Jakob squinted as he crested the plateau and saw the cobblestone square.

He'd expected to see Marc, Anni, Zoey, and Sally, but the square was crowded.

"Jakob!" he heard Marc call out, and he spotted his group towards the far edge.

Hustling over, he nodded to his family and friends.

"There are a lot of people here for this time of day," Jakob observed to Marc, who shot him a grin.

"Apparently, I wasn't the only one who brought back a pamphlet and recruited some friends," Marc replied, gesturing to the plaza.

"The Dimensionalists are hashing out how best to move everyone," Zoey said quietly, nodding to a group of a dozen or so men.

Jakob took a rough count and shook his head.

"There are about a hundred and fifty people here," he said quietly, "are we sure the Curator in Holmstead has that many crystals?"

"The Conjurers might end up cooling their heels for a few days," Sally said, "I took a walk around and talked to some of these folks, and a lot of them want to go that route."

"Hopefully, they don't mistake us for an invading army," Jakob muttered, turning to pay attention to the Dimensionalist approaching their group.

"Good morning," the Dimensionalist said cheerfully, "I'm Derrik, and I'll be joining a few others in opening a portal to Holmstead."

Derrik waved a hand towards the crowd and went on, "Due to unforeseen circumstances, there are twelve of us and a hundred and sixty-one people going to Holmstead, so the three of us with the highest levels are going to cast the Ritual Cooperatively, and everyone else is going to just stream on through."

"The upshot for you folks is that in the spirit of this adventure, we're only looking to cover the cost of the ritual, so call it three mana crystals each," he finished with a grin.

Jakob's jaw dropped, and he had to close it with an audible click.

"Are you sure?" he asked carefully, displaying his Guild badge, "that's practically nothing."

"We're sure," Derrik replied with a laugh, "everyone is here for the same reason, right?"

Jakob nodded dumbly and handed over twenty mana crystals for his group.

Derrik gave him a nod and clapped him on the shoulder before moving to the next group.

"Well," he said, "that's a hundred and eighty crystals I didn't have to spend."

Marc and Anni both nodded, relief clear on their faces. They were the two members of the group who were bringing the fewest crystals with them.

"Let's make sure our packs are squared away," Zoey suggested.

One by one, they each hefted their backpacks, making a few minor adjustments and testing the weight.

Two minutes later, a massive Portal, ninety feet wide and ninety feet high, twisted into existence at the edge of the plaza. Streaks of green, orange, and violet flickered across the surface.

One of the Dimensionalists yelled from the Portal's edge, "Let's move!" before stepping through.

That triggered the rush as everyone moved forward and started pouring through the Portal.

Jakob barely had time to consider that had the Portal been the normal thirty feet, people might have gotten pushed around before he stepped through and found himself walking down a road towards the lights of a town in a valley below.

While it had been nearly dawn in Harbordeep, it was still dark here with only the slightest hint that sunrise was near.

Jakob squared his shoulders and held his wife's hand as he kept walking towards Holmstead and his future.

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Rogard squared his shoulders and inspected himself in the mirror.

He needed to be precisely on time, and his appearance and bearing further had to be beyond reproach.

He nodded at his reflection and headed downstairs and out of the house and then the estate.

He was headed to the palace, and as he wasn't a member of the Royal Family, he wasn't permitted the use of his magic to aid in his travel.

Fortunately, the boulevard to the palace was nearly empty at this time of day, and he arrived in good time, if slightly out of breath.

Composing himself, he approached the double doors leading in and returned the nod from the Guards.

The foyer was ablaze with light, as was customary, and a thin, nearly ethereal-looking young man sat behind a desk, making notes in a ledger.

He looked up at Rogard's approach and stood, sketching a bow.

"Lord Wallenstair," he acknowledged, "what brings you to his Majesty's palace today?"

"I'd like to make an appointment to speak with his Majesty about a matter most urgent and concerning," Rogard replied, choosing his words with care.

The young man, whose name Rogard couldn't recall, raised an eyebrow, then picked up a bronze trimmed ledger from the desk and flipped it open to the ribbon that marked his place.

"His Majesty is, as you know, a diligent King, on whose shoulders the weight of the Kingdom of Greenwold rests," the functionary murmured as he traced a finger down a column in the ledger.

"Could you perhaps be more specific as to the nature of the matter you need to discuss with him?"

Rogard shook his head and replied solemnly, "I'm afraid I can only discuss this matter with his Majesty, but I can assure you that it is most urgent."

