it freak him out, Victor grinned and epted the honesty of Lifedrinker¡¯s nature.

    As he stomped down the steps of the council spire toward the busy street, people hurried out of his way, and he could understand why; he was fully limned in me, almost like he¡¯d cast Volcanic Fury. Victor summoned Guapo with a surge of rage-attuned Energy. Unbidden, the spell swooped up some of the magma-attuned Energy in his pathways, and Guapo appeared from a cloud of ck smoke with a wild, angry whinny, rearing high, kicking his ming front hooves in the air. Victor leaped onto his back, and, with the directions Arcus had given him firmly in mind, he raced toward the eastern edge of the city, where, a few dozen miles away, the Volpur¨¦ estate awaited.

 Book 8: Chapter 42: Trapped

    Book 8: Chapter 42: Trapped

    Darren spun, scanning the tform where the enemy archers kept appearing, but it was empty. ¡°Was that¡­¡± He paused to lean on his staff, catching his breath. ¡°Was that thest one?¡± Lam stood over the giant, her hammer dripping gore, her shield battered and likewise decorated. She didn¡¯t answer, so Darren turned toward Trin and Edeya; they¡¯d been fighting off the spearmen pouring out of the western portcullis. They, too, gasped for breath, and Darren saw Edeya¡¯s lips move, but he couldn¡¯t hear her over the roars of the monstrous spectators.

    It didn¡¯t matter because the announcer¡¯s voice bellowed through the air, drowning out the noise, ¡°Congrattions, challengers! You¡¯ve passed your fourth wave! Return to the ready room and see to your wounds. You have one day before your next match is required!¡± As he finished his announcement, Darren stopped scanning the stadium, trying to guess where the announcer stood¡ªhe¡¯d never been able toy eyes on him.

    It wasn¡¯t surprising that he couldn¡¯t single out the owner of that booming voice; the crowd was hysterical and unruly. Furry, horned, wed, scaled, or tentacled, monstrous humanoids caroused in the stands¡ªdrinking, eating, cheering, jeering, and generally making football fans look like a children¡¯s choir. The stadium rows were ramshackle affairs of great wooden beams and pirs, and the ¡°seating¡± was whatever the strange onlookers brought to sit on¡ªbackpacks, stools, buckets, furs, nkets, or¡­nothing. All in all, it was a wild, noisy, intimidating spectacle, and each time Darren had stepped into the arena, he¡¯d wanted to back out almost immediately.

    Lam pped him on the shoulder, bringing him back to the current reality, and, though she shouted, he barely heard her words as she leaned close. ¡°Let¡¯s head out! The Energy is forming up!¡±

    ¡°Right!¡± Darren held up a blood-stained hand, offering a thumbs up. He was a little upset to see his hand shaking, but he figured it was exhaustion or the dregs of adrenaline still in his system; thest battle hadn¡¯t been a smooth one. He started for the iron portcullis, <em>click-cking</em> upward on its rusty chains. The team had unanimously agreed to try to be out of the main arena before the System awarded them Energy; they didn¡¯t want to risk being dyed and have to fight the next wave without a rest. As soon as they were all in the sandy tunnel, leaning against the rough stone walls, Darren looked out to see the golden Energy coalescing over the corpses of their vanquished foes.

    In a rush, the Energy flowed through the air toward the four of them and split into four distinct streams. One of them mmed into Darren¡¯s chest, and he felt himself slide down the wall, nearly knocked out by the rush of warm euphoria that flooded his body and mind. He saw stars and shes of rainbow starbursts, and, as it all began to fade, he saw a System message in his vision:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 13 Chaos Sorcerer. You have gained 6 intelligence, 5 will, 5 dexterity, and 5 vitality.***</strong>

    ¡°Yes!¡± Darren hissed, pumping his fist as he called up his status page:

    <strong>Status</strong> <strong>Name:</strong>

    <strong>Darren Whitehorse</strong>

    <strong>Race:</strong>

    <strong>Human - Base 1</strong>

    <strong>ss:</strong>

    <strong>Chaos Sorcerer - Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Level:</strong>

    <strong>13</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Wildarc ss - Base 2</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Lightning 8, Chaos 7.4, Unattuned 6.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>602/602</strong>

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>6</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>47</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>20</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>5</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>27</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>43</strong>

    ¡°Not bad!¡± He looked up to see the others also staring nkly into space; apparently, he wasn¡¯t the only one with messages from the System. His attributes were really starting to take off now that he¡¯d gained a few levels with his ¡°advanced¡± ss¡ªrather than five points per level as a ¡°base¡± human, he got twenty-one. He hated seeing his pathetic strength and agility, but, as the others kept telling him, no one could hope to maximize all of their attributes, and he could get items and learn spells to bolster his deficiencies. Failing that, he might refine his ss to shore up his weaknesses.

    ¡°Leveled, Dare?¡± Edeya asked, standing with a grunt.

    ¡°Yep. Thirteen now.¡±

    ¡°Nice, catching up fast. I just hit fifteen, and Lammy did, too.¡± She looked over at Trin, who was fruitlessly trying to wipe dried blood from her face with a well-used rag. ¡°What about you, Trin?¡±

    ¡°Neen. I must be close to twenty, though.¡±

    ¡°Come.¡± Lam gestured for them to follow, trudging through the thick sand into the tunnel. ¡°We can talk in the ready room.¡± Nobody argued, and soon they were all stomping through the deep sand¡ªit was the same in the arena proper, probably meant to absorb blood and, as Darren had learned half a dozen times, provide for softndings asbatants were thrown or knocked down. Not that softndings helped all that much when people were ready to jam spears into you or crush you with massive hammers.

    ¡°Or pepper you with arrows.¡± Darren finished his musing aloud as he rubbed at a fresh pink scar on his shoulder; he¡¯d been struck there by an arrow two battles earlier. Nobody paid him any mind; everyone was muttering to themselves. It wasn¡¯t exactly restful in the ¡°ready room,¡± and they¡¯d been staying there, between fights, for four days. Everyone was kind of tired and raw. When they stepped out of the sand onto hard gstone and followed the smoldering torches into the square, dimly lit room, Darren groaned and sat on one of the benches lining the rough, wooden table.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.

    ¡°Tired, Dare?¡± Lam asked, lightly punching his shoulder as she stepped around to sit on the other side of the table. The only other furnishings in the room were the six wooden cots and rough spun nkets folded atop them. When they¡¯d first arrived, Lam had snorted at the cots and attempted to summon her own camping gear from a storage ring; that had been when they learned that the dungeon somehow blocked their ess to dimensional containers.

    ¡°Food should be here soon.¡± Trin peered through the peephole in the door on the far wall as she spoke. It was a stout, iron-banded door through which the coliseum attendants delivered their single daily meal. Considering the chef was probably a monstrous humanoid like the spectators, Darren had to admit that he was a little surprised by how tasty and filling the meal usually was¡ªalways some variety of stew, something like grease-smeared bread, and arge tankard of surprisingly cold beer.

    ¡°How much longer can we keep this up?¡± Edeya asked, her sapphire wings drooping in exhaustion as she sat beside Darren.

    Lam shrugged. ¡°I¡¯d like to try another round or two. This one was hectic, but Darren did a good job neutralizing the archers with his area spells.¡± It was true; his Chaos Storm and Fractured Reality spells had effectively nullified the archers standing on the tforms, forcing them to flee down to the arena sands where Edeya and Trin had ughtered them. Still, it had been a long fight.

    He said what he was thinking, ¡°It was a long battle, though. I was almost out of Energy, and if more than another wave came¡­¡± he trailed off, letting them use their imaginations.

    ¡°I have potions to restore Energy,¡± Trin sighed. ¡°I wish I¡¯d known we couldn¡¯t use our storage devices. I can¡¯t believe my father didn¡¯t say <em>anything</em>!¡±

    Darren shrugged. ¡°Well, it seems like that woman, Efanie, tried to warn us off. I don¡¯t see us getting through twenty waves, especially at the rate they seem to grow in difficulty.¡±

    ¡°Do you think¡­¡± Trin¡¯s words lost their impetus, and Darren could see from the unfocused nature of her eyes that she was lost in thought.

    ¡°I¡¯m game to try another. Is there any way to retreat if we¡¯re losing, though?¡± Edeya asked.

    ¡°I¡ª¡± Trin started to answer, but then a loud pounding on the door interrupted her. Lam jumped up and walked over to the iron-banded door, and just as she reached it, a brown, furry arm pushed it open. A woman who looked more bear than person stepped in carrying arge trayden with four enormous tankards¡ªtheir evening beer. She handed it to Lam, belched loudly, and turned to leave. Behind her, another fur-covered woman, this one hunched and far less physically fit, pushed her way in.

    ¡°Coming!¡± Edeya fluttered her wings so she veritably floated through the room to take the tray from the small, hunched bear-woman. Darren squinted, trying to make out what their dinner would be, but all he saw were four wooden bowls and arge paper sack. The bear-woman grunted something that sounded a <em>little </em>like ¡°thanks,¡± then turned and followed the other woman out. They pulled the door shut with a resounding <em>thud</em>.

    Lam and Edeya brought the trays over to the table, setting them near the center. Darren reached out and took his bowl. ¡°Stew again.¡±

    Edeya sighed and shrugged. ¡°At least it¡¯s seasoned well, and they use plenty of veggies.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s in the sack?¡± Lam asked, reaching to lift it from the tray. ¡°Heavy!¡± She pulled it open, and Darrenughed at the familiar smell.

    ¡°Fries!¡±

    ¡°Fries?¡± Lam frowned and lifted out a golden wedge of fried potato. It still had the skin on it, but Darren¡¯s nose told him he was going to love the vor. Lam tentatively took a bite, and sheughed. ¡°Potato!¡±

    ¡°Yeah! Deep fried in oil or, probably,rd or tallow.¡± Darren cupped his hands and held them out. ¡°Can I have some?¡±

    ¡°Let them cool a little, or you¡¯ll burn your hands.¡± Lam set the bag down, and they all tucked into their stew using the provided wooden spoons. Darren paused when he realized Trin hadn¡¯t taken her bowl.

    ¡°Something wrong? Not hungry?¡±

    ¡°I¡ªWhen Edeya asked about retreating, I realized I have no idea how we¡¯re supposed to leave. I know we can ring the gong by the gate to start our next fight early, but¡­¡± She looked around, apparently at a loss for words. Lam and Edeya looked up from eating, Lam still chewing, but Edeya wearing a deep frown.

    The younger Ghelli pushed her bowl away and red at Trin. ¡°Are you teasing us?¡±

    ¡°I wish I were¡ª¡±

    ¡°Trin,¡± Darren interrupted, ¡°what was it your, uh, security person said to you before we entered the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Efanie said¡ª¡± Trin¡¯s eyes widened as things came together for her. ¡°She said my father could stop the dungeon at any time!¡±

    ¡°Right, so just message him¡ª¡± Edeya started to say but stopped short as her eyes widened. ¡°We can¡¯t ess our storage devices!¡±

    ¡°Do you think your father is monitoring us?¡± Darren looked across the table as he spoke, noting that Lam had yet to say anything on the topic. She was still chewing, but Darren could see the storm clouds behind her eyes. She wasn¡¯t happy.

    ¡°He may be¡ªGods! How do I know so little? I¡¯m an idiot!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a pawn,¡± Lam finally said. ¡°There¡¯s no way your father would send you in here without exining these rules unless he meant for you to lure us inside. He knows you¡¯re not a scheming, conniving scum, so he didn¡¯t exin the dangers to you¡ªyou would have warned us, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course! I swear it! I¡¯m¡ª¡± Trin rapidly looked around the table. ¡°Why? I don¡¯t understand why my father would¡ª¡±

    ¡°He told you to find us.¡± Darren groaned as everything fell into ce. Trin started to object, but he held up his hand. ¡°He nted the seed, right? Victor beat the snot out of his son, so he sent his daughter to lure some of Victor¡¯s friends into a trap.¡±

    ¡°To what end, though?¡± Lam asked, nodding along as Darren spoke.

    ¡°Right. That¡¯s the million-dor question.¡±

    ¡°Dor?¡± Edeya frowned. ¡°Dare, speak inly.¡±

    ¡°I mean, we don¡¯t know if Trin¡¯s dad wants us all dead or if he just wants to hold us hostage to get something from Victor. Either way, we¡¯re trapped.¡± Darren looked at Trin and saw she had tears pooling in her eyes, staring into space, utterly stunned by the turn of events. ¡°Would your father be upset if you died, Trin? Be honest with yourself.¡±

    ¡°Yes! He <em>loves</em> me!¡± The tears broke free from her eyes and streaked down her cheeks as she clenched her thin, pale hands into tight fights. ¡°He buys me dresses, sends me to gs, shows me off to his friends¡ª¡±

    ¡°Just you? How many brothers and sisters do you have?¡± Darren pressed.

    Trin grew quiet, and her lips trembled as silent tears streamed down her cheeks. ¡°Many. My mother is not on good terms¡­¡± Her voice fell to a near whisper as she tremulously admitted, ¡°He has other favorites.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Lam sighed, reaching for the bag of fried potatoes, ¡°looks like we need to win tomorrow, and we need to drag this out as long as possible, taking our full day of rest between each battle.¡± She looked hard at Darren. ¡°Conserve your Energy on crowds. Use one area spell or the other; don¡¯t stack them unless we¡¯re getting overwhelmed.¡±

    ¡°Come on,¡± Edeya said, pushing Trin¡¯s bowl toward her. ¡°You need to stay strong. We¡¯ll eat, then you, me, and Lam can work on some coordinated attacks.¡± Trin didn¡¯t say anything, but she took the bowl and began to eat.

    Darren stared into his bowl pensively, idly turning the hunks of fatty meat and soft root vegetables with his spoon. He tried to think about Trin¡¯s father¡¯s motives objectively. What would he gain by killing his own daughter along with three strangers? Vengeance? He supposed there were some people that petty, that¡­honor-obsessed. Still, he didn¡¯t buy it. No, if Darren were a betting man, he¡¯d say that Lord Volpur¨¦ was bargaining for their release even now. He nodded,forted enough by the thought to bite into a crisp, fried potato wedge before a panicked thought raced through his mind: Victor was in some kind of prison dungeon!

    <strong>#</strong>

    Guapo tore down the strange, ck, crystalline road leading away from the city of Sojourn, his hooves resounding almost hollowly on the surface as it flexed with his mighty strides. Victor held Lifedrinker in one hand, and the Mustang, the axe, and he, himself, all flickered with rage-and-magma-fueled mes. Guapo¡¯s hooves thundered, and Victor hardly noticed the citizens he flew past; he moved so quickly that his vision had narrowed to a tunnel, and only Guapo¡¯s supernatural ability to manage his incredible speed kept him from colliding with other vehicles or pedestrians. After a time, perhaps frustrated with the traffic, Guapo moved to the edge of the road and pounded over the grassy berm to charge in the open space where others didn¡¯t walk.

    He might have run the risk of angering some influential citizen, but that wasn¡¯t likely, not on the ground¡ªanyone with significant means in Sojourn flew, either under their own power or in a flying vehicle. No, Victor tore past ordinary iron rankers, people who wouldn¡¯t dare challenge him for his hasty, careless passage. His aura was on full disy, and even a steel seeker would pause before osting him in the face of that potent, rage-filled weight.

    Victor <em>was</em> rage-filled. He¡¯d kept his fury simmering while he listened to Arcus. He¡¯d held it at bay when he¡¯d delivered Rasso Hine to the guards in the portal room. But as he¡¯d strode through the Council Spire, it had begun to boil out of his mental containment like a pot left too long on the stove. Summoning Guapo, holding Lifedrinker, feeling and hearing their anger echo his own, Victor found his fury mounting, building to a point where, as he tore over the grasnds, he almost felt like his old self, fighting in the pits for Yund.

    Even so, there was rationality left in him. He could still think. He could still objectively look at his rage and wonder why it was so stoked. He couldn¡¯t pin down a single reason; he had many. He was furious that Arcus¡¯s father was such a piece of garbage, for one. How could a man raise a son with no love, only fear, respect, and the tremendous weight of expectations? How could that same man be willing to sacrifice such a nice, <em>sweet</em> girl like Trin? Victor had only met her once, but he¡¯d liked her! The idea that their father was so callous as to use her as a fishing lure¡ª

    Victor growled as his anger began to boil over, and flickering mes joined the ck smoke escaping his lips with each heaving breath. Bohn Volpur¨¦¡¯s failings as a father were only the tip of the iceberg of Victor¡¯s rage. The idea that two of the people he most cared about were selected as targets by that man simply because they were acquainted with Victor was enough to send him into apoplexy. Edeya! After all they¡¯d done to save her spirit, this piece of <em>shit</em> was willing to try to use her <em>life</em> as a bargaining chip? And Lam? Lam, whom Victor had bonded with, coaxing her spirit home from a desperate crucible of the soul?

    Victor lifted his head and screamed his mounting fury, and mes licked his lips as ck smoke rode the soundwaves of the terrible roar. Adding to his fury was the idea that this weaseling worm of a man did all of this, knowing full well that Victor couldn¡¯t legally kill him, not without first issuing a challenge, a challenge that he could ept while insisting on the use of his champion.

    Thews of Sojourn were strange to Victor, but, ording to Arcus, there were rules about who could challenge whom in this society. An iron ranker could challenge anyone, but any iron ranker could also have a champion, and a person¡¯s champion could be any rank beneath veil walker¡ªeven a steel seeker. A steel seeker could only challenge other steel seekers or veil walkers, and veil walkers could only directly challenge other veil walkers. If someone above the iron ranks wanted to contend with an iron ranker, they had to employ an iron-ranked ¡°champion.¡±

    So, Dar could challenge Bohn Volpur¨¦, but he¡¯d need an iron-ranked champion. Bohn could then use <em>his</em> champion to fight Dar¡¯s champion. That being the case, Victor didn¡¯t see any point in getting Dar involved and perhaps earning another debt with the master Spirit Caster. No, he¡¯d handle Bohn¡¯s champion on his own. Of course, none of this might bear any relevance¡ªVolpur¨¦ might have a bargain in mind, something he intended to tempt Victor with, hoping to dissuade a duel because of his formidable champion. Victor had already resolved to listen to his offer and terms, but deep in his heart, deep in his belly, full of fiery rage, Victor wanted to fight.

    When he came to a fork in the road, he turned to the south, where the sign said the Venture Hills Estatesy. ¡°Close now, <em>chica</em>. Close.¡±

    <em>Time to cut and rend. Time to bathe in the blood of our foes.</em>

 Book 8: Chapter 43: Challenge

    Book 8: Chapter 43: Challenge

    When Victor crested a rise, and the Volpur¨¦ estate came into view, he urged Guapo to slow to a stop. He sat there, limned in orange mes, ck smoke leaking from his nostrils astride a simrly furious-looking mustang. He still clutched Lifedrinker in one hand, and she hung down beside Guapo¡¯s nk, hissing and vibrating with her eagerness to kill. Victor knew better than to ride into Volpur¨¦¡¯s estate in such a state. If he didn¡¯t get a grip on himself, witnesses would argue that he began hostilities before issuing a legal challenge.

    If that were the case, Volpur¨¦ would be within his rights to have his household guard swarm him. Victor might ughter many, but Arcus had made it clear that his father¡¯s champion wasn¡¯t the only formidable fighter in his family¡¯s employ. Reluctantly, despite his boiling blood, Victor lifted Lifedrinker over his shoulder. She just had time to send thoughts of confusion, anger, and even a hint of betrayal his way before the harness snatched her out of his hand.

    ¡°Sorry, beautiful. I have to do this with a level head.¡± As if to reassure himself of that capability, Victor closed his eyes, inhaled deeply through his nostrils, and turned his gaze inward, staring at the beautiful bnce of his Core. He¡¯d <em>allowed</em> his rage to run rampant while he traveled. In a way, he¡¯d been venting, and he figured riding hard and contemting murder was a better way to vent than getting into fights or shooting his mouth off at the wrong person. Having done so, he felt some relief from the pressure of the anger that had wanted to take hold of him when Arcus first revealed his father¡¯s scheme.

    Still, his pathways were brimming with magma and rage-attuned Energy, and he needed to put their influence in check. Slowly exhaling and then inhaling again, Victor drew the rage out of his pathways and pushed it into his Core. He watched as the baleful red band around his white-gold Core pulsed brightly and began spinning a bit faster as the hot red Energy returned. Nodding, already feeling much cooled, Victor exhaled and inhaled again; this time, as his breath surged into his lungs, he pushed the magma-attuned Energy in his pathways along with it, pulling it back into his breath Core.

    ¡°Better,¡± he sighed, sliding off Guapo¡¯s back. ¡°Thanks, <em>hermano</em>.¡± He gave Guapo¡¯s shoulder a pat. ¡°Go back to the Spirit ne and charge around the meadows for a while. Burn off that anger!¡± He chuckled as Guapo whinnied and reared up on his hind legs, but before the stallion could argue further, Victor severed his connection to his Wild Totem spell and sent him home.

    Nodding and clearing his throat, Victor reached up to smooth the front of his finely stitched gray shirt and brushed the road''s dust from his thighs and knees. He didn¡¯t need to¡ªthe garments would be spotless by the time he walked to the estate gates, but it felt good; it was another way to settle his mind.

    He''d long since left behind the ck, springy crystal roadways of Sojourn City and its nearby environs, but a few miles back, the dirt roads had transitioned to red-brown cobbles. Victor had passed by a few other estates, and he figured the wealthy lords had paid to improve the road passing through the area. Wealthy was probably an understatement. Volpur¨¦¡¯s estate looked like a small town with a tremendous, monolithic, pale-gray stone keep at its center. A stone wall of simr make surrounded the outbuildings, gardens, and courtyards, but the central keep stood alone, unguarded by an inner wall, yet imposing in its towering grandeur.

    As he approached the wall and the guards at the gate, Victor studied that central keep. It was probably fifty yards on a side and maybe four or five hundred feet tall. He¡¯d seenrger buildings, certainly, but the way it stood there, like a single, massive stone nted in the hillside, was impressive; he couldn¡¯t deny it.

    Windows didn¡¯t mar its surface for the first third of its height, but starting there at some invisible demarcation line, stained ss and balconies peppered the smooth surface, and Victor could make out tiny people going about their lives¡ªshaking out rugs, watering little gardens, and leaning on balcony railings as they gestured and conversed. Volpur¨¦¡¯s household looked to be bustling and full of life. ¡°How many kids does that <em>pendejo</em> have? Thirty-something? I guess that means a lot of grandkids and inws.¡±By then, he¡¯d stepped into the shadow of the gatehouse, and one of the men wearing Volpur¨¦¡¯s livery¡ªa silver raptor on avender background¡ªstepped forward. ¡°When you stopped yonder, we¡¯d wondered if you¡¯d approach. What can we help you with, stranger?¡±

    Victor, reduced to his more ¡°human¡± size of something close to seven feet, smiled and hooked his thumbs onto his supple leather belt. ¡°I need to speak to Bohn Volpur¨¦.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Do you have an appointment with Lord Volpur¨¦?¡±

    ¡°I think he¡¯s probably expecting me. I¡¯m Victor Sandoval. He might have some information about a few of my friends who went into the family dungeon. ¡®Something, something coliseum.¡¯ Does that ring a bell?¡±

    The guard, a tall, stout fellow with a shock of bright red hair hanging down from the rim of his ckcquered metal helm, stepped closer, ncing at his partner whose eyes widened. ¡°Victor? The giant from the Vault of Valor? The one who beat Lord Arcus?¡±

    ¡°Ah, yeah. That¡¯s me.¡± Victor shrugged, still standing nonchntly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll fetch Chambein Potts,¡± the second guard said, and Victor gave him a double-take because he¡¯d never heard such a high voice. The fellow¡¯s cheeks reddened at Victor¡¯s quick nce, and then he hurried away.

    ¡°Right, well, I¡¯ve instructions to bring you to the lord¡¯s parlor. I¡¯m assuming you received his invitation?¡±

    ¡°I did not. I¡¯ve just returned to town from a¡­quest, I guess. I heard rumors about my friends, so I came straight here.¡±

    ¡°Well, please follow me, sir.¡± The guard looked Victor up and down before he turned, and he seemed to want to say something, but perhaps his sense of propriety wouldn¡¯t allow it. He mped his jaw tight and turned to lead the way through the gatehouse and into an expansive, cobbled courtyard.

    Fruit trees grew in circr nters along the edges, and a fountain burbled at the center, surrounded by a low stone bench. Victor smiled and inhaled the scent of citrus, and as children¡¯sughter caught his ear, he turned to see a small boy climbing one of the trees while a pair of girls in bright dresses tried to poke him with little sticks. They all giggled, so he didn¡¯t think anything untoward was happening.

    ¡°We should make haste, sir,¡± the guard said from several feet ahead. Victor hadn¡¯t realized he¡¯d stopped walking, but the guard¡¯s words didn¡¯t spur him. He folded his arms and arched an eyebrow.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Well, the lord¡¯s parlor is on the top floor, and we wouldn¡¯t want to keep him waiting¡ª¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll wait for him here. I like this courtyard fine, and the fountain pleases my weary ears. Tell your master not to hurry on my ount.¡± Victor strode over the cobbles to the fountain as he spoke, admiring the delicately carved fish that served as the water spouts.

    ¡°But, sir, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d be morefortable in the manor¡ª¡±

    ¡°Manor?¡± Victor nced up at the imposing stone edifice. ¡°That looks more like a keep to me. No, I¡¯ve had enough of gloomy stone interiors. I¡¯ll sit here in the sun, under the stars, and listen to the fountain while I wait. Thank you for the kind invitation, however.¡±

    ¡°As you say, sir. I¡¯ll, well, I¡¯ll let the chambein know. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll have some refreshments sent your way. I¡¯m not sure how long it will take Lord Volpur¨¦ to make his way down to see you¡ª¡±

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°No worries.¡± Victor waved him off as he sat down, leaned back against the fountain¡¯s rim, and crossed his feet at the ankles. ¡°I¡¯ll watch the children y while I wait.¡±

    ¡°As you say,¡± the guard repeated, then he bowed stiffly and hurried toward the stone steps leading up to the manor¡¯s sizeable double doors. Victor watched him for a moment, then turned his gaze toward the parapets surrounding the courtyard. Just as he¡¯d hoped, there were dozens of guards making rounds, often sending nces his way. More than that, he could see pic tables situated in the little gardens at the edge of the courtyard and, seated at them, several finely dressed adults. Arcus had told him that the courtyard was well-popted and the perfect ce to issue his challenge. He¡¯d warned Victor not to allow himself to be sequestered away from the eyes of potential witnesses.

    ¡°I hope you were right,¡± he muttered as he considered the objection he¡¯d thrown at Arcus: what if Lord Volpur¨¦ instructed his kin and staff to lie about the challenge? Arcus hadughed, saying that too many people in the household had too much to gain from the lord¡¯s downfall. They wouldn¡¯t lie to the Sojourn Council for him, not about something so important as a challenge.

    Victor thought it was pitiful that a man of such means held such little loyalty from his own family, but, on reflection, he figured it was a simple case of ¡°you reap what you sow.¡± Volpur¨¦ used his family for influence and treated them like tools, so it wasn¡¯t surprising that at least <em>some</em> of them might do the same to him.

    He hadn¡¯t been lying about enjoying the sun and the sound of the fountain tinkling behind him. As he leaned back, Victor closed his eyes and tilted his face toward the warmth, letting it soak through his coppery flesh into the blood coursing beneath. He could almost imagine the warmer blood spreading through spiderwebs of veins, into hisrger vessels and arteries, and carrying the sun¡¯s invisible touch through his body. He sat that way for quite some time, and he might have dozed if not for the knot of worry still eating at the pit of his stomach whenever he thought about Lam, Edeya, and even Darren.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± a high-pitched voice asked. Victor opened one eye and peered down to see one of the children he¡¯d been watching earlier standing by his feet. She wore a bright yellow dress with a huge grass stain near where her knees must be. As he watched, he could see the stain slowly fading as the garment¡¯s enchantments worked overtime to keep the little rascal clean.

    He grunted as he uncrossed his ankles and sat up a little. ¡°I¡¯m Victor. Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Jillian.¡±

    ¡°Jillian, huh?¡± Victor studied her rosy cheeks, bright yellow eyes, and golden curls. She didn¡¯t look like Arcus or Trin. Still, it was a big family. ¡°Are you rted to Arcus and Trin?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re cousins. Are you one of my uncles?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m afraid not. Is Lord Volpur¨¦ your grandpa?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great-grandpa!¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± Victor nodded and winked at the little girl. He nced over her head to see the others she¡¯d been ying with lurking near the fruit tree, intently watching their conversation. ¡°Are those your siblings or more cousins?¡±

    ¡°Rin is my sister, but Lop is Lord Stravian¡¯s son.¡±

    Victor rubbed his chin and nodded sagely. ¡°Mmhmm, I see, I see. Well¡ª¡±

    ¡°Sir Victor?¡± Victor turned toward the feminine voice to see a lithe, graceful young woman approaching. She wore the Volpur¨¦ livery, but her uniform was clearly a custom design, far better fitting than those of the guards at the gate. Her hand rested on the basket hilt of a long, slender sword, but she bore a pleasant expression as she said, ¡°Run and y, Jillian, you nosy fetter-fetch!¡±

    The little girl squealed a scandalized giggle and ran toward her ymates, repeating, ¡°Fetter-fetch! She called me a fetter-fetch!¡±

    ¡°Apologies, sir.¡± The woman stopped a few feet away, standing in a stiff, military fashion that brought a twinge of homesick longing to Victor¡¯s heart as it reminded him of Va. ¡°I¡¯m Efanie, Commander of the Volpur¨¦ household guard. I understand you¡¯re waiting for Lord Volpur¨¦?¡±

    ¡°I am. Maybe you can answer a simple question. If the answer is no, I¡¯ll leave now without any trouble.¡±

    ¡°And if it¡¯s yes?¡±

    Victor shrugged. ¡°Then there might be some trouble.¡±

    ¡°Very well.¡± Efanie broadened her stance and sped her hands behind her back. ¡°What is the question?¡±

    ¡°Does Lord Volpur¨¦ have some friends of mine trapped in the family dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Trapped is a strong word¡ª¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t bullshit me,dy.¡± Victor sat up straight and leaned forward, resting an elbow on his knee.

    Efanie narrowed herrge, almond-shaped, amber eyes and nced over her shoulder toward the closed doors of the manor. When she looked back at Victor, she offered a quick nod and whispered, ¡°The lord will argue that they entered of their own volition and that it would be an interference to pull them out. He¡¯ll try to gain favors from you, perhaps even to force you to sign a contract of servitude in exchange for their release.¡±

    Victor regarded her while inwardly feeling quite proud of his poker face. He didn¡¯t smile, frown, or even blink; Arcus had already told him that much, so nothing was a surprise. Well, he admitted to himself, the fact that she was whispering this to him was a surprise. Did none of Bohn Volpur¨¦¡¯s people like him? He kept his voice low and calm as he asked, ¡°And if I refuse?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s prepared to risk even his daughter, Trin¡¯s, life. He included her with purpose of forethought; the council will see her death as proof that he meant no ill will, or at least that¡¯s what his advocates will argue.¡±

    Victor smiled. ¡°It won¡¯te to that.¡±

    Efanie blew out a sigh, and he could see the relief behind her eyes. ¡°So, you mean to bargain with him, then?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly.¡±

    Efanie looked over her shoulder again, then whispered, even more softly than before, ¡°You must understand¡ªLord Volpur¨¦ holds the only control stone for the dungeon. You can¡¯t¡ª¡±

    ¡°Challenge him?¡±

    Efanie groaned and shook her head. ¡°Of course. You¡¯re new to Sojourn.¡± She chuckled wryly and leaned a little closer, speaking conspiratorially. ¡°He has the means to buy the best champion, Victor. Fak Loyle has never lost a duel.¡±

    Victor nodded, leaning back against the fountain again. ¡°Makes sense, I guess, or he¡¯d be dead, right?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a <em>steel seeker</em>!¡± she hissed just as therge manor door swung wide, and a portly man in the Volpur¨¦ livery stepped to the edge of the stoop and looked down at Victor and Efanie.

    ¡°Lord Bohn Volpur¨¦!¡± he bellowed, his voice echoing around the courtyard. Efanie jumped like she¡¯d been electrocuted and took a few steps back, standing at attention. Victor didn¡¯t want to look like a boor, so he stood from the stone bench and turned to look squarely at the doorway. A momentter, a tall, swarthy man dressed in the finest suit Victor had seen outside of a movie back on Earth strode through the doorway. He was followed by a train of attendants and soldiers, but only one followed him down the steps to approach Victor¡ªa short, round fellow wearing a deeply cowled, blood-red robe and carrying a gnarled, polished length of wood topped with a pulsing green crystal.

    When the two stopped before him, the man in the robe stood back a few feet, and all Victor could see of his face was the bottom edge of an unkempt brown beard. Bohn Volpur¨¦ cleared his throat. ¡°Victor, was it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Victor held out a hand, and Lord Volpur¨¦ looked at it momentarily before lifting his gaze, fluttering his overlong eyshes as he regarded Victor¡¯s face.

    ¡°How might I help you, young man?¡±

    Victor let his hand fall to his side. Maybe once upon a time, such tant disrespect would have gotten a rise out of him. Maybe it was the improvements he¡¯d done with his Core, the influence of his inspiration-attuned Energy, or maybe it was just that Victor had met with enough assholes that nothing fazed him anymore. Whatever it was, the only thought that crossed his mind as Volpur¨¦ refused to shake his hand was that it would make it all the sweeter when he brought him to his knees. ¡°You can get my friends out of your dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Your¡­<em>friends</em>?¡± He affected a puzzled expression, rubbing at his chin. ¡°My <em>daughter</em> is currently in the family dungeon, exploring it with her team. I¡¯m afraid there must be some sort of error on your behalf.¡±

    ¡°You think so?¡± Victor grinned, chuckling softly. He lifted his arms to fold them over his chest. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯ve challenged your wits, Bohn, but try to deduce the facts. Your daughter is in the dungeon with some friends, and I¡¯m asking you to get <em>my </em>friends out of your dungeon. Perhaps those friends are the same people, hmm?¡±

    ¡°Use respect when addressing <em>Lord</em> Volpur¨¦!¡± the robed man growled roughly. At the same time, he unleashed his aura, and Victor felt it hit him like a heavy, thorn-filled nket, dragging him down, scoring his flesh with psychic barbs. The pressure was immense, the aura dense and powerful, and Victor moved with it, stumbling back and even falling to one knee, ducking his head, pumping his lungs to draw breath.

    ¡°Enough, Loyle. Let the man speak.¡± Like a switch turning off, Loyle¡¯s aura faded, and Victor took a deep breath, rising shakily to his feet. He looked around to see a crowd had gathered. The guards watched from the parapets, and dozens of finely dressed, beautiful people lined the courtyard¡¯s perimeter. Arcus hadn¡¯t been wrong.

    ¡°Will you let them out?¡± Victor asked, still avoiding making eye contact with Bohn.

    ¡°I¡¯d rather not interfere, young man. My daughter¡¯s future depends on her learning to fend for herself and not to rely on the might of her family name to rescue her from predicaments. That dungeon serves a valuable purpose: exposing the entrants to the very real risk of death helps to forge their character. So, in short, no, I will not. It would take something equally as valuable as the lesson my daughter would be losing out on to entice me. Have you anything of the sort?¡±

    ¡°Money? A fine, magical weapon?¡± Victor knew nothing he offered would be eptable, so he threw those out for the witnesses to add to their gossiping.

    Bohn waved his hand, ¡°I¡¯ve no need of such things. I could buy your weapons a thousand¡ªnay, a million times. Have you nothing unique?¡±

    ¡°I could give your daughter lessons. I¡¯m sure you recognize the value in learning from a stranger with some talent¡ª¡±

    Bohn cut him off. ¡°Uneptable, but you¡¯ve given me an idea. If you¡¯re willing to work for my daughter, why not sign a contract with my household? I could use a man like you.¡±

    ¡°I already owe service to Ranish Dar.¡± Victor finally looked up, locking his eyes¡ªbright, amber, and predatory¡ªwith Bohn Volpur¨¦¡¯s pretty blue ones hiding behind their long, darkshes.

    Bohn frowned, a crease appearing over the bridge of his nose, perhaps surprised by the angry glint in Victor¡¯s gaze. ¡°Yet the man isn¡¯t here. Is he not your patron?¡±

    Victor frowned, his real emotions beginning to impact his acting. ¡°He is, but I owe him enough. I¡¯d hoped to solve this problem on my own. I thought you might be reasoned with¡ª¡±

    ¡°Watch your tone,¡± Fak Loyle growled.

    Bohn Volpur¨¦ raised a hand, holding his dog in check. ¡°If you will not leave Ranish Dar¡¯s service nor ask him to bargain in your stead, I cannot help you.¡±

    Victor nodded and stood up straight. He looked around the courtyard, ensuring that hundreds of eyes were on the small group at the center of the square, then he cleared his throat and said, in a booming promation, ¡°In that case, Lord Bohn Volpur¨¦, I challenge you to a duel to the death. Should I emerge victorious, by right of conquest, I im the freedom of my friends and your own daughter from your dungeon."

    ¡°Fool!¡± Volpur¨¦ snorted. ¡°My champion is a steel seeker. You¡¯ve only felt a taste of his power.¡± He turned to look at the short, rotund man in his silky red robes. ¡°What say you, Loyle? Up for a bit of a disy?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, Lord Volpur¨¦. I¡¯ll craft you something especially handsome from this fellow¡¯s hot blood.¡± While they spoke, Victor did his best to look like a confused idiot. He nced from Fak to Bohn and then over to Efanie. All the while, he let his eyes bulge out and his mouth hang open.

    Volpur¨¦ chuckled and held his arms wide, looking around at the many witnesses in the courtyard. ¡°Challenge epted! We shall feast afterward!¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 44: A Walk in the Sunlight

    Book 8: Chapter 44: A Walk in the Sunlight

    The onlookers didn¡¯t exactly cheer, but a definite hubbub arose at Lord Volpur¨¦¡¯s promation. More of the finely dressed fae-human-looking members of Volpur¨¦¡¯s household had quietly begun to crowd the edges of the courtyard, and Victor started to wonder if the duel would take ce right then and there. He looked up at the proud edifice of Arcus¡¯s family manor and wondered how it would weather an earthquake. As though he¡¯d read Victor¡¯s mind, Bohn cleared his throat noisily, and the buzz of conversations died down.

    ¡°The duel shall take ce atop Arkhun¡¯s Hill at sundown. Will that be amenable to you, young man?¡± Bohn Volpur¨¦¡¯s smug tone was so rankling to Victor that he almost dropped all pretense. His muscles tensed, but he held himself in check, the only evidence of his rancor a small muscle twitching near his eye.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine with me. What does that give us? A couple of hours?¡±

    Before Bohn could reply, the slender, prim woman with the golden curls stepped forward. ¡°I¡¯ll guide him to the hilltop, Lord Volpur¨¦. Someone should attend him while he waits.¡±

    Again, before Bohn could speak, Fak Loyle growled, ¡°Might I suggest, generous lord, that you send a scribe along with the young challenger that he might employ his services to meticulously document his final wishes for those he holds dear. After all, one must prepare for the inevitable, no matter the bitter taste.¡±

    ¡°An excellent and kind suggestion, Loyle. Efanie, do keep Victorpany. I¡¯ll send one of Preceptor Lovus¡¯s boys out to take down his final words.¡± Bohn turned and immediately started up the steps, Victor and everyone else, apparently, dismissed from his mind. The lord¡¯s smug confidence was so over the top that Victor''s eyes widened with disbelief. Could a man truly be so contemptuous?

    Fak Loyle watched his master disappear back into the manor, then turned to Victor. ¡°Worry not,d. Your name won¡¯t be forgotten. My personal historian documents each of my duels. You¡¯ll be in goodpany on the pages of my exploits.¡± Victor closed his mouth and narrowed his eyes, but he didn¡¯t speak as the red-robed mage turned his back and mounted the steps.

    Efanie unsped her hands from behind her and took another step toward Victor. She didn¡¯t speak, though, watching his face as he marked the progress of the steel seeker on his way up into the keep. Maybe she saw the murder behind Victor¡¯s amber irises. Perhaps she felt the tiny flicker of his aura that slipped the firm bindings of his iron will¡ªwhatever the case, she didn¡¯t say anything until Victor exhaled noisily and turned his gaze on her. ¡°Shall we walk, sir?¡±

    Victor looked at her for a long moment, caught up in the bright spots of white light where the sun reflected off her emerald irises. She seemed too good, too pleasant for a ce where a man like Bohn Volpur¨¦ reigned. As he had the thought, he lifted his gaze and surveyed the gathered onlookers. Not the guards who¡¯d made a show of returning to work, but the nobility, the rich, finely dressed members of the Volpur¨¦ household. They, too, looked pleasant, for the most part. Could a detestable man raise such pleasant folks? Were they all putting on a false front? His gaze shifted back to the tree, to the children he¡¯d watched ying earlier. No, he decided. For some reason, not all of Bohn¡¯s children were devoid of redeeming qualities.¡°Sir?¡± Efanie prompted again.

    ¡°Hmm? Oh, right, the hilltop. How far is it?¡±

    ¡°A few short miles down thene. I could call us a carriage, but, unless you¡¯ve something else to do, I thought a stroll might do nicely to ease your nerves.¡±

    Victor smiled. ¡°My nerves?¡± He reached up and scratched the rough, dark stubble along his jaw. ¡°Yeah, I guess a walk could do me some good. I¡¯m enjoying the sunlight.¡± She nodded and walked to his side, and for a panicked moment, he wondered if he was supposed to offer his arm or something, but she cleared her throat and started ahead, guiding him back toward the gate.

    As they approached the dark opening of the gatehouse tunnel, one of the finely dressed younger men approached, doffing his velvety maroon hat and holding it to his chest as he cleared his throat. ¡°Ahem. Excuse me, Efanie, might I speak a moment with your charge?¡±

    ¡°Lord Volpur¨¦.¡± Efanie paused and inclined her head, taking a step back.

    ¡°Volpur¨¦?¡± Victor raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Channer Volpur¨¦. I believe you know my brother, Arcus?¡±

    Victor folded his arms over his chest. ¡°Yeah, I did.¡±

    ¡°Did? Has something befallen him?¡±

    ¡°Your dad didn¡¯t tell you, huh?¡±

    ¡°Tell¡ªWhat is it, man?¡± Channer looked a bit older than Arcus but seemed a great deal softer, and Victor didn¡¯t feel a whiff of power leaking off him.

    ¡°Well, your brother got killed in the prison dungeon in the Council Spire. You know the one?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Channer looked appropriately disturbed by the news, and Victor¡¯s frown turned more genuine. Hadn¡¯t Arcus said his siblings didn¡¯t care for him? Or had he said <em>most</em> of them? Victor honestly couldn¡¯t remember and was beginning to feel a little bad for being so blunt with the man.

    ¡°Look. Sorry to break the news to you. You should let your brothers and sisters know that he died bravely, fighting a, uh¡­¡± As he spun the tale of Arcus¡¯s demise, doing a favor for his Pyromancer friend, he nearly broke his promise to Ronkerz about revealing the power of the great simian and his Big Ones.

    ¡°A what, man?¡±

    Victor shrugged. ¡°A really dangerous criminal. I think your dad and Arcus¡¯s master underestimated that ce.¡±

    Efanie cleared her throat and stepped partially between Victor and Channer. ¡°We should keep moving, Sir Victor. It¡¯s best not to linger on the estate of a gentleman you¡¯ve just challenged.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor grasped Channer¡¯s shoulder, engulfing it with his broad, powerful hand. ¡°My condolences. You should probably let your family know about Arcus.¡± He released him and turned, following Efanie out the gates. Channer tracked him with his eyes¡ªVictor could feel them on his back¡ªbut he didn¡¯t say anything more.

    Efanie turned to the left, away from the main, cobbled road, and followed a narrower path of pavers on grass. After they¡¯d gone a few dozen strides beyond the gate and away from the people living in the Volpur¨¦ manor, she turned to regard Victor through narrowed eyes. ¡°That was rather callously done.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Victor¡¯s mind had begun to wander toward his uing fight, and he wasn¡¯t sure what she meant.

    ¡°Telling a man his brother was dead. You could have been a bit gentler.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor sighed, ¡°to tell you the truth, I didn¡¯t think that guy would feel bad about Arcus¡¯s death. He gave me the impression that he and his siblings weren¡¯t too fond of each other.¡±

    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s a fair exnation. Arcus wasn¡¯t well-loved, but at least as many of his siblings <em>liked</em> him as hated him.¡± Victor noted her emphasis on ¡°liked¡± and chuckled.

    ¡°Not loved, though?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps a small handful of sisters, one brother, and some nieces and nephews. He will be missed.¡± Again, Victor felt stupid when he caught the glint of moisture in Efanie¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Ah, shit,¡± he groaned. ¡°I should have realized you probably knew him damn well. Sorry about that.¡± He thought about telling her the truth¡ªthat Arcus was still alive¡ªbut bit his tongue; just because she was pleasant and pretty didn¡¯t mean she wouldn¡¯t report every word he said to her ¡°lord.¡±

    Efanie looked away and shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s understandable, you¡¯ve got¡ª¡±

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s not okay. I should have thought of your feelings. You should know Arcus died like a hero, fighting off enemies who greatly outnumbered him. He saved me from more than one deadly blow. I hope you all remember him that way.¡± It was a lie, but only because Victor had promised Arcus not to tell the truth. He wondered just how long Arcus would be in the dungeon. Would he escape rtively soon, or would new generations of nieces and nephews be living in this great house before he found his way home?

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Efanie didn¡¯t look at him, her gaze firmly fixed ahead and to the left, and she reached up to rub her eyes briefly before saying, ¡°Thank you. I, um, well, I helped raise him. I spent a lot of time training him as a boy. He wasn¡¯t the easiest person to get along with, but he had¡­a difficult road. I¡¯m d he made a friend out of you before he died.¡±

    Victor nodded, unwilling to add more lies to the mound he¡¯d already dished out. They walked in silence for a while, but as they left the manor¡¯s outer wall behind and wended through a small citrus orchard to the north, he caught his first glimpse of their destination. A great, grassy hill rose from the nearby farnd. At its base were a series of enormous, dark gray obelisks that jutted out of the grassy soil in a faintly curved line toward the east. If Victor squinted, he could almost imagine the stone monuments were fingers and the hill a giant, swollen thumb.

    ¡°Arkhun¡¯s Hill.¡± Efanie pointed to the distant grassy slope.

    ¡°Practically a mountain,¡± Victor grunted.

    ¡°Tell me, Sir Vict¡ª¡±

    ¡°Just Victor.¡±

    Efanie inclined her head. ¡°Tell me, Victor, why do you throw your life away this evening?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? The duel?¡± He knew he was being obtuse but was having fun, so he waited for her to answer.

    ¡°Yes. Surely you don¡¯t hope¡ª¡±

    Victor cut her off, squeezing his left fist until his knuckles cracked. ¡°Well, what else can I do? Volpur¨¦ wants to teach me a lesson, and he¡¯s using¡ª¡±

    ¡°Your friends and his own daughter as instruments in that lesson? Yes, I understand that, but they won¡¯t be any safer if you lose a duel¡ª¡± Her eyes widened, and her mouth formed an ¡°O¡± before she covered it with her hand. ¡°If you lose, he¡¯ll have no reason to punish them.¡±

    Victor smiled and nodded. ¡°Yeah, the duel¡¯s a win-win for them.¡± He shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets, smiling into the clouds. ¡°Besides, there wasn¡¯t another solution. I could have tried to sue the guy, you know, dragged him before the council, but that would take time, and I don¡¯t think my friends have much time, yeah?¡±

    ¡°You could have swallowed your pride and brought your master to intervene.¡±

    ¡°Ah, well, that¡¯s the issue, isn¡¯t it? My pride. It¡¯s a mighty big mouthful, and I didn¡¯t feel like choking it down.¡±

    Efanie turned to him and stared while he continued to walk, almost blithely, smiling into the sunny sky, a carefree spring in his step. ¡°Are you suicidal, then? You¡¯ve no loved ones to miss you?¡±

    ¡°Actually, I appreciate you mentioning it. When we get up on that hill, I¡¯d like a few minutes to write notes to my loved ones.¡± He winked at her. ¡°You know, just in case.¡± He¡¯d nned to use his Farscribe book but found the idea of using Volpur¨¦¡¯s scribe to send notes to his loved ones amusing. He thought about that¡ªloved ones. He had more than a few, and it felt good to remember that.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s bad luck,¡± he said, chuckling as he gave voice to his thoughts. ¡°I mean, if I write them all notes about what to do when I die, doesn¡¯t that open the door, at least subconsciously, to the thought that I won¡¯t win? Nah, I think I¡¯ll just send them notes telling ¡®em how much I love and appreciate them.¡±

    ¡°Victor!¡± Efanie stopped and whirled, reaching out to take his wrist. ¡°I <em>appreciate</em> that you¡¯re doing this to save your friends and, consequently, a young woman that I think of almost like a daughter, but you must realize you¡¯re doomed! You couldn¡¯t even stand inside Loyle¡¯s aura! How do you propose to fight him?¡±

    Victor smiled at her, then lifted his gaze to the hill that had grown significantly closer as they¡¯d spoken. He thought he could make out a grassy path carved in switchbacks leading up the southern slope. ¡°It¡¯s bigger up close.¡±

    Efanie sighed and turned to follow his gaze. ¡°Yes, and well-watered with the blood of heroes. I¡¯ve watched Loyle kill at least a dozen men on that hilltop.¡±

    Victor grunted and started walking again. As Efanie hurried to catch up to him, he looked at her. ¡°Just Loyle? Do other people fight up there?¡±

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s used by all the local lords and their families¡ªa storied, bloody piece ofnd. You¡¯ll have that, at least. Your blood will mingle with that of some very great men and women.¡±

    Victor thought about it, a macabre sense of satisfaction washing over him as he pictured his spirit rising up from that hilltop, meeting some of the great spirits who¡¯d stayed behind to haunt the ce. ¡°Yeah. Yeah, that wouldn¡¯t be a bad ce to die.¡±

    Efanie gave him a sideways look, then turned back to the hill. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I care. I don¡¯t know why I don¡¯t simply encourage you. I should be d you¡¯re doing this. I think I¡¯m just angry that, once again, Bohn Volpur¨¦¡¯s greed will cost the world at least one good life.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s too bad, isn¡¯t it? I mean, about the duelingws of Sojourn. It¡¯s kind of bullshit that he gets to buy his life today, you know? Even if I beat his champion, he doesn¡¯t <em>really</em> lose anything.¡±

    Efanie chuckled, shaking her head. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong, Victor. If it were <em>possible</em> for you to win, then the dear lord of the Volpur¨¦ n would lose a great deal of <em>face,</em> and to the people who rule Sojourn, face is everything. Worse, he¡¯d lose his champion, and, once people learned of the great Fak Loyle¡¯s demise, Bohn would find dozens of challengesing his way. Each refusal he made would reduce his standing and open him to civil suits. Inch by inch, he¡¯d be ruined and forced to step down as the Volpur¨¦ patriarch, elevating one of his sons.¡± She gave him a look, narrowing her eyes as she smiled ruefully. ¡°A pretty fantasy, but still just a fantasy.¡±

    Those were details that Arcus hadn¡¯t had time to impart, and Victor found Efanie¡¯s words quite heartening. His smile must have made that apparent because she scoffed, looking away and hurrying her steps, leading from several yards ahead as they mounted the trail that climbed the hillside. He could imagine families with children and elderly parents climbing the wide, well-worn path on their way to attend a duel. Frowning, he called out, ¡°Is that all that goes on up there? Duels?¡±

    Efanie didn¡¯t respond at first as she continued to hike up the hill. When they reached the next switchback, though, she paused and looked down at Victor as she rounded the corner. ¡°No. Celebrations for the seasons, for various old gods, and even events like weddings take ce atop this hill.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡± Victor nodded, and they resumed their climb in silence. When they reached the top, Victor looked past Efanie to see a broad, grassy field, much tter than he would have expected. Delicately carved stone pirs formed a loose circle about twenty yards from the edge. Victor counted thirty-three of the columns surrounding a space about half the size of a football field. Other than that, the top of the hill was bare of anything but ankle-high grass. ¡°I guess we¡¯re supposed to fight in the middle?¡±

    ¡°The watch stones are enchanted to absorb Energy. They¡¯ll keep spectators safe from¡­misguided spells.¡±

    Victor chuckled at her choice of words. He wasn¡¯t too sure some carved stone pirs would protect people atop a hill if he used Wake the Earth, but he was hopeful they¡¯d at least give people time to flee. Efanie walked over to one of the nearby columns and leaned against it, folding her arms and watching him. She seemed to have grown tired of his refusal to take the duel seriously and didn¡¯t have anything more to say.

    Victor trudged past her into the circle, and he could feel the pressure and hum of potent Energy as he passed over the line of ¡°watch stones.¡± It was like stepping through ayer of dense, thick air. The depth of the power made him reconsider things; perhaps there was something far more potent buried in the hill, some Energy source that could, indeed, absorb his spells¡¯ power or redirect it away from the spectators. He¡¯d only taken a few steps when a woosh in the air caught his attention. He turned his eyes upward to see an avian man with bright orange feathers spiraling downward.

    He wore Volpur¨¦ livery and carried a well-worn leather satchel. Hended, stumbling forward, and barely caught himself before falling. ¡°Oof! The updraft was more than I bargained for!¡± He turned, fluttering his wings and making clucking sounds in his throat as he straightened his uniform.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be rmed!¡± Efanie called from the circle¡¯s edge. ¡°He¡¯s one of the scribes.¡±

    ¡°Ahem, yes.¡± The avian fellow stepped toward Victor and held out a hand. ¡°Tibbion at your service, sir. I¡¯ve been ordered to take yourst wishes down and deliver them to your family.¡±

    Victor squeezed the man¡¯s slender, downy hand in his own, careful to only apply a slight pressure. ¡°Could you give me some stationary and envelopes? I¡¯ll write a few notes for you to deliver.¡±

    ¡°I was told to take dictation¡ª¡±

    ¡°Tibbion,¡± Victor interrupted, ¡°I may look like a brute, but I know how to write.¡± With that, Victor sat down, folded his legs, and held out an empty hand. A momentter, the scribe set a stack of nk, surprisingly white, uniform pages in his palm along with a fancy, curlicued magical pen. As he began to write his first note, one to Ranish Dar, Victor remembered that he would be handing it off to a man who worked for Bohn Volpur¨¦, so he decided to keep things short and amusing.

    He wrote about his training and his ns to keep working on his cultivation. He said trite, meaningless things like how he was looking forward to swimming in theke or how he hoped to have a rainstorm in the shower of his own future home. Overall, it was just a pleasant little note culminating in Victor¡¯s thanks for being such a good mentor. By the time he folded Dar¡¯s note and put it in an envelope, nearly a dozen people had arrived on the hilltop and were sitting infortable chairs or on nkets outside the stone circle.

    Victor handed the envelope to Tibbion, then began writing quick notes to his closest friends. He wrote to Lesh, Edeya, Lam, and Darren, and then, just to be thorough, he wrote notes to Tha, Deyni, Chandri, Ch, and even Rellia and Kethelket. When he finished, he nced around the clearing and saw that maybe a hundred people had arrived, and the hilltop had taken on a certain festive air. As he handed the stack of envelopes to Tibbion, he asked, ¡°How much time before the duel?¡±

    ¡°Nearly half an hour, sir.¡±

    Victor nodded and bent his head to thest letter he intended to write:

    <em>Va,</em>

    <em></em>

    <em>I¡¯ve just gotten out of the dungeon, and I know I should have written to you immediately in the Farscribe book, but I had some business to take care of. Now I¡¯m writing you this letter, partially to pass some time and partially because I think it¡¯s amusing that my enemy will deliver a love note for me. ¡°Love note¡± is a funny phrase as I think about it, but that¡¯s what I¡¯m writing. I just want you to know how much I appreciate you and how much you mean to me. I¡¯m young and sometimes stupid, but I know a good thing when I see it.</em>

    Victor frowned and tapped the pen against his chin for a moment. He¡¯d meant to write something light-hearted, something that wouldn¡¯t mean much to anyone other than that he cared about Va, but suddenly, a dark musing passed through his mind: what if these were thest words he ever said to her? Frowning, suddenly more serious than he¡¯d been since issuing his challenge to Volpur¨¦, he continued to write:

    <em>If I died today, I hope you¡¯d miss me for a while, but I also hope you¡¯d let our love be a warm memory and that you¡¯d find new people to love and new hopes and dreams to chase. Let your life be filled with good things, and always look for ways to enjoy the better parts of living. Don¡¯t ever dwell on vengeance or hate, on fear or envy¡ªremember that our spirits take those things with them when we die. I want your spirit to find me in our next lives, even if it¡¯s just to say ¡®hello.¡¯</em>

    <em></em>

    <em>I love you,</em>

    <em></em>

    <em>-Victor</em>

    Victor smiled, folded the paper neatly, and then slipped it into the envelope. On the outside, he wrote Va¡¯s name and handed it to Tibbion. ¡°Take all of those to Lord Ranish Dar¡¯ske house.¡±

    ¡°As youmand, sir!¡± To Victor¡¯s surprise, the avian slipped the letters into his satchel, spread his wings, andunched himself aloft, rapidly pumping his wings as he gained altitude.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Victor chuckled, ¡°I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d leave right this second.¡± He looked around and was surprised to see hundreds of people lining the circle of stones. When he saw peoples¡¯ mouths moving, their hands gesturing, but didn¡¯t hear anything but a low background murmur, he realized that the magic of the stone circle must be creating a sort of bubble, a barrier that made it hard for even sound to prate.

    With a grunt, he pushed himself to his feet and scanned the crowd for Lord Volpur¨¦. Sure enough, he spotted him on the southern edge of the circle, sitting in an oversized, throne-like chair, surrounded by finely dressed people in simrlyfortable-looking chairs. Victor looked to the east and saw the orange and red streaks in the sky that marked a Sojourn sunset. It was nearly time.

    When he turned back, he saw the short, round, crimson figure of Fak Loyle pushing his way through the crowd and into the circle. As he began striding toward Victor, the chambein¡¯s voice boomed out, loud enough for even Victor to hear inside the magical circle, ¡°As dusk is upon us, the duel willmence. Victor Sandoval, challenger to Lord Bohn Volpur¨¦, are you ready?¡±

    Victor reached over his shoulder and drew Lifedrinker from her harness. She vibrated with eager fury, not a small part of which was directed at Victor for making her wait so long. He chuckled as he sent a small surge of Energy into the runes on his clothing, instantly dding himself in his heavy red-ck wyrm-scale andva king hide armor. From within his fearsome helm, he bellowed, ¡°I am ready.¡±

    The hugely rotund chambein immediately bellowed, ¡°Fak Loyle, champion of House Volpur¨¦, are you ready?¡±

    The stocky, red-robed figure stopped about ten paces from Victor and lifted his twisted green-gemstone wand high. ¡°Ready,¡± he growled.

    ¡°Let the duel begin!¡± the chambein roared.

    Victor held still, watching Loyle, waiting to see what he¡¯d do. The wizard chuckled, and, with a palpable weight, he unleashed his aura. It was so real and thick that the grass between Victor and the wizard ttened. Victor felt it touch him, mming down like a lead nket adorned with needle-tipped psychic thorns that sought to pierce his very spirit. This time, however, he didn¡¯t flinch, and he certainly didn¡¯t stumble back or fall to his knee. Instead, Victor rxed his formidable will, unleashing his own aura that rippled out like a wave of murderous fire.

    It was Loyle¡¯s turn to take a stumbling, hesitant step back, and he threw his hood back in disbelief. When Victor saw his blood-red eyes sunken in deep, pale flesh, he grinned, exposing his white, powerful Quinametzin teeth. ¡°What?¡± he growled. ¡°Did you think your aura was so fearsome? I¡¯ve felt worse.¡± It was true¡ªRonkerz¡¯s aura was a hundred times heavier than Fak Loyle¡¯s. Even Lira¡¯s had been weightier. Of course, the surprise on Loyle¡¯s face only added to Victor¡¯s enthusiasm, so his grin was something mad, indeed, as he canceled his Alter Self spell and surged with power. The fight was on.

 Book 8: Chapter 45: Blood and Thorn

    Book 8: Chapter 45: Blood and Thorn

    Loyle didn¡¯t stand still for Victor¡¯s first lightning-fast cleave. As Lifedrinker ripped the air, ck smoke trailing in her wake, the spellcaster sank into the ground, leaving behind a pool of shimmering blood. Victor whirled, only to see Loyle reappear on the far side of the circle, springing from an identical pool. ¡°Blood magic,¡± Victor growled. Arcus had told him about the spell, and he¡¯d also told Victor that Loyle couldn¡¯t perform the spell rapidly, back-to-back. Victor focused on his adversary and cast Energy Charge, fueling the spell with fear-attuned Energy.

    As he streaked over the ground in a cloud of purple-ck shadows, Victor heard Arcus¡¯s words in his mind, ¡°Keep pressure on him, Victor. Anyone who ever came close to beating him never gave him a moment to rest. Be certain, though, that no matter how beaten he seems, he has another trick up his sleeve. Never let your guard down.¡± As though the words were prophecy, just as Lifedrinker was about to split the much smaller man in half, he surged into the air, hoisted off the ground by a thorny green vine that burst out of the grassy soil, surging upward like a mythical beanstalk.

    Victor collided with the thorny stalk, Lifedrinker leading the way. His armor ttened the spines that tried to pierce his flesh, and his axe gleefully ripped through the yard-thick strand of fibrous nt matter in an explosion of splinters and green juice. As he regained his senses, Victor looked up at the wildly shaking stalk, only to see it was bereft of its passenger. He whirled, looking for any sign of the mage¡¯s bright red robes. Sure enough, Loyle was on the other side of the circle again, this time dancing in a strange ritual¡ªstomping his feet, shaking his hands, throwing his head back to cough and howl in a strangenguage.

    Energy Charge had a short cooldown, but it wasn¡¯t yet ready, so Victor bunched his legs and used Titanic Leap tounch himself toward the wizard. As he reached the apex of his jump and started down, he saw Loyle seem to explode¡ªblood boiled out of him like a water balloon popping in slow motion, but it didn¡¯t ssh to the ground. Instead, it hung in the air like a great crimson bubble, and just as Victor began to fall toward it, the blood seemed to solidify and sprout millions of hairs. Only when Victor was about to impact the strange mass did it ripple and form into Loyle¡¯s intent¡ªa great crimson bear.

    He hacked Lifedrinker toward its enormous, glowering brow, but the monstrous creature swiped madly at him with a tree-like arm tipped with crimson scythe-like ws. Victor just had time to tuck his chin and pull his limbs in close as the massive paw smashed him out of the air. The ws cut like razors as they sliced his shoulder and side, slipping through his armor like it wasn¡¯t there, shredding his flesh and biting deep into his bones. Victor roared in pain and fury as his rage-attuned Energy exploded out of his Core. It flooded his pathways and turned his vision so deeply red that he almost lost sight of the monstrous bear as he rolled on the grass.

    When he stood, Victor had more than doubled in mass; he¡¯d been so enraged that Iron Berserk had nearly cast itself. His flesh knitted together almost instantly, and a low, angry chuckle escaped his lips as he turned toward his foe. As the bear charged him, Victor flicked out his left hand, Energy already surging into the gauntlet on his fist. A coil of sizzling, dripping magma¡ªerged to match his titanic form¡ªwhipped out with a <em>crack</em>, sshing hot, liquid fire over the bear¡¯s red fur and tearing a huge chunk of bloody, sizzling flesh from its shoulder. The creature roared in agony but kepting, its furious eyes a match for Victor¡¯s. Victor weed it, spreading his arms wide.

    Just as Loyle, in his blood-bear form, leaped to try totch his massive jaws around Victor¡¯s throat, Lifedrinker came down like a falling star, zing and rippling with Energy as she <em>crunched</em> into the side of the monster¡¯s head, just above the ear. The bear slumped, but its momentum carried it into Victor, smashing against his chest. Victor, surging with pride for Lifedrinker¡¯s tremendous blow, turned and threw the bear to the side. Thousands of pounds of fur, blood, and bone shook the earth as the monstrous animal impacted the grassy sod, tearing a furrow twenty yards long.

    Victor, remembering Arcus¡¯s words, didn¡¯t let up the pressure. Heshed out with his magma whip, hooking it around one of the bear¡¯s rear legs. As liquid fire sshed and fur and flesh sizzled, he pulled himself as he lunged, closing the distance in a mere second. Then, he began toy into the downed bear with Lifedrinker, hacking great, gaping wounds with each downward blow. As blood sprayed and drenched him in its hot, liquid embrace, Victor began to roar with wild, maniacalughter. Lifedrinker crunched through bones along with the fleshy parts of the enormous bear, and soon the beast¡¯s thrashing, wing attempts to right itself orsh out faded, and then¡­it was gone. Victor stood, heaving for breath over a mound of mushy, coagted blood¡ªnothing more.

    He straightened, perplexed. Had he won? A tickle at the nape of his neck, some instinctual sixth sense spurred him to dive to the side just as a hail of needle-sharp thorns ripped through the air where he¡¯d been standing. Victor bounded to his feet, whirling to scan the circle, only to see Loyle waving his hand, hurling another torrent of magically generated thorny missiles. Victor ran diagonally, dodging the attack. As soon as he was clear, he cast Energy Charge and hurtled on waves of sparkling, Glory-attuned Energy toward his enemy. Again, Loyle used his blood-pool teleportation and escaped, forcing Victor to abandon his spell as he streaked through the space where the wizard had earlier stood.In his mind, Victor tried to calcte the timing of Loyle¡¯s teleportation cooldown. It wasn¡¯t instant, but it wasn¡¯t as long as he¡¯d hoped. He turned, frustration mounting, rage building, and scanned for his adversary. Once again, he saw the man¡¯s portly, robed figure dancing, and this time, with each awkward stomp of his feet, saplings sprang from the soil and wove together, forming an archway with the mage at its center. Victor didn¡¯t know what he was doing but meant to interrupt it.

    He leaped into action, his long legs powering him across the fighting circle in just a few broad strides, and then heshed out with his magma whip, aiming to yank Fak Loyle toward him. The wizard threw out his arm at thest second, and a tangle of saplings sprang from the ground, intercepting Victor¡¯s whip. Loyle turned and bounded away, leaving his strange archway behind. Victor stalked toward it, Lifedrinker raised high, intent on chopping it to kindling before Loyle¡¯s purpose coulde to light.

    Unfortunately, he¡¯d just closed the distance when the air inside the archway shimmered with sparkling green Energy, and then a great bundle of ws and ck fur exploded out of it and mmed into Victor, knocking him to the side, despite his titanic size. The creature roared, a sound that woke something primal in Victor, an instinctual desire to fight or flee. When he regained his bnce and whipped Lifedrinker around, fending off the raking ws, he got his first good look at what had to be Loyle¡¯s ¡°bog lion¡±panion.

    The creature was close to the size of his cave bear spiritpanion, but it reeked of power. Its fur was ck, but its mane was tawnier, brown at the base, and much paler on the fringes. The creature had deep green eyes the color of moss, and they glinted with intelligence as the lion regarded Victor. As its massive ws dug into the turf, it growled and paced, calcted violence in those eyes.

    The lion¡¯s aura was heavy and full of primal cunning and murderous intent. Victor suddenly realized he wasn¡¯t just battling with one steel seeker; this panion¡± was likely as formidable as Loyle. Wasting no time, he channeled Energy into the pattern for his Wild Totem spell, summoning his coyotes with fear-attuned Energy. When he¡¯d spoken to Arcus, his initial n had been to summon his bear and use that powerfulpanion to battle with the lion. Having seen and felt the lion¡¯s power, though, he knew that would be a waste; his bear would put up a brave fight, but the lion would kill it, and it wouldn¡¯t take long.

    No, this was a foe that Victor would have to deal with himself. His coyotes wouldn¡¯t be able to kill Loyle, but hopefully, they could keep the mage on the defensive, at least long enough for him to y the mighty bog creature. His five mastiff-sized coyotes sprang from pools of shadow, their glowering purple eyes gleaming out of dark, shadowy countenances, their yips and cries haunting and strange. Victor mentally urged them to harry the mage, and they immediately spread out, crossing the circle and rapidly closing with Loyle.

    Meanwhile, the lion dove at him, swiping its powerful arms. Victor knocked its grasping ws aside with Lifedrinker¡¯s smoldering edge. The beast was strong and fast, and as they began to spar in earnest, Victor enjoyed the rhythm of his battle with it. The lion was a master in the use of its natural weapons, and it had a dozenbinations of swipes and bites that kept Victor guessing. Often, it wouldnd hits on his armor, scoring long, shining dents in his wyrm-scale and rending hisva king hide. Even so, it rarely drew any blood; his armor was sufficient, and Victor was adept at minimizing damage by moving with the impacts.

    He felt one of his coyotes depart the Material ne, and he knew he couldn¡¯t drag out his fight, though a part of him wanted to. However much he was learning from the skilled meleebat of the lion, he couldn¡¯t allow Loyle and the beast to work together. Frowning, almost feeling guilty, he employed his magmash. The creature could block his axe with its diamond-strong, foot-long ws, but the whip was another matter. The very first time he snapped it out, the lion, roaring and growling, swiped at it with its ws, only to have the length of molten, smoldering stone coil around its paw and foreleg. It sizzled and popped, melting through the lion¡¯s fur and flesh. The beast recoiled, yowling madly as it thrashed and bucked, trying to pull its limb free.

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    Victor yanked on thesh, pulling the enormous lion off bnce, and Lifedrinker was ready and waiting for the opening. He hacked her down, and her orange-hot edge bit halfway through the lion¡¯s left shoulder, severing muscle and tendon and digging deep into the bone. The lion went mad with pain and panic, roaring and screeching as it exploded in a frenzy of movement that only a feline could pull off. It ripped its right foreleg free of Victor¡¯s whip and flung itself backward, scrambling to flee. One of its forelimbs wouldn¡¯t move right, and the other was degloved, nothing but bloody bone as it tried to scamper away.

    If Victor hadn¡¯t been in a fight for his life, if he hadn¡¯t been hot with rage long before the fight even started, if he hadn¡¯t been stoking his pathways with rage-attuned Energy, he might have turned his back on the creature and let it skulk away. He might have risked it recovering somehow anding for him. As it was, Victor was seeing red, and he was aware that only two of his coyotes were still ¡°alive.¡± He couldn¡¯t risk that Loyle might somehow heal the beast and that it might catch him unawares while he dealt with the mage. No, Victor reasoned grimly¡ªhe had to finish it.

    So, as the great, once-proud lion limped away, hobbled and broken, Victor swallowed his sympathy and cast Energy Charge. As usual, he led his charge with Lifedrinker¡¯s gleaming, hungry edge. He smashed into the monstrous beast¡¯s haunches, and his deadly axe split the great cat¡¯s spine like a master woodsman¡¯s axe felling a young oak. The <em>crack</em> rang out, and Victor¡¯s impact sent the broken, listless body of the beast flopping like a terrier¡¯s stuffed animal toward the edge of the circle.

    He just had time to register the onlookers scrambling to escape being ttened by the dead or paralyzed beast before Loyle¡¯s howl of dismay caught his attention. Victor whirled in time to see the mage roiling with red, bubbling Energy, surging in size as his body swelled and engorged, blowing up like an obscene doll, his white, sun-starved arms and legs sprouting from his robes, which, apparently, weren¡¯t enchanted to grow to match the size of their wearer. He wasn¡¯t just growing; he was <em>stretching</em>, and Victor could see the blood roiling and pulsing under his stretched-thin skin.

    One of his coyotes yet remained, and it lunged in, grabbing hold of Loyle¡¯s Achilles tendon. It viciously shook its head as it tried to rip it out. Loyle reached down one of his massive, swollen hands and grasped the coyote by the neck. Victor saw that weird, pulsating limb contract, and then the crunch of bones signaled his totem¡¯s demise. Loyle, now something like fifteen feet tall and twice as bulky as Victor, held aloft his bulbous right hand, and blood streamed out, solidifying in the air into the shape of a scythe. Then the steel seeker stomped toward him, the ground lurching with each impact of his overge feet.

    Victor stared, amazed by the spectacle. The man¡¯s robes were stretched tight, and the lower hem failed to cover his engorged, bouncing family jewels. It was so distracting that Victor nearly failed to react as that enormous, blood-red scythe whistled through the air toward his right knee. He parried the blow just in time, his epic-level axe skills too well-honed to allow such a well-broadcast attack to hit home. As the scythe bounced away, Victor took a step back and grunted, ¡°Arcus didn¡¯t mention <em>this</em> bullshit!¡±

    Loyle¡¯s face was disfigured by the blood that had swelled his form; his flesh was drawn taut, his eyes bulged like pasty puffer fish, and his teeth looked tiny behind his sausage-like lips. Still, his tongue waggled in that oversized mouth, and garbled words flowed forth, ¡°Yawl pay for <em>thaaah</em>!¡±

    Having had enough of the freakshow, Victor scowled andunched a vicious attack, hacking Lifedrinker low and high, dancing inside the arc of that stupidly massive scythe. Her burning de sizzled as she split Loyle¡¯s pasty flesh and released torrents of blood not once or twice but five times as Victor smoothly glided around the swollen monstrosity. Loyle teetered and wobbled with each blow, and as Victor danced away, spinning to watch his handiwork, a great pool of blood formed around the mage as he veritably deted, gouts of blood pouring from the gashes Victor had made.

    Victor wanted to put an end to the disgusting sight of Loyle¡¯s sagging, overge skin hanging from his emaciated form. He gathered himself for another Energy Charge, but then the blood pool bubbled and boiled, rising from the ground as though animated. The blood took on the form of a liquid serpent, and its crimson head lunged toward Victor, quick as lightning. The thing must have sprouted fangs because he felt them pierce his thigh as ittched on. He jerked back and hacked down with Lifedrinker, but her razor-sharp, smoldering edge slid along the blood serpent¡¯s flesh like he was trying to cut a rubber hose with a butter knife.

    Suddenly, he felt a pulse, and something hot and vile entered his leg. It wasn¡¯t like venom; it was more like his earlierparison of a hose¡ªa great quantity of <em>something</em> was being pumped into his body through the blood serpent¡¯s bite. With each pulse, a hot, burning, dirty wave pushed into his flesh and spread further and further. He lost control of his leg, stumbled, and fell backward.

    Victor scrabbled back on his hands, kicking with his good leg, but the blood serpent stretched from the pool with his movement, and another pulse of that <em>stuff</em> entered his body. Victor¡¯s vision began to tunnel, and a weird, high-pitched ringing echoed through his ears. His legs, his chest, even his shoulders were numb, and they felt <em>wrong,</em> like they weren¡¯t even his. He found it difficult to concentrate or remember what he was doing. His muscles rxed, and he slumped back onto his elbows as the thing pulsed again, and more of the sickening sensation of having someone else <em>inside</em> his skin threatened to drive him mad.

    Victor''s thoughts drifted to odd ces as his vision darkened further and his mind grew numb. He thought of Va and felt relief that he¡¯d sent her a letter. He imagined Deyni running through fields, chasing her raptor as it hunted for prey. He remembered Old Mother as she¡¯d hugged him and said she¡¯d see him in another life. As his limbs turned cold, and his heart¡¯s steady <em>thump</em> slowed, pausing for a dozen seconds between each sluggish beat, he remembered Tes and felt his first regret¡ªhe¡¯d wanted to meet her again. The thought tickled something in Victor, woke some part of him that remembered who he was.

    With a tremendous effort of will, he forced his wandering mind back to the present and, with his vision dark, he turned his gaze inward and regarded his Core. It was besieged, surrounded by cold, red Energy. Victor turned to his breath Core and, using the pathway he¡¯d long ago opened when he¡¯d learned to use his magma-attuned Energy, pulled some of that hot, burning power out, watching with glee as it burned up the cold, bloody, invading Energy. As his magma-attuned Energy burned its way to his spirit Core, Victor felt parts of himself waking up. His heart¡¯s slow <em>thump</em> became a <em>thump-thump</em>, and the magma rushed into the chamber of his Spirit Core and seared a pathway for his rage to spill forth.

    As feeling returned to his chest, spreading outward from his pounding heart, Victor inhaled deeply and let magma and rage-attuned Energy mingle in his pathways. His vision came back to him, and he saw the stars in all their splendor hanging bright in the dark sky over his head. He felt the grass under his fingers, Lifedrinker¡¯s haft in his palm. He felt the blood serpent digging into his thigh, pushing its vile concoction into him, but his body was resisting now; he could feel the sickening stuff burning up in his chest, in his Core.

    Unwilling to lose ground again, remembering the enormous size of Loyle¡¯s blood pool, he gathered his magma and rage and pushed them together, casting Volcanic Fury. As fire ignited in his blood, as mes flickered to life in his dim vision, Victor let his head roll back, opened his mouth, and roared his primal rage. His madness was tinged with cruel amusement as he felt Loyle¡¯s blood burn to ash in his veins.

    Victor inhaled deeply and turned his gaze on the serpent, smoking and steaming as it continued to try to pump its vile concoction into his leg. He gathered his breath and exhaled a plume of magma. The liquid fire eradicated the serpent, popping and melting away its form like blood spilled into an inferno. Victor continued to blow, lifting his face toward Loyle where he stood, his sagging flesh still hanging from his much-reduced body, and doused him with the remainder of the fire in his lungs.

    Loyle screamed and writhed. Perhaps instinctually, he cast his blood pool teleportation, but when he reappeared on the far side of the circle, he was still ame and still thrashing and screaming in agony. Victor sprang to his feet, leaving a ckened, body-shaped scorch mark on the grass. His vision was tinted yellow, and it pulsed red with each beat of his heart as he approached his tortured foe. Lifedrinker no longer smoldered¡ªshe zed. Her edge was white-hot, and she burned the very air as Victor stalked forward, trailing ck smoke and leaving behind fiery footsteps that burned the damp, green grass to ash.

    Despite his agony, Loyle managed to get off a spell; green tendrils of vines erupted from the soil and wrapped around him, smothering the mes and, perhaps, healing him with their pulsing green sap. Victor didn¡¯t care. All he knew was his need for destruction and that this was a fool who¡¯d tempted his rage. He blew out another stream of doubly effective magma, enhanced by his Volcanic Fury, and it sshed over those coiled green shoots, instantly bursting them as the sap within boiled to steam. Loyle screamed, and Lifedrinker answered him as she ripped through the air to cleave him in twain.

    His foe undeniably vanquished, Victor arched his back, lifted his face to the stars, and roared. When he was certain all around knew of his victory, of his rage, of his hunger for destruction, he straightened and turned his gaze on those lurking outside the circle of stones. He wasn¡¯t discriminating; all were wee to feel his fury. Victor stalked toward the first group of onlookers, unlucky enough to catch his eye. He only took two burning steps, though, before a warm, malleable, but unyielding force caught him in its grasp.

    A voice, familiar but unexpected, spoke into his ear, ¡°That was well-fought,d, but now you must cool that rage.¡± As that weird, warm Energy pushed against him, then <em>into</em> him, driving the rage and magma Energy out of his pathways, Victor realized it was Ranish Dar. He fell to his knees as the fury left him, and he felt the draining after-effects of his battle lust. He looked around, trying to catch sight of his mentor, but he wasn¡¯t anywhere to be seen. Could a veil walker so effortlessly subdue even a titan? He¡¯d taken his rage away and never even revealed himself.

    His titanic form had left him, along with his rage, and Victor could feel the dampness in the grass under his knees. As he grunted, pushing himself to his feet, he saw Efanie jogging toward him. ¡°Are you well?¡± she asked breathlessly, her face flushed with excitement. ¡°Gods! How¡ª¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Bohn?¡± Victor asked, cutting her off.

    ¡°He¡¯s there, sulking on his throne. There are far too many people present for him to skulk off. Everyone¡¯s in shock, me included.¡± Victor followed her pointing finger and saw that, indeed, Bohn and his retinue were sitting still, subdued and quiet. Not everyone was calm, though¡ªa hubbub had arisen around the circle, and Victor could see that people were still wrapping their heads around what they¡¯d witnessed.

    ¡°An iron-ranker! You realize¡­I think thest iron-ranker to kill a steel-seeker in Sojourn was Ronkerz. He was¡ª¡±

    ¡°I know who he was.¡± Victor looked at her and then at the finely dressed nobility and their families. Did they realize how close they¡¯de to feeling the brunt of his fury? He hadn¡¯t wanted to use Volcanic Fury for that very reason, but had Loyle given him a choice? He¡¯d almost overwhelmed him with that blood invasion. ¡°Thank you, Dar,¡± he said to the air, hoping his mentor could hear him. He took a single step toward Bohn Volpur¨¦, but Efanie gripped his wrist.

    ¡°Your award! Gods! Look! The Energy¡ªit¡¯s so bright!¡± Victor looked where she pointed, and sure enough, great balls of Energy were gathering around Loyle¡¯s corpse. They weren¡¯t golden or purple or rainbow-hued. They were like moonlight¡ªwhite, ethereal, and so bright they lit up the hilltop like floodlights. Victor squinted as he watched them bubble together.

    ¡°Yeah. My awards.¡± He grinned as he stalked toward the corpse. Not only would he take his Energy award from the System, but he had a heart and perhaps some dimensional containers to im.

 Book 8: Chapter 46: Responsibility

    Book 8: Chapter 46: Responsibility

    The crowd around the circle grew hushed as the brilliant, ethereal moonlight Energy gathered. Apparently, even the jaded nobility of Sojourn didn¡¯t see a steel seeker die every day. Victor strode toward Loyle¡¯s corpse, his head high, his back straight. Watching the Energy gather, he wondered about the bog lion. Shouldn¡¯t he see two corpses bleeding out their Energy? He nced in the direction he¡¯d sent the beast tumbling but saw nothing. Had Loyle somehow sent hispanion back from whence it came? Further questions were driven from his mind as the brilliant, potent stream of light surged into him.

    He heard the crowd gasp, but that was thest input his corporeal senses provided before they were overwhelmed by his universeing apart around him. Victor had the sensation of seeing time and space peeled apart,yer byyer, as a sound like the inside of a tornado rushed through his ears. He smelled and tasted things he couldn¡¯t name, a series of sensations that tore through his mind so rapidly as to be a single stream of iprehensible input. As one color after another¡ªone stratum after another¡ªpeeled away before his dumbstruck inner eye, Victor witnessed things he knew he¡¯d never remember.

    He saw beings of light and darkness, creatures too big to fully grasp, and a world so vast that Earth and all its neighborings might disappear into one of its continents. Voices whispered to him¡ªcryptic messages that he immediately forgot and songs that would have made him weep if he¡¯d had any sense of his physical body. And then it was over, and he found himself on his knees in the blood-stained grass before Loyle¡¯s broken corpse. He heard the hubbub around him; apparently, he¡¯d put on quite a show while he absorbed the Energy. Victor ignored the voices¡ªeven Efanie¡¯s, as she hurried to his side once again. He was too focused on the System messages:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 68 Herald of the Mountain¡¯s Wrath and gained 24 strength, 34 vitality, and 24 will.***</strong>

    The message only added to the euphoria he was feeling from the massive Energy infusion. He¡¯d gained two levels by killing Loyle, and that was no small boost considering how slowly he was ¡°supposed¡± to level now that he was nearing tier seven. He¡¯d begun to carry some dread about gaining levels now that he was climbing well into the upper half of the ¡°iron ranks.¡± Everyone he spoke to seemed to have a reminder about how slow it would be and how tedious it was. So far, Victor hadn¡¯t felt it, not to any significant degree, and he was hopeful he could keep proving people wrong. He continued reading:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have learned the spell: Volcanic Fury ¨C Improved.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Volcanic Fury ¨C Improved: Prerequisites: Affinity ¨C Rage, Fury or Hatred, Affinity ¨C Magma. You channel the fury of the fiery depths. While affected by this transformation, you are immune to fire-based attacks, your magma-based abilities double in effectiveness, you recover magma-attuned Energy at a vastly improved rate, and you benefit from the effects of Berserk: Double strength and speed, increased resilience, and powerful regenerative capabilities. Be cautious, for the fury of the volcano knows no bounds¡ªreason andpassion will flee before its heat. Energy Cost: Minimum 1000 - scble. Cooldown: Long.***</strong>

    ¡°Shit!¡± Victor grunted, swiping the messages away. His Herald of the Mountain¡¯s Fury ss spells seemed to synergize incredibly well with his breath Core¡ªalmost like they were made to go with each other. Was Herald of the Mountain¡¯s Fury a dragon ss? Did dragons even have sses? Whatever the case, it only made him want to improve his breath Core all the more.¡°Something¡¯s wrong?¡± Efanie asked.

    ¡°Nah, something¡¯s good.¡± Victor stood and approached Loyle¡¯s corpse.

    ¡°Victor, Lord Volpur¨¦ waits for you; the crowd is eager to see him grant your demanded conquest price.¡±

    ¡°He can wait a little longer.¡± Victor leaned over the corpse, saw that Lifedrinker¡¯s sh had split the torso right beside the heart, and reached into the charred, bloody flesh to grasp hold of the thick, cooling organ. With a soft grunt, apanied by the <em>pops</em> of snapping arteries, he pulled it out. Efanie recoiled, shock on her face, but Victor ignored her. He set the heart on the grass and then proceeded to strip Loyle¡¯s fingers of their rings¡ªfour in total. He picked up the heart and, with his prizes in one giant fist, dripping blood between his knuckles, strode toward Bohn Volpur¨¦¡¯s pretentiously oversized chair.

    The crowd had gravitated toward that side of the circle, and Victor could feel the hundreds of eyes on him. As he walked, Efanie babbled, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone absorb that much Energy at once. Even before, when I watched Loyle duel¡ªnone of those he beat had that much; they were always high-level iron-rankers or steel seekers who, obviously, hadn¡¯t cultivated as long as him. I think he¡¯s been a steel seeker for centuries.¡± She nced back at the corpse. ¡°Or, I mean, he <em>was</em>.¡± Victor was halfway across the circle, and when he didn¡¯t respond, Efanie quickly asked, ¡°How, Victor? How¡¯d you do it?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t watch? His affinities were a bad match for me. He put too much weight on his status¡ªon his aura. Weight. Aura. Hah.¡± Victor chuckled at his unintended pun.

    ¡°Why the heart?¡±

    Again, Victor ignored her. He was before Volpur¨¦. ¡°Let them out,¡± he said, his voice rumbling, almost gutturally from his gut.

    ¡°Now wait just a moment¡ª¡± Bohn¡¯s rotund chambein began to say, but Victor¡¯s fist was around his ruffled cor in a sh. He lifted the fellow¡¯s enormous body onto his tiptoes, pulling his swollen, inmed cheeks close to his face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t <em>interrupt</em>,¡± he growled, then released the man. The chambein stumbled backward, and the crowd gasped as he almost fell. Two of the younger men standing nearby caught him, though, propping him up.

    ¡°There¡¯s no call for further violence, Victor,¡± Bohn said, his voice smooth and calm. When Victor turned his re on him, he cleared his throat. ¡°Now, I understand your demands, and I¡¯m sure we can speak about trying toe to terms, but there¡¯s the matter of the <em>nature</em> of your victory¡ª¡±

    ¡°The hell are you talking about? I challenged you, you picked a champion, we fought, and I won. End of story.¡± Victor red around the crowd and was heartened to see quite a few of the gathered onlookers nodding along with his words.

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s some murmuring going around, Victor, that you may have had some help. Some ill-ced but well-meaning aid from a benefactor.¡± When Bohn spoke, he affected an arch tone, and, despite Victor¡¯s height, he managed to make it seem like he was looking down his nose at him as he perched there atop his throne-like chair. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m willing to turn a blind eye¡ªI wouldn¡¯t want to run afoul of a <em>veil walker</em> . . .¡± He let his words fade as he nodded to himself, looking around the crowd knowingly, as though everyone was in on the ¡°secret.¡±

    Victor had lost matches before. He¡¯d dealt with cocky winners, but he¡¯d dealt with a lot more sore losers. He¡¯d heard the old ¡°cheating¡± line of bull enough times that he didn¡¯t feel surprised when Bohn¡¯s words, fancy though they were, used him of it. It didn¡¯t make him any less angry, however. Without thinking about it, he let his rage flood his pathways andpletely rxed his will. It felt like he¡¯d shrugged off an oil tanker¡¯s anchor chain as his aura rippled out around him.

    Victor¡¯s aura was a hot, abysmally heavy thing¡ªa nket of molten burning lead. Riding that heavy, painful burden were waves of glorious, bloody battle triumphs, a thousand vors of rage, and the deep, undeniable fear and terror of countless personal nightmares. Perhaps if the gathered people knew Victor and recognized the touch of his aura or saw him as a friend, they¡¯d also find inspiration in those waves¡ªsome hint at the unknown or the key to a puzzle that had eluded them¡ªbut not many in the crowd around Volpur¨¦¡¯s throne were lucky enough to feel that thin band of brightness amid the savage, brutal, painful waves that pulsed outward from his giant, heaving body.

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    Nearly everyone stumbled back; some recovered quickly and stared with steel in their eyes at Victor¡¯s savage countenance, but most recoiled and continued to back off until they found it easier to breathe. Bohn had fallen from his throne and attempted to stand but fell again. Victor watched him crawl. He stepped forward, and a few of Bohn¡¯s sturdier rtives closed in, hands summoning weapons. Victor held up one hand, looking around as he slowly shook his head, discouraging interference. ¡°I¡¯ll give you one chance to apologize for calling my honor into question, Bohn. One chance, otherwise, I¡¯ll ept your words for what they are¡ªa fresh challenge.¡±

    ¡°N-no!¡± Bohn rolled to his side, his hands pumping futilely as he attempted to push something invisible and intangible away from him. ¡°I was¡ª¡± he gasped, his eyes widening in horror as some imagined nightmare flitted through his field of view. ¡°I was wrong to listen to any such rumors. Of course¡ª¡± He screamed and wrapped his arms over his face, then tried again, ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t believe them. Your honor is intact, <em>good</em> sir!¡±

    Victor nodded, pushed the rage back into his Core, and gathered up his aura. Bohn and several other nearby people gasped in relief. He scrambled to his knees, and then some of his liveried servants ran forward to take his arms, pulling him to his feet. Once he¡¯d recovered, Volpur¨¦ red around, and the servants backed away. Victor knew it must have been a very long time since he¡¯d been embarrassed like that. Centuries, perhaps. He wasn¡¯t a weak man¡ªat tier five, he was stronger than most people on Fanwath. Still, he¡¯d grown used to having a steel seeker champion; he wasn¡¯t a big fish on Sojourn.

    ¡°I¡¯ll, um, I¡¯ll head back to the keep and close the dungeon instance; it will bring your friends and my daughter out. They¡¯ll be sorry for the loss of a valuable learning¡ª¡±

    ¡°Cut the bullshit, Bohn.¡± More gasps and murmurs followed Victor¡¯s dismissive interruption, but he didn¡¯t care. He was done ying nice; hadn¡¯t Bohn and all his boot lickers thought they would watch Victor die that night? ¡°Just go do what you promised. I¡¯ll have what¡¯s owed.¡±

    Bohn frowned, but he turned and snapped his fingers. A momentter, a pair of liveried servants ran forward, dragging a floating pavilion by gilded ck cords. Bohn climbed aboard the magical conveyance, looked down at Victor and the crowd of rtives and neighbors, and said, ¡°I¡¯m a man of my word. Seek yourrades outside my manor¡¯s gates before the next hour chimes from the bell.¡± With that, he banked the weird flying tform and streaked toward the tall obelisk-like keep in the distance.

