by Matthew Peed
This part of the city had a more natural feeling to it. I could see goblins dressed much like scholars would, entering and exiting various buildings down the street. I turned toward the library and made my way up followed by the rest of the group. At the entrance was the same setup as Regan’s library up on the surface. It made sense, as he wouldn’t want to lose control of his knowledge.
I placed my card on the pedestal, and the stone turned green. Upon entering, I found the interior to be much warmer than the library Regan built. Regan’s was largely stone and metal. It looked intimidating and cold. This place was more along the lines of a cozy space that made you want to spend an afternoon wrapped in a blanket while reading a book. A librarian, one of the automata that Regan made for the surface library, approached us.
“Welcome to the library. How may I be of assistance?” she asked.
“Is there any difference between this library and the surface one?” I asked, looking around.
“Yes. There are many interactive sections in this library and access to higher levels of knowledge. You do need approval,” she replied.
“Where do I get approval?”
“From her.” She pointed into the middle of the library.
I followed her finger and saw Saga lounging on a hanging couch. She had a book in her hand and appeared to be greatly enjoying it. There was a small smile on her lips. I nodded to the librarian, and she went off to help a goblin that was calling for her.
We decided to take a small break to check out the library before continuing to explore the city. I was rounding the corner when I saw someone. Someone I knew very well.
“Vern! What are you doing here?!” I demanded when I saw the woman browsing a line of books.
“Your Highness!” Vern said, whipping around to face me. She dropped the books she was holding.
“Well?” I said, frowning.
“I earned it. Thanks to Saga, I have already completed twenty levels of the trials.” She tilted her head to the side. “I guess I’ve been here for almost four days now.”
“Damn it. You need to keep us more up to date with your situation. I know you have free reign over what you do, but it would help just to let us know,” I said, shaking my head.
“My apologies, Your Highness,” she said, bowing deeply.
“Let me guess.” I sighed, rubbing my forehead. “You’ve been held up in the library the whole time”
“Guilty.” Vern rubbed the back of her head.
“She has been very busy,” a voice said from next to my ear.
I spun around to find Saga standing only a few centimeters from me. She stood like a matronly mother overlooking two children. Her hands were behind her back, and she loomed much taller than I’d realized she was, at over two meters. I felt like she towered over me.
“Saga! Can I help you?” I asked, managing to keep the shock from my voice.
“I saw something interesting and wanted to take a closer look,” she said.
“Is that so. Are you enjoying the show?” I asked, not sure how to handle her.
Her smile was warm as she replied, “Indeed, I am. Vern is a fascinating mortal. One worthy of the knowledge that the Creator has seen fit to share with this world.”
“I am glad that a member of my race has proven themselves thusly,” I said, honestly happy for Vern.
“I do hope that more continue to do so,” Saga said, then turned to walk away.
When she was out of earshot, I whispered to Vern, “Why does it sound like she was bragging about you?”
Vern shrugged. “I think I’m the only person to make it past the tenth trial, let alone this far. She is probably bored.”
I left her to take a closer look at the library. On the second floor, I found the titles of the books blurred. As I reached to take one, my hand hit a barrier of some kind. I pushed a little harder but could tell the amount of mana needed to get through it was quite a bit, not worth the effort when I didn’t even know what I was trying to grab. Plus, I didn’t want to make Lord Regan mad.
I heard a laugh behind me and turned around slowly, thinking it was Saga again. When I saw Lord Regan standing there, my heart jumped into my throat. I quickly bowed to him and realized I was completely alone. No one was nearby. They all must have found something interesting to make them drop their guard this much.
“Hello, my princess,” Lord Regan said with a slightly joking tone, but I shivered when he called me his princess.
“Lord Regan! What do I owe this pleasure?” I asked, looking up to him.
“I have a mission for you,” he said while creating a pair of chairs for us to sit in.
“Yes! I’ll do it,” I said immediately.
He rubbed his chin. “I’m pleased with the enthusiasm, but this is a little closer to home for you.”
“Lord?” I asked, not quite understanding.
He sighed, frowning. “I want you to go back to Jade Wind. You’ll be taking one of my cores with you. I have gotten word that not all is as it seems there.”
“Lord? I just spoke with my father the other day. He assured me that the city was recovering and was preparing to take the war to the necromancers,” I said.
It wasn’t that I didn’t believe Lord Regan, but I had always trusted my father. Plus, I couldn’t see a reason for him of all people to lie to me. Sure, tensions were high back in the city, but what else do you expect when such a revolt takes place? People were bound to wonder if they should have gone with the traitors. My father was doing everything he could to calm the masses.
“I don’t believe your father was lying to you. However, I know from experience that at times not all is as it seems. My information comes from a source on the other side of the line. While normally it wouldn’t be trustworthy, its method of . . . extraction is very reliable.” Lord Regan’s eyes flashed a deep red.
“I understand. I will set off at once in that case,” I said, standing to bow to him.
“Good. Here.” He handed me a pendant.
