The final part of the journey on Threst’s side had been far more casual, despite the backdrop of the world coming to an end. Several waystations had been established for travelers and there was a heavy presence of the region’s guard to defend them. Each had at least one of the enchanted ballista that had also been used to defend Roost’s Peak, as well as a system for communication with the capitol, surrounding villages, and other waystations based on Artificer-created sending stones. Daniel had been elated to copy the formulae as it covered the absence left by the loss of their various methods of telepathy, though he hadn’t been able to make one yet. As it turned out, there was another level of difficulty to enchanting.
----------------------------------------
Sending Stone (Formulae: Enchanting, Item, Domain: Enchantment, Quality: Superior, Level: 2)
A magical construct that enables long-distance communication. Upon creation, the stone must be infused with a specific frequency. It will transmit to all other stones of this frequency that are in range.
Creation of this item requires additional Mana and Enchantment Complexity unless appropriate Special Items are used during the creation process.
----------------------------------------
The best that Daniel could tell, the penalties in creation were equivalent to an additional level of difficulty. The base enchantment was also level 2, meaning he couldn’t try for a level 1 version. Even with the disparity from level 3 bone for a level 2 item, it was beyond him and he continued making blast marbles instead. He’d amassed a fair amount, though he’d made them far smaller than before. Part of this was that Ammunition Surplus’ chance to trigger was the same regardless of mass, but he was also working towards the idea he’d had for replacing his crossbow.
There was a lot of enchanting he needed to do before he could properly hunt, as well as a lot of healing for his cat form. As the city of Aurus rose before him, he eyed the Divine Quarter and the murals along the side of that floating city section and hoped Quala could help him out more than Thomas. That was just a side thought though, as most of his mind was taken up by the majesty of the city before him. Damn Tounaki, but the avianoids of Threst did put more into appearance than Aughal did.
The entire city was built around a floating mountain Quick Mind put at over five kilometers tall from base to peak. The path there was slightly below normal ground level, though otherwise it was situated at the exact center of the region both in position and altitude. The Divine Quarter was only one example of mass terraforming, with parts of the mountain carved off into various residential and commercial districts, among others. In some cases, the society had literally moved the mountain into separate independently floating break-off sections, mostly near the peak.
Two features stood out as most impressive. One was the main road that cut up the side of the mountain, large enough to be visible from the approach. At the bottom it threaded through the lower city, only to turn off the side of the mountain to freely float while lights projected both up and down some distance. It completely defied all architectural logic, but that’s what Builders were for.
Lastly, there was the freaking waterfall descending from the heavens. At some point, an earlier Regent of Threst had realized the enormous potential that a looping ground and sky limit held and set up a massive channel of water that ran from top to bottom, back to top. It fell on the opposite side of the mountain so he couldn’t see exact details, but he’d heard the farmland there was among the best in the kingdom. He imagined there was no shortage of waterwheels either to abuse the potential energy the vertical river generated.
He honestly didn’t know if he’d have time to check that out. They were heading straight for the Hunter’s Guild to meet with Murdon, and since only Tounaki could fly, a fact she repeated a few times as they neared the city, it would take them until evening to get there. On the walk there he saw both avianoids and the magical constructs this region produced flying above. While he really wanted to get his hands on that formulae, he doubted it was appropriate for his level or skill.
There were humans, but not as many as in Aughal. The bird race truly dominated this region, even if most couldn’t fly themselves. The link they had to flight, as well as the potential for anyone to gain the ability to with a class, had become a cultural touchstone. Draconoids lived here as well, and he almost saw enough colors to form a rainbow during his walk. The draconic race didn’t have any inherent advantages or disadvantages like Khiat’s but there was something to be said about how imposing they were. There were also examples of entirely new races, but Daniel didn’t have time to stop and talk to them to find out more information.
Finally, they reached the Hunter’s Guild, which was one of the few isolated islands in the lower third of Aurus. Everyone in the group had hung around at this point as it was unclear what would happen going forward. Tlara and Willow’s situation was the most up in the air as while Tlara could technically continue functioning as a Beastmaster, what had happened at the border crossing showed that having Willow nearby was important in her current state. Apparently, her soul had been briefly ejected into the Astral when her possessing ability was reset, and Willow’s bond with her allowed it to be returned before whatever stopped people from coming back from the dead happened to her.
So much is happening so fast, Daniel thought as he sat in the conference room with most of his group. Tlara’s wyvern was outside for obvious reasons, as was Spinner and Willow to keep her company. He quickly snagged a copy of the map on the table, which was placed there for teams to use to plan hunts. It didn’t have every sky island labeled on it, but it would help once they got going. “We finally made it,” he said, putting his phone away and returning to a chair. “How’s everyone feeling?”
“This place is amazing!” Khiat commented, not moving from the window. The fact that the buildings were all too small for her full size didn’t damper her enthusiasm. “I was nervous about all the open air before, but there’s so many people here and none of them look scared.”
“Threst is good at making first impressions,” Thomas grumbled. “But spend a day on the streets without feathers and see where that gets you.”
