She had intimidated a captain of a special team with just a few questions. If that’s not Momma Rodriguez, then the universe is out of balance. There can’t be two!
Roska went through a series of questions, then took samples of blood from Rugrat and Momma Rodriguez and tested them.
“It appears she is who she says she is.” Roska put the gear away.
“Try saying that ten times fast,” Erik muttered.
“All right, come on. I want to know everything you two have been up to?” Momma Rodriguez moved back to the table and sat down, waving for Rugrat and Erik to join her.
She pulled glasses out of her storage ring and poured out iced tea for the others.
Erik and Rugrat knew better than to try and take it from her.
Roska coughed and held out another contract. “I’m sorry, but this contract makes sure that you cannot reveal any information you are told by Lord West and Rodriguez to any other person without their permission. It also secures that you will not pass on certain secrets.” Roska put down the contract.
Momma Rodriguez read the contract before she cut her finger and placed it on the contract. “I agree to the contract as outlined here.”
Power of the Ten Realms wrapped around her, binding her to the proscribed contract.
“Do you want some tea now, dear?”
“No, thank you. I can’t while working.” Roska stepped backward.
“Ah, you military types. Always something holding you back.” Momma Rodriguez clicked her tongue. “So, from the beginning you two.”
“Well, Erik and I dropped out of the sky with those capsules I made.”
“I heard that you put it all on your credit cards, so it all reverted back to your family. Nicely done.” Momma Rodriguez looked at Erik and chuckled.
“Wanted to leave them a final thank you.”
“So, after you landed with the capsules...?”
Momma Rodriguez, Roska, and Davos listened with rapt attention as Erik and Rugrat told their tale of entering the Ten Realms.
13
Lions, Tigers, and Momma Bears
Elder Kostic entered Lord Chonglu’s office and took the seat offered “Thank you, Acting Lord Chonglu.” Kostic sat down calmly as Chonglu sat opposite.
“I received your letter regarding the Adventurer’s Guild,” Chonglu said, interlacing his fingers together on his desk. “I’m sorry to say that right now we can’t evict them from the city. They have placed well in the last two fighters’ competitions. They are well connected to the traders and crafters, and have not broken any laws.” Chonglu opened his hands.
“What if they were to lose their current position?” Kostic asked.
“How do you mean?” Chonglu raised an eyebrow.
“Well, there are many cities that they hold halls in. Some of the city lords have certain complaints. Having an obnoxious and arrogant guild in your city can lead to… problems.” Kostic seemed to search for the word.
“Depending on the situation, we might be more amenable.” Chonglu opened his thumbs, keeping his fingers interlaced.
“Well, thank you for your time.” Kostic half tilted his head, standing up.
“Let me see you out. I hope that you can come to me if you require any assistance,” Lord Chonglu said.
“Thank you, and I will keep that in mind.”
Kostic exited Chonglu’s office. He gathered his guards and continued out to his carriage. It was only inside that his blank face took on a pensive look.
Chonglu wasn’t as simple as he looked. If Vuzgal was connected to the Adventurer’s Guild, he would warn them about the impending attacks on their guild halls. If he didn’t, then they won’t show any large changes. Most impressive was Chonglu’s lack of a reaction.
It would also wrap up the Nico problem. Kostic sneered. Foolish boy, thinking he could slander Elder Cai Bo.
Chonglu related everything to Elan, Erik, and Rugrat. Elan had spent his time in the under-city, as Vuzgal was the main hub for the Intelligence Department. He had been working to alter the story around the Silaz family, basing it off the truth.
Erik and Rugrat had remained a few extra days, talking to Momma Rodriguez and finding out all she had been through.
Now there was no laughter and smiles.
“And there’s nothing we can do unless we want to play right into their hand,” Elan said.
“What do you mean?” Chonglu asked.
“He means that if we pass on that the Willful Institute is trying to get the Adventurer’s Guild evicted from the different cities, then they’ll know for sure that we’re working with the Guild.” Erik’s voice was acidic as he looked at Elan with dark eyes.
Elan bowed his head, pressing his lips together.
Chonglu let his hands fall powerlessly into his lap.
“So, we don’t tell them to cover our asses from the Institute?” Erik asked.
“That is your decision.”
“Shouldn’t this be a decision for the council?” Rugrat asked.
“If we go to the council, Blaze will have to know,” Chonglu said.
Erik looked at Rugrat.
“I say we tell them,” Rugrat said.
“Send word to Blaze right away. Get plans moved up to relocate Guild dependents to a secure location where the Institute can’t find them.” Erik sighed. It was no small undertaking with how large the Adventurer’s Guild had become.
“Make sure that all guilds and groups that are associated with us are prepared to evacuate at the slightest hint of trouble. I don’t like how close to the truth the Institute is getting.”
14
Alvan War Machine
The lights faded as Erik and Rugrat pulled their hoods down. Their special team guards opened a gap for them as they walked through the totem gates and into Alva proper.
“Dios Mio,” Momma Rodriguez whispered as she clutched the cross on her chain.
“Welcome to Alva, Momma,” Rugrat said.
