“It is good to see you,” Hawke continued. “I was able to plant my last Node Seed, so I can run some last-minute business before I have to rejoin the caravan.”
Technically, he could return to his Domain all the way from Akila and beyond, thanks to his Node Recall ability, but that was a one-way trip; going back would have to be done by conventional means. Having a Node closer to their destination had made it possible for him to make it there and back without trouble. Teleportation was great, but it had limits, and working around them made life complicated. Since Blaze and Luna could only travel for a limited distance before they ran out of Mana, flying was a distant second best option. Magic wasn’t a cure-all, although it could come close sometimes.
Gosto nodded. “I am glad you managed to do so. I know the caravan’s departure could not be delayed any longer, but events have transpired in the past two days that need your attention.”
“Of course. Can’t have a day go by without some crisis rearing up is ugly head.”
That wasn’t entirely fair. He’d gone through a couple of weeks without a fight to the death, a major mystical upheaval, or news of some threat arising from a random cardinal point. Still, he was looking forward to a whole month of peace of quiet. He was on his fourth month in the Realms, and he still hadn’t had one of those.
“Yesterday, I received an emissary from the Evergreen Circle, suing for peace,” the Druid Warden said. “A Sapling Warrior, empowered to speak for the Great Trees that rule the Circle.”
“Okay, that’s pretty big. Did he offer terms?”
Gosto nodded. “An end to hostilities, although the Circle claims not to hold sway over independent bands of Woodlings or many of the beasts that dwell in the Foothills, many of which are likely to remain hostile. Some Undead still prowl the woods as well. They accept that our people have the right to defend ourselves, of course.”
“That’s fine. We’ll have parties of Eternals patrolling these woods; I already have assigned a bunch of Guild Quests sending people here looking for herbs, crafting components, running errands for you, and so on. If somebody wants to pick a fight with them, it’s more XP for our guys.”
And more respawnings and Identity losses for unlucky Eternals as well, but that was how things worked in the Realms.
Gosto grinned again, probably enjoying the idea of having entire parties of Eternals working for him. He went on: “The Circle has also agreed to cede control over the area around my Grove, accepting it is part of the Sunset Valley Domain.”
“That’s a big concession. What do they want in return?”
“Help in cleansing the blight the Revenant inflicted upon their land. Our promise not to cut down any living tree, although they will consent to our removing any dead trees left behind by the curse. Our gatherers may take herbs, but take care not to take too many from any given area, leaving nothing to regrow.”
“That seems fair. We can send lumber-gathering parties in and help clear all the deadwood they can cart off. I’ll set up Quests for teams of Adventurers to serve as escorts. It’s a good deal for everyone: fuel and construction materials for us, and less danger of massive fires in the summer for them – and for us, so we’re really getting a good deal. Since you are in charge here, I’m leaving orders that any party venturing into the Foothills has to swear an oath to you and Cerunnos to do as the Circle asks. I’ll even set you up with the power to grant Quests to Guild members.”
An oath to a god was a serious thing, which would help ensure nobody got greedy enough to mess up the peace process. And Gosto, being a Guild official, would be able to help members get extra XP and loot from doing their jobs.
“Some of your fellow Eternals may balk at swearing oaths to a ‘pagan god.’ I have heard such talk around town.”
“Tell them not to think of Cerunnos as a god, then, just a big, powerful entity that will make their lives a living hell if they violate a contract with him. But if they can’t swear the oath in good conscience, that’s fine, too. They just won’t get to adventure in the Foothills.”
“It will be as you say, Lord Hawke. The Circle wishes to meet with you to further discuss matters. From what their emissary said, they seek an alliance. Perhaps even to join the Domain, although that may require more negotiations.”
“Well, that gets added to my to do list when I come back from Akila. And you’re coming to the meeting. Your father, too. Kinto can smell a scam from a mile away, and he has more experience with the Wild Sidhe than any of us.”
