Escalation

by Matthew Peed

  ~~~

  It felt good to sleep in my own room for the first time in several days. It was just . . . comfortable. Feuer floated next to the bed as I lay down. I was worried that the new limbs would be hard to sleep with, but they were actually quite relaxing and soft to the touch . . . for the most part. Curling up like a cat, I dozed off.

  I woke the next morning and stretched. Parts of my body popped in just the right way, and I sighed in relief. I looked around when I didn’t see Feuer and found him at the window. He was in the sun and seemed to be basking in it.

  Mother . . . hungry . . . I heard in my head.

  I panicked for a moment as I tried to think what a sentient weapon would want to eat. Then I smacked my head—duh, mana. I channeled some mana into him and heard a contented sigh. He flew over and landed in my hand.

  “I need to get dressed. Just a moment.” I released him and got up.

  Feuer started floating again, but he seemed slightly reluctant to do so. I smiled; it seemed like I had a needy child. I looked at my stomach and lay my hand on the still utterly smooth surface.

  “I wonder what you’ll act like,” I whispered.

  Chapter 6

  Louella

  The next morning after Regan fixed Ezal, I woke and thought over what had happened and was still amazed at some of the events. Mainly, I was just happy Ezal was able to move again. That had been weighing me down since the incident, and I was just glad. I went into the dining room, and the maids served me breakfast. They had started buying the ingredients from a store Regan had opened near his dungeon. One of the maids had even taken to studying a cookbook she had found in the library a few days ago.

  Needless to say, the food was wonderful. Ezal walked in from the hall, and I motioned for her to take a seat. I noticed that she had taken her outfit and removed the sleeve and leg section to show off her new limbs. She looked dangerous and not to be messed with. Her hair was still flaming. While her breaths weren’t causing as much of a leak of flame as last night, sparks still seemed to leap out every now and then.

  I wanted her to get used to joining me at the table, as I planned on getting her an actual rank soon. It would be a little tougher, but I swore I would find a noble willing to sell the rank. Unless I reached the next rank first—then I would just do it myself. She sat down, and Feuer came to a rest next to her.

  “Ezal, regarding what we were talking about yesterday—do you want the position?”

  “I thought about it last night, and I decided it would be a good idea. While I would like to actually guard you myself, I feel that if I can make the town safer, then that would also make you safer.”

  “In that vein, instead of my guard captain, how about my general?” I asked her. I was permitted a standing force, but I planned on gathering a larger number than I was technically allowed. I had a feeling that things would only get rougher going forward. I wanted someone I could trust to be my leader.

  “General? Mistress, I know how to protect someone, or at least I know the theory,” Ezal said with a grimace. She must have been thinking about the other night. “But leading a force like that is a completely different sack of grain.”

  “I still feel that you would be my best bet,” I said firmly.

  “If . . . if you really think it would be alright, then I guess I will try. I need to remind you I am pregnant,” she finished with a smile.

  “I know, but luckily, I think you have gotten the tools to move to the rear lines and still be a threat. Plus, being the general of the force will guarantee your safety to a certain degree.”

  Generals were required to be captured if their forces lost the engagement. Then they would be sold back to their country or to a lord for a monetary amount that was usually so high that it could never be paid by the losing lord. I wasn’t worried about that. I just wanted to secure her safety as much as I could.

  “Very well, you win,” Ezal said with her hands in the air.

  We quickly finished our meal and then headed out to get the process started. First, we rounded up all the remaining Golden Dawn members who had survived for one reason or another. We explained that we were making a new force and that anyone willing to sit through a few tests and some questions could join if they wanted to leave the Dawn.

  We left them with the sound of mumbling and whispering following behind us. It sounded like the reception was positive, but we couldn’t be sure until later. We made our way to the Adventurers Guild to see Cassie. The guild was busier than usual with people streaming in and out while carrying a variety of things. It looked like some were running errand quests and others were preparing to head into the dungeon. I was happy to see it so lively. After all, the Adventurers Guild was the lifeblood of the town.

  Right as we approached the guild, a body came flying out of the second-floor window. It collided with the ground and plowed a small trench for a few meters before coming to a stop. That’s when I realized she was a woman. I looked back to the building and saw another woman jump out of the window, forming a small crater in the ground with her landing. She looked like a small mountain.

  “I’m tired of you whoring around! Fucking slut!” the woman shouted as she walked toward the one struggling to get out of the trench.

  “Just because you can’t get a man doesn’t mean you have to take it out on me,” the other woman said in a weird voice that seemed overly flirty when you considered that she was covered in dirt.

  “Megan! You bitch!” the giant woman screamed in anger. A monstrous two-handed ax appeared in her hand as she picked up speed.

  “Hannah, you know you can’t beat me in an actual fight,” Megan said as a pair of sabers appeared in her hands. She dusted off her outfit, which I saw was revealing to the max. I was more surprised that something wasn’t popping out.

  “Well, today will be the day!” Hannah shouted back and shot toward Megan as the ground exploded out from under her feet.

  She arrived in front of her and brought her ax straight down. Another explosion occurred where the ax impacted the ground. An Air mage in the crowd did a quick cast that caused the dust cloud to clear, and we were able to see Megan standing to one side as she tapped Hannah on the back with one of her sabers.

