For The Guild (Emerilia Book 2)

by Michael Chatfield

  “So, with magical runes, they’re usually placed in formations that work together into a complete Magical Circuit. Now, mixing coding and runes together, we can work in boxes of text.” Dave pulled up his interface and shared it with the others as he drew out a series of characters, some just a few characters long, other a half-dozen. It took him a half-dozen lines before he finished, copying the first line to the last and adding an ending alteration.

  “What is this?” Matt asked.

  “This is all of the runing that you would need to do to replace this Magical Circuit.” Dave waved at the open closet covered in runes.

  Dave could see the light in their eyes. He had their attention and interest now!

  Chapter 29: Emerilia’s Mediator

  Bob stretched. With his high Endurance, he didn’t need to sleep much, but every few weeks he grabbed some sleep or when he was really drunk, it also helped.

  He sighed as he walked around his home. He left his quarters and headed through the gray, nondescript corridors. Strips of lighting guided him as he took an elevator downward. He stepped out into a room shaped like an arrow. Consoles dotted the sides, a bank of them at the back of the room.

  Bob yawned again, scratching his head, and rubbed away the remaining sleep. He sat at the biggest seat in the room and opened his interface. He checked the progress of the quests he had left running. They were progressing faster than he had thought.

  “Aleph, always a sneaky bunch, though all of the races are paranoid to a degree, always keeping their strengths hidden.” Bob sighed. He wished to be down on Emerilia, not stuck up in his prison. He wanted to be down there, hanging out and talking to his friends. Now, he was limited to five-minute meetings and voice messaging. A thought passed his mind as he opened up a voice chat. A few moments later, it was accepted.

  “Dave! What’s up, dude?” Bob asked.

  “Do you need something?” Dave sounded as if he was concentrating on something.

  “Not really,” Bob said. He didn’t always want something. “Though, if you do have some of that Scotch, I wouldn’t say no. I was wondering, if you could attach it to a soul gem, could it fill itself up or something?”

  It was some damn nice Scotch.

  “Huh. I didn’t think about that, but I think I might be able to rig something else—be useful for water, though I wonder if it will still affect the body if it runs out of power. Would your cells stop being hydrated by the water if the soul gem ran out?” Dave asked himself out loud.

  “I dunno,” Bob said, thinking it over. “If you made it for me, I could test it out—though I’d need more than just one bottle.”

  “You just want more Scotch,” Dave accused, but Bob could hear the smile in his voice.

  “Maybe.” Bob laughed. Trying to shift Emerilia’s future was a pain in the butt; he’d missed his talks with Dave.

  “I can, though it will take some time for me to get the soul gems,” Dave said.

  “I can fix that. Gimme a sec. I’ve got some gems lying around here.” Bob got up from his seat, moving to the elevator again, descending and then going forward.

  “So, what you up to?” Dave asked.

  “Trying to motivate boneheads to work. Shifting a few alliances and plotting the downfall of a nasty little kingdom that’s getting a little too Earth Lord-crazy.” Bob sighed, trying to not think of work.

  “Sounds lovely. So why haven’t you sent Alkao more people to help him out? What’s the thing with needing shelter, food, and all that?” Dave asked.

  “Ah, the Demon prince needed a bit of humbling. I hoped for him to reach out to you lot and see the error of his ways. Seems that he was pretty contrite and he’s got his warriors working day and night to get ready for his people. Might have pushed him a little too hard. Though Demon Endurance is pretty high, I think he might need to get some sleep soon.” Bob sighed as his elevator ride stopped and he walked through more bland, gray corridors.

  “So, what about the rest of the Demons? What are they doing?” Dave asked.

  “Well, I’ve woken some of the leaders up and they’re working on the different planets they’re on to build their Strength and gain resources they will need when returning to Emerilia,” Bob said.

  “What about the Aleph?”

