Shadow Sun Progression: Shadow Sun Book Four

by Dave Willmarth

  *****

  Morning brought bright sunshine and an instant headache for Allistor when Amanda threw the blinds open wide, allowing the sunlight a critical hit on his face.

  “Gah! Nooo. Light bad. Go away.” He grabbed a pillow to defend himself against the onslaught, his next words being muffled as he placed it over his face. “Close! Close blinds! Evil woman!”

  Amanda just chuckled. “Can’t have our fearless leader lazing about in bed all day! There are things to do! People to see! More castles to storm!” She pounced on him, beginning to tickle his sides without mercy. “Up! Up, prince lazybones!”

  Squirming and trying unsuccessfully to defend himself without dislodging the protective pillow, he finally gave up and let it fall. Instead, he grabbed Amanda and pulled her in for a kiss. She initially complied, for about three seconds, before she realized he was using her head to block the sun instead of the pillow. “Nope! None of that.” She quickly moved her head aside, allowing another critical hit before he even had time to raise his hands. “Hit the showers. You smell like a distillery. If you get up right now like a good boy, I won’t tell Nigel to shut off the hot water.”

  “Nigel would never do that. I’m the prince in this castle. Tower. Whatever.” Allistor grumped as he got to his feet. His head was pounding and the light was still way too bright.

  “Nope, Nigel likes me better. Isn’t that right, Nigel?” She looked up at the ceiling.

  “Lady Amanda is correct, sire.” Nigel’s voice drifted down.

  Allistor froze. “Whaaat? How is that even… what?” He looked at Amanda who had crossed her arms and was giving him an ‘I told you so’ smirk. She only held for a moment before she burst out laughing.

  “Thank you, Nigel. That was perfect!”

  Allistor smelled a rat. “Nigel, did she put you up to this ahead of time?”

  “She did indeed, sire. My apologies. She said you would be amused, and that she would encourage you to upgrade my Interface Level again.”

  The effects of the hangover plus Nigel, his supposedly faithful AI, messing with him was too much. “I’m going to shower now. When I get out, we’ll talk about your upgrade. Any chance you’d be willing to leave Lady Amanda stuck in one of the elevators for a while?”

  “Of course, sire. For what period of time?”

  “Ha! That’s better.” He stuck his tongue out at Amanda. “Nigel’s a daddy’s boy.”

  Amanda flipped him off before heading out of the bedroom and through their quarters toward the elevator. Allistor waited patiently until he heard, “Nigel you better not leave me stuck in an elevator.”

  Grinning, he got back to his feet and hit the shower. He took his time getting in, reaching in to test the water with one hand first, in case his treacherous fiancé had actually convinced Nigel to turn off the hot water.

  Ten minutes later he was dressed and walking into the dining area seeking breakfast. He spent a leisurely half hour eating and chatting with residents. He laughed along with them as they observed Fuzzy and Fiona making the rounds from table to table, mooching treats.

  Allistor was just contemplating a visit with Daniel and William to check on the dragon eggs, when Nigel informed him that Daigath wished to speak with him. Their relationship was still very one-sided, and Allistor didn’t dare request that Daigath travel to him, so he took both bears, stopped by Amanda’s office to let her know Fiona was going with him to the Wilderness, and headed out.

  He enjoyed the walk through the woods to Daigath’s home, the fresh air and exercise helping to ease his still slightly aching head and gut. The bears only stopped twice to nibble at some berries or mushrooms. Arriving at the ancient elf’s small clearing, he was surprised to find both Nancy and Chloe there. They were sitting on a root, facing a female elf that, based on her white hair and coal black skin, had to be a dark elf. The three of them seemed to be in deep discussion. Both bears wandered over to greet Chloe. “Allistor! Welcome back.” Daigath waved from a branch about twenty feet up, before jumping down to join him. Allistor noticed again that he slowed before he touched the ground.

  “Thank you for coming. I wanted to speak with you about a few things, but first, come meet one of my dearest friends.” He led Allistor over to join the others. “Prince Allistor of Earth, Emperor of Orion, meet Netsirk, former Matriarch of the Greywoods, and Master of the Druidic Order. She’s your new druid class trainer, and one of three alchemy instructors as well.”

