by A F Kay
Accept or Decline
Ruwen chose Accept and thought about these new challenges as he moved toward Sift’s location. He knew better now than to think these would be easy. In fact, knowing a tiny part of the difficulties with managing so many people, he felt pessimistic about their chances of surviving an all-out attack by the invading army. They just couldn’t afford to let the temple be damaged or destroyed. Three-quarters of a million people were counting on Ruwen to revive them. If he failed, they would die forever, and it would be his fault.
Hopefully, Fractal could help prevent that.
Chapter 47
Ruwen found Sift sitting just inside the crystal forest that surrounded the dungeon’s portal. Sift’s eyes were closed, and he sat cross-legged with a straight back. Each of the glowing crystals had a small beam of moonlight escaping from their tips, like a candle flame. It was strikingly beautiful.
“Meditating?” Ruwen asked.
Sift rolled backward and on to his feet. “Sifting the moonlight. These crystals enhance the light, which makes it easier, but losing half my sifting ability sucks. I would Cultivate, but that stupid Aspect will appear.”
Ruwen had made Sift promise not to use his Spirit or Core outside of Shelly. If anyone saw Sift’s Falcon Aspect, they may wonder if the Scarecrow Aspect might be nearby as well, and Ruwen didn’t want that attention.
Sift had lost half his sifting power when he’d connected his Air Meridian to his center, but had fulfilled a lifelong dream of flying. Ruwen knew his friend wouldn’t change that, so this was just venting. He nodded in sympathy. “Yeah, that blows.”
“Why do you need to talk to Fractal?” Sift asked.
Ruwen studied Sift for a moment and then threw a punch at his shoulder. Sift rotated his body, slapped Ruwen’s fist away, and then groaned loudly.
“Stop that,” Sift said. “My whole body is on fire.”
Ruwen smiled and stepped back. “How much did you get to Silver?”
Sift winced. “About half.”
“That is incredible progress. We should head back to Shelly after talking with Fractal so you can continue.”
Sift groaned again.
Ruwen laughed. “You’re such a baby.”
“At least I don’t pee my trousers every time I’m a foot off the ground,” Sift said and held his arms out wide with a wince. “Come on, I’ll take you for a short flight.”
Ruwen stepped away. “I’ve seen you fly, and it looked more like crashing.”
Sift dropped his arms. “It’s true my landings need work.”
Ruwen thought a lot more than the landings needed help, but kept that to himself. Instead, he held out his hand. “Give me your forearm. I need to transfer the Shattered Sun mark.”
“Will it hurt?”
“No more than one of your landings.”
Sift sighed and grabbed Ruwen’s forearm. He and Sift were best friends, and Ruwen almost just gave Sift the mark. But Ruwen paused as he thought about Fractal and the obligation he had to protect the dungeon. “Sift, do you promise to do Fractal no harm, or knowingly allow harm to befall him.” Ruwen left out providing items monthly. Sift didn’t have anything, and friends did count for something.
Sift nodded.
“Say it out loud, dummy, it’s an oath,” Ruwen said.
Sift rolled his eyes. “Yes.”
“Then I, Dungeon Master of the Shattered Sun, on behalf of Dungeon Keeper Fractal, do hereby grant you our mark.”
Ruwen’s wrist burned, and he gripped Sift’s arm tight as Sift pulled away.
“Ouch,” Sift said as he glared at Ruwen.
The pain passed and Ruwen let go of Sift’s arm. He almost told Sift his mother hadn’t complained at all, but then quickly swallowed that sentence. The last thing he wanted was Sift thinking he’d run into his parents. Then he’d never go into the dungeon.
There was no reason to worry now. The Addas had just received their marks hours ago, and they hadn’t sounded in a hurry to get here. Blapy showing up however seemed quite possible, and Ruwen felt a little bad for that potential surprise.
Sift’s gaze remained transfixed on his new mark. “This artwork is amazing.”
Ruwen shrugged. “You know Blapy. She has a gift for that stuff.”
Sift held it up. “Do I need to hide it? Or can I wear it like a tattoo?”
“There’s no reason to hide it.”
