Concentrating on my profession I use Remove Enchant. I’ve practiced the use of this before without issue, but not this time. I can feel that the enchantment is in use and that it’s fighting me. I push into it using far more mana than I needed to when practicing, but I’m finally able to overpower the collar. I feel the resistance give way in my mind and the there is a cracking sound. Opening my eyes to look at the slave collar I can see the gem that is embedded in it is now cracked and lifeless. I take a deep breath, having been holding the air in my lungs as I worked without realizing it. I’m seriously relieved my enchanting skills are able to help in this way and that it actually worked.
Moving on to the girl I have her collar off in another minute. Done with the most pressing issue I sit to calm my beating heart from its adrenaline boosted activity. Now I notice it. The room is deathly quiet. Before when I entered I heard quiet murmurings, but I think that all stopped when we entered the room. Looking over to the sitting slaves I speak so they can all hear me without screaming. “Who wants to get out of here?” Everyone raises their hands. “Here is how it’s going to go. I will open a portal to a town where there is no slavery. I am ultimately in charge of the land but I will not force any of you to stay. The thing is, it will only be open for 30 seconds. That means I will need you to line up so all of you can run through the portal and clear the other side before it closes.”
When everyone looks at each other curiously the nights chaos catches up to me and my impatience gets the better of me. I shout “What are you waiting for. Get in a line.” When they have complied by creating a single line that follows the wall I start at the front and touch each of the slave collars around their necks. When I get to where Maka is in line I remove her collar but wave the nervous woman to the side. “You are coming to The Pony with me.” At my words I can see her relax just a fraction. When I’m done removing the collars I step to the front of the line once again and call out to the soon to be refugees. “Starting in a minute. Be ready to run through when I say, but stay in line.” I hand a letter to the wood elf at the head of the line and tell her to give it to Dolan when she gets to the other side.
Then I start casting and less than a minute later Spatial Door materializes in front of the stunned wood elf. “Go!” I yell, which startles her but she jumps through the swirling door of magic and is gone. Following my instructions the rest of the former slaves rush through to the main hall of the keep in Thunderbird’s Roost. Maka, my three women and I watch as the last of them slip through the door. The little tigerkin girl I saved waves to me in passing as she is carried by her mom. A few seconds after the last person makes it through the portal the magic ends and it closes.
Looking around at the now almost empty basement to make sure we didn’t miss anyone I then turn to Maka. “Hi Maka. I’m Vol and this is Azzaria, Timbre and Thia.” I introduce us and point to the others as I call off their names. With a welcoming, if tired, smile I reach out to shake her hand. My arm is exposed from beneath my cloak when I do and the cut there is exposed. “Damn, I forgot about that.” The cut is only bleeding a little by this point but I reach my other hand over and heal it using Time magic. “All better” I say to the worried faces around me before taking Maka’s hand for a friendly shake. “Now, I want to get to The Pony before it gets too much later and before guards start knocking on doors.”
Azzaria speaks up now. “We heard guards coming when we were leaving. This house is a little ways from the gambling hall so we should have a little time before their searches get this far. Not too much longer but we can take a moment to prepare.” Nodding to her we all sit and rest for a moment. Noticing that I have messages I take a look while we have a break.
LEVEL UP! You have increased your level by 1. You are now level 17. As a Void Human you get 6 points to apply to your Stats and 1 Talent Point. As you are a Mage +1 INT +1 WIS are allocated. You currently have 4 undistributed SP and 1 undistributed TP. You can distribute these from your status page. Continue to increase your level to follow the path of true power. Fight for the RIGHT to survive!
LEVEL UP! Your Familiar Thia has increased in level by 1. Thia is now level 17. As your Familiar she gets 5 points to apply to her Stats and 1 Talent Point. Thia currently has 5 undistributed SP and 1 undistributed TP. You can distribute these from your familiar’s status page. Continue to increase your Familiar’s level to follow the path of true power. Fight for the RIGHT to survive!
I also gained a level in Air, and Space type magic. The guards we killed and the completion of the quest, Bet the House, was enough to put me over a level and a third of the way into the next. The first thing I do is open Thia’s status. I put one SP into her STR to bring it to 10. I did this because she has been spending so much time in her humanoid form. The other four SP I split between INT and WIS like usual. For the talent point she got I add it to Bladestrike, maxing it out. The next tier allows her to add an area effect to the strike at will. Not sure exactly what that means but I’m betting she will figure it out. Moving on to my own status I place an SP into INT, WIS, VIT and AGI. Next it’s time for a tough decision; where to place my TP in the Celestial Mage talent tree.
It’s a really difficult thing to pick with a number of great options. I could add to my Spatial door and increase the tier. That would reduce the mana cost and cooldown. On the other hand I could take Stasis for the crowd control it offers but mainly to get to the talent Spell Armament. Ultimately I go with the one that provides instant benefit and select Automated Defense, which allows me to keep Magic Armor active all the time. After casting it I can now keep it active indefinitely. The upkeep for it is 10 MP per minute, much lower than my mana regeneration rate, so I can keep it active all the time. Making the selection I then close out everything and look to the others in the room.
