Time of Change (Emerilia Book 7)

by Michael Chatfield

  “They killed my friends and a woman I had feelings for.” Malsour sounded tired. “That was almost four hundred years ago.”

  “I have a good memory and I was still only about a century or so old at the time,” Water said.

  “Sure is enough to make me feel old,” Malsour replied. Silence stretched between them while Bob and Dave went off to inspect some defensive items. Deia and Fire sat down in chairs, rubbing their backs.

  “You know that the items in here could change Emerilia as we know it,” Water asked.

  “Good. We’re going to need to change it and fast if we hope to survive.”

  Water studied Malsour for a few moments. “Well then, that is something that we both agree on. Can you tell me what your different projects are? I might not know as much as Fire, but I can still be some help.” Water smiled.

  “Well, I was looking at enchantments or clothing to encapsulate people so that they could go into any environment.” Malsour guided Water away from his table.

  ***

  “Okay, so, you got me to help you out in making the reactor, but now what do you want it for?” Bob asked as he and Dave made it closer to the power creating and storage area of the laboratory.

  “The power generators and facilities that the Aleph use are really good, but we need something that can give off more power in a shorter amount of time and doesn’t burn as much material for a larger power output.”

  “Okay, yeah, so the fusion reactor does make more power for less materials, but I don’t see why you would need that. You have a power station right outside that can give off nearly two times the power of this thing.” Bob gestured to the rune-covered metal sphere.

  “Right now, we’re stuck on this planet. Essentially, we are a big ole sitting duck for the Jukal’s countermeasures. When they come for us with their battle fleets, we’re going to need a way to deal with them,” Dave said.

  “Okay, so what? Massive planet-to-space cannons?”

  “I’ll put that on the list, but they’d be a pain in the ass to make, material wise. No, I was thinking something else.” Dave shared his interface with Bob.

  A hologram of what looked like a smaller version of the Aleph cities but was capped off at either end with rounded ends appeared.

  “Seriously, can you just tell me what the hell you’re working on and not play Mister Mysterious Peekaboo,” Bob complained.

  “Well, you were the one who wanted to show off the lab to your friends,” Dave joked.

  Bob looked over the image again, sighing as he looked at it closer and moved through the hologram. “Thirty meters long and five across.” Bob opened his hands, the hologram coming apart into parts. “You’ve got gravitational magical coding, then a fusion power plant. A system to move items from the center of the thing to the front. That sphere there looks like a part of Shard.”

  Bob stopped talking and looked at the different parts. “It’s a ship.” Bob looked to Dave.

  “Correct. It’s a fighter prototype. The power system will probably be a scaled-down version of the reactor we have here, or a Mana well if we can get a larger output from it. Weapons, we’re still working on, and coding the gravity drive is proving to be a pain in the ass.”

  “So, more prototype than real?” Bob surmised from Dave’s words.

  “At this point,” Dave admitted.

  “Well, one thing I can tell you—you’re missing somewhere for the pilot or pilots to control the ship from.” Bob waved to the hologram.

  “Kind of. It’s part of what we’re working on here. You know how bags of holding distort the weight or size of items?”

  “Yes.” Bob nodded.

  “Well, we’ve found a way to automatically pull from bags. So instead of having a large magazine for the weapon systems, we just have bags of holding that the ship’s loading system pulls from. Also, if we can figure out how to put a person in them and exert commands onto the ship, it would work perfectly. We could go damn fast and not have to worry about turning the crew to mush as they’re not in the same physical world as the ship!” Dave grinned.

  “I’m still saying that we use the Human bags of holding for the armor and then find a way to link the Mirrors of Communication to the ships,” Malsour said. Water was beside him as they joined in on the conversation.

  “That would be much easier to do,” Bob said.

  Dave had a thoughtful look on his face before he shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about setting up a factory to make Mirrors of Communication. They’re pretty expensive to make material wise and they need people to watch over them. It’s worth a shot.”

