For The Guild (Emerilia Book 2)

by Michael Chatfield

  “Huh, well, they aren’t all that original—they’ve got two of the same letters in the name!” Jelanos looked away in thought. “Wait, you said that your Ginny was looking at my Petunia? My granddaughter Petunia?” The Air became thick with Mana and anger as Jelanos looked at Alamos.

  People looked at the archmage and his aide, slowly stepping away.

  “Yes,” Alamos said, undisturbed.

  The wind slowly stopped and the pressure fell away.

  “Well?” Jelanos asked, as excited for the arrival of the Merpeople as he was about his granddaughter’s love life.

  “I’ve heard that they might have gone on a few dates.” Alamos’s finger rose up defiantly in his best friend’s face. “You are not to interfere or I will hide your glasses from you for a week.”

  Jelanos’s eyes thinned, as if he had met his mortal enemy. “Fine!” Jelanos turned back to the merpeople who were walking out of the sea and onto the lowest jetties of the Per’ush islands.

  “But wouldn’t that be fantastic!?” Jelanos said, his annoyance once again turning to joy. There were few things that could keep the archmage’s spirits down.

  “So, how exactly did this all come about?” Alamos waved to the growing party of Merpeople who were now being tested.

  “The Lady of Fire gave me a message and I listened. She said that she didn’t want the fact that the Merpeople are Creatures of Power made by the Water Lord to make us prejudiced against them.”

  “How do you know it was from her and not one of the other Affinities?”

  “I know,” Jelanos said with a sly smile. “After all, she said all Creatures of Power, like her Dragons, are interested in different things. If we let the Dragons wander our halls, what’s the problem with a few hundred Merpeople?”

  Alamos’s jaw opened, but no words came out.

  Jelanos turned around. “I never said that.” He held his friend’s eyes.

  “Was that a seagull farting? I think it was.” Alamos held a great reverence for his lady. He might be an Earth mage and Jelanos an Air mage, but none of the other lords and ladies had helped him or changed him into the man he was today.

  The Lady of Fire and her mage’s guild had helped him to understand his gift, matched him up with Jelanos and given him purpose, a life and a family.

  If we’ve now got the Merpeople coming out of the depths of the ocean, maybe those reports of new monsters appearing in different dungeons wasn’t that far-fetched. What the heck is happening? I hate it when I’m in the dark!

  Alamos took a deep breath of the refreshing sea air, glancing behind and above him.

  There rested the fifty-seven islands of Per’ush, his home and the center of the adventurer’s and mage’s guild.

  “Well, it looks like we will have a fair number of promising applicants.” A smile appeared on Alamos’s face. He looked forward to his few lessons that he gave to pass on his knowledge.

  “We have done a lot in our lives, my friend.” Jelanos smiled to Alamos. “But damn, I could do with an adventure!”

  “You just got back from messing around in the shadow labyrinth in Southern Ashal! Do you know what kind of shit I got in for covering for you!”

  “Fine, next time we’ll go together,” Jelanos said.

  “Good!” Alamos said, before thinking over what his friend had said. “Who the hell’s going to run all this while we’re gone?”

  “Well, Fire, of course,” Jelanos said, once again pausing as if he’d said something he shouldn’t have. Jelanos looked around. His eyes stopped as the color drained from his face.

  Alamos felt the hairs on his neck rise, much as if a predator were behind him. He looked back and up, finding an unassuming woman wearing the robes of a water Expert. Her lips were pursed together in thought as she looked over Alamos and Jelanos.

  “The next time you boys are talking about me, use a damned sound annulment spell. Jelanos, don’t come to try to find me again. I had to resubmit three times to get back in!” Her lips never moved, but Alamos and Jelanos heard her voice in their ear.

  “Salt-and-pepper suits you, Alamos.” Her eyes seemed to glow with inner Fire as she grinned and winked at them. She turned and left.

  Alamos turned to Jelanos. Both of them used a sound annulment spell at the same moment.

  Others watched as the archmage and his best friend yelled at each other like groupies; not a single noise escaped their overlapping annulment domes.

  “Who are those two idiots?” one of the Merpeople asked.

  “That is the archmage and his friend, the famed Jelanos and Alamos. Seems they’re in an argument again.” The mage testing them sighed. “I hope they used the right warding this time.”

  “This time?” the mer asked.

  “There used to be fifty-eight islands. You might have passed it on your way up. We’re still fixing the damage to it before we put it back in the sky. It’s said that they were experimenting,” the tester said. “Please put your hand over the crystal and allow your Mana into it. You will feel a sensation through your body—don’t fight it.”

  The Merpeople who had heard the conversation looked at the two talking to each other and the two yelling masters.

  “I don’t ever want to fight that.”

  “Sunk a damned island, for an experiment.”

  “There’s little left of it down there.”

  “Well, it might not be as dull and boring as I thought. Might actually be fun,” one said.

  The Mer started to feel more relaxed as they were accepted in short order and took teleport pads off to their assigned islands to be trained in magic.

  ***

  “What do you mean that you can’t make them again?” the Lady of Light asked. Her eyes flashed dangerously as golden outlines of her wings seemed to appear on her back.