    Victor watched him go and, ncing away from the diminishing figure, admired the view. Beyond Bohn¡¯s manor, he could see a dozen others spread out around the nearby hills, their windows lit up against the nighttime gloom. They glowed with amber and rainbow hues as the interior illumination shone through stained ss here and there. Victor was forced to pause and step outside his righteous, rage-filled moment, admiring the beauty.

    ¡°Ahem,¡± a man said, clearing his throat from off to Victor¡¯s left. ¡°I say, well fought, Victor! Three cheers!¡± To Victor¡¯s amusement, the people around himplied.

    ¡°<em>Victor! Victor! Victor!</em>¡±

    ¡°Heh. Thanks!¡± He turned in a slow circle, meeting the gazes of people who looked genuinely star-struck. A few glowered, sure, but almost everyone was smiling, and quite a few were trying to jostle their way closer to him.

    ¡°How?¡± one man cried out. ¡°Tell us how, Victor! How does an iron ranker have such an aura? How did you stand against Loyle¡¯s spells?¡±

    Victor ignored the question, but a woman quite close, right behind Efanie, cried out, ¡°Why the heart, Victor?¡±

    Victor grinned, exposing his bright Quinametzin teeth. ¡°I eat the hearts of worthy foes!¡± His deration was met with gasps, retches,ughter, and even cheers.¡± Victor joined thoseughing, holding his bloody fist high. ¡°Where¡¯s the lion?¡±

    ¡°It got up!¡± someone shouted.

    Another person confirmed: ¡°Aye! When Loyle died! It got up and ran off into the tall grass!¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡± Victor rubbed his chin. ¡°Good for that tough bastard, I guess.¡± For some reason, his words made people cheer again, and Victor continued to chuckle, turning to the trailhead leading down the hill. ¡°Time to go get my friends and get home.¡± He looked around at the expectant faces and tried to tune out the buzz of conversation, questions, and adtion. He pushed his way through the crowd to the path, saying things like, ¡°Sorry¡± or ¡°I¡¯m tired, folks¡± by way of excuse as he fled the festive scene. Efanie hurried behind him.

    As he walked, Victor realized he was still clutching Loyle¡¯s heart and sent it into his storage ring. He contemted the rings in his palm, then, sending a trickle of Energy into his armor so it converted to hisfortable clothing, he tucked them into a pocket.

    Efanie, still hurrying behind him, asked, ¡°Would you like me to summon a coach?¡±

    ¡°I could ride my¡ª¡± Victor cut himself off as he realized a man in a fine gray suit, wearing a pointy, wide-brimmed hat and apanied by a girl who couldn¡¯t be more than thirteen, followed close behind Efanie. They were a third of the way down the hill, and, in his haste, Victor had left the rest of the crowd behind. Only Efanie and the breathless duo were with him on that particr stretch of trail. He stepped to the side, hoping they¡¯d hurry past, but they stopped. Victor groaned inwardly as the man cleared his throat, and the girl looked at him with fierce, angry eyes and tear-streaked cheeks.

    ¡°Ahem. Sir Victor, I am Torka Vinchan, personal historian of thete Fak Loyle. This, here, is his daughter Cora Loyle¡ªhis only surviving family member. As she is of tender years and you vanquished her guardian and imed his riches, I hereby, in full view of a member of Sojourn Society in good standing,¡± he nodded to Efanie, ¡°entrust her to your care. I bid you farewell, sir.¡± He paused briefly to look at the young girl, gave her a pained smile and a nod, then turned away and started down the slope. Victor reached out to grab his shoulder.

    ¡°Hold on a minute! What the hell are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°The child, sir¡ªshe¡¯s without a guardian, and you¡¯ve imed her family wealth. It¡¯s only honorable that you take responsibility for her.¡±

    Victor kept a firm grip on the man¡¯s shoulder but turned to Efanie. ¡°What the hell?¡±

    ¡°Um, yes, well, I believe he makes a valid point. If he¡¯s not contracted to care for the girl¡ª¡±

    ¡°I am <em>not</em>,¡± Torka said, his grim smile almost smug.

    Victor¡¯s scowl deepened. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t Loyle¡¯s employer take responsibility?¡±

    ¡°Volpur¨¦?¡± Efanie¡¯s frown deepened, and she leaned close, her voice a near whisper. ¡°I don¡¯t believe he¡¯d be a kind guardian, Victor.¡±

    Victor looked from the historian to the distant manor and then down at the girl. Her eyes were dark in the dim light, and she red at him briefly, with bloodshot, angry eyes, before looking down as she furrowed her thick eyebrows¡ªVictor could see she¡¯d inherited her father¡¯s unruly, wild-looking hair. Inwardly, he groaned, but he kept it contained. This girl had just lost what was, apparently, her only family¡ªher father¡ªand he¡¯d been the one to kill him. Unable to stop himself, he voiced what was on his mind: ¡°You can¡¯t possibly want toe with me.¡±

    The girl refused to look him in the face, but Victor saw tears leak from her eyes as she mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m happy to look after myself, sir.¡± Victor reached out to grasp her chin, forcing her eyes to lock onto his. He saw anger behind her sadness, something kindred that spoke to the depths of his rage-soaked heart.

    ¡°All right.¡± He let go of her, and she immediately averted her gaze. ¡°I won¡¯t let you fall on Volpur¨¦¡¯s mercy. I¡¯ll find someone to look after you.¡±

    ¡°Sir, I must insist you unhand me. I¡¯ve done my duty.¡± Victor nced at the historian and released his shoulder with poorly masked contempt. Torka Vinchan didn¡¯t immediately scamper off, however. He paused and held a finger to his chin. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind a quote or three for the final chapter.¡±

    ¡°Final chapter?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir¡ªof Fak Loyle¡¯s biography.¡±

    Victor red at him. A small part of him wanted to be polite and think up a quote¡ªsomething interesting or even ttering about the dead duelist, mainly because his daughter was present. It was a very tiny voice, though¡ªeasily ignored. Instead, he growled, ¡°Get out of here.¡± Some hint of his potential for violence must have registered with the historian because he turned and practically ran down the trail. ¡°All right. Enough of this shit. I need to get things moving.¡± Victor summoned Guapo using glory-attuned Energy, and the golden mustang burst from a cloud of sparkling, brilliant light, whinnying and pawing at the air with his front hooves.

    Victor hoisted himself onto the great stallion¡¯s back, then held a hand down to the young girl. She wore a ruffled gray blouse overyered skirts, and she looked at Guapo with horror in her eyes. ¡°Listen, I doubt you want anything to do with me. I¡¯m sorry about that. Come along, though, and, like I said, I¡¯ll make sure we find a proper home or caretaker for you.¡±

    Efanie nodded. ¡°Wisely said, Victor.¡± She nudged Cora¡¯s narrow shoulders, pushing her closer to Victor¡¯s hand. ¡°Go on, child. He¡¯s honorable.¡± Cora looked up at Victor, and he could see her gather her courage before she tentatively stretched her tiny hand toward his. Victor leaned down further, snatched her wrist, and hoisted her up. She felt weightless, and he was struck by her fragility, her precarious position in a violent universe. Deyni came to mind, and he was suddenly d she was back on Fanwath among people who cared about her. Pushing away the sudden wave of mncholy homesickness, he set the girl sideways onto Guapo¡¯s back in front of him.

    ¡°Nice meeting you, Efanie. If my friends are out of the dungeon before you get back to the manor, I¡¯ll probably be gone.¡± Efanie looked from Victor to Cora. She didn¡¯t say anything at first, but Victor could see she had a lot on her mind. ¡°Listen, I¡¯m not a man like¡ªwell, like Volpur¨¦. I¡¯ll make sure she¡¯s okay. Unless you¡ª¡±

    ¡°No! No, Victor, I couldn¡¯t. My duties . . . My finances . . .¡± Her objections felt half-hearted to Victor, so he stretched his hand back down.

    ¡°Come on. I¡¯ll give you a ride, and you ought to think about working for someone new. If not me, I bet I can get Dar to take you on. Cora could use someone familiar around.¡± To his amazement, Efanie nodded and snatched his hand, easily hoisting herself up behind him.

    ¡°It¡¯s good your mount is so powerful!¡±

    ¡°Fast, too! Hold on!¡± Victor put a steadying arm around the girl, and she cringed. Naturally, that made him feel like an asshole, but he couldn¡¯t help the circumstances. Was it his fault her father worked as a duelist for hire? Was Victor to me for fighting for his life? Of course, he might see things differently from her shoes, but that was a problem for another day. At the moment, he wanted to be done with this whole ordeal, so he urged Guapo to pick up the pace, and soon Efanie was whooping andughing as the wind whistled past and Guapo¡¯s powerful hooves ate up the distance between the hill and the manor.

    When the stallion exploded out of the orchard, and the manor¡¯s wall and gates came into view, Victor said, ¡°Woah!¡± and Guapo rapidly slowed to a more sedate trot. He could see people under the glownterns above the gate, and as they approached, he recognized the beautiful, light-filled dragonfly wings belonging to Lam and Edeya. They turned toward him, and that¡¯s when he saw the figure on the ground between them¡ªa human-shaped figure on a stretcher, wrapped in blood-stained rags.

 Book 8: Chapter 47: Stories to Tell

    Book 8: Chapter 47: Stories to Tell

    As Guapo rapidly approached, Lam turned to face him, and Victor saw nothing but puzzlement on her face. When Edeya, who¡¯d been crouching next to the prostrate figure on the ground, also looked toward the sound of ttering hooves on cobbles, she leaped into the air, her wings buzzing and throwing off motes of azure Energy. ¡°Victor!¡±

    Guapo came to a stop, and Victor gripped Cora around the waist and hopped down. As soon as his feet hit the ground, she began to writhe, so he let her go. She ran toward the edge of the road, and he wondered if she would keep going, but she stopped once she was a few yards away. She crossed her arms over her chest and pointedly looked away from the manor toward the very distant lights of the city, avoiding Victor¡¯s gaze.

    Efanie slid off Guapo¡¯s back, and Victor sent his stallion back to the Spirit ne to make space. ¡°Who¡¯s on the stretcher,¡± he asked by way of greeting. He didn¡¯t wait for an answer, stomping forward, nudging past Lam to peer at the bandage-wrapped face. That¡¯s when he saw the pale wisps of steamy mist rising off the body. ¡°Darren,¡± he grunted.

    ¡°He was near death, but when wepleted the tenth round, we were awarded racial advancement cakes. We fed him his in hopes of saving his life.¡± She leaned over and pressed her fingers to Darren¡¯s pale forehead. ¡°We think it¡¯s working¡ªhis wounds closed up during the first few hours.¡±

    Victor scowled, looking up from Darren¡¯s bandaged face and neck to Lam. ¡°No potions?¡±

    She shrugged. ¡°The dungeon locked our dimensional containers.¡±

    Edeya walked over and grabbed onto Victor¡¯s arm, hugging it close. ¡°It¡¯s a lucky thing Lord Volpur¨¦ rescued us when he did. We had less than an hour before the next round ofb¡ª¡±

    Victor¡¯s barkingugh interrupted her, but it was Efanie who spoke up. ¡°He <em>rescued</em> you? Your friend, here, just fought a duel to force him to let you out.¡±

    ¡°Truly?¡± Edeya¡¯s eyebrows shot up, and she squeezed Victor¡¯s arm even tighter. ¡°Victor, we thought it was the <em>end</em>!¡±¡°Yeah, well, unfortunately, the asshole had a champion, so he¡¯s still breathing, but if I get a good enough reason¡­¡± He trailed off with a nce toward Cora.

    Lam scowled, eyeing the girl where she stood with her unruly hair blowing in the evening breeze, her back straight as a post as she continued to stare into the distance. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a¡­long story. I, uh¡ª¡± A rattle sounded behind the closed manor gates, and then they began to swing open. When they¡¯d parted enough for her to fit through, Trin, Volpur¨¦¡¯s daughter, and the woman who¡¯d talked his friends into entering the dungeon slipped through. Like Lam and Edeya, she was filthy with the umted dirt and dried blood from many days of fighting and no baths in between. Her face looked like she was hell-bent onmitting murder. When she opened her mouth to speak, the gates crashed shut, startling her into silence.

    With an angry nce over her shoulder at the imposing barrier, she tried again, ¡°I¡¯ve had it! I <em>denounce</em> my family!¡± Her filthy hands were balled into fists, and Victor had to admire the apparent conviction behind her angry words.

    ¡°Lady Trin¡ª¡± Efanie stepped toward her, but Trin shoved her away.

    ¡°How <em>could</em> you? You <em>knew</em> what we were walking into!¡±

    Victor raised his eyebrows; this was news to him. Efanie stammered, ¡°I¡­Lady Trin, I didn¡¯t believe he¡¯d leave you in there for so long. I had no knowledge of his schemes against Sir Victor. I <em>tried</em> to warn¡ª¡±

    ¡°Warn me? <em>Warn</em> me? By saying it was dangerous and reminding me that my father could pull us out? How about a word of warning about storage containers? How about, ¡®Trin, dear girl whom I profess to love, did you know you cannot leave that dungeon withoutpleting it?¡¯ Wouldn¡¯t <em>that</em> have been nice?¡±

    Efanie looked stricken by Trin¡¯s rage, and she drew her fancy, basket-hilted rapier and held it on her palms, then knelt before her. ¡°I failed you, Lady Trin. Please take my sword. My life is yours to im.¡±

    ¡°Oh, stand<em> up</em>!¡± Trin seethed. She brushed past Efanie and stood beside Lam. ¡°Can Ie with you for now, Lam? My father has frozen my trust, and I¡¯ll need to sell some belongings before I can afford¡ª¡±

    ¡°You cane with us,¡± Victor chuckled and nodded to Efanie, ¡°but she¡¯sing too.¡±

    Efanie, her cheeks crimson, stood and sheathed her sword. ¡°Are you certain you still want me, Victor? I¡¯m more than disgraced. I failed Lady Trin when it mattered most.¡±

    ¡°You were under orders,¡± Trin huffed, kicking some gravel off the cobbles. She folded her arms over her chest and scowled at the elfin woman. ¡°And you trusted my father not to be a filicidal maniac! I¡¯m still <em>terribly</em> angry at you, however!¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Efanie slid her sword back into its scabbard. ¡°Shall I arrange a carriage? I don¡¯t think we can all fit on Victor¡¯s mount¡ª¡±

    ¡°I have one,¡± Trin sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to sell it before my father sends one of his stewards around to collect it.¡± She unclipped a metal ball on a chain from her belt and, with a small surge of Energy, tossed it toward the cobbled road. It paused in the air before striking the stones and hovered for a moment as pink steam billowed out of it. It reminded Victor of those little smoke bombs he used to buy in Arizona for the fourth of July¡ªpretty much the only ¡°fireworks¡± allowed in Tucson.

    With a hiss and then the sudden, rapid nk of metal pping together, the ball expanded to form a floating, round, silvery vessel with a row of windows that looked like portholes. In fact, the thing reminded Victor of an antique submarine. Trin walked around it, and the others followed. Victor bent to pick up Darren, cradling him in his arms and leaving the stretcher where ity. On the far side of the ¡°carriage,¡± he found a sizeable oval door standing open. ¡°Here,¡± he grunted, hoisting Darren into the opening so Lam could pull him inside.

    Before climbing in, Victor cast Alter Self and reduced his size as much as possible, bringing him down to about six feet¡ªmuch easier to climb through the opening. He turned to Cora, standing alone on the side of the road, and said, ¡°Come on, <em>chica</em>. I know you probably hate me, but we gotta try to make the best of a shitty situation.¡± She didn¡¯t respond, and her eyes looked like they could melt wax if she stared long enough, but she brushed past him to climb aboard. Victor followed.

    The inside of the little vehicle matched its external aesthetic; a round, metallic bench lined the walls, but a single chair was built into a console before a front-facing porthole. Trin sat there, apparently intent on piloting the craft to Dar¡¯ske house. Efanie narrowed her eyes at Victor as he turned to pull the door shut with a <em>ng</em>. ¡°How are you so much smaller?¡±

    Lam chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t bother trying to figure it out.¡±

    Victor shrugged as he sat down next to Edeya. ¡°It¡¯s a titan thing.¡± He found his titan bloodline an easy way to wave off questions he couldn¡¯t answer, and, in a way, he wasn¡¯t lying. Hadn¡¯t Tes told him that an advanced elder bloodline was necessary to handle the spell? In an effort to change the subject, he nodded toward Darren. ¡°Hope he doesn¡¯t fill the carriage with that steam¡ªkinda weird to think we¡¯re breathing Darren into our lungs.¡±

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    Trin made aical gagging noise and touched something on her control panel. A momentter, the roof slid partially open, letting in the cool night air and the moonlight. ¡°Better?¡±

    ¡°Much better!¡± Edeya sighed happily as she leaned back, resting her head on Victor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Sorry, Victor,¡± she mumbled. ¡°We didn¡¯t sleep much thest couple of nights.¡±

    ¡°Nah, go ahead and rest. You earned it.¡± Victor looked at Efanie and was d to see that Cora had sat close to her. He wasn¡¯t sure what he¡¯d do about the girl; the whole situation was awkward and, honestly, rather awful, but he couldn¡¯t just hand her a bag of Energy beads and send her on her way. He had to figure something out for her. He couldn¡¯t believe that a man like Loyle, someone who¡¯d been around for centuries and likely amassed quite a fortune, didn¡¯t have a bunch of staff on retainer¡ªa nanny or tutor or something for the girl. He wanted to question her, but he didn¡¯t want to force her to talk in front of a bunch of strangers with the guy who¡¯d just killed her father. He had a vague hope that one of his friends or Va could get some more information out of her.

    ¡°Is it true about Arcus?¡± Trin asked, looking over her shoulder at Victor.

    ¡°What did you hear?¡±

    ¡°That he died in the dungeon with you.¡± She frowned and narrowed her eyes. ¡°Did you kill him?¡±

    Victor almost told her the truth right then and there, but his promise to Ronkerz and, likewise, to Arcus stalled the words in his mouth. Instead, he just said, ¡°I can promise you that I didn¡¯t kill him. In fact, I consider him a friend. He acted honorably in there.¡±

    Trin turned back to the front-facing porthole, and everyone was quiet for a minute or two before Efanie asked, ¡°And Arona? Is she truly dead?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor sighed and folded his arms over his chest. ¡°I saw it happen.¡±

    ¡°Hard to imagine¡ªeveryone thought she was destined to be one of the youngest veil walkers ever. Such talent!¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°She was something else.¡± When everyone got quiet again, he reached into his storage ring and took out the Farscribe book he shared with Va. He turned to thest page and saw a new note:<blockquote>

    <em>Victor,</em>

    <em></em>

    <em>What am I to make of this macabre letter you just sent me? The courier refused to say anything about where you were or what you were doing as he delivered a fistful of letters. Lesh says his note isn¡¯t anything so gloomy and morbid¡ªno dwelling on death and spirits and the next life! Have you done something foolhardy? If I don¡¯t hear from you soon, I¡¯ll go mad with worry!</em></blockquote>

    Victor raised an eyebrow and shook his head, scratching his rough, stubble-covered jawline. ¡°Shit,¡± he mumbled. ¡°<em>Pendejo</em>!¡± As he cursed himself, he summoned a pen and rapidly scrawled:<blockquote>

    <em>Va ¨C All is well. On my way home. See you soon.</em>

    <em></em>

    <em>-V</em></blockquote>

    ¡°Are you upset?¡± Lam asked quietly. When Victor heard her hushed tone, he looked around the carriage to see that Cora had also fallen asleep, her head resting on Efanie¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°I, uh, might have done something stupid again. I mean, with Va.¡±

    Lam chuckled. ¡°You seem to do that a lot¡ªfind a way to anger the women in your life.¡±

    ¡°Is that fair?¡± Victor sighed, leaning back. ¡°I mean, most of the people in my life seem to be women. Far too man¡ª" Victor¡¯s words were cut short by a grunt as Edeya surprised him with a jab in the ribs.

    ¡°You love it,¡± she murmured before adjusting her position to lean more fully against his side.

    Lam smiled and leaned back, and Victor could see she also intended to nap. The metal bench wasn¡¯t exactly built forfort, though, and she grumbled something softly to herself, then summoned a pillow and nket from a storage device and made herself a good deal morefortable. Efanie watched her and took inspiration, conjuring a nket and draping it over Cora. The girl partially awoke, but only long enough for Efanie to urge her to spread out on the bench andy her head on herp.

    After a while, Efanie looked at Victor and whispered, ¡°I¡¯ve seen her around the manor, but she never spoke to anyone. Loyle kept her close; he was a very strange man.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, I¡¯m hoping¡ª¡± Victor stopped short as a lightbulb went off in his head. He dug around in his pocket for the four rings he¡¯d stripped from Loyle¡¯s dead fingers. The four rings were weighty, and Victor could see the gleam of rare materials in the moon''s dim light. Most were inset with precious gemstones, but one was a simple, thick, silvery band. It felt weighty in Victor¡¯s palm, heavier than it should be even if it were made of gold, which it wasn¡¯t. ¡°Let¡¯s see here,¡± with just a tiny trickle of inspiration-attuned Energy, he attempted to bond with the ring.

    As soon as he did, his mind became aware of an enormous dimensional space,rger than all his current containersbined. Moreover, the space was sturdy, and he could feel the dense weaves of Energy holding it together even more strongly than the dimensional ring Dar had given him, which held aparatively tiny space. Victor let his mind drift over the ring''s contents, and he found himself holding his breath as the treasures mounted in his awareness.

    There were millions of Energy beads. He only knew that because they were kept in stacks of sturdy crates, eachbeled with numerals that the System tranted as 100,000. Victor counted more than fifty such crates. Beyond the beads, he found chests filled with precious gems, golden coins, and bars of rare metals. He found stacks of fine materials¡ªfrom a dozen varieties of silk to refined leather to lengths of Energy-dense hardwood. Along with the riches were more mundane things¡ªfurniture, tapestries, rugs, and hundreds of finely tailored articles of clothing. Before he pulled his mind out of the space, feeling slightly overwhelmed, Victor saw two weapon racks, one lined with swords of all kinds and another with staves, rods, and wands.

    He looked down at his hands. They were adorned with not one or two but five different dimensional rings. Grunting, he slid the new one over his left thumb, watching as it stretched to fit the massive digit. He figured it would be wise to sort through his other rings and pare down their number sometime soon. Looking up, he realized Efanie was staring, waiting for him to finish his sentence. He held up his fist of rings. ¡°Hoping to find some kind of, I dunno, will or estate document.¡±

    ¡°He may have ounts with one of the banking houses. I could go into town tomorrow to learn what I can. If¡ªif it helps.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯d appreciate that, thanks.¡± Victor lifted another ring between his thumb and forefinger, examining the deep blue stone set in a golden band. He sent some Energy into it and was awarded with a System message:

    <strong>***Ring of Safe Harbor: The wearer of this ring is shielded from most scrying attempts and made impossible to summon against their will, regardless of any power disparity between wearer and summoner.***</strong>

    Victor grunted softly and immediately jammed the ring onto his right-hand pinky. He felt a cool breeze tickle the hairs on his forearms briefly, but other than that, he couldn¡¯t discern any difference. The next ring he inspected was also gold but was set with a ck opal, or so he guessed. When he sent Energy into it, he received another System message:

    <strong>***Ring of Communion: The wearer of this ring can send mental images and messages to the wearer of its twin.***</strong>

    Victor looked up and peered over at Cora. The nket covered her arms, but he leaned across the space and gently lifted the edge to reveal her hands where she held them tucked up near her chin. Sure enough, she had a simr but smaller ring on her right-hand ring finger. He put therger one back into his pocket.

    The final ring was made of a ck, exceptionally light metal and was carved in whorls and loops with what looked like pearls set into them. He counted seven of the lustrous little orbs. As he sent some Energy into the ring, he hoped it would be mundane; the gaudy aspect wasn¡¯t his style. When he saw the System message, he almost groaned:

    <strong>***Ring of Recall: Two charges remaining. This ring will transport the wearer to their home System Stone. Beware, the effect requires several minutes to gather the requisite Energy.***</strong>

    Considering he was still a System ¡°citizen¡± of the Free Marches, Victor reckoned that those two recalls could save him a fortune in visits back home. Of course, it was also nice to know he had a free teleport if he ever got stuck somewhere, and with Loyle¡¯s stash of Energy beads, he wasn¡¯t exactly hurting for money. He tucked the ring into his pocket, d he didn¡¯t have to wear it all the time.

    He zoned out for the rest of the coach ride, his mind drifting to topics that weighed heavily on him. He worried about Cora and his responsibility for the girl. It felt absurd to him that she¡¯d been foisted onto him after he had <em>killed</em> her father. What kind of society condoned such a thing? Then there was Va; he hoped she wasn¡¯t truly upset and that his note in the Farscribe book would put her at ease. He wondered how Dar would treat him; the master Spirit Caster hadn¡¯t seemed bothered when he¡¯d saved Victor from the madness of his Volcanic Fury. Thinking of that reminded Victor of his fight, and he grinned stupidly, reliving the battle in the theater of his mind.

    When Trin brought the carriage down tond outside Dar¡¯s house, Victor was the first to disembark, and he let Efanie and Lam push Darren out to him. Cradling the injured, unconscious man, he said, ¡°Lam, will you show Efanie and Cora around? Ask Mr. Ruln to find beds for them, please.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I can do that. Then I¡¯m going to bathe for a month.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be doing the same,¡± Edeya sighed, hopping out of the coach with a flutter of her sapphire wings. Victor grunted and turned to the house, only to find Lesh and Vaing outside. Almost happy to have Darren as a shield against the world, he started forward, trying to keep his face pleasant and rxed.

    ¡°Victor!¡± Va called before he¡¯d managed a few steps. She ran toward him, her wings fluttering with the breeze of her rushing progress, and, for a moment, Victor thought she¡¯d m into him, regardless of his burden. She slowed, though, and when she came close enough, she grasped his shoulders and leaned down to kiss him softly. ¡°I was worried!¡± Victor looked up at her, confused, thenughed; he¡¯d forgotten to rx his Alter Self spell. She was nearly a foot taller than he.

    ¡°Sorry to worry you,¡± he sighed as the mirth died down. ¡°I wanted to write you a note and figured I¡¯d make use of the scribe the asshole I challenged sent to me¡ª¡±

    ¡°Asshole? Challenge?¡±

    Victor hefted Darren. ¡°I had to get them out of a dungeon against the, uh, owner¡¯s wishes.¡± He gestured with Darren¡¯s body toward the house. ¡°Come on, Va. Let me put him down in his bed, and then we can talk. I¡¯ll tell you all about it. How long was I gone, by the way?¡± He threw thest question out in an attempt to shift the focus of their conversation away from the duel.

    It worked, but he knew the reprieve would be short-lived. ¡°More than two weeks. I know it wasn¡¯t as long for you, but I was beginning to grow desperate. Only Ranish Dar¡¯s confidence and assurances kept me from pulling my hair out!¡±

    ¡°He was confident, huh?¡± Victor smiled as Va followed him toward the house.

    ¡°Very. He seems to be quite well-informed. He assured me you were still alive, even yesterday.¡± They came to the front door as she spoke, and Victor nodded to Lesh.

    ¡°Hey, man. Ready to get some serious training in?¡±

    ¡°Aye, Lord Victor. Wee home. I was betting on your sess.¡± The way he grinned and the glint in his eye told Victor he was being literal; he¡¯d found a way to bet on himpleting the Sojourn Council¡¯s quest. Laughing softly to himself, he carried Darren into the house.

    He caught sight of one of the servants. ¡°Hey, Wensa, can you get some clean bandages for Darren? I¡¯m betting he¡¯ll be out of it for a day or two.¡±

    ¡°Right away!¡± As she scurried off, Victor looked at Va. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s get him to his room. Shit, Va, I¡¯ve got some <em>crazy</em> stories to tell.¡±

    Va nodded, and Victor was relieved to see a genuine, rxed smile on her face. He supposed he owed Dar for that¡ªhis mentor had kept his friends from panicking about his prolonged absence, which made him wonder how much Dar already knew; could he somehow scry Victor in the dungeon? Did he already know about Ronkerz? He supposed he¡¯d find out soon enough, but he hoped not <em>too</em> soon; he wanted to spend some time with Va. He was eager to tell her about his time in the dungeon and about the duel, but he wasn¡¯t so anxious to exin the fallout. How would she react when he told her about Cora?

 Book 8: Chapter 48: Advice

    Book 8: Chapter 48: Advice

    ¡°And this fellow, this ¡®Ronkerz,¡¯ made you fight his champions?¡±

    Victor shrugged. ¡°Well, only one.¡± He hadn¡¯t said anything about Ronkerz being a veil walker or his champions being steel seekers, but it wasn¡¯t because he was trying to be dishonest with Va; he simply felt he had to honor his vow to Ronkerz not to talk about his strength with anyone other than Ranish Dar.

    Va nodded slowly. ¡°So, they underestimated you. I suppose when yourpanions lost their fights, it only encouraged the prisoner king¡¯s confidence.¡± She smiled and squeezed Victor¡¯s wrist. They were sitting together in one of Dar¡¯s smaller parlors, waiting for the lord of the house to summon Victor. As soon as he¡¯d put Darren to bed, Dar¡¯s steward, Mr. Ruln, had told him to wait there. ¡°A mistake too many make, hmm, love?¡±

    Victor chuckled, perhaps a little nervously. He felt like he was walking a fine line between truth and lie. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. The Big One he chose for me put up quite a fight. I had to get creative to find a way to harm her.¡±

    ¡°What an odd name¡ª¡®Big Ones.¡¯ It¡¯s very strange to imagine a town inside a dungeon. What were the people who lived there like?¡±

    ¡°Um, for the most part, desperate and dirty. I think that¡¯s part of Ronkerz¡¯s thing¡ªthe whole ¡®Big Ones¡¯ act and naming the ce ¡®Rumble Town.¡¯ I think the fighting and the showmanship all have to do with his attempt to keep people motivated for his cause.¡±

    ¡°And what is that? His cause, I mean.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor sighed, hating that he was hiding things from Va, but if he were to take Dar¡¯s warnings about karmic bonds seriously, shouldn¡¯t his promise to Ronkerz have ¡°rippled¡± through the universe? As Va stared at him and a scowl began to mar her smoothplexion, he shook his head. ¡°Listen, I don¡¯t want to make shit up, but I promised Ronkerz I wouldn¡¯t talk about his goals with anyone but Dar. He could have kept me in there, Va. I made the promise so I wouldn¡¯t be stuck.¡±

    ¡°So, you can tell Ranish Dar but not the woman you love? The woman who spends all her time with you?¡± The frown line between her eyes deepened, and she leaned back in her chair. ¡°With whom do you fear I¡¯ll share this secret?¡±¡°No one! It¡¯s not that I think I can¡¯t trust you; it¡¯s just that, shit, Va, <em>I¡¯ll</em> know I broke the promise. It¡¯ll bother <em>me</em>. Dar¡¯s been talking to me about karmic ties and debts and¡ª"

    ¡°Oh, put it aside, Victor.¡± She folded her arms over her chest and looked through the window toward the night sky and the distant but very bright moon. After a moment of awkward silence, she asked, ¡°Are you allowed to tell me what happened when you left? Can you tell me the story behind your duel and the situation with Lam and the others? Must I be the only one who has no knowledge of your dealings?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. It¡¯s a pretty straightforward story. Arcus told me that his father was holding Lam and the others inside his dungeon, so I went there to¡ª¡±

    ¡°So, he made peace with you before he died?¡±

    ¡°Um, yeah.¡± Victor looked down and knew he¡¯d made a mistake when Va snorted and stood up.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re being so duplicitous, but I can¡¯t imagine this conversation will get any better. If I¡¯m not wrong, the next thing you¡¯re about to tell me is that you challenged Lord Volpur¨¦ to a duel, then fought his steel-seeker champion without first letting me know. Would it have been so hard toe here before flying off in a rage to the Volpur¨¦ estate? Would it have been hard for you to write me a inly worded note in the Farscribe book? I suppose I should be thankful that you remembered me at all, what with that strange note that demonstrated your willingness to die in that duel¡ª<em>without seeing me</em>!¡±

    ¡°Va, they were in trouble in that dungeon! I had to hurry¡ª¡±

    ¡°They¡¯d been in there for more than a week. I think another hour or two¡ª¡±

    ¡°Maybe not! Their next battle was imminent!¡±

    ¡°Did you <em>know</em> that?¡± She didn¡¯t wait for an answer. She fled the room in a flutter of tinkling feathers, leaving Victor sitting, stunned, alone in the parlor. He didn¡¯t know what to think of her sudden anger, but he knew he felt like the bad guy again, and he was getting damn tired of feeling like the bad guy. When one of the servants, a man whose name he hadn¡¯t yet learned, cleared his throat from the doorway, Victor looked up, his growing anger and frustration instantly reced by embarrassment.

    ¡°Terribly sorry, sir, but Lord Dar awaits you in the library.¡±

    ¡°Oh, um, thanks.¡± Victor stood and smoothed his shirt, then moved toward the doorway. As the servant stepped aside, he nodded and reached up to pat Victor¡¯s shoulder. He didn¡¯t say anything, but the act was definitely out of character for Dar¡¯s staff. Victor wondered if his face looked so troubled that a veritable stranger thought he neededfort. He made a conscious effort to unfurl his brow and offered the man a nod and an anemic smile.

    As he walked through the hallways of Dar¡¯s home, he fought to bring his mind back into focus, but a particr train of thought kept pushing its way to the forefront, and he couldn¡¯t help feeling some despair at it. Looking objectively at his feelings, Victor realized he felt bad about hurting Va¡¯s feelings but was also annoyed and exhausted by the drama.

    What was worse, he found his feelings of guilt weren¡¯t any different from how he might feel if Lam or Lesh¡ªthe idea made him snort a shortugh¡ªwere hurt by his actions. Shouldn¡¯t he feel despair in his heart at the thought of Va being pissed at him? She¡¯d made a rather good point: shouldn¡¯t he have been desperate to see and hold her when he survived the dungeon? Shouldn¡¯t he have at least <em>considered</em> going to her before rushing off to the duel?

    Altogether, the strange, conflicted feelings roiling through his mind as he walked to the library culminated in a series of questions he couldn¡¯t answer¡ªdid he <em>love</em> Va, or did he only care about her? Was his attraction to her more physical than emotional? Was there any difference? Victor knew why he couldn¡¯t answer: hecked experience, and, the more he thought about it, <em>that</em> was a problem, too. Groaning, shaking his head in frustration, he fought to push the unquiet thoughts from his mind as he approached the library doors.

    He stepped into the dimly illuminated room and was greeted by the scent of woodsy incense and the unmistakable aroma of fresh coffee. Dar sat in one of thefortable, high-backed chairs, wearing one of his usual, brightly colored pajama-like ensembles, this one an eye-popping electric blue. When he saw Victor, he smiled and leaned forward, pouring some steaming ck liquid into the mugs on the small table before him. He nodded at one of the empty seats and rumbled, ¡°Have a seat, Victor. We¡¯re past midnight, and I doubt you¡¯ll sleep tonight, so have some coffee with me.¡±

    Victor did as he asked, sitting down with a sigh. ¡°Is it thatte already?¡±

    ¡°It is.¡± Dar pushed the coffee to him, then, without preamble, jumped into the thick of things. ¡°As you no doubt recall, I witnessed your duel with Fak Loyle. I took my leave after cooling your fury, so give me the details of what I missed before and after the fight. You may as well begin by describing what happened inside the dungeon. I can feel the weight of a bargain on your spirit. Is that why you fled the Council Spire so rapidly? Were you avoiding Roil and hisckeys?¡±

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    ¡°You don¡¯t miss much, do you?¡± Victor picked up the little carafe of cream and poured a healthy ssh into his cup. Dar only grunted, so Victor began to speak, pausing asionally to sip the hot, soothing drink. ¡°Well, first of all, that woman¡¯s bomb nearly killed me. Maybe pass along my thanks, though, because it sted me right through one of the rune-covered pirs those ambushers were using to seal off the entrance area. Once I was out, I kicked their asses easily enough¡­¡±

    Victor spoke for nearly an hour, going over the nature of his encounters in the prison dungeon and then talking about Ronkerz and how he¡¯d made the three of them fight his ¡°Big Ones.¡± As he finished the tale, describing how Arcus revealed his father¡¯s ns for extortive vengeance, Dar chuckled and shook his head. ¡°No wonder you raced out of the city. I¡¯m quite pleased you didn¡¯t lose your temper before you managed to extricate yourself from the Council Spire.¡±

    Victor nodded, smiling ruefully. ¡°It was a close thing for a minute, there. Before I go into the situation with Volpur¨¦, can you tell me what you think of Ronkerz? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s messed up that kids are being born in that dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Messed up?¡± Dar sighed and rubbed his temples between his two stony thumbs. ¡°We¡¯ll need to work on your vernacr before I send you to be a court champion on Ruhn. I suppose your description is apt, however. I never considered the idea that people would form rudimentary societies within a dungeon nor that the System would continue to grow the ce to amodate them. I¡¯m not too surprised to hear about Ronkerz, nor am I surprised to learn that Roil has been hiding the true nature of the situation from the rest of us¡ªConsul Rexa would likely force him to close the ce down, regardless of the lost investment with the System.¡±

    ¡°Really? She could do that?¡±

    ¡°Rexa? She¡¯s more powerful than any three of usbined. Should your path cross with hers, always be deferential.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to tell her¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll need to weigh the consequences. It seems to me that Ronkerz has made a sort of overture in that he¡¯s asked you to tell me and me alone about the situation in that dungeon.¡± He paused to sip his coffee, then shook his head. ¡°Let me handle the politics, Victor. You¡¯ll soon have your own schemes to manage. For now, be content knowing that I won¡¯t allow children tonguish long in that dungeon. As for your debt to the council, it¡¯s clearly been paid, and now they¡¯ll need to supply a promised bonus. I take it you still wish for me to request a cultivation item for your friend¡¯s breath Core?¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°Yeah, I owe him.¡±

    ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll meet with the council in the morning and extract what¡¯s due. Now, the duel. Were you not concerned that Bohn¡¯s champion was a steel seeker?¡±

    ¡°I mean, I guess so, but Arcus told me everything about the guy.¡± Victor thought about his battle and shook his head. ¡°Almost everything. It seemed he had one trick up his sleeve that he hadn¡¯t ever used before.¡±

    ¡°His invasion of your blood?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I forgot you watched the fight.¡±

    ¡°Blood Mages are dangerous, and Loyle fought so much with his nature affinity that people often overlooked the true danger of his secondary aspect. I¡¯m pleased you thought of burning the blood from your system with your magma-attuned Energy. I suspect your elder bloodline helped buy you time to think of it. Didn¡¯t you tell me that you have a feat that makes you naturally resistant to poisons?¡±

    Like a lightbulb, the thought illuminated Victor¡¯s mind, and he nodded. ¡°Yeah! I didn¡¯t think of that. I suppose someone else¡¯s blood in my veins could be considered a kind of poison.¡±

    ¡°So, in the end, your victory was partly due to Loyle¡¯s affinities meeting very hard counters with your own. No doubt, a man of Loyle¡¯s power was able to read a good deal from your Core despite your aura veiling. It was his folly to underestimate the strength of your breath Core. I suppose he couldn¡¯t know that your Volcanic Fury increases the potency of the magma¡ªon the surface, your breath Core is less than impressive.¡± Dar chuckled. ¡°Not for long, if I were to wager.¡±

    ¡°Heh, yeah. After the fight, I was thinking about how badly I need to cultivate my breath Core. I¡¯ll work on it before I leave.¡± The idea of leaving brought some questions to Victor¡¯s mind, but before he could ask them, Dar cleared his throat and brought up a new topic of his own.

    ¡°I noted that I have new house guests.¡±

    Victor blew out an explosive breath, then leaned back in his chair. He¡¯d almost let Cora slip his mind, and the reminder,bined with his stress about Va, was enough to make him reach up and vigorously scratch the short hair above his ear. ¡°I could use your advice about that.¡±

    Dar chuckled. ¡°So, the duelist''s child was foisted upon you? I¡¯m surprised Volpur¨¦ didn¡¯t insist on caring for the girl if only to save some face.¡± He sipped at his second cup of coffee, then shrugged. ¡°It was wise of you to steal away the other woman¡ªthe fae-blood. A familiar face will do wonders to ease the girl¡¯s transition. I assume Loyle had some riches in his dimensional containers?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah. Millions of beads and plenty of precious metals and gems.¡±

    ¡°Good. You were eager to visit your home, yes? I suggest you do so. Take a week¡ªbring the child and your new employee to your estate there; ensure her education is well-funded and she has a ce to call home. I will prepare your course of study while you¡¯re gone and when you return, you will devote yourself to preparing for the trials and tribtions that await you on Ruhn. I¡¯ve contacted my granddaughter¡ªshe expects you in one hundred and neen System-standard days.¡±

    ¡°Seriously? Um, yeah, actually, that sounds great. I could introduce her to Tha and her little girl. I could¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Dar held up a hand, forestalling more of Victor¡¯s mentions of people and ces he didn¡¯t know. ¡°I suggest this not because I¡¯m trying to be kind¡ªI am, but that¡¯s not why. I want your head clear, and having that girl here will only distract you. Now, while I¡¯m on the subject of distractions, do you have something else weighing on you?¡±

    Victor frowned, feeling some heat entering his pathways. Was Dar admitting to eavesdropping on his conversation with Va? Inhaling deeply, he pushed out the rage that had begun to trickle into his pathways and, instead, consciously pulled inspiration-attuned Energy out. With a clear mind, he said, ¡°I suppose our conversation wasn¡¯t exactly quiet or private, huh? The door was open.¡±

    ¡°Even if I hadn¡¯t heard a word, I¡¯d know you were troubled. Victor, I know I¡¯m not your peer, and I often express how valuable my time is, but I want you to know that you¡¯re beginning to be¡­important to me. Don¡¯t let that go to your head, but understand that I am here if you need advice. My long life has been lived in¡­phases, forck of a better word¡ªsometimes alone, sometimes withpanionship. Though I may not seem it, I¡¯ve had many romantic liaisons and many long and devoted rtionships. I¡¯ve also been party to many failed loves. I¡¯ve witnessed and analyzed those losses, and I might have a word of wisdom for you if you but ask.¡±

    Victor nodded, slowlying to grips with the idea that Dar had just indicated that their rtionship was no longer simply contractual. He didn¡¯t want to help Victor just because he wanted to use him¡ªhe cared. Of course, Victor knew he might be manipting him, but his words felt genuine, and he <em>wanted</em> to think Dar was sincere. As he spoke, Victor slowly began to nod, and tried to gather his thoughts, tried to think of a way to express his feelings. Finally, he leaned forward and tried to voice his fears:

    ¡°I guess it boils down to passion. When I thought about Va before my duel, I thought about what I ¡®should¡¯ do, not what I wanted to do. I <em>wanted</em> to fight, but I wrote Va a note because it felt like the right thing to do. If I really loved her, I mean <em>loved</em> her, would I have wanted to go to her more than I wanted to fight? Wouldn¡¯t I have wanted to feel her lips on mine?¡± Victor remembered who he was speaking to, and his face flushed with embarrassment. Still, he pushed ahead, ¡°I mean, when I think about passion¡ª¡± He shook his head, trying to find the words, afraid to say the ones on the tip of his tongue.

    ¡°Go on, Victor. What are you passionate about?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t fucking know, Dar.¡± Victor sighed. ¡°I love Deyni, and Tha, and Chandri, and Edeya, and yeah, Va fits in there, but shouldn¡¯t I feel something a lot <em>more</em> for her?¡±

    ¡°Putting people aside, Victor, what ignites your passion?¡±

    ¡°You know,¡± Victor sighed, shrugging helplessly. ¡°Fighting, winning¡ªthe rush of battle. I don¡¯t even know what your granddaughter is like¡ªwhat her country stands for, but I¡¯m excited to fight for her. Is there something wrong with me?¡±

    ¡°Not <em>wrong</em>. You are what you are. You don¡¯t pick fights, but you certainly love to win them. I can admire that trait, Victor. Perhaps love isn¡¯t something you should concern yourself with in this stage of your life¡ª¡±

    ¡°But I <em>do</em> love, Dar! I feel it so deeply, so hard, sometimes that I can¡¯t think of anything else. If I love to fight, half the time, it¡¯s because I think I¡¯m protecting some<em>one</em> I love! But¡­yeah, I¡¯m not sure how to reconcile the idea that I feel just as strongly about protecting and caring for other people in my life as I do for Va.¡± Victor sighed, feeling empty and defeated and utterly unresolved.

    Dar chuckled. ¡°Love is a funny thing. It can be hot and fiery or warm andforting. It can bring tears of joy or sorrow; it can make a man or break him. I¡¯ll tell you this: time apart from one¡¯s love can rify things. If your heart begins to ache and you desperately want to be with your love more and more, then you might realize your love is more important than your desire to fight and your hunt for glory. If, however, you don¡¯t find yourself lying awake at night, thinking of your distant love, perhaps it might be time to be more honest with yourself and yourdy.¡±

    ¡°So, wait and see? Shit, thanks for the help, Dar.¡± Victorughed, and Dar chuckled.

    ¡°Yes, I began to curse myself the moment I offered advice. It¡¯s not an easy thing to figure out¡ªthe heart. Talk to Va. Be honest. That¡¯s the best counsel I can offer. Perhaps she¡¯ll have more insight.¡± Dar shifted in his chair, and Victor saw he was ready to be done with the subject.

    ¡°Right. I¡¯ll do that. Thank you, Dar.¡±

    ¡°Take your week. Leave as soon as you can and bring her with you. It will be good.¡± Dar looked ready to dismiss him, but he held up a hand and added, ¡°On the topic of my granddaughter, you should rest assured that she is no despot. She rules with kindness, and her citizens are guaranteed certain rights and freedoms. I believe you should be proud to defend her¡ªmany nations on Ruhn are not so egalitarian.¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°Well, that¡¯s good to know. Yeah, I think, despite my earlier words, I would have had trouble standing up for her if she turned out to be a tyrant.¡± He stood and smiled, and surprisingly, the expression came a lot more easily than he¡¯d expected. Despite theck of a resolution to his problems, he felt better having confided in someone. It was good to know he wasn¡¯t the only person in the universe feeling the way he did. ¡°Thank you, Dar.¡±

    His mentor stood and pped one of his stony hands against Victor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°My pleasure. Make haste now. The sooner you¡¯re gone and back, the sooner your training can begin.¡± His eyes opened wide, and he snapped his fingers with a <em>crack</em>. He leaned close and, in a much quieter voice, said, ¡°I <em>do</em> have some advice for you! Dig through Loyle¡¯s belongings for something very beautiful, rare, and <em>expensive</em>, and give it to Va. I think it might make her more receptive to your further confession.¡±

    ¡°Confession?¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve yet to tell her about your young ward, correct?¡±

    ¡°Oh, <em>shit</em>,¡± Victor groaned.

 Book 8: Chapter 49: Hearts and Bones

    Book 8: Chapter 49: Hearts and Bones

    Victor wasn¡¯t sure where to go when he walked out of the library. He wanted to find Va and talk to her, but at the same time, he wanted some space to think¡ªto breathe. With that impulse taking control, he meandered back to the main parlor, dark and quiet at that hour, and then slipped out the door to the rear deck. That close to theke, the night air was always a little chilly. Victor hadn¡¯t been there long enough to know if that changed with the seasons or if there even <em>were</em> seasons on Sojourn, but he supposed it didn¡¯t matter; he was never cold, and conversely, no amount of heat in the air seemed to make his hot blood ufortable.

    He stepped toward the railing, found he had too much anxious energy to stand and think, and turned to walk along the house to the side deck. He caught a glimpse of Dar through a window, still sitting in the library, writing into a book on hisp. It felt strange to peer into the room after wandering through the house, like he was purposefully being sneaky or something, so he hurriedly looked away and hustled down the steps to the pathway that wound through Dar¡¯s manicured gardens. Nightbirds chirped and sang, and the breeze through the trees rustled the leaves in a mncholy whisper, making it easy for Victor¡¯s mind to wander and drift.

    After a while, he¡¯d passed by the ¡°sparring ring¡± and entered a part of the garden he hadn¡¯t explored. Night blossoms bloomed, and the cloying scent of orange and cherry filled the air. It was peaceful and rxing, and Victor found his earlier irritation melting away. What did he have to be upset about? A woman who loved him was angry¡ªit wasn¡¯t the end of the world. He¡¯d aplished something tremendous earlier that day. He, a middling iron ranker, had conquered a steel seeker! Victor grinned and, spying a small bench on the hillside, sat down to look out over the terraced gardens to the starlitke below.

    It was a beautiful view, and to his heart¡¯s relief, he found himself wishing Va were there beside him. A tree to his left rustled, and Victor looked up to see a ck feathered bird with a long, fanning tail perched on one of the lower branches. A shock of bright yellow plumage atop its head drew Victor¡¯s eye, and when it felt Victor¡¯s gaze, it spread broad wings and fluttered away into the night. As it went, it uttered a trilling cry that sounded like a stuttered question, ¡°<em>Wha-why, wha-why</em>?¡± Victor chuckled at the funny sound, then, as he turned back to the big tree with its drooping branches and pale, birch-like bark, he remembered Arona¡¯s bone.

    He reached into the storage ring Dar had given him and pulled out the thing. It was heavy and felt colder than before. Seeing it reminded Victor of when Arona had passed it to him in a cave even darker than the night where he now sat. ncing at the moon, Victor chuckled. To his eyes, it wasn¡¯t all that dark; things were still shaded in terms of moonlight and shadow, but he could see the leaves in the trees, the tiny night creatures rustling through the undergrowth, and even the gentle wavespping on the distantke shore.

    He rubbed his thumb along the silvery runes in the bone, noting how they shimmered, and he wondered if they¡¯d been like that before. Had they been so bright with Energy? Arona had said her undead creature needed rest, that he wasn¡¯t ¡°ready¡± for another fight. Had he recovered? ¡°Guess we¡¯ll never know, eh, <em>hermano</em>?¡± Victor chuckled as he carried the bone over to the tree. ¡°You¡¯re going to sleep until another Necromancer finds you, I guess.¡± He thought about that word. ¡°Is a Death Caster the same as a Necromancer?¡± He shook his head, smirking at his mumbled rambling, and knelt on soft turf, summoning a knife from one of his other rings.

    He''d just stabbed the de into the grass when a cold shiver ran down his spine, and a raspy voice whispered, ¡°It would be urate to say a Necromancer is a type of Death Caster.¡± He recognized the voice, so he didn¡¯t respond violently, but Victor whirled around, all the same, scrabbling backward so his back rested against the tree trunk. A ghostly, luminescent version of Arona hovered in the darkness near where he¡¯d been kneeling. ¡°You returned more quickly than I feared. I¡¯m pleased you survived your battle, Victor.¡± Her lips didn¡¯t move, but she seemed to sway with the words as they hissed through the night air to him.

    ¡°The hell? Are you a ghost now?¡±

    ¡°I suppose so. More precisely, I¡¯m a disembodied spirit bound to that bone¡ªmy first phctery. I prepared it as wey in that cave ¡®sleeping.¡¯ Thank you for bringing it here and for not mentioning it to anyone. You didn¡¯t, did you?¡±Victor shook his head. ¡°Nah, I only just remembered it. I wouldn¡¯t have, though. I promised you.¡±

    The spirit wavered, shifting oddly in the moonlight. ¡°You don¡¯t seem very surprised to see me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not the first Death Caster I¡¯ve messed around with, and this isn¡¯t the first phctery I¡¯ve held. I should¡¯ve probably guessed what you were up to. I take it you didn¡¯t exin your n because you didn¡¯t want Ronkerz to overhear?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I was afraid he¡¯d force you to give him the phctery so that, even in death, he could bind me to his service.¡±

    Victor nodded as he grunted, climbing to his feet. He held the bone out toward the glowing, faintly translucent figure. ¡°Well, for what it¡¯s worth, I¡¯m d you aren¡¯t, like, <em>totally</em> dead. Uh, what do you want me to do with this thing?¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Victor!¡± The spirit drifted back from the bone, and Victor felt a sinking sensation as he anticipated her next words. ¡°I have another favor to ask¡ªwell, perhaps several favors.¡± When Victor sighed and lowered the bone, a faint smile flickered over her ghostly features, and then her disembodied voice came to him again, ¡°I asked you to bury that bone here, in Dar¡¯s gardens, because I knew that once you removed it from your storage device, my spirit would be drawn to it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡± Victor was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

    ¡°Yes. However, I¡¯m still quite helpless and at the mercy of your willingness to aid me.¡± When Victor only frowned, she continued, ¡°I told you in the dungeon that I wasn¡¯t undead yet. That wasn¡¯t a lie. My master, whom I shall not name in the air of the world where he walks, had tried for years to get me toplete the process, to create a phctery and perfect my undead vessel, bing a lich like so many powerful Death Casters do. I¡­resisted because I hate him, Victor. I hate him and every other Death Caster I¡¯ve ever studied under.¡±

    Victor moved over to the bench and sat down. When Arona¡¯s spirit drifted closer, he motioned for her to continue. ¡°But?¡±

    ¡°Yes, well, when I saw that Ronkerz would make us fight and I knew there was a chance I wouldn¡¯t win, I devised a scheme to escape both Ronkerz and my master. Again, please don¡¯t say his name; I don¡¯t want to draw his attention.¡± She paused, and her ghostly ck eyes stared until Victor nodded. ¡°When a Death Caster typically bes a lich, they must spend time preparing their phctery, then, after they¡¯ve voluntarily forfeited their mortal life, an ally prepares their body to ept the undead spirit and death-attuned Energy,pleting the process.¡±

    ¡°Your body isn¡¯t exactly in one piece or, you know, <em>here</em>.¡±

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    ¡°Yes, which brings me to the favor I would beg of you. I cannot seek aid on Sojourn; my master is too well-known, and he¡¯d likely get wind of my efforts. I beg you, Victor, will you bring me to the next world you visit? The ring where you stored my phctery is sufficiently advanced to hold my spirit without making me mad. Once I¡¯m free of Sojourn, if we could find a Death Caster to aid us¡ª¡±

    ¡°We? Us? Arona, I¡¯m not so sure I¡¯m up for all that. I¡¯m not exactly fond of Death Casters¡ª¡±

    ¡°Victor! I <em>beg</em> you!¡± Her spirit flickered as she shifted to a kneeling position while still somehow seeming to float in the air. ¡°I¡¯m at your mercy! I beg you not to think of me as a Death Caster but as a friend. I didn¡¯t want this, but I saw it as the only way I might free myself. My master has lived for thousands of years, and I owed him centuries of servitude. He is <em>not</em> a pleasant man.¡±

    ¡°Well? Why did you owe him?¡±

    ¡°My family <em>sold</em> me to him when I was young. On my homeworld, my father is a king, and a Death Caster to boot. He bargained with¡­the man I seek to flee, and I had no say in the matter!¡±

    Victor sighed, then gestured to the bone. ¡°So, what? You get into the bone, I put the bone in my storage ring¡ªthe good one¡ªand then you just ride there quietly until I take you out again?¡±

    ¡°Precisely! Once we¡¯re in a different world, I can help guide you to a Death Caster who may be able to help me construct a fitting vessel¡ª¡±

    Victor groaned and set the bone on the bench beside him. ¡°You mean a body, right? You¡¯re going to need a body, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡ªbut, Victor, people die all the time! We needn¡¯t kill anyone.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not excited by the idea, Arona, but I did think of you as a friend, and as long as you don¡¯t ask me to do anything messed-up, I¡¯m willing to help you out.¡±

    ¡°Hear my vow, Victor: I will never act in a manner you find vile or wrong, and, as soon as I have a vessel with which to turn the pages of texts, I will search for a way to rid myself of this death-attuned Energy! I hate it!¡±

    Victor watched the specter floating before him, still in a kneeling position. The ghostly version of Arona looked very much like she had in life, only washed out and gray-tinted with faint luminescence behind her flesh that made her seem transparent. It was a trick of the light on the eye, though¡ªwhen he tried to see through her, he couldn¡¯t. Curiosity got the better of him, and Victor reached out to touch her sleeve, only to find his fingers passing through what felt like cold water. When he pulled back, he found no residue on his fingertips. ¡°Why do you hate your master?¡±

    Arona shivered, her ghostly figure flickering with the motion. ¡°As I said, he¡¯s vile. He counts his apprentices as his property, and he knows no boundaries of the flesh. His hands grasp and touch where he wills, and to defy him is to face confinement for years, bereft of all but the slightest trickle of Energy¡ªa harsh lesson to mold an unruly student¡¯s behavior. Of course, his nature isn¡¯t so in when he courts a new apprentice, and the contracts are cleverly worded. My father wouldn¡¯t have cared what it said, in any case. He convinced me, the first of his seven daughters, with lies and promises, to go along with¡­my master, to sign the document with blood and seal it with Energy. Toote did I learn¡­"

    As she continued, detailing the cruel practices of Vesavo Bonewhisper, Victor could hear the emotion in her voice, and it touched a nerve. He <em>wanted </em>to help her, but more than that, he wanted to remove a potentially potent Death Caster from the universe. If he could help her to find a way to convert her Core from Death Energy once she¡¯d recovered, what sort of precedent might that set? Were there other Death Casters trapped by cruel masters? What about Dark Ember? If he went there, intent on freeing the humans of that world, wouldn¡¯t whatever he learned in his quest to aid Arona help with that goal?He realized she¡¯d grown quiet, and he¡¯d utterly missed half of her tale, so lost had he been in his own thoughts. ¡°All right, Arona. I, um, I agree; it sounds like you got a raw deal. I¡¯ll be traveling away from this world in a few months. Can you manage to wait that long?¡± Victor meant his trip to Ruhn¡ªthere was no way he¡¯d unleash a tier-nine Death Caster on Fanwath.

    ¡°I can! I wandered the Spirit ne until I felt my phctery¡¯s pull, but, within that bone, I have a rudimentary home; I surreptitiously transferred many of my belongings into it before I passed it off to you. Moreover, I can pass the time by improving it as I await your summons.¡±

    ¡°How? Wouldn¡¯t that require Energy? Can you draw Energy while in a dimensional container?¡±

    ¡°The ring you stored the bone in allows the flow of Energy, Victor¡ªhow else could you store powerful, conscious objects within it?¡±

    Victor realized she was right as his mind flickered to the fear geist he had stored in that ring. Did that mean he could, theoretically, put Lifedrinker in there? He slowly began to nod, then locked his eyes on Arona¡¯s. As he stared into those depthless pools, he had a shiver of doubt. With a slight scowl, he demanded, ¡°Swear to me again. Swear that you¡¯ll never betray me. Swear it on your spirit because <em>I</em> swear, Arona, if you¡¯re somehow scheming against me, I¡¯ll rip apart what¡¯s left of you and scatter the pieces all over the Spirit ne¡ªI¡¯ll feed it to the angry spirits I find dwelling there!¡±

    ¡°I swear it, Victor! I swear that if you¡¯re true to me, I will always be true to you. I already owe you a great debt, and know I ask much.¡±

    Victor nodded, then held up the bone. ¡°In you go, then. I should get back to the house.¡±

    ¡°One more thing, Victor. Please don¡¯t mention this to anyone! If Ve¡ªmy master were to learn of my continued existence¡ª¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t tell any¡ª¡± Victor started to say, but then he remembered Va and the secrets he¡¯d already kept from her. ¡°I¡¯ll only tell Va. I have too many secrets from her already.¡± Arona began to object, but he shook his head. ¡°You have to trust me that she¡¯ll keep your secret. I won¡¯t help you otherwise.¡±

    After a long, silent second, as her ghostly figure wavered and flickered oddly in the moonlight, Arona¡¯s raspy voice came to him again, ¡°I agree, Victor. Thank you.¡± With that, her image seemed to burst apart into mist and pale light that streamed directly into the bone. Victor watched thest of it disappear into the vessel. The silvery runes red briefly, and he was sure the bone felt even heavier and colder than before. Sighing, he returned it to the storage ring with his other valuable possessions.

    He sat in the resulting quiet for a few minutes, determined to find the peace and rxation he¡¯d felt before Arona¡¯s spirit had made her surprise appearance. After a while, as the moon dipped lower and the eastern sky began to lighten from midnight ck to deep blue-gray, he felt his stomach gurgle. Victor knew he didn¡¯t have to eat¡ªhe could go weeks without food¡ªbut he liked to do it, and the idea of some breakfast sounded good. He wasn¡¯t too sure he felt up to going into the house, however. There were a lot of early risers staying in theke house, and Victor didn¡¯t feel like talking.

    As he contemted the dwindling food supplies in his storage containers, Victor felt his mind¡¯s eye drawn toward the heart he¡¯d pulled from Loyle. Rather than feeling repulsed by the raw, bloody organ, he felt his mouth begin to salivate. As his hunger quickened, Victor chuckled at the dominance of his savage Quinametzin greed. He withdrew the heart and held it in the palm of hisrge hand. ¡°Why not?¡±

    Victor canceled his Alter Self spell, expanding to his natural size, but he didn¡¯t cast Iron Berserk; the heart wasn¡¯t overlyrge. In fact, in his broad palm, it looked more like a turkey heart than something that hade out of a man. Victor lifted it to his nose and, as the coppery scent of blood generated more saliva, plopped the entire thing into his mouth. His eyes had almost been bigger than his mouth¡ªhe had to tilt his head back as he chewed to avoid juices sluicing out, and his gluttony made himugh, further disrupting his attempts to masticate the tough meat.

    Even so, Victor found the taste and texture intoxicating, and the euphoria of the Energy escaping the flesh as he began to swallow the chunks of meat his teeth tore from the organ made the morsel all the sweeter. There really wasn¡¯t anything like it¡ªno other food, as far as Victor¡¯s Quinametzin pte was concerned, couldpare to the heart of an enemy. When he swallowed the lion¡¯s share of the organ and heaved in a deep, cleansing breath, he felt the fire roiling in his belly¡ªsomething was happening.

    Energy, hot and roiling, spread from his stomach into his body. When he closed his eyes, he could imagine his body had been frozen, and he¡¯d swallowed an ember that slowly thawed his flesh. Of course, that wasn¡¯t anywhere close to the situation at hand¡ªhis body was hot already, so the heat rushing through him, from his gut to his fingertips, toes, and the top of his scalp, was something different. It was alive, tingling with Energy and purpose, and, unlike some other instances when Victor had consumed something potent, almost pleasant as it did whatever it was doing.

    When the sensation had passed through his entire body, and he began to feel normal again, he received some System messages:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have gained a new Feat: Blood Supremacy.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Blood Supremacy: Your blood, already potent with the might of an elder species, has gained the ability to carry your aura and will. Species and individuals with the ability to infect, consume, or subvert another¡¯s blood will have to contend with your innate willpower and the effects of your aura. Moreover, those whoe into contact with your blood will feel its weight until it has been cleansed. This effect would be particrly daunting to any individual who consumed your blood.***</strong>

    As he read the message, Victor couldn¡¯t help imagining a vampire drinking his blood and suffering the effects of his new feat. Heughed, despite himself, especially when he pictured some of the vampyrs and wampyrs that had invaded from Dark Ember, most notably the reaver baron, Eric Gore Lust. ¡°Yeah,¡± heughed, ¡°try drinking this shit, <em>pendejo</em>!¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 50: Changes

    When Victor returned to the house, the sun was well up, and he could hear voicesing from the dining room. Peering in through the arched opening in the hallway that separated the room from the kitchen, he saw Va sitting beside Lam, and across the table from them was Efanie. He looked further into the room, to the smaller table near the far windows, and, sure enough, there sat Cora, by herself, absently picking at a te full of food. Part of Victor wanted to retreat, to face these peopleter and well after he¡¯d had a chance to speak with Va alone, but he forced himself to step into the room. ¡°Hey, good to see you¡¯re getting acquainted.¡±

    Va looked at him, arching a silver-teal eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m sure you were going to introduce us, but I couldn¡¯t sleep, and we ran into each other.¡±

    Victor nodded and moved to sit down. He was still his natural size, so he selected one of therger, Dar-sized chairs, which put him beside Efanie. He saw the food on everyone¡¯s tes¡ªbacon, eggs, grilled veggies, and thick hunks of buttery toast¡ªand his stomach instantly began to grumble. Efanie chuckled and pushed her te toward him; it wasrgely untouched.

    ¡°I¡¯m not all that hungry¡ªtoo much going on, and my nerves are shot.¡± Hearing those words was like a ssh of cold water to Victor, reminding him that he wasn¡¯t the center of the universe, regardless of how it seemed most of the time.

    ¡°Yeah, I guessst night¡¯s events kind of turned your world upside down, huh?¡±

    Efanie nodded and gestured with her thumb toward Cora over by the windows. ¡°Mine and Cora¡¯s both. Still,¡± she nodded to Va and Lam, ¡°we¡¯ve been treated very kindly here, and I think we¡¯re both hopeful.¡±

    Victor nodded, trying to show understanding, but, if he were totally honest with himself, he was d Cora wasn¡¯t at the same table. How would she feel sitting in the presence of the man who¡¯d killed her father? It was enough to make him want to get up and leave. It wasn¡¯t enough to stifle his appetite, however, so he covered his difort by stuffing arge hunk of buttered, honey-dipped bread into his mouth.

    Va nudged him under the table with her boot. ¡°I was just telling Efanie how cruel life could be.¡± She lowered her voice and continued, ¡°I spoke with Cora briefly, Victor. She told me that she understood that our friends¡¯ lives were on the line and that her father made his living by fighting another man¡¯s battles. A very mature outlook for a girl who¡¯s just recently seen her twelfth birthday, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    Victor swallowed¡ªtoo soon¡ªand had to fight to clear his throat before speaking. Efanie took the opportunity to voice her opinion on the matter. ¡°She doesn¡¯t hate you, Sir Victor. She¡¯s cross but more at life and circumstances¡ªat her father¡ªthan at you. I think I was able to make her understand that you fought for a righteous cause.¡±¡°Well¡ª¡± Victor began to say, but it seemed Efanie wasn¡¯t finished.

    ¡°I hope you know that I don¡¯t expect you and yourdy to be the girl¡¯s new parents. Neither does she. If you¡¯ll just give us a small allowance, enough to furnish a home and pay for a tutor, I think we¡¯d be more than happy to move out from underfoot.¡±

    She took a breath and might have continued, but Victor was through being steamrolled. He locked eyes with Efanie and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll be doing more than that. I¡¯ve taken responsibility for her, and that means something to me.¡± He nodded to Va. ¡°I¡¯d like us all to take a trip back to our homeworld. I have a sizable estate there, and I think it would be a good ce for her to grow up.¡±

    ¡°Fanwath?¡± Va¡¯s eyes almost sparkled as she said the word, and Victor was reminded of all the times he¡¯d stared into those orbs, lost in their colorful depths.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor smiled, then turned back to Efanie. ¡°It¡¯s a lower-tier world than this, but the nation Va and I helped to found is growing rapidly, and many opportunities abound. I have influential friends there who can see to Cora¡¯s safety and education, so if you have something binding you to Sojourn¡ª¡±

    ¡°N-no! No, Victor, I would be most pleased to visit your home. What was it?¡± She nced at Va. ¡°Fanwath?¡±

    Va nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Victor is lord to quite an estate there, though we haven¡¯t seen his manor yet. It was just breaking ground when we came to Sojourn. You see, we¡¯d just conquered an invasion in what was considered untamednds.¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± Efanie nodded, then turned to Victor. ¡°Are you certain it¡¯s a good ce for a young woman toe of age?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. As I said, it¡¯s growing quickly, and I have people there I trust and think of as family. I think it would be good for Cora to be away from this city and the¡­¡± Victor trailed off, wanting to say, ¡®memory of her father,¡¯ but was too worried the girl could hear what they were talking about. With that in mind, he asked, ¡°Would you talk to her about it?¡±

    Lam cleared her throat and leaned forward, breaking her silence in a hushed voice, ¡°I think you need to sit down with her, Victor. She must know that she wasn¡¯t given over to a monster.¡±

    Va nodded and reached across the table to grasp Victor¡¯s wrist. ¡°I agree. As harsh as it may seem, this is her new reality. The longer you avoid confronting the facts, the longer she¡¯ll build up whatever monstrous version of you is living in her head.¡± Victor looked at her, a little surprised by how pleasant and supportive she was being despite theirst conversation. He supposed it had something to do with the seriousness of the situation¡ªCora was a young girl going through a hell of a lot more than a couple¡¯s disagreement.

    He nced around the table, from Va to Lam to Efanie, and quietly asked, ¡°Now?¡±

    Lam nodded, Va squeezed his wrist again, and Efanie leaned close and whispered, ¡°She understands your situation. Just be kind.¡±

    With a sigh and grunt, Victor pushed himself away from his te of food and stood. As he approached Cora, he cast Alter Self, straining to get the most out of the spell. When he sat across from her, she nced up but then quickly back down at her food¡ªhardly touched. To his horror, Victor found himself channeling every dopey adult he¡¯d ever spoken to as a child. ¡°You¡¯ve got to eat to keep up your strength.¡±

    She picked up a piece of potato and tucked it into her mouth. ¡°As you say, milord.¡±

    ¡°Ah, forget I said that¡ªpretty stupid.¡± Suddenly, Victor was stricken with the urge simply to be honest. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing here. I think this whole situation sucks. I know I said that before¡ªkind of¡ªoutside Volpur¨¦¡¯s estate, but it¡¯s true. I understand you¡¯re in a bad ce right now. You¡¯re probably mad, sad, and everything in between, right? You¡¯ve got every right to be. I¡¯m sorry about your dad, but you understand I was fighting for my life, for my friends¡¯ lives, right?¡±

    ¡°I understand, milord.¡± She still hadn¡¯t looked up, and all Victor could see of her face was her pale forehead beneath unruly, thick, curly brown hair.

    Victor decided to try a different approach. ¡°Do you like Sojourn? Do you have friends here?¡±

    ¡°I¡ª¡± For the first time, she nced up, and her chocte eyes touched his for just a second before she looked back down. ¡°I¡¯ve spent most of my time at the Volpur¨¦ estate with my father. I don¡¯t have friends.¡±

    ¡°Um, I know this is probably not a fun topic, but can you tell me a little about that? Why did your dad keep you so close? I know they told me he was your only family, but do you, um, know about your mom at all?¡± Her head shook from side to side, bouncing her thick curls, but she didn¡¯t speak. ¡°All right. Well, I have an idea I¡¯d like to run by you: I have a lot of property on another world where some very good friends live. I¡¯d like to take you there¡ªget you away from this ce. There are children who live on mynds and people who can look after you and give you the kind of attention you deserve. I think you¡¯ll like it there.¡± She didn¡¯t speak or look up, so Victor asked more bluntly, ¡°What do you say?¡±

    When she looked up this time, she stared into his eyes and didn¡¯t look away. ¡°Do I have a choice?¡±

    ¡°Um,¡± Victor frowned, unsure of how to proceed. Finally, he settled on what he¡¯d want to hear if he were in her shoes. ¡°I want you toe with me and see the ce. I want you to meet some of the people who live there. After that, you can decide if you want to stay ore back to Sojourn.¡±

    She nced at the other,rger table. ¡°Will Efaniee?¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s eager to go; I don¡¯t think she loves Sojourn.¡± Cora stared at him for a moment longer, and Victor saw much in the depths of those dark eyes, but she didn¡¯t speak, only nodded, then turned back to her food, scooping up arge bite of scrambled eggs. Victor felt like he¡¯d been dismissed, so he went with it. He stood and pushed his chair in. ¡°When I said we¡¯re going, I meant, like, today. Efanie will help you get ready.¡± With that, he walked back over to therge table.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.

    ¡°Well?¡± Lam asked.

    ¡°She¡¯s open to the idea.¡± Victor looked from Efanie to Va. ¡°I want to leave today. I know it¡¯s short notice, but Dar¡¯s only given me a week, so I want to make the most of it.¡± They both inhaled and looked ready to ask him questions, but he turned to Lam. ¡°I can probably afford it if you and the others want toe.¡±

    ¡°I think¡ª¡± Lam stopped and frowned, shaking her head. ¡°I think I¡¯ll wait. I don¡¯t want to return until I¡¯ve regained more of my former strength. Edeya is with Trin, watching over Darren, but I¡¯ll ask her what she thinks. I doubt Darren will wake in time to join you.¡±

    Victor nodded, once again reminded that other people had important things going on and considerations of their own. ¡°What level are you now?¡±

    She grinned and thumped the table with her palm. ¡°All of us are closing in on tier two. Say one thing about that deathtrap of a dungeon¡ªit provided quite a growth opportunity.¡±

    ¡°Well, let me know if you change your mind. Tell Edeya we¡¯ll be leaving in a couple of hours if she¡¯s interested.¡±

    Efanie pushed her chair back. ¡°So soon?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I was serious about wanting to get this going. I¡¯ve got a lot I want to do and only a week to squeeze it all in.¡±

    ¡°Understood. I¡ª¡± She nced over at Cora. ¡°I should take Cora into town for a little shopping. I have a few loose ends I¡¯d like to tie up around here. Despite Bohn¡¯s awful nature, there are many in the Volpur¨¦ household I¡¯d like to part with on good terms. I think a few gifts and letters sent via courier should do the trick. Would it be all right if the two of us meet you at the World Hall?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor rubbed his chin while he thought. ¡°I think I¡¯m being unreasonable. Two hours isn¡¯t enough time¡ªmeet us at the ticket counter at noon. Is that fair?¡±

    ¡°More than fair!¡± She stood and started toward Cora, but Va cleared her throat.

    ¡°Wait, Efanie!¡± Va looked at Victor. ¡°If she¡¯s going to buy things for Cora to travel with, shouldn¡¯t you give her some funds?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡ª¡± Efanie started, but Victorughed, shaking his head in chagrin.

    ¡°Yeah, sorry. I¡¯ll need to get used to this.¡± He hadn¡¯t sorted the massive crates of beads in Loyle¡¯s ring into more convenient containers, so he lifted out a sack from his previous stash. It held nearly ten thousand beads in value¡ªmost were double or triple-attuned. He handed it to Efanie. ¡°That should do for now. I guess you can consider anything left over as a retainer; we can negotiate a contract for you when we get to Fanwath, all right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fair. Thank you, Sir¡ª¡±

    ¡°Just Victor, Efanie.¡±

    She smiled, then curtly tilted her head and waved to the table, including Lam and Va in the gesture. ¡°See you soon.¡± As she strode toward Cora¡¯s table, her voice became strident, ¡°Up you get, youngdy. We¡¯ve much to do and little time in which to do it!¡±

    Lam nced at Victor and then Va and pushed her chair back. ¡°Why don¡¯t you sit back down and finish Efanie¡¯s breakfast, Victor? I¡¯m going to go check in on Edeya and tell her what you said about returning to Fanwath.¡±

    ¡°Um, yeah. Not a bad idea.¡± Victor sat down again, well aware that Lam was trying to give him a chance to speak with Va. It made him wonder if Va had been venting, but he supposed he couldn¡¯t me her if she had been. As she left, Lam walked behind Va. Catching Victor¡¯s eye, she nodded and winked.

    ¡°About as subtle as a thunderak in a jewelry store,¡± Va chuckled.

    Victor shrugged. ¡°She¡¯s trying to help me out. Don¡¯t you agree I could use it?¡±

    Va sighed. ¡°Oh, Victor! I know I wasn¡¯t exactly rational earlier, but you must admit that you don¡¯t make it easy for me. I¡¯ve spent some hours thinking and a bit of time chatting with Lam, and, honestly, I don¡¯t know what to say other than that. I think I need more time to think about things. Don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Victor frowned as he let his impulsive objection die on his tongue. Did he need more time to think? Was he sure about everything? Or, failing that, was he at least as sure as he used to be? He supposed the answer was no¡ªthere had been some changes in his feelings that bore further thought. ¡°I guess some time to think would be nice.¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Some time away from Sojourn is exactly what we need. Some time away from all the high stakes, the life-or-death battles, the schemes, and future plots. Let¡¯s make a promise¡ªno talking about any of our¡­problems until the night before our scheduled return. I want to enjoy a small vacation with you and forget about all of our worries for a few days. Let¡¯s give our minds and hearts time to breathe and think. Can you agree with that?¡±

    Victor held his hand, palm up, across the table, and Va eagerly took it in her slender, cool fingers. ¡°Yeah, I can agree, Va. Honestly, it sounds great.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    When Darren opened his eyes, he was swept away with almost nauseating disorientation. He saw wooden rafters overhead, but they seemed curved, like he was looking at them through a fish-eye lens. He blinked his eyes and tried to focus, but then his world was blotted out by wood grains, splinters, and a nail head the size of a dinner te. ¡°Ungh,¡± he grunted, feeling even more queasy. He closed his eyes and, as the world faded to peaceful ck, began to recall strange, vivid dreams of flying through clouds, basking in the cold air of the heights and the warmth of the sun. How long had he slept?

    With the question came a surge of other memories¡ªwaves of monsters, Lam and Edeya and Trin, all fighting for their lives, an axe de cleaving his vicle and slicing deep into his chest, and worried whispers and the taste of something iprehensibly sweet and good as it was stuffed into his mouth. He opened his eyes again, hoping to see one of his friends, but this time, instead of just the wooden ceiling, he saw a bird¡¯s head. No, he corrected himself, an avian woman¡¯s head. ck feathers adorned her crown, and a dark yellow beak sat beneath giant, yellow, and brown-banded irises that narrowed in contemtion as he continued to blink.

    ¡°Try to rx and let nature do its work. Your eyes are much stronger than they used to be, Darren. My name is Brimi, and I¡¯m here because your friends were worried about you.¡±

    ¡°Worried?¡± Darren asked, but his voice was strange in his ears, and it sounded garbled, more like, ¡°Ooried?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, love, you¡¯ve been out for a few days. Try to lie still and take in everything I¡¯ve got to say. It seems you ate a racial advancement cake, and it woke something up¡ªa bloodline.¡±

    ¡°<em>Uhdline</em>?¡± he asked, his voice rising toward a squawk as he tried to form the word with his strange-feeling mouth.

    ¡°An avian bloodline. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here. I can help you to figure out how to manage the things that have changed about you.¡±

    ¡°<em>Aieeen</em>?¡± Darren tried to say ¡®avian,¡¯ but, again, it sounded more like a squawk. His heart had begun to hammer, and despite Brimi¡¯s protestations, he struggled to his feet, pleased that his arms, hands, and legs were responding normally. He looked around, frowning at the strange perspective. Was he taller than before? The avian woman held out her arms, trying to steady or restrain him; he couldn¡¯t tell. She was much shorter than he, and as he looked around, his vision kept zooming in on every little detail.

    He almost fell several times as he stumbled to his bathroom and finally managed to fight his way through the door to peer at himself in the mirror. ¡°What the hell?¡± he cried, though, again, it came out like, ¡°<em>Aaah-kah-ell</em>!¡± Darren had, indeed, changed. He was easily a foot taller than before, looming over the sink, stark naked, save for a pair of tight underwear.

    His body didn¡¯t look all that different, but there were a few disturbing changes: his head was covered in lustrous brown, mottled feathers, his eyes were enormous, angr things like you might see on an eagle, the irises golden and beautiful, and his nose and mouth had been reced by a long, hooked beak.

    Darren, too stressed and, frankly, panicked to speak, turned to look at his back and saw faint lumps along his spine just beneath his shoulder des. ¡°No wings?¡± he tried to ask, too distracted to worry about what the words came out sounding like.

    ¡°You¡¯ve just barely awoken your bloodline, but, as is usual when something like this urs, the first changes are to your sensory organs¡ªyour eyes, mouth, nose, and ears. As you advance your bloodline¡­¡± She kept speaking, but Darren couldn¡¯t hear her over the pounding of his heart, the roaring of his thoughts. He mentally called up his status sheet and scanned what he saw:

    <strong>Status</strong>

    <strong>Name:</strong>

    <strong>Darren Whitehorse</strong>

    <strong>Race:</strong>

    <strong>Human - Base 5 - Thunderbird Bloodline</strong>

    <strong>ss:</strong>

    <strong>Chaos Sorcerer - Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Level:</strong>

    <strong>18</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Wildarc ss - Base 2</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Lightning 8, Chaos 7.4, Unattuned 6.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>1445/1445</strong>

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>6</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>72</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>45</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>5</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>57</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>68</strong>

    <strong>Points Avable:</strong>

    <strong>0</strong>

    <strong>Titles & Feats:</strong>

    <strong>-</strong>

    <strong>Skills:</strong>

    <strong>System Language Integration</strong>

    <strong>Not Upgradeable</strong>

    <strong>Wildarc Cultivation Drill</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Staff Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Sense Chaos</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Spells:</strong>

    <strong>Arclight Wisp</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Shocking Arms</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Fractured Reality</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Chaos Storm</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    ¡°<em>Ut thah uuuuck!</em>¡± he screeched, pping his hands to his head.

    ¡°Hush, Darren! Really!¡± Brimi scolded. ¡°You should be thrilled. You realize that if you keep advancing your bloodline, you¡¯ll be able to fly, yes? A predator avian, too! What handsome eyes you have! And those feathers! Goodness, but you¡¯re going to be something, given time. Now, regarding your attempts at speaking¡ªDarren, you must try to form the words further back in your throat. We intelligent avian species have a very advanced syrinx in our throats. It takes a little practice, but you¡¯ll soon learn to enunciate properly¡­¡±

    She continued to babble on, but Darren couldn¡¯t focus on her. He was staring at the backs of his hands where fine, downy feathers seemed to have reced the hair that used to grow there. He looked at the tips of his fingers and saw that his nails were dark ck, pointed, and hard as iron. Frowning, he looked at his status sheet and, with enormous concentration, tried to form the word in the back of his throat, ¡°<em>Thunderbird</em>.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 51: Going Home

    Book 8: Chapter 51: Going Home

    Victor looked around his cultivation chamber, deep beneath Dar¡¯s home, and slowly nodded to himself. This would be a good ce for Lifedrinker to consume the treasure Lira had given him in the Iron Prison. He¡¯d thought about keeping her in his vault, keeping her locked safely away and concealed around his neck, but when he mentioned the idea to Dar, his master had vehemently discouraged the n. He said that such an evolution would require the ebb and flow of Energy and that Lifedrinker¡¯s spirit might feel stifled in such an environment. He feared such containment might lessen the potential of her evolution.

    So, Victor had agreed to leave her behind to slowly consume the enormously dense ¡°soul ore.¡± Dar had vowed to keep the axe safe and sound, so Victor wasn¡¯t worried about her. He knew he¡¯d feel a little naked without her, though, and that was probably why he hesitated to set her on the ground. ¡°You know why I¡¯m leaving you, yeah, <em>chica</em>?¡±

    <em>I must feast! I must grow more powerful to better fight at your side! I do not fear the solitude.</em>

    ¡°Heh, okay, okay.¡± Victor pressed the side of her de against his forehead and basked in the warmth of trust and love, then he knelt and gentlyid her on the stone ground. A momentter, he summoned the absurdly heavy lump of ore from his storage container, and it slipped through his fingers to the ground with a resounding <em>clunk</em>. Victor¡¯s eyes widened as he saw hairline cracks in the solid stone spreading out from the edges of the ore. ¡°Okay, beautiful. I¡¯m gonna put your de on this stone. Take your time and do it right.¡±

    Victor had no idea what he was talking about. Was it possible for Lifedrinker to <em>not </em>take her time? Could she do something wrong when it came to incorporating this new, powerful metal? He didn¡¯t know, but she didn¡¯t correct him. She was silent and only emanated eagerness as he picked her up and gently propped her at an angle with her metallic axe head resting atop the ingot. Victor sat back and watched for a moment, and, at first, he didn¡¯t think anything was happening. Then he saw it.

    Where her metal touched the ore, a hazy gray cloud was forming, and, as he peered more closely, Victor could see tiny sparks of electricity, almost like static, dancing in the hazy barrier between the two metals. Victor put his hand over the glowmp he¡¯d brought with him. As the room plunged into darkness, he saw the real light show. Lifedrinker was aglow¡ªnot just her metallic head, but her haft, as well. More than that, she danced with tiny sparks, and the space between her and the ore was like a miniature hurricane as the weird reaction continued to build.

    Victor stood, looked at his wonderful axe, his steadfastpanion, one more time, and nodded. ¡°Okay, then. See you soon.¡± Then he left, rapidly climbing through the tunnels to Dar¡¯s home. He waste; he and Va had been heading to the coach when Victor had remembered the ore and decided he should get Lifedrinker started on it.

    Feeling rushed, knowing Cora and Efanie were probably waiting for them, he jogged through the house, then outside to where Mr. Qwor had pulled the coach. It hovered above the ground, door open, but it wasn¡¯t alone; Trin¡¯s coach was there, and, to Victor¡¯s surprise, Edeya burst through the front door and hurried past him, aiming for the little submarine-shaped vehicle without sparing him a nce.

    ¡°Hey,¡± he called. Edeya froze and turned to look at him, and Victor was sure it was surprise he saw in her eyes as she took him in.¡°Oh, Victor! Sorry, we¡¯re in a rush!¡±

    ¡°Where to?¡±

    ¡°Um, to pick up a friend of Trin¡¯s. An avian woman¡ª¡± She frowned and shook her head, then, in a jumble of hurried words, tried to exin, ¡°We think Darren¡¯s waking up a bloodline. He¡¯s, um, growing a, uh¡­¡± She threw up her hands and blurted, ¡°He¡¯s growing a beak, Victor!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Shit¡­¡± Victor wasn¡¯t sure how to respond to that. ¡°Should I stay? Should we postpone our trip?¡±

    ¡°No! No, you go. We can handle this. Lam¡¯s with him now, in case he wakes, but Trin has an avian friend who should be able to exin things to him better.¡±

    ¡°All right. Keep me posted. I¡¯ll check the Farscribe book when we get to Fanwath.¡±

    ¡°Have a good trip!¡± Edeya waved and then jumped into the vehicle, which, with a weird burbling, buzzing sound, drifted away toward the city.

    Shaking his head, Victor climbed into Mr. Qwor¡¯s coach. He pulled the door closed with a <em>thud</em>, then copsed into the cushioned seat beside Va. He tapped on the panel with his knuckles, and Qworunched them into the air. ¡°Sorry for the dy,¡± he sighed, stretching his legs out toward the opposite seat.

    Va, shaking her head but wearing a wry smile, took ahold of his hand. ¡°You got your axe situated?¡±

    ¡°Yep. She¡¯s all set.¡± Victor leaned back and sighed. ¡°You should havee with me. That ore is so wild¡ªI think you would have enjoyed seeing it before Lifedrinker eats it. I couldn¡¯t hold it up with only one hand. It fell to the cave floor and <em>cracked</em> it!¡±

    ¡°I hope it¡¯s not too much for yourdy axe to handle.¡± Her tone was light, but Victor still felt a twinge of worry. He hoped so, too.

    In an attempt to not dwell on his anxiety for Lifedrinker, he changed the subject, ¡°Did you hear about Darren?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I suppose it¡¯s a lucky thing that the winged people of my origin world didn¡¯t have beaks¡ªseems such a thing would make kissing difficult.¡±

    Victor frowned. ¡°Yeah, I hadn¡¯t thought about that. I guess the universe is big and full of variety, huh?¡± He still wasn¡¯t sure about where he stood with Va, but he took the fact that she was holding his hand as a good sign. Almost tentatively, he leaned toward her, but she was quick to take the hint and closed in for a kiss. He smiled as they parted. ¡°I¡¯m <em>damn</em> d you don¡¯t have a beak.¡±

    Less than an hourter, they exited the coach and approached the row of token vendors at the World Hall; sure enough, Efanie and Cora were standing there waiting. Efanie had shed her Volpur¨¦ livery, and both she and Cora were dressed simrly in rather formal-lookingyered skirts and blouses. They looked nice, and Va said so as they approached, taking a minute to lean forward and fuss with the frilly fabric around Cora¡¯s cor. Victor watched, and he could see that Cora was starstruck by Va, staring into her eyes with the first expression he¡¯d seen on her that wasn¡¯t tinted by sadness or anger.

    When Victor hade to Sojourn, the System had charged him a toll of nearly a hundred thousand beads. With that in mind, he was a little surprised when the attendant, after looking up Fanwath on her elegant, crystalline tablet, quoted him a price of only two hundred thousand beads for four ¡°transport tokens.¡± He didn¡¯tin, but it puzzled him enough to bring it up with Va as they walked toward their designated transport circle.

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    ¡°Perhaps it has something to do with the level of Sojourn¡¯s System Stone.¡±

    ¡°Undoubtedly,¡± Efanie chimed in. ¡°I paid a hefty fee when I left my world, which has a much less advanced stone.¡±

    As they worked their way through the crowd, through the enormous chamber with its many support pirs, arched ceilings, and decorative mosaics, Victor saw that Cora¡¯s eyes were wide with wonder as she looked around. It puzzled him slightly, considering she¡¯d been the only child of a very wealthy, powerful man, and, before he could think better of the question, he nudged her shoulder. ¡°Hey, have you been away from Sojourn before? Were you born here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never been to the World Hall, milord. I went with my father to visit my homeworld once when I was nine, but he used a portal created by a great magus from Lord Volpur¨¦¡¯s household.¡± She almost stopped speaking, but then she seemed to remember the rest of Victor¡¯s question and added, ¡°I was born on Avendus, but my father brought me to Sojourn when I was three¡ªa-after my mother died. I have no memory of that trip.¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± Victor cleared his throat. ¡°I see.¡± The more he learned about the girl, the more he realized his own sob stories were certainly less than unique. Inwardly cringing, afraid he was about to pull open a fresh wound, he asked, ¡°And you have no other family on, uh¡ªwhat was it? Avendus?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, milord. When we visited, my father was settling old business. I spent the time in a hotel room.¡± She spoke tly, with little expression, and Victor decided to let it rest. He caught Va looking sideways at him as if judging his reaction, and he offered her a tiny shrug, ensuring Cora couldn¡¯t see the gesture. Va squeezed his hand, and they continued in silence.

    Soon enough, they came to their transport circle¡ªa smaller one in an alcove set off from the main hall, and when they¡¯d all moved to stand at its center, Victor nodded to Efanie and Cora. ¡°You two first. I¡¯ll follow as soon as I see you¡¯re safely away.¡±

    ¡°As you say, Victor.¡± Efanie ced one of the travel tokens in Cora¡¯s upturned palm. ¡°Channel a little Energy into this.¡± Cora nodded, and then, with a flicker of light and a tinge of ozone-scented air, she was gone. A bare secondter, Efanie disappeared. Victor looked at Va, locked eyes with her, and they both channeled Energy into their tokens. As before, the world vanished in a sh of light, and then, almost instantly, Victor found himself standing in the dimly lit, quiet portal room beneath the Colony Stone of the Free Marches.

    The space, whilerge enough to hold dozens of peoplefortably, was tiny inparison to the World Hall, which added to some of the disorientationmon with teleportation. Cora was kneeling in her skirts, Efanie leaning over her, gently stroking her thick, curly hair. Before Victor could see if she was all right, stomping feet alerted him, and he spun to see several guards in Rellia¡¯s household livery approaching from the stairwell. They had weapons drawn, but when they caught sight of Victor, they rxed, and expressions of excitement reced their rm.

