The horseless chariot dropped them next to a copy of the London Gilded Gate. The team gawped, seeing the gigantic circle with its endless light in it.

“Welcome to the Gate to the next tier. Or, rather, a Gate to the next tier,” said Amelia.

She gestured toward the gate.

“Up until now, you couldn’t cross this. The real reason we ran you through that last lair was that lair clearing is necessary for the Labyrinth. And it’s damned hard solo. Doable, but hard.”

“You see, this Gate leads to a tier 2 zone. That’s where Silas and Ada will pick their next profession, but it’s also your next levelling zone. It’s hard to find anything above 40 in Grailburg, which means your levelling is slowing down there. The Company keeps a small house there, and we’ll shack you up there with Green Team. The Red Team will move to another zone when they manage to reach their milestone. Sirius is slacking.”

“Grailburg has three Gates leading further into the Labyrinth. There’s one that connects to another tier 1 zone, Phasian, and the others connect to Cheogary and Vukodalar. This is the Cheogary Gate.”

“The reason you didn’t come here yet is that you can’t cross a Gate out of Grailburg unless you’ve completed some lairs. The only Gate you could take is the one that leads back to London. Every other Gate requires as many lairs as its level. Luther?”

Luther could see he was asked a question.

“So we did two lairs to get a tier 2 Gate?”

“Correct. After the barrow, you could take the Phasian Gate if you wanted, but that was all. We could move you there, but then you would need two lairs in Phasian to get to use its own tier 2 connection. The Grailburg one wouldn’t count. So, we ran you through the Valley instead. And now, you can use any of the tier 2 Gates.”

She gestured toward the metal circle.

“Go ahead. But wait for me on the other side.”

Rowan turned toward the Gate. Then, shrugging he moved into the light.

Location

Zone: Cheogary (tier 2)

Locale: Gate to Grailburg

Recall: Grailburg, The Plaza

Recall: available

Entrances: 0/1

Fast travel: 2 charges, next in 6 days

All five of the team looked around. The Gate on this side looked identical, but the surroundings were bare. The vegetation was very sparse, and there was little on the plains. But another horseless carriage was there, along with a man wearing the tabard of the Artefact Hunting Company.

Amelia walked out of the Gate and gestured to the team.

“Ok, last before we go. You will go back to Grailburg crossing the Gate. This time… you will see a prompt. Just accept it. Then come back to Cheogary. You’ll see why when you get that prompt.”

They exchanged glances, then Silas moved back and disappeared into the Gate’s light. The rest of them turned and went back.

Gate to tier 1

Set your Entrance for tier 1 to Grailburg?

Yes

No

Rowan accepted. Then, since the prompt felt familiar, he looked at the location interface again.

Location

Zone: Grailburg (tier 1)

Locale: Gate to Cheogary

Recall: Grailburg, The Plaza

Recall: available

Entrances: 1/1

Tier 1: Grailburg

Fast travel: 2 charges, next in 6 days

Rowan could hazard a guess about what it was about. He turned around and went back into the Gate, almost colliding with Dick.

“Ooops, sorry.”

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“Ok, all set? Let’s climb. We’re going to the Plaza.”

Rowan asked Amelia, “What is that Entrance stuff?”

“A way to go a bit faster across the Labyrinth. For each different tier of Profession you have, you can pick a Gate to that tier as an Entrance. Then, whenever you cross a Gate, instead of going to the place the Gate leads to, you can pick fast travel to another Gate instead.”

“So, now, we can go to Grailburg?”

“If you cross any Gate, yes. You’ll end up at the exit of Cheogary’s gate into Grailburg. Right now, it’s not that useful, since the only Gate you can take out of Cheogary is the same one. But if you’re away, and you need to go back to Grailburg, this is useful. At one point, you’ll change your tier 1 exit into Grailburg to a different one, of course.”

“Why?” asked Ada.

But Luther picked it immediately.

“Does this work on the Gate from London?”

“Yes. It does.”

She raised her hand to forestall any question.

“We didn’t get you back to London’s Gate because you’ll do that on your first leave. It would be a waste of time before. Right now, this is more useful. You can get back to Grailburg, or you can gate, then cross back into Cheogary immediately, so this kills two birds with one stone. Once you go deeper into the Labyrinth, this is very useful to get shortcuts.”

The team settled into silence, as the chariot moved across the desolated plains.

The evening was nearing when the chariot reached a white marble construction. Although they’d left that one weeks ago now, Rowan recognized a similar construct to the one they’d arrived back… well, back when they came into the Labyrinth.