"Does it have anything to do with the state of the walls?" the young man pressed.

"No, it does not," Rogard replied.

The functionary picked up a pen from the desk with a sigh and dipped it into the inkwell before delicately writing Rogard's name on a line in the ledger.

"His Majesty will have half an hour for you in four days," he informed Rogard.

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"I await his Majesty's pleasure," Rogard replied solemnly, giving the scribe the half-bow he was entitled to and turning to exit the palace.

He maintained his composure until he was well past the palace walls and striding down the boulevard towards his estate.

"I've done what I could, Nora," he murmured.

Rogard was well aware of the nature of the politics and maneuvering of the Noble Houses. By showing up at first light, impeccably attired, and adamant about only speaking to the King, he'd ensured that his request would be considered as the lowest possible priority.

His actions spoke of a desperate attempt to sway the King towards his House's benefit or another House's detriment.

The fact that this was also the exact protocol he needed to follow when bringing information to the King's attention that couldn't be shared with anyone else was simply perfect.

The procedure for notifying the King of important information that didn't relate to a Wave or Tide had been set generations ago, long before his house had risen to Nobility.

That the procedure hadn't been used since its creation was irrelevant; Rogard had followed it perfectly.

And Rogard was well known for his strict adherence to the duties and forms of his position. It was what kept his House safe from the machinations of the others, and it ensured they'd never rise above being the amongst the lower ranking Houses, despite their caretaking of the walls being a duty that ought to have allowed them to rise higher.

He didn't expect to have an appointment in four days. It would likely be moved forward a few times, and the soonest he would be seen was in six days.

Rogard hoped that he'd be pushed further down the list.

He was honor-bound to report the pamphlet to the King, but the more time Nora had before that happened, the better.

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Kelli woke up to Theo pounding on his door.

"Stars and stones," he cursed as he swung open the door, staring blearily at Theo, "what?"

"There are a lot, and I mean, a lot of people in the tavern, and more in the plaza, all looking to talk to someone about reincarnation and making a deal for an Affinity Crystal," Theo replied in a worried tone.

Kelli shook his head and rubbed his eyes.

He shrugged into a shirt and followed Theo out to the tavern, forgoing shoes.

As he stepped into the tavern, he paused in shock.

It was packed. There had to be nearly a hundred people in the tavern, all carrying backpacks and chatting away.

There was an air of excitement and anticipation.

He shouldered his way through the crowd, yelling as he went, "I'll address you all in the plaza!"

He found himself carried out of the tavern in a genial wave as the crowd flowed out, rejoining those who hadn't been able to squeeze themselves in.

Seeing that the crowd was at least good-natured, he stood upon the bench in front of the Adventurers Guild and cupped his hands together.

"Can everyone hear me?" Kelli yelled.

Shouts of assent rang across the plaza.

"I understand that you've all come to Holmstead to take advantage of the new paths and the Affinity Crystals as explained in those pamphlets?" He bellowed.

Kelli had seen several of Bob's pamphlets clutched in various people's hands.

An affirmative roar washed over him.

Kelli shook his head.

"I know everyone is excited," he addressed the crowd, "but it's a bit early in the morning, so let's settle down a bit and start sorting things out."

"There are too many of you for the tavern, and we really need to sort you out anyway, so let's form a few lines," Kelli hopped down and moved twenty feet over to the right.

"Everyone who needs to reincarnate, line up in front of me," Kelli said loudly.

The crowd shifted and surged, and soon there was a line of over a hundred people in front of Kelli, nearly two-thirds of the crowd.

"Well, that's a start," Kelli laughed and moved twenty feet to the left.

"Let's split that line in half; the other half line up here," Kelli said.

After a bit of discussion, a second line formed.

Kelli took another twenty feet to the left.

"Everyone else, line up here," he called.

He returned to his bench and addressed the neatly organized lines.

"Now I'm going to wake some folks up so we can all have breakfast," Kelli said, causing a rumble of approval from the assembly.

"And then we'll start everyone who needs it on reincarnating, interspersed with discussing your situation with the Thidwell, the Curator and Guild Leader here in Holmstead," Kelli finished before hopping off the bench and heading inside.

He needed to wake up Kevin and have him start cooking breakfast for two hundred.

He grimaced as he stalked towards the kitchen.

He wasn't looking forward to waking up Thidwell.

----------------------------------------

Thidwell was already awake.

He was a light sleeper, and the sounds of a mob, even a good-natured one, had been enough to rouse him.

