Len followed Rick as they wandered through Goran, delving deeper into the city. They passed other arenas and various celebrations happening throughout the streets. None of it seemed to touch Rick, who was determined in his footsteps. Lydia realized that Rick was avoiding her questions, so she turned her gaze onto Len.
"So, Len, how did you come to work for my brother?" she asked.
Rick chuffed out a laugh.
"Well, when we first met," Len began, casting his mind back, "I think Rick was trying to get a job. He had none of the people skills necessary to do so, but he did have some of the required skills. So, I talked someone into giving him a bit of instruction, which turned into a budding friendship over the years."
"Or something like that," Rick interjected.
"Uh-huh." Lydia nodded, her expression indicating that she didn't understand a single thing either of them had said.
Rick left the sidewalk moving towards a two-story home separated from its neighbors by manicured bushes and a wrought-iron fence. "Here we are.”
“Young Master Rick?" A guard behind a gate questioned as Rick approached.
"Hey there. How are you doing?" Rick asked.
"I'm doing well, sir," the guard replied, opening the gate.
"Is Everett on the property?" Rick asked.
"As always. Wherever Matriarch Isendia is, he is," the guard responded, a note of respect and sadness in his voice.
Rick continued walking towards the house. "Is she in the drawing room?" he asked, raising his voice.
"I think so," the guard yelled back.
"Thank you. Get Everett to meet me where she is," Rick instructed, he hadn’t broken his stride. Len could feel he was barely holding himself back from running.
Len and Lydia followed him.
As he continued to study the building.
"There she is." Rick's pace quickened as he pushed open the double doors of the sprawling mansion.
He moved through the lower floors, taking steps four at a time to the second floor. Must’ve used mana sight to pick her out.
Servants and guards were startled as he weaved a path among them, reaching an ornate pair of carved doors. He raked back his hair, braced himself fixed a smile to his face and threw them open.
Inside was a small library with an old woman sitting in a chair, watching the world go by outside her window. She barely flinched as the doors were flung open.
"Hello, Grandma, how are you doing?" Rick asked as he strode over to her, a swagger in his step.
Slowly, she tilted her head, lifting it to stare at her grandson. Her voice was papery and thin as she tried to say something.
"Don't worry, Grandma, we'll have you feeling better in no time," Rick reassured her, patting her hand. He looked over at Len and started taking off his packs. "Lydia, door."
Rick studied his grandma.
“What are you going to do?” Lydia asked, closing the door.
"We're going to open Grandma's mana gates, give her a jolt of the old cultivation and tempering, and that should be enough to..." Rick paused, frowning. "Poison," he said with granite certainty.
Len felt the room grow oppressive, Rick’s anger bleeding through his domain.
"Yeah, her body's ravaged with it. Deposits throughout her bloodstream. The buildup in the organs. It's gotten into her bones." Rick took a deep breath, holding his grandma's hand tight.
"What do you mean, poison?" Lydia asked.
"Do you find it kind of convenient how Grandma got sick after Mom died? How everything started going to shit right afterwards? How the rest of the family turned their backs on us and on her?" Rick asked.
"I..." Lydia trailed off, lowering her head and gritting her teeth.
Frustration radiated from her.
"Well, don't worry," Rick said. "We'll get that sorted out soon enough. It actually might be a boon to us. It's ravaged her body so much and left her in a rather terrible state. The way you increase your body stat is by tempering the body. Her body is in a bad state so healing that damage should make her automatically stronger. Her rate of recovery should be impressive."
Rick opened up his pack and pulled out a stamina and healing potion.
“What are you talking about?” Lydia asked.
“Easier to show you,” Rick said, holding his Grandma’s hands and pressing his thumbs to the base of her palms.
Len sensed the mana condensing, directed by Rick.
"Here we go."
Twin cracking noises, like a plate dropped on a floor, filled the room as Rick's grandma breathed in suddenly, her back arching as she pushed against the rear of her chair.
Each gate would increase the rate she could gather mana by twenty percent.
