Ruinous Return

B2 – Chapter 8

James sighed as he completed the dungeon combat encounter and entered the reward chamber. He walked to the wooden box, opened it, and consumed the dungeon core within; not even bothering to listen to the voice of the Elenthian's echoes. There were body enhancing items that he scooped up and placed into a satchel. Another one down, he thought. His fourth dungeon he had cleared within a week. Thank Aelor I have so many scouts.

All his scouts and the various personnel at his court who managed such affairs had been dispatched to comb through Khrelardia, following leads from his master of whispers. He placed his palm on the altar and returned to the damp cave on the ocean. Taking in a deep breath and savoring the salty sea air, he remembered the last time he had been on the coast and just taken in the beauty of it.

It was when the heroes first arrived. Their hometown was landlocked in the middle of nowhere. When they arrived in Kor's Hold and saw the ocean off in the distance, all the heroes were struck with awe. The oceans of Ghomar were quite special compared to the photos of Earth's oceans they looked at in their science class for their biology course. Ghomar's oceans were clear for the first several feet, before slowly darkening as light faded.

One of the first things they tried when they did get a chance for an ocean trip was to go out on a small rowboat until it went dark. James cast a light elementalism spell and sent the illuminating orb down into the depths. They could see it as it went deeper and deeper, until it reached the ocean floor almost a hundred feet down.

He took a deep breath and drew Aelor'An'Alar. "Anno nin i gwelu en-galad." He turned into a beam of light and within an instant was standing in front of Kor's Hold. The troops on station snapped to attention, and James gave them a curt nod as he walked inside the palace. Dropping the body enhancements off with the court alchemist, he went to the inner courtyard, and heard the welcome sound of his children laughing.

He walked to the covered awning and sat down next to his wife. She jumped slightly at the sudden appearance of the Paragon hero. "You startled me," she said with a light laugh.

James leaned in and kissed her, "Forgive me, my love." He looked at the kids who were building some type of tree house. "I finished a few dungeons," he said as he reached into his hip pouch and pulled out a few shining seashells he had found quite alluring on the sand.

Maria picked one from his palm and held it up, letting the light refract from the prismatic surface, "They're pretty," she said before looking back at James. She gave him a quizzical look, "Where's your friend? The Shifter hero?"

James shook his head, "He left," he muttered. "It's alright, I didn't need him. I'm getting stronger with every dungeon I clear."

Maria cupped his face, "I'm worried."

"Don't be. I'm the Paragon. The strongest hero."

There was a look on her face that he couldn't identify. "Sweetie…I think you should consider trying to talk with your classmate."

"Lawrence left. I don't think he wants anything to do with me."

"Not that one." She leaned over and rummaged about in a small satchel before pulling out the symbol that had accompanied Lyn's letter. "The one claiming to be the Destroyer."

James scowled and looked away, "The Destroyer is evil."

"That's not what Zebed said."

James snapped his eyes on her, "Did he put you up to this? Convincing me to try and build alliances?"

Maria nodded slightly, "Yes. He said he's met with her, and she…well, he didn't tell me much, except he was afraid of her power." A look of fear crossed her face, "He said the whole of the Valley was changed. Every mountain, turned to an enormous wall."

James narrowed his vision, "I heard as much from reports."

"Did the reports tell you about the wall separating the Valley from Fort Watch?"

"No. Give me a few seconds." He stood up, drew his blade, muttered the spell that enabled him to travel at light speed, and appeared at Fort Watch.

Or rather, what was left of Fort Watch. What happened? He thought as he shook the sand off of his boots. Wooden scrap was mixed in with the dirt, and in front of him stood an enormous, one-hundred-foot-tall wall that bridged the gap between The Valley of the Volcano and the no-man's land. The mountains to either side were deceptive at first glanced, but zooming in his vision thanks to Farsight Eyedrops, he saw past the optical illusion, confirming the reports he had received from Sonash and Pictal.

James felt something well up in him he had not felt in years. Shame. Shame that he, the strongest hero by default was weak in comparison to the power that had erected this monument. Shame that he did not pursue power single-mindedly like Lyn did for those five years leading up to their assault on the dread fortress…and shame that he allowed himself to slack off in the time since. Changing a single mountain would completely drain his mana core, and he'd need to wait a half day for it to refill enough to do the same action again.

