The Greystone Chronicles Book Two: The Dire Lands

by Dave Willmarth

  “Ha!” The wizard began to laugh, still standing next to Alexander. He patted his student on the shoulder. “You just added another dragon to your population. A very headstrong, demanding, and foolish young female dragon. You might want to consider finding a new keep.” Fitz grinned as he disappeared.

  Alexander and friends joined the crowd walking back to the keep. Jules appeared next to him, taking his hand, entwining her fingers with his as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Looking around, Alexander saw smiles and winks from his friends. And more than a few of the citizens.

  Behind him, Sasha snorted. “Took you long enough. Idiot.”

  They found Fitz already seated and digging into a plateful of eggs and sausage. Taking seats around the table, they each introduced themselves to Lia.

  As she made small talk with the others, Alexander leaned in to speak with Kai. “We’ve got a bunch of new arrivals. Can you take their oaths after breakfast?”

  The dragon nodded his head. “It will be my pleasure. Lia will also be swearing an oath. She wishes to live here with us. With me.” Kai didn’t look particularly enthused. “With your permission, we’d like to establish a home in the ridgeline above. We will stay out of your way, of course.”

  “Ha!” Fitz interjected. “He says ‘with your permission’, but what he means is, Lia has decided it will be so, and if you don’t agree, you can try and stop her yourself.”

  Once again, Kai nodded his head. Chuckling, Alexander replied, “I wouldn’t dream of it. You are both most welcome here.”

  Lia, having overheard it all, corrected Alexander. “It will not be just the two of us. I am expecting a brood of five.” She rubbed her stomach, much as she’d rubbed the moat monster egg.

  “Baby dragons? We’re going to have baby dragons? Will they be as cute as Rocky?” Jules asked with wide-eyed enthusiasm. “Can we play with them?”

  Lia snorted. “My offspring will be beautiful. And dragonlings are not toys for you to play with. Though, I suppose you could entertain them at times. I will try to keep them from eating you.”

  She chuckled at the suddenly unsure look on Jules’ face.

  Kai stepped in. “She is teasing you, Lady Jules. Our children would love to have some playmates. And they will not injure you unless you present a threat to them.

  “When will they arrive?” Sasha asked.

  “The eggs are in our roost in the dragon lands. I will transfer them here when our new roost is established. I expect they will hatch in a month’s time,” Lia responded.

  “If I can be of any help in creating your home, please let me know. I can form a cavern for you nearly as quickly as a rockworm can.” Alexander grinned.

  “After I administer the oaths this morning, Lia and I will search for an acceptable location. Then we may indeed ask for your assistance,” Kai ventured.

  The conversation fell to questions about Lia’s needs for her roost, and whether she’d chosen names for her offspring. They all finished their meals, and began to take their leave.

  Lola and Silverbeard rounded up all the newcomers and lead them to the courtyard, where Kai took their oaths and bound each of them. The gnome from the auction house hesitated, but when it was explained to him that he could not stay without taking the oath, he complied. His percentage of the items already listed in just the first day was too good to resist.

  In guild chat, Alexander said, “I think everyone should visit Stormforge this morning to see your trainers. We also need the merchants to purchase more food for us. And probably more supplies.”

  As his chamberlain was still standing in front him, he asked “Silverbeard, did you find the treasure that Fitz teleported up from the caverns yesterday?”

  The old dwarf chuckled. “Aye. It weren’t difficult. A pile o’ gold, gems, and such appeared in the middle o’ the Great Hall. We transferred it to the guild vault. Lola can give ye the count”.

  Lola spoke up. “There be 180,000 gold, and just over 15,000 silver in coins. Me best estimate on the gems and other items be close to 250,000 gold. And there be a few rare and epic weapons and gear that ye need to decide to keep or sell. This be includin’ the treasure Max give’d me.”

  “Okay, thank you Lola. Please set aside the rare and epic items. We’ll figure that out later. As for the value of the rest, that totals 465,000 gold. Please deduct the guild’s ten percent, and use that to pay for supplies today. Most of them will be going to the duergar. Divide the remaining 418,500 equally among the party members. Ah. You were gone. That would be: Helga, Lugs, Benny, Dayle’s group, Sasha Brick, Max, Lainey, Jules, Fibble, Fitz, and Edward.”

  Fitz shook his head. “I’ve no need for gold.”

  “Nor do I,” Edward agreed.

  “Thank you, both of you.” Alexander nodded to the two of them. “In that case Lola, it should be split thirteen ways. That’s a little over 30,000 gold each.”

  Raid party business handled, Alexander turned to the wizard. “Fitz, if you’ve time today, I’d like to advance my knowledge of magic.”

  Fitz nodded “Aye. You’ve been growing quickly, boy. Your constant use of earth magic and wizard’s fire have advanced your levels in those schools a good bit. There are spells I can teach you in both schools. And you’ve advanced light a bit as well. Come to the tower with me.”

  “Master Silverbeard, please let the merchants and anyone interested in going to the city aware that the portal will be open in an hour,” Alexander said. Then Fitz teleported them into the wizard’s tower.