  “What is this armor you’re talking about, and bags of holding?” Water asked.

  “The Stone Raiders have a number of members who are POEs. If they die, they don’t come back. Dave had the idea of trying to make something to protect them. At first, his idea was to make really strong armor,” Malsour started.

  “Then, I found that the armor I wanted to make would just be really heavy and annoying to move around. I wished that there was a way to just code the inside of the armor instead of having a person in there,” Dave added.

  “I heard him talking about having something smaller in a large space, kept on talking about Doctor Who, whatever that is.” Malsour shrugged. Dave looked as if he wanted to say something, but held it in. “Anyway, I talked about the bag of holding and Dave had a lightbulb moment.”

  “We’re still working on it, but we know that putting things into a bag of holding makes it heavier, even if slightly. It shows that the contents of the bag of holding can have an effect on this physical world. So, if we were able to put a person into the armor, but they don’t take up all the room in the armor, I can fill it with all kinds of enchantments, boosting their defensive and offensive power. If their armor is about to fail or they’re dangerously close to using up their power reserves, they get ejected from the armor. Inside the bag of holding, an enchantment is activated and they’re returned to preset teleportation coordinates,” Dave said.

  “The people using your armor wouldn’t have to fear death. They might be POEs, but they have the power of a Player,” Bob said.

  “To get to that point, we have to figure out a way to do that bag of holding transfer of commands. Then we’ve got to figure out a teleportation spell or enchantment, then all of the magical coding that will work to increase their power,” Dave said.

  “Just having the ability to act like a Player would probably do enough. Boosting their power could come secondary,” Water said.

  “One thing at a time—don’t need to go the full distance in one go,” Bob agreed.

  Dave nodded.

  “So what is your most important project? We should probably start with that and then move forward,” Water suggested.

  “Someone’s excited to get to work.” Bob grinned.

  “Well, it’s not every day that you get the chance to build something that could change Emerilia’s reality.” Water tried to sound stoic even as he fought off a smile.

  “Well, the first would be over here.” Dave led the group over to a Mana well encapsulated in a glowing soul gem. Embedded around the Mana well and covered by the soul gem were magically coded cylinders that grew in size until they blew up into a circular pad. It bore many resemblances to a teleport pad.

  “This is our ono prototype.” Dave gestured to the unit. “It’s a single location teleport pad… It is powered by a combination of a Mana well and a soul gem matrix. The well gives off power continuously while the gem matrix stores it when not in use. This also allowed us to add a shield, powered by the stored Mana. They cost a considerable amount in both gold and resources and we don’t want them to be destroyed, so we’ve added in a secondary command circuit to the magical coding.”

  “If this secondary command circuit is tripped by us, then the onos will generate overlapping Mana barriers to protect against physical and magical attacks,” Malsour said.

  “So, one really powerful Mana barrier.
Your locations are going to be heavily defended,” Water said.

  “Emerilia will be heavily defended,” Dave corrected as he opened up his interface and sent out a map to Water and Bob.

  They looked at the information and their eyes went wide.

  “Damn, half measures really aren’t your thing!” Bob snorted.

  “Well, we’re going to need a good defense first, then we can go on the offense,” Dave said.

  Bob’s view was filled with a new screen.

  Event: Of Myths and Legends

  3 Creatures of Power have escaped their imprisonment and have arrived back on Emerilia.

  The Event: Of Myths and Legends has begun!

  Kill the Creatures of Power to gain rewards and experience. If you fail to kill the creatures, then Emerilia could be forever changed.

  Creatures of Power located on Emerilia: 3

  Creatures Killed: 0/3

  The Jukal people have voted to release:

  Khanundra

  Melhoun

  Akatol

  Bob looked away from the screens as a silence filled the laboratory. Everyone finished reading the screens and looked to Bob.

  “Looks like the event is upon us,” Bob said simply.

  “I thought that we still had four more months!” Fire said.