  “I’m waiting for them. Their council is back in Alephir, though they’re working to get materials and supplies to support their people through you. I feel that the price of foodstuffs is going to rise pretty quickly. The Demons have the land and the physical manpower to grow a lot of food. It will take the Aleph a lot longer. I’m hoping to try to get them to see this and make a bond between the two of them.” A door opened before Bob as he looked out over a massive metal warehouse. He glided over the banister and down to the bottom floor, looking at crates of different items, palletized and labeled.

  “Well, at least Shard will have someone else he can talk to without all of the security restrictions. Did you realize how the Aleph got their power?” Dave asked.

  “Pretty smart, huh? They took it from the portals; had something similar keeping them powered.” Bob walked past hulking metal figures with all manner of weapons over them, mixed with pallets of gold and Mithril. An Altar of Rebirth lay with its parts orderly laid out around it. Bob passed a portal that showed a massive warehouse, with rack upon rack of materials and items.

  If one looked closely, they might notice different pods that held creatures that seemed to be asleep.

  “What kind of soul gem you want?” Bob floated up in front of a rack of soul gems.

  “Let’s say a petty one. Don’t need much—just something to attach the conjuration to.”

  “Okay.” Bob floated up to the right crate and pulled a dozen gems from it.

  Bob opened up his administrator’s panel and looked at Dave, who was dusting himself off after fixing a control console’s runes.

  “Don’t move,” Bob warned.

  Dave froze.

  Bob uttered out a spell and dropped the petty soul gems. They disappeared in mid-air and landed lightly next to Dave.

  “You’re going to have to teach me whatever you just did,” Dave said. “Can I move now?”

  “Yes, you can move.” Bob laughed. “You can figure it out yourself one day.”

  “Thanks. You’re just lazy,” Dave said.

  “Mhmm,” Bob agreed heartily. “Oh crap, that’s what I forgot. Yeah, Anna might need your hand at something. Going to be bringing her people back, but their old lands got ruined. She’s going to need your help.”

  “Shouldn’t you be telling her this?” Dave put the soul gems away in his bag.

  Bob dismissed the screen, watching Dave. “Well, see, uhh…”

  “You forgot to tell her?” Dave asked dryly.

  “That may have happened.” Bob scratched his head.

  “I’d say it might be a good idea calling her after me,” Dave said.

  “Yeah, I think I might do that right now.”

  “Good luck, and call me more often. It’s been too long since we last talked.” Dave’s voice softened.

  “I will. Things have just been a tad bit crazy.” Bob stepped through the active portal, into the massive warehouse beyond. He could hear arguing in the distance.

  “I’ll send you a message when the drinks are ready to be tested. It might be a fast way to make foodstuffs and such, though I don’t know why we couldn’t have something like a food replicator. Be really complex but making a basic slop to be used as food wouldn’t be too hard.”

  Bob could tell Dave was drifting off into the land of theories and ideas.

  “Well, give me your ideas and I can get some people at the mages college looking it over and working on it. You’ve got lots of other work to do!” Bob said.

  “That might be interesting,” Dave said.

  “If you get to Per’ush, I know a lady who would be happy to get your party admittance,” Bob said, his mind wandering as he walked over to the yelling.

  “I’l
l take you up on that!”

  “We’ll talk later. Got to go deal with some issues that cropped up.” Bob sighed.

  “Later!”

  The voice chat cut as Bob looked at a portal where a group of Demons were around a table, yelling at one another.

  “Will you shut the hell up?” Bob stuck his head through the portal. “I swear, if I need to, I will bring Alkao back up here to kick his brothers back into agreement. Stop squabbling like a bunch of winged infants. Lezar, stop moving those damned wings around—you’re bound to get stuck in the ceiling, you irate Prince! If I see you lot lounging around and arguing instead of making a plan or helping out your people hunt, I’ll stick you in the damned freezer for another two hundred years!”

  The Demons were silent, from the four hefty-looking Demon Princes to their Lords. Their heads turned downcast toward Bob.

  He barely reached their mid-thigh but none of them dared to argue.

