Ruinous Return

B2 – Chapter 11

So, this is what the Valley of the Volcano looks like? Lawrence thought as he went over the large walls that appeared as mountains. He had never been inside, having been eaten prior to the hero's assault on the dread fortress. But he knew that the mountains were not always walls. Whoever changed them must be insanely powerful. He could see the large rivers that met in a central lake, and the expansive, sprawling city. There was a cleared off space of a training yard, and he angled toward that.

As he descended, he shifted forms from that of a dragon into a hummingbird. He was certain none had seen him flying in his draconic form high up near the edge of the atmosphere, and exploring in a smaller, more agile shape would be wise. Getting the lay of the land, as it were. He landed on a roof and just listened to the various languages around him. Arinol, Khrelardian, Shereldian, Triskol…Sloren? He glanced over towards the voice and spotted one of the squat, dwarf-esque individuals carrying a large bundle of furs. Interesting. He only spoke Khrelardian and Shereldian, but he had heard the different languages on a few occasions.

He flew around the city for a few hours, exploring and determining the layout. Interesting design. A large half-wheel centered around the citadel. He spotted dark, black ravens flying about, and he landed near a pair of them that were croaking to each other in Arinol. Fascinating. Ravens as messengers.

His eyes spotted a group of children playing in a small yard. They looked…familiar, somehow. Flying over and landing on the fencepost around the yard, he tried to figure out where he knew them from.

"Alright kids, come in for lunch!" a female voice called out from the building in Shereldian. The children rushed over and opened the door, and Lawrence flew to the window to peer in. Hovering in place, he almost stopped flapping his wings as shock hit him. Trisha and Ben? They survived! He felt giddy and wanted to de-shift right there and run inside. If they're here, then this must be the real Lyn. And they got hitched? Fucking called it.

"Oh, I haven't seen a hummingbird in a long time," a voice said behind him in English. Turning in place and flying erratically to not arouse suspicion, he saw a portly man with a belt that was covered in pouches.

The door opened and Lawrence heard Ben's boisterous voice speaking in the same language, "Hey, glad you made it for lunch!" He walked forward and gave the other man a big hug before setting him down. "Skirt steak. With a chimichurri."

"Sounds delicious. Oh, I finished that batch of gum. You wanted cherry, I believe?" The portly man said as he pulled out a small package.

"Thanks, Brad. It's been a long time."

That's Brad? He really let himself go. The duo went inside, and Lawrence flew up to the roof of the building. Three of the people who had been alongside him, at the time he was eaten, were all here. And none of you searched for me. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, re-centering himself and finding his place of Zen. I'll wait a while. I want to talk to this new Lyn before I make any decisions.

Lyn took in the chamber. An enormous entry hall with pedestals that held statues of the Elenthians. They appeared very similar to Humans, but they had a second pair of arms jutting out from their upper back, and a secondary set of eyes on the sides of the head, where the temple would be. There was a large diagram on the floor. She read them aloud, translating to Arinol. "The Hall of Concords."

Thomas nodded and began to lead them down a hallway. The smooth, black granite was laced through with a variety of colored stone lines, each corresponding to a location name written on the walls in the same color. "We'll head to the archives first, but we can explore if you want…I've already explored most of this place. That entry, the Hall of Concords is where the Elenthians gathered to come to terms with each other. They did not have a singular governing body. It was a very individualistic society with agreed-upon customs that helped promote a social order."

"They did not have a ruler?" Vael asked incredulously. "No elders to guide them?"

"None. The Elenthians had no division, save for a slight deference to those who were deemed more experienced in a certain area. I believe their brains were quite differently put together than those of most humanoid races. They lacked the ability to become angry or fearful. Without those emotions, they found little conflict."

"They were not warriors," Gael commented.

"No, they were not. They were thinkers, not fighters," Thomas replied quickly. "Violence was unnecessary when all desired the same goal."

"Which was?" Lyn asked.

"Ascension. We know the soul or consciousness are tied to mana cores, and they sought a way to free themselves not only from their bodies, but also from their mana cores. They succeeded, apparently. Echoes of those souls persisted, hence why dungeon cores 'talk' in your mind when you claim them."

