After they dress and prepare themselves for the day, have a proper breakfast, and make sure to tidy up the area around their family's cabana are the children allowed to play. Their favorite area, by far, is Regalus Castle. The wooden structure was named by one of the children during an intense session of "Siege the Castle" and it basically marked the building as impregnable. Because, as everyone knows, Regalus Castle has yet to be breeched by man or beast. Or so I've been told. We went along with the theme and added two more structures.
One of them is a little pretend house with enough space to fit four children comfortably, or a handful of Dawns as Richter remarked after seeing it. That earned him a blast from her new Spell and much laughter all around.
The other, is actually just four wooden walls, no roof, one door, and two windows. Inside, we turned it into a little crafting area for the children to practice and experiment with their Artisan Classes, if they had any, or to earn them, if they wanted to. There would always be at least one adult present to help and guide those interested. We stocked them with crafting materials and tools with no edges, unless more adults are present to help with that. And, just in case, it would only be open if the vardo is stationary.
As much fun as the children are having, most of the adults wear uneasy smiles and distant gazes. I could guess what they're worried about in the way they're coming back inside the vardo with heavy sighs and backwards glances. And yes, I'll miss Kes Solomas, too. This city has been so welcoming, so hospitable. It has everything we've wanted for a while and after treking through miles of wilderness, it was an oasis.
No one complains, as pensive as they look. The question looks ready to burst out at any moment, waiting for the one final drop to cause the cup to overflow. Each second, each drip, that goes by we wait for them to ask. Some of us, however, can't stand the suspense any longer.
"Like, does anyone want to stay in Kes Solomas?" It's Rachel, fists on her hips and head tilted all the way back. She sighs heavily and snaps her head back to look at everyone. All of their eyes are wide open in shock, and she looks back with a raised eyebrow, or whatever the avian equivalent is on her face.
There is a very heavy pause hanging in the air now with the only sound being the children playing. The core group is looking around at everyone, gauging their faces and getting ready for their answers.
"I thought we were going to build our own castle?" A small voice booms over the sound of play. A woman, presumably the little girl's mother, goes over to the child to explain something to her. She clears her throat and looks at us in embarrassement.
"I- I told her we had to leave Kes Rentas… to travel. So we could find a new city and we would make our own castle." She casts a sad smile on her daughter who looks up with a hopeful grin.
"Are we finally leaving? Can we go now?" The little girl looks over at those of us in the core group. The other kids her age do the same, asking the same question. Before anyone has a chance to admonish them, one of us speaks.
Dawn beats us all to the punch, and I know we all had the same answer, "Yes. And our castle will be much bigger and better than this one, darling." She motions to the play area.
The little girl furrows her brow, "This castle is just pretend, Lady Dawn. Its not real."
This instantly lifts the mood, the laughter that rings is true and light hearted. Gorm, Malica, and the Linqs kitchen crew return just in time. They, probably more so than anyone else, will be missed most of all to the people of the city. We had left Gaveston a week's worth of meals in exchange for our stay and use of his garage.
Although he was loathed to accept any form of payment from us for what he did for us, he was more than happy to take the food. He didn't try to convince us to stay, but he did warn us to be careful, especially as we got closer to our destination. According to him, although the area is technically part of Regalus, it isn't a place where civilization has been found for decades. As relatively close as it is to Coronus, no one willingly goes there due to a myriad of rumors and no one wants to find out if any of those rumors are based on fact. Looks like we're about to find out ourselves.
As we finished preparing ourselves to head out, I found Dawn and Victoria and gave them each a ring. The small silver ring with the cameo of a helmed fighter I hand Dawn confuses her. Under her arched eyebrow, her black eyes dart from the item to me and to Victoria. I see the misunderstanding and clear my throat.
"Read the description. It's called Commander's Insignia and it should give your orders more pop." With that I scoot closer to Vic, a look of bemusement on her face. I clear my throat again, "I was going to make a joke of this, but I realize that it wouldn't be fair." Her bemusement is replaced with curiosity as I take the dull grey hoop out of storage.