Units marched down the roads in-step. Buses running on rune-engines ran down the street with beast-pulled carts. Crews of mages and builders worked together assembling new factories and buildings.
Alvans walked on the sidewalks, off somewhere, talking to stall owners or their friends, walking into stores and restaurants or newly minted offices.
Delilah and Glosil broke off from their conversation as Erik and Rugrat left the defensive structure around the totem, surrounded by their own guards.
“Every time we come back it seems busier.” Rugrat grunted as Momma Rodriguez elbowed him. “Right, uh, Commander Glosil of the Alva Military and Council Leader Delilah Ryan. This is my momma.”
Delilah messed with her hands, bowing her head jerkily and turning red as she pushed some errant hair behind her ear.
Momma Rodriguez smiled. “Please just call me Momma Rodriguez. It is good to meet you both. I have heard a lot about you. You found a fine teacher, Delilah, and you have stepped into your position well. Commander Glosil, you carry a lot of weight on your shoulders, but you have accomplished so much.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Glosil pressed his lips together in a smile.
“It is good to meet you, Momma Rodriguez. I have heard much about you.” Delilah smiled and reached out her hand.
The little woman scoffed and hugged her, stunning Delilah before she returned the embrace.
Momma released her, a gleam in her eye as they started back to her boys. “You four clearly have work to talk about. I’ll head off.”
“Roska, could you…?” Rugrat asked.
Roska stepped forward and smiled. In just a few short days Momma Rodriguez had made an impression already. “I’ll have someone escort you to the Lords’ residence, or take you around Alva. There is no place safer in the Ten Realms. Everyone here is an Alvan.”
“Best to see what state they left the house in,” Momma muttered as she walked with one of the special team members.
“You said it was urgent,” Glosil said to Erik. D
elilah was still recovering.
Erik took out a sound canceling formation as they started to walk, their guards creating a cordon around them. “We have been stepping around it this entire time. Starting today, the Alva military will be completely activated. The Willful Institute is looking in places we don’t like. We need to pull their attention away and put all the pressure on them that we can.”
“I would suggest retaining a battalion in Alva,” Glosil said, “and two battalions in Vuzgal. That would dedicate close to ten thousand troops to the front lines. In two weeks, another group of soldiers will complete basic training. I suggest waiting three more months before they are put into action. They’ll be green and they still need to take their advanced courses.”
“Do it.” Erik nodded.
“What about trading and other activities?” Delilah asked.
“We will enact the wartime guidelines set down in everyone’s contracts. Secondary fighting forces will be recalled. Increase their training, including the Adventurer’s Guild members.”
“That will tear apart the economy.”
“We are prepared for that. Unlike wars back on Earth, when we conquer a city, we can loot it of all its valuables and gain. Already, the Adventurer’s Guild has made a fortune,” Erik said.
“Are the backup sites ready?” Rugrat asked.
“The secondary dungeons have been set up. If need be, we can evacuate Vuzgal and Alva to them within four hours,” Glosil confirmed.
“Secondary sites?” Delilah asked.
“A backup plan in case everything goes to shit,” Erik told her.
“If we’re attacked, the totem won’t work.”
“But the teleportation formations will. We have a network of them across the realms. We’ll ferry Alvans across the first four realms to dungeon locations we’ve altered to suit our needs,” Erik said.
Their guards moved around them. Passers-by cleared a path as they bowed their heads to the quartet as they passed.
The third barracks closer to the totem came into view.
“How are things in Vuzgal?” Delilah asked.
“Bandits have been causing problems and some of the traders are pushing their boundaries. Chonglu and Elan are looking into it. It was bound to happen. People have been trying to take advantage of us since the beginning. This is just in a different way,” Erik said.
“Institute?” Glosil asked.
“Doesn’t seem like it. Elan didn’t hear anything in their back channels,” Rugrat added.
“You have a plan?” Delilah asked.
“Just like hog trapping. Bait them in. Then, before they know it, drop the damn gates around them.” Rugrat smiled. “With the extensive formations planted around Vuzgal, from Aberdeen in the West to the Chaotic Lands in the East, we have everything covered. They’re attacking in the Chaotic Lands, which is to be expected. If they push in closer to Vuzgal, we’ll see it all.”
“I wondered what all those formations requested from the academies and formation masters were for,” Delilah admitted.
“Anything moves on that road and we’ll know. We won’t even need spotters. We can hit them with mortars and artillery spells from kilometers away. Same with Vermire and the Beast Mountain Range,” Glosil said.
“Have things changed on that front?” Erik asked as they neared the barracks.
“The surrounding nations are focused on fighting for spots in the Consortium now. It's grown in power rapidly. King’s Hill’s third expansion is already planned. The outer outposts are all expanding, as are the interconnecting roads. Things are stable for now,” Delilah said.
Erik slowed his steps and turned to face Glosil. “The other thing we need to talk about is our role in all of this.” Erik tilted his head to Rugrat.
“Training and support for now. If the shit hits the fan, we’ll need every person we can get fighting, including both of you. The Special Teams have always been by themselves. There are few people they would be willing to take orders from. Would you want the position?”
“You lead, I follow,” Rugrat told Erik.
