“So, when will the first onos be installed?” Deia asked.
“We’re going to start in a few days. We’ve got quests out for people to move drop pads into position within different cities. We’re targeting the different places within Ashal first. They have more goods of higher quality to move faster and with the cities’ limited room to grow crops, there is a real interest in not only our weapons, but our ability to supply food and crops,” Dave said.
“Seems your inner businessman has come out.” Deia smiled at Dave.
“That’s a nice way to say I’m nerding out slightly.” Dave leaned into her.
She gave him a quick kiss, placing her head against his shoulder for a second before eyeing the second skewer he was holding.
Silently, he handed it over.
“I do wonder why I got that third skewer. It was as if I knew someone who couldn’t admit when they wanted more than one,” Dave pondered aloud.
Deia hit Dave with the side of her hip playfully.
They walked along for a while, talking about different things. Finally, Deia asked a question as they neared the smithy.
“Do you think that your machines and creations can defeat the creatures that come out through the event?”
“I don’t think that we can win with just them. Sure, there are some really powerful things that I’m working on and they could give us an advantage, but there are some that I’m hesitant to use,” Dave admitted.
“Why?” Deia asked.
“We’re limited in what we can do because of the Jukal. If we use something too powerful and it trips the Jukal AI, then they’re going to start looking more closely at us. If they do that, they might figure out that we’re not just playing their game.” Dave’s voice turned serious.
“I know that you’re building some pretty powerful weapons and artifacts, but we use some pretty powerful magic that is comparable to what you are making,” Deia said, trying to reassure him.
A heavy silence fell over them.
“A brilliant man, one of the geniuses of Earth, once said when talking about the weapon of mass destruction he had made, that the problem laid in the heart of mankind. That, if he knew what he was building, what it was to become, he would have been a watchmaker. Right now, I’m making these things, saying that I need to break the Jukal’s control over our lives. I could go and pass out these weapons to people across Emerilia—a simple farmer with the strength to kill everything in five kilometers, or a person with twenty times their original power and without fear of dying. What will happen when Players find out that they’re not playing a game?” As Dave’s mind worked, his Intelligence took him to a dark place.
Deia squeezed his arm to try and reassure him. “So, what will you do?” Deia asked, her voice low. She knew that leaving Dave to stew in his own thoughts would lead him down a sad path.
“I will follow what countless Dwarven Master Smiths have done. I will create Weapons of Power, but I will make sure that they are limited in their number and that they are the ones to pick their users.”
Deia took in a sharp breath. So far, Dave had made items that were comparable to Weapons of Power, but with one significant difference. Weapons of Power were not only created by a Dwarven Master Smith’s smithing art, they were combined with the soul of the master who created them. This meant a drastic increase of power in the weapons. It also added in a fail-safe that they wouldn’t work for someone who used the weapons for nefarious circumstances. Though the cost was not inconsiderable, it actually took a part of the Dwarven Master Smith’s soul, much like how a summoner made a contract with the creatures bound to them. The Weapons of Power exerted their own will to create contracts with those who might use them.
Deia wanted to argue with him. Using part of his Willpower, his very soul—it was not a decision to take easily. From the look on his face, Deia knew that he had already made the decision and a part of her was proud of him. He was a brilliant man and the things that he was creating in Emerilia could bring wanton destruction. This was one way to safeguard the people of Emerilia and the future of the people.
“I understand,” Deia said in a soft voice.
Dave seemed to deflate; it seemed that he had been ready for a fight. “You do?” he asked, relief in his voice.
“Yes. You are a good man, Dave Grahslagg, to not only care about the creating of weapons, but what their purpose will be. It makes me proud to call you the father of our child.” She pulled him close.
He turned to face her, the two of them looking into each other’s eyes.
Deia could see the stress that had been tearing Dave up from the inside. She hugged him as he pulled her close, as if fearing to ever lose her.
“Thank you,” Dave said.
Those two words held emotions that made Deia bite her lower lip at what Dave’s mind had been torturing him with.
“The path we walk will not be easy and we will make mistakes, but as long as we do everything in our power to make Emerilia a place for our children to live, and we can live knowing the means that we used, we will make it out of this,” Deia said into Dave’s ear.
He took a deep breath and nodded. “I needed that, love.”
They pulled apart and looked at each other.
Deia gave him a quick kiss. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Dave said. The two of them savored hearing the other say the words.
“Now, let’s go and look at that smithy of yours!” she said with a proud smile.
“This way, milady.” Dave held out his arm; she wrapped hers in it, staying close to him.
***
Fornau stepped through the teleport pad, leaving Devil’s Crater and arriving in Terra. “Malsour!” he said.
His great-uncle waved as he exited into Terra proper.
“How are you doing, Fornau?” Malsour wrapped him up in a hug.
“Good, good!” Fornau smiled.
“How is that sister of mine faring with your younglings?”
“She’s got her hands full, but she’s been a great help. Quindar needed a bit of break from it all and she’s enjoying teaching the DCA aerial force how to use their abilities.
