The lowlands continued to unroll around them, and the days stayed hot. Saul had reached Level 18, as each new piece of territory that he explored drew more XP rewards into his Workshop.

The work he did with Brand and Zorea also gained him XP, and a more significant amount of Arcane Dust as well. He was coming to appreciate how despite the different rates at which the two resources gathered, when it came time to unlock a new spell he would have enough Arcane Dust to do so.

The only thing he needed to do was to keep exploring and keep doing magic, and he would be able to continue progression.

In addition to the reasons he’d explained in detail to his companions, his continual gathering of Arcane Dust and XP rewards was another essential factor in continuing to explore the world and do new things.

Yes, he was keen to place himself in the Borderlands and see if he needed to avert a disaster there as well, but at the heart of his ability to regain his power was the continued gathering of resource rewards to unlock new abilities.

So, he took pleasure in every new area he saw. He gathered ingredients and created potions every night when they stopped to camp, until the Potion Satchel part if his Inventory was full and could take no more potions.

The Inventories of his companions were smaller, and could only hold five potions each at first, but Saul found that as he leveled up, their inventories increased as well.

They could not place potions in their own inventories. Instead, Saul had to do that for them, though they could access and choose which potions to use for themselves.

Despite this limitation, when he returned from gaining Level 18 he examined Brand and Zorea’s stats and found that their inventories had increased in capacity.

Companion inventory: Upgraded

Inventory: Level 2

Potions: 4 of 6

Weapons: 1 of 3

Outfits: 2 of 4

“The inventory category has improved!” Zorea said. “We’ve unlocked an extra slot each. It seems that your leveling up has added additional abilities to us as your Squad members.”

“That seems to be how it’s working,” he said, “but for now, let’s concentrate on mastering your initial spells. We’re building Squad XP in the Workshop. Shall we add a few new potions to your inventories? We could go back to the Workshop, and I could craft some Grant Potion Sigils?”

Brand shook his head.

Zorea spoke up. “I think it would be better to save the Squad XP,” she said. “It’s coming in slowly, and unless we get into combat and use our magic to kill enemies we’re unlikely to earn a lot of it. This is a safe part of the world, and we’re not going to get much opportunity for fighting for a while yet. Let’s save the Squad XP for now. We may be able to use it to upgrade our Squad abilities in the future.”

“I agree,” Brand said. “We’re in this for the long haul, and we should prioritize long-term gains.”

Saul was pleased with his two protegees. The young people were thinking ahead and making strategic choices. They were learning deeper lessons from him than simply weapons and magic.

“Very good,” Saul said. “It’s your choice, but I think it’s the right one. We’ll do as you suggest, and save up the Squad XP for now.”

As it happened, Zorea was right. They had little chance for combat on the road.

One time they saw a giant spider peering out of the trees as they passed a shady, quiet spot on the road among a small, wild area of woodland. Here, the ground was unusually rocky and not well-suited for building, and they had not seen a village for some time.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

The monster took one look at them and scuttled off. When they reached the area where it had been they found only some spider slime on the ground and the trees where it had brushed past.

“No wonder,” Saul said. “Those monsters have an instinct for what they can and can’t take on, I think. We’re at a high enough level, and our raptors are, too, that low-level monsters are not going to bother us anymore.”

“We could have done with the XP rewards,” Brand grumbled. His sword was loose in its sheath, and Saul could feel that the young man was ready with his fire spell.

“True,” Saul said, “but it’s hardly fitting for powerful mages like us to be trying to grind unchallenging monsters for XP, and I can’t imagine it’s much fun either.”

“And after all,” Zorea put in, straight-faced but with her eyes twinkling in amusement, “you don’t want to end up being called Brand the Spider Chaser, do you? If you went off after that beast, I’d have to start calling you that, you know.”

They all laughed.

It was good to see Zorea lightening up a bit. She had always been so serious when Saul had first been getting to know her, and he thought that this new, more relaxed part of her character showed that she must be finding her place in the world.