Rick grabbed her head, pressing his thumb just above her brow. Another cracking noise rang out as the mana turned turbulent within the formation.
Going all out.
"All right, Grandma, listen to me," Rick said, holding her head so she could fixate on him. Her eyes were clearer than they had been when they entered, her body shuddering. "I've opened three of your mana gates. Mana is what you can feel rushing through your body right now, and it’s moving according to your thoughts.” Rick shook her. “You need to breathe.
“Inhale the mana, draw it through your channels and into your chest, down into your stomach, and let it settle in your dantian. That’s the open space you can feel at the core of your being. Exhale and condense the mana, then repeat, okay?"
She gave a faint, jerky nod as the mana started to settle down.
Len watched with his mana sight eyes, seeing the mana pass through her channels and into her core, building there until it condensed into a white vapor core.
A ripple of power ran through her body and the surrounding area, impurities pushing out of her pores as her channels spread throughout her body further.
Rick made a grasping motion with his hand, wicking away the impurities into a condensed ball, that he set alight.
"Good, good. All right, now the second part is we need to finish the tempering of your body. What I want you to do is guide the mana to where you feel pain throughout your body, everywhere that it feels wrong." Rick grabbed the stamina potion.
"It all feels wrong, boy," she said, her voice weak as she closed her eyes. Lydia took in a shocked breath as Rick grinned. “Drink this.”
She took it feebly, Rick helped her as she drank the potion, her eyes widening with energy.
“Good.” Rick put the potion bottle to the side, grabbing the healing potion. “This will make the tempering faster.”
He started to help her but she took over as impurities flowed from her pores, her wasted frame added tone and her sagging skin tightened. Her hair gained color, going from white, to grey and then brown.
Rick scraped away the impurities from the poison and burned them as he had done before.
Her skin started to become firmer, taking on a flushed glow instead of a pallid one. Her breathing came easier as well. Instead of labored and wheezing, it was strong and deep.
She filled her lungs fully, pulling in manna as she did so. This continued for several minutes before she let out a breath, opening her eyes.
She put the potion bottle back on the table, without the shaking of before.
"Well, Rick, it seems you learned something in the big city after all," she said with a wry grin.
"Ah, a thing or two here and there." Rick grinned.
His grandma let out a cackle, standing up and wrapping Rick in a hug. "Ah, it's good to see you, boy."
"And you too, Grandma," Rick said with a thick voice.
“Been a while since I’ve used my legs,” she said, shaking them out and using Rick as support.
"Grandma?" Lydia asked.
"Come here, kiddo." Grandma opened her arm, waving Lydia forward. She ran to her grandma with tears in her eyes, latching onto both her and her brother.
Well, this is awkward. Len rested his hand on the hilt of his sword as the door opened into the room.
An elderly gentleman stepped through, his eyes taking in the room, analyzing everything and everyone within a second.
Decent fighter. He was old as well, and it was the old fighters that one worried about. They’d lasted and survived.
His hair had gone white long ago, his mustache holding onto some remnant of gray coloring. The sword on his hip was simple and heavy, his armor similar. The kind that was used by a fighter, not by some parading centerpiece.
His stiff expression faltered as his steps jerked to a stop, his eyebrows tried to dance across his face, his mouth opening and closing like a guppy.
"I always thought you were unflappable," Rick said as the trio released one another.
"Everett," Rick's grandma said with a note of affection.
"Lady Isendia," Everett said half question, half confusion, bowing to her.
"Close the damn door, will ya? The draft's getting in." She waved at the man.
"Yes, ma'am." He jumped up, closing the door behind him.
"Haven't I told you a thousand times not to call me that?" she said, walking around the room, pressing her hands to her back and cracking her spine. "God, that feels good. Damn legs all half-numb. Every day, all day, sitting in that hard-ass chair." She stopped before she reached the window, her lips pressing together in thought. "All right, first things first. Rick, what the heck did you just do to me?"
Everett turned his head to Rick. Lydia as well.