  “I thought so as well, but these are powerful monsters. I had to wake them up beforehand or else the Jukal Empire might think something was up. It looks like they voted for the creatures to be released. I wasn’t told of this,” Bob said.

  “What’s done is done. Do we know which creatures were released?” Water asked.

  “Khanundra, Melhoun, and Akatol,” Bob said with a stony expression.

  Malsour balled his fists up. His fingers whitened as he looked to Fire.

  “I need to tell Denur and the rest of the Dragons. She is not going to be happy that her genocidal husband is back,” Fire said in a biting tone before she disappeared in a flash of Fire.

  “Dave, I am told that you can craft fine weapons. I would like to procure a number of them for my people. It seems that we cannot wait until the end of the Dwarven tournament to arm ourselves with Weapons of Power. I must return to my Merpeople. If Melhoun once again moves through the seas of Emerilia, he will undoubtedly target the Merpeople once again or try to enslave them.” Water seemed to rise up from the floor, covering the Lord of Water. As the water fell away, the old man had disappeared.

  “Who is Khanundra?” Dave asked.

  “Khanundra is the leader of the Lady of Light’s Angels, a Level 1,000 creature.” Bob shivered slightly. “There’s no telling what kind of monster she will become if the Lady of Light turns her into a Champion as well.”

  “Well, then, we best get to work on what we’ve got in here. It looks like we’re going to be needing these projects working sooner than we thought,” Deia said.

  Chapter 3: Dwarven Tournament

  Steve ignored the looks he was receiving as he walked with Gurren and Lox through Donsk Mountain.

  Many Giants and members of the larger races tried to make themselves look bigger as they puffed up their chests and walked as if their invisible lats were pushing out their arms.

  “Are they trying to look like idiots or pass out from flexing so long?” Steve asked in a bored tone.

  “I thought they were all trying to flirt with you. You know, doing the whole ‘I’m a big man, I’m awesome as hell, and I’ll beat your ass if you say different,’” Lox said.

  Gurren snorted and drank from his tankard.

  “You got something to say to me, say it!” one of the Giants who had been flexing challenged Lox.

  “It’s my day off, yeh twerp. Go rub yerself in cooking oil somewhere else!” Lox yelled before he burped loudly.

  He made to drink from his tankard, but found it strangely empty. “Hurhh, well, where’s the next beer stall?”

  “Do you not know of the mighty Elsoa! What are you doing, running away?” Elsoa yelled.

  “So, you’re bloody Elsoa. Whatever—knowing your name ain’t gonna get me beer!” Lox yelled. Gurren and Steve followed him.

  “You coward!” Elsoa yelled.

  Lox stopped so fast that Gurren and Steve ran into each other.

  “Gurren, hold my mug.” Lox held it out.

  Gurren sighed, taking it as Lox turned around.

  “Look—the little coward is coming back!” Elsoa said.

  Steve actually looked at the Giant; it seemed as if he had something like a posse that laughed at his jokes. They looked like the kind of people who liked picking on those weaker or smaller than them.

  “Baby, don’t hurt the widdle Dwarf too much,” a woman wearing entirely too little clothing to be out in public said, rubbing herself against the giant of a man.

  “Okay, princess, I’ll do my best.” Elsoa grabbed her backside, his fingers disappearing up her skirt for a moment.

  Lox was just five feet away. With just one look at him, people who had been going down the street moved out of the way of the Dwarf and the Giant who stepped away from his girlfriend.

  Lox didn’t stop walking. The Giant yelled out; his body became covered in some kind of armor as he swung his fist with all his Strength. But, Lox simply ducked under the blow and moved with a speed that belied his size and build. His fist slammed into the Giant’s head, breaking the armor that had formed over his chin, and sent him ten feet to the left.

  Elsoa dropped to the ground, clearly unconscious.

  “Baby!” The girl ran to the Giant.

  “Couldn’t even take a punch. This is a tournament, not a place for a brawl. We’re here for some entertainment!” Lox turned around and headed back to Steve and Gurren.

