“I was told,” Kaiser said. “That all Thirteen Councilors died during the operation.”
“I have confirmed kills for all of them,” Naruto replied. “Combat log confirmed, with the XP to show for it. We had to burn through over thirty spell scrolls and a bunch of single use devices, plus a lot of the special munitions, but my team got the job done.”
“It appears that some of the Councilors owned Soul Jars,” Spectre explained. “Extremely expensive, almost impossible to find in the Common Realm. None of our mage types even knew they existed in this universe, although they are mentioned in a bunch of games. The long and the short of it is, owning one gives you a respawn, once. But the worst part is, at least one of the Councilors was an Eternal. Not from our batch. Maybe a native, or perhaps abducted from Earth – one of the many Earths they have access to – many years ago.”
“How many are still alive?”
Spectre lowered his head. “The letter that was delivered to the Prefect claims that seven Councilors are alive, four thanks to Soul Jars, the others because they are Eternals. They’ve got to be lying about their total, though.”
“As many as seven Councilors,” Kaiser said, speaking softly and slowly. “We spent close to two-thirds of our cash reserves, even more of our special items, and we failed to kill half of them. That, gentlemen, is the definition of doing our enemy a small injury.”
“We looted most of the bodies,” Naruto said. “Except a few that got taken out explosively; there wasn’t much left of them after we were done. Even if they survived, they lost a lot of their gear. We got most of the stuff in their vaults, too.”
“Do we have the names of the survivors?”
“Only one,” Spectre said. “Archmage Jacobus. “He penned a letter explaining that enough councilors to form a quorum – which gives me the minimum number of seven – survived the attack. In it, he admits to being an Eternal and having two others by his side. They are holding a conclave and have left instructions to rebuild the Tower.”
“And the letter didn’t name us as the guilty party?”
“No, sir. The statement concluded by saying that the attackers will suffer, but did not identify us, or anyone else.”
“Maybe they don’t know it was us,” Naruto said. “Those Polymorph potions our team used changed everything about us. Nameplates, class, level. Worth it, even at nine hundred gold a dose.”
“The Prefect knows. They all know.”
Kaiser turned toward the rest of his war council. The other Guild officers were on the verge of panic, except for Zippo; the Fire Wizard-Summoner looked excited, but the guy had been a little touched in the head even before he found himself inhabiting his character. He probably thought the current crisis would give him an excuse to burn down the entire city. Aristobulus Highgarden, on the other hand, seemed about ready to fill his breeches; he had just hit the Common Realms’ level cap and had a better understanding than anyone of the devastation half a dozen pissed off magicians could bring to bear.
“We’re screwed,” Amelia Blueflame said. “The temples don’t like us, and they will rally around the Council of the Wise.”
“Eventually, yes,” Kaiser conceded, repressing the urge to rip her face off with his bare hands. “The fact that it took the better part of a week for the survivors to make any sort of public statement tells me they aren’t ready to make their move yet.”
“How long, do you think? Before they act?” Aristobulus asked, looking almost pathetically eager to hear good news.
“Weeks, minimum. Assuming they are even successful in reestablishing themselves.”
He had their attention now, and his anger waned; he even smiled a little.
“Several factions are committed to filling the power vacuum the wizards left behind. Dozens of sorcerous societies that were forced to pay tribute to the Council aren’t likely to bend the knee again. The Traders’ Syndicate moved in on the arcane device market the second the Prefect lowered the fees involved. All the Adventurers’ Guilds celebrated the end of the dues the Council was demanding from their magic-users; they aren’t in a rush start paying them again. Same with the Prefect; I sweetened the pot for him for exactly this reason. There are a lot of groups with a vested interest in the new status quo. Which has no place for the Council of the Wise.”
“If they wipe us out off the face of the Realms, they’ll reclaim their mojo pretty damn quick,” Zippo said. “We’ve got to finish the job that Ninja-boy screwed up. Find them and perma-kill them.”
“Listen, you pyro bastard…” Naruto sputtered out.
“Stop,” Kaiser said mildly. They stopped, even Zippo, who was crazy but not that crazy.
“Zippo is correct. The Council has to go. Finding them is our top priority. Recall all the away teams from the Labyrinth. Let’s find out where the letter came from. For all we know, only one Councilor survived and he’s making up a tall tale about Eternals and Soul Jars. We have to present a strong front and act both confident and innocent.”
Everybody nodded, although several officers looked doubtful.
“The Prefect’s official report names the Coven as the culprit, and the City has dispatched Town Guard and Legion personnel to the swamps to arrest any members they can find. If the Council tries to argue the point, proof will be demanded.”
“What if they can produce something?” Spectre asked. “I’m sure the strike team was great at covering their tracks, but we’re dealing with some high-level mages here.”
“Irrelevant. By the time things get to that point, the city will be in chaos. We’ll bribe some of the sorcerer societies to attack anyone who supports the Council. The temples, for one. We have already started a propaganda war against the priesthoods. We’ll run ops against the wizards’ enemies and blame the Council for them. Remember, we still have an ace in the hole.”