This should be entertaining. Len crossed his arms, settling in for the show.
"Well, uh..." Rick stared at the ceiling, trying to find the words to put together. "So, there's mana in the world, and you can use that mana to do different things, like heal the body and increase cultivation.”
"And how did you learn about this?" his grandma asked. "A lifetime of study?"
Rick shrugged.
His grandma looked at him, really looked at him. "Something's different, isn't it? You're Rick, but you're different. Not in the way that one might be if they went off to school and found out information, but you have a weight to you, a weight of time, something that you find in old nobles and those who have seen a thing or two."
"I don't know about that." Rick laughed off his grandma's words, waving it away. "Just picked up a few things along the way," Rick said.
His grandma raised an eyebrow, clearly not accepting it. "Then there's you." She turned her gaze on Len.
"You're like him. You're young, on the outside at least. But you hold yourself as someone that's seen combat before, someone that's seen how things can go wrong in a moment's notice. You have a bearing about you, a weight to you. You're also restrained, holding back. It reminds me of a dog trying to pick up an egg in their mouth, holding back all of the strength in their jaws, tightly controlling even the minute movements of their body."
She lowered her gaze to her hand, opening it, and then closing it. She pressed up onto her toes, and then rocked back to her heels.
"You've both done this." It was a statement, not a question. As she looked at the two of them, "You've done a lot of this. My body is stronger than it's ever been before, even in my prime. Not just this mana stuff, but physical strength."
She squinted at them both, he could see he trying to gauge the difference between them.
“You said she was a sharp one,” Len said.
Rick sighed and rubbed the back of his head.
She moved over to a table, grabbing the leg and picking it up in one arm.
Everett had made a half-step forward as if to protect her from the weight she'd picked up while Lydia covered her mouth in surprise.
"My lady?" Everret asked in a strained voice, that seemed to ask ‘can you not do that for my health and sanity’ with the added resignation of one that knew it was going to happen again no matter what he said. Yup, Definitely Rick’s Grandma.
Stolen novel; please report.
"Oh, sorry, Everett," Grandma said, lowering the table back down to the floor. "Just a little test of mine." She gave him a smile, and then looked back to Rick and Len. "Everett could you make sure that we’re not disturbed. Rick I have questions for you.”
“Yes ma’am.”
He opened the door, talking to someone outside before he closed the door and locked it.
"So, Rick, are you going to introduce us?" Grandma asked, gesturing to Len.
"Grandma, this is Len. Len, this is Grandma. Len... How do I explain this? Len's been my best friend for the last a hundred and fifteen years or so?" Rick trailed off.
Lydia snorted.
"That sounds about right." Len nodded. He looped his thumbs into his sword belt. I guess this is happening. First person they’d opened the gates of, or taught cultivation and how to temper their bodies.
"One hundred and fifteen years," Grandma repeated. "Well, I guess you have some story to tell then. Len, please call me Carolyn." She moved to the bar cart and pulled the stopper off of a snifter. She smelled it, grimaced and then shrugged. “Not the best but it’ll work. Better than the swill that Rickson made from foodscraps out the back of a supply wagon.” She held up the snifter to Rick and Len. “Drink?”
“Definitely,” Rick said.
“Wait, you believe them?” Lydia asked.
“Yes I do,” Carolyn said. “Len?”
“Please.”
“So, a hundred and fifteen years?” she asked, giving them all healthy pours, pausing and then topping them up some more.
She waved them to a set of chairs and picked up the glasses.
Lydia and Everett sat.
“Well you don’t look a hundred and fifty,” Lydia said.
“Thanks, I clean up pretty good,” Rick grinned as he off his pack and his armor, Len followed suit, then took a seat on the couch, accepting a drink.
Rick let out a sigh of appreciation as Carolyn sat last.
“Far as I can guess we travelled back in time before mana and the system is widespread. Mana is spreading through the world, it is essentially a chaotic energy that you can control as you get stronger. Now you’ve been around us you should be able to call up your stat screen and get notifications. Which you can see by saying ‘stat screen’.”
