The whole mess had started right after Hawke had killed Laryn. He strongly suspected the two events were related.
The Silver Fists produced something like the marble Hawke had been given when he went through the gate that led to that city. After a few moments of concentration, they disappeared in a series of light flashes. Somebody waved at Hawke, tearing his attention from the lingering afterimages the mercenaries had left behind. It was Bak Sun-Ah.
“I’m going too. This was weird, homes! Catch you on the flip side!”
“Wait!” Hawke shouted, but the South Korean Eternal gave Hawke a semi-apologetic shrug and used a magic stone of his own to disappear. Those Wayfinder things must be something else to allow people to travel across Realms without a portal.
Hawke nodded, realizing that his level had dropped down to normal now that the party had been dissolved. Except it wasn’t the max level of twenty, but his current level of twenty-five, not counting the extra levels he had saved up. He didn’t know what that meant, other than it had to be disastrous. There were tons of notifications, and he had looted all the bags over the battlefield by reflex, but he was too stunned to check them yet. They had failed. Despite all the power-ups, the help from the Makers, the Fae super-agents, and all the preparations they had made, they had failed. He had failed.
“Yeah, you’re right,” he said, walking towards Leara and Panadel. Maybe they would know what to do next.
The surviving Cyclops moved to bar his way. “The Masters are not to be disturbed,” he said in a gravelly voice.
“Let him thru,” Leara told the guard before Hawke could react. Probably a good thing, because he was about to lose his crap and chopping up the Cyclops would not be constructive.
Hawke saw that Desmond was sitting on the ground, absently using a grindstone on his oversized sword. The Engraved Warrior had fought like his usual heroic self, but didn’t seem to care much about what happened. Must be great, not giving a damn about anybody but yourself. Hawke gave a damn about everything. A giant Chaos castle was few days’ ride away from Orom. From his Domain. Akila was even closer. Thousands of innocents were much too close to that two-faced fortress.
“We were all tricked,” Leara said.
“What happened?”
“The ritual needed a powerful sacrifice. They used Laryn’s death as the final step to effect their plan.”
Hawke felt sick. It had been his fault.
“Somebody had to die to serve as that sacrifice,” Leara continued. “Panadel or I would have been more than enough. You would as well, Archon. Perhaps the Drakofoxes; there is a great deal of potential in your adopted children. They lured us there to provide them with the final burst of power they needed. But the sacrifice didn’t have to be one of ours. When their attack failed, Laryn took our place.”
“Heads they win, tails we lose,” Hawke said bitterly. “Why not just kill Laryn and spare themselves all that trouble?”
“You are forgetting the key word in my explanation.”
“Sacrifice?”
“Indeed. They had a great deal of value stored in their Prime Revenant. Given time, Laryn might have become something to rival the gods themselves. Sacrificing us would have used our strength to complete the ritual. They had to give up a considerable share of their own power instead. It was a costly victory.”
“But they still won.”
“A battle. The war goes on.”
“What are we going to do about this?”
“What the defeated side does, Twilight Templar. We withdraw to a defensible position and plan our next move. We shall be leaving the Common Realm, for now.”
“You’re going to cut and run.”
“For the time being, yes,” Panadel said. “You do not know what is happening, so let me enlighten you, after which you can judge us, as you Archons are wont to do.”
Losing his temper would achieve nothing, Hawke told himself. “I’m listening.”
“The Court of Thorns has fashioned a World Core. How they managed that feat is a mystery that bears exploring. Such items are several orders of magnitude more powerful than a Labyrinth Core. But that is a question for another day. The wielders of the World Core are using it to alter the land itself to suit their needs.
“The first step is an infusion of Mana far above what the Common Realm can normally sustain. That process will take some time, but will accelerate. A mile or two will be affected the first day. Five miles the next. Twenty-five the day after. As the power in the land increases, certain entities – monsters, Adventurers, and the like – will rise in power. The restrictions of the Common Realm will no longer apply.”
“The level cap. It’s gone. Or been raised to thirty. Not sure which.”
