For The Guild (Emerilia Book 2)

by Michael Chatfield

  “So, you gave us the hints to lead us here but didn’t full out tell us because you didn’t want to influence our decisions?” Dave asked.

  “Bingo was his name-o!” Bob said. “You got any of that Scotch, by the way? Nothing quite like it in my cellars.”

  Dave laughed and conjured a drink in Bob’s hand.

  “So, why did you lead us here other than to help Shard come online?” Anna asked.

  “Because, as you’ve been talking about, I really am sending the Aleph back. If they are to return, their home needs to be secure. Letting people know that they are back would only lead to forces massing to attack them once again, like with the demons, or your own brothers and sisters,” Bob said.

  “Well, next time you want us to help out someone, just ask—it’s a lot easier,” Suzy said.

  “Well, I don’t want to make a request that messes up our friendship,” Bob said.

  He’s lonely and although he wants to do his best for the people of Emerilia, he doesn’t want to lose his friends. It reminds me of when I was Austin Zane. “It’s lonely at the top,” Dave whispered to himself. Deia shot him a curious glance.

  “Just send it anyway. Better for us to know what and why you want us to do something so we can make an educated decision rather than you messing around with all kinds of crap in the background just so we can make an unimpeded decision. We’re all adults here and we know what risks there are,” Suzy said.

  Bob looked around the room, seeing everyone’s expressions before he scratched his head in embarrassment.

  “Okay, next time I’ll just message you. Please help to clean out anything that might be in the Aleph’s home. The class system will give you another level for doing so and completing any quests I give. Don’t worry—I have plenty planned to keep you busy.” Bob smiled but it faded as he cocked his head to the side.

  “Shit, my time’s about up. If you want to talk to me or whatever, then Dave’s Mirror of Communication can connect to me. Shard also has the same thing. If not, you can PM me. Thank you, everyone, for being understanding and for trusting me. It—it’s really nice.” Bob gave an awkward smile, unsure of how to express his gratitude and happiness.

  “Don’t worry, dude. It’s not us stuck with you—it’s you stuck with us.” Dave grinned.

  “Huh, that does sound terrible.” Bob laughed. “Talk later!”

  Everyone said their good-byes before Bob once again disappeared from existence.

  Dave got to his feet and found himself jumping two feet in the air. “Ah shit.” Dave landed and held his hands out.

  “Dave, just how many points did you put into everything?” Deia asked as everyone looked at him.

  “Uhh, well, I put thirty-nine into my various stats to get to ten. Then I got forty stat points on top of that,” Dave said.

  “Where did you put all of those points?” Malsour asked.

  “Well, I got the forty stat points to each of my stats…” Dave stopped talking at the different looks he was getting from Anna, Deia, Malsour, and Induca.

  Altogether he had gained 240 stat points, an unheard of number.

  “Ah shit.” Suzy tried to walk forward and stumbled because of her increased power, pushing her right into the behemoth. She fell on the ground and hammered her fists into the ground in frustration. Instead of just hitting the ground, they left cracks and pushed her up. “Oh, for fuck’s sakes!”

  She windmilled, but she used too much force and fell on her ass again.

  “Suzy, how many did you put in?” Deia asked, as if scared for the answer.

  “Plus ten to everything and then forty-nine points beforehand.”

  “Well, what you’re both experiencing now is that your bodies have jumped up stats so quickly that it’s going to take some time to get used to it all.” Anna laughed as Dave and Suzy looked to each other and started to try to move gingerly without going flying or hitting something.

  It took them about twenty minutes before they could walk normally. The two of them talked about the things that Dave had done and how it would make Suzy’s soul binding easier.

  “I was thinking about getting the Soul Binding Summoner class, but I think that I can hold off now,” Suzy said.

  “Well, I’d think about it in this way. It will take you how long until you can get your soul binding to that level?” Dave asked.

  “Maybe a few months, maybe half a year as I’m focusing on the creation completely,” Suzy said.

  “What would you get instead?” Dave asked.

  “I was thinking the Creation Summoner class.”

  “Out of the two, I would go with the soul binding. It will take longer to get without this boost, though it shouldn’t be long until you can get a Creation Summoner’s class. Your skills are higher and it shouldn’t be too long until you hit the master rank in them and are able to get the quests. If you don’t have a soul binding contract like the one you would form with the behemoth, it’s going to take a hell of a long time with getting the soul binding class,” Dave said.

  “I see what you’re saying. It makes more sense for me to aim at getting the soul binding right now because it is so long away that getting it on my own would take a hell of a long time. Also, if I have the behemoth soul bound to me, then I will be training up my soul binding techniques constantly. It will shorten my training time in soul binding and it will also give me a powerful summoned creature,” Suzy said.

  “Exactly.” Dave smiled at her.

  “Okay, well, better get this over with and try to learn how to walk with this extra boost.” Suzy opened her interface. It took a few moments before she was once again trying to gingerly walk through the room and get used to her new stats.