“Understood. Commander, if you need us, we’ll be there.” Erik nodded.
“Morning!” Rugrat said as he looked at the men and women filling the crafter’s arena. People from all different squads, from pure mages to formation masters and everything in between filled the seats.
Rugrat picked out the teachers in the front row with the Close Protection Detail members. They were revered throughout the Alva Military as the best the army had to offer, trained and now tried across many battlefields against the Willful Institute.
Qin Silaz led the formation masters of Vuzgal academy, while Julilah led the formation masters of Kanesh Academy. Tanya was head of the pure mages; Roska was the strongest war mage among the Alvan military, and Tan Xue was headmaster of the Vuzgal Academy and highest-ranked smith among all Alvans.
“In the past few weeks, you have all attended classes focused on turning your skills into tools of battle, destruction, and war. You have learned how to use composite formations to create rapid defenses and rapid attacks. You’ve studied defensive spells, offensive spells, and learned how to cast them faster, stronger, and with less mana draw, based on the teachings of pure magic. How to get the most out of your gear and weapons. You have learned fighting techniques. You have transformed your thoughts. You have taken the mundane and simple and turned them into weapons.”
Rugrat paused, looking among the Earthers; he had expected a reaction from them, but they, like the Ten Realms natives, had blank expressions. They had all seen and understood the reality of the Ten Realms. If you cannot rely on yourself, you cannot rely on others.
“Simply put, you’ve learned what humans have been doing since the beginning of recorded time. Take the tools that you have and use them in different ways to increase your own abilities. A formation master of only level ten can command the power of spells that a level forty mage could not call down. A pure mage can cast magic fast, even faster than someone who has studied the spell for several years. They only have their motions and their words to stimulate a response, tricking their mind into creating spells. Pure mages are working with the elements themselves, the very building blocks. Add in the same tools as spell mages, and pure mages will be stronger and faster.”
Rugrat paused, looking around, picking out people with his eyes.
“None of this would have been possible if you hadn’t worked together.” Rugrat shook his finger and looked up into the back of the stands. “That, right there, is our strongest ability.”
Rugrat pulled out his railgun rifle.
“This weapon would not have been possible without smiths, formation masters, mages, alchemists, or the people of Alva. Without the factories, once this weapon broke, we would have to craft it anew. We wouldn’t be able to take it apart and replace it. We wouldn’t be able to produce them in the hundreds. Listen to what your teachers have to say. It could save your life, and it could give you a new idea to do something that could save another’s life in the coming days.
“Three tips with this rifle: you can make it shoot faster, longer, and harder. There is a conductive filler built into the handguard that connects to the propulsion system. Increasing the flow of fire and water mana will increase the overall speed of the round exiting the barrel. If you increase the fire and metal mana, then you can increase the weapon’s rate of fire. Both will increase the heat of the weapon faster. The foregrip is connected by a filler to the barrel. Increasing the water and earth attribute mana will decrease the heat, meaning you can shoot longer. If you want to add spells to your rounds, cast it on the magazine and it will be transmitted to all rounds. If you cast a new spell, then it will wipe the previous spell and add the new one. If I were you, I would pick either increased blunt damage or piercing. Whenever you reload, cast a new spell.”
Rugrat lowered the rifle. “Let me highlight this for you. You have many tools at your disposal. Pick a situation for them. Do not get wrapp
ed up in indecision. If it works, it is the right tool for the job.”
Rugrat walked back to his seat as Qin walked out onto the stage.
“Formations, up until now, have been created and used in the rear. Setting up a formation in the middle of battle has been a monumentally stupid idea.” Qin tossed a formation plate to the ground. “With this one formation plate, I can increase the power of my spells four times their initial power. More if you are a lower level. If you can cast only a level one fireball, this formation will allow you to cast at level with no extra mana or effort on your part.”
Qin threw out another formation. It snapped to the larger formation plate and lit up.
“Magnetic linking formation plates. Pre-made and ready. All you need to do is throw them out, connect them and you create a new formation. I’ve added in a mana barrier so I will be protected while I am casting my spells.” Another formation plate connected.
“Now my fire spells will be stronger.” Another formation plate. “Now the power of the spells will increase.” Another formation plate.
Wind and dirt whirled together, creating a golem.
“Now I have a defender to protect me.” Qin threw out more formation plates, more golems rose up.
“True golems are materials that have been refined and engraved to turn into fighting machines. They cost a lot of time and resources to build, more to keep them maintained. They burn through power in no time. And if their formations are damaged, they’ll be torn apart, though they’re incredibly powerful and strong.” Qin raised her hand to the floating dirt and stones that resembled a headless humanoid figure. The white air shimmered between the moving rocks.
“Summoned golems can be destroyed faster, but their power is reliant on the power supplied to them. Increase the amount of mana you give them, the longer you can keep them summoned for, the stronger their attacks are. Unlike pure golems, they can destroy their form and recreate it.”
A golem ran to the end of the stage, the power in its body dimmed and it collapsed into dust and dirt. Back at the formation, another golem was already forming.
Seventh Realm Part 1: A LitRPG Fantasy series (The Ten Realms Book 8) Page 13