  Allistor extended a hand. “Pleasure to meet you… should I call you Matriarch?”

  “Only if you want to be put over my knee, young human!” She grinned at him as she rose and shook his hand. “My friends call me Sirk, and I imagine we shall become great friends.”

  “She’s been teaching us druid stuff!” Chloe shouted, then covered her mouth and blushed. “Sorry.” She looked around at the now silent forest.

  “So you’re going to be a druid like your mom?” Allistor took a knee and held out his arms for a hug. The little girl launched herself off the root and into his arms, squeezing him tightly.

  “Yep! And a bard, too. I’ve been singing with Addy and Sydney and Scottie. Watch this!” She began to hum a happy little tune, then pointed at a small shrub and cast Grow. The shrub instantly began to grow taller, simultaneously breaking out in bright pink blooms of flowers. “Pretty cool, right?”

  “Very cool!” Allistor clapped, and both bears chuffed as they moved to sniff at the new bush. Fiona sneezed, sitting down on her rump and shaking her head, making Chloe giggle.

  Daigath put a hand on his shoulder, and Allistor stood upright. “Part of the reason I asked you here today is because of this charming young druid. She tells me that you have a bad habit of… how did you put it, Chloe?”

  “Lettin’ stuff bite him all the time!” Chloe helpfully supplied.

  “Yes, that was it.” Daigath patted her head. “Ladies, if you would excuse us?” All three nodded their heads, and the elf led Allistor into the center of a wide open grassy area. “Part of your training as a battlemage involves melee combat techniques. I had planned to address this later, but Chloe has insisted that you need immediate assistance.” He grinned.

  Allistor waved at the little girl, who had been watching him a little nervously. He knew she was worried she had just ‘told on him’ and gotten him into trouble. He flashed her a smile, then blew her a kiss, both of which she promptly returned. Turning back to Daigath, he nodded. “I hold no illusions about my melee skills. I’ve depended mostly on spells or guns during combat. The times I’ve used a melee weapon, it has been mainly just poke the pointy end at the bad monster.”

  Daigath chuckled. “I assumed as much. I’m told melee combat was a lost art among humans for more than a century. We shall strive to correct that, starting now. Draw your sword, and let us begin.”

  For the rest of the day, Nancy and Chloe trained with Sirk, or sat around nibbling on berries as they watched Daigath torture Allistor.

  The elf was not just a master at creating weapons. He was just as skilled in the art of wielding them. He had Allistor begin with his sword, spending nearly an hour just on the proper way to hold the weapon. He had Allistor assume a defensive stance, and manipulate the weapon. Thrusting, swinging, blocking… with each move Daigath demonstrated a way to disarm Allistor. Ten minutes in, he had to cast Restore on himself, because his right arm was broken at the wrist.

  The second hour was all about correcting his defensive stance, and how to move in various directions without losing his balance. Once again, Daigath highlighted his mistakes through action, and Allistor spent much of the time getting up off the ground, again and again.

  From there they moved to offensive stance, then some basic sword forms. Daigath allowed him a short break for lunch, which they both shared with the ladies, and the bears. Then it was back to the stances and sword forms, with Daigath only occasionally using a thin switch to knock the weapon from Allistor’s hand to remind him about his grip.

&
nbsp; By the time Daigath called a halt for the day, Allistor was exhausted. Daigath had drained his Stamina more than once during the training, leaving Allistor panting and flat on his back in the grass while he recovered. Daigath assured him it was all part of his development, and that the more often he drained his Stamina, the more he pushed himself, the faster he would improve.

  And the master was right. Allistor sat on a root, catching his breath and reviewing his notifications for the last several hours.

  You have learned the skill: Swordsmanship! Level 1

  You have learned the skill: Evade! Level 1

  Attribute Increase! Your Stamina has increased by +1

  Spell Level Increase! Your Restore spell level has increased by +1!

