Gregory and Cooper discovered that they were really bad at fighting water elementals. Gregory's Mana Bolt spell was somewhat effective, but his sword was not. Likewise, Cooper's bites and skill enhanced strikes didn't seem to do much to the elementals.
After several painful minutes, they managed to put down the two elementals. They were completely drenched by the water that occasionally shot out of the ground and the water elemental's attacks.
"I'm soaked…"
"Better wet than dead, Gregory. That's what I always say!"
"I've never heard you say that. Actually, now that I think about it, why does everything we do need to end in me getting completely drenched?"
"Would you rather be dead? No? Well, there you go."
Olivander continued talking before Gregory had a chance to respond.
"Now, the two of you are clearly abysmal at fighting elementals. I consider this to be my own failing as your diligent mentor, but let me ask you, how do you think you could handle these foes better?"
"Magic!"
"Maybe your frost sword? I don't think the scorching damage on mine did anything to them."
Olivander put on a thoughtful expression.
"Both ideas have merit. Obviously magic could help accomplish your goal, but the idea of using my conjured blade could also work. Since the theme of this trip so far has been learning ritual magic, I see no reason to go with a different strategy."
"I thought you said combat ritual magic wasn't very good?" Gregory remembered Olivander telling them that it was difficult to remember rituals and get them right during combat.
"I didn't say they weren't good; I said they were difficult to use. I use ritual magic extensively, and while that is primarily due to the advantages granted by my grimoire and Magus class, I have known magicians who used rituals extensively during combat without the advantages I have."
Olivander summoned his grimoire and flipped to a page. An image of a ritual appeared in the air above the book. Cooper and Gregory studied it carefully.
"This is a simple and extremely flexible spell. You can put barely a breath of mana into it or dump a substantial amount in. It should accept up to around sixty or seventy mana. Try it out with just a little to start."
Olivander traced it out himself. "Static Shock!"
The ritual flashed but didn't seem to do anything. Then Olivander reached out and poked Gregory.
The shock that ran through his body was more startling than painful, but it still made Gregory cry out in surprise. "Ouch!"
After a few false starts, Cooper managed to complete the ritual. It flashed after a barked command.
Then he nosed Gregory.
"Ouch! You too, Cooper?"
"Sorry, I just wanted to try it."
Gregory traced out the ritual and activated it with a trickle of mana. He reached out and tried to poke Olivander, but the shock was absorbed by a mana ward before his finger came near the man.
"That's just unfair."
"Life is unfair, Gregory. Some people are naturally gifted, like Cooper and I, and others couldn't put together a ritual if their life depended on it, like Jeremy."
"Sorry, what was that?" Jeremy called from where he was sketching a picture, out of range of the geyser's water.
"Nothing, Jeremy! Just chatting about how much we all respect you," Olivander called over his shoulder, rolling his eyes when he turned his head back.
Jeremy looked at Olivander's back, confused, but he just shrugged and went back to his drawing.
"Practice the ritual a few more times, and when you feel comfortable, go ahead and find some more elementals to fight. Don't take too long, I want to get moving in the next half hour."
Gregory and Cooper set out, they took turns drawing out the ritual, and then trying to shock the elementals with it. Cooper still had to try to bite them, or hit them with a paw swipe, but Gregory discovered he could channel the ritual magic through his sword just like any other spell. The challenge was that he had to be holding the blade while he drew the ritual.
An elemental exploded, and Cooper perked up.
"YES! Finally!"
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Cooper has reached Canine Striker, level 5.
Cooper has met requirements to unlock a new class. Choose a class to unlock:
* Lesser Ritual Magician (Uncommon)
* Grants abilities relating to combat ritual use.
* Storm Magician (Uncommon)
* A magician with a focus on storms and lightning magic.
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"Wow, nice! I didn't get a choice on my class. What are you going to pick?"
"It's kind of hard to draw rituals, since I need to move my head around. I'm thinking Storm Magician, but I'll ask Olivander. Let's go back!"