I'm pathetic, he thought. But the moment that thought went through his mind, the Paragon core whispered to him. The last, lingering fragment of Aelor's consciousness.

Protect…

The voice faded. Protect what? James tried to ask it.

Only silence answered him.

He felt sick to his stomach. Leaning over, he lost his lunch and coughed, spittle hanging from his lips as he took in shaking breaths. Aelor is gone…completely gone. He felt that in the deepest part of his being, the knowledge that the last fragment of Aelor was gone forever, faded into oblivion from countless cycles of heroes coming and going. What did he mean? Who should I protect? Thoughts of his family flashed through his head. His twin boys that he loved so dearly. His darling wife that he had stopped training to be with. The kingdom he now ruled.

I know what I must do, he thought as he straightened his stance. I must protect all of them. I'll protect them from this…monster. That means I need to get stronger.

That meant more dungeons. That meant waiting for his scouts to find more reports and verify them.

For now…I can't do anything except train my mana core. He sighed as he muttered the lightspeed spell and traveled almost instantly back home, taking the seat next to Maria. "I'm going to be home for a bit." He smiled gently and put his hand on hers. "I'm doing everything I can to keep us safe. To protect us all."

Maria nodded, "I know. But for my sake, could you at least try talking to this Lyn person? If she remembers you, then maybe you can avoid any violence." He saw the fear in her face as her lower lip trembled, and a tear was shed. "I…I can't lose you."

James embraced her. "Shhh. It will all be okay. I'll get strong enough that no one can beat me. I'll keep us all safe."

Lyn trailed her tail through the water below as she dipped down. She felt…free. The same type of freedom that she felt when she ran away from home the first time. Completely unbound. Flight is really something special, she thought. But she could not do this forever. Being in full dragon form was taxing on her mana reserves. She could keep it up for around six hours. However, that was more than enough time to cross the ocean on a Northwest heading, and the high cliffs topped with purple and pink trees marked their destination.

Feylin. The only place on Ghomar where the fey creatures of the world – pixies and faeries – resided. Small sized humanoids with translucent wings, they were the first artificial race made by someone other than Aelor. Thomas explained as they flew that the Elenthians made them as servants to their various trades, and thus they learned from the best craftspeople across history. It was very difficult to visit their land, because the oceans surrounding the island were treacherous, and there was no place where a boat could pull close enough to allow scaling of the cliffs.

Flight was the only way to get there. Lyn sailed over the edge of the cliff before landing. She felt sore; the joints where the wings connected to her body were not used to flight, and as her passengers dismounted and she released the spell, she felt the same level of strain on her lats. "Well, we're here," she said as the trio stretched after their six-hour flight.

Thomas chuckled, "Look at the trees! Ah, I wonder what gives them their unique pigmentation?"

Gael cracked his back and grunted, "What's our goal here, Lyn?"

She turned to face the forest, "I want to speak to the fey. They made this armor; I'm hoping they can tell me more about it…and maybe they can reveal information on how artifacts are made."

"What's the difference?" Vael asked.

Thomas turned to her, "Inscribed items require you to use your mana to power it. Often, at a one-to-one ratio. Let's say you have an inscribed item that requires all your mana to activate a single time. An artifact does not require mana to use."

"If I learned how it was done, I could create them with the Artificer core I now possess," Lyn added. "Come on, let's go." She walked to the trees and under the pink and purple canopy.

Brad entered Trisha's hospital and went straight to the third floor. He knocked on the door, and heard the soft, "Come in."

He gently turned the knob and entered the room, closing the door behind. "Hiya Trisha. Do you have a few minutes?"

The Healer hero nodded. She was rocking a crib next to her desk with her foot and was otherwise occupied writing some type of text. She set the quill down and gestured to the open chair, "Please. How's the new recipe coming along?"

"It's going well," Brad replied as he pulled out the new version of the Purple Patch and handed it to her. "This most recent batch can stay applied for up to twelve hours before it begins to attack the organism itself. I'm still working on something for sucking chest wounds, but it's tricky."

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Trisha nodded as she grabbed the patch and held it between her hands, stretching it slightly. "You're amazing, you know that, right?"