“They’re getting much stronger. Yoalin has expressed an interest to come and help us as a maid and we’ve taken up her offer. She should be in Devil’s Crater in a few days.” Fornau smiled.
“Ever since Likal died, she’s pined for children, but never brought herself to get another partner,” Malsour said sadly. “It will be good for her to be around some younglings.”
“Yes, and put Quindar’s mind at ease about leaving,” Fornau agreed. His eyes looked upward, finding a city above him. His eyes moved around, studying the city. It was confusing and complex and he started to get a nauseous feeling about it.
His eyes fell on growing towers and parks, soothing his mind as he took a breath. “This is incredible,” Fornau said. His nausea fell away as he took in the sights of the city.
“Thanks. Come on. I’ve got some food and drink at my place.” Malsour chuckled.
Fornau returned the smile. He had not just come here for pleasantries.
They took some of the underground carts that moved things through the city. In just a few minutes, they were at the Stone Raiders towers. They got off; magical scanners checked them as they walked into the apartments.
They made small talk until they reached Malsour’s apartment. He closed the door and activated a magical code he’d made into the apartment.
“So, looks like dear old Dad is back,” Malsour growled. Some of his aura leaked out as he took a seat.
“I was told that Great-grandmother messaged you?” Fornau asked.
“Yes, and she was asking for a way to defeat Dad’s Total Domination and Ice Palace.” Malsour sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Well, she sent me here to check up on you. You seemed to allude to something, but never said anything specifically,” Fornau said.
Malsour looked at Fornau, studying him before he sighed
again. “Do I have something that might be able to break Ice Palace and kill dear old Dad? Yes. Can I give it to you? No.”
“Why not?” Fornau leaned forward.
“As I was trying to explain to Mom...” Malsour paused, as if finding the words. “The two items that would be used to clear Dad from Emerilia would have a massive impact on Emerilia. There are a few things to take into account. For us Dragons, Akatol is a stain on our honor. I understand that, believe me. I was there when we tried to stop him from sacrificing half of the people on Ashal!” Malsour let out a frustrated sigh. “But this is just the start, the first round. If we use these things now, then the moderators who govern Emerilia through the Grey God will notice and they will be the ones acting. This magic is powerful. So, I cannot give you or the rest of our family these tools to end dear old Dad. That said, there are other items that we could use to weaken him.”
“What?” Fornau asked.
“A magical link,” Malsour said.
Fornau frowned.
“Our problem right now is that it would take so much power to take down the ice palace that it would drain our Mana reserves before we cracked it, and we can’t give up on attacking it or else it will recover. We also can’t recover our Mana while in the area of Total Domination. What I am suggesting is using a system similar to what the Stone Raiders use. We store energy in vault-classed soul gems. We have some Dragons outside the area of Total Domination, fueling the soul gems, while others are inside, directly attacking the ice palace, drawing from the soul gem. They can increase their Mana pool and get a symbiotic regeneration of their Mana,” Malsour said. “So, one gives their power to the soul gem outside of the area of Total Domination, passing that power to the other so that they can continue their attacks and replenish their Mana.”
“Exactly. Then as one Dragon gets tired, they pull back, switching out with the other, so that everyone has energy when the ice palace falls.” Fornau nodded.
“It will take longer than the other option, but then we can hold those stronger powers in reserve for when we need them,” Malsour pointed out.
“Why didn’t you tell this to your mother?” Fornau asked.
“She wants to end Akatol here and now. She doesn’t care that much about the outcome after. If you come to her with a reasonable request, she’ll hear you out. I can’t leave here right now; I’ve got work to do. Sometimes, things just have to be said and discussed in person. Also, she’ll want to see this before moving ahead.” Malsour pulled out a soul gem the size of his forearm and two enchanted amulets, passing them to Fornau.
“I’ve always wanted to be a carrier pigeon,” Fornau said, sarcastically.
Malsour snorted as a small smile appeared on his lips.
***
It had been a constant rush of people and supplies moving into Terra. Few had ever been able to see inside an Aleph city. With Terra, they were able to see inside one of the legendary cities.
The soul gem buildings, roving parks, and the budding trading district made more than one noble household or trading company decide to put down roots in Terra as soon as possible.
At the same time, military units from all across Emerilia marched, rode, and sauntered into the city.
Embassies were in the same district, placed into various towers. Areas for their fighting forces had been set aside, allowing their people to train even as they stayed inside the city.
Businesses were starting out and already hawking their wares. Players from other guilds and leaders from various POE guilds came to check out the city; a number of them bought up items or visited the Grahslagg Corporation’s smithy.
It boasted the membership of several Dwarven Master Smiths as well as their understudies. They could repair any item, make custom weapons and armor, and they were one of only two businesses that had buildings made from soul gems—the other being Exdar’s Traders’ building.
It bordered between the Stone Raiders’ guild towers and the intersecting main roads, and then led out to the surrounding businesses.
Lucy smiled, thinking about Florence. She was acting not only as the manager of the trading side of the Stone Raiders in Terra, but also managing all of the leases that were being bought up across the city. She had become one of the hardest people to meet with.
