He looked at Deia, who was sleeping. She’d been with Lox and his warband on farm watch. They scoured the fields at night, making sure nothing tried to mess with the upcoming harvest. He looked at the stores that they had already laid in for the winter. Deia and he had offered to allow the Dwarves to stay in Dave’s house. They’d politely declined.
Dave was thankful for the time that they were giving him and Deia. He smiled before he headed out of the house. Already, the cold air was starting to bite in the early afternoon.
Winter will be here sooner rather than later. He hurried to the smithy. He had work to do.
Chapter 23: A Teacher’s Pride
Bob looked at Dave. He had grown in more than one way since he had arrived in Emerilia. The man had been done with people. He’d thought that everyone would push him away.
He had feared making something again. Now he was surrounded with friends and he was creating again.
Rock Breakers had been his biggest and greatest project. He’d put his heart, body, and soul into the space vehicles that had turned him and his coworkers into billionaires several times over. He’d been driven by passion, by his heart, for the sheer challenge of it all.
Many Humans came to Emerilia, learned what the people had to teach and followed their guidelines. They might challenge a few things here and there.
Dave had taken their conventions and broken it over his knee, repeatedly, and then proceeded to put it back together. He’d taken hundreds of Magical Circuits, thousands of runes and broken them down.
People took one method and used it, repeatedly, as if it were some kind of one-size-fits-all cookie cutter.
He’d made an entire runes language.
Bob looked at the book in his hands again. To Dave, he was taking people’s work and compiling it into a simpler system.
Bob had told Dave to build from the ground up, to make his conjuring stronger.
Dave had moved from metal and wood to the chemical makeup, the workmanship. Bob wondered whether the man knew what he had done. The book that Bob was holding could re-write Magical Circuits across Emerilia, Magical Circuits that had been in existence for a hundred thousand years.
“The one problem I see is that I have to make a connection between myself and the second and fourth layer. I still don’t know how I’m going to make the third layer. I might need Kol for that.” Dave rubbed his face.
He was tired but Bob saw a spark in his eyes. How long has it been since I had that same spark?
The porch’s door opened and Deia walked out. Her eyes widened when she saw Bob.
“Hey, babe.” Dave paused and looked back to Bob, who was still sitting there and sipping his Scotch.
“Hey, Bob.” Dave looked at Bob.
“Hello, Deia. My name is Bob McMahnon. I’m another one of Dave’s teachers.” Bob smiled.
“That is a strange-looking chair. Where did it come from?” Deia said, wary.
With a thought, the chair changed to neon pink. “Wow, that is a bit garish.” He changed it to purple. “Nope.” He settled on the color gray and took a sip of his whiskey.
“What kind of creature are you?” Deia hissed.
“Well…” Bob wondered how to answer that question.
“Think of him as like the Lady of Fire’s mage: he teaches as he wants to. Hell, he does whatever he wants because he wants to,” Dave said.
Bob shrugged and grinned, holding up his Scotch glass and shaking it. Dave smiled and conjured more of the nice Scotch in Bob’s glass.
Deia threw her hand at Bob, but nothing happened. Her eyes went wide as she looked at him. “What are you?”
“I’m a wandering spirit. Just took a liking to Dave here. He’s quite the interesting fellow,” Bob said.
Deia looked from Dave to Bob, her eyes settling on Dave as they communicated with looks and their eyes alone.
Dave sighed as Deia took a seat on his lap. “Deia, meet Bob; Bob, you seem to know Deia already. He kind of knows more than is good for him.”
“And not enough sometimes,” Bob muttered, thinking of the lords of Dark and Earth. They’d both started working the rest of the Pantheon to see whether there were others interested in taking Bob out.
Damned Pantheon of Affinities. You tell one of them off and they see it as a threat to their power. Should’ve given them a few smacks as children.
“How did you stop my power?” Deia asked.
“Well, I kind of just turned off the power switch to you. Anyway, your control, as well as working on making something out of that fire. You can make an atronach, for damn sake, and instead you’re all wow-pow kick-ass Elf.” Bob waved his glass around and shook his head.
“I can make an atronach?”
“Well, yeah. You’ve got plenty of Mana. Be easier to use soul gems, but your man here has got that figured out.” Bob turned to Dave. “Might need to think about doing two sets of that armor.”
A smile appeared on his face. “You, my dear, are something that I haven’t seen in all my lives, and that’s saying something.” He bestowed her with a smile that a proud grandfather might have. “Though your mother can’t teach you how to use those powers and well, your dad’s not close to your level—parents are confusing. Never understood mine that much,” Bob muttered.
“Bob,” Dave said.
“Ahh, yes, tangents.” Bob waved his hand.
“You know my mother?” Deia leaned forward.
“She is one of the few people I would call friend, one of only two.” Bob had a small smile on his face as his eyes darted to Dave.
“Where is she? Who is she? Why did she leave?” Deia asked.
“That, my dear, I cannot answer. Out of respect for your mother and knowing that she should be the one to answer those questions,” Bob said.
“Why can’t you tell me?” Deia asked, hurt. But she was a big girl and with her mother, it seemed that she was used to mysteries.
