Chapter One Hundred Fourteen

Joe woke with bleary eyes, exhausted and overwhelmed while vibrating with manic energy and a sense of doom. Anxiety gnawed through his exhaustion and refused to allow him his rest, and he soon gave up trying to return to sleep. He had slept it, by quite a bit it would seem, as the sun was burnishing the horizon with a dim glow. Floundering on the bed for a half an hour got him nothing and the quietness of the villa let him know no one else was awake.

Waking with an empty bed was a relief, and he sat up on it and leaned against the wall, turning his bed into a pseudo sofa. He rested there for a time, his mind shutting off as he stared at the wall on the other side, and it was almost with relief that he laid back down. Sleep! But even as he laid back down, his exhaustion fled him once again and he stared up at the ceiling.

With a sigh, he turned towards his practice. His work with mana and mana points now almost reflex. He worked with both, expressing his mana, then as usual, turned to pushing his personal mana, shoving it out of his system and into the air. He did this for two cycles before pausing, and realizing he was being a bit dumb. Kinda wasting all this mana… so…

He then swapped out jobs and put in his best healing job before asking the system to bring up his ‘practice magic’ display. It had refined a bit, as ideas came into play and he asked for changes. It was now a full three dimensional cube displayed before him with a very intuitive interface where he could simply spin it and move it by grabbing it with a hand. His expected ‘mana paint,’ for the lack of a better term, was placed on the three dimensional canvas in a transparent off white to show where his mana should be going.

Linked with the first display was a second display that showed the completed design. The reason he had a second display was because he’d learned that spray and pray really wasn’t quite the answer. There were nuances Joe still wasn’t able to grasp at all. Somehow, just placing mana on the spot indicated was not exactly right. His efforts were still inadequate compared to what the system could do with the automatic button press in his mind, or soul. He wasn’t certain if there were different mana types, a possibility given the many different magical jobs, or if it was using the mana in some specific or unusual way. Maybe some kind of magnetic or wood like attribute… lay it down in the same grain? Along the same ‘path’ or something? Or even weirder? This is just…

But he couldn’t grasp what he was missing at all, only knowing he was missing something. So, having a completed example at his side linked with his personal efforts was, he hoped, a path to some kind of insight. Spinning one spun both, and allowed him to keep them synchronized. But, for the most part, he’d begun to simply focus on the one. All these changes were the low hanging fruit, ideas that had come to him quickly. He hoped any new ideas would possibly add clarity, but for now, despite these ideas, he still felt much like a monkey with a paint by numbers set struggling to even figure out the system being used to help, let alone actually beginning to create something beautiful. Monkey would do much better than this… downright insulting to the poor guy. Joe huffed and refocused. So tired…

He began to instead express his mana with a purpose, pushing it to create the best healing spell he currently had. He also tried to empty his system mana first, before pushing his personal mana into the spell. The first few efforts were utter failures, but he did learn a lot of interesting things, and by the end of his third try, he found he was able to at least put his ‘mana pointer’ down on the right spot intuitively. So annoying… donno where I’m pointing in the first place! And with that, things seemed to get a lot easier, his mana ‘painting’ the correct region before bouncing to the next one. He went through each section and by the end, was struggling to squeeze out enough mana to actually finish the spell.

Right before it was to engage, he slashed a pretty deep slice on his arm and groaned. No!!! Hold it together! The pain almost gutted his concentration, but he pushed on through and finally engaged the spell. Glad the system is smart enough to wait on HP… lets me practice this… heh. Unfortunately, it seemed like his measly ten or so personal HP didn’t actually take his healing into consideration, and valiantly attacked the wound, healing all of about a percent of the damage. Huh… so that’s still active, even if I still have system HP. Interesting… Joe chuckled to see the efforts, then found his grin falling a bit when his personal HP, obviously having run out, regained something and ticked again, healing once more. Joe’s eyes widened with some awe but then his thoughts calmed before they started zipping down fantasy and superhero ramifications. Amputations… not going to heal… body will heal over before my HP can finish the job… but… if I get enough.

Joe’s eyebrows fluctuated with consternation as he considered the ramifications before he suddenly cursed and turned back to the completed healing spell waiting for his release. He cursed his distraction and felt the healing spell slap down on his arm and do a remarkable job of returning it to health. The wound closed about three quarters of the way, and Joe realized he’d been a bit too ambitious with his wound. He sighed and relaxed, allowing his system HP to take over, and it was healed up. Took a good chunk of the HP, too. That… heal is pretty strong then? Maybe?

Joe began doing exactly that, practicing his heal with his personal mana whenever he saw his system MP beginning to regrow, although it seemed that each rest took longer and longer as he pushed his mana organ. He was able to cast the heal spell four or five times but then found himself too exhausted to continue. It wasn’t his focus or skill, that was more than enough, but it was his personal mana that seemed to be exhausted. Joe found it frustrating, but it did make sense. Spent all my life focused on studying and learning… and practicing my martial arts… not gonna have a problem with mental or physical stamina… but this mana thing…

His core felt like he’d just pushed himself to do a million sit ups, crunches, and hour long planks all at once. But it wasn’t actually his body that was complaining. When he stood or even did a couple sit ups, he found his body reacting with ease. It was something else that was cramping and he felt it deep within. Despite that, only maybe a half hour or hour later, the cramping pain had shifted to the deep burn of recovery that he was used to and he actually found himself smiling. Another thing to grow… ha!

He’d accomplished something similar in simply expressing his mana, but it really wasn’t quite the same. Somehow, he wasn’t able to push quite as far with simply expressing mana. That said, it was rather exhilarating for Joe and he grinned. He turned back to see his system MP back to full and frowned, then shrugged. Still need to figure out how to do this heal anyway, so… Joe turned back to practicing his heal spell, burning through his system mana a good dozen or so times before emptying it out. He never really actually engaged or acted out the spell. Maybe cast? Probably the right word, right? Cast the spell… didn’t cast it… He just had the spell prepped and formed as the system was teaching him before he allowed it all to collapse or destabilize then do it all again, focusing on his skill to actually make the spell.

When his system MP was emptied, he then would pushed to express his personal mana which was never that much as he would almost immediately begin cramping and struggling. It was the tiniest amounts and not something he could create an actual heal with, or any other spell he’d seen. It was too little mana. And he never pushed so far as to cross over into pain, not wishing to cause himself harm.

Once he began feeling twinges of pain, he backed off until full system MP and repeat the whole process. Throughout all this, he spent the time poking his arms in a variety of places to give his personal HP a chance to grow, if that were possible. He quickly fell into a rather simple rhythm, knowing exactly when to poke. He started high up on one forearm before poking down his arm about a centimeter apart in a row before going to the next row and continuing the whole way down till the back of his hands and even onto his fingers before he shifted arms and did it all over again.

That was his plan, at least, but he only made it till about half way down his forearm before he felt his time run out and shifted to focusing on his physical development as well. Equal time… but luckily more time each day, heh… but… yeah… Joe sat up and began going through his katas, exercises, and stretches. Half way through it, he realized that he was still able to do some of his exercises, and further realized it was likely even a good idea. Gonna need to cast that heal spell in the middle of a fight… so should probably!

He began attempting to do the heal while performing his katas or punching holes in his arm while doing his stretches or exercises when hand positioning wasn’t as crucial. He did this until the sun was well above the horizon and finally came to a rest. His forearms felt like they were burning for a bit, and Joe grew concerned, but the burn disappeared within moments and Joe felt more comfortable about the exercise.

With a comfortable burn in his physical body and a deeper much more painful burn within his mana being, Joe took a moment to cool down, walking the room a bit and leaving all mana alone. He paused as he walked, then considered his cool down which still uses his body slightly and decided he might want something similar for his mana burn. Slow relaxed… how do I do that? He returned to his cool down and pondered how he would do a mana cool down before deciding a simply mana expression as slow and relaxed as possible might be a good idea. He marched around the room. Breath in… breath out… breath in… breath out… He’d always used the breathing exercise to calm himself and paused at that. Might work? He began doing the same with his mana, allowing a slow relaxed expulsion of mana before he calmed and halted the expulsion, then return to allowing it out.

He soon began timing it to his own breathing and felt the mana burn settle even faster. Nice… His thoughts quickly drifted as they often did when he was lost in exercising, and his mana and breathing began to coincide. Breath in… breath out… breath in… breath out… His breath came in rather deep, then sighed out with relief and increased relaxation. So, too, did his mana flow outward, then pause in the inhalation, and flow outward in a slow steady beat that brought comfort and relieved his being.

After another couple minutes of this, Joe smiled and headed out to the common area to take a more comfortable seat than was in the suite. Nice… makes it easy… just kinda combine that… breath with my mana and that should help a lot! Time to look at my gains… I guess.

There weren’t many from yesterday, or he should say, there were a lot yesterday, as he’d gained a lot from the dungeon, but he’d already explored them carefully while in the dungeon. Since the last floor, there had really been no change except with what had happened with Zilnek when he’d met him once more. He popped up his available jobs and searched it, but really found nothing else new. Justicar of Mercy showed up under the priest line of jobs, down at the bottom as a loose singular job. He wasn’t sure what to think of it and he had no other data but the name, never having actually leveled it. As for the ‘holy’ line of priest jobs, he didn’t notice anything new at all. He frowned then his eyes widened with some surprise. Wait? He narrowed his eyes and pondered. Is it new?