  Bob sighed and stepped fully through the portal. “Okay, what have you got?” He pinched his nose at the impending headache. He was going to put that Scotch to work as soon as Dave finished it.

  “We were talking of priorities,” Malkur, the second eldest Prince, said.

  He was midnight-black; his crèche brother Alkao was blood-red. Otherwise, both of them had similar features and the same bassy voice that carried through the small space.

  “And?”

  “We were talking of training our forces to be ready for these new Demon creations and the Horde’s allotment of food from the stores.” Lezar moved his wings in finality.

  “You’ve already got a damned tail to express your emotions, Lezar! You don’t need to add the wings too! Like some Italians I know.” Bob muttered the last part to himself.

  “If you train forever, but keep on sucking up your people’s resources, then you won’t have enough to support yourselves for the battle against the new Demons. You have people who are in storage and would really like to get out. Train your people as you gather food,” Bob said diplomatically.

  “Gathering food belittles the Horde.” Lezar snorted.

  Bob pinched the bridge of his nose again. “Have patience. He’s just dumb, doesn’t know the way of the world. Just a child. Just breathe,” Bob muttered to himself.

  The Demon’s ears were good enough to hear him.

  “I am no—”

  Efri and Vrexu restrained their brother and clamped his mouth shut. Malkur gave him a warning glance.

  A book appeared in Bob’s hands; he gave it to Malkur.

  “You want to know more about where you come from? First, you and everyone on Emerilia started off as one race—humans. For millennia, your forefathers fought one another across a planet. Millions died. A fighting force that cannot feed themselves is useless. Hunting, knowing the plants and wildlife around you—that will allow you to have multiple hordes in the field without needing a massive supply train to sustain you. Starting from today, you will start to learn the ways of war. You will not learn this with training until you pass out. You will learn to fight smarter, to use your natural abilities to defeat the enemy before they ever get to the battlefield. The Dark Lord made you to run into battle willingly, to get yourselves killed for his enjoyment. Do you want to do as the Dark Lord wishes, to be led by your emotions to your ruin?” Bob looked at Lezar.

  Efri released his mouth so he could speak. “No,” Lezar said.

  “You are a Demon Prince. Do not fight simply for enjoyment. Doing so will just whittle your forces into nothing. Know when to hit, when to recover, when to take stock of supplies. There are many fearsome creatures on this planet that your people need the Horde’s protection from.” Bob held a finger up, stopping Lezar from talking. “Do not say that it is their fault that they die because they are weak.” Bob glared at Lezar.

  The Demon Prince looked shamefaced and more than a little scared.

  “Your race looks to you, in both times of war and peace. If you are a good leader in war but in peace, you let your people be killed, you will not stay in power for long. Help your people to grow and prosper; they will do the same for you. Going out, finding the right materials, carrying them back and preparing them is hard work, which is why every Demon is going to try their hand at it. You might have become Demon Princes for your natural abilities in the field of battle. Now, you must prove to me and to them that you deserve your position. You are all warriors of famed repute; many myths repeat your names in fear and respect. However, being a Prince is a lot harder than a warrior. The Horde is strong but without structure. You will create ranks and train people to be good not only at fighting, but at surviving. I will help you as best as I can. You must look to see are you Prince of the people, a General of the warriors, or both? It takes a stronger Demon to know where his weaknesses are in order to focus on his strengths and remove those weaknesses.” Bob looked around, seeing them all take this information in.

  He smiled at them fondly. They might have been made by the Dark Lord, but Bob felt a connection to all creatures on Emerilia. He’d created it and they were in a way his children.

  Anna is not going to be happy I forgot to tell her about her people. Maybe they can help me putting some sense into these demons. They were great at hit-and-run tactics. Didn’t give too much of a damn about honor in battle and scrounged for themselves. They’re also a bunch of recluses.

  “Thank you, Gray God. You have given us much to think on,” Malkur said.

  Bob could see the thoughts racing behind the Demon Prince’s eyes and the thoughtful frown on his face.

