Ruinous Return

B2 – Chapter 4

Gael stood at rapt attention as Finala finished the report. "…Trisk appears open to becoming your first vassal state. Diplomat Rashanna's letter lays out a date and a location for you to meet King Skir." She walked forward, handed Lyn the letter, and then took her place behind Spymaster Velenna.

Lyn was silent for several seconds, and Gael glanced over at his sister who stood on the opposite side of the throne, deep in the council chamber within the Conclave of the Fortress. The entire council was present, including the newly appointed heroes that had arrived. Gael knew that his sister was thinking the same thing he was. We are finally going to get to leave the Valley for a bit.

Neither of them were against their appointment as bodyguards, but they were mostly for show; Lyn needed no protection. Their main role if she chose to travel was to just keep watch while she slept or entertain her physically after making camp. Gael let out a slight sigh, and Lyn snapped her gaze at him. "Thoughts?" she asked.

Gael shook his head, "No, my Lady."

"Hmph." Lyn looked back at the slip of paper. "Dunsk, eh? That's not too far off from the Northern Valley entrance." She cocked her head sideways for a moment, "Three days by foot, if memory serves." She looked over to Finala, "Send raven back to our Diplomat; we will meet at the appointed time and place." She looked across the rest of the council chamber. "Now…report out. Chancellor?"

Chancellor Vehenna stood up, "All is progressing accordingly, my Lady. The Alchemist hero has successfully trained several apprentices who are now in the process of producing copious amounts of Purple Patches and other medicines that can be distributed. The Healer hero has accepted multiple applications to enter her school of healing. The Seer, Dran, has been extremely helpful in identifying those with these…markers you speak of that seems to gift some people with the ability to use spell types far exceeding their mana capacity."

Like me and Vael, Gael thought. Water elementalism was one of the easiest elementalism types, but Lyn had taught them both how to manipulate blood as well; a subtype that cost much more mana. Even a simple spell to lock up an opponent's limbs for a few seconds almost exhausted them. That meant most warriors would have nowhere near enough mana to perform such a feat. We really are special, he thought, recalling Lyn's comment about some 'genetic trait' that enabled their capacity in water elementalism.

The Chancellor took her seat, and Thane Mol stood up. He spoke in short, barking words of the Sloren language, and Gael's thoughts began to drift off as he and Lyn corresponded in that language. He thought of the beautiful new rooms that Lyn had carved out in the Conclave, near her own chambers. One of which she had richly appointed and given to his and Bolvon's use. He smiled, glancing over at the Shadowstalker who sat just behind the Spymaster. They exchanged looks, and Bolvon winked at him suggestively.

Thane Mol sat down, and Marshal Remora stood. The language swapped back to Arinol, and Gael listened intently. "The five-hundred-man strong mercenary company is being set to work training our Duskari Squadrons in rotation on their unique ambush and skirmishing tactics. We are also working on codifying their instructions in writing. With the help of your new Court Scholar, the Knowledge hero, we are also working on a way to codify mandatory service for citizens."

"And tell me," Lyn replied, "Do our current forces have proper distribution of gear and equipment? I had heard stirrings that we were running low on chain skirts and other armor components."

"…That is correct, Lady Rivers. We simply don't have enough smiths as it stands to accommodate that."

The Knowledge hero stood up at this point and interjected in perfect Arinol, "I'll take care of it, Lyn. If we have the raw materials, I can do a spell to make sheets and sheets of chain shirts. Stellas and I will take care of it."

Lyn nodded, "Coordinate with the Marshal."

I wonder how he plans on doing that? Gael thought. A spell, yes…but is he going to control metal? Gael knew that the various elementalism sub-types were very taxing to utilize. Metal fell underneath Earth. How much mana do these heroes have? He thought.

"Of course, Lady Rivers. One more thing; the Ari marines are performing some odd ritual in the mornings. Laying in the lakes and…making ripples."

"They're just doing what she showed me," Admiral Naila stated. "Improving our mana capacity."

Lyn nodded, "Yes. I hope to have every soldier, before they go to sleep each day – or in the morning – complete a few cycles of mana circulation. Admiral, please send a few of your Ari marines to teach the Duskari Squadrons. They can spread the technique amongst the other rank and file."

The two military commanders nodded, and the Spymaster, Velenna, stood up. "Lady Rivers, there are stirrings. Reports from some of my contacts in Khrelardia have stated that a dragon has joined the forces of the Paragon hero."