The color for the priest line of jobs was a bit odd, and he’d never really thought much of it. But something had changed and when he went back over his memories, he realized that the list of priestly jobs had been rather monotone in color. There had been a change recently, but Joe hadn’t thought much of it until today when he now saw the list of the priestly jobs highlighted in gold and concluded in a dark grey. Was the grey always there? I don’t… really remember…

His eyebrows knitted a bit but he couldn’t quite remember, but what he was absolutely certain of was the brilliant gold that now highlighted the beginning of each priestly job section. He stared at it for a bit, then looked back over the dialog box which offered him a new line of jobs. He chewed his lips in thought. Holy line of priesthood… just more jobs, but… He sighed and turned from his thoughts on to other things. Don’t wanna deal with this right now, but… ooh… I’ll need to do two jobs for this… again… cause if this is anything like the regular priest jobs… gonna have to get the priest line up till it’s like… monk? Or something? Then I’ll be able to change jobs again… well… that sucks… although… could burn through the jobs fast… but, no time today… time to move!

Joe dismissed the job and in that dismissal found himself considering his next job. He only really had one slot. Still gotta keep the job change skill… so gotta keep one priest job… still. Got main job change up above one, but the other three jobs are sub jobs… and I don’t have the ‘char:’ or time or… job slots. Can’t lose transporter… not sure how dropping the job will affect my inventory space… really gotta test that. I can do that at the village. Lots more time there. And I can’t drop theorist… unless I can…

Joe stared at his job choices, lost in thought, finger hovering over his status.

* * *

Gwenvair woke with a sigh, then a grumble. Where is he? She looked around and lounged back in her bed. The early rising that Joe and his apprentices had adhered to was something she found to be unpleasant, bordering on abusive. She took the pleasure to lounge in the bed a bit longer before forcing herself to rise. Today would be a very busy day, and timing would be crucial. And we need the shower… don’t want to arouse suspicions too quickly…

Worry ate at her thoughts, anxiety rising as while she understood Joe’s plan, she wondered at how he could protect them. Gwenvair took a deep breath and pushed aside such fears and turned to her day. She didn’t bother to dress much, already planning to bathe in preparation for the day.

She exited the room and came into the common area and found Joe sitting, frozen. Nothing shone before him, but obviously he was considering his status. Why he’d hidden it, she was uncertain, but she stayed by his side and waited with consideration. A bell passed and she grew concerned. It wasn’t so much how he sat as the fact that he remained unmoving and frozen. If she couldn’t see his chest move or feel the air escaping his mouth and nose, she would have taken him for a painted statue for how still he was. It was unnatural, and concerning. Can base do this? Or is this a form of meditation? His eyes were closed, which was interesting but looked more like he was simply caught in mid blink. The oddity came from the fact that his hand was raised and finger pointed, as if ready to press an acceptance from the system or some such, and it remained frozen exactly like that. There was no tremble in the arm nor any soft movement at all, except for the soft breathing.

* * *

Gunlan, Patriarch of the Galgandar clan and thus leader of the city of Coushar roused too early in the morning with some anger. A light had begun to glow in his eyes and he did not know when it began, but it must have been some time ago to disrupt his rest. He knew what it was and attempted to ignore it or dismiss it in some way, but it was insistent.

Gunlan rolled over and cursed, “That fool eccentric! Why must he be so insistent… so often!”

Gunlan roused enough to look at the dialog box and carefully made sure to deny the request. He did not know what it was, but there was only ever a single kind of system request that came from a slave, and it was always to be denied. He’d enjoyed the eccentric’s despair at first, but he’d come to deeply hate the man’s insistence. Asking again and again… daily… even several times a day for weeks! My sleep is being interrupted by the petty fool! Now, he was rather certain the eccentric only asked out of spite, the request coming at all times of the day and night. When I find the man again, when he is under my thumb once more, he will find me no forgiving master! He must be put in his place, and firmly! Growling, he turned away and snuggled back into the bed, chasing after his sleep.

He did not know the request specifics nor could he ever read the system message, but if he had the capabilities of the eccentric, he would have found the squirming letters of the system to be quiet decipherable; easily understood and comprehended. Sadly, however, he could not understand what the system attempted to reveal. The blue box faded away quickly but his sleep did not return.

Your slave, Joe McConnell, seeks to engage in an activity or path to power that will lead to death. Do you allow your slave to engage in this fatal activity?

* * *

Another bell passed, and Gwenvair began to pace. A third bell passed; half a Great Bell, and worry for today faded under a rising panic she was feeling for Joe. Finally, he seemed to blink even as his finger stabbed forward. His hand dropped to his lap, then he blinked a few more times before really seeming to come aware. When he did so, he jumped in some shock.

“Woah! Why did you surprise me?”

Gwenvair knit her eyebrows in concern, “I have been here quite some time; almost half a Great Bell, if I were to guess.”

“Half a Great Bell?”

Gwenvair watched as Joe got lost in thought once again, almost freezing into stone and her worry grew ever more and she leaned forward and caught his attention, concern etched deeply upon her face.

“Are you… you certain that you are well?”

Joe came to then noticed her closeness and sat back a bit before laughing softly, “Yes. I am doing quite well. There is no need for concern.”

“Are you quite certain? You seemed to be…”

“Gwenvair! Please … cease from…” Joe sighed deeply as he shook his head, his anger receding before continuing, “I apologize. That was quite rude for my angry rebuttal. I apologize, but I am doing quite well.”

Gwenvair stared at him carefully, considering her response as she Heard cautiously and felt the swirling confusion and anger twisting through him covering a barely concealed deep rage. She struggled to keep the worry from her face and simply smiled brightly. At least I can encourage him…

* * *

You wish to change your job to 1|\|$@n1t`/ but must request approval. Seeking approval from your master… … … … … … … … … … Request Denied.

Joe didn’t see anything or notice anything. Somehow, he felt a bit stiff, as if he’d been sitting awhile and he moaned. Getting old? Been feeling that a lot lately, man. Joe complained to himself as he rotated a shoulder. Was that a blue box just now? Or … was that someth… Nah… I think it was probably…

Joe blinked in shock and jumped back in surprise, “Woah! Where did you come from?”

Gwenvair knit her eyebrows in concern, “I was here this whole time. It’s been almost half an hour, about.”

Joe frowned, his eyebrows knitting in shock, “Half an hour?” Joe muttered to himself softly, thinking deeply back on just what happened and considering. Wasn’t there a blue box… there was, right? Is there something… I’m… It… mayb… I… what? Confusion slowly seeped into his thoughts as he struggled to remember. There… wasn’t anything… it’s just… meditation… should have let me meditate carefully… interrupting what I was…

“You sure you’re OK?”

Joe blinked. What?

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“Really? That didn’t look…”

“Gwenvair! Really… I’m fine!” Joe sighed deeply as he shook his head, his anger receding before continuing, “Sorry… I shouldn’t be so snappy. I’m sorry. I’m good.”

Joe grinned up at her, attempting to reassure her even as he quelled the irritation and calmed himself. Relax, man. She’s just looking out for you. That helped a bit and he felt equilibrium return and his smile quickly grew genuine. Gwenvair suddenly smiled at that, a bright look and Joe felt a rush of relief.

“Thanks, Gwenvair. Sorry… just a little stressed right now.”

Gwenvair’s smile shifted from brilliance to softness and a hand reached out, resting on his cheek. As soon as her hand touched his cheek, he sighed and closed his eyes. His mind calmed and his heart steading, finding a peace that was soothing. He found himself craving that peace a little more every day.

“You are doing very well.”

Joe huffed, “Doing well only increases the stress!”

Gewnvair smile turned into a grin as she snarked, “Then know the stress is a sign of how well you do!”

“Thanks. You concern is truly so touching,” Joe moaned before chuckling softly, Gwenvair joining him.

* * *

Thamnerlun Metalgrapple settled his feet in his boots with a few giant stomps before standing and stomping across the room to his brother. Never wakes nor is serious with his efforts. Sleep and wine; always sleep and wine. His inner monologue was frustrated and just a bit whiny but his face remained impassive as he came to his brother’s bed and slammed and arm down on his brother’s chest, hard.

“Up!” he growled before turning away.

His brother snapped up from the bed like he’d been gut punched before staring around the room wildly in fear. After a few moments, he realized what was happening and his fear was replaced by relief as he slapped back down on the bed. That fear quickly shifted to bitter annoyance.

“Again? Is that the only way to wake your dear brother? You think my so little and small you can do this to me? Am I not grown now? Why do you do such things to me?”

His brother began rambling as soon as he realized where he was and fell back to his bed. As soon as he heard the thump of his brother falling onto the bed once again, Thamnerlun didn’t even way, simply spun around and marched right back to his brother, raising an arm high in the sky as he approached.

His brother’s complaints continued but then abruptly changed in tone, “How long will it take for you to learn I am now an adult, not some child?! I am a gro… I’m up! I’m up!”

His brother leapt to his feet and faced his brother as Thamnerlun slowed to a stop in front of him, his arm also slowly dropping to his side. Thamnerlun stared at him for a bit while his brother quickly began doing some exercises and stretches while looking at his brother wide eyed.

“See!? I’m awake and ready for the day. Out of bed and prepared! No more bed for me! All woken and ready!”

Thamnerlun stared at him for a moment before turning away with a grunt, “Good.”

Behind him, his brother’s good natured cheer quickly shifted to grumbling and moaning when he collapsed to his bed, the sound of his massive torso thumping on the bed quite loudly. Thamnerlun paused and began to swing around once more but his brother immediately called out with a sigh of frustration tinged with annoyance.

“I just sat on the bed. I must change my shoes, or do you expect me to dance like a friggin’ fairy while I put my shoes on? How do you... I’m sorry! I’m sorry! My apologies, dear brother.”

Thamnerlun had halted his spin then immediately continued it as his brother grew a bit uppity in his rudeness and he began marching back to his brother with a disappointed look on his face. His brother quickly apologized and Thamnerlun slowed. Hmm… Is this a true apology for his actions or does he seek to simply escape consequences and placate me. Hmm… I shall assume honesty in this moment, however, rude behavior still must carry some form of weight or consequence.

