We were overdressed for the rescue.
Mirina wore what was called a war-dress. It was the love child of brigandine and an armored corset, with a skirt of interlocking metal plates studded on leather. The arms and legs were protected by plated greaves, bracers, and rerebraces, and everything was hidden under a dozen layers of petticoats. It was heavy and required some high Attribute values to wear but she was level 120 with the Class and Species boost from being Royalty.
"Remind me to forge and enchant one of these for everyone later," I remarked when I saw her.
"Will do," she happily agreed. I offered my arm and took her away.
My hope was to dissuade Lonid from dreaming of attacking Windemere ever again. Disguised as [King] Robin Locksley, armor, shape, and fake Status, donning the true Tabard, we went to Lonid's Royal Palace in the Ethereal.
Our first disappointment was that the people in the palace decided to vent their stress on each other. There was a pile of bodies a kilometer away from the palace in the middle of the ghost of the capital. We landed and I started to store the bodies as Mirina identified most of them. The Royal family wasn't harmed because they had the guards but the minor nobles were almost all gone.
"This is madness," The lady cried.
"Another proof I screwed up," I said behind my helmet. "See why I need your help? These kills are recent, only a few days old. I can bring some of them back to life."
Wiping her tears, she nodded, "Do it. Lonid will need all the help we can get."
"I'll hold onto their souls until after we've solved this issue. They'll only get in the way and I want witnesses to see what I can do. About getting help, search the bestiary and find a good bipedal monster with hands to use as heavy labor. We'll hunt one and add it to my summoning roster. Maybe a monster that can manipulate Stone. We can use them for construction."
Mirina nodded. "Perhaps both?"
"Sure. Go wild, choose fifteen monsters that you think are good for doing specialized labor."
Even if the palace wasn't the only material feature in the Ethereal, the bodies bled all over the place as they were dragged. The blood dried but it had nowhere to go or decomposers to do their job. We reached the gates and found two knights posted above the portcullis.
"Halt! Who…"
"I'm Mirina Luwens," The [Princess] declared, then used a Royal Order. "{Go warn my father of my return and open the gates}."
We went inside. The palace showed signs of fighting, with scratches and scorch marks from wayward spells and blood splatters everywhere. We found the King on his throne with a heavy Apocalypse Now vibe.
"Ah, the wayward traitor returns!" He shouted. "With a ghost from the past. The [Hero King] Locksley of Windemere! Welcome to my court! I'm sorry we don't have any more courtiers to bow to you, Your Majesty!"
"I've come to release all of you," I declared. "Get everyone ready. I'm opening a gate to the real world."
The palace was at the bottom of the lake if it were in the material world. We could see ghostly fish swimming around. I had to lead everyone out and then open a gate to the city streets.
The [Queens] approached us. They seemed less insane than the King of nothing. Mirina and I convinced them to organize the guard and servants to carry what they could with them. I also demanded the return of the storage rings since they wouldn't be necessary anymore. Once everyone was packed and ready, I led them uphill (I mean, out of the lake) and opened a gate.
The Royal Guard went out first and secured the square, then the servants to prepare for the triumphant return of the Royal family. We heard the crier announcing the return of the King. Mirina's family strutted out of the gate but they gave her the cold shoulder. I held the young woman's hand and lamented my foolishness.
After the last Royal left, I closed the gate, leaving us alone in the Ethereal. Mirina fell on her knees, weeping. I took her in my arms and brought her back to the now-empty palace. A mass application of House Magic through Sorcery cleaned up the place and fixed the damage from fighting.
I took her to her bedroom. It was untouched.
"I'm sorry, MIrina," I said as I stored my armor and returned to my true shape. Without many appendages.
Hiding her face against a pillow, she coldly said, "Don't be. Lonid was a threat to Windemere, you solved it with the least amount of bloodshed. You were imprisoned by my father but his punishment was just the loss of a palace and a week of curfew."
I sat next to her and put a hand on her armored back. "What do you want to do?"
"What can I do?" she whimpered without turning around. "I already did too much! I basically saved Lonid from you but they'll brand me a traitor!"
I chortled, "You should see the flattering things they wrote about me in your history books. Why are you concerned about that? You aren't dead yet, and history is written by a bunch of losers. Unless you write your own history books, all you'll get about you are unflattering lies. After death, your name will be used by any who wants to push whatever agenda they have. Windemere needed a strong figure, they carved a manly statue of me. But how many raunchy novels did you read about the Death Princess and the First Hero? Goodness, there's a lot of them that make me my own lover!"
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She sputtered a suppressed laugh. I knew she did read some of these. I didn't get a reply, so I continued.
"You know I can feel your heartbeat accelerate, don't you? And I can see the heat in your body, so I know you're blushing even from behind. C'mon. Let's make a public appearance in Perenneth, knock your father down a peg, and put your name on the history books."
"That would be stupid," MIrina finally turned around. "It is not yet the time to reveal Locksley's return to the general public. The people here in the palace saw you but they will be considered insane. What you need now is to get Windemere together. With my family back and the strongest nobles gone, Lonid will survive. Once you reunite Windemere, I'll be too valuable to them and they'll make history rewrite itself. All the better if you kill a dragon or two."
"Now that's my [Princess]," I grinned. "Shall we go back to the Academy?"
"Yes. Let me get out of these clothes first. They're too heavy."
"Oh," I exclaimed coyly. "Are you asking your betrothed to undress you, my Lady?"