“Is it that bad?” Daniel asked, but someone interrupted them before Thomas could answer.
An avianoid in a suit walked in holding a clipboard scarily reminiscent of Earth, though the clip was wooden instead of metal. “Ah, good. I am Temir Riseti, administrator under Commander Zolyra of Threst. It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance.” There was a formalness to the tone Daniel immediately associated with Gadriel. He’d long since learned the Hero’s way of speaking came from the courts of Threst rather than his class and while Tounaki hadn’t used that affectation on the way here, Temir was kind enough to confirm the rumors.
“Likewise,” Daniel replied for the group, wishing either Evalyn was here to handle things or that he could go cat mode to bolster his confidence. “Is there a problem? I thought we were meeting with Murdon.”
“Of course,” Temir chuckled. “Knight Murdon has been informed of your arrival and is en route. There are some matters to take care of. First, allow me to formally welcome you to Threst’s Hunter’s Guild. As I have been informed there are not any others that will be joining you on hunts for the time being, so we can dispense with your official registration now.”
“Just so we’re clear, I’m not hunting with Guy,” Thomas said carefully, though it seemed he had interrupted the man more to give Daniel a careful look than stipulate that. Daniel read the warning in Thomas’ eyes and grew more alert.
“Of course.” Temir nodded and put his clipboard under one arm, using the other to withdraw a monocle from a pocket. Light quickly ran across it as he donned it, leading to a grimace. “Ah, it is as I thought. We will have to register you under another name, unfortunately. While Wingcraft isn’t currently claimed, it is too similar to other teams to allow. We can give you time to-“
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“That’s our name,” Daniel interrupted, surprised at the sternness in his voice. He’d thought all of the confidence he’d woken up with had gone to cat Daniel, but he found himself unwilling to move on the point despite being initially hesitant about the moniker. “You just said no one else has it.”
“Well, your position is understandable, but we do feel it is important to keep a distinction between teams in Threst so that there are no cases of mistaken identity or falsely attributed fame.”
“I should tell you now that I’ve got a power that lets me read lies,” Thomas said, folding his arms. Daniel stepped closer to the Cleric as he continued. “You just don’t want to give a team name with wing in it to a group with mostly non-birds, right?”
Temir’s eyes flicked to the symbol of the Hand on Thomas’ body as if to confirm he hadn’t missed any of Torch, the god whose church was primarily responsible for those kinds of powers. The administrator cleared his throat melodiously and returned the monocle to its pocket before Daniel could think to sneakily scan it. “As it happens, there is a policy in place to restrict certain words such as ‘wing’ or ‘flight’ in team names for various reasons. Again, to avoid confusion. A non-flight capable team such as yourselves could be seen as misrepresenting themselves by taking on ‘Wingcraft', though I’m sure that’s not your intention.”
But the word ‘craft’ isn’t a problem even though we don’t have any Craftsman? Daniel thought bitterly, not liking the fact that they’d hit a sticking point before he’d had a chance to ask about all the bodies he was carrying around. “We are flight capable, I just need to make a few items for my team first.”
Temir’s eyes flicked to the other two of Daniel’s teammates in the room and he sighed. “I see, although unless you are prepared to verify this information now it remains a point of contention.”
“Fine, we’re not going to hunt until then anyway.” Daniel and Thomas stood unmoving together and the avianoid decided to defer the issue.
“I see, I see. Do note, for the record, that teams are unauthorized to receive assignments or bounties in Threst until they are properly registered. We administrate the right way here, no shortcuts. On that note, I have made copies of our standard taxes and policies for you all to review. Regardless of when you register, you should review them.” He unclipped the pages, handing one to both Daniel and Khiat. Sensing a bond opportunity, Daniel gestured towards Khare as well. Temir gave him a confused look but he did comply.
Daniel scanned the document and felt a sinking sensation. Not only did the guild claw back 20% of listed bounties, which seemed entirely pointless to him, but the policies Temir mentioned weren’t explained but listed as reference numbers. It covered everything from how to represent the guild appropriately in public to managing scenarios where two different teams encountered each other on the same hunt. That last one did sound useful, but the sum of the experience gave Daniel a bad vibe.
Thomas, reading over his shoulder, gave him a commiserating look but didn’t comment. “Ok, I have more reading to do,” Daniel said to try and ameliorate the situation before making his request. “We’ll get fully up to date on all of these before registering. Is there anything else?”
“Since you aren’t registering now, no. I will thank you for your commitment to Threst’s security, either way. During these uncertain times we must all perform at the peak of our potential, and keeping the public calm is of the utmost importance. Panic will only cost more lives.”
“…we aren’t supposed to tell anyone about the Collapse?” Daniel ventured as Temir looked at him expectantly.
“You should avoid discussing the exact nature of the escalated threat facing Threst. Even calling it ‘the Collapse’ is disingenuous as we don’t truly know if that catastrophe is upon us again.”