    ¡°Lord Victor!¡± one of the guards¡ªa former member of the Ninth, if Victor wasn¡¯t mistaken¡ªshouted. His eyes scanned the rest of their party and widened noticeably when he saw Va. ¡°Lady Va! Wee!¡± He turned to one of hisrades. ¡°Run! Alert the Seneschal! Lady Rellia will want to know about¡ª¡±

    ¡°Easy, man!¡± Victorughed. ¡°We¡¯ll be here a while, no need to have a meltdown.¡± Despite his words, one of the guards had already sprinted for the stairs, and Victor could hear her feet pounding on the steps as she ascended. He chuckled, then turned to Cora. She was already up on her feet, and though she was a little pale, she seemed all right. He looked at Va. ¡°Ready to see your mom?¡±

    She folded her hands before her, fidgeting a little, and gave him a surprisingly easy smile. ¡°I actually <em>did</em> miss her. Yes, it¡¯ll be nice to visit.¡±

    Victor inhaled deeply, feeling some nebulous satisfaction. He turned to Efanie. ¡°Let¡¯s head up. You two all right?¡±

    ¡°Fine, um, Lord Victor.¡± Victor groaned inwardly but didn¡¯t bother trying to correct her; they were about to be surrounded by guards and attendants who would refuse to be casual with him. He led the way up the stairs, and when he came out on the tform surrounding the City Stone, his eyes widened as he took in the changes to the budding capital of the Free Marches.

    In the time they¡¯d been away, the walls that used to surround the Colony Stone had been much reduced, and Rellia¡¯s keep moved back nearly half a mile. Huge, cobbled boulevards led away from the central hill¡ªone toward the sea, one in the opposite direction toward Rellia¡¯s ever-expanding fortress, and then another that ran north-south. All along those wide avenues were buildings, almost exclusively built from pale stone. It certainly didn¡¯t look like a frontier town any longer.

    Massive city walls loomed in the distance, though the area inside them was less than crowded, and Victor could see plenty of ces for expansion. Aside from Rellia¡¯s keep and the enormous observatory jutting up from the shore, only a few buildings were taller than two stories. More than the changes in architecture, the increase in poption drove home to Victor how much the town was growing. He judged it was still early morning based on the sun, but he saw throngs of people milling about outside stores, at restaurants and taverns, and bustling to and fro.

    ¡°Lovely,¡± Efanie said, and Victor turned to see her staring toward the Silver Sea. The waters were tinted orange and yellow by the rising sun but shimmered to reflect their namesake as the waves rolled toward shore.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty country.¡±

    ¡°Lord, Lady, will you follow me to the keep? I¡¯m sure Lady Rellia is eager to greet you.¡±

    Victor looked to the guard who¡¯d followed them up and nodded. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll say hello.¡± Victor had already written a note in his Farscribe book tied to Gorro ap¡¯Dommic, his governor, so he doubted Rellia was really going to be surprised to see him and Va. As he thought about it, he looked at Va. ¡°Didn¡¯t you message Rellia?¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°I wanted to surprise her.¡± She took his hand and pulled him down the steps toward the roadway leading east to the keep and its tall, pale walls. The guard hurried to lead the way. He was a Shadeni and decently well-built, but he had to veritably scurry to keep ahead of Va¡¯s and Victor¡¯s long strides. Recognizing that, Victor looked over his shoulder to see Efanie and Cora falling behind, so he slowed a little, tugging Va¡¯s hand.

    She realized what he was doing andughed. ¡°I really <em>am</em> eager, aren¡¯t I?¡± She turned back to the keep, and Victor followed her gaze. The gates were the same as before¡ªhuge and metal, prepared long before the Free Marches were conquered and transported from Gelica. They stood open, and the gap between them was already filling with soldiers forming on either side, creating an honor guard for Rellia and her ¡°noble¡± visitors.

    The street was lined with what seemed to be governmental buildings. Victor saw a library, a courthouse, and even a constable¡¯s office and jail. He lost track of the other sights as Rellia appeared, nked by her more important advisors and courtiers. She walked between her row of impressively armored and armed soldiers.

    She looked different¡ªtaller, more regal, and certainly more finely dressed than he remembered. She wore a high-cored purple cape and a form-fitting ck gown, ribbed and tooled to entuate her tall, lean posture. Her rapier hung at her side, and her lustrous, curly red hair was pinned back and held down by a glittering diamond-studded tiara. Despite the finery and the show of regal bearing, her face looked the same as ever. Rellia¡¯s crimson eyes glittered in the morning sun, her red-painted lips spread in an enormous smile, and she broke away from her guards and hurried toward Va, lifting her skirts to keep from tripping.

    Va¡¯s feathers rustled as she softly fluttered her wings, boosting her forward to smash into her mother. She caught her in an embrace, lifting her off her feet and spinning around once. Victorughed and slowed, giving them a little space, holding out his hand to signal Efanie and Cora to stop. He looked at them and said, behind one hand, ¡°That¡¯s Va¡¯s mom.¡±

    Cora¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Her mother rules thesends?¡±

    Victor shrugged. ¡°Kind of. Really, it¡¯s a republic of sorts, withndholders having the voting power. I, uh, have a lot of votes.¡± As Va and Rellia finally separated, Victor stepped forward and couldn¡¯t help but smile in response to Rellia¡¯s genuine enthusiasm for seeing him. She held out her arms, and Victor scooped her up in a hug.

    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, Victor! Are you always this big now?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I can make myself smaller. This is my normal size, though.¡± As he set her down, she took one of his hands and pulled him toward Va. Victor resisted and said, ¡°Let me introduce Efanie and Cora.¡±

    Rellia paused and turned to the two smaller women, one who looked like a human child and the other who looked very much like an elfin Fae. ¡°Companions of yours?¡±

    ¡°Cora,¡± Victor pointed at the girl who looked down nervously, ¡°is my ward. Efanie is looking after her.¡± Efanie tugged on Cora¡¯s sleeve as he spoke, and the two performed remarkably graceful curtseys.

    Rellia raised an eyebrow at Victor. ¡°Wee to the Free Marches. As Victor¡¯s ward, Cora, you¡¯re a member of his household, and, as a member of his household, anything you ever need, I will endeavor to provide.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Lady.¡± Cora curtseyed again. Some weird, primal part of Victor felt proud of her in that moment.

    ¡°Come,¡± Rellia said, tugging his hand again as she reached out with the other to take Va¡¯s. ¡°We have much to discuss, and something tells me you¡¯re eager to see your ownnds. I think you¡¯ll be pleased when you do! First, though, I must insist that you and my daughter join me for an early brunch.¡± She turned to Cora and Efanie, ¡°You¡¯ll both attend, of course.¡±

    As they nodded, Victor allowed himself to be led toward the keep, ufortably emotional by the sensations washing over him. Was this what it felt like toe ¡°home?¡± Was Rellia so much like family to him? Had he forgotten his real home? Tucson felt like a distant dream, his cousins, aunts, even his <em>abuelita</em>, ghostly and faint in his mind¡¯s eye. He supposed he¡¯d given up on ever seeing them. He¡¯d epted that his grandmother was gone for good, at least in this lifetime, and hadn¡¯t thought about that part of his life at all.

    As they stepped into the shadows of the gatehouse, he felt a simr shadow in his heart¡ªa mncholy eptance rearing its head, reminding him that, despite all he¡¯d gained, he¡¯d certainly lost plenty, too. The thought had a strange effect on him, and he turned to look over his shoulder at Cora. Her eyes were wide as she looked around at the guards and regal d¨¦cor. At that moment, he vowed that she wouldn¡¯t experience any more loss, at least not until she was well and truly grown and no longer his responsibility. She was still young¡ªhopefully, young enough to build enough joy atop her own mncholy experiences to help her avoid the kind of ephemeral despair that had chosen such an odd time to grip his heart.

 Book 8: Chapter 52: Nothing Better

    Book 8: Chapter 52: Nothing Better

    Victor rode Guapo at a sedate pace alongside the carriage Rellia had provided for Cora and Efanie. He nced up, shading his eyes to see if he could spot Va, but she¡¯d flown too far off, eager to survey thendscape. She wanted to spy out the things that had changed on Victor¡¯snd, promising to stop and alert Tha to his impending arrival before rejoining Victor at his estate. He was jealous, of course, but also understood; she¡¯d felt stifled around Sojourn, nervous about flying with so many other vehicles and powerful beings popting those skies.

    As the carriage¡¯s wheels rumbled and bounced on the cobbles, Victor, once again, found himself impressed by the fact that there <em>were</em> cobbles; Rellia and Borrius had made it a priority to establish ¡°highways¡± between theirnds and the various keeps and strongholds in the Free Marches. Such an endeavor might have taken decades on medieval Earth or even years with modern technology, but with Earth Casters and stoneworker artisans, the job had taken mere weeks¡ªat least the initial broad, singlene paths like the one Victor and hispanions currently traversed.

    They¡¯d passed quite a few burgeoning vis and farms as they went through Rellia¡¯s holdings, but as they crossed into Victor¡¯snds, traffic had fallen off considerably, and they¡¯d not passed a single dwelling, signpost, or farm in hours. He wasn¡¯t too surprised. Most of thends he¡¯d granted early on were further south and east, on the way to the Shadeni and Naghelli holdings. He didn¡¯t even know where his ¡°hermitage¡± was, trusting Rellia¡¯s assertion that this road would lead him right to it.

    The carriage was open on the front and sides, with a ck fabric roof that could be rolled back. Efanie had left the roof up because the sun was hot¡ªmuch warmer than Sojourn¡¯s¡ªand despite her dark brown hair, Cora had very pale skin. Victor urged Guapo closer to the vehicle, drawn by two hearty-looking rdii, and leaned close so Efanie could hear him. ¡°I think we¡¯re getting close. Maybe another hour or two.¡±

    ¡°Good! This carriage was a nice gesture, but it¡¯s not a smooth ride!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Fanwath could use some advances in magical vehicles, that¡¯s for sure.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps you could send one home!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, maybe, but if I¡¯m not wrong, I bet Deyni and Ch will be teaching Cora to ride soon. You might as well get in on the action.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I can ride!¡± Efanieughed. ¡°We¡¯ve quite a few swift beasts on my homeworld.¡±Victor nodded. ¡°Should have guessed that.¡± He clicked his tongue, and Guapo slowed, allowing the carriage to pull ahead. Then, he rode up to the other side so he could speak more easily to Cora. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°What about, milord?¡± She shaded her eyes to peer out at him.

    ¡°Fanwath!¡±

    ¡°I thought Lady Rellia was beautiful, and her home was quite lovely. I enjoyed the meal. However, this carriage is rather rough, and those beasts do smell a bit foul.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but what about the world?¡± Victor waved one arm expansively, indicating the fields of blue-green grass, brilliant red and orange wildflowers, and the distant mountains under the deep blue sky.

    ¡°It¡¯s enormous! I was awestruck when I saw the sea, but then we rode into these grasnds, and it seems they are just as vast and far more colorful! I saw a pack of brightly furred hounds racing beside us for a while. What are they called?¡±

    ¡°Those are boyii hounds, and they¡¯re dangerous for a girl all alone, but they wouldn¡¯t dare approach while I¡¯m here.¡±

    ¡°Wild beasts? Is thend so untamed?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor chuckled, ¡°I guess it is. That¡¯s why there aren¡¯t any people or houses around; thesends were uninhabited by people for a very long time. I¡¯m d you liked the sea¡ªmy house is supposed to have a view of it.¡±

    ¡°Supposed to? You haven¡¯t seen it?¡±

    ¡°No! I had to hurry to Sojourn to help a friend after we conquered the invaders here. I hired a governor for my estate and gave him instructions to build my home.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Cora had let her gaze drift to the countryside, but she looked back at Victor, her eyes touching his for the first time sinceing to Fanwath. ¡°You help your friends often, don¡¯t you, milord?¡±

    ¡°I try to, Cora, but I¡¯m not a saint. I¡¯m selfish in ways, too. I let my temper get the best of me, and I like to fight too much. I try to make sure I¡¯m on the right side of things, but sometimes, it¡¯s not always ck and white. Do you know what that means? ck and white?¡±

    ¡°Yes, milord. My father taught me about shades of gray. He said his service to Volpur¨¦ was shaded in gray. He used the ¡®ck and white¡¯ argument more than once to exin to me why he wouldn¡¯t leave. Why he wouldn¡¯t stop fighting.¡±

    Victor nodded as Cora looked down, and it seemed like that was a good spot to end the conversation. It felt like he¡¯d made some progress, and he didn¡¯t want to push things. They traveled in silence for a while, though Victor pointed out some wildlife a few timesrge colorful birds, another pack of boyii hounds, and a herd of wild deer-like huldii. Eventually, the road, which meandered mainly to the south, veered west and began to climb a steep slope. When they reached the crest of the hill, Victor stopped Guapo, and Efanie pulled the reins so they could take in the view.

    From the ridgeline where they sat, the road wended down a grassy slope into a vast basin bordered by hills and mountains to the south and east and the Silver Sea to the west. Craning his neck, Victor saw nothing but grasnds and small copses of trees to the north for as far as his eye could see. The road curved south, though, and passed through a patchwork of small fields neatly nted with a variety of crops. Farmhouses dotted thendscape and, just at the edge of his vision, far to the south, Victor could see the walls of a small vige that butted up against the slopes of a prominent hill. He wasn¡¯t sure, but he suspected the structure on that hill was his new home.

    ¡°What a beautiful ce!¡± Efanie cried. ¡°Isn¡¯t it wondrous, Cora? Suchnds would be impossible to find on Sojourn!¡±

    ¡°Does it remind you of your home, Miss Efanie?¡± Cora¡¯s voice was hushed and, if Victor were any judge, wonderstruck.

    ¡°A bit, love, but the weather is more pleasant here, and where we had trees, I see meadows and flowers.¡±

    ¡°There are forests here, Efanie. I¡¯ll have Nia assign someone to show you around and introduce you to the other factions nearby; I don¡¯t want you stumbling into the Naghellinds before they know who you are.¡±

    ¡°Naghelli?¡±

    Victor chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll exin, but first, let¡¯s get moving; I want to see my home!¡± He nudged Guapo forward, and Efanie clicked her tongue, flicking her reins. That final leg of their journey went by quickly as Victor¡¯s interest was piqued the entire time. He watched the farmhouses go by, waved at the folks working in the fields, and, more often than not, had to stop and exchange greetings with former soldiers who recognized him. It seemed like most of the people living in that wide coastal valley were former members of the Ninth, and Victor couldn¡¯t have been happier to learn it.

    ¡°You¡¯re quite well-liked,¡± Efanie remarked as they finally passed through the little vige¡ªa tavern, a general store, a tailor and bootmaker, and a broad market square¡ªand approached the steep cobbled road that led up the hill where Victor could see stone-block walls surrounding what he suspected was the courtyard of his home.

    He nodded. ¡°We fought for thesends together, so, yeah, we respect each other.¡± A single guard stood ready with a spear near the open gates, so Victor slid off Guapo¡¯s back and sent the steed back to the spirit realms before he approached. He¡¯d only made it to within twenty yards before the guard stiffened, mmed the butt of his spear into the ground, and shouted, ¡°Lord Victor approaches!¡± Victor chuckled, shaking his head. He supposed it wasn¡¯t hard for folks to recognize him;pared to the Shadeni and Ardeni, who made up the majority of the poption, he was a giant.

    He waved a hand in greeting. ¡°At ease.¡±

    ¡°Wee home, Lord Victor!¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Victor turned and waited for Efanie to pull up in the coach, then moved around to help her down. When he held out a hand for Cora, and she took it without hesitating, he smiled with genuine pleasure. She took the steps in a single bound, and, with everyone on the ground, they started for the gate. Several groomsmen hurried past, aiming for the carriage and the rdii, and Victor called after them, ¡°Arrange for that coach to be sent back to Lady Ap¡¯Yensha.¡±

    ¡°Will do, milord!¡±

    Victor nodded and led the way into the courtyard of his new home. It was evident that the outer wall, courtyard pavers, and house''s first-story walls were all built from the same stone¡ªpale and smooth but slightly porous. It contrasted nicely with the dark, polished wood of the trim, doors, and second-story walls. The windows were made of tinted, crystalline ss that obscured his attempts to peek inside, and the steeply nted roof and gables were covered in bronze-colored, metallic shingles.

    The home wasn¡¯t massive, but it was artfully built of materials that were clearly umon. It had a grand, central entrance, with high, ten-foot doors made of finely tooled, dark mahogany¡ªVictor knew this from having inspected the ingredients in the ¡°hermitage¡± container¡ªand, branching out from that central structure were long wings where he knew, from studying the ns, he¡¯d find bedrooms, a ¡°trophy¡± room, more than one parlor, a dining room, a library, and even an ¡°exercise hall.¡± The central structure before him would hold the entry hall, the kitchens, and a great roomplete with a grand firece. From the outside, Victor was pleased with how it all came together.

    ¡°Wee home, Lord Victor,¡± a familiar, deep, gruff voice said, and Victor looked down from his perusal of the house to see Gorro ap¡¯Dommic, his governor. He stood on the hardwood decking that ran the length of the central building, just outside the broad double doors.

    ¡°Goro! I see you got the ce cleaned up for my visit.¡± Victor chuckled and stepped forward, holding out a hand. Goro took it, though it was more urate to say Victor¡¯s hand engulfed Goro¡¯s as he gave it a solid squeeze.

    ¡°Just so, Lord Victor! We just finished washing away the remnants ofst night¡¯s debauchery.¡±

    They both had a chuckle, and then Victor let go of Gorro¡¯s hand and looked around, surprised to see no one else in the courtyard to greet him¡ªnot that he really missed the attention, but he¡¯d expected it. ¡°Kind of quiet.¡±

    ¡°The kitchen staff are busy working on your weing feast, the grooms are seeing to your carriage, and the cleaning staff are busily finishing off their preparations for your return¡ªairing the lord¡¯s suite and guest rooms, dusting, bringing in the house nts and all of that fine work. I¡¯m sorry, milord, but the house hasrgely been unused since we finished construction as I only require my small room, the map room and study, and a single ce setting at the dining table.¡±

    ¡°And what about Nia and the guards?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s just on the eastern edge of town. We¡¯ve begun construction of a guard barracks, courthouse, and jail, and I thought it wise for her to oversee the work.¡±

    ¡°Ah, fair enough.¡± Victor nodded, looking around. Then, Efanie shifted, and he remembered her and Cora. ¡°Oh! Gorro, this young woman is Cora Loyle, the ward I wrote to you about. Efanie is her¡­¡± Victor trailed off, unsure of the proper term for Efanie and her role with Cora.

    Efanie opened her mouth, but when she failed to speak immediately, Goro cleared his throat. ¡°Based on what you wrote, milord, I believe the term you¡¯re searching for is ¡®governess.¡¯ Yes, I believe that would be appropriate. We¡¯ve prepared rooms for both of them overlooking the garden.¡± He smiled and sketched a short bow toward Cora and Efanie. ¡°I believe you¡¯ll be pleased,dies.¡± He turned back to Victor. ¡°The kitchen staff is anticipating arge party¡ªSir Tellen and Lady Tha with their family. Do you have any confirmation regarding their attendance?¡±

    ¡°Not yet, but I¡¯ll be surprised if at least Tha and Deyni don¡¯te. We¡¯ll know soon; Va flew out there to ask.¡± Victor gestured to Efanie and Cora. ¡°Why don¡¯t you show them their rooms, Goro? I¡¯m sure they want to unwind a little before all thepany arrives.¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course, Victor¡ªit is still all right if I address you so?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, absolutely.¡±

    ¡°Very good. Victor, I was hoping I might speak to you about the estate¡¯s bnce sheet while you¡¯re here. Will we have time to sit down and go over the lease and tax ie? We should review a list of employees and¡ª¡±

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Victor waved his hand, chuckling, and pped the older man on the shoulder, careful not to knock him over. ¡°I¡¯ll sit down with you, don¡¯t worry.¡± He nodded to Efanie. ¡°Go on now. I¡¯m going to take a walk around before anyone else arrives.¡±

    ¡°Your rooms are¡ª¡±

    ¡°Up the stairs and all the way to the end of the east wing.¡± During the campaign, when he¡¯d been idly passing the time before sleep, Victor had often studied the building¡¯s ns, imagining the finished product.

    Goro nodded and waved toward the doors. ¡°This way,dies.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Several hourster, Victor sat in the gardens behind his home with Efanie, Tha, and Va. He¡¯d spent time wandering around the town, reuniting with Nia and several members of his ¡°household guard,¡± who were all former soldiers in the Ninth, and then Va had arrived with Tha, Deyni, and Ch.

    They¡¯d hugged and made small talk, catching up on all the news they had already shared via Farscribe book, but Victor enjoyed seeing their faces again and feeling Deyni¡¯s little arms wrapped around his neck. After a while, they¡¯d eaten a delicious dinner featuring roast game hens and a pie that reminded him of dates and cinnamon. Now they watched Deyni demonstrate how hertest pet¡ªa feline that resembled a bobcat save for its lustrous blue fur and short white tail¡ªcould perform a variety of tricks.

    Cora sat on the cobbles near Deyni and her cat, and Victor couldn¡¯t get over the fact that Deyni was nearly the same size as the other girl despite being three years her junior. He didn¡¯t know if Cora was just small, ate bloomer, or if Deyni was ahead of the curve. Considering the question, he realized he was thinking in human terms, and, despite her very human appearance, he had no idea what Cora¡¯s species was.

    Did she seem human-like because of amon Fae ancestry like so many of the people he¡¯d seen on Sojourn? Whatever the case, they seemed to be getting along well, and he was pleased to imagine Cora taking up with Deyni and her older stepsister. He frowned at the thought. ¡°Where¡¯s Ch?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s napping.¡± Tha gestured toward the house. ¡°Last night, she didn¡¯t sleep¡ªshe¡¯d set a snare in the field near our vige, hoping to capture a lone boyii pup that¡¯s beening around, raiding the feyris pens.¡± Thalyaughed, shaking her head. ¡°She stayed up watching the snare in the hopes of taming the little beast and adding it to the girls¡¯ menagerie.¡±

    Va chuckled and gently stroked Victor¡¯s arm as she leaned against him, speaking almost wistfully, ¡°Did she seed?¡±

    ¡°No! He never showed his little thieving face! Now Ch¡¯s worried he met with the wrong pack and was killed by an alpha.¡±

    Victor sighed, too, and shifted, trying to getfortable on the little stone bench. He¡¯de to the amusing realization that his home wasn¡¯t built for a man his size; he¡¯d had to reduce himself drastically to enjoy the furniture and amodate the door frames. He looked beyond the little square where the girls sat and saw the final rays of the sun on the glimmering waters of the Silver Sea. The view was even more spectacr from the windows and balcony of his suit in the house.

    ¡°God,¡± he said wistfully, putting an arm over Tha¡¯s shoulders and pulling her to his side. ¡°It¡¯s so nice to be here. Look at that view!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± Tha agreed. ¡°You¡¯ve got toe and see the vige, Victor! There are so many little details I want to share with you! Ancient trees, mystical little hollows, burbling springs with water so pure and clear that you¡¯ll never want to drink anything else¡ªI could go on and on. Everyone¡¯s so happy to be here!¡±

    ¡°It is a wondrous piece ofnd,¡± Va agreed. ¡°I saw so many animals! Herd after herd of huldii and great flocks of ranevii. It seems the wildlife had fled the undead, and now they¡¯ve made their way home. The forests are alive with colorful songbirds, and the fish in the streams are so thick, their scales shimmer and reflect the sun as I fly over.¡±

    ¡°Ancestors!¡± Tha chuckled. ¡°I¡¯d love to see thend from the air. What a thought! I never considered how such a perspective could color things.¡±

    Efanie cleared her throat¡ªshe¡¯d been quiet, probably nervous to be in thepany of people who were so close and affectionate. ¡°I¡¯m delighted that we¡¯ll be staying here.¡±

    Tha¡¯s eyes widened, and she nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! This must be a very big change for you! Are you nervous?¡±

    ¡°Only in that I don¡¯t know anyone. I know how to take care of myself otherwise.¡± She winked, and Victorughed.

    ¡°She¡¯s tier eight, Tha.¡±

    ¡°<em>Eight</em>?¡±

    ¡°Well, I stopped pushing myself decades ago.¡± Efanie sounded almost defensive as she added, ¡°I grew busy with my career as a weapons instructor and guardian for the Volpur¨¦ girls, and then¡ª¡±

    ¡°I was impressed!¡± Tha held up a hand to protest. ¡°I wasn¡¯t being critical!¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Efanie blushed crimson.

    ¡°Things are different on Sojourn,¡± Victor added. ¡°Anyway, I think it will be nice having her around, but her priority will be Cora.¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Tha smiled at Efanie. ¡°As for not knowing anyone, you can rest easy¡ªyou know me now, and I¡¯ll show you around the neighborhood. Have you told her about the Naghelli, Victor? I think Kethelket would be quite interested in sparring¡­¡±

    As sheunched into a description of the Naghelli vige and the wonders of their architecture, Victor smiled and leaned back against the wrought-iron garden fence. He was pleased to have Tha close again, even if it was just for a few days. More than that, Va had been so affectionate that he could almost forget they were putting off a more serious discussion until after they¡¯d spent some time rxing on ¡°vacation.¡±

    As the conversation drifted from topic to topic, he found his mind wandering, watching Cora pet Deyni¡¯s cat, giggling as it rumbled a fierce purr that Victor could hear from a half dozen yards away. He had a lot on his mind, or more precisely, a lot he¡¯d buried away in his mind, but at that moment, things were good, and he was happy. Va let go of his arm to lean closer to Efanie as she described the flowers of her homeworld and how they differed from those growing around Victor¡¯s garden.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± he murmured, standing up. Va smiled at him, and Efanie nodded, continuing her description. He stepped away from the bench and onto the patio with Cora and Deyni, pausing to squat down beside them for a moment. ¡°Hey, Deyni, what do you think? Could you help Cora tame a pet like this?¡±

    ¡°Um, maybe not like Ziff, not at first, but we could find her a boyii cub! Oh!¡± Her magenta eyes sprang wide. ¡°Victor! Ch almost caught onest night! Could Corae over? We could help!¡±

    ¡°Not tonight, but soon, for sure. Does that sound fun, Cora?¡±

    Busily stroking the cat¡¯s smooth fur, Cora didn¡¯t look up. ¡°It does, milord.¡±

    ¡°¡®Milord?¡¯¡± Deyni giggled. ¡°You can call him Victor.¡±

    ¡°Is¡ª¡± Cora looked like she wanted to ask permission, so Victor finished the thought for her.

    ¡°It¡¯s perfectly all right. I prefer it, actually, but you can call me whatever you want.¡± He looked back at Deyni. ¡°I was d to see you and Ch, but I noticed Chandri¡¯s not around. Is she back at the vige?¡±

    ¡°Oh, no.¡± Deyni shrugged, reaching to tickle the spot above the cat¡¯s fluffy white tail with her nails; the creature¡¯s purr intensified. ¡°She¡¯s exploring. She took a boat onto the Silver Sea.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Victor¡¯s grin grew wider. ¡°She wanted to do that. I¡¯m d she went through with it.¡±

    ¡°She formed an exploration group with soldiers and a, um, what¡¯s it called when someone makes maps?¡±

    ¡°Cartographer?¡±

    ¡°Right!¡±

    Victor nodded, pursing his lips in thought. ¡°Do you girls want to see the beach? There¡¯s supposed to be a path that leads down from the garden.¡±

    ¡°There is!¡± Deyniughed. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it.¡±

    ¡°Can we?¡± Cora asked, looking around the garden and over at the other adults.

    ¡°You can. This is your home now if you want it to be, Cora. Go explore.¡±

    ¡°Come on!¡± Deyna grabbed Cora¡¯s hand and snatched up the delicate silken leash for her cat. Its purr turned into a grumble as it stood, arched its back in a massive stretch, and followed the girls down the path. Victor, a permanent-seeming grin stuck to his face, trailed behind. He watched as their walk turned into a run, and then they were gone, slipping through a wrought-iron gate and dipping out of sight as they descended the hill toward the shore.

    The only thing he could think about was how much he would have loved growing up in a ce like this, with people like Tha and her family around. He felt some heaviness lift off his heart at the thought, realizing Cora had a good chance of finding real happiness again.

    When he reached the fence and leaned against it, looking down the hill to see the two diminishing figures as they hurried down the path, he turned his gaze toward the water and imagined Chandri out there on a ship, sailing toward distant shores, finding new ¡°untamed¡±nds. He almost envied her, but he had his own adventures ahead, and he couldn¡¯t find it in him to be jealous. Soon, he¡¯d be learning how to travel, physically, through the Spirit ne, and he¡¯d be visiting another world with strange customs and people descended from the likes of Ranish Dar.

    His purpose for travel was different than Chandri¡¯s. He wasn¡¯t an explorer, but that didn¡¯t mean everything wouldn¡¯t be new to him. ¡°Besides,¡± he sighed, reaching up to touch Lifedrinker before remembering she wasn¡¯t with him. Folding his empty, grasping fingers into a fist, he gently thumped it against the fence, ¡°I might not be going to explore, but I¡¯ll be going to fight. What¡¯s better than that? Nothing.¡±

    <strong>Status</strong>

    <strong>Name:</strong>

    <strong>Victor Sandoval</strong>

    <strong>Race:</strong>

    <strong>Quinametzin Bloodline - Epic 2</strong>

    <strong>ss:</strong>

    <strong>Herald of the Mountain''s Wrath - Legendary</strong>

    <strong>Level:</strong>

    <strong>68</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core:</strong>

    <strong>Elder ss - Improved 3</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Spirit ss - Epic 1</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Magma - 9</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Energy:</strong>

    <strong>2200/2200</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Glory 8.6, Inspiration 7.4, Unattuned 3.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>34045/34045</strong>

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>466</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>611 (672)</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>190</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>213</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>172</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>649</strong>

    <strong>Points Avable:</strong>

    <strong>0</strong>

    <strong>Titles & Feats:</strong>

    <strong>Titanic Rage, Ancestral Bond, me-Touched, Greater Titanic Constitution, Titanic Presence, Desperate Grace, Challenger, Elder Magic, Born of Terror, Battlefield Awareness, Battlefield Presence, Aura of Command, Epic Quinametzin, Mountain''s Resilience, Behemoth''s Regeneration, Blood Supremacy</strong>

    <strong>Skills:</strong>

    <strong>System Language Integration</strong>

    <strong>Not Upgradeable</strong>

    <strong>Spirit Core Cultivation Drill</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Cultivation Drill</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Cooking</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Animal Taming</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Unarmed Combat</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Knife Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Spear Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Bludgeon Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Axe Mastery</strong>

    <strong>Epic</strong>

    <strong>Grappling</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Sovereign Will</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Titanic Leap</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Aura Veil</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Spells:</strong>

    <strong>Iron Berserk</strong>

    <strong>Epic</strong>

    <strong>Inspiration of the Quinametzin</strong>

    <strong>Epic</strong>

    <strong>Channel Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Enraging Orb</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Globe of Insight</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Project Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Dauntless Radiance</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Heroic Heart</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Spirit Walk</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Tether Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Harsh Light of Justice</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>The Inevitable Huntsman</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Aspect of Terror</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Imbue Spirit</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Honor the Spirits</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Alter Self</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Energy Charge</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Banner of the Champion</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Wild Totem</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

    <strong>Impart Nightmare</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Guard Ally</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Volcanic Fury</strong>

    <strong>Improved</strong>

    <strong>Wake the Earth</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Roots of the Mountain</strong>

    <strong>Basic</strong>

    <strong>Greater Spirit Binding</strong>

    <strong>Advanced</strong>

 Book 9: Chapter 1: Goodbyes

    Book 9: Chapter 1: Goodbyes

    Victor stooped to pick up a smooth stone and threw it out over the ocean. It soared much farther than he¡¯d intended, bing a small ck dot in his vision before he lost track of where it went. Kethelket chuckled and paused to sit on arge driftwood log. ¡°So. You leave tomorrow, hmm?¡± They¡¯d met several times during Victor¡¯s visit, even gone hunting once, but the weight of Victor¡¯s impending departure had given this visit a different, more somber, almost sullen tone.

    ¡°Yeah. I have to get back. There¡¯s so much I have to do, so much I have to learn.¡± Victor sighed and reached up to run his fingers through his hair¡ªtoo long by inches for his tastes.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you do. A world where kingdoms vie for power through dueling champions? It doesn¡¯t seem ethical.¡±

    ¡°What part? The fighting and scheming, or the no wars killing the mon folk¡¯ part?¡±

    Kethelket narrowed his eyes but nodded slowly. ¡°I suppose you have a point¡ªI forget, from time to time, that while you¡¯re young, you¡¯ve seen much. I concede that, while some will suffer in the machinations of those kingdoms and their dueling champions, it¡¯s perhaps better than peace for many years followed by bloody campaigns where thousands die.¡±

    ¡°Or millions. Some worlds are far more populous than Fanwath, Kethelket. You¡¯ve heard our stories about Sojourn¡ªmillions of people all clustered together in a single city. There are worlds far more ancient than that, worlds with dozens or hundreds of cities that size. Imagine the carnage of wars at that scale!¡±

    ¡°Yes. Yes, Victor, I¡¯m all too familiar with the carnage of wars. I will say that having spent so much time slumbering away, lost to the advances of the Ridonne and the expansion of ourwork into other worlds, I certainly feel adrift, lost in a sea of information that I should have a much surer grip upon. Perhaps I¡¯ll make a visit to Sojourn soon. If I do, I imagine you¡¯ll be gone?¡±

    ¡°Maybe. I have a few months before Dar sends me off. Even so, Va will be there¡ªLam, Edeya, and Lesh, too. There are libraries and, well, shit, anything you might want. You should definitely pay a visit; there¡¯s no reason for you to stop . . .¡± Victor let the thought hang, not wanting to spell out his borderline criticism any more clearly.

    ¡°Advancing? Learning? Lusting for life?¡± Kethelket chuckled. ¡°There are other things in life, Victor. I take great pleasure in leading my people and seeing them made safe. I helped to build a schoolst month, and when the first ss of newborn Naghelli attend it in a few years, I imagine I¡¯ll feel a swelling of my heart far fiercer than any victory I might win in a dungeon or dueling ring.¡±Now it was Victor¡¯s turn to feel attacked, but he took it in stride, nodding solemnly. ¡°Point well received, Kethelket. This week, I felt a small inkling of that when I saw Cora making friends with the Shadeni children and learning to stalk huldii with Deyni. Her smile, the joy in her eyes¡ªit erased some dark smear on my spirit. I could use more moments like that.¡±

    ¡°Wisely said, young man. Well?¡± He sighed and stood, his strange moth-like wings fluttering softly as their ochre patterns red with Energy. ¡°I suppose this is farewell for now, then. It¡¯s been good to catch up. Any other ns before you go?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± Victor shrugged and looked up the grassy slope to the wall surrounding his ¡°retreat,¡± which was really just a modest estate considering the size of his holdings. ¡°Va wants to have dinner; we, uh, have a lot to talk about.¡±

    Kethelket narrowed his eyes. ¡°Is all well?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I think so.¡± Victor shrugged again and kicked a stone toward thepping waves. ¡°We were having a lot of . . . I don¡¯t know what to call it, but maybe ¡®friction.¡¯ We decided to put off fighting,¡± heughed at the idea, ¡°until after this trip. Hopefully, she¡¯s feeling as rxed as I am, and it¡¯ll go smoothly.¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± Kethelket pped him on the shoulder. ¡°I have no easy advice for you there,d. I¡¯ve had many loves, but most were quite brief. One was profound, but she was Ghelli and royalty, to boot. This was before the great war split our people and before Kthe was ripped asunder andbined with the other worlds to create Fanwath. In any case, she died while I was locked away in Belikot¡¯s service. My greatest regret.¡±

    ¡°Shit, man. Way to put my little pissant problems in perspective!¡± It was Victor¡¯s turn to p Kethelket on the shoulder, giving him aradely shake. ¡°I mean that. Thank you, ¡®cause sometimes I build things up bigger than they are, you know?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I know! Everyone does it.¡± The older manughed, shaking his head. He held out his hand, and Victor sped it firmly. After a moment, Kethelket nodded and then stepped away. ¡°I¡¯ll leave from here; I¡¯m due at Seaside for dinner.¡±

    Victor nodded. Seaside was the name Rellia had given her capital. ¡°You think you can make it?¡±

    ¡°Oh, aye. My wings have improved much since I pushed my racial advancement into the advanced stages.¡± He fluttered said wings, and they became a blur of ochre light that seemed to weave in a hypnotic pattern. Then he was in the air, calling down, ¡°Just watch me!¡± Victor shaded his eyes and grinned as his friend streaked away to the south. It was true; he was two or three times faster than Victor remembered. Soon, he was gone, too small to track against the sun¡¯s light.

    Victor turned toward the path leading up to his home, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he walked. He was eager to get back and get to work, but he knew he was going to miss Fanwath. He would miss the weather, thefort of his home, and the heart-warming presence of his friends; Tha, Deyni, and Ch had practically moved in for thest week, and he¡¯d enjoyed having them close.

    He could see what Kethelket meant, though, about watching your people grow and improving their lives. Nia and the other members of the Ninth who¡¯de to work for his ¡°household¡± werepletely different people from those whom he¡¯d left behind. Some time at peace, some time helping others, had done wonders for them. He supposed things wouldn¡¯t always be so idyllic in the Free Marches or even his ownnds, but he hoped it wouldst a long, long time.

    One thing was certain¡ªGorro ap¡¯Dommic was a hell of a governor. Victor¡¯s properties were already producing a revenue surplus. When Victor met with Gorro, the governor had been afraid Victor would empty the coffers, taking the surplus¡ªas was his due. Victor had chuckled, though, and insisted they build up a management fund and reinvest in themunity. He hadn¡¯t said it so eloquently¡ªsomething more like, ¡°Don¡¯t we need it here?¡± Still, Gorro had capitalized on his impulse for generosity andid out his ns for expansion. Victor looked forward to seeing the results on his next visit.

    He was only halfway up the path when he saw movement at the gate, and when he looked up, Va stood there. She was tall and lithe, with a lustrous glow to her¡ªthe afternoon sun reflecting on the almost metallic sheen of her skin and feathers. Victor lifted his arm to wave, a big,zy gesture impossible to miss. Va¡¯s wings spread, and so did Victor¡¯s grin as he saw them light up in the sunlight¡ªgreat, silver-teal things that made the Ghelli and Naghelli wings look like something you¡¯d find on a toy. Va snapped them down and leaped. With the slope of the hill, that single p was enough to allow her to glide gracefully down to him.

    Shended, light as a feather, on her tiptoes, and before Victor could utter a greeting, she leaned in and kissed him gently. ¡°Shall we walk before dinner?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Why not?¡± Victor took her hand, and they walked that way, arms swinging between them, down to the shore, adding to Victor¡¯s and Kethelket¡¯s earlier footprints. Victor had to admit he felt a weird twinge of nervousness in his gut and, hating the sensation, blurted his thoughts, ¡°I thought we were going to talk at dinner, so I hadn¡¯t given myself a chance to feel the stress I was building up.¡±

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the vition.

    Va giggled, and Victor took that for a good sign; he hadn¡¯t been sure his mention of stress regarding their meeting would be received well. ¡°I, too, had buried some stress about this day. I haven¡¯t wished for time to slow down so hard in all my life!¡±

    ¡°It was a pretty nice time here, wasn¡¯t it? I think if someone told me I had to settle down and stop . . . <em>everything</em>, I¡¯d be tempted to go along with it.¡±

    Again, Va¡¯sugh trilled out, and she slowed to a stop and turned toward him. ¡°You¡¯re a liar.¡±

    ¡°I . . .¡± After a short deliberation, he shrugged and agreed. ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°I love you, Victor. I truly do.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor felt himself flushing with heat, not embarrassment, exactly, but suddenly wholly aware of how much Va was scrutinizing him as she professed her feelings so inly¡ªso rawly. ¡°Shit, Va. I love you, too. I love you so much it makes me stupid.¡±

    Her smile was so sweet, her eyes so open, that Victor felt that old rush, that old thrill he¡¯d had the first time he tried to kiss her in Persi Gables. He leaned toward her, and they kissed several times, just sweet, little kisses that sent tingles through Victor¡¯s lips and down the nape of his neck like electricity. When she pulled back, she spoke words that hit him like a lightning bolt, ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to stay here for a while. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to step away from you and give us each a chance to live a little bit.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Victor didn¡¯t have to feign his idiocy.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about this a lot; we¡¯re both young. Neither of us has ever had another meaningful romantic rtionship.¡± When Victor opened his mouth to protest, she held up a hand. ¡°Not <em>really</em>, Victor. You know it¡¯s true.¡± As he mped his mouth shut and narrowed his eyes, she gestured an arm toward the sky. ¡°We might live thousands and thousands of years! How long do you think our romance willst if we stay together now? We¡¯ve been together, what? A year?¡±

    Victor shrugged, his heart hammering too hard, his mind racing too much for him to formte a proper response.

    ¡°Tell me you didn¡¯t think about how it might not be working when we were back in Sojourn. Tell me!¡± She wasn¡¯t yelling, but her voice was pleading, and where she clutched Victor¡¯s wrists, she tugged gently in emphasis.

    ¡°I was worried.¡±

    ¡°So, suppose we do better. Suppose we cross this current hurdle of you being gone for¡ªwho knows how long. What if we make it five years before we decide it won¡¯t work?¡± Again, Victor didn¡¯t reply. ¡°What¡¯s five years in a lifetime that stretches into millennia?¡±

    ¡°Nothing,¡± he finally grunted.

    ¡°So, let¡¯s live some of that life. Let¡¯s build experiences¡ªmeet people, go ces, aplish things. And let¡¯s do it out of each other¡¯s shadows.¡± Thatst sentence hit Victor like a hammer, and suddenly, things were rifying in his mind. Va was admitting that she hadn¡¯t been happytely¡ªdwelling in his shadow. Could he me her? What a shadow he¡¯d been casting! He¡¯d had the same worry, hadn¡¯t he? He wanted to be angry, hurt, and reactionary, but he forced himself to take a deep breath, and, contemting the cool, reassuring Energy of his inspiration, he slowly began to nod.

    Though Va smiled at his positive bodynguage, Victor¡¯s first words were an objection, ¡°And if you meet someone you truly love, the person that makes you forget all about me?¡± With a deepening frown, he added, ¡°Or if I do?¡±

    ¡°Victor, how many people stay together for a decade? A century? Do you know? Because while you were in the Iron Prison, I spoke to many ancient cultivators in Sojourn. People just don¡¯tst that long together, or if they do, their rtionship evolves over time. Heated love bes warmpanionship. I don¡¯t want our heat and passion to be over yet, and when we doe together, I want it tost a very long time!¡±

    Victor stood there, feeling stupid, or slow, or something along those lines, and he stared at her, every second adding to the panic that he was about to lose the best part of his life. Va must have seen some of it in his eyes because she didn¡¯t wait for him to figure out what he wanted to say. ¡°I started thinking about this a while ago. I think it was after I hurt my eye. After we made up, and you told me about going to Ruhn for Dar¡¯s granddaughter. I remember us talking about me staying in Sojourn, which was perfectly reasonable, but I wondered why that was the extent of my ambition.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not, though¡ª¡±

    Va gently squeezed his wrists. ¡°Sweet, Victor. Let me finish, please?¡± Victor nodded, embarrassed to realize he had some moisture gathering in his eyes. ¡°Of course, it would be <em>smart</em> to take advantage of Sojourn! What did I want, though? When we came here and Tha told us about Chandri, these thoughts came up again. I know I deny it, but Victor, I <em>am</em> in your shadow. What¡¯s more, I¡¯m nning the next months or <em>years</em> around what you¡¯re doing! I don¡¯t want to stay in Sojourn and grind away at levels with Lesh. I enjoy Lesh, don¡¯t get me wrong, but I have other interests! I want to <em>explore</em>. I want to meet new, strange people, and I¡¯d like to do it without all the stress thates along with doing it by your side!¡±

    Victor thought of Coloss, and he snorted a soft chuckle. ¡°You have a point, but it had nothing to do with me when Blue decided he had to have you.¡±

    ¡°Suffice it to say I¡¯ll n my destinations more carefully than when we went to Zaafor!¡± She grinned and twitched her wings. ¡°Besides, I think <em>little </em>Lord Blue would sing a different tune if he ran into me today.¡± Her eyes shed briefly with dancing static energy.

    Victor grinned at the thought, but his levity faded rapidly. ¡°Why are you staying here, though?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re leaving at Dar¡¯smand, but I¡¯m not subject to Dar¡¯s whims, Victor. I¡¯m not done visiting yet! I want to spend time with my mother and learn from her as she builds this new nation! I want to spend more time with our friends and explore these newnds a little. When I¡¯m ready, I¡¯ll travel. I may go through Sojourn, or I may fly to the Tharcray and see where the Ridonne¡¯s City Stone can take me.¡±

    Victor¡¯s frown hadn¡¯t faded. ¡°So that¡¯s it for us, then? I go my way, and you go yours and¡ª¡±

    ¡°Oh, hush! Don¡¯t be so dramatic! We both consider this home, don¡¯t we? We have a Farscribe book we share, and, if we fill it, we¡¯ll need to meet to exchange new ones, won¡¯t we? We¡¯ll see each other from time to time. After we¡¯ve spent some time living our lives, perhaps we¡¯lle together again, and our love can bloom into something stronger, something with durability that the centuries will have to struggle to wear down.¡±

    Victor took a deep breath and forced his reeling thoughts to slow and solidify. He pushed away petty urges tosh out. He fought down the words on the tip of his tongue about what she¡¯d do if one of those times he showed up on Fanwath with a new wife. Instead, he slowly exhaled through his nose and stared into her eyes, digging as deeply as he could, willing the truth toe to him as he asked, ¡°Are you just saying all of this to let me down easy? To send me off without hurting my feelings? It seems like an easy way out¡ªa way to hope I¡¯ll forget about you so you never have to say how you¡¯d decided you didn¡¯t <em>really</em> love me.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you absolute <em>idiot</em>! You <em>know</em> I love you! I couldn¡¯t deny it enough to convince a child! Do <em>you</em> value our love? Do you value it enough to make it stronger by fulfilling your potential? Do you think our love canst while you¡¯re climbing that pinnacle?¡±

    Victor shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I could end up like Dar; I don¡¯t think that dude¡¯s interested in love anymore.¡±

    ¡°Dar isn¡¯t you! His passions are different. You may not have love as an Energy affinity, Victor, but you know you have a heart bigger than most normal people.¡±

    Victor gestured to himself. ¡°I¡¯m not much bigger than you right n¡ª¡±

    ¡°Stop making light!¡±

    Despite his earlier resolve to be understanding and mature, he blurted, ¡°This is kind of what she said, you know.¡±

    ¡°She?¡±

    ¡°Tes.¡±

    Va¡¯s eyes widened, and then her brows drew down severely. ¡°You mean about waiting for you to grow before you have a rtionship with her?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I mean, I¡¯m just being honest. Va, what <em>if</em> one of us finds a real love elsewhere, something stronger than what you and I feel right now?¡±

    ¡°Then . . .¡± She frowned, and Victor saw moisture pooling in her eyes, and his emotions responded. He felt his blood rushing and his throat tightening as she continued, ¡°Then, I suppose it wasn¡¯t meant to be.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Victor growled, reaching out to grab her and pull her close, kissing her again. She kissed him back, but then she pushed him away.

    ¡°Stop.¡± Victor reached for her again. ¡°Victor, really!¡± He growled and dropped his hands.

    ¡°This is stupid! If you love me, you love me! Why tempt fate?¡±

    ¡°I have faith that we¡¯lle together again, Victor. My mind is set.¡±

    Victor stared at her for several long seconds. He knew her face too well to miss the determination in her eyes, the firm set of her lips, the slight upward tilt of her jaw¡ªthey all told him that he wouldn¡¯t be changing her mind with mere words. Could he do something dramatic? Could he beg or plead? He almost scoffed at the idea as it shed through his mind; he had a good feeling that such a disy would only assure her that she¡¯d made the right decision. ¡°So,¡± he finally said, folding his arms over his chest. ¡°What do I have to do to be ¡®ready¡¯ for your love?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just you! It¡¯s me, Victor! Was I not in enough? Was I too softly spoken when I mentioned your shadow? You are driven, and that¡¯s one of the things I love about you, but I don¡¯t want to sit by, doing the sensible thing, putting my dreams on hold while you pursue anything that inspires you. I won¡¯t be kept safe like a figurine on a shelf.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have¡ª¡±

    ¡°Victor. Please. Don¡¯t fight me anymore. Let me go and make my own¡ª¡± She mped her lips together, and a soft growl escaped her as she fought to think of the right word. Victor thought he understood, though, and he risked jamming his foot in his mouth by helping herplete the thought.

    ¡°Glory?¡±

    Va surprised him by chuckling. ¡°Maybe. Maybe that¡¯s part of it, aye. You¡¯re going to be something great¡ªthat or you¡¯ll die. Either way, I won¡¯t be happy as I am.¡±

    ¡°Is that what this is about? That duel I had with Cora¡¯s father? Are you worried about the duels I have to fight on Ruhn?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a piece of it!¡± Va growled, balling one of her hands into a fist and thumping it against his chest. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s a piece of it. I also want to be someone who achieves great things, though, and I don¡¯t want to do it by walking on the path that you make smooth with your efforts.¡±

    Victor unfolded his arms and took her fist in one hand, gently worming his thumb under her fingers until she rxed them. ¡°Listen, I want to scream and rage. I want to pick up that boulder over there and hurl it into the ocean. I don¡¯t want to end this time with you like that, though. If you¡¯re so determined, then let¡¯s enjoy thisst night together. The hours I have before I enter that portal tomorrow have just be enormously valuable to me, and I don¡¯t want to spend them throwing a fit or fighting with you. Can we do that? Can we savor each other¡¯spany for a few hours more?¡±

    Va¡¯s eyes filled with tears again, and she sniffed, nodding quickly before falling into his arms, folding herself against his chest in the way only she knew how. Victor forced himself to take deep, even breaths, pushing his Energy back into his Core as it constantly tried to win free¡ªhis rage and fear were especially restless, and he knew, someday in the distant future, he might make a powerful cultivation temte out of the memory of that moment.

 Book 9: Chapter 2: Checking In

    Book 9: Chapter 2: Checking In

    When Victor stepped out of the coach he¡¯d hired in the city, he was a little surprised to find theke house dark and quiet. A singlemp illuminated the front door, and only a dim, ambient nighttime glow shone through the windows. When he opened the front door, a startled servant looked up with wide eyes and hurried to take the door from his hands, motioning him in with a hasty, ¡°Wee home, milord.¡±

    Victor frowned and fished his watch out of his pocket¡ªevery time he put it in a storage container, the time got messed up. He¡¯dst used it in Sojourn, so he assumed it was urate when it told him it was an hour past midnight. ¡°Hi, Ranal. Everyone asleep?¡±

    ¡°I believe Sir Lesh is in his quarters, aye, but your otherpanions left two days ago intent on delving into a dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Well, that¡¯s good, I suppose. Darren doing okay?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a bit out of sorts but eager to improve his bloodline advancement, sir. Excuse the gossip, but from what I hear, he¡¯s rather unhappy being in a . . . well, an in-between stage.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t me him. What, uh, all changed?¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± the servant paused, looked left and right, and spoke in an even more hushed voice, ¡°his head is adorned with lustrous feathers, and his eyes are quiterge and, if I¡¯m honest, fierce-looking. The biggest change, though, milord, is the beak. He¡¯s certainly adopting a type of avian bloodline.¡±

    ¡°Huh. Yeah, I guess that would freak me out quite a bit¡ªhe probably doesn¡¯t look anything like his old self.¡±

    ¡°Correct, milord. His long, handsome hair is gone, but I think his feathers are quite nice; they have a certain sheen to them¡ªmuch finer than some of the other avian folk I¡¯ve seen.¡±Victor chuckled, looking at the servant a little more closely. He certainly seemed to have a lot to say about Darren¡¯s appearance. After a moment¡¯s consideration, he shook his head and let the matter drop. ¡°And Lord Dar?¡±

    ¡°He has anticipated your arrival and intends to have breakfast with you. Shall I wake the staff? Are you hungry now?¡±

    ¡°Nah. Thank you, Ranal. I¡¯ll n for breakfast at the usual hour.¡± Victor nodded to the slender, green-skinned man, then moved past him and into the house. He hadn¡¯t slept the night before and was eager to rest, but his first priority was to check on Lifedrinker. His boots, in their non-armor form, werefortable and the soles soft, so he didn¡¯t make much noise as he moved through the house to the kitchen cer and then down into the tunnels. He noticed a particr dampness to the air down there and, not for the first time, wondered if he¡¯d find underground ess to theke if he took the time to explore.

    Hisck of knowledge regarding the extent of the tunnels would have concerned him or even dissuaded him from leaving Lifedrinker down there, but he knew Dar wouldn¡¯t let anything happen to the axe. Even so, he felt a little nervousness in his gut, a twinge of worry that he strangely weed¡ªit took his mind off Va and the fact that he¡¯d returned to Sojourn alone.

    He didn¡¯t use a light as he stalked through those tunnels; Victor¡¯s eyes were good, far better than he could have ever hoped. He saw great distances with ease, could focus on the tiniest of details up close, and, in the dark, the faintest of glows served to provide him with clear, faintly sepia-tinted vision. When he¡¯d first descended, the soft, pale illumination of the storage ring Dar had given him was enough to outline the tunnel walls and corners, but as he neared his destination, things grew brighter and tinted with a ghostly, blue light. Victor inhaled sharply in anticipation as he saw the outline of the opening leading to his cultivation chamber.

    It was limned in pale blue light, and a faint mist hung in the air, further adding to the mysterious appearance of the space. At first, he frowned, trying to remember what he¡¯d left behind that glowed so, but a quick nce into his storage ring confirmed that he¡¯d picked up his cultivation objects. Had he left behind a glowmp? Victor knew he hadn¡¯t, but he supposed Dar might have stopped by to check on the axe and left a light. Still holding his breath, he put his fingers on the rough, cold stone of the opening and peered inside.

    ¡°Holy shit, <em>chica</em>!¡± he gasped, for Lifedrinker sat alone in the space, and it was immediately apparent that she was the source of the illumination. Victor stood still, frozen in wonder, as he took her in with his eyes. Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, once dark and alive¡ªwood that hinted at untold depths as tiny motes of light winked in the imprable grains¡ªhad grown to nearly eight feet in length. More than that, the ancient living-wood haft had taken on the metallic qualities of the ¡°soul ore¡± Victor had left behind. It gleamed with a profound, lustrous sheen, and just as before, little blue stars twinkled in its depths, their number uncountable.

    The change to her haft was only the beginning. Lifedrinker¡¯s axe head had grown in size ten-fold. A massive yard-long de with an edge that bent the air with waves of radiated heat rested on the floor where the soul ore had once sat. The edge of that lethal-looking de was buried several inches into the stone. Behind her edge, Lifedrinker¡¯s axe head red severely, broadening to several inches of heavy-looking, dense, dark metal that somehow seemed translucent and opaque at the same time¡ªlike Victor could look through the topyer into a depthless expanse of darkness¡ªa metallic window that could swallow light, matter, or even souls.

    ¡°<em>Chingado</em>!¡± he hissed through his teeth, approaching the massive weapon. Even giant as he was, the axe seemed like too much. He could see, if he stood her on her head and rotated the haft upward, that she¡¯d be taller than his ten-foot frame. Even so, he reached a hand toward her haft and was rewarded by a surge of recognition, weing joy, and excitement when his fingers closed around the cool, surprisingly pliant, metallic-wood-hybrid material.

    <em>I did it, Victor! I conquered that ore and incorporated it into myself. I hope I¡¯ve pleased you!</em>

    ¡°Are you kidding me? You¡¯re fucking <em>amazing</em>!¡± Victor¡¯s smile only broadened as he wrapped his other hand around her haft and, with a grunt and a muscle-popping strain, lifted her off the floor. Her head was unwieldy for him, and he had to lean back for bnce as gravity pulled it down. ¡°Holy shit, <em>chica</em>!¡± Victor choked his grip up to the halfway point on the haft and found he could manage her better. ¡°You¡¯re heavy, beautiful.¡± It was true¡ªif he were to make a guess, she was a good deal denser and heavier than Karl¡¯s gigantic axe.

    <em>When you¡¯re mad with the lust for battle, I¡¯ll be just right!</em>

    ¡°Haha, true.¡± Victor smiled and realized he was beaming from ear to ear when his cheeks began to feel the strain. ¡°You make a good point. Shit, though, you¡¯re not going to fit in your harness anymore.¡±

    <em>Try me in that magical container where you store your vile spirits.</em>

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°My cultivation objects?¡± Victor shrugged; Dar had assured him that the geists were safe within the device. Would a conscious weapon be different? ¡°If you¡¯re sure. I¡¯ll¡­I¡¯ll just put you in for a second, and you can tell me how it feels, okay?¡±

    <em>Yes!</em>

    Hesitantly, Victor mentally selected his storage ring where his most valuable objects sat and <em>sent</em> Lifedrinker into it. He forced himself to count to two aloud and then summoned her out. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    <em>It¡¯s fine there, Victor. I can feel the outside¡ªa trickle of ambient Energy drifts into the space constantly. While I love to have you hold me, is it not nice to know I can be with you even when your hands must be free?</em>

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor sighed and hefted her again, holding her crossways. He wanted to swing her around but didn¡¯t want to mutte the tilework he¡¯d done if he misjudged her weight and followed through a little too much. ¡°Yeah, this is great, Lifedrinker. Shit! Imagine if we fought Lira now! I bet you¡¯d shred her damn armor.¡±

    <em>I would!</em>

    Victor lifted the axe so the edge was closer to his face, and he could feel the heat rippling away from her glossy, ss-like metallic edge. ¡°<em>Damn,</em> you look sharp. I bet I could shave with that edge.¡±

    <em>The heat of depthless, mountainous pressures bleeds from my edge, my battle-heart. Don¡¯t scald yourself!</em>

    ¡°I won¡¯t! It was just a thought.¡± He wondered if she was right; his feats and bloodline made him rather resilient to high temperatures. Still, it was with a wary, hesitant, feather-light movement that he quickly touched a finger against her edge. It stung immediately, despite his haste, and when he held his finger up, he saw flesh burned white with a sliver-thin cut at the center. ¡°<em>Shit!</em>¡± he chuckled, watching his regenerative flesh slowly repair the damage. ¡°Okay, beautiful, I¡¯m putting you away for now. We¡¯ll get some practice soon.¡±

    <em>Goodnight, blood-mate.</em>

    Victor¡¯s eyebrows shot up at the new moniker, but he shrugged, taking it in stride. It wasn¡¯t the first time Lifedrinker had called him something like that. He sent her into his ring, and then, feeling a good deal lighter in his heart, he made his way up to the house. When he entered his room, he felt a veil of darkness close over his mind again when he looked at the bed and unconsciously pictured Va lying there. Grumbling and growling, he hastily threw his clothes off andid down on the rug, stretching out on his side with his head resting on one arm. He shoved the mncholy memories away, instead focusing on the positive things in his life.

    With thoughts of Lifedrinker and imagined adventures on fantastical, distant worlds, he closed his eyes and quickly found sleep. To him, it felt like a mere moment had passed when he heard the knock at his door and the soft, too-polite voice of Wensa, one of the younger staff members, calling, ¡°Victor, sir, are you awake? Lord Dar requests you on the deck for breakfast.¡±

    Victor rolled over onto his back and put his hands under his head as he stared at the ceiling. He was stiff from lying on the floor, but his Quinametzin constitution wouldn¡¯t allow that tost long. Another knock on the door sounded. ¡°Victor? Um, sir? Are¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m awake and on my way. Thank you!¡± With a grunt, Victor hopped onto his feet, pulling his clothes on. He swished a ¡°cleansing draught¡± he¡¯d picked up while shopping for odds and ends in Sojourn. When his gums began to tingle, he swallowed the apple-vored fluid. Before he left, he used the restroom and checked his smile in the mirror. For some reason, he felt much lighter in spirit after only a few hours of sleep. He proceeded to the deck, where he found Dar sitting on a broad orange cushion at one of the low, wooden tables.

    The master Spirit Caster wore one of his usual loose-fitting, bright teal, silken, pajama-like outfits. This one had a sigil stitched onto the breast that reminded Victor of a hippopotamus. ¡°Good morning, Victor.¡± Dar gestured to a matching cushion on the other side of the table. Victor folded his legs and sat.

    ¡°Good morning.¡±

    ¡°I see you¡¯re back as scheduled and seem well-rested.¡± Dar paused while a pair of servants deposited arge ss of fresh-squeezed, purple-colored fruit juice and a te of eggs and sausages before Victor. ¡°We¡¯re going to be very busy for the next few months. I¡¯m not surprised yourdy decided to stay back¡ªI¡¯m assuming that¡¯s the case, as she¡¯s not here.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Va¡¯s back on Fanwath.¡± Victor didn¡¯t feel the need to delve deeper into his personal matters.

    ¡°Mmhmm.¡± Dar nodded and bit a fat sausage in half, chewing it noisily in his square-jawed, stony mouth for a moment. ¡°While we dine, I¡¯ll tell you a bit about Ruhn''s customs. Consider it your first lesson on etiquette.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Victor took a sip of the juice; it was equally tart and sweet, providing a strangely addictive tang that had his taste buds flooding his mouth with saliva.

    ¡°First, it¡¯s customary to show more affection on Ruhn than on many civilized worlds. Don¡¯t be rmed if a gentleman ordy leans in for a kiss on the cheek when they greet you or bid you farewell.¡± Victor¡¯s eyebrows arched as he took a bite of eggs, but he didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Secondly, honor is paramount on Ruhn. To question a person¡¯s honesty is a dire insult. People will challenge each other to death duels for less.¡±

    Victor nodded. Considering they fought their wars with duels, it made sense to him. He was curious about one thing, however. ¡°Is everyone like that, or just the nobility?¡±

    ¡°An astute question¡ªthe noble folk of Ruhn do not allow themon folk to y each other out of hand. If a challenge is issued, the two parties muste before a magistrate who will determine the fairness of the contest. If one party is grossly outssed, a suitable champion must be found, else the dispute must be settled in another way.¡±

    ¡°I see. But, like, does crime still happen? Murders and whatnot?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. People are people, Victor. Laws are not always adhered to.¡± When Victor only nodded, Dar continued, ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± he paused to sip his juice, ¡°On Ruhn, feasts have a bit more ritual to them than you might be used to.¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Yes. They¡¯re seen as a time for entertainment as well as fine food, and all the guests at the high table will be expected to perform.¡± Dar chuckled when Victor¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Rx, you¡¯ll be permitted to contribute in many ways¡ªpoetry, singing, ying a bit on an instrument, and even storytelling. I imagine you have a few battle stories you could share, no?¡±

    ¡°Um, I guess so.¡± Victor shrugged. He hadn¡¯t ever considered himself a public speaker, but the speeches he¡¯d been required to give during the campaign for the Untamed Marches had broken him of any fear in that regard.

    ¡°A pity you don¡¯t sing; such a voice¡ª¡±

    ¡°Not really my thing, sir.¡±

    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll see. For now, think of a few stories you might share; you¡¯ll need a repertoire, as I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be invited to many dinners.¡± He nced at Victor for another long moment. ¡°Feats of skill are also considered entertainment. If you could bring forth the Paragon of the Axe . . .¡± Dar trailed off as Victor ate another sausage, then cleared his throat and changed the subject. ¡°Gift giving is important on Ruhn. You should have a gift ready when you meet anyone of note. You should, likewise, be prepared to offer a valuable gift if you offend someone¡ªan apology with no gift is considered more insulting than no apology. I¡¯m sure Kynna will assign an assistant to you, someone to help remind you when such a thing is required.¡±

    ¡°Kynna? That¡¯s your granddaughter?¡±

    ¡°Oh, aye. Haven¡¯t I said so before now? You should address her as ¡®Princess¡¯ or ¡®Lady Dar,¡¯ however. Hard to imagine that after all these centuries, they still bear my surname, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°How will they view me? I mean,ing from Sojourn at your request. Do they love you there? Hate you?¡± Victor had long since stopped worrying about Dar¡¯s emotions; the man only ever showed hints of anger¡ªnever sadness.

    ¡°Ah. I suppose most of my distant kin will be indifferent, though there are a few who seem to view me as a sort of deity¡ªa, um, celestial ancestor who birthed a dynasty.¡± Dar chuckled, and Victor was certain he looked a little embarrassed. ¡°Though, a fallen dynasty, to be sure.¡± He sighed heavily. ¡°I certainly have neglected them. They¡¯re not my only kin, however, and there are people with no rtion to me who require much of my time. Then there are my studies and research, my odysseys and conquests¡ª¡± He snorted a shortugh and cut his words off with a wave of his hand. ¡°Suffice it to say that some will love you immediately, some will hate you, and many will simply find you an oddity.¡±

    ¡°Um, not to be rude, but will your kin look like you?¡± Victor cleared his throat and looked from side to side a little nervously before blurting, ¡°I mean, your race?¡±

    ¡°Igniant?¡±

    Victor¡¯s eyes bulged at the word. ¡°Are you calling me ignorant or¡ª¡±

    ¡°No, fool boy. Igniant is my species. To answer your question, I was the only one of my kind on Ruhn, and I¡¯m sure my descendants will bear a small resemnce to me but lean more toward the natives of that world. Ruhnians are a race of giants who have close ties to the Fae. Well, they did a few tens of thousands of years ago. You¡¯ll find they look much like your own kind, though,¡± he chuckled, ¡°perhaps a bit fairer.¡±

    Victor snorted. ¡°Fairer? As in prettier?¡±

    ¡°Aye,d. You¡¯re a handsome fellow, but your face is always dering your intent to kill and ughter.¡± Victor just snorted again and put an entire sausage into his mouth, masticating it savagely. ¡°That¡¯s another thing we¡¯ll need to work on. Table manners.¡±

    Victor swallowed his bite with a gulp, then drained his juice. ¡°Okay, I get that I need to learn to behave myself in, um, Kynna¡¯s¡ª¡±

    ¡°Princess Kynna¡¯s,¡± Dar corrected.

    ¡°Right, Princess Kynna¡¯s court, but, Dar, I¡¯m going to be fighting some tough <em>hombres</em>, yeah? Shouldn¡¯t we, like, get me ready? I need to learn how to advance some of my spells that have been stuck for ages. I need to practice with my axe. I need to get my armor upgraded, I need¡ª¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± Dar chopped his hand through the air. ¡°I won¡¯t be hounded with your list of needs. Step one: get to your cultivation chamber and don¡¯te out until your cultivation technique is no longer ¡®advanced.¡¯ After that, we¡¯ll speak about your next lesson.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Victor frowned, but he pushed his chair back from the table.

    ¡°Seriously. You¡¯ll figure it out. If it takes more than a month, I¡¯lle to check on you.¡± Dar grinned, disying hisrge white teeth, then, to Victor¡¯s dismay, he stood, summoned his dragon-spirit mount, and flew away. Victor watched his diminishing form with his mouth hanging open.

    ¡°You kidding me? What the hell, man?¡± Grumbling with frustration, he stood and walked toward the cer. If he had to improve his drill in order to get Dar to teach him what he wanted, then that was what he¡¯d do.

 Book 9: Chapter 3: Balance

    Book 9: Chapter 3: Bnce

    Darren looked at his te, then up at Edeya, and made clicking sounds deep in his throat. She narrowed her eyes. ¡°I forgot, Darren¡ªis that one a happy sound or an annoyed one?¡±

    ¡°Happy! It¡¯s like a smile. I love chicken!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a chottle hen, ording to the woman at the market.¡± Edeya smiled, then returned to her spot beside Lam on the other side of the fire. Lam mock saluted with a drumstick from her own little roasted bird, then took arge bite. It had been Edeya¡¯s turn to cook, which Darren thought was lucky for her; they weren¡¯t yet in the dungeon but camped a short way outside, eager to enter as early as possible on the next day¡ªthe soonest their entry slot allowed.

    Trin cleared her throat. ¡°It doesn¡¯t bother you that it¡¯s a, uh, bird?¡±

    Darren <em>clicked</em>¡ªa sound distinct from his earlier one with a longer windup and a more resonant final thump followed by a sort of hum. ¡°I¡¯m a Thunderbird, Trin! A raptor! Haven¡¯t you ever seen a hawk take a quail?¡±

    ¡°I see. No, that makes sense. I¡¯ve certainly seen hunters using hawks to kill game birds.¡± While she spoke, Darren pulled the meat from the bones with his fingers and deposited huge hunks of flesh into his beak, swallowing the mouthfuls whole. He closed his eyes in pleasure, and a deep, thrumming hum sounded from his broad chest.

    Licking some grease from her fingers, Lammented, ¡°I thought birds didn¡¯t really taste their food.¡±

    Darren opened his eyes and clicked happily. ¡°First of all, I¡¯m not exactly a bird. I¡¯m an <em>avian</em> species now, or, well, on my way to being one. ording to Brimi, we¡¯re different than birds in quite a few ways. Anyway, eating is . . . different. I feel a wave of pleasure with each bite. It¡¯s not exactly a taste so much as a . . . I don¡¯t know how to describe¡ªWait! I do. It¡¯s very simr to an early buzz from alcohol! I get this warm feeling that spreads through me and makes me a little giddy. Different foods give it a different feel, too.¡±

    ¡°Not veggies, though?¡± Edeya asked because Darren had explicitly asked her to leave her stewed carrots off his te.¡°Nah, I get nothing from ¡®em. Mostly meats.¡±

    Edeya nodded, ¡°It¡¯s so strange how much deeper your voice is, Dare.¡±

    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s still me, though, Dey-dey.¡± Darren put an entire drumstick in his beak and crunched it to pieces before swallowing it down. His beak was incredibly durable, and he¡¯d found that if he guided food with his fingers, he could efficiently masticate hunks of bone that would¡¯ve given a rottweiler a challenge.

    ¡°I know.¡± Edeya smiled and took another dainty bite. Darren leaned back and watched the three women eat for a moment, giving them a chance to catch up. He¡¯d been dismayed, at first, by his new physiology, but after a few days at theke house, experimenting with food and practicing his speech, he¡¯d begun to warm up to the new features. Not every change had been rming; some had been immediately positive. His newfound height, his sturdier body, and his fantastic vision had done a lot to make up for the utterly foreign face he saw in the mirror. Putting those things aside, he was also excited by the prospect of growing powerful wings and learning more about his bloodline.

    After a while, he grew tired of waiting and tossed the remainder of his bird into his beak, swallowing it whole, bones and all. It was a mouthful, and he felt it going down, but something had changed in his neck; he never felt like he¡¯d choke anymore, and the sensation was pleasurable, like having an itch scratched, but on the inside. He stifled a burp, then pulled out his Sojourn guidebook, a crystalline tablet enchanted with all sorts of interesting information. He was particrly interested in the section about the dungeon they would be entering the next day.

    When he found the correct page, he read the section he was interested in aloud for the benefit of his groupmates, ¡°Ahem, ¡®The Fungal Fortress is known for its daunting challenges for tier-two iron rankers, but even more so for its healthy list of rare growth treasures. While these treasures are rare, and only one in every dozen dungeon runs results in a single drop, their value makes up for the infrequency. If your party is able to im a slot, it¡¯s certainly an investment in time that has the potential for excellent payoffs. See the table below for a list of the known growth item drops.¡¯¡±

    He looked up. ¡°Want me to read the table?¡±

    ¡°You already showed us yesterday, Dare.¡± Edeya walked over and took his te. ¡°You¡¯re cooking breakfast, right?¡±

    He nodded. ¡°Easy.¡± He wasn¡¯t hurt that no one wanted to hear the list again. He¡¯d poured over the tablet for days, trying to find the dungeon with the best chance of providing another racial advancement item. Everyone knew why; Darren was desperate to get his wings and push past his awkward, in-between status of half-human, half-avian. The Fungal Fortress had the best chances, and though Trin was the only member of their party who¡¯d reached tier two, they were all close.

    Lam handed her te to Edeya, then nodded to Trin. ¡°I¡¯m just d Trin¡¯s brother got us on the entrant list. The usual wait time is nearly two months.¡±

    ¡°My father might be an evil sociopath, but some of my kin are redeemable.¡± Trin produced a fancy wine bottle with a gold-embossedbel. ¡°Shall we?¡± Everyone scrambled to agree, furnishing their own sses. Darren summoned a ss, but when Trin got around to him, she took it, filled it up, and then handed him the bottle, still nearly half-full. ¡°I¡¯ll take your ss, Darren. You¡¯ll find it easier to pour the bottle into your beak.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Darren took the bottle, then cocked his head to the side, his throat clicking the way it always did when he felt like smiling. ¡°That¡¯s considerate of you, Trin.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve had many avian friends, Dare.¡± She poked him in the chest. ¡°Cheers.¡± She held out her ss, and Darren knocked his bottle against it. Lam and Edeya hurried over to clink their sses against his bottle.

    ¡°Cheers!¡± everyone echoed, and then Darren poured a good portion of wine into his gullet,ughing as he swallowed it down, and a warm buzz began to tingle in his chest and face.

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor stood and stretched. He¡¯d just spent his eleventh night sleeping on the floor of his cultivation chamber. Most of his time during those eleven days had been spent doing exactly what the chamber implied¡ªcultivating. However, even though it wasn¡¯t exactly a physically taxing activity, he periodically found himself feeling exhausted to the point where he¡¯d lie down, close his eyes, and immediately drift away. He didn¡¯t resist those urges to sleep; something in him was worn out from the cultivation, and he always felt better, more hopeful, and less frustrated when he awoke.

    ¡°Frustration,¡± Victor muttered, retrieving some bread, sausages, and honey from his storage ring. The word went a long way toward describing how he¡¯d felt during thest ten days. He knew he was doing the cultivation technique that Dar had taught him correctly. He could pullrge currents of attuned Energy into his Core, watch it absorb and be part of his Core, but, for whatever reason, he couldn¡¯t see what he was doing that wasn¡¯t . . . optimal, he supposed, was the right way to describe it. ording to Dar, the technique was capable of ¡°epic¡± tier cultivation, but it had to be done perfectly.

    Part of Victor¡¯s frustration was with the master¡¯s hands-off teaching style. He knew Victor wasn¡¯t doing something quite right, but he wouldn¡¯t show him what it was. Of course, Victor was no ancient master with thousands of years of experience, so he couldn¡¯t really argue about the man¡¯s teaching methods. Maybe he knew what he was talking about. Maybe, when Victor finally figured it out, he¡¯d learn as much from the discovery as he would from the proper technique. He chuckled and stood, intent on doing some stretches and calisthenics to warm himself up for the day¡¯s work.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    As was his routine, he first summoned a Globe of Insight, filling the chamber with rifying, white-gold light. Then, he cast Inspiration of the Quinametzin¡ªprobably the most significant factor in his maintained sanity. As the spell filled his body and mind with optimistic, steady inspiration, the dreary despondency he¡¯d begun to dwell upon fled before its rifying light. He nodded confidently and started to go through his routine of stretches and body-weight exercises¡ªeverything from nks to pushups to air squats. It wasn¡¯t something he <em>had </em>to do; his Quinametzin constitution and enormous vitality would keep him fit for tremendous periods of inactivity, but it still felt good, and, with his blood flowing more vigorously, he felt more confident in sess.

    After a while, he sat down at the center of his chamber, his four cultivation objects arrayed around him¡ªhe¡¯d left his magma-attuned cultivation treasure in his storage ring. He wasn¡¯t sure how, but he felt like he <em>knew</em> the added step of cultivating his breath Core while he worked on his spirit Core would only muddy the waters. ¡°One drill at a time,¡± he chuckled, as though confirming to himself that he¡¯d made the right decision. He spread his arms, closed his eyes, and, with his fingers outstretched and loose, wriggled them, willing his inner eye to feel the way the thick currents of Energy in the chamber danced along his fingertips.

    After a few minutes of breathing, watching the Energy tendrils around him course through the air on their currents, rebuffed by the enchanted stone lining of his chamber as they tried to drift away, he slowly began his drill. He pushed a weave of his Core¡¯s four different Energy types out through his pathways, sending it out through the chamber, circting, coiling, and weaving its way around as he pulled more and more of the ambient Energy into it. The coil thickened, and the weave tried to pull apart, but he held it tight with his will, guiding it along a perfect path back into his pathways and his Core.

    As the Energy flowed into the construct at the center of his Core space, Victor watched the weave pull apart as each constituent Energy type found its home: bright, cheerful inspiration sank into the orb at the heart. Brilliant, enthusiastic glory wrapped into the golden band closest to the center. Baleful, bloodthirsty rage found its home in the equally furious deep red ring. And, finally, the glowering, doom-filled, purple-ck tendril of fear-attuned Energy found its home in the dark ring that encircled them all.

    As the Energies found their homes, his Core brightened, and the rings moved more quickly. Victor watched them, intent on finding the key to his cultivation technique that he¡¯d missed so many times¡ªhundreds or thousands¡ªsince Dar had taught it to him. Once again, he failed to see what he¡¯d missed. The Energy settled in, his Core resumed its usual pace, and Victor, fighting the usual frustration, began the process anew.

    Twelve hourster, after nearly thirty more cultivation cycles, Victor didn¡¯t feel any closer to solving his problem. One thing he was near, though, was ranking up his Core. He could tell it was close because its usual, slow, deliberate pulse had quickened, and he could feel the palpable <em>thump</em> of pressure as it throbbed. He paused to watch it, wondering if the next cycle would push it over. It would be his first new rank in the ¡°epic¡± tier of his Core¡¯s development.

    The pulse was almost hypnotic, and, perhaps because of its increased intensity, Victor noticed it wasn¡¯t a single beat but that it had a transient quality. The pulse began at the heart, in the center of his inspiration-attuned Energy sphere, but it traveled out through the rings of other Energies. With the more rapid, fric quality it had taken on as his drills had made the Core heavy and swollen with Energy, one pulse began before the previous propagated the whole. This constant stream of beats made it clear that what Victor had taken for a simple sh was actually a sort of shift in the position of the Core; it moved ever so slightly as the <em>thump</em> of Energy went through the rings, especially when it hit the heavy, dense, fear-attuned one.

    Victor focused his entire attention on the process, watching as the next pulse shed at the center of his Core, then moved up through the rings, first inspiration, then rage, then fear. With the pulse, it almost seemed that the rings of rage, fear, and glory around his inspiration sphere had taken on a sort of orbiting quality. Glory and rage were separated by something like twenty degrees and rotated near the horizontal axis of the inspiration globe, while fear stood alone, rotating nearly diagonally, twenty or so degrees from the vertical axis.

    When the pulse moved through the thinner, closer bands of glory and rage, the entire Core shifted toward them slightly. When it passed through fear, however, the Core noticeably surged toward that ring. For the first time, Victor wondered if the problem with his drill had nothing to do with his gathering of Energy but rather how it flowed into his Core. Was it out of bnce? Could he move those rings?

    With an effort of will, Victor grasped ahold of his fear-attuned ring of Energy and <em>pulled</em> it toward the vertical axis of his Core. It resisted, heavy with Energy as it was, but Victor was resolute, and his will was like an imcable force of nature as he bore down. Eventually, the ring shifted to where he wanted it, circling his Core at the dead center, straight up and down from his point of view.

    Now, as it pulsed, the Core shifted massively, jerking up and then down, snapping back into ce as the pulse ended, but immediately bouncing again as the next pulse fired. It was dizzying to watch, and Victor felt unwell deep in his being. Fearing he¡¯d done something stupid, something that would prove his undoing if he didn¡¯t figure it out quickly, he grasped ahold of his rage-attuned ring and pulled it toward the horizontal axis. As he did so, he immediately felt some relief; it was bncing his fear-attuned ring, if not perfectly, then much better than it had been.

    Victor shifted his attention to his glory-attuned ring. If he was right, all he needed to do to bnce the ¡°gravity¡± of his Core was to find the perfect position between his rage and fear-attuned rings for this third one. Sure enough, as he pulled it toward the center of the diagonal axis between rage and fear, he felt the shudder of his Core reduce more and more. Now, the pulses shed through his Core, and the strange <em>thump</em> was nearly gone. With careful precision, Victor tugged on the glory-attuned ring, bncing his fear by moving it just a tiny bit closer to his rage-attuned ring.

    As he found the perfect bnce, Victor wasn¡¯t rewarded with any System message or sudden tangible award, but he knew it was right. He could <em>feel</em> the bnce, and, moreover, he could see the shes of his Core¡¯s pulsing, throbbing beat flow through his Core without even the slightest wobble. He likened it to tuning an engine¡ªthe idle was smooth and steady. Smiling, pleased at the bnced aspect of his Core, he began another cultivation cycle.

    Nothing seemed all that different as he went through the motions, but when he brought the streams of thick, woven Energies into his Core, they separated and flowed into his Core much more evenly. Before, he¡¯d often have strands of rage and glory left over before his fear-attuned Energy was fully absorbed, but this time, they all entered his Core evenly. More than that, as the streams of Energy flooded their respective rings, they began to spin rapidly, rotating around his Core and creating a sort of draft.

    Victor immediately recognized what was happening and seized the opportunity, cycling through another cultivation round, pulling more Energy into his Core space that was instantly snatched up by the pull of his Core¡¯s new-found rotational gravity. As that new stream of Energy began to absorb, Victor began a third round of cultivation and had it ready, already entering his pathways as the previous was pulled in. His mouth spread in a triumphant grin as his cultivation cycle took on a life of its own. All he had to do was weave the Energies; the current his Core was created in the chamber was enough to pull them into his pathways.

    Victor lost himself in the giddiness of his sess. He¡¯d emptied the ambient Energy from his chamber and pulled streams of attuned Energy directly from his cultivation treasures. He wove them as fast as they could provide the Energy, and his Core pulled them in. Soon, though, the pressure in his Core space became almost agonizing as the pulses intensified into a steady stream, one after the other. They bled into each other, and soon, the density and brightness of his Core made it hard for him to observe it with his inner eye. Just as he contemted stopping and taking a break, it broke through.

    With a tremendous spike of Energy that surged through his body, his Core seemed to <em>crunch</em> down on itself, and the backwash was so intense that his cultivation chain broke. Victor fell t on his back, panting and staring at the ceiling as System messages shed across his vision. Ignoring them for the moment, he turned to his inner eye and observed his Core. It pulsed almostzily now, a steady, heavy wave of Energy propagating through the somehow heavier, denser rings. Even without reading the messages awaiting him, he knew it had ranked up.

    ¡°All right,¡± he grunted, turning his attention to the messages:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have learned a new skill: Spirit Core Cultivation Drill ¨C Epic.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! Your Spirit Core has advanced: Epic 2.***</strong>

    ¡°Damn,¡± he grunted when he realized that he only had two messages; it had felt like more. He¡¯d hoped the advancement would be enough to push him to the next level. Nevertheless, he pulled up his Energy statistics to see how much he¡¯d gained from the Core rank-up:

    <strong>Breath Core:</strong>

    <strong>Elder ss - Improved 3</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Spirit ss - Epic 2</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Magma - 9</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Energy:</strong>

    <strong>2200/2200</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Glory 8.6, Inspiration 7.4, Unattuned 3.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>35045/35045</strong>

    ¡°A thousand, huh?¡± Victor pushed himself back into a sitting position. He¡¯d gained five thousand when he broke into ¡°epic,¡± and now it seemed he¡¯d earn another thousand for each rank therein. He supposed that was better than the one hundred he¡¯d gained in previous tiers. Still, for all the work he¡¯d done over thest eleven days, it felt a little underwhelming.

    ¡°Well, apprentice, I certainly felt that!¡± Dar¡¯s voice sounded from the entrance to his chamber. ¡°It seems you managed that more quickly than I¡¯d feared. Excellent. Let¡¯s celebrate with a meal, and perhaps I¡¯ll teach you a bit about proper spirit walking. How does that sound?¡±

    Victor hopped to his feet, turning to see his master in a migraine-inducing set of magenta pajamas decorated with hypnotic yellow swirls. ¡°What the hell are you wearing?¡± Victor cleared his throat and held up a hand. ¡°Sorry, that was rude. I mean, but seriously, Dar. That suit¡¯s making me dizzy.¡±

    Dar lifted the hem of his shirt and frowned. ¡°You don¡¯t like it? The saleswoman said it was thetest fashion on Foh.¡± He saw Victor¡¯s confusion and rified, ¡°That¡¯s the homeworld of some of Sojourn¡¯s more influential citizens. I bought it to attend a g at Lord Drok¡¯s estatest night. Is it so bad?¡±

    ¡°I mean, to me, but . . .¡± Victor trailed off, shrugging. He moved closer to his master and pped him on the shoulder. ¡°What do I know?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. You¡¯re young and have hardly traveled. Come, Victor, let¡¯s eat¡ªI¡¯ve been drinking and carousing for twenty hours.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 4: Friends and Enemies

    After they emerged from the catbs beneath his home, Dar led Victor into the main parlor and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a shower and freshen up, and then we¡¯ll go out. Tell your dragonkin friend that he¡¯s wee to join us. I had ns to dine with Lo¡¯ro, but when I felt your breakthrough, I thought it a good opportunity for you to let off a little steam. He won¡¯t mind the extrapany.¡±

    ¡°At his home?¡±

    ¡°Hah, no.¡± Dar chuckled. ¡°He may be a friend, but I¡¯ve no taste for death-attuned environs.¡± He nced down at his hypnotic attire. ¡°I¡¯ll get myself cleaned up¡ªtoo much powerful drink can wear a man out. I¡¯m in need of some hearty food. Meet me back here in twenty minutes.¡±

    Victor nodded, squinting at the windows. He¡¯d utterly lost track of the days, let alone the time while he¡¯d been down in the cultivation chamber. The setting sun was bright in the sky, and it felt good on his face as she squinted out toward theke. ¡°I¡¯ll let Lesh know.¡± As Dar nodded, Victor walked toward the front door where he could be sure a servant was always on duty. He didn¡¯t have to go that far, though, before Mr. Ruln approached from the direction of the kitchens.

    ¡°Looking for something, Sir Victor?¡±

    ¡°Do you know where Lesh is?¡±

    ¡°Ah! Sir Lesh is currently sparring with a guest on the recreation field.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Victor¡¯s eyebrows shot up. ¡°That¡¯s good! Thanks, Mr. Ruln.¡± As the steward nodded, Victor hurried out the front door and down the path toward the outdoor recreation area where he and Lesh often practiced. Long before he arrived, he heard the grunts and <em>thuds</em> as two veryrge men exchanged blows and grappled. When he rounded the corner, Victor was thrilled to see Lesh grappling with Drobna, the turtle-like berserker he¡¯d battled in the Vault of Valor. He paused on the edge of the sand-covered field and watched, waiting for the two men to notice him.

    Victor could see that Drobna wasn¡¯t berserk; his muscles were swollen with power, but he was clearly not enraged. Watching them exchange blows and struggle to throw each other, Victor wondered if Drobna¡¯s berserk ability differed from his own. He wondered if he¡¯d advanced it to the epic tier and, if so, whether or not he¡¯d gained Iron Berserk as an ability evolution. He watched and contemted such things for nearly five minutes, but when the two showed no signs of pausing their struggles, he finally called out, ¡°Lesh! Do you want to join Dar and me for dinner?¡± When the two fighters looked his way, he added, ¡°Hey, Drobna! You¡¯re wee to join, of course.¡±¡°Victor!¡± Leshughed, releasing Drobna and jogging over the sand toward him. ¡°You¡¯ve finallye out of your cave!¡± Drobna followed him over, brushing hisrge, greenish-brown hands together.

    Victorughed. ¡°I did! At longst, I¡¯vee out of hibernation!¡±

    Drobna stood beside Lesh, pping the ck-scaled dragonkin on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m pleased to see you, Victor. When can I im that promised sparring match?¡±

    ¡°Soon. In fact, I¡¯ll corner Master Dar at dinner tonight to get him tomit to some kind of schedule. I need regr practice.¡± He reached out a hand, and Drobna took it in a firm grip. ¡°Join us?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a wonderful offer, and I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be gnashing my beak in frustrationter tonight, but I must decline. My wife¡¯s parents are hosting a small event, and if I don¡¯t attend, I¡¯ll be sleeping outside for a month.¡±

    Lesh chuckled, a deep, almost growl-like sound, and elbowed the berserker. ¡°You¡¯d miss a chance to dine with a great master? Your wife must have a weighty hand.¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Drobna shrugged. ¡°She does, I can¡¯t deny. I fear her wrath a great deal more than I value the attention of even the great lords of Sojourn.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, man.¡± Victor gave his hand a final squeeze and let go. ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯ve been keeping Lesh busy. I¡¯ll reach out with our training schedule for the next few months, okay?¡±

    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m eager to see if we might have a secret or two to share with each other.¡± He turned to Lesh. ¡°I suppose that brings our session to an end?¡±

    ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll not miss a dinner with Victor and the mighty Ranish Dar!¡±

    ¡°Until next time, then.¡± Drobna waved and started down the path. Victor grabbed Lesh¡¯s shoulder and pulled him along behind the shelled warrior.

    ¡°We need to hurry. Dar¡¯s leaving in about fifteen minutes.¡±

    Lesh nodded, quickening his steps. ¡°I must rinse this sweat and blood from my scales, and then I¡¯ll be ready!¡±

    Eighteen minutester, Victor and Lesh, both freshly washed, climbed into Dar¡¯s coach. The master Spirit Caster was already inside and, to Victor¡¯s relief, wore a fresh set of silken pajama clothes. These were solid emerald green and much easier on his eyes. As he and Lesh took their seats, Dar smiled and gestured to a tray of drinksrge tumblers filled with rich, amber liquid. ¡°Have a drink, men. I¡¯m pleased you joined us, Lesh!¡±

    ¡°Thank you for the invitation, Lord Dar.¡± Lesh picked up one of the tumblers and drained it in a single gulp. Victor chuckled and took a more restrained sip, well aware of how strong Dar¡¯s liquors were.

    ¡°I have something for you. I was waiting until Victor was finished with his seclusion in the cultivation cave, and I think now would be a good time to present it.¡±

    Victor looked into Dar¡¯s fiery eyes and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is this the¡ª¡±

    ¡°It is! Lord Roil was loathe to hand it over; he was rather irritated that you slipped away before the council could question you, but I pointed out that you were not obligated to do so.¡± Dar chuckled, shaking his head. ¡°Oh, you should have seen him fume when Lady Rexa wrested control of the dungeon from him.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what?¡±

    ¡°I spoke to her in confidence about what was taking ce in the dungeon. After you told me of the children¡¯s plight and your promises to aid them, I felt obligated to seek her advice.¡±

    ¡°But what about Ronk¡ª¡±

    Dar held up a hand, shaking his head. ¡°Remember your promise, Victor. Lesh is an ally, but he¡¯s not part of that man¡¯s trust. Rest assured that I wrung a promise out of Lady Rexa; she will aid the children and not interfere with other matters.¡± Again, he chuckled, a deep sound likerge tes of stone grinding against each other. ¡°To be honest, I believe she prefers it that way.¡± He turned back to Lesh. ¡°That¡¯s all beside the point, however. The council owed Victor another prize, and he chose to request a cultivation item for you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Lesh¡¯s eyes opened wide, and he looked from Dar to Victor. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do that, Lord Victor!¡±

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    ¡°Come on, Lesh! Just Victor. Don¡¯t worry about it, anyway. I promised I¡¯d help you figure out how to cultivate your breath Core, and you can¡¯t do that without something to cultivate from.¡±

    Dar nodded. ¡°Exactly so.¡± He held out his hand, and a heavy-looking metallic box with a rounded lid appeared in his broad palm. ¡°When I demanded your prize, I thought the council would open its coffers and purchase your friend an Energy heart attuned to acid. I was rather surprised when Kreshta Griss provided this treasure instead. Fear not; she was reimbursed by the council.¡± Dar lifted the top of the dull-gray box, revealing an interior filled with dark, moist soil and a single sprout of green rising from the center. As soon as the lid was clear, the little sprout began to exude green vapors that hissed in the air as they climbed toward the ceiling.