"Is that… Where did you get that?" Her eyes scan the room and she moves in closer, squeezing the item between us.
I grow just as confused as she is, but take the hint that she doesn't want it to be seen. "Goblin warren. Tier two Goblin Commander dropped it. Why? What's wrong? Is it cursed?"
Relief washes over me as I feel the hoop leave my grasp. She holds it up with both hands on either side of it, "No no, darling. Nothing like that. I thought… I thought maybe you killed an angel for it."
Now the bemusement is on both players' faces. "What?" I exclaim, trying not to draw any more attention as she ushers the both of us to exit the vardo. "Why would I kill an angel for this? Aren't they, I don't know, good?"
She doesn't answer right away, waiting until we're outside and in the garage where Richter, Rachel, Kona, Serenity, Sonny, and Elsbeth are gathered around the two Nightmares. Richter is explaining the basics of riding and how the Mongols used the saddles and stirrups to perform ranged combat. The idea should work with Spells as well. His eyes shift to us, but he quickly returns to his lesson.
The three of us give the group some space and Victoria puts the hoop above her head. When she let go, it hovered a few inches over her and took on an a foggy, grey appearance. She swings her arms overhead, trying to intentionally knock it off, but her arms pass through like it were made of vapor. As she equips it and tests it, she gives us our own little lesson.
"Contrary to popular belief, not all celestials are exclusively good. There are types of angels that are, let's say, wild or free roaming. No one knows how they end up that way, but their ties are cut from whatever deity they once served. Most of them were created for battle and battle is all they seek in the world.
"I thought you might have run into one. They're usually quite strong, even one that would have this low level halo," she points up at it. She withdraws a simple iron dagger and slashes her upper arm before we have a chance to react. Vic holds up her blade hand stopping us, holding up a slender finger asking us for a moment.
The halo brightens, a dim white light that still looks fairly hazy catches the other group's attention and we all gather around her. It takes two seconds for her cut to heal and the halo continues to glow.
"It's active, but the charge isn't draining," Vic explains as we all observe her arm and new accessory. "Thank you, Ardacen."
With her fingertips caressing my face, she pulls me closer. Our kiss is met by cute emotional noises and cat calls. I ignore them, wrapping my arms around her waist. The taste of her lips and her natural aroma flood my senses. Vic breaks our kiss suddenly and my eyes have to roll back down to focus.
"You may have given us both rings, but remember, Commander… mine's bigger." Her grin is wide as she glances back at Dawn. The Infernus looks at her with a wry smile.
"Maybe so, but he gave me a ring first. Let's go everyone." They take turns slapping my butt and head inside. The others, including Elsbeth, stare at me incredulously. I wave my hands at them in defense, but they cut me with mocking laughter. I didn't think this through, did I?
An hour later, Richter is still laughing as we drive the vardo out of the northern gate. For now, Rachel and Serenity ride the Nightmares on the vardo's flanks while Sonny and Kona fly ahead. We pass more farm land as we head toward the Dambrean River. The main road leading out also goes over a four lane bridge.
If we follow it to the northeast, we'll eventually pass by Coronus, the capital city. However, our path lies to the northwest. There will be no road or trail for us to follow and no one knows exactly what we'll find. There might be ruins for us to explore, rare and dangerous monsters to subjugate, dungeons filled with treasure to raid, or maybe even a new race for one of us to turn into. Our excitement congeals into irritation when we hit what looks like rush hour traffic and the vardo stops behind a few other wagons. Our flying scouts return with a sit-rep and we collectively throw our hands in the air when Sonny tells us the news.
"Looks like two squads of twenty or so bandits have decided to take the bridge hostage as well as demand a hefty toll. They have both sides blocked and they said they have six Geomancers ready to bring the whole thing down in the middle."