  Skill Level Increase! Your Swordsmanship skill level has increased by +1…

  The net result for the day was that he was now a level three Swordsman, had increased his Evade skill to level two, picked up a single point in both Stamina and Constitution from the abuse he’d taken, and leveled up his basic heal by a point.

  After thanking Daigath for the training, and promising to return soon for more, he and the bears escorted Nancy and Chloe back to the Stronghold. Chloe rode Fuzzy’s back for most of the trip, her eyes closed and head nodding as she drifted off to sleep. When they arrived at the teleport pad, Nancy expertly lifted the little girl into her arms, whispered her goodbyes, and teleported them both back to their Citadel.

  Allistor and the bears headed back to the tower, arriving in time to join Amanda for a wonderful meal of steak and potatoes with fresh spinach and apple slices. After dinner they retired to the rooftop lounge, where a nearly exhausted Allistor shared the story of his training, and the results.

  Soon enough, Amanda got up to make them a drink at the bar. Allistor opened his interface to look at his stats and assign some of his available points. While Daigath had been torturing him physically, he also coached him further on how he might want to focus his growth in attributes and abilities.

  Because of the melee training, he added two of the ten points he had available to Agility. Because they were a battlemage’s primary stats, he added a point each to Intelligence and Will Power. After a little consideration, he put a point into Luck, because why not? Finally, the last point he assigned went to Charisma, for the next time he had to do princely things like negotiate a trade agreement or avoid a war. He left four points free to be assigned later.

  Chapter 21

  The following morning Allistor had a meeting first thing with the analysts. He found them waiting for him in their conference room with a breakfast bar already set up to one side.

  “Good morning, folks! Thanks for having food sent up. I’m starving!” He took a moment to heap some scrambled eggs, toast, sausage, and fruit onto a plate, then grabbed a pastry before taking a seat. He retrieved a glass from the center of the table and poured orange juice from a chilled pitcher. “Okay, hit me.”

  Selby started off. “First, all of the class trainer positions on Nigel’s list have been filled, the trainers have arrived, and sworn the oath. They are settling in at the village, and so far things have gone smoothly.”

  “Including your gnomebarian cousin the survival trainer?”

  “Yep!” the little gnome grinned at him. “We’re giving them the rest of today to get organized and acclimated, and training will start tomorrow. Priority is being given to your senior advisors, raiders, and the group who helped you clear the property, as promised.”

  “Great! Thank you all for organizing that, and for your hard work.” Allistor said before shoveling more eggs into his mouth. His activity with Daigath the day before had made him ravenous.

  L’olwyn was next. “We have been contacted by High Queen Xeria’s factor to discuss a trade agreement. Which of us would you like to act as your factor? Or do you have someone else in mind?”

  “It should definitely be one of you. None of my fellow humans have any experience with… interplanetary trade? Don’t even know the proper term for it. Is one of you more experienced than the others?” He looked around the table, watching them look at each other.

  L’olwyn bowed his head slightly. “That would be me, Allistor. I was often sent on trade missions for my House. That is, in fact, where I was when my faction perished.”

  “Well, I’ll do my best not to destroy us all while you’re away. Or do you even need to travel there?”

  “The terms of the agreement can be negotiated from here, via hologram.”

  “Hologram! Dammit. One second guys.” Allistor looked up at the ceiling. “Nigel, I’m sorry. I forgot about your upgrade. What additional attributes does Interface Level Five get you?”

  “I will receive upgraded intuitive algorithms that will allow me to better anticipate your needs. In addition, my sensor and control capabilities will be expanded. Sensor range will double, and I will be able to communicate with you from a range of up to 1,000 feet from any of my structures. My defensive capabilities would be increased, allowing me to better resist attempts at a takeover of my systems by a hostile AI. My capacity to manage multiple facilities will be increased as well, though you are currently in no danger of reaching that limit.”

  Just out of curiosity, Allistor asked, “What is your current limit?”

  “I am currently capable of managing up to one hundred separate facilities such as Strongholds, Citadels, Outposts, and the like. Serving a population of up to one half million entities. An upgrade to Interface Level Five would more than double that capacity.”

