Chapter 16 - Garry’s Return
King Alfheim walked out of the Timberfall portal. Wonder and joy was plastered on his face. First, he learned his only grandchild could finally use magic, which meant she could finally be seen as his successor. Then, he just experienced a magical marvel, traveling instantly from one location to another.
As he and his retinue exited the portal, they were greeted by a familiar face, Elder Martha. “As mayor of this city, I welcome you, King Alfheim! It is good to see you after all these years! I see we also have your daughter, Duchess Lightheart, and granddaughter, Lady Emma.”
King Alfheim put his arm around Lady Emma. “My successor!”
Elder Martha’s eyebrows rose. “I had not heard. Congratulations!”
“Grandfather, I have not yet agreed. You know I must consider my duties for the Kingdom of Nord.” Lady Emma shook her head at her grandfather’s antics.
Since the man learned she could use magic he had been practically incorrigible, flaunting his pride at being finally able to formally acknowledge her as his kin. As magic was everything to the elves, her grandfather could not show any interest or compassion to her in public. Now it was like he had years of restrained love to shower her with. It made her both smile and shake her head in frustration.
“Nonsense! We can discuss it later.” King Alfheim said before turning to Elder Martha. “It is good to see you, my old friend. You remember my daughter, Duchess Lightheart. And of course, you remember my Advisors Mona, Nero, and General Mineheir.”
Elder Martha nodded. “It is good to see you.” She was about to say, ‘see you all’, but in truth she never trusted the king’s advisors. In her mind, one was opportunistic, and the other was clearly loyal to the Winter Court.
Elder Martha turned to introduce the others in the room. “This is General Marius, Commander Willis of the city guard, Head Trader Malcom, and Geeves, seneschal to our Duke Dragonvein.”
“Where is Duke Dragonvein?” Advisor Mona inquired.
“Yes, this is bad form for our host to not be present upon our arrival.” Advisor Nero chided.
“As I am now the mayor of Timberfall, technically you are my guests, but the duke has insisted you stay at the Manor until the mayor’s residence has been finished.” Elder Martha expertly maneuvered.
“I still wish to meet him and expected him to be here.” King Alfheim replied.
Geeves stepped forward this time. “His grace was out hunting when he received a system quest. He sent word back that he would return as quickly as possible. I can say no more than that King Alfheim. I hope you can understand.”
“A system quest, how interesting.” Advisor Mona commented under her breath.
“Yes, most interesting. I understand the importance of a system quest, they cannot be ignored. They are rarely given so it must be of the utmost importance. Very well, please show us to our accommodations.” King Alfheim conceded.
General Mineheir stepped forward and clasped wrists with General Marius. “A fellow general, it will be good to discuss tactics. Did you know we were attacked by a dragon on the way here?”
General Marius’ eyebrows rose. “A dragon? I heard the royal court issued a kingdom wide quest to deal with the beast! Hopefully you did not lose too many men!”
“It was awful! The beast took my favorite horse! Can you believe it?!” General Mineheir lamented.
“Ugh! Again, with that damnable horse!” Advisor Nero admonished.
Not wanting to hear his advisor and general start up again, King Alfheim spoke up. “I imagine your duke had a plan should we arrive before his return.”
“You are correct, your majesty. If you and our other guests would follow me. We have a special entrance to Timberfall Manor from the portal hub for convenience and to ensure your safety.” Geeves said as he guided them out of the waiting room.
———-A DAY EARLIER————
“Thank you for summoning me back boss! That was horrible! It was like one of those computer game things from your memory boss, something glitched and things crashed.” Garry immediately started talking the moment he rematerialized at the Infinite Nexus.
As Garry was talking horror fell across his face as he looked at Deathwalker. “W-what if I am in the Matrix and this is all some simulation?! It would explain why that guy I ate tasted like chicken...”
Deathwalker shook his head, as he cut off his familiar before he could go too far on this new tangent. “Garry you are not in the Matrix. Morrigan explained what happened. You bore the brunt of the effects of multiple strands of Fate crashing into each other as others split apart. I appreciate you taking the brunt of that effect as I barely survived the experience on my end.”
“No problem, boss. Glad I could help, but can we NEVER do that again!” Garry replied.
“Agreed buddy!”
“I mean we should be the ones ripping our enemies apart, not the other way around!”
“That is something we can get onboard with as well.” Prrsha held a wicked grin on her face.
“Now that you have retrieved your familiar, do you have time to visit with the pride?” Mrrsha asked.
“Yes, it would be good to see the pride but give me some time with Garry and Lilandra.” Deathwalker replied.
“As you command, alpha.” Frrsha answered before ushering her sisters out of the main hall of the throne room.
“What’s up boss? Why did you make the hot cat girls leave?” Garry inquired.
