(Y6, December 11th)
----------------------------------------
For a second, everyone stayed silent. It even looked like Vormacinus would take the initiative. But Palacio started first, cutting the Wrecker short.
“Hello everyone, and I’m happy we all could make it so fast. By Northworld standards it’s good.”
He looked around the table.
“Now, most of us know each other. We’re all… well almost all…” he said, acknowledging the end of the table where all the assistants that always materialized around bosses had gathered.
“We were there when Northworld was a secret and an Internet hoax. We all came during those first years, where every man was an island, and the biggest surprise was when someone ran into a sign saying ‘I was here!’.”
“You know, I’m one who never had a worry about the why of Northworld, even though I ended up naming it. I leave that for the people like the Historicianus because I simply thought we would never know. But instead of them, we got the Cartographers who found a piece of the puzzle. A real one this time.”
Armangest jumped on the occasion.
“My Guild has always been at the forefront of getting useful, actionable knowledge about Northworld. That’s why we originally sponsored the expedition that ultimately stumbled upon this Pyramid.”
Vantegaard could feel the side glances thrown his way. Obviously, everyone had been briefed about his full role in that event.
Sargastass, the co-founder of the Cotton Road, raised a finger.
“And how did you find it among all that wilderness.”
Seeing as Armangest wasn’t answering, Vantegaard replied instead.
“Mostly luck. The expedition had been mostly traveling by using sun reckoning up to the town of Fanduk where my companions and I joined them. Then, we got Vasilikulik, the leader of the expedition to set a direction, and we used Absolute Compass to navigate. And it was in a very large clearing to the side of our path.”
Sargastass pondered the explanation.
“Handy skill. I don’t have it, but I know it. Unfortunately, while the user is very good at orientation, it’s hard to translate the mental map into useable directions for anyone else.”
Armangest waved away the objection.
“The Absolute Compass user did survive the Pyramid. The Pyramid does not register on Lay of the Land and presumably similar location skills. But, I’ve been assured that she can guide an expedition back to that place starting from either Hilltop Samms or Fanduk. And this time, we’ll take the time to find the exact latitude and longitude.”
“Trust a Cartographer to latch immediately on that point before the rest,” Vormacinus smirked.
To Vantegaard’s surprise, Armangest didn’t rise to the bait but chose to ignore the barb. Ramon Palacio took the opportunity to take back the initiative.
“And so, we apparently have monitoring facilities straight out of fantasy, and we share Northworld with four alien species… who might or might not just be Gaters themselves like us.”
Armangest made a small head sign toward Vantegaard signifying that it was his clue to present the proofs.
“We did a quick expedition to the nearest ones from what we’d glimpsed in the Pyramid,” Vantegaard started.
The real reason for the hasty expedition remained politely unsaid.
“We found at the edge of what was expected their own usual territory a small dead group of the ones we call Deva. Blue tall hairless humanoids.”
“Elves?”
“They absolutely don’t look like any representations we’ve ever made of elves. They look… weird. That’s the best thing I can say. You’ll need an artist to make a picture because it’s hard to imagine otherwise.”
He pulled out some of the gear they’d brought back from the camp and passed it across the table. A six-fingered glove, a chain-link whip, and a nearly normal-looking sword with just a very, very long handle.
External Appendage Wrap (lvl 21); Requires 17 Reasoning, +1 to elemental skills.
Articulated Slice Reaching (lvl 25); Requires 11 Dexterity, +1 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +2% chance of a hit.
Cutter Jeweled Alloy (lvl 24); Requires 13 Strength, -7% stamina melee skill costs.
Palacio turned the glove around, with a wondering look.
“What’s an elemental skill?”
The Earthen Brethren Guild leader, Komasstar replied, “Most of our geomantic skills seem to fit the bill. Not all, which is curious. One of our geomantic-wizard specialists reported one of his mana skills being affected as well. And yes, if you can slip your fingers in the glove, it works. The fingers are very thin, so it’s not for everyone.”
Vormacinus frowned.
“The names look funny.”
“They are now almost understandable. Back when we discovered those, they were completely unreadable, except for the properties. But the descriptors have adjusted into a nearly normal text over time.”
Komasstar added, “We’ve had some of our locals keep track of the description changing. It accelerated enormously once they were in the keep. There are some… hypotheses about why, but it’s mainly Historicianus-level of unprovable speculation. But otherwise, yes. It’s as if the Interface had somehow to adjust between our two languages. Well, their language and ours. Or languages plural. No one knows.”
