Amanda didn’t speak, but took a few more hesitant steps toward the wrestling bears. The female’s ears perked up, and she froze, staring at Amanda. Fuzzy, now on his back and waving his paws at her, took a moment to realize playtime had ceased. He looked up, spotted Amanda, and rolled to his feet. Trotting over, he licked her extended hand, then demanded scratches. Amanda stared back at the female as she obliged, speaking softly.
“You’re a very pretty girl, aren’t you? Your fur looks soft, and you have big brown eyes.”
The female bear sat there, head tilting first to one side, then the other, as she listened to Amanda speak. Allistor was sure she didn’t understand the words, but the tone was friendly enough.
“Toss her a chunk of meat.”
Amanda took his suggestion and pulled a canid steak from her ring. To Fuzzy’s dismay, she tossed it so that it landed about halfway between herself and the other bear. Fuzzy got up and was about to go claim the prize when Allistor said, “No, buddy. That one’s for her. Come over here with me, and I’ll give you one.”
Fuzzy instantly abandoned Amanda, leaving her in a staring match with the sorely tempted female grizzly. The steak had been cooked with whatever herbs and spices Meg had been using at the time, and even Allistor was salivating a little at the smell.
The grizzly got to her feet and strode forward, her nose in overdrive, never taking her eyes off Amanda. When she reached the steak, she quickly snatched it up, then retreated several steps before sitting down to gnaw on it.
“That’s a good girl!” Amanda sounded pleased. She’d adopted the baby-talk tone that most people seemed to automatically use when speaking to animals. When the steak was gone, she added, “I have more. You want another one, pretty bear?” Amanda produced another steak from her inventory and held it out, dropping into a crouch to seem less intimidating. Allistor held back a laugh, as the bear out-massed Amanda by about two hundred pounds, and was equipped with sharp teeth and claws.”
The girl grizzly approached, her nose and belly leading her closer. Allistor held his breath as she got within biting range of Amanda, who was still speaking softly to her. Allistor couldn’t tell what she was saying, but it seemed to soothe the bear. He let out the breath when she gently took the meat from Amanda. This time she sat down where she was, and trapped the steak between her paws as she ripped it apart. It was unsettling, seeing this wild grizzly, a mere two feet from Amanda, gnawing on the steak. When he saw Amanda’s hand twitch, he spoke quickly, but quietly.
“Stop! I wouldn’t touch her while she’s eating. Just let her finish, then you can try it.”
Amanda pulled her hand back a bit, nodding at him. “Thank you. That could have been bad.” She stayed in her crouch, close enough to the bear to feel her breath, waiting for her to consume the steak. Which didn’t take long at all. Still laying on her belly, the bear licked both paws clean, then looked up at Amanda expectantly.
“Can I pet you? Scratch your ears?” Amanda asked, reaching forward slowly. The bear looked from her over to Fuzzy and Allistor for a moment, and seemed to make the connection. She stretched her neck, pushing her head forward slightly, and allowed Amanda to scratch. After a couple minutes, she scooted closer and pushed harder against Amanda, nearly knocking her off balance. When Amanda began scratching under her massive chin, she growled happily and opened her eyes to meet Amanda’s gaze.
“There you are.” Amanda smiled, increasing the scratchings by adding a second hand. “Such a beauty. I think your name should be… Fiona.”
As Amanda was completing her bond, Allistor’s interface displayed a notification that a new Citadel had been created.
Chapter 17
As he and Amanda escorted Fiona into the Wilderness Stronghold to meet everyone, Allistor got a call, Nigel’s voice echoing out from the walls.
“Sire, Minister Helen wishes to speak with you.”
“Go ahead, Nigel.” Allistor had been waiting to hear from Helen and Longbeard, and was excited to know how things were going.
“Hey, Allistor. Just checking in. We picked a spot in the mountains at Yellowstone, and the dwarves are already at work. Thought I should warn you that a few thousand of them will be coming through the Cheyenne hub shortly.”