  “That’s one point for me,” Megan said with a smirk. Hannah brought her ax back around for another strike. “I guess you’re serious this time.”

  I frowned. At this rate they would destroy the entire plaza in front of the guild. Unfortunately, they seemed fairly powerful, so no one wanted to intervene in the fight. I turned to Ezal to ask what she wanted to do when a red blur shot past me, a small trail of flames following behind it.

  Right as Hannah’s ax would have made another crater in the ground, Ezal grabbed it by the edge of the blade with her new hand, while she brought her leg around and kicked Megan full on the chin. Flames started to lick at the blade, and I worried she might melt the edge. Megan went flying for the second time that morning and landed in a limp pile a dozen meters away. Sometimes I forgot that Ezal had trained at the royal barracks to be a bodyguard.

  “No violence in the streets by adventurers! I believe that is a town law for visiting adventurers,” Ezal said, steel in her voice.

  Hannah struggled to pull her ax back, but Ezal had her body braced with her new leg and was even channeling some mana to be extra stable. Hannah seemed to lose her temper even more. “Son of a bitch! What do you think you’re doing to my sister!” she shouted, and the ground ruptured as the stone flowed around her.

  Ezal took a deep breath, then her fingers melted through the blade. The liquid steel dripped to the ground. The lack of force from Ezal holding her back cause Hannah to overbalance, and she fell back suddenly. Another red blur shot from beside me, and I realized that Feuer had been floating next to me the whole time. The crescent-shaped blade pressed against Hannah’s throat, and she seemed to realize that it would be better if she calmed down.

  “Alright! I think you two have caused enough trouble for t
oday!” another female voice called from the guild entrance.

  I looked and saw Noir from the competition. I hadn’t known she was still in town. I heard a rustle, and Megan climbed up from where she was lying. She cracked her neck but otherwise seemed fine.

  “Ah, that really helped my sore neck from the intense night I had,” Megan said as she dusted herself off again.

  “Lady Louella, I am sorry for the trouble caused by my sisters,” Noir said as she walked over, her pitch-black plate armor barely making a sound.

  “As long as . . .” I started to say when a force of Regan’s automata rushed into the plaza.

  “Attention, citizens! Excessive force has been detected, please submit to forces for questioning!” the middle automaton, which had red stripes on its shoulders, said to the crowd.

  The crowd started to whisper and seemed to get upset at the situation.

  I stepped forward to the automaton. “I take responsibility for this incident. Please let them be,” I said.

  “Viscountess Louella, I understand. Their mana signatures have been registered. If the event is repeated, actions will be taken.” The automaton then turned in formation with the others and marched away.

  I turned back to the crowd. “Alright, everyone, the situation has been handled, so please return to whatever you were doing!”

  A few people still seemed upset, but most appeared relieved that I was able to do something about the automata. More than that, it looked like Ezal had gathered a small group of Fire mages, who were fawning over her. Especially the women, who wanted to know how she managed to get her hair like that. I hadn’t ever seen a person have that happen to them when breaking through, and apparently, neither had anyone else. Feuer circled her as if to keep people away.

  I went back to Noir, who was standing next to her sisters. She seemed to be reprimanding them, but it looked like it was going in one ear and out the other for Megan. Hannah was also crying over her damaged ax. There was an interesting family dynamic at play.

  “Think you can keep them in line?” I asked.

  Noir turned to me and sighed before she replied, “Probably not . . . but I’ll try.”

  “By the way, I need Hannah to pay for this,” I said, pointing at the craters all over the plaza and the hole in the wall of the Adventurers Guild.

  “Don’t worry, the guild has a special fund already set aside for her.”

  Just as I nodded, the ground started to repair itself in front of the crowd. I watched in marvel as the plaza and street returned to pristine shape. If people got used to this, there might be a surge of towns being built on dungeon cores. A person near one of the spots tapped it with the butt of his spear as if to check if it was real.

  “Well. Isn’t that cute,” Megan said as she watched the spectacle. She seemed to cast a wicked look toward Hannah.

  “Don’t get any ideas . . .” Noir said. She hadn’t even been looking at her.

  Megan jerked up straight, then gave a nervous chuckle. “Ideas? What are those?”

  “That’s right,” Noir said and nodded.

  “Well, try not to break anything else while you’re here, please,” I said to the sisters.

  The crowd went back to trying to get into the guild, or out of it, as the excitement was over. Ezal and I made our way in and luckily were able to meet Cassie right away. Her office was cluttered with mountains of stuff, and not just the usual paperwork.

  “Cassie, I see you’re busy as well.”

  Cassie looked up and her eyes locked on Ezal’s arm and leg for a minute. Her nose twitched before she looked away. I grew suspicious but didn’t know if it was just me being paranoid or something else. Cassie coughed as if to ease the tension. I moved my hand to my bracelet and sent Regan a message to see if he could make my bracelet like the obelisks in town. I got an affirmative answer from him and felt the mana of the bracelet change just barely.