“Let’s just say that she is powerful, and the other competitors will do anything to get an edge over here. Finding out she has a daughter? Well, they could use that against her in a big way.”
“How do you know about me then?” Deia asked.
“As Dave said, I see a lot more than most.” Bob smiled. “Now, Dave, for those soul gems. I have never heard of people using the lesser elements to augment them. The first soul gem users modified them some, but it wasn’t in the way you’re talking about. We’re talking about a ton of energy here, so you’re going to need to get a workshop.”
“I have one already.” Dave looked to the smithy.
“Well, you’ve got to think of soul gems as massive batteries. One mess-up and it turns into a flaming ball of heat and nasty.” Bob shivered.
“Ah.”
“Babe, what are you building?” Deia asked.
“Abscondita.”
Chapter 24: What Lies Below
The Dark Lord’s claw ripped through the air where the Earth Lord’s message had been. It had been months since the Mithsia Dwarves and the Kufo’tel Elves had counterattacked the forces of Dark and Earth.
It was supposed to be a surprise attack. Instead, the Earth Lord’s creatures were not able to keep their damned mouths shut. They’d been burned to embers and the Dwarves and Elves had armed themselves before too much damage had been brought down on them. Warbands had moved out in force, working with Elven Fire mages and rangers; they’d systematically destroyed all of the Earth Lord’s nearby Mana wells. That raw energy had been kept from the Earth Lord and diverted back into the land and to the People of Emerilia.
The Earth Lord had sent a message that he was now holding his forces in reserve. His losses had been grave with the assaults.
It’s his own damned fault for not killing off the Dwarves for using Fire mages. The Dark Lord’s hands gripped his chair, making it creak with pressure.
There were three months to go until Boran-al’s Citadel would rise. The winter had started in Emerilia. Cliff-Hill had grown from an outpost i
nto a village. It might be cold but there were plenty of quests, decent gear and experience. It was turning into a great grinding village and the first wagon trains were making it to Omal.
The Dwarves and Elves who were screwing up his plans were spitting in the Earth Lord’s eye and thriving!
The Dark Lord’s amusement showed. While Boran-al’s Citadel was making the People of Emerilia and the Pantheon anxious at how the balance of power would change, little did they know of his other activities.
A smart assassin has multiple plans to kill their target, even if the first plan fails.
His rage fell away as cold satisfaction filled him. He would have his victory one way or another.
If the People of Emerilia were going to cut off their Mana to their lords, then the Dark Lord would find new residents of the world who would fill his need for power.
***
Quest: What Lies Below III
You have investigated the prehistoric presence beneath the ground.
Reward: 5,000 XP
Do you wish to claim this seeder? Y/N
Dave looked at the prompt as the porch disappeared. He looked around. They were in what looked like a command center. It was a large horseshoe with command stations along the outside; two chairs side by side faced forward in the center of it all. A massive screen took up the forward side of the command center.
Bob clapped his hands. Stations that were emitting a light glow increased in brightness. The screen came to life and Dave looked around.
“Clappers, soo much fun!” Bob grinned.
“So, this is what made Cliff-Hill?” Dave asked.
“Yep, one entire seeder,” Bob said.
“What is a seeder?” Deia stood up and looked around the room with wide eyes.
“They were the machines that changed Emerilia so that Humans could inhabit it. It sowed the herbs, the trees, the mineral deposits, mobs. Laid the magical lines, placed portals and Altars of Rebirth. You lot call them the seeds of creations or orbs of formation.” Bob waved and stood; his chair disappeared.
Dave moved around the room. “What are these symbols? They almost look like runes.”
“Well, they are. It’s the empire’s language—the Jukal’s language.” Bob moved to the rear of the command center.
Dave and Deia followed.
“How is this possible?” Deia said, her hand finding Dave’s.
“That? Well, it’s a bit complicated,” Dave said.
“That tale is a bit heavy on the ears. Now let’s get to the good stuff. You’re going to love this,” Bob said.
They entered an elevator and it dropped downwards.
Deia was practically crushing Dave’s hand.
Dave was admiring the control panel of the elevator, using his Touch of the Land to see through it. “How long ago did you start using Mana?” Dave asked.
“Well, we had a massive age of technology that spanned for about two or three centuries. With implants, we started being able to store power within our bodies, generating it and expelling it.
“At first, we used it for small things like parlor tricks and the like. As time went on, it was clear that we could power larger things and expend less cost. Making an empire of magical items is a bit of a pain as we don’t have factories like Humans. Every ship is made by a distinct clan. It means that every Magical Circuit is different and everyone is using different runes to make it all up. Ships can last for thousands of years but one broken part and you have to go and check the rune documents to get someone to replicate a Magical Circuit perfectly. It’s rather tedious but it works. With your book”—Bob tapped the tome under his arm—“let’s just say that Emerilia will become more advanced than the rest of the empire in Magical Circuitry.”
The elevator came to a stop and they were greeted with darkness. Balls of light streamed out from Bob’s hands, sticking to the walls and illuminating the place. It looked to be a warehouse. It was tilted slightly but most of the cargo was secured in their gray containers.