Sargastass looked pensive but didn’t intervene.
“The items themselves are a bit strange, but the real proof that they are Gaters and not some forms of local sapient fauna with local gear is that each of the deceased had its own Silvergate drop.”
At that cue, Vantegaard pulled a Silvergate from its safety pouch and moved it to the center of the table. Then, he squeezed to activate it. The usual two-meter sphere sprang into existence, full of absolute blackness.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Everyone drew a sharp breath. Even Armangest and the Brethren members, who had already seen that happen more than a few times.
“As you can see, the Silvergate is active, unlike every single Silvergate found on or brought back to Northworld. And it is not linked to any spawn point for any of us yet; you can check by going close that your respawn on Earth does not show. Just be careful not to touch it, of course, unless you want to end up somewhere,” Vantegaard said.
Komasstar took over the explanation, “The Brethren have of course used the time until this conference to check a few things, short of using one. We moved one Earthside for instance. Where it still connects to… wherever. You can stand between a pair of classic Silvergates next to this Aliengate, and you’ll have your spawn visible on both of the normal ones and still nothing on the latter.”
“They lead directly to the Devas’ homeworld, in better words,” Vormacinus said.
“That’s the hypothesis, yes. Although why and how we have no confirmed hypothesis yet. But they do behave differently than the ones we find.”
Vantegaard could see that Palacio hesitated to say something. But the man stayed quiet and kept whatever he wanted to say.
“Has anyone used one yet?”
“No. Everyone thinks it’s too risky, at least at this point. There are too many unknowns, starting from what’s on the other side. Is the atmosphere breathable even? We seem to have the same type of atmosphere between Earth and Northworld, but what about the Deva? Are they further adapted by the Setup as well?”
“Plus we probably spawn there at random,” Armangest added.
“I know Gaters who would take the risk,” Vormacinus said.
“So do I, but consider the cost. It took four aliens’ deaths to give us those gates. They are currently irreplaceable.”
“Trust a mapmaker to be timid.”
“Not timid. Cautious. We don’t need to rush to the Devas’ world if that’s exactly where those lead.”
“Why?”
“Because they are our neighbors. Their Northworld territory is nearly as close to Beta as Gamma itself.”
“You want two expeditions.”
And here it was on the table. What the conference was really about.
Armangest took the lead.
“I think everyone agrees that we need more information on our four new… world mates. That means figuring out in detail where they live. And for this, we need to get back to the Pyramid. Reactivate it if it’s no longer active so that we get the exact locations of everyone.”
“And deal with the local Terminator-style critters.”
“That’s the big expedition. High-ranking Gaters. But there’s nothing stopping us from getting an expedition toward the Deva immediately since we know at least somewhat where they are. The rest are further away and will wait, but we have easy access to one of the four.”
“And they to us.”
“If they suspect we exist. And can get through the no-man’s-land.”
“The guardians.”
Given the silence, Vantegaard took that as his cue to insert his own experiences.
“We met only one of the Umbra Dominus. And while it is devastating if you are unprepared, it is also relatively trivial if you have the right skills or strategy. There’s also no evidence it’s a common presence across the border.”
“So, if they’re rare, then there’s nothing stopping us from visiting or them from doing the same.”
“The highest ranks we’ve met except that one were… well, hints of Drakes. We didn’t see any, merely tracks. But that’s the same kind you find all over southern Beta, so probably the same ranks. Outside of that, it’s all low-to-mid 40-ish rank enemies. Something you can easily do with good veterans.”
The guild leaders turned back to Armangest.
“And your proposition for the Pyramid?”
“The pyramid is a complete unknown. We know there’s lesser elite 90 to greater elite 105… at least. And in unknown numbers. So I’m suggesting a large raid. As many two-thousanders as we can get. And we can try to secure the pyramid by simple force.”
“Do we have enough force?” Sargastass asked.
Armangest answered him, “I think we do. The Cartographers keep tabs on the population through our customers, and our estimates are that there are around 300, maybe 400 two-thousanders. If we can get 10% of them, that’s probably good enough. If we can get 20% to come, it’s better. We already have a good start with the Guilds present here.”
“I’d hate to get a hundred Gaters’ raid in enclosed spaces. From what I heard about the Turk raid, it was horrible for that reason.”
