The mission in Canaan was pretty straightforward. Rock’s description of the plague was accurate. Everything was dead or dying. The travel node allowed Jace to transport right to the castle, so they didn’t have to walk far to get to the Life Spring. Even on that short trip, Jace wondered if the land would survive long enough for them to heal it.
The lake was dry, and they could all see the small opening in the deepest part of the sand pit where the Life Spring had been. Jace asked if Joe needed help but didn’t know what he would offer if the priest had said yes. The only character in Jace’s party with any affinity to nature was Psycho, but the ranger was far more oriented to combat than magic.
Joe insisted he didn’t need help and raced down into the dry lake, made his way to the empty spring, and placed the emerald inside. The result was immediate. The lake refilled faster than Joe could escape. It was good that the priest didn’t wear heavy armor and knew how to swim. By the time he rejoined Jace’s crew on the bank, the water was already spilling over into the various streams and canals that fed the rest of the kingdom.
The land changed from brown and dead to green and vibrant. Flowers blossomed. Emaciated crops stood upright and filled out. People, too sick to walk, stumbled and crawled to the streams, drank their fill, and stood tall and robust moments later. Buckets and canteens were filled and carried to those too weak to reach the water’s edge. No sign of the curse or famine could be seen in only a few minutes.
Jude, the king and Leah’s son, emerged from the castle and thanked the heroes. He hugged his mother and shook his cousin's hand. Everyone was happy the famine was over, but that joy didn’t readily transfer to Leah. The witch had been responsible for the curse on the land, and many people had died before she and her friends had fixed it. She confessed her sins, and her son forgave her, but it was clear she would not find a home here going forward.
Jace understood it was the perfect segue for the character to turn to him and confess that she had no home and would gladly join his party and help other people in need. Leah did just that, and Esther leveled a stare at her leader so intense it had the potential to bring about another plague. For whatever reason, she had promised her “friend” that they would not take any of the women they freed into their party, and Jace honored that promise. He only had one empty spot anyway, and of the three women he planned to rescue today, Leah was probably the one he wanted the least.
Right now, he actually had two empty spots and was eager to get back to Gromphy. Leah had raided Rock’s body and had found the deed for the Artist’s Alcove. It was a diamond with coded inscriptions etched in the center. If she wasn’t going to join with Jace and Esther, she might as well be the new proprietor of the art studio. They left the Kingdom of Canaan with minimal fanfare. Joe used the travel node to return to the island where his mother had stayed while the rest went to Partumopolis.
Because they had already been to the Artist’s Alcove, Jace could navigate directly to the building. Esther was again taken with several of the statues and pieces of jewelry. Leah was accepted as the new owner without question, and the two friends discussed prices and potential commissioned work. Jace, Psycho, and Draya found their way to the basement, where Gromphy waited.
The Artist’s Alcove was on global time, so while Jace had skipped ahead a few times and his party members had experienced over four days of action, only a few hours had passed for the goblin. Still, it had been enough time for him to get the needed information. Gracie had designed a magical ring to allow communication between her and whichever of Jace’s members wore it. Gromphy had crafted the ring, letting him send images of Rock’s logbooks. He had done this as soon as possible upon entering, which was good because once Rock had died, Gromphy was no longer officially in the party of the establishment's owner. Much of his exclusive access had expired.
The group said their goodbyes to Leah. Gromphy looked like he had made another gnome friend in Rooter, who agreed to stay on as the chief sculptor for the witch. Esther gave her friend a few ideas of the types of statues she wanted and promised to visit soon.
Gracie checked in a few times to let Jace know that with each piece of closure he gave to one of the characters, he got a few more experience points but was still tens of thousands away from Level 18. Jace knew the next mission would pit them against several other players and was sure he would level up at least once by the end.
