by Aaron Oster
Sarah meant more to him than the world itself, and if he had to physically tear the planet apart to bring her back, he would do so without a second thought. He remained where he was, Sarah’s face now blurry through his tears. He dared not open himself fully to the grief, knowing that it would incapacitate him completely. His will to live had been shattered on the day he’d lost her, and without her support, he would not have the strength to keep going, even if doing so would mean getting her back.
He felt Lumia drop from his shoulder, and a moment later, felt rough arms wrap around him from behind. Human expressions of comfort were completely foreign to one of her kind, yet she did her best. It was an awkward hug, her being so much larger than him, and her skin not exactly soft, yet Morgan appreciated it all the same. That was why, when her sharp claws tore through his robes and pressed against his skin, he did not pull back.
How long the two of them remained like that, Morgan did not know, but when the tears finally refused to come, Morgan clamped down on his grief, subduing it to the point where he hardly felt it at all. He refused to remove it completely, as it would taint Sarah’s memory. For as long as they were together, she’d worked to return his emotions to him. He would not dishonor her now by relinquishing control once again.
“Are you okay now?”
Lumia’s soft voice drifted to him in the silence, and Morgan knew that he could no longer stay here.
“I can manage,” he replied, shifting a bit in her embrace. “Thank you for being here.”
Lumia squeezed him just a bit tighter, before relinquishing her grip, her hands sliding away as Morgan turned in place to face her.
“Would you mind?” he asked, gesturing to his shoulder.
In response, Lumia’s humanoid form shrank, transforming once more into the cat-sized, cute form and floating over to his shoulder. There was a reason he’d asked her to transform, and it had little to do with his desire to have her be smaller. She’d simply been blocking an area of the ground he’d needed to access.
The sand before him trembled, rippling as though being blown by a sort of breeze at first, and moving in ever-greater quantities as Morgan increased the power. His Earthen Shift gave him control over the earth to a staggering degree, which was why he’d felt safe leaving something here. That, and the fact that the Ruined City was off-limits and as inhospitable as a place can get.
Morgan halted for a moment as the sand turned to stone some six feet down, but the stone was no barrier for him. The tan stone rippled like water, shifting and flowing as he dug deeper. These were valuable items, so he’d taken the precaution of burying it deep. After another thirty feet, the dark gray surface of the adamantite crate he’d left was revealed.
Even if someone had managed to make it in here, dig down through six feet of sand and another thirty of solid stone, they’d still have to deal with a solid, thirty-five-ton block of adamantite. Morgan shifted the stone away from the precious metal, revealing the corners of the massive block.
Some might think that the adamantite alone would be worth coming after, and they would be correct. As one of the hardest and rarest metals in the Five Kingdoms, a block of metal like this was worth millions. Morgan had found and collected the materials needed to craft this with his skill, as well as hunting down specific beasts that grew this metal, either on their hides or in their bones.
The problem anyone would have when finding this would be bringing it back to the surface. Adamantite was far too dense to lift and was too strong to cut. They’d have needed someone with a Strength attribute well over 500, and as far as he knew, those people were few and far between. Luckily for him, he was one of them.
Dropping down into the hole, Morgan took a deep breath, then slammed both hands into the metal, driving them in up to his wrists and curving his fingers inward. This part would be difficult, but he would be able to gain some aid with the use of his skill. Powerful as his Earthen Shift was, moving thirty-five-tons with the skill alone was extremely difficult. Luckily for him, he was plenty strong himself.
Morgan strained mightily, every muscle and tendon standing out on his body as he did so. While it was true that his flight skill itself did not impose a weight-limit, he himself very much had a limit as to what he could carry, and thirty-five-tons was at about the maximum. Sweat beaded on his brow as he began to rise, the earth beneath him shifting upward along with his ascent.
It took him ten minutes to move the block to the surface, and once he did, he collapsed onto his back, his chest heaving and his body drenched in sweat.
“You could have asked for my help,” Lumia chastised.
She was still in her small form, lying a few feet away and giving him an accusatory look.
“I needed to exert myself,” Morgan replied, forcing himself into an upright position.
Lumia didn’t reply, simply moving over to join him as he got shakily to his feet. The adamantite block, despite its massive weight, was only twelve cubic feet. Seeing as it was more than ten times denser than steel, this was hardly a surprise. Summoning a spear using his Stormforge skill, Morgan thrust forward, burying it practically to the end of the shaft.
Exerting a massive force of effort, Morgan forced the construct to widen, giving him just a bit of extra room before it shattered under the pressure. He’d gotten it open, and from there, it was easy to use his massive Strength to widen the opening. It was still another twenty minutes of work to reveal the shining purple chest, practically blazing with reiki-powered wards designed to obliterate anyone other than him if they so much as touched it, which was the final protection he broke before sliding the chest free.
“So, that’s it?” Lumia asked, leaning in to see the contents of the chest.
“Yup,” Morgan replied. “This is it.”
He had to admit, even to himself, that they didn’t look like much. Then again, no one had thought much of the pair of silver gauntlets resting there. In truth, they’d be useless to just about anyone other than him. Still, it paid to take precautions against thievery, especially when the items in question had the power to kill a god.