“I agree, but the hostiles are constrained as well. Whoever will lead the expedition will draft a strategy, but we can probably simply rotate teams of high levels and push slowly until we secure wherever they come from.”
Vormacinus pouted.
“As much as I respect the Cartographer’s Guild, I’d rather not have them draw the strategy for a high-level raid.”
Armangest countered, “We do have a few high levels, but I agree we can have a much better raid leader.”
Ramon Palacio smiled and dropped his own bomb.
“Nolo will be coming, of course.”
Vantegaard couldn’t read Vormacinus’ face. For all his bluster, he was probably a good poker player. But he couldn’t avoid the sensation that the Wrecker had already pictured himself as the potential leader for the expedition. Being undermined there wasn’t going to leave him in a good mood.
“The First Gater himself. He’s… what? 2500?”
“Close to 3000. He might not be a fully balanced archmage, but there are few Wizards that can match his skillset with Necromancer supplements,” Palacio confirmed.
He smiled, “At last, I will finally have the opportunity to raid with him.”
Armangest added, “We’re still going to need to get some of the major guilds in all sectors. The Cartographers and the Cotton Road have the contacts to get that rolling, but having Fontana as the raid leader makes that easier.”
Vormacinus drummed his fingers on the table.
“And how many people are you contributing otherwise? Besides that Compass-enabled guide?”
Vantegaard looked at Armangest. Hopefully, this was the right moment to talk about them…
“The Compass user is not a Cartographer, but she’s already agreed. We don’t have as many 2k-ers as you do, but we’ve got a few. And we’ll be sending another of the original explorers.”
“Why? They’re not even full veterans, so what can they do for the raid.”
“The Pyramid is hollow. The survivors escaped by going through walls, and it’s highly possible that we’ll have to open access to that inner space to get access to the mechanisms inside the Pyramid.”
“How?”
Mind over Matter
Tier 1 Reasoning
Active, Channeled
There is no wall.
Temporarily refutes the existence of rock or stone walls. Inoperable on a large scale.
Maximum volume: 6.2 m3
Cost: 27 psy/m3/sec
Skill level 62 (base 10)
Advancement: 74%
“And they’re the only person who can do that?” Vormacinus asked. Then he realized who Armangest was talking about and looked straight at Vantegaard.
He sighed and replied.
“No, but I am currently the highest-level person with that skill. There are now two other known Gaters with that skill, and they all spawned very recently, months after me. Unless a higher veteran or thousander comes forward or a skill stone for it is found, I am the highest skill available. I can keep a 1-meter deep tunnel for one person open for nearly 20 seconds now.”
“That’s pitiful.”
“It’s a tier-one skill. I can still grow it relatively fast. I’m practicing at the Keep daily.”
“Besides, any good utility skill can be harnessed for the good of that raid,” Palacio added.
“The First Contact team is going to be easier to assemble, but more important. How do we go about it?” Komasstar of the Earthen Brethren asked.
“We’ll keep it small. A few trustworthy people, not an expedition that could be considered threatening.”
“Diplomacy is going to be hard with people whose language wasn’t even translatable at first by the System.”
Sargastass smiled, pulling out a Skill Stone and passing it around.
“This is going to be useful.”
Panglossia (skillstone)
Tier 5 Reasoning
Passive/Triggered
All the modes of expression, all the time.
Master language and corporal expression of Gaters.
Languages mastered: 1/skill
A few eyebrows rose as they checked the skill. Sargastass smiled and elaborated.
“It’s one of the cheapest Stones around, even with its medium rarity. It’s usually at one or two iron.”
“Why? I mean, it sounds useful,” Palacio asked.
“Well, you do not gain any skill from ‘using’ it. Even when speaking in a foreign language. The only way to grow the skill is to raise your Reasoning or put points in the skill itself. Meanwhile, it still consumes a skill slot and grows the costs of the next skill. So most people prefer to simply learn languages the normal way, using higher Reasoning to merely facilitate things. You can’t even learn a non-Gater’s language using Panglossia since of course, it doesn’t trigger on Earth. You can use the learned language there, but picking one is Northworld-only.”
He shrugged.
“Add the fact that you immediately pick someone’s mother tongue even if he or she doesn’t speak it with you, and you fill up your language slots without being able to control that.”
He looked toward the Brethren guild leader.
“I suggest using those only once you meet with those Deva. Assuming it works. I brought a dozen, but improving the skill unless necessary is a waste, of course.”