The whole room went silent. Lyn leaned forward, "A real dragon? Not a wyvern?"

"Yes."

"True dragon?"

"It turned into a person upon arriving in Kor's Hold."

Gael looked over at Vael and saw the same wide-as-saucer eyes. "Forgive me, Lady Lyn," Gael interrupted, "But that's not going to be a large issue to deal with, correct? I would never doubt your power, but a true dragon…"

Lyn looked at him and nodded, "I could deal with it. But they are strong. A true dragon can take on a veteran hero, or a whole army of five thousand seasoned troops alone." She looked to the Knowledge hero, "I thought they were extinct."

He shrugged, "They could have hidden amongst the population of the kingdoms for all we know. They are fiercely territorial, though, so if this is indeed a true dragon as this information seems to indicate…it may have a deal with the Paragon hero to be granted control of territory within his borders."

The Spymaster nodded, "On another note, Lady Rivers, I have also learned that Valagonia has almost completed its quelling of rebellious duchies. I would imagine, soon, that large-scale war efforts will be underway, and the forces of Khrelardia and Valagonia would begin conflict in no more than a year."

Lyn nodded, "Good. Thank you. Anything else?" The council was silent, and she stood. "I plan on taking a journey to the Ruins of Elent before this meeting with King Skir of Trisk. I will be taking the Knowledge hero and my bodyguards. Thomas, will Stellas be joining us?"

"She will not be, Lady Lyn. She is going to continue work on the Elenthir primer you requested."

"Good. Shadowstalker Bolvon, I want you to travel to Diplomat Rashanna's location at Skir's Retreat. You are to then stay with her and her guards. I want you at that meeting, in case we must…remove King Skir. Otherwise, you are to be at her disposal."

Bolvon nodded and bowed, "My goddess, it will be done."

"We leave in three days," Lyn stated as she stood. "Council dismissed." She looked to Gael, "Go spend time with your partner." She turned to Vael, "May I have you this evening?" the female bodyguard nodded, and the two left the council room.

Bolvon walked over to Gael as the various councilors left or split into small groups to discuss plans. He wrapped an arm around Gael's shoulder and gave him a peck on the cheek, "What's on your mind?"

"…Let's go to the old training hall," Gael replied as he took Bolvon's hand and led the way into the Conclave's halls. They arrived at the large cavern, and Gael recalled the enormous wave of lava Lyn had used to demonstrate her power. The room was now used as storage, since the exterior of the fortress had ample room for training grounds with the larger sized military. This was also the place where Gael and Bolvon spent many hours in their youth, and they went to a small alcove with a few cushions – their little getaway.

Bolvon sat down with a sigh, "Okay, now that we're here…what are you thinking?"

Gael put aside his spear and began taking off the Titansteel armor he had been gifted for defeating a dungeon with Lyn. "I'm just a little overwhelmed. I would never doubt Lyn's decisions, but the sheer number of people is…a lot to deal with."

"But you barely interact with them," Bolvon replied as he helped Gael pull off the large chest plate.

"I know," Gael replied. "I'm overthinking it. Still, people know I'm her Bodyguard. They know that I'm special among Duskari…but I'm not." He sighed, "I was just on patrol when she arrived. That's it. Just luck led me to this position. The same with Vael." He pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on them. "She wanted a meritocracy, and I don't feel like I've done anything to really separate myself from the rest of the Duskari."

Bolvon moved his cushion next to Gael's and wrapped his arm around him, "You're one of the best spear-wielders that the Conclave has to offer. Don't discount yourself."

"I couldn't even strike her in a weakened state when she arrived when practicing with spear combat."

"She is on a different level than us. Among Duskari…you're strong, brave, and capable."

Gael sighed, "I guess…" he looked into his partner's deep red eyes. "I'm happy for you, at least. Getting to use your talents."

Bolvon chuckled, "Yeah. Thank our goddess for trusting Spymaster Velenna with her choice of employing me as her Shadowstalker." He nuzzled up to Gael, "We are going to spend these next few days not thinking about duty. Just be here in the now with me."

Gael nodded and wrapped his arm around Bolvon, "Okay."