  Alexander found himself in the same testing room he’d been in before. Not surprising. Wizards were notoriously secretive about their towers.

  Fitz waved a hand and two chairs appeared, facing each other. “You’re going to want to sit, boy,” he said as he took a seat himself.

  Alexander took the seat opposite the wizard. “I take it this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you?” He grinned.

  “HA! You can be sure of that.” Fitz winked at him, reaching a hand forward and placing it on Alexander’s head. “I’ll begin with light magic. You’ve learned basic light damage and healing. I’ll teach you the next level of those spells, plus a couple others you’ll find useful.”

  The pain Alexander began to feel as the new knowledge infused itself into his brain was mild compared to his first experience. He supposed it was because he already had some light school knowledge, and he had a predisposition toward seeing light and helpful magic.

  When the wizard withdrew his hand, he asked, “How do you feel, boy?”

  Alexander smiled. “No problem. Pain was minimal. By the way, can you also teach me that spell that binds prisoners when I arrest them?”

  Fitz nodded. Reaching his hand out again, he began the next school. “Earth magic this time.”

  The pain was more intense now. Alexander clenched his jaw against the pain. He began to wonder if learning magic this way was actually supposed to hurt, or whether his instructors somehow targeted his pain sensors to discourage him from constantly asking for new spells.

  He was breathing hard when Fitz removed his hand this time. “Take a minute, boy.”

  Alexander reached into his bag and withdrew a flask of water. He offered it to Fitz before taking a drink himself. The cool water from the keep, with its consecration buffs, made him feel a bit better.

  “I’d like to talk to Baron Dire while I’m here,” he said to fill the silence.

  “He and I have some business to discuss first. He’s refusing to speak so far, but I’m softening him up. Once he’s in a more talkative mood, and I’ve had a talk with him, you’ll get your chance,” Fitz practically growled.

  Alexander saw no point in arguing. The baron was, after all, an NPC. While he could likely give Alexander useful information about the Dark One’s activities in game, and maybe even his avatar’s identity, he would not be able to provide any real-world information.

  “Fair enough. Just please remember not to kill him before then?” He win
ked at the wizard. “Ready for the next round!”

  Fitz chuckled as he reached for Alexander. “This lot will be more uncomfortable.”

  Pain burned through Alexander’s mind. It didn’t build up slowly, or wash across like a wave. One moment his mind was at peace, the next it was a fiery blizzard of burning embers swirling through every nook and cranny.

  A whimper escaped his clenched jaw. It wanted to be a full-throated scream, but Alexander instinctively reigned it in. His hands clenched into fists and began to tremble. His toes curled up inside his boots. If he’d been capable of conscious thought, he would have been grateful that Fitz had him sit first. His heart pounded as his body released adrenaline in response to perceived danger. He closed his eyes, but that made no difference, as his vision had gone dark already.

  Alexander was only aware that the wizard had removed his hand because the pain stopped. He gasped in a ragged breath, slowly regaining his vision. The wizard’s face was very close, and it held a worried look.

  After a few deep breaths, he managed to say “I’m alright, Fitz. But damn, that was rough.”

  “I may have… overestimated your tolerance, a bit,” the wizard responded.

  “Fitz, you know this is not my normal body. It is one Odin had granted me in order to adventure here. My real body, the one at home, experiences pain every day. So, you are right to think that my tolerance is high. But please, don’t push its limits like that again?” Alexander said, still breathing raggedly. He wiped tears from eyes.

  “Aye, lad. I promise. You’ve shrugged off teachings that made others fall unconscious. I mixed schools in that last one, and some enchanting formulas, thinking you could handle it. And you did. But I’ll be more careful next time.” Fitz had never come closer to an apology that Alexander had ever heard.

  “Apology accepted, wizard. And thank you, for teaching me. I… think I need to rest a bit.”

  “Eat something.” Fitz surprised Alexander yet again, producing one of Millicent’s apple turnovers from his bag and offering it to him. That was like Max or Brick giving away epic loot.

  “Thank you, Fitz,” he said around a mouthful of apple goodness “I’m going to see the king today. To tell him about the baron’s capture, the demons, and the duergar. And to discuss a few other things I’ve been thinking about. Is there any message you would like me to deliver?”

  “No, thank you, lad. I’ll be popping in to see him myself later.” Fitz rose to leave. “You rest here for a bit. Take it easy for the next hour or so. Let Brick open the portal. Or I’ll do it for you. No magic for an hour. Understood?”

  “Can you teleport me to my rooms before you go?” Alexander asked.

  With a wave of the wizard’s hand, Alexander found himself in a chair in his sitting room. A moment later, a mug of ale and another of Millicent’s pastries appeared on the table next to him.

  Fitz really is concerned he’s overdone it. Alexander smiled to himself. While the pain had been intense, he didn’t think he’d been in any real danger. Though there was no need to tell the wizard that.