“Yes, but only in a small area at the moment. We are at the edge of the effect. But that will change soon. And as it does, the denizens of the new land will begin to spread. The beasts you encountered in the Labyrinth will venture forth, in small numbers at first, following the same pattern as the rise in ambient Mana, but growing in numbers and strength as time passes.”
“The Arbiters will quarantine the area,” Panadel added. “Unfortunately, the interdicted region will almost certainly include your Domain. Akila, without doubt. Probably the surrounding cities as well.”
“What do you mean, quarantine?”
“They will prevent travel to and from the affected zone. They may even remove it to a different Realm, one more suited for this Mana level.”
“Remove? Like the land, the mountains, everything?”
“Such things are in the power of the Arbiters. Doing so is risky, of course. The contagion may spread to the new Realm.”
“What a mess.”
“Which is why we must leave, you see. Travel in and out of the interdiction zone may turn out to be difficult. We have to prepare a proper response to the Court of Thorns, and being trapped in the Common Realm or an isolated Realm is not the best way to do so.”
“There is also the small matter of the war between the Unseelie Court and all other Fae factions,” Leara said. “We need to put a stop to it.”
“All right,” Hawke all but growled. “Before you leave, I want something from you.”
“What would that be?”
“Desmond. I can use him.”
Leara grinned, although it was a pale shadow of her normal expression. “I could lend him to you until we return, if you wish.”
“I want him to be free. Not a slave anymore.”
It was probably not the best time for that sort of thing, but he had a feeling it was now or never and Hawke had made a promise. He might have screwed up, but he kept his word.
“I have made quite an investment on my dearie. I couldn’t just part with him.”
“What do you want in return?”
“A life for a life,” Leara said after a few seconds of consideration. “At some point in the future, you will kill someone for me. It won’t be one of your people – I know how sentimental you are – but one of mine. A Fae must die at your hand to settle the debt, one of my choosing.”
Killing one Fae – or a lot of them – didn’t seem like a high price to pay for Desmond’s freedom, but that was the problem with dealing with the Fae. You didn’t know what part of it would come up and bite you in the ass. He’d let Leara help him in Akila, and her price had been getting access to the Revenants, and look how that had turned out. He looked at Desmond, who avoided meeting anyone’s gaze. Probably trying hard not to feel hope. The guy was a dick, but he didn’t deserve an eternity of suffering.
“It is a deal. I’ll kill one Fae for you, target
to be determined later.”
“I trust you will not send him after me,” Panadel said with a grin of his own.
Leara said nothing. Panadel’s smile faltered a little.
“We will, as you say, keep in touch,” the Fae Lord told Hawke.
“That’s great. Hopefully we’ll still be around when you do.”
Leara did some magical hand-waving and a glowing green portal appeared. The survivors of the Sidhe contingent walked through it. Leara was the last to leave. She nodded at Hawke and stepped through the portal, which vanished a moment later with a loud pop, leaving Desmond behind.
“Should I say thanks now?” the Engraved Warrior asked.
Hawke shrugged. His anger was gone, replaced with a sense of exhaustion that had nothing to do with his Endurance pool.
“You probably shouldn’t say anything. I’m still part Sidhe, remember? We take gratitude as an assumption of debt.”
“Well, I guess I’m working for you now. Again.”
“You don’t have to. We’ll be dropping by Akila soon. They still remember you as one of the saviors of the city. Bet they’ll be glad to have you join the Legion or the Special Cohort.”
“I am working for you now, Hawke. I still don’t like you, but I will pay my debt.”
Hawke looked at the distant castle. Mist was beginning to rise around it. His Order-enhanced senses rebelled against the sight. Upheaval and destruction were coming for his land and his people.
And he didn’t know if he could stop them.
What?
“She means you don’t have to do any of it on your own,” Tava said. She and the Drakofoxes had come up to him. Desmond looked at them and walked off. Probably feeling left out.
“I know. That’s what worries me.”
“Silliness. A burden shared is a burden lightened. What was that line from the ancient tale you like to quote from? You have my bow.”
He smiled. Win or lose, he wouldn’t do it alone.