  “Good. I think I will have another group that might be able to assist you lot with figuring some of this out. I will be back to talk to each of you individually at one time. It’s time we had a talk of the future. Oh, and stop yelling right next to my portal! Damn racket!” Bob sighed and walked back through the portal.

  He walked past other portals that were off or led to different locations. One showed massive beasts all in a room, a number that would have made many shiver in fear. The ones that looked the prettiest, like the harpies and lily toads, were the worst ones. There was a large red button next to the portal.

  He continued on, past scenes of different places: caves, sand dunes, jungles. Bob didn’t see any of them, distracted by his thoughts, and nervous to talk to Anna.

  He stopped in front of a portal that looked out over a mountain covered in the vibrant green, yellows, purples, and reds of the forest. “Ahh, I’ll talk to Kala first. She might be half-bear, but she’s much calmer.” Bob smiled at his decision and walked through the portal.

  Bob waved his hand casually. An arrow that had been coming for his head splintered before it reached him. Bob sighed as he held out a finger. A wolf Demi-Human flew toward Bob so fast that there was no air for them to scream. They started as soon as there was air to fill their lungs.

  Bob made a circle with his finger and an up and down motion.

  The wolf Demi-Human spun upside down and was shaken quickly. Their arrows and gear fell out as Bob continued to do it a few minutes. Their screams turned to jerky noises, unable to catch their breath as they were thrown up and down.

  “Other than the Scotch, this is a pretty good way for getting rid of some stress.” Bob walked down from the portal and through the forest. The wolf followed Bob as he whistled to himself.

  In a clearing, there was a basic village. Bob could see people on the walls, looking for threats. The wolf Demi-Human still bobbed up and down, making muffled cries, following Bob as he glided into the air and over the walls.

  Demi-Human soldiers rushed to their positions as Bob came down in front of the largest tent inside the wooden walls.

  “What is—” The angered words cut off as a massive brown bear Demi-Human stopped and looked at Bob and the wolf that was still going up and down, making pitiful noises.

  “Was the alarm you?” Kala sighed.

  “Probably. Didn’t want to go through the whole guard at the gate thing, not when this
one tried to put an arrow in my head,” Bob said.

  “Could you put him down?” Kala asked.

  Bob looked to the wolf. “In a bit,” Bob said. He wasn’t done yet.

  “So, what did you come here to talk to me about?” Kala asked. “I assume you are here to talk to me?”

  “Yes, I need your advice and I had an idea about something.” A smile formed on Bob’s face.

  “You and your plans.” Kala smiled.

  There were a number of noises as Demi-Human soldiers of all types moved in all directions, working together to make a shield wall around Bob.

  “Ahh, I always love to see a bit of teamwork, and the idiots I want you to teach are going to need a lot of good examples.” Bob sighed.

  “Put the shields and blades down. This is the Gray God.” Kala waved at the fighters.

  “Doesn’t look like much.” A fox-looking Demi walked forward as the shield wall came apart.

  “He’s also Anna’s father.” Kala’s tone held a warning.

  The fox Demi-Human paled and his tail drooped as he took a knee in front of Bob. “It is an honor to meet you, Gray God.”

  “Always good to know that the kiddo left a lasting impression. Could you deal with this one?” The wolf Demi-Human was a mewling mess as Bob gently put them in front of the fox.

  “Now, what is this you say about a plan? I hope it will speed up things for our return home. As much as this planet is interesting, it is not home.” Kala walked into her tent.

  Bob followed. Kala needed to move the open flaps of the tent out of the way, but Bob was short enough to get inside without touching either of the flaps.

  “Well, first of all, your home isn’t there anymore. Like the actual place—gone.”

  “How?” Kala sat in a large seat that could have been Bob’s bed.

  “Dragons.” Bob sighed. It had been a pain trying to fix the damage by Eldapik. Damned Air Dragon was as bad as his Affinity lord at getting out of traps! Took three of his brethren to finally hunt him down and kill him.

  “It is no matter. We will find another home.” Kala sounded sad but resolute.