“What is this?” Dave asked.
“This is the seeder’s hold. We made thousands of these to create Emerilia. They’ve got material converters so there are always materials in the ground. Though I’m going to take those.” A white light surrounded various boxes, making them disappear.
“Then there are portals.” Containers opened and large circular object appeared. Like Dave’s mirror, they were covered in runes.
Deia took a sharp intake of breath. Dave looked around the storage area; the orbs of light were still traveling outward.
There were row on row of containers, not all of them as big as the portals. One had extra anchor points to connect it to the floor of the seeder.
“And there is this.” Bob tapped the massive container.
A door opened and they walked in. Inside there was an altar identical to the one that Dave had come to life on.
“It’s not powered but if you were to say connect it to the Mana lines around us and concentrate that inward…” Bob trailed off.
“Like the mages did with the Boran-al prison?” Dave asked.
“Yeah, man, that was a tricky friggin’ set of Magical Circuits.” Bob rubbed his face.
“How is this possible?” Deia asked.
Dave felt sorry for her, knowing that seeing all of this might have shattered any beliefs she held. He wondered how she would react to the truth.
“I’ll leave you to this. Once you’re finished, find me in the command center,” Bob said.
Dave nodded and took a deep breath. “Do you mind if I tell her about you?”
“It is now your story to tell. I trust you.” Bob patted his shoulder.
Dave inclined his head slightly; the trust Bob was placing in him wasn’t small.
Dave looked around the area. There were catwalks, lifting machines. It was advanced, more advanced than what his fake company had been launching into space.
“This is a Jukal vessel. They were created to convert Emerilia into what it is today, and to link it to the other planets that aggressive species are living on. The Jukal Empire captured our ancestors, killing them to turn them into what we are today. I was created to be a Player. Your ancestors were created to be the People of Emerilia and Bob created Emerilia. This is going to take awhile.” Dave sat on a crate and held Deia’s hand, smiling at her.
***
Deia felt numb and more than a little shocked as Dave finished his tale. It was so much to take in. Her younger self might have argued against it all. Now her mind worked, testing his words against what she knew of history and events.
Then she looked at Dave. She could see his nervousness, his fear that she would reject what he had told her, what he knew to be real. She looked around the storage facility. The spaceship that had helped to create Emerilia. Humanity’s prison.
They were pets of the Jukal Empire, nobles’ hunting dogs. The Players were a strong force who, thinking Emerilia was a game, had no bounds. They had been stuck in a simulation of Earth for months, their time warped so it had felt like a lifetime.
They saw Emerilia as a game, so their inhibitions were left behind. Rules, laws: all of it was malleable to them here. On Earth, they were just like the People of Emerilia: docile, kind, and for the large part good people. Here, a good person could be a murderer just because they were bored.
The Jukal used them to clear out aggressive species they didn’t like in the beginning, and then they started siphoning off their raw Mana. Then they turned it into entertainment and a means to advance their society.
She realized that she had been staring off into the storage area as Dave watched her, his hands around hers. She looked to him, her right hand covering his.
“That is quite the secret.” She smiled. “Though what the hell are we going to do with all of these portals?”
Dave laughed and hugged her. She held him close, seeing how the secret of Emerilia had pervaded his mind. Bob had been the only person he could talk to about it. The fact that he
had been able to talk of it all, to ask her to come with him when Bob said that they should check out the seeder…
She held him tighter, a smile on her face. It wasn’t going to be an easy path walking beside him, but she knew they would walk it together as equals.
“Well, we could build an empire, or go to another continent for fun—I’m not really a big fan of winter,” Dave said.
She flicked him between the eyes. “We’ve got the Feast of Thanks to have and you’ve yet to meet my father!”
“You mean Oson’Mal, the guy who like made that Earth lord pee himself?” Dave asked, his nerves coming back.
“Yes!” She saw his nervousness for what it really was: fear that her father wouldn’t accept him as his daughter’s boyfriend.
Men!
“Ahh, well…” Dave tapped his fingers together. “Should have at least the soul gems started by then. Maybe I should work on the steel plate,” he muttered.
“You are not going to have dinner with my father fully armed and armored!” she said, enjoying his nervousness.
“Come on, just a breastplate?” Dave wheedled.
Deia laughed and shook her head. “Come on, Bob wanted us to go see him up in the command center.”
“How good are you with runes?” Dave asked as they walked.
“I’m okay with them,” Deia said.
“Good, because making the runes for this place is going to be hell,” Dave said.
“You want to power this thing up?” Deia asked. When Dave had said build an empire, he wasn’t far off the truth. With the portals, you could build a damned empire transporting goods across the continents. She didn’t know that there were so many portals in all of Emerilia!
The problem was that portals could only stay in one location when active and connect to one other portal at a time.
“Of course! I want to see how those dammed runes work. Seems that they are layered together into sets; then the command center is rather complex at moving runes into new formations.” Dave continued to talk about the runes as Deia smiled and held his hand.
The Trapped Mind Project (Emerilia Book 1) Page 37