“I cleared my day today except for weapons testing, which is totally flexible” says Taiwo with a grin as he greets me in the reception area of the Shop. He knows nothing short of my family being under threat or my death would stop me from showing up to access the Vault of Tenebris at the first opportunity, and that’s today. I know only too well that you need to take advantage of opportunities before they disappear.

“Thank you, Taiwo,” I respond, and I mean it. Our relationship has developed toward equals, but he is definitely still first equal in everything except laying down punishment. Taiwo’s eyes twinkle a bit as he acknowledges my thanks; I swear they actually do twinkle or flash or maybe pulse slightly? It’s subtle but magnetic and I wonder if it’s just part of him having such high Charisma or if it’s an actual magical or technological effect.

“I’m looking forward to this Bronwic. It’s been a couple decades since I got access to the Vault. Tenebris has even offered me the opportunity to make a minor purchase since I’m taking you, and I think a bit to reward me for what’s happened on Earth. You’re one of the few worlds in the Universe under these kinds of conditions at the moment. As you can imagine based on what I do when I’m not adventuring, it’s always exciting to spend some time in the Vault and see what’s there.”

“A minor purchase?” I ask, curious. “Are there restrictions on what I can buy?” Taiwo’s gills flap in amusement and he motions for me to follow him. We step through a couple doors framed in patterned steel, at least one of which seems to be a permanent Portal, and into a room I’ve never seen before. It’s large and a lot more space-age than I’m used to from Taiwo who usually favors comfortable surroundings and natural colors. Dark gray metal and what looks like carbon composite is everywhere and three raised black shimmering pads at least ten meters to a side are in a triangular configuration on the floor. My enhanced Perception picks out the very faint green glow of some kind of stasis field immediately.

Taiwo gestures to me to follow and strides over to one of the black pads. I wonder where in the Universe we are but don’t trigger Omnipresent to try to orient myself. Does it really matter? I’d rather pay attention to what’s going on right now. I laugh as Taiwo pulls two comfortable looking blue chairs with plenty of padding from his Inventory, plus a small table and some refreshments. Nothing too permanent, but Taiwo always thinks of the little things I just never seem to get around to doing. He gestures for me to sit down.

“No restrictions for you, Bronwic. Not today. Tenebris is pleased with your personal progress and the progress of Earth. Our investments and operations are swimming downstream and you’ve upheld your end of our agreements and beyond. Nobody really knows the mind of Tenebris, but I suspect based on his actions so far he believes there’s a realistic chance humanity could do the rare, almost unheard of, accomplishment of preventing Earth from becoming a Bane World and instead have a planet of thriving, high Level economically advanced Zones. Tenebris specializes in operating on and around Bane Worlds, and in extracting value from the dangerous ecosystems that make them almost impossible to settle.”

I did know that about Tenebris, and my mind flashes all the way back to the Contract I first signed with Taiwo and how I ended up stranded on the Bane World Holgaad in the first place. At the time I didn’t give much thought to why Galactics didn’t have Settlements there, but I’ve learned a lot since then.

“Humanity doesn’t have a lot of options other than throwing everything into defending itself. I know you’ve already realized there are too many humans to move to another world; your only real option for survival as a meaningful species is to fight. If you can somehow reach a balance and thrive despite the high levels of Mana, that would also provide massive benefits to Galactics who are looking to Level very quickly or trade rare and exotic goods. And… if we continue to work together it means Tenebris will, through his people, be in the middle of those opportunities which is good for humanity and Tenebris. It’s rather exciting for me as well, actually, as an opportunity. Though I recognize it’s not something to celebrate given the struggle Earth is once again thrown into.”

I nod in agreement with that and grab some of the apple sized blue fruit and dried meat Taiwo has laid out. Humans have a real fighting chance based on what I’ve seen, and we’ve proven we can come together to survive even something like an invasion from a powerful Galactic organization. On the other hand, it’s hard to ignore that the level of ambient Mana saturating Earth right now is already causing problems we can’t handle on our own and it’s pushing us back from large areas of the planet. We’re consolidating, but we’re also mostly trapped on Earth with no real options for mass migrations to another planet that I know of. So, I think humanity’s a bit like me; when we’re backed into a corner we come out swinging.