* * *
Olivander was impatient, so he waved for them to walk and talk.
"You were wise to come ask me for advice, Cooper. I've seen the Lesser Ritual Magician class in action, and quite frankly, it's garbage. I wouldn't even let Gregory use it."
"Thanks," Gregory said sarcastically, giving Olivander a flat look.
"You're welcome. Storm Magician though? That has some real potential. It will slot you into a particular role, however. It's one you're used to so far. Storm magicians don't tend to have a lot of flexibility, unless they gain another class. You'll only have access to attack spells, and possibly a few self enhancements."
They passed another herd of elephants. The basin was rife with creatures of all shapes and sizes, but the elephants were by far the largest and most noticeable. They were docile creatures that didn't seem to mind when they were walking barely a dozen feet away.
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Cooper has unlocked the class Storm Magician.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Cooper has unlocked the spell Lightning Bolt.
Cooper has unlocked the ability Silent Casting.
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Lightning Bolt
* Spell
* Cost: 10 mana
* You cast a bolt of the storm's fury, dealing moderate lighting damage.
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Silent Casting
* This ability removes the need to speak an activation word to cast spells that come from learned skills.
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Cooper has gained one skill point.
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Olivander stopped in the road. "Wow."
Gregory looked around in a panic, wondering what was throwing him off.
"Don't worry, Gregory. It's just that I've never seen that skill before. It's remarkable. If I'm not mistaken, it essentially grants Cooper voiceless casting of all of his spells."
Without a word, a bolt of lightning shot away from Cooper, blasting into a nearby bush. The bush started on fire.
"Whoops."
Olivander used his sphere of water spell to put out the fire. The plant's leaves looked pristine when it cleared.
"You should be careful with that power, Cooper. You wouldn't be the first person I've known to accidentally cast a spell and hurt someone because they forgot they didn't have to speak anymore. You might not suffer from the same problem, since this is your first spell skill, but a little caution never hurt."
"Gregory, do you want to hunt some more elementals?"
Gregory just grinned at him, and the pair took off.
"Should I go watch them?" Jeremy asked.
The man had professed to Olivander that he wasn't a fighter, but he was reasonably high leveled in his non-combat classes. He would be able to keep Gregory and Cooper out of too much trouble.
"That's a splendid idea! Be my guest," Olivander said, happy to get Jeremy out of his hair.
Jeremy nodded and ran after the pair of eager young adventurers.
"Those two seem to be having fun," Gloria observed.
"It does seem so. I know they haven't been sleeping well, but they seem to be able to just soak in every new experience and live life instead of dwelling on the unfortunate situations of the past. In a way, I could learn a lesson from them."
Olivander looked at the young woman. She was looking ahead at the departed trio with an expression on her face that Olivander couldn't read. He suspected that one of the secret reasons she wanted to come with was because of the things they had all seen in Serin. Maybe she couldn't look at the city without seeing shambling dead walking around.
In his experience, if he didn't know what someone was thinking, and couldn't get a read on them, the best thing that a person could do was ask about it.
"What about you, Gloria? You look consternated."
She just kept looking ahead, and her gaze transformed, going from intent and searching to glazed and lost in thought.
"I keep thinking that maybe I rushed out of Serin a little too quickly. Things hadn't really even stabilized. I feel like I've done my city and my family a disservice by leaving so quickly."
"I know that feeling well. You can dedicate your life to something — a cause, your family, the protection of your city — it doesn't matter. There will always be a moment where you think you've failed."
Olivander took in a deep breath, feeling refreshed and motivated by being back on the road and outside enjoying what the world had to offer.
"I honestly think that that's the wrong attitude. That one thing you think you failed at. It's just a note in a long list of things you have done. You're a healer. How many people did you heal during the crisis in Serin? How many people did you give shelter to? How many people did you comfort or make feel just a little bit better?
"I'll tell you right now that those things matter. No matter how rough things seem, or how upset you are about the most recent failure you have noted, you can look back at the list of things you've done and feel good about it."