    Dar quickly reced the cover, but not before everyone got a whiff of the caustic gas. Victor¡¯s eyes immediately began to water, and he leaned back, holding his breath. Lesh, however, leaned forward, eyes alight. ¡°It¡¯s potent!¡±

    ¡°Aye, very.¡± Dar nodded, holding the box out to Lesh. ¡°A venom petal orchid. It¡¯s something of a misnomer; there¡¯s no venom involved; it exudes pure acid-attuned Energy vapors.¡± As Lesh gingerly took the box, he added, ¡°You may find a ce in my gardens to nt it¡ªdistant from the house, please.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Lord Dar!¡± Lesh tried to bow, sitting down, but his bulky body didn¡¯t amodate such a maneuver easily, and he almost tumbled out of his seat.

    ¡°Thank Victor. He gave up a treasure of his own for this.¡±

    ¡°We already went over this!¡± Victorughed, again pping Lesh on the shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± He turned to Dar. ¡°Thank you, though, Dar, for keeping the council honest and for going to Lady Rexa for help with the children. I made a promise to a kid¡ªyoung man¡ªin there, and I¡¯m pleased to see he¡¯ll be getting some help. I, uh, hope it didn¡¯t cost you anything.¡±

    ¡°Cost? No, rather, I <em>gained</em> something in the bargain. Rexa has a soft spot for children. She may be Fae, but she¡¯s a Summer Fae, and they love life. She was pleased that I shared the secrets of that ce with her.¡±

    Victor nodded, and they rode in silence for a few minutes. The coach was Dar¡¯s best¡ªswift and smooth¡ªif Victor couldn¡¯t see out the window, he wouldn¡¯t have realized they¡¯d even taken flight. Lesh put his treasure away, but only after having Dar inspect his storage container to ensure it was suitable. Victor thought about the little sprout inside the box and pictured himself and Lesh nting it. Then, an idea urred to him. ¡°Should we build some kind of cultivation chamber around that nt?¡±

    ¡°The Energy is in the form of a mist, so I would think a canopy would suffice. Something domed with open sides so the flower can still get light when the sun rises and sets. I¡¯ll have Mr. Ruln collect the supplies¡ªI¡¯d like to ensure they¡¯re aesthetically pleasing since you¡¯ll be building it in my garden.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Victor grinned and elbowed Lesh, who was also grinning. His snout made it look more like a hungry leer, however. ¡°Getting excited? Soon, your breath Core is going to rank up!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m more than excited. I¡¯d like to get started immediately¡ª¡±

    ¡°Tomorrow will be soon enough,¡± Dar chuckled. ¡°Victor and I are hungry.¡± Lesh began to reply, but Dar spoke over him, pointing out the window. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Victor followed his pointing finger with his eyes and saw that they wereing in for anding near the top of one of Sojourn¡¯s enormous crystalline spires. This was the first time Victor had been up to those heights while in the downtown area. The spectacle was enough to strike him dumb.

    High Sojourn, as the heights were colloquially known, was off-limits to the likes of Victor and Lesh. At least, he¡¯d thought so. Looking out there, he could see the nearly invisible walkways with their faint, iridescent sheen, stretching from spire to spire, arching over and under each other in a weirdly beautiful tangle. They weren¡¯t crowded¡ªthere were only a few thousand veil walkers in Sojourn¡ªbut the people Victor saw were interesting enough to make up for their small numbers.

    A woman with a great, bulbous ck spider¡¯s body marched by, descending an arching crystal span toward a round-capped tower with gem-studded stars and moons adorning its dome. Passing above her, a blue-fleshed man strode¡ªhe was easily thirty feet tall and moved his long, slender legs ponderously. He wore a toga that seemed to be crafted of silvery mist. Before Victor could closely examine any of the other folk passing nearby, Dar jostled him and gestured toward the door.

    ¡°Come, Victor. We should hurry into the restaurant before I have to defend my right to bring you two here.¡±

    Victor nodded, blinking his eyes rapidly and chuckling as he exited to stand near Lesh. The dragonkin was simrly dumbstruck, staring over the edge of the crystalline pier where their coach had set down. Victor followed his gaze and felt a spinning sense of vertigo when he saw the towers stretching down toward the distant ground where ant-like people crowded the streets. He quickly looked away, grasping his friend''s shoulder. ¡°Holy shit,¡± heughed. ¡°Didn¡¯t realize how damn high these towers go.¡±

    ¡°Come.¡± Dar, leading the way, gestured to the nearby tower. The crystal walkway expanded near the tower into a wide ring. Victor immediately felt strangely out of ce when he saw the floor-to-ceiling ss windows and brightly lit signage; it reminded him of a sci-fi movie more than anything else. They¡¯d stepped out of Sojourn''s luxurious, high-fantasy medieval setting and into a weird alien city from a futuristic film. At least that¡¯s what his imagination told him, even though he knew that Energy and enchantments powered everything around him.

    The sign that hung above the doorman''s station, glowing in bright neon oranges and yellows, proimed the restaurant as ¡°Sunset¡¯s Rest.¡± As they approached the door, the man standing ready to open it leaped into action, bowing stiffly before pulling it wide. ¡°Wee, Lord Dar. Your table is ready.¡±

    Dar flicked something to him that glimmered, and he deftly caught it. Before Victor could wonder what it was, they were inside, and the door was swinging shut behind them. Dar turned to regard Victor and Lesh and gestured to the wide-open dining room. ck tables that gleamed like cut and polished opal dotted the midnight blue floor. They were almost all upied by interesting folk, but Victor couldn¡¯t focus on the people; he was too taken by the fact that the walls surrounding the dining room were wide open to balconies with crystal-clear railings allowing for an unobstructed view of the high Sojourn skyline.

    Just as he¡¯d stared from the coach, Victor found himself doing so again. His eyes traced the crystalline walkways, the colorful spires, and the strange, fantastical people walking about in the distance. Lesh gave him a nudge, and Victor started walking, following Dar through the dining room to a table where Lo¡¯ro sat, adorned as usual in ck robes and sipping from a tall ss of blue, fizzing liquid. Standing close, Victor realized the table was high, suited for a man of Dar¡¯s or Victor¡¯s stature, but Lo¡¯ro¡¯s chair was tall and allowed him to sit at afortable height.

    ¡°Lo¡¯ro,¡± Dar greeted the Death Caster with a nod. ¡°Apologies for our tardiness.¡±

    ¡°No need, no need.¡± Lo¡¯ro smiled and regarded Victor and Lesh. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you were bringing your apprentices.¡±

    Dar chuckled and sat down, then gestured to the two empty seats. ¡°Sit, men.¡± He turned back to Lo¡¯ro. ¡°I¡¯ll im only Victor. Lesh¡¯ro¡¯zen is hispanion.¡±

    ¡°Lesh¡¯ro¡¯zen, is it?¡± Lo¡¯ro openly stared at Lesh as he took a seat and pulled his chair in. ¡°Well met, dragonkin.¡± Lesh hurried to stand again, but Lo¡¯ro waved him back down. ¡°Rx, young man. How interesting! Dar, you always surprise me. I had no idea you had someone from Ashenshoal at your house.¡±

    At that moment, Victor wished he had a camera pointed at Lesh¡¯s face. The dragonkin¡¯s mouth hung open, and his eyes bulged as he practically choked. He coughed to cover his surprise, then asked, ¡°You know of Ashenshoal?¡±

    ¡°Naturally! The birthce of Zoh¡¯ka¡¯drul? He violently conquered a few worlds in allegiance with the Bloodmoon Triumvirate before sumbing to the Dread Scourge. He almost won through, but those were Vesavo Bonewhisper¡¯s most bloodthirsty years, and his undead legions were merciless.¡± Heughed and sipped his drink. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Dar¡ªI¡¯m already a bit drunk. Forgive my rambling.¡±

    Victor had watched Lesh during the little exchange and saw only confusion in his friend¡¯s eyes; he figured it was a safe bet that Lesh had never heard of Zoh¡¯ka¡¯drul. He wanted to ask Lo¡¯ro more about the story; he was interested in Vesavo¡¯s history, if only because he was helping Arona to escape him, but Dar spoke first. ¡°Nonsense. We¡¯re celebrating. Victor had a breakthrough today.¡± He waved a hand, and a server hurried over. She was a petite, elfin-looking young woman wearing a shimmering ck dress that clung to her figure¡ªall the servers seemed to be women, and all were simrly dressed.

    While Dar ordered drinks, Victor leaned closer to Lo¡¯ro. ¡°What¡¯s the ¡®Dread Scourge¡¯?¡±

    ¡°That was the teaming mass of undead Vesavo led from world to world, conquering in the name of death and revenge. I was one of his lieutenants back then. Some might say I was his right-hand man, but they¡¯d be wrong; his infatuation with Shivana kept the rest of us firmly on the periphery. Those days are long over, however. We¡¯ve been ratherzy thesest few centuries, idling about Sojourn. I wonder how many of his worlds he still holds.¡±

    ¡°Seventeen,¡± Dar said immediately.

    ¡°Is that all?¡± Lo¡¯roughed and shook his head. ¡°He was so hellbent on conquering the Greensap Ascendancy¡ªI swear he held more than a hundred at the height of his power.¡±

    Dar chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t downy your part. I believe he handed off a dozen or so to you during that expansion.¡±

    ¡°True, true. Though, I was never one for ruling¡ªI¡¯m more at home in myboratories.¡± Lo¡¯ro sighed, then finished his drink. As he set it on the table, Victor¡¯s eyes were drawn to his long, corpselike fingers with their polished ck nails. He didn¡¯t realize he was staring until Lo¡¯ro cleared his throat and startled him by saying, ¡°Victor! You¡¯ve recentlye out of a harrowing experience, haven''t you? I heard both the Volpur¨¦ boy and dear, lovely Arona Moonshadow perished, yet you emerged hale.¡± Victor experienced a moment of panic at those words; he¡¯d forgotten that Lo¡¯ro had been somewhat obsessed with Arona.

    Dar saved him, though, thumping the table and proiming, ¡°That¡¯s right, he did! Now, a toast!¡± Victor hadn¡¯t realized the server had returned, but she was there, reaching up to deposit tall, slender, fluted sses before each of them. They were filled to the brim with steaming orange liquid, and Victor caught a faint whiff of something like vani as he leaned close to inspect the drink.

    Dar picked up his ss and held it out. ¡°I¡¯m inspired by Lo¡¯ro¡¯s ramblings about empires and great wars. I, too, have conquered a ce or two; in fact, my army¡¯s destruction of Lo¡¯ro¡¯s forces led me to befriend this dastardly rascal. How many years in my prison did younguish, old friend?¡±

    Lo¡¯ro¡¯s skeletally thin face always looked angry to Victor. Even when he smiled, it looked like he was preparing to devour someone alive. Still, even with that evil, rictus grin, his voice was light when he replied, ¡°Seventy-nine years, Dar. Seventy-nine years in which we yed at least a thousand games of Fortitude. We became fast friends over that marble table, didn¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°We did. So¡ªto friends!¡± Dar held his ss up, but before anyone could join in the toast, he added, ¡°And enemies.¡± Victor suddenly felt like a child having dinner with a couple of old tigers, as if they might destroy him with a careless swipe of their paws. Hearing them talk of conquering worlds and fighting world-spanning empires was a little daunting, not to mention that they¡¯d apparently been mortal enemies in the past. Victor locked eyes with Lesh and raised an eyebrow. He could tell the dragonkin was thinking simr thoughts.

    ¡°To friends,¡± Victor said, touching his ss to Lo¡¯ro¡¯s and then to Lesh¡¯s and Dar¡¯s.

    ¡°And enemies, Victor.¡± Lo¡¯ro leered as he leaned close. ¡°Never forget to thank your enemies. They make you what you are.¡± He nodded to Dar. Victor downed his drink, and it burned like acid. In fact, both he and Lesh belched loudly, and smoke erupted from their mouths.

    ¡°Hah!¡± Darughed. ¡°Another!¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 5: Spirit Walk

    Book 9: Chapter 5: Spirit Walk

    Victor jogged along thekeshore, loping easily over the scattered rocks, driftwood, briar tangles, and other obstacles in his path. It waste afternoon on the day after his celebratory dinner with Dar, Lo¡¯ro, and Lesh, and Victor was feeling good, though pleasantly weary after a long day of sparring in the circle with Lesh and Drobna, who¡¯de early after ast-minute invitation. Now, though, Victor was heading to a spot where Dar had instructed him to await his presence.

    His mentor had refused to borate on the purpose of their meeting or why Victor had to make his way through the seldom-traveled parts of Dar¡¯s property to meet in a secluded grove on the far side of theke. The demand hade up when Victor asked about a regr training schedule. Dar had been drunk¡ªas they all had been¡ªand had put off the conversation, saying simply that Victor would have the day to exercise his weapon skills but that he must be in the ¡°fath¡± grove across theke at sundown. Luckily, when Victor asked Mr. Ruln what a fath tree was, the steward could point one out on the property¡ªa tall, white-barked deciduous variety with hand-sized, fan-shaped leaves.

    So, Victor ran along thekeshore, eyes peeled for a cluster of simr trees, enjoying the light exercise in the cool,te-afternoon air. As he ran, he couldn¡¯t stop his mind from wandering, and, despite his efforts to the contrary, it often found its way to subjects he¡¯d rather avoid; chief among them was Va. He¡¯d been doing well, he reckoned, considering his nearly two weeks of seclusion in the cultivation chamber, to avoid those mncholy musings, but now, for some reason, she kepting to mind as he ran.

    He had a strange, hollow feeling every time she came to mind. He felt a little like he¡¯d done something wrong or that he¡¯d lost something precious, even when he reminded himself of Va¡¯s words. He tried to keep in mind that she was just trying to see what she could aplish outside his shadow, exploring her own interests and giving them both a chance to grow and learn and be the people they were meant to be. Still, every time he remembered that she wouldn¡¯t be back at the house or ready to apany him to dinner or whatever adventure came next when he finished with Dar¡¯s business on Ruhn, it felt final.

    The other half of the matter was that Va hadn¡¯t argued enough¡ªfor his tastes¡ªabout what would happen if either of them met someone they fell for. Victor, obviously, was more concerned about the idea of Va loving someone else. The thought rankled something deep in his spirit and reminded him of how he used to feel when he couldn¡¯t control his rage. He kept picturing Va with a faceless man, someone holding her hand, kissing her¡ªloving her. It made his gut twist, and he had to remind himself that he didn¡¯t <em>own</em> Va. If they were apart for years or decades or¡ªGod-forbid¡ªcenturies, how could he expect her to spend all her time alone?

    As he spied the tops of tall, white-barked trees on a nearby hillside, he tried to conclude his ponderings on his rtionship by telling himself that the answer to his unrest was to throw himself into training. The discipline would be good for him, and when he went to Ruhn, he knew he¡¯d have plenty to keep him upied¡ªpeople to meet, the wonders of a distant world to see, and, best of all, duels to fight. He found a path meandering up the hillside and slowed to a walk as he ascended toward the grove.

    His feet crunched on gravel, and birds by the dozen chirped in the nearby treetops, helping bring Victor back to the present as he grounded himself with slow, steady steps and deep breaths full of amazingly clear, rich air. As the sun dipped below the horizon and stars and moonlight guided his steps, he walked between the first of the white-barked trees. It felt like a curtain had been drawn¡ªeverything grew dimmer and quieter. A gentle breeze blew, rustling the leaves high overhead, and Victor felt peace like he hadn¡¯t in a long while.

    The glow of amp brought his eyes ahead and to his right, and he recognized Dar¡¯s hulking shadow as he moved around in its circle of illumination. As he approached, he wanted to call out, but something told him it would be wrong to be noisy in that ce, so he padded up the slope to the small clearing where his master sat on a patch of soft, rich loam. When he stepped into the clearing, Dar looked up and smiled and, as softly as he could with his rough, grating voice, said, ¡°Wee, Victor. Sit down here with me.¡±

    The master Spirit Caster wore a loose, ck, silken shirt over gray pants of a matching style. Looking at him as he sat down, Victor contemted Dar¡¯s habit of always wearing something loose andfortable. ¡°Do you ever wear armor?¡±¡°Not these days. I have some¡ªarmor that could withstand the destruction of a mountain¡ªbut I¡¯ve learned abilities that make it¡­redundant.¡± He gestured to the ground before him, and Victor saw that he had a few items arrayed there beside the softly glowing orb-shapedmp. The first was a smooth, normal-looking river rock. Beside it was a carved ivory figurine that reminded Victor of a chess piece, and next to that was a small terracotta pot holding a delicate green nt with beautiful, star-shaped blue flowers. ¡°Have you ever wondered why your Spirit Walk spell is still in the ¡®basic¡¯ stage?¡±

    The question surprised Victor, as it seemed to have nothing to do with the three items arrayed on the ground. He blinked, thought for a moment, then nodded. ¡°Yeah, of course.¡±

    ¡°Spirit walking, at its most basic level, is the ability to project your conscious spirit onto the spirit ne. You¡¯ve mastered this quite well¡ªyou¡¯ve learned to find ces you¡¯ve seen or visited before, and you¡¯ve also learned to visit other spirit walkers. What you don¡¯t know is that, with practice, you can learn to bring physical objects onto the spirit ne with you. Once you¡¯ve mastered that, you can also learn to bring your physical body there. It¡¯s the first step to learning how to travel through the spirit ne from one location on the material ne to another.¡±

    ¡°I¡ª¡± Victor paused, considering his words, ensuring he was right, then finished his thought, ¡°I¡¯ve brought Lifedrinker onto the spirit ne with me before.¡±

    Dar nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve brought Lifedrinker¡¯s <em>spirit</em>. She manifested as an axe there. It¡¯s also possible that you¡¯ve brought some small item with you before, subconsciously tapping into the spell¡¯s greater potential. However, you won''t evolve the spell until you learn to do it with intent.¡±

    ¡°Ah. All right.¡±

    Dar gestured to the stone. ¡°We¡¯ll start with this simple rock I picked up from the shore on my way here. Pick it up.¡± Victor took the stone in his hand, weighing it in hisrge palm as Dar continued, ¡°Bringing something with you on a spirit walk requires an effort of will. You must concentrate on the object and, just as you might move Energy about with your will, you must <emmand</em> the object to apany you as you cast the spell.¡±

    Victor frowned and looked up from the rock he¡¯d been studying. ¡°I¡¯ve never tried to exert my will on something other than Energy or a spell or person using Energy.¡±

    ¡°Open your inner eye, Victor, and contemte the stone in your hand.¡±

    Victor did as instructed, closing his eyes and opening that inner sense that allowed him to see his Core, pathways, aura, and the Energy in the world around him. As he moved his gaze away from his Core and out of himself, he had a hard time even seeing the stone at first. As he concentrated, though, he began to see tiny swirls of dim, gray-brown Energy. He continued to focus and saw that the swirling loops of Energy were contained, and that¡¯s when he realized they were bound by the shape of the stone. ¡°I see it! It¡¯s full of Energy!¡±

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the vition.

    ¡°Good! And now you see how you will influence the stone; like all things, Energy is part of it. When you cast Spirit Walk, wrap that stone in your will and <em>pull </em>it with you. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I think so.¡± In theory, Victor thought it seemed simple and was eager to try. He began to gather his Energy into the pattern for Spirit Walk, but Dar leaned forward, and suddenly, he felt a knife-like fragment of Dar¡¯s aura reaching out and erasing the pattern before he couldplete it.

    ¡°Patience! Did I say to cast your spell?¡± Dar didn¡¯t sound angry, but Victor couldn¡¯t help scowling at the intrusion into his personal Energy space.

    ¡°Can any veil walker do that? It feels like bullshit. I mean, I¡¯m helpless before you!¡±

    Dar chuckled and leaned back, shaking his head as his broad smile demonstrated his good temper. ¡°It¡¯s a frustrating realization, isn¡¯t it? I know what it¡¯s like to think of the obstacles you¡¯ve ovee, the trials you¡¯ve faced, the hard work you¡¯ve put in, and to know that there are those who can swat you like a bug.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not so much, you, Dar, but what if Lord Roil wanted me dead?¡±

    ¡°Yes. If he hadn¡¯t been worried about the code of conduct for our kind here on Sojourn, he might have struck you down shortly after that challenge dungeon showing.¡± He sighed and shrugged. ¡°Listen, Victor; the secret to resisting the likes of me is to build your aura to a point where it can resist my intrusion. You¡¯ve learned to veil your Core, and that¡¯s the first step. Your aura is heavy for someone at your tier, but you can make it heavier. Build your Core, continue to advance your bloodline, increase your attributes, and continue to win contests. Nothing can build an aura like deeds aplished. They be part of your <em>weight</em> in the universe. No wallflower who learns every spell and swallows a thousand rare treasures will ever have the weight of one who¡¯s entered hell ande out the other side.¡±

    Victor liked the way that sounded. He clenched his fists as he asked, ¡°Can someone who hasn¡¯t passed their test of steel resist a veil walker?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. There are steel-bound cultivators who would pose a serious threat to me. I¡¯m not so sure it would be possible in the iron ranks, but there are prodigies of all sorts that I¡¯ve yet to meet. In my many years, Victor, I¡¯ve met few with the potential you show. Let¡¯s focus on keeping you alive so you can reach further heights, though, shall we? Leave off your thoughts of challenging veil walkers for now.¡± Dar finished thest sentence with a chuckle and reached over the glowmp to jostle Victor¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°All right. I mean, honestly, that makes me feel better. It¡¯s nice to know what I need to work on.¡±

    ¡°Oh, there is <em>much</em> you need to work on¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yeah, about that, Dar. Can we please set up some kind of schedule until I leave for Ruhn? I¡¯d like to be able to arrange for regr sparring partners and also spend time doing breath Core cultivation with Lesh and¡ª¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± Darughed, shaking his head. ¡°You¡¯re the first in centuries to demand so much! Fine, heed me well: The mornings shall be yours, but you must be prepared to receive my tutge at half past noon each day. Further, there will be times when I¡¯ll set a task before you that will require several days or weeks of effort¡ªyour ¡®partners¡¯ will need to make do without you during those times. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Thank you, Lord Dar.¡± Victor figured using the honorific might earn him a little leeway for being a demanding student.

    ¡°Good. Now, let¡¯s see how well you listened. Cast Spirit Walk and bring that stone with you.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Victor reflexively clutched the stone, suddenly hyper-aware of his senses¡ªthe smooth, cool surface in his hand, the tickle of the soft breeze on his freshly shorn hair, the distant trill of a nightbird, and the mesmerizing rustle of the leaves high overhead. He took a deep breath, centering himself, then closed his eyes and <em>saw</em> the stone again, focusing on its shape containing the tiny swirls of earth-attuned Energy. He built the pattern for Spirit Walk and, as he sent Energy into it, <em>willed</em> the stone toe with him.

    When he opened his eyes, he and Dar sat in a dark, twilight forest. It was the spirit ne version of the grove where he¡¯d left his body. Here, though, the trees were much taller, with vast trunks. They were limned with ethereal light, and the dense boles stretched away as far as he could see; it was a massive forest. Dar looked exactly as he did on the material ne, but he was no longer seated, and Victor could see that his feet hovered above the loamy soil. ¡°Can you fly here?¡±

    ¡°Easily. Look to your hands, apprentice.¡±

    Victor looked at his open palms resting on his knees, and when he saw they were both empty, he groaned. ¡°Shit! I thought I had it, for sure!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not as trivial as it seems. The stone <em>wants</em> to be in the ground on the material ne. You must ovee its primitive desire with your will. Next time, when you¡¯ve wrapped your intent around it, try to hear its voice, its whispered desire. You have to have a closer connection to it than surface-level.¡±

    ¡°All right.¡± Victor reached into his pathways and severed his connection to the Spirit Walk spell, plunging himself back into the material ne. Once again, the stone sat heavy in his palm. ¡°You want to be here, huh?¡± Victor chuckled and hefted the stone, peering at it as though he could see into it somehow. ¡°Come on, <em>hermano</em>. Don¡¯t be an asshole, all right? I¡¯ll bring you back.¡± Victor closed his eyes and built the pattern for Spirit Walk. Then, before he filled it with Energy, he turned his inner eye on the stone again.

    He stared at those tiny whorls of gray-brown Energy. They were dim and, in his estimation, weak; an Earth Elementalist would struggle to cultivate anything of note from this stone. Still, it was evident the stone had a will; it wanted to stay where it was. Victor tried to do what Dar said, staring hard at it, but he couldn¡¯t see any indication of its primitive desire. Then he remembered Dar had said to <em>listen</em> for its ¡°whispered desire.¡±

    Victor inhaled deeply and willed himself to stop hearing the noises of the world around him. He shut out the bird¡¯s trilling song, the leaves¡¯ rustle, the breeze''s whisper, and Dar¡¯s slow, steady inhtions. When he¡¯d imposed his will upon himself to the point where he sat in utter silence, he stared at the stone again, and this time, he caught it¡ªthe faintest, strangest sound he¡¯d ever heard. It was like a distant, muffled conversation of which he couldn¡¯t make out a single word. The muttered, droning sound was without intelligence, without design, but it held a definite <em>intent</em>. The stone wanted to be part of the earth¡ªpart of the world.

    Victor wrapped his will around it, and this time, as he <em>pulled</em> it with him into the spirit ne, he ground out a single word, directed toward the stone, and pitched so it overwhelmed its strange intent-filled drone, ¡°Come!¡± When he opened his eyes, he looked at his hand and was rewarded to see the gray stone there, solid and real, not limned with the weird phantom light of spirit things. Victor¡¯s lips split in a wide grin, exposing his bright teeth.

    ¡°Congrattions, apprentice. You did well, though I feelpelled to inform you that I managed to pull a stone with me onto the spirit ne with my first attempt. Still, sess on your second try is an admirable feat. I¡¯ve taught apprentices who required weeks of constant effort to achieve the same.¡±

    ¡°Uh,¡± Victor chuckled, ¡°thanks, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Back to the material ne, now.¡± Dar winked out of existence, and Victor quickly canceled his Spirit Walk spell. When he opened his eyes, Dar was hefting the ivory figurine.

    ¡°This was once a living thing. A piece of ivory from tavahawk¡¯s horn. Because of its former existence as a piece of something powerful and alive, you¡¯ll find its will somewhat more¡­tumultuous. For reference, Victor, it took me several hours and close to a hundred attempts to pull a simr object into the spirit ne with me. I was a child, however. Hopefully, you¡¯ll prove yourself more capable.¡± He stood and held the figurine toward Victor.

    Victor took it, and when Dar stepped away toward theke, he raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh, are you leaving?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t go far. I¡¯ll feel it if you seed because I¡¯m quite certain it will rank up your Spirit Walk spell.¡± He pointed toward theke. ¡°I¡¯ll just step over to the house for an early dinner. Pay attention, Victor; if you were wondering how a veil walker like me might move great distances quickly, this is one method. I¡¯ll bring myself onto the spirit ne, walk quickly to my home, and then emerge back on the material ne.¡±

    ¡°Will I be able to do that?¡±

    ¡°Eventually. First, you must master these three objects. Then, Victor, the fun begins, and you will work to master yourself. You might not realize it, but your body¡ªyour very cells¡ªhas desires. Once you¡¯ve learned to exert your will over yourself, many doors will open to you.¡± He gestured to the ivory figurine in Victor¡¯s hand. ¡°Focus on what¡¯s before you, however. After you seed with the piece of horn, move on to the nt¡ªaplex, living thing. When you¡¯ve emerged victorious, I will return, and we will speak of the next step.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but¡ª¡± Victor snapped his mouth shut as Dar shimmered and disappeared with a potent swirl of brilliant golden Energy. Victor wanted to be annoyed, but he was too busy feeling excited. How incredible would it be to use the spirit ne to move around? He could walk from theke house to Sojourn in seconds. Back on Fanwath, he¡¯d covered a thousand miles on the spirit ne in minutes. Could he learn to travel between worlds? ¡°Yes!¡± Heughed as he recalled Dar talking about ¡°walking¡± to Ruhn. With a grin, excited to prove he could do it, Victor closed his eyes and turned his attention to the strange golden Energy swirls inside the figurine he held.

 Book 9: Chapter 6: Successes and Warnings

    Book 9: Chapter 6: Sesses and Warnings

    Victor managed to bring the carved piece of ivory with him onto the spirit ne after two difficult, aggravating hours. The nt, however, took him nearly a week. After he seeded, he was awarded with System messages dering his Spirit Walk spell had ranked up to ¡°improved¡± and that he¡¯d be able to ¡°more easily bring lesser beings and objects with him onto the spirit ne with an increased Energy expenditure.¡± The message felt like it had been a long timeing, and Victor¡¯s relief and pleasure at seeing those words was on par with when he¡¯d pushed his Berserk into the ¡°epic¡± rank.

    Dar was there to wee him back to the material ne with words of praise and encouragement. They sat together in the grove of tall, quiet trees and enjoyed a meal together that Dar provided. They spoke about Sojourn, the political scene, and then, at much greater length, about the goings-on around the Lake House. Lesh had been entertaining sparring guests in Victor¡¯s absence, just as he had been while Victor had been on Fanwath and secluded in his cultivation cave.

    Victor nodded as Dar described Lesh¡¯s guests¡ªDrobna and Dovalion Boarheart, the te-wearing, giant swordsman. He was d Lesh was keeping up with his practice and also maintaining rtionships with some of the stronger fighters in Sojourn. It alleviated some of his guilt for, once again, disappearing for days on end. In truth, he¡¯d tuned out those feelings of guilt along with his recurring despondency regarding Va. ¡°And what about Lam and the others?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ve yet to return from their dungeon expedition.¡± Dar watched him polish off thest hunk of smokey, tangy boar meat. ¡°Well? Are you ready for the next task?¡±

    ¡°I guess. I feel like I learned a lot from my struggles with that stubborn little nt.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you did! The nt¡¯s lesson will serve you well as you struggle to convince your physical form to join you on the spirit ne.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I figured that was the point of it.¡± Victor sighed and handed his polished silver te and fork to Dar. They disappeared into some hidden storage vault as Dar nodded and stood. Victor frowned. ¡°You¡¯re leaving? No words of advice?¡±

    ¡°Hah! You know what to do; it¡¯s the same task as before, just¡­harder.¡±

    So, just like that, Victor¡¯s struggles began anew. Dar hadn¡¯t lied; the task was the same, but it was strange as hell¡ªin Victor¡¯s colorful opinion¡ªto be battling his own body. Beyond the strangeness of it, he found that his ¡°self¡± was unreasonably stubborn. It wasn¡¯t until three dayster, with no sign of sess, that he finally had a breakthrough in his thinking; if he couldn¡¯t convince his entire body toe with him to the spirit ne, perhaps he could force part of it through.¡°What the fuck would that look like?¡± he asked himself, staring at his hand, wondering what would happen if he dragged his little finger with him into the spirit ne. Would it simply be gone on the material ne? Would a void appear? Would his stump bleed, and would his regeneration begin to grow a new finger? Heughed at the idea and realized his most prominent fear¡ªthat he¡¯d somehow permanently remove a piece of himself¡ªwasn¡¯t such a terrible worry; his ability to regenerate would make short work of a pinky.

    So, with renewed excitement and inspiration¡ªhe¡¯d constantly been operating under the influence of his inspiration-based spells¡ªhe began to try anew, this time simply focusing on the stubborn flesh, bone, and blood of his left pinky. The battle of wills was still there, but he could feel the difference. Those living cells put up a fight, but they were not, collectively, as strong as his entire body. When he appeared on the spirit ne and looked down at his hand, heughed uproariously when he saw a solid, living pinky jutting out from his faintly ethereal, luminescent hand.

    When he returned to the material ne, his fears of spattered blood and a stubby, slowly regrowing finger were for naught¡ªthe pinky was there, and he could find no evidence of bleeding. Whatever strange magic allowed him to bring just a part of himself onto the spirit ne seemed to defy the rules of physical flesh. With his confidence renewed, Victor got to work trying to bring more and more of himself onto the spirit ne. He managed his hand right away, but his arm defied him.

    That resistance drew out Victor¡¯s stubbornness, and he doubled down, focusing his will with long hours of meditation. He <em>listened</em> to the Energy in his body and worked to understand its desire to remain where it was. It wanted to be part of the light of the sun and stars. It wanted to be grounded to the. It wanted to be surrounded by air and to taste the moisture in the breeze. It wanted to feel the waves of sound bouncing against and through it¡ªsounds of animals, nts, people, and things. Victor used each of those desires against himself, making levers out of them and pressing his will against them.

    The hours bled into days, bled into weeks, and it wasn¡¯t until sixteen dayster that Victor finally achieved victory over himself, dragging his stubborn, recalcitrant flesh and blood¡ªhis entire body¡ªwith him onto the spirit ne. When he finally did it, when he opened his eyes and saw his solid, living, naked flesh sitting on the luminous loam of the magical, ghostly forest of the spirit ne, Victor tilted his head back and howled at the stars.

    He stood and danced, howling and crowing, struggling to believe his battle was over; those weeks had been the most frustrating, annoying, mind-bogglingly boring days he could recall, and it was like a wave of constant relief and new-found excitement kept rolling through him every time he looked at his hands, flexing his fingers into fists in front of his very real, very solid eyes. Only after he¡¯d howled his lungs out several times did he notice the heavy drain of Energy on his Core. When he looked inward, his eyes bulged when he saw he was nearly drained and that Energy was pouring out of his Core at an astonishing rate.

    Before he ran himself dry, Victor hastily ended his Spirit Walk spell, and as soon as the material ne snapped into existence around him, he was bombarded with System messages:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have learned a new spell ¨C Spirit Walk: Advanced.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Spirit Walk ¨C Advanced: Prerequisite: any spirit-based Energy affinity. Using the fundamental, primal nature of your Energy, you send forth and sustain your spirit on its essential ne of existence. You¡¯ve mastered the innate resistance of your flesh and can now walk physically upon the Spirit ne. Be warned that your body will be vulnerable to harm in ways your projected spirit would not. The duration of this spell is dependent on your Energy stores. Manifesting a physical presence on the spirit ne is extremely costly. Energy Cost: Minimum 50 - scble. Cooldown: Short.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 69 Herald of the Mountain¡¯s Wrath and gained 12 strength, 17 vitality, and 12 will.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have earned a ss spell: Voice of the Angry Earth ¨C Basic.***</strong>

    <strong></strong>

    <strong>***Voice of the Angry Earth ¨C Basic: Prerequisite: titanic, colossal, or gargantuan bloodline. Channel the volcano''s fury, projecting it in a roar that will brutalize the senses of your foes. Drive them to their knees with the power of your voice, reminding all who stand before you that just because it slumbers does not mean the mountain is at peace. The power of your roar will be influenced by the strength of your aura and the amount of Energy you pour into the spell. Energy Cost: Minimum 2000, scble. Cooldown: Medium.***</strong>

    Seeing those messages made Victor feel like the many days he¡¯d spent struggling against his own body had been worth it. A broad smile split his face, exposing white, straight teeth, and heughed, pping his mighty hands together. ¡°Yes! <em>That</em>¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about!¡± With eager anticipation, he looked at his attributes:

    <strong>Name:</strong>

    <strong>Victor Sandoval</strong>

    <strong>Race:</strong>

    <strong>Quinametzin Bloodline - Epic 2</strong>

    <strong>ss:</strong>

    <strong>Herald of the Mountain''s Wrath - Legendary</strong>

    <strong>Level:</strong>

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    <strong>69</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core:</strong>

    <strong>Elder ss - Improved 3</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Spirit ss - Epic 2</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Magma - 9</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Energy:</strong>

    <strong>2200/2200</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Glory 8.6, Inspiration 7.4, Unattuned 3.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>433/35458</strong>

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>478</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>628 (691)</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>190</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>213</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>172</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>661</strong>

    Heughed when he saw his current Energy level; he really had almost drained himself by bringing his physical form onto the spirit ne, and he¡¯d only been there for a couple of minutes. He turned toward theke, thinking it might be amusing to try out his new spell, but Dar was already standing there.

    ¡°That was well done, Victor. I was pleased when I saw you work on bringing your body through piece by piece. I thought I might give you that guidance, but my master did not do so for me, so I thought it might be wise to follow his example. It seems I was right; you gained much from the effort.¡± He stepped closer, resting hisrge, heavy hand on Victor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°While you were on the spirit ne, I noted the Energy infusion hanging heavy in the air¡ªyou gained a level?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Victor was too exuberant to hold back. ¡°My Spirit Walk is now ¡®advanced!¡¯ and I gained a new ss spell¡ªVoice of the Angry Earth.¡±

    ¡°A shout ability? This will pair well with your feats and bloodline boons!¡± He nodded, tugging Victor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Come, let¡¯s walk toward the house. You¡¯ve secluded long enough and aplished the only thing that was absolutely necessary before your journey to Ruhn.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I have the strength and reserves of Energy to pull a being like you onto the spirit ne, but I would have struggled to pull you all the way to Ruhn. Now, you can do the lion¡¯s share of the lifting where you are concerned.¡±

    ¡°Um, I don¡¯t know about that; I ran dry on Energy after only a couple of minutes¡ª¡±

    Dar waved his hand. ¡°You¡¯ll work on that over the next few months. Each day, before you rest, you¡¯ll project your physical form onto the spirit ne. With practice, you¡¯ll extend the time you can hold yourself there. Our journey will take less than an hour. As long as you can hold yourself on the spirit ne for that duration, I can do the work of moving us.¡±

    Victor nodded. If there was one thing he understood, it was grinding out incremental gains. ¡°So I have time?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The hardest part is getting yourself there. Imagine how much work it was to do that; now imagine doing it for another person. You¡¯ll be able to, eventually, but it¡¯s taxing.¡± As he spoke, Victor and Dar descended the path to thekeshore, where a small wooden boat bobbed in the shallow water, bumping into the shore with each gentle wave. Dar pointed to it. ¡°Climb aboard, and I¡¯ll ferry us back to the house. Tomorrow, you¡¯ll begin that routine you pestered me about.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t begin to tell you how ready I am to get some sparring in, Lord Dar. I was going nuts sitting in that grove day after day.¡± Victor sloshed through the shallow water, his boots and pants sloughing the water off like a seal¡¯s skin. He climbed onto the little boat and added, ¡°If I hadn¡¯t figured out how to bring myself over to the spirit ne little by little, I would have gone mad. Seeing the progress day by day kept me going.¡±

    Dar nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve earned some exercise. The mastery of your body¡¯s will and the ability to physically walk on that ne are both keys to greater powers.¡± Dar nudged the rudder, and the boat turned and began to speed silently over the water, leaving a long, deep wake as it rushed toward the center of the dark water. Dar continued, ¡°For example, you can now move, unseen, unfelt, and much more quickly, from point to point on the material ne. When you¡¯ve gained more Energy and an even stronger will, I¡¯ll teach you how to bridge worlds. The spirit ne doesn¡¯t have ¡®worlds¡¯¡ªit is all-epassing, but the expanse betweens is too vast for a normal walk.¡±

    ¡°I was wondering about that!¡± Victor took in the stars and moon, enjoying the rush of coolke air against his face and through his hair.

    Dar was quiet for a minute, but as theke house came into view, he said, ¡°You¡¯ll spar in the mornings, as I promised. Your follower has arranged for new partners each day for the two of you. After sparring, you¡¯ll be given two hours to cultivate your breath Core. After that, I¡¯ll have lessons for you. I¡¯ve decided that a course on runic structure will serve you the most at this time. Many rituals¡ªlike the one we did for your friend, Lam¡ªrequire knowledge of sigils and runes. They serve as a way to channel and direct your Energy, giving it purpose much the way that a spell pattern does.¡±

    Victor nodded emphatically. ¡°I¡¯ve wanted to learn about that stuff!¡±

    ¡°Good! Moreover, the knowledge will help you on Ruhn. If you¡¯re victorious in your duels, you¡¯ll be given treasures and gifts, and many will likely be enchanted. It would be dangerous to expose a gap in your education by relying on others to exin those treasures. Never mind that you wouldn¡¯t know if you could trust the person aiding you.¡±

    Before Victor could check himself, his tongue got away from him. ¡°What about Elder magic?¡±

    Dar looked at him and frowned. ¡°What of it?¡±

    ¡°Do you know how to read it? The spell patterns and sigils and¡ª¡±

    ¡°Better to avoid curiosity about that, Victor. Many have found their downfalls dabbling with pre-System rituals.¡± He sighed, and as the boat sped toward the pier outside his home, he turned his zing eyes on Victor and, in a much sterner voice, said, ¡°People more powerful than I have destroyed themselves pursuing Elder magic¡ªliterally and figuratively. I¡¯ve seen a man rip himself apart, atom by atom, and I¡¯ve seen a woman go mad to the point where even a racial advancement treasure was wasted on her, unable to salvage her wits.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Victor frowned. ¡°I had it in my head that maybe part of being a steel seeker or bing a veil walker was learning to do Elder magic. Like, it was a time for us to learn to grow without the System guiding¡ª¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not correct.¡± Dar turned the rudder, slowing the boat and bringing it up alongside the pier. ¡°The System will still be there. It will still award you and provide guidance, but you¡¯ll have more freedom to direct your development¡ªthis all begins at level one hundred when you build your ss.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I see. Yeah, I knew about that¡ªthe ss building, I mean. I just thought maybe it was the first step of being free of¡ª¡±

    ¡°Turn your mind from such fantasies, Victor.¡± Dar stepped out of the boat, hardly causing it to dip into the water, and it took Victor a moment to realize the huge, weighty man must be adjusting his weight somehow; how else could he keep the little vessel from shifting in the water? By contrast, Victor had to use every ounce of his agility to avoid falling as the boat tipped and rocked under his feet. When they were both on the solid nks of the pier, Dar pped his shoulder and walked with him toward the stairs leading up to the house. ¡°Tell me, what got you so interested in Elder magic?¡±

    Rather than be caught out in a lie, Victor shared part of the truth: ¡°When I was on Zaafor, in the city of Coloss. I met another traveler who imed to be from a world where the System had been rebuked; she said the people there used Elder magic.¡±

    Dar stopped and pressed Victor¡¯s shoulder, turning him until they were face to face. ¡°Is this one of the secrets you¡¯ve held back from me?¡±

    Again, Victor didn¡¯t want to lie. He knew better. ¡°Yeah. She made me swear not to reveal her identity.¡±

    Dar nodded. ¡°It¡¯s good that you understand the weight of such a promise. Well, you¡¯ve heard my words of caution. You¡¯re no child. I do hope you¡¯ll heed me, however. Now,¡± he turned back toward the house, ¡°let us feast and share your good news with your follower.¡±

    As they walked up the steps, Victor thought about Dar¡¯s warning and his earlier assumptions about Elder magic and the System. There was certainly <em>something</em> that he was missing. He didn¡¯t believe that Dar knew nothing about Elder magic; it simply didn¡¯t make sense. The man had been around for millennia, and Victor had only been walking in this part of the universe for something like two or three years if he were guessing¡ªhe really didn¡¯t know. How could he know more about such a subject than Dar? He could believe he knew more than the other iron rankers in Sojourn; they¡¯d led sheltered existences, but Dar had been ces¡ªconquered worlds.

    He supposed Dar¡¯s admission that he¡¯d seen people ruin themselves pursuing Elder magic was enough to spell the truth: his master knew much more but wanted to shelter Victor from dangerous knowledge. As they made their way into the house and Dar sent one of the servants to look for Lesh, Victor sat down, still deep in thought. His mind kept returning to the book he¡¯d found in the Iron Prison. He was sure it contained writings in the same script of the spell Tes had taught him. Despite Dar¡¯s warnings, he hoped his lessons with the master Spirit Caster on runes and glyphs would help him wring some secrets out of that book.

    ¡°You seem very lost in thought, Victor. Are you still dwelling on our earlier discussion?¡± Victor looked up to see Dar, a drink in hand, taking a seat on one of the plush couches.

    Victor smiled and tried to steer the conversation to a safer topic. ¡°I was, but now I¡¯m thinking about my ss and the spell I just learned. I¡¯m going to be choosing a new refinement at the next level. Do you think there¡¯s any chance I¡¯ll reach seventy before I leave for Ruhn?¡±

    ¡°Not likely. Not unless you kill someone¡ªor many people, depending on their strength.¡± Dar chuckled. ¡°Thest level in any tier is always the steepest, and gaining levels through cultivation or skill and spell improvement is a slow way to go about doing it. You did so tonight, thanks to the fact that you were already on the cusp.¡±

    ¡°Right. Yeah. I suppose that makes sense.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking, Victor. We should talk about your strategy when you get to Ruhn. I¡¯ll keep it brief for now since you¡¯ve had a long day and deserve some rest before tomorrow¡¯s tribtions, but consider this: My granddaughter has two kingdoms practicallyying siege against her. They¡¯ve been pressing her for duels, so they¡¯ll be quick to receive her eptance of their challenges. I believe it would be wise for you to win those battles using very few of your abilities, perhaps even using a weapon other than your precious axe. The less you show, the easier a time she¡¯ll have when she moves to consolidate her new position and challenge other neighboring kingdoms.¡±

    ¡°Wait a sec.¡± Victor chuckled, shaking his head. ¡°You want me to fight some steel seekers without Lifedrinker? Without using my abilities?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll likely not be steel seekers. Those kingdoms are small and weak¡ªnot far above Kynna¡¯s in terms of might and prosperity. In my estimation, it won¡¯t be until you¡¯ve had a few victories before you begin to find yourself faced by a steel seeker.¡± When he saw Victor¡¯s scowl, he added. ¡°It¡¯s just a thought. Think about it as you train; the less your enemies know about you, the better.¡± He nodded his head toward the hallway leading to the foyer. ¡°I hear your draconic follower approaching. Enjoy the night¡ªtomorrow your training will be¡­intense.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 7: A Review

    On the third day of the fourth week of Victor¡¯s new ¡°routine,¡± Dar called him into the libraryte in the evening and asked him to sit down. Dar stood facing out toward theke, but Victor saw a tea service arranged on the small table between two chairs, so he chose one of those two seats, wondering what thete-night meeting was regarding. This was the hour Victor usually reserved for reviewing his lessons on runic structure, writing correspondence to his friends and loved ones, and, asionally, cultivating Energy in his chamber beneath the house.

    He hadn¡¯t done much cultivation for his Spirit Core, but he didn¡¯t feel guilty about that; Dar had instructed him to put it lower on his list of priorities simply because Victor gained so much Core development from eating hearts¡ªa boon most Energy cultivators couldn¡¯t fathom. He <em>had</em> been working on his Breath Core, however. After sparring each morning, he and Lesh gathered Energy in the garden. Victor kept his magma-attuned Energy heart next to Lesh¡¯s acid-emitting nt, and by the time they sat down to cultivate each day, the canopy they¡¯d built over the nt was thick with roiling Energy. His Breath Core had gained two ranks and Lesh¡¯s nearly four¡ªonly to be expected, considering Lesh was starting from the ¡°base¡± ranks.

    ¡°Pour yourself a cup of tea, Victor.¡± Dar didn¡¯t turn away from the windows, but his voice seemed rxed, so Victor¡¯s budding unease about the unscheduled meeting receded. He did as Dar suggested and poured himself a cup of steaming, slightly green-tinged liquid. ¡°It¡¯s an herbal mix from the world of Jovir¡ªone of the twelve Radevian Empire worlds. The Radevians discovered Sojourn nearly a thousand years ago and established robust trade channels with other worlds under Sojourn¡¯s influence. There are some beautiful fresh-water seas on Jovir, and their agricultural exploits are renowned in this part of the universe.¡±

    Victor sipped the tea and found it slightly bitter with an odd ginger aftertaste. Rather than profess his less than enthusiastic reception to the vor, he asked a rted question, ¡°Do you know how many worlds are¡­I guess I don¡¯t know the right term. Subjects? Of Sojourn, I mean.¡±

    ¡°Sojourn doesn¡¯t rule other worlds, at least not directly. However, many of the veil walkers who call Sojourn home have led conquests¡ªmilitary, financial, humanitarian, and even evangelical¡ªof nearby systems. It''s more urate to say that many worlds are <em>influenced</em> by Sojourn and not ruled over. Last time I heard the matter discussed, there were nearly two hundred thousand worlds under Sojourn¡¯s influence.¡± Dar turned and walked over, sitting in the other chair by the tea service.

    ¡°That sounds like a lot to me.¡± Victor frowned. ¡°I suppose you¡¯d be including Fanwath in that number, considering Sojourn was the first ¡®hub world¡¯ the System provided a teleportation to?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, not to mention the rulers of Fanwath have beening to Sojourn for hundreds of years, absorbing our culture and sharing bits of yours.¡±

    ¡°Not <em>really</em> mine,¡± Victor chuckled.

    ¡°You understand my meaning.¡± Dar didn¡¯t wait for Victor to acknowledge the fact. He poured himself some tea and asked, ¡°Let¡¯s review your progress. Start with your sparring. How go things with the various brawlers you¡¯ve brought in from Sojourn?¡±¡°Um¡­¡± Victor gulped the rest of his tea, set the delicate cup on the table, and leaned back, crossing one ankle over his knee and clearing his throat. ¡°They go well. One thing I¡¯vee to learn, being immersed in the System, is how much we alle to rely on it to measure progress. Fighting with Drobna, Valeska, Sora, Brontes¡­¡± Victor paused and held out his fingers, running the names through his mind as he counted. ¡°Oh yeah, and Dovalion¡ªthey each have different styles, and I¡¯ve learned something from them all. The System doesn¡¯t reflect that. My axe skill is still epic; my strength, vitality, and agility are all the same as they were a month ago, but I <em>know</em> I¡¯m better. Does that make sense?¡±

    ¡°Indeed it does, Victor, and now you begin to unveil the truth of levels and tiers¡ªthe reason you have pounded the blood and shit from men and women more than thirty levels above you is because what you¡¯ve noticed doesn¡¯t just stop at weapon skills. Talent, heart, drive, muscle memory, bloodlines¡ªI could go on and on; all the little intangibles add up to something very tangible indeed. You aren¡¯t the first to feel that way. Tell me, can you think of a single person you¡¯ve met recently who reminded you of yourself, perhaps ufortably so?¡±

    Victor¡¯s answer was immediate, ¡°Ronkerz.¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Dar pped his hands together. ¡°Just so! Ronkerz was much like you in his youth¡ªchallenged at every turn, hardened in a crucible of suffering and opposition. Unlike you, he didn¡¯t have the benefit of a Spirit Core or the wise tutge of a kind master.¡± Dar smirked. ¡°Still, there¡¯s much about you that evokes his memory. I¡¯ve made contact with him; you should know.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. He¡¯s determined to have vengeance against the great masters of Sojourn, but I¡¯m working with him to think of a wiser n. Even if he raised up a hundred veil walkers in that dungeon, he¡¯d be outnumbered twenty-to-one if he assaulted the city or the Council Spire.¡±

    ¡°How do youmunicate with¡ª¡± Victor grinned and leaned forward. ¡°The spirit ne?¡±

    ¡°Indeed,d. No ce is beyond the bounds of the spirit ne. When you learn to bridge worlds through that misty realm, you, too, coulde and go from a ce like the Iron Prison. Of course, wards could be put up, making such travel impossible, but the Iron Prison wasn¡¯t meant to hold the likes of me¡ªor you once you have the Energy and will to travel that way.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not something an iron ranker could do?¡±

    ¡°Only a tiny percentage of them might be able to. I won¡¯t be surprised if you pull it off before you be a steel seeker. We¡¯ll see.¡± Dar drained his tea and poured a new cup. ¡°Now, you¡¯ve mentioned your axe skill, but didn¡¯t I suggest you begin your duels on Ruhn with something other than your beloved weapon? Have you practiced with another weapon?¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Victor snapped his fingers. ¡°Yeah! My ¡®Spear Mastery¡¯ is up to improved.¡±

    ¡°Good. Focus on that until you leave; it would be wise to have the forms and knowledge granted with advanced mastery at your disposal before your first duel.¡± Dar took a sip, sighed heavily, and looked toward the window where the moon hungrge in the star-filled sky. ¡°So your sparring goes well. Tell me of your Breath Core cultivation.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good. I¡¯ve gained two ranks¡ªhalfway to advanced now.¡±

    ¡°Good. You should see arge increase in magma-attuned Energy when you break through to advanced.¡± He reached up to straighten the cor of his flowing purple tunic. He <em>tsked</em> as he pulled a loose thread away. ¡°We both know how you¡¯re doing with runes. You¡¯ve mastered two alphabets and can decipher basic System enchantments and the mostmon Artificer script. I¡¯ve decided that I¡¯m going to teach you a set of Elder glyphs.¡±

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    Victor¡¯s eyes bulged. ¡°I thought you said¡ª¡±

    ¡°I know what I said, and I stand by it. Elder magic is dangerous. If you don¡¯t harm yourself, there¡¯s a good chance the System will mark you andbel you a disruptor.¡±

    At those words, Victor¡¯s heart began to pound, and he had to look down so Dar couldn¡¯t read the guilt in his eyes. Wasn¡¯t that what the strange duo, Fox and Three, had called him on the spirit ne when he created his Wild Totem spell? He coughed to cover his reaction, then, clearing his throat as though his tea had gone down the wrong pipe, he asked, ¡°What happens if the System decides I¡¯m a disruptor?¡±

    ¡°It will try to weed you out, issuing quests to powerful folk to remove you. So, I will teach you, but I must stress caution.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± When Dar looked at him and scowled, Victor hastily added, ¡°I mean, why will you teach me, not why should I use caution.¡±

    ¡°Because you are not a child, and I know that, were I in your shoes, I¡¯d likely seek the knowledge on my own, and then my risk would be magnified.¡± Dar shrugged. ¡°So, we¡¯ll learn a bit about Elder scripts, starting with a set of glyphs used to enchant items by people who lived in this section of the universe a hundred millennia before I was born.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Victor fumbled for words and decided to turn his filter off for just a moment. ¡°That¡¯s fucking awesome, Dar! Thank you!¡±

    ¡°Hah! There¡¯s the enthusiasm I was looking for. I¡¯ve meant to ask you, Victor, how fares your heart? Are you sleeping well? Do you keep a journal?¡±

    Victor fidgeted, suddenly ufortable. ¡°Journal?¡±¡ªhe chose the least troubling of the topics Dar mentioned.

    ¡°Do you write how you feel each day? It¡¯s a routine that has served me well over the years.¡±

    ¡°Not exactly, but I write in Farscribe books¡ªto friends back home and Edeya when she and the others are out in dungeons. I have a book I share with my cousin, Olivia, and I have one with Va.¡± He didn¡¯t mention the fact that Va had written to him twice, and he¡¯d yet to respond.

    Dar narrowed his eyes, clearly not buying it. ¡°If that is so, I apud your ability to process feelings. Of course, I say that without reading what you write, but it¡¯s good that you confide in people you feel close to. If you find it difficult to share some things, even with those loved ones, you might try a journal, however. I write in one each night before I sleep.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Victor had difficulty imagining the Master Spirit Caster would need any such mental therapy.

    ¡°Yes, ¡®really.¡¯ You say that word far too often.¡± Dar chuckled, shaking his head, then added, his voice a good deal sterner. ¡°You¡¯ll begin writing in your journal each night. I don¡¯t care what you write, but you¡¯ll write something. If you only describe your day, that¡¯s fine. If you begin that way and find yourself writing more heartfelt things, all the better. This journal will be private; I won¡¯t ever expect you to share it with me. Understood?¡±

    Victor felt himself grinding his teeth together, but he nodded and asked, ¡°Is there some reason? Am I acting¡­bothered?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re acting a bit too <em>unbothered</em>, in my estimation. I believe using a journal to express your feelings will be good for your spirit. Enough about that for now. Tell me about your spirit walks. How long can you hold your physical form on the spirit ne now?¡±

    ¡°Last night, I managed nearly fifteen minutes.¡±

    ¡°Excellent! Another example of how one can improve without any notification from the System. What you¡¯re doing is strengthening and widening the tiny pathways in your body where the Energy of that spell takes root, pulling your flesh onto the spirit ne. Keep it up, and the System will eventually notice and rank up your spell. At the epic tier, you¡¯ll be able to hold yourself there with ease.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s encouraging.¡± Victor poured himself more tea¡ªit was beginning to grow on him.

    ¡°Have you given thought to your gift for Kynna?¡±

    ¡°<em>Ahem</em>¡­¡± Victor coughed, sputtering tea into his cup. ¡°Gift?¡±

    Dar chuckled. ¡°Didn¡¯t we speak about this? Didn¡¯t I say¡ª¡±

    ¡°That I should have a gift ready when I meet someone of note.¡± Victor sighed and knocked his knuckles on his forehead. ¡°Yeah, of course, meeting the queen would qualify.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t despair; I know you have much on your mind. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve reminded you. I would provide the gift for you, but she¡¯s crafty; she¡¯ll know if it came from me.¡±

    ¡°Dar,¡± Victor groaned, leaning back, ¡°I don¡¯t know a thing about her. Does she like weapons? Tea?¡± He gestured to the delicate white kettle with its fanciful blue, hand-painted flowers.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see. Like most people on Ruhn, she¡¯s of giant proportions, not unlike you and I. She¡¯s a skilled huntress, and her preferred weapon is a great-bow. From the letters she¡¯s sent me recently, though, it¡¯s clear her duties at court have taken the forefront in her life. Every spare moment is spent countering the schemes of her besieging neighbors. When you arrive to rece her current court champion, I¡¯m certain there will be much fanfare; it will be seen as the kingdom¡¯sst chance to climb out of ruination. I¡¯m afraid she¡¯s already done much to advertise your impending arrival.¡±

    Victor groaned again and waved a hand. ¡°I¡¯m nervous enough already! You¡¯re supposed to be giving me ideas for a gift!¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes. Where was I?¡± He began to tick qualities off on his fingers. ¡°Tall, hunts with a great-bow, spends her time trying to save her kingdom¡ªqueendom, really¡ªI believe she wears dresses, appreciates fruit and flowers, and¡ª¡± Dar cut himself off as he began tough, shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯m no help, Victor. Half of those qualities are guesses. I don¡¯t know her at all. Her letters talk about the kingdom, its dire straits, and the things she does to counter the undermining efforts of her neighbors.¡±

    ¡°All right, hold up. We always talk about Kynna¡¯s ¡®kingdom¡¯ or, yeah, ¡®queendom,¡¯ but what¡¯s it called? What are her neighbors called?¡±

    ¡°An excellent point, Victor. It¡¯s time you began to learn these things. My erstwhile kingdom was called Gloria. Can you guess why?¡±

    Victor smirked. ¡°Because, like me, you have an affinity for glory?¡±

    ¡°Precisely!¡± Dar pped his knee with a cacophonous report. ¡°Kynna¡¯s neighbor to the north is Frostmarch, a kingdom that spans her entire border and half again as far to the east and west. It¡¯s a country rich in acreage, but most is rather bleak. Frostmarch is ruled by a man named Wil Vennar, and his champion goes by a single name: Obert.¡±

    ¡°Obert?¡± Victor raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°A giant, hairy, hard-headed man who cut his teeth fighting hordes of snow ogres along Frostmarch¡¯s northern border.¡± Dar tilted the teapot to fill his cup, and Victor realized the thing must have a dimensional container built into it; they¡¯d drained more than a gallon of the stuff since he¡¯d been sitting there. ¡°The Kingdom of Xan upies Kynna¡¯s southern border. Bors Groff is Xan¡¯s king, and his champion is Qi Pot, of whom I know very little.¡±

    ¡°Kee?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s spelled with a ¡®Q¡¯ and an ¡®i.¡¯ Kynna says he¡¯s formidable, and her current champion, Foster Green, is terrified that he¡¯ll have to duel him.¡±

    Victor nodded, rubbing his chin, visualizing a map in his head. ¡°So those two countries arerger than hers, and they sandwich her?¡±

    ¡°More than that¡ªXan has conquered her neighbor to the east and Frostmarch, her neighbor to the west. Between the two, she is utterly surrounded. Her people starve, and soon, barring intervention, she¡¯ll be forced to yield hernds or force poor old Foster to duel, in which case he¡¯ll die, and she¡¯ll lose hernds anyway.¡±

    ¡°Damn. Are you being literal? Are people actually starving? I feel like we should send me over there right fucking now!¡±

    ¡°The risks involved, should I fail to hold you on the spirit ne while traversing worlds, are too great. No, you must be able to hold your spirit there long enough to make the journey. You¡¯ve worked hard and done your best; any dy is on my shoulders. Recall that I¡¯ve had Kynna¡¯s request for years. Though, in my defense, the perfect solution wasn¡¯t apparent until I knew you better.¡± Dar waved his hand, dismissing the notion. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get to the point of this meeting.¡±

    ¡°Oh, this wasn¡¯t it?¡± Victor waved a hand between himself and Dar, indicating their conversation.

    ¡°Partially, partially, but I wanted to tell you that I¡¯ll be gone tomorrow, so our lesson will be canceled. I have an alternative assignment for you: Go into the city, find a gift for Kynna, and purchase the armor upgrades you¡¯ve been pestering me about.¡±

    Victor grinned. He¡¯d been wanting to go to the Sojourn City Stone and upgrade his set pieces since getting back from Fanwath and simply hadn¡¯t had the opportunity. ¡°Is there anyone else I should purchase a gift for?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Good question, student! Foster Green will retire when you arrive, and you should give him a token. For him, I¡¯d suggest a fine, aged liquor. Don¡¯t skimp.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡±

    ¡°Good. As soon as you finish your morning practice and cultivation, you may have Mr. Qwor drive you into the city. Any questions?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be back the day after tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and we will begin your lesson in the Elder glyphs.¡± Dar stood and, as he smoothed down the front of his silken tunic, added, ¡°Now, go and practice your Spirit Walk. When you finish, write in your journal.¡±

    Victor stood. He smiled, and it came easily; he was a good deal more rxed after his talk with Dar than he had beening into the meeting. ¡°All right. I¡¯ll do that.¡±

    Dar reached a hand to his shoulder, grasping it firmly. ¡°You know, Victor, I would never eavesdrop on you in your private room. I might have dominion over this house, but I respect your privacy. I won¡¯t watch over your shoulder, just as I wouldn¡¯t listen to your voice. Whatever you put in that journal, whatever you mutter aloud in your sleep¡ªthose things are yours alone and will never leave the walls of your chamber.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Victor frowned, then sighed and nodded. ¡°I appreciate that, Dar. I think I get why you¡¯re saying that. I¡¯ll write in my journal tonight, and I won¡¯t hold back.¡± When Dar released his shoulder with a nod, Victor left, walking down the short hallway to his quarters. He closed the door behind him with a resounding <em>click</em>, then looked at the bed and his nest of nkets beside it on the floor. Despite his bravado and denial, it was true that <em>something </em>was up with him. Why else could he barely summon the courage to look at the empty bed?

    With a growl, he dug around in one of his storage rings for a nk notebook, and then he stomped over to his writing desk, stacked high with books about runes and magical scripts. If Dar thought he should write about what he was feeling, he supposed he could do that. Scowling, pressing much harder than he needed to, he began to write, and the first words that came to mind surprised him:

    <em>Dear Va,</em>

 Book 9: Chapter 8: Ideas

    Drobnaughed¡ªan exhausted, wheezingugh, but augh all the same¡ªand fell to the sand, rocking side to side on his leathery shell as he clutched his sore shoulder. ¡°Old gods, Victor! I¡¯ve had enough!¡±

    Victor grinned and leaned against his spear, the butt firmly nted in the practice ring sand. It was a bright, sunny morning, made brighter still by the glowing orb of inspiration-attuned Energy that hung over their heads. He watched Droba lying there, rocking side to side, using his ¡°inner eye¡± to observe the rage fleeing the man¡¯s pathways and retreating toward his Core. Drobna had been berserk during theirst match¡ªVictor hadn¡¯t.

    It said a lot that he could beat the warrior, enraged as he¡¯d been, even though he¡¯d only used his inspiration-based spells and a spear. It was a matter of toughness, he supposed. Add to that his uncanny ability to heal and his potent secondary abilities like Sovereign Will, and he was just too much for a guy with nothing but brute force going for him. Drobna was tough and had a great attitude, but Victor had learned the secret to beating him was simply to oust his rage, and, surprisingly, the spear made that even easier. It was an excellent weapon for creating distance between himself and his foe.

    He stepped forward and held out a hand, hauling Drobna to his feet. ¡°I take it you haven¡¯t broken through with your Berserk yet?¡±

    ¡°Nah. Still advanced.¡± Drobna bent to brush the sand off his legs. He looked toward the edge of the ring. ¡°Lesh? Up for a rematch?¡±

    Lesh was seated on the ground, Bgog, his massive cudgel resting on his shoulder. ¡°Thanks, Drob, but I¡¯m eager to head to my cultivation garden. I¡¯m close to a breakthrough of my own.¡±

    Drobna looked at Victor with his smooth brows arched. Victor shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve too much to do today. When¡¯s your next day on the schedule?¡±

    ¡°Five days hence,¡± Drobna sighed. ¡°These sparring matches are wonderful! I wish I coulde every day.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Victor looked at Lesh, frowning for a moment as he contemted. ¡°Why don¡¯t you get the names of the other people on the schedule? I think Valeska¡¯sing tomorrow¡ªcheck with her; if you two want to spar when Lesh and I are done, I don¡¯t mind you using this space.¡±¡°Ah, thanks, Victor, but it¡¯s just not the same without your inspiration Energy thick in the air like this. My time between sessions is better spent in a dungeon or cultivating.¡±

    ¡°All right.¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll be gone in a couple of months, though. Might be good for you to make some connections. Lesh will be wanting to do some dungeons, and I bet between you two and the other folks we¡¯ve been sparring with, you could build a solid team.¡±

    Lesh grunted his agreement. ¡°I¡¯ll write up some ns, Drobna. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t forget about you.¡±

    Drobna nodded, and that conversation marked the end of their sparring for the day. Victor, still leaning on his spear, watched him leave. The spear was one of the better-made mundane ones he¡¯d taken from Karnice in Coloss. He had a few very nice spears but had yet to pick his favorite. The terror-attuned spear was potent, but it didn¡¯t have the proper heft for Victor¡¯s robust frame. A couple of others, though, like the fourteen-foot one he currently held, must have seemed enormous to Karnice. Still, he had the mind to trade it and some others for a spear made for a giant like himself¡ªsomething heavy and long and with an oversized, nigh-indestructible de that he could use in situations where Lifedrinker wasn¡¯t ideal.

    As Drobna turned the corner and his footsteps faded with distance, Lesh asked, ¡°You¡¯re disappointed?¡±

    Victor frowned in puzzlement, turning his gaze back to the darkly scaled, hulking figure. ¡°About?¡±

    ¡°Drobna. I can tell you¡¯d hoped to learn more about your Berserk, but it seems you are the one doing the teaching.¡±

    ¡°My <em>abuelita</em> always said, ¡®The best way to learn is to teach what you know.¡¯ It¡¯s funny because she didn¡¯t say it to me; she said it to my older cousins who didn¡¯t want to let me y football in the street or join them ying other games.¡± Victor barked a short, loudugh. ¡°Even video games!¡±

    ¡°It seems you¡¯ve taken her lesson to heart, however it was initially intended.¡± Lesh stood with a grunt. ¡°To the garden?¡±

    Victor thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. ¡°Dar gave me the afternoon off, and I just thought of another thing I want to do in town. I think I¡¯ll skip cultivation today. I¡¯d ask you toe, but I know you¡¯re close to breaking through to improved¡­¡± Victor left the statement hanging, giving Lesh the chance to object. The dragonkin didn¡¯t, however.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯d prefer to stay here. Thank you, though.¡± He frowned¡ªa fearsome expression on his fang-lined snout. ¡°Speaking of staying here, have you had word from Lam and the others?¡±

    Victor nodded, stepping closer to his friend. ¡°I heard from Edeyast night. She said they¡¯re having a lot of fun. The dungeon they¡¯re in is enormous. It¡¯s set up like a perpetual war between two factions¡ªpirates and a beleaguered city-state. The city provides missions, and the party in the dungeon has to carry them out. They have a week-long ess window, but inside the dungeon, there¡¯s some time dtion¡ªto Edeya, they¡¯ve already been inside for two months.¡±

    Lesh¡¯s eyes bulged. ¡°I should seek such a ce!¡±

    Victorughed. ¡°Yeah, I think there are a few dungeons with dtions that severe, but they¡¯re hard to get into. Trin¡¯s connections made this one happen for them. I bet if you build a team with some of the folks we¡¯ve been sparring with, you¡¯ll have the clout you need to swing something like that.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Lesh nodded enthusiastically. ¡°Dovalion is something of a local hero, and Valeska was once teamed with Arona¡ªeveryone in Sojourn knows her name.¡±

    Victor pped Lesh on the shoulder. ¡°Exactly, my friend. You¡¯re going to do well here while I¡¯m gone. I¡¯ll see you this evening, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. I hope I¡¯ll have good news for you.¡± Lesh thumped his chest, indicating his Breath Core. Victor nodded, gave his shoulder another punch, then walked up the path leading to the house. When he reached the front door, he looked at the servant standing there and smiled. ¡°Hey, Wensa, can you let Mr. Qwor know I¡¯ll need him and the coach in about twenty minutes? I¡¯m heading into the city.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Before he could reiterate that it wasn¡¯t urgent, the girl sprinted down the path toward the coach house.

    ¡°Thanks!¡± he called after her, chuckling as he pulled the door open, intent on taking a quick shower before leaving. Just about fifteen minutester, after washing the blood and sweat from his hair and body, he was back outside, striding toward the coach where Mr. Qwor stood, ready to open the door.

    This novel is published on a different tform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    ¡°Into the city, sir?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ll head to the Council Spire first; I have business with the City Stone.¡±

    ¡°Excellent.¡± Mr. Qwor opened the door, and Victor hopped inside, grateful to Dar for having giant-sized things. He slid into one of the plush leather seats and watched out the window. As soon as the coach was airborne and streaming away from theke house, he pulled the heavy, silver-runed, ck bone from his storage ring and held it in his hand. ¡°Arona?¡±

    With a shiver of cold air that seemed to blow from nowhere and everywhere, a luminescent blue apparition took shape in the coach with him. Looking much as he remembered her in life, Arona stood before him, her small, ck-booted feet failing to make any impression on the plush carpeting. ¡°The ether feels¡­the same. We¡¯re still on Sojourn?¡± Despite theck of flesh, her voice was as raspy as ever.

    ¡°Yeah. Still a couple of months before we leave. Lesh mentioned you earlier while we were sparring, and it got me thinking about you. I figured it would be safe to talk to you while flying through the air; we¡¯re not in any lord¡¯s domain, right?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°Certainly not any undead lords.¡±

    ¡°So? Are you doing all right?¡±

    ¡°I am. My phctery is spacious and contains many of my favorite things, as I told you before. I¡¯ve been studying and reading for pleasure. I listen to music and while away the hours dabbling with my spell patterns.¡± She tried to rest her ghostly hand on his knee, but it passed through, failing to do anything but give Victor a slight, chilly sensation. ¡°And you? Are you faring well?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m learning a lot from Dar. I haven¡¯t told you much about where we¡¯re going or what I¡¯ll be doing. Aren¡¯t you curious?¡±

    ¡°Of course! But our time was short while I stood whispering to you in Dar¡¯s garden. It¡¯s a miracle he didn¡¯t sus us out!¡±

    Victor smiled crookedly. ¡°I dunno. Dar¡¯s oddly respectful of privacy for an old master.¡± He pointed to the seat to his left. ¡°Can you sit? I might as well tell you a little about what¡¯sing. We have a half hour or so before we get to the city.¡±

    Arona looked at the plush couch and shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t feel difort, but if it will make you morefortable¡­¡± She floated over to the seat and sat down, though the leather didn¡¯t move, and it seemed she was floating slightly above it.

    ¡°So, Dar¡¯s got some extended family he left behind on a world called Ruhn. His granddaughter is a queen there, and¡­¡± Victor tried to abbreviate the situation as much as possible, hoping to leave room to talk to Arona about other things before they reached the city. As he wrapped up the tale with Dar¡¯s exnation of ¡°Gloria¡¯s¡± besieging neighbors, she nodded and gently tapped her chin.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯ll be well-situated to request meetings with high-ranking individuals in Kynna¡¯s court. I would think you might be able to meet with a Death Caster without raising any suspicions.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I wanted to talk to you about. There¡¯s something else I haven¡¯t told you, something I can do.¡±

    Arona¡¯s dark, angr brows shot up on her ghostly forehead. ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I had a friend, back on Fanwath, who picked up an artifact that ¡®granted¡¯ her a death-attuned Core. It¡¯s a long story, but she ended up getting infected¡ªpossessed, really¡ªby a Death Caster without a body. I chased him out of her with my spirit-attuned Energy, and, in the process, I gave her a spirit affinity. Since then, she¡¯s been cultivating spirit Energy and slowly altering her Core, minimizing the death-attuned Energy and¡ª"

    ¡°Could you do this for me?¡± Arona leaned forward, her dark eyes wide and intense, glimmering with the strange inner light of her spirit form.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m wondering. I wonder if it would be a mistake to have a Death Caster help you. Maybe there¡¯s another way to get you a, uh, body.¡±

    ¡°There are¡­¡± Arona¡¯s eyes grew distant as she contemted things. ¡°Some Death Casters have created vessels out of magical materials¡ªgolems or constructs. Even so, they maintained their Death Core, which was likely due to how they created their vessel. Some treasures can be used to form a Core in such a vessel, and I¡¯m sure the materials impact the type. If I were to do as I originally nned and have a Death Caster prepare a dead body for me, then my spiritual essence would dictate the Core¡¯s type and strength; it would be just like the one from my former body. This is all beside the point you made, though¡ªthere may be a way for you to help me, regardless of the type of vessel.¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°I¡¯d like to do that for you. I know you aren¡¯t happy being a Death Caster.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve given me much to think about, Victor! With the resources you may have avable to you on Ruhn, and with the knowledge that you seem to be able to impart spirit-attuned Energy¡­Yes, much to think about and research!¡± Her excitement was evident; her tone had lightened, her eyes shone, and she leaned forward with an intensity to her gaze that Victor wasn¡¯t used to. ¡°Thank you!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. I mean, I know you wanted to get away from Ve¡ª¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say it!¡± Arona reached as though to put a hand over his mouth, but he only felt a waft of cold air.

    ¡°Right. Anyway, I know you want to get away from him, but I think you¡¯ll be even safer if you somehow figure out how to <em>not</em> be a Death Caster, you know?¡±

    ¡°Yes! I agree wholeheartedly!¡± She nced at the bone, still clutched in Victor¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯ll return to my phctery and study. Perhaps I¡¯ll have some ideas when next we speak.¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Victor¡¯s exmation halted her sudden attempt to dissolve back into formless ghostly energy. Her features solidified again, and she looked at him questioningly. ¡°Should I buy any books on the subject? Is there any way I can get them to you in the phctery?¡±

    Her smile was bright, something he¡¯d never seen from her in life, as she shook her head. ¡°Thank you for the kind offer, Victor, but only I can send things into my phctery and only when I¡¯m in a corporeal vessel. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m stuck with what I have for now.¡±

    ¡°All right. One more question: I told you what Dar said about Kynna and¡ª¡± Victor chuckled at himself and ran his fingers through his hair, a little embarrassed. ¡°Well, do you have any idea what kind of gift I should get her?¡±

    Arona¡¯s ghostly lips continued to smile as she regarded his words. ¡°A queen? Whom you¡¯ve never met? I don¡¯t envy you. Perhaps a piece of jewelry¡ªno!¡± She shook her head, chuckling. ¡°She¡¯s a ruler at war. I think, as a gift, you should present a weapon and swear to use it in her defense.¡±

    Victor¡¯s eyebrows shot up as the idea hit home and set off a lightbulb in his brain. ¡°So, my, uh, <em>service</em> is the real gift?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Though, she may consider the weapon as the material representation of the gift, so I¡¯d not offer her your lovely axe, just in case she wants to keep it for sentimental value someday.¡±

    ¡°Nah, this is perfect¡ªI nned to get a new spear anyway. Thank you, Arona!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee, Victor. Anything else?¡± The edges of her spectral form began to blur as they faded to a ghostly, blue haze.

    ¡°No¡ªtalk to you soon, I hope.¡±

    ¡°<em>Soon</em>¡­¡± The word hung in the air as she faded to mist and streamed back into her phctery.

    Victor moved to the other side of the coachpartment and slid open the window between himself and Mr. Qwor. ¡°Do you know of a weaponsmith who might specialize in spears?¡±

    ¡°I may know someone like that. Allow me to consult the guidebook while you¡¯re in the Council Spire, and I¡¯ll have a destination for you.¡±

    ¡°Perfect.¡± Victor slid the panel closed and sat down, still smiling at the idea. He was killing two birds with one stone¡ªa decent spear, fit for a titan, and a gift for Kynna all in one. ¡°She¡¯s pretty smart, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡± he asked the empty coach. Catching himself talking to the air like that made him feel very alone. He wished Lifedrinker wasn¡¯t so unwieldy that he had to keep her in a storage container. He took her out at night and spoke to her often before he slept, but it wasn¡¯t quite the same as it once had been. He was tempted to bring her out inside the coach, but she wasrge and incredibly heavy, and her de was as sharp as a shard of obsidian ss¡ªhe didn¡¯t want to slice one of Dar¡¯s lovely leather seats in half.

    Perhaps because he was feeling so alone, he brought out the Farscribe book he shared with Olivia, his distant cousin¡ªpossibly from another timeline or universe¡ªand opened it to the most recent message she¡¯d sent him just the day before:<blockquote>

    <em>Victor,</em>

    <em>I recently traveled to Rellia¡¯s budding city in the Free Marches¡ªSeaside. While there, I was regaled by tales of your adventures in the city of Sojourn. I¡¯m jealous! It seems that the people of Fanwath have, indeed, been intentionally kept ignorant of the greater universe around us. Of course, the Ridonne are to me for that, though my investigations into simr matters have led me down strange paths that indicate that some of the me is on the System, itself. It seems that when a new ¡°System¡± world is formed, it makes certain demands on the ruling factions. I don¡¯t hold the Ridonne meless¡ªregardless of the System¡¯s demands, they took things too far. Still, it¡¯s an interesting topic to my mind, and I would enjoy learning more. The travel cost to Sojourn is steep, and I have many demands on my time here, but I intend to make the journey sooner rather thanter. I wonder: will I see you there?</em>

    <em>I look forward to hearing from you,</em>

    <em>Olivia</em></blockquote>

    Victor thought for a moment, then with a shrug, he took one of his favorite pens and began to scrawl out a neat reply:

    <em>Hey Olivia ¨C Things are good here, and I¡¯d love to show you around, but my mentor, a very powerful and influential man here, is sending me on some pretty important business soon. Don¡¯t get me wrong¡ªI¡¯m not trying to sound like a big shot. It¡¯s just that Dar has some family who are in trouble; their kingdom is under attack, and he thinks it will be a good learning experience if I help his granddaughter kick a little ass around that ce for a while.</em>

    <em>Anyway, I have a lot of friends and connections here, and I¡¯ll give you their names. Shit, I¡¯ll leave a letter of introduction for you at Dar¡¯s ce. Any coach for hire in the city will know how to get you there. If you¡¯re hurting for money, I can leave you some funds, too¡ªenough to purchase some books or buy you ess to one of the better libraries. Just let me know.</em><blockquote>

    <em>I¡¯m not sure what level you are now, but be careful while you¡¯re here. There are people on Sojourn who could tten you with a thought. Don¡¯t worry too muchws here prevent the powerful from squishing us mere mortals. You¡¯ll love it, by the way; there are tons of opportunities for growth for ¡°iron rankers.¡± That¡¯s what you are, by the way¡ªeveryone under level 100 is called that. Shit! I just thought of something: Lam, Edeya, and Darren¡ªhah! Remember him from First Landing?¡ªare all closing in on level 20. They might be over that by now, in fact. If you¡¯re not too much higher than them¡ªI¡¯d say under level 40¡ªyou might have a good time adventuring with them in the dungeons around the city.</em>

    <em>I¡¯ll write you again with more instructions about how to get in touch with everyone. Stay safe!</em>

    <em>Your cousin, Victor</em></blockquote>

    Victor was smiling hugely by the time he put the pen down. It was nice to remember the people he cared about were still there, even though he was alone at the moment. He figured it would be even more important to remember that when he was on Ruhn, separated by billions or trillions of miles from all those people. As he stowed the Farscribe book away, the coach set down, and he heard Mr. Qwor climbing out of hispartment to open the door. Victor climbed out with a heavy sigh, looking up the steps to the massive, crystalline heights of the Council Spire. ¡°Time to get some shit done. See you in a few minutes, Mr. Qwor.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 9: Departure

    Victor stood in his room, staring at himself in the mirror. The figure looking back at him was monstrous¡ªhuge, dragon-faced, with scales, leather, and thick, metallic tes hiding all but his muscr right forearm and strong, clenched fist. His armor had taken on a new kind of vibrancy since he¡¯d fully imbued it at the Sojourn City Stone. He¡¯d spent more than two million beads to get the enchantments, and each one had altered his armor-d appearance.

    Of course, he¡¯d already had some ¡°ss A¡± enchantments: self-cleaning, repairing, sizing, and disguising. The two ¡°ss B¡± enchantments he¡¯d chosen were a bit morebat-oriented. He¡¯d decided to shore up his resistance to electrical damage,rgely because he¡¯d been shocked and stunned in battle more than once. The second enchantment was a boost to his fire-attuned damage¡ªwhy not capitalize on one of his strengths?

    His armor also had slots for one ¡°ss C¡± and one ¡°ss D¡± enchantment. The ¡°C¡± choice was easy¡ªbetween enhanced mass or a ¡°Lava st¡± ability, he¡¯d taken the one he felt would always benefit him. Enhanced mass meant that he¡¯d be harder to move, he¡¯d resist physical damage more efficiently, and his own attacks would have more weight. Looking at himself in the mirror, he, once again, marveled at the enchantment¡¯s visual effect. The metal of his helm and gauntlet looked weightier. The scales and tes were denser and more prominent, and the horns and fangs glimmered with golden undertones. His leather pants, belt, and boots were now decked in red-gold scales thatplimented his wyrm-scale hauberk''s dark red-ck ones.

    The ¡°ss D¡± enchantment was another story altogether. Once he¡¯d selected the one he wanted¡ªFlight of the Lava King¡ªhis armor had begun to glow with an inner, fiery illumination that was subtle but present enough to catch the eye. It was almost like it smoldered¡ªlike it was always on the verge of bursting into mes. He¡¯d tried the ability a few times over thest couple of months, and, while it wasn¡¯t true, limitless flight, it was incredibly useful. When he activated it, great fiery wings sprouted from his shoulders, and they carried him wherever he focused his gaze, ripping through the air on currents of fiery Energy. The wings onlysted about ny seconds, but, in Victor¡¯s estimation, that was plenty of time to bring down a flying foe.

    He turned left and right, inspecting himself once more. The draconic,va king maw that obscured his face did so via some kind of magic. He only saw shadows within, no matter the angle from which he peered into the maw. Meanwhile, the fierce, ruby-red draconic eyes looked alive and seemed to focus on whatever Victor stared at. It was an imposing visage. The reason he studied himself so was that he was torn, unable to decide if he should wear his armor when he traveled to Ruhn, or if he should keep it hidden until he needed it. He hadn¡¯t asked Dar, but he had an idea what his mentor would say.

    Inside his helmet, he grinned as he spoke to himself, ¡°Something like, ¡®Victor, only reveal your cards when you need to y them.¡¯ Hah!¡± Heughed at his near-perfect impression. His mind made up for him by an imaginary Ranish Dar, Victor sent some Energy into the runes that converted his armor to simple, fine clothing. He touched the key and marble-sized vault hanging from the chain around his neck, almost like he wanted to ensure it was still there, and then he looked through his rings, reviewing the things he was taking with him to Ruhn.

    Dar had given him nearly a library¡¯s worth of books to study. Victor had sorted them as neatly as he could, but he still felt overwhelmed by the stacks of books in the enormous, high-quality storage space he¡¯d taken from Fak Loyle. As the thought crossed his mind, Victor thought about Cora, and his lips spread into a smile; he¡¯d received a note from Efanie just the day before describing the girl as ¡°increasingly happy and making fast friends with Deyni and Ch.¡± He shook his head, pushing the happy thought aside, and refocused on the books.

    Foremost among them were his tomes on runes, sigils, and glyphs. He¡¯d made much progress with Dar over thest few months, but there was still a lot to learn, especially where Elder magic was concerned. Dar had, begrudgingly, taught him one set of glyphs, but he¡¯d also given Victor tomes on two others, again urging caution and patience in their study. Beyond those books were ones on spell patterns, enchanting, and artificing. Dar had expectations for Victor to study them while he was away, along with several ounts of military history and other general areas of study like¡ªto Victor¡¯s dismay¡ªmath, poetry, literature analysis, and even philosophy.

    The enormous list of study materials and lessons Dar had given him¡ªenough to fill a small leatherbound book¡ªdrove home the point that Victor would be on Ruhn for a while. In his estimation, Dar had given him at least two years'' worth of study materials, and that only ounted for the academics. Victor would also be expected to continue to practice his martial prowess between duels, maintain his daily Spirit and Breath Core cultivation, and, of course, pursue his social duties and goals among the elite of Gloria.After several minutes of perusal, Victor felt satisfied that he had everything he needed packed away in his storage rings, and he began to feel a twinge of nervous energy as he realized he¡¯d run out of excuses to stall. It was time to say his farewells and meet with Dar. With a heavy sigh, he gave his room a final, lingering look and then left, walking quickly down the hall and into the main parlor. Just as they¡¯d promised they would be, Lam, Edeya, Darren, and Lesh were all there, ready to see him off.

    Edeya was first on her feet, fluttering her blue, shimmering wings as she raced across therge area rug to wrap her tiny arms around his waist, hugging her cheek against his stomach. ¡°Promise you¡¯ll visit when you can!¡± she said as he gently pressed her close.

    Victorughed and nodded. ¡°Dar says it''s cheaper to stop here on my way to Fanwath if I want to visit home, so you can believe I¡¯ll spend a day or two catching up with you all.¡± He directed his words to the others who¡¯d all stood and approached. Darren cocked his head, eyeing him down his beak with his predatory, perpetually angry seeming eagle face, and Victor couldn¡¯t help a chuckle as the tall, feathered man made deep, resonant <em>clicks</em> in his throat.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lam asked, arching an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯ll only stop here because it¡¯s <em>cheaper</em>?¡± At her teasing tone, Edeya tightened her squeeze, and Victorughed.

    ¡°No, of course not. I suppose I was just saying I could kill two birds¡ª¡± He stopped abruptly, ncing at Darren with wide eyes.

    ¡°Oh, very funny!¡± Darren chuckled and folded his arms, putting on a show of being offended. Victor could tell he wasn¡¯t, though, because he was still making that happy <em>click</em> in his throat. He and his groupmates, including Trin, had been running through dungeons nonstop over thest few months. They were all well into tier two but had, thus far, failed to pull any treasures to advance Darren¡¯s bloodline further. Victor had offered to help him buy one, but, to his credit, Darren insisted he wanted to earn it.

    Lesh stepped closer, holding out a hand. ¡°If it weren¡¯t so many jumps, I¡¯d travel with you to see you settled in, Lord Victor.¡±

    ¡°Oh,e on, <em>hermano</em>! Don¡¯t start with the ¡®lord¡¯ this and ¡®lord¡¯ that again.¡± He grasped the dragonkin¡¯s hand and squeezed.

    Lesh chuckled and returned the pressure. ¡°I¡¯m feeling formal, seeing as you¡¯ll soon be gone. Rest assured that Darren and I will continue to make a name for your household here on Sojourn.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Edeya released her grip around Victor¡¯s waist and turned to re at Lesh. ¡°We¡¯re <em>all</em> making our names known here, and, of course, we know it reflects on Victor.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean¡ª¡± Lesh floundered.

    ¡°Well, you big, scaled¡ª¡±

    ¡°Whoa!¡± Victorughed, wrapping an arm over Edeya¡¯s shoulders and pulling her into his side. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you all, and I know one thing: there¡¯s nothing any of you can do to mess up whatever reputation I have around here. Hah! That¡¯s thest thing on my mind. I¡¯m just going to miss you all, but I know you¡¯ll be doing great things while I¡¯m gone.¡± He turned to Darren. ¡°Did the page I gave you work?¡±

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    ¡°Yes! I messaged Olivia, and she¡¯s aware that if she writes on that page of the Farscribe book, I¡¯ll see the note. So far, she doesn¡¯t have a firm date for her arrival, but I¡¯ll be checking the page daily.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Victor looked at Lam, met her eyes, and smiled, then at Lesh and nodded his head. Finally, he squeezed Edeya¡¯s shoulders one more time. ¡°I guess that¡¯s that. I gotta meet Dar down in the catbs.¡±

    Lam¡¯s wings flickered, and golden motes sprinkled to the carpet like fairy dust. ¡°Where he helped me?¡±

    ¡°Yep. I guess the veil is thinnest there.¡±

    ¡°Bye, Victor,¡± Edeya said, turning into his embrace so she could look up into his eyes. ¡°I love you, you know?¡±

    Sudden moisture sprang into Victor¡¯s eyes, and he blinked, looking up. ¡°I love you too, dummy.¡±

    ¡°Hey! That¡¯s my name for <em>you</em>!¡±

    With a chuckle and a sniff, Victor looked around the room onest time. ¡°Stay safe.¡± He turned and started toward the hallway, but plenty of well-wishes chased him as he made his way to the kitchen.

    ¡°Be safe, yourself!¡± Lam called. ¡°Take care!¡±

    ¡°Thanks for everything, Victor!¡± Darren¡¯s newly deep voice rang out.

    ¡°We¡¯ll speak soon! Good luck, brother!¡± Lesh boomed.

    Only Edeya was quiet, but her earlier words still rang in Victor¡¯s ears. She <em>loved</em> him, and that felt wonderful. Of course, he knew it before then. He knew there were people here and on Fanwath who loved him, but it felt good to hear it, just the same. He was surprised to find most of the staff lined up in the kitchen, waiting to watch him pass through on his way to the cer. Several of them called out fond farewells and urged him a speedy return, and Victor could only smile and wave as he hurried past.

    Dar was waiting for him in the cave where they¡¯d done Lam¡¯s ritual. Victor, as always, had a sneaking suspicion that the Master Spirit Caster could somehow sense his location on his property and would use the Spirit ne to travel quickly ahead of him. Victor grinned when he saw his mentor in his orange-and-teal, flowing, silken outfit and sketched a formal bow. ¡°Good morning, Lord Dar.¡±

    ¡°Ah, excellent form on that bow, Victor. You¡¯ll make me proud on Ruhn.¡± He gestured to the stony ground before him. ¡°Come close. You should find it easier than usual to pull your physical form onto the spirit ne from here. Are you ready? Have you meditated on the toil ahead of you?¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve been holding myself on the spirit ne for nearly an hour thesest few days.¡±

    ¡°Good. Perhaps, after some study and advancement, when you visit me next, you¡¯ll be ready for me to teach you the secret to bridging worlds on the spirit ne.¡± He chuckled and shook his head. ¡°It depends on how long you wait toe for a visit. Don¡¯t expect me to teach you if youe running home after a week or two.¡±

    ¡°Nah, I won¡¯t.¡± Victor smiled, inhaling deeply through his nose. ¡°I think it¡¯ll do me good to be on my own for a while. I¡¯ve got my Farscribe books if I need to hear from some familiar people.¡±

    ¡°Good. You have everything? Your books? Your weapons? Your gift for Queen Kynna?¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°All set.¡±

    Dar looked him up and down, nodding. ¡°I¡¯m pleased you chose to keep your armor concealed. Best to avoid using it until you must. I won¡¯t be joining you for an introduction. Instead, I¡¯ll deposit you outside the city walls. My wee will be very short-lived; the veil walkers who watch over Ruhn will not tolerate my presence for more than a few moments. It¡¯s best that I don¡¯t attempt to interact with any of my descendants or those poor people foolish enough to worship my memory.¡±

    ¡°Will I stand out?¡± Victor gestured to his clothes. ¡°Like this?¡±

    ¡°Not especially. Your attire is suitable, and your Quinametzin blood makes you resemble the primeval Fae quite a lot. Some of my kin will be darker or lighter, depending on the amount of Igniant in their blood, but the primary ancestral heritage of the people of Ruhn is, as I told you before, one of giantish Fae.¡±

    ¡°Is that a word? Giantish?¡±

    ¡°Did I not use it? Could I utter it otherwise? It means descended of, rted to, or appearing like a giant.¡±

    ¡°Am I giantish?¡±

    ¡°Hah! Until you grow to your full potential, aye. When you¡¯re enraged and fully in your titanic aspect, people will know that ¡®giantish¡¯ doesn¡¯t measure up when ites to your description.¡± Dar grinned and grasped Victor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Well? Have we dawdled enough? Are you ready?¡±

    Victor returned the gesture, pping his hand on Dar¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m ready! Let¡¯s do this.¡±

    ¡°Right. See you on the spirit ne.¡± With that, Dar faded from sight. Victor steeled his will, looking inward as he built the pattern for Spirit Walk. He wrapped his aura around himself, grasping hold of his everyponent cell, and as he cast the spell, he <em>willed</em> his body toe with him. He¡¯d done the same every night before sleeping, holding himself longer and longer on the spirit ne each time. As Dar had promised, it was almost effortless by then, especially from inside the cave beneath his home.