“Stat screen.” Carolyn blinked and looked around at things she could only see.
“Stat screen,” Everett said.
“Grandma you should have a mana of one now that I’ve opened up your mana gates, channels are basically a second set of veins that mana passes through to the core at the center of your being. I opened one of Lydia’s mana gates so she should have a mana score of one too, Everett should have zero unless he opened a mana gate.” Rick watched them to check they were following along.
Nice stuff. Len drank.
“Everything runs off of experience, there is body, mana, skill and general experience. You temper your body and it’ll increase your body experience, cultivate mana your mana experience goes up, improve your skills, your skills go up. General experience you get from activities you perform, like killing or making something or improving your overall skills. General experience you can use to ‘top up’ skills, body and mana. Though you can’t improve a skill past master with general experience alone.” Rick said.
“Always build up your body first then your mana,” Len said.
“Why?” Lydia asked.
“Mana is chaos, if the body is too weak then it will start to alter it, mutate it,” Rick said. “Your body contains mana, it gives you will over it. Mana looks to change, corrupt and empower,” Rick drank, his eyes hooded as memories took him elsewhere. “If you have say ten body and five mana you’ll be seen as a level five, if you have ten body and ten mana you’ll be level ten. The screens and the system reward you for doing acts that will give order to the chaos.”
“What is experience?” Carolyn asked.
“Not really sure,” Rick shrugged. “Some people say that it is true experience. The more you do the more you earn. A numerical value of what you’ve accomplished.”
“Killing or creating can earn you it?” Everett asked, a weight behind his voice.
“Yes,” Rick said.
“So we are to expect people to start killing things in order to get stronger?” Everett’s voice hardened.
“There are about a dozen skills related to killing, there are many more that are not as destructive,” Len said.
“Simply farming would earn you more experience. Every chicken you kill will earn you lets say a point of experience. Same goes for harvesting a kilogram of wheat. You harvest say two hundred kilograms of wheat from an acre-.”
“—Three hundred at least,” Len interjected.
“-Three hundred even! That’s three hundred general experience points and you increase your farming skill. Which means that you’ll grow higher quality, higher yield wheat faster the next year,” Rick said.
“You get an imbalance where those that work on their crafting, or production skills are going to earn a lot more experience than fighters, unless they’re fighting massive creatures,” Len said.
“Now it can get a little funny with the skills. If you’re raising lets say common grade wheat, you’ll get the general experience, though that will only raise your skill level to Journeyman. You’ll need to grow Uncommon grade wheat to reach Expert. Though you could use the general experience to push yourself higher you’re doing twice the work for half of the reward,” Rick said.
“So you have to do harder tasks to increase your skill’s experience, is it the same with body and mana?” Carolyn asked.
“Yes, you need to temper your body more to increase its strength, or draw in more mana for longer to increase your cultivation,” Rick said.
“What happened with me?” Carolyn asked.
“Poison attacked your entire body. I healed you, effectively tempering your body, and opened your mana gates so you could passively draw in mana. Kind of gave me an idea for how to temper people passively. You’ve got some more healing to do, which you can do by infusing mana into your body or by using healing spells. You can also cultivate mana as your body is highly tempered.”
Carolyn looked like she had several more questions, pushing them to the side as she leaned forward. “What happens with the family?”
“Infighting weakens everything to the point its mostly fallen apart. Most of our fighting forces are deployed to earn more money for the main family and so they can’t be used to support one side or the other. Beast wave tears through Goran. Isendia is a name cursed by those who know it. Some of the forces band together and create guilds.” Rick said.
That left them all in silence.
Smooth, no bombshells at all.
“Anyway with the density of mana increasing, once it reaches a certain density it will precipitate the apocalypse,” Rick said.
“And what happens with this apocalypse?” Everett asked.
Rick searched for the words.
“Mountains crumble and rise,” Len said. “Storms that will change the landscape completely ravage the world. Dungeons appear, beasts get stronger and attack towns and cities. Nations will fall and city states will become the basis of power.”