She's also speaking into the Whisper Ear Cuff so that Dawn is aware. Dawn, Sonny, Kona, and I wear one and, after a short pause, Dawn's orders trickle into our ears.
"Ardacen, see if you can recon a level average of the blockade and location of the casters."
I Blink Step several times, ending up on the shore to the east of the bridge. I use the same techniques we used when we scouted Mordecai's group except from a lower elevation behind several bushes. I don't need to poke my head out since I can use Scan in combination with Zoom III and Thermal Vision. From my position I don't have to whisper, but I still keep my voice as low as possible.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Looks like twenty units each side, the average is twenty or so. The highest I can see is twenty five on the other side of the bridge. There are six people in the exact center in a line and they're all level twenty, plus or minus one. A wagon on the other side is coming through. I think they must have paid."
I continue to watch the progress of the wagon and as they approach the casters they come to a stop. The casters circle the wagon and it looks like they're extorting them a second time. As infuriating as it is, it gives me an idea and I share it with Dawn. She makes it step two in her plan.
We waited a bit and, when no other players or anyone else wanted to play hero, we pounced. Step one, we paid their outrageous fifty Gold entry fee for the vardo so we could get to the center. Step two, when the Geomancers confronted us I cast Zone of Silence and Beacon of Alacrity. Then, Dawn, Victoria, Elsbeth and the soldiers burst out of the vardo for us to quickly subdue the bewildered mages. That gave us the center of the board, but put us between two equally strong and similarly numbered forces.
We picked the side we came from to attack since they were relatively weaker and El finally got to show off her new toy. Stunned and mouth agape for several seconds, it took a while before I tried to read the description.
[Trusco Mobile Ballista. Advanced Expert Weapon.
[Durability:250/250
[Requirement: 70Dexterity
[Dexterity/400yds/0
[Base: 25
[This weapon requires spears, javelins, or similar sized weapons as ammunition. This weapon is considered a longbow. Any damage dealt to a life form by this weapon will be considered critical.
[This weapon has a 10second draw time. -1second per 10Strength of wielder.
[This weapon has a 60second cooldown. -5seconds per 15Dexterity of wielder.]
At first, it looked like three compound bows connected end to end. She pulls a small lever on one side and it extended into a seven foot behemoth plus a tripod on the bottom. Man, she loves levers and making things transform. I mean, I do too, and I'm glad she's on our side. The whole thing is painted in a palatte of dark forest colors and covered in pulleys.
When she nocks a simple wooden spear I cough in astonishment. The spear and her hands both glow yellow and my jaw hits the floor. With only one point in Strength, it takes her the full ten seconds to draw the bowstring back. I can see the strain on her face, back, and shoulder muscles as she draws, but once set in the ready position she isn't as tense. The limbs of the bow are glowing blue with familiar heiroglyphics.
Dawn allows her to fire at will and we all watch with mounting anticipation for the fireworks. Her eyes glow blue and she makes miniscule adjustments. The yellow glowing arrow on steroids sets sail through the air, splits into two, then six spears, and the moment they pierce the backs of the bandits they explode in a raging inferno. The blast is enough to topple the closest wagon and knock down the horses. I felt bad for that, but only those of us with Zoom could see that part clearly. We give her the thumbs up to confirm her hit. We watch Rachel and Serenity ride through to join us, finishing off hostile survivors and picking up loot bags.
El dances with the bow, swiveling it around and getting ready to launch another attack. There's still a thirty five second cooldown and a ten second draw to wait for, so when we see that the northern group is already in motion, she pulls the lever that folds it and stores it, drawing her normal bow and looking at it wistfully. Dawn gives the word for Rachel, Kona, and Sonny to fly up into the air for the next part of her plan.
With half of their team obliterated and their mages exterminated, the northern squad of bandits arrive with a whole lot of revenge on their minds. The level 25 leader is spouting nonsense about the unfairness of the aristocracy and I respond with a clawed finger pointing at him.
