Okay, alright, huff, phew. I’m fed, I’ve got more tools, more resources, more supplies, more plans, and just a whole lot more. Is there anything else I should be doing before heading to the strategists-eight? I kinda wish I could find Illy and just see how she’s doing, and if there’s any mending I can do between us. She wants me to keep my walls up around her though.

What about what Cal said? A presence somewhere around Mount Solace? One with a dragonforce? Kinzul must have overheard, since she’s apparently been in range to hear me the entire time, and she doesn’t seem all that concerned. Maybe she just expects me to handle it, since she’s got her hands full, and like she said, there’s never enough time for everything. I mean, it is sort of exactly why I did that little public speaking nonsense the other day. Other than to try to build a bridge to Leezahna, which crashed and burned hard.

I should start making daily “To-do” lists. I could roll over anything I don’t get completed by the end of one day, into the next day’s list. Eh, I’d probably overwhelm myself and get depressed as more and more piled up. I’m sure the fact that I forget tons of stuff all the time is actually keeping me from freaking out over not accomplishing everything I think up.

For now, let’s love on Lucky for a little bit once we’re done clearing out the hostiles from the odds ‘n’ ends warren. Wait. Mite-hulk claw pistol turrets. Mite-hulk adjacents. “The Neath.” Who mentioned “The Neath?” I think it was Jarrah. That must be the name of the subterranean world beneath Rayileklia’s surface. Teuila said she felt a pull, like something she needed, or was supposed to accomplish was down there. I can sense Luni fretting, so I likely shouldn’t go too much farther with this topic.

Still—. At some point, we’re going to need to accomplish whatever it was Te felt when she was fighting off those creatures to protect the kobolds of The Gap. We might also need to meet with the Aasimovian refugees, and possibly the Archfey of the Heart. That’d be in order to get them to prep defenses against one or more of the apocalypses, either should we fail, or should we simply not have enough time to finish them all before they start rolling across Rayileklia.

Blargh, what was I up to? Oh, right, kill these things after testing out my boom breath, my thunder shout. For some reason, I want to yell “Fuzz, Rhoda.” Weird. Deep breath Reggie, lean into it, aim, and—. Shout! Shout Reggie, let it all out! Holy graphic novels budmud. I’m so glad things from Can’Z’aas derez rather than splatter into gore. I can’t say that that helped my headache any, but it was pretty effective, against the weakest looking tentacle, from just outside of melee range. It was probably only a few points worth of damage, since the thing looked pretty scraggly. It might be able to help me out in a pinch if I’m dogpiled. Or if I’m walking around inside the auditory canal of a giant dragon. That one’s just mean.

Let’s test a thing. We can craft them slowly, it’s only a few runes, but let’s use our new internal electromagnetic organs to make an E M field to pause the runes in space, locking them in position. Alright, easy enough, now, for Tiktik, these sorts of low rune spells are supposed to be ambient mana cantrips. How do I go about making it so that it doesn’t cost me anything to fling the frost bolts, or do the mending, or prestidigitative legerdemain? Let’s go ahead and empower this once, while it’s trapped here, and really pay attention to what happens to the runes as they’re locked in place. Hell, empower it three times in a row quickly.

Fifteen runes, err, S P, down for the day, but I think it’s worth it. I mean, first of all, it procced a bunch of clips in my bangle, because it was technically three subtle-casting-metamagic spells. Second of all, that tentacle is nearly finished off. Third of all, I’m coming closer to understanding the spellwork. I forgot to sort and go through the rest of the clips. I—. Crap, I need to commission another bangle, one for Kinzul, at the very least. But I’ll need to make sure I put the size-change enhancement enchantment on it permanently. I’d also like one on Illy, and Prinrin. Well, hell, I’d like one on everyone in the order, or even everyone in Mount Solace. Hmm. Gnawing on my lip, I’m getting distracted. Focus Reggie, focus!

But Reggie, there were tools like, ancient runecarving kit and so on in Nietru’s shop, and the runic clips, you might be able to copy them if you’re careful. Either your myconid form, or maybe someone who’s a more masterful crafter amongst the Draconiacs here in Mount Verdimenn, or Mount Solace. If you could grant everyone here immunity to fire, cold, and lightning, and resistance to acid, half or more of Terrorzin’s forces would be completely ineffectual. Hell, Terrorzin’s breath weapon himself would be completely negated.

Crap, which clip gave cold immunity. Wait, did one? Shiznit, fudgeknuckles. I don’t think one did. Then again, we do know one that gives fire immunity. Do you think if you learned how to duplicate the clips, that it would be as easy as changing the rune from fire to the rune for cold? No, no, because it’s not heat, it’s fire. Crap, that’s right. Would ice be—, no, it’d require different sets of protection, because it’s an energy versus a manifestation.

Reggie? Mhm? Maybe focus on the pistol turrets blasting you in the head? Huh. That’s probably something I should take care of. Wait, no, not yet. I was trying to figure out these low level spells, how to get them to cast with only ambient mana, instead of my own S P. Hm, okay, I think, I think I at least understand how to get the elemental rune, to call to the elemental plane next to ours, to use the ambient mana to lure an elemental along a path. I don’t understand how to get the operand runes to operate off of ambient mana though. Still, one fifth of the spell is free now, if my surmising is correct.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Hell, if my surmising is correct, I might be able to shave off a thirty third of some of my other spells, maybe, possibly. There’s an interaction here that I’m not understanding. Hm, so, erm, how do I—? Right, maybe like this? Nope. What about—? Nope. I think my conjecture is *almost* correct. Almost. The guiding an elemental along the nearby plane to coalesce the ambient mana is close to what I’m supposed to be doing to make that rune free.