“That would be wise. The Children of Yggdrasil are Fae spirits born into wood instead of flesh, but they are as experienced in deceit and trickery as any other. That they are so generous in their first entreaty worries me.”
“Yeah, me too. The only question is, are they planning something, or are they afraid of something else?”
“Perhaps both things are the case.”
“There is that.”
Six
Sunset Valley (Level 4 Domain)
Current Population/Maximum Pop.: 5,397/15,000
Warning: If its population decreases below 4,000, the Domain’s Level will be reduced to 3.
Available Mana/Mana Pool: 3,000/17,159
Mana Recharge/Day: 2,457. Net Recharge: 957
Mana Sources:
Big Web (Arachnoid Town): Level 1 Meeting House: 50. Level 1 Temple of Tenebra: 100. Total: 150
Orom (Human Town): Level 2 Keep: 247. Level 2 Temple of Shining Father: 200. Level 1 Mana Node (Life, Temple of Shining Father): 20. Total: 467
Serenity (Stronghold): Level 5 Mage’s Tower: 500. Level 10 Mana Node (Death): 200. Level 3 Death Temple: 300. Level 2 Darkness Temple: 200. Total: 1,200
Other: Level 10 Mana Node (Darkness): 200. Level 5 Mana Node (Nature): 100. Level 1 Temple of Triune Goddesses: 100. Level 2 Grove of Cerunnos: 200. 2 Level 1 Life Mana Nodes: 40. Total: 640
Current Mana Expenditures: 1,500/day. Minions (Serenity): 600. Processes: Light Runes (Serenity): 150. Ley Line Portals (Serenity-Orom Connection): 50. Enchantments: 300 (Serenity: Undead, Demonic and Fae Wards. Orom: Undead, Demonic and Fae Wards). Projects: 400 (Road Improvements (100/day), Bridge (100/day), 2 Forts (200/day).
Enchantments Available: Arcane Appointment, Call to Arms, Demonic Ward, Empower Champions, Empower Defenders, Fae Ward, Undead Ward.
Ongoing Projects: Bridge: 1,500/2,500, Road Improvements 1,200/3,000, Forts (2): 500/2,000.
Hawke look at the Domain Map that dominated a side of the Oval Office, located in Serenity, a Stronghold of Order, and activated Tranquil Mind so he could focus. The teleport there had hurt him even worse than the one before. He’d hoped to use Chaos Funnel to refill the Domain’s Mana reserves and complete the ongoing projects, but he was worried of doing permanent damage to his Mana channels. Shooting six thousand Mana out of his butt had left him in bad shape.
Having his plans messed up made him angry. But what could he do? A moment later, he chuckled. He shouldn’t be butthurt at the situation, but he literally was.
“And we like it that way. All right, I’ll hold off until the morning. Maybe I can get a few nonmagical things done before I go meet Blaze.”
“That damn Infernal Dungeon,” Hawke growled as he went downstairs to meet her.
Nadia hadn’t talked about what she had gone through. All he knew was that she had failed the quest and died, losing 3 Identity points as well as several Attribute points. She had made it to level sixteen, but reaching seventeen was going to take her a while. But that was nothing next to the change that had come over her. She had avoided Hawke and all her friends for the last few days, and her normally chi
pper personality was gone. They had only held one brief business meeting before the caravan left, and she hadn’t smiled once. He hoped to change that before he had to leave again.
The Stronghold’s courtyard was bustling with activity. Katros the Smith was working at his shop, and several new apprentices, including a couple of Eternals, were heading there, driving a wagon laden with raw ore and metal ingots purchased from the nearby Dwarven outpost. Guards lounged at their post, assisted by whirring and clicking Clockwork warriors. Dozens of Arachnoids walked through the courtyard, delivering goods to one of the newly-built warehouses, where they would be transshipped to Orom via the brand-new Ley Line Portal connecting the town to Serenity.