Sift grinned and returned his focus to the tattoo. “This is the first step in repaying me for all the horrible things you’ve dragged me through.”
“Dragged you? First, I didn’t want to do any of that stuff either. And second, you reunited with Lylan, connected your Air Meridian, and found a flying turtle. Without me, you’d still be sitting in your room trying to whistle.”
Sift ran a finger over the mark. “It gives off heat. I love it so much.” He looked up at Ruwen. “I guess you’ve done a couple small things. But I still haven’t seen much of this world, and to remind you, I’m on vacation.”
“You never let me forget. As soon as we’re done fighting off an invasion, we’ll do something fun for once. And speaking of invasion, that’s why we’re here. Let’s go talk to Fractal.”
They weaved through the crystals, which glowed in the moonlight. The crystals seemed taller to Ruwen, and he wondered if they grew like trees. As they approached the portal to Fractal, the surroundings brightened. He stepped around a dense cluster of giant quartz spikes and stopped.
Sift stepped up beside him. “Holy Lasher Tails, it looks like my mark.”
The portal to Fractal had changed. Ruwen thought back to what Blapy had told him after they’d decided Fractal’s focus. I’ll create a proper entrance for Fractal’s portal in New Eiru, and a mechanism for you to provide items to Fractal there.
And Blapy had done just that. A twenty-foot yellow-orange sphere, the bottom portion buried underground, rotated slowly. Cracks appeared on the surface, causing blasts of heat to radiate outward. The surface flowed like magma and the cracks disappeared, only to reappear elsewhere on the giant ball.
“Uru help me that is the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen,” Ruwen whispered.
Ruwen forced himself to move and as he approached the portal a line of light arced toward him like a whip. It flared outward and condensed into something like a large plate. He figured this must be how you offered gifts to the dungeon and set your loot level.
Opening the Void Band, Ruwen touched it to the glowing plate, and transferred the spirit fruit he’d taken from his Clan trial. He didn’t know if the spirit fruit would remain stable in the Material Realm and wanted to give Fractal the best chance of preserving them.
The sphere spun rapidly, ripping the plate of light away.
Sift turned, ready to run. “Did you break it?”
The ball rotated so fast the cracks disappeared, and it looked like a tiny sun spinning in front of Ruwen. Flares of light arced outward, striking the surrounding clumps of giant quartz. The crystals blazed with light and Ruwen squinted.
“You definitely broke it,” Sift said, but didn’t move from Ruwen's side.
The surrounding crystals vibrated with energy and then, like a rainstorm of javelins, beams of light shot outward from them, falling five feet in front of Ruwen. In moments, a ten-foot oval made of yellow-orange light formed.
From out of the portal, a narrow shadow emerged. Ruwen fought the urge to retreat as the shadow materialized into a ten-foot centipede, the first six feet arched into the air. The scales of the centipede were silver and had runes etched into them. The pincers over its mouth were blood red.
Ruwen’s Perception triggered more data.
Name: Toxic Silver Centipede
Deity: Miranda
Class Type: Fighter
Level: 40
Health: 1,601
Mana: 1,139
Energy: 2,132
Spirit: 0
Armor Class: 1,897
Movement caught Ruwen’s attentio
n, and he studied the creature’s head. A familiar face poked out from behind the centipedes disgusting face, and Ruwen smiled.
Fractal sees you, Dungeon Master. Tremors of joy I feel. Fractal said.
Ruwen grinned and responded. I tremor as well.
Hi, Fractal! Rami said.
Fractal climbed on top of the centipede’s head and jumped up and down. The centipede didn’t seem to notice and continued to stare at Ruwen with beady eyes. Greetings, little dragon. Fractal explodes in happiness.
Sift bowed to Fractal and the little crystal tried to bow back, but his body didn’t bend well, and he started to fall. The centipede lifted three of its legs and repositioned Fractal on what Ruwen could now see was a small basket. Fractal didn’t try to bow again and waved instead.
Fractal, do you have some place private we can talk, Ruwen asked.
Fractal ran in a circle on top of the centipede’s flat head. Yes, yes, yes. He dropped into his basket and without a word the Toxic Silver Centipede turned and hurried into the portal.