"Wait a moment," Lyn said as she got up alongside Thomas, "You said before that Aelor probably created dungeons and placed the soulless mana cores in them. But I thought the singular deity split into Aelor and Raevan after the Elenthians left because it was so sad."

"Where'd you hear that?" Thomas asked.

"Raevan when I spoke to her."

"Ah. Then I would theorize that it was one of Aelor's first actions post-deity-split." He stopped at a door with more black paint on it. "This is our stop. Same as before, you'll have three seconds to enter behind me." He placed his hands on it, the white mana flared before the black ink glowed, and he counted down before pushing the door open.

They got into the room before the door slammed shut. A circular chamber with a spiral staircase at the center, and every shelf lined with books, parchment, tomes, scrolls. A plethora of knowledge, painstakingly categorized and collated. "And here we are," Thomas sighed. "Home sweet home."

"You lived here?" Vael asked as she went to one of the books.

"Yes. At the top of the tower there's a balcony, and that's where Hector slept. I stayed on the top floor most of the time – the breeze coming from outside is nice. Down here? Too stuffy."

Lyn looked around at the intricately organized collection, "And you said you searched all of the ruins?"

"Yup. Come on, let's go upstairs." Thomas led the way up the spiraling stairs, and the four walked in silence as they went up a few hundred feet. Each floor they passed was more of the same as the first floor, with the one difference being the bindings of the books were different colors. "I completely reorganized things. They only had the first floor full, but after I went through every building I could, I had accumulated a lot. Mostly research notes, journals, and the like. Very few texts like a proper history."

"This must have taken ages," Lyn commented, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of paper and the idea that Thomas had combed a whole entire city for scraps of wisdom left behind. "And you never encountered those mana wraiths before?"

"Oh, I encountered them. They just weren't interested in me," Thomas replied as he paused on a floor to take some breaths. His legs were shaking and he chuckled, "It's….been a while…since I've…climbed this many…stairs."

Gael went to one of the bookshelves and pulled out a book, flipping it open to the center. "They wrote in Arinol?"

Thomas shook his head, "No, that's my doing. Look at the back."

Gael flipped the book over and brought it to Lyn. Looking at the back, she saw a small inscription written in ink. Clever. Whoever is holding it can read it. And the inscription requires such little mana that most people will just…use it by instinct. She nodded, "It's safe to read."

Gael opened the book once more and sat on one of the stools scattered about. Vael did the same, and they both seemed riveted by what they were reading. Vael turned the book over and showed Lyn a diagram, "It says something about inscribed circles? Why do inscriptions in circles?"

"Summoning," Lyn replied. "Circles are an easier shape for inscribing summoning spells. The spell type is suited to it." She laughed lightly, "I don't know how I knew that."

"Artificer core," Thomas answered as he stood up. "Okay, I'm good. It's only a few more stories."

Gael gestured around, "Looks like there are plenty of stories here."

"No, floors to climb up," Thomas stated, pointing up.

"Ah," Gael put the book back, and nudged Vael. She kept reading the book as the group continued their ascent.

This is more like what I was expecting, Lyn thought as they arrived on the top-most floor. There was more of a mess up here. It was organized chaos. There was a system to it, but the books, scrolls, and other scraps of knowledge were scattered about in a haphazard way. Thomas went over to a desk and dug through several sheets of paper before coming back with one.

"This is the one that details a divination. 'In the age where the heroes vanquish the Destroyer, whatever form it may have taken, a new vessel will rise. Thus, the cycle will continue endlessly, until all are combined.'" He handed the script to her. "Since the statue of Aelor isn't around anymore to store the cores, that leaves you and James."

"We had figured this part out. Why come all the way back up here for this scrap of paper?" Lyn asked. "You remember everything you read.

"I do…but I had a personal reason to come up here." He went to the balcony, and Lyn followed. Thomas leaned against a railing that was partly cut off, leaving a large space. On that large space, there was a nest. "That's where Hector slept," Thomas said softly as he stared at the spot.

