by Dakota Krout
“But… I thought everything was based on merit?”
“Think, for pyrite’s sake! Do you think normal accomplishments will get you into the nobility? You’ll get a rank, at best! Unless you manage to pull in a whole fecal load of accomplishments to offset the current nobles directly going against you from the start. Abyss, at this point you’re going to need to capture a minor fort, just so that you don't get brought up on charges for all of the things that I am requisitioning on your behalf! That’s why I gave you this task now.”
“What?” Joe stared at the Dwarf, who gazed calmly back. Joe knew that someone had it out for him; that was the problem with some people who were given authority. Not many people were truly deserving of the authority that they had, and sometimes they would take whatever modicum of power they had and use it maliciously. That was unsurprising… and yet, he was not expecting that Havoc was going to be racking up a giant bill ‘for him’.
Havoc coughed into his fist. “Right. Well. a little bit of background information. The forts are system devices. Even if they are reduced to rubble, in a day, they will be back to their most basic form. All of the upgrades and buildings that we make are gone if we break them in the attack, though we reclaim at least a portion of the resources if we take it. What I’m trying to say is that destroying them directly isn’t an issue. Keep that in mind when you are planning an attack.”
“I want…” Joe stopped himself and shook his head. He could only hope that Havoc had good reasons for doing what he was doing. “Fine. What should we be expecting in terms of resistance? I need to plan for that as well.”
“Contrary to popular belief, the forts that are closest to our territory are not going to be the most well-defended.” Havoc opened his palm, and a small projection appeared above his glove. “Because they change hands so frequently, all of the bonus fortifications and buildings get wiped out on a regular basis. The complacency that has set in within this generation has made things a little worse. These days, border forts are used almost exclusively to gain combat experience; the Oligarchy is barely even trying to take the forts. For… for abyss… when the Legion does take one, they are almost as surprised as the enemy!”
Joe took an involuntary step back; Havoc had been roaring by the end. His veins were bulging, his beard was quivering, and it was clear that this was a sore spot for the Dwarf. “So… what you are saying is that I should go all out; don't worry overmuch about the consequences of destroying a border fort? But buried in that is a hint that I should take more care when I am taking on more well-established things, if I want to be able to loot them or learn from them?”
“Looks like all of those weeks devoted to increasing your intelligence weren't entirely for show.” Havoc huffed out his breath and waved around the empty basement workshop that they were standing in. “This place isn’t reinforced, so try not to blow it up; but if you do, at least it is empty. Now, tell me what you need, and I'll make sure you have it. You only get one chance to impress me.”
Joe considered for a while, comparing the options that he had available, and things that he had successfully accomplished in the past. Finally, he settled on a plan. “The main thing that I will need is something that can kill off the Guardian, which is a plant. Secondary to that is going to be finding a way to take out the defenders. They have lots of magical power, but not much in the way of health, correct?”
“More than you might think. Not as much as a Dwarf, certainly, but look at you. How long did it take you to go from big brain to balanced body?” Havoc made a chair appear, and he sat on it. Joe realized that he wasn't the only one in the room with a spatial device, but he had to hold back before he started asking questions about the size or rarity. Asking someone else for their secrets was the same as asking for their weaknesses, and he had the feeling that Havoc wouldn’t share that information lightly.
“I need something like this.” Joe pulled out a ritual paper, as well as a magically enhanced blueprint paper. “The first one will let me make rituals that can be used like spell scrolls. The second one will let me make buildings, or at least allow me to take blueprints and turn them into rituals that can be enacted anywhere. They are really hard to get, and really expensive back on Midgard. What is that going to look like here?”
Havoc examined the two different types of paper, felt them with his fingers, and assessed their quality. “Something like this is not an issue. I'll send the requisition order now.”
Joe looked at the Dwarf askance, “When you say it's not an issue, do you mean that you are just going to tack it onto my bill? How easy would it be for a normal person—who can't just order people to get things for them—to get a hold of?”
“Do you really need the entire nation to hold you in high esteem? Why not just let a small—very select—group of people think you are a good person?” Havoc chuckled evilly. It took Joe a moment to realize what the Dwarf was really saying, but then he ran his hands over his head in consternation.
“You mean it normally costs reputation with the Dwarven Council, don't you?” Joe had learned that a thousand reputation with any merchant organization could be exchanged for ten reputation with the Dwarven Council. It was always more profitable—and more difficult—to have a good reputation with higher ups. Similar to his experience in Midgard, where having high reputation with the ruling family had made it easier to gain reputation with all sorts of affiliated… anything. Working in the Legion gave him one hundred reputation a day, which meant he could gain one point of reputation each day with the Dwarven Council by literally fighting their war for them.
“If you wanted cheap magical things, you should have joined the Elves,” Havoc chuckled darkly. “Good thing for us that you didn't; our histories show what actual Ritualists can do.”
Joe looked up hopefully, wondering if he was about to get invited to the Grand Ritual Hall. Havoc ignored him and waved at the papers in Joe's hands. “Use those; the others will show up when possible.”
