Orrin stared out at the plains filled with tall yellowing grass. The land beyond the Pass was beautiful in an undiscovered and unconquered kind of way. The trees within the Pass stopped a few yards beyond the mountains to either side… or they had been a few days ago. An army of workers corralled the tree line back, giving an open space to work with on the daring project. It was a beautiful view that Orrin ignored as he read his Status for the tenth time that day.
The overlook that Orrin stood on was one of several that spanned the length of the Pass’s opening mouth. At Silas’s request, a [Locationist] teleported Orrin to the far side of the Pass, negating the long trek needed for his own [Teleport] ability. Orrin’s near-limitless mana let him bring parties of workers out and back to Dey without fear of getting stuck. Fortifications, towers, and more went up in hours, with reinforcements and additional supports built up daily.
Orrin’s schedule filled his days to the minute. He spent an hour in the morning creating [Increase Will] and [Increase Intelligence] spell orbs for the people building the initial strongholds and wall. He’d heard the people calling it the Outer Wall already, describing something that had taken hours to build as if it had stood defending Dey for centuries. At first, Orrin wanted to be in charge of handing out the glass spheres. He needed to explain how dangerous they could be if overused. A few [Alchemists] had worked with him to create potion versions of [Purify] but the ten-minute time limit was hard to enforce. Orrin tried using [Increase Durational Spell] in combination with his buffs and could create an orb that lasted a total of nineteen minutes but the extra point of mana cut into how many he could create. In the short term, quantity over quality was needed.
Luckily, Madi and Silas came to his rescue with schedules, time sheets, and threats of docking pay if anyone fell ill due to their own negligence. After watching one man vomit from will overuse and a [Nausea] debuff, the workers passed the word around to not slack off.
“It’s quiet out there,” Daniel said from his side. The [Hero] and his best friend slept out behind the original Wall of Dey the last three nights. While Orrin prided himself on being a gamer, knowing the nerdy ins and outs of stats and min-maxing, Daniel wasn’t a complete neophyte. He knew tower defense strategies but more than that, Daniel worked hard to keep the workers motivated. Everyone still remembered him from his victory tour throughout the city of Dey and having the [Hero] bring refreshments helped make the tired and mana-drained workers keep going.
“Leanthun’s scouts returned this morning,” Orrin said between bites of the sandwich that Daniel brought him. “The demons should be visible in the morning. They’re moving north along the mountain range. They have to enter the Pass to get through. The dwarves all swear the mountain range is impenetrable.”
Orrin didn’t bring up his fears about that. He knew some of the dwarves traded with demons. If the demons could get a small group behind the mountains and attack Dey from the rear, it would be a disaster.
Daniel grunted and waved with a large fake smile at some people below carrying a large tree. “Did Madi tell you about the alchemist guild?”
Orrin frowned. “No. I didn’t see her this morning.”
“She came in for an hour to check in on our progress and drop this off,” Daniel explained and pulled out a familiar book. “Odrana arrived in force. I guess Lady Sanerris “donated” this with instructions to give it to you.”
Orrin reached out and took the Twin Book of Sending from Daniel. He reached into his pocket and used [Dimension Hole] to yank the other one out. The two books looked identical as he held them in either hand.
“She’s still alive?”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “I asked the same thing. Madi said politics and left it at that. She also told me about the alchemy problem. They’re saying the price for the purifying potion ingredients are going through the roof and they won’t be able to keep up production.”
Orrin closed his eyes and counted to five… something he’d been doing more of lately. “I’ll drop one of these off with Madi and teach her how to use it. We can save a few [Teleports] for communication if we use them. Does she think the Hospital is behind this? Did they get to the [Alchemists] we know or are they buying up ingredients? How much of a margin do we have for error here?”
Daniel threw the last bite of his bread out into the air and ruffled Orrin’s hair. “I have no idea. I’m just a pretty face who hits stuff with his sword.”
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Orrin ducked and pushed the hand off his head. “I could take [Alchemy] and make a bunch of potions. I’ve been thinking about doing it anyway.”
“What about your orbs?” Daniel asked.
“I’ve got a stockpile. I made a handful of these too. Meant to give them to you earlier but forgot,” Orrin said and pulled a box out of his magical storage.
“Where’d you get the box? This looks custom,” Daniel commented as he took the item from Orrin and opened it. He whistled. “Covered in cloth and shaped to hold the orbs. This is new.”