Lyn walked up next to him, "Your wyvern, right?"

He nodded and she heard him start to choke up, "I'd always wanted to ride a dragon. A wyvern was the closest thing I got." He sniffled a little and wiped a tear from his cheek. "I raised him from the egg to full-grown. He could understand me…and with animalism spells, I could actually talk to him. He was…my best friend…" Thomas turned to Lyn, and she felt her heart sink as she saw the man before her, broken down emotionally. "…And he killed him."

Lyn looked into his eyes and saw the deep well of sorrow within. Like pools that were endlessly deep and would have sucked her into the pit of despair. "I'm so sorry, Thomas."

"James," Thomas whispered as the sorrow was replaced with a look of hatred. "He needs to pay...But that's not why I came up here," he said as he dried his eyes. Reaching into his satchel, he pulled out an intricately carved, wooden wyvern, and placed it in the center of the nest. "Hector loved perching up here. Some days I'd just sit next to him, and we'd just listen to the sounds of the wind." He looked at Lyn and smiled, "The best years of my life were here, along with my best friend in the whole world. Reading, learning, flying and just…being me."

Lyn offered him a hand, "Were the best years of your life. There is more to come. You'll have as good of a life as I can help provide."

Thomas took her hand, and she helped him stand up. "Thanks for that." He looked back at the nest. "Goodbye, Hector," he whispered.

Lyn knelt next to the wooden figurine, "Anna i dharnen / na amathad belthaid / carad o gling a maud adh mîr na hin." She channeled mana into the spell, and the wood shifted under her hand as a deep, blue light poured out. Pulling her hand back, the figurine was no longer wood, but instead solid brass with diamonds for eyes. "Now he'll get to be in his favorite place for a long, long time."

She stood up, and Thomas hugged her tightly. "Thank you," he whispered.

Lyn gently wrapped her arms around him, "You're welcome."

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Vael looked at the words on the page and understood most of them. Okay, I'll try this. She set her spear on the ground and set the book down. Looking around, she spotted an inkwell and several quills on the desk. She went over, grabbed them, and went back to her spot, sitting on the ground.

"What are you doing?" Gael asked as he peered over the book he was perusing.

"Trying this spell," Vael replied. "I should be able to just copy this basic one." She pointed at the book, where the words had translated to Arinol whenever she touched it. The circle she was going to copy, however, remained in Elenthir.

"You sure you want to try inscribing something when you have Lyn around? She could probably do it."

"We'll never grow if we don't try new things," Vael replied as she set to meticulously copying the inscribed circle, using the quill to draw the words in Elenthir onto the blade of the spear. She poured mana into the quill as she did so and saw the ink sink into the leaf-shaped blade.

Gael came over and watched her as she worked. He kept quiet, but he put his finger on the book to read the translated words.

Vael finished the inscription and let out a sigh of relief as she was able to stop the constant flow of mana. Since it's not carved in, it's not going to last forever. And based on what Lyn told me about inscriptions, the more complex and longer duration you want requires more mana. Grabbing the spear and holding it upright, she channeled mana into the spear and it traveled up the shaft and to the tip. The spear head lit aflame, burning a deep, purple color.

"Wow," Gael said breathlessly. "That's incredible!"

Vael smirked and stood up, taking a few practice swings. To her disappointment, the flame faded after about five seconds. Pulling the spear closer to her and inspecting it, she saw the ink had all burned away. "That was quick," she commented.

"We should ask Lyn to make us inscribed items. Since she got that Artificer core, she should be able to make all kinds of neat stuff."

"It's a matter of time, brother."

Gael pulled out the book he had been looking at and turned it around to her, "Did you know that they didn't have a gender? The Elenthians had…both?"

Vael shook her head and looked at the book, placing her hand on the spine to activate the small inscription as it translated to Arinol before her eyes. "Both sets of organs?"

Gael flipped the page and pointed at a diagram, "I wonder if there's a spell that could do that."

Vael laughed, "You envious of me?"