    When he appeared on the Spirit ne, Dar stood there, solid and real, just like him. ¡°Good! Now, concentrate on keeping yourself whole. Don¡¯t let your body try to slip away from you. Moving will burn your Energy faster than simply standing still, but not by much. If my estimation is correct, we¡¯ll reach Ruhn long before you run dry.¡±

    ¡°How will I guide myself? Usually, I have a destination in mind¡ªa person or ce I know.¡±

    ¡°Leave the guiding to me. Focus on my presence and simply move with me. This will be another test of your will: you must not let your gaze wander. If you see something that takes your attention, you will fall away from me, and then we¡¯ll have to waste precious minutes looking for each other. Where we¡¯re going¡ªbetween worlds¡ªvast distances can be crossed in a single heartbeat, and it wouldn¡¯t be impossible to be lost. Even I would have trouble finding you.¡±

    ¡°And if I run out of Energy out there?¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯ll be pulled out of the spirit ne onto the material¡ªin the void of space. Even a sturdy Quinametzin couldn¡¯tst long in such a state.¡± Dar grabbed his shoulders and focused his zing eyes on Victor¡¯s. ¡°Stay with me!¡±

    With that, Dar turned and began to walk, and Victor fixed his gaze on a spot of teal fabric on his mostly orange tunic as he followed. The spirit ne passed in a blur as they gained momentum, but Victor refused to break his gaze from that spot. He didn¡¯t blink; he hardly breathed as he focused on following his mentor. Soon, his vision tunneled as their speed became immense. They raced through the spirit ne as Dar guided them, and Victor focused on keeping up with him.

    They never ran; it was always a normal walking pace, but that was the magic of the spirit ne; it wasn¡¯t properly tangible. It was a ce of Energy and light and the stuff between the material and the metaphysical. With an act of will, a <em>desire</em> to be somewhere, a spirit walker could bend the reality of distance and move great distances with a thought.

    Victor never noticed when they moved beyond the bounds of Sojourn into the space between worlds. He couldn¡¯t tell if Dar had changed directions or performed some action to create a bridge between the worlds. All he knew was that spot of teal on orange and the blur of the universe speeding by on either side.

    He was acutely aware of his Energy levels; he could feel how his reserves dipped below half, then a quarter, and when he began to get nervous as he lost half of that again, Dar suddenly stopped. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived,¡± he announced, gesturing around the spirit ne. They stood in a meadow of ethereal grass dotted with shimmering blue flowers. The stars above were brilliant and clear. Looking around, Victor saw distant luminescent trees and the faint purple outlines of mountain ranges in nearly every direction.

    ¡°The city walls are a mile or so distant; you¡¯ll see them when you look around. I won¡¯t cross over. This is where we part for now.¡±

    ¡°Um¡­¡± Victor nodded, licking his lips. ¡°And Kynna? Do you have a message for her?¡±

    Dar waved a hand. ¡°Your arrival is message enough. Victor, I know I speak flippantly about duels and family and¡­well, many things. Listen to me now, though, as I impart some final, serious words.¡± He stared at Victor, waiting for a response.

    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±

    Dar nodded. ¡°Good. One: a final warning about Elder magic. Tread lightly. Two: I¡¯ve put much faith in your ability to win lopsided contests. If you get to a point where defeat seems inevitable, I will not hold it against you if you counsel Kynna to cease her attempts to expand her nation. I¡¯d rather you backed down than died.¡± Those words were the first sign of any doubt Dar had that Victor could win his fights on Ruhn, and they tickled his spine like cold fingers.

    ¡°She¡¯s expecting to force a war of session, though.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t pressed that issue yet in my correspondence with her, but once it¡¯s begun, she will understand if you don¡¯t believe you can win against the great nations. She¡¯ll have to. Remember, her original request was for a champion to fight off her neighbors. This expansion is entirely my idea¡ªa n to gain you worthy hearts for your ritual. I didn¡¯t want to fill your mind with doubt, but I feel I must tell you that the length of this campaign is entirely in your hands. You will be the judge of how far to push things.¡±

    Victor wasn¡¯t sure what to say, so he stood there, clenching and unclenching his fists. After a moment, though, he nodded. ¡°All right, Lord Dar. I¡¯ll try to be smart about it. Is there anything else?¡±

    ¡°No. I¡¯ll look forward to your weekly reports. Farewell, Victor.¡± With that, Dar was gone, and Victor stood alone on the ethereal grassy in. Looking inward, he saw that his Core was nearly drained dry, so he reached into his pathways and severed the connection to his Spirit Walk spell. The world shifted, shing brightly as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight, and then he felt the cool breeze, smelled the fresh air with a distant odor of woodsmoke, and heard the steady trundling rumble of a massive wagon rolling on nearby cobbles.

    Victor turned toward the sound and saw, down a grassy slope, a broad, brown-brick paved road leading toward a tremendous city wall in the distance. Dar had said he was a mile from those walls, so Victor took a moment to appreciate their size. They had to be a hundred feet high with an outward-ring base that made the gatehouse tunnel look deep and cavernous. Squat ballistae towers lined the wall, and, as he squinted to look more closely, Victor counted more than a hundred soldiers patrolling just the area above and near the gate.

    ¡°If they settle wars with duels, why the hell do they need walls like that?¡± He looked back to the wagon he¡¯d heard earlier and saw that it looked almost like a rolling fortress. It had four axles, was ted with heavy-looking metal, and looked to be propelled by some kind of Energy engine that hummed and glowed with orange light, belching ck smoke out of a chimney stack near the rear. Half a dozen guards lined the top of the wagon, all wielding glowing crossbows.

    Victor could only assume that the roads and wilds of Gloria weren¡¯t safe. He didn¡¯t see any other traffic on the road, but looking away from the city, he saw massive forests and looming mountains in the distance. One of the peaks was enormous, with smooth white shoulders and a rounded top shrouded in ck, dark clouds. ¡°A volcano?¡± He grinned at the idea. Maybe he¡¯d get a chance to visit.

    He turned back to the wagon and watched it approach the gate. Despite the size of the vehicle, it easily disappeared into the gaping maw of the gatehouse tunnel. Victor saw a couple of dozen guards form up ranks behind it, facing outward, toward the road, apparently awaiting the next traveler or, perhaps, a hostile force. ¡°Or maybe a damn monster.¡± Victor shrugged and strode down the grassy slope to the road. ¡°All right,¡± he sighed, squaring his shoulders. ¡°Time to meet the people of Gloria.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 10: A Gift

    As he approached the gray stone city walls, Victor realized his earlier estimation was off; he¡¯d been gauging their height based on the size of the people he saw. His mind had let slip an important detail Dar had given him about the folks on Ruhn¡ªthey were almost all giant-sized. With that realization, he figured the walls were closer to two hundred feet high. The soldiers standing in the shadow of the gatehouse were loosely arranged in two ranks of ten, and they all watched the road through the eye slits of heavy te helms as he approached.

    The soldiers in the back rank were armed with long spears, and those in front wielded heavy metal pikes. To Victor¡¯s eye, their uniforms made them look sort of like conquistadores¡ªck uniform pants, polished boots, and shiny helmets and breasttes. They each wore a sky-blue sash emzoned with a yellow rose¡ªthe sigil of Gloria. Of course, when everyone was a giant, no one really seemed like one, so it wasn¡¯t particrly imposing for Victor, who was easily a match for the soldiers when it came to bulk, to step toward the armed,bat-ready men and women.

    ¡°State your business in Gloria!¡± the centermost soldier shouted when Victor was no closer than thirty yards from the gatehouse. The term ¡®Gloria¡¯ referred to both the nation and the capital city of Dar¡¯s descendants, so Victor wasn¡¯t sure of the spokesman¡¯s exact meaning, but he supposed it didn¡¯t matter.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to see the queen.¡±

    Murmurs and even a few sniggers broke out among the soldiers, and the speaker turned to shout, ¡°Quiet!¡± before addressing Victor again. ¡°The queen is quite busy. If you¡¯ve no other business in the city, then it would be best to turn around; we¡¯ve little room or charity to spare for a vagabond.¡±

    Victor chuckled and stepped closer. ¡°That¡¯s quite an assumption. ¡®Vagabond?¡¯ Why not wanderer or stranger? It seems you¡¯ve chosen tobel me with negative connotations.¡± Victorughed inwardly at his words; if the man he¡¯d been a few years ago had heard those wordse out of his mouth, he would have lost his shitughing. What a poser!

    ¡°Whatever you call yourself, we¡¯ve no room. Do you wish to dere yourself? Are you from Frostmarch? Xan? You had toe through their blockades! Turn around or be seized for questioning. This is your final warning.¡±

    In unison, the guards took a stomping step forward and lowered their polearms so the points aimed toward Victor. He wondered what hidden signal the leader¡ªcaptain?¡ªhad given. He didn¡¯t back down, in any case. Instead, he stepped forward again, closing the distance between himself and the soldiers to just a few long strides. He sighed, shaking his head. ¡°Is this the wee I¡¯m getting? I expected more.¡± The guard began to speak, but Victor held up a hand. ¡°You asked me to dere myself, so I will. I¡¯m here at the behest of Ranish Dar to serve as a champion to Queen Kynna, and I¡¯d appreciate you guiding me to her. If you can¡¯t do that, then at least get the fuck out of my way.¡±

    To his amazement, a good third of the soldiers fell to their knees at the mention of Ranish Dar. As he continued speaking, many of the other soldiers lifted their polearms, perhaps loathe to seem threatening to a man making ims like the one Victor just had. The captain, though, stepped closer, his pike still leveled menacingly. ¡°Have you any proof of these ims?¡±Victor held up his right hand, disying Dar¡¯s si. ¡°I have Ranish Dar¡¯s si. Maybe you could recognize that? If not, just take me to the queen, and she will verify my words. I would have thought she¡¯d put out word that I was on my way, but¡­¡± He trailed off, sighing, as he looked past the soldiers into the depths of the cavernous gatehouse tunnel. His gaze drifted down to the now-quiet soldiers, especially those kneeling. Did they worship Dar like a founding ancestor, or was it something more? They certainly <em>seemed</em> pious in their bowed obeisance.

    ¡°Will you demonstrate your strength to back up your im? A show of your aura, perhaps?¡± The captain had stepped even closer, and now, if he wanted to lunge, Victor felt sure the man could bring his gleaming pike into y.

    ¡°That¡¯s an odd thing for a captain of the queen¡¯s soldiers to ask. Why would I disy my strength so that spies could run tattling to the borders and alert the Kings who hold this nation under siege?¡± Victor stepped toward the captain, allowing his pike to brush against his hip as he held out a hand. ¡°I¡¯m Victor, and Ie from a ce called Tucson. Ranish Dar has seen the plight of his nation on Ruhn, and he wants me to help set things right. Now take my hand and then guide me to the queen.¡± He¡¯d rehearsed such words with Dar that they were starting to feel natural on his tongue. He hoped he was convincing to the soldiers.

    Something about his tone and the sureness of his bodynguage must have convinced the soldier because he slung his pike onto his shoulder and then sped Victor¡¯s hand. He had a firm, strong grip, and when he nodded, looking through the slit of his visor, Victor saw hard, pale eyes. The soldier released his grip. ¡°I¡¯m Captain Wash. Red Wash¡ªif we meet again while I¡¯m not on duty, please call me Red. The queen has people who can verify the si you bear. Please follow me to the pce.¡± With that, he turned and began striding through the ranks of soldiers, who were either bowing or kneeling by that point.

    Victor could tell the soldiers were struggling to remain disciplined, and by the time he¡¯d marched halfway through the gatehouse tunnel, one of them, a woman, called out, ¡°Is it true? You¡¯ve seen Ranish Dar?¡±

    Victor smiled and turned, walking backward as he waved. ¡°It¡¯s true! He¡¯s doing well and sends his regards to the people here! He¡¯s proud of your hard work!¡± Dar never said such a thing, but Victor thought it wouldn¡¯t hurt to boost morale a little. As he turned and continued to follow Red, he could hear the excited chatter behind him, and his grin grew.

    As they exited the tunnel, several soldiers approached Captain Wash, but the man waved them off and hurried onto the street that ran parallel to the wall. Victor followed, his neck craning to give him a view of the tall stone structures. Gloria reminded him of what he¡¯d always imagined a true medieval metropolis would look like. The buildings were mostly built from stone blocks like the great wall surrounding them, and they were tall, with many towers and minarets capped in glittering metallic and ss-studded tiles. Those tiles and the many crystalline windowpanes picked up the light of the pale yellow sun, bringing the heights to life with their reflections.

    More than that, pennants and tabards flew from nearly every structure. They bore coats of arms and fanciful designs and added sshes of color everywhere. On every corner and in the courtyards of every great building, rose bushes bloomed, and their pleasant aroma was ever-present as he and the captain made their way through the clean, orderly streets. The popce was another story.

    Everywhere Victor looked, he saw gaunt, hungry faces¡ªmostly among the young. He¡¯d been prepared for this; Dar had exined that while Ruhn¡¯s poption wasrgely of a high iron-rank average, the children would be the ones who suffered the most when there was a shortage of supplies. The adults, who¡¯d had time to gain levels, didn¡¯t require as much food to survive; the Energy was rich, and their bodies would sustain themselves on it. The children, however, were still low-tier, and the Energy in the air did little for their mostly normal, mortal constitutions.

    When he saw those groups of sickly children with wan faces and wide, staring eyes, he felt warring emotions¡ªanger at those responsible and pity for the pathetic individuals before him. He wanted to stop and hand out food, but he knew it would cause a riot and that he¡¯d, at best, put off their suffering for a day or two. Instead, he steeled his resolve to end the stranglehold Gloria¡¯s neighbors had on the nation¡¯s supply lines.

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    As for their looks, Dar hadn¡¯t been wrong; for the most part, the people of Gloria looked likerge humans. Here and there, Victor saw signs of Fae bloodlinesrge, bright eyes, pointed ears, and a general beauty and grace that outshone some of the more mundane-looking folk. He and the guard captain didn¡¯t draw many stares; Victor was dressed nicely but inly, and he wasn¡¯t so out of line with his looks that he stood out. Plenty of the Ruhnish folk had dark hair and tanned skin, and, as he¡¯d observed earlier, the people who weren¡¯t ¡°giantish¡± were few and far between and obviously not native to the world.

    The pce was an imposing and beautiful structure, and it reminded Victor that, while Gloria was down on its luck as a nation, it had a proud heritage. It was a sprawlingpound with many courtyards, gardens, wings, and outbuildings. He saw minarets domed in turquoise and glittering precious metal, stained-ss windows, and structures built entirely of seamless, polished marble. Everywhere his eye went as he followed Red through the echoing corridors, Victor saw liveried servants but only caught glimpses of the nobility through archways or around corners. He wasn¡¯t sure if Red was trying to keep him away from those folks or if they were just very thinly spread out on the pce grounds.

    After a while, they came to a room with a vaulted ceiling, plush carpets, and many antique-looking, high-backed chairs lining the walls. Red pointed to one of the chairs and said, ¡°Please take a seat, and I¡¯ll fetch the chambein.¡±

    ¡°If you must.¡± Victor sat down and folded his arms over his chest, ring as the captain hurried to a closed door. He then paused and looked back.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t wander.¡±

    Victor¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°If you thought I meant harm to the queen, it would be foolish to leave me alone here.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Red cleared his throat and spoke again, ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t believe you¡¯re lying. Having the chambein inspect your si is merely a formality, um, sir.¡± With that, he bowed briefly and then departed. The gesture reminded Victor of his lessons on Ruhnic tradition, especially those regarding honor. If Red had indicated that he thought Victor was being dishonest, it would have been within his right to call him out, forcing an honor duel. He shook his head, <em>tsking</em>, as he thought it through.

    It wasn¡¯t two minutester when he heard the click of bootheels on marble, and then the door swung wide, and Red appeared with another, older man. He was dressed in attire simr to the servants but finer: ck pants, a sky-blue, silken shirt with a yellow rose embroidered over his left breast, and polished, ck leather shoes. He looked very sharp¡ªeverything was pressed to perfection, and his curly gray hair was coifed like he¡¯d juste out of the barbershop. Victor stood, and though he, too, was nicely clothed, he somehow felt sloppy as the man stepped toward him, looking down his long, sharp nose at Victor¡¯s hand.

    Red cleared his throat and announced, ¡°Chambein Thorn, may I present Victor of Tucson, emissary of the great Ranish Dar and prospective champion to Queen Kynna Dar.¡±

    At his words, Victor grinned. He wasn¡¯t sure why he¡¯d said he was from Tucson, but it was nice to hear the name again. He¡¯d learned the customs well, so he bowed deeply at the waist. Chambein Thorn also bowed, then stepped forward and held out his hand. ¡°May I see Lord Dar¡¯s si?¡±

    Victor held up his hand, making a fist so the si ring stood out proudly among his iner storage rings. Thorn leaned forward, and Victor felt a small surge of Energy as his gray eye glittered with silvery sparkles. A momentter, he straightened, and his smile was enormous as he said, ¡°Wee to Gloria, Champion.¡± He sharply about-faced and barked, ¡°Hurry! Assemble the Court. I¡¯ll present Victor to the queen personally!¡±

    Red turned and bolted, his <em>clomping</em> boots loud at first, then fading with distance. Chambein Thorn¡¯s smile never faded as he slowly studied Victor from head to toe. ¡°It¡¯s truly a miracle! I can¡¯t tell you how wonderful it is to see you, sir! There have been rumors, of course. The queen¡¯s attendants whispering about secret correspondence. Of course, we all dreamed. Surely, the great Ranish Dar wouldn¡¯t let his first kingdome to ruin. Still, it¡¯s many a generation since anyone has seen or personally heard from him. Yet here you are, bearing his si, with a promise to fight for us! Queen''s mercy!¡± The man had tears in his eyes, and Victor struggled to maintain a little distance between them as the fellow kept encroaching into his personal space.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s good that you¡¯re happy, Chambein. Now, since I seem to have you in my corner, can you give me any information about those who might wish to see me fail?¡±

    Thorn¡¯s eyes shot wide at those words, and he nodded emphatically. ¡°There are those among the nobilityndholders and distant rtives of the queen, who would benefit if they made underhanded agreements with the Kings of Frostmarch and Xan. I¡¯ll draft you a document, sir, an ounting of Gloria''s great lords anddies. Will that be suitable?¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°Yes. That¡¯s one thing Ranish Dar couldn¡¯t properly prepare me for; he¡¯s lost touch with the political scheming of the noble houses of his former home.¡±

    ¡°I will be your guide, milord.¡± He opened his mouth to say more, but just then, many stomping boots sounded from the corridor outside, and soon Red was striding through the door, nked by four other soldiers in matching attire. Victor didn¡¯t love that all the household guards seemed to wear full helmets; he liked seeing a person¡¯s facial expression when he spoke to them. Still, he couldn¡¯t argue that it made for a more imposing presence.

    ¡°Lord Thorn, Her Majesty awaits in the throne room.¡±

    ¡°Very well.¡± Thorn turned to Victor. ¡°Please apany me to meet the queen, milord.¡±

    Victor nodded and gestured for the man to lead the way. Dar had driven home that it would be fruitless to insist on informal titles in the court of Queen Kynna. The Ruhnians put a lot of weight on the formality of rank. Chambein Thorn led the way through a new corridor, this one very broad and with a soaring ceiling. Paintings of stern-looking men and austeredies lined the walls above the fanciful, pale-blue wainscoting, and Victor upied his mind wondering who they were as they approached a junction. He saw servants scurrying in the distance and imagined they were scrambling to do whatever servants did when the queen called an impromptu gathering of the royal court.

    Red and the other soldiers stomped in near unison behind them, and when they turned the corner, Victor saw four more simrly armed men standing guard outside an ornate, massive double door. Two guards pulled the doors wide as they approached, revealing a picture-perfect, fairytale throne room. The cynic in Victor remembered the hungry, haunted faces of the children in the city outside, and he wondered if some of the opulence on disy before him could be somehow traded for food.

    The silver-flecked marble floors shone with a high gloss, reflecting the dazzling sunlight streaming in through high cathedral windows, and, at the center of their focal point, a dais rose to support a massive throne of blue crystal. Victor lost track of everything else¡ªthe nobles lining the sides of the room, the elegant furnishings and art, even the softly ying string quartet in the corner. All he could focus on was the incredible vision of the queen sitting atop that crystal throne.

    Queen Kynna was, as Dar had supposed, far more Fae than Igniant, but Victor could see traces of her ancestor in her visage. Her skin looked like flesh, unlike Dar¡¯s stony appearance, but it was a lustrous pale-gray color with hints of something beneath the surface that sparkled like glitter or maybe diamonds. Her eyes drove home her rtion to Ranish Dar, though; they shone like two tiny suns, brilliant nuclear reactions beneath heavy, ck brows. Victor couldn¡¯t deny she was beautiful, if a bit severe and cold.

    Kynna had high cheekbones, a regal countenance, and full lips, painted a shade of blue that picked up highlights in her dark eye shadow and the midnight blue, gem-studded, form-fitting gown she wore. As for a crown, five sharp, ck crystal spires rose up through her thick, curly ck hair, gleaming with some kind of inner light. She looked statuesque¡ªtoo perfect to be real¡ªeven as she leaned on one elbow on the arm of her throne and gazed down at Victor and his procession.

    As Victor stood, a little dumbstruck, Chambein Thorn stepped forward and bellowed, breaking the spell, ¡°I present to you Lord Victor of Tucson, disciple of Ranish Dar, whose lineage and wisdom are reflected in the grace of our queen and whom we revere for the founding of this great nation.¡± Thorn bowed so low that he continued down onto his knees andy prostrate by the time he finished speaking.

    Victor took the hint and performed a perfect, formal bow at the waist. He didn¡¯t wait to be given permission to stand, however. He straightened and moved into the suddenly silent hall. He could hear the nobility breathing to either side of him, but not a soul uttered a word as his boots <em>clicked</em> on the marble. Kynna straightened, shattering the illusion that she was a statue carved from crystal. He stopped a few strides away from the dais where her throne sat and waited, locking his eyes with Kynna¡¯s zing ones.

    After a few heartbeats, her voice rang out, strong, strident, clear, but utterly feminine, ¡°You may approach.¡±

    Victor stepped forward to the edge of the dais and fell to one knee, summoning the spear he¡¯d had crafted for this asion. He held it aloft on the palms of his hands¡ªno easy feat, for the thing weighed several hundred pounds. The haft was crafted from something called ebon oak and was sturdy enough to withstand everything Lesh and his other sparring partners had been able to dish out. They¡¯d tried cutting it, smashing it, and snapping it with a hundred different methodologies, but, just as the weaponsmith had promised, it was very sturdy stuff.

    The top three feet of the spear were taken up by the de¡ªa length of magically hardened steel that the weaponsmith had staked his reputation on. Victor wanted something sturdy, something he could drive through a hunk of simrly hard metal, digging for a gap without worrying about snapping the de. It had held up to the demand through quite a lot of testing. The de gleamed and winked in the light, a shimmering length of razor-sharp, mirror-finished metal that ended in a point so needle-sharp that Victor felt confident he could use it to dig a splinter from a child¡¯s foot.

    Edeya had given him a ¡°charm¡± to loop around the butt-end of the spear haft¡ªa couple of Darren¡¯s Thunderbird feathers fastened by a thin lock of Lam¡¯s golden, wire-hard hairs. It didn¡¯t do anything except make the spear look cool, and Victor figured, knowing the way he fought, that it¡¯d be ruined soon, but he liked it. The weapon was heavy for two reasons: the materials were tough and dense, and it was enchanted to grow with him, doubling in size if he took on his titanic form.

    With all that being said, the gathered nobles¡ªand Queen Kynna herself¡ªcould not deny the quality of the spear Victor held aloft as he knelt. He let the anticipation hang heavy in the air before speaking, ¡°Queen Kynna, I offer you a gift for this auspicious asion. I present this spear and vow to wield it in your name, vanquishing the champions of Frostmarch and Xan. The time hase for your house to ascend to its rightful ce of prominence on Ruhn.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 11: Faith

    As Victor¡¯s words rang out in the hushed anticipation that hung heavy in the throne room, Queen Kynna¡¯s eyes flew wide at their implication¡ªa promise far beyond simply defending her beleaguered borders. The room was silent for several heartbeats¡ªthe assembled nobles seemed to be holding their breath¡ªand then it erupted in a buzz of excited whispers, though Victor¡¯s ears detected a good amount of grumbling. When Kynna stood, the room grew silent again. Victor looked up at her, his golden-brown eyes peering up from beneath his heavy brow, his arms steady though the muscles strained to hold the dense spear in its awkward position.

    The queen stepped down from her throne¡¯s dais, looming over him as she ran her gaze from one end of the great spear to the other. Victor could smell her perfume¡ªsomething floral that tickled a memory he couldn¡¯t quite grasp. Her deep blue gown glittered like a million stars were woven into the fabric, and, as she reached out a long, slender arm to touch the weapon, lightly grazing it with her fingertips, Victor couldn¡¯t help noting the many glittering jewels adorning her fingers and wrist. ¡°Youe, warrior, to stand as my champion?¡±

    ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°And what of dear, brave, loyal Foster?¡± At her words, Victor heard boots click on the marble, and he knew Kynna¡¯s champion had stepped forward. He didn¡¯t look at him, though; he kept his eyes trained upward at Kynna¡¯s face beneath the wild tangle of her curly ck hair and the high, glittering spires of her crystal crown.

    ¡°Let him rest.¡± Victor knew the question was for show, a way for Foster Green to save face and be acknowledged.

    ¡°What say you, Champion?¡± Queen Kynna asked. Victor, still looking up, saw her chin turn to the right.

    ¡°I am ever ready to serve, My Queen, but it has been many long years since I rested.¡± Foster¡¯s voice was gravelly and deep, and Victor could hear deep emotion behind the words. He hadn¡¯t really considered that¡ªhow it might feel to be asked to step down after a lifetime of service. Dar had made it seem that Foster would be relieved, knowing he wouldn¡¯t be asked to fight the battles he and his queen had been avoiding¡ªknowing he wouldn¡¯t win. Still, it had to sting his pride a little, being pushed aside by a young stranger.

    ¡°You have earned your rest, Foster, but make it short; my close council has room for another chair.¡± As she spoke, Victor heard dozens of murmured conversations pick up. He caught words and phrases here and there, primarily people specting about the implications of another seat on Kynna¡¯s council. He also heard a few exmations of disbelief¡ªhow could she take on an untested stranger when wolves were at the gates?

    Kynna looked down, her bright eyes finally falling on Victor¡¯s face as she traced the spear with her fingertips. For a moment, he wondered if she¡¯d grasp it and try to lift it, but she withdrew her hand. ¡°I ept your gift, Victor, disciple of Ranish Dar. Though I must insist you hold this weapon ready until such time that you no longer need it to fight Gloria¡¯s battles.¡± She lifted her hand and rested her fingertips on Victor¡¯s forehead. They were cool to his hot flesh, but he could feel the thrum of some kind of potent Energy in them; he wondered what affinity or affinities she had. ¡°Rise, Champion of Gloria.¡±Victor did so, straightening in a fluid motion, snapping the spear around in a half twirl, thudding the feather-adorned butt against the marble. He¡¯d gained much understanding of the weapon over thest few months of practice¡ªnot only his own experience but the knowledge the System granted him when he broke through into the ¡°advanced¡± stages of mastery. He knew he had a long road to walk before he attained epic-tier mastery of the weapon, but he felt good with it in his hands. His guilty conscience was quick to remind him that Lifedrinker would be better, but he pushed the feeling down, knowing she¡¯de out when the time was right.

    The crowd lining the sides of the throne room began to p¡ªnot a raucous apuse or boisterous cheer but a gentle, polite patter of fingers against palms. Victor frowned, ncing side to side for the first time, taking in the assembled nobility. They were, like their queen, austere in posture and expression. The women and many men wore makeup, darkening the skin around their eyes and brightening the red of their cheeks and lips. Their clothes were fine¡ªsilks and satins, capes and capelets, jewels on necks, fingers, and brows, and not a single one of them looked like they¡¯d missed a meal or suffered during the years-long siege of their nation.

    Victor¡¯s burgeoning disdain was interrupted by the queen¡¯s words. Her words were directed at him as she spoke, but she projected them, ensuring all could hear. ¡°My ancestor¡¯s most recent missive indicated a man named Victor would being. He didn¡¯t say how soon, though, and I¡¯d honestly begun to lose hope.¡±

    Victor had be distracted in his study of the nobles, and, as she spoke, his eyes fell on the man who had to be Foster Green; he was tall, swarthy, lean, and had steel-gray hair, cut short in much the style that Victor preferred. He was the only person in the room who looked like a fighter without the armor and livery of the queen¡¯s guard. When their eyes locked, Kynna was just finishing her statement, and Victor exchanged a solemn, knowing nod with the old fighter. He turned to regard the queen, pressing his lips together to avoid frowning as he replied. ¡°Ranish Dar is a man of his word¡ªI am here.¡±

    ¡°My people suffer, though you wouldn¡¯t know it looking around this room, Victor.¡± Her eyes red briefly, and Victor wondered if she¡¯d read more in his expression than he¡¯d intended. ¡°How soon will you be ready to ept a challenge?¡±

    Victor, perhaps a foot taller than Kynna, took a step back off the dais to more easily look her in the eyes. He nodded slowly and then turned to more deliberately regard the assembled nobility again. This time, he allowed some of his scowl to enter his expression as he locked eyes with any who dared to meet his gaze; only a few did so. When he finished his more obvious perusal, he turned back to the queen. ¡°I¡¯ll be ready after a bit of rest. The journey was arduous.¡± Finally, some of the gathered nobles reacted with more than whispers, titters, and tepid pping.

    He heard exmations of relief and, unsurprisingly, fear. One man called out, ¡°My Queen! I beg your caution! Should he lose, we all will suffer!¡±

    ¡°Be still, Rannick,¡± Kynna snapped. ¡°Did you not hear what was said? Lord Ranish Dar has sent this man! He is here to elevate us, not to sit and fawn while we slowly wither! While our <em>children</em> starve!¡± Looking at the man in his finery, Victor had a feeling his children weren¡¯tcking food. He had a feeling these nobles had storage devices holding years and years¡¯ worth of sustenance for the people they loved.

    His scowling gaze didn¡¯t quiet the murmurs. In fact, they grew louder, and a woman from the other side of the room cried out, ¡°Have you no eyes? No senses? I can read this man¡¯s Core like a child¡¯s! I¡¯d wager most of us out-rank him!¡± Her words were almost enough to get a reaction from Victor. He wanted to unleash his tightly held aura, he wanted to swell his pathways with rage-attuned Energy and expand to his true, titanic form, but he didn¡¯t.

    Dar had instructed him well on his strategy; he was to y all of his cards close to his chest, including the strength and weight of his aura. He might be able to hide his Core from most of these folks, but there were, indeed, many people on Ruhn in the high iron ranks. Even if he wanted to block them from viewing his Core and guessing his tier, it wasn¡¯t a battle he should fight. Their guesses were immaterial; whatever they thought they knew was only that¡ªa guess. Dar¡¯s strategy involved people underestimating him, and letting them see his Core was part of that n.

    He red at the woman who¡¯d spoken and growled, ¡°Is that a challenge?¡± A sudden silence fell over the room. Nearly everyone ceased even breathing, and Victor was sure he could hear the quick, nervous pants of the woman he focused his scowling countenance upon.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.

    As Victor continued to stare, she held a hand to her silk-covered bosom, ncing around nervously and stammering, ¡°N-no! I¡¯m not a fighter!¡±

    ¡°Outrageous!¡± someone muttered loudly enough to draw Victor¡¯s gaze. As he stared toward the voice, inviting the speaker to borate on his outrage, everyone grew very still. The tension grew thick as Victor¡¯s heart thudded slowly and steadily in his chest.

    ¡°Well,¡± Queen Kynna gracefully returned to her throne, ¡°if no one would like to challenge Victor for his new position as my champion, perhaps you all should leave. He and I have much to discuss.¡±

    ¡°You heard Her Majesty! Clear the throne room!¡± Chambein Thorn bellowed, still standing near the doors. Victor sent his spear into a storage container and stood, arms folded, watching the nobles clear out. The musicians, who¡¯d long ago stopped ying, gathered their equipment and scurried out a side door, which drew his eye to a row of servants holding trays of drinks and hors-d''oeuvre vying for the same exit.

    ¡°I see your nobles don¡¯t deprive themselves.¡± He nodded toward thest of the servants who hastily rushed through the door.

    ¡°I¡­must find a bnce between currying favor among the nobility and sumbing to my desire to throw everyst scrap of food we all have to the masses. You must understand that the pce storehouse would only feed the city for a day or two, no? Many nobles are opening their personal stores; our people will not starve today or tomorrow. No, they¡¯llst months and maybe years, though the difort on the children''s faces will bring daily shame to those of us who feast mostly on the ambient Energy. For that reason, many nobles will shun the popce, hiding away behind these walls or in their own keeps.¡±

    Victor regarded her, pleased that she was so open about the subject. Though her skin was smooth and wless, she struck him as being experienced; she didn¡¯t seem young. ¡°You have to curry favor?¡±

    ¡°There are many among my kin with ties in our neighboring kingdoms¡ªfamily members bonded through marriage, for instance. If I push them too far out of theirfort, their disloyalty might move beyond simple spying and missives regarding the state of our capital and into true treachery. Gloria would have fallen years ago if I hadn¡¯t been working to appease the nobility.¡±

    Victor nodded. His arms were still folded over his chest, and he lifted a foot, resting it on the edge of the queen¡¯s dais. ¡°Well, that ends today. Schedule the first duel. We¡¯ll get one of your enemies off your back, and then, with a little breathing room, we¡¯ll start eliminating the nobles who aren¡¯t cut out for the struggle toe.¡±

    ¡°<em>Excuse</em> me, sirrah?¡± the queen arched an eyebrow, tapping one of her blue-polished nails on the arm of her crystal throne. The sound it made was almost musical¡ª<em>ting, ting, ting</em>. ¡°I appreciate your confidence, but Embry wasn¡¯t wrong; you seem tock the weight of a high iron ranker. You certainly are no steel seeker!¡±

    ¡°Listen, My, uh, Queen: Ranish Dar has given me a strategy to follow. Do you trust your ancestor?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡± She frowned and sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Victor. When I first wrote to him, it felt very strange; imagine praying to a long-dead ancestor, and you¡¯ll know what I mean.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯d be surprised.¡± Victor chuckled and added, ¡°Anyway, Dar ain¡¯t dead.¡± He frowned as he caught his tongue running away, forgetting all the lessons on etiquette Dar and Mr. Ruln had put him through.

    Kynna leaned forward, her ck crystal crown tilting precariously. Something must have held it in ce¡ªmagic or something mundane like clips attached to her thick, curly ck hair. ¡°He may as well be for all the interest he¡¯s shown in our plight!¡±

    Victor smiled grimly. ¡°I know, but I¡¯m here now. What do we need to do to arrange a duel?¡±

    ¡°The challenge was issued; I¡¯ve been avoiding it. It shouldn¡¯t be difficult to get Vennar or Groff to agree to terms.¡±

    ¡°Good. The sooner, the better, Queen Kynna. Now, is there someone who can show me around this ce?¡±

    ¡°We have much to discuss, Victor. There¡¯s more to your role than fighting duels.¡± She shook her head, forcing an almost delicate smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. You must be exhausted from your journey. I¡¯m sure Foster stayed near at hand; I¡¯ll have him introduce you to the staff and show you the pce grounds and your quarters.¡±

    Victor rubbed his chin. ¡°Is he going to be¡­¡± He let his words trail off, leaving Kynna to make assumptions about his meaning.

    ¡°He¡¯s eager to retire, Victor. He only stayed on to avoid one of my cousins trying to im the throne. I have many asps and adders in my court, as I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll soon learn.¡± She touched something on the side of her throne, and therge double doors opened almost immediately. One of the helmeted guards stepped into the opening, staring intently at Victor and the throne. ¡°Fetch Chambein Thorn and Foster Green.¡±

    Victor was tempted to say he wasn¡¯t tired at all and that they could chat for a while, but he had an image to uphold; being exhausted from travel was natural for a ¡°champion¡± out of his depth. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind me taking some time to get my feet under me, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°No, I understand. It¡¯s only¡­¡± She frowned, an expression that made her look like an angry goddesse down from Olympus. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re up for this? Are you certain we should schedule the duel? I¡¯m sure Ranish Dar told you that if you lose, my throne is forfeit.¡±

    ¡°Just like you, My Queen,¡± Victor grinned, enjoying the roley, ¡°I must put my faith in Ranish Dar. He said I was ready, so I must assume he is correct.¡± Part of him wanted to reassure her and disy some of his strength, but another part was profoundly enjoying the game he yed. He knew she had advisors and that she¡¯d speak to them. If any were disloyal¡ªand Victor believed that was likely¡ªthen word of her concern would travel, making it easier to schedule the duels. He just hoped he wouldn¡¯t have to blow all his cards in the first fight.

    Bootheels clicking on marble signaled the arrival of Foster and Thorn, and Victor turned to regard them as they approached. Foster moved like a dancer, and Victor figured he was a formidable fighter. The fact that he was avoiding the challenges from Gloria¡¯s neighbors was a little worrying, but Victor had to remind himself that Foster wasn¡¯t hiding anything. The people here knew him. If Victor were enraged, with his aura flowing freely and his axe in his hand, he didn¡¯t think Foster would be very intimidating.

    ¡°Goodman, Foster,¡± the queen said, gesturing to Victor. ¡°Would you kindly show my new champion around the pce? Put him in the purple rooms.¡±

    ¡°I could vacate my suite¡ª¡±

    The queen chopped her hand in the air, cutting him off. ¡°I¡¯ll not hear of it! You¡¯ll stay at the pce until we¡¯ve won free of this siege and your family is home safe.¡±

    ¡°As you say, My Queen.¡± Foster bowed deeply. Seeing his excellent etiquette reminded Victor of his manners, and he turned to face the throne again.

    ¡°I¡¯ll await your call, My Queen. Will it be early?¡±

    ¡°I am an early riser. Will two hours past dawn suit you?¡±

    Victor rubbed his chin¡ªfreshly shaven¡ªand slowly nodded. ¡°I think I can be ready by then.¡± He inwardly sniggered, wondering what they all thought of his need for rest. Fighting to hide his grin, he bowed low, holding it until the queen dismissed him.

    ¡°Very good, Victor. You may take your leave.¡±

    ¡°Until tomorrow.¡± Victor slowly straightened, then turned and descended the steps, nodding to Foster, who turned on his heel and guided him out.

    He heard the queen say, ¡°Stay a moment, Thorn. I¡¯ve a matter or two to discuss¡ª¡± The doors clicking shut cut her voice off, utterly masking any sound from within the throne room.

    Foster turned to look over his shoulder and nodded briefly. ¡°This way, Victor. We¡¯ll start with a tour of the grounds¡­¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Kynna looked down her nose at Thorn, her oldest confidant¡ªthe only man her father ever trusted. ¡°Are you absolutely certain of his si¡¯s authenticity?¡±

    ¡°It is genuine. I¡¯m certain. My Truth Sense is infallible. His confidence is also true. He <em>believes</em> he will win the duels, and when he says he intends to bring Gloria to a ce of prominence, he means it. Now, whether he¡¯s a deluded fool¡­¡± Thorn shrugged, putting on a face that said, ¡°I wish I knew.¡±

    ¡°Would Ranish send me a lunatic? Would he send a man to his doom, thereby dooming us?¡±

    ¡°I have only the records of your great ancestor¡¯s time here to go by, and I fear there are more than a few ounts of Ranish Dar acting impulsively and without logic. He was young, then, or so the story goes, so much might have changed in the interceding millennia. Was his letter not reassuring?¡±

    ¡°He hardly spoke of Victor! He said his name and said he was a man of high potential with a courageous heart! When I described Foster Green, I thought that Ranish would at least send us someone sturdier than that good man!¡±

    ¡°He did seem rather¡­¡± Kynna saw Thorn struggle to find the right words. His eyes narrowed, and he pursed his lips. Finally, with an explosive sigh, he blurted, ¡°Mundane! His attire, his appearance, his demeanor¡ªI¡¯ve seen Obert fight, My Queen, and his presence sends shudders down a man¡¯s spine! This man, this <em>Victor</em>¡ªhe¡¯s tall, he¡¯s strong-looking, but I don¡¯t sense any <em>weight</em> behind him. Embry wasn¡¯t wrong, either. Did you sense his Core? He can¡¯t be much beyond tier seven. How will he face a tier-nine champion? If he truly means to elevate Gloria, he''ll face much worse than that!¡±

    Kynna nodded, tapping her nails on the crystal of her throne. As they chimed melodically, she thought about the plight of her people, about the children in the city and the feeble trickle of her nation¡¯s economy. Thorn stood still, patiently waiting, knowing she was weighing matters. She ran through the many risks of trusting Victor, and she weighed them against the scant few options at her disposal. After a time, she looked up. ¡°We could test him.¡±

    ¡°A challenger?¡±

    ¡°Someone to question his strength. Someone to cast doubt on his ims.¡± Kynna didn¡¯t like the idea, and it showed. Her frown felt like it might be permanent as the corners of her mouth twisted down and her brows narrowed.

    ¡°And if he takes the insult and fights? If he¡¯s <em>not</em> boasting a strength beyond his means? Whose life would we throw away to make that test?¡± Thorn stepped close and hissed, ¡°My Queen, you wrote to Ranish Dar! Victor arrived with his si, just as your progenitor said he would. When does faithe into y?¡±

    Kynna snorted, shaking her head in disbelief. ¡°My dear, Thorn, did you just counsel me to have faith? I¡¯m stunned!¡± Thorn started to sputter a response, but she held up her hand. ¡°No, don¡¯t be chagrined. I¡¯m rather pleased by your advice; I grow weary of this gilded cage. I grow weary of seeing my father¡¯s great kingdom brought low. Our borders have shrunk for a dozen generations. Our coffers have shrunk along with them. We once boasted the greatest champion on the Western continent! I rather like the idea of ¡®faith,¡¯ my dear, loyal chambein. Let¡¯s put Victor into y and see what fate has brought us. Arrange the first duel.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 12: Terms

    Victor stood behind Queen Kynna¡¯s high-backed, hand-tooled, gold-filigreed chair and listened to her and King Vennar hash out the terms of the duel. The king sat in a simr chair on the opposite side of an equally ornate table. It was Victor¡¯s job to appear imposing, and he did his best. Still, with his aura tightly in check, his armor all stowed away, and his Core locked down like a bank vault the day before payday, he didn¡¯t think he was imposing anyone, least of all Vennar or his champion, Obert.

    Obert, on the other hand, was putting on a show of deadly force and barely restrained potential for destruction. He was an eleven-foot-tall man built like a ballet dancer. He walked more gracefully than a panther and projected a ferocity that would make a tiger seem cuddly. His long, lithe limbs were corded with hard muscle, his skin was tan and glistened as though oiled, and he wore armor consisting of a shiny breastte, an eagle-visored helm, shiny bracers, and rune-inscribed greaves. Victor considered it ¡°shiny,¡± but the armor was more than that. It shone with the inner light of dense enchantments and radiated with a lustrous greenish-blue tint.

    Victor forced his face into an unimpressed, almostckadaisical expression as he regarded him. Still, inwardly, he was impressed, especially by the man¡¯s eight-foot longsword that hung from a scabbard on his back. Victor could only see the hilt and pommel¡ªa glowing tiger¡¯s eye gemstone¡ªbut the thing had a <em>presence</em> he couldn¡¯t deny. Still, Victor didn¡¯t react. He didn¡¯t smile or glower. He didn¡¯t let his gaze linger. He constantly surveyed the room, the table, the monarchs, and even the motes of dust gently drifting through the beam of sunlight streaming through the high window.

    He could tell his inattention was bothering Obert. The man stared at him as though he could melt Victor¡¯s heart with his gaze. Victor almost smirked at the thought¡ªmaybe he <em>could</em>! He let his eyes drift past Kynna¡¯s crown to King Vennar, a very different sort of man. Short¡ªfor a Ruhnian, with very dark, nearly ck skin and eyes that glowed much the same way as Kynna¡¯s and Dar¡¯s. Was he a distant rtion? His flesh certainly reminded Victor of Dar¡¯s. It wasn¡¯t quite the same¡ªit didn¡¯t look exactly like stone, but it had a porous, uneven quality that made it difficult to imagine how it would feel.

    The king¡¯s voice was certainly far smoother than Dar¡¯s. ¡°I understand you feel backed into a corner, Kynna¡ªmay I use your given name?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re both monarchs here, Wil. I won¡¯tin if you don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Very good. First, let me thank you for responding to me before King Groff. I assure you, Frostmarch will offer better terms than Xan.¡± He nced at Victor and ran his eyes up and down his figure, from his well-polished boots to his freshly cut hair. Victor thought he saw a smirk hiding behind his bright eyes. ¡°I¡¯m pleased you¡¯ve found yourself a young champion willing to stand for you. I¡¯d heard rumors but hadn¡¯t let myself fully believe them.¡± His lips curled into a more pleasant smile, and he leaned closer to Kynna over the table. ¡°I¡¯m not ashamed to admit that I loathed the idea of a great old warhound like Foster dying to save a lost cause. Will your new man take the knee, as Foster never would?¡±

    ¡°Oh no. You mistake me, Wil. I¡¯m not here to negotiate a surrender. Today, we will agree to the terms of the duel.¡±

    Chambein Thorn and his counterpart¡ªa small woman Victor hadn¡¯t caught the name of¡ªsat at the left-hand sides of their monarchs, and it was the woman who reacted first to Queen Kynna¡¯s words. She audibly choked and had to hold the back of her hand to her mouth and look down, coughing softly to clear her windpipe. Everyone ignored her as the king once again looked at Victor.¡°You¡¯re serious?¡±

    ¡°Quite so. Shall we begin?¡± Victor couldn¡¯t see Kynna¡¯s face, but she sounded very prim.

    King Vennar, still staring at Victor and attempting to make eye contact while Victor continued to study the empty space in the air between himself and the far wall, could barely contain thescivious expression on his face¡ªa dog eyeing a child¡¯s abandoned hamburger. He slowly nodded, cleared his throat, and elbowed the woman beside him. ¡°Certainly. Let¡¯s discuss terms.¡±

    Kynna inclined her head slightly, her tall, crystalline crown glittering in the light as it dipped forward. ¡°Have you any thoughts about sovereign session?¡±

    King Vennar brushed the back of his hand over his lips, almost like he had to physically push away the hungry grin. ¡°I see no reason to be overly harsh. I would think banishment will suffice.¡±

    ¡°Of only the monarch or their entire lineage?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I would think the entire lineage.¡± He <em>tsked</em> and, again, leaned forward with an earnest expression. ¡°You could avoid that if you¡¯ll just have your new champion take the knee. I¡¯d keep you on as a Duchess.¡±

    ¡°No, King Vennar, I believe we should do this properly. I have my ancestor¡¯s reputation to manage.¡±

    ¡°Ah yes, the great Ranish Dar.¡± Vennar smirked, shaking his head. ¡°So. Are we agreed then? Banishment for the ruling family?¡±

    Kynna nodded. ¡°I believe that will suffice. No need for a grisly disy of beheadings.¡± At her words, both chambeins began to write on the documents before them. She tapped one of her hard nails on the table¡ª<em>click, click, click</em>. ¡°And the Oaths of Submission?¡±

    ¡°One hundred years,¡± Vennar spoke firmly, and Victor saw Obert shift in the corner of his eye, but he refused to look at the other champion to see his expression. Instead, he continued to let his eyes wander around the room, staring at the art, the furniture, and even the tiles along the far wall.

    Kynna nced to her left, looking at something Thorn had written, then nodded. ¡°Very well. All nobility, minor and major, shall swear peace and allegiance to the victor for a term of no less than one hundred years. We¡¯re in agreement?¡±

    Vennar nodded. ¡°We are. Tribute and Taxation?¡±

    Again, Kynna looked to Thorn. ¡°What is our proposal, Chambein Thorn?¡±

    Thorn cleared his throat and lifted his notebook, speaking clearly, almost like he was presenting to a room full of people, not just the three at the table with him. ¡°We propose the following: The vanquished shall be bound to deliver tribute unto the victor in the form of wealth, crops, and provisions. The amount paid shall be no less than thirteen percent of each season¡¯s surplus, verified by the Crown¡¯s agents, who shall be given full ess to all records upon request.¡±

    Vennar frowned, looking at his chambein. She didn¡¯t speak but tapped something in her notes as she nodded. Vennar looked back to Kynna. ¡°I agree.¡±

    ¡°This has been painless, Wil!¡± Kynna sounded borderline patronizing, but Victor couldn¡¯t see her face, so he couldn¡¯t be sure. Vennar didn¡¯t look angry, though; in fact, he looked like he¡¯d just been given a gift. ¡°There¡¯s just the matter of the Right of the Chosen de.¡±

    Vennar barked a short, harshugh. ¡°Forgive me, Kynna, but do you even have a cadre? I¡¯d thought Foster was yourst champion until¡­¡± He nced at Victor again, this time doing nothing to hide the smirk on his face. ¡°Recently. Still, I¡¯ll bite. How many champions should the victor im?¡±

    Kynna stiffened her back, squaring her shoulders. Victor imagined she was putting on a show of indignation at Vennar¡¯s dismissive attitude. Even so, she spoke very precisely with perfect decorum, ¡°I would think a single choice will suffice.¡±

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    Vennar leaned back in his chair, pushing away from the table as he waved a dismissive hand. ¡°Very well.¡± He looked to his chambein. ¡°Is there aught else?¡±

    ¡°Just secondary terms, Your Majesty¡ªthings like hostage exchange, judicial authority, cultural exchange¡ª¡±

    Vennar sighed. ¡°You can handle this with goodman Thorn here, yes?¡±

    Kynna spoke before the diminutive woman could reply, ¡°I¡¯m in agreement. These lesser matters can be handled by our people. However, we have one final matter to discuss. I¡¯m assuming the duel will be held here, at the ring at Westhome. Have you looked at the schedule?¡±

    Vennar nodded, reaching up to adjust his golden, diamond-studded crown. It wasn¡¯t a bulky crown, but it gleamed and sparkled impressively. ¡°It¡¯s clear for months. Not many duels these days.¡±

    Kynna¡¯s response was immediate. ¡°Sunrise, then?¡±

    ¡°So eager?¡± Vennar chuckled, ncing over his shoulder at Obert. ¡°What say you, Champion? Will you be ready at dawn?¡±

    ¡°To y this whelp?¡± Victor could feel the heat of his stare and the sloppy, or perhaps deliberate, slip of his aura that felt like iron and blood and somehow made Victor think of burning flesh. Even so, he refused to look at him and kept his face fixed in his simple, almost idiotic half-smile. ¡°Aye, I¡¯ll be ready,¡± the champion growled.

    Vennar nodded and pushed his chair back. ¡°We¡¯re agreed, then?¡±

    Kynna also stood. ¡°We are.¡±

    ¡°So witnessed,¡± Thorn and the other chambein said in near unison. For the first time, Victor let his eyes drift over to Obert¡¯s face, and he locked his gaze with the fierce, golden eyes behind his eagle-beak visor. He didn¡¯t do anything more than smile, a genuine, eager grin that exposed his bright, straight teeth. Still, Obert took a step back, perhaps caught off guard by the idiocy suddenly fleeing his opponent¡¯s gaze. Or, Victor reasoned, maybe Obert saw something in his eyes that was at odds with his disy of weakness. Victor continued to stare and grin as the man turned on his heel and led the king and chambein out of the room.

    ¡°You did well, Victor,¡± Kynna said as soon as the door clicked shut. ¡°Assuming your intentions had anything to do with your¡­less than significant bearing. If King Vennar thought there was any chance he¡¯d lose, he would have bargained much more viciously.¡±

    Chambein Thorn gathered up his papers and nodded. ¡°Yes! These terms are wonderful.¡± He looked at Victor and inclined his head. ¡°Ahem, assuming you win, sir. Do excuse me, Your Majesty; I¡¯ll need to catch up with Lady Foi to finish the negotiation.¡±

    Kynna nodded. ¡°Go on then.¡± She watched him exit, then turned to Victor. ¡°If you fail, you realize my entire family, from my son to my fifth cousin, thrice removed, will be forced to leave Ruhn, yes?¡±

    Victor shrugged. ¡°Well, My Queen, if I fail, I¡¯ll be dead.¡±

    Kynna¡¯s face, never exactly cheerful, fell into such a dour expression that Victor instinctively wanted to proim his innocence, though he¡¯d done nothing wrong. ¡°You¡¯re awfully flippant about this whole ordeal. You saw Obert! I¡¯m sure you <em>felt</em> him, too. Tell me this now, Victor, is there more to you or not?¡± She gestured to him in exasperation, indicating his current state, no doubt¡ªdressed in the same clothes he¡¯d worn the day before, only this time he¡¯d tweaked the colors of his attire to be moreplementary to Gloria¡¯s heraldry; his shirt was pale yellow, his pants and leather pieces ck.

    ¡°I am what I am, My Queen.¡± When Victor saw her irritation fall away, only to be reced by something closer to despair, he almost confessed his game. He settled on apromise, saying, ¡°Maybe you fear that your ancestor has sent me here to fail, maybe to teach you a lesson or to y a cruel game. Maybe you¡¯re wondering if he wants your family to be forced to leave Ruhn¡ªthat he has some sort of n for you beyond this world.¡± Kynna took a breath to speak, but Victor rushed to finish his statement, ¡°You should know that he¡¯s a prideful man, and he wouldn¡¯t enjoy seeing his descendants chased off their homeworld. I also don¡¯t think I¡¯ve done anything to deserve being sent to my doom.¡± He finished with another shrug. ¡°Try to stay confident, Kynna.¡±

    ¡°Your enigmatic nature is rather maddening, Victor.¡± She sighed and pointed to the door from which they¡¯d entered. ¡°Our portal awaits. By the way, I¡¯ll put aside yourck of propriety for now, but do remember to address me properly in the future.¡± With that, she turned and marched to the door, and Victor followed, trying to rey his words in his mind. When had he addressed her inappropriately? It took him a minute, and by then, he was already through the door and marching down the hall to the portal chamber, nked by four of Kynna¡¯s guards. ¡°Ah!¡± he said, as he recalled calling her simply ¡°Kynna¡± after telling her to be confident.

    She turned to regard him as they walked. ¡°Something amiss?¡±

    ¡°No. My apologies, Your Majesty.¡± He turned to the guard on his left, meaning to grin or wink, but thought better of it when he saw her stern eyes through the slit in her helmet¡¯s visor. When they entered the portal chamber, the magical gateway was already active, glowing with deep blue Energy that hummed and buzzed as it crackled faintly. It would take them straight back to Gloria; the two delegations had met on neutral ground¡ªa city called Westhome, which was the seat of the Ruhnic Empire on the Western Continent. Victor had seen it on a map and knew it was close to two thousand miles south and east of Gloria.

    Part of him wondered if the ce would still be neutral after he began to enact Dar¡¯s n¡ªpushing Kynna into kicking off a session war. There were many rules,ws, and customs he had yet to master in this strange, new world, but so far, he was rather enjoying himself. Kynna interrupted his thoughts by striding through the portal without hesitation. Victor hurried to follow her, cringing slightly as he anticipated the portal''s hot, shocking embrace. When he stepped out on the other side, Kynna stood facing him.

    ¡°You¡¯ve only about twelve hours before you¡¯ll be fighting for your life. Is there anything you need to prepare? Anything you¡¯d like to put in order?¡±

    Victor rubbed his chin as he looked around the dim, circr chamber. The portal crackled behind him as the guards followed them through. And then it sizzled and disappeared, throwing the room into deeper shadows. ¡°I¡¯ll take some time to myself, I suppose. Do you mind if I go to my chambers to write some correspondence?¡±

    ¡°By all means.¡± She stepped closer and spoke in a less imperious tone than usual, ¡°I am <em>worried</em>, and it makes me unpleasant. I understand you¡¯re putting your life on the line tomorrow, and while the consequences would be dire for me and my loved ones should you lose, I want you to know that I understand the point you made earlier. You may die tomorrow. It¡¯s not a small thing you do for me, and¡ª¡±

    ¡°Um, My Queen?¡± Victor grinned at the wide-eyed disbelief on her face after he interrupted her out-of-character attempt at sympathy. ¡°I certainly don¡¯t mind helping you, but there¡¯s no need for any guilt. I¡¯m not doing this for you.¡± He grinned wickedly and winked at her. ¡°I¡¯m doing this for the glory.¡±

    Kynna scowled and pressed her blue-painted lips into a thin line as she nced at the nearby guards. Victor wondered what was running through her mind. How ruthless could she be? Would she banish these soldiers because they¡¯d witnessed him interrupting her? He didn¡¯t believe she was a tyrant, but it was kind of fun to test her. If he wanted to gauge her response, he was left disappointed because she just nodded and turned to stride out of the chamber, followed by three of the four guards. ¡°Well,¡± he muttered several seconds after the door had clicked closed, ¡°I guess, technically, not responding <em>is</em> a response.¡±

    The remaining guard didn¡¯tment. Victor looked at her, standing at attention just behind him. ¡°What¡¯s your name, soldier?¡±

    ¡°Bryn, sir.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the same guard who was waiting for me at my chambers this morning, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    ¡°Assigned to me permanently?¡±

    ¡°Until you die or leave, I suppose.¡±

    Victorughed. ¡°I like you, Bryn.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Lord Champion. May I speak freely?¡± Her voice echoed from inside her helm¡ªstern, husky, and confident.

    ¡°I¡¯d be angry if you didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t reciprocate your feelings. I think you¡¯re awfully rude. I think Queen Kynna ought to have your tongue stabbed through with a hot poker, and I think you¡¯re probably going to die tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°As my auntie would say, ¡®<em>qu¨¦ encanto</em>!¡¯ Hah! Did that trante? I can never tell what the System¡¯s going to make sound like English¡ªer, Rhunish?¡±

    ¡°You said I¡¯m charming,¡± Bryn replied in a tone that made the words wonderfully ironic.

    ¡°<em>Perfecto</em>!¡± Victorughed and started for the door. ¡°I¡¯ll need your help finding my way back to my chambers. This is a big pce.¡±

    ¡°Take a right after the door.¡±

    Victor grinned, pleased that he¡¯d scored a blunt-speaking, no-nonsense escort. As they walked, he slowed and gestured for her to hurry beside him. ¡°Tell me about Obert. You ever seen him fight?¡±

    ¡°I have. He¡¯s a devil with that long sword of his. Most people agree he¡¯s deep into the epic tier of mastery.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm. And what sorts of affinities does he have? Any spells that stand out?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how true it is, but I¡¯ve heard his strongest affinity is for momentum, but I¡¯ve also heard he has a touch of the void. I don¡¯t know much about his abilities, sir, but I¡¯ll say this much: the longer you fight him, the more deadly he bes.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Victor nodded, sighing as he pressed his hands into his lower back, stretching as they walked.

    ¡°You¡¯re not concerned?¡±

    ¡°Sure, but I figured he¡¯d be good with that sword. I mean, it¡¯s no secret that he¡¯s dangerous. I guess, if anything, your words make me feel a little better. Now I¡¯ve got the beginnings of a strategy: kill him quickly.¡± As he spoke, hisck of sleep got to him, and Victor yawned hugely. ¡°Sorry about that. I didn¡¯t sleep muchst night.¡±

    ¡°Nerves?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Oh, no. I was reading. My mentor sent me with a huge list of topics to study.¡±

    ¡°Your mentor?¡± For once, Bryn sounded respectful. ¡°Do you mean Ranish Dar?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I tried to get him to cut out some of the more boring-sounding stuff, but¡ª¡±

    ¡°Boring? You have books from <em>Ranish Dar</em>, and he <em>personally</em> told you to read them? <em>Boring?¡±</em> Her voice rose stridently as she hurried to keep pace with him, so much so that a pair of housekeeping staff looked up from the cab they were dusting, staring after them with wide eyes.

    ¡°Easy, Bryn. You¡¯re going to get me a bad reputation around here.¡±

    Bryn scoffed. ¡°Toote to worry about that!¡±

    Victor smiled again, genuinely enjoying her acerbic nature. ¡°Yeah? People are talking?¡±

    ¡°Do you want the truth, or do you want me to be ¡®easy¡¯?¡±

    ¡°The truth, but don¡¯t yell about it!¡± Victor recognized the stairway down a long gallery of stately portraits to his right, so he turned that way.

    ¡°Well, most everyone thinks you¡¯re a madman or a criminal paying penance to the great Ranish Dar. People are getting their affairs in order and packing their belongings. Most agree that we¡¯ll be released when Her Majesty, Queen Kynna¡ªlong shall she reign¡ªis ousted and banished. Not many are happy with you for forcing the duel; there was some hope that another neighboring kingdom would put pressure on one or both of Gloria¡¯s enemies, thereby granting us a reprieve. That hope is dashed now that¡ª¡±

    ¡°All right, all right. I get it. Listen,¡± Victor pointed down the hallway toward the purple-ck pair of doors at the end, ¡°there¡¯s my room. I¡¯m going to go in there and write some letters to people who don¡¯t hate me. Then I¡¯m going to try to get a little sleep. Can you make sure I don¡¯t¡ª¡±

    ¡°Oversleep?¡± Bryn mmed a fist against her shiny, silvery breastte. ¡°It¡¯ll be my pleasure, Lord <em>Champion</em>.¡±

    ¡°Jesus, <em>chica</em>,¡± Victorughed, ¡°Do you have to make it sound like an insult?¡±

    ¡°Win tomorrow, and then maybe I¡¯ll change my tune.¡±

    ¡°Hah! Right on. Say it like it is! You know I like it.¡± Victor turned to face her more squarely, then stood to attention as though he was back in the Free Marches preparing to address his troops. He mmed his fist to his chest in salute, stared into her eye slit soberly for a moment, and then smartly turned on his heel and strode to his room. He had a lot of letters to write.

 Book 9: Chapter 13: Playing the Fool

    Victor sat on a stone bench, one of several in the ready room of the arena at Westhome. He¡¯d only caught glimpses of the city as they traveled from the portal hall, but he¡¯d been rather impressed by its austere beauty. The streets were wide and cobbled with smooth stonesid so closely together that the carriage had hardly rumbled as it rolled through the city. The buildings were spaced apart from each other, and they all had matching marble facades; it was like riding through his imagined version of an ancient Greek or Roman capital. Everything was clean, gardens and parks abounded, and, most striking of all, he only saw a handful of citizens; the ce was a ghost town.

    Kynna had exined theck of popce as a byproduct of every kingdom having portals to the true imperial capital on the eastern continent. This city existed as a formality, a foothold for the empire on the western continent where parades, ceremonies, and celebrations could be held for the nearby poption. She¡¯d indicated that duels between champions were one such ceremony.

    Victor wondered if he¡¯d see any representative from the Ruhnic Empire attending his duel. Surely, they were interested in such a thing. There may be nearly a hundred kingdoms in the empire, but it wasn¡¯t every day that a war was settled. ¡°Damn,¡± he sighed, squeezing his spear in his hands. He was nervous and desperately wanted to talk to someone he could trust.

    He''d been true to his word the night before, crafting letters to most of his loved ones. He didn¡¯t want people to worry, however, so he hadn¡¯t exactly confided in them. What he <em>wanted</em> was to talk to Va. He wanted to hold her and have her stroke his hair and tell him he would be fine, that he hadn¡¯t overdone his yacting, and that he¡¯d be able to beat this champion without showing all his cards. She wasn¡¯t there, though, and he had to ept that. He¡¯d been trying. He''d written to her half a dozen times in his journal; he just didn¡¯t have the guts to put any of those words into the Farscribe book they shared. ¡°If I win,¡± he promised no one in particr.

    He looked at the fancy bronze clock ticking away on the wall near the portcullis that would let him into the arena. ¡°Twenty minutes.¡± Victor stood and began to rehearse his battle n. He thrust with his spear, parried an invisible sword, dodged, and even rolled on the hard marble floor, trying to build up a sweat. When he looked at the clock and saw it said five minutes, he stood before the gilded iron bars and went through some calisthenics, keeping his heart rate up as he waited.

    He did that for several minutes before a crystal mounted near the clock glowed orange, and a man¡¯s voice resonated from it, ¡°Champion of Gloria?¡±

    Victor stopped moving. ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Apologies, but the Grand Judicator has requested ate start. Please remain ready; the duel will begin in half an hour.¡±

    Victor sighed heavily and turned back to his bench. ¡°Okay.¡±¡°Thank you. Do you require anything?¡±

    He waved a hand in the air dismissively. ¡°No.¡± The crystal stopped glowing as he sat, and he was once again alone. He scanned the room, ensuring no other crystals were mounted on the walls, and then he summoned Arona¡¯s phctery bone from his storage ring. As soon as it was in his hand, her ghostly, ethereal form began to coalesce in the air, raising goosebumps on his arms as the temperature near him plummeted.

    ¡°Victor! We¡¯re no longer on Sojourn!¡±

    ¡°Yep!¡± He smiled and shifted his spear so it leaned on his shoulder. ¡°We¡¯re on Ruhn. I haven¡¯t got any news for you, but I have a few minutes to kill and thought maybe you could stand a littlepany.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to be out of that bone for a while!¡± She turned in a small circle, observing the room, her gaze lingering on the portcullis. ¡°I¡¯d ask if you were imprisoned, but you¡¯re armed.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a ready room. My first duel ising up.¡±

    He might have thought she paled at the words if her face wasn¡¯t already ghostly and near-translucent. Her eyes widened, though, and she drifted closer. ¡°Are you worried?¡±

    ¡°Honestly? Maybe a little. If I¡¯m going to pull off Dar¡¯s strategy, I have to hold back most of my abilities, and this <em>pendejo</em> seems pretty tough.¡±

    ¡°Strategy?¡±

    ¡°I have toe off as kind of a dipshit for a while, I guess.¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°It¡¯ll make it easier for the queen to get people to agree to duels and then to get the terms she wants out of them. Dar wants her to have ¡®momentum¡¯ before people realize I¡¯ve been sleeping on my skills.¡±

    Arona frowned. ¡°What do you mean ¡®sleeping on¡¯¡ª¡± Her lips curled into a smile as understanding lit up her eyes. ¡°You mean downying.¡±

    ¡°Right. And this <em>pinch¨¦</em> asshole seems like he¡¯s going to be a real bastard. Rumor has it that his main affinity is momentum. I was told that he gets stronger the longer he fights, so it seems like my strategy of bleeding him out, bit by bit, might be problematic.¡±

    ¡°Well, you know I¡¯m not a martial expert, but I¡¯ve seen many physical contests. Might I suggest something?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s why I summoned you, <em>chica</em>. I¡¯ve got ideas, but, at this point, I¡¯m kind of just nning to go with the flow and see how things shake out.¡±

    Arona nodded. ¡°Well, if you¡¯ve already been ying the fool, why not lean into it? Struggle. Barely escape his deadly blows but let some others through. Fumble your attacks; fail to show any rhythm or grace. Let him build his confidence and goad him into trying to humiliate you. When he thinks he¡¯s won, when he¡¯s so cocksure that he lets his guard down, <em>destroy</em> him.¡±

    Victor chuckled. ¡°Just let him carve me up for a while, huh? Easy for you to say! You haven¡¯t seen his damn sword.¡±

    Arona nodded. ¡°True. I doubt I could perform such a strategy, even if I were inclined to fight with my hands.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well¡­I¡¯m sure there are some things you can do that I wouldn¡¯t even think of trying.¡±

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    She smiled, drifting toward the gate and then back. ¡°I¡¯d like to see what this world looks like. Is itrge?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I can show you a map sometime. There¡¯s a detailed one in Kynna¡¯s pce. There are four continents. Something about the way it orbits the sun makes the southern continent a harsh desert, and the northern one is mostly ice. The two in the middle are broken up into almost a hundred kingdoms.¡±

    ¡°Are there mountains? Forests?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah. It¡¯s a big damn world. Bigger than Fanwath, from what I can gather. When I get done here and get back to the pce, I¡¯ll show you the vista from my balcony. It¡¯s pretty great.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡± She drifted over to the bench and sat beside him, though she didn¡¯t actually touch the surface. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ve had time to look into my¡­<em>situation</em>?¡±

    ¡°No. Believe it or not, I¡¯ve only been here two days. Things are moving kind of fast, but I¡¯m not surprised; the queen¡¯s people are suffering, and she¡¯s trying to get this blockade situation resolved.¡±

    ¡°Yes, understandable.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask around, though. Assuming I pull this fight off, I think people around the pce will be a little friendlier to me. I mean, some are already kind of¡­<em>strange</em>; it¡¯s weird as hell, but I think they kind of worship Dar. Some of them, I mean¡ªplenty others think of him as kind of an asshole.¡±

    ¡°And yourdy? Va? Is she getting along well?¡±

    The question felt so far out of left field that Victor felt his heart lurch into his throat¡ªlike he¡¯d been caught doing something wrong. ¡°Um, huh? No, Va¡¯s not here. Didn¡¯t I tell you that? I came alone.¡± When Arona raised an eyebrow, he clicked his tongue and added, ¡°Almost alone.¡±

    ¡°Well, you must be missing her.¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t have to pretend when he replied, ¡°Yeah, actually, I miss her a lot.¡± When he¡¯d summoned Arona, thest thing he¡¯d wanted to do was talk about Va, so he cleared his throat and stood up. ¡°Anyway, I should get ready¡ªfight starts soon. Thanks for your advice.¡±

    ¡°Good luck, Victor. I know you¡¯ll win.¡± Her voice, strangely hollow and slightly dyed from the movement of her lips, echoed oddly in the room as she broke up into mist and streamed back into the bone. Victor put it in his storage ring and then, as before, stood before the gate, trying to keep warm and limber.

    It wasn¡¯t long before the crystal lit up again, and the same voice said, ¡°Champion of Gloria, please proceed into the central arena. Stay within the ck section of sand. If you cross to the red before the Grand Judicator gives his approval to the fight, then you will forfeit, and your nation will lose the duel. Do you understand?¡±

    Victor gripped his spear and nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± At the sound of his voice, the portcullis slid noiselessly upward, and Victor stepped into the well-lit, very clean passage. After just a dozen steps or so, he noticed ck sand under his feet, and another dozen steps brought him to the arena. His breath caught in his chest when he saw what awaited him.

    The city''s empty streets hadn¡¯t prepared him for the size of the ce¡ªit was like a college football stadium back on Earth, only crafted of white marble and gleaming metal. The arena floor was round and had to be seventy-five yards in diameter. One half¡ªVictor¡¯s¡ªwas covered in ck sand, the other half with red. The walls around the perimeter were probably fifty feet high, and rather than in marble, they were reinforced with straps of gleaming metal. Above those walls rose maybe a hundred rows of stadium seats, and they were filled with people.

    The rumble of the crowd felt distant, like subdued thunder in the background, but when he stepped onto the sand, the noise grew to a steady roar as he realized most of the people in his half of the arena were cheering, and most of the people on the other half were booing. So many people being so vociferous was a sound he¡¯d never experienced. He¡¯de close, sure, in the Coloss arena, but this ce was ten times the size! He figured there were fifty thousand people or more up there, and as the noise got to him, he felt himself swelling. Victor straightened his shoulders, lifted his heavy spear over his head, and walked back and forth on the ck sand.

    He saw, on the top edge of the wall, at the very center of the arena, two boxes, one on his left and one on his right. They were like miniature stages with a railing, and Victor recognized the two monarchs and their retinues. Queen Kynna sat on his left, and King Vennar on the right. Victor moved toward the center, wondering where his opponent was.

    He¡¯d just formed the question in his mind when he saw him striding out of a gate on the red side of the arena. He looked just as Victor had seen him at the meeting between monarchs¡ªd in his shiny breastte, eagle helm, bracers, and vambraces. The only difference was that his enormous longsword was naked, held in both hands before him.

    Obert¡¯s sword flickered with pale, white mes as he held it in the air, and the de gleamed like liquid silver as it shifted in the light of the sun. It was a beautiful weapon. However, Victor had tested his spear against the edges of many powerful weapons, and he felt confident it would hold up against Obert¡¯s. If Dovalion Boarheart couldn¡¯t chip the dense wood, surely Obert couldn¡¯t cleave through it.

    Obert yed up the crowd, raising his sword high and turning to re into the stands. If Victor had thought they were loud before, he learned his mistake. The ground shook, and the sand danced like it wasyered atop a snare drum.

    Victor wanted to summon his banner and go berserk. He wanted to summon Lifedrinker and wave her massive axe head through the air with great <em>whooshing</em> cleaves. He didn¡¯t, though; it was still time to ¡®y the fool,¡¯ as Arona had said. He waved up at Queen Kynna, Chambein Thorn, a little boy he¡¯d yet to meet, two other nobles he recognized but didn¡¯t know the names of, and the guards arrayed around them. He thought he recognized Bryn among them; she had a certain judgmental posture that was hard to mistake despite the visored helmet.

    ¡°Citizens!¡± a voice boomed out, and Victor looked up to see a disc of perfectly clear ss or crystal floating in the air above. A man rode the disc like a surfer on a board as it swooped around the arena. He was tall, with flowing silvery hair and a robe that shimmered like spun silver as it fluttered in the breeze behind him. ¡°I am Grand Judicator Lohanse, and I am here to ensure all rules ofw are abided by, that the agreed-upon terms are upheld, and that no outside interference mars the sanctity of this most venerated ritual of session. Do any dare challenge my authority in this ce?¡±

    A hush fell over the arena, and Victor lowered his arm as he recognized the man for what he was¡ªa veil walker. He¡¯d assumed the ¡°Grand Judicator¡± would be a representative from the empire, but he¡¯d apparently underestimated the level of participation the veil walkers of Ruhn took in the political affairs of the empire. He supposed it made sense; there were a lot of rules and ceremonies these people abided by, more so than seemed likely for people of great power. The only thing he¡¯d ever known to control men and women like the kings and queens of the Ruhnic Empire was fear. He chuckled softly to himself. ¡°Always a bigger fish.¡±

    ¡°I have read the terms of this duel of session. Queen Kynna of Gloria, do you agree to abide by them?¡±

    ¡°I do!¡± Victor was surprised by how Kynna¡¯s voice rang out. Was the veil walker amplifying it? Was she? He shrugged. For all he knew, it was just a function of the box seats.

    ¡°King Vennar of Frostmarch, do you agree?¡±

    ¡°I do!¡± the dark, stony man boomed.

    ¡°Champions! You will not be permitted to ess storage devices or use potions, tinctures, salves, or other consumable aids during this duel. Are you each equipped to your satisfaction?¡± He swooped down close to Obert. ¡°Champion of Frostmarch?¡±

    ¡°I am ready!¡± Obert howled, hefting his massive sword.

    The Judicator circled him once, examining him closely with his bright, pale eyes, and then he swooped over to Victor. ¡°Champion of Gloria?¡±

    ¡°Um, one moment, sir.¡± Victor held up a finger and shrugged sheepishly as he looked up at Queen Kynna¡¯s box. ¡°Bryn!¡±

    One of the soldiers jerked her head down toward him, and despite the distance and the narrow gap in her helmet, Victor imagined he could see the mortification in her gaze. She turned to Queen Kynna. When the queen nodded, shielding her eyes, perhaps embarrassed, Bryn leaned over the railing and called down, ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Can I borrow your, um, bracer? The left one.¡± Again, Bryn looked to the queen, and again, Kynna nodded; this time, she shrank down in her seat as the crowd began to murmur.

    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± the Judicator boomed, swooping toward Victor. He was a very tall, very imposing man. His skin glowed with inner light, and his hair flowed in a mystical breeze that only it could feel. Victor felt himself being weighed and dismissed behind that severe gaze.

    Victor set his spear down, leaning it against his shoulder, and pped his wrist with his open palm. ¡°I saw that guy¡¯s sword and figured I should have something to block with.¡±

    The Judicator looked from Victor to Bryn and then back again, narrowing his eyes. In a voice pitched so that Victor was fairly certain only he could hear, the man growled, ¡°Don¡¯t make a mockery of this ritual, <em>titan</em>.¡±

    Victor replied in a normal voice, figuring the veil walker would mask it if he didn¡¯t want others to hear. ¡°The only person I¡¯ll be mocking is myself, sir.¡± He nced at Obert and added, ¡°And I guess that cocky <em>pendejo</em>.¡±

    ¡°I recognize your game. It¡¯s within the bounds.¡± He nodded solemnly, then drifted up to the box seats where Bryn still stood, staring uncertainly, gripping her silver bracer. The Judicator took it from her and then tossed it to Victor.

    Victor grinned and held it up. ¡°Thank you, Bryn!¡± While the crowd began to murmur,ugh, and even apud, he snapped the bracer around his wrist. It wouldn¡¯t resize, thanks to likely being bonded to Bryn, but he shoved it on, bending the metal so it clung to his forearm like an oversized bracelet, not the heavy length of armor it was intended to be. He nodded to the Judicator. ¡°Ready, sir!¡±

    Victor gripped his spear, stepped to the middle of the arena, facing Obert, and readied himself. He lowered his center of gravity, renewed Sovereign Will to boost his agility and vitality, and then cast Inspiration of the Quinametzin. It was a potent spell, but not a shy one. Only Obert would experience its effects and only second-hand as it boosted Victor. Even if he survived, he wouldn¡¯t be able to exin it. The world became a little brighter, Victor felt lighter on his feet, and Obert didn¡¯t seem so intimidating¡ªhe was just a man¡ªa man with a deadly sword, an unknown number of magical abilities, and a hunger for Victor¡¯s blood, but still, just a man.

    The Judicator swooped high into the sky, and his voice reverberated through the enormous arena: ¡°Fight!¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 14: First Duel

    Obert moved through the sand like an adder. He kicked up sand with each step, weaving and feinting, but Victor just stood still, aiming the point of his enormous spear at the man, bracing himself. In a fight between equals, minus the interference of Energy abilities, Victor didn¡¯t doubt that apetent fighter with a spear could kill a master swordsman. It was simply a matter of reach. The problem was that this wasn¡¯t a match between equals, and energy <em>was</em> a factor. Obert didn¡¯t try to dart past Victor¡¯s spearpoint; he surged with hot, tingly Energy and then exploded with speed.

    He ripped through the sand, throwing it up in a red wake, and darted to Victor¡¯s nk. Victor was no slouch, and he spun, tracking the man¡¯s movement, but Obert didn¡¯t try to close further; he hacked his sword through the air, and, again, hot Energy red, and a de of cutting, brilliant light tore away from his sword and straight at Victor.

    Victor figured he could dodge it; it wasn¡¯t <em>that</em> fast. He also figured he could knock it aside with his heavy, sturdy spear. He didn¡¯t, however. He stepped to the left, just enough to avoid <em>most</em> of the de, then he feigned a stumble and cried out as the hot Energy sliced into his ribs and over his back, biting deeply into the thick muscles beneath his shirt.

    Hot blood sheeted down his side and back, and he made a show of rolling over his shoulder and wincing as he scurried to avoid a follow-up cleave. He¡¯d taken a risk with his armor; he wasn¡¯t wearing his disguised clothing for the battle. He¡¯d put on a simple yellow shirt with short sleeves and a pair of soft, pale gray trousers. He fully intended for them to be red with blood before long.

    The cut on his back was a good start; it was a real gusher and took several seconds to close despite his enormous vitality and inherent regeneration. Obert wore a grin as he watched the blood soak the fabric, circling him. Victor grinned back, but he did it in a lopsided, idiotic manner.

    ¡°What a fool.¡± Obert closed with him again, driving forward with big sweeping cuts that batted aside his spear. Victor could have pulled the spear back, avoided the cuts, and then thrust into the man, breaking up his momentum, but he couldn¡¯t appear toopetent. Instead, he widened his eyes and took far too long correcting his spear¡¯s guard as Obert fought his way in and, quick as a wink, thrust his de into Victor¡¯s chest, just beneath his right shoulder.

    Victor saw the blowing and stepped back just enough so the sword didn¡¯t impale him more than a couple of inches. Still, he cried out and scurried away, whipping his spear around to prevent Obert from following up. A new sheet of blood ran down the front of his shirt. ¡°Come on, <em>pendejo</em>,¡± Victor hissed. ¡°You can¡¯t hit harder than that?¡±

    He wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d wanted Obert to hear him, but the man did, and fury ignited in the golden eyes within that eagle-mask helm. Obert went wild, surging with Energy, blurring as his momentum began to mount, and he pounded great ming hacks into Victor¡¯s spear as he kept him at bay, but just barely.

    <strong>#</strong>¡°This is the end, isn¡¯t it?¡± Kynna hissed. She looked away from her beleaguered champion and locked eyes with Thorn. ¡°Get Tomorran away from here. I don¡¯t want him to¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll not leave, mother!¡± Tom jumped up, dodging her attempt to snatch his wrist. ¡°If this is the end of our house, I¡¯ll see it with my own eyes!¡±

    Kynna stared at him for a moment, listening as the crowd gasped, cheered, and jeered as the sounds of weapons colliding rang through the arena, apanied by Obert¡¯s fierce grunts and Victor¡¯s bbored breathing. Finally, she nodded. ¡°Very well. You <em>should </em>bear witness. You¡¯ll be a man soon enough.¡± She looked back to the arena floor and her blood-drenched champion. Had he delivered a single injury to Obert? ¡°Dead Gods! How much blood can he have? If the sand weren¡¯t red and ck, we¡¯d see the path of his progress.¡±

    No one responded to her words. The mood in the box was grim, and why shouldn¡¯t it be? Most of the staff¡ªthe guards, the soldiers, the bureaucrats¡ªwould be dismissed. She and her kin would be shipped off-world. Would they get a say in their destination? She¡¯d failed to look into that detail. Thorn would know¡ª A hoarse scream from below jerked her thoughts back to the debacle of Victor¡¯s battle, and she saw him rolling away, cradling his right arm. ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Obert near took his arm off, Your Majesty,¡± Bryn, the one who¡¯d given her ¡°champion¡± a bracer, replied.

    ¡°It¡¯s over then. He could barely stand against him with two good arms.¡±

    Thorn nervously clenched his hands together. ¡°Don¡¯t lose hope, My Queen.¡± Even he sounded unconvinced. Kynna watched Victor, saw the pain and fear in his eyes as he crouched, his spear loosely gripped in his right hand, while his left hand seemed to be holding his gushing right arm together. Obert stalked toward him, a hungry smile on his face.

    Kynna groaned. ¡°He¡¯s going to finish him. Watch, then, Tom. Watch and see our nation crumble.¡± Kynna followed her own advice, sending Energy into the pattern for Clear Sight and filling her vision with a view of Victor as though she stood but a stride away. His chest heaved for breath, his face was drenched with bloody sweat, and his clothes¡ªhis clothes were shreds of crimson-stained cloth. She looked to where blood gushed between the fingers of his right hand as he held his ruined arm together. Kynna stared and frowned. Something wasn¡¯t right.

    Nothing gushed between those fingers, and she was sure she could see the biceps beneath his shredded shirt flexing as his hand adjusted itself on the spear. Even so, he still crouched there, his footing all wrong for a man in a deadly battle. He <em>looked</em> defeated, but¡ª

    Thorn gasped as Obert surged with Energy and streaked over the sand. His passage was difficult to track as he wove left and right, leaping and redirecting himself. He nked Victor, streaked up, into the air, and then down, like a fisher eagle going for a carp in the Cray River. In Kynna¡¯s heart, she knew it was over. Obert was about to impale Victor, about to cleave his mighty sword, Brightfire, through his body, spilling his insides out onto the sand¡ª<em>ng!</em> The sound rang out, and blood fountained into the air.

    Kynna¡¯s eyes struggled to make sense of the scene. She stared at Victor, trying to see where Obert¡¯s sword had cut him, but the image didn¡¯t match what she knew she should see. Victor stood tall. His spear was thrust into the air, and dangling from the de was Obert¡¯s lifeless body¡ªhis head fully impaled on the spearpoint. Victor had driven the spear under his chin and out through the top of his skull! Brightfirey in the sand, her mes flickering faintly, and Victor slowly turned in a circle, disying Obert¡¯s corpse to the suddenly silent crowd like a grisly banner.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°Dead Gods!¡± Thorn cried, leaping to his feet. ¡°He did it!¡±

    Kynna couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing. She¡¯d utterly <em>missed</em> it. How had that dolt moved so quickly? How had he moved so <em>perfectly</em>? What was the ng she¡¯d heard? Staring at Victor, looking to where his muscles bunched on his shoulders as he held Obert¡¯s tall corpse in the air on that heavy, ugly spear, she saw what she¡¯d missed: Bryn¡¯s bracer was bent nearly in half, barely hanging onto Victor¡¯s wrist. He¡¯d blocked the killing blow and driven the spear up¡ªa perfect kill with Obert helpless in the air, descending to put his hapless foe out of his misery. ¡°Maybe not so hapless,¡± she whispered, earning herself several nces from the celebrating members of her delegation.

    Celebrating! Kynna felt her lips spread in a smile as she listened to the crowd''s roar. Everyone liked a good upset. Everyone wanted to see an underdoge up from behind and take the win. Victor¡¯s wless blow was a reminder that, no matter how powerful and proud you were, this life was not guaranteed. Anyone could die in an instant. Kynna stood and moved to stand beside Tomorran, resting her hand on his shoulder. He looked up with wide, bright blue eyes¡ªhe¡¯d failed to inherit the fire eyes of his Igniant ancestry.

    ¡°He did it! Our house won¡¯t fall today!¡± His voice was bright with excitement, and Kynna nodded, smiling as she stroked his hair. She turned her gaze to the other side of the arena where King Vennar stood. He was pacing and fuming; she could see his mouth moving as he jerked his hands this way and that. No doubt, he was struggling to believe what just happened. Soon enough, he could struggle in another world.

    ¡°What world?¡± she asked, ncing at Thorn.

    ¡°Hmm? ¡®What world,¡¯ My Queen?¡±

    ¡°Where will they send Vennar and his kin?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s at the discretion of the Grand Judicator. Speaking of whom¡­¡± Thorn pointed as the Judicator¡¯s sky sled drifted down.

    His voice boomed out. ¡°Champion of Gloria. Release the corpse of your tormentor.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Victor heard the judicator¡¯s words and realized he might be going a little too far. He lowered his fourteen-foot spear and, with it, Obert¡¯s dangling corpse, letting it fall into the sand. The Judicator¡¯s floating disc descended to the arena floor, and he stared hard at Obert¡¯s body for several seconds. He then turned to Victor. ¡°I pronounce the Queendom of Gloria victorious!¡± Everyone had grown quiet when the judicator first spoke to Victor, but they erupted in cheers again.

    His pronouncement wasn¡¯t necessary; Obert¡¯s corpse began to glow as thick orbs of rainbow-hued Energy coalesced around it. They rapidly multiplied, flowed together, and streamed into Victor as the crowd roared. He held his arms wide, grinning, soaking in the euphoria of the thick rush. His lingering wounds closed, his Core flooded with Energy, and a sense of well-being entered his mind as he tingled from his head to his spine to the heels of his feet. He could hear the Judicator speaking but couldn¡¯t make out the words.

    As soon as it started, it was over, and Victor fell to his feet, dazed as System messages filled his vision:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 70 Herald of the Mountain¡¯s Wrath and gained 12 strength, 17 vitality, and 12 will.***</strong>

    <strong>***Level 70 ss refinement is avable. ss refinement is permanent. Quinametzin Energy cultivators will next be offered a ss refinement selection at level 80. To view your options and make your selection, ess the menu through your status page.***</strong>

    He pumped his fist in the air, excited by his message, and the crowd reacted, roaring in response. Victor¡¯s glory-attuned Core red, and he wanted to let it loose. Again, he yearned to summon his banner and pump his fists in the air, but he simply turned to Queen Kynna¡¯s box seats and bowed. ¡°Champion.¡± The judicator stepped into his line of sight. ¡°You may im a prize from your foe. The rest of his belongings will go to his heirs.¡±

    Victor looked long and hard at the sword, flickering in the sand, but ultimately decided not to take it. It wasn¡¯t a matter of impulse; he thought hard about it. When he considered holding that sword, though, he imagined someone who killed him holding Lifedrinker. She wouldn¡¯t like it. More than that, Victor wasn¡¯t skilled with the sword; he could learn, true, and it was a fine weapon, but he didn¡¯t need it. Instead, he stomped over to Obert¡¯s corpse, grasped his thick, shiny breastte, and pulled until the strap broke and he could hold it out of the way. Then, Victor summoned a sharp de, drove it into Obert¡¯s corpse, and¡ª

    A hand like a metal vise gripped his wrist. ¡°What are you doing?¡± the judicator asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m iming his heart.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d take that over the conscious weapon in the sand, there?¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t his heir be served better by that sword than this lump of flesh?¡±

    ¡°Very well.¡± The judicator let go of his wrist, and Victor plunged his hand into the still-hot chest cavity, wrapping his thick, strong fingers around the organ. He pulled it out with several wet, visceral <em>pops</em>, and then he stood, holding it aloft. The judicator¡¯s voice rang out above the crowd¡¯s hysteria, ¡°The champion of Gloria ims his opponent¡¯s heart!¡±

    Again, the crowd erupted, but this time, there was a mixture of sounds¡ªsome cheering, sure, but also gasps,ughter, screeches, and outraged curses. There were too many sounds for Victor to discern them all; to him, it was just a crowd roaring, and that made him smile.

    ¡°Leave the arena, Champion. I must see to the house Vennar and their removal from this world.¡± With that, the Judicator climbed atop his flying disc and whisked through the air to Vennar¡¯s boxed seating section. It was vacant. Victor nced over to Kynna¡¯s section, and it, too, was empty. He shrugged, waved the heart through the air one more time, basking in the noise from the enormous crowd, and then stomped over to the tunnel that would lead him to his ready room.

    When he stepped out of the sun and the crowd''s noise, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief and sent the heart into his storage container. He flexed his shoulders, rolled his neck, and looked at his arm. ¡°That sun of a gun almost cut you off!¡± It had been a close thing; Victor had misjudged a ncing blow and caught almost the full brunt of Obert¡¯s magical sword strike. If not for his hard-as-rocks titan bones¡ª

    ¡°Victor!¡±

    He looked up to see Kynna and his usual escort, Bryn, standing in the ready room. ¡°Oh, hello, My Queen.¡± He bowed low, his shredded shirt hanging in bloody tatters, dripping on the ground.