Len sipped on his glass. Carolyn looked at him then back to Rick. “Not alarming at all.”
Rick shrugged.
“You are sure,” Everett said.
“Yes,” Len said. “That connecting to network. I think that’s a countdown to the apocalypse.”
Everett looked at Carolyn.
“I trust their words.” She drained the rest of her drink.
“Then we will need to prepare,” Everett said.
“Gather up what you have, we’re going to head to Len’s family and then Velkaris,” Rick said.
Best place to find a buyer for the mana stone and get the supplies we need.
“Velkaris?”
“The strategist?” Rick asked.
Len nodded. “There is someone there that will know how to sell the product we have.”
“Velkaris was built as a bastion city centuries ago. It is setup next to the Myrhal river. With the locks and the rail system it was bypassed, falling in status. Criminal syndicates now rule most of the city,” Carolyn looked between them.
“In the future it is known as a city that has everything and anything for sale. Their auctions were the thing of legends. If you want to sell something, you’d go there,” Len said.
“What did you two do in your future past?”
“Dungeoneers,” Rick said. “We’d go into every dangerous place we could find to pluck out the precious goods and then sell them on to survive.”
“Have you heard of Lucius Valtren?” Len asked.
Carolyn frowned, weighing the name. “I do not.”
“No one knew of the strategist before he revealed himself as the king of Velkaris,” Rick said.
“Looks like we’ll have to head to the city to find the king of fence,” Len said.
“That’s why we’ll move to the city,” Rick said.
“Goran is our home,” Carolyn said.
“Hasn’t been for most of my life. It will fall, Velkaris holds,” Rick said.
“Your grandfather established our home here.”
“Land is dead, people are living,” Rick’s voice dropped and his eyes turned flat. “Do not let pride blind you to realities.”
Lydia looked between them in confusion.
Carolyn turned her attention on Len. “Where are your family, Len?”
“South, outside Warwick. They’re farmers.”
“How do we prepare for what’s to come?” Carolyn asked.
Len weighed her with his gaze and then looked at Rick.
Rick gave him a tilt of his head that said of his complete trust in her.
“How do we prepare for what’s to come?” Carolyn asked.
Rick looked at Len.
“You have fields around you, though you’re importing a lot of food from other places. That tells me you have a population higher than what the surrounding land can supply. Based on what I saw in your fields, your fighting forces have been deployed away from your lands, leaving your own farms undefended.”
Len glanced over, Carolyn didn’t make to argue, waiting on him.
“You used to have industry but it is gone. You will need a steady supply of metals, iron, steel, copper to start. There are no mines in the surrounding areas or easily accessible. You will have to import it which will be a great expense.” Len leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You’ll have to build up defenses around the city, bring everyone under a single leadership. The son that’s running it is useless as soon as the apocalypse starts.”
“The brains of the outfit,” she said.
“Hey!” Rick complained.
“You might know new things but you’re still my Rick. Though you are too focused on a singular path, one that makes logical sense, but does not take into account the people that would be involved.” She intertwined her fingers and leaned forward on her armrests. “If you were to control Goran completely what would you do?”
“Agriculture needs to be sorted out first, its your greatest strength here. You don’t have mines for many raw materials so would need to build up a massive stock of those. Your city is wide open to attacks, you don’t have any walls. Need to make this a defensive position.” Len grimaced. “That’s a lot of work.”
Carolyn’s eyes became distant, looking at her screens. “Not much time at all, two growing seasons and bringing all those troops back is going to thin out our harvest and increase the size of our defenses.” Carolyn drank from her glass absently.
“Skills will help. Farmers will produce more, builders will build faster. Another benefit of the stat screens,” Rick said.
“They just do what they’ve done before and it’ll do better?” Carolyn asked.
Len nodded.
“How does it work?”