“Zorea is right,” Saul said. “We’re better to focus on the big rewards. Don’t worry, they’ll come in time. We’ll be at Blackrock castle soon, and then we’ll see what the Queen of Xorn has to say to us. Unless I’m much mistaken, you’ll have the chance to earn some more fitting titles before many more weeks have passed.”

* * *

As the days passed and they traveled further into the lowlands, the roads improved, and the weather stayed fair. They made good progress and, eventually, the glittering blue of the Dragon River came into view.

They came down to the main high road that ran along by the wide, slow water of the Dragon River and then turned left, making their way east past many small villages and several larger towns until they at last saw the looming bulk of Blackrock castle silhouetted against the bright blue of the sky.

This country around the River, close by the border, was the heart of the Xornian realm. It all seemed peaceful enough, but Saul sensed a resentment and mistrust from the villagers they passed by, more than he had from any of the smaller villages further north.

Some of the villages were dilapidated, and hungry-looking people dressed in ragged clothes gazed out from dark doorways and glassless windows at the travelers as they passed.

When they stopped one night at a roadside inn, they were not made particularly welcome. All the talk seemed to be of the troubles that had befallen a village near the bridge, and the Queen’s lack of ability—or willingness—to do anything about it.

Eventually, after a few more days through this populated but rather bleak country, they rounded a corner and saw, up ahead of them, the Queen’s castle, heart of the realm of Xorn.

“There it is,” Zorea said as they got their first sight of the castle. “Blackrock.”

“Well named,” Saul commented looking up at the massive stone edifice perched like a monstrous bird of prey on top of the enormous outcrop of black stone that gave the castle its name. “I’ve never seen it before, though I heard about it in my old life.”

“You never came this far north?” Brand asked.

Saul shook his head. He did not want to go into the fate the castle had suffered in his old timeline.

Rather than have it occupied by their enemies, the warlocks who had made it this far destroyed the fortress and made it uninhabitable. They had called down stone giants from the mountains and torn the castle stone from stone, then made it an abode of restless, hungry ghosts.

Even after the empire had spread peace throughout Keldor, the old ruin of Blackrock fortress had remained a name of terror, and the old realm of Xorn had never been repopulated. North of the Dragon River, few adventurers dared to travel, and those who did never came back to tell the tale.

“The castle is beautiful, in a way,” Zorea said as they rode closer.

“I suppose so,” Brand said with a smile, gazing upward.

Saul said nothing.

The huge castle was a chaotic labyrinth of battlements and buttresses, squat drum towers and barred windows. Above all the towers, the bright eight-pointed star of Xorn gleamed out of flags that fluttered and snapped in the wind off the river.

It was a formidable fortress and ancient beyond memory. Even the Xornians did not know exactly how long ago it had been built, or by whom.

Blackrock town clustered around the feet of the castle rock. A part of the city—the older, grander section—was enclosed within a wall of stone, but there were many smaller and newer buildings sprawling outside.

The people here seemed better off, and better-disposed to three travelers on raptors, in the uniforms of Xornian soldiers, than the population they had passed earlier in the day.

That story was all too clear.

Saul had been a battle commander in his old life, but he’d also known the importance of keeping a population happy once the battles were won and the realms conquered. An army that won wars but then moved on would soon have rebels at their backs, disrupting supply lines and fighting one another, and leaving the conqueror little to show for their campaigning.

War was the art of winning ground, but it was also the art of holding territory. To achieve that, the common folk needed food, decent living standards, and a feeling of protection and safety, ideally more of each than they had known before.

After all, if a conqueror could not impose peace on the lands he won, then what was the point of war?

In the Xornian borderlands, Saul saw clearly the inequality between those of Blackrock City and those further afield. The Queen neglected the smaller towns along the river, and in doing so she sowed the seeds of rebellion in her realm.