"Yes, why not. I don't see any maids around here to help me."
I leaned forward and over her. "You know what, you're right. There's not a soul in this palace beside us."
"Now that you mentioned it," She didn't push me away or anything. "What are you going to do with it?"
"What? I'll add it to my collection, of course," I reached her ear and whispered, "It's free real estate."
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Back at the academy, I started to work on the enchantments for the cathedral. I had to finish the quest for Vukdon. With all the modifications for the other deities, it was more like an ecumenic complex. The Academy lost a lot of lawn space but all the allied deities had a specific space. Vukdon held the main altar across the nave from the street access. The hand of the statue would hold the enchanted crystal orb with the {Wellspring} effect. To the sides of the long building, chapels to the other major Gods.
Once I set myself to work, a bunch of Quests from the other deities popped up. All of them wanted a piece of the pie and their investment would surely see great returns. It also made them vested in the survival of Windemere and its people. I vowed to outdo my previous best.
Right at the entrance, a stained glass ceiling let the sun rays shine upon the statue of Galbarar to the right, who overlooked the entrance to a courthouse where his priests could hold judgment and settle minor disputes and civil lawsuits that didn't involve the government. I intended to put enchant anglerfish organs in the statue's eyes so it would shine with sunlight even during the night. On the other side, there was a small training area dedicated to Queltphion. His zealots, myrmidons, and supplicants could seek specialized training. The arena would have an HP regeneration enchantment.
Next up we had a section of the Academy gardens that was walled off with unstripped wood logs and dedicated to Yznera. A water feature imitated a small stream. The elves, druids, and other nature-inclined people would feel at home here. I used my own elven and fairy powers to grow the grove until it was considered "virgin" enough to put a fairy circle in it.
Across from Yznera's grove were Zacheia's art gallery and studio. A modest stage would allow bards and other performers to entertain a small audience of up to two hundred people. I enchanted the gallery with preservation spells for the artwork and the stage with climate and acoustics control. Unless people were hurt, no sound would escape but if a fight broke out the sound isolation enchantment would turn off. Further inside there was a private and discreet parlor for the most dedicated worshippers, like Marisol.
Further inside we had the last three spaces. One was small and secluded, a shrine for mourning the dead and worshipping Rabhorktaar. The god of [Thieves], [Assassins], and death was one of the major supporters of Windemere, given the number of loyal practitioners of The Master's techniques we had. This shrine was next door from the art gallery. Next to Yznera's grove I dug a giant hole and filled it with saltwater and sunrods. This was a shrine for Meheia and her children Leviathan and Kraken. I would entice some mermaid [Priestesses] to come here to look after the place.
The final place of worship was an atelier for woodcrafts and a smithy. This was dedicated to both Wyxnos and Labraid. Gnomes and dwarves could practice their crafts here, with a toned-down version of my {Shadow Workshop}. It didn't grant any special Proficiency bonuses, but the priests could adjust the workspace to better fit any crafting task they could imagine.
Most of these enchantments, especially the lesser {Shadow Workshop}, weren't self-sustaining. Truly, if Vukdon's statue wasn't hogging and absconding with all the MP from the {Wellspring} the complex could be self-sustaining especially given the hundreds of spellcasters studying next door but that wasn't happening. The priests and worshippers needed to donate their MP but that served as a way to foster their faith. Such was the power of marketing, turning a weakness into a selling point. Scary.
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Two months passed. I worked on the enchantments, attended classes, and power-leveled the girls. All of them decided to go for the five-path fusion. The difference between one Perk every three levels to one every other Perk was huge. Four Perks every rank, or twenty Perks if one aimed for the two hundred level cap. At the end of the first rank, the investment already paid for itself, leaving the improved Attribute values and the twelve lifetime Perks as profit.
News of an army marching north from Sadian and Leondirac mobilizing troops to defend their border reached us but that wasn't unexpected. The dwarves of Vugh Tarim were busy crafting weapons and armor for themselves but the loss of the payment for the massive shipment Torgo stole hurt their finances. They begrudgingly had to open trade talks with Windemere.
I finished my outstanding tasks and quests, then rested for a day savoring the rewards.
> You completed a Quest for Vukdon. You gained 30 fast-growth points for both [Enchanter] and [Spellcaster].
>
> You completed a Quest for Galbarar. You gained the Perk, Sunlight Magic (very rare): Your magic is 25% stronger when under direct sunlight.
>
> You completed a Quest for Queltphion. You gained 15 fast-growth points for both [War Technique] and [Combat Technique].
>
> You completed a Quest for Yznera. You gained the Perk, All-Weather Refuge (very rare): Plants in your Tree Refuge grow healthy regardless of their preferred climate or season.
>
> You completed a Quest for Zacheia. You gained the Perk, Muse of the Arts (very rare): Artists working under the effects of your Muse Inspiration receive a (your Luck)% bonus to the quality of their works. This Perk affects you at half-efficiency.
>
> You completed a Quest for Rabhorktaar. You gained 15 fast-growth points for both [Furtivity] and [Assassination].
>
> You completed a Quest for Wyxnos and Labraid. You gained the Perk, Monument Builder (very rare): When leading structural projects, increase quality, enchantment points, and decrease raw material waste by (20+Willpower/2)%.
>
> You completed a Quest for Meheia, Leviathan, and Kraken. You gained the Perk, Elemental Healing[Water] (very rare): 10% of all water damage (before reduction) heal you.