Currently, the portal had a daily transport limit of forty people or 8 tons of cargo, or any combination thereof. It wasn’t a lot, but it beat having to spend two or three days on bad roads plus a precarious river ford. In a week or so, the bridge and much of the road improvements would be finished, which would shave at least a day from the travel time. An enterprising taverner had built an inn near the future bridge site, which would provide travelers a comfortable place to rest. Hawke hadn’t just approved the project, but also chipped in for a walled barracks with a squad of horsemen and another squad of foresters to provide security. He figured that a village would soon spring around the small outpost, helping bind the west bank of the Auric River to the rest of the Domain.
The area still wasn’t pacified, but roving patrols and wandering Eternal parties were keeping rogue Arachnoids, Wolf People and other threats away from the road and the outpost. A lot of people were working hard to ensure the safety and prosperity of the growing Domain: four thousand humans, twelve hundred Arachnoids, a sprinkling of Dwarves, and a few dozen Adventurers and Eternals from a variety of species. A steady trickle of new immigrants kept arriving from parts west and south, where several villages and small towns had more inhabitants than available opportunities. Word of the new Domain and the invincible Eternals guarding it was getting around. When he brought the news to Akila, he expected to attract a few hundred more people. Farmers, artisans, crafters, and, if all went well, a bunch of recently-freed Eternals.
Nadia Morgana (Level 16 Sorceress-Paladin) was in the courtyard. She was in Arachnoid form, showing a few spider people where to go; from the bundles strapped to their bulbous spidery backs, they were traders from one of the more distant settlements, looking for the trading post where they could exchange their goods for metal tools, jars of olive oil, and other in-demand human-made items. After the grateful Arachnoids walked off, Nadia noticed Hawke and waved at him.
“How are you?” he asked her. She shrugged, a weird gesture for a humanoid torso mated to a spider’s body, and chittered at him.
“Can you switch back to being an Elf? This is getting creepy.”
She shrugged again and turned into her normal self. Her normally beautiful face looked tired and haggard. It took a lot for Elves to get bags under their eyes, since they could get by with half the amount of sleep humans required and had seemingly-boundless stores of energy, but she had managed it somehow.
“Jesus, Nadia.”
“Yeah, I look like shit. Trust me, I know.”
“You need rest.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Let’s have lunch. I can’t do anything involving Mana slinging, so I’m stuck doing admin stuff. Kinda broke my Root Chakra.”
“Sounds painful.”
“I’ll tell you all about it while we eat.”
* * *
“Rice pudding? Where did you get the rice?” Nadia asked over dessert.
“They grow it southwest of here, on the other side of the mountains. A few sacks of it made it to Orom just before I left with the caravan, and I bought one. I gave Dorrham my aunt Felicia’s arroz con leche recipe. He didn’t have all the ingredients, but it’s pretty close to the real thing. The secret’s in the cinnamon sticks in the mix.”
“It’s good,” she said, spooning up the last of it. She had mostly picked at the rest of her meal, so Hawke was glad she was showing interest in eating something. It wasn’t as if Elves could gain weight, and she had confessed to having a sweet tooth.
“I have a couple of hours to kill before I spend some time swinging a hammer at Katros’ smithy,” he told her. “So let’s talk, okay?”
“Talk? I can think of a couple of better ways to spend our time,” she said, but from her expression her heart wasn’t in it. They hadn’t slept together since that mess at the Dungeon, and she didn’t look like she wanted to.
“Come on, Nadia. I just want to help.”
“That’s the problem. Maybe I don’t want anybody’s help. Maybe I want to deal with this on my own.”
“You can do that. You don’t have to, but you sure can, if that’s what you want,” he said, as gently as he could.
She bit her lip quietly for several seconds, and he finished his glass of chilled wine, letting her mull things over. Finally, she leaned forward and spoke.
“Desmond was the form of the destructor.”
“The form of the what?”
“Jeez. You didn’t watch the original Ghostbusters, did you?”