"No," Gael replied as he blushed and shut the book. "Never, I'm happy with what I have."

Vael shook her head and took the book from his hands, setting it on the desk. "I'm sure Lyn would design such a spell if you asked nicely," she joked.

Gael became flustered and turned away, "I'm going to find a different book," he replied as he went down the stairs to the next floor.

Cecily got out of the luxuriously large bath and snapped her fingers. Attendants brought over towels and dried her off, and as she sat on the small bench, a pair of female servants began to dry and brush her hair. "This better be urgent to get me out of my bath," Cecily said as she glared at the page.

The boy – no older than twelve – averted his gaze from the monarch of Valagonia. "M-m-mes-s-sage m'lady." He held out a slip of parchment.

Cecily took it and waved a hand dismissively. The boy bowed and ran out of the room. Unfurling the rolled-up note, she read the report. Fucking really? She sighed and tore up the note. "Bring me ink and parchment," she ordered. One of the attendants in the room dashed out and brought back a wooden tablet with parchment and writing materials ready. The servant held the wooden tray still as a statue as Cecily penned a report back. I swear good help is so hard to find.

She finished her nighttime routine and stretched, signaling for her robes to be brought over. She felt the slight thumping of her Ruler core, the near heartbeat within her chest that prompted her as to prudent decisions to make as a monarch. Hmm…I should do that. She went to her bedroom and sat down at her desk, penning off several messages to the outlying duchies to send a guarded caravan to acquire funds for a new public works project.

Her current goal was almost achieved. She had enough mana to perform her kingdom-wide spell that would cover a third of Ghomar, affecting all who were subjects under her kingdom.

She knew that once she used the spell, it would take effect over the course of a week. Her people would be slightly more lethargic during that time. She needed to be sure that her forces were built up enough that Khrelardia wouldn't declare war and march on her right away. I should reinforce Rist first. If it is obvious there is a large garrison there, then invasion from there is off the table. There was a small mountain range that protected the rest of that border with Khrelardia, and she intended on going to war as soon as her spell had finished, and the soldiers were ready.

"My lady," one of the attendants said at the doorway. "You have the Berserker hero here to speak with you."

"Send him in," she replied as she stood up and stretched. Kory walked in and meekly knelt in front of her. She walked over and put her foot on his shoulder, pushing him down to the ground. He obeyed immediately. "Good boy. You may stand."

He did so and bowed deeply, "I had a request."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"Let me go to Fort Watch. I want to bring my mercenaries into the fold."

"You heard what happened."

"I know. I want to go find my men and bring them back."

Cecily crossed her arms, "Reports indicated they fled North, into the Valley of the Volcano. Into the Destroyer's lands. I don't want to provoke her. Not with war coming. Let her hole herself up." She grabbed a sheaf of paper and shoved it in his face, "I know you aren't the best at reading Shereldian, so the simple news is that this Destroyer is focused on defensive actions." She stuck her finger into his chest, "No. Provoking. Her. I don't want a two-front war."

"I won't provoke her. I can use the hidden tunnel on the other side of the mountains."

Cecily shook her head, "I can't afford you being gone that long; it will take you two weeks to go around the mountains. Face it. Your mercenaries are gone."

"Then let me train up new troops!" he said as he dropped to his knees. "I'm begging you; I can't stand these fucking recruits. Training them is destroying me on the inside."

"Hmm…perhaps. Very well, service me tonight, and in the morning, I will write up the commission. You'll have your pick of the recruits for your new unit. We'll call them Valagonia's Vanguard."

Kory nodded and his face was neutral, but Cecily knew there was a trace of enthusiasm at the prospect of getting to sleep with her that night. He went to the edge of the bed and began to undress.

Cecily shook her head, "Not like that." She pointed to the cross in the back of the room, "You'll serve me in a different way tonight."

Lyn returned to the tower interior with Thomas. Vael was sitting on the ground, reading the same tome, but Gael was nowhere to be seen. After a moment, she heard sounds from the floor below. "Alright Thomas, where's this place you couldn't get into?"

"In the main hall, and straight back."