  “Looks like there’s a drink stall up ahead.” Steve pointed up the street.

  “Good! We should catch this afternoon’s game. I heard it’s two Level 70 shield and sword types who will be duking it out!” Gurren handed back the mug as the trio headed toward Donsk Mountain without even looking back.

  ***

  After being cleared by Krenua, Alkao and Anna stepped out of the teleport pad and into Donsk Mountain. Krenua, Alkao’s old second-in-command and now the head of the Black Hands, was in charge of protecting Alkao and Anna.

  Waiting for them on the other side was a delegation of Dwarves. One of them moved forward.

  “My name is Indi. We welcome you to our mountain. My lord wishes to extend his greetings to you. At this time, he is taken up with the Dwarven tournament, but he has extended an invitation for you to both to join him in his private box,” Indi said in his deep, rolling voice.

  “Thank you, Indi. We are indeed thankful for the invitation. If time will permit it, we would indeed like to speak to Lord Ulon under the Donsk Mountain,” Alkao said with a slight tilt of his head.

  “I will pass on your words. Please enjoy your time in the mountain.”

  With that, Indi and his group moved away as Alkao moved out of the teleport pad’s square.

  People watched and muttered to one another. There were a few Demons and Beast Kin competing, but most of them were in Grorart or Aldamire Mountains. They were legendary races, leading to more than one person muttering about them as they passed.

  Still, no one tried to approach them as they walked through the square. Their very actions had proved that they weren’t known as some of the fiercest fighters just because of half-remembered legends.

  They had defended against a Demon Horde numbering in the millions; therefore, they were not an unknown race and group.

  Krenua and his people were constantly looking for a threat.

  Alkao snorted and a small smile reached his lips.

  “Getting in the festive mood?” Anna asked.

  “Just wondering how Krenua’s eyes are still connected with him looking around so much,” Alkao responded.

  Krenua growled, relieving some of the tension in the air.

  “So, where are we going to eat?” Alkao asked.

&nbs
p; “Gurren, Lox, and Steve are here. They suggested a tavern a bit out of the way,” Anna said.

  “Lead on.” Alkao smiled.

  She grabbed his hand and pulled him away. Alkao’s smile widened. She glanced back, quickly turning back around as she caught his eye. Her tail moved a bit quicker as she continued to guide him and their guards.

  She might be stubborn, but that tail of hers always gives away her true thoughts and feelings.

  ***

  Steve, Lox, and Gurren met up with them at dinner. The place was as friendly as it was boisterous; the tournament had put everyone in an excited mood. Laughter and cheers rang through the room.

  Alkao had enough drinks to make him feel a bit drunk. Anna watched over them and Krenua watched everyone else who might be a threat.

  After dinner, they headed to one of the nearest arenas.

  “Now this is what I’m talking about!” Lox yelled as they exited the walkways and came out into the seating that surrounded the arena.

  Already, there were two people fighting it out on the stage.

  A Fire mage and an Earth mage were locked in a brawl. The Fire mage was moving around the arena on flames, while the ground underneath turned into spikes at a moment’s notice. The burly Earth mage ran at the Fire mage; rocks shot up from the ground to create steps for him.

  Alkao whistled at the show of not only skill but the depth of their Mana pools that the two fighters must have to put on such a fight.

  “This way!” Steve wandered to their seats as people moved out of his way. They found their seats, not bothering to sit down as they looked down on the fight.

  Alkao winced as he saw a pebble dart out of nowhere and slam into the Fire mage.

  Sensing it at the last second, the Fire mage dove out of the way of the projectile, which would have shattered his ribs. However, the Fire mage wasn’t quite fast enough. With the sickening sound of breaking bone, the Fire mage let out a cry as he landed.

  The Earth mage, thinking he had hit his opponent’s ribs, darted forward, eager to end the fight. A spear of earth grew in his hands. As he let out a yell, the spear was sent whistling through the air.