He'd listened to Kelli address them with a wicked smile.

He'd worked hard to foster the devotion that Kelli showed him, and it pleased him to see the fruits of his labors.

Kelli was entirely convinced that if Thidwell said the sun would rise in the west the next morning, it damn well would.

That sort of faith and loyalty was a precious resource.

He'd headed to his office after Kelli had come back into the Guild and counted the Affinity Crystals he had available, outside of those reserved for the Guild Leaders, who would arrive the next day.

He arranged them into five neat piles.

He had forty-eight Conjuration Crystals, forty-one Summoning Crystals, twenty-eight Abjuration Crystals, ninety-seven Dimension Crystals, and sixteen Plant Crystals.

As long as the crowd outside had sixty future Dimensionalists, he'd be in the clear.

Thidwell let out a snort of amusement.

He'd need to lean on Eddi and the other Endless Swarm freshers to head down and grind out some Conjuration Crystals.

That particular group was nearly fanatical in their desire to gather Affinity Crystals and help Holmstead grow strong.

The first six freshers who'd taken the path had done so after listening to Bob, and they revered him.

Thidwell had capitalized on that, emphasizing his requests to the group as things Bob would be doing if he had the time.

Thidwell shook his head and gathered the crystals up into separate pouches before picking up a stack of newly amended pamphlets, just as Kelli knocked on his office door, no doubt having discovered that he wasn't in bed.

He swung the door open and smiled down at Kelli.

"Quite the crowd out there," he rumbled.

"Yes," Kelli said excitedly, "and they all want to take advantage of the opportunity that the new paths and Affinity Crystals offer."

Thidwell gestured for Kelli to walk down the stairs.

"I'll address them," Thidwell said as he followed Kelli out of the tavern.

Looking over the three lines of people, Thidwell cast his Control Air Spell, lifting himself so that he was easily visible to everyone.

"My name," he bellowed across the plaza, instantly quieting the chatter of the crowd, "is Thidwell Orstrang. I am the Curator of the Dungeon here in Holmstead, as well as the Guild Leader."

He cast his gaze across the assembled people, taking his time to ensure that they each felt as if he had evaluated them.

"I discovered the process for obtaining Affinity Crystals, and I have pamphlets here that explain their use," he gestured and expanded his control air spell to deliver a pamphlet from the stack in his hands to each person in the crowd, nearly exhausting his mana with the barrage, but making an undeniable statement of power and control.

"These Affinity Crystals and their attendant paths will change our society forever, bringing us safety and prosperity," his voice carried over the silent lines, "but only if we act to empower everyone; This power cannot be restricted; it must be shared."

"Because of this," Thidwell went on, "I require that anyone who accepts an Affinity Crystal will have to return that gift fifty-fold."

"I have several freshers that have done exactly that, in only a few months," he bellowed, ensuring that the few who had whispered to their friends or family fell silent again.

"Now you've come upon us en masse, and I confess I've been caught unaware," he chuckled loudly, endeavoring to appear not only powerful but also benevolent and approachable, "I'm releasing this information to the other Guild Leaders of the Kingdom tomorrow, save for Harbordeep, and I've dedicated the majority of the Affinity Crystals I've gathered towards ensuring that each town has a solid start towards ensuring that eventually, everyone will have one of these new paths."

"But," he raised his hands to quell the disappointed murmurs, "I do have some crystals available, of each type, and I'll ask the brave young men and woman who've devoted themselves to selflessly gathering them for me to delve a bit longer and harder to ensure that all of you receive the opportunity you've traveled so far for."

"But first, my good friend and our head chef, Kevin, will see to your breakfast, while my right hand Kelli," he gestured towards Kelli, who swelled with pride, "will start noting down names, groups, and desired Affinity Crystals."

As Thidwell drifted down to the ground, he strode forward until he stood next to the center of the middle line and gestured, raising rough stone benches and tables from the cobblestones, giving everyone a place to sit.

Ignoring the whispers of awe, he strode back into the tavern, allowing himself an internal wince as he saw just how much mana that persistent effect had reserved.

----------------------------------------

Bob rolled over onto his side and sleepily reached down to rub Monroe's ruff, the big Maine Coone having decided to sleep behind his knees.

Although due to his size, it was more of behind his lower body.

Monroe cracked a single eyelid before curling his tail up over his face and unleashing a low rumbling purr.

"More sleep," Bob confirmed as he closed his eyes and fell back asleep to the steady vibration of his buddy's purrs.