Lyn closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Echado had en-nautha / i garo sui fân en-nauth / a na sui i garna idhren / sui athano en-arn sui bo nauth / leithio ha a haw glen / a maith ha ben meth." A shimmering, blue doorway appeared in space next to her – ten foot by ten foot – revealing an extradimensional space as she used the storage external spell type she had gained from Zack's rogue core. Thomas, Vael, Gael, and Bolvon all entered the space, and several Duskari helped carry provisions and furniture inside.

"It's a tight fit," Thomas stated in Arinol as there was just enough room for all four to sit on a cushion.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Well, it's not like we have much choice if we want to travel fast," Lyn replied in the same language. "Plus, Bolvon is going to be dropped off after a few hours; should give you lot some wiggle room."

The rest of the supplies were moved in, and Lyn released the spell, allowing the extradimensional space to close. Now, she could use a simple single-verse command to open that storage dimension. The Duskari who were helping load in the supplies bowed and left.

Lyn took a deep breath and equipped Cataclysm, reaching into the choker's storage dimension and drawing an arrow. Using the ability to mentally mana charge an object, Lyn chose to try something new. Ceven nin paich en-galu a gwaew / leithio han na padad haeron a dir avorn / a thenad dad nin barad na i paich / sui tharad. The bow crackled with lightning and gusting wind as both substances covered the arrow as she drew back. The spell was intended to increase the speed of the arrow by not just imbuing the weapon with the elemental types, but to force the arrow to take on the features of those elements – namely, the speed of lightning, and the weightlessness of wind.

She let loose, and the arrow shot in a straight line with a thunderous report. It did not arc, and sailed into the sky, above the clouds, and continued – a bolt of blue into the skies. After three seconds, she muttered the Archer's unique teleportation spell. "Adhano na phain nin galu."

Lyn appeared above the clouds and let herself free fall until she broke through. She activated her cloak and took in the terrain – she had traveled well out of the Valley of the Volcano's mountainous walls and was several miles into the kingdom of Trisk's territory. I can't believe that worked, she thought. This will make travel so much faster.

Holding her wrist up in front of her, she channeled mana into the bracer; taking note that the heat in her torso was at about half capacity. Damn, so turning an arrow into lightning and giving it unlimited distance, and teleporting to it is really taxing. Even with her mana full, if she was freely teleporting without the unique Archer capability, she would be able to maybe travel fifty feet. The spell type was that mana intensive.

The map showed a dungeon about twenty miles to the North-East. Right, first I need to drop Bolvon off. She deactivated the cloak and went into free fall, reactivating it before touching down on the ground. And thank God this thing reverts momentum from the fall. "Edro nin haden." The shimmering blue doorway opened next to her. "Alright Bolvon, this is your stop."

All four inside the space looked at her in shock. "What?" Thomas said in English. "It's been less than five minutes!"

"I tried a new spell," she replied in Arinol. "Turns out, it's effective for travel. Come on Bolvon, say bye to your love."

Bolvon got up and embraced Gael, sharing a kiss with his partner before exiting the storage space. Lyn pointed him in the direction of Skir's Retreat. He turned to her and bowed deeply, "My goddess, I thank you for this opportunity to prove my worth once more."

Lyn nodded and smiled, "You're welcome. Now get going."

Bolvon nodded and muttered a spell under his breath as his figure became obfuscated by flickering shadows as he ran – far faster than a person could – to the North-East.

"Alright you three," Lyn said as she looked at Thomas, Vael, and Gael. She held up the bracer and showed them the map, "We have one dungeon we can hit on the way to Misty's mage school in Vharthos. Then, we can go to the isle of Feylin – maybe even recruit some of the pixie smiths to the cause."

"And then the Ruins," Thomas said in Arinol. He looked at Vael and Gael, "You two are skilled frontline combatants, and I am mostly built to support others in combat with spells to bolster you or inhibit our foes."

Vael smirked, "Can you heal?"

"Yes. Not as well as Trisha, but well," Thomas replied.

"Good! Closing now, I'll see you three in a few minutes." Lyn let the spell cease and the aperture vanished. She pulled another arrow from the choker and repeated the lightning arrow spell before letting loose and teleporting once more.

"Come on, Admiral! Why do we have to do this? The water's cold!" One of the Duskari, a young one, shouted at Naila.

"Just fucking suck it up," she replied tersely. This group was the second rotation of squadron members who would take the learning back to their unit and instruct them. Then, we'll have to also make sure we do random inspections to ensure they're doing the exercises daily. "Alright! Lay all the way back! And pump that mana through your body! Up to the head, down to the toes!"