I do, Daniel thought irritatedly, but he tried not to let it show. “Alright, I’m good at keeping secrets. Had to in Aughal to not get taken as a slave, after all.”
“Hmm, yes, quite.”
There was a stretch of awkward silence before Daniel asked, “So we ran into a few monsters on the way here and I have their bodies. Is there anyone in the guild that could help with processing them? I can use the hide for enchanting and the bags of holding they make are really good.”
Temir looked worried about just where Daniel was keeping said bodies until he mentioned the bags. “Oh?”
Daniel wouldn’t have been able to explain exactly before, but Identify Item had come in clutch with his most recent advancement. It was the counterpart to Analyze Material, working on things that had already been crafted.
----------------------------------------
Bag of Holding (Item, Domain: Enchantment, Quality: Enhanced, Level: 2):
An enchanted item that makes use of Dimensional magic to expand the space inside, allowing for far more to be stored than its appearance would suggest. The weight of materials placed in this bag is negated while stored. Anything placed in this bag can be easily retrieved, and a slight preservative effect is applied while inside.
Added Affixes:
- Leathercut
- Self-repair
Material Bonus: Use of Special Item: Gray Wastewolf Fur has improved the preservative effect of this item, dramatically slowing down the rate of decay of all items inside.
----------------------------------------
It was a far better bonus than the expansion to storage space the skink leather gave him. He still used that as his primary bag for most things that didn’t need to be saved, but the wolf fur bags now carried anything that could rot. If he needed more space he could always make more bags. He had enough fur to start an ethically challenged coat store back on Earth.
“Very interesting, though without formal guild membership there are fewer resources available to you. I could bring this to the Commander to try and work something out,” Temir offered as Daniel smirked. Everyone always needed more handy storage space. “How many bodies are we speaking of, precisely?”
“A little over three hundred normal-sized wolves,” Daniel said offhandedly, enjoying making the annoying official gape as he heightened both Bartering and Steadfast Salesman. It was finally time to get a use out of those powers.
…
Murdon entered the room a few minutes after Temir left, and his unsteady breath made it clear he’d run here after hearing the news. That also made it less likely things had been arranged for their meeting to be delayed until Temir had his chance to rain on Daniel’s economy parade. “Lograve?”
“I don’t know where he is,” Daniel answered. “Or the others. Hunter is dead but his soul is still out there so we think there’s a chance he can come back.” No, I know we’re getting him back, Daniel added internally. “Lograve’s not dead, you’d know if he was.”
The draconoid’s armored shoulders collapsed as he closed his eyes. Daniel hadn’t seen Murdon since the two refugee groups had split off. The Knight had lost a hand at that point and had been crushed under the weight of saving all of their lives over two months. He looked better now on both counts, though that was nothing compared to the clear relief he felt on that. Daniel wasn’t done relaying the news, though.
“There’s something else. The real Tyrant you thought was behind Gadriel?” Thomas sucked in a breath behind him as Daniel readied himself as well. “It’s Ashier. I identified them myself and they admitted to it. They’ve got that fire dragon under some kind of domination effect too.”
The Knight remained stunned for half a minute, keeping his eyes closed as he absorbed the news. “Why?” he eventually asked.
“They didn’t want to give up the region. They are… extremely devoted to the Octyrrum.” He suddenly wished he’d eased Murdon into this revelation and tried to soften the blow. “They always say becoming a Tyrant changes people, right? The class could have made them betray you.”
“They tried to kill me.” One of Murdon’s arms, the one that normally held an ax, shook. “They tried to kill Lograve, and they did kill hundreds through their actions. I was their friend!” He took in several deep breaths, initially making Daniel worried he was about to use his racial ability, until he saw they were calming. “I will have to confront them at a later time.” His eyes flicked to Khiat, who quailed under the intensity that remained in them. “We haven’t met. I am Co-, I am Murdon, Knight. I commend your bravery for coming here, all things considered. As one who spends as much time in armor as you must, I can’t truly say my life depends on mine as much as yours does.”
“Oh, it’s fine.” Khiat shifted one of the leather bands that covered the flesh of her arm and exposed it to the sun. “See? I have Sun Resistance.”
Murdon’s brief look of horror faded and he took another steadying breath. “You shouldn’t show anyone else your power in that way. Regardless, it is good you have found someone capable, Daniel, and I thank you for being upfront about these troubling developments. We’ll have to depart to discuss certain matters with the Regent, and Quala will be there as well,” he said, addressing Thomas at the end. “Before we go, is there anything else you need to mention? You don’t need to fear ears here.”
Other than that I’m a Spoke and a god is following me around? Daniel thought, wondering if Cloak was in this very room. “Two things, mostly. Tlara died but is possessing her beasts which her sister has some kind of control over. I also need to ask Quala if she can heal the hybrid ringcat body I can turn into since it almost got fully cut in half. And there’s about two hundred wolf bodies that I need to enchant my way through, but I’ve got that covered.”
“Oh,” Murdon groaned as a weight settled on him. “This is how Lograve felt when he was training you, isn’t it?”
“You did say you liked me being upfront.”