Before Allistor could respond, Amanda interrupted. “Helen! I bonded with a bear! Just like Allistor did with Fuzzy. Now it’s Fuzzy and Fiona!”
There was a moment of silence, then, “Noooo way! How did you do it? What’s she like?”
Allistor waited, rubbing Fuzzy’s head as the two women gushed over the new development. When things slowed down, and Helen was complaining about how jealous she was, Allistor interjected. “How about we meet you in Cheyenne. You can meet Fiona, we can greet the dwarves as they arrive. Bring Master Longbeard if you can. I wanted to ask him a few questions.”
“You got it, boss. See you there in a few.”
They took some time to let the gathered citizens and Fiona get to know each other. Several of them offered treats to both bears, and a couple of the children who lived at Wilderness tackled Fuzzy, demanding loot after they ‘killed’ him. Fiona was initially distressed at this, but when she saw Fuzzy playing along with the tiny humans, she relaxed.
When everyone had met everyone, and the bears had been given more treats than was probably good for them, the four teleported to Cheyenne. Helen was there to meet them as they stepped off the pad, along with Longbeard and a few other dwarves.
“Oh, she’s beautiful!” Helen approached Fiona slowly, holding out a hand for her to sniff. After being mobbed by humans at Wilderness, the new bear pet was calm and friendly, licking the hand before allowing Helen to pet her. “And she must be pretty tough. Level twenty seven means she must have been killing and eating more than her share of forest critters or monsters…”
Allistor stepped aside to allow more introductions, motioning for Longbeard to join him after the dwarf took his turn greeting Fiona. The two of them sat at a table in the outdoor dining area near the old food court.
“Helen tells me you found an good spot?”
“Aye, more than acceptable. There be a mountain with much potential fer both mining and buildin’ a proper underground settlement. There be a lake fer fishin’, and plenty o’ open space fer crops and stock. Two o’ me experts on geology already be tracing the lava tubes to see about mappin’ the volcano. Ye were right, she be a big ‘un!” He made an expansive gesture with his hands. “We placed the Citadel at the base of a tall cliff, so we can dig right into it from there. There be quartz deposits in the stone, and the mornin’ sun shines on the cliff, makin it sparkle like a million diamonds. Lady Helen let us name her, so she be called Lightholm.”
“That’s very good to hear, Master Longbeard. I hope your brethren are very happy there. If there’s anything you need in the way of supplies or equipment, you just let me know.” He took a moment to withdraw a shadow steel spear from his inventory, the same one he’d tried to bend earlier. Holding it up, he said, “I tried to work the tip of this in my forge this morning. Heated it until it looked workable, then pounded on it. But I didn’t even scratch it, let alone bend it.”
Longbeard took the spear in hand, examining the sharp end closely. “Aye, makes sense. This metal be forged with magic, and it’ll take magic to unforge or alter it. Its creation required the sacrifice of a soul, usin’ dark magic and blood magic. We’ll not be doin the same.” He looked sideways at his prince.
“No, of course not.” Allistor shook his head. “I wanted to learn about this metal mainly to increase my crafting skill. If we can’t alter the weapons, so be it. We’ll find a way to use them as they are, or trade them to someone who can.”
“We’ll work on it together, when we have some time.” Longbeard assured him, even as he gestured toward the teleport pad. “Me people have begun to arrive. Lady Helen will administer the oath once they’re all here, and they’ll share a meal with the local folks here before movin’ on to Lightholm.”
&nbs
p; “That’s an excellent idea.” Allistor got to his feet. “Let’s go welcome them, and get the introductions started.”
*****
After the settlers had taken their oaths and shared a big lunch with their new fellow citizens, they departed for the Lightholm Citadel in Yellowstone. Allistor snagged Helen, who was already making noise about wandering off into the woods to claim a pet of her own, and asked her to meet with him and the analysts later that afternoon back at Invictus tower. Longbeard accompanied them over to view the new class trainer village, giving it his approval and praise before returning to the Invictus Tower, and heading directly upstairs to catch up on the trainer recruitment progress.