Lyn nodded and tapped her foot to get Vael's attention as she swapped to Arinol, "We're heading out."

Vael stood up and pointed at the book, "Can I keep this?" she asked.

Thomas nodded, "I was actually going to ask for us to do one more thing while we're here." He turned to Lyn, "Make a storage space and let's take all of this with us. We can put it deep in the Conclave of the Fortress. The knowledge of the Elenthians, all under your control."

"Isn't it safer here?"

"Safer? Possibly. But I'd rather Cecily still think the spell she is seeking is here, and have it elsewhere. Somewhere she would never think to look."

Lyn nodded and held up her hand. "Anna sad orcham / i theled trin daeron / a na sein ardhad anoron / a theniad ennas / athrad neth / pen tiriel / imbíotho ha adh gas / a garo naith anír alfirin / an tirad i ist." An extradimensional space appeared next to her, and the trio were joined by Gael after a minute as they slowly cleared the tower, floor by floor, throwing the papers, books, and tomes into the storage space. As soon as they passed the aperture, they formed neat, tidy stacks by type and subject based upon the title along the spine. The storage dimension would perfectly preserve them.

Thomas went into a small side room and came back a few moments later, holding a dozen wooden orbs that he also tossed into the storage space. "Special objects we need to bring back," was the only explanation he gave, and Lyn didn't feel like prying.

Letting the spell cease as they cleared the bottom floor, Thomas led the way back to the entryway, and then they followed the large, thick blue line that led deeper into the complex. They went past more statues, and Lyn noticed a few names from dungeons she had cleared.

They reached the back of the enormous hall and went down a set of stairs, arriving at a large, double door made of adamantine that was covered in layers upon layers of inscriptions. "Damn," was all Lyn could say. "There's so many layers here."

Thomas held out a sheet of paper, "I untangled the whole mess and figured out the right order. It's going to take a ton of mana."

Lyn nodded and sat down, "Then I should let it refill fully, as well as in my amulet."

"Oh? May I see it?"

Lyn nodded and held it up for him to look at. Thomas scanned it over and he looked up at Lyn with a smirk, "Genius. Absolutely genius. I would've never thought to use it that way."

"It's a smart inscription. But the amount of mana to make it means it had to have been Raevan that crafted it."

"Makes sense."

Vael prodded her and leaned over to whisper, "Gael found out that the Elenthians had both sets of sexual organs."

Lyn stifled a laugh, "Really?" she whispered back.

"Mhmm. I think it would be hilarious if you could prank him in bed one night."

"I never thought of using spells to try and change anatomy," she whispered. "I can design the spell, but it would be an internal shifting spell, so I couldn't force it on someone."

Vael shrugged, "Maybe an inscribed item?"

Lyn thought of that. How handy would it be to have a bunch of…I don't know, statues, around the empire. People could touch it…She had an epiphany that made her crack a wide grin.

"What did she tell you?" Gael asked as his cheeks reddened.

"I had an idea," Lyn said as she looked to Thomas who had sat against the opposite wall. "Could someone change their race with an internal shifting spell?"

Thomas blinked several times as if he was trying to comprehend the question. "Theoretically it's possible, but I don't know how much mana it would take. Shifting internal spells are already the most mana intensive of that category. Well, barring your regeneration, but that seems to be unique to the Destroyer core alone."

"But its theoretically possible?" Vael asked.

"It is," Thomas replied.

Lyn smiled, "I just had an amazing idea to ensure equality across the empire."

"Do tell," Thomas said.

"What if I created statues of myself using earth elementalism. Statues that are perfect recreations. On the plinth I can inscribe several spells for all variety of daily uses: conjuring water, growing plants, healing…even race or gender changing. All sorts of stuff." She grinned, "I wouldn't have to worry about having, say, one of Trisha's healers present in every little city across Ghomar. Just the main towns. Plus, people who tried to train up their mana reserves and exercise their core would be able to improve their own forms. It would be a way to level the playing field across the empire."

Thomas scratched his head, "It definitely is possible. It would take you a while to inscribe that many spells though."