It was a large gear. Etched along it were straight blue lines that sometimes turned perpendicular to each other. At the center was a shard of what looked like crystal. The entire thing pulsed softly. Taking it, I felt my connection with Lord Regan solidly, more than ever before, or at least as strongly as when I wasn’t channeling his mana through my body.
“It’s beautiful,” I murmured as I took it.
“Amazing how far I’ve come in only a few months,” I heard Lord Regan mumble before he spoke up. “Keep it safe. Not much could harm it. In fact, it would be easier to kill you than damage that. When you get to Jade Wind, I’ll know.”
“Yes, Lord!”
Lord Regan tilted his head and looked into the distance. “Work calls. Safe journeys,” he said before fading into mana.
I gazed at the pendant for a few minutes before coming back to myself, then hung it around my neck and dropped it down the collar of my armor. I made my way around the library to quickly gather the others and we left. Once out on the street, I had Alphonso direct us to the elevator.
“Can you come with us?” I asked as we walked into the building.
He nodded and ran over to one of the walls. He did something I couldn’t make out, and a slot popped open. A suit of armor emerged, and he quickly climbed into it. It looked odd, with roundish curves, and it didn’t appear to have any gaps at all. His face was still visible, but when he got closer, I realized there was a pane of glass.
“Ready to go, Boss,” Alphonso said, his voice having a weird fake quality to it.
“Anything less . . . conspicuous?” I asked.
Alphonso shrugged as he replied, “Nope! Only upper management gets the cool suits.”
“Great.” I sighed.
We all gathered on the platform, and Tsuzuki pressed the rune for the surface. I expected the platform to move, but it turned out to be a teleporter. In a blink of an eye we were at the surface. A party that had just gotten off the elevator jumped in surprise at our s
udden arrival.
I pulled one of the guards aside. “Run and inform Lady Louella that I would like to see her. As soon as possible.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” He saluted, then took off.
A few hours later I was sitting in front of Louella in her office. I’d had to wait for her to have a free moment, and it made me realize that Louella’s position of power was growing at a tremendous rate. I was glad that she didn’t appear afraid to wield her power against the nobles who were trying to push their way into her valley. Though her father was a considerably high-ranking noble, she was more used to this than one might assume.
“Sorry, Izora. I had already made them wait twice. I couldn’t put them off again,” Louella apologized.
“No problem. I just want to discuss a few things with you,” I said with a smile.
“Regan already let me know that you will be leaving for a bit.”
She got up and moved to a small table to the side of the room and poured two glasses of what looked like liquor, then handed me one as she sat back down at her desk. The whole time her staff floated behind her within easy reach. I also noticed small mana fluctuations from around her that looked to be most likely a barrier of some kind.
“I had hoped he would. I want to take the royal airship and leave the other two here. While I’m gone, I want to leave you in charge of them,” I said, taking a sip of the drink.
At first, the liquor tingled but it smoothed out afterward. I found that I quite enjoyed it and quickly took another sip. In a few moments it was gone. I stared at the bottom of the glass with a pout.
“I have no problems with that. Anything in particular you want them to do?” Louella said, slowly swirling her drink.
“Just to keep heading into the dungeon. Wouldn’t want them to slack off.” I chuckled.
“Understood. So, tell me, what was the twentieth floor like?” she asked, her eyes sparkling.
“It was . . . it was amazing,” I said, not really sure what else to say. I tried my best to describe what I’d experienced but felt I failed to really portray the marvel I’d seen down there.
“I’ll have to check it out when I get the chance.” She smiled. “Though, I probably won’t be able to leave the castle for a few weeks with the amount of work I have piled up.”
“I’m sure we can figure out a way to sneak you out for a few hours. We could just ask Lord Regan to take you there,” I suggested.
Louella shook her head. “That defeats the purpose of dungeons. In my opinion, anyway. When I think about how Regan should be trying to lure us into his depths to cleanse our mana, I almost laugh. So many of the ‘rules’ have been twisted.”
“To be fair, most of those rules were established by us mortals. The dungeons really had no say in the matter. For one, I never understood why a dungeon would lead mortals to itself when we get stronger in its depths. Seems counterintuitive,” I said, considering it.
“Need to ask the creators of the dungeons next time we see them,” Louella said sarcastically.
“Alright. I have a city to check up on. I’ll have to leave you now. Besides, I think you have a line out there.” I stood up.
“How long do you plan to be?” She rose as well.
“The trip should take roughly two weeks, but Lord Regan said he modified the airship in his spare time.”
“Then I’ll see you in a month,” Louella said, giving me a hug.
Chapter 10
Louella
Hearing that Izora would be leaving the valley for a while, I found that I would miss her. Thankfully, it would only be for a month or so—if the situation at her home wasn’t too bad. I was worried about that in and of itself. People were likely to do things they would otherwise regret when driven by anger or grief. So, I could only hope her father was alright.
The next few hours passed quickly. That usually happened when I worked on the mind-numbing amount of paperwork that would gather in only a few days. The documents ranged from land requests to tax forms. Many of the forms were sorted and handled by the staff that had been put together over the last month. The land request forms, however, and those of equal importance I made sure to do myself. I didn’t want some noble pressuring my people into letting them do what they wanted.