  “Thank you, Nigel. I officially authorize your upgrade to Interface Level Five.” Allistor opened his own interface, selected the Nigel tab, and purchased the upgrade. Once again, he was disappointed in the lack of trumpets or fireworks. Especially since he’d just spent a half billion klax on the upgrade.

  “Thank you, Allistor. Your generosity is appreciated, as always. It is a pleasure to serve you.”

  Looking back at his analysts, he apologized. “Sorry, folks. I promised to do that yesterday, and got sidetracked. Where were we? Holographic conferencing over trade agreements, right?”

  “Yes, Allistor. And congratulations on your upgrade, Nigel.” L’olwyn replied. “Before I contact the High Queen’s factor, is there anything in particular you’d like to prioritize as a trade item?”

  “I have no idea what they have to offer, other than really big ships. Which we could certainly use, at some point. Do they build military ships? We have the Opportunity, but I think we might need more firepower in coming days. And I guess larger colony ships? Or cargo haulers? I really don’t even know what I don’t know about this.” Allistor shrugged, a little frustrated. He pictured the immense harvester that had visited earth.

  “Hey… guys? What about the harvester that just got confiscated. What happens to that? And the resources inside it? Will it go up for auction or something? Do we have any claim on it, since the cargo is from earth?”

  Longbeard chuckled. “Aye, ye might be able to prosecute a claim fer the cargo, as the sole planetary prince. The vessel itself will be held by the Collective until the punishment has been administered. At which point the colony world it belonged to will have the first option to purchase it back. Should they decline, or be unable, it’ll go to open auction.”

  “Great! Let’s start the process of filing a claim for the resources. No point in letting someone else have them if there’s a chance we can get them returned. Especially if someone was scheming against us to seize those resources, or deny them to Queen Xeria.”

  L’olywn, shaking his head at how easily Allistor was distracted, continued. “As for trade goods, I believe Nancy will tell you that the blood she harvested is quite useful. And the araneae currently have an overabundance of it, so values will drop. They also have skilled builders that can be hired under contract, and I believe they sell the wood from those wonderful trees.”

  “Would they also sell us saplings? Or seeds, even? With Nancy and the other druids being able
to grow things quickly, we could surround our properties with tall trees that absorb lightning, and keep dragons from swooping in.” He was thinking of the area behind the Citadel in Cheyenne where his cowboys were grazing cattle.

  “I can certainly inquire.” L’olwyn nodded.

  “Alright, rather than spend a lot of everyone’s time on this, I’ll leave it up to your best judgement. We can meet privately if you want to discuss details in the coming days. Unless… do any of you others have any recommendations.”

  “If they have any interestin’ ores to trade, we can always use more o’ that for crafting.” Longbeard offered.

  “Or blueprints for structures and ships, if you’re interested in trying to build your own, Allistor.” Selby added. Her little gnomey face was alight with the prospect of tinkering with giant structures.

  “I think we’re a long way from that right now,” He shook his head. “I want to focus most of our resources on expanding our territory and improving the lives of our people here on Earth and Orion. But that is a good idea for later, when we’re more stable, and powerful.”

  Two of the topics of their discussion clicked in his head. Looking up at the ceiling, he asked, “Nigel, what is the average level of the beastkin who have become citizens?”

  “The average level of the entire beastkin population is currently eleven.”

  Allistor looked at Longbeard. “And the dwarves?”

  “Me people be fighters, as well as whatever their main profession be. I dunno the exact number, but me guess is their average level be near thirty.”

  “Alright, good. Then back to the beastkin. We still have about ninety percent of the area inside the Invictus City walls to clear. That includes surface structures, underground subway tunnels, and so forth. The monsters we’ve been finding here are mostly too low level for my fellow humans to benefit from, experience-wise. I propose we bring a thousand low level beastkin here each day, send them out in groups with battle droid escorts, and begin to clear the city. That should level up all of the beastkin to the point where they can choose a class and get some training. It’ll also bring in a ton of loot drops for crafting materials, hopefully. Anyone see any issues with that?”