Lyn nodded and smiled, "Long term project. But I think that should be one of the first items on the agenda once we begin our expansion proper."

Brad set to work in the back laboratory of the alchemy complex Lyn had erected out of stone. The smooth, polished surfaces were perfect for a scientific environment, and she had even dredged up silver before shaping it with a spell to provide plenty of tools that wouldn't contaminate samples.

They didn't have nearly as many glass blowers as Brad had access to in Valagonia, but he had enough chemistry equipment to set up several stations. The apprentices from the Newen that had joined him were, thankfully, decent at herblore and knew a good deal about the varieties that grew in and around the Valley. They were adept at harvesting, producing excellent yields.

And Brad had picked up the flora external spell type from a dungeon way back during the second year of the hero's journeys. Everyone insisted he get the dungeon core, except for James who wanted to have 'all the magic types'. But he was outnumbered when they decided to vote for it. Using those spells and cuttings he had taken from his prior laboratory, he had set up a very large, partitioned garden outside of the building that could grow the variety of herbal, medicinal, and drug plants that he had accumulated over his time on Ghomar. Soon enough, a greenhouse would be constructed around the plot, so that even in the cooler months they could keep their supply going.

And here, in this back laboratory, he was working in total silence all alone. He had barred the door and ensured that he was completely alone as he labored over the chemistry station. The portions have to be perfect, he thought, as he continued to monitor the bubbling substance he was reducing down to a 'crust' he could scrape up and use as a powder. Raising his hand over the substance, he chanted in Elenthir. "Anna sad leithian / teled nin / ah doltha i daer naeth hen / an ind anír nin." The Alchemist only, external spell that allowed him to change the potency of any medicine or drug he created, no matter the form.

The spell, in this case, increased the potency and concentrated the drug. He had no doubt that Lyn was going to kill Cecily if she could; after all, Lyn hated the woman. Probably even more once she learned that Cecily is the one who coordinated the effort to strip Lyn from people's memory. But he wanted to ensure Lyn's victory and his own revenge. And the best way to do that was to undermine Cecily's rule.

"Almost done," He muttered as he turned off the burner and let the last of the liquid boil away. A drug that will only affect Valagonia's Human population, that can spread as if it were a disease. He could introduce this to the population. It would spread, and after a month it would finally begin to show itself.

It was not harmful in any way, rather, it was an…enlightenment drug, as he chose to call it. It would cause hallucinations during sleep, and specifically ones that would help to destabilize their indoctrinated and propagandized beliefs in racial superiority of Humans. It would give them an 'out of body' experience to help them see just how much they had been misled. Just one way that he could work towards fixing that kingdom and undermining Cecily's rule.

I'll get back at you, fucking bitch. Ruin my drug empire? Cut off my dick? Thrall me? You're going to pay.

He scraped the cooled substance from the sides of the glass and put the powder into a small, paper envelope. He sealed it tightly with twine and pushed it into his hip pouch. Now to figure out a way to introduce it to the kingdom's population. He went out of the back room and headed to the citadel. Ascending the numerous stairs –pausing for breath a few times – he made it up to Finala, Keeper of Ravens. The Duskari woman was tending to new hatchlings, and Brad politely knocked on one of the beams.

She turned and smiled, speaking perfect Khrelardian, thankfully. "Ah, the Alchemist hero. Are you here to bind a raven?"

"I wasn't aware I was going to get one," he stated as he walked up to the hatchlings she was tending to. They stared at him with wide eyes that he found cute.

"The Destroyer instructed me to offer a raven to each hero to facilitate communication."

"I would love to bind a raven. Just tell me how."

Finala smiled and waved him over, "First, you get to choose your hatchling. Then I'll use a few spells, and you'll just have to wait a few days for the accelerated growth."

"Have you told the other heroes?"

"I was waiting for this newest group to hatch. This evening was when I was going to send messages out."

Brad nodded, "Perfect. Let's get started." And then I can send it to deliver the drug to Cecilaria, right in the center of her kingdom. He chuckled slightly as he focused his attention on Finala's instructions.