I wonder why I got so much experience tonight. The guards at the Golden Egg must have been worth some but they weren’t very high in level so it couldn’t have been much. The only thing I can think of is the quest. The quest completed after I got all the slaves turned over to me but I didn’t check anything at the time because of everything that happened. It seems like a lot but maybe it was worth so much because of the difficulty? Whatever the case is I have another quest to turn in and it’s about time we get to it.
“Okay everyone. Time to get moving” I say to everyone.
Everyone is quiet as we get up and climb the stairs. As we get to the living room of the house where the front door is I see the man from before. “How is it looking out there?” I ask him.
Turning from the window he sees us and reports. “They’re getting close but they aren’t here. I don’t know how you’re going to get all those people away from here without getting noticed though.”
“This is everyone. The rest are gone and safe now” I tell him as I gesture to the five of us. “By the way, I never caught your name. I’m Vol, it’s good to meet you.”
Obviously confused, he looks at us and then behind us toward the cellar. When he sees that I’m not going to elaborate he just answers with his name. “I’m John, and it’s good to meet you too.”
I reach out a hand and he takes it for a shake. “We better not waste any more time. Happy trails John.” With that I open the door and lead my party out into the street. I take a direction that heads away from the Gambling house and in a southerly direction in case the guards are looking for us. We wind through the streets avoiding the bigger ones in case of a patrol, but we need not have worried. Most of the guards in the area must have been dealing with the disturbance closer to noble town since we didn’t see a single one. At the door to The Pony I open it and hold it open as the women enter. When Maka passes me I can see tears streaking her face.
Entering behind the women I close the door behind me and look around the room. I don’t see Rin but Marcus is behind the bar. When I catch sight of him he has already noticed us and his eyes are bugging out, his mouth hanging open slightly. Not wanting to cause a scene, even if there are only a coup
le other patrons, I step forward to usher the stunned Maka into the back where the kitchen is. Marcus follows and when we enter I see where Rin was hiding. Looks like she is talking to one of the other wait staff and waiting for food to take out. As we are entering the cook hands her a plate and she turns our direction to take it out to the table. Seeing us, she freezes. I can see the tears welling up in her eyes and, not wanting there to be an issue, I use Folded Space to take the plate from her shaking hand.
A moment later and the surprise passes enough for Rin to dash into the arms of her mother. Marcus joins a moment later hugging his wife from behind. I wait a moment but don’t want to intrude on the reunited family as they embrace and cry with joy. Turning to leave I wave the girls out so they can have some time. Before I get to the door though I’m hit around the waist by something. Not expecting the attack I stumble into the door frame before catching myself. Before I can do anything I hear the sobbing from the object restricting me. I turn and embrace Rin as she sobs out a thank you. I pat her on the back for a moment as her parents watch me.
Considering the break from their little reunion I keep one arm around Rin and pull out one of the special collars. I hold it out to Marcus “She can’t walk around without one and I don’t want to be the one to offer another collar right after I removed the last one. You can explain it to Maka while we wait for you in the common room.” He nods to me and I use both arms to squeeze the cat-girl tight for a moment. “You’re welcome Rin.” When I let go she releases and goes back to her mother.
I leave to the common room to sit with the girls in a corner table. They are all smiles after witnessing the family back together and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t pretty happy myself. We sit in contented silence for a while and I decide to check my messages again since I should have completed the quest.
You have completed the quest Gamblin’ House Blues. You have gained increased reputation with Marcus of The Pony. Completed bonus objective of freeing Maka. Marcus, Rin and Maka now view you with respect and will follow you as long as your goals align.
Checking my status I find that I gained a lot of experience toward the next level again. I’m now only six percent away from my next level. A few minutes later the happy family came out and we shared small talk as we all sat around the table for a while. Already late when we returned it wasn’t long before we said goodnight. Marcus promised to talk again tomorrow and the three women and I retired for the night.
Chapter 16
Dolan is awakened by someone pounding on his door. When he answers it Hildre has followed to see what the disturbance is. “Sir there are people that just appeared in the main hall” says the agitated guard when the door opens. Not bothering to say anything Dolan and Hildre leave their room and head down the hallway. As they walk Dolan joins Enora as she leaves her room as well. They all get to the end of the hallway where they go through the door to the main hall of the keep. When they enter they are met with a cacophony of excited chatter.
Looking around the room Dolan can see a group of people all huddled together with guards surrounding them. The people that apparently appeared out of nowhere are the ones that seem so excited despite being surrounded. A thought suddenly comes to Dolan. These people appeared out of nowhere, as if by magic. Of course! Vol must have sent them. It has been a while since he left and there has been no sign of him, but this has to be his work. Confident in his deduction Dolan steps between the nearest guards that are surrounding the new comers. Looking at them he can see that none of them are humans.