“Read that question a kilometer away,” Rick said. “You perform the skill multiple times and your skill level goes up till you reach a new grade, there’s Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert, Master and so on. When reaching Apprentice you get a right kicking of information—called enlightenment that teaches you your flaws and how you can make something of a higher grade. Then you grind out more of the activity and you get a higher grade.”
“Good thing is that you probably have people that have a high grade in a certain skill,” Len said. “They just need to get a screen, use their skill with the right materials and recipe they’ll be good.”
“Get the fucking shock of their life,” Rick muttered.
Len shrugged in a ‘you’re not wrong’ gesture.
“Still, it is a lot of work,” Len said.
“We have some forty-thousand souls in this city, that is a lot of bodies to throw at any project. If we’re able to increase their strength as well…” Carolyn trailed off.
Len nodded, but held his words. “This sounds nice, and I hate to be this person. Though you are not in power anymore, Rick’s Uncle is and its clear he wouldn’t be interested in this kind of thing. Also from what Rick told me, you don’t have much in the way of material wealth remaining at this time period. Also you’ve lost all the skilled workers and you’re far from the mines, how will you get those things?”
“I will deal with Rick’s uncle, as for workers and the materials, that is an easier problem to resolve than you’d think. How much of our history do you know?”
“Knight family that went from village to town to city, raising a military force of mercenaries through competition and on your travels. Then Rick’s uncle took it over and things started going to shit,” Len said.
“War and fighting is a brutal thing, it maims, it orphans and it widows. Those that are left behind are usually forgotten. The wealth of the city was built on the blood and bones of our fighters, the city itself was built by the sweat and tears of those that waited for them. The city is very martial in nature, there are not an abundance of jobs in areas that are not around fighting. There are plenty that were raised, lived in or had loyalty to Goran. People that went off to be boilermakers, miners, carters, scientists. We did not have the jobs for them, but if we were to open up the opportunity? Would they not look to help the city that they saw as home?”
Len finished off his drink and held it on the armrest. “You will need a great amount of wealth to complete all of this.”
“There is more fighting happening than ever just adding to the coffers.” Her eyes hardened. “I’ll have a reckoning with the accountants and every copper that my family took will be returned. Even if their greedy hands have to come with the coin.”
“So, you offer a city that does not have walls, that’s farms are failing, few skilled workers and that fell the last time you tried this, compared to a city that we know will become the commerce center of this side of the world, has the walls and fighters to get through the fighting just needs the food.”
“Why not both?” Carolyn asked.
“What do you mean?” Len asked.
“Cities, nobles, kingdoms will work together right now if there is a way to benefit. You say that they need food? We just need to make enough food to support ourselves and get them on our side. We can start reaching out to the groups we know there and entice them to join us,” Carolyn smiled.
Len frowned.
“If they attack us, they lose their access to food and then others would attack them for turning on us. We are within Plynthia.”
“And when it falls?” Rick asked.
“We make sure that the bonds are so tight between us that no one would break the deal. Here you have the backing of your name
“Contracts,” Len said.
Rick held his chin in thought.
“Contracts?” Lydia asked.
“Not your normal kind, these ones bind those that sign them.” Len said. “Though Lucius will not be easy to deal with.”
“So will you consider keeping your base of operations here in Goran?” Carolyn asked.
“I would need to see a concerted effort from the leadership of Goran, a new one and soon. We do not have the time to waste,” Rick said. “My uncle will never support this.”
Carolyn’s expression showed a flicker of sadness before it darkened. “I have plans regarding that.”
“What is your plan here?” Len asked.
“I will need some time, at least till the end of the competition. I’ll play my part of frail old lady while Lydia wins the fight. I need to gather more information, bring back those that are loyal. Then we’ll clear out the detritus and give ourselves a fresh start.” She looked at Len.
Rick was the one to shake his head. “We rushed over here as fast as we could, tomorrow we’ll leave for Warwick and Len’s family.”
Len caught Rick’s eye, giving him a solemn nod of thanks.
“Everett can you organize a group of loyal fighters to go with them?” Carolyn asked.