“You carry.”

“Awww… brother! Please. There is no nee…”

“No.”

His brother continued to carry on in the background, grumbling and moaning even as he replied with firm and regular negatives to every request, cajole, or complaint. He cared not as he felt there was so much to do. He marched across and knocked on the door to his daughter’s room softly before calling out just as softly.

“See! You do know how to be soft and peaceful! How can you not do the same for…”

Thamnerlun immediately froze and turned to look at his brother with deadpan eyes. His brother’s complaint trailed off and only a moment later, his daughter called out to him.

“I’m up, dad. I’ll be ready shortly.”

Thamnerlun’s face turned even blanker before he raised a single hand and gestured towards his daughter’s room at her reply. See? All others rise and prepare with a single simple soft gesture. You need so much more for your addled mind you drunk fool! No words were said, but it was more than enough to silence his brother, and Thamnerlun turned away to prepare for their morning, immensely grateful for his daughter. Many thanks, child, for refusing your fool uncle’s influence!

Thamnerlun marched back across the room and used the time to wash his face in the basin provided before turning back to sit on his bed and await the others. His daughter, as was normal, proved quick in her response and came from her room well prepared for the day. His brother was still struggling to prepare and Thamnerlun simply cleared his throat before looking at his daughter once he caught his brother’s attention. His daughter blushed red and his brother grimaced with a hint of anger.

“Yeah, yeah. You nag worse than mother!”

Thamnerlun’s good natured gaze quickly fell and he stood to march across the room with heavy stumps. His brother immediately noticed and pulled up a knee and his arms before him in protective concern.

“Brother! Brother! I’m sorry. I had no intention of …” his words trailed off as he quickly turned to protecting himself.

Thamnerlun offered a couple meaty punches to an arm and a leg, leaving his brother wincing and moaning at the strikes, “You are too cruel, brother. How can you…”

“No! Mother,” Thamnerlun shut off his brother with a harsh reprimand and his brother fell quiet and then nodded.

“I’m sorry, brother. You are right.”

Thamnerlun grunted once and then returned to sit on the bed next to his daughter. The two waited patiently for him and Thamnerlun’s brother quickly prepared, ready for the day. Thamnerlun stifled a small smile and relaxed, his brother now rapidly preparing for the day.

It was only a few moments later that they were out in the early morning cool air, the sun just peaking up over the city walls, marching towards clanner grounds.

“Brother. I hope we will not stay much longer in this quaint village, much as it has been fascinating.”

Thamnerlun grunted in agreement, “Last chance.”

“That is wonderful news, brother. Amazing. We shall continue our search far an…”

Thamnerlun tuned out his brother’s words and marched upon the clanner grounds

* * *

Gunlan lay in his bed, growling in frustration over his inability to fall back to sleep. His mind drifted and thoughts seemed to fade, but he never found his sleep again until a soft knock came at his door and Gunlan woke with frustrated anger, shouting out.

“What!”

“Apologies, my lord, but the dwarven smith has returned.”

Gunlan rolled, sought sleep then considered his chances at gaining sleep before turning back to considering the dwarf and what benefits he might extract, then grimaced.

“Do we have news to share with the runt?”

The servant outside called out, “I will seek such out, Patriarch.”

“Do not return or bother me if we do not have news to offer.”

“Yes, Patriarch.”

Gunlan returned to his bed, burying himself in the sheets but was unable to find any escape. Finally, he even began to hope that the servant would return and turned his thoughts towards how he could gain a dwarven metal smith for the clan, even if only for a few years. His dreams were interrupted by another knock on the door.

“What?!”

“Apologies, my lord. We do have news to share with the dwarven smith who awaits your pleasure.”

“Fool! Why would you wake me! Tell the dwarven smith I will arrive. Have the servant who found the news meet me to explain!”

Gunlan struggled from the bed with complaints and groans before he finally stood before his closets of clothing and awaited. His maids arrived a few moments later and he made sure to have them punished for their tardiness. They dressed him quickly enough and he put them out of his mind as he stepped out of his room.

The man assigned to explore the dwarf’s request awaited him and quickly explained all the details necessary. It wasn’t a long tale, but Gunlan took some time with his advisors and the researcher to prepare for the dwarf. Gunlan was quite pleased by the end.

* * *

At the guard station for the Dungeon Guardians surrounding and protecting the advanced dungeon within the city of Coushar, one guard who happened to be incredibly fascinated by dungeons stepped into the advanced dungeon in the early morning. He had no real job or purpose at the Guardians beyond protecting against dungeon breaks but fancied himself a scholar of dungeons. To that effort, he’d put great wealth and work towards monitoring the dungeon and purchased, quite ruinously at his own expense, a memory crystal that he could record his thoughts about the dungeon. He couldn’t afford too much more than a single one per year, so condensed his thoughts on the dungeon to once per week report. It was frustrating to forget or lose pieces of information, but it was the best he could do. Even so, he had dozens of memory crystals at home, housing information about all three dungeons in Coushar, and it was fascinating to him.

He slipped into the advanced dungeon, excited. The last few days had shown an odd fluctuation within the dungeon that he couldn’t quite piece together. It was the first true difference he’d felt and noticed within the advanced dungeon over the course of the five years he’d wanted to document it carefully. He’d never been able to convince others of what he was sensing, most others calling him strange for his hobbies and unbelievable for his claims, but he knew something was happening within the advanced dungeon. He couldn’t understand how he knew or how he ‘felt’ it, but he knew.

His excited jitters faded to nothing when he entered the dungeon’s bounds today. A sense of looseness and wildness fluctuated through the dungeon, and he shivered. Much greater than before! Something… A small waver rippled across one wall of the dungeon and he quickly narrowed his eyes in shock. What is that?!

He quickly stepped outside and spoke with his fellow guard, “Something strange is happening to the dungeon!”

His colleague rolled his eyes, “Something strange is always happening to the dungeon!”

“No! You need to understand! Something really…”

His colleague sighed deeply, “Enough! I don’t have time for this… nor the thoughts! My head still hurts from last night. Enough, please. Let us pass this day in peace… and silence… please!”

The dungeon scholar, as he labeled himself, danced in frustration, stepped back into the dungeon and immediately and easily felt the wild looseness and stepped back out, “But…”

“No! No… not today. I will not hear it.”

The scholar stared at him then sprinted off. I have to tell the captain!

The other guard stared agog as he ran away. Worry etched his face and he looked around before stepping inside as well. He glanced around with a frown but found nothing wrong. Everything seemed well.

The guard sighed and stepped back out, both relieved that his captain would be punishing a different person than him and grateful that it might likely mean a new partner for today. He didn’t have to wait long when the captain came back, storming with deep frustration.

“This better be something real and not another …”

“Captain! Captain! I promise. You can see very easily…”

The two stepped into the dungeon and sound cut off. The guard outside grew concerned when the captain did not immediately return but calmed when he saw the captain coming out even angrier than when he went in.

“…ired of your ridiculous claims and jumping at every single new ‘strange’ thing that you ‘claim’ is happening in the dungeon. I don’t have time…”

“But… But… But…” the dungeon scholar desperately interjected as he trailed after the captain.

The captain froze and turned to face his subordinate, one finger raised. The guard standing straight and looking straight ahead right at the side of the entrance to the advanced dungeon sighed with relief and glorious schadenfreude, and just watched.

* * *

Gwenvair had fallen silent beside Joe, turning to her own exercises just as he returned to his own exercises. It was a companionable silence that was soon increased as Xylarnae came out to join them shortly, followed by Kalia a moment later. She did not come out silent, complaining bitterly.

“So cold… so tired,” she softly and quite bitterly stated.

Joe didn’t allow the conversation to derail him, stuck in the middle of another effort to recreate the heal spell with his own efforts, so simply focused on his healing spell but did catch a bit of the conversation.

Xylarnae seemed sympathetic, “It is… unpleasant.”

Kalia shivered, “Mortality …” she said nothing and trailed off, bitterness swelling ever more even as a few tears fell from her cheeks.

Xylarnae reached forward and wrapped her in a hug, “It is not easy, but we have a hope.”

Kalia pulled back and stared at Xylarnae, “Do we?”

Xylarnae’s response was a brilliant smile and a simple, single nod. Kalia stared at Xylarnae for a time before she struggled to shift to a smile, albeit a quite bitter one. Gwenvair watched on, but said nothing and Joe really did not understand much of what he was hearing as he didn’t really catch most of it, all of his concentration still deeply focused upon his heal casting efforts.

After finishing up his last heal spell, he turned to the others, “Everything OK?”

Xylarnae turned back and nodded, “Just… struggling with being here.”

Joe tried to show compassionate understanding but really struggled to understand as he had no comparison, this planet and lifestyle seeming rather similar to Earth. But… moving to a new place and culture… a new people… not easy.

“It's Not easy. I’m sorry.”

Kalia smiled feebly at that but not, “I am thankful for your concern.”

Joe’s grin remained but silence fell a bit awkwardly as he had little else to say but he nodded, “Well, we can do our best though.”

Gwenvair jumped in quickly with that, “Certainly. We can forge a path for the future," and then finished with a certainty that made Joe wondered at its source.

Gwenvair didn’t allow him a chance to wonder long as she immediately turned towards him, “Then, what of the future.”

Joe blinked, eyebrows dancing with confusion, “What do you mean?”

“What is the plan when we leave?”

Joe huffed, “Survive… then thrive, but not really important right now. We just need to get out, then we can figure things out.”

“But we leave today.”

“Yup, but we have some things ready for after we get out. We can discuss most on the road. We’re going to have a lot of time.”

Gwenvair began nodding at that, “The village will support us?”

Joe sighed, shaking his head slightly, “It won’t be easy. We’ll need to set up homes for everyone and build more farms at the same time. Definitely will be easier with higher leveled people, so we’re going to need to run lots of people through the dungeons and level them up.”