“Hey… let’s focus for now on the Vault of Tenebris,” Taiwo says, his gaze searching my face and no doubt guessing my thoughts. I’m used to hanging around him, but even still when he turns his attention to me fully I can feel the power of his Charisma.

“You’re going to want all the Credits you can bring to the Vault, Bronwic. What else have you got to sell? I might even give you some generous prices…” he says with a smile.

I empty my Inventory onto one of the big black platforms, including the Thuvaraka body. It’s been a little while and there’s a lot of high Level stuff there including some of the things I’ve Looted from Galactics. Taiwo has obviously pulled up a notifications screen that’s giving him an automated assessment of what’s there and allowing him to set the prices. I’ve been through this process often enough to know that unless I bring him something truly unique it’s fast and consistent.

A few seconds later he flicks me a notification offering me a chunk of Credits with quite a few digits, which I accept without really looking at it. At this point, am I going to haggle with Taiwo?

“You ready?” he asks, clearly excited.

“Yeah, I am,” I reply and find that I’m pretty excited too.

We stand up and Taiwo sweeps the chairs, table, and food back into his Inventory with a graceful wave. Everything he does is so smooth and classy. Sometimes I feel like a lumbering bear hanging out with him, despite my massive Attribute increases.

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I’m expecting us to find another doorway to get to the Vault, but Taiwo pulls out a foot-long light gray rod about an inch thick that has alien red runes inscribed all over it in patterns. With a quick snap of his hands Taiwo cracks the rod and an ominous red Portal forms that looks like it’s straight out of a hellscape. Small writhing gargoyle-like figures form a thick border that seems to suck the light from the room. My Affinity flares up and probes the Portal, trying to understand it. I push my will into it and focus on the patterns of how it’s formed and what’s keeping it open to somewhere that I can only assume is well hidden and hard to access. A deep sense of pressure from Mana density pouring off the Portal creates a sense of foreboding and I can imagine would repel almost anyone.

Mental influence resisted.

Almost immediately after I get the notification I can feel the Portal’s Mana reaching out and scanning me. I’m not exactly sure how, but I can feel the Mark of Tenebris pulse or respond and the pressure goes away as I hear Taiwo let out a shuddering gasp of relief through his gills. The mini gargoyles stop moving, frozen in place, and the intensity of the red glow from the Portal dims somewhat to a more friendly color. This Portal is probably about what I expected given where we’re headed, although opening it by using the equivalent of a sci fi glow stick would absolutely not have been my first guess.

Taiwo shakes his head to clear it, his blonde hair tumbling everywhere, then glances at me. I shrug and nod my readiness so we stride through together into pretty much exactly what I pictured, like a massive library from Harry Potter, only instead of books it’s filled with weapons, armor, technological devices I can’t even begin to fathom, and magical artifacts of all descriptions. Some of them even seem to probe me; I can feel the Mana around us churning like a dust devil.

A massive looming humanoid figure appears in front of us, teleported without the use of a Portal. He’s twice my height with light gray skin that has red runes inscribed on it that look suspiciously like the ones on the rod Taiwo used to get the Portal to open. Greek robes wrap around his heavily muscled frame and his wild white hair and beard make me wonder if potentially he’s visited Earth sometime in the past. There’s no mistaking him as anything other than a Titan. Waves of power roll off him and I wonder if he is an Ascended Class like Tenebris.

“Welcome, Marked of Tenebris. I am an avatar of Coeus, and my role here is to guide you in the Vault.”

How interesting. I am curious about whether this avatar is as powerful as the original, but Taiwo is practically buzzing with energy.

“Thank you for receiving us, Coeus,” Taiwo says with true gratitude, or at least that’s how it sounds to me. “We are grateful for the opportunity to enter the Vault.”