    ¡°Stand, Champion.¡± When Victorplied, she folded her arms over her chest. She was dressed in a lovely yellow gown that really made the deep blue crystals of her crown pop with color. ¡°Tell me now, was it luck? Did the grace of a sleeping god touch you? How did you win when all was so dire?¡±

    ¡°Oh, hrmm.¡± Victor frowned and rubbed his chin. ¡°I guess it was mostly luck¡ª¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Bryn cried, striding forward to yank her bent bracer from his arm. ¡°I suppose you ¡®identally¡¯ blocked his killing blow with my bracer?¡± She put it on her arm, and the metal smoothly reformed to its original shape.

    ¡°Guard Bryn!¡± Kynna¡¯s voice was sharp, and Bryn whirled to face the queen, falling into a bow that nearly had her on the floor. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, My Queen! He frustrates me so¡ª¡±

    ¡°Be still.¡± The queen stepped past her to confront Victor. ¡°I¡¯ll not have you y games with my family, Victor¡ªmy house. Was it a lucky ident or not? If you say yes, I¡¯ll remove you from your position and put in the champion I earned today¡ªmy pick from Vennar¡¯s cadre.¡±

    Victor sighed and shook his head. He looked from the queen to Bryn, still on her knees. ¡°Do I need to worry about my words leaving this room?¡±

    The queen red down at Bryn and flicked her fingers to the door. ¡°Leave us.¡± Bryn scrambled to her feet and hurried out, joining a small group of people waiting in the hall. When the door clicked shut, Victor said, in a low voice, ¡°No ident. I wasn¡¯t going to lose, but did you want me to trounce that guy? Do you want the negotiation with Xan to go well? If I didn¡¯t look like a lucky idiot, King Groff wouldn¡¯t negotiate so easily¡ª¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Her eyebrows rose, and she regarded his shredded, bloody clothing. ¡°You went through that torture for¡­for <em>easier negotiations</em>?¡±

    Victor lifted his sleeve and rubbed the dried blood covering his shoulder and biceps. ¡°I heal fast. See?¡±

    ¡°But it must hurt¡­¡± She stepped back and ran her eyes up and down his figure.

    ¡°I mean, in the middle of a fight, all pumped up with adrenaline¡ªit¡¯s not that bad.¡±

    ¡°What¡­how¡­¡± She clenched her fists and took another step back. ¡°Who are you, Victor? What are you hiding? Obert was tier-nine. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re so high.¡± She tapped her temple behind her right eye. ¡°I can see your Core¡¯s Energy levels.¡±

    ¡°My Queen,¡± Victor sighed, stepping toward the door. ¡°There are many factors to a person¡¯s strength. You must know that. It¡¯s not all about level.¡± He turned to her and grinned. ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m <em>that</em> far below some of these guys.¡± In his mind, he chuckled at the idea that he had a heart to eat and a ss refinement to go through. ¡°Now, Your Majesty, if you wouldn¡¯t mind, I could use a bath, some clean clothes, and a quiet ce to reflect on the strange customs in this world.¡±

    Kynna¡¯s crown glittered and twinkled in the light as she shook her head, pressing her dark, blue-stained lips together. ¡°<em>Our </em>customs are strange? I feel I should ask what you intend to do with that man¡¯s heart, but¡­I don¡¯t want to know. Come, then, Champion. Let us return to Gloria; we have much to celebrate. The entire city will feast tonight.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 15: All is Well

    Book 9: Chapter 15: All is Well

    Victor sat alone in his quarters at Queen Kynna¡¯s pce. He was tired¡ªtired from the stress leading up to his duel with Obert, tired from the fight, and tired from the aftermath. When he¡¯d gotten back to the pce, it had felt like a nket of dread had been lifted off the city, and everyone had been given leave to live and celebrate¡ªsomething they¡¯d been denied for, apparently, years. Of course, Victor had been expected to attend the Queen¡¯s celebratory banquet. He¡¯d had to stand at the high table and tell a story to entertain the guests¡ªanother reason for his current mental exhaustion.

    The dinner had gone fine, of course. He hadn¡¯t had any troubleing up with a story to tell; he had a thousand fights he could describe, but feeling alone among all those strangers, he¡¯d chosen a story about the Great Bone Mine and how he¡¯d first seen Lam fly, descending among a horde of mad beetles to save him and the other delvers. The feat itself wasn¡¯t impressive to the nobles gathered around Kynna¡¯s table, but the way Victor described his awe and how the event became the key to unlocking his inspiration-attuned Energy had kept their rapt attention.

    The dinner had taken hours and hours, and, as far as Victor knew, the feast was still ongoing; Kynna had proimed a week-long national holiday. He¡¯d finally begged off, iming exhaustion, and though his many new fans among the nobility had protested, Kynna excused him, and now he sat alone. His chair wasfortable; the little parlor in his suite was luxurious with fine, high-grade leather furniture that fit his frame like a glove. His little bar was stocked with potent liquors, and his view was incredible.

    Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, he could see over the city''s rooftops below and beyond to the rolling green countryside. Great forests covered much of Gloria, and to Victor sitting there, the expanse of tree-covered hills looked almost primeval, so unmarred was their wild majesty. He could see the road leading away from the city, but in just a few miles, it was swallowed by the forests. From there, he saw nothing but green all the way to the distant, towering purple mountain ranges. For someone who grew up in Arizona, Victor found himself easily enthralled by a view like that.

    Still, his mind wandered, and he found himself wishing he had someone to talk to, someone familiar. He was half tempted to summon Arona from her phctery again, but she wasn¡¯t the voice he wanted. He knew Bryn was standing guard outside his door, and the thought of making her take a drink with him and suffer through some teasing was an amusing proposition that he toyed with for a while but ultimately set aside. It was bad enough that the poor woman had to stand guard and watch over him; he shouldn¡¯t torment her to boot.

    No, he had to admit, the truth was, he missed his friends, and, most of all, he missed Va. When he¡¯d sat down with a ss of something called ¡°Turnback Rye,¡± he¡¯d intended to go through his ss refinement, but his mind kept returning to the simple promise he¡¯d made before the duel: if he won, he¡¯d write to Va. So, with a troubled heart and a not-insignificant buzz, he took out his Farscribe book and turned to thetest message she¡¯d sent him:<blockquote>

    <em>Victor,</em>

    <em>I wish you¡¯d write to me, but I know you need time. At least, that¡¯s what I keep telling myself. In any case, I have something I wanted to share with you. I¡¯m leaving for a new world tomorrow¡ªan ocean world popted by aquatic people who live on inds and swim and breathe freely under the water. It¡¯s called Crydagh, and there are rumored to be creatures living in those waters that rival dragons! Fantastic beasts called Booraghi roam the oceans, unafraid of anything¡ªeven your mentor, Ranish Dar, would think twice about crossing one of them. If treated with respect, they¡¯re peaceful, though, and will sometimes speak to lesser beings who visit them. I¡¯m going to seek one out; rumors have it that they¡¯ll grant boons to visitors they take a fancy to. Even if they refuse to speak to me, which I¡¯m told happens often, I believe the trip will be worthwhile. Wouldn¡¯t seeing such a creature be a reward in itself?</em>

    <em>Despite my excitement, I¡¯m sorry to leave Fanwath. Uvu found his way home shortly after you left, and I¡¯ve been spending time with him daily. He¡¯s gotten a bit feral, though; I think he has a mate out in the wild, so he¡¯ll likely be fine when I leave again. Of course, I¡¯ll miss Rellia, but she¡¯s so busy governing that I doubt she¡¯ll remember I¡¯m gone most of the time.</em><em>Please write soon,</em>

    <em>Love,</em>

    <em>Va</em></blockquote>

    Victor had received the message nearly a week ago, and, reading it again, he felt a surge of guilt for putting a response off. He knew he¡¯d feel worse if he went back and read through the other four messages she¡¯d sent him. With a resigned sigh, he took up a pen, and, mustering courage on par with what it took him to face the lord of the dungeon near Great Bone Mine, he began to write:<blockquote>

    <em>Va,</em>

    <em>I¡¯m sorry I¡¯ve taken so long to write to you. It¡¯s not right, I know. You probably know from Lam or Edeya that I¡¯ve left Sojourn, but¡ª</em>

    Victor groaned and put the pen down. He didn¡¯t know how to do this. Grimacing, he returned to the note, skipping a line:

    <em>Look, I¡¯m not going to sit here and write a bunch of bullshit about how nice the world is, or how the people here are all giants, or that we had a big feast after I won my first duel. None of that really matters for shit. The truth is that I¡¯m still raw as hell on the inside. I think about you all the time. Before my duel, I wanted to talk to you. When I saw my quarters, I thought about how much you¡¯d like how everything was in shades of blue and purple¡ªthe sheets, the wallpaper, the vases, even the upholstery and carpet. When I was training back on Sojourn, I couldn¡¯t sleep in the bed ¡®cause I kept picturing you in it. I couldn¡¯t enjoy theke ¡®cause I kept seeing you soaring over it.</em>

    <em>I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever get over you and the missing piece of my heart that you took with you, but I¡¯m going to try. I¡¯m going to try to remember that no matter what, I love you, and I don¡¯t want you to be gone from my life. So, yeah, I¡¯ll try to be better about writing, but I can¡¯t do it every day, every week, or even every month. I have to give myself room to breathe, to experience life without you, ¡®cause that¡¯s what you wanted, and it¡¯s too hard to let you go if I¡¯m constantly reminding myself about how much I miss you.</em>

    <em>It sounds like an amazing ce you¡¯re going to, and I hope you really enjoy it. I hope you¡¯ll write to me about it after you¡¯re done, but let¡¯s wait until then, all right? In the meantime, I¡¯ll try to live my life and experience something worth sharing, too.</em>

    <em>-Victor</em></blockquote>

    Victor closed the book with a heavy sigh and a feeling of finality that he wasn¡¯t sure he liked. ¡°Well, it¡¯s done.¡± He could go back in and cross out the words, but there wasn¡¯t any guarantee Va hadn¡¯t already read them. Even if he ripped the page out, it would still be there in her book. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, anyway. I meant it all.¡± He tucked the book back into storage, sat back in his chair, and downed his ss of, if he were honest, extremely potent whiskey.

    He <em>wanted</em> to keep talking to himself, but he felt strange doing so without his usual crutch, so he reached into his high-quality storage ring and summoned Lifedrinker, allowing her massive, incredibly heavy axe-head to rest on the carpet before him while tilting the handle so he could grasp it as he reclined. ¡°Hey, <em>chica.</em>¡±

    <em>Is it time, atst? Will you carry me into battle again?</em>

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    ¡°Sorry, not yet.¡± Victor chuckled at how his tongue felt thick in his mouth. Whatever else you said about Ruhn, they made good booze. ¡°I still have to fight with that <em>pinch¨¦</em> spear for a while. It¡¯s a tough weapon, but nothing like you. I¡¯m saving you for when the fights get hard.¡±

    <em>I yearn to feel your hands as I smash bones, spill blood, and drink the Energy of your foes.</em>

    Victor arched an eyebrow as he looked down at the enormous axe. Her dark de was like ss with its depthless, ck, mirrored sheen, but as he stared, he saw the thousands of tiny motes of light deep in those unknown depths, almost like he was looking through a window into space. It was mesmerizing, and he nearly forgot what he was going to say. As her handle vibrated with impatience in his hand, he startled out of his reverie, chuckling and reaching for the bottle of whiskey to refill his ss. ¡°I miss fighting with you too. It¡¯ll be soon, though. Things are going to keep getting crazier and crazier around here.¡±

    She was quiet after that, and Victor enjoyed the simplefort of her presence for a while. He sipped his whiskey, watched the view outside, and after a while, he opened his status sheet and selected the ss refinement option, looking over his new options:

    <strong>***ss refinement option 1: Warlord - Legendary. Prerequisites: 1. Prior ss levels in Battlemaster, Martial Sage, or Combat Savant. 2. Sufficiently advanced bloodline. 3. Sufficiently advanced weapon skills. 4. Sufficiently advanced attributes. 5. A sufficiently advanced Core with appropriate affinities. 6. A history of leading followers intorge-scale conflicts and achieving victory. ss attributes: Vitality, Intelligence.***</strong>

    <strong>***ss refinement option 2: Colossal Spirit Champion ¨C Legendary. Prerequisites: 1. Titan, giantkin, leviathan, behemoth, or colossus bloodline. 2. A significant portion of your total Energy earned from solobat. 3. An affinity for glory, valor, justice, or honor. 4. Sufficiently advanced will attribute. 5. Sufficiently advanced Spirit Core. Through your many victories against difficult odds, you¡¯ve gained the favor of your ancestors, and they see you as a living champion of their ideals. You embody titanic power, standing for glory, justice, and honor. Through your Spirit Core, your ancestors will unleash their fury on those who defy the might of their bloodline. ss attributes: Will, Vitality, Intelligence.***</strong>

    <strong>***ss refinement option 3: Berserker of Unstoppable Momentum ¨C Legendary. Prerequisites: 1. Epic-tier bloodline with a storied history of warriors or berserkers. 2. Rage, fury, or rted affinity. 3. A significant portion of your total Energy earned frombat with heavy melee weapons. 4. Berserk or berserk-like ability. 5. Sufficiently advanced strength and vitality attributes. So long as you hold this ss, your strength, speed, and resilience will be fueled bybat. Every wound you take, and every blow you strike will drive your battle lust to new heights. The enhancements of this ¡°battle momentum¡± will stack with traditional berserk-type abilities, but so will the madness. ss attributes: Strength, Vitality, Agility, Dexterity.***</strong>

    <strong>***ss refinement option 4: No Refinement - You are pleased with the path on which you find yourself and choose to continue until your next refinement option.***</strong>

    ¡°Damn, <em>chica</em>, three legendary options.¡± Lifedrinker pulsed under his hand, and Victor took that to mean she was listening. He read the options aloud, and though he could feel Lifedrinker¡¯s presence and attention, she didn¡¯t speak. It didn¡¯t bother him; she was an axe of few words, and herpany was enough for him.

    Part of Victor wanted to seek out advice. He wanted to write to Dar or Kethelket. He wanted to break out the ancestor shard and speak to Khul Bach. Still, another part of him rebelled at the idea. He was alone on a massive world, about to embark on a series of brutal singlebats. He¡¯d be tested physically and mentally as he struggled to navigate the murky waters of negotiations, subtle deceit, and overt hostility. Wasn¡¯t it time he began making decisions for himself? He chuckled, shaking his head. No one ever made him choose a ss, but he¡¯d certainly always felt like he had to hear other peoples¡¯ opinions.

    So, determined to figure out the best choice on his own, he thought about each option, beginning with number four¡ªshould he keep his current ss? It was something he¡¯d never done before. He didn¡¯t even know what would happen; would he gain further ss abilities if he kept it beyond the requisite ten levels? The question reminded him of the veritable library he had in his storage ring, so Victor perused his books, looking for a title that might give him the answer.

    He found several promising candidates, spent another hour skimming through the pages, and came up with a resounding ¡°maybe.¡± Sometimes, when kept beyond the first ten levels, a ss would grant more ss-specific abilities, but sometimes, it wouldn¡¯t. That same book took Victor down a rabbit hole, reading about how difficult it was to predict what unfamiliar sses would grant in terms of skills, spells, passive abilities, and even titles.

    There were some well-documented sses, like the basic ¡°fighter.¡± He read the ount of a man named Goh, who took sixty levels as a fighter, always foregoing a ss change. He gained a few skills in the first ten levels but didn¡¯t begin seeing new ones until he¡¯d reached his forty-second level as a fighter when the System granted him something called ¡°martial mastery,¡± which boosted every single one of his weapon abilities by an entire tier. As he closed the book, Victor told Lifedrinker about what he¡¯d read. ¡°So, that would be cool, but I¡¯m not sure I want to stick with the same ss for that long. I couldn¡¯t, really¡ªI have to start building my own at level one hundred.¡±

    <em>ss this, and ss that¡ªall you need is me.</em>

    Victor snorted, choking on a sip of whiskey. She had a point. After he¡¯d cleared his airway, he looked back to the ss refinement screen. It seemed the System wasn¡¯t done offering him Warlord. It was tempting, but considering his current situation, he didn¡¯t feel it was the best option; he wouldn¡¯t be fighting many¡ªor anyrge-scale conflicts. If he was reading them correctly, the other two, newer options, were both geared toward the kind of fighting he¡¯d be doing.

    ¡°Well, my first instinct is that the Colossal Spirit Champion is the smart move here. I think the Berserker of Unstoppable Momentum is another rage-based ss, I think, and I¡¯ve been working to keep my head during fights. Do I want a passive ability that will force me to build up to a berserk state? If I need to cast Iron Berserk or Volcanic Fury on top of that, how insane would I get? I can¡¯t even imagine being more crazy than Volcanic Fury already makes me.¡±

    Lifedrinker remained reticent, and since no one was there to do it for him, Victor voiced the contrary opinion, ¡°But that passive ¡®battle momentum¡¯ sounds damn nice when you think about a duel. When you think about the fact that I don¡¯t want to be using many abilities until I have to, wouldn¡¯t it be nice to have one that just sort of made me stronger and faster the longer I fought? What would it look like to other people? Would they think I went berserk, or would they just think I was getting pissed off?¡± He supposed it wouldn¡¯t matter; if they thought he was berserk, they¡¯d have a big surpriseing when he <em>actually</em> did.

    In the end, the fact that he was level seventy helped him make the decision. He¡¯d learned from Arona and Arcus that levels got progressively slower and, specifically, that gaining levels in the seventh tier took a fraction of the Energy for levels in the ninth. If he was going to experiment with a dangerous-seeming ss choice, it was probably now or never. The thought of that battle momentum in a one-on-one fight was too tempting, and Victor reasoned that if he hated it, he only had to make it to level eighty to change it out.

    So, perhaps a little impulsively and perhaps a little too loose of inhibition, thanks to the strong whiskey he continued to sip, he selected the option he had initially dismissed.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have refined your ss: Berserker of Unstoppable Momentum.***</strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have earned a ss Feat: Furious Battle Momentum.***</strong>

    <strong>***Furious Battle Momentum: Every wound you take and every blow you strike will drive your battle lust to new heights. Your strength, vitality, and speed will increase with your lust for battle, as will your fury and hunger for violence. These enhancements will stack with traditional berserk-type abilities, but so will the madness. Unless altered or improved, this feat will be removed if your ss changes.***</strong>

    For the first time, Victor <em>felt</em> his ss change as it urred. He felt something <em>inside</em> him changing, burning from his Core out through his body. It was almost painful, but he could feel the euphoria of Energy masking the pain, twisting it into an almost pleasurable experience. Looking inward to see what was happening, he saw a slender pathway running parallel to his thick, well-developed Energy pathways. Intuitively, he knew what it was; it was meant to carry his rage into his body without interfering with his other spells and abilities. It was meant to feed his ¡°Furious Battle Momentum.¡±

    When he tried to push Energy into the new pathway, he couldn¡¯t, driving home the point that this ¡°ability¡± wouldn¡¯t be something he could control. ¡°Shit, <em>chica</em>. I hope I didn¡¯t just mess up.¡±

    <em>Can you still wield me?</em>

    Victor downed thest of the ¡°Turnback Rye¡± andughed. ¡°Hell yeah, I can.¡±

    <em>Then all is well.</em>

 Book 9: Chapter 16: - Help for a Friend

    Victor slept until nearly noon the next day, and when he opened his eyes, blinking in the diffuse lighting through the partially closed curtains, he was surprised by the silence and the fact that nobody had felt the need to wake him. With his head propped up on his plush feather pillows, he yawned and stretched, enjoying his room''s calming, purple-blue color palette. Even the gauzy curtains were tinted a soft blue, which, in turn, tinted the lighting in. He enjoyed it and found it a nice change from the reds and burgundies of his quarters at Dar¡¯ske house.

    He took his time bathing and grooming himself, dressed in his usual disguised-armor clothes, and then prepared to leave, intent on finding some breakfast. He paused near the door and, thinking it over, decided to return to his suite¡¯s little parlor, where he¡¯d spent the night drinking and making impulsive choices about his ss. He sat in front of the little coffee table where his empty bottle of whisky and dirty ss awaited¡ªevidence of his crimes. A blue crystal bowl also upied the table, piled with various fruits.

    Victor scooped the plums, apples, and pears out of the bowl, setting them on the table, and then he reached into his storage ring and pulled out the heart he¡¯d taken from Obert. Thanks to the magic of his dimensional container, it was still warm in his hand, the blood tacky and damp. Victor set it in the crystal bowl and stared. His body¡¯s physiological reaction to the raw hunk of, if not human, then at least <em>humanoid</em> flesh, was a stark reminder of how much he¡¯d changed. He wasn¡¯t just Victor Sandoval from Tucson anymore. He was a Quinametzin titan, and his mouth filled with saliva at the thought of chomping down on a person¡¯s raw heart.

    Worse, Victor didn¡¯t feel ashamed or dirty or even bothered by the idea. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that if he presented Victor, the teenage wrestler, with this heart and told him to eat it, there was no way it would happen¡ªnot without a fight. ¡°Well,¡± Victor chuckled, ¡°I guess some shit¡¯s different.¡± He summoned one of his cooking knives, a very sharp, narrow-ded one meant for deboning a piece of meat but that he used far more universally; he liked how it cut, and it was sharper than most of his proper ¡°chef¡¯s¡± knives.

    Fighting to contain his eager hunger at the sight of the bloody organ, Victor sliced it into bite-sized cubes. Then, one by one, he speared the hunks of flesh and chewed them down. He could feel the Energy in the meat, and it was potent, but it wasn¡¯t anything like the hearts of the great beasts he¡¯d imed. The wyrm and the gargantuopod, for instance, had overwhelmed him with their potency. This heart felt more like the giant spiders he¡¯d ughtered on Zaafor. It infused him with Energy, and he could feel his Core swelling, climbing toward the next rank. He also knew the Energy was infusing his flesh, inching him closer to level seventy-one.

    Victor wouldn¡¯t deny a bit of disappointment; he¡¯d believed the rumors that Obert had a ¡°momentum¡± affinity, and he¡¯d thought it too much a coincidence that his new ss featured a type of battle momentum¡ªsurely the fates or karma or just the System had conspired to grant him a boon. He was embarrassed to admit that he¡¯d begun to believe that Obert¡¯s heart would infuse him with some sort of momentum Energy and help his new feat to improve in some way. Unfortunately, when the waves of euphoria faded and he looked inward, all he was sure of was that his Core was heavier and denser, scraping the surface of the next rank.

    Victor carried the bowl into his bathroom and rinsed it before returning it to the table. He felt good¡ªwell-rested, energized, and eager to see whaty next for him. Even if he tried, he couldn¡¯t be disappointed in the heart; an ordinary cultivator would have to work day after day for weeks or months to advance their Core by a single rank in the epic tier. Victor had nearly just skipped an entire rank by having a delicious snack.

    So, it was with a grin on his face that he opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Bryn was there, her face, as always, obscured by her helmet, but he could see her eyes, and they looked stormy. ¡°Something the matter?¡± The act of speaking triggered a yawn and a stretch, and Victor almostughed as Bryn¡¯s dark brows furrowed behind the slit in her visor.

    ¡°Why would you ask that, milord?¡±¡°Oh,¡± Victor shrugged, ¡°no reason.¡± He looked down the empty hallway, admiring how the high windows reflected on the polished marble floor. ¡°Is anyone waiting for me?¡±

    ¡°Sir, I do not have your appointment book.¡±

    ¡°Well, Bryn, while you were standing watch here, did anyonee calling?¡±

    ¡°No, milord.¡±

    ¡°Has there been any talk of the next duel?¡±

    ¡°I believe an emissary from Xan arrivedst night.¡±

    Victor smiled, chuckling at her reticence. ¡°But no one¡¯s been looking for me?¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡±

    ¡°Okay, well, I¡¯d like to have a look around the city. Can you direct me to¡ª¡±

    ¡°Milord, I don¡¯t think that would be wise.¡± After a moment¡¯s pause and perhaps in response to Victor¡¯s arched eyebrow, she added, ¡°I apologize for interrupting, sir.¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it be wise?¡±

    ¡°There are factions in the city who worship Ranish Dar, and there are factions who view you as the harbinger of an apocalypse. Were you to wander the streets, I fear it would be akin to pouring water on a grease fire.¡±

    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll need to ensure people don¡¯t recognize me, then.¡± Victor grinned as an idea came to him. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to lose that armor.¡±

    ¡°Sir, I¡¯ll need to report our outing to my captain, and I think¡ª¡±

    ¡°Bryn, do I, technically, outrank your captain?¡±

    ¡°As the crown¡¯s champion, sir, you hold the highest military office in the nation.¡±

    ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll keep this outing between us. Now, can you go ahead and change into something less conspicuous?¡±

    Bryn looked around, then nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll go to my quarters and return after¡ª¡±

    ¡°Nah.¡± Victor opened his door and held it for her. ¡°Go ahead and use my room. I¡¯ll wait here.¡±

    Her helmet inclined briefly, and then she stepped through. Victor pulled the door shut and looked through his storage rings for a hooded cloak. He had a few, though he rarely wore them; thanks to the constant heat produced by his Quinametzin blood and his feats, he couldn¡¯t remember thest time he¡¯d felt chilly or even the need to protect himself from the elements.

    When he pulled forth a dark gray cloak with silky, rust-colored lining, he remembered when Va had given it to him and felt a surge of mncholy that threatened to send him back to his room to curl up on the bed. He shook it off, though, and was just slinging the cloak over his shoulders, pulling the hood up, when Bryn emerged from his room. She¡¯d changed out of her gleaming armor and wore a simple blue tunic over ck leggings tucked into sturdy-looking boots. Of course, her belt sported not one but two heavy-looking swords, one a little shorter than the other.

    As Victor fastened the sp, securing his cloak, she frowned, and Victor got his first good look at her face. He liked it immediately. She looked like an athlete who spent a lot of time messing around with sharp objects. Her jaw was strong, her nose was a little t, her lips were thin, and her brow was heavy and dark. Altogether, she looked healthy, strong, and dependable, especially with all the tiny scars on her cheeks, chin, and forehead. He almostmented on them. He nearly said, ¡°You like to practice without your armor, I see.¡± But he caught himself at thest minute, realizing not everyone might be proud of their scars.

    Luckily, Bryn had her own acerbicment, saving him from second-guessing himself, ¡°I don¡¯t think a cloak and hood will suffice to keep folks from noticing you.¡±

    Victor held up a finger, grinning as he cast Alter Self, reducing his height to just around six feet. He was positively tiny by Ruhn¡¯s standards. ¡°How about now?¡± he asked from the depths of his cowl.

    ¡°Ah, well, um,¡± Bryn took a step back to look him up and down more easily. ¡°I suppose folks will think you¡¯re a traveler, but I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll suspect you¡¯re the queen¡¯s champion. You feel reduced in more ways than simply size. Have you hidden your power?¡±

    Victor waited until the cloak¡¯s resizing enchantment caught up to his smaller body, and then he nodded. ¡°It¡¯s part of the spell. Anyway, let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll follow you. Maybe avoid people who will ask us questions.¡±

    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred tform. Support original creators!

    ¡°Um, milord,¡± Bryn reached up to scratch at her very short, stiff brown hair, narrowing her perpetually scowling dark eyes. ¡°Where are we going?¡±

    ¡°Oh, right! I need to speak to someone knowledgeable about magical¡­stuff. Someone who knows a thing or two about Death Casters and phcteries, but hopefully a lot more.¡±

    Bryn¡¯s scowl didn¡¯t relent. If anything, it deepened. ¡°Is there something more about you that¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just some information I need, Bryn.¡± Victor chuckled, shaking his head within his deep cowl as he looked up at her. ¡°I¡¯m not nning to turn into a lich or anything¡ªat least, not yet.¡± Heughed and reached up to p her on the shoulder. It felt like pping a brick wall.

    Bryn continued frowning for a moment, and Victor thought she was angry or was trying to think of a response without cussing, but after a minute, he realized it was just her regr expression. Just when he thought he¡¯d need to prompt her again, she nodded slowly. ¡°I believe I know someone who might have the knowledge you seek.¡± With that, she turned and began striding down the hall. Victor had to double-time it to keep up with his much shorter legs.

    They didn¡¯t encounter many pce denizens; the passages were broad and convoluted, and though they walked by several guard stations, Bryn just nodded at the men and women on duty, and they let them pass without a word. Victor chuckled at one point when he had the stray thought that maybe the other guards thought he was Bryn¡¯s kid. When she looked down at him with her usual stern expression, he couldn¡¯t helpughing. ¡°I wonder if they think I¡¯m your son.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous! You don¡¯t move like a child. Myrades simply know I can be trusted, so they don¡¯t ask questions.¡± After a minute, she looked down at him again, and this time, her thin, stern lips were curled into a smile. ¡°Besides, I¡¯d be too embarrassed to bring such a scrawny child to the pce!¡±

    Victor¡¯sugh renewed and, in high spirits, he and Bryn made quick time out a side entrance, then through the gate where, once again, the soldiers waved her through and Victor too after she jerked her thumb his way and said, ¡°I¡¯m escorting this one out.¡±

    Things were different in the city. The palpable pall of despair was gone, and the evidence of the night''s revelries was everywhere. Victor saw people passed out in parks, empty kegs, and tankards on nearly every garden wall, and the folks who were up and about cradled their heads and moved very slowly. Seeing those things, he had to bark anotherugh as he attempted to jostle Bryn¡¯s shoulder¡ªhis small hand was rebuffed by the meat of her muscles. ¡°I can see why no one came looking for me! I wasn¡¯t the only one sleeping in!¡±

    ¡°Yes, well, some of us have duties.¡±

    ¡°Was that aint?¡± Victor crowed. ¡°My stoic guardian wanted to be partyingst night?¡±

    ¡°I had a few drinks. You didn¡¯t know it, but one of my fellow guards relieved me for nearly four hours.¡±

    ¡°<em>Four hours off?</em> What did you <em>do</em> with all that time?¡±

    ¡°Hah, hah.¡± Bryn waved a hand dismissively, further improving Victor¡¯s good mood. He was happy to be getting some personality out of her. She surprised him further by asking, ¡°Why the heart?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s one of the things everyone is asking me about. It¡¯s no secret around the pce that I¡¯m your escort, so people think I know things. Everyone wants to know why you took Obert¡¯s heart.¡±

    Victor thought about the question, and it reminded him that he didn¡¯t really know Bryn. He was trusting her, in a way, because he had a¡ªperhaps unhealthyck of fear when it came to people harming him. If he were being clever, he might have considered the fact that he¡¯d just let a single individual lead him out into the city, unbeknownst to anyone. If Bryn were a traitor, she might be leading him into quite a trap, and no one would even know to look for him. No one would even know he was missing until, probably, the next day.

    He shook his head as the paranoid thoughts began to spiral. ¡°Why do you think I took it?¡±

    She shrugged. ¡°Perhaps to make you seem mad. Perhaps as a show of intimidation. Perhaps you have some sort of grisly ritual passed down by your primitive ancestors¡ª¡±

    Victor couldn¡¯t help the growl in his voice as he snapped, ¡°My ancestors would think you were the primitive.¡±

    Bryn mped her mouth shut and held up a hand. ¡°I overstepped. I¡¯m sorry, milord.¡±

    Victor sighed, tamping down his Quinametzin pride with a frustrating effort of will. ¡°Nah, don¡¯t be like that. I¡¯m sorry I bit your head off. My, uh, bloodline carries a lot of baggage¡ªI have to fight the pride of my ancestors constantly.¡±

    ¡°Is your bloodline so potent?¡± She nced at him as they walked, and he could see the confusion in her eyes.

    He figured a half-truth wouldn¡¯t hurt. ¡°Yeah, my distant ancestors were great beings, and I don¡¯t think they really exist on this ne any longer. I guess you could say that when I im an opponent''s heart, it¡¯s a way to honor the rituals of my ancestors and also my foe. When I take that piece of an enemy, it''s not about disrespect; it¡¯s the opposite. I wouldn¡¯t take the heart of an opponent I didn¡¯t respect.¡±

    Bryn¡¯s scowl turned contemtive, and she sounded sincere when she said, ¡°I see.¡± They walked quietly for a while longer, and Victor¡¯s earlier paranoia kept him alert, watching for signs of ambush or betrayal. They traversed busy streets, though, not back alleys. Bryn stopped before arge building with a tavern and tailor on the ground floor and pointed to the upper level where a sign read, ¡°Trobban¡¯s Enchantments, Rare Books, and Artificing.¡±

    Victor had a hard time imagining the shop could be a trap. ¡°This is the ce?¡±

    ¡°I hope so. Troban is well respected by many, at least among the guards.¡±

    Victor started up the stout wooden stairs on the side of the building, chuckling at his own awkwardness as he stretched his legs between the wide steps. When he reached the top, he looked down to see Bryn hadn¡¯t followed. ¡°Noting in?¡±

    She shook her head and sat on the bottom step. ¡°I¡¯ll await you here.¡±

    Victor shrugged and pulled the heavy door open. A chime sounded from within, and a voice called out, ¡°Wee in.¡± The shop was neat, with a sitting area in one corner, a sales counter on the rear wall, and a workbench taking up the left half of the room. A giant-sized man stood at the workbench, deftly using a wood chisel to smooth the contours of something that looked a lot like a doll¡¯s head. ¡°Come around the bench, will you? I can¡¯t look up right now; this is a critical step.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Victor walked around the workbench, feeling kind of ridiculous with just his head and shoulders clearing the surface, but he¡¯d chosen his disguise, and he meant to stick with it. He watched for a minute while the man worked. He had curly white hair and bushy white eyebrows, but his face looked young, and his golden eyes were very sharp as he scrutinized his work.

    ¡°What brings you in, stranger?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m trying to find some help for a friend of mine, but the nature of the information I¡¯m seeking is kind of a specialized topic. I also think she¡¯d appreciate it if I kept my inquiries discreet.¡±

    ¡°Well, discreet I can be, especially if I don¡¯t know the topic.¡± For just a fraction of a second, the man looked up and locked eyes with Victor despite his deep cowl. Victor felt like the man measured him with that brief look. When he broke the gaze and looked back to his work, he said, ¡°I¡¯m Trobban, by the way.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Victor.¡±

    ¡°Ah, the name is familiar, though not your¡­stature.¡±

    ¡°I told you: discretion is important to me.¡±

    ¡°A disguise!¡± Trobban clicked his tongue. ¡°Intriguing!¡± He carefully smoothed the wooden head¡ªVictor had seen enough of its features to name it so¡ªand nodded. ¡°That¡¯ll do for now.¡± He looked at Victor, smiling as he blew some wood dust from his fingers. ¡°Now, what¡¯s the topic I can help you with?¡±

    ¡°Are you familiar with death-attuned magic? With phcteries?¡±

    ¡°Certainly. How could a well-learned man not be? I¡¯ve read a dozen books on the topic at least.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s encouraging.¡± Victor wanted to lean on the table, but it was too tall for him. He settled for moving around to the end near the wall and leaned on that, folding his arms over his chest. ¡°I have a friend who¡¯s a death caster. She had to flee into a hastily prepared phctery because her body was¡­destroyed. Now she¡¯s kind of trapped in the phctery with no vessel prepared to house her.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Do you seek my help in preparing a vessel? I¡¯ve read of several ways to do so. There are rituals from¡ª"

    ¡°There¡¯s more to it,¡± Victor interrupted, holding up a hand. ¡°You see, my friend, she¡¯s never loved death-attuned magic. She hates her former masters and loathes the idea of bing like them. We¡¯re hoping this transitory state she¡¯s in might lead to something of a rebirth, a way to help her change her path, avoiding something she¡¯d feared was inevitable.¡±

    Trobban mimicked Victor¡¯s posture, folding his arms over his chest. ¡°Death Casters and their apprentices are aplicated subject. I¡¯d hate toe between a master and his¡ª¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s free from her master. He believes she was destroyed.¡±

    ¡°Truly? And you have ess to your friend¡¯s phctery? Her, um, master isn¡¯t aware of it?¡±

    ¡°I can ess it, yes. And no, her master isn¡¯t aware. He¡¯s not even on this world or even close to it.¡±

    Trobban nodded, stroking his chin, picking at some flecks of sawdust he found in the stubble there. ¡°In that case, there are some options we could explore. If I could speak with this friend of yours¡­¡± He trailed off, arching an eyebrow in question.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need to run it by her. Listen, Trobban, it¡¯s not convenient for me to wander the city. Do you think you coulde by the pce?¡±

    The crafter¡¯s eyes widened, and he leaned across his worktable, staring hard at Victor. ¡°I would be honored! I have a wagon constructed just for such a cause¡ªa mobile workshop! Why, it would do wonders for business if people saw me driving it through the pce gates!¡±

    Victor moved back around the side of the table, holding out a hand. ¡°In that case, let me extend a formal invitation. Can you make it this evening?¡±

    ¡°Ah, but the revelries¡­¡± Trobban shook his head. ¡°I think it would be safer in the morning hours, sir. I¡¯d hate for my wagon to be caught up in the mayhem, not if it¡¯s going to be anything likest night.¡±

    ¡°All right. Tomorrow morning, then. I¡¯ll let the guard captain know.¡± Victor shook the man¡¯s hand, then let himself out, and as he descended the steps, he called out, ¡°Bryn, let¡¯s grab some food! Aren¡¯t you hungry?¡± Before she could respond, he added, ¡°Also, there¡¯s no trouble with me inviting this guy to the pce, is there?¡±

    Bryn stood and squinted up the steps to him, shading her eyes from the sun. ¡°Um¡ª"

    Victor hopped down the steps, stopping on the third from the bottom so he could look her in the eyes. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it will be, but you should check with Queen Kynna about your schedule. You may have term negotiations tomorrow.¡±

    Victor nodded, frowning. ¡°Yeah. Yeah, all right, Bryn. Let¡¯s get some food, then it¡¯s back to the pce for me.¡± He continued to the ground, gesturing to the people moving about on the street. ¡°Looks like folks are waking up! I¡¯m in the mood for soup. You know any ce that¡¯s good?¡±

    After a bit more back and forth, Bryn settled on an idea for a restaurant, and Victor followed her through the streets. On the way, he thought about how he was using the poor woman, basically an employee who was forced to spend time with him, forpany, and he decided it wasn¡¯t probably healthy for either of them. He needed to make some friends in Gloria, and though he was working to help Arona escape her bodiless state, it probably wasn¡¯t wise to put all his eggs in that basket. Still, it was something, and he was looking forward to telling her that help was on the way.

 Book 9: Chapter 17: A Suitable Vessel

    ¡°¡­seems these terms are amenable.¡± King Groff folded his fingers together, peering at the document his chambein pushed before him. Behind the king, Qi Pot, the champion of Xan, stood. He wasn¡¯t as feared for his martial prowess as Obert, but he lookedpetent enough to Victor. He was a wiry, lean fellow who wore a rapier that seemed to exude shadows. They drifted out of the tooled scabbard like smoke, obscuring the weapon¡¯s hilt and darkening the air around him.

    Qi Pot wasn¡¯t particrly tall, but he had a way of leaning forward that emphasized his lean, predatory posture. He didn¡¯t glower or try to intimidate Victor, which, if Victor was honest, was more intimidating than outright hostility. Still, the man¡¯s seemingpetence made it all the easier for Victor to look the fool. Queen Kynna had done her part to make that job easier, too.

    It seemed that, during the celebratory feast, she¡¯d ¡°had too much to drink¡± and had gone on and on to anyone who¡¯d listen about how she was eager to rece Victor with a new champion imed from Frostmarch. Apparently, she wasn¡¯t happy with his ¡°lucky¡± victory. As one might expect, word of her disgruntled displeasure with Victor spread rather rapidly. So, Xan hade calling, offering favorable terms to move up the duel before Queen Kynna traveled to Frostmarch to im a champion from the former king¡¯s cadre.

    As the delegation from Xan stood and departed, Queen Kynna dismissed Chambein Thorn and then turned to Victor. ¡°That went very well.¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°If I understood things correctly, you only stand to lose what you gained from Frostmarch? You¡¯ll remain queen of Gloria even if I lose?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. So, whether you win or lose, Victor, you¡¯ve saved Gloria. At least for the immediate future.¡± Smiling, she tried to push her chair back, but it was heavy, and the feet were caught in the plush rug that ran the length of the table. Victor hurried forward and lifted the back, helping her to slide it out. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    ¡°No, not the chair. Thank you for risking your life to help my people.¡±

    ¡°Um,¡± Victor smiled, backing up a few steps as the Queen stood, ¡°you¡¯re wee.¡±¡°And the timeline is all right with you? You¡¯ll be ready to fight tonight?¡±

    Victor nced at the big, ornate clock standing in the corner of the negotiation room. It was nearly noon. ¡°I¡¯ll be ready, My Queen, but a craftsman is waiting at the pce. Do you mind if we hurry back?¡±

    ¡°A craftsman? I¡¯d hoped to have lunch with you. You¡¯ve been here a handful of days, and we¡¯ve hardly had a chance to talk.¡±

    ¡°Well, I mean, you were busy at the feast, and before that¡­¡± Victor shrugged¡ªthere was no need to recount all the hectic activity since his arrival. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m sorry about missing lunch, but when I invited this guy to the pce, I didn¡¯t realize we¡¯d be meeting with Xan so soon. I guess I could reschedule¡ª¡±

    ¡°No.¡± The queen waved her hand and walked to the door leading to the portal room. ¡°We¡¯ll have more time after this duel.¡± She paused to look at him again, her brows drawing down as her expression became more serious. ¡°You <em>will </em>win, won¡¯t you?¡±

    Victor grinned. ¡°That¡¯s my n.¡±

    ¡°Qi Pot is well-respected¡ªnot as feared as Obert, but that¡¯srgely because he¡¯s younger and has fought fewer duels.¡±

    ¡°I have a n for him.¡± Victor tried to smile reassuringly, hoping the queen wouldn¡¯t ask for details. He doubted she¡¯d feel encouraged if she heard the outline of his strategy.

    ¡°Good. Very well, then, Victor. Go to your appointment. I¡¯ll see you before the duel.¡±

    Victor bowed. ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Before she had time to second-guess his release, Victor hurried out, and a few momentster, he was stepping out of the portal, back at the pce in Gloria. Bryn awaited him, and he smiled and nodded when he recognized her posture and scowling eyes through the gap in her visor.

    She saluted and stepped away from the other guards in the chamber. ¡°Where to, sir?¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s my guest waiting?¡±

    ¡°The eastern parlor, sir.¡±

    Victor nodded and looked at the group of four guards at their posts on either side of the door. ¡°Can one of you fetch Artificer Trobban from the eastern parlor and bring him up to my suite?¡± They all saluted, but one junior member¡ªVictor could tell because he only had one yellow rose embossed on the gorget of his breastte¡ªhurried through the door. Victor gestured toward the door. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Bryn.¡±

    He followed her back to his quarters, though he probably could have led the way. He had a decent mental image of the pceyout, at least the parts he¡¯d frequented over thest few days. Still, it was customary for his ¡°escort¡± to take the lead, so he humored her. Along the way, she asked, her voice echoing hollowly from the inside of her helmet, ¡°How did the negotiation go?¡±

    ¡°Pretty good, I think. The queen seemed happy. I have to fight at sundown.¡±

    Bryn¡¯s steps faltered, and she looked over her shoulder. ¡°Are you prepared?¡±

    ¡°I better be!¡±

    ¡°Must you always jest?¡± A moment after speaking, she hastily added, ¡°Sir.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not really joking. There¡¯s not a lot I can do between now and sundown. I came to this world to fight duels, so, yeah, I think it¡¯s fair to say I better be ready.¡± Bryn was silent after that, and when they reached his quarters, she took up a guard position beside the door. ¡°When¡¯s thest time you had a break?¡±

    ¡°During your negotiations, sir.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. So you¡¯re good?¡±

    Her helmet inclined marginally, ¡°I¡¯m good.¡±

    ¡°Let me know when Trobban gets here.¡± Victor let himself into the room and smiled at the scent of fresh flowers and clean air; the housekeepers had flung the windows wide and tidied up while he was gone. The central room in the suite was dominated by a long, darkly stained wooden table, and he walked over to it, pulling out a chair that afforded him a clear view of the door. Then he rummaged through his storage ring, taking out Arona¡¯s phctery.

    Almost before he had time to set the dark, rune-etched bone on the table, a cold, blue mist began to gather in the shadows under the table. A momentter, they swirled up, coalescing into the shape of a slender woman in dark,yered robes. ¡°Hello again, Victor.¡± She looked around, squinting at the light streaming through the tall windows. ¡°Your quarters are quite fine.¡± She¡¯d only seen the sitting room with the curtains drawn the night before.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m notining.¡± Victor smiled, leaning back. ¡°The artificer I told you about should be here in a minute or two.¡±

    ¡°Wonderful! I¡¯m excited to hear what he thinks of my predicament. And how are you? When west spoke, you mentioned negotiations?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m good. Everything went fine¡ªI have to fight tonight.¡±

    Arona¡¯s ghostly figure moved to hover near the chair on Victor¡¯s left. ¡°Are you as nervous as the first time?¡±

    Victor took the hint and pulled the chair out for her. ¡°No. Partly because Kynna¡¯s negotiations went so well. Even if I lose, she and her people are going toe out all right. At least for a while.¡±

    Arona nodded, sliding her ethereal figure into the seat. ¡°So you don¡¯t feel the same pressure. That should help you rx and do what you do best.¡±

    ¡°I hope so. I¡¯ll find out how effective my new ss refinement will be.¡±

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    Her dark lips spread into a sly grin. ¡°A new ss? Now that you hold my very existence in your hands, are you willing to tell me what tier you¡¯ve reached? If I were guessing, I¡¯d say the eighth.¡±

    Victor chuckled and leaned back in his chair. ¡°Really? Only level eighty?¡±

    ¡°Oh, am I so far off? Have you reached the ninth tier?¡±

    Before Victor could answer, a knock sounded on the door, and Bryn called out, ¡°Sir Victor, your guest has arrived.¡±

    Victor looked into Arona¡¯s dark, ethereal eyes. ¡°Ready?¡± She nodded, and he called, ¡°Send him in.¡± He watched as the door swung wide, and Trobban came through, dressed much the same as he¡¯d been in his shop, though with a fancy red, silken cloak thrown over his shoulders. ¡°Hello, Trobban.¡± Victor stood and gestured to the chair across from Arona. ¡°Please sit down.¡±

    Trobban approached, and when he saw Arona¡¯s ghostly figure, he paused and retrieved some spectacles from his pocket. He put them on, adjusting a tiny dial next to the hexagonal, blue-tinted right lens. ¡°My, my. Hello there, Champion Victor, and what should I call you, lovelydy?¡±

    Arona smiled and waved a ghostly hand. ¡°ttering phrases won¡¯t win you favors with me. Call me Arona, for I¡¯ve no pride in my many titles and feats.¡±

    ¡°Very well. It¡¯s my pleasure to meet you.¡± Trobban sat at the table, and his gaze drifted to the rune-etched bone. ¡°Is this your work, Lady Arona?¡±

    ¡°It is, though I must confess I finished it in haste.¡±

    Trobban stared at the bone through his strange spectacles, slowly nodding. ¡°Hasty you may have been, but here you sit¡ªa spirit whole, a mind intact. You¡¯ve done fine work here.¡±

    ¡°Have you thought about Arona¡¯s situation, Trobban?¡± Victor wasn¡¯t in a big hurry, but he also didn¡¯t want to sit and listen to Trobban ttering Arona all afternoon.

    ¡°First, I¡¯d like to confirm a few things with your charge, Sir Victor.¡± Trobban focused his gaze on Arona. ¡°Is it truly your wish to alter your primary Energy affinity?¡±

    ¡°It is.¡±

    ¡°Have you considered the potential for a loss in potency? I mean, should your Core be so fundamentally changed?¡±

    Arona¡¯s ghostly hood moved up and down. ¡°I¡¯ve read about the topic at great length. There are records of people changing their Core and primary affinity without a significant loss of power. There are a handful ofplimentary attunements and, if I could awaken one¡ª¡±

    Trobban nodded. ¡°Awaken or gain. I¡¯ve thought long on your situation. Are you set on inhabiting a vessel born by natural means?¡±

    Victor frowned and interjected, ¡°You mean a person¡¯s body?¡±

    ¡°Yes; typically, a lich will have a corpse prepared to receive their spirit. Usually, it would be a stronger vessel than they gave up. The process involves recing certain organs and enriching the flesh with Energy, rituals, and artifacts. Obviously, whatever caused the vessel¡¯s original death must be repaired, and¡ª¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t wish to be a lich, Artificer Trobban.¡±

    Trobban nodded. ¡°There are other means of inhabiting a living vessel. There are ways to preserve the life of a body while the spirit is removed.¡± He looked at Victor. ¡°You should be familiar with that possibility, being a Spirit Caster. Once the spirit is out, we can¡ª¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t steal another person¡¯s body!¡± Arona¡¯s ghostly fists clenched.

    ¡°Then, we must consider my original question. Are you willing to look into vessels not born by natural means?¡±

    Arona frowned. ¡°A construct?¡±

    Trobban nodded. ¡°Just so.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re so limited, though. I¡¯d never have the potential of a true Core or a proper bloodline. Racial advancement treasures wouldn¡¯t work, and¡ª¡±

    ¡°Ah, pardon me, Lady Arona, but I believe your knowledge about constructs iscking in some departments. There are ways to create vessels every bit as potent as an epic-tier natural species. It¡¯s all a matter of preparation, Energy infusion, and, of course, the acquisition of appropriately powerful artifacts¡ªa heart, a mind, a Core, the materials for the flesh and bones, and other special organs like eyes, sexual¡ª¡±

    Arona¡¯s frown had fallen away as the man spoke, but she waved a hand, cutting him off. ¡°To make a living construct equivalent to an epic-tier species would be an enormous undertaking with expenses rivaling even my former master¡¯s greatest projects. I refer to a man who is a veil walker and has been for thousands of years. I don¡¯t have ess to those sorts of resources.¡±

    Victor frowned, contemting everything he¡¯d heard. He could offer to help, but he understood Arona¡¯s objection; he had a few million beads, but that likely wouldn¡¯te close to scratching the surface of what Trobban was proposing. Before he could think of ament that wouldn¡¯t sound inane, Trobban spoke again, ¡°There are other options. There are ways to create living vessels that do not require the sacrifice of another soul. Certain trees have the potential¡ªif we could graft a branch from the Er¡¯va¡¯leigh oak, I could encourage it to grow into an approximate replication of your former body¡ªI¡¯m assuming that¡¯s what your spiritual projection is based upon?¡±

    Arona nodded. ¡°It is. Will it be able to ept my full Energy level?¡±

    ¡°I believe so, though it may take some time to mature to that potential.¡± Trobban frowned. ¡°Speaking of growing, how do you feel about embryonic spiritual imntation?¡±

    ¡°You mean for me to inhabit the body of an unborn being?¡± She frowned. ¡°My old master spoke of it. I¡¯d have to supnt the nascent spirit of the being, and then I¡¯d also be forced to grow at a natural pace. I don¡¯t relish the thought of another childhood.¡±

    ¡°So, that brings us back ¡®round to the idea of a properly prepared undead vessel. With enough time and the right affinity, it''s possible that you could spark life within such a body. If we could convert your death-attuned Energy into a new Core¡ª¡±

    ¡°How much are we talking?¡± Victor interrupted. ¡°I mean to build her a proper vessel from natural artifacts and whatnot.¡±

    Trobban smiled and shrugged. ¡°Each treasure would be a monumental expense, and we¡¯d need many.¡±

    Victor rubbed his chin, stroking the stubble along his jawline. ¡°Trobban, will you please step out? I¡¯d like to speak to Arona alone for a moment.¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± His chair scraped noisily on the tile as he slid it back. Arona stared at Victor as Trobban¡¯s heels clicked on the same tile, hurrying toward the door. ¡°Shall I wait without?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t go far,¡± Victor called.

    When the door clicked shut, Arona said, ¡°It¡¯s too great an expense. This is something a veil walker might attempt, someone who¡¯s gathered treasures for millennia.¡±

    ¡°Listen, I didn¡¯t want to say this in front of Trobban because no one knows yet, but Dar didn¡¯t just send me here to fight off a couple of champions who are threatening Kynna. He wants me to help her conquer this world. We¡¯re talking nearly a hundred nations. I¡¯ll have to fight a shitload of champions, but there will also be many nations who won¡¯t want to fight, who will take a knee, offering tribute and swearing fealty to Kynna. I get a piece of all that tribute. I can <em>demand</em> certain things. It¡¯s customary.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯d squander part of your well-earned treasure to help me build a body? I won¡¯t allow it. I¡¯d rather create a proper undead vessel, and then I can seek my own solution.¡± As Victor¡¯s countenance grew increasingly stormy, she asked, ¡°Why, Victor? Why would you offer so much to someone who, really, hasn¡¯t done anything for you? To someone whom you hardly know?¡±

    He shrugged and spoke his mind, tired of games and duplicity. ¡°Mainly because I like you. I don¡¯t know why, but every time we¡¯ve been thrown together, I thought you were pretty cool. Then there¡¯s the fact that I don¡¯t like Death Casters, and I can¡¯t stand the idea of you being forced to be one. Once you¡¯re properly undead, tell me, do you think you¡¯ll lose some of that yearning you feel to get away from death-attuned magic?¡±

    Arona¡¯s raspy voice grew quiet and small, and Victor could hear the fear in it. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It <em>would</em> change me, but I don¡¯t know how much.¡±

    ¡°Right. Besides all that, you should know it¡¯s worth a lot to me to hold up a middle finger to a guy like Vesavo. The guy gave me the creeps and reminded me of all the assholes I dealt with from Dark Ember, especially Hector. You know, there are a ton of high-tier assholes on that world, and I still feel like I need to pay them a visit. They treat humans like cattle there!¡± Victor growled and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m getting off track, but my point is that if I can help you, a person I think of as a friend, escape the curse of being like those <em>pinch¨¦</em> mother¡ªEh, you get the idea. I want to do it.¡±

    Arona stared at him for a long minute, but she slowly nodded. ¡°If you can help me build an epic-tier vessel, and Trobban can convert my Death Core into something else in the process, then I will swear fealty to you, Victor. I will serve you until such time that we both feel I¡¯ve earned what you¡¯ve given me. I will go with you to crush the Death Casters on Dark Ember. With an epic-tier vessel, I can reach veil walker status! I can grow to be a properpanion to someone as mighty as you. I will dedicate my¡ª¡±

    ¡°Easy!¡± Victorughed. ¡°Let¡¯s not get ahead of ourselves, all right? First, we need to get all the shit together. Now, don¡¯t mention the session war to Trobban, all right?¡± When she nodded, he called out, ¡°Trobban, get in here.¡±

    The door opened, and Trobban veritably ran back to the table. He seemed eager, as though he had an idea of what Victor was about to tell him. ¡°Yes, Sir Victor?¡±

    ¡°Sit down, please.¡± Trobban nodded and dropped into the chair, leaning an elbow on the table as he stared intently at Victor. ¡°Okay, we¡¯re going to do an epic-tier vessel. Are you capable of craft¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yes! Yes! I can do it, Lord Victor! With the proper materials, we can create the perfect vessel for you, Lady Arona! Why, I can¡ª¡±

    ¡°Hold on, man!¡± Victor chuckled. ¡°Listen, you need to talk with Arona. You need to consider every possibility. It¡¯s imperative that shees out of this without losing any potency but also with a new Core and, at least, a new primary affinity. You should know that I have a potent Spirit Core, and if I can be of any help, I¡¯ll be willing.¡±

    ¡°I will endeavor to meet your demands, milord.¡± He ducked his head, and Victor sighed. It wasn¡¯t lost on him that the guy had gone from calling him ¡°sir¡± to ¡°lord¡± now that he thought he was about to bankroll an extravagant project.

    He thumped his thumbs on the table, thinking. After a moment, he nodded. ¡°Listen, Trobban, it might take us some time to gather everything we need, but you need to make a list, and I¡¯ll work on it. More importantly, you need to understand that you and I are the only people on this entire who know about Arona. If word gets out, I¡¯ll know who to me. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely, sir! My lips are sealed. I¡¯ll do <em>nothing</em> to jeopardize a project like this; I stand to gain too much!¡±

    Victor nodded. He hadn¡¯t considered that. For an Artificer, crafting an epic-tier body for Arona would probably be the equivalent of¡­Victor couldn¡¯t think of a properparison. Maybe it would be like killing a legendary beast, like a great ancient wyrm, all alone. ¡°All right,¡± he said after a moment. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you two to talk and consider all the options. I have a duel to fight soon, and I¡¯m damn hungry.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 18: Furious Momentum

    Victor could feel the rage building. He could feel it streaming into the special pathways that ran parallel to the more robust ones he¡¯d built up along with his Core. Each time Qi Pot struck a painful blow with that deadly, slippery, shadow-d rapier, another surge of the potent heat rushed out of Victor¡¯s Core and into his body. Despite his awareness of it, despite knowing how it affected him, Victor couldn¡¯t keep the fury from creeping into his mind, clouding his vision with a red lust for vengeance and ughter.

    He gnashed his teeth and growled, grunting as he fought, jabbing his great, heavy spear more and more deftly. His defensive battle had slowly shifted to the offense as he cared less and less for his health and slowly stopped trying to avoid Qi Pot¡¯s shes and stabs. He¡¯d known this would happen. He¡¯d nned on it. When he first saw Qi Pot in the negotiation, taken in his lengthy, wiry fencer¡¯s build and seen his long, slender rapier, Victor had known how this fight would go.

    Qi Pot¡¯s strategy was clear: he saw Victor as a brutish, barbaric berserker who relied on his overwhelming strength and ferocity to win fights. In that case, Qi Pot intended to wear him down much as a matador bleeds out the great bull, so much stronger and fiercer than himself. His speed and grace were remarkable; at the start of the fight, he¡¯d deftly maneuvered around Victor¡¯s spear, scoring gashes on his hands and arms, stabbing the tip of that lightning-fast weapon into his ribs, stomach, chest, and back. He stabbed it into his thighs, his glutes¡ªeverywhere.

    Victor was crimson with his blood, and if the arena''s sands weren¡¯t ck and red, they¡¯d be painted, too. Even so, the dark, wet streaks were in for all to see. Victor had lost gallons of blood. The problem for Qi Pot was that Victor was more than enormously resilient. A man like Qi Pot could cope with resilience. Despite his great vitality and the durability of his Quinametzin flesh and bone, Victor bled, and if something could bleed, it would eventually grow weak and slow. With the umtion of hundreds or thousands of wounds, Victor would be vanquished. Unfortunately, Victor was more than resilient.

    Victor had the regenerative capabilities of a monstrous behemoth; as Qi Potshed that wickedly fast, wickedly sharp rapier in and out, Victor bled, his wound closed, and his body regenerated the lost blood. Before the rage began to overtake his mind, Victor wondered where his new blood and flesh came from. Was it manifested from Energy? Was it pulling molecules out of the air and altering them? Was he somehow splitting and multiplying his cells? His mind didn¡¯t linger on the question long; each cut added to the other half of the equation that summed up Qi Pot¡¯s doom: his rage.

    Victor¡¯s ability to heal and stay fresh despite his mounting wound tally was one thing, but every cut and stab also added to his ¡°furious battle momentum.¡± As rage filled Victor¡¯s extra pathway and began to infuse his flesh, he healed even more rapidly, and, worse for Qi Pot, he became stronger and faster. And so, after dragging the fight out for nearly twenty minutes¡ªa short time in the grand scheme of things but a very long time in a life-and-death contest¡ªVictor¡¯s fury became unbearable, and he lost all sense of strategy.

    Heshed out with the spear, and the rage fueled his movements. The great, weighty weapon was like a feather in his hands, and it ripped the air with whistling shrieks as he stabbed and <em>hacked</em> the double-edged spear de about. For the first time, he fought like he meant it, and despite his blind fury, he used the weapon¡¯s length to his advantage, bullying the rapier-wielding Qi Pot into a full-blown retreat.

    Qi Pot wasn¡¯t just a fighter, though; he was a man who¡¯d achieved great heights as a cultivator of Energy. He gathered shadows and fire, making himself momentarily ghostly, flickering with dark mes as he streaked around the arena, seeking to find Victor¡¯s nk again. Victor was so fast, so strong, so utterly dominant that Qi Pot had to burn more and more Energy to move outside the arc of the berserker¡¯s enormous reach. He became a specter of ck mes, and his rapier thrusts shot forth like arcs of molten metallic fire that sshed against Victor, charring his bloody clothes but hardly marring the titanic warrior¡¯s flesh.

    Victor began tough¡ªa maniacal, madness-tinged sound that echoed hoarsely through the arena, silencing the crowd as they watched him glide over the sand, a predator closing in for the kill. His eyes zed with molten fire, smoke drifted from his nostrils, and though Qi Pot continued to score magical blows, burning enormous torrents of Energy to stay ahead of Victor¡¯s lightning pursuit, he only empowered the berserker further.The onlookers had been raucous at first, cheering for both warriors at the start of the fight. As Qi Pot bled Victor bit by bit, skillfully dancing in and out, leaving a bloody mark on Victor¡¯s flesh or in yellow tunic with each attack, the crowd had cheered. They¡¯d grown wild with adoration for Qi Pot¡¯s flourishes, and he¡¯d put on quite a show for them, whipping his rapier through the air as he performed mocking bows, his face full of contempt. Now, though, Qi Pot¡¯s confident smile was gone; his movements were precise andcked extraneous flourishes.

    Victor couldn¡¯t savor the destruction of Qi Pot¡¯s morale. He was too busy fantasizing about dismembering him. Red visions of bloody destruction ran through his mind as he pursued the smaller man, and each time those dark, fiery shadowsshed out, the red filter on his vision grew darker, and his muscles surged with renewed strength and speed. He hacked his spear like a club or sword¡ªor axe¡ªand it shrieked through the air, never intended by its maker to be used in such a manner. Still, the force of those hacks was undeniable; the weapon''s length and the absurd power behind the blows made it harder and harder for Qi Pot to avoid, even in his dark, shadowy, fire form. Eventually, it hit home.

    The first hacking blow of Victor¡¯s spear caught Qi Pot at the knee and snipped through his flesh and bone like a cleaver through a carrot. The man could barely scream before a follow-up, backhanded, upward sh brought the side of the spear de into Qi Pot¡¯s armpit, severing his rapier-wielding right arm. After that, Victor dropped the spear and pounced, preferring the feel of flesh and bone crunching under his knuckles, savoring the hot sprays of blood and the coppery taste of victory.

    When the veil walker, Grand Judicator Lohanse, gripped his arm and tried to pull him off, Victor instinctively rolled his wrist, grappling with the man out of pure muscle memory. He wrapped his powerful fingers around the veil walker¡¯s wrist and, to the stunned gasps of thousands of spectators, threw Lohanse to the side so he could resume his bloody destruction of Qi Pot¡¯s corpse. Of course, Lohanse wasn¡¯t a child or a mere mortal to be so easily dismissed. He gathered his aura and let it loose indiscriminately, bringing most of the people in the stands to their knees.

    Victor felt the aura. It was thick and hot like molten iron, with depthless chasms of pride and mountains of knowledge. It pulled and pressed on him like it might fold his molecules into each other and erase him from existence. Even so, a small part of Victor¡¯s mind, a tiny piece of his rational self, recognized that he¡¯d felt worse. With that little kernel of thought in his barely lucid mind, he growled and stood up from the ruined corpse, his fists dripping blood as he looked with furious, bloodshot eyes into the stunned countenance of the veil walker.

    ¡°You will <em>kneel</em>!¡± the grand judicator growled and clenched his fist. Searing bands of lightning-charged Energy wrapped around Victor and hurled him face-first onto the sand. Even influenced by his furious battle momentum, he couldn¡¯t move his arms inside those straps of burning Energy, and as the lightning crackled, he felt the veil walker¡¯s probing Energy in his pathways, grasping the rage-attuned Energy there and ripping it out. As the fury left Victor, his tense, rigid body rxed, and Lohanse released his bonds of electrical force.

    Victor struggled to his hands and knees and was acutely aware of the quiet. The only soundsing down to him from the stands were those of people groaning and grumbling as they returned to their seats and recovered from the veil walker¡¯s show of force. Murmurs turned into hushed whispers as they looked down to the sands where Victor knelt beside the ruined corpse of Qi Pot with Lohanse standing tall over him, arms folded.

    To Victor¡¯s relief, it seemed the veil walker wasn¡¯t one to hold a grudge. ¡°Stand up then, warrior. You¡¯ve won.¡± With a grunt, Victor mbered to his feet. Lohanse raised his voice, holding his arms outstretched. ¡°I give you Victor, Champion of Gloria, the winner of today¡¯s contest!¡± The crowd¡¯s reaction at first was tepid¡ªsome cheers and ps sounded from the stands near Queen Kynna¡¯s boxed section. After a few seconds, though, people began to feel encouraged, and fear of the veil walker¡¯s wrath subsided.

    More and more cheers resounded, and then Lohanse spoke to Victor, his voice easy to hear despite the din. ¡°Well? What prize will you im?¡± He nced at the bloody mass of flesh and bone that used to be Qi Pot soaking into the sands. Victor frowned, suddenly unwilling to im the heart of his demolished foe. His anger was gone, and, it seemed, much of his pride and lust for glory were, too. ncing inward, he saw that this Core was dim. Lohanse had relieved him of more than his rage. Still, he was Quinametzin, and he¡¯d not be so easily cowed.

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    ¡°I will have my enemy¡¯s heart.¡±

    Lohanse sighed, <em>tsking</em>. ¡°As you wish.¡± He raised an arm and announced, his voice booming through the arena, ¡°As his prize, Victor will im the heart of his foe.¡± To Victor¡¯s surprise, the crowd¡¯s cheers surged with the announcement, and he felt the adtion tickling his Core, lifting his levels of glory-attuned Energy. Heughed and raised his hands, making bloody fists as he turned in a slow circle. He saw Kynna leaning forward in her throne-like chair, her hands grasping the arms. Her eyes were bright, and when those eyes locked on Victor¡¯s, she inclined her head slightly, dipping her tall crystal crown.

    That was when the Energy hit him. As he¡¯d been basking in the roars of the crowd, it had gathered around Qi Pot¡¯s corpse, and the System didn¡¯t care if he was ready or not. It struck him like a poleaxe, knocking the sense from his mind and lifting him off the sands as it poured into his pathways, refilling his Core and then spilling into his flesh as it pushed him toward the next level. It felt like a lot, and Victor wasn¡¯t disappointed when he opened his eyes to a System message:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 71 Berserker of Unstoppable Momentum and gained 9 strength, 14 vitality, 9 agility, and 9 dexterity.***</strong>

    ¡°im your grisly trophy, warrior,¡± Lohanse said. ¡°I¡¯ve the nobility of Xan to deal with, but I¡¯d rather you were clear of my arena before I left.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay now, Grand Judicator.¡± Victor nced at him and quickly added, ¡°Thanks for helping me cool off.¡± He knelt by the body of his former adversary, summoning a knife from his ring.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t the first rage-attuned fighter I¡¯ve dealt with. Even so, I¡¯ll wait for you to finish. You¡¯re quite impressive, Victor, and I can see you y a long game with these fools, hopefully with the good of Gloria in mind. Even so, don¡¯t be so enamored with yourself that you fail to realize you aren¡¯t the only special fig on the tree. As your queen works to negotiate further duels, your contests will be more difficult. Have you fought a steel seeker yet?¡±

    He waited until Victor yanked the heart out of the body and looked up to nod before continuing, ¡°I suspected as much. Your will is powerful, and for an iron-ranker, your aura is prodigious. You¡¯ll be formidable when you break through to the steel ranks, but only if you live that long. There are those who will recognize the threat you pose. I¡¯m sure many already have. This window, when you are still fighting your way up to the first ceiling¡ªthis is when they¡¯ll strike. Be wary of ¡®new¡¯ champions in youring battles.¡±

    Victor peered up from where he knelt, locking eyes with the enigmatic veil walker, but the man only nodded once, and then he was gone, like ashes in a stiff breeze. Victor stood, held his bloody prize aloft, smiling fiercely as the crowd roared their approval, and then he walked out of the arena, his mind more troubled by the veil walker¡¯s words than he¡¯d like to admit. He¡¯d gone further than he¡¯d wanted during the fight; no one would see the way he absolutely dominated Qi Pot and think he wasn¡¯t a threat. Worse, he¡¯d stood up to a veil walker, brushing off his aura like it was a minor difort.

    ¡°<em>Pinch¨¦</em> rage,¡± he sighed as he stepped into the ready room and found Bryn already waiting.

    ¡°You lost control of your affinity?¡±

    ¡°Did it seem that way?¡±

    ¡°I could only imagine that was the case. Why else would you risk death with the judicator?¡± She chuckled. ¡°Besides, I just heard you cursing your rage.¡±

    ¡°True,¡± Victorughed. ¡°Was Kynna angry?¡±

    ¡°<em>Queen</em> Kynna was pleased to have her aggressors dealt with! She asked me to see that you are ¡®well treated¡¯ this evening so that you¡¯re ¡®fresh and rxed¡¯ for tomorrow''s award ceremony.¡± Her inflection made it clear that she was quoting Queen Kynna.

    ¡°Award ceremony? I didn¡¯t have one for the first duel.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s aware and asked me to thank you for your patience. Between the celebratory feast and the rapid eptance of Xan¡¯s duel, there wasn¡¯t time.¡±

    Victor frowned, looking toward the closed door behind Bryn. ¡°She sent my escort to tell me all this? I feel a little snubbed if I¡¯m being honest.¡±

    Bryn stared at him for a long moment, then reached up and lifted her helmet off, cradling it in the crook of her left elbow. To Victor¡¯s horror, she fell to her knees and bowed her head. ¡°My apologies, Lord Champion. I have failed to convey our nation¡¯s gratitude properly. I did my best, but surely Chambein Thorn or Queen Kynna, her exalted self, would have been better suited to deliver you home to the pce. I will convey news of my failure to my superior officer, Guard Captain Wash.¡±

    ¡°Damn, Bryn!¡± Victor chuckled nervously. ¡°Will you please get up? I didn¡¯t mean that¡ªI was just curious why they sent you alone this time.¡±

    ¡°In truth, milord,¡± Bryn said, head still bowed, ¡°the Queen was eager to hurry back to the pce ahead of you. She has much to prepare for your celebration tomorrow, which will be difficult to orchestrate considering the city is in the midst of a week-long, debaucheryced festival. When news of this victory reaches the popce, it will be difficult to get anything done.¡± She cleared her throat and nced up at him. ¡°And, with a plea for your discretion, I will venture to say that Chambein Thorn was afraid toe here after seeing your performance in the arena.¡±

    ¡°All right, all right. Get up, will you?¡± Victor walked over to the counter where refreshments were on disy and used the wash basin there to clean the blood from his hands and arms. Bryn approached and, while he was scrubbing, poured a ss of chilled wine.

    ¡°You must be parched.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Have a ss. We¡¯ll head out after I wash my face.¡±

    ¡°I was going to suggest that; it¡¯s caked with dried blood.¡±

    ¡°I can feel it.¡± Victor stoppered the drain and let the ornate faucet, cast in the shape of a swan neck, fill it with cool water. While the water ran, he said, ¡°So, what¡¯s on the agenda tonight? How will you see that I¡¯m, uh, what was it? ¡®Fresh and rxed¡¯ tomorrow?¡± He nced at Bryn and saw that his attempt at humor had struck a little too close to home; her cheeks were flushed, and she was trying not to look at him. Hastily, he said, ¡°I think a big dinner and some good booze will suit me just fine. Maybe you could invite the old champion. What was his name? Foster? I wouldn¡¯t mind having someone to shoot the breeze with before I hit the sack.¡±

    Bryn¡¯s relief was palpable. Victor could only imagine what she feared he¡¯d ask for. ¡°I think that should be easy enough to arrange! I thought perhaps you¡¯d enjoy a bath and massage¡ªwe have a very skilled Elemental Therapist at the pce. I was awarded a session when I was promoted, and it was the most wonderful experience I¡¯ve ever had.¡±

    ¡°Sec.¡± Victor dunked his head in the basin and scrubbed his hair and face vigorously for several seconds before lifting it out. The water was deep red. ¡°I think a bath would be great, and, shit, yes, I¡¯d like a massage.¡± He grabbed a towel, dried his face, and gestured to the door. ¡°Shall we?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Bryn lifted her helmet to her head, then led the way down the corridor to the portal room. ¡°I enjoyed watching your fight tonight, Victor. I could tell some of the others were worried at the start, but I could see you weren¡¯t bothered much by the wounds Qi Pot delivered. He chose the wrong sort of weapon to face one such as you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor looked sideways at her. ¡°What kind of weapon do you think would be better?¡±

    ¡°Ideally? Something that would be harder to heal from. A projectile weapon, perhaps. A powerful bow¡ªan artifact that could generate its ammunition, for instance. If the bolts or arrows were driven deeply and difficult to remove, surely they¡¯d take a toll, even against someone with your constitution.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Yeah, I don¡¯t love arrows. What other ideas do you have?¡±

    ¡°Anything other than a dagger or rapier!¡± She snorted. ¡°Perhaps a great de, though everyone saw how you dealt with Obert¡¯s sword. If not a weapon, then perhaps devastating Energy attacks. I think you¡¯d need to take great damage quickly¡ªI can¡¯t see how anyone could win by trying to wear you down inch-by-inch.¡± She sounded excited to be given leave to discuss strategy, and Victor nodded, encouraging her. ¡°Can you tell me, Victor, how you could bleed so much and still fight? Is it your bloodline?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll share some secrets with you, Bryn, but not yet. Let¡¯s get through the next couple of days, find out who I¡¯m fighting next, and then maybe we can talk strategy. Would you like that?¡±

    ¡°Very much, sir! I think you¡¯ll like Foster, too. He knows a great deal about the empire and the many men and women who fight as champions.¡±

    Victor pped her shoulder as they entered the portal room. ¡°That¡¯s great, Bryn. You¡¯ll join us, of course. Bring a friend, if you want. I mean, you can put that together while I¡¯m getting that massage, yeah?¡±

    She stared at him with wide eyes. ¡°I, um, of course, I¡¯ll be on duty, sir. I¡¯ll be d to watch over you during your dinner with¡ª¡±

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll protect myself tonight, Bryn. Seriously, bring a friend or two. Heck, are you married? Bring your, uh, significant other¡ªwhoever you want. We¡¯ll have the meal in my quarters, then sit around and talk about fighting. Yeah, I guess whoever you invite should be interested in that.¡± Victor nodded, gave her shoulder another p, then stepped through the portal.

    She joined him on the other side of the portal and, as though they hadn¡¯t just traveled thousands of miles, said, ¡°I¡¯ll have the Elemental Therapist sent to your rooms, sir. In the meantime, I¡¯ll begin making the arrangements for the dinner.¡± After a moment, she added, ¡°Thank you for the invitation.¡±

    Victor smiled, ignoring the other guards in the chamber as he regarded her. ¡°That wasn¡¯t so hard, was it? Go ahead and get started on all that. I can make it to my quarters.¡± She bowed, and Victor left, grinning stupidly. In a way, he was messing with her; he had a good time putting people off bnce, and he thought Bryn was kind of funny when she got flustered. Still, he wanted to make some new friends, and he thought she was pretty cool.

    As he strode through the pce, heading for his rooms, he couldn¡¯t help but feel good, despite a distant, niggling worry about the veil walker¡¯s words. It only made sense that powerful people were watching the duels. There were tens of thousands of people in those stands; Gloria¡¯s upset victories were sure to draw attention. When he talked Kynna into challenging some neighbors, life was going to get¡­<em>dangerous</em>. He was ready for it, and as far as scheming steel seekers might go, Victor figured he¡¯d just have to stay a step ahead.

 Book 9: Chapter 19: The Road Ahead

    Victor walked through the remnants of his impromptu, celebratory get-together, idly counting the empty liquor bottles on his way to the balcony doors. He stopped at thirteen, shaking his head and chuckling. Foster, Bryn, and her two friends from the pce guard were all above tier eight, and they hadn¡¯t struggled in the least to clean out Victor¡¯s liquor cab. He pulled the doors wide, letting in the fresh,te-morning air, then stepped out, turning his face to the sun, soaking it up. He felt remarkably good.

    Bryn hadn¡¯t been lying about the ¡°Elemental Therapist.¡± The fellow had used water and fire affinities to do incredible things to Victor¡¯s muscles. Besides his ability to chill and warm his tendons and muscles from the inside out, the man had been a skilled masseur, something Victor couldn¡¯t remember ever experiencing, at least not for a long, dedicated session like that.

    He stretched, arching his back, then patted his stomach, not surprised to find it still satisfied after the food and drink he¡¯d consumedte into the night. Bryn had arranged quite a feast, and though Victor could recall enjoying thepany of her friends, he honestly couldn¡¯t remember much about the conversations they¡¯d had. ¡°Now, though, it¡¯s time to get to work.¡± With a sigh, he turned away from the sun and walked to his door. When he opened it, he didn¡¯t find Bryn, but one of herrades.

    ¡°Good morning, sir.¡±

    ¡°Good morning. Will you advise the queen that I¡¯d like to meet with her at her earliest convenience?¡±

    ¡°Right away, sir!¡± The young man mmed his fist to his chest and took off at a jog, his te armor nking with each stride. Victor closed the door and spent the next few minutes getting ready for the day¡ªshowering, shaving, cleaning his teeth, and putting on the perfectly clean clothes that he wore almost every day.

    While he waited for word from the queen, Victor pulled some of his study materials out of his storage ring and stacked them on the small round table in the central parlor of his suite. He nned to do a little more research into Elder magic, and along with it, he intended to mess around with one or two of his older, lesser-utilized spells. It had been many months¡ªyears?¡ªsince he¡¯d figured out how to create weaves of his affinities that produced justice-attuned Energy. He¡¯d even discovered a powerful spell to use with it, The Inevitable Huntsman, but he''d so rarely had asion to invoke the magic that he wondered if he couldn¡¯t improve or alter it somehow.

    He had beautiful,rge, thick sheets of paper that he¡¯d gotten from Dar for writing out spell patterns, and he¡¯d just taken one out and begun to delicately sketch the pattern for the huntsman spell when there was a tap on his door. ¡°Come in,¡± he called.

    He had his back to the door, but he heard it open, gliding near silently on its well-oiled hinges, and then a strident voice startled him into nearly dropping his pen, ¡°Her Majesty, Queen Kynna Dar!¡±Victor spun in his chair to see Kynna gliding into his quarters, the jewels sewn into her dazzling pale gray and blue gown glittering in the light from the floor-to-ceiling windows. Her crown nearly brushed the lintel, but the pce had been designed with massive statures in mind, and it missed it by an inch or so. Mortified by the state of his quarters and ill-prepared state, Victor jumped to his feet and sketched out a hasty bow.

    The queen smiled at him, then turned to the man holding the door. ¡°Thank you, Seneschal Lovalle. Please wait without.¡± The slender, neatly coiffed man stooped into a low bow and swept out of the room, closing the door behind him. ¡°Good morning, Champion.¡±

    ¡°Um, good morning, My Queen.¡± Victor straightened and gestured to the empty seat to the right of his own. ¡°Would you care to sit?¡± The truth was, he was trying to get her to look his way before her gaze lingered on the mess in the sitting area near the windows.

    It seemed it was toote, in any case. As she glided into the suite and approached the table where Victor was working, the queen said, ¡°I¡¯ll have Thorn speak to your housekeeping staff. This is no fit state for a royal champion¡¯s chambers.¡±

    ¡°Um, no, Your Majesty, please don¡¯t. I asked them toe backter. I, uh, didn¡¯t know I¡¯d have a guest.¡±

    Kynna froze halfway to the table, staring at him with a nk expression. Her eyes weren¡¯t particrly bright, generally, not like Dar¡¯s, but at that moment, they were hardly glowing¡ªalmost like they were veiled by mist. It made Victor wonder about the nature of the eyes themselves. Were there actual fires burning in the sockets? Were the mes inside a transparent shell of something¡­keratin? ¡°Did you not summon me?¡±

    ¡°I, uh, sent my guard to let you know that I wanted <em>you</em> to summon <em>me</em> whenever it was convenient.¡±

    Kynna started forward again, shaking her head and <em>tsking</em>. ¡°Perhaps the young man was overzealous. No matter. I¡¯m here. What can I help you with, Victor?¡± She sat down, gracefully folding one leg over the other as she turned the chair to look at him more easily.

    ¡°Um, do you want a refreshment?¡± Victor prayed she¡¯d say no. He had no idea what was appropriate to serve a queen.

    ¡°No, thank you.¡±

    ¡°Right, well, I wanted to talk to you about our strategy moving forward. I mean, now that your immediate threat has been dealt with, we¡¯ll need to start implementing Dar¡¯s ns.¡±

    ¡°Ranish Dar? What further ns are there? I assumed you¡¯d linger here a while, ensuring no further encroachments, but I have a new cadre of champions now that we¡¯ve conquered Xan and Frostmarch; I don¡¯t think you should feel bound to further service.¡± She spoke inly and seemed so oblivious that Victor had to lean back in his chair and think for a moment. Hadn¡¯t he said he was there to help Gloria rise to¡­glory? He strained his brain, trying to think of his words when he¡¯d first met the queen.

    ¡°My Queen, has Ranish Dar not conveyed his further wishes for my, uh, service to you? Didn¡¯t I make it clear why I was here when I presented you with my spear?¡±

    ¡°You said that the time hade for my house to ascend to its rightful ce of prominence on Ruhn.¡± She spread her hands and gave a slight, elegant shrug. ¡°Both Xan and Frostmarch had recently conquered one of our other neighbors. With your two victories, we now sit at the head of a five-kingdom hegemony¡ªmore power than Gloria has held in twelve centuries.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Victor nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a good start.¡±

    ¡°Start?¡± Kynna raised a delicately feathered ck brow, and Victor thought he saw the fire in her eyes grow brighter.

    ¡°Yeah. Ranish Dar believes it¡¯s time for a new empire to rule Ruhn, and, naturally, he wants his descendants to be in charge.¡±

    Both of Kynna¡¯s brows shot up, and her eyes widened further as she leaned forward and hissed, ¡°He wants me to initiate a war of session?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡ªinitiate and win.¡±

    She reached up to her crown and tapped a nail against the crystal. A chime rang out, reverberating as a pale blue dome of Energy surrounded Victor, Kynna, and the table where they sat. ¡°Such words will bring imperial assassins!¡±

    ¡°You think spies are listening?¡± Victor scowled and looked around his room.

    ¡°When such words are spoken, one must always assume! Victor, what you suggest is insanity. Do you understand what such an action entails?¡±

    ¡°I have some idea, yeah. Your ancestor schooled me a bit before he sent me here. Still, let¡¯s review. What do <em>you</em> think it entails?¡±

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    ¡°Even at the head of five nations, Gloria amounts to less than a tenth of the power of one of the great houses, of which there are seven. They all rule hegemonies of at least five major nations on the eastern continent. Consider that Khaliday, the imperial seat, is equal to any three of the great houses. Now, consider that, in order to challenge Khaliday, we¡¯d need to conquer one of the great houses and to challenge a great house, we¡¯d need to fight our way through dozens of lesser kingdoms here, on the western continent.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, actually, that sounds a little better than I¡¯d feared. So, we¡¯d snap up five or more nations by beating a great house? On top of that, once you rule a great house, you can challenge the emperor directly?¡±

    Kynna stared at him like he¡¯d grown a second head. ¡°Victor, the champions of Frostmarch and Xan were formidable by the standards of far-flung western kingdoms, but they were childrenpared to the veritable demigods who fight for the great houses.¡±

    Victor nodded slowly. ¡°I know. I know we¡¯ve got a ways to go before we challenge a great house, too, but we need to start making moves that way. We need to start strategizing about which kingdoms here, on the Western continent, will most easily be bullied or tricked into a duel. Which kingdoms will bend the knee? We need to build momentum quickly to make it harder for the great houses to prepare and to minimize the time they have to try things like assassination.¡±

    The queen stared at him for a long time, and he could only imagine the wheels turning in her head. If Victor left, she¡¯d have a very real chance to spend centuries in peace, ruler of a powerful mini-empire. If she went along with Dar¡¯s idea that she should try to conquer the entire, in her mind, she would be walking a path where defeat wasn¡¯t just possible but <em>likely</em>, especially considering what she thought she knew of Victor¡¯s capabilities. ¡°Are you in contact with my ancestor?¡±

    ¡°I am.¡±

    ¡°Then I must choose my words carefully, mustn¡¯t I?¡± She shook her head; whether it was at Victor or her own words, he couldn¡¯t tell. ¡°I didn¡¯t bargain for this when I appealed to Ranish Dar for help. You speak blithely, but there will be no peaceful resolution for a nation that instigates a session war¡ªeither we win, or the emperor will wipe out my bloodline. Of course, you bear the same risk as a champion, at least personally, but tell me, are you also putting your loved ones at risk?¡±

    Victor had to admit she made a good point. It was one thing to risk yourself, but to risk your entire family, from your children to your distant cousins, was another matter. ¡°I understand your concern.¡±

    ¡°I must think on this. I know I risk my ancestor¡¯s wrath, but¡­¡± She trailed off, shaking her head. ¡°I must seek the counsel of people I trust, Victor. Tell me one thing: did you truly hold back so much against Obert and Qi Pot, or are you mad? I do not lie when I say that Obert would never dream of challenging one of the champions of the great houses.¡±

    ¡°I might be crazy, Queen Kynna, but I¡¯m not here for any reason other than I need some tough <em>pendejos</em> to fight. If Dar just wanted to beat the guys putting pressure on your family, he could have found someone in Sojourn to do the job. I¡¯m here for the guys no one else wants to fight.¡± Victor shrugged as if that was all he had to say.

    She <em>tsked</em>. ¡°Such pride! Do you not fear death?¡±

    Victor sighed and leaned back, drumming his fingers on the arms of his chair while he thought about how to answer the question. ¡°I have a Spirit Core. You know that, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I can discern that much.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve seen the other side. I¡¯ve seen spirits and even spoken to a loved one after she passed. I¡¯ve had my ancestors talk to me while I fight. They¡¯ve even offered me boons. I don¡¯t view death as the end anymore. I might once have worried about dying, worried I¡¯d leave things unfinished in this world, but that worry has changed. Now, I worry I won¡¯t do enough in this life to earn a proper ce among my ancestors.

    ¡°I¡¯m a fighter, Queen Kynna¡ªit¡¯s pretty much the only damn thing I have a hope of being <em>excellent</em> at. I won¡¯t earn glory for my ancestors by choosing easy battles.¡± Victor leaned forward, his eyes intense beneath the glower of his dark, heavy brow. ¡°I <em>need</em> you to start this war because I don¡¯t see another easy way to get a fight with those <em>pendejos</em> on the eastern continent.¡± For the first time, Victor let his aura slip a little in the queen¡¯s presence, giving her a taste of the heat and weight of it, the bloody taste and sharp edge, the hunger for glory tinged with the stomach-turning scent of fear and the blood-boiling fury of the mountain.

    She leaned back, and her pale gray skin paled further as she visibly swallowed. She nced toward the door as though weighing her odds at making a hasty retreat. Victor only let his aura ripple out for a second, though, and when it passed, it was like the room grew brighter. Kynna cleared her throat and nodded. ¡°I have much to think on. Please dy your next message to my ancestor until we¡¯ve spoken again.¡±

    ¡°I will.¡± As she stood and started for the door, Victor stood. ¡°My Queen?¡± When she turned, he held his massive ck spear in his hands. To her credit, Kynna didn¡¯t flinch. ¡°I promised you this spear and swore to use it to vanquish the hounds on your borders. Will you take it now?¡± Victor fell to a knee and held the spear out.

    Kynna took a quick breath, and he could tell she¡¯d had words on her tongue that she halted just before they escaped. After a moment¡¯s consideration, she reached out, rested her fingertips on the sturdy weapon, and nodded. ¡°I will. My thanks, Champion of Gloria.¡± As she finished the words, the spear disappeared, summoned into a storage container, no doubt. ¡°I look forward to your award ceremony this evening, Victor. Will you wear a proper uniform if I have one sent here?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Victor nodded as he stood, then walked over to the door, pulling it open for her. ¡°Thank you foring to see me so quickly. I didn¡¯t expect such a courtesy.¡±

    Kynna seemed to appreciate the chance to retake the upper hand. She smiled crookedly and nced toward the mess in the sitting area. ¡°I can see that.¡± Victor wanted to deny having drunk all those bottles of alcohol, but he just nodded with a slightly chagrined smile. And Kynna stepped through the door. Over her shoulder, as her entourage formed around her, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll have that uniform sent over soon. See you tonight, Champion Victor.¡±

    ¡°Tonight, Your Majesty.¡± Victor watched the group of guards,dies in waiting, and officials make their way down the hallway, wondering what they all did while they waited outside a door for their queen. Returning to his chambers, he retrieved Arona¡¯s phctery from his storage ring.

    Her spirit rapidly materialized as he moved over to his sitting area to gather up the many empty bottles, dirty tes, and soiled linen napkins. He stacked them on the oversized ottoman that ran the length of the central couch, and Arona drifted over. ¡°I see you survived your duel.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Sorry I didn¡¯t summon you right away, but I had to¡­<em>entertain</em>st night.¡± He gestured to the mess. ¡°I was just going to leave it for the cleaning staff, but now I feel guilty; I had a pop-in visit from the queen.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Arona moved to ¡°sit¡± on the couch, even though she didn¡¯t really touch it.

    ¡°Yeah. She was slightly more clueless about Dar¡¯s ns for Gloria than I expected. I suppose I should be irritated with Dar for leaving me to break the news, but I guess it¡¯s on me, too, for assuming. Anyway, how¡¯d it go with Trobban? When I got back, your phctery was on the table, but I didn¡¯t see any notes or anything.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I missed you. I was exhausted¡ªkeeping myself outside the phctery takes much effort. As for Trobban, he¡¯s quite knowledgeable, but for each idea he has, he insists he¡¯s seen another dozen in texts he¡¯s read, so he wanted to do some research before devising a final n for theponents of my vessel.¡±

    ¡°And you? I didn¡¯t get to speak to you without him listening. How do you feel about everything?¡± Victor couldn¡¯t help imagining a robot or a Frankenstein¡¯s monster when he thought of a ¡°vessel¡± being created for her. He hoped it wouldn¡¯t be like that, but what did he know?

    ¡°I¡¯m excited but apprehensive. Trobban believes there are natural treasures that can be used to form a Core, one that will absorb the Energy I¡¯ve built up in this phctery so that it will gain ranks nearly equivalent to what I had in life. He insists that he¡¯s read ounts of people¡¯s affinities changing when they adopted such a Core. In his opinion, it won¡¯t be difficult to change my affinity, but rather a byproduct that would be more difficult to avoid.¡±

    Victor plopped down on the couch. ¡°I mean, that¡¯s good news, right?¡±

    Arona¡¯s ghostly face brightened as she smiled, and her raspy voice smoothed out slightly as she replied, ¡°It¡¯s wonderful news. Wouldn¡¯t it be grand to grow strong enough to face the likes of Vesavo? I¡¯d so love to confront him about the torture he put me through¡ªabout the horrors he¡¯smitted on various worlds.¡±

    Victor nodded, smiling grimly. He could rte to the sentiment. ¡°I know what it¡¯s like to want to force powerful people to confront their bullshit, but let''s not get ahead of ourselves. Even Dar is leery of insulting Vesavo.¡±

    ¡°True. Still, if I could drink, I¡¯d toast to our future goals. I¡¯m d I met you, Victor. I wonder where I¡¯d be right now if I hadn¡¯t¡ªserving Ronkerz? No, I don¡¯t think that foolish mission into the Iron Prison would have happened if you weren¡¯t around. I¡¯d be ving away on some horrid project for Vesavo, likely dreading his next summons.¡± She surprised him by visibly shuddering. It made Victor chuckle as he tilted his head, looking at her sideways.