“The magic rod? You said it wouldn’t be enough to take over the city.”
“Not the way things are now. If the place is in disarray, it’s a different story. Chaos benefits us.”
Chaos is Power, his dark companion whispered in his head.
“We had agreed that running those ops might cause too much unrest,” Amelia protested. “A civil war benefits nobody.”
“Things have changed, since the strike against the wizards failed.” Everybody glared at Naruto for a second; the Assassin stood his ground but said nothing as Kaiser continued: “Better a civil war than a united city coming after us. We could take over, or, better, find a puppet among the locals and we’ll put him in power.”
A few Herders looked thoughtful, thinking of the possibilities instead of cowering. Good. He’d weeded out the outright cowards from the herd, and everyone had toughened up after months of continuous fighting at the Labyrinth.
“Worse comes to worst, we pack up and leave. In which case we burn this shithole to the ground. Many of us are at or near the level cap. We’ll set up a new headquarters somewhere else and move on up. The Ruby Empire has no jurisdiction in the higher Realms.”
They nodded again, but more slowly. That had been the plan, but they had counted on spending two, maybe three years accumulating power before using one of the Gates to the higher Realms. They were supposed to get all the active duty Herders to the level cap first, and gear them up through looting and crafting to field a formidable force. Only then they would have ventured into another Realm. If they left now, they would be noobs in a new land.
The failure to knock out the Council had been a disaster; Kaiser was just trying to put the best spin on it.
“You all know your jobs. Keep me apprised of any developments. I’ll be taking the night off.”
They all knew what that meant. Zippo grinned, while Amelia fought to keep anger and disgust off her expression, and failed. The rest merely shrugged and left the meeting, not really caring one way or another. They had followed Kaiser and done very well under his leadership. Even this reversal hadn’t done much to shake their confidence in him. But he should sta
rt bringing in more wins, or they would turn on him, oaths or not. Even the one-sided Guild Charter he’d devised had a few exit clauses. If they did, however, they were in for a surprise.
Once he was alone in his room, Kaiser closed his eyes and let the Whisperer speak to him.
You will need to kill Naruto one of these days, the raspy female voice told him. He does not fear you enough.
That little voice had guided him from the moment he had reached some underwater ruins in the swamp. It had made sure he survived every trial he had faced. He had only died once, during his first meeting with the Whisperer. Since then, he had gained a lot of power. There was a reason why he had always been the one who dispensed the Final Death on any Eternal who was deemed unworthy of being a Nerf Herder. His hand reached out and touched the hilt of the black blade he had been given as a reward for a job well done. If he had to, he would sacrifice every life in Akila, NPC or Eternal, to the power that had kept him alive and safe since his arrival at the Realms.
Patience, the voice told him. Upheaval is coming, upheaval that is pleasing to me. Be patient and several of your troubles will eliminate each other.
Kaiser nodded, but rage was still burning inside him. His plans had been thwarted, and he had never been a gracious loser, not before he had been brought to this living game, and not after. He couldn’t take it off on Naruto, who had screwed up, or Spectre, who should have discovered that the Council hadn’t been wiped out, or Amelia for failing a major Quest that might have provided him with a counterweight against the Whisperer. He knew that sooner or later his patron would get in the way, and he needed a way to deal with her. Things hadn’t gone his way, which, in the immortal words of Lo Pan, really pissed him off to no end. Luckily, he had an outlet for his pent-up fury.
Rowena looked up from the bed as he came into the room. “Hi, darling. Are you…?” She trailed off when she saw the expression on his face. She knew what that meant.
“It’s going to be rough,” he warned her, looming over her from the doorway. “I might kill you. If that happens, I’ll make sure you gain a couple of levels to bring your Identity back up, so it won’t be the end. But it’s going to be rough.”
She whimpered as he slammed the door shut behind him, locking her in with him.
Seven
Hawke was late to his smithing practice, and took out his bad mood on an innocent piece of metal, hammering it into a bar without using any Mana. He wasn’t having a good day.
Nadia had left, still a sad version of herself, and he didn’t know how to help her. And the pain in his Chakra hadn’t subsided. As long as he did nothing magical, it wasn’t too bad, but if he tried to use any power at all, it flared up as intensely as the first time. So he used his muscles and skill instead, and for a wonder it actually paid off.
Congratulations! Your Blacksmithing Skill has been raised to 6!
To be a competent Arcane Blacksmith, you needed to know the mundane basics of the craft as well, or you would end up with crappy high-level gear, meaning that the stuff would operate below its potential, doing less damage and having less structural strength than the same item made by someone who knew what they were doing. You needed to know the basics before you could use magic to get things done faster or to work with exotic materials.
“Your weapons and armor are fully repaired, Lord Hawke,” Katros (Level 10 Arcane Blacksmith) said behind him.
The broad-shouldered smith placed the black breast plate, shoulder pauldrons and shield on a worktable before carefully setting the broad-bladed sword next to it. All of his gear had taken a beating during the fight, especially the sword. Normally, he could have fixed the damage himself; his Arcane Blacksmithing was high enough, and repairing armor magically mostly required a lot of Mana. It wasn’t an option in this case, so he had dropped the equipment with Katros and made it a high-priority job.