  The people in the room quivered in fear from the outpouring of Mana coming from her. None of them were as shaken as the woman prostrated on the floor in front of her.

  “After the Angels were removed from Emerilia, no one recorded the information. We would have to start from the beginning with making them again. We have already got teams working on that, but it will take decades. Instead, we have augments that can meld with a person, making them stronger. Matching Creatures of Power and paladins together,” the kowtowing woman said as fast as possible.

  “Combining Creatures of Power and the paladins?” Light’s eyes dimmed as she sat back in her chair, interested.

  “We can give them things like wings, augment their bodies so that they can grow to be as powerful as Angels. We can give them all of the things that the Angels had and let their bodies grow.”

  “Very well, continue with your experiments. Let me know if you need any test subjects. I have a number of low-level paladins we can use. Might we be able to take the bodies over ourselves?” the Lady of Light asked.

  Wide-eyed expressions were shown around the room. Many had thought that the Lady of Light was a great and benevolent woman. At least, that was her outward appearance; the more they listened to her talks and her plans, the thinner the veneer between benevolent and Machiavellian her appearance seemed.

  “Not currently, but it could be possible,” the kowtowing woman said, a bit shocked.

  “Good. Those Players get new bodies all the time. If they give us an old one of theirs and we give it new power and augments, we can start building our kingdom from that. Might need to give them a few high-level quests lying around so that they can level up a suitable level vessel.” The Lady of Light shrugged.

  “I will work on a system to make that work.”

  “Good. I will make sure that you are readily supplied with all that you need.” The Lady of Light waved her hand. A smile spread across her face as she imagined the future with her at the top, with all of the Affinity and Emerilia at her feet.

  Her face soured as she thought of the reject, the balancer. She would need to do something about him.

  “Send a message to the Lady of Air
. Tell her that I wish to meet with her,” Light said.

  There was a time that she would have called on the Lady of Fire and they could have talked on matters, not about politics and power. That time had gone as Light showed more of her power.

  She is just jealous of my accomplishments. It won’t be long until she, too, will be groveling at my feet, hoping and praying that I might pay attention to her and make her one of my maids.

  Her face turned into an ugly sneer as she looked over the people in her room. They made sure to not catch her eye.

  Weaklings. The Lady of Light snorted and shook her head.

  ***

  “Get your head out of your ass!” Kala backhanded a Demon through a tree.

  Good thing they’re tough.

  The Demon got up and rubbed his side in pain.

  “You don’t yank Alla root out—you need to handle it gently. Work the soil with your fingers; pulling on it will break the fine leaves and flowers from the roots. You’ve got claws—they’re good for digging, so use them!”

  “They’re good for ripping bear’s throats out too!” The Demon stalked closer.

  Kala smiled dangerously. Before the Demon could react, he was sent through several trees and disappeared out into the forest. “If you can even reach me, you jumped up piece of charcoal!” Kala barked. She looked to the other Demons who worked at harvesting different herbs and growths that could be eaten, used for various potions and poultices or grown into foodstuffs.

  “I’m going to have to get him, aren’t I?” Kala said.

  “Well, I do think you beat your record.” A Demon clapped her on the shoulder, a wide grin on his face. “That’s at least two hundred meters.”

  “Great, you learn distances and how to judge them—now you’re figuring out how far I can send people.” Kala looked around as she heard coins changing hands.

  “We bet on it too,” Jeno said, a grin on his face.

  A few of the betting Demons smiled sheepishly as they finished their transactions.

  Kala looked over Jeno. “Could probably get you four hundred meters,” she mused.

  Jeno jumped to the closest Alla plant so fast he was almost a blur. “But why try? I am, after all, learning from your esteemed self. Your teachings have opened an unseen world up to me!” Jeno’s smile was a little forced as Kala snorted, rolling her eyes. The Demons snickered and chuckled as Kala moved on.

  Time ran different on the planet they were on. The gravity was lower than Emerilia, much lower, making a day on Emerilia approximately a day and a half on whatever rock they were living on.

  The Demi-Humans and Demons were using the time as much as possible. The Demi-Humans didn’t care for Demons’ pride nor their tactics for rising in rank. They thrashed them soundly in every fight and then forced them to do jobs that Demons thought to be only for the useless.

  It had been four days, but the demons were coming to appreciate the work that the “useless” Demons did.

  Kala’s face turned thunderous at the way that the Demon Hordes had treated those they didn’t believe above their station. Although the Horde had been slow to pick up the Demi-Human’s lessons, the “useless” Demons picked it up much faster.

  The Demi-Humans had invited many of them back to their homes, teaching them and showing them their ways.

  They had the largest concentration of mages and skilled workers. The Demi-Humans made it clear to the Demon workers that no matter what, they had a position with them if they wanted it. Many of them had been ostracized for being crafters instead of warriors, leading to the crafters being in a constant state of fear from their own people.

  Kala was displeased with the Hordes and their leaders who had allowed their people to become like this. She understood that they had only lived in times of war but it had rotted them from the inside out. Their cause might have been right but their way of fighting and their treatment of one another was wrong.