Gwenvair leaned forward with some surprise, “There is a dungeon there?”

Joe blinked, then shook his head with a laugh, “No. There is not. But…”

Joe fished into his inventory and pulled out the beginner dungeon core and setting it on the table before bringing out the intermediate and the Galgandar clan personal dungeon, setting the three on the table before them, “We got our own… now.”

Gwenvair’s eyes widened in shock, wonder coming to her, “You have three dungeons?!”

Joe laughed, “Four. But I can’t let the advanced out. It is…” Joe’s laughter fell and his jaw clenched as his eyes closed.

Gwenvair reached a hand out and rested it on his arm. Calm flowed into him and he took a deep breath, feeling at peace. Joe glanced up at that and smiled.

“Thanks.”

Gwenvair smiled, “We have many options with this, now. How large is the village?”

Joe frowned, lost in thought before replying, laying out the basic street and the number of homes he could recall before Gwenvair nodded with a frown, “Then… three dungeons… four would be difficult. News of a small village with three dungeons will spread far.”

Joe nodded at that, understanding coming to him and he slipped two cores into his inventory, then considered again with worry. The beginner… lots of people are going to know that… maybe some will know the intermediate, too... too hard and not to useful either… the clan one, though… I couldn’t waste too much time on it to save its current size and shape… will it change? Or…

“Hey. How do dungeons form? And what happens if you take a dungeon down and move it to another place? Does it stay the same? Or…”

Kalia narrowed her eyes at Joe, “Dungeons… can be moved, but I know little of such. Few would chance moving a dungeon.”

Joe frowned, “Why?”

“There are dangers… losses. One can even loose the dungeon core as it dissolves.”

Joe frowned and looked at Kalia, “How so?”

She sighed and shook her head, “Dungeons seem to deteriorate as you move them. If you move them too quickly and regularly, they grow weaker and less. Always, they will change. It is the nature of dungeons to do so.”

Joe pondered that, then wondered. Unless they didn’t pump them with enough mana? Or move them fast enough? Something? Wonder… Joe looked down at the cores before him and grew concerned before pulling out the piping hot food he’d purchased, wishing to check it once more. It came out just as hot as he thought, but was unable to truly verify that there was no temperature change. He quickly put it away and fell into thought. At least, with temperature, there is no change. How do I test for time? Even if I put in an hourglass… that won’t work, ‘cause it might not be frozen time but a lack of gravity. I’m not really going to know until I’ve pulled out a dungeon core and check its mana levels, I guess. That would be a good way to check. But… He sighed and turned back to his questions.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Do the monsters change?”

“They can.”

Joe considered and flipped back out his a core and took back the beginner core. Much less likely that the clanner dungeon is going to be recognized except by the clanners… and if the dungeon changes… that might… Joe ground his teeth and found himself uncertain and finally turned to Gwenvair.

“Gwenvair. Which dungeon would be safer to use, the beginner or the clan’s?”

Gwenvair’s eyebrows rose sharply through her bangs, “Which? Uh… I think the beginner’s would be safer for people. They are less likely to die within it.”

Joe almost swapped it out, hearing what she said but then hear her last comment before it hit, “Ah! No. I didn’t mean safer for people to be in the dungeon, but for … I asked the wrong question. I’m sorry. Which dungeon would be less likely to be recognized by the people going to the village?”

Gwenvair’s confusion rose, “I would think the clan dungeon?”

“So, even your clan members didn’t really use your clan dungeon?”

Gwenvair frowned, “Only those highly trained or to be used for the martial missions… maybe infiltration. They would use the clan dungeon.”

Joe nodded thoughtfully, “So, if it changed slightly, most would likely not recognize it.”

“Changed slightly? Possibly? But, I don’t understand what you are talking about? What matter is it for we will not be here.”

Joe stared at Gwenvair for a moment before his eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. She didn’t know? Really? That… He pulled out each core except the advanced dungeon core and laid them on the table before them. As he did so, he named each one.

“This is the beginner’s dungeon core. Here is the intermediate. This one is your clan’s dungeon core. And the advanced one I have in my inventory. Can’t take that one out right now, but…”

Gwenvair’s earlier awe turned to horror as she looked at them and she looked back up at Joe, “The clan dungeon?”

Joe nodded, his face stolid and firm. He said nothing.

“This… will crush the clan.”

“It probably will,” Joe replied with a feral grin.

Gwenvair took a deep breath then recognition hit and she looked up with consideration, “That’s why you told me to tell the others to leave.”

Joe’s anger softened and he sighed, “Yes. It will help your family in their new place.”

Gwenvair stared at him with consternation, grateful for his attempt to look out for his new family but also obviously struggling to feel about how he’d just stolen from her clan. She stared at him for a bit before her face firmed and she nodded.

“This is… a better start than any I could hope for.”

Joe nodded, “It will offer a source of wealth, but it is… limited.”

She smiled, “But four is too much.”

“Three.”

“Even three.”

Joe nodded, “I thought as much, but… you can take the three I have and just use them wh…”

Gwenvair quickly shook her head, “I do not think we have a place where we could support three dungeons. Even one will be a struggle.”

Joe shook his head, “No. You will need to make sure that everyone in the village goes into the dungeon and grows. When they go in, everyone should change their job to commoner. If they are already have several jobs open and available to them, choose those jobs first and level all their jobs to five. Then level them to ten, then fifteen, and finally twenty. That means leveling commoner as well, if they have it. Make sure everyone levels their jobs and level them in sets of five. Don’t waste time on leveling their main job, not until you have leveled twenty or thirty other jobs, or until you’ve leveled a lot of the scholar jobs, especially all the theorist jobs. Here… let me show you.”

Joe opened up his available jobs list and began going over it. Stephliquen came in at that time, mumbling in exhaustion before collapsing on another chair. Joe greeted her before continuing and while she was exhausted, Stephliquen quickly became interested and listened in, asking several questions which then required Joe to swap between the two languages, explaining certain things. Stephliquen proved quite intuitive, and was able to guess a lot of what he was saying so he was able to explain mostly in common with only a couple sidebars into Stephliquen’s language to explain.

“These theorist jobs will give the most learning, and help with gaining massive amounts of experience and leveling your jobs. The best way, really, is to just always swap to another job that is unleveled and then grow it as much as you can in a day. Start doing this when you can level a job up to about level twenty in one day. And… well, cause you guys are a bit worried about it, just have the people change their jobs to go into the dungeon, then they can change back to their … uh… well, go back to the job they are comfortable with.

“You want to just basically do this… every day, I guess? If you can do something like what we did, only level in the morning then have the afternoon to do your other stuff. Make sure you have all the people do that but… hmm… Well, you’ll have to get a team first, I guess. You’ll want… uh… here,” Joe paused and pointed at the education line specifically at the set of three teacher jobs, “these jobs, they are tea…”

Gwenvair interrupted him and leaned forward, eyebrows knit in concentration, “Teeee… teeechar… Teechar? Teacher! Ha! Teacher, right?”

Joe grinned, chuckling as he nodded, “Yup. Can you get the next two?”

Gwenvair bent over and began wrestling with the other two, both a lot less obvious and slightly more difficult to read but quickly understood it. She began cheering when she finished and they took a moment to celebrate the win, although Joe and Stephliquen looked over at each other with shared humor. They didn’t let their slightly sardonic grin dampen the mood and simply allowed Gwenvair her win.

For the next hour or so, all four discussed the future a bit, finding escape in it but the majority of it was Joe and Gwenvair speaking, although Kalia jumped in for issues of governance. Joe listened politely but grew ever more disinclined to consider her recommendations as they, for the most part, consisted of crushing opposition under overwhelming power and ‘teaching people’ their place. He attempted to take the examples she offered as opportunities to understand the cultures or peoples, but also wondered just if there were any form of egalitarian societies out there within the galactic gas giant magical community.

After most of what he thought might be necessary, Gwenvair began to question him on the surroundings of the village and Joe confessed to knowing very little, describing it as best he could although he did bring up the slimes. That diverted into slime hunting, best practices, and how Joe fought them, even bringing out Garnedell’s spear and laying it on the table. They spent a bit of time on it, but Joe began to shy away from the conversation as his thoughts turned to Garnedell and he finally shut down a bit until the topics shifted to other things and Joe gladly escaped into them.

Food, training, public works, and a half dozen other things were covered and while Joe offered his half baked ideas and heard their traditional ones, most of it was pie in the sky thinking that Joe felt was more like theory crafting than any serious planning, settling back into the exercise with some joy. Man… kinda miss this… stupid rants on the internet with my friends hanging out.

In the end, Joe handed the Coushar clan dungeon over to Gwenvair but kept the other three as she refused to take them. Joe sighed in reminiscence and the conversation came to a natural end. Guess its time to start the day.

* * *

Gwenvair quickly ended the conversation when she noticed that Joe was growing tired, quieting and leading the others to end things so he could rest as well. Joe nodded to the others and stood.

“Well… I’m going to take a bath then get this show on the road. We need to start heading out pretty quick,” he said, glancing out the window.

Gwenvair nodded, noticing the burnished red on the horizon and agreed. Time was of less concern when a large party was leaving, so it wasn’t quite so important to travel quickly. Still, traveling with the daylight was superior to struggling through the night and she watched him stand. He glanced at Garnedell’s spear but refused to take it and Gwenvair stifled a sigh, concerned for him. Joe turned and walked out the room, heading to the baths. She turned to look at the others and then grinned.

“A nice hot bath?”