“The ‘prentices did most of the work, but I examined the end result and can say they did well,” Katros went on. “Your lads – and the one lass – are learning quickly, even for Eternals.”
“Thank you,” Hawke said. “And thank them for me.”
Four Eternals had picked Arcane Blacksmithing as their first Vocation, and were paying Katros to help train them. The smith had raised his prices since the time when he’d agreed to take on Hawke as an apprentice, but it was worth the money, and Hawke had loaned the former players the gold they’d needed. With their high Mana pools, the apprentices could do certain tasks faster than Katros, which benefited everyone.
“They will be glad to hear your words,” the smith said. “Gladder than my son, who wishes to continue his lessons. He can handle the lesser jobs the townsfolk require, but he will never progress in the Craft if that is all he does.”
Hawke knew where that was going. “How often will he need to use the portal to come here, study under you, and get back?”
Securing one of the twenty or so spots – the rest of the portal’s capacity was devoted to cargo – available to use the portal wasn’t easy. There were usually half a dozen people for every ‘seat’ on the Orom Express. That was a figure of speech; all you had to do was walk through a glowing circle of light. The other option was having Hawke act as a magic Uber driver. He could bring up to twenty-four people along when he jumped between Mana Nodes; he usually tried to do that at least once a day when he was around and his Chakra wasn’t broken.
“If he was to come here, stay two days, and leave on the third, he could keep learning, while devoting the rest of the week to doing the jobs on the slate. Two trips a week, my lord.”
“It’s a deal. I’ll leave word with Olaf in the morning.”
The smith nodded, began to leave, and after some hesitation, turned around. “A question, my lord?”
“You know, I liked you better when you just called me ‘Paladin’ and overcharged me with a big grin on your face.”
“I will endeavor to regain my informality. I had a question.”
“Ask away.”
“Your mighty blade was nearly destroyed,” Katros said. “The alloy had all but lost its temper. I dare not imagine what manner of beast you faced that managed to damage it so. What was it?”
“It was a tree.”
“A tree, my lord?”
“Well, a Wild Sidhe tree, able to walk and cast spells, who had also turned Undead. But it’s dead now.”
Katros’ eyes widened for a moment, and Hawke could see the smith’s mind at work, trying to figure out if Hawke was making things up. After a final ‘my lord,’ he took his leave. Hawke figured the tale would get repeated – with a lot more flourish – at the Drunken Spider, a tavern that had sprung out in the nearby Arachnoid village, and make its way to Orom by the next day. It was nice to know that those terrifying moments which he had barely survived would serve to entertain people.
Good hearing you again. You were quiet all day.
She’s still a friend and ally. That’s a lot more important than being eff-buddies.
If anybody knew that, it was Saturnyx, who had spent centuries in a cave, waiting for someone worthy to wield her again.
“Finding someone worthy of the ruler of the Spider Empire is going to be tough,” Hawke commented, setting aside the finished steel bar and putting the tools away. Katros liked to have everything sorted out neatly and orderly, which matched the new motif of the Stronghold to a ‘t.’ Hawke might be Lord of the Valley, but in the smith’s shop he followed Katros’ rules, same as everyone else.
He h
ad avoided doing anything magical since arriving at the Stronghold, six hours ago. After Nadia had left, he’d been working at the forge, breaking only for a light dinner. He should go to sleep; he had a full day ahead. But he couldn’t rest until he fixed his broken ass. Since he wouldn’t be around for a while, Hawke had agreed to use Advanced Node Travel to take a few people to Orom, then take up to another twenty-four people to Serenity before making one final jump to the Node where he would meet with Blaze. Problem was, those three jumps, and the 1,000+ Mana that bringing those passengers over would cost, were going to kill him if his system hadn’t recovered by the morning. Hoping that a good night’s sleep would fix everything was not smart.
“Just some meditation and study. Diagnose the problem, then figure out if I can do something to fix it.”
“It had to happen sometime.”
* * *
After half an hour of meditation and examining his Mana channels with both Tranquil Mind and Advanced Mana Sight on, Hawke began to get a handle on his condition.
A lot of it wasn’t unexpected. He hadn’t opened the Root Chakra as much as he had forced it open, which had been bad, and then poured massive amounts of energy through it, which made it worse. Throw in the still ongoing conflict between Chaos and Order, and his entire energy system was a mess. His channels had been strained almost to the breaking point. Actually, he realized as he took a closer look, they had broken in places, specifically at the Root Chakra. The damaged channels were leaking Mana like water from a cracked pipe. Whenever he made energy flow through them, some of it escaped into his body and burned the nerve clusters near the damaged Chakra. That was only the tip of the iceberg, though. The uncontained Mana was attacking him on a supernatural level. Burning his soul, not just his flesh. No wonder that spending energy hurt like hell.
Guilds at War: The LitRPG Saga Continues Page 5