Brad chuckled and pulled out a small wooden container. He popped the lid and pulled out several wads of gum. "Want one? I figured out strawberry flavor."

Trisha smiled and took one, "Mmmm. Goddamn, it's been a while since I've had strawberry flavored anything."

"I also have those antibiotics in the works. It's taking longer than usual, since we must wait for the herbs to grow, and the molds to finish germinating."

"I've been meaning to ask," Trisha muttered as she set the purple patch down. "What do you think of Lyn? You've been here longer than me and Ben."

Brad leaned back in the chair and exhaled, "She's motivated to do great things. She's protecting me from Cecily and giving me leeway to experiment how I wish. Overall? I'd give her an eight out of ten. She's a little bossy compared to old Lyn, but, I mean, if you're going to be an empress you have to be a bit bossy."

Trisha nodded and tented her hands, "What about the whole business with Volio? She killed him. Granted, he was trying to thrall her to his will…but still."

Brad shook his head, "What would you do in her shoes?" He sat forward and looked her in the eyes, "I was thralled for years. If I could kill Cecily, I'd do it in a heartbeat, no question. Having your free will completely taken away and at the whims of another…it's fucked up – oops, screwed up. Sorry, forgot the baby was in the room."

Trisha nodded, "It's fine, she's sleeping." She let out a slight sigh. "I've done that thought process, putting myself in Lyn's shoes. And honestly, I would do the same…but what does that say about us?" She stood up and leaned over the crib, tucking a blanket around her youngest. "Are we so far gone from who we used to be? None of us would have killed Volio if he had tried to assault Lyn back on Earth. Sure, beat him up, but he would've been arrested and gone through a court system."

"Maybe you should bring that up to her," Brad mused. "I'm sure she's already got some laws and the like ready to be implemented, but your input would be valued, I'm sure. You were what, third in the class?"

Trisha laughed gently, "Yes. Cecily was Miss 4.0 GPA, Thomas was right up there with her, and I was just a hair behind them both. But to be fair, I had all those internships at the clinic." She sat down and gestured to the book on the table. Half of a page was filled out, "Being responsible for the definitive medical text that will shape Ghomar's future practices is going to be a massive feather in my cap."

Brad chuckled and stood up, "Yeah. Well, there was one other reason I came by today." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial of silvery liquid. "I've figured out a way to reverse a few years of age. I don't know the side effects, but I was hoping we could maybe find some elderly folks who would be willing to test it out."

Trisha looked at him, "Drug trials? Normally we'd start with animals."

"That's fine," Brad replied. "I don't have any idea where to start with that type of stuff."

Trisha chuckled, "Add it to my plate. I'll come up with the basic outline for you to follow."

Brad pocketed the drug and nodded, "Just make sure you don't tell anyone about this. If word got out that we had a longevity enhancing substance…" he let the lingering words hang in the air. "Oh, did you want anything special gum-wise? I'm having some apprentices work on extracts as practice, so I'll take flavor orders."

"Orange would be lovely," Trisha replied. "But why gum?"

"It's going to be a great base. Swallowing pills isn't a thing on Ghomar really, but chewing something is natural. I'm thinking gum is the way of the future of medicine. Plus, I can make it not taste like that medicinal flavor."

Trisha laughed, "Alright. Yes, orange, please. And Ben likes cherry."

Lyn pushed through the undergrowth with ease. Her companions were following a few steps behind her, and if not for their tight-knit formation, they would have been lost. "There's something about these trees," Thomas muttered as they walked. "Some type of natural, hallucinogenic pollen, perhaps."

Vael coughed lightly, "I'm not feeling so well."

"Neither am I," Gael added. "My throat itches."

"The trees must have varied potency depending on race," Thomas mused.

Lyn pushed through a cluster of low-hanging branches and gasped. It's…gorgeous. She was looking out at a placid, calm, almost ethereal-blue lake with rainbow-striped koi fish swimming around. There was an entire city built on the lake, propped up on stilts. The lake was only a few hundred feet across, and the buildings were the size of fancy doll houses.

She felt a poking in her side and glanced around. "Hey, down here," a voice said in Elenthir. Glancing down to the source of the noise, she saw a small man with translucent wings the size of her finger. "Yeah, you. What are you doing here?"