“Once or twice, a long time ago.”
“Fine. What did you see during your Pool of Fear challenge?”
Hawke hesitated, but if he didn’t trust her with the truth, why should she trust him? “Tava. She was dead. Undead, actually, and she said it was my fault. Almost killed me. The guilt, the fear I let her down. Losing her. I guess that’s what I fear most.”
Her expression softened as she listened.
“Okay, that sounds pretty bad,” she said. “With me, it was Desmond, except he wasn’t just Desmond. It was every man who ever scared me, who made me feel vulnerable. Helpless. There were quite a few of those. Sometimes guys don’t even realize when they’re scaring someone, you know? Like you get on an elevator alone, and a big guy goes in, and it’s just the two of you. You get nervous. Other times, they know they are scaring you, and they like it.”
Hawke nodded but kept quiet.
“On Earth, I was helpless, even before I lost my foot. I only felt brave when I pretended to be someone else, online, playing games. During the challenge, I felt the way I used to. So scared I could barely breathe. Too scared to fight, to do anything other than surrender to the inevitable.”
“I know you. You didn’t just roll over and play dead.”
“No. When he came for me, I fought back. But I was too terrified to fight well. I just flung the first spells I could think of, forgot to use my Paladin abilities until it was too late. I panicked, and Desmond hacked me to pieces. He took his time, made it last, and kept telling me it was all my fault.”
“He lied. It was a demonic challenge. Demons always lie.”
“You said yourself I was responsible for what happened between me and Desmond.”
“No. I said you had some responsibility for the choices you made after you realized Desmond was obsessed with you. But ninety percent of it was on him. Maybe ninety-five percent. You could have told him to get lost, but he’s the one who kept encroaching himself on you. He should have known better.”
“So maybe it’s all on him.”
“Maybe. But the important thing is that you went through something horrible. I am sorry.”
“Thank you. The thing is, during the fight, when I realized I was losing, I kept hoping that someone would come rescue me. That’s the way a child thinks. I should have been concentrating on the things I could do instead.”
“True.”
She took a deep breath before continuing. “I can’t be your mistress anymore.”
“Okay,” he said, surprised at how much her words hurt. It really hadn’t been as casual a thing as he’d thought.
“As long as I depend on you, I’m never going to feel like a whole person. I’ve got to figure out who I am, and it can’t be somebody’s something or other. Mistress. Wife. Anything. I�
�ve got to stand on my own feet, you know?”
“Okay,” Hawke repeated softly.
He could have said he hadn’t felt like a whole person until Tava and Saturnyx came into his life, but he didn’t feel like it was his place to talk her out of her decision. He had been attracted to her, loved her – still did – but she hadn’t been a pillar of his life, not the way his two fiancées were. Nadia deserved more than what he had given her, and he didn’t think he was the one to provide it for her. He would miss her, though. He knew that.
“Okay? Is that all you’re going to say?”
“I will miss you. Us,” he told her, truthfully. “And no matter what, I’ll always be your friend. We can count on each other. You may not need rescuing, but if you need someone to stand by your side, I’ll be there. For as long as I live.”
“Okay,” she said, beginning to tear up.
She reached for him with her hand, and he took it. They headed for the bedroom for the last time.
It was sad but also sweet, the way endings should be.
Interlude: Nerf Herder Troubles
“Start from the beginning,” Kaiser Wrecker told his spy master in a gentle voice that anybody who knew him would recognize as a bad sign.
“The Tower will be rebuilt,” Spectre repeated. “The Council of the Wise is paying for it.”
The Level 18 Rogue-Spy was a nondescript man, currently wearing black leathers, although his normal garb matched what a wealthy merchant would put on while conducting business. He visibly shrank under Kaiser’s glare, as if trying to present as little a threat as possible. Off to his side, the Herders’ other covert ops specialist looked down, avoiding the Guild President’s eyes.
Guilds at War: The LitRPG Saga Continues Page 4