Ruwen looked at Sift.
“You first,” Sift said. “That thing looked mean and I don’t think it liked you.”
Ruwen narrowed his eyes. “Are you going to ditch me?”
“No,” Sift said, obviously lying.
Ruwen shrugged. “That’s fine. I just gave Fractal the soul fruit I brought back. I wonder how long it will take him to create more.”
Sift’s eyes widened. “How did you manage that?” He licked his lips. “Did you bring the red one back?”
“The Soul Fruit of Revelation, you mean. Yeah. I love the sweet and sour taste.”
Sift pointed at Ruwen. “If you’re lying to me.”
Ruwen raised his eyebrows. “Lie? When have I ever lied to you?”
“You leave out stuff all the time,” Sift said. “Lylan’s ring, how painful drowning was in the Spirit place, your stupid form that hurt so bad I can barely move, the time you—”
Ruwen smiled and stepped through the portal. Maybe he did sometimes leave out details. But Sift couldn’t deny his life had improved since he’d met Ruwen.
Cool air made Ruwen’s skin prickle as he looked around the cavern he’d entered. Crystals and gems of different shapes and colors filled every surface but the thirty-foot area where he stood and a narrow path leading to a tunnel. The entire room glowed with light.
Eight centipedes like the one Fractal had ridden were hidden around the room. Ruwen’s heightened Perception made him confident he’d found them all, and Stone Echo and Survey confirmed it. The abilities also told him he was over five hundred feet underground since the surface didn’t show on his map. Blapy had taken Fractal’s safety seriously.
Fractal sat on a large pedestal covered in gems, and a Toxic Silver Centipede stood behind him like a guard. Sift stepped out of thin air next to Ruwen, still talking, but stopped when he saw the room.
“You take me to the nicest places,” Sift said.
Ruwen opened his mouth to respond, but froze when he heard a familiar voice.
“Sift!” Madda said as she walked out of the tunnel, Padda right behind her. “We’re so excited to see you. Did Ruwen tell you we are spending time here?”
Sift slowly turned to Ruwen, his eyes narrowed. “It must have slipped his mind.”
“I had no idea—” Ruwen started and then stopped. That wasn’t true, he knew the possibility existed. He tried again, this time in a whisper. “I didn’t think they’d be here this fast.”
“You really did it this time,” Sift hissed at Ruwen. “The only thing that would make this worse is—”
“Hi, Sifty,” Blapy said. “Come to see your parent's new place?”
Chapter 48
Sift pinched the bridge of his nose.
“You will pay dearly for this ambush,” Sift whispered.
“Sift, I swear I didn’t plan this.”
But Sift, engulfed in a hug from his mom, probably hadn’t heard.
Blapy smiled as she watched Sift, still in his mom’s embrace, before turning and looking up at Ruwen. “You really know how to bring people together. I mean, just hours ago, I witnessed you press those six Elders into your service.”
Sift turned his head. “You saw Blapy hours ago? You said it had been a while.”
Ruwen winced. “Two hours is kind of a while.”
“Sifty, I’m getting the impression this wasn’t your idea,” Blapy said.
Madda finally let go of Sift, and Padda patted his son on the shoulder. He frowned and squeezed Sift’s shoulder. “Your Water Meridian is Silver! Have you been Fortifying?”
Madda grabbed Sift’s chin. “How is that possible?”
Blapy smiled mischievously. “Probably something to do with Shelly.”
“Who is Shelly?” Madda asked. “You know how we feel about girlfriends at your age.”
Sift groaned.
“I sense a Core,” Padda whispered.
Sift groaned again, and Ruwen felt terrible.
Madda turned her gaze on Ruwen and frowned. “Did you know all these things and not tell us?”
Oh, this is so good, Rami said. I didn’t expect her to piece that together so fast.
You shouldn’t take delight in our misery.
Rami laughed. Probably not for Sift, but you caused this, so delight is definitely in order for you.
Sift turned to Ruwen. “Yeah, Ruwen. Why didn’t you tell my parents?”
Ruwen bit his lip. Sift had wanted Ruwen to keep those things a secret, and now he had thrown Ruwen under the wagon. Probably deservedly so. He held up his hands. “Sift and I are here on important business. All these questions will need to wait for another time.”