“Ugh, did you have to re-summon him?” Lilandra rolled her eyes.
“You know you missed me! He, he, he!”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Lilandra quipped.
Deathwalker just shook his head at the two of them. “To answer your question Garry, let me show you both something.”
Willing his prompt to be seen by the two of them, Deathwalker shared what he had kept from the others.
“Wait?! What does this mean? Are you dying boss?! Who do I have to kill to stop this?!” Garry spewed out one question after the other.
“This is apparently part of the result of Mother Winter removing a geas that one of the archangels put on me.” Deathwalker replied.
“There is more to it than that. Mother Winter is known as the Unraveler. Her power only further led to this result. It is interesting that you have a specific countdown timer.” Lilandra commented.
“At some point I plan to confront Uriel. A part of me wants to do that now, but something is telling me now is not the time.” Deathwalker said solemnly.
“Again, who do we have to kill to fix this?!” Garry chimed in.
“Violence is not always the answer.” Lilandra shot back.
“Huh? I’m sorry, I do not understand that statement at all. Overwhelming force sounds like it is very much needed in this situation!”
Deathwalker sighed. “We must find two other fragments of Chronos’ power. With it, I can use the Infinite Well of Time Magic to pause the clock on my unraveling soul, thereby giving me the time I need to find my own fragments across the Omniverse.”
Garry turned to Lilandra. “Sure sounds like murderhobo time to me!”
Lilandra just shook her head at the crazy floating ball.
Turning back to his master, Garry asked, “so, Uh, why aren’t we tracking those two fragments down right now?!”
“Simple. It is too dangerous for me to use the Well right now. I need time to recover.” Deathwalker explained.
“I might have a solution. It is not without risk but here at your place of power is the best place to attempt what I am thinking.” Lilandra stated.
“What solution? Does it involve killing people?!” Garry exclaimed.
Rather than fight it, Deathwalker just pointed to Garry. “What he said.”
“As your first disciple and your arbiter we could link our magics. You use your Infinite Well of Time Magic to resonate with the other two fragments. I would tap into the extensive knowledge of planar magics within you to help us navigate to the fragments. Once I get a feel for the rough location of the fragments and familiar with the resonance, I believe I can track them down without risking your use of the Well for an extended period of time.” Lilandra offered.
Deathwalker took a few moments to consider Lilandra’s offer. On one hand, it reduced the risk and could speed up the process of finding the remnants of Chronos’ power. On the other hand, he had been warned not to use Time magic while his Fate was in such flux. ‘No, it is a calculated risk I have to take.’
“Very well. Let’s get this over with.” Deathwalker answered.
Lilandra smiled and took Deathwalker’s hands in hers. “Activate the Well and I will observe.”
As asked, Deathwalker drew on the power of the Infinite Well of Time Magic. Doing so caused agonizing pain to shoot through him. He held on, not willing to give up so quickly.
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Seeing the pain on Deathwalker’s face, Lilandra felt the strands of Fate and Time magic pulsing out of her master. Using her mind’s eye, she studied what she was seeing. Two intertwined strands of Fate and Time magic shot out off into the distance.
There was like an invisible wall each line passed through. Lilandra knew these walls were the veils between realities. She grabbed hold of both strands. Picking one, she followed it to its source. Once she mentally passed the veil, she instantly knew it was the reality Deathwalker came from. Resonating with the magic she had a clear path to the source of that fragment.
Once Lilandra felt she could find her way back to the first Chronos fragment it was simple for her to mentally return to Deathwalker. The first fragment firmly fixed in her mind; she followed the second connection. She could feel Deathwalker falter, and the connection dimmed.
As fast as her mind could carry her, Lilandra did her best to lock on to the second fragment. The connection flickered and dimmed once again. It was clear Deathwalker was in agony and could not hold on much longer. Doing her best, Lilandra resonated as long as she could before mentally returning.
“You can stop now master!” Lilandra cried out.
Deathwalker cut the connection and audibly sighed in relief. “Woah that was brutal. I cannot believe it hurt so...” Pausing mid-sentence as he read the prompt in front of his eyes.
Lilandra saw the look of resignation in her master’s eyes. “What is it?!”
Rather than speaking, Deathwalker mentally willed them to see his prompt.
Warning! You have further strained your soul, hastening your demise! Time until permadeath: 9 months, 0 days, 0 hours...
“On master, I am sorry.” Lilandra apologized.
At first, she was going to give Deathwalker a few moments to recover before asking him to try again. Now, even though she knew the second fragment’s location was not as clear, she could not ask him to repeat that process.
“Do not worry master. Give me some time. Go enjoy your time with the pumas as you recover.” Lilandra said.
“I think I will. Are you coming Garry?” Deathwalker asked.