The squadron operatives did as instructed and dipped themselves into the lake. Mana began churning the water around them in small ripples. Nowhere near the waves Lady Rivers was creating. Several operatives had to come up for air before going back under.

"Admiral Naila!" Strike Commander Slanosh came over and saluted, clasping his fist to his chest with the fingers extended like a claw over the heart. "Permission to speak freely?"

"Yes, of course," she replied.

"Why are only the squadrons being given this new training regimen?"

Naila shrugged, "They're just getting some hands on practice, and then they'll advise the rest of the forces."

"Well…may I join them?"

"I don't see why not. Jump into the water, and when you dunk your head under, focus on pushing your mana through your body – from the top of the head to the tips of your toes." The Newen strike leader did as instructed, and to Naila's immense surprise – the water that circulated was not a ripple. Instead, the mana circulating caused the water to stay perfectly still. What in the abyss? She looked over to her raven messenger and whistled for it to come over. It flapped to the wooden post nearby and looked at her, waiting for orders. "Go to Lynhold and fetch that Vharthon that accompanied the Knowledge hero."

The raven flew off, and Naila continued to observe the operatives and the Newen Strike Commander. After about ten minutes, the Vharthon woman at the council meeting ran over. "Hi," she said in Triskol.

Naila swapped to her language, "What do you make of that?" she asked as she pointed at the submerged Newen.

The woman's eyes went wide, and her tails began swishing back and forth. "He's circulating mana?"

"Supposedly."

She knelt and muttered something in Elenthir. The water lit up with sparkles all around the Duskari operatives…but the sparkles stayed away from the Newen. Instead, the calm water seemed like a buffer. "That's amazing! It's…wow."

"What is it?" Naila asked.

"Wait for him to come up," she stated. The two stood, patiently, and when Slanosh came up for air, the Vharthon woman waved him over. "I want to try something," she stated.

Slanosh looked at Naila and spoke in Arinol, "What's she saying?"

"I'll translate," Naila replied. She looked to the Vharthon woman and swapped back to Triskol, "Use me as the go-between."

Over the next few minutes, the Vharthon woman used an Elenthir spell to create a floating sphere of flame. The edges flickered and crackled with barely restrained power. She coached Slanosh through a simple Elenthir verse, and when he uttered it, the ball of flames compressed to a smaller dot.

"Amazing," the fox-folk said. "His mana core; and maybe every Newen's mana core, can compress other spells."

"What's that mean when it relates to warfare?" Naila asked.

"It means that we need to test more Newen's mana cores. Normally they don't train in spell use, due to their low amount of mana. But if we taught a simple verse to every Newen that could do what Slanosh just did…"

"Yes?"

"This tiny sphere of fire still has the same potency and strength as before." The Vharthon woman waved her hand, and the sphere dashed forward over the lake before erupting in a large gout of fire that drew attention from people nearby. "It's much harder to see." She turned and grinned broadly, "It means that your Duskari squadrons, with a Newen or two implanted into each group, could have stealth spells."

Naila's eyes went wide with the implications of that on a battlefield. Ari marines using spells without being detected? We could light enemy ships on fire without them even knowing its coming.

The Vharthon woman grinned ear to ear, "We have to test this out more. Tell Slanosh to get more of his people."

Lyn arrived at the edge of the territory known as Raptol – a large, verdant forest filled with life. Also, the primary home to the race of bird-folk known as Raptin. They were an isolationist group, but not for lack of being kind and welcoming to other races; more because their main diet of various tree nuts was harder to maintain outside of the enormous forest they called home. Some traveled, and a few settled small colonies in other forests…but here, the trees shot up into the sky, easily five hundred feet and taller. Large, wide branches crisscrossed to allow for many perches, and the forest floor was covered in foliage and detritus of fallen leaves.

Lyn channeled mana into the bracer and checked the map's three-dimensional mode. It's up in the trees. She aimed the bow up there and let loose a shot, teleporting to the arrow. "Gothron i gwanno / min enni / na nin togwath / hadano hain / anno nin thron / a nin gwelu." Her muscles expanded from the simple internal spell, and she began her traversal of the trees, leaping from branch to branch, propelled forward by her prodigious muscular power.

