Unbound

Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty Seven – 327

Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty Seven – 327

Install them all? Felix mouthed. "Uh, Yes?"

Please Stand By...

Mapping Home.

Stronghold Detected.

A sudden holographic display appeared before him, a scale model of the Temple, the cliff, and a sizable portion of the river, lake, and forest around him. At the same time, Felix's sense of the actual, physical area swept through him, far more detailed than it had been with his Perception alone. It was a ton of information, but his powerful Mind shifted and sorted it all almost automatically, his Intelligence and Willpower handling the influx with little issue. At most, it made him blink in surprise as a kernel of wonder bloomed within him. Wow. The display trilled softly as he ran his fingers through it, like a song made of light.

"This is...?"

"The totality of your Stronghold, yes," Karys said from the side. The room was large, but everyone had Perception enough to hear one another from such short distances.

Please Select Placement Of Your Patterns!

The holographic map flashed at him again, indicating hundreds of places for each of the "patterns" he'd just been notified of; Felix glanced between them all, a little overwhelmed. Beside the map the patterns appeared again, and he focused on them one by one.

Tier III Forge

A Forge with the basic equipment required to create, reforge, and Temper arms, armor, and more. At Tier III, the Forge contains a variety of arrays. Please see the Forge Menu for more.

Basic Requirements: Raw Materials (Varied), Journeyman Tier Or Greater Smith

Tier III Alchemical Lab

An Alchemical Lab with the basic equipment required to create, distill, form, and manufacture a variety of alchemical concoctions. At Tier III, the Alchemical Lab contains a variety of arrays. Please see the Alchemical Menu for more.

Basic Requirements: Tier I Or Greater Raw Materials (Varied), Journeyman Tier Or Greater Alchemist

Tier III Storage Facility

A Storage Facility with Tier III bindings and 10,000 SQ/FT of modular space. Please see the Storage Menu for more.

Basic Requirements: Tier III Stone, Tier III Wood, Tier II Monster Cores, Tier III Monster Cores

Tier III Glyphworks

A Glyphworks contains the basic tools necessary to create arrays that can be used defensively, offensively, or for utility purposes. Please see the Glyphworks Menu for more.

Basic Requirements: Monster Cores (Tier Varies), Tier I Or Greater Raw Materials (Varied)

"Okay, nothing too surprising there," Felix muttered before raising his voice. "But where do I put them all?"

"You can put them anywhere on that map," Karys buzzed through the sword and his armored body at the same time. "However, taking advantage of your natural resources and the design of your Stronghold will be the most optimal."

"My Stronghold currently consists of a half-broken cliff, an even more broken Temple, and several acres of river, lake, and forest. It's not exactly prime real estate," Felix said.

"I disagree, Felix," Vess interjected. "A Stronghold of such size is powerfully advantageous. You can defend yourself here, given a little work. With your Stone Shaping Skill, you could rebuild this place yourself in a day, I bet."

"The cliff, certainly. But not the Temple. It resists my magic," Felix said. "Karys. Where should I put the Forge?"

"A Forge requires running water, an easy to reach source of materials, and air flow. All of which are available in the topmost sections of your Stronghold." Karys gestured across the chamber and a section of his map pulsed. It was above the Temple proper, but still contained within the stone.

Felix mentally grabbed the pattern for the Tier III Forge and nudged it in the direction he desired. With a faint chime, the pattern sank into his map right where he had indicated, and the entire display rippled. A vision of stone grew and morphed in real time, excavating a series of rooms filled with buckets, troughs, and a huge, cylindrical forge that dominated it all. Several ornate but sturdy exits and entrances were around it, and stone, lattice-work stairs led down into the Temple.

Tier III Forge Will Be Installed.

Confirm?

Y/N

Yes.

Rumbling sounded far above him, and while Felix may have been able to flare his Perception enough to hear it, his sense of his Stronghold provided information far faster. Hundreds of feet up, exactly where it appeared on his illusory map, stone softened and flowed, shaping itself to match the preview appearance he saw. It was over in seconds, and a soft, triumphant note filled the air. Like a hammer against a bell.

Tier III Forge Is Installed!

Please View The Forge Menu For More Details!

"It is over already?" Vess asked. She sounded even more impressed than before.

"Does it usually take longer?" Felix asked.

"I was once allowed to witness my father place a new facility within his City, but it took hours to craft and implement into the array." She shook her head and bent low, inspecting the gold-and-silver sigaldry again. "You were right Karys. This is truly vastly different than my family's Seat."

Karys inclined his head to the woman. "Thank you for the acknowledgement. I do not know what has happened in the Ages of my sleep, but it is clear even the influence of my Empire has long vanished."