Just in this stack alone, there were two dozen nobles requesting land for manors. Some of them even went so far as to include a blueprint of their planned manor. I could only shake my head at their obnoxiousness. One wanted a massive building that spanned for nearly six hundred meters. Those all ended up in the fire. Let us just say I had an excellent fire going.
“Wrakras, any news on the festival preparations?” I asked as I read the next document.
“Some of the nobles are throwing a fit about not being…” He coughed, then finished with a cynical tone. “The guest of honor.”
“How hard would it be for us to kill them all and destroy the evidence?” I asked, not looking up.
“Difficult, but if you asked Master to help . . . wait, what?”
“Huh?” I said back, then realized what I had asked. “Sorry. Never realized how annoying it was for lords before now. Now I know why my father liked to travel to the lesser regions.”
“I can understand the frustration. Just remember that not everyone is as . . . tight lipped as I am.” Wrakras rubbed his hand through his hair.
“Noted. Though, if I really wanted, I could probably ask Regan to make it where I could hear everything said in the valley.” I leaned back in my chair to give my hand a rest.
“That he could, but I should remind you that something said in private should not damn the person. Surely, you have cursed at Master in private. If he took what you said seriously, or as a threat, would he have helped you as much as he has?” Wrakras advised.
“I thought you were a necromancer?” I asked, then I thought of something. “Don’t you crave power?”
“I used to. I had nothing else I wanted. Then Master created Cook, a master of the food. It also helped that he cleared the bindings that unholy mana placed on my mind. I have been able to think clearly ever since,” he explained. “Though I do have one worry.”
He held up his hand, and a ball of green twisting mana formed over it. I wasn’t sure what he was going for at first, but after a few seconds I realized that the energy given off by the ball was weak. I remembered when Wrakras had dealt with Julie. He’d been much more powerful.
“Why is your power waning?” I asked, curious.
“A number of things. Mainly Master is cleansing the mana in this area. To cultivate mana I would need to corrupt the mana, then reabsorb it.” He clasped his hand closed and the ball vanished.
“What was your original mana?”
“Dark. Most necromancers need dark mana, as it is a twisted version of it.”
“Ah, I remember Regan mentioning something like that. Something about a demon being involved,” I remarked with a nod. “Can’t you use your dark mana instead?”
“I wouldn’t know. I was only told that this power came from a great Celestial.” He shrugged. “And to an extent, the unholy mana tends to make things . . . difficult when you don’t use it.”
“What does that mean for your, um, body?” I asked, glancing over his body.
I’d heard that when Regan had captured him, his entire body had been crushed. His unholy mana kept him alive by transforming him into a pseudo undead. Unlike a true undead, only part of his body was undead, while the others were alive. It was what allowed him to keep his mind as well as eat the food he liked so much.
“I don’t know. I might actually die. I might be able to ask Master to fix my body for me.”
“I see. I’ll put a word in for you as well. Regan is pretty rewarding to people who do what he says, and you’ve only ever served willingly in my book. Plus, I haven’t been too gentle with you,” I said, thinking about the times I’d thrown him out the window or he was inadvertently struck by lightning.
Wrakras rubbed his chest as if rem
embering the pain. “That would be a great kindness,” he said as he bowed.
We lapsed into silence as I continued working on the paperwork. An hour went by before a loud banging sounded at the door. A guard rushed in, panic almost overtaking him. He lurched and knelt in front of my desk.
“My lady! An army is approaching from Thonaca!” the guard shouted.
“Calm down. What do you mean?” I ordered, gesturing for him to stand as well.
The guard took several deep breaths before reporting, “The scouts spotted a large force heading this way through the Thosoa pass. They will reach us within the hour.”
“I assume Ezal has already been informed?” I asked, standing up. While I had scouts monitoring all the passes into the valley, there was a large amount of land to cover. Depending on the speed the army was moving, the reports could be just ahead of the force. I would need to find some way to improve that time. If they were going to be here in an hour, then they were likely on horses and pushing them hard to get here.
I was surprised at how calm I felt. Lines had warned me this might happen. I just didn’t think it would happen so soon. I felt like it was a setup. Even if Quin had left for the capital the moment she was free, it should still have taken her nearly a month to reach it. Of course, I had no idea what magic she had at her disposal.
“Of course, my lady,” the guard said, pulling me from my thoughts. I would have to worry about the how later. For now I would deal with the response.
“Good! Send word to the guilds. I want everyone ready for combat in the next twenty minutes. If they refuse to participate, tell them they will be exiled from the town once this is over.” I held my hand out and Helios flew into my grip. The guilds might not like that order, but I had little choice. It was part of their agreement when setting up shop in the valley. The only one that was exempt was the Adventurers Guild.
“Yes!” he said with a salute, then rushed out the doors.
“Well, time to earn yourself some more points,” I said, throwing a grin at Wrakras.
He put the bottom part of his mask on, the one Regan had made for him when he first joined the dungeon. “It will be a good distraction,” he said with a chuckle.