“If we're going to be like that…” Joe decided to fully embrace the suck. Somehow, he understood at a deep level that his accomplishments for the most part would be going to pay back the cost of what he would be making. He was going to have to go all-out if he were going to achieve grand accomplishments that would overpower the negatives of getting there. “I also want powerful Cores, and blueprints for defensive installments. Siege equipment would be nice, but only if they are buildings. Get me anything that you think would be helpful, just like we agreed before I jumped into the landfill.”
“He’s starting to get it.” Havoc’s shoulders started shaking, and soon he was roaring with laughter. “He's finally starting to get it!”
The Dwarf watched on as Joe got back to work, waiting until the human was fully distracted before letting out a small fart. It shimmered away as rainbow smoke before dissipating entirely, while Havoc kept a close eye on the human to make sure he didn’t notice.
Chapter Twenty-One
“It’s been three days, human,” Havoc whispered into Joe’s ear, the deep voice buzzing unpleasantly. That, combined with the surprise visit, caused Joe to slap out in shock. He missed by a wide margin, and Havoc waved at him to hurry. “Time to step up to the plate and grab the bull by the horns.”
Joe frowned at the Dwarf with slight disgust. “Where did that come from?”
Havoc looked surprisingly proud about his terrible mixed metaphor. “I took a council-designed course on humanity. They only let a hundred people in, but it gave us a nice look at your world's previous technology and conversational ability. Stop trying to dodge the question. Either show me what you have and what you are working on, or get out.”
“Fine, take a look. Chill.” Joe produced his redesigned ritual diagram and handed it over. “I know this spell, ‘Wither Plant’, and I’ve reached Apprentice five with it. I managed to make a scroll, and converted that into a ritual. Thanks to the spell scrolls that you ‘acquired’ for me, I was able to join this with a draining spell,
making a first generation ‘Mana Wither’ spell.”
“Why did you do that?” Havoc tapped the diagram, making Joe wince. “What does it do?”
“Careful with that, please; it is the only prototype right now. As to why, you need some background information first.” The Reductionist took the paper back and gently set it on the floor. “One of the difficulties of my rituals has always been the fact that I need to assign the targets before I activate the ritual. That is, I need some blood from everyone who wants to participate or will be forced to participate. Unfortunately, that is considered a component, meaning I can no longer use blood as a targeting method. Even trying to reduce my own blood only gives me common aspects. Nothing special. However…”
Joe tapped at the inner circle of the ritual, “I am still able to create a… let’s call it an ‘opt in’, which is made with what is essentially my personal mana frequency. In short, I can directly build myself into the ritual. That allows me to activate it, direct it, turn on or off, and so forth. The draining element serves two functions. One: it is terribly and intentionally inefficient, as it drains mana impossibly fast from anyone that is participating in powering it. Two: I don't need to build in selected targets anymore. Anyone who uses mana within the bounds of the ritual are automatically considered to have ‘opted-in’ to powering the ritual. I thought that perhaps I could use this to empower other rituals or store energy, but…”
“Just doesn’t work?” Havoc nodded knowingly even as Joe looked at him with hope. “If you constructed mana batteries, you might be able to use this idea to charge them, but ambient mana won’t just get pulled in, am I right?”
Joe regarded Havoc with great interest. He had not been able to figure that detail out and had thought that perhaps it was an idea he would need to let go, but it sounded like something Havoc was familiar with. “No, I can't just use ambient mana. You’re right. But if I cast a spell in the area, it starts to drain me as long as I am within the area of effect. Why won't it grab from the environment?”
“You only have basic Essence in the air; nature doesn’t generate mana. It collects it. That’s how you get mana-imbued objects. First thing you’d need to do is find a way to suck up what’s in the air, then combine it together to make Quintessence. Still, that’s not mana, but it might serve as a supplemental power source if your target is natural, or flowing through a body.” Havoc rubbed his beard consideringly. “Things breaking down do generate mana, but only things that have been imbued with mana. Throwing away a banana peel and facilitating a breakdown will generate Essence, but not mana. Damaged gear, components, anything that is tossed away will release their stored mana as they decompose… you see what I’m getting at?”
“What’s the difference between mana and this ‘Essence’? Oh, you’re thinking that I could use the mana released from the landfill to power rituals in the landfill?” Joe shrugged at that thought; it was something he had already planned on pursuing. “I would need an extremely powerful ritual to be able to impact something of that size. Or a significant number of smaller rituals. We'll put it on the back burner for now. Point is, I am pretty sure that when I activate this ritual, it will allow me to start withering all plants in range. Anyone or anything that starts releasing Mana will help to power the ritual once it gets going. My concern is that it does not differentiate between friend and foe.”
“What you should be worried about is someone breaking it.” Havoc rumbled as he eyed the paper that Joe was being so careful with. “I’m not just talking about this prototype. Elves are excellent spellbreakers. Got nothing better to do than look at strands of mana and figure out how to wiggle it. Plus, I got you those incredibly difficult-to-acquire scrolls so you could learn the spells, not so you could slap it into a one-time effect.”