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Their stronghold was waiting for them when they returned. Granite, Jace’s earth elemental who stood guard, greeted them at the door, and Trixna was just inside. The cleric had several potent cleaning spells, and Esther nearly ran into her room, shedding clothing as she went. The ink was terrible enough, but she had been splattered by demon brains and then covered in eel slime. The female orc eyed up Psycho, whose golden armor and cloak also bore some ugly stains. He promised he would bring her his clothes as well, but he would change in the privacy of his room. Trixna was visibly disappointed but followed Esther without further attempts at seduction.
It had been about noon global time when they had started this mission, and now, several hours later, it was nearing dinner. Jace suggested they all get a big meal and some sleep to recharge. They were all healthy and full of mana, but nothing beats a good meal and a night’s sleep in one’s own bed. Jace found his way to his room, sat in his favorite chair, and skipped till dawn.
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After dinner, Draya found her way into Gromphy’s lab. She didn’t fully understand what his part in the last mission was. Something about stealing information from a ledger, but when she heard that he was to spend time with an expert sculptor, she knew he would have taken advantage to make progress on their side quest. She wasn’t disappointed by what she saw on his table.
The Frosthold was there as before, joined by the most extraordinary gemstone she had ever seen. It was the size of a large apple, but besides its rough dimensions, she had no adequate way to describe it. The Frosthold was a 4-dimensional cube sitting beside it, its multidimensional faces falling into each other. This new object was confusing to look at in a very different way. It had so many angles and sides she had difficulty counting them. They all existed in 3-dimensional space and were so exquisitely cut they were impossible to differentiate.
“Is that the . . .” she started.
“The armadillion’s mana core,” Gromphy confirmed. “Rooter did exquisite work. I enchanted his tools beyond his comprehension, but he did the work.”
“How many . . .” Draya said, not sure how to ask questions about the object.
“Twenty sides,” Gromphy interpreted her query. “Each identical and perfectly balanced. Tis the most Ordered object I hath ever encountered.”
Each side was an equilateral triangle, the edges of which were polished black obsidian. The faces looked to be quartz and semi-transparent, with the center of each triangle glowing bright orange. Before, the object had changed shape and size randomly, spitting out molten rock in various amounts. Now, it sat perfectly still, unchanging, yet immensely powerful.
The young woman reached out to it, and the goblin didn’t stop her. She touched the glowing center of one of the faces, and it ejected a marble-sized magma sphere. Anyone else would have screamed in pain, but the dragon mage didn’t flinch, catching the ball in her palm where it cooled to black glass. “This will still kill Jace if you put it inside him,” she said.
“Aye. He hath no defense for this like thyself. It wouldst kill me as well.”
Draya turned her eyes to the Frosthold. “And the problem is that you must bridge these two with a living bond?”
Gromphy nodded. “The Frosthold will consume the heat from this core but kill it in the process. To maintain the living magic, a bridge is required.”
“Any ideas?”
“Our next mission will involve mermaids. Dost thou have experience with such?”
Draya shook her head.
“Their kingdoms are unique, transforming various physical ideals into life-giving magic. If given the chance, I believe I canst leverage that power in our favor. I only wish not to freeze the entire ocean in the process.”
“Or boil it,” Draya said.
Gromphy nodded. “Indeed.”
Draya was happy the goblin still felt inspired to help their leader despite losing Adam, but she hoped he hadn’t bitten off more than he could chew. He might do irreparable damage to the realms if he wasn’t careful. Of course, she had just but a pyromaniac in charge of an active volcano, so she shouldn’t judge. Instead, she followed Jace’s advice, went to her room, and got a good night’s sleep.
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Author Note:
Wow, that is much longer than anticipated. I have planned out four missions and an ultimate showdown that wraps everything together, and this was the first mission. The story is over 60k right now, which is great for the Writathon, but not so good for my desire to keep this novel the same length as the others, around 160k.
If you have read this far, please consider marking this story as a favorite or helping me out with a good rating. Or just leave a comment that you are enjoying it. I appreciate that type of feedback too.
I doubt I will post more before the Writathon deadline, as I will want to make significant progress in the next mission before publishing to ensure I don’t have to backtrack (like I did several times in this section). Please follow the story to know when I start posting the next section.