  “Kala!” Vrexu descended through the forest, his wings making the dust and debris around him fly outward.

  “What is it?” Kala dusted herself off, not pleased with the extra dirt she would have to get out of her fur later on.

  “Three hundred of our people have vanished!” Vrexu said.

  “It seems that Alkao met the conditions. It looks like we’re going home,” Kala said.

  Everyone stopped working and looked up at Kala and Vrexu, myriad emotions flying past their eyes.

  “But they took the farmers, loggers, and blacksmiths?” Vrexu said.

  Kala laughed. “Well, it looks like this Alkao isn’t a complete idiot. He took your most useful people!”

  “But we’re the warriors and fighters!”

  “You’re mouths to feed with no skills to make anything or grow anything. Your talent is killing, nothing more or less.” Kala saw her words stung the Demons, but she hoped that it would get through their thick skulls. Bob said that she’d need allies in the future. She didn’t want to fight along people who only knew how to kill. Those weren’t allies; that was a stampede of wild boars with blades.

  Anyone could fight. Only armies could wage war.

  ***

  "How do the Jukal see us?" That question hung in the air between Bob and Dave.

  Bob didn't want to do anything that would bring the Jukal to watch Dave more, but he deserved to know. With all that he had done he was sure to get some attention and it was best if he figured out a few ways to keep some secrets secret.

  "There are two main methods. One are the orbital satellites that could see a pimple on an ants backside. Divinity mages use these a lot of the time. The second is part of the magic and interface system that is within you. Basically there is a computer system that reads what you're thinking in your mind, then nanites reinforce your body, you get more with each level. They also connect to your optical nerves so you can see your interface, or use arcane sight and magical spells. They are also used to broadcast your 'streams' while players can pick and choose when they want to share these streams with one another. The Jukal can override them and access them as they want."

  Dave felt an itch between his shoulders as if he was being watched.

  "So how can we counteract it?" Dave asked.

  "Whatever information you send by your interface can't be intercepted and read. This is a security measure that is part of the interface, the Jukal Empire use it and as such it is impossibly by their standards to hack. Second are the mirror of communications. They are the most secure method of communicating with others. In this conference mode no one can even see your lips moving in the real world," Bob said, waving to the room around them.

  "Anything else?" Dave asked.

  "Runes, magical formations like the ones used by the Aleph really mess up the signals. They're fuzzy as hell. I don't doubt that you could make something more powerful to stop the signal getting out or any other items that might trip the AI's that search all of Emerilia for things like nuclear weapons," Bob said.

  "So how can we get rid of them?" Dave asked, rubbing the back of his head.

  "Well you could destroy them, if you were to pull apart the specific nanites in your own body you could eliminate them. Or you could shut down the massive server farms in the north and south pole that connect to the nanites and then link them to relaying mirror of communications to the rest of the Jukal Empire," Bob said.

  "That sounds easy," Dave sighed, sitting back in his chair.

  For a while they sat in silence.

  "How do the Jukal end the Player cycles?" Dave asked, his voice heavy.

  Bob sighed, looking from Dave to the floor, a dark expression on his face.

  "Two main methods. First they tell the Players that they are shutting down the game and to log off. Those that log off, instead of having their minds transferred from their bodies to the Earth simulation, are simply transferred out of their bodies. The Empire doesn't have the control to forcefully make someone log off. The other method is reserved for those that don't log off. They ac
tivate a spell that was made into your bodies, killing you, to never be revived. Other methods can include, making the gods kill you off, bribe or threaten the populace to kill off Players. It can turn messy as the news services, internet and other connections to the Earth simulation die off and people realize that Emerilia is something more. If necessary, drones will come down and kill those that resist. Emerilia hasn't gone past having the POE's kill off players. Its mostly done for entertainment reason. The usual is log off then the death-spell," Bob said.

  "Well that's awesome," Dave muttered.

  "I didn't say that the path of a bleeder would be easy," Bob said with a weak smile.

  “So right now, as we’re playing here, are there more Players being grown and trained up in another simulation Earth?” Dave asked.

  Bob nodded simply.

  “Yes, they’re in the moon complex, once a player cycle is cleared off then we can introduce the new cycle, just like nothing ever happened.”

  “Grown, packaged and then sold to sell,” Dave let out a deep breath, humans were nothing but items of interest in the eyes of the Jukal Empire.

  Epilogue

  Florence pulled her clothes tight to her body as her three wagons continued on. They were only a few hours from a nearby inn and they had chanced the journey to the inn rather than another night of putting up a camp.

  I thought it was spring! When’s Mother Nature going to get the message? Look at me, arguing with Mother Nature in a game!

  Florence sighed at her own antics and sat back in her seat.

  She loved games and she loved trading. Now, she could browbeat and talk people into deals with all manner of charms and wit; she loved every minute of it.

  She still had to pinch herself for the windfall that the Stone Raiders had given her guild. Not for the first time, she thought about asking whether her guild could become part of the Stone Raiders. They were getting increasingly closer with their work, acting as the merchant arm for the guild, which led to all manner of opportunities. Florence smiled as she looked over her quests, the different gear she was carrying and her guild’s holdings.