Amanda and Helen spent some time escorting Fiona around, then watching as the still tentative bear was eventually drafted into a battle with the children in the courtyard. They swarmed over her just as they did with Fuzzy, not pausing to consider whether or not she was a volunteer. There were a few moments of suspense, as the adults worried about her reaction. But she took it in stride, recognizing that human cubs like to play just as much as bear cubs.
Allistor had a mandatory date with Lilly, who had some final fit adjustments to do on the formal attire he’d be wearing to meet the spider queen. She grumbled at the fact that he seemed to have grown, and Allistor realized that he’d added a couple points to Strength since the last time she’d measured him, and was slightly taller and bulkier now. He actually had more points available to assign after killing the fomorians, but he’d decided to wait.
Lilly assured him that the necessary alterations would be complete by the end of the day, and practically chased him out of her workshop.
Making his way up to the floor his analysts used, he stuck his head into their meeting room. “How goes the recruiting?” When they all began to stand, he motioned for them to sit.
Selby spoke first. “We’ve filled nearly all the positions on the list. Several of them will arrive today, the rest over the next week. I even convinced my cousin to accept one of the positions, and bring his wife.”
Allistor chuckled. “So you’ve decided I’ll live long enough that it’s safe to bring your family?”
Selby blushed slightly, as Longbeard roared with laughter. When he calmed a bit, Longbeard gasped, “Tell him!”
Looking uncomfortable, Selby mumbled something Allistor couldn’t hear. When he held a hand up to his ear and raised his eyebrows, she repeated herself at a higher volume.
“Well, you see… I hired him to be the trainer for the Survivalist class skills.” She kept her eyes on her hands avoiding Allistor’s gaze.
Allistor didn’t immediately make a connection. He stared at the little gnome for a moment, then looked to Longbeard, who was staring right back, a huge smile on his face.
Then it hit him.
“And once he’s here, even if I’m killed and Invictus falls apart, as a survivalist he’s more than capable of just fading into the wilderness and fending for himself.”
“Ha! Ye got it in one guess!” Longbeard slapped the table. Now Allistor was smiling as well.
“I’m sorry, Allistor, I-“ Selby stopped as she saw the grin on his face.
“Don’t sweat it, Selby. I don’t blame you one bit. You know so much more about the universe we live in than I do. I’m like a toddler wandering around in a jungle with just a sharp stick and a little luck to keep me alive. It only makes sense for you to be cautious about my chances for survival.”
He spent a little more time with them, making sure they had all they needed as far as funds and supplies to get the trainers’ village up and running. When Helen appeared, he was reminded that he wanted to cover something else. He sat her down, and had Nigel pull up an image of the globe that incorporated their new satellite scan data.
“I want to expand our holdings on other continents.” He began
“I thought you put an end to the raid groups going out to claim more land.” Helen raised one eyebrow as she spoke.
“I did. At the time, I was concerned about looking greedy, or seeming like some kind of imperial overlord. But over the last several days, some things have happened that changed my mind. I’m told that as a planetary prince, my authority is pretty limited. I can’t put a defense net around Earth, which puts the whole of humanity at an increased risk. I couldn’t authorize the harvester to take the resources they needed, which would have saved the entire crew from being executed. So maybe it’s time I expand Invictus to include enough territory to become Emperor of Earth.”
There was silence in the room as his surprised audience absorbed his words.
L’olwyn was the first to speak. “That may be… complicated, Allistor. There are already colonies from large and powerful factions established here on earth. They might be resistant to your plans, as it would negate their ability to raise a prince of their own, and have input on the future of this world.”
“Like the Or’Dralon” Allistor nodded. “I’ve considered that. I must try to create alliances with them in any case, and I think I’d rather do it from a more powerful position than I have now. I can’t spend the rest of my life afraid of the big bad wolves.”
Droban the minotaur offered his own advice. “Courage is commendable. And your bold actions to date have elevated you to a position of power quite rapidly. But courage must be tempered with wisdom, lest you overstep. It is not just your own life that you risk.”