“Shard, how are we looking?” Lucy had her own people out around Terra, making sure that everything went well and to deal with any difficulties from the shadows.
“It seems that everything is going relatively smooth. There have been some nobles who think a bit too highly of themselves. Also, a few brawls and some people trying to pressure others into moving to get their place. I have dispatched automatons to deal with these issues. It might be some time until people start understanding that this is a fair city and that they can’t pressure and extort people as they might in other cities.” Shard sounded pleased with himself.
“What about the embassies and the military forces?” Lucy pursed her lips.
“They are showing off with one another. There have been a few fights here and there, but I’ve issued warnings. It seems that none of the powers want to cause an incident. Having them all come in as one as you suggested has created an interesting circumstance where they are playing off one another to show that they are more committed to this cause. It has also led to quite a number of back room talks. I have not been listening in but it seems that with the constant information about the creatures that have come to Emerilia that they have started to push old issues away. The military commanders are at least having quiet talks regarding their neutrality to one another. I do believe that they are coming together,” Shard said.
Lucy smiled with the praise. “I just hope that they will all work so well together, but hopefully together we can save Emerilia.”
She wished like the others that they were off and fighting against the escaped prisoners. She knew the time would come and that there were battles planned for next week.
“It is one hell of a sight.” Lucy grinned. Terra was coming alive. They had built it with their achievements and abilities. It made her giddy inside to see what they had done, and reassured her with what she wanted to do in the future.
Chapter 7: Class of Hard Knocks
Alkao grunted under the impacts of Anna’s Air blades against his shield. He rolled to his side, using his sword to cut through her latest Air blade. A flap of his wings threw him forward.
Anna danced out of the way of his attack, bringing her sword across her body to hit him in the side.
Alkao pivoted, his wings flapping as he defended with his shield. Right back where I started, Alkao complained in his head.
“Okay,” Anna said.
Without dropping his guard, Alkao peeked his head over his shield and saw Anna standing there, with barely any sign that she had been training for the last three hours.
“Damn minx, faster than me with your Air Affinity,” Alkao grumbled. He wiped sweat from his brow before he sheathed his sword and put his shield down.
“Well, I have been practicing a lot longer than you; got some more tricks.” Anna smiled impishly.
Alkao let out an amused huff and pulled out a water canteen. “You off to start training the aerial forces?”
“Yeah. Quindar is coming over to help out. How are the ground forces going?” Anna asked.
“Well, Dave sent me a message asking if Deia can teach them. Seems she’s not happy with sitting still, even if she is pregnant. Also, Gurren, Lox, Induca, and Steve are heading off with Krenua and a bunch of his people to scout around Devil’s Crater and go find some dungeons.”
“While Dave and Malsour are messing around with magical coding and anything they can find that could cause damage.” Anna rolled her eyes.
“They’re your party,” Alkao said with an amused look.
“Yeah, so I know just how crazy they are!” Anna said in frustration.
Alkao laughed at Anna’s expression. “I think that we will soon have need for both strong and crazy p
eople,” Alkao said after a few moments.
“How go the preparations?”
Alkao picked up his shield, hanging it over his shoulder. “With all of the people coming through Devil’s Crater to go to our dungeons or venture into the wilds of Ashal, we have thankfully made quite a bit of money. I’ve already placed a number of orders with the Aleph, mage’s guild, and Dwarves for different items to increase our defenses, from grand magical workings, to Dwarven artillery and Aleph Mana bombs.
“Dave and Malsour are working on an idea for a series of Mana barriers to protect the keeps, Unity, and settlements and a grand barrier the likes of which hasn’t been seen before to cover all of the crater from long-range attacks.”
“They certainly love to make different items,” Anna agreed.
Alkao could see the curiosity on her face. “Wondering if they can make you another wondrous blade or set of armor?” Alkao teased.
“I have all of the gifts that I might need, but they are constantly coming up with new weapons,” Anna said with a troubled look.
“Makes me happy that they’re on our side,” Alkao said.
Anna made a noise of agreement. “Well, I’m off to train some more thick-skulled idiots. Have fun being King,” Anna said with a suddenly bright smile.
“Thank you.” Alkao’s voice was dry. He had been made the King of Devil’s Crater in their time of crisis and he understood it. Though he had gained his prestige through fighting, not by doing paperwork that currently threatened to choke him, he understood the need to complete it and dutifully fulfilled his role as his people followed him.
***
“Morning!” Lox said as he, Gurren, Induca, and Steve walked up to the group of fighters with Krenua.
“Ready to go dungeon spelunking?” Steve asked.
“Steve, that’s when people climb through caves, crevasses, and that stuff. We’re dungeon clearing.” Gurren sighed.
“Yes, we are ready,” Krenua said to Lox, as he and his four other leaders moved to join them.
“Good! We’ll head northwest through the hunting grounds and then into the dungeon there. Probably take us a few hours to get through the hunting areas,” Lox said.
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