  “What are you thinking of using as your class?” Suzy asked as their progress slowed even further.

  “I was thinking Weapons Master class. Though, unlike the other weapons classes, you don’t actually need to fight a master in each respective category in order to get the class. You only need to be a Master level 1 in each class,” Dave said.

  “So what are you thinking of going for now?”

  “Either Librarian or Constructor. The Librarian class will allow me to understand more from the books and information I read. It might even reveal more about a quest if I read the prompt completely. It would also help my Inference skill and make it easier to understand complex ideas. My Intelligence stat would probably shoot up with the additional information. With Constructor, it would allow me to create a mental blueprint of what I want to make. Although I conjure items I’m making, the constructor ability would allow me to see what I’m making and where beforehand. Much easier for me to see what I’m working with and then conjure it instead of just conjuring it straight. It would also allow me to model different things and test them out within my mind. I could use Touch to scan an area then conjure a map that completely conforms to what I am seeing in front of everyone. I could also use it to show the different layers of things, like with the core in the behemoth. I could make interactive holograms in my mind for me to play around with and alter different things. It would increase the level of detail I’m capable of and also reduce the Mana expenditure of my conjuring.”

  “It’s not the two skills that I would have thought about first but after talking about them, I can see how they would be interesting. How would you unlock them otherwise?” Suzy asked, trying to get up and not throw herself around by accident.

  “Like a couple decades of reading books, or quantity—no one really knows. Not even Malsour has it and he’s been reading lifetimes before we were created. For the Constructor class, you need to master the Builder, Smithing, Woodworking, and Masonry skills, then build a massive house by yourself,” Anna supplied.

  Dave looked to Suzy. Both of them smiled, sensing the new challenge that the class system had opened up.

  “Well, the constructor skill sounds a bit easier to get, though I doubt you want to spend the time that it will take to get all of those skills. Both mak
e sense with your given class and what you want to do in the future.” Suzy shrugged.

  Dave pulled up his interface, accessed his class list and clicked it.

  Dave slowed his walking down, once again feeling power surge through him. It wasn’t like when he had first got his classes. Now he knew what to expect.

  “So which one did you pick?” Suzy asked.

  “Librarian.”

  “You and information—you just love reading stuff. It’s a lot easier to handle the extra power now; it’s just a plus ten to everything. Let’s go make that behemoth my bitch.” Suzy’s smile was wolfish as she moved toward the behemoth.

  “Well, this is sure to be interesting.” Dave followed her over and checked his character sheet.

  You have earned a new class: Librarian

  Most people like to come to Emerilia and you know, fight stuff, or cast magic or do something ridiculous. You want to read more books… Ah, well, I can’t fault you for that—nothing like a good book to get stuck into!

  Status:

  Level 1

  Effects:

  +10 to all stats

  Read 5% faster

  Understand 10% more of the information that you read

  Character Sheet

  Name:

  David Grahslagg

  Gender:

  Male

  Level:

  10

  Class:

  Dwarven Master Smith, Friend of the Gray God, Bleeder, Librarian

  Race:

  Human/Dwarf

  Alignment:

  Chaotic Neutral

  Unspent points-301

  Health:

  9,300

  Regen:

  3.24/s

  Mana:

  2,130

  Regen:

  9.55/s

  Stamina:

  1,390

  Regen:

  7.40/s

  Vitality:

  93

  Endurance:

  162

  Intelligence:

  213

  Willpower:

  191

  Strength:

  139

  Agility:

  148

  ***

  Everyone stopped their talking as Suzy walked up to the behemoth.

  “Are you ready?” Shard asked.

  “Yes.” Suzy looked at the behemoth in front of her. Suzy felt the power that started to trickle into the behemoth.

  The opened sections closed and locked shut. Runes slowly started to power up. The amount of power coming off the behemoth was almost ethereal. Its face moved, looking to those who dared to awaken it.

  “Who wakes me?” the behemoth asked.

  “I do.” Suzy gathered up her Willpower into the palm of her hand and slapped it against the behemoth’s leg. “Soul Bind.” The room filled with power as the area she touched glowed in the outline of a handprint.

  It fought for control, to fight off her advances. It was a battle of wills, one to show who was the alpha, the one who was master and who was servant.

  The behemoth chuckled at her work. “You will never control me. You are too weak to ever think of commanding even a rabbit. Leave me or else I will make you regret ever trying to soul bind with me,” the behemoth sneered.

  While she was soul binding, it would get to see a part of her soul, her memories, and her life. He was just starting to scratch the surface, but Suzy wasn’t going to give him the time to do so. “Big shot, are we?”

  The behemoth’s mechanical eyes thinned as Suzy smiled.

  “Fine, let’s see how you handle this.” Suzy poured seventy percent of her Willpower into the behemoth. It flew from its cradle, past the other workstations and into the wall.

  Suzy bristled with energy, her eyes golden as power rolled off her body like heat off pavement. “Do you accept my soul bond?” Her voice was calm as she stood like a ruling queen staring down at someone who had failed her.