"Nym made these arrays?" Felix asked.

"Who else? This is, after all, a Nymean Temple," Karys said. "The System is a natural force, one that the Nym were dedicated to living in tune with; it provided many benefits that I fear are Lost."

"Maybe. But that just means we have to find them again, right?" Felix asked.

Karys perked up, his golden eye-fires flaring. "You are right, Felix. Thank you." He took a deep breath, the sound like air over a deep, metallic jug. Unnecessary, obviously, but Felix supposed the habit was hard to shake. "I suggest you place the other patterns around your Stronghold as well."

"Right." Felix turned back to the map. "Alchemical Lab, Storage Facility, and Glyphworks. Any advice, Karys? Vess?"

"Any sort of storage should be centrally located but also secured. If you are able I would choose somewhere deep within the Temple itself, where someone couldn't access it without authorization," Vess said.

"Yeah, that's smart. But we'd need to get back and forth from it right?" Felix asked. "So centrally located too?"

"That will be less of an issue than you may think," Karys said. "Simply place it deep within the Temple. Somewhere secure. As to the others: an Alchemical Lab also needs to be separated from any living quarters with plenty of air flow and access to running water. I would suggest near your Forge, but not too near."

"Alright."

"The Glyphworks you can place anywhere, but I would choose somewhere near the others. It is wise to keep your crafters within a single district, unless there is a good reason not to," Vess said. She was looking at the map from the edge of the array. "Considering that we have no guards or infrastructure in place, I would suggest all of them be heavily fortified."

Karys nodded. "A reasoned approach, and one I have little qualms with; but let us place the patterns before all else, yes?"

Vess nodded and Felix watched them both with a touch of amusement. He selected the remaining three patterns and mentally placed them around his Stronghold. Beside the Forge, forming an equilateral triangle far above his current position, the Alchemical Lab and Glyphworks came into being. Much like the Forge, the map displayed shifting stone and excavating spaces in the undisturbed rock above the Temple, but this time he caught flashes of metal forming objects within. Too soon, the spaces were shaped and in place, with more lattice-strewn stairwells all leading to a central area between the crafting halls. Further below and near Felix's own chambers, the Storage Facility came into being. It was supposedly large, but it barely puckered the stone of the map, only forming a shallow alcove and a huge, twenty-foot tall door in the wall.

Tier III Alchemical Lab, Tier III Glyphworks, and Tier III Storage Facility Will Be Installed.

Confirm?

Y/N

Yes.

Tier III Alchemical Lab Is Installed!

Please View The Alchemy Menu For More Details!

Tier III Glyphworks Is Installed!

Please View The Glyphworks Menu For More Details!

Tier III Storage Facility Is Installed!

Please View The Storage Menu For More Details!

With far less fanfare than the Forge, all three patterns integrated into physical space. Stone shifted and metal rang out, and it was all done in a handful of seconds. That same bell rang, something Felix could now recognize as a sort of excess vibration from the System doing its thing, but it sounded joyful. His Affinity wasn't picking up real emotions, but there was a strange calm over the array around him, as if tension had been released that he hadn't even known was there.

Congratulations, Autarch of Nagast!

Your Stronghold Has Been Established!

Authority Increased!

See Your Authority Menu For More Details.

A gold and silver button appeared in Felix's vision. His heads up display was almost invisible, fading in the background like the nose on his face, but with a negligent effort it all came into focus. He had his resource barsHealth, Stamina, and Manaalong the top, and on the right side were buttons for his Status, Pit's Status, Quests, and now Authority. It had the design of a nine-pronged crown on it, just as his personal Seal did. Interesting.

He opened it up.

Authority Accessed.

Welcome, Autarch Felix Nevarre.

What Song Do You Wish To Sing?

A translucent screen appeared, still golden but different than before. Tabs for Territory, Stronghold, Forge, Alchemy, Glyphworks, and Storage were all present and accessible, but a few more existed along the left-hand side. They were greyed out and illegible, so Felix put them out of his mind for the moment. He opened his Territory tab first.

The Song of Territory

Current Residence: Nagast

Residence Rank: Stronghold, Rank I

Allied Population: 245 Henaari, 59 Risi (Frost Giants), 32 Hoarhounds, 2 Chimera, 7 Humans, 1 Half-Orc, 1 Elf, 1 Dwarf

"Ugh, I forgot about their frost wolves," he said. Further subsections showed for Factions, Resources, Map, Defensive Arrays, Offensive Arrays, and to his surprise, Threats. Felix navigated to that one first.