Interlude: Leveling Up, Part Three
For slaying your foes, you have earned 124,600 Experience (17,800 diverted towards Leadership (to Kastor), 17,800 diverted towards Node Mastery, 17,800 diverted toward Tier advancement).
Congratulations! You have reached level 27, 28, and 29! You have 24 Attribute points to distribute.
New Spells Available.
The Earth and Realms Defenders Guild has reached Level Seven.
You have become a Level 11 Node Master! New Node Mastery abilities available.
You have found 11 platinum, 44 gold, 9 Master Healing Potions, 12 Master Mana Potions, 15 Master Rejuvenation Potions.
You have found: Blade of the Archon (level 40 Epic Quality Item) 9 Masterwork Items, 14 Enchanted Items.
For slaying three Tier 2 Entities you have earned: 30,000 XP toward your Tier advancement.
Current XP/Next Level: 453,477/600,000. Leadership XP/Next Level: 103,108/200,000.
Current Node Mastery XP/Next Level: 71,749/75,000. Current Guild XP/Next Level: 21,902/50,000.
Current Tier 1 XP/Next Level: 58,150/500,000
Not bad for a complete failure, Hawke told himself.
He was going through his notifications after a long day, one of many. In between meetings in Orom, Serenity, and Akila, he’d been flying escort missions for the mass of refugees heading for the Sunset Valley. The city couldn’t protect much of its countryside, but Hawke’s Domain had a lot of untilled land that was inside the network of wards he had placed around the valley. Which was going to cost a massive amount of Structural Mana to maintain, but was worth it. Thousands of farmers were already on their way to the valley.
His Domain’s population was going to triple in a matter of days, and it’d been hell getting things organized so the refugees would have places to sleep and work, not to mention enough food to tide them over until the next harvest came in. Luckily, Arcane Farmers could grow entire crops overnight, although you still needed a lot of help harvesting them, and that sort of magical speed-crop ended up leeching nutrients from the soil very quickly. Still, it was better to impoverish the soil than to starve to death. Soil could be replenished.
He'd been spending Structural Mana like crazy, making entire villages appear out of thin air. And spending even more power expanding the wards to encompass the Evergreen Circle’s territory. While he’d been off on the Labyrinth, the Earth and Realms Defenders had fought several skirmishes with the Court of Thorns. The wards would keep them away for now, at least until the monster hordes from the Undying Lands showed up.
Hawke thought about saving his new levels for an emergency, but decided against it. His Soul Shatter debuff was long gone, so he was in no danger of perma-dying anymore. He put one point each in Strength and Constitution, just to round them up, three points in Dexterity, and six in Intelligence, Spirit, and Perception, leaving the last point for Willpower.
For his new spells, he finished getting Major versions of all his go-to magic tricks and a few of the ones he rarely used, just in case. He was still able to pick two new ones:
Read Thoughts (Mind)
Time to Cast: 3 seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Cost: 30 Mana. Duration: 30 seconds. Range: 10 feet. Effect: Can access the subject’s thoughts. Only whatever the subject is currently thinking of will be ‘read’ by the caster.
Lesser Archon (Order)
Time to Cast: 20 seconds. Cooldown: 30 minutes. Cost: 500 Mana. Duration: 30 minutes. Range: 30 feet. Effect: Summons a Lesser Archon of Order who will fight at your side. The Lesser Archon is a Tier 0 Entity with 250 Health, Mana and Endurance per level. The Archon can use all Light, Order and Life spells the caster knows. The Mana spent on summoning the Lesser Archon cannot be regained until the Archon is dismissed or destroyed.
The Mind spell could come in handy for intelligence gathering, and the new summoned critter would be a big help. It wouldn’t replace Digger, though. Hawke hadn’t loved the big unlovable monster, but he found himself missing him.
His new Node Mastery ability was an Advanced form of Node Recall. He could now drag several people along with him to the nearest Node under his control. It was a useful escape teleport, and he had a feeling he would be using it a lot in the days to come.