“Silas ordered them. There are crates of these back in Dey now. Each is marked with what stat they increase. These are different,” Orrin explained and pointed to the four rows in turn. “[Decrease Strength], [Decrease Dexterity], [Decrease Will], and [Decrease Intelligence]. I’m not making a lot of these and giving out none to anyone but you and maybe Madi if she wants some. They’re all level three.”
“Nice,” Daniel said, elongating the word into a hiss. “These will be fun to use.”
“Just keep them safe. It’ll be bad if they get… where did the box go?” Orrin blinked in confusion.
Daniel looked over his shoulder and tried to hold a straight face. “What do you mean?”
“D…” Orrin started threateningly.
Daniel broke and laughed. “I copied you. Got myself [Dimension Hole]. A few things opened up for me after hitting level thirty. The ball breakers are safe.”
“The… what?” Orrin asked stupidly.
“Your orbs that decrease people’s stats and break them. Ball breakers. I came up with it just now. What do you think?”
Orrin walked to the edge of the wall and looked down. “That has to be… thirty… forty feet?”
Daniel joined him and raised an eyebrow before looking over the edge. “I think more like fifty. Why?”
“If I throw the [Hero] over the wall, do you think anybody will care?” Orrin asked with a wink.
Daniel laughed but backed away with his hands raised. “I’d care. I can’t fly. Yet.”
Orrin discussed some issues he’d seen in the next fallback point with Daniel before he jumped back to Dey. He needed to explain the Relic book to Madi. As much as it pained him to admit it, Anabella’s choice to hand it over would help a lot of people.
“If you tap the stylus three times like that, it clears the messages,” Orrin explained to a dumbfounded Madi twenty minutes later. “There’s no notification or alert but it doesn’t cost mana. It can move around with a designated commander and we don’t have to worry about a [Locationist] teleporting into an area overrun with demons.”
“Orrin, this is a Relic,” Madi repeated for the third time. “You can’t just give this away and—”
“Take them. The only thing they mean to me is bad memories. I trust you to figure out the best way to use them,” Orrin said, putting the two black notebooks into her hands. “Daniel mentioned an alchemy guild. Tell me about that.”
One good thing about Madi was that she could compartmentalize with the best of them. Orrin knew Madi or her father would try to pay him for the books but honestly, he barely used the gold he had. There would be time after they survived to talk about the Relics but that could only happen if they didn’t die.
“The [Alchemists] delivered a quarter of what was promised and need more time to complete the order,” Madi said, still holding the two books tight to her chest. “We put pressure on them but nobody is breaking their story. The ingredients needed for the potions are in low supply and high demand right now. We’ve sent messages to Odrana and Veskar and expect answers by tomorrow.”
“I can [Teleport] to Mistlight and ask Maeve if her people can help. They grow things.”
Madi shook her head. “Who do you think I asked, Orrin? You won’t find her in Mistlight anyway. She’s returned to Ceraun with her father. I think they’re our best bet. If they can help, I might send you there on a supply run. With [Teleport] and [Dimension Hole], you can bring most of what we need back within an hour.”
Orrin agreed immediately. The orbs were supposed to save lives and the tainted side effects were a known factor. If Orrin was going to ask people to risk their lives using his buffs, he would find a way to supply the antidote as well.
Madi had two meetings to attend and promised to stop by before dinner. Orrin made his way to his room and locked the door.
He pulled up his Status again. After spending his first two days making nothing but will and intelligence-boosting spell orbs, he’d made a batch of the physical stat orbs this morning. It was the boost Orrin needed to hit a threshold that he’d worked on for ages.
[Increase Dexterity] Level 3 (10,000/10,000)
(3/4 Completed)
[Increase Strength] Level 3 (10,000/10,000)
(4/4 Completed)
Would you like to Upgrade for 50 AP?
No prompt saying level four like it should, Orrin scrutinized the text for some hidden text. The number complete out of four appeared after his first buff at level three hit the needed ten thousand mana points used but Orrin assumed a level four set of spells would appear for leveling. Not this hidden bullshit.
The number of ability points wouldn’t be a problem. He could purchase the upgrade right now. The only reason he didn’t was his uncertainty and fear. A fear that the spells would be lost. He couldn’t… no the entire city of Dey couldn’t afford that right now. He didn’t tell Madi or Daniel what was going on. They worried he was taking on too much. He worried that he could do more.
I might not be the [Hero] but I’ll do everything in my power to help my friends survive... to help us all survive.