Morgan felt a small movement from behind, and he slammed the chest shut, whirling in place and summoning a pair of shields to deflect any incoming attack. What he was met with was a very frightened-looking boy of about thirteen, holding his hands up high and looking like he was about to wet his pants. Had Morgan known that Katherine had found herself in a similar situation, he might almost have laughed.
“Who are you, and what are you doing here?” Morgan asked.
The kid didn’t even have a core yet, which was why Morgan hadn’t sensed him upon arriving here. Still, there was no reason a child should be hanging around in a city like this one. The fact that he’d revealed himself now meant that he’d clearly been waiting here for him.
“My name is Orvik! I was left here as a lookout for Queen Katherine. Please don’t kill me!”
Lumia, who’d grown back to her full size at Morgan’s movement, sniffed lightly, ruffling the boy’s hair. Morgan honestly wasn’t sure who was scaring him more right now, but judging by the way the boy’s eyes were locked squarely on Lumia’s massive head, he could probably guess that her intimidation prowess were worlds above his own.
Morgan relaxed then, allowing the shields to fade and motioned Lumia to back away from the terrified child.
“It’s unwise to sneak up on people, Orvik,” Morgan said as Lumia did as she was bid. “Now, I assume that the reason you revealed yourself to me is because Katherine left you to wait for me?”
Orvik, seemingly too afraid to speak, simply nodded vehemently. When Morgan raised an eyebrow, Orvik seemed to realize that he’d have to give an actual explanation and deliver his message.
“Queen Katherine told me to tell you to come to Pinnaclefall, what was once City Eleven, as soon as you could.”
“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint,” Morgan replied. “You can tell Katherine that I don’t have time to be sidetracked at the moment
and that I need to be leaving for Faeland.”
“She told me you’d say that,” Orvik continued. “But she said it was urgent you come to speak with her anyways.”
“And, why, pray tell, should I do that?” Morgan asked.
Here, Orvik seemed to take strength, as though the knowledge that he was about to impart would assure Morgan’s compliance and remove all chance of his being eaten or disciplined for failing Katherine.
“They found a new supermage.”
Morgan stared at the boy for a few long moments before turning to Lumia.
“Well, it looks like we’re taking a small detour.”
Orvik blew out a long sigh of relief, then quickly withdrew a very familiar-looking scroll. Specifically, one that would open a portal to his destination.
“No, thanks,” Morgan replied, already rising into the air, a chunk of the adamantite dangling beneath him and Lumia following as she shrank down to her small form. “You can tell Katherine I’ll be there soon.”
Without another word, Morgan used Gravity Tear, vanishing into thin air and leaving the dumbstruck boy to stare into empty space.
10
“How’s my hair?” Katherine asked, fighting down the urge to adjust it.
“The same as it was the last time you asked,” Bell replied dryly.
“And my dress? Do you think it’s okay?”
Bell let out a long sigh but refrained from answering her Queen’s question. She’d never seen Katherine this flustered in all her time working for her. As soon as she’d heard Morgan was coming, she’d dropped everything and gone to get ready. Now, she sat in her throne room, resplendent in an elegant green gown. It had been made to accentuate her assets, show off her amazing figure, and draw the eye without being too blatant about it.
Judging by the way the other guards continuously stole furtive glances, Bell could be sure that she looked more than ‘okay.’ In fact, the last time Katherine had looked this stunning had been when Le’vine, Queen of the East, had come for a visit with her latest suitor. Being the ruler of a country, Bell had insisted she look the part, even if she didn’t feel like it. Other than that, Katherine hadn’t really put much effort into dressing up, which she could normally get away with.
Her hair had been styled in a new fashion, one that had only recently come into style. It was half up, in a sort of messy, yet not messy bun, with strands falling down about her face, framing its already beautiful features and accentuating them further. Her painted cheeks and ruby-red lips stood out against the blue of the shadow around her eyes, and even the way she sat was designed to catch the eye.
Bell preferred men, but she was fairly certain that she, and likely half the women in the Kingdom, would leave their husbands for her if she asked, merely by the merits of her looks alone. Someone like Morgan, who was mainly a man, would have no chance of resisting her wiles.
Then again, Bell thought, Morgan had resisted Katherine’s advances for years, so maybe there was little hope of that actually happening. Still, she could hope, if for the simple reason of getting the Queen married.
Bell was snapped from her thoughts as the throne room doors were swung wide to admit their guests.
“Ah, good, you’re here,” Katherine called, making sure to stay still and not move from her carefully chosen position should Morgan arrive unexpectedly.
Shul, the emissary of the East Kingdom, and Le’vine’s captain of the guard – as well as her brother-in-law – entered the room. He bowed lightly upon his entrance, before continuing in. Immediately behind him followed their second guest, the reason for their visit and subsequent stay here at the palace in the North Kingdom.
The girl didn’t bother bowing, merely scowling at Katherine before turning her nose up at the lot of them and sticking close to her supervisor.
Katherine honestly wasn’t sure what to make of the girl. Her attitude was absolutely horrible and had been the main reason for her constant headaches. Never in her life had she met someone so rude or unhappy to be somewhere, and no matter how many times she’d been told why she was here, she refused to listen.