I mean, if I can even just get it down to a single rune that still has an S P cost, and I utilize my new electromagnetic rune barrier organ, I can trap a single rune and rapidly spam the spell for a single S P. Just empowering that single rune over and over would be proccing my bangle’s runic metamagical clips repeatedly. One of them damages the foe as it singes the target of the spell, another damages them as it chills them, another disorients their next movement, another actually does a minor brainblast at the target of the spell. One does a tiny bit of minor necrotizing blast.

Several of those metamagical runic clips target me, the caster, or a nearby ally. One of those does something like Tiktik’s embolsterment, or her minor blessing of the Fae, by providing some sort of short-term, thin mana film forcefield that can coalesce to absorb a certain amount of impact. Another one is able to undo a bunch of negative mental enchantments, which just seems amazing. Like, if I’m somehow dominated mentally, and the fool has me cast a spell, it’ll immediately remove the mental domination, the charming effect. It can also remove some other effects as well, negative conditions, and so on.

There’s one clip that has entirely random effects, that one I’m a little worried to engage. I really don’t want to become a potted plant. I don’t know if it can truly do that, but it’s something I joked to Induul about, so my genre senses say now that it’s like, eighty percent chance that the random one has the ability for that to be one of the random effects.

Focus Reggie! Oh, right, right. Uh. Okay, what if we do this with the slipenth? Hm, closer. Wait, is there a willpower focus requirement? Probably pretty hard with a headache. Doesn’t help that my skull’s being blasted repeatedly. Still, that doesn’t seem like all there is to it either. Okay. What about? Hm, no, entirely off the mark, I’m worse off than when I started. My gals are giggling behind me, and Lucky is scratching himself in a bit of a bored manner. Veril and Farzee are facing each other as they’re sitting on the stone ground with their knees partway up to their chests, just being there for each other, occasionally chatting or comforting each other. They’re supporting and balancing each other. There’s a co—. Aha!

I rush over and kiss Veril intensely, and then rush to kiss Farzee equally intensely. You two are geniuses, I love you both! That’s it! The elemental rune and the first operand rune *together* have to be fed into that effect, to become free, ambient mana runes. They have to balance and support each other. Yes! It works! That’s two of five S P saved per cast of my frosty ray spell. Ahhhh I love you guys! Oh, erm, sorry Veril. Sorry Farzee. Lu, why are you pouting? Come here. Mwah. Anyway, what about the other three operand runes? Okay, fine Luni, a bit longer before I go back to focusing on the spellwork. Mmm. You know I love you My Anchor. Gosh, I’m sorry Farzee. I hope that wasn’t a mixed signal or anything.

Blushing, Farzhis responds to my mental narrative, “No, no Schism. It’s okay. I sai’ before that it’s a way I show appreciation. I understan’. I won’ chase you. No’ my type. Bu’ it’s nice feeling love’. Feeling tha’ withou’ needing to offer up something or change myself. So, um, thanks. It’s nice. You’re no’ ba’ at kissin’ either. Hell, Broke One is spacing ou’ because of it. Look a’ his face. Grinning like a goon.”

Now I’m blushing, as I realize it’s true, Veril’s got a goofy grin on his face. Poor guy. My bad. Hopefully he finds a romantic partner that’ll share plenty of kissing with him. Hm, but what about the other operand runes? I’d be fine only figuring out one or two of them. This one and this one? No. This one and this one? No. This one and— ah hah! I have absolutely no clue! Erm, how to get the last one to be free. But these four I can produce as ambient mana runes, fairly quickly and easily, meaning I can either slowly or quickened craft this middle rune, and then spam the spell for a single S P. Let’s see how rapidly I can cast this.

Drawing a deep breath, I pull on the edges of time, reveling in the space between spaces, the time between moments. I don’t approach anywhere near stopped time. I’m just trying to see how fast my internal-electrokinetic reaction time can make my re-empowering of the runes to cast the spell over and over. Ow my freakin’ head. For a minute there, I forgot I have a migraine or headache going on. Right, anyway, let’s test this out, wrap this up, and get our arses to the strategists-eight. Oh. Oh! I can shave three S P off of my thirty three rune spells, or six off of my sixty six rune spells! So it’ll only be forty five S P to quicken my regular spells, with the new quickening enhancement enchantments from the tomes utilized within the orb, or ninety for the slightly bigger spells. Ahhh, this is so good! Focus Reggie! Oh, right.

Breathe deep. One one thou— blast blast blast blast blast, —sand. Nice! Yeah, I’m happy with that. Five icy rays, and five sets of procs of the metamagic runic bangle clips in a single second. Alright, let go of the flow of time, the non, the absence, join the regular pace of the fourth dimension. Heh, I sound like such a dork. It’s okay, I love it. I love being me. I’ve got a great life, a great son, great friends, great loves. Heck, let’s go see those great strategists-eight.