All the others grinned with glee and nodded, Stephliquen following after agreeably but obviously uncomprehendingly. Still, her eyes lit up with joy when she saw the hot steam and large bathing tubs available to them. Stephliquen looked towards the others and saw them all removing their clothing with the help of a maid each. Stephliquen looked over and saw a maid awaiting for her, and Gwenvair didn’t even need to direct her, the statuesque blonde quickly walking to the maid and preparing for the bath. With all others well taken care of, Gwenvair found she was able to settle into relaxing with relief, all others cared for.

Gwenvair led the women into the bath, ignoring Kalia’s attitude and focusing on Xylarnae’s pure joy at being able to enjoy a nice hot bath. Stephliquen just reveled in her happiness at the steaming buckets of water, sighing with a deep passion when she sunk into the tub of hot water. Gwenvair smiled to see her happy, but then pretty much dismissed her as she would be unable to have any form of communication with her. She relaxed back into the tub, and simply soaked, all the other women joining her for quite some time until the water almost grew too tepid. She looked at the others and saw their bliss so she called for another round of hot water. When the water came in, the others roused, offering their thanks and grateful for more hot water. Seeing their awareness, Gwenvair turned to the others and engaged them in conversation, looking at Xylarnae and Kalia.

“Have you met anyone who’s never known common?”

Xylarnae and Kalia took a bit of time to reply, this time from carefully considered response than from their low intelligence, but Gwenvair was quite used to the waiting and simply enjoyed the water, swishing her hands through it. Bathing was always fun in base form, but she struggled to find any joy in her ulvan form, wet fur rather disgusting to feel against her skin, especially after getting out. She figured it might be nice if she could have her fur immediately dried, but she had rather thick luxurious fur, like all ulvan did in their ulvan form, and scrubbing that dry would be a nightmare.

She sighed and simply enjoyed her bathing until the others responded.

“No. I have never met someone who could not speak common.”

“Huh. Is that strange?” Gwenvair asked, awaiting them.

“No particularly? I do not think? But it is certainly… very unusual. Many of the mortals of the various … their ability to speak is quite limited, but… even they speak common.”

Kalia trailed off and looked to Xylarnae. Xylarnae shrugged.

“I do not believe I am as well traveled as Kalia, but all I have met have spoken common.”

“Have you heard another language?”

Both frowned, shaking their heads. Gwenvair frowned at that as well, her mouth twisting. Two new foreign languages… in less than a small cycle. How… strange…

She turned to look at Stephliquen, considering, then quickly turned her head away, realizing she was staring.

“So… other languages are… unusual?”

“Possibly, maybe… yeah?”

Gwenvair fell silent for a time as she considered that. She knew that whole of Aelthron’s cradle only spoke common and no other language. She was quite certain not others spoke any language but common, but it was rather interesting. She remained lost in her musings until she was interrupted.

“Then, the eccentric. He is… interesting,” Kalia noted.

Gwenvair laughed and shook her head, “He is… incredibly strange. I cannot fathom the plane he is from or the people who have raised him. His clan have… incredibly strange ideas.”

Kalia frowned, “So I am not the only one?”

“Already?” Gwenvair chuckled softly, “Wait until he speaks of deeper things.”

Kalia raised an eyebrow, “Such as?”

Gwenvair frowned, thoughtful, “I believe the strangest thing I have heard is that his clan educates all people, for decades. All children are expected to be educated until they are prepared as adults. This is over a decade. After, they may choose to go on to further, even another twelve years for some of the more extensive options.”

Kalia’s eyebrows rose, and continued to do so as Gwenvair spoke, climbing higher and higher. Xylarnae, however, simply grinned, and grew ever happier.

“An educated man, then,” Xylarnae asked.

“My mother spoke quite… highly of him and his knowledge.”

“Your mother?”

Gwenvair nodded, “She is… was,” then paused, growing sad before continuing, “she was the clan Matriarch.”

“Ah… I’m sorry,” Xylarnae responded.

Kalia proved less polite, “He impressed a clan Matriarch with his knowledge?”

Gwenvair felt her heart torn, two emotions pulling simultaneously at her; pride for her husband and sad despair for her mother. She nodded and continued, in an odd juxtaposition of happy pride and despairing worry.

“Yes, he did.”

Kalia turned thoughtful at that and dropped out of the conversation. Xylarnae continued, asking questions.

“How long have you known him?”

Gwenvair answered easily enough, soon enjoying the conversation and Xylarnae proved an enjoyable conversation partner, interested in her and asking frequent questions about both Joe and herself. Nothing asked was too deep, stretching into impropriety over their privacy, but it was still enough that Gwenvair could speak freely on her many thoughts. She soon found herself back to a happy relaxation, thoughts of her mom now relegated to future issues and placed with trust into Joe’s hands.

Their conversation continued, Kalia soon returning to it, but mostly listening with a quick question every once and awhile. Stephliquen ignored it all, seeming to find the water novel and simply basking in the deep warmth of it. They all passed their time, enjoying the day and soon came to the end of their time there, all seeming reluctant to head out. Gwenvair, however, sighed and called for a runner to pass on a message to Joe to let them know they were soon leaving. Joe was always rather kind, allowing them all the time they needed in the baths, usually awaiting them patiently out in the entry way having already completed his. Kilnaira always appreciated that about Joe and was quite effusive in her praise for him of it.

She settled back into the warmth for one last moment, just another half a bell, then began to stir, preparing to rise from the water. As she did so, Xylarnae called out to her, obviously uncertainly nervous but quite determined.

“Gwenvair, if I may?”

Gwenvair settled back into the water, facing her, “Yes, Xylarnae?”

“Are you seeking companions?”

Gwenvair’s grin grew, “We are quite young and new and… would likely seek similarly.”

“You are young?”

“Very much so.”

“And the eccentric.”

Gwenvair’s smile grew, “He is younger than me.”

Xylarnae started while Kalia seemed surprised and quickly interjected, “How old… how old are you?”

Gwenvair’s smile grew savage, “I am only twenty one cycles.”

Xylarnae grinned, “Twenty?”

“Less than twenty.”

Xylarnae’s grin grew in excitement, “Less than twenty and an eccentric?

Kalia’s surprise morphed to one where she was impressed, “He is younger than twenty?”

Gwenvair nodded with pride, “Yes, he is.”

The two fell silent while Gwenvair basked in her pride. Xylarnae finally looked up with determination.

“May I request admittance.”

Gwenvair’s smile turned serious, “I must Hear first, at a later time, however.”

“I will await your Hearing. I understand what is needed.”

Gwenvair bowed her head in thanks, “I am grateful. It will likely take time. I will seek a personal Hearing first.”

“I am grateful.”

Kalia looked at Xylarnae with a slight mocking smile, “I would not choose so easily or quickly, Xylarnae. It may be wise to wait. Tying yourself to an eccentric you hardly know is not… hmm… of course, your Fate does offer insights others lack, but… still…”

Xylarnae looked at Kalia but was not finding humor in the statement at all, “If you knew as I knew, you would not wait at all.”

Kalia’s smirk fell slowly from her face as she stared at Xylarnae, growing more and more serious and concerned.

* * *

Joe walked into his bath before coming to a halt, a bit disconcerted. In the corner, a young woman bowed her head and waited upon him, obviously there to help him. Not… comfortable with this! Why… the bath house has guys for us guys, why? Joe sighed and looked at her.

“Would you mind leaving the room and allowing me to bathe alone?”

She looked up at him with shock, and Joe found his own eyes rising with surprise. She was incredibly beautiful, ethereally so, and Joe found himself taken with her. However, as soon as he noticed her beauty, her shock shifted to a carefully neutral face, hiding the flash of fear that had stuttered there. His paralysis ended shockingly with that subtle flicker of fear and he quickly realized why she was there. He closed his eyes and ground his teeth before shaking his head.

“You may leave.”

She seemed to panic a bit, stepping forward, now with obvious fear, “Did I offend you, sir?”

Joe’s subtle annoyance quickly vanished and he chuckled, looking back at her with a smile, “You have not offended me at all. What made you be here… your purpose for being her… that has offended me. Or maybe I should say I am offended on your behalf? I am not angry with you, only angry that you have to be here to help me. You may leave. I’m not angry or upset at all. In fact, I would be more comfortable if you left.”

She looked at him, searching his eyes carefully as the fear faded from her face before she nodded quickly and slipped past him. He moved to the side to give her room and sighed softly to himself. She paused as she passed and looked up at him with a grateful smile.

“I will await outside if you need more water or other bathing supplies.”

He glanced over and so her smiling and he grinned back, “Thanks. This will make it a bit more comfortable for both of us, right?”

She stared at him for a bit before ducking her head and simply leaving the room, saying nothing. Joe waited for the door to close then quickly shucked all his clothing before climbing into the bath with a deep sigh. It felt so good, and Joe felt bad for the people who’d have to clean all the bedding, but at this time, Joe felt only relief at soon being gone and free of this city.

Joe rested for a moment, taking what time he could just to be, but then roused himself and turned back to his efforts. No time to relax. Let’s get this done. He turned back to his efforts and begin practicing to increase his personal MP and HP as well as tossing in some practice towards training his heal spell. Time went on and Joe got to practice his heal two times before he settled in to do what he really meant to do. He flipped open his status and looked at his curses, the brilliant vermillion of ‘Enslaved’ seemed to throb in his vision, the red seeming to shift in color or vehement brilliance. He blinked and the word went back to a simple red until he stared at it too long that it took on its throbbing virulent nature once again to the point that the space below the curse began to waver.

His eyebrows knit and he shifted his gaze from the curse to the line below it and stared. Suddenly, Joe blinked, and tore back from his status with confusion. Huh? What was… He stared at his status a bit, confusion seeming to cloud his thoughts for a bit before memory returned. Oh! Yeah… gonna work on my slave st… uh… Joe felt an itch form on his neck and unpleasant burning radiate outwards and quickly shifted his thoughts. No… nope… just going to evaluate myself. The itching burn immediately vanished and he sat back with relief and gritted teeth before he calmed himself and turned to his task.