“Am I right to assume that Morgan will be arriving soon?” Shul asked, moving to stand before the Queen.
“I got a message from my lookout two hours ago,” Katherine confirmed. “Though I can’t be sure exactly when he’ll be here.”
Shul shrugged.
“We traveled all the way here for Grace to meet him, so waiting a few hours more doesn’t really matter.”
“Speak for yourself,” the girl, Grace, replied with a snort. “I still don’t see why I was dragged all the way here just to meet some guy.”
Her voice was exceptionally light, far lighter than any Katherine had heard. Then again, Grace was only fourteen, so perhaps it would grow deeper as she matured.
“As I’ve said, many, many times,” Shul said, turning on her. “This isn’t just, as you put it, some guy.”
The way Shul spoke, the slump in his shoulders, the tightness of his muscles and the small twitch near his left eye, told Katherine all she needed to know. Had she not witnessed this girl’s behavior firsthand, this would have given her all the information she’d have needed to ascertain that Grace, although someone of great future importance, was, to put it bluntly, a pain in the ass.
“Yeah, yeah,” Grace replied, rolling her eyes. “He’s Morgan, the all-powerful supermage who singlehandedly saved the world with his pure awesomeness and dashing good looks.”
“First of all, he didn’t do it alone, as you well know,” Shul said, shooting Katherine an apologetic glance. “And secondly, what would give you the idea that he’s even remotely good looking? Not that it even has any relevance to the situation, mind you.”
“Well, even if Hilda didn’t practically salivate at the mention of his name, I’d say that the North Queen’s current state of dress is more than enough to guess at least that much.”
Though Katherine didn’t say anything to the contrary, she found herself secretly impressed. Up until now, she’d believed Grace to just be a spoiled brat. Either that, or someone with a seriously rotten attitude. However, it seemed that the girl had a half-decent head on her shoulders under all that nastiness, and she was only fourteen.
“It still isn’t relevant, and it’s not what I wanted you to take away from our numerous conversations,” Shul replied tiredly. “You’re here because everyone, including your Queen, believed it to be the best course of action. Where else can you even hope to find a proper teacher?”
“I’m sure there have to be other supermages I can learn from,” Grace shot back, crossing her arms over her chest. “This Morgan I’ve never heard of can’t be all that amazing if he straight-up vanished for two years.”
“Well, I wouldn’t really say that I vanished, more like went on an extended vacation.”
Katherine jumped at the sound of the voice, her eyes snapping to the center of the room, where a man now stood where only empty space had been just a moment ago. She wasn’t the only one to jump. Her guards, much to their credit, reacted almost without thought, launching themselves right at the intruder.
Shul reacted almost as quickly, grabbing Grace around the waist and tackling her to the ground. Katherine’s eyes widened as she recognized the intruder, just before her first guard reached him. Before she could even call to them to halt their assault, the fight was already over.
“You know, I expected you’d be angry with me after leaving so abruptly,” Morgan said, turning to look at her. “But I didn’t think you’d go so far as to have me attacked on sight.”
Katherine honestly didn’t know what to say. There he was, standing in the center of her throne room, the unconscious bodies of all six rank 60 guards lying around him. He looked different than the last time she’d seen him. He’d grown taller, standing now at just over six feet. His face was leaner, more mature, and covered in a short, close-cropped beard. His eyes were a pure golden color, with just the smallest hint of violet around th
e edges, and his hair framed his face nicely, hanging down halfway to his shoulders.
Aside from that, he looked mostly the same, although his body now appeared as though it were chiseled out of pure steel rather than flesh and bone. And judging by how quickly he’d moved, Katherine thought it may very well be. She’d spent a good deal of her time training as well, and even at rank 68, she’d barely been able to see him move, let alone how he’d knocked out all her guards.
In other words, he was even more irresistible now than he’d been back then, and that was saying a lot. Katherine felt a small nudge in her side then – Bell most likely – and she realized she’d been staring.
“Well, you did appear in the middle of my throne room instead of using the door,” Katherine finally replied, doing her utmost to keep her voice from shaking. “I’m sure you expected as much.”
“Is this how all humans greet one another, by engaging in greeting battles? Should I go attack someone?”
Katherine’s attention was drawn by the unfamiliar voice, her eyes alighting on a small, winged lizard perching on Morgan’s shoulder. It was such a strange sight, that she was shocked she hadn’t noticed it before. Then again, the surprise of seeing Morgan again had likely contributed to her lapse in awareness.
“No, Lumia, humans don’t typically greet one another by attacking. That was just a misunderstanding on their part.”
“Care to introduce me to your friend?” Katherine asked, not really sure of what else to say.
She’d rehearsed, planned, repeated the same words over and over. She knew exactly what she’d say and how she’d say it once she saw him again. But now that he was here, she found herself tongue-tied, her mind unwilling to allow her the courtesy of thinking rationally. Her tongue, likewise, seemed unable to form the proper words, instead just spouting out whatever it wanted, regardless of importance or relevance. Though, in her tongue’s defense, asking about the miniature talking and flying lizard was relevant in this particular situation.