With that taken care of, Hawke checked his final stats:
Name: Hawke Lightseeker. Race: Archon, Half-Elf, Eternal. Classes: Twilight Templar, Monster Trainer, Mana Mystic. Level: 29
Experience/Next Level: 453,477/600,000
Current Tier 1 XP/Next Level: 58,150/500,000
Attributes (All Bonuses Included):
Strength 110, Dexterity 110, Constitution 140, Intelligence 87, Spirit 98, Perception 57, Willpower 72, Charisma 45
Characteristics (Regeneration):
Health: 3,536 (43/min)
Mana: 7,086 (87.8/min)
Endurance: 2,926 (32/min)
Identity: 31
Skills
Blacksmithing 6, Breath Weapon 7, Climbing 2, Detect Traps 5, Disarm Traps 8, Dodge 7, Lore 4, Riding 3, Shield 8, Spear 4, Stealth 5, Survival 3, Sword 10(25), Swimming 2, Tracking 3
Languages: Astral, Celestial, Common and High Fey, Infernal, Vulgate. Understands all mortal languages when spoken in his presence.
Perks
Aegis of the Fae, Dark Vision, Fae Stealth, Mana Adept, Mana Sight, Master of Mana, Sidhe Caster, Sidhe-Sight, Sidhe Speed Casting, Speed-Casting (Life and Light Magic), Spell Penetration, True Sight, Understand Languages, Undying, Unlimited Potential
Known Elements, Forces, and Schools of Magic
Celestial, Darkness, Death, Fire, Life, Light, Mind, Nature, Order, Twilight
Spells
Aegis of Order, Animate Shadow, Armor of Life, Aura of Light, Blast Undead, Bless Crops, Bolt of Darkness, Bolt of Life, Bulwark of Light, Burning Light, Consecrated Ground, Dark Tendrils, D
eadly Roots, Death Cyclone, Death Stare, Enlightenment, Fireball, Gift of the Martyr, Growth, Hammer of Light, Hammer of Twilight, Healing Blows, Healing Wave, In Extremis, Indomitable Aura, Lesser Archon, Mass Blast Undead, Death Curse, Nature’s Grip, Nature’s Guardian, Read Thoughts, Sense Life, Send Thought, Shadow Leech, Shadow Step, Shield of Light, Shroud of Darkness, Shroud of Twilight, Simple Spell Inscription, Song of Sorrow, Steal Life, Terror Gaze, Touch of Light, Transference, Twilight Mantle, Twilight Step.
Special Abilities
Alter Magic, Analyze Monster, Chaos Spike, Create Magical Trap, Disarm Magical Trap, Dispel Magic I, Dual-Casting, Enhanced Spell-Casting, Enhanced Channeling, Evolve Monster, Greater Bond, Greater Hidden Status, Identify Spell, Imbued Body, Leadership XIV (Chosen Foe I, Command IV, Generalship V, Messenger III, Shared Magic I), Living Shadow, Mana Channeling 8(10), Node Mastery XI (Advanced Node Travel, Create Node Guardian, Node Empowerment, Greater Node Portal, Advanced Node Recall, Node Sight, Summon Node Guardian), Monster Pet (Two Slots Open), Overwhelm Magic I, Ritual Magic I, Seal Inscription II, Soul Rider, Spell Deconstruction, Spellcraft III, Stop Monster, Summon Monster, Tame Monster, Tantric Touch, Timeless Mind, Tulpa Creation II
Archon Abilities (Tier 1)
Archon Awareness, Assume the Mantle, Enhanced Senses, Hide Self, Impose Order, Restore Order, Resist Damage.
Arcane Vocations
Blacksmith 4, Mining 6, Skinning 2, Steward 8.
Guild Powers (Level Six)
Guild Headquarters, Guild Quests III, Guild Vault.
Titles
Curse-Breaker
Eternals’ Doom
Guild President (Earth and Realms Defenders)
Knight of Order
Liberator
Lord of Sunset Valley
Lord of the Dead
Forty-One
“This is another fine mess,” Archmage Jacobus told Hawke as the pair exited the Prefect’s meeting room. There was a lot of screaming going on in there, but all the useful decisions had been taken care of.
Court of Thorns: A LitRPG Story Page 28