Like he’d done for the poor girls who’d been captured by the breeders, Joe created the massive mana constructs he’d created before, ephemeral and quite difficult to keep manifested, but they formed roughly and Joe frowned, wondering why he was struggled with the task. He turned his focus to them and they developed as to his memory and he relaxed a bit, but made a note of the oddity. A bit harder than the last time… wonder…

His meandering thoughts threatened the mana constructs and he immediately returned his focus. With the constructs complete, he defined himself the focus and then had the mana construct that evaluated the status sheet target his own curses page, then began to focus on his enslaved curse. Immediately, Joe began to feel uncomfortable and actual felt the collar shift, twisting and crawling across his neck. The itch grew quickly shifting to a burn emanating from his neck and he quickly turned the focus just to his curses page.

The change immediately calmed the burning itch and a tension he didn’t know was affecting him welled out from him and he calmed, relief rolling out through his limbs and core as all the muscles in his body immediately stilled. Joe shuddered, not necessarily from fear or worry, but more something like horror as something that was crawling through his very being somehow retreated and he felt a sense of peace and calm return.

He turned his efforts to burn through the information on his curses page. Not a specific thing… no… maybe… just the upper right corner… yeah… just up there… kinda … feel that out. Yeah… nice, good! The upper right corner of his curses page began twisting under the barrage of mana that was searching his status and he began to grin then immediately frowned. There was some kind of… progress report… but why? A mana construct he’d duplicated seemed to shudder, coming forward and wavering, but then it paused and retreated, and Joe frowned. The display he had before not complete, the simple report showing blank emptiness. Joe frowned, worry beginning to gnaw at him.

The curse status page began to truly deform on the upper left, but without any report or information showing progress, Joe feared he was wasting his time. I got more than enough mana… now. Lots more, but… He considered for a few moments then decided to take a chance, but aimed to be as nondescript as possible. I want to evaluate my first curse… Ok?

The construct immediately focused this time, and the mana construct that had danced forward when he’d first asked for a progress report this time came forward with happiness, and the display immediately showed some progress; at zero. But, it began to tick up, and Joe’s worry immediately turned to a grin although worry began to chew at the edge of his confidence when he once again felt his collar beginning to squirm. Just psychological… just a metal thing on my neck… metal can’t move… just my imagination! His mindless mental chanting continued, but his imagination seemed up to the task as things just got worse and worse, his neck becoming uncomfortable as the collar seemed to reveal its displeasure with growing firmness.

Joe soon found himself bent over and huffing into the water, his face barely above the surface of the water and he didn’t know how long he’d been there. He took a deep breath and sat back up, glancing at the progress display with expectation which quickly soured to bitter wonder. What? I’ve been … haven’t I been? What? His progress, if he could call it that, rested at well below anything he would call one percent and a quick tab over to his system MP showed it more than half gone. How long… haven’t I been?

He growled and turned back to his efforts, asking his mana constructs to focus on the ‘first’ curse. Almost immediately, the burning itch returned and Joe growled, pushing through it while forcing himself to stare at the progress bar. His grimace turned to feral grin when he thought he saw a subtle change, the tiniest increment, and he began to grunt with deep effort.

Joe once again found himself bent over and huffing into the water, his face barely above the surface of the water. He frowned, blinking. How long… when? Wait? He sat back up with a deep breath and looked at his progress display. It … went backwards? Did it fill at all? Or…

He growled and turned back to his efforts, directing his mana constructs to focus on the curse he was looking at. Joe growled with gleeful effort as the burning itch returned and he pushed on, forcing himself to stare at the progress bar. The grimace turned to wretched grin when he thought he saw a small change, and he grunted even harder with more effort.

Joe once again found himself bent over, huffing into the water, his nose actually skimming across the surface of the bath. He blinked, and sat back, his nose itching with the slight tickle of the water. He brushed it off and sat up. What’s going on? Where am I… what was…

Awareness flooded into him when he saw the various constructs around his bath wavering or flickering from instability and he quickly clamped down hard on his control, bringing them back into control. One actually fluttered, froze, the cracked and fell apart and Joe cursed as he put effort into trying to remember which one just shattered. He then frowned, then burst out with an expletive as he realized he was going to have to check all the constructs to make sure none were missing. Probably should just remake them all… might have corrupted somehow, but first… Joe turned to look at the progress bar and almost cursed out again, then pulled back, grimacing. He sighed deeply, calming himself and bit back the words forming on his lips. Lot harder to control language when no one around me knows I’m cursing… He sighed and nodded his head, promising himself a bit more self-control before he looked at the progress bar again. There was no change, and he didn’t know how long he’d been there. Not that long, right? Or is there…

He glanced down at the bath water and then frowned, noticing that the water had cooled significantly and Joe sat back with a bit of fear. That was… a lot more time than I thought… feels like I’ve only been here a couple minutes, at most. He looked at his MP and saw it rapidly refilling. Looks like it dropped to about a quarter… is that? Or…

“Eccentric? Do you seek more hot water?”

Joe blinked and then considered, “Yeah. That would be wonderful, if you could.”

“Immediately, Eccentric. I can send the boy in to dump the water for you?” the statement came out as a subtle question and Joe breathed in relief.

“Yes, please. Only the boy. No need for others to enter.”

“Yes, Eccentric.”

Joe sighed and settled back for a time while his MP refilled. When it was a little over half, a knock came at the door followed shortly after by a muscular young man toting in a small barrel of obviously near boiling water. The young man dumped it into the tub opposite Joe, putting in around half before slowing and looking to Joe. Joe noticed his questioning look and Joe quickly swirled the water, allowing the cold and hot to mix and found it still rather tepid.

“Please, more.”

The young man dumped more in, slowly at first, but faster as Joe beckoned him and Joe found the water just barely warm enough. He frowned at looked up. The boy immediately noticed and bowed quickly.

“I can bring another barrel, Eccentric”

“Yes, please. I might need two more, but just one for now.”

The young man’s eyebrows rose a lot at that before he bowed his head and ran out, coming back a few moments later and began dumping again. His system MP had returned to full so Joe began reconstructing all his constructs. He only paused to speak with the water boy when Joe felt comfortable again, which only took three quarters of the hot water barrel. Joe dismissed him with a happy sigh.

“Thanks. This is enough. Was wrong about three.”

“Of course, Eccentric,” the water boy replied while ducking his head, although he failed to hide the bitter smirk on his face.

After the room closed again and privacy was returned, Joe finished his constructs and then considered his options. Nothing seems to be happening… and I tried… Joe blinked, his thoughts fluttered through strange clouds of lost memory before his focus returned. Only tried once… better to try again.

He took a deep breath and then dove into the effort, pushing the mana constructs to their work as mana flooded through him and around him while receiving units captured what passed through him. Other constructs pumped or chewed or worked the mana in their arcane ways while a few seemed to slam into his status with renewed purpose. And the progress display did not report anything. Wait… I thought… oh! Heh. Joe berated himself lightly and tried again. Focus on my first curse. His collar writhed with venomous hatred and Joe felt pain erupt throughout his entire being, even as he collapsed and groaned in pain. Mana shattered like glass even as the constructs exploded, faded, or withered away. He barely noticed any of it as his entire body crawled with pain and his mind throbbed with pressure greater than he’d ever felt. He slipped down into the water, almost to his nose, and groaned.

Ow… that’s… wow… not… guess I focused on … yup… nope… not that… nothing like that. Joe groaned and sighed at the same time before he sat up and looked down with exhaustion, then confusion. The bath tinged a bit pink and Joe wondered until a red drop fell from his nose and his eyebrows rose. Wait… ok! That’s... Blood dripped from his nose again and he raised a hand to pinch it shut, sighing. That’s not a good sign. The bath water turned pinker and his frown grew, swapping out his hands but found that no other blood had dripped now that he was pinching it shut and he reached up to his cheek. His hand came back bloody and Joe’s eyebrows rose once more. Where? His hand searched his face until he noticed that he seemed to be crying. He reached up to the tear before pulling a hand away and quickly noticed the bloody drop on his finger.

Seriously? Eyes and nose? Then… Curiosity drove him and he dipped a hand into the water, washing all blood off before putting it up to an ear. He dipped it into his ear canal and pulled it out, inspecting it. Pretty bloody… and waxy… ewww… Joe grimaced, realizing that he’d not had a good way to have any real bodily care since he’d landed her. Almost a year of wax… that would do it! Really gotta figure out a way to do that… and my hair… He pushed it back from his face and sighed to find it now long enough to brush his shoulders relatively easily, and not just the hair at the back of his head.

The distraction almost took him away from his efforts and he growled, angry. Must have made it too clear. Gotta be circumspect… if I can… then… He rebuilt all his MP, then his constructs, then his MP once again before turning to his efforts, burning focus driving him. Not doing anything… evaluating… wanna be a healthy and strong man… gotta be to do what I gotta do right and well, right? So let’s check things out… make sure…

His constructs began their work again, and Joe tried to keep as distracted as possible, focusing on remaining unfocused. Just… gotta do a checkup… lets… check on this red thing here… seems like a good idea. Yeah? Seems like a good idea… red usually means some kind of warning… a danger… really should check out this red thing here… Joe began as calmly and unfocused as possible. Not that… just… doing a checkup… a basic well rounded checkup… yeah… this isn’t… nothing nef… yeah… nope… just a checkup…

Things seemed to go smoother this time as Joe just kept his thoughts to himself, but when everything seemed ready to inact and the action to actually go through, pain erupted throughout his entire being and all thought was wiped from his mind and he immediately collapsed.