    ¡°It¡¯s crazy how your spirit-form mimics how you were in life. Even your voice¡ªraspy and low. Do you think your new body will change you much?¡±

    She smiled, exposing her sharp canines. ¡°It depends on how talented Trobban is. I¡¯ve seen constructs that looked just like living, breathing people. The artifacts and natural treasures he¡¯s researching will y a part. I¡¯m <em>excited</em>, Victor!¡± She leaned forward as the truth of her emotions came out.

    Victorughed and nodded, smacking his fist into his hand. ¡°Me too, Arona. I mean for you, but also me. When I look down the road ahead, the various crossroads and one-way turns, I see some that lead to victory and some that lead to death, but almost all of them lead to glory.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 20: A Gilded Cage

    Victor stood in the wings of the stage, waiting for his name to be called. He shifted, strangely nervous about being the center of attention in such a stolid, formal ceremony. Victor <em>liked</em> attention, but he was far more at ease giving an impromptu speech or, if truth be told, fighting in front of arge crowd. He didn¡¯t like the idea that he was expected to dress and act a certain way. In his mind, it was almost like a wedding ceremony or, more to his experience, a confirmation.

    He was dressed in his new official uniform¡ªsimr to the guards¡¯ uniforms, only fancier, made of some kind of silky, Energy-rich material with a subtle inner luster. Even the dark gray pants, boot-cut to amodate his polished, shiny ck boots, seemed to gleam in the darkness of the shadows where he stood. Tucked into the pants was a gray, form-fitting, long-sleeved shirt, over which he wore a royal blue uniform coat emzoned with a brilliant yellow rose on the breast. The jacket was festooned with gilt embroidery along the sleeves and on the edges of the high cor. He felt he looked all right but really wasn¡¯t a fan of the getup.

    He fidgeted, Kynna¡¯s voice echoing back to him as it was projected out to the audience¡ªthousands of nobles and ten times as manymoners who¡¯d won a ¡°lottery¡± for tickets. Kynna was going on about the tribtions they all had suffered through together, about how the foes of Gloria had been given justice for their crimes, and how Gloria was rising as a nation of import on the western continent of Ruhn. Overall, she was whipping up the people¡¯s pride, invoking past greatness and hinting at future growth and influence.

    Only about half a day had passed since he¡¯d spoken to the queen, so Victor didn¡¯t view it as strange that he hadn¡¯t heard from her one way or the other about proceeding with Dar¡¯s ns for a session war. He figured she had a lot of thinking to do and would probably want to speak in seclusion with a few people she trusted. The prospect of war was a big deal, and he could see why she wouldn¡¯t want to do it, but he also understood the implied threat¡ªDar had sent him, and if Victor returned early, what might a powerful, deity-like ancestor do? Despite everything he knew about Dar, Victor still wasn¡¯t sure about the man¡¯s motivations. He didn¡¯t <em>think</em> he¡¯d punish Kynna, but what if he pressed the issue?

    As Kynna¡¯s speech rose to a crescendo and the audience¡¯s reactions grew louder, he contemted helping Kynna get out of the situation. All he had to do was im that he felt victory wasn¡¯t likely and didn¡¯t want to risk his life to challenge further champions. Dar had given him that out; he¡¯d said something along the lines of this ¡°campaign¡±sting only as long as Victor thought it should¡ªthat he could withdraw when he felt victory wasn¡¯t achievable. If Victor left now, Kynna¡¯s people would be safe for a long while¡ªdecades or centuries¡ªand he¡¯d have done something great. Why did he feel like that wasn¡¯t enough?

    He supposed part of it was that he knew he¡¯d be lying and that Dar would see through it. Victor was not worried about his next fight, regardless of who it would be against. He and Kynna had a lot of work to do before they could challenge a great house, at which time Victor might feel his first genuine fear of defeat. Was he being cocky? Sure, he was, but that was his nature. He¡¯d been that way before he¡¯d woken up his Quinametzin bloodline, before he¡¯d walked with the righteous fury of an awakened mountain, and before he¡¯d embraced his affinity for glory. Now, the idea of backing down from a challenge such as the one posed by a session war felt almost as unnatural as trying to breathe water.

    ¡°That¡¯s your cue, milord,¡± the retainer holding the dark wing curtains aside said, startling Victor out of his ruminations.

    ¡°She announced me?¡± How had he missed that?

    ¡°Aye, milord,¡± the young man said, smiling and ducking his head. Victor cleared his throat, straightened his shoulders, and marched through the gap in the curtain. The stage was bright, illuminated by brilliant glowmps high above, and the audience was thrown into shadows as a result. Still, with his Quinametzin eyes, he could see them¡ªthousands and thousands of faces staring, silent in their rapt attention. He shifted his gaze to the center of the stage where Queen Kynna stood, glorious in her jeweled gown, her crown glittering with the inner fire of whatever great magic it contained.She beckoned him toe forward, and he did. When he stood before her, she looked to the audience and, in a voice that carried as though amplified by a hundred hidden speakers, she said, ¡°People of Gloria, I present to you our champion, Victor of Tucson.¡±

    The apuse and cheers were thunderous, and Victor felt his heartbeat quicken under the focus of so many cheering folks. His Core surged with glory-attuned Energy, which leaked into his pathways. Unable to restrain himself, he lifted a fist high, and the crowd redoubled their cheers. It was deafening.

    Queen Kynna delicately raised her right hand, and the assembly hall grew silent almost instantly. ¡°Champion, for your victory over Obert and the kingdom of Frostmarch, I present to you one of the most valuable treasures recovered from the vaults of our foe.¡± She held out both hands, cupped together, and a glittering, gem-studded, gold-foil package appeared there, about the size and shape of arge orange. Victor could hear the collective intake of breath as the gems picked up the lights and sparkled, creating a dazzling disy that seemed almost like illusory fireworks around Kynna and Victor.

    ¡°This beautiful package contains the egg of a creature of myth here on Ruhn, a Coldwater Sea Wyrm.¡± Again, the audience collectively gasped, and a single strident voice cried out, sounding more dismayed than excited. ¡°You can hear from our citizens¡¯ reaction, Victor, that this is a treasure dear to the people of Ruhn, for Coldwater Sea Wyrms have not been seen in our seas for nearly a thousand years. You see, their eggs are known to wake the secrets in a person¡¯s blood, sometimes bringing forthtent attributes but always advancing a person¡¯s racial status.¡±

    Kynna paused for a moment, then turned and held the egg high, greatly expanding the size of the mystical light show it projected. ¡°Do any of the fine people of Gloria begrudge our champion this prize? Is there any more worthy?¡± The response was silence, though Victor swore he heard people weeping. Kynna turned back to Victor and proffered the egg. ¡°Will you ept this gift, Champion?¡±

    Despite a small surge of guilt, a tiny voice in his mind that couldn¡¯t believe he was going to receive something so treasured by these people after only being there a few days, Victor saw the egg for what it was: the whole reason he¡¯de to Ruhn¡ªadvancement. ¡°I will.¡± He held out a broad palm, and the queen gently ced the egg in the center of it. Victor held the egg carefully but lifted it high, turning to face the enormous crowd. ¡°Thank you, people of Ruhn!¡± His voice carried, just as the queen¡¯s had, and the crowd once again erupted in cheers.

    The queen allowed the cheers to go on for a moment, smiling at Victor with her hands delicately folded before herself. ¡°Nicely done, Victor. Please store away your prize, and then, if you would, please kneel before me.¡± Her voice didn¡¯t carry this time, but Victor heard it clearly. He sent the egg into his storage ring, then looked at the queen.

    ¡°Kneel?¡±

    ¡°Please, Champion. I will award you your second prize.¡±

    Victor hated to kneel, especially with an audience, but he¡¯d already done so to Kynna several times, so it seemed strange to balk. He nodded, then, smooth as a panther might crouch in the tall grass, he lowered himself to one knee. Queen Kynna held up her hand again, and the audience grew so silent that Victor could hear her quick, shallow breaths. Was she nervous?

    ¡°People of Gloria, today we stand free, our chains shattered and thrown to the side, and our future bright with the potential for true glory¡ªa virtue for which our great nation was named! This turn of events is thanks to the valor of one man, a man who, until now, had no ties to our world. He served my ancestor, the great Ranish Dar, but he was a stranger to us, a visitor. Nevertheless, he came and fought not only the champion of Frostmarch but that of Xan. In the face of overwhelming odds, he struck down our enemies and lifted the grip of their cruel blockades. Today, Gloria breathes again, thanks to his courage.¡±

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.

    Kynna paused, allowing the audience to absorb the impact of her words, then turned and faced Victor fully. ¡°For such heroism, words are not enough. Treasures are not enough. Deeds of such magnitude deserve deeds in return. Thus, Victor of Tucson, I bestow upon you not only our nation¡¯s eternal gratitude but also something far greater.¡±

    The queen turned back to the audience, spreading her arms for effect. ¡°From this day forward, Victor shall be named Duke of Gloria, a title that carries with it the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that few have known. With that title, he shall take possession of the richestnds in all of Xan¡ªthe Duchy of Iron Mountain.¡± For the first time, the crowd wasn¡¯t silent or cheering deafeningly; they murmured, a buzz of surprised reactions to the promation.

    Kynna turned to look Victor in the eyes again. ¡°The estate and all its wealth are now yours, including the stewardship of its people. As Duke, you shall oversee the noble Haveshi Family, Qi Pot¡¯s surviving kin, and see to their well-being and livelihood as a testament to your honor.¡± Her tone grew soft, though her words were still carried out to the audience, ¡°Thesends will prosper under your care, just as our nation has thrived under your strength. Let this be a bond between us, Victor¡ªa stake in the future of Gloria and a reminder that the freedom you fought for is now tied to you. The people you are responsible for will flourish or fail depending on our great nation''s course in theing years.¡±

    As the crowd buzzed, and Victor frowned, absorbing the import of the queen¡¯s words, one man¡¯s voice cried out, rising above the general mor, ¡°Who will be champion?¡±

    The queen smiled and turned. Again, she spread her arms gracefully. ¡°Rest assured, dear people, that Victor, Duke of Gloria, will remain our champion as long as he so desires. The offices of Duke and that of Royal Champion are not mutually exclusive.¡± She turned back to Victor. ¡°Rise, Victor, Duke of Iron Mountain, Champion of Gloria. Rise and greet the people of your nation.¡±

    Still frowning, well aware of the snare Kynna had just tightened around his ankle, Victor stood and turned to face the crowd. When he didn¡¯t speak, and the crowd¡¯s murmurs turned into a hush, Kynna cleared her throat. ¡°Fear not the glower on our champion¡¯s face¡ªhe¡¯s a fearsome man; how else would he defend us? Now, feed his lust for glory, Gloria! Cheer your new duke! Cheer your <em>champion</em>!¡±

    Once again, the crowd erupted in thunderous apuse, and Victor, ever ve to his pride and hunger for glory, couldn¡¯t help grinning fiercely as he held his hands above his head. He wanted to summon Lifedrinker, to let her bask in the glorious attention, but he knew better; his axe was still a secret on that world. Still, he pumped his fists in the air, pacing back and forth. After the crowd¡¯s enthusiasm refused to wane for several long seconds, he began to shout, bellowing into the air, roaring as his Core swelled with the glory-attuned Energy that found its way into his pathways.

    After nearly a minute of that, Kynna used whatever uncanny ability she had to silence the crowd, and Victor calmed himself, lowering his fists and heaving for breath as he turned to regard the queen. ¡°I¡¯m pleased that our champion is so fierce and that you love him so, Gloria. Now, please follow your ushers¡¯ instructions as you safely exit the hall¡ªit¡¯s time for you to return to the festivities! I¡¯m extending the national holiday for another week!¡±

    Victor was saved from further bouts of cheering as the heavy, midnight-blue curtain dropped from the rigging in the loft to conceal the stage. Alone on the stage with the queen, Victor glowered at her. ¡°I know what you¡¯re doing.¡±

    ¡°Of course you do, Champion. You¡¯re an intelligent man.¡± She looked like she¡¯d say more, but a dozen attendants had rushed the stage, and they were no longer alone. ¡°Let us speak soon? I¡¯m sure you¡¯re curious about your new holdings and how they might affect the¡­course of our diplomacy.¡±

    Victor stepped close and spoke as inly as he could without providing fodder to the many spies, no doubt listening to them, ¡°I know how I want things to go. You know how Dar wants them to go. I don¡¯t think my new connections to your world will change much. Still, yes, My Queen, let us speak soon. I¡¯d like to review how my role will y out now that I have a great duchy to manage.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. Tomorrow?¡±

    Victor forced a smile. ¡°If it pleases you.¡±

    She shooed away ady trying to help her doff the long, jeweled gloves she¡¯d worn for the ceremony. ¡°Unless you intend to consume the egg, that is. The literature all says that a person who eats one is likely to be incapacitated for upwards of a week.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll wait until we¡¯ve spoken.¡±

    ¡°Very well. Congrattions, Duke Victor¡­What was your surname? I know I¡¯ve been told-¡ª¡±

    ¡°Sandoval.¡±

    ¡°Duke Sandoval, then. It has a nice ring. Until tomorrow.¡± With that, she allowed her attendants to sweep her off the stage, and Victor was left standing in the gloom behind the dark curtains.

    He pulled off the fancy jacket, sent it to storage, then stomped out of the enormous assembly hall, using the side exit where he¡¯d been let in a couple of hours earlier. Of course, Bryn saw him as soon as he came through the door into the cool night air and hurried forward. ¡°Your coach is ready, sir.¡±

    ¡°Too much to ask that we walk?¡±

    ¡°The streets are crowded, especially around the hall¡ªthey¡¯re still releasing the audience.¡± She hesitated a moment, then added, ¡°I heard the news. Congrattions on your elevation.¡±

    ¡°Elevation?¡±

    ¡°To the noble ss. The Duchy of Iron Mountain is well known, even here in Gloria. There are stories about thosends¡ªyour wealth, in property alone, is now second only to the royal family.¡±

    ¡°A pretty trap,¡± Victor sighed, walking toward the bulbous, living-wood coach that had earlier delivered him.

    ¡°A trap?¡±

    Victor ignored her until they were inside the plush leather interior of the coach, and he felt it gently lifting into the air. ¡°Kynna wants me to have something more to lose than just my life.¡± He frowned, and Bryn stared into space, perhaps trying to make sense of the statement. ¡°What¡¯s the deal with the Haveshi family? Why am I in charge of Qi Pot¡¯s kin?¡±

    ¡°Because he was a duke, and there was no use in the terms of the duel requiring his family to be in or banished with his death. Queen Kynna is now the de facto ruler of Xan, so she can grant the various holdings of that Kingdom to people she views as loyal. Having given you Iron Mountain, Qi Pot¡¯s heirs will be stripped of their inheritance and most of their wealth. She¡¯s making you the honorary patron to their n.¡±

    ¡°Was his full name Qi Pot Haveshi, then?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m unsure.¡± Bryn shrugged, making her armor nk. ¡°I¡¯ve only ever heard him called Qi Pot. Perhaps it''s an assumed name or a title he earned with one exploit or another.¡±

    ¡°Goddammit,¡± Victor sighed, viciously scratching the sides of his head with his nails.

    ¡°What¡¯s¡ª¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the second time I¡¯ve been given responsibility for the survivors of someone I¡¯ve killed in a duel. It¡¯s bullshit. The first time was just a single girl¡ªnow I have a whole n to look after? And how many will try to kill me in my sleep? I doubt they¡¯re all children, right?¡±

    ¡°That would be suicide for them. Their futures are now tied to yours. With your demise, they will be at the queen''s mercy, or should you die in a duel, whatever ruler seizes the queen¡¯s power andnds.¡±

    ¡°And?¡±

    ¡°And most rulers would simply banish them to avoid trouble.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Banish or kill.¡±

    ¡°So, are they expecting that now?¡±

    ¡°Possibly. Queen Kynna is known to be kind, so they likely aren¡¯t afraid they¡¯ll be executed. However, banishment is surely on their minds. Keep in mind that while you are irritated by this turn of events, the Haveshi are only one noble family the queen has to sort out among dozens¡ªnay, hundreds. She will have a very busy few months consolidating her grasp of the politicalndscape in her new hegemony.¡±

    Victor¡¯s stomach rumbled, and he frowned, leaning back and thinking. He was irritated, but Bryn had made a good point; Queen Kynna had a big headache on her hands, and if Victor and Dar got their way, things would only get moreplicated for her. He wasining about being responsible for the fate of a single family and a single¡ªalbeit apparentlyrge¡ªduchy. At first, he thought she was just trying to tie him to something on Ruhn, and he felt like that was still true, but he also thought she might be trying to give him a glimpse into theplexity of taking on the rulership of an entire empire.

    There were millions of people living on Ruhn. Millions of lives would be impacted by a session war. Just because the nations of Ruhn didn¡¯t fight openly with armies didn¡¯t mean people wouldn¡¯t die. It didn¡¯t mean that people wouldn¡¯t be forced from their homes. It was a lot to think about. His stomach rumbled again, and Bryn cleared her throat.

    ¡°Dinner, sir?¡±

    Victor shook his head. ¡°I have something I¡¯ve been wanting to eat back in my quarters. I need to do some thinking¡ªlet¡¯s head straight to the pce.¡± She nodded, and Victor smiled. He wondered what she¡¯d say if he told her the thing he was hungry for was Qi Pot¡¯s heart.

 Book 9: Chapter 21: A Meeting With the Queen

    Victor sat, sipping a cup of spiced coffee, heavy with cream, looking out over his balcony as he contemted the changes Qi Pot¡¯s heart had wrought in him. The heart had been potent, though nothing more than Obert¡¯s. It had been different, though; Victor had felt Qi Pot¡¯s strange, hot, shadowy Energy coursing through his pathways. He¡¯d felt it trying to do <em>something</em>, but it hadn¡¯t taken; either his body had resisted it, or the heart hadn¡¯t been potent enough. Whatever the case, Victor hadn¡¯t gained any new feats, affinities, bloodline alterations, or anything of that sort. However, he¡¯d earned a rank to his Core and advanced to level seventy-two.

    He hadn¡¯t been too surprised by the level; he felt he¡¯d been close to seventy-one before killing Qi Pot, so the additional Energy infusion from the heart had pushed him over the edge to the next. With a sip of hot, cinnamon-vored coffee, he sighed and looked at his status sheet:

    <strong>Status</strong>

    <strong>Name:</strong>

    <strong>Victor Sandoval</strong>

    <strong>Race:</strong>

    <strong>Quinametzin Bloodline - Epic 2</strong>

    <strong>ss:</strong>

    <strong>Berserker of Unstoppable Momentum - Legendary</strong> <strong>Level:</strong>

    <strong>72</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core:</strong>

    <strong>Elder ss - Improved 6</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Spirit ss - Epic 3</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Magma - 9</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Energy:</strong>

    <strong>2500/2500</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Glory 8.6, Inspiration 7.4, Unattuned 3.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>36871/36871</strong>

    <strong>Strength:</strong>

    <strong>508</strong>

    <strong>Vitality:</strong>

    <strong>673 (740)</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity:</strong>

    <strong>208</strong>

    <strong>Agility:</strong>

    <strong>231</strong>

    <strong>Intelligence:</strong>

    <strong>172</strong>

    <strong>Will:</strong>

    <strong>673</strong>

    <strong>Points Avable:</strong>

    <strong>0</strong>

    <strong>Titles & Feats:</strong>

    <strong>Titanic Rage, Ancestral Bond, me-Touched, Greater Titanic Constitution, Titanic Presence, Desperate Grace, Challenger, Elder Magic, Born of Terror, Battlefield Awareness, Battlefield Presence, Aura of Command, Epic Quinametzin, Mountain''s Resilience, Behemoth''s Regeneration, Blood Supremacy, Furious Battle Momentum</strong>

    For the first time, will wasn¡¯t his highest attribute. His vitality had caught up to it, and with the bonus from his wyrm-scale vest, it had cleanly outstripped it. When he added his Sovereign Will boost, his vitality nearly hit one thousand. He knew from talking to his friends and loved ones that such a number was unheard of on Fanwath. However, he supposed there were some folks on Sojourn and Ruhn with stats that were that high. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not done yet.¡± Victor chuckled.

    Looking at his status sheet again, he frowned at his Breath Core rank. He needed to work on that, and it seemed like he might have to do old-fashioned, slow, and steady cultivation. Maybe if he could kill some more wyrms or other creatures with Breath Cores and eat their hearts, he¡¯d see a boost, but so far, that hadn¡¯t been on the menu. He had the egg to eat, which, apparently, hade from a wyrm, and was eager to see what woulde of it, but first, he had his meeting with Queen Kynna to attend.

    He sighed, tossed the remainder of his coffee over the balcony railing, and went inside to finish getting ready. Ten minutester, Bryn guided him through the pce toward the expansive royal gardens on the back acreage. The pce grounds took up several square miles, and the queen¡¯s gardens were supposedly quite something. Victor hadn¡¯t yet checked them out.

    ¡°Does it feel different, milord?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Being a grand and fine duke, sir.¡± Bryn looked at him sideways, and Victor saw a glint of humor in her eyes.

    ¡°Very clever.¡±

    ¡°I notice you aren¡¯t wearing your uniform, milord.¡±

    Victor snorted. ¡°Nah, too shiny for me. I¡¯ll wear it only upon royal decree.¡±

    Bryn chuckled. ¡°Such a rebellious champion, er, excuse me, duke.¡±

    ¡°All right, all right, that¡¯s enough of that shit.¡± Victor watched her walk for a moment, then added, ¡°You¡¯ve got quite a spring in your step today. Did you get some good news?¡±

    ¡°Actually, I did, sir! I¡¯ve been informed by Captain Wash that I¡¯ll be apanying you as you travel to your new duchy.¡±

    Victor¡¯s eyebrows shot up. ¡°Oh? Hah! No one told <em>me</em>. Well, I¡¯m d to have you, Bryn. You¡¯re sure that¡¯s what you want? I¡¯ll probably be there most of the time. Don¡¯t you have family¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m happy, milord. I find my duty as your guard and guide quite entertaining.¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°Good.¡±

    They passed through a resort-like rear patioplete with pools, fountains, and rose hedges¡ªall yellow. Then they walked through a tall archway in a red-brick wall, and Victor had to pause to take in the many sweet smells and the gorgeous hedgerows. They wereprised of flowering shrubsid out in a meandering pattern down a gentle slope toward a lush, green copse of woods in the distance. He could see the queen¡¯s entourage about halfway down the hill. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re heading the right way.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir. I was told she¡¯d be in the garden.¡±

    Victor nodded and followed Bryn through the maze-like hedges, and when he came to the broad central path, lined with weird, fantastical marble sculptures and flower-filled nters, the queen turned toward the two of them and waved. ¡°Might as well wait here, Bryn. She¡¯ll want privacy.¡±

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    ¡°Aye, milord, her retainers are moving off.¡± It was true¡ªQueen Kynna¡¯s cadre of eight ¡°Queen¡¯s Guards¡± and herdies-in-waiting were separating themselves from the monarch. Thedies moved off in clusters of two and three, murmuring and giggling. The guards took up a star-shaped pattern a reasonable distance from the queen, leaving her alone as Victor approached.

    ¡°Hello, Duke Sandoval.¡± She smiled, performing an almost mocking curtsey, lifting her silky, pale-blue skirts.

    Victor bowed. ¡°My Queen.¡±

    She held a finger to her crown and tapped her nail against it, producing her weird, blue, static Energy bubble around them. ¡°For our privacy.¡±

    Victor nodded, folding his arms over his chest and inhaling deeply. ¡°At least it doesn¡¯t block the smells. This garden is something else.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful, isn¡¯t it? My favorite part is the grove.¡± She nodded down the slope toward the trees at the base of the hill. ¡°There are special tree gardens and living sculptures in there. My great-grandmother had a powerful affinity for nts.¡± While Victor followed her gaze, the queen seemed to gather herself, building the impetus to broach the topic of their meeting. ¡°Do you feel I¡¯ve tried to entrap you?¡±

    ¡°In a way, I guess so. I was irritated at first. I mean, I still am. I didn¡¯te here looking to manage an estate or to have people follow me.¡± Victor held up a hand to forestall her objections. ¡°I know it¡¯s an honor. I know you¡¯ve given me a piece of coveted property. I also know why you did it. I mean, it doesn¡¯t take a genius. You hope I¡¯ll grow fond of the ce and the people there. You hope that I¡¯ll feel a connection to them, and, being so connected, you hope that I¡¯ll understand the risks of a session war better.¡±

    She nodded, her high, crystal crown glittering with a dazzling reflection of the morning sun. ¡°It¡¯s more than that, though, Victor. I <em>do</em> want you to understand the risks, but I also want you to share in them. Now that you¡¯re a titled noble, should you lose in a duel¡ª¡±

    ¡°Mynds and people will be at the mercy of the winning King. I get it. Right now, it doesn¡¯t mean much, but I suppose your n is to have me spend time at Iron Mountain, growing to care about the folks there, huh?¡±

    ¡°Am I so transparent?¡± She smiled and waved a hand. ¡°Don¡¯t answer that. I¡¯ve had a long, heart-to-heart discussion with Thorn, my most trusted advisor, as you¡¯ve no doubt guessed. I believe I havee up with apromise for you and Dar to consider.¡± Victor nodded, perhaps a little absently. He¡¯d seen people moving around on the next tier of the garden, further down the hillside. Were they Kynna¡¯s retainers?

    ¡°Thorn brought up a grudge my father had with the ruling family of the kingdom of Ardent. They lie to the east, removed by nearly a thousand miles and two other, smaller kingdoms. Thorn believes we could make a believable argument for pursuing vengeance against Ardent. In order to challenge them, per the rules of the Empire, we¡¯d need to share a border.¡±

    Victor nodded. He hadn¡¯t seen the movement again and decided it might have been a songbird or something. ¡°Which gives you an excuse to attack the two kingdoms separating you, I guess?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I believe¡ª¡± Kynna gasped, squeezing her eyes tight as she reached up to grasp her head in both hands.

    ¡°Are you all right¡ª¡± She fell toward Victor, and he caught her in his arms, and that¡¯s when he felt it, too¡ªa potent, draining vortex, sucking the Energy out of his Core. As the blue, static Energy shield faded around them, Victor looked inward and saw that his rage-attuned Energy was being drawn out of him. It was unpleasant and left him feeling weaker, but it was <em>only</em> his rage. His other attunements roiled and swelled with power. He looked around, saw Kynna¡¯s guards jogging toward them, and shouted, ¡°Something¡¯s wrong!¡±

    Kynna was a dead weight in his arms,pletely unconscious. Victor held her close, turning in a circle, and that¡¯s when the shrubs exploded as a dozen crackling magenta portals spun into existence, out of which dozens of soldiers poured. Victor saw figures wieldingrge weapons and wearing heavy armor and, along with them, just as many lithe fighters in sleek leather or silky garb. They immediately began to channel Energy as they shed with Kynna¡¯s guards.

    Victor saw Bryn and a couple of other royal guards surrounded by at least ten attackers and wanted to run to help, but he was stuck with Kynna; a dozen of the strange soldiers had already broken past Kynna¡¯s other guards and were charging him. rm bells nged from the pce, and he hoped help was on the way as he shifted Kynna, nning to set her on the ground so he could summon a weapon.

    Victor wasn¡¯t often caught unawares, but one of the attackers was absurdly nimble and quick, and he felt a stab in his shoulder as a knife drove through his clothes. He took a stumbling step, findingbat with no rage in his Core strange and foreign. He felt like he was outside himself, that his body was slow and clumsy. He¡¯d been admiring the garden, talking to Kynna, and now¡ªAnother blow, this time from a mace, caught him above the ear, and Victor felt the stab of split skin and the concussion of his skull being rattled. He stumbled to a knee, hunkering over Kynna, trying to shield her from a flurry of attacks.

    As more attackers swarmed him with stabs, shes, and thudding blows, he tried to recover his wits and remember what he should do. A voice¡ªhis own¡ªroared in his mind, ¡°Channel Energy into your armor, fool!¡± but something was making him dull and slow. Something was still pulling at his rage-attuned Energy. Then, as a rapier gashed his forehead, sheeting blood into his eyes, he saw it¡ªa pulsing, throbbing, purple-glowing rod impaled in the ground a dozen yards away where a hedge used to be.

    ¡°A trap,¡± he grunted, then, as Kynna and he received more stabs and Energy-infused attacks, he bunched his legs and <em>leaped</em> out of there. The Titanic Leap was his most clumsy ever, but it was enough¡ªhe soared some twenty feet into the air, then nearly five times that far ahead, just past where Bryn and the other guards were being overwhelmed. Victor crashed onto the cobble path and fell, sliding on his knees in his efforts to keep Kynna from tumbling free of his arms.

    Victor immediately felt his head clear, and his fury began to stoke. As his eyes zed with molten fire, he surged to his feet, still holding Kynna, and turned to re at the dozens of attackers. The Queen¡¯s Guard were formidablebatants, and they were putting up a desperate defense to keep the attackers who badly outnumbered them at bay. Victor could see Energy spells of all sorts¡ªfireballs, glowing shields, ghostly, translucent weapons, and even showers of mystical bolts.

    He caught a glimpse of Bryn, utterly surrounded, bleeding, her weapon gone from her hand, but arge shield held before her as she stood back-to-back with a Queen¡¯s Guard. She¡¯d tell him to leave. She¡¯d tell him to take the queen and run. Wouldn¡¯t she? Shouldn¡¯t he?

    Victor looked at Kynna and saw her face was bloody from a broad, bone-deep gash on her brow and that arrows and stab wounds covered her body. Was she even alive? Her crown had been knocked off, and her hands hung limp, but in that second of hesitation, while he contemted the ¡°right¡± thing to do, he heard Bryn cry out, and he knew she and the queen''s guardians would soon be killed. He nced up the hill but didn¡¯t see any help mobilizing. What was going on? A coup?

    A huge warrior, wielding a massive, two-handed mace with a spiked ball on the end, waded into the fight where Bryn and the Queen¡¯s Guard held something like fifteen attackers at bay. Victor wasn¡¯t sure how, but it had to do with some enormous surge of Energy the Queen¡¯s Guard had unleashed¡ªa rippling curtain of weird, pink clouds that seemed to obscure spine-tipped tentacles. They grasped and stabbed at the attackers, pulling them off, and for a moment, Bryn was clear, and her desperate, dark-gray eyes locked onto his.

    ¡°Fuck this,¡± Victor growled, and he reached into his repertoire of spells and cast one he¡¯d letnguish for far too long¡ªGuard Ally. A shield of brilliant golden, glory-attuned Energy surrounded Bryn, and suddenly, Victor felt the jostling of the enemies around her. He felt the stabs of spears and the shes of swords, the burning of fireballs, the jolts of lightning. He felt everything intended for her, only doubly so.

    Grunting with the effort, he lowered Kynna to the ground, and then, as cuts and burns and gaping wounds appeared on his body, then rapidly healed, he stepped over Kynna¡¯s insensate form and summoned Lifedrinker to his hands. She thudded onto the pavers before him, her heavy axe-head driving them into the soft earth as he grasped her handle. Victor, buffeted by more and more blows, felt his mind slipping away, lost in the torrent of rage that slid into its own special pathway created by his Furious Battle Momentum.

    Before he lost himself, he channeled Energy into his armor, and his disguise of soft, bloodstained clothes was reced by the fierce, ck, and red shell of his wyrm-scale andva king hide armor. The blows intended for Bryn continued to rain down on him, but now they were mostly rebuffed. Still, Victor¡¯s rage had clouded his vision red, and he¡¯d had <em>enough</em>. He cast Iron Berserk, knowing his epic-tier Core could substitute any of his affinities for rage to keep it going.

    For the first time on Ruhn, Victor took on his proper, titanic aspect. He surged from ten to more than twenty feet in height. Lifedrinker was no longer an unwieldy burden as his strength soared and his massive bones stabilized his form. He lifted her high, and as she sang with furious blood lust, bursting into molten mes, he <em>roared</em>. As the blows aimed at Bryn pounded into him, he focused on the giant warrior with the two-handed mace and cast Energy Charge, fueling it with fear-attuned Energy.

    In a cloud of ck smoke and shadows, he ripped the garden path to shreds and then mmed into the warrior, sending him flying, bouncing, and careening off other warriors. His head caught the edge of a stone bench, and Victor saw his skulle apart, and then he was wading into the fools surrounding his friend. Lifedrinker split bodies in twain, like a cleaver quartering chickens. No armor stood before her. No bones or spells of shielding could stop her smoldering, depthless obsidian edge from rending the bodies of Victor¡¯s foes.

    As blood and viscera sprayed, he roared andughed. His Iron Berserk didn¡¯t add to his madness, and the blows had stopped falling on Bryn, so his Furious Battle Momentum had not yet driven him beyond reason. With a bit of sanity still providing rity, Victor looked over the ten corpses near his feet and roared at the Queen¡¯s Guard and Bryn, ¡°Protect the queen!¡± and then he charged another pack of attackers.

    The Queen¡¯s Guard he rescued fell back, knowing well her duty to the monarch. Victor¡¯s great body filled the gap as he wove into the attackers, cleaving and hacking with the precision of a master. Lifedrinker felt light in his hands, but her de was like a razor-edged wrecking ball. Hundreds of attacks hit him, but the assassins were like children fighting a madman in heavy armor. For every five stabs or cuts or spell-sts, Victor demolished another attacker. His strength was at levels he¡¯d never experienced as his Furious Battle Momentum began to stack with his Iron Berserk.

    Lifedrinker¡¯s great, wedged de caught an armored warrior on the shoulder te, split through it, cleaved through his arm, then his torso, and then his other arm at the elbow. His top half was thrown to the side by the swing, but his legs stood there before Victor kicked them aside and focused on thest group of attackers still battling a desperate pair of Queen¡¯s Guards. He strode forward, too mad to use his Energy Charge, and on his third stride, Lifedrinker <em>whooshed</em> through the air and split three of the assassins to pieces. In a shower of blood, Victor bore down and <em>screamed</em> his fury.

    The roar was enough to stun the remaining fighters. Even the Queen¡¯s Guards were awestruck, stumbling back as Victor fell on thest of the attackers, feeding his blood-hungry axe as he ughtered them. Before long, he stood over thest of the ck-d assants, their guts and blood steaming in the cool air, his chest heaving, his throat gurgling with a low, maniacalugh. The surviving guards, including Bryn, still glowing with a shimmering shell of Victor¡¯s Glory-attuned Energy, rushed the Queen up the path toward the pce.

    Enough of Victor¡¯s mentality was intact, that he knew he didn¡¯t need to chase them. He¡¯d hardly taken a wound as he ughtered the assassins, so his Furious Battle Momentum wasn¡¯t built up enough to ovee his prodigious will. Instead, he stood in the gore-strewn garden, massive axe in his hands, staring at the ruined corpses of his foes.

    As his blood slowly cooled, bit by bit, he began to take note of the strange rods, now tipped over and inert. He sent Lifedrinker into storage with a quick, ¡°We¡¯ll talk soon, <em>chica</em>,¡± and then he walked over and picked up one of the rods. His frown deepened when he saw the pale green ribbon around the device. He¡¯d seen ribbons like that, hadn¡¯t he? With a great effort of will, he pulled the rest of his rage back to his Core and canceled his iron berserk.

    His head cooler and clearer, he stared at the ribbon and searched his memory¡ªthe queen¡¯sdies. He¡¯d seen several of them wearing ribbons like that. Victor nced up the hill and saw the Queen¡¯s Guard ushering Kynna into the pce¡ªshe was walking. Victor looked around the battlefield again, moving to collect the other rods; there were nine, and they each bore the pale green ribbon.

    He studied the ruined corpses of his foes and the handful of dead Queen¡¯s Guard. Where were the queen¡¯sdies? Not a single one was dead on the field, and none had escaped with the queen. Had they disappeared before the ambush? Could they all be traitorous? It seemed so improbable, but he couldn¡¯t think of another exnation. Someone had nted the rods, and somehow, all thedies had slipped away before the ambush. Scowling, Victor sent the rods into his storage container and then started toward the pce. That¡¯s when the Energy hit him.

 Book 9: Chapter 22: Fire and Ice

    Book 9: Chapter 22: Fire and Ice

    The fact that Victor didn¡¯t gain a level from his ughter of the would-be assassins told him a great deal about them; they weren¡¯t steel seekers, and they likely weren¡¯t even tier-eight or nine iron rankers. Still, the surge of Energy was enough to distract him for a moment, refill his Core, and speed up his body¡¯s natural regeneration. When it was over, he stooped to pick up the queen¡¯s fallen crown, then jogged out of the garden, pounding up the inclined pathway to the pce, intently scanning every doorway, every window as he approached the central portico where he¡¯d seen the queen¡¯s guards ushering her inside.

    Soldiers were forming up near the tall, ss double doors, and when they saw him running their way, Victor wasn¡¯t surprised to see some panic enter their eyes; he was still d in his armor, and though he¡¯d returned to his standard giant size and sent Lifedrinker back into her storage container, he presented a fearsome sight. Captain Wash was there, though; he calmed his troops and shouted them out of his way. ¡°She¡¯s inside, Champion.¡±

    Victor nodded and slowed his jog to a walk as he pushed the enormous ss door open. There, he saw the Queen, still surrounded by her Queen¡¯s Guard while, all around her, attendants, soldiers, noble folk, and officials scurried about. They shouted instructions, questions, and generally rmed-sounding statements while the queen ignored them and locked eyes on Victor. Bryn stood beside her, a battered shield still on her arm, but Victor¡¯s magical aegis was gone, dispelled by the influx of Energy he¡¯d received from the dead assassins.

    As he stepped close, Victor held out the queen¡¯s crown and knelt before her, perhaps to reassure everyone whose nervous fear hung palpably in the air. Kynna took the crown in blood-stained fingers and, with trembling, halting movements, lifted it to her head. Victor could see the evidence of recent healing all over her; pale, new skin marred her forehead where she¡¯d been gashed, simr freshly healed wounds covered her arms, and, despite its heroic attempts to repair itself, her gown was gashed, torn, and stained with the queen¡¯s blood.

    ¡°Thank you, Champion. Thank you, Victor. My guards tell me the assassins are all in. I owe you much, but I fear we have snakes among us. I fear¡ª¡±

    ¡°It was yourdies.¡± Victor produced one of the ribboned rods he¡¯d pulled from the garden¡¯s soil. ¡°Where are they?¡± He looked around the big marble-decked hallway at the clusters of panic-stricken faces and the frantic, rushing servants. He saw none of the queen¡¯sdies in waiting.

    Queen Kynna took the rod, hefted it, and delicately held the pale ribbon between her fingers. ¡°They mock me.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Come, Victor. We must move to my private wing. There, I¡¯ll exin.¡± She turned, and the guards formed around her as she marched purposefully down one of the broad, arched hallways.Victor followed and found Bryn striding beside him. He looked down at her, taking in the dents and puncture marks in her once-shiny armor and the wide, almost haunted look in her eyes. He gestured to her helmet. ¡°Take that off. You¡¯re done fighting for now. Let yourself breathe.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    ¡°Consider it an order.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Champion.¡± Bryn touched her helmet and exposed her strong, tanned face, crusted with dried blood. He saw her breathe deeply as they marched, and Victor knew what she was thinking: everything had happened so quickly, she¡¯d thought she was going to die, and now life was moving on as usual. It was a strange feeling the first time it happened.

    ¡°You¡¯ve never fought in a battle you thought you were going to lose before, have you?¡±

    ¡°I¡­No. I suppose I haven¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Well, you didn¡¯t die, so don¡¯t be afraid to look into the face of death andughter today.¡±

    She spoke softly, eyeing the guards and the queen ahead of them, ¡°Because of you.¡± She cleared her throat and said it more clearly. ¡°I¡¯m alive because of you. That¡­spell. I¡¯ve never been shielded so fully. Are you a Pdin ss?¡±

    Victor chuckled. ¡°Not even close.¡± He reached over and pped her on the shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t give me all the credit. You and the Queen¡¯s Guard gave me a chance to break the queen free, and then, when I saw how valiantly you were fighting, it convinced me that I had to do the stupid thing¡ªsomething I¡¯m quite used to, by the way¡ªand not run away with the queen. I¡¯m d for that.¡±

    ¡°How did you kill so many so easily? How¡ªYour <em>axe</em>! What a weapon! I¡ª¡±

    ¡°<em>Shh</em>!¡± Victor jostled her again. ¡°Let¡¯s not spread the word until we¡¯re sure the cat¡¯s out of the bag. I don¡¯t know how many witnessed my fight, but I¡¯m still kind of hoping it was just us.¡± Victor nodded to the queen and her guards. He turned his head, looking over his shoulder to see at least two dozen nobles and retainers following behind, keeping a ¡°polite¡± distance. ¡°The queen,¡± he said, more loudly, ¡°should tell these people to get lost for now.¡± He knew Kynna could hear him, and he hoped she¡¯d act without him having to insist.

    They¡¯d just turned toward the broad, spiral staircase that would lead up to the Queen¡¯s second-story wing when the mor of stomping, metal-d boots came from an adjoining passage. Victor turned to see Chambein Thorn charging at the head of fifty or so royal guards; they flooded into the main hallway, putting themselves between Kynna and all the retainers following behind. The chambein looked panicked, his face drenched in a sheen of sweat and his breathing in harsh gasps. ¡°My Queen! I was seeing to your instructions in Frostmarch when I heard of the attack!¡±

    Kynna stopped at the foot of the staircase, her guards, Bryn and Victor, between herself and Thorn. She turned and seemed about to speak but hesitated. Victor frowned, looking again at the chambein. What was going on? If he¡¯d been in Frostmarch, wouldn¡¯t he havee from the same direction as the queen and all the nobles bunched up in that hallway? He stared at the man, looking at the sweat and panic in a different light; what if he was worried about something other than the Queen being attacked? What if he was worried about her surviving?

    Kynna¡¯s voice rang out, forcing Victor¡¯s mind out of its spections, ¡°Thorn, I wonder, why do you suppose Guard Captain Wash was having trouble mustering his soldiers? Why do you think he could only find a handful on duty and was dyed in responding to the threat?¡±

    ¡°My Queen, I shall immediately have the man investigated!¡± Thorn turned to one of the soldiers beside him and began to bark an order, but the queen interrupted him.

    ¡°Where are the Rochan sisters, my dear Chambein?¡±

    He looked at her, eyes wide. ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t know, Your Majesty! Were they in in the attack?¡±

    Victor watched Kynna¡¯s face, noting how she shook her head slightly, not a negation of the question but a gesture of dismay¡ªdisappointment. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it unusual for you to request such a favor? I don¡¯t believe I ever received such a request in all the years you''ve served my family.¡± Her voice became a mocking parody of Thorn¡¯s, ¡°¡®<em>Please</em>, My Queen. It would mean <em>so</em><em>much</em> to my wife. Her cousins would be eternally grateful!¡¯ Oh, Thorn! How <em>could</em> you? I want you to know that after Victor has taken your head, I¡¯ll root out your entire bloodline for this. Those women will be merely the start!¡±

    Hearing those words and his name snapped Victor¡¯s mind into focused rity. Thorn had asked the queen to allow those women to be herdies in waiting for the day. They¡¯d set up the formation, allowed for the portals to open, and weakened Victor and the queen. They¡¯d escaped before the attack, and Thorn had kept the royal guards away. Were they all loyal to him or just this fifty?

    While his mind raced, putting the connections together, a mor arose from behind Thorn¡¯s troops; the retainers and noble folk were fleeing. Victor summoned Lifedrinker and pushed Bryn back. ¡°Get the queen and her guards out of here.¡±

    ¡°You think I¡¯ll surrender?¡± Thorn bellowed, suddenly d in dark blue te-mail armor that instantly rimed over with frost. ¡°<em>You </em>are the one who should be begging forgiveness, My <em>Queen</em>! <em>You</em> are the one who threatens to destroy all that we hold dear! You are the one who¡ª¡± A deep <em>thum</em> sounded behind Victor, echoing in the corridor and rattling his heart in his chest. His brain had only just realized it was the sound of a bow being shot when Thorn fell to his knees, a meter-long, feathered shaft protruding from his chest.

    The royal guards he¡¯d brought with him drew their weapons, and Thorn fumbled with a sk, but Kynna wasn¡¯t done. <em>Thum, thum, thum</em> sang her bow. Arrows that imploded with weird, crackling Energy mmed into their ranks, drawing soldiers into them, smashing them together, and turning them into metal-d hunks of gelid, bloody flesh. She killed at least twenty of the soldiers with her attack. He might have hoped she had more shots like that ready, but she gasped, ¡°Victor! Finish them! That¡¯s all of my Energy!¡±

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    Victor shoved Bryn. ¡°I said get her out of here.¡± Then Lifedrinker was in his hands, and he could feel the rage coursing into his pathways. Victor cast two spells nearly simultaneously: Iron Berserk and Energy Charge. He streaked over the marble floor on wings of purple-ck shadow, rapidly surging in strength and stature. Lifedrinker led the charge, her gleaming obsidian edge singing for blood as Victor aimed her at the chambein.

    Thorn had poured something over his wound that dissolved the arrow and mended his flesh. He saw Victoring, and though a frosty metal visor masked his face, Victor could see the panic in his movements as he summoned a shield and braced. The impact from his charge was cacophonous. Lifedrinker wouldn¡¯t be defeated easily, and she screamed like a vengeful spirit as she ripped into Thorn¡¯s mighty bulwark. Whatever metal the shield was crafted from wasn¡¯t easily split, but split it she did. The sound was horrific and only the tip of the iceberg as Victor¡¯s Core poured Energy out to defend him from the cataclysmic crash.

    Somehow, Thorn stood against the impact. Victor reasoned he must have had a defensive ss, and he wasn¡¯t a low-tier iron ranker. Waves of disced Energy rolled off around him, sending the soldiers and corpses nearby flying, bouncing down the hallway like caricatures of people in a video game. The white marble turned ck as hot Energy rolled over it, cracking the walls and splitting the tiles with me-filled crevices.

    Lifedrinker¡¯s massive, heavy axe-head bit through the shield, inch-by-inch, and then her top edge began to dig into Thorn¡¯s metallic breastte. Her edge found the armor a much softer barrier than the shield, and Thorn gave up his resistance as she drew blood. He wailed and flung his shield to the side, rolling away from Victor¡¯s irresistible charge. ¡°You <em>fool</em>!¡± he screamed, and then Victor felt a wave of power as he summoned a frosty scepter topped with a potent, ice-like jewel.

    Victor¡¯s rage was stoked; he was berserk, and his Quinametzin blood was hot, but the waves of colding off that jewel were like nothing he¡¯d ever felt. Frost coated his hot flesh instantly. The marble around him froze and split with thunderous <em>pops</em> and <em>cracks</em>. Bits of stone and mortar fell from the ceiling, and the already damaged floor shattered in an ever-widening radius with Thorn at the center. The chambein screamed, ¡°I am no piddling iron-ranker! No backwater champion for you to toil against! Because I choose a life of service does not a weakling make <em>me, boy</em>! I don¡¯t care <em>who</em> sent you!¡±

    Victor scowled and lifted Lifedrinker. Her mighty edge, rimed with frost, scraped the crumbling ceiling, and a huge chunk of marble fell to shatter against his shoulder. He hardly felt it. Thorn looked up at him with icy blue eyes, and a surge of frigid Energy radiated out of his scepter, so chilling that the moisture in the air fell to the ground as snow, and Victor felt his tough, titanic flesh growing numb and stiff, his fingers and muscles unresponsive. The red fled his vision, and, to his horror, his eyes began to ice over.

    Behind Thorn, in his frozen, blurry vision, he saw the remaining soldiers fall to the ground, shattering like blood sculptures. The marble was covered in a sheet of dense ice by then. Victor could hardly move, and though Thorn stared at him, oozing with smug victory, he felt no panic. His body was freezing over, and his rage was halted in his pathways, but something in his chest was still roiling with angry heat¡ªhis Breath Core and its potent, furious, magma-attuned Energy.

    Thorn might be a steel seeker, and his Energy was a well with depths that stretched beyond what Victor could grasp, but Victor held the fury of a sleeping god in his chest. He held the rage and heat of the earth awakened, and all he had to do to grasp it was weave a bit of magma-attuned Energy with his rage into the pattern for Volcanic Fury. Though he stood frozen, and Thorn began to rx, sensing his victory wasplete, Victor found that his magma-attuned Energy flowed easily out of his Breath Core and into his central pathway, thawing it along the way.

    As he warmed his pathway and tricked some rage-attuned Energy into it, Thorn spoke into the air, perhaps using some device or spell tomunicate with a distant ally, ¡°I have him and will finish the job. Once he¡¯s out of the picture, I¡¯ll try to reason with her but keep the boy in hand; we may need to go ahead with our original n.¡±

    <strong>#</strong>

    Bryn stood before the queen¡¯s doors with two of the Queen¡¯s Guard¡ªa man and woman she didn¡¯t know well. ¡°You reckon he¡¯ll stop ¡®em all?¡± She nced away from the stairwell to the man on her right. He was tall, his armor streaked with soot and blood; he¡¯d been one of the first Victor had rescued after saving her.

    ¡°You saw him destroy the assassins.¡± She didn¡¯t need to say more; how could he lose? She¡¯d never seen anything like it.

    ¡°But Thorn and them royal guards¡­I mean to say, Thorn might not be a champion, but he¡¯s been around a long time. I¡¯ve felt his aura in negotiations. I¡¯ve heard him talk before <em>he</em> came, saying he could probably kill Obert if things got bad enough.¡±

    Bryn scowled. ¡°Well, he didn¡¯t, did he? If he wanted to be champion, he had plenty of time to step up! He¡¯s a coward and a snake! The queen shot him, didn¡¯t she?¡±

    The other Queen¡¯s guard spoke up. ¡°Too right, she did! Duke Victor will finish ¡®em off! He probably already has; you all heard the crash!¡± It was true. Shortly after they¡¯d climbed the stairs and run to the queen¡¯s quarters, the whole pce had shaken. Marble tiles had split even in the hallway where they now stood.

    Bryn realized she could see the other woman¡¯s breath as she spoke, and she tested it herself, huffing some air out before her in a white cloud. Wasn¡¯t Thorn an Ice Elementalist? ¡°Something¡¯s wrong. It¡¯s too cold.¡±

    ¡°Look!¡± the first guard said, pointing toward the stairwell. Sure enough, frost was gathering on the marble and slowly spreading toward them, climbing the walls and creeping over the marble.

    ¡°It¡¯s too quiet,¡± the second guard said. Bryn couldn¡¯t argue; Victor wasn¡¯t a quiet fighter. Was he defeated? Should they retreat? ¡°Bryn, you¡¯re his guard. You need to go and look. If we don¡¯t hear back, we¡¯ve got to move the queen to the escape portal.¡±

    ¡°I¡ª¡± Bryn didn¡¯t want to say what was in her heart; she was afraid. Was her duty worth her life? Growling, she remembered Victor¡¯s words; she¡¯d already fought once today, thinking she was going to die. She was different now. Death didn¡¯t own her anymore. ¡°I¡¯ll go look. I¡¯ll try to signal if you should flee.¡± With that, she crept forward with trembling knees, d it wasn¡¯t apparent through her heavy armor. She still wore her battered shield on her left arm; if she couldn¡¯t repair it, and if she didn¡¯t die, it had earned an honored spot on her family¡¯s hearth.

    When she stepped onto the frosty marble, she had to use her Bnce of the Wippesh spell, magically enhancing her agility to the point where she could daintily tiptoe through the slippery, icy mess to the steps. Once there, she crept down, crouching, ever peering ahead, alert for the smallest sound. When she rounded thest turn, she could hear a familiar voice speaking.

    ¡°¡­keep the boy in hand; we may need to go ahead with our original n.¡± The voice paused and, a momentter, said, ¡°Yes. Yes, have the women keep him in the summer tower.¡±

    It was Thorn, and he didn¡¯t sound defeated or, frankly, even wounded. He sounded smug and confident. Was he talking about Prince Tomorran? Was Victor dead? Bryn crept forward to peek around the central column, affording herself a clear view of the hallway. The scene that unfolded was one of nightmares. Ice hung in thick sheets from the broken walls and ceiling. On the floor were the fractured bodies of every soldier Thorn had brought with him, and in the center of all those horrific, frozen sculptures stood Victor and Thorn.

    Victor was, again, twice his usual size, loomingrge over Thorn, his great, deadly axe high over his head, frozen near the thirty-foot-high arched ceiling. Victor was coated in ice, his flesh blue, his red-ck armor dim, obscured by the frosty stuff. He wasn¡¯t moving, and no breath plumed from his mighty lungs. Thorn stood before him, holding a potent, ice-attuned Energy focus, and he seemed to be preupied, muttering as he summoned a book and began to leaf through it.

    Bryn frowned. Could Victor be dead? Defeated by ice? As she formed the thought, a sheet of the stuff fell off Victor¡¯s torso to crash at Thorn¡¯s feet, and the chambein jumped back, startled. He lifted his focus, and a pulse of potent frigid Energy rolled out of it, eliciting deep cracks from the depths of the pce as more and more marble was sh-frozen. Thorn lowered his focus and growled at Victor¡¯s frozen figure, ¡°Give it up, fool. Just die before I have to waste the effort on¡ª¡±

    He danced back, interrupting himself as the ground around Victor began to hiss with steam, and the ice instantly thawed. Great sheets fell from Victor, the ceiling, and the walls, and then Victor¡¯s magnificent, gleaming ck axe fell like a guillotine, nearly splitting Thorn in two. Somehow, the chambein <em>slid</em> back, gliding over the wet, ice-littered ground in his frosty blue armor. Victor¡¯s entire body was steaming, but apparently, he was just getting warmed up.

    As Bryn watched, Victor lifted his axe, and it burst into mes. <em>He</em> burst into mes¡ªred fire limned his body, and he began to exude ck smoke like a man made of living brimstone. Bryn couldn¡¯t see his face, but most of the smoke came from his deep, heaving exhtions. Rather than swing that massive axe again, he leaned toward Chambein Thorn and screamed. The roar had a different quality to it than the battle cries he¡¯d let loose in the garden.

    The sound was like thunder, like an avnche, like the world waking up and announcing its fury. The walls and ceiling came apart, crumbling before Victor¡¯s voice. Great sheets of marble fell, smashing into Thorn, forcing the chambein to expend more and more Energy shielding himself. Still, Victor wasn¡¯t done. As his body smoldered and the pce fell apart around him, he lifted his foot and <em>stomped</em>.

    Bryn had never felt an earthquake before, but she¡¯d heard tales of them¡ªthis was what she¡¯d imagined. When the stairs bucked and cracked beneath her, she leaped, using every ounce of magically enhanced agility she could muster, fleeing the fight, rushing upward ahead of the crumbling steps. When she pounded onto the rapidly thawing marble of the queen¡¯s hallway, she screamed, ¡°Run! The pce isn¡¯t safe!¡±

    The Queen¡¯s Guard didn¡¯t have to be told twice; the hallway rippled like it was alive, marble tiles popping loose, the walls cracking and falling apart, and, of course, ster and tile falling from the heights. Bryn held her shield over her head and charged through the open door behind the guards. When the queen saw her, she shoved past her guards as they tried to rush her into her study and the secret passage beyond. ¡°Does he yet live?¡±

    Bryn knew she didn¡¯t mean Thorn. She wanted to know if her champion would survive the day. ¡°He lives, but he¡¯s gone mad with fiery rage! Thorn tried to freeze him¡ªhe has Tomorran, but I know where! We must flee; Victor will bring the pce down!¡±

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Book 9: Chapter 23: Schemers

    When Victor¡¯s blood ignited with the hot, boiling fury of the volcano, rationality fled his mind. He vaguely remembered screaming at Chambein Thorn with a voice powerful enough to shatter marble, but he had no memory of casting Wake the Earth. Unfortunately, when his mind was enraged by Volcanic Fury, it seemed to fixate on that one ability among all his others. It was almost like the spirit of the great, sleeping gods of the earth wanted to use him as a conduit for their depthless, frustrated malice.

    There was no telling how much destruction he might have wrought if he¡¯d finished with Thorn and turned his madness against the city. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, depending on whom you asked, he¡¯d been in the middle of an enormous marble and granite structure, standing on the ground floor, with a vast edifice over his head and half a dozen subterranean levels below. As he pummeled Thorn, and the world shook, the ground gave way, and even for a burgeoning titan engorged on the fury of the mountain, thousands of tons of stone was enough to dampen his rampage.

    When he came back to himself, Victor was in the dark, and his hand was clenched around the cold, dead flesh of Thorn¡¯s neck. Dust and soot were thick in the air, and, bit by bit, he began to notice small details¡ªjumbles of broken stone, the hiss of gasses venting from subterranean outlets, and the soft, almostforting glow of magma, burbling as it cooled. Victor¡¯s first panicked thought was of Lifedrinker, but she was there, close at hand, with her dark edge buried in a massive granite b.

    With a grunt, he stood to retrieve her, and that was when he realized he had a System message waiting for him:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have achieved level 73 Berserker of Unstoppable Momentum and gained 9 strength, 14 vitality, 9 agility, and 9 dexterity.***</strong>

    Had he already imed his Energy from Thorn, then? Was that what had, ultimately, broken him out of his rage? Victor looked around the dim space and saw that above his head was nothing but broken, jumbled stone bs and that another such b pinned Thorn¡¯s legs to the ground. Piles of broken stone were everywhere, and he had vague, foggy memories of throwing them off himself. He wondered if he¡¯d been buried or injured by the copse. He supposed he¡¯d never know; he healed too quickly while enraged, and if the influx of Energy from Thorn had been enough to level him, then it would have healed any lingering wounds, too.

    His little chamber beneath the rubble was only about a dozen giant-sized paces across, and he figured he¡¯d need to start digging if he was going to get out of there. Victor touched Lifedrinker¡¯s haft, sending her into storage, and then he summoned a sharp knife into his hand, turning to Thorn¡¯s corpse. ¡°If you¡¯re going to cause this much damn trouble, I¡¯m taking your <em>pinch¨¦</em> heart.¡±

    While he worked, Victor¡¯s mind wandered to worrisome topics. Had he killed any innocents in his rampage? Had the damage he¡¯d done to the pce killed anyone? He hoped not¡ªpeople on Ruhn were generally well into their iron ranks, and the folks in the pce were usually higher than average. Surely, most of them could get away while the ground shook. Surely, there were enough guards and high-level nobles around to help any children.

    ¡°Right?¡± he asked the sticky, cold organ as he pulled it from Thorn¡¯s chest. The heart wasn¡¯t able to reassure him, so Victor sent it into storage. Looking around, he saw other, partially buried corpses, but they were members of the royal guard, no doubt the men and women who¡¯de with Thorn and died before the copse.He was looking up, contemting his best route of egress, when, with a faint tinkling of chimes, he heard Queen Kynna¡¯s voice as though she stood close by, pitching her voice for just his ears, ¡°<em>Victor, my scryers have located you in the wreckage. Soon, the Earth Elementalists will have you free. Thank you for ying Thorn, my champion. Thanks to you and the brave efforts of guardswoman Bryn, my son is safe, and a coup has been thwarted. Please stay safe where you are; it will be more than an hour before the Elementalists have cleared the way.¡±</em>

    Victor tried speaking back to her, ¡°Um, okay. Was anyone hurt in the, uh, battle?¡± Could he y the destruction off as simply the side effects of his struggle with Thorn? Whether he could or not, it didn¡¯t seem the queen could hear him. No further message was forting. He found a rtively t hunk of marble and sat down, contemting his situation.

    His thoughts started with how he felt; he didn¡¯t like it. Objectively, he supposed he should feel good. He¡¯d saved Kynna and Bryn in the garden and stopped and killed Thorn. He¡¯d even gained a level in the process. Wasn¡¯t that <em>good</em>? Why, then, did he feel like he¡¯d gotten too drunk and done something terrible? Why did he feel <em>guilty</em>? He knew the answer; he¡¯d lost himself to the rage again, and, as good as it felt in the moment when he was smashing and destroying and killing, it felt awful in retrospect.

    What it boiled down to was that Victor didn¡¯t like having control taken from him, even if it was his own magic doing it. He hadn¡¯t liked it when his original Berserk made him that way, and he didn¡¯t like it when Volcanic Fury did it. ¡°Why then, <em>pendejo</em>, did you choose a new ss that gives you yet another way to lose control?¡± He chuckled, shaking his head as he gathered saliva in his mouth to spit, trying to rid himself of some of the dust that had caked his airways.

    He could hear distant rumbling and scraping and figured it was the queen¡¯s Elementalists working to move the wreckage of the pce. He wondered how far up they were. How many underground passages and galleries had he and Thorn fallen through? Thinking of Thorn reminded him of the man¡¯s heart, and Victor decided he might as well do something productive while he waited. He dug the cold, sticky organ from his storage ring and contemted it.

    Thorn had been a steel seeker. A cowardly one, but a steel seeker, nheless. He¡¯d had a powerful affinity for ice or something simr; would that hinder Victor¡¯s ability to absorb the Energy? He was anything but cold, after all. ¡°<em>Pendejo</em>,¡± he cursed again, gathering more spit. ¡°That loser could have beaten Obert or Qi Pot. Why didn¡¯t he?¡±

    He supposed there were a few good exnations. Thorn might have been a coward, only willing to fight when he¡¯d been caught in the act of orchestrating a coup. Maybe he¡¯d been afraid that, after beating one of the ¡°backwater champions,¡± as he¡¯dbeled them, a more powerful kingdom woulde calling. ¡°Or maybe the piece of shit was working for someone else.¡± Victor wondered about that¡ªwould it be so strange for the great houses to have agents spread out through the lesser kingdoms?

    The heart didn¡¯t appeal to him in its cold, clotted state, and Victor was tempted to summon his camp stove and cook it up. Something in his gut said that would be wrong, though; perhaps part of his ¡°ritual¡± was to eat the hearts raw. So, holding his breath and trying not to think about what he was doing, Victor tore a massive hunk of the heart off with his teeth and began to chomp it down.

    The meat was cold. At first, he¡¯d thought it was just that Thorn¡¯s body had cooled, and the heart had lost its vibrant heat. He soon realized it was more than that; it wasn¡¯t that the heart wasn¡¯t warm¡ªit was <em>cold</em>, like meat taken from a freezer and barely out of the rock-hard stage. What was more, as Victor swallowed his first bite, he could feel the coldness spread through his belly and into the surrounding flesh. As he chomped off another bite, he wondered if he was making a mistake.

    Victor didn¡¯t take small bites, but Thorn had been a giant¡ªa man of nearly the same stature as himself when he wasn¡¯t enraged. Despite its coldness, the heart didn''t taste bad once Victor¡¯s saliva loosened up the blood. That fact encouraged Victor that he, hopefully, wasn¡¯t making a foolish mistake by consuming flesh that was clearly attuned to an affinity he didn¡¯t share. The frigid feeling spread through his body as he ate, and he could feel the tendrils of that icy Energy seeping into his Core space. When he gazed inward, he saw those tendrils of blue, frosty Energy rebuffed by the heat of his Spirit core. ?

    Uwfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    He wasn¡¯t left guessing about what would happen to him for long. As the Energy infused his flesh to the point where he passed beyond cold to numb, System messages began to scroll into his field of view:

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have gained a new affinity: Blue Ice.***</strong>

    <strong>***Warning! Ipatible Core: Spirit Cores cannot have an elemental affinity.***</strong>

    <strong>***Compatible Breath Core Found: Elder ss. Reapplying acquired affinity.***</strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have gained a new Breath Core affinity: Blue Ice.***</strong>

    <strong>***Applying Energy gains to Breath Core.***</strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! Your Breath Core has gained three ranks: Improved 9.***</strong>

    Victor read the messages and felt a swelling of frigid Energy in his chest. He nearly panicked, fearing his magma-attuned Energy would be overwhelmed, but the spike in ¡°blue ice¡± Energy reached a crescendo and then faded, leaving him feeling almost normal, if not a little¡­cooler. He turned his gaze inward, studying the space where his Breath Corey.

    Swirling, almostzily, his ball of angry, magma-attuned Energy traversed the space in direct opposition to a ball of frigid-looking, deep blue, icy Energy. Victor knew from the System messages that it was called ¡°blue ice,¡± but he had no idea what that meant other than it was cold even to look at. The two orbs of opposing power circled his Breath Core space, almost like they were squaring off, sizing each other up. It was amusing to watch, but Victor hoped he hadn¡¯t created something untenable in his Breath Core.

    As the sounds of stone grinding and shifting grew closer, he decided to experiment a little. Standing and facing toward the center of his little cave of crushed marble, he opened the pathways to his Breath Core, inhaled deeply, and, just as he¡¯d learned to do so many months ago back in the Untamed Marches, he exhaled a plume of fiery, magma-attuned Energy. It wasn¡¯t nearly as impressive as when he was under the influence of his Volcanic Fury spell, but the stream of liquid fire was significantly broader and stretched further than when he¡¯d first acquired his Breath Core.

    As the hot, molten rock smoked and sizzled, he looked into his Breath Core again and saw that both Energy orbs were reduced. Was his Energy cap the same for both attunements? Looking at his Status sheet to confirm, he saw:

    <strong>Breath Core Energy: 1780/2800</strong>

    He¡¯d gained three hundred maximum Energy from his Core¡¯s new ranks, but his total was a singr value; he didn¡¯t have different tallies for the two Energy types. ¡°So, how do I breathe blue ice?¡±

    He opened his pathways again, took a deep breath, and this time, instead of firing off his breath by reflex, he looked inward to his Breath Core space, and using his will, he pulled a strand of the icy blue Energy into his pathway before exhaling. Just as he¡¯d hoped, a plume of frosty, crackling air erupted from his mouth, coating the sheet of still-smoldering magma and freezing it over. More than that, he could hear the stones beneath the sheet of frosty ice cracking as the frigid substance bit deeply into them.

    ¡°Now <em>that</em>¡¯s badass!¡± Victor pped his hands together, then looked at his Breath Core Energy levels again:

    <strong>Breath Core Energy: 770/2800</strong>

    He was rather happy to see that his Breath Core¡¯s Energy wasn¡¯t being split by the two affinities but rather that he had a total sum of Energy that he could use as he wished, much the way his Epic-tier Spirit Core worked. The thought made him wonder if that meant his Breath Core was well-constructed and wouldn¡¯t need tweaking before he advanced to epic tier and beyond. He also wondered if he¡¯d be able to enhance his Breath Core cultivation by adding a source for the strange ¡°blue ice¡± Energy.

    He must have spent more time thinking and experimenting than he thought because a great tter of crashing stone interrupted him, and a stream of light shone down into his dusty, smoky space. ¡°Duke Sandoval?¡± a strident woman¡¯s voice called, and he shielded his eyes to peer upward where arge woman wearing honest-to-God brown corduroy overalls stood in the hazy opening, peering back at him.

    ¡°That¡¯s me!¡±

    ¡°Are you well?¡±

    Victor chuckled and began hopping up the broken stones toward the opening. ¡°That¡¯s likely a matter of opinion. Some would say no.¡±

    The woman peered up at him and took in the clean, undamaged appearance of his clothes¡ªVictor had long since sent his armor into hiding. ¡°Ancient Gods! How¡¯d you survive this catastrophe?¡±

    Victor brushed his hands together, wishing his skin could simrly clean itself, and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m tough and lucky, I guess.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure he should im responsibility for the ¡°catastrophe.¡± Was the queen spinning a different tale? Still, his guilt tweaked his guts, and he blurted, ¡°Was anyone else hurt?¡±

    ¡°Aye, plenty! Still, the gods must favor Gloria, for none are reported dead save those traitors what caused this disaster! Her Majesty says you had a hand in that, milord, so you have the thanks of me and mine. Imagine! Trying to kill such a wonderful woman as Queen Kynna Dar! And her poor <em>son</em>! Such an innocentd! I¡¯m beside myself!¡± She shook her head and sighed, then pointed further upward toward another, brighter light. ¡°I should stop my rambling, sir. Head on up¡ªI¡¯ve made steps there in therger stones. Take your time; we¡¯ve folks waiting to tend to you.¡±

    ¡°And you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll clean this mess up as much as I can. Her Majesty is eager to have Thorn¡¯s body so¡¯s she can search for evidence of his aplices. You, um, didn¡¯t take his rings or¡ª¡±

    ¡°Nah. They¡¯re all there.¡± Victor waved and started climbing. It was true; the woman had basically built a staircase out of the rubble withfortable, grooved steps seemingly molded into the marble. He wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about Kynna ming Thorn for the destruction, but he supposed a person <em>could </em>make the argument that this was all the traitor¡¯s fault. If Thorn hadn¡¯t attacked Kynna, Victor wouldn¡¯t have had to fight him. It wasn¡¯t like Victor had <em>wanted </em>to use his Volcanic Fury; he¡¯d needed it to break the former chambein¡¯s ice spell.

    The cheers of guards and more Elementalists broke him from his introspection, and he smiled as he emerged from a massive pit into the dusty, broken remnants of the central portion of Kynna¡¯s pce. He was d to see that the four wings were mostly intact, visible over the rubble and that the grounds and gardens seemed rtively whole. For once, he was happy that his power wasn¡¯t truly the equivalent of a great volcano.

    He waved to the folks hard at work clearing away the mess, then caught sight of Kynna, still surrounded by her Queen¡¯s Guard. She was waving him over from atop a partially broken staircase. Victor jogged over, nodding and waving to every soldier and worker he passed; all stared at him with a mixture of adoration and awe. Some cheered, some shouted his name, and some simply stared, dumbstruck by his presence.

    When he mounted the steps and stood before Kynna, he knelt, biting back a quip about how easy it was to impress her people. Before he could speak, asking something inane like how she was or saying somethingme like he was d her son was all right, she grasped his shoulder and pulled him to his feet. ¡°You¡¯ve saved our nation, Victor. I¡¯ll not have you kneel this day.¡±

    Victor looked around at the dusty, bloody faces of the Queen¡¯s Guard and asked, ¡°Is Bryn¡ª¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s well. I insisted she see a physician. She suffered a head wound while rescuing my son, but Leyna here says that she¡¯ll be fine.¡± The queen nced at one of her guardians. ¡°Yes?¡±

    Standing there in a battered silvery breastte tooled with enameled yellow roses, the woman nodded quickly and, in a hoarse, breathy voice, responded, ¡°Aye, My Queen. The physician said she¡¯d be right as rain in no time.¡±

    Queen Kynna, her hand still on Victor¡¯s shoulder, smiled and gently squeezed. ¡°You see, Champion? Your loyal guardswoman is well, my betrayer is dead, and my son is safe.¡± She gestured to the wreckage of her pce. ¡°This will be made whole again, given time. In the meantime, I¡¯d like to travel with you to Iron Mountain.¡± She reached up to tap her crown, epassing herself, Victor, and all of her remaining Queen¡¯s Guard in her blue dome of privacy.

    ¡°Something more?¡± Victor prompted.

    ¡°I¡¯m quite sure Thorn wasn¡¯t acting alone. I believe he was¡­prodded to act. I¡¯ve reconsidered my ancestor¡¯s proposal, Victor, and I believe it¡¯s time that we speak in earnest about the next steps. If the nations of Ruhn want to scheme against me, plot my demise, and threaten my child, then I believe it¡¯s high time we gave them a reason to fear us.¡±

    ¡°Us?¡±

    ¡°Well, Victor, after hearing the tale of your performance in the garden and seeing how you stood up to Thorn, I must admit that I¡¯ve gained a¡­new perspective with regard to you challenging more dangerous champions.¡± She turned back to the wreckage. ¡°Still, it¡¯s a pity Thorn¡¯s schemes brought down the pce, don¡¯t you think? The word going around the city is that my new champion was nearly killed by the man. He might have emerged victorious if he hadn¡¯t brought the pce down on himself.¡±

    As she turned back to him and winked, Victor grinned and nodded. ¡°Yeah, he was a real mean bastard, that Thorn. Lucky for me, a giant chunk of granite fell on his head.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 24: The Weight of Rule

    The vast teleportationwork on Ruhn made traveling between cities andrger towns painless, but it took something away from the scale of the world, at least in Victor¡¯s mind. When he and the queen¡¯s entourage traveled from Gloria to Iron Mountain, nearly five hundred miles distant, it only took a few seconds. His first view of his duchy was a dim, stone-walled room where rune-inscribed metallic iys made intricate patterns on the floor¡ªthe portal chamber.

    A guard wearing gray and ck livery and wielding a lightning-tipped spear immediately took a knee. The queen¡¯s emissaries had already prepared the duchy for their change in rulership. ¡°Your Grace,¡± the tall, narrow-faced man said. ¡°I am Gand, your guard captain.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good to meet you, Gand. I¡¯d tell you to stand, but the queen will be here any second.¡± A sh of light heralded more arrivals, and soon, the room was filled with nobles,dies in waiting, Queen¡¯s Guards, and, of course, Kynna and her son, Tomorran. As the party, some thirty people, filled the portal chamber a little ufortably, Victor turned to Gand. ¡°Where¡¯s my chambein? Have rooms been made ready for the queen and her people?¡±

    ¡°Duke Sandoval,¡± Kynna said,ing to stand beside him. ¡°My Queen¡¯s Guards are interviewing and vetting your household staff. I¡¯m sorry, I meant to tell you, but the preparations for our departure got away from me.¡±

    Gand looked up from where he knelt. ¡°I was about to say the same, milord. Most everyone¡¯s in the great hall with Her Majesty¡¯s people.¡±

    ¡°I have people in ce, Victor.¡± Kynna turned to Gand. ¡°Please rise, Captain. Tell me, where are the Ladies Davas and Loray?¡±

    Gand stood and nodded to the door. ¡°Without, My Queen.¡±

    ¡°Very good. Please give Duke Sandoval a tour of his estate, and my people will see to us.¡±

    ¡°As you say, Your Majesty.¡± Gand bowed low, then turned to Victor. ¡°Shall we, milord?¡±Victor turned to scan the throng of people, ignoring the murmured conversations. When his eyes settled on Bryn, he nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Bryn.¡± He turned to Kynna and bowed. ¡°I¡¯ll speak to you soon, Your Majesty?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll be in touch.¡±

    Victor nodded, then followed Gand out the door and past another row of royal dignitaries he vaguely recognized from Kynna¡¯s pce. With Gand leading the way, Victor and Bryn were given a lengthy tour of an estate that rivaled Kynna¡¯s royal pce in grandeur. Victor was, frankly, struck dumb, a little numb and withdrawn as he realized that the entire ce was, technically, his. So long as Gloria wasn¡¯t conquered and he wasn¡¯t killed, the enormous structure with hundreds of rooms, including vast ballrooms, a great hall, kitchens, parlors, a library, a martial hall, barracks, and three different wings of bedrooms and suites, was his.

    The estate put his home on Fanwath to shame. It put Rellia¡¯s <em>pce</em> to shame. The tower where Victor¡¯s suite was located had twenty floors and a magical elevator that used spatial magic to deposit him at his desired level nearly instantaneously. More than the structure itself, the estate was loaded with valuable furnishings, art, and every little thing that Victor would never think of¡ªcurtains, dishes, ssware, linens, pantry items, and a million other tiny objects he took for granted.

    The tour took more than two hours, and Victor was feeling overwhelmed enough, but when they finished in his master suite and stepped out onto the balcony, he got his first clear view of the <em>real</em> value of the Duchy of Iron Mountain¡ªthend. The first thing he saw was the mountain. His pce, for there was no denying that was what it was, was situated on a massive hilltop, but if he looked to his left, down the slopes of the hill and overtop miles and miles of orchards, he saw the mountain for which the duchy was named, and it made him feel tiny. It also woke something in his chest¡ªthe Iron Mountain was a slumbering volcano.

    The peak stood alone. A few rolling hills drifted away from its shoulders, but otherwise, the great conical, steel-gray slopes rose up starkly to form an enormous mountain, the top of which was slightly concave, draped in white snow, and obscured by clouds. It was like a thing from a fantasy book cover¡ªa mountain that seemed impossibly huge and out of ce, rising from thousands of square miles of green forests and cultivatednd.

    Victor stared at it for a long time, listening to the song in his chest as his magma-attuned Energy echoed the deep, soundless voice that rippled, unnoticed by most, through thend. The mountain made the one where he¡¯d battled Hector look like a hillock. Its presence rumbled in his bones, and he began to truly understand why the System called such beings ¡°sleeping gods.¡±

    ¡°Um, milord, if you look to the right, you can see the town, well, more of a city these days, really.¡±

    Victor blinked, finding his eyes dry, and wondered how long he¡¯d stood staring at the volcano. He nced at Bryn and Gand, offering a quick, reassuring smile. ¡°That¡¯s a hell of a mountain.¡±

    Gand nodded. ¡°Aye, milord. The greatest peak on the western continent.¡± He gestured to the right. ¡°The town, though, sir. I can point out a few of the more prominent locales.¡±

    Victor nodded and turned to look where Gand pointed. His pce had high walls, but they were far below his tower. Looking past them, Victor traced his eyes over perhaps a mile of manicured, garden-likewns, and then, at the demarcation of a much smaller, more decorative wall, the town began. It wasn¡¯t nearly asrge as Gloria, but as Gand had indicated, Iron Mountain was more of a city than a town. Gand pointed out a famous inn, the market square, the city administration hall, the guard barracks, and, on the banks of a broad, slow-moving river, the warehouses where the wealth of the duchy was made.

    Iron Mountain¡¯s lower slopes were peppered with mines, and all manner of metals, precious and otherwise, were mined from its enormous slopes. They were brought on rails to the town, shipped off on barges, and taken to other towns and cities where they were processed. ¡°It¡¯s by design, milord. The original Duke of Iron Mountain hated the smell of industry; he insisted on selling the ore raw, despite the value he gave up by foregoing smelters and forges. He argued that the duchy was rich enough, especially when you considered the orchards. We feed half the continent.¡±

    Gand sounded proud, and Victor, looking out at the beautiful countryside and the neat, orderly little city, could understand why. It was a lovely ce. He said as much, ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful ce, Gand. I¡¯m assuming you¡¯re able to give me this tour because you were cleared by the queen¡¯s people?¡±

    ¡°Yes, milord. I was among the first to go through their vetting process. They were thorough, but I can understand why. Terrible what happened in Gloria!¡±

    ¡°Yes. The queen¡¯s being careful for a reason. On that topic, tell me, where are the Haveshi?¡± Victor knew that Kynna had sent her agents to gather up the former ruling family of Iron Mountain, but he didn¡¯t know where she¡¯d put them.

    ¡°They¡¯re awaiting you in the Hunting Hall, milord.¡±

    ¡°The Hunting Hall? Was that on the tour?¡±

    ¡°I pointed it out, milord, but we didn¡¯t go inside. It¡¯s arge parlor where one of the earlier dukes, Avard, I believe, liked to keep his trophies and artwork with a, well, a hunting theme.¡±

    ¡°And all the Haveshi n is there?¡±

    ¡°Yes, milord.¡±

    Victor sighed, dreading what came next. ¡°All right. Let¡¯s go get this over with. I can¡¯t imagine they enjoy being left in the dark.¡±

    Gand¡¯s gray eyebrows twitched like he wasn¡¯t sure if he should smile or frown or agree or disagree. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, though, he nodded. ¡°Aye, milord.¡±

    As they walked, Victor asked, ¡°Are they¡­¡± He wanted to say ¡®popr,¡¯ but considering he was a duke now, he tried to elevate his vocabry slightly. ¡°Well-loved?¡±

    ¡°For the most part, aye, milord. The people were proud of Duke Qi Pot, and while he was away doing his duties for the king, his brother ruled Iron Mountain with an easy hand.¡±

    ¡°And his brother¡¯s name?¡±

    ¡°That would be Lord Draj, milord. I beg your pardon; I suppose he¡¯s no longer a lord.¡±

    ¡°Draj Haveshi? Is he the head of the family, then?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s also his mother, Lady T, milord, but she¡¯s softer spoken than Draj.¡±

    Victor nodded, and they walked in silence for a while as he thought about the situation. He didn¡¯t like having the former ruling family of the duchy living under his roof, and he intended to remedy that situation, but he had to be delicate. He tried to imagine someone he cared about in their situation; this was their home, and it was a beautiful ce where he was sure they¡¯d built many memories. Kynna had told him he could do as he pleased¡ªeven banish them. The thought made him sick to his stomach, though, and he knew she¡¯d already guessed he wouldn¡¯t do either.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    Despite the difort of the situation, he hoped to find some kind of middle ground. He¡¯d seen dozens of beautiful estates on the edges of the city as he¡¯d scanned it from his tower. Surely, these people could be made happy and whole without having to share a roof with the man who¡¯d killed their former head of household. What a fall, though¡ªto go from this pce, ruling over these beautifulnds, to mere citizens. Victor felt like he wouldn¡¯t be able to stomach it. He¡¯d leave.

    ¡°How many people live in the duchy?¡±

    ¡°Upwards of eight-hundred-thousand, milord.¡±

    ¡°And the coffers? How do they stand?¡± Victor wouldn¡¯t be surprised to find the duchy¡¯s wealth drained and mysteriously missing.

    ¡°That I don¡¯t know, milord. Sir Draj would have an idea, but your treasurer will no doubt finish her vetting soon, too.¡±

    As they turned down a wide, arched hallway with paintings of forest scenes lining the walls, Victor turned to Bryn. ¡°Did you get ahold of the artificer?¡±

    Her helmeted head nodded. ¡°Yes, milord. Trobban will settle his affairs and arrange to travel here within the week.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡±

    At the end of the hall, eight guards wearing the yellow rose of Gloria on the breasttes stood guarding a pair of wooden doors carved with hounds, birds, trees, and the like. Gand stopped and said, ¡°The Haveshi are within. Would you like me to announce you, milord?¡±

    ¡°No. You and Bryn can wait here.¡± He moved between the guards and stood before the door, gathering himself. He was his natural size¡ªsomething close to eleven feet tall, and he¡¯d shifted his Sovereign Will bonuses to agility and dexterity; he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d need strength or vitality and figured a little boost in his motor skills might help him avoid making awkward movements, tripping on a rug, or something equally embarrassing.

    Before he opened the door, he cast Inspiration of the Quinametzin and grinned as the shadows lifted from the hallway, and the soldiers nearby shifted and inhaled sharply. He tugged the doors wide and stepped through.

    Victor didn¡¯t mean to re as he scanned the room, but his natural expression was rather predatory; his dark brows were constantly angled downward, and his eyes were sharp and hawkish, entuated by his long, straight nose. For that reason, when he saw some of the folks who looked up at his entrance flinch back, he forced himself to smile as he reached back and pulled the doors closed behind him.

    The Hunting Hall wasrge with high, vaulted ceilings, and though one wall was dominated by floor-to-ceiling windows, gauzy, gray-green curtains hung over most of them, giving the lighting a calm, peaceful effect. The d¨¦cor was interesting; just as Gand had said, there were many trophies from hunts on the walls and stands¡ªthe horns, ws, and teeth of fantastic beasts mounted on ques, as well as a great many taxidermied heads. Victor saw bears, stags, great serpents, and dozens of creatures he couldn¡¯t name.

    Couches set in conversation groups were scattered about, and on them, Victor counted at least twenty people with a strong, familial resemnce to Qi Pot. Another dozen or two folks with wildly disparate appearances were undoubtedly children or inws. It was a good-sized n, by Victor¡¯s standards, but he knew there were other families on worlds like Ruhn and Sojourn with thousands of members. As people realized he¡¯d entered, their conversations died, and everyone, even the children, stood and turned to face him.

    He looked around, his inspiration helping him to read the expressions¡ªfear, anxiety, and anger weremon, but he also saw curiosity and, in some of the younger faces, hope and perhaps a bit of admiration. What tales had they heard about him, he wondered. The room was silent, and in that silence, Victor¡¯s ears picked out their nervous breaths and the tapping at the window as a soft breeze jostled the branches of a fruit tree grown a bit too close to the building.

    Victor didn¡¯t know what Draj or T looked like, but he supposed he didn¡¯t care. His words were for the entire n. ¡°Hello, everyone. I¡¯m Victor Sandoval, and, by right of conquest and royal decree, I¡¯m the new Duke of thesends.¡± He let his gaze traverse the group, settling on many sets of eyes, waiting patiently to see if anyone would be foolish enough to object or dere their animosity.

    No one spoke, but many men and women began to take their knees. Victor held up a hand. ¡°I¡¯ll not demand you kneel here. What would be the point of such a show between us? If I wanted to teach you a lesson in humility and force you to demonstrate your obeisance, I¡¯d be sure to arrange an audience first.¡± He chuckled, ever amused by his ability to pull words he barely understood from the depths of his mind thanks to all the reading he¡¯d done at Dar¡¯s behest.

    As those who¡¯d begun to kneel returned to their feet, Victor focused on a woman with three small children clutching her skirts. The kids, two boys and a girl, regarded him with big, fearful eyes, making him want to lighten the mood. ¡°My goodness,¡± he said, scanning the other children in the room, ¡°what well-behaved children! I know it can¡¯t be easy keeping still and quiet, and I want you to know that I appreciate it. I¡¯ll be sure to award your good manners.

    ¡°As I said, I¡¯m the Lord of thesends now, and I understand how that must be difficult to hear. I understand that many of you may wish for my demise. I¡¯m sure many of you also wonder what fate is in store for you. Surely there are rumors, though, yes? I haven¡¯t spoken publicly, and I know Her Majesty, Queen Kynna Dar, hasn¡¯t made any promation, so you must be feeling some dread.¡±

    ¡°Ancient Gods, just tell us!¡± a young man wailed, and Victor chuckled as a taller teenage girl mped her hand over his mouth.

    ¡°Fair enough. Well, you should put most of your fears to rest; I¡¯ve no intention to punish you for being rted to a man who, by all ounts, was simply serving his king¡ª¡± He was forced to stop as gasping sobs escaped many of the men and women. More than one copsed onto the couches, unable to stand on shaky legs. Victor smiled and gestured to one older woman struggling to stand again. ¡°Stay seated, please. In fact, everyone, take a seat. I should have started with that.¡±

    He stepped further into the room and waited while almost everyone sat, especially those with children. Some didn¡¯t sit, however. Some stood with arms folded, glowering. Victor marked those faces, intent on learning if it was simply pride that kept them on their feet or if they harbored dangerous ideas about vengeance. Looking at those folks, wondering if he should be ready to fight, his sharp Quinametzin eyes picked out some interesting details; these people wore no jewelry, nor did they have weapons. Had Queen Kynna¡¯s people stripped them of their belongings?

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard good things about your family, and I intend to see that you have every opportunity to maintain some status in the duchy, but I¡¯ll also see to it that other options are avable. I can¡¯t imagine it would be easy to live in the shadow of this pce after having once ruled from it.¡±

    A woman with dark hair and eyes, dressed in an elegant, silken blue gown, spoke up, ¡°We must leave the pce?¡±

    Victor turned to regard her. She sat on a pale leather couch, with her legs crossed, and held the hand of a blond-haired boy who couldn¡¯t have been more than six years old. ¡°Pardon me for asking; I¡¯ve yet to put faces to names. Might I have yours?¡±

    ¡°I am T Haveshi.¡± The answer surprised Victor, and he fought to hold his face neutral. The woman didn¡¯t look more than thirty years old, but she was the matriarch of this n. He should have expected as much, but it was hard to escape his old notions. He¡¯d imagined she¡¯d look more like his <em>abu</em>.

    ¡°I¡¯m pleased to meet you, T.¡± He knew better than to address her as ¡°mdy.¡± Kynna had made that clear to him; he was the Lord of thesends, and these people, in particr, would need to be reminded of that fact. Even so, some of the men and women gathered there gasped and looked stricken by what they viewed as tant disrespect.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be d to meet with each of you regarding the prospect of continuing to serve the duchy, and, in some cases, it might make sense for those people and their immediate family members to live in the pce. However, most of you will be expected to live elsewhere. I intend to provide your family with a sizeable estate andnds in the duchy.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d throw us from our home, then?¡± This time, it was a man who spoke up, one of those who hadn¡¯t sat down when he¡¯d asked them to. He was tall, with dark, curly hair and golden eyes, and looked very much like Qi Pot.

    ¡°Draj, I presume?¡±

    The man folded his arms over his chest and nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t press him about not addressing him respectfully. Not yet. He¡¯d anticipated an objection like the one Draj had voiced. ¡°I know I¡¯m new to thesends, but I¡¯ve read a history or two. The Haveshi held power in Iron Mountain for just over seventy-four years, shortly after Qi Pot won his first duel for King Groff. Is that right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡±

    ¡°Well, what was the name of the duke before that?¡±

    ¡°I¡ª¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t remember, don¡¯t feel bad; over thest twenty-four hundred years, there have been no less than eighty different families, under the rule of twenty-nine different royal bloodlines, to hold the im to thesends. Qi Pot was Duke of Iron Mountain for far longer than some of those other dukes, but not the longest¡ªnot even close.¡± Victor allowed his voice to grow deep, speaking from his gut as he let his aura slip its bonds. ¡°In short, Haveshi n, your im on thesends is nothing unique, nothing <em>special</em>.¡±

    As people gasped and shrank back from the weight of his aura, Victor red at Draj and growled, ¡°Sit down.¡± The man fell back onto the couch behind him, and everyone else who still stood quickly followed suit. Victor walked toward the windows, reeling in his aura; he¡¯d tried hard to focus its weight in Draj¡¯s direction, but some of it had pressed down on the children, and he already felt guilty, hearing sobs as they struggled to breathe.

    When he had it in check and silence once more reigned in the room, he pointed out the window to the massive mountain near the horizon. ¡°This duchy is called Iron Mountain because of that mighty peak, not because of any family in this pce. One day, I¡¯ll leave, too. One way or another, someone else will rule thesends. It¡¯s just the way it goes. This duchy is part of Gloria now, and if you y your cards right, every single member of your family might gainnds and titles that make you look back fondly at the times you spent here, thinking them quaint and small.¡±

    ¡°Does Gloria have so much to offer? Duchies greater than Iron Mountain?¡± someone asked. Victor didn¡¯t see who; he was still staring at the mountain.

    ¡°Not yet.¡± He turned and pped his hands, startling almost everyone. ¡°I¡¯ll have one of the queen¡¯s stewards begin interviews. If any of you want to serve the duchy or the crown, I¡¯ll help arrange it. As for the rest of you, I¡¯ll have the details regarding yournd grant and estate ready for you in a day or two. In the meantime¡ª¡±

    ¡°Milord!¡± T stood, still clutching the hand of the little boy. ¡°If you¡¯re done¡­impressing my family, I would like a chance to speak. Even before you arrived, we all came to an agreement. In the event that you decided to show mercy and if we weren¡¯t banished, we all agreed that we wanted to continue to serve the people of Iron Mountain. We wish to swear fealty, Lord Victor. We all wish to serve your household.¡±

    Victor folded his arms, frowning at the woman, wondering why nothing could ever be simple. Couldn¡¯t they all just move out? Couldn¡¯t he just get back to training and nning the next duel with Kynna? He had a <em>magical egg</em> to eat! For a brief moment, he wondered if he could return to Kynna and refuse thesends. Was that an option? Instead, he nodded, forced a smile, and gestured to a couch. ¡°Let¡¯s sit down, T. I¡¯d like to hear more about your family.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 25: Schemes

    When Victor finally returned to his chambers atop the central tower in his pce, he was exhausted. T Haveshi had kept him talking to her, her son, Draj, and half a dozen elder cousins¡ªthe decision-makers in the n¡ªfor nearly four hours. In the end, Victor concluded that the people of the Haveshi family were more afraid of fading into obscurity than they were upset about the loss of Qi Pot and their status as the de facto rulers of Iron Mountain.