“Yes, we will need to protect the ritual. As for the ritual diagram, well…” Joe shrugged helplessly. “I could have learned the spell, but I have a chance of failing, and I would need to use it constantly to get it to this level again. Right now, I can use it at an Apprentice level in a ritual, and I might be able to improve it further in the future. Even so, I had to strip away all of the ‘active casting’ portions so that it didn’t blow up in my face when I was converting it. It’s rare that it happens, but better safe than sorry. Now the scroll isn’t usable for learning to cast it, so is there any chance you can get me another Scroll of Mana Drain?”
“I just told you that scrolls are very difficult to come by… usually we can only get them if we take a major fort relatively intact. Think about how rare that is.” Havoc decided that Joe had a good point, however, and let the issue go. “So no, as far as this is concerned, we do not have a duplicate of the scroll. How will this be useful against the Elves?”
“Basically, I set this up, it passively drains the mana from anyone in the area, and hopefully kills the Guardian by destroying the root system.” Joe waved at the small model of a fort that Havoc had set up. “In terms of combat utility, as I said, it will drain the mana from the Elves as soon as they cast even a single spell, making them weaker over time and reducing their ability to regenerate their mana. This is perfect for an enclosed space like a fort; a place where we can set the bounds of the ritual without having to worry about our targets making a break for it or escaping. In addition, if they get drained far enough… it will start taking health from them if they try to cast anything. I can tell you from experience, that is very distracting.”
“I like it. Perfect little surprise.” Havoc waved at the little structures that Joe had set around the model, “Even if it will likely only work once. That should be enough to cover what we've done so far. What's the rest of this for?”
“Defensive structures.” Joe’s face scrunched up in frustration as he studied the figures. “I've been trying to figure out how to replicate your magitech cannons, but I'm running into issues with the power supply and enchantment, and… wait a second… why will it only work once?”
“Hmm… oh? You’re using a magical attack, right? Any Elves that survive will be able to parse that and create a counterspell. Big, magical effects only work once against them. Remember, they figured out a way to break what I hit them with, and we thought it would keep them away forever. Little ritual like this? A known draining spell? We’ll be lucky if they don’t break it while we are attacking.” Havoc’s eyes were drawn back to the defensive tower replica. “You said that you were having issues with power supply? Enchantments? Why are you having issues, and when did you have time to look at those enchantment formulae?”
“Basically, I need to study them for a long enough time to make my own versions. As for when I looked at those, a higher constitution means less need for sleep. Combine that with my coffee elemental-” Joe was going to say more, but Havoc cut him off.
“You don't need to do everything yourself, Candidate. If you can figure out how to construct the towers, we can have the enchantments ready to be placed on them. That's easy enough.” He paused for a moment to chuckle at Joe's slightly open mouth. “Modularity is a big deal to Dwarves. Things blow up too often not to have easy replacements. As for the power supply… what’s the issue there?”
Joe nodded in thanks. “That’ll work for the enchantments. I appreciate it. As to the power supply, I can't figure out what you are doing with these. As far as I can tell, every time you fire, the cannons should have about a… I’m estimating a twenty percent chance of just… self-destructing? I have no idea what you are doing here to keep that from happening.”
“Formations, arrays, and liquid cooling,” Havoc replied dryly, getting an eye roll from Joe. “You are correct; they tend to blow up for… just… no reason whatsoever. In all honesty, the Cores that power everything eventually overload. The enchantments don’t get damaged, and the towers themselves are not an issue; the actual trouble is the fact that we don’t have stable power sources. We use Cores directly, and that means we are taking Quintessence and trying to use it as a mana source. The inefficiency of doing th
ings like this means that, obviously, they overload themselves sometimes.”
“The formations that we use are made to protect against this; they are the very reason for modularity. Essentially, we judge when a Core is about to overload and slingshot it a few hundred feet out—hopefully into the ranks of the Elves. In fact, that is partly why they are towers, not just defensive encampments, or things that we can move from place to place easily. Gotta be able to dump the danger. Hopefully on someone else.”
Joe stared at Havoc long enough that the Dwarf started reaching for something in his pocket as a nervous tic. The Reductionist didn't really notice, simply struggling to find the words to ask the question that was forming in a non-disparaging way. “Why… in the absolute abyss would you use Cores… right… you can’t convert them to batteries. Okay. I think I found a solution to this problem.”
He immediately sprang into action, pulling out a ritual that the Dwarf had never seen before. Joe, far too used to working alone, started muttering to himself as if he were using a voice-to-text program. “I could create the ritual directly, using aspects. I'm still going to need to find something that can withstand the energy conversion. Maybe I should forge it myself as well? I wonder what that would look like… will the aspects just directly convert into matter as I am making something? It did in the tutorial… let's see. Havoc, here.”
Joe pushed over his notes, “What sort of metal do I need to use in order to resist a meltdown with this kind of power requirement?”
If there was one thing that Havoc understood, it was material compositions. He swept a practiced eye over the equations and data summaries while his right hand left his pocket. “From what I am seeing, you could use regular iron with a core of silver, but that would only last so long as you did not want to use it fairly consistently. High Steel would be a better choice, but…”