Shouting to be heard over the chatter Dolan calls out. “Quiet!” His voice booms out in the spacious hall and after a few seconds the noise dies down allowing Dolan to address the group in front of him. “No doubt ya arrival be the work o our great leader. Did Vol be givin’ a letter to any of ya for us?”
At his words a wood elf that was at the front of the group steps forward. “Are you Dolan?”
“That be me.” Dolan answers her.
The wood elf carefully steps forward again to stand in front of Dolan while eyeing the nearby guards. “The man who sent us here gave me this and asked that I give it to Dolan.” She hands the note to Dolan but before he can read it she asks a question. “Is there really no slavery here?”
With the comment about the collars and the question Dolan understands that these are slaves that Vol has freed. “Tha be right.” The wood elf seems satisfied and a slight smile appears on her face as she steps back to rejoin the others. Dolan stops paying attention to them and looks over the note Lord Vol Adare sent back with them.
Hi Dolan,
So things have been good on my end and this note is coming with some people that I am hoping will become citizens of our home. I was in a little bit of a hurry when I sent them to Thunderbird’s Roost so I don’t know much about them or their talents. I will leave it to you to help them get their feet under them and to become useful to the community. We have extra housing for them so that won’t be an issue but if you deem anyone proficient enough to have their own shop or workspace then you can put the bill for it on my tab and get it made for them. I am also going to see about sending back someone that can set up the adventurers guild. That should also provide some opportunity for some. I do plan on sending back more people so be prepared for them and try to make them feel welcome when they arrive.
Vol
Shaking his head Dolan looks around to the guards and then to the people who are practically refugees. Having seen his movement and that he is finished reading the room gets quiet again. “Alright ya’ll. Welcome to Thunderbird’s Roost!”
*******
When I wake up it is already late morning. My heart is gripped with panic and it is made worse by the fact that I don’t know the source. Something is in my arms preventing me from bolting upright and I take a moment to center my thoughts. It takes a while but eventually I am able to calm my thoughts and slow my racing heart. It is that irrational sense of urgency that has plagued me randomly from my dreams lately. With my mind more awake I relax and enjoy sleeping in with those close to me. I closed the curtains last night before bed so I didn’t have the sun waking us early.
Opening my eyes I take in the sight of Thia in my arms. She is already awake and smiles when she sees I have opened my eyes. I know she felt a little of my earlier panic because there is a hint of concern in her beautiful eyes. I can feel another arm draped over my side and feel a light breath tickling the back of my neck. Turning I can see Timbre is also awake. Looking around I don’t see Azzaria. Before I can worry though Timbre tells me where she is. “Azzaria went to get breakfast. She was hoping to return before you woke. I smile to her and give her a soft kiss on the lips. I turn back to Thia and share another kiss with her too before hugging her tight to my chest. A minute later Azzaria returns and sets the food on the table.
“I see you’re finally awake” she says with her warm, affectionate voice.
The three of us untangle ourselves and join Azzaria at the table “Yes. Thank you for getting the meal Az. We should be good to move around the city again, though we will need to be cautious just in case. Technically we didn’t do anything wrong last night until they attacked us and then it was just defending ourselves, other than taking the kids that were slaves. They don’t have any proof on that, but I’m worried about the noble Trace mentioned so keep on your toes. Is there anything that you three want to do?”
The answer I get is from the last one I thought I would hear it from. Timbre usually doesn’t seem to care about much other than training and staying near me, but her words surprise me a little. “Clothes.” She takes a pause after that as if unsure when we all look at her but continues soon after. “Can we go clothes shopping?” She actually blushes faintly after her question. It’s very cute.
The other girls nod enthusiastically after that as well. “Sure” I tell them. “I think I saw a few places yesterday while we were walking around that looked like they had nice clothes. We will go by those so you all
can look around. I want to visit the Adventurer’s Guild and then scope out the slave market as well as the area around it.”
We finish our breakfast and go downstairs to the common room. On our way to the front door and the street Marcus catches my eye and waves me over. I walk up to the bar and he leads me back into the kitchen. The only people in there are Maka, who is cooking, and Rin. When we’re all in the kitchen and the door is shut Marcus turns to us. “I didn’t go into it last night, what with getting Maka back and all, but maybe we can help each other.”
I look at him questioningly, my curiosity piqued. “How so?”
“I’m part of a group of people that are not happy with the treatment of non-humans. We smuggle out any that we can free and take action against slavers when there is an opportunity. There are two main problems though. The first and biggest problem is that we have no way to remove a collar unless we are able to acquire the slave or kill the master. Killing slavers is the main way we’re able to free the slaves. The other problem is that, once freed, it’s difficult to get them to Knottwood Forest and safety. Also, when they get to the forest they are on their own because we have no connections to any villages there. Can you help with the second one?”
A Mage Rising: (The Chronicles of Herst 2: A LitRPG Saga) Page 31