  “Sorry about that, a lot of . . . interesting smells coming from those. Do I smell diamond?” she said as she tapped her nose, then pointed at Ezal’s new limbs.

  I didn’t get any sensation of unholy mana, but she could still be dangerous for other reasons. Just because someone wasn’t a necromancer didn’t mean they were innocent.

  “I . . . see. How are the adventurer parties coming along?” I said and made a mental note to look into her background more thoroughly later.

  “The Three Witches, which I just heard you dealing with, were the last B-rank party that accepted your request. With them, we have around a hundred B-rank and nearly fifteen hundred C-rank and lower to fill the gaps. If we plan carefully and work it right, it should be enough to deal serious damage to or even resist this monster horde. I just hope that your dungeon is really dealing with the Lecazar side, as we have literally no resources over there except basic scouts.”

  “I trust him to handle it, don’t worry. I would like to start attacking the horde soon. The less time they have to gather the more likely we will be able to deal with it.”

  “I agree. This isn’t a natural event, and considering how much the necromancers like this place, something tells me they are connected,” Cassie said. She looked at a map I hadn’t noticed at first.

  I nodded and asked, “Not what you signed up for?”

  She laughed. “No not really. I figured I would see a couple dozen adventurers a month for a few years, and would have trinkets and materials from a new dungeon to play with. Instead, in only a few months, I’ve beaten the record of some of the city guilds in both countries, while weapons that seem to improve by the week keep coming through these doors. Now, the mining floor is open and creating enough material to make a lot of people both very happy and very angry.”

  “Yeah, Regan really threw this part of the continent for a loop. Now the gnomes are here as well,” I said.

  “Cassie, I don’t know if you have someone chosen already, but I would like Ezal to lead the expedition. I have made her the local forces general, so I need the people to accept her.”

  Cassie thought in silence for a moment, but she said, “That would actually be a good idea. As I told you, most of the adventurers are tier three and below, but we didn’t get anyone higher, so it’s hard for the parties to accept a single tier three as the leader. However, if Ezal were to lead, it would solve our problem, since they are required to listen to local leadership for a request like this.”

  “I understand, tell them that I would like to lead the first expedition in a few days. Everyone is to be ready and waiting at the west gate at dawn,” Ezal ordered once it was decided.

  I nodded. I wanted her to take command in situations like this.

  We worked out a few more details, then left the guild. In the central plaza, we posted a general recruitment notice with the details listed so people would understand that there would be no exceptions to being examined by an obelisk. A crowd formed as soon as we started walking away, but we didn’t stop to watch.

  As we made our way back to the manor, Wrakras, who had been following from the shadows, appeared next to me. I looked at him, wondering what would make him break his cover like this. “Iveta is approaching. She seemed flustered, so I came as a precaution.”

  I nodded as we kept making our way through the street. Sure enough, Iveta rounded the street corner a moment later and looked around. When she spotted us, she ran as fast as she could, which for an air cultivator was ridiculous. Before I could blink twice, she was in front of me, breathing heavily.

  “Mistress, I need you back at the manor as soon as possible! It’s urgent!”

  I looked to Ezal, then back to Iveta and nodded. We rushed along the street back to the manor. Luckily, we seemed pressed enough that the crowds parted for us easily enough.

  When we made it to the manor, I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. But when we were about twenty meters from the wooden gate around the manor, a tall form rose from the hedgerow. I skidded to a stop and gaped at the large-as-fuck wolf that was sitting in my yard
as if it belonged there. It took me a moment, but I realized it was one of the wolves from Regan’s dungeon that we’d met yesterday.

  “Not that, Mistress, I mean that’s important too, but the real urgent matter is inside the manor,” Iveta said before I could say anything.

  We made our way inside, and my eyes widened at the sight of a maid cleaning up a trail of blood. I looked Iveta over, but she seemed unharmed. We went to the guest room, and a familiar face greeted us. Bruce lay on the bed, breathing heavily with most of his body bandaged.

  “Fuck.”

  Chapter 7

  Bruce

  A few days before the incident

  “One thousand!” I shouted. Then, with a bang, I dropped the metal bar that had a few hundred pounds of stone on each end. I got up off the bench and moved over to a basin, then grabbed the stone inside, channeled some mana, and used the resulting flowing water to wash the sweat off. I set the stone down when I was done and donned my armor. It was time for me to take over the guard duty.

  I left the room of the inn and moved down the hall. So still someone might have taken her for a statue, Avina stood watch next to the marquis’s room. After I approached and took my place on the other side of her, she left without a word and entered another room down the hall.

  We’d rented the entire top floor for extra precaution, but still it lacked some security, not being on the airship. Master had received a letter that bore his private seal and decided to head for Robia Valley under cover of darkness, even resorting to using an artifact that moved us several hundred kilometers from the capital, much more than the gate at the center of town would have allowed. I’m not sure why the change of attitude, but it just meant we of his private guard had to pull a little extra weight.

  Dawn quickly colored the sky pink outside one of the windows, and another night passed without issue. At the pace we were traveling, it would take us another week or so to get to Robia. I heard a noise from the room and peeked inside to see the marquis getting ready. His face had a very determined set, the likes of which I had never seen it have before.