“And so you should be!” Coeus booms in agreement, his arms spread wide as he gestures to the surroundings.

“How big is this place?” I ask Coeus, who doesn’t seem threatening if you ignore everything about him other than his demeanor.

“Bigger than it appears, Bronwic. There are untold treasures here and passages to other dimensions and locations to hide its secrets.”

My first instinct is to wonder whether or not he should have told me that, but considering the high bar to even get access to this place maybe it’s worthless information. Who would fuck with Tenebris anyway?

“Physically browsing the Vault is not practical, it would take you an age. Perhaps instead you can tell me how many Credits you have to spend, and what you’re looking for?”

Coeus swaps his attention back and forth between us.

“Taiwo, you are entitled to one minor purchase, Credits will be charged. Bronwic, Tenebris is interested in letting you have the freedom of the Vault on this occasion, within reason of course. There are no particular restrictions on the size or nature of what you purchase, and depending on what you select I may be able to come to a favorable agreement on price. Tenebris has also left something for you, because he desires his affairs to be more… discreet.”

I’m automatically on the defensive and wondering what Coeus means, and what I might have done to offend Tenebris. Discreet is not exactly my middle name so he could be referring to so many things. Generally I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about what other people think of me, but I feel some concern. If Tenebris is pissed off or chooses not to help Earth that’s bad for me, and it’s bad for humanity.

Coeus emits a deep chuckle as he looks at my face.

“Not like that Bronwic. Here,” he says and pulls something from his Inventory, then hands me what I can only describe as a temporary tattoo on a clear piece of flexible plastic. It looks like an intricate circular maze like I might have tried to solve as a kid, but on steroids.

“No way…” Taiwo breathes out and moves to get a closer look. His reaction convinces me it’s got some value, but I have no fucking idea what it is or how to use it, so I glance up at Taiwo.

“What is it?” I ask him. Taiwo glances at Coeus, who nods, before he replies.

“It’s a practically priceless runic inscription. Well, priceless for some… but apparently not Tenebris.”

Coeus gives a short huff that causes his beard to ripple in a wave and crosses his massive, tree trunk arms. The corded muscles of his forearms stand out like steel cables, but he looks calm and patient. At least for now. I wonder if this powerful avatar has a timeline he’s working to and other things to do, or if he just lives here to protect the Vault and guide people through it. Perhaps our visit is interesting rather than annoying.

“A Rune of Concealment,” agrees Coeus. “Hold it before you and activate it by filling it with some of your Mana.”

I hold it in front of me and glance at Taiwo.

“Do you think the Mana draining aspects of my Class will affect my ability to use it? Will it work?” I ask Taiwo. He gives my question serious consideration.

“I doubt it,” he finally answers. “Tenebris has given this to you, and from what I understand that magical artifact has the most powerful known concealment in the Universe embedded in it. This will definitely hide you from the Eyes and any of your enemies. It also will hide you from many of your allies and friends.”

I consider, but not for long, because this solves a major problem I have and Tenebris must know it. The more people are able to learn about me, the more likely it is that someone will come up with a way to take me out before I can do anything about it. My success and, to an extent, Earth’s success rests on the uniqueness of my Class and the fact I can do things others can’t.

Without further delay, I do as Coeus asks and hold the Rune before me in both hands, then use my will to push some of my Mana into it. Magic and enchantments are not something I have a heap of experience handling so I find it fascinating to feel my Mana manipulated by the Rune which expands and leaves the material I’m holding. It pivots and floats above me, circle facing down to the floor, and then it flashes down over me like a cylinder and disappears. I expect a flash or something dramatic, but there’s nothing like that. Just me standing there feeling no different. I check my notifications and Status but… nothing. I feel no different. I wonder if it worked?

“I can see the look of confusion on your face, human, and I can assure you the Rune has activated. You are now hidden from magical or Skill detection.”

I guess I owe Tenebris big time.

“Now… what are you hoping the Vault can offer you?” asks Coeus.