Threats:

The Dread

"Shit, that's right," Felix murmured. The Dread was a sea monster he'd met the first few minutes of his arrival on the Continent. Moreover, it was a Blood Beast created by the Endless Maw and it was certainly dangerous...but it was also trapped in the Bitter Sea, as far as he was aware. "Something to keep an eye on, at least."

Resources:

Syncing With Aria Of The Green Wilds...

Sync Complete.

A list of all the herbs, fungi, fruits, vines, everything he'd ever Analyzed across the Foglands appeared in his screen. There were estimated numbers for quantities as well, which was really cool. Felix resolved to go out and do some reconnaissance to find more natural resources out in his Territory. He was positive they'd come in handy for alchemy or forging or even just as food sources.

Under Map he found what he expected: a literal map, much like the display of his Stronghold, that he could display over his outstretched hand. It showed the limits of his current Territory, but not many details. Shelim was there and well depicted, as was Haarwatch, which was interesting. All the places Felix and his team had passed through recently were clear, but the rest was vague terrain that might have been forests, hills, swampsanything. He had a feeling he needed to explore his new Territory, and sooner rather than later.

Defensive Arrays had only a single listing: the already cast Mirk Enclosure, which was an ongoing effect.

Mirk Enclosure - Ritual, Defensive Array, Tier IV

Effect: Encase your Territory in an impenetrable fog, invisible to your people within, but a physical and sensory barrier to all those without.

Initial Cost: 10,000 Mana/5,000 Essence

Ongoing Cost: 5,000 Mana/2,500 Essence Per 12 Hours

A timer was next to the Enclosure, coming close to the end of its twelve hour run. Karys had warned him about this before, and Felix had upped it the night before, but it was a hungry little spell. Since he hadn't had a chance to up his Essence stores, Felix dumped a healthy chunk of his Mana reserves into it. The timer reset, and Felix fought off the very slight dizziness he felt after using up nearly all his Mana. He shook it off and moved onto the Offensive Array tab. It contained two arrays, but both were lower Tiers than he had hoped.

Earthen Riot - Ritual, Offensive Array, Tier II

Effect: Disrupt the earth, one hundred yards in diameter from a point you choose within your Territory.

Cost: 3,000 Mana/1,500 Essence

Flame Geyser - Ritual, Offensive Array, Tier II

Effect: Create an area of spouting flames, one hundred yards in diameter from a point you choose within your Territory.

Cost: 2,500 Mana/1,250 Essence

"Huh," Felix said. They didn't sound extremely impressive, but area of effect was large, and it sounded like Felix could cast it wherever he wanted, as long as it was within his Territory. "That...that might be useful. Karys, is there a way to upgrade Offensive or Defensive Arrays?"

"Absolutely. But you must research the one you have to discover any improvements to its structure. Arrays are not the same as Skills, which grow as you use them and gain greater understanding. It is good that you have a Glyphworks, for it will be instrumental in adding and altering any arrays for your Stronghold or Territory."

This is so cool.Wait. "Do I have to keep standing in here?" Felix gestured to the glowing array all around him and his own Seal burning beneath his feet.

"Oh, of course not. You've established your Stronghold and taken firmer grip of your Authority. You can access any of these menus now from wherever you find yourself," Karys said.

"Really? I can use my Authority in my Territory while outside my Territory?" Felix asked.

"Ah, well, no. Not unless you've established an alliance with the Territory you are within. Otherwise you can access your menus, but affect no change."

"That, at least, is the same for us as well," Vess said. She waved Felix closer. "What else is?"

Felix walked from the Seal, and as he did so, the entire array dimmed slightly. He could still feel it working, still see the constant steam of Mana in the air, but it banked itself. "Huh, sleep mode."

"What was that?" Vess asked.

"A dumb joke. C'mon, the both of you. Let's go check out our new facilities. I want to get on top of our situation before anything else comes barging in." Felix pulled the two of them down the hall, moving swiftly toward his chambers and the Storage Facility nearby. Yet before he could travel far, a shape resolved from the shadows.

"Felix Nevarre."

Felix pulled up short, annoyed that he hadn't sensed the chimera at all. "A'zek. Why are you down here?"

"My apologies, Autarch. I was sent to request an audience with the new lord of this land." A'zek, a panther-lizard the size of a small horse, bowed. "The Farwalker has need of your judgement."

"My judgement?" He traded a concerned look with Vess. "I'm not in charge of your people, A'zek."

"In this, you are." A'zek pulled himself up and met Felix's eyes with his own; two liquid pools of shadow. "The Synod seeks your judgement over the fate of the Matriarch."