“We know,” Blapy said. “Fractal and I already talked about it. It doesn’t bode well that it took you this long to come here for help.”
Ruwen wanted to complain that he’d only just gotten back to New Eiru and this was his first opportunity after reviving the Elders. But Blapy already knew all that, which meant she probably intended something else. And as he thought about it, she likely meant he needed to focus more on Fractal.
Ruwen nodded at Blapy. “I understand.”
Madda grabbed Sift by the shoulders. “When you’re done here, you come find us, understand.” She looked at Ruwen. “Both of you.”
Ruwen and Sift both nodded and the Addas left.
“Don’t think that gets you out of trouble,” Sift whispered.
Blapy looked up at Ruwen. “Who are you representing right now? New Eiru or Fractal?”
Ruwen knew it couldn’t be both. Both entities needed a strong advocate to create a fair deal. “Will you help Fractal in the negotiations?”
Blapy nodded.
“Then I guess New Eiru.”
“Good, I just want that clear from the beginning.” Blapy said as she walked over to the pedestal. Fractal stopped looking at his gems and focused on Ruwen. Blapy continued. “What do you request of the Shattered Sun?”
Ruwen gave a small bow toward the pair. “New Eiru can’t revive enough people to both fight and protect the city effectively. I’m here to ask the Shattered Sun to help defend the city.”
“What do you offer?” Blapy asked.
Rami’s comment, terium is good for more than reviving, fresh in Ruwen’s mind, he spoke. “We will pay for it.”
“How much money do you have?” Blapy asked.
Ruwen smiled. Blapy currently stored everything in Ruwen’s Void Band back at the Black Pyramid. She knew exactly how much he had: one gold, ten silver, and fifty copper. The rest of his money he’d just spent powering the city’s revivals until his parents returned. But he had expected this and had an idea.
“Can you create some privacy for us?” Ruwen asked. “Very private.”
Blapy didn’t move, but a twenty-foot shimmering sphere appeared around them.
Over the past months, Ruwen had accumulated a staggering amount of Spirit. Starting with light and heat at the Black Pyramid, continui
ng with all the creatures in Fractal, and finally the Plague Siren’s Core in the Spirit Realm, his Spirit had become his most plentiful resource. He checked his Profile.
Spirit: 30,193,513,865
And that was after giving Sift over a billion in Spirit to get him Fortified to half Silver. It also didn’t count the vast amount of pure essence he’d collected from the chaos storm over Stone Harbor in the Spirit Realm.
Ruwen let out a deep breath. Ever since the visit to the mine during Big D’s camping trip, when Ruwen had discovered that terium might be solidified Spirit, he’d wondered if he could replicate the mine’s process. He’d taken five levels of Harden to help condense his Core, but had never exerted Harden’s full pressure on his Core for long because he feared the consequences.
Now he would finally learn if Spirit pulled from his body could be converted into terium.
Rami, can you slowly transfer Spirit from my Core to my hands?
What is slowly?
Let’s start with one hundred a second. If we see nothing happening after a few seconds, increase it by a factor of ten. We’ll repeat that pattern until something occurs.
Okay.
Ruwen cupped his hands together just as the familiar burlap of the Scarecrow Aspect appeared.
“I hate that thing,” Sift mumbled as he stepped away.
The empty space Ruwen’s hands formed grew brighter as Spirit emerged. Ruwen channeled the max amount of Energy, one hundred, into Harden, and focused it on the glowing mass. Rami increased her transfer rate to one thousand Spirit a second, and something solid appeared.
After nine seconds, Ruwen spoke to Rami again. Stop. Great job, Rami.
Ruwen grinned as the burlap of his Scarecrow Aspect disappeared. In his hand he held the ugliest coin he’d ever seen. He stopped channeling Energy to Harden and studied his coin. It looked like a lava flow with layers on layers and no symmetry.
Pride and satisfaction filled him. He had suspected from the beginning that this relationship might be duplicated, and now he’d just proved it. He had enough Spirit inside his Core to buy the entire world. It felt like that anyway.