    It wasn¡¯t that he trusted T or the many people in that room, but after four hours in which he¡¯d been introduced to children and been regaled with tales of the honors so many of them had won, Victor couldn¡¯t detect an ounce of animosity. He couldn¡¯t believe that so many people with such varied experiences could hide hatred or lust for vengeance so smoothly. Of course, he was smart enough to know that he was projecting his own mentality and morals onto those people, so he knew better than to grant everything they wanted carte nche.

    He''d still insisted that they take up residence in the city, but he¡¯d been very open to the idea that many of them would continue to serve the duchy and, as they¡¯d all requested, his household. It was almost like they wanted him to be their surrogate patron. After listening to T talk about tradition for over an hour, Victor was beginning to understand that it wasn¡¯t all that umon for a lord of an estate to do so. Somehow, that wily, young-looking, old woman had made hime around to the idea that he was, for all intents and purposes, responsible for them now.

    T had let one little revtion slip during their hours-long talk; she was close friends with Queen Kynna and had been since long before Xan had been aggressive to Gloria. When Victor learned that much, a lot of pieces fell into ce. Kynna had known that T would behave this way, that she¡¯d cling to him and want to make her family indispensable to him¡ªdependent on him. The most annoying thing about knowing that was that it had still worked; Victor <em>liked</em> T, and even Draj had begun to grow on him, offering advice and information freely, putting his knowledge of the duchy on exhibition.

    Victor shook his head, sighing, looking out over his balcony toward the enormous Iron Mountain. Its slopes were painted orange by the impending sunset, making Victor think of fire and magma. He wondered just how long it had been since the monstrous volcano hadst blown its top. It had to be thousands of years. A knock sounded, and he turned away from the view, striding across the richly appointed sitting room to the foyer and the door that led to the guardroom outside his elevator.

    When he opened the door, Bryn stood there, and just behind her was Queen Kynna. ¡°Her Majesty is here to see you, milord.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Bryn.¡± Victor pulled the door wide and gestured for the queen to enter, bowing slightly. ¡°Hello, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Good evening, Victor. I hope you don¡¯t mind meing by for an evening meeting. I took the liberty of ordering us dinner so you won¡¯t be starved while we work.¡±

    Victor pushed the door closed and gestured to therge dining table. ¡°Please have a seat. As for starving, I <em>am</em> hungry but had something else in mind.¡±¡°Your egg?¡± She chuckled and sat down, surprising him by not taking the seat at the head of the table but rather the one to its right.

    ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t worry, though, it¡¯ll wait.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t have to wait long. Once we go over a few things, I¡¯ll have much to upy me as I prepare for the next challenge.¡±

    Victor thought it would be weird to choose a seat other than the head of the table, but he hoped he wasn¡¯t sending the wrong message. He hoped it wasn¡¯t a trap. He chuckled under his breath at that thought¡ªhow strange politics were! Before he¡¯d been summoned to Fanwath, could he ever have imagined that he¡¯d be worrying about the implications of taking the wrong seat at a table?

    Kynna lifted her crown off and set it on the table to her left, but she tapped a nail against it, creating her privacy barrier before she turned to Victor. ¡°It grows heavier and heavier throughout the day.¡±

    Again, Victor wondered at the double meaning of her words. Was she being literal, or was she demonstrating that she understood the weight of ruling over people? He decided to y it neutrally. ¡°I can imagine.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to talk about your time with the Haveshi family?¡±

    ¡°Well, I learned that you happen to be good friends with their matriarch.¡±

    ¡°I am¡ªI <em>was</em>. We haven¡¯t spoken much in recent years. Still, I don¡¯t believe she or her sons were pleased with how King Groff was treating Gloria.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re very eager to continue their service to the duchy. I was intent on removing them from the pce and their official duties, at least at first, but after our meeting, I¡¯m starting to think I could use their help and loyalty. How do you feel about it?¡± Victor didn¡¯t want to ask for advice openly, but he supposed a little humility might serve him well.

    ¡°T knows that the star of her family has fallen. They could be stripped and banished, forced to start over in a new world. If we sent them to another high-tier world, they¡¯d be paupers, and if we sent them to a frontier world, they¡¯d have to fight for their position, and then, if they rose to power, they¡¯d be ruling over a backwater. I believe that T is grateful we¡¯re not doing that to them. My agents took their dimensional containers when they rounded them up, but we have them set aside. If you agree, I believe you could win much favor with them if you return all or most of their personal belongings.¡±

    ¡°Do I need to earn favor with them?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps that¡¯s the wrong term¡ªloyalty might fit better. As for whether or not you need them¡­¡± Kynna paused and stroked her sharp, elegant jawline for a moment. ¡°Iron Mountain is not a trivial duchy to rule. It¡¯s enormously rich and influential, and there are a million moving parts to the industries here. You could findmoners familiar with the workings of the mines, the orchards, and the ports, but loyalty among them will be just as questionable as you might find the Haveshi¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°So, you think I should just trust Draj and let him continue to operate things?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t precisely trust him, but you could certainly <em>use</em> him. Your problem, Victor, is that you¡¯re alone on Ruhn.¡± She held up a hand and shook her head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t mean that you don¡¯t have me or your loyal guardian outside that door, but you don¡¯t have awork of people you know and trust. You have to put some faith in people; sometimes, it will bite you, and sometimes, it will reveal new allies.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but is it smart to trust the people whom I¡¯ve disced?¡±

    ¡°Again, I caution you not to think in those terms. These people are <em>alive</em> at our mercy. They¡¯re still allowed to live here at <em>yours</em>. Many rulers of the kingdoms of Ruhn would have had every one of them relieved of their heads by now.¡±

    Victor sighed and waved a hand. ¡°All right. I understand your point. Let me ask you something else, though. If the veil walkers ensure that people follow thews of warfare on Ruhn, why are assassins sanctioned? Why didn¡¯t they intervene when Thorn tried to take your life and captured your son?¡±

    ¡°The veil walkers who remain on Ruhn are concerned with the small folk. The rules for warfare and the resulting duels are meant to protect themoners of Ruhn from the whims, schemes, and ambitions of the nobility. They care not if my rivals y me and mine in our sleep.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor sighed, ¡°I guess Dar kind of touched on that with me. It¡¯s wild to see it in action, though.¡± Victor pointed to the blue dome surrounding his dining table. ¡°You think you¡¯re safe here?¡±

    ¡°No, not safe, but safer. Mying here will throw any traitors¡¯ schemes into disarray.¡±

    ¡°Traitors meaning people in Gloria.¡± Victor nodded, understanding how moving her court away from the capital in the wake of his destruction might thwart other immediate plots to dethrone her.

    ¡°Yes. As for schemes, Victor, we have our own to consider.¡± She smiled wryly, shifting in her seat to look at him more directly. ¡°I believe I can create a usible connection between Thorn and the kingdom of Bandia.¡±

    Victor frowned, trying to picture theplex map of Ruhn in his mind. ¡°Can you remind me¡ª¡±

    ¡°Bandia is a coastal kingdom on this continent, and if we conquer it, we¡¯ll be within our rights to challenge one of the kingdoms on the eastern continent.¡±

    ¡°So does that mean we can skip the kingdoms between here and, uh, Bandia?¡±

    ¡°No! The rules on warfare are clear; we must share a border or body of water with the kingdom we challenge. The beauty of my strategy is that we can begin to work our way toward Bandia, and we can do it without dering a session war; with Thorn¡¯s ¡®connection¡¯ and the attempted coup, we have a usible reason for wanting to conquer Bandia, and thereby, the kingdoms between us.¡±

    ¡°So, Thorn¡¯s betrayal provided you an excuse to start the session war in secret, huh? I¡¯m assuming that will result in fewer assassination attempts than if you openly dered it?¡±

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    ¡°Precisely. Thorn¡¯s rtion to the Queen of Bandia¡ªshe¡¯s his second cousin¡ªand their recentmunications cloud the waters just enough for us to justify action.¡±

    She seemed excited and hungry, and Victor wondered what had changed. It didn¡¯t sound like Thorn¡¯s ¡®connection¡¯ to Bandia was really what was motivating her. ¡°You don¡¯t <em>know</em> that the Queen of Bandia was involved in the coup, though?¡±

    ¡°I believe she¡¯s been whispering in Thorn¡¯s ear for years¡ªdecades, even. Looking back with a critical eye, I can see how her kingdom benefited from diplomatic overtures Thorn argued were best for Gloria. Well, you saw the state of my nation when you arrived. I believe the man has been undermining me since the moment I took the throne. My father loved him dearly and thought he was a brilliant strategist, so I never suspected him.¡±

    ¡°Are we going to stop there? I know you said we¡¯ll be within our rights to challenge a great house once we conquer Bandia, but are you going to? Are we taking this all the way?¡±

    ¡°My brush with death and my son¡¯s capture drove something home for me, Victor. So long as there are divisions in society, such as the one between the great houses and the lower kingdoms of Ruhn, then it¡¯s never safe to be on thedder''s lower rungs. It¡¯s far easier to throw someone off if they¡¯re below you. Don¡¯t you agree?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, for sure. They call it ¡®king of the hill¡¯ for a reason.¡±

    ¡°So, I tire of being at the bottom of the hill. I thought a calm, quiet life was what I wanted, but that coup attempt woke something in me. I believe I have a bit of my ancestor¡¯s desire for glory in me, Victor, and I¡¯ll not sit down here and allow my ¡®betters¡¯ to decide my fate.¡± She sneered as she said, ¡°betters,¡± and Victor grinned fiercely.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I like to hear! Hell yes! When¡¯s my next duel?¡±

    Kynna smiled and reached over the table to sp his wrist in her long, slender fingers. Her eyes widened, and Victor knew why: her fingers felt like ice cubes on his hot flesh. ¡°Your skin is so hot!¡±

    ¡°Heh. It was worse before I¡ª¡± Victor almost said, ¡°before I ate Thorn¡¯s heart,¡± but he caught himself just in time. He chuckled and shook his head. ¡°Before I learned to control my Energy.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m pleased you¡¯re eager to fight, Champion, but this will be a careful process. We must go through the motions of investigation and usation. We must feign diplomacy, and when that falls through, we¡¯ll need to pressure our eastern neighbor, Lovania, into a duel. It will take time¡ªmonths, likely. In the meantime, you must make yourself as strong as possible.¡±

    As she drew her hand back, Victor nodded and turned to look at the evening sky outside his balcony. ¡°I want to visit that mountain.¡±

    ¡°The mines?¡±

    ¡°No, the mountain. I can feel it. Its spirit calls to mine, and I think it will be worth my time to explore its depths¡­or its heights. I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    ¡°I¡ª¡± Kynna frowned and nced at her crown. ¡°I want to object, but I just asked you to make yourself strong. I cannot stand in your path if you feel something in that mighty mountain that calls to you. However, I¡¯ll send a Spatial Magus with you. Florent is a good man, and he¡¯ll be able to craft a portal that will bring you back here should the need arise.¡±

    Victor thought about it for a moment, and though he didn¡¯t like having strangers looking over his shoulder, he didn¡¯t see a real downside. ¡°I¡¯ll bring Bryn, too, and I suppose that means I¡¯ll probably put some trust into the Haveshi family to run things around here. I mean, you¡¯ll be here, too, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Victor. I will keep a keen eye on T and her son, but I believe you¡¯re making a wise decision. Now,¡± she smiled and gestured toward the door, ¡°I received notice that our dinner is here. Shall we eat?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Victor leaned back, suddenly feeling a little better about everything. He felt like he had a path before him, and though it was convoluted, with many stops along the way, it <em>felt</em> right. He¡¯d build his strength, and when the times were right, he¡¯d fight some duels. He was beginning to feel a little flutter in his gut, something he hadn¡¯t noticed in a long time¡ªhe was excited.

    He was eager to face off against the champions of the ¡°great houses¡± and to show them what <em>he </em>was made of, especially after hearing Kynna talk about how they viewed themselves as better than the rest of the people on Ruhn. He supposed that it was rather apparent in how theybeled themselves, but that didn¡¯t make him dislike them any less. More than that, he was eager to visit that mountain. When he looked at that great peak, he felt a small echo of what he¡¯d felt when he¡¯d visited the Ivid hive world. It was a sense of wonder and awe, and he wanted a closer look.

    He and the queen ate a meal her personal chef and attendants served, and Victor savored every delectable bite. They made small talk, and, for the first time, Victor felt like he was beginning to get to know the queen as a person and not just as a ruler or Dar¡¯s distant granddaughter. He asked her about T Haveshi and how they knew each other, and that¡¯s when Victor learned that Queen Kynna was a lot older than he¡¯d thought.

    ¡°We hunted together often when I was younger,¡± she said breezily, sipping her wine while Victor stuffed arge forkful of dense chocte cake into his mouth. ¡°I¡¯d say the first time we went out was something close to sixty years ago. Coincidentally, we stalked the slopes of the Iron Mountain; she was teaching me to track the great cats that lurk in the heights.¡±

    Victor tried hard to keep his face straight when she said ¡°sixty.¡± When his eyes betrayed his surprise, he feigned difficulty swallowing and, with a chagrined smile, cleared his throat and said, ¡°My eyes were bigger than my mouth.¡±

    ¡°I hope you left room for your treasure. Will you consume it tonight?¡±

    ¡°I figure I¡¯ll be out a few days. Is that all right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll manage things around here while you recover. Would you like me to speak to T and Draj on your behalf? I can assign them each an ¡®assistant¡¯ who will report back to me.¡±

    ¡°And then you¡¯ll report to me?¡±

    ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll share everything I learn with you, Victor. Our fates are entwined now.¡±

    Victor sighed and leaned on the arm of his chair, making it creak andin. He rested a hand on his distended belly. ¡°That was delicious.¡± Kynna¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he wondered if she was irritated that he hadn¡¯t echoed her overture of partnership.

    He didn¡¯t have to wonder long. ¡°What motivates you, Victor?¡±

    He decided to be straight with her for once. ¡°It¡¯s funny you ask ¡®cause I reflected on that earlier while we ate.¡± Kynna¡¯s eyebrows arched, and she leaned forward but didn¡¯t speak, so Victor continued. ¡°I feel excited at the prospect of fighting these champions of the great houses. I love the energy of a crowd, and I love to fight, but I also love to beat the shit out of <em>pendejos</em> who think they¡¯re better than everyone else. Yeah,¡± he nodded and smiled, ¡°I¡¯d say that motivates me pretty well.¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯m beginning to understand why my ancestor sent you to us. The members of my Queen¡¯s Guard were impressed by you¡ªenough to speak about you in hushed voices, afraid they¡¯d incite your wrath. Your loyal protector, Guardswoman Bryn, refuses to speak about what she saw when you and Thorn brought the pce down around you. Such loyalty given so quickly isn¡¯t something I¡¯ve ever seen before. I know the people I brought here are loyal to me, but that¡¯s after decades of building rtionships. She must see something great in you, and I must confess that I¡¯m starting to see it, too.¡±

    ¡°Ahem,¡± Victor shifted ufortably. ¡°Look, Queen Kynna¡ª¡±

    ¡°You may call me Kynna when we¡¯re alone, Victor.¡± Again, she reached over the table to grasp his wrist, her touch tender, and Victor wondered if he was receiving mixed signals or if she wasing on to him. He didn¡¯t know how to react, but one thing was sure: he wasn¡¯t looking for that kind of rtionship just then, especially not with a queen he was supposed to be working for. He held still, though, and didn¡¯t pull away, waiting to see if he was overreacting or reading the situation wrong.

    ¡°Okay, well, Kynna, I don¡¯t try to build loyalty with people. I¡¯m just myself, and if that inspires loyalty, then I¡¯m not going toin. Bryn¡¯s a smart, capable woman, and I think we shared a moment there in the garden when she almost died. I think she knows I witnessed hering face to face with death, and that created a connection between us. That¡¯s all it is.¡±

    Kynna smiled, gently squeezing his wrist before letting go. ¡°You¡¯re an interesting man, Victor. I looked into death¡¯s eyes in that garden, too, you know. I¡¯m very grateful that you were there. Tell me, how many times have you stared into the abyss?¡±

    Victor exhaled slowly, feeling his heart begin to beat normally again as she leaned away from him and folded her napkin, cing it on the table. ¡°A few times, I guess.¡±

    She nodded, staring at him for another long, awkward moment before saying, ¡°This was a lovely evening, and I think a productive one, too. I¡¯ll speak to you after you consume your treasure, yes?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course.¡±

    ¡°In the meantime, we¡¯ll get things in order here in the duchy, and I¡¯ll prepare Florent for his new assignment with you.¡±

    As she stood, Victor followed suit, escorting her to the door. ¡°Thank you, Kynna. It was nice to get to know you a little.¡±

    ¡°I feel the same.¡± She smiled, and then, as he opened the door, she stepped into the guardroom, where her attendants waited to follow her into the elevator.

    When she was gone, Victor looked at Bryn and exhaled noisily. ¡°Sheesh! That was a stressful dinner.¡±

    ¡°The food looked good.¡±

    ¡°You saw that?¡±

    ¡°Well, they had to bring it through the door¡­¡±

    ¡°All right, get in there. There are plenty of leftovers. Let¡¯s have a drink and look out over my dominion from the balcony. What do you say?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m on duty¡­¡± Sheughed and turned to push Victor¡¯s door open. ¡°I think one drink will be fine, considering you¡¯re the duke.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, just one, though, ¡®cause I have an egg to eat.¡±

    Brynughed and lifted her helmet off, walking over to the table where the tters of food waited. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you haven¡¯t eaten that thing yet. I wouldn¡¯t have made it two steps off the stage before stuffing it into my mouth.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Victor chuckled as he walked over to the fully stocked bar in his parlor. ¡°Remind me to keep my treasures hidden from you.¡±

    ¡°Of course, milord.¡± Bryn grinned, slicing a thick cut of something like a roasted duck.

    Victor poured their drinks and carried them out to the balcony, where he did just as he¡¯d said he would¡ªobserved his domain. The countryside was dark, but up on the mountain, he saw the faint, amber lights of the mines¡ªtiny glowing dots on the vast, dark slopes. Looking the other way, he saw the city''s lights. He contemted the thousands and thousands of people living there. How strange to think that he was responsible for them all! ¡°Strange and sobering,¡± he sighed, sipping his dark, spiced liquor.

    ¡°Does it weigh on you?¡± Bryn asked,ing to stand beside him with her te of food.

    He passed her the drink he¡¯d poured for her and shrugged. ¡°Yeah. It does, but I know what I¡¯m good at, and I¡¯ll keep working on that. There are people here who can help with all this.¡± He nodded toward the city.

    ¡°It¡¯s a wise leader who knows when to delegate.¡±

    Victor snorted, taking another sip. ¡°That a lesson one of your captains taught you?¡±

    Sheughed and elbowed him. ¡°How¡¯d you know?¡±

    ¡°Eh, it reminded me of something a friend of mine would say; she was always quoting things from her time in the military. You¡¯d like her, I think.¡± Victor sighed happily, pleased with how the night went and even more pleased with how the future was shaping up. He and Bryn stood together, enjoying each other¡¯spany but not needing to speak much. Victor mulled over thoughts of old friends and watched the city, and she ate, often grunting in pleasure as she sampled something particrly tasty.

    When she was done eating, and they¡¯d finished their drink, Victor walked her to the door and said, ¡°I¡¯ll probably be out for a while. Don¡¯t let anyone in here.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t, milord.¡±

    ¡°Goodnight, then.¡± He pressed the door closed with a solid click. He threw the bolt home, locking it solidly, then went around the apartment, locking all the windows and the balcony doors¡ªit was time to consume his treasure.

 Book 9: Chapter 26: Tenecoalt

    Victor stood in the central room of his chambers, half of which was taken up by the dining table and half by a sitting area with a few built-in curio cabs and bookshelves. He¡¯d locked all the windows and doors, but considering the recent assassination attempt and the fact that he only had a couple of allies in the entire world, he decided a bit more safeguarding was in order. He didn¡¯t want to lie helpless for days when there were plenty of folks on Ruhn who wanted him dead.

    With that thought in mind, he touched most of the furniture¡ªthe dining table and chairs, a couch, and a couple of end tables¡ªsending them into the enormous storage ring he¡¯d taken from Loyle after their duel. Standing in the center of the now-empty space, he took the vault pendant from around his neck and turned the key, quickly setting the clicking, ticking, steaming device at his feet.

    The little marble-sized ball rapidly expanded until an eight-foot globe sat before him, clicking softly as the heat generated by the weird spatial magic faded. As a credit to the solid construction of his pce, the hardwood ts beneath the rug didn¡¯t creak or sag. Victor stuck the key in the vault¡¯splex circr lock, and as it <em>thunked</em> into ce, he turned it until the round vault door opened with a hiss of cool, misty air.

    Victor cast Alter Self, reducing his height to step into the vault. Out of habit, he knelt beside the satchel containing the ivid royal jelly. His lips spread in a smile, and his eyes shone with delight as he beheld and <em>felt</em> its seemingly depthless potential. He didn¡¯t know when he¡¯d use it, but he knew the time wasn¡¯t yet upon him. It was just a feeling, an intuition, but the idea of consuming that potent stuff made him think it would take him apart, atom by atom. He closed the satchel and turned to the vault door, removing the key from the outside before pulling it closed and locking it from the key slot on the inside.

    Victor didn¡¯t know how hard it would be for a high-level iron ranker or a steel seeker to break into the vault, but he knew it wouldn¡¯t be easy. In his estimation, anyone trying to smash into the magical metallic orb would destroy the entire pce before they managed to dent the thing. He figured Kynna and her allies woulde to his aid long before his little sanctum was breached. He moved to the center of the space and sat down, summoning the gilded, jewel-studded egg from his storage ring.

    He held it in hisp, feeling its weight, wondering at the strange idea of coating a natural treasure like an <em>egg</em> with gold. He hoped whatever artisan had done so had worked some magic into the shell, keeping the morsel inside fresh or, at least, edible. He took a deep breath, preparing to try to crack the ornamental shell, when another thought came to him. <em>Breath</em>. Was there enough air in his vault to support him while hey insensate from the egg? With a chuckle, Victor consciously stopped breathing, giving himself a visceral reminder about how <em>little</em> he needed to.

    He''d learned as much back at Dar¡¯ske house¡ªswimming beneath the surface for tens of minutes on a single breath. His epic-tier bloodline and racial status meant that his body¡¯s cells were saturated with Energy. They fed off it far more than they did more natural things like food, water, and air. That thought sent his mind spiraling down another rabbit hole¡ªwhy did he assume Energy wasn¡¯t natural? Was it just prejudice¡ªa product of his youth spent in a world devoid of it?

    Victor gave his head a quick shake, forcing his focus back on the egg. His wandering mind made him wonder if he was procrastinating, and if that was the case, he was determined to put an end to it. With little hesitation, he pressed his thick thumbnail through the golden shell of the Coldwater Sea Wyrm¡¯s egg. A heady scent tickled his nose almost immediately¡ªlike a mixture of honey and blood. He¡¯d wanted just to pierce the golden shell, but his nail had gone through into the meat of the egg that was, apparently, soft-shelled.

    Victor licked his thumb, where some of the gelid material had clung, and his mouth exploded with vors¡ªa bit like any other egg, but intensely magnified in vor and somehow sweet. He could taste hints of minerals but was also so overwhelmed by the flood of Energy that came out of it that he nearly lost his ability to focus. His eyes became blurry, and tears streamed from the corners as though he¡¯d eaten something intensely sour, even though it wasn¡¯t. With trembling fingers, Victor carefully peeled away the gem-encrusted golden shell, and then, before too many wisps of that potent Energy drifted away from the egg, he put it into his mouth whole.As he chomped the egg into mush, gulping it down, Victor¡¯s mind exploded with dopamine, and waves of euphoria washed over him, sending shivers and tingles over his entire epidermis. He copsed backward, his vision utterly sted by exploding lights, and lost all track of his conscious thoughts.

    He drifted, insensate for a long while, and though he couldn¡¯t form coherent thoughts as the egg did something to his body and mind,ter, he might look back and wonder at the odd, dreamlike memories of that time¡ªglimpses of explosions in space, mattering together, stars pulling apart. Great, tumultuous sounds like standing at the base of a thousand-foot waterfall, like mountainsing down, rumbling and roaring as their stony slopes smashed themselves into rubble, then pebbles, then silt as they sluiced away into nothing. These were just impressions, nothing concrete, and yet, that drifting exposure to those gigantic sights and sounds would shape his dreams for months and years.

    When he had the presence of mind to recognize himself¡ªhis thoughts and feelings¡ªhe was in a much calmer ce. A dark void where he drifted, bodiless. When he began to put his thoughts into order, remembering what he¡¯d been doing, he had the wherewithal to peer into that darkness, wondering if he was meant to see something. It was an odd sensation, looking with no eyes. Even stranger was how he could <em>feel</em> theck of air and matter, even though he seemed to have no body.

    Almost as though that realization was the key, a pinpoint of light appeared in the void. Seeing it, Victor focused his attention that way, and then the pinpoint exploded, epassing him in its brilliant shades of verdant green and hazy blue. Along with the light came feeling, and hot, humid air wrapped him in an embrace that felt like home. He saw his bare feet standing on lush, warm grass. Looking around, he saw ferns, dense jungle trees, vines and thorns, and all the little creatures that made that foliage their home.

    The trickle of a nearby stream brought his attention to the space behind him, and there, sitting on arge, moist boulder, was a man who looked both strange and familiar. He was a big, brooding figure wrapped in colorful, green, and yellow-scaled leather. He wore a tooth-adorned ne and clutched a massive macahuitl¡ªVictor recognized the weapon type from previous visions into his bloodline. He focused on the man¡¯s face¡ªdarkly tanned skin, golden-brown eyes, a hawkish nose, and a dark brooding brow. Suddenly, the familiarity became clear: he resembled Victor.

    ¡°Strange,¡± Victor said, stepping toward the man. ¡°Usually, when I have a bloodline vision, I feel like I¡¯m walking in my ancestors¡¯ shoes, not staring at them.¡±

    The brooding figure broke his stony expression by grinning, exposing straight, white teeth. ¡°You¡¯ve eaten something potent. Your bloodline was already nearly pure, and now I¡¯d say you¡¯ve woken so much of me that my memories are boiling in your blood, eager to expose themselves to you.¡±

    ¡°So,¡± Victor sat on a rock across from his ancestor, ¡°you¡¯re not real? I¡¯m not speaking to your spirit?¡±

    ¡°Hah! I¡¯m as real as you are! As real as your blood. When I had my children, some of me was built into them. Those bits of me went down and down and down through the generations, buried deeper and deeper, but you¡¯ve been working to bring them out, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡ª¡±

    ¡°No need to respond, Victor. I know what you know!¡± Heughed. ¡°I¡¯ve always been a part of you, as have your other ancestors, even your dear, sweet <em>abuelita</em>. We¡¯re all in here.¡± He reached forward to tap Victor¡¯s chest with a thick, powerful finger.

    ¡°But, you¡¯re somewhere else, too¡­your spirits¡ª¡±

    ¡°Of course! We leave some of us in our children, but our <em>selves</em> carry on. I wonder what I¡¯m doing now? Do you think I found a new life? I know you¡¯ve listened to your ancestors. Chantico has spoken to you more than once. I wonder if I¡¯m out there somewhere.¡± Victor didn¡¯t think he expected an answer, so he just nodded. ¡°Are you wondering why I¡¯m here? Why the magic of that egg you consumed has awoken me and granted you this strange vision?¡±

    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know?¡± Victor arched an eyebrow.

    ¡°Hah! Of course! You¡¯re burning with curiosity!¡± He chuckled, then reached down to the little stream and scooped up a little crystalline water, flicking droplets off his fingertips at Victor. It felt good in the sweltering heat, and his ancestor chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m Tenecoalt, Victor, the most prominent progenitor in your blood. You¡¯re alone, trying to embrace a bloodline you only partially understand. I will provide some guidance.¡±

    Victor¡¯s heart began to race. Was he finally going to have some answers? Something more than the cryptic hints Ranish Dar doled out? ¡°I¡¯m

    ¡°I know you are! Listen, Victor, we have some time, but as you no doubt know, time moves strangely when the world you inhabit is inside your mind. One task before us is to make proper use of the Energy and clever nature of that natural treasure you consumed. I see you¡¯ve managed to awaken a Breath Core. That¡¯s a feat worthy of praise; in my time, only a few of our kin managed as much. I know you yed arge part in the battle against a tremendous elder wyrm. Even I would have struggled to y such a beast! Alone, I mean,¡± he chuckled, ¡°not with the aid of an army of hunters.¡±

    ¡°I¡ª¡±

    Tenecoalt held up his hand, ¡°Allow me to speak for a while, brave descendent. The wyrm reminds me of something important, and I think we have the time. You¡¯ve done well to learn a great secret of us Quinametzin¡ªwell, of us and others with simr titanic ancestry. Our flesh is potent¡ªresilient and malleable, able to adapt and ovee almost any adversity. You¡¯ve already awakened many secrets of our blood. For instance, not every species can gain regenerative abilities like those you boast. Not every species can awaken a Breath Core.

    ¡°When you consume a vanquished foe¡¯s heart, you consume a piece of their spirit, and as your mighty Quinametzin gut absorbs their flesh, your blood sifts through the tiny building blocks, delving it for secrets to incorporate. You must know that not every heart is worthy of your attention, and even if youe upon a mighty heart, if you feel undeserving, the ritual will fail.¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°You begin to reach true heights of power. I know from your experiences that there¡¯s a new entity in the universe, a faceless ¡®system¡¯ that guides you, though I¡¯m sure it takes its toll from your sesses. Soon, you must shrug off the shackles of that nebulous master if you intend to grasp the true meaning of your bloodline. No doubt it will feel scorned and retaliate, likely sending tribtions and challengers your way. In that case, you should learn as much as possible, gain as much power as possible, and ensure you are ready to face dire threats before you do.¡±

    ¡°How¡ª¡±

    ¡°Gleaning what I can from your memories, I believe the ¡®system¡¯ will put you on the road to your own liberty. When you pass beyond this ¡®level one hundred¡¯ and begin to construct your own ¡®ss,¡¯ you will touch upon the truth. When you taste it, when you see the trail of blood, hunt it down, Victor. Do not be quieted and made docile by the promises of the ¡®system¡¯ and its minions.¡±

    Tenecoalt dragged his hand through the water again, flicking more cool water at Victor and them himself. ¡°Do you enjoy this heat?¡±

    Victor nodded, turning to gaze up at the hazy yellow sun. ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°Good. This is what the world was like when we walked the Earth. Hot and green, a threat around every corner. The world was full of Energy, and we learned to use it for ourselves. We were among the best at it, infusing our bodies with it to great effect. I feared nothing, Victor¡ªno creature, no man, no monster, no demon. With my macuahuitl, crafted from the metal of fallen stars, I killed giants, dragons, wyrms, and great, undying fiends that poisoned thend where they walked. Embrace that heritage, Victor! Don¡¯t bend to this ¡®system!¡¯ Not for a moment longer than you must.

    ¡°A final admonishment before I help you with the natural treasure that threatens to dissolve your flesh: your people are gone from the Earth, whether by choice or vanquishment, I do not know, for, in my memory, the Quinametzin were numerous. Make the worlds you tread upon remember us! Do great deeds, and just as you must move out of the ¡®system¡¯s¡¯ shadow, you should bow to no one¡ªno prince, no king, no emperor, and, Victor, no queen. If fate conspires against you and someone capable of ying you demands you kneel, then you must be willing to die on your feet with a weapon in your hand. You¡¯re strong enough now to make that choice.¡±

    His words hit Victor hard. How many times had he knelt to Kynna? Was it so wrong to show respect? Before he could argue or ask why, Tenecoalt answered his thoughts, ¡°Regardless of your justification, Victor, your spirit wanes when you submit. If you find my words too harsh, if you wish to be a shadow of your progenitors, then that is your choice.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want that. I want to be strong and true, but I want to be respected and loved, too.¡±

    ¡°Then find a bnce withoutpromising yourself. The Quinametzin do <em>not</em> kneel.¡± Tenecoalt sighed and shook his mane of long, ck hair. ¡°We waste precious time. I advise pushing the Energy from your natural treasure into your Breath Core. The contents of that ancient egg are potent and fierce, and I believe it will benefit you far more used that way than if you spend it on your already well-advanced Energy Core.

    ¡°As for your bloodline, I have further good news. You¡¯ve awakened much of me, and so have you awakened my memories and experiences in your blood. You won¡¯t know it, but those memories will speak to you. Listen to your instincts! Let them guide you with the wisdom of our people. When you face a difficult decision, think about how you <em>feel</em>. When you hear a warning in the back of your mind, <em>listen</em>. Though it seems innocuous and may feel like nothing when you sit alone in the safety of your fortress, this is the greatest boon you¡¯ve yet received from your bloodline.¡±

    When the fierce warrior paused, Victor knew what he was expecting. ¡°Thank you, Tenecoalt.¡±

    ¡°So, you agree, then? About your Breath Core?¡± Before Victor could form his mouth around the word ¡°yes,¡± he felt something. It was a stirring in his chest as though a great blockage had been cleared, and cold, roiling Energy began to course through him. Rather than unpleasant or numbing as such dense, powerful Energy ought to feel, it was refreshing and seemed to bnce the heat of his other Energies.

    ¡°There. As I feared, using the Energy is bringing our time together to a close. I¡¯ll surely see you again, Victor, my brave descendant. Heed well the lessons I nted in your mind this day.¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± Victor said, but he¡¯d barely said the words before his vision faded, and ckness once more imed sight. The world became silent again, and he drifted in that dark, endless abyss for what seemed like a very long time. He drifted for so long that he lost track of it, and when dreams began to seep into the nothingness, he didn¡¯t even realize it. He dreamed of wild rides on the backs of stallions, swimming in deep, icy waters, andughing with friends and loved ones.

    When his eyes fluttered open, he was fresh from the throes of one of thosetter dreams, and upon seeing the domed ceiling of his vault chamber and remembering where he was, the smile on his face rapidly faded. Blinking, feeling a hollowness in his gut where some nebulous family or friends had been while he dreamed, he realized System messages were waiting for him. As he read them, his mncholy receded as a broad, bright-toothed grin split his lips.

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have advanced your bloodline: Epic 5.***</strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! Your Breath Core has gained six ranks: Advanced 5.***</strong>

    <strong>***Congrattions! You have gained a new feat: Wisdom of the Quinametzin.***</strong>

    <strong>***Wisdom of the Quinametzin: Your bloodline is rich with mighty ancestors, and they live on in the history written in your blood and bones. Your instincts are supernaturally urate, and your feelings about a person, thing, or ce are the echoes of your progenitor¡¯s memories.***</strong>

    ¡°Well,¡± Victor said, his cheeks beginning to hurt from the smile on his face, ¡°that¡¯s pretty badass.¡±

    He was curious about his Breath Core¡¯s Energy, so he looked at his Energy status:

    <strong>Breath Core:</strong>

    <strong>Elder ss - Advanced 5</strong>

    <strong>Core:</strong>

    <strong>Spirit ss - Epic 3</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Magma - 9, Blue Ice - 9</strong>

    <strong>Breath Core Energy:</strong>

    <strong>5900/5900</strong>

    <strong>Energy Affinity:</strong>

    <strong>Fear 9.4, Rage 9.1, Glory 8.6, Inspiration 7.4, Unattuned 3.1</strong>

    <strong>Energy:</strong>

    <strong>36871/36871</strong>

    If he remembered correctly, he¡¯d had 2800 Breath Core Energy prior to his advancement, so he¡¯d more than doubled it. It still looked like a small numberpared to his Spirit Core¡¯s Energy, but it was a hell of a lot more than one hundred, which he¡¯d started with when he¡¯d first eaten the wyrm¡¯s heart. With a satisfied grunt, he mbered to his feet and smashed his head and shoulders into the top of his vault. ¡°What the¡­¡±

    He looked down at his legs and torso, holding out his arms and hands as he stooped over in the chamber. He¡¯d made himself smaller when he went into the vault, but even considering his Alter Self had been canceled by his time under the effects of the egg, he¡¯d grown a great deal. If he were guessing, he¡¯d say he was now more than fourteen feet tall. ¡°<em>Chingado</em>,¡± he sighed, then reached into his pathways and built the pattern for Alter Self.

    When he reduced himself, it felt easy¡ªeffortless, even. His body responded to the magic far more rapidly with less Energy input than before. Did that mean he could alter himself even further? Was he bing more like Tes in that regard? Was it thanks to his now mid-epic-tier bloodline? ¡°What the fuckes after epic?¡± Heughed as he turned the key in the vault door, ready to see what he¡¯d missed while sitting around chatting with his hundred-thousand-year-old ancestor.

 Book 9: Chapter 27: Meetings

    As the heavy, rune-inscribed door to his vault <em>thunked</em> open and air hissed out, Victor inhaled deeply, suddenly aware of how stale the vault¡¯s atmosphere had be. He had a moment to wonder if there¡¯d been any oxygen left in it at all and whether bad air could affect his epic Quinametzin constitution before he heard a startled gasp and the tter of something falling to the ground. He shoved the door open in a heartbeat and leaped out, only to find a wide-eyed Bryn stooping to pick up a toppled wooden chair. ¡°Hey,¡± he grunted.

    ¡°Lord Victor! Thank the elder gods!¡± She seemed annoyed by her own outburst and scowled as if topensate for her enthusiasm. ¡°Apologies, I was startled by the door opening.¡±

    Victor looked past her and her chair to the door leading out of his suite. ¡°Why are you inside?¡±

    ¡°After you¡¯d been¡­out for a week, the queen investigated your chambers to ensure you were well. When she found this metallic¡­chamber, she grew worried and instructed me to have a guard watch it. We¡¯d hoped you put it here and that you were within, but we couldn¡¯t be sure. She¡¯s had more than one master Artificer examine the runic script, but none determined a way to open it without causing great harm.¡±

    Victor nodded while she spoke, turning to retrieve his key and then seal up the vault. When he turned the lock fully to the left, it began to vibrate and hiss with steam, slowly shrinking in on itself. ¡°Yeah,¡± he gestured to the now waist-high metal globe, pulsing with glowing runes, ¡°it¡¯s mine.¡± He grinned at Bryn. ¡°Didn¡¯t want people peeking at me while I was unconscious.¡±

    ¡°A wise precaution. However, I wish you¡¯d told me¡­milord.¡± She looked at him more closely, staring up into his eyes. ¡°You seem different. Your eyes are so clear¡ªluminous, really, and you seem to have more¡­presence? I can¡¯t put it into words, but I suspect you had some racial advancement?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. My bloodline gained three ranks.¡± Victor smiled and stepped forward, pping her on the shoulder. ¡°It was a hell of a trip, Bryn. How long was I out? I mean, how much longer than a week?¡±

    ¡°Ten days altogether, milord.¡±

    ¡°Shit! Really? Any emergencies?¡±¡°Nothing serious. The queen has been busy with negotiations, but her people, along with some help from the Haveshi, have been managing the duchy. The artificer, Trobban, hase up to see you four times, more and more exasperated as I sent him away.¡±

    ¡°Have you been here the entire time?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve taken on a squire, milord. His name is Feist¡ªa promising young prospect of the Queen¡¯s Guard. Her Majesty was pleased to allow me to take him on.¡±

    ¡°And you trust him? He¡¯s not a spy?¡±

    ¡°You mean for the queen?¡± When Victor nodded, Bryn smiled and shook her head. ¡°No, milord. I don¡¯t think so. I¡¯ve known Feist since before we both began working for the crown; we adventured together.¡±

    ¡°All right. Well, that¡¯s good, ¡®cause I don¡¯t want you working twenty-four hours a day. Well, let¡¯s see here. What first?¡± Victor rubbed his chin as he stooped to pick up his marble-sized vault, hanging it around his neck. He badly needed a shave. ¡°I¡¯ll get cleaned up. I need you to set up a few meetings¡ªthe queen, Trobban, and Draj Haveshi. I assume he¡¯s the one who¡¯s mostly been running things?¡±

    ¡°I believe so, milord.¡±

    ¡°All right, and you can cut that shit out while we¡¯re alone¡ªthe ¡®milords,¡¯ I mean. Come on, Bryn. You¡¯re like my number two on this; you can call me Victor.¡±

    She nodded sharply, her well-tanned, scarred cheeks coloring just a little. ¡°Understood.¡±

    Victor grinned. ¡°You weren¡¯t worried, were you? Did you think some schemers managed to lock me up in that vault?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly worried, mil¡ªVictor, but a bit anxious.¡± She smiled and nodded again. ¡°I¡¯m pleased to see you¡¯re well.¡±

    ¡°More than well, Bryn! Now let¡¯s get going!¡± Victor pped his hands, chuckling as she practically jumped toward the door. ¡°I¡¯ll be ready in fifteen minutes.¡± As she hurried out, Victor took a minute to rece the furniture he¡¯d stored away, then took a long, luxurious shower. He soaked in the hot, steamy water that fell from a vaulted, twenty-foot ceiling, scrubbing with woodsy soap. He shaved with a de that felt sharp enough to split atoms and lemon-scented cream that he found sitting ready for him before a magically fog-free mirror.

    Once he¡¯d dressed and stepped out of his bedroom, he found the first of his appointments¡ªTrobban, the artificer¡ªsitting at his table. ¡°At longst! Lord Victor!¡± The man jumped to his feet, bowing deeply at the waist.

    ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting, Trobban. I hope you kept yourself busy while I was¡­upied.¡±

    ¡°I have, milord! At great expense to myself, I¡¯vepleted the skeletal structure of Lady Arona¡¯s new vessel. While she and I agreed on the optimalponents, I haven¡¯t the means to acquire them all, so I¡¯ve been eager to meet with you again.¡±

    Victor nodded, gesturing to the table. ¡°Please, retake your seat.¡± Once they were both sitting, he said, ¡°Tell me about the skeleton.¡±

    ¡°The skeleton? Oh, for the vessel! Yes, yes! I¡¯ve been painstakingly growing the bones from a crystalttice. It¡¯s a costly process, both in terms of Energy and materials, but when I had the Golemancer ss, I learned many tricks to perfect the process. I¡¯vepleted the structure, matching Arona¡¯s exacting specifications for size and shape.¡±

    ¡°Um, about that¡ªwhat did she decide as far as her¡­appearance goes?¡±

    ¡°She wants to maintain a simr aspect to the vessel she lost¡ªher natural one. I convinced her to increase her size slightly, insisting it would make her more formidable and durable, though adding to the cost.¡±

    Victor nodded slowly. ¡°And the bones? They¡¯re crystal?¡±

    ¡°A living crystalttice, milord. It¡¯s wonderfully versatile stuff and more than capable of housing epic-tier pathways and supporting a simrly powerful body.¡± He frowned and began to wring his hands as he added, ¡°It¡¯s just a matter of the cost. I¡¯m out of pocket¡ª¡±

    ¡°How much?¡±

    ¡°Nearly five million standard beads, milord.¡±

    Victor tried to hide his reaction, shifting in his seat as he frowned. ¡°For the skeleton?¡±

    ¡°Yes, milord. The reason I¡¯m eager for reimbursement is that I¡¯ve got a line on a perfect heart for the vessel, but the fellow who¡¯s selling it isn¡¯t willing to take installments¡ª¡±

    Victor abruptly stood, shoving his chair back noisily. ¡°Hang on.¡± He walked over to the door and opened it, finding Bryn standing near the gilt, ck-enameled elevator doors. ¡°Hey, Bryn, did you get ahold of Draj?¡±

    ¡°Yes, milord, he¡¯s due at the top of the hour.¡± When Victor raised an eyebrow, she added, ¡°In about thirty minutes.¡±

    ¡°Tell him I need him now. I need some information about the duchy¡¯s treasury.¡±

    ¡°Yes, milord!¡± Bryn turned and pressed the elevator call button, and Victor rejoined Trobban at the table.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have some funding information soon. Tell me about some of the items you need to acquire.¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course, milord. As I said, there¡¯s a fellow selling a heart crafted from the heartwood of a Mowpanian Elder Tree. A steel-seeking Animancer constructed it as part of her journey of enlightenment, and though she never used it, I believe it would be the perfect source of vitality for Arona¡¯s new vessel.¡±

    ¡°And the man selling it? What does he want?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s seeking simrly powerful artifacts of dense Energy suitable for the crafting of an epic-tier automaton Core¡ªor ten million beads.¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t Arona¡¯s new body need an object like that?¡±

    ¡°Yes, milord, but I haven¡¯t a line on anything suitable yet.¡±

    Victor frowned and leaned back in his seat, drumming his fingers on the arms of his chair. ¡°I mean, you must have some ideas for Cores. Is there anything on this that would work, or are we forced to trade for it from people who¡¯ve been collecting artifacts all over the universe?¡±

    ¡°For a Core?¡± Victor saw Trobban¡¯s eyes dart toward the windows to his balcony. ¡°There are indeed treasures on Ruhn that would be suitable. In fact, there¡¯s a source rather nearby¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t hesitate, man! What is it?¡±

    ¡°Well, Iron Mountain, milord. A crystal recovered from one of the mines nearly thirty years ago was of suitable Energy density. I believe the King of Xan gifted it to one of the great houses¡ª¡±

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Only one?¡±

    ¡°Only one so far, aye. At least, as far as public knowledge goes¡ª¡± He cut his words short as a knock sounded at the door.

    ¡°Come,¡± Victor called.

    A momentter, Draj Haveshi was striding toward the table. He bowed deeply as he walked, and then, when he was just a few feet from Victor, he lowered himself to his knees. ¡°I am at your service, Your Grace. My family is eternally grateful to serve. When the queen delivered your pardons and requests for temporary service, it was like a reprieve from the heavens. We¡ª¡±

    ¡°Draj, stand up and have a seat with us, please. I don¡¯t need you to profess your loyalty any further.¡± On the surface, Victor thought Draj sounded fake. He almost seemed like an actor performing on stage, but something deeper, something that spoke from the depths of his bones, told him this man wasn¡¯t a threat. Victor wondered if it was the wisdom of his ancestors helping him to prioritize his focus.

    ¡°As you say, milord.¡± Draj, wearing a fine gray and white suit with the yellow rose of Gloria stitched beside the gray, snow-capped peak of Iron Mountain¡¯s coat of arms, stood, bowed again, and sat across from Trobban.

    ¡°Have you met Trobban, Draj? He¡¯s a master Artificer and happens to be working on some very important projects for me.¡±

    ¡°No, milord.¡± Draj stood and stretched out his hand. Trobban nearly knocked his chair over in his haste to stand and take the man¡¯s hand, clearly unused to being in such vauntedpany.

    ¡°Pleased to make your acquaintance, um, Lord Haveshi.¡±

    ¡°A pleasure to meet you, fine sir. I am, however, no longer a lord.¡± Draj shrugged and chuckled. ¡°Might I inquire as to the nature of the, ah, projects?¡±

    Victor answered for Trobban. ¡°No. Sorry, Draj, but they¡¯re of a personal nature. Even so, I believe the duchy and Gloria as a whole will benefit greatly from theirpletion. Eventually.¡± Victor felt like he was being at least mostly honest¡ªArona was a powerful entity, and if she found herself indebted to the people of Iron Mountain, he knew she¡¯d feel obligated to even the scales.

    Draj didn¡¯t argue. ¡°Of course, milord! What aids you aids the duchy. How might I be of service?¡±

    ¡°Well, I was going to meet with you about the duchy¡¯s economic standing. I keep hearing about the wealth, and it¡¯s apparent everywhere I look, but I¡¯d like to wrap my head around the big picture. Before you give me all the details, however, let¡¯s deal with the small part that might impact Trobban.¡±

    ¡°Of course, milord. Only ask, and I will provide the answer.¡±

    Victor nodded, thumping a heavy hand on the table as he looked from Trobban to Draj. ¡°First, there¡¯s the matter of Trobban¡¯s operating fund. While I was¡­indisposed, he was forced to fund my projects from his own pockets. He¡¯s owed nearly five million standard beads. Can you arrange a disbursement for him?¡±

    ¡°Ahem,¡± Draj held a fist to his mouth, perhaps trying to cover his reaction. After only a slight hesitation, though, he nodded. ¡°Of course, milord. There are sufficient discretionary funds for such a payment; however, I would greatly appreciate some advance notice if you believe you¡¯ll need continued payments of such¡­magnitude. You see, there are ongoing projects in the duchy, and many departments moring for increases in their budgets, and unnned expenses can greatly impact those sorts of¡ª¡±

    Victor waved a hand. ¡°Draj, Ipletely understand. I¡¯ll do my best to give you more warning in the future.¡± Victor looked at Trobban. ¡°That goes for you, too, Trobban. Give me a chance to prepare before you incur such expenses going forward.¡±

    ¡°Yes, milord!¡± Trobban bent forward, trying to bow in his chair, nearly cing his forehead on the tabletop.

    ¡°Draj, what do you know of¡ª¡± Victor turned to Trobban. ¡°What was that crystal called?¡±

    ¡°I believe the King of Xan named it the Azurite Star, sir.¡±

    Draj nodded, looking from Trobban to Victor. ¡°That¡¯s right. It was pulled from Iron Mountain close to half a century ago. Duke Qi Pot gave it to King Groff, who gifted it to the Queen of Kuria, seeking her favor and financial aid to break Lovania¡¯s blockade, cutting Xan off from trading across the Horizon Sea.¡±

    Victor nodded, waving his hand. ¡°I get that. Basically, it¡¯s out of our reach, right? Over on the eastern continent?¡±

    ¡°Yes, milord. I¡¯m not sure what Queen Livessa has done with it, but she wouldn¡¯t part with it easily.¡±

    ¡°Right, but it <em>came </em>from Iron Mountain, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, Your Grace, but that shaft was closed when the mountain expressed its displeasure.¡±

    Victor¡¯s eyebrows shot up. ¡°Come again?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s quite well documented, milord. The Argonthall Shaft, named after the baron who founded it, was one of the deeper mining operations, dug to follow a shaft of heart iron. It operated for nearly four decades and provided tremendous wealth and treasure to the duchy. When they took the Azurite Star from those depths, the mountain rumbled, copsing part of the shaft and threatening an eruption that would destroy most of Xan. The earth and fire Elementalists from across the kingdom, along with several from neighboring nations, had to work for more than a year to calm its fury.¡±

    Victor nodded, grinning. ¡°So, the mountain isn¡¯t as deeply asleep as it seems. Are there Elementalists currently working to keep it docile?¡±

    Again, Draj nodded. ¡°The Order of the Mountain, Your Grace. They maintain their hermitage midway up the slopes in a great cave they¡¯ve built into a temple of sorts.¡±

    Victor looked at Trobban. ¡°I¡¯ll work on the issue we discussed. In the meantime, is there anything you can do to move the project forward?¡±

    Trobban nodded emphatically. ¡°Yes, milord! Once I¡¯ve been reimbursed, I¡¯ll be able to acquire some of the lesser artifacts I¡¯ll need for the, um¡­¡± He nced at Draj, then shrugged and simply said, ¡°Project.¡±

    ¡°Good. Leave us for now¡ªDraj and I need to speak about the duchy. I¡¯ll call for you before I leave.¡±

    ¡°Leave?¡± Both men asked. Draj looked at Trobban, a slight scowl of irritation marring his usual diplomatic poise. Trobban simply looked down, stammering an apology.

    ¡°Yeah, leave. I have things to do, men. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be in touch, and the queen has given me one of her, uh, portal magicians.¡±

    Trobban¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Ah, a Spatial Magus?¡±

    ¡°Is that their official title?¡±

    Draj replied before Trobban could. ¡°It¡¯s their ss, Your Grace. It¡¯s a well-kept secret of the royal families¡ªthe path to that ss.¡±

    ¡°Not that other sses cannot create portals or teleport¡­¡±

    Draj spoke over Trobban, ¡°But none quite so well as the Spatial Magi.¡±

    Victor didn¡¯t want another rabbit-hole discussion. ¡°All right. Speak to you soon, Trobban.¡± He watched the man scurry out of his seat, bowing low, then hurrying out the door. He looked at Draj. ¡°How much money does this duchy make every month?¡±

    ¡°Well, sir, that¡¯s a ratherplicated question, and there are many variables¡ª¡±

    ¡°Ballpark.¡± Victor groaned at himself. ¡°I mean, give me a general idea¡ªa rough average.¡±

    Draj frowned, clearly uneasy with Victor¡¯s bluntness, but he closed his eyes briefly and then began to rattle off an answer, ¡°Profits from the mine leasese close to twenty million most months. Tax revenue fromnd grants and agricultural goods easily amount to another ten million. Market taxes from the city vary but range between three and seven million. Port and passage fees on the Green River are usually nearly a million beads per month.¡± Draj frowned, rubbing his chin as he thought. ¡°There are the hunting permits and dungeon licenses, building permits¡­¡± He sighed and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯d need to get my books, milord, if you want more details. Roughly, though, I¡¯d say, altogether, close to forty million beads per month.¡±

    ¡°And how much goes to the crown?¡±

    ¡°Queen Dar has lowered our tribute from nine percent to seven.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Good.¡± Victor nodded and gestured expansively. ¡°Look, I know all of this is expensive. But you have to level with me. How much will that five million to Trobban impact the treasury?¡±

    ¡°Sir, per the policy set by Qi Pot, we maintain a treasury capable of paying the duchy¡¯s expenses for three years. Beyond that, we have a discretionary fund of nearly ten million beads. I know it sounds like a great sum, milord, but there are many petitions for many projects, and there are never enough beads to go around. For instance, the duchy maintains not only this pce but also dozens of other governmental buildings, which are in constant need of maintenance and updating. Roads and riverways require¡ª¡±

    ¡°Rx, Draj.¡± Victor tried to smile reassuringly. ¡°I¡¯m not nning to drain the treasury dry. I just want to know what I¡¯m working with.¡± Victor¡¯s heart wasn¡¯t in the conversation. He desperately wanted to finish his meetings to make his way up to the mountain. More than ever, he felt it was calling him, almost like his duels and the session war¡ªhis reason foring to Ruhn¡ªhad just been a thread of fate drawing him to the real purpose. Iron Mountain had something for him. He wasn¡¯t sure what, but he could <em>feel</em> it, and again, he wondered if his ancestors were guiding him.

    ¡°Milord, might I inquire as to your intention for me and mine? From the queen, I understand that you saw purpose in us, a way to employ our talents for the duchy, but nothing has been formalized. I am made amon,ndless citizen for the first time in nearly eight decades. I¡ª¡±

    ¡°Draj, what would you suggest if you were in my shoes?¡±

    Draj straightened in his chair, his eyes narrowing slightly as he considered his words. "Milord, if I were in your position, I would recognize the value of trusted, capable hands to manage the duchy''s more¡­ delicate affairs. Your recent ascension has created opportunities, and with themes the need to solidify control, ensure stability, and foster the duchy''s prosperity. As you and Queen Kynna have noted, a man in your position can hardly afford to oversee every aspect personally."

    He paused, leaning slightly forward, his voice bing more deliberate. "As for my family and me, we have decades of experience running estates, managing trade, overseeing mining operations. Though Ick formal holdings now, I have not lost my knowledge or my connections. If you were to grant me a formal title¡ªfor Qi Pot, I was seneschal, and I would dly fill that position for your court¡ªmy family could once again serve not just the duchy but you personally, milord."

    He nced up at Victor, gauging his reaction before continuing, "Iron Mountain is vast, and its wealth even more so. It will require skilled management. My talents lie in turning wealth into opportunity, ensuring the duchy''s sess. And, of course, our loyalty would be undivided, as it has always been."

    ¡°A title doesn¡¯t make you andholder, Draj.¡±

    ¡°True, milord, but you¡¯ve offered us an estate in the city¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do better than that.¡± Victor paused, thinking. For once, he was happy that he¡¯d sat with Ranish Dar for hours discussing courts, titles, and all the little things he thought he¡¯d never have to deal with as a champion¡ªbasically, a glorified diator. ¡°I want you to write up a proposal, one that grants the Haveshi family a reasonable portion of the Ducal Demesne¡ªnothing absurd, but enough to ensure you¡¯re respected at court. Provided the proposal is reasonable, and Queen Kynna agrees, I¡¯ll grant your mother the title of Viscountess, and I will formally reinstate you as seneschal.¡±

    Draj leaped to his feet, his chair skittering over the hardwood floors. As soon as he was up, he fell to his knees, pressing his forehead to the ground. ¡°Lord Sandoval, you honor me and my house. What you propose is beyond what we deserve, and I am humbled by your generosity. I swear, if thy words be true, then we will be true to thee.¡±

    He stayed that way, head on the floor, while Victor mulled over his words. Why had he switched to archaic-soundingnguage? Had he really said ¡®thy¡¯ and ¡®thee¡¯? Had he used some old-fashioned words that the System simply tranted that way? Victor got so distracted by the tangential thought that it took Draj clearing his throat and swallowing nervously to remind him where he was. ¡°You may stand, Draj. Go now and discuss things with your family. I¡¯ll review your proposal when you¡¯re ready.¡±

    Draj thanked him at least five more times before he slipped through the door. Meanwhile, Victor contemted the mountain. He could feel it pulling him like it was a ma, and he was an iron filing. It couldn¡¯t be a simple coincidence that something Arona needed was deep in the mountain¡¯s guts. He knew the pull was more than that, however. There was a connection there, and it was personal¡ªnot just a piece of treasure for a friend.

    He sat there at the head of his table, staring out the window at the distant blue-gray peak for a long time, so lost in thought that he hardly noticed the shifting of the shadows as the sun moved through the sky. When Bryn knocked on the door, and he was startled out of his self-imposed mour, he almost felt like he¡¯d been asleep. ¡°Come,¡± he barked, his voice rough in his dry throat.

    The door swung open, and Bryn announced, ¡°Her Majesty, Queen Kynna Dar is here to see you, milord.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 28: Placing Trust

    ¡°¡­and so, with another few weeks of pressure, I¡¯m confident we can force a duel. I don¡¯t know how the rumors are spreading, but the fact that you¡¯ve been sequestered for the better part of two weeks is working in our favor. Even in Gloria, there are whispers that Thorn badly injured you, and my agents in Lovania seem to think that Queen Fabaj is overconfident in her champion¡¯s abilities; I¡¯m hopeful that she¡¯ll ept a duel so long as the terms are even slightly favorable for her.¡± Lovania was Xan¡¯s¡ªGloria¡¯s now¡ªeastern neighbor.

    Victor nodded, mulling over his thoughts. Kynna had spent close to an hour bringing him up to speed on all that had urred while he was processing the wyrm egg. The information was interesting on an academic level, but he¡¯d had a hard time staying focused, his mind constantly drifting toward the mountain. Was it worse than before he¡¯d eaten the egg? Back then, he¡¯d certainly found the mountain intriguing, even felt some kind of kinship with it, but he hadn¡¯t felt such a <em>pull</em>. Was it his bloodline feat? Maybe it wasn¡¯t a pull; maybe the instincts of his ancestors were <em>pushing</em> him.

    ¡°Victor?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Queen Kynna. My mind is swollen with thoughts after my experience with the egg. To your point, would it be helpful if I remained¡­absent?¡±

    She arched an eyebrow, lifting a polished, violet nail to her lower lip, gently stroking the plump, pink flesh. Not for the first time, Victor felt she was being seductive, and he shifted, clearing his throat and forcing his eyes to stare into hers. ¡°Did you have something in mind?¡±

    ¡°As I mentioned before, I need to visit that mountain.¡± He tilted his head toward the window. ¡°My¡­<em>experience</em> has left me even more sure of it. I feel it pulling, and unless there¡¯s some objection, I¡¯d like to leave as soon as possible.¡±

    Kynna sped her hands atop the table, fidgeting with her thumbs as she closed her eyes briefly, clearly considering her words. ¡°Victor, I hope you understand the far-reaching repercussions to Gloria and its citizens should you fail to return.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t abandon you, Kynna. Your magus ising, right? The guy who can make portals?¡±

    She nodded, unsping her hands and turning her gaze toward the window. ¡°Yes. Florent has been briefed and stands ready.¡±¡°Well, that¡¯s good, then¡ª¡±

    ¡°What is it, do you think? What draws you to that peak? Are there creatures you wish to y in its depths? I¡¯ve had my historians look into the mountain and this duchy, and there have been times when it was seen as a destination for adventurers more than a source of mineral wealth.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Victor stopped, considering his words, and then, more carefully, started again. ¡°I¡¯ve had a connection to a volcano before. A kinship with the rage that can cling to the fiery magma. You¡¯ve seen me fight; you know I can¡­<em>lose</em> myself.¡± He sighed, shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯m just specting now, but maybe this mountain senses me and the kinship I¡¯ve shared with that other volcano.¡± He didn¡¯t want to mention his former ss¡ªDar had drilled into him all too well the benefits of being an unknown quantity when it came to politics.

    ¡°Is it true then? Does the mountain have a spirit? Is it alive?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I only know that at least one <em>other</em> mountain was. When I felt its spirit and made that connection, it was like¡ªwell, imagine I was a candle me, and the mountain was the sun. I had a lot to learn from the depths of its wrath.¡±

    ¡°Why was it angry?¡±

    Victor chuckled, shrugging. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because it became a volcano¡ªall that magma flowing through it. Or maybe it became a volcano <em>because </em>it was angry.¡± Again, he barked augh. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll get a chance to ask this one.¡±

    ¡°You think it¡¯s angry too? Victor, if this mountain were to erupt, most of Gloria would be made into a wastnd. The Elementalists in their temple keep it calm; you mustn¡¯t¡ª¡±

    Victor held up his hands, shaking his head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that! I have no intention to go in there and rile things up. I¡¯m going to see where my instincts lead me and then go from there.¡±

    ¡°Following your instincts? That¡¯s your argument for why I should trust you?¡±

    ¡°No, My Queen, you should trust me because I¡¯ve put my life on the line for you a few times now, and your ancestor, Ranish Dar, sent me here to help you.¡± ?

    Kynna nodded, her crystal crown tilting precariously. ¡°Very well, Victor. I shall trust you. Please stay in touch, and please return in the event I need you. If you are delving deep and the need arises, rest assured that Florent will be able to mark your location, allowing him to create a portal through which you can return to your explorations.¡±

    ¡°Seriously? That¡¯s pretty damn awesome.¡±

    ¡°Florent is a steel seeker, though his talents lie well outside the realm ofbat. If things grow violent, his first instinct will be flight. Please, Victor, do not let him be in; he¡¯s a good, kind man and a boon to our nation.¡±

    Her voice softened as she spoke about Florent, and a certain light entered her eyes, making Victor wonder if his suspicions about her intentions toward him had been misced. He decided to press the conversation into more personal territory, if only to satisfy a question that had been itching to be asked since he first met the queen. ¡°Kynna, may I ask a personal question?¡±

    ¡°I wish you would! I tire of these matters of state.¡±

    ¡°What happened to Tomorran¡¯s father?¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± She smiled and chuckled softly. ¡°It¡¯s not as personal as you thought, Victor. Anyone in Gloria could tell you that my former husband passed through his test of steel shortly after Tomorran was born. As you know, the council of veil walkers who watch over Ruhn do not allow members of that tier of society to live among us. Galentine was given a choice: join the council of veil walkers as an apprentice or leave the world. He¡¯d already decided before we became lovers, fully intending to leave and continue his journey of enlightenment, so no one was surprised when he moved on.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re good with that?¡±

    ¡°Ah, now it bes a bit more personal!¡± She shook her head, smiling as she leaned a little closer. ¡°Do I wish he¡¯d put off his ascension for a decade or three and spent some time with Tomorran? I¡¯d be a liar if I denied it. He made himself very clear, though, when we became entwined. It was a condition of our love¡ªhis desire to chase his breakthroughs would not be diminished.¡±

    ¡°He must have been quite a guy.¡± Victor left the other half of his opinion unspoken¡ªthat he thought Galentine sounded like an asshole. Of course, part of him acknowledged some parallels between himself and Va, only that she¡¯d been the one to make the decision for him, whereas Galentine had simply been honest about his pursuits.

    ¡°He is a fascinating and impressive individual, a peerless artisan, and a kind, gentle soul. I thought that Tomorran¡¯s birth would change him, make him want to work less and spend more time with us, but I was wrong. As he puts it, his passion for creation isn¡¯t something he can control; he¡¯s driven by his muses, unable to live without pursuing their demands.¡± She reached up and gently ran her fingers along the crystalline surface of her crown. ¡°He created this for me as a parting gift.¡±

    Victor could hear some genuine sorrow tinging her words, and, of course, those words evoked moreparisons to himself and Va in his mind. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful, Kynna. I want to call him a fool for leaving you both, but I¡¯ve had my own troubles of a¡­simr nature, and I¡¯m no one to judge.¡±

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    ¡°Driven, are you?¡± She chuckled as he shrugged and nodded. ¡°Well, your pursuits certainly seem different from Galentine¡¯s. Still, I wish you luck and hope you find something to help you in your quest for advancement in yonder mountain. When shall I have Florent report for duty?¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s okay with you, immediately.¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll maintain closemunication with him. Meanwhile, I have much to do. To start, I have meetings with my cousins for the next three days. Everyone¡¯s still quite upset about the coup attempt and my sudden relocation. I¡¯m rather enjoying keeping people at arm¡¯s length! It¡¯s driving the nobles of Gloria mad that I¡¯m only allowing five visitors through the portal chamber daily. More than that, I¡¯m only giving them day passes!¡±

    ¡°Hah! I guess that keeps security easy.¡±

    ¡°Indeed!¡± Kynna stood, smiling, and turned toward the door. ¡°It was nice to get to know you a little more, Victor. I hope we¡¯ll sit together again when you return from the mountain.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Victor also stood and, feeling awkward, reached up to scratch his fingers through his short, stiff hair. ¡°I feel the same way.¡±

    ¡°Travel safely. I¡¯ll look forward to our next meeting.¡±

    ¡°Um, yes, My Queen. Until next time.¡± She stood by the door, hesitating, and Victor¡¯s mind raced with possible reasons. Was she expecting some show of affection? They¡¯d never hugged or anything like that. When she nced at the door and cleared her throat, Victor¡¯s mind stopped racing, and he pped himself on the head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± He hurried over and opened it for her, holding it wide. ¡°Thank you for your time, Your Majesty.¡±

    She smiled a little crookedly, her eyes amused, as she passed through. When her guards and retainers formed around her, Victor heard her say, ¡°Larassa, find Magus Florent and have him report to Victor¡¯s chambers immediately.¡± Then they were in the elevator, and Victor couldn¡¯t hear anything more.

    He looked at Bryn. ¡°Anyone else?¡±

    ¡°No, sir.¡±

    ¡°Okay, get your shit together; we¡¯re heading up the mountain. Don¡¯t mention that to anyone.¡±

    Bryn jerked upright, her armor nking as she turned to stare at him. ¡°My shit, sir?¡±

    ¡°Get all your stuff! I mean anything you want to bring. We¡¯ll be hiking around the mountain and probably going deep into the mines or tunnels or whatever¡¯s up there.¡±

    ¡°Should I bring Feist?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah. I forgot about him. Yeah, I need to meet him, and you might as well have some help.¡±

    She gestured to the elevator. There were no stairs to his suite, which likely wouldn¡¯t pass any safety regtions, but Victor didn¡¯t think there <em>were</em> any regtions, especially when the duke¡¯s pce was the building in question. ¡°Is it all right to leave for a few minutes? I need to go wake him.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, go for it. I¡¯ll be alert.¡± While she waited for the elevator, Victor went back into his quarters and took Arona¡¯s phctery from his container. As soon as it touched the open air, foggy mist began to seep from the bone, slowly coalescing into the translucent likeness of Arona¡¯s long-gone physical form.

    In her usual raspy, deadpan tone, she said, ¡°I was beginning to think I¡¯d been forgotten.¡±

    ¡°Nah, not forgotten.¡± Victor smiled and gestured toward the sitting area near the balcony. ¡°Let me fill you in on what¡¯s happening.¡± She followed him over and ¡°sat¡± on a couch near him while Victor reviewed everything Trobban had told him. He also spent some time going over the events of the previous days, including a vague summary of his experience with the egg and his intention to visit Iron Mountain.

    ¡°Did you gain much from the natural treasure?¡± She eyed him spectively, and Victor shrugged.

    ¡°I got a few ranks to my bloodline and learned a lot more about it.¡±

    ¡°Ever so mysterious, Victor. Some sort of titan, yes?¡±

    ¡°I told you that?¡±

    ¡°Come! You were shouting it in the challenge dungeon.¡± She frowned, shaking her head. ¡°Or maybe it was afterward, at your party? In any event, either you or someone else mentioned to me that you had a titanic bloodline.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true.¡± Victor looked at her, watching the realistic expressions traverse her ghostly face, wondering why a spirit would need to look like a person¡¯s dead body. He knew that he could alter his appearance on the spirit ne. Could Arona alter hers on this one?

    Her thoughts weren¡¯t in line with his, it seemed. ¡°Some cultures believe that the spirits of mountains are closely rted to titans. Some cultures believe that mountains <em>were</em> titans.¡±

    Victor¡¯s eyes bulged at the idea. He peered out the window at the darkening slopes of the enormous mountain on the horizon. ¡°That would be a big, <em>pinch¨¦</em> titan!¡± He looked back at Arona. ¡°If that were the case, wouldn¡¯t people know? I mean, if their spirits are in there, couldn¡¯t theymunicate?¡±

    ¡°They certainly <em>could</em>, but they¡¯re called ¡®sleeping¡¯ gods or giants or titans for a reason. The ones who speak are mad with rage¡ªvolcanos.¡± She made a dry, raspy sigh and shrugged. ¡°I speak only of legends and myths, but, Victor, there are people on my homeworld who think titans, themselves, are naught but myth. I think you¡¯d take exception to that.¡±

    ¡°So you think the pull I feel might have more to do with my bloodline than my, uh, rage affinity?¡± Victor wanted to tell her about his ¡°Herald of the Mountain¡¯s Wrath¡± ss but wasn¡¯t sure it was relevant, seeing as he¡¯d already taken a different one.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Perhaps the pull is strong because they¡¯re both a factor.¡±

    ¡°I had a, uh, experience with another volcano.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    Victor nodded, then rted some of the story about his encounter with Hector atop his then-dormant volcano. When he finished, Arona looked pensive. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°What if this volcano seeks your aid in freeing it¡ªwaking it? You mentioned Elementalist monks, yes? What if the volcano doesn¡¯t like being calmed? What if it has fury it wants to vent?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think a volcano that damn big and powerful would be held down by a handful of iron rankers. I don¡¯t care what ss or affinity they have. If that thing wanted to blow its top, it would. I mean, maybe those guys are good at soothing it, but it¡¯s definitely not captive.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate your respect for the mountain¡¯s power, but Victor, how do you know it¡¯s only a handful of iron rankers? What if it¡¯s a hundred? What if some of them are steel seekers?¡±

    Victor shook his head. ¡°Arona, I felt the power of a volcano a tenth of Iron Mountain¡¯s size. It was a <em>force</em>¡ªsomething that made Ronkerz feel puny.¡±

    ¡°Well.¡± Arona pressed her dark lips together, shaking her head in defeat. ¡°I hope you¡¯re right, and I hope you¡¯d do the right thing in any case. You wouldn¡¯t trade a great spirit¡¯s freedom for the lives of countless people, would you? You wouldn¡¯t destroy the nation you¡¯re supposed to be championing.¡± Her words were statements, but Victor could feel the questions behind them.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a monster, Arona. I¡¯m not like Vesavo.¡±

    She leaned toward him, and Victor felt the air around him noticeably drop in temperature. ¡°I believe you, Victor. Still, what if the mountain <em>is</em> a sleeping titan? What if it <em>does</em> want your help to free it? What if it promises you secrets and artifacts and natural treasures? What if¡ª¡±

    ¡°Arona!¡± Victor stood, feeling agitated. He couldn¡¯t help but raise his voice as he gesticted, pacing toward the window and back. ¡°You¡¯re panicking about fucking <em>ideas</em>. You¡¯re also worried because you¡¯ve never had to depend on someone who wasn¡¯t a power-mad nutcase. Listen to me: I¡¯m not going to help that volcano explode. If it wants help with something, I¡¯ll find a way to do it that won¡¯t kill everyone and ruin Dar¡¯s kingdom.¡± Victorughed, shaking his head, but Arona didn¡¯t seem to share his amusement. She looked chastened, and it made Victor feel guilty. How often had Vesavo cussed her out? How often had he yelled at her?

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t do that now! Come on, Arona. You know what? I <em>appreciate</em> you mentioning all this. I appreciate you looking out for me. Because of what you said, I¡¯m going to be a lot more careful when I go in there. If that <em>pinch¨¦</em> mountain used to be a titan or maybe only part of that myth is true and it¡¯s somehow <em>rted</em> to titans, then I need to be careful, but I also need to listen to my instincts, okay? There¡¯s a reason I feel this pull, and it doesn¡¯t <em>feel</em> bad.¡±

    ¡°Will you bring my phctery or leave it here?¡±

    Victor had intended to bring it, but did she not want him to? ¡°What would you prefer?¡±

    ¡°Bring it! I may be able to offer you advice at a pivotal moment.¡±

    ¡°And if the volcano erupts and I¡¯m killed? You¡¯ll be trapped under a billion tons of rock andva.¡±

    ¡°Do you think that will happen?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Victor smiled.

    ¡°Then I will trust you.¡± Almost as if on cue, a knock sounded at his door, and Arona began to disperse. ¡°I hope we speak again soon, Victor.¡±

    ¡°We will.¡± Victor watched her flow into her phctery, picked up the bone, and sent it into storage. ¡°Come in,¡± he called.

    Bryn opened the door, and she and two men entered. She and one of the men wore dark leather armor with metallic breasttes, both embossed with golden roses. The other fellow wore ck robes and carried a smooth ck staff shod in rune-inscribed silver. Both men were young-looking, though Feist, the soldier¡ªor squire, as Bryn had styled him¡ªwas far swarthier in appearance. His brown hair was long, his skin well-tanned, and his light-brown eyes peered about with curiosity. The other man, Florent, was pale with strange yellow eyes and bore a strained expression as though simply walking into the room was a chore.

    ¡°Your Grace, might I introduce my squire, Feist, and the esteemed Spatial Magus, Florent.¡± Bryn bowed, swooping her arm to indicate the two men. They bowed in turn, Feist far more gracefully than Florent.

    ¡°Good to meet you, men.¡± Victor turned to the window, pointing to the mountain in the distance. ¡°Florent, can you make us a portal to that mountain, or do we need to travel there?¡±

    ¡°Milord,st week the queen bade me travel to the foothills of that mountain to learn a portal site. I did so, and now, if you wish, I can open one at yourmand.¡±

    Victor¡¯s eyes widened. He¡¯d expected the man to say no. ¡°She did that? That was pretty damn thoughtful, wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°It was, Your Grace,¡± Bryn chimed in.

    ¡°I¡¯d say so, milord.¡± Feist grinned, putting his fists on his hips.

    ¡°Well, it was <em>I</em> who made the journey¡­¡± Florent sighed, letting his protestation die on his lips. He stepped further into the room. ¡°Shall Imence?¡±

    Victor nodded. ¡°Commence.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 29: Into the Mountain

    When Victor stepped out of Florent¡¯s strange, crackling ck portal, he felt the mountain before he saw it. It was like being a little kid and standing in the shadow of a giant. The presence was heavy, though Iron Mountain was just passively <em>being</em>; it wasn¡¯t trying to crush him with the weight of its aura, nor was it filled with any palpable rage like the volcano under Hector¡¯s base had been. Still, Victor hadn¡¯t felt that sense of insignificance since he¡¯d been to the Ivid world to meet their queen.

    As he adjusted to the weight of the mountain¡¯s presence, he looked around and got his bearings. His pce and the town of Iron Mountain were north of the mountain¡¯s slopes, and, turning to look that way, he could see a long, wide road leading away into the thick forest canopy; he wasn¡¯t high enough on the slope to see beyond the trees. Victor turned to see the road continue into the mountain¡¯s foothills, branching off to the east and west several times before winding out of sight behind craggy ridges.

    The mountain rose into the sky, further than he could see, the peak lost to the hazy mists of the upper atmosphere. From his pce, he hadn¡¯t realized how the foothills of Iron Mountain were, in reality, mountains themselves. Even standing among them, well aware of their size, they seemed tiny simply because of the enormous, craggy gray peak that loomed over them. Still, now that they were close, Victor realized they had a good deal of hiking to do if they wanted to get onto the mountain proper.

    ¡°Gods!¡± Feist said, taking his helmet off to get a better view. ¡°Never seen the ce up close. That¡¯s a hell of a mountain!¡±

    ¡°Calm yourself, Feist,¡± Bryn sighed. She looked at Victor and shrugged sheepishly. ¡°Apologies for my squire¡¯s boisterous nature, milord.¡±

    ¡°You kidding me? I don¡¯t mind; he¡¯s right!¡±

    With a crackling woosh, Florent stepped through his portal, and it snapped shut, disappearing in a wave of sizzling silver sparks. He looked at Victor and then gestured to the cobbled roadway. ¡°I chose this location because, ording to my guide at the time, the branching roads lead to different mine entrances, but if you stay on this main path, you¡¯ll eventuallye to the Temple of the Elements.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s where the fire and earth Elementalists live?¡± Bryn asked, saving Victor the trouble.

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±¡°It¡¯s Bryn. No need for formality.¡±

    ¡°Does that go for me too,¡± Feist asked, and Bryn cuffed him on the back of the head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t embarrass yourself!¡±

    Victor chuckled but didn¡¯tment. He turned up the road and started hiking. The grade was steep, but his long Quinametzin strides devoured it. As he went, he reached into his pathways and severed the connection to his Alter Self spell, expanding to his true height. It took Bryn a few minutes before she gave him a double-take. ¡°Did you grow?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Victor chuckled. ¡°The egg brought out more of my bloodline.¡± He nced up and down the quiet road, watching Feist and Florent bring up the rear. When they were close, he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the railway?¡±

    Florent responded, ¡°For the ore? A dozen tracks meander through these canyons and up the slopes to the various mines. They converge near the base and take a parallel course to this road further down near the forest.¡±

    Bryn looked at Victor, and he could tell she was wondering about his n. ¡°Should we stop at one of the outposts and get a guide?¡±

    Victor shook his head. ¡°I know it seems strange, but I¡¯m, uh, following a feeling. I can tell the mountain wants something from me.¡±

    ¡°I imagined we¡¯d go to the temple and ask the Order for guidance.¡±

    Victor shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think they can help me.¡± He turned and started walking again.

    Bryn kept pace beside him, her armor nking as she walked. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a feeling.¡± Victorughed at her frustrated scowl. ¡°I know, it¡¯s irritating. I don¡¯t know how to exin it. I¡¯m just going to follow my instincts ¡®cause something is pulling or pushing me toward¡­something in this mountain.¡± ???

    Bryn just nodded and put her head down, digging into the steep upward climb. Victor could hear Florent and Feist behind him, and though Florent wasn¡¯t the sturdiest-looking man he¡¯d ever seen, Victor knew there was no way a guy past level one hundred could possibly struggle with any sort of hike. As the minutes ticked by and they climbed hundreds of feet in elevation, Victor often thought about summoning Guapo and making quick work of the ascent, at least until they came to trails or tunnels that made it impractical. Something about having the mountain under his feet was satisfying, though, and he rather enjoyed the vigorous exercise in the mountain air.

    He didn¡¯t doubt that the others could summon mounts or other means of quick travel, but they didn¡¯t mention it, which gave Victor another sort of satisfaction¡ªthese three were following his lead and doing so without any real question or objection. It was something he¡¯d taken for grantedtely, likely ever since the campaign for the Untamed Marches. He¡¯d be ustomed to leading to the point where it didn¡¯t faze him.

    They passed many iron signposts denoting different shafts or other locales on the mountain, from outposts to an asional homestead. After passing a sign next to a rocky trail that read ¡°Yarrow Keep,¡± Brynmented, ¡°I didn¡¯t know anyone lived up here.¡±

    ¡°Nor I,¡± Florent huffed from behind them.

    Victor shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll ask about it back at the pce, but I imagine there have beennd grants up here over the years. We¡¯re talking a hell of a lot of acreage surrounding this peak.¡±

    After a few grunts of agreement, they walked in silence for a while, their huffing breaths apanied by the sounds of nature¡ªbirds singing, canines yipping in the distance, and the asional yowl of a big cat. When they came to a crossroad on the main trail with a narrow path leading off to the right at a downward slope and another to the left that seemed to climb a sheer cliff face carved into the stone by some Elementalist in the distant past, Victor felt a change in the mountain¡¯s pull.

    When he stopped, Bryn took a few steps and then turned back to face him. ¡°Resting?¡±

    ¡°No. I think we need to go that way.¡± Victor pointed to the trail that climbed the rocky face to the left.

    ¡°Narrow,¡± Florent grunted, leaning on his slender ck staff. He scanned the cliff and pointed, directing Victor¡¯s gaze upward. ¡°It switchbacks a dozen times before it curves out of sight up there. I could shorten our climb by portaling us to the top.¡±

    Victor¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You can do that?¡±

    ¡°Of course! If I can see it, I can make a portal to it. It¡¯s a costly spell with a long cooldown, but it¡¯s different from the one that I used to bring us to the mountain. That one requires me to create an anchor, meaning I have to physically be at the location before I can create a portal to it in the future.¡±

    ¡°Well, shit. I don¡¯t see why we can¡¯t cheat a little; there¡¯s nowhere to get off that trail, so l don¡¯t think we¡¯ll miss anything.¡±

    Florent nodded, then, gazing up toward the distant, faint track of the cliffside trail, he thumped his staff on the hard, cobbled roadway. Victor felt a surge of potent Energy, and then, with a sizzling, tearing sound, a ck portal opened in the air before him. ¡°Go,¡± Florent grunted.

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    Victor stepped through first, and just as when he¡¯d taken the portal from his pce to the mountain, he felt a brief sensation of coldness. Then, he stepped out onto the narrow, stony pathway. He took a few steps, making room for the others, then took a moment to look down at his ant-likepanions on the roadway below. ¡°That saved some time,¡± he muttered as Bryn emerged from the portal and hurried toward him.

    Everyone was on the new path a few secondster, and Victor led the way around the stony escarpment. The drop to his left was dizzying, but it didn¡¯t bother him much; Victor figured he¡¯d probably be able tond on his feet by activating Titanic Leap, and even if he couldn¡¯t, he didn¡¯t think a fall would kill him, even thousands of feet down onto rough, jagged boulders. There was a lot to be said for having an epic-tier vitality and a titanic constitution.

    The trail, carved out of the stone of the cliffside, continued deep into a narrow canyon between the side of Iron Mountain and a nearby ¡°foothill,¡± which wasrger than any of the mountains Victor had visited around Tucson. They followed it for hours, steadily climbing higher, and when it wound around again, heading straight up a new canyon¡ªa natural split in Iron Mountain¡¯s shoulder¡ªthe sky had grown dark, and the sun was a distant memory.

    Before climbing into the new canyon, Victor gestured to the rtively t, stony area on which they stood and asked, ¡°Does anyone need to rest?¡±

    Florent stepped forward, his face a little flushed but his breathing regr and unstrained. ¡°Unless you intend to make camp, I would rather press on. No sense dying the inevitable.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Feist added.

    Victor looked at Bryn, and she simply gestured with her hand, pointing toward the trail. He nodded, grinning, and continued to hike. The moon and stars provided plenty of light for Victor¡¯s eyes, and he led them deep into the canyon, always following the ever-present tug at his Core or his heart or his spirit¡ªhe didn¡¯t know exactly what part of him was being pulled, but he felt it. By midnight, they¡¯d passed two forks in the path, climbed another thousand feet, and traversed two rocky ridgelines.

    When they crossed the second one, Victor stood and looked back to the north, over the vast, dark sea of the forest, and sure enough, he could see the distant lights of the town. Bryn stood beside him and sighed, wiping some sweat from her brow. ¡°We¡¯re pretty damn high, Your Grace.¡±

    Victor pped her on the shoulder. ¡°I like the way you talk, Bryn.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for not insisting I be polite.¡±

    Victor had tough at the idea and, shaking his head, turned and continued to climb. Two hourster, Florent called out, ¡°I see a cave!¡±

    Victor had a habit of watching the trail in front of his feet, looking for stones to step on and ensuring he didn¡¯t slip on loose scree. When Florent called out, he looked back to see where the man pointed, and sure enough, about a mile up the canyon and on the other side, he saw the oblong crescent of pitch-ck darkness that stood out among the starlit boulders. When his eyes settled on the opening, Victor felt the pull with renewed intensity, and he simply <em>knew</em> that was where he was meant to go. ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± he grunted.

    ¡°Shall I create a portal, or would you like to progress on this trail?¡±

    Victor let his gaze drift back to the stony path, following it up the canyon with his eyes. He could see that it probably wrapped around the canyon to the far side further up, but if they could skip that hike, it would save them hours. ¡°Portal,¡± he grunted.

    Florent nodded, then moved past Victor so he had more open space before him. He mmed his staff on the ground, and Victor felt a surge of Energy, and once again, Florent¡¯s dark, crackling portal appeared. ¡°After you, Your Grace.¡±

    Victor brushed past him and stepped into the void hanging in the air. His foot came down on gray stone, and he stepped into the opening of a dark, dusty cave. While he waited for the others, he peered into the deep shadows, his Quinametzin eyes straining to pierce the dark. It looked like it went deep and descended rapidly. Standing there in the cave opening, he could feel something calling to him even more intensely.

    There weren¡¯t words or coherent thoughts associated with the call, but Victor was more and more sure that it was the mountain and not some other being. Perhaps his ancestors were aiding the call, allowing it to affect him more profoundly, but Victor felt like it was something in his blood¡ªa kinship the mountain recognized. He couldn¡¯t get any sense of emotion from the pull; it didn¡¯t seem desperate or angry or hopeful. It was just a pull that said <eme</em>, and something in Victor wanted to answer.

    The sizzling crackle of Florent¡¯s portal fading brought Victor¡¯s mind back to the present, and he looked at hispanions. ¡°Anyone need rest?¡±

    ¡°Not I, Your Grace.¡± Feist thumped his breastte with his gloved fist.

    Victor chuckled at his enthusiasm but looked at Florent. ¡°You¡¯re good?¡±

    ¡°Fine, if a bit bored.¡±

    ¡°Well, maybe things will get more interesting in this cave.¡± Victor gathered some inspiration-attuned Energy and summoned his coyotes. As the shimmering silvery mist gathered on the cave floor and his fivepanions sprang into existence with yips and yowls, Victorughed to see Bryn take a step back, her hand reaching for her sword. As he squatted to pet the cheerful canines, they swarmed him, licking and slobbering all over his face and neck. ¡°All right, all right!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a summoner?¡± Bryn asked, eyes wide. ¡°You never used your pets in battle¡ª¡±

    Victor stood, and his cheerful demeanor turned into a glower as he stared at Bryn, Florent, and Feist. ¡°You might see me do a few things in here that I¡¯d rather the rest of Ruhn wasn¡¯t aware of. Consider this mission and anything you witness to be a secret between us. Agreed?¡±

    ¡°Yes, milord!¡± Again Feist mmed his fist to his chest, and this time Bryn joined him, nodding and saluting.

    Florent chuckled and nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve no one to share such things with, milord, but rest assured, you¡¯ll have my secrecy.¡±

    Victor nodded, then turned to his coyotes and clicked his tongue, jerking his thumb toward the tunnel. They cried and yowled in excitement as they took off, eager to be the first to discover something interesting for him. ¡°They¡¯ll scout,¡± he exined. As he started after the coyotes, Victor summoned a Globe of Insight, charging it until it zed like a star in the air over his head. With that brilliant illumination, his eyes pierced the depths of the tunnel for a hundred feet or more, and he could see that it wound slightly to the right.

    ¡°Were those wolves, Lord Victor,¡± Feist asked from behind Bryn as they walked. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard such funny cries. It almost seems they were trying to talk.¡±

    ¡°Coyotes. They¡¯re rted to wolves but usually smaller. Mine are quite a bit bigger than natural ones. Coyotes are clever and brave, and they rely on each other to survive.¡± Victor could feel hispanion spirits deep below them, racing ahead. He couldn¡¯t see through their eyes but could get general sensations and emotions from them. It seemed they were still together; the tunnel hadn¡¯t branched yet.

    As they descended, the cave grewrger rather than smaller, and Victor found himself able to stand upright and takefortable strides. He imagined that the people who¡¯d carved the trail into the stony cliffs leading to the cave had probably been prospecting¡ªlooking for mineral deposits and whatnot¡ªbut this cave seemed natural, and Victor didn¡¯t see any evidence of mining. ¡°There wasn¡¯t a sign by the trailhead leading here, was there?¡±

    ¡°No, milord,¡± Feist replied. Victor was starting to like the guy; he was quick-witted and eager.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like any mining operation reached this tunnel, does it?¡± He looked over his shoulder, addressing the question to all three of hispanions.

    Florent shook his head. ¡°I think not, milord.¡±

    ¡°Strange, don¡¯t you think? That trail in the cliff face couldn¡¯t have been easy to make.¡±

    ¡°On the contrary, milord,¡± Florent replied again, ¡°for a powerful Earth Elementalist, it would be a few days'' work at most. I¡¯d say it''s likely a noble in times past wanted to explore this cave and sought an easier route for his hired hands.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Victor stopped, pausing to better concentrate on his coyotes. They were fast when they had room to run, and it felt like they were very distant, like they¡¯d covered miles. ¡°My coyotes are way ahead of us. They haven¡¯t run into anything¡ª¡± Victor gasped, choking off his words, as he felt a surge of panic mingled with excitement. His coyotes hade upon something. He got an impression of a vast space, heat, and the undeniable <em>danger</em> sensation from all five of them. Then, they were gone.

    ¡°Are you all right?¡± Bryn grabbed his shoulder, and Victor shook his head, trying to banish the startled panic and fear hispanions had sent his way.

    ¡°Something just killed my coyotes.¡±

    ¡°Gods!¡± Feist cried, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, milord!¡±

    Florent saved Victor the trouble of exining. ¡°Those were spirit totems, Feist. They aren¡¯t dead forever.¡± He looked at Victor, ¡°Isn¡¯t that correct, milord?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Still, something killed them in about two seconds t.¡± He red at the three of them. ¡°Maybe you all should wait here.¡±

    Florent shook his head. ¡°I have strict orders to apany you, milord.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not letting you go down there alone!¡± Bryn looked horrified at the thought.

    ¡°I¡¯m with you, Your Grace!¡± Feist announced.

    Victor smiled at Feist, nodding as he locked eyes with the young man. ¡°I appreciate your bravery.¡± He turned to Florent, ¡°But if I tell you to run, you better have a portal ready.¡±

    ¡°I always have an escape portal ready, milord! How else do you think I can feign such bravery?¡± He grinned lopsidedly and winked, getting a few hearty chuckles out of Feist.

    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Victor looked up at his Globe of Insight, then canceled it, reiming his Energy. As the tunnel was thrown into darkness, Florent¡¯s ck staff began to glow with silvery light.

    ¡°Shall I extinguish this, milord?¡±

    ¡°Up to you,¡± Victor said, casting Banner of the Champion, sting the tunnel with its zing golden light.

    ¡°Gods! I feel that!¡± Feist cheered, pounding his chest with his fist. Even Florent stood taller, the wan pallor of his flesh perking up with some color.

    Bryn was beaming ear-to-ear as she peered up at the bloody sun on Victor¡¯s floating, magical standard. ¡°I¡¯m learning a lot about you today, Your Grace.¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon.¡± Victor started down the tunnel, his lengthy strides forcing the others to half-jog to keep up. ¡°You¡¯re probably going to learn a lot more.¡±

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