Lilandra intervened before Garry could reply. “Actually, I would like to speak with Garry for a few moments.”
Deathwalker just shrugged. He was too tired to care. It was a level of tiredness that seemed to be more than bone deep. He knew it was his wounded soul. With such mental musings, Deathwalker had little interest in inquiring why, and just left the main hall.
“What’s up? Have you finally decided to give me a chance? Believe me I keep dreaming of genie!” Garry teased.
Lilandra raised one eyebrow. “I warned you not to use that reference. I will let you get a pass, just this once as I have more important matters to discuss with you.”
Garry realized Lilandra was serious and after reading his master’s prompt, he figured she wanted to discuss it. He could be serious for his master.
“Boss is everything to me, how else am I to be entertained.” Garry smiled at the end. ‘Okay, mostly serious.’
Ignoring Garry’s antics, Lilandra spoke up. “I have recruited Orantes and Prrsha to help me in recovering these fragments for Deathwalker. You saw the prompt. We do not have time to be completely subtle in retrieving them. As you are not the most diplomatic, I thought you might be interested in joining our efforts when the time comes.”
“Sign me up! Mayhem and I get to help the boss, sounds like an awesome time to me!” Garry grinned.
“Good! I will call upon you when the time comes. For now, say nothing to Deathwalker.”
“Why?” Garry asked.
“Because he is the type of man to have too much integrity to risk others just to save his life. If he finds out, our master will expect us to comport ourselves in a way that might hinder the retrieval of the fragments. Deathwalker would sacrifice himself to save any of us, that I do know about him. I hope you are willing to do the same for him.” Lilandra explained.
“Absolutely! And I will take as many bastards with me as I can!” Garry proclaimed.
——
“Ha, ha, ha, ha!” Deathwalker laughed as he played with the puma cubs.
Mrrsha, Prrsha, and Frrsha stood there and watched their alpha. It warmed their heart to see him be so kind and playful with the children of their pride. It reinforced Prrsha’s resolve to help Lilandra and Orantes find what Deathwalker needed to survive.
Garry floated up to the three matriarchs. “What’d I miss?”
“That took a while for you to return. What did Lilandra want?” Mrrsha asked.
Garry used two of his eyestalks to gesture to himself. “She just wanted all of this! It’s only a matter of time until you pretty kitties want me too!”
Mrrsha flexed her claws at the Shadow Gazer. “Do not make me remind you I see you little more than a scratching post!”
Frrsha played with her blonde hair, twirling it as she never took her eyes of Deathwalker. “Why would I need you when I have alpha.”
Mrrsha nodded in agreement. “Come sisters, let us help our alpha with the cubs.”
Frrsha and Mrrsha began to walk away but Prrsha held back. “Go sisters. I wish to speak to our alpha’s familiar.” As she said the last part, she extended her claws as Mrrsha had done earlier.
Both cat girls just shrugged their shoulders figuring Prrsha was just going to scare the little floating ball of crazy. Once her sisters were far enough away Prrsha spoke. “Lilandra recruited you as well.”
“Yea, she told me more about her plans to save the boss. It involves mayhem and destruction so of course I’m in!”
Prrsha pulled her red hair to the side, using the motion to look back briefly at Deathwalker and her kin. “Good. I have said nothing to my sisters. Frrsha will not be able to hide her emotions from our alpha. And Mrrsha, she will make a point to ensure he knows what we are attempting.”
“Yes. Lilandra wanted to keep this from him as well. I don’t get it. The boss does what he feels is necessary. I have seen the monster inside; I think he would welcome the fun!” Garry challenged.
Prrsha purred at the thought. “Yes, his fierceness is unmatched. Look at how he plays with the young from our pride. To watch that you would not know he was capable of such things. He buries that part of his power deep inside himself. Our alpha does that for our sake. Just as he uses that ferocity to protect us and the others under his care, but never just for himself.”
“I already told the hot genie that I was in. Lilandra said her and Orantes would need some time to prepare. Something about the brood and having one of the portal gates, blah, blah. It was just a bunch of boring talk, and I got distracted just staring at her. I mean she is just so hot! You are too in an exotic cat girl way!” Garry teased.
Prrsha just rolled her eyes. “Just be ready when the time comes.”
Conversation over, Prrsha and Garry moved to join the others. As they approached Deathwalker, finished his play wrestling with the cubs. He turned to his familiar and asked, “Are you up for a hunt, buddy?”
“Did you even have to ask? Of course!” Garry grinned.
“Perfect. Let me let General Marius know on the way out. Our secret base slash training facility is turning out well when I spoke to him last. Come my savage squad, I am in need of a hunt!” Deathwalker replied.