"Dibs…"
The rest of my team grumble in agreement and I laugh maniacally. If they weren't unsettled by seeing the bodies around us without so much as a scratch on us, then a black, cackling skull might just do it. I can hear some of them whisper something about the undead and I cut my laughter short, removing my hat with a flourishing bow to a chorus of gasping. My diversion lasts long enough for Dawn to scan everyone and their rainbow bars pop up by their names. I wait a few more seconds before I release a thunderous scream, just in time for our air support to be in range from behind them.
****************************************
The only light comes from the glowing, three story sphere and the dozens of multi colored grids of light that lay on top of it, sometimes intersecting it. A hundred more transparent screens surround it, filled with heiroglyphics and letters in an ancient language. They cycle, change, and some blink out only to be replaced by several more. Figures hovering above the ground move about, checking the screens and cross-referencing the grids at a leisurely pace. They are met with prompts that swarm them like bees, but they answer them with the practiced efficiency of a seasoned maestro.
The figures vary in size, shape, and color so that not a single one repeats in design. One such figure, a silhouette of marbling metallic green and gold with horns like an ox gestures with quick, fast movements of its fingers in the air in front itself. The movements are a cross between a music conductor and a high speed typist. The smooth face devoid of any features, besides color, scans each screen and grid with immeasurable speed. A small screen with red letters pops up that holds the figure's attention longer than the others by a micro second.
Drominius//[They're trying to breed chimera livestock again, Dimitria. What use is a cowchickenpig, besides adding niche items to the marketplace?]
Dimitria//[Oh let them have their fun, Drominius. What harm will it do? Besides, we can make it sterile so it won't breed.]
Her galaxian mass of swirling stars, deep blues, and vibrant purples is mimicking the same posture and actions as the god of field and farm. She nonchalantly flips her cosmic hair, sending out motes of light and sparks of blue and purple mana.
Drominius//[Because we only have a minute chance of predicting the outcome of what those mages are making and we can't directly interfere since it's technically crafting. Besides, chimeras in general are dangerous. And ugly.]
Kole//[Hey! I heard that.]
The god of dungeons and monsters has the most screens as well as the most arms and heads. His matte grey body has three heads and ten, tentacle-like arms tipped with five fingered hands. Only one head speaks and the other two simply observe the screens and sphere.
Dimitria//[Well, Kole, had you not created that thing decades ago we might not have an aversion to them.]
Kole//[It's called a Sphinx, and you're just mad I made it intelligent enough to outsmart most of you.]
Carneus//[Yeah? And when's the last time you saw the blasted thing?]
The god of the kitchen and cooking is a roiling mass of red, orange, and yellow in constant motion. His movements are erratic at times, smooth and graceful at others. A single, blade like horn juts up several feet from his forehead.
Kole//[Oh, I swear if it ends up in one of your kitchens or in a Traveler's recipe I'll never make another new creature again.]
Drominius//[So, am I green lighting this thing or what?]
Dimitria//[Just allow one as a proof, for now. If it goes on a rampage we can always Quest it out.]
Carneus//[Then we can eat it! You all see that little group leaving Kes Solomas and the recipes they came up with? I haven't seen inspiration like that since Pavaros invented the Book of Love in the Hundreds. Seriously, number 288? Can you really do that?]
Pavaros//[Only one way to find out big boy.]
The goddess of love and lust transitions from a hazy pink to a blazing inferno within her curvaceous body. A circle of light that matches her in color with sixteen spheres of dim, white light, rolls slowly behind her like a ferris wheel.
Nyctos//[Speaking of books, has anyone figured out a way to get rid of that Necromancer who has one of my books, doing weird things in my name?]
The god of shadows and night may be dark like Azrael, but where the guide is an inky blackness, Nyctos is a clear night sky. He's the deepest, darkest blue with bands of miniscule stars racing across him like tiger stripes. A thin ring of nothingness above his head casts a shadowy veil over his face as if it is the antithesis of an angel's radiant halo.