  The behemoth smiled and stepped from the wall. “I will serve,” it said, its voice solemn and amused. It smiled as it took a knee before Suzy.

  You Have Gained A Soul Bound Creature

  The Aleph Experimental Behemoth Guardian is yours to command. Unless you break your contract with the creature or allow it to die, the contract will not be broken. Controlling this creature takes 10 Willpower from your overall stats (does not affect Mana recharge).

  Suzy swiped the message away from her face.

  “Good,” Suzy said. The handprint on the behemoth’s leg seemed to be absorbed into the behemoth. “I guess, I’ll have to name you.”

  “Ahh, well, I kind of already have one.” The behemoth rose to standing, towering over everyone. “I’m Steve.” It extended its hand with a cheesy smile on its face.

  Chapter 14: Shadows of Red

  The Stone Raiders had been drinking throughout the town for two days. Groups had gone off into the forest but none of the PKPs had been able to follow them. They’d been scouts and rogues higher than any of the tails.

  There were so many Stone Raiders that they had spread out through the entire tavern district. Koloa had bought up places earlier through various contacts: a few traders here, a group of adventurers there, healers. The purchases came from all over the place, in every tavern and inn across SC. It wasn’t abnormal to have this many rooms booked up for monster season.

  No one batted an eye at all the people in the streets.

  Weird that not one of them stayed in the adventurer’s guild. It seems that the chapter head here did ban them from the guild. We’ll just add to their misfortune this week. Hevard drank from his cup that held water instead of liquor. He watched the Stone Raiders as they partied and had a good time.

  Hevard was looking forward to taking their goods from them. They might be a bunch of big louts with low levels, but their gear was high quality and would sell for a lot.

  Put our clan at the top and then take a nice little profit. Nothing like a little extra gold to make a man feel good. Damn, Emerilia is fun!

  “Enjoying the night?” A man sat down heavily at the table next to him, as if he had traveled all day. His clothes showed fresh mud stains and there was rain on his hat from the light drizzle outside.

  “It is but beginning.” Hevard knew that Koloa had not been out on the roads for hours and that what he was wearing was just another disguise, like Hevard’s own as a traveling merchant. Hevard finished his drink and moved upstairs to his room.

  “Make sure I am not disturbed,” Hevard said into the empty hallway outside his room.

  Private Message: Sender Unknown

  It will be done

  Words and gestures could be seen and heard with the right spells and skills. PMs couldn’t.

  Hevard walked into the room, placing spells on the door that would let him know whether anyone entered his room. Similar spells were on his windows and across the walls, floor, and roof.

  Hevard was nothing if not thorough.

  He took off his dirty cloak and lay on the bed. He pulled out a mirror from his pocket, holding it in his hand. Runes lit up around the mirror as the room he was in disappeared.

  Hevard found himself in a massive hall made of black and purple stone. Braziers filled with black flames lit the room. Scenes of pain, torture, necromancers, undead armies, and mining were carved on the walls. The mining pictures looked as though they had been burned and melted with powerful magic.

  Hevard immediately fell to his knee in front of the only other occupant in the room.

  The Dark Lord didn’t say anything for a while, looking down on his servant. His black-boned hand held a black staff with red runes. He wore his black robes that hid all other features. Looking into his hood, one might think that they were looking into the abyss it was so dark.

  “Are the preparations in place?” The Dark Lord’s voice was hungry and cold at the same time.

  “Yes, my lord,” Hevard said into the floor. Shit, they know how to make a guy intimidating in this place! H
evard grinned at the realism of it all: the power, the fear, how scared he felt. So worth the money!

  “Good. Show the People of Emerilia what happens when people mess with my plans. Tonight, Selhi’s streets will run red with the blood of the Stone Raiders. Make their bodies a show of the Dark’s power and a lesson to all of those who think to fight us,” the Dark Lord commanded.

  “My Lord.”

  “Go, Champion of Darkness.”

  “Yes, Master.” The Dark Lord’s voice wasn’t the only one that could be cold and hungry. The hall disappeared in a flash of light and Hevard found himself lying on his bed, a cold, wolfish smile spreading across his face as new power filled his body.

  You have been Blessed by the Dark Lord

  +20 Dark Affinity

  +15 Strength

  -5 Intelligence

  You have earned a new class: Dark Lord’s Champion

  Status:

  Level 5

  Effects:

  +50 to all stats

  Weak to Light-based attacks.

  +5 Dark Affinity

  New strength flooded Hevard. His eyes turned black as he reveled in the power he had been given. It won’t be long until I can pull down the Dark Lord and take his place.

  For now, he would do his bidding, growing in power until he could strike out at the Pantheon.

  ***

  As Hevard was covered in shadows, disappearing from the Dark Lord’s hall, a second figure stepped out of the shadows.

  Javal bowed in front of his lord and master. A rune, with the meaning of abomination, had been branded into his human face.