* * *

Zilnek woke so much warmer than he’d ever awoken in the last few weeks. The hard grating of the stone and dirt below him was still deeply uncomfortable, but his thoughts only considered the warmth that seemed to envelope him better than any other morning he’d experienced lately. He cuddled deeper into the blankets, pulling them tighter around him and pulling in as tightly as possible to preserve what little was left of the heat from the day before. He shivered but reveled in the little warmth left.

He lay like this, glowing in the warmth for a time before his muddled thoughts, much clearer than on most frigid mornings, quickly brought him to wonder at the discrepancy. He pulled the blankets tighter and then raised a head up to look down at them before confusion added to his slow thoughts. What’s that… when did I… That’s not mine? He stared down at the full well made cloak that wrapped his body before he slowly stood. That’s… Is that?

As he stood, the cloak slipped from his body and he quickly realized that he had two cloaks covering him and he reached out quickly to snag the one he was looking at. It was quite large and full bodied, and he stretched it out in front of him away from the one he normally wore. It didn’t take long for horrified wonder to warp Zilnek’s face. This… this is Joe’s cloak!!!

Zilnek scampered back, pulling in the cloak around him in wonder and worry while his head whipped around in every direction possible, staring up and down the street and small alley he lay in. However, he found nothing. Discomfort quickly rolled up through Zilnek and he shivered, but this time not from the cold. Curses rolled through his mind and he pulled back deeper into the alleyway. What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?

* * *

Joe dreamt of deep blue and black emptiness until the blue turned to writhing tentacles that wrapped around his neck and he found himself clawing for air. Then he erupted from the bath and coughed hard, water erupting from his lungs and he found it almost impossible to get enough air. He hung stared around then finally recognized the bath he was in before he slewed around in uncoordinated panic as he slammed into the bath’s edge and hung himself over the bath. Coughing did not seem to help, and he quickly leaned over as far as he could until he had his waist on the edge of the bath and his head on the floor, his torso upside down and then tumbling to the floor, his legs slipping over the edge.

He attempted to breathe, then found himself dry heaving and coughing, water spewing out but always more seeming to be in there. He pressed up, thinking to get into an upright position, but his arms seemed to have lost all strength and he instead rolled to his side and just continued to hack and dry heave, each little water lost allowing him to take a slightly deeper breath for another deeper cough or dry heave.

After a few moments, he found himself panting heavily, face pressed to the floor with water spewed all around him and Joe breathed in simple relief that he could breath. The water around his face was almost brilliant red with blood dripping from his ears, nose, and eyes and Joe stared dazedly at the floor and bright red fluid beneath him. After awhile, thought returned and he grimaced with rage. Again!

But almost immediately after all his constructs were formed and he as obtusely as possible directed the constructs to evaluate his status page, the pain erupted out again and everything evaporated once more. He awoke again sometime later, unsure of how much time had passed, but looking at his refilling MP let him know it hadn’t been long. His eyes looked at the brilliant red pool beneath him and he ground his teeth, frustrated anger rushing through him. What am I supposed to do? How can I …

He lay on the floor until he started shivering and his rage had calmed. He refused to allow acceptance to come, but he calmed and tabled his efforts, thinking and allowing his mind to wander over possibilities and ideas. He didn’t find anything, but like acceptance, he refused to allow despair its grasp, and he grunted and pushed himself back to the bath. Luckily, the water was still quite scalding hot, especially with his frigid skin from all the evaporation, and he settled into it with grateful relaxation. I will get this… I will get this… failure comes only with quitting… so I’ll never fail… I’ll never quit!

* * *

Xylarnae stared at Kalia, thoughtful, eyes narrowing as she considered Kalia’s mocking dismissal of the eccentric Joe. She needs to understand! Her thoughts floundered, struggling to find a way to reveal the truth without being cursed for doing so. Of course, that was folly, for revealing the truth to those who did not know was exactly what would lead to her elimination. Xylarnae sharpened her gaze and returned her focus to Kalia. She stared at Kalia with intensity, wishing she could impart more meaning, somehow, but knowing there was little she could say. Those blessed of Fate might find themselves capable of conversing on the greater mysteries, but to pass that knowledge on to others invited disaster… How can I show her… the importance… fate … calls. My future... Kalia’s fate still shone a brilliant gold; an excellent partner for the future. As she looked, she could see Kalia very much considering before finally dismissing the opportunity. Kalia grit her teeth.

“Kalia… He’s…” untethered! Unchained! Kalia found herself unable to speak further, and she quailed. She could only hope the infraction would not be punished for she had not pushed hard to merit one, only enough to bring attention. Hopefully… the attention is enough.

* * *

The Cradle Aelthron, home and clan seat of the Ancient ancestor Aelthron, bustled with activity and then suddenly stilled. The Presence of a being whose capability dwarfed the totality of all beings within the cradle combined turned its eye to an infraction, bound to respond. Hmmm…

* * *

Gunlan, newly Patriarch of the Coushar clan, fell to his knees and pressed his face to the floor faster than any other in the entire cradle, likely helped by his lack of a spine. His jabbering assistant collapsed to his side a moment later. Fool! This Presence…. Fool!

* * *

The current Patriarch of the Aelthron clan sensed the Presence and immediately stood, stepping forward from his current location and bowed regally to the floor for he was an Ancient. However, a Great One had come calling and while he had no need to insult the being, he did not need to sacrifice dignity. He knelt to the ground gracefully with a small amount of irritation, faced pressed to the ground and bowed forward. He sent polite greetings, but was absolutely ignored. The Great One turned his attention away from the capital plane and the Patriarch turned to follow but then was very politely slapped away. The Patriarch coughed hard, the psychic feedback crushing his thoughts. Blood leaked from his eyes, nose and ears, and he coughed once more. The Great One sealed the plane and the Patriarch of the cycle of Aelthron lost connection to all fifty one other planes. He remained politely silent, unmoving.

* * *

Gwenvair shuddered under the mental Presence of a being vast and awe inspiring. It turned its thoughts to their tiny plane and focused deeper into their city and clan. Soon, she could feel the very gaze upon her in this room. Kalia reacted immediately, leaping from the tub onto the floor before bowing her head to floor, pressing her forehead firmly into it. Xylarnae was even more extreme, pressing her head into the floor of her own bathtub, under the water. Gwenvair’s eye twitched at that before also leaping from her tub and bowing her head to the floor. Stephliquen simply cowered, the fear too much for her and she curled into a ball and whimpered in the corner of her tub.

She felt the distinct impression of being examined by a being beyond her capability to comprehend compressing her so completely she could barely breathe. It felt like a veritable god stared at their plane, holding it upon a single index finger like a single grain of rice as a face several times more massive than the cradle itself pressed down to look upon the single, small grain of rice. And she knelt, in a small room of an unimportant inn upon the surface of the single grain of rice; her world nothing more than a speck.

Gwenvair trembled as its attention focused upon her then shifted away to the others. She noticed, like a sixth sense, Kalia quivering as well, the focus of the presence having passed over her as well. Xylarnae did not move, remaining pressed into the depths of the water without concern nor movement. The Presence turned its focus to Xylarnae and gently lifted her up from the water before bringing its focus more diligently upon her. Xylarnae did not react.

* * *

Every being upon every plane in the cycle of Aelthron bowed, trembling before the distant Presence focused upon their cradle. They did not move, offering only complete obeisance.

* * *

Every being but one. Joe lounged in his pink tinged bath, completely at ease. A wave of something blasted past him, a gentle breeze or a passing caress, and he started a bit, wondering what it was, but noticed nothing unusual or different. He paused a bit, staring around, watching carefully, but when he heard nothing nor noticed anything new, he relaxed and soon returned to floating in the hot water. It felt wonderful to rest, his body recovering from his long efforts where he punished himself brutally, physically and mentally. He didn’t think of it in such a way, but his body was quite adamant in reinforcing to Joe just how poorly it thought of his poor judgment in the last several weeks. The bath proved an excellent bribe to placate his complaining body, and he simply rested in it, grateful, this time, for the others’ long bathing times. For today, he would join them, floating within the waters completely at peace, alone.

* * *

The Presence stared carefully at the current store, it being the one having infringed upon its duty. It searched the store’s thoughts cautiously, but found no intention of infringement, although it did err close. It considered, then chose to withdraw. The respect and fear within the store proof enough there would be no new infringement and no intention to infringe. There was no need to enact its duty, and it retreated.

All stores within the cycle on each plane bowed before it, but it cared not. This cradle did seem a bit odd, but cripples always were, so it cared not. Its stores also seemed… oddly made, but again, cripples were often oddities, thus, it cared not. Its focus passed on, uncaring across the plane one last time, turning away, then froze. Its focus snapped back in shock, to a single room, only a dozen paces from its first charge. A young store bathed, happy, and at complete peace. It stared, shocked. It brought its focus ever in, intense. The store rested, smiling. It found itself… entranced, never having seen a store so at rest. It stared, finding the store’s easy rest fascinating, but soon grew fascinated for other reasons, although it could not dig deep to discover exactly what. Something… odd… in the store’s construction? Or… what… I wish… But… no… I should remain kind… this cradle is not my enemy… No, it would not steal a store from another. But it did stare for much longer than it should, until another duty called once more, its bond calling it ever onwards, chains whipping it forward, onward. It pulled back its focus immediately, evacuating from the plane quickly and easily, ever onward towards duty. The extraordinary display was not, however, easily forgotten.

* * *

Xylarnae remained bowed, shivering in fear. This was the first time she’d ever brought the Guardian but she’d never expected it to stay so long. It had pressed upon her as had been described to her by her Fate teacher, but stayed much longer. She’d thought the inspection complete when it turned to retreat, but then it suddenly returned, sharper and with greater intensity than before. She could only be thankful that she had not been the focus of the attention the second time.

By the time it left, she was shivering in the cold and stiff from her bowing upon the floor. She stood stiffly, and climbed back into the tepid water with a sigh of relief.