Lyn crouched down as her allies broke through the foliage, "Hi there," she replied in the same language. "I'm Lyn Rivers, the Destroyer."

The small figure shook his head and flitted up in front of her eyes, "Only fey are allowed on Feylin."

"And what of deities?" Lyn asked. "I am the Destroyer, Raevan reborn."

The creature's face went white, and he bowed. "My apologies! You'll want to speak to the Queen right away."

Thomas crouched also and spoke in Elenthir, "Are you a pixie or a faerie?"

The figure flitted in front of Thomas, "Pixie."

"Ah, and do tell, what's the difference?"

The pixie gave Thomas a look of disbelief. "I'm a guy…"

"Ah, gender dimorphism." Thomas pulled out a notebook and jotted a few words down. "So, pixies are male and have translucent wings. Faeries are female and have what type of wings?"

The pixie just sighed, "I'm not paid enough to deal with this. Wait here." He flapped over to the city and vanished amongst the buildings.

That's when Lyn realized the various sparkles across the lake were small humanoid figures – pixies and faeries – flying over the water. On the far side of the lake, she even saw several of the figures attaching harnesses to koi. Squinting and focusing her sight, she spotted several of the fey humanoids traveling underwater, mounted on the fish. "That's pretty neat," Lyn said in Arinol.

"What's happening?" Gael asked. "You both spoke really fast Elenthir, and I didn't catch everything."

"Oh, right," Thomas said as he filled in the twins on the conversation. As he finished recapping what was discussed, the pixie returned with another winged figure.

This one had opaque wings and spoke with a high-pitched voice in Elenthir. "Visitors to Feylin. Welcome. I am Queen Gemini."

Thomas glanced at the twins, "I'll just translate for you both." He turned to Lyn, "You're the empress, take the lead."

The Queen clicked her tongue and spoke in Arinol, "You could have just asked to speak in a more familiar tongue."

Lyn chuckled, "Myself and the Human are versed in Elenthir, but our companions are not fluent."

"What brings the reincarnation of Raevan to our island?"

Lyn pointed at the armor she wore, "I wanted to know how your people made this."

The Queen flitted over to inspect the armor closely, "Hmm…this is the work of our eldest feysmith." She flew up to eye level, "You are welcome to visit the city of Feylin proper, but your size will make that difficult." She pointed to the North side of the lake, "We have a space for visitors there. It has not seen much use in the past few thousand years, but you may stay there for now."

Lyn bowed, "My thanks, Queen Gemini." She gestured for her companions to follow, and the group skirted the lake. Pixies and faeries began flying nearby, and she could make out the whisperings in Elenthir about their group. Who they were, why they were there, why it was three Duskari and one Human – the noises overlapped until they became an insect-like buzz.

Past a group of branches was an overgrown pergola with ancient-looking wooden chairs. "I wouldn't risk sitting on one," Thomas said as he sat on the weathered rug in the center of the space.

Vael sat down on one of the chairs, gently putting gradual weight on it. The group heard a loud crack, and Vael lifted herself up as the chair collapsed in on itself. "They haven't had visitors in a long time," she stated as she sat on the ground next to Thomas.

Gael looked at Lyn, and then back to the lake where the group of fey humanoids were gathered, looking their direction. "I do not like being the center of attention," he grumbled.

Lyn frowned, "I thought you would be fine with it, since you're at my right-hand during council meetings."

"Attention is focused on you," Gael replied. "Not on me. It is…uncomfortable."

There was a loud buzzing sound that caught all of their attention. A slightly larger pixie, accompanied by several faeries, flew over. The larger one seemed to be struggling to fly and was supported by several female individuals. "Ah! My finest work!" the pixie said in Arinol as he flapped up to Lyn's eye level. "I'm master feysmith Wesker. You must be this new Raevan."

Lyn nodded, "That is right. I am Lyn Rivers. These are my companions, Vael, Gael, and Thomas – the Knowledge hero."

The smith looked over to Thomas, "What brings a hero to join the company of their sworn enemy?"

Thomas smiled, "Let's just say that I liked Lady Rivers' sales pitch."