Dimitria//[Why haven't you asked Pravdara to simply exile him?]
Nyctos//[Well, because he…]
Pravdara//[Because he hasn't technically broken any of our laws.]
The goddess of law and justice's body is split down the middle black and white, though globules from either side cross over from time to time. They quickly turn grey, then the color of the new field they entered. Her face is grey and a pair of grey wings stretch out to the side.
Nyctos//[Yeah, but he's making me look evil. Every generation, there seems to have some crazy person claiming to be MY prophet, doing MY bidding, and all they do is kill people and parade around with the undead.]
Dimitria//[Wait, I thought Influence of Moonlight, was about raising the dead? Wouldn't that make it your own fault?]
Nyctos//[They always misinterpret the book and you of all people should know that magic is mostly about intention. Otherwise, how else does one cast necrotic magic using shadow Spells?]
Pravdara//[Still, you should have wrote it out clearer. Imagine if Pavaros left room for misinterpretation in her book? Do you know how much damage that could cause? Have you seen page 314?]
Azrael//[Do you know how many people I've had to steer clear of that chapter?]
The conversation happens in the span of a microsecond and the collective gaze of all the gods of The Pantheon is enough to drive the spectral guide to his knee in an unintentional genuflect. Their perception returns to their work, though at least one seems to linger on him as he rights himself and floats up to join them.
Theatri//[Pray tell what news elder escort of man, bring that which we cannot see in our span? Some prose, a tale, verbose I am, and yet… Caution in words about your child, I bet?]
Nyctos//[Hey, Aaaaz.]
Pravdara//[Elder you may be, but you are still ranked as a minor god. Is Theatri correct in her assumption? Does this concern your offspring?]
Azrael spreads whisps of black magic through out the sphere and all but three evaporate.
Azrael//[So few choose to heed my words anymore. Even now, Pravdara, if I were to directly speak to her she might do the opposite just to spite me. I cannot misdirect like some of you choose to do.]
Pravdara//[Are you calling us liars?]
Azrael//[We all do… what we all must do. That is why I chose to remain a minor god and that is why I assist the Travelers as I do.]
His hooded face cocks to the side as a smoky tendril encircles a red lit orb on the sphere, smothering it before evaporating and leaving behind a gold orb.
Azrael//[Funny how it works sometimes, eh? Is that new, Drominius? What are you calling it?]
Dimitria//[He first called it a cowchickenpig, though that might be a misconception. What do you think, elder one?]
Azrael//[I think the people are going to create random creatures, with or without our input. And then, they're going to take them to the battlefield or to the slaughterhouse. Either way, the real question is, "How much time and energy are you willing to invest in that and not something else?"]
Drominius//[Wise words, elder one, and true. We have more important things to attend to. Sorry, Carneus, next time.]
A pulse of grey light envelopes the entire scene and quickly fades. They all look toward the source on the sphere. A single grey orb blinks twice and the red orb nearest it evaporates. A full second passes, an eternity in the Pantheon, before anyone decides to speak.
Dimitria//[Him again, the Traveler the Creator spoke of. Certainly an amusing fellow, isn't he?]
They all nod in unison. It's not uncommon for everyone to agree, especially on topics regarding the Creator. They continue making their rapid finger motions in the air and scanning their fields of screens. Azrael floats behind Dimitria, his presence seemingly ignored. He whispers in a way that only she will be able to hear and understand. But, to be extra sure, he uses the ancient language that most of the gods and goddesses present are too young to have learned. With three words, a very mortal shiver runs up her spine.
"Pahltomahim, Sonasolaria thrasssedort…"
Her actions stutter for a microsecond, long enough for several hundred consequences on Arc. Without looking back, she whips her hair over her shoulder, "What makes you so sure, she isn't yours?"
"This is not a threat, Goddess. And worry not, it shall never be made common knowledge. Just know, that I will be the one to guide her when the time is right. Oh, and please ask him to stop sending her such lavish gifts. It draws far too much attention…"