“We need more warm water!”

* * *

Gwenvair nodded, climbing up in her tepid water tub as well, “I was ready to leave, but after that…”

She stared at Xylarnae with a piercing gaze before continuing, “That was… related to Joe?”

Xylarnae smiled brighter but said nothing. Gwenvair’s smile grew and she settled back into the tepid water.

“More hot water, please!”

“Yes, mistress.”

All sighed when the hot water was added to the bath and they settled into it, sighing with happiness.

* * *

Kalia shivered, the heat of the new water not enough to calm her heart. She’d been strong. Incredibly strong. Her points almost unfathomable. Only a few stood above her within the greater cycle. The Great One who’d come to focus on this cursed plane made them seem as children, dominating all with an ease that brought her a feeling she’d not felt in quite some time; terror. And she knew. She knew, so utterly and completely, that even in her prime, this Presence would have not even noticed her for how lowly she was to them. She glanced up, her eyes looking at Gwenvair with consideration, then at Xylarnae with an odd feeling. She grit her teeth and lost herself in her thoughts.

* * *

Joe stretched, happy to be out. The water had grown lukewarm rather quickly and so he’d gotten out and stretched. He felt amazing. And he smiled as he headed out into the living room. The others should be out rather soon and Joe rested there for a time. All packed up… don’t need anything so… yeah… ready to go soon. His eyes skipped over Garnedell’s spoon spear and he leaned back, looking up. It was unusually quiet but Joe actually found it a wonderful exception. He closed his eyes and waited until the others came out.

When Gwenvair came out, Joe quickly noticed an odd mood. Xylarnae seemed ecstatic while Gwenvair was inordinately proud. Kalia stared at Joe, eyes boring into him with an avid curiosity greater than he’d ever seen from her before. She’d always seemed so cynical in his dealings with him but now there was a certain odd positivity that Joe found incredibly strange compared to what he’d always seen from her.

Stephliquen was the strangest, looking like a child who’d seen terror personified. Joe stepped forward with some concern.

“Is she OK?”

Gwenvair glanced at where Joe was looking and noticed he was looking at Stephliquen, “Oh. She’s fine. Just terrified by the Presence of the Great One.”

“A Presence? Did someone try to harm you?” Joe grew angry.

Gwenvair stared at him, her smile growing, “You did not notice the Presence of the Great One?”

“No. I’m sorry. Who was it?”

Gwenvair shook her head, “We do not know. He left.”

Joe stared at her carefully, searching her eyes diligently, but she stared back at him with a calmness and confidence that Joe noticed quickly enough and he quieted, “Then you’re alright?”

Gwenvair nodded, “He wasn’t even there for me.”

Joe frowned, “You were collateral damage?”

Mana swelled and washed outward, his translation taking affect. Gwenvair frowned then smiled and shook her head when the mana wave erupted out explaining the new term, “No. Not collateral damage. Great Ones often … cause issues when they send their Presence to a location. It is hard, especially at distances, to pinpoint exact locations with your Presence. It can spread. He caused no harm and was actually quite polite.”

“Oh. Good… then… OK. But why is Stephliquen shivering like that?”

“Feeling a Presence… without defense or previous experience can be terrifying. It feels like being examined. It is an … uncomfortable feeling.”

Joe frowned. Huh… never felt that in a Presence before… so… “Huh. So… she’ll be OK?”

Gwenvair nodded, “In time.”

Joe nodded and sighed, a mixture of relief and release from a long day, “Shall we eat then pack up to go?”

“Do you even need to pack? You cheat with that space!”

Joe grinned, “It’s pretty cool, huh.”

Gwenvair’s eyes narrowed, “Rubbing it in?”

Joe’s smile softened, “I could help with some stuff, but my inventory slots are pretty full.”

Gwenvair sighed, “We have our luggage cared for, but I am jealous,” then she paused for a moment before continuing on, “But, we do have to prepare.”

They said their goodbyes and Joe watched them head on down the bedroom hallway. He glanced towards the steam billowing out the other hallway leading to the baths and he settled in the chair a bit more. He rested there for a bit then grew bored. He sighed, then stood. Take a walk?

* * *

Xylarnae slipped down the hall to her room with a bounce in her step and feeling of ecstatic hope. She really didn’t think much at all, only reveled in the shear freedom of a future that finally seemed to be opening up. Finally… finally… I can find myself.

* * *

Kalia turned back at the door and stared at the Eccentric for a time, raking her eyes across him but truly lost in thought and not really aware of her gaze upon him. She finally understood Xylarnae’s faith… and hope. She stared at him for a time before walking into the their common area and turning to Gwenvair.

“May I request admittance, as well, Queen?”

Gwenvair’s grin grew, “I will make sure to have a Hearing tonight, to be certain.”

“Thank you, Queen,” Kalia bowed her head quite respectfully.

Gwenvair accepted Kalia’s respect then immediately Heard, a twinge deep within her and delved it deeply, quickly realizing the source.

“There is no need for such respect.”

Kalia’s eyebrow’s rose, “You are so… unconcerned?”

Gwenvair shook her head, “No. He demands… no… maybe hopes for?... actual respect, not the image of respect… he believes it will bring closeness.”

Kalia’s lips twitched upward in relieved smile.

Gwenvair noticed and smiled, nodding her head, “Let’s prepare for our leaving. My Hearing will be more certain after, without this current stress.”

Xylarnae and Kalia both nodded, following after and bringing Stephliquen with them. They did not simply pack everything but also both quickly interrogated their hopeful Queen on both Joe and their new lifestyle. Gwenvair’s excited explanations lit an almost equal excitement in their hearts as well although Kalia felt a bitterness that warred with her hope. Lost so much… and relegated to this.

* * *

The city boiled, people rising from their genuflection but not with any real calm. Presence was not an unusual thing, many had it, to greater and lesser extent, but the greatness of the Presence had been towering in a literal sense of the word, and surpassed any previous experiences. Initial actions amongst the populace of Coushar was a general wonder and neighbors excitedly talking with one another. But as the conversations continued and rumors grew, more and more people realized this had been an unprecedented appearance. Soldiers and followers of powerful elites quickly learned from their superiors that this was an utterly terrifying experience, even for the elite.

It did not take long, but when reports and rumors spread from friends and neighbors onwards to the rest of the town, the populace quickly learned that the presence that had arrived was terrifying even for the elite and greats of their city. Excited wonder quickly shifted to nervous fear as the streets filled with people speaking in worried fear, ovens forgotten, forges going cold, and guard duties barely maintained.

* * *

The other planes of Aelthron experienced a similar wonder that eroded quickly to fear, especially within the capital and great cities with known overpowering elites or dignified clans. Rumors always spread, and wonder quickly shifted to fear. The most terrifying, the fear was greatest amongst the strongest, for the strongest truly knew how great and far above them the elite had been, and they shivered in fear.

The spoke nothing of this, but their servants and workers saw. They noticed the long stare, the subtle shiver, the worried grimace, and the tense wrinkle at the corner of an eye, and news spread carrying with it a fear for almost all.

* * *

Joe stood, bored in the middle of the main living area and finally decided that he wanted to just get out. He wasn’t going to leave, but being outside called to him, and he took one last look around the living room and his own room but found everything prepared and nothing else available to him, so he turned to walk out to the outer courtyard of the villa they were staying at.

The buildings on each side towered up, hemming in the small courtyard this villa had and the wall across the front blocked it off from the street. The outer wall also had a rather large gate in it large enough to allow men on horseback to ride in without ducking or a single carriage to easily pass through. The gate wasn’t much, but it did offer privacy, no open windows or bars revealing the courtyard. The courtyard doubled as a semi beautiful small park like area, with small bushes and two trees offering shade and he found himself wandering the garden park with a slow gate. He enjoyed it for a time, but his anxious desire to get on the road had him walk over to the small attached barn for horses and carriage, but the man there was already prepared and waved him off, the horses attached and awaiting for the others to come out.

He looked around some more and saw the closed outer gates and decided that having them open might be a useful thing, certain that Gwenvair and the others would arrive soon. He removed the large bar that was used to lock the gate and heaved it to the side before he leaned it carefully up against the wall. Pulling open the gates proved easy enough, but after he got one open, he found his eyebrows climbing when he found the streets rather full, whispering crowds speaking quietly with each other and glancing around furtively. He turned his focus to the next door and shoved it open as well, pushing it all the way around to ready the doors.

The stableman noticed what Joe was doing and seemed to grumble with annoyance before pulling the carriage out to stand before the gate. Joe nodded to the man but looked outside, staring at the people standing and whispering in the streets. Joe frowned in wonder, staring around. Then, all thought vanished.

* * *

Gunlan remained bowed before the might Presence that inspected his plane and city with cautious boredom. The Presence stayed a bit long, but then faded away as all Presences usually did. He rarely was the target of such Presence and was immediately able to tell that it was not focused on him. Still, its power had been undeniable, and he remained cautious as he rose once again and turned to the man who’d been reporting on the dwarf’s life debt.

The report had barely begun before the Presence had come, and now he was impatient to have the news he required. That master smith is waiting! A dwarven master smith! He kicked a foot out and slammed it into the side of the man below him, the kick sliding the man to the side across the floor.

“Up! I have no time for this! There is a dwarven master smith awaiting my pleasure. Do we have means to pull him to our side, or at the least, capture him?”

The reporting servant scrambled to his feet a bit slowly, but Gunlan was magnanimous due to the craven’s smarting side but not patient enough to wait for the report, “Well. Quickly! Report.”

The man rose to his side, hunched over, but began speaking immediately as he began hobbling by his side. The report began blandly and Gunlan despaired of anything useful, but things began to quickly change. Gunlan was soon smiling with evil satisfaction as he marched towards the audience hall. He is mine! Mine!

* * *