———PRESENT TIME———
The day had been filled with one hunt after the other. The savage squad had journeyed further into the forest closer to the mountains, battling the whole way until they had come across a rare patch of grasslands that butted up against the mountains. That was where they had encountered their current challenge.
Nymean Lion
Level 100
HP: 5,639/12,300
“Man, this Nymean Lion’s hide is tough, and its Strength and Dexterity have to be through the roof!” Deathwalker commented as he dodged another powerful swipe from the beast.
“What roof? I see no structure!” Mrrsha asked as she too had to dodge quickly out of the deadly attack.
Everyone had some minor wound or cut from one of the creature’s attacks. The Nymean Lion’s claws seemed to have similar armor-piercing properties as the pumas did. Though the three matriarchs could penetrate the lion’s thick hide, they either could only go so deep, or the beast would heal quickly.
Most of Garry’s magical attacks did little more than annoy it. This caused the Shadow Gazer to be high in the air, mostly taunting the beast. The Nymean Lion crouched down; his legs slightly glowing before it leapt into the air.
“Oh shit!” Garry barely dodged out of the way hearing snapping jaws behind him.
“That is completely unfair! Something that big should not be able to jump that high!” Garry protested.
“Quit your complaining! What is unfair is how quickly it heals from our attacks!” Prrsha stated.
The only one who had been effective against the monster was Deathwalker’s Omni-claws. The speed and power of the Nymean Lion’s counterstrikes were making it difficult to get in anything but glancing blows. Yet everyone could see Deathwalker smiling, clearly enjoying himself.
“The beast appears to really not like you, Garry!” Frrsha commented.
“No surprise there! Keep doing what you do best and annoy it!” Mrrsha chimed in.
“Hey! If I didn’t know you cat girls loved me, I might take that seriously!”
“We do not!” Prrsha replied.
Garry gave them a mock look of hurt before shrugging and using his Telekinesis to grab a nearby rock and hitting the lion in the face. “Let’s rock kitty!”
The Nymean Lion attempted his leaping attack at Garry again. This time he was expecting it and was already in motion to move out of the way. The leap attack did not come anywhere near as close as it did the first time.
“You know he really is good at pissing that thing off.” Deathwalker observed.
Using the giant beast’s lack of mobility while in the air, Deathwalker landed on the Nymean Lion’s back. Digging in his claws right below the mane. Finally getting a critical strike and firm hold on its back, he activated his Power of 13 ability.
The Nymean Lion tried to buck and twist to dislodge Deathwalker. Completely distracted by this turn of events, the beast did not dodge the renewed attacks from Frrsha, Mrrsha, and Prrsha. The three cat girls finally saw their strikes do more damage as the monster seemed to grow more and more sluggish.
Seeing the long-awaited notification told them they had finally defeated their opponent.
Congratulations! You have defeated a level 100 Nymean Lion! 260,000 experience earned!
Level Up! Congratulations! You are now Level 65! You have +13 stat points to distribute!
Congratulations! Your Power of 13 ability has permanently absorbed the following stats: +50 Strength, +50 Agility, +50 Dexterity, +35 Constitution, +25 Endurance, +13 Luck!
“Luck huh? How weird.” Deathwalker said as he dumped his 13 stat points into Wisdom, then willed to review his summary stat sheet. It had been a while since he reviewed his status and wanted to see the gains from all the adventuring and hunting.
Name: Deathwalker Dragonvein
Race: Ancient Omni Dragon
Experience Needed to Level:
Level:
65
Form:
Human
787,300
Stats
Health:
4,173
Mana:
7,098
Stamina:
4,043
Mana Regen. per minute
2,028
Stamina Regen. per minute
2,503.8
Primary Attributes
Unused Attribute Points: 0
Strength:
323
Agility:
362
Dexterity:
336
Constitution:
321
Endurance:
311
Intelligence:
273
Wisdom:
260
Charisma:
195
Luck:
195
Intuition:
78
Creativity:
78
Mental Aegis:
78
Deathwalker was happy with the increases. He had been dealing with too much politics and city planning lately. It was hard to see the immediate results of such efforts. Sure, he saw some with their recent healing of the refugees, but it still did not help address his drive to grow stronger. Yet now, on the hunt, he felt like he was finally moving forward.
“Well, which direction should we...” Deathwalker’s question was cut off with the arrival of a new notification.
Ruler of Timberfall Duchy, an Adult Red Dragon has entered your territory! This dragon is the subject of an active Kingdom of Nord quest! You are called to defend your territory and protect your followers! Objectives: Subjugate, kill, or drive off target. A lesser reward will be granted if you negotiate with the invading dragon. Note: Target’s location has been added to your Explorer’s map.
Deathwalker shared the notification with his team.
“Now we are talking! Let’s go bring the smack down on a dragon!” Garry cheered.