She had to dig her claws into one of the branches, coming to a sudden stop as she heard movement. Flapping movement. She flattened her back against a tree and closed her eyes to focus on her sense of hearing. To the left, and down. She peered over the tree and spotted several Raptin. Effectively a hybridization between human and bird, their arms acted as the appendages their wings were attached to, and they had avian clawed feet.

Lyn weighed her options. She could expose herself, try and approach them in a spirit of kindness, and possibly even try to sell them on the idea of joining her burgeoning empire. But…the forests around Lynhold and within the Valley were not full of nut-bearing trees that they would require for their diet. Maybe when or if I get flora as a spell type, then I could sell them with the idea of having unlimited foodstuffs. They made for excellent scouts, being the only race on Ghomar who could fly under physical power alone. No, better to leave it for now.

She stayed still as they left, and when the flapping receded, she used the bracer once more. It's a few trees over, and under a branch. She looked over the edge and spotted the large branch. Hopping down to it, she dug her claws in and peered over the side. Sure enough, a knothole in the tree under the branch led to a small opening, and inside of it, a wooden gate with a purple film over it.

This door marks the dungeon of Rikta, Forest Tender. Threats within – monsters. Reward – body enhancement items, mana core. She heaved her body over the side of the branch and used the momentum from her planted hands to launch herself into the open space, passing through the film and entering the dungeon.

"Edro nin haden." The storage space opened, and the trio inside looked up at her. "Alright, dungeon time."

Thomas got up and exited first, stretching a bit, "What's the threat?"

"Monsters," Lyn replied. She looked at the twins as they, too, stretched a bit from the slightly cramped space. Lyn let the spell cease and the storage space closed. She smirked, "I beat this dungeon once in the past."

Gael looked over at her, "More hero cores?"

"Oh, right." Lyn walked outside and raised her hand to the skies, pointing it up through a spot in the canopy. "Ladatho aníra en-thalion / en-gwathren a galu / an rithia i aew an-uir / a tôgo na ai hero thalion gond / En garo na ered i garan." The bolt of lightning and shadow blasted up through the canopy, and shot up to the edge of the atmosphere, scattering against it. She went back through the film as Gael and Vael finished putting on their armor. "There, I've sent up the signal for any hero core that's floating about."

Thomas chuckled, and switched to English, "Did you forget? Really?"

Lyn shook her head, and replied in Arinol, "I had other things on my mind. Figuring out how to integrate the Raptin."

"Ah," Thomas replied, switching to match Lyn. "Well, let's get this party started. Internal spells?"

Lyn nodded and looked to the twins, "You've been practicing the upgraded variant I came up with?"

The twins nodded and almost in tandem used the spell that Lyn had developed. "Gothron i gwanno / min enni / na rem in edin nin: / na nin togwath, athano hain thron, gwelu, throneth, a nîn rath; / na nin inath, cirad nin hoth; / na nin inedhil, athano nin thîr a cirad nin; / na nin rhaw, hathol han uin del."

Lyn rifled through the words of the spell herself, and the combat enhancing, internal spell was readily apparent as all were quite muscular and had a slight glow about their skin. "Ready?" she asked as she went towards the pedestal.

"One moment," Thomas replied. "Get closer together, you three. Hold hands."

"Come on you two," Lyn replied as she walked over to the twins and grabbed their hands. "He's got something good up his sleeves."

Thomas chuckled, "Yes. I'm going to link your bodies. Let's say, Gael, your arm was to be chopped off; it wouldn't be, but both Lyn and Vael here would suffer injury." He glanced at Lyn, "And since you can heal yourself, that regenerative healing will replicate to these two. I can heal if necessary, but it's very mana intensive for my core." He cleared his throat. "Echado gaear / min hain gwelirui / sui an ai hain naeg a nestad / carnen na erin / na thenad / bain i auth."

Lyn felt an odd tugging sensation at the tips of her clawed fingers and toes, as if someone was pulling on them, which faded after a moment. She drew Cataclysm and switched it to the spear configuration as she poured mana into it. "All ready?"

"One more thing," Thomas said. "Just a generic barrier. Bartho men uin naeg / a gwain men / min i perian / i telia naeg." His hands flared with a deep, creamy-white light, the color of high-quality paper. The light flashed from his palms and settled in an armor-hugging barrier that would protect from harm as long as he had mana to keep it up. The more damage that the barrier took, the more mana that would be drained to support its structure.

Lyn nodded, "Now?"

Thomas made his way to the back of the room, standing near the portal. "Now."

She pushed the button on the pedestal.