"Oh, a sales pitch?" He turned back to Lyn. "What are you selling?"

"An empire," Lyn replied. "I am making one and bringing all of Ghomar under my rule."

"Hmph. You're going to need craftspeople for that. Mind if I take a seat?"

"Not at all," Lyn replied as she sat down and patted her knee. The pixie flew over and sat on her with a loud sigh. "Can you tell me how you made this armor?"

"Black Adamantine, custom job as is all of my work. Flexible scale mail with inscriptions to enable instant summoning or dismissal from an extradimensional storage space. Inscriptions that allow for changing of size. 'Twas the first item you commissioned from me, back when you called yourself Raevan."

Lyn nodded, "Good to know, but how did you make it? How do you make artifacts?"

"Ah, seeking to make your own?" He crossed his arms, "What's in it for me, revealing the secrets of artifact creation? Knowledge held close by the Elenthians, and now solely in the collective crafting know-how of the feysmiths?"

"I can give you a place in my empire," Lyn replied.

"Pfff. You have nothing we need," Wesker replied.

Gael cleared his throat, "What of protection? You don't seem very threatening, and this place isn't well defended."

Wesker looked up at Gael, "We don't need protection. None may enter Feylin unless our Queen allows it."

"But we did," Vael stated. "The person who met us at the edge of your lake didn't even know who we were."

Wesker frowned, "Our Queen must have allowed you. The trees respond to her will, and their pollen would have confounded your senses, preventing you from finding the lake and the city of Feylin."

"I can provide you with something incredible," Lyn stated. "Thomas, mind handing me some parchment and ink?" He handed Lyn his notebook and his ink pen. Lyn focused her thoughts on the Artificer mana core and envisioned in her mind a train engine. She let her hand move of its own accord, and after several minutes, she looked down at what she had drawn. The page was filled with complex schematics for an inscription-powered train. She turned the book around and held it in front of the feysmith. "I have knowledge from another world. I can provide you the blueprints for all manner of devices that will make your lives more relaxed and luxurious."

Wesker's jaw dropped as he examined the schematics. "This…so intricate…my word…" he looked up at Lyn, "Well, this changes things."

"I'm surprised your civilization is stagnant in technological advancement," Thomas added. "Given your longevity and ingenuity. If you've been around since Raevan's time, that means your average lifespan is what, five thousand years?"

Wesker shook his head, "I'll ignore your comment, Knowledge hero," he replied, his voice full of vitriol at the slight, unintended insult. He looked up at Lyn, "Here is my proposal, speaking as the master of the feysmiths. You will visit here on an annual basis and provide schematics such as this. You will spend a week with us on each visit, learning our craft. I cannot simply tell you how to make artifacts-"

"Yes, you can," Lyn interrupted. "Forgive me for interrupting, but yes you can. I have consumed the Artificer hero core."

The smith's eyes went wide once more, "That…that does change…" he set the schematics in the notebook down and waved for faeries to help him fly up. "I must speak with our Queen. Wait here please." He went flying off with the help of the others.

Thomas reached over and grabbed his notebook, looking over the design Lyn had come up with. "I didn't know you knew this much about trains."

"I don't," Lyn replied. "I just focused on the Artificer core and pictured the train…and then let my body act."

"Interesting…" Thomas looked at the twins, "You both have been quiet."

Vael grunted and pulled her knees up, "Nothing to add. I'm here to guard Lyn, that's all."

Gael nodded, "Honestly, our addition to your travel seems unnecessary…Lyn, you don't need bodyguards."

"I have to sleep," she replied. "I need someone to keep watch while I rest."

"She does have a point there, brother," Vael said.

"If you just want to keep busy, you can increase your mana core capacity," Thomas stated. "Here, let me walk you through an exercise…"

Lyn laid back on the ground and shut her eyes as Thomas took the twins to the lake edge, instructing them in the breathing and mana circulation technique to improve their capacity. I need to bring these feysmiths to my side.

She opened her eyes and stared up at the pink and purple canopy. There were no birds, no sounds of the forest. Just the light splash of water from the twins doing the exercise, and the wind through the trees. There was a profound silence that washed over her, and she felt…at peace. She surrendered to the feeling and fell asleep.