Helen snorted. “That’s a polite way of saying don’t let your ego write a check that your ass can’t cash.”
Allistor shot her a dirty look before turning to Droban. “Wise advice, Droban, thank you. And I don’t plan to seize the entire planet today. I want to start with another skill school someplace overseas, where there are large numbers of survivors. Maybe take some useful properties like mines, fertile farmlands, that kind of thing. I plan to gather as many human survivors together under my banner as I can. Along with the lands they have claimed for themselves. I’d like you folks to research just how much of the Earth’s land and resources I have to control before I can become emperor.”
Longbeard nodded. “Aye, we can do that easy enough.”
“In the meantime, please work with Nigel and Helen to review the satellite scans and find me some likely targets for settlements, and for the next trainer’s village.”
“I have some cool ideas already.” Helen volunteered. “Places I’ve seen or read about. Like, historic castles and landmarks, that kind of thing.”
“Such as?” Allistor was immediately curious. He liked the idea of claiming his own real life castle.
“Well… off the top of my head, how about Dover Castle? It’s a huge structure on the coast of England, with its own port. And it has a very cool network of tunnels on multiple levels underneath. It was used as a sort of command bunker during world war two.”
“Sold! Let’s go claim it as soon as possible. Assuming nobody else has, yet. Get Nigel to focus on the area and check for signs of survivors.” Allistor was excited.
Nigel obligingly altered the display, first zooming in on the region Helen indicated, then zooming in further when she located the castle complex. There didn’t appear to be any surface activity in the daylight, so Helen had him switch to previously recorded data from a night passover. There were no indications of lights in the darkness, or infrared signatures.
“Let’s do it!” Allistor thumped the table. Nigel, please ask Kira or Gene if one of them is available to fly us to England. And alert Bjurstrom that we could use a raid team. Also let Sam, Meg, Ramon, Nancy, Michael, Chris, Lars, Logan, George, Dawn, Remy, Leila, and the girls know as well, in case any of them want to tag along.”
“Of course, sire.” Nigel’s calm reply didn’t dull Allistor’s excitement at all. A moment later the AI added, “Lady Kira and her crew can be ready in fifteen minutes.”
“Alright, let everyone know we’re heading out in half an hour.” Allistor headed for the elevator, but halted when Longbeard asked, “Ye mind if I tag along
? The underground bits sound interestin’.”
Allistor hadn’t even considered that his analysts might want to join. For that matter, he didn’t know what levels they were, or whether they had any interest in leveling up.
“Damn. Of course you’re welcome to join us. Any of you. You have a standing invitation to join any raid that you’d like. It may not be polite to ask this, so please let me know if it’s improper. I don’t know what level you guys are. Could you benefit from joining the raid groups, clearing buildings, that kind of thing?”
L’olwyn replied for the group. “You are currently a higher level than all of us except Master Longbeard. Most analysts live sheltered lives, and earn experience from performing our duties, or crafting, and such. As a result, we are generally slow to level up.” He looked at the others, who nodded. “You could simply have Examined each of us to determine our levels.”
Allistor grimaced. “I was told it was rude to do so outside of combat. Especially to friends.”
Shelby giggled. “That is true. I’m lowest at level thirty. The big fella here is thirty two, and L’olwyn is level forty eight. Master Longbeard is-”
“I be high enough level that none o’ ye can use Examine on me n get more’n me name.” Longbeard grinned at them. Helen laughed.
“Okay then. Good to know. Any of you who wish to join us this afternoon, meet us in the lobby in twenty five minutes. I don’t know if we’ll find survivors at this castle, or monsters. So be prepared to fight. Or, heal. Shit. I don’t know what your combat roles would be. But we’ll figure it out once we’ve got the group together.” He thought for a second, then added, “Any of you who’d like to accompany us to visit the spider people are welcome as well.”
“Araneae.” L’olwyn corrected him. “The queen would not take kindly to being called a spider person. It would be similar to calling you a hairless ape.”
Shadow Sun Progression: Shadow Sun Book Four Page 28