“Our people under arms are being watched. There are some veterans we can call on though only about half a squad’s worth are combat capable,” Everett grimaced.
“Why so few?” Len asked.
“Most were injured in some manner. They are the eyes and ears within the city and still loyal but they are unable to take up arms.” Everett’s expression darkened. “Tyrus believes that he is the smartest person in Goran and the family. Thinks he is playing everyone. He’s not good with a blade which is why he keeps your eldest uncle Andreas at his side. He doesn’t see cripples and the wounded as a threat.”
Len snorted and looked at Rick who grinned. “As long as their head’s still attached and their heart is beating we can help them recover—fully.”
Everett leaned forward on his knees. “Fully?”
“People with a high level in body can heal from most non mortal wounds by themselves. They might need a lot of food but they can also regrow limbs,” Len said.
“We can speed that up with spells and potions. Though we only have a few of them and we don’t yet have ingredients that we would need to make more,” Rick added.
Carolyn and Everett looked at one another having a conversation by expression alone.
“That will make it much easier to put together a group that can help you. Could get more than a squad’s worth to assist you. If you can heal them.” Everett glanced outside the window. “I will have to see when a train will be heading Warwick’s way tomorrow and start rounding up people to help.”
“We’re also going to need some supplies for a skill-up which’ll strengthen them rapidly,” Rick said.
“Give them what we can,” Carolyn said.
“I’ll go as well,” Lydia said.
“If you were to go then questions would be raised and suspicion would swell. We do not need that right now. We need your Uncle focused on the competition and thinking he has things well in hand. Those who are overly confident make the largest mistakes,” Carolyn said.
There was a hurried knock at the door.
“Yes?” Everett said.
“There is someone from the main family here to escort lady Carolyn to the family dinner.” The guard from the front gate said, sounding like he’d sprinted all the way.
“Very well I will bring her out in a moment,” Everret said. “Delay them if you must Oscar.”
“Yes sir.” Oscar sounded like he was preparing himself as his footsteps retreated back along the path he’d taken.
“Lydia, take Len and Rick off to the guest wing. Does anyone else know of my condition?” Carolyn asked.
“No,” Everett said.
“Good, lets keep it that way. We’ll let them cart me around like some totem to ward off evil but this time I’ll be listening instead of trying to fight off sleeping.” Carolyn stood and stretched. “I hate the damn wheelchair. Get a cushion next time, will you?” She and walked over to the wheelchair.
“Everett.” Rick stood and waved him forward. “Give me your hands.”
Everett held out his hands. Rick pressed his thumbs to his wrists, mana contracted around Everett as he drew a breath in.
“Compress it and draw it into your core.” Rick held him and pressed his thumb to Everett’s head.
Len waved Lydia forward as he stood. She quickly put her hands in his. It took a bare flicker of mana to break through her gates.
She started to draw in mana and compress it.
“Slow and steady now,” Len said. “Breathe in compress and compile.”
Len paused, checking what she was doing before he continued, opening the gate in her forehead.
He waited for the changes to stabilize before he compressed mana and drove it into the gate in her right foot, then after a few minutes moving to the left foot.
Len put a hand on her shoulder to steady her, she gave him a nod of thanks.
“You now know how to guide mana through your bodies. If you circulate it through your body when you’re injured you’ll recover faster, you can also use it to increase your overall strength,” Rick said.
Len moved over to his gear, pulling it on, he tossed Rick his pack.
“Alright,” Everett said.
“Make it back before the last day of the competition,” Carolyn said.
“Do our best,” Rick said.
“I want you there.” Carolyn held his eyes.
Rick shrugged. “We can roll the dice. I’ll try my best but I don’t know what we’ll be headed into.”
Carolyn pinched her lips together, it was not the answer she was looking for.
“We’ll need that list of supplies as soon as possible. Lydia get them down to the guest wing.”
Lydia bobbed her head, before jogging to the door and poking her head through to check the other side. She waved for Len and Rick to follow her.
“Bring in the guests!” Everett called from the door.