  As he nibbled at his apple tart, Alexander pulled up his UI and selected his spell inventory. As Fitz had said, he now knew more advanced versions of Wizard’s Fire, Earth Mover, Earth Sense, Ray of Light, Healing Light, Magic Bolt, Teleport, and Trap Soul. Each of the spells was more efficient. In the case of the damage spells, the damage done was increased while the mana cost was lowered. Earth Mover, the spell he used most often, now cost less in stamina as well as mana. His teleport spells now had a range of twenty miles, and he could move a group of twenty-five people.

  Moving down the list, he discovered several new spells.

  Light Globe: Caster can conjure a globe of light that will move or hover on command. Duration – one hour. Cost: 100 mana

  Heal Wounds: Channeled spell. Caster can direct light magic to heal a specific wound or injury. Mana cost – variable.

  Drain Essence: Channeled spell. Caster can direct dark magic to drain a target of its life essence, increasing the health, mana, and stamina of the caster. Draining a target completely will generate an empty soul crystal. Cost: 10 mana/sec

  Levitate: Caster can adjust the force of gravity around a target, causing it to become lighter. When not in contact with other objects, target will move at caster’s command. Cost: 300 mana.

  Bind Soul: Caster can bind a target’s soul to a specified location. Usable only when target has been placed under arrest by proper authority. Binding is limited to a period of one year. Cost: 20 mana.

  Alexander sipped his ale, his mind spinning with possibilities. He was most excited about the Drain Essence spell. He could use this to heal himself during boss fights, saving the healer’s mana for others. But far more importantly, if he could figure out a way to enchant that spell into a wand or a weapon, his entire party could simultaneously drain a boss and heal themselves at once. It would make his group completely OP. He had a feeling Odin might keep that from happening.

  He itched to test his theory, but heeded the wizard’s warning about not using any magic for an hour. Instead he read through the spells again.

  Levitate could be huge, as well. I could use it to lift myself over walls. Or to set traps. Or make my whole party fly!

  Alexander’s musings were interrupted by Edward entering the room. “Fitz sent me to check on you. Are you hurt?” the prince asked.

  “No, no. Nothing like that. He just taught me a massive amount of magic all at once. Nearly melted my brain.”

  Edward nodded in understanding. “I remember the pain from the first time he taught me magic. And that was a just simple light spell.”

  “Yeah, I got light, dark, arcane, teleport, earth, and I’m not even sure what else. All at once,” Alexander explained.

  Edward’s eyes widened. “That would kill most people! What was the wizard thinking? No wonder he had me check on you.”

  Alexander winked at the prince. “I’m not most people. I’m not harmed, really. Just exhausted. And the sensation wasn’t exactly enjoyable.”

  “I hear you’re going to see my father. Mind if I tag along? My mother would kill me if I miss an opportunity to see her. Let her know I’m safe.”

  “Of course. You know that anytime you wish to return to the palace, you need only ask,” Alexander assured him.

  Checking his UI, he saw that it was nearly time for the portal to the city. Standing a bit unsteadily, he said, “It’s about time to head over. Let’s go downstairs.”

  Entering the main courtyard, they found Thagin and Drellin, the two merchants, waiting by the portal with three of the large wagons, all empty. Plowright the farmer stood with them. Lola was handing each of them a sack of coins, as Silverbeard gave the two merchants lists of needed items. Plowright would decide for them what livestock were needed.

  Approaching the group, Alexander pulled out the smallest of the soul crystals in his inventory. Holding it up for the merchants to see, he asked, “Thagin, Drellin, good morning to you both. Do either of you know the current value of this? And who might buy it in Stormforge?”

  Thagin took the stone in hand, examining it closely. “Aye. This be worth a good bit. With the right buyer, it be maybe 4,000 gold. And we be knowin’ who’d buy it.”

  “Good. Please take it and sell it. Keep ten percent for yourselves. Call it a mission reward. Give the proceeds to Lola when you return,” Alexander said.

  The crystal quickly disappeared as both dwarves nodded enthusiastically. Earning 400 gold for a few minutes’ work was more than agreeable to them.

  The other guild members drifted in, and Brick opened the portal. Alexander waited for the wagons and other people to go ahead of him, stepping through last.

  As he made his way across the compound he waved at Ironhammer and the smiths, who were gathered around Warren, discussing how to repair his new armor piece. Continuing out the gate, he decided to pay a visit to Lydia.

  Stepping into the shop, he once again found Sasha, La
iney, and Jules already there. Holding up his hands in surrender as the four women looked at him with expressionless faces, he began to back toward the door. “Didn’t mean to interrupt. Just wanted to say to Lydia. Hi, Lydia.” He waved one hand. “I’ll be going now.” He turned to reach for the door.

  “Don’t be silly, Alexander. Come here.” Lydia smiled at him as she walked toward him. “I have something for you.”

  Taking a few hesitant steps toward the druidess, he met her in the middle of the shop. She removed a potion from her bag, and put it in his hands. It was just a standard health potion.

  Lydia hugged him, whispering, “You take care of Jules. That girl is more special than you know, young man.”

  Pushing him away with a wink that the women behind her couldn’t see, she said, “Now get along with you. We’ve got things to discuss that most certainly do not involve you.”