She looked at him, and he could tell she didn't agree with what he had said.
"I appreciate the words, Olivander, I really do, but it's not as simple as that. I know I've done good, but that doesn't mean I've done enough. That just because I helped my fair share of people I'm absolved of any obligation to help again in the future."
"That's a good point, and I admire your attitude. I don't want to deal in absolutes here. What I want you to consider, is perhaps the question, 'Have I done enough for now?' I think there's room to find some peace in that."
Gloria considered the question as they walked along the well-worn road.
They caught up with their companions as Cooper blasted an elemental apart. Gregory laughed and they ran off ahead again.
"I think," Gloria finally said after a few minutes, "that I can accept that. I think I've done enough for now. It drained me to my core. It really did. I'm not sure if I wanted to come along because I had actually been excited, or if I just couldn't bear to look at the city anymore. I still think I feel some regret. Surely I could have done more, but…"
She was still clearly wrestling with her own guilt and emotions.
Olivander knew she was on the right track, and would sort herself out soon, but he wanted to add one more bit of encouragement.
"I think you did enough."
He left it at that.
* * *
Several hours and more dead elementals than Gregory could count led them to the top of a tall hill. When they reached the peak, they looked out into the final section of the basin.
"May I present to you, Du'la'melio, the City of Flowing Waters." Olivander made a grand gesture of reveal at the distant city.
It was massive, easily the largest city Gregory had ever seen.
Waterfalls seemed to pour out of the sky all around the city, falling into pools that fed rivers which seemed to be used as transportation waterways. Three massive towers rose into the sky, nearly reaching the source of the waterfalls. The towers were sleek and gray. Gregory thought they looked like they might be made of metal, but the cost to construct something like that boggled his mind.
The rivers that flowed from the waterfalls above the city extended out into the wider basin. They all curved around and fed into the eastern ocean just a few short miles from the edge of the city.
The city didn't have a wall, but Gregory had heard it was protected from hostile intent by a powerful magical shield. He wasn't sure who or what defined hostile intent.
Besides the huge towers of metal, there were countless buildings of brick and mortar. There were some stone towers that tried to encroach on the territory of the three primary towers but could barely rise half as high. They were too distant to see people, but Gregory knew the city would be bustling.
"Where's the dungeon?" Gregory asked.
"The tallest of the three towers at the heart of the city contains the dungeon," Olivander explained. "All three of the towers were formed when the dungeon was established — at least according to ancient historical documents — but only the center one is connected to the dungeon. I believe the guild operates out of the tower as well."
"It does," Jeremy said. "The guild had a deal worked out with the city to manage access to the dungeon, and to ensure that it is cleared frequently enough that the basin stays relatively free of danger. The other two towers are controlled by the city's government, and I think they use one as housing and one as government offices."
"When are we going to try out the dungeon?"
"The dungeon here is extremely popular. We'll go to the guild hall tonight and register for a chance to run it, but it will likely take a few days to get in," Olivander said.
"A few days?" Gregory complained.
"Likely Olivander could get in immediately, but lower rank runs will almost certainly be full for a couple days," Jeremy said.
"Thank you, Jeremy. One of the reasons that it is so popular is because it is a run dungeon. I haven't explained that very well, but it will become clear when we try the dungeon. Essentially a run dungeon is perfectly safe. You get a number of chances to complete a course, but even if you die, you will be restored to perfect health after a run. It's quite invigorating."
With the city in the distance as a guide for how much longer they had to walk, and the fading day's light, they made their way to the city quickly. They wanted to make sure they could check into the dungeon's queue before the day was over. Gregory and Cooper could barely wait to try it.
"You said you were going to portal in my dad, right Olivander?"
"Yes, when we get settled, I'll see when Burtrum, Fezzic, or anyone else wants to come to the city to compete. Or just to spend some time with us I suppose."
They didn't talk much more, everyone eager to get to the city.
As the sun began to set, they passed through the high gates and into the city of Du'la'melio.