Apparently, you arrived at the Plaza only when you entered first the Labyrinth. Otherwise, you’d end up at a Gate.

They filed into the Plaza. Amelia gestured toward the centre.

“Go ahead, and check the Professions. Silas, Ada, you have your build instructions.”

Rowan moved to the centre as well.

Tier 2: Cheogary

Paladin

20 WIS, 20 STR

Piercer

25 DEX

Planner

25 FOR

Rock

20 STR, 20 FOR

Scout

20 DEX, 20 INT

Sentry

25 FOC

Shieldbringer

25 STA

Smasher

25 STR

Torchbearer

20 STA, 20 FOC

“How come there’s… like nine Professions?”

“Each Plaza has its own set of Professions. The tier 2 ones have only 9, but there’s 20 possible tier 2 Professions.”

“So… I can’t get my Profession here?” asked Dick.

“No. There’s no direct upgrade to Mender. Although you could possibly get Paladin if you decided to pick a fourth Milestone in Mender and get 20 potential Strength. Same for Fullmore. You’ll both need a different Plaza.”

“You said 25 for a tier 2, but there are four professions that require only 20?”

“In two different potentials. Unless you had high potential in the right two to start with, it’s usually slightly harder to get. But there are builds that use that path,” replied Amelia.

Rowan couldn’t resist taking a peek.

Shieldbringer

(tier 2)

Required: 25 STA

Provides:

+5 health/+8 endurance/+3 mind/+2 aether per level

+1 Milestone/14 levels

Shieldbringer Milestone: +5 STA, +3 DEX, +2 PRE, +1 AGI, +1 WIS, 5% shield use

Skillset: Equipment / Defensive

The bigger numbers were nice, but…

Shieldbearer

(tier 1)

Required: 18 STA

Provides:

+3 health/+6 endurance/+2 mind/+1 aether per level

+1 Milestone/15 levels

Shieldbearer Milestone: +3 STA, +2 STR, +1 CON, +1 FOR, +1 PRE, 5% shield use

Skillset: Equipment / Defensive

“Ma’… Amelia? The stats look different?”

“Different professions, different milestones. Oh, and by the way, the 5% shield won’t stack. You get only the highest shield bonus between all your milestones. The rest says ‘+’ so you get everything.”

She called out, “Silas? Ada? You’re done yet?”

“Yes, Amelia,” they answered both in chorus.

Ada Deborah Walsh

Health: 291/291

Mind: 218/218

Endurance: 368/368

Aether: 214/214

Effective level: 33

Level 1 Piercer

Level 32 Pointer

Experience: 0/2000

Strength: 14

Dexterity: 25

Agility: 16

Constitution: 19

Stamina: 17

Wisdom: 16

Focus: 16

Presence: 15

Fortitude: 15

Intelligence: 18

Milestones: Pointer II

Skills: Stab (rank 0), Jab (rank 1), Slice (rank 0), Backstab (rank 1), Cut (rank 0)

“Did not lose my skills,” added Ada.

“Of course you did not, the spheres are the same. So you keep them. Don’t worry, you’ll get a few new ones as well. Keep following the build sheet for the ones you’ll raise this tier. And now, I leave you,” announce Amelia.

“WHAT?” exclaimed nearly simultaneously the whole team.

“Yep. You've graduated to your tier 2 zone, you’ve got all you need to know. Adelbert here will get you settled, give you a list of places to go, and a timeline to follow. When you get your third milestone, he’ll get you to Vukodalar for the two of you who need their Arcanist and Mender upgrade – which you’ll find there. You, Rivers, you’ll pick the Shieldbearer either here or in Vukodalar like your teammates. Then it’s onward to tier 3. And you’ll get your first vacation when you get there.”

She waved. Then, coloured light swirled all around her, and she became transparent, then vanished entirely.

“What the… happened???”

The Company man, Adelbert Harvey, laughed.

“She just recalled. Come on. We do have a Recall Stone at the base, and we’ll set your recall there. It will be more useful for you when you come back from expeditions.”

“So she’s back to Grailburg?”

“What? No. She’s set to the tier 4 Company base. That’s where she and her team branch out from. They start pushing to tier 5 already, even if none of them is at that level yet. Zacharias pulled her team to serve as your teachers. Now, they’re going back to work.”

Rowan looked wistfully at the place where Amelia had vanished. Despite the abrasive nature of the woman, she had been their teacher and constant companion for weeks.

He might even miss her. A bit.

Assuming he didn’t find boars to fight here, that is.